Work Text:
Back in the beginning of October; had a version of herself from the future traveled back in time to tell her that Ted Faro was going to end the world and that she would be playing host to an impressive gaggle of clones made from her DNA. Elisabet Sobeck would have laughed them off while saying that they were mad.
Then that actually happened. First it was Aloy, a clone created by GAIA nearly a thousand years in the future, who had let her curiosity get the better of her and activated some sort of Far Zenith Portal that sucked her back into Lis' present. Shortly after that her friends, Alva and Seyka had followed Aloy through the same portal in hopes to help out.
It was a little surreal if Lis was being honest. Aloy’s Focus had also somehow magically maintained a connection to GAIA and Beta in the future and to make a long story short, she was not prepared.
Yet, her mother had raised her to keep marching on instead of running off so Lis knew she had to do her part. Contacting Tilda and the rest of the present day members of Far Zenith to get access to the technology that could take Aloy and the others home.
Of course that did go to plan either.
The Zeniths had temporarily lost control of their own present day portal and it spat out two more of her clones. One was another Aloy, now known as Red, who was a snapshot of Aloy's own distant future. The other was a variant of Beta, one where the Zeniths had raised her on equal footing to the rest of them; she now went by the name of Zeta.
With the introduction of variants it opened a whole new can of worms. Amber had quickly found them shortly afterwards and she came from a world that played by the rules of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Then Aloy had brought home an actual Tiefling straight from Dungeons and Dragons, her name was Althea.
It had been nonstop ever since. Between Zero Dawn and all of her clones from across time and space, she wasn't sure if she would have the chance to breathe again until after Zero Day. Yet Lis knew now that despite everything going on around her, the only thing she would change is not assassinating Ted Faro when she had the chance.
Then again, if she did, Aloy and Beta would have no reason to exist, and that alone would be a damn shame.
So that is where she found herself on a Saturday morning. While the world was still slowly moving towards the end, panic had not quite gripped the majority of the world and the unaffected still went on with their usual day by day. Today would probably be one of Lis' last chances for a simple day. A day where there were no accidents, no new world ending incidents, just a day where she could sit back, drink her coffee and-
She really should have set her Focus to ‘do not disturb’.
As the contract The Loud One flashed in the corner of her eye, Lis sighed in defeat as she set her mug down on the table. Only Hesita, a Bernese Mountain Dog, had shifted from where she laid at Lis’ feet, as the others were out and about around the ranch. Mentally preparing herself for a loud conversation with Travis, Lis pushed her hair back with her hand before answering the call.
“You better have a good reason for interrupting my perfectly good quiet Saturday morning, Travis.” Lis skipped the pleasantries but Travis was clearly used to that as he laughed brightly in return.
“Aye!” Travis responded and Lis was happy this wasn't a holocall. A squeak of an old floorboard had her quickly looking behind her to see that Zeta had entered the kitchen. She had froze at the noise but Lis just nodded to let her know it was okay. Zeta visibly relaxed and moved in to fix herself her own drink. Lis then set the call to be on the external speaker so Zeta could listen in.
“So Lis, don't think I forgot about Little Aloy there yeah? Anyway! Imagine my surprise when I walked into my favorite mornin’ haunt and I saw you! Well, another you! Or another Aloy?” Travis went down a short chain of trying to explain the same thing in different ways but it left Lis and Zeta staring at each other.
“At first I thought it was someone in a sick cosplay! Leather trench coat, armour, and a sword! Then I remembered Halloween was last month and there ain't no Comic-Con this weekend!”
“Travis.” Lis finally mustered the energy to interrupt him. “Did you talk to them?”
“Naw, they were gone the moment I realized. I was there for my morning brain juice after all.” Travis responded. “But your ol’ friend here knows you won't believe him on his word. So I got some bona fide evidence for you that I'm sendin’ right now.”
Sure enough, the files arrived the moment he said it and it was security camera footage from the coffee shop. The man couldn't talk to a woman but was quick to hack the security network. Zeta softly asked for permission and Lis nodded, allowing the young Zenith to access the data to start scrubbing through the footage. Sure enough when they got a good angle of the woman Travis was talking about Zeta zoomed into an all too familiar face.
“Silence. Ooooh that tells me that I'm right! There is another time traveller clone of you? Hoo boy! Doctor Who did not prepare me for this!” Travis practically cheered over the line and Lis found herself pinching the bridge of nose in frustration. “Sorry not sorry for ruinin’ your Saturday Lis!” Travis shouted and ended the call right afterwards.
“I don't have the mental capacity to deal with this.” Lis grumbled as Zeta continued to peer over the footage. “We’re already at four Aloys.”
“They're not Aloy.” Zeta commented as she pointed at the still image of the person. Lis finally gave them a proper look and realized that the woman lacked Aloy's signature wild mane. While she was dressed in that blend of Nora Leather and technology that both Aloy and Red favoured; she lacked all the details that were pretty much staples to Aloy's appearance. “I think this person is another me.”
