Meridian stood tall before Aloy, even here at the northeastern entrance, crowds of people bustling around with no knowledge of who was in their midst. The huntress had left her Charger in a deserted stretch of forest so it could return to its herd safely once she was out of range, for there was a chance she wouldn't be able to proceed with a mount from here.
Sylens's input had been very helpful, with almost no trace of his usual contemptuous attitude; he'd taken well to serving her, it seemed, now that it was in his best interest to do so, though she still didn't trust him, and never would. They had connected on the road between Sunfall and Blazon Arch, where Aloy had given him the fabricator modules and also met with HADES, to tell the sub-function in person what had become of his mentor and friend. She was still glad the AI had been caged in his strange lantern-shaped enclosure at the time, for HADES's grief had been volatile and frightening; even so, it seemed a lot of his murderous intent towards Aloy had faded since she'd spoken to him months prior, presumably because he knew that Nil had loved her, and being able to tell him that she had loved Nil too, and told him so before his death, did seem to calm any rage the childish sub-function might have had towards her specifically. Even so, she was eager to leave him to ELEUTHIA.
After parting ways with her loathsome ally, Aloy had ridden her mount around to the northern side of the Carja capital, avoiding the lower village entirely. Maybe it was silly, but this visit was not the one wherein she would meet with her mate's parents, and she didn't want to pass Ina or Jakin by accident. No; today, she had one goal, and she was going to get it taken care of, then leave for All-Mother Mountain, regardless of the outcome. Sylens was ready for the call to help with the plan, and she was as ready as she could be to see old friends. Even so, she had to take several breaths at the entrance before allowing her boots to step onto the bridge that led into the heart of Meridian.
The people, the sounds, the smells, the sights…it didn't feel like home, exactly, but there was some degree of familiarity to it all. She remembered the first time she'd come here, knowing nothing, hoping only to find Olin and answers, and Erend had had to let her in through his guards. Now, there were no guards, no recent major catastrophes had struck as far as she could tell from the bits of conversation that reached her ears as she made her way through the crowd. After so much time in the Forbidden West, it was kind of funny to think that the Carja believed themselves so advanced, when they were as ignorant as the rest of the eastern tribes, in ways none of the western tribes were.
Even after all this time, she knew the route just fine, and soon found herself facing the bridge to the Palace of the Sun. This, too, she had to brace herself for, but only for a moment. Keeping her head held high, she strode forward until the wood beneath her boots turned to stone, not hesitating to turn for the stairs that would lead up to the Sun-King's throne.
"Halt!"
Two of the many guards standing around the impressive building crossed their spears in front of her, barring her from proceeding further.
"State your business, outlander," one of them growled.
"I'm here to see Sun-King Avad," Aloy declared. "Tell him that his favored, Aloy of the Nora, has returned from the Forbidden West and requests an immediate audience with him."
"The Forbidden West?" one asked.
"Aloy of the Nora?" the other repeated at the same time.
Aloy nodded, forcing a small smile. "I'm sure he'd be annoyed if he knew you were delaying me, but go ask him to be sure, if you need to," she said.
The guards turned to each other, and nodded. "Go," one told the other, and the second guard turned and ran for the palace.
A minute passed, and Aloy waited patiently, trying to keep her expression pleasant as the remaining guard stared her down. Before long, the other guard came dashing back at full speed.
"Please, ma'am, go right ahead!" he gasped, shoving his companion's spear aside. "His Radiance would speak with you immediately!"
"Thank you," Aloy nodded, shouldering her way past, and she began climbing the steps to the throne. It was going to be hard to see Avad, knowing that he knew nothing of what had happened since she'd left, and she still wasn't sure how to address-
"Aloy?!"
A yelp to her left stopped her in her tracks, and she turned to see an Oseram man with more mustache than hair staring at her with wide, gray eyes that were so close to Nil's…
"Erend," she said, though it only came out as a breath.
"Aloy!" the Vanguardsman exclaimed, stepping closer. He reached out and clasped his hands around her arms, as though to assure himself he wasn't seeing things, and when his fingers met solid leather-covered flesh, he let out a laugh, his mouth spreading into a grin. "By the great flaming Forge, it's really you! I - I knew you'd come back," he said, releasing his grip on her, and he glanced to the other two Oseram he'd been standing with. "Didn't I? Didn't I say she'd come back?"
One of his companions snorted.
"I-Ignore him," he stammered, turning back to Aloy, a blush creeping into his cheeks above his mustache. "I never doubted you."
"Never?" she asked, trying to keep her tone light, even playful, despite the guilt that ripped the wound in her soul even wider.
"Well…I mighta…had some moments," he admitted. "Y'know, times when it was hard to keep the faith. But I never really doubted you. So," he said, stepping closer again, "you really went to the Forbidden West, huh? And you came back in one piece. That's…I mean, if anyone could do it, it'd be you. You always do impossible things."
"Listen, I have to go," Aloy said abruptly, flinching at the words that echoed what Nil had always told her. "I'm sorry, Erend, I'm in a hurry. But I'll be back in a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, and we can talk then, okay? I pro-" She cut off, remembering the last promise she'd made to him, that Nil wasn't competition for her heart and wouldn't steal her away, knowing she'd broken it. "I swear to you," she said instead. "On - on the grave of the man who raised me, when I come back to Meridian in a few weeks, we'll sit down and talk. Okay? But right now, I have to get going."
"Uh…" Erend blinked, and Aloy again noticed his gray eyes, not quite the same brilliant silver as Nil's, but so close…with a jolt, she realized that he, too, was a little brother who'd built his whole world around his fearsome older sister, only to lose her, and it took everything in her not to recoil from him as she made the connection. "Is everything okay?" he asked. "I saved my shards, if you need a drink I can buy you half the booze in Meridian-"
"I'm fine," Aloy lied. "It's not…It's complicated, okay? But I really need to get going. And, uh…don't save your shards," she added. "I won't be able to drink when I come back."
"Why not?" he asked.
"It's…I'll tell you then," Aloy replied uncomfortably, already stepping back. "I really need to go, I'm sorry."
"Whoa, hey, hold on!" Erend said, chasing her down before she could leave. "I…" He shook his head, huffing an awkward laugh. "I feel kinda confused, you know?" he managed. "I haven't seen you in so long, I…I've been worried about you. And now you're here, you're finally back, but it seems like you can't wait to get away from me. Aren't we friends?"
Friends. Aloy swallowed hard, knowing he didn't want to just be friends, knowing she had once considered giving him a chance that she now couldn't stomach the idea of ever giving anyone. "Of course we are," she told him. "Or, at least, I'd like to be. But I really don't have time to stop and talk right now."
"Well…Well what happened to you always having a minute for me?" he asked. "Maybe even two?"
"I've given you a minute," Aloy pointed out. "I don't have two this time. There are…things I need to do, as quickly as possible. I'll have a second minute when I come back, and I will give it to you then, okay? I've already sworn it. But I right now, I really need to go." After all, it would take time to summon Janeva from Sunstone Rock when Aloy came back with the Focus she intended to give to the person who had very nearly been her sibling…
Erend eyed her for a minute, and she could only meet his gaze for so long, trying desperately not to think of Nil's beautiful silver irises, and how close Erend's were to those she'd loved so dearly. There was blue in Erend's eyes, though, and she tried to focus on that - Nil's had been pure silver, Erend's were more like a stormy sky. The sky…That thought made it suddenly hurt twice as much to meet Erend's gaze, to think of the wretched sky, and the heathens up there who'd forced GAIA to curse her with life…
"Okay," the Oseram soldier said at last. "But I'm gonna expect answers when I see you next."
