"When you have something truly precious to protect… that's when you'll find true strength."

An armored fist slammed hard into the mask of a gibbering psycho. Metal studded knuckles drew a sickening crunch from bone followed promptly by a squeal of pain. Blood spurted freely from the impact painting his already worn armor red. He paid it no mind, there was no place in battle for hesitation after all. Deftly his other hand shot forward and plucked another by the throat and without so much as a batted eye, he began to choke the life out of his prey.

Blood and viscera pooled grimly at his feet. The very earth turned into a veritable sea of crimson that stemmed from the dozens of broken bodies littering the floor. It did nothing to deter him. Raising the gasping marauder to eye level, he glared holes in the man's head and even though his polished metal helm, the intensity of his rage was practically palpable.

"You were warned. Time and again, you were warned that attacking the people of Sanctuary would only bring about your deaths." His voice was low, like rolling smoke, yet it burned with fire all the same. "Those people, they are under my protection!"

"F-Fuck… you!" The marauder would have spat in his face, were fresh bile not swarming inside his lungs. "O-One day… we'll pry those walls open… and when we do, we'll gut everyone inside!"

His visor glowed with an ominous amethyst hue, and a violet pulsing aura began to encase his hand.

"The likes of you could never break our walls." His grip tightened slowly, crushing the now gurgling killer's windpipe within his grip. "So long as I stand, the people of Sanctuary will never fall. Bring as many guns and men as you muster, I will break you all if that is what it takes to keep them safe."

That was his promise. His vow.

With a final snarl, he clenched his fist… and the bandit's body disintegrated into nothing more than faint flickers of dying purple embers.

The deed was done and silence reigned for a few precious moments, he watched the light fade before his eyes and bowed his head in grim resignation. His gaze trailed across the streaks of fresh blood that stained his armor, not a drop of it his own. How many times had he needed to do this? How many more times in the coming years would he have to? Contrary to the rumors about him he took no real joy in dealing death, quite the opposite in fact. He wished for a future of peace, perhaps even prosperity for those who wished nothing more than to live without fear.

However, such a time seemed beyond him. Peace, if such a thing could ever truly exist in a place like Pandora, was nothing more than something to aspire to. The light at the end of a seemingly endless tunnel.

"Pervy-sage… What would you think of me now?"

…

"Saint, do you copy? We have a problem."

Those thoughts made themselves scarce as his echo device buzzed to life in his ear. The respectful, but worried voice of Pvt. Jessup quickly replaced the static.

"What is it, Jessup?" He answered immediately, knowing full well the man would not have called him for something trivial. Not that he would have minded a bit of idle chatter, but there was a reason he had earned the reputation he had and it didn't come from sitting idly by chatting on the holo.

"Roland's been captured."

The sound of shell dropping could have been heard, such was the deafening silence that followed in the wake of those words.

"By who, exactly?" The edge in his voice was obvious even across the call.

"Bloodshots. Don't know how they managed it but they got him, our feeds are alive with chatter. Right now they're trying to ransom him off to Hyperion, but it sounds like they haven't received an answer."

"Roland was captured… by bandits?" Part of him wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all, but this was no laughing matter. Hyperion would undoubtedly get involved, and they were a far greater threat than a gang of gunned-out psychos looking to strike it rich. "I understand. Heading out now."

"Just a heads up, you might not have heard but a new group of Vault Hunters have joined up with the Crimson Raiders. They are already en-route, hopefully they'll be worth something in a fight."

"New blood… I look forward to seeing them for myself."

He cut the line and made his way over towards his personal ride. There was no time to waste here any longer.

"I can only imagine the little bird is laughing up a storm right now."

(Three Horns Valley- Bloodshot Stronghold)

"Sooo, why do you think he attached midgets to this thing?"

Maya couldn't help but snort at the question as she watched Gaige nudge the now dead Nomad with her foot. The petite mechromancer, a self-appointed title mind you, was busy looting some extra ammunition off the chumps corpse, seemingly unaffected by the litany of bullet holes that decorated the once towering maniac. Granted that was their doing, but even so, she was remarkably calm given her age and the gratuitous violence surrounded them.

She would fit in just fine.

"Looks like he was trying to cover a hole in his shield." She reloaded her maliwan submachine-gun and walked over to her partner. The two of them were assigned to assist given they were the closest on call, Salvador and Axton were en-route but it would be some time before they arrived. "Guess he thought flesh would make a better defense than steel."

