Hello to my readers. I know i said in Runaway that i would focus on that but this story is kinda the exception. Why? Mainly since I sometimes get bored and play my PS3. And since I am doing this story while playing, yeah... I'll leave more information in the next AN. So enjoy readers.

The Blonde and Redhead Vault Hunters

Chapter 3

Sledge and other shit

The group exits the sewage pipe and looks around. They spot some venders before looking around the landscape. "Hills everywhere. Wonder if there are good cover spots…" Mordecai says before they check out the venders, though nothing worth buying. The group then heads towards their destination. Naruto and Tayuya decide to take the upper route, where they find an old camp and a lot of garbage. "Shesh, some people don't care about clean up." Naruto says before they dig around. "Anything good?" Mordecai asks. "Found a shield." Tayuya says. "Same here." Naruto says, though he equips the one he found.

The rest of the group walk ahead before spotting a skag then some dens and a few more. "Crap." Lilith says before the four begin firing. Naruto and Tayuya stay at the top and fire from there, though Mordecai gets the most kills thanks to the purple rare revolver from before. "Damn, this thing is so good." Mordecai says. The shooting stops as carnage is everywhere, though the group collects the money and ammo that dropped from the skags. "I still find it weird that this stuff is intact after coming from those things, especially the spitters." Tayuya says.

The group heads up and finds another den and more skags, though they die quickly after more shooting. Though Lilith grabs the shock repeater that came out of one of the adult skags. They check the abandoned camp there. "Still don't get why people would think it is a good idea to camp near dens. Unless the dens came later." Naruto says. "This seems to be looking like Skag Gully though…" Tayuya says before the group moves on, after finding nothing of use.

They turn the corner before Mordecai stops them. "Two at the top. They have a better vantage point. And I really don't want to know if they have snipers or not." He says before he and Tayuya bring out their sniper rifles. Both take aim, Mordecai picking the bandit on the left and Tayuya the one on the right. They stay still before both fire together. The bandits drop and fall onto the platforms they are on. "Whatever guns they had will stay up there." Roland says. "Though bandits are idiots. The group nearby is not even paying attention." Naruto says as they see a group of bandits with two bruisers nearby at a shack.

The group gets ready before they throw grenades. All bandits panic, though the bruisers start shooting at them, before the grenades explode. Most die while the bruisers only have some damage. Though Brick runs to the closest one and punches him in the face. The bruiser goes sailing back and dies from impacting a wall. The other bruiser and bandits go down after some well-placed shots. The group checks the place. They find a shield, a repeater, some ammo, and money. "Not much here. Let's keep going." Lilith says before they move on.

The group spots another large shack in the distance. Naruto and Tayuya wall climb and get on the platforms, though both check out the weapons the bandits up there had. "Sniper rifle, but not that great." Naruto says. "This idiot used an assault rifle…" Tayuya says in disbelief, though both store the guns before they take point. "Those two still surprise me." Roland says. "Yeah. But, let's get rid of these idiots." Mordecai says before another firefight ensues. Some bandits come out, with three bruisers. Though the group goes down quickly. "I'll take that rifle." Roland says as he picks it up. "Not as strong, but holds more ammo." He points out.

Naruto and Tayuya come up to them. "Seems like there could be something at the back end." She says before the group checks it out. Though Naruto spots a skag at the distance. "More skag that direction." He points out before they turn the corner and spot a bandit. He goes down before he even has a chance to scream. They spot another bandit starting to crawl out from a hole, though the bandit stops and looks up before Brick stomps on his head. "Definitely not smart." Lilith says. They check out the bins. "Shield, repeater, ammo, money. Hey, I was wondering, is there a way to take the guns apart and put them together? Like upgrading the old guns." Naruto says.

"There is. Though we would find better versions." Mordecai says. "I guess, but sometimes we find weapons that have better abilities than others. Like the shotgun I have. Powerful, but I can only shoot twice before reloading. It's getting annoying." Naruto says. "Hmm… Well, if you want, we can try experimenting when we go rest. You do have a point." Mordecai says. "It would be good. All the companies tend to focus on one part of a gun while ignoring another." Lilith says. "Could do the same for the shields. Having a regenerating health one is good, but a few others we found have elemental abilities. Could be fun to combine stuff." Tayuya says. "That is a bit more difficult, but we can try." Mordecai says.

The group moves on, heading towards their destination still. As they walk, some rakks are spotted flying overhead, though they ignore the group. The six of them head towards a wall, before Mordecai spots a bandit on a platform. He takes out a rifle and takes aim, though Brick beats him to it when he takes out a repeater and shots the blue barrel behind the bandit. It explodes in a shower of electricity, killing the bandit quickly. Mordecai looks at him. "What? Best to use the barrel near him just in case his shield is stronger." Brick says. "True…" Mordecai says then sighs. Though they spot a bruiser keeping guard. Mordecai and Tayuya take point before both fire and strike him in the head, killing him instantly. They walk up and check the rifle he dropped. "Same rifle I just picked up, though weaker in everything." Roland says, though he stores it. The group then checks the large camp.

"Hmm, a few bandits walking around. Could be more inside the shacks." Roland says. "We could split up and go around, flanking everything like we did back at the station." Mordecai says. "I just want to punch something." Brick says as he cracks his knuckles. "We might as well go guns blazing. Our weapons aren't exactly quiet." Naruto says as he preps his shotgun. "It isn't exactly the best place to do that, but I don't see any spots to snipe from. Might as well then." Lilith says. "True." Mordecai says before the six head in, Brick and Naruto leading. The bruiser spots Brick, though can't do much when Brick is already on him. He gets punched and sent back to a wall, though can't recover on time as Naruto blows a hole in his chest. The burning psycho goes running at them, but some shots from Lilith and Roland takes him down.

More bandits appear as the group splits into two groups of three; Naruto, Brick, and Mordecai going through the left and Lilith, Roland, and Tayuya the right since the center looks to be a dead end. Bandits fire at them as the group gets to cover while shooting, well except Brick. Using the shotgun he has, he blows the head off one bandit while punching another. The bandit becomes disoriented before Mordecai snipes his head off. The bandits die one by one, though Naruto spots a badass. "Oh boy." He says. "You are in my house now, boy!" The bandit says before he starts firing. Naruto gets to cover as he fires back. The bandit gets to cover also, though moves when Tayuya snipes at him from a distance. His shield gets taken down before a barrage of bullets ends his life.

The six of them pant slightly as Roland, Lilith, Mordecai, and Brick level up. Naruto and Tayuya have a bit left to go, though are three levels behind. Naruto checks the bandit over. "Tough bastard. And he dropped a rifle. Not that great though." He says. The group looks around the camp, finding ammo and money. They only find a few weapons before meeting up near the upper portion of the camp. "Didn't find much. Just another rifle." Lilith says. "Found an smg, if that counts. Though it is not great. It's also called Weaksauce, so that says a lot." Tayuya says. "I found a few gun parts, but decided to leave those alone to not mix them up with the others. Though only two parts." Naruto says. They store what they can before moving on.

They spot an entrance, but Naruto decides to see if anything of worth is at the top. "Hey, I found a cache." He says before opening it. The group goes to him. "Another shotgun and an smg, along with ammo and grenades." He says. He checks the shotgun. "See, this is what I mean. This gun can hold more. Not as powerful, but better than reloading often." He says. "Yeah, I know. But, we can't do much now. Let's move on." Mordecai says. Naruto stores the shotgun away as Tayuya stores the smg. The rest grab whatever ammo they need and grenades, along with the money they find. They head down and, after opening the ammo caches and grabbing more ammo, enter Sledge's Safehouse.

XXXX

After a brisk walk, they look around the joint. And can already tell this isn't a suitable location. "Smells so fucking bad…" Tayuya says as she covers her nose and mouth. "This place looks cramped. We could get ambushed easily too. Be careful." Roland says. "Let them try. Anyone tires to sneak attack will deal with my fists." Brick says as he hits his fists together. "And our shotguns. We do have everything covered, though we can't stick too close together." Naruto says. "That's the main issue right now." Lilith says. The group continues, selling whatever they don't need at the venders, though Naruto keeps a few weapons.

