Author's Note:

Well, friends, this is chapter nine of my story. I will admit, last chapter wasn't as eventful as I'd have hoped, but overall, I'm happy with how it fell into place into the story and how well it was received. As always, I love writing this fanfiction and am happy that so many people like reading it. As I said, I will keep writing this story for a while yet, but it may take a few twists and turns that not all of you may agree with. Everyone; please enjoy this next chapter. I know I will.

Chapter 9: Veins of Fire – Part 1. Begin.

This was definitely strange. Those eyes; they were filled with a sorrow that only left the heart burning with the desire to console and sooth it away. Maya, in that moment, felt herself holding him again, like it was the same moment that she'd found him and no time had elapsed whatsoever. The fact that they didn't move made it even more disorienting. Even after the ten minutes that they just hugged softly and the sweet words that were (sort of) shared between Krieg and herself, she couldn't lighten the load on her heart for even letting him run away from her. She felt like for not stopping him while he was only playing, she was stuck at a cross roads. She had showed him a level of playfulness that he wasn't ready for and she should have realized that before it became the issue that it had escalated into, but at the same moment, she was slightly glad that it had happened. It had taught him that he had crossed the line that she didn't alert him to. He had been the one to realize it, not her. He was the one that scolded himself, not her, not his inner voice, no one else. Just him. But how? How was he able to realize it when the very event slipped her mind and she didn't stop to think of it? How was it that he was able to react at exactly the right moment and she wasn't? What had changed? Just a few days ago, he was nothing more than a bloodthirsty psychopath under a tight leash. A monster in a form-fitting cage. A killing machine set in low-gear. But now; now he stood as something new. Something that was so much stronger than he once was but fragile enough to break at any moment. Yes, something had definitely changed in him, but what? What had changed? What was different?

With a grumble so soft that it barely registered to her occupied mind, Maya was gingerly pulled from her thoughts to behold a sight that only made her heart ache more and her brain spark with new ideas and notions that she couldn't sort through. Krieg was looking into her puzzled eyes with a pained joy that she was unprepared for; a glint of humanity that she wouldn't have expected from the walking apocalypse. His face was solemn and very softly contorted with happiness. Happiness that she'd found him. Happiness that he wasn't overlooked by the stunning woman which he'd had the company of for the last few days.

(Thank you.) Krieg's inner voice interrupted; so softly that it could only be understood, not heard.

For what? Maya thought, her mind reeling.

(For caring enough to look for us.) It replied, the shaky tone betraying the façade that it tried to construct. The way it sounded was like even this disembodied voice was feeling the full force of the event; as if it was still attached to the nerves of its former head, leaching reality from its own previous abode. Krieg silently nodded his face downcast and his eye still faintly wet. Maya held him so close; she could feel each shaky breath that the muscular man took. She could feel his muscles struggle to stay sturdy and his heart pulse so softly, like his heart was only barely beating, weighed down with so much pain it was crushing it. Again, Maya was stuck in her own world of thought as Krieg's every move betrayed his usual overbearing, bloodthirsty, insane ways.

"What is the carving in these woods?" Krieg mumbled, his eye still not meeting hers.

Surprised by his words, Maya pulled back and stared deeply into his visible eye, silently pleading it to look up. His eye reluctantly met with hers and she started to speak. "I… I don't really know…" She then started thinking quickly, her eyes darting from left to right as her contemplation finally yielded a result of some sort. "Maybe you're evolving? Maybe that's not the right word for it…" she paused as she began to think more about her answer. "I was thinking that earlier, when you scraped me." She then looked deeper into his eyes before he looked away with pain. "You felt bad; right?" she asked in such a soft voice that Krieg had to look up at her, wondering if it was even her speaking. He met her eyes and nodded hurriedly. Good. Then I might be right. Maya thought to herself with a hopeful smile before continuing. "That's good. This time, I didn't have to show you that you had done something wrong." She spoke up, her eyes adopting a powerful joy. Krieg was confused to the point of slight annoyance. "Do you understand?" she asked softly, a smile playing on her lips. She repressed it as to not antagonize the distraught hulk of a man in his moment of need. Krieg shook his head, growing slightly more annoyed by her subterfuge. "You're learning right from wrong! I didn't have to tell you that you did wrong for you to feel bad about it!" Maya said excitedly, hugging him quickly before pulling away. Krieg's eyes widened as he met her eyes.

