UNITY FORCE MISSIONS: HORIZON ZERO DAWN

CHAPTER 9: Firebreak

ARC II: Project Firebreak

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

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[Longnotch, Earth-1355]

A day ago, Zoro Roronoa, Maya Tendo, and Aloy were finally able to locate Ourea in Ourea's Retreat through the perilous Shaman's Path, while dealing with various hostile encounters including Daemonic machines. At the same time, the Unity Force later took it upon to themselves by telling Ourea to convince Aratak and allow them access to Thunder's Drum to rescue the Spirit, defeat the Daemon, as well as rescuing Akiha Ikebukuro inside, before hope is lost.

But Zoro and Maya's attempts at diplomacy with the Banuk chieftain Aratak did not work out initially, as both of them were forced to butt heads with him, thanks to his stubbornness and headstrong nature, which was mostly attributed to his traumatic experience with the failed and disastrous expedition to Thunder's Drum that led to his warriors getting effortlessly slaughtered.

It went nearly heated, almost to the point of starting yet another verbal argument between them, until Maya finally came up with a compromise: fighting off against two Frostclaws, both regular and Daemonic, which was enough to convince Aratak, as he saw their rather extraordinary fighting abilities. At the same time, however, it was done, as it was attacking a nearby Banuk encampment that left three people injured.

After the Frostclaws were defeated and the settlement being saved, Zoro and Maya later told the news about Aratak finally allowing them entry to Thunder's Drum in Ourea's Retreat, after saving the settlement from near destruction, before Asta, Meliodas, Trafalgar D. Water Law and Noelle Silva rendezvoused with the rest to proceed with the plan on breaking into Thunder's Drum. At the same time, Ourea would give a new weapon to Aloy, which is known as a Stormslinger.

At the same time, Aloy, Maya, and Zoro were told by Asta that his group have helped out Olin Delverson and his family, whom Olin and the U.F. later killed the Eclipse troops at the said farmstead. Noelle would go into saying that Olin would promise to start a new life away from the unintentional criminality that he had done.

The group later reached Longnotch, as they prepared themselves for the expedition, while briefly conversing to Aratak about the history regarding Ourea, as well as their plans to break into Thunder's Drum.

The next day at 5:33 A.M...

[Outside Thunder's Drum, Earth-1355]

After teleporting from Ourea's Retreat to Longnotch, Aloy, Maya, Zoro, Asta, Noelle, and Trafalgar later leave the camp early morning, as they rendezvous to Thunder's Drum, where they reach Ourea, Aratak, and Naltuk standing in front of a colossal wall covered in ice. Presuming to be yet another mysterious building, the Unity Force later converse to the shaman about more, regarding Thunder's Drum and Akiha.

"I can't believe that thing in front of us is even bigger than the Unity Force Academy's classrooms." Asta described, as he glances at the wall.

"Possibly some kind of a post-apocalyptic bunker or some sort." Noelle added.

"Heck. I bet this was even a bunker at all." Meliodas quipped.

Focusing mostly on the topic regarding Thunder's Drum, the Unity Force group sans Zoro and Maya are confused of the events that happened earlier, including the Spirit and the Daemon.

Aloy inquires what the group would find inside the mysterious building, with Ourea telling them that there are ruins, as well as ferocious Daemonic machines, which were similar to the ones that slaughtered Aratak's expedition crew effortlessly, as well as a machine Cauldron door. She then goes into saying that beyond the Cauldron door lies the Spirit, but due to the Daemon's persistent attempts to incessantly install every security measure in its book, Ourea's efforts to rescue her were rendered useless, as a result.

"So, there's no way to reach them?" Noelle asked.

"In the past, until this outlander and your friends came to the rescue." Ourea added.

"We promise that we can help to save the Spirit." Trafalgar added. "But, we need some of our group to stay outside to keep in touch." He stated.

Ourea immediately warns the group that there will be no turning back once they ascend into Thunder's Drum, so Zoro decides to formulate a plan on who to go with Ourea and Aratak inside and who to stay outside, in case if anything goes immediately awry or something else. As for Ourea, however, this is her chance to find the Spirit and free her, before the Daemon takes control of her.

"Here's the plan. Aloy-san, Maya, Law, and I will go inside with Ourea-sama and Aratak-sama." Zoro stated.

"What about us?" Noelle asked.

"If everything goes completely unexpected, we'll call you in to teleport into our given destination." Zoro added further on. "Remember, there is no messing things up, so we have to do this exactly at one shot to save this Spirit and locate Akiha's distress signal here." He added.

"We got this!" Meliodas gestured.

