Beta sat on her bed, flicking through endless images and articles on her Focus display. There was plenty to learn in the database about her current predicament, but there was very little to understand.

Ever since Aloy had come back from the Burning Shores, she had been… different.

Brighter – more cheerful, even. Beta had even heard her humming gently to herself when she thought she was alone, which seemed very out of character for her usually so guarded sister. Then there were the late-night private Focus calls that Beta could hear through her wall (but out of courtesy did not eavesdrop on), which were frequently punctuated with Aloy actually laughing. She wondered if Aloy had perhaps suffered a head injury while fighting the giant Horus titan machine. Certainly she seemed to have developed some new quirks which to Beta had seemed consistent with cranial trauma, so Beta had taken it upon herself to do some research to find out what was going on. It had not gone well so far, admittedly, but she lived in hope nevertheless.

She brought up another medical textbook and started flipping through the pages idly, taking in the numerous gruesome displays of dissected brains and surgically-extracted nervous systems and trying to work out if there was anything in the accompanying text which was even vaguely analogous to how Aloy was behaving. Finally, one of the textbooks gave her an idea of how to proceed, and so she filed away her strategy for the morning, when she knew that she and Aloy would be well-rested and ready for anything.

She would get to the bottom of this if it was the last thing she ever did. She owed her sister that much and much more besides. Setting her Focus' alarm function she closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning she was awoken by the sound of Good Vibrations reverberating from her Focus. Picking it up off her bedside table she placed it back on her temple, feeling the device buzzing gently as it reconnected to her nervous system. It was nice to have such courteous technology at her disposal – Zenith technology might have been superior, but it was brutally invasive in its efficiency. At least she could remove the Focus without cutting it out of her head, so she supposed that that was something to be thankful for. When she reached the main hall's kitchen area she opened one of the preserved cereal boxes and poured herself some breakfast, dousing it in milk and digging her spoon into it hurriedly so that she could be fed and prepared for when Aloy woke up. She was going to do what the textbook had suggested and simply talk about what was going on, with no distractions or obstructions. This was important and she did not want to potentially get anything wrong on an empty stomach.

It took about half an hour for Aloy to emerge, her wild hair smoothed out and made as presentable as possible. She was smiling, too, which was unusual since she was definitely not a morning person.

Another thing to be concerned about, Beta decided.

"Um… Aloy?" she began. "Can I talk to you? I think we have some things to discuss."

Aloy turned her head to look at her sister, that unnerving cheerful look still on her face. "We do?"

"Yes, we do," Beta replied firmly. "I'm worried about you, Aloy. You haven't been the same since you killed that Horus in LA and I want to know why."

"It's… it's difficult to explain," Aloy replied, her brow furrowing a little before she gestured to the kitchen counter. "Can I at least get something to eat before you interrogate me?"

Beta huffed, feeling a little put out. "Okay, but after that we're going to sit down and talk."

Aloy raised her eyebrows for a moment and held her hands up palms-out briefly in silent, grudging agreement before she fetched herself some fruits and juice, cutting the fruit into smaller pieces and tipping them into a bowl before almost drowning them in thick cream. She took the bowl over to one of the cubicles and motioned for Beta to join her. Beta hesitated for a moment before Aloy said "You wanted to talk, didn't you? So let's talk."

Taking a deep breath, Beta sat across the table from her sister. For a moment she inwardly debated about how to proceed before she decided to just be straightforward. "I'm worried about you, Aloy," she said. "I don't know what you did in LA, but I think something big happened to you and you're not telling me what it is and I don't like not knowing if something big happened to you and –"

"I'm fine, Beta," Aloy said, cutting Beta off before she could babble herself up into a panic. "You don't need to worry – but you're right, something big did happen to me. I'm… still trying to figure out what it means, but I'll be okay."

"Are you hurt?" Beta asked. "Maybe I can find something in the APOLLO database that can help you! Just give me a couple of hours and we can fix this –"

"You really don't need to worry, Beta," Aloy interjected. "I promise you, there's absolutely nothing wrong with me." She reached across the table and squeezed Beta's thin fingers firmly. "You'd be the first to know if there was, though."

"I would?"

"Of course," Aloy replied. "You're my sister. There's nobody I trust more." Finishing the last piece of fruit in her bowl, Aloy stood up and took the empty crockery over to the sink. "Look, I have to head out on my own for a couple of days – Kotallo told me he found a big cache of Zenith tech near Thornmarsh and he wants me to help him destroy it." She puffed out her chest and theatrically thumped it with her fist. "'By the blood of the Ten, we must make sure it will hurt no one else!' I think were his exact words." She winked. "But don't tell him I said that."

"Don't worry, I won't," Beta said, scratching unconsciously at the Tenakth tattoo on her wrist as she did so. "Don't be too long, okay?"

