Borderlands: Unnatural selection

I must admit that I am a bit insane. I was, am and always will be an adrenaline junkie. Don't go trying to reason about it or explain it away or anything like that, I long ago gave up on the same. I remember that first rush, the danger sending my instincts into hyperdrive and giving me that GOOD shit. I was like seven and some odd months and my family went to the beach. Thing is this beach had a bridge that went real far out and was a good maybe fifteen feet up.-

It was pretty popular to jump from said bridge and like most gullible children that young I was easily talked into giving it the old american go. It was the height and the recognition in my underdeveloped mind that I, a flightless creature, was not meant to be this far up and the instinctual conflict that occurs as a result that gave me that first taste of the good stuff. I've tried all sorts of drugs in the years since to try and find anything like it but nothing comes close. The thrill of being in danger and getting by with the skin of your teeth was the only high I could crave, the rest were lacking in comparison.-

We adrenaline junkies are a crazy bunch willing to do all sorts of things that the rest of the population looks at and goes "fuck that noise!". Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane, off the side of buildings, bridges and mountains. Me though? My best highs came from fighting. I started bar fights, fought in underground arenas and even had a stint as a MMA fighter for a couple years before the safety measures started to get in the way of my high.-

That was when my rich buddy, Jake, also an adrenaline junkie, told me about wild fighting. The idea was so very simple and while not exactly harmless gave a rush like no other. The premise was simply that you go camping in areas with naturally aggressive or predatorial animals except rather than avoid them you seek them out. I personally wasn't a fan of baiting the animals but sometimes it was necessary to get them to fight. Now obviously humans aren't meant to win in most matchups with an animal so to make things more fair you wear leather clothes and have brass knuckles.-

The leather helps you take hits from claws and teeth much like most animals would normally and the brass knuckles added a little extra bite to your punches that believe me you will need. My first wild fight was a bobcat and I got cut to ribbons even with the clothes but I had never felt so alive after I fought it off. From there I had moved to more and more dangerous things until the present day came and I was camping in grizzly country during mating season.-

My clothes were reinforced and my knuckles spiked this time because there was a zero percent chance of success otherwise.

"Hey mate you sure about this? Grizzlies ain't a joke, only ever heard of one other guy fightin one and limping away afterwards. A single solid hit on you and one of those things'll crush you at best or rip you apart at worse even with that armor." Jake my rich buddy said through my sat phone.

"I appreciate you looking out for me man but you know me, if I die fighting a Grizzly I'll go with a smile on my face and it's blood on my fists." I said with a grin.

"I'll be sure to put that on your tombstone. Still you know how this goes, three days and if I don't hear from you a team gets sent to recover whats left, dead or alive. I would prefer the former but your chances don't look great mate. I'll chase the buzz with the best of 'em but as your good buddy I gotta at least try and convince you not to go through with this, you say the word and I'll have you up in a heli in thirty, no judgements added." Jake said seriously.

"A solid offer man and tempting too since I don't actually want to die but you know me, I'll never run from a good fight." I said honestly.

"I know, you've got my best mate, give 'em hell." Jake said before hanging up and the hunt was on.

My supplies for this fight were simple, a suit of reinforced leather armor, my dusters, a first aid kit, two days of food and water, a female grizzlies pheromones in spray form and my sat phone. I opened my bag and put the sat phone away before grabbing the pheromones. I spritzed some on a nearby tree and started my hike out from my basecamp spritzing the trees as I went for about five miles in every direction before heading back to camp.-

'With as much as I used if theres a male around he'll find me long before I find him.' I thought as I sat near the scent marked tree to wait.