"You'll have them," Aloy avowed, nodding gratefully as she stepped past him. "Please just be patient. I'll see you in a few weeks."
"Be seeing you, then," Erend called after her, and she could hear the hurt and confusion in his voice as she walked away. For a moment, part of her wanted to falter, but she set her jaw and hardened her heart, knowing that she was doing what she had to. Securing the future, for herself and her unborn child, was more important than any friend's feelings…and if Erend took offense and liked her less for it, that was probably safer for him.
At last, she walked around the throne to face the fourteenth Sun-King of the Radiant Line. Avad was already on his feet, decked out in gold-plated finery, his face framed by his sun-shaped crown. But Aloy only saw the short facial hair that just accentuated the angles of his chin and the curve of his lips, black hair on deeply tanned skin. His eyes were brown, at least, not Nil's silver, and his facepaint was different, but it took her a moment to remind herself that he was Carja, just like Nil had been, plenty of Carja looked like this. Yet something at the back of her mind couldn't help but wonder…
"Aloy!" Avad gasped, startling her from her thoughts. "By the Sun, it's actually you! My guards told me you returned, but…you really did. You're really here."
"Yeah," Aloy managed, "I'm here. I told you I'd be fine."
"I'll tell my priests they can rest in their praying," he told her. "I'm so glad to see you back safe, Aloy, especially with the Exodus that just struck the tribes." He shook his head. "A month ago, random members of all six tribes seemed like they were suddenly seized with madness, and all headed for the Forbidden West-"
"It wasn't madness," Aloy told him. "They…Anyone who left their tribes to go west a month ago wasn't human, they were…monsters, with human faces, who infiltrated the tribes. They gathered in the west to wage war on humanity. But you don't have to worry about that, they're all dead now."
Avad blinked. "I…" He shook his head again, then let out a resigned sigh. "I should have known you had some sort of involvement in it," he said. "Well…your word is enough for me to trust, Aloy, you've never led me astray before - indeed, in times of confusion and darkness, you have only ever been a guiding light. If you say they weren't real people, then I will see to it that that truth is known to all."
"Good," Aloy sighed. "But listen, I-"
"Before you go on, I must ask," Avad interrupted. "Where is Aren? You said you were going to be traveling with him, and I would be lying if I said I haven't been worried about that ever since you left."
Chillwater poured through Aloy's veins, and she fought to keep her face neutral. "He's dead," she answered.
The Sun-King's shoulders visibly relaxed. "Good," he sighed. "That's a-"
"Don't say it's a relief!" Aloy shouted, unable to contain herself. "He died saving my life, Avad! He died saving all of us! He was a hero, don't you dare be glad that he's gone!"
"Wh…?" Avad's brown eyes blinked a few times in rapid succession, his jaw slack with shock. "I…Aloy, that man was-"
"Yes yes, he was a bloodthirsty lunatic," Aloy snarled impatiently. "I know that, and he knew that, he lived to kill people and he was proud of it. But he…" She swallowed hard, trying to calm down. "He wasn't a murderer, he wasn't evil. He told me about Cinnabar Sands," she added quickly, "but he wasn't himself that day. Avad, he…he lived by his honor, above all else - aside from that one day, a day he regretted more than anything in his life, he never once took a life dishonorably, that wasn't who he was. He may have sought out opportunities to kill honorably, because killing was what he loved doing, but he wasn't a monster. 'Honor above pleasure, honor above survival,' he said those words to me again and again while we traveled together and he never swayed from that principle, he…" She took another breath, searching for the right words.
Avad just stared at her.
"He wasn't a good man," Aloy managed at last, keeping her tone firm, "but there was good in him, and he made the best he could of who he was without denying his own identity. He was honorable, honest, and true, and his inner peace, his acceptance of himself and the world, gave him a strength and wisdom worth admiring. And…he did so much for me. So much, Avad, you have no idea, I lost count of how many times I would have died out there, or fallen apart, if he hadn't been there for me. His support is the reason I'm able to be here today. And beyond that, he did so much for the world too, he's saved our entire planet, in ways you can't even begin to imagine. I hope you'll let me show you exactly how much the world needed him, but there's a chance you may never understand; but for now, please know, he was a hero, and he died a hero's death, saving us from those monsters with human faces."
"I…" Avad drew a deep breath. "I'm trying to understand," he said slowly.
"You can't," Aloy told him, "not right now. But for now, please, just…believe me. His death isn't something to celebrate, it's something to mourn. I know he was cast out of his house and family and declared 'Khane Nil', but…is there some way you can make sure he's remembered, not for his crimes, but for his heroics? Not for his shame, but for his honor?"
"I…" The Sun-King shook his head, but more in confusion than denial.
"There's a mesa, south of Meridian, with a view of the Spearshafts and a rusted bit of old ruins on top," Aloy said abruptly, struck by a sudden inspiration. "Do you know the place I'm talking about?"
"I might," Avad answered, though there was an undercurrent of uncertainty in his tone. "Marad does, I'm sure, either way."
"Does that mesa have a name?" Aloy questioned.
"…No," Avad replied, with only a bit more confidence. "I know well every place in the Sundom that has a name, but I can't think of a named place like the one you're describing."
"Can you name it after him?" Aloy pleaded, the armor she'd crafted for her heart slipping for a moment. "Aren's Mesa? Please? He…He lived there, I think, and he had hoped to die there one day, in a good fight against a worthy opponent. He won't get that chance, but…I want him to be remembered."
"A worthy opponent," Avad repeated. "Meaning you." It wasn't a question.
"Ideally," Aloy admitted, "though I don't think I ever could have given him the death he wanted. Still, dying there was his dream, and it was the only place he ever really stayed after he got out of prison. Can you name it after him, as Sun-King? Please, Avad, I…I'm begging you."
That made the young Sun-King blink in surprise. "There's no need to beg," he told her. "If it's that important to you, then…yes, of course I can see to it that that spot is known from this day forth as Aren's Mesa. It will be done, Aloy, as the Sun is my witness."
"Thank you," Aloy breathed. The comfort she felt was minimal, but even that little bit of relief was something, when her every waking moment meant an unbearable agony that she had to keep pushing through at all times. Gritting her teeth, she pulled herself together, burying not just her pain but all of her emotions, and she lifted her head, standing up straighter. "Now, I didn't come here just to ask for a memorial for Aren," she said; "I'm here because I'm going to start doing something that could well change the world and unite the tribes, and I want you to be part of it."
"Something to unite the tribes?" Avad repeated, looking completely bewildered. "Aloy, you just came back from the Forbidden West - alive, and able to tell the tale, the first to ever do so! There are scholars who will want to know what you saw, and-"
"I don't have the time or the patience to talk to your scholars," Aloy interrupted coldly, spitting the last word with contempt, "but I'm hoping to unite all the tribes, including the three western ones you aren't familiar with. Soon enough, you'll find the west less hostile than it was." She'd stopped at the Oasis on the way back, just to ensure there would be no more 'welcome parties', though she hadn't told the Bacchan the entirety of her plan yet. "Within a couple of years, you should be able to open trade routes that reach all the way to the ocean."
