UNITY FORCE MISSIONS: HORIZON ZERO DAWN
CHAPTER 13: To Curse the Darkness
ARC III: Sobeck
DISCLAIMER: All characters in the story are not owned by me, save for my OCs.
~~~0-0-0~~~
[Brightmarket, Earth-1355]
A day after the Unity Force dealt with their other adversaries in this world, as well as helping the rest out, the Unity Force team consisting of Aloy, Zoro Roronoa, Asta, Noelle Silva, Meliodas, Trafalgar D. Water Law, Nanoha Takamachi, and Fate Testarossa Harlaown have later arrived at the docks within Brightmarket to celebrate their efforts in front of the starry skies, before enacting their plans on crashing the Eclipse Focus Network at midnight.
After finding out about the truth regarding Operation: Enduring Victory, as well as the last known location of Project: Zero Dawn in the ruins of U.S. Robot Command, or Grave-Hoard, the Unity Force group realised that the Orbital Launch Base mentioned by Gen. Aaron Herres within the hologram is located underneath Sunfall, erstwhile Bryce, Utah, which is now the territory of the infamous splinter tribe of the Sun Carja known as the Shadow Carja.
Knowing that it is immediate death sentence, should their identities be revealed, the Unity Force realise that both the Eclipse and the Shadow Carja officers are connected to one whole Focus network, which communicates back to HADES, and crashing the said network is the only way to gain access to Sunfall and find out about Zero Dawn. Only one problem stands in their way and that is finding the said location Sylens gave to them.
With celebrations now over, the Unity Force focus on their attention on finding the said location, while being away from the public eye.
[PLAY MUSIC: Horizon Forbidden West OST - A Whispered Plea]
"So, what's the plan?" Asta asked the group.
"We rendezvous at the said location that Sylens gave to us." Aloy replied, as she uses her Focus to show the map, as well as a coordinate and a red blip with a hologram of Sylens is shown:
37° 3' 49.5" N 117° 39' 30.4" W
Zooming in further, it shows a topographical map that is currently pointing at the said coordinates.
"That's where we go?" Noelle asked Aloy.
"Yes. Sylens said that this is the location where we rendezvous and find this Focus Network." Aloy stated simply, before looking at the said map. "This seems to be located in the Jewel, but why?" She asked.
"Either Sylens is hiding something to us or not, we should keep our guards up." Zoro suddenly warned, while slowly growing critical of him.
"He seems to be some kind of a wanderer with endless knowledge of this world and possibly ours, as well..." Nanoha pondered.
"However, he's hiding something to us, and he's trying to avoid telling it." Fate concluded.
"Not to mention, how the heck he even knows about the Unity Force in the first place!" Meliodas exclaimed, not seemingly pleased of the wanderer's motives.
"Makes us wonder how not to trust with him easily." Trafalgar bluntly reminded. "Everything about him is always bad news everywhere." He stated.
"With that being said, we'll go there and settle at some campfire, then wait until Sylens shows up." Zoro stated, before looking at the clock from his tablet, which shows as 10:43 P.M, on evening.
"At the same time, we can start spying on what Sylens is trying to hide us, while he briefs us on whatever mission he's telling us to do in such a bizarre location." Trafalgar noted.
Aloy later turns her Focus and the holograms off, before the group later decides to leave Brightmarket and find the said location from the map, which turned out to be located southwest of the settlement, right across the jungles known simply as the Jewel.
Leaving Brightmarket away, it took almost two hours for the Unity Force to arrive at the said location, before they approach a small gorge, close to some kind of falls, with a group of handholds in front of them.
Before that, however, they settled in at one of the campfires, not far from the gorge, to discuss further. They later sat down, as they begin.
"Okay, before we go up through that gorge, how are we going to plan this one?" Meliodas asked the rest.
Zoro then proceeds to explain. "We go through the gorge and wait for Sylens to show up." He added, before looking at Aloy and Nanoha. "Myself, Nanoha, and Aloy will go on this mission." He continued further.
"What about us? Are we just going to sit here?" Asta inquired, as he quipped.
"Not technically." Nanoha stated, as she shakes her head, before continuing. "You keep your eyes peeled, should anything go downhill fast." She continued on, as she looks at the gorge. "There is no telling what could happen next with this mission."
"We'll keep a lookout, Nanoha." Fate answered in reassurance.
"Now that settles it, we'll contact with the rest of you later on." Zoro replied, before ending.
After some planning, Aloy, Nanoha, and Zoro later separate with the rest of the group, as they head through the gorge, before ascending further, as they find a campfire, as well as a rock wall beside it. The group then proceed to take a rest, until midnight ticks in.
Settling in on the said campfire in front of them, the group waited until 12 A.M. for Sylens to show up through Aloy's Focus via the usual hologram in front of the Unity Force trio.
"How nice of you to finally drop by." Aloy said in surprise.
"As expected of you." Zoro quipped.
"Our purpose this night is to crash the Focus network." Sylens responded.
