Every day in Sanctuary seemed to end the same, hell the days seemed to be the same. They had all quickly settled into a routine within the past week. The day was spent out on missions, killing either random bandits or putting the hurt on Hyperion. Then when they all got back everyone went over to Moxxi's to celebrate not dying and, in Salvador and Axton's cases, get absolutely loaded. There was another ritual that went on every night, one which Maya was currently watching with a grin.

"Mmmmmoxxiiiiiiii," Axton slurred horribly, "How you doin tonight beautiful?"

"Oh I'm doin great sugar," The buxom bartender replied in her usual seductive tone. She had that devilish smirk on her face, leaning forward on the bar slightly to push her generous cleavage out. She also seemed to enjoy the hell out of this nightly interaction. Probably because she always got a great tip out of it.

Maya just laughed as she watched the interaction continue. It seemed Axton would never give up on his attempts to bang the bartender. Of course it's not like he was alone in that department, half the city was right there with him. It hadn't gotten sad yet, probably never would. It would just keep being a source of amusement.

"Boom!" Shouted Salvador from the other end of the bar, he was currently detailing the exploits of their last mission to a group of civilians. He did it most nights, the native Pandoran was actually a pretty good story teller. "His head explodes like a watermelon! Bandits are screaming, tryin to find the shooter when BAM! Another head explodes!"

Maya recognized the portion of the mission he was talking about. It was the beginning of their attack on a bandit camp, Zero had gotten into a sniping position and managed to take out a hefty chunk of the bandits by himself.

"Our assassin kills tons of them by himself! Cutting them in half with his sword! Blowing their heads off with his rifle!"

Every story had a different hero, complete with embellishments. Last time Salvador had told the story of how Maya had phaselocked a dozen bandits all at once before tearing them limb from limb with her mind. Once he had said that Axton rode a badass psycho into battle. The stories were always fun to hear, it was amusing to watch peoples reaction to the wild tales. Although this one was pretty accurate. It was tough to embellish the already crazy shit Zero did.

Speaking of the assassin, Maya did a quick look around the bar. She knew he wouldn't be here, but she always checked. It never came as a surprise that he didn't join in this kind of an activity, still she kind of wished that he would. She had to admit that she kind of liked his company. The sniping lessons he gave her were always enjoyable, she was positive that he must get frustrated with her lack of skill but he never showed it, he was always patient. Although with the synthesized voice it's not like he displayed a lot of emotion anyway.

She was starting to revise her earlier opinion about him, yeah he still had that whole cliché thing going on, but he wasn't turning out to be quite the ass she had pegged him for. Lately she had been trying to remind herself that he probably never, or at least vary rarely, worked with others, he wasn't used to it. He was slowly getting better. While his communication skills definitely had not improved, he was starting to fight with them more often, rather than just going off on his own. He had also saved all their asses at least a few times.

"Heya Maya!" Shouted someone, sliding into the booth next to her. She looked over at the red haired girl who was now giggling, "Heya Maya, that's good."

"How's it going Gaige?" She asked politely. That had been the absolute biggest surprise to happen all week.

They had all just been out doing a favour for Moxxi when they ran into the mechromancer. At first they had all been surprised to find a teenage girl wandering around Pandora by herself, surrounded by dead bandits no less. Although a few seconds later when reinforcements showed up they had been even more surprised when a robot digistructed out of nowhere and began shredding the bandits while the girl ran into their midst, spraying fire everywhere.

Apparently the girl had decided to become a vault hunter, something which most would have considered crazy. But after seeing her skill, albeit unrefined, none could deny that she definitely had what it took. She had quickly earned her place in Sanctuary by fixing about a dozen things that had been deemed broken for good. To say she was a technological genius would have been an understatement. The girl had replaced her own arm! If that didn't say how both crazy and talented she was, then nothing would.

"I'm good," She replied with a big smile, her cheeks were slightly flushed and she was slurring her words slightly.

"Are you drunk?"

"NO! Okay maybe a little. But not like Axton drunk! Just buzzed!"

"Okay Gaige," Maya said with a chuckle. She was actually quite fond of the girl. Gaige had an eagerness about everything, she was always ready with a smile and a chipper mood, definitely a nice addition to their group.

"You think Axton is gonna get lucky tonight?" Gaige wiggled her eyebrows as she spoke.

"I doubt it, Moxxi is just messing with him."

"How many people do you think she has slept with?"

"Gaige!" Maya was a bit shocked at the sudden question, and also at the genuine curiosity in the girls voice.

"I bet it's a lot!"

"I think you may be more than buzzed."

"How many people have you slept with?" She spun to look at Maya so quickly that she almost knocked over her drink.

