UNITY FORCE MISSIONS: HORIZON ZERO DAWN

ARC I: The Seeker Aloy

CHAPTER 1: Mission Start

DISCLAIMER: All characters in the story are not owned by me, save for my OCs.

[Devil's Thirst, Earth-1355]

Earth-1355... The Horizon universe.

Humans are no longer the dominant species on the planet, where mechanical, animal-like beings known as Machines now rule and dominate this post-apocalyptic landscape. Great cities of the Old Ones, who were the ancient people of the distant past, have fallen into an overgrown, crumbling ruin.

But one mystery stands tall over this world: humanity, as a whole, have regressed back into hunter-gatherer societies, who are now living in tribes. This includes the matriarchal Nora, the patriarchal Oseram, the monarchic Carja, and the nomadic Banuk tribes.

How did this world come to be? Why society in this world has regressed back to the Stone Ages? What could have caused it all in the first place?

Those are the answers the Unity Force have to find out, as they begin to focus their attention on looking for Aloy and Erend, who suddenly disappeared at early morning within the academy without warning.

For now, the scene later cuts into what seems to be a ruined ancient city, known as Devil's Thirst, which was once known the ancient city of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Just a few minutes later, a portal from the Unity Force Academy later emerges. From there, Zoro Roronoa, Maya Tendo, Asta, Noelle Silva, Meliodas, and Trafalgar D. Water Law appear from it, before it disappears completely. Knowing that this place is nowhere safe, they prepare themselves for any hostile encounters.

"This is... Aloy-san's world?" Maya questioned.

"Seems like it." Zoro added.

"What happened here, though?" Maya questioned. "It looks like this place has been battered by a hurricane." She added.

"Doesn't look like a place stuck in medieval ages to me." Asta described. "I mean, these ruined buildings clearly do not look tribal-looking, as well as these ruined streetlights!" He exclaimed, as he sees a ruined house that is out of place amongst other tribal structures.

"You're right." Noelle said. "This looked like a city or a town in our present time." She reminded.

"Exactly." Trafalgar simply added.

"Whatever caused this beautiful city to be like this, then they'll never be sorry!" Meliodas exclaimed in fury.

They later leave the spot where they came in, before they focus on their primary objective, and that is finding Aloy and/or finding any remnants of humanity settled in this post-apocalyptic ruin, but particularly all over Devil's Thirst.

"About that, how do you know Aloy-san must have ended up here?" Noelle asked.

"One of the workers said that he had glimpses of her entering from the portal that leads here." Maya concluded. "And from the look of it, there has to be a reason why she chose to enter here." She added.

"Whatever that case, then Aloy-san has to be here." Zoro remarked.

"But how can we find her?" Asta said. "She didn't leave a trail here." He claimed.

Later on, Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar sees a corpse of Machines lying around the ground, as well as a medium-sized blood smear at a rock, indicating that an unknown kind of massacre has happened. To add fuel to the fire, they also see a small forest in a state that is completely charred and burnt, signifying the indication of a massacre happening at this very place.

"Over here." Trafalgar added, as he calls in Asta, Noelle, and Meliodas.

"I hope that this blood isn't Aloy-san's." Maya said.

"It looks like some kind of massacre must have happened here." Zoro examined. "But no sign of Aloy-san, her Focus device, or at least her own clothing." He claimed.

"That means she must have left this place already unscathed." Trafalgar concluded.

"But what is that thing?" Maya asked, as she points at what looked like a corpse of a Machine lying around by itself.

"Looks like a machine..." Asta said.

"Doesn't look like any other machine we have seen before." Meliodas added.

Zoro and Maya then proceed to investigate the black scorpion-like ancient machine corpse, which is known as a Corruptor, while Trafalgar, Asta, Noelle, and Meliodas investigate the battlefield ruins for any more answers regarding what event transpired in this place, and hopefully Aloy being alive and such.

"Even for a small forest like this one here, this place has been razed to oblivion." Noelle deduced.

As that happens, Zoro and Maya later forewarned about a possible threat lurking around, as they proceed to investigate further into the machine corpse, before they see red liquid and smoke oozing out of what looked like a cylindrical machine part from the Corruptor, which is known as a Metalburn.

