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Chapter 3: Well, This Sucks
Aloy has had experience with all kinds of technologies before. The Focus is one thing, the machines roaming around the surface of the Earth is another. There was also her encounter with the Zeniths, offworld humans who escaped the Faro Plague and have tech that far surpass even those of the Old World. But never has she encountered something like this, a rift, a portal, whatever you want to call it; a concept still deemed theoretical even by the standards of Faro Automated Solutions and Far Zenith. And this was just sitting in the green-haired kid's pocket, being the cause of why these strange batch of teens were doing there at the moment.
"Is… is this even possible?" Aloy gasped silently, before tapping her Focus in order to contact. "GAIA? Are you getting this?"
"An intriguing development, I see. I must suggest you tread lightly with this." An automated female voice was heard from her Focus. "It may be best to analyze the situation at hand in order to figure out how to approach this situation."
"Yeah, probably for the best." Aloy whispered.
While the students were still processing what was in front of them, someone was seen on the other side of the rift portal. It was a middle-aged man with long black hair, a black outfit and a face that, albeit covered with a white scarf of sorts, looked incredibly deprived of sleep. Despite that last part, he seemed surprised upon seeing the students.
"What in the-" The man gasped at what was in front of him.
"Is that Aizawa-sensei?!" Iida gasped.
Once this fact had been clear, some of the students instinctually went for the portal. Widening his eyes at this, Aizawa quickly brought out his hand to stop the students from going any further.
"Stop! Don't go into the portal!" Aizawa ordered. "Stay where you are!"
Luckily, though they didn't know that yet, the tone and seriousness embedded into this order were enough to stop the students from making any leeway to the portal.
"What do you mean?! We've already gotten injured here!" Shoji asked in disbelief.
"I can see you're injured, and we're gonna have a talk about that later. But you should listen to me if I say do not go through that portal." Aizawa stated sternly.
"But why exactly, Aizawa-sensei?" Midoriya asked.
"And why does the portal feel similar to Kurogiri's Quirk?!" Mineta asked in a panic.
"Erm… well, about that..." Another person sheepishly walked into view. This was a young woman, about the same age as the students with Aloy, with pink hair, black tank top and baggy pants. There was also a trange headpiece on top. "Let's say I had quite an ambitious baby I was developing."
"H-Hatsume?! What did you do now?!" Midoriya asked.
"Hey, Midoriya! Glad you asked!" Hatsume asked energetically. "To also answer Grapes' question, I had taken inspiration from the League of Villains' own Kurogiri and his Warp Quirk as part of our assignment to replicate a Quirk as closely as we can."
"Phew, thought this was some sort of an attack by the League." Kaminari wiped his brow.
"But wait, you tried to replicate Kurogiri's Quirk?!" Hagakure exclaimed with confusion.
"Yeah. Say hello to the first rendition of my portal baby, the Transwarp!" Hatsume exclaimed theatrically, though this basically garnered the completely opposite reaction than intended.
Aloy widened her eyes upon hearing this. That device that is currently creating a portal in the middle of the cave, the device known as a Transwarp Node and a technology deemed impossible, was created by this strange pink haired girl. For an assignment no less.
"But if this is a recreation of the Warp Quirk, why can't we go through it right now?" Tsuyu asked.
"Miss Hatsume informed me of the status of that Transwarp Node on your end." Aizawa explained.
"So basically, the Transwarp Node is slightly broken." Hatsume stated. "I won't get into the specifics, but this is the effect of that."
The pink haired girl takes out a small bottle cap and tosses it at the portal. However, as it bridges the gap between the two sides, it immediately breaks apart, leaving only smaller shred of plastic on the students' end of the portal. This caused the students to gasp, especially the ones that tried to enter the portal.
"Oh gosh!" Sato felt his heart skip a beat upon seeing this. "Yeah, thanks for the warning."
"Yeah, the Transwarp Node #2 is currently dealing with power fluctuations, so the connections between the two portals are quite unstable." Hatsume stated.
"Did we find them already?" A door opens behind Aizawa and Hatsume. Out of it comes another man with a thin, almost skeletal stature, with long yellow hair and surprisingly sharp facial features.
"All Might!" Midoriya yelled out.
