The Demon of Pandora

by SQUALO KING

This is the story of a Vault Hunter. A young man he stepped onto a planet of chaos, death, bedlam, pain, and worse. In other words, Pandora This is the story of a man who stood with thieves, killers, liars, lustful fiends, and maniacs against a hero. A story of someone who would walk through the fire and despair of the underworld. This is the story of a Demon.

6. Pandemonium Express

YOSH! This is Squalo King with a new chapter of Demon of Pandora.

Zero: View this Disclaimer /The Writer Makes no Money / Now Please Enjoy It

Translation: Squalo King does not own Borderlands in any shape or fashion; he makes no money

I will edit this chapter later if I find it unsatisfactory. This was a weird one.

Also here's a shoutout for Kilo8, who has a Borderlands story called: Rebel Anarchy and Rebel Anarchy: Side Quests.

---

Pandemonium Express

Hyperion Train.

What started as an assassination attempt slowly became a budding friendship among gun-toting adventures with a thirst for treasure. However, this train, thought to be filled with Eridium and a path to secrets unlocked, was a high-speed deathtrap made of iron and coated in ice and snow. On this speeding Hyperion Train, our heroes were soon confronted by deadly robots known as "Loaders" summoned by Hyperion's bastard son, Handsome Jack. And to add to the pile, a mysterious blade toting specter appeared from nowhere when the trap was sprung. He bore no face, and his only name was that of a number, like a machine; Zer0.

As Loader bots surrounded them, prepped for battle and guns in each hand save for Lee and Deathtrap. Their minds were on several things at the moment; the loaders, getting to Handsome Jack, stopping or even jumping off the train(Salvador and Krieg's thoughts), and just as importantly, dealing with Zer0.

As Zer0 stood there, Lee and the others had one question on their minds as the robots slowly closed in.

"Where the hell did he come from?!"

---

Marcus and Orphan

" Oh, Oh! I know where he came from." said the orphan, interrupting the story again. Marcus stopped in his tracks scratched the top of his head in confusion.

"What, no, you don't," he said, annoyed.

However, the orphan nods his head, sure of his answer.

"Yes, I do, you left clues, and I was paying attention!" said the orphan. Marcus raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Oh really, you snot-nosed smart-ass, prove it?!" said Marcus angrily.

"Okay!, So it started like this-"

Marcus then realized what this would mean, but it was too late.

"Wait damn minute ki-"

---

Hours ago

Lynchwood

In the town known as the insult to all western movies known as Lynchwood, bandits and deputies were preparing to send off their shipment of eridium. Watched over by the legendary and dangerous trigger lustful sheriff by the name of Nisha. Though in this calm, the dusty and rusty town stood quiet and calm,

"Give me that Skag meat!"

"Die Bitch!"

*Bang* *Bang*

As calm, a town could be on Pandora with death and screams as an abundant resource. However, a pair of unknown elements will soon enter this respite. One of these was a ragtag team of three Vault Hunters known as Salvador, Gaige, and Lee, who were currently making their way there. The other was death's shadow, an assassin clade in a battle suit of black with a red numeral 0 on the right side of his chest, his face hidden by his black helmet and a sheathed blade hidden on his back.

At the train terminal of Lynchwood, the entrance was being guarded by 4 of Nisha's deputies armed with Jacobs rifles. One near the docking station for the train and the other at the entrance.

"How long before he comes?" asked one of them.

"Not long, whatever happens, just keep your head low and do whatever he says." one of the Deputies answered back.

Before any other conversation could continue, they heard the commuting train's familiar sound coming to make its stop. However, the train stopped on the opposite end to prevent anyone from coming to a stop the envoy for the eridium.

"What the hell?" uttered one of the deputies as the train comes in. It slowly stops before two of the gunmen with a screeching halt. This moment causes all the guards to tense up, and they ready their weapons. The two at the entrance out of the terminal were about to head up the stairs,

"No, wait down there, might be the others just heading back," the deputy near the train.

The deputies stop in their place and keep themselves at the ready. As for the two gunmen upstairs, they approach the train, the automatic doors open.

"Stay here; I'll go first and check," he said.

The Gunman walks inside very carefully and looks inside the train car. However, he sees nothing wrong; no dead bodies, no blood, and bandits.

"Looks safe, guess it was nothing." he thought.

The deputy lowers his guard and turns around to see his comrade lying on the floor, throat slit with blood spilling out, creating a pool of blood. The deputy is a loss for words; he nearly panics and goes off to the edge of the upper level to warn the other two, only to see that they had vanished from their post.

"C-Call the sheriff!" he thought.

He scrambled in his pockets to find his Echo only to pull it out, and when he attempts to press the necessary buttons, it falls onto the ground. He tries to pick it up only to discover the dark situation. He sweats and gaps for air, unable to scream as he sees that his arms had been lopped off without his knowledge and fallen to the floor along with his Echo. He stood there, baffled by what could have caused this. Unfortunately, he would have nothing on his mind soon.

"W-What the fu-"

In a split second, his head was lopped off and fell to the ground like a soccer ball with his body doing the same. Then a body appears with his suit's camouflage like a glitch in the matrix, and this man was Zer0, whose blade was bloody from his dirty deed. He takes the deputy's hat and cleans his blade with it, and from that, he gave a victory speech, so to speak.

"Cowboys with big guns/ They've all fallen like white snow/ Should have just retired," he uttered. He then sheathed his sword.

He then found a nearby dumpster to hid the body as he did with the other 3 deputies. Zer0 then quietly makes his way to the terminals' higher windows and looks at the town. Seeing it filled with bandits and possible bounties, including Nisha, it was a tempting area. However, he wasn't there for small fries. Much like many who had failed before him, Zero aimed for the Vaults and Handsome Jack's head, with his guns, blades. However, with his years of training in the school of assassins carved into his body and soul, he did not want to join the ones before him who failed.

Zer0 had come here on a tip. However, the earlier conversation between the deputies may prove him to be more fortunate than the others.

He sneaks out of the terminal with his suit's cloaking capabilities activated. He makes his way into town without a single sound from his footsteps being made, nor a single breath. He cleverly makes his way past each bandit who was armed. He stayed low and made sure not to take any actions that he could not erase.

As he made his way through town, searching for Jack himself and his girlfriend Nisha, he made a note of all of the eridium that was being transported into town. Zer0 himself never cared for such things and ignored the purple bars, continuing to skulk around for his target. He sneaks behind some bandits as they pulled the cart.

"How much of this shit is left to haul?" asked one of the Bandits.

"Way more, the train ain't even here yet." said the other Bandit.

"I hope that shit is late!" yelled the first Bandit.

*BANG*

"AAAAAGGHHHH!"

A gunshot is shot echoes through the town. Zer0 quickly looks and sees Sheriff Nisha standing down the opposing path with her pistol in hand. Beside her was her deputy Winger, who was meek as he ever was. Luckily for Zer0, no one noticed him.

"Get to work unless you are tired and want a dirt nap like him," she said in a threatening tone yet with a smooth voice.

The Bandit then scrambled to pull his cart of eridum to the center of town. As Nisha watched him run away like a coward, she felt strange, as though she was being watched. She moved her eyes around, searching for anything that suspicious. She found nothing, but she couldn't shake the feeling something was here and watching her.

