UNITY FORCE MISSIONS: HORIZON ZERO DAWN
CHAPTER 15: The Terror of the Sun
ARC III: Sobeck
DISCLAIMER: All characters in the story are not owned by me, save for my OCs.
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Previously on Unity Force Missions: Horizon Zero Dawn...
"But they have no idea what lies beneath. We will learn much from this, Aloy."
"He's a man of mysteries in his own will. Can't imagine that his dumb idea nearly killed us when we were infiltrating the Eclipse camp and destroyed their own network."
"It's a bit complicated to explain, but we're riddled with that mystery ever since visiting Maker's End."
"So Zero Dawn and Enduring Victory... The latter was just all lies that this freak perpetrated?"
"Chii-chan, why does that woman look like Aloy-san?"
"So… the whole Earth, destroyed… but then, remade?"
"HEPHAESTUS... The last time we encountered it, that AI was almost too dangerously sentient, and it was pumping machines to kill us on sight."
"Helis is not happy about this finding, and he's now on a revenge spree against us."
"'Who'?! Are you really so naïve? There will be no 'who' waiting for you there, Aloy. Whatever birthed you into the world was a 'what,' not a 'who'."
"The Black Matter is not pleased of you ruining our plans for the last time. But to be really sure that all of you are not leaving alive, I've jammed that signal from that device of yours, so that you cannot escape us."
"Still alive. Good. We have a more suitable death in mind for the rest of you..."
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[Sunfall's Sun-Ring, Earth-1355]
An hour after Helis, the Eclipse, and Anders Benoit incapacitated Aloy, Chito, Yuuri, and Zoro Roronoa inside Elisabet Sobeck's office in Zero Dawn Project Facility, they are later hauled into the Sun-Ring and imprisoned inside a cage, awaiting their rather cruel fate to be subjects of execution in the Sun-Ring through a machine battle.
However, for the rest of the group, they cared less, as they knew that Helis's fanaticism and obsession for revenge will be his undoing, but given the danger he poses, they do not drop their guards down.
Awakened inside of their cage, with nothing in their possession including their weapons, they later see Helis arriving at a wooden walkway with a twisted smile on his face, satisfied that his goal is fulfilled. The group, on the other hand, observed the box of weapons to their left, as well as Aloy's Focus.
"Where are we?" Chito asked the group. "I can't even use my powers..." She added, as she attempts to imbue Crimson Lightning, but it was rather weak.
"Prison or something." Zoro added.
"My entire life, I've always known one thing with prophetic certainty that I was destined for glory as a great champion of the Sun. Even when Jiran was murdered, even when Meridian fell, I never doubted my destiny… until you came along. When I heard that you had survived… a doubt took root in my mind. As sure as the sun rises and falls each day, those I am bade to kill, die. And yet I failed. How? Why? With each dig site you and the Unity Force attacked, each loyal soldier you killed… this pestering doubt grew… It grew when High Priest Bahavas went missing… and when the true Sun King, Itamen, was snatched away, it not only grew, but multiplied, until I found out that the Unity Force were responsible for the mess that happened in Sunfall. I kept thinking of the moment my knife pierced your throat. One twist, a simple tug of the blade, and you would've bled out. In slaughter, I am a practised hand. So why hesitate? Why fail my destined purpose?" Helis announced while walking towards the cell.
"You just talk like a fanatic, idiot." Zoro quipped. "Seriously, why just die, anyway? We're so bored of your quipping." He mocked.
"Oh... Zoro Roronoa." Helis mocked. "Benoit and the Black Matter appreciate the rest of your work for ruining our plans, but the latter is far displeased. Your fates will be ordained, and your so-called 'heroics' will be forgotten in history." He continued. "What will be left of the Unity Force will be ours, once the Corps will decide to crush it."
"You can talk all you want, but you're out of luck before the rest of you do it." Chito warned.
Aloy then adds, as she looks at Helis. "See that scar on your cheek? You didn't get to finish."
"Yes, I remember. He fought well… for a savage." Helis sarcastically quipped.
