Here's to You

"What... what happened?"

"Ah... yes..."

"I remember now."

Knoxx pulled out a cigar and lit it from the nearest fire before grabbing his ECHO.

Amidst the crackling of flames and smoke, Knoxx lay on the ground, his armor broken and dented in several places. He held the ECHO device in a weak, trembling hand, looking as though he might drop it at any moment.

"This is... General Alphonso Knoxx of cough Atlas speaking..."

"It's over. They destroyed my... Devastator, and the *cough* *COUGH* self-destruct sequence has been activated." A single, lonely crystalline tear rolled down the bloody, dirty cheek of Knoxx's stoic, grim face. "The Crimson Armory will turn to dust in a matter of seconds, along with the Atlas general."

"I can't feel the lower... half of my body. No amount *cough* of Anshin's best Insta-Health Vials will save me... this time."

"My mission is finally coming to an end... after so long... it's been a displeasure, Mickey." Knoxx spoke the words drowsily, the ECHO slipping from his hands, though there was no one to close his dull, lifeless eyes. The device slid down his armor before hitting the ground.

Clink

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Aaaand cut, that was amazing. I almost shed a tear there," Maxwell said, wiping his eyes. It had been a good idea to have Knoxx reenact the final moments of Venom Snake. Maybe he'd ask Angel to edit it with sad music playing in the background?

Maxwell shook his head as he helped Knoxx to his feet. That would be too much for the people of Promethea they weren't ready for the pure suice of cinema. Still, he mentally noted that when he reached the endgame of life, it would be good to have some hobbies a couple of centuries from now.

"I can't believe my first mission under your wing would be acting," Knoxx complained, taking a handkerchief handed to him by one of the soldiers to wipe the grime off his face.

"All for the greater good of Promethea and Ouroboros. We're making history here. Besides, someone has to do the dirty work, don't you agree?"

"My Devastator is destroyed and uninsured, and it'd be a miracle if my back doesn't kill me before the Vault Hunters do." Knoxx tossed the now crimson-stained handkerchief away. "But your wife had to put a ton of makeup on my face. My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined."

"Don't start acting like a bitch now. It's not like you were ready to die just a few minutes ago. Now, say your final goodbyes to the Crimson Armory. Once the news spreads, I wouldn't be surprised if every corporation sends recon teams to check the place out."

"Oi! Get up, we're getting out of here!" Maxwell shouted to the soldiers in the room. Painful groans were the only response. The Vault Hunters hadn't taken the fight as mere theater they had come to kill, without mercy.

The soldiers began to move slowly, helping each other up. The smell of smoke and burnt gunpowder filled the air, mixing with the metallic tang of spilled blood. The battle had been brutal.

Maxwell walked among them, closely observing the wounded. Some were merely scratched, others not so much. His eyes stopped on a soldier on the ground, leaning against a piece of twisted metal. His armor was covered in blood, and his left leg... was no longer there.

Beside him, another soldier was crouched, pressing a gauze firmly against the bloody bandage on the stump. He looked up at Maxwell as he approached.

"I've stopped the bleeding, sir. He's properly bandaged," the soldier said, his voice tired.

The wounded man forced a smile despite the obvious pain.

"I'm fine, boss. Everyone here knew the risks."

Maxwell was silent for a moment, just studying the soldier's expression. He knew that, no matter how much the man tried to hide it, he was in hell and still conscious.

"Name?" Maxwell asked.

"Elliot, sir," the soldier replied, a little embarrassed. "I guess I'll be out of action for a while."

Maxwell nodded, crouching beside him. Though technology in the Borderlands universe was advanced in many areas, losing a limb still had a significant impact. Prosthetics existed, but there was no way to grow a new one.

"You did a good job, Elliot," Maxwell said sincerely. Someone was fighting for his ideals. The weight of responsibility was heavy, and he wasn't playing some strategy game where casualties were just numbers. These were real people with dreams, families, and goals.

Maxwell then looked at the other soldier and gestured with his head.

"Help me lift him. Let's carry him to the Odyssey."

The soldier nodded and slung Elliot's arm over his shoulder. Maxwell did the same, holding the other side. Elliot clenched his teeth but didn't complain.

"Luckily, we've got some special prosthetics in stock. I just hope Tannis or Moxxi can install them without blowing something up," Maxwell commented, trying to lighten the mood.

Elliot let out a weak laugh. "Two beauties. I can't complain if I end up dying."

Maxwell laughed. "I think you're already getting better."

On the way, Maxwell was surprised by a system prompt.

[Quest:

(X) Earn Knoxx's loyalty

(X) Earn Athena's loyalty

( ) Purchase Atlas]

"Huh?"

Looking around, Maxwell saw Athena watching him from a distance. She quickly boarded the Odyssey, as if caught in the act, though her face remained as stoic as ever.

"Thank you, sir. We'll take it from here," A group of soldiers saluted Maxwell, taking Elliot and carrying him to the medical bay.

"Well, two down. Now I just need to focus on mining Eridium," Maxwell thought as he looked at the Crimson Armory in flames.

"Max, everyone's on board. What's our destination?" Angel asked, her soft voice easing the melancholic mood he was feeling.

"First, we'll head to the Vault to recover the remains of the Destroyer and give Steele and her squad a proper burial." Maxwell made his way to the command bridge. He needed to map out the areas where Eridium would emerge in larger quantities while censoring information about Eridium that Pandora's residents might post on the ECHOnet.

"But wasn't she an enemy? Why should we waste time burying them?"

"They were Atlas soldiers. I won't scatter they sorrow to the heartless winter." Maxwell said this as he passed through the once-empty corridors, now bustling with Knoxx's Prometheus division. "If there had been another way, I would have chosen to spare their lives. Unfortunately, Steele was too stubborn in her ideals she would have chosen death over betraying her military superiors."

"Angel..."

"What is it?"

"If I ever become corrupted in my ideals, would you still blindly follow me... or would you kill me?"

"..."

A silence settled in Maxwell's mind. He took an elevator, not rushing her for an answer. Arriving at the command bridge, Maxwell took his seat, lazily observing the feeds about anomalies in Pandora's subsurface.

"That's a difficult question. I've never killed anyone in my life," Angel finally replied after the long silence.

Maxwell's fingers froze mid-air upon hearing her answer.

"I knew I could count on you. Thank you," Maxwell smiled in relief. "I've got a cyberware in my head you'll know what to do."

"I... I understand, but you're bringing this up because of that thing, right? The Seer?"

"I was just a small pawn in the grand scheme of things, but now I'm becoming one of the most influential men in this galaxy." Maxwell's fingers tapped anxiously on the armrest. "That thing will try something with me. I can't comprehend why its motivations are so contradictory to the Eridians."

"Maybe the Eridians weren't as united as the texts make them seem. An entire race agreed to be sacrificed? Is there really a people so noble in this universe that they still need weapons?"

With his eyes closed, Maxwell rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. "So, you believe there were factions and groups among them. That's true, since we have information about a group that worshipped the Destroyer."

"Perhaps The Seer is a Guardian created by one of those factions. That raises even more sinister questions."

"Like what?"

"How much would it cost to keep an Eridian alive?"

As the two debated, the Odyssey took off, heading for the icy peaks of the Salt Flats as its next destination. Maxwell's sudden silence caused some concern among those closest to him, but his episodes of brooding often seemed like planning for the future. Sometimes it was good to be a simple Vault Hunter; Being a leader cost the present, for one eye now looked only to the past, and the other solely to the future.