When Aloy and Beta eventually enter the projection room after breakfast, they are surprised to find that both GAIA and Elisabet have sullen, serious expressions.
As if they were just having a rather grave conversation, or maybe an argument of some kind?
Though, Elisabet’s expression relaxes a bit when she sees them come up the stairs.
‘Hello Aloy. Beta.’ GAIA is the first to acknowledge the two of them.
‘Good morning, GAIA.’ Beta quietly greets her. ‘Um, good morning Elisabet.’
‘Good morning, Beta.’ Elisabet greets back. ‘How was breakfast?’
‘Fine. Good.’ Beta says, perhaps a bit too quickly, and Aloy is a little relieved to see that she is not the only one nervous in Elisabet’s presence. ‘What were you and GAIA talking about?’
At this, Elisabet looks away with a contemplative gaze, prompting GAIA to answer for her.
‘Elisabet and I were discussing her present state of being, and have uncovered some rather growing concerns.’
‘What concerns?’ Beta asks, her tone worried as she looks between the two of them.
‘I’m fine, GAIA.’ Elisabet sighs.
Aloy, though, recognizes that tone. She’s used it plenty of times herself.
Whenever she has noticeably not beenfine.
‘What’s going on?’ Aloy asks directly, leaving no room for argument.
‘I am apprehensive of Elisabet’s current state of mind, given the recently reviewed information provided by the Zenith database. Particularly in regards to the Nemesis project itself.’ GAIA supplies. ‘The digitally contained minds within the program started to deteriorate over time, leading to the insanity seen today in the threat of Nemesis. Parallel to this phenomenon, Elisabet has stated that it is becoming increasingly difficult to focus with each passing day.’
‘We have time before anything damaging happens.’ Elisabet points out. ‘I can wait longer.’
‘Regardless, should this pattern continue, I fear what may permanently happen to your psyche, Elisabet.’ GAIA insists.
GAIA’s expression is concerned and Elisabet noticeably pauses in response. After a moment or two, her face shifts into a resigned frown as she crosses her arms.
‘There’s really only one long term solution here.’ She admits.
‘You’ll need a body of your own. And soon.’
Everyone turns to the new voice that flitters into the room.
After a moment, a holo projection of Sylens transmits through Aloy’s focus.
‘And who invited you to this conversation, Sylens?’ Aloy asks, still cross with him from their last interaction, and none too pleased about him apparently hacking into her focus again either.
‘I felt the need to chime in, considering the amount of progress I’ve made in that regard.’
‘Oh?’ Elisabet lifts an eyebrow.
‘Yes, and should you have what you set out for, then the process can be started once the chamber is extracted.’
‘That’s sooner than we thought. And you confirmed it?’ Elisabet asks with suspicion.
‘Of course. When have I ever not held up my end?’
Elisabet pinches the bridge of her nose, as if gathering strength.
‘It’s done.’
‘Specifically, how much?’ Sylens pushes. ‘Per the data, you would need at least-‘
‘I said it’s done.’ Elisabet says, her tone sharp. ‘I’ve gotten everything there is left to give.’ Her Clawstrider shifts in place. Something in its mouth catches the golden light of GAIA’s projection, and Aloy notices for the first time that there is a vial hidden between its teeth. ‘If it’s all the same to you, Sylens, I’d rather refrain from discussing the details.’
‘Wait.’ Aloy holds up her hands, unable to keep up with this conversation. ‘Back up. What are you talking about?’
‘When we fought Tilda,’ Elisabet looks up at the ceiling, as if she’d rather be talking about anything else right now. ‘She mentioned I could have a body of my own in a few weeks. She wasn’t lying. It can be done through the Zenith ectogenic chambers.’
Elisabet walks her Clawstrider forward, placing the small vial into the slot of GAIA’s control panel. The panel accepts the tube without ceremony, and GAIA does not comment on it.
‘The process can be cut down even further if you have specific DNA samples to start it off with.’ Elisabet then looks away. ‘And what we found would work best is bone marrow.’
‘Bone marrow?’ Aloy parrots. Her eyes furrow before they widen with realization.
‘Yes, and luckily for you, where and how you chose to die left a lot of things intact.’ Sylens surmises casually.
‘But… that’s…’
Aloy looks over to Beta, unsurprised to see her horrified expression in response to this.
Elisabet notices it too and gives Sylens a pointed look.
‘Sylens.’ Elisabet says, unimpressed. ‘Some tact, please.’
‘I was only-‘
‘Quiet.’ Elisabet glares at him, and surprisingly, he complies. She then turns back to Beta and Aloy, looking weary. ‘We should have everything now to get started, but there is something I was hoping you could help me with, Aloy.’
‘Yes.’ Aloy says without question. ‘Anything.’
‘While it would probably be best to keep the ectogenic chambers where they are, I don’t trust any of the AI’s that the Zeniths have on their ship.’ Elisabet gestures with her hands as she talks, trying to put her thoughts into words. ‘There are logs of the Nemesis program, before the project turned out to be a failure. Of AI’s overseeing the return of a digital mind back into a living body. But some of the results were not…’ She noticeably pauses for maybe a few seconds too long. ‘I’d rather have the process done here. With GAIA overseeing it all. It’d be easier, in a lot of ways.’
‘Yes, and I would agree that this line of thinking would bring ease to me as well.’ GAIA concurs. ‘Sylens has already begun the process of transferring all of the logs from the Zenith ship to me, so that I may grow familiar with the process and oversee it in stride.’
‘Wait? From the Zenith ship?’ Aloy turns to Sylens. ‘You’re in space right now?’
‘For a time.’ Sylens says, none too bothered. ‘There is quite a lot of knowledge hidden away up here. Some may even provide useful for the ideas that Elisabet already came up with to eradicate Nemesis. Not to mention quite a few of my own.’
At this, Aloy frowns.
Elisabet has mentioned having some ideas of how they can defeat Nemesis already. But what exactly are they?
