
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/3736441.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      F/M
  Fandom:
      Borderlands
  Relationship:
      Handsome_Jack/OC, Zer0/OC
  Character:
      Handsome_Jack, Mordecai, Lilith, Zer0, Brick
  Additional Tags:
      Rated_B_for_Bullshit, Lolicon, Chapter_5_is_smut
  Stats:
      Published: 2015-04-13 Updated: 2015-05-02 Chapters: 6/? Words: 5200
****** No Flowers on Pandora ******
by UnholyPinecone
Summary
     No one expected her to flash into the scene, with wings darker than a
     Siren’s. She was the last person they expected to suddenly appear.
     Her blank mask revealed nothing as she knocked out Handsome Jack with
     a medical kit she carried in her hand that was completely covered in
     scars.
***** Prologue *****
No one expected her to flash into the scene, with wings darker than a Siren’s.
She was the last person they expected to suddenly appear. Her blank mask
revealed nothing as she knocked out Handsome Jack with a medical kit she
carried in her hand that was completely covered in scars.
 
“Yo.” She craned her half-burned neck. “Anyone injured?” They could all hear
the joking tone in her voice.
 
“No, we’re completely fine.” Lilith growled through clenched teeth.
 
“What the hell are you doing here, chiquita?” Mordecai was the first to rasp.
 
A series of 10 shots/screams of pain, and then the Vault Hunter, Mordecai along
with Brick were all shot in the knees, Lilith received an extra two on the
hands. A fresh modified Hyperion pistol was in her hand. Had it not been for
the sudden movement and their exhaustion, this couldn’t have happened so
easily.
 
“What the hell do you think you’re doin’, kid?” Brick growled.
 
She placed the med kit a distance away from the group and hefted the
unconscious but not dead Handsome Jack with great difficulty.
 
“Don’t try to make a move. I’m already sparing your life for the favours you’ve
done me. Consider us even.” Her monotone was even more bland than the Vault
Hunter’s.
 
“What are you doing? / No, you are not a traitor. / I don’t believe so.”
 
“Sorry, Vault Hunter. You people killing Jackie would ruin my plans. Nothing
personal.” She shook her head.
 
“So you’re just going to leave us here and betray us, bitch?” Lilith shouted in
rage.
 
“I told you, nothing personal. Sad. I don’t expect to see any of you ever
again.” She grabbed Handsome Jack’s mask off the ground. “I warned you not to
trust me.”
 
And then with a wave of her devil’s wings she was gone.
 
***** No Tea on Pandora *****
The first time Zer0 met her was when he needed some extra cash. There was a
particularly challenging job on the board that had looked to have been there
for years. It was a short assassinate and retrieve job. The object that needed
to be retrieved was strangely listed as: “Small black box close to the person.
Call to confirm.”
 
So Zer0 naturally took the job. It was a slightly more challenging one,
eliminating a quite challenging bandit clan that was noted particularly for its
elusiveness. Indeed, he did find a small black box that remained unscathed
through out the whole ordeal.
 
So he called to confirm.
 
“Ah, so you’re the brave Vault Hunter who could finally retrieve that box. Did
you open it?” Her voice was childish, he thought.
 
“No.”
 
“Good. I’ll mark my place on your ECHO device. I’ll pay you then and then
you’ll give me the item.”
 
And so he went, to a reclusive place hidden by stone cliffs in the Dust,
listening to the bittersweet music played with a violin. He knocked on the door
wedged into the cliff.
 
The music stopped, and moments later a very short masked and hooded girl was a
the doorway. Half of her neck and her entire burned with a mark that he
presumed to reach her face. Her attire was clean, however her cargo pants and
her bulletproof vest with a number of pockets made her look Pandoran.
 
She reached her hand out, and he placed the black box in her small hands. She
opened it, closed it, and seemed satisfied with the contents.
 
“Good job, Vault Hunter. What’s your name?”
 
“My name is Zer0. / You are too young to be here. / What is your name?”
 
