This is the sequel to my previous stories, Hunter's Folly and Hunter's Quarry, both of which can be found on this site. It picks up immediately after the events of the second one and does not contain any form of recap, so it is strongly recommended that you read the rest of them in order to understand what is going on.

Note

I do not own the characters, setting, nor items used in this story. Nor do I claim to. They belong to Gearbox and whomever else created them. They have been used in good faith, with good intentions, with hopefully evident love and without permission.

This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to actual people and/or events is purely coincidental. Any comments, derogatory remarks or offensive comments are not intended to be, if a character is saying it, it is being said by that character, and should not be taken personally. Any social message or real world allegory is likely not intended, I'm not that clever. But if you find one you liked, feel free to give me credit anyway.

Warning:

This story contains depictions of violence and gore, references to bullying and some truly hurtful comments as well as grievous grammatical errors, if any of these things are offensive to you, proceed at your own risk.

Chapter 1

Eden 5

"Hi dad, I'm home."

Those were the first words she had spoken to her father, in person, in almost eight years. She had imagined this moment a million times over those years, thought of all the things she wanted to say and how they would go, how her dad would react, but all of that fled in the face of reality, leaving her mind blank, except for those four simple words.

Gaige stood nervously in front of the open door, a half-smile on her face, wondering if she should say something else, but for the life of her, she couldn't think of anything, not one of the millions of things she had wanted to say to him over those long years came to her in that moment, leaving her standing there, the same awkward teen that had fled the school all those years before.

Her father's wits came back to him first and he stepped forward, sweeping her up in a great hug.

After a minute he pulled back and looked at her, almost like he couldn't believe that he wasn't dreaming, before pulling her in again.

Finally letting her go he looked her up and down and said "My little girl's all grown up."

"Jeez dad, no need to act so cliché." Gaige retorted, embarrassed, but the huge grin on her face said that she didn't mind one bit. "I mean, I wasn't gonna mention all the grey that you've added to your hair, but..."

"And who do you think is responsible for most of that? Hmm? It's not like having a daughter gallivanting around the galaxy is relaxing. Do you have any idea how many assassinations I've had to sabotage? No? Well good, because the more I did, the fewer found you."

"I know, you're the best dad ever. Seriously."

"That said, I kind of was expecting you a couple of weeks ago, I mean you had to have heard about what happened to Holloway."

"Heard about it? We were responsible for it."

"That's my girl."

"It was those stupid fines that held us up."

"What fines?"

"Well, there were all the fees for the crimes I was accused of, for the minor offenses and such, plus the compounded interest. That's what really killed me."

"You should have called me. I could have tried to do something about them, argue them down or get them dismissed. Or at the very least I could have helped raise the money. How much were we talking about anyway?"

She told him and he visibly paled "What! That's ridiculous. How do they expect someone to pay that kind of money? How did you get that kind of money anyway?"

"As much as I love the breeze out here, can we come inside? Unless you don't mind the neighbors to start gossiping about you making your own daughter stand around on the front step all day?"

"I'm sorry. Of course you can come in, you're always welcome, it is your house after all, no matter how much time has passed. It's just that this is all so sudden. I mean, I was expecting you, but then you're here and it's like I'm completely unprepared."

"I know. I still can't believe it myself, to be honest."

He drew her into another hug, before stepping aside and letting her in. Turning he saw the two loitering by the gate, trying not to spy on the intimate moment and waved them over.

"Wow. You've changed a bit from the last time I saw you." He said, looking Deathtrap over. "I see a lot of new modifications. Been rough on you, hasn't it?"

"Urgurr"

"I know. Thanks for looking out for her for all these years." He said, patting the robot on the shoulder.

"Urrrr" Deathtrap said, a bit embarrassed.

"Now then" Gaige's dad said, turning to the last person, who was awkwardly standing behind the robot as if she was trying to shield herself with him and eyed her with a bit of suspicion "Who might you be? And what's your relationship with my daughter?"

