Aloy thought the whole day before was a very surreal dream...until she saw her 'mother' sitting there clutching a cup of coffee like her life depended on it.

"So you're really here," said Aloy. She was still having trouble believing it.

"Sorry...I'm not much of a morning person. I usually wake up under extreme protest," said Rhea.

And by 'extreme protest' she meant she'd curse anyone stupid enough to wake her up first and ask questions later. Most of her friends knew that it was safer to turn on the coffee pot and let the scent wake her up than try their luck.

And that was just the mundane population. All her magical friends used to dump water on her instead from a safe distance away from her room.

Aloy sat down, unsure of how to proceed.

"I know you're confused. I'm not expecting us to bond right away, especially since Gaia gave birth to you as a last resort," said Rhea. "Just know that I'm willing to listen to your questions and answer them as best I can."

Aloy nodded, unsure what to say.

It was still beyond weird having Elisabet there. At least she was fine being called that.

"So a signal appeared near where ELEUTHIA was hiding alongside a mysterious code," said Elisabet. She could care less what they called her, as she had left behind her identity as Rhea for a reason. "I don't think this was the AI's doing."

"You don't?" said Aloy.

"I agree it might be a trap, especially if we're also dealing with those fools from Far Zenith. I wouldn't be surprised if the magicals that went with them screwed up and they came here to collect GAIA before running away."

"What do you know about Far Zenith?" asked Aloy, only tempering her usual demanding tone at the last second.

Elisabet didn't seem to care...she was just as bad when she was that age especially if there was something being hidden from her that would have long term effects on her life.

"There was one person among them that I was close to, but as the Faro plague hit we had to break off ties. She went with them along with several others I called my friends and allies. They were my spies among the Far Zenith."

She had mourned their death when she found out.

"But...they did take a large number of potion ingredients with them. There is still a chance we might not be dealing with their descendants, but the original Far Zeniths. If that is the case, things would be a lot more complicated," said Elisabet.

"How so?" asked Varl.

"If they are the people who left, they've had entire centuries to hone their magic and become much more dangerous. If they're the descendants, then it's still bad but not as dangerous," said Elisabet.

A fully trained war mage that had entire centuries to hone their combat skills? That was just asking for disaster.

Aloy was frowning at that.

"We need HEPHEASTUS to restore the biosphere. We can't do that without more Subordinate functions. ELEUTHIA would help with that."

"I agree," said Elisabet. "However if we're going in, we're going to need to take precautions. Where exactly is the signal located?"

Gaia showed her.

"We're definitely going to need some weather control spells, at the very least. I don't feel inclined to freeze up there," said Elisabet.

"Weather control?" repeated Aloy. "I thought we fixed that with AETHER."

"You stopped the out of control storms when you restored AETHER," corrected Elisabet. "I can make it so that you barely notice the snow or the wind chill, or can walk through straight up flames with only a mild tickling sensation."

Seeing how her allies all perked up at that, Aloy relented.

"I can show you to the workshop," she offered.

"That would be wonderful. I'll only need a few hours to set some quick alterations to your gear to make things easier. To make some proper armor I'll need more time and materials, but for a quick trip to shake the rust off, a few minor alterations should be fine."

Aloy had to admit, it was fascinating watching Elisabet work on the armor, as she was more than happy to explain how each 'rune' worked in conjunction to another and how it would effect the armor overall.

"Why didn't you use magic against the plague?"

"By the time the Faro Plague became known, the lines of energy in the Earth were badly damaged from the constant wars and fighting. It only got worse when lines were drawn between those born from mundane origins and purely magical...though really, that just meant they were so in-bred that they had forgotten their mundane roots," said Elisabet. "Besides, most of those with magic would have turned their nose up at the idea of helping those without, as it wasn't their problem."

"How is it not their problem?" said Aloy, disgusted.

"Now you see why I left their nonsense. They would have taken one look at the Focus and dismissed it as a 'muggle toy' and never seen the potential it had," said Elisabet. "They had become so placated with what they had that they would openly deny innovation simply because the one doing it wasn't the 'right sort' or couldn't pay the right bribes."

Aloy looked utterly disgusted at the idea.

"They wouldn't have bothered to create Zero Dawn. Most magicals I've met had a firm 'not my problem' mindset, and those that could do something would have been hindering by fools who couldn't see the bigger picture."

"Is that why you left? Became Elisabet?" asked Aloy.

"Mostly," she agreed. "I was an emotionally traumatized teenager with long term Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and everyone kept piling up expectations upon me that I could never fulfill even if I wanted. The best thing for me...for everyone...was for me to leave and make a clean break."

"Wait...in your diary you mentioned burning a tree down when you were six," said Aloy.

"I did...just not with an engineering kit," admitted Elisabet. "I couldn't give Gaia a bad impression of humanity when so much was at stake...so I told her stories of my godson's childhood instead, and altered a few from my own."

"Godson?"

"His name was Teddy," said Elisabet. "He was among those I had in Far Zenith."

