Author's Note: Wooh! Milestone for hitting 25 chapters and reaching over 100k words. Gotta say, thanks for all your support and comments. Really mean a lot to me when writing this awesome fanfic. Now here's some response to some of your questions:
#1. Any chance of the Eridians coming in and assisting the Brands and coming up with their own line of weaponry?
Funny you'd ask about the Eridians. They are going to be an integral part of the story later on, although not in the way you'd expect. Also, at first I haven't planned to have any Eridian weaponry added to the story, but that seems like an interesting idea, so things might change.
#2. Is it weird that I have a crush on Mama Jaws?
Lolz! No, it is not weird at all. Be careful when she wants to give you a BJ though. I heard she's a biter. *wink wink nudge nudge.
Anyway, again thank you for all your support. I'd appreciate it if you favorite, follow, and/or comment on my story. As always, enjoy the reads, motherf*cker!
Chapter 25: Initiative Plan
It is relatively quiet in Sanctuary right now. Maybe because after that horrible ordeal, no one really has anything to say. Everyone feels scared and insecure as the dread for another attack coming their way and that makes Lilith feel even more worried. But that is just one of the many things she is worrying right now.
Lilith is currently in Dr. Zed's clinic right now, pacing back and forth restlessly as she waits for Brick to be awake and back on his feet again. Brick is physically the strongest among the group of the four original vault hunters. Yet, Lilith still can't help but feel worried about Brick's condition. From the moment Lilith encounters Lieutenant Sheldon and the Crimson Knights, she knows she has encountered an enemy unlike anything she and her group have faced before. This enemy could top the Crimson Lance and, dare to say, even top Handsome Jack in power and ruthlessness. Even though they got help from the corporate vault hunters, Lilith still isn't sure how much she can trust and rely on them just yet. As Lilith mentally sort out this situation, it seems that it is a lot more complicated than it appears to be.
As Lilith stares at the unconscious Brick lying on a hospital bed inside Dr. Zed's clinic, she couldn't help but let out a tired sigh and become even more impatient as the seconds tick away. Dr. Zed, meanwhile, is also inside the clinic and appearing to be sorting and cleaning medical equipment right next to Lilith.
"When is Brick going to wake up, Zed?" Lilith asked impatiently.
"You keep asking me the same question over and over again and you are going to get the same answer, Lilith. He'll wake up when he's recovered enough to do so." Dr. Zed answered as he continues to clean his medical equipment.
"I thought you would have a more specific answer than that." Lilith said annoyingly.
"Relax. Brick is a tough fellow. Also, even though his wound is bad, it isn't life-threatening. You just got to be patient. He might wake up sooner than you'd expect." Dr. Zed said as he wipes his bloody hands with a towel and gently patted Lilith on the shoulder.
"I hope you're right." Lilith said.
As soon as they finish the conversation, Brick began to open his eyes. As he tries to get back up, he felt a slight stinging pain in his abdomen, where his wound is. Despite of that, he is still able to get up as he is now currently sitting on the edge of his hospital bed.
"Man, that hurts like a b*tch. Too bad it's gonna take a lot more to bring me down." Brick said energetically as he clutches on his stomach, trying to act tough.
Lilith and Dr. Zed saw Brick waking up and are immediately filled with joy. As Lilith and Dr. Zed approaches Brick, Lilith slings an arm over Brick's shoulders to adjust him into a more comfortable sitting position on the hospital bed.
"Brick! You're finally awake." Lilith said with hints of joy in her tone.
"Well, of course. And I'm damn well gonna give that punk-ass Lieutenant a taste of my fists once I go after him." Brick said confidently.
"Easy there. You still need to take your time in recovering. Also, a lot has happened while you were out. I gotta bring you up to speed." Lilith said.
"What do you mean? Also, where's Mordecai?" Brick asked as he looked around the clinic.
"Heh, sit down tight. This is going to be a long story. Now, where should I start?" Lilith said as she ponders onto the story.
Lilith explained to Brick about her faking in giving up the vault key to the Crimson Knights, about teleporting the three pieces of the vault key all across Pandora, about the arrival of the corporate vault hunters and striking a deal with them, about how the fast-travel system is not working and that Mordecai has to accompany the corporate vault hunters into bringing the team back to Sanctuary on an airship. Brick listened intriguingly as she explained.
"What?! You're just gonna give away half of what's inside the vault just so you could team up with those greedy corporate assholes? Have you gone crazy, Lil?" Brick asked astonishingly.
