Murphy placed his supercharged hand on Erick's shoulder and an explosion of electricity detonated from the Brother, pushing Murphy back slightly. Erick was surrounded by lightning formed in the shape of devil wings. It crackled through the air as it surged through him. He was in an entranced state for several seconds but he finally came to his senses.

"YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Erick screamed at the top of his lungs as power overflowed through him. He threw his arms in a downward motion and lightning fell from the sky once more, striking the now vulnerable Bunker.

"Error! System overload!" yelled the Bunker. It could not withstand the punishment from the attack and slowly began sparking from the cracks in its armor. Its weapons and eye slowly detonated and fire emanated from the holes left behind. The machine floated in the air for a couple of seconds before finally crash landing on the ground, shutting down as it fell with a thud. Erick fell on his back, completely drained after such a phenomenal feat of pure power. Murphy's suit suffered an overload after using so much energy to recharge Erick. He exited Riot Mode and his shield faded away. With the Bunker's demise, the Sirens powers returned and they could now fight with all their might. Near the outskirts of Sanctuary, Lilith set large groups of men on fire while Maya phase-locked another group, killing them in clusters while the other Vault Hunters dealt with the rest.

"Ace, we did it" Murphy grabbed Erick and picked him up, looping his robotic arm over his shoulder "Let me give you a hand."

"Thanks Murph" Erick said gratefully.

"For what? I should be thanking you Ace. You just saved us."

"Because you gave me the energy I needed to pull it off. I'd be dead if not for you. God, my ribs are killing me" Erick groaned as he placed his hand on his wound.

"You'll be fine. Zed should patch you up in no time" Murphy assured.

"Ah, such a wonderful moment. How disgusting" Johnson mocked "I'm done fucking around, you may have busted my Bunker but I still have this ship and my men to end you. Finish those bastards off now!" Murphy and Erick were surrounded by a large group of Loaders with all their weapons primed to kill them. The ship itself prepared to bombard the area they stood on. Murphy and Erick hid behind a house and used the building for cover.

"We're in trouble guys, we could use some backup" Murphy shouted into his Echo but nothing could get through. Johnson had finally jammed all short wave radio transmissions with the others in Sanctuary "We're on our own, shit!"

"We're screwed Murph, I'm out of energy" Erick admitted glumly.

"My Riot Mode is out of the question as well, I used up everything I had to recharge you" Murphy said, feeling fatigued.

"Well, we had one hell of a run Murph" Erick pulled out his Mjolnir and loaded it up. If he was going to die, Erick was gonna go out with a fight.

"We're not dying Ace, we'll make it through this. I promise. It's not over till it's over" Murphy assured but he believed it to be the end as well. The end seemed inevitable for them, they were low on ammo, outmanned, outgunned , and low on power. Murphy pulled out his shotgun and pumped it. The two readied themselves for the incoming hail of bullets that were about to shower them as they jumped out of cover.

"Suck it!" Erick yelled but before he could get his shot off, chain gun rounds rained from the sky, pelting the enemies around the building. Loaders and Constructors covered in bandit markings fell from the rooftops, attacking Hyperion personnel. The survivors were either spontaneously detonated by a purple shimmer of light or stabbed in the neck with Kunai knives. Brick and the Slabs had arrived with aerial reinforcements. They attacked the Jet Loaders around Sanctuary and bombarded the Pegasus, damaging the ships weapons. Out of nowhere, Zero appeared on top of the rubble created by the Bunker when it tried killing them. The Assassin was completely unscathed holding his sword in one hand and Erick's sniper in the other. Montayva appeared next to Murphy and Erick as she emerged from a flash of glowing purple light.

"Monty? I thought you were in Freedom City, how did you get here?" Erick asked in disbelief.

"I was in Freedom City until I eavesdropped on Lilith when she was talking to Brick on her Echo. I heard the whole thing after Ari cleared up the air waves. I couldn't just stand idly by while my friends were in danger" Montayva started "I had to do something so I used all of my power to phase Brick's crew from the Nexus all the way to Sanctuary" she wiped the sweat from her brow with her forearm.

"Where's your child?" Erick asked.

"I placed her in Moxxi's care for the time being" Montayva informed.

