Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Maya wasn’t quite sure what to make of Krieg. There were moments when he seemed almost human. Those moments were usually shattered by him raving about meat bicycles but the fact that they even happened was a miracle. She caught him looking in the distance, eye unfocused but calm, muscles relaxed instead of twitching at every sound. Sometimes he’d shrug, instead of threaten to rip out someones entrails and wear them as a scarf, when asked a question. On one occasion he had simply waved off an offer of assistance rather than shriek that he was overflowing with red.

He hadn’t been working with the team long. They’d found him outside of Sanctuary just before racing off to Tundra Express. She quickly had to talk down the other Vault Hunters from shooting him on sight. They had been very surprised when he shouted, “PRETTY LADY!” at her and didn’t immediately try to sever her head from her body. He’d helped them hijack the Hyperion train. Though his help was not easy for the team. His inclination to run straight at the enemy with the intent to hack them to pieces bothered Axton and Zer0. They preferred some semblance of tactics in their assaults. Maya had convinced them to work around Krieg’s berserk style. At least he and Tina seemed to get along pretty well. The little demolitions expert liked his raving about death trinkets.

As the group of Vault Hunters searched for the train car with the vault key he was unusually calm. Rather than stomping his stride was smooth and quiet. Even more surprising was the fact that his buzz saw stayed strapped to his back rather than constantly moving through his fiddling fingers.

“That should be it,” Axton said, pointing to a train car half buried in snow.

“Well let’s grab it and get out of here,” Gaige huffed, still shivering from the cold.

“I told you to bring a coat,” Maya sighed, adjusting her own jacket. The only ones unaffected by the chill were Krieg and Zer0. She supposed the assassin could have some super high tech bodysuit but Krieg… he didn’t even have a shirt and wasn’t shivering in the slightest. Gaige was muttering under her breath about not needing a mother when everything went sideways. Wilhelm burst from the train car in a rain of metal shards and turned his gaze to the team.

“Holy sh-” Gaige breathed but was cut off by Axton.

“Get behind the shield,” he ordered, tossing out his turret. Zer0 vanished but the rest of the Vault Hunters huddled beneath the relative safety of the shield. “We need to divide his attention. Spread out and try to keep him in the middle of the field by harassing him until he turns to someone else.” Everyone nodded tensely, aside from Krieg. He had a pep talk for them,

“I WILL PULL YOUR LUNGS OUT AND RIP THEM TO RED PIECES” That really got Wilhelm’s attention. Krieg dashed across the snow field, his charge directed right at the mechanical monstrosity. Axton used that moment to urge the Vault Hunters into position. He’d quickly learned to make use of Krieg’s insanity. Just before Krieg leaped a sniper round blasted through Wilhelm’s shield, dazing him and giving the Psycho a perfect opportunity. Krieg smashed his buzz saw into the pistons on the robotic shoulders of his adversary. Wilhelm recovered quickly and tossed Krieg off but the Psycho continued to harry his legs with blows from his saw.

The rest of the team fired at Wilhelm’s body. Axton laid suppressing fire with the help of his turret, Salvador unloaded his two assault rifles, Zer0 continued to snipe from afar, Gaige sent in her robot to help Krieg, and Maya peppered the cyborg loader with her SMG. Things were working in their favor… until he started digistructing some friends.

Axton and Zer0 focused on the surveyors to prevent Wilhelm from recovering. Maya and Gaige turned their attacks to the spawned loaders, phase locking and gunning them down as fast as they could. Salvador kept firing at Wilhelm, prompting the enforcer to turn and leap in his direction. The gunzerker strafed just in time to avoid getting crushed by the mechanical legs. Zer0 took the opportunity to short Wilhelm’s shields with an electrified bullet once the surveyors were down. Krieg jumped onto the back of the loader and attempted to dig his fingers into Wilhelm’s eye sockets. Jack’s lackey screamed and jumped again, throwing Krieg clear… and off the cliff behind him.

“Krieg!” Maya shouted. She was about to race over when Wilhelm went berserk, his robotic eye malfunctioning horribly as he thrashed every which way. There was no chance of her going anywhere near him, or the cliff. The Vault Hunters kept firing, but it was difficult to hit any vulnerable areas with their target moving so erratically. Wilhelm didn’t calm but he did seem to get some of his bearings back, he demonstrated this by jumping over to Gaige, forcing her to flee behind another train car. He attacked Axton next, who managed to yank his turret out of the way and take cover behind a spur of ice. Maya was his target after the commando and she barely managed to escape his stomp. She had hoped he’d focus on someone else but instead the enforcer kept after her, swinging his loader arms with fierce speed. One of those would probably punch through her shields and her body. In desperation Maya phase locked Wilhelm. It would only last for a moment but she needed any time she could get. The instant she was clear several corrosive grenades landed at his feet and detonated. Wilhelm staggered like a drunk, reeling from the damage to his robotic exoskeleton.

“I’m out!” Gaige yelled across the battlefield as their enemy struggled to maintain his balance under their fire.

“Only two clips left for me,” Salvador answered.

“My bullets are few, we must take him down quickly, or die in the snow,” Zer0 ECHOed in.

“Hell,” Axton swore, “is anyone not low on ammo?”

“YOU WOKE THE WRONG DOG” was the only answer. Krieg hauled himself over the edge of the cliff clutching his buzz saw tightly, the teeth coated with ice. His body was battered but still standing. The Psycho switched the melee weapon for his unused shotgun and blasted Wilhelm with the corrosive rounds. A few more grenades from the rest of the team and the enforcer fell, screaming.

“I RELISH YOUR AGONY” Krieg shouted, right before face planting in the snow.

~

Get up. Come on, you’ve taken beatings worse that this. “Shut up,” Krieg groaned quietly.

“Look who’s finally awake,” Maya said.. Look who saved you, the pretty lady. Now thank her.

“Not enough red,” the Psycho muttered.

“Yeah, a healing hypo will only get you so far. You fell off a cliff, take it easy.” A memory, unbidden, flashed to the front of his mind. ‘Take it easy’ said a man in a lab coat, ‘you’ll get paid once the trials are over’.

“NO EASY. ONLY SCREAMS AND FLESH. STRANGLE THEIR THROATS, EAT THEIR FACES,” Krieg shrieked, sitting up sharply despite the immediate protests from his aching body. She’s not one of those white coats. She’s a friend and wants to help. “NO HELP EITHER. JUST KNIFE TASTERS AND FLESH BAGS.” He turned his head to see her and saw the raw confusion on her face.

“Okay then, just… don’t do anything rash. You need time to heal.” She walked back to the others who were huddled around a small fire. They’d camped in one of the derailed train cars. All of the Vault hunters were watching him warily. Can you blame them? You’re out of your mind and ranting about killing things. Just breathe for a bit. And lay down. Some of those ribs are definitely broken. The wild part of Krieg growled at the orders but followed the advice. What was that memory? I don’t recognize the place. It had to be just before you took over. A lot of memories are missing from that time. Meh, puzzle pieces. I never liked puzzles.

“We couldn’t fast travel while he was injured,” Maya said. Krieg was finally calm enough to tune into the conversation the Vault Hunters were having.

“Can he move yet?” Axton asked.

“He’s got broken ribs and plenty of other injuries. The hypos helped but he’s still in rough shape.”

“Just get him back to the Doc in Sanctuary,” Gaige huffed.

“Not a good idea,” Maya frowned. “Roland doesn't want him inside the walls. Plus I doubt he’d allow anyone to see to his medical needs.”

“NO WHITE COATS,” Krieg interjected.

“I think that settles that,” Salvador said.

“Tina probably has some hypos, we can send a few people to collect anything she can give us,” Axton suggested.

“It’s better than sitting around here,” Gaige agreed.

“I’ll stay with Krieg,” Maya said. “He seems calmer when he’s taken a beating but even so…”

“He likes you the most,” Axton said with a nod. “You’re probably the safest from him.”

“I will also stay,” Zer0 said.

“Okay, me, Gaige, and Salvador will see what Tina has and be back soon,” Axton said. The three Vault Hunters, plus Gaige’s killer robot, headed back the way they’d come. The inside of the train car was silent, aside from Krieg’s slight shuffling as he tried to find a comfortable way to rest with all his injuries. His inner voice was still gnawing on the memory, trying to place it in the blank space between who he used to be and the monster he’d become. Maybe it’s a clue to why we’re… like this. Trials… some sort of experiment gone horribly wrong? He snorted aloud. Yeah, it would take something that messed up to make whatever the hell we are.

“You okay?” Maya asked, the need to fill the silence apparent in her voice. Krieg grunted. He couldn’t talk straight, not without it turning into something psychotic. Basic grunting and shrugging? That he could do. “Did you fall all the way down?” A tiny shake of the head. Progress. “So you caught yourself with the buzz saw and then climbed?” Krieg made a soft ‘mm’ noise. “No wonder your arm looks terrible. I had to stick in back in the socket. It was awful.” He turned his head so he could really see her with his one eye. The siren was fidgeting, clearly shaken by the battle. It hadn’t been pretty, sure, but they’d seen worse. The only difference was that he’d almost died. She’d cried out when he’d gone over… She cares. The realization was surprising. He was a mixed up monster with homicidal tendencies by all appearances. Had she somehow seen through the Psycho and figured there was a man down there? Of course not, idiot. You’re reaching and you know it. Beautiful sirens don’t watch crazed maniacs close enough to see any sign of intelligence… if there are any outward signs. Don’t overplay her concern.

“No more cyborg,” he stated firmly, with only an edge of madness in his voice.

“Yeah, that guy was nuts. Who wants to be half robot right? That’s messed up. Then again Jack probably made him do it.” Krieg growled at the mention of Jack, still unsure of why he had that reaction. “Amen to that. He’s going down.”

“Strip his flesh,” the Psycho grumbled.

“And salt his wounds,” Maya answered. The wild side of Krieg perked up at that. She was speaking his language. “Yeah, you’re a little predictable with that. Maybe mix up the crazy more.”

“I’ll bathe in his meat chunks” Krieg hissed.

“That’s a new one, good work.” The Psycho side of Krieg was warming up to this Siren. Good, more reason to not kill her. She understands you. Remember that. They lapsed into silence again, this time more comfortably. Perhaps he could help the Vault Hunters, so long as Maya was around to keep him closer to sanity and vouch for his actions.

Chapter Text

Before the Vault Hunters could travel back to Sanctuary they had to make one quick stop.  Roland had forbade Krieg from entering the heart of the resistance until he showed a little more control over his blood thirst.  Instead they planned to drop him off at the Happy Pig Motel in Three Horns Valley.  He was still recovering, albeit very quickly, from his tumble over the cliff.  Maya still felt bad about leaving him behind.

"What if those bandits from Split Skull Bay find him here?" she asked.

"I think he'll be alright," Axton muttered. "He's got that nasty ax thing and a shotgun."

"He keeps passing out though, that could get him killed.  You know how dangerous this place is."

"Fine," the commando snapped, "then stay here with him.  We'll get the damn power core to Sanctuary and let you know where we're headed next."  He stormed out of the small, and still bloodstained, room.  Maya heard the soft woosh of the fast travel station as the others left.

"My head hurts," Krieg muttered quietly.  Maya had been surprised how subdued he'd become after taking a knock like that.  She'd seen him nearly die in combat, go into a psychotic rage, and come out of it looking none the worse for wear.  It was creepy how killing things seemed to heal him.  She paused at that thought.  Her siren powers allowed her to lock enemies into another dimension.  She could hardly go around judging the creepiness of anyone else's skills.

“I'll grab another hypo. You should be back on your feet soon considering how fast those bruises disappeared,” she commented. Krieg was slumped against the wall, eye closed and body relaxed. Even though he wasn't being cagey the siren didn't feel comfortable walking up to him and jamming a needle in his arm. She would have to approach carefully and make sure he was okay with her assistance...

~

Krieg was finally starting to feel like he wasn't going to fall apart. Usually when he was injured he could go berserk, slaughter some enemies and feel better. But he hadn't been able to do that after Wilhelm. One on one fights weren't his area of expertise. The more things he had to kill, the happier he was. Maya's soft footsteps brought him back to the present. She'd stayed to make sure he was safe... She has a maternal nature. Don't get ahead of yourself. Wild Krieg had nothing to say on the topic. His inner voice was simply trying to be cynical.

“Hey,” the siren said softly. Krieg opened his one eye and locked gazes with her. “I need to... stab this into your arm. Unless you'd rather do it, I understand...” She trailed off awkwardly. Don't screw this up. I know I said it's her maternal nature but let her. Be human damnit. He slowly lifted his arm, not to take the hypo but to allow her to administer it. The wild side of him felt at odds with this behavior but the saner side of Krieg had it under control for the moment.

Maya dropped her eyes from his to focus on the task at hand. She reached out carefully and touched his bicep. To his credit he didn't flinch, instead he focused on the softness of her hand. She was getting calluses from all the fighting but there was still some of the delicate texture left. Maya got a better grip on his arm before carefully inserting the needle. She pushed the red liquid into his veins and finally looked up again. Krieg had watched her careful concentration, the way her forehead furrowed just a bit when she had focused on finding a vein. Now her gray eyes were soft again, and searching his. He wanted to show her that there was something in there. That he wasn't completely ruled by a psychotic personality. The only sound was the soft breeze through the valley and Krieg felt completely at peace.

Slowly, worried that he'd startle her, Krieg moved his other hand next to Maya's. He was waiting for the Psycho to get bored and scream about killing puppies but the calm persisted. Krieg moved his hand a little closer, so that they touched. The siren glanced down for a moment but returned his stare. Come on, say something! Say thank you. Tell her she's beautiful. His jaw worked for a moment, trying to find words that weren't full of blood and death. The words wouldn't come. His tongue was made of lead.

“Krieg,” Maya started to say, but an explosion shattered the serenity of the moment. The Psycho in Krieg was awakened and growled just as Maya's ECHO pinged.

“The power core was a ruse, get to Sanctuary now!” Roland's voice boomed through the communicator.

“What about-” Maya began again.

“Bring him. Just get over here fast. We've got more orbital bombardments incoming!” The channel clicked and went silent.

“C'mon,” Maya ordered, “looks like we're moving out.” Krieg followed her out of the motel room, rolling his shoulders. He was practically back to his usual, invulnerable feeling self. The siren punched a few keys on the Catch-A-Ride and spawned an Outrunner. “I doubt their fast travel station is working so we drive. Man the turret.” Krieg hopped into the gunner seat and Maya laid on the gas. He couldn't suppress the manic laughter at the rush of speed. They sped through the valley and headed towards Three Horns Divide. The two Vault Hunters could see the Hyperion satellite raining destruction on Sanctuary once they cleared the bend to the raider's base.

The gate was already open and Maya had no intention of braking until they were inside. The vehicle skidded inside the city, narrowly missing an explosive blast from the sky. Krieg followed Maya's lead, feeling utterly lost in the winding streets of Sanctuary. The siren nearly tripped over Axton on their way to the square.

“Axton, what the hell-” Maya exclaimed.

“I'm priming the ignition for the city's engines, we need to get airborne,” he explained. “Gaige is getting the third one and Scooter is working on the second. Get to the square.” Maya nodded tensely before running toward the center of town. Krieg kept close to her, feeling jittery from all the explosions and screaming.

“Maya, did you make it?” Roland's voice asked through her ECHO.

“Yes, we're here,” she answered.

“Good. A blast hit the head quarters and I'm stuck digging through rubble. I need you to get to the store room upstairs and get Lilith the eridium she needs to get this city moving. Those engines aren't going to cut it.”

“On it. This way, Krieg.” They passed Lilith on their way to the raider's HQ. She was glowing with siren power, trying to help the struggling engines lift the mining ship. Maya only gave her fellow siren a passing glance in her hurry. They also flew by Tannis, who was sitting calmly at her desk and carefully rearranging her folders every time a blast jarred them from their neat order.

They made it to the store room, just in time to get a front row seat to the orbital blast that took out all of the back wall and most of the floor. Maya's momentum from running up the stairs sent her out into open space. Krieg quickly grabbed the door frame with one arm and stretched his wing span to catch Maya. He wrapped one arm securely around her waist and pulled her back to safety. She stood there for a long moment, hands pressed against his chest and breathing hard. Krieg looked down to make sure she was alright... and then realized exactly what had happened. He'd saved her. And now she was in his arms, er arm, staring up at him. Oh. That was the only thought he could manage. She looked even more radiant up close and with wide eyes. Krieg was frozen.

“Uh,” she breathed, then more seriously, “we need the eridium.”

“Right,” Krieg said quietly before letting his arm drop. Wait. I did that. I spoke! Hell yeah I can talk! Maya's eyes went even wider in disbelief. “FEED THE FIRE LADY THE PURPLE POWER ROCKS!” She jumped back, thankfully onto solid ground, at his exclamation. You have to ruin everything, don't you?

Maya grabbed the eridium nuggets from the charred safe and the pair ran back to the main square. Roland was busy ushering the citizens into the bombardment shelters so it was just the six Vault Hunters in the square with Lilith. Once Maya handed her the eridium Lilith's aura glowed even brighter and the city began to lift into the air. With one last surge of power Sanctuary teleported out of Hyperion's reach... but also sent the team to another part of Pandora.

Chapter Text

Getting through the Fridge had been pretty easy now that Krieg was back to his bandit murdering self. Maya had even caught Axton breathing a sigh of relief when the Psycho carved his way through a particularly large pack of rats.

“Nice way to save on ammo,” Salvador admitted. Sure, every now and then they'd have to shoot something but with most the rats running straight into Krieg's buzz saw they were given the opportunity to relax a little.

“The way out should be just ahead,” Maya said, looking at her ECHO's map. The six vault hunters stepped out of the cold confines of the Fridge and into the Highlands Outwash. When they reached the dam a mass of loaders, lead by one EXP loader, came racing their way. Krieg looked ready to leap forward and engage them but Maya could see that Zer0 was lining up a shot. “Wait,” she said gently, touching the Psycho's arm. He stilled instantly. A sniper round struck the EXP loader's CPU and the robot exploded, taking all the other loaders with it.

~

See? There is this thing called strategy. Had you barreled into that loader the assassin wouldn't have been able to take them all out neatly. And it might have exploded on you. Psycho Krieg grunted. Loaders weren't as fun to kill anyway. Their blood didn't sing at all.