(Wait… So, Big Guy did something right? Without our help?) His inner voice spoke up, its voice more positive than it had previously been. Maya's smile widened happily as she nodded with mirth. (You're kidding… That's great!) The inner voice said loudly with joy as well. (Our boy is growing up! Oh, Honey, I'm so happy!) it said with a fake teary voice, causing Maya to roll her eyes with a reminiscent smile on her face and Krieg to grumble with annoyance.

Meanwhile; in Sanctuary

"This is troublesome." Angel sighed, holding her hand to her forehead in a worried tone as she leaned against the wall. She stood in the precipice of the balcony against the door frame with her head turned to look out toward the dim skies of Pandora. In a sudden but not unwelcome movement, Zero dropped from the overhanging roof with a flip on his wrists and coming to stand a few feet to her right. He moved so silently, that the others didn't notice as they sat and continued to worry about the deranged man and the newly missing siren that led the charge to find him. "Hello, Friend." Angel spoke in a soft voice.

Zero turned towards her, his motions seemingly more fluid as he addressed her and relaxed against the wall that the precipice was connected to. "Hello to you." He spoke up in a near whisper, his heavily modulated voice crackling and seeming to vibrate in his helm. It sounded so personal and so soft, that Angel shivered, feeling as though she'd just experienced his equivalent to a seductive voice. Her cheeks reddened and her knees felt weak as the endearing tones echoed through her mind, forcing out the worry for her siren sister. Zero caught her buckling movements and placed a hand on her shoulder to help her stabilize herself. Feeling Zero's four fingered hand lightly hold her steady caused her to look into the deep darkness of his faceplate and her blush to deepen to a full cherry red. She breathed rapidly as her heart beat vigorously against her chest and she lost all strength in her knees. She slowly slid down onto the floor, her eyes still locked in his. I wonder if his eyes are as beautiful as the sheen in his helm… she thought dreamily as she blushed all the more before she heard him speak.

"You need to rest now/ You must be quite exhausted/ I'll take you to bed." He spoke in a near whisper. When Angel heard what he'd said, she blushed even harder and could hear her heartbeat in her ears as her breathing became ragged. Her eyes widened as her mind raced. He… Wants to… Take me to… She thought before she fainted in his arms out of realizing what his exact words were. Surprised as to what had caused such a reaction in her, Zero projected an exclamation point as he silently looked all around for the others to see if they were within earshot. He looked to see everyone had moved into another room within the command center. Sighing in a tired tone, Zero gently lifted the unconscious siren into a bridal carry and hopped down from the balcony and carried her to their hideaway. However, unknown to anyone, not even Angel, his hideaway was also where he lived; a hidden door well secured with a hidden touch pad that only he could use. He punched in his code and the false wall slid away to reveal a small room fashioned out of heavy pieces of the foundation that had lifted with the city; stacked and molded precariously into a small shelter with a bed and bathroom. He placed the sleeping siren on the bed and simply sat in the far corner of the room, waiting for her to stir.

Meanwhile; in the Crimson Raider Base

All the other Vault Hunters were now either gone or reclining in some chairs in the far side of the lower levels of Tannis' lab.

"Huh, where'd they go now?" Mordecai asked, finally noticing that Zero and Angel were missing. "Wait… Were they even with us when we came down here?"

"Donno, Mordy, I thought they were behind you." Brick replied, plopping heavily down onto the battered seat in the far side of the room, well away from Tannis and her experiments.

