More Than a Vault Hunter – Chapter 2 – Deliberations and Consultations

A/N: Hey guys! This is one chapter that took waaayyy longer than it should have. I would like to say a big thanks to fellow author Kromatick, who put time and effort into
1. Co-authoring this chapter
2. Getting my motivation and inspiration right back where it should be.

3. Being generally awesome. :P

I am sorry about the wait, and working on this chapter has made me realise that I can't 'set' myself a word count that I have to hit. I need to write the chapter to how long the chapter has to be, and then that's it. I can go back and add some or take some, and it doesn't matter as long as it makes the writing better. It's not every day you learn something like that, but it should be.

Review Replies:

athos-aramis: Thanks for the awesome review, if you want, you can check out the things I edited in the first chapter, and tell me if I fixed them up or not. I'm not quite sure I did, because it's difficult to fix things like that in your own story. And, I think I will continue with this series for a while yet, in fact I think I even have a sequel to this sequel started somewhere. Don't worry about it.

Trackdrive: Thanks, it's great to know someone else is looking forward to it. I know I am! :D

GJ115: Me neither. :P

Thanks to those who reviewed, and I hope to see others do the same! Let me know what you want to see, who you want more of etc. I am happy to write pretty much anything, so don't be afraid to ask. For example, who do you want the next chapter's perspective to be in? Answer in a review! It's that easy.

Read on.

Gaige

I woke in a mood that would scare off an Alpha skag. My head felt like a varkid had munched its way in, and was kicking my forehead in time with my pulse. I tried to escape from its anger by falling back to sleep, but I had no such luck. I was up, so I suppose I had to make the best of it. With a sigh, I rolled over, squeezing my eyes tight in the pain. I must have had a hell of a lot to drink last night. When the dizziness stopped spinning the world beneath me, it was time to move. Sitting up was not going to be a pleasant experience, no matter how long I waited.

It wasn't. As I pulled myself up onto my elbows, the little varkid panicked and went ballistic on my skull. I dropped back to the pillow with a moan, but I would not be beaten. I tried again, with a little more success this time. I was able to end up sitting up, head in hands over the edge of the bed. I peered out through my fingers, and saw the floor below me spinning and twirling. It was entrancing to see for a few seconds, until it seemed I was the one moving. That thought didn't sit well with my varkid friend, and he gave me a nice, strong kick as punishment. I really hated that little motherfu-

"Ah, she's up! I wondered when you would return to the living, Senorita. How's the head girly? Like hell I'd bet, for a young one like you." I peeled my eyes open again, and saw Salvador's boots and torn up jeans. Judging from his tone, he was looking to have some fun with my current state.

Not likely. With a simple hand motion, DT spawned right in front of me. I pressed the command button for 'intimidate', and the foot long claws appeared on his hands as he towered over Salvador. Sure, Sal was crazy, but even he knew he couldn't take on DT alone.

I pressed a few more controls, and DT moved forward threateningly, a low menacing growl coming from his speakers. Sal just chuckled and walked away casually. DT remained there, and I heard him growl a few more times as others wandered a little too close. I slowly woke and gained enough mental coherence to be able to stand. Looking at the empty bunks around me, I guessed everyone else had woken already. That was fine with me; at least they had been quiet about it. The headache was subsiding now, so I risked walking. It was bad, but not so bad that I would fall. I hoped.

The wall was my best-friend as I made my way to the OR. I made it to the door, and looked in with bleary eyes. It seemed that everyone except Mordecai was here, but there didn't seem to be much going on just yet. Everyone was scattered about the room and looked as dead as I felt. Axton was leaning over the balcony, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand and Maya beside him. Lilith was sitting in a chair, head back and eyes closed and blocking everything else out. Zero was leaning against the wall in a corner, still as a statue. Salvador sat opposite Lilith, and was staring into the display as it rotated the Crimson Raider emblem. Brick was beside the door, and he gave me a nod as I met his eyes. Fletcher had Angel on his lap on a chair to the right of the room.

So, walking in slowly, I sat beside Fletcher and Angel, and just relaxed. I got the feeling everyone else wouldn't be moving for a while either, so I took advantage of the quiet to let my mind wander. And wander to the future, whatever it might be.

Pandora was still one fucked up planet. It was as simple as that. Sure, we had killed Jack, and done one badass job of it, but killing one man doesn't end an entire war. The bandit's numbers had been reduced in the thousands, but they were still a threat. The Eridium was sitting down under the surface, and the mines that Hyperion still controlled were doing a roaring trade. Slag infected creatures were all over, harassing settlements and travellers, and would need to be eradicated before their mutations spread among the rest of the population.

