Chapter 24. Road to Angel
Maya was seeing red. Since the beginning Angel has done nothing but screw them around and nearly get them killed in the process. And now she had stolen Maya's voice and replaced it with that of a lunatic's. What was next?
"Angel you FUCKING bitch!" she hissed, as she sat on a nearby ammo box and placed her head in her hands. "Why the fuck would she change my voice now when were not even there yet?! Could this not wait until we actually needed to get inside? I'm stuck like this for god knows how long until we actually get there! Could've given me a fucking heads up or something!" she ranted.
Axton sat beside her and sighed, placing a comforting hand on her back. "All the more reason we better get going. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get your voice back. I don't know, maybe it could only be done here in Opportunity where the computer was? I don't think Angel did this to intentionally make you miserable-"
Maya cut him off with a bitter laugh. "You don't actually believe that, do you? She's a lying, manipulative bitch. Guaranteed she did this as one last 'fuck you' before we shut her ass down!" she kicked at some dirt in front of her. "unbelievable…" she muttered.
"Come on," Axton grunted as he stood, giving her his hand. "I'm sorry Maya, if I had known I wouldve used the modulator myself."
She took his hand and hoisted herself up, her heart rate slowly going back to normal. "Its fine…we didn't know. Let's just get moving. Where to ne-"
"AAAARRRGGHHHH!" Angel's pained screams crackled over the echo device, stopping the pair in their tracks just as they were about to leave the city.
"You seriously thought you could hide from me, Angel?" came the angry, real voice of Handsome Jack. His words were barely a deadly whisper. "Is that what you thought? Say goodbye to your friends Angel. Say. It."
"ugh…see you soon," Angel struggled, before the echo went dead.
"Jesus Christ what do you think hes doing to her?" Axton inquired.
"Not sure…" Maya replied. Whatever it was it didn't sound good.
Roland echoed next, "we found a way past the final door huh? Well at least she kept up her part of the bargain. Go and meet Claptrap in Thousand Cuts; being Hyperion tech, he can get you both through the barrier and then to the bunker."
"Maya, Maya you there?" came Lilith's voice on Maya's echo device. Maya inwardly cringed, she dreaded speaking to her lover in the voice of such a foul being.
"Yeah…it…it's me," she said forlornly.
"What? Maya you sound like-"
"Handsome Jack I know," she said as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "it's the voice modulator used to mimicking Jack's voice to get us to Angel. It's stuck like this until we get in there." Tears stung her eyes as she spoke. She wouldn't be seeing Lilith for the foreseeable future, and she hated that when they spoke it wasn't even in her own voice.
"Its okay Maya, its what needs to be done to get us that piece of the Vault key. Without it, we don't have a hope at stopping Jack. Everything you and Axton have done for the raiders, for me, it wont be forgotten. I love you so much Maya. Please come home safe to me."
Maya swallowed the lump in her throat. Lilith was right, this was what needs to be done. There was no sense crying over it. "I will baby. I love you too." And she signed off.
She put the echo back on her belt and together they made their way to the fast travel station outside of Opportunity. Finally it was time to hatch their plan to get that final Vault piece.
They found Claptrap at the other side of Thousand Cuts at the large red Hyperion barrier blocking their path. It was nearly nightfall at this point, and the wind was blowing hard on the mountain.
"Minions, I have started my attack! I'm gonna tag every inch of this mountain if it's the last thing I do!" Claptrap shrieked. "let's go! Were gonna make Jack regret ever setting up shop on this cliff. Itll take him minutes to wash this graffiti off! MINUTES I SAY!" with that he wheeled up to the barrier with Maya and Axton in tow. He passed right on through the barrier, leaving the Vault hunters on the other side. Maya and Axton exchanged looks of exasperation. "Uhhh-"
"Hey, you comin' or not?" Claptrap questioned before turning around. "Oh. Right. You're not Hyperion robots. I forget that sometimes." The little robot went to the electrical panel and began screwing around with the wires. "AAAAAAND OPEN!" shockingly enough, the barrier came down. "Onward!" Claptrap shouted with glee.
"Sending some buzzards your way Slabs!" Brick said on the echo. Maya was thankful to have friends in high places. Who knows what obstacles Jack has laid out for them.
"I will defend you to the death minions!" Claptrap continued as the group ran up the road going up the cliff. They reached a barrier and Brick's buzzards could be heard coming in. They shot out the barrier just as a war loader was shot from the sky.
"Oh God NEVER MIND NO I WONT!" Claptrap cowered as he rolled for cover.
