Lilith and the others were fighting off the army of Hyperion troops while Murphy and Erick dealt with the newly rebuilt Bunker. Across the edge of the city, Crimson Raider guards were protecting an orphanage from War Loader assaults and giving the people inside the chance to escape. Unfortunately, the troops were cut down by a Badass Loader using its heavy cannons. The machine approached the entrance and discovered a group of kids inside the building.

"Bandit scum detected. Executing order 66" the Loader prepared itself to murder the children as it charged its cannons again. Before it could carry out its main directive, the machine and its comrades were mowed down by a tidal wave of assault rifle rounds coming from their right. The machines fell flat on their faces and Salvador appeared near the entrance, running toward the Badass Loader with his two rifles firing. He emptied both rifle clips and turned the machine into scrap metal. Salvador turned toward the entrance to see if everyone was alright.

"Estas bien, chicos?" asked the Gunzerker. The kids screamed and pointed at Salvador "Que paso?"

"A short hairy monster has come to eat us!" yelled the kids as they quivered in fear. Salvador didn't take kindly to the insults of his appearance and diminutive stature but he remained composed due to the situation surrounding Sanctuary. Maya ran toward Salvador to see if she could assist him.

"Everything okay here?" Maya asked. She noticed the kids screaming in terror "Why are they screaming? Did something happen?"

"Ellos piensan que soy un monstro" Salvador explained to Maya and the Siren laughed a bit.

"It's okay kids. He's one of the good guys" Maya tried to calm the kids down but they still didn't trust her.

"He wants to gobble us up for breakfast. We're not going near him" said one of the older children.

"He's here to help you, not eat you" Maya kneeled over to meet the kids at eye level "I know he's pretty ugly and very scary looking but he won't hurt you" she admitted.

"Hey! I take offence to that" Salvador growled at Maya for making fun of his looks. Maya reached out toward the kids as a sign of good faith and to follow her safely through all the chaos.

"I know your all frightened but it's too dangerous for you to stay here. Stick close to me and I promise we'll make it out of this mess alive" Maya assured. They were hesitant at first but eventually the kids warmed up to her and listened. One of the younger children grabbed Maya's hand tightly and both began walking outside with the other kids following suit. As they made their way outside the orphanage, a giant Constructor and a large group of War Loaders fell from the Pegasus and landed in front of Maya and Salvador.

"This got bad" Salvador yelped as the Constructor pulled out lasers and missiles from its interior, directing them toward the Vault Hunters and the children.

"Stay behind me!" Maya ordered the kids and Salvador to get back. She outstretched her arm in an attempt to phase-lock the machines. Unfortunately, the Bunker was still active and draining the Sirens of their energy, making it impossible for her to use her powers "Damn it! I'm still too weak!" she exclaimed in frustration. The Loaders and the Constructor prepared to open fire on the outnumbered Vault Hunters until the sound of a gruff voice garnered their attention.

"Hey you buckets of bolts! Pick on someone your own size!" Axton shouted, tossing his two Sabre Turrets on the ground. The guns appeared and unleashed a hail of bullets and rockets into the crowd of machines, tearing them apart piece by piece.

"Don't hog all the action, let DT and I get a couple of shots in" Gaige joined in and fired her Vladof pistol at the Loaders while DT ripped apart the Constructor with thermal sonic lasers and Digistruct claws. Salvador took out the stragglers while Maya watched over the children. After the area was cleared of all hostiles, Axton and Gaige marched toward Maya and Salvador

"Are you out of your goddamned mind? What the hell were you trying to pull, Maya? You know you can't use your powers" Axton scolded Maya for her recklessness.

"I had to save these kids, Axton. What was I supposed to do, just sit back and let them get killed?" Maya glared at the Commando.

"Stop being such a hard ass, Axton. She can handle herself and those kids needed her help. I would have done the same to in her shoes" Gaige backed Maya in her decision.

"Yeah but she doesn't have a giant robot protecting her from harm" Axton pointed out

"Give her a break, amigo. She meant well" Salvador defended Maya as well, leaving Axton as the odd one out.

"Thank you guys" Maya appreciated their thoughts in the matter "If you have a problem with me helping these people, Axton, then just spill it. Otherwise, stay out of my way and let me do my job. I'm not just gonna stand here and allow Hyperion to take any more lives. You understand?"

