After three days of travel, they finally reached the area near Maker's End. The area was covered in snow and it was so cold that you shitted yourself and your shit came out frozen, both protagonists had their cold equipment on.

The mysterious voice contacted them again, giving them both a little scare, but it came with important information.

???: They are near Maker's End, I warn you that there are many Eclipse warriors in the area, but I left a box of supplies at the entrance of the ruins-said the voice in a calm tone as if it were the most normal thing in the world .

Allam: No, well, if you say it like that, it doesn't sound so bad -I reply sarcastically, since the soldier wasn't very happy to have someone spying on him through his spotlight.

???: Could you be more grateful? -The voice replied sarcastically.

Allam: Oh jojo, I'll show you how grateful I am when I find you -the soldier replied more aggressively, while he opened the interface of his focus and tried to disconnect from the voice.

Allam: Let's see how much you like to spy on me, you fucking cheap copy of the FBI -said the soldier while he cut the connection with his voice, which took him by surprise, but it was to be expected.

Aloy looked at Allam with a bit of grace and a bit of concern, since she laughed at the way the soldier and the mysterious voice argued, but she was confused by what he was saying, that she did not understand at all.

Allam was smiling triumphantly as he put his hands on his waist. The mysterious voice began to speak to Aloy.

???: The woman they saw is called Elizabeth Sobeck; you should focus on looking for her. Your partner may know who she is -said the voice generating another question in her head, even so, she did not want that unknown voice in her Focus

Aloy: Thanks for the warning but get out of my focus -she told him, but the voice had already left, leaving her talking alone.

Aloy: Hey Al, do you know who Elizabeth Sobeck is? -Asked the redhead and the soldier stopped her from her Broadhead and looks her in the surprised eyes.

Allam: How do you know that name? -the man asked the redhead with eyes wide open

Aloy: T-The mysterious voice told me that that was the name of the woman that the Eclipse saw in Maker's End, do you know her? -She asked him, looking into his eyes, he looked down, saddened.

Allam: She...She was a friend of the family...I considered her an aunt...she was the one who cryogenicized me on ice, thanks to her I'm here with you -the soldier replied with his eyes lowered thinking about the red-haired woman who helped him survive the end of the world.

Aloy looked at him surprised, she imagined that he knew her, but that he was so close to her had surprised her a lot, maybe he knew why they were looking for her.

Aloy: Well, if you know who she is, why are they looking for her? -the huntress asked the man, but she only saw the tear run down the man's cheek, which he quickly wiped away and showed a serious look.

Allam: I don't know Aloy, she's been dead for almost a thousand years, how the hell am I going to know why a group of crazy bastards are looking for her -he replied somewhat rudely and she knew why. It hurt him to talk about her, he missed her.

Aloy decided to stop asking Allam about the woman and they continued on their way. When it was noon, they set up camp in the frozen forest. After having lunch, Aloy began to feel very sleepy and she fell asleep using Allam's shoulder as a pillow. Because of this, Allam decided to set up the tent they had brought and laid Aloy down inside it; he covered her as best he could and added fuel to the fire, so it would be hot enough to warm Aloy.

Allam: Well, I hope she wakes up soon, but she really needs a nap, she's very tired and she hardly slept last night -said the soldier as he remembered the night before, when they had to flee because of the Longlegs who were patrolling the area.

Allam grabbed a piece of paper and wrote a note for Aloy in case she woke up. He saw that the Strider and the Broadhead were just standing there doing nothing and decided to give them a mission.

Allam: Hey you two, you're going to protect Aloy and the camp from any intruder who tries to get close, be it machine or human; something's wrong with her and I swear I'm going to tear them apart piece by piece -I ordered the robots and apparently they got the message and started to stand guard around the camp.

Maker's End was 25 minutes up the hill, so he could walk.

Allam Pov

I was already seeing the ruins of Creator's End looming and they seemed familiar to me, but I wasn't sure where I had seen them before. I kept walking until I saw the supply box left behind by the mysterious voice. I opened my map at the focus to find out where I was specifically and I felt my blood run cold, and my heart sank to my stomach, I never thought I would be here.

