Disruption

A heavy fizzle filled the station as Garret was printed out of the fast travel network, Maya and Krieg following soon after. "Well, that was fun" said the youth, checking over his 'Hyperion: Projectile Diversification' shotgun. Maya nearly responded, but stopped before she started, something catching her attention. The city was quiet.

Garret had noticed not soon after, turning to the front entrance of the building and listening. There was nothing. "Quiet isn't it?" commented the youth, stepping out into the snow. The other two followed suit, their footsteps crunching along the ground. "Where's… Everybody?" asked the siren, being closely followed by a tensed Krieg. Garret shrugged.

Maya swiveled her head around, actively searching for even the slightest trace of civilization in the barren town center. The psycho kept quiet and on guard, but instead sniffed the air for any scent. "I don't smell anything either" stated Garret, trying to catch anything from area. "Maybe it's just really cold?" questioned Maya, realizing the group's lack of clothing.

The ice had stopped falling long before the three had arrived, leaving behind banks and piles of crystal for the wind to sweep up. "No. There should still be guards patrolling around" responded Garret, recalling his last visit. "There" He pointed out a pair tracks leading towards Moxxi's, down the cracked stairs. "You two go check the bar, there's bound to be someone there. I'll check HQ."

Leaving with nod's, the two trudged off in the snow, leaving Garret alone in front of the station. With a silent huff, he looked towards the building and began his marching through the heightened snow.

The lack of Private Jessup was concerning for the youth, a pair of snowed in tracks in his place leading up to the steps of the aged building. Tannis was nowhere to be found either as Garret crept in, only noticing the recently opened chest at the back of the room. He continued up the stairs, becoming aware of a periodical hum that reached his ears every second or so. The farther he made it up the stairs, the more distinct became the hum, before finally forming into nearly audible words.

It was Brick. No doubt about it as Garret reached a closed door at the top of the flight, almost comforted by the sound company. He opened the door, hoping to find familiar faces, but was greeted by a questioning glare from Mordecai and a fuming Slab-King instead.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Brick, his heavy voice penetrating Garret's ears like a drill. "Hey, don't worry, he's one of us" assured Mord, placing a hand up to stop the giant. Garret looked at the two men assuredly before slowly walking in, easing off his guard. "Yeah. I just got back from southpaw. Have a finished mission for Roland." The two veterans stood silent against the comment. "So-uh, where's everybody gone?"

Mordecai glanced at Brick before turning back to the boy, unsure of what to say.

"Home. Roland's dead." interrupted the large man, his eyes focusing back on the glowing data map in front of him. The hunter could only nod in agreement before turning around and grabbing a small parcel from a shelf.

"I guess I should go then..." suggested Garret, motioning towards the door. "Good thinking" was all Brick could respond with, turning away and walking towards the balcony. Though, before he could leave, Mordecai blocked his path, thrusting an unwrapped Smg into his hands.

The boy gave it a questioning look, shifting his expression to the hunter.

"Your reward" Was all the man said before turning to reach for a brown glass bottle before downing most of it with a long, sullied chug. Garret left before the contents of the bottle could be fully emptied.

He emerged back into the snow filled courtyard, inspecting the Bandit weapon. A high mag count but low accuracy was not something the youth would use often, but he scanned it into storage anyways, thinking that Gaige might find it fun to use. The wind began to pick up again as Garret walked off, heading towards the apartment while he sent Maya a resolute message.

Minutes later, the door to the frigid room slid open quietly, not interrupting the Mechromancer that was snugly dug into the bed. She was still sleeping off the cold, uninformed of the recent events. Garret scowled at the inactive heater, disappointed at the device. He kicked it softly a few times before it purred back to life, radiating comforting warmth. "Stupid shit" insulted the youth silently, skeptical about the heater lasting long enough.

The teen hung up his vest and SDU's, leaving the Smg on the table for Gaige as he stripped the rest of the bloodied clothes off and dumped them into an Automated-Laundry-Bin beside the bathroom door. With one last motion, he slipped off his underwear and jumped into the shower.

Warmed water flowed over his body, cleansing the shallow dirt and dried blood from his face. The shine of small droplets caught his attention, shifting his gaze to the phased arm he now adorned. The mold between the carapace and his flesh was seamless with small unintelligible tattoos lining where the crystal had dug under and bound to his muscle and bone, making him appear more Siren-like than ever.

Satisfied with his discovery, Garret discontinued the examination, turning off the water and grabbing a nearby towel to dry off with. He exited the bathroom with a fresh pair of grey briefs slapped on, glancing at the nearby clock that read 40:56. Acute darkness had slowly risen over the horizon of the settlement, stars beginning to twinkle in like small specks of snow on a black canvas as the day faded.

The small wisps of Gaige's breathing filled the quiet room, interrupted ever so slightly by Garret as he slipped under the newly acquired blanket. He shifted and scooted closer the girl, gently hugging his stomach to the small of her back as he formed the big spoon of the two. A small grunt came from the young woman in reply as the youth wrapped his phased arm over her mechanical one, small scrapes silencing as he put it to rest. Outside the window, another seasoning of snow had begun falling, adding to the large tufts and banks that had already formed across the street.

Slowly, his greyed eyes began to flutter, the mixture of frigid winter air and the failing warmth of the heater rocking him ever so slightly towards slumber. Not even a full minute had passed before he fell into rest, his breath brushing against the Mechromancer's cheek every exhale.