"Come out now, varmint," she ordered.

*Click*

Nisha pulled back the hammer of her Jacob's pistol. She saw no person come out to attack her. She waited a moment, and when it was clear that no one was around(that she could see), she leaves. When the Nisha was further enough away, Zer0 moved from his spot and moved through the housing space. As he did as such, making sure to keep Nisha in his sights.

He continued to use his cloaking and decided to tail Nisha for either an opportunity to find his other target, Handsome Jack. He was actually caught off guard at the idea that Nisha could sense his presence. For a moment, he fantasized about a duel with her at high noon, mostly due to her cowgirl aesthetic.

When he makes it to the center of town, where it was clear, he could see the station meant for oncoming trains to pick up or drop off supplies. He noted the bandits with eridum carts, even those scared off earlier. As Zer0 followed Nisha, something unprecedented began to happen.

*Rumble*

The ground shook. An earthquake shook the whole town and almost knocked everyone to the ground. Zer0 quickly heads to the space underneath a building to not be hit by any debris. When the quake ended, everyone got back to work like nothing had happened, which was no surprise given how often the quakes had become.

Zer0 decided to stay in his current location. No one could see him, so overusing his cloak was not an issue. It was perfect to see the train coming, and I could still keep an eye out for Nisha. He wondered when Jack would appear and why. How long would Jack be there, and if this was a trap, didn't concern Zer0 in the slightest; the wait and the present danger he was in being in Lynchwood was something he welcomed with a smile under his helmet. He stat prepares; he is a patient man. He didn't have to wait for long.

*Rumble*

Another rumble shook the ground, soon it got louder and louder, but this time it was accompanied by the sight of a yellow metal train. It was a Hyperion train that was meant for transporting eridium. When the train stops, the door opens and walks out Handsome Jack himself.

"Hello Lynchwood, old and dusty as shit," said Jack. As he walked out, the train's other compartments opened, and the bandits began to tow the train's eridium.

While the bandits did their work, Jack, Nisha, and her deputy Winger oversaw the transfer. All unaware Zer0 was watching them. He had gone out of his hiding place and used his cloaking to blend in with the area around him. He knew he needed to get closer to strike a killing blow on Jack, so he skulked to the group as quietly as he could. Like he had practiced for this very kill.

As he got closer behind them and he could hear their conversation, Jack called Winger Ringo stated if he was attracted to him and goaded him into hastening with the process of transporting eridium. Jack put his hand on Nisha's butt, flirting with her, and then brought out a gun as a gift. Jack was then about to kiss Nisha.

It was a perfect time, defenseless, unaware, overconfident. Zer0 could draw his blade and kill jack now. Or at least he could if the next event didn't happen.

*BOOM*

Suddenly, someone crashed right in front of Zer0 and behind his targets, creating a cloud of dust. Jack and Nisha draw their guns. This also attracts the attention of everyone in town. This shocking event caused Zer0 to retreat and rethink his strategy for taking Handsome Jack's head. He retreated to a nearby alleyway and kept his cloaking on.

He watched the rest of the events from the corner of a didn't know if he was found out, but the question was mute when he saw a young man dusting his body off as the dust cleared. In no time, Zer0 witnessed Nisha and Jake have their guns trained on him and what Zer0 heard next was.

"Who the hell are you?" asked Nisha

"I'm Lee, and I would like not to die," said Lee awkwardly.

Then there was gunfire. Jack and Nisha tried to gun him down, but Lee was too agile and would evade all of their bullets. Soon the entire town fired on the young fool but not only was Lee not dead from all of this, but he also wasn't fighting back.

Zer0 continued to watch but found no openings to kill Jack at the moment. Then he saw the train, Jack's form of transportation to this false western town. Jack had come alone and would use it to leave.

As he was thinking over his options, he saw Lee heading his way. He uses his cloaking and quickly moves from his spot to get caught in the gunfire. He makes his way to the train, but not before noticing Jack's unusual position behind Lee at the moment, and he didn't see him move around earlier. He watched as Lee talked to Jack and kept him from shooting him in the head. Using this cover as an advantage, he moves into the train, unaware of the boarding ones and the ones who would join this trap.

---

Marcus and the Orphan

"And Mr. Zer0 hid on the train before everyone else got aboard. He stayed hidden, probably because he wanted to make sure the others wouldn't get in his way. Until Jack's train trap sprung." said the Orphan, finally finishing his explanation of how Zer0 got onto the train.

Marcus was surprised. All he could do was stare at the orphan when he had told Zer0's story.

"How d-, I barely men- ah never mind!" he said frustrated. "Now, can I please go on with at least the amazing train fight?" asked Marcus. The Orphan smiles and nods.

"Yep, got it out of my system." said the Orphan.

"Right, back to story," said Marcus, a bit exhausted.

---

Hyperion train(story)

Without answering the reason for his appearance(though you were just given one), Zer0 cuts down two more Loaders before they could attack him. He then cloaks himself again as the Loaders began to attack.

"Hey wai-"

Lee called out to the man but stopped as the Loaders began to fire. Soon all who had guns drew them and began to gun down the Loaders. Salvador takes two of his Vladof rifles and fires them like no tomorrow, tearing apart the Loaders that he could hit.

"HA HA HA!" he laughed as he broke them like over-sized toys.

Gaige pressed her finger on her SMG trigger and never let go. She aims directly at the Limbs of the Loaders just as Zer0 had done before, causing their iron bodies to fall to the ground. Deathtrap then began using his energy claws t tear them apart as they lie on the ground.

Maya quickly drew her Corrosive pistol and shot the Loaders, causing their armor to erode from their weakness as a projectile. She fired over and over until the ones before she was puddles of melted iron with their robotic voices distorted as they died.

Axton used his Dahl rifle to expertly shoot each of the Loaders in their red eyes, killing them instantly with a small electrical burst to signify his "Critical Hit" With a smile and grin, he gunned them down like it was practice.

"Damn, I'm good!" he said to himself.

However, Lee and Krieg didn't use any guns at the moment. Lee charged at one of the Loaders with nothing but his fists. As it shot at him, he dodged out of the way and used all his might to knock the SMG it had out of its hand, though it was far harder than a human.

"Dang!" he yelled. He then jumped at the Loader before drawing another weapon and gave it a powerful kick that knocked it back to the train wall. Lee quickly picked up the Hyperion SMG and smashed the barrel into its eye, 'killing' the combat mech.

"Yes," he said to himself. However, Krieg was having better luck with the use of his guns.

"FLICKERS OF SUNSHINE AND PISS!' yelled Krieg.

He carves up the other Loaders with his Buzz-axe with powerful swings and occasionally tears them apart with his bare hands. The others were a bit wary of him swinging his weapon to space in the room.

After a chorus of bullets and battle screams, the Loaders were destroyed. Despite this victory, they were all still on their guard. They all began to reload and prepare for what was to come.

"GG," Gaige then switched out her SMG for a Hyperion pistol and smiles at D.T. "Good one, babe!"

"Don't jinx it; he's probably got more ready for us," said Lee; he hands Gaige the SMG that he had knocked away.

Axton then smirked as he patted his pocket.

"Yeah, well, I've face way tougher spots than this. My girlfriend and I are set to roll," said Axton as he pumped his fists into the out with a rifle in hand.

