AN: Wow a month flies by very quickly. View this as a nice introduction chapter to all the other main characters of the story. A little slow on the action, but the next chapter will more than make up for it. Now I believe I responded individually to all reviews with accounts. If I missed you I am sorry and I appreciated your review.

Guest: Thanks for the review on this and the one-shot. I don't think I'm being completely secretive about what Zer0 is, but my whole theory on his background really won't be spelled out until much later in the story. I will neither confirm nor deny any guesses at this time.

ShadyVirus: Thanks for the enthusiastic review! I hope I continue to live up to that level of love

Lasher: Yes there will be more action and I don't plan to ignore the craziness of the planet but as you will see I have fleshed out some explanations as to why there are so many odd people there. And it's really not a guess, I am basing it on the information Gearbox has released on Pandora's history. I hope Zer0 still feels in character with this chapter and I really hope you continue on to the next chapter were there will be lots of fighting. It will follow the main questline pretty much with some things added in.

Ant Hill: Now that you mention that I could see it.

There you have it. Please let me know what you think with a quick review. I do really appreciate your thoughts on where this story is headed.

Chapter 3

Nothing happens until something moves.

~ Albert Einstein

Axton closed his eyes, letting the heat soak into his face as he tried to wait patiently for the transport Hyperion had promised him. For a few minutes the comforting warmth on his face distracted him from the uncomfortable bench that made his back ache and the fact that he hadn't seen any action in days, but in the end his mind and body grew restless making it impossible for him to just sit quietly. He had never understood the point of being patient anyways. It was a pointless virtue in his opinion leading him to have no qualms at abandoning his halfhearted attempt at waiting calmly for a train that never seemed to come.

He began to pace with a steady rhythm while holding his rifle close to his chest, giving him the appearance of a well-trained soldier going about his rounds rather than a hired gun waiting for a train. It was no surprise, though, considering that it was not too long ago that he had been a military man with years of training and following the stuffy protocols that came with it. But now things were different. He was no longer a decorated soldier but a damned good mercenary after the military failed to recognize his obvious talent. Even his ex-wife, Sarah, failed to realize his potential as a soldier, focusing instead on his bending of Dahl's strict rules rather than his spectacular triumphs. Perhaps if they didn't focus on the negative so much Dahl and Sarah would have recognized his abilities and worth instead of feeling that he was a liability. If they had he was sure he would not have been discharged without so much as a warning and his wife wouldn't have ended things the way she did.

"But that's what you get for marrying your commanding officer," he muttered to himself as he wiped some sweat from his tanned face, the golden tone making his sandy brown hair appear lighter than what it actually was. Sarah would have thought he looked good; she always liked him with a tan. But that was a different life filled with structure and boundaries. He didn't have to worry about a commanding officer or a wife anymore and after a few jobs as a hired gun he was more than happy for it. Mercenary work gave him the freedom to show off his skills while making enough cash for him to live comfortably if he wanted to.

Yet even with the amounts of money he was making he was secretly glad when he found Pandora. It was so different than any world he had ever been to. It had been partially developed by Dahl who spent billions on mining the mineral-rich planet, creating small settlements that dotted the otherwise wild and untouched landscape. Perhaps if things had played out differently Pandora would have become a newer version of Eden-5 or Themis. Perhaps it would have been filled with manmade biomes to break up the deserts and arid plains while towering cities would begin to sprawl across the mountains and valleys. But that never happened, leaving Pandora and its residents to live in a frontier-like place without the benefits that came with large cities and a huge population. There was no judicial system or really even a police force to maintain some semblance of order. The majority of the planet was dominated by crime and gunfire, giving ample opportunity to a hired gun for all sorts of diverse jobs.

"I'll have to remember to send a thank you to Dahl for leaving Pandora," he chuckled to himself as he thought of his last job he took for Sheriff Youngblood. He had let himself get captured by a band of what had once been convicts at a prison for the criminally insane that is until Dahl had bought their prison sentence order to have free labor in their mines. It was smart business for the corporation and helped with overcrowding in jails, prisons, and workhouses. Besides, no one really ever complained about the violation of human rights when it came to rapists and murderers.