"I assume they were talking about something on the balcony. I didn't see them follow us out." Roland spoke up. Never looking up from the digital screen projecting from the piece of Lance Armor attached to his wrist.

"Well, I can't tell if she's in any danger, she's not panicking." Lilith said offhandedly, receiving awkward looks from the others. "What? We're sirens; we know these things about each other after being together so long."

"Well, in any case, we still have no radio contact with Maya or Krieg. We should hope for the best but prepare for the worst. We'll send out a-

"No." Lilith broke in, taking Roland by surprise by swiping her hand over the panel on his arm and shutting off the screen.

"What?" he asked confused at what she'd just said.

"I said no. I just felt her; she's fine. So's Krieg based on what I'm getting from her emotions; so there's nothing to worry about." Lilith stated in a bored tone.

"Huh… Didn't know you could do that, Lil." Mordecai spoke up before taking a long swig from his ale.

"Yeah, it's hard. Really drains us sirens. Angel taught it to Maya and me, but we don't use it much." Lilith replied, falling heavily into her chair with a heavy sigh as her tattoos stopped glowing.

"Then in that case, I'm just gonna go." Axton said in a nonchalant voice before standing straight from his lean against the wall next to where Brick was sitting. He then placed his hands in his pockets and sauntered out of the room. Gaige glanced at the commando as he strolled out of the crowded room. She then received a sturdy elbow to the mechanical arm by Brick, causing her to look to him puzzled. He then winked at her and subtly nodded in the direction of the leaving commando with a slight grin that only she could see from the angle he sat. She gulped hard before standing up and dusting off her skirt. She plastered on a playful smile and skipped up ahead of him only to stop and turn around. She waited momentarily while he caught up and started to walk backwards with a backwards lean that pushed her chest out a little while she settled her hands on the back of her head like his were.

"Whatcha doin'?" she asked with a peppy voice.

"I donno… Was thinkin' a headin' out to the Dust and testin' out an improvement to my turret. Wanna join?" Axton asked with a sweet smile.

"Hmm… Nah! Sounds boring! I have a better idea!" Gaige replied, smiling brightly towards him as she tipped farther back. She then spun around to head him off and look him square in the face.

"Uh… Wha- Gah!"

Axton was lucky to have gotten that far into what he was trying to say before the young girl tightened her mechanical hand into his lapels and ripped him off balance and towards the Fast Travel Station. "Come on!" she shouted happily, the stunned commando in toe.

"Um… Gaige?" Axton spoke up with a slightly unnerved voice just as the Fast Travel teleported them off to the Hyperion Bridge.

Meanwhile, Brick was watching, a soft chuckle leaving his throat as he closed his eyes and leaned back more into his chair.

"Whatcha laughin' 'bout, Brick?" Mordecai asked curiously, softly rubbing the chin of his dragon-like companion.

"Just thinking how cute those two are." Brick replied, a slight grin on his lips.

"You're right, bud, they do you look cute t'gether… Though I wouldda expected him to go after Maya." Mordecai said with a playful smile.

"Me too, boys. But not even Axton's crazy enough to mess with a territorial Psychopath." Lilith piped in, her voice slightly more playful than usual.

"Yeah, or a pissed off siren that coulda phased him through a wall." Mordecai added.

"…Or Gaige's Best Friend…" Roland spoke softly, a smirk on his face while he walked off back upstairs. They all shared a laugh before following their somewhat more relaxed friend up the stairs for more reminiscing and over all bullshitting.

