#beta despite the zeniths

[marisartcorner]

Guerrilla, please! I never asked you anything... I wouldn't mind if something like this happened in a side-quest! BUT PLEASE!

*Ahen* This is my entry for the Horizon Creation Celebration event hosted by @horizon-events <3

I already wanted to make this artwork long ago, and draw it for the event gave me even more fuel to do so. Most of the art techniques in this piece are experimental, and it's the first time I liked a lineless painting and background I did! I want to practice more those techniques in the future!

[hartlesshart]

Steel Snare

I have many feelings about Beta watching over Aloy during this fight

[horizontwinflames]

Horizon AU: Twin Flames - Aloy, Beta and Elisabet (Zero Dawn Act) final concepts

*texts' transcriptions under the cut after the images*

Nora Beta's design was made by me.

REPOST, EDIT/USE OR FEED MY ART TO AI ISN'T ALLOWED

Read about Isaac, their machine companion [here]

This was... so much work... *falls off* (talking about write all of this story in the past... 5 months omg)

This AU has an ongoing fanfic! You can read on Ao3: [LINK]

Text transcription:

Aloy

172cm/5.6' - 21 years old

In this AU, Aloy is much more aggressive and socially distant than in canon. Although she grew up alongside Beta, so she knows affection and manners. Only Beta and Elisabet know Aloy’s true self: a gremlin, curious, funny, and loving person.

Her aggressive behavior towards other people is a mask and a defense mechanism. She developed such behavior due to how often she had to defend herself and her sister from bullies (and machines too), never allowing herself to lower her guard, also adding how much she internalized the pain from the shunning. Now that she is free to explore the world, she's willing to learn how to manage this behavior with her sister's help to stop fearing the world they want to explore.

Because she's been bottling her negative emotions for such a long time, she has a contained rage she has yet to learn how to use to her advantage. An easy way to trigger her is if Beta gets really hurt (either physically or emotionally).

Beta, her younger sister, is the most important person in her life. Aloy is willing to do anything to ensure her welfare and happiness, even if that means getting herself hurt or worse. Beta is the only person who can get Aloy to speak out her true feelings and thoughts and be a compass to help her how to handle negative emotions better.

Raised on the Nora ways of hunting, Aloy is an excellent hunter in this AU, just like in canon. But here, she’s also a ferocious brawler, and she does not only fight humans in hand-to-hand combat but also small machines. She has an unbelievable resistance to pain, is way more muscular, and is a bit taller than her canon counterpart due to her rather different physical training.

She followed her sister in her curiosity about the Old World, so Aloy started in this AU with much more knowledge about said subject. Just like her sister, she was also indirectly taught by Elisabet herself (through their Focuses) about programming and machines.

Beta

168cm/5.5' - 21 years old (possibly)

In this AU, Beta grew up alongside Aloy as an outcast. She is a skilled fighter and hunter like her sister, much more social and confident than in canon. Although, her confidence ends when she finds herself alone or in a discussion with another person.

Beta had a lot of health issues in her childhood and was way weaker than her sister for a long time. She has always been a scared child, afraid of confrontations face to face with bullies or machines, which led Aloy to protect her all the time they were away from Rost. Her dependence on her sister to protect her always bothered her, as she never liked to see her sister getting hurt, especially on her behalf. Now that she is free to explore the world, she wants her sister’s help to become strong and overcome her fears from childhood. She wants to fight by her sister’s side, not behind her anymore.

She enters a state of silent panic when under unbearable stress, becoming just as aggressive and violent as her sister normally is. The easier way to trigger this behavior is if she sees Aloy in a life-and-death situation.

Aloy, her older sister, is the most important person in her life. Beta is willing to do anything to ensure her sister’s welfare and happiness, even if that means getting herself hurt or worse. Aloy is the only person who can talk some courage and confidence to Beta. She’s also the only person Beta trusts for her safety, allowing her to let her curiosity go wild, especially when it comes to studying machines.

Beta was raised in the Nora ways of hunting, even if a bit later than her sister. But because of her said above issues, she developed a more stealthy and trapper way of fighting. She’s weak to pain and will always try to keep her distance from her target(s). 

When she met Aloy, she was out of memories, not remembering how she got into the underground bunker. She’s not even sure if “Beta” is her name, but she did have some knowledge about the Old World. The only thing she’s sure about is that bad people are searching for her out there.

Elisabet Sobeck

168cm/5.5' - Mid to late 40s

In this alternative universe, Elisabet is being kept alive in a cryosleep state by the Zeniths for a reason she has yet to find out. She can communicate with Aloy and Beta using a holo-avatar through their Focuses because of the “vivid dream state” her unconscious mind is in. Her holo-avatar has two forms: an orange jaybird and her real self.

Although, because of her frozen slumbering state, she can’t recall all of her memories. But she’s slowly being “defrosted,” and it’s a matter of time until she can remember everything. For now, the rising danger called HADES and things related to the Old World and Machines only give her some feeling of familiarity or some random information(s). 

Elisabet has been in contact with Aloy and Beta since they got their Focuses when they were kids, but she could only directly communicate recently. She has acted as an omnipresent guardian, watching the sisters and helping them by controlling their Focuses when necessary. She taught them about basic programming and machines that way.

She has an unexplainable motherly care for Aloy and Beta, which makes her (and the sisters) believe she's their mother- aside from the extreme visual similarity. She doesn't remember how she became a mother yet, but she'll do everything she can to help and protect her daughters.

[giulytheflash]

Simply the Sobeck sisters.

[the-horizon-lounge3041]

Just two Adventures of Aloy and Beta boards I did for fun. Going to start sharing more ideas with this one soon. Basically the first one is from “How to Train your Sunwing” and the second one is one that isn’t named but is about Beta and Lis trying to give Aloy a bath.

[yeehawpirates]

what do you mean this isn’t the plot of horizon 2???

[greybackpack]

So, I was pondering about scars. Thinking? I don’t know. Anyways, scars in relation to the trio.

For Elisabet, right? She lived on a ranch, and if there’s anything I know about living with farm animals, it’s that there’s gonna be some bloodshed. Both yours and theirs. What kind of scars did she get in her lifetime? What lessons did she learn from them? I have a faint scar from one of my mothers chickens, and like, I know now not to bother a hen when she’s stressed unless I can help. (Also my mom has a penchant for picking asshole roosters, but that’s irrelevant.) does she have a burn scar from that pine tree she set on fire? What marks are on her hands from working with robotics? Did Elisabet learn how to weld? What scars did she get during the apocalypse? Did she come face to face with the Plague? What scrapes and bumps and bruises does she have and what did she learn? I know damn well there’s calluses on her feet, because you can’t operate a ranch without breaking in some solid footwear. Did she listen to the lessons about breaking in hiking boots or did she hike in them and bleed? Does she have calluses on her hand, even though I’m sure the digitalization of everything must have made that less pronounced?

Aloy, for sure, has tough feet. The shoes she didn’t wear as a kid is like the practice of acclimatizing children to be able to walk bare feet in order to get thicker soles and stronger skin. (Speaking of which, how in the hell did she not get tetanus or something?) She’s got scars from machines, for sure, like most everyone else does. Which ones taught her to dodge better, to balance quicker, to parry a strike at the right moment? She’s got calluses on her fingertips from bows. Little slices on her hands that indicate blade work? Do her shoulders have scars on them from those slamming attacks watchers do? Torn up skin fro where scrappers caught her with their serrated blades? Broken and healed bones from stampeding striders?Pockmarks and holes from where bullets and lasers hit her? Her palms are rough, because she climbs rocks and trees and probably buildings. Has she ever twisted her ankles? That scar from Helis, on her neck, that taught her the reality of death and loss. What other scars would Aloy carry? What lessons did they teach her?

And Beta, who was forced to live both socially and physically isolated from people. We know she didn’t meet the Zeniths until Earth, basically. Did Eric torment her when they did (this is based on the whole psycho “watch the fear in other people’s eyes as he killed them” thing the dude’s got going on). She who also ripped out that focus/tracker out of the side of her head unhesitatingly the moment she could after realizing what the Zeniths were there to do. There’s a giant scar left on her skull now Did that teach her a little bit about how brave she could be? Did that show her that the spark of bravery and defiance and good that lives in Aloy also lives in her? Is it a reminder that she no longer lives under anyone’s will? That shes brave and lovely and even if there’s a hundred zeniths, Beta’s worth as much if not more than all of them combined? Does it remind her that she’s got people who cherish her for who she is and that she doesn’t have to beg for a scrap of attention and love? Did she get splinters after setting foot on a world not made out of metal and lights and water?