It was the same story for most of the bandits that now populated Pandora. They all were chosen to work off their prison sentence for Dahl and were thoughtlessly abandoned on the planet when the massive corporation decided to abandon their assets on the planet with the Crimson Lance's urging. You couldn't move from one settlement to the next without running into some former steroid junkie bruiser or the genetically enhanced goliaths that organized crime on planets like his own Hieronymous liked to use to act as guards. Even the more common criminals like marauding smugglers and low-level killers seemed to be in abundance around the planet, all rallying under the banner of some former prisoner that had the power and fear to lead their men.

But out of all the variety in criminals Pandora seemed to offer it was the psychopaths he liked the best. They were so funny with some of the random shit they shouted. It was partially why he himself get captured on his last job and be brought before the stupid and arrogant J-Dog. They were so easy to manipulate and toy with, making what would have been just a mundane shoot-'em-up sort of job into a bit of a game. Still, it J-Dog had been no genius and most of his followers lacked the mental capacity to really think much beyond whatever it was they were doing in that moment. It had been easy to manipulate the bandits and kill them so that he could earn his bounty; too easy, actually. It was the reason Axton had decided to quit his well-paying job as a bounty hunter and follow what could promise to be quite the adventure. It had all led him to where he was now, waiting for a train that promised fame, fortune, and glory as a Vault Hunter. And it had really taken very little effort. All he had to do was find a local Hyperion outpost, sign a few papers, and then make his way to a secluded train station and he was on his way to be a Vault Hunter.

"If only this damn train would hurry up," he muttered to himself for what felt like the hundredth time in the last two days as he looked down the empty line that disappeared behind a dusty hill. Nothing had changed from the first time he looked, or at least that was how it seemed. But then something caught his eye. It was nothing more than a dark blob on the horizon that he couldn't remember having seen before. "That can't be the train," he muttered to himself as he pulled out his assault rifle and put the scope up to his eye.

"Well I'll be damned," he smiled as he focused in on the blob to reveal what could only be a woman. She was still to far away to see the specifics, but by the way she seemed glide across the dusty landscape with that sway particular to females left little else that the blob could be. "Finally something to liven this place up!"

Pressing his eye closer to his scope he followed the woman's movements, happy that he was not going to be waiting alone on the stupid little platform in the middle of nowhere. It had been two days since a Hyperion representative had answered his inquiry to become a Vault Hunter with little more detail than where to wait for the train that would take him to the center of their operations. After a long and dull walk through the dusty plains he had hoped that there would be someone there to meet him. Hyperion, another Vault Hunter, even a bandit clan would have been welcomed. But the platform was deserted and Hyperion hadn't ECHOed him back to confirm he was in the right place. So he had waited, completely alone and bored out of his mind. A woman was just the thing he needed to liven up his wait.

For the next hour he sat with his eye practically glued to the scope of the weapon that was his current favorite. Slowly the dark blur in the distance focused into a set of rounded hips, a thin waist, and perky breasts all set under what appeared to be short, bright blue hair. His smile only grew once she sauntered closer, carelessly throwing what appeared to be a ratty old jacked over her shoulder with an attitude that he could easily imagine being used in many more recreational ways. "This one has spunk. Not quite like you, honey," he chuckled, patting the small mechanical box that contained his turret. "But she still has some spunk."

Putting down his scope, he leaned back on the bench letting his gun rest across his lap. He waited as if he didn't see her, his smile playing across the stubble that had grown on his cheeks. It wasn't until he could hear her steps, slow and cautious, that he finally turned towards her and flashed her his brightest smile.

"Hello there!"

The woman gave him a long look, her hand holding her pistol at an angle in front of her just waiting for a reason to be raised and fired. Axton could understand her wariness, especially on a shithole planet like Pandora. In fact had Sarah been there with him she probably would have been giving him that disapproving look she was so good at for lounging around on a bench in the open like an idiot with a target on his head.

She's not here, he told himself quickly, pushing the intruding thought from his mind. Focusing back on the woman, he felt his lips begin to move with the basic pleasantries of how great it was to have another normal person around and how dull the endless heat was while his eyes discreetly moved up and down her body that was showcased in a tight little yellow number. She was small, both in height and in frame, but that didn't seem to stop her from jutting her chin with confidence that he would have expected from those stupid steroid-pumping crooks Dahl had shipped to Pandora. Badass bruisers, he noted mentally as their little colloquial name popped into his head. The blue tattoos running down her left arm only added to the comical image of the small woman posing as a bruiser.