"Young Midoriya! I see all of you are all right." All Might sighed with relief before turning to the other two in the classroom. "Are we able to bring them back, Hatsume?"
"With the portal? No dice. The connection between the two portals is still unstable." Hatsume stated.
"Well, looks like we'll have to coordinate a way to get them home here in Japan." All Might then notices Aloy next to the students. "You there. What's your name?"
"Um… it's Aloy. But may I ask, what kind of name is All Might?" Aloy slowly walked up to the portal with a question.
This question caught a lot of the people there off guard for a moment. Someone who doesn't know All Might? Sure, there may be some who don't know his thin form after his retirement, but the name All Might is a name well known in the hero world.
In the student's eyes, someone with a combat ability enough to rival most Pro Heroes they know would've probably known of the Symbol of Peace himself. So why's that the case?
Seeing that the others were taken aback by this question, Aloy put her hands up to ease the tension.
"Wrong question? Sorry." Aloy apologized. "I take it you want me to do something?"
"Yes, well…" All Might stated, rubbing the back of his head in confusion. "Where have my students ended up in? We may be able to coordinate with local Hero Agencies in order to get them a flight home."
"Erm… we're in America, but what do you mean by a Hero Agency?" Aloy asked bluntly again.
There goes their guard again. And again, questions of this red-haired girl pop up. She doesn't know what a Hero Agency is? In America, hero culture is just as prevalent as that in Japan, surely someone like her has seen a hero and villain fight.
"You don't know what a Hero Agency is?" Aizawa asked. "I thought there were tons of them in America."
"No, I don't. And I don't know what you're talking about. All I see here in America are machines." Aloy stated.
"Oh, right! How could I forget that?!" Midoriya exclaimed. "After we were transported by the Transwarp, we were attacked by animal shaped robots!"
"Hold on, robots? What are you talking about?!" Hatsume quickly took an interest once the word "robot" was dropped.
"Yes, animal shaped robots. There were so many of them that they felt like the forest's local fauna." Todoroki added.
"All Might. Do you know of any animal shaped machines in America?" Aizawa asked.
"This is strange. I heard I-Island is constantly developing something of the sort, but I'm not sure about robots in the country's forest." All Might pondered. "Does the U.S. Government know about this?"
"There is no U.S. Government here." Aloy stated sternly, before whispering to herself. "They along with the rest of the world were wiped out by the Faro Plague."
"Wait, what?! What do you mean there is no U.S. Government?!" All Might asked.
"I'm saying there is no America here. Or any other country you know for that matter." Aloy stated. "A thousand years ago, an apocalyptic event happened that caused humanity to regress into scattered, primitive tribes constantly under threat by these machines."
"We've been fighting those things for the past six hours. Guess we know why nobody has noticed us yet." Sero stated.
"Six hours?" Aizawa asked. "We got this portal activated in just one."
"What?! How is that possible?!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed. "It must be a form of time dilation. But we're still on solid ground, on Earth, with the same gravity. So that would mean…"
"Does this mean you're from another world?! Another dimension?!" Hatsume asked.
"It may be a far stretch, but that's the only plausible theory I have." Aloy stated.
"Holy shit! My baby opened a door between dimensions!" Hatsume exclaimed manically. "This could literally change what we know about space and time!"
"I understand that, Hatsume. But this discovery came at the cost of my students getting trapped into another world." Aizawa stated.
As the students and the two teachers try to dissect the information thrown at them, Aloy then solemnly turns to the students next to her.
"Your students are lucky to stumble onto me. They found themselves in the middle of the Tenakth Clan Lands." Aloy stated. "The Tenakth is a tribe of warriors who don't take kindly to outlanders. If they have encountered your students if I'm not around, they will issue a kill order, regardless of who you are."
"Yikes. Guess we dodged a big bullet there." Kaminari sweatdropped upon hearing this.
"But now we have a new problem in our hands. Unless we fix the Transwarp Node's energy direction, these guys are stuck here with me." Aloy stated. "You wouldn't have a schematic of the device, would you?"
"Of course, it's all part of the engineering process." Hatsume stated, before pulling out a blueprint out of nowhere. "I'll let you take a picture, flame-hair, but I don't think the schematics would be clear that way."
"No need. I'm able to save the schematics just fine." Aloy then taps her Focus.
