"Woah, slow down for just a second!" Said the Siren, Lilith, holding her hands up.

Maya quickly closed her mouth, okay, she may have gotten a bit carried away with her questions. Or a lot, she hadn't stopped talking for almost ten minutes now. It was just so exciting! Another Siren! She had never met one before and here was one, right infront of her! And a very powerful one, judging from the display during their battle with the bandit reinforcements.

They had fought off several waves of bandits before the attacks had finally stopped. Axton and Salvador had spent the past ten minutes clearing the bodies, Zero was nowhere to be seen. But Maya hadn't been paying attention to them, her focus was solely on Lilith.

"I'm sorry," She said quickly, "I have just never met another Siren before."

"That makes two of us," Lilith replied with a faint chuckle "You my first too. Nice to meet ya," She stuck her hand out and Maya was quick to shake it.

"Maya. You have no idea how much I have been looking forward to this. I have so many questions."

"Heh, yeah I gathered that. Look, I hate to disappoint you but I'm not some wise scholar or anything. I'm just a chick with badass powers."

"But your abilities seem so advanced! Like those wings! I have never had that happen to me. Surely you must know something."

"Look, I'll tell you what I can, just don't expect me to blow your mind or anything."

"Thank you!" She actually had to resist jumping in excitement. God she was like a little kid again. But how could she not be excited? This was her whole reason for coming to Pandora! To find answers about her heritage, and here was another member of her race. "So what did you do with that eridium?" She asked as they walked towards what looked like a rec room, couches were scattered around the room along with an old radio.

"Oh that. I just absorbed it. Really gives your powers an extra kick. Easy to do once you know how." Lilith sat on a sofa as she answered, looking totally relaxed, and a little amused.

"Can you show me how?"

"Ehhh, lets hold off on that for a while. Wait until you have done some more experimenting with your powers."

Why did she seem hesitant? Maya couldn't figure it out, but she decided to trust in the other Sirens wisdom. What did she ask next? There were just so many topics to choose from. "Do you know what gives us our powers?"

"Ha, I told you I'm not a scholar. Judging from the boosts I get from eridium, I would say it is closely tied to that. But there has to be more to it than that."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a hunch," Lilith shrugged as she replied.

"I knew it had something to do with eridium! That's what brought me here, I figured eridium and the vaults were all tied up with us somehow."

"You may be on to something there. You should talk with Tanith. Well… try to talk with her. She is damn smart and has been looking into Sirens for some time."

"I'll be sure to talk to her."

"Okay, I get you are curious about all this Siren stuff, but I gotta be honest, I don't know anything about it myself. All my abilities just kind of…happened. I mean I would get an idea and then try it out, sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't. Like with my phasewalk, I just thought, 'hey, I wonder if I could do that to someone else.' After a few tries, bam! Totally worked."

"So you just…wing it?"

"Pretty much. Heh, wing it. You said you haven't gotten your wings to appear yet?"

"No," Maya looked down, she had no idea that Sirens even had that ability and now she was a bit jealous she couldn't do it. It was pretty badass.

"Honestly I don't have control over it, it just kinda happens whenever I release a bunch of energy at once."

"Thanks. You know, it's funny, I have been training to fight and use my powers all my life. But since I came here it all feels like…I dunno, like I am totally unprepared."

"I get that. But you wouldn't have made it this far unless you were pretty tough. It'll all come together, way easier than you think. Just stop worrying about it. Go out there, fuck up all the bandits you come across and before you know it you will have more powers than you know what to do with."

Maya couldn't help but laugh at that. "Sounds like a fun time, I'll give it a shot." She couldn't deny being a bit disappointed but Lilith's lack of insightful knowledge, but really she shouldn't have expected so much. From her research, nobody really knew anything about the Sirens.

Yet despite her initial disappointment, she couldn't deny that she was also happy. Yeah she hadn't found all the answers she had been searching for. Instead she had found someone just like her, someone else who was looking for all the same answers. In a way that was better, it meant that she wasn't alone. That there was someone else out there who understood exactly what she was doing and why. It was…nice, to not be alone.

