I'm very pleased that so many of my readers are checking out the last chapter… I can only hope that you all have at least attempted to read the last installment… And that's perfectly fine that you only got so far… That's exactly why I wrote the last one as I did…Now… Without further delay… I give you all still tuned in Chapter 14!
Chapter 14: Impending Assaul-
"Impending? Screw That! This is happening Now! And if you argue with me, I'll introduce you to my Secret- Punch you in the Face 'till you die-Fighting Style!"
What? Damnit, Brick! Get out of the Chapter Intro!
"No way, little man… I'm the one in control here! Now do your writing thing and put us in the actual campaign, or I'll beat you to sleep and write this story myself!"
Ugh… Alright… We're apparently skipping some parts and going ahead a little to a few weeks in the future… Bear with it, everybody…
External Perspective
The Vault Hunters sat in the main command room of a large cruiser that was created for stealth by the Hyperion Developers and created for use strictly for Angel and the other Vault Hunters… All other replicas were put under lock down and were inaccessible to anyone aside from her. The Cruiser itself was rather small when it came to living space but made up for the small quarters with a massive, indestructible training room that was connected to a command room that was equally as sturdy. Inside these two rooms were several parts of machinery that were designed to hunker down into a single, protected escape pod that could be used for either a safe exit strategy, or a single, well timed incursion that could not be stopped. Most of the hunters would lounge about in the training room when they had nothing to do; hence them usually lounging in the training room… Krieg and Gaige sat on the withered couch that sat in the far side of the room- the same couch that used to sit in the Crimson Raider Base… They sat, hopelessly bored, watching bad shows that were loaded into the main computer from before the trip off- world (Nothing else was available due to a strict 'no radio contact of any kind' rule that was put into effect the moment the ship went off-world). There was also whatever old show Gaige had managed to sneak on in her Echo, which were mostly animes that were rather silly and only served to confuse Brick whenever he tried to watch them. Most of the other members of the group rather liked them and instead preferred them over the old, really outdated cartoons that were on the mainframe. Zero liked Full Metal Alchemist because it reminded him of some of the more or less enjoyable jobs that he'd had over the years as an assassin, Axton also liked it because it was similar to his life; how for him, life always seemed easy but challenging in a strange way… Maya liked the Gurren Lagann Series because it put things into perspective… Was there really some driving force that made all life strive to live out its own set, often self-destructive, path? Angel preferred Samurai X because it featured huge amounts of character development that made her feel very hopeful for others, while others like Krieg and Tina just liked heated, bloody, gore-filled-albeit censored- action series like Bleach, Samurai Jack, and Yu Yu Hakusho. The rest of the others didn't much care for television and would usually spar or something… Zero and Mordecai, within about a half an hour of climbing onto the ship found the firing range and were testing whose skills with a rifle were better. Lilith, Maya and Angel would often find slightly quiet or predictable places to practice with their Siren powers and strengthen their influence with them. Zero was never far away and was usually there quickly after to offer pointers and teach them new ways to use their abilities. Brick and Krieg would get into boxing matches- to their dismay, a winner could never be decided due to their skill… every fight ended with then both simultaneously being knocked unconscious and trying again several hours later after a good- if not somewhat forced rest… The couples of the trip would periodically get up and disappear for hours at a time, and when this happened, it was usually easier on everyone's morale to just ignore it. When it came to Gaige and Krieg, everyone ignored it that is… Angel and Zero were a different story- everyone accepted their love and supported it- from what they'd seen, Zero may be cold and distant to most people, but he was everything but when it came to Angel. When she needed something – anything, he opted to help; when she was in danger of any kind, he appeared first to protect her with every fiber of his being; when she wanted affection, he offered it, and as a result, had even broken Haiku in front of his allies a few times – just for her; and when she needed… things… they were off faster than anyone could realize what happened.
Maya and Axton would have spats of childish banter, usually ending in a kiss to Maya when she actually became angry. It took a lone time, but Maya eventually fell for the soldier, and now, whenever they argued, Axton would go with it, just to rile her up, then kiss her so strongly that she would freeze and lose all feelings aside from love, thus – ending the argument. No one knows if they've 'been together' yet but to Zero and Angel – who both remain tight-lipped – it is well known. The two are now close enough that their energies as living beings can be seen by Zero, and it seems to twirl and mesh into forms of strange attraction that the Eridian Assassin cannot determine to be anything aside from emotional soup – most humans are strange beings to him and he prefers to spend his time with his Angel.
