Terror of the Skies Pt. 2

"You should have come to get me…"

"I'm sorry."

"You said one hour!"

"I forgot. I-I saw the machine's and—"

"You forgot?! How did you—"

"Vale! I'm sorry. I got carried away," Aloy finally cuts in. The other man shakes his head and turns away from the table. Erend sits there too, awkwardly stuck in empty silence and sipping on his drink. Aloy rises her hands to her forehead and sighs.

She really didn't get it. Vale was almost furious with her when he made it to Mainspring, escorted by some of the city's soldiers that Aloy had asked Erend to send for, almost three hours later. Their Silvermane companion walked along beside them, gathering all sorts of attention from the locals. Some of them were scared of it because of how the Derangement affected all machines. Others were curious and bewildered, and wondered what device Aloy had planted in the machine to make it obey. She let their curiosity go unsatisfied and now they stood in one of the many fort garrisons around the outer edges of the city.

As to why Vale was so infuriated, she couldn't name the exact reason. But this was obviously a sensitive issue for him, and it got her thinking. Had someone abandoned him before? She looks up and finds Erend giving her the same sort of questioning look, but she shakes her head; this isn't the time to ask about it.

"So what are you guys here for? Besides telling me to go back to Meridian?" Erend asks as casually as he can. She had gone over with Erend already with half their reasoning, which was also consequently why she didn't remember to go back for Vale. They had finally confirmed that Erend was alive, and Aloy wasn't going back to the Sundom without him. She had promised Avad that, and she hated to back down on that.

"The new machine born from the sky. Avad sent you and the Vanguard to kill it. Obviously that didn't happen, and since we're here…"

"Wait, you want to hunt that machine? You're kidding, right?" Erend asks and turns to Vale. "Tell me she's kidding."

Vale grabs a chair and sits down at the table, arms crossed. "She's not, unfortunately."

Erend take a two while seconds to process this, and then starts laughing.

"What's so funny?" Aloy inquires, but Erend waves his hand dismissively.

"Of course you would come all the way here to conquer a new machine. What was I expecting?"

"Where is it, Erend? We need to put a stop to it."

The man's face suddenly turns serious when he looks at her. "You really want to go hunt those machines? Do you know how dangerous they are?"

Aloy nods. "Yes, which is why they have to be put down."

Erend looks like he can hardly believe what she is saying. "Okay, look, I know you're good at killing machines. Heck, you can even control them. But these machine that we attacked are something different. They outwitted us, Aloy. Machines have never done that before. Everyone in the Vanguard was killed in minutes."

"I know what they did Erend, and I'm sorry. The Derangement is making them worse, but do you really expect me to just stand by and let these machines destroy everything?"

Erend sits back as Aloy stares at him, looking like he's contemplating how fast he can down the rest of his drink, which smells heavily of alcohol. Vale watches her carefully but he doesn't add to the conversation. Erend shakes his head.

"No, I guess not."

"Then tell me where they are," she demands.

"Wait! If you're going after them, then I'm coming too."

"Erend, you don't have to—"

"We need someone who know what we're dealing with," Vale finally says. "We haven't even seen these machines yet."

"Right, and if you're going to hunt for the Wyverns then you need some extra steel by your side," Erend adds.

"Wyverns?"

"It's what the Oseram started calling them. We call them that because they look like the murals on the statues over by the Wise Man's cathedral. Ah, basically a history museum about the Oseram. Some of those murals had an image of an ancient machine we called a Wyvern, and these machines look a lot like 'em," Erend explains.

"It might be worth checking them out," Vale says.

"Okay, but why do you want to come with us?" Aloy asks.

"Are you serious? I lost all the men under my command to those machines. If you think I'm gonna let you go by yourself to stand up to them, then you're crazy," the Oseram speaks, pitting his fist down on the table. "Besides, I need to finish this mission. Avad gave the job for me to do, and I'll be damned if I don't get it done before any other friends falls victim to those beasts."

Aloy looks Erend right in the eye. It's hard to believe that this was the same man who she had found drowning his sorrow in alcohol on her first visit to Meridian so long ago. Erend had smartened up, become a captain and taken on some tough jobs, including finding Dervahl and fighting the Eclipse. Now he wanted to fight machines alongside her. She had to admire his courage and personal growth.

"Alright. We'll go check out that mural. Wait for us at the gates and we'll meet you there," she agrees finally. Erend nods, stands up, and shoots down the rest of his drink in one swig.

"Great! I'll meet you there," he says once he puts the cup down. "And I'll have intel on their whereabouts when we meet up."

"Sounds good."

He turns and leaves the room a moment later. Aloy stands from her chair and gathers her things from the Silvermane sitting quietly in the corner of the room and makes to leave as well.