I just think scars are incredibly profound to who someone is as a person and the experiences they’ve gone through. Physically, anyways. Emotional scars can be linked to them, but they’re usually harder to spot right away.

They’re so brave?? They survived so much and yeah they’re not talking about it but they’re learning to live with it and learning to both grieve the experience and then learning the lesson and moving on instead of just avoiding it like Aloy did for the year and a half ish from Rost’s death? That’s incredibly inspiring.

I think that’s why I love this game so much, despite the questionable usage of tribes and savages and a bunch of other things (don’t even get me started on that). The story and narrative is so rich and compelling in how they show Aloy’s physical and emotional journey and the differences in how people process their trauma and experiences and how that’s all okay, because that’s just how things are. It’s just. I love it. I love them.

[neopoliitan]

TEAM RAIN: ARC 4 CH6 - THE PATH LESS TRAVELED

A WRITE UP FOR THE REST OF TEAM RAIN: CHAPTER 6

We return to Zenith. Zelena Braith is still questioning Viorel Braith on what Kamala Braith’s final plans are. We are not told what Zelena was asking about as we open on her asking for a firm confirmation, which Viorel gives.

Zelena rests her head in her hand as she processes this. She says she wants justice as much as the next person, but is unclear what Kamala aims to achieve with her plans. Viorel cuts her off and says they have spent fourteen years trying to render “the machine” operational, and that Zelena should not make the mistake of wasting their time.

Zelena affirms that she appreciates Viorel’s work, and claims that Akane’s semblance has got inside her head. Viorel states that “fools will do as fools will do.”

They’re interrupted by Viola Braith, who skips into Zenith victorious after her “beta test” in Avon. She states global rollout will go off without a hitch. Viorel says there was no doubt it would work as they did the hard work, but are cut off by Sterling Braith, who enters the room and brings up Viorel’s failed plan to recruit the Crazy Bunch. Having not seen Sterling since the start of Arc 3, Viola expresses exaggerated shock at his haggard appearance.

Sterling confronts Viorel and says his new arms aren’t “good enough” and they need to “do better.” Viorel retorts he’ll have to wait till Tahlia and Gardner get home, as the former is the engineer/mechanic of the family - besides, Sterling “is lucky to get anything after such a pitiful display” at Unsei Ridge, and they did a “miraculous job” given the short timeframe they had to work with.

Sterling grabs Viorel by the chest and lifts them off the floor, stating they’ll find out how “miraculous” a job they did when he uses his new arms to break every bone in their body. Zelena looks worried, then glances at Viola, who is clearly getting a kick out of the drama.

There’s a decent-length fight scene between Otso Umber and Raleigh Radcliff. During the fight, Otso lands a direct hit on Raleigh whose aura flares and causes Otso to reel back in pain. 

Raleigh’s semblance is named ���Return to Sender.” As the cost of aura, Raleigh will not take damage from enemy attacks - and instead deflect it back onto the enemy as they hit him. The more he focuses, the less damage he will take and the more his attacker will endure.

Raleigh mocks Otso for not recalling his semblance despite their forty-year feud. 

Raleigh: “Doesn’t matter how hard you hit me - you’re the one who feels it.”

Otso: “I’ll take it if it means killing you! You ruined my life!”

Raleigh: “You’re doing a damn good job of that yourself!”

Otso: “Just admit it! You stole everything from me!”

Raleigh swings at Otso and clips his cheek with his hatchet. Otso spins with the momentum, then turns and catches Raleigh off guard, knocking him to the ground with a right hook. Otso swings down with his greatsword, but Raleigh blocks it with his ax and sweeps Otso aside.

Raleigh: “You want the truth? FINE!”

Raleigh: “You would’ve lost us that tournament! You didn’t stack up! I was the only one who did anything about it!”

Raleigh: “I cracked your damn head open so that I could take your place. You would’ve lost anyway.”

Otso is stunned by this revelation, so much so that Raleigh closes the gap and swings his hatchet at him. Otso parries, then uses the opening to drive his greatsword through Raleigh’s gut. Impaled, Raleigh’s knees buckle.

Otso pushes forward, leaning in and forcing his sword out through Raleigh’s back. As the space between them closes with Otso’s push, he yells that they were like brothers once.

Raleigh raises his hatchet. He affirms “we were” and swings at Otso’s exposed neck. In delirium thanks to their shared mortal wounds, the two exchange glances and chuckle, almost seeing their 18-year-old selves again. Then Raleigh swings again and Otso falls.

Raleigh pulls Otso’s sword from his gut, fully aware the wound is fatal, and casts it aside before dragging himself to lean up against his ship. He winces in pain, closes his eyes, then tilts his head to the sky.

After a moment, he hears footsteps.

Gardner Braith enters the clearing. He ponders Otso’s corpse and weapon for a moment, before being distracted as Tahlia Braith calls to him. She warns him that Team RAIN is here and they need to leave. Recognising their task is complete, Gardner picks up Otso’s bloodied sword as proof of his death and the duo hop into the truck they used to get to Faraday.

Team RAIN pursues Tahlia into the clearing to see the truck pulling out. Wil marches forward, saying all he needs is a truck to close the gap - Irving adds that the tyre tracks will basically draw a map to Zenith.

Akane and Robin spot Raleigh and kneel at his side. Robin says they need to get him help, but he tells them not to waste the effort on a dead man. 

Raleigh pulls a photo out of his vest pocket and hands it to Akane, telling her he has a son, Cordovan. He adds he has a daughter, Rosie, by a different mother. He asks her to find them and tell them he’s sorry, and that he’s proud of them. Akane protests that he can tell them himself, but he scoffs that it’ll mean more coming from her - they’ll know she’s telling the truth.

Raleigh slumps. Robin stands up and places her hands behind her head as she takes it in as Akane studies the photo.

The roar of an engine brings them back to the present - Wil announces he’s found a truck that works. Everyone piles in as Akane pockets the photo for later. 

Wil: “Where’s Radcliff?”

Akane: “He didn’t make it.”

Wil: “How well d’you know him?”

Akane: “Barely.”

Wil: “Then we can worry about it later.”

The truck pulls out, in pursuit of the Braiths.

–

Things get much more nebulous from here, as very few scenes are fully scripted (all of the next chapter was written pretty early, though.)

The following would have been a vehicle fight between Gardner/Tahlia’s truck and Team RAIN/PALM’s truck, involving a lot of bumper bashing and side-swiping. 

By the end of the vehicular battle, Tahlia would have climbed out of the sun-roof of the Braith truck, ran along the roof to the back of the vehicle and jumped off, landing in front of the Team RAIN truck. Using her Repulsion Semblance, she would repel the truck off the road and down a bank where it would be trashed.

Tahlia stands at the top of the hill, looking down at the wreck with slight remorse. Gardner pulls up next to her and climbs out of their truck, brandishing his weapon and telling her to get in the truck as she doesn’t need to witness what comes next.

Gardner proceeds to march downhill as Tahlia stares blankly at the horizon. After a moment, she notices something and squints - a blurry figure appears in the distance. She calls out to Gardner, telling him that someone is coming.

Gardner spots the figure too. His eyes widen and he turns, gently pulling Tahlia towards the truck. 

Gardner: “We need to go.”

Tahlia: “But what about–”

Gardner: “Just get in the truck.”

Gardner looks over his shoulder at the stranger.

Tahlia: “Who are they?”

Gardner: “Don’t worry about it.”

The Stranger watches the two Braiths peel away from the scene of the crash as they approach the wreckage. Irving pulls himself out, groaning as his aura flickers. The Stranger’s boot lands in front of him as he looks up worriedly, but he is relieved as the stranger offers a hand to help him up. We see their face is obscured with a hood, with a neckerchief and goggles covering their eyes and mouth.

Stranger: “Here. Let me help.”

–

Hours after the crash, Robin wakes up in a cave, a blanket covering her. She reaches for her sword, but its scabbard is empty. After a brief scan she sees her sword lying against the cave wall, and quietly picks it up. 

She rounds a corner nervously, where we see an obscured close up of the Stranger warming their hands at a small fire, their back to her. Robin slowly creeps up with her weapon, but the Stranger interrupts without turning - telling her that if they wanted any harm to come to her, she’d be dead already.