It was a massive job for the Raiders to do. We barely had enough firepower to be able to protect Sanctuary alone, and it was lucky it was as isolated as it was. It was a balance between ensuring a mission got done, and getting them all done quickly. Lilith would have to split her forces into well balanced, decisive groups, each suited to completing a specific task. For example, she would send Axton, Maya and Mordecai as one group, and Zero, Salvador and myself as another, with Fletcher, Angel and Brick as the remaining group. Lilith herself would need to stay in Sanctuary and co-ordinate our efforts, just as she had said yesterday.

Those groupings worked well, due to the variability of each of the Vault Hunters in them. Mordecai was able to organise a group, and provide the most awesome sniper support of any of us. Axton was a tough fighter, and his turret provided a powerful addition to any team. And Maya was able to control a battlefield. As a trio, they would have very few battles they wouldn't be able to win.

I frowned as I thought about it though. I could explain all this to Lilith, and she would listen, because she had learned from Roland's death to never underestimate anyone again. She had also learned not to overestimate either, because we had all thought Roland would still be here at the end of it all. But look where that got him? The point was that the rest of the group still thought I was 'that crazy girl with the big robot', and I had had enough of it. They needed to see that I could handle myself, and that I was good for more than just mechanical and technological work. They needed to see I could lead.

One little problem with that though. I hadn't been given the chance, and I doubted I would get one. It seemed that I was doomed to sit back and take the orders, and do what I was told. Put DT there, shoot that, hide there, run here, fix that, hold this, be quiet, stop squealing, yap yap yap. So, I waited. I exercised the same patience that allowed me to try again and again at fixing a problem with one of my designs. I would persist, and take any opportunities that I could to show that I can be someone to follow, not just someone to be led.

So, I waited now for someone else to do something. While I wanted to be a leader, I know that trying to get a drunk, tired group of Vault Hunters to wake up and listen probably wasn't the best way to get started. I guessed I would probably end up thrown over the balcony unceremoniously by an unamused Brick. I wasn't an idiot, so I waited for Lilith to be the one to get things moving, if she even bothered. To be completely honest, I had no idea why we were even here in the first place. She had said it was a day off to recuperate and get our gear in order. So, I waited.

And waited…..

And waited…..

And waited…

And waited some more.

Finally something happened. Mordecai walked in, his rifle on his back, and a massive grin on his face. His appearance seemed to breathe some life into the rest of us. We slowly got moving, stretching out and winding up like an old steam engine. A brilliant innovation, those old steam engines. The original idea, you see, was all about-

Sorry. So, Mordecai walked briskly over to the holostation and activated it quickly. As he loaded up the data, we all gathered around and looked on. It was rare to see him looking so excited after everything that had happened, and I also wondered where he had been. I realised that he hadn't been at the party last night, but also don't remember him staying behind with Lilith to talk about whatever he was going out to do.

Mordecai put his ECHO back on his belt, and started fiddling with the holostations controls. He brought up an image of Pandora, with sections coloured differently, and zoomed in on our continent. There was a spattering of yellow, red and green, with some just a simple sandy brown, same as the desert. He set the hologram to rotate, and left it there. Everyone just stared at it, wondering what it meant. Fletcher was the first to get it, and his expression showed it.

"It's a map of the territories and who controls them, but… it shows it in more detail than any of our others. You would have had to…. Mordecai, is this Hyperion's planetary control map? It has to be."

Mordecai smile grew and he nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped and glanced at Lilith. She just waved a hand, so he continued. "You guessed it. We are now in possession of Hyperion's planetary control and territory data. I spent last night sneaking around up in the Moonbase, checking out just what kind of info they kept up there. Believe me, there is a lot, and I'm planning on heading up again, but Lil wanted me back here before I got caught."

"I did, but I wasn't sure you would come. You sounded like an excited little kid up there, old man." Lilith said, a smile playing on her lips.

"Hey, I got rights, Lil, and one of them is to get excited about shit. So, wanna tell me why I'm down here?" Mordecai asked.

"Okay," Lilith addressed the whole room, "Everyone listen up, I have an idea."

Everyone's seemed to pay attention to Lilith as they waited to hear what she had to say. I, for my part, was lost in my own thoughts and paying minimal attention to the conversation.

"As you probably realised," Lilith continued, "Mordecai has been sneaking around in the Moonbase looking for Hyperion data. Problem with that is, it's still infested with personnel. We're going to change that. I want to take over the Moonbase. And this time, not get our asses captured."

