Chapter Text
You bit your nails and paced back and forth nervously. Rhys and Vaughn looked at each other for a second while you stressed about Jack, “He’s been gone for too long, I need to go check on him.” Vaughn put his hands up, “You can’t go there! I mean- It’s dangerous! What if you get killed?” You rolled your eyes and looked at Rhys, “Can you please back me up? What if Jack’s in danger?” He stuttered for a second, “I don’t think you should go, Y/N..but I’m also worried about Jack. If any of us were to go, it would have to be you.” You smiled and Vaughn scoffed, “I don’t know if that's a compliment or not, but I’m going either way.” You put your hands on their shoulders, “Wait for me in the infirmary just in case.” They nodded, “I will get Jack back.” You teleported away before Vaughn could protest. He put his head in his hands and sighed, “She’s gonna get killed.” Rhys patted his shoulder, “Have some faith. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Vaughn followed him out of the office, “Yeah..I guess.”
-
As soon as you teleported to the Vault, you saw Lilith talking to the Vault Hunters with her back turned and Jack covered in blood, laying on the ground. You rushed to his side immediately, “Jack!” Lilith turned around and saw you holding his head in your hands, “Y…Y/N..” He started coughing and reached his hand up to cup your cheek. You covered his hand with yours for a few seconds before turning him onto his side so he didn't choke on his blood and looked up at Lilith but before you could say anything, she cut you off, “Who the hell are you?” You furrowed your brows, “Y/N.” You looked back at Jack and pushed a few strands of hair away from his face, “I’ll get you out of here.” You heard guns cock from in front of you. Lilith and whoever else was there had their guns aimed at you. Neither you nor Lilith said or did anything until you tried to pull out your gun. One of the Vault Hunters had pulled the trigger before you could fully take it out of its holster, shooting your right arm clean off. You screamed out in pain. The adrenaline kicked in not long after. You didn't feel anything besides rage. Couldn't hear anything besides your heart beating in your ears. You teleported faster than they could keep up with, taking out each Vault Hunter one by one. Breaking the siren's arms swiftly, knocking the soldier out, stabbing the skinny one, and punching the short one in the face so hard he passed out. Lilith was the last one left. You stood in front of each other, slowly walking in a circle like some sort of Western standoff. She went to pull out her gun again but you teleported before she could pull the trigger. You showed up behind her, putting her in a chokehold. Best you could with one arm, at least.
She elbowed your stomach trying to get you off. After the third time, you fell to your arms and knees. You threw up a little bit and panted before looking back up at her. She swung a knife at you, but you managed to teleport away before she could do fatal damage. She had, unfortunately, cut your left eye. You held your eye as you kneeled next to Jack. Just as you started speaking, two more guys showed up. They were injured and holding onto each other for support, “This is all your fault, Lilith.” She and the other guys looked at you confused, “Open your eyes. You started this. You and Moxxi..and everyone else who ruined what Jack had planned! Jack went crazy because of you, you psycho bitch!” The adrenaline had started to wear off and you were painfully aware, “If you hadn't punched that stupid Vault symbol into his face, none of this would've happened! Do you realize that? Or are you just that stuck-up and self-victimizing?!”
She started to slowly walk towards you as you took a deep breath, “Warrior!” Her eyes widened at the realization of what you were doing, “Kill.”
The ground started to rumble and shake as the giant monster emerged from the lava behind you. You smiled at Lilith slowly, like a cat. “This isn’t over.” was the last thing you told her before teleporting you and Jack out of the Vault and into the Helios infirmary.
-
Vaughn and Rhys were standing in the corner, waiting for you to come back, “It’s been hours, what if they both died?” Rhys smiled at Vaughn nervously, “I’m sure they’re fine, I mean…it's Y/N and Jack for crying out loud, I’m sure they're-” Before he could finish his sentence, you teleported in. You stood hunched over, holding Jack's hand in the one you weren't missing. Jack was unconscious but alive and you were on the verge of passing out. You looked over at Rhys and Vaughn, who were staring at you in shock, “Hey guys…” You passed out and lost balance but Rhys had rushed over and caught you before you fell. “Can we please get a doctor over here?!” Rhys looked at you and Jack with worry, “Maybe more than one?” Vaughn added.