Lis frowned as Zeta sat down, zooming in on the other Beta’s face and let her finger trace over a scar that was on the right side of her head. She then placed her hand on her head where the scar would be if she had one. Immediately she felt the pressure on her Simulacrum. Did this Beta cut hers out? “We need to find her.”
Easier said than done. They’d been lucky so far that every other traveller had simply been drawn to Lis. The older Sobeck rested her elbows on the table before placing her face in her hands and groaning loudly in defeat. They couldn’t just wait for this Beta to make her way out to the ranch, they would have to head out and find her before someone else did.
Or worse, she made it onto the news.
“So much for hoping that we’d get one simple day this week.” Lis leaned back in her chair before looking at her coffee mug. She quickly grabbed it and drained it dry, she set it down and glanced over at Zeta who was still looking at the image of her alternate self. Since the other Betas were hidden behind the veil of communication lines, it meant that this was Zeta’s first time actually seeing an alternate version of herself. “Do you want to help us?” Lis asked softly and Zeta looked over with an expression of shock and confusion.
“I think I have to.” Zeta muttered, waving her hand to close the image. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“I figured you’d say that.” Lis smiled. “I know the place Travis was talking about and I’m sure GAIA will be able to help us locate this Beta’s Focus.” Zeta nodded. “I’ll go grab Aloy, maybe Seyka for good measure and we can head out.” Lis stood up and Hestia did the same thing, tail wagging excitedly.
“I think you have to stay behind, girl.” Zeta smiled as she reached down to scratch the dog on her head, Hestia just barked happily and seemingly clueless.
Lis would clean up her breakfast dishes and show Zeta where the travel mugs were as she brewed another pot of coffee. Now was the challenge of finding Aloy and Seyka somewhere on this eighteen acre large ranch. She peered into the living room to see Red, Althea and Alva piled up on the couch watching television.
“People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually , from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint - it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly... time-y wimey... stuff.”
"Yeah, I've seen this bit before. You said that sentence got away from you."
"It got away from me, yeah."
“I’m suddenly sensing a theme today…” Lis muttered to herself smiling and nodding when Althea gave her a lazy wave with her tail. She stepped out before any of them to invite her to join them. A quick sweep of the house told her that Amber, Aloy and Seyka were indeed absent and Lis assumed maybe it was just for a morning run.
She stepped out onto the front porch and just before she was about to call Aloy she saw the three of them come up from her right. The three of them were clearly having a good time. Lis raised her hand and Seyka was the one to catch it before she pointed Lis out to the other two.
Aloy would sprint ahead but the others were close enough behind that it didn't matter much. “Is it Tilda again?”
“Travis.” Lis responded as rubbed her arms through her sweater, daring to wonder how the others could be so lightly dressed with snow on the ground. “He ran into someone this morning and he believed they would be of interest to us, and I have reason to agree.”
“Another another us?” Amber questioned and Lis shook her head no as they reentered the home. Already Zeta was waiting for them with a travel mug of coffee held out for Lis to take.
“We have reason to believe it's another Beta.” Zeta told them before displaying the hologram for them to see. “I don't know if she's your Beta.” She looked at Amber. “Or from a different world.”
“No, that's not my sister.” Amber shook her head negatively as she glanced at Aloy who also shook her head no. Now that they had a life size hologram and Zeta standing with them, comparisons could be made.
“When I met your sister, this didn't seem like her style.” Seyka commented. “Or your style, no offense.” She winced when Zeta gave her a flat look. The Quen Marine wasn't wrong, this Beta was dressed in a uniquely cut leather greatcoat clearly made by a Nora stitcher, Teb no doubt, and parts of the Ultraweave that Aloy had not used on her own Shield-Weaver.
“She's dressed like a Brave.” Aloy pointed out.
“But she has signs that she could have been a Zenith.” Zeta commented as she pointed to the scar on the right side of her head and both Aloy and Amber recognized its meaning. She had cut her Simulacrum from her head at some point. “She's probably like me, but was raised for combat.”
“Travis saw her in the city this morning.” Lis told them. “Zeta and I are going to head out after her but we figured that maybe a couple familiar faces might help?” The other three glanced at each other.
“I think Lis is right, and I think you two should go with them.” Amber told them. “But, bring your gear. Something tells me she won't go down without a fight.”
The novelty of the old world was already starting to feel a little stale. People giving her second glances or slowing their pace to get a quick video or picture with their Focus didn't bother her. Simply because it meant very little in the end; Zero Day was fast approaching and soon there will be no one left to remember this little hiccup in the timeline.
That was assuming this wasn't some mad Virtual Reality program she had gotten herself caught in. She wouldn't put it past Londra and the rest of the Zeniths to do this in an attempt to capture her and Aloy. It certainly made more sense than some wibbly wobbly time travel shenanigans. Still, it didn't mean she couldn't indulge herself a little; although Beta knew that eventually she needed to focus up, find Aloy, and then find a way back home.
