Zero didn't usually lie to his fellow vault hunters. Between being known for not talking much and earning their trust in battle, there wasn't much opportunity or need to. This time, however, was different. He was worried for them.

Maya had shared her hypothesis that the pile of corpses in the clearing had been placed there deliberately. Zero knew that was true. He also knew that under normal circumstances, that heap of bodies would not have made any of his friends physically ill. Every single one of them had been in combat almost constantly for months, and Pandora wasn't exactly a pleasantly aromatic planet anyway.

The blood of the dead had been laced with a chemical designed to make anyone that inhaled it sick and woozy. Maya and Gaige had been stricken almost immediately once they got close enough to the source- Maya, presumably because her of her relative lack of exposure to toxic substances, Gaige because of that as well as her lesser age and body weight. Krieg had been dizzied by it, but the chemical had taken several minutes, and a much larger amount, to make him sick. Zero wondered distantly if Hyperion's experiments on him had improved or weakened his resistance to the aerosol drug.

Either way, if Zero hadn't been able to convince all three of them to take the antidote disguised as mints, they would have been helpless during the Terminus battles. That would have been beyond disastrous, possibly fatal, to everyone.

As for the other two... Axton had spent the greater part of his life in combat, exposed to any number of chemicals that would have improved his resistance, to say nothing of what Dahl would've given him. Salvador was a heavy drug user already. Between his lifelong steroidal doses and whatever else he might have taken for fun, Salvador's bloodstream had to have metaphorically laughed at the nausea compound and given it a wedgie.

Zero knew the chemical was in the pile because his helmet had detected it and alerted him. He knew its effects because he had used this substance on assassination targets in the past.

He had the antidote because it was always wise to carry the cure to your own inventions, just in case.

For someone else to have made use of it was extremely worrying in its implications. Zero had never shared his creation with anyone; why help the competition? So, when the others headed back to Sanctuary, he had lied and said he was still looking for his sword. In reality, he had spent the past several hours examining the mountain of decaying flesh.

Rooting around in a pile of dead bodies didn't bother Zero. What he found did.

Not a single one had been killed by bullets. Every single one, from lowest tribesman to most dangerous scaylion, had been killed by a bladed weapon, and not a bayonet on the end of a gun. Zero preferred his sword to anything else, but he did appreciate the efficiency of bullets. Why this killer would only use a sword suggested several unpleasant possibilities to him, one particularly bad.

Then there was the type of sword used.

Zero's helmet contained a lot of sophisticated gear. His atmospheric analyzer, his targeting systems, the cloak scanner... and the lesser used medical module. It could tell almost everything about a person's physical condition at a glance, including detailed analysis of what caused an injury. According to that sensor, the blade used was virtually identical to Zero's own, right down to the digistruct signature his blade left behind.

Another impossibility, given that Zero's sword design should have been, yet again, totally inaccessible to anyone else.

His own chemical weapon and his own melee weapon. Both had been used with near, or possibly even slightly above, his level of skill. The impossible was turning into the likely. Zero kept digging, looking for the final piece evidence that either refuted his worst fears, or confirmed them entirely.

Fifteen minutes later, he found it. A kunai, lodged in the body of one of the fallen.

And it was his. Not a copy, not one thrown by him, and not one made on Pandora. This was one the first prototypes he'd ever made, back when he was still perfecting his tools. Zero had fashioned this one to test throwing weight, before he'd come up with the exploding dagger idea. There was exactly one place in the six galaxies it could have come from, and only one person that would've taken it.

He was still trying to figure out all the ramifications when his ECHO squawked to life. [Zero? Come on, man, what's with you?]

Zero keyed his microphone, surprised. "Why have you returned? I still seek my lost weapon. Where are you right now?"

[I'm standing right across from you,] Gaige said, sounding exasperated. [Why didn't...] she trailed off. [Did you say you're still looking for your sword? Like, at the Terminus?]

The facts compiled instantly, and into a very sinister picture. "Get away from him!" Zero was already back in the Terminus, racing desperately for its fast travel station. "You are in massive danger! That isn't me, Gaige!"

Zero had reached the fast travel station. He reached out to bring up the destination screen-

The station exploded.

The blast threw him across the room, slamming him against the wall hard enough to make his helmet ring. Zero slumped to the ground, staring at the smoking ruins of his way home in disbelief. No! I've been set up!

[Who are you?!] Gaige's radio was still on. The sound of her shotgun cocking followed her shout. [What do you want?!] An angry shriek came over his radio, and the sound of gunfire.

Zero staggered to his feet and started back the way he'd come. Despite the lingering effects of the blast, he managed to get up to speed quickly. The rest of his mind was presenting the ugly facts to him.

With the Terminus station destroyed, the only other fast travel station was at the other end of the Cragg.