Me: Faro Automated Solutions -I said while looking at the area. These were the bastards who created the Chariot combat class in the first place.

I start to enter the ruins and see an Eclipse camp out front, with two corrupted Watchers guarding the area. Maybe I could kill them all quietly.

I saw that there was a sniper and with my bow I shot him in the head, causing his corpse to fall into the snow. I double jumped and climbed onto the tower where he was. I saw another sniper and shot him in the back of the head and he fell dead. An eclipse trooper approached the first sniper's corpse and when he got close enough to him, I fell on top of him and broke his neck. I kept going in silence and saw two guards talking. One of them had a kind of backpack with a fire on his back, maybe I can set it on fire with an arrow or a bullet.

I threw a rock behind them, which caught the attention of both of them and they went to check, I grabbed one of my arrows and with a nearby torch I lit it on fire. I fired and it stuck to him, his friend tried to take it off, but they both exploded in a ball of fire, alerting the Watchers.

Me: Well, the stealth went to hell -I said while shooting an arrow into the eye of the Watcher who charged at me.

The other Watcher tried to do the same, but I slipped under his legs and shot him in the neck with an arrow, that stopped him long enough for me to kick him in the torso with the help of the exo and as he lay on the ground I put an arrow in the lens, killing it without any problem.

I got up from the ground and started to go deeper into the ruins and saw another Eclipse camp, there were at least a dozen of them, with two lookouts and a Beetle guarding the area.

Me: Damn, how can I kill all of them without dying trying -I said while I was lying in the snow, until I saw my arm covered in snow and an idea occurred to me.

Me: Hehe, I'm going to camp you sons of bitches -I said while I moved towards some remains. I double jumped and landed on high ground. I completely covered myself with snow and exposed the barrel of my rifle. Switch to my precision sight and activate my helmet's new feature, thermal vision.

I could see each and every one of them. The machines did not produce heat, the only one that did produce it so that its presence could be noticed at least was the Beetle. Killing the eclipses was not going to be difficult, my problem was the machines.

I saw one walking away from the camp, probably checking out the explosion earlier. I grabbed my bow and when he was close to my position I released the arrow and it embedded itself on his head, staining the white snow with red and the soldier falling dead.

Me: One is already dead, there are 11 unfortunate bastards left -I said as I got ready to continue hunting them.

The shots were immediate, each one was falling one by one, the confusion they had was huge. The machines tried to identify the sound but did not know where it came from. Until finally the last Eclipse soldier dropped dead, leaving two Watchers and a Beetle very confused. I shot the Watchers four bullets, two each and they were already on the ground dead.

I deactivated my thermal vision and focused on my last target, the Beetle; I was going to shoot him but two arrows hit him in the grenade launcher, destroying it and I see that it is Aloy, already awake.

I grabbed my bow and started shooting at the robot as well, with a good pair of well-placed arrows from Aloy, the Beetle fell slumped to the ground.

I went down from the ground where I was and went to Aloy. She saw me coming and ran to me and jumped up to give me a hug, which caught me off guard.

We fell to the ground and I could see myself reflected in Aloy's emerald eyes, it was like an endless forest, where I could get lost and there would be no worries, only peace.

My heart was beating a thousand per hour and we were so close to each other. She gave me one of those smiles that I loved so much about her and she got off of me and held out her hand to help me up.

Me: When did you wake up? -I asked her curiously as we began to walk to the ruins of FAS.

Aloy: Recently, I saw your note and I came here with my Strider, I heard the gunshots and I thought you were in trouble, apparently I was right -she said while putting a hand on her waist and letting out a playful smile.

Me: Well, I see that wherever I make trouble, you will always come after me -I told her with a funny tone.

We started to go deeper into the ruins and we started hearing explosions all over the place.

Aloy: Explosions? -she said looking around.

Me: Whatever those explosions are, they're not a good sign -I told her as we started to go deeper into the ruins, while more explosions started to appear. I wasn't liking those explosions, not at all. I only knew of one machine capable of such destruction and I hope these idiots haven't revived it.

We arrived at a small cliff where the explosions could even be seen, it was the old main patio of the company.

Me: Aloy, let me help you down -I said to her, to which she nodded.