"Look, I'm not saying you can't help, Maya. I'm saying you need to be more careful" Axton pleaded "Next time, Sal, Gaige, and I might not be there to rescue you. Try to play it smart, use cover, keep your distance, and stick close to us. You do that, we'll make it out of this in one piece, alright?"

"Okay, I'll do things your way" Maya sighed "I never knew you cared so much" she teased.

"Don't get any ideas. I still think you're an annoying nag with an attitude problem" Axton scoffed at her inclination that he had a thing for her.

"But that's what you love best about me, you immature hot head" Maya insulted playfully.

"Dios mio, this mushy crap is killing me" Salvador gagged and the kids joined in "Quit flirting and let's blow shit up."

"Shut up!" both yelled simultaneously at Salvador. Both walked away and turned their backs on Salvador.

"How rude" Salvador grumbled

"If they weren't at one another throats all the time, they would've made a happy couple" Gaige giggled

"Come on niƱos, let's find you somewhere safe to hide until this mess blows over" Salvador asked the orphans politely. The kids followed the Vault Hunters to locate a safe area.

Meanwhile on the other side of Sanctuary, Lilith and Mordecai were fighting off Hyperion troopers while directing citizens inside the ship. The city was built as a mining ship to harvest minerals from the Caustic Caverns during Dahl's occupation of Pandora. The inside of the ship was now used as a fortified safe house for Sanctuary's citizens if they were ever attacked by an outside presence, it was the last resort if the people were unable to escape the city safely.

"The troops are attacking, get inside the safe house!" Lilith hollered over the sound of her weapon's fire.

"We ain't got all day folks, hurry up already!" Mordecai urged as he fired his pistol into the domes of a couple of approaching enemy henchman. Junior flew around the area and killed the soldiers using his talons and his beak. He dive bombed into a crowd of Hyperion troops and killed them all in a matter of minutes. After he was finished, he perched himself on Mordecai's shoulders to rest a minute.

"Lil, how you feeling?" Mordecai turned toward the weakened Siren and noticed she was growing weaker by the second. She looked paler than normal and she was breathing heavily.

"Powerless" she admitted as she took another deep breath "I'm not a fan of this in the trenches type of warfare, Mordecai. If I could, I would just run up and burn these bastards with a snap of my fingers."

"We just have to tough this out a bit longer until Ari and A.N.N calls for Brick and the Slabs" Mordecai said as he directed the crowd into the tunnels.

"Or until Jason, Erick and Zero can take down the Bunker" Lilith said with a hint of concern.

"Murphy's fine Lil, don't worry about him" Mordecai assured and she smiled slightly.

"I know, it's just that I feel so useless. I just wish I could do more to help in the fight them instead of directing traffic like a cop" Lilith said meekly.

"Now you know how we feel" Mordecai joked "I'll admit, it's kinda hard seeing you like this but you're doing one hell of a job saving these folks, Lil. Powers or no powers, you can still kick these Hyperion shit bags around the planet like you've always done."

"Thanks for the pep talk, coach" she appreciated his compliment and felt slightly better about herself. Ari's voice came through the Echo to let Lilith know of her progress.

"Lilith, I have some good news for you" Ari said happily "We've just made contact with Brick in the Nexus. The connection's still a bit fuzzy but you should be able to communicate with him from here."

"He wants to speak with you right away. We'll maintain the frequency for as long as possible" A.N.N answered through the Echo.

"Good, put him through" Lilith ordered.

"Lilith, Mordecai, still alive and kicking?" Brick's voice came through.

"We're still alive, buddy" Mordecai spoke.

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear your voice again" Lilith said with relief.

"What the hell is going on out there? Something's been shutting me out of the Echonet every time I tried calling ya?" Brick's voice crackled with static.

"It's Johnson! He's here, Brick! Son of a bitch broke through our defenses and is attacking Sanctuary. We've suffered heavy casualties and we can't hold out much longer" Lilith informed the Berserker on the situation "How long until the Slabs arrive in Sanctuary."

"My boys will be there in three hours, just stay alive until we get there" Brick said quickly, worried he would get cut off at any second.

"We won't last one hour, man! We need you here now!" Mordecai yelled but he heard nothing but static "Brick, can you still hear us? Damn it, we've been cut off again."

"Sorry, the signal's gone" Ari apologized.

