Chapter 7: Like Psycho Like Daughter

The young blonde pushed away from her father, her tear stricken face turning to a deep merciless scowl. With the fluidity of a raging river, she left hooked him in the jaw, it did not send him sprawling but rocked his head to one side, a spray of spittle flying from his pursed lips.

"Y...YOU... ASSHOLE!" She yelled

Krieg covered his hands over his face, shielding her sluggish blows "WHA...WHA...WHAT !?"

Maya didn't know to stop her or laugh 'Man ... I like her!' she thought to herself humorously

She looked at him through teary eyes "Y..You were just going to walk away and pretend ...PRETEND LIKE I WASN'T YER DAUGHTER! ASSHOLE!"

Krieg caught her small fist in his hand, she jerked back and swung her free arm, he caught it likewise and lowered both her hands to her side. With both hands restrained, all Tina could do was sob and rock her head against his shoulder. He let go on her fists and fixed his arms around her frail frame, she did not struggle, instead she fixed her arms around the back of his neck and clutched tightly, feeling all the neglect, loneliness and wanting rise flourish in her.

Krieg spoke clear and calm, no signs of unstable insanity "I didn't I was worthy of being your father, not anymore ... not like this..."

She pulled back and shook "No... You can't say that, you're all I have ... didn't survive, did she ?"

Krieg felt fresh stabs of pain, his wife ... gone "No ... I don't remember her much, but I don't think she did"

Tina nodded to herself, as if she knew the answer before asking "Yeah ... I don't remember much about her either... Heads all BALONEY!"

They exchanged a thoughtful grin, then Krieg slapped his forehead, all sanity fled "C'MONN ... COME MEET MY DELICIOUS BLUE SQUEEEZE!"

Tina cocked an eyebrow "You mean blue tatt boob bazonga's over there ?" She jeered

Krieg nodded enthusiastically "OOH YEAH! SHE'S SO FUC-" his sentence cut off by the hard slap to the back of the head by said woman.

Maya blushed "Uh...Sorry. I'll introduce myself I guess ... I'm Maya, I'm a Siren vault hunter. It's very nice to finally meet you Tina"

Tina looked at the woman differantly than before "What's your relationship like with my dearest Pahpaaa!" Maya though she heard venom behind the words

"T...Tina.." Krieg mumbled

"I love your father, I love Krieg very much. I've killed for him and he's killed for me ... no doubt there's bound to be more killing" She said, without hesitation

"ALL DAY EVERYDAY BABY!" Krieg cheered

Tina folded her arms and sized her up "Nyes ... Quite so. Well, Miss Maya, you have my blessings ... FOR NOW!" Tina declared

Maya smiled, a little confused "Uh ... Thanks!"

Mordecai sat back in his chair with a yawn, Bloodwing leaned in and plucked a chunk of meat from his vests pocket. He reached under the table and slammed two glasses on the table top, grabbing a large dark bottle from a Hyperion storage locker and popping the cork, pouring a double finger of the fine liquid in each glass. It was only Maya, him and the bird now. Krieg and Tina had left the cave to catch up on lost time, bond as a father and daughter should. Krieg had asked her to join them, but Maya had decided not. It would be best for them to be alone, she did not feel apart of their family, it made her feel awkward and out of place, but she was happy for Krieg, beyond belief.

"A toast to father and daughter" Mordecai teased

"Don't act like you are only drinking for that ... it's a good cover though"

Mordecai laughed "You know me to well, why didn't you go with them ?"

Maya shrugged "I don't wanna crowd her, she deserves time alone with Krieg"

Mordecai set his eyebrow "Maya ... Out with it, I know there's more"

Bloodwing cawed as if in agreement

Maya sighed and took a sip, sighing as the heat trailed down her throat "Maybe I don't feel .. well, worthy to be with them"

"Worthy ?" Mordecai said curious

Maya set her glass down and gazed out the window, spotting the two across the hills, hand in hand "I'm not her mother, I'm not his wife ... We don't even know if shes dead or not... They are still married technically. I mean ... I've just stepped into his life and now I feel like a useless jigsaw piece that fits nowhere"

"Maya ..." Mordecai sighed, feeling sympathy for the blue haired beauty

"I love him, dearly. But I felt that Tina might not want me around ... That I'm just a placeholder until their family is complete"

"That's enough, Maya. You can't alienate yourself because of who they were in the past. Bandit Clans, Skag packs, Bullymong troops and families, they all die out"

