"This can't be happening! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!"
Jack pounds his fists on the ground as the Warrior lets out a mighty bellow before crashing down to the ground. The monster opens and closes its beak, as if struggling for breath.
Lilith lies on her stomach, looking no better off than the colossal magma monstrosity.
As time ticked on with Jack pumping her body full of eridium, she had felt her body being put through incredible stress: her heart rate skyrocketed, her head ached and throbbed with each passing second. After it was pumped out of her, her body collapsed from being overworked. The pounding sensation in her chest which she had grown used to had died down to barely more than a faint rhythmic thump.
Angel had been steadily weaned onto the stuff over a course of years, but Jack pumped her full of doses she was nowhere near equipped to handle. She's only grateful that it was her Jack captured and not Maya – she knows the only reason that much eridium didn't instantly kill her was because she had used it as much as she did in the past.
She struggles to lift her head off of the Eridian stone, weakly pointing a finger at the console in front of her. "The moonshot... end this..."
Gaige dutifully types in the coordinates, then mashes her fist onto the button. The screen lights up a bright green, confirming the command had been sent.
"Danger close!" Axton shouts, and the Vault Hunters duck for cover.
Lilith turns her head up, watching through the purple energy shield as the moonshot cannon lights up. A fiery projectile sails down through the atmosphere before colliding with the Warrior's head, killing the great beast and sending molten rock everywhere.
The shield protecting Jack and Lilith depletes in a blinding flash of light. She laughs and rolls onto her back with her last bit of strength.
It's over. It's finally over.
Maya's face comes into her view. She recognizes the shape, but is dimly surprised to find that her vision has been washed of all color. Maya's familiar silvery-blue hair just looks gray to her, her yellow combat suit nearly appearing white.
Maya's lips move, but her voice sounds so far away and muffled. A buzzing noise slowly builds up, until it's all Lilith can hear. She looks up into Maya's eyes, focusing on them until they're all she can see, everything around them fading to white nothingness.
"Stay with me, Lilith, please, just stay with me..."
Maya's arm lights up like the auroras over Three Horns as she channels all of her power into Lilith's body, desperately trying to keep her heart from stopping.
"Maya..." Lilith's voice barely reaches a whisper as she weakly reaches for Maya's hand.
"Sshhh, please, don't talk, Lily. Save your strength..."
"I'm not... afraid..."
"No, of course not. I'm here... you're gonna be okay, Lily..."
"I'm not afraid..."
Maya feels the gentle pressure on her wrist from Lilith's hand release. "Lilith... Lilith? No, no, no no No NO NO!"
Frantically, she looks into Lilith's eyes, staring vacantly ahead. She presses two fingers to Lilith's carotid artery, feeling for a pulse, before leaning over and placing both of her hands to Lilith's chest. Her tattoos glow so fiercely that even the ones on her torso are visible, their light illuminating the fabric of her combat suit.
She feels a light hand fall on her right shoulder, and looks up to its owner. Zero stands over her, his faceplate blank. "I am sorry, Maya," he says softly.
She looks back down to Lilith, lying motionlessly on the ground, unfocused eyes staring up into the ashen sky. She looks at her left arm, tattoos still glowing brightly.
Maya exhales, and relaxes her hands. Her tattoos slowly fade to their usual pale blue, and the hum emitting from her body quickly dies down. With her thumb and index finger, she closes Lilith's eyelids.
She leans over until their foreheads touch, furiously fighting back tears. "I'm sorry, Lily..." she whispers, kissing her on the lips.
Cold laughter breaks the silence that hangs over the chamber of the Vault.
"You may have stopped me, and my Warrior... but at least I can die knowing I got revenge on one of you child-killers."
"You shut the fuck up!" Axton barks, shoving Jack down to the ground.
"How does it feel, Maya? You came all this way from Athenas for answers, and every Siren you've met is dead. The Vault didn't give you anything. They didn't give you anything. How does it feel, knowing you failed to save her?"
Gaige kneels down next to Maya and puts her right arm around the Siren. "Don't listen to him," she says softly.
"You're no better off than you were on Athenas!" Jack shouts with a laugh. "You came here for answers, but now the only question you're left with is 'Why wasn't I good enough to save her?'"
"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Axton kicks Jack in the gut, but Jack just grunts and laughs.
