Authors Note: So this idea has been in my head for like…ever. Don't know how it got there, or why. But I felt it needed to be written. As a huge Jack/Axton shipper I just don't feel like there is enough fan fiction of them out there! So I am contributing to the fandom! This is going to be…a really weird story lol.

Axton and Jack fall into a weird sort of love, and then Jack…goes off the deep end.

Axton goes mad scientist in order to bring back his dead lover before he went mad.

Smutty fanfiction, horror, bringing back the dead, monsters, transformation, guy on guy sex, lots of cussing!

Woo!

Please enjoy.

-Ashes

Mourning a Monster

Maya stood awkwardly in the doorframe, her weight shifted to one side as she peered into the room.

She did not say a word to announce her presence, instead she just kept silent. She just observed the scene before her with tired, regretful eyes.

She breathed in softly.

The room was dark, absent of all light except for a small bedside lamp, and every so often the space was illuminated by a flash of lightning from outside.

A crack of thunder slapped across the sky and Maya nearly jumped with the sudden noise.

The sound of gentle rain quenching the earth outside the window kissed her ears.

The weather could not have been more appropriate, she thought to herself as she looked into the room sadly.

She shifted the tray in her hands that held a glass of water, and a bowl of soup that Zero had made for supper.

Maya cleared her throat and gently knocked on the door frame.

"Hey...thought you might be hungry, brought you some soup. It's minestrone, the really good kind that Zero makes..." Maya whispered tenderly taking a step into the room.

She got no response.

She sighed and continued inside.

Maya crossed the room slowly and gently sat the tray of food on the bedside table with a small "clink".

Maya looked down upon the queen sized bed and frowned. There was the tangled form of a body, wrapped in sheets and unmoving.

Maya sat down on the bed slowly, the mattress dipping to her weight.

"Axton...you have to eat something. I know you hid yesterday's meal under a bunch of paper in the trash can. I'm not stupid." Maya sighed gently reaching out to the bundle of blankets shaped like a man.

The bundle that she addressed as Axton did not move.

"I'm not hungry." Came a gruff voice from underneath the blankets.

Maya frowned deeply and gently rubbed his shoulder beneath the sheets.

"Axton please...work with me here." Maya pleaded.

She was met by the response of silence.

She breathed out tiredly and looked out the window as another flash of lightning lit up the skyline of Sanctuary.

"The others are beginning to worry. Salvador is pretty sure Doctor Zed need's to get involved and Gaige keeps reminding us that if you end up needing an amputation she's the one for the job. I'm really sticking my neck out by carrying out this little white lie about you being sick with the flu." Maya whispered gently.

Axton just grunted.

"I feel like I'm dying." Axton whispered.

Maya bit her lip softly.

"I know...I know big guy...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." Maya hushed soothingly.

"You're the only one that could ever understand this...thank you for not...shunning me and stuff." Axton whispered from his blanket cocoon.

Maya shrugged.

"I'd never shun you." Maya offered soothingly.

Silence settled over the two counterparts. Maya patted his arm softly, as if to just let him know she was here for him. That she wouldn't leave him alone. She'd be here.

"Try and eat something for me okay? I'll come and check on you later." Maya soothed gently.

Axton didn't reply.

Maya closed her eyes for a moment and lifted herself off the bed.

She crossed the room and paused in the doorway to look back at her fellow Vault Hunter.

The past two days had been hard.

Real hard.

On the commando more than anybody else.

She knew that too well.

The commando had secrets, just like the rest of them...but some were just...bigger than others.

She'd stumbled across his secret, but being the good friend she was...she'd kept it hidden.

Axton had kept her secrets as well.

When she and Zero had first started hooking up...and he'd caught them in the pantry...the fucking pantry of all places, what was she thinking...but anyway, he'd not said a word to the others.

Maya had always thanked him for that.

Vault hunters were not good at relationships, and love, and they were even worse at explaining them.

Of course she and Zero were in fact public to the others now...you know in a relationship and all or whatever the crap you'd call it...but still Axton never mentioned that incident to anybody.

He was a good guy.

A little loud, and rambunctious at times but he had a good heart.

She supposed thats what hurt the most about the whole situation...seeing him like this.

