Chapter Text
It had been a month since the Far Zeniths had been defeated. Knowledge that a greater foe, Nemesis, was coming and Aloy and her friends and allies were slowly gathering resources and the skills they needed to face it down. Sylens was working his way through the Apollo database methodically as GAIA certified it free of any Far Zenith contamination. Most of Sylens research had been focused upon this Projection Immortality that had spawned Nemesis. Combine this technology along with the circumstances of the hubris that led the Zeniths to think they could abandon such a creature to its own devices after it didn’t meet their expectations was the same thinking that brought about the Faro Plague.
The same hubris that had spawned Aloy's and Beta's predecessor to rise to fight its forbearers.
Though it had also created the sentience of all of GAIA’s sub-functions, Hephaestus and Hades had been the “pain in ass” to deal with. Hades had ceased to function and was no longer a threat. Hephaestus was loose in the Cauldron network and making all sorts of nasty little Beasts to unleash upon the world.
Beta had been pounding her head into the wall, trying to figure out what to do to help keep the Terraforming system running steady again. So far, the Land Gods were working well since they had been severed from Hephaestus. They would need a caretaker and healer trained in code, but Zo had taken up that task. But there were other systems that needed help.
Zo was processing her grief, her loss into action.
Varl was the man Zo loved. Varl was the man, friend, confidant, person who died trying to protect her from the Zeniths.
Varl was going to be a fucking father and now the child that was growing in Zo’s womb would never know their father because she, Beta, hadn’t been strong enough to put up a damn fight.
That thought kept Beta up at night. She needed to work out her frustrations by working on fixing the data set she had been working on before her body had to crave sleep.
Leaving the safety of her room down in the server bay and she walked to the main common room and accessed the last section of the Database she had been working through to help Alva and her people get their crop yields higher.
So far, her research on some base crop cross breeding would be helpful during the next season, but it was the section pertaining to graphing one species of a tree onto another that was giving her fits.
The Zeniths had fucked with a good part of the Apollo database, but that didn't mean that one raised by them didn't see all the little tricks they put into place to screw with people. Now with the fate of the world on the line, she needed to get this database functional so that the information within could save the future.
<<<<DATA ERROR>>>>
“Fuck.”
Beta swiped at the Focus interface.
The archive interface of all the unrestricted data pertaining to the crap that the Zeniths did during their time on Sirius was fighting her.
She was trying to figure out what Nemesis, and the Zeniths had done to the environment during their mad dash to kill/run from each other.
Mostly the Terraform system was playing nice now, but this weather control crap was fucking with her along with the crop data.
Most of the Zeniths' weather bullshit was to protect their base of operation and give them unlimited launch windows at their command. Getting it reset to let the rains and weather return to normal was one thing, but the crops needed more modification to handle the sudden increase in the moisture levels. The years of drought had done their number on the plants in the coastal area and the current crop plants were struggling to adapt. Zo was taking up that effort with changes in the crops plantings so that people wouldn’t starve.
Beta was now leading up efforts in creating of an AI: VULCAN, in seeing if she could get the base code that they had incorporated into the Land Gods to be the basis of this new creation. Taking up some new skills she had learned from the unrestricted sections of the Apollo database, she had worked hard. Mostly covering sections of the database pertaining to computer programming and data analysis. There was a lot to go through and learn, but given the records they needed were hidden behind some willing corrupted data sections. Well, that was going to be resolved soon.
The sooner she got Vulcan up and running, the sooner this mess was going to end.
She found the glitch that had appeared to cause the error in the retrieval process. Activating the 12-key keyboard before her. She swiped and tapped on the console of the condensed computer code into the editing system and she grabbed hold of that piece of Errant data with her virtual hands and promptly ripped its entrails out.
“Die, you piece of Zenith code.” Beta spoke as she slowly tore into each line of its programming. Every one and zero became like the skin of the damn animals that her sister skinned for their evening meals. Beta broke down the code to its individual segments and command sections and started severing each of what she wanted to keep. The rest of the foul entrails she dumped into the recycle bin for later deletion. The carcass that was left did what she wanted and the system error resolved itself.
“Wow, and I thought taking down an angry Shellback who had eaten my gear had not gotten that level of vengeance out of me.” Beta turned to see her sister Aloy standing there in her bed clothing.
There was a look about her that stated much.
“Sorry, I just have been trying to remove all the crap out of-.”
“I know. You are trying to help make things right.” Aloy grinned as if she knew. No... she knew what it was like to rack your brains against the wall until the problem was solved.