"Yeah. Tell me the part we don't know - how?" Aloy questioned at the prospect of this task.
"For starters, the three of you need to infiltrate the Eclipse's main base." Sylens said, as he points at what seems to be a crevice beside them.
"What?" Aloy said in disbelief.
"Wait a second..." Nanoha questioned at Sylens' suggestion. "So you're telling us to break into this Eclipse base, just to crash this Focus network?" She pondered, with Sylens nodding.
"Your plan sounds a bit questionable, Sylens." Zoro said in disagreement. "Not to mention, reckless and even borderline ridiculous." He indecorously remarked.
Sylens could only sigh at Zoro's disagreement. "That is the closest way, Zoro. Now how about focus on the mission at hand and cease the whining?" He questioned with a serious tone, before he proceeds. "Finding the Focus network is more important than this pointless prattling." He chastised, annoying Zoro.
"What is with this guy's problem?" Zoro questioned in annoyance, as he looks at the wall.
"Regardless, there is a way?" Aloy asked Sylens.
"That's right. Fortunately for the three of you, I've brought the rest of you round to the back way. It's right through that crevice. Once you reach the base, you'll see the objective: a derelict Tallneck that's been extensively… modified. Climb the Tallneck Grafted into the top of its disc, you'll find a… module of sorts. Destroy that and the Focus network will crash." Sylens briefed in the group, as he shows them a hologram of the said derelict Tallneck, as well as a flashing light within its disc, presuming to be the Focus network module.
"How does he know all of this?" Nanoha questioned, who is confused as to how Sylens know about the base.
"So you were part of the Eclipse." Aloy simply stated, as she is slowly suspicious.
"I've never been part of anything. I serve my own interests. Always. But… it is the case that I… assisted the Eclipse. Before I sensed the threat they might become. It was a mistake - that I'm doing what I can to correct." Sylens added in a rather unusual manner, an indication that he's hiding something.
Zoro then proceeds to observe Sylens, before speaking. "So you have so much to hide in front of us." He said bluntly.
"No." Sylens simply stated. "As previously stated, I only assisted the Eclipse and correcting the mistake I did." He corrected again.
"What sort of assistance did you give them, then?" Aloy suspiciously questioned.
Suddenly, Sylens counters the said question. "Head through the crevice, Aloy and the Unity Force. The three of you have more important things to do than ask questions." He said, before cutting off.
Afterwards, the trio are left with more questions than answers regarding Sylens and his rather murky motives, in regards with his involvement with the Eclipse, as well as his extensive knowledge regarding the Eclipse's main base and all of its inner workings, regarding the derelict Tallneck and the Focus network.
This encounter alone left the Unity Force much to be desired, as the group suspect that Sylens is hiding something to them and to Aloy.
Suddenly, Fate calls through Zoro's tablet about their plan.
"So what did Sylens say?" Fate asked the rest.
"He just admitted that he helped the Eclipse at one point, but he's up to no good." Zoro responded in frustration.
Asta then suddenly blurted. "Of course he's up to no good." He derided. "This guy's a bit of an annoying ass ever since we meet him, and I'm not surprised that he's hiding something." He added, sounding rather annoyed.
"About that, what is the plan?" Meliodas questioned.
"The three of us will be heading inside this Eclipse base in a few minutes." Zoro reminded.
"And the rest of us?" Asta asked.
"Stay out there." Zoro ordered, before looking at Fate. "Fate, we'll call the rest of you when we find this Tallneck." He answered.
"At the same time, we're continuing investigating Sylens more." Nanoha suggested.
"Got it." Fate obliged, before ending the call.
[Eclipse Main Base, Earth-1355]
With nothing else to lose, the trio then enter the Eclipse's main base through the said crevice that Sylens pointed to them. As suspected, upon entry, they spotted several machines around them, including Corrupted Longlegs, Corrupted Redeye Watchers, and Corrupted Scrappers being used as a patrol for the Eclipse.
"Corrupted machines. Patrolling, like guards." Aloy added, as she looks at Nanoha and Zoro.
"More like soldiers, held in reserve for a war yet to come. The three of you'll have to get past them." Sylens suddenly blurted, before cutting off.
"They're possibly upping their security more, after we foiled their plans one too many." Zoro added, as he takes out his Enma.
"They're getting more and more desperate." Aloy deduced.
"We'll deal with them." Nanoha said, as she and the other two heroes leave the crevice.
Alerting the presence of the Corrupted Machines around them, the Unity Force trio proceed to eliminate the machine threat, but it would soon alert the presence of the Eclipse cultists from unknown part of the camp, so they have to deal with it, as soon as possible.
"Here goes!" Aloy declared, as she takes out her bow, before looking at the charging Corrupted Longleg in front of her.