“The gate is ahead, as are many enemies, we need a good plan,” Zer0 rhythmically stated.

“The tower inside should make a good sniping position,” Axton offered.

“Plenty of crates to duck behind inside,” Salvador said. “Not the first time I've fought through a shipping yard, amigos.” Zer0 disappeared the moment they made it through the gates. The Hyperion forces quickly noticed their unwelcome guests and started firing. Krieg focused more on the engineers, his blood lust demanding he kill something with actual blood. The team quickly dispatched all the loaders and headed toward the lunar supply beacon.

“We need to hurry. They'll digistruct more loaders soon-” Axton was interrupted by a thresher emerging from the ground. The giant worm swallowed the beacon and turned its hungry gaze to the Vault Hunters.

“HERE COME THE BAD TIMES,” Krieg yelled, charging at the thresher. He quickly had to change tactics as the beast tried to eat him. Don't get close idiot, that thing isn't something you can hack to bits. Use your shotgun and keep its attention. Krieg begrudging switched weapons and blasted the worm with corrosive rounds. Fire would be better but we work with what we've got. Zer0 clearly had the same idea as incendiary rounds struck the creature's eyes in rapid succession. The thresher thrashed in agony. As the monster shook more loaders poured in through the gates.

Axton and his turret took out most of the robots but a few made it past him. Gaige and Deathtrap attacked another group of loaders, but one EXP loader ran right for Krieg. The Psycho was too focused on unloading rounds into the gluttonous thresher and heard the whirring of machinery too late. He turned sharply to blast the robot but he had used all the bullets in the chamber already. So this is how we die...

“FREEZE!” May shouted, phase locking the EXP loader before it could detonate. And you owe her your life... again. Learn how to say thank you. Krieg jumped back from the currently harmless robot just in time for the thresher to eat it. The monster turned its attention to the Psycho again, roaring in triumph. Then it exploded. Technically only the top most part of the neck was demolished as it hadn't swallowed thoroughly. The beast's head had gone flying but the rest of it was collapsed in front of him. Well we're already covered in thresher guts, might as well fish out the beacon. The Psycho walked over to the cavernous opening that was the monster's neck. The soft pinging of the beacon could be heard. Ug, this thing has weird neck sphincters. With his long arms Krieg could barely reach the device. He pulled it out and tried to shake off the gore.

“Dude, you look like thresher vomit,” Gaige said with a laugh.

“I LOOKED INTO THE HEART OF DARKNESS, AND I ATE IT ALL,” Kreig replied.

“Then you got some heart of darkness on your face there,” Gaige teased.

“Well Angel says we're headed to Overlook, hopefully we cross a river on the way,” Axton said.

“Still not sure why we're trusting her anymore,” Salvador huffed.

“Our options are pretty limited,” Axton said with a sigh. “We can debate her betrayal when we get back to Sanctuary.”

~

They stopped when they found water. Krieg dutifully trudged into the river and started scraping the gunk off his skin. Maya could hear Axton planning their next move with the rest of the team but she studied Krieg instead of tuning in. Out of combat his motions were seeming less and less psychotic. She wouldn't think a psycho would make any sort of 'euch' sound when dealing with someone else's guts like this... but Krieg muttered something similar on several occasions. He glanced back once and Maya pretended like she was looking past him to their destination. After he turned his back to her the Psycho removed his mask.

Maya was startled. She had wondered if he could go without it at all. But he had slid it to the top of his head while he splashed water on his face. She heard him hiss in pain but he continued to wash regardless. The siren supposed some of the gore must have gotten past the mask, he had been right there for the explosion. Krieg removed the mask altogether and cleaned the inside of it, proving her theory. Too quickly the mask was back in place. He adjusted the straps to their regular tight fit and turned around. Maya knew it was obvious she'd been watching. Krieg held her gaze for a moment before walking out of the stream.

“Not pretty,” he said quietly as he passed her, in reference to his face. Maya wanted to say something but Axton was yelling about burning daylight so they were on the move again. The siren had been hoping that they'd get to Overlook, place the beacon and be on their merry way back to Sanctuary. It wasn't that simple.

Loaders were falling from the sky as Jack tried to stop them from setting up the fast travel link. It wasn't so bad at first. She'd phase lock one, shoot others, and they'd have enough time between waves to reload. The arrival of a constructor changed that. It digistructed reinforcements quickly. Those, plus the loaders falling from the sky, were getting tough to handle.

“That constructor has got to go,” she yelled, phase locking it again to try an interrupt the machine's creation of more robots. “I've still got some corrosive grenades, I just need a moment.”

“Here's your moment,” Axton shouted, tossing down his turret. The loaders focused on the shielded gun and gave her enough time to throw the rest of her grenades. That thinned out the ranks considerably but she couldn't get a clear shot at the constructor's weak point: its eye.

“THERE'S NO FENCE ON THIS FENCE,” Krieg screamed, launching himself at the huge machine. The other Vault Hunters took down the loaders around him to keep the Psycho free to beat on the constructor.

“The eye, Krieg,” Maya called, “hit it in the giant orange eye!” He jumped down in front of the eye and reeled his buzz saw back like a base ball bat.

“Now, GO TO SLEEP,” he ordered before slamming his melee weapon into the glowing orb. The constructor whirred unpleasantly and began to shudder.

“It's going to self destruct!” Gaige warned. Krieg didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted away from the hulking robot and ducked behind cover. A satisfying boom shook the ground. When Maya looked up the constructor was a few chunks of metal and a small crater.

“Fast travel station calibrated,” the lunar beacon chirped.

“Finally. It only took how many threats?” Salvador asked.

“Well cutting off life support is a pretty big deal,” Gaige said. “Hard restarting that is rough... if you live long enough to.”

“Duly noted,” Maya said with a sigh. “Let's get back. After all this mayhem I want to sleep.”

“Amen to that,” Axton said. “It's been a long day. Betrayals really suck.”

Chapter Text

Their arrival in Sanctuary wasn't a cheery affair. Everyone had been shaken by the events of the past few hours. The reveal that Angel was working for Jack, having their Sanctuary bombarded, and making the city fly made for a rough day. Zed was working overtime patching people up after all the explosions that had hit the city.

Maya watched Krieg as they walked out into the square. The only other time he'd been here Jack had been raining death from above. The Psycho was a little twitchy, his neck moving in a bird like fashion as he took in the city. She kept close to him as the team made their way to the Raider's HQ. Krieg seemed nervous despite the lack of bombs falling from the sky. They passed Tannis, who was sitting at her desk as usual. The crazy scientist studied the Psycho as the walked by. Maya worried what kinds of mad thoughts were running through her twisted brain. The siren made a mental note to never let the woman be alone with Krieg. She'd probably try to take blood samples and that wouldn't end well.

“We trusted Angel and now we find out she's working for Jack,” Roland's voice carried down the stairs. “Who knows how else she misled us.”

“She did tell us the vault was full of loot,” Lilith said dryly.

“Sorry we're late,” Axton said as the group entered. “We got a little side tracked with getting you guys back on the map.”

“Good work soldier, but we've got more problems than we started with now.” Roland sighed heavily. “And we have no idea how to find the Vault Key.”

“I can help with that,” Angel said through the room's speakers.

“Damnit, I told you never to contact us again,” Roland seethed.

“The Vault Key is with me. I'm charging it,” Angel stated.

“Continue.”

“It recharges naturally over 200 years but Jack is speeding up the process by using eridium and my power. It won't be easy to get to my AI core though...” As Angel listed the three impossible hurdles Maya felt herself slump. This was going to be difficult. When Roland said he had a way past the first obstacle, however, she was intrigued.

“What do we need out in the preserve?” Gaige asked.

“Mordecai will brief you when you get there,” Roland said.

“How about after a good nights sleep?” Maya asked. “We've been running around all day. Even Zer0's tired.” The assassin had been leaning against a wall, z's flicking across his helmet display.

“You kids get some rest,” Lilith said. “Head out tomorrow after you've stocked up on ammo. The preserve isn't a very nice place.”

“And Pandora is just full of those,” Axton muttered. The six Vault Hunters headed downstairs to the bunk beds. Though there were only four beds it didn't really matter. Zer0 always disappeared when it was time to hit the hay, and there was no way Krieg would fit on the tiny mattress. Gaige sat on one of the lower bunks, fiddling with her mechanical arm. Salvador collapsed on the other and was soon snoring. Maya envied his ability to fall asleep so fast. Krieg stood awkwardly to the side, clearly at a loss. She'd have to find somewhere for him to sleep. Maya waved him over and walked out the door. There were quite a few empty houses in Sanctuary now, she tried not to think about why, so it wouldn't be too hard to find somewhere for Krieg to stay.

~

Krieg followed Maya, not sure what else to do. The Vault hunters wouldn't want him anywhere near where they slept, considering that he sometimes woke up in a panic and could hurt someone. She walked to an open door and peeked inside. The siren waved him over again and he followed. The house was empty and the bloodstains said it wasn't going to have anyone returning. By the look of it someone had been walking out the door when they got hit by one of the explosions. The furniture inside had been tossed around but most of it was salvageable. The place even had two mattresses. Finally we won't have to curl up to sleep.

“Make yourself at home,” Maya said. Krieg pushed everything aside save the mattresses and laid those end to end. “Ah, must be difficult finding anything tall enough for you,” she said with a smile. This is one of those times that you need to say thank you. I know you can. Or just let me do it. I've proved I can take over... He still couldn't make the words come, no matter how hard he tried. “Well I'll come get you when we're set to leave,” Maya said with a yawn. “Sleep well.” No! Damnit, I can do this. I gotta do something! Krieg reached out and touched Maya's hand as she turned to leave. She stopped and met his eye. He felt nervous under her scrutiny and looked away. The siren gently took his hand, prompting him to return her gaze. “You're welcome,” she said softly, and left.

Okay, that was good. I'm finally getting somewhere with this whole control thing. The wild side of Krieg growled and said, “Shut up.” Yeah yeah, you can't keep me out forever. Krieg grunted and collapsed on his makeshift bed, falling asleep quickly.

Chapter Text

As the rest of the team was getting ready to head out Maya went to go get Krieg. Everyone else was hopefully too absorbed in cleaning guns and tuning machines to really notice her absence. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to be sneaky. Krieg was part of the group and she was the only one who knew where he was at the moment. So why did she feel just a little bit giddy slipping away?

The bloodstained door was slightly ajar so Maya pushed it a little more so she could look inside. Krieg was on his back, one arm across his chest, looking absolutely peaceful. His buzz saw was within reach of the arm at his side and his shotgun was right next to it. Probably best not to startle him. Maya knocked softly on the door.

“Krieg?” she said quietly. “We're all getting ready to head out. Rise and shine.” The Psycho groaned softly but didn't move. “C'mon sleepy head, we've got a preserve full of deadly wildlife to slay.” The siren was hoping that would work. By the loud sigh and creaking of the mattress as he sat up she had hit the bulls-eye.

“Who's ready to flay some scalps?” he said groggily. The lines were definitely from the Psycho but the vocal tone was closer to human. Like when he had said “right”... Maya shivered a little at the memory. She'd never been that close to him before. It definitely solved the question of why he hadn't worn any extra layers in Tundra Express. His skin had been really warm. Maya quickly pulled herself back to the present to answer his question.

“Yeah, lets get to the scalp flaying,” she said cheerily. “Stock up on ammo and meet us at the Head Quarters.” Maya darted away after her little speech feeling oddly warm. She had read about romance, yes, but had no practice experience. 'What the hell,' she internally questioned, 'how does this even remotely fall into that category? Just because he saved your life once or twice, has really nice abs, and manages to be sweet in an awkward way... God, he's halfway off his rocker. Calm down Maya. Focus on the task at hand.' She hurried back to the raiders base of operations, trying to untangle her thoughts. She sat in a chair the moment she entered and focused on disassembling her SMG. It was a calming exercise quite similar to meditation. Except instead of thinking about the energy of the universe she was prepping a gun for slaughter.

“Hey, look who finally showed up,” Salvador said with a chuckle. Krieg loomed in the doorway, still blinking the sleep from his eye. “Ready to kick some Hyperion ass?”

“I'm here to shank and smile,” the Psycho replied. It looked like he was back to his crazy self.

~

The plan was to injure enough loaders so the gates would open for reinforcements. Krieg was having a hard time with that. Every blow from his buzz saw was followed too quickly by another, rendering the robots completely crumpled rather than heavily injured. And seeing one his team mates left alone and injured... it was a reflex. After the fourth time it happened he trudged away and set his head against the concrete. Well now we know that you really can't leave survivors. Just wait here until they get it. The wilder side of Krieg merely growled and waited.

“Loaders damaged,” the P.A. said in a sweet voice, “deploying reinforcements.” Okay, now you can go back to smashing things to bits. A few engineers came with the next wave of loaders to the Psycho's delight. Once the blood and motor oil had been shed Mordecai spoke over the ECHO,

“Groovy. Now get inside and find Bloodwing. My bird should be in the holding cells at the other end of the facility. You find her, you'll find your Claptrap upgrade.” The team of Vault Hunters mowed through the docks easily, even with the new PWR loaders and their charging attacks. Krieg was having a grand time... until they reached the main gate to the preserve. He felt a jolt of fear. There was no specific memory attached but he knew he'd seen this place before.

“Welcome to the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve,” Mordecai commented. “Jack says he built this place to promote science and discovery and whatever-the-hell, but it's BS. They're just using slag to experiment on every creature they can find. You gotta get Bloodwing outta there.” Krieg wasn't listening to the sniper. He was glued to the spot, mind whirring as he tried to remember how he knew this place.

“Krieg, you coming?” Maya asked. Shelve it for later. The Psycho shook his shoulders a little to rouse himself and gave one curt nod. No screaming... I'm getting good at this. There wasn't even a growl in response. The group walked down the road a little ways but had to jump down to the skag nest to progress into the preserve. Krieg moved automatically, severing limbs and necks of the savage canines. Deep down he felt a sense of foreboding. Something bad was ahead. He could feel it in his bones. Okay, keep calm and don't do anything crazy. We'll figure this out. I don't know what the hell is going on but I know to trust my... our gut? Just stay alert.

Jack's voice came over their ECHOs, talking about how he was going to lure them here but they'd saved him the effort. Krieg growled at the sound of the egomaniac's voice but it lacked the usual venom. His muscles were twitching as they walked through a shattered window.

“Looks like things got a little out of control here,” Axton said grimly, looking at the large bloodstain on the floor.

“That Alpha skag probably body slammed the glass and ate a scientist,” Gaige guessed with a little glee. “This is why I work with robots. Genetic reprogramming and experimentation are too risky.”

“You do realize you built a killer robot and have an arm that smashes concrete right?” Maya asked.

“Yeah, but I wrote the coding from scratch. I didn't hijack some living things DNA. My way is way simpler,” the teenager explained. “Still, they probably keep ECHO logs of all their stuff. Might be nice to know what Jack's been up to here.” The mechromancer opened a few of the lockers before coming across one of the data logs. “Here we go,” she murmured before hitting the play button.

Krieg froze. Not just because of Handsome Jack's voice, but because he recognized the woman's. The growl came out of his through unbidden. Easy big guy. We know that voice, yes. And this is all starting to get crazy but we have to keep it together. Just get through this mission.

“Slag testing on people?” Salvador asked. “That's a new low, even for Jack.”

“They probably have more records around here,” Axton mused. “We should keep an eye out for them. Maybe someday we can nail Hyperion for this stuff and shut them down.” It was a long shot but they all smirked at the thought. The team kept walking through the facility, crossing through a few exhibits full of angry creatures. Krieg flinched every time they played a log, Dr. Samuels' voice eating away at him. The only time he felt less than terrified was when he beat the Super Badass Loader to death with one of its gun laden arms. Everyone groaned when they found out Jack had moved Bloodwing and trudged back the way they came to find a path to the Observation Wing. As they turned into a new hallway Krieg's brain unearthed a memory.

'Keep him sedated enough so that he can't move,' the man in the lab coat from before said. 'The idiot believed the medication trials story but he's still dangerous.' Krieg from the past strained to move his limbs but they felt like dead weight. The Hyperion goons took him down the hall. Krieg looked to the side and saw his fate. People were strapped to gurneys, IVs in both arms, screaming in agony as purple liquid flowed into their veins. He tried again to resist, but even in his state of terror all he could manage was moving the tips of his fingers.

“Krieg?” Maya's voice pulled him back to the present. The Psycho was breathing hard and had his fists clenched. The insane side of Krieg wanted to run as far away from this hell as he could. His leg muscles were taught, ready to do just that. “Kreig,” the siren repeated, “are you okay?” She touched his arm and he flinched. It's just her. You trust her.

“Bad times,” Krieg growled. “Bad, bad, bad, bad.” He began to pace like a caged beast, walking the width of the hall but keeping his eyes on the door of the room they'd dragged him in. The memory rose again in his mind. They strapped him down just like the others, stabbed the needles in his arms, and then listened to him scream. Dr. Samuels' face was in the window once, her lips pursed and unhappy as she wrote something on a clip board.

“He's been here before,” Maya said, turning to address the other Vault Hunters.

“You mean...” Gaige didn't finish her question but they all were thinking the same thing.

“Screams, screams,” Krieg chanted, “choruses of screams. Begging for the pain to end them. Let it kill me. LET IT KILL ME!” He slammed a fist into the wall, his heart pounding. “Nooooo, give me more. I deserve it. Cut me open. Put out the fire in my belly. Make my blood sing the sweet song again. Dying every day but never enough to stay dead.” He turned his back to the wall and slid down the cold metal. Krieg sat on the floor, head in his hands, muttering incoherently. We went through hell here... didn't we? It's all coming back. This is where you were born, Psycho Krieg. Soft footsteps got his attention as May knelt in front of him.

