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lets-try-some-writing · 1 year

Text

Machine

There are no Primes. There haven't been any Primes since the Matrix was reclaimed by Primus. But with the war spiraling out of control and Orion Pax, the hope of the Autobots being on death's door, Ratchet had no other choice. The Autobots needed a leader, they needed a Prime. If Primus would not give them one, then Ratchet sure as Pit would.

(fair warning, this post is really freaking long)

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

Orion Pax was their leader. He took up the mantle when the Autobots needed hope more than ever before. He was kind, he was courageous, he was wise and grew more so with every day. He was what they needed to keep marching forward against Megatron's forces and the slow demise that their world seemed to be dead set of reaching. He was more than worthy of being a Prime.

Ratchet never expected such a mech to fall.

Even as he sat at Orion's bedside watching his friend and leader waste away, he could hardly comprehend it. However as the army began to panic without their leader and the Decepticons grew more bold, Ratchet was forced to make a choice. Orion would not live long. His frame was devastated beyond repair and he had no Matrix to give to a successor to lead the Autobots. When he died everything would fall apart and their world would be handed over to Megatron.

Ratchet could not allow this, not when everything they were fighting for depended on the presence of a leader.

As such while there was still time, Ratchet cast aside his reservations and he began what would be considered a heretical work by any definition. He quietly began collecting scans, samples, CNA, copies of memory, and everything else that made Orion Pax who he was. He did not tell anyone what he was doing as Orion faded and he took what he gathered and began to apply it to his project. To keep the army at least semi-composed, the lie he told the Autobots was simple: That Orion Pax was being taken for emergency frame restructuring and was to be brought close to Primus's core to keep his spark stable.

He forged the studies he used to back up his claim that having Orion moved was a wise decision. And then once that was done, he took his friend from the medical bay and brought him to Ratchet's personal laboratory where he took everything he could from his friend while he still lived.

The CNA he used to begin creating a clone, one that he ensured was lifeless through a series of chemical implants. He adjusted it as needed, altering it to match his specifications and leave room for the modifications he had planned. He integrated the CNA of fallen Primes after rooting around and collecting what he could from their lifeless frames to give his creation the strength of Primes. He also altered the clone frame to have a gaping hole where its spark chamber would have been should it have lived in order to house part of what he was making. Then while the clone frame developed, Ratchet carefully began cultivating an AI which he fed Orion's memories.

He took great care with the AI, feeding it memory and coding it in such a way that it would follow his orders. He put in failsafes, integrated the ability for the AI to evolve and learn how to overcome obstacles, and went to great lengths to input an impossible to ignore urge to win the war and restore Cybertron. It took nearly a vorn of fine tuning, by which point Orion had already passed away. But when the AI was a near perfect replica of Orion Pax mentally, at least based on what Ratchet knew of his friend, he made the final piece to finish the puzzle.

His greatest creation was by far the faux Matrix. He based its design off the old texts and what images he could find. Then when its outer shell was complete, he made the greatest super computer he could compile with the aid of a few anonymous engineers who had no idea what they were making for him. He filled the faux Matrix with the entirety of Cybertron's databanks and designed it in such a way that it would run through countless scenarios and calculate the best course of action. He altered its way of giving information so that it would come in the form of old text and strange glyphs to imitate what previous Primes had said their interactions with the real Matrix was like.

He gave it the command to run through data during the artificial Prime's recharge cycle to imitate visions. He then also altered it so that it directly connected to he Prime AI and would, if all went well, regulate the coded emotional responses as the real Matrix would have done with its chosen Prime. He jumped through every hoop to make it so that his artificial Prime would be as convincing as possible, even giving the clone frame the ability to expertly control its EM field to create an aura of divinity through a series of recessive codes.

Then finally, after over a vorn of effort and just before the army began to panic again, Ratchet put together his finest creation. His perfect artificial Prime, made to fulfill the needs of the people and never to be corrupted by greed or other vile emotions. His creation would lead them onward and play the part of Prime until the war came to an end. This was its purpose, and while it was not what Ratchet would have liked, having his Prime wear the face of his oldest friend was both a comfort and a curse.

There was no time to mourn Orion Pax, all Ratchet could do was continue on pretending as if his friend still lived on in his creation for the sake of his own sanity.

A vorn and a half after the project began, Optimus Prime awoke on Ratchet's medical berth with only vague false memories of going to Primus's core to stop the dark energon from spreading. Careful to remain stoic, Ratchet explained all that had come to pass during the artificial Prime's absence and pointed out the Matrix within Optimus's chassis. It took a moment for Optimus's AI to settle and understand, but once everything clicked, the programming Ratchet put into place kicked in and the Prime was off to do his work.

It was certainly a little rough in the beginning. Optimus, despite having been cultivated so carefully was still not the best at interaction. The artificial Prime required time and lots of trial and error to have its AI grow and adapt, quickly changing to be what the Autobots needed. Before long Ratchet could even believe that his creation was a real living being with how it moved and acted, grieving over the fallen, giving hope to the Autobots, and showing courage and conviction like no other.

It was almost enough for Ratchet to forget that Orion Pax was dead.

However Optimus was still an artificial being and there were indeed signs that pointed toward its true nature despite Ratchet's efforts. Optimus didn't feel pain the same way others did, no, the pain it felt was all artificial and could be turned off if needed. During times of increadible stress or when Optimus couldn't afford to fall, Ratchet would quietly utter the command to have Optimus's ability to feel pain turned off. The ability startled the Autobots a great deal, especially when Ratchet forgot to turn the pain sensors back on, prompting Optimus to come to him in increadible worry wondering if something was wrong.

Optimus didn't know that it wasn't alive, and Ratchet couldn't afford to let his artificial Prime think otherwise.

Optimus also wasn't the best at recreating emotion, its AI simply wasn't structured with high emotional response in mind. It was meant to be stoic, unable to be traumatized but still capable of learning. This meant that while it developed and learned, becoming a better leader and responding to the emotions of others better, it had issues replicating other's emotions. It could hardly grieve, it could hardly feel joy, sorrow, or despair. The only emotion Ratchet allowed it to have hardwired was a sense of duty and failure when it didn't perform adequately.

There were other smaller signs, little things like the way Optimus would remain unconcerned by gore, illness, or death. But other than that, the Autobots accepted it, taking Optimus as their Prime without much question. The only one who suspected was Jazz, the other longtime friend of Orion. But even he, perhaps wishing for the entity that called itself Prime to really be Orion, never said anything. All the while Ratchet watched and gently directed Optimus, giving it commands veiled as suggesting and council and repairing him when required

Optimus was his machine, nothing more, nothing less... at least that was what Ratchet constantly told himself in order to not get attached. That is until Optimus returned to base with an actual sparkling in its arms and treated it with more protectiveness and love than Ratchet had ever seen his creation show before. Up until that point everything Optimus did was well within parameters. It fell within the lines Ratchet set, but as if touched by Primus, it suddenly stopped being an "it".

Optimus's AI evolved, and it, no, he changed. Ratchet could only watch on in growing fear, awe, and confliction as Optimus stopped needing him to offer quiet commands. The artificial Prime began acting like a living being, no longer confined by the coding that left him usually aloof and unbothered. The artificial Prime developed, becoming his own individual and never once suspecting a thing about what he really was. This alone nearly made Ratchet want to wipe Optimus's AI and try again, using injury as an excuse just to be sure his creation couldn't go rogue. He only stopped because of how happy Optimus looked as he played with the sparkling he named Bumblebee.

By the time Ratchet considered telling Optimus the truth if only to clear his own guilty conscience, he couldn't do it, not when Optimus believed every single false memory and lie Ratchet had ever told him. How could he destroy the artificial life he had unintentionally created? Optimus was meant to be a machine, a tool to be directed and used as required. The only reason Ratchet had made him believe himself to have once been Orion Pax was to make his acting more believable. But that one small decision had changed everything.

Optimus believed he was living, he thought he had a spark like other mecha and he behaved as such. Ratchet had to feed his creation more and more lies to constrain him and keep him from trying to create Amica bonds or other such intimate ties. He told Optimus the Matrix forbit it and even went so far as to knock Optimus offline and alter the faux Matrix's code so that it would keep Optimus from trying to connect to others too deeply.

If Optimus tried to bond with anyone, the results would be devastating. Even knowing this, it hurt Ratchet's spark to watch Optimus be forced to keep a wall between himself and the sparkling he had found. The artificial Prime still played the part of a Sire for Bumblebee, but he could never have the bond that existed between a Caretaker and their sparkling. Ratchet told Optimus this was due to the Matrix, but Ratchet knew this not to be the case.

Ratchet made a machine to lead the Autobots, but instead he had created an AI that believed itself alive. By the time the Allspark was sent away and the Autobots fled to the stars, the only thing that set Optimus apart from the true children of Primus was his lack of a spark.

No matter how much it hurt to look at the machine who wore his friend's face and identity, Ratchet couldn't tell Optimus the truth. Optimus didn't deserve that pain, not when he wept for the fallen, not when he fought with conviction, and most certainly not when he wished and dreamed with Ratchet on dark nights, imagining a better future. On such nights Ratchet liked to forget that the entity he was speaking to was one of his own make. He liked to pretend that it was indeed his friend who sat beside him and murmured softly the hopes he held of a future where their people were free.

After such interactions he often lay awake in his berth wondering if he had made the right decision and what Orion would think of him.

Coming to earth changed little. Optimus continued to act as Prime, leading them and fighting against Megatron as he always did. He took the children in with grace and behaved exactly as Ratchet expected Orion would have should he have been made Prime. But by that point Ratchet was too ridden by guilt to even dream of trying to wipe the AI that was Optimus or try again. Optimus was alive if only to the others, he couldn't risk everything falling apart because of the truth being exposed.

Then Unicron woke and everything began to crumble bit by bit.

Ratchet managed to hide Optimus's true nature by modifying the faux Matrix so that it could produce an EMP field strong enough to push Unicron back into slumber. But after the event Optimus began to suspect something was wrong with him, that he wasn't right. The abuse of the faux Matrix meant that it started to malfunction and Ratchet couldn't make any adjustments without drawing suspicions. He could only pray that Optimus remained ignorant.

Optimus was concerned, but with time he shook of the oddity of his faux Matrix and Ratchet breathed a sigh of relief... up until Smokescreen made his appearance and brought with him a container which had been welded to his back. Ratchet didn't think much of it once Smokescreen was confirmed to be from Alpha Trion. As such he removed the container and with Bulkhead's help, pried it open.

He regretted that more than anything else.

Within the container was the Matrix, the real Matrix. Every single bot in the base stood still as stone, all of them not wanting to believe it as they looked at Optimus. Ratchet wished he could scream as his creation looked the faux Matrix in his chassis and the real one in the container and passed out.

#maccadam #transformers prime #transformers #optimus prime #ratchet #team prime #orion pax #alternate universe #artificial prime au #secret identities #I've had this idea kicking around for a while #it has so much potnetial #I fully intend to expand on this thought if it proves to be of interest to you lot

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hanasnx · 8 months

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187 and 7 for anakin 😈

prompt: #187

prompt list | rules

minors dni 18+

word count: 0.9k | character(s): tcw!anakin skywalker x f!reader

notes: specifically written for the clone wars' characterization of anakin. i chose to go with #187 bcos ive been needing an excuse to make this specific idea happen lmao i hope u like it

warnings: light gambling, no smut, strip game, youre barely clothed in front of clones (implied), you're wearing a bralette mention, commander!reader, no y/n

"General Skywalker,” a trooper beckons, catching up with the striding officer to fall into step with him.

“Lieutenant.” Anakin greets with a nod. The pair pass by compatriots, ignoring the bustle of their surroundings as they share a conversation.

“Some advice, sir?”

Anakin quirks a brow, regarding the lieutenant with a side glance. “You’re asking?”

“The Commander, sir, she cleans us out every time we play scraps, and we’re almost sure she’s—“

“Cheating?” That’s well within your character, so much so it makes him scoff. You’re clever, and not to say his boys aren’t. They have more integrity than you.

The trooper remains uneasy, as if he’s implicated a higher ranking official by tattling to his battalion general. “Yeah… Er, yes, sir.” The only reason he came to Anakin was because of the close nature of his relationship with the Commander.

“It’s loaded dice, Lieutenant.” Anakin replies, certain without the need to check. He’s aware of your past, and how you use it to take advantage of those too trusting. Playing dishonestly in some light gambling isn’t the worst thing you’ve gotten away with. The thought of it pulls the other end of his lips into a smile. A devious plan forming in his head while his clone trooper bangs his fist against his palm in eureka.

“Ah, ha! Perfect, I’ll go tell the boys—“ That tone of triumph within the trooper, paired with his near escape, snaps Anakin’s mind to the present. His hand shoots out, clutching onto his subordinate’s upper arm, effectively arresting him.

“Lieutenant.”

Again, he’s nervous in his answer. “… Yes? Sir?”

Anakin’s close, lowering his voice so as to keep the matter between them. “Why don’t you let me handle this?”

“Oh, no way I’m playing scraps with a Jedi.” you interject as soon as your eyes lay on the smug face of Anakin Skywalker entering the room, cutting through the group of clones. You slump in your chair, crossing your arms.

“Not to worry, Commander,” Anakin draws a chair to sit down. “You have my word I won’t cheat.” he pronounces the word while holding your gaze, and you jerk your head away. Aside from being suspicious he’s remarkably accusatory, you’re worried his disapproval is driving him to expose your operation to humiliate you. It’s annoying how high of a horse he sits on. Anakin glances between the others at this little table, “Mind if I join?”

“—Not at all, General,”

“—‘Course not.”

The troopers reply, however you can smell the tension caused by their superior catching them in the act of partaking in a gambling game. Not just their boss, but a force sensitive as well. His word may be currency within the Order, but here it means jack when real money’s on the line. Luckily, the game only needs two to play.