Taking out her Banuk Striker Bow, Aloy later proceeds to place three arrows into the bow's string, as she fires it into the machine's Concussion Sac, causing the machine to unleash a concussive sound wave that destroys the machine and sends the ones close to it flying. A Corrupted Redeye Watcher then jumps into the scene, as it fires an energy blast from its eyes towards the Nora. However, Aloy would later avoid it, as she unleashes a countering attack by stabbing the machine's eye with her spear, dispatching it.
Zoro then dodges a leaping attack from two of the Corrupted Scrappers. "Yakkodori!" He yelled, before swinging his Enma towards the machines, unleashing a compressed air that slices through one of the Scrappers. However, the other Scrapper dodged the attack, but not before Zoro proceeds to counterattack it by unleashing a diagonal slash, destroying the machine completely. "These bastards won't stop, do they?" He mocked.
Then, the remaining Corrupted Machines, courtesy of Corrupted Redeye Watchers, proceed to swarm Nanoha next, as they later become aggressive and bent on attacking the magical girl, where Nanoha uses Round Shield to block the machines' energy attacks.
"Raising Heart, activate a Bombardment Spell!" Nanoha ordered.
"Yes, Master!" Raising Heart obliged.
"Impact Cannon!" Nanoha shouted, as she fires a mana-like cannonball towards the machines, and with great speed, the attack hits the trio at once as the cannonball hits the ground, destroying the machines completely.
After dispatching the Corrupted Machines that were used as guards, the trio later leave the site, before reaching through another gorge that ascends to the upper area of the camp, as well as leading to the other side of the Eclipse camp.
All of a sudden, Fate calls in at Nanoha's tablet.
"Uh, Nanoha..." Fate called in.
"What is it, Fate? Where are you?" Nanoha asked.
"The rest of our group are surveying the area from above." Fate stated. "The Eclipse cultists must have heard the three of you fighting the machines, and they're on high alert." She warned.
"Dammit. Jesus Christ..." Zoro uttered.
"So much for sneaking..." Aloy grumbled in annoyance.
Sylens then calls in from Aloy's Focus.
"The Eclipse are now on high alert. Whatever the three of you did must have really ticked them off for real." Sylens cautioned, clearly displeased. "The Tallneck's just over this ridge. The three of you will see it when you reach the top. Now be ready to act fast, before they raise an alarm, for real." He ended, before cutting off.
They later ascended at the gorge, before they later spot another area of the Eclipse main base, only this time it is filled with Eclipse Cultists instead of machines, where they are all on high alert.
Expecting on finding the derelict Tallneck that Sylens said to them, they later instead find the leg of a Tallneck, that is covered with several pieces of wood, indicating that the Tallneck was moved at an unknown amount of time by the cultists, as means to hide it from suspecting eyes.
"You getting this? We see the legs of a Tallneck down there, but… no Tallneck." Aloy said, as she keyed her Focus to Sylens' channel, while looking at the lone Talneck leg.
"Damn. The transmitter's been moved. Check down the ravine, to the left. Only place it could be." Sylens answered.
"So much for your 'insider knowledge'." Aloy uttered, before observing at the area, where the trio suddenly heard explosions. "Towards the explosions? Great." She sarcastically said.
Sylens, clearly annoyed, instead scolded her.
"You've got exactly one shot at this, Aloy and the Unity Force, so spare the sarcasm and make it count." Sylens rebuked the Nora Huntress. "You see that bridge, over the ravine?" He added.
The trio observed the said ravine, with Aloy later nodding.
"Memorise its location. There's a rappel point on the side. That'll be your way out." Sylens pointed out.
"And the Eclipse?" Aloy asked. "These guys seem to be on high alert." She observed at the current state of the cultists patrolling in and around of the encampment.
"Avoid them or kill them - your choice. The blasting should cover any noise the three of you make." Sylens stated, before cutting off his communications.
"That would work." Aloy stated, before looking at the trio.
"The rest of the Unity Force should be fine from afar." Nanoha stated, as she observes.
Leaving the gorge, the Unity Force later jump down, where they arrive at the base's war camp. The group then proceed to confront the Eclipse cultists in front of them, who are clearly not pleased of their intrusion into their base camp.
In front of them are Cultist Archers, Cultist Snipers, Cultist Dredgers, Cultist Thugs, Cultist Punishers, as well as an Elite Cultist Punisher, now on high alert and will no longer hesitate to kill anyone on sight.
"It's the Unity Force and the Nora savage! They've broken into our base!" One of the Cultist Dredgers called out.
"Sun and Shadow! They're going after the Tallneck!" The Elite Cultist Punisher exclaimed. "We have orders to kill them on sight!"
Immediately, the Elite Cultist Punisher initiates a kill order. But before that could happen, however...
The rest of the Unity Force heroes sans Fate and Noelle have arrived, sparking a battle, before proceeding to clash with them, as soon as possible.
"NOT SO FAST!" Meliodas suddenly appears from the scene, as he uses his Lostvayne to conjure four images of himself and fight off the cultists, before the Sin of Wrath proceeds to decapitate one of the cultists with his sword.