"What the hell...?" Zoro questioned, as he looks at the mysterious substance, before smelling it. "Damn, it has a really pungent smell. Something like what you see on a nanotech." He added.

"You mean this thing is nanotech?" Maya added.

"Possibly, but this tech and this machine looks extremely advanced to us." Zoro claimed.

But their investigation into the scene of the massacre is later cut short, when they heard ominous sounds of rustling on their right side, which is definitely not made from a human...

"I don't like the sound of this." Maya immediately takes out her rapier.

"We just came in a few minutes ago, and we're about to face a not-so happy freak!" Asta exclaimed, as he takes out his Demon-Dweller Sword.

From out of nowhere, a giant machine resembling an ancient, extinct creature known as a sabre-toothed cat appears at their side, which is extremely threatening in nature. This particular Machine is known as the Sawtooth, and it is a highly dangerous machine by nature, where it has a track record of mass-murdering unsuspecting tribesmen and even destroying a settlement in a matter of seconds.

The Sawtooth then howls in front of the Unity Force group threateningly, which is fully crystal clear that it will not do some negotiation on them, but it wants to kill any intruder or hunter in its path.

"What is that robot?!" Meliodas asked.

"It's some sort of a machine!" Noelle said, as she takes out her magic wand.

"That thing is undoubtedly threatening." Maya said, as she polished a copper whetstone into her rapier, causing the sword to flash a copper aura on it, as well as it being lighter than the usual.

Zoro then takes out his Wado Ichimonji, as he looks at the feline machine. "But these things are nothing to be feared of, so we must prepare ourselves and take this thing out, one way or the other." He added.

Then three smaller, alvarezsauroid-like machines appear within the other side of the razed pathway, with an intent to attack the group, as well. These smaller but slightly aggressive machines are known as Watchers, who act as the reconnaissance of the machine herd.

"Great, now four more have appeared." Asta grumbled.

"These guys are in need for some serious ass-kicking!" Meliodas braced himself, as he brandishes his sword known as Lostvayne.

"They're going to be surgically removed out of existence." Trafalgar calmly replied.

"Creepy." Asta only uttered.

The battle then ensues, as the Unity Force group fight off against the Machine group in front of them.

Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar begin to fight off against the violent Sawtooth, while Asta, Noelle, and Meliodas fight off against the weaker but slightly aggressive Watchers to give room for the other three. But unbeknown to them, a man from afar is watching this battle, who is clearly in aghast over what is currently happening around them.

This person, judging from the face paint, is a member of the Nora Tribe. He has a black hair tied up in braids, as well as a scar in his face, and his beard is tied up in the same style as his own hair, as well. His outfit, from the look of it, is highly tribal in nature. This is Dran, one of the members of the Nora Tribe.

Back at the battle, the Sawtooth proceeds to leap onto Maya, but she proceeds to immediately block that attack with her rapier with the Maverick Parry attack, giving Zoro the advantage to slice one of its legs with his sword, causing the machine to unleash a loud scream, but at the same time it instantly becomes highly aggressive.

"Damn!" Zoro exclaimed. "I never thought that is our own welcoming committee in this post-post-apocalyptic world!" He uttered.

"It's instantly driven mad!" Maya bellowed.

"So much for this THING to be the very first 'visitor' of ours." Trafalgar grumbled annoyingly, albeit in a calm manner.

"How can Aloy-san even fight off these things with just a bow and an arrow?" Maya added, before she unleashes another side-sweeping attack to the Sawtooth, causing a gash to appear from a canister on its underside, causing greenish, flammable liquid to leak out of it. "What the heck is that thing leaking out of that machine?" She questioned.

"Beats me." Trafalgar explained. "It looks like gas, judging from the smell."

Meanwhile, from the other side, with Asta, Meliodas, and Noelle, the trio fight off against the Watcher pack, where one of them unleashes what seems to be a blinding, deafening light from its lens, causing the other two to be temporarily blinded by it completely.

"What the hell?" Asta exclaimed.

"I can't see a thing here!" Meliodas exclaimed. "Hey, just in case, don't attack me here!"