Maya cocked an eyebrow, smiling a little "I'm not really following you"

Mordecai shrugged "These things die out, reform and start again. Maybe it's time you start a family with these two"

Maya finished her glass "Maybe you're right .. but it's not my decision to make"

Father and daughter walked across the riverside, hand in hand, the frosty water chortled and sputtered next to them, with the thinnest pieces of ice dancing in the depths like sharp diamonds. Tina felt all the years of confusion and emptiness subside when his hand squeezed around hers. His hands were tough, mostly scar tissue and calluses, but who was she to judge, her own hands were soft but hairless and raw from the few explosions gone wrong. What Krieg felt was mostly awkward shyness and determination not to disappoint her or make her lose faith in him. Being a boyfriend and lover was a challenge in itself, being a father however was a whole other ball game. He decided her would ask Maya what teenage girls enjoyed doing or what kind of trouble they will be.

She broke the silence "Across the river is a bandit camp, bunch on real scumbags"

Krieg stopped walking, a giddy excitement flared within him, but he held it back 'I don't want to disappoint her with who I've become' He thought

Krieg only nodded, his fingers twitching in anticipation. She watched his struggling expression and smiled "Wanna pay a lil uh ... Visit!"

Krieg let out a loud whoop "I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER ASK ! CHEESE TOASTIES!"

Tina giggled "You're silly ...D..Dad" She trailed off, blushing at the unfamiliar title, he likewise blushed, but inside he felt great pride at hearing the title.

"So..uh...What do you wanna do, lil lady ?" He asked

"I've got a personal vendetta with these guize ...A REAAAAL BAAD ONE...So perhaps we roll in there, set their caravans on fire and BURN ALL THE BODIES!"

Krieg thrust his fist up " I KNEW YOU WERE MY DAUGHTER !"

They crossed a narrow bridge that hung low above the river, a ramshackle thing made of logs and scrap metal. Ahead they could hear the sound of music, drunken howls and faint crackle of roasting Varkid meat. Tina ducked behind a stack of Hyperion storage crates, no doubt raided from the trains that past often overhead. Krieg could not help but notice the hateful scowl that crossed his daughters face as she watched a particular bandit drink from a leather skin, no doubt alcoholic. The bandit was a Psycho like himself, smaller and thinner than the near badass that Krieg was. He had a triple Mohawk, the two outer blades orange, the center blue. across his chest were Pandoran tribal tattoos and Bandit symbols.

"A friend of yours?" Krieg whispered

Tina's whole body shook "No ... He goes by the name of Flesh-Stick, he's the leader of this small clan"

"Flesh Dick? What a GUY!" He spat viciously "What he do to ya?"

Tina looked at her father with burning iris' of blue fire "He's the one who sold out our family, traded our location with Hyperion for weapons and credits"

Krieg stood, drawing the immense buzz axe from his back, tracing his fingers along the razor edge. His fists were clenched so hard the nails dug into his palms, drawing four pricks on blood that slid down his hand. His pulse slammed like a steel drum in his hand, he could see each beat of his heart through his eyes as if the heart were prodding his eyeball with a pool cue. The man in front on his had torn his life apart, he was the one who brought him to this level and let Hyperion prod and poke around his body, changing a man into a beast. He wanted to tear this man open from scalp to crotch and piss on the twitching remains. He wanted to tear off his arm and pummel his brains into the dirt with it. He felt sweat rise on the nape of his neck, the rage was coming, the rage was pushing through him. The augmented parts of his body did not fight, but instead urged the rage forward, increasing the flow of adrenaline.

pressing his mask to his face, he whispered in a low and cold voice Tina had not heard before, not even Maya perhaps "Wait here, I'm going to have a little chat"

Tina eyed the bandits with worry, there was close to twenty of them, many of them Psychos or Goliaths "D...Dad...Wait!"

But he was beyond listening now, he started striding towards the clan. His Buzz Axe spinning as if pulling itself towards them on invisible strings, or were they intestines? Time would only tell.

