"Yo, Vault Hunters! Some freaky ghost girl told me to head over here, so here I am!"
Zane wasn't even surprised to see Vaughn waiting outside. He was surprised to see the fucker in the gold technical he stole, with the amplifier already strapped in. The sun was setting in Sandblast Scar and it was time to get a move on. To head back to Roland's Rest, get ready, and deliver a final assault to the COV.
…or…mostly final. If what FL4K said about them was true.
"I can see that," Zane huffed as the others swept the room, probably trying to find something they could loot or something. "…mind explainin' to me why yar—"
"In…the gold technical. W-Well, it was the only one I saw and…well…Ellie banned me from the Catch-A-Rides all across Pandora."
"Hang on, she banned you?" Moze asked. "What the fuck did you do to get banned by her?"
"I may or may not have, allegedly, tried to combine a bunch of runners together to make, like, a transforming mech suit with some salvaged Hyperion loaders…but…it developed sentience, went rogue, and blew up a loooooootta things." Vaughn shrank into the seat as he explained his explosive tale. "I-Ironically…she only banned me 'cause I tried to do it again, and the second one went offworld somewhere."
"…you're pretty fucking stupid. You know that, right?" Moze deadpanned.
"I dunno, Mozzy Moze. That is bandit level thinkin' right there. If it didn' work the first seven times, try again eight. It's how a lotta useful bandit guns got built back in the day, and how a lotta fuckers died testing said guns."
"Sounds stupid." Moze, regardless, walked off to finish her sweep.
"…go 'head and get to the gunner seat, Vaughn." Zane holstered his pistol. "I know the way back and it should be smooth sailin'."
"Ohhh….yeah…bout that."
Now it was Zane's turn to deadpan. "What did ya do?"
"N-Not what DID I do, but what'd the TWINS do? And…they sent a lotta bandits towards this place. They know you got the amplifier and miiiiight be coming to stop you."
"And ya didn' bother warnin'?"
"In my defense, I was bein' shot at…plus, it's not polite to be on your ECHO behind the wheel." Zane wasn't even going to fault him for such logic…both the bandit part and the ECHO part.
"Alright, time's 'gainst us, people. Hit that Catch-A-Ride, grab some runners, and keep up!" Zane cracked the shift and floored it, keeping his head forward as the technical rocketed through the tunnel and into a large, spacious canyon.
Said canyon was already crawling with COV fuckers who wasted no time in open firing. Some of them broke rank and ran when Zane ran over a few. In the mirror he saw the others were following closely behind, lighting up anyone they could with their runners and keeping pace with him.
An explosion on his right caught his focus. Zane looked to see the burning remains of an enemy runner crash into a rock and for Vaughn to load another, explosive barrel into the launcher. "Alright, THAT'S IT!"
"Don' you fuckin'—"
"BLOOOOOOOOOOOD FEEEEEEEUUUUUUUDDDD!" Zane silently sighed. Another runner exploded into pieces. At least he was hitting his targets. He could tolerate the 'blood feud' til then.
"Oh boy, spiderants," Vaughn sighed. Ahead several of the buggers skittered about, turning to eye the approaching technical and collectively hiss. "Just…keep your distance. I guess; they're uglier on the inside."
"…Vaughn, ya know who yar talkin' to, right?" Zane asked.
"…right. My bad, dude." A spiderant exploded against the windshield. "Fun fact, smashed spiderants are a delicacy now."
"Dunno why. It's a fuckin' bitch to get 'em and a fuckin' bitch to get one that ain' toxic."
"And THAT'S why they're a delicacy…or…at least they were 'til the COV took over. Now I'm not even sure what they eat. Probably each other…but even then…" Vaughn was rambling. He thankfully refocused when some enemy cyclones shot by, one being blown up, courtesy of Amara.
"You good, old man?" She asked through COMS.
"Peachy. Just watch for the watchtowers." The once abandoned Dahl watchtowers were now crawling with COV fuckers who, upon sighting them, rained down fire. Zane grunted when a bullet flicked off his shield and embedded itself in the cushion of the seat. "FUCKIN' FUCKER!" His handgun was out and he fired a shot at that fucker in particular before running over more bandits in his way.
The wheels skidded when they hit the road, though Zane kept himself rigid at the sight of a few, approaching cyclones. One by one, they were blown apart and the rest of the team formed around the technical, keeping their weapons at the ready.
"I…think we're in the clear. Don't see anymore guys…" Vaughn looked around, spiraling the launcher as he did. "…yep! We're clear!"
They rounded a bend and, as if the universe itself wanted to shite on Vaughn, a dropship loomed. "…nope…not clear! Not clear!" Barrels and bullets alike struck it as the ship returned fire. Zane swerved to avoid an oncoming rocket, nearly smashing the technical against the rocky wall to do so.