As Aloy began to read and translate the blueprint's schematics into data for the Focus, the three on the other side of the portal looked in confusion as Aloy did her strange hand movement. Aizawa was about to say something before someone began to clarify.
"T-That thing on her right temple is a second sight. I don't know the extent of it, but it helps her access store data by sight alone." Midoriya stated.
"Ohoho, now I have another idea forming in mind." Hatsume mischievously rubbed her hands together.
"We're already having enough trouble with this Transwarp tech of yours, Hatsume. Focus on getting my students back here." Aizawa sternly stated.
"Okay, I have the schematics saved. I'll see if I can fix this thing." Aloy then turned to the students. "But first, I have to figure out what to do with these guys."
"Well then let's discuss this. Hatsume, go back to your classroom. Power Loader still has some words for you." All Might stated.
"Aye aye!" Hatsume exclaimed somewhat enthusiastically despite what she had caused.
Once the pink haired engineer left the classroom, the two teachers sighed deeply, before turning back to the huntress on the other side of the portal.
"Iida, stand next to Aloy, if you may. This discussion requires your attention as well as the class president." Aizawa fold the boy with glasses.
"Oh, um okay sir." Iida went up to the portal.
"Everyone else, rest up. You had enough for the day, so regain your strength for tomorrow." Alpy stated.
"Thanks, Aloy." Midoriya smiled upon hearimg this.
Now the students began to take their well deserved rest in the cave. Some were helping the injured get comfortable, while the others laid down trying to catch some sleep. Aloy smiled at this, before turning back to the matter at hand.
"Before anything else, I would like to clarify one thing." Aloy stated. "Your students have been asking me about something called a Quirk. Can you tell me what it is?"
"Yes, I suppose we should tell you about that." All Might scratched his chin.
"In our world, a large portion of our population gain a power known as a Quirk." Iida explains before gesturing to the exhaust pipes on his calves. "For example, I have a Quirk called Engine, which boosts my leg's physical performance and allows me to run at high speeds."
"And with such a large number of people having a Quirk, there are some that want to use theirs for evil purposes." Aizawa stated. "And thus, our world has heroes and villains. The heroes stop the villains from doing evil things. I'm sure you've heard of the concept before."
"Our students here are currently training to become heroes themselves." All Might added.
"I understand the idea. Guess that clears up some questions." Aloy nodded. "And I guess you want to know about my world, since you've told me about yours."
"Go ahead. Let us know what our students are up against." Aizawa nodded.
"Well, as I've said, this world was once like yours, minus the Quirk thing. But a thousand years ago, a highly cataclysmic event occured, and now, humans have reverted to primitive tribes with these machines prowling the World's landscape." Aloy stated.
"What kind of cataclysmic event?" All Might asked.
"The details might take a while to explain, but I can send the necessary files for you to put the pieces necessary to understand." Aloy tapped her Focus once again. "What's important is that these machines attack any human in sight, and they have been endangering the tribes of this world for years now."
"I see. Can you send the necessary files? I think we should see it for ourselves." Aizawa stated before pulling out his phone. "What kind of software is needed?"
"Any hologram projectors will do." Aloy says as she prepares for a file transmission. "And don't worry about the files, I can assure you they aren't that large."
Aloy sends the files from her Focus through the forest, and they are successfully sent to Aizawa's phone.
"Now, about what to do tomorrow, I have a base that has been repurposed from an ancient bunker." Aloy explained. "It's definitely a good place for them to stay, but it's around a three hour walk."
"You said we're in the middle of the Tenakth, right? A tribe of warriors that don't like outsiders?" Iida brought up. "Wouldn't we be going through their land?"
"Oh, that will not be a problem. I have a rite of passage of sorts that allows me to roam their lands without worry." Aloy explained.
"Hmm. Then I guess that's a plan." All Might stated. "We'll check on you guys in a few hours. Though for you it will be another day."
"But I want you to know something, Aloy." Aizawa stated sternly. "These students aspire to become heroes and be beacons of light in our world. And I can only assume this world plays by its own rules, different from our world."
"Well, that's one way to phrase it, that's for sure." Aloy places her hands on her hips.
"Make sure to keep them safe. And most importantly, don't let them lose sight of their path." Aizawa stated. "I know this may seem like an odd promise, but something tells me this world will be hard for them to adjust to. So promise me that. Not just for me or our school, but for the people of our world who will look up to them with hope."