Axton was not one for emotions.

He didn't cry, or mope...or anything.

She'd once seen a rocket launcher round get him right in the back, and he hadn't shed a single tear.

He'd cussed a whole hell of a lot when Zed patched him up that time around, but there was not one tear on that stubborn son of a bitch's face.

She'd seen him cry for the first time two days ago. And she'd seen him cry many more times in the span from then, to right now.

It really hurt her heart to see him in such a state.

It wasn't right.

She'd known months back.

Well figured it out months back.

The secret of his...

They had just moved into what Salvador had very affectionately labeled the "Big Fucking Castle". Literally it was some kind of castle, or had been at one time. It had been abandoned on the edge of Sanctuary for years, and when the Crimson Raider headquarters got too small, with the addition of Gaige and Krieg, they all decided fixing the shit hole up would be a good move.

It took a lot of elbow grease, but after a few weeks the place was livable. Everybody had their own room, they had a kitchen, a dining hall, even a back yard that Krieg had manipulated into a garden of some sort. The guy had a lot of nuts loose, but he liked to grow vegetables...who would have thought?

It was...homey.

Good place to come back too after long missions away. Good place to hang your hat.

Maya had been up late, wandering down to the kitchen for something to drink, and she'd heard noises of some sort.

Being curious and ever on her toes, she naturally had to inspect.

Voices were not unusual in a house full of six extremely noisy vault hunters. In fact most days one was lucky to find any kind of silence for themselves. It was like living with five roosters. Always crowing about something.

But noises at 3:30 in the morning WERE not amongst the norm. Sleep was a very important thing in the household. Missions didn't do themselves, and missions required sleep.

Maya started up the old stone stairwell, keeping her footsteps silent, hugging the wall like a shadow.

She wasn't as good at sneaking around as some of her fellow vault hunters..but she managed. She was more of a "run in with as much noise as possible" kind of girl. Though Zero's whole cloaking thing would have been nice right about then. Fucker was really good at sneaking up on folks. And peeping at her in the shower...yeah...that too.

Maya smirked to herself.

She really didn't mind that though.

It was pretty clear that it was not just one voice...but two.

Two clear voices coming from the top of the stairwell.

Axton's room.

Axton's room was the only one on the second story.

It was a bedroom yes, but it was attached to some old type of laboratory. None of the others wanted to take the spooky room next to the creepy old testing lab. So Axton had called them all pussies, and taken it for himself in typical Axton fashion.

Maya followed the flickering hallway lights as she climbed, keeping her breathing low and her movement's steady.

It wasn't really spying...it was just...curiosity...and she had to look out for her comrades. You never knew when an intruder could have managed to breach sanctuary. On this planet one had to constantly be on their toes. Always. Unless you wanted to be blown up, or eaten, you had to be. All part of Pandoran survival. Trust nothing, always be cautious, always inspect.

And if you found something dangerous upon inspection, run, or shoot at it.

Either or.

Maya could hear the voices more clearly as she neared.

One was Axton's for sure...but the other...she couldn't put her finger on it.

She chewed her lip, listening hard as she snuck closer.

The door to Axton's room was cracked slightly, just enough for prying eyes to get a good look.

Score, Maya thought grinning.

Who was in there with him?

Did Axton have some secret lover coming over late at night?

If he did, she'd sure have to have a stern talk with the man. It wasn't safe to just let people into the castle without letting at least her know. She needed to make sure they were acceptable company.

Maya crawled on her hands and knees toward the bedroom door and ever so cautiously peeked through the small crevice.

Axton was laid across the bed, naked of course.

They really had force the man into the habit of wearing clothes around the house. But he still refused to wear them around his room.

This would have been an embarrassing peeping moment, if Maya hadn't seen "all of that" plenty of times before. None by choice mind you.

All due to Axton's refusal to wear underwear when going to the kitchen for a midnight snack.

She squinted her eyes to see better in the darkness.

He had an echo screen propped up on the end of the bed, lying on his stomach facing the small flickering screen.

The light of the echo screen illuminated his face and shoulders in the darkness of the room.

Maya tried to see who was on the other end, but the tilt Axton had it at made that impossible.

She strained to listen to the conversation she had dropped in on instead.