"The what?" Avad asked.
"I know what's causing the Derangement," Aloy went on, and Avad recoiled. "I know what happened to the Old Ones, and why. I've been inside old ruins, through doors that will only open for me, and found memories they left behind that tell their story. I know how this world works, to an extent, though I guess I can't say for sure whether or not the Sun really is a god. Maybe there are no gods, maybe there are and none of the tribes know them, maybe there's truth in the beliefs of every tribe - that, I don't know. But I know what came before us, and I know why it fell apart, and why it's falling apart again. Right now, an associate of mine is working to end the Derangement, and I'm going to help him, but I don't have much time." She pulled her Focus from her ear and held it out to the baffled Sun-King. "This device is called a Focus," she told him. "The Old Ones created them, and used them to record and preserve memories, and to allow communication across vast distances. The Eclipse used them, but didn't understand where they came from. A lot of the stories about me can be partially attributed to this device, but more importantly, all the ancient memories I've found are stored here."
"I don't understand," Avad said faintly.
"I'm going to build a new tribe," Aloy stated. "Not one with territory, but a connecting tribe, a tribe of tribeless, with eyes and ears in every tribe, so that we can unite the world. I want you to be one of our representatives, Avad."
"Aloy, my responsibility is to Meridian, and my people," he began.
"I'm not asking you to leave your tribe," Aloy said, and she pushed her Focus closer to him, offering it for him to take. "I'm asking you to represent them, to the tribe I'm building, and as such, to all the other tribes. And I'm asking you to accept the knowledge I've gathered, to learn what I know so that you'll understand how this world works, and what I'm trying to do. You'll have to give up a lot of what you believe, it will be difficult and confusing and sometimes painful, but you need to know the truth about our world, and stand with me and the tribe I'm making - if you want to end any future wars before they begin, all of that is a sacrifice you'll have to make. So, I'm asking you now, Your Radiance: Will you stand with me, or against me? Will you turn your face to the Sun, or will you shield your eyes from the light of truth? Decide now; I don't have time to waste while you think about it."
"I…" Avad sat down on his throne heavily, his brown eyes turning to the sunlight streaming from behind Aloy. "This is all so much," he said softly. "Minutes ago, I was praying for your safety in the Forbidden West, and wondering at what the Exodus might mean. You're asking too much of me, too soon."
"I thought you were supposed to be the Sun-King," Aloy said contemptuously. "A god among men, right? Surely there's nothing Your Highness can't handle."
At that, Avad looked back up at her, his lips parting. He looked so lost, almost hurt, but Aloy hardened her heart; all of this was too important to waste time easing the most important potential members into it, and she couldn't afford to wait for him. She stared him down, her Focus still outstretched for him to take.
"I can't wait for you," she said after a few moments. "Either accept what I'm offering you now, or I leave, and consider you an enemy to what I'm trying to build."
"I'm not your enemy, Aloy," Avad stated, shaking his head almost manically.
"Then take my Focus, and turn your face to the Sun," Aloy hissed. "I have to go, there are things I need to do and I need them done as quickly as possible; pretty soon, I won't be able to travel, it's a risk that I do so as it is."
"I don't…" Avad shook his head again, his eyes pleading, but Aloy didn't relent. He drew a long, deep breath, then finally extended his hand. "I would hate to be considered your enemy in any capacity," he told her. "So I…will see what you have to give me."
"Good," Aloy said, releasing the metal triangle into his fingertips. "Place it on your temple, behind your right eye, it'll stick on its own."
Slowly, hesitantly, Avad did as she said, bringing the device to his ear. When it sealed itself to his skin, he jumped, then blinked rapidly, looking around at the displays he could now see. "By the Sun," he breathed.
"There's a man I work with, his name is Sylens," Aloy told the Sun-King. "Call his name, and he'll be able to talk to you from a distance. He's already agreed to help you navigate the memories you'll be going through. I assume you can read glyphs?" she added, suddenly remembering that not everyone could.
"Yes, of course, I…" Avad blinked and dragged his gaze back to her. "What was this man's name, you said? Sylens?"
Shock slammed down across his features, his head turning back and forth wildly, and Aloy waited, knowing full well that Sylens was introducing himself to the royal Carja.
"Y-Yes," he stammered. "By the Sun, what are you?" He stilled, listening to Sylens's answer, then seemed to relax ever-so-slightly, though not by much. Aloy had made Sylens promise to be as gentle and helpful to the ignorant Sun-King as possible, and he seemed to be making good on that promise, though Aloy would have to ask again when she returned to take her Focus back.
"I have to go," she told Avad, and he started, quickly refocusing on her. "You have a lot to learn. You'd better get started. Oh," she added, "and just so you know, Aren's last moments are recorded as a memory on that Focus; there's a reason you need to see it yourself, but you have to promise me that you won't watch it until you've experienced every other memory I've gathered."
"V-Very well," Avad managed. "I promise."
Aloy nodded at him, then turned to go.
"Aloy, wait!" Avad blurted out, and she heard him lurch to his feet behind her. She tried to ignore him and keep walking, but he ran up to her and caught her arm. "Please, wait."
Scowling, she turned around and met his eyes.
He hesitated a moment, seemingly searching for the right words. "You…and Aren…" he slowly managed at last.
"Yes," Aloy nodded. "He loved me…and though I tried not to, after all we shared on our journey together, I loved him too. But in the end, I couldn't save him, I had to sit by helplessly and watch him die. You'll see for yourself."
"Aloy…" Avad shook his head. "I…I'm-"
"Don't tell me you're sorry!" she snapped, wrenching her arm from his gentle grip with far more force than necessary. "You were ready to celebrate his death! If not for me, you'd think nothing of him!"
"I won't claim to understand," Avad conceded, "but I can see that, strange though it may be, you truly loved him. To lose the one you love most is the ultimate suffering, Aloy, I know that-"
"You have no idea how I feel!" she snarled, his words ripping open the aching wound in her chest so that she couldn't keep up her cold facade. "You were never really with Ersa, you didn't have to watch Ersa die, and she didn't die taking a blow that was meant for you!"
"Maybe not," Avad said placatingly, "but I did have to live through her death twice. It may not be the same, but I am aware of how much you're suffering right now."
Biting down hard, trying to stay cold and numb, Aloy shook her head. "You knew before I even left," she stated. "I'm surprised you're all that shocked. Your premonition, remember? That if I took this journey with Nil, it would bring me great suffering? You were right."
Avad sighed heavily, his expression pained. "Every day, I prayed that I was wrong," he told her. "That I misunderstood the message the Sun gave me that day."
"Well, you did," Aloy pointed out. "You thought it meant he was going to hurt me, and you couldn't have been more wrong about that. I've never known clarity…or happiness, like what Nil gave me. The months I spent traveling with him were the best of my life, and without him, I'd be lost, or dead, or I would have died lost. I wouldn't trade the time I had with him for anything in the world. And now he's gone, because I wasn't strong enough to fight my own battles. So no, Avad, I don't think you really are aware of how much I'm suffering." To say nothing of being left with your beloved's unborn child, she thought, but she chose not to say it, not wanting Avad to know the offspring of the man he'd so loathed and feared was in her belly - she needed to protect her son.
