A/N: Right, uh, I'm kind of in a rush at the moment to get to a class (I'm writing this as I head out the door) so I'll try and keep the authors note short. Thanks for all the great feedback I've been getting, keep that stuff up! :)
BrutusSilentium: Why thank you :)
kricV5: He'll be on the Vault Hunters side, as he is in the game. And yeah I get what you're saying about his good guy/bad guy thing, I'll try implement that in some way.
Guardian of all that exists: Oooh, thanks!
Elemental Hybrid: 1.) I know, and no problem xD 2.) Thanks! :) 3.) Okay.
Sacha (guest): Well, here you go!
Almost forgot to mention, I have big exams starting on the 5th of June that run every day until the 13th and then another exam on the 19th, so If my updating is a little slow (slower than it already is) cut me some slack please! XD Wish me luck!
Hope you enjoy the chapter!
"Without heroes, we are all plain people and don't know how far we can go."
-Bernard Malamud
Gaige spent the next hour or so at Koen's house. She hadn't talked to her dad since the night before and she'd stormed out on her mom, so she wasn't too keen to go back to the house. Koen had Gaige had spent the last hour or so lying together on the couch, watching whatever came up on the TV screen. Koen had his arms around Gaige and both were enjoying every minute of it. Even after a year and a half of being together, their love hadn't dimmed slightly.
Eventually, Gaige yawned and stretched out of Koen's arms. She swung her legs off the side of the couch and stood up, looking like she could barely stand. Koen noticed that she was swaying from side to side slightly and wondered how much sleep she'd actually gotten the night before.
"Where are you going?" Koen asked, looking up at her.
"Gonna use your shower, if you don't mind," Gaige muttered, her eyes almost closed.
"Heh, course not, just do me a favour and don't pass out while you're in there, because you look like you can barely stand," Koen grinned.
"It's… it's fine, I got this," she said and headed for the door. She continued talking as she tried to walk out. "After it, I might head back to-"
She stopped mid-sentence when she walked straight into the door, smacking her head off it with a loud thud. Koen raised an eyebrow and shook his head, resisting the urge to laugh.
"You alright?" Koen asked.
"Uh huh, yep," Gaige replied, slightly more alert. She opened the door and turned to Koen. "As I was saying, I'm gonna go home after this, talk to my dad and stuff."
"Well okay then," Koen shrugged, "I'll go with you if you want."
"Kay," Gaige said, and then walked out the door.
Koen stayed exactly where he was, way too comfortable to get up now. He just sat there and hoped that Gaige didn't do something like walk into the bathroom door and knock herself out. Just as Koen heard the bathroom door close, Marshall walked into the room. He glanced around the room before looking down at Koen, who was still lying flat out on the couch.
"What was that bang?" Marshall asked, frowning slightly.
"Never mind," Koen replied, sitting up on the couch.
"Any more on this Pandora situation?" Marshall questioned, turning slightly and looking out the window.
Koen sighed before replying. "Looks like we're going back, as soon as possible too,"
Marshall only bit his lip and nodded slightly in response.
"Look," Koen continued, "We'll be there and back within a few days. We can definitely handle ourselves on that planet, there's really nothing to worry about."
"By we, I hope you mean all three of us," Marshall said, glancing back at Koen.
Even though Koen knew Marshall would want to come with them, his confidence and sincerity still came as a surprise to him. "So you're coming too?" Koen asked.
"Course," Marshall replied, his face lighting up slightly.
While Koen sort of felt bad for dragging Marshall into this, he couldn't help but smile at that moment. He stood up and gave Marshall a hug, which Marshall returned.
"Actually," Koen said, after he had let go, "I'm gonna check around for some weapons, see what we have left. Pretty sure we still have all of our old stuff."
"Just like old times," Marshall grinned, as Koen headed out of the room.
Axton froze and stared blankly down at his ECHO device. He could hardly believe what just happened. Gaige had ECHOed him, for the first time in a year and a half. He understood why, there was no way an ECHO could usually connect between planets. He guessed he must have underestimated Gaige's skills once again.
He just hoped he got the message across. He was worried that Gaige would consider coming back here. Things had only gotten worse in the last year or so, stuff that he definitely didn't want Gaige to get caught up in. Not again, not ever. If Gaige came to Pandora, there would be no way for her to get back home. It was a one-way trip.
He had to go tell the others about the call. He'd been walking back from Moxxi's bar when he got the call. It was night time and he'd just spent a few hours at the bar. He guessed the others were back in the HQ, where they usually were. He picked up the pace and made it back in a minute or so, he pushed open the door and hurried inside. He closed the door behind him and looked around the room. To his surprise, the only two people in the room at the time were Maya and Lilith. The two were both lying down on separate beds, reading what looked to be the exact same book.
Maya glanced up from her book when she heard Axton coming in and their eyes met. "Hey, Ax," she said brightly, before looking back to her book.
"Hey," Lilith echoed uninterestedly. She must have been really into that book, Axton thought.
"What's the rush?" Maya asked, noticing how quickly Axton entered the room.
Axton looked around the room once again. "Uh, where is everyone," he said, deflecting Maya's question unintentionally.
"Well," Maya answered, "I'm here, Lilith's there, Salvador and Zer0 are upstairs and Mordecai is probably passed out somewhere."
The reason Maya didn't mention Brick at all is because he had left them a few months back. One day he just left and returned to his slabs, cutting off all communication he had with them. The others thought occasionally about going to talk to him, but they were worried he would just set his bandits on them or try to kill them himself, so they let him be.
