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Kotallo the sacrifice

“Aloy?”

“Kotallo!”

They stared at each other.

“What the hell are you doing here?” They both demanded at the same time.

“What am I doing here?” Aloy put the arrow in her quiver and slipped her bow over her body. “Tracking you down, that’s what!”

Kotallo’s jaw tightened. “That’s the last thing I wanted!”

“Oh, I’m sorry…did I interrupt your solo adventure? You’ve had everyone frantic!”

“No one was supposed to know I was gone. I told Gaia…”

“To lie.” Aloy accused. “You told Gaia to tell everyone that you’d gone to Scalding Spear.” She walked away from him, shaking her head. “Kotallo, how could you?” She turned and glared at him. “What if something had happened to you?”

“Then Gaia was to let you know.” Kotallo grunted, sheathing his blade. “She broke confidence…”

“Only because the moment you entered the facility, Gaia could no longer detect you. It’s like this place is shielded which she said isn’t meant to happen.”

Kotallo nodded. “I wondered why my FOCUS would no longer communicate with her.” He paused and looked at Aloy. “How did you reach me so quickly?”

“I had to override a Sunwing and fly so fast I nearly tore my hair out.” She was furious, her green eyes flashing with indignant fire. “This…you…I can’t even begin to understand why you would do something like this!”

Kotallo paused. “Gaia did not tell you?” Aloy shook her head. “So…she wanted me safe but not exposed.”

“Exposed?” Aloy huffed. “Kotallo…talk sense…please.”

“It is…private.”

“Private?” She put her hands on her hips. “You told me about your issues with Tekotteh, about your dream of the future where you live like a Utaru…you even asked me to help you with your arm…when did I stop being someone you trusted?”

“That was personal,” Kotallo argued, “this is private.”

“You’re keeping secrets now?”

He leaned towards her, angry. “Like you don’t keep things hidden in your heart?”

“Like what?”

“What happened on top of the Zenith launch tower?” Aloy’s eyes widened and she swallowed. She didn’t step back but Kotallo sensed her internally recoiling from him. “Exactly.”

“I’m not ready to explain it…I can hardly wrap my head around it…or about the way it made me feel…”

Kotallo could see she was deeply troubled and he regretted making her feel that way. “I did not wish to injure you,” he said softly, “or put more on your shoulders than you already bear. This was to be my task.”

It was quiet in the tunnel, the sound of dripping water the only break in the silence.

Aloy folded her arms and looked to the side. “I suppose I can understand that.” She admitted begrudgingly.

“And had it gone according to plan, you would have been none the wiser until I returned to the base.”

She licked her lips. “Well…I’m here now…where are we headed?”

Kotallo opened the diagram of the facility. “To these tanks…but I keep getting turned around.”

“You’re heading in the right direction now. I guess I’ll go with you.”

Kotallo was immediately alarmed. “There’s no need…”

“Well we can’t get out the way we came in, can we?” Aloy said with an edge to her voice. “So we’ll go, do and then we’ll leave.”

Kotallo gritted his teeth. “Fine.”

They walked together in silence, both of them still angry and dismayed. Their footsteps echoed on the metal floor, the ceiling only inches from Kotallo’s head. It was as claustrophobic as the tunnel from the mainland to the Zenith base but thankfully, it smelt better.

Kotallo was the first to break the mood, clearing his throat and speaking softly.

“What happened with Erend and Zo last night?”

Aloy shrugged. “Oseram tactfulness met Utaru defensiveness.”

“Alva said Erend propositioned Zo.”

“That’s Zo’s take on it. The truth was…Erend offered to stand in place for Varl…as the baby’s father.”

Kotallo stopped and looked at her. “How is that a proposition?”

“Oh, I’m phrasing it better than he did, trust me.” Aloy snorted and kept walking. “Zo got angry and called him a beast, Erend said she always misjudged him…I had to get them both to shut up to start with and then managed to interpret what Erend meant to say. Watch your head here.”

Kotallo ducked, the seams between tunnel sections protruding, providing places for him to trip over and bang his head. Aloy was slighter than he, so he appreciated the warning.

“I see,” Kotallo mused, “I think it strange that he should offer such a thing…”

“Not when you hear why.” Aloy sighed. “Erend…he knows how the Nora treated me, motherless and exiled. He didn’t know how Utaru treat their single mothers. He wanted to make sure that, should Zo face opposition, either from her own tribe or even the Nora because she wants to make the journey one day to tell Sona what happened to her son, he would be there for her, to protect her but to also protect the baby.”