Robin asks where her friends are, and the Stranger tells her they’re resting - as she should be. Ignoring this, Robin presses further, asking why and how a random stranger would come to rescue them in the wilderness.

The stranger ponders for a moment as they stand up, playing with their fingers. They tell her they’ve been watching the Braiths for a while now. Robin asks why - who are they?

We see over the Stranger’s shoulder as he turns around to face Robin, whose eyes widen.

It’s a man in his fifties, with untidy grey hair that was once black. His eyes are a piercing white - both sclera and iris - ringed with dark circles of age and sleeplessness. He has a streaked, unkept beard, but his expression shows an innate kindness.

Stranger: “Oh, you know… just their father.”

[meggannn]

playing lego horizon has unlocked some old bitter feelings about the sequel in me that i just remembered i never jot down. i think i'm now able to put words to why i never really bonded with the whole beta plotline:

it's partly because in the lead-up to forbidden west's release, i was crossing my fingers that future twists would not come in the form of "more clones!!" and that's exactly what they did (a post for another time)

it's also partly because despite loving sister stories, i didn't find aloy and beta's relationship very compelling or earned

it's also partly because well, this is going to sound cheap, but i do think beta's introduction removes aloy's uniqueness in the plot somewhat. if there's another clone of elisabet sobeck out there in close proximity to the zero dawn facilities who is willing and able to rebuild gaia, then why is aloy still our protagonist, and why isn't this beta's story of starting as a scared girl in space, then rebelling against her masters and learning to rebuild a planet with nothing but the clothes on her back? that game sounds awesome, actually!

obviously, the answer to that question is because this is an action game, and we need a protagonist who can climb rocks and shoot things. aloy was specifically raised to do that. beta's introduction does not threaten aloy in this regard, and it's not like aloy is less of a protagonist now that beta's here... except i do think that beta's inclusion removes something, or has the potential to remove a role that aloy has. i've realized that one of my fears for h3 is that beta will become mission control, which will result in this juxtaposition: aloy is the tough action hero who eats machines for breakfast, and beta is the "nerdy one" who sits back at base and figures out shit that aloy used to, and is still, capable of figuring out on her own.

i think guerrilla wants me to believe beta's girl-in-the-chair role should actually be seen as a good thing, because aloy needs friends to help her save the world and you don't want to spend significant game time on aloy doing coding minigames. but i fear that to make this shift of "aloy doer, beta thinker," they will minimize aloy's intelligence, or maybe her opportunities to demonstrate it, to instead promote engineering and programming as skills that beta brings to the team.

it might be an unfounded fear, because aloy is still certainly smart in fw and is capable of keeping up with tech talk. she spends her life practically living in machine guts and knows them mechanically inside and out. i just think how in zd, they showed how smart aloy is about other things rather subtly: learning to use a focus alone (and presumably learning to read with it too--since the nora rely on oral tradition, rost couldn't have taught her!), figuring out the planet is a sphere all on her own, etc. in fw, she should be even smarter than she was in zd after studying all this old world knowledge alone, but instead we have aloy going "that's too much math :(" when gaia explains the distance the odyssey traveled. now enter beta, who was specifically trained to do this role aloy had thought she would do alone, bring gaia back online--and we know the zeniths' tech is way better than what aloy has access to. beta is much better qualified to fully restore gaia and wrangle hephaestus's runaway code than aloy. the setup for guerrilla to assign roles to the girls is right there, and i'm worried it will pigeonhole them both.

to be clear, i don't think they'll make aloy downright stupid (unless it comes to her struggling with emotional intelligence, which is an actual flaw), and she is able to keep up with various characters' tech talk in fw, which calms this fear somewhat. but overall it's just another niggling concern i have that makes me go :/ when i wonder what was driving them to include beta in this story at all.

[themissakat]

sorry about taking so long to think of words, but i think i finally have good questions.

what are your guesses for where the 3rd game is going to take place? Visit a new location or return to old locations of the first 2? the forbidden west and carja and nora?

How do you think aloy and friends are going to develop? where could the game go to further the character arcs of the squad?

words are hard you're good

gonna put a readmore bc it has a lot of Forbidden West spoilers!!

My first guess would be that we'll see something related to the Oseram homeland, as its the only one of the main tribes (aside from the Quen ofc) where we've met their people but not been to their capital. I don't have 100% certainty on this because the Oseram are the most nomadic of all the tribes we've seen thus far, those guys are everywhere, so its hard to say if visiting a centralized leader would be applicable to getting their support, as opposed to getting in touch with individual groups like the Vanguard at Meridian or the group at Burning Ember.

I think it would be so cool to see the Quen homeland, and I've read some fics that propose the potential use of Zenith tech (like the shuttle, its just hanging out still) to travel those long distances faster. It would be interesting to see if they push the travel that far, as they played a little bit with that in Burning Shores and going to the San Francisco area, but Vegas to San Fran is a little different than crossing the entire Pacific Ocean.

as for the characters, I really hope to see Aloy continue to open up about accepting help from others and not shouldering the entire burden herself. One of my favorite arcs in hfw was how Aloy contended with Elisabet's "legacy", and how she, at first, accepted sole responsibility for it, to the point of pushing everyone else away from her. Her being the "key" to the facilities obviously put her in a place of "if i dont do this, no one else CAN", but I think that the introduction of Beta and the staunch support of her friends really finally pushed her into "it is okay to accept help".

I think that meeting Beta and contending with their differences despite their being genetically identical was a very needed push for Aloy, because it put a mirror up to her experiences and reinforced for her that she IS NOT just a clone of Elisabet, but her own unique person as well. I will keep saying it but their sisterhood breaks me and rebuilds me into a better human, i love them so much sdjfhsd

I do think we'll be seeing a lot of returning cast of course, including Avad and hopefully the Nora as well. I'm very excited for the introduction of Seyka to the greater group, because I'm curious how the writers will handle Aloy actually having a requited romance, instead of just being the subject of a lot of people's attention. ( my thread for talking about hfw is called "Flirting With Aloy Like It's An Olympic Sport" for a reason ).

Despite not being the main focus of the story, there are SO MANY moments where Aloy interacts with romance and attraction that I can't see them not resolving that plot point for her and Seyka. I, personally, expect it to be tied into the concept of "after", of the future she will have once the future of the planet is secured. I personally headcanon that Aloy will struggle with this concept, as she has been completely goal driven her entire life, and to finally achieve that goal is something she has never considered.

I want to meet Federa and Zo's baby ofc. I dont have too many other specific thoughts about character arc resolution for the rest, aside from that I hope Erend finds something worth fighting for, as he has lost SO MUCH and at times seems to be the most lost amongst the group. He has his heart in the right place, but I feel he is very deep in his grief for his sister still, whereas a lot of the other characters have more specific goals or people to inspire them onward.

I can't think of any more specific thoughts atm sjdfd except, Gildun beloved, Burning Embers crew beloved, good characters all around.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Prompt Submission From Followers #2

Thank you so much for sharing your intriguing submission! I absolutely love your writing style and the suspense you've created. I'm really curious about Zenith too. I'd be thrilled to be a beta reader for one of your works in progress (WIPs) and would love to learn more about your story. Feel free to send me an email if you're interested!

My Email: TheWriteAdviceContact@Gmail.com

Follow the creator of this submission, all credit to them: @fairytaleinagem

Prompt:

“Your character stumbles upon a hidden door in their favorite place. When they open it, they find something completely unexpected.”

Submission:

Despite everyone having left—even their mentors, who usually stayed with them for days at a time—Zenith spoke as if they were talking to someone else. And for the situation, they practically were. "…And where does a talking door lead?" they asked, brows furrowing as they regarded said door once more. White, like the rest of the Aetherium, but with black cracks that felt more like veins, pulsing with gold light. The handle wasn't anything too special, but the fact there was a physical lock on it, crafted with the care and love of a sculptor, made it stand out. The same color as the cracks, but it didn't have any golden lighting emitting from it. Odd. "Good question! That's something that I can only answer after you've opened me," it replied. There was no mouth, no eyes, so all Zenith could look at was the peephole that laid at eye height. "Why would I do that?" "Oh, just do it! It'll only take a moment, I promise!" If it was only a moment… Zenith sighed, before tapping the lock, which fell right off. "Keep that promise, door." The sight of a black void with nothing but a giant snake wasn't what they expected.