A familiar warning whine echoed through her Simulacrum and she quickly turned on the ball of her foot. The person behind her jumped back in surprise, her hand was halfway out, no doubt about to touch Beta's shoulder to get her attention.
“I’m sorry but…” the young woman; Beta figured she couldn't be older than fifteen or sixteen, apologized. “You wouldn't happen to know someone named Aloy?” She smiled when she saw Beta’s expression change. “You do! I'm Julia, my mom and I met Aloy when she fell from the sky about a month ago!”
A month?! How?! She had only been here a day at most!
“You also look really similar to Doctor Sobeck.” Julia commented, leaning a little closer to Beta. She leaned back with a frown and Julia realized she was intruding on personal space.
“Do you know where I can find Aloy?” Beta asked and Julia shook her head no. “What about Doctor Sobeck?”
“You could always try going to Miriam Technologies.” Julia suggested. “Although it's the weekend so they'd be closed, no one would be there.” She shrugged and Beta looked away, thinking. “How did you get here from the future anyway? We know Aloy fell through some weird hole in the sky. Oh! Are you like The Doctor? Do you have a TARDIS ?”
“While that would be pretty neat.” Beta was thankful that she had at least managed to binge through Capaldi’s run of Doctor Who when she was younger. “Unfortunately we're not, Aloy and I got caught in a trap, she was standing in front of me so I guess the distance between us meant a time dilation of…” Beta trailed off remembering that Seyka had been standing behind her, it could be weeks or months before the Quen Marine showed up. “Thank you, Julia, but I really should get going.”
“Wait, how are you going to get there?”
“I’ll figure it out.” Beta adjusted the way her jacket rested over her sword. “Money isn't an issue if you're wondering.”
“Well, can I at least get your name?” She asked and Beta flashed her a brilliant smile.
“I'm Beta, Aloy's twin sister.” She saluted at Julia. “And in the future, we’re just trying to do what's right. Just like The Doctor.” she smirked and took off down the street in a sprint before Julia could really give chase. Not that the teenager would dare to chase a strange time traveller halfway across the city on foot.
It was just unfortunate that they wouldn't be able to save all of these innocent lives this time.
Lis should have known that the other Beta wouldn't have stayed put. While it was worth questioning why she wasn’t using the Focus to track Aloy down like the others had, it didn’t mean that they had to blindly drive around the city in search of her. Currently it was her, Zeta, Aloy and Seyka sitting in a Starbucks parking lot as GAIA performed another scan in search of this new combat oriented Beta.
“I still don’t understand why this is happening.” Aloy muttered. “Can one weird portal machine really do all of this?”
“You haven’t seen Into the Spider-Verse have you?” Lis asked as she looked at Aloy through the rear-view mirror, the Machine Huntress shook her head no. “Then I think we’re going to have to have a movie night tonight.”
“If you say so.” Aloy muttered as their Focuses pinged.
“I have located her, if my calculations are correct, Beta is on route to Miriam Technologies.” GAIA told them over the voiceline, Lis sighed as she started up the car with a push of a button.
“That makes sense.” Lis leaned against the steering wheel as she spoke. “If she's looking for me and doesn't know where to find me, going to my place of work would definitely get someone to contact me.” Lis glanced over at Zeta who had remained silent in the front passenger seat this entire time. “This is bothering you, isn’t it?”
“That obvious?” Zeta smiled weakly. “Yes, I just can’t stop thinking. After seeing everyone else, then hearing both Beta and Blue over the calls. I’m starting to wonder if that scar isn't the removal of the implant. That maybe in her world; her and Aloy's roles are reversed.” She looked over her shoulder towards Aloy who also bore the expression of realization. “That we might have a harder time convincing her because our Aloy isn’t her Aloy.”
“Well, I’m here, so is Lis.” Seyka spoke up. “Surely she would believe one of us?”
“We can only hope.” Zeta muttered as she looked out the window, watching the city fly by as Lis drove them to where they needed to go. Thankfully the drive to Miriam wasn't that long with the roads being relatively clear on the weekend. Finding the new Beta was surprisingly easy, she was standing out on the grass in front of the building looking up at it in awe.
“She's really not like you.” Seyka had shifted so she was more in the middle so she could look out the front window better. Zeta sank a little deeper into her seat in embarrassment. With the new Beta’s back turned to them they could see an array of armour plates across the back of her long coat. “I don't think we should pull right up as a group, we might spook her.”
“I can walk from here.” Aloy agreed as she unbuckled her seatbelt. Seyka and Lis nodded while Zeta’s fingers danced across the material of her own seatbelt nervously. Aloy slipped out of the car and after a moment of hesitation, she grabbed her spear that rested on the floor alongside Seyka's sword. She slung it across her back as she made her way closer to Beta.
Before she got close enough to speak without shouting. Beta spun on her foot, right hand already on the hilt of her sword before she relaxed, relief on her features. “Aloy?!”