“They hurt you here,” she said softly. He nodded emphatically, still struggling to breathe. “They put this awful stuff in your body to see what it would do to you. Krieg, look at me.” The Psycho shook his head, worried that if he looked up he'd see more nightmarish scenes of his torture. Maya gently pulled his hands away and place her own on either side of his face, forcing him to meet her eyes. She'll see the terror and know we're a lost cause. It's over. Krieg stared into her gray eyes, surprised to see how calm she was. “Breathe when I breathe. In... and out. In... and out.” He obeyed, concentrating on the serenity she embodied. “Good, keep breathing deep. Now close your eyes, I'll be right here.” Krieg shook his head. “It's okay. I'm not going to let anything happen.” She released his head and took his hands instead. “Close your eyes and tell me what you see.”

“Trapped,” he muttered. “Blood singing with purple. Pain. Doctor. She... says... argh... success. Purer doses needed. More pain. So much pain.” Krieg's insane personality wanted to stop. He didn't like the memories. They were back when he wasn't in control, when he had been the inner voice. Let me. This is my area, back when I was in charge. We can't keep carrying this around. For the first time since he'd taken control Krieg's wild side went silent and closed in on itself.

“I...” Krieg's voice changed dramatically. His tone was more even and deep. “I remember.”

“What do you remember?” Maya asked quietly.

“Samuels. She... stabbed me.” Krieg spoke haltingly. “The skin... knit itself together. She said... the key? The key... to immortality. So close. Pure eridium she said... that would make me... invincible. But... after they... put this...” He moved his arm with the metal shackle, “on me... before they could... do the injection... an explosion.” He saw the container full of pure eridium in his minds eye. They were going to hook it into the tube and pump it in him as fast as they could to achieve the desired result. He shivered at the memory. Dr. Samuels looked so smug, the months had twisted her into a heartless torturer. “An explosion shook the building.” Talking was getting a little easier with the vivid memory to aide him.

“What happened next?” Maya asked, still keeping a tight hold on his hands.

“I... lost it. I became... him,” Krieg confessed. “The first berserk rage... it was strong. I broke the restraints. I killed the attendants, and I held Samuels against the wall by her throat...” Krieg's Psycho personality wrested control again.

“I'll never forget the way her holes cried,” he hissed. “She made such sweet noises... until the SNAP of her neck silenced them.” Hey, I was having a moment there. Jerk. “Had to get out. Invisible monster ate my eye. I ate its face.” The stalker had broken free during the explosion. One well placed needle had blinded Krieg's right eye, the added teeth it sank into his face finished the job. The Psycho had eventually tore the creatures head off but the poison resisted his healing abilities... permanently killing the sight in his eye. “The air got bad. Found a pretty mask with good air. Painted it with blood.” Ug, speak clearly. They gassed the place to kill all remaining subjects who were out of their cages. The gas mask was for Hyperion personnel. Some creepy techno plastic that fit to your face. Not perfect though, hence the straps. You decided it wasn't creepy enough.

“And then?” Maya prompted.

“Ran. Didn't look back. Didn't want to remember the bad place,” Krieg spat. “Time to find the Handsome one and make his blood sing for me.”

~

Maya had hoped that the sane personality would stick around longer but it was clear that the insane one was much stronger. If she had to guess the siren would say the trauma of the past fueled the Psycho side of Krieg. Unraveling that could be the key to leading him back to sanity. His voice had been so full of pain that she had wanted to hold him together, but the return of insanity had ruined that idea. Pandora was full of broken people but Krieg seemed the most in need of help. The next one on the list was Tina but the little girl had only one voice in her head so she was much better off.

“Okay,” she said, getting Krieg's attention again. “Killing Jack was already on the agenda. Now he's got a lot more to answer for. We'll get him Krieg. And we'll give him hell.”

“Strip his flesh,” the Psycho muttered.

“And salt his wounds,” Maya finished. Krieg tilted his head like a puppy. Maya could see the slightly manic smile in his eyes. “Come on. Let's see if we can find any details on what they did to you.” Krieg hesitated but nodded slowly. She kept one of his hands in hers as they approached the examination room. Krieg stopped a few times but when she tugged on his hand he would move forward again. This method didn't get him past the threshold though. The Psycho refused to enter the room. “It's okay,” she encouraged. “I'll phase lock anything that tries to hurt you. Being in another dimension will make them think twice about attacking my friends.” Krieg sighed but moved his left foot into the room, followed slowly by his right.

A blood smear on the wall grabbed Maya's attention. That would be where Dr Samuels met her end. Krieg pointedly looked anywhere else. The room gave her the creeps. She spotted the recorder on one of the tables and picked it up. Krieg shifted from foot to foot nervously. The siren hit play.

“Test subject number 528 is promising,” Dr Samuels cold voice caused the Psycho to tense. “While most subjects have heart failure at anything above 58% purity he has past the 70% mark and still clings to life. The new injection site was made to prevent numerous IV placements as the subjects skin, muscle, and bone regenerate quickly. Tests are still being done to see if this regeneration applied to all organs but I am confident that the cellular rejuvenation happens throughout his body. It is based in the blood, making that a very good hypothesis. The others subjects who have made it this far show the same mental deterioration but it manifests in unique ways. One developed severe OCD, screaming as if in agony when otherwise symmetrical arrangements were out of place. Another now has schizophrenia. But this one has a curious case of Dissociative Identity Disorder. Once there was a sane voice begging for the pain to stop. Now it has switched to a completely psychotic personality that relishes the pain. Watching the subject flit between the two is quite enlightening as to how the disorder works. One thing specific to this subject is the gradual and symmetrical increase in height. Before any injections were made a height of 177.1 cm was recorded. Now, were the subject to stand, he would be 195.59 cm tall. An interesting development considering that most of the subjects that grow do so uncontrollably and die from heart failure. I'd study it further but the Hyperion CEO, Jack himself, insisted we move right up to 100% purity. This subject seems the most likely to survive the jump from 83 to 100%. Set the canister there, we will begin-” An explosion sounded in the recording. “What the hell was-” Dr Samuels calm manner was shatter by her screaming.

“NOW YOU SHOULD BE SCARED,” Krieg's scream of rage came booming out of the speaker along with two dull thuds.

“No, stop! I-” Samuels was silence by a sharp snap.

“Angry, I'm ANGRY” The Psycho screamed. The recording continued with screams of panic for a moment before Maya stopped it. Krieg was staring at the floor, muscles twitching as the memories assaulted him. Maya touched his arm and his eye opened.

“They deserved it,” she said, “for hurting you and all those other people. He nodded slowly but was still tense and jumpy. “Let's get Bloodwing and get out of here.” The Psycho nodded again and followed her out of the room.

“This recorder was in the room with a giant blast on the wall,” Gaige said, holding the ECHO out to Axton. The Vault Hunters listened with confusion, but the moment Tiny Tina's voice whispered out of the speakers they understood. Flesh-stick had sold out the little girl's parents and they'd been taken here. The explosion she caused had freed herself and Krieg. But not her parents. Salvador muttered something in Spanish that sounded like an oath.

“We can figure this out later,” Axton said quietly. “Let's keep moving and leave this hell hole behind.” Everyone followed the commando's lead deeper into the preserve. They made it to the part of the facility that Hyperion controlled and tore through the loaders with ease. Everyone stared at the next ECHO they found, just waiting for something new and horrible. When it was Maya's voice in the recording she froze. The day they had revealed her existence to the public. She kept moving forward, ignoring the stares of the others. They found more ECHOs of her past and the siren listened to each one. The time she questioned Brother Sophis on his promise that she would explore the world. The day she'd been so excited about reading that the sirens may have a connection to the Vault on Pandora and been shut down. The moment when Harker and Sophis had told her to execute the groveling man... and she'd changed their plans. Hearing the shot that killed Sophis through the speaker only strengthened her resolve. Those men had been tyrants and used her as a figurehead. The ending where Jack demanded Angel find her was unnerving but Maya shook it off. He'd collected all of them if the other's ECHOs were correct.

No one said anything else until they found the lift to the Observation Wing. Even then they all just let out a sigh of relief. The Vault Hunters piled onto the platform and Zer0 hit the console to send them down. When Jack started his chilling speech about how he'd been experimenting on Bloodwing Maya knew the mission was about to take another turn for the worse. They all dashed for cover the moment the massive bird took off.

“Oh my God,” Mordecai breathed over the ECHO channel. Jack laughed and outlined how doomed they were against an enemy that had all the elements at her disposal to kill them with.

“Fire, electricity,” The Hyperion CEO cackled, “corrosion, slag, and... damn. I forgot the last one. What the hell was that again?”

“Goddammit!” Mordecai yelled. “Just weaken her and I'll hit her with a tranq.” Bloodwing screeched and turned from slag coated to rippling with flames.

“Stick to cover and just try to weaken the bird,” Axton shouted. The team split up and fired when Bloodwing swooped into view. She shrugged off all the damage and dove toward Salvador. The gunzerker ducked and barely missed getting sliced by the bird's razor sharp talons. Mordecai continued to worry over the channel but the Vault Hunters had to stay focused on the battle. Bloodwing ignored her master's commands and continued to attack the group, this time breathing fire. Axton barely got his turret up in time to protect himself and Gaige. On her next dive the raptor switched to electricity, meaning Axton's shield trick wouldn't work again. The Hunter and Jack argued in the background until Mordecai warned them of his bird's dive bomb attack. Krieg had been taking out the skags coming from a side door and dove behind cover just as a wave of electricity surged across the field.

Bloodwing switched elements again, this time to the sickly green of corrosion. Maya was the target of her next claw attack but the siren froze a skag in the line of the bird's dive. Bloodwing snatched the canine instead and felt the pain of running into a phase lock. The giant bird landed and began spitting acid everywhere. Maya was too far from cover but she raced for it anyway, hoping her shield would hold. Krieg appeared out of nowhere and stood between the siren and the corrosive spray.

“THAT TICKLES,” Krieg shouted as he turned to face Bloodwing. The Psycho switched his attack last second. Rather than burying the teeth of his buzz saw into the bird's skull he hit her in the chest with the end of the shaft. Bloodwing staggered back, the green aura fading as she weakened, the tranq dart stuck in her neck. Mordecai's bird tried to fly away but collapsed on the ground as her master said that the tranquilizer wouldn't hurt.

“Okay, she's still alive,” the hunter said over the ECHO. “Get the microchip from her collar and we can get her back to Sanctuary.” Axton was the closest so he grabbed the chip, careful of the bird's sharp beak.

“Oh now I remember,” Jack interrupted, “EXPLOSIVE!” Bloodwing's collar began to beep and all the Vault Hunters took cover. The bird's head exploded in a rain of gore. Mordecai screamed in agony over the ECHO. Jack made more threats but Maya was too stunned by what had happened to pay any attention to his raving. They had failed. Bloodwing was dead.

“I'm gonna kill you,” Mordecai seethed, “YOU HEAR ME, JACK? I'm going to KILL YOU!”

“We should get back,” Axton said to the team. Salvador, Gaige and Zer0 nodded solemnly but Maya couldn't stop staring at Bloodwing's body. They hadn't made it in time. She shouldn't have insisted that they wait back at Sanctuary. Krieg wordlessly put a hand on her shoulder. It was a small comfort but when she looked out of her misery for a moment and remembered the trial he'd been through today she appreciated it more.

Chapter Text

Everyone sat quietly in the Crimson Raider's meeting room. Mordecai was already surrounded by empty bottles and stared off into the distance. Roland outlined their next mission but upon seeing how much the team slumped at the idea of running off again he told them to get started on it tomorrow. The six new Vault Hunters turned to leave but Lilith asked if she could have a word with Maya. The younger siren was surprised at the request. Lilith was always bouncing between her duties to the raiders and her job as the Firehawk. Maya just assumed she was busy all the time.

“I heard about what happened in the preserve,” Lilith said. “I'll admit I never really gave your Psycho friend much credit but you did what I would consider impossible. How'd you know how to calm him down?”

“The monks back at the abbey made guided meditation a part of my daily schedule,” Maya explained. “I mastered it when I was young and since then I learned how to lead others in meditative exercises. The order had a huge library and I got interested in studying psychology. From what I read I guessed that Krieg might need a calmer frame of mind to face the horrors of his past.”

“Wow. That is really cool, Maya. I thought Krieg was going to be a raving maniac forever. If anyone can help him change that, it's you.” Maya beamed at the praise. “Just make sure to keep Tannis away from him. If there's anyone who can unravel his sanity completely its her.” The two sirens chuckled.

“I've been watching her for any signs that she's going to stick him with a needle. I'm not sure she'd live through the experience. I'm not sure I can protect him from her talking though.”

“Just get him some headphones and loud music. That'll do it. Anyway, I have to head back to the Firehawk's lair and tie up some loose ends. I'm trying to limit the amount of running back and forth I do. We don't really need the bandits in complete terror now that we're a bit out of their reach.” Lilith headed down the stairs and Maya waited a moment before following her. Today wasn't a total bust. She felt nice after the praise from her fellow siren. Maybe they'd be able to spend more time together. Having a close friend so similar to herself wasn't something Maya was accustomed to but she looked forward to the possibility.

~

The rest of the team was sitting quietly downstairs. Gaige was fine tuning her arm, a nervous habit. Axton was rubbing the chevrons on his forehead, a sign of fatigue. Salvador snored on one of the bunks, his way of coping with a bad day. Zer0 leaned against the lockers, betraying nothing to his state of mind. Krieg noticed how much more perceptive he was now. The insane personality was still subdued and didn't require any restraining, freeing up Krieg's mental energy. Lilith passed him on her way out the door and gave him a little nod. He was perplexed by the action and didn't know how to respond before she was gone. Maya appeared moments later, giving the team worried looks. They had seen the same things.

“Curious,” Tannis said, breaking the silence. Krieg looked over and saw that the scientist was focused on him. That didn't bode well. “Less twitchy now, aren't you? I had been hoping to get some slag samples from the preserve but Roland so rudely prevented me from contacting the six of you.” Oh hell no. Who knows what she'd do with that stuff?

“We were a little busy,” Maya said coolly.

“Too busy to pick up a few canisters?” Tannis scoffed.

“Yes,” Krieg gruffly answered. That got everyone's attention.

“I was expecting a more colorful response,” Tannis sighed. “You're much less interesting now.”

“Good,” Krieg responded. Hmm, I half expected you to stop me by now. There was no answer from his other personality. The scientist continued her staring so he left the room. Krieg stared at the sky once he was outside. It felt odd to be alone in his head. He doubted the psychotic personality was gone. It had been badly shaken by the events at the preserve. Now was the time to establish control. Maybe we can come to an agreement? You get to have mostly free reign during battle and I get to handle the other stuff. Sound good? Still no response. I guess we'll see what happens the next time bandits start shooting at us.

“Hey,” Maya called. Krieg turned to see her catching up to him. “How are you feeling?”

“Weird,” he answered, rubbing the back of his head. “It's... quiet for the moment.”

“Well after all that happened back there it's almost to be expected,” she said as they walked through the streets of Sanctuary. “Your... Psycho personality reacts more instinctively than you do. Facing all that confusion and pain spooked it.”

“The other guy doesn't like thinking about when he wasn't in control,” Krieg mused, “but he let me have free reign for a while at least.” Look at that, a nice full sentence with no awkward pauses. This is usually where you ruin things. “I'm surprised I haven't screamed about ripping anyone to pieces for this long.”

“Do you think it- he could have given up?” the siren asked.

“No. If there is one thing I know about Psycho Krieg it's that he's tenacious. This respite won't last long. Then I'll be trying to backseat drive again and make sure he doesn't kill anyone who doesn't deserve it.”

“What would you do if he did?” Maya asked quietly.

“Pull the plug. I might be hard to kill but it isn't impossible.” The two of them walked in silence. Krieg was hopelessly lost in the maze of winding lanes. “I.... have no idea where we are,” he admitted.

“Yeah, it takes a little getting used to,” Maya said with a smile. “We're back by Moxxi's place now. You have to listen pretty close sometimes but the thrum of music will guide you there.” Straining his ears Krieg could here the trace of a beat. “That's the easy one to find and from there I memorized paths until I finally could find my way without it.” The two Vault Hunters made their way to the bar and Maya walked him through all the routes he would need to know. On the way back from Scooter's garage they passed Zed's place.

“How much do you trust this Dr. Zed?” Krieg asked.

“Mmm, not much. Were my life on the line I'd let him perform surgery but the lack of a medical license bothers me.” Maya stopped walking. “Why do you ask?” Krieg reached up to his eye patch.

“The inflammation has been there since that stalker poisoned me. I was hoping to get it looked at but... I don't know.”

“I can make sure Zed doesn't do anything stupid,” she offered.

“That... helps. I'm also worried about the other guy's reaction to lab coats.”

“Hey, I can help with that too.” Maya put a hand on his arm. Krieg felt himself relax. She's the only person who's ever calmed the Psycho down. I can do this. Just don't butt in. The siren led the way into Zed's 'office'. It was actually pretty clean but by Maya's sigh of relief they had caught the doctor at a good time.

“What can I do fer-” Dr. Zed stopped when he saw who was in the waiting area. “Oh, sorry Maya. Didn't know it was you.” The doctor kept his eyes fixed on Krieg.

“Hey Zed,” Maya said cheerily, “I was hoping you could help me with something. This is Krieg,” he nodded as his named was mentioned, “and he wants to know if you could take a look at his eye.”

“Er, sure,” Zed replied. “But will he tear my arm off?”

“No, I won't,” Krieg promised. “I'm feeling decidedly non-psychotic at the moment.”

“Alright, take a seat,” the doctor ordered, gesturing to one of the chairs. Krieg understood that he'd be too tall for Zed to reach sitting on the examination table. He fidgeted in his seat as Zed adjusted the light suspended from the ceiling. Maya pulled a chair next to his. Her nearness soothed his nerves. “Okay, now the mask.” Krieg slowly reached behind his head to the straps that held his mask in place. Once those were lose he slowly slid the mask off his face.

In a mirror behind the doctor he could see the damage. All the scar tissue around his eye socket and the discolored inflammation didn't make for a pretty picture. Zed 'hmm'ed quietly, examining the wound. Krieg wanted to slap the mask back in place and run, a notion he knew was illogical but one he considered anyway. Maya's hand on his own stopped that train of thought. It's okay. She'd phase lock Zed if he tried anything crazy. She said she protects her friends . The image of Maya defending him helped ease the last of Krieg's tension.

“Stalker venom is nasty stuff,” Zed stated. “I have an antivenin that could clear up the inflammation and remove any lingering venom. As for the scarring and your eye... it's beyond hope.”