"That's dumb." Gaige snorted and kicked the dead bandit's head. "You're dumb, and now you're dead. Sounds about right."

"Save some of that ferocity for the rest of the Bloodshots, we've still got a whole nest to clear out." Maya placed a hand on her hip and stared into the waiting maw of the stronghold. "How's your little friend holding up?"

"DT's a little banged up, but he'll be all set the next time I call him." Gaige grinned and flexed her mechanical arm, the same one used to summon that metal monstrosity she referred to as her "BFF".

"Good, we'll need all the help we can get. Still haven't heard from Sal or Axton so I'd say we're on our own for a bit." She sighed. There were a lot of bandits between them and Roland, all of them armed to the teeth and with about as much sense as a newborn mong between them.

"We totally got this!" The spunky red-head grinned wildly, spinning her pistol around her finger. "Between you, me, and DT, nothing is going to stand in our way!"

…

"Okay! I stand corrected!"

"Nooo? Really!?"

Maya and Gaige huddled together behind cover as a hailstorm of bullets whizzed loudly past their position. Things had started well enough… walk in, pop the first few unsuspecting fools while they weren't looking, then advance. Simple and to the point. Everything was going according to plan, and it didn't even seem like they would need the backup.

Then turrets got involved and the whole thing turned to skag-shit.

"How long until your toy is back in action!?"

"Ummm…" Gaige flexed her cybernetics attempting to manifest her partner, but all she got were a few sparks and an error message blinking across the display in her arm. "Gonna be a little bit!"

"Great. Just fantastic." Maya grit her teeth as the tattoo's across her arm hummed to life and with a quick peek over their cover, grabbed the nearest bandit and hurled him into the line of fire. Unsurprisingly, the turret operators made no move to cease fire and tore the human projectile to shreds. Friend or foe, it didn't matter much to them.

So much for that plan.

"Maybe we should retrea-"

*BOOOOOM!*

The room trembled as an explosion ripped through a nearby wall momentarily drowning out the sound of gunfire. Vault Hunters and bandits alike turned their attention to the newly created hole. As the smoke and debris began to settle, the outline of a figure could be seen stepping slowly through the haze and out into the glare of the spotlights. Battle-scarred armor and a helm radiating with a soft purple glow cut through the smog like a shark emerging from the ocean's depths. In one hand, the hulking figure gripped a bloodied and broken bruiser by the neck. In the other, a still smoking shotgun.

"It's the fucking Saint!"

"KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW!"

"Fuck this shit! I'm getting out of here!"

Maya and Gaige couldn't help but glance over their cover as the turrets that had once been trained at them abruptly turned to the new arrival with vicious prejudice. Iron barrels spun up with a deafening roar and in an instant, bullets began to fly anew.

Unheard beneath all the noise, the helmeted figure made a noise somewhere between a sigh and growl before tossing the body of the bruiser into the line of fire. The steroid-filled cadaver did a decent job of eating the first dozen or so rounds before exploding into a fine bloody mist, but by then the armored juggernaut was already on the move, racing towards the heavy weaponry with surprising speed given his bulk.

"Where's Roland!?" The titan shouted aloud as he blew a hole in the torso of the closest bandit, shotgun ripping through flesh and armor like wet tissue paper. "I'm growing tired of these games!"

"Eat shit and die, buckethead!" One of the turret operators screamed back.

"Tsk, animals!" A surge of violet energy bled to life around the charging warrior, noticeably condensing around the man's right arm. The rippling aura of power pulsed with a hypnotizing rhythm as it trashed about, before abruptly bending into what could only be described… a shield? Made of pure light?

How the hell had he done that?!

Maya and Gaige watched in awe as the helmed aggressor raised his defense and held the line against the incoming bulletstorm. It was as if the light of his weapon simply swallowed the bullets whole, all while its wielder pushed on, slowly gaining ground on the rapidly overheating turret before at last coming within arms length of the first. Using his shield like a battering ram, he knocked the red-hot barrel to the side and grabbed its operator by the face. Gloved fingers dug deeply into the screaming bandit's skull like a vice, before with a chilling snarl, he slammed the unfortunate fool into the concrete below, killing him in a gratuitous eruption of blood and brain matter that splatted those nearby.