The group splits into two again as they go around two entrances before scoping out the situation. They spot a bandit just sitting on a table, though know more could be hidden around corners. "Let me take the shot. Just get ready." Mordecai says as he aims with the sniper rifle. "There is a barrel near him." Brick mentions. "It's too covered. But let's save it just in case for a few others." Brick nods before Mordecai takes the shot. The bandit's head explodes as his body drops. It alerts three more bandits. They head for them as they shoot, though Tayuya strikes the barrel, causing two to get hit with electricity before dying. The third hides behind cover. Naruto throws a sticky at a second barrel. The bandit jumps out, but too slow as the explosions kill him instantly. Naruto and Tayuya level up. "You know, the barrels do damage their weapons." Roland brings up. "True. But, with the way this place is laid out, the barrels could work against us." Mordecai says.

The group head forward, spotting an open door. They look through and see more bandits, though Naruto wonders about the other end. "Hmm…" He thinks before he looks at Tayuya. She nods before both shushin to the other end, surprising the rest. They spot a second doorway before hearing someone crying. "That sounds like that robot from before. Could this be another?" Tayuya asks. Naruto shrugs before he looks at the rest. They nod before they all throw grenades through the doorways.

The bandits panic as a few explosions rock the room. A few of them die while most are injured, though a few psychos come running at them, one burning. Though in vain when they quickly die. The rest get shot down, a few barrels exploding after being shot at. The group looks around before entering the room. They check the items dropped. Roland whistles at the assault rifle he picks up. "Damn. Genocide Pounder. Strong too." He puts the other he has away. "Not much else. Though, I want to know about that robot crying." Lilith says before the group moves on.

The group rounds a corner before spotting a bandit. And he spots them before he begins shooting. Some shots take him down, but it only alerts a few others. More shots ring out as Roland throws a grenade, both bandits dying. They check things out as they pick up an smg one bandit dropped, though store it since it isn't that strong. They check the lockers nearby and find money and health kits. "Just wondering, how much money we have?" Brick asks. "Over forty-five thousand right now." Mordecai says.

The group moves on, though Naruto spots the Claptrap. "Found the crying robot. But, we can't get to it just yet." Naruto says before they head up a ramp. Another bandit is spotted, though taken down after some shots. Tayuya looks around the dark area before spotting a case hidden onto top of some ducts. "Hey Roland, isn't that what you used to fix up the yellow one before?" She asks. Roland goes to it and grabs it. "Do we really need to help the thing?" Brick asks. "He might know some information about the place." Mordecai says.

The group moves on, entering some barracks as they spot some bandits. Another firefight breaks out, some barrels exploding. The bandits die painfully. They grab the money and the rifle that one dropped. "Decently strong." Roland says. Tayuya takes it though before the group keeps going. Going down a ramp and, after turning a corner, more bandits are seen. One spots the group. They sigh before more gunfire is exchanged, along with a grenade. Said explosion triggers another as a barrel explodes a bandit. All die as one drops a grenade mod. "Not a sticky, but stronger." Lilith says as she equips it.

They walk before finding the fallen Claptrap. The robot groans dramatically as Roland checks him over before fixing him. Soon, the bot gets up excitedly. "Thank you, kind traveler! I can now return to my appointed tasks. By the way, I found this while sweeping out the storage bins. You look like you could use one of these." The Claptrap says as he hands them some storage deck upgrades. "Wow. We can store more, though not by much." Lilith says. "Follow me!" The Claptrap says. The group wonders why, but they follow him, upgrading their decks. He leads them back to where they came from and stops at a door. He enters a code before the door opens. "Aaaaannnnnndddddd open! Yes!"

Inside is a cache. They open it and see four guns; two revolvers and two repeaters. Mordecai grabs one revolver and Naruto the other before the first Claptrap speaks through. "You found an explosives weapon! Shots fired from these weapons have a chance of exploding on impact for massive damage!" The group sighs. "Of course." Mordecai says. "So, an exploding revolver, a shock revolver, and two regular repeaters." Naruto says. "Make it three." Tayuya says as she checks the lockers in the room. "Though very strong." She stores it however as Lilith and Roland take the other two. "There is another cache though." Brick mentions.

"Before we check it, let's ask the Claptrap something." Roland says. They go to the Claptrap. "Hey Claptrap, can you tell us anything about this place?" Lilith asks. "Just that there are a ton of bandits. Some loot here and there. Though watch out for the boss at the end guarding the key. Not Sledge, but just as tough. Well, to me anyway." The robot says. "Thanks. You gonna stay here?" Roland asks. "Hell no! Though, I'm gonna wait until you deal with the rest of the bandits." The robot says. The rest nod and head to the cache. They open it just to find four more revolvers. "Two can't be used, one is shock, one is bladed with the other two normal." Mordecai says before taking the bladed one. Brick takes the most powerful of the rest while Lilith takes shock. Roland takes the other, though stores it. "The level difference is getting annoying though…" Naruto says before they gather the ammo then move on.

The group heads further into the place before an alarm goes off. Four midget psychos appear from different spots before attacking them. Though in vain when they go down after a few shots, though the group had to dodge after the shotgun midget shot at them. The door at the other end opens before the psychos come at them, along with a badass version. "Oh great." Lilith says before more gunfire goes through the room. The regular psychos die quickly, though the badass gives them trouble. Brick however goes to it and punches it, causing it to stumble before more bullets hit him. The badass dies after his head explodes. The four level up, Naruto and Tayuya becoming three levels behind again. "Well, that was irritating." Tayuya says. "That is a weird badass, especially with that deformed arm." Naruto says.

The group shrugs before they head deeper into the safehouse. They turn a corner before seeing stairs, and a sign that points downward. "Ok…" Roland says, though they check the ammo cache and locker before heading down. They see another sign with blood pointing right. They see a room to the left however and check it out. They find a weapons cache and open it, only to find two repeaters and two revolvers. One repeater is strong while a revolver has a fire element to it. They store them away however. They grab more ammo from the caches and check the lockers in the room.

They move on, following the signs before more midget psychos appear, some mutated. A few hits from the revolvers however take them down. "The explosives one packs a punch." Mordecai says. They follow the signs, though Tayuya spots another way. "Seems like we can flank through that way." She points out. The girls and Naruto head that direction while the guys follow the signs still. Mordecai doubles back after seeing a walkway at the top. He goes through and sees another weapons cache. He goes to it and opens it to find a stronger sniper rifle that uses shock and another shotgun. He stores both, along with getting ammo, before moving on. He spots some ammo caches, but ignores them, along with the body on a console.

The group moves on to the next room, all covering a spot, though it wasn't needed since there are only two bandits. Two well placed shots take them down. The group continues. They see a large room. "This is where most likely that boss the Claptrap was talking about would be." Naruto says before they enter the room. And on cue, a large psycho bandit appears, along with midget bandits. "Great." Lilith says. Brick just laughs as he goes after the boss. The boss goes after him as the rest take point and start firing at him. Though the midgets go after them, for a short while before they die quickly. Roland uses his turret as Lilith uses her siren powers. Roland uses Bloodwing while Brick just punches the boss. The boss punches back, pushing Brick back, though it doesn't faze him. Naruto and Tayuya keep shooting, with Naruto sending some clones to help Brick. Not even five minutes pass before the boss goes down, only money and a sniper rifle coming from him. Naruto and Tayuya level up however.

"That thing is huge." Tayuya says before they check out the psycho. "What the hell did this dude have to be this big?" Naruto asks. "Who knows. Let's get that key though." Lilith says. Mordecai checks the rifle. "Damn, a Jakobs. Hey Tayuya, here." Mordecai hands her the shock sniper rifle from earlier. "Thanks." She says. Roland checks a switch before he presses it. The center of the room opens before it lifts. "Thumbs?" Naruto asks. "Seems like it uses a finger scanner to open the mine." Roland says. He grabs the key and stores it. "Let's head back. Though I have a hunch there might be more bandits." Tayuya says.

The group turns to see the fence from where they came from come down while a walkway appears. They head back to where they came from, encountering more bandits before seeing a door open right before where the Claptrap is. "Shortcut." Brick says. They kill the bandit at the doorway, though it alerts the rest. They enter the new room before a firefight ensues. Though the bandits are hidden thanks to a large broken pipe and pillars, all get taken down after some grenade throws. Some smgs and rifles are dropped, though are only worth to sell before the group moves on, only to encounter more bandits. The ones near are killed while the group gets to cover as they fire on the rest. Only a few shots ring out before the rest of the bandits are dead. "Wow. What a work out." Naruto says before the group heads towards the venders, selling any weapons that won't be used. They then leave the safehouse.