"I'll try to get him back on the horn. I pray he makes it in time to save us" A.N.N hoped.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but Brick's our only shot at surviving this" Mordecai acknowledged his giant friend and his bandit army was the one chance they had in fending off this assault. The Bunker fired into a nearby plaza, engulfing the region with rocket fire and laser cannons. Lilith looked on from a distance, helplessly watching as she saw good men and women murdered in an act of senseless violence. Her experiences on Pandora may have hardened her but she still could never fully cope with the loss of so many lives.

"This isn't fair, Mordecai. These are innocent people just trying to make a life for themselves here not vicious savages like Hyperion believes them to be. They don't deserve this" Lilith said guiltily, feeling partially responsible for their deaths "It's times like this when I realize how sickening war can be."

"War's when both sides are fighting each other for whatever stupid reason, not when soldiers callously murder unarmed women and children for kicks. This isn't a war, this is mass genocide" Mordecai grinded his teeth in anger as he observed the horrific acts going on around Sanctuary. Mordecai felt a pang of sorrow and rage for every life taken by Hyperion "We'll make that bastard pay for what he's done. I swear it" Mordecai gripped his pistol as tight as he could as he thought of how he would make Johnson suffer for his actions today.

"Jason, please be careful" Lilith prayed for his safe return and his success against the Bunker. Near the center of town, Zero was trying to find a safe spot to snipe the Bunker while Murphy and Erick were keeping it occupied. Erick was firing hot plasma and electricity at the Bunker and the surrounding troops. Murphy stood by his side, firing every ounce of fire power he had at the metal menace but the Bunker deflected it with ease. Johnson was heard laughing through the Echo.

"This is perfect! I'm gonna kill you Crimson retards and become god of the universe all in one day. I should have brought my camera for the occasion, the footage would've made a good record for the history books to remember how my reign began" Johnson laughed madly.

"My god man, does he ever shut up?" Erick said with annoyance as he fried approaching troops with his powers.

"He never does. He just rants on and on like it was going out of style" Murphy quipped, trying to make light of a dangerous predicament. The Bunker aimed his weapons at Murphy and Erick.

"Charging laser cannons" said the machine in a monotone voice. He fired his laser at Murphy and Erick, the Enforcer flew out of the lasers' path but Erick was too slow to avoid it. The shockwave from the blast sent him hurling toward a wall. His body slammed into the structure and he bounced off, falling on the ground like a ragdoll.

"Ace!" Murphy flew over to Erick's position and killed off the troops surrounding him with his Tri-Grenade Launcher. Blood and shrapnel blanketed the region as an explosion sent dozens flying and tore them to shreds. The Bunker teleported more Loaders toward Erick's position by digistructing them with its glowing red eye. Murphy noticed the machines and ran toward Erick's position, protecting him with his Riot Shield. The Loaders and the Bunker fired their weapons but Murphy was able to protect himself and Erick from the incoming fire.

"Thanks for the save, Murph" Erick picked himself up and fired electric bolts at the incoming Loader forces.

"Zero, are you in position? We need you to take the shot now! If you don't, we're gonna bite the dust" Murphy explained.

"Give me a minute/ I have the Bunker in sight/ Keep our guests busy" Zero answered through the Echo on a nearby rooftop, ready to snipe the Bunker with Erick's rifle, aiming it carefully near the shield generator inside the machine. He used the roof as a vantage point, giving himself tactical superiority over his foes on the battlefield. Zero's visor allowed him to see what others could not as it was built with technologies which gave him the details of his targets' anatomy and of their weaknesses. As he prepared to squeeze the trigger, a small pack of Hyperion soldiers located his position and flew onto the roof as fire emitted from the soles of their boots. "Jet packs, why am I not surprised?" Zero said sarcastically as they surrounded his position.

"Die criminal!" the soldiers opened fire but Zero disappeared in a matter of moments "Where did he go?" the soldier asked, curiously scratching his helmet. Zero reappeared and decapitated him with his sword, a geyser of blood erupted from his neck and covered Zero's sneaking suit.

"I'll give you one chance/Leave now or you will all die/ That's a guarantee" Zero warned as he pointed his sword toward the crowd. The crowd did not heed his warning and charged in head first. Zero charged into the crowd and sliced them apart with his blade. He cut off the arm of the soldier on his left and stabbed another on his right. Zero hacked and slashed away as Murphy and Erick continued to deal with the Loaders and the Bunker, still focused on killing the two. Eventually, the Riot Shield gave out and bullets came through.