The first day was bunk as there was no sign of any male moving through but I was patient and didn't make the rookie mistake of double marking the area. Most would think flooding an area with pheromone would be the best option but I learned from experience that it can confuse a male as well if theres too much scent.-

See most animals leave trails rather than blankets of scent so if everywhere is covered by the scent the male will aimlessly wander around since he doesn't know where to go to find the source. This not only makes him frustrated but if you don't constantly check your marked area will frustrate you as well when he never shows. What I did instead was create a bunch of scent trails that all led to my base camp.-

Naturally this meant I was constantly on high alert for anything out of place. Unfortunately grizzlies are much more stealthy than expected so I never saw it coming when the big scarred male showed up into the night and got the drop on me. One moment I was investigating a sound and waiting and the next I was in this dark place without any light after a sudden feeling of wet and hot breath on my neck. I wasn't mad that I was dead, I was furious that I didn't get a chance to fight back though.

I was about to start wondering what came next when a blinding light appeared out of nowhere in the shape of a man.

"That is where I come in actually. Yes I did read your mind and nice try but I won't deign to acknowledge your pathetic attempts to get me to stop." the thing/maybe god said with an amused tone.

I tried to speak but nothing came out which was both startling and confusing since this being obviously could.

"I could spend the next few minutes I have with you to explain how a mortal soul like yours being compared to a divine soul like mine is literally not even possible and why I have more privilege's in this dimensional void than you as a result or I can explain where you are going since you died and I get to choose. And no going back is not an option, not for you anyways." The definitely sounding more like a god thing said casually.

'Ah well shit, there goes that request. Do I get any special stuff where I am going?' I thought since that was clearly the only way I could "speak".

"I'm glad you asked! See I have this hobby involving a bunch of different versions of you, Alexander Drake, getting sent to different fictional worlds to serve as my entertainment with your out of the ordinary gifts that I give you. Before you ask yes the multiverse is real and yes there are an infinite number of you's for me to pluck the souls out of and send to other realities, had this exact conversation three times with a version of you in fact." the definitely eldritch horror said calmly.

'Okay a lot to process there but I suppose I should ask what gift I am getting? No wait! Where am I going?' I questioned with my mind racing to try and remember what was guaranteed death and what I had a genuine chance to thrive in from all fiction I knew.

"You can relax since I believe in leaving at least a chance of survival and not insurmountable odds like say the Warhammer or Darksiders universes. You are going to be sent to a place that I imagine will fit you like a glove you never knew you needed until you got it, Borderlands. Specifically a year before the start of the series in fact and right to Fyrestone when the original four vault hunters show up there." The absolutely an elder god said.

'Wait! You said that I wouldn't be put up against insurmountable odds but that universe is a fucking death sentence where everyone and everything wants to kill you and does when you are playing!' I protested mentally.

"Oh I'd hardly call it a death sentence, difficult sure but certainly survivable if you play your cards right. If anything that universe is teeming with opportunities for vast amounts of growth and even possible godhood if you take the right steps and open the right vaults. Of course you won't know what or where those are exactly but the idea stands. And of course that doesn't even include whatever gift you choose." The bright lord said.

'I can choose!?' I mentally exclaimed in shock as I had thought I had no say in this sort of thing.

"Well yes and no. See the rules of this kinda thing, yes there are rules and no I won't tell you exactly what they are, state that I have trade with you to give you a gift. Memories, handicaps, gender and pretty much anything that you as an individual have of value or potential is yours to trade for your gift. Otherwise I give you a small mundane low potential buff and boot you to your new life. The more valuable the thing you trade the better the gift and as an important note if it is powerful right off the rip it costs way more than if it has the potential to become just as if not more powerful if you put in the effort, it's a balance thing don't ask." The one above all said seriously.

This was a very important choice for me to make so naturally I wanted to take my time contemplating what would be the best option.

"Forgot to mention it but you only have ten minutes to decide before I have no choice but to boot you to your next life. I suggest thinking about what you want to give up so I can make offers on them." Allah said clearly enjoying the panic it's words brought me.

'I would say all my memories but at that point I might as well just be an NPC from that place to begin with. Also something tells me that gives you the right to fuck with my personality via those memories and I'd rather not. What about all the knowledge I have on that universe and blurring any personal memories from my time on Earth, family, friends, people or places that sort of thing?' I thought seriously.