They were in need of a new rifle. Their time hunting on Promethea made that clear. FL4K walked down the hallways of the ship, browsing some stuff on their ECHO device as they proceeded towards Marcus' store to sell their outdated, useless firearms and see if the greedy salesman was willing to sell them a decent sniper rifle.

Then again, considering Marcus' business ethics, it would no doubt be scavenged from dead foes…so FL4K was expecting a shitty Maliwan elemental sniper rifle.

The Beastmaster arrived to the store and, surprisingly, didn't find Marcus there, but they did hear shooting emanating from down the hall. FL4K followed and, surprisingly again, didn't find Marcus there, but someone else.

"You're almost there," Maya stood with crossed arms, watching Ava try, and fail, to pop a target with an assault rifle. "Just, like, brace yourself against the gun and shoot."

"That's what I'm doing!" Ava fired again and, like before, she missed her mark.

"What is…what is this?" The Beastmaster finally asked, Maya sighing and shaking her head.

"I'm trying to train her a bit but…well I'm not a good teacher, let's just say that." At least she wasn't blaming the pupil. "She wants to go with us to open the Vault, so, I thought it'd be a good idea to train her a bit more before we do." FL4K just…stared.

"That is a very foolish and dangerous idea that may result in her demise."

"Hey! I held my own on Athenas against Maliwan!" Ava exclaimed. "That's gotta count for something, right?"

"…okay, I will grant you that." Maliwan was apparently more trained than the COV was, though the cultists had the advantage of numbers and overwhelming their targets. "Still, it may not be a wise idea, unless she has the proper equipment and training to handle herself down there."

"Which is why Maya's training me!" Ava tried, and failed, to shoot the target again, the teen scoffing in ire. "This isn't working, though."

"Of course not," FL4K casually stepped over and plucked the gun from Ava's hands, examining it with their optic. "This firearm's too large for someone your size; the recoil will constantly throw your aim off, and considering this is a Dahl firearm, that is the absolute last thing you want."

"Oh…well I didn't know that," Maya cleared her throat. "What would you recommend for her, then? I only grabbed that 'cause Marcus was gonna throw it out."

"Hmm," FL4K reached down and tapped Ava's forearm, making a series of mental calculations. "Either a handgun, or a sub-machine gun. Both have minimal recoil and, therefore, will allow her to rarely miss her mark, at the expense of a reduction in damage. Here," FL4K pulled their handgun from their pocket, offering it to Ava. "Try this. It's Jakobs, so it should be up your alley." The teen accepted it and, after looking over the gun, turned to try firing again, squeezing the gun tight as the bullet spewed from the nozzle, striking the target dead on.

"Huh…didn't know Jakobs was so good," Maya mused. "Always stuck to Maliwan stuff back in the day…before they turned into evil assholes, that is."

"Even still, their firearms are useful," FL4K affirmed. "Elemental damages help to counter certain things, such as shock being useful in depleting enemy shield generators, and acid for eating through heavily armored enemies." Maya pursed her lips, clearly mulling on something.

"True…and…I might have an idea. You seem to be pretty decent with teaching, FL4K; you think you could take Ava for a patrol down on Promethea? Get her some hands-on experience? Because, honestly, it's either I take her with us to the Vault, or she'll find a way down there herself."

"It's true, I will." FL4K was concerned by that, but regardless, they had to process that.

"…so be it. I can take her to hunt some stragglers left behind by Maliwan. Should allow me to gauge where she stands so we know what to improve and what to abandon."

"Great! So, I'll leave you two it. I need to check in with Lilith about the battle strategy for tomorrow." Maya turned to leave and, when they looked back to Ava, FL4K saw the teenager was damn near quivering with excitement.

"Please quell that before we go." FL4K didn't want her to give away their position on the hunt. Not so soon, at least. Maybe once the Maliwan soldiers were sufficiently terrified.

FL4K wrenched their blade from another dead Maliwan soldier, flicking the body onto the pavement. The hunt was going well so far; despite Maliwan's head of mergers being deceased, there were still many of them on the planet, so either they were still going to continue the fruitless war, or they were simply trying to flee.

Either way, they were prey, and—

"WOO! Didja see that, Vault Hunter?!" They turned to see Ava standing over a soldier, hastily and clumsily reloading their clearly stolen SMG. "I got this guy good!"

"He's still alive." FL4K didn't hesitate to shoot the guy in his head with their handgun. "You should always double tap."

