"Okay, so you're just going to gently lift us up here and-wait, wait, I said gently, Becks." Dad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Take us back down."

I cringed and eased off the hovercar's thrusters, taking us down to an idle hover just over the pavement. "Sorry."

Dad paid no attention to my apology – just continued on with the lesson. "Okay, let's do this again. Brake off, up on the thruster, then take us out."

"All right." I let out the breath I'd been holding after I messed up…again. Brake…thruster…" I muttered the steps out loud so I wouldn't forget them. The car swayed as the brakes were disabled and then gave a quiet hum once I lifted us up. It took me a few seconds to register that we were at a good altitude to start driving.

"Perfect," Dad said, a proud smile forming on his face. "That was good, Becks. Now, take us toward those trees and make a left at the signal." He pointed straight ahead, where two other cars were waiting to take a right.

With newfound confidence, I steered us down the lane and out of the park where we had spent a good chunk of the afternoon practicing.

"You're getting much better. Soon you won't even need me here," he joked once we reached the signal. "Blinker on."

I hit the turn signal – something I wasn't entirely great at remembering yet. "Does this mean I can drive Jenna and me to the movies on Friday?"

Dad gave a nervous chuckle. "Your test isn't for a least another month, sweetheart. You're doing well, but I'd feel more comfortable if you had some more practice behind the wheel."

"Ugh…fine." I grinned to show I wasn't really upset, but I still practically counted down the days until I didn't have to rely on my parents or Dennis anymore for a ride. I turned right and headed back toward our neighborhood.

"So, what do you think? Do we have time for ice cream?" Dad said.

Nice. "Pretty sure Mom's already working on dinner."

He laughed – the loud bark he does that startles the shit out of everyone all the time. "Who in the world raised you, kid? Come on, we'll kidnap Jenna on the way. My treat...but you have to drive."

More driving? I was definitely onboard with that idea. "All right," I said as I punched in the location of Jenna's house on the console.

Dad pretended to grip his seatbelt. "Too bad these things don't come with two belts per seat."

I scoffed. "Not funny! I drive just fine!"

He grinned. "All right, all right. Seriously, though – you're doing fine, Becks-,"

"Becks?" A familiar voice called out to me, stirring me from my sleep. Aloy must be up. I opened my eyes and shivered, grasping at the comforter that had partially slipped away from me during the night.

I was confused when I rolled over and saw that Aloy was still sleeping. Weird. Maybe I just heard my name in my dream or something. I think I had been dreaming, but I couldn't remember what it was about-

"Hello, Becks." That voice. A cold dread spread through me and I realized that it wasn't Aloy speaking to me at all. I slowly turned over and nearly shouted when I saw her standing in front of the bed, the pale light from outside casting unsettling shadows on her as it crept in through the window blinds. The light snow that had begun to fall had frozen in place. Without a weapon, my natural reaction was to immediately pull the comforter over myself.

"The fuck are you doing here? Get us out of this, now." I looked over at Aloy again – expected her to be up and awake and just as ready to fight as I was. But she didn't move. In fact, I couldn't even see her chest moving. Fear spiked in me as I extended a trembling hand toward her.

"She won't wake up," Sobeck's clone said, as though Aloy not waking up was the simplest concept ever. "I've frozen this simulation so that we could talk in private. Don't worry," she clarified when she saw I was on the edge of freaking out, "your girlfriend's fine. And don't bother trying to attack me – I'm not actually here, as I'm sure you've figured out."

I gave another worried glance at Aloy's still form before glaring at the clone and searching for my shirt, which was on the floor in a pile along with my pants, exactly where I'd tossed them earlier.

"What do you want?" I demanded as I jumped out of bed and dressed, not even caring that I was exposed to her.

Sobeck gave me a knowing smile. God, that smile…it's her. It still freaked me out. But it wasn't her. Not even close. "I think you know exactly why I'm here, Becks. It's been very…interesting seeing the brain activity the two of you are outputting. I can't see much from my vantage point, but maybe when this is all over we can check out the reports on what you've been up to."

I was pissed beyond reason. "Or you could just get us out of this stupid fake life you've thrown us into and stop what you're doing."

Sobeck closed her eyes and gave a soft laugh. "You're a smart girl, Becks. That virus you planted has messed with a lot of subsystems in our operation. Of course, we'll find a way to disable it, but it would be a lot easier for you and Aloy if you would just cooperate."

I shook my head. "'Cooperate'? Like when I 'cooperated' with you before and you trapped me here for a fucking month?"

She raised her eyebrows and seemed genuinely surprised. "Honestly, I would have thought you of all people would have been grateful for the opportunity, Becks. Your output reports came back and what you experienced was fascinating. Seeing your family alive again – your mom, dad, Dennis. Seeing Jenna…that must have been very nice."