I picked her up bridal style and jumped with her to the ground, the exoskeleton cushioning my fall and I lowered Aloy gently. We heard voices and hid in tall grass. And there they were.

An Eclipse officer was commanding the Kopesh and ordered it to fire into an area to test weapons.

Officer Eclipse: Well, with this other Deathbringer in our ranks we won't fail in our mission-said the man as he started to walk the other way.

Aloy was shocked and I could see some terror in her eyes. Her mouth was open and she couldn't look away from the imposing machine.

Aloy: Now that is a war machine, big guns and big size...a true bringer of death...if only they had attacked us with that thing instead of a Corrupor...By the Mother -she he said in a whisper as I watched the huge war machine.

The Kopesh didn't seem to be able to move much, maybe their movement systems were damaged or just frozen, but it was an opportunity we shouldn't waste, if that thing starts moving, we're going to be screwed.

Me: Damn, I was hoping it was something other than a Kopesh -I whispered as I looked at the great war machine as I analyzed its defenses.

Aloy: Did you fight them before? -the Nora huntress asked me curiously, but without me taking my eyes off the Kopesh, I answered.

Me: Yes, with hundreds of them to tell the truth... Aloy I need you to stay here, where you're safe -I ordered her while I looked at the Kopesh with hatred, I wasn't going to let Aloy get hurt by one of these damn robots.

Aloy: What?! Are you insane? Don't even think that I'm going to let you fight against that thing on your own -the huntress replied looking at my face or well, the best she could with my mask on.

Me: Aloy it's not a question, it's an order, go to the entrance of the ruin and look for what you need, I'll catch up with you when I'm done with it -I answered looking into her eyes.

Aloy: No, Allam, I'm not going to leave you here alone -the redhead replied, doesn't she see that it's for her own good? Why does she have to be so stubborn?

Me: Aloy, listen to me and don't be stubborn -I said while I took the safety off my assault rifle.

Aloy tried to argue but I stepped out of cover before she could say anything. I double jumped onto a platform and punched the soldier standing there, knocking him off balance, then grabbed and stabbed his spear into his chest.

I shot the officer and automatically started shooting at the Kopesh.

I fired at the cannons above it and consequently it fired dozens of missiles at me. I started to run trying to find a strong enough cover, but one of the missiles hit close to me and made me fly and fall face to the ground.

I quickly got up, grabbed my rifle and continued firing at the gigantic robot. Doing double jumps from time to time to avoid being hit by the missiles. I reached a metal shed and hid there for a second so I could catch my breath.

Me: Damn...if I could climb on it I could explode the bastard's cores -I said as I reloaded my rifle.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, preparing myself to continue fighting. I poked my head out a little but the robot's machine gun was firing at me, I had to move or else it was going to break through my cover.

I heard small explosions and as the robot made sounds of "pain", the bullets stopped coming and I heard the sound of compressed air. I stuck my head out and saw that Aloy fired several firebombs at the robot, causing it to overheat.

I was upset, I ask her to go away and the first thing she does is attack the damn robot with a slingshot.

I fired at the Kopesh's nuclei and when they were destroyed it fell to the ground, trying to recompose itself. Aloy kept throwing elemental bombs at him and I started running towards the robot.

The Kopesh's missiles activated and began firing at both of us. I covered myself as best I could, but I heard a feminine cry of pain and out of the corner of my eye I saw how the platform that Aloy was on fell to the ground, with her on it. Seeing her fall, my eyes widened and I felt my heart stop.

Me: ALOY! -I yelled in terror. I got out of my cover and started running full throttle towards where the destroyed platform was. I start to move the debris of wood and metal in search of the redhead.

Me: Come on, come on, come on... you have to be around here -I said while removing more debris from the middle.

I heard the Kopesh start to get up and with hatred I began to run in her direction.

I shot another core and when I got close I double jumped and ripped the Kopesh's machine gun out.

Me: Let's see if you like this asshole! -I yelled as I grabbed the gun and started shooting the Kopesh.

Me: GO TO HELL YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SCRAP! -I screamed full of hate until finally the great robot collapsed and deactivated.

