Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so all spoilers were removed. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned
"I'm charging the Vault Key. (...) The Key naturally charges itself once every two hundred years. Jack is patient, but he's not that patient — he's been using my power to forcibly charge the Key with Eridium. If you find me, you find the Vault Key. The Vault Key is housed in my AI Control Core atop Thousand Cuts. It's protected by three impassable security hurdles. The first is a competitor deterrence field that will obliterate any non-Hyperion entity passing through it. (...) It is a field of pure thermosonic energy programmed to atomize any unauthorized personnel. (...) Beyond that lies the second hurdle: a defense bunker outfitted with the most high-tech weaponry Hyperion can afford. (...) Past the bunker, you'll have to get through the final hurdle: a door that will only open for Handsome Jack. (...) This will be your only opportunity to steal the Vault Key and stop Jack from controlling the Warrior. I'm out of time — do what you will, but promise me this: no matter what happens, do NOT allow Lilith into my chambers."
— Angel
After coming back to Sanctuary, the Vault Hunters, Roland and Lilith begin planning their next move on their way to take down Jack and Hyperion. They're then contacted by Angel. After an initial reluctance, no wonder due to the events of "Rising Action", both Roland and Lilith agree on listening to her.
Angel mentions that the Vault Key is in her power, and begins explaining the lore behind it. She also mentions that the key is on her room at Thousand Cuts, and also mentions three "impassable security hurdles": a "Competitor deterrence field" (effectively a death wall), a defense bunker outfitted with the most high-tech weaponry Hyperion can afford, and a door that will only open for Jack. After the briefing, Angel warns that Lilith, under no circumstance, should be allowed into Angel's room. Roland then sends you to Hyperion's Preserve.
Upon reaching the area, Roland informs you that Sanctuary's Claptrap requires a software update, so he sends you to rendezvous with Mordecai. You also learn that Mordecai's beloved pet, Bloodwing, was captured by Hyperion personnel in order to perform Slag experiments on her. So the plan now is to infiltrate the Preserve and save Bloodwing's life.
The mission takes place in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve area, which you access from north of The Highlands. If you have the Creature Slaughterdome DLC, you also unlock the Natural Selection Annex, where the Creature Slaughter chain takes place. In addition, these areas are home to the missions "Animal Rights" and "Doctor's Orders", as well as the following challenges:
- Wildlife Exploitation Preserve: "Siren's Song", "Mordy's Secret Stashes", "Cult of the Vault", "Bear Minimum" and "Ride Together, Die Together".
- Natural Selection Annex: "Cult of the Vault".
This mission, the related sidequests and challenges, and the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve and Natural Selection Annex areas provide examples of:
- All There in the Manual: Maya's first ECHO log for the "Siren's Song" challenge notes that she isn't affected by Eridium the same way Lilith is.
- Badass in Distress: The overall objective of the chapter is to ensue the safety of Bloodwing, Mordecai's beloved pet, who got captured by Hyperion personnel. It doesn't take.
- Barrier Change Boss: Slagged Bloodwing shifts between slag, fire, shock, and corrosion modes, and like other enemies it becomes resistant to whatever element it is at the time.
- Berserk Button: Mordecai destroys quite a few badass robots almost entirely on his own shortly after Jack kills Bloodwing.
- Big "NO!": Mordecai's reaction when Jack explodes Bloodwing's head to bits.
- Call-Back: Completing "Animal Rights" rewards you with the Trespasser sniper rifle, which bypasses an enemy's shields. Mordecai had a skill called Trespass that allowed him to do the same thing. The Flavor Text "I infrequently perish" is an Expospeak Gag referencing Mordecai's tendency to scream "NOOOO! I NEVER DIE!" upon being put into Fight For Your Life.
- The Dreaded: Maya was apparently highly feared by the people of her planet, as the monks used the threat of her powers to scare the populace into paying taxes for the Church. She discovers this after she is ordered to execute a citizen for the crime of not paying a tithe.
- Dreadful Musician: Jack invokes this trope after he kills Bloodwing. He at first mentions playing a violin, but then doesn't have one, and the dialogue stops. After you reach Sanctuary a few moments later, he comes back on, and then plays some really awful notes on said violin, then berates you and says that it would've been really funny if he had played it right after Bloodwing died.
- Handsome Jack: Alright, screw you, it would have been hilarious if I found it earlier! Shut up!
- Flat "What": Jack's reaction to Angel telling him that she's discovered another Siren (Maya, specifically).
- Foreshadowing:
- Mordecai tells the Vault Hunters that he's not going to lose his cool over Bloodwing's capture. When Jack kills her, Mordecai goes ballistic.
- As you journey through the Wildlife Preserve, Mordecai repeatedly assures you that Bloodwing is tough enough to withstand whatever torment Hyperion was putting her through. Remember when Lilith said roughly the same thing about Roland earlier in the game?
- Angel warns Lilith to stay out of her room. So what does the rebellious Lilith do? Enter into her room during "Control Core Angel" and serve as a replacement Siren. The awakening of the Warrior wouldn't have been possible if Lilith heed Angel's advice.