That was nearly five miles away.

The single most dangerous person Zero had ever known was in his home.

Gaige had already engaged the enemy.

He wasn't fast enough to save her.

Gaige decided to get a little dressed up before meeting with Hammerlock. Axton was probably right, she'd never win his eye in the classic sense, but showing up with a fantastic hunting trophy and wearing her leopard print dress wouldn't exactly hurt anything. Quick Change station, a-ho!

Sanctuary was fairly quiet that night. She guessed most of the inhabitants were either sleeping off the past couple days' celebrations or taking to their own rooftops to watch the destroyed moonbase slowly drift out of alignment. After seeing that implacable 'H' shape over their heads for so long, often raining mortar assaults on them, anyone would want to watch it gradually fall victim to gravity. Thus, she was a little surprised to see someone standing over by the bounty board, and looking straight ahead instead of up at the sky. She was more confused given that there were no jobs, and that the person seemed to be facing her, not accessing it.

She squinted across the courtyard, trying to see if she knew them. Whoever it was, they were fairly tall. She couldn't make out their features. It almost looked like they were wearing a helmet-

Gaige's face broke into a smile. "Zero! When did you get back?"

Zero didn't move from the bounty board, or call out to her. He just raised his arm, waving her over.

They still had the whole courtyard between them. Gaige figured he hadn't heard her, so she raised her voice. "Any luck finding your sword?"

Zero still didn't say anything, but took a few steps down the stairway into the shadow between buildings. He kept waving his arm, beckoning her over.

Gaige was very confused, and a little irked. She was pretty sure Zero could hear her, but just to be totally sure, she keyed up his frequency on her ECHO. "Zero? Come on, man, what's with you?" Her expression cleared a little as she heard the radio crackle in reply. Maybe he actually hadn't heard her, weird as that-

[Why have you returned? I still seek my lost weapon. Where are you right now?]

"I'm standing right across from you," Gaige said, exasperated. "Why didn't..." Her feet trailed to a slow halt as her brain caught up with facts. A cold feeling was starting to worm its way into her stomach. "Did you say you're still looking for your sword? Like, at the Terminus?"

The figure standing in the shadows waved its arm again, a little more urgently. Gaige started to set down the talon with her left hand and slowly reach for the handle of her shotgun with her right.

[Get away from him! You are in massive danger! That isn't me, Gaige!]

Maybe the figure standing in front of her heard Zero's warning. Maybe he just got tired of waiting. Whatever the reason, he started moving towards her. Gaige threw out her left hand automatically, clenching her fist-

Crap! The unarmored portion of her forearm glared at her, a figuratively painful reminder that for the first time in a long time, she was on her own.

A split second later, she got a physically painful reminder as the stranger elbowed her in the stomach.

Gaige managed an awkward leap backwards, holding her stomach and coughing, trying to get her wind back. It didn't get her much distance, but it clearly surprised her opponent- it seemed he'd been expecting her to fall after one hit. Not a chance, sucker. Gaige yanked her shotgun and cocked it, aiming at the eerily familiar blank faceplate. "Who are you?! What do you want?!"

The figure wavered, as if it were a 3-d projection that had been disrupted-

Decepti0n! Gaige spun around, firing wildly, hoping to score any kind of hit on the cloaked figure she knew was somewhere nearby. There was a short spark to her left, as if she had nicked a shield. She twisted and fired again, but hit nothing. Whoever this guy was, he was just as fast as Zero, with at least half his tricks, and Gaige didn't have her best weapon. I might be in trouble here.

She felt the ripple of air behind her, then pain exploded at the back of her skull, driving Gaige to her knees. She tried to twist her gun up for another blast, but a four-fingered hand slapped it away. Weakened by pain, her gripped failed and the weapon went flying off into the dark. Another blow to the head dropped her to the ground on her side, completely defenseless. Through blurry eyes, she stared up at the figure, expecting the final blow any second.

"Get away from my slab!"

Gaige had a vague impression of a massive figure leaping into the square, punching at a lanky shape. Her thoughts were growing hazy as the darkness around her grew thicker. What was going on? Why was she on the ground? She felt like she knew the two shapes fighting, there was bright blue light flashing everywhere... and why was she sad that the larger one had suddenly fallen to the ground?

She felt herself being picked up, a rush of air, then nothingness took her thoughts.

Brick was having a very good night at Moxxi's. He grinned amiably at the man sitting across the table. The other guy was heavily muscled and looked mean. He was also red-faced and sweating with a mixture of exertion and embarrassment as he struggled futilely with Brick's arm. "So? Are you ready to start trying yet?" Brick asked conversationally. He had to shout to be heard over the cheers of the crowd around their table.