Flesh-Stick downed the last gulp of alcohol and tossed the skin into the bonfire and belched loudly, much to the loud giggle of a bucket headed Goliath next to him. Flesh-Stick had always wondered what the big bastard looked like under the bucket, but he dared not pry it off him to find out. The day had been pretty relaxed; they had raided another Hyperion train and caught some Varkid grub on the way back, his eyes always shifting to the tower where the Vault Hunter lived. The clan was always cautious about the tower; the Vault Hunter seemed to leave them alone as long as they don't piss him off. A few months back one of the Marauders had tried to take a pot shot at the guys bird, his life ended with an explosive Eridium shell though the head, the result being a days worth of cleaning up the brains and bone fragments that littered their humble camp. But today was different, he was in good moods, that was until one of the Psycho's rose his hand to wave at a newcomer

"AAAAAAAH MY BROTHER FROM ANOTHER LASAGNA!" The Psycho bellowed through fits of laughter

Flesh-Stick eyed the newcomer with caution and curiosity. The guy was huge, not a badass Psycho but not far from it. His chest was clean of tattoos or markings, he was a bandit but certainly not from Flesh-Sticks clan, perhaps a messenger from Captain Flynt ? that was a possibility, certainly not from the Bloodshots, they were not interested in small clans like Flesh's. The Psycho was approaching closer now, he didn't return any of the waves or greetings to the Psycho's, his eye fixed squarely on Flesh-Stick, it made him nervous.

Flesh-Stick lifted his axe and pointed "W..What right there buddy, Who are ya ?!"

The voice was cold and void of emotion "An old friend..."

Krieg lifted his axe and swung it sideways, the blade slicing into the nearest bandits temple and out the other side, removing the cap off a twitching marauder. The camp roared with action now, the bandits sprawling for their weapons or charging towards Krieg with laser cutters at the ready. The Psycho was in full berserk now, raising his face to the sky and screaming with an animalistic roar

"YOUR SPINES ARE MINE FOR THE PLUCKING, YOU MOTHER FU-" Krieg screamed, the swing of a Goliath's rifle cutting his sentence off mid curse word

Krieg rolled, his axe slicing through the Goliath's ankles and leaving a pair of severed foot filled boots spurting blood across the soil, as their owner toppled over in a roar of agony. Krieg dropped his boot on the bandits chest, feeling his feet slightly give way as the ribcage broke, sending knives of it's own skeleton into its heart and lungs. A psycho jumped at Krieg, giggling all the while as he lunged in with a rusty knife coated with a thick green fungus, one cut and Krieg thought he would be shitting mushrooms for weeks. He swung his elbow backwards and caught it right in the Psycho's face, cracking the mask and a few of the bones behind it. He dived for his axe and swung it in a howling arc across the Psycho's stomach, spilling intestines as if a pit of worms has been opened up.

Tina watched this battle with fear, horror and a odd enjoyment. Fear of the danger that surrounded her father, horror at what his father was doing to these bandits and odd enjoyment at seeing their vengeance being played out. She was snapped out of her trance at the sound of gunfire and the stomp of heavy boots. Across the camp a group of Nomads had began marching forward, their steel door shields concealing their heavy automatics, which rattled towards Krieg with the poor inaccuracy but heavy fire rate of a Bandit weapon. They didn't seem to care about their allies surrounding Krieg, their bullets tore through them as if they were meaty foliage. Krieg snatched a fleeing Marauder and held him against him like a shield, covering him from the pepper of bullets that chewed through the afternoon silence like engines.

"Dad, so me a favor and GET THE HELL DOWN !" Tina shrieked, tossing a long glowing tube with a Maliwan logo stenciled on the side.

The tube collided with one of the Nomads, zooming past his shield and exploding in his face. The Maliwan grenade ruptured and spilled a cloud and spray of industrial acid. The Nomads screamed, their skin peeling back to reveal bleached bone as their skin bubbled and dissolved like wax. Krieg smirked, she was good.

Flesh-Stick was frantic "DON'T JUST STAND THERE .. G..GET THEM !" He screamed

A group of bandits were regaining their nerve, backed by a large Goliath, a badass. Krieg decided it was time they knew what a Goliath looked like when it was pissed. Drawing his pistol he aimed it carefully and popped a shot. The bullet twanged off the bucket and lifted it off the Goliath's head with a light thump. The bandits stopped mid charge and turned to their comrade. It stood there stunned, his bucket off and his head twitching as if hit were about to come off. With a roar of absolute rage, the Goliath threw down both its weapons and roared, his head literally severing from his neck and rising above his body of a stalk like tentacle made of its own spine. It's skin turned as red as blood, as if bathed in the blood of its enemies. It turned on its former allies, grabbing one bandit by the head and crushing it like a grape, then kicking out and shattering another man's rib cage. One of the bandits bolted for it, but the Goliath leaped onto him, grabbing both arms and pulling them from his body.