"Make no mistake, Maya... you stopped me here today, but you didn't win. You lose, bandit. You're as alone as you were back home, and you always. Will be."
Axton draws his sidearm out of his holster. "I told you to SHUT UP!" he shouts, pressing the barrel against Jack's head.
"Axton."
Maya's voice is eerily calm as she sits up straight on her knees. He glances over at her, seeing she's still facing away from them.
"If you pull that trigger, I may just kill you myself," she says matter-of-factly.
Axton sighs and holsters his pistol, unnerved by the death threat, though a part of him is just glad to hear the Siren say something.
Maya gets up and walks over to Jack. He looks up at her contemptuously as she looks down her nose back at him, arms folded over her chest.
"Krieg, do you still have that axe?" she asks, not breaking eye contact with Jack.
Krieg's eyes dart up to Maya, then down at the buzzaxe in his hand. He holds it up, but she waves her hand.
"Not that one. The one from the Eridium Blight."
Krieg pulls out the buzzaxe strapped to his hip, turning it over in his hands. Jack's grandmother's buzzaxe was smaller than his. Rusted and worn, but the jagged teeth were a nice touch. Krieg preferred the heft of his own weapon, but the smaller axe was still a fearsome tool in its own right.
Jack scowls at Krieg as he walks over and hands the smaller axe to Maya. "If you're gonna kill me, bandit, you should at least show me your face."
"You first," Maya says, taking the axe with her left hand and ripping Jack's mask off with her right.
The hatred in Jack's right eye is still visible, but the look of contempt written on his face is hidden behind the large, disfiguring silver scar arching over his right cheek and down through his left eye. Maya surveys the arch-shaped scar before looking up to Krieg.
"Don't worry," she says. "You'll get your chance at him."
Krieg nods and saunters away, muttering to himself under his breath.
"You think killing me is gonna make you feel better about how you were too late to save her?" Jack asks, with a chuckle.
"Ax... get her out of here," Maya says, gesturing towards Gaige.
"Wait, what?" Gaige asks as Axton puts a hand on her shoulder and leads her on the path back to the Eridium Blight. "I come all this way and I don't get to see it end?"
"Trust me, kiddo," Axton says, patting her on the head and casting a look over his shoulder at Maya. "I don't think you want to see this."
"Make no mistake," Maya hisses at Jack as she lightly traces her fingertips over the teeth on the buzz axe. "This isn't for me. This is for Lilith."
"You gonna murder me like you murdered my daughter, bandit?"
"You're going to wish you would die as quickly as Angel did."
Maya grabs the handle of the axe in her right hand and swings it over her head, bringing it down onto Jack's left shoulder. He screams out as he feels the rusted metal dig into his trapezius muscle.
"I am going to make you feel as scared and helpless as Lilith felt," she whispers, before swinging the axe into his left arm. "And I'm going to do it over, and over, and over..." Jack cries out in pain as Maya rolls the blade up and down the wound on his arm.
After the third strike, Jack crumples to the ground, struggling for breath. Maya scoffs and kneels down, grabbing his shirt by the collar and yanking him back into a sitting position.
"No. I'm not done with you," she growls. Her tattoos begin to glow, and Jack's wounds begin to heal beneath her fingers.
He feels the pain slowly dissipating, and closes his eyes in relief, only to scream out again when Maya brings the axe crushing down on his back.
Zero shakes his head. "This is exactly the death you deserve," he says in between Maya's grunts of exertion and Jack's howls of pain. "Prolonged, painful, and alone." With that, he cloaks, and leaves to catch up with Axton and Gaige.
The cycle continues on, with Maya angrily bludgeoning Jack and scornfully healing him. Salvador watches for a while before he, too, silently heads back to join the others, taking Jack's mask as a keepsake before he leaves.
Krieg stands silently, watching on as Maya sobs, sinking the axe into Jack's side before sighing from exhaustion. Psychically, she could keep healing Jack all day, but the exertion from issuing so many beatings has left her physically exhausted.
She heals him again before dropping the axe and stepping back, nodding to Krieg. The psycho laughs to himself as he rolls the sharp barbs on his axe's blade along Jack's spine.
"Just... end it already..." Jack musters, coughing and hunched over.
Maya picks him up in her phaselock, positioning him in front of Krieg. The psycho laughs.