Several Cultist Thugs and Cultist Dredgers proceed to focus their attention to Asta. "Two-Horns Bull Thrust!" He shouted, as he wields both the Demon-Slayer and Demon-Dweller Swords from both his left and right hands, respectively, before flinging himself, charging through waves of cultists with both of his swords, killing them.
Trafalgar then quickly avoids all arrows coming from the Cultist Archers and Cultist Snipers, before he proceeds to set his sights on them. "Injection Shot." He silently said, before he rushes towards them with his sword stretched out in order to stab the cultists, one by one. Once the attacks connect, Trafalgar then makes it "fire" like a gun, making the cultists profusely bleed in the aimed spot, causing them to be pushed back a fair distance.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Zoro mocked, as he cracks a smirk.
"After you ruin our operations, that is! The Eclipse want your heads, this time!" One of the Eclipse cultists warned.
Zoro then proceeds to wield his Enma to his left hand with his right hand gripping his left wrist for support. "Kaen!" He shouted, as he jumps high up into the air and slashes several Eclipse cultists. After slashing them, the cultists then burst into flames from where they were slashed.
"Divine Shooter!" Nanoha shouted, as she fires six guided spheres towards the rest of the Cultists, dispatching the rest who were unfortunate to get hit by it.
After stopping the Eclipse cultists inside their own base, the Unity Force later proceed to investigate, as they proceed to talk about the current mission.
"We're still looking for that Tallneck." Aloy stated, as she looks around.
"But where's Fate and Noelle?" Zoro asked Meliodas, Trafalgar, and Asta.
"They went back to the base to call Chito, Yuuri, Ichigo, and Saber at the Unity Force Academy." Meliodas added.
"So they're calling more of our allies in there." Aloy added.
"Seems like it." Trafalgar answered. "Given how serious this mission has become, outside of fighting the Eclipse, it is safe to say that we need more firepower." He ended.
"But we're still not out of the woods yet." Zoro stated, as he looks around.
With Trafalgar, Meliodas, and Asta, the trio stayed out to investigate, as they are joined in by the other heroes, who later find a tent. However, Sylens rebukes them from wasting time instead of looking for the derelict Tallneck, before they simply ignore him, with Aloy telling her from her own Focus that there is still time.
Then, during their search, they also heard explosions from afar, as well.
"Is there fighting up ahead?" Aloy asked Sylens.
"No. It's… a mining operation. So long as you're quick, it won't affect you." Sylens responded.
Inside over what seems to be a tent, which later turned out to be Helis's own encampment, Aloy and the Unity Force later find four audio logs lying in one of the tables. She later proceeds to scan them via her Focus, before finding a lone Kestrel armour, where all evidence later points to Helis, surprising the rest.
"This armour… There's only one man big enough to wear this. Helis!" Aloy uttered.
"What's an armour even doing here?" Zoro questioned.
"He probably uses it for various occasions." Nanoha deduced.
"This is his shelter? Not exactly fancy." Aloy sarcastically described.
"What would you expect of a fanatic? His only extravagance is his brutality." Sylens suddenly responded from her Focus.
"So you know him."
"Just enough to want to stop him."
Sylens then cuts off, as he ends the transmission.
However, their search continues onward, before Aloy finds a lone audio log sitting beside the dummy with the Kestrel armour, which is considered out of place.
With Aloy scanning it, she later finds out that the log was made by none other than Resh, a person that Aloy hated significantly, due to his bigoted attitude towards Nora outcasts.
Proceeding to play the audio recording, Aloy then listens to it, as well as the rest, to learn more what goes on.
What the Nora Really Want
Audio Log
Length: 1:25
ERROR: Ident tags missing. Unverified format. Data integrity unknown.
Resh: The more I think about the Nora and their unyielding cowardice, the more it points back to Aloy, that wretched outcast whom that traitor Teersa made her a Seeker, whose dogged efforts of ruining our plans have been left unchecked. After the Proving Massacre, I saw that the outcast survived, whom I know for the fact that she's not going to stop ruining our plans. However, I maintained my taunts and my cover, especially, to secretly send an order to the Eclipse to attack Mother's Watch, with a few Corrupted Striders and the Corruptor. But Aloy and the Nora prevailed over it, as well. When I saw Sona's war party hell-bent on finding the Eclipse, she and her war party fell into our trap and then we ambushed her. Believing this was the last-ditch effort for Sona, the plan suddenly fell apart when Aloy and these outworlders, whom turned out to be the Unity Force, as what Thush said, attacked the encampment in Devil's Grief and killed every one of them. My lies were soon noticed and I was cast out of the tribe. Aloy is a plague that needs to be stopped, and the Eclipse will make sure of it.
The recording then ends, before the rest of their group including Asta, Meliodas, Noelle, Fate, and Trafalgar arrived with the rest of the group.
"Resh? What is he doing here?" Aloy questioned, completely surprised at what he just witnessed. "What is going on?"
"So he's behind this attack on Devil's Grief?" Zoro said, completely confused.
"What's going on, you two?" Nanoha asked.