"All apart of being a badass Vault Hunter!" yelled Axton.

"Girlfriend?" questioned Lee. Salvador then pats Lee's back.

"Good job there, full melee on steel," said Salvador. Lee shook his head.

"Things are tough without those Hyperion guns," said Lee. He then hands Gaige the SMG, and she takes the ammo out to add to her own. Maya, who was currently reloading her pistol, looking at Krieg, looked out the windows, twitching and acting his usual crazy self.

"Okay, Lee, so do we do now?" asked Maya

"Wait, how come he's in charge?" whined Axton.

"Well, what was your plan when you got on the train?" asked Maya. Axton opened his mouth to speak, but no words could escape him.

"Hey, don't be rude Axton could come up with a plan, but this was Lee's idea," Gaige said to Maya.

*Rumble*

Just then, the train car shook in place, nearly knocking everyone to the ground. It was then that the cold wind's sound as it passed through the train began to become sharper. Gaige looked outside the train and saw that the scenery was passing faster than earlier.

"Son of a whore!" yelled Gaige. "We're going faster!"

"Perfecto, I'm starting to love train rides," said Salvador.

However, Axton panicked a little. The others could feel the danger creeping up on them; excitement, fear, desperation was all that could be felt. Axton then put his hand on Lee's shoulder.

"Okay, Lee, you're the man with the plan!" he said with a wink.

"Great, I have to make sure they don't die either." thought Lee. However, he didn't have much of a plan to start with. The vague goal "head to the front of the train, kill Jack" might not completely cut it.

Lee looked around at the room and saw some disadvantages to them; the train was in a more confined space, and they were in a large group, so fighting would prove difficult. They were in enemy territory so that traps could be anywhere on the train. There were also those strange nodes in the walls that have done anything yet. However, Lee could assume that Jack was in the train's safest part.

"No different than before, we fight to the head of the train where Jack is, and it's probably the safest part of it too," said Lee.

"There's probably traps and more robots like the ones in here so the-"

*BOOM*

The train shook again, and only this time was accompanied by a large explosion that struck the side of the train car. With no more time to talk, Maya holds her pistol in one hand and leaves her tattooed limb empty.

"Head the front, got it!" yelled Maya. She looks back at Krieg and immediately pays attention to her.

"Come on, big guy, keep up!" she said. Maya then ran in front of everyone else and opened the door, dashing through everyone else.

Before Lee could stop her, Maya was already through the door,

"Damn it, though she'd be more pragmatic," Le thought, frustrated. And seconds later.

"INTO THE DRAGON'S EMBRYO!" he yelled. However, rather than charging into the next room where Maya was. Lee narrowed his eyes, annoyed.

"Oh, it's on now!" yelled Axton. He then runs to the next room, "Not letting that psycho show me up!"

Before Lee could feel frustrated by this affair, Salvador pats him back.

"Can we kill Jack now, Nino?" asked Salvador as he clocks his gun.

Lee growled, which made Gaige giggled and got her gun ready, and Deathtrap prepares his energy claws. Lee nods, and the three then run into the next car.

Our trio sees the others shooting at the Loaders; bullets fly, gunfire fills the air. The Loaders fire bullet after bullet. Maya and Axton returned fire, shooting at them as fast as possible, Kreig smashing them to bits with his weapon with them trying and failing to attack Krieg with their robotic arms. As he swung, his buzz-ax occasionally scarred the train's walls and floor due to the little space. Axton and Maya would fire each time they would reload. They put their backs against the wall for the little cover they had with the wall's supports.

"Hey, look who showed up!" said Axton, yelling over the gunfire. He continues to aim for their red eyes, killing them instantly. Though the Krieg's movements made it hard for him to aim, Maya's situation was worst since she didn't want to hurt him.

Lee, Gaige, and Deathtrap take cover to avoid the gunfire. However, with a smile, Salvador drew a Vladof rifle and began to fire away. He fired at them, practically pissing bullets, pelting their iron bodies. Though his reckless fire nearly hit Krieg, who was in the way due to his fighting style.

"Out of the way!" yelled Salvador. Krieg only laughed as he was hit with the occasional bullet.

"BUMBLEBEE BITES!

"Stop shooting him!" yelled Maya.

Salvador didn't obey and continued to fire until Lee grabbed his rifle to get him to stop. He then pushed him over to the wall for cover while Loaders fired. Gaige tried to fire at the Hyperion battle robots but only killing a few of them. Deathtrap kept its distance because of Krieg's manic attacks, and the sight of him tearing apart robots made him scared.

*Scared Robot noises*

He cowered behind Gaige but used his arms to shield her from any oncoming bullets that would harm her.

"Thanks, DT!" said Gaige. She looked at Lee and Salvador.

"I can't get any closer, and that big lummox is making it harder to hit anything!" yelled Gaige.

Lee looked around at the room and saw no traps, but one of the many troubles was its space.

"Damn it, and it's too cramped in here. I can fight how I want to!" complained Lee. Salvador then waived his golden Hyperion Pistol in Lee's face as the Loaders fired at them as if to tease him.

"Hey, something's wrong. More of them are showing up out of nowhere!" yelled Maya, "And it's not from the next car!"

As Maya revealed this, she tried to weed out as much as she could but to no success. She was quickly wasting bullets on targets that would be replaced or for shots that would outright miss. Axton was also failing to kill them, not just with Krieg's massive body in the way as he flailed about but with the sheer number increasing.

The others noticed this, and it was apparent that this was another portion of the trap.

"What the hell is going on?" asked Axton

"How many of these things are in this car?!" yelled Lee.

*Bang*

"Agh!"

A shot fires from behind and hits Gaige in the shoulder, her blood splatters on the floor. She cries in anguish, with Deathtrap keeping her close and guarding her. Lee witnessed this and quickly moved to Gaige's side with a Rejuvenator in hand, and Salvador went with him. Deathtrap wrapped its arms around both parties to shield them as Lee helped Gaige. He saw the bullet didn't just graze her, it went straight through the bone of her shoulder, and she was bleeding. Lee gives her the Rejuvenator, and she sticks herself with it.

"You okay?" asked Lee.

"I'm fine, but we've got bigger problems!" yelled Gaige. She points at the previous car. Lee sees that more loaders have appeared and marched in their direction. They were firing their guns but only able to aim through the entrance. They hadn't hit anyone else due to Deathtrap shielding Lee and Gaige.

Salvador began to fire his rifles at the Loaders as they came in from the car. It was easier to destroy them, but they kept coming one after another. The sight of this confused Salvador and the rest of the party, but not enough to take him out of the fight. He fires down the single entrance to the train car, gunning down as many as he could.

"What the hell is this shit a magic act?" asked Salvador. Axton then smiled and saw an opportunity to show off. He then pulled out an iron box and held it like a grenade.

"You want magic?" said Axton. "Out of the way, shorty, my girlfriend is best for this!" yelled Axton.

He throws the box past Salvador in front of him. Salvador was stricken with confusion,

"The hell is-

Salvador could only watch as the box quickly transformed into a mini turret with a single barrel. Twin bandoliers, missile turrets attached to both sides, a laser for aiming, and a mark on the side that read: F. S.W.L."

"This is for that fan of mine, fire!" yelled Axton.