“I’m older than you, Vault Hunter. The name’s Acacia. Pleased to meet you,
number.” She motioned for him to enter. “Oriental Beauty tea or Chrysanthemum
Puer tea?”
 
He didn’t believe her previous statement but the question caught him off guard.
No one drinks tea on Pandora, let alone tea imported from Earth.
 
“Oriental Beauty tea.” He picked the first one, without really thinking of it,
and followed her into the cliffside estate. He was amazed at the interior
decoration of the house, it reminded him much of the buildings he had seen at
Opportunity. A black violin case sat on top of a dresser. Simplistic, clean,
modern, a design of white tinged with black and red. So he was not surprised
when the tea set appeared to be also imported from Earth.
 
He’s having suspicions about this girl.
 
After moments of silence, enjoying the warm glow of the afternoon sun shining
through an obscure window on the cliffside into the modern-styled sitting room,
the girl handed him a small cup of tea, and placed a larger, cylindrical cup on
the side.
 
“Oh, I didn’t poison it. Trust me, I have more ways of killing you than this
domestic little affair.”
 
Hesitantly, he opened a compartment on his helmet to drink the tea. It was
surprisingly good.
 
“So you’re the Vault Hunter I’ve been hearing about. Wreaking havoc on
Hyperion, causing trouble for Jack.” She raised her mask to sip her tea,
revealing the burns that stretched to the left side of her face.
 
He nodded, a bit disturbed by her familiar use of Handsome Jack’s name. She
spoke the name as if she was speaking of an ordinary person, not the CEO of
Hyperion.
 
He expected her to attempt to murder him. Like everything else on the planet.
 
“So what’s the story?”
 
“He tried to kill me. / He wants to kill all the ‘bandits’. / He did not
succeed.”
 
She laughed.
 
“Are you obligated to speak in haikus, or is it just a habit of yours?”
 
He did not answer to that one.
 
They sat in not-so comfortable silence watching the scenery of the sands and
dunes of the dust. All the while Zer0 was alert and on his guard.
 
Eventually the tea was finished. She looked at him. He was unable to read her
expression through her mask. Is this what people felt like when talking to him?
 
“Tell Roland that I’ll keep in touch with him.” There’s the permission to leave
that he was waiting for, and he got up, perhaps a bit too quickly and nodded.
 
“I will tell Roland. / Thank you for the company. / Hope we meet again.” The
last sentence was a flat out lie.
 
She looked at him, and said something that was very out of place. “Don’t be a
hero. Heroes die young.”
 
He left the strange little cliffside house, not knowing that this is the first
of many visits.
 
===============================================================================
 
He came here on a whim, really.
 
Zer0 looked at the familiar cliffside estate that she lived in. He was
disturbed by the eerie silence. Everytime he came here there was a form of
bittersweet violin music that could have brought tears to those with the softer
of hearts.
 
Those types of people did not exist on Pandora.
 
He knocked on the door. No answer.
 
He tried the knob, and it was unlocked. No one could find the cliffside estate,
it was too isolated. She never really did bother with a mechanical automatic
locking door.
 
The inside of the house was much more emptier without her leading him through.
The modern white tinged with black and red designs too empty without her as the
only figure of Pandoran colour.
 
He wandered the places he has never been before. The estate was humble, only
consisting of the things she needed. Minimalistic. A closet filled with boxes
that he wanted to open, but couldn’t due to the respect he still had for her. A
washroom with a working shower and toilet (impressive, considering the state of
Pandora). A room with two machines that looked to clean clothes and dry them. A
bedroom filled with a bed, a lamp on top of a night stand, a dresser, a small
bookshelf consisting of thick books with no titles, and a desk with a device on
top of it that was rare in Pandora...He tried to recall the name, a computer?
Yes, that must be it.
 
Everything was kept clean. He found it hard to imagine she was the one who did
the cleaning in the entire estate.
 
He searched the bedside table, inside was a few more books, a pocket pistol,
and a small wooden box with decorations of mother of pearl. He opened the box
to find it consisting of letters, that seemed old and weather with age. He was
tempted to read through the letters, but again restrained by the fact that they
were all written in a foreign language.
 