Then, Aloy later tells Ourea that they are ready, as Ourea later takes a wooden branch, which is burnt at the other end, before proceeding to head through a specific area of the icy wall. While it would make sense for the Banuk, it would never do so for the Unity Force, especially Asta.

Ourea would later proceed to carve a triangle shape into it via the burnt end of the wooden branch.

"What is she doing?" Noelle asked Meliodas.

"Probably some kind of mystic-level shit that they're doing." Meliodas stated.

"Finally, we ascend." Ourea declared.

That statement alone confused Aloy and the Unity Force, as they knew that nothing is to be seen around them that is considered to be "ascended". Either their lack of logic or something else starts to confuse Maya more.

"Ascended? Excuse me? I don't think that thing can be climbed up with." Maya commented.

"But how? We don't see a way up." Aloy questioned Aratak and Ourea.

"Not up. Through." Aratak reminded, as he proceeds to take out his weapon, known as an Icerail.

"That doesn't make any sense." Asta uttered indecorously in an incredulous manner.

"Like you." Noelle mocked.

"Excuse me?" Asta eyed annoyingly on Noelle.

"Would you please?" Zoro questioned, as he glances at both Asta and Noelle. "We don't want to ruin the mission."

"Now, brother." Ourea ordered.

Disregarding the argumentative situation around them, the group would later see Aratak shattering the ice across the triangle-shaped figure around it through his Icerail's other end, revealing to be a metallic wall, as well as a large vent grille in front of them, which is definitely bigger than they can expect.

"I'm not sure what they're going to do with a vent grille." Asta questioned the logic of the Banuk, as he whistled.

But their questions were later answered, when the rest of the Unity Force group see Naltuk proceeding to initiate a ceremonial dance, while Ourea proceeds to use a stick with two pieces of cloth on both of the stick's ends, before she proceeds to swing it right into the pyre, as it means to unseal the mountain's sealed entrance.

Or rather, Ourea lets the smoke from the pyre divert it into the vent grille with the makeshift fan, where more of the smoke are seen entering inside of it. Later on, they see orange light glowing within it, as the smoke enters inside.

"What's going to happen next?" Maya asked the crew.

Then, a massive tremor is to be felt around them, as they see the ice completely falling down, before they realise that they heard the door slowly opening.

"You just had to ask." Meliodas quipped.

"I repeat, this is not a drill. Please remain calm and proceed to the nearest exit. Smoke has been detected within the facility. This is not a drill. Please remain calm and proceed to the nearest exit." The synthetic voice artificially said, as the door opens, revealing to be a facility in front of them.

"What the hell was that?!" Asta exclaimed upon hearing that voice.

"It's probably some kind of emergency recording, since smoke went in." Noelle responded.

"Come. The Spirit awaits." Ourea ordered the rest, as they proceed inside.

"That's not all that awaits." Aratak added.

Ourea then looks at Aloy, as well as Maya, Trafalgar, and Zoro. "So you see - I, too, can call upon the power of the Old Ones." She added.

"Except it's just a regular recorded voice." Meliodas whispered, as he witnesses Ourea's odd behaviour, as he facepalms himself in annoyance.

"These people are crazy." Asta described, as he sees all of it.

"I guess that's what Maya-san means when they're referring to them being full of mystic crazies." Noelle added.

"We'll be going now." Maya added, as she and the rest go with Ourea and Aratak inside of the mountain.

"We'll keep in contact with you." Noelle stated.

Taking their farewells, Aloy, Zoro, Maya, Trafalgar, Ourea, and Aratak later part ways with the rest of the group, as they head inside of the unknown facility, which is later revealed to be not Thunder's Drum. Instead, it is an ancient Battery Facility that was a part of a much larger ancient facility known as Firebreak, which was a part of the Old Ones' top-secret environmental project of the same name: Project Firebreak. It was used to stabilise the Yellowstone Caldera in the erstwhile U.S. State of Wyoming within Earth-1355.

[Firebreak's Battery Facility, Earth-1355]

The Battery Facility is an abandoned power plant, which was a part of the Firebreak facility, that contains various equipment, where most of it is frozen or broken, as well as huge metal pillars of electricity towers used to power the facility 24/7, but most of the facility was completely encased in ice.

They move onward, while examining the place for a possible passageway.

"What was this place?" Aloy asked.

"The Spirit once told me that this all used to be a part of its domain." Ourea described.

"What do you mean by domain?" Zoro asked.

"A fortress that defended humankind from a terrible danger."

"Fortress?" Aloy questioned. "It looks more like a machine."

"Is that not fitting?" Ourea questioned. "The blue light often dwells in machines."

"Certainly doesn't look like a normal place to us." Maya described.