‘I’m sending everything I have to both you and Beta. There’s a lot of holes, but it’s enough to start with for now.’ Elisabet says, as if already reading her mind. ‘I have the code for HEPHAESTUS, too.’
Aloy hears the small beep in her ear of data being shared and has to keep the surprise from her face as she quickly skims over the files.
Elisabet already made a code to capture HEPHAESTUS? It’s barely been an hour…
‘Though, Nemesis and HEPHAESTUS are not what I wanted to ask you about.’ Elisabet regains focus of the conversation as she brings up a map of the Far Zenith base. ‘Sylens is working on a way to detach one of the ectogenic chambers. Aloy, I was hoping you could pick it up for me and bring it back here?’
‘I can.’ Aloy nods, walking toward the projection. ‘Would a Sunwing be able to carry it?’
‘No.’ Elisabet zooms the map out a bit. ‘But I left a machine nearby that can help.’ The map pings at a certain spot off the coast. Aloy recognizes it as near that campfire on the shores across from the Zenith Base. ‘It’s a HAP-CHC03 CHIROPTERA. It should be big enough to carry it back.’
Wait.
‘A… what?’ Aloy raises a red eyebrow.
‘That’s the scientific name HEPHAESTUS gave to it.’ Elisabet clarifies, though also raises an eyebrow when Aloy still does not understand, both of them having mirror expressions of each other.
‘There is a common name for the machine that has been provided by the native tribes.’ GAIA supplies, causing them both to look up at her. ‘It is called a Dreadwing.’
‘Oh.’ Aloy says immediately. ‘Yea, um, that should be plenty big enough to get the job done.’
Elisabet curiously looks at her for a moment, before slowly nodding and moving on.
‘It’s been permanently overridden, and should come when you call it.’
‘Got it.’ Aloy nods. ‘I can head out that way tomorrow morning. Should give Sylens enough of a buffer to figure it out by the time I get there.’
‘Very well.’ Sylens says, then looks at Elisabet with a knowing, smug expression. ‘Then I wish you a very pleasant next few days, Elisabet.’
She only rolls her eyes and waves him off as his projection fades.
‘Um, is there anything I should do in the meantime?’ Beta asks once Sylens has left, clearly wanting to be of some help to Elisabet. ‘While Aloy is away?’
‘Actually, yes.’ Elisabet says with a complicated expression. ‘There’s another piece to all this.’ She puts her hands together and turns away, her back straight as she walks a few steps to gather her thoughts. Her mannerisms remind Aloy of the logs from the Project: Zero Dawn Facility, backwhen she was giving her professional speech about GAIA to a frightened and unknowing audience. ‘While I was gone, I went to visit my old company, and found a few things.’
‘Miriam Technologies.’ Aloy cuts in, causing Elisabet to look at her. ‘Beta and I thought that might be where you had gone.’ She gestures between herself and her sister.
‘Smart girls.’ Elisabet hums and looks away, unaware of how both Aloy and Beta soften a bit in response from that one compliment. ‘I traveled there to find my notes about something I’ve worked with before. About putting a machine to “sleep”.’ She brings up an interface of her notes and gestures to a handwritten diagram. ‘A way to shut down all unnecessary systems for an extended period of time, to preserve not just energy but all of the current data inside the machine.’ She then gestures to her Clawstrider, before crossing her arms. ‘I’m going to cut to the chase with you both, I can’t afford to keep going like this for much longer.’ She sighs, looking absolutely exhausted all of a sudden ‘For any chance of this merge to work, I need to preserve my mind as it is for the time being.’
‘So, you’ll go to sleep?’ Beta asks for clarification. ‘As in, hibernate in the Clawstrider?’
‘In a matter of speaking.’ Elisabet clarifies.
‘Elisabet will undergo a form of half shut down using the code she has modified from Miriam Technologies.’ GAIA extrapolates. ‘I will administer the code, and while Elisabet will still maintain a sense of personhood, the Clawstrider she inhabits will only have its base capabilities.’
Aloy nods along to GAIA’s explanation, her brow furrowing when she seems to understand just what exactly is going to happen.
‘So you’ll be… just a Clawstrider?’ Aloy asks.
‘Yes.’ Elisabet sighs. ‘As GAIA said, I will still be myself, don’t worry, but I won’t be able to speak with you both like this or do anything else productive.’ She gestures down to her holo projection. ‘Beta, I’m going to give you a copy of all the data Sylens used to bring back my mind. I’d like you to keep it safe.’
‘Of course.’ Beta blinks, appearing a bit touched to be trusted with such an important task. ‘Definitely. I’ll keep all of it safe, I promise.’
‘Thank you.’ Elisabet’s Clawstrider then turns its head, lifting one of the metal plumes on its neck to reveal a focus hiding inside. ‘There’s data on there that I found back at the company and in some other places too. Plus, a lot of older memories that Sylens either didn’t have access to or just didn’t bother trying to integrate.’
Elisabet pauses for a moment, her next words holding weight.
‘Literally, everything that I am is on that focus.’ She says as Beta cradles the device in her hands, as if it is the most precious treasure in the world. ‘So don’t lose it.’
Beta nods and looks over the focus with great interest, though doesn’t dare to scan its contents.
‘You can look through it, if you promise to share with your sister.’ Elisabet says anyway, already seeming to know what she is thinking. Beta quickly looks up, appearing flustered as she glances at Aloy. ‘Though, there are some parts that are… well…’ Elisabet frowns and looks away, putting a hand on her hip.
‘Zero Dawn?’ Aloy asks, assuming those memories are not exactly pleasant ones to share.
‘No.’ Elisabet sighs as she looks off in the distance. ‘Well, you’ll see.’ She puts her map interface away. ‘That should be everything.’ Elisabet’s expression then turns serious. ‘Use the plans for Nemesis any way you want. You both know this world better than I do so I’ll trust your judgement.’ Her eyes then grow annoyed as she shakes her head. ‘And it goes without saying, but do not let Sylens bully you both into anything. He agreed to stay behind to help for now, but I wouldn’t put it past him to bow out whenever it’s most convenient for him, same as always.’