"Aloy, I -." Her sister grinned and brought up her own display. The image set was of a chart with pictures.
"I couldn't sleep too." The chart showed some familiar faces and others she didn't know. "I started diving into the people that I have encountered and helped and put a list together."
Beta realized that she had been so concerned with the database that she didn't realize that there needed to be people to use it.
"These are people you want to give Focuses to." Aloy nodded.
"Yes, and a few that the knowledge would help us shore up the defenses we need."
"But we need-"
"Focuses, I know-."
An image of Alva appeared next to a set of individuals. A short-haired woman with a bandana stood out as there were other women listed as “The Forge Girls”
“So, Since Alva’s people know how to fix and maintain Focuses but they need materials and Petra-” Aloy brought the image before Beta. “My friend has them, along with the apprentices, to help make any tool they need to get the things working.”
Aloy had been working on the problems that they now faced. While Beta had been focused on the lack of technology that they had. Aloy had focused her skills at tracking down the people who had the resources and skill to either fix the tech, or could make it anew from salvaging components from the Technology, Old and New they had around.
“What we need is the personnel," Beta realized and-. "-And you figured who to get a hold of to help us?" Then she paused, realizing the missing element here. "But what about the Focuses?" Aloy grinned.
"I have some friends that I helped. There are some Oseram and Carja relic hunters that I asked to keep an eye out to find any Focuses they might come across. "
"So, have they found any?" Beta realized they had both been tackling the same problems, but in different ways.
“Well, I got word from one settlement that they had found some items I was looking for. They looked like they needed some work according to the messages, but I need to examine them for the condition they are in.”
“So, if intact. Upgrade the software. If not, fix or salvage for parts?”
“Exactly.”
Beta moved over to a stool that was by Errend’s Bar. The mixture of the ale that had he had scored during their little adventures prior to her arrival was slowly fermenting to stronger levels that one could use it for rocket fuel or cleaning wounds.
She needed to process this.
Help.
Help against Nemesis.
Help in making VULCAN, HEPHS replacement.
Did they have a chance?
“I want you to come.”
Beta looked worried as she looked down at her white leggings and simple t-shirt.
“I have nothing to wear for the cold weather.”
“I have been working on that.” Aloy stated as she looked at her sister. “And you need a few more changes of clothes, as I have the shards that have been burning a hole in my purse for the last few moons.”
“Shopping, the universal constant among cultures for curing the blues for any girl. - no matter what century.”
Both sisters were understanding each other more and more.
Aloy took her sister’s hand and walked her into quarters. These sleepless nights forced her to go through a lot of things after the battle with the Zeniths. Beta was sleeping at odd hours. Not leaving the base.
Beta was spending an unhealthy amount of time in the observation dome for expanding lengths of time or in her little "fox den" by the mainframe computer system. GAIA had noted this and notified Aloy that her sister’s behavior was approaching levels of heavy emotional distress. It was a symptom that Aloy herself wrestled with, given the urgency of the task before her.
Knowing that she wasn't alone with this was the only thing that was keeping Aloy sane. Now, with GAIA’s advice, she had helped her sister connect with the world more. Aloy had spent the last few supply runs to Plainsong talking with Jaxx the Veteran and learned that he had seen this phenomenon before with the victims of the Red Raids.
Treating Beta for this was going to be a long-term project that would probably take years. But to start the healing process, Aloy needed to get her sister there. There was so much that Aloy wanted to share with her sister.
Show her sister the coastal settlements of the Quen Legacy's Landfall to the Oseram lands of Chainscrap. Teach her the skills to hunt. Show her the old Sobek homestead and the journals of Elisabet that talked about her family.
But the first thing Aloy wanted to do with her sister was have her don the armor that she had made her sister.
With a grin, Aloy pulled back a fur and presented her sister with the armor that she had crafted.
“Beta, over the last few nights, I have been crafting this for you.”
“Aloy.... You don’t.”
“I am going to train you to use it. Train you to have the skills that you need to help me fight Nemesis and you can teach me your mad programming skills you learned.”
Beta looked at Aloy.
“Wait... you want me to teach you to-”
“Program like you do. I know I am good at with the base hacking, but you are far better than me with the advance stuff.” That was when Aloy showed her sister her old spear that had a new override attached to it. Aloy had spent days looking for another interface with GAIA’s help. When she finally had found it, she had taken hours to copy all of her override commands into it.
But it had been worth it.
“So, you want me to- try it on?”