At hearing this, I perked up. It seemed I was the only one that was really interested in this. Some of the tools and tech I would be able to get up there would be incredible. I was so in. I leaned forward in my chair, my elbows on my knees. What seemed weird was, nobody else in the room responded to Lilith's statement.

"Guys!" she said, clapping her hands together, "Do I have your attention, or are you as dead as Ned's zombies?"

The group murmured in response.

"You got mine!" I spoke up, trying to catch her attention. I knew she wouldn't send all of us up there, and I really wanted to go.

"Uhh, great." She frowned at me. "Anyway, I picked a team that will go in and clear the place out. That team will be Salvador, Zero, Axton, Maya, Brick and Mordecai."

My heart sank when I didn't hear my name being called. I stood up out of my chair and faced Lilith, my expression hard.

"Woah, woah, what about me?" I demanded.

Lilith let out a sigh. "Obviously we can't just send everyone up there, and you-"

"I what, Lilith?!" I shouted, I was so angry I didn't think about what I was saying, "You don't trust me?! I'm not good enough?!"

"Jesus, calm down Gaige!" she said, raising her voice, "I'm not singling anyone out here, I just didn't think you were needed on this mission. Besides you-"

"Let me go, or I swear I'll go myself and leave everyone here!"

Before she could respond to this, Angel stood up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Gaige, relax," she said quietly, "Don't take it personally."

Her words made me even angrier. I snatched my arm away roughly. "Don't tell me to relax," I snapped at her, "They trust you more than they trust me!"

The hurt in her eyes was painful to see, but I didn't care. I didn't care for anyone at that point in time. With that, I turned and walked straight out of the OR, not caring about anyone's reaction. I made my way downstairs and out of the front door to the streets of Sanctuary. I stormed into a nearby alley and sat against a wall, trying to calm down. I couldn't believe that Lilith had done that to me. She made me feel like I was completely irrelevant, like I had no purpose here.

I dropped my head into my hands, trying to slow my shaky breathing. I was willing to grant that I may have overreacted, but it was still completely unfair. How could Lilith leave me out of a mission like that? The only reason we even made it into the Moonbase last time was because of DT, and she just goes ahead and leaves two of her most valuable assets at home? Who did she think she was? I had as much right to this mission as anyone, and I would not sit by and watch another opportunity pass me by. I would go, and that was that.

Someone sat next to me, and I glanced over to see Fletcher looking at me in amusement, though I got the feeling that after what I had said to Angel, he was less than amused.

"Gaige, what was that?"

I scoffed, "Don't give me that tone."

He shrugged, and stated simply, "You started it."

I glanced his way, scowling. Fletcher was smarter than this, why was he trying to piss me off?

He saw the look on my face, and a huge smile spread his lips. "You know what I like about you Gaige? You have fire, and will never give up when trying to get what you want. But what you did up there was out of line, and you know it."

I just shrugged and looked up at the sky. I knew it was, but I still felt it had to be done.

The smile faded, to be left with a very stern and slightly frightening glare, "You know, I shouldn't even be the one lecturing you, considering you're older, but that was Angel who you hurt the most, and I will not stand for that. Ever. She has more regret in her heart than you will ever know, and I hope you can at least have sense enough to apologise. If you don't, then I may have to change my decision, and you really don't want that."

I frowned, "What decision?"

He turned away and stood up. Holding his hand out to me, he said mysteriously, "You'll see."

I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up easily. As he did, I saw his muscles through his dark t-shirt, and the way the tattoos curled around his arms. His dark brown hair was flicked to his left, and it made his deep blue eyes seem almost surreal. He was a good looking guy, and Angel was a lucky girl.

I followed him back upstairs, and we passed the others as they headed back down. I met Axton's eye, and he smiled at me mischievously. I gave him a quizzical look and as he passed me, he whispered, "I hope you know how to deal with an angry Siren." I ignored him, but his words still had his desired effect. I swallowed nervously, but I would stay determined. Lilith would be pissed. I hoped I hadn't pushed her too far to salvage the situation.

We walked in to the OR to see Lilith and Angel talking over the top of the holostation. They looked up at us, and Lilith's mood changed immediately, and not for the better. She leaned back where she stood and crossed her arms, staring me down as Fletcher and I stood around the holostation. I met her eyes with an expression to match hers, and neither of us moved. The tension in the room could have been cut with a knife. The silence wasn't much better.