Though Erend was loud, brash and indelicate…there was a tender kindness to the man that was often missed upon first impression…and second…and third…

“Zo thought he was having a go at her people, at her ability to raise the baby on her own…that Erend was saying, hey, Varl’s dead, how bout we get together?” Aloy’s tone was flippant and then her shoulders sagged. “Varl would usually handle disagreements…I wish he was still here in more ways than one.”

“Do they better understand each other now?”

“Yeah…but I thought I’d have to bang their heads together first.”

“What was Zo’s decision?”

“She’s going to talk to Varl about it.” Aloy saw his look and smiled. “I guess that means she’s going to think out loud while sitting near his grave.”

“I see.”

They had to climb the outside of the tank they reached, clambering to the top where water rippled in darkness while the ceiling above was made of rock. There was diffused light coming from above. While not enough to break through the interference their FOCUSES were suffering, it did serve to illuminate their surroundings.

Kotallo scanned the water. “Not this one…it must be further down.”

There was a walkway along the edge of the tank where they could travel side by side.

“After the Faro plague destroyed all the life on earth…the skies rained acid and filled the oceans and waters with toxins.” Aloy mused out loud and Kotallo let her speak, suspecting she was accustomed to vocalising her thoughts after so much time with only herself for company. “Gaia had to design Tiderippers to filter the water. Some of it they did themselves and other places, like the ocean or this lake were too big and they had to deposit the water into treatment facilities like this.”

Kotallo considered the size of the lake and was surprised. “I did not think the lake that extensive.”

“I think it used to be a lot bigger.”

“Ah.” Kotallo pointed. “There, that looks like the right tank.”

He scanned it and his FOCUS told him the water was a high enough percentage to strip the colour from his body without killing him. However, he hadn’t planned on doing so with Aloy present. He knew, as he began to undress, that her confusion and questions would be inevitable.

“What are you doing?”

“I am going to swim in that.” He replied without looking at her, removing his hauberk.

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“That? But it’s acid, it’ll strip the skin off you!”

Kotallo leaned against a wall, pulling his boots off. “It is not full strength.”

“I don’t care if it’s one percent, that’s not safe.”

Kotallo sighed. “You were not supposed to be here.”

“Well that’s tough,” Aloy shot at him, “Kotallo, this makes no sense.”

He closed his eyes. “I want to remove the paint from my body.”

“What?”

“My Marshal colours…I want to remove them.”

“Why?”

“Because I do.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“It will have to do.”

“No.”

“Aloy,” he stood in his tunic and looked down at her furious expression, taller by half a head at least and using his height to his advantage, “leave me be.”

“Not on your life!” Aloy cried and he grunted in frustration, more at himself for thinking he could intimidate her. “This reeks of madness!” He pushed his right hand through his hair and turned from her. “Kotallo, what could possibly possess you to do such a thing?”

“Because no one knows what I look like!” Kotallo snapped at her and she recoiled as his voice echoed through the cavern and across the water, his words yelled over and over, his private woe declared dozens of time. Aloy was stunned by his words and the violence of his declaration. Not frightened but shocked at his unguarded emotion. Her expression caused him to pause and Kotallo willed the words to come to him, to somehow explain the wretchedness of his heart. “I have worn the colours of the Sky Clan, of being a Marshal,” he said, his softly spoken words staying between them, “and now the choice I made is to follow you. I would wear your colours…”

“I don’t wear colours,” Aloy breathed, “and even if I did, I’d never ask you to.”

He closed his eyes. “I said I would give whatever was left of my life to you.”

“I wouldn’t want…” Kotallo opened his eyes and met hers. Aloy’s words trailed off and her eyes widened. “Kotallo…” He turned away, putting his hand on the railing and swallowing. “Don’t tell me you’re doing this…because you think it’s what I want?”

He looked back at her. “What do you want?”

“I don’t…”

“Because it’s just occurred to me that last night, you didn’t say what you wanted.”

“Yes I did…” Her usually firm tone faltered.

“No, Erend said what Avad wanted for you…but you didn’t say.” Aloy swallowed and Kotallo was hard pressed not to take her face and kiss her. He kept his hands down, imagining that they were pinned to his sides and unable to move. “Unless…it is what you want…silk sheets…servants…a painted face…”

“Kotallo…that’s not fair.” Aloy breathed. “I…don’t know what I want. For the longest time I thought I knew, to know who my mother was and then I’d get on with the rest of my life. But my answer only served to give me a thousand more questions, all of which drive me, never choosing, only dealing with each new crisis that throws itself in my way. A future? Me?” She laughed sadly. “What future?”

Kotallo’s eyes were sad. “What good is saving the world if you can’t imagine enjoying it?”

She looked down. “Elisabet didn’t. She died for it.”

Kotallo’s chest tightened with resolve. “I won’t let you do the same.”