"Aloy…"

Vale is still sitting down when she looks at him, but he rises with his hands firmly planted on the table. His long hair is blocking most of his face, so she can't tell what he's thinking or feeling. But when he speaks, it's quiet and full of regret.

"I'm sorry I freaked out earlier." His head turns to face her. There's a softness in his eyes she hasn't seen before, and yet she doesn't believe that is hard for him to admit. He was like her in that regard; tough and straightforward but able to admit his own faults. Humble. So there must have been another reason why he was apologizing.

She returns to the table.

"I'm sorry I didn't come back for you. How you're feeling is justified, Vale. I usually don't let that happen," she tries to defend, but the man shakes his head.

"Still, I shouldn't have yelled."

Aloy studies his face as silence passes. He's uncomfortable. His eyes refuse to meet hers. She can tell that he's having trouble opening up about this, so she goes ahead and gives it to him.

"This has happened to you before…"

Vale almost looks shocked, but he gives her a sad smile and nods.

"Erend forgot to say you're pretty smart, too. Yeah. The last person who parted from me was killed, and it was someone I really cared about. I promised myself I won't let that happen ever again." He rises to his full height and fully faces her. "And it hasn't since. Don't make me break that promise."

Aloy nods slowly and there seems to be a light that returns to his cobalt blue eyes, until she realizes that it's just her shield weaver armour, still sparkling and now she feels silly so she looks away with a hazardous blush.

"We should go look at those murals," she says quickly and leaves before Vale can say anything else. She tries to quell the feeling but it burns away slowly.

Where did that come from?

Mainspring is a lively place, and Aloy forgets that until she's back outside in the streets. People are out and about doing their daily business and it almost looks like there's a crowd outside of the city guard's garrison all the way down the street because of how many people there are. The bewildered and nervous looks they get when the Silvermane appears beside them serve as a good human deterrent as Aloy begins navigating the city's circular streets. The taller buildings that rise above the average stone huts in Mainspring seem to serve some other important services like a main hall, or the cathedral that they were supposed to look for.

She asks for directions to get there. The building is tall and supported by columns of stone all the way around the building, and the entrance is wide and open for people to enter and exit as they please. As Aloy, Vale and the Silvermane approach, a man stops them just before the entrance.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but the machine has to stay outside," he says hastily.

"Why? It won't hurt anyone. It's under my command," she replies, but the man shakes his head.

"There are no exceptions! With the Derangement getting worse, I can't allow any kind of machine to enter the temple, even one that's have been taken control over."

"I just said it's not… oh, nevermind." A lot turns to the machine and clicks her Focus to find the command orders, and then for appearance sake she says, "Stay," And they are allowed inside.

Inside the cathedral are several monuments up on display, a lantern of artificial light illuminating a pallet inscribed with details at each exhibit. Artifacts, machine parts and crests are shown in their brilliance and Aloy can't help but marvel at the wealth of pure history that the Oseram has to share here. She scans one of the inscribes to her Focus, saving the image for later so she can study it. One line she manages to read says something about the 'the great world-turning machine'.

She finds along the walls of the building are engraved figures and shapes of all kinds, and they go all the way around the inside walls. They all tell an impossibly intricate story that Aloy can't make sense of, but she finds a peculiar shape that catches her interest.

"Vale, look," she says and points to the image on the wall. It's a machine. A slithering long body makes up most of the image, and it has a pair of wings. Aloy runs her hand over the murals. She find waves of stone and figures out that they're supposed to represent flames. The machine is breathing fire at humans in this depiction.

"Is that the Wyvern?" Vale inquires. "Fire breath. Yup, that's it."

Aloy tries to remember the conversation they had with Derrick so long ago at the Sun Palace. He had described the machine to them, which basically sounded like a Snapmaw with wings. There was a long slithering body and fangs in the machine's jaws in the depiction on the wall that matched his description perfectly.

"Did you record our talk with the Vanguard in Meridian?" Aloy asks.

"Yes. Why?"

"What else did he say that we don't already know? I feel like we're missing something," she takes a step back and observes the mural as a whole. "It has wings, breathes fire and fire doesn't affect it."

Vale's Focus is lit up and she presumes he's listening to the recording. It take a few seconds for him to respond.

"It shoots bolts from its wings. Mounted cannons? That's about it," he finally says.

"Then why do I feel like we're going into this fight underprepared?" Aloy wonders aloud.

"Everyone says this machine is dangerous. It's probably going to take a lot of resources to kill it," Vale replies. "We should make sure that we have everything ready to go and then meet Erend at the gates. He's still waiting for us."

"Right."