You roll your eyes in reluctant compliance, and land all four legs of your chair onto the ground with a bang. Anakin remains unperturbed. In fact, he’s unwaveringly staring you down, awaiting your next move. So you oblige him, leaning forward to sweep your red pair of dice off the table into your hand. “Alright, well, you know the rules. Roll a seven, and you get the pot—“

Quick to interrupt you, you frown at the General for his outburst, “Unfortunately, I don’t have any money.”

You slow, and scoff in disbelief at his audacity. “So, why are you wasting my time then?” The foul disposition he created by inviting himself to this table is worsened by how obvious it is he’s keen on tripping you up.

“I thought we’d roll for a strip.” he responds. His body language is cool, and open. Curled forward with a palm on his thigh and his elbow resting on the surface. As if he’s so comfortable with offering that up, as if you’d take it. You roll your jaw while you consider it. When you take too long, his gaze sweeps across the crowding onlookers of clones. “Don’t you wanna give the boys a show?” There’s murmuring amongst the throng, and now you’ll look like a coward for refusing. Besides, there’s no way Anakin would win with a pair of dice like these.

You straighten, the dice noisily shaking in your fist, “Get ready to leave in your underwear, Skywalker.”

On dramatic cue, Anakin tucks his hand in between the layers of his robes, to retrieve a pair of white dice from his breast pocket.

“Actually, Commander, I want to use these. They’re lucky.” A phrase that derailed your confidence as easily as tipping over the first domino. Talking a big game, winning as much as you had before, it’d be obvious you weren’t playing fair as soon as you roll with these. However, you can’t deny it now or else look completely guilty.

Anakin witnesses you visibly shift in expression, adjusting in your seat to call attention away from it as you clear your throat. That cocky energy dissolves before his eyes as you shove your own lucky charms into your pants, and silently ask for his with an outstretched palm. He pours them into your hand.

It isn’t long at all before you sit, cold, in your metal chair. Disrobed and bare, save for your panties and bralette. You tap your arm impatiently, the stressed vein pronounced in the skin of your forehead as you pray on Anakin’s downfall for revenge. He cares not, delighted even, as he collects his winning die from the table one by one.

It’s what you get for taking advantage of his battalion.

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twinterrors29 · 7 months

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Kenfetti Beauty and the Beast AU

it all began on Galidraan

Jango and his Haat'ade were getting ready to leave the planet in a hurry after spotting the Governor secretly meeting with Kyr'tsad

as they were finishing their packing, they were approached by a dark, hooded figure who introduced himself as 'Sifo-Dyas', a Jedi summoned by the Governor to arrest them

Jango immediately decided to call bullshit and started shooting, backed up by the rest of the company

which is when the disguised Dooku activated his Sith Trap Card

Jango's armor lost its color as the rest of the crew disappeared

when Jango demanded that 'Sifo-Dyas' tell him how to break the curse, the 'Jedi' then smugly informed Jango that the only way would be to kill the entire Jedi Order, for as long as they stood together there would be power behind the spell

Jango is then left to stew in his guilty grief for a few years, letting the anger and resentment for the Jedi grow into hatred, before he was approached by a Sith by the name of Darth Tyrannus, who had heard a rumor that Jango had a grudge against the Jedi Order, and would like to hire him for a very specific venture

but first, he needed Jango to explain the nature of his grievance against the Order as part of the 'vetting' process

after listening to Jango's account, Tyrannus 'theorizes' that the Jedi destroyed the Haat'ade's bodies and have been holding their souls for power

(which is actually somewhat accurate, if you replace 'Jedi' with 'Sith')

and then laid out the outline of the Kamino project

he emphasizes that the clones would be soulless vessels, who might prove suitable hosts for the freed souls of the Haat'ade if their plan succeeds and Jango is able to enact their revenge by killing the Order

so Jango agreed

ten more years pass, with Jango working alone on Kamino with the scientists to create their perfect clone army

and then a Jedi Knight landed on Kamino

Jango duly reported this development to Tyrannus, who ordered him to lead the Jedi to Geonosis to kick off the war

Jango's attempt to flee the planet to lead the Jedi was unsuccessful however, explosively so: both of their ships were destroyed in their fight as Knight Kenobi caught up to him a little too early, stranding them both on Kamino with little ability to communicate with their allies off-planet

they both figure that those allies will come to investigate/rescue them soon, with Jango secretly confident that Tyrannus or whoever he would send to check will reach them first since he knows where they are and was expecting him to arrive shortly on Geonosis

so they reached an uneasy truce to tolerate each other until that time, and that they will stay within sight of each other throughout that time to preempt any betrayal

Kenobi, of course, insisted on continuing to investigate the creation of this clone army and its purpose, dragging an annoyed Jango along with him as he interviewed many of the scientists and started getting to know the clones themselves

these conversations left Jango increasingly suspicious of Tyrannus' assertions that the clones are soulless, leaving him to wonder how much of the rest of his claims and promises were also lies

and then Obi-Wan uncovered the true purpose of the army, and the nature of Jango's own vendetta

and Obi-Wan revealed the fact that Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas has been dead far longer than the Haat'ade have been gone

and Jango realized that he'd been used, manipulated from the start

which was, of course, the moment that Tyrannus finally arrived on Kamino to tie up the loose end that Kenobi represented, also serving the purpose of a provocation for the Republic to enter war with the Separatists after Count Dooku killed a Jedi after 'uncovering' that the Order had been building an army for the Republic

but Jango had come to the realization that everything he thought he knew about the 'Jedi Curse' was a lie

that the Haat'ade were long gone, almost certainly dead

and that Obi-Wan, whose integrity he'd grown to trust, had only ever tried to help him find the truth

so when Dooku won the duel against Obi-Wan, he intervened and killed Dooku instead

Obi-Wan immediately recognized what Jango had done for him: he'd just killed the only hope he'd had of saving his people, or even finding out what had really happened to them

Obi-Wan pulled Jango into Keldabe Kiss, to show his trust and gratitude for saving him

and there's no love truer than that: saving someone at great cost to yourself, and then receiving love and trust in return, no need for romance

and there's no stronger curse breaker than true love's kiss

as the color bleeds back into Jango's armor, there are suddenly a lot of fully armored Mando'ade in the halls around them

once they all recovered a bit, they all stole the clones together to help prevent the war from kicking off and move to Mandalore to advise (heckle) Obi-Wan's ex, the Duchess Satine, and end up uncovering and chasing off several less savory (cough corrupt cought) members of her government on her behalf, starting with Governor Pre Vizsla, Senator Tal Merrick, and even Prime Minister Almec

and they all lived happily ever after

#star wars #attack of the clones #beauty and the beast #fairy tales #sith #clones #mandalore #jango fett #obi wan kenobi #count dooku

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letsquestjess · 5 months

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Protective Measures - Part 3 (Howzer x GN!Reader)

Summary: It has been too long since you last saw Howzer, and after his escape, the first thing he wants is to see you.

Word count: 2.2K

Warnings: Usual Empire stuff mentioned in the first part.

Part 1 | Part 2

Fic Masterlist

-- -- -- -- --

Order 66. That is what they were calling it. The eradication of the Jedi at the hands of the clones who had fought beside them and trusted them. The vindication of a new empire, ruled with a ruthless grip. Each passing day saw the relentless exploitation of planets, depleting them of all their valuable resources and smothering any signs of rebellion. Thousands resisted and died. And as the galaxy’s suns rose and fell, more perished.

News of Imperial bloodshed reached you daily, and it hadn’t taken you long to question the integrity of this new authority. The calculated methods hinted at a meticulous plan prepared before the fall of the Jedi. If that were the case, the alleged assassination attempt against the chancellor may not have been wholly unjustified, but you knew better than to voice your doubts. Instead, you locked them away and remained vigilant.

Everything changed in a blink, in a whisper, and your life altered with it. Colleagues you had known for years started voicing their dissent and vanishing, and with each disintegrating world, the Emperor’s dominion grew stronger. You had managed to retain control of your own planet, but barely. It wouldn’t take much time before you faced demands you were not willing to meet.

To add to the mounting pressure of your job, your communications with Howzer had ceased. After your visit to Ryloth, you had both kept in touch via holo-communications, cherishing stolen moments to talk or respond to messages. But since that day, since the galaxy was turned upside down, you hadn’t been able to reach him.

“You look as if the weight of the world rests upon your shoulders,” Riyo Chuchi remarked, interrupting herself as she rambled about the recent senate meeting.

“I’m fine,” you replied. “Or at least I will be.”

The Pantoran smiled kindly, but an underlying worry tinged the gesture. With a hand to your elbow, she veered you into a deserted corridor. “You haven’t seemed yourself, and I can see that something is on your mind.”

Her intuition wasn’t wrong. You had plenty to trouble you, but there were some burdens you locked deep down so that nothing could reach them. Burdens that haunted you in the depths of the night while the hail pounded the windowpanes and preoccupied your thoughts whenever you spotted an elegant bouquet or the first speckles of sunlight. Like the flecks in his eyes, you remembered.

However, there was one topic you knew you could discuss with her, a common concern you both shared. “Riyo, do you agree with what the Empire is doing?” you asked, lowering your voice and checking that there was nobody lurking nearby. “I’ve heard things, things I probably shouldn’t have and… The Republic wasn’t perfect, we made many mistakes, but we never would have done this. People are disappearing in alarming numbers. Families are being torn apart. The slightest hint of insurrection and Imperial soldiers are wiping out villages.”

“I have also heard of some disturbing events,” Riyo admitted. “The more I hear, the more I question what we’re doing, but we have to be careful of what we say, at least for now. All we can do at the moment is keep on fighting for the clones, and maintain a low enough profile that the rest of the senate thinks we are unaware of certain liberties they have taken.” Her pale yellow gaze dropped, and a troubled wrinkle squeezed at her brow. “This is not what I become a senator for, and I understand it is the same for you, but we still have the ability to help people.”

“We do,” you said with an inkling of hope in your heart. But for how long, you left unspoken.

* * *

Accompanied by the melodic tune on the radio, you whisked the lumps from the sweetened batter and poured it into the little trays, mopping up the stray blobs and slipping them into the oven. While it may have seemed unusual to other senators for one in your position to refuse any staff arrangements, you found comfort in tending to your own needs. Following the incident on Ryloth, the former senate had clarified that tighter security was non-negotiable, and you had had to relent, but unless there was an issue, they left you in peace.

As the oven emitted thin beeps, you gingerly took out the trays. With careful coaxing, the cakes popped from the mould and gushed out ribbons of vanilla-scented steam. Once the bowl was full to the brim, you plodded into the living room. Your days were usually hampered with work, leaving little time for self-indulgence, but you made an effort to carve out moments of quiet whenever you could.

You activated the buttons on the armrest of the sofa as you sat down to eat and the holographic television blinked to life. Among the holo-dramas and news bulletins, you lingered on a garden documentary. The pruned flora and the spread of pastel petals transported you back to the secluded plot of land on the outskirts of Lessu, and a thin layer of tears clung to your lashes. The devoted warmth that had caressed your face and the delicate scents that had invited you in. And the man who had walked by your side. Who had made you laugh so much that your cheeks ached and opened up to you in one of the most vulnerable ways.

Howzer, you thought, momentarily closing your eyes and summoning the image of the clone captain.

A worried grumble fluttered from your lips and you set the bowl of tiny cakes on the seat beside you. There was no way of finding out what had happened to him. The stars above only knew how you’d tried, discreetly checking the Ryloth accounts and making tactful inquiries just to catch a hint of his whereabouts. In the back of your mind, you realised you may never see him again, but you stubbornly refused to entertain such a grim thought. I’d know it, you convinced yourself. He’s still out there somewhere.

Amidst the uncertainty, you took a deep breath and returned to your well-deserved dessert, immersing yourself in the narrator’s vivid descriptions of each flower and their vital role in the delicate environment of the outer-rim planet. Enthusiasm dripped from her voice, and for a time it distracted you. Enough that when the buzzer screeched, you almost dropped the bowl in your hands.

You hurried to the door and stole a glance at the visitor identification by the intercom system, disabling the locks and ushering your guest inside. “Senator Chuchi,” you said as she lowered her hood. “I wasn’t expecting any callers tonight. Is everything okay? Has something happened?” For a frightening moment, you worried your conversations had been discovered, but the Pantoran’s composed demeanour dispelled your concerns.

“Do not panic, senator. All is well,” she replied. “I am not disturbing any plans, am I?”

“No, not at all.”

“Good.” Riyo glanced towards the door, her attention drawn to the orderly row of jackets hanging on the hooks. “I would recommend you bring a thick coat. It’s rather cold out tonight.”

“Why?” you asked, spotting a rare, mischievous glint in her features. “Where are we going?”

Noting the unease in your voice, the senator retrieved a small, transparent bag of rounded chocolates from her pocket and presented it to you. Your heart soared and pounded.

“There is someone who would like to see you,” Riyo said, depositing the packet in your hand before she strolled to the entrance of your apartment. “But we need to be discreet.”

* * *

Senator Chuchi hadn’t been mistaken. The merciless chill bit at you through your layers of clothing and a fierce howl bounced between the buildings. Goosebumps crept up your skin and your breath curled in huffed streams.

As you descended to the lower levels of the city, the elements filtered into the tunnel and gradually eased. Alleys and walkways painted a mosaic of shadows and artificial light on your path. At the faint vibration of your footfalls, small creatures scurried out from the bins, and the metal casings rattled as they scooted away.

“Riyo,” you said in a hushed tone, tugging at your hood. “Where exactly are we going?”

“Just a little further,” the senator replied. She gestured to an air taxi, the engine purring, and smuggled inside.

You followed her in and settled down, observing the kaleidoscope of neon lights zooming by in a disorienting blur as you journeyed to your unknown destination.

Your legs bounced with the faint rhythmic pulse of the vehicle. Only one person was aware of the chocolates, but a twinge of doubt tempered your anticipation. For all you knew, someone else awaited, someone with bad news.