"So, how about the others you are travelling with?" Lilith asked, glancing over at Axton and Salvador, who were sitting at a different area of the hideout, clearly laughing about something.

"Axton and Salvador? They are good guys. Axton will hit on anything that moves but he is nice and Salvador is surprisingly sweet, for someone who likes breaking people's legs."

"What about that ninja dude?" Lilith visibly looked around for Zero.

"Don't bother, he disappears all the time then just kind of shows up again."

"Too bad, he had a nice ass." Lilith gave her a very suggestive smirk then, accompanied by a wink.

Maya couldn't help but nervously laugh, "I hadn't noticed." She didn't really know how to respond to that. She hadn't even thought of Zero in that way, she doubted anyone had. He acted way too much like a robot sometimes. Although he was still kinda nice, in his own…really weird way. Still, it was Zero. She was surprised Lilith had even taken notice of such a thing. Maybe it's because she had been traveling with him for a while? Although she had noticed Axton's good looks. Of course he was a normal guy, relatively speaking. Zero was just…Zero.

"So you aren't hitting that?"

"No!" She replied quickly. God, that would be insane! Also probably impossible. No way in hell that Zero would ever even go for something like that, it just didn't seem his thing. Not that she wished he would!

"Fair enough, he seems like kind of a weird dude anyway. Let me guess, never takes off that helmet?"

"Never. I haven't even seen him eat."

"Figures. Such a cliché, those get boring after a while. Well…okay they aren't that bad. Still he may not even be human. What do you think? Robot? Alien?"

"I haven't really given it much thought." She didn't think he was a robot though, his movements were way too fluid for that. Unless he was crazy advanced.

"We should start a pool. I'll talk to Mox about putting one together. Speaking of which," Lilith rose from the sofa, "I really need to get back to Sanctuary. They are probably losing their shit about now. In the meantime, I need you guys to find Roland."

"Of course," Maya quickly rose as well, turning towards the others, "Hey guys! Get over here, we got a job to do!"

It didn't take them long to make their way over. Zero also materialized a short distance away and joined them. Had he just been sitting off by himself? Maybe she would try to talk to him about that, she felt kind of bad having him sitting by himself. Sure he could also make the effort to be a bit more sociable, but he probably wasn't used to travelling with others. Maybe he just needed a nudge.

"Alright," Lilith began as they all gathered around her. "Bloodshots would have taken Roland to their main base at the dam, way out in the dust. It's gonna be one hell of a fight to get him out but I think you guys will be okay. I'm going back to Sanctuary to take charge until you get him back. Just to make this extra fun, I'm gonna phaseshift you right into the middle of their base, you should be able to do a lot of damage before they even know what is happening. Get ready."

Everyone visibly tensed for battle. Axton had his finger on the trigger, Salvador was already raising his twin shotguns, ready to blast everyone away, Zero had a pistol in one hand and his sword in the other. Maya quickly double checked her SMG before nodding to the other siren. She was actually a bit excited to experience this power first hand. The control and raw power it must take to transport a group of people such a great distance was simply incredible. Lilith may not have any factual knowledge but she certainly had a lot of experience and practical knowledge that Maya could learn from.

"Alright, good luck, radio me once you have him." Purple light blossomed from Lilith's hand, her tattoo's glowed fiercely and the purple light became blinding. Maya could feel the air rush by her, as if she were running, her ears were filled with a noise similar to rushing water. It was an incredible experience.

After only a few seconds the light disappeared and she immediately brought up her weapon and began scanning for targets, the first one she saw…was Lilith, who was rubbing the back of her head with a very embarrassed look on her face. Maya quickly looked around and confirmed that they had only been moved about a dozen feet, past a small chasm in the hideout.

"So...uh…yeah that didn't work out like I hoped. I have never tried it on this many people before! Look, you'll just have to drive there. Sorry…" After another awkward moment the Siren raised her hand and was engulfed in the purple light before she disappeared entirely.

