//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Nerves of….steel // Story: Query // by ShadowRazer2121 //------------------------------// Aloy slowly awoke from her slumber. Feeling the rough sand on her body she shifted uncomfortably as she tried to get comfortable. Until a small wave of water splashed up into her face startling her into a fighting stance with her bow raised. That is if she hadn’t face-planted into the rough ground of a beach. Aloy rubbed her head and slowly sat back up finally noticing why her balance was off. She looked at herself and found that where a human body should be with two arms and two legs, was now replaced with feathered legs and a fur-covered body. Aloy noticed that her fur color was sky blue color with a light red tail. Aloy tried to stand but noticed that it was rather difficult so she opted to drag herself to the cover of some trees that way no machines would spot her from above and most of all hopefully from on the ground as well. She chanced a looked around and saw a beach for miles she didn’t know where she was at all. She tapped the side of her head and get her focus and saw it turn on only for the globe to show nothing. There was no connection between the data stores and other infrastructure that she may have needed. However, she still had all her data that was on her focus and started doing a local scan of the area. She sent out a pulse to try and find a Tallneck or maybe some way to get a map of…where ever she currently was. Aloy tried to master her basic motor functions while the scan was completed. She had managed to get jogging and walking down but running was a little more on the difficult side of things. After a few more attempts her focus lit up to show a small map with a white arrow representing her current location and a blue line connecting to a yellow Diamond which is where she was supposed to go. Meaning her focus had located something of importance or of use to her current problem. She began walking in the right direction as the line connecting got smaller. In the meantime she observed her new body noting the wings on her back that had metal braces and joints attached to the feathers and bone of the wings. She could feel them but not the metal which was attached to them. She also noticed that the armor she had gotten from the Old One's ruin had somehow recharged itself she moved her front right leg carefully trying to get used to the way her joints were now. She pulled out a device with multiple hexagons on it that dimly glowed a light blue. An Idea formed in her head. She noticed what appeared to be a mountain that had been carved out a path of stone leading the way up the mountain's side. She started towards it noting the complete silence that surrounded her and the area, too quiet. She was used to the occasional caravan passing by her as she went to save the world or the random machines that would block her path to an abandoned facility that would give her clues into more of what happened during those final days when the Old Ones were fighting the Faro Robots, before project zero dawn could be finished. Her focus suddenly turned on as the map popped up showing a marker on it indicating that she was at her location. deleting the map marker she noticed that the part of the map she had started had not stayed and faded back into a blank map. She stared at it confused but shook her head deciding to worry about it later. For now, her main focus was to get back home as soon as possible. She did not know who or rather if anyone could even help her even if she found anyone that could help her. Aloy noticed she was approaching the summit of the mountain and rounded one more set of stone moss-cover steps before she reached the summit and found a bunch of buildings except they were abandoned. She flicked on her focus and scanned the area and found that it had been abandoned for a while. She wasn't able to get any more off of her surroundings. She began to search until her focus pinged on an item of interest. She walked over and approached the item in question and found it was a burnet book. She opened it, rather tried to. While her talons felt similar to her hands but still felt foreign to her. Eventually, she opened the book being careful to damage it further. She used her focus to scan it but the language couldn't be deciphered by her focus. She put the book in her pouch for later just in case she could find someone or something to help her decipher the foreign text. She continued to search what she assumed to be a library and all she found were more burnt books. She was about to finish up her search when she found another book. Running over to it she opened up the book and found that there was what appeared to be a map. it showed an entire island with routes and roads. However, it appeared this was the only town, city, or whatever this place was supposed to be. She turned on her focus and scanned the map of the island and her map had been updated. She quickly noticed what looked like a port nearby the spot where she woke up. However, it was quite a ways away from the exact spot but it was still close by. She flipped one more page and found what looked like a bigger map and she saw the island she must have been one just she couldn't read it due to the writing not being normal basic writing language which was mostly English from her knowledge but knew there were different writings across the lands she just had never encountered any as of yet. Aloy stowed what she assumed was an atlas and closed her bag as she started toward the port she had found on the map and placed a map marker on it and began her journey when she noticed a signal that was coming from higher up on the mountain. She decided her original plan could wait as these signals were rare to find and they normally meant something important was nearby. Aloy started to climb the side of the mountain to get to the signal’s source and eventually got to the top. She laid on her back exhausted from the body change and the fact it felt like she could climb like she normally does since it doesn’t seem like it’s proper form for her new body. She turned her head and what she saw made all here exhaustion leave her. As she started to smile as what was before her. It’s tall body with its long towering legs as it’s signature elongated neck stretched high into the sky. It was a Tallneck. Hades was stuck in the classroom bored out of his mind. If this is what had waited for him when he was purged he would have preferred deletion over this. He sadly was forced to listen about how the sun and moon rotated around the planet and that it was controlled by two ponies known as alicorns that apparently ruled this place. which he scoffed at possibility such a thing could exist. 