“Yes.” Aloy moved away some and watched Beta pick up the top. Beta looked uneasy.
The armor was mostly green with black segments. Given that she had crafted it from pieces of a SHIELD WEAVER armor that she had found in one of the old military bases that littered the coast proved to be productive.
The Carja academics, Gendas and Rushavid had helped her find some of the old armor that she had needed. The more intact articles she had left for them to take back for their studies. But the fragmented ones she had proven what she needed for her crafting. Telling the two academics that she had used fragments of that armor to make the garments she had worn at the Battle of Meridian had the two nearly hover over her as she worked.
But the work proved a nice distraction as she talked about what she had learned from No Man's Land Base logs. Their hour-long debate on what coffee was proving to be interesting for the two academics as Aloy provided what insight she had learned about that Ancient beverage.
For a tea that was made from dried and roasted beans from a type of fruit plant that was ground into a rough powder, made the academics want to seek the plant out for later research. Beta had dug up a variation that had been based on gourd seeds in the archives. And Zo could track down the ingredients for that brew. Studious Palas would have a fit had he learned the truth of his vessels being dual purpose. New mugs were drunk from and they retired the older or duplicate ones to shaving duty.
Now as Beta looked at the armor her sister was inspecting, she held her breath, wondering if she would like it.
"I"
"If there is anything you want to change about it, I can-."
"Can you make a mask?"
Aloy sighed a breath of relief.
"Sure, sure. What do you want it to look like?"
Beta moved from the garments and headed over to Aloy’s stand where she kept the various pieces of headgear she had and walked over to the one of the Nora Thunder Warrior she had forged together from the Pieces of a Thunderjaw.
Beta scanned the headgear with her focus and stripped pieces and elements from it. Beta wanted the form, not the- accoutrements of it. Aloy moved over and watched as Beta took off elements and bulked sections of the headgear. The design looked simple, but functional and showed a lot of facial and head protection.
“Looks good.” Beta was surprised at Aloy’s liking of her design.
“You think... I want to put a mask over my eyes so that-.”
“I have a mask that might help.” Aloy reached into her gear and found a mask that she picked up from the Shadow Carja Tribe outfit. Most of it had been lost, but the mask had somehow survived. Raising it up to the projection, Beta’s eyes lit up as she moved to adjust it some for it to fit.
“Thanks.” The mask seemed to make the headgear seem more- fitting. Like Beta still needed to hide, but this... this was her way of hiding, but be out in the world.
“Can I add something to the brow of the mask?” Beta looked concerned as Aloy placed a small symbol on it. That of a face of a fox. Beta looked with curiosity.
“Why did you put that there for?”
“It was Varl’s nickname for you. It seems fitting, as your mask seems like a fox.”
Beta blinked a few times, noticing the way the mask looked.
“Oh.” She seemed a little dejected.
“And among the Nora, we see Foxes as the projector of the wanders of the lands. It is a good symbol to have.” Aloy tussled her sister’s hair. “and it looks really cute.”
Beta blushed.
“Thanks.”
“Put the gear on. I want to take you outside.”
“What’s outside?”
“Some fun, some training, and the wood for your mask.”
“But what about the-”
“GAIA, can you handle the decrypt and process dive for a few hours on the APOLLO database?”
“Yes, Aloy, I can. Is this in relation to your project labeled THE POWER OF THE DAUGHTERS OF SOBEK?” the Artificial Intelligence stated.
“It is.” Aloy stated.
“Ah, then I hope it goes well.” Then GAIA stated, “Beta, take care. Aloy’s training regimen for the next hour will prove insightful.” Beta gulped.
“It isn’t going to be that bad.”
“I wish I was wearing underwear.”
“Ah,” Aloy realized Beta was going to be needing some more clothing and garments in the future.
“Let’s get you dressed.” Beta blushed.
Beta felt the extra layer of warmth that the undergarments she was wearing provided. For the first time in, well first time!!! she, she, ah fuck it, she felt safe. Erik Visser had ordered her to be let loose only on terms that she was without undergarments just so she couldn’t “Steal anything” without their knowledge. Something that Beta hated. But now as she was free of them, having this little of comfort returned to her made her feel normal again.
Not Mighty Nora Hunter capable of taking out the eye of a bird from half a kilometer away type of safe. But... safe as in, she looked like a local and was walking near a door and up a path to... well, to some training area.
Aloy had loaded a ton of data to her Focus on basic survival and traversal skills and- well, the outside didn’t seem all that scary any more.
