Heart Like a Machine

Chapter 18

I climbed back up the hill to see Varl had a look of concern.

"Are you both ok? After that tower fell I didn't know if you made it out alright."

"We're fine," I said. "Aloy, not so much."

"What happened there?"

"It's best that she informs you of what happened."

"Did something happen between the two of you?"

"We've had disagreements before, but we never fought before. This was like the first time we ever did."

"Was it bad?"

"Sort of, maybe, I don't know. I'll meet you guys back at the Chargers," I said and walked back to where we got off of them.

Aloy and Varl weren't far behind. Varl got on his and I was about to get on mine when I noticed Aloy was kind of looking around, not knowing what to do.

"You walked all the way here, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Get on," I said and patted the Charger.

"What are you going to do?"

"Sit behind you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You're a better rider than I am. I might as well sit behind you and let you control the Charger."

"Alright," she said and got onto the Charger.

I climbed on and sat comfortably on it.

"You're not going to hang on?"

"I'll be fine."

"I like to go fast," she said as she gripped the wires.

"I'll be fine," I said as I leaned back a bit.

Aloy turned around for a second before looking ahead. She whipped the wires, causing the Charger to run forward. I almost fell backwards, but I grabbed onto her shoulder before I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"I take it back, I'm not fine."

"Told you to hang on," she chuckled.

"Oh shut it," I said and just enjoyed this moment with her. Holding onto her and resting my head on her shoulder. It was paradise to be this close to her.

The long trip back from wherever we were to Meridian was not very eventful. Sure there were times where we had to stop and take a break since we were all getting tired from sitting on the Charger. There were times where we had to clear machines from our path, which wasn't fun figting and then immediately getting back onto the Charger. There was even a point where we stopped for the night.

"I can control the Charger from here back to Meridian," I said to Aloy. "We're not that far from the city."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. You deserve a break from it."

"Alright. Let's get some sleep. I think Varl is already asleep," Aloy said as we looked over to see he was in fact asleep.

"Aloy, I may not be able to understand what you're after or why you're after it, but please do know that I want to help the best way that I can."

"I shouldn't have snapped at you back at the data center. I was just frustrated that I came all the way out here and turned up with nothing. All my leads are gone and I have no idea what to do now."

"Well, when we get back to Meridian, maybe Avad will have something for you. You never know."

"Yeah," she said.

I yawned, stretching a bit before laying down.

"I think I'm going to turn in for the night. Goodnight, Aloy."

"Night, Y/N," she said.

I rolled over to where my back was facing her. I looked out into the dark trees before closing my eyes, letting my body fall asleep. The morning sun rays woke us all up. The birds were chirping and the machines were whirring. The Chargers made a noise at us, causing us to wake up a bit faster than expected.

"Let's get moving," Aloy said and shook me awake.

"Morning already?" I asked.

"You were never one to be a morning person."

"Never will be," I said and stood up, stretching.

"You're up for riding," Aloy said as she walked over to the Charger.

"Yeah, I know," I said and walked over to the Charger, getting on it.

She hopped on and Varl got on his. I grabbed the wires and whipped them against the Charger's body. It trotted off and Varl followed behind us. I tried not to think about how Aloy had her arms wrapped around my waist now. Her hands were warm against my body. I silently smiled to myself, never wanting to forget the ride back to Meridian. When we reached Meridian, we stopped the Chargers just outside the gate before getting off. Aloy walked in while Varl and I were behind her.

"Enjoy the ride to Meridian?" I asked him.

"Not in particular. There wasn't really much to see other than just woods and some machines here and there."

You'll get used to it," I told him as we followed behind Aloy.

Aloy had met up with the Sun King Avad. They were talking a bit when I noticed they had made a statue to honor her when she helped them win the fight against the Shadow Carja. She didn't seem to be too enthuised about it. Once she was done talking to Avad, she walked over to where we were.

"There's an Embassy at Barren Light that I need to attend. From there, there is a facility out in the Forbidden West that I need to go to. A backup of GAIA is there."

"Aloy, it's called the Forbidden West for a reason," I said. "No one is really allowed to go there and those who do never come back."

"I need to get that backup as soon as I can. So I am going to go there whenever I can."

"We're coming along with you," I said.

Varl nodded. I knew Aloy didn't want us to come, but she just smiled and nodded her head.

"I'm ready whenever you guys are."

"Let's leave tomorrow morning, get rested up for the trip and get prepared," I said.

"You're telling me I need to sit on that Charger again? Those things hurt like hell to sit on for long periods of time," Varl said.

"We'll meet at the main gates tomorrow morning then," Aloy said and walked into Meridian to get things ready for the morning.

I looked at her as she was walking away. She was going to leave us first thing in the morning. I had to go with her.

I was waiting at the main gates way before sunrise, which was the time we had suggested on meeting. I heard footsteps and looked up to see it was Aloy. She looked at me and sighed, but still walked over to me.

"What are you doing up?" she asked.

"I could say the same thing to you. We were supposed to meet at sunrise. The sun doesn't even come up in a few minutes."

Aloy sighed, "You caught me."

"I know you, Aloy. You're never one to take a day break when there's something you need to get done. You want to get out there and find what's out there in the Forbidden West."

"I do," she said.

"Consider me in."

"There's no talking you out of this?"

I got onto the Charger and waited for her to get onto the other one.

"Whenever you're ready, I'm ready."

She got onto the Charger and I followed her out of Meridian and towards the west.