"Dad!" Gaige said, spinning around, hands on her hips.

"What? It's my right to ask. Isn't a father allowed to find out who the strange person showing up with his daughter is?"

"That's not the point."

"It's fine." Came the reply from the other girl. "He's right, you show up, after all these years, with a strange girl in tow, he should be questioning who I am and what I'm doing here."

"No, he shouldn't. I brought you, that should be good enough."

"Try and see it from his perspective. He doesn't know what we've been through."

"Fine, you're right. This is Artemis, she's my friend."

"Jinx." She corrected "My name is Jinx."

"My dad should be able to call you Artemis as well."

Her dad caught the small twitch of disappointment on the other girls' face, it seemed to him that she had wanted that name to be just between them, so he couldn't help but say "Welcome to my house, Artemis. Would you like to come in?"

He felt petty when he saw the flicker in the girls' eyes, but she just shrugged and said "If you'll have me."

"What are you talking about? Of course you're welcome here. I mean, it would be pretty awkward living together from here out if you weren't. So get in here." Gaige told her forcefully as she kept her hands on her hips and fixed her with a commanding look.

Artemis looked at her for a second and then walked through the door muttering to her on her way past "You really should think about how you phrase things, especially around people who might not know what you're talking about."

Gaige looked at her funny before looking to her dad and seeing the expression on his face, realized what she had said must have sounded like to him and quickly clarified "She's a friend, I'm just traveling with her on her ship. It's not like we're sleeping together, actually we are, but not like that."

As Gaige attempted to clarify things by digging herself into a hole, Artemis looked around. The house was clean and neat, but there were signs that that had been done recently, as if in preparation for Gaige coming home. Artemis could smell the cleaners on the air, hidden under the smell of flowers and food. The hardwood and carpeted floors were free of dust, even in the corners and the shelves looked like all the objects on them had recently been moved. Either that, or the place was lived in by an absolute neat freak, and judging by how Gaige lived, she doubted that.

The walls had a few pictures on them, mostly by the stairs, which caught her eye. A number of them were of various family members or groups, including one of a younger Gaige, her dad and a woman, who she figured must be her mother. There were also a few shots of Gaige from her younger years, including one school picture of her with braces that Artemis thought made her look adorable.

Gaige finally got her dad to understand the situation and looked over to see Artemis staring at the pictures on the wall and to her horror, at the one from when she was thirteen and had to have braces.

"GACK?!" She exclaimed "What's that doing out?"

"What's wrong with it?" Her dad asked.

"I look terrible in that picture." She retorted.

"I think you look cute in it." Artemis said honestly.

"Cute?" Her dad countered "She's adorable in it."

"Stop making fun of me!" Gaige shouted. "I know I look like a dork in that picture."

"Looking at it I can see how you got that Excessive Adorability charge."

"Stop teasing me." Gaige shouted.

"I'm not teasing you. I really think so."

"Really?" Gaige said, calming down a bit before turning to her dad "But still, it's embarrassing, how could you leave it up?"

"I wanted to remember you. Besides, isn't it a dad's job to embarrass his daughter?"

"Well mission accomplished, so can you take it down? At least while I'm here."

"We'll see." He said before turning to Artemis "Still I'm amazed that you were able to calm her down like that. How did you do it?"

"I don't lie to her."

"That's not easy." He replied with an air of knowledge about him.

"Urrgur"

"Right, where are my manners, standing around the entryway talking, come along, let's continue this in the lounge." He led the way through one of the side doors and into a room dominated by a couch and overstuffed chairs. Motioning them to take a seat he turned to the side board and asked "Can I get you anything to drink? You're old enough now to share something with your old man." He said holding up a bottle of liquor.

Gaige nervously glanced at Artemis who leaned over and whispered "Go on, share a drink with your dad. But just the one, okay?"