"Well that was…" Axton seemed to struggle for words.

"Disappointing," Finished Zero, his sword winked out of existence and he holstered the pistol at his hip.

Maya was almost certain she even heard him sigh faintly before he began walking towards the exit. She shared in his disappointment but likely for very different reasons. She was disappointed because the power had failed, meaning that perhaps Lilith wasn't as skilled as she had originally thought. Of course she wasn't angry at the other woman or anything, it was just…unfortunate. Still, looking on the brightside, there was still a lot the other Siren could teach her. Until then though, she would just take Lilith's council and destroy every bandit she came across. She couldn't help but grin slightly at the prospect. It was time to experiment.

They had been driving for hours and Maya could say without a doubt that she was BORED! She was seriously considering banging her head on dash just so she would have something else to do. She had spent the first few hours thinking of new ideas for her powers, new things to try, but there was no one to test them on! It was driving her absolutely mad! It also didn't help much that she had chosen to drive with Zero, so conversation was completely non-existent. She had even spent a full hour trying to come up with things to talk to him about but she had written everything off as something he would not answer. Although she was nearing the point that she just didn't care anymore, she would say anything right now to just break the silence and do something to distract her from the unending landscape of Pandora.

"So, Zero…how old are you?" Yup, she was completely beyond caring now. Only someone as bored as her would ask such a stupid question. Of course she didn't get an answer, his helmeted head simply turned to slightly glance at her before returning to the road ahead.

"Okay…Why did you come to Pandora?"

"The challenge."

She probably shouldn't be surprised by that. He did seem to enjoy fighting and from their earlier discussion about him wanting her to grow more powerful, it made sense that he would be seeking a challenge. "Makes sense. After seeing you fight I guess you don't get much of that anymore." There was no point in trying to deny his skill, it was simply extraordinary. She had yet to see him even be wounded. He hadn't fought a single opponent that lasted longer than a minute. And those had been Baddasses.

"No," It was tough to tell with the synthesized voice but she almost thought there was a hint of sadness in his tone. Well maybe not sadness, disappointment would probably be closer.

"Well maybe we can find you one at the Bloodshot's base. Lilith said they are pretty tough. Also I am sure Hyperion has some pretty skilled people working for them."

"We shall see."

Once more silence began stretching between them, but Maya refused have any of that. "So…got a girlfriend?" Ridiculous question, but the response she got was priceless.

Zero's head snapped towards her, a giant question mark projecting from his helmet. Not two seconds later their vehicle began shaking, his head returned to the front, as did hers. She gripped the dash out of pure instinct as Zero jerked the wheel to the side, causing the vehicle to shoot back onto the road, narrowly missing a large boulder. Maya couldn't help but laugh, both from the adrenaline and fear that had rushed through her, but also at seeing how tense Zero was all of the sudden. Both his hands gripped the steering wheel and his head was fixed to stare firmly ahead.

"So," She said through her faint giggles, "Do you?" She didn't really know why she was asking this particular question. Probably because Lilith's comments had gotten her kind of curious about Zero, about his personal life. She had always been driven by her curiosity after all. She blamed Lilith…maybe hanging out with the other Siren wasn't such a good idea.

"The light is fading/ We should find a place to camp/ Only one day left."

Well she really shouldn't have been surprised that he was avoiding the question. She guessed that the answer was no. Zero just didn't seem the type to have a relationship…of any kind. She quickly radioed Axton to keep a look out for a good place to camp. Luckily that didn't take long. They found a shallow cave in the side of a nearby hill. By parking the vehicles along the entrance they had a good amount of cover from any potential attackers.

It didn't take them long to unpack their supplies and set up a half decent camp. Salvador was quick to get a fire going and begin preparing their dinner. They had officially dubbed him their cook, a title he seemed to wear with pride. All they had for provisions was the typical rations that could last on a long journey, but the native Pandoran was determined to make every meal taste good, a task at which he had been very successful. Although Maya had found out his secret a few days ago. About half the pouches on his belt were actually full of spices or herbs for cooking. The other half were ammo, of course.