"I'll be back before you know it," Aloy said. "Be good while I'm gone."

Beta nodded, suddenly feeling both relieved and more confused than ever. She waited for a good fifteen or so minutes after the telltale sound of the Base's exit hissing shut had sounded before she made her way down to the small herd of overridden Chargers that Aloy had corralled at the bottom of the mountain and picked the nearest one, heaving herself onto its back and feeling it settle underneath her, before gently prodding her heels into its flanks to get it to move. She needed to get some more advice on her situation, and for once her Focus could not provide that. She knew someone who could perhaps help her with her conundrum, though – someone she had heard her sister talk about from time to time who she seemed to have a strong bond with.

"Come on, boy," she whispered to her mount, synching her Focus' navigation system to the machine's tamed neural matrix. "Take me to Chainscrape."

Chainscrape was loud and bustling with life, even more than any of the Tenakth settlements Beta had visited since the Zeniths' defeat. As she rode up to the gate of the Oseram settlement she could hear loud, lewd drinking songs on the other side of them – the type of loud, lewd drinking songs Zo had expressly forbidden Erend from singing in front of her, in fact. Crudeness seemed to be quite prevalent in Oseram culture from what she could tell, but she knew Erend was nice so they could not be all bad. She hoped the one she had come to find would be the same.

"Saviour!" one of the guards at the gate exclaimed. "What's your business here today?"

"Sparks to steel, why are you asking her that?" the other said, annoyed. "You know she has free rein here! She doesn't have to answer to you!" He turned to face Beta with a shrug. "Sorry about that, Saviour. We'll get the gate open for you right away." He gave the other guard a piercing scowl. "Won't we?"

Beta was about to correct them on her identity when she realised that being mistaken for Aloy might be beneficial, just this once. "Thank you, gentlemen," she said, trying to sound as confident and direct as her sister. "Could you tell me where I might find Petra Forgewoman? We have important matters to discuss."

"Of course, Saviour," the second guard said. "I can take you to her myself."

Beta shook her head, feeling her heart pounding in her chest from the effort of fighting the urge to run. "That won't be necessary. Just tell me where she is and I can make my own way there."

"Look in the tavern," the guard replied, shrugging. "She's probably in her usual spot."

"I see," Beta said, even though she really did not see. "Thank you, gentlemen." She began urging her mount forward before the guards crossed their spears to block her path.

"You can't bring that thing in here, remember?" the first guard said. "No machines allowed."

Beta felt her heart leap into her throat. "Right. Of course. Just testing you, men," she said, feeling her voice crack a little. She could feel her confident facade beginning to crumble, so before either of the two men could question her any further she dismounted and scurried into the settlement as fast as her legs could carry her, her knees feeling weak and rubbery.

It only took her a moment or so to work out which building was the tavern – the cacophony of sound around her was still not enough to muffle the drinking songs she had heard from outside Chainscrape's walls. Cautiously she tiptoed through the throng of muscular, sweat-caked men and women who were lugging boxes and barrels around the town square and down the streets until she reached the door of the tavern. The smell of alcohol was so strong it almost brought tears to her eyes but she forced down her discomfort and stepped into the building, feeling her nails digging deeply into her palms as she did so.

She had only taken a few steps before she heard a voice cry out "Flame-Hair!" and she was bundled up into a crushing embrace. As she was enveloped in the arms of whoever this person was, she heard the voice continue "I haven't seen you in a Tallneck's age!" before the person drew back and she could see who she was talking to. The woman looking back at her matched the images she had taken from Aloy's Focus data, but she thought it best to make sure, just in case.

"Are you Petra?" she asked, causing the older woman to raise an eyebrow.

"Is this a new game? Are we going to pretend to be strangers because you haven't been around for so long?"

"No, it's just that I - I'm not Aloy," Beta said, her shoulders sagging as her confidence finally imploded. "I'm Beta. I'm Aloy's sister."

"Her sister?" Petra took a step back then, looking perturbed. "She never mentioned having a sister before."

"She didn't know about me before," Beta said, her guts tangling with rising panic. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come here – I'll go." She turned, intending to reach the entrance to the tavern before Petra stopped her by gripping her shoulder gently but firmly.

"Now hold on a moment," the older woman said in a surprisingly soft tone, causing Beta to turn back to look at her nervously. "Why did you come all the way here if you're just going to go back where you came from?"

"It – it doesn't matter," Beta said, looking away again.

"If it doesn't matter, little spark, you wouldn't have come all this way," Petra said, before she took Beta's hand in her strong, seemingly-inescapable grip. "Come on, no running away until you've talked to me." Leading Beta over to an empty table she motioned for her to sit down, before placing herself next to her and motioning to one of the men behind the bar to bring over a drink. It only took a moment for a large flagon of ale to appear on the table in front of her, and she took a deep gulp from it before she said "Why'd you come all this way just to talk to me? I'm sure Aloy has other friends who are closer than I am. Why didn't you talk to them about this instead?"