Part way down the underground portal, the air taxi came to a smooth halt at a landing point. Filled with trepidation, you climbed out and craned your neck to look up at the shutters, trying to figure out where you were. Riyo tapped a signal onto the corrugated metal and the massive doors shuddered, revealing a narrow gap for you to squeeze through.

The accompanying senator wriggled in first, the sliver of light leaking through the divide temporarily engulfing her slight frame. Once she had disappeared, you manoeuvred your way inside the repair shop.

“What is this?” you asked, taking in the shelves stacked with dusty ship parts and unopened crates that provided a resting spot for the chatting soldiers.

“A place of security for the clones,” Riyo explained. “It’s an underground network that I have been assisting. I wanted to tell you about it, but it would have put you at considerable risk.”

“These are unsettling times,” you assured her, eyes brimming with understanding. “Thank you for not taking my safety lightly.”

“I hope your journey here wasn’t too troublesome, senators,” Captain Rex said, winding the entryway closed and acknowledging both of you with a firm nod.

“I waited until nightfall, as you advised,” Riyo replied. “Is he here?”

Rex waved towards a shelving unit, drawing your attention to the clone engaged in a conversation with one of his brothers. Gone was the familiar white and teal armour; now he wore a dark under suit and navy vest. More like a prisoner than a captain, but it was unmistakably him.

You inched closer, the sight before you seeming too surreal to be true. How many times had you dreamed of this moment? How often had your thoughts roamed on lovelorn feet to the memory of how his smile had warmed you, how his comforting words had sung to you like a lullaby?

Your timid footsteps stirred him from his conversation, and his placid expression morphed into one of utter disbelief. In a rush, you ran towards each other and collided in a desperate embrace. He sank to his knees, and you willingly followed, squeezing him so tightly you felt the racing of his pulse.

Howzer drew back, his forehead meeting yours, and he wiped away your tears and left a chaste peck on your lips. “Hush now,” he cooed. “It’s all right.”

“When I stopped getting messages, I feared the worst,” you admitted, straining to get the confession out through the knot in your throat. “What happened, Howzer?”

“There’s time for that later. I just want to enjoy having you here with me.”

His words spurred your heart, and you couldn’t resist the urge to capture his lips in a fervent kiss. Others be damned. You didn’t care if they looked. Your captain was here, and that was all that mattered.

Reluctantly, you parted to catch your breath, accepting his assistance as he helped you back onto your feet. Fresh scars littered his hands, glossy in the strong lamplight and mottled around the edges. Your thumbs glided over them, tracing every contour and silently cursing the people who dared to harm him.

His melancholic smile deepened the creases above his cheekbones, and you pulled him closer, seeking to provide him with as much solace as you could. “I missed you,” you whispered.

“I missed you too,” he said just as reverently. “Whenever I could, I went to that garden, remembering how your eyes lit up when you first saw it and the softness of your voice as we spoke.” He kissed you again, inhaling your scent as if you alone could nourish his soul. “How you felt in my arms the night before you had to leave.”

Every shred of fortitude within you ignited. The months of arguing with the senate over clone matters teemed in your mind, and the intensity in that gold-flecked gaze only fuelled your determination to fight even harder. You would secure a home for them and shield them from ever having to endure such troubled times again. Even if it meant risking everything and abandoning the senate to join forces with Rex, it was a chance you would take. For Howzer, for the clones who aided your planet during the war, and for your suffering people. “Whatever we do next, we do together,” you spoke, resolute in your conviction.

His hands squeezed yours with a fierce determination, his expression overflowing with love and unwavering devotion, as he gave you a steadfast nod. “You and me,” he said. “Together.”

TAGLIST (Message if you’d like to be added for future reader fics, 18+ only)

@skellymom @freesia-writes @the-hexfiles @theeyesofasoldier @multi-fan-dom-madness @savebytheodoresnonjosestuff @tech-aficionado @techsriduur @dangraccoon @starrylothcat @jediknightjana

#tbb #the bad batch #tbb fanfic #tbb fanfiction #sw tbb fanfic #sw tbb fanfiction #the bad batch fanfiction #the bad batch fanfic #sw tbb #sw the bad batch #star wars the bad batch #tbb howzer #tbb howzer x reader #tbb howzer x you #captain howzer #captain howzer x reader #captain howzer x you

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eriexplosion · 2 months

Text

Ruins of War time, picking up where we left off - screaming in terror!

"I would say this was going well!" Well that was your first mistake Tech. Never say that.

CRASHING? Hunter is! so! Tired!

The way that they actually think everything is fine and then the container abruptly falls JUST A LITTLE MORE.

Okay though this femur fracture is not actually that integral to the storyline, and it's very specific and all I'm saying is that I think the femur is going to have broken again in the fall or something of a similar nature and give him a bad leg. Here's how reduced mobility Tech can win.

Genuinely freaky how he barely made a sound though like tiniest 'agh' ever for 150 kgs slamming onto his leg.

"It's unlikely the thieves who infiltrated the cargo ship survived the crash" Parallels parallels everywhere.

God the way they have to haul Tech over the cliff like fucking cargo. Just hoist him.

Interesting that they've never gone over the plans with Omega before, she doesn't know what Plan Double Zero means, and it's a very basic radio silence code. They set up that Omega hasn't been taught the Plan codes before hinging their finale on a plan code - giving us an excuse potentially in season 3 to have Crosshair explain what it is, because I doubt it's as simple as I'M KILLING MYSELF BYE.

"What are you doing here?" "I LIVE HERE."

They are literally making this man take them home, Romar actually has a ton of reasons to turn them out on their ass but he's being a very good sport about it.

All Omega wants to do is prove that she's worth having around after hearing what Echo said, this is her sole goal in life right now and I need to hug her.

"I'm keeping an eye on you" you are holding an old man hostage in his own home Omega it's not ideal.

KALEIDOSCOPE. "For blast's sake, it's a TOY. It makes you HAPPY."

Tech and Echo's argument oh my god, the way Omega feels like her family is fracturing. BABY.

HEY ACE. I love Romero so much. Explaining that it's not a Separatist archive. It's Serrenian. They existed before the war (they exist now, after the war) and how Tech never thought of it like that because clones existed ONLY FOR WAR aghhhhhh MY HEART.

Wrecker instantly turning the tank gun into a hand held gun is just. So attractive actually, I love that. "I make a pretty good tank" damn right you do."

"She was just here..." "WELL SHE'S NOT NOW!"

God Echo is really having a TIME of it.

Tech literally hobbling out on a fractured femur like that absolutely is going to weaken it further just saying.

I do love the detail that Wrecker is intentionally shooting AROUND the other stormtroopers when using the tank gun, so he has at least a chance of not hurting them too badly.

Captain Wilco having this moment with his helmet off as he kneels by a dead trooper is only a couple seconds but it does SO much for making us feel attached to him before The Events at the end.

They always go SO hard on Tech's music honestly, there's so many moments of him getting fired on and the fight behind the tree and Everything that the music just goes incredibly hard. The way it cuts out for just a second when he finally collapses before swelling up just a little again. Damn the Kiners are good at this.

NO Omega you cannot have even a SMALL amount of treasure.

"You don't have a normal life because of me" god babygirl this is very important but oh my god please have this breakdown ANYWHERE that is not a collapsing container unit.

Telling Omega she has to let it go... with her worry about being the reason they're in danger set to reappear in season three, I feel like that's going to be a thing that comes back. Everyone's a burden bby let's get you some fruit.

Will the kaleidoscope ever come back only time will tell

I'M A SURVIVOR REMEMBER? Refuse to believe that's not related to Tech's plot with the way that it lingers on him. I'm sorry the man's unkillability signals are so heavy.

"We made the right choice, Omega. I'd do it all again." MY HEART

Obsessed still with the fact that the Batch must have been reported dead by Crosshair, just, god there's so much there that's just IMPLIED instead of stated.

Wilco ;_;

Anyway as a premier this one REALLY doesn't actually cover much? Like they are fun episodes but we don't get much new info or anything, but we do get several small things that I think would very possibly come back.

#the bad batch rewatch #the bad batch spoilers #tbb spoilers #<- VERY brief mention of some season 3 teasers #so I'm tagging to be safe

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mandos-mind-trick · 2 years

Text

Sharpshooting

Summary: Hunter pairs Midnight with Crosshair on a mission after Tech finishes her new armor. Midnight gets a few lessons in sharpshooting, and an attitude adjustment from the Batch’s resident sniper.

Warnings: Guns, talk of injuries briefly, Crosshair being Crosshair, language, smut, P in V smut, fingering, Crosshair’s ass fixation, some rank-play, hair pulling, orgasm denial.

Pairing: Crosshair x reader, implied poly Bad Batch x reader

A/N: I swear I didn’t plan the order of these, we just happen to be going back to Crosshair first cause it fit with the storyline. Also, I know nothing about sniping so if this is totally wrong, please forgive me. Also planned to get this out earlier but we started Independence Day late and I had to finish this on “make sure the neighbors don’t burn the neighborhood down” duty.

< Previous | Next > | MASTERLIST

Midnight creeps slowly down the hall, walking on her tiptoes to avoid waking the sleeping clones in the bunks. She couldn’t sleep. Even the gentle humming of the ship wasn’t enough to ease her mind so she could drift off for a few hours rest. Instead she found herself lying awake, mind thinking far too much to let her relax.

So she decided to seek out the only other being on the ship that would still be awake.

She finds him in the hull, bent over some project on the floor. She carefully approaches him, sinking to the floor near him, leaning against the worktable.

“What are you doing up?” He asks, glancing at her before looking back to what he was working on.

“Couldn’t sleep.” She says, pulling her knees to her chest. “What are you working on?”

“Your new armor.” He says, holding up a piece of white plastoid. “I picked up a few pieces when we were on Kamino. Thought I’d try repurposing them.”

She stares between him and the plastoid for a moment. “That didn’t...come off someone who died, did it?”

He shakes his head, the corners of his lips lifting in a smile. “No. It’s training armor. It’s what young clones wear when we start combat training. It’s not as heavy as our combat armor, but better than that foam composite civilians wear. It won’t make you blaster proof, but it will protect against small hits, debris, shrapnel.”

Midnight rubs her sore shoulder where she’d gotten hit by a droid just a few hours ago. “That’s good. Getting punched by a droid wasn’t something I expected to put on my list.”

“You did hit it first with your blaster.”

“Well, it was the only thing I could think of in that moment. It’s not my fault my blaster jammed.” She rubs her hands over her cheeks. “I’m just glad it didn’t land that punch to my face.”

“I can reconstruct armor. Faces, I’m less confident in doing.”

Midnight stifles her giggle behind her hand. Tech could be surprisingly funny, she found. She had gotten in the habit of halfway listening to him when he babbled, but occasionally he pulled out some quick wit, sometimes even a joke.

“The fit is going to be the biggest issue.” He says, holding up the chest piece. “Since we can’t have it shaped specially for you.” Tech adjusts his goggles, speaking more to himself. “I could attempt to reshape the plastoid, though I don’t want to risk the integrity of it.” He picks up his datapad, flipping through a diagram. “I was thinking of modeling it more after Mandalorian armor. That way it will be more comfortable for you, while still upholding its integrity.”

Midnight looks down at her chest. “My boobs thank you.”

He stares at her for a moment before he pushes the pieces of armor away from him to clear a spot. “Come here. It’ll be easier for me to do this with you sitting here than just going off your measurements.”

“My measurements?” Midnight asks, pausing for a moment in her crawl closer to him.

“In your GAR file from when they gave you your civilian armor.” Tech explains, moving her so she’s kneeling in front of him.

Midnight stares at him. “How detailed is that file?”

“Very.” Tech says, slipping the chestplate over her head. “Hunter and I are the only ones that bothered to read it. Hunter only skimmed the important parts. It was a fascinating read. Far more interesting than any of ours.”

Midnight blinks at him. “I’m not sure how I’m supposed to feel about that.”

“It was nothing bad.” Tech says, putting his hands on her waist. “Sit up straight. Arms out.” She lifts her arms out to the side. “Though your test scores were a bit concerning.”

Midnight shrugs. “The file wasn’t lying when it said I had no formal education. Couldn’t afford it.”

“You’re still very knowledgeable.” Tech says, pressing the chest plate against her, marking the plastoid.

“Like most things I learned through experience.”

“But there’s a certain intellect required to be able to learn through experience.” Tech says, removing the chest plate.

Midnight stares at him for a moment, his eyes downcast, looking at the chest plate and his markings. She leans forward, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks, Tech.”

The youthful clone looks up at her, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “You shouldn’t sell yourself short because you’re not like us. We were engineered this way. We were trained to best use our skills. This is our only purpose.”

Midnight shifts off her knees, sitting cross-legged on the floor. “Tech, what do you think will happen when the war’s over?”

“Well, that depends,” He starts, going back to fiddling with the plastoid. “On who wins. If the Republic wins, I doubt the fighting will end right away. Likely there will still be Separatist aligned planets that will offer resistance. Likely the Republic will continue to use clones to settle the rebellions. If the Separatists win, I don’t think they would wipe out the entire GAR. Civilians like you would probably be integrated into their own army, or simply have your contracts absolved.” He’s quiet for a moment. “They may integrate the younger clones as well, those who are still being trained and developed.”

“And the rest of you? Those who are already fighting for the GAR?”

Tech looks up at her. “I don’t think all of us could be convinced to integrate into the Separatist forces. If the Separatists win, there’s still going to be those who continue to fight, those who resist. I think a lot of clones would continue to fight, even if the Republic fell.” His eyes scan her face. “You’ve been thinking about this a lot.”

She nods. “Especially recently. I mean, it’s been almost eight months. The war won’t last forever. I know it won’t. I’m not worried about what will happen to me after. I’m a civilian. I’ll either continue working for the GAR or make a new life somewhere else. I know this is partly why they warned us not to get close, why they enforce those rules so heavily. I worry about what will happen to all of you when the war’s over, no matter what side wins. I-I mean, I love all of you. I know it hasn’t been long since we started this arrangement, but it’s how I feel, and the thought of losing all of you scares me. This is the first time I’ve felt safe, like someone cared about me. That someone would look for me if I disappeared. I don’t want to go back to the way things were before, not now that I know how different they can be-”

Midnight’s rant is silenced by Tech’s lips on hers. She’s surprised, her brain short-circuiting a bit at the feel of his soft lips.

