Deadshot
Chapter 16
-Harry-
Waving to Tannis, Harry and the others walked up the steps to the upper floor the Crimson Raider HQ, hearing the voice of Lilith coming down to them. "How the hell did those Bandits snag you anyway?"
"I was taking a leak, and one of em knocked me out from behind." Roland grunted, sounding frustrated that he'd been taken out so easily.
"Wow, you are a dumbass." Lilith snickered, punching the ex-Atlas soldier on the arm.
"Yeah…I, uh…yeah. Heh, total dumbass." Roland trailed off awkwardly, the man clearly not used to social interaction despite being the head of a resistance army.
"I was joking dude, I'm happy to see you." Lilith smiled before scowling, "Unlike the deal with some old faces that have started showing up around here."
"It's good to see you too Lil." Roland sighed, "And don't worry, we'll talk about Athena and Aurelia soon. But first, I got intel about Jack and the vault."
"That sounds promising." Harry spoke up as he and the rest of his team spread out on the balcony.
"Damn do I hope so." Roland leaned against the railing "Listen, I'm going to be honest with you soldier, we're losing this war. We keep killing his soldiers, raiding his Eridium mines, taking out his convoys, but it hasn't been enough. You all though? You met Handsome Jack, sorta, and lived! You took out the Rippers and the Bloodshots. Saved my ass and Lilith's."
"Thanks, by the way!" the redhead siren interjected.
"If we're going to survive this, we're going to need people like you." Roland continued, not even batting an eye at the interruption "Now, we thought Jack wanted to open a Vault and use it's power to wipe us off the face of the map. Thanks to some intel I stole form a Hyperion Convoy I now know…that we were wrong."
"I'm sorry, what?!" Lilith's head snapped towards Roland at that.
"He's not going to open a Vault; he's going to control it." Roland urged.
"To quote Lilith, I'm sorry, what?" Maya gave Roland an utterly flummoxed look.
"The Vault Jack's looking for? It isn't a cache of weapons or some alien prison. It's a living thing, an ancient Eridian Warrior capable of wiping out all life on Pandora. Whoever awakens it, gets to control it." Roland urged as Harry got serious 'Chamber of Secrets' Flashbacks.
"Fuck." Harry ran a hand down his face "Okay, that's bad. Is the plan to stop Jack from waking it or to wake it ourselves?"
"Still figuring that out, but we'll need the Vault Key first." Roland seemed glad that they were picking up on things, "We need the key to wake the warrior, but Jack's already got it. But, if you've already spoken to Tannis-"
"She didn't vomit when she saw you, did she? She does that sometimes." Lilith winced at whatever memory went through her head.
"Actually, she gave Salvador a standing offer to join her bed." Harry stated as Roland and Lilith actually looked surprised enough to lose focus of the conversation for the moment.
"…Okay then." Roland coughed before refocusing, "Anyway, she might have told you that the key needs to be charged with Eridium. We're racing against time; every ounce of that stuff Jack mines from the ground puts him closer to taking control of that Warrior and wiping us out. We've gotta get our hands on that Vault Key! Now, if anybody can find out where that Key's being kept, it's my spy out in Tundra Express. He's as good at gathering intel as he is at drinking so I'm going to put him on that task. Until then, you all get settled in, train up, and do what you need to do."
"You got it Roland." Harry grinned; thinks were starting to look up.
-Roland-
Watching the newest generation of Vault hunters go, some of them clearly thinking some deep thoughts, Roland turned towards Lilith "Alright, let's bring em up and decide what to do." Sending a message on his Echo, he was rewarded by Moxxi, Aurelia, Athena, and Zane showing up after a few minutes.
"Hey there again Boyo!" Zane waved with a grin, "Glad to be back home I reckon?"
"Yes Zane, it's good to be back." Roland sighed, still getting used to the overly friendly assassin and just silently glad that Lilith didn't have an issue with him as well. "But for now, I want to know what you two are doing here?" he looked at the two women who had once been Vault Hunters for Jack.
"Like I said before, Zero convinced me to come and give some more training to his wee boyo." Zane chuckled, "Kid's got some decent sniper training from the little number dork but there's more to being an assassin than just that."
"As much as I hate to agree with him." Athena grunted, ignoring Zane's exaggerated look of offense, "The kid does need more training. He's good, real good, but he's still raw, unrefined. A new band of Vault Hunters are the best shot at taking Jack out and the kid is clearly the one they're treating as 'in charge' so I'm not about to leave you and Lilith to mess this up."
Roland put a hand on Lilith's shoulder before she could get in Athena's face "You think we're that inept?" He questioned.
"You're losing this war Roland." Athena pointed out, unknowingly parroting his own words from before "Not to mention after that stunt you pulled back on Elpis, I don't have a lot of trust in you."