"Argh!" Erick screamed as a bullet entered his right side. He pressed his hand on the wound to slow the bleeding. Another bullet grazed the side of Murphy's helmet and bounced off.

"Too close for comfort" Murphy dodged another bullet and fired his thermal lasers at the Loaders while Erick caught his breath. The armor's markings glowed a shade of purple and energy surged through both Erick and Murphy. Erick felt his powers reaching maximum while Murphy's Riot Shield restored itself, protecting them once more.

"What was that?" Erick's body was enveloped in lightning and the electricity surged through his eyes.

"Suit must be reacting to your presence Ace. It's increasing our capabilities like Tannis said" Murphy recalled how his suit's powers grew when he was in proximity to Erick, increasing the Brother's wide range of powers in return. Murphy fired his Heavy Metal assault rifle at the Loaders in front while his shoulder mounted weapons tore through the forces trying to flank him. Erick watched his back and fried the soldiers around them. Murphy's shield began releasing waves of pulse energy around their position, melting the Loaders. The Bunker remained unharmed however as the reflector shield repelled all assaults.

"Man, we are awesome!" Erick boasted as Murphy's shield killed off more troops and shrouded the Enforcer and the Brother with protection "But it's still not enough. We need to kill this tin can before we're done for."

"You know that trick you used on Gilgamesh?" Murphy asked as the Bunker charged its laser cannons again.

"Yeah" Erick answered.

"Use it again and we may be able to bust the Bunker" Murphy explained.

"No prob, with the power boost from your armor, I should be able to form a storm cloud and blast him" Erick lifted his arms in the air and threw them downward. The sky around the Bunker grew dark with storm clouds and lightning from the sky struck the Bunker. The shields were able to withstand Erick's attack and the machine shrugged it off.

"Holy crap! Now that is friggin awesome!" Johnson yelled, impressed by Erick's display of power "But no dice kid, nothing can break through my Bunker's shield. It's impregnable."

"Great, that's perfect" Erick huffed and fell on one knee.

"Ace, can you do it again?" Murphy asked while firing all his weapons at the Bunker.

"I'm out of juice Murph, I'm done" Erick said weakly "How long can your shield maintain itself?"

"My shield can't withstand another barrage. Is there a way to recharge you powers?"

"Electricity, I need to absorb enough to jump start my powers."

"Trust me kid, even with a jump start, my Bunker will still wipe the mat with your carcass and I'm gonna laugh" Johnson bragged again "Now finish them off!"

"Understood" the Bunker said, charging the large laser cannon on its undercarriage, ready to end Murphy and Erick. But before it could fire a shot off, a sniper shot penetrated through its shield, pierced through his armor, destroyed the shield generator, exited out of the Bunker's side and dazing the machine for a few seconds. The reflector shield came down, leaving the Bunker vulnerable to attack at last. Zero had dealt with his aggressors and gave Erick and Murphy the chance to attack.

"Time to fall again by my hands, Bunker" Zero prepared to fire again but the Bunker fired a barrage of missiles at the Assassin, obliterating his position.

"Zero!" Murphy and Erick exclaimed as they had feared they had lost him.

"That takes care of the ninja, now time to die suckers!" Johnson said menacingly "Bunker, finish the job" the Bunker prepared to fire every ounce of firepower toward Murphy and Erick. Erick believed this to be the end but Murphy would not give up so easily. He charged his Tesla Gauntlet and turned toward Erick.

"Ace, I got a bad idea that might just work" Murphy started "I'll recharge you by overcharging my gauntlet with enough electricity to power a city. There are two possible outcomes, one is it will instill you with enough energy to destroy the Bunker or I'll burn out my suit's systems and explode like a super nova, killing us both."

"We're low on options, Murph. We're dead if we stand here and do nothing. I'll take the risk" Erick widened his stance and prepared himself for better or worse.

"Okay Ace, if you have any prayers, say them now" Murphy lifted his hand in the air and lightning slowly discharged from it. The Bunker's weapons were glowing red and his missiles primed as he stared the pair down. Erick closed his eyes and recited a haiku which calmed him in the past.

"Clouds leaving the sky

A new friendship has been forged

By light of the sun."

"Get ready, Ace!"