She met his eyes. “Is this the same ‘I won’t let you’ as me trying to stop you from taking an acid bath?” Kotallo’s mouth fell open. She was trembling and glanced away. “Don’t do this…not for me.” She implored quietly. “You are who you are. I won’t ask you to be anything less.”

Kotallo closed his eyes and sank onto the ground. Without a word of protest or acquiesce He pulled his boots back on and then his armour. Aloy didn’t watch him dress, preferring to stare at the surface of the water. When he was done he put his hand on her shoulder and she turned to face him. Kotallo opened his mouth, fighting against over two decades of disappointed hopes and an impossible wish for the future yet compelled to say something none the less.

“Aloy…I…”

Suddenly lights appeared on the other side of the tank and the sound of metal on metal was heard. Kotallo and Aloy immediately ducked down, shifting back into the shadows. They both activated their FOCUSES and saw a Watcher stride along the ground, followed by a Shellwalker…no, two…three…an entire convoy.

“This isn’t right,” Kotallo whispered, “Gaia said machines had no place here.”

“Well, whatever they’re doing here, they’ve brought a lot of machine parts with them,” Aloy tapped her FOCUS, “those Shellwalkers are loaded to capacity. We’re going to have to follow them and find out what’s going on.”

There weren’t a lot of places to hide so they had to keep well back from the convoy but there weren’t any turns on the path the machines were on. They marched past the acid tanks, up a ramp, following a set of pipes that rumbled with the sound of liquid inside of them, gushing strongly. The pipes ran into a wall and out of sight. The machines marched to an opening in the wall that vaguely resembled a cauldron door, a slab of metal slamming into place behind them, sealing the machines on one side and Aloy and Kotallo on the other.

Aloy huffed at it. “Fine…I guess we’re climbing…” Aloy pointed up the wall which was littered with panel edges and footholds. “See that hatch up there? Think you can get it open?”

Kotallo flexed his metal fingers. “I can.”

“Up we go.”

They clambered up the wall, leaping from ledges to grasp at pipes, hauling themselves up the sizeable wall.

“What’s…in those…pipes?” Kotallo grunted.

“From the looks of the leaks, I’d say acid.” Aloy panted.

“They’re pumping acid? Where?”

“I guess we’re going to find out.”

Kotallo reached the hatch and clung to the wall with his flesh hand. With his metal fingers he grasped the edge of the hatch and heaved against the solid structure, feeling the artificial limb strain until the hatch was torn from its hinges. He dropped it to the ground, hearing it clang far below. He looked at Aloy with a little smile.

“Feeling justified now?”

He sighed and let her climb through the hatch first, following behind as they crawled for a long stretch before dropping onto a walkway below, immediately drenched in rain. They were out in the open in a large basin. Immediately they hunkered down out of sight.

“That’s not good…” Aloy grimaced.

“Is that what I think it is?” Kotallo leaned out from behind their hiding place to look.

“Yep, that’s a Stormbird…in a…dam?”

“Aloy. Kotallo. I am pleased to let you know that I have regained connectivity with your FOCUSES.”

“Hey Gaia,” Aloy greeted, peering carefully at the sight before them, “you seeing this?”

“It appears that the water treatment facility has been altered, probably by Hephaestus, into a construction zone.”

“It built that Stormbird here?” Kotallo asked softly.

“I don’t think so.” Aloy shook her head. “I’m thinking Hephaestus had one land here, before he was caught at GEMINI, and he’s repurposed the facility a little like it did to Cyan in the Cut.”

“That is my conclusion also. The facility had no obvious use to Hephaestus and due to its automatic systems, unless it was not performing its function, I would not receive an alert as to its control by a system other than Poseidon.”

“I’m guessing that’s why the dam still has water in it,” Aloy muttered, “Hephaestus wants it to look like it’s still doing its job while it alters machines in it.”

“Just the one,” Kotallo corrected, “and while I have seen Stormbirds before, I’ve never seen one like this…”

“It’s an Apex alright, black…but with…Bellowback sac webbing?” Aloy studied it. “It’s an Apex Acid Stormbird…that doesn’t make any sense…unless…” She sank onto the walkway, her mind running as she bit her bottom lip. “If…if a Stormbird was able to carry acid safely…and dropped it on, say…a settlement…it could kill hundreds in one strike.” She looked at Kotallo with fear in her eyes. “That acid would eat through the roofs, the wood, the leathers…no one would be safe from it no matter where they hid.”

“An entire settlement wiped out?” Kotallo whispered.

“Not just one,” Aloy looked back at the Stormbird, “it’s being reinforced and strengthened. That thing could carry the equivalent of six acid Bellowback sacs…”

“And should the Stormbird seed the clouds with acid, the result could be acid rain.”