Again, shaking his wandering attention, he met the woman's steely eyes and kept them there. If there is one thing he knew about women is that they liked to be noticed but they did not like to be leered at. "So, I'm Axton, ex-military commando, badass, man about town. Do you have a name?"

"Yes."

"Oh, that's good, glad to hear it. And what might that be?"

The woman gave him a narrow look, as if trying to determine what he was after beyond her name. "Maya."

"You here for the Vault too, Maya?"

"Maybe."

"If you are then we work for the same people and are playing for the same team" he pushed, giving her one of his lopsided grins that used to soften even Sarah when she was in one of her moods.

Maya gave him a long, hard look before her expression seemed to thaw and her shoulders relax a little. "I suppose you're right."

"Of course I am! If there's one thing you learn from being in the military is which team your fighting for and who your teammates are," he smiled despite his mind briefly flashing to Sarah's stern but playful face. Reaching up, he felt her dog tags and her diamond wedding ring that rested safely under his shirt on their metal chain. Though the sting had diminished since his dishonorable discharge, he couldn't help but feel the irony in his talking about teammates and enemies considering how easily they seemed to change. At least with Sarah that had changed.

"I've never been on a team before," Maya answered with an embarrassed chuckle. "At least not on one I got to choose."

"Ha, well that's not too different from the military then. If you met some of the guys I had to work with…Well, let's just say some were as colorful as the local bandits this planet seems to have."

"I don't see how that is possible. Have you seen some of these guys?" she asked, her dry and direct way of speaking taking him slightly off guard. Despite her confidence, he had expected her to sound dainty with a high-pitched, sing-songy voice. It only made his smile grow as he felt the thrill of something unexpected.

"Seen my fair share of the Dahl rejects and ex-cons since coming here."

"Even the midgets?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "You can't have seen the midgets if you're acting like there is nothing odd about the bandits here."

"Yeah, I don't know what planet had an outbreak of dwarves. And why so many of them ended up in prisons for the criminally insane."

"They probably came Aquator. From what I heard seems everyone is related to everyone else."

"I was thinking more Dionysus. They have a reputation for liking weird substances. Wouldn't be surprised if there was a fad of some drug that could lead to an outbreak of midget babies."

She let out a little laugh, her smile lighting her face in a way that made Axton remember how long it had been since he had had the pleasure of feminine company. "That actually seems pretty likely."

Axton let another smile beam out at her as he scooped up his leather jacket from the bench and motioned for her to sit. "Well, so long as Hyperion doesn't do what Dahl did and buy a bunch of criminals to do its dirty work I think this will be a good job."

Maya only hesitated for a moment, her face returning to hard caution for a moment before she dropped down on the bench. "One can hope."

"This Vault business seems pretty exciting, huh?"

"Yes, very."

"You hear a radio ad about it too?"

"A radio ad? No."

"Ah, well that's where I heard about it," Axton said with a shrug as he leaned back further on the bench, stretching out his legs. "If I believed in fate I would say it was a sign. I was just starting to get tired of doing stupid bounties for bandits here when all of a sudden the radio started talking about the Vault and the money and challenge of it all. Not sure what sounded better the money or the fame."

"I suppose money and fame would be pretty enticing for you mercenary types."

"You mercenary types?" He asked with mock shock, his hands covering his heart in an exaggerated motion. "You wound me! I was more like a law enforcement team for hire."

"Sure you were," Maya said with a smile, her dry tone holding a hint of joking in it. "Very expensive law enforcement maybe."

"You've got to pay for the best!"

"What makes you so confident you're the best?"

"Are you doubting my obvious skills?" he asked, sitting up straighter as his smile grew.

"Obvious?" she asked, her mouth moving into a half smile that made her eyes have a mischievous glint to them. It was the kind of glint that Axton could easily picture her giving him in a darkened bedroom over a little bit of obvious innuendo. It made him again think about just how long it had been since he had the company of a woman.

"Well, I do have a rather big gun," he said with a wink, unable to resist the path his mind was taking him.

"I don't think your big gun would be any match for me," she answered, glancing down to his lap where his rifle still lay.

"Oh you thought I was talking about this old thing?" he asked, lifting up the gun and giving it a skeptical look. "Nah, this isn't my big gun. I keep that beautiful little honey tucked away until I'm ready to use her," he finished patting the metal pack that was attached to his belt.

"You don't say."