Angel kept looking between us, waiting for Lilith or I to make the first move, and Fletcher just stared into the holostation, lost in his own thoughts. However, after a fairly short time, he and Angel shared a look, and a small smile played on his lips, while Angel herself struggled to hold in a laugh. It was enough to break the silence like glass, and Lilith and I started laughing too.

We had no idea what was funny, but we laughed anyway. It was only a short time before we calmed down again, and as the giggles died away, I looked over at Angel and said, "I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean it, you know. I don't think straight when I get angry, so yeah, forgive?"

She smiled at me, and nodded. I breathed a sigh of release and turned over to Lilith to apologise to her as well. I didn't really feel like I had to, but I she was the leader of our group, and I had completely disobeyed her. Before I could say a word, however she just raised her hand and said, "Not now, okay? There are other things more important to discuss." So, I said nothing, and waited for someone to start discussing the reason I was here.

It hit me then, that the people in this room were all the ones not going on the Moonbase mission. I was confused at Lilith's choice now. Hyperion would have data stored up there that the others would need either Angel or I to access, and Lilith had left us both here. What was going on? Was there something I didn't know about that she did, or had we done something wrong? Maybe Angel was able to access the information from here, and the others were just clearing out the base of Hyperion soldiers. I doubted it though.

Fletcher looked over at me, and took a deep breath before facing Lilith and saying, "I've picked."

Lilith shook her head, and I could feel the mood change faster than a stalker could cloak. Things were going to get heated, again.

Fletcher's eyebrows met, "You don't even know who I picked, how can you-"

Lilith raised her eyebrows and interrupted him, "Don't know who you picked? I may not be Sherlock, but it's pretty damn obvious. You are not having Gaige."

I piped up, wondering what the hell this was about and what it had to do with me. "Ah, having me? What is this about?" I was conveniently ignored, which was really not cool.

Fletcher scoffed, and said, "Right, because you gave me a choice for a reason."

Lilith snapped back at him, "I gave you a choice, rakk-brain, so that you would learn how to choose your allies. Not so you could steal one of the soldiers that I need from under me!"

"You said you could spare someone. And you remember it. Don't you go back on your word now," Fletcher said, remaining relatively calm.

"Circumstances change, kid, and you know it. Now grow up and deal with it!"

"You said I could have as much power as I need, as many resources as I needed to be able to get this done. Are you taking that back now? Are you going to break that promise to me?" Fletcher's wings, in their awesome crimson and black colours appeared, and the tattoos on his arms glowed.

Lilith's voice was deathly quiet, and it was more frightening than any yelling I'd ever heard.

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"I am not. I am just saying you're on the verge of it. You don't want to lie now, not to me, not when I am being reasonable."

Lilith had a look on her face that would have sent me running if I had been in Fletcher's position.

"And now you're threatening me? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Her brilliant golden wings spread from her back, and she raised her fists, ready to fight. "Then let's do it kid! I'll kick your ass!"

Fletcher raised his left hand, tattoos growing brighter, and I knew if I didn't intervene the whole city would end up in rubble. So I stepped between them, where I knew I really, really shouldn't be if I wanted to live, and just looked Fletcher in the eyes. After a second, the light from his crimson eyes, and he lowered his hand with a sigh. I met Lilith's eyes and she did the same, but still looked like she was going to go nuts on his ass.

I stepped back, and looked over my shoulder at Angel. She stared at me in disbelief, and I motioned her around the table to me. I leant in to her ear, and whispered, "What the hell is this all about?"

She just looked at me and shrugged, but smiled and said, "You should know that there's no point whispering among Sirens. We have hearing good enough to notice a heartbeat in a quiet room."

"When we aren't distracted by anything else, that is," Lilith said. "I think it's about time Gaige knows what she's here for. You tell her Fletch. I couldn't be bothered."

Fletcher just sighed again, but looked up at me, and started talking, "Yesterday, when we got back from the Vault, and Lilith had finished speaking to us all, she had me stay behind. She explained to me that Angel and I would be leaving sometime soon to go find the rest of the Sirens, wherever they are in the six galaxies," I nodded, and he continued, "I said that Angel and I were young, and had no real idea of how things outside Pandora worked. Hell, I still barely get how Pandora itself works, but the point was that we needed someone else."

He glanced over at Lilith, but she didn't bother to meet his eyes, "I was told that I was able to pick whoever I wanted from among the Vault Hunters to be that third person. I picked you, and for reasons unknown, Lilith disagrees. Now personally, I find that bullshit, but in this case, I believe your opinion comes before mine. So, what do you think? Wanna come and explore the galaxies with us?"

