The journey back to Meridian was uneventful. A few watchers, but Aloy took care of them swiftly, never even breaking a sweat. She led the Vanguard back, staying far enough ahead to scout, and close enough to come to the rescue if necessary.
Erend and one of the men carried Ersa's body on the makeshift stretcher, silent and stoic. He wanted nothing more than to be swallowed up by the ground. He dreaded returning to the city. He didn't want to tell Avad what had happened, didn't want to recount the events leading to Ersa's death. He felt so fragile.
He wanted a drink. He wanted more than just one, but anything would be a good start. He didn't want to feel.
They returned to the city without incident. Ersa's body was delivered to the palace, where she had lived. She would be kept here until he could return to the Claim, where she would be laid to rest. Erend spoke to Avad as long as he could stand, excusing himself to return home, where he could mourn his sister out of the public eye. Then to the bar, where he could mourn with his men and with drink.
It wasn't long before he saw of a flash of red hair coming his way.
Dervahl, she had told him. He was planning an attack on the city. She needed his help. He found himself thinking that he would give her anything she asked for. They go to the workshop. The one he never gave a second thought to, the one she's telling him has been part of Dervahl's plan all along. He's going to kill him if they ever find him. He's going to tear him apart, piece by piece, for what he did to Ersa. He gets some of his men, the ones closest to him, the ones he trusts. They follow her, unquestioning. She had helped find their captain. They realize they couldn't have done it without her. Erend realizes they couldn't have done it without her.
He is surrounded by darkness, and she is like a flame, leading him to safety.
There was so much blaze. Enough to take out a large portion of the city if detonated.
They pushed it out of window.
Everything had happened so fast after that. There was Dervahl, at the palace. Erend wanted nothing more than to rip him apart.
He heard the sound before he saw the machine. It felt like his skull was being blasted apart from the inside. Avad fell to the ground first, clutching at his ears, writhing in pain. Erend held out for only seconds longer, he yelled and covered his ears, falling to the ground. How could a sound be so incapacitating? He lay there on the stone, eyes watering. Hoping death would be quick. How long had Ersa endured this torture?
She had always been stronger than he was.
He didn't know how long they had laid on the ground before the terrible sound stopped. He saw another flash of red, only stopping long enough to make sure they were alive. Then she was gone again, chasing Dervahl. He pulled Avad to his feet, escorting him to a safe spot. Then he was off, chasing after Aloy. Dervahl was a mastermind. She was an outlander. He didn't doubt that she was equipped to take him on, but he was sure the process wouldn't be easy. He slammed his fists into sealed gates, realizing he was too late and had already been outsmarted by Dervahl. It would be just Aloy against him.
Not her too, he thought.
Glinthawks. He called in glinthawks. He heard them fall one by one, blasts and arrows ringing through the gates. Finally, she had him. The gates opened. Erend rushed though, hammer raised. He was ready to kill Dervahl.
He was stopped. He stopped. Dervahl was taken away, to the cells. Erend was full of rage. He stood overlooking the city, thinking of all the ways he could have done it. Ersa would've killed him on the spot. But she had told him to grow up. He guessed that meant putting what he needed to do ahead of what he wanted to do. He hated it. But he understood. Even though Ersa had been his sister, she hadn't belonged to him. She belonged to all of the Oseram, and they all deserved to have a say in what happened to Dervahl. He knew they wouldn't be kind, but he also knew that he would've been less kind than anything they decided.
She was there, next to him.
"You're a good captain," she had said. She smiled at him. Fire and spit, he wished she would smile at him more. Fire and spit, she was leaving.
"You know what? When we met, I thought I was a bigshot talking to a pretty girl hidden away in the middle of nowhere. Now I see that I was just lucky to get a minute of your time." She smiled at him again. Stay. He wanted to tell her. Stay here. But he knew she had to go. It hurt him, but this was a hurt he could handle, maybe even something good. "Try not to forget about me while you're out there changing the world." She shrugged, typical Aloy nonchalance entertaining him.
"I'll always have a minute for you. Maybe even two." His heart swelled in his chest, almost filling the void left by his sister.
"Two!? Ha! She likes me!" She smiled again, turning to make her way out of the city. Before he knew what was happening, she turned back around, pressing her hands against his chest and standing on her toes, planting her lips on his cheek. Then she turned and ran.
If he ever saw her again, he was hiding her boots. Hammer to steel, he swore it.
***Thanks for reading this far, guys. This isn't my favorite chapter, but I needed to get these events out of the way! Let me know what you think so far! I'll be trying to update 1-2 times a week.***