Teddy had gone in without her knowledge, and she only found out too late. She had cried for weeks after hearing his ship went down.

Elisabet finished what she was doing, and moved aside so Aloy could test out her new armor.

"It feels...lighter," said Aloy.

"It should. I increased the durability and made it easier to move in," said Elisabet. "I also added warming charms since we're heading into a steep mountain, and a strong shield. As for your bag...well, you'll never have to worry about running low on supplies."

"What?"

Elisabet reached into the bag...and her arm went down further than Aloy could have thought possible.

"I added a quick and dirty expansion charm. It'll last for a few days at least, but it means that you can put a lot more inside than people would realize."

"How are you planning to climb the mountain?" asked Aloy.

"I'm going to fly," said Elisabet.

"No offense, but a bright red bird is pretty noticeable," said Aloy.

Elisabet laughed a little.

"I said nothing about flying in my animagus form, as tempting as that might be. I'm borrowing one of the spears you have lying around and adding a few charms."

If there was one thing she had learned to do on the fly, it was create a makeshift broom without actually needing a broom. All she really needed was a long pole of some kind to add the charms to.

She would have used the ones she had premade, but they were still locked in rooms they couldn't access. She spent so little time save for her special room that she was unable to apparate directly into them.

So she would have to make do, but she was used to that since she went full mundane.

Aloy's expression seeing her fly on a spear was pretty comical.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Elisabet.

As she flew, Aloy tentatively asked her small questions about her life, Zero Dawn, and naturally magic. Erend and Varl were particularly happy about the warming charms... climbing up was cold, hard work on a good day.

The moment Elisabet took one look at the Far Zenith and did her best not to swear out loud. After all, they couldn't afford to be noticed.

Tracy Davis. She looked almost exactly the same as when Elisabet last saw the pretentious twit.

The moment the battle ended, Elisabet didn't bother holding back.

Aloy wasn't the only one to look at her.

"I was hoping to be wrong...Aloy, would you mind sharing the video file of the first time you ran into the Far Zeniths?" asked Elisabet, glaring at the corpse.

"Um...okay?" she said. It took her a moment. Elisabet fast forwarded the data before she looked incredibly unhappy about something.

"Damn. It looks like we're dealing with the original Zeniths after all, not their descendants."

"What makes you say that?" asked Varl.

"This spoiled twit is Tracy Davis," said Elisabet. "She was a classmate of mine at the magical school we both attended. And this woman (Elisabet zoomed in on the blond woman) is my ex-girlfriend."

"Wait...there was a magical school?" said Erend.

Aloy had gone to examine the corpse and the machines. After a moment, she went to look at the ones on the ridge, and found camping gear.

"I think I know what happened. These people were waiting here, likely for the Zeniths to show up. They used a prototype to see if they could make it past their shield...which they obviously did. This woman came here, but lost something they call 'the Asset'," said Aloy.

Aloy felt a weird measure of delight, seeing the pride on Elisabet's face for her deduction.

As they headed to the opening, Elisabet stayed up with Erend to keep watch.

"So what's it like? Waking up and finding out everything you know is gone?" asked Erend, making small talk.

"Painful...but at the same time, freeing. There was so much pain and old wounds that being able to start from fresh is a relief," said Elisabet.

"What about Aloy?" asked Erend seriously.

"I understand that this whole situation is...complicated," said Elisabet, her tone equally serious. "However if there's one thing I take seriously, it's family. We might have only just met, but I still consider her a daughter to me."

Erend didn't realize he was broadcasting, but Elisabet did. She could only hope Aloy heard all that.

Inside the facility...

"Aloy, are you okay?" asked Varl.

"I'm fine. Let's just find the Asset," said Aloy.

Right as she inputed the code to get the Asset out of containment, Elisabet started broadcasting. Her voice had an odd warble to it.

"Small issue...they've sent more machines to retrieve. One just went past us...you have about five, maybe ten minutes tops before the one that went down shows up."

"Thanks for the warning," said Aloy honestly. That was plenty of time to set up traps.

Meanwhile, up on the surface...

Erend wasn't looking forward to this. He had no idea if the Old One was even capable of fighting. All he knew was that she was the one responsible for the programs that Aloy and was super smart. Smarter than him.

He hefted up his warhammer.

"Keep it's attention on you for a bit," said Elisabet. "I can see a gun I can use."

She stayed down low, old instincts coming to light. Just because they had been inside the facility creating GAIA didn't mean she had forgotten her old habits. She always had a quiet gait, and it came in handy now.

Elisabet loosened the wires, and hefted up the gun off the machine. It took a few seconds to figure out the mechanics, but once she did, she went around the back of the thing attacking them.

"Getting a little toasty around here!" shouted Erend.

Elisabet's smirk was downright feral as she started firing without a second thought.

Erend managed to take a peak around his cover to see the look on her face...and knew without a doubt that the Old One truly was Aloy's mother. She had the same determined look during a fight that her daughter had.

As if the day wasn't surreal enough, Varl came up carrying yet another Aloy lookalike in his arms.