The group goes through the Arid Hills, going through the camp again before encountering more bandits. Bullets are exchanged as bandits go down. They don't bother trying to keep quiet while going back. They go past the camp before encountering rakk again, though in bigger numbers. They go down quickly however, with a larger rakk dropping items. They also go through both shacks, getting more items. "You know, it feels like these guys respawn or something. They aren't exactly a higher level." Lilith says, before a badass psycho appears from the second one. "Spoke too soon." Roland says before they take it down. The four level up. They go through the skag dens, though see there are more adult and alpha skags. Luckily, no badass versions. More items are collected before they check the vendors and sell what they don't need before moving towards the Arid Badlands again.

After going through the sewer pipe, the group enters the Badlands again. "There are new bounties available at Fyrestone!" Claptrap says through the ECHOs. "More work? We haven't even gone to check the others that were mentioned." Naruto says. "Let's go check them out. That way we don't double back too much. We also have to turn in the journals." Mordecai says. The rest nod before getting two runners then heading back to Fyrestone. After a short drive, the group makes it back. They enter the town before reaching the bounty board. "There are new job postings at the bounty board." Claptrap tells them. "Uh, yeah, we know. You told us already." Tayuya says. "Oh, right." Claptrap says.

The group checks the board before turning in the journals. "Thank you for returning my journal recordings. I know that you listened to them, so now I ask that you apply blunt force trauma to your head until you forget what you heard. Those journals are private and personal." The group sweatdrops at that, though they gain XP, causing Naruto and Tayuya to level up. "Anyway, what are the others?" Lilith asks. "Circle of Death: Meat And Greet." Roland says before they read. "Apparently, an arena of sorts." He says. "Hmm, could be fun." Brick says. "Maybe. And the others?" Naruto asks. "The Legend Of Moe and Marley. Seems like someone wants us to hunt two large and powerful skags. They want their skulls." Mordecai reads. "Lazy much?" Tayuya questions. Naruto reads the other. "Sniper rifle parts? Could this be for the parts I found? Though at the tower in the Badlands or the camp in the Hills?" Naruto wonders.

They accept the missions then check the map. "Ok, so the cave and the arena are near the tower, but the skags and the rifle parts are in the Hills. So, how shall we do this?" Lilith asks. "How about we rest for a while? It has been a good number of hours since we have been doing missions." Tayuya says. "Not a bad idea. We can do the missions later." Roland says. The group heads to Zed before going back to where they rested last time.

XXXX

After the group has settled into their rooms for the time being, Naruto goes and checks on Mordecai. "Hey Mordecai, you up?" He asks as he knocks on the door. Mordecai opens it and looks at Naruto. "Hey, what's up?" "I was just wondering if I could learn more about the weapons and to make them better." Mordecai nods before he lets Naruto inside. They go to a desk that is in the room as Naruto takes out some of the guns and sets them on it. "So, what exactly were you thinking?" Mordecai asks. "Like I said before, I wish to upgrade the weapons to have at least everything be almost equal. High powered with a better ammo capacity. Easier to reload. Things like that." Naruto asks.

Mordecai nods before he looks at the Jakobs shotgun. "This is still the strongest shotgun we have in the group. So, power wouldn't be an issue until later. But, having only two bullets at a time can be irritating. Though, recoil we can't do much without altering the power. Usually, the stronger the weapon, the stronger the recoil. Though there are ways to lessen the recoil without sacrificing power. However, with this gun, the main issue is the barrels. Unlike a few other shotguns, the barrels for this are on top of each other, rather than side by side." Mordecai says. "Hmm, could we change the barrel positions then?" Naruto asks. "Not with the way this gun has been made. We don't really have too many materials either." Mordecai says. Naruto thinks then looks at the revolvers. "Maybe add two of these?" He points to a drum. "Hmm… this would take a while." Mordecai says. "True…" Naruto rubs his head. "Let's try it. And maybe for the other guns." Naruto nods before they begin working.

XXXX

Almost twelve hours have passed before the group is ready to leave again. Though they notice Naruto and Mordecai are slightly off. "You two alright?" Roland asks. "Yeah, we spent some hours messing with some guns. Almost killed ourselves a few times…" Mordecai says. "But, it was worth it." Naruto says as he shows them the improved shotgun with two revolver drums, one on top of the other, along with the whole weapon looking beefier. He also shows them an improved Clipper. "Whoa. That looks deadly." Brick says. "Yeah, but we hit a snag. Somehow, the guns leveled up also. Naruto has to wait to level up once to use the shotgun and three more times to use the Clipper. Though the name changed for some reason." Mordecai says.

Everyone raises an eyebrow at that. "Yeah, we don't know why. Though now the weapons are called Shinobi since the names went blank and asked to have a new name." Naruto says. "Can you do it with other guns?" Roland asks. "We would need more parts. And time. It took a while just for the shotgun." Mordecai says. "So then, you guys haven't tested it out, have you?" Lilith asks. "I did the shotgun, but I need one more level to use the Clipper." Mordecai says. "It is deadly. Dug a hole deep into rock after a few shots." Naruto says. "Guess we would have to keep some guns with us. Though only the ones that have useful parts." Tayuya says. "Yep. But let's go. We have some missions to do." Roland says.

The rest agree before leaving the town. They head back to the Catch-A-Ride station before downloading two runners. "Let's head to the Hills first before the other two missions." Lilith suggests. "Alright." Roland says before they leave on the runners. They make it quickly with no trouble before entering the Hills. "Wonder if there will be stronger enemies this time around." Naruto wonders as they walk.

They get to the first part, where all the skag dens are at. "Hey Brick, want to shoot this thing?" Naruto asks as he hands Brick the shotgun. Brick takes it and holds it, getting a feel for it before he aims at one of the skags and fires. He grunts from the recoil, though is impressed at how the skag he aimed for explodes. He is surprised nearby skags get damaged. "Yeah, the pellets spread out after hitting a target. One of many perks added." Mordecai says. Brick just laughs. "Oh, this gun is great. Now I need one." He says before handing it back to Naruto. "We need to find a Jakobs first." He says, before the group goes and kills the rest of the pack of skags, grabbing any item dropped. They head to where the bandits are, where Mordecai and Tayuya snipe the two bandits at the top.

The group deals with the rest, including a badass psycho. Though there isn't much in the level difference between these new bandits and the previous ones. They go to the next shack and do the same, though more midget psychos appear than before. They then take down the rakks, getting some items from the biggest rakk in the group. "So, the parts or the skags?" Tayuya asks. "It wouldn't make that much of a difference. But, it might be best to do the skags together. We could get out numbered." Naruto says. The rest agree as they head to where Moe and Marley are located. They take out the small pack under the rock bridge before going above it. Only to encounter a badass fire skag. "Oh boy." Lilith says before they unload on it. It alerts more skags as the badass goes after them. They surround them however as they keep firing before they all drop dead.

"Damn, those badass can take a lot of damage." Roland says. "At least the level was lower." Mordecai says. "Just wish it dropped something." Tayuya says before they move on. Naruto looks towards the bridge and sees more skags, along with another set of rakk. Though the group ignores it. But he, Tayuya, and Mordecai take aim at a different pack of skags and fire on them. The skags become frantic as each one keeps dying. Brick gets bored however and goes down there to punch and shoot up close. The rest sigh before Tayuya spots a badass and a few alphas. "He will need help." She says before they rest go to him. Brick struggles a bit with the skags after becoming surrounded, though after a lot of ammo being wasted on the skags, they all die.

"Shesh, Brick. You really gotta stop going off alone." Mordecai says. "Hey, it was fun." Brick retaliates. The rest sigh as Naruto and Tayuya check on the items dropped. "A few guns and grenade mods. Some shields. Good for parts." Naruto says. They store them before the group goes after their objectives. They head higher up before finding Moe and Marley, along with a pack of skags. Before anyone can say anything, Brick charges in. "There goes any planning." Roland says before the rest move around and fire at the pack. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"Naruto calls out as a group of twenty Narutos with different guns unleash hell upon the skags. The regular ones go down first before the adults and elders. Though thanks to Brick, the alphas focus on him and expose their backs, causing them to die faster than normal.