I took a threatening step forward. I wished she was physically there and that I had my implants in this reality so that I could pummel her stupid clone face in with them. "S-shut up. You don't get to talk about them."

Sobeck's expression hardened. "That's a little rude. What we've built here is something that will make a difference in the lives of the people that had to suffer and leave their homes because of Ted Faro and his arrogance," she said, sneering when she said Ted's name. "I don't know what that…accident," she nodded at Aloy, "has done to you to make you betray your own people, your own civilization, but I will not allow you to undo all of our work with such a primitive piece of garbage software."

I smirked. "The same 'piece of garbage software' that's messing up your systems? The only accident I see here is you. You're just a tool for Far Zenith. You'll never be the real Elisabet Sobeck. Soon they'll realize you were just another one of their mistakes and get rid of you. That's what creeps like Branwell do."

She narrowed her eyes at me. "We found the last of the mess from your little battle at GAIA Prime. There were…unfortunately some remains of your friend that you left behind. Of course, GAIA was able to tell us everything that happened. It really is amazing how far this new civilization has come with their detonation devices. That the blast radius was so wide-,"

I clenched my fists, the nails digging into skin so hard I felt pain. "Shut up!" I didn't care if anyone else could hear me. Nausea flooded my senses. I wanted to throw up. Tears pricked at my eyes as I took a deep breath before speaking again, my voice shaking. "You can s-say whatever you want. I'm not going to disable the virus."

Sobeck went quiet, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. "What if I offered you a deal?"

Hah. Right. "There's no deal you could possibly offer that would make me change my mind."

She met my gaze. "Your family. And Jenna."

I must have heard her wrong. "What?"

"I can bring them back. As they were."

My heart skipped a beat. I studied her face – tried to see if there was anything in her expression that gave away her lies. But there wasn't. She either was convinced what she was proposing was possible (which was crazy) or she was really good at lying. "You're full of shit."

She shrugged and gestured around us. "This simulation alone should be proof enough that I can recreate memories in a way that's believable, Becks. What makes you think I can't just take those memories and implant them in a human being?"

"They're dead," I choked. "I buried them. You can't bring back the dead, no matter how smart you think you are."

Sobeck smiled again – each time it became more and more unnerving. "And how exactly do you think I came to be? Or Aloy, for that matter?"

Could she really...? It didn't seem possible – it couldn't be possible.

"It would take time of course – I would need to go through our databases and recreate quite a bit. We could accelerate the growing period, but…if you were patient, I think it could be done."

Visions of my family flashed through my mind. What if she's telling the truth? My parents…they could meet Aloy – we could live in Meridian or even in the Nora lands. Dennis would probably love hanging with Erend and learning to hunt. And Jenna…she'd have a real chance, not the terrible fate that she was doomed to from the moment she woke up from cryo. And then…

No. There'd be no Meridian for us to live in. The Nora lands would be burned. Obliterated. Just as the rest of the world would be. This world – this civilization – would be over.

I couldn't do that. Not even if there was a remote possibility I might see my family alive again.

"What do you say, Becks?"

I looked back at Sobeck, who had been waiting patiently for my answer. "I say: go fuck yourself."

She glared at me. "Be that way. You're so young, Becks. So much promise. It's a damn shame that you've wasted so much of your potential here running around with a spear and living like a primitive. The fact is that whether or not you want to believe it – I'm your only chance at surviving in this world." With a final glance that almost seemed like regret, she finished with, "Good luck getting out of here," before disappearing in an odd flicker, like a program having glitched.

Time started again. I watched as Aloy's chest resumed its rhythmic rising and falling. The snow that had stopped in midair resumed its journey to the ground outside.

Awake and fully dressed, I paced about my room as I tried to figure out a way to get out of this, to beat that stupid clone. Could she really have brought them back? I knew that I shouldn't dwell on what was probably a lie if I wanted to get out of there but it couldn't be helped. The tears welled up in my eyes again and I sat on the edge of the bed near Aloy's sleeping form, once again mourning the loss of people I loved. I buried my face in my hands, defeated. It was a horrible fate to be trapped in this fake reality where the people I wanted to see more than anything were right there…only they weren't. We had lost – I had lost – and I didn't have the heart to tell Aloy.

"We have thousands in a cryogenic facility waiting to be brought out of sleep…as soon as the world is ready for them of course." Where? Where were these people being kept? Did they know what's happened?

I remembered Branwell's words – a mantra that had continued to echo in my mind ever since I escaped GAIA Prime. "The world, Rebecca, is not fine."

And it wasn't. But it wasn't for them to decide what the world's fate should be. No matter how much of a genius Sobeck was-

Wait. I remembered a question Aloy had asked earlier. I wanted to confirm it myself and earlier I wouldn't have known how. But now I had a theory, and just like I'd been taught, I wanted to test it.