"Listen, I know you might not like my plan. But these Crimson Knights seem capable of and willing to doing anything in order to get to the vault, and the corporate vault hunters are after the same objective. Rather than having enemies on both sides, it's better to cooperate with one of them in order to take the other one out. I'm not taking any chances when it comes to the safety of the citizens of Sanctuary." Lilith explained.
"So you're gonna take your chances in these corporate mercs?" Brick questioned.
"At the moment, I'm not sure either. Look, we'll see how it goes as we work with them. Who knows? They might not be so bad after all." Lilith said.
"Huh. Well, I might not like your plan, Lil, but I trust your instincts. However, I will have to meet these corporate vault hunters myself before I make any judgements." Brick said.
"I'm sure Mordecai and the others will be coming back with them anytime now." Lilith said as she crossed her arms.
Speaking of the devil, Mordecai just entered Dr. Zed's clinic and saw Lilith and Brick, seemingly happy that Brick has recovered.
"Brick! You got back up!" Mordecai said joyfully as he approaches Brick to give him an arm-wrestle hand shake.
"Hell yeah, I am! And ready to kick some major ass! By the way, I heard from Lilith about the corporate vault hunters." Brick said.
"You did, huh? I see." Mordecai replied.
"Mordecai, you came back. Does that mean-" Lilith said before being cut off.
"Yep. They are all back, now waiting at Moxxi's bar. Let's all go meet them." Mordecai said before stopping for a moment and approach Dr. Zed. "Oh, by the way, there's someone with broken bones and bruises all over his body. Got any health vials?"
"Gosh darn it! Can you guys go on for a second without getting yourselves hurt?! *Sigh* Yeah, I got 'em." Dr. Zed said before handing Mordecai a couple of health vials.
"Thanks." Mordecai thanked Dr. Zed before pocketing the health vials.
"What are those health vials for? Did someone get hurt on the way here?" Lilith questioned with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, you'll see when you get there." Mordecai said.
As Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick enter Moxxi's bar, there is a menacing atmosphere. On one side of the bar, you see the six vault hunters (Zer0, Axton, Gaige, Salvador, Maya, Krieg) sitting in a neat line and next to each other while facing the corporate vault hunters sitting on the other side. Axton, Gaige, Salvador, and Maya are sporting mean and suspicious looks as they stare at the corporate vault hunters (as for Zer0 and Krieg, I can't really tell, probably because they are wearing masks or something).
On the other side, you have the corporate vault hunters (Oleg, Kazuki, Monty, Eugene, K.C. Dynamo, Brandon, Mama Jaws, Selena) also sitting together and neatly in a line while staring back at the six vault hunters. Oleg is drinking out of his vodka bottle again. Kazuki is sitting elegantly on the chairs, with hands under her kimono sleeves. Monty is sitting casually on the chairs while chewing on a stalk of wheat. Eugene is calmly brushing his hair with a comb while wearing a smug smile on his face as he leans against the table. K.C. … well, he had seen better days, for he is currently sitting on the floor unconscious and has bruises all over his body. Fortunately, he had Tina wrapping her arms around him as she gently brushes his dreadlocks with her tiny hands, hoping to ease his pain. Brandon is sporting a nervous look on his face as he is twiddling with his fingers while sitting on one of the chairs in a slouched position. Mama Jaws is sitting on one of the tables with one foot on the table and another left dangling towards the floor, sort of in a rude and unmannered position. As she gently and repeatedly taps one of her shoulders with her buzzwrench, indicating her impatience, she is also licking her lips while showing her sharp teeth, indicating she is hungry for flesh. Selena is broodingly laying her back against the wall as she crossed her arms and sports an intimidating look towards the six vault hunters.
Meanwhile, Patrick, Xiao Lan, the cameraman, and Camtrap are sitting by the bar stools next to where Moxxi works, hoping to get a drink. Moxxi, however, seems to be preoccupied with arguing with her daughter Ellie about something. Scooter is with them trying to calm things down between the two.
"Excuse me, I'll have bourbon on the rocks." Patrick said sternly as he sits properly on the bar stool.
"And I'll have a frozen margarita, please." Xiao Lan said with an innocent smile on her face as she sits on the bar stool with her legs crossed.
"*Sigh* I'll just have a bottle of beer. The cheapest one you got." the cameraman said with a tired tone as he slouches on the bar counter, as if he's had a long day.