"The Unity Force Academy may look like this, but this place is rather incomparable just by looking at it." Trafalgar added, as he looks around. "It would be enough to house hundred thousand people." He stated, as he glance around at the ancient facility.

"Let's just hope that some remains here." Aratak stated, before looking at the electricity towers. "Metal pillars, tall as Ban-Ur's cliffs. I still don't like it." He described.

Continuing onward, the group later find a stairway around the strange facility, before heading onward, as they see a frozen metal arm in front of them. However, Aloy finds a device lying around the floor, which was a datapoint from a person known as Kenny Chau.

"Name: Return to Firebreak
Type: Voice Log
Length: 00:34
Data Corruption: Minimal

Kenny Chau: November 21, 2064. It's been three years since I was last here, and twelve since I was running the place.

Just a skeleton crew left, confused about why I'm here. So am I.

Anita wants me to find a way to suspend operations for a while… maybe a long while, and I don't know why.

But from the sound of her voice, it was something… terrifying.

I wish I could look into her eyes, ask her what the hell she's so freaked out about. But what else is new?

When don't I wish I could look into her eyes again?"

The message log later ends, with Ourea and Aratak hearing it, as well as Aloy, Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar inside. Ourea would ask what she was listening to, to which Aloy would state that there are memories around this place by the Old Ones, in the form of audio logs.

"Who's this Kenny Chau person?" Maya asked.

"Probably someone who worked here before, but he's certainly important, given from the nature of the said message itself." Zoro stated.

"We can't second guess." Maya shakes her head. "We also have to find a piece of Akiha-san's whereabouts, as well."

"The problem is where she must have ended up around the facility." Aloy stated. "Not even Ourea or Aratak knew where she is." She stated.

Ourea, meanwhile, would misinterpret Aloy hearing a voice recording as her being envious of the Nora outlander's "ability" to hear voices of the Old Ones, in spite of the fact that they were just mere recordings.

Leaving the power plant, the group later encounter a large metal arm sitting next to a beam that is partially covered in snow, as they proceed to climb up on it, where it leads to the other side of the facility. From a distance, they encounter four Daemonic Redeye Watchers, a Daemonic Freeze Bellowback (similar to a Fire Bellowback, but uses Chillwater within its cargo sac, instead of Blaze), and a Daemonic Scrapper. Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar would perch from one of the beams, as they carefully walk, while Aloy would join in with Ourea and Aratak as they attempt to sneak their way through the machines.

"That's a lot of machines there." Maya observed.

"Aloy-san, try to stealthily kill them, while we observe from above." Zoro added. "We'll only intervene if anything goes real downhill fast."

"Got it." Aloy replied, as she hides from a patch of grass, along with Ourea and Aratak.

"We can make our way upwards when you're done, Aloy." Ourea stated, with Aloy nodding, as well.

From there, Aloy would silently take down the smaller machines with ease without getting caught, while continuously sneaking through each one of them, as she is joined in by Ourea and Aratak, who also did the same thing, as well.

However, when they suddenly encounter the Daemonic Freeze Bellowback in front of them, their stealth approach was later ended, when the machine suddenly attacked, as it lunges towards them, while unleashing a projectile of what looked like frozen Chillwater towards them in a quick manner.

"Damn it, it spotted us." Ourea uttered. "It looks like we have no choice but to fight that Bellowback." She added, as she equips her Stormslinger, before Aratak uses his Icerail.

"Shit, that thing is real angry." Zoro uttered, as he looks at the machine.

"I guess stealth doesn't always work that way!" Maya added. "Let's go!" She added, with Trafalgar nodding rather calmly, as he takes out his Kikoku.

Joining in with Aloy, Ourea, and Aratak, Zoro, Maya, and Law would later fight off against the Daemonic Freeze Bellowback, as it went on a rampage of its own, before three Daemonic Redeye Watchers arrive at the scene.

"It looks like we have company, as well." Zoro uttered, before he looks at the rest.

Fighting off against the small company of machines around them, the Daemonic Redeye Watchers were easily dealt with, as Maya sliced one of them with her Odette effortlessly, and with Trafalgar dodging its attacks, before using Radio Knife to amputate the two Redeye Watchers, causing it to be destroyed cleanly.

The Freeze Bellowback, on the other hand, gave the group some slight trouble, due to its resistance towards getting shocked and its aggressiveness, when Ourea attempted to fire several shots from her Stormslinger. However, in spite of the machine's rather aggressive efforts, it would be later overpowered, when Zoro later used Yakkodori as it sliced off its legs, and with Aloy shot off its cargo sac, destroying the machine completely.

"You fought a little aggressively there." Aratak commented.

"You only see a little of it." Zoro added. "There are more Unity Force heroes who fight like that." He stated.