I let out a heavy sigh and dropped the gun to the ground. I went back to the rubble and kept moving it until I could see Aloy under some wooden boards. She had some cuts and bruises and I didn't know if she had a pulse, seeing her like this was breaking my heart and my eyes were watering.

Me: Oh no, no, no, no... Aloy? Do you hear me? -I asked the redhead, but she didn't answer, I checked her breathing and didn't hear anything.

Me: No, no, no, please no -I said as she took off my helmet and began to do the Helming maneuver on her chest to try to wake her up.

Me: Damn!...Come on!...Oh God! -I screamed while I kept doing the maneuver, seeing that it didn't work, I decided to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation several times, no matter how embarrassed I was, I couldn't concentrate on that; Aloy's life is at stake.

I had tears blurring my vision and I was blinking fast so my vision wouldn't blur.

Me: Come on Aloy! Come on beautiful, wake up! Damn! -I said as I continued to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, until I heard her cough and saw how her chest rose and fell.

Aloy started to open her eyes and she looked at me. She gave me a weak smile and I just smiled back with tears in my eyes as I lowered my head. I picked her up and gave her a hug. She returned my hug in a short time, somewhat hesitant, not being used to physical contact yet.

Me: Aloy...what the hell went through your mind!? Do you know how dangerous and reckless that was!? You scared me to death when I saw you fall! -she reproached him and the Nora huntress was surprised by the sudden explosion of anger on my part.

Aloy: I-I just wanted to help Allam, I -she replied but I interrupted her even with all my mixed feelings.

Me: And I wanted you to be safe! I almost lost you!...Those things aren't easy to kill! I've seen people die trying to take down one of those things, I've seen entire squads get taken down by machines like this! I know how to end this type of machines, Aloy! -I replied to her, still annoyed by what happened.

Aloy: Why do you care so much about me? -she asked me starting to get annoyed.

Me: Because I lo-! -I replied but I covered my mouth before I could continue, with a big blush on my face. I almost told her how I feel about her. She looked at me confused for not having finished the sentence.

Aloy: Because you, what? -asked the redhead curiously, but I couldn't tell her.

Me: Because... you're my friend and I wouldn't want to see you get hurt -I answered her, even if it was the truth, I couldn't tell her the real reason. She looked at me with some mistrust, not believing much in what I was telling her, but she seemed to let it go for now.

I helped her up and cleaned her wounds. She grabbed one of the vials she had on her belt and drank it down, making a disgusted expression as she downed it.

She observed where the corpse of the Eclipse officer was and we approached seeing that he had a Focus. Aloy picked it up and we tried to scan it with our Focus to get some information, but apparently an entity entered the network and wouldn't let us access the focus. The voice was deep and metallic, along with something...demonic.

Hades: Entity...Is it still alive?...Unacceptable...Unacceptable...Unacceptable...Calculation failure identified...Subject ALPHA PRIME awakened...Terminate...Terminate...Terminate -the voice said at first referring to Aloy, but then started referring to me as "subject Alpha" whatever that means.

The Focus shorted out and Aloy threw it away, only to explode a few seconds later.

Me: Shit...what was that? -I asked myself as I looked at Aloy with confusion.

Aloy: Was that...Hades? Hey...strange unknown voice did you see that? No? Well, that's fine -she said and then put her fingers in her Focus trying to contact the mysterious voice.

We both entered the ruins of Faro Automated Solutions and thanks to what happened with Hades, we didn't touch the subject of what I was going to say. We arrived at a big door, it was one of those biological control ones.

Aloy: Ah, another one of these -she said while she looked at the big door somewhat bored, I looked at her surprised.

Me: Have you seen another door like this before? This thing won't open, it needs a biological code. I don't have one and I doubt you have any. I'm going to check the area to see if I find another entrance, I'll be back in a moment -I said as I left the cave.

I went back outside and started looking around the area. But there was no sign of another entrance. Aloy contacted me through my Focus.

Aloy: Al, come back, the door opened -she told me, which left me surprised and confused at the same time. How did she open it?

I went back to Aloy and sure enough the door was wide open.