"You lose," he mutters spitefully through his mask, before raising his buzz axe over his head and slamming it into Jack's body a few times. Maya heals his wounds, and the psycho laughs even harder as he beats Jack a few more times before bringing the axe crushing down onto the man's skull.
As Jack's body drops unceremoniously to the ground, Krieg turns around to look at Maya, and sees her kneeling over Lilith's body. He's about to go over to attempt to comfort her, when some movement near the exit takes the attention of both of them.
"Slow down, man," Mordecai huffs. "I nearly bought it back there. Hey... Krieg, is that you?"
Krieg raises his buzzaxe over his head. Maya slowly gets to her feet, tears still streaming down her cheeks.
"Maya?" Brick asks. "You okay?"
Mordecai and Brick follow Maya's gaze down to Lilith.
"Oh, God," Mordecai whispers as the two walk up to Maya and Krieg. "Is she...?"
Maya sniffles and nods. Brick's head droops forward as he shakes it and rubs his brow.
"Son of a bitch," Mordecai mutters. Spotting Jack's corpse, he walks over and kicks it in the side. "Gilipolla!"
After a long moment's silence, Brick speaks up. "We should... we should probably grab the Vault Key," he says, rubbing the back of his neck.
Maya wordlessly crouches down and hovers her hand over the Vault Key. Sensing her power, the key glows, and shoots out an astral projection over the four Vault Hunters.
"What the..."
"Are those... Vaults?" Brick asks.
"Guess our work isn't done after all," Mordecai says after a beat, rubbing his goatee.
After the group studies and takes pictures of the map, Maya takes the key out of its lock, and hands it over to Mordecai, who looks at it more closely in his gloved hands. Brick walks over to Lilith's body, but Maya holds a hand up.
"Please... let me," she says, and he nods, taking a step back as she scoops Lilith up in her arms.
"Everybody ready to go?" Mordecai asks. They all nod, and the four begin to make their way back to the Eridium Blight.
Maya is vaguely surprised to see Axton, Gaige, Zero, and Salvador all waiting beside the Fast Travel station when she arrives with the rest of the group.
"We didn't feel it would be right to show up separately," Axton explains, seeing the curiosity written on her face. "Not with..."
"Our fallen comrade," Zero finishes. "She deserves all the respect that Roland was paid."
Her arms aching, Maya sets Lilith's body down on a nearby bench. As soon as she straightens back up, a tearful Gaige runs over and locks her in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Maya," she whispers, rubbing the Siren's back. Maya just buries her face in Gaige's shoulder and cries silently.
Only when she's able to keep herself from tearing up any more does Maya pull apart from Gaige. "Okay," she says, bending over to scoop Lilith back up. "I'm ready. Let's go."
Without a word, Zero punches Sanctuary in as the destination on the fast travel console, and the machine begins its familiar five-second countdown.
Scooter is the first to notice the Sanctuary's fast-travel machine lighting up, and alerts everybody in the town square. Several of Sanctuary's citizens gather outside of Pierce Station, eager to see victory written on their saviors' faces.
Brick is the first to exit the building, his shoulders slung slightly and his chin dipped towards his massive chest. Scooter looks up at him uncertainly, then looks at the few Crimson Raiders standing beside him. A larger crowd gathers by the second as Brick stands up on a bench, exaggerating his already commanding size.
"Jack is dead," he announces solemnly, raising the mask Salvador had grabbed earlier. The citizens of Sanctuary erupt in cheers. He lets them revel in their joy for a few moments before raising his hands again.
"But," he booms, and the rest of the chatter dies down. "this victory didn't come without sacrifice... unfortunately... Lilith didn't make it through the end of the battle."
Hushed whispers are interspersed throughout the crowd as the onlookers search for a sign of the Firehawk. Maya takes a deep breath and walks out of Pierce Station, cradling Lilith's limp form in her arms.
Mordecai steps up onto the bench next to Roland. "Lilith's death, along with Roland's and Bloodwing's, was not in vain. With Jack dead, this city, this planet, has no need to live in fear of Hyperion any longer."
Maya bites the inside of her trembling bottom lip.
The crowd remains silent, aside from the occasional hushed murmur, as Maya cuts through the crowd, making her way to Zed's.
"NO!" a high-pitched voice screams out from the middle of the crowd.