"Huh...I dunno you could always shoot for a turret with legs? That'd be pretty sweet. Often thought about how cool it would be if the Missus could run around when I throw her." Axton mused grabbing a pillow to prop his chin up.

"That's called a gun loader kiddo. Kinda the same dealio. Can't really call that a "new" robot concept...if it already exists." Came the voice through the echo screen.

Axton rolled his eyes and chuckled before responding to the coy response from the other participant in the conversation.

"Oh yeah. Guess you're right. Well why do you want to think of a new concept yourself? Don't you have like...engineers to do that shit for you?" Axton said smiling.

There was a chuckle from the other end.

God Maya would know that laugh anywhere.

That haunting, honey sweet, maniacal laugh.

The kind of laugh that both shook you in your boots, and tempted you to take your clothes off.

She knew that laugh...that voice...but it couldn't be...could it?

Maya swallowed hard.

"Yeah, yeah, but believe it or not I do have some pretty good ideas every once and a while." The other voice retorted.

"Like the diamond horse?" Axton said teasingly.

"Woah, woah, woah. That was not my original IDEA, that was someone else's idea to breed a diamond horse. I just bought her. Because you know, it's cool. Don't even fucking act like you don't like her." The voice said defensively.

Axton laughed heartily.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. B. Stallion's pretty cool." Axton yawned.

"Speaking of that, when you gunna drop by again kiddo...it's been a while. The horse misses you. And you know I kinda do too." The voice mused.

Axton sighed.

"You know it aint that easy. Especially not with all your Hyperion fucks trying to kill me every time I turn around." Axton sighed.

"It's to keep you on your toes. I only do it cause I like ya. Plus you're hard as fuck to kill regardless. They can't harm a hair on your pretty little head before you blow them up or somethin." The voice chuckled.

"If you'd just join with me...they wouldn't try to kill you." the voice continued.

Axton sighed long and heavy.

"I was never much for following orders and wearing uniforms. You know that. That's why I left Dahl. And the other Vault Hunters well...their kinda family. If you'd just agree to not kill us all this would be so much easier." Axton sighed.

"Can't make any promises kiddo. We've had this conversation before. I gotta plan, can't stray from that...and can't let anybody get in the way of that." The voice sighed.

"You're different from them. I don't get why you still wanna hang out with them." The voice snorted.

"Hey, hey now, is that a hint of jealousy I hear. None of that sir." Axton said smiling and playfully wagging a finger at the screen.

The voice scoffed.

"You aint the boss of me kiddo." The voice retorted sweetly.

"I don't like talking about the whole taking sides thing. You know that. Let's just not.." Axton sighed.

The voice paused for a moment.

"Alright. Gotcha. Well kiddo, I gotta turn in. Gotta early meeting tomorrow and their beginning to wonder why I'm dragging ass all the time." The voice said yawning through the echo.

Axton nodded.

"Just tell them late night Echo sex was more important. Good luck. Don't strangle anybody during the meeting. Like seriously. You strangle them all you're gunna run out of people to work for you." Axton said coyly.

"Yeah cause that would go over really well. And no fucking promises. G'night pumpkin." The voice said in that maliciously sweet tone.

Axton smiled at the screen.

"Night Jack." He whispered clicking the echo screen off and tossing it on the bed.

Maya sat dumbfounded at the door.

She couldn't move.

Couldn't speak.

Couldn't think.

What the fuck had she walked in on!?

Axton...Handsome Jack?

But Axton obviously wasn't siding with Jack...she'd heard him say it...so what was this!?

And drop by again? Meaning Axton had been...visiting Jack previously?

Maya stood up suddenly and turned to get the hell out of there, when her foot caught on the edge of the top step. Maya tripped and grabbed onto the guard railing with a loud thud.

Fuck...she thought to herself freezing.

Immediately there was the thunk of feet hitting the floor and the sound of Axton's door swinging open.

"Who's there?" Axton hissed as he bolted from the door to catch the culprit.

Maya looked up awkwardly and pulled herself to her feet.

"For fuck's sake Axton...clothing? Ever heard of it?" She whispered shielding her eyes from a full view of Axton's junk.

Axton seemed to ignore her comment and looked at her with wildly fearful eyes.