Gaige's dad couldn't help but notice the exchange and had to ask "What's that about?"

"I, uh, well...I had a bit of an, well let's call it, an over fondness for margaritas, that I'm, well, kinda trying to get past." Gaige said looking at her fingers.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't have offered."

"No, no, that's what we were discussing. Just the one should be fine, besides, you did promise me that we'd share a drink when I was older."

"You remember that? You were, what, seven, eight?"

"It was something like that, and of course I remember."

"Still, I don't know if I should."

"Oh come on, it was just an over fondness, and I'm mostly over it, and it's not like I've completely cut the alcohol out of my life."

"If it makes you feel any better about it, her fondness for them was more of a symptom of something else bothering her." Artemis interjected.

"And she's been trying to help me with that." Gaige added.

"More than anything, I've just been trying to get her to cut back on the drinking in general. It's more for my own sake, I like having someone to talk to."

"Still, I had no idea. I wonder what else I missed." He said looking at the glass in his hand. Shaking his head, he poured three glasses and held out two of them to the girls.

Gaige took hers, but Artemis looked at it a bit awkwardly before Gaige nudged her in the ribs and whispered "Take it, you can just take a sip and be done, but don't be rude to my dad."

Nodding, Artemis took the offered glass and held it, looking at the rich liquid inside as Gaige's dad picked up his own glass and held it out.

"To reunions." He said "L'Chaim."

"L'Chaim" Gaige answered and took a drink.

Artemis held her glass up, a look of confusion clear on her face, before miming the glass move the others had done, clicking it against the air and took a small sip, before breaking into a coughing fit.

"Are you alright?" Gaige's dad asked, genuine concern on his face.

"She'll be fine" Gaige said, patting the girl on the back "She just isn't much of a drinker."

"Then why did you make her take the drink?"

"So she wouldn't be rude. That said, maybe we should get her a glass of water."

"Urgurr"

"Please do, you know where the glasses are kept?" Gaige's dad asked the floating robot. With a nod Deathtrap flew out of the room as Artemis stopped coughing.

"I'm fine, just not used to these kinds of things. Don't worry, I'll finish it."

"Nonsense" Gaige's dad said, plucking the glass from her hand "I should have asked you what you wanted to drink instead of forcing my preference onto you."

"No, I'm sorry. I kinda ruined your father-daughter moment."

At that moment Deathtrap returned and slid the glass into her hand. She took a small sip and patted his arm, with a "Thanks bud, I'm fine."

"Urgur"

"You seem to get along well with Deathtrap. I've been wondering, how did you meet my daughter?"

Gaige leaned forward with a "Well, it was..." When Artemis tapped her on the arm and with a concerned glance at her father, leaned in to whisper in her ear.

"I don't want to ask an inappropriate question, but your mother is, well, um..."

"What?"

"Well, she's alive?"

"Of course she is. Why?"

"Well, wouldn't she want to hear about what you've been up to as well? Or do you want to tell it twice?"

"Oh." She sat back and looked at her dad "She makes a fair point. We should wait for mom to get home, I think she'll want to hear it as well."

"I suppose you're right." Her dad looked a bit crestfallen.

"While we wait, why don't you tell me about what you've been up to? I haven't heard anything since I left."

"Alright." He said, brightening visibly "Where to start..."

A Few Hours Later

Gaige was laughing, listening to her dad tell another story, Artemis had retreated to the kitchen with Deathtrap. There were only so many stories about crazy uncles, cousins' birthdays and various weddings that she could take, especially when she didn't know any of them. She had sat there for hours, listening and trying to be entertained, before she had excused herself and asked to use the kitchen, explaining that where she was from, the first time you visited someone's house, you brought a present, and hers had been steaks for supper. So that was what she was working on.

