Chapter 2

There was a time when Zer0 didn't bother reading all the personal bullshit that prospective clients would add into their assassination requests to him. Like he needed to know why their request was justified, somehow making them better people than they were for requesting an assassination. Someone's brother was killed and they want revenge, someone feels they deserve an inheritance sooner than later, someone is just being a dick. It all ended the same, which was why he didn't bother reading them in the first place.

He wasn't certain when he started paying attention to the stories, or when they started to aid in determining if he would take the contract or not. Thinking back on it, maybe it was when he decided to stay on Pandora, complete the goal of finding the Vault, and defeat the megalomaniac Handsome Jack. Skimming the requests then was important to know if the job would take him off planet or not. It still wasn't necessary for him to read all the personal details though. So why bother reading them now?

The answer, Zer0 mused, was because at some point over the last few months, the stories became interesting. The logic behind someone's desire for the death of another became intriguing. Zer0 had never cared much for why someone had to die, unless they posed a significant challenge to him, but even then the reasoning was simple. They had to die for him to test the extent of his abilities.

But the rationale around these requests rarely stemmed from taking advantage of a challenge. All the stories were motivated by emotion, greed, vengeance or, sometimes, apathy. The management man who was afraid a whistleblower would ruin the corporation he spent his life building. The sister who mourned the loss of her sibling, and was determined to make sure no one else was taken by an ambitious murderer. The spoiled brat who wanted others to do as he said, or die. At some point, Zer0 started turning down jobs he felt did not have a strong enough reason behind them.

The spoiled brat would have to learn that not everyone revolved around him. It wasn't Zer0's job to make the universe in that idiot's image, and he didn't care to waste his time on it. The management man was feeling the consequences of his sloppy actions, let someone else clean up after him. The sister, her request might actually prove to be some sort of challenge but she wasn't offering enough money. Her request was a plea for charity, and Zer0 didn't do charity.

On his left, two members of his team, the soldier and Pandoran berzerker, walked past his hidden location. their boisterous voices loud with merriment and too much rakk-ale. Zer0 overheard the Pandoran say something about a team-wide drinking contest, his inebriation making his words slur together.

A frowning emoticon flashed red in front of Zer0's helmet, mimicking his facial expression behind the opaque visor. Zer0 had lost something important to being an efficient and effective assassin. Detachment. He was no longer comfortably removed from everyone and everything around him. He had been a member of this team of Vault Hunters, and a somewhat official citizen of this town called Sanctuary, for nearly a year. He knew things about people's characters now, and took that information into consideration when interacting with those people. If an attack came, he knew he wouldn't hesitate to join his team in protecting Sanctuary. Zer0 was... attached.

Another red hologram flashed in front of his mask: WTF.

"A skill has been lost. / I need distance from this place / to be strong again," Zer0 thought aloud, the poetic cadence he favored punctuating his words.

Rising from his spot against a back alley wall, he slipped unseen onto the streets of Sanctuary. Light faded all around the town, except for Moxxi's Tavern, which was already bright and full of noisy patrons. Like a shadow Zer0 blended with the falling darkness of night time on Pandora. It would not due to have someone discover his intentions of disappearing. His teammates all seemed to have an inconvenient habit of making leaving a sentimental affair, something he never fully understood. Still, as he arrived at the shared locker space where they all kept the few belongings they owned, he felt an odd tightness in his chest. A curious apprehension. Was he concerned about being caught? Or was it something else? Something he couldn't yet name.

He made a quick decision to leave something behind for the team to find. Although he was not comfortable with the attachment he had developed for the group of oddball warriors, he was not yet able to cut his ties to them so cleanly. Satisfied with his action, he resumed packing the few things he had in the locker: an exceptional sniper rifle, a couple of reliable pistols, ammo, his favored digistruct sword, some rations, cash, and that was it. He wouldn't need anything else.

"Oh, Zer0! Mordecai's looking for you, he wants to challenge you to a sniper- Where are you going?" Maya entered the room suddenly, making Zer0 realize he had been so distracted by his thoughts that he hadn't heard her coming. That, coupled with the concerned look she was now giving him, was unnerving.