“Judging by your physical symptoms, you were getting stressed.” He murmurs against her lips, kissing her again. “Stress raises your blood pressure.” He pulls her closer, kissing her again. “Kissing dilates your blood vessels.” He wraps his arms around her waist, pulling them so they’re almost chest of chest. “Lowering blood pressure.”

Midnight hums against his lips, snaking her arms around his neck. “Tech, you’re a nerd.” She kisses him again. “But you’re my nerd.”

*****

“Kriffing-fuck!” Midnight breathes, inhaling sharply. She curses everything she possibly can think of silently in her head. The dim light in the hallway of the ship had betrayed her once again, causing her to stub her toe in the doorway.

“Night?” Hunter murmurs, sticking his head out of his bunk.

Midnight sighs, rubbing her sore toe. “Sorry, Hunter.” She murmurs, making her way over to the bunks. She carefully stands on the edge of Wrecker’s bunk, the large clone pressed up against the wall. “The doorway attacked me.”

He hums, reaching out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. “C’mere.” He scoots himself back, making room for her.

Midnight crawls up into his bunk, laying herself next to him. He wraps an arm around her, holding her close. She tucks her head against his chest, breathing him in. He smells as he usually does, like he hasn’t showered in two missions, which was more than likely the case.

“You’re worried.” He murmurs, lips brushing her forehead.

“You heard.” She breathes, pressing her face against his chest.

“You don’t have to worry, cyare.” He says, rubbing her back. “We’ll figure it out when the war ends. You know I’ll fight to keep you with us. Even if we have to go on the run. Nothing’s going to happen to us. You’re not going to have to go back to what you were before. We’ll always be with you. No matter what.”

“Thanks, Hunter.” She whispers, wrapping an arm around him.

She lays with him until the ship shudders its way out of hyperspace. She sighs, wishing she had more time to just lay with Hunter. She wished she had more time to just lay low with all of them. But they were still fighting a war.

Midnight climbs down from Hunter’s bunk, making her way to her own to start getting ready. Off to fight another battle, off to risk their lives once again for the Republic.

****

“How does it feel?” Tech asks, adjusting the plastoid once more.

“Heavy.”

“You’ll have to get used to that.” Tech says. “I installed magnets in your flight suit so the armor will be secure and won’t risk shifting.”

“You also painted it.” She says, running a finger down the red line in the center of her chest.

“Of course.” He almost looks offended. “Can’t have you walking around looking like a shiny reg.”

Midnight smiles. “Thanks, Tech.”

“We should see about getting you a helmet, or at least some sort of head protection.” He looks her over, adjusting his goggles.

“You’ve done more than enough, Tech.” She says. “Like you said, it’s better than before.”

“Come on.” Tech says, tucking his helmet under his arm. “Let’s go show the others.”

Midnight follows him down the ramp, the others waiting outside the ship. They all go quiet when they see her, Midnight stepping closer, holding out her arms. “So, what do you think?”

They stare at her in silence, all of them looking surprised.

“You look...” Hunter starts, staring at her open-mouthed.

“Hot.” Wrecker finishes for him, looking her over with a smirk on his face.

Midnight flushes a bit, suddenly aware that five men were all looking at her with varying degrees of surprise and now desire. Except Crosshair. He had his usual scowl on his face as he stared at her, but she can see the clench in his jaw, the way he was holding that toothpick just a bit tighter between his teeth.

“It looks good.” Echo says, running a gloved finger over the freshly painted pauldron on her shoulder.

“Thanks. I feel safer.”

“You look safer.” Hunter says, looking her over, less with desire and more with approval of her new armor.

“I repurposed old training armor.” Tech says. “It’s more sturdy than the civilian armor.”

“How do you feel?” Hunter asks.

“Heavy.” She answers truthfully. “But I’ll get used to it.”

Hunter holds out a rifle. “I want you to take point with Cross today.”

She stares at the rifle. “You know sharpshooting was my worst combat score.”

“Now’s the best time to learn. This will be a quick in and out mission. I don’t want to risk you having your abilities hindered while getting used to new armor. If anything, you’ll be more useful from a distance.”

“Okay.” She says hesitantly, taking the rifle. “You know you’re just giving Cross more fuel to make fun of me, right?”

“Yeah. It’ll give the rest of us a break.”

Midnight stares at Hunter’s retreating back with her mouth open in shock. Had he really just said that? Crosshair steps up beside her, looking down at her. “You gonna stand there and gape all day? Let’s get moving, little girl.”

Midnight closes her mouth into a pout. “This is a bad idea.” She says, following after the sharpshooter.

“It’s a good learning experience.” Crosshair says. “Besides, you did say you learn from experiences.”

Midnight stares at his back. “Did everyone hear that conversation?”

She picks up the pace, already feeling the burn in her muscles from the added weight of her new armor. It was worth it though, if she could avoid those annoying little wounds from debris and shrapnel she always found herself riddled with after hard missions. She’s also silently grateful Hunter had her taking point today. She didn’t think she’d last long in a fight, not while wearing her new armor. She’d have to do some practicing. Wear it a lot to get used to its weight.

It was definitely worth it.

They reach the ridge overlooking the town quickly, Midnight dropping down on one knee as she looks over the edge. “That’s really far.”

“So don’t fall.” Crosshair quips as he carefully sets up his rifle.

Midnight makes a face before scooting back, copying his movements, trying to remember as much of her sniper training as she could. It had only been half a day spent on instruction, as it was just expected that clones would be the ones handling things like sharpshooting.

Crosshair scoffs quietly next to her as she settles into position, his helmet likely the only reason she heard it. “No wonder you can’t shoot. Your form is wrong.”

She looks up at him, staring at his helmet. “What do you mean?”

He crawls over her, straddling her waist. His weight is heavy with his armor, pressing her further into the dirt. He pulls the rifle to the side, shifting her around a bit. “Don’t lay on the rifle. You need to be able to maneuver it. If you even breathe wrong while laying on it, you’ll miss your shot.” He moves her shoulders, pushing more of her weight to the side. “Keep your weight on your opposite arm, not your trigger hand.” He makes a couple more minor adjustments before sitting up straight, letting his hand drift down her spine. “There.”

That last touch was definitely on purpose, she thinks. The position feels awkward with the plastoid digging into her. “This feels weird.”

“I quite like this position.” Crosshair murmurs, leaning his body over hers.

She turns to look at him, not quite able to see his helmet through her peripheral. “Well, the sooner we get this mission over with, the sooner we can do some more practice.”

She doesn't have to see his face to know he’s smirking behind his helmet.

“Are you two finished, yet?” Hunter’s gruff voice comes through their comms.

“Finished and in position.” Crosshair answers, shifting off her to situate himself next to her, but not without passing a hand over her ass in the process.

That was one thing she had learned about him in the short time since he’d joined in their arrangement. Crosshair was an ass man. Every chance he could, he’d pass a hand, sneak a squeeze. Wrecker also loved her ass, but was less subtle about it.

“Good. If this goes well, we may get in and out without a firefight.”

“Unlikely.” Midnight breathes, watching through her scope. They didn’t get sent on missions that weren’t firefights. That was their whole point.

She was right, of course. She lets out a sigh, taking aim as the first hut opens, droids stepping out. It would always be a firefight for them. Always.

****

Midnight all but limps back to the Marauder. The armor truly felt heavy now, even though she had spent most of the day laying still and firing a rifle. The mission hadn’t taken very long. There had been less droids than she’d expected, giving Tech ample time to shut down their command center. Hunter had been right, she had been more useful from a distance, as her and Crosshair had taken out the most droids. Well, Crosshair had. She had hit a few. Moving targets and ones standing still were very different. She was not great at hitting either from a distance.

“Taking your time, little girl.” Crosshair says, having stopped to look back at her.

“I’m moving as fast as I can.” She pouts, not making a point to walk any faster. “This armor’s heavy.”

Crosshair slaps a hand down on her shoulder as she reaches him, nearly making her knees buckle. “If it keeps you safe...”

He doesn’t finish the statement, but it makes her turn to look at him in surprise. “Are you saying you were worried about me?”

Crosshair keeps his head forward, refusing to look at her. “No.”

“You were worried!” She grins, taking his hand. “You worry about me!”

He turns on her, grabbing her chin in his hand. “Of course I do.” His words come out harsh, shocking her for a moment. “You’re reckless, you make dumb decisions, and you shoot as well as a droid.”

Midnight stares up at him with wide eyes. His words did bite a bit, but she was used to it. He was always a bit callous with his affection.

“Someone has to keep you alive.”

She stares up at his helmet for a moment before a wide grin forms on her face. “You do care about me!”

He releases her, shaking his head with a sigh. He continues back towards the ship, leaving her behind, but she knows he’s watching. The others are already on the ship when she finally returns, though the walk hadn’t been all that long, dragging herself up the ramp. She slumps against the wall, taking a breath. She was soaked in sweat and sore and ready for a nap.

“Wrecker!” She calls out, listening to the familiar thud of the big clone’s footsteps grow closer.

“Yes?” He asks with a grin on his face.

She holds her arms up, pouting. “Carry me?”

He laughs, scooping her up into his arms easily. She huffs out a breath, leaning her head on his shoulder. She would give anything to have super strength right now.

He carries her to her bunk, setting her gently on her bed. He offers to help remove the armor but she waves him off to go rest, working on getting it off herself. She lets each piece drop to the floor, muscles practically sighing in relief as the weight is taken, quite literally, off her shoulders.

She makes a face when the last piece hits the floor. Her flight suit is damp with sweat from the exertion of carrying the added weight. She needed a shower. Badly. She strips out of her flight suit, leaving her in just her undershirt and panties. She grabs her towel before sneaking off down the hall to the fresher.

Tech had taken her suggestion seriously and updated the fresher a bit so they actually had a shower. It used recycled water and always left you smelling a bit metallic afterwards but she couldn’t complain.

Now if she could convince the guys to use it regularly...

She strips out of her undershirt, bra, and panties, starting the water. Tech could have just put in a sonic shower, but she was glad he had chosen to have actual water. Nothing quite compared to an actual shower after a hard battle.

She climbs under the lukewarm spray, letting herself relax. She’d be sore tomorrow, though thankfully they didn’t have a next assignment yet. She’d have time to rest and practice carrying around her armor so she could get used to it faster.

She washes her hair, missing the sound of the fresher door opening. She turns to rinse her hair under the spray, shrieking as she finds Crosshair standing behind her.

“Kriffing-fuck Cross!” She puts a hand on her chest, trying to still her racing heart.

“Good thing I’m not here to kill you.” He smirks.

She shakes her head, slapping his bare chest. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“Sorry, mesh’la.” He hums, wrapping his arms around her. “But you did promise we’d do some practicing later.”

She gives him a look, lifting her arms to wash the soap out of her hair. “It’s gonna be a little hard to do that in the shower.”

His smirk deepens, his face leaning down closer to hers. “Oh I don’t just plan to practice in the shower. I’m gonna fuck you so hard you can’t walk tomorrow.”

She smirks back at him. “Well you won’t have to try very hard. My legs are already jelly from packing that armor around.”

She goes to wrap her arms around his neck but he’s already spinning her, plastering her against the wall. His fingers trail down her spine, along the curve of her back. She presses her cheek against the cool metal of the shower wall, letting him spread her legs. His hands cup her ass, squeezing each cheek for a moment.

He presses his body up against hers, one of his hands slipping around the front to tease along her slit. “Already wet for me?” He murmurs in her ear.

“We are in the shower.” She quips back, trying to look up at him.

He immediately shoves two fingers into her, making her lift onto her toes at the sudden intrusion. “Cut the attitude, civvy. I am higher rank than you.”

She swallows the moan rising up in her. “Sorry, sir.”

He hums, brushing his thumb over her clit. “Good girl. You remember the safeword?”

“Rifle.” She breathes, shuddering as he passes over her clit again.

“Good.” He presses his face against her neck, finally starting to move his fingers.

She braces her hands against the wall, pushing her hips back against him. He’s hard, pressing against her lower back. She grinds her hips against his hand, desperately seeking release.

“You’re awfully needy, girl.” He growls into her ear. “My vod not doing their jobs properly?”

She whines, legs trembling as he assaults her clit. It wasn’t that the others weren’t fucking her well, it was more that they had been so busy recently, they hadn’t had much time to fuck. She had gone far longer than she had in a while without being touched.

“Need...need to cum.” She gasps, hurtling quickly towards her first orgasm.

“You think you deserve to cum?” He says, pressing harder against her clit.

“Please!” She cries, clenching around his fingers. “Please, sir!”

He smirks. “I love it when you beg.”

He pushes his fingers against the soft spot inside of her, throwing her over the edge into her orgasm. She shakes against him, moaning out his name. He works her through her orgasm, holding her steady.

He kisses along her shoulder, slipping his fingers from her pussy. He shuts the water off, helping her out of the shower. He tosses her towel at her and she dries off, wrapping it around herself before heading back to her bunk. Crosshair joins her moments later, his towel slung around his waist.

She finishes drying her hair, taking in his lean figure. Despite being clones, they were all so different. Regs were all built the same. She’d spent enough time on Kamino she knew just how similar the regs were in looks, shape, and size. Her boys, though they shared the same face, were all so different.

Crosshair steps up so they’re almost breathing the same air. They likely would be if she were taller. Crosshair, Tech, and Wrecker all towered over her. Echo and Hunter were tall to her, but the other three were practically giants.

Crosshair grips her chin, tilting her face up. He kisses her softly, shockingly delicate for him. He always surprised her. He was usually callous and hard, but sometimes he had his moments. Usually only where she could see.