She was glad to hear the laughter coming from the other room. It seemed that, at least for this moment, Gaige was free from all of the burden she had been carrying for years. And it was good to see her genuinely happy. Which was the other reason that Artemis had left the room, this was a moment between them, the two of them who had eight years prior said goodbye after the bloody incident in the gymnasium. The two of them who had suffered through the long separation. It should be just the two of them in there. Even Deathtrap had seen that and come out to help her.

The two of them were working, when they heard the front door open and a woman's voice call out "Well something smells good. What's the occasion?"

The two of them looked at each other in a panic, they could hear the footsteps approaching and neither wanted to see what would happen when Gaige's mom found a pair of strangers using her kitchen.

Just as the footsteps were getting close, a voice called out from back down the hall.

"Honey, come over here for a second."

"What are you doing over there? Why aren't you keeping an eye on supper?"

"Just come over here."

The footsteps receded, and just as the pair was breathing a sigh of relief, they heard something hit the floor, followed a second later by a shout of "Gaige!?"

"Hi mom."

"Wha...what are you doing here?"

"Jeez, way to make me feel welcome. I was in the area and thought I'd stop by."

"Of course you're welcome." She wrapped her daughter in a hug before pushing her back and continuing "Let me look at you. Look at those clothes, for shame, look at the length of those shorts! What will the boys think of you? And the state of your hair. We are going to the salon. How long are you staying for? Why didn't you call ahead? Look at the state of the house. I could have had something prepared for you. Have you been eating properly? And I've got to call your relatives, Aunt Shela will be thrilled to hear you're back..."

"Dear, give her space to breathe."

"Yeah mom, besides, the house is spotless, I mean, I can still smell the cleaners. You knew I would be stopping by as soon as I could, didn't you?"

"Is that any way to talk to your mother? And if I knew you were coming, then what took you so long to get here?"

"I ran into a few snags on the way."

"Nothing too scandalous I hope."

"Jeez mom, I just had to make some money to pay off the last of the fines."

"Doing what? That wedding planner thing I heard about?"

"Uh, no, we can, um, talk about that later, right now it's just good to see you."

"Later? Why not now?"

Hearing the direction the conversation was devolving to, Artemis nodded to Deathtrap and he went flying off. Showing up in the lounge to see a thin woman in a business suit, hair done up, with a hand on her hip, the other wagging in her daughter's face. Sensing him coming down the hall she spun at him.

"I see you're still with my daughter. Good lords, look at the state of you, well I should be grateful that you don't have feet to track in with. What's with those spikes? And those stickers? What kind of look were you going for? And that's not even starting with that crystal. Wait, were you just cooking? Is it alright to leave it alone?"

"Urgurr"

"Don't take that tone with me, mister."

"Mom, it's alright, just relax, everything's fine. My friend's doing the cooking."

"You're dating a cook?"

"Wha...we're not dating."

"Not dating? What kind of behavior have you gotten into since you've left? I don't recall raising a daughter that would engage in this kind of scandalous action."

"Scandalous what now? Wait, what do you think's going on?"

"You brought some boy you're with home with you and"

"Boy? With? Whoa, hold up. Artemis is a friend. She owns the ship I've been traveling on and has helped me with all this crap that I've had to deal with over the last month."

"Arte...You mean it's a girl?"

The rest of her family nodded.

"And you two aren't?"

Gaige shook her head, but added "Even if we did have that kind of relationship, would that make any difference? Would you not accept me? Or her?"

"Well, no. I mean, yes. I mean..."

"She's her friend dear. We should be happy that she's finally brought one home. Not to mention the fact that our little Gaige has finally come home to us. We should be happy."

"I am happy. I'm just flustered. Why didn't you call me? Let me know? How could you just let me walk in on this kind of surprise? I bet I look a fright."

"You look fine dear."

"Yeah mom, you look great."

"Sweet talk all you want, but I know the truth. Oh bother, it's good to have you home." She pulled her daughter in for another hug.

"Now then, how did you meet this friend of yours, and when are you going to introduce me? Wait, first I should check my hair and..."