"That's none of your business!" Maya replied quickly, where the hell was all this coming from? Talk about random…

"What?! It's just us girls! Come on, I'll tell you my number if you tell me yours."

"Absolutely not. Plus I know your number. It's zero."

"What?" Gaige shouted, confusion crossing her face before it became extremely flushed. "Is not!"
"Gaige, that's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Your number is zero too, isn't it!" All the embarrassment was gone from the girls face as she pointed an accusing finger at Maya.

"Oh my god. That's the last time I try to be comforting."

"Awww, I'm just kidding Maya," Gaige giggled as she spoke, giving a slightly apologetic look. "I just like talkin with ya! You know I never had any girl friends back home. But you and me are friends right?"

"Of course we are," She gave the girl a warm smile then.

"Good!" Gaige beamed at the words. "So we should have like girl talk right? Isn't that how it goes?"

"I'll be honest with you Gaige, I never had any girl friends either."

"Really? But you are like, so pretty and cool!"

"Thanks Gaige," Maya said with a chuckle. "But I was raised in a monastery, surrounded by monks on a planet that was thought I was some kind of vengeful god. The monks just wanted to train me and use me, I never really had much interaction with anyone else. So no, I've never had friends."

"That's…that's super sad Maya!" Gaige suddenly lunged forward and hugged her tightly, "I'm gonna be your friend though! So is Ax and Sal! Zero too probably!"

"I'm glad to hear that," Maya replied, hugging the girl back. She was incredibly sweet sometimes. And she was right. Maya did have friends now, she had people that she cared about and cared about her. "And I am your friend too."

"Good! We can do all that girl friend shit!" Gaige gave her a big smile before finally releasing the hug.

"Sounds like a plan."

"But first…I gotta pee!" Suddenly the girl shot up from the booth and hurried to the bathroom. Maya just laughed as she left.

They had become a pretty tightknit group over what was, really not that much time. But then again, fighting together and being in deadly situations on a daily bases probably helped to push things along immensely. It had only been a few weeks but she already trusted the others implicitly. It was the first time in her life she really had people she could call friends, while her experience in that department wasn't great, Maya was certain that she had a pretty damn good group.

"D'we have a deal?" Axton said loudly, drawing Maya's attention.

"Sugar if you can hit that then you will get free drinks for life ontop of the pleasure of my company. Miss and you get to clean it up."

"You're on!" Axton suddenly spun from the bar, he hefted a bottle in his hand that didn't quite look empty. He took some kind of throwing stance, as if he was carefully lining up a shot.

"What are you trying to hit?" Maya called, just as he looked the most focused.

"Shhh! Don't messme up!"

"He thinks he can land that bottle on the corner table breaking it or having it fall on its side." Moxxi jestured towards the far corner booth, which was vacant. Maya didn't even bother questioning how Axton had gotten it into his head that he could pull that off, or even where he got the idea, she just watched with an amused smile.

After a few more seconds of lining up the shot, Axton finally threw the bottle. Way too hard. The bottle sailed through the air almost too fast to see, but weirdly it didn't smash into the wall. Instead it shattered against…thin air. Well it looked like thin air at first. The second the glass shattered the air shimmered, revealing the form of Zero sitting at the booth. Glass and alcohol rained down on the assassin, the amber liquid running down his visor.

"Oh fuck," Said Axton, his tone a mixture of surprise, embarrassment, and a bit of fear.

Maya looked right across at the assassin, she tried to stop herself from laughing but she couldn't hold it in. She wasn't the only one, within seconds half the bar was joining her. Zero's form shimmered again and was gone, nobody moved, but the laughter died down and all eyes shifted towards Axton. Everyone was expecting him to die any second now, including the commando who had gone a shade whiter. After a few seconds of nothing happening Moxxi broke the silence.

"Get to cleaning," She said, tossing a rag at Axton, causing more laughs to go through the bar.

Maya smiled faintly but her mind was somewhere completely different now. Why had Zero just been sitting there, cloaked and by himself. She could understand him not coming to the bar at all, but why would he come if he was only going to remain invisible? It didn't really make sense, even for him. The booth had a view of the entire room, it was directly across from Maya's own usual booth. Why was he sitting there?"

"Whad I miss?" Asked Gaige, sliding back into the booth.

"Well Axton hit Zero in the head with a bottle and amazingly didn't get killed."

"What?! Ninja dude was here?! Where?"

"That booth Axton is cleaning," Maya pointed as she spoke.

"I never saw him!"

"He was cloaked."

"Why?"

"I have no clue."

"That's super weird! Even for him. What, was he just watchin everybody?"