"The missus here has taken down half an regiment on her own. She hasn't met her match yet," he said with a smile, dropping the insinuation to sing the praises of one of his most prized possessions; a versatile Dahl special-issue turret that he had outfitted to be more powerful and deadly than his superiors ever intended it to be. Sarah had called it showboating and putting his own ego in front of the safety of his regiment. He preferred to think of his turret as the only thing in the unit that could actually keep up with him.

"Then you're lucky we're on the same team."

"Oh? So you've seen a lot of action?"

"I wasn't in an army or anything, but I've trained hard for twenty-seven years. A gun like yours wouldn't prove to be that much of an obstacle."

"Big words for someone who still hasn't said a word about actual combat," Axton replied with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He had a bond with his turret that rivaled the bond of a man and his dog. It was a reliable companion that protected him in some pretty awful situations and had saved his life numerous times. He was protective of his weapon, seeing it more as an extension of himself than just a piece of equipment. "I've seen veterans fall to my little lady here. Veterans with a lot more than twenty-seven years of training and experiencing fighting."

"Yes, but they're just men."

"And you're not?"

"No, I'm a woman," she said with a smile.

"Ha ha ha," he mocked, rolling his eyes. "Guess we'll just have to wait until we get to this Vault. We'll see how funny you think you are when I have to save your ass with my girl."

"That scenario does not seem very likely," she answered with a sly smile before turning back to the empty rail line.

Axton let out a small laugh, but didn't answer. He had to imagine Maya was good if Hyperion took her on, but it was clear she had not been a member of a regiment or even part of a smaller mercenary company. She was green. He could see it in the way she sat, rigid as if waiting for some sort of attack. Sure, Pandora was a rough planet, but he had seen enough action in his life to know that they were in the most ideal spot to wait for hours for a train. It was an open landscape so no one could sneak up on them, making the only real threat a sniper attack. And these bandits aren't known for their snipping, he smiled as he sunk lower on the bench, feeling completely comfortable.

Giving her a sidelong glance he waited to see if she would relax, but it seemed as though her body was held up by a set of iron rods. Her back stayed straight and her face grim as she waited for some sort of attack to come. He had seen something similar on hundreds of new recruits all determined to perform well but all afraid of what was to come. There were times when he thought some of them might crack, their own apprehensions and fears breaking their minds before they even saw real combat. Hoping to ease some of her tension he started a new line of conversation, one far away from combat experience and killing. "Do you think Hyperion will have other people we'll be working with?"

"I don't know. I have to imagine that there will be teams of people helping to locate this Vault. I know the last one they found was very well hidden."

"Really? I don't know much about the other Vault, truth be told."

"That's because you answered a radio ad," Maya answered with a mischievous smile. "Not a lot of research necessary."

"Nope. But I've found that sometimes knowing less is better," he answered, smiling despite her little jab. He couldn't help but notice the way her silvery eyes seemed to shine when she actually smiled. There was something intoxicating about them that was so different than Sarah's warm brown eyes. It was difficult to look away.

"I've found the opposite to be true." Her tone was casual, but immediately her jaw clenched and her eyes grew hard.

Not the topic I was looking for, obviously, he thought as he tried to find something that the enigmatic woman would respond to without the conversation returning them to a stiff silence. "It's getting cooler," he ventured, turning his gaze towards the darkening sky. "Going to be a cold one tonight."

"They're all cold," Maya answered with a snort. "I'm glad I brought this old coat otherwise I would have probably froze my first night here."

"The desert can be deceiving like that. I remember this mission I was on back when I was in the Dahl military. We were on Promethea which, is nothing more than one giant flat desert. During the day you could fry an egg on anything left out in the sun, but at night…well, the nights were even worse. It would get so cold that you would have thought you were naked in the snow. Pandora isn't that bad, but its not fun being without some shelter at night, that's for sure."

"That and the skags seem to get more active."

"Better skags than those damn rakks. Or even the spiderants. I hate those things. It makes me miss normal animals like rats and skunks."

"And cats," Maya replied with a large smile, her eyes growing excited.

"You a cat kinda girl?"

"Well I've never had one, but there was this one cat where I use to live that would always creep around outside at night and yowl at things. She was white with brown and orange spots and looked so cute and – what's that?"

"What?" he asked, looking around for whatever had caught Maya's attention.