"Master, can I try some alcohol?" Camtrap said innocently.
"I'm sorry, my sweet and adorable Camtrap, but robots cannot drink." the cameraman said regretfully as he gently patted Camtrap on the head.
"Aww …" Camtrap said disappointingly.
"I'm sorry, but we're closed for today." Moxxi said as she temporarily breaks off from her argument with Ellie just to shoo away the potential customers.
"Aww, what a shame. Seriously, what does it take to get a decent drink around here?" Xiao Lan complained.
Meanwhile, Moxxi continues her argument with Ellie. Both Moxxi and Ellie seems to be at odds with each other while Scooter is in the middle of it, being in an uncomfortable position.
"For the last time, Ma, I'm only comin' here to visit you and Scooter to make sure y'all okay. Now that I've made sure you're safe n' sound, I'm going back to mah garage in the Dust. I'm not stayin' any longer than I have to in Sanctuary." Ellie argued.
"But, dear Ellie, it's dangerous out there in the brutal wasteland." Moxxi said, trying to be seductive in her tone of voice. "It's much safer here in the city where you won't get attacked by those strong-armed military men who you just encountered a while back."
"Oh sure! Instead of livin' out there in the wasteland possibly getting' attacked by soldiers, I can just live here possibly getting' attacked by airships rainin' cannon fire on us." Ellie said sarcastically.
"Ellie …" Moxxi pleaded.
"I hate to argue with ya, Ellie, but Ma's right." Scooter interjected.
"Scooter …" Ellie said annoyingly.
"Think 'bout it. Ya gonna get shot at wherever you go. At least in Sanctuary, ya got family close to ya. When the bullets fly, we could hug close to each other and hold on to each others' private parts. If I'm gonna die, I'd at least die happy." Scooter said casually.
Moxxi and Ellie looked at Scooter with a mild "WTF?!" face before looking at each other.
"Uhh, that not how I would have put it, but it is a sound argument." Moxxi said with a raised eyebrow.
"Really? I highly doubt you could put it any other way." Ellie said with a low-brow face, indicating Moxxi's signature innuendo talk seems to be somewhat genetically inherited, but not in a completely perfect way, if you know what I mean.
"Ellie …" Moxxi pleaded, this time with a seemingly more sincere look on her face. Ellie may be stubborn and independent, but even she would sometimes fall victim to Moxxi's persuasion.
"*Sigh* Fine … I guess I could … stay for a couple of days. But no more than that!" Ellie said uneasily as she rubs the back of her head.
"Oh Ellie!" Moxxi said delightfully as she hugs Ellie. "Thank you for reconsidering your mother's kind words. I'll prepare a room and some clothes for you." Moxxi then proceed to go to the backroom of the bar.
"She's preparin' clothes for me? Will they even fit?" Ellie questioned.
"Alright, Ellie! Ya gonna be staying in Sanctuary with us for a while." Scooter said joyfully as he slings an arm around Ellie's shoulders. "It'll be like ol' times. We gonna fix cars together, play poker together, bathe together, sleep together, read porn mags together, fix cars together … it's gonna be awesome!"
"Hehe, typical Scooter …" Ellie said with a small smile. "C'mon, let's go to your garage. Let see what you have cooked up for your Catch-A-Ride since the last time I came."
"Alright! Scooter and Ellie! CATCH-A-RIDE!" Scooter said excitedly as he pumps a fist in the air. Both Scooter and Ellie then proceed to walk out of the bar to head towards Scooter's garage.
Going back to the vault hunters, once Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick came, they all took notice. Tina, in particular, gently put the unconscious K.C. down against one of the chairs and practically charged at Brick with joy to give him a tight and affectionate hug.
"Brick! You're okay!" Tina said with excitement, almost letting out a joyful tear.
"Heh! Of course, I'm okay. Who do you think I am? I am the Slab King! The Berserker! I eat metal and crap bullets! This ain't nothing!" Brick said confidently as he patted Tina on the head before pounding his chest, signifying his toughness.
"Hell yeah, that's my bro! Pound it, dawg!" Tina said as she exchange an awesome fist bump with Brick. Afterwards, Tina immediately focuses her attention to Mordecai. "So, did you get it?"
"Yeah, I got it." Mordecai said as he took out a couple of health vials.
"Ooh! Gimme! Gimme! K.C. needs it bad!" Tina said excitedly, trying to take the health vials from Mordecai's hands.