"How much did you hear." He whispered frantically.

"Just the end. But Axton you and I need to have a long talk. I am too tired and shocked right now...but in the morning. You, me, talk. You have A LOT of explaining to do." Maya whispered pointing viciously at Axton.

Axton looked horrified.

"Maya, it's not as bad as it looks, please, please don't tell the others they'll fucking skin me alive." Axton whispered back desperately.

Maya looked at him with stern eyes.

"I'm not saying anything until we have that talk." Maya snapped over her shoulder before disappearing down the stairs, leaving Axton speechless and shaking.

In the morning Maya sat in the back yard, sipping her coffee, when Axton finally came to talk.

He looked tired, and distressed when he sat down in the lawn chair to Maya's left.

He leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees and looked at the ground.

Maya peered at him over her cup, one eyebrow raised.

"So. Now that I'm rested, and really got to think about what I heard last night...let's talk Axton." Maya mused peering over at him.

They were alone in the house.

By some miracle the others had been called to headquarters on a mission.

It was just Maya, and Axton.

Plenty of time for talking.

"Where do you want me to start." Axton sighed running his hand through his hair.

Maya cleared her throat and took another sip of coffee.

"At the beginning." Maya said calmly.

"How did it start?" She continued.

Axton closed his eyes and breathed out nervously.

Being interrogated by a Siren was no matter to be taken lightly.

"All started couple months ago. During solo missions Jack would echo me...more than the rest of you. First it was just more taunting...then it started turning...into something more. Went on like that for some time. Next thing I know we were arranging to meet on neutral grounds. I went on a solo mission, met him in the highlands, he kept his end, he came alone...and we...well...yeah." Axton breathed shaking his head.

Maya's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

"You didn't..." She whispered over her cup, furrowing her eyebrows at Axton.

Axton blushed a little and looked at the ground.

"I did." He huffed.

Maya nearly choked on her coffee.

"You fucked Handsome Jack!?" She exclaimed thrusting her hands out, spilling a little coffee onto the ground.

Axton flinched at the harsh sentence.

"Seriously you had to say it like that...yes...damn it. I-I had sex with Jack. It was only supposed to be one time...but fuck you get a little taste of that guy and it's like a drug...he's...he's something else. I mean fuck that guy can give hea-" Axton rambled before Maya held her hand out.

"Nope. Don't wanna know. Spare the details and keep going." She said shaking her head.

"Right..sorry. Anyway...like I said it was supposed to be a one time deal. Get it out of my system, squash the stupid little crush I'd formed. But...but that kinda back fired. Next thing I know we were meeting up regularly to have quickies in his car...and then eventually...he invited me over. I went, despite having vowed myself to bringing Jack down...here I was going behind your backs and meeting with him in his personal quarters. The very man we've been trying to kill...but I just couldn't...I couldn't not fall for him. I spent the night, it just felt...right. He's...he's not as bad as we thought. Sure I mean the guy's a nut...but I mean look at us!? Are we much better? I saw Krieg rip a mans arm off and shove it up the poor guy's ass. He shoved the mans own arm...up his ass...just let that sink in." Axton explained exasperatedly.

Maya nodded thoughtfully.

"We all agree Krieg is nuts as fuck. But he isn't trying to murder the rest of us to cleanse Pandora of bandit scum either..." Maya said grimacing.

Axton nodded.

"I know...I know...but we both agreed we are on neither one's side...and if thing's came down to it...if things got too real...neither would hesitate to kill the other. When the time came. If I get in the way of his plan, he'll kill me just like any other vault hunter. If he get's in my way...I'll kill him. We just exist...pretending all that doesn't matter when we are with each other." Axton breathed out softly.

"So you aren't working for Jack and you're gunna turn on us and kill us in our sleep?" Maya said sternly.

Axton shook his head.

"No...no nothing like that. I just I just...dunno...never felt this way bout anybody before. He's not a bad guy...deep down. Just took a lot of getting to know him to see that. He's been through a lot of shit. I have too. We all have...I just feel like I can finally talk to someone openly about it." Axton sighed.

Maya tilted her head to the side.