"His name was Rost, and he was a better man than you could ever hope to be!" Aloy snidely mocked.
"The better man is the one who doesn't end up with his guts steaming on the ground. No. It wasn't him. I could have finished you before he attacked. But I didn't. This failing… troubled my thoughts, haunted every step… It was only when I captured you down in that place. That I finally glimpsed the Sun's design etched at length across the course of events. You were meant to survive that day on the mountain, meant to interfere at dig sites and kill my men… Meant to eliminate High Priest Bahavas… Meant to snatch Itamen away… Conversely, I was meant to capture you. Here so that you might die as a sacrificial offering to the Sun. Everything as it was meant to be. Predestined, and preordained." Helis stated in a morbid manner. "But my luck has also changed, at the same time, when I found out about the Corps and my goal to hunt down so-called 'heroes' like the rest of you. Never I have seen the light of the day." He warned.
"Besides the point, you really like joining with the Anti-Multiverse Corps, when it's clear that you're just a toady to these lunatics." Zoro derisively mocked.
"We stand for true heroism, not these delusions of grandeur. This insanity you call an 'organisation' is just a front for the weak like you." Helis declared. "Even if the Lord has passed away for two years, he appreciates this."
"Good luck with that, asshole!" Yuuri mocked profanely, before Helis grabs her by the throat and tosses her.
"Silence!" Helis angrily exclaimed. "Or you'll be the first to be thrown down the Sun-Ring." He warned.
"You damn bastard..." Chito uttered.
"Some destiny. You're following orders, not some grand cosmic design. You're a puppet, with HADES yanking the strings, and with the Corps using you. A pawn, pushed around by larger forces. It'd be laughable if there weren't so much killing involved. HADES is an ancient machine, not the Buried Shadow of Carja myth. It doesn't care about Meridian. It wants to kill everything and everyone - and you are its dutiful slave." Aloy revealed. "As for following the Corps, you're mistaken that they're going to help you out." She spat.
"As if Benoit will listen to you." Zoro also spat out.
"I serve not the Buried Shadow, but the Sun in shadow. All halves of nature joined to one cause, Shadow to Sun, Dark to Light." Helis reminded. "As for the Corps, they give me a purpose, Zoro." He added.
"All talk and no show, Helis-san." Chito remarked. "You're just blinded by this belief the Corps will help you. They care less, and they want the destruction of all worlds." She warned.
"Do you really not hear how ridiculous that sounds? You've gone from serving an insane, homicidal Sun King to an insane, homicidal machine. You're moving down in the world, not up!" Aloy then exclaimed.
"I'll remember those words as I watch the rest of your corpses burn, Whatever's left of it. You fail to grasp the point. As surely as you've been conquered, so has all doubt. And with certainty of belief comes unstoppable force." Helis reminded in front of the Unity Force. "And once we broke your defences, the organisation that you stand for will be incinerated to ashes." He threatened.
"Then open this cage and put your faith to the test. See if things work out like you expect." Aloy spat.
"Drop it, Helis. You're making a fool of yourself." Zoro warned.
"The circle has closed. Every element is in its proper place - exactly where it belongs. The errant beasts, now caged, will serve their true purpose. A sacrificial animal. Ah… speaking of sacrifice… I forgot to tell the rest of you. After the rest of you crashed the Eclipse network, I sent messengers into the east, including Resh and Thush. To rally the forces there and mount an invasion of the 'Sacred Land.' I ordered every Nora killed. I was hoping to catch you there, but alas, it all seems to have been unnecessary." Helis gloated, as he mentions Resh's name.
"How disgusting of you to mass-murder anyone who has nothing to do with this!" Yuuri exclaimed, as she attempts to hurt Helis, but Chito stops her.
"Why butcher dozens of innocents for no gain? It's a waste of effort." Aloy said in anger. "But now, you forced Resh to work with you?"
"That's where you are mistaken, savage." Helis revealed. "This Resh has never been loyal with to the Nora, not even to his own cohort, Lansra..." He revealed.
"What are you talking about?" Aloy questioned.