Aloy and Zoro then see a ladder that leads to a walkway above, before the crew later follows them.

"Yes, this way." Ourea stated.

With Zoro, Aloy, Maya, and Trafalgar...

"Ourea said that we're almost close to where her expedition team got slaughtered by these machines." Zoro stated, as she takes out her new hunter bow: a Banuk Hunter Bow. "Whatever she meant must be machines more dangerous than that Bellowback that we just faced." He stated.

"Probably bigger than all of this." Zoro added, as he takes out his Enma.

With nothing else to lose, the rest of the group continue walking through a series of metallic stairs, as they ascend, until they reach through a broken, half-open door, as well as another part of the facility containing three large steam towers that are still in working condition.

Further north, however, is the scene of past carnage perpetrated by the machines, where several bodies of the Banuk tribesmen, more specifically Aratak's werak, are to be seen by them. A group of machines are also seen, including two Daemonic Scorchers, a Daemonic Stalker, a Daemonic Watcher, and a new machine.

This new machine is known as a Behemoth. The Behemoth's huge chassis has some resemblance to the body of a rhinoceros. Its head is mostly composed of a very large pyramidal snout. Its jaws consist of a pair of mandibles similar to those of a Thunderjaw, An optical sensor array is located on each side of the snout, near the mandibles. Between the mandibles is a pair of rotary tools whose primary purpose is unknown, but which it can use in attacks. On each side of its very large neck are three anti-gravity generators called force loaders. Its belly has a large longitudinal circular space into which a circular cargo container fits vertically, locked in place by clamps. Between its haunches is an antenna array, and on each haunch is a Chillwater canister. On the back of it's neck sits a single power cell.

"That's a new machine." Aloy stated while looking at the Behemoth, as she looks at Zoro.

"And probably responsible for Aratak-sama's werak getting slaughtered." Zoro stated quietly.

Aratak would later go into explaining how his expeditionary team in the first expedition fought their way into the facility, only for them to be senselessly getting slaughtered by the Behemoth and the various machines guarding the facility in and out, leading to what left of his expeditionary team members to immediately retreat, at the expense of dropping supplies and losing more of their best warriors. This led their expedition to be a disastrous failure, the likes of which they had never seen before, which dealt a blow to Aratak's morale.

Maya was in a state of shock as to how Aratak's team were just simply killed off, while Zoro and Trafalgar felt the same thing, albeit not deciding to let it cloud their judgement. Aloy, on the other hand, was within the neutral scale, knowing all of this already.

"We may mourn them, but it's in the past, Aratak-sama." Maya declared, as she looks at the site.

"Now we must prevail. With allies aiding on us, a Shaman, and two warriors to protect, we're able to fight off against this threat." Aratak stated, as he takes out his Icerail.

They are later greeted with a forking path, where Aratak's suggestion leads to a direct route, with the battleground with his team getting slaughtered in front of them, while Ourea's suggestion would lead into a longer but safer route, that while machines are still swarming, it would give them at least a window of opportunity to hide and sneak away.

Zoro would decide to choose the direct path instead, and with Aloy agreeing to do so.

After much deliberation and agreement, Aloy, Zoro, Maya, Trafalgar, Ourea, and Aratak would later decide to choose the direct route. Carefully treading through, as they descend through the only stairway, they approach the site with the three steam towers, before they proceed to fight off against the machine threat.

"Fight or run, the time is now!" Zoro declared seriously, as he takes out his Enma out.

"It's time, sister. It's time to avenge our fallen!" Aratak cried out, as he proceeds to fire off his Icerail, before the said machines appear at them, as well as the Daemonic Behemoth.

[PLAY MUSIC: Horizon Forbidden West OST - Shoulders of Giants]

Zoro and Trafalgar would deal with the hulking machine in front of them, as it was unlike any other machine they faced previously, save for the Frostclaw that nearly murdered them in the past. Maya and Aloy would deal with the Scorchers, while Aratak and Ourea deal with the Daemonic Stalker and Watcher, respectively.

Zoro twirls his Enma, as he looks at the Behemoth. "Oi! You're one tough freak, do you? Come here and try!" He said, as he positions himself in a fighting stance.

The Behemoth would viciously roar, as it proceeds to use its force loader, before firing off a giant boulder in front of them. However, Trafalgar would use his Kikoku to slice off the boulder with deadly accuracy, causing it to be sliced into eight large rock fragments, and with Zoro using one of them as a projectile by swinging his Enma.

The impact of the rock fragment itself hit the Behemoth's head violently, before Zoro sees it as a golden opportunity, with the machine being distracted. Of course, it didn't take for the Behemoth to charge towards them.