“I know,” Krieg said. “I remember the burning pain in my eye. I figured it couldn't be saved. How much for the antivenin?”

“For one of the people who saved this city?” Zed mused. “Two hundred.”

“Zed,” Maya said with a warning in her voice.

“Fine, fifty, so long as you collect some stalker venom for me so I can make more.”

“Deal,” the siren said. “But it might be a while. Stopping Jack is the priority.” Not even a snarl at the sound of Jack's name? Now I think you're planning something . The inside of Krieg's head was quiet, save for his own voice. Dr. Zed carefully injected the antivenin next to Krieg's eye.

“Now you should keep the mask off for a few hours to let the wound heal. A cool cloth may help with the slight fever and there may be dizziness as a side effect,” Zed said. “I'd suggest sleeping it off.”

“Thanks,” Krieg muttered, fiddly with his mask idly. He had wanted to put it back on immediately but that was no longer an option. “How quickly will it take effect?” he asked as he stood. The world wobbled dangerously, forcing Krieg to sit down again.

“Very. Stalker venom moves quick and the antidote made from it does the same.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” Maya grumbled. She took Krieg's hand and helped him up. The room still spun but she was keeping an iron grip on him. “We'll get your new stock sometime next year.” Dr. Zed protested but Maya kept walking until they were out the door. “Sometimes he can be such a tool,” she sighed.

“I can see that,” Krieg said. “Oh God... everything is spinning. Any chance we can make it back to my humble abode?”

“Yes we can,” Maya replied. She slung his arm over her shoulders and started marching. The streets were mercifully empty. Krieg leaned heavily on the siren and worried he was hurting her, but Maya barely bowed under his weight and didn't stop moving until she had to open his door. Krieg collapsed on his bed the moment he was inside and watched the ceiling stretch and shrink.

“You're tough as nails,” he said.

“Well the Order of the Impending Storm wanted me to be some sort of vengeful goddess,” Maya answered.

“No, I think that toughness is just you, not anything they did. You can't teach it. You can fake it, but you either have it or you don't.” Krieg kept his good eye closed to prevent the walls from moving, and also to not see her reaction to his bared face. “I'm no lightweight and you walked me across half of Sanctuary.”

“You were helping.”

“I was dragging my feet like a drunk and staggering against you. I was useless.” Maya was quiet after that. Ah, I've probably offended her. Good work .

~

The wheels in Maya's head were still turning. Most men called her beautiful, pretty, radiant, or some other synonym for 'nice to look at'. But Krieg calling her tough as nails felt much better than any of those shallow compliments. She wasn't sure what to say. So instead she studied his face. It wasn't pretty, no, but it wasn't as bad as she'd imagined. Now that the swelling was going down it looked more badass than anything. Under that mask he had strong features. His nose had a slight bump in the middle, probably from a fist fight. Krieg's jaw was well defined and his lips... Maya hit the brakes on her thoughts.

“I think you win the prize for toughest Vault Hunter,” she blurted, trying to distract herself. “You run into hordes of enemies, get beat soundly, kill them, and then walk out like it was nothing.”

“My regeneration does that,” Krieg answered in his deep, sane voice. “That's technically cheating.”

“I'm a siren,” Maya argued. “If we're talking within the realms of human possibility I'm always cheating.”

“Touch é ,” he admitted. “Let's call it a draw. The way I see it no one has to be 'the most badass'. We can all be badasses.”

“Agreed,” Maya said, trying very hard not to focus on the way his lips formed words.

“Ah, and here's the fever,” Krieg muttered. “Right on schedule.”

“I'll go get some water,” the siren offered, already standing. “And maybe there's some cloth around here that isn't stained with oil or blood.” Krieg chuckled, sending shivers up her spine.

“Good luck,” he said.

“I'll be back soon,” she replied, closing the door behind her. Maya leaned against it for a moment, trying to sort her thoughts. 'I guess this is attraction,' she thought. 'Okay. I can deal with this. Just bury it like every other distracting emotion and be done with it.' Maya peeked into the raiders HQ. Her team mates were already asleep. Tannis was still awake, muttering quietly and writing on another note pad. The scientist didn't even notice her entrance. Maya went upstairs and found a box of hand towels in the storage room, untouched. Pandora wasn't a place for finery. She wondered what these were even doing on the savage planet but shrugged it off. Some mysteries would never be solved. The siren grabbed a few bottles of water as well and headed down the stairs, almost bumping into Lilith.

“Sorry,” Maya whispered.

“What's in the box?” Lilith asked.

“Water,” the younger siren answered. “Krieg's got a fever thanks to the antivenin Zed gave him for his eye.”

“I'm just going to guess the good doctor told you about the side effects after he stuck your man with a needle.”

“Yeah he-” Maya stopped, realizing how Lilith had referenced Krieg.

“No need to blush, killer,” the former Firehawk said with a grin, “it's pretty obvious. Sure, your buddies like him but you're the only one who makes sure he's okay. Try to write it off as maternal all you want, he isn't just a team mate to you. And judging by the way he looks at you I'm sure it's mutual.” Lilith continued up the stairs while Maya was still floundering for a good excuse. The touching his arm and comforting him was just instinctive, something she'd wished she had growing up in the abbey.

Maya's argument fell apart when she reentered Krieg's room. He was on his back, breathing deeply but not asleep. When he opened his eye to look at her she felt warm. His brown iris was gorgeous and held such kindness that she felt hard pressed to resist.

“Welcome back,” Krieg said softly. 'And that vocal tone,' Maya swooned internally.

“I found hand towels,” she answered, “on Pandora.”

“Next you'll find a unicorn,” he said with a chuckle. Maya offered him a bottle of water that he took with a, “thanks”. She wet one of the cloths with another bottle and waited until he lay back before placing it on his forehead, careful to avoid any skin that might be sensitive from the medicine. 'You didn't even think about letting him do that himself,' she thought, 'so it's just that you like helping people. Definitely not related to the sudden urge to be close to him.'

“You never know,” Maya said, “maybe there's one in the Vault.” She adjusted the cloth to her liking and sat back on her heels.

“There was a horrible monster in the last one, a unicorn would be a nice change of pace. We could use some good news.” Maya frowned. Their failure to save Bloodwing still itched. “It's not your fault.”

“I insisted we wait,” she countered.

“Had we set out the moment Roland told us to we would have died. No one was in any shape to fight through that hell hole. You made a good call. If Mordecai has said a word otherwise-”

“No,” Maya stopped him, “its just me berating myself.”

“Learning from the past is one thing, but beating yourself up over mistakes will hurt you in the long run. Pandora is a messed up place, things could go sideways at almost any time. I've seen it happen many times. One moment everything is all right, the next you've got a rakk swarm trying to eat your flesh.”

“And here I thought it was rainbows and sunshine all the time,” Maya said with a smirk.

“No, it is,” Krieg answered. “The rainbows are made of acid rain and the sunshine will melt the flesh off your bones.” The two of them chuckled.

“In any case Pandora isn't all bad,” Maya said with a sigh, sitting on the floor.

“You're here aren't you?” Krieg asked. The siren's train of thought screeched to a halt.

“I was going to say something about the lack of boredom,” she muttered.

“Well there is that,” he admitted, “but I'd still put you as the number one good thing on Pandora.”

“Thanks,” Maya said awkwardly, staring at her hands. Krieg covered one with his own hand.

“I mean it.”

“I know.”

Chapter Text

“That's where the so called Slab King is?” Gaige asked, giving the cliff side base a once over.

“Yeah, Roland said the King will hopefully help us once we fight through his horde of bandits,” Axton said with a sigh. “I don't put much faith in 'hopefully'.” You and me both. Krieg felt cagey at the idea of facing bandits again. If anything would draw out his Psycho side that would do it. The instant they walked through the gate a bandit screamed about intruders over an unsecured ECHO channel.

“Looks like Hyperion sent another group of assassins,” a deep voice mused. “Let's welcome our guests boys.” Enemies jumped out of their ramshackle buildings and began firing. One moment Krieg was in complete control. The next he was burying his buzz saw in a bandit's skull with no memory of moving.

“TIME FOR THE RIBCAGE SLAUGHTER,” the Psycho screamed. Look who's back. You couldn't give me any warning? Jerk. We're going to talk about this later. “GET OUT OF MY HEAD.” It's actually my head, you're the unwelcome guest here. The team of Vault Hunters easily made it through the first wave of bandits and started the long walk up to the fortress. Zer0 sniped the pilots of the buzzards, which then fell to the ground in the distance with a large 'boom'. The Slab King ranted over the ECHO channel about Hyperion coming after him.

“Who the hell is Dusty?” Salvador asked the team. Everyone shrugged. The Vault Hunters crossed the bridge over a chasm and continued fighting their way through the Slab King's army. Krieg ran straight at the goliath, knocking its mask off before slicing it to bits. By the time he finished the gruesome work all the other bandits were dead.

“Dusty was just a puppy,” the bandit leader continued. “You let your boss know I'm gonna do to him exactly what he did to her. 'cept slower. You--” There was a long pause from The Slab King as the six team mates took out a few more buzzards. “What do you mean they ain't from Hyperion? Oh, they must be new recruits! Alright boys, let's put 'em through the wringer.”

“That sounds even worse,” Gaige huffed.

“Oh yeah,” Roland said over their ECHO channel, “The Slab King won't talk to you unless you join his gang.”

“That would have been nice to know earlier,” Maya snapped, phase locking a bandit before killing him with her SMG. She is something. Psycho Krieg shrugged off his sane voice's pining with a growl.

“Just survive whatever initiation he's got planned for you and give him that note,” Roland continued.

“Bandit joining rituals are always awful,” Salvador said.

“Perfect,” Axton grumbled. They walked up the stairs and eyed the chute they were supposed to jump down. Krieg was more than happy to go first.

“GRIND GRIND GRIND,” he chanted, “KILL KILL KILL.” I see you're making up for lost time. Once there aren't any more bullets flying around you I'll be back in charge. Krieg growled as he looked around the base. The Slab King sat on a throne one level above. The other five Vault Hunters joined him one by one. Once they were all inside the Slab King started the initiation.

“Slabs!” he called, “Rip 'em up!” Bandits poured from the wings and attacked with mad intensity. Krieg launched himself at another goliath, letting it enrage before cutting into it with his melee weapon. Again, strategy. You could let him take out his little friends but no, you have to kill everything.

“POUNDS. OF. FLESH!” Krieg shouted, ripping the goliath to shreds. His fellow Vault Hunters stuck together and watched each others backs on the exposed factory floor. Zer0 stealthed out to stab enemies who stayed behind cover a few times but the others stayed together under Axton's shielding turret. They only had a moment to breathe and reload before the next wave.

“These recruits are making you look like idiots,” the Slab King said. “Slabs, go get 'em!” Two badass goliaths jumped from the balcony. Krieg cackled madly as he rushed them. The two giants didn't even have time to get their mini-guns up before he was upon them. The Psycho jumped between them and bashed their skulls together, shattering both masks.

“Oh hell,” he heard Axton curse. Now I know you're doing this to irk me. You refuse to work with the team and now this. Two, rampaging, hulking goliaths. You are going to get us killed.

“YOU CAN'T CONTROL ME,” The Psycho screamed. He dodged the crazed swinging of the goliaths and laid into them with his buzz saw. Blood was everywhere, some of it Krieg's. “SWING THE AXE AND DRINK THE HEALTH.” Moments later the two monsters were in pieces and Krieg stood, covered in blood but completely whole. I really hate you sometimes. Most of the time actually. “IT'S A BAPTISM OF BLOOD,” the Psycho personality answered, “YOU CAN'T STOP WHAT I'VE BECOME.” Keep telling yourself that.

“You killed some of my best men to get to me,” The Slab King said. “I only got one thing to say to you. That... was... AWESOME! So whatcha want?” Axton explained to Brick, once they'd figured out who he was, what they needed. “I was wondering when Roland'd call in that favor. Now that you're with us my buzzards could help you take down the bunker. Go tell Roland I'm in.”

“Only one impossible door left,” Gaige said sarcastically.

“It's two less than we started with,” Salvador pointed out. The teenager shrugged.

“The last one is the clincher,” she explained. “It doesn't matter that we've got two down. Unless we have all three its a lost cause.”

“Aren't you just a ray of sunshine,” the gunzerker muttered. Moments later the ground shook from Jack's latest mortar assault.

“I'd like to go just one week without getting attacked by a moon base,” Axton sighed. “One week is all I'm asking.”

“The assault must end,” Zer0 said, “or many allies we lose, follow the Slab King.” The team raced after Brick. Loaders fell from the sky in waves. One landed right in front of the Slab King but a few blows from his hammer turned it to scrap. Oh look, someone who shares you combat style. I think you'll get along. The Psycho took it as competition rather than friendship. Each of them kept trying to out do the other in loader kills. Style points were also in effect. Krieg ripped one loader's arms off and used those as weapons for a time. Brick manipulated a robot into shooting an EXP loader, taking out half a dozen enemies. The rest of the team had more time to focus on dodging the bombardment and disabling the targeting beacons. The Psycho disarmed -literally disarmed- a WAR loader and threw it into a throng of bots. Brick had to break the beacon shields, giving Krieg time to destroy more loaders and catch up.

Jack protested their destruction of his beacons and sent another wave of bots. Brick and Krieg tore them to pieces. The seven of them made it across the bridge and raced for the next beacon. The Slab King smashed the shield and the Psycho diced the device. More loaders rained from the sky at their 'insolence'. Brick accumulated more kills as Krieg waited for the ION loader to lower its shields. I don't condone your methods... but don't let him win! Once the bot ran out of energy Krieg pummeled it, and the loaders it was protecting, to pieces. Once the final beacon was smashed one last wave of bots fell to the ground.

“How hard is it to wipe out a few Vault Hunters and a walking slab of meat?” Jack asked. “Now, GET 'EM!” A badass loader loomed over the team, revving up its guns. Krieg killed the other bots before charging the huge machine. You can only tie it up at this point. Kill that one and you don't lose to Brick. The team had already damaged the loader heavily but Brick was also running hell bent at the robot. Krieg jumped moments before the Slab King and jammed his buzz saw into the bot's eye.

“Aw,” Brick huffed. “Well, at least you didn't beat me.”

“If you two are done messing around we've got work to do,” Axton said.

“I'll meet ya back in Sanctuary,” Brick replied. “That was the most fun I've had in ages.”

~

“Opportunity,” Axton said, “it sounds lovely. And full of Hyperion personnel.”

“Plus,” Gaige added, “it could be a trap.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Salvador asked.

“This is our best bet,” Maya said. “Jack's egotistical enough to have body doubles and that works in our favor. After that it's just a matter of getting the password. We can take anything that moron throws at us.”

“Let's head out in ten,” Axton said with a nod. “Stock up on ammo and grab something to eat. I doubt this will be easy but like Maya said, we can do this.” The Vault Hunters parted ways but Maya and Krieg stayed on the ground level of the head quarters. He had been jumpy every since they'd left Thousand Cuts but the mania had quickly faded from his eyes when no one was shooting at him.

“Feeling better?” she asked.

“Now, yeah,” Krieg replied. “He jumped right in the moment the bullets started to fly. The jerk ripped the rug from beneath me.”

“How rude,” Maya said with a smirk.

“He's like that. Thankfully he loses interest when there's nothing to brutally slaughter. I'm practically at his mercy the instant a gun goes off.” He was slouching again, looking defeated.

“Is you eye feeling better?” the siren asked, hoping a change of subject would distract him.

“Yeah, the swellings gone and it no longer looks like my skin is angry with me. It doesn't hurt anymore either. I checked this morning... accidentally.”

“How so?”

“I forgot to put the mask back on. When you knocked this morning I threw my arm over my face to block out the light. A moment later I remember 'that should hurt' and nearly gave myself a heart attack.”

“Ah, I wondered why you looked so frazzled,” she teased. Krieg rolled his eye and sighed. “Can I see what it looks like now?” That made him pause. Tannis was still at her desk, humming out of tune and scrawling something in a folder. He gestured to the door with his head. The two Vault Hunters grabbed something to eat and walked to Krieg's place. Sometime between when Maya had left last night and now he had righted a few of the chairs, but all other furnishings were still in a pile. She sat down while he checked to see if he possessed a table. The siren heard him mutter 'aha' before a desk slid in front of her.

“There's probably a folding table in that mess but I never really get a chance to tidy up,” Krieg apologized. He set his sandwich on the desk and reached back to loosen the straps before pushing his mask on top of his head. The wound looked much better now that it wasn't bright red and puffy.

“You could probably just wear an eye patch,” Maya offered between bites of sandwich.

“It would take some getting used to,” Krieg replied. “I like the mask. There are benefits to both. The mask is quite terrifying to bandits after all. But being able to eat without hassle sounds really nice too. For now I'd rather keep the mask. I'm quite attached to it. The ventilator and air filtration could come in handy too.”

“It's your call,” Maya said with a shrug. It would probably be better the less she could see his mouth anyway. The sight of his lips was distracting. She focused instead on her sandwich. Maya had worried that Pandora might have weird food. While the planet did have skag steaks, rakk wings, and other questionable local delicacies the raiders stole plenty of Hyperion's food deliveries to feed the people of Sanctuary. It seemed sandwiches were an intergalactic favorite.

“Are you interrogating the deli meat?” Krieg asked, noticing her intense focus.

“Maybe.”

“Did it commit a heinous crime? I'd suggest biting the bread a little more. He might feign indifference but they've been together for a while so I bet it affects him.” Maya laughed.

“I had no idea your sense of humor was so ridiculous.”

“I've had too much time thinking of jokes to entertain myself. The other guy doesn't really like sophisticated humor. I remember once he was chasing down a particularly spry bandit who was screaming that he did nothing wrong. Once his guts were on the ground I said, internally of course, 'let me ex-spleen something to you'. I couldn't even finish the joke the other guy was laughing so much. Admittedly his laughter sounds a lot like something being tortured but it caused me to crack up too. I'm not sure how long we sat there laughing like morons.” Maya chuckled at his story.

“Well at least you get along sometimes.”

“We have our moments. It's like having a room mate in your brain. We bicker and fight but every now and then we agree on something. He's acting out more now since I'm getting a fair share of control. It's like trying to reason with a toddler.”