"I'm trying, but these machines are getting more and more annoying than ever before." Noelle explained, before firing her attack known as Sea Dragon's Waterball towards a Watcher, dispatching the machine completely. "Got one of them!" She declared.

The blinding effect later disappears, a few seconds later, as everything goes back to normal, before the battle continue as usual.

Asta then uses One-Horn Bull Thrust towards another Watcher, where he stabs the Machine's "heart", thus destroying it completely.

"Haha! And you're down, you little shit!" Asta exclaimed confidently, as he takes pleasure in the destruction of the said machine.

Meliodas then unleashes a killing blow towards the final Watcher with his Lostvayne, while it proceeds to leap towards the Sin of Wrath, with him slicing the said machine to half.

"Not even a challenge." Meliodas only commented.

With Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar...

"We're getting close in there." Zoro claimed.

"I just need to weaken the machine furthermore, and let Trafalgar-san and you deal the killing blow!" Maya ordered, as she continuously blocks the Sawtooth's aggressive attacks with her rapier.

"Got it." Zoro claimed, as he switches to his One Sword Style attack.

Trafalgar then prepares himself, as he proceeds to arm his sword Kikoku. He then unleashes an attack known as Injection Shot towards the now-weakened Sawtooth, causing it to "bleed" severely, where the "blood" coming out from the Sawtooth is revealed to be machine oil.

"And say hello to your death!" Zoro added, before unleashing an attack known as Kaen, causing the damaged Sawtooth to burst into flames, before it explodes, leaving machine part fragments all over the site.

"I guess that's the last of them." Trafalgar claimed.

"Maybe not." Zoro disagreed. "Because this is just a part of the problem in this world." He also claimed.

"We should head out and find Aloy-san next." Maya ordered.

With the Machine threat over for now, Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar later rendezvous with Asta, Noelle, and Meliodas, who were examining the Watcher corpses, but found nothing useful.

"These Machines..." Asta said.

"Going back to Tendo-san's question." Meliodas claimed. "How is Aloy-san able to fight herself against these mechanical monstrosities in the first place?" He added curiously.

"They don't look like aggressive to us, but something or someone is causing them to behave aggressively in such a way that it can't be explained even for us." Noelle explained.

"Something must have ticked them off." Zoro added.

But just as they are about to leave the massacre site, Dran suddenly appears in such dire circumstances, who have plans to explain to the Unity Force over what truly happened with the machines going berserk and attacking anyone on sight.

"I've never seen curious people like you before, but what are you doing here at the massacre site?" Dran asked, before looking at the Unity Force with utter curiosity. "The rest of you don't look like members of Nora, Banuk, Oseram, and even Carja." He claimed.

"What are you even talking about?" Maya asked. "We don't look like members of those groups you've just mentioned, just a second ago." She added suspiciously.

"By the Matriarchs!" Dran exclaimed. "What part of tribe are the rest of you, then?" He suspiciously questioned.

"Tribes?" Zoro asked. "What tribes?" He added.

"You don't belong in a tribe...?" Dran questioned more suspiciously, now sounding more frightened, as he backs away. "What are you people, then?!" He exclaimed, all of a sudden.

"Please, calm down." Maya added. "We're not threatening you, your tribe, or whatever you're trying to paint us." She explained.

"Okay, okay." Dran said. "Before that, where did the rest of you come from?" He added.

Zoro, with no other choice, later begins explaining to Dran about the Unity Force and the existence of several worlds, as well as the multiverse. He goes into additionally explaining about the goals of the organisation, including saving the world from any threat it comes into.

"I don't believe all of this." Dran added. "So the rest of you are not even normal people to begin with!" He added. "My apologies for being rude. I'm Dran, the member of Sona's war party." He introduced.

The rest of the Unity Force introduce themselves to Dran, before the Nora Brave gives them a brief explanation about the tribes, including the Nora, the Banuk, the Carja, and the Oseram. He goes into explaining how the ruins of the Old Ones are tainted by their own sins, and any Nora sans Seekers caught visiting there will be turned into an outcast for a limited period of time. The Unity Force, on the other hand, does not believe any of his ramblings, but does so, as a cover.