Aloy then proceeds to explain who Resh is to Nanoha, ranging from him being one of the Nora Braves, as well as the former interim War Chief to the Nora Tribe, following Sona's disappearance. She then goes into explaining Resh's utter bigotry towards Nora outcasts like her. However, she is far more reluctant in explaining what Resh had become, based on Resh's recording, as to how he proceeded to double-cross the Nora by kickstarting the attack of Mother's Watch in secret, as well as luring Sona's War Party to Devil's Grief, thus revealing his traitorous allegiance to the Eclipse.
"So he's a traitor?" Nanoha questioned.
"Seems like it." Aloy answered in annoyance.
Asta, Meliodas, and Trafalgar approached Aloy, Nanoha, and Zoro.
"Goddammit..." Meliodas sighed.
"We still don't know where Resh is." Aloy reminded. "And he'll pay for what he did during the Proving Massacre." She continued on.
"Be careful." Nanoha warned. "The Eclipse have already put the entire base on high alert, so expect something to happen."
After further investigation into the camp, Aloy later finds a wooden branch for her to kick it, as it creates a bridge for the rest of the group to cross to the other side.
Leaving the main Eclipse camp and the dead bodies of the cultists, the group later cross into the ravine, as they follow the sound of explosions, as it gets louder the moment that they are closing into the derelict Tallneck. However, Aloy started to feel anxious over doing such a job, to which Sylens only responds to her worries with various rebuking and caustic remarking.
Suddenly, Aloy detects a signal, as she later looks up at the Tallneck.
"Sure is a lot of blasting up there. Sounds busy." Aloy quipped.
"Busy enough not to notice you, let's hope." Sylens responded.
As Aloy scans the derelict Tallneck from above, she later finds a highly irregular signal, presumably belonging to the said Focus network that Sylens told them. Suddenly, however, she heard a synthetic voice from her Focus.
"Alert: Irregular Transmission Source Near." The synthetic voice said.
"Irregular Transmission Source?" Aloy questioned, as she looks at the signal from above.
"That must be the network, I assume." Nanoha added.
"Then we must go." Aloy said, as she and the rest of the Unity Force proceed to climb through the said Tallneck in front of them, up to its head, albeit the Nora Huntress starts to doubt such idea of destroying the network. "But I don't like this. It feels… wrong."
Suddenly, Sylens scolds Aloy from her Focus.
"Everything here is wrong. Just get to the module and destroy it!" Sylens fumed.
"Just do what Sylens tells us." Nanoha stated. "We don't have much time, and the Eclipse will appear again."
Reaching atop the derelict Tallneck's head, the group suddenly paused as they watched the remains of another Metal Devil, only this time they see a suspicious processing module that has with the same red corruption, as well as a cable that connects between the machine's head and the module.
That discovery alone suddenly changed everything, when the Unity Force start to realise that this is none other than HADES.
"What is that?" Asta questioned.
"Some kind of a creepy machine in front of us." Meliodas stated.
"It's the same red corruption that the rest of the group just encountered in Maker's End." Aloy revealed. "It's HADES, or is it?" She questioned. "But why is it on the skull of a Metal Devil?" She pondered.
"I don't think it will awaken that machine." Trafalgar stated.
However, Sylens quickly rebukes the group.
"Do it, now!" Sylens fumed from his Focus. "Open the casing and stop prattling! Do it, or everything will be lost!" He added impatiently.
With no other choice, Aloy then proceeds to brute-force open the module's casing, only for the Nora Huntress to be immediately shocked when it begins to produce a minor electrical shock, sending her flying backwards, but Nanoha catches her.
"Agh!" Aloy groaned in pain.
"Aloy!" Nanoha said, as she grabs her. "Are you okay?" She asked the Nora Huntress in concern.
"I guess I'm fine... But what the hell was that?" Aloy questioned.
However, that was the less of their worries, when they see the red corruption streaming through the cable.
"Uh, guys?" Asta questioned. "What is going on?" He said, as the module is now covered in red corruption, before HADES materialises into a ball of red corruption.
"What the hell is that?" Meliodas asked, as he looks at HADES.
Zoro grits his teeth, as he takes out his Sandai Kitetsu. "That's HADES, and we're damned already!" He exclaimed.
"I've seen bizarre creatures before, but this is ridiculous!" Asta exclaimed.
Then, HADES suddenly talks to the group, who is none too pleased at their intrusion.
"Entity… has come here?" HADES talked in a grating voice.
"Not only that, but it can talk." Meliodas commented at HADES's sentience.
"Entity… miscalculated. Entity and intruders… cannot destroy me. I am beyond its reach." HADES mocked further in a self-righteous manner, pissing the group off completely.
"I'm starting to get more annoyed of this guy." Meliodas said, as he holds his Lostvayne.
"Just kill that lunatic, Aloy." Zoro ordered.
"Maybe you are! But this isn't!" Aloy exclaimed, as she proceeds to stab the module's casing.