Aloy huffs at this, knowing firsthand of Sylen’s treacherous ways.
Even so, she feels something swell in her chest knowing that Elisabet is willing to trust her and Beta with something this catastrophically important.
To have her trust, her acknowledgement, it means everything to Aloy.
‘We won’t.’ She swears. ‘Thanks, Elisabet.’
Elisabet nods to her, then turns to GAIA, her expression less than happy.
‘Is it time, you think?’ She asks, sounding reluctant.
‘As I have stated before, the sooner the better, Elisabet.’ GAIA says. Her tone is stern in the sort of way a parent would use when encouraging their child to take medicine. ‘While you are hibernating, I will watch over you alongside everyone here.’ She promises. ‘I have already contacted them via focus to inform of what will be transpiring, and they have all agreed to lend a hand with whatever you need during your most vulnerable time.’
‘That’s very nice of them.’ Elisabet says quietly, turning to look towards the doorway.
‘They are an exceptionally kind group of people, as I’m sure you will learn over the next few days.’ GAIA hums, then gestures to the control panel. ‘Now, shall we?’
The process of putting Elisabet to “sleep”, goes a lot faster than Aloy had predicted.
Almost startlingly so.
GAIA was able to set up a direct link between herself and Elisabet’s Clawstrider by using a connection wire from the main terminal. Once Aloy inserted the wire into a hidden slot on the machine’s tail, both she and Beta watched with varying levels of alarm as the pink light faded from Elisabet’s eyes, and she fell to the floor in a matter of seconds.
‘A moment.’ GAIA assures as both girls hover over the limp Clawstrider. ‘All is normal.’
Thankfully, once the code is completed, light returns to Elisabet’s eyes. It is noticeably a different shade now. More of a dull strawberry color instead of the shining azalea pink it once was.
‘Elisabet, can you hear me?’ GAIA asks once her review of the process is complete.
Elisabet does not respond for several long moments, simply laying there on the floor and staring ahead of her in unnerving silence. Were this any normal machine, Aloy would be on edge, her hand on her spear and her instincts waiting for an attack, but now all she feels is a different kind of tension in her chest as the seconds tick by.
Eventually, slowly, Elisabet stands up and shakes her machine panels.
GAIA repeats her question, causing Elisabet to nod and turn the small feather-like protrusions on her head back and forth.
‘Are your eyes functioning as normal?’ GAIA continues, and Elisabet answers by rotating the machine’s mechanical eyes. ‘Any pain?’ Elisabet shakes her head. ‘That is good news. I will continue to monitor you and inform Aloy and Beta of any concerns.’
Elisabet opens her mouth, as if moving to thank GAIA, but all that comes out is a sort of mechanical grunt.
She quickly takes a step back, and instead opts to simply nod.
Clearly, this will take some getting used to…
The rest of the day is spent with a bit of leisure.
Aloy attends to her weapons and other tools in her arsenal, making herself busy. A Sunwing should get her down to the Zenith base in about two or three days. After adding on another to saddle up the Dreadwing and rendezvous with Sylens, that has her looking at about a weeklong round trip there and back.
‘Though if I hurry, I could maybe shave off a day or two.’ She mutters to herself. ‘I really don’t want to be gone for too long if I can help it.’
While GAIA had assured her that Elisabet will be just fine here at base, Aloy is still apprehensive about leaving her. Especially now considering they are racing against the clock with the Nemesis program.
The sound of excited chatter outside her door has Aloy looking up from her thoughts.
‘Well, at least everyone else is taking all of this in stride.’
GAIA had asked that the others welcome Elisabet as one of their own, and some were clearly more up to that task than others.
It has barely been fifteen minutes, and already Alva has caught Elisabet in a very animated, very long-winded conversation about the Old Ones and The Legacy.
‘Did the Old Ones really carry around the carcass of a water animal to hear the ocean waves?… Oh, I think Kotallo said it was called a “sea shell”?… Yes, you have heard of them!… So, is it true?… That’s so fascinating! Have you ever tried it, Elisabet?… Please tell me, was it as magical as it sounds?… Oh no, really? Why not?’
As she listens to their conversation, Aloy can’t help feeling impressed that not even Elisabet’s limited responses are able to slow Alva down in the slightest.
While putting a pair of purgewater traps away into her pack, Aloy peeks out through the doorway at the two of them. Elisabet seems to be enjoying the conversation, at least. In fact, she seems rather amused by Alva’s antics, as her tail is resting low and her head is tilted with bright, engaged eyes.
One look around the room shows Aloy that she’s not the only one listening in on the conversation, either. Erend is doing a terrible job of pretending to be busy with his focus, barely keeping the façade up by lazily clicking through the interface at random intervals. Zo is standing across from him at the counter, tending to one of the plants from the garden outside while occasionally glancing up to watch Alva and Elisabet. And while Aloy can’t exactly see Kotallo from her current vantage point, she definitely knows that he is listening, given the topic at hand.
‘Hey.’ Beta steals Aloy’s attention away as she knocks on the door frame. ‘How is packing going?’
‘Fine.’ Aloy shrugs as Beta enters the room, the door automatically closing behind her. ‘I’ll probably be in the air by the time you get up tomorrow.’
‘Okay, well. Just stay safe.’ Beta says as she watches Aloy take a seat by her stash to craft some arrows.
‘I will.’ Aloy hums with acknowledgement, before the room grows quiet. She looks up at Beta, getting the feeling there is more thather sister wants to say. ‘You going to be alright while I’m gone?’
‘I will. Uh, we will.’ Beta gestures to the main room. ‘I’ll um, I’ll watch over her. But…’
The room grows silent again, a heavy pause between them as both sisters are unsure of how to talk about this entire situation with each other.
They’ve both discussed Elisabet after what happened at the Zenith base; about the logistics of how she came back to life, and what that means for them now regarding their new mission of defeating Nemesis.