He quickly spins her around, delivering a sharp slap to her bare ass. “On the bed.”

She doesn't have to be told twice, already starting to get wet again. She lays herself on the bed on her stomach, mirroring her position earlier. It was his favorite position. Hunter and Wrecker liked her on her back where they could stare at her face. Tech liked trying new positions, always researching different things to try, but she knows he also likes positions where he can see her. Always analyzing, always learning. Crosshair always took her from behind. Bent her over, laid her on her stomach. It had never really been a favorite position of hers, at least until Crosshair.

She feels the bed dip a bit, Crosshair kneeling between her spread legs. His fingers trail up her legs, making her shiver in anticipation. His hands knead her ass once more, before he’s spreading her lips to look at her glistening pussy. Crosshair had this uncanny ability to make her wet just from simple touches.

She can practically feel his smirk, turning her upper body so she can see him. “Well? You gonna stare at me, or fuck me till I can’t walk?”

He grabs a fistful of her hair, forcing her head down on her pillow. “Quite the mouth on you today. I think you need to be punished.” He grinds his hard length against her ass. “You don’t get to cum until I tell you.”

Midnight shivers, already knowing her resolve is going to be weak. She wants, no, needs Crosshair and she’s not sure how long she can hold out.

“Do you understand me?” He growls in her ear, tugging her back into an arch by her hair.

“Yes, sir.” She whines, hands fisting her sheets in preparation.

Crosshair sinks into her slowly, splitting her open around him as he settles himself against her. He releases her hair, letting her head fall back onto the bed. She bites at her pillow as he slowly drags himself out of her again, just to the tip. A muffled moan is torn from her lips as he snaps his hips back into hers, hard enough the bunk creaks.

“Don’t.” He says, tugging the pillow out from under her. “I wanna hear you.”

Sorry, Hunter, she thinks briefly, just before a loud moan is torn from her lips as he picks up a steady, hard pace. His hips snap into her so hard her body is rocked with every thrust. He keeps the brutal pace, knowing exactly what buttons to push to send her hurtling towards the edge.

“Cross...” She moans, eyes rolling back as he drags along that spot inside her. “Please!”

“No.” He grunts, slipping a hand under her.

She all but cries as his fingers find her clit, the slam of his hips pressing it against the rough pads of his fingers. She arches her hips up, trying to avoid his hand but he presses her back down, forcing her clit against his fingers.

“Cross!” She cries, hands fisting the sheets so tight she’s scared they might rip. How was she going to explain that one to the GAR? “Please, Cross, I can’t!”

“You think you deserve to cum?” He taunts, breathing heavy from the exertion. “You think you deserve release with that attitude you’ve had all day?”

She whines, trying to think of anything she can to ignore the sensations happening between her legs. Her old neighbor on Coruscant, the smell of the Marauder after a mission, the Kaminoans. Anything. “Please, sir!” She begs, sobbing. “Please, can I cum?”

He hums, pressing his body against her back. “You do beg so beautifully.” He leans his head against hers, his breath puffing out against her ear. “You want to cum?”

“Please!” She sobs, shaking from the pleasure and exertion of holding it in. “Please, please! Let me cum!”

He continues to thrust into her, silent for a few moments before he finally takes pity on her. “Cum for me.”

She lets go, the pleasure nearly blinding as her eyes roll back, back arching into the bed. Her legs are shaking, whole body spasming from the pleasure rushing through her. His fingers continue to circle her clit, working her through her orgasm.

He stills his hips, letting her flutter around him until she’s nothing more than a trembling mess. He wasn’t done with her, not even close, but he can’t help but admire how beautiful she looked when she came undone around him. Kriff, he could watch that over and over.

And he planned to.

Taglist:

@lo0nylexi, @amyroswell

#the bad batch #the bad batch fic #the bad batch x reader #crosshair x reader #tbb x reader #star wars #star wars fic #clones

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jayphoenic · 2 years

Text

What If Vlad & Danny Were Reincarnated as Ra's Al Ghul & Tim Drake?

Danny Phantom/Batman Crossover

Vlad and Danny are reincarnated as Ras al Ghul and Tim Drake. They don't have their memories, instead, they have their instincts. Ra's was born years before Tim. He felt something was missing and obsessed over the missing piece his whole life.

It went as usual Bruce disappeared, Tim went to find him, teamed up with the LoA and bested them. Ra's felt something spark in him. He began to feel familiar with Tim and his obsession with Tim started. Ra's just like in the past is a fruitloop and tried to clone Tim which resulted in the birth of a failed female clone named Timi who is also the reincarnation of Dani.

Like in the DP cannon, Timi betrays Ra's and joins Tim. Unlike DP cannon Tim adopts Timi and decided to be more responsible now that he has a kid. He decided they should both go to therapy. Someone in the super community recommended a therapist that is in the know, can keep secrets and is really good. Surprise surprise it's Jazz's reincarnation. Ofc they bond and whatnot, the bat fam found out a few months later and they were s h o o k. I mean they can't believe that Tim has a child, going to therapy and seems to have a whole new family. And they didn't even know about it!

They felt bad about what they'd been doing. You see, everyone knows what happened with the whole Robin being taken from him. When they found out he was right about Bruce being alive they tried to apologize to him. When it didn't work, they decided to give him some space so that he can "cool down". Ofc this made it seem like they were ignoring him, Tim got the 'message' and decided to slowly separate himself from the Bats. It worked especially since he had a new kid to take care of. And since he's been focusing solely on Timi he forgot to mention it to the YJ.

Bart and Cassie immediately loved her. They decided to be the Cool Aunt and Fun Uncle. Kon was absolutely shocked with Mom!Tim. He was already in love with Tim and seeing him as a parent, especially to a clone just like him, made him fall even deeper.

Kon tried to get Timi's blessing after a few times he spent with her. Timi, from out of nowhere, takes out kryptonite the size of her palm, it was enough to weaken Kon and prevent him from moving. She interrogates Kon asking him what his intentions were and what were his future plans with her Dad.

Timi was still Tim, Red Robin, the second (although every one of his friends disagree.) best detective in the world (they think he IS the best detective in the world. Period.). And while Timi isn't a carbon copy of her Dad she definitely got his smarts.

While that was going on Tim and the Bat family were having a serious conversation. About what happened, how Timi had come to be and why he never told them or asked for help. Of course, this is the part where Tim burst out laughing, "Why would I ask you guys for family help?". He starts describing how f-ed up their family was and how he's being ignored by the whole family. This is also the part where they start trying to heal.

Just as Timi was about to end the interrogation, Tim and the Bat fam found them. They were shocked and Tim promptly scooped Timi in his arms. He immediately started scolding her, asking her why she would do such a thing. And Timi said something along the lines of "But Daddy I had to make sure virtue was safe before I can give you to Kon!". Shocked faces everywhere.

Kon was still on the floor, blushing, wishing for the floor to eat him. Steph, Jason and Dick burst out laughing. Damian starts complimenting Timi on her interrogation skills and suggesting how to be better. Babs was getting it all on video for memories and is also teasing Tim who's brain seems to have malfunctioned. Bruce and Alfred smiled at the scenery, glad that the family is starting to heal.

The End

WOW! That became longer than I thought!

I couldn't figure out how to integrate Cas, Sam and Tucker into the story. In all the fanfics I've read Cas has always been by Tim's side. She would've helped him through all his hardships and that wasn't how I wanted things to be in my plot. And I just couldn't find a way to put Sam and Tucker in. I might make a part 2 of this. If I do there will definitely be more scenes of Ra's and Yasmine, and maybe Talia. I might be able to find a way to integrate Sam and Tucker. Maybe Sam should be Prudence and Tucker would either be Owens or Z. Comments are appreciated. This is the first time I'm doing this.

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meraki-sunset · 1 year

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Okay, this two questions are conected so i’ll answer them together. I had multiple reasosns not to save dad crocker

1. Acording to the postcredits, he never replaced dad egbert in john’s life (even tho they show us how they hug eachother in homestuck when they meet) and John eventually got (aparently) depressed about not having his dad around, but someone who looks like him

2. In the prologe, the epilogue and homestuck2 Jane reestablishes Crockercorp, the evil baking corporation, with the epilog and HS2 covering her coruption into the condesce’s true heiress even wearing full red, the empire’s signature color instead and the oposite of cyan, her true color (it might not be 100% canon but it’s canon enough for me) and like they said in the comic, csau Jane could end up the same if she has Dad Crocker as her guardian enableling her to become like hs2 Jane

3. Also, i really think losing your guardian is a rite of passage in the game, and players are suposed to lose them in order to become true gods

4. A reason i can’t just exclude is the fact neither one of the dad’s have a face and one of the ways i tell the story is through facial exprecions. I tried to give him a face so i could work with the character but it wasn’t working for me and people didn’t like him.

5. Nanna is also another reason for dad crocker’s death, through the story nanna became John and Jade’s new guardian, her arc culminating on her getting back her youth and now simbolicaly (and actually for real) taking the role of John and Jade’s mother. On top of that, in the future epilogue, the Harley-egbert’s basically become a big assembled family and dad crocker playing basically the pathernal rol when nanna already was fullfiling the mathernal rol would have been weird as fuck since, Dad Crocker is sort of a clone of Nanna’s son

In short all the reasons listed below meant i had to delete him from the story

When it comes to Dad Egbert and Mom Lalonde, John never saved them in canon with the power of retcon probably because he didn’t wanted to change any events terezi didn’t specify on her list and risk dooming the new timeline. And while on csau he DID changed things beyond terezi’s plan (stealing the troll’s bodies and slab beds) taking dad and mom’s bodies may have had unintended consecuenced down the line.

Dad Egbert would have also been a problem to integrate to the story like Dad Crocker for all the same reasons, artstyle, losing your guardian being nescesary, being weird having him a round in the new integrated harley egbert family, not to mention he would also take nanna’s guardian role that she gained during all the comic. It would undo the whole story.

I do regret not being able to save Rose’s mom, i feel like she could have had a lot of growth and i wouldn’t have had any problems integrating her to the story. She could have had really interesting interactions with everybody and be Good Friends with nanna, mirroring Jane and Roxy’s friendship.

But if i saved her with retcon i would have had to save Dad Egbert and that was a big no, so mom had to stay dead.

I’m still playing around with the idea of her coming back but don’t count on it

Another person i wish i couls have saved is Alt!Calliope, but due to the nature of CSAU, it’s explicit that the Alt!Callie we see is the canon one, from canon homestuck, and we only encounter her twice before she causes the blackhole and flies to the HS Epilogue. I can’t change her fate, because she’s just a borrowed character. (another borrowed characters from canon are Ghost!Vriska and Ghost!terezi who end up in the blackwhole with the dancestors, since canonically we don’t know what happened to them, just that they found eachother and got probably sucked by the blackhole eventually)

Aside from that, i found a way to everyone i needed/wanted to save in csau (not to mention whatever happens in the epilogue)

#csau extra

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kimbureh · 10 months

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Teamplay explosive as Ipsium, TBB S2E9&10

So far I managed to evade spoilers for season 2, but I picked up on fandom being sort of frustrated with the lack of Crosshair's appearances. Which, yes, it's factually true as of S2E10 Crosshair appeared in only one episode. But on the other hand, episodes 9 and especially 10 are direct metaphors for Crosshair's arc, the text itself all but says so.

But one thing at a time.

It's fascinating to see the Batch slowly disintegrate, because the conflict further reveals every Batcher's ideals and coping mechanisms. Wrecker is the sensitive one of the group, and when he tells Omega she will get used to Echo's absence, he's assuring himself with that just as much. He also begins messing up during the missions. Think of Wrecker in Clone Wars: his unpredictability is integral part of the team's successful exploits. Once Crosshair and the amicable rivalry with him is gone, Wrecker lacks focus during missions, even if Echo explains the plan to him over and over again. With Echo gone as well, his stabilizing influence is sorely missed, with grave consequences. When the stampede in S2E9 hits them, and they have to leave behind the ipsium, Wrecker chooses to save his friend instead of going for the riches, and is criticized by Tech.

Tech's coping mechanism is to cling to facts. They needed the ipsium, and Wrecker lost it. They end up being trapped in another mine. These are all facts, and under duress, more and more facts pour out of Tech. Their ship is gone, they're unable to track it, Echo can't be reached for help. All these things are facts to Tech, and he sees no harm in asserting those, even though this gravely upsets Omega. Omega's coping mechanism is to be and feel useful. Her ideals lie in seeing the Batch as a family, and she suffers because they don't act accordingly. Tech shares her family ideals, but voices an inability to act on them, as well as the need to stay pragmatic in order to not further destabilize the squad; Tech holds onto facts so desperately, he is unwilling to allow the emotional impact of the change to come to the surface, instead opting to compartmentalize the issue for a nebulous 'later'.

Hunter, I honestly have no thoughts about. At this point he is a pure plot device to me that will re-activate itself once Crosshair comes into play again. Until then, his sole narrative purpose lies in being an ineffective leader and well-meaning but ill-equipped father. His coping mechanisms? Sucking everything up, I guess. His ideals? Hell if he knows himself. His whole identity is arranged around Omega's existence, but not exactly in a familial kind of way, it's a rather desperate act and Omega seems to serve as a substitute for Crosshair.

Speaking of Crosshair. As I said, he doesn't appear in S2E9&10, but the story is definitively about him. Mokko and his exploitative mining operation is directly compared to the Empire twice, and Benni serves as a stand-in for Crosshair. Benni's arc affords him to reject being a willing part of his own enslavement; the great obstacle for him to overcome is personified in the slaver Mokko and his lies.

Transferred to Crosshair, this means he too can leave behind the Empire, if only he can overcome the obstacles. Which bears the question, who is Crosshair's Mokko? And the answer is, he himself is. Crosshair convinced himself that he has got no choice anymore, that he can't return to the Batch, that being a willing tool to the Empire is what he wants or at least what keeps him alive. The way for him to see through his own lies isn't by acquiring new facts, like Benni had to do by learning about Mokko's exploitative profit margins. But Crosshair needs to learn something still, which is (not incidentally) something Omega had to learn in the opening story of season 2: which is the ability to overcome one's shame (I've already written about this at length). Omega can be interpreted as Crosshair's inner child, and as such her character development prepares the path for Crosshair's development.