"I promise. You have my word." Aloy stated firmly.
"Good. As All Might said, we'll leave you be until tomorrow. I'll make sure to tell your parents about your situation." Aizawa stated. "I expect you all to be in your base. Stay safe."
"We'll do, Aizawa-sensei." Iida bowed in respect.
"We're putting our trust in you, Young Aloy. Remember that." All Might added.
Aloy nods at this final statement before the portal begins to close. Eventually, all that was in front of her was an operational, though slightly defective Transwarp Node. One that she had the task of repairing.
"All I have to do is fix this, huh? Guess I got time to look at the schematics tomorrow." Aloy stashes the device into one of her pouches for safe keeping.
Aloy and Iida turn around to face the other students in the cave. Very quickly did they realize most of them have already begun to rest and sleep after such a battle against the Tremortusk. Some of them have already began to sleep next to a campfire recently lit by Todoroki.
"Well, after fighting machines for six hours, I say this is well deserved." Aloy smiled. "I guess you should get to rest. Tenya, right?"
"Just call me Iida. Us Japanese call each other by a last name basis except if you're a family member." Iida stated.
"I see. Well, better rest then." Aloy stated. "We've got a long walk ahead of us tomorrow."
"Thank you, Aloy." Iida bowed down. "I'm sorry if this task is an inconvenience to you."
"No need for apologies. I'm happy to help." Aloy says, to which Iida responds with a smile.
As the boy with glasses went off to find himself a place to rest, Aloy notices Uraraka off to the side eating a couple of blue medicinal berries. She was accompanied by Midoriya, Kaminari and Jiro, with the latter currently massaging her earphone jacks.
"Plech! Wow, that was bitter." Uraraka exclaimed. "But now I can certainly feel the pain numbing."
"What kind of berries are these?" Kaminari asked.
"We call them medicinal skybrushes. They don't help completely, but their anesthesia helps effectively with easing the pain." Aloy walked towards them with an answer. "Being a hunter in this wilderness means you should be able to find these when you're in a sinch."
"Heh, have a stash of these on you at all times, Midoriya?" Jiro chuckled a bit. "With the way you ignore pain all the time, I wouldn't be surprised if anything like these berries are the main part of your diet."
"Eh?!" Midoriya exclaimed, taken aback by this comment.
"Wow, I'm guessing he's quite the risk taker." Aloy chuckled along. "Can you still hear?"
"Yeah, I guess. But it's kind of weird hearing with only my earphone jacks." Jiro stated before gesturing to the brunette. "But I don't think she's doing well either. Going deaf and being unable to use your Quirk is a real bummer in our world."
Said brunette shifted uncomfortably and stayed silent. Though she cannot hear what was being said, she knew it was about her newfound condition. And Aloy could almost see a heavy frown beginning to form.
"I understand being deaf is bad, but what does it have to do with her… Quirk?" Aloy asked.
"Well, you see, her Quirk is called Zero-Gravity. It allows her to nullify the gravity of anything she touches." Midoriya explains. "It usually gives her nausea, so training her ears reduces that to an effect. But with her eardrums burst, she basically can't use her Quirk at all."
"And I'm guessing heroes don't do well with that?" Aloy asked.
"Yeah. It's basically everyone's dream in our world to become one." Midoriya stated. "Even without that, she wants to be a hero to help with her family's financial problems. So it hits especially hard for her if there's a possibility that this injury might take her out of commision permanently."
The huntress frowns at this explanation about the brunette's situation. The feeling of uselessness is a story she hears all too often, and even she's no stranger to the feeling. Taking a moment to sigh, Aloy reaches down to a small pouch of her outfit.
"Here. I believe this might help." Aloy opens the small pouch in order to reveal a cache of extra Focuses. Three spares of the small triangular device.
"Y-You're giving her a Focus?" Midoriya asked skeptically.
"Yeah, and I'm thinking with a couple of setting changes, this may help your friend until her hearing returns." Aloy stated.
Aloy hands out a Focus to Uraraka, who looks at it with confusion. The huntress gestures to her right temple, prompting the brunette to place it at the same spot.
As she did, purple light flashed so suddenly in front of her eyes prompting her to accidentally take off the device in surprise.