If you'd like to submit your writing to my prompt, please fill out the short and easy Google Form below.

“Your character stumbles upon a hidden door in their favorite place. When they open it, they find something completely unexpected.”

Feel free to interpret this prompt in any way that inspires you! Here are a few guidelines:

Keep it short and sweet: Aim for 100-200 words.

Be creative: The more imaginative, the better!

Share your story: Post your response in the Google Form below.

I can’t wait to see what unexpected encounters your characters will have. Happy writing! 🌟

Upload Your Submission Here!

[marisartcorner]

"Even though you've been dead for a thousand years... you're the closest person I've ever had of a mother." -Aloy about Elisabet, by the prologue of HFW.

Btw, I'm writing an AU where Aloy and Beta grew up together and Lis is alive, if you're interested ---> @horizontwinflames

[hartlesshart]

“I don’t understand why I need to do this, Aloy”

Inspired by @melikochan‘s adorable scene (read it here)

[horizontwinflames]

They do a stretch xD

Random anatomy/cloth draping practice I did other day. You can also see clearly the sisters' anatomy differences in this AU here.

[spectres-scribbles]

Countdown

Prologue

May 3040

“It’s over, right?” Erend asked as he hugged Aloy from the side as the squad gathered around each other, reunited and victorious.

Aloy said nothing, for now.

Let them revel in this hard-earned victory. They’d earned it.

The truth could wait for a few days, until they were back at the Base.

“Let’s get out of here, shall we?” She said instead.

Enthusiastic agreements met that question and together, the squad retraced their steps out of the base, eager to be gone from the place.

- - - - - - - - - -

They set up camp once they were back on the mainland so that they could tend to their injuries.

Unsurprisingly, Sylens continued on his way up the coast without stopping or saying anything other than a quick “I’ll be in contact” to Aloy.

“Where’s he going?” Erend asked, watching the fake-Banuk’s Charger disappear into the darkness.

“Tilda’s mansion, I think.” Aloy responded. “It’s just up the coast from here.”

“What for?”

“Knowing him, he’s probably going to start going through the base, now that the Zeniths are no longer a threat.”

“More shiny toys for him to play with?”

“I guess we’ll see.” Aloy responded with a shrug.

“What was he talking about, with that whole ‘You people will need my help’ bit, anyway?” Erend commented.

Aloy and Beta shared a look at that.

They’d hoped to wait, but now that the question had been asked, there was no way that they could blow it off completely.

“We thought the fight was over with the Zeniths, but in truth, it’s barely just begun.” Aloy told the group.

“Barely begun?” Kotallo repeated. “What do you mean?”

“We’ll explain it all when we get back to Base. I’m still trying to wrap my head around it all, in truth.”

“Must be serious if even you’re having trouble with it.” Erend noted.

“Understatement of the century,” Aloy mirthlessly told her Oseram friend. “For now, we focus on getting back to Base, then we plan our next move.”

τ - ι - κ - μ - χ - θ

After Zo had checked her and cleared her, Beta went straight to work, beginning to check GAIA’s rig. Shortly after, Aloy found her when she was cleared as well.

“The rig seems okay, no external damage.” Beta reported as Aloy approached her. “I haven’t started any diagnostics on GAIA herself, though.”

Despite the clinical air she was trying to project, Aloy seemed to sense that something was bothering her sister, for she reached out to put a hand on the younger clone’s shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”

Without warning, Beta turned away from the rig to bury herself in Aloy’s arms.

“He was my first real friend,” Beta murmured thickly into Aloy’s neck.

Unlike the others, Beta hadn’t had any chance to mourn Varl. Literally the minute the Zeniths returned to the base, they’d shoved Beta into the chair, chained her, and forced her to work on integrating HEPHAESTUS into GAIA. Whatever little rest she had, she was tortured via virtual reality dissociation.

Gerard had even used Varl’s murder to crush Beta’s spirits so that she wouldn’t try to fight what she was being forced to do, which had anguished her to no end. It had only been when Aloy contacted her via Tilda’s data channel that she had regained some hope, enough to hold on until Aloy and her other friends had come for her.

“I know.” Aloy murmured back, trying to comfort Beta, but feeling awkward while doing it. “I’m sorry I was so impatient and ignorant back then. I treated you the way I was, and I shouldn’t have.”

“Did you guys…?” Beta quietly asked but was unable to finish the sentence.

“Yeah, we buried and held a funeral for him.” Aloy answered with a nod. “It was the main reason why we took so long to rescue you once I stopped Regalla and her army from slaughtering Hekarro and forced Sylens to join us. His memorial is outside the eastern exit to the Base-”

“So he can see Plainsong and the Sacred Lands like he and Zo liked to do.” Beta finished, nodding. “I’m glad.”

“Dinner’s ready!” Zo, who turned her focus to the evening meal after having finished the squad’s medical exams, announced from her place at the campfire.

Aloy pulled back a little to look at Beta. “Hungry?”

“Starving.”

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

Their meal was quick and easy: Beanweed Bites with canteens of water to wash it down. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to sate everyone’s hunger. Even Erend, who preferred ale to water, didn’t complain, glad to have food in his belly.

“You can have that when we’re back at Base.” Zo told him with a roll of her eyes, earning a chuckle from the rest of the squad as they rolled out their bedrolls.

Aloy tasked her two Clawstriders to watch duty patrolling the area around their camp to act as a deterrent for troublemakers, while the Sunwing perched in nearby ruins for a bird’s eye view of the area. Their herd of Chargers were grazing peacefully nearby but would react to fight alongside the Combat machines if there was trouble during the night.

With all that done, Aloy turned her focus to her own bedding. As she was doing that, Beta approached her.

“Can I sleep with you?” Beta asked Aloy timidly, as around them, the rest of the squad got settled for bed around the campfire. “I just… don’t think I can… I don’t want to be alone…”

Beta could still see Erik Visser stabbing Varl, hear his taunting words to the Nora Brave as the light had left Varl’s eyes, every single time she closed her own.

The psychological torment she’d endured was still too fresh, and she needed a physical connection with her kin to anchor her and keep the darkness at bay, to show her that all of this was real and not a figment of her mind.

That her sister and her other friends had really come for her and ended the Zeniths, once and for all.

“Yeah, of course. Not a problem.” Aloy didn’t hesitate to nod her head, understanding her twin’s trauma, raising the blanket so Beta could climb in.

It wasn’t long before the sisters drifted off to sleep, Beta clinging to Aloy’s arm that rested between them to ground herself.

- - - - - - - - - -

Beta’s sleep didn’t last.

Sometime in the night, the younger clone bolted upright in bed, screaming out in terror, which quickly woke the rest of the camp.

“Wha’s happening?” Erend asked, sitting up but still mostly asleep, as he frantically grabbed blindly for his warhammer. “Who’s attacking?!”

Zo scowled at him. “Stow your hammer, Erend. We’re not under attack.”

“Then why…?”

“Why do you think, given what the Zeniths were doing to Beta? She had a nightmare.”

“Easy, sister. Easy.” Aloy murmured softly to Beta, mostly ignoring the exchange between Zo and Erend, sitting up and gathering the younger woman in her arms to offer physical comfort to her sister. “You’re safe, Beta. You’re safe.”

“The Zeniths…” Beta whimpered out.

“Are dead. They can’t hurt you anymore.” Aloy assured.

“Or any of us.” Alva said softly as she sat down beside Aloy and Beta and began to rub Beta’s back to offer further comfort. “We all made sure of that.”

Eventually, Beta calmed down, but it was a while before sleep claimed her again.

Alva and Aloy stayed with her the entire time, even as the rest of the squad dozed off around them, offering comfort and assurance until she felt safe enough to try again.

“Thank you for that,” Aloy said softly to Alva as she lowered Beta back to the bedroll.

“Don’t mention it.” Alva replied just as softly as she went back to her own bedroll. “I imagine that it’s going to take some time for her to feel completely safe again after what she was put through. Makes you wish you could strangle the shitheads, doesn’t it?”

Aloy could just make out Alva’s scowl as she got settled back in her own bed, and couldn’t help but grin a little at how well and truly stirred up the Quen Diviner was on Beta’s behalf, as she only swore like that when she was really pissed off and didn’t care about being polite.

“Oh, strangling would only be the start of what I’d do to them if I could, trust me.” Aloy replied darkly before trying to clear her mind so that she could also get some more sleep. “Night.”

