A reminder I'm gonna give is that these characters are from before Season 5, so Midoriya doesn't have access to things like Gearshift or Danger Sense yet and all the moves used during the Joint Training Arc will slowly be introduced throughout the story.

misaka2madoka: That will be covered in another chapter. Tekkrah isn't a traitor to the Desert Clan, and this quest is to rescue him before he dies, not kill him.

Matt22152: Of course not, she'll heal pretty quickly, but her Quirk not being able to be used will play a role in her growth in the story, as well as clash with someone else.

NewMystery356: Great observation, mate. That will definitely be the direction I will go for Bakugo's character.


Chapter 6: The Duty Of Soldiers And Heroes


It was gonna be an easy climb, they thought. The students didn't realize how much they walked up the mountain as they were focused on finding this base that will be their safe haven for the time being.

It was when Kirishima decided to look back when he saw the sight behind them.

"Whoa. That is quite the view." Kirishima gasped at the sight.

Hearing this, the other students turned back as well in order to take in the view. And quite the view it was. They can see how the land transitions from the desert where they were up until the dry, slightly snowy slopes they were currently on. They can see the forest where the Memorial Grove was located, and everything seemed to connect beautifully under the rays of the sun.

In short, it was breathtaking. None of them have ever traveled to a place with such beautiful landscape (probably except for Momo).

But there was also a new sense of uncertainty that came with this view.

"This is a world that came after a devastating collapse…" Kaminari solemnly stated. "It feels so full… yet so empty."

"Damn it, Kaminari! We agreed not to think about it for the time being!" Mineta yelled out.

"Hey, don't tell me it hasn't been weighing on your mind as well." Kaminari stated.

"Great, now we have to imagine what happened to this world. Great job, dude." Jiro rubbed the sides of her head in annoyance.

"The human imagination can be the scariest thing." Tokoyami quoted.

"Just keep your minds off that topic. It will only serve as a distraction." Iida stated as the group continues to climb up. "This is the mountain path Aloy led us to. It should be a matter of time before-"

"Um… hey!" Someone yelled out to them.

The group of students turn to see someone else nearby, waving towards them from a nearby cliff.

"Wait, who is that?" Uraraka squinted her eyes to get a better look.

"Um, doesn't she look a lot like Aloy?" Tsuyu asked.

Indeed it does. A young woman with similar hair and facial features as Aloy, as well as a Focus on her right temple. The distinctions were also apparent, with her hair being short-cut as well as being somewhat thinner and paler, as well as having more modern white clothes made of silk-lined fabric.

"You must be the students Aloy talked about! Come on over here!" The woman called them.

"You must be Beta!" Iida waved back. "Nice to meet you!"

The students quickly went on to meet Beta, though there was still a cliff wall separating them.

"I hope you guys can climb." Beta yelled out down below.

"Yeah, watch us!" Kirishima quickly hardened his fingertips.

In a couple moments, the students use their Quirks to scale the large cliff wall. It was obvious who got up quickly, those like Kirishima, Sato, Sero and Tsuyu managed to get up due to their vertical ability while others had to get helped up by the others. Eventually, they all managed to scale the cliff wall, and in front of them was a metal door that led into the mountain.

"Wow. This must be the base. I gotta say, a mountain seems like a good place to hang out in." Kaminari stated.

"Yeah, cave bases seem really old school." Todoroki added.

"Something you see in comics. I dig it." Jiro crossed her arms.

"Well, considering what is inside, I don't see any plans of relocation in the near future." Beta stated. "It is… strange seeing you all here. But I hope you make yourselves comfortable."

"I thank you for your hospitality, Beta." Iida bowed down in respect.

"N-No, no need for that." Beta nervously replied.

Almost all of the students there turn to the door embedded into the mountain wall. Keyword: Almost. Uraraka was still at the bottom of the cliff, currently removing the gloves and braces of her hero costume.

"Um, Asui? Why is Uraraka taking off her gloves?" Ashido looked over the cliff edge.

"Call me Tsuyu. And Ochako-chan is planning to climb up the cliff by herself. I'm watching her just in case she needs help." Tsuyu explained the situation blankly.

"If I'm not able to use my Quirk in the future, I may be able to learn how to be Quirkless." Uraraka stated, rubbing her hands together preparing for a climb. "Hey Beta!"

"Um… what is it?" Beta looked down from the top of the cliff.

"Do people usually climb up here to access your base?" Uraraka asked.

"I assume you mean barehanded, right? Then yes. Aloy and the others climb up barehanded to access the base." Beta explained.

"Well then, let's get started." Uraraka smirked.

The gravity hero latches on to one of the snow-covered rock ridges on the cliff, trying to pull herself up. But she immediately slips, landing back-first on the cold ground beneath her.

"Oof!" Uraraka gasped in pain.

"Oh shit!" Ashido gasped.

"Are you okay, Ochako?!" Tsuyu asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I'm fine." Uraraka breathed out a bit before limping her body. "This may take a while."