"I dunno Gaige." Maya shrugged as she answered. What the hell had he been doing? Was he just watching people? Why would he do that? Screw it, she was just going to ask him. There was no telling what the assassin was willing to answer, she was quickly learning to just go for it and ask questions. "I'm heading back, you wanna come?"

"Yeah!" Gaige replied in her ever enthusiastic tone.

The walk back to the HQ wasn't long, especially with the deserted night time streets. The building itself was likewise quiet, all the other residents were either asleep or in their rooms by now. Maya walked with Gaige to her room, making sure the younger girl got to bed okay. She placed a glass of water beside the bed before leaving.

"Night Gaige," She whispered to the girl who had fallen asleep the second she hit the bed. Maya closed the door before heading to her own room. She quickly closed and locked the door behind her before undressing for bed. It wasn't until this moment that she realized just how tired she was, funny how quick it could come on. Although they had spent pretty much the entire day fighting or driving, it was bound to catch up with her in a hard way. A point further proven when, like Gaige, she was asleep almost the second her head touched the pillow.


"All hail the Vault Hunters! Hail them!" I honestly have no idea what has just happened. There was killing, not a lot, but some. Now we are apparently gods?

"We should…go," Says the Siren, slowly backing away from the crazed individuals. I nod in agreement and follow her away from the ranting and raving.

This had started as a simple errand for the other Siren, investigating a group of lunatics who had declared her a god. Now apparently we were subjects of such worship. Throughout it all, I have noticed an odd look on the Siren's face. I do not know the exact emotion it was, but I would place it somewhere close to…disgust. Even now she is heading towards the fast travel station at a quick pace.

The others are off on a different mission, leaving the two of us alone. Therefore there has been little talk to break this tense mood the Siren is casting. I can't deny that there is something interesting happening within me, something I haven't felt before. The only logical explanation is that it is somehow being caused by her current, distressed state. I want to…talk to her, to discover the source of her discomfort. I have no idea what I would do with such information. I suppose it could be used in our inevitable battle, but such tricks would be unnecessary, I desire a proper fight. So why do I have this urge?

"Sniping practice?" I ask as we near a cliff where I can see a number of creatures moving about below. It would be a good location for her to hone her growing skills, it will also give me a chance to try and process this new desire.

"Sure," The Siren shrugs as she answers, indifference clear in her tone. Usually she is excited for the lessons, further proving my suspicion that she is upset over something.

We move to the edge of the cliff and I hand her my rifle. I sit in a cross legged position while she takes a kneeling stance. Using my helmet to zoom in, I identify a large skag. "Three-O-clock" I watch her take aim out of my peripheral vision while keeping most of my focus on the beast. The Siren has proven to be a quick study and needs little coaching now, only practice. Technically she could do it on her own, but it seems she only does it under my watch.

After five seconds she fires and misses by three inches. The beast begins running and I can hear the Siren swearing under her breath as she tracks the target. She fires again, but misses. This is quickly followed by another miss. Her cursing has gotten louder and more anger has entered her voice. Clearly whatever is bothering her is affecting her aim. It would be logical for me to try and discern her issue so it will stop impeding her progress. That must be the cause of my feeling, I do not want anything to affect her performance in battle.

"Something troubles you/ It is affecting your aim/ Shall we speak of it?"

"Are you asking me what's wrong?" There is still anger, distress, and annoyance in her voice, but for a brief second she grins with the question, almost in humour.

"Yes."

She sighs loudly, her earlier expression returns as she sits down next to me, laying the rifle in her lap. "Just what those idiots were saving, how they started praising us like gods…reminded me of home." It was clear from her expression that this was not a good thing. I do not recall her ever mentioning her home before. "The people there…they believed I was some kind of tyrannical god. The monks of the planet used that fear to control them. Shit, they basically enslaved them. My whole life they raised me to think that I was training to protect the planet from threats, to protect the people. Every single day they would speak of the evil I would protect them from, how the people loved me." She took a deep, somewhat shaky breath. "Then I found out the truth. The people were scared shitless of me. They thought if they didn't pay the tithes then I would murder them and their family. When I finally found out…I killed my handler and a few of the monks that tried to stop me. I thought I had escaped that. Those lunatics just reminded me of it. How I had been used and exploited."

The disdain, even disgust in her voice is very evident. I can feel my fingers curl into a fist without any conscious effort on my part. This may perhaps be one of the strangest reactions she has caused in me to date. Anger. I can feel my pulse begin to quicken, a small amount of adrenaline spike through my system. As I think about any person exploiting and manipulating this powerful being beside me…I am angry. I know that they only managed such a feat through trickery and subterfuge, like the cowards they were. Warriors should not be tricked, bound into service beyond their will. They should not be betrayed.