With Zero and Angel; Sanctuary Undergrounds

Zero sat silently with his blade set in his lap and his legs crossed. He hadn't moved since he sat down and waited for the young siren in his bed to stir to life. In his mind, Zero was at a loss as to what could have caused her to so quickly go from simply relaxing in the late-day Pandoran sun to weak at the knees to fainting in his arms. Something must have been wrong with her; she even looked flushed. Was she sick? No, she couldn't have been. I thoroughly checked everyone… he thought to himself, activating a hologram function that he'd added to his Echo Communicator and bringing up the files that he'd been keeping on his friends, delving into Angel's. She appears to have an elevated heart rate when in my presence. He thought, pulling up more of her records. Hmm… And an elevated breathing as well; I am quite curious… his mind ticked on, checking his amassed database of known diseases in the Universe. No results… he wondered, moving on to human physiological responses, punching in all the stimuli that he had noticed at that time. Perhaps I should add myself as a stimulus. I may be a cause… Immediately following the action of placing himself into the equation and hitting the activate command, the formula sprung to life, calculating the possible causes for her reaction as well as what her reaction might have been.

Results:

Emotional/ Physical/ Instinctual Response 64%.

Climate/ Exterior Atmospheric Conditions 28%

Overexertion During Pursuit of Psycho, Krieg 5%

Siren Power Use Throughout Preceding Days 2%

Other/ Indeterminate Circumstances 1%

The algorithm suggested that some sort of biological response was the cause of her distress. He punched in another calculation to determine the possible reasons that this may have occurred. The next two results suggested, with 87% accuracy, that he was the cause and that the reaction was that of a positive emotional nature. Hmm… he thought, closing the screen and returning his attention to the sleeping siren as she began to stir in the bed. Zero rose to his feet and stepped silently towards her, inspecting her facial expression in closer detail. Her face was relaxed, but she still possessed a very faint pink coloring to her cheeks. Could it be that she is physically attracted to me in some way? He surmised, rubbing the back of his neck. Most confusing… he thought with an audible sigh, standing straight up and turning from her. He then stopped at the sound of her grumbling in her sleep and turning gently. She inhaled deeply and made a light moan as she moved about the bed, stretching her relaxed muscles. She slowly opened her eyes, groggy from the sudden and somewhat forced rest.

"Hi…" she said offhandedly, her mind still too clouded by sleep to notice that she was in a foreign bed, in an unfamiliar room, with an assassin.

"Hello." Zero replied in a surprised yet smooth voice. Angel's demeanor tensed slightly as she opened her eyes wider and focused on the strange man.

"Wait… Uh… Zero? Why are you in my room?" she asked, completely bewildered.

"This isn't your room/ This is mine. I brought you here/ After you passed out." He replied in a slow voice as to try not to alarm the young siren.

"What? Th-this is your room!?" she stammered, her face rapidly reddening. Too late to keep her calm… Zero thought as he listened. He then slowly nodded. "Th-then… This i-is… Your…" she continued, now beginning to shake nervously as she looked down to the soft, seemingly barely used and very soft bed that she was now sitting on. Zero again nodded. Her blush returned in full swing and this time, covering a very large portion of her cheeks while her eyes went wide but couldn't achieve direct contact with his faceplate. In her embarrassment and nervousness, she failed to realize that he was moving slowly closer to her and soon was sitting next to her on the bed. She only noticed his change in position when she felt his four fingered hand placed on hers in a gentle and uncertain action. Her eyes bolted to his face when she completely realized that he really was intentionally holding her hand.

Then he spoke. His words the most enigmatic song that she could ever imagine, their quality of tone and subtle hues of emotion like notes that made her heart flutter with so many emotions. "Please relax." He said softly, causing her heart to race and her nervousness only to increase. His words were so smooth, they could have been a noose around her neck and she wouldn't have felt them until the trapdoor snapped open. She was intoxicated by his every utterance and silently wished he'd tell her another of his amazing, almost instinctual poems. Then she practically lost consciousness again when she heard him speak again.

"Do you need a drink/ You must be needing fluids/ To just drop like that." He said, beginning to rise to get her a glass of water. She then weakly took his wrist, stopping him without a word. But when he turned around and projected a question mark, she dare not meet his gaze for fear as to what she'd say or do.