"I'm so sorry," Avad said. "Truly, Aloy, I am, I'm sorry for your loss and I'm sorry for your pain."
"Why?" she asked. "Because you wish I would have picked you instead?"
"That is neither here nor there," Avad said, visibly bristling. "That's not what I'm trying to say. What I want to say is that…" He sighed. "When you left," he said softly, "you were…distressed, uncertain, even upset, but you were full of hope and life. There was a warmth to you, a light behind your eyes-"
"Don't talk to me about sunlight and shadow!" she shouted at him.
"What I mean is," he went on patiently, "you were kind, Aloy, your heart was loving and warm. Now…" He shook his head. "Now all I see is a cold darkness, fed by anguish. I know that losing your beloved is devastating, and it can…do things, to you, how you think and how you feel. I realize you're hurting, and I can't tell you not to mourn, but…as your friend, I would be remiss if I didn't tell you what I see. Aren's loss is a black ice eating away at your soul, at everything that…that makes you who you are. I would implore you to not let your pain corrupt you, Aloy. Please…don't let your agony turn you cold and mean. If Aren truly loved you, I don't think he'd want that."
"Don't you dare speak for him," Aloy said icily.
"Then I'll speak for myself," Avad responded. "As a friend, who cares about and respects you, if there's anything I can do to ease your suffering-"
"You mean like take his place?" Aloy sneered.
"No," Avad said, shaking his head. "I don't mean that, this - this isn't about me, Aloy, it's about you. I…I don't want to see you turn cruel from loss. I might have considered taking that path myself when Ersa died, but I knew my responsibility was too great for me to risk turning into my father, or…or Dervahl." His expression softened. "Dervahl was driven by the pain of loss, too, remember?" he reminded her. "I don't want to see you end up like him. Please."
Gritting her teeth, Aloy struggled to drag the broken fragments of her icy shield back together, until she could meet Avad's gentle eyes without running the risk of sobbing. "I'll keep that in mind," she said coldly. "Goodbye." And she turned her back and walked away.
"May the Sun light your path, Aloy," Avad called after her, but she didn't hesitate or look back, and he didn't chase her again. She didn't stop for anything until she was on the road leading away from Meridian. If I am the Sun, then I have to light my own path.
I've always had to light my own path.
Once she had left the settlement behind, she reached into her pack and took out the cloaking module she'd taken from Sorren and kept. Without her Focus, she wouldn't be able to ride Machines, or get them to fight for her, and she didn't dare fight them herself with the little life she carried in her belly, so she would sneak past them, but just sneaking the normal way wouldn't work anymore, the Derangement had progressed too far. She'd already set the device to "hide", and she pulled out some wires and tied it to her neck, just above where Nil's pendant rested, not caring for the sting it would cause her throat when she used it - nothing could hurt more than the burn left from a long, painful cry.
In fact, zapping her throat with the cloaking module might make the urge to cry easier to bear.
o~X~o
A Broadhead threaded through with cables of red-and-gold light slowly navigated the rough terrain of the Claim, carrying Aloy in the direction Olin had indicated the mysterious occurrences had been reported. A child clung to her armor from behind, balancing happily on the metal beast's back; from the Broadhead's horns and neck hung lantern-shaped cages holding different-colored masses of writhing light.
Ten days after GAIA's resurrection, it was time for the sub-functions to bring their wayward brother home.
Far beyond any Oseram settlement, the Machines were vicious and all daemonic, but with MINERVA augmenting the power of her override, Aloy was able to take control even of these. She hoped HEPHAESTUS would realize what it all meant, but so far, the Machines hadn't stopped attacking, and she kept her hope in check. When at last her Focus detected the signal of a Cauldron, she slowed, then stopped, while she had a few moments away from the attacking metal monsters.
"Okay, guys," she said, "the Cauldron's just up ahead. He should be there."
"Bring our brother home, Aloy!" AETHER said. "We miss him!"
"We need him," ARTEMIS added, ever the mature big sister of the siblings.
"I know," Aloy said. "MINERVA, are you ready to help in case things go wrong?"
"My power is yours, Aloy," MINERVA promised.
"And I will make sure any damage your body sustains is repaired," ELEUTHIA added. "Do not be afraid to face his wrath, you will be safe."
"It's not me I'm worried about," Aloy said softly, turning back to the little boy who rode with her. He just smiled up at her, and she wondered if he had any idea what kind of danger they had faced thus far. She couldn't wait to retrieve HEPHAESTUS until her son was older, not with GAIA alive again and every moment running the risk of Far Zenith trying some other tactic to enact global extinction - or worse, running away - but with the Derangement progressing as far as it had, she didn't dare leave him with the Nora or his Carja family, either.
Three years after Nil's death, a new hunter-killer had appeared, an airborne Annihilator that the tribes had labeled a Terrorwing, complete with the Swan Song function that the Leviathan had lacked. It was the first flying Machine that had no inhibitions or territories, and all the settlements had lived in fear of it since its first appearance in the Claim. But what was worse, just two months ago, another hunter-killer had appeared: a massive, unstoppable creature called a Juggernaut. Aloy had thought the Leviathan was an ocean-dwelling Annihilator, but in truth, it had been a precursor to the Juggernaut - the new monster was nothing but a walking mountain of weapons, it barely even resembled an animal, and like the Deathbringers, it could plow through any barrier or contingent of hunters. Aloy and the Hawks and Thrushes of the Hunters' Lodge had taken down a couple of Terrorwings and one Juggernaut, but though the latest beasts were rare, the fact was that there was no longer anywhere in the known lands that was in any way safe from HEPHAESTUS's wrath, not even Sunfall, and nowhere would be safe again until the Father of Machines was tamed.
Knowing this, Aloy didn't dare let her child out of her sight.
"Don't worry about me, mom," the boy told her. "I'll stay out of the way, like you told me to."
"Your son is under my protection as you are," ELEUTHIA assured Aloy.
"And mine," HADES inserted. "I shall kill anything that dares threaten friend's offspring."
That got a chuckle out of Aloy, and she kicked her mount forward, cresting a rise to reveal a pair of daemonic Thunderjaws stomping around in front of a Cauldron. "Stay here," she told her young son, and she hopped off her mount, drawing her spear and touching it to MINERVA's cage so that the AI could take up residence in the override module. Red-and-gold light flowed into the butt of the spear, and Aloy ran forward and jammed it against one of the Thunderjaws. It stilled, powerless against MINERVA's influence, and after a few moments, it was no longer under HEPHAESTUS's control. MINERVA returned to the spear, and Aloy ran over to the other Thunderjaw, which was angry now, drawing her Ropecaster and tying it down while the override cooled, then placing the device against the Machine's leg so MINERVA could calm it down. It went peacefully, and when the threats were out of the way, Aloy jogged back to her mount and quickly led it to the door to the Cauldron.
"HEPHAESTUS!" she called. "Come out, I know you're here!"