“He didn't like being hosed off in the square much either.”

“The idiot likes being covered with blood. He's got a sick fascination with it. From his ranting you've probably heard him talk about blood 'singing' to him. I don't hear it and I'm sharing a brain with him. Even so, I didn't like being hosed off either. Lilith seemed too cheery about it.”

“She was the one who doused Brick when he came back looking the same way when they were hunting for the Vault. It's a job she's used to.” They lapsed into silence once more and Maya had to tear her gaze from his lips again.

“You really want answers from that sandwich,” Krieg teased.

“I told him you have his wife over there, he's singing like a canary now.”

“Well if you promised she'd be unharmed I've got bad news.” Krieg finished the last bite of his sandwich with an exaggerated chomp.

“If the sandwich bandit had really wanted to protect her he should have never turned to a life of crime,” Maya said before shoving the last of her food into her mouth.

“Cold Pandoran justice,” Krieg said with a smirk. 'Ug', Maya thought, 'why does that smirk look so good on his face?' “Ah, I got something on my face didn't I?” The siren moved her gaze as he wiped around his mouth.

“You got it,” she squeaked, then cleared her throat. “It's gone now.” Krieg met her eyes and stared for a long moment. Maya dropped his gaze and toyed with her fingers. He reached across the table and touched her hand.

“Maya,” he said softly. She felt a shiver when he said her name. “You were staring.” There was no arguing with him. He knew.

“Yup,” she admitted.

“Is it that bad?”

“God, no!” she answered before covering her mouth. Krieg looked confused for a moment but then it dawned on him. He smiled. Maya's heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, is it that good then?” He was enjoying this.

“Maybe,” she said. The siren felt completely lost and very trapped. Krieg lifted her hand and brought it closer to him. “Can I...”

“Yes?”

“... touch your scar?” Krieg paused but nodded. Maya pulled her hand out of his and gently brushed the scar tissue with her fingers. He let out a shuddering breath, eye closed. Then he watched her expression as she traced the scars. Maya looked away from his stare while she followed the lines of pale, raised skin. She still steered clear of his eye socket, worried that would pain him. Her fingers drifted lower, past his cheek bone and towards his ear when he jumped a little. Maya snatched her hand back.

“I'm sorry I didn't mean-”

“It's okay,” He said softly. “It just tickled a little.” Maya let out a sigh of relief.

“I was worried I'd done something wrong.”

“You're fine. I just wasn't expecting it to feel pleasant.”

“Oh. Um, good.” Krieg took her hand again. The gesture calmed her.

“Do I scare you?” he asked. For her the question was out of the blue but his face was serious.

“No,” she answered without missing a beat. “I trust you.”

“Thank you,” he breathed, pulling her hand toward his mouth. “That means... everything to me.” Krieg gently placed a kiss on the back of her hand. Maya felt her brain turn to putty. This only happened in books, not in reality and certainly not to her. Yet here she was, trying to form words after a man kissed her hand like she was nobility.

“Break's over,” Axton said over the ECHO channel, causing them both to jump, “let's meet up at the fast travel station.” Maya breathed a sigh of relief. She had probably been about to say something pathetic and moment ruining anyway. Krieg pulled his mask back into place and rose to open the door.

“Ladies first,” he said, eye twinkling with glee. She scoffed at his regal tone and wrinkled her nose at him. This man... he was going to be the death of her.

Chapter Text

“I feel like we're on a different planet,” Maya breathed. Opportunity was organized, clean, and had an air of progress. It was the opposite of Pandora.

“This place gives me the willies,” Gaige said with a shudder.

“It is off putting,” Krieg agreed. The mechromancer glanced at him, still not used to Krieg talking. I'm hardly used to it either.

“Let's find Jack's double and get out of here,” Axton said. Their entry into Opportunity had been quiet but Krieg doubted it would stay that way for long. There was no way this place wouldn't have heavy security. I suppose you'll be taking over the instant something needs killing? His other voice wasn't exactly silent, it seemed to be growling. You really aren't good at this internal speaking thing are you? It's pretty easy. His coaxing was interrupted by a Hyperion engineer coming into view. The Psycho wrested control away, blood lust singing.

“OPEN YOUR VEINS,” He screamed, nearly slicing the man in half. Fine, go on your rampage. I can bide my time until we're back in Sanctuary. You handle all the bloodshed and I get the down time. Works for me. “SHUT UP.” Again, you can talk to me in our shared brain rather than scream things out to the world. Food for thought. As if cued by the engineers dying screams, loaders began to pour into the plaza. Zer0 took it upon himself to blow a leg off each robot, making it hard for them to shoot at the Vault Hunters. Krieg was more than happy to smash the crippled loaders.

“The square should be just ahead,” Maya said, “and the double is somewhere near there. According to Angel we need his pocket watch. It carries Jack's bio-signature.” Zer0 held up a hand, causing the team to stop.

“Handsome Jack's decoy,” the assassin stated, “surrounded by enemies, I will take him out.”

“The shot will draw the loaders and engineers this way,” Axton mused, “let's set up a defensive position. Take two shots, Zer0, just in case he's got heavy duty shields.” The sniper nodded and disappeared. Krieg shifted from foot to foot, anxious for the blood bath to begin. Maya touched his arm and he stilled. Ha, she's even got you behaving, now that's a feat.

Two bullets shattered the calm over Opportunity. A heartbeat later they could hear Hyperion forces racing toward their location, calling in that the double in the city had been taken out by a sniper. A group of loaders, lead by an engineer, walked right into the sights of Axton's turret. The machine gun hammered the bots, causing a few of them to explode. Krieg wanted to jump into the fray but the siren's hand was still on his forearm, telling him it wasn't yet time. When the turret needed a moment to reload Salvador put down suppressing fire with his two assault rifles. Gaige picked off anything loaders that came crawling toward the team with her shot gun and Maya used her free hand to phase lock any robot that tried throwing a grenade. Just as Salvador fired his last round the last of the loaders fell. Krieg huffed, angry he hadn't been able to participate. When Angel said they would need to visit a few info kiosks to recreate Jack's voice he perked up a little. You'll get your chance big guy, don't worry.

They got the drop on a group of engineers around one of the kiosks. Krieg glanced at Maya, who nodded. The Psycho didn't need to be told twice. He charged into their midst buzz saw swinging and laughing maniacally. Even when all the Hyperion personnel were dead he kept cackling. Feeling better I take it? Gaige hit the button to start the recording and Angel collected the voice sample. One down, three to go. They cleared the one in the office complex with a few well placed grenades. The kiosk near the entrance had a few engineers trying to figure out what happened to their buddies who had been in the area. All were sniped before they knew what was happening. Krieg growled at Zer0 for that one but the assassin paid him no mind. The residential quarter was another story as the loaders ambushed the Vault Hunters. Two ION loaders shielded their fellow bots, forcing the team to take cover.

Krieg waited for the shields to drop and then launched himself at the group of robots. He landed feet first on an ION loader, crushing it soundly, before hacking the limbs off all the other machines. They protested weakly, leaking motor oil as they lay helpless on the ground. Krieg jumped on them one by one, like a child would hop in puddles. Instead of a pleasant splash the sound effect was a grinding crunch.

“Well someone is having fun,” Maya said with a laugh.

“I TOLD YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN,” The Psycho shouted to the crushed loaders.

“That's the last voice sample,” Gaige said once Jack finished his spiel about a future 'pleasure palace'. “God I never want to hear that voice again.”

“You and me both,” Salvador agreed.

“Now just to find a place to upload these clips,” Axton said. Angel marked a location on their ECHO maps and the team headed out. Loaders fell from the sky, trying to halt their progress, but the added enemies barely slowed them. Anything that came too close was either shot by Gaige or chopped to bits by Kreig. Anything out of their range was taken out by a sniper, SMG, or assault rifle round. We're getting pretty good at this teamwork stuff . Once they uploaded the files Angel created a voice modulator and synced it to the pocket watch.

“Activate the voice changer once you arrive at the door to my chambers,” she said. “Once you get there I will tell you the-” Angel cried out in pain, causing the Vault Hunters to jump.

“You seriously thought you could hide from me Angel?” Jack hissed. “Say goodbye to your friends Angel... say it. ”

“See you soon,” Angel said with a heavy sigh.

~

After a stirring speech from Roland, which sounded more depressing than anything, and convincing Claptrap to join them at Thousand Cuts tomorrow the team dispersed. Bright and early they'd be storming the gates. Maya was a little worried thanks to Roland's pessimistic view. He couldn't put on a brave face and say things would be okay, oh no, he had to be a realist. Axton was the only one who looked like he'd heard similar speeches before and wasn't disheartened. Lilith continued to argue with Roland about Angel's order that she not enter the AI control core. Mordecai's eye roll and sigh told her they'd had this conversation quite a few times already.

Maya went downstairs to see Axton and Salvador discussing assault rifle preferences and what would be better for tomorrow's attack on the Hyperion fortress. The air was tense. Krieg had left the moment they were dismissed, still shaking off his switch from sane to Psycho at Opportunity. She wanted to follow him but worried she'd be intruding on his need for space. 'I should at least ask before I assume he needs space,' she thought.

She found Krieg sitting on the roof of his claimed home. He was leaning back on outstretched arms, breathing deep. Maya watched him for a moment, noting how his chest expanded with each inhale, the way his shoulders rose and fell, and how he seemed completely at ease. It was a far cry from how he'd been at the Hyperion 'city of the future'.

“Hey,” Krieg's deep voice pulled the siren out of her contemplation.

“Hey,” she replied. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, it's getting easier to transition back to sanity. He doesn't even try to cling anymore. It's almost like we've reached an agreement... but I still don't trust the calm.”

“Side-note, how did you get up there?” Maya asked.

“Pretty easy for someone of my height,” he said with a shrug. Krieg jumped down to demonstrate how he gripped the edge of the roof and pulled himself up. Maya ogled his muscles at work, especially the way his back muscles flexed. He was very graceful despite his towering height.

“You make it look easy,” she scoffed.

“As if someone of your acrobatic ability would have any trouble,” he teased.

“That's all on the ground, climbing up things isn't my specialty.” Krieg hopped down again.

“I'll give you a boost.” Maya hesitated, out of worry that she'd fail. She trusted him entirely. He laced his fingers together and she took the chance. The siren landed on the roof perfectly.

“Okay, I expected that to go a lot worse.”

“I told you,” Krieg said, climbing back up and sitting to her right. “I'm glad you came by.”

“Oh? I thought maybe you'd want space...” she trailed off awkwardly.

“I appreciate the concern but I don't need space,” he said kindly, “least of all from you. You have a very calming presence.”

“I do?” Maya had never heard anything like that before.

“Yes. It's probably because of how in control you are. I can count on you to be there. Compared to all the time I spent wandering, just a voice in a Psycho's brain... I like constants.” Krieg bashfully bowed his head.

“Well I can't promise to always be level headed,” Maya said with a smile, “but I'm not going anywhere.” He glanced at her with his good eye, the silent question 'do you mean it?' in that stare. She placed her hand on his, trying to be as reassuring as possible. 'I have no idea what the hell I'm doing,' Maya thought to herself, 'but it feels right.'

Chapter Text

The No Man's Land between Slab Mountain and the Hyperion compound had been quiet moments before. Now it was filled with loaders and bandits trying to kill each other. Brick's buzzards rained destruction on the robots as the Vault Hunters made their way to the gate. Claptrap zipped ahead of them, stopping every few feet to tag a piece of shrapnel with 'CL4P-TP was here'. Axton looked ready to yell at the ridiculous robot, his soldiers instincts clearly at odds with Claptrap's dawdling ways. Gaige beat him to it.

“Oy, moronic robot,” she shouted, “listen to your damn programming and deactivate the death wall.”

“I'm on it,” Claptrap replied cheerily, passing through the glowing red screen. He made a series of unnecessary beeping noises and the atomizing laser grid disappeared. Jack's sassy remarks following the deactivation of the security wall sounded a little strained to Krieg, but he was quickly trying to keep his Psycho personality from throwing all strategy to the wind. Get the ones that are headed for the team. Anything ranged will be taken care of. The Psycho reluctantly focused his attention on the BUL and PWR loaders rather than trying to turn every single robot to scrap.

The fighting was intense all around. Bandits sang crazed strains from 'Hall of the Mountain King' as they terrorized the Hyperion forces from their aircraft. Axton would toss his turret forward, walk to it shooting all the while before repeating the throw. Behind him was Salvador, having the time of his life with his dual assault rifles and yelling insults in Spanish at their foes. Maya was next to the gunzerker. She fired her SMG in short bursts to weaken her enemies before phase locking them and finishing them off with a few more shots. Zer0 was at the very back of the pack, taking quick aim with his sniper rifle and taking down anything that threatened the team from afar. Gaige and Deathtrap were on the right a little ways ahead of Axton, chewing through any loaders with shotgun shells and whirring machinery. Krieg was on the left, smashing robots and engineers to pieces with his buzz saw and cackling madly all the while. The six Vault Hunters carved a path up the hillside with relative ease, each comfortable in their specific role. The arrival of a constructor posed no issue. It was the same as before. Once the area around it was clear Krieg disabled it with a brutal hit to the focusing eye at the front. The team walked past it without a care, not even flinching as the robot exploded behind them. Okay I'm just going to bet that looked seriously badass. I hope Hyperion is watching. They should be scared.

Their arrival at the main gates was welcomed by turrets, quickly taken offline by some sniper rounds, and two badass loaders. Psycho Krieg could barely contain himself. I get it. This is like Christmas for you. Surprisingly the berserker turned to Maya, silently asking her permission. See? You like her . The siren nodded with a smile.

“Go get 'em tiger,” she said. Krieg charged across the road and took a flying leap at one of the huge loaders. He landed just as the robots guns finished warming up. With a tremendous heave and a strained grunt Krieg turned the loader to face its companion. Bullets tore through the badass bot's chassis and internal hardware. It fell like a cut tree, metal groaning. Krieg chopped the limbs off of the loader he'd hijacked and stomped on its glowing blue eye.

“STRATEGY,” The Psycho yelled.

“I think you're getting the concept,” Axton said with a grin.

The badass constructor inside was a different story than the normal ones they had faced. The heat seeking missiles were harrying them at every turn, pinning the team behind cover. Krieg was busy dodging those while trying to take down the loaders it spawned before they could get too close to the others. They had a momentary respite while the beastly robot reloaded.

“I need one clear shot,” Zer0 chanted, “the eye is vulnerable, a bullet will do.”

“If we spread out and divide its attention Zer0 can line up a shot and cripple it,” Maya mused.

“A lot of our plans involve spreading out and yelling 'look at me I'm a perfect target'” Gaige grumbled but had a smile tugging at the edge of her lips. “You're lucky I like that plan.” On Axton's mark the team split, confusing the constructor and making it take a moment to choose a target. Zer0 jumped on top of a shipping crate, looked into his scope, and pulled the trigger. The glowing orange orb shattered from the impact and the prepped missiles had no where to go. After the flames from the explosion died down the team peeked around their invidual places of cover.

“That was cool.” Salvador said, giving Zer0 a good natured punch to the shoulder. The assassin didn't react but his stride seemed a little more exaggerated to Krieg. Let him enjoy it. That was awesome. We don't have to be the star all the time. It's nice to let each other shine. Psycho Krieg grunted but didn't say anything.

~

There were many words that ran through Maya's head when she saw the BNK3R lift off. All of them were expletives. She didn't have a chance to use any in her haste to get to cover. Axton and Salvador, however, both knew how to swear on the run and did so profusely.

“How in the hell do we stop that thing?” Gaige asked.

“We blow it to smithereens,” Salvador answered. “It has the glowing eyes under that front flap. A few rockets in there and we're set.”

“So we're playing aggro tag again?” the teenager asked.

“It's our best shot,” Maya said with a shrug.

“Any chance you can phase lock it and crush the damn thing with your mind?” Axton asked tiredly.

“I wish,” the siren snorted. “Something that big... no. I might be able to give Salvador a few more second of vulnerability but that's it.”

“Every little bit helps,” the commando said, “and every second counts.” The Vault Hunters spread out, each trying to distract the flying death machine from focusing on any of them too long. Krieg was the only one who couldn't participate, since he didn't carry a long range weapon, but he kept himself busy with all the loaders that were still trying to kill them. It took a few passes before the 'bunker' opened its glowing orange targeting matrix to pick its next victim. Salvador lined up the shot and fired while Maya phase locked the machine. The rocket slammed home, cracking plenty of spider-like eyes and shattering more than a few. As if angry with their insolence the machine closed its damaged eyes from view and sped off for another pass. When the bunker came around it seemed hellbent on destroying them. One person specifically.

Krieg was still out in the open, fighting off the horde of loaders like it was child's play. The endlessly digistructing army had his attention completely, and he didn't see his destruction heading right for him. It was too far to yell and much to far to run. Maya had one choice. She raced out from cover, faced the BNK3R and commanded it.

“Be still,” she hissed. The bunker paused, giant turret frozen in the act of readying a shot. Maya felt her concentration fraying as she held the monstrous robot in the sky. The targeting matrix was vulnerable. “Salvador,” she groaned at if under the bunker's weight, “shoot it.” The gunzerker didn't need to be told twice a shot off all the rockets that were still in the clip. The machine groaned under the pressure and the glowing orbs shattered, blinding it. Maya released the phase lock, falling to her knees. Krieg was there in an instant and back to himself.

“Maya? Are you all right?” he asked quietly. The BNK3R exploded in the background but neither paid it any mind.

“Yeah,” she breathed. “I never... I didn't think I could hold something that big. But I couldn't let it hurt you. There wasn't any other choice.”

“I've already lost count of how many times I owe you my life,” he said with a soft chuckle.

“Eh, I think we're pretty even.” She stood carefully but her knees still shook and gave out from under her. Krieg caught her elbows before she fell to the ground again. “See? You saved me some dignity there.” He laughed again, her favorite rumbling sound. 'Oh God I'm a sap,' she thought miserably.

“Any time. But now we have a door to open.” After a few rounds of rock-paper-scissors Axton was the unlucky soul who got to use the voice modulator. He grumbled as he attached the pocket watch, cursing them all until his voice changed. Then he nearly puked and refused to speak. The door scanned his bio-signature. When he had to say the password Axton first groaned and paced angrily.