"Fuck! Mozzy Moze, give us coverin' fire!"
"Working on it!" The dropship sputtered from the damages it took, but continued to pursue them, raining down fire upon their formation. "Got something! Vaughn! Barrel!"
"Barrel!" The 'bandit leader' spun the launcher around and fired a barrel directly at the dropship. It spiraled out of control before smashing against a watchtower, turning it into rubble and death that blocked the path just as they all shot past. "See, NOW we're clear! They can't follow us with all that gunk in the way!"
"Best not jinx it, Vaughn," Amara joked. "The universe might want to mess with you again."
"Nonsense! It is Death who wishes to screw with him," FL4K said. "And then potentially kill him."
…least they were clear.
"So, Lilith wants us to wait?" Moze sat outside with a beer in hand, resting on one of the many barricades throughout Roland's Rest. Her and the other Vault Hunters were sitting around, relaxing and otherwise resting. The moon hung high in the starry sky and the distant calls of beasts reminded Moze that, even when it was trying to be peaceful, Pandora was still fucking scary.
"Mhm, I just got off the line with her." Vaughn chugged his own beer, clearly faking his 'like' of it, considering his face scrunched up. "Oh yeah…hits the spot. ACK! Ahem…yeah she wants us to wait til dawn. She needs time to grab some help and get them ready. I mean, we ARE hitting the COV with everything we got. Gotta make it count, bros."
"True…guess we're restin' for the night. Or, in FL4K's case," Zane gestured to the inanimate Beasthunter. "In fuckin' rest mode…sorta…weird to know they can just do that. But, not complainin'."
"Yep. So," Moze looked towards the road that led towards their stronghold. "We're gonna end this shit…anyone else nervous?"
"Of?" Amara asked. "The twins and their cult have been harassing us for the last few days. It's about time we finally put an end to them, now that we have an opening."
"A shot that ain' gon' last forever." Zane tacked on. "So, tomorrow, we gotta make it count, make it hurt, and make 'em dead. Make sense?"
"Yeah…yeah." Moze finished her beer off.
Zane got up and tossed his beer over his shoulder. "Welp, Imma find what can pass for a place to sleep. Don't be up too late." The Operative walked off, leaving her alone with…well…Amara.
A thousand thoughts raced through Moze's head. Thoughts that left her a bit confused, but for once, she stomached them, and took a deep breath. "Amara?"
"Hmm?"
"If, by some fucking chance, we all don't make it tomorrow…well it's been fun fighting the cult with you. And…fun being around you, too."
"Likewise." Amara finished off her own beer. "Though I have a feeling that isn't it."
"It's…not…I have a lot to say, and I…don't know how to say all of it."
"Well," Amara plopped herself down right next to the Gunner. "We got all night. Start from the top."
Moze intended to use every bit of it.
They weren't in rest mode. Well, they were, but they weren't now. Their optic was powered off, but their auditory systems were still active. Enough to pick up the fact that, finally, the Gunner confessed her feelings towards the Siren.
…she could have used better words, but for the most part, FL4K was amused she finally did it.
Honestly, they were ninety percent certain they'd have to tell Amara themselves for her. Or convince Moze to bring her the severed head of a goliath.
…females liked trophies…probably.
[So, stronghold remains…well standing, for another chapter. I added some intense plot and closed a plotpoint I opened a long time ago.
I'm trying not to push myself as I've spent the week trying to rest. The reason being is, this Sunday, I'll be going in to be tested for COVID-19, as I was exposed to someone who, recently, tested positive. I've been feeling iffy for the last few days so, unfortunately, the chances of me having the virus are less than zero, for once. I'll keep you all posted and, if I do test positive, I'll use the next few days chugging medication and sealing myself away further to ensure I don't spread this to family. I don't plan on being another statistic. Got too much to do.
On a bit of lighter news, I recently opened a Kofi. I'll be adding it to my profile after I upload this, so if you want to toss some spare change my way, it'd be neat. It's FAR from a requirement, so don't feel pressured to do so if you can't.
But, onto the reviews.
To Oni Seven: I covered it in a past chapter; I've been following a walkthrough for this story and said walkthrough doesn't cover the side quests. So, as a result, I'll have to add those as either flashback chapters or post-story content.
To EEJIT: Marcus was hard to write, so I'm glad the impression worked, if you were referring to my work. Everyone else, I wrote them based on how I believe they'd act. I'm shocked how much of my predictions turned out to be true, unless the devs have been reading this. Doubtful, but you never know.
To DOWN WITH RANDY: Much could have been done right. I'll see if I can fix the ending and then some.
Thanks for reading this shorter chapter. Stay safe out there, wash up, and wear a mask. I ain't ready to become a statistic, not when there's so much to be written.]