Maya was grateful for his skills. As much as she hated to admit it, she had been kind of spoiled at the abbey, especially if she compared the food quality. She never met the people who prepared her meals but they had been damn good, easily as good as Salvador. Of course those monk assholes had probably been taking food from the terrified populace. A populace scared of her. She still sometimes thought about going back there and killing every single one of those monks. She had taken care of those who deserved it most, still she wanted to tear the whole damn order apart. She could only hope that the planets populace had done it once she had left. She would add it to her list of things to do.

Killing him would be so easy. So easy and so enjoyable. It's all I can think about as the Commando whistles to himself. I don't even know why he decided to join me on watch. It is a simple task and one I am more than capable of handling. I can hear him shifting around beside me, loudly. I also notice that he is glancing at me and it's more than the usual cautious ones he gives me. I begin to dread that he is going to actually try and strike up a conversation with me. Maya's attempt had been painful enough, I don't think I could stand this fool trying. He takes another deep breath and resumes whistling, slightly louder this time. I am going to kill him.

"So, Zero," He speaks suddenly, ending the annoying whistling. "You a robot or an alien?"

My response is only to look at him, I don't even bother with any kind of projection. I am not surprised by his question. People have been curious about me all my life, it is something I have grown accustomed to. Indeed on some level it even pleases me. It proves that nothing is known about me, it proves my skill. It is the code I was taught, the code I have lived by my entire life. Never let them know who or what you are. To everybody I am an assassin, a killer, I am death incarnate. I have seen how the fear of the unknown affects humans. The only face they know is my mask, the only voice they know is the one I have designed. They do not know me, they cannot know me. For one cannot know Death.

"Oh come on, tell me. Sal and I got a bet. He says robot, I have eight grand on you being an alien."

I almost smile at his words. He is technically right, I am not human. But I still refuse to say anything. I do not even know my own species so I couldn't not even give him a proper answer if I wanted. I have also noticed that those seem to be the most common guesses to my identity. Both seem lazy ideas. They think robot because of my voice and alien simply because it gives me more of a mystic appeal. It has been a long time since I have heard an original idea to my identity.

"Alright fine, guess I should have expected you wouldn't answer. Hmmm…" I can feel him give me a long look up and down, I can tell he is scrutinizing me very closely. I actually, almost begin to feel uncomfortable. "You aren't a chick under there are you?"

Again I give him no reaction. I have heard this one before too, although not as much. Some people have spouted the idea out but are quickly dissuaded from it by my height and build. I am also not surprised he would ask me this, considering his obvious attraction to Maya and Lilith, it fits that he would hope for another woman in the group. I can only hope he drops the idea so I don't have to suffer from his advances. I just know that would give me my first taste of truly being made to feel uncomfortable by a human.

"Not gonna answer that either?"

I may have actually preferred the whistling. It would be SO easy to kill him right now, and I know that it would feel SO good. Deep down however, I know that I cannot. If I did kill him then the group would turn on me, especially Maya. She is not yet ready for me to fight yet. She needs more experience, her powers need to grow. I can feel myself getting excited at the prospect. I can only imagine what she will be like if she gets as powerful as the other one. I stayed close to listen to their conversation at the hideout. If the other Siren could teach Maya how to grow her powers…oh what a sight she would be. I have already noticed her becoming more skilled, more confident in battle but now I feel she will begin to make great strides. I noticed during the drive that she was deep in thought. It is my hope that she was coming up with new ways to grow and develop her powers.