“Hey.” Aloy grinned and Beta immediately rushed her in a bone crushing hug. Aloy grunted, unprepared for strength behind it as it was a trait that Beta usually lacked. “How long have you been here?”
“Maybe just a day?” Beta stepped back, her hand coming back to push her short sun kissed locks behind her ear. “I ran into a girl, Julia? She said you’ve been here for about a month.” Aloy watched as Beta then placed her hand on her hips. “There was no way we could have known that what Londra had planned was this.” She turned away just in time to miss Aloy's confusion.
“What is she talking about?” Seyka's voice muttered over the voice line. “Londra's dead.”
“If I was just a foot behind you and the difference was a month. Seyka was right behind me so she could just be a week or two…” Beta hummed as she turned back to face Aloy suddenly and the Machine Huntress fought the need to take a step back in hesitation. “How did you manage to find me?”
“Travis saw you this morning and he called Lis.” Aloy looked away and Beta followed her gaze towards the car that was slowly pulling in. “GAIA then helped us find your Focus and-”
“GAIA?” Beta asked suddenly and Aloy felt a shiver run down her spine. Beta pushed away from Aloy and put enough distance between them to show that this was no longer a friendly interaction. “What are you talking about? We haven't found GAIA yet.”
Aloy heard someone swear over the Focus line and soon after the doors to Lis' car opened. Beta was slowly stepping backwards, her right hand crossing over and grasping the hilt of her sword. “You don't have your Shield Fangs… who are you?”
“Beta, what I'm about to say isn't going to make a lot of sense, but you have to believe me.” Aloy held her hand out as if she was trying to tame a wild animal. “I'm Aloy but I'm from a different timeline, a different world.”
Beta barked a cruel sounding laugh as she drew her longsword. “Yeah right, and I'm the goddamn Carja Sun-Queen. So I'm going to ask, one more time. Who are you?” Aloy stammered as she found herself walking backwards as Beta stepped forward. “What mad game is Londra playing?”
“Beta, I don't know what you're talking about. Things are different here. Londra's dead.” Aloy spoke, part of her itching to grab her own spear stood her ground against Beta's thunderous look. “If you can just calm down, Lis, Seyka and Zeta-”
“Zeta?”
“Yes! She's another you! From another world! If you’ll just-”
“You’re not going to play me for a fool! First you kidnap Gamma and now you're trying to trick me with Zeta? You're not going to win me over like that.” Beta growled suddenly, placing her left hand upon her hilt as she shifted into what was clearly a combat ready stance. “While I must applaud you for the quality of this virtual prison, you should know that I learnt everything from you! Londra!”
Aloy couldn't believe what was happening as Beta rushed at her. Her only saving grace was that Seyka had managed to get between them just in time to block the attack with her own sword. The Quen Marine grunted under the force of the cut but the bind held long enough for Seyka to redirect the strike and land a kick in Beta's side that had her stumbling back.
“Seyka!” Aloy exclaimed, having fallen backwards in surprise when Beta had attacked her. Seyka spared Aloy a glance that said ‘I got this’ before she charged ahead to meet Beta in a swordfight. Before Aloy could push herself back up onto her feet Lis and Zeta were already at her side.
“What's going on?” Lis asked, placing her hand on Aloy's shoulder as Zeta offered a hand to help the Machine Huntress to her feet. “Why did she attack?”
“She thinks this is some trick by Londra.” Aloy muttered. “She got suspicious after I mentioned GAIA. Apparently in her world they haven't recovered GAIA yet but she knows Seyka.” Aloy reached for her spear. “She got really upset when I said Zeta. She also mentioned Gamma.”
“There is another clone? I thought it was just you and Aloy?” Lis looked at Zeta who shrugged. “Different world, different rules, of course. So what's the-” Aloy had already taken off to join Seyka in the fight against Beta. Lis sighed in defeat as she looked at Zeta. “I should have expected that.”
“We don't know if this Beta is Nora or Zenith.” Zeta muttered, moving her arms just enough that she could place a hand over her wrist that sported her Spectre Gauntlet. Watching Beta fight against Seyka and Aloy told her that her skills were extremely well honed. “If she's Zenith, she should have a shield.”
“Well, if you can turn yours off then we must assume that she can too.” Lis commented. “If she's confident that she can beat Aloy and Seyka without her invincibility shield we need to be worried.”
“Then I need to help.” Zeta muttered. “You can see it can't you? She knows their moves.” Seyka had gone in with a strike that had Beta deflected with a cut before she shifted and smacked Aloy with a backswing of her false edge. It was a boon that Amber had suggested Seyka and Aloy had come out here with their armour and gear, otherwise this fight would have been extremely short.
“How do you plan on convincing her?” Lis asked and Zeta didn't answer. Instead she sprinted off away from Lis as she activated her gauntlet. She did her best to remember what little combat training she had as she planted herself a good distance away from the other three. She watched as Beta moved to dodge and parry Seyka's cuts and Aloy's swings.