“Goodnight.” Alva replied.

Sleep didn’t claim Aloy again for a while after that as well, but she contented herself with watching Beta as she did, glad that the younger clone at least was getting her much needed rest.

- - - - - - - - - -

The next three days were spent travelling, their pace steady to give injuries time to heal.

Beta rode with Aloy on one of her Clawstriders, cuddled up to her elder’s back, occasionally drifting off to sleep as they journeyed.

They stopped at Fenrise the first night, Gattak happily welcoming them into the settlement and giving then food and beds for the night, and The Grove the second, where Hekarro was relieved to see Aloy and her squad return in one piece, and had happily put them up for the night as well.

From there, they made the final push to the Base.

Throughout the entire trip, it was clear that the questions about what Aloy had said about the fight having only just begun burned bright in the minds of the rest of the squad, but they respected Aloy’s need to be given a chance to wrap her head around the revelation of Nemesis and kept their talk inconsequential and light.

Even when they got back to Base, Aloy and Beta were given their space, Beta focusing on restoring GAIA after Erend and Aloy had brought the rig inside, though the squad did come together to celebrate their victory against the Zeniths with a feast the following night after their return, the feast food coming from every tribe to represent their unified efforts against their enemy.

Initially, Aloy just watched her friends enjoy the celebrations from the sidelines, not really participating herself, but eventually, Erend dragged her in, before raising a toast to their success, and she gave in and joined the revelry.

When she had retired for the night, she’d hung Elisabet’s and Rost’s pendants side by side on their display rack, contemplating them as she thought about the battle that was coming, before someone knocking on her door pulled her out of those thoughts.

Beta was on the other side, a blanket and pillow roll in her arms, and Aloy didn’t hesitate to let her in.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

There’s another battle ahead, Elisabet.

Very different from the one you fought.

It’s not about the distant hope of creating a new world, it’s about preserving the one we have.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

The next day, the group gathered in GAIA’s chamber after lunch, where Aloy delivered the news about Nemesis to her friends.

“Fire and spit!” Erend exclaimed as Aloy finished speaking.

The rest of the group, sans Beta, were likewise stunned.

“How in the name of the Ten are we supposed to fight such a thing?” Kotallo breathed out, tearing his gaze from the digital representation of Nemesis that GAIA was projecting for the squad to look at Aloy.

“I don’t know, honestly.” Aloy earnestly told her friends. “But this is why Sylens is going through the Zenith base; in the hopes of finding something - anything - that may help us fight it.

“When will it arrive?” Alva asked.

“According to GAIA’s calculations; sometime between May 3041 and December 3042. It should be noted that GAIA hasn’t detected it yet, as Nemesis is too far out of range of what she can hear right now. That range is based on a few assumptions about how long the Zeniths were planning to stay here. Once she detects it, she estimates that we’ll have about six months to finish up preparations for it.”

“And what’s happening with HEPHAESTUS? Are we going to try and capture it again?” Zo queried.

“HEPH’s going to be a bit of a wild card.” Beta spoke now. “Contact with the Zenith network will likely have supercharged it, giving it access to new technologies, tools and upgrades.”

“So we’re going to see even more deadly and dangerous machines popping up from now on? Lovely.” Erend drawled.

“Even though the merge with GAIA was aborted, she was able to copy some of the original HEPH code base. On top of that, Sylens has already extracted some extremely helpful data from the Zenith copy of APOLLO. Combined, these developments should enable GAIA to exert significantly more influence over the terraforming system.” Beta informed the squad. “She won't be able to take direct control of machines, or stop HEPH from building new combat units. But she estimates that by deploying a variety of workarounds, she can stabilize the biosphere within a year. So we don't all die, at least not before Nemesis arrives.”

“But to answer your question; since GAIA now has some of HEPH's source code, we should be able to develop new strategies to contain it.” Beta told Zo. “It'll take time, of course, since HEPH will likely write Omega Clearance out of its code like it did with Alpha Clearance, if it hasn’t already, so a repeat of GEMINI is out of the question.”

“So what’s the plan?” Erend asked Aloy.

“Right now, getting word out to the tribes about the coming threat is paramount.” Aloy told the group. “We need to find allies that can help and are willing to fight when the time comes. We need to be united, all of us, if we’re going to stand a chance at stopping this thing.”

“I can talk to Morlund. His family is well known in the Claim, so, between the two of us, we should be able to grab some people’s attention.” Erend offered after a few moments of thought.

“I’ll return to Landfall to inform Bohai.” Alva told the squad. “I’m sure he’ll want to return to the Delta now that the storms won’t sink what ships we have left. He’ll speak to the Emperor on our behalf.”

“And what about you? Will you go as well?” Erend asked Alva.

Alva shook her head. “I can’t, in good conscience, leave now, not knowing what’s coming. Like Aloy said; we have to fight this thing together. I choose to stay and fight. For my sister, for my parents, for my people.”

“Thank you.” Aloy said to Alva sincerely. “I know it won’t be easy to stay when the ships set sail.”

“I came to this land to find a way to save my family. I can’t leave now.” Alva reiterated. “And I’m sure that once the word spreads through Landfall, I won’t be the only one who’ll make that same choice.”

“I would like to give Bohai one of our Focuses before he departs, however, so that we can expand the network to the Delta, once GAIA’s completely up and running again, if that’s okay?” Alva continued, turning to Aloy to make her request.

Aloy nodded her head. “Of course. Take as many as you want. The same goes for the rest of you when you go. We need to start expanding the network with allies that we can call on when Nemesis arrives.”

“He’ll find a way to use it to his advantage with the Board of Overseers, I don’t doubt it.” Alva warned, regarding Bohai. “No Diviner in the history of the tribe has ever had access to a later model Focus before now, and he’ll exploit that to the fullest. But I’m sure that he will petition the Emperor for aid.”

“I figured as much.” Aloy nodded, having expected that Bohai would do as Alva described, but was willing to turn a blind eye to it if it meant that the Quen homeland would be warned of the threat and potentially send help. “Do you think the Emperor will listen?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. But I hope so.” Alva freely admitted.

“Time will tell, I guess.” Aloy responded.

“The Chorus will likely take some time to convince, but I’m sure that I can do it.” Zo spoke next. “Then I’ll head east, to the Sacred Lands. I owe it to Varl to tell his mother of what happened to him, and about her coming grandchild. And to tell the Nora of the coming threat.”

Erend looked to Aloy in surprise at this. “You’re not going to tell them?”

“I’ll have to face them at some point, being the Anointed, but for now, I’ll be staying here.” The Nora huntress replied. “I’ll have to head back east at some point, to speak with the Banuk about Nemesis, so I’ll probably visit the Embrace then. Of all the tribes, the Nora are probably going to be the trickiest to communicate with, since they’ll more then likely refuse to wear a Focus, outside of a few brave souls.”

Aloy quietly wondered if Teb, or even Nakoa, might consider it.

She’d have to see when she went there.

“Just be mindful, you might not get the warmest reception when they learn of your pregnancy, with it being unsanctioned. Especially with Varl being the War-Chief’s son.” Aloy warned Zo.

“Varl warned me when we started trying to have a child, that he’d face the wrath of the Nora for it, and me as well, because of that.” Zo nodded. “I’m prepared for whatever they throw at me. But thank you, for thinking of me.”

Aloy smiled. “It’s what friends do, right?”

“We owe you for stopping Regalla’s slaughter, as well as for what would have happened if she had succeeded.” Kotallo spoke last. “The Chief wants to repay that debt. The Tenakth will answer your call.”

Aloy nodded back, even as a plan started to form in her mind for something she could do to help Hekarro and the Marshals to rally and unify the Tenakth.

The Focus network would be part one of her plan.

Mentally shaking her head, and stowing those thoughts for later, Aloy focused her thoughts back on the meeting. “All of you, be careful, okay? Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need help, and I’ll do what I can. And if you don’t mind, I’d like to have squad meetings via holo every couple of weeks for us to keep checking in with each other for status reports and the like.”

The squad didn’t hesitate to agree to that request, deeming it essential going forward.

With the meeting done, the squad trickled out, no doubt to start their various preparations for their departure the following day.

“The fellowship is breaking up.” Beta murmured to Aloy after the others had gone and it was only them and GAIA left, clearly saddened by what was happening, even if it was necessary.

The squad were family to each other now, as well as the first real friends Beta had ever had.