The doctors had rushed you and Jack onto beds and into your own private room as quickly as possible. A few hours had passed and you were laying in your bed. You and Jack shared a room but he was currently in surgery. The doctors told you how lucky it was that you arrived when you did. With the amount of bullets he had lodged inside of him, he wouldn't have made it an extra minute. The doctors had also cleaned out your cut and had given you an eye patch to wear while it healed. It took an hour or two but they had surgically attached an ECHO arm to you in replacement of your missing one. Luckily, since you worked with Jack and saved his life, it was free of charge.
You had woken up from a short nap. Rhys and Vaughn had come to visit as much as they could, and Rhys was telling you cool things about your new arm. While Rhys was talking, the nurses wheeled Jack into the room. “Are you doing okay, honey?” The nurse was an older woman with gray-ish blonde hair and was kinder than anyone you had ever met, “Yeah. A little sore but it’s nothing that I haven't felt before.” She smiled, “Well that’s good.” She pointed to Jack, “He’s gonna be out for a day or two but you should be good to go soon. Once he wakes up, we’re gonna keep him for close to a week just to monitor.” She was writing things down on a clipboard, “When do you think he’ll be out of here?” She looked up at you, “The earliest he’ll be discharged is most likely a week and a half. But that’s just an assumption.” She set her clipboard down and smiled, “I’ll come check on you in a bit.” She waved and walked out, closing the door behind her.
“What happened, anyway?” You looked at Vaughn, “Yeah, you never told us exactly what happened.” You sighed, “Well..I don’t remember much. Once the adrenaline had kicked in, everything was a blur. I remember seeing Jack on the ground, half dead and I remember Lilith shooting my arm off, but that’s about it.” You looked at your hands, “I also remember telling Lilith something…before summoning the Warrior.” Their eyes widened, “You actually did it?! You summoned it?” You nodded, “I didn't think it would actually react to my voice but I’m grateful it did, honestly.” You looked back up at them, “After I summoned it, I teleported here. I have no idea what happened to Lilith after. But, I don’t care too much either.” The room was quiet for a few moments except for the beeps of Jack’s heart monitor, “Well…” Vaughn spoke up, “I’m glad you and Jack are okay.” You smiled, “I was really worried.” You set your hands in your lap and sat up straight, “Thanks.” The room was quiet again until Rhys spoke up this time, “Oh, yeah, the doctors had to throw you and Jack’s clothes away because of the amount of blood on them. Do you want me to grab some for you from your place?” You nodded, “Yeah, that’d be great.” He smiled and stood up, “Roger that. I’ll be back in a bit.” Vaughn waved ‘goodbye’ and followed Rhys out.
You were left alone with your thoughts. You looked over to your right, at Jack. He was covered in bandages and tubes, you couldn’t even see his face. Words couldn’t describe how thankful you were that he survived. His blood-stained mask was set on the table next to him. You walked over to him and stood in front of that table. After a few seconds of hesitation, you carefully picked up his mask and held it in your hands. You felt a few tears slide down your cheek, one by one. You wiped them away quickly as you heard the door behind you open. Before you turned around, you felt Rhys’ hand on your shoulder, “Are you okay?” You took a deep breath, “Yes. Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” You set Jack’s mask back down and turned around, “Where’s Vaughn?” Rhys set the bag with your clothes down next to your bed, “He’s getting us food. Figured you were sick of hospital food so I had him get us takeout.” You smiled and walked over to your bed, “Thank you.” Rhys nodded, “How did you get my stuff so fast?” You kneeled down and looked through the bag he brought, “Fast travel stations and lots of speed walking.” He laughed quietly. You stood up and gave him a hug, “Thank you. I really appreciate it.” He hugged you back, “Of course.”