"I think something is coming," she said as she stood and pulled on her coat to keep out the cool wind that had started to blow. "Can you see it out there to the west?"

Following her gaze he made out a tiny white light on the horizon. "Hang on, let me see," he muttered as he pulled out his assault rifle and looked through the scope.

"What is it?"

Lowering his gun, he turned to her with a large smile filling his face. "The train is finally here."

Zer0 watched from a dark corner of the train that was piled high with large crates as a man and a woman got on, adding to the already crowded car. The stocky Truxican and redheaded girl were loud enough in their pointless banter that he had wondered more than a few times if anyone would notice if he shot them. In the end, he decided such a course would not be prudent considering he had yet to learn the details of this Vault that he was promised would be the challenge of a lifetime. If it was anything like what was reported to be in the last Vault that was open he knew he would at the very least be facing a creature that had already outlived him by millennia, if not longer. Some of the files he had read even referred to the monster as a god. It was the sort of opponent he had been waiting for.

Still, no matter how much he anticipated the creature that could be lurking in the yet undiscovered and unopened Vault he could not help but think that everything leading him to this point had been too easy, especially when a large corporation like Hyperion was involved. Clearly the company was very interested in these Vaults, enough so that they were collecting people who were not typically connected with them like the one-armed redheaded girl, the crass Truxican, and whomever the two new comers on the train were. In his experience it meant that Hyperion did not want everyone throughout universe to know its interest in the fabled caches and they would probably terminate the treasure hunters they hired once the job was done. Yet when he had hacked into their database the reports he sought was barely guarded by the normal security measures he typically encountered with large corporations. It was almost as if the information he desired most was placed into a neat little file and left carelessly for him to find. It was just too easy for him to feel that no one was aware of his presence on the train carrying the recruited Vault Hunters, as Hyperion liked to call them.

Perhaps they hope someone will try for the Vault on their own so that they can clear the path without having to pay them for the work. The thought seemed logical enough. In fact he had seen other corporations, such as Dahl, use whatever free labor they could find in order to maximize profits. Why wouldn't a large corporation let a few adventure seekers try for the Vault on their own knowing that many would die before ever finding it? It would save them the time and money of making the missteps of those individuals. The more he thought about it the more he began to believe it to be true. There was very little chance that Hyperion was blind to where he was and what he was after.

And so they will watch, like vultures that wait for scraps, but I leave nothing.

He smiled a little to himself at how he would disrupt the giant corporation's plan. He was no ordinary adventurer or treasure hunter and he would not let someone take his prize from him.

"You all here for the vault?" the newest male on the train asked in a loud, cocky sort of voice that pulled the assassin from his thoughts. Turning his attention to the newcomers he began to note their characteristics, registering them so that he could make a determination if any were a threat or a challenge to his goal of reaching the Vault. Focusing in on the sandy haired man, he quickly decided that he was no different than many of his targets; brashly confident with a belief in their own invincibility after surviving situations most humans were unable to due to their slow reflexes or erratic behavior due to their fear. This man clearly thought himself a skilled master through the way he stood looking down on the others on the car. He was the type of man that Zer0 always loved killing with his sword. It was satisfying to see their acknowledgement in their own insignificance as his blade slid through their bodies with little effort.

"You got it, amigo!" the Truxican laughed, holding out his hand to the new man. "Salvador."

"Axton," the man said with his annoyingly cocky smile. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Gaige," the redheaded girl answered, holding out a mechanical arm for the customary handshake. The man who called himself Axton gave her a skeptical look before quickly touching her metal hand and pulling it back.

"And I'm Maya," the blue-haired woman finally spoke, reaching out her gloved hand to the girl and the Truxican in suit. Zer0 observed the formalities with the air of a scientist observing the interactions of a wild beast in its natural habitat. Like most primates, humans had very predictable social structures that were important to acknowledge. Over the course of years he had come to understand that often an alpha male would establish his presence and those around him would fall into a small hierarchy based on sex, skill, and aggression. Men generally were higher on the hierarchy than women and they would act as the leaders with the others following. So it came as no surprise when the two men immediately began a contest of words, bragging of insignificant triumphs and various achievements they had earned. It was no different than two male chimpanzees physically fighting to determine which was superior.

The new male will be alpha, he decided after a few moments of watching the pair. The Truxican, although thick and strong, clearly did not have the mental capacity of the other man. As with everything with humans, the outcome was predictable. Perhaps that is the reason why they provide me with no challenge, he thought for a moment. They are weak and predictable.