He lockpicked the little traditional lock on the second drawer. Years as an
assassin made these skills necessary.
 
He found an old jewelry box. Opening it, he found her various little treasures
and trinkets. Old bones and coloured feathers of creatures; necklaces, rings,
and bracelets of silver, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, jade, platinum and
various other precious and non-precious metals strangely excluding gold; more
letters; several watches and pocket watches; various scented natural oils; and
several keys.
 
He took the keys, leaving the rest in the box and looked through the desk. He
found various unfinished writings. Mostly letters to someone unnamed, and a
couple to Jack. The ones to Jack were written in English, and consisted of
dates and drawn diagrams that seemed uncomprehensible. There were several
mentions of the Vault, but there were no vital information contained. She was
always very careful.
 
The computer was locked, and despite his various attempts to hack into it, it
was too old to be comprehensible for him.
 
Finally, he went back to the sitting room. The place where they had their
afternoon tea and one-sided conversations. He found the little black box, a
letter, and a small cup of cold tea.
 
On the back of the letter there was a name in small, neat handwriting: “Zer0”.
She even put the little slash in the 0 to make it more obvious that it was
addressed to him, and not to some random other number.
 
He opened the letter, reading her handwriting that he has not seen until this
day, wondering how many more secrets she has kept from him.
 
Zer0,
I truly apologize for the betrayals and inconveniences. I am really sorry,
about everything.
Everything was my fault. Bloodwing, Roland, Angel. I’m sorry.
That box is for you. Don’t worry, the tea is not poisoned.
I don’t expect you to forgive me. But take care of the house for me while I’m
away, will you?
- A
 
There were various lines that were crossed out, as if she couldn’t decide what
to write. The writing starting from composed to a bit rushed, with thinner tips
at the end of each stroke.
 
He opened the box, revealing a well-designed rectangular piece of platinum with
an unknown language engraved onto it. It was small, 0.5 cm by 3 cm, and
attached to a chain. Was this truly the black box that he gave to her when they
first met? He picked up the necklace, putting it over his head and tucking the
metal under his armor.
 
He removed the helmet in the empty house, drinking the cold tea slowly and
gazing out at the dunes of the Dust.
 
***** No Smiles on Pandora *****
Handsome Jack has known her for a long time. The lil shit never grew and never
changed. It almost made him believe that she was actually, according to her,
older than him.
 
He still remembers the first time he saw her in Elpis, when they were trying to
save the little chunk of grey rock and Moxxi, Lilith and Roland betrayed him.
 
She was one of the people who didn’t betray him or leave him that day. Who
actually stayed by his side after Elpis.
 
===============================================================================
 
“You want to find the Vault? You’re going to have to speak to Acacia over
there. Creepy little girl, masked, covered in scars. Can’t miss her. She’s been
here for the last twenty years I have been. Knows everything around here to the
point that it’s creepy….”  Jack naturally ignored the rest of the sentence from
the talkative man, muttering a quick “thanks” and walking over to the girl.
 
It’s not as if he didn’t believe what Colonel Zarpedon said. Just that he
needed a third-party confirmation. And true enough, after talking with several
people at bars, he managed to find the third-party he was looking for.
 
She was buying guns from one of the Weapons Vending Machines. The small figure
seemingly out of place in front of it. She had a mask that had no designs other
than two holes for her to look out at, and the burns reaching from her right
arm to her masked face.
 
“Hey kiddo. Do you have a license?” He leaned against the wall beside her.
 
She quickly flashed a license in his face with a graceful, fluid motion before
placing it back in one of her pockets. It was too quick to tell if it was fake
or not.
 
“What do you want?”
 
“Not in a good mood eh, little flower? You know, I was just talking to that guy
over there and I hear you can help me find that Vault.” She was short, he noted
as he looked down on her. “Say, what do you think of a partnership?”
 
She finally made her selection and took a pistol from the machine.
 
“What do I get in return?” The little shit.
 