Aloy: You have to go to Faro's office, on the 35th floor -she said as she began to climb through the rubble of the elevator, leaving me surprised and with more doubts, how did she know where his office was and why we had to go there, I would ask her later.

We had to climb to the top of the building, which was a pain in the ass for me, since I wasn't very good at parkour compared to Aloy. Still the question of how Aloy opened the door and how she knew about Faro were fresh in my mind, since it was impossible for the door to be opened by Aloy.

By the time we were on the 10th floor, I was already complaining about the stupid amount of parkour we had to do.

Me: Right now I could really use the armor hook. It would make my life easier -I said as we went up to the 11th floor.

Aloy: I wish we could all have some ancient armor to help us up -Aloy replied sarcastically, causing me to give a playful sarcastic laugh.

We walked around the floor a bit, gathering whatever bits of information we could about Aunt Eli. Aloy listened to or read any notes left by former employees. I wonder if Aloy will know how to write, since it is very clear that she can read.

I entered a room that seemed to be more of a workshop. I saw that there was an image file on one of the holographic interfaces and I saw that it was for a blade for the Ultrawave armor.

Me: Maybe I can do it right now, I think I have similar materials on hand -I said as I checked my ruck and took out the blade with several cables and nuts.

I took off my left armband and with the focus I began to look at its parts and compare them with the plans. Maybe I could reverse engineer or do the basics here and then when I get back to Meridian some blacksmith could strengthen the design.

Aloy walked up to me and saw me working on the blade.

Aloy: What are you doing? -The redhead asked me while she looked at me curiously.

Me: Modifying my armor, I'm going to add a blade to it so I can fight without my weapon or to be able to kill a machine up close, hey can you lend me some parts? -I replied to the redhead while disarming everything.

It didn't take long to make the mechanism, it was very simple and thanks to the pieces I had and the ones she lent me. The blade was as long as my forearm, well hidden, with a ring on my ring finger, which had a rope attached to it. Unfortunately I couldn't add a safety to the blade, so every time I close my fist, the blade will pop out. I tried it and the blade looked beautiful; I re-entered it and we continued our way to the top.

20 minutes later...

After 20 minutes we reached the top, the boardroom, where you could see a hologram of the most hated man in my old world, Ted fucking Faro, alongside the most important woman in the old world, Elizabeth Sobeck.

We both watched the holograms of Ted and Elizabeth talking about the Faro Plague. But something they said on the last recording gave me a headache.

Elizabeth: I'm going to meet with the Heads of State at the United States Robotics Command right now and I'm going to give them your answer. If you don't accept the terms, the whole world will know whose fault it is that the end of the world is approaching -the doctor threatened him and the man just raised his hands in surrender.

Ted: Oh my God Liz...okay I'll sign it...may God have mercy on my soul -the man said as he electronically signed something.

Elizabeth: Thank you Ted, you have given humanity and Zero Dawn a chance; and best of all, you won't have to do anything, just pay others to do the dirty work, like you've always done -she said with venom in her voice before the recording ended. I felt like I had heard that name before.

Me: Zero Dawn? Where have I heard that before? -I asked myself until I felt a strong headache and started to see memories. Aloy came over to me and helped me sit on the floor.

Aloy: What happened? Are you okay? -The redhead asked me with concern, I just nodded with pain.

Me: Yes, but... I saw Aunt Eli... my mother... my sisters... they mentioned the Zero Dawn Project... that it was the only chance to save humanity... but I don't remember what it was, it's like my memory of those days was temporarily erased -I told her as I got up.

Aloy: Great, now I came here looking for answers and only found more questions...Sobeck can't be my mother...she lived centuries ago-she said in a low voice as she walked towards the destroyed elevator; I didn't understand where that conclusion came from.

Mysterious Voice: Is that your reaction after seeing what you have learned? Complain like a spoiled little girl? -said the mysterious voice in a rough and dissatisfied manner.

Me: you again? Didn't I expel you from my Focus a while ago? -I asked irritably as I stood next to Aloy.

Mysterious Voice: You did, but I accessed him again -he answered me with some pride in his voice, making me uncomfortable.

Aloy: And why don't you tell me face to face if you're so macho? -the huntress challenged with noticeable irritation in her voice, a sentiment she and I shared regarding the mysterious voice.