"And what about Krieg?" Axton wondered, not liking not knowing the pyscho's whereabouts.
They had found Krieg a few months back, running around in the Dust and slaughtering whatever poor bandit got in his destructive path. The Vault Hunters were wary of him at first, thinking he was just one of those pyschos that attacked everything that moved. However, when they approached him, he didn't attack them at all, he just sheathed his giant buzz-axe and moved on. They followed, and together they all managed to clear out a few bandit camps together. That was when the Vault Hunters realised that this was no ordinary pyscho, that he was different.
"God knows where that idiot is," Maya shrugged, rolling her eyes. "He could be on Dionysus for all we know."
Lilith looked from her book and glanced at Maya, frowning slightly at the mention of her home planet, before returning back to her book.
"Anyway, what are you so worked up about?" Maya continued.
Axton held up his ECHO device, presenting it to Maya. "Gaige just called me," he announced, tossing the ECHO device down on a nearby table.
Maya and Lilith's faces both shot up at the exact same time, their eyes widening and their mouths opening slightly. They looked at each other before quickly jumping off their beds and running over to Axton.
"Well, what did she say? What did you say? What's-"Maya began frantically firing off questions, giving Axton no time to answer any of them.
"Relax, Maya," Axton blinked, raising his hands to calm Maya down a bit. "The call quality was awful, I could barely hear her and I don't even know if she heard me at all."
Maya slunk backwards a bit, looking a little bit let down. "Still, what did you say?" she muttered.
Axton dragged a hand along his face and then began chewing a fingernail. He looked away for a second before looking back to Maya. "Look… I tried to tell her to stay away from here completely, to not come back," he said finally.
Maya frowned and tilted her head. "And why would you say that?" she asked, a hint of anger slipping into her voice."
"Wha- Look around you, Maya!" Axton yelled, "This place has only gone from bad to worse in the last year or so. It's more dangerous than ever and we still haven't found out what the hell's going on with you and Lilith with your Siren powers and the Eridium!"
Maya took a step backwards, becoming slightly intimidated by Axton's outburst. Axton shut his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to collect himself.
"We went through shit, but Gaige is away from here, and I intend to keep it that way. Would you bring anyone back to this?" Axton asked, spreading his arms out wide.
Maya glanced over at Lilith, who was looking back and forth between Maya and Axton with wide eyes, surprised at how quickly things had turned around. Then Lilith herself turned and headed back over to the bed, deciding not to get involved in an argument with the two. Maya, for her part, couldn't do much else other than stare at Axton and try to come up with something to say. When she couldn't think of anything, she simply copied Lilith by turning around and walking over to her bed. She then sat down, picked up her book and continued reading.
Once Axton didn't get a reply from either of the women, he turned around and headed out the door, feeling a lot more angry than he had five minutes ago. He didn't think about where he was gonna go, he just headed out the door and into the dark streets of Sanctuary.
With Gaige feeling slightly more perked up after her shower, she, Koen and Marshall all headed up towards Gaige's house. Koen felt like he should give her dad his final opinion and ask for his. Koen felt bad for Alex, he'd sent his daughter off to this place once, and had been living in fear and anxiety every moment she was gone. Now, he had to let her go once again, whether he liked it or not. Either way, Gaige would get to Pandora, she simply would not let this go.
They reached Gaige's house and walked up the driveway to the front door. Gaige gave a playful, specific knock on the door and waited. She was tapping her foot the whole time and shaking her hands anxiously, like she was way too excited. Then, after a few seconds, Alex opened the door. His face lit up when he saw his daughter, but then dropped slightly when he saw the two boys behind her. Koen and Marshall shot each other a quick glance.
"Hey dad!" Gaige said brightly, taking a step forward into the house. Alex stepped out of the way and held the door open for Koen and Marshall. As Koen and Marshall entered the house, leaving the door open behind them, Gaige gave her dad a hug. Alex smiled and hugged his daughter back, knowing that he'd have to let her go soon, at least for a while anyway.
Alex broke the hug and put his hands on Gaige's shoulders. Gaige looked up at him, waiting for him to say something.
"Look, sweetie, if you feel you really, really need to, you can go to Pandora. Just… just promise me you'll be back soon," Alex said sadly, trying not to imagine a world without his daughter.
Gaige looked ready to burst with excitement and happiness, while Koen had no idea why. She'd been on that planet longer than he had, and still she insisted on going back. No, begged to go back. It was strange, but then again, Gaige was strange.
Koen leaned over to Marshall and whispered to him. "I can't understand why she's so desperate to go to Pandora, I mean, shithole doesn't even begin to describe this place."
Marshall only shrugged and shook his head. He didn't know Gaige very well, but he knew that Koen was right.
"So, how do we get there and when do we go?" Koen asked.
"Well, there's no time like the present," Gaige smiled, looking back at her dad.
"No," her dad replied firmly, "Get yourself ready and think about this some more, if you don't have any doubts by tomorrow, you can go in the morning."
"Kay," Gaige shrugged, "But how are we gonna get to Pandora?"
"Same way as last time, I'd imagine," Alex said, referring to how Gaige had gotten a trans-planetary shuttle last time. Alex then looked at Koen and Marshall. "I take it you guys are going with her, yeah?"
Marshall and Koen both nodded, Marshall appearing slightly unsure of himself.
"Right," Alex said, "I say you guys go home for now, and come here tomorrow morning, we'll be ready."
"Okay," Koen and Marshall both said in unison.
With that, the two boys headed out of the house. They looked back as Alex nodded to them one more time, before slowly closing the door.
"Well that went better than expected," Koen reasoned.