It then points down into the previous car and starts shooting the robots in the previous car. Pumping bullet shells out with its gun fire's sound nearly drowned out the others. The Loaders were taking damage left and right but continued their assault.

"Cool girl of yours," said Salvador.

He then takes his rifles and fires into the back and Axton's turret. Acting in tandem, they were able to gain more ground.

As Lee was finished giving Gaige the health pack, he then looked at the nodes on the walls began producing a light blue ray of light. From the light, Lee witnessed Loaders digistructing into existence. He looked at the train car's wall and saw the same nodes. He looked around in the car they were in and saw the same nodes.

He then runs to the closes one and punches in with every out of his strength and breaks it. Gaige sees this and understands.

"They're coming out those things on the wall, bust them up!" yelled Gaige. She then leans against the wall. Her injuries didn't hurt, and she was still able to fight. She held her SMG and shot at the node closest to her.

"Deathtrap, take out the other nodes that you can get too!" yelled Gaige. Deathtrap nods with his body, "Good boy,"

Deathtrap then quickly hovers around the room and breaks the nodes before they could produce any Loaders on their side of the room.3 in all, plus the ones that Lee and Gaige had broken.

However, the ones at the other half of the train were untouched. Maya shot at as many Loaders as she could without hitting him. She then saw some of the remaining nodes; she aimed carefully and shot one of them.

"A few of them are left here, but what about the ones in the back?" she yelled. Lee then got out from his spot and charged toward Krieg and the other Loaders. This act was considered suicide even by Salvador's standards.

"Hey, he'll take your head off!" yelled Axton. Salvador looked back as he kept shooting and smirked at Lee's craziness.

"Blow up the other room, and take out the ones in the back!" yelled Lee.

"I got it!" yelled Axton. He then pulled out a button and pressed it. The Turret then returned to its box form, leaving Salvador to push back the other car's continuous enemies. Axton then pulled out his Maliwain Rocket Launcher,

"Bombs away," he yelled. He then fires a Fire element rocket into the other car. Salvador ducks out of the way, and Deathtrap shields Gaige, and Maya looks away before the expected blast hits.

*BOOOOOOM*

And man did it hit. The back 2 cars the train shook at the moment of the rocket's impact. In an instant, the caboose was filled with fire that blew into their car for a moment, nearly burning the others. The fire and destruction were replaced with smoke that blew out the caboose's vents and windows. A single look inside as the smoke cleared showed the Loaders' smoking scattered pieces. Lucky for them the nodes were also destroyed.

"NICE!" yelled Gaige. Deathtrap gave a thumbs up, which caused Axton to beam with pride.

At the same time, Lee charged toward the Loaders Rushing past the Loaders' robotic corpses, stepping on them as they piled up due to Krieg. He noted Krieg's crazed movements as he beat away the dwindling enemy's numbers. He sees the last node in the room when Krieg tries to give a wide swing of his buzz-ax and dodges it as Krieg broke the Loaders apart.

"KILL KILL KILL!" yelled Krieg

"Whatever you say, man," thought Lee. He then takes this moment to find the last node guarded by the remaining Loaders that were shooting their

"There it is!" thought Lee.

He then clenched his fists and beat some of the other Loaders with his fists until he broke them. As he did, Maya backed him up by shooting them with a corrosive pistol and slowly melts down. Soon the path was clear, and Lee ends the endless myriad of robots by smashing his fist into the node.

"Got it!" he yelled.

He looks at the remaining Loaders, but before he could attack, he saw Krieg attacking and the others shooting them. He dodges out of the way and allows the others to finish the job. The train car's floor was covered in the Loaders' broken pieces when they were done. The walls scarred by the graze of Despite the

The others quickly make their way over to them, making sure not to trip. Axton had retrieved his turret first. They were all alive, ammo and guns to spar. The current event did not deter spirits.

"Well, that was fun," said Maya. "You okay big guy?"

"TORTURE TINKER TOYS!" yelled Krieg. He was about to run off again, but Maya grabs his arm. Krieg immediately halts.

"Whoa, whoa, not yet," she said. Krieg then nods.

"Gaige, how's your shoulder?" asked Lee.

"Fine, Deathtrap has my back, and I can still kick ass!" she said. She then shot into the air to signify this. Deathtrap then gave Gaige a hi-five/

"Cool, but you're wasting ammo," said Lee with a half-smile.

"Sturdy kid ain't you, pretty cool shit!" said Axton with a thumbs up. Gaige lit up at the compliment. Axton then looks at Lee.

You don't have to worry about your girlfriend!" said Axton. Lee blushed and nearly exploded. Gaige

"Were not like that!" he yelled. Gaige then kicked Lee in the shin. He winces in pain.

"What the hell is wrong me, smart guy?" she asked, offended by Lee's response.

Salvador then whistles loud enough to catch everyone's attention.

"Vamanos, next car, let's haul ass!" he said. Salvador then ran ahead of everyone to the next car. With no more time to stand, they ran as well, hoping to get off the train alive.

"Won't we just get overrun again?" asked Axton. Lee shook his head and points to the broken node.

"All we have to do is break the nodes that are set up in the train cars," said Lee. He then claps his fist into his other hand.

"We can turn others into scrap metal till there's none of them left," he said with bravado and a smile to match.

*Frightened robot noises*

"Except Deathtrap," said Lee. Deathtrap was delighted to hear that with Gaige patting his arm.

Maya then made her tattoos glow for a moment; she grins. With a plan in place

"I can get the next car; step back for a bit. I'm not used to fighting in big groups.!" said Maya.

Lee and Gaige were excited to hear that; Gaige smiled while Lee tried to hid it. The mere assumption of seeing a Siren was about to use her powers was something they would beg to see.

At this moment, a human body fell off the train. Dead before it could even scream.

Salvador opens to door to the next car and jumps inside. The Car was halfway full of Loaders, but he starts shooting anyway; rifles in both hands, the Loaders all returning fire, the sound of gunfire, or even the whips of bullets. Though he broke them one after the other, they continued to grow in number as the others before them.

As he fights, everyone enters the room and sees the same situation as earlier play out. Deathtrap and Gaige quickly take out the closest wall nodes as Axton readies his gun to start shooting along with Salvador, but Lee grabs his rifle by the barrel and quickly pushes him to cover. Gaige and Deathtrap did the same thing. Krieg was prepared to rush out with her, but Maya used her other hand to direct him to cover, and he quickly complied. Maya then steps out in front with her tattoos glowing proud and bright. Lee could feel the power emanating from her arm; it was like feeling the pulse of a thunderstorm, a mighty heartbeat. The hair on his body tingled, his head seared with pain, he could feel the contained lightning storm about to unleash, and he could just watch in amazement as the glow got brighter and brighter. He couldn't look away.

"Hey, shorty move it!" yelled Gaige.

Salvador then ducks to the left side of the room. Giving Maya her target; the Loaders and the nodes on the wall. As they marched her way, shooting one after the other, Maya lifts her hand, which causes one of the Loaders to levitate.

"Freeze!" she said.

As she lifts, her hand swirling energy appeared in her palms, almost like a black hole. She makes a fist with creates a dark cyan orb around the Loader. It was a perfect sphere that was almost hypnotic. Lee and the others were awestruck.

"Spacial containment, that's bitching!" said Gaige.