They leave the cathedral and try to find the marketplace. They both agree that in a Oseram city like this, there would be all sorts of goods and weapons to choose from, and they have the shards to spare. Aloy finds an open store to walk into and there's a collection of weapons mounted on the wall.

There are no bows or slings. In fact, everything in the store is high-tech. There's a heavy rope caster and Rattler, as well as another large shoulder-mounted weapon with a large cannon on it that also looks heavy. Vale could probably use that.

There are several trinkets and gadgets as well that don't look like they do anything, except there's a button or a switch on most of them and Aloy isn't tempted to find out what any of them do.

There's only one weapon that looks out of place in the whole store, and it's mounted up on a pedestal behind the front counter. It's a single long stone grey blade with a handle at one end. The blade is straight and sleek and looks like it has never been used.

"Find something that catches your eye?" The merchants walks in and sees what Aloy is looking at. "Ah, you got an eye for the ancient stuff."

"Ancient?"

"Yes. That sword was modelled after a relic left behind by the Old Ones. The real one sits in a collectors casket, all rusted up and brittle. But this baby is smelted from brand new metal, and sharper than a Sawtooth's fangs! What do you think?"

It hardly seemed like a conventional weapon, and Aloy already has her spear, which was irreplaceable to her. She shakes her head.

"Maybe another time."

She leaves the store after buying some ammo for her blast sling and reunites with Vale. He's bought himself a set of wires that do nothing, but he explains that it might be what he needs to get his shield module working in tandem with his cannon, since he still could never figure it out. With their new gear they make their way to the same gates where Aloy first entered the city. Erend is waiting for them like he said he would, armed with his maul and a heavy metal bow.

"You all ready to go? The last sighting isn't far from here, just a few miles east. Last chance to change your mind," Erend says.

"I know, Erend. But we have to do this," Aloy says determinedly. "For everyone's sake."

"I know. That's why the Vanguard was sent out in the first place. Let's go finish the job."

The three of them and their machine mutt set out from the great city and head out east. With the rocky cliffs to their right and plains decorated with tree stumps to their left and blue skies above, it's an uneventful and peaceful walk for the first little bit. Aloy and Erend do some catching up, talking about about what they've each been doing since the battle at the Spire. Erend tells her that he's been leading the Oseram's efforts in cleaning up and rebuilding Meridian after the attack. And by leading he mostly just means running back and forth between telling people what to do and the Sun King's court. He hates having to listen to the nobles complain about every little thing like all the dust that's everywhere and the noise of people constantly working outside, but the hard labouring work has been rewarding. Aloy could remember seeing how the lower village looked from the main bridge, how the ruins of the buildings had been cleaned up and put into large piles. It must have been amazing watching the progress.

She in turn tells him how her she plays her role in the Nora tribe. It still annoys her how they worship her as a goddess-send and how the Matriarchs require her every counsel regarding decisions on how the tribe should handle problems, like how outsiders were being perceived and treated. After the attack by the Eclipse, they were particularly wary of travellers, even going so far as to set up more defensive perimeters around Mother's Crown, but Aloy shot that idea down as they needed to show how open and hospitable they could be, especially as Avad tried to send envoys to help them.

Once their talking dies down, Erend finds his way over to Vale, who has been walking in silence most of the trip.

"So how did you get caught up in this? Did she threaten you?" he asks jokingly, but Vale gives him an odd look.

"Erend," Aloy scolds lightly, but the man waves his hand dismissively.

"Actually, I sought her out," Vale answers. "I hoping she could help me end the Derangement."

"End the Derangement?" Erend repeats, surprised. "Hah! Now there's a goal worth achieving. Well you found the right girl to do it. If anyone can stop the machines, it's Aloy. She has this way with machines."

"I've seen it. It's impressive."

"Okay, guys. I can hear you," the girl exclaims sheepishly, her face burning and she tends to look away from the two men.

"How did you guys come across the Silvermane?" Erend asks. Vale responds.

"The ealderman of Ironwood asked us to clear out their mines of machines. Our other mounts were worn out before."

"Ah. Haverd's a good man. I hope he didn't ask you guys for the favour without anything in return."

"Our cloaks and traveling supplies came free," Vale replies.

"That hardly seems like a trade to me."

"Aloy felt inclined to help the miners since they couldn't fight."

"That's more like it."

As they fall into a comfortable silence, they come up on a large hill. A few old dead trees stand close to the road, but as they get closer Aloy realizes that they aren't just old dead trees; they're burnt dead trees.

"What the hell did that?" Erend asks.

"Look at the ground," Vale points out. There's hardly any snow on the ground with the sun poking out of the clouds the last few days, which brings out the yellow dead grass underneath, but the grass surrounding the trees is black like it's been burnt and leaves dark soil exposed.