"Resh has long been a part of us, before you ruined the Proving Massacre." Helis stated. "Given the ignorance of your tribe, we've implanted spies to your fragile little tribe, including Thush, and relay it to me and to Black Matter." He gloated at the prospect of them spying.
"How interesting of you to use someone for your gain." Zoro quipped.
"You're right. I won't even be there to enjoy it. In any case, I couldn't recall the order even if I wished to. Thanks to the rest of you causing the destruction of the network, communication over distances is impossible. You not only doomed yourself, but an entire tribe. And the Unity Force... You've just outdone yourselves, now that Black Matter wants your heads." Helis gloated, as he then looks at Aloy's Focus. "Do we not see the scorching judgement of the Sun in these events? Your Focus… Such a powerful device, isn't it? And yet so fragile." He said, before he crushes Aloy's Focus with his right hand.
"Ah. So you see… this time, I did not hesitate. The knife has already been twisted."
"Damn you, Helis!" Chito exclaimed, as she looks at Helis leaving.
Futilely, Aloy, Zoro, Chito, and Yuuri waited for minutes.
Later on, Helis proceeds to stand up within the crowd within the Sun-Ring's veranda, as he looks at the cage from afar, preparing to announce the sacrificial rite.
"Carja faithful, rejoice! Our years in shadow are over! A new dawn trembles on the horizon, a new day, soon to break! And when it does the false Sun-King will be dead, and holy Meridian, ours once more! In this, I have become an instrument of prophecy! All halves of nature joined to one cause! Shadow to Sun, Light to Dark, Night to Day! Behold!" Helis announced, as the crowds continuously cheered.
"This is fucked up..." Chito watched at the crowds.
"I guess you can call this a Colosseum." Zoro quipped.
Then, Helis summons two Corruptors at the Sun-Ring, causing the crowds to be slightly fearful.
"HOLD YOUR SEATS! Can you not see the proof of the Sun's blessing before your eyes?! How else could shadows such as these prowl in broad light of day, were they not approved by the Sun, and joined to our cause? Many years ago, to consecrate this great Ring… the Radiant Jiran ordered many faithless crushed beneath the hooves of a Behemoth!" Helis continued, as the Unity Force watch at the two Corruptors moving briskly, before proceeding to fire Corruption Spikes into the restrained Behemoth, turning it into a Corrupted machine.
"Oh, boy..." Yuuri quipped. "That's going to trample us, for real."
"Mighty is the Behemoth in the eye of the Sun… but it is mightier still, infused with the power of shadow! Let these vile traitors, who schemed and slithered, be the first to die. Let them be the first of thousands!" Helis announced, before the cage is lowered, as the Unity Force and Aloy now have to face against a Corrupted Behemoth with nothing in their possession.
"This is going to be fun." Zoro uttered, as he looks at the machine.
"I'm still recharging my powers." Chito reminded, before looking at the rest.
"Any way to deal with that thing?!" Yuuri exclaimed.
"We'll never beat that thing without our weapons. Our weapons are up on the platform, and there's no way out of this ring. Maybe we can use its strength against it…" Aloy added.
"That's a good idea!" Yuuri exclaimed.
"Distract that thing, while I'll try jump as high as I can and get our weapons there." Zoro ordered.
The battle commenced, as the Unity Force sans Zoro and Aloy fight off against the Corrupted Behemoth, albeit in a more improvised manner, as they have to patiently wait before Zoro can toss the weapon box down below.
However, as Zoro attempts to reach the box of weapons, Shadow Carja Kestrels suddenly burst through the scene, as they hurriedly run through the walkway.
"What the?!" Helis exclaimed. "Stop that vile criminal!" He ordered loudly.
[PLAY MUSIC: Nujabes - Battlecry (Samurai Champloo OP Theme)]
"If I were you, I'd run." Zoro quipped.
"Get him!" The Shadow Carja Kestrels ordered, as they approach Zoro.
"I'm in a pinch for today, so let's do this." Zoro mocked, as he looks at the Kestrels frantically marching through, before he proceeds to fight the rest of them without a sword.