The path past Varl’s grave was the hardest, but Aloy had said that wasn’t the reason that she had brought her out here.
No.
But the path that was ahead of them looked to have been constructed after much effort from a mixture of wood and machine parts. Aloy motioned to touch her Focus and Beta did. What she saw was an overlay of various lines along the cliff side. The way the lines on the cliff looked worn showed that Aloy must have had worked hard to build this bridge that they were now walking across.
“Aloy, was that overlay-”
“What I want to teach you to use and feel comfortable with.” She stated.
They continued to walk up the snowy incline and around a path that Aloy had marked out with several sticks and rope fencing/hand rails.
Beta was quiet as they made their way up the trail until they came to a chest that had been placed in a clearing with a lot of piled snow.
“Okay, Beta, I am going to teach you to use your focus to sense the environment and use it to help you out. But first I am going to teach you how to roll and doge.”
“So how are you going to do it?” Beta stated as she looked around, worrying that Aloy was going to come at her with arrows or spears. Then a cold clump of snow hit her.
“I was thinking of a snowball fight.” Aloy bit her lip. “I was digging through some programs that were storied on the Base’s system and watched a program or a few from that time period of Tilda’s leaving and-.” Aloy hesitated before she continued. “There was this one where a group of characters were having a snowball fight. I figured that- we could.”
Beta scooped up a handful of snow and threw it at her sister.
“Oh... You are so going to get that.” Aloy said she ducked and dodged out of the path of another snowball.
Aloy was sitting next to the forge stove Errand had brought with him to the base. The Kitchen Area needed some work, but it was nice to cook inside without the fear of choking to death via smoke inhalation.
Most of the cooking surfaces that the Old Ones used were not set up to handle some of their cookware. The Oseram cooking pan and the microwave did not end well. Pottery worked well, but given the more traditional cooking styles of the occupants at the base, Errand had made a few trades to score the stove and they were eating well.
The machine-driven heater put out enough heat to warm food, but also given the recent temperature drops outside would keep the occupants warm.
That Errand had placed a good level of brick and stonework under the damn thing helped to keep the place from burning down.
The mouth of the Forge stove sat on a Quen cooking pot that Alva had brought with her to the base. Some recipes that Zo had left were still there, but today she was making a slow recipe of a Nora Squirrel Stew.
Yes, it stank, but it was damn good with all the grease that would migrate into the Nora wet bread right before it was eaten. You would forgive the smell.
Ahhh, good stuff.
The Ancient adage Fat was flavor, still held true.
Beta was wrapped in some of Aloy’s Oseram gear getting warm.
After the Snowball fight training session, Beta realized that Aloy was doing her best to help her explore these gifts she had.
Beta had gone on for several minutes when she realized Aloy had been teaching her to use her Focus to slow down time. Learning to dodge an attack, even if it was snowballs, was good training for her.
Aloy had taught Beta how to adjust the speed of the slowdown to help get her used to having it. The warm shower the two of them they had taken together had turned into a bit of a rematch with splashing of water at each other.
Mostly it was her using her new Focus powers to study the water as it fluttered in the air before crashing to the ground.
To Aloy, Beta looked to be younger than her by a few years. How Beta looked at her. The questions she had about every scrape, cut, bruise, and old healed wound were constant, though understandable.
Aloy looked at her sister as well and noted the amount of work the young girl would need to make it in this world.
Yes, she had the budding in the right places, but her muscles and skin looked like they needed some work. She looked to be just as young as Talanah’s Thush Milu and that just made her worry a bit more. Maybe that was why she had done the training with her sister. Not just give her the skills to survive in this world, but also to give the young girl slowly becoming a woman, a life.
Much like Avad was trying to give his little brother Itamen after all of the pains and horrors the two had experienced under their late monster of a father.
As the dinner was simmering, Aloy looked over at the lesson her sister was constructing.
“So, Beta, what type of lesson are you working on for me?” Beta looked up at her sister.
“Well, it is mostly a test that I had GAIA work with me to construct. A sort of primer on programming and programming skills. A- placement test to see what skills and level of education that you have.”
“You want to see where I am at with my talents given that I am self-taught?”
“Yes.” Aloy nodded at this. “Okay, how long is it going to take?”
“About a half-hour.”
“Well, you take over stirring. I’ll do the test.”
“Okay.”
Beta was blinking her eyes.
“80 level percentile!!!”
“So...” Aloy looked concerned.
