What Lies On Pandora
Chapter 1. Hell is a place called home
A/N: Okhay hello guys!
Sorry for the long wait, I just needed a little time to gather up some ideas. So here they are.
So, if you're reading this, then I'll assume that you've read the first story in this series. If you haven't then i'd recommend that you read 'Maya The Most Powerful Siren' first. But then again its completely up to you. Though it'll probably explain a few things.
Ohkay so just a quick recap;
Handsome Jack is Maya's father. Maya's powers have expanded where she eventually creates a Phaselock shield around Sancutary. Maya and Krieg were a couple in their teenager years but were separated by the monks of Athena and erased Maya's memories of her lover. They also managed to ship Krieg and his little sister, Tiny Tina to the most dangerous planet in the universe-Pandora. And when their memories finally come back, it slowly destroys Krieg's sane-self. And in the middle of it all, is Axton. Things couldn't possibly get any more complicated.
Well, enjoy the story! Reviews/Comments are always welcome and if you have any recommendations or suggestions, then just add them in as well!
P.S Just for a special someone ;) , I'll be adding Gaige in as well. Be warned that I haven't played as her yet but I'll give it a try. Just tell me who you want me to pair with her XP!
The rising sun warmed the hearts of those living within Sanctuary. It reminded them that 'yes, we were free' and this was not an illusion or lost dream. The sun was a sign to all those on Pandora that Handsome Jack was not there to corrupt their hearts. He was not there to push them back into the darkness, into the shadows of his destruction. It was a reminder that the twisted mind of Hyperion's leader was in fact dead, and the citizens were free from his clutches as they took their part in the sun.
But for one blue-haired enchantress, the sun was a reminder that there was dark stained guilt burning brightly throughout her heart.
The siren walked with her head bowed as if in silent prayer with her long pale arms pulled tightly into her side, each hand fisted white and shaking uncontrollably. She dug her fingernails deep into the softness of her palm, creating crescent-moon indentations to form and cause sharp pain to tingle her nervous system.
She watched her feet take each step, her eyebrows furrowed with frustration, her mind replaying the same memory in her head.
"RUN!" Krieg's voice echoed. "JUST RUN!"
Maya walked faster as silent tears once again streamed down her face. She could hear the constant boom of music pour from the bar, flooding the streets of Sanctuary with a loud, upbeat rhythm.
Maya shut her eyes and shook her head.
Maya's pace quickened, her walk turning into a desperate stride, until it became a distressed run.
The Siren ran straight past the citizens of Sanctuary, a look of confusion plastered on each face as they turned to watch her run as a blur of blue and yellow.
But she didn't care.
Oof!
Maya tripped on the stairs leading to Moxxi's and just sat there, her eyes red as she took her time gathering herself up.
"Are you alright, Maya?" A gloved hand outstretched towards her.
Maya looked up to see Zer0—He was like a brother to her.
She took his hand and pulled herself up, brushing the dirt from her pants. "Yeah, thanks Zer0" She said quietly.
Zer0 frowned underneath his mask. You are obviously not alright. Zer0 noted her red eyes.
"Would you care to join me in sniping a few bandits?" He asked.
Before any of this, Zer0 would have happily walked past the injured siren on the stairs. He would have thought of her as weak. A walking weakness.
He is—no used—to be an assassin. He had high grades in everything; strength, stealth, speed, stamina, strategies, deception. He was good at most things and would have easily dismissed this woman to be an over-emotional weakling.
But that was then.
He had changed since then. He had grown close to these people. And he had a sense of responsibility to protect or at least try and comfort this injured lady. She had grown since they first met, she had grown stronger.
Maya looked blankly at his visor, wishing to see his face.
With one swift nod from Maya, they walked together to the fast travel station.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Axton's POV
I hunched myself over the table, folding my arms and burying my face into my forearms. I blindly reached out and wrapped my hand around the smooth, slim body of the bottle and without even hesitating, lifted it up and took a good swig of the burning liquid.
It tasted horrible. Almost as bad as when the acid in Caustic Caverns would bubble up and explode in your face, painting your mouth with a sickly, lime green colour. But it was the only thing Pandora could offer to help me drown my worries and fears.
I had been sitting here for at least a good five hours. Just drinking and waiting. Drinking and waiting for something to happen. Or someone to come.
But it never did.
Or SHE never did.
"Hey Moxxi," I called to the bar owner serving behind the counter. "I need another Rakk Ale over here, darling!" I almost sounded demanding.
I pushed myself upright, ruffling my hair in the process, and put on my most charming smile. I watched as Moxxi made her way over to me, a bottle on a tray in one hand and the other at her side.
I watched as she swung her beautifully curved hips gracefully across the room, sending smiles that made every man—and woman—melt under her gaze.
And boy, did Moxxi sure look HOT!
Her face was a bit caked in make-up but she sure knew how to show off her features.
"Here you go, sugar" Moxxi placed the bottle of Rakk Ale down on the table in front of me.
I popped the bottle cap off and downed a good few chugs. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand, and looked up to Moxxi.
"Thanks, beautiful"
"Anything for you, sugar" Moxxi swaggered away.
