Chapter One

I first learned of my generation of vault hunters at my dad's garage. Well, Scooter wasn't my biological dad, but he raised me and I like to call him my dad, even though he insists on Uncle Scooter. He feels it gets him bonus points with the ladies. Taking in a child who's not even his own. His words, not mine.

I walked through the door in the back that led to the upper level and froze when I heard him yell, "you'll never take me alive you robotic summbitches." I crouched against the far wall on the metal floor so no one downstairs could see me and tried to assess the situation. My heart was racing, and I knew Scooter was eccentric most of the time, but with Handsome Jack wanting to find and attack the headquarters of the Crimson Raiders, who knew what situations you could trust these days.

"Wait a minute…" Scooter's voice lowered and I had to move closer to the edge to hear what he had to say next, but his words were drowned out by my fascination at the two men facing him.

They were both tall, but one was built with broad shoulders, strong jawline, short cropped blonde hair, and piercing blue eyes. The other, who really intrigued me, was slender, covered in a skin tight impenetrable black suit that showed off his lithe muscles. He wore a dark helmet that hid his face quite well. There wasn't even an outline of a face that could be seen. I briefly wondered how he could even see out of such a dark screen.

When Scooter said "Vault Hunters"my attention snapped back to the conversation. He was telling them about his and Roland's plan to get Sanctuary off the ground. Roland, the Crimson Raiders' leader, and Lilith, his girlfriend, spent a lot of time and energy after their vault hunting days to make sanctuary and the Crimson Raiders top notch and hidden from Handsome Jack and Hyperion. They both haven't been around for quite some time and no one really talked about it, which made me crazy with worry. I practically worshipped them and made it a point to spend as much time at Marcus' gun range to practice so eventually I could be a Vault Hunter. But the only thing I lacked was the guts to actually leave sanctuary. I still dreamed, though.

I pursed my lips, stood up, and scrambled back against the wall when I noticed the slender man run up the stairs. He moved with predatory grace and his muscles constricted with every step he took.

Look, I was attracted to the guy, okay? Of course I noticed his thigh muscles. I'm a woman for crying out loud. And they made me feel some things that I'd never felt before in my 18 years of life. Like, a lot of heat in my chest and face, and the urge to run my hands all over his body. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the job Scooter had for me. I squared my shoulders when the man noticed me, nodded to him, and practically ran down the stairs to get away from the heat of the gaze I felt on me.

"Hey Uncle Scooter," I spoke softly while the two Vault Hunters searched for the fuel cells that were needed for the plan.

"Hey Lils," Scooter smiled widely, his round, grease stained face crinkling. "There's been a change uh plans." I loved his drawl. I picked up on it a bit, but it wasn't as thick as his.

"Why don't ya go see if Moxxie needs help at the bar?" He pulled the bill of my cap down over my eyes and I laughed. Moxxie was technically my grandma. She hated that, and insisted I called her Aunt Moxxie if I felt like I needed a more family-oriented name for her.

"Okay, just be careful." I rubbed a grease spot on his tan vest. "Remind me to wash our clothes later today." And with that I snuck out as Scooter continued to talk to the Vault Hunters about needing to get the last fuel cell from Earl. Earl was crazy. He ate my car with a fork and I've been pissed at him ever since. The car was a total lemon that I fixed up all on my own.

I walked over to Moxxie's bar, which was practically next door and when I arrived I saw two other people that I'd never seen before. A woman, and a man. The woman had the same markings as Lilith did, short blue hair, blue lipstick and a slender, tall build. The man was short. Probably my height with dark hair and tanned skin, and huge muscles. The woman had a serene, controlled look on her face, while the man openly scowled at everyone staring at them. If I had to guess, I'd assume they were Vault Hunters, as well.

They were leaning against the wall by the slot machines and I couldn't help but stare as I walked past over to Moxxie. The man bared his teeth at me, and I quickly looked away and quickened my pace.