I grabbed my Focus and put it on. Assuming it hadn't been replaced somehow in the simulation, the Focus belonged to my dad, and contained all of the information he'd stored on it in addition to the data HEPHAESTUS had uploaded to it from my old Focus I'd destroyed in Maker's End.

"Come on…come on," I urged quietly as I flipped through Dad's contact book. Most were names I didn't recognize – old business friends or coworkers that Dad had kept contact with after he left FAS.

P…R…come on…S. There!

A ripple. It was just barely in the corner of my eye and disappeared a microsecond later, but it was there.

I looked over at Aloy again. She was sleeping peacefully, but I knew I'd need to wake her. I smiled and wiped the remaining tears away. It was a long shot, but if this worked…maybe – just maybe – we could escape. And win.

"Wait. I need a moment – explain this to me again?"

"There's no time!" I said as I helped her put on her clothes after she had struggled with them for a few minutes earlier. It would have been a lot funnier if the fate of the world wasn't pretty much depending on whether or not my theory panned out. "Come on, we gotta get to the garage." I slipped on my shoes.

"Garage?"

I grabbed her hand and yanked her arm before flinging my door open. "It's where the car is. Come on."

We padded down the hall toward the side entrance of the house, which led out from the kitchen to the garage where my family kept their cars. It had been forever since I'd driven but hopefully it was like riding a bike, right?

"Just through here," I whispered, trying not to alert my family. Sure, they weren't real but I didn't need to be held up because they wanted to know where I was sneaking off to at 3:30 in the morning. I reached for the doorknob.

"Late-night joy ride?" My brother's deep voice pierced the silence in the house.

I jumped. "Holy shit, Dennis. You can't just creep up on people like that!" I hissed. Real or not, my brother always had a habit of doing that to mess with me and it still wasn't funny.

He turned on the low lights. "What are you guys doing?"

I ignored him and opened the door. Dennis shot his hand out and closed it.

I spun to face him. "Dennis, I don't have time for this. Is my car out there?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Your car? Funny, Becks. Which car would that be? Your imaginary one or the one that is sitting in a junkyard somewhere in the complete wreck you left it in?"

Wreck? Shit, did I forget to signal again? "What happened? Ugh, never mind. Give me your keys."

Dennis looked at me like I was crazy. "Hell, no! No one touches my baby, especially not you."

"Please, Dennis. It's an emergency!"

Aloy, who had been standing beside me observing the entire thing, finally spoke up. "It really is, Dennis. Can't you help us just this once?"

He looked at her, then at me, clearly confused at the situation. "Want to explain what the emergency is, then? And why you're having this 'emergency' at three in the freaking morning?"

"I…" What was I supposed to say? That this was all a simulation by some evil organization dedicated to wiping out life on Earth? That we were the only ones who could stop them? That the world had actually ended a thousand years earlier and that he…hadn't survived?

Fortunately, Aloy was a step ahead of me. "Becks, I think we should show him," she said quietly.

That made no sense. "No, Aloy – we have to go."

But she held my gaze. "I think if he understands then he'll help us." She pointed to her own Focus.

She has it all…everything from what happened. If I show him that, and then…

I remembered what else was on her Focus. What I could show him that would either make him think I had finally gone insane or help us…and break his heart.

"All right…um, follow me, Dennis," I said, taking his arm and leading him back to my bedroom. He was quiet at first, probably as to not wake our parents, but as soon as we closed the door he pulled his arm away. "What the hell is this, Becks? What's going on?"

If I didn't have trouble speaking before, I certainly did then. "Um…Dennis, I'm going to show you something. It's not going to make any sense, but all I'm asking is that you trust me…and not tell Mom and Dad."

My brother is-was a lot of things – confident, condescending, an array of other "qualities" that his girlfriends found endearing but I found obnoxious – but if there was one thing he did right, it was that he always knew when something was really bothering me. I had a strong feeling that even if what I was about to show him sounded completely crazy, he would listen…and possibly even believe me. "All right. Show me."

"Okay." I turned to Aloy, who handed me her Focus which I placed near the projector on my desk, connecting it to broadcast in a hologram before us. A purple light flickered in the darkness – we were seeing everything Aloy had collected on her Focus.

I brought up the logs that I wanted to show Dennis. "You know who Ted Faro is?"

He blinked. "Uh…yeah, um, he's that guy that helped out with the environment cleanup and stuff. He died a couple years ago – car crash I think."

I shook my head. "Dennis, he never died. Ted went on to make robots that…that could fight." I played a few vids from the FAS promotional videos, shivering with dread when the Horus came on screen as the announcer talked up all of its benefits. In my mind, I could only hear the screams of the people on camera as they filmed the destruction of the major cities across Earth.

"There was a glitch. It was too late by the time it was found," I continued, trying to keep my voice steady. But the truth was that even talking about how my civilization came to an end was still difficult. Maybe it always would be.