"An offer to spar? / Mordecai wants to show off. / I think I will pass."

Zer0's mechanized voice was nearly monotone. His teammates had worked with him long enough that, sometimes, they were able to pick up subtle inflections of tone signifying sarcasm, or in rare instances, excitement. Although this time, all Maya heard was a sterile indifference. Her eyes skimmed the scene before here, looking for clues about where Zer0's head was at. She noted the guns he now had strapped to his back, his bag and empty locker.

"You're leaving," she accused, her voice soft.

After a moment of contemplation, Zer0 responded, "Yes."

"Are you leaving Pandora?" Maya pressed, her voice was even but her heart rate quickened.

"Yes," came the mechanic response. His mask was not facing her directly, which she could only assume meant he was not looking at her. For another long moment, there was silence between them.

"You fucking bastard," Maya finally spat, anger welling inside her. Zer0 looked up, a red question mark hanging in front of his helmet.

"Don't you use that stupid hologram on me," Maya continued, her hands balled into fists and her voice rose with frustration. "What, you thought you'd just slink off into the night without even saying goodbye? Did you think we wouldn't care if you disappeared? Like the past year of us all practically living together meant nothing, and it wouldn't matter if you just up and left? Geeze, how selfish are you?" If she had been near a table, she probably would have thrown something.

Zer0 continued to say nothing, though this time there were no holograms accompanying his silence. Under his suit, his body was tight, like he was waiting for an attack. He watched the siren closely, waiting for... something. Her words were not accurate, but that was exactly why he had decided to leave. Was it selfish? Probably, but that was the point.

"Where will you go?" Maya finally asked, her voice quieter, resigned. Zer0 decided her current tone did not suit the determined, headstrong woman he had come to recognize her as.

"Eden 5, I have / accepted a contract there. / After? I don't know," he answered honestly.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know."

Maya sighed dejectedly. "Fine. It's just that," she paused, rethinking her words, "You're a good man, Zer0. I'll- we'll miss you."

"Good? I am not good. / A good man cannot shoot true. / I am fine with this." Maya expected his response. She had gathered early on that Zer0 had a very black and white way of looking at the world around him.

"None of us are saints; every one of us has blood on our hands," she said, a relaxed smile softened her features. "You've helped save a lot of people here, and our team would not have succeeded if we didn't have you at our backs. You've done good things, you should own it."

Zer0 turned his head away from her, increasingly uncomfortable with the situation. He slung his bag over his shoulder and made his way up to Maya, his destination the exit beyond her. Stopping just at her side, he turned his head towards her ear.

"Do not get yourself killed."

"God, you're such an asshole," Maya countered and before Zer0 could process her intentions she embraced him in a hug. She took advantage of his shock and held him tightly, her face buried in the crook of his neck for as long as she thought she could get away with. He didn't hug her back, but she didn't care. When she let him go, neither of them attempted eye contact.

Zer0 left. Maya stayed in the locker room for a while afterwards and struggled with whether or not she should go after him, convince him not to leave, tell him that they needed him here, on Pandora, in Sanctuary. Underneath it all, she knew she couldn't stop him. Nothing she could have said would have changed anything.

When she got herself under control, Maya returned to the tavern where the rest of her team were waiting. She headed straight to the bar and ordered a stiff drink. Taking a generous gulp, she flinched as the burning liquid went down. Moxxi gave her an odd look.

"Oi, anybody seen Zer0? That sonofabitch is going down!" Mordecai hollered drunkenly from down the bar.

"Zer0 isn't coming," Maya said calmly but loud enough for everyone to hear. Something was wrong and anyone not knockout drunk could sense it. The bar became abnormally quiet, with the exception of Mordecai and a few others, the aforementioned knockout drunks.

"Then where the hell is he? I'll get 'im!" Mordecai said, swinging drunkenly from his stool.

"He's probably off planet by now," she responded, taking another gulp from her drink and placing the empty glass back on the bar. She could feel the others staring at her, trying to comprehend the news. Fresh anger welled up in her and she stood up from her stool with more force than intended. She muttered something about their missing companion being a "stupid jerk" and stalked out of the now silent tavern.