My jaw dropped. He wanted me to come with him and Angel to find the Sirens? I could barely hold in the excitement. In fact, I don't think I did. "Yes, yes yes yes yes yes yes, I will soooo go with you. That's, like, wow, I mean, me out there with you guys…. This will be the most badass thing since… since, well, yesterday, but you know, whatever. When do we leave?"

"Good question," he said, "When do we leave Lilith?"

She just shrugged, "Whenever you want, but I still want to hear why you have to take Gaige. Why not Zero, or Mordecai, or even Brick? Any of those would be better for me, and you."

Fletch opened his mouth to speak, but Angel beat him to it, "Because she is who she is, Lilith, and you know it. If we went with Zero, he would be recognised. Same with Mordecai, and Brick. All of the others have their wanted posters across the worlds with massive bounties on their heads. We would be harassed, attacked, lied to, and we wouldn't be able to get anywhere near any smart Siren because of the heat. But with Gaige, she is our age, she isn't known universe wide, and DT will be useful as an extra pair of hands in a fight."

Angel glanced over at me, and smiled, "Plus, at least we'll be able to get along with her, unlike Zero, who would just sit there in his moods and sulk."

I met Lilith's eyes. I could almost feel her slowly giving in, but she had fire in her, and would have one last attempt at keeping me.

"Why take anyone at all?" She said.

"Because it wouldn't work any other way," I said, "When we find one of the Sirens, we are going to need someone to escort them back to Pandora, without leaving one person alone in any situation. So when we find the first one, these guys," I said, waving my hand to encompass both Fletcher and Angel, "Can stay and keep looking while I, with DT by my side, escort the Siren and any possible companions of hers back to Pandora. Easy."

Lilith looked between each of us, and saw the looks on our faces. She was defeated, so she decided to retreat with some dignity still intact, "Fine, Gaige can go, but," and here her voice took on that same deathly tone, "If you lose anyone, don't come back at all. Clear?"

We nodded, and Lilith dismissed us with a wave of her hand. Fletcher and Angel left immediately, but I stayed behind. Lilith seemed… exhausted, and the spark that made her who she was, was missing. I sat on one of the chairs and watched as she stared at the desk, lost in thought. A minute passed, and she looked up and spotted me sitting there. As she did, she just sat down on the chair beside me and said, "You don't happen to have a clone around anywhere do you?"

I smiled and shook my head, "If I did, you'd be the first to know."

"Glad to hear it," She sighed, and lay back in the chair, closing her eyes as she tried to relax. "Do you know how hard it is to organise a rebellion? I don't know how Roland was so….. He never questioned himself you know? It was like he was as good at leading as he was at handling that rifle of his."

"I doubt he never questioned himself. If I had been him, I would know that the others needed complete faith in me, and so I wouldn't show them I was in doubt."

Lilith glanced at me, and said, "I'm not sure I want to believe that."

"Then don't. None of us are forcing anything on you, Lil. The only thing you really need to do is not fall apart. We can't help you if you've gone insane."

"I think we are all too far gone for that," she said. The dark humour surprised me. I didn't expect it from her. She was an amazing person, that was for sure, but even Lilith had her limits, and they were much closer than any of us had realised.

"Look, Lil, if you really need it, why not just have a day off? You're not immortal, and I somehow doubt that would even matter under the load you've taken. Let Mordecai handle things for a while. I mean, you're not sending yourself to the Moonbase for a reason right? You need to rest, and recover. So, do that, then you can take another stab at this whole, 'rescue the world' thing when you're ready. Yeah?"

Lilith sat forward, leaning her elbows on her thighs. She met my eyes, and I could tell we had the old Lilith back. "Well, I guess a small break can't hurt right? C'mon, let's go see the others off, I'm sure the trip will be an interesting one for them."

I nodded, and we stood up. As I turned to head toward the stairs, I felt Lilith's hand on my shoulder. I turned back to her, and she enveloped me in her arms. I was surprised, but I didn't hesitate to hug her back.

"Thanks, Gaige."

"No worries, Lilith. Now c'mon, we have a war to finish."

A/N: There you go, chapter 2 is finally done! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and let's all hope the next one doesn't take anywhere near as long. (It won't. I promise.)

Kromatick will not be with me for the rest of the story, but I still owe him big time. Please check out his awesome stories Mechro, and its sequel Hunted.

Leave a review saying who you want to see more of, and I'll be sure to get that done.

Thanks for reading, and next chapter up soon. :D