"…oh." She still seemed quite giddy. With the hunt done, FL4K moved on; there were more soldiers to cull.

"So…in your honest opinion," Ava walked alongside them. "Do you think I'll make a good Vault Hu—"

"No." FL4K didn't hesitate with their answer, earning a scowl from Ava.

"Why? I'm not good enough? I can train, Vault Hunter! A-And Maya's gonna show me the way—"

"That wasn't why I said no." FL4K reloaded their sniper rifle, setting it onto their back. "You would make a poor Vault Hunter because, logically, you shouldn't even become one. The circumstances don't add up."

"…oh." She sounded dejected now, the Beastmaster seeing her head was lowered and her pace slowed as well.

"Why do you want to be a Vault Hunter anyhow, Ava?"

"Because they're…cool, I guess. They do whatever they want, whenever they want, and don't let anyone stop them. They can travel across the whole galaxy, shootin', lootin' and...whatever, I guess." FL4K processed this. So, Ava ultimately sought freedom; freedom like none other. It was an admirable quality, but it was grossly misplaced.

"Ava," FL4K watched her lift her head. "Do you know why I became a Vault Hunter?"

"I…don't know."

"To hunt and kill anyone and everyone. To slaughter and murder anything dumb enough to stand in my way and send them to Death. I don't do it for glamor, nor for finding Vaults; I just want to kill people. I don't want riches, nor to explore the galaxy; I just want bodies piled up." She was silent for a good, few minutes.

"…I…oh."

"There's more. As a Vault Hunter, I have scallions of people who want me and my cohorts dead in many different flavors; from the COV to Maliwan to even Hyperion in a sense. Many want us dead, and if we slip up for even a moment, it will happen before we even have time to blink."

"But…Vault Hunters can…usually deal with that shit…right?" Now she was in disbelief. FL4K hated to shatter her ideology, but this was for the best.

"Did Maya tell you about Handsome Jack, and his siege on Pandora?" She nodded. "Did she tell you that, before her group, many Vault Hunters were called to the planet, and then were all systematically killed by Jack?" Her eyes widened. "I'm guessing she didn't; from what the archives I have state, she was almost killed initially as well. A train they were on was rigged with explosives and detonated in the tundra. By sheer luck, her and the other Vault Hunters survived, and naturally, went on to crush Jack, but that even happening was a literal one in a million chance. In all seriousness, she should have died on that train. " Now Ava was completely quiet. She was no doubt mulling over all of this. "However," Her head lifted. "This isn't meant to discourage you from trying, Ava; this is just me warning you that, unless you're ready, you'll meet Death yourself."

"And how would I know when I'm ready?"

"Honestly, you won't. I've run over every single possibility in my mainframe, and from what I've learned, there is no true way to know when you are ready. In laymen's terms, it's a leap of faith." Ava furrowed her brow at that.

"Sounds scary."

"It is; you either catch yourself and start shooting, or you die. There is no in-between. So, prepare and train all you can, Ava," FL4K came to a stop, pointing to a group of Maliwan soldiers who were, currently, trying to hastily load some supplies into a downed ship so they could flee the planet. "Because if you're truly dedicated to your cause of becoming a Vault Hunter, then you will have to leap. And if you miss, it's a long way down." She nodded and turned to start shooting at the soldiers, shouting a slew of profanities and curse words as she peppered them. FL4K watched all of this unfold, taking moments to provide assistance with their sniper if she wasn't watching her flank.

She had a long way to go if she ever planned to be a Vault Hunter and survive. FL4K saw potential in her, yes, but potential wouldn't be enough. She would need a good mentor to show her the ropes and ensure she was ready…they supposed it could be them.

Ava planned to follow in Maya's footsteps. They were big steps to fill, but the teenager would one day come to fill them. And, if the Beastmaster could help it, the Siren would be alive to see them filled.

That was for certain.

(Here's another non-canon, short chapter; one that follows my original plan in trying to "redeem" Ava's character and even humanize her a bit more, showing her lust to become a Vault Hunter is her trying to follow in Maya's footsteps. A bit cliché, yes, but from what I saw, they never really defined otherwise as to why she wanted to become one; she just…did. So, here's hoping this paints a bit of a better light on her; she's still annoying, yes, but by the end of this, I plan to at least make her tolerable. Someone fans can still detest but, at the very least, they can understand her a bit more. Who knows? Until then, here's a bit of the calm before the storm, because we all know what comes next. Something that may or may not go as intended.)