It was still early afternoon by the time they reached the woods on the outskirts of Plainsong. Aloy followed Sokorra, who frequently muttered curses under her breath as she led them through the forest. Seyka stepped closely after, sword in hand, being sure not to wander too far from Beta, whom to Aloy's surprise had offered to come along and help investigate. Sporting several cuts and a rather nasty-looking head wound, Jaxx remained at the Base with Alva, who had offered to patch him up with GAIA's guidance.

With the sky clear and the air cool, thanks to the breeze coming in from the mountains, it was easy to cover ground quickly. Some of the trees had already begun shedding their leaves, leaving the forest floor covered in a dry blanket of them that crunched as the four of them walked on the path Sokorra led them on. Aloy had not vocally protested Beta accompanying them—her sister had been cooped up indoors with the exception of Charger rides ever since returning from the Zenith Base—but she had insisted on getting some light armor made for her. She tried to hide her amusement at how awkwardly Beta moved in it—the poor girl was not the most coordinated—but it gave Aloy some peace of mind that her sister would be safer than she would be in those strange white clothes the Zeniths gave her. Seyka's offer to guard Beta helped Aloy focus more on the hunt for Sokorra's missing brother, too.

"Right over here, past this thicket," Sokorra called back. "I swear when I find whoever took Korreh I'm going to make them wish they were never born."

"There's something I don't get," Seyka said. "Your brother was staying in Plainsong because he can't fight blind, right? Why would someone take him? Did he know something that an enemy might want to use?"

"No. He was just a trainee so he wouldn't have been briefed on things like squad movements and strategy. Nobody from my clan knew he was with the Utaru." Sokorra came to a stop at a small clearing, kicking up some dead leaves as she scuffed the dirt a bit. "Right here. The old man told me they were out here gathering wood when someone attacked them. But he didn't see who it was."

"All right." Aloy took in the sights around her. There were a few noticeable areas where the leaves were crushed more than others. Must have been where a struggle happened. Maybe where Jaxx and Korreh were attacked. "I'll need a minute."

Sokorra shifted her weight from one foot to the other and crossed her arms. "Sure." She glanced at Beta. "I still don't get why you two look the same. Or why you live in that house of metal."

Aloy looked up for a moment and noticed Beta seemed taken aback by the fact that Sokorra was speaking directly to her. She remembered that Beta did not have much experience interacting with anyone other than their close group. She was about to intervene when Beta spoke up.

"It's a…long story. Maybe once we find your brother, I can explain it better."

Sokorra's usual accusing manner dissipated, and she seemed to relax. "If you want. And thanks…for helping me."

Aloy continued to study the ground. "Let's see what the Focus turns up." A few scans later, the ground was highlighted with areas where the scuffle had continued and then…drag marks?

"Okay, so Jaxx and Korreh were here when they were attacked by…someone. Looks like a group of people—maybe three or four. Jaxx must have been caught by surprise and fell here." She pointed at a particularly crushed area of leaves and disturbed dirt. Some of the leaves had flecks of dried blood on them. "Korreh fought back."

"Of course he did," Sokorra snapped, the growing panic in her tone clear now. "He might be blind but he's still Eagle Squad."

"Uh, right. Four against one, no wonder they overpowered him." Faint tracks led away from the clearing. "Come on," she announced. "Looks like they dragged him away in this direction.

She followed the purple lighted path, which attempted to take the straightest route through the trees toward the stream. The others trailed behind her.

Sokorra called up first. "How can you tell? Is it that thing on your head?"

"Aloy's done this a lot. She knows what she's doing," Seyka assured her. "When a bunch of my people went missing a few months ago she helped me find them."

Sokorra muttered something under her breath again. Then, "Sorry. I'm just really worried about Korreh."

"We'll find him," Aloy said. Tracking was rarely difficult for her but having an angry, impatient Tenakth along for the ride didn't help. With the stream now a few steps away, the tracks stopped abruptly. She peered across the water for additional tracks but saw none. "Trail ends here. It's not even covered up."

The others caught up with her. "Ends?" Seyka asked. "How?"