Maya took cover herself behind a barrier, while Axton did the same on the other side of the road. Claptrap was already up and off down the hill, waving his little metal arms frantically as he hightailed it presumably back to Sanctuary.
"Theres a turret mounted up over there!" Axton shouted, gesturing up the hill. "We'll never get up this hill if we don't take it out!"
"You get the turret, I'll get the loader!" Maya yelled back before phaselocking the war loader that had been fired down and using her shotgun to blast off its arms and legs. Axton wielded his sniper rifle and began firing at the turret mounted a ways up. With the war loader no longer serviceable, Maya let the pieces fall to the ground and turned her attention at the other loaders making their way down the hill towards them.
Poor Axton wasn't making much progress; everytime he got a couple rounds off at the turret, the gun would move its attention to him and let off a barrage of projectiles causing Axton to duck behind his cover.
Maya was picking off the loaders and when they seemed to be far enough up the hill to give her some time, she stood from her cover and attempted to phaselock the turret. Luckily, it did a healthy amount of damage and rendered the turret useless as it began to smoke.
"COME ON!"
They bolted from their cover and began to make their way up the hill when Handsome Jack spoke on the echo; "oh, you made it past the security wall huh? That's, oh, that's real cute. Course the bunker's still gonna obliterate ya, but nonetheless-cute."
"Ignore him, let's go!" Axton said as he continued to push up the road. A couple of loaders and engineers weren't enough to slow them down.
They found some ammo boxes at a platform further up where the turret had been. They replenished some of their supplies and kept moving.
"Be careful Slabs!" Brick warned. "My boys seen a ton of bad guys between you and the bunker. I know you can do it!"
"Ton of bad guys, no sweat right?" Maya said with a smile. They took a few steps before a noise stopped them. A whistling through the air, something she has heard before-
"MORTAR FIRE!" She called out, and they began to run as fast as their legs would take them up the winding road as the mountainside began to light up with fiery explosions all around. "DON'T STOP!"
"I'm making my way up the cliffside soldiers! Keep pushing your way up and I'll meet you at the bunker!" Roland yelled over the echo.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, they found a Hyperion compound with a large metal door. As it opened, engineers and loaders began to flood out, firing at will. With some calculated sniping from the pair they took them out with ease and continued through the door laid before them. A large crane stood to their left holding a large container dangling in the air. A couple repair surveyors hung in the sky and Axton quickly sniped them out.
Weapons at the ready, they moved slowly through the compound towards the large Hyperion building up ahead. They had to get past that building to get to the bunker, and they knew that loaders would soon be flooding from the doors once they approached. Together they took a moment to crouch behind a container. A set of steps lay ahead leading up the building where they needed to go.
"There's gonna be a shit ton of loaders comin' outta there, isn't there?" Axton said with a half smile.
Maya smiled back, "oh for sure, no worries though."
"Never."
They reloaded their weapons and cautiously made their way from their cover towards the steps. They expected the immediate opening of the door. They expected the sizable group of loaders that came out of them. What they did not expect, was the insanely large, insanely dangerous badass constructor that came over the building, casting a large shadow over the structure before landing on the top level.
"WATCH OUT, BADASS!" Maya shouted as angry red missiles were launched high in the sky before plummeting, coming down to blast them to pieces.
"Fuck let's fall back!"
They doubled back to the door they had entered the compound through, taking shelter behind the high wall. The missiles still had range here, but the concrete was strong and walls of the compound provided safety if they stayed behind it. The problem was, they couldn't stay behind it forever.
The missiles were exploding all around them, drowning out their voices. "Any plans?!" Axton shouted over the hellfire.
Maya tried to peer around the wall, but the red glare burning her face caused her to jump back. The missiles were still incoming, multiple ones at once. There was no way they could expose themselves enough to get a shot in, let alone get to that building. She was at a loss.
Axton looked to her before looking to the entrance. "I have a really shitty idea!"
"What's that!?"
"I'm gonna run out there, draw the missile fire. No-hold on theres plenty of cover!"
"Are you fucking mad?!" Maya shouted in disbelief, "theres no way you'll survive out there!"
"We don't have a choice! I'll draw out the missiles, you hit it with that launcher you got! As many times as you can!"
Maya couldn't believe her ears, "Axton…please," she said, her stomach twisting painfully.
"I'll be fine, just trust me!" and before she could stop him, he had already taken off. The missiles started to ebb away, enough for her to hit the dirt and lean her torso into the doorway, aiming the launcher on her shoulder directly at the center of the constructor. She fired off one, two rockets but it wasn't enough. The constructor took damage, that much was clear, but the missiles were still firing in succession. She couldn't see Axton, the smoke was far too thick. She hoped to God he was somewhere in there still in one piece.