"Whoa…"

Aloy catches Vale looking into the distance and finds what he's looking at. On the other side of the hill, a large trench has been dug out in the ground and goes on for several, if not a hundred feet, and at the end is something large made of metal.

Vale's Focus lights up.

"There's a signal coming from over there," he says and points to the end of the trench. Aloy activates her Focus and finds the same thing. Outgoing distress signal – level 2. 14% remaining power. Ongoing.

"How do you know that?" Erend inquires.

"I see it too. Let's check it out," Aloy agrees, passively ignoring Erend and leaves to inspect the object. The more she walks through the trench, the more she realizes it's not a natural formation. It's like something enormous smashed into the ground and created this crater with a lot of force. She looks back and tries to figure out the trajectory of this object, and it didn't make sense. That couldn't have been right…

"People were saying that this machine came from the sky. Is that true?" Aloy wonders.

"I'm not sure. Witnesses say they saw something fall from the sky in a big, blinding light, and then this machine showed up out of nowhere. I think people just assumed they were connected," Erend tells her.

Up close, the object looks like a massive bulk of machine armour. Aloy can identify all the individual plating and metal pieces and the wire underneath. Anyone could have been fooled into thinking this was a real machine, that's why they all approach it with their weapons drawn; Aloy with her spear, Erend his maul and Vale just his shield. But as Aloy tap her spear against the metal experimentally, nothing seemed to happen. She finds the beacon module where the signal is coming from. Nothing is attached to it.

"It's hollow. Look, there's a hole in the side," Vale points out. In the side of the dormant machine is a large hole. It doesn't look like something ripped through it, in fact Aloy can see pistons and levers on the insides of this machine. Something had been let out.

"This thing is just a shell," Aloy realizes. "Like something hatched from this."

"What do you think hatched from it?" Erend asks. All three of them jump and turn as an echo bounces in the air around them. A roar quite unlike anything Aloy has heard before emits from the air somewhere to the north, and it sends a chill down her spine as to how close it is.

"Probably that," Vale quips. Aloy is the first to move after they've all frozen in place. She creeps back up the crater wall and keeps her Focus active for anything suspicious. Both Vale and Erend are right on her tail on either side of her, both of them with their helmets on. Over in the distance, they can see the small light of a fire and some smoke.

"Are there any homes over there?" Aloy asks with concern.

"No, but it's possible that someone might have been attacked, a traveling caravan or something," Erend says and picks up his weapon. "We should go check it out."

"I agree," Vale responds. Aloy doesn't need the convincing and she starts heading that way, double checking her supply and ammo. All her arrows are assembled neatly in her quiver and her new bow is mounted on her back, her old one strapped to the Silvermane that carries the rest of hers and Vale's things. Her sling is on her belt too, and the pouch next to it is full of blast bombs.

When they come upon the sight ten minutes later, she's devastated to learn that they're too late. A cart full of supplies; weapons and metal parts, is tipped onto its side and spilt its contents all over the ground while the cart burns in a raging fire. An Oseram soldier is lying on the ground, dead, and another body lays next the cart, caught in the flames and too burnt to tell who exactly it is.

"We're too late," she grieves quietly, kneeling down next to the Oseram soldier. There are bite wounds on the body's shoulder, deep and… fresh. She tightens her grip on her spear.

"They must have been ambushed, same as us," Erend says lowly. He hovers just above her. Vale observes the cart, his hand waving in the air as he sifts through some unknown information on his Focus.

"These machines are capable of organizing an attack. Everyone we've talked to said the same thing," Aloy says. "I wonder what makes them do this."

"I kinda don't want to find out," Erend retorts.

"Guys…"

Both of them turn to Vale, who's quickly reaching for his weapon and his shield rises. Aloy gets up and stops, because a machine appears in front of them.

It emerges from behind the wreckage of the caravan, revealed by the flames that devour it. A machine as big as a Sawtooth comes out. It moves with the stealth of a Stalker and growls like a Thunderjaw, it's red eyes glaring at them. A pair of wings stand spry on its back like it's ready to take off, and it's long tail is thick and sways back and forth smoothly as it crawls towards them on four legs, each one armed with razor sharp claws. It's long neck has components lined up along its underside that each shine with a red-hot glow and from the hollow of its mouth is a faint red light.

This is the machine from the skies. This is the Wyvern.

A noise comes from their right and both Aloy and Erend move away from it as another machine enters, an exactly copy of the other one, wings ready and red headlights pointed in their direction, and Aloy realizes that this is the fear she was concerned about. There are two deadly machines, and they're both staring right at them.

Another new machine, and another one is about to make its appearance next chapter as well!

If anyone is interested, there are links to my drawings on my profile to sketches I've done. The most recent one is about a character I want to write for Fire Emblem, so go check it out!