However, neither one of them has dared to bring up the actual emotional department of it all.
Aloy can only imagine that Beta feels the same way about all of this as she does, though.
While Aloy had Rost to raise her, she never had a mother. It was a fact that the Nora reminded her of every day. They branded it into Aloy’s skin with their rocks and into her heart with their words, spitting at her with harsh whispers of how unloved and unwanted she is by her mother.
Beta’s branding was similar, but while Aloy had Rost by her side, Beta had no one at all. Not to mention the fact that the Zeniths had a different way of making Beta feel worthless.
One without any words or rocks.
‘I’m… panicking, Aloy.’ Beta comes to sit next to her sister, talking frantically with her hands in the way that she does when she’s nervous. ‘What do I… how do I even talk to her? I’ve been thinking about what to say all this time, running over scenarios in dataspace, talking to GAIA and researching whatever topics I could think of, but now that she’s actually here, I just… I don’t…’
‘I’m not doing much better, Beta. Trust me.’ Aloy places a hand onto her sister’s shoulder, easing her to calm down. ‘But at least you’ll be safe here with her for a while, right? Maybe you can figure it all out while I’m gone.’
‘I don’t know about that.’ Beta frowns. ‘If it’s all the same, I’d rather go with you instead. It would probably be easier, all things considered.’
Her words cause Aloy to huff with an ironic smile.
Clearly, they both have very similar avoidant tendencies.
‘We could switch.’ Aloy offers, her tone light. ‘Though you’d have to deal with both the Dreadwing and Sylens, plus anything else that gets in the way.’
‘On second thought, nevermind.’ Beta backpedals immediately, causing the two of them to share a smile.
They both grow silent, however, upon hearing noise from the main room. They pause to listen, noting that the sound is strangely not the death metal racket that Erend usually plays.
‘Is that… music?’ Aloy ponders out loud.
‘I think so?’ Beta tilts her head.
It’s some kind of music, yes, but much more soothing, yet still jovial in tone.
When it eventually fades, the sound of Erend loudly chatting with Alva and Elisabet can be heard from out in the living room. Beta looks toward the door, listening to their conversation, before turning back to Aloy.
When she does, her face is twisted and vulnerable.
‘Aloy…’ She starts, appearing hesitant. ‘Elisabet, she… she called us her daughters.’
Aloy is silent for a few moments before nodding.
‘I know, Beta.’ Aloy says, voice stiff.
‘How do you… feel about that?’ Beta asks cautiously.
Aloy feels… like she wants to run.
Go somewhere far away into the wilds where Elisabet will never find her.
But also somehow… like she wants to go to Elisabet right now, and never let her go ever again.
All her life… Aloy has yearned for her mother. She still has fuzzy memories of being a very small child, seeing other children spending time with their mothers, and desperately wanting her own. She never understood why Rost would just gently brush the topic aside. Why he and no one else ever spoke of what happened to her. The unknown had turned into yearning. One so strong that it spurred her on to the Proving, then later still when she was unraveling the truth of Project Zero Dawn and clinging to the faint hope that her mother could somehow still be alive out there in the world.
That yearning has burned a hole so deep into Aloy’s heart over the years that she can still feel it aching to this day. It is a raw, painful feeling that she’s learned to live with.
But now, knowing that Elisabet is here, that she’s alive, and willing to call Aloy her daughter…
It has Aloy completely frozen in a way she’s never felt before.
‘I don’t… I don’t know yet.’ Aloy eventually manages to admit.
The night had been filled with good company, and more laughter and music than Aloy was expecting, considering the odd occurrence of having a hunter-killer machine inside of their base.
Erend had joined Alva and Elisabet’s conversation, and asked for suggestions on music, never being one to shy away from an excuse to have a welcome party. Thankfully, the songs that Elisabet approved of from APOLLO’s database were much more pleasant to the ear than the ones Erend preferred, and for that she quickly won Zo’s favor. Kotallo had even joined them at some point, too, merely listening in as he took his turn making dinner for everyone.
Elisabet herself seemed to be doing just fine with all the unexpected attention, though Aloy had to figure that she must of noticed that her and Beta are keeping their distance. At least everyone else in the base offers some distraction from that, but nonetheless, Aloy knows that they can’t keep avoiding each other forever.
With a sigh, Aloy leaves her room early the next morning, her pack full and her bow and spear strapped to her back. The common room is as quiet and dark as she would expect, but there is suspiciously no sign of a pink Clawstrider anywhere.
‘GAIA?’ Aloy calls, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the others. ‘Where’s Elisabet?’
‘Elisabet left the base through the eastern exit some time ago.’ GAIA explains, prompting Aloy to immediately turn that way.
‘Elisabet left the base? Why?’ She asks, more to herself than to GAIA. ‘Clawstriders aren’t exactly rare, but they can still be hunted for parts.’
She walks faster, realizing that this situation had the potential to turn ugly real fast. Elisabet is practically helpless right now, with no means to communicate or defend herself.
What if she is attacked by a hunter? Or fell down the cliff? Or got lost?
‘Elisabet would often tell stories of watching beautiful sunrises.’ GAIA continues, unbothered as Aloy quickly hurries down the corridor. ‘She seemed quite desolate in the knowledge that, due to the Faro Plague, she could no longer view them.’ GAIA says as Aloy opens the door and steps out into the world. ‘My assumption is that perhaps she has wanted to resume this pastime.’
GAIA’s prediction turns out to be correct as Aloy immediately catches sight of a Clawstrider watching the sunrise… next to Varl’s grave.
Elisabet looks absolutely serene among the snow and the eastern golden rays of the sun while sitting upon the green Utaru woven mats. Aloy lets out a breath, looking between her and the grave. She hesitantly approaches, feeling guilt settle into her chest as she looks at her friend’s final resting place.
She… hasn’t been out here lately.