“I love you,” he said into the microphone.

“Access granted,” the computer chirped after a few tense seconds and the door slid open.

“Consider this my final warning,” Jack stated coldly over the team's ECHOs. “Turn around and I promise I'll make it quick. But if you take another step every soul in Sanctuary will die staring at their own lungs as I rip them from their chests.” Angel changed the topic quickly.

“Eridium alone couldn't rush the Vault Key's charging cycle,” she explained, “It needs a catalyst to awaken its power. It needs... a siren.” Maya felt her skin crawl, worried she'd stepped right into a trap. “Jack acquired his siren catalyst long ago. He kept her hidden from the world but now you will be able to set her free.” That didn't set Maya completely at ease. Her fear was replaced by horror. She marched off the elevator as soon as it reached the bottom floor and headed for the control core. Something was very wrong. Once they were all inside Maya pushed a button and the walls began to change.

“To truly stop Jack from waking the Warrior you cannot just steal the Vault Key,” Angel said. “You must destroy his catalyst. You must destroy... me.” She appeared in all her siren glory, white wings spread. Maya's thoughts ground to a halt. Angel was a siren, and now they had to kill her? 'No freakin' way,' she thought angrily. “Jack spent years pumping me full of Eridium, using that power to charge the Vault Key and manipulate his enemies. Destroying the injectors that keep me... alive... will stop the Key from charging. And it will end a lifetime of servitude. Now-”

“You get the hell away from my daughter!” Jack yelled, shattering the phase shift. “What are you doing, Angel?”

“Stopping you,” she replied, opening the doors to her true chambers. They didn't have time to gawk at the huge room. “The Eridium injectors, destroy them!” The team turned their gaze to the huge valves above and on Axton's mark took aim and fired at one. Jack's shields went up before they could do significant damage. The Hyperion CEO also threatened to come kill them himself but Angel assured them that he was too cowardly. “I'll find a way to lower the shields, just stay alive. Loaders and turrets will digistruct but I'll keep you supplied with ammo.”

As Angel spoke the robots began to appear. These new loaders had more armor on their limbs, not allowing them to be shot off, but they still had the vulnerable glowing eyes. They also shot lasers. Maya phase locked one to prevent it from doing just that. Zer0 shot it right in the eye before it fell to the floor harmlessly.

“Hey,” Roland called from above, “looks like you guys could use a hand!”

“I'll deploy the bridge,” Angel said. “I need you to disable the shield on the Eridium injectors manually.”

“Got it,” the soldier replied. “I can toss my turret down there to give you guys some cover.” Roland's scorpio turret landed on the floor, extending a shield wall to either side. Gaige and Maya took cover there and fired at the swarm of loaders. Axton was beneath his own turret's shield with Salvador and Zer0. Krieg was clinging to a WAR loader's shoulders as he tore out wiring and forced it to shoot at the tough angelic guardians. “I got a shield down, shoot the injector!” Salvador turned his attention to the giant valve and shot it to pieces. Angel cried out, twisting Maya's heart, but encouraged them to keep going.

“You are endangering my baby girl,” Jack seethed over the huge screens inside the control core. “This is my vow. Every friend, every child, every person you ever passed on the street- I'm gonna kill them all. You didn't follow the rules, bandit.” Maya ignored his ranting and continued to demolish loader after loader. Even when he began to plead with Angel she focused on the task at hand. The team grouped up again, making what Axton affectionately referred to as a 'kill circle'.

“Promise me you'll kill him,” the younger siren begged.

“Right after we free you,” Zer0 promised. Maya was a bit surprised by the assassin's vow but wasn't given long to think on it.

“I lowered another shield,” Roland said. “Hit that injector.” Again it was Salvador and his assault rifles that shattered the machine. The moment it broke the light bridge disappeared, dropping Roland to the floor. “Damnit, how am I going to reach the injector panel?”

“How ya doing?” Lilith said by way of introduction, appearing in a flash of light.

“Lilith, I told you not to come,” Roland argued.

“Yeah and I didn't listen,” she replied, “and it looks like you need me.” She phase walked through a group of angelic guards, destroying them with ease. The eight of them combined their firepower on a badass loader. Maya phase locked it once it was weakened and Lilith hit it with a blast from her phase walk that tore it to shreds. The two sirens had a moment to high five. “We should really do this more often.”

“We gotta move, Lilith,” Roland said. The Firehawk grabbed him and phase walked to the injector panel. Once he was set up she jumped back down with the Vault Hunters. Between the two sirens the loaders didn't stand a chance. Krieg went to town on another badass loader, tearing its arms off while they were firing and stabbing the bullet spewing guns into its chassis. Zer0 picked off the laser turrets before they could even charge a shot. Gaige and her robot moved from loader to loader, pummeling each one into scrap. Axton and his turret kept an eye out for the annoying ION loaders, making sure they never had a chance to deploy their shields. Salvador was raining bullets on any loader that went ignored by the others. Maya and Lilith kept combining their powers, ripping the unfortunate bots to pieces. Badass loaders were becoming the norm but the two sirens made them look like wet tissue paper.

“Don't you know what you're doing?” Jack screamed. “Who cares about the goddamn key, you're going to end the life of an innocent girl!”

“Jack ended my life long ago,” Angel said sadly. “This has to end now Vault Hunters.”

“I got the last shield,” Roland called, “get the injector!” Salvador turned his assault rifles skyward and destroyed the last valve. The shield around Angel broke and the influx of purple energy stopped completely. Angel floated to the ground with the Vault Key.

“Angel you can stop this,” Jack begged. “I'll still forgive you, baby.”

“Dad,” she said between breaths, “I have to tell you something... you're an asshole.” With that she finally collapsed completely, eyes closed. Maya felt her heart twist in a knot, crushed that she would never know the poor girl.

“Angel? No, Angel!” Jack cried.

“What kind of person would do this to their own daughter?” Lilith asked quietly.

“The kind of guy who deserves to die,” Roland answered. “She's at peace now, and Jack's lost his only way to awaken the Warrior. We got the Vault Key but this isn't over. Jack still has to be taken down. Lilith, take the Key to Tannis. I'm going after Jack.” A single shot range out after the soldiers speech. Blood blossomed on Roland's chest and he fell.

“Roland!” Lilith screamed. Jack was standing behind the fallen leader of the Crimson Raiders, looking murderous. “You bastard,” the Firehawk raged, “I'm gonna-” She was cut off by Jack snapping a collar around her neck. The siren collapsed, her power suddenly extinguished.

“What's that saying?” Jack asked pensively. “Never pick a fight with a man with nothing left to lose? See, I'm gonna show you just how much you have to lose... and I've got the most powerful siren on the planet to do it with.” He grabbed Lilith by the collar and pulled her up. “Lilith, kill the Vault Hunters. We've got a date to keep with the Warrior.” The siren extended her hand, crying out in agony. The six team mates were surrounded by pulsing energy, unable to move.

“No,” Lilith yelled. She clenched her fist and the six Vault Hunters were spirited away.

Chapter Text

Maya felt lost. After everything they had done to stop Jack it seemed like they were back to square one. Sure, they'd freed Angel from him but he'd killed Roland, taken Lilith, and was now even closer to awakening the Warrior and unleashing untold destruction. Explaining what had happened to Mordecai had been painful. He had already lost his bird, now he had another friend dead. He had nodded to Lilith's heroism in getting them all back to Sanctuary.

“She was always good at resisting control,” he said with a snort. Mordecai had said nothing else, leaving Maya thinking that they were given a moment to breathe. Sanctuary was in mourning, everyone looking shell shocked and listless. What were they going to do without their fearless leader? Maya had no answers. She had lost two sisters today. Lilith could still be saved but Angel... she was gone forever. Just thinking about it made her want to cry. Walking without any sort of direction Maya found herself at Krieg's door. He had been the first to leave the HQ, looking pained. The siren was about to walk away, worried that he didn't want to talk when the door opened.

“Hey,” Krieg said, “I was just coming to find you. I wanted to make sure I was me first.” He stepped aside to let her in. Maya shuffled inside and sat in one of the chairs. “You aren't doing okay, are you?”

“No,” she said quietly. “Angel was just a kid. She was trapped in that cell, forced to be Jack's catalyst and pumped with Eridium. I keep telling myself that he killed her... but we're the ones who caused her death.”

“She didn't want to be his slave anymore,” Krieg soothed. “He did kill her, when he hooked her up to those machines and made her survive on Eridium. She wasn't living. She was being used. And she hated every moment of it. His own daughter... the man is a monster. We fulfilled her dying wish. I know it still stings, but she's free now.”

“I know... I just wish there had been another way.”

“I do to. I know how much being around other sirens means to you. When you and Lilith were kicking ass in the control core... I've never seen you look more alive. We're going to get her back. And I'm going to rip out Jack's cowardly spine and beat him to death with it. That's what the other guy has planned anyway.” Maya felt the barest trace of a smile cross her lips.

“But Roland's gone,” she sighed, feeling the tears welling up again. “He was the backbone of the resistance. They- we're lost without him. I don't know what to do...” Maya sniffled and wiped a tear away angrily. “But I'm not crying damnit.” She stood and began to pace, trying to burn off the tears

“Why not? It's okay, Maya. You can grieve however you want. It's okay to cry.” With those words Maya burst into tears. Everything had gone to hell around her and she was crying. She wanted to tell herself to stop, to be stronger, to not appear weak. But when Krieg crossed the room and held her in his arms she let herself lean against him. “It's okay,” he murmured, rubbing her back gently. Maya wasn't sure how long she cried against his chest but Krieg didn't tell her enough or to stop. So she stood there until her tears stopped and even then she didn't pull away.

“Sorry,” she muttered.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he answered. She could feel his voice rumble through his chest. “Pain needs to be let out. Crying is just one way of doing that. You don't have to be composed all the time. Everyone has moments of weakness and that's okay.” His large hand kept making small circles on her back. Maya felt more relaxed and safe than she ever had on Pandora.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Any time,” he replied. “I'm here for you.” Maya leaned back so she could see his face. Even though his mask was firmly in place she could she how bashful he was feeling. She smiled and impulsively placed a kiss on his masked cheek. He blinked slowly, clearly processing what had happened.

“I know,” she said, grinning despite the tear tracks on her face. “That's why I like you.”

~

Krieg's brain was still repeating that sentence to himself as they planned their attack on the Hyperion Info Stockade. He had noticed the smudge of blue lipstick on his mask in the reflection of a dark screen and vowed to never wash it off. Every time he thought about it he felt giddy. Calm down me, you aren't some immature fourteen year old anymore... but damn is she something. Even you think so, right big guy? Psycho Krieg said nothing but his sane personality sensed some grudging respect. He tuned in just in time to catch the last of the plan.

“So if you get me those crates I can fix that bridge,” Brick said.

“Sawtooth Cauldron is a dangerous place,” Mordecai said. “Plus Mortar won't like you stealing his stuff. But if you take out his favorite Buzzard he'll have to face you. Bandits are like that.”

“We'll head out first thing tomorrow,” Axton said. “Unless anyone opposes?” The Vault Hunters all shook their heads. It was time to get on the path to payback. The six of them reconvened downstairs to clean their guns. Krieg sat next to Gaige, carefully disassembling his shot gun.

“You got a little something on your face,” she said with a grin. Krieg glanced at her with his good eye as she pointed to the blue stain.

“A little extra war paint,” he explained calmly, not betraying his inner panic.

“Ah, I see,” the teenager said. “For luck?”

“You could say that.”

Chapter Text

“Well that was tedious,” Maya said as they left Sawtooth Cauldron.

“I'll say,” Axton huffed. “Blowing up the buzzard was fun though.”

“Did you hear him scream when we didn't even look at the explosion?” Gaige cackled. “The guy went ballistic! And when Krieg tore the little scumbag to pieces... ah, that was cool.” Krieg ducked his head. You got a little carried away there.

“Not my finest moment,” he grumbled.

“Well it worked, amigo,” Salvador said. “We got Brick his crates and now we have a way into the Arid Nexus.”

“One step closer to giving that monster what he deserves,” Maya said coldly.

“Amen to that,” Axton replied. The other Vault Hunters added their agreement.

“Who has dibs on beating his face in?” Krieg asked.

“Honestly,” Gaige mused, “I'd say you. Jack basically screwed up your entire brain to the point of giving you another personality. That's rough.”

“From what we learned at the preserve he put you through hell,” Maya agreed. “Eridium and human flesh don't get along. They have hours of logs with the screams of their subjects. As far as we know you're the only one they experimented on who made it out of there. Not too long ago the mention of that egomaniac's name had you reacting like a kicked skag.”

“I suppress it,” Krieg explained, “but the urge is definitely still there.”

“Jack's hurt all of us,” Axton chimed in, “but you seem to be the best way to get back at him. He turned you into a monster... but you made it back to humanity. He did the exact opposite. I like the symbolism.”

“This is starting to sound all Frankenstein,” Gaige said. “If the monster managed to remember how to be human and cast down his awful creator. I'm telling you, messing with genetics is bad news. I'm totally down with you kicking Jack's ass into the beyond.”

“I second that,” Salvador added. “I'd like to see you beat him to death with his own arm.”

“One who has gone mad, killed by a former Psycho, that I want to see,” Zer0 stated.

“Looks like you've got a bullet, or buzz saw, with Jack's name on it,” Maya said proudly.

“We'll see what happens,” Krieg said. “But I know Jack's dying to meet me.” The Vault Hunters, aside from Maya, groaned at the pun.

“I'm gonna hurl,” Gaige threatened.

“Aw, come on,” Maya teased. “Jack has a deadline to meet. Okay that one was really reaching.” That's it. She's the perfect woman.

~

Traveling through the Arid Nexus was a tense affair. All the slag puddles had everyone nervous. Krieg stared down at the purple ooze with a mixture of fear and hatred. Maya wanted to comfort him but there wasn't a good opportunity with all the Hyperion forces chasing after them again and again. The ladder falling off the giant pipe, which was supposed to be their way in, prompted the team to visit the pumping stations to cause a rupture in the pipeline. Krieg was subdued until the loaders tried to stop them. He would snap into Psycho mode, help them destroy the bots, and then be right back to himself.

“The last station is underground,” Maya said, checking the ECHO map as they drove across the nexus. Their version of the bandit technical had been retrofitted for the gritty terrain and the ride was smooth. Zer0 perched in the turret while Axton drove and the rest of them sat in the back. The commando always stopped anyone else from transporting the group. His reasons had evidence to hold them up: Maya was too much of a speed demon, Gaige had to run over anything that crossed her path, Salvador took turns too tight, Zer0 swerved wildly as if he was being shot at all the time, and Krieg had crashed every vehicle he'd ever controlled. Admittedly that was before his return to sanity but he didn't object.

Axton stopped the technical by the elevator and they all piled out. He set up his turret on the platform and everyone else checked their guns and held them ready. It was more than likely that this was somewhere Hyperion would try to ambush them. The moment the elevator touched down HOT loaders rushed toward the entrance. Zer0 sniped one, Axton and his turret shredded another, and Krieg tackled two more. Maya phase locked the remaining bot and Gaige hit it twice with shotgun shells.

“There are probably more inside,” Salvador guessed. “Hyperion will have noticed that we hit the other two stations.”

“Let's not keep them waiting,” Gaige said with a grin. The six Vault Hunters walked down the hallway. Halfway through a group of EXP loaders rushed at them. Krieg tensed beside the siren and she once again calmed him with a gentle touch on his arm. Zer0 shot the middle bot right in the CPU and it demolished all its friends. Krieg nodded at her when he came back to himself seconds later. She gave him a smile and they kept moving forward. More HOT loaders were waiting around the bend but Krieg tore them to pieces before they could light a candle.

“There's the console,” Axton said, pointing to the pumping machine's controls. Salvador turned the valve and the pipes groaned under the added strain.

“That should do it,” Mordecai said over the ECHO. “Now you'll just need to hit the pipe really hard. Crashing into it will probably work.” Everyone looked at Krieg.

“I'll do it,” he grumbled.

“Sorry,” Maya said, “it's just that... you have the most experience...”

“Crashing vehicles?”

“Yeah.”

“You guys owe me for this.” Ten minutes later Krieg sent an out-runner into the side of the pipe, blowing it wide open. He staggered out of the wreck looking a little dizzy but none the worse for wear. “You guys really owe me for this,” he repeated.

“Yup,” Gaige said. “Especially since that sounds like head trauma.”

“You okay?” Maya asked him.

“Oh peachy,” he replied. “I just sent a car hurtling at a dangerously over pressured pipe with me still inside. No big deal. Have there always been two of you?” The twinkle in Krieg's eye betrayed his exaggeration.

“Oh you're fine,” the siren huffed, punching his shoulder.

“I dunno about that,” Gaige said with a smirk, “I believe the term you want to use is fiiiiine.”

“Let's keep moving,” Maya said, marching toward the pipe. Gaige cackled and made kissy noises as the siren walked away.

~

That is a big damn robot. Saturn towered over them, the biggest loader any of the Vault Hunters had seen. They all ducked behind cover in the ruins of Fyrestone as the huge robot sent exploding surveyors their way. Well this is a new challenge. How do you fight something that big? I'm not sure our combat style works very well for this situation...

“How the hell do we fight that?”Salvador asked.

“I was about to ask the same thing,” Gaige agreed.

“It doesn't have the eye weakness but we need to get rid of those turrets,” Axton said. “Zer0, how many shots do you think it'll take to disable those?”

“Unknown,” The assassin said. “I will simply shoot, assuming I don't perish, and hope for the best.”

“Okay, head back further into the ruins. All the JNK loaders are dead so just find a safe spot. If it looks like the mech is going to target you we'll draw it's attention with some suppressing fire,” Axton said.

“Aggro tag again,” Gaige said. “I'm not running out there though. That's for anyone with a death wish.”

“I could climb it,” Krieg said. Here's hoping they don't think I'm crazy.

“Are you loco, amigo?” Salvador asked.

“Probably,” Krieg replied, “but if I can cut the controls to some of its limbs I can make sure that thing doesn't go anywhere. I might even be able to kill its weapon systems.”