Maya stops and turns around, watching as the mass of Sanctuary's citizens slowly parts. Out of the group emerges Tina, who runs up to her and puts a hand to Lilith's cheek.
"Not Lilith, too," she whispers, tearfully, looking from one Siren to the other.
"I-... I'm sorry, Tina," Maya says, feeling her own eyes water up again. "I did all I could..."
Tina's wide eyes fall from Maya's gaze back down to Lilith's serene-looking face. "Well, you didn't do enough!" she shouts, before running off, sobbing. Gaige raises her hand to her mouth in shock, looking between Maya and Tina. Upon seeing Axton making his way towards Maya, she decides to chase after Tina.
Maya hangs her head and struggles not to sob in front of the crowd. Axton cuts through the crowd, turning her back towards Zed's and guiding her away from the gawkers. "She's just upset, she didn't mean it," he says, placing a hand on her shoulder. Maya sniffles and nods as she carries Lilith through the door to Zed's building.
"If I may have everyone's attention," Moxxi announces, surveying the bar as they cheer in approval. "I'd like to say a few words..."
Maya traces her fingertip along the rim of her glass. She shouldn't have come to this. All she wanted was to be alone, but Axton had convinced her that a little human interaction would distract her.
"It's a very bittersweet victory for us, stopping Jack. That bastard took a lot from us: Our homes," she says, making eye contact with Zed. The doctor nods in return.
Turning her eyes to Marcus, she adds, "our livelihoods...
Her eyes fall on Tina, drinking a cup of grape juice: "...our families...
Maya feels a pit in her stomach drop as Moxxi's teal eyes find her own. "Even our loved ones...
"And though the hurt, the sting of those losses may never truly go away, tonight, we can lay our heads down on our pillows and fall asleep, whether it's from exhaustion or relief, knowing that Jack's reign of terror over our planet, over our city, over our very lives... has finally come to an end.
"But tonight is not merely a night of celebration. Tonight is a night of paying respects to all of those, living and dead, who have earned them. Tonight, we honor all of those who have made sacrifices in the name of our safety.
"First, a toast to our courageous Vault Hunters," Moxxi says, looking directly at Maya and beaming. The Siren forces a smile onto her face and raises her glass. "Who selflessly risked their lives in the name of protecting our lives, our city, and our freedom."
"Hear, hear!" Marcus shouts, raising his glass, and the rest of the bar follows in unison.
One by one, she calls out the names of each of the Vault Hunters in the order they sit along the wall. Krieg first, then Axton, Mordecai, Brick, Zero, and Gaige. When Maya's turn comes up, Gaige has to help the reluctant Siren to her feet to thank the crowd. Once she does, she immediately slumps back down in her seat, resting her cheek in the palm of her right hand.
"And a special cheer to Salvador," Moxxi announces as the Gunzerker stands up, "for bringing that fascist's mask back so everybody in the city has an opportunity to spit on his face."
Salvador guffaws and raises his mug, smiling at Moxxi and the rest of the crowd as they cheer his name.
The bartender waits for the laughter to die down before speaking again. "And last, but most importantly of all... in the memory of our fallen friends... To Frank Reiss, and his courage in the face of bloodthirsty bandits."
Axton raises his glass, and says loudly, "To Corporal Reiss! A true badass I'm honored to have had the pleasure of meeting!" The rest of the bar follows suit and cheers his name.
"To John Davis," Moxxi says, "we'll never forget his service to this city, and this resistance."
Mugs raise again, amidst cheers of "To Lieutenant Davis!"
"To Angel..."
Maya instinctively picks her head up, looking up at Moxxi with puffy eyes.
"Though she lived under Jack's thumb her entire life, without her sacrifice, we never would have been able to take him down."
Only about half of the bar raise their glasses in honor of Angel. Others, Brick and Mordecai among them, simply remain respectfully silent and wait for Moxxi to continue. Maya raises her glass of vodka, smiling appreciatively at Moxxi.
"To our Lilith... who was able to single-handedly keep entire bandit clans from overrunning our defenseless little city. Without her, it's safe to say we wouldn't have this city to call home."
"To Lilith!" the bar cheers in unison, Maya's voice the loudest of them all.
