"So, ya used to run with Maya and her lot back in the day," Zane walked alongside Axton as the two of them made their way to the bridge, where Lilith called a meeting with all Vault Hunters. Technically, despite the guy's time away, he counted for such a criteria, and thus the Operative brought him. "If ya don' mind me askin', how were things back then? Helluva lot better than now?"

"Eh, not really," Axton shook his head with a grimace. "Hyperion basically had, like, ALL of Pandora under their foot. And Jack was determined to make sure everyone knew it. Just went around killing anyone who wasn't on his side, or who didn't beg to be on his side. However, comparing him to these new guys Moxxi filled me in on, I'd prefer him."

That made Zane raise a brow. "Oh? Why's that?"

"Jack was at least charismatic; sometimes he gave me a chuckle but, at the same time, I still wanted to punch him in his balls. These new guys? Haven't given one chuckle; I've just been hearing them talk shit for the last few weeks…like a few moments ago." Zane nodded in agreement; the Calypsos tried to berate and insult them for letting them get the Vault's power and for siphoning Maya's power, but the Operative was over it, namely because they knew where to go next, and he didn't plan on letting those two walnuts get it first.

In a situation like this, not responding was a good idea; gave those assclowns less ammo to use against them.

Stepping onto the bridge, the older gentleman saw his mates were already on the bridge, Lilith looking out the window into the…well blackness of space. She had a dejected, troubled look on her face, one that made the Operative a touch concerned.

Last time she had such an expression was when her own powers got siphoned. A day the Operative did well not to bring up to her.

"So, Lil," Zane spoke up, feeling everyone turn to look at him and Axton. "Our next move? Cause I hate to be that guy, but the longer we sit 'round and wait, the more time the twins got to head to Eden-6 and get a jumpstart on finding that key."

"I know it's just…" She sighed. "Maya's lost her powers too; I'm thankful she isn't dead, all things considered…but…because of me, she's just like me, now."

"It's not because of you," Amara shook her head. "It's the damn twins. But, don't worry, we'll get her powers back. Yours too."

"Yeah…but what if we can't? I should've known opening the Vault would backfire…and now those monsters are even stronger. Just…augh…I should have thought everything through."

"Then do so." FL4K spoke up. "While Maya is depowered, she still lives, and therefore, you can amend this situation. You've made a mistake, but it isn't too late to learn from it, and never let it come to pass again."

Lilith sighed, but nodded regardless. "I'll try. For now," She looked over at Axton. "Glad to see you're in good health, Axton. I wasn't sure what happened to you after Pandora quieted down."

"I made a quiet exit, though it looks like things've gotten pretty loud in my time away." The Commando rubbed the side of his head. "What's the deal with this COV, anyhow? Cause…rallying, like, all the bandits together? Didn't know that was even possible."

"Times have changed," Lilith sighed. "But, more or less, their leaders are both Sirens, and have been using their power to get people on their side. And, because of this, they're incredibly powerful."

"Psh, that Vault monster we fought was stronger," Axton grinned. "But, like I've told your friend here, we're getting together to help you out, commander. Gaige's gonna see where Sal and Krieg went; I'd wager they're still on Pandora, but there's no telling with that angry midget…a-also, don't tell him I called him a midget if and when we see him; he'll punch me in the balls again." Zane liked Axton's outlook. Reminded him of how he was in his younger days.

"Regardless," Moze finally spoke up. "When are we making the jump to Eden-6?"

"In a few minutes. So, do what you can, and get ready. Axton, take all the time you need to get prepared."

"Gotcha, commander." The Commando turned and walked off, the rest of the Vault Hunters doing the same as Zane got moving to visit Moxxi's bar.

"Vault Thief! Heeey, good news!" Zane's grin faded when he heard that bitch in his earpiece. "Troy's learned how to phaselock stuff, so we've been chucking shit at the followers all day. Pretty fun; thanks again for your friend's powers!"

"Yeah; though, give or take, we'll be getting some more powers soon enough, once we open that Vault on Eden-6. Or, we can just let you idiots do all the work for us." Troy snidely remarked as well. They were pissing him off; that was a new one.

"Y'know FL4K can hear us, right?" Zane said.

"That I can," Said Beastmaster joined in. "And it seems like you two have forgotten your last, verbal beating."

"Psh, whaddya got—"

"How's your arm? I hear corrosive damage's pretty bad for machinery."

Troy was quiet.

"That's what I thought," FL4K's voice sounded amused. "You went there to kill Maya and Ava. Instead, you siphoned Maya's power, yes, but she's alive, and a teenager wounded you. So, you got lucky. Luck is pointless on a hunt. And luck won't save you from what I plan to do to your cadaver once you're dead." Now the twins were quiet. Zane made a note to buy FL4K a drink in thanks.

…wait…could that robot drink? Questions for later…


Moze stood on the bridge as the ship reached the aerospace of Eden-6; a planet she heard a lot about but, up until now, never ventured to. Naturally, this was because of the 'on the run from Vladof' thing, but…details.

The planet itself, as far as she saw, was an odd, sickly green planet, that seemed like a small moon for another planet. It was a bit disconcerting, but if it worked, it worked.

"So, how're we doing this?" She asked Lilith. "Are we piling in the drop ship or…taking Ellie's pod?"