"Hey, Mox," I slid behind the bar right next to her as she was making a few drinks. "Do you know what's going on with these new Vault Hunters?"

Moxxie looked up from her work and smirked at me, her usual greeting for those whom she loves. It's rare to see her smile. "They showed up to hunt a vault."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, thanks for that." I shook my head and grabbed my apron so I could start taking orders.

"Sugar, you know I'd tell you more, but Scooter doesn't want you involved. He wants you to have a life free from all that goes down with vault hunting," her violet eyes traced my heart shaped face. "You're the reason why he has thrown himself into helping Roland and Lilith. He wants Pandora to be a better place for you."

I smiled and tucked a strand of stray hair back into my cap before I realized I didn't need it. I went in the back in the makeshift locker room away from the food and drinks to shake my hair out after removing my hat. I decided to remove my overalls; I would be just fine running around in my leggings that I always wore under them. Besides, tight clothes got you great tips from the customers of the male persuasion especially. And from a woman or two, as well.

I took a look in the mirror to tame my long, dark hair and noticed bags under my dark brown eyes. I leaned in closer and bit my bottom lip, which was larger than my top lip, as I ran a finger across the bags. This whole Handsome Jack thing that Scooter was involved in worried me so much that the lack of sleep was starting to catch up with me. I pulled out concealer from Moxxie's bag I found in her cubby and did the best I could to cover them up. Satisfied, I continued to get ready.

As I tried to balance to remove my overalls the ground shook and I fell over into the wall where all the clothes were hanging and ripped most of them off the hooks. I cringed once I regained my balance and hoped that nothing ripped. I hung them all back up and checked myself in the mirror one last time. I adjusted my tank top to show only a hint of cleavage, and pulled the waist of my leggings to show a tiny bit of skin. Moxxie taught me that it's better to show only a little so that men and women would notice and work to get all of it. Sometimes I wondered how sound that advice is, but whatever, it was fun.

I made my way back to the bar, retying my apron, and noticed that the two vault hunters were gone. I frowned and my heart fell a bit, but I pushed the whole 'new vault hunters are in sanctuary' hype to the back of my mind until I could talk to Scooter about it later tonight. I found my groove in taking drink orders, making them, and delivering them to the customers when another new person walked into the bar. He didn't have any guns or shields attached to him, so obviously not a crimson raider or a Vault Hunter, but there was something menacing about him. I definitely wouldn't want to mess with him. He had dark hair and what looked like green eyes with a tall, slender build. His tank top and tight cargo pants showed off well-defined muscles and for the second time today I found myself entertaining unfriendly thoughts. I guess I was attracted to tall, slender and muscled men. The first crush I ever had was when I was twelve and the boy looked just like the two men I've noticed today. He moved away, though, and last I heard his mom took a job for Hyperion. Their family isn't welcome here anymore, for obvious reasons.

His strong jaw was set determinedly, and his eyes, hooded with dark lashes, swept across the room and landed on me for a few moments before I looked away, heat warming my face. Even with the embarrassment from being caught my stomach still clenched as heat pooled through my chest and my heart sped up. I busied myself with the drink I was currently making and tried to ignore him as he sat down at the bar. Moxxie would greet him since she was finishing up with another customer.

"Hey, Sugar, can I get you something?" Moxxie leaned on the bar and pushed her cleavage up. She did it with everyone just in case they wanted something more than just a drink, if you catch my drift.

"Beer, please," His tenor voice sent chills down my spine. Gods, I had to really regain control over myself. This was getting ridiculous. I was a pretty confident woman, but today I'd been a jumble of nerves around these intimidating men, and I was not happy with it.

I took a deep breath and looked up at him, trying to keep my expression neutral and my head held high, while I mixed the drink. He was holding the beer bottle with long, calloused fingers and was pursing his lips thoughtfully at the bottle.

"What's your story, honey?" Moxxie began a conversation with the newcomer.