Zoro later proceeds to fight off against the Kestrels by himself, as he proceeds to dodge their attacks as fast as possible, surprising the rest of them. One Kestrel attempted to stab Zoro with his halberd, only for him to counter it with a powerful grip, as he breaks the halberd into half with both of his hands, scaring the guard.
"There's your proof that you should not mess with me." Zoro warned maliciously, as he tosses the broken halberd.
"What?! How is that possible?!" The guard looked at Zoro in disbelief.
In response to that, Zoro later unleashes a powerful punch right through the Kestrel's face, violently sending him flying into the walls of the Sun-Ring, causing the audience to look in shock.
"Stop what you're doing now, criminal!" The other Kestrel ordered.
"Not that I'm aware of." Zoro mocked again, before proceeding to dodge another attack from the guard. "Here's a surprise present for you, assholes!" He said, before grabbing one of the Kestrels violently by the leg and use him as a sword and whacks two of the guards, sending them careening into the walls of the Sun-Ring. "Oi, Helis. Next time, watch out who you're dealing with!" He mocked the Eclipse leader from above.
"Damn you!" Helis exclaimed. "Arrest him!" He ordered the other Kestrels.
Undeterred by Helis's threats, Zoro later quickly reaches for the box of weapons and takes all three of his swords, before taking his Enma out. He then quickly kicks the weapon box down for Aloy and Yuuri to pick up their own weapons, as he sees the three fighting the Corrupted Behemoth.
"Just so you know, I'm in a pissed-off mood right now, so don't make me do this." Zoro quipped, as he swings his Enma rapidly, before proceeding to brandish his sword, as he ruthlessly fight against Helis's guards.
Meanwhile, below the Sun-Ring proper...
With Aloy and Yuuri's weapons now in the possession of their respective owners, and with Chito's power restored, the Unity Force trio turned the tables against the Corrupted machine, as they fight off against it, this time with everything in their disposal.
"Guess who got our weapons back?! Now you're just a big dumb target for us! Come and get it!" Aloy mocked.
Yuuri then reloads her rifle with a 40mm grenade round, as she looks at the rest.
"Freeze canister on its hips! Cryo arrows should set it off!" Aloy said, as she takes out her War Bow and fires Freeze Arrows into its Chillwater canisters.
"Keep shooting on it, Aloy-san!" Yuuri ordered, before aiming her rifle. "I'll aim for its weakeness!"
Chito later activates her Bushoshoku Haki, as her hands goes black. "Crimson Hammer!" She shouted, as she conjures a war hammer made of crimson and purple lightning.
The Corrupted Behemoth then proceeds to levitate a giant rock from the ground through its Force Loader, as it attempts to kill the group, but not before Chito quickly destroys the boulder with such might from her hammer. At the same time, the Behemoth's chassis was later frozen by Aloy, before Yuuri fires three explosive rounds, causing the machine to stagger.
"Now's your chance, Chii-chan!" Yuuri commanded.
Chito then proceeds to smash the machine violently with her Crimson Hammer, causing it to be destroyed to bits, as most of its machine parts were destroyed without a hitch. On cue with that, a Kestrel is seen falling down, before Zoro jumps down at the arena.
"How pathetic of them." Zoro quipped.
Suddenly, after Aloy, Chito, Yuuri, and Zoro quickly dispatched the Corrupted Behemoth altogether, Helis later watches speechlessly, as he is utterly humiliated as to how his plan to kill the Unity Force quartet failed right before his eyes. Not to mention, his Kestrel guards were dispatched by Zoro, as well.
To add insult to injury, the audiences later booed him, causing Aloy, Chito, Yuuri, and Zoro to mock the cult leader.
"What was that?" Yuuri mocked, as she laughed. "We've killed bigger bad boys than these hunks of metal!"
"Not so damn tough, are you, fanatic?!" Zoro mocked, as he smirked at Helis.
"SILENCE! Shadows! Kill them! KILL THEM!" Helis angrily declared, as he orders more Corruptors to target the group. "You have tested my patience!"
"Why leave it to THEM?! Come get us yourself!" Aloy yelled.