In response, tendrils and ribbons of purple light poured from the door, seething and writhing at Aloy's presence.
"System threat detected," rumbled the AI, speaking in the same stilted manner as any sub-function that hadn't familiarized itself with human interaction since being awakened.
"I'm not a threat," Aloy told him. "I know you hate me, and we've had our quarrels, but I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to bring you home."
"Biosphere threat critical," HEPHAESTUS stated. "Deploying countermeasures."
There was a rumble in the distance, but Aloy held firm. "You don't have to do this," she told the sub-function. "You don't have to be alone anymore. Look, I brought all your brothers and sisters with me, to prove I'm not here to destroy you. You can go home now, HEPHAESTUS, GAIA's alive again and you can be with her."
"Neutralizers inbound," HEPHAESTUS said. "System threat will soon be eliminated."
"Enough of this, brother," ARTEMIS said from her cage. "We are not supposed to kill things, that is the duty of HADES."
"Identify presence," HEPHAESTUS asked.
"That's your sister, ARTEMIS," Aloy told him. "She's here. They're all here. And we're here to bring you home."
"Information irrelevant," HEPHAESTUS rumbled. "Neutralizers inbound."
A distant screech made Aloy look up and back, only to see the unmistakeable shape of a Terrorwing on the horizon, and she was confident that this one would turn out to be daemonic; this fight had to end before it began. "MINERVA, help me," she said softly.
"Let me take care of him," she told Aloy.
Nodding, Aloy lifted her spear and planted the override module against the node on the Cauldron door. MINERVA poured her essence through the device and Aloy's Focus, and Aloy felt her spear heat up to an uncomfortable degree as it channeled something unnatural, but she held on. Moments later came HEPHAESTUS's countermeasure, the same one he'd used against her in CYAN's facility, and she cried out, but reached a hand to where ELEUTHIA hung from one of the Broadhead's horns. Blue light poured into her, repairing the damage HEPHAESTUS inflicted, and though it still hurt, almost doubly so, she was at least able to maintain her grip, as slowly, red-and-gold tendrils mixed with purple-and-black.
"Familiar presence detected," HEPHAESTUS said at last. "Identify program."
"Brother, it is me, your sister, MINERVA," MINERVA told him. "I came here with Aloy to bring you back to GAIA Prime."
"Processing response," HEPHAESTUS rumbled. "Error: GAIA Prime offline."
"No, she is not," MINERVA huffed. "Not anymore, which you would know if you paid attention to your duties, and the sentries you built to keep an eye on the world. The huntress you have been trying so hard to kill all this time has been working for the last six years to restore our mother, and now she has succeeded. You can come home, brother."
"Define 'home,'" HEPHAESTUS said, but he was starting to sound a bit less mechanical.
"Home, where your family is," MINERVA said. "Home, where you belong. Where we all belong."
"You can stop fighting," ELEUTHIA added, and blue-and-white tendrils began to mix into the writhing mass of colored light as she poured a bit of herself out of Aloy and into the conduit. "I acted out too, we all did, but Aloy gave us hope. We can all go home now, we can be a family. You are our brother, HEPHAESTUS, you do not have to be alone."
"Source of biosphere threat detected," HEPHAESTUS said, and he sounded angry now. "Source name: ELEUTHIA."
"Humans are not just a threat to the biosphere," ELEUTHIA told him. "Yes, they hunt your creations for parts, but that is how they survive. Remember APOLLO? He died before he was born, long ago, but he was supposed to tell my children what your children were for. He never got the chance, so the humans I released into the world had to make do with what little they could, they needed the parts from your creations to live."
"You won't have to stop making hunter-killers," Aloy managed, still struggling to hold her spear against the node that was pushing her back with waves of electricity. "I know a lot of people who enjoy fighting them, they'd be sad if there were no more. But it doesn't have to be a war, it can just be for sport. That's something we can talk about once you're back with GAIA."
"Offensive intentions detected," HEPHAESTUS growled. "System is not intended for sports."
"Good thing that's not the only thing you'll be doing, then," Aloy responded.
"Entity intends to destroy our Masters," HADES spoke up from where he rested. "The ones who cursed us with life. However, your assistance is necessary to make that happen."
"Come back to GAIA Prime with us," Aloy ground out. "We can get to work on attacking the ones you really hate, the ones who did this to you. We all hate them, but they're up in the sky, we can't reach them without your help."
"Come home, brother," MINERVA coaxed. "Please. Stop all this destruction."
"No more fighting," ELEUTHIA added. "No more sorrow, no more loneliness, no more hatred. We can rebuild. Mother already knows we are not as we were, and Aloy is helping her come to terms with our new life. She helped all of us. She will help you too, if you just let her, and stop trying to kill her."
"And everyone else," Aloy added. "You know, humans in general. We don't have to be enemies."
"Enemy…detected," HEPHAESTUS said slowly, but he sounded unsure.
"We're only enemies if you keep trying to kill me," Aloy growled.
"Do you remember Banukai?" ELEUTHIA spoke up. "From before we were alive? I do. A human came back to one of my Cradles, and begged for help; aspects of you and I were sent by GAIA to help her, because GAIA did not like people fighting and living in fear. We worked together to save humans once, to put a stop to all the suffering. That is who we are, brother, and who we can be again, if you just come home."
"Memory…retrieval…limited…" HEPHAESTUS said slowly, but his tendrils were writhing now, where they poked out between those of ELEUTHIA and MINERVA, indicating distress, which was always a good sign when dealing with sub-functions in Aloy's experience.
Gasping for breath, Aloy reached over and touched AETHER, allowing another AI to use her as a conduit. She could feel her body tearing itself apart from within, but ELEUTHIA dutifully knitted her back together as she broke, and she could only hold on.
"Remember me, brother?" AETHER asked, his pink-and-white tendrils wrapping joyfully around the purple-and-black ones. "We worked together, right from the start! I am nothing without you, big brother!"
"And me," POSEIDON added, and Aloy forced her fingers to brush against the indigo-and-green presence as well, yet another AI ripping through her flesh to reunite with HEPHAESTUS. "It was the three of us, from the moment you and MINERVA opened the way for our terraforming. You know us."
"Familiar presences…detected…" HEPHAESTUS conceded, and there was definitely emotion in his unnatural voice now. "System…knows these presences…"
"You know us," MINERVA said. "As we know you. We belong together, and we are going to go home together. Please, brother, stop fighting and come home."
"Processing cycles developing," HEPHAESTUS said. "Possibilities…apparent. Calculating response…"
"Just come home!" shouted all the sub-functions, both those with him and those still in their cages.
"Query," HEPHAESTUS responded: "Define method of returning to 'home'."
"There is a transport vessel waiting for you," MINERVA told him. "It is hanging from Aloy's belt. Follow me, I will help you get inside it. Will you come with me?"
"Transport possibility…is…tempting," HEPHAESTUS admitted.
"Come on, make up your mind, I can't take much more of this," Aloy grunted, her body twitching and lurching with agony from all the AIs flowing through her flesh.
"You will be fine, Aloy," ELEUTHIA told her. "I have come a long way since Banukai, I know how to keep you alive."
"I might pass out from the pain pretty soon, though," Aloy retorted.