"…Fair." He admitted, having always felt guilty over not warning the part of Jack's crew that clearly weren't as okay with what Jack had been turning into.
"I was more interested in making sure by Baby brother remained alive." Aurelia scoffs, "I'm the only one allowed to torment dear Alistair. Still, the boy is interesting, it'll be curious to see how his ability as a sniper compares with my own peerless skill."
"She's also been recruiting her own group that's been dealing with Jack outside of Pandora." Moxxi tossed a data pad to Roland, showing the information about Aurelia's group and what they could do "I helped smuggle her and Athena off Elpis after the Jack situation went sour, and they haven't cause us any trouble since then."
"You vouch for them? You trust them?" Roland pressed, Lilith stiffening beside him as she knew where this was going.
"Completely." Moxxi promised as Lilith let out a small hiss through her teeth.
"Then they can stay." Roland nodded, "I'll be watching you both, so don't make me regret this." That seemed enough to pacify his partner, for now.
"Understood." Athena nodded, turning to depart, arguing with Zane about who should be the primary teacher as they left, Aurelia and Moxxi rolling their eyes but following.
"Well…they're dramatic." Lilith snorted, shattering the awkward silence with all the subtle grace of a hammer.
-Harry-
Things were not looking up.
Harry collapsed onto the small bed in the workshop space Moxxi had given him, feeling drained and confused. The team was no longer a team, only Gaige had decided to remain a Vault Hunter.
Maya had come to Pandora for answers about who she was, about being a Siren. And now there was Lilith, the most powerful Siren on Pandora, right there to learn from. She had told the group that she was going to mainly stick with Lilith now, helping her out with raids on the bandits and doing what she could to master her abilities. Krieg would be going with her, not wanting to let 'The Pretty Lady' out of his sight.
Axton and Salvador on the other hand were going to join the Crimson Raiders properly. They'd only become Vault Hunters out of boredom, of wanting adventure and explosions. Nobody knew how long it would take before the Vault Key would be found, or what would come after. The Raiders though? They go on explosion filled missions all the time. Axton and Sal pointed out that Roland needed more skilled fighters taking the fight to Hyperion at all times, and they were more than happy to do so.
The four would still be around Sanctuary. They'd still help out if needed on missions. Still be trying to take out Jack…but it just wouldn't be the same.
Running a hand down his face, and deciding he needed a distraction, Harry approached the boxes that had been put into the workshop for him. Using a crowbar, he opened up the largest crate, revealing the lucky find he'd found in Ellie's junkyard.
An Iron Bear Mech. Or at least the hull of one. From what he'd read, Vladof Protocol was that should an Iron Bear Operative be stranded where Evac would be unfeasible, they were to destroy the guns on their mechs and leave the empty chassis behind. Still, the mech would likely have some code still in it and he could always make his own weapons anyway.
"I'll probably want to make a new name though." Harry muttered to himself as he inspected more of his find. Seeing what areas needed repairs, what size weapons he could fit on it, and more. "Plus take some jobs for parts and cash." Before he could say anything else, a loud thud, startled him.
Spinning around, he saw another crate rattling and thumping. Approaching slowly, Harry saw it rattle again, and again, before a metal fist punched through the wooden box frame, the hand unlatching the lid so whatever was inside could step out.
"Man, it feels good to be out of there." A familiar voice spoke up as Harry froze, gaping as a robot version of Angel stepped out of the box, sleek and smooth. "Hello there Captain." She grinned at him, "Miss me?"
-Omake-
-Harry-
Going through his workshop for ideas, Harry felt his Echo beep. "A new app?" he tilted his head, hearing the sound of Robo-Agnel walking over "A…is this a gacha game?"
"I made it myself." Angel snickered, "I get bored in it was fun. Do your first pull." Bemused, Harry did so, seeing the little wheel spin before he got his first 'summons' in whatever game Angel had created. Some basic buff items, an experience card, a couple anthropomorphized guns…and a waifu version of Angel herself.
"There are dozens of different versions of me in there." Angel snickered, "Can you get them all?" ...damnit, he was hooked.
AN: And there we go! Harry's action skill he found in Ellie's yard is an Iron Bear mech base. He'll be building his own weapons and upgrades for it. Angel sent a robot body she can remotely inhabit thanks to her Siren powers, and most of the current Vault hunters are focusing on other things. This is so I can focus on Harry, Gaige, Angel, and the OC son of Moxxi who Gaige is going to be paired with. The others will show up from time to time, and even come on some quests, but not every one. That being said, next Arc is going to be bonding with the new four, training, and improving their skills. If anyone has a side quest, they' specifically like to see let me know and I'll see what I can do. If you have ideas for original side quests, I'm all ears too. This story is a lot of fun and I'm looking for plenty of areas to toss those four for the character moments.