Chapter Two
I peered at Maya from behind the centers large, onyx statue. She and the other new Vault Hunters came back to Sanctuary along with Lilith and then disappeared again and brought Roland back next. They had been away for quite some time, and their arrival caused quite a stir. Roland's and Lilith's, not the new Vault Hunters. People were still trying to figure out how they felt about them, the vault hunters, I mean. The vault hunters had disappeared for a few days and I spent most of them wondering where they had gone and what they were doing. I wanted to be out there with them.
A few days later they disappeared again because Lilith moved sanctuary. I overheard her saying something about not associating them enough with Sanctuary to bring them with. That day was intense. I thought back to how Scooter had, at the first sign of Handsome Jack's gun fire, forced me into the garage and told me to stay. There was a lot of screaming and shaking and when we all phased I nearly threw up.
"What are you doing?" I jumped a bit and spun around to find Vince peering around the stone, as well, to see what I was looking at. It was almost comical. Almost.
"That's none of your business." I childishly answered.
"Well, you look like your spying on Maya, which is creepy, by the way." Vince crossed his ankles as he leaned against the large stone. I looked back at Maya and saw her disappear around the corner leading to Roland's command center.
"What's happening at Roland's place? You all keep going in and out and it's making some people nervous."
Vince paused for a second then said, "We're trying to take down Handsome Jack. We may have a valuable source that could help us, and we're taking the chance that this person means well."
I raised my eyebrows. I didn't really expect him to actually tell me. Scooter would just change the subject and start talking about the next upgrade to his catch a ride.
"Well, that's intense." That's all I could think to say. I then blurted, "would you introduce me to Maya?"
He studied me carefully, his eyes unreadable. "Why do you want to meet her?"
"I mean, if you don't want to do it, I can ask Moxxie." A bluff. I'd rather not have my aunt introduce me. That would be kind of weird.
"Hey Maya," he didn't look away from me, but I turned in surprise to see Maya leaning against the rock. Her hand resting on her gun, while the other hung by her side. Her cool blue eyes trained on me, her lips pursed thoughtfully.
"Vince." She nodded at him after tearing her eyes away from me. She was intimidating, and tall. But she was so damn cool. I tried not to act like a star struck fan, even though that's what I was.
"Lily here wants to train with you all and become a vault hunter herself." He smirked at me and my lips tightened.
"Is that so?" Her face gave away nothing as she turned to look at me, again.
"Yes." I wanted to say more, but I knew I would just end up babbling my whole story and I wanted her to think I was cool. I let my hands fall to my side, and squared my shoulders. The picture of confidence, right?
After a pause Maya said, "We've been really busy and we have some things to do, but the next time we have training, I'll let you know and invite you along." She smirked, waved and left us there. Me, elated, Vince, grinding his teeth.
"Make sure Scooter knows what you're doing, okay?" He stalked off and I rolled my eyes and made my way to Marcus' shooting range.
"Hey Marcus," I leaned against the counter when I arrived and his small smile under his trimmed beard and mustache was the only indication I got that he didn't hate me as much as everyone else.
"Hi, girl," his accent always made me smile. "I have your gun ready to go at your usual booth." He waved his hand in the direction of the shooting range.
"Marcus," my eyebrows drew together. I've been meaning to ask him about this for a while, but it wasn't until now that it really mattered. "Do you have payment plans for your guns?"
His neutral expression worried me until he said, "for you, yes. Anyone else, no." I let out a breath I didn't realized I was holding.
"I want to make a payment on this gun, then." I forked over the money he asked for and continued to my booth. The gun I had chosen was a sniper rifle, with a scope that rivaled any of Hyperion's, and a large loading chamber. It had the potential to light things on fire upon impact, but I had to wait for that upgrade until I paid it off.
I practiced shooting for about an hour until I got a call from Scooter on my echo device. As I talked to him I exited Marcus' shooting range, this time with my gun strapped to my back.
"I have to go see Ellie tonight, she needs help with one of my catch-a-ride stations." I didn't even have to tell him where I was going if I didn't want to. Best to avoid that conversation until I could be sure that I had evidence to back up the fact that I had the potential to be a competent vault hunter. I knew I would survive, I was a quick learner and assessed situations fast and correctly, I think.
"Okay, that sounds fine." I kept my voice neutral.
"Wait, you're not going to beg me to let you come with me?" He sounded confused.
"Nope, I have some things to do here tonight, so…" I trailed off hoping he wouldn't ask what it was I was going to be doing.
"Okay, then," he still sounded confused, but also relieved he wouldn't have to give me another 'it's not safe out there' lecture. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'm not sure it will be an easy fix, so I'll probably spend the night at Ellie's."
We said our goodbyes and I practically skipped to a machine that sold shields. I purchased a cheap one, but it was better than nothing.
Six o' clock rolled around slowly, but I had found a car in the catch-a-ride system that needed some repairs. That kept me distracted so I wouldn't go out of my mind with elation for tonight.
I finished up what I was doing to the car, and entered it back into the system with notes that it was almost ready. I watched it deconstruct and after it had completely vanished I removed my overalls, revealing my spandex outfit to work out in. I got the inspiration from Maya. Except my outfit was all black. I had on a tank top, long pants, light boots for running and fingerless gloves I always wore to keep my hands from chafing while handling the gun.
