Living Antiquity

~17~

"Hey, DEMETER. We're here to bring you home. To Gaia. No more pain..." I say gently as Aloy activates the console, watching her slide the kernel into place.
"Gaia. The seed of life- yes..." DEMETER groans in a guttural approximation of a female voice.
The soldiers around us shiver, staring in shock.
"I get it. The voice is pretty unnatural. Your voice would be pretty messed up if you weren't designed to talk, too." I point out.
They nod as Aloy puts the now filled kernel away.
"Alright..." I sigh, and look to Alva, "I'm sorry we can't give you a new Focus right now bit we did add you to our network so you can talk to us. Anytime, any distance," I say as the soldiers carefully tuck their Focuses away, "I've also made them undetectable by any but a connected Focus," I say gently, "So you won't get caught unless you're seen talking to the air."
The guards nod, a few with set jaws.
"I understand your misgivings. But we can't let more people die because one man, quote unquote, is losing his goddamn mind," I huff, pacing back and forth.
"We understand as well. Your time is when there were thousands upon thousands if Focuses..." the commander says.
"And there will be again. We have ways of building more, now," I look at him, then Alva, then back to him, "She needs protection from the Ceo as well..."
"You can trust us, ma'am."
I look at them, then nod, "I hate playing with lives like this..." I rub my face, feeling myself shaking from nerves and the stress, "If I had my way I'd go in there blazing. He'd be gone in seconds. But we need evidence. Record everything he does and says. It can be presented to your Emperor later, when you go home."
The guard nods.
"Alva, is there enough for you to take back to your people?" I look at her as she nods.
I take a deep breath, pacing, "Okay. Okay. You guys go on." I look at them, seeing them nod and head out.
I pace, worried.
"Y/n. They'll he fine. They can contact us..." Aloy points out.
I sigh, nodding.
"I'll take DEMETER to Beta," Zo offers.
"Alright. I'll head after Talanah..." Aloy nods.
"I'm gonna just... get the lay of the land for a while," I say, pacing, "There's a lot to process."
Aloy looks at me worriedly, but nods, handing the kernel to Zo, and walking from the ruin.
I sit down, holding my head and going over everything. Eventually I just sit on a pile of moss and try not to cry, exhausted and sick of the confusion.
The Tenakth's civil war.
The Quen's problematic beliefs and the possibility of having thrown off their likelihood of survival with my actions to them today.
Aloy.
Beta.
Our friends.
The Zeniths.
NEMESIS.
How far away was it?...
Drakka.
His people.
Stanley's project.
So much going on and not enough time or experience to deal with all of it.
I shake, feeling the tears finally roll free as I fight back panicked, choking sobs, waiting until there was no way in hell anyone was close enough to hear me, before letting it all out, screaming and crying, kicking shit, just so damn exhausted, nothing truly fixes everything that is wrong.
Slowly, I lose the ability to stand upright, and I have to sit back down in the mossy corner, my eyelids finally too heavy to hold open as I drift off, the sounds of the jungle around me filling my ears, becoming duller and duller until I pass out.
--
"Heya, pipsqueak..."
"Shut up..." I groan, staring into the darkness.
"Quit being so damn hard on yourself. You ain't Liz. Hell, Aloy and Beta ain't Liz. You won't get everythin' right. They won't get everythin' right..."
"Its the principal of the thing, Trav. I mean, look-"
"At everything you've done since you woke up? It's amazin' sis. You're bringin' together a world you didn't exist in until a couple months ago. Aloy's got Liz's spunk and bleeding heart, sure, but she's got her lone wolf syndrome too. You're dragging more 'n more people into her circle, making her expand. Who knows how it'd go if you weren' there to drag her out of that tough ol' shell. She's missin' her old man, yeah, but she knows she's gotta plug on. You're just addin' a dash of color to the canvas and pouring water on it- even if you cause a disaster, you can pain over it. What was that sappy old artist you used to watch? Its not mistakes, its happy accidents. The Quen. The Tenakth. The Oseram delvers working under Stanley- that waterlogged coot wouldn'a been as well received if you weren't there. Like you told the Quen. Bufferfly flutters cause a hurricane across the ocean three years later. And you, sis, are one biiig beautiful butterfly."
A hand ruffles my hair.
"And don't get me started on that new boyfriend of yours!"
"God damnit Trav-" I bolt upright, ready to take swings, but am met with the same broken down atrium of moss, plants and grass. Why was I yelling?... At Travis?...
I couldn't remember anything other than the nostalgic fog that comes after waking up from a dream that made you happy...
Groaning, I rub my face and push to my feet. Somehow, I feel more stable... Evened out, thinking clearer...
Must've been a damn good dream...
I sigh and brush myself off, trudging to the "doorway", or at least the ruined wall where the doors would have been a thousand years ago.
Travel the coast, explore, get my bearings...
"Y/n, you ok? You left the comm on, you were talking in your sleep..." Erend came through, sounding worried.
"What? Shit. Hope I didn't annoy everybody."
"Nah. We tried waking you up but you musta been down hard. Couldn't hear what you were saying, it was mostly mumbles... Until now, anyway. Guess you were dreaming about your brother, huh?" Erend asks.
"I dunno... can't remember the dream." I admit, "Hope I didn't ruin everybody's days."
"I think everybody disconnected as they realized we wouldn't be able to wake you, but there was some serious movement from a couple lines," Erend points out.
"Ah, Y/n... Are you awake now?" A female voice asjed from another line.
Atekka.
"Yes. Sorry I took up the line."