"They're all too far away for me to ride to them on a charger by myself before Aloy notices I'm gone, and I didn't want to risk her hearing me call them on my Focus," Beta explained. "You were the only one I knew about who was close enough to talk to in person, and, um, I saw your conversations with her in her Focus's memory logs. I thought you'd know her better than anyone else."

Petra chuckled. "Well, I don't know about that, exactly, but I'd like to think I have some idea of how her fire burns." She took a swig from her flagon. "I'll help if I can, but your sister isn't really the sharing type. Why don't you start at the beginning and we can go from there?"

Beta swallowed her unease and said "Aloy went to the Burning Shores a couple of weeks ago but when she came back she… wasn't acting like herself anymore."

"The Burning Shores?" Petra said, letting out a surprised whistle. "That's a long trip – maybe she's just got heatstroke?"

"No, I'd recognise if she had that –" Beta began, before Petra laughed.

"I'm just stoking your coals, kid," she said, amusement plastered across her face. "This sounds like something a little more serious than heatstroke. Tell me more."

"Can I show you something instead?"

"More surprises? I think I like you, little spark," Petra said. "Come on then, out with it."

"I really think I'd do better just showing you." Reaching into a pocket, Beta drew out a small leather pouch, unlacing the string holding it closed before dipping her fingers into it and removing a Focus. She held it out tentatively. "Just put this on and I can share something."

Petra took the Focus and held it up to examine it curiously. "What's this?"

"It's called a Focus," Beta explained, once again wondering if she had made a mistake. "You wear it like this." She gestured to her temple.

"And what does it do?"

"It… it helps you see things that aren't there," Beta said. "Just put it on and you'll see what I mean."

"If you insist," Petra said sceptically, placing the device on her temple and instantly tensing up as it synched itself to her brainwaves. Seeing her discomfort, Beta reached over and touched her hand, trying to be as reassuring to her as she thought Aloy would.

"Are you okay?" she asked, tentatively.

"I – yes, I'm okay," Petra said, her mouth twisting up into a smile. "Is this how Aloy sees the world?"

"Yes," Beta replied. "Do you need a moment?"

"No, I'll be fine." Petra rubbed at her temple for a moment. "If Aloy found out I'd given up before I'd even begun, I'd never hear the end of it." She took a deep breath. "Why don't you show me what you wanted to show me?"

"All right," Beta said, opening a data channel between the two Focuses and bringing up a selection of videos of Aloy displaying the odd behaviour she had observed. Petra let out a stunned breath as the images played out in front of her.

"How did you do this?" Petra asked breathlessly, her voice full of hushed awe.

"The Focus," Beta explained. "When you wear one, it records everything you see and hear – Aloy and I use ours to learn about the world. Do you want to keep that one?"

Petra shook her head, detaching the small, fragile device from her temple and handing it back to Beta. "No," she said firmly. "I think I'm better off sticking with just my own eyes and ears for now."

"I guess that's fair – they're not for everyone," Beta said, before she took the Focus and tucked it back into the pouch at her waist. "So what do you think? About Aloy, I mean?"

"Honestly? I think she's in love," Petra said with a shrug. "I know that look. Forge knows I've had that look, more times than I can count."

"So you don't think she's hurt?"

"Oh, little spark," Petra said, tilting her head a little as she did so, "love can hurt worse than anything, believe me, but she doesn't look hurt. She looks happy." She pulled one side of her mouth up in a half-smile. "Promise me you'll try to feel happy for her too – whoever made her feel this way must be pretty special."

"I guess so," Beta said, uncertainly. "What should I say to her? When I see her next, I mean?"

"Just be happy for her," Petra repeated, before she squeezed Beta's thin fingers firmly. "You know, little spark, I wish I'd had a sister like you growing up. You really care about her, don't you?"

"Of… of course I do," Beta said, feeling very taken aback but returning Petra's squeeze as best she could. "I might come back if I need some more advice, though."

"Petra downed what remained of the contents of her flagon and gestured to the tavern's doorway. "It's getting dark out there, you know. Machines can be dangerous at night – maybe you should stay here until the morning? I have a spare bedroll if you need one."

