Chapter 6. The Stronghold Rescue
Maya and Axton cautiously walked through the door of the stronghold, guns ready.
"rooms clear" Axton said in a low voice. "I'm gonna buy some ammo from that machine there. Anything you want to sell?"
Maya shook her head. She continued to look about the room, a set of stairs lay ahead leading to a catwalk with a door leading elsewhere. "Up there" she pointed.
"Right, let's go."
The stronghold was basically the same throughout, different boiler rooms filled with heavy machinery, each containing a handful of bloodshots, nothing the duo couldn't handle. Until they got to a large room, a giant menacing whirlpool lay in the center, with crumbling platforms all around the circular room leading way up to nearly the ceiling.
Axton whistled low. "guess we gotta get up there eh?"
"Mhmm" Maya agreed.
"Same drill as before, let's snipe the ones we can, shred the ones we cant."
Didn't need to tell Maya twice. She aimed her shot at a marauder and got him with a critical, and turned her sights elsewhere. *POP* another marauder. *POP* a Nomad. The enemies were starting to regroup and inch towards their cover. It was time to start spraying.
"Now!" they shouted together, and Axton deployed his turret while Maya phaselocked her enemies, sending them hurling in the whirlpool, disappearing into the water.
After the commotion and the place went sufficiently silent, they slowly climbed up the first platform. After some careful footing and a couple breaks, they made it to the top and through the walkway. Maya wasn't sure what happened, but it was absolutely flooded in the top floor. Wires hung dangerously, crackling and sparking. She prayed none were in the water.
They slowly stepped through the halls, running into enemies along the way. The place was relatively unguarded up here, save for a Badass Psycho that came out of nowhere while Maya was sifting through loot chests. She 1 him at the last second while Axton's turret did most of the work. They had good laugh about the look on Mayas face afterwards.
They had almost reached the cells when the angry voice of Flanksteak, a Bloodshot leader, came over the echo.
"Somebody stop those slaggunds from springing Roland! We lose him, we lose our payday!"
"Payday?" came Liliths voice. "I knew Jack was behind this!"
"don't worry Lilith, were gonna get him" said Axton.
When they reached the cells they cut down the few guards that were inside, before starting their search.
"You check the ones down this hall, I'll move to the back" Maya explained.
"Roger."
She rounded the corner to the back and there he was. Spread out on the bed with his hands behind his head, he regarded her slowly. "Vault hunter, good to finally meet you in person. Hell of a job fighting through those bloodshots-"
*BOOM!*
Mayas ears were ringing, she coughed and sputtered as dust kicked up all around her. "What the FUCK!"
As the dust and smoke cleared, a large hole was revealed in the wall of the cell, one of Handsome Jack's gun loaders on it's way through.
"-this will just take a second" said Roland.
He grabbed the loader around the "neck" and body slammed it to the ground. Using his brute strength, he pried the robots head right off, kicking its body away from him. Taking a running start, he hurled the head right into the loaders center, causing another small *BOOM* and the loader lay in pieces on the floor. Just then, another loader blasted through the opening, sending Roland flying to the wall. Maya made to move, thinking he was hurt, but instead he pulled out a huge gun and blasted the loader to pieces.
I can see why she liked him. Strong, assertive, confident and handsome. Everything I'm not.
Maya willed the thoughts away, biting her lip. Why on Pandora did she care so much about this stupid Siren?!
Just then, Axton came running from down the hall. "Maya, are you okay?! What was that commotion!?"
Roland was rising to his feet, dusting himself off. "Well, that's that. No worries here soldier, just a run in with a loader is all. Now, let's see about getting out of here."
Maya opened her mouth and her eyes shot past him, "ROLAND, LOOK OUT-!"
A blue light of electricity shot into the cell from the outside, wrapping around his ankle and dragging him out the hole in the wall.
"Holy shit!" she yelled, running after them.
It appeared to be some sort of large constructor machine, hurtling through the air dragging Roland along with it. "Fuck!"
Roland's voice came over her echo, "Maya! You have to stop this thing! Let go of me damnit!"
Suddenly his voice was cut out and Handsome Jack himself began to speak,
"And THAT is how Handsome Jack pays ransoms! Long time no see Roland!"
"SOLDIER! THIS WAY!"
She and Axton were out of the cell in a flash, she switched to a corrosive SMG and went to work on the many loaders that swarmed. "Fuck Roland I'm coming!"
"SHIT!" Axton yelled, a barrage of bullets raining on his cover. "MAYA! We have to get out of here!"
Fuck what do we do?! She sat up and looked out over her cover, she could see the constructor floating away, Roland in tow. "take this you bastards!"
She unslung her sniper and took a calculated aim at the eye of the constructor. The damage was critical, but it wasn't enough. It blasted a hole through the wall and went out of sight.
"Son of a BITCH! They're taking him to the dam, you have to get there quick!" Liliths voice pleaded.
Maya stared at her Echo a moment. She wondered if Lilith would feel the same, had it been her captured instead of Roland..
"Maya, we've got to go!" Axton called, already making his way through the wall.
"Right!" she answered back, and she ran to catch up.
Axton and Maya entered the Bloodshot Ramparts, taking a moment to purchase more ammo and med kits.
"Axton, you're bleeding. Here."
Maya applied pressure to a nasty gash on his left forearm. "it's not bad, just wrap it up and let's get moving."
He was right, the injury wasn't deep, but to avoid infection she wrapped it well anyway. "there."