Time was certainly a big part of it, sure, but if Aloy were honest, it was just… hard, to find the courage to sit with Varl. She knew he wouldn’t judge her for taking all the time she needs, but… she can almost see his kind smile and feel his altruistic spirit as she approaches, and knows that she should really be making more of an effort to come out here.
When Aloy finally comes to stand next to her, Elisabet looks away from the sunrise.
‘Good morning, Elisabet.’ Aloy says, trying to keep her voice as neutral as possible. ‘I see you’re uh, getting acquainted with Varl.’
Elisabet tilts her head as Aloy sits with her.
‘I’m sure he’d like the company.’ Aloy says after a moment or two. ‘Though, I’m not sure what he’d make of you, to be honest.’ She thinks for a second on that thought before her expression relaxes and she huffs out a laughing breath. ‘He probably would just, I don’t know. Make a joke about how nothing can surprise him anymore.’
She looks to Elisabet, but lifts a red eyebrow as she notices her confusion.
Oh… maybe the others haven’t explained?
‘Elisabet, this is my friend, Varl.’ Aloy gestures to the rocks, which she supposes to an unknowing party, especially to an Old One, would just appear to be an ordinary place of offering. Or one of worship perhaps. ‘He… passed away recently.’
The sudden knowledge that this monument is a grave seems to hit Elisabet like a ton of bricks. She immediately gets up and backs away, her posture lowering.
‘It’s okay.’ Aloy assures her, holding up her hands. ‘He would love the company, trust me.’ At this reassurance, Elisabet slowly sits back down, all of her attention on Aloy as the huntress gazes toward the grave. ‘We met a few years ago, and just kept running into each other. Or actually, he kept running into me. No matter how many times I tried to leave him behind.’ Her voice then lowers as her face falls. ‘He… was the best friend I could have ever asked for.’ She admits, her voice small. ‘He died, trying to protect Beta, GAIA and I…’
Aloy lets the conversation fade, her head lost in memories.
Cauldron GEMINI seems like a lifetime ago, but at the same time as if it were only yesterday. Watching Varl die right before her eyes been an unbearable pain, jabbing into an old wound she had tried to ignore from when the same thing had happened to Rost.
She is still puzzling it all together, taking her time to process what happened that day.
“Sometimes, when I think about my sister, about what she would have become if she had survived the Proving, it hurts. And I just need to bury it for a while. But only for a while, Aloy. You can’t ignore it forever. Memories always come back. The ones that matter, anyway.”
She knows, now. And she is willing to try to heed Varl’s words.
The problem, though, is that Aloy was never properly taught how to mourn. She’s lost others in battle before, but so much of her life has been spent in isolation, with only Rost at her side. He had never taught her that lesson. Whether it was through lack of time or through a simple lack of need.
They were both outcasts, after all. There was no one ever close enough to Aloy for her to mourn.
At least… not until Rost himself died, and she was left alone, struggling to pick up the pieces ever since.
Aloy sits there with Elisabet on the green woven mats for some time, simply feeling the weight of their conversation as she lets the painful memories pass by.
Eventually, among the whispering winds and dancing flakes of the mountaintop, Elisabet stands. Aloy looks up as the machine approaches the wall of the mountain, where pale blooms are growing in a small patch. Elisabet uses her legs and her tail to boost herself up towards the blooms, and Aloy watches as she gently grabs one of the white flowers off the cliffside with her teeth.
Carefully, Elisabet approaches Varl’s grave, and delicately places the bloom on top. Her pink machine eyes then close and she lowers her head, paying her respects.
Aloy gaze flickers from Elisabet to the flower for several moments, feeling something in her chest that she has no name for. Hesitantly, she also stands and goes to the cliffside to pick a small bloom, before mimicking Elisabet by placing the flower next to hers. The Clawstrider does not open her eyes, and Aloy slowly closes her own, her head pointed down in reminiscent of Elisabet’s.
The two of them stand side by side together for a moment of silence to remember and honor Varl, nothing but the wind and the snow buffeting around them on the mountainside.
When Elisabet does open her eyes, the huntress is not sure exactly what expression she’s making. It’s enough, however, for Elisabet to tilt her head again and move to approach her.
Aloy takes a step back before Elisabet can get any closer, though.
‘I should… probably get going.’ She says, hooking a thumb behind her. ‘Don’t want to keep Sylens waiting. You uh, know how he gets.’
There is a bit of humor in Aloy’s voice, but Elisabet only looks at her silently.
Aloy turns away from that gaze, lest Elisabet see more of her than she is willing to give.
‘So, I’ll be back in a few days. GAIA and Beta will keep us in touch if anything happens.’ Aloy continues, gesturing to her focus. ‘I’ll see you later then.’
At this, Elisabet nods and goes once more to take a step toward Aloy, before hesitating and ultimately keeping the distance between them. Aloy looks at her oddly, as instead of whatever it was that Elisabet was about to do, the Clawstrider only lifts up a clawed hand and waves it back and forth.
Slowly, a small, hesitant smile comes over Aloy’s face as she waves goodbye back.
With Aloy gone, GAIA observes that Elisabet seems a bit more withdrawn than yesterday.
Especially when it seems as if Beta is being a bit flighty with her as well in the absence of her elder sister.
Elisabet spends that first day with everyone else at base; talking with Alva for a few hours about different Old World topics, watching Kotallo tinker with his arm, keeping Zo company as she cooked lunch, and picking out another song or two for Erend.
Once it started to grow dark outside, and one by one the inhabitants of the base retired for the night, Elisabet retreated into the projection room.
‘Elisabet, you seem… restless.’ GAIA comments while watching the Clawstrider pace back and forth. At her words, Elisabet abruptly stops, seeming to just now notice her actions. ‘I know this is an adjustment, considering you were never skilled at rest and recuperation.’ At this, Elisabet looks at her, and even without words GAIA can feel her rebuttal. ‘Or is it perhaps something else?’
There is a lilt to GAIA’s voice, a knowing tone, and Elisabet looks away in response.