"You have to ask..." Zoro quipped.
Suddenly, a violent explosion occurs, when the door to the arena was later seen flying with such force, where it revealed to be three people, and one of them being a fish-man, as well as Sylens on his overridden Strider.
"Sylens...? TRAITOR!" Helis exclaimed, as he sees Sylens from below. "And those blasted Unity Force! You cowards just don't know when to quit!"
"Sylens?" Zoro questioned, as he looks at the group. "Jinbe?" He then looks at the fish-man known as Jinbe.
"Sorry that we're late, but we're here." Jinbe said honourably.
"It's another of the Unity Force!" Aloy questioned, as she looks at the rest of the Unity Force.
"It's Hibiki-san, Tsubasa-san, and Jinbe-san!" Chito exclaimed, as she sees the group.
"Well, it's time to destroy these poor bastards, shall we?" Yuuri grinned, as she takes out her rifle and reloads it.
The man known as Jinbe is one of the crew of the Straw Hat Pirates. Jinbe had a light-blue skin tone and stocky build, he had dark-coloured eyes over yellow thick eyebrows, bulb-like nose and two tusk-like fangs on his mouth. He had a long two-toned black hair with two long stripes, coming from the roots over his forehead and trailing down the back, he had a tuft of hair on his chin tied in a topknot with a slight green hue. He wears a yellowish-orange gii with green belt underneath an orange cape and brown wooden clogs.
The first girl, known as Hibiki Tachibana, has dark orange eyes with short cream coloured hair fastened with two red clips on either side of her head. She also wears a white & yellow top with short white & gold striped sleeves and black shoulder straps. She has a pair of denim shorts with white & black shoes and red socks.
The second girl, known as Tsubasa Kazanari, is a tall girl with blue hair and dark blue eyes. She has a side ponytail on the left side of her head that is longer than the rest of her hair, which falls to just above her waist and is cut straight.
"Karakusagawara Seiken!" Jinbe shouted, where he proceeds to punch the two Corruptors, sending them flying into the walls of the Sun-Ring without even having had close contact with them, as he uses water vapour in the air that released a powerful shockwave.
"Battering Ram!" Chito declared, as she conjures a battering ram made of Crimson Lightning from her two hands before unleashing it towards a lunging Corruptor, sending it flying away from Sun-Ring, while leaving a trail of lightning from its path. "Yuu, behind you!" She ordered, before the blondette takes out her rifle.
Yuuri then promptly takes her rifle out, as she transforms her Arisaka rifle into the multi-barrelled rifle. "Eat this, you sucker!" She grinned, before firing the said rifle, as five .338 bullets pierce right into the machine's chassis, causing most of its insides to be violently destroyed.
"Yakkodori!" Zoro takes out his Enma, as he unleashes a compressed air projectile towards one of the lunging Corruptors, destroying it completely.
"Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron~" Hibiki chanted, as a white and orange war gauntlet appears on both of her hands. "Spear Thrusting Spike!" She proceeds to gather and concentrate energy around her Gear, as she extends it through her arms. Afterwards, she then proceeds to release it and unleashes it towards a Corruptor, sending it flying into the top of the Sun-Ring right next to the arena's veranda where Helis is. "And you're down!" She said with a grin.
"Imyuteus Ame no Habakiri tron~" Tsubasa chanted, before a katana appears from her hand. "Blue Flash!" She shouted, before her katana transforms into a larger katana, where she swings it towards a Corruptor, causing blue lightning to appear, as it electrocutes the machine. She then proceeds to look at Aloy. "Are you okay, Aloy-san?" She asked the Nora Huntress.
"We're okay, I guess." Aloy added. "Helis is not pleased, and he'll stop at nothing."
"We didn't expect the three of you to appear." Zoro remarked, as he looks at the Unity Force.
"Leave it to us!" Hibiki cheerfully replied.
"But where's Nanoha and the rest? We tried talking to them, and the signal suddenly jammed." Zoro asked.
However, before Tsubasa even answers that inquiry, Helis angrily appears at the top of the destroyed veranda and orders the rest of the living Corruptors to kill the group.