“If you want to beat me, Aloy , stop using that spear like a machete and actually fight!” Beta roared as Seyka was thrown off her feet by a sudden bodycheck before Aloy found herself taking a pommel strike across the face. Aloy's body spun under the force of the strike and that's when Zeta made her move.
A quick lock on with the homing beacon had captured Beta's attention immediately. Zeta felt genuine fear down her spine when her other self turned to face her but she knew she had to fight through that fear as she raised the Spectre Gauntlet. Lis’ shout of “Zeta wait!” fell on deaf ears as she charged the railgun.
To Lis, the next several seconds passed by her in slow motion. While both Seyka and Aloy climbed back up onto their feet Beta had swung out her sword to her right side as the armour plates she was wearing on her forearms, shoulders and across the back detached from her clothing and started to fly around her like drones.
Beta shifted her feet and shot out her left hand in front of her and the armour bits quickly flew forward, arranging themselves in a formation just as Zeta fired her shot. The energy beam bolted across the field, vaporizing the snow in its path before it made contact with Beta with an echoing blast. Energy scattered in different directions as dirt, dust and steam blocked Lis' view of what was going on.
But the scientist knew what was going on; she had seen something like this before when she was a child.
“If you were me, Zeta, then you would know that wasn't going to harm me.” Beta’s voice rang out as the smoke started to clear. Slowly she stepped back out into the open and just as Lis had expected, the armour plates had locked themselves into the shape of a shield upon her left arm.
“Just like Gundam Aerial… ” Lis muttered, a hand over her mouth.
“I know you're me, because you wouldn't have protected Aloy and Seyka from my attack otherwise.” Zeta spoke back softly and Beta scowled as she dismissed her shield, letting the plates return to their roosts upon her jacket. “Aloy is just trying to tell you the truth. We're all here because of a mishap with a Zenith Portal.”
“What, like Into the Spider-Verse?” Beta frowned and Zeta responded with an affirmative nod. Aloy scowled at the reference to the same movie again while Seyka playfully nudged her. Beta then turned to Aloy with a look of disbelief. “Did you seriously go touching unknown Zenith Tech without me?”
“In my defence, you’re a basement dweller in my timeline.” Aloy commented as she dared to step closer to Beta. “I wasn’t expecting… well… uh… you… when Lis said we were looking for another Beta.” she smiled and finally Beta chuckled playfully.
“Well, I did try to kill you when we met for the first time in Sunfall.” Beta replied. “I'm sorry, just when you mentioned using GAIA and I noticed you were missing your Shield Fangs.” She pointed to the underside of Aloy's gauntlets. “I knew something was wrong.”
“But you know Seyka.” Aloy looked back at the Quen Marine who was leaning in to inspect Beta's armour. Beta laughed as she sheathed her blade. “For everyone else we didn't meet her until after-”
“Spoilers!” Lis shouted, rushing in as she made herself known, stopping Aloy from saying anything else. That got a chuckle out of both Zeta and Beta as Aloy once again took on the expression of a confused puppy. “God, the context you lack pains me.”
“I guess the well known story might be happening in reverse in my world then.” Beta smiled. “Far Zenith raised me to be a soldier; turned on them shortly after I met you.” she pointed at Aloy. “Okay, well, after Helis tried to sacrifice us in the Sun-Ring.”
“Who did what now?!” Lis asked, her attention directed at Aloy with an incredibly stern look and the Machine Huntress faltered slightly. Lis then turned to Beta. “Well, you're here now and you're alive, that's all that really matters.” she smiled when Beta froze suddenly when she realized who she was standing beside. “Nice to meet you.” she offered her hand out and Beta slowly reached out and grasped it.
“You too, I uhh… want to apologize for my poor impersonation of you in the far far future. I needed to fool some Quen.” She glanced over to Seyka who tried and failed to look insulted. “It was the only plan we had to get past Brenik.” she added and realization dawned on Aloy.
“Really?” Seyka asked as she nudged Aloy. “That would have been so much better than pretending to worship Londra. ”
“Oh, gross.” Lis muttered while Beta and Zeta laughed brightly. “You absolutely have my permission to impersonate me.”
“Well.” Zeta smiled as she looked at Beta. “Since we weren't the first ones here, we have to pick new names. I'm Zeta and Red’s Beta goes by the name Blue.”
“Don't tell me there is an Aloy Noire here too.” Beta commented and Lis snorted loudly. The swordfighter seemed to spend a moment thinking before looking up. “I think I need to keep the trend.” She looked at Zeta. “If you're the sixth then I’ll be the fourteenth letter.” with the aid of the Focus she traced 'ξ’ in the air.
“Xi.” Lis tested the name out. “Curious, why?”
“My Sunwing is also named Ksai.” She admitted. “Should be easy enough for me to remember who you're talking to.” Xi grinned sheepishly. “Sorry for the violent first impression.”