"Thank god you arrived in time" Murphy thanked Montayva for her untimely rescue and she smiled at his gratitude. He turned toward Zero to speak with the Assassin "I'm glad you made it, Zero. We thought you were done for. Glad Montayva was here to phase you out of danger."

"Actually, I didn't do anything to save Zero" Montayva admitted.

"Then how did you survive that" Erick asked curiously.

"Trade secret" Zero chuckled. Erick wanted to ask him again but he stopped himself, knowing what Zero would say.

"Whatever" Erick shrugged "Let's meet up with the others" Erick paused for a second as he envisioned Mordecai's reaction toward Montayva's presence "How the hell am I gonna explain this to Mordy? He's gonna be so pissed when he sees you here."

"I'll deal with that later. Right now, he needs our help" Montayva added.

"Okay, let's head out" Murphy ordered. Montayva gathered whatever energy she had and phased them near the location of the others to provide aid. Meanwhile in the Crimson Raider HQ, the soldiers guarded the entrance from incoming Hyperion troops to give Ari and A.N.N time to open communications again. They performed their duties admirably and successfully. Suddenly out of nowhere, Johnson reappeared in a flash of digital light and killed off the troops using only his Eridian Broad Sword, cutting them to shreds with the powerful and ancient weapon.

"Amateurs. Why the Vault Hunters bothered sparing your lives is beyond my comprehension" Johnson scoffed "No wonder Knoxx wanted to off himself so badly. Now enough of the foreplay, time to get what I came here for" Johnson calmly walked into the empty HQ, holding a control collar in his right palm. Up in the control room, Ari and A.N.N watched Brick's aerial forces tear through Hyperion with ease. Their hard work in breaking the interference was vital in Sanctuary's salvation but it had returned at the most inopportune time. Both were left in the dark and had no knowledge of who was coming for them.

"Brick's timing is impeccable" Ari said as she punched some numbers in the computer "This interference is making it hard to manage the troops and checking on their status. I hope Erick and the others made it out okay."

"Me too sweetie" A.N.N shared her concerns, she felt completely blind about the situation "Let's try opening some back channels and see if we can form communications with Brick or the other Vault Hunters… Ari, watch out!" she warned the youngest Siren but it was too late, Johnson had already slapped the collar around Ari's neck. She fell on her knees as her powers began waning and she slowly lost control of her body.

"A.N.N, help me" she begged as the collar gripped tighter around her neck.

"Shut up skank!" Johnson kicked Ari in her side and she coughed up blood "Finally, the final pieces of the puzzle are in my grasp. You can feel the anticipation in the air, it's so invigorating!"

"Leave her alone you animal or you will pay dearly for harming her" A.N.N warned although she was helpless to stop him.

"Who's gonna stop me, you? The Vault Hunters? Ha! You're cut off from your pals and you can't do shit to me you computerized bitch" Johnson laughed at A.N.N's threat "They're too busy with my troops on the far side of town, they'll never make it in time to save her or save you" Johnson inserted a hacking tool into the computer and numbers popped into the screen "Now give me what I want!" Johnson demanded as he hacked inside A.N.N's systems. She struggled desperately to force him out of her computerized mainframe but he breached through every security lock, every firewall, and her reverse hack attempts.

"I… won't… let you…" A.N.N stammered, feeling his influence crack open her mind. Johnson finally hacked into the file containing the location of the Champion's Vault. He smiled with anticipation as he finally grew close to achieving his goal.

"You're putting up one hell of a fight. Good, I like my women rough" Johnson said sadistically "Finally, the moment of truth" Johnson couldn't hold in the excitement "Code locked huh? Child's play for someone who understands the Eridian language" Johnson typed in the codes and finally broke through, the location began popping up on the screen. He laughed gleefully when he saw where it was "Aegrus, the most powerful weapons in the universe are hidden deep in the savage lands! I'll finally get what I deserve. Now let's locate its exact position and I'll…" before could finish, the map of the area just disappeared. A.N.N deleted the file to keep Johnson from finding but in doing so she started the self-termination subroutines in her programming, slowly shutting down her systems.

"Yeah, you'll get what you deserve" A.N.N laughed at Johnson. His anger reached a new high, he couldn't believe he was so close to getting what he wanted and it just disappeared in a flash. He was ready to lose his mind but he regained composure.