The second turret operator, seeing his partner turned to sludge, attempted to fire again, but the titan of a man acted first. Tossing the glowing shield like a frisbee, the hard-light weapon bounced off one of the nearby pillars before ricocheting directly into the bandit's face. Rather than embed itself, however, the disk ripped through him entirely. Even the vault hunters couldn't help but flinch as the bandit wailed in utter agony, his body disintegrating into nothing more than dying embers of purple light leaving no trace he'd even existed.

With a final bounce, the shield returned to his arm and that ominous glowing visor turned itself towards the rest of the now terrified bloodshots.

"I'll ask again. Where. Is. Roland." He repeated gruffly.

"D-Deeper inside! At the holding cells!"

The armored-giant paused, then nodded slowly. "I see… that makes sense. I thank you for your cooperation."

The remaining bandits spared a hopeful look towards one another. "S-So we told you what you wanted… T-That means you'll let us l-live then, r-right?"

This time the man gave no answer, but the light of his helm shined brighter, as did the shield at his side.

"Oh… well fuck you then."

What came next wasn't a pretty sight.

…

"You two… I assume you are the new vault hunters I was told about?"

"There are more of us, but yeah." Maya nodded, eyeing the masked figure warily. After the display he'd just put on, could anyone really blame her for being a bit cautious? "Thanks for the assistance…" She paused, searching for a name.

"People refer to me as Saint.'' He held out a hand in peace and after a moment of hesitation, she took it. His grip was strong, but he was surprisingly gentle for a man that had proved capable of caving a bandit's skull in less than a minute ago. "The name seems ironic I know, but we can not always control what titles we are given."

"You certainly aren't what I picture when I hear the word saint." Gaige added cheerfully, eyeing their newfound allies' blood-soaked armor. "When I think of saints, I think of stuffy old dudes walking around in robes frowning at people. Not a towering, armor-wearing badass that can beat a mothertrucker with another mothertrucker."

Saint snorted at the comparison and rubbed the back of his helm with a sound almost akin to sheepishness. "Robes would not suit me very well but I am happy to know I haven't made a terrible first impression." He held out a hand to the young mechanist who shook it eagerly. "May I have your names?"

"The name's Gaige, but you can call me whatever you like!~" The mechromancer purred excitedly. Tall, mysterious, and a monster on the battlefield? Let it be known that she very much had a type and this "Saint" was hitting all of her marks. All she needed now was to see what was under that helmet!

Maya rolled her eyes at the young teen's lovestruck tone. First it was Hammerlock, then Axton, and now it seemed the red-head had a new obsession to add to the list. Maybe her sheltered upbringing had some advantages?

"Maya." She greeted him with a short nod. "Nice to meet you, and thanks for the help."

"Of course." He nodded heartily, internalizing the names. "It is good to meet you both! I wish we had more time for proper introductions, but Hyperion will be here soon and Roland can not wait forever. Come, we must keep moving." Saint immediately turned towards the entrance way leading deeper in and began to move, Maya and Gaige following closely behind.

"Wait, Hyperion is on their way? I thought they hadn't responded to the ransom?" Maya questioned with a frown. "Flankstake has been shouting over the echocast ever since Roland was captured. Hell, he's practically begging at this point."

"It should go without saying but never trust Hyperion." Saint scowled beneath his helm as they walked. "There is no honor in their words and even less in their actions. The bounty is nothing more than a ruse to get other people to do their dirty work, a cheaper alternative than waging the war themselves. Let the rabble kill themselves trying to claim it and if by some miracle someone pulled it off…"

"Send in a kill squad to take him for themselves." Gaige intuited. "Jack never had any plans of negotiating from the start."

"No, this silence is just the calm before the storm." Saint explained hurriedly. "That is why we must move quickly. The Bloodshots are not the true threat here, Hyperion is."

"Let's just hope we're faster than they are." Maya muttered.

Nothing was ever quite so simple on Pandora, was it?

...

"Come on, just kill'em already!"

"Aim for the big one!"

"Which big one!?"

"The robot you moron!"

"They both look like robots!"

"Enough! If you spent less time talking and more time fighting perhaps you wouldn't die so easily!" Saint roared as he shoulder charged a trio of bandits off their platform and down into the swirling drain below. Why they had built a combat arena over what might as well have been an oversized toilet he couldn't fathom, but he wasn't going to complain if it made clearing them out easier for him.