General Pov

The mysterious voice manifested itself in front of her, taking Aloy by surprise, but Allam only narrowed his eyes at him with annoyance. The mysterious voice was a bald, dark man in his 40s with some kind of wires on his body.

Allam: Well, the voice has a face, can we know the name of the bane of our existence? -The ancient soldier questioned him without hiding his apparent disgust for the person.

Mysterious Voice: I thought that the Old Ones were more courteous, but I see that my expectations were very high -he said looking at Allam, surprising both travelers.

Aloy: Answer the question -Aloy said curtly. The man just sighed.

Mysterious Voice: I spent decades trying to decipher the secrets of the Old Ones and how they disappeared, you discovered in minutes what I couldn't in decades and you... are you only interested in my name? -said the man sounding somewhat offended but he sighed and didn't let it get to him.

Sylens: Sylens, that's my name...now, you can ask me something more interesting than my name -said the man introducing himself.

Allam: Well, stop whining, you learned what you wanted, but that still doesn't answer the question of why the Eclipse attacked Aloy and what is the connection between her and Sobeck -answered the ancient soldier with some annoyance towards the man.

Sylens: You should know, you lived in her time and you come from that time. You must know something about Zero Dawn -said the man looking at the soldier with an incredulous look.

Allam: If I knew, I would have already told you fool -the soldier replied to Sylens and it was seen that both men would kill each other; if they got to see each other in person.

Aloy: Look...Sylens, I understand your point, I did learn from her but not why we are connected, or what the Eclipses or that Hades guy want from me...it's just one question after another -Aloy told the man irritated .

Sylens: Clearly, now we know that the Faro robots were going to end the Earth, as the Old One said -said Sylens while he looked at them both

Aloy: Allam's civilization fell, right? But life went on, what happened? -she asked the man in disbelief.

Sylens: The answer is in what you learned, what did Elizabeth Sobeck mention that they could do to save the world? -Sylens asked, he looked like a fucking history teacher before an exam.

Aloy: The Zero Dawn project... Elizabeth said that she was going to go to that Robotic Command to tell more people about her plan -said the young woman connecting the dots.

Sylens: Precisely, then what are you doing standing there doing nothing -asked the man rhetorically.

Aloy: Well, then where is this Commando? -Aloy asked the old man.

Allam: It's right here, I just hope that the site still exists -he pointed out to her while he would have the map of his focus and marked it, and then send it to hers.

Sylens: The place still exists, the Oseram call it "The Grave-hoard"-the man replied to the soldier.

Sylens: You know who the Oseram are, right? -He asked the soldier arching an eyebrow, he just nodded.

Sylens: As he kept saying, he is buried on top of the remains of a metal devil... or a B.O.R.-7 - Sylens explained but Allam interrupted him.

Allam: Horus -Allam said with venom in his voice, remembering the great machines that destroyed the naval, air, and land defenses of the California coastline.

Sylens: You don't remember Zero Dawn but you do remember that, asshole -Sylens said sarcastically, annoyed by the interruption.

Allam: Suck my balls, you cheap copy of the bald guy from Brazzers -the soldier replied with a sneer.

Sylens rolled her eyes and closed the call. They both sighed and decided to get down from the ruins, and then return to the camp that Allam had set up hours ago.

Allam: Hey, we should go back to Meridian. Erend must be waiting for us with news about his sister -the soldier told Aloy to which she nodded.

Aloy: I was thinking about that, it will take us two days, but it will be good to finish helping Erend, maybe it's possible that Esra is alive -said the huntress, to which the man nodded.

They both decided to rest in that camp and tomorrow morning they would start their way back to Meridian. Allam was on guard duty, so Aloy went to sleep, but she couldn't sleep due to everything she had discovered.

The memory of Allam crying at the sight of her injured came to the redhead's mind and made her heart race. Determined to find out why this was happening, she began to play with her focus to find the necessary information. At first, she didn't find anything important, then something it said about "possible heart attack" which left her puzzled and somewhat worried, until finally she found something that caught her attention.

Aloy: Infatuation? -She said in a low voice as she began to read the information that her focus gave her.