"Briujah spell," uttered Salvador in shock. Lee then pumped his fist in the air in excitement. He could feel something incredible from Maya. He had never seen a Siren's powers at work before, and it was everything he hoped for more.

"Awesome!" yelled Lee. He ignores whatever pain he felt and kept watching.

Maya smirked as she held the captive Loader in her hands. She liked the attention from the others.

"It's called Phaselock, now watch," she said. She only had one idea in her mind. S

"You won't enjoy this!" she yelled. She tightens her fist, and the Loader was then crushed under the force of its prison until it was an ugly sphere. She then swings her fist right and makes to Loader crash into the other Loaders to the right. Like a bowling ball hitting pins, they broke at the amazing power of Maya's Siren abilities. She smashed the Loader into the wall, creating a large dent in the wall and destroying one node. She swings to the left, knocking over and destroying scores of them as more were being made. This swing makes a wider and deeper dent in the wall creating a tear in the wall and shattering the nodes on that wall.

The others could only watch; she was about to smash it into the wall again. However, Salvador noted a turret on the ceiling that was digistructed into existence. It aimed its barrel at Maya and prepared to shoot. He then comes out of cover and pulls out his Vladof rifles. He aims them at the turret and starts shooting at it before it could gun Maya down. He quickly destroys it but quickly after, Maya then swings left and makes a gigantic hole. Rushing ice-cold air enters the train, the scenery of the Glacier plains they were traveling through; clouds blocked the sky with a deep blue color, snow would whip past and even enter the car. Glacier formations, frozen ocean, and wrecked ships were dangerous signs of what was to come.

"AAAAHH!"

Salvador was handing out of the hole, grabbing onto the scraps for dear life to everyone's shock. Some of the remaining Loaders then try to shoot Salvador out of the train, but they are hailed with Axton and Gaige's gunfire. Lee rushes past a perturbed Maya and grabs Salvador's arm as he was hanging out of the train.

"Hang on, Salvador!" he yelled.

"Don't rush; the air's kinda cool!" Salvador yelled back

Lee pulls Salvador back inside safely. Gaige, Deathtrap, Axton, and even Krieg surprisingly was destroyed the nodes on the walls and the remaining Loaders. Of course, Krieg slammed his buzz-ax into the wall over and over like a madman.

"Knock Knock!" he yelled.

"Who's there?" asked Axton jokingly.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" yelled Krieg as he banged on the wall. Axton couldn't tell if he was supposed to laugh or be afraid.

As everyone else was getting their barrings back, Maya thanked Salvador for what he did.

"Thanks for the cover; now you've saved my life," said Maya. Salvador smiled while Lee chuckled at the comment.

"Not the big honor that you think it is," said Lee. Gaige then walked over and bumped Lee and Salvador with her hips.

"We got all the nodes lets to get out of here before we fall out," said Gaige. Deathtrap nods in agreement.

Lee then looked out the wall's hole as everyone was getting ready. The Scenery, the cold air, and the rushing wind made nervously. The next even would make things worse.

As Lee and the others were about to head to the next car, the sound of a low hum invaded everyone's ears. Salvador pulled out his Bandit and Hyperion pistol and everyone else, aside from Lee, drew their guns.

"Now what?" yelled Axton.

They looked out the hole and saw a small drone with 4 metal wings, a bright red eye, and a small blue energy stream. This was Hyperion Surveyor. However, due to the events previous to this, this was filled with disdain. So much that Lee then puts his hand in Salvador's backpack(the device where he keeps his guns) and pulls out a Jacobs pistol. He points it at the Surveyor before it could do anything.

"Fuck this," he said. He then pulled back the hammer and fired at the Surveyor. However, it repels the bullet with a shield that causes the bullet to ricocheted and knock the pistol out of Lee's hand. Salvador and Axton laugh at him, Gaige groans, and Maya looks confused.

"*Laughs* Seriously, kid," uttered Axton.

"Oh, Come on!" yelled Lee.

The Surveyor then flies inside the train and produces a light similar to the nodes. It slowly began to repair one of the Loaders. Pissed at his humiliation, Lee rushes over to it, smashes it with a single hit, and quickly destroys the half-broken Loader. Gaige then went over to study the remains.

"Hyperion Surveyor, like rats with wings but with cool mech," said Gaige.

"I hate birds," said Salvador as he reloaded his guns. Maya then pats Salvador's head and points outside of the train. Salvador and the others see that a flock of Surveyors was now surrounding the train. However, the first to react to the new enemies were,

"I'm here to shank and smile!" yelled Krieg.

He then jumps out the train's hole with Maya failing to stop him and the others unable to react to his craziness. Krieg grabbed onto the hole's edge and began to swing at the Surveyors and destroy them. He swung at them like King Kong at biplanes and was actually doing well. The others poked their heads out the hole to witness Krieg fighting and traversing the train as a giant ape.

"Is he gonna be okay?" asked Lee, concerned.

"Probably freezing his ass off," said Axton. Maya hesitates to answer.

"He'll be fine Lee, he looks like he's having fun," said Maya. She then puts her hands to her mouth and yells.

"Krieg meets us up front!"

After Krieg quickly waives back to her and quickly roars like an animal. This was the best confirmation that the others had heard from Krieg that they could understand. They were about to head out, but then this happened.

"AAHH!"

Then a group of bodies fell off from the train's roof, sliced, stabbed, and shot to death. Some were even as they fell. They look up and see Zer0 on the top of the train., blade in hand.

"Hey, it's the ninja!" said Axton.

"I forgot about him!" yelled Lee in shock.

Zer0 then points the head of the train, and his helmet produced an emoticon,

" :)."

He then disappears, leaving everyone confused again. They stick their heads back inside.

"Guess he's on our side now, cool!" said Gaige. Deathtrap then nods.

*Robotic sounds of approval*

Another body falls from the top of the train.

"Mommy!" he yelled as he fell.

"Well, he's against Jack, so that's the same thing," said Lee. He saw the scenery speeding by even faster; the others get nervous as there was no telling where the train would stop. "We need to head to the front of the train as now!"

"What about any other traps?" asked Maya, who nearly fell victim to one.

"Just destroy them, cut through all of it!" said Lee.

"No stopping for anything!" yelled Salvador.

"ANARCHY!" yelled Gaige. No one knew why Gaige yelled that, but it felt right.

They then rushed to the next car. Zer0 was staring down a long line of Hyperion Engineers on the top of the train. Blocking his way to the head of the train, their due desire to kill him. Zer0 only cared for the conductor's car of the train and the possible coming crash. Whether Jack was at the head or not, the only way to get out alive was to stop the train.

"Vault Hunters inside/Fighting the Loaders and traps/These guys are all mine,"

"Die, Bandit!"

One of the thugs rushes at Zer0 and tries an over-swing with his robot arm. Zer0 merely evades the attack and cuts the man and his exoskeleton in half with a single swift cut. He makes his way across the top of the train as fast as he could. Three of the Engineers then come at once. One of them punches at Zer0's body, but it turns out to be a hologram of Zer0, which confuses them when the punch hits. The Real Zer0 appears behind them and stabs one through their body,

"AHH!"

The scream made the other turn around, but only to miss Zer0 as our assassin had flipped over both of them and then kick the other engineer into the blade, causing both of them to get impaled. He rolls back after his kick and retrieves his blade. He sees more Engineers coming his way, he points his blade at them, and his mask creates a holographic emoticon: ;).

