"So," Zane asked, the Vault Hunters descending the steps to Jakob's estate as they prepared to, quite literally, walk headfirst into a trap. "Anyone else not wantin' to do this?"

"I don't."

"Me neither."

"This is a foolish, dangerous plan."

"Glad we're all in agreement, augh…shame we still gotta." The Operative shook his head and mashed a finger to his earpiece. "Hammerlock, ya got anythin' to help with this?"

"A few things; speaking plainly, she's one of the wealthiest creatures in the galaxy, but do not be fooled by the fine furs and priceless jewels she wears. She has the heart of a bandit; she takes what she wants. She believes in nothing but herself. If anything, if she had the charisma of Tyreen or the cunning of Troy, she would have started her own cult long ago! But, as sad as it is, she has found her true family in the Calypsos…only they're as vile as she is, after all." Zane kept a tight-lipped frown the entire time he heard Hammerlock's description of his sibling. So, she was a dangerous, very cunning foe…but there was a weakness there somewhere. A weakness he figured out.

"I think I got something." The Operative said as he climbed in and started the Technical up once again. "This ice bitch, at her core, is still a bandit. A clever one, but a bandit none the less."

"So? What's your point?" Amara asked.

"Bandits always have glarin' weaknesses. And it sounds to me, if I were a bettin' man, she ain' even gon' show to this meetin'. She'll send someone else."

"What…makes you assume that?" Moze asked herself as the Technical roared to life.

"Because I did some diggin' on her while Wainwright proposed his plan. Apparently, she was on Pandora's moon a few years ago, helpin' fuckin' Handsome Jack himself repel someone named the Lost Legion and, even, find a lost Vault up there…which means she's a Vault Hunter."

"I mean, all that's scary, old man, but what's your point?"

"She used to be a Vault Hunter; she knows how dangerous we can be, and considerin' what Hammerlock said she wouldn' attend this meetin' herself, knowin' the four of us could be in the room together. Plain 'n simple, we'd melt her."

"So, you're proposing she'll instead send someone else?" Amara drummed her fingers on her chin in thought. "The question is, who? We all know this is going to be a betrayal, so she's gonna try to send someone strong enough to take the four of us out at once. Can't be a bandit; every bandit the 'twin gods' have hurled at us ended up as a pile of giblets on the floor."

"Well, who could it be then?" Moze shrugged. "Unless those twins are finally gonna nut up and try and come after us themselves."

"That is a possibility," FL4K said. "We've slaughtered thousands of their followers, their children, and have consistently proven ourselves to be a threat. Because of this, there rests a high chance it could be one of the Calypsos there to meet us, with the idea to try and take us out once and for all."

"I mean," Zane shrugged, hooking a left to drift around a muddy curve. "Shouldn' be a problem. Worst case, I throw me decoy in and let 'em shoot it. But, still, let's take this time to come up with somethin' concrete. Cause, let's face it, we all know the second we get in there, it's gon' be a bloodbath and clearly a trap." Zane just hoped it was one they'd get away from. He'd been in traps before and willingly walked into them, too, under the prospect of getting closer to the person he needed to kill, but this was different. Hammerlock spoke of Aurelia as if she were always four steps ahead of her foes; something his usual marks didn't ever think to be.

However, even if someone was four steps ahead, all it'd take was one well-placed kick to the ankles to send them tumbling six steps behind. And Zane planned on giving the ice bitch that for what she did to her brother.

Granted, Zane wasn't close with his own siblings, but he hated them. Hammerlock, on the other hand, seemed to desperately want to reconcile and do right by his sister, and that was something the Operative could respect.

…even made him feel a bit mournful. Then again, his brothers would have never tried to bury the hatchet, unless it was in his back.


Moze reloaded her assault rifle, looking down at the bullet-riddled remains of yet another cultist. The swamps en route to Jakobs' Estate were, of course, packed full of COV fuckers. Sure, said COV were dead before they even realized, but still. Didn't help her confidence in the slightest with the situation.

"Ah, so the whore reaches for the cash," And there was that smarmy bitch in her ECHO. That Aurelia. "I knew you'd come. A Vault Hunter's loyalty is always for sale, after all. Come to the manor and you'll get your money." Moze was going to shoot her in her tits. Reaching the manor itself wasn't hard, though, and the group ventured in, delving deeper into the place, though as the neared the dining hall, their pace slowed.

"…okay…so…either she's in there," Moze began with a sigh. "Or her assassin is. How're we doing this?"

"Simple," FL4K loaded a SMG. "Zane, Amara, you two assist Wainwright in his search. Moze, you wait by the doors and await my signal."

"…so…you want to go in there alone?" Amara questioned. FL4K nodded and she shook her head. "FL4K, that's suicide."

"I'm aware. But I know who's behind these doors. I know who's there." The Beastmaster slammed the mag into the gun with primal furor. "And I know they won't try to kill me; not until they're confident they've won. I have a plan. So, go." Moze was very skeptical now, but the others did as FL4K asked and moved to help Wainwright in his search. Moze, crouched by the doorway, AR at the ready as FL4K kicked the doors inwards.

The Gunner's eyes widened with violet energy surrounded them and yanked the robot into the room. Peering around, Moze's eyes widened when she saw that dickwaffle himself standing there, Troy. Next to him was a hologram of Aurelia, most likely so the ice bitch could see things, though she seemed disappointed that only FL4K was snatched. "Hmm, I guess this one's the only one without self-respect. Pity."