I played the vids of the logs where Ted met with Elisabet Sobeck to ask for her help to stop the plague. The battle logs Aloy had found of Enduring Victory. Then the recordings of Zero Dawn, Herres's admission, the reveal and building of GAIA, and Ted Faro's final act of destroying APOLLO and killing the Alphas. Then came Aloy's story, how the Eclipse and Helis found her, Sylens, and how she learned who she was and stopped HADES.

Dennis watched the vids, puzzled, but by the tightness in his face I could tell he was deeply disturbed. "H-how did you get this? I've never heard of any of this stuff. It would have been on the news. It would-,"

I looked up at him, the tears returning. Aloy took my hand and squeezed it. My voice cracked. "Dennis…"

But he shook his head. "No, Becks. If-if the world had really ended, then we wouldn't be here!"

"I didn't fabricate all this and put it on the Focus, Dennis. I wouldn't make shit like this up," I insisted.

He began to pace. "I wasn't saying that you did. I just…I don't understand how that," he pointed at the hologram, "could be possible if we're here – perfectly fine!"

I sniffed as the vid flickered again before shutting off. "Because…we're not really here, Dennis." I wanted to hug him, but if I did then I would have wanted to tell him that everything would be okay. But that would have been a lie.

He stopped. "What does that even mean?"

"There's more," I said before connecting my own Focus – Dad's Focus – to the projector. "When the-the robots were destroying everything, Dad built something in the basement to…to save us."

Dennis smirked. He's doubting, but trying to convince himself it's not true. "You're talking about the half-finished table he's been working on for the past year? Don't know if that'll save us, Becks."

"No," I said as a tear rolled down my cheek. "Look."

Another purple flicker of light. The holo recording of Dad.

"…love you so much. I'll see you soon." He was talking to Mom. I remembered now. It was right after we'd all gone into our cryo pods.

Dennis's eyes widened when the date of the recording popped up. "What is this? What's Dad standing next to?"

"Cryo pods. Our cryo pods, Dennis." I swallowed. "Dad had them built so that we might have a chance when everything went dark."

"Cryo? Like being frozen and shit? Is that even possible? What the hell, Becks…?" he groaned as my dad said his warning – the warning that I had heeded and used to help reboot GAIA at the Bitter Climb.

"…was contacted by Ted Faro. He confirmed what we were all afraid of – that there had been a glitch with the Chariot line of peacekeepers. Our mutual colleague, Elisabet Sobeck-,"

"Dad…?" Another tear escaped when I heard Dennis's voice raise in pitch, the slightest tremble giving away that this was getting real for him.

"…imperative that we lock out Omega access. Rebecca…Becks. If you're w-w-w-watching this…then you know what I've done, and I'm sorry. I'm…sorry for putting this on you…was the only way to save you and your brother…"

I looked over at Aloy, who had remained silent but looked on sadly as she watched my brother take in the horrors of what had happened to us…to everyone. The recording ended and I played a few more videos, mostly the ones of GAIA's creations I had filmed myself while traveling with Aloy. Dennis watched in awe at this – even smiling a bit when he saw Heph and heard all the weird shit it would say. I still couldn't tell if he believed any of this completely, but I could see that doubt about his own life had been set in his mind.

"Where are you? Where am I?" he finally asked. "What happened to our friends – everyone from work and school?"

I hesitated. This was going to be the hardest part. "Dennis…Mom, Dad…and you…you didn't make it."

He was quiet.

"Dennis? I'm sorr-," I tried.

"How?" he demanded, his voice so calm it was a little scary.

I bit my lip. "Jenna…and Ted. They survived and-and Jenna l-lost it I think. He had her kill you before you all had a chance to wake up." More tears. Aloy squeezed my hand harder.

His eyebrows arched and even in the low purple light, I could see his eyes were glossy.

He believes me.

"B-but you? You made it out all right?" he asked, looking for reassurance that hope had not been completely lost.

I nodded. "Aloy saved me. She helped me stop them from taking control of GAIA."

"Good, good," he said, almost a little too calm. He pointed at the projector. "I didn't see you there."

Another deep breath. It was getting more and more difficult to talk about this. I felt like a knife had cut into me, reopening the wounds I thought had closed over a year ago. I looked up one particular vid I had recorded a few months back. The projector came on again and showed Aloy and I outside of her cabin where we'd been living while I recovered from my injuries. Snow covered the ground around the cabin - the timestamp was clearly in the 31st century. I saw Dennis's eyebrows raise again at that.

"…okay, so I'm going to flip it so it's recording us," I heard myself say.

"Why?" was Aloy's somewhat-annoyed response as she was trying to skin the rabbit she'd caught earlier that morning.

"So that I can get both of us in the shot and we can have something to remember today by!"