"Eat this!" Zoro then added, as he does the same thing as Aloy, albeit he pushes his Sandai deeper into the casing, thus completely blowing up the module.
This action alone caused the whole Eclipse Focus network to be crashed, which robs all of the Eclipse and the Shadow Carja members their own network to communicate from one another, which is good news.
"DESTROY THE ENTITY AND THE INTRUDERS!" HADES suddenly exclaimed.
The bad news, however, is that HADES now travels from the cable to the Metal Devil's processing module to issue a kill order towards the Unity Force, where this time it proceeds to send two Deathbringers, with one of them firing into the Tallneck, causing the machine to fall down, and with the Unity Force jumping through the gorge.
More Eclipse troops from afar have appeared, as they proceed to rain Fire Arrows, in conjunction with the Deathbringers firing swarm launchers and their machine gun turrets towards the Unity Force.
"Oh, shit. RUN!" Asta yelled, as the rest proceed to run away.
"Now we really pissed them off, this time!" Zoro exclaimed in sarcasm.
"We don't have much time to fight those things, so we have no other option but to get out!" Meliodas declared.
"Keep running!" Sylens called out from Aloy's Focus.
"We're trying, Sylens!" Aloy exclaimed.
"Raising Heart! Please activate a Protection Spell!" Nanoha commanded.
"Yes, Master!" Raising Heart obliged.
"Oval Protection!" Nanoha shouted quickly, as a pink, spherical barrier surrounds the rest of the group, protecting them from the cultist's attacks, before they fly above.
"DESTROY THE INTRUDERS AND THE ENTITY!" HADES exclaimed, as the Deathbringers fire their swarm launchers through the barrier.
"Will this hold enough?" Zoro questioned.
"Yes!" Nanoha answered.
"Call in Fate and Noelle, now." Zoro ordered, with Nanoha obliging.
Nanoha frantically calls Fate through her tablet. "Fate, get us out of here!" She called in her best friend.
"Where the rest of you at?" Fate questioned. "We're at the base, right now, but we're almost there!" She said, as she ends the call.
The escape grows more and more intense, as the cultists and Deathbringers non-hesitatingly continue barraging the rest of the Unity Force with Fire Arrows and rockets, respectively.
They later reach through a gorge, where more Eclipse cultists proceed to corner the group, and with Nanoha focusing on controlling the barrier's direction.
"Are you kidding me?!" Aloy said, as she orders Nanoha to avoid the cultists.
"Run, don't fight!" Sylens declared.
Nanoha then controls the barrier, before another Deathbringer appears from the scene, which was initially assumed to be static, as it fires through a rocket through the group.
"What the?!" Zoro exclaimed, as he looks at one of the machines, causing the barrier to split.
"The whole base is on high alert, and they won't stop at nothing to kill us!" Meliodas added, as he looks at the cultists attempting to chase the group.
"We're almost to that grappling point that Sylens told us!" Aloy reminded Nanoha. "Nanoha, land us down there. I don't see any cultists in there, so this is the only way!" She added.
"On it!" Nanoha answered, as she deactivates the barrier, where they land in front of the grappling point in the bridge.
When the Unity Force almost reached the grappling point that Sylens gave to them within the bridge, Resh and a few of his traitorous Nora Braves, as well as the Eclipse cultists, on high alert, suddenly appear in an attempt to stop Aloy, Nanoha, Zoro, Trafalgar, Meliodas, and Asta from escaping the base, with Resh's intentions now being far clearer that he is no longer with the Nora tribe and wants Aloy's death for sabotaging the cult's plans.
"What?" Asta mused. "They managed to chase us here!"
"You have nowhere to run, Unity Force and outcast." Resh appeared, before his Nora Braves appear beside him, as he gestured with a scoff.
"So you've finally shown your true colours, Resh." Aloy said.
"You've given us enough trouble already, so surrender to us or the three of you will experience agony." Resh warned.
"No longer, Resh. Not anymore!" Aloy mocked.
"Go, now!" Sylens said from Aloy's Focus.
Resh's Braves later point their bows towards the trio, which is purely clear that they are not cutting it out to kill the Unity Force and Aloy.
"Sneaking into our base without permission was a big mistake that you have committed, traitor!" Resh warned in an angry manner. "I should have killed you on the spot during the Proving, outcast, but no. You and your band of so-called 'heroes' just don't know where to stop and simply ruin everything." He added, sounding rather furious.
"So you can send the Eclipse to Mother's Watch and kill everyone, including Sona, Teb, and Varl?" Aloy questioned in fury. "Not going to happen, Resh. You've already shunned me, so why go all the trouble?" She warned.
"Talk over our dead body, hypocrite." Zoro mocked, as he smirked.
"What are you doing, Unity Force and Aloy?" Sylens questioned in annoyance.
Resh later gestured derisively, as he proceeds to warn the rest. "The audacity of you to meddle." He continued, before looking at Aloy. "I guess Teersa should be ashamed of herself for choosing you as a Seeker." He added caustically.