‘Either way, please relax, Elisabet, and trust me when I say that this is only temporary.’
Elisabet looks at her, something heavy and unspoken between them.
That next day, Elisabet once again sits with Varl to watch the sunrise.
It is snowing that morning, and she watches the dancing flakes fall, wistfully catching them on the nose of her machine. She must have been out there for far longer than she realized, simply admiring this new world around her, before Zo joins her once the hour grows to early afternoon.
‘Hello, Elisabet.’ Zo greets, causing the Clawstrider to blink as she’s brought out of whatever headspace she’d fallen into. ‘How are you?’ She asks, earning a huff and a nod in response. ‘I wanted to thank you, by the way.’ She says, causing Elisabet to tilt her head. ‘For visiting with Varl and keeping him company lately.’
Zo examines a few of the plants near Varl’s grave, pausing to look over the curious pair of pale blooms that now sit atop it.
A small smile comes over her face as she takes a seat next to the machine.
‘Aloy can be a bit… skittish. About visiting.’ Zo explains. ‘Beta as well.’ She says as the two of them watch the snow drift through the early afternoon sky. ‘I have noticed, that they have now extended that same avoidance to you as well.’
Elisabet does not react to this notion, but Zo continues just the same.
‘It must be a lot for them to take in… knowing that you are alive once more.’ Zo sympathizes. ‘We had all thought that you were long passed from this world. Them most of all.’ She then looks at Elisabet earnestly. ‘Give them time. And… perhaps not just them. Yourself also.’
Elisabet looks at her, but Zo only looks down and puts her hands on her growing stomach.
‘From one new mother to another.’ She acknowledges. ‘I can maybe understand some of what you are going through.’
Elisabet looks at Zo’s belly, the pink in her eyes fading to a softer light.
‘Speaking of, I was hoping you could help me with something.’ Zo stands up with purpose. ‘I want to move some of these plants inside. To bring more life into the base.’ She explains. ‘Honestly, after everything that’s happened thus far, I believe some redecorating would do all of us some good.’
Zo goes over to the small garden and pulls away a heavy pot, easily unencumbered by the weight of the large fern.
‘While I would ask one of the others to assist, Erend has stated that we do not need any more leaves inside the base.’ Her eyes and tone are flat, clearly showing her disagreement. ‘Kotallo is hard at work on fixing his arm after the battle, and Alva is currently taking her turn at preparing lunch.’ She explains. ‘So, I thought I would ask for your aid, if you wouldn’t mind.’ Her lips then curve into a sly smile as she looks at Elisabet. ‘Besides, I also heard from GAIA that you were… are an avid plant lover?’
At this, Elisabet stands up, her machine eyes bright.
‘Then we are both in good company.’
Beta is avoiding Elisabet.
She can admit it. Just like how she admitted to avoiding Aloy and everyone else here at the base after she first escaped the Zeniths. That time feels like so long ago now. Beta still feels guilty just thinking about it, knowing that somehow, she’s taken a step back into those dark days by once again hiding herself away in the server room.
But she just… wasn’t ready to face everything. Not yet.
At least she has more than enough work to occupy herself with for the time being, though.
The information and plans that Elisabet had shared with her and Aloy were both thorough and enlightening, if a bit hard to understand. Beta has seen Elisabet’s coding before, both when working with GAIA to study HEPHAESTUS before Cauldron GEMINI, and when she was going through her more detailed training modules aboard the Zenith ship.
All of Elisabet’s work is absolutely perfect. Not a single digit or decimal out of place.
Elisabet’s notes on the other hand… that was a completely different story.
It was as if the chicken scratch were written by an actual chicken, one with unlimited knowledge of lost Old World jargon. Beta supposes she can’t be too surprised, though, seeing how gibberish style notes were quite common character traits of doctors in all of the holos that she’s seen thus far.
And Elisabet is a doctor… the only one left on the planet.
Or more accurately, the only Old One left, now that Tilda and the others are dead…
The miracle of that knowledge still astounds Beta every time she stops to think about it.
That they’re all… really gone.
Never to darken her doorway again.
It sounded too good to be true…
Regardless, Beta has the feeling that she would still be taking the same amount of time to decipher Elisabet’s notes even without the Old World chicken scratch.
Seeing as there is something else a bit more tempting to look at, after all.
Even though Elisabet has given permission for Beta to go through the focus containing all her memories, she hasn’t quite gathered the courage to venture that far into it yet. Until now, all knowledge that Beta has ever been taught about Elisabet was strictly superficial; her birth date, when she graduated university, details about her company, her awards for her extensive work in green robotics, and her magnum opus; Project Zero Dawn.
All of it was crucial information for Beta to know and understand regarding Elisabet’s influence on the world and her legacy left behind.
Knowledge about Elisabet as a person, though? That was a completely different story.
The only Zenith that would have had any insight into Elisabet’s personal life was Tilda, but Beta had no way of knowing that at the time. And even if Beta somehow had prior knowledge about their previous relationship, she couldn’t imagine Tilda would have been very forthcoming with any of the details.
So, this focus with all of Elisabet’s memories, it was like a gold mine.
She was almost afraid to even touch it.
She has managed to scan its contents, though, but only had the nerve to look at pictures so far.
Even then, there was already so much to unpack.
Beta didn’t exactly know what she pictured Elisabet to look like in her younger days, but it still somehow surprised her to find what looked like pictures of her sister among the now ancient camera roll.
Elisabet looked… exactly like Aloy when she was her age.
Well, of course she did. She also looked a lot like Beta when she was that age too.
Except, it’s almost uncanny. The only difference between them being Elisabet’s hair.
Elisabet’s red tresses were long, a lot longer than Aloy’s. Beta went back through the pictures and watched as her hair grew from the short bob she had as a child, until it reached the back of her thighs when she graduated university and started working at Faro Automated Solutions.
Among the scrolling pictures, Beta saw glimpses of other people too. Of a man and woman, presumably Elisabet’s parents, and someone else there, too.