"Ok Axton. Ok. But I've got my eye on you. This makes me really nervous. I don't want you getting hurt." She said looking at him with concerned eyes.

Axton chuckled.

"I'm a big boy. I can handle myself." Axton said smiling at her.

Maya returned the smile and nodded.

"But seriously keep the late night sexcapades down. You're lucky it was me that heard you. The others...may not have taken it as well as I am." Maya warned lowly.

Axton shrugged his shoulders and nodded.

"Yeah...I know. Thanks for that..." Axton whispered.

Maya's eyes flicked to Axton.

"One more question." Maya said cocking a side grin.

"Yeah?" Axton said raising an eyebrow.

"You giving it or taking it from that asshole?" She said laughing.

"Giving it. You know better than that." Axton said shaking his head grinning.

"Good. Kinda gives me a nice little feeling of victory knowing a Vault Hunter is bending Jack over every once and a while. I knew he seemed like someone who liked taking it." Maya teased leaning back in her chair.

Axton shook his head laughing harder now.

"Thank you Maya...seriously...thank you." He whispered.

After that day there had been several more incidents.

Maya had kept Axton's secrets, as long as he talked with her about the relationship and confessed to her everything. As long as she was in the know, she didn't mind keeping it under wraps.

Axton would go on solo missions every so often.

One time in-particular Salvador had actually asked to tag along. Maya had quickly saved the situation by asking Salvador if he wanted to go shoot Rakk with her instead.

Salvador had quickly agreed, everybody enjoyed a little bit of competitive Rakk shooting.

Axton had looked at Maya his eyes full of thanks, and she patted him on the shoulder.

She leaned in toward him.

"Tell Jack I said hey." she'd whispered in his ear before wisking away to the vehicle bay with Salvador.

She was a good friend like that.

She cared for Axton, cared about his personal life...even if it was with their arch enemy. It seemed harmless enough.

Jack hadn't come bursting into Sanctuary to kill them all yet, so she figured it was innocent enough.

Axton seemed so...happy.

Happier than she'd seen him in a very long time.

He'd been through a lot...the kid needed something to be happy about. She liked seeing him smiling again, laughing more...just living. She couldn't strip that from him.

And so she didn't. She just protected his growing secret.

They became closer because of it.

She became interested in what he had to say, she enjoyed listening to the stories he would tell.

It left her slowly believing that Jack...deep down could feel some kind of compassion. He certainly seemed to be expressing it toward Axton.

It went on like that for months.

Until...the big break happened.

That was the only way she could describe it.

A break.

A crack in the foundation of things.

They found out Jack's plans of waking the warrior. Of his daughter...a siren...being used to charge the key.

It all just happened so quickly. They had to spring to action.

They had to stop him.

Maya could hardly even recall the events of it all it was so fast.

Before the knew it, they had to kill Jack's daughter Angel to ensure he couldn't charge the vault key.

Jack snapped.

The loss of a loved one would shake anybody but it didn't just shake Jack...it destroyed him.

Maya had, had to watch as Axton saw his lover turn into a monster.

But true to his word, he'd fought on their side. Against Jack.

The fight was brutal.

Lilith was captured, Roland was killed.

That night was rough.

Maya and Axton had sat in silence on the balcony.

Axton never cried, never spoke.

He just knew.

The Jack he had seen that day was not the Jack he'd grown to love...that Jack...was gone.

Maya felt helpless as she watched her friend loose their loved one.

She'd just sat with him through the night, never speaking, just being.

But it was two days previous that had caused all this...

That was when it all came to a head.

Maya walked down the steps away from Axton's room, leaving him alone. She sunk down into a chair in the den and sighed to herself.

She could recall the events so fucking clearly...

"CHICA TO YOUR LEFT WATCH OUT!" Salvador had yelled as he unleashed a spray of bullets up over Maya's head.

Maya rolled out of the way as the big creatures tail came crashing down on the rocks surrounding the six of them.

The warrior...had been awakened.

It was massive, a god if she had ever seen one.

Maya jumped to her feet as Axton threw his turret. The machine unfolded to life and began spitting bullets at the stirring monster as it burst forth from the lava lake.

It's roar echoed through the vault, causing Maya's ears to ring with the intensity.