The women were no different. They too immediately began an obvious conversation where questions were asked only to ascertain who was the alpha female between them, although their methods were often better disguised than the direct line of questioning the males used. Still, without even bothering to listen to their mundane conversation Zer0 immediately picked the blue-haired woman as dominant. She clearly was older than the redhead, who appeared little more than a girl, and would have the advantage of experience. Besides that, the alpha male already appeared interested in the woman if he had any ability to guess at the man's repeated stares at her. Often in primate societies the alpha male's attention elevated the female's status in the group with only a few exceptions.

But these humans are the rule, not the exception, he noted blandly as his predictions slowly began to play out. The newer male soon dominated the conversation with the Truxican, drawing in the two females. The blue-haired woman was able to speak uninterrupted when she chose while the redheaded girl often was ignored. The social order was established and there was little chance of it changing. Humans, if anything, thrived in the comfort of predictable routines and fell into chaos when the accepted order was disrupted.

Zer0 felt a small smile creep across his lips as he thought of the chaos he had caused with a well placed bullet on some of his political assassinations. The humans who vainly thought themselves above the laws of nature would immediately fall into a frenzy of fear, looking more like ants running from their ruined hill rather than the gods they thought themselves to be. The same happened when his target was a mafia head or a bandit leader. It didn't matter the nature of the social system, all that mattered was that the members to the system depended on the expected hierarchy and when that hierarchy was disrupted they would play victim to panic. This group is no different. Remove the leader and they would fall to chaos and be easy to eliminate.

Turning his attention back to the group he watched the movements of the alpha, carefully searching for patterns in the man's gait or gestures that could be used against him should the Vault Hunters interfere in his search for the Vault. He is right handed and leads with his right leg. He prefers assault rifles too large for his body, forcing him to lock his stance. He would be slow to turn to his right if he were attacked from that side. He is overconfident and impatient. He is an easy target.

Next, he watched the Truxican, ignoring the man's loud laugh and boisterous behavior as he began to note small traits that linked him to the culture of Pandora. He is native born, Zer0 realized as he watched the short brute stroll about the car with the casual bobbing gait unique to the bandits on the planet. It was almost a swaying rhythm, as if those that were connected to Pandora were responding to some sort of magnetic pull. In all his years of traveling throughout the universe he had never observed a gait pattern quite like it. It was exclusively Pandora.

And if he is a native son he will shoot erratically at whatever moves first, he thought with a bit of disappointment. The Truxican would not have been trained to do anything different and had probably only survived for as long as he did due to the two shotguns he carried on his back having a decent scatter radius. He is no challenge.

Zer0 pushed aside the growing sense of disappointment at the small group Hyperion had hired. He felt that it was logical for the corporation to attempt to hire those best skilled to seek out their prize, but the two males did little to excite his sense of a challenge. If they were no match for him how could they ever hope to defeat a creature labeled as a god? Yet humans found and defeated the last creature. Either they are more skilled than I can detect or the creatures in the Vaults are not as great of an opponent as they are rumored to be. It was a troubling thought, but he would not stop in his quest based on his own assumptions and reasoning. There was enough in the files he had read that enticed him to face the creature and test his worth. There was nothing that would change his course of action now.

Turning his thoughts back to the present, he decided to finish his evaluation of his competitors, if they could even be called that. He focused on the alpha female, watching her for a few minutes from the cover of darkness. She had a stern expression and the sharp eyes of an observer, he noted, but she clearly was uncomfortable with the group. Her hands kept fidgeting with the hem of her worn coat and her breathing was interrupted by small sighs. It was unexpected as she gave off the impression of confident indifference towards the conversations happening around her. But will her discomfort with her fellows affect how well she is able to defend herself?

He continued to watch her, trying to get a sense how she would responded to an attack when she shifted slightly so that her left hand became visible from under her jacket. Immediately, Zer0 stood up straighter, his eyes peering through his mask at the blue swirling patterns that moved up her hand only to be hidden under her coat. To the human eye they may appear to be nothing more than ink, but to him they seemed radiate energy. It was as if the woman's small body couldn't contain the power that was inside of her, forcing it to burst out of her skin in the form of the swirling patterns.

She is a Siren. Now that is interesting.