"Okay, so it looks like the Constructor took him over that way" Axton said, pointing over the narrow streets of wreckage. "There's going to be a fuck ton of loaders I imagine. You have a corrosive weapon right?"
"I do."
"Good. No time like the present I guess, let's move."
As they made there way through the ramparts, it was total chaos. Bloodshots and Loaders were battling it out, buzzards firing from above, she could barely hear herself as the loaders were shot down from the sky. "fuck Axton, this is a mess!"
"Just keep pushing!"
They moved up, taking down anything in their path. She paused a moment, emptying her spent mag and was about to load another when a hand tightened around her neck
She was whirled around and was face to face with a caustic goliath, lifting her up, slowly squeezing the life out of her.
"A-Axton.." she croaked.
"SHIT MAYA!" using a sniper, he shot the Goliath in the head, it was enough for him to drop Maya.
She fell to the ground, coughing and gasping. Before the Goliath could grab her again, she put him in a phaselock and threw him off the side of the railing running the edge of the ramparts.
"Fucking hell!" she cries. "piece of shit!"
"Maya!" Axton exclaimed, running to her and skidding to a halt, he helped her to her feet. "are you good!"
She let out another cough. "yeah, yeah I'm okay. Thank you."
"Anytime sis! Let's get moving, were almost there!"
The place was a battlefield. She was aware of her injuries, looking to Axton, he looked about as bad as she felt.
Just keep pushing. Almost there.
What seemed like ages of bloody battle, they reached the dam. There was the constructor, holding Roland high in the air.
"Fucking shoot it!"
They emptied their clips into the eye of the constructor, but they were making little progress. Maya tried to phaselock it, but it was much too big. All she could do was take a chunk of its shield out.
"Were going to run out of ammo at this rate!" Maya shouted.
She noted there were some ammo boxes littered around the perimeter of the area they were in. She had to try. She ran for one, skidding to a crouch behind it, but she was too slow.
Electricity engulfed her body, burning her from the inside out. Fuck Maya! You know better than that. Just ride it out…
"AHHHRRRGHHHH!"
Slowly the electricity subsided, and she reached for the ammo, putting a new mag in her gun. Fuck that hurt.
"The drop barge is coming in, kill the constructor and get Roland outta there!" Lilith cried over the Echo.
It was no use, the constructor's shield was too strong. No matter how many bullets, no matter what guns they used, not even Axton's turret combined with Mayas phasewalk could stop it now. There was not nearly enough ammunition. She looked to Axton, who glanced back at her with a look she was sure mirrored her own. Defeat, she thought to herself. Were all totally fucked. Axton, if I was going to get caught up In a mess such as this, I'm glad it was with a soldier like you. Roland, I'm so, so sorry. We did our best, we really did. And Lilith, God Lilith what I wouldn't do to see your face. To get to know you more, to say the things I never could…I will miss you.
Maya leaned against the empty ammo box, wiping away her tears of frustration. Might as well go down fighting. "Fuck it."
She cocked her rifle, and flew up from her cover, spraying lead in every direction. Loaders coming in on the left, the surveyors overhead, that damned constructor!
She heard a clanging sound coming from her right, and she sidestepped an EXP with inches to spare. Before it could self destruct, she threw it in a phaselock and shot it to pieces. That's when she noticed the shimmer of light just beyond.
It was on top of a watch tower at the corner of the dam. Is that what I think it is?
It was! In all its glory, a weapons chest, resting at the top like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. It was a long shot, but she had to try.
She threw herself over the ammo box, ducking and weaving between bullets and EXP loaders trying to slow her down as she reach the tower she tried to find a way up, a ladder or a foothold, anything! She rounded the tower and found an iron door. She phaselocked the handle and burst it open. Inside was a ladder, she never climbed so fast in her life. She emerged at the top, and took a second to look down at the bloodshed below.
"Maya what the fuck are you doing?!" Lilith yelled. Did she sound worried?
Maya didn't answer, instead she twisted the knobs atop of the weapons chest, willing the gears to move faster. She could feel the shrapnel in the air biting her skin, but she paid no mind. As the chest open, she couldn't help but smile; A Torque Quadomizer rocket launcher. There was hope, but if this didn't work, nothing will.
She shouldered the launcher, took aim at the constructor, and released the breath she was holding.
"Here goes nothing!"
She fired the rocket, it sailed through the air as if in slow motion, before striking the constructor dead center.
There was a stunning flash before being slammed by an indescribable force; Maya could taste dirt and blood, and felt the roughness of the pavement on her cheek before realizing she must have been knocked to the ground from the tower. God, she couldn't hear anything. The ringing was so loud. She turned her head to see the fireball rolling into the sky, the heat nearly burning her face.
"Maya, MAYA!"
What is that? Is someone calling my name?
"Ahh!" she hissed as a health injector was shot in her leg. Slowly the ringing stopped, and her eyes started to focus. Axton's big dumb grin came into view.
"MAYA! Holy shit you did it! That was fucking incredible!"
She pushed off the ground onto her feet, swaying slightly. She looked around. "Where's Roland?"
"Over here vault hunter."
She turned around to see a bloodied but alive Roland. "the constructor had me held in an electric field. Ironically enough, I think it's what might have saved me from that blast. Thanks, both of you. I would be dead if it wasn't for you. Come on, we need to get back to Sanctuary and regroup with Lilith. I got a plan to stop Jack, but I cant do it without you two."
The adrenaline of the battle wearing off, Mayas heart started racing for a different reason.