It would be so different, for both of them, walking around Base from now on and not hearing Erend’s music at full blast, or helping Zo with meal preparation, or playing Machine Strike with Kotallo, or talking with Varl about whatever latest thing he’d been reading up on, or helping Alva with her research.

“For now, we are.” Aloy replied, hugging her sister from the side. “But I’ve no doubt that when Nemesis arrives, we’ll all come back together again to face it.”

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

My friends have a new mission - to spread the word and ask for help.

They’ve taken it in stride.

I think it’s because they’ve always known what I’ve only just started to understand.

That the people of this world have the strength to fight any battle, the ingenuity to solve any problem, the courage to overcome any obstacle. And the resilience to rise after any setback.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

After having one last breakfast together, the squad, sans Aloy and Beta, began to depart.

Kotallo and Zo were the first to leave.

“A word? Aloy asked Kotallo as he was collecting his things from his room.

“How can I help?” Kotallo asked.

“I’m not sure what the Tenakth do regarding the dead, but I was wondering if Hekarro would want Regalla’s body, if we can find it?” Aloy asked, getting to the point.

“For all the heinous things she did, she did redeem herself in the end.” Kotallo replied. “I believe the Chief will want to bury her with full honours at the Grove.”

Aloy nodded her head. “Meet me at the Sunwing site above Base when you’re ready to go.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Overriding all three Sunwings without them attacking each other took timing, and a little bit of luck, but Aloy succeeded just in time.

To say that Kotallo was stunned when he emerged to find Aloy standing by one of the newly tamed machines would be an understatement.

< < < JTF-10 > > >

“Commander?” The Marshal asked, even as his heart began to soar at what he thought was happening.

“It’s yours.” Aloy told him, gesturing at the machine, confirming Kotallo’s thoughts. “I figured that if you’re to spread the word among the Tenakth about Nemesis, that you’d need a little help.”

Kotallo was speechless for a few moments.

Aloy had seen the harm the wrong people could do with tamed machines.

That she trusted him like this, giving him his own Wings of the Ten…

“You honour me, Aloy.” Kotallo, finding his voice, bowed deeply to his commanding officer.

“I’m assuming that Hekarro and the other Marshals would also appreciate their own Sunwings?” Aloy asked, but Kotallo could see that she already knew the answer, knowing what she did about how the Tenakth revered the Wings of the Ten.

Already, many Tenakth were calling Aloy ‘She Who Flies on the Wings of the Ten’ for what she had done stopping Regalla’s attack on the Grove, and Hekarro had mentioned to Kotallo, during the GAIA Gang’s stopover there days prior, that the tribe’s Painters were planning on coming together to paint a mural in the Grove to honour Aloy’s heroic actions.

“To help get the tribe ready? Most definitely.” Kotallo responded, his mind already imagining how things would change going forward.

The combination of the Sunwings and the Focus network would make the Marshals far more effective in their jobs, allowing them to travel the Clan Lands quicker than before and also be able to report back to the clan Commanders and Hekarro without having to return to a clan’s capital or the Grove in order to do so, and would make them considerably more formidable against the remnants of Regalla’s rebels, or any other trouble-makers, if they tried to act against the Chief or the tribe again.

“It’ll probably take me a week or two to override the rest and deliver them to the Grove.” Aloy told him, partially in warning.

“That’s fine.” Kotallo assured. “It’s better that you take your time doing this.”

Kotallo understood that the process could be tricky if Aloy was trying to tame more then one machine at a time, that a tamed machine could start attacking wild ones due to its programming being changed before she’d moved on to the next.

“Alright then. Ready to learn how to fly?”

All Tenakth dreamed of being able to do this, of flying in the air like the Ten had once done.

That it was becoming a reality for him…

“I was born ready.”

- - - - - - - - - -

Kotallo was a natural, as it turned out, mastering the basics of flying fairly quickly, and before long, he and Aloy, along with the two spare Sunwings, were on their way back to the Zenith base, Kotallo smiling subtly the whole time, clearly revelling in what he was doing, of the feeling of the wind on his face.

- - - - - - - - - -

Once they were flying over the base, they were greeted with an unexpected site; the previously pristine printer was now a smoking ruin of twisted metal.

“HEPHAESTUS’s work?” Kotallo asked Aloy.

“Or Gerard’s, to prevent it from spitting out any more Zero Dawn machines.” Aloy surmised. “Either way, it’s one good thing in our favour. Nemesis won’t be able to use it against us.”

“That’s certainly true.” Kotallo agreed.

“Though I suspect that that will only be a temporary setback for it, if it really wants to use it.” Aloy added realistically.

Kotallo chuckled.

It was typical of Aloy to see all sides, but that was what made her such a good leader: because she took everything into account.

Though that also worked against her, when something occurred that she hadn’t planned for, like Varl’s death, and she acted like it was her personal failure that she’d failed to predict everything.

“There is that.” The Marshal agreed.

After that, it wasn’t long before they arrived at their destination, finding a small mound of Spectre corpses and some debris waiting for them.

“A fitting death, indeed.” Kotallo commented as he took in the sight. “But how are we going to get to Regalla’s body?”

Aloy answered with action, flying her Sunwing to the topmost Specter and used her machine to start shifting the felled machine by gripping one of it’s arms in the Sunwing’s talons and pulling it down one side of the mound.

Kotallo quickly followed his commander’s lead on the other side.

- - - - - - - - - -

In the end, they moved one shy of a dozen machines before they found Regalla’s battered body, mostly intact, her greatsword broken on the ground beside her.

Aloy steered her Sunwing away from the site to land in a clear spot nearby so that she could dismount, taking something from her machine’s back before she approached the fallen woman.

Kotallo also landed his Sunwing in a clear space and followed Aloy in.

“Give me a hand?” Aloy asked Kotallo as she dropped what she was carrying on the ground, revealing that it was a bag of some sort as she unzipped and opened it up, though it looked big enough that Regalla’s body would fit inside. “I don’t think I can lift her body on my own.”

“You take her legs.” Kotallo directed as he bent to slip his arms under the body’s shoulders and Aloy did the same on her end. “On three. One… Two… Three.”

Between the two of them, they manoeuvred the body into the waiting bag.

Afterwards, as Aloy was rigging up grips for the Sunwing to carry the body with from her grapple rope, Kotallo gathered up Regalla’s sword, and her mask, and placed them in the bag as well before Aloy zipped it up.

Once Aloy was sure that her knot-work was secure, she stood to face Kotallo.

“You want to carry her, or me?”

“I will.” Kotallo volunteered.

With a nod of her head, Aloy gestured to Kotallo’s Sunwing, indicating that he should mount up. “I’ll help you take hold.”

Nodding back, the Marshal mounted his machine and took to the air, bringing it to hover where Aloy was waiting, holding up the grips until Kotallo’s Sunwing had a good grasp on them, then she stepped back out of the downdraught.

“Alright, take her up a bit so I can see if the rope will hold.” Aloy called up to him. “I’d rather test it now while we’re close to the ground then when we’re on our way back and high in the sky.”

‘Wise.” Kotallo returned with a nod, before doing as Aloy asked.

After a few minutes of hovering in the air, and seeing that the rope was still holding strong, Aloy nodded her head, then made her way back to her own waiting Sunwing.

“Ready to get out of here?” She asked once she was also in the air.

“More than ready.”

With a chuckle, Aloy recalled the spare Sunwings, who had been set to a patrolling watch once Aloy and Kotallo had started excavating for Regalla’s remains, and then they were on their way back to the mainland.

- - - - - - - - - -

As they flew, Kotallo studied the aftermath of the battle beneath them as they passed, the sparking heaps of machines - Specter and Zero Dawn alike - as well as the bodies of the fallen Zeniths.

Part of him had wished that he could have been a member of the main attacking force, to see HEPHAESTUS churning out machines to take on the weakened Zeniths and their army of Specters for himself, as well as to fight alongside the rest of the squad, but he contented himself with the knowledge that what he and Alva had been tasked with had been just as important to the mission’s success.

Not only had they given the squad a fighting chance against their enemies, but they’d also made the discovery of what would eventually lead to Aloy and Beta uncovering the truth of what was really going on, and that was something he’d always be proud of.

- - - - - - - - - -

By the time they got back to the Grove, it was late afternoon, and the sun was just starting to set in the west.