"Relax. Let me handle it. You're not as experienced with this stuff as I am. I don't want you to stab him in the wrong places." Mordecai said as he is trying to prevent Tina from getting the health vials off his hands. Then, Mordecai approaches the unconscious K.C. and methodically applied the health vials into K.C.'s body. Gradually, K.C.'s bruises and bones began to heal and he is slowly regaining consciousness. Once K.C. finally manages to stand, he began to make his extreme introductory statement.
"I … AM … AWAKE! For the universe did not begin with a whimper but with a BANG, I shall awake with freshness and awesomeness of a gazillion bajillion foot-pounds of EXPLOSIVE ENERGY!" K.C. said loudly as he starts to flex his various muscles in various positions in an exaggerated kind of way. "Extremeness! Radicalness! Aggressiveness! Outrageousness! And Explosiveness! … the essence of a true MAN!"
Suddenly, the tension from before was washed away by the wackiness displayed by the hyperactive and explosive teenager. Most of the people in the bar just look at K.C. with a low-brow stare, thinking he is nothing but an idiot with way too many energy drinks. Some people, however, seem impressed.
"Hmm, I do not know who he is, but I like him already." Brick said intriguingly, indicating he may have a liking towards K.C.
"Yeah, he kinda reminds you of someone else we know, don't you think? Someone who talks loud all the time, muscular, likes showing off, also from Torgue." Lilith said as if she is implying something.
"By the way, who wants to listen to me do a wickedly AWESOME air guitar solo?!" K.C. said loudly before proceed to do a wickedly awesome air guitar solo. "MEOWEWEWEWEWOWOWOEWWWW!"
"Yeah! I'm gonna follow up with my own Tiny Tina's specialty beat-boxing!" Tina said excitedly before dishing out her own specialty beat-boxing and throwing gang signs like a badass rapper. "Boom chic chic Boom chic chic …"
"Wow, he's a mirror image of that guy …" Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick thought as they all stare at K.C with low-brow faces and sweat drops.
"Ahh! I almost forgot!" K.C. said loudly as he stops his air guitar solo to turn around to face Selena and pointing an incriminating finger at her. "Hey, you! Our match hasn't been decided yet! This time, I'm sure as HELL not gonna hold back!" K.C. seems to be more energetic than before as he rotates one of his arms as a warmup. Selena seems unimpressed.
"Heh, kid. You sure don't know when to quit, do you?" Eugene said smugly as he continues to brush his hair.
"Of course not! Roland is my friend! And only REAL MEN should defend the honor and pride of their own friends!" K.C. said loudly with a clenched fist of determination.
"Wait! You know Roland?!" Both Lilith and Brick said shockingly as they intriguingly stare at K.C.
"Yeah, I basically got the same reaction as you guys did when I heard about it. Apparently, this kid is really close to Tina and Roland a couple years back. If you want to get to the specifics, you had to ask him for the full story yourself." Mordecai explained.
"Well, I'll have to listen to what he has to say first." Lilith said suspiciously.
"Wait wait wait, hold on just a sec." Gaige said, interrupting Lilith. "Before we go into everyone's backstory, shouldn't you be giving us some sort of explanation?"
"Yeah, Lil. Working with corporations? … That is not your style." Maya added.
"If you want to change your mind. Make it quick." Salvador said to Lilith and he stares at Mama Jaws with a hint of anger. "My trigger fingers are itching." Mama Jaws could only reply with a smug grin and a lick of the lips as a taunt.
"Please ease your anger/ Fighting in Sanctuary/ I don't recommend." Zer0 said with a cool tone of voice.
Lilith looks at all the vault hunters, both the original and the corporate kind, filled with conflicting tension and thought to herself that this collaboration might not be as easy as it looks. As she let out a tired sigh, she slowly began explaining to everyone at the bar everything that has happened. The invasion of the Crimson Knights. The last-minute rescue done by the corporate vault hunters. The splitting and scattering of the vault key. The interference with the fast-travel system. And everything in between. Hopefully, after all this, the vault hunters will at least try to understand her intentions.
"That's it?!" Axton said surprisingly. "You just so happen to lose the vault key and these guys just so happen to rescue you from those other corporate military dudes from Atlas. Sounds kind of convenient if you'd ask me." Axton then made a narrow-eyed stare at his 'frenemy', Eugene.
"Heh. Axton, always the second-guesser." Eugene said smugly as he continues to casually comb his hair.
