"Zane, do you think FL4K and Moze will be okay?" The Operative shrugged in response to Amara's question. The two of them were sleuthing about the manor, letting the Beastmaster do their…weird plan. Honestly, Zane wasn't all for it, but if it really was a trap, he trusted that crazy ass robot to deal with whoever's in there…unless it was one of the twins. Then things would get hectic.

"I'm sure they're fine. For now, let's worry 'bout—"

"Amara! Zane! Are you there?" Moze's voice blared through his ECHO.

"Read ya loud and clear, Mozzy Moze," Zane mashed his finger against his earpiece. "What's up? Who was there waitin' for ya?"

"Fucking Troy; Hammerlock's sister pussed out!" Zane's face fell. Well…shite.

"Fuckin' hell, are ya okay?"

"We're fine; FL4K got banged up a bit, but now Wainwright's keeping that assclown distracted. Unfortunately, FL4K and I are gonna exfiltrate the AO. They need repairs." Zane scowled at that. Meant him and Amara were in this shit alone.

"Mara, ya caught all that?"

"Loud and clear," The Siren sighed. "I knew FL4K was a bit unhinged but trying to face one of the twins alone? Not a sound plan."

"Sounds like it worked out for 'em, though. They ain't dead, and Wainwright's got that arsehole distracted. Honestly, it shouldn' be hard to find the clue."

"What makes you say that?" Amara inquired with a frown.

"I got a hunch. Don' worry. Keep an ear out for Wainwright. Cause, let's face it, I ain' got the foggiest idea where to look…which is weird; one of me talents is findin' shit."

"Weird." Zane kept his handgun at the ready as they moved. Truthfully, he was worried about the others, worried that someone would come try to attack them while they weren't doing so hot. Those worries lasted all of four seconds before he remembered Moze had a mech that tended to obliterate anyone.

…the worries were back; now he wasn't sure she'd stop if she got going.


"Alright, Axton should be here any moment now with the drop ship," Moze grunted as she sat down, watching FL4K prop themselves against a tree. They were just outside of the manor, far enough away from the COV, yet close enough to remember fondly that, earlier, Troy tried to kill FL4K...and failed. "Augh…that was a stupid plan, anyhow."

"What makes you assume that, Moze?" The Beastmaster questioned. "Because it ended poorly."

"Just…in general!" She huffed. "What kind of fucker walks willingly into a trap? Like, we knew it was a trap from the get-go, and even figured out Hammerlock's sister would send someone like Troy, yet you still wanted to go in!"

"It was a calculated risk, Moze."

"Seems like you're bad at math, then. Like," The Gunner sighed. "I know, the twins ain't shit, but going in alone's an easy way to—"

"Cause you to be ensnared as well? Give him the opportunity to threaten and use you against me to force a surrender?" FL4K shot back.

Moze furrowed your brow. "I'm a lot tougher than I look, FL4K—"

"He knows that. At the end of the day, I went in alone because I had planned this from the start. Not just the start of this operation, but the very instant that fool spoke to me, trying to goad and insult us."

Moze's eyes widened. "Are…are you fucking with me?"

"Far from it; the longer I spoke to the twins, the more of a glimpse I got into their shattered psyche. How they would react to certain things and how they would behave long term against a foe as well. And, from that, I knew that if I continued to chip away at their shells, it was inevitable they'd break, and they'd come after us directly. It's one of the reasons I had Ava go with Maya in the first place; if Troy was wounded or felled by a teenager, it'd slash his pride even more, and make him that much more likely to try to goad and encourage his sister to come after us directly, and attempt to end the farce they call a fight."

"And…why would you want to make that happen?"

"You are a soldier, Moze; you know better than I that an angry foe is a foe who makes mistakes. And you should never interrupt an enemy when they're in the process of making a mistake. It's why, even when I was trapped in a Phaselock, I continued to belittle and insult him. He'd try to assert himself and convince himself I was wrong. The Phaselock would, inevitably, run out, and then he would be left to my devices, which is what you saw there."

"Yet I'm not following why you wanted me to shoot him in the back of the head…won't that just piss a Siren off?"

"It won't," FL4K shook their head. "I did my research on Sirens long before we undertook this hunt. Almost a decade ago, even. And I know, despite all their powers, merits, and feats, they can die about as easy as a human can, when struck the right way. Even if your shot didn't kill him," FL4K pulled their SMG up, offering it to Moze. "This would have provided the chance." The Gunner reached out to accept the gun and looked over it, realizing it was a Teidore gun with a nearly spent mag.

"Lobbing an exploding gun in his face was your escape plan?"

"As I said, I've done my research; Phaselock requires concentration to maintain. A gun exploding in one's face is a good concentration breaker."

"And…where did you get all this info?"

"…places. Namely, Hyperion databanks prior to my meeting with you all."

Moze furrowed her brow. "Hyperion has data on Vault Hunters?"

"Aged data, actually; the information I downloaded was regarding Maya in her younger years, during the Hyperion conflict. Said notes claimed she could only hold Phaselock for a short time and required focus to activate." FL4K really had it all figured out…it was weird to hear.

"So, all this time, you were playing things to how you wanted them to go?"

"At least with them. Though, now, there's no telling how the fools will act towards us. They may even target the ship directly, considering how defensive Tyreen is towards her inferior sibling. We'll have to forewarn Lilith to put up some cloaking devices, else the twins may just teleport to the ship and try to kill people."

Moze nodded in understanding. "I'll let her know when we get back. Though, once you're back in the ship, I'm heading back to give the others backup."

"So be it. Be mindful, though. Troy still roams the manor. If you aren't careful, you may run into him and Wainwright."

"I saw you lay his ass out easy. What chance does he have against a trained soldier?"

"I have no life essence to drain. You do. If he manages to grab you, Moze, he wins." Those words made her furor fade a bit…that WAS something she had to consider. It further explained why FL4K wanted to go in themselves…robots didn't have any energy like that to drain. It just made Moze a little more impressed by FL4K's foresight…and concerned they planned that far ahead.

And that raised another question. If FL4K planned everything out, how did they think things would end?


(Another short, slightly non-canon chapter. Really, it's a fun little way to get a glimpse of how FL4K's psyche operates, and how demented someone like that can be when applied. So, hope you all enjoyed. Be safe during this quarantine, people. Also, for the reviewers, I may incorporate some of your ideas into this story; I'll credit you all accordingly, and if I forget to, don't hesitate to remind me.

Stay safe!)