Aloy studied the ground a bit longer. No more footprints, though there was an area of soil next to the stream where something heavy appeared to have been placed. "I think the people who took Korreh used something to transport him out of here. But the drag marks stop here, too."

"That makes no sense. People don't just disappear into nothing," Sokorra said. She started pacing between the stream and the edge of the woods. "Maybe there's something you're not seeing."

Beta spoke before Sokorra could spiral even further. "Aloy." She knelt down and brushed away some dirt on the ground, revealing a long metal rod with some machine parts attached to it. Some of the parts were in better condition than others, as though they had been recently added. "Look at this."

Aloy reactivated her Focus to scan it. It was definitely familiar—she had helped Jaxx get some of the parts for it months ago. "Korreh's instrument. Jaxx and I helped him build it a while back. But something else has been attached to it." She took it from Beta to inspect it closer. Two new parts: one round, one a collection of fused shards. The round one she recognized. "A machine lure."

Beta's eyes widened with interest. "I've never seen one the Zeniths didn't build. Why would someone put one on a musical instrument?"

Aloy flipped the flute over to get a better look at the other side. "I've seen some like these a few times. An Oseram Erend and I took down used them to attack Meridian. Not sure what these are," she mused, pointed at the fused shards. "They're from a machine but I can't tell which one. Not sure how that would help us anyway." She handed the flute back to Beta.

Seyka approached them. "What do you think happened?" she asked in a voice low enough only for Aloy to hear.

"Not much, but maybe it's a start." Aloy turned to Sokorra. "Okay. Jaxx and Korreh were out here and were ambushed by…someone. Maybe three or four others. Jaxx was knocked out, but Korreh fought back. They overpowered him and dragged him here where he dropped his instrument. There was something big, maybe a crate, placed here, but it's gone too—no drag marks or any signs it was moved somewhere else. And…for some reason, Korreh's flute has a machine lure attached to it."

Sokorra was quiet at first as she took in Aloy's report. She turned away from them and sniffed a bit before standing up straight, like any proper Desert Clan Tenakth would. "All right. What do we do now?"

"We need to find out what machine this was used to lure. Maybe that will tell us more," Aloy said as a barrage of possibilities ran through her mind. Whoever did this might have been controlling a machine. Sons of Prometheus? They were all dead—or at least they should have been. And as far as she knew, Sylens had not worked with them in months. Why Korreh?

It was Beta who proposed the next step. "If we take it back to the Base, I can analyze it and maybe figure out what machine it came from."

"You can find Korreh with that?" Sokorra's tone quickly shifted as she stared at Beta with hope in her eyes.

Beta froze up a bit, no doubt from the added pressure and being directly addressed. "If we can figure out what machine they were trying to lure, maybe. I can try anyway."

"Well, it's more than I had a day ago," Sokorra said with some marked relief. "Thank you. All of you."

A blend of pride mixed with surprise at her sister's ingenuity and helpfulness bubbled its way into Aloy's chest. "Right. Sounds like the best thing we could do, then. Maybe Jaxx knows more about the upgrades done to Korreh's flute as well." She turned to the rest. "Back to the Base?"

Sokorra hesitated. "I need to report back in with my commander. See if she'll permit me to take some leave to handle this."

Aloy reached into one of her pouches and procured a Focus. "Here." She tossed the device to Sokorra, who caught it with a deft hand. "We can use this to keep in touch. If you come back to the Base with us on your way home, we'll show you how to use it." She activated her own Focus to call Alva and let her know they were on their way back.

It was evening by the time the four of them arrived at the Base. The moment the entry doors slid open and they stepped into the gathering hall, a deep familiar voice sounded.

"Was wondering when you'd return." Jaxx approached them, though slowly and with a slight limp. His injuries had been seen to, but he still seemed shaken up by the incident. "Did you find the boy?"

Aloy gestured at the flute in Beta's hands. "No. But we might have found a clue. Did you know Korreh added more parts to his instrument?"

"I did," Jaxx said with a nod. He grimaced, his hand going to the back of his wounded head. "He went to the edge of town on his own a few days ago and when he returned, he said he'd met a merchant who traded in pieces like his and offered to upgrade it." Guilt crept into his voice. "You don't think that had something to do with him going missing, do you?"