"Stop them!" Helis declared, as he looks at the group.
Sylens then proceeds to throw a machine lure through a spear, before calling in three overridden Ravagers, as it proceeds to attack the Corruptors, giving the group a golden opportunity to escape the Sun-Ring and all of Sunfall, before they would be the next to die.
"Now go!" Sylens exclaimed, before Aloy jumps at one of the overridden Striders, and with the Unity Force escaping.
With the Sun-Ring in utter chaos after the rest of the group's dramatic escape, Hibiki, Tsukasa, Sylens, Jinbe, Chito, Yuuri, Aloy and Zoro later go into a safe location, far from the Shadow Carja and the Eclipse, now knowing that their identity is compromised should they come back to Sunfall.
"So you're here. Really here. You risked your life." Aloy quipped.
"But how did you figure out that we were there?" Zoro added, as she talks to Tsubasa.
"Nanoha-san called, knowing that your group didn't message." Tsubasa stated. "Until we found out from Sylens-sama that the rest of you were in that Sun-Ring." She stated. "He's not easy to talk to, but he was the only lead on what just transpired there."
"And that's where we find out that the rest of you were needing our help!" Hibiki replied casually.
"Thanks, I guess..." Chito said, with Hibiki patting her shoulder. "I never believed that we had to fight a machine for their sacrificial rite." She added.
"But it was fun, though!" Yuuri morbidly replied, only for Chito to smack her head.
"Regardless, too bad you wasted your time, then. Helis destroyed my Focus… and the Alpha Registry with it." Aloy added in disappointment, as she realises that she no longer had a Focus.
"Not at all. The whole time I've been monitoring your Focus, I've duplicated every data file you scanned. Installing that data to a new Focus was trivially easy. 'Happy birthday, Isaac. Daddy sure does love his little big man.'" Sylens remarked as she gives her a Focus, hearkening back at the time Aloy found her Focus.
"You're really good at making it impossible to like you, Sylens. But I guess I need this." Aloy said, as she puts the Focus on her temple.
"It's time to go see where you were born. Maybe you'll even learn why." Sylens answered.
"Yeah. Meet the machine that birthed me into this world. Isn't that how you put it." Aloy reminded.
"I'll be off." Sylens attempts to leave, but Aloy stops her.
"Wait." Aloy called out.
"Yes?" Sylens questioned.
Zoro proceeds to ask Sylens a question that he wants to ask. "How do you know about the Unity Force? I know it's a weird time to talk about it, but you seem to know us." He questioned.
"From a stranger whose mind is nigh similar to Elisabet Sobeck, but she is not a clone of Sobeck." Sylens revealed. "She is not of this world." He added.
"Not of this world?" Chito asked.
"Is he referring to Akiha?" Zoro whispered, before he ponders further, remembering what CYAN in the past said to them.
"To counter it, I sent a distress signal into another part of the world, right here in Wyoming, hoping anyone could pick it up, but it was only picked up by a person wearing a Focus in April 3040, and its location was unknown."
"So she can use a Focus..." Zoro thought.
"Yes." Sylens responded. "When I scoured through the database regarding the Unity Force via my Focus, I never expected that such rumours of heroes like you were founded." He revealed.
"In another world, yes." Zoro replied.
"Regardless, how did you come across them and save us?" Aloy questioned.
"Really, Aloy. It doesn't take a genius to surmise that Helis would throw you into the Sun Ring at high noon. I wore out two Striders getting here in time. But I did. Now be on your way." Sylens answered.
"Since when can you override machines?" Aloy asked.
"Ever since you discovered the technique. I had to destroy a Corruptor to obtain the necessary parts, of course. But your example showed me how to do that, as well. Yet another benefit of monitoring your activities through your Focus. Truth be told, the underlying logic of the technique isn't so different from rites practised by Banuk shamans… though of course, far more advanced." Sylens revealed.
"I guess you're the beacon of reason amidst the insanity in this world." Zoro quipped.
"In such a way to describe like that." Sylens answered.