Zoro prepares himself, as he and Trafalgar watch at the charging machine in front of the pirate warriors.

...until Zoro proceeds to unleash one of his attacks toward it.

"Sanjuroku Pound Ho!" Zoro cried out, as he holds his Enma horizontally above the shoulder of his sword arm, and then performs a circular swing that launches the air compressed projectile spiralling towards the Behemoth. The force of it was enough to hurl the machine high above, before its head was promptly decapitated.

With Maya and Aloy...

Both the female heroes fight off against the Scorchers, before they are suddenly helped by Aratak and Ourea, who both previously defeated the other machines. While it was mostly trouble for the rest, due to the Scorchers' Mine Launchers that pose greater annoyance, thanks to the number of mines around them.

With the help of Aratak's Icerail, Maya would take out one of the Scorchers with her Odette via a forward stab, before Aloy would use her Banuk Hunter Bow to fire a prolonged shot, dealing a much more powerful shot, as it pierced right through two Blaze Canisters via a Hardpoint Arrow, igniting the machine completely.

"It's done." Aloy stated.

"I can't believe we've faced a lot of machines in this world." Maya stated, as she polishes her rapier with a regular whetstone.

"And they're endless." Zoro added.

"We would never know." Trafalgar stated.

The group later moved on, with the battle now done, before examining around the area, once more, with Aratak describing the steam towers before comparing it to various Oseram forges, and with Aloy adding about the vibrations underneath them, pondering that the towers were tapping underground.

Moving onward, the rest of the crew continue, until they come across another blast door in front of them, which leads into another area of the facility. That is, until the door opens up, revealing an unpleasant encounter in front of them, accompanying with a rumbling sound and a roar...

"Oh no..." Maya said in fright. "Something's coming, and it's not liking us." She said, as she grips the hilt of her rapier, before unsheathing it out from its scabbard.

When all of a sudden, another machine comes into the fray, and it is none other than a Daemonic Frostclaw, which is clear that the Daemon has been upping the security further. The Frostclaw is clearly displeased of what it sees in front of it, as it prepares itself for an attack.

"Frostclaw!" Ourea exclaimed to the group.

"What the hell is that?" Trafalgar questioned Zoro.

"It's that Frostclaw thing again." Zoro stated, as he looks at it.

'The Daemon must be upping its efforts, much like the how the first expedition went." Aratak stated.

"Well then, let's give this machine bear a beating, again!" Zoro exclaimed, before looking at Trafalgar.

"Well, I'll be damned." Trafalgar nodded, as he arms his Kikoku.

The battle went on, as Aloy, Ourea, Aratak, Zoro, Maya, and Trafalgar fight off against the ursine machine, with the rest clearly taken aback by its sudden appearance. For the record, they have already encountered four Frostclaws throughout their journey in the Cut, and they dread that more of them will appear.

Ourea uses her Stormslinger, in an attempt to distract the machine, before being accompanied by Trafalgar, who is seemingly using every opportunity to distract it. Aratak would then use his bow, this time, to target the Frostclaw's Chillwater cargo sacs on its shoulders.

Aloy, on the other hand, uses her striker bow, as she targets the machine's cargo sac within its underbelly, as she barrages it with Hardpoint arrows, causing the sac to be slowly punctured, before the final shot unleashes copious amounts of Chillwater, making the machine brittle.

Maya later uses a silver whetstone, as she unleashes a silver-coloured crescent projectile, Silver Half-Crescent, towards the machine, causing it to slightly stagger, as a crack appears from its underbelly.

The Frostclaw, in retaliation, later slams the ground, as it releases ice spikes around them, but it missed the attack. It later pauses for one second to unleash its ice-augmented claw attacks towards the crew, but Trafalgar and Zoro rapidly parry the said attack, before Trafalgar charges towards the machine's underbelly, pushing the Kikoku towards it.

"Shock Wille!" Trafalgar exclaimed, as his sword emits electricity, causing the Frostclaw to be paralysed from the inside, as it bypasses the machine's outer defences against shock. "Now!" He called out.

Zoro and Maya later proceed to target the paralysed machine, as Maya unleashes a forward stabbing attack towards the machine, and with Zoro firing off Yakkodori against it, causing the machine to be destroyed.

"Impossible." Aratak added. "You also had this extraordinary power, not seen by any Banuk warrior." He continued, as he looks at Trafalgar, who simply nodded. "I guess we survived, where our kin did not." He continued.

"At least they're avenged now." Maya stated, as she puts down her rapier.

After the sudden battle, the Frostclaw threat was stopped, as the crew later leave the site. They see another door in front of them, but given the state of the lock, as it was locked by the Daemon, according to Ourea, it was by no means functional. Aloy would then reassure them, telling them both that there will be another way.