"It's okay, it's something you'll easily get used to." Aloy quickly eased up the girl's tension.
Looking at the Focus again, Uraraka skeptically wears the Focus once again. The purple light appears again, and with a bit of time, the brunette can see it basically everywhere. She can see the holographic outlines of her companions. A compass of sorts above her head. Even the berries she had in her hand were highlighted, with the words "Medicinal Skybrush" indicated above it.
"How does it feel?" Midoriya was the first one to asked.
The moment he asked that question, a string of words appeared in Uraraka's vision. The words "How does it feel?" were strewn in front of her. Clear and concise, without overwhelming her with cluttered information. With that, the girl lets out a bright smile, one filled with hope and thankfulness.
"I'm doing fine, thank you." Uraraka smiled.
Midoriya smiled brightly as well, with Kaminari and Jiro letting out grateful smirks for their friend. Aloy smiles as well, before standing up once again.
"I'll teach you how to use it tomorrow, but for now, it will help you talk with others." Aloy stated.
"Mhmm! Thanks!" Uraraka gave a thumbs up to this.
"I'll leave you to it then. We've got a long walk ahead of us tomorrow." Aloy says.
"Thank you, Aloy. I appreciate the help." Uraraka smiled.
"Yeah. You'll definitely make for a great hero." Midoriya stated.
"Yeah! You're a great fighter and extremely generous!" Kaminari stated.
"You'll do well in our world. Just saying." Jiro smirked.
"Okay, okay, no need for that. Now get some rest." Aloy says before walking off.
It's about time the huntress gets to rest. Aloy quickly finds a spot in the cave where she can lay down and rest alone. As she did, however, she couldn't help but notice someone glaring at her. The huntress turns to see Bakugo on the other side of the cavern, glaring silently with a judgemental look at her.
Once Aloy had caught wind of this, Bakugo quickly diverted his eyes somewhere else upon realizing the huntress had noticed him.
Strange. Aloy could go over there and ask what that was about. But that was another problem for another day. Rest is important, after all. So she lays down on the cave floor and shuts her eyes.
-The Next Day-
"Yaaaaawwwwwwn…" Kirishima stretched out his arms, yawning as he sat up from his sleeping position. "Wow, how long have I been sleeping? Ugh, my back hurts."
"I know, right? Wherever this base is, it better have a good bed of sorts." Ashido was seen nearby, bending backwards in order to stretch out any sleep from her body. "Oh! That hits the spot."
"What time is it though? It feels like I've been sleeping forever." Sato was seen rubbing the back of his head.
"The sun was out for only a few hours. It's still pretty early." Tsuyu approached the group.
"Yawn… well, if that's the case, better if we leave now for this base I keep hearing about." Hagakure stated, the only indication of her stretching movements being her gloves pulling apart from each other.
"But wait, where is Aloy?" Koda asked. "I haven't seen her since this morning."
"Why would you want to look for her?" Bakugo scowled at the question.
"Because, she was supposed to help us get home to our world. Is that not a valid reason?" Jiro asked, only to be responded to with a sneer.
"Hmm…" Todoroki looked around a bit, finding where the huntress was. This only brought up another situation. "Wait, Midoriya and Uraraka aren't here."
"Huh, yeah." Kaminari turned to look. "Y'know, I think I heard them talking earlier before I dozed off again."
"What were they talking about?" Yaoyorozu asked.
"I don't know, something about transport? I heard Aloy mention something about overriding, but I didn't hear enough to get much of it." Kaminari lightly brushed his hair a bit.
"Yeah, I don't think I got much either." Jiro stated, before looking to the entrance of the cave. "Wait, someone's over there at the entrance."
The students turn to see Iida currently posted in front of the cave. Confused, they begin to approach him as he turns to notice them.
"Ah, good morning everyone." Iida smiled towards them. "Are you prepared for the trip? I apologize because we're going to wait a bit longer before we leave."
"Iida? Where is Aloy? I thought she'll help us travel to her base." Tsuyu asked.
"She's out doing something that will help with that. She also brought along Midoriya and Uraraka to help." Iida explains what happened. "I'm holding the fort until they return."
"But what are they doing out there anyway? Aren't there still machines running amok?" Ojiro asked.