I got up, swiping the bottle from the table and proceeded out the doorway. "Tell Mordecai to take it out of my pay-check, darling" I waved at her.
I needed to get out.
I stumbled down the stairs, the beer starting to take effect. I looked back at the steps with a frown on my face, as if they were mocking me.
I scoffed.
Pfft. Whatever.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Maya laughed as she saw the bandit's head explode from the impact of her fire sniper rifle in hand.
She admitted it, this was fun.
Usually, with the entire team here, they would have barged in—With Salvador and Axton at front—and she'd just Phaselock a few enemies here and there, shoot a goliath in the head with her Maliwan gun and watch as it transformed.
But just before it did, she would Phaselock it, causing the goliath's rage mode to cease as she emptied her bullets into the creature just before her Phaselock faded and the dead, limp body of the mutant hit the ground with a thump.
She smiled. This certainly beat Sanctuary.
She released another shot and another bandit lay dead with no head attached. "This is fun, huh?" She chuckled.
Maya and Zer0 were settled on top of a large boulder, their stomachs pushed into the stone as they lay there side by side, just sniping together.
Zer0 nodded approvingly. Her sniping skills had increased.
Zer0 let a few bullets escape his sniper rifle as well before he sat up, no more bandits left standing.
"I need all Vault Hunter's to report to HQ immediately" Mordecai's voice came.
Maya sat up, a satisfying grin on her face before she sighed. "Thanks for this, Zer0. I appreciate it"
Zer0 nodded. A red heart on his visor.
"Well," Maya stood, packing away her weapon. "We better get back to Sanctuary"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Krieg's mind was unreadable. A jumbled mess of nothingness.
Krieg was lying on his back with his legs entangled in the steel bars of his cage, his arms spread out on the ground like a plane trying to take off.
He mumbled to himself so quiet only he could hear it. But he didn't even know what he said.
Like most others on Pandora, he was lost. And the worst part was that he didn't even know.
"Krieg?" Tannis's voice called to him in the darkness beneath his eyes. "Krieg? Do you remember anything of the past few days?"
The psycho grunted and shifted his position.
He lay still. Not moving. Absent in the present.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Axton's POV
"I need all Vault Hunter's to report to HQ immediately" Mordecai's voice rung from my ECHO device.
Heh. He sounded sober. That's a first.
I arrived to HQ to find everyone standing around the table upstairs which showed a hologram of the Crimson Raider's symbol—The vault symbol with a sword straight through it.
I folded my arms and leant on the door entry, crossing my leg over another, a smirk on my face.
"Alright, finally. Now that we've been graced with Axton's company, let's get down to business" Mordecai stepped up to the table, pressing a few buttons in the process.
"First of all, we need to discuss this shield of Maya's"
Everyone's eyes went to Maya.
The blue Siren had her arms cross, her eyes downcast to her feet.
"We need to find a replacement just in case this shield doesn't hold out" He explained. "We can't be relying on your shield Maya—as strong as it is—we can't be put in the same situation when Hyperion destroyed our last shield"
Maya nodded.
"I'm not sure myself about it" She said, her voice with no emotion in it, her cockiness completely gone. "I made the shield but I'm still not sure of the extent of my power. I was actually…" Maya trailed off, hesitating.
"What?" Mordecai pushed.
"I was…Just thinking that maybe Lilith and I could use a few days away from Sanctuary to test our powers and try and strengthen them" Maya explained.
"Siren training… A most intriguing event…May I observe?" Zer0 asked, his black visor presenting a red hologram of a question mark.
Maya only shrugged. "I've been wanting to test our powers combined for a while…" Maya said. "Lightning Phoenix and The Firehawk"
"Sounds badass" Lilith said stepping up, her golden eyes twinkling. "I'm up for a few days of burning a few bandits"
"That leads me to my next situation" All eyes turned to Mordecai.
"I've gained information that the Eridium extractions have started up again"
"What? That's not possible..." Lilith questioned, an expression of confusion plastered on her face.
Mordecai shook his head dejectedly. "Well someone's operating them. For reasons unknown" He implied. "And we all know that if someone's interested in Eridium, then it's definitely not good. So I need you all to split up into two different groups and shut them down" He ordered, a blue hologram showing the location of every Eridium mine. "We can't take the risk that someone out there might be taking up Handsome Jack's old habits"
The room grew tense. I decided to break it.
"Well then I'll guess I'll take my baby here," I said, tapping the black box strapped to my belt. "And we'll be on our way to serve some bandit ass—"I turned to leave.
"Wait, Axton" Mordecai's voice stopped me. "I said groups. You'll go with Maya and Lilith" Mordecai turned to point at the others. "The other group will be Zer0, Brick while I stay here in Sanctuary"
"What about Krieg?"
Maya's voice didn't contain that ferocious snap to it.
And we all noticed it.
"Krieg will stay where he is. Until then, no one is to be in the same room with him. It's too dangerous. That's why I need to remain here" Mordecai answered
"But what about Tannis?" Maya asked.
Mordecai frowned. "What about Tannis?"
"She's with Krieg. She said she's 'observing him' for any changes I think…"
"Odd," Zer0's voice came. "We have not seen Patricia Tannis since she left to Hero's Pass"