"I honestly don't think it would help!" Gaige called out from above. The orange-haired mechanist had one armed wrapped around her summon's neck as she rode atop its back while she clutched her weapon of choice in the other. Her Tediore shock pistol cracked with a static click as she popped shield after shield, while DT crushed those they passed along the way. "Maybe bigger guns would though!"

"Please tell me that wasn't a size matters joke!" Maya groaned, phase-locking a charging goliath before casually tossing it down the drain as well. She then quickly rounded on a group of stumbling midgets with her smg drawn, and with a click of the trigger, lit the offending group on fire swiftly filling the air with the smell of burning flesh and tiny screams.

Not that it made much of a difference honestly. The place smelled like shit to begin with.

"I mean you said it not me!" Gaige giggled, hopping off her trusty steed and falling behind cover. Pulling a grenade from her hip, she armed the explosive and swiftly tossed it into a small herd of marauders.

Seconds later, blood and body parts rained like confetti.

"Big one incoming!"

Saint's warning came just in time for another explosion to rock the complex. The source of which? A furious nomad wielding a rocket launcher. By his side, a couple of midges strapped with explosive vests gibbered wildly and began tossing grenades at friends and foes alike. It was truly a testament to the stronghold's integrity that the place was still standing at this point.

"MAD MIKE IN THE HOUSE!"

"Oh no you dont!" Maya hissed and locked one of the midgets in place before unloading into it. As expected, fire and explosives made for a volatile combination and the resulting explosion was more than enough to powderize the remaining midgets and send the hulking nomad skidding back. Sadly it wasn't enough to put him down though and the behemoth of a man let out a pained roar before charging again.

"DT, knock'em dead!" Gaige commanded.

Like an obedient puppy, the hulking robot did as it was instructed and charged the still enraged bandit, its digitized claws materializing around its steel mitts in a flash of blue light. It seemed as though its creator hadn't instilled a deep understanding of mercy within it as the bot savagely drove its ethereal blades deep into the fleshy piñata it had been given without so much as batting a lens.

Mike screamed, but that too went unheeded. Deathtrap followed its directions to the letter, knocking the bleeding nomad around the arena in what quickly devolved into a very one-sided boxing match.

Gaige cheered and made a cutting motion across her neck. "Wrap it up, buddy!"

DT's lone optic narrowed and shined with an ominous red hue. With its directive altered, cold metal fingers gripped the broken nomad by his fat neck and hoisted the beaten man into the air with ease. For his part, the last thing Mike saw was a bright crimson glow before a sensation of intense heat engulfed him and the world suddenly went black.

...

"Well that was needlessly gruesome… but good work all the same." Maya patted the young girl on the shoulder as the trio stared down at the melted remains of what used to be a person. Saint seemed torn between respect and concern, while Gaige appeared entirely unbothered by the fact her pet robot just turned a man into soup at their feet.

"Best. Friend. Ever!" She cheered, gushing over the passively hovering hunk of metal that hummed in what might have been an expression of happiness. Honestly none of them could be entirely sure of that.

"Don't lose focus now." Saint's voice brought them all back to the present. "The holding cells can not be too much farther, we can celebrate once Roland is free and back in Sanctuary."

"Right." Maya nodded.

"Sir, yes sir!" Gauge saluted with a drawl.

Beneath his helm, a pair of blue eyes narrowed in determination.

Hold on just a little longer, Roland.

A/N: Prompt Complete

Honestly forgot I had written this, I only found it because a friend and I happened to be running through my scrapped ideas and after re-reading it I'm not entirely sure why I never published it. Maybe I didn't want to try and balance another story or I just wasn't sure if people would like it… Regardless I figured I might as well post it while I work on other things. I actually found myself enjoying fixing this one up so maybe I'll do something more with it or maybe someone will adopt it and turn it into a grand epic. Obviously I took a great deal of inspiration from Destiny and D2, modeling Naruto after Saint-14.

I guess time will tell.

I also know that posting a story (even if it's just a one-off chapter) will draw people who want to know about other fics. Hebi-hime is still being worked on, more just trying to plot exactly where I want to go and commit to a clear direction, as for everything else… ehhh? I've discovered I just really hate writing prologues lol, I have plenty of mid-story ideas but having to set up bloodlines, special gifts, or world intros is a little tedious. Anyway enough rambling, I hope you enjoyed this little slice of something. As always, stay safe and review at your own discretion.