Aloy gave a long-suffering sigh. "Or you could come help me. Why do we have to remember today?"

I made a gagging sound. "I'm not good at that. Plus, it's gross and gets everywhere when I do it."

Aloy laughed. "We could practice some more then."

"No, come on, Aloy. How about you do this for me and then I'll help you." I watched as Aloy shot the camera a very suspicious look. "Promise. Please?"

"Fine. Come on."

The camera shook as I walked over to her before I activated my Focus's ability to take video while I faced the lens. After some shifting around, I could see both myself (who was a little too excited considering I was out in the cold and there was a half-skinned rabbit in the background) and Aloy, who was giving me her typical perplexed stare whenever I did something strange.

"There. Say 'hi'," I ordered.

"Why?"

"Oh my God, just do it, Aloy."

"Hi?"

"Perfect!" I looked straight at the camera and grinned. "Okay, sooo…it's winter again and it's really fucking cold, of course. Aloy is doing something gross to our dinner-,"

"I'm skinning it, Becks. If you want dinner we sort of have to do that," Aloy pointed out.

"And," I said, ignoring her, "she still hasn't killed the stupid turkey that keeps hanging out around the house."

"It's not doing anything – they're not that good this time of year, anyway."

"Yeah, that's what you keep saying. Okay, well, we have to go because my girlfriend is whining about how I never help her-,"

Aloy rolled her eyes. "That's not what I said…"

I caught her off guard by kissing her briefly before grinning back at the camera. "I love her, even if she's kind of a handful sometimes."

Aloy's cheeks grew pink. "R-right, because you're just always so cooperative."

I gave her a playful push, laughing before the vid froze on the last frame.

Dennis pointed at the exact thing I predicted he would notice. "What's going on with your arm?"

I looked at Aloy, who gave me an encouraging nod, before answering my brother. "When we stopped Ted a year ago, Jenna tried to stop me. She-she was different, Dennis," I said, my right hand tentatively touching my left arm. "She wasn't the same person anymore." My breaths were shallow. "She wanted it to end. There…was an explosion that-that she caused and I was caught in the blast. GAIA, Elisabet's AI, fixed me." I pointed to the projector. "My arm, my leg, parts of my back – it all had to be reconstructed."

That got him angry. "But…but you're fine! I'm looking at you right now and I don't see any of that." His voice was as shaky as mine now. "You're not…"

I stepped forward, put my hand on his tattooed arm. "This isn't real. Whatever this is has only been put here to make us believe none of that happened."

He pulled away from me. "How can it not be real, Becks?! How is it even remotely possible that I'm dead in…in whatever that was, but I'm alive here?"

We're running out of time. "Dennis…I know this is a lot to take in. But you have to believe us. Believe me. Right now, there's a group of people who want the new world to end. Everyone will die. I can't let that happen, Dennis." I took his arm again. "Please. Seeing you again, seeing Mom and Dad – it's the most amazing thing that's happened in a while. But I have to get back."

He just stared at me – his face contorted in hurt and shock.

I hated seeing him like this. Hated what had happened – that someone as good as my brother could be taken away in an instant was too cruel for me to fathom right now. "Even if you don't believe me, Dennis, I need you to help us. You're the only one who can."

The projector shut off. The room went dark again.

Another ripple. There. It happened near the window – still faint, but I knew it was stronger than the one before. Something's breaking the simulation.

Dennis looked up at the ceiling before he rolled his shoulders back with a heavy sigh.

"Tell me what you need."

"I think this is the place. Or at least that's what the nav says."

I looked out the window of my brother's car. A two-story building loomed before us – one of the many apartment/private office buildings that dotted this area of the city. The architecture was fairly modern – several floor-to-ceiling windows and held together by metal that reflected the glow from the bright-white streetlamps that lined the main road. Looking closer, I saw the top floor had one room completely lit, though it was impossible to see what or who was inside. A slightly worn silver plaque adorned the low pillars at the end of the driveway. "E. Sobeck".

"Yeah," I said to him, feeling a little light-headed. "This is the place."

"You sure you know what you're doing?" Dennis asked as Aloy, who was sitting in the backseat, continued to observe what was probably the strangest mode of transportation she'd been in yet.

I gave a short laugh. "Not really. But it's the only idea I have."

We were all quiet for several seconds, though it felt more like several minutes.

"Do you want me to wait here?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No. Either this works or…well, let's hope it works." I opened the door and got out to open Aloy's door for her, helping her step out before I slammed the door shut again.

"Becks," Dennis called.

I looked at Aloy. "Wait for me by the door. I'll be right there." She nodded and began walking up the driveway as I ducked back into the car with my brother.

Dennis reached into his pocket and handed me something small. I took it from him. A Focus? "What's this?"