Seyka was the one to step forward, resting her arm on Xi’s shoulder. “I think you're pretty neat.” The Quen Marine smiled. “But I want a proper spar with you later.”
“We're tied, just so you know.” Xi grinned and nudged Seyka back and the Quen Marine laughed.
Zeta would move back to stand beside Lis. “Kinda happy today wasn't a peaceful day.” she commented and Lis just pulled her in for a side hug.
“Me too.” Lis smiled. “Me too.”
“So let me get this straight.” Lis had a hard time believing what she was hearing as she opened the door to her home. Immediately Hesita was upon them and Zeta had knelt down to welcome the rescued stray. Xi had paused in surprise but had knelt down to pet the animal as well.
“You found the missing Quen in a bunker underneath an, at the time, semi-dysfunctional HORUS and all of them worshipped Londra.” She was speaking loud enough that the others, if they were in the house, could hear her. “And your only plan of attack was to pretend you were one of them?”
“Uh… yeah, it was.” Aloy muttered and Lis was halfway into the home, standing at the junction that led into the living room and the kitchen and she started to laugh hysterically.
“Girl! If you're anything like me you can't lie to save your life!” Lis’ laughter was just making Aloy scowl even more. “Why didn't you do what Xi did and pretend to be me?!”
“Xi?” Althea was the first one to poke her head out and her appearance had Xi taking several steps back in surprise. Seyka quickly reached out and caught Xi’s right hand before she could reach for her weapon. “Now you're an interesting looking Beta.”
“I can say the same about you.” Xi responded back, while her eyes were narrowed it was hard to tell if she was fixated on the horns or the tail. Althea smiled and pointed to the sword in Xi’s belt.
“I want a round with you later.” Althea grinned before she ducked back into the kitchen. The moment her tail disappeared around the corner Alva stepped out from the living room and smiled brightly at the group.
“Thank the Ancestors you're alright!” Alva exclaimed as she rushed through the group and pulled Xi in for a tight hug. Seyka smirked as Xi froze, unsure what to do with her hands as Aloy silently told her to return the hug. Xi did so, extremely awkwardly. “I overheard parts of the conversation this morning! I’m glad that-”
“I'm sorry, but who are you?” Xi’s voice was soft and embarrassed when she asked the question. Alva took a step back but still kept her hands on Xi’s arms. Confusion was apparent on her face as Zeta placed a hand on the young Diviner’s shoulder.
“She hasn't met you yet in her timeline, the change of events shifted the order of things.” Zeta tells her softly and Alva’s expression quickly shifts.
“Ah! I'm Alva. I’m a Diviner for the Eastern Expedition.” She introduced herself and Xi’s head tilted to the side. “I guess I can't say much more, spoilers and all that.” She smiles and Xi returns it with the same intensity. “What name have you chosen?”
“The fourteenth. Xi.” Xi grins. “And before this lovely interruption. Aloy was going to tell us why she didn't fool Londra’s followers by telling them she was a Living Ancestor.”
“The answer is very very simple. I assure you.” Aloy would lead them into the kitchen where Red, Althea and Amber were preparing their next meal but we're clearly listening in on this entire conversation. “Seyka didn't know at the time and I felt that dropping that bomb wouldn't have sold it very well.”
“It would have been better than pretending to worship Londra!” Seyka shouted back.
That got Red laughing while Lis pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. As everyone else joined in with the laughter the original Aloy had puffed up indignantly as she threw herself onto one of the stools by the kitchen island. Seyka only made things worse by pointing out that she didn't really believe that Aloy was a clone of Lis until she had met Lis .
Then Zeta gave Aloy a weird look at that one. “You have a Focus, you could have sent her the information packet for Zero Dawn!”
“Ah.” Alva clapped her hands together after she stepped away from Xi. “We don't have one.” she said and Aloy just threw her hand up in a silent thank you while pouting.
“Then hopefully I’ll remember to make one when we get to that point in our timeline.” Xi chuckled as she moved across the kitchen to peer over Amber’s shoulder to look at what she was cooking before turning back around. “So I guess you want my version of events.”
“I am rather curious as well.” Red chuckled. “I mean, I know I’m a piss poor liar.”
Lis laughed as all the different versions of Aloy scowled in their own ways. Xi would sit down in an empty chair and tell them her version of events. In reality, the story beats were the same; Brenik didn’t care much for them and Zeth had tried to kill them.
Still, it was fun to hear a different telling of a familiar story.
“I think it's a good thing Beta’s not here to put faces to names.” Red’s sudden comment had Aloy looking at her older counterpart in confusion. “I still see elements of my little sister in Zeta but I don't see any of that in Xi.” Red chuckled “She has a level of confidence that would only give Beta depression.”
Everyone had gathered out on the back deck, those not used to the cold were bundled up accordingly. Lis and Alva had made an entire pot of hot chocolate for everyone and it was pretty much a first experience for almost everyone; given that cocoa beans had not yet been redistributed by DEMETER.