I practically ran to the fast travel station, entered the coordinates and waited patiently for it to load. My heartbeat was erratic and my stomach tied itself in knots, but I was excited. I had never used the fast travel station, but had fixed it enough times to know how it worked. Eventually I felt a tingling sensation and my vision swam as my surroundings changed. I shut them tight to fight off the nausea that seemed to want to clutch my stomach, but as soon as it began, it was over. The nausea remained on the surface, though, and I was grateful for my strong stomach. I opened my eyes and saw the gates of where Sanctuary used to be, the nausea completely forgotten. The tall dark gate glittered in the setting sun, and was opened slightly, which was weird to see, but it wasn't connected to Sanctuary's security anymore.
I pushed the door opened and jumped when a heard a gunshot ring out. The stone of the gate vibrated as the bullet hit it near my hand. I spun around, my back against the door, continuing to push it open, and saw a man covered in combat equipment, his face covered by a mask with his gun pointing at me. His red and black outfit was obvious against the snowy background and blue sky. I managed to squeeze through the opening and ran forward while looking over my shoulder trying to assess if he was following me.
One minute I was running and the next I hit something solid, which stopped me in my tracks and I fell on my ass clutching my stomach from the impact. I looked up to see what I had run into, expecting to see a wall, but instead saw Zero looking down at me, a question mark lighting up his helmet. He hadn't even budged.
My mouth fell open and I blinked up at him at a loss for words. I had forgotten how his presence affected me, and I tried to keep my expression neutral, which meant I had to stop gaping at him. I closed my mouth and scrambled to my feet, and turned my attention to him.
"Why are you running?" His electronic voice sent shivers up my spine, and I had to cross my arms across my body.
"I- I think I was almost shot by a bandit." I looked behind me again, wondering how I had forgotten that as soon as I saw Zero. I instinctively moved closer to Zero.
"You're safe now." He turned and walked away, and I had no choice but to follow him.
He led me to the edge of the pit where Maya and Axton were waiting. Maya was smirking, her hand resting on her cocked hip and the other holding an SMG. Axton's face was unreadable. He stood like a soldier and his muscles strained his shirt as he crossed his arms, the only tell what he was feeling. Zero's back was to us, studying the pit before him. I had a feeling that Maya was the only one happy to see me.
"Wh-where's Sal?" I hated that I was stammering, and that the knots in my stomach were back.
"He's on a mission." Axton's answer was short and to the point.
"Cooool." I drew out my answer, not sure what to say. I obviously couldn't ask what kind of mission.
Finally Maya spoke, "it's good to have you here, Lilly." She winked at me and my stomach settled somewhat.
"She's on you, Maya." Axton turned to Maya, fixed her with a hard stare, which Maya returned with a cool look of her own, and he walked away to another part of the edge of the pit. Zero followed him, leaving Maya and me alone.
I bit my lip and looked back at her after watching Zero and Axton disappear up a metal ramp. She was smirking again.
"Don't worry about them," she nodded her head in their direction. "They're just worried that I'm going to get us killed because I want to help you with your dream." The way Maya said that made me wonder what her story was, but I was too nervous to speak with her freely, yet.
"Well, I'm not going to beg you to take me on missions with you. I just want to learn, first." I frowned.
"I know, but all they see is a young, enthusiastic girl who doesn't know the first thing about being a vault hunter. They're a bit weary is all." She placed both hands on her SMG. "Now, let's get started."
She motioned for me to follow her, and we ascended the same ramp that Axton and Zero had disappeared to. As I followed her, I admired her markings; it was so neat to have a second siren in sanctuary. I wondered if she and Lilith had had time to talk about their shared heritage. I know I would want to talk to someone who shared my same traits such as that.
We arrived at the top of the metal ramp and stretched out before us was a large metal walkway that led to metal stairs up to the next level. Corrosive barrels and barriers were scattered across the walkway and Axton and Zero were standing by the railing, deep in conversation and staring at their echo maps.
"First thing's first," Maya motioned me over to the railing a couple of feet away from Axton and Zero, out of earshot. "Show me what you know." She tilted her head to the pit and I looked out and saw a corrosive slime pit with creatures lolling about.
I pulled my gun off my back, turned on my shield, because I wanted to see it in use, and brought my gun into position. I used the scope to target the first creature. It was large, with crystal legs and a small shielded head. It's skin was tough and looked like metal. My echo told me it was a crystalisk.
I squeezed off a few rounds into its body, which just bounced off. It tilted its body back and roared searching for who had attacked it. It launched a crystal in our direction, but it didn't make it, luckily, since it exploded upon impact.
I took a deep breath and assessed it again through my scope. The crystals on its legs looked fragile, and that's what I targeted next. After a few moments and emptying my entire clip, I managed to take out all four legs, and the creature exploded into a bunch of crystals.
I smiled to myself and then looked at Maya whose face was impassive. "Um, what's next?" I squirmed under her cool gaze.
"I think you're ready to upgrade from target practice to actual combat practice." She turned to look at Zero and Axton. "Zero's the best, and we're going to have to convince him."
"How are we going to do that?" I strapped my gun to my back.
"By throwing you into the midst of a battle and kicking ass, that's how." She began walking toward the metal staircase.
My eyebrows drew together and I followed her, not sure what she meant exactly. Zero and Axton noticed where she was going and rushed up the staircase, while Maya waited for me at the bottom.
When I reached her she pulled out her gun and motioned for me to do the same. I pulled mine off my back and we ascended the staircase. When we got to the top Axton, Maya, and Zero sprang into action and began firing at the bandits roaming the area.
A stray bullet found its way toward me and bounced off my shield, causing it to crack in my vision. I ducked behind a barrier and clutched my gun to my chest. My heart went wild and my vision blurred from fear.
Oh. So that's what she meant.