"We know for the fact that you orchestrated everything, including that ambush with Sona's war party, so you can take over the tribe and sell them out to the Eclipse." Zoro warned bitterly. "Just how low you can go?" He continued, as he pointed his Enma.
"The Nora are just cowards." Resh gloated. "They only care about themselves, hiding in their own little hole. Meanwhile, with the Eclipse, I've learned a big deal and understanding in just days. Once we're done dealing with you, we deal with the Nora next and show them what happens to people who oppose us." He continued, before he eyes at the cultists and the braves. "Execute the trespassers!" He ordered.
All of a sudden...
Fate later suddenly appears, as she fires Thunder Bullet, where she unleashes a single-bolt shooting spell towards the cultists and the braves into the wall, sending them careening off the wall including Resh.
This is later followed up with Noelle's Sea Dragon's Roar, where she fires it towards the other cultists, causing them to be thrown into the wall, as well.
"Let's go!" Meliodas exclaimed. "It's Fate and Noelle!"
With Aloy, Zoro, and Nanoha joining in on their escape, the rest of the Unity Force later escape the base camp, before a Deathbringer fires its swarm launchers into the bridge, causing a violent explosion to occur. However, in a moment's notice, a portal appears from the back, where the Unity Force enter through it.
"Sorry, anyone!" Asta mocked at the cultists. "But better luck next time!" He added, as he pointed the finger at them.
"No!" Resh bellowed, as he sees the U.F. escaping. "You will pay for this!" He looks at the rest of the Eclipse and his Braves. "Pursue them!" He added in frustration, as they attempt to reach the portal, but Fate immediately closes it before the cultists even have the chance to reach them.
After that dramatic escape, the Unity Force later arrived close to Shattered Kiln. Their experience of escaping the camp was almost nightmarish, as this angered Aloy to the core about Sylens luring them to the rogue AI HADES.
"You knew HADES was there, and you sent me to him?!" Aloy exclaimed.
"Talk about you sending us to a wrong kind of trap!" Zoro fumed in sarcasm.
"I won't deny I risked all of your lives. But it was the only way. Now, with the Focus network down, we and the rest of you can both get what we want - access to the secrets of Zero Dawn." Sylens simply responded.
"No, Sylens." Zoro refused to believe Sylens more. "The only thing you did was to lure into our deaths." He added.
"We're past trusting your secrets." Aloy ended.
"Good. That means the rest of you are wising up. Trust is for fools. It shifts and crumbles like sand - a poor foundation for any partnership. But mutual self-interest - now that is a solid bedrock, upon which you and I might build a new science of understanding. We both need answers, Aloy. Thanks to you, we're on the verge of grasping them. At Sunfall. We'll speak again." Sylens ended, pissing the rest further off.
"Asshole!" Meliodas cursed, as he proceeds to slice a tree with his Lostvayne. "If we see you again, you damn fucker, I swear I'd rip your goddamn throat out and shove it to your ass!"
Nanoha would then attempt to calm Meliodas down, while Zoro and the rest are still stunned at Sylens' nigh treachery, as well as Resh's betrayal.
"You miserable… damn him. If I could toss this Focus and be rid of you, Sylens, I would. But we both know I need it. Sunfall it is. And Zero Dawn." Aloy angrily remarked. "Goddamn that Resh... We have to stop him." She ended.
"Let's forget about this moment and we'll brief about our plans to infiltrate Sunfall." Zoro said calmly, not wanting to get himself unexpectedly involved.
[Shattered Kiln, Earth-1355]
Thirty minutes after crashing the network, back at Shattered Kiln, the rest of the Unity Force group including Zoro, Aloy, Asta, Meliodas, Fate, and Nanoha begin to ponder about trusting Sylens in the first place, as their previous, rather frightening experience in the Eclipse Main Base have put them at high risk by the threatening radars of the Eclipse cultists and HADES, who are now bent on taking revenge against the Unity Force for constantly foiling their plans.
Aloy also learned that Resh has been the cause behind the Proving Massacre, the attack of Mother's Watch, the ambush in Devil's Grief, and his plans to take over the Nora tribe by force and selling it out to the Eclipse, as a revenge for being cast out.
However, in spite of their dogged efforts, the U.F. faced insurmountable odds against HADES and its army, which gave them a glimmer of hope to take down the rogue AI and its minions in the future.
While it was seemingly beneficial for the U.F. group to crash the Eclipse Focus network, as means to allow access to Sunfall, the Unity Force paid no waiting time to find the truth about Zero Dawn, while starting their plans to take down the Eclipse before their plans of genocide will be enacted in the first place.
"We're done trusting that bastard." Zoro said sarcastically.
"I knew for the fact that Sylens is hiding something to us!" Meliodas castigated. "That damn moron has more to answer for!"
"Okay, you proved your point, Meliodas." Fate said, as she and later Noelle calms him down, once again.