The illuminated darkness of Pandora could only pass overhead for so long before Garret was shunted out of his stagnation, ripped from unconsciousness only to be plunged into a nauseating sense of uneasiness. He slowly detached his moistened body from Gaige, leaving behind a small layer of cold sweat. He was unsure of what could rip him from his rest so easily, wiping his brow and slowly sitting up from the bed.

Elpis loomed above the clouds, the moon's magma filled canyons glowing under the overwhelming shadow of Jack's moon base. Stars glimmered around the pale sphere, showering Sanctuary's snow covered buildings with a pastel light. Garret turned from the window's view and slipped his feet out of the bed, the frigid concrete floor waiting to numb his toes. He stood and walked to the bathroom, washing off his face and toweling off the rest of the sweat that had covered his frame.

Only a couple of hours had passed during Garret's slumber as he checked the clock, opting to put on his grey cargos and a black shirt with his brown boots to follow. Silently, the teen crept out of the room, shutting the door with a silent click. He donned a heavy brown cloak and trudged down the stairs, opening the doors to the frigid atmosphere. The snow could only crunch under the youth's boots as he trudged onwards towards Moxxi's, guided by a hint of intuition.

Specks of snow flew as Garret stamped his boots on a comical "Fuck off" doormat and opened the large back-door to the bar, curious to see who would be occupying it. Immediately, he was greeted with a lungful of tobacco smoke and other vapours, causing him to cough just a bit. Excluding the darkened lights of the dart room and slot machine, the bar was wholly unchanged.

Heller sat opposite of her usual position in the bar, her top-hat and gold-lined royal blue jacket set upon the coat hanger. She took a slow sip of something dark red, turning towards the boy. "Hey kiddo…" she muttered, picking up a cigar from the table. "Why don't you grab a drink?" insisted the woman, delightfully puffing smoke into the air. Garret nodded, standing there silently before hanging up his cloak and strolling into the diner area.

"Ey gringo!" boomed Salvador, sitting beside a shirtless Axton and a small stack of dirty plates. Various bottles and unlabeled jugs lined the table, and a multitude of cups along with them. The other tables at the diner held a wide range of citizens, many of them unconscious, drunk or plain old high. But the mood wasn't a happy one, Garret could tell easily just by regarding the sullen faces of those in question.

He shifted his gaze towards another table opposite of Salvador's, spotting Krieg. As far as the teen could tell, he was asleep, his one eye closed and a drunken Maya caught in his embrace. He would not bother waking the two, spotting the empty bottles on the table.

Garret sat himself down in front of Axton and the Gunzerker, snatching a random bottle and filling up the cup that stood in front of him. The scent of the liquid was heavy, with a brisk punch to it as the youth downed the cup, grunting at the sting as he realized it was vodka.

"So what brings you to our humble abode thirrrr?" asked the commando, a tinge of alcohol-induced comedy lining his voice. "Couldn't sleep sarge" responded Garret, eyeing Zero and his cracked face mask over at the bar. He turned his view back to the two, realising that the short Pandoran was lightly bandaged and Axton himself had a fresh scar over his left pectoral.

"You guys look like shit." stated the youth, picking up the revolting scent of burnt flesh from Salvador. The mercenary chuckled at the words, responding with his own "yeah, didn't have the best day today." "I can see that" replied Garret, taking a sip of his vodka. "And I assume you guys were with Roland, before he, uh, got killed?"

"Yup" replied Sal in between his sips. "Jack got Lilith too" added Axton, unconflicted yet unhappy with the ordeal. The commando reached for his drink, but paused and instead stretched for the ashtray, picking up a dirtied roll of paper and nonchalantly placing it in his mouth.

Garret could hear Moxxi leave her seat and approach, pulling out a brass lighter and briefly torching the joint before Axton took an extensive hit. "Thanks killer" said the military man in response. She flipped the lighter closed and nudged the boy with her hip. He scooted over in response before she sat down.

"She's not dead." objected the short Pandoran, awaiting his hit. "Just captured." Added Zero from his spot at the bar.

The youth nodded, pouring something else into his cup. "Ooh, I just hope you boys get her back right. Be a real shame to lose another one." spoke Heller, laying her head on the table. She nodded at Garret and tilted her head back, asking him to loosen her corset.

A sigh of comfort came out of her as the youth looked up from the strings, finding a white roll being offered to him by Sal. He carefully handled the piece and took a pull, filling his lungs full of the noxious fumes. "Good old weed, but border style." revealed Axton, the drug beginning to take effect on him. Garret slowly exhaled the smoke from his mouth, only to sniff up back through his nose as he passed the joint to an awaiting barmaid.

"Yeah? Beats the stuff on E5 at least." said the youth, exhaling the thick smoke.

The others sat back as well, not actively paying attention, but enjoying the hum of his voice instead as they began to doze off for the rest of the night. Rather than passing out himself, Garret chuckled and rose from the padded seat, unsteadily stepping off towards the kitchen. Minutes later he had fully packed a lunch to the best of his ability, consisting of leftovers and a water bottle from the other day. The youth walked back out into the bar, noticing that everyone had fully passed out from the mix of alcohol and smoke fumes.

Garret tapped the auto ventilators as he left, snatching the vapours and smoke from the interior of the room and replacing it with cold fresh air. The door slid shut quietly as he exited, placing himself back outside in the cold streets of the ever floating Sanctuary, albeit a bit high.

As he slipped back into bed for the second time that night, Garret could only ponder what he would discover tomorrow, life confusedly pointing to the mine that his uncle had left him. But the thoughts could only linger for so long, before the boy slipped off back into his slumber with Gaige by his side.