"I'm not sure. But what I am sure is that we'll-"
"Hey, everyone!"
The group turns to see a group walking towards them from a distance, this being the group that had left. Uraraka was happily waving towards them, while Midoriya and Aloy trailed behind.
Though this garnered a shocked expression from the students. And for good reason, because Midoriya and Uraraka were riding on the backs of machines. Two, car-sized machines that trailed behind the huntress, and took on the form of a warthog. They had a circular saw under each of their tusks and they had two canisters of sorts on their backs.
"G-Gah!" Mineta almost tripped backwards out of fear.
"They're riding machines now?!" Kaminari exclaimed.
With that, the students who weren't too injured from the ordeal last night went on to meet the group, who stopped the two machines they were riding to dismount.
"What's going on? Why aren't these things attacking you?" Ojiro asked.
"Believe it or not, Aloy has some sort of tech that allows her to tame machines." Midoriya explained.
"It's called an override. Basically, I can use this augment at the end of my spear in order to take control of a device's internal systems." Aloy says as she takes out her spear, gesturing to the blunt end.
"She used it to take control of these machines. And apparently, from what the Focus tells me, these things are called Bristlebacks." Uraraka says as she points towards the triangular device in her head.
"So let me get this straight." Jiro pointed a finger upwards. "You have the ability to tame a machine with your spear?"
"Then why didn't you use it on the Tremortusk last night?!" Mineta jumped up with a manic expression.
"Like I said, that Tremortusk was an Apex variant. Apex machines have a sort of encryption that doesn't allow me to override them." Aloy explains. "So, other than that, I can override most machines if I have enough data on them."
"Wait, if you went out to tame these machines, why did you bring these two with you?" Shoji asked.
"She wanted to teach me how to use my Focus. It was pretty fun to do." Uraraka smiled with an answer, before patting the machine she was riding.
"Oh? How did it go, Uraraka?" Iida asked curiously.
"It was very fun. I didn't know there can be this many features on a triangle you put on your head." Uraraka chuckled.
"Well, at least we have something to ride while we head to the base." Yaoyorozu approached as the injured were helped out of the cave.
"Ooh! I want to ride the machine!" Kaminari exclaimed, raising his hand with excitement at the prospect.
"No, Kaminari. The injured take first priority." Iida quickly took the initiative. "That means Tokoyami, Yaoyorozu, Aoyama and Ashido ride on the machines."
"Aw man." Kaminari emotionally deflated upon hearing this.
"Haha! I get to ride on a cool robot warthog!" Mina exclaimed ecstatically, raising her fist up in excitement.
"Whatever! I am not riding on something that literally has buzzsaws next to its mouth!" Mineta exclaimed.
Iida and Aloy went on to help the injured students climb up the Bristlebacks. With Yaoyorozu and Mina on one and Tokoyami and Aoyama on the other.
"So, are you guys set?" Aloy asked the students.
"This must be what horse riding feels like. I expected my first experience would be in a flashy setting rather than a situation like this." Aoyama stated.
"Whohoo! This is amazing!" Ashido yelled out once again.
"Oh! Hey! I'm still holding on here!" Yaoyorozu was almost knocked off the machine due to the pink girl's antics.
"Oh, sorry, Yaomomo." Ashido chuckled a bit.
"Um, by the way, how long is the trip to your base?" Sato asked the huntress. "Surely, it can't be that long."
"Hmm. On foot, it's probably around three hours, close to four." Aloy stated. "I'm guessing that's probably too much to ask of you?"
That was, in fact, too much to ask. Most of the students had their mouths agape at the expected timeframe of their travel. Sure, hours-long trips are to be expected during occasions like their internships, but they're mostly on train. This was nearly four hours of walking in front of them. In such hostile lands as well.
"Yikes. Glad we get to ride these Bristlebacks." Ashido sweatdropped.
"Whatever, let's get this trip over with." Bakugo sneered.
"Wait, aren't we going through where the Tenakth live?" Todoroki asked.
"Don't worry about that, I'm allowed to travel in the Clan Lands. But it's probably best if you keep your Quirks hidden when we encounter them." Aloy explained. "So, is everyone ready to head out?"
"Alright." Most answered unanimously.
"Okay then. Follow me." Aloy says as she began to walk down a path through the forest, with the students and warthog machines in tow.