Vaughn got back with the takeout after a bit and Rhys walked you to the cafeteria so you could all eat together. Outside food wasn’t allowed in hospital rooms, at least not in the room you were staying in.
-
A couple days had passed and Jack still hadn’t woken up. If not for the heart monitor, you would’ve thought he had died. You were sitting next to his bed, holding his hand and talking to him. You were in the middle of telling him about something cool you could do with your new arm that Rhys had told you about when he squeezed your hand. You froze and looked at him. You were too busy talking and looking at your arm to notice that he was awake and staring at you the whole time. “Oh my..oh my god.” You panicked for a second before pressing the call button. A couple nurses and a doctor had come in and noticed that he was awake. You backed off while they worked but still tried to watch. They had taken his face bandages off a day ago, so they took the rest off. He still had a few bandages on his stomach and chest, where the bullet holes still hadn't fully healed. They checked his heartbeat and breathing, and anything else they needed to before leaving. You stood next to his bed and looked at him for a few seconds before leaning down and hugging him. You couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. You felt him wrap his arms around you as much as he could. He put one hand on your back and one on your head. He would never admit it, but Jack was crying with you. You stayed in the position for a few more minutes before you stood up and wiped your tears. Jack tried to sit up but you stopped him and sat on the bed next to him, “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re alive.” He smiled, “Me too.” He tugged on your arm and you laid down next to him. You laid on your right side and put your hand on his chest, tracing random patterns. He put his left arm around you and hugged you as close as he could.
“So…” He spoke up quietly, “What happened?” You sighed and laid your head on his shoulder, “Well, I’m not sure about what happened before I got there, but when I did, you were laying on the ground, covered in blood and half-dead. Lilith was there. I tried to shoot her but one of the other Vault Hunters there shot my arm off, so I was only able to use my left one. Everything else is a blur, but before I teleported us out of there…I summoned the Warrior.” You didn’t have to look to know that Jack was smiling proudly, “I don’t know what happened to Lilith and the others but I don’t care. I’m just glad I was able to get us out of there in time.” He kissed the top of your head, “Thank you, Y/N.” You snuggled up to his side and closed your eyes, “You’re welcome.”
Jack closed his eyes as well, and you both ended up falling asleep. After a day or so, you and Jack were discharged from the hospital. Due to his injuries, Jack had to resign as CEO of Hyperion. Despite his protests, the board had still forced him to step down.
A few weeks later, you, Rhys, and Vaughn were helping Jack clean out his office. “Wait a minute,” Everyone looked at Rhys, “You own Atlas?” Jack nodded, “Yeah..kinda forgot about that, though.” Rhys looked at the framed certificate in hand, “Well..why don’t we all just run Atlas together?” Jack scoffed, “Just hear me out for a minute, Jack and Y/N are out of jobs currently and I kind of hate mine. What’s the point of staying on Helios if you have no job? And, I mean, also, what’s the point of owning a company if you aren’t gonna do anything with it?” You shrugged, “He has a good point.” Jack shook his head, “No. I am not running a company with you guys. No offense, Y/N.” You walked up to Rhys and took the certificate from him, “I don’t know, Jack. It sounds fun.” Rhys smiled and spoke again, “Yeah! Vaughn could be head of finances, Y/N could be head of military, and Jack could be in charge of gun sales, or whatever.”
“Wait, why am I not the CEO? Aren’t I the one that actually owns it?” You handed the certificate back to Rhys and walked over to Jack, “Come on, Jack. It sounds fun.” You got on your knees and put your hands together, “Everyone agrees but you. Right, Vaughn?” You looked at Vaughn, “Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m totally on board.” You looked back at Jack and shook your hands, “Come on, don’t be a buzzkill. Pleasee? Plus, you were forced to step down for a reason. I think Rhys would be great at running a company.” Jack looked at you, then Rhys, then back at you and sighed, “Fine.” You shot up off of your feet and hugged him, “Great!” You pulled back, “Now let’s finish this before they yell at us.”