“I am surprised. Alva Scored at 85 but she had more time around data diving. But you-.”
“Need work.”
“On shortcuts, but you have the knowledge down. You are a little rough. Go a bit long on the code, but... it's good code.” Beta moved over to the test as she handed Aloy the spoon for the stew. A ton of fat had boiled up to the surface and Aloy had ladled that out into a pan and placed in some flour and egg batter before shoving the lot into the stove.
“So, could do better.” Beta nodded.
“Yeah, most of these lines of code look to be almost like a machine taught you. The clear signatures of AI training are there.”
“Yeah, CYAN... she gave me a lesson or two while I was in the Frozen Wilds after my first run in with HEPHAESTUS.”
“Wow, well, if she was anything like GAIA, she is good.”
“I spent most of my time removing malware from her system that HEPHAESTUS dumped into her.”
“She must have felt better afterwards.”
“She was. Afterwards, she started to run an education system for the Banuk to help advance their knowledge of the world.”
“Wait... you mean that there is a tribe that has been learning to code all this time!!!”
“Yeah.”
“So, I have been fretting about the problem before us, and you have been looking at who has been running to the knowledge from before. Have some understanding on how to use it, and you have been checking off boxes for connecting this problem with those who can fix it.”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, you can mount an invasion onto an island full of narcissistic immortals and take them down. So, a murderous killer AI machine of death is just another item on your to do list.”
“That was HADES and I lost good friends to that monster. I will not lose any more friends like that.” Aloy’s voice had a fierceness to it that was scary.
“Because of Varl?”
“No, because of those that NEMISIS and her followers took from me and those I love, I want to fight back so that they're safe. I want to make sure that they can have kids in the future.” Aloy paused for a moment before she said the next words that would change her world forever. "Like the children Elisabet Sobeck wanted to have. We are not her clones, we are her daughters."
Beta leaned back, sensing that there was something there that was scary. It changed her world and comforted her.
"Wait, you mean that-."
"I Don't see myself as Elisabet Sobeck's clone, I see myself as her daughter."
"And me?"
"My sister."
"So, stop thinking that I'm Elisabet Sobeck and start thinking I'm Beta Sobeck."
“Yeah. I have always seen Elisabet Sobeck as my mother since I found out my origins. All the data logs she had with Gaia’s original counterpart spoke of her desire to be a mother. I think now, given her words and desires for the future, I think the reason she made the deal to get ELEUTHIA from the Zeniths was so that she could have a child or two.” Beta moved and hugged her sister.
“Thanks.”
Aloy returned the hug.
“She was Barren?”
“I don’t think so. I think she loved women at the time like Tilda. But I think that if there was a man in her life, I don’t think he could make it to the shelters before the end.”
“Oh.”
“But knowing the decisions she made, there is this girl and this guy that I want to be in relationship with if I have time to decide on which one I want.”
“Oh...” Beta jumped some, realizing at what she had learned. “So, the guy or the girl? Are they nice?”
“They are, but they have responsibilities, one with the Hunter’s Lodge, the other with cleaning up the mess his father left and making sure that his brother comes of age to take over the role he has.”
“Okay.” Beta chewed on this. “So definitely not like Tilda.”
“Definitely not like Tilda.” Aloy gave a disgusting look at the image of the woman that tried to mess with their lives. “Tilda doesn’t have the quality of behind that I am into.”
“So, you like the buuuuutts.” Aloy blushed.
“Beta...” Aloy moved and tussled her sister’s hair.
“My sister likes Butts. Butts butts butts butts.” Beta repeated the sounds of the words like a song she had once heard.
“Wait till I find out about people you like.”
“Yeah.” Beta realized that there was more data that she needed to deep dive from her sister’s Focus to learn who these people were.
Beta liked this side of her sister. The side that wasn’t so serious but was fun to be around.
“I’m Beta Sobeck.” Beta stated, feeling normal like the weight of her life had been lifted.
“Beta of the Sobeck. Sounds more badass.”
“So, does that explain why you are putting fox ears on my mask?”
“Hey, it is a cultural thing.”
“Ah, I can live with it as long as I don’t have a fluffy tail added to my armor.”
“Only if you grow your hair out.”
“You’re serious.”
“I can put fangs on it?”
“You are serious!”
“Yeah.”
Beta shrugged. “I can live with it as long if you don’t make it fluffy.”
“Oh, thank goodness. I don’t have to treat it with thinner to give it that effect.”
“Holy Crap you were serious.”
“You are my sister. I take everything serious with you.”