The other guy just glared and pushed his right arm as hard as he could, veins standing out in his neck as he tried to overpower Brick's arm and smash it onto the table. Brick just grinned a little wider and reached for his tankard of ale with his other hand. "I never get tired of seeing you guys try this," he said, his tone light and pleasant. "One of these days, someone might actually be able to make me flex a muscle!" He started pouring the beer down his throat casually, not even bothering to look at the other guy. The glass was drained in a few seconds, and Brick smacked his lips appreciatively. "But it won't be you!" With no change to his expression or apparent effort, Brick slammed his arm down to win the match.

The cheers grew deafening; it was Brick's fifth victory so far that night, and he still had another ten competitors lined up. The rules were simple: one drink to arm wrestle him, and another when Brick won. If he lost, Brick would surrender his title as Slab King to the challenger.

"You know, sugar," Moxxi commented as she set his victory drink down, "one of these days, they'll wise up and stop playing."

He shrugged. "Probably. But it ain't gonna be tonight!"

"Really? Then what if you lose? You really going to give up your gang?" Moxxi asked, smirking.

Brick just laughed. "Sure. But if anyone else can keep control of the Slabs for more than an hour, they deserve to beat me." He stood up, holding his drink high. "Allllll right, suckers! WHO'S NEXT?!"

Gunfire.

Moxxi and a dozen other patrons all had their own weapons out in half a second; the rest had dropped to the floor. "Where's that coming from?"

"Town center," Brick said, listening. "That almost sounds like-" Another burst of shooting cut of his words, and convinced him of the source. "That's Little Slab's gun!" Brick vaulted over the ducking bar-goers, running for the door. Little Slab usually sicced her floating metal attack dog on her enemies; if she was shooting this much, something had to be wrong.

Brick skidded to a halt as he neared the bounty board. He could see Gaige spinning around, like she was looking for a target-

He stared in disbelief. Ninja Slab had just appeared out of thin air and sucker punched Little Slab in the back of his head with his sword hilt! What the hell?

Then it didn't matter. One of his friends was under a vicious attack, and her attacker had just hit her in the head again. The world turned red.

"Get away from my slab!" Brick didn't have his hammer, and he didn't care. He just hurled himself at the lanky figure.

Surprise was on his side, and it earned him one solid hit. Brick's fist smashed against Zero's helmet, the impact cracking like a sniper shot. He swung with his left, aiming to sink his fist into Zero's gut-

Brick's fist swished into empty air. Before he could react in time, there was a sudden blaze of light, slicing through the darkness in a dizzying pattern. He felt a sudden impact in his midsection and looked down.

A four fingered hand gripped a sword hilt. The hilt was buried in his stomach.

Brick started to feel strangely weak. Lines of heat were beginning to trace up and down his entire body, and his clothing felt damp all of a sudden. "Huh," he said dully. "Didn't know you were..." he collapsed, falling off the sword.

The figure flicked a near invisible switch on his sword hilt. The blade vanished, and droplets of Brick's blood splashed on the ground. Then he walked over to the unconscious Gaige, threw her over his shoulder, and headed for the edge of Sanctuary.

A burst of gunfire cut across his path. The figure halted and looked towards the source.

Axton was moving into the town square at a combat run, weapon leveled. Maya was right behind him, SMG at the ready. She gasped in horror at Brick's crumpled, slashed, and bleeding form. "Ax!"

"Take care of him," Axton said quickly. "You don't move." He started circling his target, trying to get in front of him. "What's going on here, Zero? You just go full psy-" Axton broke off, looking hard at the figure holding Gaige. "You're not Zero. Who the hell are you?!"

The intruder made no verbal reply. His free hand twitched-

Axton fired a burst from his rifle, but a blaze of light threw off his aim. "Ah, dammit!" He blinked, trying to clear the spots from his eyes. "Maya! Do you see him?!"

"I can't see anything! What happened to the lights?!"

"What do you-" As his vision began to clear, Axton suddenly realized Maya was right. Sanctuary's engines were still humming, the city was still flying, but every light in the city had gone out, plunging them into near total darkness. The only light came from the moon and Maya's glowing tattoos. "No way...where the hell did he get one of those?"

"Axton." Maya's voice was tense, strained with effort. "Brick's too badly injured for me to heal on my own. He needs Zed's help, or he's going to die."

He yanked his attention away from the darkened town and knelt next to her. "Okay, just keep him alive. I'll go for help."

"Wait!" Maya managed to divide her attention just enough to give Axton a worried look. "Where's Gaige?"

"He took her," Axton said grimly. "And for good measure, his exit shut down everything up here, including the fast travel station. For now, we're trapped.

"Gaige is on her own."

[This time, it's totally true. Not a single word will matter next chapter. Thanks for reading!]