Brick fights Moe, a large Alpha skag that is on fire and can use fire attacks. He gets knocked back when Moe does a shockwave attack, but it only makes him vulnerable when the rest of the group fires at the belly. It takes multiple shots and a few more times for Moe to do the shockwave attack, but the skag goes down, unleashing tons of items. Now the group focuses on Marley, who is a bit away from then while it does medium range attacks. Brick tries to get close, but it keeps running from him. The rest of the group try to keep it in a general area, mainly where Moe died. Brick has enough as, after Marley gets cornered, he tackles it and beats upon it to death.

The group pants as Brick stands. "That was tough." He says. "They were smart though. One being the heavy hitter while the other hit from a distance. Guess these creatures aren't as stupid as they appear." Mordecai says. "Though shesh, Brick, you could have done that a little differently" Lilith says. "Hey, that's my style." Brick says with a laugh. The clones disappear as Naruto and Tayuya check over the items that went everywhere. "Few sniper rifles and a fire proof shield. I expected more." Tayuya says before they store things away. "Weak stuff too." Naruto mentions. The group gets together. "That's one mission done." Lilith says. "Yeah, though I saw an odd camp nearby." Roland says. "Might find some things." Mordecai says. "Or enemies." Brick mentions as he slams his fists.

The group heads towards it. "So, Brick, how do you want to do this?" Roland asks. "You should know my choice in that." Brick says. "The camp doesn't look that big. Though it seems we might not have to do much." Naruto says as the group watches an alpha skag enter the camp with a few smaller skags and attack the bandits. "It's gonna get messy." Mordecai says. "Well, me, Naruto, and Mordecai can snipe while you three go in." Tayuya says. The rest nod as the three go take point while the rest go to the camp. And a shootout begins anew. Though the three sniping get surprised when a few skags appear. They fire at them and quickly take them down. Though are surprised and confused when a badass psycho just comes running at them from one of the camps. "What the hell…?" Naruto mutters before the three kill him, the main four leveling up.

At the camp, the bandits are dead while the three deal with the skags. It isn't until a few sniper rounds put down the skags that ends the small firefight. The six get together again at the camp before looking around. All they find is a cache and a few items dropped from the enemies. They open the cache. "Just an incendiary rifle and a smg." Lilith says. Roland takes the rifle while Lilith stores the smg. "Now to find the pieces." Naruto says before the group heads to the large camp.

After taking care of the bandit perched near the entrance, the group enters the camp before bandits come running at them. They begin shooting as they take care of the ones near them. Mordecai and Tayuya snipe the ones that are distant. The group moves forward as they head for the left side. Near where the path heads up, Naruto spots the first piece of the rifle; the sight under an old mattress. They head to the top, where a few more bandits are before the group kills them off. Naruto leads them to where the stock is at, on top of a shack near a toilet. "Why is there a toilet here?" Lilith asks. "Best to leave that question unanswered." Tayuya says before Naruto leads them to where the barrel is, which is on a nearby table.

"These are the ones I found before. Not sure where the last piece is." Naruto says. "Hmm, well we have the stock, sight, and barrel. We need the body of the rifle." Mordecai says. The group splits to find it. It takes a bit before Tayuya finds it. "Here it is." She calls out. The group gets together before checking the part. "That's the body alright. Let's go turn this in." Mordecai says. The rest nod before they leave the camp then head back to the entrance to the Hills.

After leaving the Hills and entering the Badlands again, they head for the cave. Downloading the runners and getting into them, the ride is short, though they run over a few skags that went after them while Lilith and Brick shot at them. They stop near the exit. "Wonder what we will find in here…" Tayuya says before they exit their vehicles and enter the cave. The group looks around before spotting some venders. "Hey look, a Bladeflower." Tayuya says, pointing to one on the left. "Guess they grow in here too." Mordecai says.

The group walks forward before spotting a new creature. "What the hell is that?" Brick asks. "Larva crab worm? That just sounds odd." Naruto says. "And they aren't friendly judging by how they are red on our crosshairs." Roland says. Lilith aims the smg in her hands and fires at one. The creature screams a bit as it is set on fire, however it goes underground. "That isn't good." She says. "We have to kill them quickly." Naruto says. More worms appear before the one Lilith shot comes up to the surface again. The group keeps firing before all drop dead, Naruto and Tayuya leveling up. "Shotguns work the best. And now I can use the Shinobi Terrible Shotgun." Naruto says as he equips it. "Just watch out for the recoil." Brick mentions.

The group heads deeper into the cave, before spotting a blue crystal that sparks every minute. "How are we gonna get a crystal?" Tayuya asks. Naruto goes up to it and shoots it with the shotgun. He holds on from the recoil as the crystal explodes into smaller ones. "That worked. Though damn the recoil." Naruto says before he grabs the five crystals pieces. "We need fifty, right?" He asks. "Yep. Let's keep going." Roland says. The group heads up a path before coming face to face with a pack of alpha skags. "Ah shit." Tayuya says before the skags attack. Thanks to the cave not being large, the group can't surround the pact, especially when there is a large number.

Naruto and Tayuya use chakra to stick to the walls, though Naruto finds it difficult thanks to the slippery surface. Even Tayuya has a hard time, but copes better. Using the higher angle, they fire down upon the pact. Though they are surprised to see an alpha die after Naruto shoots it only twice with the shotgun. "Damn. I'm loving this the more and more I use it." He says with some anime tears. Thanks to that advantage, the alphas slowly die off, until more appear. Though in vain, after Naruto fires upon them also while Tayuya gets their weak spots from behind and shocks a few to death. It takes some minutes, but the alphas drop dead. The preteens drop from the walls, though Naruto rubs his right arm. "Yeah, using that gun a lot can take a toll." He says before storing it and bring out another. "Best to use that on certain enemies." Tayuya says. Naruto nods.

The group goes to the nearby large crystal and shoots it then grabs the pieces. They leave that spot before going deeper into the cave, encountering more worms. They take them out before grabbing the items. "Hey just wondering, what is this ammo for? We haven't even used it once with anything." Naruto asks as he holds up rocket ammo. "Ah, that. That is for a rocket launcher. Odd, we haven't found one yet." Brick says. "Rocket launcher?" Tayuya asks. "Think of it as a weapon that can launch grenades, only more powerful than the grenades we can throw." Mordecai says. "Pretty much." Brick says. "He does have a point. We haven't found one yet. It is strange. Granted, at least no enemy has used one yet." Lilith says. "Maybe we can find one later." Roland says. "I call dibs on the first one." Brick says. "Of course, Brick." Mordecai says.

The group gets to two more crystals before some skags appear, along with a badass. It comes in and does a shockwave attack. The group jumps back before firing at the thing. The other skags die, but the badass goes after Roland. However, Brick comes in and tackles it, sending it to a wall. It becomes disoriented as everyone fires bullets at it. It dies as a few items go flying. Brick catches the shotgun that came out. "Explosive type. Sweet." He equips it. Mordecai whistles however when he picks up another item that came from the badass. "Well damn, an Elemental Artifact." He says. "Artifact?" Tayuya asks. "Basically, like a mod, I can equip Bloodwing to use an element when he attacks. In this case, explosive." He says before equipping the artifact. Bloodwing screeches as it glows a soft yellow. "Cool." The preteens say before the group moves on.

They spot a corrosive badass skag, though they don't attack when they see an open area to their left. They go up and encounter another skag den with plenty of skags. Using the same tactic as before, Naruto and Tayuya stick to the walls and fire down onto the skags while Mordecai gets on the center rock. Lilith hangs back as she fires using her smg and siren powers while Roland and Brick fight up close, with Brick using his fists as always. Bullets fly as casings drop before every skag that appears drops dead. The group sighs as the preteens come down. "That never gets easier. And we have another badass to deal with. And Brick, I'm not sure going up close and personal would be a good idea." Naruto says.

Brick shrugs before Lilith opens the cache near her. "An assault rifle and smg. It feels like we should have gone here earlier. The weapons have been a little low level so far." She says as she stores both weapons. The group gathers everything they can before getting more pieces of crystals. "Half way there." Naruto says before the group moves on. "Time to deal with this badass." Mordecai says before they spot it near an entrance to a mine.

Tayuya spots a better vantage point and heads to it with Naruto following. They both see a cache before everyone gets on point. They fire at the skag, which roars. Mordecai takes the opportunity to fire at its mouth with the purple revolver. Almost all of its health goes down. A second shot from Naruto kills it. "Well, that was simple." Brick says before they kill the rest of the skags that appear. "Nothing good though." Lilith says. The preteens open the cache.