"You're alright. You seemed stressed. Even the best warriors have their problems to attend to," she says gently,"Speaking of which, I wondered if you would be able to help me with ours. It is my understanding that with this... POSEIDON function... Your Gaia should have been able to clear out much of the red poison from the rivers in the area, correct?"
"Yes. If any is left anywhere, it would have to be outside interference, and likely from an outside influence..." I say, stopping in my tracks next to a tree.
"I see... In that case, I must ask your help. All rivers to Thornmarsh have cleared but one. It still runs red with poison, continuing to sicken both well seasoned soldiers, and our young..." she says.
"Gaia, any theories?" I ask, whistling for Piglet and taking off, tagging Atekka's location with my Focus and aiming Piglet for it.
"It is possible that something is blocking clean water from reaching the area, or the algae is rooted somewhere along the river's path and continues leeching into the water..." Gaia says as I steer.
"Alright. Guess that's two possibilities. In the meantime, I'm on my way to you, Atekka. Are you in Thornmarsh?" I ask, frowning.
"Yes. I appreciate this... If we can get to the bottom of this and fix it..." her voice drops off.
"I understand. You can't have your people getting sicker and sicker..." I say.
"And with our new intel on the Quen, I also wish ti be wary. I do not know if their leader will decide to send them further into our lands. Even knowing their suffering and that they need aid... I cannot refrain from returning fire, should they attack us."
"Absolutely fair," I say, feeing how easily Piglet was gliding around turns he could have trundled through when I first overrode him.
"Do you believe they'll contact you when aid is needed...?" Atekka asks, clearly a bit reserved.
"I hope they do. Its hard to explain why, but... I feel like its my fault if more of them die. I feel like i should have done more, followed them to Legacy's Landing to chew out their expedition leader. I wish I could be awake and in their lands when they discovered the Focuses for the first time so that I could help them not to be such a paranoid tribe and to not fall into the trap of Faro's ego," I say, feeling my heart sink to say it out loud, "I hate that I missed so much, but at the same time, I don't. Existing now instead of earlier... It means I have more to bring them. It means I don't get treated as some kind of deity. I know damn well Aloy and Beta'll hate it." I sigh, leaning down and just resting my head on the back of Piglet's shoulders.
"This world is vastly different from the one you called your own, before the Final War..." Atekka says gently, "There is wisdom to be found from both your world, and ours. We earn our lives by blood. Other tribes have their own ways of life. And you see it all from the outside. Even Aloy still had a glimpse of life in a tribe, if... apparently fleeting. You are of no tribe but the one you have built around yourself and continue to expand. An honorable cause."
I smile, feeling Piglet snort as he dodges around a Clawstrider and keeps running, picking up speed, "... Wonder what Trav and Liz would think... And Margo.. and..." I doze, letting Piglet carry me the rest of the way on his own steam.
--
Within a few hours, the rhythm of movement that had knocked me out ended, and I as soon tugged from Piglet's back, the contact accompanied by a chuckle as a female voice said something, a familiar male voice responding, but I was so far in the darj that I couldn't place them...
Slowly, I started to come out of it, and realized I was face to face with black, red and yellow armor, trudging through... turquoise... red... green... teal...
Desert colors in Lowland territory...
Des...
"Whadunhrr..." I mumble, still pretty far under and dangerously close to falling back asleep.
"Hey, desert flower. Seems like you fell asleep on the ride to the capital..." an amused tone responded.
That did it.
"Drakka what the actual fuck are you doing out on the coast?..." I groan, trying to sit up, but being wuickly reminded the only thing between me and the ground was his arms, and air. No bruises today thanks.
"Weeeellll... You were asleep for quite a while before you headed here, and you sounded kinda upset about something. Stanley Chen helped us build override modules, so I got a ride out here. You and Aloy made it look so damn easy... That actually hurts," he groans, "Ass is gonna be sore for days. And then you woke up and decided to head here, so all I did was change directions and beat you here by an hour."
"He arrive several hours after you, but Piglet kept pacing and wouldn't let anyone other than Drakka remove you from his back." Atekka corrects, and Drakka just does his pout at her.
"Hey-"
"I have legs, and an upset stomach, pick one or both," I deadpan, seeing his pout turn on me, "Oh come on..."
"What, you're not comfy?" He deadpans.
"No, this shit's pointy," I groan since I can feel his armor in my side, on my back, everywhere he was touching me...
"Hmph..." he sets me on my feet and walks next to me, hands on his hips, "Never actually been out here. Commanders don't usually go to other territories."
"Your clan does not. The sky and lowland clans had been at war for centuries," Atekka chuckles and looks at him, "You at least left your Chaplain in charge?"
"Yeah, Jetakka and Stanley are working with the village leaders," he grins.
I look around, seeing the blood red marsh, and wince as the smell finally gets to my stomach, "Hhk..." I groan, leaning over a rope railing and whining as my stomach involuntarily ejects everything I've eaten in the last two months.
"Wings of the- Y/n?!" Drakka frowns, catching me as I gasp past waves of bile, acid, and half digested mystery food.
"G-gag reflex... Upset stomach... smell... How have you l-lived with this?..." I look at Atekka, wishing I could voice my apology for polluting the water even further.
She sighs and kneels, helping ti lift me back up to something like my normal height, "Desperation..."
"Water bottle... Left saddlebag..." I mutter, shaking. Whichever deity decided to include vomiting in human design, I will find you, and I will cut you...
Drakka runs back the way we seem to have come, and Atekka sighs.
"Jokes aside, will you be able to do this?" she asks.
"I want to help... Just need to adjust to the smell, and get some water in me. Sorry I have non to offer ti you.." I say weakly as she sits me on a bench.
"If this goes well, you won't have to apologize anytime soon."