"Can't say he tricked us, but he's more pragmatic than ever before and proceeds to use people for whatever motive he is having, especially us and Aloy." Nanoha stated in suspicion. "However, thanks to him we are now able to visit that Sunfall place that he told us."
"Ugh... Goddamn this shit..." Zoro said, as he pulls his hair out in frustration. "The nerve of that guy is starting to piss me off."
Meanwhile, unlikely heroes have suddenly arrived in this world, including Ichigo Kurosaki, as well as a girl beside the second of the latter.
The young girl has a slender physique, soft skin, and green eyes. She has "finely textured" blonde hair that seems "as if sprinkled with gold dust." She wears a white long-sleeve collared shirt with a blue ribbon tie, a high-waist dark-blue knee-length skirt over a black pantyhose and brown boots. This is Saber.
Saber later proceeds to sit down at one of the tree stumps, as well as Ichigo, before proceeding to discuss what transpired throughout their journey with Zoro's group, including with Sylens luring them into HADES, in a way to shut down the Eclipse Focus network and visit Sunfall undetected.
Zoro then goes into explaining about the threats that they have faced, as well as their adventure involving fighting a rogue AI known as HEPHAESTUS in the Banuk lands, as well as the current threat of the rogue AI HADES and the Eclipse cultists bent on unleashing an existential threat, the likes of which the tribal world has never seen.
"Damn, that must be a hell of an escape that you guys have!" Ichigo mused.
"It seems that this threat is becoming more and more dangerous than ever before." Saber said.
"Not only that, but that ingrate tricked us." Zoro said in scorn.
"Who?" Ichigo asked.
"Sylens. That bastard knows about us, as well as Aloy's world." Zoro remarked.
"However, it seems that we now know HADES being another of those rogue AIs, like HEPHAESTUS." Nanoha stated in a more reassuring manner. "All we need to do tomorrow-" Suddenly, she is interrupted, when she sees a portal.
Chito and Yuuri suddenly arrive in their Kettenkrad.
"Oh, Chito." Zoro said. "How was Maya there at the academy?"
"She's okay now." Chito stated calmly. "It was rather chaotic when she was sent to the infirmaries, but things seemed to have calmed down in there." She added.
"Trust us, it was all too chaotic in there!" Yuuri mused.
"So, what's the plan now?" Ichigo asked.
"We visit Sunfall, the Shadow Carja territory, tomorrow, and find out more about Zero Dawn." Aloy said.
"What is Zero Dawn?" Saber asked.
"It's something we still have to find out for ourselves." Aloy added. "However, we also have another thing to deal with, as well." She added.
"That is?" Chito asked.
"Someone has to go to Nora Lands to talk to Sona there and warn of Resh." Aloy said, as she stated. "The Nora may look like they're going to weird the rest of you out, but tell the rest of them that you know me, and it's an urgent message from me." She added.
"But who's going there?" Saber asked?
Chito then proceeds to speak, as she takes over. "You, Ichigo-san, Meliodas-san, Noelle-san, and Asta-san will go there to... Mother's Watch, right, Aloy-san?" She questioned, before Aloy nodded.
"Once that happens, talk to Teersa." Aloy suggested. "Normally, they don't allow anyone to visit the sacred All-Mother Mountain, but tell them it is urgent, so that they will be warned of Resh's threat to the Sacred Lands."
"We got this, Aloy-san." Saber replied. "We'll contact you if we reach Mother's Watch."
"It's time for us to go!" Ichigo exclaimed.
With the rest leaving and heading to Mother's Watch, Chito, Yuuri, Aloy, Zoro, Trafalgar, Nanoha, and Fate remained, before they begin their plans to visit Sunfall tomorrow and find out more about Zero Dawn and the facility it once housed with in the ancient past.
[Unknown Area, Earth-1355]
Unbeknown to the U.F., Thush and later Resh meet up with Helis through a hologram within their Focus, who were clearly in aghast over what happened at their secret Eclipse camp, after it was sabotaged by the Unity Force and Aloy, leading to the destruction of the Focus network.
"That damn outcast and her allies found out about our operation, for the last time." Resh sneered.
"The Nora savage and her cronies are seriously starting to become more and more of a threat to our plans." Helis stated, as he grows weary of them.
"What are we going to do, now that those fools have ruined our plans?" Thush asked.
"We'll give them a hard, cold lesson that they won't soon forget." Helis gloated maliciously, as he slowly paced from left to right. "A more convincing one, which will be spoken to the Sun!" He added, as he laughed.
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The characters that appear in this chapter (in order):
Saber/Artoria Pendragon from Fate series
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A/N: This story is inspired by the ideas of someoneStupED and XP4Universe.
On the next Chapter of UF Missions: Horizon Zero Dawn: With the Eclipse Focus Network now destroyed, the Unity Force now finally have access to Sunfall, the Shadow Carja territory, and find the secrets of Zero Dawn within the now-abandoned Project Zero Dawn facility. Their search later unravels shocking mysteries that were too real to be true.
