A/N: I feel like Zer0 has a really oddball sense of humor that I didn't capture as much as I would have liked in the story so far. Maybe at some point I'll go back and edit this properly.

Anywho, here's chapter 10!

Chapter 10

The stone walls of the abbey were a cold reminder of Maya's life before Pandora. There were no windows because the temple was built right into the mountain. This made the interior always seem dark and damp. The place felt like a prison even before Maya knew she actually was a prisoner, during the brief time one might call a childhood. An involuntary shiver went through her as her keepers led her through the dimly lit halls. The sound of the chains around her ankles bounced off the walls as she shuffled along.

The scientist she met on the flight back to Athenas was the one behind her collar. She discovered this when the monks informed her that she needed "maintenance" on the collar. Hope welled up in her. This could be the opening she was looking for.

The monks led her to a room that was more brightly lit than any of the others. Extra lamps and candles were on nearly every surface here and small generators hummed in the corners, fueling the various machines. Maya noted the surveillance equipment and the Hyperion logos on everything.

"Ah, good, you brought the siren," the small man said. His nasally voice immediately put Maya on edge. "Bring her here and keep her head down, I need to access the back of the device for this."

Despite Maya not really resisting, the monks used more force than necessary to get her into position. If this maintenance work caused the collar to go offline, even for a moment, Maya wanted to be prepared to act. This might be the only chance she got.

"Don't try to struggle now, it'll only make the process painful for you. And don't think about escaping, nothing will be offline while I work on this. I've delt with your type before. I'd rather crush your hope now than have you disappoint yourself later," he said in a nonchalant way. Maya's stomach dropped when she heard this. She tried reaching for her power anyway, in case he was bluffing, but there wasn't anything there. It was still locked away. So much for her chance.

"Eat skag shit," she said.

"What a charming young woman, your goddess is," the scientist said. The monk holding Maya's head forward applied a little more pressure, making her neck hurt.

It didn't take the man long to do whatever he was doing. A minute or two later he was wiping greasing hands on a towel and dismissing the monks. They pulled Maya to her feet again and started leading her out of the room.

A muffled boom sounded and it felt like a tremor went through the whole abbey. The monk exchanged concerned glances.

"Doctor, was that..." one of the monks started. The scientist interrupted him.

"I'm sure it's nothing but some seismic activity," he said, hurriedly. Maya didn't buy it for a second.

One of the monks decided to go check, just to make sure. The others continued escorting their goddess back to her room. She tried to question them the whole way, but they resorted to speaking to her like a child, just like they had always done. The monks were fantastic at giving vague responses.

Maya tried to tell herself everything was going to be fine. She'd figure out what to do and she'd be fine. Yeah. Definitely.

Maybe.

The first thing Zer0 noticed when he came to was the rough feeling of straw and stone on his bare skin. Someone had stripped him of his armor while he was unconscious.

He didn't try to move or open his eyes at first. Instead, he focused on his hearing. As the fog that comes with a concussion began to clear from his head, voices in the room became more noticeable.

"You did NOT tell us there was a bomb! What am I supposed to tell the other Brothers now? Do you have any idea how many we lost because of your 'plan?'" this voice was deep and hushed.

"Worry not, Brother Marter, everything is still going smoothly. You would have lost far more men if I hadn't stepped in," said the second, nasally voice. The first voice huffed with disapproval.

"What is the point in us being supplied such firearms if you deem them useless against the threat of a single intruder. We've never had a problem dealing with such rogues before you and your plans."

"This is not a rogue lying before you, Brother, it is a monster, and of a caliber your men are no match for," the nasally voice assured the other man. As an aside, he said, "A shame Jack didn't end him on Pandora. Either way, Jack's mistake is my glory."

"We are not working with you for "your glory," Doctor. We don't want people like this searching us out. Kill him now before anything else goes amiss."

Zer0 decided to take this moment to find out more about his situation. With a little concentration, he once again molded molecules around his form and slipped into the skill he'd labeled Decepti0n. People tended to assume his armor was the trick to allowing him to move around invisibly, with an illusion of himself left behind as a decoy. This theory wasn't true in the slightest.

An illusion of Zer0's seemingly unconscious form was left behind as he got up unnoticed. To his disappointment, he was trapped in a cage made of hammered iron. Without any of his gear, he'd need to wait for his captors to let him out in order to escape. He began considering his options when the smaller, nasally sounding "Doctor" started speaking again.

"Absolutely not, Brother. I couldn't possibly pass up such a wonderfully delicious opportunity like this one. Make the siren kill him. Do whatever you want with ceremony, I don't care about any of that. But think about it, it's a win-win! The assassin is dealt with and the siren's will is broken. Even you could appreciate something that simple," the doctor said, a sickly smile spreading across his pale face. The larger cloaked man considered the idea briefly, then silently agreed. The matter settled, the monk left the room and the doctor was alone with Zer0.

Zer0's ability wore off and the appearance of him suddenly standing in the corner of his cell made the doctor jump and clutch his chest. His beady eyes roamed nervously around the cell and Zer0's form, checking to make sure he was safe from the assassin's reach.

"Hear all that, did you?" he asked, his voice shaking a little. "Well don't get any funny ideas. I know why you're here - you're trying to rescue your friend. If you try to escape I'll personally put a bullet through her brain. I can do that too. I have complete control over the witch," he said, putting courage behind his words. What did he have to fear? The monster was neutralized.

"You should now be scared. / I don't die so easily, / And now I am pissed," Zer0 calmly stated, his eyes locked on the man's beady ones. He was well aware of how unnerved humans got meeting his gaze, and he utilized this in full. He may be locked behind bars, with no weapons and no way of escaping, but his presence filled every inch of the room.

The man wiped sweat from his brow and tried to make it sound like Zer0 didn't scare him. "Brave words from someone about to die. I'll make sure to get a picture of your dead body. I'm sure an image of the infamous Zer0 dead and broken would sell for a high price. Or maybe I'll keep it as a trophy."

"This does not end here / I have much further to go / Before I fall dead." A smile graced Zer0's features as he said this, but it never reached his eyes. The small man grimaced at how creepy it looked in the dim light.

"Yes, well, we'll see about that," the doctor said with a sniff. He left the room and made sure to lock the door. Dr. Meglia had heard much about the assassin vault hunter, and there was no way to tell the difference between rumor and fact. Except for one. Now the doctor knew the monster assassin wasn't some robotic AI like some people had guessed. Zer0 was a living being, and that meant he could be killed.