“I could pay you…” Jack started.
 
“Money has no intrinsical value. How about this. I’ll tell you where the Vault
is, and then you and your friend will help me to reach the Vault. Do we have a
deal, Jack?” She almost hums his name with amusement.
 
Right. She knew everything around here. He’s beginning to be confident that he
found the right person.
 
“Aren’t you a bit too young to be going after the Vault, little flower? What
are you going to do with it?”
 
“I’m not going to take anything from the Vault. Just taking a look at alien
technology that people could rarely find.” He really hates that blank, creepy
mask. He was unable to read through her expression.
 
“Alright then, we have a deal.” He held out his hand for her to shake, and she
shook it with the one that was covered in scars.
 
===============================================================================
 
She never really did give them any trouble. She could take care of herself and
she was a pretty good shot with that pistol. Athena gave her a few curious
glances and she didn’t seem to mind. She merely followed along and did not say
much.
 
They took down the Guardian of the Vault with considerable difficulty, and no
one stopped him when Handsome Jack walked to the relic, beginning the
information transfer. He didn’t pay much attention he heard a gun shot and
Lilith punched the relic into his face.
 
The girl held a smoking gun while Athena stood by and did nothing, Lilith’s arm
torn open by a bullet.
 
Later, when Handsome Jack was in a sane state again, and Athena walked away
with the money, she stayed by his side.
 
Jack sometimes thinks that if it were not for Acacia’s bullet through Lilith’s
arm, Lilith would have remained to finish the job.
 
===============================================================================
 
Jack woke up in the familiar embraces of his own featherbed on the Hyperion
Satellite. He looked around him, finding the familiar short figure by the
window, holding something in her hand and looking out onto the planet Pandora.
 
“Mind me staying here for a few days? The Vault Hunters know where I live.” She
didn’t bother with pleasantries.
 
“The Vault. What happe-” He winced in pain, his entire body protesting to the
action of getting up. He remained in the bed.
 
“Destroyed.”
 
“The Vault Hunters…”
 
“Alive.”
 
“What?! Alive?”
 
“Indeed, did you not hear me the first time?” Her voice was completely
apathetic.
 
“You...You showed up with a medical kit. What the hell, Acacia?” He was
furious, getting up in his blind rage.
 
“I advise against you standing. As you were badly wounded.” She was looking at
him through the reflection of the perfectly polished windows, he knew.
 
He shot her a glare, walking towards her and ignoring the pains from his body.
“I don’t care what the fuck you advise, I want to know why the god damn Vault
Hunters are not dead.”
 
She seemed amused. That's the only way he could understand what little emotion
she let through. Through her voice.
 
“And you were the one who was consistantly scolding others for language. That’s
two violations in a row.”
 
He pinned her against the window by her throat, easily lifting her small body
and ignoring the protests of his own. He could feel her pulse underneath his
hands, still steady despite her life in danger. She didn’t even make a sound as
she raised the object she was holding in her hand towards him. She placed the
mask on his face, securing the latches.
 
“Don’t lose it in a fight next time.” She whispered, her voice difficult with
his hands still around her delicate neck, so easy to snap. “It’s quite
expensive.”
 
He let her go and she dropped, coughing exactly four times before rising to her
feet.
 
Handsome Jack knew. He knew as he half-crawled back to the bed. That she was
smiling, despite not seeing her expression through her mask as she spoke with
apathy tinged with amusement.
 
“I advised you not to get up.”

He really hates that mask.
***** No Wine on Pandora *****
Mordecai couldn’t believe it. First the girl pops out of no where into the
Vault like a Siren, then she shoots everyone, then she leaves a fucking medical
kit. As if it would make everything better. Then the place started to crumble
and they helped drag each other out of the place.
 
One of the worst days of his life. And that is saying something.
 
It’s been a week. Yet no one seemed interested in doing something the Crimson
Raiders would do. Eg: planning to kill Handsome Jack.
 
He looked around at the room around him. Everyone looks dejected. No one really
expected her to betray them. She was on good terms with everyone except for
Lilith. Roland trusted her and got into several with Lilith about it.
 