Lilith's broken heart has been rekindled by the hope that Roland can be brought back to her and she now just sits on the couch and watches an old cartoon called Tom And Jerry – Roland pointed it out to her in their vault hunting days – and she rather enjoyed the silliness of it. Frankly speaking, save the times Tina had convinced her to play games with her, it was one of the few times she seemed to visibly relax while in the presence of anyone other than a siren or Zero. When not practicing or challenging with Zero, Mordecai would spend his free time on the couch and drink with Salvador, often ignoring the surrounding world and finding a moment to himself. Just like with Brick and Krieg, Zero and Mordecai would always match perfectly in every shot – the epitome of marksmanship – and would always tire one another out in melee combat as well, never being able to call a winner. However, as the final shot rings out in the range, the two long-range lobotomizers would turn to one another and would shake hands and would walk away. Fights between them would last hours as the skinny, practically emaciated hunter didn't look like it, but was virtually tireless – very much like Zero, and every strike the two would take at another would be blocked by the other. There was never a hitting blow and every strike was too fast or precise to dodge. Angel and Moxxi – despite her contempt for the hunter – would find themselves hopelessly enthralled as they dueled and the moment that the snipers concluded, their respective women would drag them away to some private place and they would not return for hours… Gaige, when not watching some obscure show, would usually play video games and sit on the couch like she was incapable of any motion aside from her hands. She could usually coax some passers-by to play with her when the desire kindled to play something with others
All in all, with the exception of now being on a ship instead of living on a flying city, life for the group was almost exactly identical to how it was before. Krieg was the only one actually affected by the change, being a native to Pandora, the reformed bandit wasn't used to traveling off-world and if he wasn't doing something, he would be forced to sit, jittery and confused, desperate for some sort of stimulus. To his joy and that of the rest of the crew, Gaige often found ways to keep the unsettled psycho from sitting idly for too long, usually setting him into a frenzy of confused anger, causing him to challenge Brick to a fight. He would gladly accept and the two would once again fight until neither of them could continue.
The overall repetition of life on board was little less than maddening for the occupants of the ship, nothing changed from day-in to day-out. But alas, this was the lives of the vault hunters on their voyage… Until one day…
Zero and Angel were sitting on the couch, watching some interesting show regarding a rabbit that would frequently outwit a duck and lead him to less than ideal situations because of it. They and Gaige and Krieg were sitting in the relaxation area and were then shaken from their leisure by a loud boom followed by the sounds of metal and sparks. Whatever was making that noise was not going to work out a friendly solution; and everyone on the ship knew it. Without even saying a word, Gaige and Krieg split off from the others, going directly toward the noise as to cause the biggest distraction possible and to see exactly what was going on. Zero and Angel were more subtle and found several air vents to move through. Zero pulled out his Hunting Rifle and began searching every air duct, looking into the rooms all around for information. In nearly every room on every floor accessible to them from their current location, nothing seemed out of place, not a single object moved, not a door closed to hide behind. The sounds of crazed laughter and screams filled the vents in which Angel and her sworn protector traveled. The duo of death-crazed fighters offered the perfect distraction for the stealth force, creating such a noise that it coaxed footsteps from the intruders. Silently, Zero telepathically contacted the other sirens and told them of the recent events and to prepare a strike team to hold a defensive line at the main stairs and all other means of transit through the various levels of the ship. With the sounds of footsteps from the enemy, there was too a sound of distorted voices and heavy combat armors clanking against one another as the infantry men traveled the halls. Zero peered backward to Angel and nodded to her, telling her silently to go first and use her Norfleet Launcher to rain absolution upon the targets from above through the ventilation while he moved silently, striking preemptively and thinning the ranks. Before long, the two were separated by several meters or so and the sounds of huge explosions echoed through the ventilation as Zero continued onward, dropping behind a pair of enemies. The moment he landed silently behind them, he realized their uniforms. He couldn't resist breaking the silence with a haunting Haiku as he entered a prolonged stealth and drew his blade.
"These interesting/ Impossible uniforms…/ Greetings, Crimson Lance…" he whispered into the side of one of the Lancemen's helmets, startling the pair violently as he ran his blade through his chest. His Deception flickered as he re-entered it flawlessly, a 0 springing from his helmet as the other man fell. Before the other one could release a round, fifteen exploding kunai were buried in his chest and face, turning him into a screaming mass of acid, fire, slag, and lightning. Strangely enough, the lightning was what killed him; his hands tightening to his head as arcs of electricity flowed from it like a Teslacoil and his body shook violently. He fell to the ground as his eyes bulged from their sockets, the helmet around his face turning to burnt chunks and falling away. His head soon exploded and his eyes bounced around several times before leaving a simple, bloody pile on the floor beside the dead men. Zero displayed a question mark as he gazed down at the man, then a smiley face as he walked away, finding a new vent to disappear into.
With Krieg
The two insane fighters were dispatching wave after wave of the armored mercenaries; Gaige was using her Blockhead Shotgun and killing large groups of enemies with fire damage. She turned to Krieg and winked at him, switching to her Sham shield and then standing in the middle of the fray, laughing wildly as Krieg began to shout gibberish and swing his Buzz Axe, soon being lit on fire as he passed Gaige and she fired into his chest. He dispatched two right off the bat, his axe being thrown and buried in the face of one as he prepared a grenade, dropping it at his feet. The explosion took out the other and reignited Krieg with fire as it burned. He was soon burned seriously and fell slightly, pulling out his sticks of dynamite, throwing them one by one into groups of the armored men. He sprinted through the ranks, pulling out his last piece and jumping at the largest of the Lance forces. A huge explosion lit up the room for several seconds as blood and sinews splattered the walls and other soldiers. The remaining smoke faded, revealing Krieg, his right arm now pumped up with power and his left shrunk and twitching. The Lance turned to one another and turned back to the psycho; they ran away screaming for their mothers towards the ship they used to board and flew off faster than Gaige could send DT after them.