"These guys are serious nutcases..." Asta thought.

"We are here to find our friend who disappeared." Maya explained. "But first, can you tell us why those machines suddenly attacked us when we were entering here, as well as what happened here?" He added.

Dran begins to explain the events regarding the massacre of the Nora war party, which was led by a War-Chief known as Sona, a few days ago, to find the perpetrators of the Proving massacre. He told the Unity Force that Aloy has been looking for Sona since, within the last location that is located at a derelict metal tower in Devil's Thirst.

"So she was heading there." Zoro claimed.

"Because it was the last known place of the War-Chief Sona." Dran added. "Judging from what I saw earlier, the rest of you were much more capable than all Nora combined, when you were dealing with those Machines." He claimed.

"You were watching us the WHOLE TIME?!" Meliodas fumed, with Dran nodding.

"Then explain what was happening to the machines we just faced?" Noelle questioned.

"It was the Derangement." Dran said.

"Derangement?" Meliodas asked.

"Long time ago, these Machines used to be docile and at some point coexisted with one another. That is, until 20 years ago..." Dran paused.

"What happened?" Trafalgar asked.

"The machines became hostile to humans, hell-bent on wanting to kill us by any means necessary." Dran explained.

"So, that explains why it wanted to kill us in the first place." Maya asked. "But more important than that is Aloy." She added.

"How do you know about the outcast?" Dran asked.

"It's complicated to explain." Asta answered. "But she's been in another world for several months, and the rest of our group found her." He added.

"She was missing for almost two weeks, and the Matriarchs including Teersa and Jezza were looking for her, but Lansra was against it. That is until the outcast suddenly showed up at Mother's Watch." Dran revealed.

"What happened, then?" Meliodas asked Dran.

"Of course, the Nora Brave and outcast herself butted heads with the interim War-Chief known as Resh and his second-in-command Thush, at first." Dran said. "That is, until the outcast herself stopped the sudden attack of that Corruptor and the Corrupted Watchers, and she left Mother's Watch to find Sona." He ended.

"Two weeks...?" Maya questioned. "That means time moves slow in this world, as well..." She added. "Regardless, we have to go now and find Aloy-san at that derelict tower." She responded.

"May the Matriarchs praise you, and be careful with the Machines." Dran said, as he parts ways with the Unity Force, before they leave the massacre site, now on the way to locate their missing friend within her last known site: the metal tower in Devil's Thirst.

"That 'Nora Brave' guy was a whack job earlier." Asta commented.

"This is curious even for us." Noelle ended.

"Whatever Dran said to us, then we must find her at that metal tower." Zoro ordered.

~~~0-0-0~~~

The characters that appear in this chapter (in order):

Dran from Horizon Zero Dawn

~~~0-0-0~~~

The rest of Zoro's Unity Force group later trek into Devil's Thirst at night, as they explore more of this place and examine more of this ancient, curious architecture in this ruined city of Colorado Springs.

"Old Ones..." Maya calmly uttered, as she is examining a statue of what looked like the ancient Pikes Peak Range Riders Memorial statue. "This statue definitely looks like the same ones found in Colorado Springs." She claimed.

"That means..." Zoro said.

"That means this Devil's Thirst place is nothing more than Colorado Springs?" Noelle said.

"Seems like it." Trafalgar added.

"Check this out!" Asta exclaimed, as he is seen standing on top of a rusted chassis of a sports car. "I'm standing on a completely rusty chassis of an ancient sports car!" He boisterously added.

"What am I seeing..." Noelle facepalmed.

"Boy..." Meliodas added. "This place is getting weirder by the minute."

"Just by looking at this place around us..." Maya said. "It definitely already is."

~~~0-0-0~~~

A/N: This story is inspired by the ideas of someoneStupED and XP4Universe.

On the next chapter of UF Missions: Horizon Zero Dawn: After the Unity Force group were given Aloy's last whereabouts by Dran, which is located at an abandoned metal tower in Devil's Thirst, as well as hearing about the Derangement and the tribes from the Nora Brave, the Unity Force later soon becomes entangled in a larger-scale conflict, one of which becomes their main priority...