"And of course, to our leader, Roland. We have him to thank for... well, just about everything. Organizing the Crimson Raiders, leading the resistance against Jack... I don't think it's much of a stretch to say none of this would have happened – maybe none of us would even be alive – if it weren't for all that Roland did for us."
"To Roland!" the entire bar shouts in unison.
"Drinks are on the house tonight!"
The crowd lets out another cheer, almost as loud as their cheer for Roland.
Maya watches as the rest of the Vault Hunters disperse amongst the crowd.
Axton and Salvador head straight for the slot machines, and between the two of them would end up spending enough money that night to cover the loss Moxxi would take from the free drinks.
Mordecai and Brick sit down at a table with Marcus, who regales a group of Crimson Raiders with stories of Roland's adventures with the other three original Vault Hunters.
Zero sits at the bar, having a drink and listening to Dr. Zed reminisce about Fyrestone, Roland, and Lilith.
Gaige shares a table with Ellie, each of them discussing pet projects they had recently been working on. Scooter approaches the table and makes a move to sit next to Gaige, but quickly backs off once she deploys the digistructing claws on her hand. Ellie and Gaige share a laugh as Scooter slinks away.
Krieg joins a group of Sanctuary citizens in a game of knife-throwing, impressing the onlookers by being able to hit the bullseye of the dartboard ten times in a row, collecting a hefty sum of money in the process.
Maya straightens up as she feels a finger tapping her bare left shoulder. She glances over and sees Tina standing in front of her, head cast slightly downwards.
"I'm sorry for yelling at you," Tina chokes out, looking like a skag pup who had been caught chewing on furniture. "I know it's not your fault..."
"Oh, Tina," Maya says, leaning over to hug the girl. "Apology accepted."
"I just... I can't believe she's gone..."
"Neither can I," Maya says, ruffling Tina's hair. "Neither can I..."
Tina slowly releases her hug on Maya and stands up straight. "Well.. Moxxi wants me to go to bed, but... I wanted to say sorry first, so..."
Maya smiles warmly and nods. "Of course. Thank you, Tina."
Tina gives Maya another quick hug and softly says, "I'm sorry," before pulling away from her and looking up at Moxxi, who had made her way over to the two of them.
"Come on, honey, time to get your butt in bed," the bartender says.
"I don't wannaaaaa! Why can't I stay?"
"I don't want you here in case things get out of control," Moxxi explains, putting a hand on Tina's shoulder and turning her towards the exit.
"You need somebody to keep an eye on the place while you put her to bed?" Maya asks.
"I appreciate the offer, sugar, but Zero's already got that under control." Moxxi tilts her head towards the bar, and Maya looks over, seeing Zero behind it, surveying the bar. "And believe it or not, Mystery Man over there mixes a mean drink."
Although she knows that there's little about Zero that should surprise her, Maya raises an eyebrow at Moxxi.
"I know, I know. Alright, kiddo," she says, clapping Tina lightly on the shoulder. "Time for bed."
Tina huffs and stamps her feet as Moxxi ushers her out the side door.
Moxxi kicks off her heels and lets out a sigh after she arrives home. She checks the clock: four hours after her usual closing time. But if ever there were a night for it, it was tonight.
She hangs her top hat on a hook by the door, and takes a nightgown out of her closet. After a quick shower, she slips into the nightgown and flicks on the light to her bedroom as she walks inside.
"OH- my goodness, Sugar, you should really let a lady know you're in her room instead of sitting around in the dark like that."
Moxxi puts a hand on her hip, looking at Maya sitting on the edge of her bed. The Siren turns her head up to look at Moxxi, who notices the redness of Maya's eyes. Feeling the intensity of Moxxi's stare, Maya turns her head back down.
"Is there... something I can help you with?" Moxxi asks. She takes a small step forward, then freezes upon seeing the Jakobs revolver in Maya's right hand.
"During your toast..." Maya chooses her words slowly and deliberately, choking them out with a husky voice. Even though she stands a few feet away from her, Moxxi can smell the vodka on Maya's breath. "You said... some of lost our loved ones... and you... you looked right at me..."
"Right... I did, sugar..."
"Did you..." Maya swallows a rising lump in her throat. "Did you... know about us? Did you know how I... how I felt about her?"
"I... I had my suspicions, honey... I've seen the way you look- the way you used to look at her..."