With Angel
She sat comfortably in a vent, blasting groups of Lance as they circled corners and entered hallways. She soon jumped down and pulled out her Chère-amie Sniper Rifle, picking off soldiers that found their way into her corridor. She soon found a rotunda and giggled softly to herself as the echoing of blade and metal filled one of the paths leading into her new place of influence. A group of about twenty Lance funneled into the room from all sides, pointing their rifles at her wearily. They soon hesitated in firing when they realized who she was, but this was short lived as they released a volley of bullets that were strong enough to punch through any shield. However, they didn't, and she just giggled louder, her tattoos flaring a blinding white and her wings appearing. She then lifted into the air, ascending higher and higher. She then pulled out her Mongol Launcher (A present from Salvador on her twenty-second Birthday) and released a volley in tandem with an entire clip from her Norfleet. The battlefield below her was only scorch marks and shaking Lance as the Shock Damage from her weapon and the sheer explosive power from the previous leveled the entire room. She lowered herself to the ground and put away her launcher, pulling out her Bad Touch SMG and stood patiently as she waited for her lover to arrive.
Zero walked silently through the door under stealth, expecting to see combat of some kind, his sword in hand. When he saw Angel standing patiently, her back to him, he couldn't resist…
"Waiting for someone?/ Or are you looking around…/ Might I assist you?" His words startled her and she spun around, putting the barrel of her SMG against his face plate faster than he anticipated. HE then displayed a smiley face and pulled the barrel away, pulling her into a soft and quick hug.
"Don't do that! I almost set you on fire!" Angel complained, regaining her composure in the hug.
"Zero remained silent, nodding and displaying another smiley face before turning and nodding in the direction of a vent. He led her in and they continued cleaning out the small groups.
In several minutes, the four reunited where they were before the attack and were talking to themselves as to plan how to expunge the remaining forces.
"I say we go for a little shock and awe!" Gaige said in a low voice, loading her weapon and then pulling out her Infinity Pistol and smirking at the others. Zero shook his head, gesturing for Angel to say what was wrong with her plan.
"We can't afford to have them able to regroup, if they run, they might not stay gone… We need to find a way to have them all group in one place and take them all out in one strike…" Angel said, speaking as Zero's conduit.
"Why wouldn't a fearful group not work? They would all be running like little girls to their ships… How 'bout we rig 'em to blow when they get in?" Krieg interjected, his axe dripping blood on the floor.
Zero displayed an exclamation point and shook Krieg's hand, nodding enthusiastically. "So it's settled then…" Gaige said as she cracked her knuckles and followed the others when they began to walk toward the door.
Zero broke off from the rest, going on ahead to sabotage the ships while the others caused a huge enough distraction to pull every troop in the entire ship to the training facility. Angel stood between Gaige and Krieg and gulped nervously as the two others killed off the sentries and took their echoes, calling the command forces directly.
"Hello! Any of you piss-for-brains their?" Krieg shouted discourteously into the device.
"What? Who the hell are you! How did you get this frequency!? Oh god… Howard! No!" the operator replied, his voice fading to sorrow and fear at the loss of his friend. "He and I were going to honeymoon on Eden Six!... OH GOD, WHY!" …Correction… Make that Homosexual Lover…
"Yeah… It's a real tragedy… He fell down some stairs and onto a set of spikes rigged up to about thirty active grenades… we couldn't identify what was left… But he wanted me to tell you that he loved you and that you shouldn't dare put on the red shorts!" Gaige chimed in, stifling a few laughs.
"He said that? Thank you… Now why are you calling, again?" he asked.
"We need you to go back to base and await further orders…" Krieg said in the most official sounding voice he could muster.
"Uhh… I'm not sure we can do that… Wha- uh… What's you Identification code?" the operator asked confused.
"My wha? Oh! It's… uh… Fish Sandwiches." Krieg replied hesitantly.
"Yes Sir! Right away, sir! *Click* ALL UNITS! The General has issued a return order! Back to the ships!" the operator replied, activating the Echo Units for all the soldiers.
In droves, the soldiers flocked back to the ships that Zero had been working to sabotage. The ships soon departed and drifted a good 100 Kilometers off before exploding violently, peppering the hull of the cruiser with miniscule chunks of metal and a few pieces of Lance Armor.
"Well… That worked…" Zero said in a hauntingly quiet and sudden voice, appearing behind the rest of the team.
"AH! Zero, you bastard! Don't scare people like that!" Gaige shouted, jumping and hiding behind Krieg as he laughed.
The four then made their way to the elevator and to their friends. Zero told the other sirens to expect their arrival and that the enemies are now gone.
End Chapter 14: Impend-… *Sigh* Invasion… Yeah, that… Whatever…