Later heading through the only way, which is a stairway to another area of the facility. Walking their way in, they later arrive at another abandoned part of the facility, where they see a mysterious door from afar, but no machines are to be seen at all, to their relief. They later end up into what seems to be an abandoned office, which contains an oval table, as well as chairs, and a terminal in front of them.

"What is this place?" Maya questioned.

"It looks some kind of office." Zoro stated.

"Might need to sit my ass down a little." Trafalgar stated, as he sits down at the table.

"Probably hasn't been used for over a thousand years." Aloy added.

"Maybe Akiha-san end up here, at one point." Maya stated.

Examining the office further, Aloy later encounters a projector with a green holographic hand.

"Aratak, Ourea - you might see shapes, drawn from light. Don't be alarmed." Aloy reminded.

"It will take more than light to alarm me." Aratak stated.

Pressing her hand into it, a hologram appears in front of them, revealing to be two people, with one of them being Kenny Chau and another being a woman, known as Anita Sandoval. It shows a hologram of Kenny and Anita drinking margarita, as they were assumed to be having a meeting regarding the purpose of Project Firebreak and their success.

Name: The Toast
Type: Hologram
Length: 01:31
Data Corruption: Minimal

Anita Sandoval: Thank you for being here, everyone, I suppose it's not every day you get to have cocktails inside an active volcano, right? Unless you're George, and I can hardly blame him for drinking on the job. None of this… would be here without our beloved Director, Kenny Chau. So here's to you, Kenny. You put a cork in the Yellowstone Caldera. I'd say you deserve a margarita.

Kenny Chau: Hold your glasses, everyone - I'd like to add something. This effort wouldn't have been possible without our Lead Programmer. Thank you, Anita - for bringing us our real mastermind - CYAN.

Spirit: I'll second that, Director Chau.

Anita Sandoval: All right, CYAN - what's our latest number?

Spirit: The current count is 1,654.

Anita Sandoval: Then drink up, everyone - here's to 1,654 more years without an eruption!

"It was the Spirit! With… the Old Ones! I could only grasp some of what they said…" Ourea said in surprise.

"You were right, Ourea. This place was built to stop something terrible." Aloy reminded. "And it worked. As for the Spirit - I'm starting to get an idea of what it could be." She stated.

"You mean CYAN?" Maya asked. "So this is Spirit is CYAN...?" She pondered further.

"Seems like it." Aloy stated

"Seems like an AI, like how Tennyson-sensei mentioned it to us." Trafalgar added.

"I'm thinking that we know what this place is all about." Maya replied, as she looks around. "It's some kind of a facility to prevent this caldera from exploding." She registers everything in her head.

"Wait, the machine is on again." Aloy added, as she looks at it.

"ALERT: A new message appeared. Press the terminal to activate." The synthetic voice said.

"This has to be something." Aloy said, as she presses it.

Then, the console glows green again, before Aloy presses it, revealing yet another corrupted message, which came from Akiha Ikebukuro, only this time her hologram was glitched.

Akiha: If anyone manages to find this message, I'm currently inside this machine Cauldron... [HOLOGRAM GLITCHES BADLY] ...Not far from now, but you must stop the AI responsible for all of this- [GLITCHING] It's almost two weeks have passed- [GLITCHING] [DATA CORRUPTED]

Synthetic Voice: Data corrupted. Playback stopped.

The hologram of Akiha then disappears, before the rest of the group are confused of what they just witnessed once again: a distress signal. This time, however, the group are uncertain if she's even alive or dead, by the moment they stepped inside the facility.

"Akiha-san, wait!" Maya exclaimed futilely, as she looks at the floor in horror. "I'm more and more worried that we might find her dead."

"Look, Maya. We're not giving up finding her, so you shouldn't." Zoro looks at the troubled actress, who attempts to reassure her. "I know it may be a little difficult, but we're almost close."

"But still..." Maya pessimistically reminded. "She's getting more and more troubled by the moment."

With Aloy and Ourea...

"You recognised that girl, Ourea?" Aloy asked.

"Yes. That's the same person that our warriors spotted, two weeks ago, but why she's here?" Ourea questioned.

"No one knows, but for certain, she was trying to stop the Daemon dead in its tracks, but it was a reckless move to begin with." Aratak coldly remarked.

"This Daemon, CYAN and Akiha... Three things we need to deal with, at once." Trafalgar added.

"I'm calling the trio outside." Zoro added, as he takes out his tablet. "It seems that we have a bigger problem to deal with now, so you three need to visit here, now." He ordered.