"When I was holding her... as she died... she told me that she wasn't afraid..." Maya takes a deep, quavering breath as her eyes meet Moxxi's. "Do you think... do you think that maybe... me holding her... that maybe that was the reason she wasn't afraid? Because she felt safe in my arms?"
Moxxi places a hand to her chest, feeling her eyes water as Maya looks tearfully up at her.
"Or is that just... something I'm imagining? To make her death... easier to live with?"
Maya looks up hopefully into Moxxi's eyes for a few seconds before turning her focus back to the revolver in her hands.
"Do you believe in Heaven?" the Siren asks, her trembling lips pursed tightly together.
Moxxi slowly takes a small step closer to Maya as the Siren nervously fingers the chamber of the gun. "Maya... honey..."
"Do you think that... maybe I might... see her there? Get a second chance to... to tell her how I feel?"
Maya looks back up at Moxxi, tears falling down from her desperate eyes and streaming down her cheeks.
"I just... I want to see her again... j-...just one more time..."
Moxxi slowly sits on the bed beside Maya, deftly sliding her hand on top of the Siren's and gently releasing her grip on the gun.
Maya sobs and wraps Moxxi in a hug, burying her face in the brunette's neck. Moxxi holds her silently, rubbing her back to comfort her.
After a while, Maya sniffles and turns her head, resting her cheek against Moxxi's shoulder. "Do you think she knew?"
Moxxi pulls apart from Maya slightly, looking at her quizzically.
"Do you think she knew that I loved her?"
Moxxi smiles down at her, pulling the Siren's head against her chest and stroking her hair. "I'm sure she did, Maya... I know she did..."
A silence falls over the room, with Moxxi cradling Maya in her arms. Minutes pass without a word being spoken between them. After a while, Maya slowly lies down on her side on the bed. Moxxi takes the opportunity to pick up the revolver and lock it in her bedside safe.
"She knew, Maya... I'm certain she knew," the brunette whispers reassuringly as she lies down behind Maya, gently embracing her with her right arm.
Maya sniffles and wipes the tears off of her cheeks, the soothing rhythm of Moxxi's warm breath on the nape of her neck eventually lulling her to sleep.
Night reigns over Sanctuary as it rests in its old spot outside of Three Horns Valley. Maya sits well outside the city limits, in front of one of the three statues adorning the center of Memorial Park. Behind the statues stands an Eridian marble wall, adorned with the names of all the Crimson Raiders and fellow Vault Hunters that died in the fight against Handsome Jack.
She hears a pair of feet walk up beside her, and a soft sigh as their owner sits beside her.
"I went to check on you at your room," Gaige explains, "but you weren't there. Figured you might be out here."
Maya doesn't respond, instead taking a swig from the bottle of vodka in her hand.
"We don't talk much anymore. I wanted to... see how you were doing."
"There's not a whole lot to talk about," Maya says flatly.
"There's plenty to talk about. Like how you're doing," Gaige says, putting her hand on Maya's shoulder to emphasize the last three words.
"I was thinking about what Tina said," Maya explains flatly.
"What Tina said? When?" Gaige gently takes the bottle out of Maya's hand, taking a small drink from it before handing it back.
"When I brought Lilith back."
"Oh. Maya, she apologized for that. She was just angry, and upset. She didn't mean what she said to you, you know that."
"No, I know... But she was right."
"What?"
"She was right. I didn't do enough. I could've saved her."
"Maya... you did everything in your power..."
"I could've used the eridium runoff," Maya says, turning to look at Gaige for the first time during their conversation. "I could've just..." She pantomimes scooping up the eridium and channeling its energy into her body, the same way the both of them had witnessed Lilith absorb eridium into her system when they first met her.
"Maya, that's... that's really dangerous thinking... You're talking about using the very stuff that killed her to save her life..."
"I should've tried..."
"And what? Even if your body could process eridium the same as hers, who's to say it would've worked? Who's to say you would've even survived trying to bring her back in the first place?!"
"I owed it to her to try."
Gaige sighs and yanks the bottle from Maya's hand, taking another swig of vodka. "Maya... you can't keep blaming yourself for what happened. If there's one thing I've learned on this planet, it's that asking yourself this kind of what-if question will drive you crazy."
Maya sighs, taking the bottle back. "Do you know how many people – how many diseases I cured back on Athenas?" she asks before taking another sip.