"Eh, still works out. But, hey, betcha weren't expecting to see me do this shit, eh, Vault Thief?"

"I'll admit, I am surprised to see you're bold enough to face me yourself." FL4K was eerily calm despite being held above the ground by, clearly, demented Siren energy.

"Yeah, well, it's time I start doin' things for myself, you dig? And, while I wanted to get the four of you fuckers here at once, I'm more than content to get you, considering you don't know when to shut your lil' mouth."

"I don't have a mouth, actually. If you took the time to study simple robotics, and not suck up to your sister, you'd know that."

BAM!

Moze winced when FL4K was slammed against the ground, now being held there as Troy walked over with that same, eerie grin. "May wanna watch it now. Y'know, I'll admit, you're the only Vault Thief I'll miss; not 'cause I actually like you but 'cause you're bold enough to talk back to us! Bold enough to try insulting a god and not expecting some sort of divine intervention. It's funny; Tyreen says we should let you keep playin' along. Let you all live so, eventually, she can make you see the light and join our happy lil' family. You know that's why we haven't just teleported into your 'lil ship and atomized all of you, right? She doesn't see any of you as a threat to us, or what we're doing in the long run. And she's right. Somehow, the robot's the only one brave enough to come face me…or stupid enough."

"She's delusional." FL4K spoke in that same, calm voice. "As are you."

"Heh, how am I delusional? This power, your Siren friend didn't know what she had; I can pull god-damned STARS out the sky! I'm a literal GOD now, so, tell me, how am I delusional, hmm?"

"Because you say you're to kill me here, yet you never bothered to actually research into Maya's Phaselock, and how long it holds people for." The energy flickered away and FL4K sprang up before Troy could reach, fist meeting his face to send the fucker to the ground. Moze watched with growing interest as FL4K beat the brakes off Troy, smashing his head into the table, flinging him into walls, and all sorts of things. Soon, the Siren was on the ground, huffing and panting, while FL4K casually approached him, blade at the ready. "Now, I feel it's my turn to monologue, if you'll be so kind to indulge. Your sister never came for us not because she thinks it's a simple game, but because she's scared. Because you're both scared. Look at you now; you claim to be at your apex, yet in a few moments I've torn that theory asunder. I've put you on the floor, like a bitch, where you belong. What makes you think I won't do the same to her when I meet her? What makes you believe I won't put her head through a wall and lop it off at the neck?"

"Haugh, ptew," Troy spat out a bloodied tooth. "You're…fuckin' wrong."

"Perhaps I am; perhaps the reason she hasn't tried to come for us yet is because, somehow, she still thinks she can turn us to your side. She still believes she can make us allies; of course, this just cycles back to my previous notion. She's scared of us, so she wants us with her, not against her. She doesn't want Vault Hunters out to get her, because she knows, in the end, they always win. It just takes time. And she's just trying to run the clock out, hoping we don't get to sudden death."

"You…you're wrong you fucking robot!" Troy's hand clenched and, once more, FL4K was Phaselocked, causing him to slam into the wall. "Vault Hunters ain't shit, nor will they ever be! And I can speak from personal fucking experience on that one. They're just cowards who spend all day tiptoeing around a problem, rather than fucking fix it. Like now, even. You could've killed me; instead you just decided to beat me, like that'll do anything."

"You say that," FL4K stated again, giving a slight nod. Moze turned to take aim, staying as silent as possible as she lined up her iron sights with the back of Troy's head. "Yet you're shivering in fear. But I suppose it's time to—"

BlAM!

A shotgun blast rang out and Troy staggered back. Moze turned to the balcony to see Wainwright up there, shotgun in hand. "Up here, you cultist FUCK!"

"Damnit, you blew my fucking gauge off! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Then come get me, you rat-faced bastard!" Troy gave chase quickly, leaving FL4K to fall to the ground once the Phaselock ended. Moze uttered a few curses and walked over to the Beastmaster, offering a hand for them to take to get back to their feet.

"Guess Wainwright mucked the plan up?" Moze asked.

FL4K shook their head. "He wasn't made aware of it, unfortunately. He saw me in a bad spot and opted to try and help me." Sparks sputtered from their shoulder.

"You took more damages than you thought, huh?"

"I turned my pain receptors off when I entered. I anticipated something like this…but yes, a few things are fairly damaged."

"I'll get you to safety, c'mon. Zane and Amara can handle the clue, right?"

"Perhaps. Just contact Ellie, ask her to bring the ship down for me so we can be retrieved." Moze helped support FL4K as she hauled the robot out the manor. Their plan was a reckless and dangerous one but, at the very least, it worked out in their favor.

And it told her, when she saw Aurelia, she was going to ram a shotgun down her throat and fire.


(Shorter, plot heavy chapter. This one's CLEARLY non-canon, but still nice as it alludes to some stuff down the road and helps clarify things. Also, it helps touch on something else, something a Guest mentioned. I made the twins seem weak because, for the most part, they came off that way; they could have easily interfered and even directly attacked during the later stages of the game but, instead, they chose to just…sit back and hurl insults from afar. Granted, Tyreen DOES do something later that would be considered spoilers, but that's just it. One. But that may just be my opinion about them.

Regardless, next chapter I plan to resume my dynamic of "each char gets a spotlight"; I just wanted to keep this one short because it's a significant event. So, enjoy this chapter, and check out my other story A Scaled Journey if you want to see me dip my toes in a world I'm still iffy with. See where it goes. Until then, take care, and have a fun Spring Break, people!)