Even so, the arrival of the four tamed Sunwings caused a stir among the Tenakth who were posted there, the young soldiers gawping at the sight as Aloy’s and Kotallo’s Sunwings came in to land, though Kotallo had to carefully drop his cargo on the ground first before his Sunwing could, the spare Sunwings following their lead, which quickly brought Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira to investigate the hubbub.

“Marshal. Champion.” Hekarro greeted them both as they dismounted from their machines.

“Chief.” - “Hekarro.”

Kotallo and Aloy returned tandem greetings.

“What brings you here?”

“We bring Regalla’s body for burial.” Kotallo told his Chief, gesturing to the bag in front of his Sunwing.

Hekarro crouched down and touched the bag. “She died a good death?”

“Her help was instrumental in helping get the rest of the squad, minus myself and Diviner Alva, past some Specters and further into the Zenith base.” Kotallo reported. “She felled nearly a dozen of them before they killed her.”

Hekarro nodded as he stood back up.

“I’m glad to hear that for her sake. She got the death she was seeking that I was unable to deliver.” Hekarro then called to two of the nearby posted guards. “Nexx. Drevva.”

The two snapped to attention and came over.

“See that the body is taken to Tevvona to begin preparations for burial.” Hekarro instructed the two young soldiers.

“Yes, Chief.”

“The rope is yours, I assume?” Hekarro asked Aloy, noting that the young woman was missing her normally ever-present grapple.

“My grapple rope.” Aloy confirmed.

“Tell Tevvona that the rope is to be returned in one piece to the Champion.” Hekarro further instructed.

“Yes, Chief.”

The four Tenakth and one Nora watched as the two young soldiers carefully shouldered the body between them and departed the throne room and trekked towards their intended destination.

“Is there somewhere we can speak privately?” Aloy asked Hekarro, her expression solemn, once the two men were out of sight.

“Follow me.” Hekarro said and led the way to the strategy room.

- - - - - - - - - -

“Does this have something to do with the mission you’ve just completed? Your attack on the mysterious island next to the Valley of the Fallen?” Hekarro asked Aloy as they gathered around the planning table, Aloy and Kotallo on one side, Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira on the other.

They’d stopped and spent the night at the Grove on their way to the Zenith base as well as on their return back to Base, so Hekarro had been aware that something was happening, and where, but not the specifics of it, and that it was therefore no coincidence that they were back just days after completing said mission and looking quite serious to boot.

“It does. The island was home to some living Old Ones called Zeniths. They kidnapped my sister, killed one of our squad, and took something from us that was imperative that we get back.”

Kotallo could see that Hekarro and the others had questions regarding the Zeniths, about how any of the Old Ones could still be alive after the Time of Ashes, so he intervened to get their attention back on the reason that Aloy had asked for this audience with him.

“I’ll explain about the Zeniths at a later time, Chief, but for now, it’s imperative that you hear what Aloy has to say.” Kotallo told Hekarro.

“Very well.” Hekarro nodded at the younger man before focusing back on Aloy. “And what did these… Zeniths take from you?”

“A living Vision called GAIA.” Kotallo told his fellow Tenakth. “GAIA is the reason that any of us exist after the fall of the Old Ones.”

“GAIA was created by an Old One called Elisabet Sobeck while the Metal Devils were wiping them out.” Aloy picked up the explanation, projecting an image of Elisabet for them to look at. “GAIA was tasked with bringing life back to Earth once the Old Ones had been wiped out. And as Kotallo said, she succeeded.”

Dekka was quick to pick up Aloy and Elisabet’s similarities. “You look exactly like her, Aloy, albeit younger, but how can that be?”

“Because I’m a clone - a copy - of her.”

“And why is that?” Dekka asked, puzzled but curious.

“Because twenty years ago, something threatened life on Earth. To protect us, protect all life, GAIA sacrificed herself to stop it.” Aloy explained before turning to address Hekarro. “That day that AETHER fled here? The day you saw the Faraday Vision here in the Grove? That was the day GAIA destroyed herself in the east. It’s also when I was created.

“GAIA knew that only someone with Elisabet’s blood and bone would be able to gain access to certain special Old One ruins through them, be able to fix what was about to happen by bringing GAIA back to life. The Derangement, the storms, the famine, the Blight, and indirectly, the Red Raids, all of that happened because GAIA wasn’t around to guide the machines trying to fix the world.”

“And you succeeded in that mission?” Hekarro asked, though he clearly had already guessed the answer, as things had started to get better in the months since he’d first met the flame-haired huntress and she’d spoken of her mission to him.

Aloy nodded in conformation. “I, with the aid of Varl and Zo, was able to revive her shortly after entering the West. She’s in our base in the mountains above Plainsong. But even though she was restored at that point, she couldn’t yet start to fix things.”

“And that’s where what you came here seeking comes into play?” Hekarro guessed.

Aloy nodded. “AETHER, and the others like it, which we called sub-functions, are the tools GAIA uses to repair and maintain the world. When GAIA sacrificed herself, they fled, seeking refuge wherever they could find containers big enough to store them, including here, and once they’d done that, they tried to continue with their work, but without GAIA’s guiding hand, their efforts led to what happened: ruin.”

“But we weren’t the only ones seeking to fix GAIA, the Zeniths were, too. Which is where my sister comes into this. Just as GAIA knew that only someone of Elisabet’s blood could fix her, the Zeniths knew it as well, creating Beta in the same way that I was so that they could also gain access to those same special ruins.”

“But your sister defected from these Zeniths and joined you and your squad.”

Aloy nodded. “At the time, we believed that the Zeniths intended to use GAIA to clean slate the Earth, killing all human life, so that they could make the world they wanted. Beta couldn’t stand that and hated them for how they’d treated her while she was growing up, so once we discovered each other’s existence, she escaped them as soon as she was able to, sending a distress call to GAIA that she knew I wouldn’t ignore.

“But even without Beta or GAIA, the Zeniths knew that my squad and I were working on fixing GAIA, so all they had to do was sit back and wait, putting a watch on the final sub-function, named HEPHAESTUS, knowing we’d have to go after it eventually to capture it as well, as it was the most important tool for GAIA to fix the world.”

“And what does this HEPHAESTUS do?”

“It creates the machines. The Derangement is entirely its work, as it was trying to protect the machines from human hunters.” Aloy explained. “Trapping HEPHAESTUS wasn’t as easy as it was with AETHER or the others, as it had grown too large for the container I used to return them to GAIA in once I’d retrieved them, and it was spread throughout the Cauldrons. Sites where the machines are created.” Aloy added at Ivvira’s puzzled look.

“To trap HEPHAESTUS, we had to corner it in a special Cauldron, the one south-west of Scalding Spear, the one the Desert Tenakth revere as the Gate of the Vanquished.”

“Special how?”

“It has two cores, due to earthquakes occurring while it was being constructed. GAIA needed to install herself in one core and contain HEPHAESTUS in the other so that we could begin to return it to her. But the second we did that, the Zeniths knew where we were, and they came for us. They killed Varl, incapacitated me, and took Beta and GAIA. They would have killed me also, if one of them didn’t turn on the others to save me.”

“One of the Zeniths defected to your side?” asked the Chief.

Aloy nodded again. “Yes. Her name was Tilda. She helped me plan and carry out the attack on the Zenith base. She also told me about the bomb I dropped on the Grove to stop Regalla’s assault.”

“Impressive.”

“Which leads to our attack on their base. During the attack, I had Alva and Kotallo split off from the main squad to strike a critical target that would help the rest of the squad’s infiltration.”

“You speak of the knowledge-seeker, yes? The young woman with the different looking Old One relic? The one whose tribe is on the Isle of Spires?” Dekka asked Aloy.

“The one with a thousand questions to ask you about the Visions during our stopovers here?” Aloy finished with a slight chuckle. “Yeah, she’s the one.”

“Anyway, the other part of their mission, once that was done and the Zenith computers were vulnerable, was for Alva to go through the Zenith files to find out if Tilda was hiding anything from us, as I didn’t fully trust her motivations.”

“I take it from your demeanour that they did find something?” Hekarro asked after studying Aloy for a moment.

Taking a breath, Aloy began to tell Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira about what they’d learned.

“Yeah, Alva did. And this is what I found out…”

- - - - - - - - - -

“Blood of the Ten…” Hekarro breathed out, leaning heavily on the table, as Aloy and Kotallo finished their report.

Dekka and Ivvira were likewise shell-shocked, though they stood back from the table, also trying to wrap their heads around what they’d just been told.