"It doesn't matter" Johnson muttered "I know it's somewhere in the savage lands, narrowing down my search. I still win regardless" Johnson averted his attention to the Vault Key floating in the energy field on the far right. He shot the emitter and the key fell right into his hand "I've waited for this moment for so long. The universe will be mine alone to command, to control" Johnson pulled Ari by her long white hair with his free hand and pulled her up "Come on bitch, I don't have all day."

"Let me go!" Ari kicked Johnson in the groin and he bent over slightly as the pain started. This only further enraged the Hyperion Commander. He slammed her head on the desk and she fell unconscious to the ground.

"Ari!" A.N.N yelled, struggling to keep herself from fading into nonexistence.

"Don't worry, she's alive for the moment. Can't say the same for you" Johnson noticed how A.N.N's holographic figure flickered in and out of existence. He scooped the unconscious Siren in his arms "Later" he said mockingly as he teleported back to his ship to drop off Ari and the key. Back in the center of town, the Pegasus suffered minor damage and the Slabs were laying down heavy fire on the Loader aerial forces and the trooper ground units. The troops eventually used their jet packs and flew back into the ship. The Loader forces retreated and entered through the hangar bay doors. Murphy and the others gathered around the town square, Brick joined in as he landed his buzzard near the center and hoped out of it to greet the others.

"What up Mordy?" Brick bellowed as he patted Mordecai on the back

"Damn your a sight for sore eyes Brick, but how did you get here so fast?" Mordecai wondered, remembering Brick told him it would take hours for him to arrive, not minutes.

"Your girl phased us here" Brick pointed toward Montayva. Mordecai followed his finger and noticed Montayva next to Erick. He flipped the moment he saw her in Sanctuary.

"What the hell are you doing here Monty? I told you to stay with our girl in Freedom City!" Mordecai snapped angrily at Montayva but she would have none of it. She stepped forward and slapped him across his face as hard as she could to knock sense into him. Junior flew off Mordecai and perched himself on Zero to give the two space "Damn it! What was that for?"

"You ungrateful bastard!" Montayva screamed at him "I'm here to protect you, Mordecai. If you even thought for a second that I was gonna allow the father of my child to be murdered then you're sadly mistaken!"

"Shit, kitty grew fangs" Axton laughed. He remembered how docile she was when she first came to Pandora, now she was as hard headed as everyone else. The trait tends to rub off on people after a while he thought to himself.

"Axton, I think you should back off from this one unless you want to end up a stain on the floor" Maya warned Axton not to incite an already enraged Montayva.

"I heard everything through the Echo, Mordecai" she continued "I knew you were in trouble. That's why I phased the Slabs here. They wouldn't have made it in time to save the city otherwise."

"She's got a point pal. You'd be mincemeat without her" Brick agreed with Montayva's decision. Mordecai grumbled for a bit but he softened and up and wrapped his arms around Montayva, closing the distance between them.

"I'm sorry, it's just I worry for your safety is all" Mordecai apologized and she accepted it. She gave him a quick kiss and held him close.

"I know but you're too overprotective of me. I can handle myself" she smiled. Mordecai laughed when she said that. She was correct as always, Mordecai had always been protective of his Siren ever since she made her way to the hostile world. In reality, he was the one who was in need of protection considering the multitude of times she had saved him.

"How's our little girl?" Mordecai asked.

"She's safely asleep in Freedom City" Montayva answered. Suddenly, Montayva pulled himself away from him and senses something was amiss.

"Monty, what's wrong?" Lilith asked, recognizing that glassy look in Montayva's eyes as a sign she's using her powers.

"Ari's gone" she said softly.

"Gone! What do you mean gone? What happened to my little sister, Monty? Tell me please!" Erick begged, fearful for what may have happened to her. Ari was his only family on Pandora and his responsibility. If she was injured or worse, he couldn't bare living with himself. Communications were still down, making it impossible to contact her from a distance.

"I don't know, Erick. I can't feel her anywhere" Montayva answered.

"Is she… is she…" Erick couldn't get his words out as the thought of Ari's death swelled in his mind.

"Erick, calm down!" Gaige placed her hands on his shoulders to ease his nerves "I'll head to the HQ and see what happened. Stay here with the others" Gaige insisted. Erick was hesitant to let Gaige go without his supervision but he nodded, showing her he would indeed stay. Gaige ran off to see if Ari was okay while the others stayed behind to aid the civilians. Murphy and Lilith walked next to Erick to comfort the Brother. Both knew what he was feeling for they feared that A.N.N was lost to them like Ari was.