“I believe it.” Aloy muttered, looking at Xi as she playfully swung her longsword in her dominant hand as she and Althea prepared for their spar. “But that's just the nature of her upbringing right?”
“Yes.” Zeta spoke up, half listening in on the conversation. “The Zeniths raised us as equals, but she got extra attention from Londra and Visser and they shaped her path just enough to make us different people.”
“Knowing how to fight can and will affect one's confidence.” Seyka commented. “When we-” she nudged Aloy playfully. “Fought her, she knew what to expect from us, not to mention she got angry at Aloy for the way she wields her spear.”
“The way I fight is plenty effective!” Aloy crossed her arms and pouted. “I don't know what she’s going on about!”
Lis hid a laugh behind her mug before glancing across the deck. Amber was sitting with Hesita on the edge of the wooden platform while Alva was just returning to her seat with a refilled mug. The sound of Althea’s laughter caught everyone's attention as the Tiefling rested the tip of her greatsword on grass and leaned the massive weapon against her shoulder.
“You must have done your share of sparring against swords like mine to know you don't have the reach.” Althea hummed.
“You’ll be my first non-virtual montante, if I'm being honest.” Xi commented back. “So, because of this disadvantage, you’ll let me fight with a sword and shield if I feel the need?” That had Aletha chuckling as Zeta shook her head, the unusual Aloy counterpart not knowing what she was getting into when Xi had slyly asked the seemingly innocent question.
“I mean, I guess? If you're that scared of getting hurt.’
“Sharp steel is still sharp steel.” Xi responded. “Even with careful control, I would like to keep all my limbs.”
“Please don't kill anyone!” Amber shouted. “I'm also sure Lis would prefer it if I didn't have to fix her backyard!” Lis echoed that sentiment as Althea kicked the tip of her sword to get it upright. Xi shifted her stance into a high guard and the two started to circle each other with measured steps.
Althea moved first, her massive downward swing that clanged hard against Xi's sword. She kept her momentum going as her massive clockwork swings and flourishes kept Xi dancing backwards. Eventually Xi just dove in and broke Althea's momentum with a half-sword block that had the steel ringing loudly. The two combatants glanced at each other before Xi shifted; but before she could strike Althea with her pommel she had to lean back in a way so the retaliatory strike glanced off her gauntlet.
“You're good.” Althea commented as she backed off, placing her sword tip back on on the ground. “Not many people can get a read on me that quickly, but I thought you said you wanted to use your shield.”
“We’re getting there, don't worry.” Xi rested her sword upon her shoulder. “I'm not that much of a coward that I would start off with my Shield Staves immediately.” She chuckled as she settled in for a middle guard. Althea hummed as she kicked her greatsword back up. She placed her left hand upon the ricasso and set herself into a low stance.
Lis had always thought greatswords to be large, heavy, cumbersome weapons. Yet as Althea dueled Xi it was quite obvious that that was not the case. She moved her body and maneuvered the weapon as quickly as Xi did with her longsword. It was clear that Xi was fighting at the disadvantage with her blade being much shorter.
Seyka was extremely helpful in pointing out different techniques to Lis. When Xi overextended to get a strike on Althea's arm when the Tiefling’s momentum had the greatsword behind her Seyka made an upsetting noise. While Xi managed to strike Althea it wasn't enough to stop the momentum of the greatsword and that resulted in a powerful strike across her back that caused an echoing explosive humming sound as Xi was thrown face first onto the ground.
A few people had shouted in concern as Xi rolled onto her back.
“Huh, when you said shield I was expecting that weird spacy thing Zeta has.” Althea commented as she offered her hand to help Xi back up onto her feet. “Is it a spell?”
“Well, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Xi commented as she stretched her back to make sure she wasn't terribly hurt. Of course that hadn't stopped Lis and Amber from sprinting down to check on them. “That was a very good strike!”
“So you’re okay?” Lis asked and Xi nodded.
“Winded, but I'm okay.” She turned back to Althea. “Want to go again with them properly activated this time?”
“Oh absolutely!” Althea grinned
“So this is what caused my mother to go grey.” Lis muttered dejectedly as Amber took her hand to guide her back to the others who clearly didn't seem worried about Xi’s durability. Althea kicked her greatsword back up and took on a basic stance as Xi rolled her shoulders and exhaled slowly.
“Ready?”
“Always.”
Xi swung her sword out to her right side and just before her armour plates detached from her jacket. Althea took a step back in surprise as Xi changed her footing and then with an extravagant flourish, swung her sword in an upward swing that had the Shield Staves following the motion as they physically attacked Althea.
Unprepared for the new type of attack, a few pieces managed to smack her. With her tail lashing around in frustration she felt her own magic bubbling to the surface in response but she did her best to keep it controlled lest she react and destroy the area that Lis had kindly asked them to keep intact.