An older redheaded boy.
Elisabet… had a brother? Beta never knew.
Already that knowledge has felt like too much, and she hasn’t had the nerve to pry much deeper beyond that for today. But, there is one picture that she chose to save just for herself.
The photo is of Elisabet at her home, Sobeck Ranch. Her age is somewhere around 20 years old, looking way too much like Aloy. She is standing next to an animal, one Beta recognizes as an extinct species called a horse. It’s a black one with white markings, and in the picture, it’s playfully nibbling on Elisabet’s ponytail. The girl herself barely seems to notice, though, instead smiling and laughing warmly at the person behind the camera.
After spending a few hours debating off and on, Beta sends a copy of the photograph to Aloy, ultimately honoring Elisabet’s wish that she share with her sister.
To her surprise, Aloy calls her almost immediately after receiving the message.
‘Hey Beta.’ Aloy greets. ‘Is that…?’
‘Yea.’ Beta has a small smile on her face as she looks at the picture. ‘She was your age.’
Aloy goes silent on the other line, before letting out a breath.
‘Her hair. It’s so long.’ Aloy comments.
Elisabet’s hair was indeed long, cascading over her shoulders in curly red waves.
‘I know. It’s so pretty.’ Beta comments, before her tone turns curious. ‘Does yours look like that too? You know, without the braids?’
‘I uh, I guess so? Never really thought about it, I guess.’ Aloy says, sounding unsure and thoughtful. ‘I always keep it braided, and there’s not exactly many mirrors out in the wilds.’
‘So it’s out of your face? For fighting?’ Beta tilts her head.
‘Something like that.’ Aloy admits. Her voice sounds complicated. ‘All Nora have braids. Varl did too, and Rost.’ She pauses; the weight of their names heavy.
Beta frowns in response, subtly picking up on Aloy’s choice of words.
Aloy has always been like that. Ultimately denying her membership in the Nora tribe.
Beta has never pried into it, not wanting to upset her sister, and she doesn’t plan to do so now.
Instead, Beta switches for a distraction by going into the video section of Elisabet’s focus. There are a few videos taken from when Elisabet was Aloy’s age, and Beta clicks on one that looks interesting.
‘Are you flying right now?’ Beta suddenly asks. ‘Or, I don’t know, fighting some big machine?’
‘Just stopped to rest and eat something.’ Aloy says. ‘Why?’
‘Look.’
Beta sends her the video file, and watches alongside Aloy as an image of Elisabet comes into view. The person behind the camera is standing next to a large white circular pen, and they center the lens onto Elisabet as she rides atop her horse. There is music playing from somewhere in the background, the exact same song that Beta and Aloy had heard yesterday.
Elisabet and her horse ride together as if in perfect tune with the music itself; making jumps, turns, trots, and side steps seemingly just for the fun of it. The two work in perfect synchronization, at one point even turning around in fast circles together as Elisabet lifts one hand off the reins, completely trusting her horse to keep her steady.
When the song ends, the camera zooms in on the huge, joyful grin that Elisabet has on her young face. She pets her horse fondly as the person behind the camera unclasps the door to the pen and steps inside.
‘Lizzy, dinner’s ready. I called you twice already.’ A woman’s voice says.
‘Make it three times?’ Elisabet teases, unbothered as she slows her horse to a walk.
The woman sighs as the horse comes over and playfully nudges the camera with its nose.
‘As happy as I am to see that you’re not holed up again working on your thesis paper…’ She chides gently. ‘It’d be nice if you actually remembered to eat once in a while, too.’
‘Hmm… I’ll see what I can do.’ Elisabet says and looks away as a new song starts to play in the background. ‘No promises, though.’
Her horse seems to already know what Elisabet is thinking, and it turns from the camera to trot off in the opposite direction.
‘Young lady.’ The woman calls after her. Her words are disapproving, but her tone is a fond form of exasperation. ‘Really. What am I going to do with you?’
The video ends there, and both Beta and Aloy go silent, the two sisters simply staring at the dark screen the video left behind.
After a few moments, Beta speaks.
‘I want to watch it again.’
‘… Me too.’
When Beta finishes her call with Aloy and eventually ventures out of her room in search of food, she finds a literal jungle growing in the common room that certainly hadn’t been there before.
She must have an absolutely perplexed look upon on her face, because Alva looks up from whatever she’s making for lunch and smiles at her knowingly.
‘Elisabet and Zo have been hard at work redecorating the base.’ Alva explains, sounding happy with this change. ‘Isn’t it great?’
‘Um, yea. I suppose.’ Beta says, looking around at the multitude of plants and other decorations that have been added to the space.
A little touch of green is among every corner. New shelves have now been hammered into the walls, too. Each one holds small trinkets from the inhabitants of the base such as decorative machine parts, weapons, scrolls, pictures or drawings. The furniture has been moved around as well, adding a new feeling to the room as there’s clearly now a space for communal lounging as well as a large dining room table for shared mealtimes.
It’s not a big change in the grand scheme of things but the place feels more… homey.
More lived in, certainly.
‘Great. More plants.’ Erend mumbles. ‘How am I supposed to focus when I walk face first into leaves every step I take?’
‘You could start by watching where you’re going.’ Zo huffs as she enters the room, carrying a small flower in her arms. Elisabet is right behind her, using her teeth to pull a rather large fiddle-leaf fig into the room.
‘I’m just saying,’ Erend starts, gesturing to the plethora of foliage all around. ‘Don’t you think this is a bit much?’
‘Nonsense.’ Zo says, her voice smug. ‘Besides, Elisabet agrees with me.’
‘Great. Now there’s two of ya to bully more plants in here.’ Erend jokes in a teasing way.
‘Precisely.’ Zo says, her tone matching his. ‘Looks like you’re outnumbered.’
Their interaction puts Beta at ease, remembering how the two of them would often butt heads not that long ago.