Caught off-guard, Gaige raises her eyebrows and stumbles for an answer. "Um... well, you don't ever really talk about your life on Athenas... like, ever,so..."
"People who had been sick for years. The Order brought them up to the Abbey, and after a few minutes with me, they were cured. People that would have died if not for me helping them."
"Maya... you can't just... cure death. That's one thing even eridium could never fix."
"You're WRONG!" Maya shouts, standing up and stamping her right foot down in the sand. "Death is a disease! Death is a disease, and I can fix it, just like any other!"
Gaige falls silent, and Maya sighs and shakes her head.
"I just... I can't accept that she died so pointlessly..." Maya explains as she drops to her knees, a tone of defeat in her voice.
"Pointlessly?"
"Remember when we first got back? When Brick told the rest of Sanctuary what happened to her?"
"Yeah, he said her death was a sacrifice for our victory."
"Exactly. A sacrifice." Maya scoffs and takes a swig of vodka. "You believe that shit? The Warrior was dead already. Jack was done for. The battle was over. The war was over. And then she died from an eridium overdose. It wasn't some hero's death. It was random and it was pointless. And if I had just been a little quicker, if I was just a little better, she would still be here with us..."
Gaige casts a pleading look at Maya as the Siren runs her hands through her hair.
"And now she's just one more body to chalk up to Jack. Just one more thing that fucker stole from us. And I have to live knowing that even after we defeated him, he still managed to snatch something away from me."
"I'm sorry..."
"I butchered him," she confesses abruptly. Gaige searches for words, but Maya continues before even getting a response. "I hit him forty-seven times. With the axe his grandmother used to beat him with."
"I..." Gaige sighs, then takes the bottle out of Maya's hand and takes a swig from it.
"Do you know how long it takes to bludgeon a man forty-seven times?"
Gaige gently hands the bottle back to Maya. She raises it to her lips and takes a sip.
"I... I kept healing him... just so that I could beat him again, and again, and again... I- I wanted to make him PAY for what he did to her..."
"I'm sensing a 'but' coming..."
"It didn't help. I thought that... that making him as scared as she was... that it would help me, somehow... that it would exact some sort of cosmic revenge on him..."
"But it didn't bring her back."
"And now I'm just left with the knowledge that he won. He didn't just take Lilith away from me, he dragged me down to his level."
Gaige silently stares into Maya's piercing silver eyes. The Siren runs her hands through her hair in exasperation.
"You must think I'm some kind of monster..."
"You're not a monster... you're human. You were angry at him. I completely understand why you did what you did..."
Maya looks up at Gaige, her disbelief written all over her face. "Really?"
"However slowly Jack died, it was still better than he deserved. Don't you ever forget that."
"There's just..." Maya lets her hands fall in her lap and lets out an exasperated sigh.
"There's just what?"
"There's just... so much I wish I could've had the chance to tell her..."
Gaige places her right hand on Maya's shoulder. "So tell her now."
Maya's silver eyes meet Gaige's green ones, and the Mechromancer nods gently.
"Tell her now."
The two of them look up at the life-sized statue of Lilith adorning the pedestal in front of them. Maya glances towards Gaige, then back up at the statue.
Gaige stands up, helping Maya to her feet. She backs away several steps as Maya turns to face the statue.
"Lilith, I... as much as I love to read, I was never very good with words around you... and you always teased me for it, but I never minded. I wonder if you knew that it was you that did that to me...
"I just have so much that I want to tell you... so much that I wish you could hear me say...
"I want to tell you that... I want to let you know how deeply I cared for you. How I still do. And how I always will.
"I didn't learn much about being a Siren from you, but you still taught me more than I ever could've hoped to learn. And I'll never forget you for that. I'll never forget the times I spent with you... whether it was training with me or lying with me, you were always so... so patient with me...
"I'm sorry that I couldn't save you... but I hope that... that maybe in some small way... that you had some comfort in your death... that the last memory you had was me holding you, telling you that everything was going to be alright...
"I know you're too far away to hear me say it, but... I want you to know... no, I need you to know that... I love you, Lilith. And I always will.
Maya lowers her head and places a hand on the monument. Gaige slowly walks up beside her and gently puts her arm over Maya's shoulders.
"And I hope you can forgive me for not being able to keep you here."