"Two shotguns. Though, why does this one have a large number under attack?" Naruto asks. "What you mean?" Tayuya asks. Naruto brings out the Shinobi shotgun. "See, this one has a smaller number, but with a multiplier. This one doesn't." He says. The rest of the group comes up before Mordecai looks at it. "That is because this shotgun shoots a single large round instead of smaller pellets." He says. The preteens think about it, though Naruto equips that shotgun and stores the assault rifle he has. Tayuya stores the other shotgun away.

The group heads towards the entrance to what appears to be a mine. They shoot at the crystal there and gather the pieces. "Holy shit, that thing shoots rockets." Brick says as Naruto looks over the shotgun. "Maybe we should combine this to the other one. Have it shoot a bigger round before it explodes into pellets when it impacts something." He says. "Worth a shot." Mordecai says. The group keeps walking and hear another Claptrap crying and moaning. "Huh, wonder if we will get another deck upgrade." Lilith says. They spot the Claptrap, but also spot bandits, that spot them back. A few bruisers come out as both ends start firing. A bandit blows up after a shot from Naruto hits him directly on the chest. More explosions occur as some grenades are thrown.

Psychos die when they run up to Brick, who punches them to a wall. The bruisers finally go down before the firefight ends. They grab a few items that dropped. "A stronger grenade mod." Mordecai says. "A decent scoped repeater." Lilith says. Tayuya and Naruto check the cache. "Lots of revolvers. Two shocks and two regulars." She says. The items are stored away, though Mordecai grabs the powerful Lightning Revolver. They go and check Claptrap. "Hmm, where can we find a kit?" Roland says. "Best to look around. Could be deeper in." Mordecai says. Though the group goes and checks the direction a cart is at.

They head up into the cavern when they spot an ammo cache then a weapons cache. They stock up on ammo before checking out the other cache. "Well damn, a fire sniper rifle." Mordecai says before he grabs it. Naruto grabs the other, but stores it. They find nothing else before heading back the other direction. They head deeper into the cavern, getting another batch of pieces before finding another den. And a badass shock skag. Though all are surprised at the speed it has. Brick is blindsided by a tackle, though the rest fire upon it. It is set on fire while being hit with the rocket rounds and everything else, though it is unfazed as it attacks back. However, a pissed off Brick shoves the explosive shotgun in its mouth before blowing the skag up. "That's one way to kill a skag." Naruto says before they kill the straggler skags.

"You alright?" Mordecai asks. "I'm fine. That was just annoying." Brick says, irritated. Though they level up. They continue before grabbing the last five pieces they need. "Well, that's it for this mission. Though we still need to find that repair kit." Lilith says. The group keeps going, following another rail mine line before spotting more bandits. Brick, still being slightly angry, runs at them and kills two quickly, though is slightly overwhelmed by a few burning psychos. Though they get taken down quickly before two bruisers appear and fire at them. Brick throws two sticky grenades at them. Both stick and explode, though the bruisers stay standing. Two shots to their heads bring them down. They go further down the cavern before encountering more bandits. More bullets are exchanged as the group takes cover thanks to the cramped quarters.

The bandits and psychos scream and yell before each die horribly. The group pants and grunts as they check the carnage. "There are way too many bandits in here." Lilith says. Naruto looks around before finding the kit. "Found it." He says before grabbing it. The group heads back to the Claptrap, just to be attacked by more bandits. Most die quickly while a badass psycho is giving Roland issues. He drops the turret as it fires upon the psycho while the rest shoot at him. He goes down quickly with Naruto and Tayuya leveling up. "How the hell did more appear?" Roland asks. "That was out of the ordinary…" Lilith says before Roland checks the Claptrap. After he is fixed, he does the same as the previous one, though it doesn't lead them to a secret stash. It just begins dancing.

"Another deck upgrade. Though, should we go further in?" Naruto asks. "Might find some things. Still need a Jakobs shotgun and a rocket launcher." Brick says. After grabbing a few items on the ground and changing equipment, the group heads back to where they found the repair kit. They go across the make shift bridge before seeing a large open section, and two alpha skags. "Just two?" Naruto asks. "There will be more. Best to start this now." Mordecai says before they get ready. Brick starts it by shooting at the two. Both roar, causing one to die from a critical hit from Mordecai while the other gets covered in bullets. As soon as it dies, another pair show up. "It's gonna be like this, huh?" Lilith speaks before they keep going.

After six more pair of alpha skags, the group checks out the caches. In one are two shotguns, with one having a large barrel and a melee weapon attached. "This would help in customizing." Mordecai says as the guns are stored. They open the other cache, only to find a single repeater. "Did we get punked?" Lilith asks. "Just an explosive repeater?" Roland asks. "Can't do much about this." Naruto says before Lilith stores it away. The group heads back to the exit, killing any enemy that appeared during their walk back, the four leveling up again. After selling any item they won't use anymore at the venders, the group leaves the cave.

"Let's check out this fighting arena." Roland says before the six get in the runners and head to the location. They stop near a skeleton on the side of the road where large metal walls are dug into the rock, across where the tower is. Though the group has to deal with some skags first. They enter inside the opening where they see the large cavern the walls are hiding. "Impressive." Lilith says before the group walks across the bridge. They see a shack, where the diamond has it marked, and come face to face with the person running the show.

"Ah, fresh meat. "Name's Rade Zayben. Here's how it works. You survive, you get paid. Simple as that." Rade says. As the group is talking with him, Naruto checks out the venders. He looks through the weapons before spotting something new. "What the-? Hey guys, come check this out." He says. The group walks to him before seeing the selection. "Finally! A rocket launcher." Brick says before buying it. He checks it out. "Shesh Brick, you could have asked." Lilith says. "We do need one though." Mordecai says. "And it wasn't too expensive. Plus, I want to see this thing fire." Naruto says. Lilith sighs. "Fine, whatever. Anything else?" She asks. "A sniper rifle and revolver, though both aren't cheap." Mordecai says. "Well if we win these rounds, we would have more money." Tayuya says. "True." Lilith agrees. "I want to go alone and test this baby out." Brick says.

The rest shrug before they go to Rade again. "So, you guys ready?" He asks. "Actually, Brick here wants to do it alone first." Roland says. Rade shrugs. "If that's what you want. Just put on a good show." He says. Brick chuckles as he readies the launcher. Rade just shakes his head with a chuckle. Brick heads towards the arena while the rest go to the stands. The door behind Brick closes as an alarm rings out. Soon, skags come from everywhere, starting with pups and whelps. Brick just aims and fires as the launcher burst fires three rockets, killing all of the skags. "Damn, burst fire. You can run out of ammo quick though." Mordecai says. Brick just laughs as he reloads and fires at more coming for him. Explosions rock the arena before an alpha skags comes out. Brick hits it with three rockets, though it isn't enough for the skag. Brick dodges as the skag runs to him as he reloads. Before the skag can turn around, it explodes as three more rockets hit him. The alarm sounds as the main door opens again and the rest close.

The group heads back to Rade. "That was destructive." Naruto says before they stand in front of Rade. "Using a rocket doesn't take too much skill. Though the crowd loved it nonetheless. Here's your cut." He hands Brick some money and a shield while the group gets experience points. "Want another round? Let me know." Rade says. "I'll go for a round." Naruto says as he equips his Shinobi shotgun. Rade raises an eyebrow, but shrugs. "Your funeral, kid." "I'll join him." Mordecai says. "Alright, but round two is nothing to joke about. I do have to up the ante." Rade says before the group heads back, Naruto and Mordecai entering the arena.

The alarm rings as the gate closes before the others open. More skags appear before Naruto and Mordecai begin firing. The weakest ones drop quickly before an alpha shows up. Two shots from Naruto however and it goes down as the head just explodes. Mordecai unleashes Bloodwing as he attacks another alpha skag that appears. Most of the health drops before Mordecai shoots it when it opens its mouth, killing it. The final alpha goes down quickly as Naruto and Mordecai fire upon it, Mordecai from behind. The alarm rings as the hatches and gates close before the main one opens. The two head back towards Rade as does the rest of the group.

