Chapter 42
"OMG Maya, you looked different!" Gaige chiefly complimented. "What happened to you a few months missing?"
"Not too different, hopefully." Maya answered while scratching her head. "How are you guys back in Overlook? Doing well?"
From what started of Axton reporting to Overlook for his duties, Maya was caught in the background, thus abruptly cancelling his work. The bond between the Vault Hunters was still strong, Maya was truly missed as Gaige was not the only one that was in the Echo Video Feed. People such as Zero, Salvador, Lilith, Krieg, and others were there to get up to date with Maya. Maya could see them in Holographic form but in a blue hue. Axton was in the background and by the looks of it, the meeting session would be long.
He tapped her shoulder. "I leave you guys be, I'll be outside if you need me."
Maya looked at him and she wanted to spend time with him more than just talking to other Vault Hunters. Seeing the eagerness that her friends had, she could not avoid it outright.
Axton then moved to the door and formed a sniper rifle in his hands. He reached for the doorknob and went outside. Maya wanted to say something but it was all too late.
"Damn killer, what's with the new hair cut?" Asked Lilith. "Included in your training too?"
"My hair?" Maya focused back to Lilith. "Oh, you know, a wind of change. My training made me different."
"You look different/like the seasons/tell me who was your teacher?" Zero spoke in haikyuu.
"BLUE LADY IS BLUE FLOWERS OF PAIN!" Krieg said.
"You know, you could shout not near my ears ese." Salvador looked at the psycho.
Like a celebrity being interviewed, Maya was asked many questions. Easy and hard questions, she had to answer them all. Maya had to explain why she did not visit Overlook and how busy she was. At the same time, she missed her friends that looked no different than the last time that she remembered. But the conversation was long, just like Axton expected. Half of her day was occupied with answering questions.Thankfully, she did not visit them back at Overlook, if not, she would be tired partying and drinking.
She moved away from Tretho to rest.
For the next few days, Maya spent her time meditating, writing her journal and reading books. Books that Axton bought from Overlook that she left behind. A toned down version of life in the chaotic planet called Pandora. Every now and then Axton would go out to buy some food from the nearest vendor, they did not eat frequently so only on certain occasions. They distance themselves from time to time, doing their respective things. After doing so, they would bump on each other, chat and joke from time to time. Axton would offer to drive around the area to just feel wind hitting their face. It happened but it was a good addition for their mental health. Her time was filled pleasantly and come night time, they would be so tired and they would sleep soundly on their separate beds.
While enjoying her day's off, Maya quietly observed Axton and see what he was doing. The man do his thing around as if there was nothing to hide and was not bother by it. He certainly changed from the layback Commando that she first met. He had this certain restlessness that Maya had never seen. Always on to something. Axton said that he was semi-retired yet he was busy. He was involved with a lot of things in the Resistance. Frequently contacting with Lillith and Mordecai discussing about the Resistance. He would go out to snipe whenever he felt like, shooting at some random bandits that was needlessly far away. He would then changed from one sniper to the next, using brands coming from Maliwan, Jakobs and others. Then after a restless day, he would smoke his cigarettes and ponder at the Hyperion Space Station.
The Commando was no longer the man that she knew from the past. He had layers of thought that Maya was eager to know but politely not asked. It was like a mystery that she wanted to uncover but he won't give a single clue. Gaige was right, Axton was more than what he showed. He could be more mysterious than Zero but not everyone could see it.
Maya got out from the bathroom with a towel on her neck and saw Axton dealing with a Crimson Raider soldier. The soldier saluted him and the hologram faded.
"I need a better pay for this job." Axton saud half jokingly and stood up.
"Well they called you as the Hero of Pandora for a reason." Maya moved closer and patted his back to comfort him. "If Lillith is the Commander, then who are you?
"Strategic Advisor. Same before she talked me out to resign." Axton walked towards the bathroom.
"Hmm… Why didn't you straight be Commander then?"
"Because I'm lazy. I'm semi-retired, thought I'm gonna get less work being that. Then again, I'm not the type of guy who likes desk work. Now excuse me, I want to take a shit."
Maya pinched him using her Siren powers.
"Ouch." Axton whined. "What is that for?"
"Don't smoke inside, I don't like the smell of it in the bathroom." Maya informed him.
"Alright Maya, alright. Guess I deserve a longer shower then."
Axton went on to the toilet and grabbed a towel that was hanging behind the door. Before he closed it, he looked at Maya through the small space. "Now don't peek Maya, you pervert."
Maya rolled her eyes and chuckled.
Axton closed the door and proceeded to settle hygienic needs. Maya looked around the room and realized that it was a mess. She decided to clean it up before they end the day. She went outside for a moment to hang the towel outside so it would be dry for the next use. Cleaning up the whole place was no hard task, it was mostly unkempt where things were not supposed to be where it should. Starting with the table, she removed the obvious things such as used packages and water bottles to the trash can.
A toilet flush could be heard then footsteps. "Don't peek Maya!"
"I'm not!" Maya looked at the bathroom.
"Just making sure." Axton turned the shower knob and started to clean himself.
Maya smiled wide and shook her head slowly. This would never have happened if she did not confess to him. He hasn't answered how he felt for her but the interaction was more open than ever before. Axton may have changed in certain ways but he was still the same. She loved it to the fullest and made her heart full.
