The sharp taste of alcohol brought Zane comfort, relief, even. The Operative sat at Moxie's bar, holding a recently opened bottle in hand, and unwinding in his own way. The lights were dimmed, and the place barely occupied, reminding him again it was late, and many of Sanctuary's populace was asleep. Sure, he could also be asleep, but then he wouldn't be drinking, would he?

He took another swig of his drink and breathed a heavy sigh. The last while was…hectic, to say the least. Crazy AI, super soldiers; he thought he'd see that sorta shite years ago, not when he retired. But, when dealing with the COV, there was a lot that could happen.

"Yo, Mox know you're here?" He glanced over his shoulder to Axton. The Commando held a cup of what he guessed was cocoa or something and was in his sleeping clothes, a tank top and a pair of shorts.

"Nah. I'll leave some change for her, in case she gets irked." Zane took another drink. "The fuck ya doin' up?"

"Bedtime routine." Made sense. "So, things're getting harder down there, aren't they? Reminds me of the odds my friends and I had to go through back on Pandora."

"Yeah…been up 'gainst tough fights 'fore, but nothin' like this. The COV ain' tough, no, but the sure as hell're plentiful or somethin' or another." The Operative finished his beer and set it to the side. "It's weird; can't even get a full read on these twins."

"What's there to read? They're assholes with a livestream and an army of followers."

"I mean what they want from us; me mates 'n I. The guy y'all went up against, Jack, was pretty clear with his intent, right?"

"Yep," Axton took a seat on one of the stools, sipping his drink again. "Wanted us dead, dead, and more dead, as slowly as possible. Honestly, he had a lotta chances to kill us, but he was cocky. By the time he was seriously gunning for us, we were already too close to killing him."

"Right, he was straightforward. But these twins? Not a fuckin' clue. The bitch, Tyreen, seems intent on convertin' us or some shite, and her brother wants us dead. Who knows; that might be why they haven' just killed us, yet. One wants us on their side, the other wants us dead."

"Hmm…despite being a bitch, Tyreen's got a good plan, there."

"Oh?"

"You're Vault Hunters; if you want something, you'll get it, and I think she knows that. She'd rather have you guys with her, and not against her."

"Fair. Honestly, if they caught me long 'fore I joined Lil's outfit, they might've convinced me to help 'em, considering I used to be a mercenary. But…well, they sank that boat when they made this shite personal. This ain' bout money now; hasn' been for a while."

"Amen to that; that's how I felt after Jack killed Roland. It's funny, I ain't even mad about the train thing. I'm pissed about that. We were just about to win; about to fix Pandora…then he springs up and throws it all to hell. Only reason we survived was because Lil, before Jack got full control over her, teleported us all away."

"Let's hope we don' have a moment like that. Might not get as lucky."

"Then you all—ngh—should be careful, then." Zane glanced over his shoulder. Maya was in the doorway, resting against the frame and, clearly, straining herself to move. "Axton, lil' help?"

"Sure sure." The Commando got up and helped the de-powered Siren to one of the stools, letting her sit before he returned to his own seat. "Weren't you told to stay in bed, Maya?"

"I've slept for the last twelve hours; I need a break."

Zane tossed his beer in the trash and picked up a fresh one. "Well, let's talk away, then. I'm sure Lil' won't mind if I sleep in." Besides, he was interested to hear from the depowered Siren.

Who knows? Maybe she had some tips or something.

[Short and non-canon. Risky, but eh. Now that a fragment's been found, I'm considering doing some non-canon entries, both with the team handling side-quests or just unwinding from the situation. Things get much harder for the team, sure, but for now, they have some time to unwind and rest, which is fair.

I've also been working on some professional projects and have neared completion with them, so those've occupied the bulk of my attention.

Next chapter'll be another non-canon one, but it'll be much bigger and much better. I can assure you all that.]