"Shesh kid, where the fuck you find that shotgun?" Rade asks. "Boss." Mordecai says. Rade nods slowly. "Though you both finished quickly. And since I'm talking to you, here." Rade hands them more cash and two grenade mods. Everyone gets XP. "Next round?" He asks. "Want to do it together, Lilith?" Tayuya asks. "Why not?" Lilith says. Rade nods. "No one lasted three rounds before. Just don't become skag food since you smell like skag food." He says. The girls nod before they head back to the arena.

They enter as the gate closes before the alarm goes off. It starts like the other rounds. The girls kill the weaker skags before a few more alarms sound, followed by more skags. "Oh boy." Lilith says as she and Tayuya fire upon the skags before Alphas appear. Three at first. "That launcher looks so good right about now." Tayuya says as she fires at the alphas. One is stupid enough to open its mouth. It dies after two shots. The other two charge at them. "Of course." Lilith says as she grabs one with her siren powers. Tayuya dodges the other as she fires at the one caught. Some shots take it down before they focus on the last. However more skags appear, including two more alphas. "Son of a bitch!" Tayuya grumbles.

The guys just watch as the girls fight for their lives. "Can't we jump in there?" Naruto asks. "Once it starts, no one else can join!" One of the spectators say. "Great." Roland says. The smaller skags are already dead along with the alpha from before. The other two go after Tayuya. "Oh, come on!" She growls out as she shushins to a different spot and aims with the sniper rifle. The alphas crash at a wall before Lilith grabs one. Tayuya aims from that and fires multiple times, shocking the skag before it dies. The final alpha recovers and goes after Lilith, who dodges an attack. She takes out an smg and fires at the back of it. Most of the health goes down before it turns around and charges at her. Though drops when Tayuya shoots it twice at the back. The alarm rings out as the other entrances close and the main one opens. They pant. "That was too much." Lilith says. "Yeah…" Tayuya agrees before they meet up with the group.

"You two alright?" Roland asks. "Never better" Tayuya says before the girls straighten up. They head back to Rade. "How the hell you survive that? You know what, never mind. Take your winnings and go. The crowd looking for someone to die, not be a hero." He says as he hands them money and two revolvers. Naruto and Tayuya level up however. The group heads to the venders. "Wonder if there is anything new." Tayuya says. "Nothing good." Naruto says, though they sell a few things. The group heads back.

"It would be best to head to Fyrestone." Roland says before they get in their runners and drive off. They make it to Fyrestone, where they see Claptrap dancing. They check the board and turn in the crystals. "These crystals are perfect! Here is the artifact I promised. Enjoy your new ability!" The person says before an artifact appears. Though just for Brick as he equips it before his hands and arms hum in electricity. "Alright!" He says. They turn in the parts before the rifle is assembled to form a Cobalt incendiary sniper. Though weaker than what Mordecai has. Naruto takes it however. They turn in the final mission.

"The rumors were true!? Outstanding! By accepting this payment, you agree that I get to take all credit for killing these monsters. The ladies at Sanctuary will be so impressed!" A male voice says before an artifact appears. "Wow. Some people are desperate." Tayuya says. Roland equips the artifact as his turret gains a fire element. "Now what?" Brick asks. "We do have to deal with Sledge." Naruto brings up. The group nods before going back to the runners then heading towards the mine.

XXXX

The group makes it to the entrance with no trouble. They checked the nearby caches and lockers, where Roland gains a mod to hold more ammo and a few other things. Angel talks with the four as Naruto and Tayuya check the gate. "Is this the scanner?" Naruto wonders before Roland walks up and takes out the thumbs. He puts one on the scanner before the door opens, an alarm going off. "Great. There goes the quiet route." Mordecai says. Claptrap makes himself know, telling them there are more missions in Firestone and from Shep. "Seriously? After we were just there?" Tayuya says. "What do we do?" Lilith asks. Roland sighs. "Let's check to see if there is a mission in here. I really don't feel like returning twice." He says.

XXXX

After checking the missions, which irritated everyone since neither dealt with the mine and one being to get the final piece from the tower for a combat rifle, the group is back at the mine. Though the four leveled up and Roland gained a new fire rifle, so they couldn't complain too much. They were surprised to see the cache in the tower refitted again, though with three shields that were too high leveled and another mod for Lilith, though she stored it away.

"This place looks cramped." Tayuya points out. "Meaning no good sniping points." Mordecai says. However, they are interrupted when a bandit spots them, alerting the others. The group gets to cover, though Brick just uses the launcher against the few bandits that are seen, blowing them to bits. Loot goes everywhere before two badass psychos appear. Brick hits them with the launcher after a reload, though doesn't kill them. It takes the rest to put them down. They gather the items before Naruto spots someone shooting at them for a distance and on some rafters, though he sweatdrops when he sees that the bandit is using a shotgun. "Wow, that dude is stupid." He says before sniping him.

The group looks around, checking for loot and other things. Roland and Brick find a cache, though with three repeaters and one revolver. They store them away. Lilith finds an smg and stores that. Naruto grabs the shotgun the bandit dropped and stores it. The group gets together. "Seems like we can't sneak around. Not with barely any space." Roland says. "True. Though I did spot a way around, near where that bandit Naruto sniped." Mordecai says. "Split up?" Tayuya asks. The rest nod as Naruto, Tayuya, and Brick go together, taking the top route while the rest take to bottom route.

At the top, the three spot a bruiser and a bandit before they begin firing. Both go down before a third appears, though dies quickly after Tayuya shoots him in the head. "Hey, there is something over there." She says before they hear more gunfire, though not aimed at them. After Tayuya checks the cache, which has two shotguns, one being an incendiary, she checks what is happening. She spots the three being pinned down by a large mounted chain gun at a distance. They deal with whatever psycho heads for them.

"Shit." Tayuya says before heading back to the guys. "Hey, keep going. The others are pinned. I'm gonna try to snipe from here." Tayuya says. Naruto and Brick nods before they continue. Tayuya goes back to the spot and starts snipping, though has to duck when the gunner spots her. Naruto and Brick enter a room and check the lockers, grabbing a few things before Brick spots a cache and opens it. Inside are two assault rifles, though he stores them both. Before they can move on, two bandits appear. Both shoot at them, taking them down before they duck as the gunner shoots at them, though goes back and forth between the six. Brick gets irritated and launches rockets at the gunner, killing him, but not destroying the chain gun.

"Well, that was easy." Naruto says before they duck from more gunfire, though those bandits die when Roland, Lilith, and Mordecai get to them. The six get together. "Well, that was stupid." Lilith says. "High road was the better route." Roland says. "Can't always know. Find anything?" Tayuya says. "A few things, but we didn't check much." Mordecai says. "I found two shotguns." Tayuya says. "I found two assault rifles." Brick says. Roland checks them. "Kinda weak. Store them for now, I guess." He says before the group checks the site. Naruto and Mordecai enter a building and find a cache. They open it and find a shotgun and an smg. "Not much here." Naruto says, though they check the lockers. The girls check near where the chain gun is before they are caught off guard as a few more bandits come out. They go down quickly however. "They waited, huh?" Tayuya wonders as the guys head to them.

"More bandits?" Naruto asks. "Yeah. Not as dumb as they look." Lilith says. "Let's keep going." Roland says as the group heads up. They check the chain gun. "Wonder how they made this…" Brick says. "Would be cool to take it." Tayuya says. "Hey wait, we can. You can seal, right Tayuya?" Naruto asks as he brings out a scroll. Tayuya nods as she takes the scroll and opens it before she goes and seals the chain gun. "How the hell you do that?" Lilith asks. "In our world, we can seal things using chakra and seals. Though we are kinda limited right now. Wish we could get more ink and paper…" Tayuya says. The four adults nod before they continue.

They walk up the stairs before seeing a sign, pointing right. They look left. "Wonder what is that way." Naruto says before the group checks it out. They see a bandit, though kill him off before he can spot them. However, two more bandits appear, one being a bruiser. The group kills them quickly before looking around. Brick and Roland head to a building on the right, finding a cache and lockers. They open it to find four revolvers, two being elemental. They store them however and check the lockers.

Meanwhile, the rest check out a detonator. "What is that?" Tayuya asks. "That is a detonator. And it seems to be connected to that pipe. Why, I don't know." Mordecai says. "You don't think we have to do a mission here later?" Lilith asks "Probably. But, let's check out that cache over there." Naruto points out. The four head towards it, going through a building and walking on the tracks before opening it. "Just two sniper rifles. Kinda lame." Tayuya says. They store them away before meeting Roland and Brick. They exchange weapons before moving on.