(pls not season 2 spoilers, I haven't fully watched it yet)

#star wars #star wars the bad batch #star wars bad batch #tbb meta #tbb echo #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb crosshair #tbb tech #tbb omega #tbb #pls no s2 spoilers #clone force 99

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cerebralabyss · 16 days

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henlo greetings :3 name is noxious (nox 4 short)!! iss my public debut 2day /silly

split a while ago but actually realized on 04.06.2024 >u<

- 🔪

wowa u clicked read more ?!? thas cwaaaazy x3 more info mainly 4 ourself to look back on buut also for anyone (probly moots :3) interested!!

my pronouns rn (V SUBJECT 2 CHANGE!!!) are it/he ,, i’m a smol hybrid creechur (mostly kitty n a notable amnt of dogge hehe)

i’m not much mmore than a “”memory”” holder atm but i’m kina the main host 4 now ?? ik we have 4 & 1/2 hosts now iss WIILLDD!!!

i didn’t split from anyone specific (v much a traumagenic split eeg) but i’m part of the EP hemisystem!!! i plan 2 integrate into reffy’s subsystem in da future when it makes sense 2 do so!! i’m aa lot like him already so it’ll b good ^u^ it actually took us aa while 2 notice i wasn’t him wawgawshwa

atm im just being treated as reffy’s evil clonee >:3 except we r all already evil /lh so im not that diffrent

das all 4 now!! if u read this umm ur gay /lh pos x3

#plural #plural artist #alter art #my art #crbrl sys.diary #crbrl noxious

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spectres-scribbles · 6 months

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Countdown

Prologue

May 3040

“It’s over, right?” Erend asked as he hugged Aloy from the side as the squad gathered around each other, reunited and victorious.

Aloy said nothing, for now.

Let them revel in this hard-earned victory. They’d earned it.

The truth could wait for a few days, until they were back at the Base.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” She said instead.

Enthusiastic agreements met that question and together, the squad retraced their steps out of the base, eager to be gone from the place.

- - - - - - - - - -

They set up camp once they were back on the mainland so that they could tend to their injuries.

Unsurprisingly, Sylens continued on his way up the coast without stopping or saying anything other than a quick “I’ll be in contact” to Aloy.

“Where’s he going?” Erend asked, watching the fake-Banuk’s Charger disappear into the darkness.

“Tilda’s mansion, I think.” Aloy responded. “It’s just up the coast from here.”

“What for?”

“Knowing him, he’s probably going to start going through the base, now that the Zeniths are no longer a threat.”

“More shiny toys for him to play with?”

“I guess we’ll see.” Aloy responded with a shrug.

“What was he talking about, with that whole ‘You people will need my help’ bit, anyway?” Erend commented.

Aloy and Beta shared a look at that.

They’d hoped to wait, but now that the question had been asked, there was no way that they could blow it off completely.

“We thought the fight was over with the Zeniths, but in truth, it’s barely just begun.” Aloy told the group.

“Barely begun?” Kotallo repeated. “What do you mean?”

“We’ll explain it all when we get back to Base. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all, in truth.”

“Must be serious if even you’re having trouble with it.” Erend noted.

“Understatement of the century,” Aloy mirthlessly told her Oseram friend. “For now, we focus on getting back to Base, then we plan our next move.”

τ - ι - κ - μ - χ - θ

After Zo had checked her and cleared her, Beta went straight to work, beginning to check GAIA’s rig. Shortly after, Aloy found her when she was cleared as well.

“The rig seems okay, no external damage.” Beta reported as Aloy approached her. “I haven’t started any diagnostics on GAIA herself, though.”

Despite the clinical air she was trying to project, Aloy seemed to sense that something was bothering her sister, for she reached out to put a hand on the younger clone’s shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”

Without warning, Beta turned away from the rig to bury herself in Aloy’s arms.

“He was my first real friend,” Beta murmured thickly into Aloy’s neck.

Unlike the others, Beta hadn’t had any chance to mourn Varl. Literally the minute the Zeniths returned to the base, they’d shoved Beta into the chair, chained her, and forced her to work on integrating HEPHAESTUS into GAIA. Whatever little rest she had, she was tortured via virtual reality dissociation.

Gerard had even used Varl’s murder to crush Beta’s spirits so that she wouldn’t try to fight what she was being forced to do, which had anguished her to no end. It had only been when Aloy contacted her via Tilda’s data channel that she had regained some hope, enough to hold on until Aloy and her other friends had come for her.

“I know.” Aloy murmured back, trying to comfort Beta, but feeling awkward while doing it. “I’m sorry I was so impatient and ignorant back then. I treated you the way I was, and I shouldn’t have.”

“Did you guys…?” Beta quietly asked but was unable to finish the sentence.

“Yeah, we buried and held a funeral for him.” Aloy answered with a nod. “It was the main reason why we took so long to rescue you once I stopped Regalla and her army from slaughtering Hekarro and forced Sylens to join us. His memorial is outside the eastern exit to the Base-”

“So he can see Plainsong and the Sacred Lands like he and Zo liked to do.” Beta finished, nodding. “I’m glad.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Zo, who turned her focus to the evening meal after having finished the squad’s medical exams, announced from her place at the campfire.

Aloy pulled back a little to look at Beta. “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

Their meal was quick and easy: Beanweed Bites with canteens of water to wash it down. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to sate everyone’s hunger. Even Erend, who preferred ale to water, didn’t complain, glad to have food in his belly.

“You can have that when we’re back at Base.” Zo told him with a roll of her eyes, earning a chuckle from the rest of the squad as they rolled out their bedrolls.

Aloy tasked her two Clawstriders to watch duty patrolling the area around their camp to act as a deterrent for troublemakers, while the Sunwing perched in nearby ruins for a bird’s eye view of the area. Their herd of Chargers were grazing peacefully nearby but would react to fight alongside the Combat machines if there was trouble during the night.

With all that done, Aloy turned her focus to her own bedding. As she was doing that, Beta approached her.

“Can I sleep with you?” Beta asked Aloy timidly, as around them, the rest of the squad got settled for bed around the campfire. “I just… don’t think I can… I don’t want to be alone…”

Beta could still see Erik Visser stabbing Varl, hear his taunting words to the Nora Brave as the light had left Varl’s eyes, every single time she closed her own.

The psychological torment she’d endured was still too fresh, and she needed a physical connection with her kin to anchor her and keep the darkness at bay, to show her that all of this was real and not a figment of her mind.

That her sister and her other friends had really come for her and ended the Zeniths, once and for all.

“Yeah, of course. Not a problem.” Aloy didn’t hesitate to nod her head, understanding her twin’s trauma, raising the blanket so Beta could climb in.

It wasn’t long before the sisters drifted off to sleep, Beta clinging to Aloy’s arm that rested between them to ground herself.

- - - - - - - - - -

Beta’s sleep didn’t last.

Sometime in the night, the younger clone bolted upright in bed, screaming out in terror, which quickly woke the rest of the camp.

“Wha’s happening?” Erend asked, sitting up but still mostly asleep, as he frantically grabbed blindly for his warhammer. “Who’s attacking?!”

Zo scowled at him. “Stow your hammer, Erend. We’re not under attack.”

“Then why…?”

“Why do you think, given what the Zeniths were doing to Beta? She had a nightmare.”

“Easy, sister. Easy.” Aloy murmured softly to Beta, mostly ignoring the exchange between Zo and Erend, sitting up and gathering the younger woman in her arms to offer physical comfort to her sister. “You’re safe, Beta. You’re safe.”

“The Zeniths…” Beta whimpered out.

“Are dead. They can’t hurt you anymore.” Aloy assured.

“Or any of us.” Alva said softly as she sat down beside Aloy and Beta and began to rub Beta’s back to offer further comfort. “We all made sure of that.”

Eventually, Beta calmed down, but it was a while before sleep claimed her again.

Alva and Aloy stayed with her the entire time, even as the rest of the squad dozed off around them, offering comfort and assurance until she felt safe enough to try again.

“Thank you for that,” Aloy said softly to Alva as she lowered Beta back to the bedroll.

“Don’t mention it.” Alva replied just as softly as she went back to her own bedroll. “I imagine that it’s going to take some time for her to feel completely safe again after what she was put through. Makes you wish you could strangle the shitheads, doesn’t it?”

Aloy could just make out Alva’s scowl as she got settled back in her own bed, and couldn’t help but grin a little at how well and truly stirred up the Quen Diviner was on Beta’s behalf, as she only swore like that when she was really pissed off and didn’t care about being polite.

“Oh, strangling would only be the start of what I’d do to them if I could, trust me.” Aloy replied darkly before trying to clear her mind so that she could also get some more sleep. “Night.”

“Goodnight.” Alva replied.

Sleep didn’t claim Aloy again for a while after that as well, but she contented herself with watching Beta as she did, glad that the younger clone at least was getting her much needed rest.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next three days were spent travelling, their pace steady to give injuries time to heal.

Beta rode with Aloy on one of her Clawstriders, cuddled up to her elder’s back, occasionally drifting off to sleep as they journeyed.

They stopped at Fenrise the first night, Gattak happily welcoming them into the settlement and giving then food and beds for the night, and The Grove the second, where Hekarro was relieved to see Aloy and her squad return in one piece, and had happily put them up for the night as well.

From there, they made the final push to the Base.

Throughout the entire trip, it was clear that the questions about what Aloy had said about the fight having only just begun burned bright in the minds of the rest of the squad, but they respected Aloy’s need to be given a chance to wrap her head around the revelation of Nemesis and kept their talk inconsequential and light.

Even when they got back to Base, Aloy and Beta were given their space, Beta focusing on restoring GAIA after Erend and Aloy had brought the rig inside, though the squad did come together to celebrate their victory against the Zeniths with a feast the following night after their return, the feast food coming from every tribe to represent their unified efforts against their enemy.

Initially, Aloy just watched her friends enjoy the celebrations from the sidelines, not really participating herself, but eventually, Erend dragged her in, before raising a toast to their success, and she gave in and joined the revelry.

When she had retired for the night, she’d hung Elisabet’s and Rost’s pendants side by side on their display rack, contemplating them as she thought about the battle that was coming, before someone knocking on her door pulled her out of those thoughts.

Beta was on the other side, a blanket and pillow roll in her arms, and Aloy didn’t hesitate to let her in.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

There’s another battle ahead, Elisabet.

Very different from the one you fought.

It’s not about the distant hope of creating a new world, it’s about preserving the one we have.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

The next day, the group gathered in GAIA’s chamber after lunch, where Aloy delivered the news about Nemesis to her friends.

“Fire and spit!” Erend exclaimed as Aloy finished speaking.

The rest of the group, sans Beta, were likewise stunned.

“How in the name of the Ten are we supposed to fight such a thing?” Kotallo breathed out, tearing his gaze from the digital representation of Nemesis that GAIA was projecting for the squad to look at Aloy.

“I don’t know, honestly.” Aloy earnestly told her friends. “But this is why Sylens is going through the Zenith base; in the hopes of finding something - anything - that may help us fight it.

“When will it arrive?” Alva asked.

“According to GAIA’s calculations; sometime between May 3041 and December 3042. It should be noted that GAIA hasn’t detected it yet, as Nemesis is too far out of range of what she can hear right now. That range is based on a few assumptions about how long the Zeniths were planning to stay here. Once she detects it, she estimates that we’ll have about six months to finish up preparations for it.”

“And what’s happening with HEPHAESTUS? Are we going to try and capture it again?” Zo queried.

“HEPH’s going to be a bit of a wild card.” Beta spoke now. “Contact with the Zenith network will likely have supercharged it, giving it access to new technologies, tools and upgrades.”

“So we’re going to see even more deadly and dangerous machines popping up from now on? Lovely.” Erend drawled.

“Even though the merge with GAIA was aborted, she was able to copy some of the original HEPH code base. On top of that, Sylens has already extracted some extremely helpful data from the Zenith copy of APOLLO. Combined, these developments should enable GAIA to exert significantly more influence over the terraforming system.” Beta informed the squad. “She won't be able to take direct control of machines, or stop HEPH from building new combat units. But she estimates that by deploying a variety of workarounds, she can stabilize the biosphere within a year. So we don't all die, at least not before Nemesis arrives.”

“But to answer your question; since GAIA now has some of HEPH's source code, we should be able to develop new strategies to contain it.” Beta told Zo. “It'll take time, of course, since HEPH will likely write Omega Clearance out of its code like it did with Alpha Clearance, if it hasn’t already, so a repeat of GEMINI is out of the question.”

“So what’s the plan?” Erend asked Aloy.

“Right now, getting word out to the tribes about the coming threat is paramount.” Aloy told the group. “We need to find allies that can help and are willing to fight when the time comes. We need to be united, all of us, if we’re going to stand a chance at stopping this thing.”

“I can talk to Morlund. His family is well known in the Claim, so, between the two of us, we should be able to grab some people’s attention.” Erend offered after a few moments of thought.

“I’ll return to Landfall to inform Bohai.” Alva told the squad. “I’m sure he’ll want to return to the Delta now that the storms won’t sink what ships we have left. He’ll speak to the Emperor on our behalf.”

“And what about you? Will you go as well?” Erend asked Alva.

Alva shook her head. “I can’t, in good conscience, leave now, not knowing what’s coming. Like Aloy said; we have to fight this thing together. I choose to stay and fight. For my sister, for my parents, for my people.”

“Thank you.” Aloy said to Alva sincerely. “I know it won’t be easy to stay when the ships set sail.”

“I came to this land to find a way to save my family. I can’t leave now.” Alva reiterated. “And I’m sure that once the word spreads through Landfall, I won’t be the only one who’ll make that same choice.”