"Where?" I ask, without thinking.

"What? Where am I from?" I nod in response. "Athenas, why?"

I should not have said anything, but the unusual emotion of anger got the better of me. Although even now I cannot find myself disagreeing with this plan. "I will travel there/ I will slaughter every monk there/ For being cowards."

She simply stared at me for a moment, once more I found it difficult to read her expression. But slowly a smile appeared on her face. "Not without me."

"Agreed," I could not deny that spending more time in her company, especially whilst killing massive amounts of people, was an exciting prospect.

"Thanks, Zero." The smile was still on her face, she was still looking directly into my eyes. She is the only one that has ever thanked me before, I still do not know how to handle it, especially with her smiling at me. Why must this attraction be so confusing?!

"You know," She glances forwards, towards the Pandoran landscape. "I was wrong about you. For the first little while, I actually thought you were kind of a dick," She chuckles at her own words. I am not offended by them, I can see the accuracy in such a comment. "But I am actually pretty happy that I was wrong. I like having you around," She looked back at me now, that smile still on her face. Although I noticed that her cheeks had become slightly red and her tone had become slightly…awkward.

I found myself no knowing how to respond, what could I really say to her? I thought about it, the situation seemed to dictate that I offer some kind of response. I actually found myself enjoying this new…closeness developing between the two of us. It allowed me to examine her much more closely, to see the many aspects of her. I was beginning to appreciate aspects of her outside of battle, I was become more intrigued with her as the days went on.

I have actually started watching her and not analyzing her weakness's or opportunities to see her abilities. I simply enjoy…looking at her, even if she is not covered in the blood of her fallen foes. This new development has even gone so far as to force myself into undesirable situations. She usually joins the rest of our group at Moxxi's during the evenings. Every night I find myself in that same place, hidden in the corner booth, simply watching the Siren, watching Maya. Of course I have had to change my location since the drunken mishap caused by the Commando. Luckily no one has asked my reasoning's for being at the bar, hidden from all others.

I still have not thought of what could be a proper answer, but I do form an…impulse idea in my mind. It seems as though she was honest with me, perhaps I should do the same. "And I you," The answer is surprisingly easy to voice. Oddly though I see the redness in her cheeks deepen and she glances away for a moment. I still cannot decipher this reaction, have I said something wrong? Is this increase in blood flow a reaction to exterior stimuli like the weather or something internal? I have noted that it has only ever happened after one of us says something, leading me to suspect it is internal. I shall need to research this.

"We should probably get back, hey?"

"Yes." I stand from my position, as does she, handing me my rifle. As we walk towards the fast travel station, I can't help but once more marvel at how much this whole attraction thing has change my behaviour, how much confusion it has caused within me. I never suspected that finding my greatest target would involve so much inner turmoil and confusion, but not in a way that made me angry of frustrated. I never dreamed that I would find some much enjoyment in not killing her.


Alright! Another short chapter but it was fun to write! Plus a pretty quick update for me, so win for you all!

The only real note I have about this one would be how I kinda just...tossed Gaige in there. I get how it may be kind of sudden, but it actually felt natural while I was writing it. It seemed a good way to introduce her, rather than having some big drawn out chapter about it. I am glad to finally get her in her, I absolutely love Gaige!

A few people have been requesting Kriege join the gang. I would love to add him, however I really don't think I could do his character justice. I cant get his speech patterns down. I feel like they would just end up being watered down and making him far less enjoyable. I have tried some experimental chapters with him, but they just never felt good. Also if I brought him in then I would HAVE to pair him with Maya, because they are just awesome together.

Me 3 favorite pairings are: Maya/Kriege, Athena/Janey, Zero/EVERYBODY!

Also, side not here, I started playing Tales from the Borderlands. That game is AWESOME! I was so happy when I saw Zero in there, just killing all the fools! Also super jazzed that Athena is in it as well! Love her character! Although no idea what was up with her voice and the red eyes...All and all I think it is an incredibly well done game, laughed my ass off while playing it. I think Fiona is my favorite character though...It helps immensely that it's Laura Bailey doing the voice, love that lady.

Anywho...got sidetracked there. My bad.

Next chapter coming up! Explosions, gunfights, decapitations, eviscerations, awkward moments, Tiny Tina! And the introduction of the super secret character!...probably...maybe...this chapter or the next one...I dunno.

Thank you again for all the amazing words of support and kindness! You are all fantastic people! I appreciate every review, fav, follow, and read!

As always feel free to PM me with question/concerns.