It had been interesting to learn the other Siren's perspective on their abilities. Did their powers manifest from their imagination? Could they really just think of anything and then make it happen? Or, more likely they were confined to their specific realm of power. Maya's powers seemed to stem from some type of black hole or other gravitational anomaly. Perhaps she could alter the field around it to have different properties. The other Siren seemed to have an affinity for fire, could Maya have one for a different element? And what about her wings? Maya had said that she had yet to experience that power, or rather, side-effect. I am not sure if they gave off any power of their own, or were simply a by-product of the energy being used, but I am excited to see them. The other Siren had looked quite impressive with them, I can't help but imagine Maya with them, I suspect they will be blue. I can feel a small smile creep up on my face at the image. I can see her, tattoos glowing, blood running down her radiant arm and a set of brilliant ice blue wings at her back. It would be a glorious sight, one that I long to see.

"Hey, wanna see who is the better shot?"

I finally look over at the annoying man. I simply nod to him. Not only will this serve as a distraction but hopefully it will shut him up. A part of me knows that it is not prudent to be firing off weapons at our camp as it may draw unwanted attention. But frankly that is not something I am worried about. I will be keeping a vigil all night and the combat would be enjoyable, it has been far too long since I last killed.

"Alright, you see that Skag way out there?" I have to admit that I am surprised by his exceptional eyes sight. The beast is several hundred feet away and the light is fading. "First one to score a headshot wins. Flip a coin to see who goes first?"

"You go." I answer him as I ready my rifle. If he misses then the beast will begin to run, giving me a moving target and greater challenge. I don't even listen to his reply as I begin sighting in the beast. Both my scope and suit give me the wind, distance, and even air pressure. I completely ignore the distance reading for a greater challenge. I prefer relying on my natural instincts, however due to my suit I must rely on the readouts to know all other information. I can't even remember the last time I stood outdoors without my complete suit. The feel of fresh air, the drops of rain on my bare skin, apart from the occasional times when I eat, I can't even recall such a feeling anymore.

"Should have taken the first shot," Said the commando, a shot immediately rang out after.

I watch as it strikes the Skag in the chest, only wounding the beast before it quickly bolts to the left. The commando curses loudly but I don't listen, instead I focus on tracking the animal. Its movements are slightly erratic but after a few seconds I am attuned to its rhythm and squeeze the trigger. I see its head explode in a shower of blood and bone as it falls to the ground, sliding a short distance before coming to a stop.

"Ass!" shouts the commando, smacking the butt of his rifle into the ground. Did he honestly expect to win?

"What's going on?" Shouts Maya. I turn to see her approaching, weapon in hand, her body is tense and ready for a fight.

"Just having a sniping competition, nothing to worry about."

"Seriously?!" It is easy to detect the annoyance in her voice.

"Just a friendly game to pass the time."

"Men," She says, rolling her eyes. "Well supper is pretty much done, you may as well come and join us now."

"Awww, cooked a special treat just for me?" The commando grins as he walked back towards the camp.

I simply turn back to face the landscape beyond our small camp. I have no interest in joining the others, I cannot eat in their presence. Besides, the Pandoran, Salvador, always seems to ensure there is food left for me. It has become my custom to wait until they are all asleep before I feed myself. As advanced as my armor is, I still must remove my helmet to eat.

"You coming, Zero?" Asks Maya

"I shall keep a watch/ We may have drawn attention/ It was a poor choice." I am not even surprised by her offer. Lately she has been making numerous attempts to be…friendly. It is an unusual occurrence. But one I do not find myself disliking. On the drive here she talked easily as much as the commando had tonight, but not once was I annoyed with her, nor did I contemplate killing her. It is most odd. I can only assume that this has something to do with my attraction to her. Perhaps this is part of the process? I have never been friendly to anyone before, but neither have I ever met my ultimate target. Surely the two are connected somehow.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't actually mad at you. It's nice to see you two getting along." She pauses for a moment, I can hear her scuff the ground with her left boot. "Actually I am a bit jealous. I am a pretty shit shot compared to you. I never really got marksman training at the abbey."

"It is difficult/ But a necessary skill/ You should study it."

"Will...uh, will you teach me?"