“I would like to give Bohai one of our Focuses before he departs, however, so that we can expand the network to the Delta, once GAIA’s completely up and running again, if that’s okay?” Alva continued, turning to Aloy to make her request.

Aloy nodded her head. “Of course. Take as many as you want. The same goes for the rest of you when you go. We need to start expanding the network with allies that we can call on when Nemesis arrives.”

“He’ll find a way to use it to his advantage with the Board of Overseers, I don’t doubt it.” Alva warned, regarding Bohai. “No Diviner in the history of the tribe has ever had access to a later model Focus before now, and he’ll exploit that to the fullest. But I’m sure that he will petition the Emperor for aid.”

“I figured as much.” Aloy nodded, having expected that Bohai would do as Alva described, but was willing to turn a blind eye to it if it meant that the Quen homeland would be warned of the threat and potentially send help. “Do you think the Emperor will listen?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. But I hope so.” Alva freely admitted.

“Time will tell, I guess.” Aloy responded.

“The Chorus will likely take some time to convince, but I’m sure that I can do it.” Zo spoke next. “Then I’ll head east, to the Sacred Lands. I owe it to Varl to tell his mother of what happened to him, and about her coming grandchild. And to tell the Nora of the coming threat.”

Erend looked to Aloy in surprise at this. “You’re not going to tell them?”

“I’ll have to face them at some point, being the Anointed, but for now, I’ll be staying here.” The Nora huntress replied. “I’ll have to head back east at some point, to speak with the Banuk about Nemesis, so I’ll probably visit the Embrace then. Of all the tribes, the Nora are probably going to be the trickiest to communicate with, since they’ll more then likely refuse to wear a Focus, outside of a few brave souls.”

Aloy quietly wondered if Teb, or even Nakoa, might consider it.

She’d have to see when she went there.

“Just be mindful, you might not get the warmest reception when they learn of your pregnancy, with it being unsanctioned. Especially with Varl being the War-Chief’s son.” Aloy warned Zo.

“Varl warned me when we started trying to have a child, that he’d face the wrath of the Nora for it, and me as well, because of that.” Zo nodded. “I’m prepared for whatever they throw at me. But thank you, for thinking of me.”

Aloy smiled. “It’s what friends do, right?”

“We owe you for stopping Regalla’s slaughter, as well as for what would have happened if she had succeeded.” Kotallo spoke last. “The Chief wants to repay that debt. The Tenakth will answer your call.”

Aloy nodded back, even as a plan started to form in her mind for something she could do to help Hekarro and the Marshals to rally and unify the Tenakth.

The Focus network would be part one of her plan.

Mentally shaking her head, and stowing those thoughts for later, Aloy focused her thoughts back on the meeting. “All of you, be careful, okay? Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help, and I’ll do what I can. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to have squad meetings via holo every couple of weeks for us to keep checking in with each other for status reports and the like.”

The squad didn’t hesitate to agree to that request, deeming it essential going forward.

With the meeting done, the squad trickled out, no doubt to start their various preparations for their departure the following day.

“The fellowship is breaking up.” Beta murmured to Aloy after the others had gone and it was only them and GAIA left, clearly saddened by what was happening, even if it was necessary.

The squad were family to each other now, as well as the first real friends Beta had ever had.

It would be so different, for both of them, walking around Base from now on and not hearing Erend’s music at full blast, or helping Zo with meal preparation, or playing Machine Strike with Kotallo, or talking with Varl about whatever latest thing he’d been reading up on, or helping Alva with her research.

“For now, we are.” Aloy replied, hugging her sister from the side. “But I’ve no doubt that when Nemesis arrives, we’ll all come back together again to face it.”

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

My friends have a new mission - to spread the word and ask for help.

They’ve taken it in stride.

I think it’s because they’ve always known what I’ve only just started to understand.

That the people of this world have the strength to fight any battle, the ingenuity to solve any problem, the courage to overcome any obstacle. And the resilience to rise after any setback.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

After having one last breakfast together, the squad, sans Aloy and Beta, began to depart.

Kotallo and Zo were the first to leave.

“A word? Aloy asked Kotallo as he was collecting his things from his room.

“How can I help?” Kotallo asked.

“I’m not sure what the Tenakth do regarding the dead, but I was wondering if Hekarro would want Regalla’s body, if we can find it?” Aloy asked, getting to the point.

“For all the heinous things she did, she did redeem herself in the end.” Kotallo replied. “I believe the Chief will want to bury her with full honours at the Grove.”

Aloy nodded her head. “Meet me at the Sunwing site above Base when you’re ready to go.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Overriding all three Sunwings without them attacking each other took timing, and a little bit of luck, but Aloy succeeded just in time.

To say that Kotallo was stunned when he emerged to find Aloy standing by one of the newly tamed machines would be an understatement.

< < < JTF-10 > > >

“Commander?” The Marshal asked, even as his heart began to soar at what he thought was happening.

“It’s yours.” Aloy told him, gesturing at the machine, confirming Kotallo’s thoughts. “I figured that if you’re to spread the word among the Tenakth about Nemesis, that you’d need a little help.”

Kotallo was speechless for a few moments.

Aloy had seen the harm the wrong people could do with tamed machines.

That she trusted him like this, giving him his own Wings of the Ten…

“You honour me, Aloy.” Kotallo, finding his voice, bowed deeply to his commanding officer.

“I’m assuming that Hekarro and the other Marshals would also appreciate their own Sunwings?” Aloy asked, but Kotallo could see that she already knew the answer, knowing what she did about how the Tenakth revered the Wings of the Ten.

Already, many Tenakth were calling Aloy ‘She Who Flies on the Wings of the Ten’ for what she had done stopping Regalla’s attack on the Grove, and Hekarro had mentioned to Kotallo, during the GAIA Gang’s stopover there days prior, that the tribe’s Painters were planning on coming together to paint a mural in the Grove to honour Aloy’s heroic actions.

“To help get the tribe ready? Most definitely.” Kotallo responded, his mind already imagining how things would change going forward.

The combination of the Sunwings and the Focus network would make the Marshals far more effective in their jobs, allowing them to travel the Clan Lands quicker than before and also be able to report back to the clan Commanders and Hekarro without having to return to a clan’s capital or the Grove in order to do so, and would make them considerably more formidable against the remnants of Regalla’s rebels, or any other trouble-makers, if they tried to act against the Chief or the tribe again.

“It’ll probably take me a week or two to override the rest and deliver them to the Grove.” Aloy told him, partially in warning.

“That’s fine.” Kotallo assured. “It’s better that you take your time doing this.”

Kotallo understood that the process could be tricky if Aloy was trying to tame more then one machine at a time, that a tamed machine could start attacking wild ones due to its programming being changed before she’d moved on to the next.

“Alright then. Ready to learn how to fly?”

All Tenakth dreamed of being able to do this, of flying in the air like the Ten had once done.

That it was becoming a reality for him…

“I was born ready.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Kotallo was a natural, as it turned out, mastering the basics of flying fairly quickly, and before long, he and Aloy, along with the two spare Sunwings, were on their way back to the Zenith base, Kotallo smiling subtly the whole time, clearly revelling in what he was doing, of the feeling of the wind on his face.

- - - - - - - - - -

Once they were flying over the base, they were greeted with an unexpected site; the previously pristine printer was now a smoking ruin of twisted metal.

“HEPHAESTUS’s work?” Kotallo asked Aloy.

“Or Gerard’s, to prevent it from spitting out any more Zero Dawn machines.” Aloy surmised. “Either way, it’s one good thing in our favour. Nemesis won’t be able to use it against us.”

“That’s certainly true.” Kotallo agreed.

“Though I suspect that that will only be a temporary setback for it, if it really wants to use it.” Aloy added realistically.

Kotallo chuckled.

It was typical of Aloy to see all sides, but that was what made her such a good leader: because she took everything into account.

Though that also worked against her, when something occurred that she hadn’t planned for, like Varl’s death, and she acted like it was her personal failure that she’d failed to predict everything.

“There is that.” The Marshal agreed.

After that, it wasn’t long before they arrived at their destination, finding a small mound of Spectre corpses and some debris waiting for them.

“A fitting death, indeed.” Kotallo commented as he took in the sight. “But how are we going to get to Regalla’s body?”

Aloy answered with action, flying her Sunwing to the topmost Specter and used her machine to start shifting the felled machine by gripping one of it’s arms in the Sunwing’s talons and pulling it down one side of the mound.

Kotallo quickly followed his commander’s lead on the other side.

- - - - - - - - - -

In the end, they moved one shy of a dozen machines before they found Regalla’s battered body, mostly intact, her greatsword broken on the ground beside her.

Aloy steered her Sunwing away from the site to land in a clear spot nearby so that she could dismount, taking something from her machine’s back before she approached the fallen woman.

Kotallo also landed his Sunwing in a clear space and followed Aloy in.

“Give me a hand?” Aloy asked Kotallo as she dropped what she was carrying on the ground, revealing that it was a bag of some sort as she unzipped and opened it up, though it looked big enough that Regalla’s body would fit inside. “I don’t think I can lift her body on my own.”

“You take her legs.” Kotallo directed as he bent to slip his arms under the body’s shoulders and Aloy did the same on her end. “On three. One… Two… Three.”

Between the two of them, they manoeuvred the body into the waiting bag.

Afterwards, as Aloy was rigging up grips for the Sunwing to carry the body with from her grapple rope, Kotallo gathered up Regalla’s sword, and her mask, and placed them in the bag as well before Aloy zipped it up.

Once Aloy was sure that her knot-work was secure, she stood to face Kotallo.

“You want to carry her, or me?”

“I will.” Kotallo volunteered.

With a nod of her head, Aloy gestured to Kotallo’s Sunwing, indicating that he should mount up. “I’ll help you take hold.”

Nodding back, the Marshal mounted his machine and took to the air, bringing it to hover where Aloy was waiting, holding up the grips until Kotallo’s Sunwing had a good grasp on them, then she stepped back out of the downdraught.

“Alright, take her up a bit so I can see if the rope will hold.” Aloy called up to him. “I’d rather test it now while we’re close to the ground then when we’re on our way back and high in the sky.”

‘Wise.” Kotallo returned with a nod, before doing as Aloy asked.

After a few minutes of hovering in the air, and seeing that the rope was still holding strong, Aloy nodded her head, then made her way back to her own waiting Sunwing.

“Ready to get out of here?” She asked once she was also in the air.

“More than ready.”

With a chuckle, Aloy recalled the spare Sunwings, who had been set to a patrolling watch once Aloy and Kotallo had started excavating for Regalla’s remains, and then they were on their way back to the mainland.

- - - - - - - - - -

As they flew, Kotallo studied the aftermath of the battle beneath them as they passed, the sparking heaps of machines - Specter and Zero Dawn alike - as well as the bodies of the fallen Zeniths.

Part of him had wished that he could have been a member of the main attacking force, to see HEPHAESTUS churning out machines to take on the weakened Zeniths and their army of Specters for himself, as well as to fight alongside the rest of the squad, but he contented himself with the knowledge that what he and Alva had been tasked with had been just as important to the mission’s success.

Not only had they given the squad a fighting chance against their enemies, but they’d also made the discovery of what would eventually lead to Aloy and Beta uncovering the truth of what was really going on, and that was something he’d always be proud of.

- - - - - - - - - -

By the time they got back to the Grove, it was late afternoon, and the sun was just starting to set in the west.

Even so, the arrival of the four tamed Sunwings caused a stir among the Tenakth who were posted there, the young soldiers gawping at the sight as Aloy’s and Kotallo’s Sunwings came in to land, though Kotallo had to carefully drop his cargo on the ground first before his Sunwing could, the spare Sunwings following their lead, which quickly brought Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira to investigate the hubbub.

“Marshal. Champion.” Hekarro greeted them both as they dismounted from their machines.

“Chief.” - “Hekarro.”

Kotallo and Aloy returned tandem greetings.

“What brings you here?”

“We bring Regalla’s body for burial.” Kotallo told his Chief, gesturing to the bag in front of his Sunwing.

Hekarro crouched down and touched the bag. “She died a good death?”

“Her help was instrumental in helping get the rest of the squad, minus myself and Diviner Alva, past some Specters and further into the Zenith base.” Kotallo reported. “She felled nearly a dozen of them before they killed her.”

Hekarro nodded as he stood back up.

“I’m glad to hear that for her sake. She got the death she was seeking that I was unable to deliver.” Hekarro then called to two of the nearby posted guards. “Nexx. Drevva.”

The two snapped to attention and came over.

“See that the body is taken to Tevvona to begin preparations for burial.” Hekarro instructed the two young soldiers.

“Yes, Chief.”

“The rope is yours, I assume?” Hekarro asked Aloy, noting that the young woman was missing her normally ever-present grapple.

“My grapple rope.” Aloy confirmed.

“Tell Tevvona that the rope is to be returned in one piece to the Champion.” Hekarro further instructed.

“Yes, Chief.”

The four Tenakth and one Nora watched as the two young soldiers carefully shouldered the body between them and departed the throne room and trekked towards their intended destination.

“Is there somewhere we can speak privately?” Aloy asked Hekarro, her expression solemn, once the two men were out of sight.

“Follow me.” Hekarro said and led the way to the strategy room.

- - - - - - - - - -

“Does this have something to do with the mission you’ve just completed? Your attack on the mysterious island next to the Valley of the Fallen?” Hekarro asked Aloy as they gathered around the planning table, Aloy and Kotallo on one side, Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira on the other.

They’d stopped and spent the night at the Grove on their way to the Zenith base as well as on their return back to Base, so Hekarro had been aware that something was happening, and where, but not the specifics of it, and that it was therefore no coincidence that they were back just days after completing said mission and looking quite serious to boot.

“It does. The island was home to some living Old Ones called Zeniths. They kidnapped my sister, killed one of our squad, and took something from us that was imperative that we get back.”