- Game-Breaking Bug: Bloodwing can clip outside of the playable area, forcing the player to have to redo the entire level in order to get back to the fight.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: The extent of the explanation behind Maya's Siren powers is that Angel points out that she's not affected by Eridium.
- Giant Flyer: Bloodwing after Jack does his slag experiments on her.
- Gladiator Subquest: The "Creature Slaughter" quests in Natural Selection Annex. You face dangerous creature after dangerous creature in waves.
- Hand Wave: Maya's first ECHO log notes that she isn't affected by Eridium the same way Lilith is, avoiding the potential effect that Siren powers would have had on the plot.
- Hero Killer: Jack triggers Bloodwing's Explosive Leash, decapitating her.
- Hope Spot: Near the end of the story quest, Jack has experimented and mutated Bloodwing. With your help, Mordecai plans to calm her down so that Zed could possibly turn her back to normal in Sanctuary. Mordecai does tranquilize and calm Bloodwing down. But at the next moment, Jack makes Bloodwing's collar explode, killing her.
- Insistent Terminology: When Angel begins to mention the three "impassable security hurdles", the first she mentions is a "Competitor deterrence field". As both Roland and Lilith guess, it's a death wall.
- It's Personal: From this moment on, Mordecai joins definitely the Vault Hunters in order to avenge Bloodwing.
- Mood Whiplash: There are funny announcements across the Hyperion Preserve about not getting near the animals unless you're in the "human bait" test group and similar, cut with finding ECHO recordings of a scientist being forced to conduct horrific human experiments because Jack has her wife. Then during the storyline mission set there, you're tricked into killing a mutated Bloodwing while Mordecai watches, distraught. Then as you're heading back, Handsome Jack scrambles to find a violin before playing you a mocking requiem. Terribly.
- Obstacle Exposition: Angel gives this to the heroes at the beginning, describing the "three impassable security hurdles" they will have to overcome to steal the Vault Key. The majority of story missions from that point involve dealing with these obstacles.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Jack is normally quite jovial, or at least snide, mocking, and treating everything like its a big game. When you find the ECHO recordings of him learning of Maya's past, however, the moment he learns Maya is a Siren, his tone immediately becomes disturbingly flat and focused and absolutely serious. Its a tone that you almost never hear from Jack, even when he's lethally angry at the Vault Hunters.
- Poor Communication Kills: After she has gone rogue, Angel enigmatically mentions that Lilith cannot be allowed in her chamber with no further explanation. Naturally, this provokes Lilith into coming along anyway, which leads to Jack capturing her and using her to awaken the Warrior.
- Roaring Rampage of Revenge:
- After Jack kidnaps Mordecai's bird, Bloodwing, Mordy begins supporting from the sky with cover fire at the beginning, doing minor damage and slagging enemies for you. Once you find Bloodwing however, she ends up mercilessly killed by Handsome Jack. This leads to Mordecai losing his cool over the ECHO, but is seen as you make your way back to the Fast Travel station: Mordecai's Roaring Rampage of Revenge has him screaming as he one shots Super Badass Loaders, complete with wordless roaring.
- There's also a follow-up sidequest, "Animal Rights", where he has you attack the Hyperion Preserve, this time to free the animals Hyperion is experimenting on, and killing as many of the personnel and loaders as you can while doing so as payback for them contributing to Bloodwing's death.
- Self-Deprecation: After the death of Bloodwing at the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, Lilith and Roland reminisced over a story about Mordecai and Bloodwing. In the first game, Mordecai's action skill was Bloodwing, a bird that would attack enemies from a distance, but only if the player was aiming at said enemies. This led to a glitch where getting behind cover after summoning Bloodwing would have her fly around uselessly. It was spun into a heartwarming story where Bloodwing deliberately waited until Mordecai peeked out from cover to attack, because she wanted him to see her shred the bandits and be proud of her.
- Shouting Shooter: In a not played-for-laughs version, Mordecai goes into a screaming rage while gunning down Loaders when Bloodwing dies.
- Slave Collar: Jack uses one to kill Bloodwing.
- Story Breadcrumbs: As in the first game, ECHO recorders are strewn around the landscape, as both side quests and just items that fulfill Badass rank requirements.
- The "Doctor's Orders" sidequest deal with Jack kidnapping a scientist (Dr. Samuels) and torturing a bandit family (Tina's parents) by using them for Slag experimentation purposes.
- The "Siren's Song" challenge tells the story of how Maya came to Pandora.
- Straight Gay: Dr. Samuels in the logs from "Doctor's Orders": Jack casually mentions her wife being his hostage. Doesn't stop him from hitting on her, though. The same recording also has a man (the unwilling subject of the experiment) mention his husband. The scientist's reluctance to conduct the experiment is what prompts Jack to remind her that he is holding her wife hostage.
- Tempting Fate: Mordecai goes on and on about how Bloodwing can handle herself and he's not going to give Jack the satisfaction of hearing him screaming and yelling and making death threats. No points for guessing how that turns out...