"N-no…" she replied finally, retracting her hand from his wrist and placing hers in her lap nervously. "…I mean… I'm alright… I was j-just tired is all…" she spoke softly.

"Okay." He said simply, settling back down next to her softly on the bed. The evidence is stacking quite nicely; she must be drawn to me. He thought to himself, a pleased smile on his concealed lips. He was pleased for two reasons: first was that he had been correct, the second being that she was so taken with him that she was incapable of acting casually with only him around. Several silent moments passed between the pair until Zero spoke up again. "You seem stressed." He said in a stoic voice.

"I… Yeah. It's… Confusing is all. Having a friend disappear and not knowing where they are." Angel replied, her voice becoming more even as she thought of other things. She looked up to Zero's faceplate for acknowledgment, he then nodded and she continued. "But I'm guessing that since you're still here with me, that everything's fine now." Zero again nodded softly, projecting a smiley face emoticon. "That's good. I'd check, but I'm smart enough to read the signs." Angel then smiled softly and Zero cut the smiley face and turned it into a question mark as he waited for her to continue out of curiosity. Her smile brightened slightly as she continued. "I can't help but think that you enjoy my company, Zero. You're still here with me despite me being perfectly fine. So, I have to assume that you like being around me."

"You're correct, Angel/ I enjoy your company/ You're very relaxed." Zero replied without much hesitation. Angel's smile dropped as her cheeks burnt again and her eyes widened in surprise.

"I… Uh… Th-thank you." She stammered as her cheeks reddened again and she forced herself to look into his helm. Zero shifted softly into a meditative position while he remained sitting on the bed.

"I think you should meditate for a bit, Angel. You seem quite stressed out." Zero spoke up after several moments, a sly smile forming on his lips as he ended his synthetic speech through the modulator of his helmet.

"Uh… Yeah… Maybe you're right." Angel agreed, shifting her legs out from under herself and into a crossed position like his. They faced each other as they sat in silence. Angel had closed her eyes and was doing everything as she usually did, only her mind, strangely enough, was still as clouded by uncertain emotions as it was when she closed them. Grimacing visibly, she sighed in a very forced manner that caused Zero to open his, keeping from projecting anything as he watched. I really need to relax. I need to clear my mind, need to stop thinking about everything and just CALM DOWN. She thought to herself, taking in another deep breath and closing her eyes.

"Troubled?" Zero asked simply, finally projecting a question mark and mildly shocking Angel as her eyes shot open yet again.

In a mousy voice, Angel replied as best she could. "N-no."

"Very well." Zero spoke up again, causing his projection to fade and silence to envelope the pair again.

Moments turned into insufferable minutes as Angel's mind clouded with more and more emotions that she couldn't explain or follow. She released a frustrated sigh before speaking in a mildly annoyed voice. "Okay, yes. I have a lot on my mind. The meditation is helping, but not much."

"Tea would do you good/ Something warm to sooth the mind/ Sounds like you need it." Zero said softly, shifting around to drape his legs over the edge of the bed before standing up. He then turned around and held a hand out to her. Angel carefully brought her hand to his with a very faint smile on her lips at the kind gesture. Then when her hand touched his, a single powerful thought bellowed through her mind like a Lev-Train. Wait… He offered to get me tea… So he knows what tea is… Which means he's drank tea before! Which means he's a living thing! Her internal voice shouted in excitement. In that moment, her curiosity hit her with enough force to practically wind her as she rose to her feet. However, her mind, despite its befuddlement at that moment, didn't believe that to be the proper time to bring it up. What the hell would I say? Hmm, ya know, Zero, this tea sure is good, by the way, are you human? Idiot! Angel berated herself as she stood up and stared into Zero's faceplate. Before she could blush at the closeness of Zero's 'face' to her own, he took a step back and pressed his hand to the wall, causing the hidden door to open and show her that they were only inches from where they usually hung out. Zero then led her through the small, underground room and to Moxxi's for a cup of imported tea.