"I don't know…not yet anyway," Aloy said. "You should rest though. That head wound looks bad."

Jaxx put up his hand. "Your friend Alva has given me a space in one of the bunks. I shall return to Plainsong in the morning if that is all right."

"Of course." She turned to Sokorra. "Find Alva. She'll show you how to use the Focus before you head back to Scalding Spear."

"I'll be in the basement." Beta held up the flute. "See if I can figure out what machine this is from."

With plans set, they went their separate ways—with Aloy and Seyka retreating to her room.

"I didn't expect to be on another mission with you so soon," Seyka joked as she propped up her weapons against the wall near the door. "Is it always so exciting here?"

Aloy took a seat on the desk. "It used to be. Not so much lately. We've mostly just been looking for ways to stop Nemesis but so far, we don't have much."

Seyka bit her lip, making Aloy regret bringing up Nemesis. She just got her sister back, united the fleets, and now I'm reminding her about the end of the world.

"Sorry, I—it's kind of the dominating topic around here."

But Seyka held up her hand to stop her. "No, you're fine." She took a deep breath. "I can't pretend like it's not happening—if anything I should be helping you come up with a way to stop it."

Had it been a few months earlier, Aloy would have assured Seyka that she had everything taken care of and to not trouble herself with the matter. But after Far Zenith—after finding GAIA, joining forces with her friends, and losing Varl—she knew the only way to beat Nemesis was by having as many allies as possible. It was still an internal struggle, however, and the last thing she wanted to do was to put the people she cared about in danger.

Seyka's question tore her from her thoughts. "Is there somewhere I can put my armor for now? It's getting a bit late and I'm kind of tired. Long trip from Landfall and all."

Armor. Of course. I'm sure she brought things like clothes with her. She's not fused to her armor—that would be ridiculous. "Yeah…yeah you can um, put it anywhere. Here is fine."

Seyka just seemed amused as she unhooked the clasps of her wrist guard and held the piece over the floor in the middle of the room. "Anywhere, huh? Just right here then?" she asked with a smirk. "Maybe I'll leave a few pieces in your sister's room, too. And then some with your friend GAIA of course. It might take me a while to find them all tomorrow, though."

Aloy rolled her eyes, but it came with a short laugh. "You can keep your things here if you like. I'm sure there's extra space in the bunk area, too." She realized that she may had inadvertently told Seyka to sleep in the bunks. Did I mean that? No, of course not but then, where else would she sleep? Here? Varl and Zo had shared a room and it was fine, though she had made a point of not getting into their private business unless Varl offered to talk about them. Did Seyka have…expectations of her? Was she supposed to offer her room or was Seyka supposed to say something?

She knew next to nothing about this stuff. Varl had come to her for advice but maybe Zo would have been a good person to ask.

"Hey." Seyka's hand came down gently on her shoulder. "Are you okay? You look like you've got a lot going on in there."

"Yes. No." Aloy sighed. "I'm sorry, Seyka. I've just had a lot of time—too much time to think about, well, us and now I'm overthinking it. I um, was going to ask where you wanted to sleep tonight." Don't look at the bed. Don't look at the bed.

Against impossible odds, her eyes wandered to the bed.

Seyka tilted her head and was quiet for a moment. "Oh. I can sleep anywhere, Aloy. I'm a marine—just put me wherever." But then something seemed to register in her mind, and her expression went from curious to warm. "I'm more than happy to stay with you here, too, if that's all right. We can catch up and you can tell me about everything you've been up to." She placed her other hand against Aloy's cheek. "I'm just grateful we're together, Aloy. And…I want to take this one step at a time. So, if you want me here, that's great. If you want me in the bunks, I'm fine with that, too. Okay?"

The words brought more relief than Aloy had hoped, and the sigh she let out reflected that as she leaned into Seyka's touch. "Okay." She swallowed. "Stay…please." She glanced at the wrist guard, which was now on the floor. "Maybe put those by my stash over there, though?"

Seyka laughed. "Way to ruin my fun."