"Pod, unfortunately." The former-Siren responded. "Mostly because, if the COV are swarming that planet, then the last thing we need to do is give them a target. And the Maliwan ship'll stand out like a vegan psycho."

The Gunner frowned. She hated that pod. But, she wasn't going against orders. Not in this instance, at least.

"Will it at least be a softer ride?"

Lilith nodded, turning away from the window and heading for the door. "It will. Ellie's done some work to, at the very least, cushion the fall. So, it shouldn't be as horrible as it was on Promethea." That was reassuring.

"While I have time," Moze asked, hurrying to follow along with Lilith. "And where will that Axton guy be? Squeezed in with us?"

"He'll be dropped elsewhere. While yeah, it'd be fun to have all five of you ramming bullets down the COV's throat, I need him to run recon on his own. Get a lay of the land and figure out just how much of a hold the COV has on Eden-6."

"Fair point; intel's always a must in these situations." Moze also figured Lilith was just taking FL4K's advice and getting a full scope of the AO before making a major play.

Arriving in the drop bay, Moze saw the others were already there: Zane was nursing from a bottle of scotch, Amara was browsing the nearby vending machine for any new items, and FL4K was loading a shotgun for their larger jabber.

"You guys ready?" Lilith asked.

"Yep."

"Mhm."

"The hunt commences."

"Alright," The commander tapped the side of the pod. "Go ahead and get in. We'll drop you four at the safest spot we can find, but from there, it'd be smart to keep a low profile 'til you don't need to." The moment the pod was opened, FL4K's jabber was the first inside, the Beastmaster climbing in and settling in their spot as Moze did the same, clutching her assault rifle for dear life as the others got inside and the pod sealed up.

"Ah, this shall be a hunt like none before," FL4K sighed, patting their ape's head. "Eden-6, my revisit to this swampy hunting grounds."

"…wait…swampy?" Moze asked.

"Yes, swampy," FL4K nodded. "Eden-6, more or less, is a mire of a planet. Think of the worst swamp you've ever been to and make it an entire planet. That is Eden-6. And the fauna? Dangerous, massive reptilian predators! What fun!"

"…" Moze was just silently and internally screaming. That worsened when the pod lurched and she clutched herself, shuddering.

She flinched when she felt a hand clench itself around hers, the Gunner looking over at Amara who wore a reassuring look. "It's gonna be okay, Moze," She said, the Gunner feeling herself slacken a bit. "We'll be fine, okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I guess." She sighed, resting her head on the headrest as, for once, she felt…okay, in the drop ship, something she hadn't felt before.

Amara was good at reassuring her. That was…unexpected. But it wasn't unwelcome in the slightest.


"Right, so THIS is Eden-6." Amara stood with crossed arms atop a cliffside, overlooking the…well for lack of a better word, utter shithole.

Much of the ground was covered in muck, and the parts that weren't were covered in swamp water. The air smelled rank, forcing her to generally breathe through her mouth for the most part, the Siren wanting slightly to throw up in her mouth.

It also didn't help that, below, she could see a few beasts roaming about; large, bipedal reptilian creatures. One, to make matter worse, was engrossed in eating a bandit down below as well…so at least the COV was dinner for the wildlife.

"Ah, here we are! Eden-6!" She looked over at FL4K who stood with their sniper at the ready, seeming more…chipper than usual. "It's been so long, and now there's more prey to hunt here."

"At least you're in a good mood." Amara said, wincing and covering her nose again. "I can't get used to the smell of this shithole…makes me envious you don't have a nose."

"I have smell receptors, Amara. They pick up the scent and process it into a format or 'code' my core can understand. And, yes, it smells quite rank here. You get used to it after a time. More importantly," The Beastmaster shouldered their sniper, dropping to a knee as, without missing a beat, they fired two shots, lifting the rifle and pointing down. "We should begin our hunt for the key, and this time, ensure the COV do not get a chance to interfere in our efforts."

"And when the chance's right, we're slapping the shit outta those twins, right?" Amara punched her palm, a grin on her face as the robot nodded in agreement.

"Of course, though don't damage the heads too much; I do plan on hanging them on the wall back at Sanctuary, after all." Amara nodded in agreement. Eden-6 wasn't the most ideal place, no, but at least this time, the COV didn't have a complete hold on the planet, as compared to Promethea. So, it meant her and the others had a chance to actively offset those fuckers' plans.

…offset their plans, and get Maya's powers back, too. She'd be damned if she'd let those monsters keep those powers. And she'd be very damned if she let them take hers, too.

It was a fear she had, but thankfully, it was one she'd put to rest soon enough.


(Weirder chapter, but, now, welcome to Eden-6, the dank ass swamp planet! I had planned to include a FL4K PoV here but had to let it slide namely due to time constraints. Does mean next chapter I can go all out, but enjoy this. I'm also loving all the support, once again, that this story's gained. I won't say I'm better than Gearbox's current writing team, but I will say I'm doing what I can to tie up loose ends they've left behind as best I can. I'm not perfect at it, no, but I can say I'm doing a good job considering all the fav's and reviews.

Do I want Gearbox seeing this? Eh, not really sure. On one hand, it'd be flattering if they enjoyed it, but on the other, they'd probably just glance over it and think nothing of it, considering it's just fanfiction.

So, in conclusion, I'm thankful you all are digging this story so much, and I'm going to see this to completion. Who knows? Might end up on TvTropes. That'd be swell.)