"We'll be teleporting there in a moment." Asta replied from the other side.

"What is he doing?" Ourea asked Aloy.

"It's a little hard to explain, but he's basically calling the rest of our group to join in." Aloy answered.

From there, Asta, Noelle, and Meliodas suddenly appear in front of the group, after hearing the final hologram of Akiha and her last possible known location inside the Firebreak Facility. Deciding their plan to move onward, the rest of the Unity Force briefed in the trio about their experience earlier, including fighting the Daemon's machine guards.

"Did we miss something?" Asta asked.

"Well, aside from stopping this Daemon's guards, we've also found another of Akiha-san's distress signals." Maya said, as she looks at the door. "But it would take us time, as we have to go through that door." She points at the machine Cauldron door.

"You guys seem to be pretty much in a hassle." Meliodas stated.

"We're already dealing with machines everywhere we go." Zoro added, as he sat down on the table. "Sounds like this Daemon doesn't know when to stop, and he's intensifying his efforts in doing so." He reminded.

"We're not letting that slide." Meliodas declared. "We stop that thing, and we rescue them." He stated.

"Let's be wary, though." Noelle added. "We don't know what we are up against, given from the current expressions you guys bear, no pun intended." She said, as she takes out her wand.

"Speaking of which, the door is open now. We can get through." Ourea reminded.

After taking a little break, as well as further planning, the Unity Force, Ourea, and Aratak later left the ancient office room, as they approached the pathway surrounded by lava on both sides of the walkway, while approaching the machine Cauldron door that is lit with purple lights.

"I have a score to settle with that mountain." Aratak said, as he takes out his Icerail.

In spite of the place being empty, the Unity Force know that something is off, so they decide not to put their guards down and prepare for the worst.

"You did this earlier on that node thing, right?" Maya asked, with Aloy nodding.

"It's now or never." Aloy remarked.

Aloy then takes out her spear, as she pushes the overriding module into the machine Cauldron door, in an attempt to override the door. It was almost a success, until purple tendrils suddenly surround it, and a malevolent voice can be heard. It was none other than the Daemon itself.

"Security threat detected. Mobilising autonomous defences." The Daemon warned.

"It looks like this Daemon doesn't like being intruded!" Maya exclaimed.

Suddenly, an ominous machine appears, which they later see a Daemonic Thunderjaw from afar.

[PLAY MUSIC: Trocadero - Fatum Iustum Stultorum]

"Uh-oh, guys? What is that?" Noelle asked, as she sees the Thunderjaw.

"Not a good sign, that is." Asta added, as he takes out his Demon-Slayer Sword, before glancing at the machine.

"Oh, great. It's' that goddamn beast again!" Zoro gestured indecorously, as he takes out his Enma and Sandai Kitetsu, while remembering his first encounter with a Thunderjaw. "I thought one of you is already bad enough!" He added in annoyance.

"This is going to be fun." Trafalgar simply stated.

"It's a Thunderjaw, but a Daemonic one!" Aloy exclaimed.

"That's a big-ass machine!" Meliodas uttered, as he arms his Lostvayne.

"The Daemon is sending reinforcements, as well." Ourea added, as she looks to the left, where five machines appear at them, as well.

"Scorchers and Scrappers. More machines. Make ready!" Aratak exclaimed, as he looks at the other machines.

There, two Daemonic Scorchers and three Daemonic Scrappers then appear as backup forces for the Thunderjaw, as they proceed to target them without hesitation.

"All of you, deal with the other machines. Aloy, myself, and Law will focus on this monster!" Zoro exclaimed, as he, Aloy and Trafalgar focus on their attention with the Daemonic Thunderjaw, as it was bent on slaughtering the team.

Proceeding into another fight, with the Daemon attempting to kill them, the Unity Force, Aloy, Ourea, and Aratak fight off against the newfound machine threat, once again, more so than the previous encounters they have seen inside the facility.

Noelle fires Sea Dragon's Waterball towards a Daemonic Scrapper, as the spell's power pushes the lesser machine away, causing it to be thrown into the lava not far from them, before it was instantly destroyed.

One of the Daemonic Scorchers proceed to launch several mines towards them through its Mine Launcher, but Ourea would later proceed to distract it with her weapon. Soon after, Asta later destroys all of the mines in an instant with his Demon-Slayer Sword, as he unleashes One-Horn Bull Thrust towards it, causing the machine to be destroyed.

Another Scorcher attempts to charge towards Meliodas, before unleashing a fire-augmented claw slash. However, Meliodas created four clones of himself with his Lostvayne, as means to confuse the ferocious machine, which the machine hit one of the Dragon Sin of Wrath's illusions instead. The prime Meliodas would later use the said weapon with ferocity, as he swings it violently through the machine's power generator, causing a burst of electricity to emit, shocking the remaining machines around them, at the same time.

