Enter the Siren – Part 8

"This is Zed. Any female Vault Hunters down there, at Overlook? Thinkin' there should be 'bout three of you."

"Four." Maya corrected, flashing a smile to Vian, who gave one back.

"Whad d'you need, doc?" Lilith asked him.

"Well, I think your friends remember the arms-dealing I asked 'em to help me with?"

"Vividly. And it was literally arms-dealing." Maya shuddered at the bizarre side-job they undertook for him.

"And we were on a timer!" Gaige yelled into the communicator, getting annoyed just from the memory.

"Yep. The thing is, one of the folks got an organ replacement and uh...well, they won't be needin' 'em, anymore. Got a call from their relatives 'bout a minute ago. Cause of death completely unrelated. They wanna return the organ. For half the price I gave it to 'em, I might add. And they're runnin' out of ice to keep it cool with. So, I'm afraid I'll need to put you ladies on a timer, again. I'm sending you the coordinates. 'Preciate it!" Doctor Zed explained and was off the ECHO.

"Wait a minute? If the person just died, how exactly did these relatives get the organ out so fast and ready for sale?" Vian asked, looking slightly disturbed and the others shrugged. None of them knew the morbid details and none of them really wanted to, either.

"Oh, crap." Gaige cursed as she checked the location on her holo-map and Maya made a sound, equally as displeased

"What?" Lilith had her hands on her hips, not knowing why the others were suddenly worried.

"It's that shack on the beach, next to the bridge." Maya detailed the location.

"And...?" Lilith still did not hear anything that should have made them worry.

"It was full of threshers, last time!" Gaige exclaimed with disgust. "Weird ones!" she added.

"Weird how?" Lilith was still not bothered.

"One of them had the ability to create something like a blackhole that nearly pulled us into the spikes on its body." Maya explained. "Fortunately we could shoot it to death. Besides standing behind something heavy, it's the only way to stop it."

"We nearly got shish-kebabbed, the first time!" Gaige recalled.

"O-kay." Lilith had to admit it was something and she started back towards the technical. "Well, let's just hope they haven't come back, yet, then." she said, while probably still looking to shoot something, as that last fight did little to satisfy her. The rest followed her to the vehicle, taking their usual spots and Gaige gave a groan before she rolled out.

"So, is this Zed guy some organ-dealer?" Vian asked. "Is he even licensed? Do I need to sleep with an eye open?" She paused in her worrying. "And if I do, will I see one of you sleep-walking naked?" Her mind made the leap, getting almost no reaction from Lilith, an eye-roll from Gaige and Maya was no longer surprised by her train of thought. It was Lilith who spoke.

"Debatable. No. Probably. And uh...Tannis, maybe." She gave her answers in the order Vian asked the questions.

"Yeah? You saw her, then?' Vian teased.

"She wasn't bothered. She doesn't know how to be." Lilith commented, not going into detail about the strange woman's psychosis, mainly because she had no clue how it worked. She would have been surprised and somewhat worried about the person who could figure out and handle Tannis.

"Were you bothered?" came the predictable follow-up question, in a suggestive tone and Lilith merely groaned as they crossed the small bridge. The stench of rotting meat filled the air and Gaige sped up to get through the area faster, even though she was not thrilled with where they were heading and neither was Maya.

They came to a curve in the road and took the dirt path that lead to the small sandy beach stretching under the bridge and spotted the shack built above the water with a ladder serving as they way up.

"Who the heck builds even just a shack, in a place like this?" Vian wondered out loud.