“That’s why we’re here now; seeking allies. No single tribe will be able to defeat this thing alone. We have to come together if we’re to stand a chance at stopping it. Because if we don’t…” Aloy trailed off.

Hekarro understood the unspoken.

“The Tenakth will answer your call. Our arakhs are yours, Aloy of the Nora.” Hekarro, pushing off the table to stand straight, pledged to Aloy without hesitation. “We will gladly fight at your side against this threat.”

Kotallo nodded, having expected that Hekarro would swear to Aloy once he heard about Nemesis.

All Tenakth loved a good fight, and there would be no greater battle for his tribe then fighting to protect their world, and all life in it, from being snuffed out.

“I assume that you want Kotallo to spread the word on your behalf amongst the Clans?” Hekarro perceptively asked, looking between Kotallo and Aloy.

It was well known that Kotallo was a member of Aloy’s squad, so it was only logical that he do this task within his tribe for his CO.

Aloy nodded. “It’s why I’m returning him to your command for the time being.”

Hekarro nodded back before he addressed the younger man. “Marshal.”

“Yes, Chief?” Kotallo responded.

“I will still require you to do your duties as a Marshal from time to time, but henceforth, your primary task is to do what your Commander has asked you to do.”

“I understand, Chief.” Kotallo nodded his head to Hekarro, then repeated the action to Aloy. “Commander.”

“Marshal.” Aloy returned the nod.

“I will endeavour to make sure that he’s returned to your command, when the time comes, in one piece.” Hekarro told Aloy seriously, understanding that the GAIA Gang would be front and center when the fight finally began.

“I’d appreciate that.” Aloy thanked Hekarro. “And I actually have a couple of things to give you to help with that, as well as to help unify and rally the Tenakth. The first are these…”

Reaching into one of her back pouches, Aloy brought out three Focuses, coming around the table to give one each to Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira.

“Your Old One relic?” Hekarro asked as he studied the tiny piece of metal in his fingers.

“It’s called a Focus.” Aloy explained, then gestured to where her Focus sat on her temple. “They go on the temple, just like mine.”

One by one, the three Tenakth did as instructed, the Focuses adhering to their skin when they were close enough and activating, which startled them at first as they experienced the Focus’ Second Sight and what it revealed for the first time.

“This is how you see the world?” Dekka breathed out as she got used to the display around her.

“Ever since I was a little girl.” Aloy responded, sounding a little wistful as she spoke those words, and Kotallo knew why: that was what she’d said to Varl the first time he’d donned his Focus.

“You activate and deactivate the Focus by tapping it, just like this.” Kotallo told his Chief, the Chaplain and his fellow Marshal, showing them how, so that they could deactivate them for now. “I can teach you the rest of the functions with time.”

“Kotallo has the rest of the Tenakth’s Focuses, to be distributed to the rest of the Marshals, the Clan Commanders and the Chaplains, as well as anyone else he deems worthy and trustworthy of them.” Aloy explained to Hekarro. “You’ll be connected to our greater network from now on, be able to contact any member of it, if you wish, including myself and members of my squad, but GAIA can set up a seperate network, just for the Tenakth, if you want her to.”

“I thank you.” Hekarro nodded.

“The second part are the Sunwings. Kotallo has his. The first spare is yours.” Aloy said to Hekarro. “And the last…”

Ivvira perked up and looked hopefully at Aloy. “Is mine?”

“A training tool, for now, to allow the Marshals to get used to flying. You’ll get yours soon enough.” Aloy corrected with a chuckle before turning back to Hekarro. “I should be able to tame the remaining machines - for the Marshals, at least - over the next couple of weeks and will bring them here as I do. If you feel that there are others who deserve one, who won’t abuse the privilege, let me know, and I can tame more at a later date.”

“You have my thanks and gratitude for this, Aloy. These gifts will make the Marshals far more effective at their jobs.” Hekarro thanked Aloy profusely, clearly recognising, like Kotallo had, the show of trust and faith that Aloy was putting in him and his tribe in doing what she had.

“And far more formidable against what remains of the rebels, or any other trouble-makers.” Ivvira enthused. “I almost wish that they would try something, though, if only to see the look on their faces when we show up on our own Wings of the Ten.”

Kotallo chuckled at that, having imagined it himself.

“There’s one last thing that the Focus can do for you.” Aloy told Hekarro. “Perhaps the most important thing.”

“And what might that be?”

Activating her Focus, Aloy displayed a table containing the Latin alphabet for Hekarro, Dekka and Ivvira to look at.

“Carja glyphs?” Hekarro asked after a moment of studying the table, clearly remembering Fashav’s journal.

“The Old Ones called it the alphabet.” Aloy corrected. “It’s how they read and wrote. Each Focus contains an educational module that will teach you how to as well.”

Hekarro blinked at that, then pulled his Focus from his temple to look at it. “This little relic can teach me and my people the written language of the Old Ones?”

Aloy nodded. “Just as I learned when I was a girl. Just as Kotallo did when he joined my team.”

“Of all the things you’ve offered today, this is by far the most precious. Thank you, Aloy. We won’t forget this.”

“It’s why you were reaching out to Avad, isn’t it? To learn how, so that the Tenakth could record their history in another way, and not lose it?” Aloy asked rhetorically in return, already knowing the answer.

Hekarro simply nodded his head in answer.

“For you and the others who have a Focus, you can learn at your convenience, but for the rest of the Tenakth, I was thinking that the Chaplains could expand their duties and become teachers of the written word as well.”

“As they should.” Hekarro nodded in agreement, seeing that Aloy understood his tribe well enough to give this task to the ones best suited to it, even despite being an outlander, before turning to Dekka. “Do you agree, Chaplain?”

“I do, Chief. Thank you for this, Aloy.” Dekka offered her own thanks to the young woman for the opportunity she was giving them. “I’ll get word to Jetakka and Gerrah.”

“If you’re ever stuck, or need help, with this, or anything else, don’t hesitate to reach out.” Aloy informed Hekarro. “I’m staying in the West for now and I’m more than happy to assist wherever and however I can.”

Hekarro nodded his head. “I will keep that in mind. Thank you, Aloy.”

- - - - - - - - - -

“You’re more than welcome to stay here for the night, if you wish.” Kotallo told Aloy as they made their way back to where Aloy’s Sunwing was waiting, pausing as one of the guards returned Aloy’s grapple and the bag to her.

“Thanks for the offer, but I’ll have to pass. We all saw how fragile Beta was after we rescued her, and with the Base now empty, I’d rather not leave her there alone right now, at least until she’s feeling a bit better.”

They’d all seen how shaken Beta had been, and they’d kept themselves in her sights at all times those first few days after her rescue, so she knew that what had happened was real and that she was safe.

Not to mention that her nightmares continued to plague her nightly.

“I understand. Fly safe, Aloy.”

“Will do. I’ll see you in a few days with the next lot of Sunwings.” Aloy offered in parting as her Sunwing took to the skies.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

“Erend and Alva get away okay?” Aloy asked when she returned to the Base, not surprised to find Beta in GAIA’s chamber, checking over the reinstalled AI.

“Yeah. Erend was going to escort her to the ferry to make sure she got there safely, then return to the Hidden Ember.” Beta told her sister as Aloy came to a stop beside her and embraced the younger clone from the side as she worked. “He said he’d call when he got back, so we knew he was okay.”

Beta looked up from her work, suddenly timid and uncertain about what she wanted to ask. “Hey… um… you wanna watch some eps of Second Time Around with me after dinner?”

In the past, Aloy had deemed such things as irrelevant, preferring to remain focused on the mission, so she understood Beta’s hesitance to ask her about it now, but after they’d hashed out their differences, Aloy had vowed that she would start treating Beta with the kindness that she was overdue to receive, which included showing interest in the things her sister loved.

“Sure. Why not?”

Beta beamed in response. “Really?”

“Really.” Aloy affirmed. “Though speaking of dinner…”

Beta just smiled, knowing of her sister’s love of food, and let herself be led out of GAIA’s chamber and towards the kitchen.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

As for me, I can’t say that I’m not afraid.

What lies ahead will be harder than anything we've faced before.

But I know I can put the fear aside, because for the first time in my life... I feel like I’m not alone.

ψ - σ - ρ - ξ - ζ - ε

[the-horizon-lounge3041]

Old drawing of Beta from earlier this year