Beta looked out of the tavern's window and saw the sunlight beginning to flicker, tendrils of dusk creeping across the sky, and pondered Petra's offer. She did not like the idea of running into a pack of Scrappers when she could barely see her hand in front of her face, so she simply nodded. "Thanks, Petra," she said. "I just hope Aloy doesn't get back home before I do…"

Tentatively, Beta tiptoed into the Base's communal area, half-expecting her sister to be standing in the doorway with folded arms and a scathing look of disappointment on her face. When she saw that that Aloy was nowhere to be found, she felt her guts uncoiling with relief and allowed herself to sit down and relax a little after pouring herself a tall glass of water. It had a slight chemical aftertaste to it, but she was used to that kind of flavour since artificially-purified water had been the only thing she had really been able to drink while out in space, so it did not bother her that much. She could only imagine what it must have been like for Aloy, Varl, Zo, Kotallo and Erend, though, seeing as they had all grown up with the already-pure, untainted water of the rivers and springs of this new Earth, so different from the one Tilda had talked about when she had briefly chosen to interact with her – although she did not recall ever seeing Erend drinking anything other than pungent Oseram ale, so maybe he had forgotten what it was like to drink something which did not make his head spin. Despite herself, she smiled broadly at that thought – Erend might be far louder than she was really comfortable with, but he was still one of the people she most appreciated seeing whenever he made a return to the Base. Perhaps she would call him later, just to check up on him.

Aloy did not appear for the rest of the day, so Beta decided to turn in after fixing herself a portion of rabbit stew, which had quickly become one of her favourite dishes after a lifetime of eating nothing but bland, colourless food paste composed of nothing but essential proteins, carbohydrates and fats designed to do little more than provide basic nutrition. The spices Zo had introduced her to had been a revelation, and now she could not imagine eating anything bland ever again. When she had finished her meal, she tapped her Focus and said "Focus, track Focus designate: Aloy and alert me when she gets within two hundred metres of this location." Her Focus bleeped in acknowledgement as she removed it from the side of her head and laid it down on her bedside table, before closing her eyes and quickly falling into a deep sleep.

"FOCUS DESIGNATE: ALOY IS WITHIN RANGE."

Beta woke with a start at her Focus' blaring message. Rubbing at her eyes, she got her bearings and dressed as quickly as she could, before activating her heads-up display to see where Aloy currently was, and therefore judge how quickly she would reach the Base. "Okay," she said. "Ready."

Remember what Petra said, she thought as she saw the icon representing Aloy nearing the inner entrance. Don't force this.

She heard the clatter of Aloy's gear being dumped onto the floor, resisting the urge to emerge from her room to greet her sister.

"Beta?" Aloy called out. "Are you here? I need to talk to you."

"I'm in here!" Beta replied, trying not to babble as she brushed her fingers against the door release panel, revealing Aloy standing a little tensely in the middle of the communal area. "Come in."

"Thank you, Beta," Aloy said as Beta ushered her into her room and gestured for her to sit down on the bed.

"You said you needed to talk to me? What about?"

Aloy took a deep breath. "Well, I… I've been thinking about what you said to me the last time I was here," she said, "and I don't think I've been fair to you. I didn't say what needed to be said, and I want to put that right."

"What needed to be said?" Beta was confused. "What's that?"

"You asked me before if something happened to me on the Burning Shores," Aloy replied. "Something did happen – something… someone… really special. Her name was Seyka." She sighed. "I don't know when I'll see her again – all I know is that I want to see her again." She glanced at Beta briefly. "It's a little scary, if I'm honest."

"Scary?" Beta asked, surprised. "How can you be scared?"

"I've never felt this way about anyone before," Aloy explained. "I keep thinking 'what would Elisabet do?' but I can never quite work that out. I guess this is one time she can't help me."

"I guess not," Beta said, before reaching over and taking her sister's hand. "I don't think she had much luck with this kind of thing either – Tilda didn't seem like the best partner."

Aloy raised her eyebrows briefly and exhaled loudly. "That's an understatement."

"Whatever you decide to do," Beta began, "I want you to know that I'm happy for you." She smiled. "This is definitely much better than what I thought had happened."

"Oh? And what was that?" Aloy asked quizzically.

"I thought you were ill," Beta explained, feeling a little sheepish. "You were acting so strangely that I spent hours looking at medical journals because I was worried you'd hit your head on something."

"Do I really seem that different?"

"Honestly? Yes," Beta replied. "Hearing you laughing so much is really weird."

"You know, I'm not really sure how to take that," Aloy said, before she laid her head on Beta's shoulder for a moment. "Thank you for worrying about me, though. I appreciate the thought."

"You're welcome," Beta said. "Promise me you'll never be afraid to talk to me again?"

"I promise," Aloy said. "Like I said, there's nobody I trust more than you." She nodded towards the doorway. "I brought back some breakfast. You want to continue this discussion over some turkey fritters? My treat."

Beta felt her stomach growl in approval. "That sounds great," she said. "Thank you."

She felt herself puffing up with pride – this discussion had gone better than she had ever expected.

Thank you, Petra, she thought gratefully.