Kotallo could see that Hekarro and the others had questions regarding the Zeniths, about how any of the Old Ones could still be alive after the Time of Ashes, so he intervened to get their attention back on the reason that Aloy had asked for this audience with him.

“I’ll explain about the Zeniths at a later time, Chief, but for now, it’s imperative that you hear what Aloy has to say.” Kotallo told Hekarro.

“Very well.” Hekarro nodded at the younger man before focusing back on Aloy. “And what did these… Zeniths take from you?”

“A living Vision called GAIA.” Kotallo told his fellow Tenakth. “GAIA is the reason that any of us exist after the fall of the Old Ones.”

“GAIA was created by an Old One called Elisabet Sobeck while the Metal Devils were wiping them out.” Aloy picked up the explanation, projecting an image of Elisabet for them to look at. “GAIA was tasked with bringing life back to Earth once the Old Ones had been wiped out. And as Kotallo said, she succeeded.”

Dekka was quick to pick up Aloy and Elisabet’s similarities. “You look exactly like her, Aloy, albeit younger, but how can that be?”

“Because I’m a clone - a copy - of her.”

“And why is that?” Dekka asked, puzzled but curious.

“Because twenty years ago, something threatened life on Earth. To protect us, protect all life, GAIA sacrificed herself to stop it.” Aloy explained before turning to address Hekarro. “That day that AETHER fled here? The day you saw the Faraday Vision here in the Grove? That was the day GAIA destroyed herself in the east. It’s also when I was created.

“GAIA knew that only someone with Elisabet’s blood and bone would be able to gain access to certain special Old One ruins through them, be able to fix what was about to happen by bringing GAIA back to life. The Derangement, the storms, the famine, the Blight, and indirectly, the Red Raids, all of that happened because GAIA wasn’t around to guide the machines trying to fix the world.”

“And you succeeded in that mission?” Hekarro asked, though he clearly had already guessed the answer, as things had started to get better in the months since he’d first met the flame-haired huntress and she’d spoken of her mission to him.

Aloy nodded in conformation. “I, with the aid of Varl and Zo, was able to revive her shortly after entering the West. She’s in our base in the mountains above Plainsong. But even though she was restored at that point, she couldn’t yet start to fix things.”

“And that’s where what you came here seeking comes into play?” Hekarro guessed.

Aloy nodded. “AETHER, and the others like it, which we called sub-functions, are the tools GAIA uses to repair and maintain the world. When GAIA sacrificed herself, they fled, seeking refuge wherever they could find containers big enough to store them, including here, and once they’d done that, they tried to continue with their work, but without GAIA’s guiding hand, their efforts led to what happened: ruin.”

“But we weren’t the only ones seeking to fix GAIA, the Zeniths were, too. Which is where my sister comes into this. Just as GAIA knew that only someone of Elisabet’s blood could fix her, the Zeniths knew it as well, creating Beta in the same way that I was so that they could also gain access to those same special ruins.”

“But your sister defected from these Zeniths and joined you and your squad.”

Aloy nodded. “At the time, we believed that the Zeniths intended to use GAIA to clean slate the Earth, killing all human life, so that they could make the world they wanted. Beta couldn’t stand that and hated them for how they’d treated her while she was growing up, so once we discovered each other’s existence, she escaped them as soon as she was able to, sending a distress call to GAIA that she knew I wouldn’t ignore.

“But even without Beta or GAIA, the Zeniths knew that my squad and I were working on fixing GAIA, so all they had to do was sit back and wait, putting a watch on the final sub-function, named HEPHAESTUS, knowing we’d have to go after it eventually to capture it as well, as it was the most important tool for GAIA to fix the world.”

“And what does this HEPHAESTUS do?”

“It creates the machines. The Derangement is entirely its work, as it was trying to protect the machines from human hunters.” Aloy explained. “Trapping HEPHAESTUS wasn’t as easy as it was with AETHER or the others, as it had grown too large for the container I used to return them to GAIA in once I’d retrieved them, and it was spread throughout the Cauldrons. Sites where the machines are created.” Aloy added at Ivvira’s puzzled look.

“To trap HEPHAESTUS, we had to corner it in a special Cauldron, the one south-west of Scalding Spear, the one the Desert Tenakth revere as the Gate of the Vanquished.”

“Special how?”

“It has two cores, due to earthquakes occurring while it was being constructed. GAIA needed to install herself in one core and contain HEPHAESTUS in the other so that we could begin to return it to her. But the second we did that, the Zeniths knew where we were, and they came for us. They killed Varl, incapacitated me, and took Beta and GAIA. They would have killed me also, if one of them didn’t turn on the others to save me.”

“One of the Zeniths defected to your side?” asked the Chief.

Aloy nodded again. “Yes. Her name was Tilda. She helped me plan and carry out the attack on the Zenith base. She also told me about the bomb I dropped on the Grove to stop Regalla’s assault.”

“Impressive.”

“Which leads to our attack on their base. During the attack, I had Alva and Kotallo split off from the main squad to strike a critical target that would help the rest of the squad’s infiltration.”

“You speak of the knowledge-seeker, yes? The young woman with the different looking Old One relic? The one whose tribe is on the Isle of Spires?” Dekka asked Aloy.

“The one with a thousand questions to ask you about the Visions during our stopovers here?” Aloy finished with a slight chuckle. “Yeah, she’s the one.”

“Anyway, the other part of their mission, once that was done and the Zenith computers were vulnerable, was for Alva to go through the Zenith files to find out if Tilda was hiding anything from us, as I didn’t fully trust her motivations.”

“I take it from your demeanour that they did find something?” Hekarro asked after studying Aloy for a moment.

Taking a breath, Aloy began to tell Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira about what they’d learned.

“Yeah, Alva did. And this is what I found out…”

- - - - - - - - - -

“Blood of the Ten…” Hekarro breathed out, leaning heavily on the table, as Aloy and Kotallo finished their report.

Dekka and Ivvira were likewise shell-shocked, though they stood back from the table, also trying to wrap their heads around what they’d just been told.

“That’s why we’re here now; seeking allies. No single tribe will be able to defeat this thing alone. We have to come together if we’re to stand a chance at stopping it. Because if we don’t…” Aloy trailed off.

Hekarro understood the unspoken.

“The Tenakth will answer your call. Our arakhs are yours, Aloy of the Nora.” Hekarro, pushing off the table to stand straight, pledged to Aloy without hesitation. “We will gladly fight at your side against this threat.”

Kotallo nodded, having expected that Hekarro would swear to Aloy once he heard about Nemesis.

All Tenakth loved a good fight, and there would be no greater battle for his tribe then fighting to protect their world, and all life in it, from being snuffed out.

“I assume that you want Kotallo to spread the word on your behalf amongst the Clans?” Hekarro perceptively asked, looking between Kotallo and Aloy.

It was well known that Kotallo was a member of Aloy’s squad, so it was only logical that he do this task within his tribe for his CO.

Aloy nodded. “It’s why I’m returning him to your command for the time being.”

Hekarro nodded back before he addressed the younger man. “Marshal.”

“Yes, Chief?” Kotallo responded.

“I will still require you to do your duties as a Marshal from time to time, but henceforth, your primary task is to do what your Commander has asked you to do.”

“I understand, Chief.” Kotallo nodded his head to Hekarro, then repeated the action to Aloy. “Commander.”

“Marshal.” Aloy returned the nod.

“I will endeavour to make sure that he’s returned to your command, when the time comes, in one piece.” Hekarro told Aloy seriously, understanding that the GAIA Gang would be front and center when the fight finally began.

“I’d appreciate that.” Aloy thanked Hekarro. “And I actually have a couple of things to give you to help with that, as well as to help unify and rally the Tenakth. The first are these…”

Reaching into one of her back pouches, Aloy brought out three Focuses, coming around the table to give one each to Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira.

“Your Old One relic?” Hekarro asked as he studied the tiny piece of metal in his fingers.

“It’s called a Focus.” Aloy explained, then gestured to where her Focus sat on her temple. “They go on the temple, just like mine.”

One by one, the three Tenakth did as instructed, the Focuses adhering to their skin when they were close enough and activating, which startled them at first as they experienced the Focus’ Second Sight and what it revealed for the first time.

“This is how you see the world?” Dekka breathed out as she got used to the display around her.

“Ever since I was a little girl.” Aloy responded, sounding a little wistful as she spoke those words, and Kotallo knew why: that was what she’d said to Varl the first time he’d donned his Focus.

“You activate and deactivate the Focus by tapping it, just like this.” Kotallo told his Chief, the Chaplain and his fellow Marshal, showing them how, so that they could deactivate them for now. “I can teach you the rest of the functions with time.”

“Kotallo has the rest of the Tenakth’s Focuses, to be distributed to the rest of the Marshals, the Clan Commanders and the Chaplains, as well as anyone else he deems worthy and trustworthy of them.” Aloy explained to Hekarro. “You’ll be connected to our greater network from now on, be able to contact any member of it, if you wish, including myself and members of my squad, but GAIA can set up a seperate network, just for the Tenakth, if you want her to.”

“I thank you.” Hekarro nodded.

“The second part are the Sunwings. Kotallo has his. The first spare is yours.” Aloy said to Hekarro. “And the last…”

Ivvira perked up and looked hopefully at Aloy. “Is mine?”

“A training tool, for now, to allow the Marshals to get used to flying. You’ll get yours soon enough.” Aloy corrected with a chuckle before turning back to Hekarro. “I should be able to tame the remaining machines - for the Marshals, at least - over the next couple of weeks and will bring them here as I do. If you feel that there are others who deserve one, who won’t abuse the privilege, let me know, and I can tame more at a later date.”

“You have my thanks and gratitude for this, Aloy. These gifts will make the Marshals far more effective at their jobs.” Hekarro thanked Aloy profusely, clearly recognising, like Kotallo had, the show of trust and faith that Aloy was putting in him and his tribe in doing what she had.

“And far more formidable against what remains of the rebels, or any other trouble-makers.” Ivvira enthused. “I almost wish that they would try something, though, if only to see the look on their faces when we show up on our own Wings of the Ten.”

Kotallo chuckled at that, having imagined it himself.

“There’s one last thing that the Focus can do for you.” Aloy told Hekarro. “Perhaps the most important thing.”

“And what might that be?”

Activating her Focus, Aloy displayed a table containing the Latin alphabet for Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira to look at.

“Carja glyphs?” Hekarro asked after a moment of studying the table, clearly remembering Fashav’s journal.

“The Old Ones called it the alphabet.” Aloy corrected. “It’s how they read and wrote. Each Focus contains an educational module that will teach you how to as well.”

Hekarro blinked at that, then pulled his Focus from his temple to look at it. “This little relic can teach me and my people the written language of the Old Ones?”

Aloy nodded. “Just as I learned when I was a girl. Just as Kotallo did when he joined my team.”

“Of all the things you’ve offered today, this is by far the most precious. Thank you, Aloy. We won’t forget this.”

“It’s why you were reaching out to Avad, isn’t it? To learn how, so that the Tenakth could record their history in another way, and not lose it?” Aloy asked rhetorically in return, already knowing the answer.

Hekarro simply nodded his head in answer.

“For you and the others who have a Focus, you can learn at your convenience, but for the rest of the Tenakth, I was thinking that the Chaplains could expand their duties and become teachers of the written word as well.”

“As they should.” Hekarro nodded in agreement, seeing that Aloy understood his tribe well enough to give this task to the ones best suited to it, even despite being an outlander, before turning to Dekka. “Do you agree, Chaplain?”

“I do, Chief. Thank you for this, Aloy.” Dekka offered her own thanks to the young woman for the opportunity she was giving them. “I’ll get word to Jetakka and Gerrah.”

“If you’re ever stuck, or need help, with this, or anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out.” Aloy informed Hekarro. “I’m staying in the West for now and I’m more than happy to assist wherever and however I can.”

Hekarro nodded his head. “I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Aloy.”

- - - - - - - - - -

“You’re more than welcome to stay here for the night, if you wish.” Kotallo told Aloy as they made their way back to where Aloy’s Sunwing was waiting, pausing as one of the guards returned Aloy’s grapple and the bag to her.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to pass. We all saw how fragile Beta was after we rescued her, and with the Base now empty, I’d rather not leave her there alone right now, at least until she’s feeling a bit better.”

They’d all seen how shaken Beta had been, and they’d kept themselves in her sights at all times those first few days after her rescue, so she knew that what had happened was real and that she was safe.

Not to mention that her nightmares continued to plague her nightly.

“I understand. Fly safe, Aloy.”

“Will do. I’ll see you in a few days with the next lot of Sunwings.” Aloy offered in parting as her Sunwing took to the skies.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

“Erend and Alva get away okay?” Aloy asked when she returned to the Base, not surprised to find Beta in GAIA’s chamber, checking over the reinstalled AI.

“Yeah. Erend was going to escort her to the ferry to make sure she got there safely, then return to the Hidden Ember.” Beta told her sister as Aloy came to a stop beside her and embraced the younger clone from the side as she worked. “He said he’d call when he got back, so we knew he was okay.”

Beta looked up from her work, suddenly timid and uncertain about what she wanted to ask. “Hey… um… you wanna watch some eps of Second Time Around with me after dinner?”

In the past, Aloy had deemed such things as irrelevant, preferring to remain focused on the mission, so she understood Beta’s hesitance to ask her about it now, but after they’d hashed out their differences, Aloy had vowed that she would start treating Beta with the kindness that she was overdue to receive, which included showing interest in the things her sister loved.

“Sure. Why not?”

Beta beamed in response. “Really?”

“Really.” Aloy affirmed. “Though speaking of dinner…”

Beta just smiled, knowing of her sister’s love of food, and let herself be led out of GAIA’s chamber and towards the kitchen.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

As for me, I can’t say that I’m not afraid.

What lies ahead will be harder than anything we've faced before.

But I know I can put the fear aside, because for the first time in my life... I feel like I’m not alone.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

#horizon forbidden west #horizon burning shores #aloy x seyka #seyloy #my writing

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