"We won't have to find out." Gaige answered and sounded understandably relieved as she hit the brakes and skidded to a halt. "Whatever we have to pick up, they put it in a mailbox. Grab and run!" she exclaimed and made a sharp nod towards the shack, telling them to get to it and hurry. Seconds after their boots hit the sand they felt the tremors. Gaige stayed behind the wheel and Lilith manned the turret, while Maya covered Vian's back as she climbed the ladder. She was halfway up when several small threshers sprang forth from the sand, some of them from under water. Gaige hit the throttle and rolled over one in front of them and grabbed her assault rifle to help Lilith and Maya take out the rest. The latter concentrated on the ones in the water, while the other two dealt with the ones in the sand. Bullets and saw-blades were flying and the oversized worms were dropping. There were three further out in the water that were too far away to accurately hit, but not for Vian. She took the mouthy sniper rifle off her back and took aim as the threshers kept slinging spikes at the three women on the beach, who had ample time to dodge every one of them. One went limp as a shot was fired and an energy beam passed through its head. Whatever the rifle said was drowned out by an explosion that came from the technical and she heard Gaige drop and f-bomb. She looked to see the front right tire had deflated and a spike was sticking out from it. One of the threshers accidentally got a hit in, though it was only one of the tires that got impaled and not one of them. Maya was still attempting to hit the remaining two with her Maliwan SMG and got some shots in as one of the threshers burst into flames and pulled back under ground, dousing the flames on itself with the water and gravel. Vian took aim and ventilated the last one's head and didn't wait for a comment from the weapon as she went to the mailbox and flipped open the lid to see a red container, the size of a lunchbox, inside. She definitely did not want to take a peek inside, so she shoved it under her arm and went back to the ladder. She dropped the package into Maya's hands, who made a few quick steps towards the technical, where Lilith was still on the turret and Gaige was standing in her seat, anxious to shoot the next thing that came out of the ground. She immediately got her chance, when the ground shook and a larger thresher burst from the sand, knocking Maya to the ground, who dropped the package. Vian was climbing back down the ladder and paused when she saw it. The thresher immediately spread its spikes and Maya ran as far back towards their vehicle as she could, nearly making it, when she felt a pull. She was being dragged by the creature's power and saw Gaige being yanked out of the truck onto the sand, before she could take a shot. Lilith was unable to fire the turret as she was trying to keep herself from ending up like the stalker and was pushing herself back to keep herself from being pulled into the saw-blade. Maya was trying to dig her legs in to slow herself, but it was not helping much. None of them could reach for their weapons and she was about to do the only thing she knew would be effective at that point and phaselock the creature, when she saw Vian glow with power as she leapt from the ladder with the Morningstar. The pull the thresher was creating still dragged her down, but she could gain enough altitude to bring the barrel of the weapon straight down on top if it and fire. The beam shot vertically through the creature and its spikes retracted as it fell forward. Vian slammed into its back, both her own physical strength and her Siren power acting together to dampen the force of the impact on her legs and she stumbled off the thresher as it hit the ground. She glanced ahead of herself and her eyes widened when she saw Maya still stumbling towards her from the lingering force. She caught her and they went a few small steps backwards, before stopping. Their faces were inches from each other, both of their breathing fast, as they stood right on top of the dead threshers head. Vian smirked, but Maya pulled away, wrinkling her noise and scrounged up her face, before giving a slightly amused smile. Vian did not know what to make of her reaction, until she felt her own face and saw the thresher's thick blood on her fingers, which meant her face must have been covered in it.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" She yelled and was stomping in the sand, making circles, as Maya gave her a pitying smile. "Not one smudge, all day and now I get stuff on me when we're..." she paused, pressing her lips together from saying anything further, as she looked at Maya's face. Her own fell and she exhaled deeply in frustration, then brought up the rifle and emptied the clip into the thresher. She forgot about the nagging voice as the rifle auto-ejected the empty clip.

"If you were a better shot, you wouldn't need to reload!"

Vian's eye twitched and she swung the rifle back, ready to throw it in the water, when she felt hands gently grab onto her arm. Maya was giving her a serene smile, her eyes urging Vian to calm down and the latter slowly lowered her arm to her side with the rifle. She regarded Maya through half-shut eyelids, almost suspiciously, like a cat. She let out a low growl, turned and snaked her other arm around Maya's waist, pulling her closer. "We're going on that third date, right now!" she told her and Maya seemed to relax, as she was slightly worried she was going to say or do something different and perhaps explicit.

She mirrored Vian's expression and simply said "Shower first." knowing she would purposefully assume it would be with her and sure enough, Vian's eyes flashed as she gave Maya a sly look. "In private." Maya added and Vian grimaced at her for getting her hopes up, still smiling as she let her go and went to splash some water on her face. She got back up and Maya said "Thanks, by the way!"

"Anytime." Vian replied as she wiped her face as best she could.

"The package!" Gaige yelled at them and checked the timer she was tracking on her ECHO. She was already back in the technical and kept honking the horn until Maya picked up the item and brought it over.

"Enough! I have it!" she yelled over the horn. "Can you even get us back with a tire out?" she asked Gaige.

"If I watch my speed." the girl answered and Maya gave a slightly worried look. Not convinced she would.

"That's not exactly reassuring." Maya told her.

"Take it or leave it." Gaige said.

"There's a Catch-a-Ride up the hill. We can easily get another tire. Remember?" Lilith reminded them.

"Oh, right." Gaige recalled they passed one just before they took the path down to the beach. "Let's roll!" she yelled. Maya and Vian hurried to get inside as Gaige started the engine and was already kicking up sand. The vehicle crawled up the dirt road and bounced as it moved onto the pavement, shaking from the loss of handling. They passed the station and all looked at Gaige, who seemed fixated on the road.

"Uh...the station?" Lilith glanced at it and at the girl.