“You'll have to run on the edge of the battlefield,” Axton advised. “That way you stay out of its line of sight... hopefully. If it looks bad we'll lay enough covering fire to get you there.”

“Be careful,” Maya added.

“I'm in control,” Krieg said. “And I'll be careful.” He raced to the edge of the area while four Vault Hunters fired on Saturn to get its attention. The giant loader sent more homing surveyors to the group but they went back to cover in time. The loud retort of a sniper round rang out and one of the turrets on the robot's shoulders went offline. Krieg chose that moment to rush the loader. Saturn didn't even seem to register his presence and the berserker grabbed onto one of the mech's legs. He jabbed his buzz saw into one of the joints for leverage and it made a horrible scraping noise. Well that's going to have a hard time moving. He continued his assent, slicing off the turret on the bot's thigh. Zer0 disabled the mirrored turret with two shots.

Everything was looking great, until Saturn began to stomp. Krieg had thankfully just stabbed his ax into the bot's upper leg and gripped the handle for dear life while the loader tried to shake him. The other Vault Hunters peppered the mech with bullets and finally got its attention again. The gaint robot sent out more exploding drones but Maya phase locked the first one, causing a domino effect of explosions. Krieg continued his climb, finally onto the chassis of the beastly machine. When he was almost to the shoulder Zer0 dispatched the last turret, giving the berserker free reign to climb. He swung under the loader's arm with his buzz saw, severing crucial hydraulics and causing the arm to dangle as deadweight. Saturn listed to the side but planted its feet well enough to prevent falling over. Krieg moved to the other side of the bot and did the same thing, leaving Saturn defenseless. He carved his way into the chassis until he found the central processor and hacked it to pieces. Saturn staggered drunkenly for a moment, giving Krieg enough time to bail, and then fell.

“Nice work, amigo,” Salvador said with a grin.

“All while sane too,” Krieg said proudly. “I'm getting the hang off this.”

“Don't tempt fate,” Maya admonished, “or we'll suddenly have two more of these on our hands.” The Vault Hunters took the elevator up and cleared a path of destruction across the overpass. As a team the six of them were unstoppable and worked like a finely tuned machine. The badass constructor that landed was swept aside like trash before their might. Holding the stockade long enough for the data search proved a little more difficult. We're a little better on the move. Being cooped up in a multi-level building and keeping it clear of bots is a little trickier. Krieg and Maya were working as a team on the second floor. She phase locked anything that got too close and he turned it to scrap. A wave of EXP loaders caught them by surprise and all detonated at once. Their shields absorbed the damage but not the knock back. Krieg managed to grab the edge of a wall with one hand and catch Maya's hand with his other. They hung off the side of the building for a few moments, breathing hard.

“Thanks,” she called over the sounds of loaders being ripped to shreds by their team mates. Krieg grunted, pulling her up slowly. Even though Maya was very fit and slim he wanted to move carefully lest he jostle her grip. Thank God I managed to grab her. That would have been a long fall.

“Can you reach?” he asked, muscles bulging from the exertion.

“Almost,” the siren replied. “Just a little more... I got it.” She pulled herself onto the level and offered him a hand. Krieg hoisted himself back into the building with her help. He held onto her hand for a little longer than necessary, but when he noticed her shaking he didn't let go.

“You okay?” Krieg asked gently.

“I've never been almost thrown from a building at high speed,” she admitted. “I feel a little queasy now that I'm not in immediate danger.” Krieg helped her to one of the Hyperion crates and kept an eye out for any more loaders. Their team mates had everything under control from what he could hear.

“Just give it a moment,” the berserker said quietly. “It'll fade pretty fast. Unless that's another perk of being injected with Eridium. Maybe the two of us and our beyond human skills share the quick fading nausea trick.”

“I'm feeling better,” the siren replied. “It was just... terrifying. For a moment I thought it was over. Pandora is full of those moments but I never get used to them.”

“I faced those with apathy for a while. I was an inner voice. I didn't really have much to live for. They're back to being terrifying again. I can blame you, actually. If I hadn't seen you at that train station who knows how long I would have been completely insane.”

“Should I apologize?” Maya asked with a wry smile.

“No. I like it this way better,” Krieg said. “Living for something is nice. Let's see what the others are up to.” Yes, let's get back to the present before I say something more embarassing.

“Jack's sending all the Eridium he mines straight to the Hero's Pass,” Mordecai said over the ECHO as he looked over the data they found. “That must be where the Warrior is buried. Grab the data point from the console and get back to Sanctuary. It's time to get ready for the final assault.”

Chapter Text

Mordecai had given his speech about how it was all ending now. Tomorrow they were attacking the Hero's Pass in one last ditch attempt at stopping Jack. Brick had stolen his barge, a fact he was very proud of, and he and the hunter would be using it to rain death from above and cover the Vault Hunters' advance. Things were tense around the gun cleaning table. Maya noticed that Axton was moving on auto-pilot, his mind clearly somewhere else. Salvador seemed completely unaffected by the impending assault, as did Gaige. Zer0 was no where to be seen. The assassin had vanished shortly after Mordecai stopped talking. Krieg had cleaned his shotgun twice and was fiddling with his new assault rifle curiously. Salvador had insisted he needed a weapon with more range just in case he couldn't run screaming at the enemy.

Krieg handled the gun with more proficiency as he tested the balance. When he held it to his eye to check the sights there was something very practiced in the motion. 'Probably a skill from his past life,' Maya mused to herself. Krieg field stripped the weapon with careful movements and Maya had to stop herself from staring. She looked over to where Gaige and Salvador were sitting and saw the teenager giving her an 'I-saw-that' grin. Maya went back to focusing on her SMG, trying to keep the blush from her face.

Axton finally stopped dis- and reassembling his gun and sighed heavily. The commando rubbed the metal chevrons on his forehead for a few moments before speaking.

“So this is it?” he asked. It almost sounded rhetorical but Gaige piped up.

“Yup,” the mechromancer said. “Time for the Handsome bastard to get his due.”

“Amen to that,” Salvador muttered.

“I wish we were going in there with an army,” Axton said.

“We're an army of six,” Maya countered.

“Seven,” Gaige said, “counting Deathtrap. Hey Krieg, do alternate personalities count?”

“No,” he answered. “There's only one body for the two of us and we don't share control very well. You get one or the other at a time.” Maya could hear the smirk in his voice.

“Claptrap offered to come too,” Salvador added, “but I wouldn't go as far as to add him to the list. The robot is more likely to hide and scream, 'Protect me squire!'”

“Brick and Mordecai are providing air support,” Maya counted. “So that's two more. I wouldn't be surprised if Brick jumps down from the barge and joins the fray. We're up to nine.”

“Nine's a good number,” Gaige said.

“I like even numbers,” Salvador argued.

“We work with what we've got,” Axton sighed. “And this is usually the time for all the mushy stuff too. I've had a good time working with you guys. At first I was skeptical, I'll admit.” Everyone chuckled, even Zer0 who chose this moment to reappear. “But we've got a good team here, and if Jack isn't shaking in his baby seal leather boots he's a complete dunce. We're coming for that bastard and he's going to rue the day he messed with us.”

“Agreed,” Salvador said. “Amigos, it has been a grand adventure. And I expect we'll have a few more after we watch Krieg beat the life out of Jack. But before any other escapades I'd like a good month of partying. I'll bring the drinks.”

“I'm here by happenstance more than anything,” Gaige began, “but I am glad to be part of this. I may not have won the science fair but this is way better. Not everyone gets to take down a power mad CEO. So let's go kick some ass!”

“I want to thank you all,” Zer0 stated, “I tend to unsettle people, you accepted me.”

“Hey, what would we be without our fearless and somewhat creepy sniper?” Gaige asked with a laugh.

“You're part of the team, Zer0,” Maya said. “I'd like to thank everybody for helping me on my quest to know more about sirens. I may not have found out much but this sure beats sitting in a dusty abbey all day. And I got to make friends. So... thanks.”

“Let's go get your mentor back, Blue,” Gaige cheered. Maya narrowed her eyes, not really liking the nickname.

“Not too long ago I was wandering a desert stuck inside the mind of a Psycho,” Krieg said. “Now I'm in control and ready to rip the bastard that did this to me to pieces. You guys put up with my, uh, unconventional fighting style and insane ranting. You dealt with my breakdown at the preserve. All I can say is that I can't wait to see Jack's face when he realizes who, or what, I am. Then I'm going to snap his neck. Or beat him to death with his own arm. I haven't decided yet. I'm sure the other guy has a plan he isn't sharing.” The team laughed again and fell into a comfortable silence.

“Well,” Axton said, “now that we're all good on speeches I'm headed to Moxxi's for a single drink before the big day.”

“I'm with you,” Salvador said, “on everything but the 'single drink' bit.”

“I'm going to tune up my robot,” Gaige said.

“I'm going to walk around Sanctuary,” Maya said. “Take it all in and remember what I'm fighting for.”

“And wax poetic all the while,” Gaige said with a snicker. Maya glared but knew that this was just Gaige's way of being a friend. Zer0 had already vanished again. He spent a lot of time on his own. The siren wondered about that. She shelved the thought for later and headed down the stairs. Krieg was right on her heels. Tannis glanced up as the two of them passed by but said nothing and went back to her files.

The pair of Vault Hunters made it through an entire circuit of Sanctuary without talking, the silence between them a companionable one. They were clearly thinking the same thing and stopped and Krieg's place. He wordlessly offered her a boost onto the roof and the siren ascended. As the Pandoran sky darkened they watched the stars appear.

“Tomorrow is a big day,” Krieg finally said, startling Maya a bit.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Jack finally gets what's coming to him and we save Lilith.”

“It isn't going to be easy,” he said softly, “but I look forward to the resistance we'll face in Hero's Pass. One last battle with Hyperion forces and then we face the man himself. Jack thinks he's some kind of hero so he'll orchestrate it like that. When he falls maybe he'll finally get that he's the villain. I don't care either way. He's hurt too many people.” Maya put a hand on Krieg's arm. He sighed heavily, expelling the venom in his voice. “After that I want a break. We've been running across Pandora nearly non-stop for a while. Not sure I want a full month of loud celebration though.” Maya laughed softly.

“Salvador can be quite the party animal it would seem,” she said. “I want one good victory party and then a respite. I want to pick Lilith's brain about siren stuff for a while. She may not know everything but she knows more than me.”

“There isn't a lot of good information on sirens,” Krieg mused. “They are quite mysterious. I guess it's part of the allure.”

“Oh? I have allure?” Maya teased, catching his eye.

“Have you looked in a mirror recently?” he asked back. “You positively shine with it.”

“You flatter me.”

“I'm an honest man. I tell it like it is.”

“I think you may be biased.” Maya dropped his gaze and stared at her dangling feet instead. 'It sounds like you're rebuffing him,' she berated herself. 'Stop doing that!'

“Maybe just a little,” Krieg confessed. “You did save me from a lifetime of backseat driving a Psycho away from innocents. That may be skewing my judgment.” Maya chuckled softly and shivered a bit at the chill in the air. “It gets pretty cold floating above the ground. We should head inside.” The two Vault Hunters hopped off the roof and walked into Krieg's home.

“Then I suppose my perception of you is obstructed as well,” the siren said to make conversation. Maya didn't trust herself to handle the silence well.

“Oh?” Krieg asked, removing his mask. “Sorry, I'm trying to get used to having it off. I'm seeing how I like it.”

“It's not a problem,” she said too quickly. Maya felt the blush creep up her cheek as she found her gaze drifting toward his mouth again. He had a scar at the very edge of his lips that pulled that side up ever so slightly... She wrested her gaze back to his eye, which was twinkling with glee.

“You were saying something?” he asked, the smile now visible on his face.

“Uh, yes. You've saved my life plenty of times. Today, in fact,” she rambled. “So I've also got a bias.”

“Does that make us even?”

“I don't know. How biased are you?”

“Hmm, I don't know how to measure bias. Is there a scale?” Maya caught herself noting the way his lips met for the 'm' in 'measure'.

“Not that I know of.”

“Then I am unsure how to rate how biased I am.”

“I suppose we will never know who is more biased,” the siren said with a feigned sigh of regret. Krieg laughed softly at her reaction.

“You really are enchanting.” Maya felt herself blush hotly.

“Oh, um, really?”

“And the blushing is adorable.” She covered her face with her hands and leaned against the wall, groaning softly. 'Just let the ground swallow me,' she begged internally. Krieg walked over and moved one of her hands so they were staring eye to eye. “You get very embarrassed. It's just me.”

“I feel so silly,” she admitted. “You seem so confident all the time. I have no idea how you do it. I'm always thinking one step ahead to save myself from embarrassment. As you can see, it doesn't always work.”

“And here I thought the same thing about you. So sure of yourself, so in control. But even when you aren't I still find you lovely.” Maya felt her face grow even warmer at his words. Krieg moved her other hand away so she could look at him properly. His rich brown eye conveyed so much warmth and adoration. She found her heart racing. 'Well, it's now or never,' Maya told herself. He was already bent over a little to meet her gaze. The siren took a half step forward and heard the hitch in his breath. He was still holding her hands out to the side and didn't move. She carefully rose on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

~

Oh God tell me I'm not dreaming please. Maya had kissed him. She pulled away a little, looking shy and nervous. Krieg released one of her hands to carefully cup the her cheek and gently pull her in for another kiss. He was careful, worried she would decide it was a mistake and run away but giving her ample opportunity to do so. Maya instead leaned into his kiss, her soft lips melding with his own. Krieg let go of her other hand and placed his now free palm at the small of her back. The siren's timid fingers moved to press against his chest and Krieg relished the touch. He kissed her again and again, unwilling to let go of the moment. Maya followed his lead without hesitation.

The need for air eventually separated them and they stood still for a few breaths. Krieg opened his eye to find her gray eyes staring back. The urge to kiss her again was difficult to resist. He traced his fingers down her jawline before moving his hand to her waist.

“Maya,” he said raggedly, unsure of what he actually wanted to say.

“Krieg,” she replied, still sounding a bit out of breath.

“May I kiss you a few dozen more times?”

“Please do.” They met halfway, lips gently brushing a moment before the actual kiss. Krieg kept it gentle, wanting to savor every moment. Maya proved to be his undoing, her kisses becoming more insistent. He pushed her back a step so that she was resting against the wall. Krieg instinctively kissed her deeper. Maya made a soft sound that encouraged him further. He left her lips to kiss the patterns on the tattooed side of her neck. The siren moaned softly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. Krieg went back to meeting her lips after the interlude but was quickly stopped again by his breathlessness.

“I'm sorry if that was forward-” he began to apologize.

“No, no,” she interrupted. “That... was very nice.” Maya was still pressed close against his chest. After a moment she rested her head against his shoulder and sighed in a very content manner.

“Good,” he said softly.

“Good doesn't begin to cover it,” she argued. “It was perfect.”

Chapter Text

After leaving poor Claptrap at the bottom of the stairs the Vault Hunters found themselves facing an army of loaders, engineers, and surveyors. They formed up and took the pass by storm, wrecking havoc on anything in their path. The flying repair bots were no match for Zer0's sharp shooting and he never gave them a chance to repair the loaders. Krieg was out in front, hacking robots and engineers alike to pieces with guttural screams of fury. Gaige was also close range with Deathtrap attacking anything his master didn't blow to bits with her shotgun. Salvador was having the time of his life wielding his dual assault rifles with deadly results. Axton played things a little safer with his shielded turret but he was causing plenty of destruction. Maya was phase-locking constantly between bursts of SMG fire. The Hyperion forces were being pushed farther and farther back, losing forces all the while.

Brick abandoned the barge, once it entered the pass, and joined the fray. He and Krieg immediately resumed their kill competition. Maya rolled her eyes at their antics but couldn't suppress a smile. It was the Pandora equivalent of watching puppies frolic... or something like that. Mordecai kept their path clear of barriers and provided his sniping talents as well. The slag from his shots splashed to the enemies next to the unlucky loader or engineer, making them even easier to kill. Jumping across the gaps in the platforms made Maya's heart race. Seeing the lava below made each leap terrifying.

Krieg and Brick pummeled the front-line enemies into broken bodies and mangled mechanisms. The rest of the team focused more on the ranged attackers. Hyperion's snipers were silenced before they could fire a single shot thanks to Zer0 and Mordecai. Maya phase-locked the more dangerous looking loaders for Axton, Gaige, and Salvador to riddle with bullets. They were making good progress through the pass.

The deployed auto-cannons on the gate forced Mordecai to pull back before he could blast the barrier open. Waves of loaders rained from the moon base, trying to kill the Vault Hunters before they could make it any farther. The seven of them took cover and fought defensively. Krieg proved to be very good with his new assault rifle, and my Maya's estimation he was leaving Brick in the dust with the ranged kills. Zer0 had to help focus on the JET loaders to keep them from overwhelming Mordecai's barge.

They cheered when Mordecai brought down the gate, but the barge was barely flying. The hunter protested that he was a lost cause but Brick refused to accept that. The Slab King jumped on the battered ship to save his friend. But the lunar bombardment knocked it into the lava. All the Vault Hunters stood in shock a moment, but the arrival of more loaders pulled them back into the present. They could mourn later. Right now it was about getting to Jack.

Constructors landed in the courtyard behind the gate. Krieg smashed the eye on one and Zer0 dispatched the other. The flying engineers, dubbed 'Hyperion Hawks' proved to be annoying but also died quiet violently when their jet-pack was tampered with by bullets. The infiltrators required phase-locking to stop them cold in their invisible tracks and made them easy picking for the rest of the team. Krieg looked at the arrival of a Super Badass loader the same way a child would stare at a proffered gift on Christmas. The Psycho tore into the robot with insane laughter and forced the mech to fire on it's allies with glee.

“EAT FRIENDLY LEAD,” he screamed before devolving into more manic cackling. Krieg's 'strategy' worked and cleared the area of all remaining enemies. Maya found herself thinking of Brick and Mordecai in the brief respite, hoping that they would somehow be okay.

“We need to keep moving,” Axton said gruffly, his way of telling them to save the grief and panic for later. They all nodded and followed him into the cave.

