A/N: From this point onward I've decided not to mark whether or not the dialog is correct or original. I think those reminders just detract from the overall story. Besides I've played this DLC enough times to accurately guess the dialog.

Chapter 10: Rusting Hearts Part I

Mission(s): The Hermit * Main Mission

Just Desserts for Desert Deserters * Side Mission

DLC: Captain Scarlett and her Pirate's Booty

Maya stared up at the crow's nest; she turned to Zero and asked, "Have you ever been up there?" Zero shook his head and nodded to Captain Scarlett who seemed to be waiting. They walked over to her and sure enough she was.

"I don't know where the last part of the compass is, but…I know someone who might. His name is Herbert, and he lives out in the Rustyards. Take that gift box over there."

Looking to her left, Maya finds a neat gift box and picks it up putting it in her pack.

"Hold on to that gift and don't give it to Herbert until I tell you to. Now go meet up with him. Off with you, now."

Heeding Captain Scarlett's words and heading to the Sandskiff, Maya went down through the ship to get exercise instead of down the elevator. Zero simply just jumped off the back end of the ship and landed next to the Sandskiff.

Once Maya got there she claimed the turret position, and was silent forcing Zero to take the driver's seat. As they sailed off Captain Scarlett had something to say.

"Now you might be worried that once you get all 4 pieces of the compass, I'll kill you and take it for myself. Wrong. Even once complete, the compass still needs to be taken to a very secret location before it will reveal where Blade's treasure is buried. You can rest easy for now."

Zero sails forwards after taking a u-turn, all while Scarlett talks. When she finishes he takes a sharp right and sails up a hill and around a rocky ledge. They sail forwards until they come to a heavily fortified pirate camp. It's all one giant crisscrossing walkway built up above the sand flats supported by a few very short rocky pillars. Two automatic turrets stand ready to open fire, their positions given away by their red laser sights.

Taking her hands off the mounted gun Maya takes out her Jakobs sniper and takes aim at one of the turrets. After two shots it explodes, and luckily the explosion doesn't attract the attention of the other turret, pivoting to the left Maya takes aim and after two more shots eliminates the second turret.

At that point pirates take notice and Zero drives up, Maya hopes out and both of them decide to go for headshots. Playing the game is fun, going up on the walkway hiding behind crates when reloading, all brings the giddiness and insanity back into Maya's step. Zero knows this is good for her, since he had just spent the last year or so watching Maya during the campaign to take down Handsome Jack.

While exploring a side path to the walkway, Maya spots another auto turret. Zero takes it out this time with two shots. Taking the main route Maya and Zero hear a few Sandskiffs fly by underneath, and using the Norefleet Zero makes quick work of them. A cursed pirate gives them a little grief, but Maya quickly dispatches it with her Orphan Maker. They come to a choke point which ends in a barred off gate.

On either side of the gate are two cylindrical metal towers, mismatched but definitely sturdy. On top of the one on the left sits another gun turret, this one is taken out with one shot from Maya and one from Zero. Maya moves to the rights side and discovers a lever, she pulls it and the gate opens. Out comes a badass pirate, a double headshot from either side explodes his head clean off and into a bunch of tiny bits.

After admiring their work Maya and Zero enter the Rustyards, once they're inside they decide to kill Toothless Terry the next Deserter.

Captain Scarlett says, "Herbert, they guy you're looking for? I brought him on board a few months back 'cause he's stupidly knowledgeable about Captain Blade's treasure. Then I kicked him off because … you'll see." They arrive in the Rustyards and Captain Scarlett gives them a few words about Herbert. They decide to focus on Terry at the moment and continue onward. Thinking it's the shorter way Maya and Zero decide to go straight, instead they see a large gap that's impassable. They do find a platform system, but the switch isn't working and the platform was all the way on the other side.

With Maya sighing and Zero silently brooding, they both turned back and walked forward then started right.

"Oh, if Herbert asks about me, don't say anything."

After those words from Scarlett enemies started to appear from the various houses built out of scrap and rusty metal. A new enemy called a raider basically charges them with an ax or a random sharp and or blunt object. This is taken care of by a simple shotgun blast, but when two more raiders plus something even more terrifying comes their way Zero and Maya get their game faces on not really memorizing their surroundings for long unless necessary.

Two anchor mean, giant pirates with a chain machine on their back connecting two chains to two anchors held in either hand. A few more powder monkeys (basically grenade obsessed pirates with a keg of explosives containing those grenades strapped to their back), raiders, anchormen, pirates Maya and Zero finally make it to the gate to the only passageway to the other side of the gap.

