"Well…how is she?" Zane, for once, wasn't in a good mood. It took a metric fuck ton to knock him out of his chipper mood but, as he stood in Tannis' lab, Maya's unconscious body on the operating table with his friends surrounding him, he could safely say his good mood was dashed.
Dashed, killed, and buried, too.
"Well," The weirdo scientist muttered, typing furiously at a tablet before looking up. "For the most part, she's stable. Some abnormal coloration of the skin, luscious lips, and trim body…she's certainly an—"
"Didn' ask for…whatever the fuck that was." Zane grimaced. Tannis pouted.
"Spoilsport. Ahem…Maya's stable; vitals are minimal but, considering what she went through, that in itself is a miracle." The Operative rolled his eyes.
"Shoulda known the kid shouldn' have gone with her."
"The outcome would have been far worse, then." FL4K spoke up. "Ava's actions led to Maya surviving the Calypsos, as opposed to perishing at their hands. She was not a stellar fighter, but—"
"But, maybe, her being there made things a little worse." Moze added, shaking her head. "I'm not gonna sit here and point fingers, though. Maya's alive…powerless…but alive. That's better than dead and…well, fucking dead." Zane couldn't agree more.
"Lil' already knows, right?"
"Informed her myself." Amara sighed. "She wasn't too keen on hearing the Calypsos got to her…" Amara sounded dejected. Zane could imagine why, considering another Siren had her powers stolen.
"We'll get 'em back, Mara Mar. Ain' gonna be hard, at the rate we're at. We know where the next Vault is, and we know just what the damn twins want. So, we just need to figure out a way to get rid of the Vault creature…aaaaaaand make sure they don't get the key, of course."
"Of…course…" The Operative went rigid and looked over, seeing Maya's eyes were open, head tilted to the side so she could look at the four of them. "We can't…let the…twins win."
"Be silent, Maya, save your strength." FL4K spoke, leaning down to pat the depowered Siren's side.
"Where's…Ava…?"
"In her room, she took quite the thrashin'." Zane chipped in. "She'll be fine, though. Might not be all there upstairs from this but…part of bein' a Vault Hunter." Maya sighed, shaking her head a bit.
"…I could have done more." She sighed, the Operative hearing her voice was on the verge of breaking. "Done something differently…and now, she's hurt, and my powers are…are gone."
"I mean…so are Lil's but…" Zane went quiet. He wanted to say the commander was coping fine without her powers, but he knew damn well that was FAR from the case. "It's gonna be fine, though. Me mates and I'll fix this shit." He thought that'd fix things, but, unfortunately, Maya still wore a somber expression.
"…I just…still can't…can't believe my powers are gone. And the Calypsos are that much stronger. Your four won't be a match, and…well you're the only Vault Hunters we have who can help."
"Not anymore." Zane was already reaching for his handgun, turning towards the door to see someone standing there. A brown-haired guy dressed in…an outfit that reminded him a lot of Moze's, except more rugged. And, on his back, was some sort of folded up turret. "It's been a while, Maya…you're looking…different. Did you get rid of your tattoos?" The former Siren looked at the guy, eyes widening in clear realization.
"A-Axton? But…how—"
"I called him." Zane cut her off. "Did Moxxi a favor, and as much as I hate to put it, these twins are a pain in me dick…so it'd be good to get some more of us to help deal with 'em, so to speak."
"Yep! Ain't just me, though," Axton motioned behind him. "Gaige's dropped me off with a stolen Maliwan ship. She's off to get the others…or at least anyone she can find. But, regardless, we're here to give you a hand, Maya, just like old times. Who knows? We might even stick around…saw Moxxi's got the bar running, and she probably cleared my tab." Zane saw Maya was trying her best to be happy, but that smile was a lie…she was still torn up about losing her powers.
That wasn't going to last; like what he told Lilith, they were gonna get 'em back for her. And, now, it just meant he wouldn't feel bad about breaking Troy's legs.
…granted, that was gonna happen regardless, but…Zane didn't enjoy beating up cripples.
(So, significantly shorter chapter. I was tempted to give it a rest for a moment and let people digest the stuff in the last chapter, but I opted to instead push this one out, as a form of falling action, so to speak, and to do the thing many sought. After this, I plan to get back into the action and introduce everyone to Eden-6, where things will REALLY get heated, as players know what to find and expect there. Until then, take care.)