Now he’s dead and she betrayed them. Guess Lilith was right after all.
 
He’s worried most about the Vault Hunter. She had this influence on people,
something that makes her both likable and untrustworthy at the same time. All
the while your subconsciousness and intuition is telling you not to trust her,
yet your rationality tells you she could be trusted.
 
Mordecai believes that Zer0 is the most logical person here.
 
He was never really one to talk much, but today he seemed more silent than
usual, cleaning his blade in silence. After disappearing for three days after
what happened at the Vault, not replying when asked where he went.
 
Damn it. He thought. I need a drink.
 
“Take care of your liver, Mordecai. Or else you’ll ruin your figure.”
 
He gritted his teeth, he can’t get her out of his mind. He stood up, missing
the presence of Bloodwing on his shoulder, and left for Moxxi’s bar.
 
-
 
“Roland sent you, didn’t he?”
 
Wow she’s short.
 
He looked at her really creepy mask. It was a blank and featureless white save
for the two holes carved for her eyes. Disturbing? Yes. Intimidating? Not very
so, considering her small figure. That was what he thought before she opened
her mouth.
 
“...Yeah.”
 
She tossed a cardboard box to him, and he catched it clumsily. Bloodwing
screeched in alarm.
 
“That’s your equipment.”
 
He looked in it.
 
“Well, shit. Look at that!” The various guns, grenades, grenade mods, and ammo
tucked into such a small space in orderly compact was impressive. He tried not
to shudder at the thought that she just threw a ton of highly explosive
material at him.
 
“What’s your name, little lady?”
 
“Acacia. Come on in for a drink. I can’t finish the armagnac by myself.” She
walked in, and he followed, still holding the box.
 
He placed the box by the door and was stunned by the modern interior
decorating. He felt out of place. Everything was so clean while he’s just
standing still covered in dust and haven’t showered in a week.
 
And then he smelled the liquor.
 
===============================================================================
 
Mordecai woke up, a foul taste in his mouth, a bottle right beside him, his
back aching and his head pounding. Morning light was shining in through the
window of the bar and Moxxi was looking at him.
 
“Finally awake, sugar?”
 
What the fuck did I drink? Mordecai thought as tried to recall the events from
yesterday night.
 
“Don’t down it all at once. That’s no way to appreciate good alcohol. From the
way you’re drinking, you might as well be drinking medical alcohol.”
 
Mordecai groaned.
 
 
***** No Love on Pandora *****
“I have a question, kiddo.” Handsome Jack leaned towards her. She inspected the
food in her plate, taking out a silver needle and prodding it. It’s a habit of
hers, testing poison in each dish. He swore, every time that they ate or
consumed anything edible that was not made or came from her, she had to test
it.
 
“What the hell are you doing?” Jack growled. It was infuriating, as if she
didn’t trust him. Even after all these years...
 
“Testing for poison.” Her indifference made it seem as if she is merely
discussing the weather.
 
Jack almost wanted to punch off her mask. “It is not poisoned.”
 
“Indeed.” She placed the needle into her little kit, and began to eat, raising
her mask slightly to place the food in her mouth. Her actions tell him that she
didn’t believe him. She simply proved that it was not poisoned.
 
“You still haven’t told me what happened at the Vault, little flower.”
 
“I have no obligation to.”
 
“What’s wrong, kiddo? Can’t even talk anymore?”
 
“You seem very interested in something that you failed to pay attention to.”
 
“In case you’ve forgotten, flower, you knocked me out.” Handsome Jack was not
happy. “I could have killed you just for that.”
 
“You haven’t, and it’s been a week. Your point is?” She finishes her food. He
realizes that she eats insanely fast but not missing any manners while doing
so. Just like everything she does: efficient and graceful. He still hasn’t
finished two thirds of his yet.
 
“Are you a siren, kiddo?” Handsome Jack asked, in somewhat seriousness.
 
She laughed. A hollow sound, something that seemed perfect. Praticed, even.
Something that was devoid of joy.
 