Maya cringed and ducked behind a rock as it sprayed molten spit over the small rocky island.

It lifted up on its two front limbs, the impact shaking the earth as it slammed them down. Axton slid around the same rock Maya had taken cover behind.

"You ok!? You hurt!?" He yelled over the bellowing roar of the Warrior.

"Yeah I'm fine! Cover Krieg! He's running in there with his buzzaxe his gunna get himself fucking killed!" She yelled frantically.

Maya phaselocked the beast's eye, burning it's socket when it tried to come down on the Psycho as he raised his weapon letting loose a crazed battle cry.

Axton tackled him to the ground, and pushed him behind cover.

"Krieg you crazy fuck USE YOUR GUN!" Axton yelled at his comrade before storming back into battle.

The beast slunk under the lava and Axton trailed it with his gun until it's head disappeared underneath the liquid.

It lurched back up in a spray of molten earth, mouth agape.

Gaige was suddenly beside him, unloading her weapon into the Warrior's chest.

The monster's eyes rolled in it's sockets and it bellowed loudly, enraged by the sight of it's own blood.

It slammed a clawed paw down onto the surface, causing the earth to shudder beneath their feet.

Maya charged in, her SMG unloading wildly.

The warrior vomited up a spray of lava, it splashed to the ground scalding Maya's leg.

Maya fell to the ground crying out in anguish.

Immediately Axton was there, machine gun ready, grabbing her and hauling her to cover before the beast could hack up more scorching liquid.

Axton set her down gently behind a large boulder.

He turned to run back to the battle.

Maya grabbed his arm sternly.

"Axton...no matter what happens...even if I don't make it out of this...just know I'm honored to call you my friend." She breathed to the commando.

He'd looked at her with flashing eyes, blood running down his forehead.

Axton simply nodded in reply and then he was gone.

Salvador had resorted to a rocket launcher and was sending punishing round after round into the Warrior's chest plate. Until finally...it gave way.

The Warrior let loose a cry that could have shaken universes. An explosion of lava like blood poured out of it's chest cavity.

It was wild with rage, a creature knowing it was dying.

It sent a massive claw flying down at his attacker, making contact with the Gunzerker.

Salvador was tossed aside like a rag doll, slamming into some stones to the left.

Axton threw the Missus again and ran to Sal.

He was bleeding bad.

Really bad.

They had to end this quickly or that beast would make short work of them all.

"KRIEG, GAIGE, ZERO WE GOTTA END THIS NOW!" Axton screamed over the roars of the Warrior.

"ON IT!" Gaige cried throwing out deathtrap.

The Warrior reared up and swatted the machine like a fly.

Deathtrap slammed into the ground in a flurry of sparks and stutters.

Gaige let out a horrified scream.

"LEAVE IT WE HAVE TO KILL THE WARRIOR WE CAN FIX DEATHTRAP LATER!" Axton yelled to her over the turret fire.

He knew how much that robot meant to her.

That was her world now laying lifelessly on the rocks.

But he needed her. There were only four of them left.

Zero whipped by Axton, appearing out of thin air. Like a ghost.

He slid onto his knee and sniped the Warrior in the left eye, then the right.

It's eyeballs burst like balloons, spilling molten blood down its face.

It screeched savagely as it thrashed blindly.

"IT IS BLIND! WE TAKE IT NOW! AIM FOR THE CHEST!" Zero called over the deafening cries of the godlike beast.

The air was filled with the sounds of rapid fire. Bullet shells clinked to the floor, clattering like chimes in the wind.

It was all instinct.

Shoot, reload, shoot, reload.

Axton aimed a final round toward the Warriors oozing chest.

He unloaded it.

The beast cried out in anguish as it's body lurched.

That was a death cry if he had ever heard one.

Axton watched as it fell, seemingly in slow motion. It's massive head slammed into the ground, jaw slack as it hit, dead eyes rolling back into it's head.

And then...it was still.

The god had fallen, it's lifeless body stretched halfway in the lava and halfway out.

Axton stood panting, still holding his smoking weapon.

Krieg looked at him with his one crazed eye as if to ask "is it really dead?".

Axton nodded slowly.

Gaige was sobbing into Krieg's arm, and he instinctively wrapped her up in his grasp, shielding her from the sight of her dead robot.