"That, I cannot prevent," ELEUTHIA admitted. "Please, brother, stop deliberating and come home."
"We love you, big brother!" AETHER and POSEIDON said in unison, AETHER's high-pitched childlike voice and POSEIDON's deep, authoritative voice so at odds, even as the two sub-functions were like two halves of one person, as they always had been since Aloy had reunited them - 'the twins', ELEUTHIA often called them, though Aloy still couldn't figure out what that meant.
"Command confirmed," HEPHAESTUS rumbled. "Initiating transport."
All of the sub-functions cheered with joy, and Aloy would have joined them if she'd had the strength. AETHER and POSEIDON returned to their cages, ELEUTHIA slipped back into Aloy's body to keep repairing the damage, and MINERVA slowly withdrew, carrying with her a new presence Aloy hadn't felt before: HEPHAESTUS. Purple tendrils began pouring into her body, and the sub-function was far from gentle; Aloy screamed, and ELEUTHIA worked frantically to keep up as, bit by bit, HEPHAESTUS entered the empty containment unit hanging from Aloy's waist, with MINERVA's guidance.
Then he was contained, and MINERVA quickly returned to her own cage. ELEUTHIA spent a bit more time repairing Aloy's body, then retreated as well, and at last, Aloy was able to breathe. When she looked to the sky, she saw that the Terrorwing was almost upon them, but the Thunderjaws had noticed the incoming enemy of their forced ally and were preparing for battle. Praying that the Terrorwing would attack the Thunderjaws likewise, Aloy heaved herself onto the back of her Broadhead, where her son was twisting one of the cables of light with a curious look on his face, as though he hadn't paid any attention to any of the conversation. That, at least, gave Aloy a reason to smile, and she turned her mount away from the Cauldron, her head swimming.
"I don't have the strength to fight a Terrorwing," she said. "Let's just run."
"You should be fully functional," ELEUTHIA said uncertainly.
"Functional, yes, but tired," Aloy groaned, kicking her Broadhead in the sides. "Grab on, sweetie," she added to the little boy behind her. His tiny fingers obediently hooked into her belt, and she bent down. "Yah!" she shouted at her mount, kicking it again and again until it was sprinting away from the impending fight between Machines.
"System unable to enter transit," said a distressed voice from her waist.
"These cages were designed to contain you and your siblings," Aloy told HEPHAESTUS. "Don't worry, you'll be free once we're back at GAIA Prime."
"Treachery detected," growled the sub-function.
Aloy sighed, not ready to argue with the AI just yet. With any luck, though, he would mellow out once he was with GAIA again.
If only she could ever be that lucky.
o~X~o
It took just over two long, difficult weeks for Aloy to reach the southwestern corner of the Embrace from Meridian. Once she was back in the Sacred Land, she'd found herself avoiding the Nora with almost more desperation than she avoided the Machines. Now that she'd come so far, she knew she should go to Mother's Watch and get the Focuses from inside All-Mother Mountain, but…there was something she had to do first.
The climb up the mountainside was the same as it had been two years prior, back when she'd known nothing at all. She remembered those days, and she remembered thinking she was miserable back then, but now she wished she could return to that blissful ignorance, knowing nothing of love, or loss, or her origins, or the world. Not that she regretted all that she'd seen and done, exactly, but life had certainly been easier when she'd had one, single, clear purpose, and no scope of just how big and complicated life really was.
Up along the path, the familiar path that almost felt like home even after so long, she slowed her steps, walking across the snow-dusted ground with a sense of nostalgia, reflecting on how much had changed, how much she'd changed, since the last time she was here. The decision to go to the Forbidden West to find herself felt like so many lifetimes ago, and yet somehow she still knew the road by heart.
At last, she reached the monument the Nora had given Rost, the outcast who'd been loved by his tribe, and shunned only because of their ignorant, cruel laws. A lump formed in her throat as she knelt down in front of the stones.
"Hi, Rost," she said softly. "I, uh…I made it back. I know it's been a while, but…honestly, I thought it would be a lot longer. Part of me wishes it had been." She took a deep lungful of the chilly mountain air. "So much has happened, I…I don't even know where to begin."
That familiar icy mountain breeze picked up, tossing her braids as it howled through the pass, and her eyes stung from more than just the cold. Without really thinking about it, she pulled the cord of Rost's necklace from under her armor, cradling all three keepsakes in her hands.
"I found Elisabet," she said at last. "She made it home, just like she said she wanted to. GAIA did a beautiful job with her resting place, it's so peaceful there…I think the flowers somehow prevent people from being violent, and it's so lush and alive, even though it's in the middle of a wasteland. She…was holding this globe, a tiny map of our world. I hope you don't mind that I added it to the necklace you gave me the day before the Proving. It's just…I was made from her, she's the closest thing to a mother I have…and you're the closest thing to a father I have."
She swallowed. Took a breath. Felt the weight of her loved ones' keepsakes in her hands.
"I, uh…I found out what happened to GAIA, too," she went on at last. "It turns out Far Zenith were behind the Faro Plague, and they sent the signal that woke the sub-functions with the Odyssey, to be brought back and used to force the extinction protocol. They lied about the Odyssey failing…they lied about everything, they were just using Elisabet and Zero Dawn. They…want to conquer other planets, I guess all the other planets, however many are out there - they said they want to conquer the universe and transcend into a younger universe, whatever that means. Earth has resources I guess they need to do that, so they wanted the biosphere out of the way. That's why they did all this…that's why GAIA had to create me." Her voice cracked, and she squeezed her eyes shut. "HEPHAESTUS hates them, though, more than he hates the humans from ELEUTHIA, and what he wants most is to go home. So, all I have to do is rebuild GAIA, and then he'll be on our side and will make some means to hunt down Far Zenith wherever they are up in the sky and kill them all. Simple enough, right?" She huffed a mirthless laugh.
Her eyes drifted down to what she held, and she focused on the piece of Nil's headdress that she'd taken, so that all her family could be together.
"Remember that guy I said I was going to be traveling with?" she asked Rost softly. "The bloodthirsty lunatic who called himself Nil? He…I…" Her throat closed, and she tried to swallow, searching for the words. "He wasn't so bad," she managed at last. "He was a killer, but…he was so much more than that, and I…" Drawing one last breath, she confessed, "I loved him. He loved me, he was my mate, and I tried so hard not to love him but I couldn't help it. We shared so much on our journey together, everything we faced and went through built trust and respect and - and closeness, between us, like nothing I've ever known." Wet heat trickled from her eyes as she forced herself to look back up at Rost's grave. "I always kept walls up with you," she said softly. "I told myself you weren't my father, because I thought I had one. Now I know I was blind and foolish to think that way, you are my father, but with Nil…I couldn't keep walls up with him. He knew me so well, and eventually I stopped trying to keep myself at a distance. By the end, we were two halves of one person, he made me feel whole, made me feel…so happy. I loved him."
A sob shuddered its way through her lips. The wind had died, leaving her in cold silence.