"I gotta go with lousy turret commando here." Gaige said with a raised eye-brow, which is replied with Axton stare at Gaige with a hint of being pissed off. "You sure these guys didn't just do another bait-and-switch onto us? Tricking us into thinking they are the good guys, and then when we finally find the vault key 'BAM!' they swipe the vault key from us and try to drive Sanctuary to the ground?"
"I assure you, Gaige-san, that we would do no such thing. Such methods are not in my way of honor, neither is it the way of the Maliwan corporation." Kazuki said elegantly.
"While I question whether the other corporations have her brand of honor, I basically concur with what she said. I can assure you that we did not pull trickery of any sort." Monty said with a friendly smile.
"Well, it wouldn't make sense for them to trick us like that anyway." Maya said as she rubbed her chin, indicating deep thought.
"Maya! Since when are you on their side?" Gaige said shockingly as she turn to stare wide-eyed at Maya.
"Think about it. If they really wanted to know the location of the vault key, they would have captured everyone in Sanctuary and interrogate us until we give them the information." Maya explained. "Having to pull a stunt like that just to make us trust them and then betray us seems too complicated and inefficient. Also, the fact that they didn't capture us despite of interference of the corporate vault hunters means that they need their manpower to be devoted to something else. Something like finding the vault key. Which means that the assumption that they already have a method of locating the vault key is most likely true."
"Kinda makes you wonder, though." Axton added. "Couldn't they just drive us to the ground AND find the vault key? Clearly, for a corporation as big as Atlas, they should have enough manpower to do both. Also, it is safer that way, knowing that we will eventually track down the vault key ourselves and will run into them one way or another."
"You mean that they didn't go running with tails between their legs because they are scared of the ALMIGHTY K.C. DYNAMO?!" K.C said loudly as he flexes his biceps.
"Ha! Maybe they are worried about being near you because having a small dick and a large ego is contagious." Mama Jaws snickered.
"GRRRR! What did you say about my ****?!" K.C. snapped as he turned around to stare angrily at Mama Jaws.
"It's most likely corporate politics." Oleg added to the conversation as he finished drinking from his vodka bottle. "To put it more specifically, Atlas fears the corporate board. Sure, Atlas may be a big corporation, but it is going against seven other big corporations in this vault hunt."
"Hey! Eight corporations if you count Bandit co.!" Mama Jaws pointed out.
"Pfft, Bandit has its own corporation?" Salvador mocked at the idea.
"You shut up, you stinkin' pile of midget turd!" Mama Jaws snapped, which caused the two to exchange angry stares.
"*Sigh*, as I was saying, maybe because the Crimson Knights see that the corporate vault hunters interfering with their mission, they must have thought the corporate board, a group of people representing all these powerful corporations, were involved." Oleg deducted. "Seeing as how they are potentially up against powerful enemies, they decided to make a retreat instead."
"Well, clearly, they aren't scared enough to stay away from Pandora completely." Brandon said with a nervous tone. "Atlas already knows that they would be up against the corporate board before they even came here. The corporate board said it themselves. The CEO of Atlas THREATENED the corporate board to not hunt vaults on Pandora. Atlas isn't scared of the corporate board. The corporate board is scared of Atlas! Oh what are we going to do …?"
"Pfft, you sure this isn't just some kind of bluff that Atlas trying to pull here?" Gaige suspected, before changing to a mocking tone of voice. "Oh look, I'm Atlas. I have a big and powerful army and I'm going to take over your city. What was that? You teleported the vault key? Oops, turns out my army isn't as big and powerful as I said and that I am full of sh*t. Oh well, guess it's time for my retreat. I would really like to stay here and fight, but I'm afraid I might not have enough soldiers to hunt down the vault key if I stay." Gaige then return to her regular tone of voice. "This has got to be a bluff. If Atlas is really that powerful, they wouldn't need to split us up with diversions. They try to trick us into thinking they are all that when they are not just so they'll make us scared of going after the vault."
"Don't let your guard down/ Foe use brain instead of brawn/ Might be deadlier." Zer0 said.
"You don't honestly think Atlas is an actual threat, do you, Zer0?" Gaige said with a smirk as she turns around to look at Zer0.
"Retreating does not always represent a sign of weakness." Selena interjected. "Sometimes it could be a way of allowing the enemy to observe us from a safe distance, to see what move we are going to make and adjust their strategy accordingly. Based on how they engage your group, it is most likely the latter."
"What makes you so sure?" Lilith asked.