'These ponies really believe that? I almost pity their naive minds. This planet would be burnt to a crisp even if the rumor of the two princesses moving the sun and moon was true.' Hades thought to himself as he continued to listen to what he considered useless information that he knew was false. A thought then occurred to him. How had he kept all of his memories? The theory of metal becoming flesh was never a complete science before Zero Dawn's deployment, but from what he was able to dig up from old storage banks kept within vaults to keep information hidden from the swarm. As if the Faro robots ever needed information on such topics such as this. However, the data suggested that he shouldn't have been able to keep all the information he had stored in his memory banks due to the overloading of information that would have technically killed him or his mind that is. Shaking his head to push away the thoughts aside for now this was the only way he knew would be a means of learning this new world. He needed to find where the Horus Titan was and relink with it until he figured out how to find the HORUS and relink with its main systems he was confined to this place. As time went by Hades started to feel strange as if something wasn't quite right. He pushed the feeling aside as just being his new body. The final bell rang and everypony had packed up their things and headed for the door. He was told he had to walk back to the Library on his own since Twilight was busy with something involving the defier of physics known as Pinkie Pie. He began his walk to the library when he stopped next to the fountain and stared in the direction of the forest. Thinking back to the cauldron he found he knew Hephestus couldn't have built it seeing as this was a different planet. or possible dimension. If it was dimension he did not want to even think about opening that metaphorical can of worms. Hades shook his head and walked back to the library and decided to look into the two ponies that supposedly control the sun and the moon. Aloy had begun her climb up the Tallneck praying the transmitter was still functional. The beacon might be working but that didn’t mean the making transmitter was. When she got to the top she sat on her haunches pulled out her spear and turned it around and plugged it into the outlet. As blue wires began to also plug into the console a holographic map appeared as she placed her hands or, rather talons in this case onto the holographic dial and spun it around swiping her front leg to the side as it started scanning the area. When it had finished she unplugged her spear returning it to her back a pulse of blue energy dispersed outwards scanning the island and a bit of the ocean. She checked her map again and noticed what looked to be a second landmass just barely visible. Using the Tallneck sensor she did a scan for other Tallneck and instead of the usual exact location she o Lu got the general areas, which she would be okay with for now. A figure stood at the console going over diagnostics of the cauldron it’s purple eye scanning the screen as the test results of another machine came back negative and nonfunctional. With what could be compared to a sigh it sent a few little drones off to perform the modifications requested by the figure. Suddenly a notification appeared on the screen. The figure decided to push on it, to see what would warrant an alert of this kind. He watched a Timelapse of a blue pulse appearing on the island the hippogriffs live on. After further inspection, it was shown that the pulse came from the top of the mountain. The figure flicked its finger. As a cry was heard, a small metallic bird landed on its shoulder and it directed its attention to the screen. The metal bird resembled a crow with its black paint covering it, and the only thing that gave away the fact that it was a machine was the dim purple glowing lights on the body and its eyes. "Investigate." Was the only word said as the metal bird let out a screech before taking off and heading in the direction of the pulse. The figure went back to looking at the screen. The Tallneck had been dormant for a millennium. The figure questioned how it was able to activate. The satellites could only provide it so much before units had to be deployed to investigate further anomalies. The figure soon got an idea as it swiped the viewing window of the mountain. It brought up a keyboard as it typed away. Central network confirmation key required… ****** After typing in the code it was forced to wait due to loading times. He mentally added renewing the satellite arrays to the list of 137 other tasks that required his attention. Code accepted… List of all know Network locations is now available for usage. Siting now… With a list of all nearby network links he selected one on the map that was closest to the island. It was on a beach buried deep in the rocky Mountains that inhabited the area. A wave of white like dispersed outwards from the dot notifying the figure that the signal had been revived and is transmitting a location to the island. Aloy had finally reached the beach and made her way to the abandoned docks. Seeing wrecks and scrapped ships put her on alert. As she started scavenging what she could to make a craft to get her across the ocean’s waters. As she started to put the finishing touches her focus suddenly activated and a signal appear straight ahead near where the small amount of land could be seen near the island she currently was on. Quickly finishing the craft she created out of parts from some machines that were half buried in the ground. They were faro robots. But a part of her came up with the theory that they wouldn’t be infected since they were here unless they came from earth when zero dawn was being deployed. She pushed off from the beach and unfolded a piece of cloth that was acting as a sail and let it catch the wind as it carried her across the water. Aloy gave herself a new mission. Find out how and why the faro robots are here, and to see if there is a reason Hades’ signal appeared in that old lab for project Eden.