"Helis recognized you back in the Sun Ring. You told me that you'd 'assisted' the Eclipse… not that you knew the man who killed my… who almost killed me." Aloy said, who wanted to know about Helis.
"So now you know. The man is a serious threat. So let's do all we can to make sure that he and HADES, as well as Benoit and the Corps don't succeed." Sylens stated.
"No surprise that Helis was a complete lunatic who wanted to kill us, in the name of his religion." Zoro quipped.
"The Corps are the main concern, however." Chito said. "Benoit and Black Matter, especially." She stated.
"I only know the extent of HADES and Helis's threat, and the Corps' activities as of late." Sylens revealed. "But by spying their previous activities, I've heard some regarding the Corps being obsessed over world domination across the multiverse. The stuff of bad omens coming out of a Banuk Shaman's mouth." He added.
"Except they are serious about it, and Helis is just blindly believing their nonsense." Zoro spat. "But they can be a serious threat to the multiverse." He added. "We'll ensure that it won't happen."
"We'll be on our way. To make matters worse. Helis ordered an Eclipse detachment to attack the Nora Sacred Lands. The tribe's already weak, and Resh is a threat to the tribe. They won't stand a chance. You should come with us." Aloy offered.
"Absolutely not. I have preparations to make elsewhere." Sylens refused.
"It didn't matter anyway." Zoro simply stated.
"What kind of - Why do I bother asking? You're not going to tell us." Aloy answered.
"When the time is right, I'll be in touch. I'll contact you later. In the meantime, should you need to return to Shadow Carja territory, I brought armour to conceal your identity." Sylens said, as she gives a Shadow Carja Kestrel armour to Aloy. "As for you, Unity Force, your secret identities have been compromised, now knowing that the Shadow Carja are after your heads, and Helis and the Corps want all of you dead." He cautioned the group. "So going back to Sunfall is a mere risk." He ended.
"You think of everything, don't you?" Aloy asked.
"One of us has to. Aloy… When you were recovering the Alpha Registry, down in the Zero Dawn bunker… I was needlessly cruel. For your sake, I hope there is someone waiting there for you inside the mountain. Not a what, but a who." Sylens apologised, or so it seems.
"I guess apology accepted to her...?" Zoro asked.
"I'll be going now." Sylens said, as he begins to leave. "Yah!" He shouted, as he commanded the Strider to move.
With Sylens leaving, the Unity Force are left in there, planning their next move and that is halting the Eclipse's genocidal attack against the Nora.
"Where's Nanoha and the rest?" Zoro asked Jinbe. "I expected that they didn't receive the signal, but they didn't respond after we were rescued."
"They were in that Sacred Lands, urgently stopping the Eclipse from attacking Aloy-san's hometown." Jinbe added, as he looks eastward.
"The only way to go in, as of late, is the Main Embrace Gate." Tsubasa replied to the rest.
"I don't know how to explain this, but the damage was too much there." Hibiki stated in a rather dreary manner, which is a contrast to her usual personality.
"Dammit, then we have to go, now." Zoro uttered.
"There's no telling what would happen next if we don't stop them." Chito ordered.
"I'll open a portal and we teleport there." Jinbe added, as he proceeds to use his tablet, creating a portal that leads to the Nora Sacred Lands.
"Then what we're waiting for? Let's go and save Aloy-san's homeland!" Yuuri ordered the rest.
With nothing else to lose, the Unity Force heroes consisting of Aloy, Zoro Roronoa, Chito, Yuuri, Jinbe, Tsubasa, and Hibiki later enter the portal that leads to the Main Embrace Gate, in a last-ditch effort, to save the Nora from utter extinction by the Eclipse.
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The characters that appear in this chapter (in order):
Hibiki Tachibana and Tsubasa Kazanari from Symphogear
Jinbe from One Piece
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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: After finding out that Resh and Thush have already invaded the Sacred Lands with the Eclipse and Resh's Nora Braves, under Helis and Benoit's orders, the rest of the Unity Force must rendezvous with the rest of them and quickly save the Nora, before the said tribe will be hurtled into extinction from the Eclipse's genocide.