"Ace, I'm…" before Murphy finished, Johnson reappeared behind Murphy and stabbed him in the back with his sword. The blade pierced through Murphy, entering his spine and exiting out of his stomach. Everyone watched in terror as they were helpless to save Murphy. Lilith entered a state of shock as blood jetted from his wound and sprayed her in the face. She couldn't believe it, it was as if she was watching history repeat itself. Roland died in a similar manner in front of her as Jack murdered him years ago, now she saw it happen again with Murphy.

"Jason!" she screamed. Johnson kicked Murphy and pulled out his blade. Murphy fell lifeless on the ground. Johnson stared at the fallen hero before lifting his head up to stare at Lilith.

"Sup bitch!" Johnson exclaimed as he flipped her off. Fire slowly flowed from Lilith's body and angel wings appeared on her back. Her rage was on full display as the fires burned violently and grew as hot as the sun. Johnson could feel her anger boil as she finally exploded in a blood fueled frenzy.

"You bastard! I'm going to fucking burn the skin from your bones! I'll send you screaming back to hell where you belong!" She rushed toward him but he disappeared right before she could lay a finger on him.

"I'd love to stay and have this dance Cinderella but the clock has finally struck midnight. It's the end for all of you!" Johnson cackled sadistically through the Echo "That takes care of priority number one, now to move on to priority two, becoming ruler of the universe."

"What are you blabbering on about now, puta?" Salvador demanded to know.

"I have everything I need to open the Champ's Vault. I have the key, the location, and the Siren!" Johnson snickered. Erick knew who he meant when he said he had a Siren in his possession. Ari was in the madman's grasp.

"You fucking piece of shit! For everything you have done and whatever harm that comes to my sister, I'll pay you back 100 hundred! No, a 1000 fold!" lightning surged violently around Erick as his anger got the better of him "I'm gonna rip open your chest and pull out your still beating black heart!" Erick was ready to phase his way into Johnson's ship but was stopped when Johnson made another announcement.

"Back off, Earth brat" Johnson mocked and Erick froze in shock the minute he mentioned his home world "That's right caveman, I know you're from that primitive rock. I promise you, if you set foot on my ship, I'll put a bullet right through her heart!" Johnson threatened.

"You wouldn't!" Erick yelled in anger.

"I will, she's easily replaceable after all. I can nab another Siren if I wanted to" Johnson laughed "Don't worry, as long as you stay out of my hair, she'll stay safe until she charges the key. After that, I'll hand her to my men and they'll decide what to do with her. They haven't had a piece of ass in years, she's a bit young but she'll make do. They really want to get their beaks wet if you know what I mean" Erick's rage slowly began building when Johnson made his statement "How about a little more salt for the open wound. After I open the Vault and destroy this world, How about a pay a visit to Earth and meet with dear old dad. I'll give'em the bad news of your untimely demise right before I kill him and everyone else you love on that cesspool you call a planet!"

"Johnson!" Erick lost control and the lightning around him detonated and he slammed his fist right through the ground. He pulled it out and his knuckles were bleeding from the cuts formed by the punch.

"Erick, Lilith, I'm so sorry" Gaige spoke through the Echo as communications slowly returned. She had heard everything that happened to Murphy and Ari from her position "He's telling the truth. Johnson has the key and the means to use it."

"A.N.N, what happened to her?" Maya asked as Lilith kneeled on the ground near Murphy's body, believing him dead. Maya felt terrible for her friend because Lilith had to relive the same loss she felt during Roland's death.

"She's here in the HQ but she's dying guys. I don't know what to do" Gaige said sorrowfully.

"Maybe I can fix her, bring her to me quickly" Erick stood back up and walked toward Murphy and Lilith. The others surrounded her and tried their best to hide their emotions. Lilith started sobbing uncontrollably as grief filled her heart. She had lost someone she loved again because of the Vault Key. As Lilith placed her hand on top of Murphy's chest, Murphy's body recoiled from her touch and he started coughing violently.

"Jason's alive!" Lilith cried as she couldn't bear to see him suffer "We need to take him to Zed's, on the double!"