"I followed the Vault Hunters here." He took a long swig of beer before continuing. "I'm a writer and I have a feeling about those four." He smiled at Moxxie and his whole face transformed. Before I could get a chance to really admire it he went back to staring at his bottle.

Moxxie didn't respond, which she was apt to do with uninterested customers and moved to others who were paying more attention. I began polishing glasses after delivering the drinks to the last customer for the time being, and watched the man from the corner of my eye. I wondered what kind of story he'd write. If he focused more on facts, or was more interested in the action and gory details.

The glass slipped out of my hands when I tried to maneuver it into another position and it thudded on the ground. I scrunched my eyebrows at the intact glass, briefly wondered what it was made of, and bent over to pick it up. When I righted myself I noticed the man staring at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged at him while laughing at myself and put the glass in the plastic box with the other dirty glasses.

"What's your name?" The man caught my attention with a signal for another beer.

"Lily," it took all I had to keep eye contact. I didn't want to allow myself to be intimidated because I was awesome and not weird, dammit.

"I'm Vince," he offered and I smiled while I popped the cap off the bottle and placed it in front of him.

"So what's your story, Vince?" I normally made it a point to never ask the customers about their lives. Mostly because I knew everyone anyway, and once you got them started, they wouldn't shut up.

"Grew up outside the Arid Badlands, sold armor I poached off of dead bandits, began writing when I turned twenty and started publishing books for a living. Now, five years later, I'm here writing about the next generation of Vault Hunters." He took a gulp of his drink.

"What kind of books have you published?" I began to wipe the counter down with a new cloth Moxxie grabbed and left up here before getting busy.

"Histories, but mostly I write fiction. The majority of sales I get are from hyperion workers, but I'm hoping eventually Pandora will begin to turn around enough so people can get an education. I'll write the history books for free if I have to. This place needs heroes, and I'm convinced it'll be those Vault Hunters who'll pave the way for the change Pandora needs." He took a handful of peanuts, threw them back, and chewed while studying me. His eyes wandered to my chest for a second before he whipped his head around to the slot machines, rubbed the back of his neck, and then looked back to my eyes. I focused on the counter, trying to hide my amusement. I bit my lips to keep from smiling too widely, then looked back at Vince.

"I think that sounds fantastic," I took the empty beer bottle from him, and opened another one for him. "I hope that for Pandora, as well, but I wish I could be a part of the change."

"What would you want to do?" He tapped the bottom of the bottle against the counter and pierced me with those green eyes.

I pressed my lips together tightly and didn't meet his gaze. "I want to be a vault hunter, but my da-, uh, uncle is very protective." I've stopped wiping the counter at this point. It was clean enough from my thorough attention to one spot.

Vince snorted on his beer and I narrowed my eyes at him while he painstakingly avoided my gaze. I crossed my arms across my chest, drawing his attention briefly and finally he looked at me. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because it's exciting. I've lived in Sanctuary for most of my life. I don't even remember living anywhere else, even though I was born in Oasis and somehow got out before the drought shit happened". I placed my hands on the counter and compared my roughened hands with his slender, calloused ones. I wondered what it would feel like for him to…. I shook my head and looked up at him.

"It can be exciting, I guess." He watched me thoughtfully. "However, the most important thing is how well you can shoot a gun." He raised his bottle at me before taking another drink.

"I practice at Marcus' shooting range everyday, and I always hit the target." I beamed proudly.

"Are they moving targets?" His question was like a shot to the gut. Of course it's different. Why would I think that it would be just as easy as target practice?

"Well, no." I stated simply, trying to hide my disappointment.

"You need more experience before you can go out and hunt a vault." He finished his beer and declined another one.

"You're right." I sighed, disappointed. Suddenly an idea began to form in my mind. The Vault Hunters seemed to be making Sanctuary their base and they weren't always going to be out. They would have to practice and train somehow. Why not convince them to let me join them? I could offer to fix up their cars when needed, so what could go wrong?