“I wished.” She leaned back in her chair. “It would have saved me a lot of
trouble if I was.”
 
“Then, sorry for being rude, sweetcheeks, but what are you?”
She didn’t answer, suddenly getting up. “Don’t you have more things to do as
the CEO of Hyperion?”
 
“Where are you going?” He got up after her, as she walked towards the door,
closing the distance between them. She ignored him, her hand already reaching
for the switch when he pinned her against the metalic door.
 
“I asked you a fucking question, little flower.” He growled, pulling off that
hated mask.
 
Dark grey eyes matched mismatched eyes, staring at him defiantly. She has soft
features, beautiful in an oriental way. Her skin was of smooth ivory, her hair
strands of onyx. The rest is an angry, disfigured red that covered half of her
face and arm. As if disagreeing with perfection.
 
He wanted to kill her, for not trusting him. For holding so many secrets from
him. That’s why he kissed her instead, pressing his lips against hers.
 
She pulled away and slapped him.
 
Then she kissed him again, grabbing him by the collar. Their tongues faught for
dominance, as his hands trailed up under her vest and her undershirt, playing
with her small breasts. Amused to find her not wearing a bra.
 
“Should we add pedophilia to your growing list of crimes?” She smiled. He
realizes that she doesn’t smile out of happiness. He has never seen her truly
happy on Pandora. He turned off his moral system, revelling in how beautiful
she is.
 
Her hands found his mask, unclipping the little latches on the side swiftly,
pulling the expensive mask away to toss it to the side.
 
Handsome Jack carried her to the bedroom, while she seemed discontent with the
buttons on his dress shirt, fumbling with them. He pinned her down to the bed,
almost ripping her hood off and taking off that kevlar vest. She wore a simple
cotton shirt under it, and he lifted it over her head, the material abandoned
to the side.
 
She succeeded in taking the layers of his torso off, taking a bit more care
with the pocket watch.
 
He fondled with her breasts, rolling a nipple between his fingers as it
hardened, his mouth kissing, biting and trailing marks down her neck.
 
He breathed in the scent of soap and a hint of flowers on her body, his cock
already hard in his jeans.
 
“So impatient.” Her lips curled up into a devious smile as she fondled him
through his jeans, leaving him gasping. This prompted him to practically rip
off her cargo pants savagely.
 
“Those were one of my favourite pants.” She complained. “Someone’s not patient
today.”
 
“And who do you think caused this, pumpkin?” He growled, ripping off her
underwear along the way and teasing a finger into her tight heat.
 
She gasped as he curled his finger, hitting that particular spot. “G-get on
with it already. We don’t ha-a-ve all day.”
 
“Hm, what’s wrong, little flower? In a rush?” He slowly began to pump his
finger in and out, a second digit quickly joining the first.
 
She gasped and writhed in pleasure under him, only letting out the slightest
whimpers and moans.
 
She swiftly unbuckled his belt and pulled down his jeans, reaching her hand
under his boxers, grabbing his proud erection by the root. “Personally, flower,
I think we should take a little ti-ah…”
 
“Is there anything wrong, Jack?” He liked her smile. Though not warm, it was
seen, not heard.
 
He withdrawed his fingers, positioning himself in front of her entrance.
 
“You want this, right kiddo?”
 
Her eyes seemed to soften a bit. It was refreshing to see her expression
without the mask.
 
“Just get on with it.”
 
Jack sank into her slowly, having to conciously control himself from slamming
into her tight, wet heat. She frowned in slight pain and they stayed together
for a little while to let her accomodate his girth.
 
Soon, the girl began to grow impatient, grinding her hips into him.
 
He grinned. “Use your words, kiddo.”
 
“Can’t even fuck a girl?” She growled.
 
“You know those aren’t the words I want to hear.” A hand reached down to play
with her pearl.
 
“Ah...Please…” She gasped.
 
“Please what, flower? You’re usually really good with your manners.”
 
“Please….Jack.”
 