~

Krieg could feel himself physically tensing at Jack's every word as the egomaniac called them a plague. I really need to shut that guy up. We do. Then maybe you'll be calmer. It's a faint hope, but I'm willing to give it a shot if you are. His Psycho personality was still fuming at Jack's speech and didn't answer. The team moved through the cavern in silence, their footfalls and the planet's rumbling the only sounds. Once they reached the ominous lift and headed down Krieg really felt the finality of the mission. Either we walk out of here and Jack's dead, or we get squashed by the Warrior. No pressure. Jack echoed his thoughts moments later.

“This is where it ends,” The Hyperion CEO said. “Once Lilith finishes charging the key I'll control the Warrior and wipe you bandits off my planet. When you get to hell, tell your Vault Hunter friends I said 'hey'.” Krieg growled aloud, the Psycho in him taking control. Easy big guy, this is definitely going to be a fight for strategy. The team of Vault Hunters strode across the rock bridge and stopped at the central platform. Lilith floated above, glowing purple instead of her signature orange thanks to the eridium. Handsome Jack appeared by the console and waited a moment before facing them.

“Hey, you're right on time,” Jack said with a sneer, “the key's nearly ready. But before I cleanse this planet for good, I'm gonna avenge my daughter.” With a malicious grin he cloaked and vanished from sight. Krieg's Psycho side strained for any sign of where his quarry had gone. When Handsome Jack reappeared there were six of him. Aw hell. The Vault Hunters replied with bullets, causing all of the holograms to wink out. Jack disappeared again and five more decoys raced around the platform.

Axton motioned them to stick with his turret, preventing any of the laser blasts from diminishing their shields and giving the team free reign to weed out the holograms. Even when they did manage to hit Jack his shields absorbed the damage easily. Maya couldn't even phase-lock him for more than a moment with such heavy defenses.

“That's some interesting shield tech,” Gaige mused. “It looks like it can't recharge since it needs a ton of juice and prep time in the first place. I'm not saying it will be easy to whittle down but once we do Jack will be helpless.” As the mechromacer spoke loaders began falling from the moon base.

“Then it's a battle of attrition,” Axton said. “Keep close to our position but don't let those bots get too close.” Bullets flew as the Vault Hunters decimated the wave of bots. Their plan was working and soon they could focus on Jack again. His doppelgangers were still annoying but it was getting easier to tell the difference between them and the real Jack.

After a few moments Handsome Jack stood near the central dais and charged something on his wrists. Lasers shot from each arm and the Hyperion CEO turned them toward Axton's turret. The team dove to the ground as Jack's lasers cut through the shield, narrowly missing Salvador and Krieg. Of course he's got laser and other horrible weapons. Not like this would be easy. Still, I was hoping for less chance of having my limbs cut off. Handsome Jack stayed on the dais, shaking his wrists in an attempt to cool the devices faster. Psycho Krieg saw his opportunity and took it.

With one bounding jump Krieg was mere feet away from his tormentor. His buzz saw closed the distance quickly, not doing any damage but causing the egomaniac's shields to take a heavy hit. Jack blocked the next blow with blue energy from his wrist gadgets and sent Krieg flying back with an energy enhanced punch. The Psycho landed on his feet and snarled,

“I love to wait for my meals.” For one moment Jack looked perplexed, but then he simply laughed.

“Oh man, you bandits are really digging in the bottom of the barrel when you recruit a psycho,” he sneered before vanishing again. “You already had a washed up soldier, a drunk cannibal, a teenage murderer, some freaky alien assassin, and a clueless siren. Did you need the extra crazy?”

More loaders arrived from above along with another round of decoys. Zer0 took out the EXP loaders in rapid succession, keeping the area clear for his team mates to take down the WAR loaders. Axton kept his turret more on the move to prevent Jack from zeroing in on them with lasers again. Salvador managed to unload two clips into the egomaniac's shield with his dual assault rifles, causing Jack to call in a surveyor for extra protection. Zer0 sniped the flying bot moments after it began shielding the Hyperion CEO.

“He's got maybe 20% left,” Gaige called. Jack used his laser gauntlets again but the team was ready this time. Each of them was safe behind a stone pillar by the time Handsome Jack charged his attack. When they were able to return to the battle a host of holograms stood where Jack had been. Maya phase-locked two in rapid succession, instantly dismissing the fake Jacks. Ah, remember when she had to wait between phase-locks? Not anymore. She is amazing. He could feel Psycho Krieg rolling his eyes at the thought while he slashed a decoy from existence.

Handsome Jack called down a wave of badass loaders and threw proximity bombs on the platform. The Vault Hunters moved around the obstacles easily and tore through the huge loaders. Krieg ripped one apart personally. Maya phase-locked one and with help from Gaige's shotgun turned it to scrap. Zer0 disabled another with one clear shot to the eye. Axton and Salvador took down the last two with their assault rifles and the Commando's turret. Jack threw out turrets of his own only to have them riddled with bullets. He tried more EXP loaders but Zer0 never let them get close. His laser trick was useless now that they knew how to dodge it. On top of all that his shield was nearly depleted. We've got you now, bastard. Maya turned to the Hyperion CEO and phase-locked the last of his shield away with a harsh zapping sound.

“That it?” Jack asked, staggering from the blow. “Huh?” The key glowed seconds later and reformed. “I'm not dying yet.” Handsome Jack pushed the charged key into a slot in the ground. Lilith fell when the energy stopped and was shielded under a bubble around the key with Jack. “You're too late bandits, I win! The greatest alien power on Pandora, and it's mine to control!” A giant, rocky beast leaped onto the glowing gate and roared. The Warrior glowed with volcanic heat and loomed above them, impossibly huge. “Warrior! Kill!” Glowing orange eyes turned to the Vault Hunters. Damn. With a deep breath the Warrior unleashed a torrent of fire across the platform they stood on. Everyone's shields took a beating before they managed to get to cover.

“And how do we fight that?” Maya asked.

“Working on it,” Axton yelled back.

“Rockets!” Salvador suggested.

“Yes,” Gaige agreed, “but only when we know where they'll do the most damage.”

“The plates on the chest,” Zer0 said, “they will weaken and fall off, revealing the heart.” The team stared and the assassin a moment but all unanimously decided how he knew that was a question for later. The Warrior walked around the platform, treading through the lava like it was nothing. Each of the Vault Hunters took whatever opportunities they could to damage its chest plate but were forced to duck behind cover when the beast's tail began firing a deadly purple laser.

Crystalisks crawled out of the lava and added their ranged flechette attack to the Warrior's already substantial damage. Krieg took it upon himself to remove these extra enemies before they caused too much havoc. The stone creature collapsed after he took out too of its legs, a difference from the usual where all three would need to be void of crystals. Krieg turned in time to see the other Vault Hunters blow the last chest plate apart and Salvador's rocket hit home in the Warrior's chest. The rocky behemoth roared in pain and turned away from the team. The crystalisk behind Krieg exploded, sending him flying to a remote spur of rock on the island.

The Warrior dove back into the lava, causing it to rise. First Krieg was merely trapped on his little island, but the Warrior was only half submerged. The lava was going to cover him but his head was ringing from the unexpected explosion and he could barely move.

~

Maya saw what was happening but felt powerless to help. Until she had a crazy idea. 'Please don't hurt him, please don't hurt him... too much anyway,' she thought.

“Be... safe,” she said, before phase-locking Krieg. The dimensional pull above him pulled him just out of the lava's reach but Maya could see him curl inward from the pain. The siren began to sweat as the phase-lock took it's toll, especially since she was trying to make it as pain free as possible.

Once the Warrior rose from the lava she finally let Krieg fall back onto safe round. He was shaking but moved back onto safer ground. The team ducked behind cover again as the Warrior tried to incinerate them with another slag laser.

“How'd you do that?” Gaige asked.

“Desperation,” Maya replied, still breathing heavy. Krieg came over once the laser assault was over.

“Thanks,” he said, “but that was still very unpleasant. I feel bad for everyone you've used that on.”

“I made sure it didn't hurt you too much,” Maya apologized.

“Well if you hadn't I would have been dead,” Krieg said. “Let's just make sure you never have to do that again.”

“Deal,” she said with a small smile. Both of them grabbed healing hypos from one of the Hyperion stations before adding their fire to the Warrior's chest plates. The four sections had been freshly reapplied from the Warrior's dip in the lava but fell off even easier the second time. Salvador managed to fire two rockets before the beast ducked under the lava again.

On its third time out of the molten rock the Warrior tried a different tactic. The huge monster stomped across the platform, trying to crush the Vault Hunters with its huge feet. The group split up to make things difficult and even managed to shoot one of the plates off while the Warrior tried to stomp on them. Once it was obvious they wouldn't be caught beneath its feet the Warrior walked back to where it started and breathed another plume of fire across the stone island.

“I've only got a few more rockets,” Salvador informed them.

“Well then let's all blast the damn monster,” Gaige suggested.

“Even when the plates are down keep shooting,” Axton agreed. “The more bullets, the merrier.” When the last plate fell they did just that. Salvador fired the last of his rockets. Zer0 unloaded a clip of sniper rounds. Gaige switched to her hand canon and let loose. Axton and Krieg fired their assault rifles, and Maya unloaded her SMG into the creature's vulnerable heart.

The Warrior's chest buckled under their barrage of bullets and the creature began to sway. Soon it was clear that the beast was going to fall. The team raced to the highest ground on the island and took cover from any splashing lava. With a huge boom the monster collapsed, and the lava reached a little higher on the shore.

“The Warrior was practically a god. How, how in the hell have you killed my Warrior?” Jack screamed. “The Warrior could have brought peace to this planet! No more dangerous creatures! No more bandits! Pandora could have been a paradise! This can't be happening...”

“Holy badass,” Lilith said, standing up and dusting off her clothes, “I think you killed it. Never hurts to make sure though: hit the button on the moonshot console.” Gaige obliged, sending a salvo of mortars into the Warrior just to be on the safe side.

“No, no, no...” Handsome Jack muttered. “I can't die like this... not when I'm so close... and not at the hands of a filthy bandit! I could've saved this planet! I could have actually restored order! I wasn't supposed to die by the hands of a child-killing psychopaths! You're savages! You're maniacs! You are bandits AND I AM THE GODDAMN HERO!” Lilith moved to silence Jack once and for all put Maya put a hand on her shoulder. The other siren turned to her with a confused expression but Maya simply gestured to a slowly approaching Krieg. The Firehawk nodded and stepped back to watch the show.

~

Do you want to handle this or should I? The Psycho answered his sane half's question by grabbing Jack and pinning him against a pillar by his throat. He made sure the man could still breathe but it would be a struggle. Jack began to speak but the Psycho wasn't having it.

“SSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHH,” he hissed, “quiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeet.” Handsome Jack shut up and stared wide eyed at him. Suddenly the Psycho let go of his control, handing things back over to Krieg.

“Subject 528,” he said evenly. “The supposed drug trials you set up at the Wildlife Preserve. Sound familiar?” Jack tried to speak again but Krieg silenced him once more with a threatening squeeze around the CEO's throat. “You scheduled me for a 100% eridium transfusion... but I escaped. I've got a Psycho voice in my head thanks to you, and I suffered long hours in that lab. I wish I could impart that pain to you...” Jack whimpered and began to plead but the tightness around his neck prevented any begging. “You have so much to answer for, Jack. But I think I'll let the other guy decide how you die.” He's all yours. The Psycho closed his fingers around the man's throat, cutting off his air.

“You're gonna scream,” Krieg said in a chilling voice, “just like she did; open mouth, open heart, blood and noise forever piercing my skull, poisoning me with its psychopathic purple liquid. We watched it all, and felt the knife edge split down the middle... CAN YOU HEAR ME?!” He bashed Jack against the pillar and let him breathe a few moments before saying more. “I know what I have become... I am the inside of this world... I taste the gore, and I smell the crying... AND I WANT MORE! I want to bathe in your flesh, I want to savor your fear. I wanna live inside a castle built of your agony, AND I WANT TO CRUMBLE IT WITH AN AXE TO YOUR CAROTID ARTERY!” The Psycho let Jack fall to his knees before stabbing the whirring blade of his buzz saw into the man's heart.

No one said a word for a long moment after Jack's death. The Psycho in Krieg's head released his grip again. Krieg pulled his axe out of Handsome Jack's chest and turned back to the group. Salvador was grinning widely at their victory. Gaige and Axton both had smug 'he had it coming' looks on their faces. Zer0 had a sideways smiley face on his mask that Krieg had never seen before. And Maya, she simply smiled at him in a way that made his ears feel warm.

“It's over...it's finally over,” Lilith said, breaking the silence. “Good going, Vault Hunters. You...are all badass.”

Chapter Text

After the surprising revelation that there were many more Vaults to be found everyone in the Crimson Raiders Headquarters knew that there was a long fight ahead of them.  It was time to enjoy their victory.  Ceremonies were held to honor those who had fallen, and then they celebrated the lives of those who had died as well as those who were saved with a massive party. Moxxi hosted the festivities but the party was all around Sanctuary.  Ellie had joined them from her home in the Dust for the fun, but only after Moxxi swore she would make no comments about her daughters appearance or persuade her to move back.  Only a few of Brick's Slabs were well behaved enough to be in Sanctuary, the rest had their own party in the Slab headquarters. Tina had come to the celebration as well.  She sang her hit single 'Kill Jack' and it's surprise follow-up 'Killed Jack' all through the night. 

Of the Vault hunters Salvador seemed to be enjoying himself the most.  He raced around with a drink in each hand betting he could out drink or out eat anyone in Sanctuary.  Brick took him up on the offer and the two collapsed hours later.  Maya and Lilith finally got to spend some time together and finally talked about their experiences as Sirens.  Zer0 only appeared in brief intervals during the festivities but the :) on his helmet showed he was enjoying himself.  Axton sat with the Crimson Raiders for a time, telling the already wildly exaggerated story of Jack's demise and later telling it to anyone he ran into.  Gaige danced like the wild teenager she was and was annoyed when Moxxi wouldn't give 'one of the heroes who killed that bastard' a drink. Krieg stayed away from the noise, still worried about the violence of his Psycho self in a chaotic atmosphere.  After Lilith left to go get Mordecai to stop drinking for the night Maya set out to find Krieg... 

~

Krieg heard an outrunner headed for the Happy Pig Motel and smiled to himself.  That would be Maya, coming to make sure everything was all right. I still can't figure out what I did to deserve a woman like this. She's too good to me.  The party had started to agitate his Psycho personality so he had slipped away for everyone's safety and left her a message of where to find him. She'd been so animated chatting with Lilith that he didn't want to interrupt.  Maya needed to have answers after all that time wondering what it meant to be a Siren.  He could only hope she'd gotten what she wanted.

In Maya style the vehicle careened into the parking lot and braked just short of a wall. I want to be there the one time she doesn't manage that trick to get her back for all that crash talk.  The Siren hopped out of the driver's seat and waved up at him.  Krieg gestured for her to climb up and she started up the ladder. Maya sat right next to him and set a bag in his lap.

"Almost all the good food was gone," she said. "I thought you might want some."

"Thanks," Krieg replied.

"Is he bugging you again?"

"No, but the noise and commotion was starting to make him jumpy so I figured it would be best to bow out for a bit.  Besides, it's a lovely night by Pandora standards and I want to enjoy it.  And I can, now that you're here."  Maya blushed vividly and Krieg smiled.  He found her flushed face absolutely charming.

"Well I guess I could say the same," she managed to say. "Now eat, those cakes will get cold."  Krieg reached to remove his mask but Maya's deft hands beat him to loosening the straps.

"Ah, that excited to see my good looking face eh?" he asked.

"Maybe.  Or maybe the sooner you start eating I can wolf down most of what I brought."

"Hmmm, how clever."  Krieg began eating one of the desserts.  True to her word Maya ate three in the time Krieg spent enjoying one. "I thought we were sharing these."

"Finders fee," Maya countered with a grin.  Powdered sugar coated her lips like snow.

"Ah, you've got some on your face," he warned.  Maya moved to wipe her mouth but Krieg gently caught her hand before giving her a quick kiss. "I got it."

"No, I think you missed a spot," she breathed.

"Can't have that," he replied.  Krieg kissed her again and again until he was sure there was no more powder. "I think I got it."

"Hmmm, I think you did.  Krieg?"

"Yes?"

"Would you ever have guessed that everything would turn out like it has?"

"Never. I didn't think I'd be sane, much less killing a tyrant and kissing a beautiful woman." Maya blushed again.

"I had only dreamed about leaving the Abbey. And I couldn't have guessed I'd meet you."

"It's odd that so many people see this place as a wasteland and that only horrible things are here.  And yet this all happened.  We won."

"We did. It wasn't easy and a lot of it sucked though," Maya said with a soft laugh.

"Pandora is unforgiving, yes, and the odds were stacked against Sanctuary and the Vault Hunters.  But here we are. Making out like a couple of teenagers."

"Oh god don't say it like that."  Krieg chuckled as Maya put her head in her hands.

~

She wasn't sure how he managed to be so charming and completely frustrate her.  Maya was no stranger to men but Krieg was something she hadn't seen before.  He was gentle and caring and tried to embarrass her at every turn.  Her head was still spinning from the kissing but she knew that this was something that could last. Sure, this was Pandora and things could take a horrible turn for the worse at any moment... but she wanted to face whatever this spiteful planet could throw at her with Krieg by her side.

"You are insufferable sometimes," she continued with a laugh.

"And yet you haven't left or stolen all the goodies for yourself," he pointed out.

"Ah well, I guess I like you too much to be so cruel."

"Well then, I wonder what else I could get away with..."

"I wouldn't push you luck, mister," Maya scolded, giving him a playful shove.

"I'm kidding, you know I would never cross any lines."

"You'd better not," she mock threatened, "or I'll never kiss you again."  Krieg collapsed like he'd been stabbed.

"Mercy... oh have mercy. Anything but that!"  Maya cracked up at his act, feeling any tension she'd still carried melt away.

"Oh all right, I suppose I can forgive you... just this once."

"Thank you, merciful goddess."  Krieg picked up one of her hands and kissed it. Reminding Maya of the first time he'd done that.

"But only if you promise to be my loyal servant," she huffed.

"And I wasn't already?" Krieg had a different look in his eye.  He wasn't joking, she realized.  Well maybe not about the servant thing but there was such devotion in his pose and look.  She couldn't help but kiss him again.