Now it was easy to tell that Xi was a confident fighter. That she was used to being one of the most powerful in any given room. Honestly? It was warranted. Her movements and blows were quick and precise and those staff things moved as if they had a mind of their own. This second round, her greatsword versus Xi’s sword and shield, had her blood pumping in a way that made her excited.
Althea moved with much more powerful swings, ones that could easily cleave through calvary and she happily kept Xi on her toes. The momentum of her sword had her body spinning as she came down in a cut that had Xi throwing herself back to get out of the way. The trend continued as she kept the momentum going, glancing off the longsword and floating shield bits as Xi continuously danced with her.
When she went for a horizontal cut on Xi’s exposed left side since she was now wielding her longsword one-handed. While Xi didn't respond in time, the shield did, and Althea unconsciously retaliated by channeling a Divine Smite into her attack just before her blade made contact with the forcefield. The Radiant damage overpowered Xi’s systems, scattering the Shield Staves and striking the swordfighter down.
“Stop!”
It was hard to say who had shouted, given most of the people present sounded extremely similar to each other. Althea turned to see that Lis and Red had already jumped from the back deck and had started running towards them. Yet Althea had not quite noticed how far away she and Xi had gotten from the group.
“Get away from her!”
That's when Althea realized that the shout was coming from above. Before she could even look up a familiar looking spear had lanced the ground at her feet, causing her to take a few steps back. She didn't see that Red had thrown her arm out to stop Lis in her tracks as she looked up just in time to take an airborne kick to the face by a very very familiar leather shoe.
Her head snapped to the side at the impact and her body followed as she stumbled. She recovered quickly and used that momentum to swing her sword around to have it blocked by two daggers held by a newcomer Aloy that looked like she was ready to murder. Althea shouldn't have been surprised at the fact that a counterpart of herself would have been able to stop a massive ten pound sword with two uniquely crafted daggers.
Quickly, Althea retreated backwards to make some distance between her and the new Aloy who was standing protectively over Xi. Althea placed her lead hand on the ricasso of her greatsword, effectively holding the weapon in a reverse grip. It wasn't hard to guess that this Aloy was from Xi’s world. She was dressed in a slightly modified Shield-Weaver that bore elements similar to Xi’s own armour and blue paint in Rost’s familiar markings adorned her face would be enough to help differentiate her from the original.
Before Althea could even speak to try and defuse the situation, Lis had placed herself between them with her hands out and the new Aloy recoiled back. Confusion apparent as her eyes darted around to see the group that was gathering around them. The thump of a Sunwing landing on the grass was the least of their concerns as the new Aloy dropped her daggers in shock.
“What.” This Aloy asked when she realized who was standing front of her. Then she turned her head to see the original Aloy and Red racing to catch up. “What?”
“Welcome to Spider Society.” Xi, who was surprisingly not unconscious, giggled as she slowly pushed herself up to sit on the ground. Her Aloy quickly looked down at her.
“What?!”
“Something wrong?” Lis gently asked, hoping that her approach was loud enough that she didn't startle Aloy. The day was coming to a close and the chaos of having a new Beta and Aloy appear did very little to sooth Lis' nerves. She couldn't even bring to think about how Aloy herself thought about this.
“I’m just finding myself thinking.” Aloy muttered as she looked out the window. Xi and her sister were still outside, playfully rough housing with each other under the watchful eye of their Sunwing. “I still remember that day when I asked Varl if he ever stopped and wondered what the world was like in the past.” Aloy smiled. “He told me that I wasn't like other Nora and, well, he wasn't wrong.” She paused when she felt Lis' hand on her shoulder.
“So what's it this time?” Lis asked and Aloy sighed.
“Red is a snapshot of my future. Althea and Amber are from worlds with completely different rules. But Zeta and Xi? They're from a reality where the Far Zenith made a different decision and Xi’s sister? I don't think there is any real difference between her and me.”
“So what I think I'm trying to say is, what if there is a version of me out there that wasn't outcasted? Or one where Helis didn't attack the Proving?” Aloy started to ramble but Lis simply squeezed her shoulder.
“Fixed points in time.” Lis told her and once again Aloy expressed her confusion. “It's a thing in the show Alva and the others have been watching, but it's just a way to say that there are events that must always happen and they cannot be interfered with. Maybe in a timeline where the Nora don't reject you, Helis still attacks the Proving; because it is that event that sets you on your path to do remarkable things.”
“Then Beta running away from the Zeniths, while not a fixed point, it's something that is just guaranteed to happen.” Aloy hummed.
“For all we know, there is a world out there where you and Beta grew up as a family together under Rost’s care. While Beta’s story seems to fluctuate more, one thing is certain, you two are meant to be sisters.” Lis smiled before nudging Aloy with a chuckle. “Call the other two in, we’re doing movie night.”
“Movie? What movie?” Aloy asked as she set her hand on the handle to the door that led into the backyard, Lis flashed that infamous Sobeck smile in return.
“The Spider-Verse Trilogy of course.”