"Hey, isn't that a shock crystal?" Naruto asks as he points to a cluster near the entrance to a mine "Maybe, but it isn't sparking." Mordecai says. They get ready however when three bandits appear, though go down after some shots. They keep going before coming out of the mine. "This place really has been abandoned for years, well except the bandits that are living here." Lilith says before they spot a psycho after rounding a corner. Tayuya takes him out with a sniper round, but it alerts the rest, including two badass psychos. Thanks to the guns the group have, along with Brick punching one and shocking him, the bandits die quickly.

They make it near a gate before that opens. A burning psycho comes running at them, but is quickly taken down. Mordecai spots a few bandits and snipes one dead before bringing out Blooding while Naruto snipes another bandit. A third starts firing, but dies when Bloodwing hits him and explodes. The group goes through the gate before seeing the ramp on the right. "Hmm, split up again?" Roland asks. The rest nod as Roland, Naruto, and Tayuya head to the left while the rest head right. The three spot a bandit before Tayuya takes him out. "I'll check that building." She says before she goes up the stairs.

Roland and Naruto keep going before seeing tracks. They look over before seeing a few bandits. "Great." Naruto says before one dies, alerting the rest. "That's our cue." Roland says as he starts firing while Naruto snipes. He also sees Mordecai sniping on a rock while Lilith and Brick head to the camp also. More bandits appear, though each die quickly. The group gathers some loot before meeting up again at the bottom. "Let's continue." Roland says as they head towards their objective.

The group spots more bandits before another firefight begins. Roland throws down his turret before the bandits die brutally. They check the carnage before Roland picks up a machine gun with a large ammo capacity. Though they quickly duck when a few more bandits appear. A shotgun midget tries to get close to Brick, but he just kicks him and sends him to another bandit. A grenade is thrown near them before it explodes and kills them. A third bandit goes into hiding as he fires from cover. Though another grenade throw makes him jump out, but die when he gets shot down. Naruto grabs a grenade mod that was dropped, but stores it. The group checks the weapons cache they find. "Sniper rifle and a war rifle." Naruto says, though Mordecai grabs the sniper rifle and Roland the rifle.

The group doesn't bother looking around as they take an elevator up. "Let's get ready. We have no idea how powerful this dude is." Tayuya says before they make it to the top. They see two venders and check them out, seeing a mod for sale, but not worth it. They see a few items they don't need before moving on. They walk across the covered bridge before coming up to two doorways with signs saying, 'either or', pointing to both doors. "Guess it doesn't matter." Naruto says before the group enters. They see a lever before Roland uses it. A door lifts before the groups spots the boss.

"Now you die, bounty hunter!" Sledge says before slamming down his hammer. "Oh crap." Lilith says before the fight begins. The group splits as Bricks goes after the boss. However, he sees that is a bad idea when Sledge slams his hammer down and knocks him back. "Brick, be careful!" Mordecai says as he shoots at Sledge, though now the group has to deal with bandits that appear. "Of course, he has to have minions." Naruto says as he kills a few. Sledge's shield is taken out, but he still has a lot of health. "Aim at his helmet!" Roland calls out as he brings out his turret.

Lilith uses her powers, damaging Sledge, but not stopping him. "Shit, guess I need to be stronger." She says. A few badass psychos appear, making Tayuya and Naruto focus on them before Naruto clones himself. The bandits die off before everyone focuses on Sledge. He can't do much before he is overwhelmed and killed. Loot goes everywhere as Naruto and Tayuya level up. Everyone pants. "Now that was a boss!" Brick says. They check around and gather the loot dropped. Naruto picks up Sledge's shotgun. "Now this is badass. Hey Brick, you want this?" He asks. Brick walks up and checks it out. "Powerful as hell. And a Jakobs. Think we can modify it?" He asks. "We can try." Naruto says.

The group finds a few more loot, the only thing of worth being a machine pistol. "Can use this to upgrade the clipper more. Ah damn it, I forgot I can use it…" Naruto says before facepalming. "Use it later. Let's check this cache out." Roland says before the group opens the cache in front of a throne. Inside is a lot of money, along with the artifact. Angel makes herself known, including to Naruto and Tayuya. "I bet you would like to know what that is. The Vault is real. What you are holding is the key that opens it… One part of it, anyway." She says. "Who the fuck is that?" Tayuya asks. "Oh sorry, I forgot I never talked with you two before. My name is Angel. Though I can't speak much, but know that I am watching you and helping you." She says before the connection is cut.

"We don't know much about her either. She started talking to us right before we found you both." Roland says. "We can't trust her fully, however." Mordecai adds. The preteens nod. "Though, what about this vault she mentioned?" Naruto asks. "That is basically what we are looking for. Why we are here." Lilith says. "And it seems it is true, if we are to believe this Angel." Brick says. Naruto looks at the artifact. "This thing holds power. I can feel it." He says. The group looks at him. "Let's get out of here. I have a hunch something will happen." He says before storing the artifact.

The group exits the place before a new voice comes through. Roland groans. "This is Commander Steele of the Atlas Corporation Crimson Lance, D Company, Third Starborne Brigade. I've just been informed that you all have arrived on Pandora in search of the Vault, and within minutes, have started killing the locals and causing a disturbance. This planet is under the authority of the Atlas Corporation, and any Eridian artifacts found here are Atlas property; possession of such property carries a stiff penalty. I invite you all to turn yourselves in at once to the nearest Lance outpost and surrender any information or artifacts in your possessions. Consider this your one and only warning."

"And who the hell is this stuck up bitch?" Tayuya asks. "You seem like you know her." Lilith says to Roland. "I used to be in the Crimson Lance before I went AWOL. Let's say that group isn't the best place to be in." He says. The voice of Steele is heard again. "I thought I recognized you, Roland. So, this is where you have been this whole time." She says. However, the connection is cut. "Let's get out of here. We can deal with her later." Mordecai says. The group heads towards the entrance after jumping off a cliff. They go through some bandits before exiting the mine.

XXXX

After leaving the mine and heading towards Fyrestone, the group is back in front of Zed. "I'll drink to that! Busted up nine-toes and beat the hell outta Sledge? Y'all makin a name for yourselves in these parts! I already put into Pierce to give y'all clearance on through to the Dahl Headland. You all oughtta be able to reach New Haven, now. I still can hardly believe you managed to take down Sledge! Here is somethin' for your troubles." Zed says before giving them money and a few class mods. "Now, y'all oughtta go to New Haven and meet Helena Pierce. Just drive west to the gate and speak with the Claptrap there. He'll let you through. After that, talk with Ernest Whitting on the other side. He can help y'all out and bring you up to speed about the Headlands." He says.

"What will you do now?" Lilith asks. "I'll just stay here for the time being. Not really gonna leave Fyrestone by itself." Zed says. The group nods, though they decide to stay in for some hours to rest and upgrade a few weapons. The group gathers near a table outside of where they are resting and dump all of the weapons on the table. They choose which weapon to upgrade for themselves before picking out parts. Though Brick keeps the launcher since it is the only one they have at the moment. Mordecai, Naruto, and even Tayuya start taking apart the weapons while the preteens learn some more.

XXXX

After creating new weapons, testing them, and then resting, the group is ready to go. Roland has a machine gun rifle with a high capacity and the ability to set things on fire while being able to switch between burst fire and full auto. He also has a repeater that is similar, except it is non-elemental. Lilith has two smgs with a large magazine size, though she is able to quickly reload both. One has a shock element while the other has an explosive. She wonders when they will find a corrosive element gun. She has a third smg that is stronger in power that is non-elemental. Mordecai has a powerful, long-range sniper rifle with a large magazine drum capable of shock damage. He has a non-elemental one that fires faster, but is weaker with a slightly smaller drum. He also has two revolvers; one that deals explosive damage while working like a shotgun with a pellet spread. It also has a large knife at the front. The other is non-elemental, but deals single round damage and has a larger drum.