Now that takes me by surprise. I turn to look at her, she is standing three steps away. Her eyes are shifting between looking at me and the ground, I can see a faint red coloring to her cheeks. Is she having some sort of reaction to the weather? My readout shows the temperature has dropped slightly. As her eyes shift back to me I quickly return my attention to her request. I suppose I am the best qualified here to instruct her in marksmanship, although I have never taught anyone before. Still I can't deny that I do feel a strong desire to accept, it will make her more formidable after all.

"Yes."

She immediately smiles at me, an action I find oddly enjoyable, it also triggers a reflex within me, causing my mouth to twitch faintly into a smile. Odd. She moves to sit next to me on the flat rock. I had not realized she intended for the lesson to begin now, but that does not bother me.

"So, what should I know first?"

"Hold the weapon first/ Know its weight and the feel/ Gain a steady arm." I hand her my rifle as I speak. She carefully accepts it and takes a few moments to examine it, adjust her grip and even begin sighting. I can tell she is listening to my every word.

"Never close one eye/ It will limit your vision/ Keep them both open."

"It's kinda hard sight through the scope with both eyes open." She moves her head around slightly as she speaks, obviously struggling to see properly.

"Close one eye for now/ Gain a proper sight with it/ Then open your eye."

She does as instructed, a faint grin on her lips, "There we go. Okay, what now?"

I look through my helmet's optics, finding her a target, a dying tree a hundred and fifty feet away. "That tree dead ahead/ Shoot the very top branch off/ Take your time to sight." She nods faintly in affirmation. "Focus on breathing/ Keep your breaths controlled/ Squeeze the trigger."

Maya is silent for several more seconds before she fires. I can't see by exactly how much but she misses the shot. "Shit!" She says loudly, pulling away from the scope, her body has tensed.

"Again." I say, not wanting her to give up. She glances at me before sighting again.

Her shoulders are still tense as she takes aim, her whole body has become more rigid and her breaths are coming out more forced, likely in frustration. She fires again and misses again. Once more she curses and I order her to try again. Her body is still rigid as she sights.

"Relax."

"I am," She says through gritted teeth.

"Relax," I say again, although my voice has become more firm.

"I am!" She growls, firing again and missing again.

I quickly snatch the rifle from her hands, earning a very sharp glare from her. She is indeed very stubborn. "You have to relax/ You cannot shoot when tense/ Both mind and body."

"Okay," She says, her anger beginning to calm slightly.

"Breath," I order her and she promptly forces out an annoyed breath. "Slow." I wait until her anger is gone and her breathing has returned to normal, then I give her back the rifle.

"Keep your mind focused/ Think only of calming things/ Keep yourself at ease."

She does not respond to my words but she takes more time with aiming and her breathing is more controlled. After a few moments she fires and I see the branch torn from the tree. Maya has a big grin on her face as she looked back at me.

"Hell yeah!"

"Good shot." I purposely gave her a more difficult target. The poor lighting and small size gave her enough of a challenge to force her to put all her effort in. Her marksmanship is still poor but I have confidence that she will improve. She has already proven herself to be a quick learner and a determined person.

"Thanks, so what's the next target?" She asks with a grin. I smile behind my mask before I turn to pick one for her.

Hey all! I am back! I am sincerely sorry for the delay. Between the holidays, school starting, and killer writers block, this update took way longer than it should have!

So as I said, I got really bad writers block with this. In the end I just had to sit down and force this one out, it was a real struggle. So my apologies if it wasn't as good as the others. One the bright side though the next chapter is already coming along much smoother.

So I don't have alot to say about this chapter, pretty straight forward.

A few people have asked for Axton and Salvador to get more coverage. I promise that I will try to work them into the story more to explore their characters. Axton is easy but I honestly have no idea what the hell to do with Salvador. Also, for those wondering, Gaige will be in this story, but no Krieg.

Anyway, I hope you liked it! The next update should come WAY quicker than this one did! Unless the zombie apocalypse happens.

Big thank you to all the reviews, Follows, and Favorites! You are all awesome people! I truly appreciate the support. And as always, feel free to PM me with your questions or concerns!

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