Just before they can enter the gate, two anchormen and a whaler (same thing as anchorman just less armor and carrying a harpoon in either hand) block their path. Maya quickly steals their health away with her Orphan Maker. Zero just stands back and watches the carnage as Maya blasts them apart.

Once Maya finishes they both move forward together. They come to a place after passing through the gate called Rusty Cog Settlement. It's basically the rusted out re modified old interior skeleton of a ship that's half buried. A few of the inner scaffolding survived – that or it was just rebuilt or added on by the pirates – either way Maya and Zero have plenty of places to snipe the multiple enemies that abound from the woodworks or in this case metal works.

After moving forward they came to an inside portion with a few branching hallways. Going down one Maya finds a room used for quarters. She happily raids all the cash boxes on one side of the room while Zero takes the other side, finding a new doorway Zero beckons Maya over. Going through it they discover a chest inside it is a corrosive Hyperion sniper rifle and a Dahl smg … leaving them since they already got better loot Maya and Zero head further onward, doing battle with more pirates.

Suddenly as they come to a hole in the ship rockets come flying out from across the somewhat sandy divide. "Toothless Terry," Maya guesses and starts tossing Singularity grenades. After phaslocking Terry in one place Zero let fly one of his singularity grenades and Terry ended up exploding along with his fellow pirates into tiny bits.

"Crap – I can't remember that deserter's name. It was something unisexual, oh I feel really bad killing someone without knowing their name. TERRY! It was Terry! Whew, almost felt guilty there," Captain Scarlett, says. "Looks like that's all of 'em – head on back whenever you're ready!"

After eliminating Toothless Terry Maya and Zero jumped down to the sandy bottom inside the ship shell and turned to their right looking out of the hole.

Captain Scarlett: That looks creepy enough to be Herbert's shack up there on that ledge. Take the elevator up, knock on the door, and prepare for a smell straight out of your nightmares.

Maya and Zero move forward onto a walkway constructed entirely out of metal. After going down a few short switching stairs the two find themselves at the start of a bridge that extends to either side of the gap. After crossing it Maya looks to her right and sees an inactive generator. Hurrying over to it Maya switches it on and the platform is up and running.

Turning around Maya and Zero head forward and encounter some spiderants. Zero slices a few up with his katana, and Maya blasts the rest into oblivion with her shotgun. After that they move forward again and come to a cleverly constructed elevator consisting of a platform built on top of a four-pronged anchor. A chain runs up to a shipwreck's anchor system.

After riding it all the way to the extended wooden walkway constructed to perfectly match up with the elevators stopped position, Maya and Zero head to dry land. After getting on the same level ground as Herbert's shack, they encounter another group of spider ants. Maya throws her last singularity grenade and it gathers them all into one group.

The grenade explodes gloriously, and Zero finishes off any survivors with his melee weapon. They then both hurry along to the right to the walkway extending atop the ledge out two Herbert's creepy shack. They knock on the door and it opens, out steps Herbert and Maya can both see and definitely smell the obsessive creep on the old man.

"Hold on – hold on a second!" Herbert says then opens his door. "Scarlett?! Is that you?! Oh. You're not Scarlett…but I can taste her scent on you. She wants the last compass piece doesn't she? Ohhh, yeah. Let's talk, you and me."

Maya nods creeped out and Herbert says something else, "How is Scarlett? Is she as beautiful as a last saw her? Oh how the light caught her hair…"

After turning in the mission Maya and Zero find that it's really, really, really late. Maya checks her watch and finds it to be around 11:47 P.M. "Aw damnit! It's really that late?" Zero nods and leads Maya back across the cliff down the elevator, towards the generator, across the gap on the platform, and into one of the safer houses near the start of the Rustyards.

Herbert asks, "Are we gonna get to talking?"

Zero responds with, "She's had a long day / she suffered from injuries / she needs to sleep now." While Maya's sleeping Zero decides to turn in the mission about the deserters on his own, and tell Maya about the end when she wakes up.

After fast traveling to Captain Scarlett's ship Zero silently makes his way to the bounty board and turns in the mission.

"I really can't state how un-serious I was being about the no 'fatties' thing. I actually prefer overweight men," Captain Scarlett says.

Zero returns to Maya and sits at the foot of her bed resting his back up against the wall. As Maya sleeps, Zero stays ever vigilant.