He continues his way to the end of the train, dismembering engineers like fruit. As he fought, he could hear gunfire inside of the train through each advancement. He could tell that the others were fighting inside. They were advancing to each section of the train much faster than earlier. They were getting closer to Jack, and it was better to have them clear out the inside for him. He could see Krieg destroying some of the Surveyors for him at the train's sides. The bandit conversed between train cars to destroy each of the Surveyors on both sides.

"GRIND THE CARTILAGE!" yelled Krieg.

Zer0 thought he was disturbing.

After cutting down several other Engineers, Zero's path was clear, and he was 3 cars until he was at the conductor's car, but when he noted that the Surveyor's had stopped attacking. They were heading toward the train's caboose, something that angered Krieg. He sees that they were shining a blue light inside the car and doing something.

"?"

"Now run, HAHAHA run!" yelled Krieg to the Surveyors. He climbs over to the other Surveyor and destroys them; however, he sees a Loader inside.

"I see you!" he yelled. He then climbed inside to fight it.

Back with the others, they were only 3 cars away from Jack. Currently, they were dealing with Loaders. Lee, Gaige, and Deathtrap taking care of the remaining nodes, with Maya, Salvador, and Axton destroying the last of the Loaders. Due to Salvador getting caught in her attack and the train's size, she abstained from using her powers like that again.

Maya shoots out the eye of the final Loader, and it falls to the ground with a clank joining its brethren.

"That's the last of them here," she said proudly. Deathtrap then crushes the final node with his claws, and he gives Gaige a thumbs up.

"All finished up!" said Gaige.

"*Cheerful Robotic noises

"Now to rip Jack a new asshole, a Jack-hole if you will," said Salvador. Axton then laughed.

"I like that; I'm stealing that for later," he said with a smile as he reloads.

Everyone felt a sense of elation. The hard battle, the constant sense of danger, gunfire, and traps were almost finished. However, during this time, the others were reloading and fantasizing about killing Jack, that Lee realized that he wouldn't get information out of Jack if he died.

"If the others kill him, I won't find out anything." he clenches his fist as he looks at the door. "Damn it, did I get us in this trap and lose my best lead?" he thought. He could not tell the others to stop since his "plan" was to kill Jack.

Salvador had noticed Lee's frustrated look and went over to him.

"Hey Nino, you gotta shit?" asked Salvador. Lee feigns a smile.

"I'm alright and ew, let-"

*Tremble*

The train then shook again. Rather than getting caught off guard, everyone aside from Lee got their weapons ready.

"Come on bitches!" yelled Lee. He tightened his fists and got into a fighting stance.

The doors on all the train cars quickly open.

*Bang*

Startled by the doors, Salvador shoots at the wall. He nearly scares the others.

"Damn it, Salvador," said Lee, annoyed.

"Why'd the doors open like that?" asked Maya.

Axton looks down the path they were going, and with all the doors open, he could make out the conductor's car as their destination.

"Who cares? Let's make a break for it!" he said as he pointed down the hall.

*Boom* *Shake* *Tremble*

A large explosion was heard on the train that nearly knocks everyone off their feet. They looked down the other end and saw smoke and fire in 3 final cars. But when Maya looked closer, she could see Krieg getting sent flying back from something that hit him.

"Krieg!?" she yelled.

"The hell is going on back there?" asked Axton

Krieg got back up, smoldering and burnt but unyielding. He picks his buzz-ax up and prepares to fight again. Stares down his opponent, a Loader unlike the others, with a broad upper body, its body cube-like head, and a large red eye, 6 massive autocannons(three on each side and connected to one joint) that were smoking at their barrels. It armed its guns down the car's entrance, aiming for Krieg as he got back up. It spoke in binary;

"01000100 01000101 01000001 01010100 01001000 00100000 01010100 01001111 00100000 01010110 01000001 01010101 01001100 01010100 00100000 01001000 01010101 01001110 01010100 01000101 01010010 01010011"

"I feel the hurt…time for a rampage!" he yelled.

He charged at the new threat again,

*BOOOM*

Goes as well as last time. The explosion shakes the train again; Gaige falls on her butt, Axton hugs the wall to keep from falling, Salvador waddles, Maya keeps her ground, and Lee falls on his face. Gaige and Lee get up.

"Damn, he's got a fun one back there!" said Salvador with glee. Lee rushes over to Maya, who was preparing to use her powers.

"Okay does he need our help now?" he asked.

"Yeah!" she yelled.

*BOOOM*

Krieg is sent flying back through several cars with fire and smoke following behind him like a mortar out of a cannon. He hits the iron floor hard, and it would have killed a normal man, so it was a good thing he was insane. He stands up and grips his Buzz-axe tightly.

"HAHAHAHA!"

He laughed like a mad man, prepared to fight again.

"Hey, big guy!" yelled Maya.

However, Krieg turns around and sees Maya rushing to his aid. His eyes widened in what could be described as innocent euphoric madness. Maya stands in front of him to protect him and only looks at her.

The Loader then fires a large blazing shot at down the train like a bowling ball about to get a strike. Before he could reach them, Maya catches it with her Phaselock. She tries to send it back, but the Loader fires again, hitting it, creating a large explosion that shakes the train.

"*Groan* I'm getting sick," uttered Salvador as the train shook again. Lee shook his head and pointed Salvador in the opposite direction.

"The hell you are," he said.

"Aim out the window!" yelled Axton. He then readied his guns to fight.

Gaige takes the opportunity to use her Hyperion sniper rifle. She looks down the scope and sees the new threat on the train. She saw that Deathtrap was about to destroy it, but she stopped him.

"Don't D.T., I spy a Super Badass Loader!" she said. "I don't want you going off against it alone,"

"That can't possibly be a real name," said Lee. Salvador pats his shoulder and nods causing Lee to groan.

"A bad-ass?" asked Maya. Gaige nods. Gaige then stands in front, aims her sniper rifle at the Loader's eye. She fires the red-eye, but the bullet bounces off like nothing.

"Damn it, the eyes aren't a weak spot!" she yelled.

"Well, what is the weak spot?" asked Axton.

"I-I don't know, I only ever heard of these things!" she yelled. The others wore a panicked look. The Super Badass Loader fires two more rounds, one after the other. Gaige ducks behind Maya and Krieg. Maya catches one, but the other crashed into the other, causing both to explode and send her flying back,

"SAPPHIRE!" yelled Krieg.

He catches her and gently leans her against the wall. Maya was okay, but she uses the wall to keep herself up in pain.

"Thanks, big guy," she said. Krieg nods.

"Now that she's had her turn, let me at it!" yelled Salvador/ He pulls out two Maliwan SMGs: shock and corrosive. As he was about to fight, Lee pulls him back and stops him.

"Sal, you ca-"

"Everyone gets out of its line of fire!" yelled Axton.

The Loader had fired again. Axton pulled Gaige over to him, and Deathtrap follows; Lee and keeps Salvador to the side. Krieg is pulled over to Maya's side. In the nick of time, the round zipped past them like a meteorite.

*BOOM*

It hits the conductor's car, the explosion filling the car before with blaze and black smoke. It shakes the train knocking everyone to the floor. They quickly get up, and Axton waits for the smoke to see his plan as a success clearly.