He smiled, pulling out and pushing back into her. She has difficulty fitting
around him, and he set out a slow, torturous rhythm.
 
“F-Faster.” She breathed, holding him closer. Handsome Jack was more than happy
to oblige, losing all sense of control as he pounded into her, making her let
out small screams of pain and pleasure.
 
His hand began to draw small, quick circles around her pearl. Drawing out her
pleasure. He could feel himself getting close, as his thrusts began to lose
rhythm.
 
“Come for me, little flower.” He breathed into her ear. Watching, as the
unraveled under him, letting out a small cry, her walls clenching around him.
And with a few more thrusts, he filled her with his seed.
 
He collapsed beside her, pulling her closer to him and wrapping a blanket
around them. They lay there in silence, her small fingers tracing his scar, his
hands playing with her hair.
 
Soon, she fell asleep on top of him, leaving him to reflect on what he had just
done. Reflecting on his morals that went something like:
 
She looks 12.
 
She’s not.
 
He heard her repeat a name in another language several times in her dreams.
Each time sending a needle into his heart.
 
He realizes that he actually loves this strange girl he met that day on the
moon. That he would do anything for her.
 
That she would never love him back.
 
***** No Angels on Pandora *****
“Lilith, this is Acacia. I’m sure you remember her.”
 
Of course Lilith remembered the creepy masked little girl.
 
“Pleased to meet you.”
 
She shot her on Elpis.
 
“Roland. What the hell are you doing? She shot me on Elpis. She’s working with
Handsome Jack.”
 
“Just to clarify, you appeared out of no where and attacked my employer at the
time. What was I to do other than shoot you? But alas, you aren’t dead.” Lilith
could tell that she was going to add a word to her sentence, but the girl
stopped before she said anything like “sadly”, “unfortunately”, or
“regrettably”.
 
“Roland.”
 
“Acacia is a very valuable asset to the team, Lilith. I trust that you will
cooperate with her.”
 
Lilith groaned.
 
===============================================================================
 
Nevertheless, Lilith did achieve a sort of trust towards the girl. After all,
unlike Angel she never betrayed any of them.
 
“You bitch! You were working with Handsome Jack all along.” That explained
everything. Her reluctance to be involved with any action against Hyperion by
some excuse was just…
 
“Calm down. It’s not as if I’m killing you.” The ECHO devices and all her
connections to the outside world was disabled temperarily.
 
“Bullshit. You strapped me to this eridium thing and forced me to cha-”
 
“Yes, we all know that. Any other information you would like to share with us?”
 
“Yes, it includes that you are an asshole.”
 
“Do you think I killed Roland too?” Her voice sounded amused.
 
===============================================================================
 
Handsome Jack found the girl in the eridium chamber, sitting on one of the
ridges used for the shield. She faced away from him, a mask of hers held in her
hand.
 
“Where were you, kid? I was looking everywhere for you.”
 
She sighed. “No where.”
 
===============================================================================
 
“The speed for charging the key would increase by a significant amount if you
use a siren, inject eridium into her, and charge the key with her.”
 
He glared at the small masked girl. “I am not doing that to Angel. Who do you
think I am?”
 
“No, Jack won’t. But Handsome Jack will. The average human lifespan doesn’t
last 300 years, Jack. The Crimson Raiders is still a threat. If we open the
vault as soon as possible, we would be able to minimize casualties.”
 
“How can I do that to Angel? How can you even suggest such a thing?”
 
“She will be fine, it’s only a couple years in confinement. You can wire her to
an A.I. system and control all of Hyperion’s technology.”
 
===============================================================================
 
He looked at her.
 
“It’s not your fault, flower, it’s the Vault Hunters. We’re the heroes of the
story here.”
 
She did not reply.
 
===============================================================================
 
“Hello Angel.”
 
Angel looked at the masked girl that appeared younger than her.
 
The girl explained to the other girl the situation.
 
Angel does not have a choice.
 
===============================================================================
 
“The Vault Hunters killed her, Acacia.”
 
She put on her mask before turning towards him.
 
“I know.”
 
 
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