Axton ran over to Salvador, who was sitting up now, already tearing his shirt into a tourniquet to stop the bleeding from his arm.

"How you doing?" Axton asked helping him tie the material.

"Been better Amigo...been better." Salvador whispered gruffly.

Zero was already at Maya's side. He hefted her up into his arms and carried her over to the others. She slung her arms around his neck and rested her chin in the crook of his throat.

Axton was still breathing heavy as he assessed the damage to his team.

They were beaten, bruised, bleeding, but alive.

They were all alive.

That was all that mattered.

The reunion and wound assessment was short lived as Zero spoke up.

"We still have other matters to deal with. It is not over. We must take care of...him." Zero mused looking over the length of the stone island.

The man laid there groaning, cursing the vault hunters, crying out in anguish.

Jack.

The man who had woken the warrior.

The man that had tried to kill them all.

They could hear him laughing psychotically as the madness of death took him and what little bit was left of his sanity slipped away.

There was no sane man there anymore.

There was but a sad, dying, dictator who had lost everything.

Maya looked to Axton, their eyes meeting for just a moment.

Maya spoke up softly.

"Axton will stay with me. I can't watch." Maya whispered.

This was truth as it slipped out of her lips.

Though she didn't know Jack really...she felt like she did...through Axton.

She knew what was to come.

Zero nodded. The four of them turned and left Maya and Axton there.

Axton sat down beside Maya.

His face was drained of all color, his lips but a thin line across his face.

Maya put her arm around him and pulled him close.

"That isn't the man you fell in love with. That isn't Jack. Jack is gone. He's been gone for a while now." Maya whispered to him.

Axton squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth.

Maya shook him sternly.

"Axton, Axton look at me! That is not Jack! That is a shell of who Jack was, that is not Jack, you hear me! Look at me!" Maya commanded grabbing his face.

Axton was nearly hyperventilating now.

Maya could hear Jack's curses, she could hear the cocking of a gun.

"AXTON! LOOK AT ME AND ME ALONE DO NOT LOOK ANYWHERE ELSE LOOK AT ME!" She yelled cupping her hands over his ears.

Axton's body shook with sobs as tears ran down his face. He looked into Maya's eyes as she forced him to stare at her.

And then...

There was a single shot.

And silence.

Axton broke.

He let loose an anguished cry and buried his face in his hands.

Maya let her hands fall from his ears and took him into her lap.

She rocked the sputtering man slowly, rubbing his back as he fell apart on her. She'd never heard a man make such sounds. Such sounds of utter, racking defeat. Of utter sadness.

She never wanted to hear that sound again.

Not for as long as she lived.

Maya wiped her eyes with the back of her hand as the tears began to fall down her cheeks.

She felt helpless.

She pulled her knees up to her chin and cried into them.

Suddenly there was a flicker of motion, and Zero appeared.

He crossed the room slowly and sat down in the chair opposite to Maya.

"My love, you are sobbing? What is wrong? Have I done something?" Zero asked mechanically.

Maya shook her head frantically.

Every time she even got the slightest bit emotional Zero alway assumed he had done something wrong.

Bless his heart he was so lost when dealing with women, and emotion.

"May I be of assistance? Here, come sit. I shall make it better." Zero offered patting his leg.

Maya unfolded from her chair and crawled up into Zero's lap.

He wrapped his arms around her and she rest her chin on his shoulder.

Maya sniffled softly against him.

He hushed her softly, his gloved hand coming to run through her hair.

"Can you tell me what is wrong? You never cry. This is greatly concerning." Zero whispered robotically.

Maya shook her head.

"It's nothing...it's just...life...life isn't fair..." She sniffed softly.

"No siren. Life is indeed not of the fair variety. But then that is the way it must be." Zero hushed.

Maya gritted her teeth.

"Still...still it's just...it's just not fair...some people have to suffer so much..." She said her voice cracking.

"Bad things happen...to such good people..." Maya whispered.

Zero nodded.

"There will always be bad. But there will always be good. And there will always be the in-between." Zero mused.

Maya sighed against him.

Life.

Death.

Good.

Evil.

Right.

Wrong.

None of them played fair.

None of them.