"What?" Was all Aratak could say, upon seeing Meliodas's bizarre ability.

Maya would later use that to her advantage, as she uses her golden whetstone into her rapier, before unleashing Golden Half-Crescent towards one of the electrocuted Scorchers, thus dispatching the machine.

Back with Zoro, Trafalgar, and Aloy...

The Daemonic Thunderjaw has been receiving a lot of beating from the trio, as Aloy would fire several shots of her Striker Bow towards one of its Disc Launchers, and with Zoro and Trafalgar instantaneously parrying its attacks. Aloy would later take the said weapon from the floor, before lifting it, as she fires all of its ammunition, staggering the machine furthermore.

"Shock Wille!" Trafalgar said, as he shoves the Kikoku into the Thunderjaw's machine heart, causing massive amounts of electricity to stream into the sword.

"Eat this!" Zoro later proceeds to unleash a powerful cross slash towards the staggered machine, as it was later split into half, causing the hulking machine to be destroyed into pieces.

"That was over for now." Zoro stated, as he sheathed his swords.

"We still have another threat." Aloy stated.

With the machine threat and Daemon temporarily stopped, the rest of the crew later rendezvous with the rest, as Aloy prepares herself to use her spear's overriding module, once again, into the Cauldron door.

"I do not put much stock in songs of deeds. But that battle was a verse worth singing." Aratak said, before looking onto Meliodas. "Especially with that bizarre ability of yours. It surpassed beyond my level." He continued on.

"We're all kinds of special." Meliodas simply uttered.

"Damn!" Asta exclaimed boisterously. "I never knew that these things are a problem here and there, but it killed me some time."

"But we're getting close to Akiha-san's destination, hopefully." Noelle added.

"And now, Aloy - the door. Can you open it? Show us what lies beyond there?" Ourea questioned, with Aloy nodding.

And with that, Aloy proceeds to use the spear's overriding module into the cauldron door, before she is successful in doing so, as the door opens, revealing to be a machine cauldron.

"What is that place?" Meliodas asked.

"Probably some kind of a factory." Maya answered.

[Cauldron EPSILON, Earth-1355]

After defeating the machines and opening the machine Cauldron door, Aloy, Zoro, Maya, Trafalgar, Asta, Noelle, Meliodas, Ourea, and Aratak enter inside, where they proceed to head into the new Cauldron: Cauldron EPSILON.

Unlike the previous facility, Firebreak, Cauldron EPSILON's infrastructure is considered eldritch in nature and more reminiscent to a factory, albeit focusing more on machines. But what sets them off are the appearance of the same purple tendril-like things latching onto each of the Cauldron's enormous pumps, knowing that it is the Daemon's doing.

"Years have passed since I stood here. Since then, the Daemon has… taken over." Ourea grimly stated, as she looks at the state of the machine Cauldron.

"It's like an infection, attacking all this machinery." Aloy decribed.

"Yeah, no kidding, when those purple cables are plaguing the entire place." Asta described, as he looks around.

"It's like something you see on a Discovery Channel documentary about a parasitised caterpillar." Maya morbidly described. "Except the caterpillar is this place, and the parasites are these purple cables." She added.

"Everything is changed. Twisted. The path I took to get to the Spirit is lost to us." Ourea added quietly.

"Not only that, but our hopes of finding Akiha-san alive are getting smaller." Maya reminded.

"Then we'll find a new path, Ourea. I promise. All right then. Let's go." Aloy reassures, before looking at the Unity Force group. "And we're not going to give up finding Akiha." She added, as he looks at the rest of the Unity Force.

"Yes. And finish this." Aratak declared.

"Hopefully, so we can finally continue what we're going to do next." Zoro added.

With that, the Unity Force heroes, Ourea, and Aratak proceeded further inside Cauldron EPSILON, before the door behind them closes. Their journey into the nightmare is only beginning, and the Daemon's threat has just increased further...

To be continued...

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

The Spirit/CYAN, "the Daemon", Kenny Chau and Anita Sandoval from Horizon Zero Dawn

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

Addendum: This chapter skips For the Werak, as it starts with Firebreak.

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On the next chapter of UF Missions: Horizon Zero Dawn: The final chapter of the Project Firebreak Arc. Continuing inside Cauldron EPSILON, the Unity Force, Aloy, Ourea, and Aratak soon realise that the whole facility is overtaken by the Daemon, and must fight their way to save the Spirit and Akiha, while stopping the Daemon. Most certainly of all, however, is a shocking revelation...