"Think about it. The Crimson Knights are able to create a disturbance at very precise and specific locations throughout Pandora because they know these locations have some connection to Sanctuary and to the Crimson Raiders." Selena explained. "Also, using special weapons and devices that seem to be tailor-made to take down the group of vault hunters left in Sanctuary, they are able to overpower you without breaking a sweat. This indicates that they have done extensive research of each and every one of the vault hunters in the Crimson Raiders."
"But how would they know which one of us left Sanctuary and which ones stayed?" Mordecai asked.
"My guess is, it didn't matter. They might have the gear to take out any of the vault hunters no matter who stayed to protect Sanctuary." Selena said coldly. "We might be facing an enemy more dangerous than we initially feared."
This statement has made most of the vault hunters in the room a little bit nervous. An enemy more dangerous than they initially feared. The six vault hunters and the Crimson Raiders have took down Handsome Jack and even the Warrior itself. Could this new threat be more powerful than that? They can only wonder. Suddenly, K.C. caught everyone's attention by climbing up on one of the tables and standing straight and proud as he was about to say something.
"F*CK … THAT … SH*T!" K.C. said loudly. "I don't give a crap how powerful they are or how smart they are or how big their cocks are! They messed with Sanctuary! They killed innocents! THEY DARE TRY TO HURT MY PRECIOUS TINA! I am going to make sure they got a mortar shot right up the ass! I SWEAR BY IT, AS A TRUE MAN! TO … THE … EXTREME!"
Despite of mentioning of comparing the size of genitals, K.C.'s speech was relatively inspirational. Most of the vault hunters present now went from being slightly nervous to being slightly motivated, as well as being impressed by K.C.'s audacity.
"HELL YEAH! K.C., you the man! THE BOSS!" Tina cheered next to K.C. as she jumps in excitement. "These motherhumpas thinks they're hot sh*t, they think WRONG! We're gonna BURN and EAT ALL THEIR BABIES!"
"Heh, kid, I like your attitude. Those Atlas bastards are gonna get a beating!" Brick said excitedly as he cracks his knuckles.
"Don't forget they gonna be eating lead out of my guns! Those pendejos won't know what hit them!" Salvador said as he proudly pounds his chest.
"Alright! Bring it on! Deathtrap and I will rip them to shreds!" Gaige said as she pumps a fist into the air.
"Can't wait to chew on their meat and suck on their bones …" Mama Jaws said with an anticipated grin as she licks her lips.
"Kid, you sure how to move a crowd." Lilith said as she was impressed by K.C. "Alright, here's the plan. Tannis is working on locating the three pieces of the vault key right now, so only until she finishes would we be able to go after the vault key. Meanwhile, the fast-travel system is being tampered with, so some of us need to take care of that." Lilith then turns to look at Selena. "You said you know the source of the disturbance?"
"Yes." Selena said as she steps into the middle of the group and display a miniature hologram right out her left gauntlet. The hologram seems to be some sort of map. "As I ran a scan of Pandora through the fast-travel secondary mapping network, it seems that there is only one of the facilities mentioned interfering with the fast travel system that is on this planet right now." As Selena speaks, the hologram changes accordingly. "In fact, I've even manage to locate its exact position. It is actually not that far from here. If we were to take our airship to get there, we should be there in about half a day. If everything goes smoothly, we could go in, destroy the 'Breakdown' machine, get out, and return to Sanctuary in about a full day."
"If everything goes smoothly, huh? You sure make it sound easy. This is Atlas we're talking about. There most likely going to be soldiers, turrets, and what not guarding that place." Eugene said as he continues to comb his hair. "That is not counting the possibility of Atlas tracking us down with an air fleet and shooting us down before we even get there."
"I never said it was going to be easy." Selena remarked. "Fine then. We'll overestimate a little bit. A day and a half and we'll have the fast-travel system back online." Selena then turns off the hologram, clearly finished explaining what needs to be known.
"With the fast-travel system working, we would be able to travel across Pandora and look for the vault key much more easily." Mordecai said. "However, not everyone can go. Somebody's got to stay and protect Sanctuary in case the Crimson Knights come back again."
"What about people in Overlook? If Atlas sees them as to having some connection with us, wouldn't they try to attack it again?" Brick pointed out.
"Not likely. The purpose of attacking Overlook is to attract the vault hunters into going to help, therefore splitting us up." Lilith replied. "They know we lost the fast-travel system and couldn't help Overlook, even if we wanted to, so they shouldn't even bother. If they are still going to attack Overlook to manipulate us psychologically … well, that's a different story. But hopefully, it won't come to that."