The Goliath whirled towards Krieg, it's tangling skull seeming to snarl and laugh at him as it charged forward. Krieg realized it had probably been a bad idea to piss it off. The Goliath was approaching fast now, bounding over at speeds rivaling the train that passed above. A loud thunder crack filled the valley, the purple bolt of a sniper round piercing it's skull and exploding like a rotten cabbage. Krieg turned and spotted muzzle flashes from the tower. His HUD crackled and Maya filled his view

"Stay down dumbass, I might accidentally hit a testicle" Maya teased, squeezing off a shot with one of Mordecai's rifles.

"We heard the commotion from the tower and look what we fine, a god damned battle. You're a piece of work, Krieg" Mordecai mused

"My dad is so...AWESOME!" Tina giggled

Within minutes the camp became a duck hunt. The snipers above and the father / daughter duo below cleaned out the camp with ease. Krieg searched through the piles of bodies and found what he was looking for. Huddled under some dead Nomads, Flesh-Stick feigned death and cowered from them. Krieg sneered and lifted the man by his throat, meeting eye to eye with his family's betrayer. Krieg lifted his mask off and tossed it aside

"Like I said ... I'M AN OOOOOOOLD FRIEND!" Krieg beamed

Flesh-Stick turned pale white, choking out words between Kriegs grip "Y..You...You're supposed to be dead ...Hyperion chum by now!"

Krieg shook his head "OOOOOH BUT IM SO VERYYYY VERRYYYY VEEEEEEERRRRYYY ALIIIIIVE, MY LITTLE MEAT BUCKET!"

Tina appeared at Krieg's side "What do you wanna do with him ?" She asked

Krieg smiled "Any ideas ?"

Tina grinned devilishly "OOOOOoooooooh YES!"

Krieg nodded, and brought his fist into Flesh's face. Knocking him out cold.

He woke up an hour later, his hands and legs bound, to what ? was it a chair ? It seemed like it. His vision was blurred, stars and meteors dancing in the throbbing mess that was his head. He felt a cool breeze hit his nose, tickling his senses and bringing him to a more conscious state of awareness, he was definitely outside, he could hear the caw of that Vault Hunters bird. His eyes flickered open, the ground seemed to vibrate with a slow increase of intensity. He looked where he was and the group of people standing before him. Krieg, Tina, Maya and Mordecai watched the bandit with amusement and distaste; he figured they were more amused about his predicament than himself.

"uh..W...Where am I?" He croaked through bloody teeth

Then he saw the the single rail line and the gravity posts that hung over head, he just in front of the Hyperion railway, the growing hum a distant train bearing good he would of loved to plunder. He yelped, trying to move his hands and feet from their shackles and free himself from the tracks. Tina skipped forward and planted her foot on his chest, tipping the chair over onto the railway

"Take that SUCKA!" she sneered

Flesh-Stick could see the bright LED spotlight of the train in the distance "P..PLEASE LET ME GO, I'LL GIVE YOU CASH, NO WEAPONS! NO ... GOLD !"

Maya rolled her eyes "As if we want that shit, you're as poor as rat"

The train was almost a minute away, it would not slow for anything, especially a dead beat bandit at the end of his days. Krieg lifted Tina up onto his shoulders, her hands curled around his forehead. With a last outraged outburst, Flesh-Stick screamed

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE ?!"

Krieg smirked, taking Tina's hand "WE ARE THE CONDUCTORS OF THE POOP TRAIN !"

The train bore down on Flesh-Stick, turning him and the chair into a red mist. Maya shielded her eyes, as the mess covered them as if it were Flesh's last defiant act. As if he hadn't just seen a man get torn apart and painted across the concrete, Krieg brightened and squeezed Tina's hand

"WHOOOOOO WANT'S ICECREAM, I WANT THE RED KIND .. THE RED KIND !"

"Sounds good ...but uh ... Let's get this guys guts off us before we walk into a parlor, yeah ?"

Authors Note:

Sorry for the wait, i've been really busy with a bunch of family stuff and work and what not.

But I hope you guys enjoyed this one, I really do!

Please let me know what you think by reviewing.

Have a nice one, stay tuned. REVIEW!

~Phillip