After Varl’s passing, they’ve clearly grown closer in their shared grief.
It was the only good thing to come out of Cauldron GEMINI.
‘Well, I say the more the merrier.’ Alva says cheerfully as Elisabet finishes noisily pulling the clay pot into the room. ‘Besides, GAIA said we should be helping to make Elisabet feel at home here, right? And what better way to do that than to let her redecorate all she wants?’
Erend only grumbles in response to this notion as Kotallo then enters the common room.
The Tenakth Marshal pauses, looking just as baffled as Beta did a few moments ago.
‘Why… are there so many plants?’
Thankfully, no one really seemed to mind the extra greenery, and Beta found that it felt kind of… nice, to see Elisabet and Zo interacting.
Like Alva, Zo didn’t seem to care about Elisabet’s current form, and discussed with her in great detail about each plant and where it should go to find the most sunlight or humidity etc. The two did eventually take a break when Alva served lunch, some hearty stew that the Quen prefer, but then it was right back to work. Beta caught Elisabet’s eye once or twice during this time, but it seemed as if the Clawstrider was purposefully giving Beta her space for now, putting the ball into her court so to speak.
Rather than dwelling on that thought and all of the complicated feelings tangled within it, Beta chose to visit GAIA after lunch. She was surprised, though, to see that some redecorating had been done up here in the projection room as well.
There are now two desks set up parallel to each other facing GAIA, each with a small bouquet of flowers sitting innocently atop them.
One has a vase of blue forget-me-nots, while the other has yellow tulips.
‘Elisabet and Zo thought that you and Aloy might prefer to have a more permanent place to do your research.’ GAIA supplies, noticing Beta’s look of confusion.
‘I see. That’s… that’s nice of them. To do that.’ Beta acknowledges awkwardly.
‘Yes. The desks and chairs are relocated from one of the many office rooms downstairs. However, the flowers themselves are a gift from Elisabet.’ GAIA gestures Beta towards the desk with the yellow flowers, and she does not question it, knowing that Aloy prefers the color blue.
Beta takes a seat at her new desk, getting a feel for the set up. She gently touches one of the tulips, tracing her fingers across the bright yellow petals.
‘She didn’t have to do that.’ Beta says. ‘I’ll have to thank her. Later. For all of this.’
‘Yes.’ GAIA agrees. ‘I believe Elisabet wants to ensure that both you and Aloy have all of the space that you need.’
Beta looks up at her, reading into the double meaning of that statement, and looks away, unsure of how to respond to that.
After about an hour or two of use, Beta finds that she actually rather likes the new desk.
It’s certainly better than sitting on the cold floor of the server room. It’s big and spacious, too, and she can easily put her focus interface onto it for better viewing or utilize the many drawers for anything else that she needs.
Sitting here, like this, it’s easy to imagine how Elisabet and the Old Ones could get lost in technology for days on end. In fact, Beta gets so immersed in her research on Nemesis that she barely notices as someone else enters the room.
‘Hello Elisabet.’ GAIA greets, causing Beta to startle and look behind her.
The Clawstrider is carefully carrying a pot of pink carnations in her mouth. Upon seeing Beta, though, Elisabet pauses to nod in greeting, before continuing further into the room and setting the plant down delicately in front of GAIA.
She nudges the pot gently toward the AI with her nose.
‘Thank you, Elisabet. They are lovely flowers.’ GAIA smiles. ‘And I see you have acquired some of your own.’
GAIA’s words cause Beta to look more closely at Elisabet, noticing for the first time that there are daffodils woven into the cables of her Clawstrider.
‘I thought it would be a nice gift of welcome.’ Zo comes up the stairs, carrying two small ferns. ‘I told Elisabet that it must feel unnatural, to love the Earth so much, but be entirely disconnected from it in her current form.’ She places her plants down beside the pink one. ‘I thought the same may be felt by you, GAIA. So we thought it best to bring you some plants of your own.’
‘Thank you both.’ GAIA says warmly. ‘That is very thoughtful of you.’
Beta quietly watches on as Zo, GAIA and Elisabet continue to chat for a few more minutes, before the newcomers take their leave. Elisabet catches eyes with Beta on the way out, though she does not attempt to interact any further.
Beta only feels guilt settle in her chest as she silently watches Elisabet walk away.
Bonus scene:
The whistling winds of the wilds caress Aloy’s ears when she hangs up from her call with Beta. She’s sitting by a lit shelter fire, watching the flames crackle as her Sunwing hums and flies in lazy circles overhead.
Absentmindedly, Aloy reaches into her pack, and digs out the leftover Mountain Trail Bread that Kotallo had made a few days prior. She bites into it absentmindedly as her fingers tap at her focus, unable to stop herself from bringing up the video of Elisabet again.
She watches it once, twice, three times. Completely mesmerized with how carefree Elisabet seems.
All that Aloy has ever known about Elisabet Sobek was from the precious few logs she’s managed to collect over the years. She knew that Elisabet was a thoughtful, stern, strong, and unbelievably clever woman. One with an intelligence unmatched by anyone in her time, and a love for life on Earth that was as dazzling as it was bruising.
But here, in this video, lays another side of Elisabet. One that Aloy cradles close.
Elisabet is graceful, confident, joyful, and… beautiful.
Aloy shifts in her spot, tapping her focus interface to bring up the photo Beta had sent her.
Unconsciously, Aloy runs a hand through her red hair as her eyes drink in the image, suddenly feeling small for some reason in the wake of Elisabet’s unbridled joy.
‘Have I ever… looked like that?’ She asks herself as she stares at the picture.
Aloy’s fingers snag on one of the beads woven into her braids, and she looks down at it. Without thinking, she undoes the tie and removes the bead, allowing her red hair to fall in curly red waves.
Her hair sparkles in the firelight, its red hue magnified in the flames as she cradles the locks close in her hand, growing lost in thought.
After a minute or two, Aloy only sighs and starts braiding it back into place.
Dream Eater Allyphant Creations 
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