Chapter Text
Deadshot
Chapter 19
-Harry-
Cracking his neck, Harry stepped away from the fast travel network lest Gaige 'accidentally' slam into him for taking too long. Glancing around he saw Angel crouched up ahead, kneeling down to touch the snow with her metallic fingers. "Can you feel that Angel?" he asked standing at her side, tilting his head curious as Gaige materialized behind him.
"Sort of." Angel pouted cutely even as she brushed the snow from her digits, "I have a degree of sensation but I can't really be sure how accurate it is you know?" she huffed, "Apparently letting 'robots feel' wasn't high on people's priority lists."
"It's high on mine." He promised her, ignoring the teasing wolf whistles from Gaige. He refused to validate her implications with a response.
Angel giggling and sharing a thumbs up with his sister was not helping, however.
"So, Lilith said the Cult's leader was someone named 'Incinerator Clayton', right?" Max spoke up, even if he was clearly trying not to laugh.
"Sounds like a bad wrestling name." Harry snorted before adopting an exaggerated announcer's voice "And look out, it's Incinerator Clayton coming in with a pile driver!"
"We should tell Maya about this when we're done." Gaige snorts as they follow their ECHO map, "She's still writing that fantasy story and this Clayton guy's name would make for a good pyromancer."
"I guess the story does need more competent antagonists than Average Joe." Harry smirked, waiting for any response from their creepy stalker and, surprisingly, not getting any.
"I have him blocked for now." Angel shrugged with a smirk, "Thought we'd all like some peace and quiet."
"Uhuh." Gaige deadpanned, "Angel, Iknowwhat you want involving my bro, and something tells me it'd be anything but 'quiet'."
"If he's doing it right." Angel doesn't even bother denying as Harry felt his face turn flaming red, "But fine. Figured we'd all like some sound that would not lower the collective IQ of everyone hearing it."
"That's better." Gaige nods pleased before grinning "Now let's get going! We need upgrade money People!"
"YOU need upgrade money. I need cash to feed these two." Max deadpanned, jerking a thumb at the two young Pandoran critters who were doing their best to look innocent.
"Point stands, we're all broke as sh*t, and I don't feel like asking Aurelia for a loan." Harry shuddered, "She might be on our side for now, but I really don't feel like trying to slog through whatever loopholes she adds to the contract because she's bored."
"I'm sure Athena will be very proud that your training is letting you avoid traps." Angel patted his shoulder as she snickered.
"I think if I fell for one that obvious she'd kill me out of sheer principle." Harry snorted as they spotted the small cult camp up ahead, "Alright people, game time."
-Lilith-
"I'm not sure we really need to do much about these guys." Lilith shook her head in bewilderment, "So far, they only really seem like a threat to each other and the bandits. Although, you know, I gotta say, seeing them sacrifice that false god in my honor was kinda nice." Lilith smiled happily before processing what she said, groaning as her head thunked against the table, "Uuuugh, I'm a terrible person."
"You said it, not me." Athena didn't even raise her head from where she was marking various Atlas Depots she'd hit since the fall of General Knoxx. Roland thought there might still be something of value to salvage there, assuming bandits hadn't found the hidden facilities either, so Athena was filling out a map.
"Listen here you little-" Lilith whirled on the woman who'd worked for Jack only to see Roland scowling at both of them.
"Enough,bothof you." Roland was clearly not in the mood to put up with infighting, "Harry, we need to make sure about these guys. It doesn't seem like too big of a leap to go from sacrificing their own people willingly to kidnapping innocents to sacrifice them." Lilith looked Athena's way, the two of them sharing a matching grimace at the distasteful thought.
"Alright Roland." Harry's voice came in through the ECHO, "Although from how he's been talking, Clayton's getting geared up for something big that he's been preparing while we did these weird ass jobs for him."
"Alright Harry, be ready." Roland nodded as they ended the ECHO call. Pausing, Lilith thought back to what Roland had just said, and the reports she overheard from the town guards earlier.
"Roland…weren't the Raiders on patrol talking about how a few people in town had suddenly gone missing." Lilith looked a now very worried Roland in the eye.
"I'll go see if I can find any tracks." Athena was already on the move, the former Atlas Assassin grabbing her sword and bolting, leaping from the balcony onto the street below.
"I'll coordinate with the Raiders on patrol." Roland was bolting to the stairs, "Lilith, you stay there and be ready to go back up Harry and the others if this is what we're worried about!"
"ROGER!" Lilith scowled at the ECHO, as if her glare could make what she was worried about not happen.
-Harry-
Feeling on edge, Harry approached the site of the 'Enkindling' which was right outside Lilith's Firehawk Cave. The was a deep pit filled with flame, clearly meant to drop something, or more specificallysomeone, into. All in all, the whole place had him on edge.
"Ah, young Torch!" Incinerator Clayton damn near crooned as Harry and the rest of his team approached, "You have done so well! So, so, well in your efforts to serve our great goddess! Now, pull the lever so that we may commence with the Enkindling!"
"You said this was involving human sacrifices." Harry had to fight to keep the disgust at the whole notion from his voice, "Who is it this time?"
"Heathens!" Incinerator Clayton roared out in fury, gesturing with his flaming staff towards a cage covered with wooden boards that was clearly meant to be dropped into the flames through the use of the lever, "These fools, Taken from Sanctuary itself no less, are ignorant of the Firehawk's Majesty! Their lives are an abomination!" Harry saw red, Incinerator Clayton making him think of Voldemort, of the Death Eaters, of every loss he'd suffered before coming here.
Before he could convey to Clayton just what he thought of the lunatic, Lilith's equally furious voice came in on the ECHO "Watch your eyes Killer, I'm coming in." a purple flash of light appeared as Lilith phased in, standing atop the cage of the kidnapped would be sacrifices.
"The Firehawk!" Clayton gasped in sheer joy, falling to his knees in a bow as did the other cultists in the valley.
"Your goddess has arrived!" Lilith grandstanded but Harry could hear the cold fury in her voice, "And she's very, very…disappointed. Vault Hunter, I'll get these civilians back to Sanctuary. In the meantime, I've got one order for you. Smite these bitches." With that, Lilith phased the cage away.
"This…this cannot be true!" Clayton was hyperventilating, "Do not listen brothers! That was not the true Firehawk! We must kill this spy and the-" Harry cut him off with a bullet through the temple.
"Enough." Harry's voice was cold as he pushed a button on his belt, "You people want the fire?" leaping up, he landed in the co*ckpit of the forming Mech he'd been working on, "Then meet the Iron Dragon!" he and Angel had gutted the Mech out with the help of Zane and Janey, getting new parts to have it combat ready, even if there was a great deal of room for improvement. The weapon systems at the moment were some of the excess armaments from Scooter's garage, a rocket launcher for each arm and a mounted turret on the back that Angel was climbing onto.
"Don't hog all the fun Harry!" Gaige brought out Death Trap.
"Fewest kills buys the drinks at Mom's later!" Max and his pets gave their own battle cries as they charged the cultists. They'd tried taking the people of sanctuary and so they'd pay in blood.