Aloy and the two students eventually found themselves in the ruins of an ancient outpost, with rusted metal surrounding an old sandstone foundation. A small wooden platform was prompted next to the structure, the wood a lot more younger than the ruins next to it. This was where Tekkrah's blood trail led them to, and where it went cold.

"Looks like he stopped here to treat his wounds." Aloy says, dismounting the Charger she was riding in order to investigate the scene. "It won't be long, I'll just find a way to pick up the trail again."

The wooden platform had rags on it. Blood stained rags, cut from a length. A tourniquet, most likely. Probably used by Tekkrah to wrap his own wounds. A relief to be sure, but Aloy has to find another way to find his tracks.

Meanwhile, Midoriya kept staring at the ancient structure they were next to. Somehow, his senses telling him something terrible had happened, telling him to spring into action. But he had to remind himself that whatever happened happened a thousand years ago. Things will become clear in the long run.

Though his fidgeting still managed to catch the eye of his hot-headed companion. Just enough for him to do something about it.

"You're fidgeting, Deku. You're usually muttering to yourself whenever you see anything somewhat interesting." Bakugo spoke out.

"U-Um, I'm glad you noticed, Kacchan." Midoriya weakly stated. "It's just that I can't stop thinking about the fact that these are the ruins of an old civilization. One that had collapsed, one with so many lives that could've been saved. It just feels painful. It feels like there is an entirely new set of rules set in front of us."

"Well, look." Bakugo sighs a bit. "If it's really that big of a deal, just know we're here now. Heroes in a Quirkless world."

The green haired teen turned to his friend. Though he knows he's trying to make light of the situation, it still has his old narcissistic flair. He felt both relieved, insulted and skeptical about his words.

"Whatever happened to this world surely isn't that bad. Things may be different in this world, but one thing is still the same." Bakugo then smirked. "We are heroes, and heroes never lose. You better not forget that, Deku."

"I-I guess so…" Midoriya slowly fell silent with his response.

Suddenly, another whirring sound filled the arid desert air, catching the attention of the two students. Aloy stood upwards as well upon hearing the sound, looking around for the source.

"Another machine?" Aloy looked around.

Putting their guards up, the three of them began to try and discern the direction of the machine. Slowly, they notice another noise amongst the electronic whirs and the sounds of clashing metal. Sounds of struggle, of someone fighting. All of them were too familiar with that feeling.

"Someone's in trouble." Aloy snapped to the direction of the sound. "Must be Tekkrah."

"Then what are we waiting for?! Let's destroy those buckets of bolts and save his sorry ass!" Bakugo gripped the reins tightly. "Let's be heroes!"

"Right. Let's be heroes." Midoriya somewhat regained his enthusiasm.

Aloy quickly hopped on her Charger, pulling on the reins with utmost urgency. "Let's go! Hyah!'

The three began to ride the Charges over a small sand dune, following the signs of struggle. They eventually reach the other side, seeing a young Desert Tenakth soldier facing another machine.

It was another Apex Clawstrider. One that was operating, one that was looking to kill. It viciously attacks Tekkrah with claw strikes and spinning attacks, only for him to dodge its attacks by the skin of his teeth and counter striking with his spear.

"He must be Tekkrah. He's gonna need help against that machine." Aloy mutters to herself, turning to the two students as they ride down the sand dunes. "I hope you two are ready."

"Please. You underestimating us pisses me off." Bakugo scoffed. "Of course we're ready. Let's kick some ass!"

Aloy turned to look at Midoriya, whose body was currently cackling with the green energy from his Quirk with a determined expression.

If there was another difference between these two, Aloy can see it clearly. Bakugo and Midoriya are powerful, she can tell after the fight against the Tremortusk, and both were confident in that. But Bakugo had the all too familiar expression of someone who has too much faith in themselves.

The two students stood up on their Charger mounts, and using their respective abilities, launched themselves forward towards the site of battle. Charging forth in the air, the two young heroes were ready to take down the metal beast.

"Full Cowl: Shoot Style!"

"Howitzer Impact!"

But this was enough for the machine to process its new opponents.

Stepping backwards a bit and making a bellowing movement as it appeared to inhale, it was obvious that the machine was preparing for an attack.

The Apex Clawstrider let out a deafening shriek, catching the two students off guard. They land on the desert sands as they along with Tekkrah cover their ears from such a sound. It was weaker than the Tremortusk's back in the forest, but that still doesn't change the fact that their ears were ringing from the energy and pressure.

"Ghh!" Bakugo grunted in pain.

"Graaaagh!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"Shit!" Aloy gritted her teeth, trying her damnedest to ride as fast as she possibly can.

Eventually, the shriek begins to dissipate as the Clawstrider finishes its attack. The two students and the Desert Tenakth soldier begin to recover as the Apex machine begins to process its new situation.

"Wh-What?! What are you children doing here?!" Tekkrah exclaimed upon seeing the new arrivals.