She reloaded the launcher as fast as she could, hitting it with another pair of rockets causing another chunk of damage, but alas she was out of time. The constructors red, glowing center had shifted its focus to her, and missiles started being launched in her direction. She rolled back behind the wall. Now what? Where the fuck is Axton?!
As quickly as they came, the explosions stopped for a moment. She dared to stick her head into the doorway, and saw the constructor, as well as the gaggle of loaders, had turned their attention to the left of the compound. She followed their gaze to the crane, and running across the top nearly a hundred feet in the air was Axton himself.
"AXTON WHAT THE FUCK!?" she screamed up at the soldier. The constructor was firing missiles, all of them missing him by a hair. Any second now one of them would hit, and he would come crashing down with that crane. "GET DOWN!" she put a phaselock around him, praying it could protect him from a major explosion.
He unclipped what appeared to be a rather large grenade from his belt, she must not have noticed it behind his slung weapons.
"SUCK ON THIS YOU TIN CAN FUCKS!" He shouted before lobbing the grenade at the constructor. And damn, what a grenade it was.
It was a dazzling light show as the grenade exploded, sending child grenades flying into the surrounding area. The constructor exploded in a mushroom cloud so large it lit up the sky. The blast took out the surrounding loaders as well. Maya was thankful for the protection of the wall, she could feel the heat blasting past her through the doorway.
Could Axton have survived such a blast?! She suddenly thought with a panic. She stepped from the wall with her rifle at the ready in case any loaders made themselves known. She squinted through the smoke and tried not to trip on the uneven ground that had been kicked up from the missiles.
"Axton?" she called. There was no answer, and her heart began to thud painfully in her chest. "Axton!?"
"Over here sis!"
And he was, standing at the base of the crane wearing a cheeky grin and waving. He appeared to be covered in a thick layer of dust and dirt, but miraculously no blood was seen. She ran to him and hugged him in a tight embrace.
"Thought that was handsome Jack calling me for a sec!"
She released him and punched his shoulder. "You're such an asshole! I thought you died! And that's what you have to say?" She knew she couldn't stay mad at him though. She was just relieved he was alive, she was unsure if she would be able to carry on this mission without him.
He laughed and threw up his hands, "Hey hey! I was only kidding. You rock that voice much better than he does."
"You're not helping. But good job back there. Might be the highest kill count with one grenade thus far."
"Thank you!" he said with a flourish. Maya just rolled her eyes.
They had made their way up to the top of the building and were now ducked behind some ammo boxes on a platform. A set of stairs ahead led up even further to the bunker, but first they had to resupply and take care of any surrounding loaders that were nearby.
Maya was opening up the ammo boxes that lay before them and scanned the area surrounding them for any more possible supplies when something caught her eye. Up in the sky she could actually see Sanctuary in a distance, and her heart began to ache painfully. Lilith, she thought, and her mind wandered to that wonderful night spent together. Lilith had given her the gift of her first orgasm, and her face heated up and she got a giddy feeling inside. Never in a million years would she have thought shed find herself underneath another person in such a way, but after being with Lilith she was almost sad she didn't discover her sooner. The doors that her Siren had opened for her were never going to close, and slowly Brother Sophis' abuse was becoming a distant memory. She couldn't wait to give Lilith her virginity. The thought made her anxious and excited all at the same time.
"Yoohoo, Pandora to Maya!"
Axton's voice shook her from her explicit thoughts and she turned to him with a reddened face.
"HA I can guess what you were thinking about!"
"Shut up Axton, let's get going."
They went up the large set of stairs leading up towards the bunker when the real Handsome Jack began to speak through the echo.
"hey, you know how I got my hands on that vault key? See, a few years back Wilhelm and I paid a visit to your little friend Tannis, and we beat her for hours. We ripped it out of her broken fingers. But we let her live because that's what heroes do. They show mercy."
"What a sick fuck," Axton said darkly. Maya nodded in agreement, once again finding herself sickened donning his voice. She reminded herself it was only temporary.
Atop the building lay a long walkway, stretching over the sands of Pandora hundreds of feet high, nearly a hundred feet long. In the dusty sky they could make out Helios in front of Elpis, with Sanctuary not far off in the distance. Further than Maya would have liked.
They walked down the walkway when Brick messaged them; "Slabs! You're coming up to the Bunker! I'm sending my boys to help you out!"
Maya cocked her weapon, glancing at Axton as they came before the entrance to the Bunker. "Piece of cake right?"