He shrugged. "Just figured something, assuming you haven't gone completely bonkers – if you could bring your Focus here, maybe you can take this with you. It's my old one, but I put a bunch of our vids on it. Old shit, too. There's stuff of you and Jenna on it also. You know," he said, shifting in the driver's seat uncomfortably, "in case you miss us or something."

Oh. I blinked back tears again. "I do, Dennis. More than anything."

He tried to act casual, but I could tell this was really difficult for him. "And I, um…I'm sorry I wasn't there when Jenna um…you know."

I made an attempt to smile, but ended up choking back a sob. "It's okay, Dennis. And," I held up the Focus, "thank you."

He nodded, and for a moment I thought he was going to start crying, too. But of course, being Dennis, he didn't. Instead he waved me away. "All right, wimp. Go do your thing."

I leaned in and threw my arms around him, all my barriers breaking down as I wept against his coat. He held me, patting my back and stifling a noise of his own. "Hey, none of this bullshit," he joked. "You've got this."

"No," I sobbed, feeling like an overwhelmed child, "I don't. I don't want any of this. I-I just want to come home." Why did I have to do this? Why couldn't it have been someone else? Why were people so terrible that they would do things like this – things that tore families apart and left people like me behind, alone and clueless about what to do or how to pick up the pieces of their messes?

He pulled away, his hands on my shoulders, and looked me in the eye. "Becks, listen to me. I still don't really understand what's happened. All that robot shit, those crazy scientists…I don't know where to even begin with all that. But I know you and last time I checked, my sister was an annoying, nerdy little badass who doesn't quit until she wins. And I don't really know her, but I think your girlfriend out there would agree with me."

I wiped my eyes, nodding as a faint smile broke through.

"Now get out of here. Here's hoping I don't have to explain to Mom and Dad why I'm driving your ass around at this time of night," he said.

I wavered before hugging him one last time. "I love you."

He held me for longer than any hug from Dennis would normally ever last. "Love you, too. Now go," he muttered before releasing me.

I stepped out of the car again and shut the door, taking one last look at Dennis as he gave me a thumbs-up before flying off down the road, leaving me to catch up with Aloy at the door.

She could tell I'd been crying and wrapped me into a tight hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered before giving me a soft kiss on my forehead.

I sniffed. "I'm…I'm okay." This has to work. Otherwise… "Are you ready? If she's there, she'll recognize you, well, she'll recognize herself."

Aloy took my hand. "I understand. And yes, I'm ready." We stood in front of the door, hand in hand, as I reached out with my free hand to knock. Before I could, though, the lock panel clicked and the door opened.

We exchanged stunned glances. Shit, I'm an idiot. Of course she probably has cameras or something set up. "Okay…shall we?" I suggested.

"Let's go," she agreed, not letting go of my hand. We entered, though I wasn't really sure what to expect. The apartment – dark save the safety lights near the walls – was clean, almost sterile, as though it wasn't really being used to live in. Stepping slowly into the living room, our attention was drawn to the flight of dimly-lit stairs that led up to the second level.

I turned to Aloy. "Up?" I mouthed while pointing at the ceiling.

She nodded. We took each step with hesitation and care, not really knowing who or what awaited us at the top. Once we hit the halfway point, I could see light coming from one of the rooms – its door open just a few inches.

We reached the top. One of the rooms was clearly a bedroom – tiny and mostly empty with the exception of a dresser and a small side table. The bed was made, though it didn't look like it had been slept in recently, if ever. I looked toward the room with the light coming from it, a bluish-white glow that I suspected came from a backlit display.

I gave Aloy a final glance and waited for her to give her go ahead, which she did, before reaching out and pushing the door open.

Judging by the several computers hooked up to a variety of projectors and screens as well as the stacks of papers scattered across multiple long tables, this was her office. The room was probably meant to be the master bedroom but had been repurposed.

Behind the main desk at the end of the room was a massive window that started at the floor and went all the way to the textured ceiling. She stood there, arms crossed, looking out across the city. She had the same shoulders, same arms, though it was easy to tell even in her long tunic that they were nowhere near as defined as Aloy's. Her red hair, that same red hair, was cut shorter into a long bob.

She spoke. It was Aloy's voice…even the clone's voice…but still different. Her voice was softer, heavier…almost as though she knew what it felt like to hold the weight of billions of lives on her shoulders. But the innocence wasn't there. Nor was the cold, calculated arrogance. She had seen what there was to see, how the world was going to end and while she was resigned to her fate, she understood the sacrifices that were demanded of her and made them willingly.

"I figured it was only a matter of time before someone showed up. I didn't think it would be you, however."

I gripped Aloy's hand, for her face had gone pale and her hazel eyes wide as the woman before us turned around.

"Rob Johnson's daughter and…well, I would say you're me," Elisabet mused, traces of humor slipping into her tone, "but that wouldn't be accurate now, would it?" She gave Aloy, whose breathing had devolved into quiet hyperventilating, a kind smile. "What's your name?"