“Anything to try to kill off as many hunters as Hephaestus can…” Aloy grunted. “We’ve got to get rid of it.”

“Aloy, if it is possible, please do so without destroying the facility. Because of the biosphere’s decline, the treatment of vast quantities of water is more crucial than ever.”

“Duly noted.” Aloy tapped her FOCUS again and sighed. “Now…how…”

“You have taken on Stormbirds in the past and been triumphant.” Kotallo was surprised that Aloy looked so concerned.

“I don’t think the Stormbird is ready for deployment.” Aloy admitted. “All those machines are still working on it…like a scrapyard cauldron. But there are dozens of machines down there. We can’t take them on and that Apex Stormbird which could still do a lot of damage in its current state.”

“Sawtooths, Ravagers, Longlegs which will only alert the others…”

“Wait…where did those pipes go? The ones carrying the acid?”

They studied the dam which was only half full of its capacity.

“There,” Kotallo pointed, “the acid is being released from the pipes in bursts from that central point to fill the sacs of the Stormbird.”

“Right beneath its belly.” Aloy muttered. “Great…okay, can we find a node for me to override?”

There was one at the front of the dam where it met the lake that had sucked Kotallo down.

“What are your intentions?” Kotallo asked.

“I’m going to use this node to override the acid flow, filling the dam with full strength, toxic acid. Machines might be built to carry acid but only in specific places on their bodies.”

“If they become coated in it, they’ll be vulnerable.”

“The problem is the Stormbird. If it decides to take off we’re in trouble. And if I use the ropecaster, it’ll know we’re here and all the machines will attack. We need a less…aggressive way of keeping it grounded.”

“Stickblast,” Kotallo looked at her, “some well aimed stickblast bombs at its feet should hold it for long enough.”

“Yeah…that might do it.” Aloy nodded. “I’ve got what I need to make some. Hold on.”

In the end there was enough for five bombs. Aloy took two and Kotallo took three. They split up and went to opposite sides of the dam. Aloy had her sling while Kotallo had his arm. They had to wait until the machines were scarce around the legs of the Stormbird to hurl the stickblast. The Stormbird was not without awareness but they were careful to not be seen and it didn’t go on alert as it wasn’t being damaged. Kotallo got two good hits with his bombs and decided to keep his third in case it was needed, sprinting back to the node where Aloy waited.

“When we do this, the machines are gonna go mad. Ready?”

“Always.”

Aloy nodded and used her spear on the node and it glowed red then blue. “Okay…so we just need to put the acid pumps into override and open the hatch…open the hatch…Open. The. Hatch…”

“Aloy,” Kotallo spied the problem, “look. The stickblast has leaked onto the hatch.”

Aloy swore. “Damn it…that’s not good…and I think the machines have figured out something’s wrong.” The Stormbird was beginning to strain against the sticky mix that held it to the ground and the machines were beginning to cluster. “We have to get that hatch open!”

Kotallo looked at it then at his hand. “I could do it.” He said softly. “I could rip that hatch off its hinges just like I did before.”

He pulled the goggles out that he’d been given by the Oseram.

“No…wait, Kotallo…no.” Aloy stood in front of him. “Those machines will cut you to ribbons!”

“I am a good swimmer.” Thank goodness for Atekka and her endless drilling. “I only need to reach the hatch. The machines will go mad from the acid. They won’t be thinking about me.”

“The moment you open that hatch, the dam will flood with acid…full strength! It’ll eat you alive!”

Kotallo swallowed. He knew this. He knew it the moment he’d said he could open the hatch. “I…I’ll have these,” he held up the goggles, “and I’ll do my best to escape…”

“No, I won’t let you do this.” Aloy exclaimed. “There has to be another way!”

“There is no other way.” He looked at her. “Many lives for one…”

“Then I’ll go!”

He huffed softly with a smile. “You are too important.”

“Screw that! I’m not going to lose you like I did Varl!” Aloy raged then caught her words as they left her mouth. She shivered as her green eyes gazed at him with such intensity that his heart filled to overflowing. Aloy’s fingers reached out to him and he stepped forward into her tentative grasp, pressing his forehead to hers. “Please,” she pleaded breathlessly, “I can’t…lose you…”

Kotallo could feel her breath, her warmth…her sincerity.

So…this was what it felt like to be loved…

He cupped her face in his right hand and pressed his lips to hers in a lingering kiss…before he stepped back and put his goggles on.

Aloy’s cheeks were flushed and her eyes were sparkling as her expression turned frightened and she went to grab him…but couldn’t move as he’d dropped a stickblast bomb on her feet.

“No…no…No!” She cried. “Don’t you dare!”