With Axton and Gaige, Caustic Caverns

"So, you just found this place?" Axton asked, looking around at the small island that sat in the middle of the acid lake. There was only a large rock with a deranged man in early 1500's style European armor who laughed softly to himself and a large, practically ancient and petrified tree with a small camp fire in front of the insane, secluded man that would mysteriously deal negative damage to any who stood near it, healing their wounds slowly over time.

"Yep! I got bored and decided to just see if it was an area that we could get to without danger. So I hopped on DT's shoulder and had him hover me over here!" Gaige replied with a smile and an almost imperceptible reddening to her cheeks.

"Sounds like you've got more free time than my ex-wife after the divorce." Axton said flatly, a faint smile on his face.

"Don't I know it!" she exasperated, flinging her arms out like wings and fell backwards onto the ground under the petrified tree. Axton released a soft chuckle.

"What?" Gaige said, looking up towards her friend and object of desire with a sheepish look.

"Nothing. I was just noticing how young you really are." Axton replied with a teasing voice and a faint smirk.

"Hey, I'm not a kid! I had my 19th birthday last week! I even invited you!" she shouted, rocking herself up into a kneeling position and poking his chest accusingly, her cheeks puffed out in frustration. Axton laughed loudly, propping himself into a backwards lean with his hands behind him, supporting his weight.

"Yeah, well, you could be 87, you still act like a kid." He said in an even more teasing tone, causing Gaige to blush and cross her arms with her eyes clenched shut. Seeing this, Axton just laughed even more, much to Gaige's chagrin.

"No fair! I can act grown up!"

"Oh, really? Prove it." Axton fired back, catching the irate girl sitting next to him off guard.

"I will!" she replied, her blush intensifying out of anger and her heart starting to flutter at his smooth tone. "As soon as I think of something…" she said, looking away from him and poking her index fingers together, her embarrassment growing to new lengths.

Axton laughed loudly, closing his eyes. At that moment, Gaige had a very, very dark thought that would definitely show her companion how mature she was.

"I got it." She said in a stern voice, causing Axton to stop laughing, sobering almost instantly. "We'll go out on a date. We'll do mature stuff. Like going to a nice restaurant, watching the sky, just talking. If we make it all the way through it, it'll prove that I can be very mature. Sound fun?" she asked, her cheeks now burning with embarrassment and her eyes evading direct contact with his, but her voice remaining even and soft.

"Sure. But WHEN you get fed up with it, I get to call you Pipsqueak from then on. If on the highly unlikely chance that you make it all the way though this date without losing your cool, we might even start hanging out more often. Deal?" Axton replied in a smug tone with a smirk as he extended his hand to her.

"Deal!" she then took his hand in her mechanical one and ripped on his hand while she leaned back, pulling him unexpectedly toward her, their faces only inches apart as her eyes shifted to a look of playful desire and she began to speak again. "See you at 10," her voice was dripping with desire that he'd never expected from Gaige. She then pulled him even closer, her lips now millimeters from his ear as she finished talking. "Jarhead. I'll be waiting at Moxxi's. Don't leave me waiting…" Her words were so smooth, she sounded like she was at least 25 with the level of self-confidence and her words sent hot, sensual breaths to his earlobe, causing him to shiver. Following that, she released his hand, causing him to fall backwards, stunned with a mild blush on his cheeks while she stood up and digistructed Death Trap and hovered off, leaving him stunned and to his thoughts.

End Chapter 9: Veins of Fire – Part 1.

Alright. Hopefully you all enjoyed the character interactions in this chapter. I decided to make Gaige the type that dares themselves to do crazy things when they get ridiculously nervous. Sort of like a haze where their inhibitions just melt away. I thought it would suit her more than just getting flustered, like I think Angel would. I'm always willing to listen to your feedback about the way I play the characters and above all else, read and review! See you all in Chapter 10: Veins of Fire – Part 2!