Aloy stiffened. I brushed against her hand with my thumb in a vain effort to help her relax. "A-Aloy. You're…you're her."

Another ripple. It lasted longer, hovering on the floor. A static charge made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Elisabet actually laughed, a warm, melodious sound that felt familiar in all the right ways. "These days we can't be sure of anything, right? I'm sure there's an explanation for all this and years of theory to go along with it but for the moment, let's just say I saw you on my monitors when your brother dropped you off." She focused on me. "Rebecca, it's been years. Thank goodness your parents were good about sending pictures. I haven't seen you since you were just a baby."

"Something like that," I replied, not knowing what else to say to the woman that saved humanity. Something felt…off. "You don't seem surprised to see us."

She shook her head. "I can't put my finger on when it started happening, but there have been a number of…anomalies that I've picked up while conducting my research." She pointed to the papers on her desk. "Small things at first – data readings showing up slightly off, things like that. Later there were bigger issues – basic laws of physics, constants, and time deviating from what they should be."

"It's because none of this is real," I blurted. "It's a simulation. It's…um," I suddenly felt very awkward explaining the whole situation to one of the smartest people on the planet. "It's a long story."

"No doubt," Elisabet said with a nod. "I'm going to make an educated guess and say that you're trying to leave it."

She doesn't seem fazed at all that we're stuck in a fake reality. Why? "You'd be right. Do you know how we could do that?" I asked, sounding more desperate than I would have liked. "I've been in one of these before and got out, but I can't seem to figure this one out."

She looked intrigued. "If you were in one of these before, as you said, how did you leave?"

"I guess…well, I just sort of kept trying to remember what I couldn't. There was always something bugging me last time, like it was trying to make me forget," I explained. "But we're completely aware here. I know none of this is real. Uh…" Oops. "Sorry."

Elisabet chuckled. "I don't know that I have the perfect answer for you. But I do know that whoever, or whatever constructed this didn't think everything through. I would use that to your advantage." She approached Aloy, who looked like she was either going to pass out or start crying.

"I imagine you have a lot of stories to tell," she said to Aloy.

The lights flickered. Another static charge. Something's happening…

Aloy nodded before slowly releasing my hand. "I-I want you to be real. But I know you're not."

Elisabet gave us a pained smile. That's when I knew.

"You already know," I quietly accused. Fear began to eat away at me – whoever or whatever this was, the fact was that we had no idea if they were on our side or not. For all we knew, this was just another manifestation of clone Sobeck trying to taunt us. The possibility that I might have just led us into a trap became real for me. "Who are you?"

Aloy must have realized something was wrong as well because she stepped in front of me, weaponless but ready to defend me to the end. As always.

But Elisabet just nodded. "I am who you believe me to be, or at least, a very convincing memory. I believe the memory is from you, Aloy," she said. "You, and…someone else. Someone who has a vested interest in making sure the two of you accomplish whatever it is you set out to do. If I could make one more educated guess, it would be that this place's creator did not account for our friend's interference here."

"GAIA," Aloy gasped. The lights flickered again. We all noticed it this time.

Elisabet crossed her arms again. "I think we may have found a way to get you two out of here," she observed, sounding rather satisfied with the situation.

"How?" I asked.

"It's me. Us," Aloy spoke up again. I looked to her, waiting for an explanation. "Whenever we get closer or speak to each other, something…strange happens and-,"

"The ripples!" I cried. When the others stared at me, I let out a nervous laugh. "Um…sorry. Didn't mean to shout. Just…these anomalies – I think I've been seeing them. Like physically seeing them. I think it means the simulation is unstable."

"Then we have to make it happen again," Elisabet said, her lips drawn tightly in determination – the exact same expression I'd seen several times from Aloy, usually when we were in a particularly shitty situation. "Aloy." She offered her hand. "Help me."

Aloy stood there, lips slightly parted in awe and disbelief. I put my hand against the small of her back and gave her a gentle push forward. "What happens when we wake up?" I wondered, fearful of what the answer would be.

Elisabet's intense gaze remained. "I'm afraid I can't tell you that. But you've been this resourceful so far. I think you'll be fine."

Another flicker.

"It's time," Elisabet urged. "Aloy."

Aloy looked to me. That small, crooked smile that I loved so much. "Ready to leave this place?"

"You have no idea," I breathed.

She took a heavy step forward, her arm extended just enough to take Elisabet's outstretched hand.

A shock went through me and the lights shut off – the floor was gone, and I was floating alone in darkness. The voices returned as a light approached – small at first, but growing closer quickly – too quickly.

"We have her, Doctor. The taser-,"

"Have her set up in Lab 9 with the other girl. Dr. Sobeck will see to her."