She finished clearing the table and organized in a neat fashion. All of it was influenced by Searcher Red's attitude on cleanliness, he was organized on the things that he was working on. After the table was her bed and making sure the sheets were proper with no creases. The kitchen area was next to be clean then to Axton's bed.
"Ax, can I tidy your bed?" Maya called.
"What?"
"I'm cleaning the whole place, it's messy. Can I tidy up your bed?"
"Yeah sure." The sound of water flowing continued.
She made sure to not touch anything that was personal to him. Like her bed, she also made sure the bed sheet had no creases. Put the pillow at the other end of the bed. Saw his jacket then folded it properly. Amidst the cleaning, something fell down. A photo piece landed on the floor that was right in front of her. Maya stopped for a moment and pondered at the back of the photo which was the white part. The image itself was not seen and she didn't like to intrude on his privacy. She put away Axton's jacket and aligned it well with the pillow. Intended to pick up the picture and slide it under the jacket.
But the moment she picked up the photo, she read the words written across the back-photo.
"Thundalya. Age 26." She murmured.
She turned the photo to see the image, a mugshot of a beautiful woman that Maya recognized but could not say who. She had the Siren mark just like hers but it was white like Angels. The person had a certain mystique. Maya could not help to be attracted to the picture, it muses with mystery. Short haired to the neck, angular face like a model. Her eyes, the most prominent feature of the Siren. She had beautiful eyes.
Axton got out of the bathroom and saw the cleaned room. He liked it, decluttering the mind instantly. "Woah, nice job Maya." He complimented.
Maya was surprised with the sudden voice. She turned to him and quickly put the picture beside his jacket. She stood up straight and cleaned her hands with her pants, as if she had dirtied her hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to check your stuff."
Seeing Maya so stiff, Axton was quite confused. He looked at his bed and his bed was organized like the barrack back in the army. He saw the picture beside his jacket and he moved close to pick it up. He looked at the picture with a blank stare and just acknowledged the woman in the picture.
"Is it your wife?" Maya blurted out. "I'm sorry-I mean your ex-wife."
"No, she's not my ex-wife." Axton shook his head and gave the photo to Maya, no negative emotion could be seen. "Sarah was not a Siren like you."
Maya took it with hesitation and carefully held it with her fingers. "I didn't mean to see it, it slipped out from your jacket."
"It's fine, there's nothing wrong with it." Axton dried his hair and went outside to hang the towel.
Maya took another moment to look at the photo again. When Axton entered the room, she asked again. "Then who is this woman?"
"Alesia." He said plainly.
Maya was stunned and view the picture again, how could she not recognized her face. But on the second view, she reliazed that Alesia had aged tremendously well. The eyes was the main difference, those beautiful eyes had no ferocity. She wiped the photo with her fingertips, shook her head in disbelief that it was the same woman.
She looked at Axton as the man sat down on his bed. "Is it truly the same woman?"
"It is." He nodded.
"I thought killing her was the end of the story." Maya looked at the picture again. "Is there something going on with her?"
"She's dead Maya. What the hell do you get from a dead person?" Axton leaned back with his hands supporting him. "I became a hero because of it."
Maya recalled about the dream she had, where Axton aimed the pistol at Alesia but refused to shoot her. She wanted to know about it so she asked. "How did you kill her?"
Axton eyes shot at Maya. "I didn't. Killing her was a team effort, I just got the spotlight. I tried to kill her but couldn't. There were more things about her that made me just can't pull the trigger. That's why I don't like so much about people calling me the Hero of Pandora."
So the dream was not only a dream; it was reality. Maya realized that she overstepped the boundary. She took a few steps back knowing it. Though, she doesn't know how to reconcile the conversation. Axton closed his eyes and breathed in deep, it was out of character for him to suddenly be serious.
"Sorry about that." Axton cracked his neck. "Guess you want to know why I'm still keeping that picture."
Maya nodded.
"We killed Handsome Jack, saw Angel died and then I personally handled killing Alesia. I know Pandora was chaotic but seeing a whole family gone by my hands is hard shit." Axton looked at the ceiling fan. "Handsome Jack was meant to be killed, but Alesia made me think twice about Angel. So that's the reason why I kept her picture."
Maya looked back to the picture, the younger Alesia, whom she also fought for a time. She could not help but understand. This mysterious person called Alesia was fascinating at the very least; despite her ruthlessness. Maya gave back the picture and Axton put it in a pocket in his Dahl jacket.
"I shouldn't ask, I'm sorry."
"Nah, I'm just tired for the day." Axton pointed at something. "Someone's calling."
Maya looked at where he pointed and saw her Echo device vibrate. She moved to answer it and it was Searcher Kharkov. Maya answered the voice call.
"Maya here-yeah, we're still in the same place-it's okay, we'll wait. Take care Kharkov." Maya turned off her Echo device. "Kharkov and Red send their regards."
"Really now?" Axton's tone changed to the normal one that she was used to. "What did they say?"
"They'll be here to pick me up two days from now." Maya looked at Axton. "They'll have breakfast with us and in the evening, I'll be back doing my training."
"That's nice." Axton nodded and thought about it for the moment. "Hope you settled down with everything mentally about the Siren Cause, a lot of work ahead."
"Yeah…" Maya nodded. "Axton, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."
"Gawd, Maya, would you stop overthinking it?" Axton chuckled. "I know that you're bad at talking. Let it go."
Maya inflated her cheeks to cover her anger to herself. Which made her cuter in Axton's eyes. It also entertained him even more.