Brick still has the launcher, though Mordecai modified it to carry more rockets. On his back is the Sledge shotgun, heavily modified to hold more bullets, either to be used as a single fire or burst fire, and having a larger point to melee with. It is still non-elemental, however. Naruto still has the shotgun and the clipper from before, though slightly enhanced with more power and bullet capacity, along with having the rocket bullets with a pellet spread after impacting anything. He also has a sniper rifle that deals with explosive damage, but with it being capable of being burst fired from the hip. Tayuya has an smg similar to Lilith's smgs, though it deals with fire and can shoot faster. She has a repeater similar to the clipper, but it does shock damage. She has a sniper rifle that is similar to Mordecai's shock sniper, but it is non-elemental, though can be burst fired from the hip like Naruto's.

Their shields have also been upgraded. Their capacities have been enhanced, though not enough to cause a higher-level change. The health regeneration is unchanged, but each have the ability to use elemental damage. Naruto's, Tayuya's, and Mordecai's cause a blast when depleted, with Naruto's using explosive, Tayuya's using fire, and Mordecai's using shock. Roland's, Lilith's, and Brick's cause anyone who hits them to suffer damage. With Roland's being fire, Lilith's being shock, and Brick's being explosive. The grenade mods stayed the same, however.

"Good sleep, better weapons and shields. What should we do first?" Naruto asks. "Well, we did all available missions, so off to New Haven." Roland says. The rest nod before they head to the station to download some runners. They get in them and head to the destination. That is until Claptrap tells them of more missions at the bounty board. The group groans. "Damn it, Claptrap…" Lilith says before they head to the board. "Hmm, find Bruce McClane, remove skulls from the pikes at Titan's End, and use the detonator at Headstone Mine." Naruto reads each one. "That explains the detonator we saw before." Lilith says.

Three fuses digitize in front of them. "What are these?" Tayuya asks. "Fuses. They are used to connect detonators to multiple bombs." Brick says. Everyone looks at him. "I used to work as a demolitions man. Well, before an event happened. Rather not talk about it." He adds. Everyone nods before checking the map. "The missions in the Badlands are near the mine entrance and near where we have to go." Mordecai says. "Do we have to?" Brick asks.

Naruto reads more. "Well, one gives us a grenade mod, money, and XP. Another gives us money and XP, though not sure what this symbol means. Not sure what finding McClane gives us." He says. "Grenade mod could be handy…" Brick thinks. "Let's head to the ones in the Arid Badlands first before the one in the mine. I have a hunch more bandits might be there after us being asleep." Tayuya says. The rest nod before heading back to the runners. The head to where McClane was last.

XXXX

After some driving, and killing random skags and bandits, the group makes it to a shack. They find a path that goes underground and spot a body. Before they get close, two midget psychos come out from a hole in the wall, though die after two shots from Brick. They check the corpse before Roland picks up a journal next to it. "Huh, so Bruce here tried to scam bandits into buying bad cigars before being forced to use one, wanting to get enough money to leave Pandora with his fiancée." Roland reads. "That's stupid." Tayuya says. "Kinda sweet though." Lilith says. "Hmm, there might be more out there. I don't care about bandits dying, but if anyone else finds one, that would be bad." Mordecai says.

Brick and Naruto check the cache near them. "A shitty sniper and a decent shotgun. Good to sell, I guess. Odd there is a weapons vendor here…" Naruto says. They check it, but nothing catches their eye, though they sell things they don't need. "You know, we are already here at the mine…" Lilith says. "True…" Roland says. The group thinks about it before heading to the mine.

XXXX

After reclearing the place of new bandits, and everyone leveling up, the group is where the fuses need to be placed. "So, without these, the bombs can't go off?" Naruto asks. "Pretty much. Well, they still can, but in a different way." Brick says. The preteens nod before setting up the fuses. They head to the detonator. "So, we push this down and the bombs go off?" Tayuya asks. Brick nods before pushing the handle down. The pipe blows up via section. "That's it?" Lilith asks before the place they fought Sledge in goes sky high. "Never mind…" She says as they watch a smoke tower fall. "We didn't find much here, so let's head to the next job." Mordecai says before the group leaves, selling whatever they don't need.

XXXX

After leaving the mine, the six get into the vehicles and head to the next location, though they get a diamond for a nearby cigar box. "Huh, so there were more…" Roland says before they stop at an entrance near where the skull removal job is at. They exit their vehicles. "Well, there is the site for removing the skulls, but I want to check out these cigars." Naruto says. "Little young to smoke." Lilith says. "I'm not gonna smoke them, especially when people have already died from them. Plus, I don't smoke. Don't see the point." Naruto says.

The group heads off, going through a path that cuts through the canyon when they hear gun fire. They hide behind rocks as they see bandits shooting at skags. "And another group stupid enough to camp near skag dens." Tayuya says. Most enemies die before two bandits are left. Though both die after two headshots. The group checks the carnage and grab anything of worth. They check the cigars, but don't get too close. "I can tell from here those things should not be used…" Naruto says before doing a small water jutsu on both boxes there.

"Hmm, there should be a third…" Roland says before looking around. Tayuya checks a cliff. "Of course, it has to be up there." She says. "I'll get it." Naruto says before wall climbing and finding another camp. He does the jutsu again before grabbing the box. Then checks a cache up there, only to find a static repeater. "Really…?" He mutters before grabbing it then coming down. "Got the third box. And a repeater. Though only one from a large cache." He says. The group raise an eyebrow at that. "Bandits aren't exactly normal." Lilith says. "Oh well. Onto the skulls." Mordecai says before the group heads to the place.

They get near, though before they can plan, a bandit in a tower spots them and alerts the rest of the bandits in the place. "Well, there goes the surprise route." Mordecai says. Brick goes in, along with Roland. Naruto and Tayuya spot a ridge to snipe from and wall climb to it before taking spots, next to the arc they went under. Mordecai takes out the bandit in the tower and heads for it. Lilith backs up Roland and Brick. After a slight shoot out, the group searches the place. Though it takes them a bit longer to find the skulls.

After roughly twenty minutes, they find the ten skulls, along with two caches, though the only thing of worth is a sniper, even if it is low leveled. The group stands near the runners. "Well, that sucked. Time to turn these in." Lilith says before they head back. After the ride, they turn in the missions, getting money, XP, a Vicious Sniper, and an Incendiary Sticky grenade mod. "I still wish we could find a corrosive weapon…" Lilith says before the groups heads back to the runners and to their main objective.

The group heads off, driving along the road, when Marcus speaks after getting near the diamond on their radar. "So, you think the Vault is real, eh? Hmmm… everyone is talking about it. This is the biggest thing that's happening here in a long time. Think of the visitors we will have! Listen, if you find it, what's inside could be worth a fortune, but only if you get the right partner to help you sell it. So… partners?" Everyone thinks about his words. "Can we trust him? Actually, who is he?" Naruto asks. "I think he was our driver of the bus. And the owner of the gun and ammo venders." Roland says. "Correct. And yes, you can trust me. Come find me in New Haven and we can talk more." Marcus says as the group arrives at the large gate.

They spot the claptrap that will let them through and walk up to it. "Wow, a large group. Downloading and analyzing your DNA record… Human status confirmed! And bird. Access to the Dahl Headland is granted. Please stand by while I activate the gate for you." The robot says while scanning them then going to the gate controls. He hits some buttons before the gate opens. "You are now free to enter the Dahl Headland! Please enjoy your relaxing stay. Interesting fact! Based on your current stress patterns, I calculate a 94.3 percent chance that you will encounter an unfortunate death experience." The robot says with the last part almost ominously. Everyone looks at the Claptrap with an odd look, even Bloodwing tilts her head.

"Well, that was a random fact…" Tayuya says. "Anyway, Claptrap, anything to know about the Dahl Headlands?" Mordecai asks. "Oh, pretty much like the Badlands, except bigger and worse and deadlier. And lots of bandits and death. Ernest is after the first bend, going up an embankment and in a shack. Good luck!" The Claptrap answers. The group looks at one another before getting into the runners and heading into the Headlands, wondering what this part of Pandora has in store for them…

Over 14,000 words. Alright, it's going to be a long while before I continue this since my second PS3 is dead. And i don't know why. I don't know when I would be able to find another PS3 or fix my own, which would be cheaper. Puerto Rico is still messed up after Marie. Trying to find a job is difficult. Keeping my life stable is bad enough. Yeah... So to all reading, be patient. While I will focus on one story at a time, like I said in the top AN, this story is an exception. Though I wish there was a Vita version. Oh well...

Laters