Who is that? Aloy? She's here, too? Did the virus-?

"…there may be others. Find them!"

Another shock. Pain, but only for a moment.

"…minimal damage to the Horus in Moscow, despite initial reports. Initial reports have estimated that around three million have been ki-,"

Someone was talking to me. I could hear their voice, their words, but I couldn't comprehend them. Something wasn't connecting.

"Then get me something that will scrub it! I didn't come this far for some kid to jeopardize our entire operation with-,"

"Can you lift her?" Who is that?

"…you can't stand there and tell me you just want to walk away from all of it-,"

No. Not anymore.

"She's tied down. Give me a moment!"

"…show me."

The light shattered into a million beacons, rushing past me as everything I thought I'd put to rest flew by, every voice screaming in my head over and over again until it was all too much and I-

Nothing. Only darkness.

"Becks." Straight ahead, maybe a few paces away and surrounded by the void, she was there wearing her Shield Weaver armor – her bow and spear on her back.

I looked down. I was back in my mismatched Nora clothing. "Are we back?" I whispered, though even my whisper echoed.

"I think so."

Gone. A single tear rolled down my cheek. Mom, Dad…Dennis. They were gone. Elisabet was gone. I knew I would spend the rest of my life making peace with the fact that my family was gone forever. But I didn't believe it was possible to miss someone I barely knew so much.

"Becks," Aloy's voice wrapped around me, soothing me. "we've got this."

I nodded. "I know." I reached for her. She pulled me to her and gently brushed away the tear before taking me into a long, deep kiss.

"I love you."

Warmth enveloped me as a powerful energy took hold on something within. For the first time since leaving our cabin in what seemed like ages ago, I felt unstoppable. "I love you." I took one last look around us.

"Time to go."

"By the Sun, she's awake!"

I opened my eyes…and found myself looking up at none other than Talanah, who grinned at me. "Hi, Becks."

I groaned as whatever pain my body had been suppressing shot through me. "Aloy."

"She's fine!" I heard Erend's gruff voice. "She just woke up!"

The dizziness came on strong at first as I sat up, with Talanah supporting my arm and back, but it faded just as quickly.

"Becks?" I heard Aloy mumble nearby. We were in an exam room, not unlike the one Branwell had me in when I was trapped before. I looked down. I was in another chair with restraints, which Talanah had unfastened while I was out. I spotted two spears up against the wall as well as Aloy's bow and quiver.

"I'm here, Aloy," I called. The automatic glass doors slid open. Speaking of Branwell. He did not look happy.

"What is this?! Security! Breach in Lab 9!"

I pushed myself off the table, my legs feeling a little weaker than normal, and strode past a stunned Talanah and over to Branwell. He was still screeching for security. "Breach in-," He reached for his taser.

I clenched my fist, drawing my left arm back before ramming my fist into his face. The resulting crunch of his cheekbone shattering made for a satisfying end to his interference. He crumpled to the floor in a rather unflattering pose.

I turned to the others, panting. "I've been wanting to do that for a while," I admitted.

"Ouch," was Talanah's observation.

"Pretty nice, Becks," Erend praised as he helped Aloy stand. When I saw her, I ignored everything else and ran to her, throwing my arms around her neck and nearly knocking her down.

"I'm okay, Becks," she said, her voice muffled by my embrace.

I backed away from Aloy, who was still getting her bearings, and used my Focus to interface with the lone console in the room. I sighed with relief. Still good. Our plan had worked. The virus was still in place and Far Zenith hadn't gone through with their plan yet. With luck, we could get to GAIA and gain access to her. "Please tell me one of you has the Master Override." I grabbed the spears and bow from the wall and handed Aloy her weapons before equipping mine over my shoulder.

"I have it," Talanah said before fishing it out of one of her belt pouches and tossing it to me. "Kept it in case something like this happened."

"How long have we been here?" Aloy asked.

"Maybe a day," Talanah replied. "Took us a bit to break into here without being noticed." She nodded at Branwell's unconscious form. "If anyone actually heard him, we might have company soon."

Only a day?! I would never understand how time passed in that simulation, and I honestly didn't want to find out.

"What should we do then?" Erend asked. He grabbed the massive hammer on his back. Talanah unsheathed her own spear. "I'm up for bashing a few skulls in," he announced. "Been too long and Becks shouldn't have all the fun."

I studied the small, deceptively powerful piece of plastic in my hand for a few seconds before tucking it away into a pouch on my own belt. As I did so, my Focus beeped, alerting me with new notifications. DATA SYNC SUCCESSFUL.

Data sync?

"Becks?" Aloy asked.

I shut off the Focus. I could deal with that later. "Sounds like a plan," I said. "We should get to their control room. I can use the override to get control of GAIA back."

Aloy readied her bow. "Let's finish this, then," she said and looked to me. "I'm so done with these people."