"Knock Knock, Jack!" yelled Axton in glee. The others turn back to see what Axton had planned.

When the smoke cleared, they could see that the door to Jack's car was intact, and the car wasn't even damaged like the previous ones.

"Well, that failed," said Lee.

"Aww, come on, I thought for sure that would work!" said Axton in disbelief. Gaige then points at herself with her thumb.

"Leave it to me; I can get that door open!" she said proudly. Salvador elbowed Lee and showed a grenade in each hand.

"Or use a bigger boom!" yelled Salvador.

The Loader then shoots three more rounds down the train hitting the Conductor's car. With more explosions, the train shakes and moves more. The Vault Hunters were rattled like maracas, knocked to the ground again.

"Ha, so much for that plan!" said Salvador with a laugh.

"Then what plan do we have?" asked Maya.

Lee looked down the train, seeing a red light. He takes a deep breath and steps out in the middle of the hall. Besides Krieg, everyone looks at him like he's a suicidal moron. With no gun of any kind in his hands, he takes off his cloak and lets it fall to the floor. Maya and Axton were taken back by Lee's body scars.

"Dude, your kind of ripped for a kid," said Axton. Lee ignored the compliment.

"Let me take it down!" said Lee.

"W-Wait, are you nuts?" asked Maya Lee nods. Though he kind of groaned inwardly after witnessing Maya run into the other cars without thinking.

"Yep," he said. He looks back at Gaige. "Gaige, you said you can get the door open?" he asked. Gaige smirks.

"Hell yeah, I'm a Mehcormancer!" she said proudly. Deathtrap then gave a thumbs up. Lee smiles at her reaction.

"Good, I'll take that thing out, so you do your thing," he said. "Hey, whatever comes out of the next rooms, you cover her!" He then pulls out his deck of cards and gives it to Salvador.

"Salvador, hold this for me," said Lee. Salvador takes the deck and puts it away.

"Thank you," said Lee.

Before Lee could run off, Salvador grabbed by the back of his pants and smacked his ass.

"Ow! why-" Lee turns his head and sees a shield that was now attached to his pants; an Adaptive Anshin.

"Take this spare shield I picked up from a Scag's dead body. It'll protect your scrawny ass!" said Salvador. Lee then narrowed his eyes at him.

"What the hell! You had this the entire time and didn't give me one when I needed it?!" asked Lee in a furious tone. Salvador shrugged.

"You never ask," he said.

Lee growled in anger.

"Look out!" yelled Axton.

Lee then quickly dashed into the next car. He sees the shot fired by the Bad-ass Loader. However, rather than dodge it or even try to knock it out of the way, he blocks the attack.

*BOOOOM*

Enveloped in smoke and fire, the train shook again. Everyone watched as the smoke dispersed and Lee was standing unharmed. Everyone was taken back, but how he was standing without a scratch.

"Dang, either that kid's invincible, or that's some shield," uttered Axton.

Lee was faced with an unpleasant shot at by Rocker Launchers by the Bloodshots. Though he pats at the depleted shield that protected him

"To be fair, the shield helped," he uttered. Lee then rushed down the train and didn't slow down. With Lee in the front and the Bad-ass distracted, the others made their way to the final car without him. Maya had taken Krieg by the hand to make sure he followed.

"Go get 'em, Nino!" yelled Salvador with a fist pump as he looked back.

The Super Bad-ass Loader sees Lee running through the train. Much like before, it lines up the shot down the door and fires a blazing shot straight at Lee. As he runs, Lee balls his hand into a fist and strikes the blazing bullet,

*BOOOM*

It explodes, and the train shakes again but not as erratic as the others. Out of the smoke and fire, Lee charges through like a bull, charging down a fool who pulled his tail. Unharmed with his shield depleted and charging quickly.

4 sets of rounds are fired this time. Lee blocks each of them with the shield. The next rounds hit him. The explosion was larger than the others, nearly shakes the train from its magnetic supports. However, Lee charges out of the smoke and fire again, injured but not deterred although his clothes were burned.

"I have to keep taking these, or they'll hit the others. " he thought. "I don't know if Deathtrap can block all these, and Krieg will get knocked on his ass again!"

Lee continues, taking blast after blast. The Bad-ass Loader keeps firing over and over until.

"Now your scrap!" yelled Lee.

He had made it to the caboose of the train. It was riddled with dents and scorch marks. The Loader stares down at Lee and begins analyzing him; with no weapon to speak of and only a single shield that was charging, it had concluded that he was suicidal.

Lee stood fists ready before the robotic doomsday device and charged it with caution to the wind.

Meanwhile, the others had made it to the front car door. Before anyone could do anything, Krieg started smashing his buzz-ax into the door to open it, and it does not affect him whatsoever.

"CONFUSION!" he yelled. Before he could swing again, Maya stops him and leads him behind the others.

"Okay, Robo-girl do your techie thingie!" said Salvador.

Gaige and Deathtrap made their way to the door and examined it.

"Come on, baby, give mama something!" she quietly begged.

*Excited Robot noises*

Deathtrap points at a control panel that seemed broken but exposed. Gaige quickly makes her way to it to see what she could do.

"What happened? Do we live?" asked Axton.

"I found something I could hack to get us in, but it's busted!" she said, frustrated. She then punches the panel again and begins tearing it apart.

Salvador and Maya remember Axton's idea earlier. The former soldier shrugs and laughs nervously to himself.

"Can you get us in or not?" asked Maya, itching to use her powers.

"Shit yeah, it'll just take longer cause I have to rewire it," said Gaige. She then began to pull at some wires and mess with the control panel's remains. None of them could understand what she was doing, so they merely watched her back.

*BOOOM*

Another explosion rocked the train. The others looked back and saw the fire and smoke that lingered in the other cars.

"I hope that kid is okay," he points at Krieg." crazy there lost in a straight-up fight so that he might be in trouble, and all that kid's got is a shield!' said Axton. Krieg swipes at Axton, causing the soldier to jump back, afraid.

"He'll be fine," said Salvador nonchalantly. The others look at him, unconvinced, save for Gaige, who had gotten back to work.

"Nino's stayed alive without a gun in his hand," he folds his arms and smiles," He's like that Slab King, mucho loco."

"AHHHHH!"

Lee closes in on the Loader's body with a mighty roar before it could fire, quickly jumps, and grabs it by its head. Lee then kees the Loader direction into its big red robotic eyes, shattering it to pieces.

"Its eye may not be its weak point, but it probably needs it as a camera to see," he said to himself. He then locks his legs around its head like a wrestler. Lee then began to strike its head as hard and as swiftly as possible.

"Obstruct its vision, make it so that it can't lock onto the others!" thought Lee in desperation.

Unable to see nothing but its target's crotch, the Super Bad-ass Loader swings its body around to try and shake Lee off as he beats his head in with his bare fists. It crashes its cannons into the wall, stopping its rotation short each time it moves.

*Bam* **Bam* *Bam*

Each turn made a dent in the wall that turned into a tear into the outside. Soon Lee had beaten deep dents into the Loader's head. However, as Lee kept swinging, he noticed a blue light emanating from the broken red eye. Without another word, it fires Shock blast at point-blank. Lee is the electrocuted energy and blue lightning running through his body.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled in pain. His shield had failed to protect him due to the attack's nature. He falls back onto the ground, uses his hands to break his fall, and quickly gets back up.

