Chapter 6

Everything was right where she left it. Her Focus settled back into place against her temple, chirping with power, and she fought to keep from activating it for no reason. It was a crutch she needed to learn to wean herself from. Parts from her old spear, before the one Sylens had given her which rested in the heart of Hades on the Spire, were rigged on her new weapon, making it more familiar. One final look about Olin's old quarters affirmed that she may never have been there, and she walked out the door. Surprisingly, no one bothered her this time.

It was a long trek, but she knew where to go. As she left the city, guards saluted her sharply, allowing her to pass. Would that change if she became Queen? she wondered. Would they always ask where I was going, and why? Finding herself out of shape with the rest she'd enjoyed the past few days, Aloy pushed on until she was jogging. Reports had come in from across the land that though the machines were no longer aggressive, they were rather skittish and tended to run from humans. She intended to test that rumor on the first Strider she saw.

It wasn't long before her Focus hissed about the presence of a herd not far from the main road. She wasn't going to be able to override these, she reminded herself. But it'd have to be approached like one of the furred or feathered animals, and she'd have to win their trust the hard way.

She'd managed to snag another loaf of the honeyed bread before leaving the city, and while she crept through the thorny brush, she carefully tore a chunk from it. Her knees, thankfully, no longer ached from the war against Hades, so she crouched lithely in the trees until she was nearly upon the closest Strider.

Against her strongest instincts, she stepped from the shadows. The Strider, startled, jerked its head from the patch of clover it'd been enjoying, the lens of its huge optic narrowing on her position. "Easy," she cooed, holding out the bread. She was beginning to sweat. Fighting a Strider first thing in the afternoon wasn't something she was looking forward to.

The Strider made a whirring sound, servos humming as it readied itself for flight. Strange, though, she noted. It hadn't sounded an alarm, though it was looking right at her. Perhaps the rumors were true? It took one heavy step towards her, then another. A twitch and once more it danced away. She advanced, still holding the treat, biting her lip as if attempting to encourage its hunger. "C'mon. There's more where this came from. I scratch your back, you scratch mine."

She almost sighed with relief as the great neck stretched out, and a series of tiny panels opened on the nose of the lanky machine. Tediously, they angled to pinch around the bread and feed it up into its head, and she could hear a hissing as the digestion process was initiated. She chuckled with nervous optimism as the thing thumped another step towards her, stretching, emitting a low whistle that sounded almost like a question.

"Of course you can have the rest," she promised, reaching out to set her hand carefully above the Strider's optics. "But then you need to do something for me."

She so missed moving this quickly. The machine beneath her traveled more smoothly now, it seemed, now that the Derangement had seemed to pass. Its subroutines were functioning at optimal capacities. It seemed almost glad to carry her, as if it'd been waiting for a job, a purpose. The wind whipped her long braid behind her as she felt the heavy thrumming of the Strider's legs hitting the hard dirt of the road beneath them. Occasionally, curious yellow lights would flicker to life as the machines still roaming the area were distracted by their passing… but not one of them turned red.

She activated her focus, pulling up one of the old maps she'd archived from the last Long-Neck she'd overridden. There. That was where she was going. With a gesture, she found she was able to communicate the coordinates to her mount, who chirped in affirmation. "Well, that's new!" She shouted with joy into the wind as they practically flew across the plains.

It took days to get there. She camped when she was sleepy, and the Strider did not stray far, merely replenishing its organic stores when it found a tasty patch of grass. Occasionally, it would nudge her for another piece of bread or fruit, which it seemed to prefer. It was such a relief to be with something that didn't expect her to speak to it, agree with it, or, thankfully, marry it. She relished in the night sounds she'd missed since entering Meridian. It even smelled better out here, she admitted. She'd get used to the smell in Meridian eventually. It'd just take time.

The day of their arrival, the sun was just rising behind the logs holding up the sign that read "Sobek Farm". There wasn't much left of the settlement other than that. Stone bricks, thankfully, withstood the test of time to show that it had once been a livable house, though now needed a roof and perhaps a few holes filled in. But it wasn't the house she was there to see.

There, her Focus told her. Was Elizabet Sobek. Still clad in the Homeostasis suit she wore when she left the Zero Dawn facility, though it hung on the body like canvas over poles. Aloy felt like she was looking down into the reflection of herself in a pool. It was almost impossible to see the woman as another person, after having learned so much. Her eyes blurred slightly, and she swallowed. She deserved more than to be abandoned here.

Rocks were plentiful on the ranch, and so rocks were what made the majority of Elizabet's grave. Not far from where she grew up in the farmhouse, Aloy settled the woman to rest. My mother? My sister? No. I'm burying myself, she lamented. The trinket she'd found in Elisabet's hand was warm from the sun, and she hung it on the headstone with care, letting the globe catch the last rays of the sun of day. Fitting, the huntress noted, wondering just how long it might be before she could return to this place. The day had been spent in a blur as she'd buried the scientist's corpse, partially from lack of attention and partially from the tears building in her eyes. She dried them now.

The trek back towards Meridian was much slower. She let the Strider walk, in no hurry to face what she realized might be the rest of her life. She hated herself for blaming it on Avad. After all, there was no way he could force her to be Queen. She was letting it happen. Her time with Sylens' coaching echoed through her mind. He had not hesitated to tell her that there were times that the world did not revolve around her, and this was certainly one of those times. After all, her quest was complete. The entire purpose for her being was over with. She was just like everyone else now, only with less purpose. At least this way, she can do her people a favor. The Nora needed an alliance with the Carja, that much was true. They would hate it and they would complain, but they'd never have to change as much as she'd had.

The sky opened up, and rain began to fall. The Strider continued on the path, angling the panels of its body to facilitate the most efficient way to shed the water from its housing. Aloy dragged a cloak from her pack and pulled on the hood. Too late, she spied a spark of red, just as the hood blocked her side vision.

A scream split the air, tearing it apart as Aloy dove from the Strider's back and into the mud. It reared, answering with its own scream as a trail of white smoke fizzed past its head and towards a tree behind it, shattering it with an explosion that seemed to vibrate the raindrops around them. Aloy, already panting, scrambled for cover, her hand going up to activate her Focus. Orange shapes, humans, surrounded them. How had she let herself get so careless?

One of the orange shapes stepped into focus as Aloy pulled her bow free, nocking an arrow. The big man was covered nearly head to toe in metal plates, and on his shoulder was the largest weapon Aloy'd ever seen. Too late, she recognized it from a Destroyer. The arrow thrummed as it left her bow, just as another scream pierced the air. The missiles passed eachother, but she never saw if she had hit her mark. The explosion hurled her yards through the rain, smacking her against the gnarled bark of an unyielding tree. The last thing she saw was a man in Oseram armor giving a fatal blow to her Strider, sending sparks through the night.