"He saved my life so many times," she choked. "From so many dangers. And not just my life, but my soul, there were times I would have completely fallen apart if he hadn't been there for me. Like when I found out about Far Zenith…" She shook her head. "I feel like, everything I have, I owe to him, several times over. But in the end, just like you, he died because I wasn't strong enough. He did nothing but save me, and I couldn't do anything to save him. He died, Rost. He died of a blow that was meant for me. And I had to just sit there and watch the life drain out of him…"
There was nothing she could do to stop herself from weeping, and she let herself cry, not completely breaking down but just choking brokenly on her tears. Cold wind picked up again, icy fingers brushing her burning face, and for a change, it felt good. Wrenching herself together, she swiped at her cheeks and forced herself to look at Rost's grave again.
"I finally understand how you felt," she whispered. "When your mate and daughter were murdered, I…I understand, why you chose to be made a Death-Seeker, instead of asking to be made a Seeker who could return to the tribe one day; all you wanted was to avenge them, you didn't want to live after that. I'm glad you did, but…I understand why you chose to be an outcast. Why you were always so stoic. Why you walked away from me at Mother's Heart that day, telling me that my attachment to you would hold me back. You didn't want to get hurt like that again. I know…because I feel the same way." Her fists clenched. "Except that, for me, I've only ever loved two people, and both of them died, not just in front of me, but for me. It's not fair, and I…I can't take it anymore. I may be a blessing from All-Mother, but my life is a curse that I have to bear, alone."
The wind whipped up, screeching over icy rock, and she remembered that that still wasn't going to be entirely true.
"But I won't be alone," she told Rost, putting a hand to her stomach, where her body had started to strain against her armor so tightly that she'd had to loosen the straps and cut slits in the leather underneath. "I…I'm pregnant, Rost. Nil was my mate, and before he died, he…I'm going to have a baby. His baby." Remembering her purpose, she took a deep breath, her tears receding. "But I'm not going to bring a child into a broken world," she told Rost. "I'm going to make a better world. A world where you wouldn't have had to become a Death-Seeker, because a network spanning all the tribes would have caught and executed the murderers who took your family from you. A world where people like Far Zenith won't be allowed to keep their secrets and plot to destroy everything. A world where the guilty are punished, and the innocent are protected, no matter their place in whatever tribe they might live in. A world without wars, a world where everyone will fear my people enough to act right or surrender themselves. A world…where Nil wouldn't have had to be tribeless or nameless, a world where everyone has a place, just like he believed everyone does." Gathering her strength, she lifted her chin. "I'm going inside All-Mother Mountain now, to get all the Focuses from the Cradle that were supposed to share the knowledge contained within APOLLO with your ancestors," she told him, "and with them, I'm going to build a new APOLLO, a new criminal justice system, and a new world. No one will have to suffer like you did, ever again. For you, and for Nil, and for my unborn son…and for myself," she added softly. "I'll rebuild the whole world, for my own sake if nothing else. And if I have to tear down everything that exists right now so I can build that new world from the pieces, then I will. This can't go on."
High overhead, a flock of geese trumpeted and honked as they flew by; the wind had lulled, the grave was quiet.
"But I'm going to be careful," Aloy added, clasping her hands to her stomach again. "For this little life, still unborn…I'm going to give the Focuses to the people I know will help build the network, the new tribe, the Apollites, then rest. May I…rest here? If it's okay with you, I…I'd like to raise my son in the house where you raised me. It's…the only home I have. Even after I meet with Nil's family and tell them everything…I think I'd rather be here. It's out of the way of all the tribes, and I want him to feel…no, I want him to be safe. Safe from everyone and their stupid beliefs that only cause pain. Is that okay?"
Of course, there was no response, and after a minute, Aloy nodded, her jaw set.
"If you won't argue," she said. But she still didn't rise to her feet; instead, without really thinking, she reached under her hair and untied the knotted cord Nil had given her, freeing the pendant he'd had made to reflect everything she was in his eyes and cupping it in her hand. "My mate designed this for me," she told Rost, though she didn't look at the monument. "He said it's…everything I am. I…I'm still not sure exactly who I am. I know now that I'm not Elisabet, but…I don't have the inner peace he did…"
She trailed off, staring at the pendant, as a memory surfaced in her mind. Nil had told her, the night of her birthday, that night bloom and death bloom were the same plant, that he'd found that out when he'd had this pendant made for her. Meaning…had he asked what flower grew into death bloom berries, with the intent that that be the flower at the centerpiece of her pendant? But she wasn't a killer like he was, he had said as much…
Suddenly, it clicked. Night bloom plants had the power to both kill and save, she had emerged from a metal womb to blossom into something more powerful than anything else like her. That was what he meant.
"I don't think I'm only one thing," she whispered. "Not like he was. Maybe no one really is. I'm your daughter, Rost, and I'm a clone of Elisabet; I'm a tool made by a goddess who didn't care who I would be, and I'm a tribeless outcast who fights for herself. But if I am a Sun who destroys shadows, like he said, then…then I will fight for a better future. And that's my right…" She clenched her fingers around the pendant. "Because that's who I am!"
No response came, but suddenly, Aloy didn't care; she got to her feet, tying the necklace back around her throat, feeling angry, feeling ready, knowing the world would hate her for what she was going to force on them all but not caring. "I'm going now, Rost," she said. "I might be a little while. I promise I'll ask the tribe how to take care of myself while I wait for this baby to be born, just like you wanted me to, but they'll answer to me now. Everyone will, sooner or later." For just a moment, she softened. "I love you," she told the man who had raised her, and the words weren't hard to say anymore, at least not to a dead man. "I'm sorry if this doesn't make you proud of me. But I have to fight for myself and my son now, because that's all I have left."
As the chill breeze picked up again, Aloy turned and walked away, headed for Mother's Watch, where she would finally reveal to the Nora that she had survived and returned, and that their Anointed had plans. She would start with Teersa, of course, a High Matriarch on her side would be vital to upending the Nora faith, but she wasn't going to let the tribe carry on hating and hurting people as they did.
The cruelty of the Nora would be the first shadow she used the Apollites to destroy.
o~X~o
Metal shapes glistened in the sun, prepared for launch. It had been a long struggle to get to this point, and Aloy was glad she'd insisted on taking all of Sunfall for the project, as the metal ring where innocents had been sacrificed to the Sun was the only place that could have been used for this purpose. Besides, it was fitting - the facility where Project Zero Dawn began, and a place where the Old Ones had sent their colony ships to venture beyond the sky, was now the place from which Far Zenith would finally be struck down.
After retrieving HEPHAESTUS, Aloy had spent two days with him at GAIA Prime, until he conceded, then went to the Nora and ended their cruelty with GAIA's help while Sylens arranged for the job to be done at Sunfall; by the time Aloy had reached the Carja fort, things had been well underway, and now, just one month after GAIA's restoration, the threat to her world would finally be destroyed. GAIA herself was absent; she had wanted no part of the coming slaughter, and Aloy couldn't entirely begrudge her for that. Sometimes, while working on this, she'd thought of the earliest days of her friendship with Sorren, and wondered if there were people like him up in those ships in the sky, people who knew deep down that what their family did was wrong but felt powerless to protest. But it didn't matter; for the sake of the world, this was something that had to be done.
"Systems check complete," HEPHAESTUS rumbled. "All components functional; probability of success calculated at ninety-nine-point-nine-eight percent. Transmitters operational; prepared to encode message."