It had been years since he had come into contact with one of the strange anomalies that the humans had labeled with the name of the mythical creatures known for their power to lure men to their deaths. There had been a period in his long life where he had been fascinated by the creatures, thinking of them as a glimpse of the next major leap in human evolution. In time he found this not to be the case. Sirens were nothing more than an odd expression of some sort of genetic mutation that most likely was attached to the x-chromosome considering that all known cases of the abnormality were found in women. And not very many women at that, making him believe that the mutation had to be unstable enough that only a few strong embryos were even able to survive the gestational period. Originally he had reasoned that those that survived long enough to be with the disorder could potentially be more powerful and better adapted to survive than the non-mutated humans and therefore would be closer to equaling him than any other creature he had met in the dull and unchallenging universe. Unfortunately, in this he had been wrong.

As the train lurched forward he let his mind play back his memories from the last Siren he had encountered. She, like the others, had the markings on half of her body. The blue lines were an intriguing part of the disorder, marking the women in a dermatomal pattern much like the rash in a patient with shingles. It led him to assume that the mutation affected the spinal cord, allowing the women to somehow tap into the raw energy of their nerves and cells to expel it in various ways outside of their body. The last Siren he had met had been able use her odd power to push energy into the bodies of her enemies, causing their cells to become so over excited that the person suffered severe and widespread cellular death. It was quite a spectacular trait, one that even he would find useful had it been stable. But from what he had observed Sirens died young of seemingly natural causes. He could only hypothesize that the mutation itself shortened their lifespan or the raw energy they were to be able to use eventually damaged their own cells enough that life was no longer viable. Either way it made their existence short and therefore insignificant.

Insignificant and dangerous, like an agitated killer bee, he thought as he watched the Siren's rigid body slowly relax as she conversed with the other Vault Hunters. He was not blind to the power she could unleash and the difficulty it might present him should a meeting between them ever occur, even if overall she was inferior to him like all humans he had met. He would have to be diligent around her as he would be diligent around a hissing cobra. She, like the cobra, was no real threat to him unless he grew careless and allowed her a chance to strike. But he was not careless. There were five dead Sirens over the course of his lengthy career that could attest to that fact. In the end, she and the other Vault Hunters would be no great challenge when the time came for him to eliminate the competition seeking the challenge of the Vault.

His thoughts were cut short by a sudden loud sigh that silenced the conversations that floated around the train car. "How long until you think we're wherever we're going?" the redheaded girl whined loudly, forcing the attention of her three companions who had nearly forgotten she was there to focus on her and not push her to the side.

It was clear the alpha male found her to be a wasted companion by the impatient look he gave her. Most likely due to her age, the assassin thought, noting the man's quick judgment that completely disregarded the girl's above average mind. It was true that the redhead had no obvious experience fighting nor did she even have years of life experience to help her adapt to new situations, but from the little bits of her life Zer0 had overheard her telling the Truxican it was clear she could create something deadly. She is no immediate threat unless she is given time and the resources to create.

"Who knows, amiga," the Truxican said with a shrug. "But I am tired! I think I'm going to get some sleep."

"That's a good idea," the alpha answered, giving the group a long look. "We all should get some sleep. Who knows what Hyperion will have us doing once we get to wherever this Vault is."

"Should we have watches?" the Siren asked, her tone direct and commanding.

The alpha male looked around and smiled. "I don't think we have to worry about bandits in a closed train car, do you?"

"I suppose not."

"Let's all just try to get some sleep. Hopefully we'll be there by morning."

Zer0 smiled to himself as the four Vault Hunters settled in against the walls of the dark train car, oblivious to his presence. They were like lambs, huddled together for warmth completely unaware of the wolf stalking them in the darkness. It would be easy to kill them by silently slipping his blade through their throats one by one. Not yet, he told himself as he unconsciously let his hand drift to the hilt of his digistruct sword. I will need the information Hyperion will give them. Then I can eliminate my competitors.

Leaning back against his dark corner he watched over the sleeping mercenaries, smiling at their weak bodies that needed rest so frequently. He would not need true sleep for some time. Instead, he would meditate, energizing his body for the task that was ahead of him and the numerous insignificant creatures he knew he would have to eliminate to reach his goal. The Vault is my challenge and mine alone, he told himself as he watched the alpha male's deep, regular breaths. I will not allow any Vault Hunters to get in my way.