"*Sigh* I hope you're right, Lil." Brick said with a hint of being worried.
"So, we split into two groups." Maya clarified. "One will go destroy the interference machine and restore the fast-travel system. The other will stay and protect Sanctuary … who's going where?"
Everyone took a moment to think about. The path to the fast-travel interference machine could be heavily defended, making it a fairly dangerous choice. However, there is also a great possibility of the Crimson Knights coming back to attack Sanctuary and hoping to destroy it, which means those who wish to protect it doesn't fare any better in terms of safety. This might be a fairly tough decision, but it is ultimately made by the leader.
"Well, this should be easy enough. The corporate vault hunters will restore the fast-travel system and my guys will stay here and guard Sanctuary." Lilith said.
Everyone was slightly shocked at Lilith's suggestion, but judging from the looks on their faces, some of them agree with the choice while some of them do not.
"Heh, may I make a guess that this setup is a little bit biased?" Eugene said smugly.
"Deal with it. You guys just came here so I don't expect you to know the ins and outs of Sanctuary, nor do you have a personal stake in it if Sanctuary gets destroyed." Lilith said as she put her hands on her hips to demonstrate authority. "Also, this Hyperion rep here is definitely going to go take care of the fast-travel interference machine, since she seems to know a lot about it. I assume that if you corporate vault hunters could work well enough together to take down one of Crimson Knight's airships, you'll work well enough together to infiltrate the facility and take down the machine as well hold your own against whatever Atlas throws at you over there."
"Heh, now that sounds like a more strategic train of thought. However, don't assume that just because we work well in that one mission that we'll work well on the long run." Eugene said smugly. "We are, after all, corporate vault hunters. We are meant to be participants in a competition. Try to take down other competitors and reach for the top is still our primary goal."
"Well, too bad. You all agreed to do whatever I say when you made the deal. So if I tell you to go pick a fight against Atlas. You are going to do it." Lilith said with a mean and determined look in her face.
Eugene looks at Lilith with a smirk. That indicates that he is moderately impressed with how Lilith establishes authority and tells him what to do. Eugene usually doesn't like being told what to do, but he does give props to people who challenge him. Lilith isn't simply ordering Eugene. She is challenging him.
"Well now, let's not pick a fight over who goes where." Monty said with a friendly smile as he slings an arm around Eugene's shoulder. "I'm sure it doesn't matter either way as long as we reach for the same goal. I personally don't mind which."
"Heh, aren't you the peacekeeper of the group. Fine, then. We'll do it your way." Eugene said smugly.
"I see no problem with it either." Kazuki added elegantly. "I'm sure everyone else would agree." Kazuki turn around to see the rest of the group to see that they all nodded in agreement.
"Well, we have no problems with the plan, right guys?" Axton said as he turns to see his group nodding as well.
"Alright. It's settled then. The corporate vault hunters take care of restoring the fast-travel system while the Crimson Raiders stay here to protect Sanctuary." Lilith said motivationally. "Remember, these guys from Atlas mean serious business. This is a war we are going to be fighting, so I need everyone to be in their best shape to be ready to kick some ass. Everybody understand?!"
"Yeah!" everyone said simultaneously with excitement.
Lilith sees how enthusiastic the entire group is and can't help but reply it with a smirk, confident that they are going to do just fine. Suddenly, Selena proceed to walk out of Moxxi's bar before she is halted by someone.
"Where are you going?" Lilith asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We are going to the facility and restore the fast-travel system." Selena said coldly.
"Ehhh? We're going there now?" Mama Jaws complained.
"Of course. Time is of the essence. The sooner we restore the fast-travel system, the sooner we could find the vault key." Selena said coldly.
Suddenly, Xiao Lan slowly walks towards Selena and place a hand gently on Selena's shoulder as she looks at her with an innocent smile. Selena could only reply with a raised eyebrow and a sweat drop.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Selena said uncomfortably.
"Come on, do we really need to go that quickly?" Xiao Lan said cheerfully as she grasp on both of Selena's hands with her own, which only made Selena more uncomfortable as she blushes a little. "I mean, the sun is already down, and we are all tired. Why don't we stay over for the night and go to the facility tomorrow? Tonight, we could all hang out and mingle and get to know each other better." Xiao Lan then cheerfully turns around to talk to the others. "Wouldn't you all like that, everyone?"