Lee then sees the Loader swing its body around to locate Lee. It prepares to fire from its left cannon. Lee quickly strikes at one of the auto-cannons knocking into the wall as it fired, and it then explosion knocked both Lee and the Loader. The Loader and Lee end up crashing into the wall.

Lee sees a large hole in the wall due to the Loader's attack. The Loader itself was leaning against the wall, trying to get its balance back. Lee then sees that the Super Bad-ass Loader's arm joints were exposed like the previous Loader's. A weak spot, perfect.

Lee rushes at the Loader's cannons and gets close to the Loader. He grabs its cannon and kicks the Loader as it was getting up, knocking it off balance. He then strikes at the single joint harder than he had hit any living being and breaks it with one blow. Three of its auto-cannons fall to the ground with a thud, leaving only three left.

"Hell yeah!" he yelled. The Loader then tries to fire at Lee but misses and hits the ceiling creating a hole.

"Shit, it'll destroy the car at this rate; I need to end it now," he thought.

Lee then takes his other hand and strikes at its other joint, disabling it for good; however, before Lee could celebrate, the door slams shut.

"Huh, what the-"

He hears the Loader standing up despite destroying its head and its weapons. However, it began to emit electricity that ran through its robotic feet and the entire room, shocking Lee's feet. Energy ran through its circuits, and it began to well up like a bomb ready to explode.

"No, no, no no no!" yelled Lee in a panic.

With little time remaining, Lee scrambles to think of a way out. Suddenly he was pulled by his hair out of the car and onto the train's roof. He quickly gets up and felt the cold air hitting his skin, making him regret leaving his cloak behind. Confused at what happened, he looks at the train cart. He witnesses the Loader about to explode, but it utters this;

"01110100 01101001 01101101 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01110011 01100101 01101100 01100110 00101101 01100100 01100101 01110011 01110100 01110010 01110101 01100011 01110100 00101100 00100000 01001010 01100001 01100011 01101011 00100111 01110011 00100000 01110100 01110010 01101001 01100011 01101011 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01101011 01100101 01100100 00100000 01100010 01101001 01110100 01100011 01101000"

The Loader then began to move jaggedly, its blue energy turned read and finally.

"BOOOOOM!"

It exploded louder and brighter than any of the explosions that had occurred to date. Fire and smoke erupted out of the ceiling hole like a volcano. It shook the train car so much that Lee ran to the other, fearing it would uncouple from the train. To his luck, the train car suddenly got detached from the train's rest, quickly falling as he ran away.

"SHIT SHIT SHIT!" he yelled.

He quickly jumps onto the roof of the next car and watches as the caboose rolls, bounces, and inevitably crash into the ice and snow. This and the door closing behind him showed Lee that Jack was still on the train, actively trying to kill him and the others.

"I need to head back now," he said to himself.

He turned and saw the trail of dead bodies on the top of the train, all covered in some snow or ice.

*Tap*

Just then, he felt someone tapping his shoulder. He turns and sees Zer0 standing behind him. It startles him for a moment.

"You again?" uttered Lee getting into a fighting stance.

Zer0 nods. He then points to the head of the train.

"If you want to live/ Run like the cold icy wind/ Your friends are waiting," he said.

Zer0 then made for the front of the car. Lee then followed after him.

Back with the others, Gaige had successfully rewired the panel with Deathtrap holding it as she was trying to bypass the security to get the door open. The others were waiting for any Loaders to show up to kill them, but none had shown up to their surprise. They had already made a note of the final one and the train car getting freed for the explosions. Salvador wasn't worried, though he wasn't joking; Gaige almost shocked herself at the explosion's sound with Axton and Maya just as shocked. Krieg, on the other hand, just stared into the distance.

"Think he's dead?" asked Maya, not wanting the answer to be 'yes.

"If he makes it out, it'll be out of a movie, trust me on that," said Axton with a smile but nervous about Lee's fate. Gaige, who wanted to absorb herself in her work, had a look of concern.

"I-I'm sure he's okay," said Gaige. Hearing her tone made Axton join with her, not wanting to break her heart that Lee was more than likely dead.

"Yeah, of course, he took of those things to the face, so he's fucking tough," said Axton. Salvador then nods proudly.

"Nino's fine, he-"

Lee and Zer0 then come inside the car from above, landing in the middle of everyone and halting everything. He looks at them all awkwardly and smiles.

"Hey guys

"What the fuck?!" uttered Axton, shocked that Lee was alive.

"You made it!" said Maya, impressed

"Ha Ha HA, told you!" yelled Salvador; he then pats Lee's ass.

"Glad you could join us." said Gaige happily, "With your ninja friend." she kept messing with the panel. Deathtrap nods with his body for a moment.

*Happy robot noises*

"Thanks, D.T.," said Lee.

"It lives!" yelled Krieg as he pointed at Lee like he was a zombie. Lee felt a little weird at Krieg's remark, but before he could address it or introduce Zer0 as his savior.

"GOT IT!" yelled Gaige. The others get themselves ready, guns in hand and weapons in tow.

"It can open now?" asked Lee nervously.

"Worry not citizen, I am a fucking genius," she said. She had her hand over one button. "Get ready to charge bitches."

None of them seemed to mind Zer0, though helping earlier seemed to warm them up to him.

Everyone aside from Lee had murder on the brain. Guns in hand and prepared to rip Jack and new asshole, he still needed to know more about the Vaults. There was no amount of luck left that would keep the golden string of his salvation from getting cut.

"Ready!" yelled Salvador with two rifles in hand.

"Oh yeah!" yelled Maya.

"DEATH!" yelled Krieg.

"What he said with twice the gusto," said Axton as he held his rifle.

"Let's go!" yelled Lee as he claps his bloody fists together.

"DAMN IT!" he inwardly thought.

Gaige then presses the button and opens the door. They all rush inside without thinking and see the room was filled with nothing but dynamite and C4. A single swivel chair that slowly turns around reveals a Handsome Jack's dummy covered in explosives ready to go off. It was in that moment everyone's hopes dash into nothing; their handwork and will of survival had all been drowned in a lake of despair.

"He was never here." Lee thought in horror. And it was at this moment the dummy Jack's voice.

"It's cute that y'all think you're the heroes of this little adventure, but you're not."

Beep Beep Beep Beep

That was never a good sound.

"Run," uttered Gaige.

"Get away from it!" yelled Maya.

"Shit!" yelled Lee.

"Welcome to Pandora, kiddos."

*BOOOM*

The conductor's car explodes bigger and brighter than any the entire day. From the outside, the explosion not only destroyed the car and got the others caught in it, but it decouples the train and breaks the rail they were attached to, causing the entire train to crash. All the cars fly like stones tossed from a child and crash into the ice and snow. Some train cars sink into the water after breaking the frozen surface; others crash onto land. The scene itself could be described as a terrorist attack.

As for the Vault Hunters, if they lived or died, it would not be any indication of their luck.

---

That's all I wrote.

Yes, this is long, probably my longest chapter.

I will more than likely come back and change things or fix things.

Review if you can.

"This is Squalo King, signing off."