"Screw that!" Gaige barked and she seemed determined to wobble all the way back with a flat tire. Though they did not have to go far, it was still perilous, especially with the teen behind the wheel, who did not seem to take her own advice and was speeding. They nearly ran off the side of the small bridge and were an inch away from scratching all the paint off the side of the vehicle as they were hugging too close to the right wall of the tunnel, going on a curve, as Gaige maintained a firm grip on the steering wheel to keep it in place and she would not slow down. They were not even out of the tunnel, when she pulled the hand-break, without warning, to slide into the last turn and they drifted towards the rocks.

"Gaiiige!" Lilith yelled at her, more from annoyance than fear. She certainly would not admit to the latter.

They came dangerously close to the rocks, but the vehicle got enough traction to slow and continue on the path. Gaige did a one-eighty, so the back of the truck, with all the goods they have collected, would face the entrance. The others all exhaled.

"I feel sorry for her driving instructor." Vian muttered.

"What driving instructor?" Lilith said as she got out and slammed the door.

"She's not even old enough to drive." Maya commented.

"Woah! Haha! She's under-age? Phew! Glad I heard it, first. Spared myself some time in prison." Vian flashed a wolfish grin and Gaige shot her a worried glance. "We're gonna put you in detention, young lady!" Vian added with a lick of her lips.

"Perv!" Gaige said as she leapt out of the vehicle and Vian had a shameless proud grin plastered on her face.

"We're still on, though, right?" she asked as she turned to Maya.

Before the latter could say anything, Gaige passed by them on the packed hover-trolley and said "Don't ever let her meet Tina!" and Maya gave a stifled laugh, knowing where the meeting of those two minds would lead.

"Huh? Who's Tina?" Vian was curious, as she took it they had many things in common with whoever she was.

"A long lost relative of yours, maybe!" Gaige snorted as she went ahead to drop off the stack of packages at the fast travel station. "Move your butts!" she called to them and they picked up as much as they could carry to get it ready for instant transport to Sanctuary.

"So, who is she?" Vian pressed and Maya was about to answer when Lilith approached them, having dropped off the package in a deposit box for Zed. On time.

"Don't answer! One of them, with their minds, is enough up there." she commented.

"Oh? You're saying this Tina thinks like me. Now, I have to meet her! And get acquainted." Vian rubbed her palms together.

"She's thirteen." Lilith told her in a flat voice and Vian's eyes shot up in surprise, before she let out a deep laugh, as she remembered having her first real crush at the same age.

"They grow up fast!" Vian exclaimed. "So, I'm too much for you to handle, am I?" Vian asked Lilith as the latter picked up a few packs.

"Not really." She walked passed her.

"Mmh? Shall we find out?" Vian called after her, grabbing some packs, but Lilith did not indulge her.

Gaige made another round with the trolley and activated the station, going ahead of the others to clear the way at the other end.

"Woah! Oh, hey ya, I Robot Girl! Where'd you come from?" Gaige was greeted by a grease monkey in a baseball cap.

"Stand back, Scoot! We're shipping in some stuff." she told him and the entire stack of goods materialized in front of them with the trolley packed with a portion of them that Gaige hauled away immediately as Mordecai, Axton, Salvador and Brick walked in, having been contacted by Lilith over the ECHO. They quickly carried the rest of the supplies away and the three Sirens appeared, a second later.

"Hey, Lili!" Scooter said, cheerfully.

"Hey, Scooter." Lilith greeted him. "Heading home?"

"Yep! Goin' back to my other garage,. See what work I got from the fine folk of Hollow Point." he answered and Maya exchanged looks with Vian at the name of the place Scooter was going to.

"About that shower." Vian whispered to Maya to lead the way and they all went into HQ. The doors to the showers were practically hidden and Maya opened the way, ushering Vian in, who paused before entering, giving her another hopeful look and Maya shook her head with a smile.

"Hey, aren't you two gonna take a shower?" she called to Lilith and Gaige, who lingered.

"Later." Lilith muttered as she walked out with Mordecai and Brick.

"I'll...wait a few minutes." Gaige gave an excuse, still not convinced the woman would not try anything.

"So, how do you do it with that arm of yours? Doesn't it rust from the water?" Vian wondered if it ever got difficult and awkward for her to do things.

"It's a stainless alloy." Maya answered her and Gaige walked upstairs. "I asked her the same thing ones." Maya added and Vian got a glint in her eyes, again. "And no! I didn't imagine her naked!" She looked pointedly at her with a smile and lightly shoved her in, closing the door as Vian gave a growl. She soon heard the water running and went upstairs.

Author's note: That timed side-mission from Zed was just annoying. I could only complete it once or twice, on the first try, from maybe eight playthroughs.