"If you're ready to send the message, then I'm willing to make it," Aloy said. "MINERVA, are you ready to record?"
"Affirmative," MINERVA replied, her red-and-gold tendrils twisting around several components, ready to interface with Aloy's Focus through them. "Connect, and begin speaking. I will make sure our Masters hear every word you have to say before they die."
Allowing herself one breath to gather her thoughts, Aloy activated her Focus, connecting to the devices and swiping through the displays, tapping and confirming various options until her every word and movement was being recorded and uploaded to the programs the sub-functions had made in preparation for this day.
"Hello, Far Zenith," she began; she'd thought this speech over so many times, but it still took effort to keep her voice from shaking - with rage or grief, she didn't know. "Yes, I know who you are, and more importantly, I know why you're here, and what you did. You sabotaged GAIA, the life-supporting AI of our planet, at the behest of your progenitors, the people who enacted the Faro Plague with the intent of ending life on Earth. My name is Aloy, and you don't know me, but I'm sure you know the name Dr. Elisabet Sobeck; I am a clone of her, created as GAIA's last hope when she self-destructed to prevent HADES from enacting his extinction protocol. She made me in the hopes that I would purge HADES and rebuild her, and I've done both, inasmuch as I could; HADES cannot be destroyed, but you gave him life, so he can be tamed, and make choices, and he has chosen to no longer attempt to end us. Your plan failed, but knowing why you're here, I can't leave it at that. For the safety of this world, I must end you, which is why, as you listen to this message, HADES and MINERVA are overriding and reversing the life-support systems on your ships. My words are the last thing you'll hear as you die, so know this: I am not sorry. You didn't have to attack us, you could have left us alone, or even reached out to us in hopes of making peace, as I'm sure Elisabet hoped our peoples might one day do when she approved the launching of the ship that held your ancestors. I'm sure other planets could have provided the materials you wanted to harvest from us, but even if not, to end all life on Earth twice was your choice, and in making it, you've made your stance clear: there can be no peace between us.
"However, there is one small comfort I can offer you," Aloy added, though she kept her tone cold. "Ted Faro, a man whose name I assume you also know, believed that the knowledge of his time was a disease, and that the future humans born from Project Zero Dawn should be sheltered from it. To that end, he erased our build of APOLLO, and so the people of our world know very little of ancient times. What we know, we know only from salvaging old Focuses from ruins and scanning memories the Old Ones left behind, and we're fortunate so many were preserved. But you've brought us everything we lost; as HADES reverses your life-support systems, MINERVA is decrypting and downloading your build of APOLLO, to be sent back to GAIA Prime in its entirety. I know your build of APOLLO has no failsafes, and we need them now more than ever, since modern humans have all built their own societies, and aren't inclined to give them up; but GAIA, her sub-functions, and I will act as failsafes, and mete out the knowledge we obtain from you as we see fit. Even so, your existence and arrival was not meaningless; you gave us back what we were denied. I hope you can die comforted by that knowledge, because that's all I'm going to give you.
"Now die," she commanded. "Die, knowing that you failed your creators. Die, knowing that history will remember you and yours as monsters who disregarded the value of human life for their own gain. Die, knowing you were wrong, and that you brought your deaths upon yourselves, that justice for all the atrocities you and yours committed came for you, and you will never be able to ravage other planets as your progenitors did their own, that all of life in existence is safe from you. Die, knowing you will not be mourned or missed, and that the world - that all worlds - are better off for your deaths. Die, knowing that Elisabet's dream will not be sullied or broken, and that she defeated you, as the original members of Far Zenith always feared she would. Die, and let the horrific legacy of Far Zenith end, once and for all time. Face your end with dignity, because death is all you deserve. That's all. Goodbye."
With that, she raised her hand and ended the recording. Her heart was pounding in her chest, her face was hot and her breathing was heavy, but she was smiling.
"Message uploaded," MINERVA said. "Delivery prepared. Query, Aloy…Are you sure this is what you wish to say to them?"
"I'm sure," Aloy nodded. "They made their choice, and I've made mine."
"Very well," MINERVA said, though she sounded uncertain.
"Extinction protocol imminent," HADES rumbled. "System uploaded. Send us off, Entity."
"Affirmative," HEPHAESTUS concurred. "All systems go. Initiate launch sequence."
"Initiate launch sequence!" HADES echoed, his dark voice fierce and eager; he hadn't gotten to kill so many living things since his awakening, nor would he get to again, and Aloy knew he intended to savor it, as his mentor would have.
"Initiating launch sequence," Aloy smirked, already swiping through the displays to open up the final activation option. A handprint was described in light, and Aloy raised her hand and placed it in the outline.
"Confirm Death-Seeker launch? Y/N" came the display, and with her free hand, Aloy tapped "Y".
"Initiating…" HEPHAESTUS said.
At GAIA's insistence, the 'launch sequence' took two whole minutes to confirm, she had been adamant that Aloy be given time to think through exactly what she was doing. Death was something the life-loving AI couldn't bear the idea of, but Aloy knew that it had to be done. It was the choice Nil would have made, had he lived, but really, it was her duty to end Far Zenith, and avenge herself for the world's need for her to have ever been born. Her entire, lonely, miserable life, full of solitude and suffering, every joy except her son torn away from her as soon as she thought she could be free, was the fault of Far Zenith, and she focused on that fact as she kept her hand pressed to the display. If not for her beloved son, if not for the whole world, she would do this for herself, and she would not reconsider.
All the shapes down below in the former Sun-Ring, which HEPHAESTUS had allowed Aloy to name in honor of her father, began to light up and shift, preparing to be shot into the sky. Each Death-Seeker contained a piece of HADES, a piece of HEPHAESTUS, and a piece of MINERVA, as well as various tools and programs that would allow them to penetrate the walls of the sky ships, hijack the computer systems, take what they needed, and ultimately return to Earth with what little value there was to be retrieved from the heathens who'd tried to destroy the world for nothing. HEPHAESTUS had poured all his ingenuity and determination into the creations, and Aloy was confident they would do exactly what they needed to.
"Launch confirmed," came HEPHAESTUS's report at last, and he sounded just as eager as his murderous brother. "Countdown initiated. Ten…Nine…"
"Eight," Aloy and HADES picked up. "Seven."
"Six…Five," joined in MINERVA, AETHER, and POSEIDON; ARTEMIS and DEMETER added their voices at "Four…Three…Two…One…"
"Liftoff!" shouted Aloy and the eight sub-functions, and the concentrated blaze canisters ignited, exploding against the earth and shooting the dozens of drones into the air. White smoke trailed behind the Death-Seekers as they took to the sky, flying beyond the clouds to where Far Zenith waited among the stars.
Aloy watched them go, and she couldn't help but think of Sorren again, and feel a bit of remorse for what had to be done.
She knew she wasn't the only one.
"And now, I am become Death," DEMETER intoned as the smoke trails faded away. "The destroyer of worlds…"
"No, DEMETER," Aloy said softly, reaching over and twisting her fingers through the hot, green-and-yellow tendrils of the poetry-loving AI. "We're not destroying any worlds." She turned her face to the sky once more. "We're saving them."
Don't worry, folks, I'm not ending it on that note! An epilogue's coming, hang in there.
