Tensi0n
Standing cloaked in the corner of Marcus' firing range, Zer0 watched as Gaige fired round after round from her shotgun into the target's head. Part of him was impressed by her skill – even with steadily increasing anarchy levels, her rounds still connected with the struggling bandit's head nearly every time. To be fair, her weapon was unusually accurate for a shotgun, being of Hyperion manufacture, but still.
Zer0 was growing worried – it had been nearly two days since they'd been out to Three Horns for the fuel cells. So far, Gaige had not left Sanctuary, but Zer0 was worried about her growing aggression. She'd been spending more and more time down in the firing range, filling the restrained bandit with shotgun pellets. Sometimes, she'd be there for hours at a time, according to Marcus, only emerging to buy ammo before going back in.
"Never seen anything quite like it," Marcus had said to Zer0. "I've made quite a tidy profit just off of her in the last day or two."
"She just stands there and shoots?"
"Yep. Blazes away to her heart's content. I'm going to need a new test dummy soon if she keeps this up. Something wrong?"
"Restrained aggression. She does not like being cooped up; she must kill something."
"Hm." Marcus drummed his fingers on the counter. "Well, doesn't bother me – so long as she keeps buying ammo, I'm happy."
Dinner that night was a subdued affair. Gaige ate much less than she usually did and spoke very little, before excusing herself quietly after less than fifteen minutes. Even Zer0, who ate and drank very little, usually stayed to hear any stories of the day – despite being generally uninterested, he considered it impolite to leave too early.
After Gaige had left the room, the conversation paused briefly. Zer0 and Maya shared a glance. Axton and Salvador both shot Zer0 questioning looks, and even Krieg paused in mid-rant to look briefly at the door before continuing to ramble about trains. Zer0 stood up smoothly and made his own excuses before slipping out the door.
The door of Gaige's room was locked when he arrived. He tapped lightly on the timber.
"Please go away, Zer0," came Gaige's voice from inside the room. A small part of Zer0's brain was impressed that she was able to recognise his knock.
"I will not do so," he replied. "I am worried about you. Please open the door."
There was silence for a moment inside, then the door opened just a crack. Gaige poked her head out – there were bags under her eyes and her hair was down and messy. For a split second, Zer0 was distracted by the length of her hair, but quickly mentally shook himself off.
"You are frustrated," said Zer0.
"I'm not -"
"It wasn't a question." Zer0 tilted his head to one side as he interrupted Gaige. "I know you are, and I'm sorry. I know how frustrating it must be to be cooped up here. I would hate it too."
For a second, Gaige mentally debated whether to shout at him. Eventually she decided that that would be pointless. "I'll be fine, Zer0. I just need time to relax. Please stop worrying."
Unsure whether it was intentional or not, Zer0 elected to ignore the fact that Gaige had just spoken in haiku.
"It is getting late. We must discuss strategy; but in the morning."
"Fine. Good night, Zer0." Gaige closed the door in the assassin's face.
"Good night," said Zer0 to the door, before striding off down the hallway. Outside his bedroom, he found Maya waiting.
"Is she all right?"
"She says so."
"Do you believe her?"
"Not entirely. She spent hours in Marcus' firing range today. She's frustrated. Tomorrow we must talk about how to deal with this."
"Do we tell the others? They're getting worried."
Zer0 hesitated briefly. "No. At this stage, the less they know the better."
"You don't trust them?"
"I trust them. But if they are attacked, I would rather they not know our plans."
Maya frowned. "So why did you tell me?"
"You're a siren. You can hold your own against this assassin. The others can't."
"What about -"
"Lilith is like Gaige – too rash, too hasty. We cannot afford a mistake."
Maya nodded. "Let's talk in the morning. Sleep well, Zer0."
"Good night, Maya."
Gaige waited, teeth gritted and fists clenched. She was at her wit's end. Planning? Strategy? No. Not now. Screw this.
Her watch clicked past midnight. She gathered her things. Her favourite shield. Her best weapons. All the ammo she could carry. Finally, she poked her head out the door. It was quiet – deserted. Safe. She hoped. At this time of night, even Zer0 would be asleep. She crept out and down the stairs, avoiding the notoriously creaky one, and out into the city.
The night air was cold, and it bit against her skin. Unpertubed, she made her way across the courtyard, around the city's purring main engine, and into Pierce Station.
It was dark inside, save for the blue glow of the Fast Travel station. She laid a hand on it, not caring where she ended up.
0ne was in his exercise room performing his morning routine when his ECHO unit chimed. Sheathing his sword, he flicked the communicator open and scanned the message that the ship's computer had sent him.
Aha. Gotcha. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he replaced his helmet and swept over to the bridge. The red light blinked softly on the screen, no longer in Sanctuary. He looked at the date on his calendar – two days since he'd arrived. He was right again. Smiling slightly, he armed himself quickly and made his way to the transport dock.
Zer0 made his way silently down the hallway, still slightly groggy from sleep, towards the training room. He always got up this early to train – nobody else was using the equipment at this time of day.
As he reached the door to the training room, he paused and turned around. No, he hadn't been mistaken – Gaige's door was ajar.
Part of his brain wanted to believe that she was getting something to eat, perhaps, or going to the bathroom. But that part of his brain was quickly overridden by the rest of his brain, and he hurried back down to the open door. Still quiet, in an effort not to disturb her if she was in there, he pushed the door open and poked his head in.
Gaige was definitely not there. He switched his helmet to night vision and scanned the room. Her bed had clearly not been slept in. He refocused his gaze onto the cabinet where she kept her weapons. Her best shotgun was missing, along with several other weapons and other pieces of gear. God damn it! He cursed under his breath and ran back to his room, pulling out his ECHO unit and running a scan to pinpoint her location while grabbing his own gear.
Should he wake Maya? No – the siren did not like being woken up this early, and it would take her too long to get ready. There was no way of knowing how long Gaige had been gone for, so he had no time to waste. He tore a sheet of paper off his notepad and scribbled a quick note. His ECHO beeped. He glanced at it, then finished the note, slipped it under Maya's door and took the stairs two at a time, cursing himself as much as Gaige.
He just hoped he was in time.