"Trust me mom, she won't care." Gaige said starting down the hall.

Her mother fell in behind her and soon they were peeking around the door frame and into the kitchen, where they found Artemis working. Gaige's mom didn't know what to make of what she was seeing. The girl had lopsided purple hair, with messy spikes on one side of her head and the other cut short, but even from the distance, she could tell that it was in worse shape than her daughter's. She was wearing a dark red shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing the dark purple interior under an almost black, dark green hooded vest thing that she couldn't even really call fashion. Her left arm was cybernetic and when she turned to look at them, she could see that she had violet eyes under heavy makeup, that made her think of someone trying to look older than they were. Other than that, she was short and fairly attractive, if only in a bit of a rough sort of way.

For her part, Artemis didn't know how to act as she turned and looked at the woman standing in the doorway. She was surprised to see that she wasn't as harsh looking as she had sounded. In fact she had a warm face that she could see bits of Gaige in. She was dressed in a sharp suit and had an air of elegance about her, from her tasteful makeup, to the small, but undoubtedly expensive earrings.

Not knowing how to interact with someone like that, Artemis settled on smiling and saying "Hello."

Gaige's mom smiled back and after a "Hello" of her own she ducked back and whispered to her daughter "No one's going to come looking for her, are they?"

"I don't think she's got any bounties on her head."

"No, no, I mean, well, she seems awfully young, how old is she?"

"I'm twenty-three." Came the answer from the kitchen, which caused the older woman's head to whip around.

"How did she..."

"I've got good hearing."

"Stop eavesdropping." Gaige yelled back.

"Sorry."

Gaige shook her head and looked at her mom, who was looking at the kitchen in puzzlement. "She's got good hearing."

"How ever did you two meet?"

"That's a story for after supper." Turning to the kitchen she called out "How long till it's ready?"

"Wait, am I supposed to be listening now?"

"Yes."

"Oh, well, I just pulled the meat off the heat, so it should rest for a couple of minutes, other than that I think we should be ready. So call it five minutes. And I need some help finding the plates and stuff."

Gaige looked back to her mom and with a smile said "Work, work, work. Never ends, does it."

Just before she turned to walk away, her mom caught her arm and whispered as soft as she could "She does know that we can't eat certain things, right?"

"Don't worry, I let her know about your dietary restrictions."

"Oh, OK then."

Gaige smiled and walked into the kitchen and was tempted to call out the other girl with a 'I thought you said that you couldn't really cook.', but she had seen the other girl's efforts to surreptitiously read through cookbooks and other sources to try and learn these recipes when Gaige wasn't looking so that she could make this meal and impress Gaige's parents.

She was opening cupboards and getting out the plates when her father walked in and suggested "Why don't we eat on the back porch. Weather should be good for it, plus the breeze would be nice."

"Sounds good dear, should we break out the good bottle?"

"Maybe, but I don't think either of them would be joining us." Seeing his wife's questioning look he whispered "I'll explain later."

They helped their daughter get the dishes out and watched as Artemis dished up the steaks and roast vegetables before leading their guests outside.

The view from the back porch was serene, the backyard enclosed by trees and shrubs, giving them privacy. Below and off to the side was a small building set off of the well-maintained yard. The table where they found themselves was polished wood and the chairs were comfortable.

Artemis found herself looking around, wondering if she should be here, or if it would be better if she went back inside and let the family eat together.

This was put out of her mind by Gaige leaning over and hissing into her ear "Don't even think about it, sit your butt down and enjoy our company."

Once everyone was seated Gaige's dad raised his glass and offered another toast "To our daughter, back with her family, to the end of..." He caught his wife's eye, as well as the discomfort in his daughter's face, and cleared his throat and started over "To family and friends, together again, or for the first time, but may they not be strangers again."

Everyone raised their glasses, Artemis and Gaige with their root beer and her parents with a glass of wine, and toasted, before digging in.