"I agree with the old evil hag right there!" K.C said loudly, which prompt Xiao Lan to look angrily at K.C. thinking 'WHO ARE YOU CALLING "OLD HAG"?!' "Besides, I need to hang out with Tina some more and to tell you guys our EXTREMELY AWESOME backstory!" K.C. and Tina then share a high-five.
"Come to think of it, don't Axton and Eugene also have a history together?" Gaige said before displaying a sly look. "I would like to know more about that."
"Gaige, I am not telling you sh*t!" Axton said grumpily.
"Heh, no problem. I'll fill in all the details." Eugene said smugly as he continues to comb his hair.
"Eugene!" Axton snapped at Eugene with a warning glare.
"By the way, don't the princess and the assassin also have a story as well? Not to mention the bird hunter and the cowboy, as well as the mother of bandits and the gunzerker." Eugene said as he pointed to each of the pairs. "Man, we've got a lot of story-telling to do. This is gonna be a long night."
"I wouldn't mind telling them about our past if you wouldn't mind, Zer0-sensei." Kazuki said politely.
"Let them know our past/ Might strengthen camaraderie/ I agree to this." Zer0 said.
"Heh, looks like we have a lot to talk about." Mordecai said as he rubs the back of is head.
"No doubt. Ahh, the memories really takes us back, don't it?" Monty added with a friendly smile.
"Heh, I wouldn't mind telling them 'bout our story. Unless someone doesn't want to let the word out." Mama Jaws as she stare slyly at Salvador.
"What?! Puta, I'm not afraid of you! Bring it on!" Salvador said angrily as he pointed an incriminating finger at Mama Jaws.
"See, everyone's excited to stay here for the night. So, how about it?" Xiao Lan said, displaying cutesy eyes as she stares at Selena. Selena initially feels irritated, but eventually submits to her suggestion.
"*Sigh*, fine. We'll stay for the night. But we are taking off first thing in the morning." Selena said coldly.
"Yay!" Xiao Lan said cheerfully as she joyfully skips back to her seat at the bar stool while Selena leans back to the walk broodingly.
"Alright!" K.C. said loudly as he stands on one of the tables with pride as everyone finds a seat to sit comfortably so they could listen to the tale. "Listen up, people, for this is going to be a tale of epic proportions, about me traveling across wastelands of Pandora, about the rise of Tina as the #1 demolitionist expert on this planet, and about all the sh*t that is about to be EXTREMELY F*CKED UP! TO … THE … EXTR-"
"By the way, is anyone hungry?" Monty said kindly, which interrupted K.C. introduction.
"GRRR! You just interrupted my flow, man!" K.C. said loudly.
"Ehehehe, sorry." Monty said with slight embarrassment.
"Hmm, come to think of it, I haven't eaten anything since this afternoon." Gaige said as she patted on her stomach, which seems to be growling a little bit.
"Yeah. Also, we could use something to drink. Sure hope Moxxi has something for us." Axton said while scratching his head.
"Well, good luck trying." Xiao Lan said cheerfully with a hint of being pissed off. "She had the nerve to close the bar tonight, just when we are coming to get something to drink."
"Hang on, maybe I could convince her to give us something." Lilith said as she walks towards behind the bar to find Moxxi.
"Meanwhile, I'll go get some leftovers and snacks from my personal pantry in the Blue Moby." Monty said kindly as he proceeds to get up.
"Hmm, I'm a little suspicious of something being cooked by this guy." Gaige said suspiciously.
"Oh, believe me. You should definitely try his stuff. It's taste so good that it is to die for. Best grub I've eaten in my skaglickin' life on Pandora." Mama Jaws said while slightly drooling from her mouth.
"REGARDLESS OF POISONS, I SHALL SWALLOW IT LIKE A HORSE!" Krieg said out loud.
"Well, if Krieg wants to try it, I'll try it too." Maya added.
"Ok then. Since I'll be carrying a lot of stuff from off the airship, I'm gonna need some help. Any volunteers?" Monty said.
"Hey, cameraman. Go with the cowboy to get the food." Patrick said sternly.
"Why me?!" the cameraman said whiningly.
"Just do it. It's not like you're doing anything useful anyway." Patrick said sternly.
"But, but … oh, screw you." the cameraman said with disgruntlement as he follows Monty to get the food.
"Ok, fellas. Wait for us to get the food. We'll be back in a jiffy." Monty said as he waved the crew a momentary goodbye.