"Don't worry! We're heroes!" Midoirya yelled out, charging his own energy.

"Don't underestimate us!" Bakugo pointed his palm at the machine.

A powerful explosion emerges from the teen's palm, blasting directly into the machine's face and moving it back. This however seems to only deter it and leave it annoyed. It turns back to the teen and roars ferociously in his face.

"Damn it, this is just like that damn Tremortusk. This thing just shrugs off my explosions." Bakugo grits his teeth in frustration. "Take this as well!"

Bakugo lifted his arms up once again, and the two combatants made their moves once again. As Aloy rode closer and closer to the battle, the Clawstrider lifted up its tail.

That was when Aloy saw it. The tail of the Apex Clawstrider seemed different in a sense. Instead of a flat appendage with barbed razors, this one was more pointed like the nozzle of a weapon. It also had white and gold plating surrounding it.

Wait, white and gold plating? Now wait, where did she see this before? Wait… maybe…

Oh shit.

"Stun Grenade!" Bakugo yelled out.

The blast was enough to cover the area in a large smokescreen, with the machine unable to be seen inside. Bakugo kept his form, waiting to see if the machine would make another move.

"Reveal yourself you pile of scrap!" Bakugo yelled out.

"It's an Apex machine! You're gonna need more of those bombs to take it down!" Tekkrah said.

"I already know that!" Bakugo snapped back, which somewhat confused the Desert Tenakth soldier.

"Why the hell are you kids here anyway?! I can't let kids die for my mistakes!" Tekkrah yelled out.

"Maybe you should've thought of that before leaving Arrowhand!"

As this was happening, something began to form in the air behind Bakugo. It appears that a small swarm of particles are joining together and forming something larger, and Midoriya can see that it was pointed straight at his friend's back.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya called out to his friend.

An energy blast strikes Bakugo in the back of the shoulder, causing him to tumble down in pain,

"Graaaghk!" Bakugo yelped out in pain, before turning back to whoever shot him.

The smokescreen clears, and the object in question was seen clearly. It was the Clawstrider's strange tail, detached from the main body and floating in the air. It had multiple spinning parts made of a sleek material in either white and gold, and it has a blue energy emanating from the middle of it.

"What the fuck is that?!" Bakugo demanded an answer.

The strange tail broke itself apart into tiny, almost microscopic pieces. Bakugo aims another Stun Grenade move and blasts at the cloud. But this didn't have any effect as the cloud began to form back into the weapon next to the still operating Apex machine.

"What the?! N-Nanotech?!" Midoriya gasped loudly upon seeing this.

"Shit, that thing's tail is gonna be such a fucking annoyance." Bakugo scowled.

The tail appendage fired at Bakugo, who rolled off to the side with his injured shoulder. Seeing the opening, Midoriya quickly approached the main machine, with his body glowing under the effects of Full Cowl.

"We need to stop the main body. Maybe then the tail would deactivate." Midoriya circled around the machine, wishing to get a good angle for an attack. "There! It's hind legs! Full Cowl: Shoot Style!"

Launching himself at the machine, Midoriya does a powerful low sliding kick at the Apex Clawstrider's legs, causing it to trip.

"There! Now to follow up!" Midoriya quickly turned back at the machine.

The green-haired teen goes to follow up with another kick, but the machine quickly recovers. Its nanotech tail quickly formed back onto the main body and struck him with a powerful tail sweep.

"Gaah!" Midoriya yelped as he was knocked back into the sand.

"Stop getting hit, Deku!" Bakugo yelled out.

The Clawstrider's tail augment began to move in the air, forming together to aim an energy blast at Bakugo.

"This fucking machine. You really think you can get away with this?!" Bakugo exclaimed as he prepared another Stun Grenade move. "Die!"

Another blast at the tail, but it quickly turned into a cloud and dispersed, avoiding the blast entirely. It reformed in another location, and took aim once again at the blonde explosive teen. It fired, but luckily, he managed to dodge the energy blast.

"This really had to get as annoying as it is?! You piece of shit?!" Bakugo aimed another blast once again.

Bakugo tries his hardest to blast the floating tail augment out of the air, filling the air with the sounds of explosive blasts and smoke from the explosions.

"Die! Die! Die!"

Despite all the sweat fueling his explosives to high levels, none of the attacks Bakugo threw out ever hit, and eventually, an energy blast shot him in the ankle, causing him to drop down to his knees.

"Ghhh, damn it all!" Bakugo swore out.

The cloud of nanoparticles quickly formed in front of Bakugo, forming the tail augment once again. It glowed a blue energy once again as it prepared for another energy blast. Bakugo just smirked at the sight.

"Directly in front of me, huh?! You think of me that weak?!" Bakugo yelled out, putting out both his arms in response. "You fucking asked for it. STUN GRENAD-"

That was when a whirring noise was heard behind Bakugo. Just as his sweat began to ignite, a slight eye turn showed that the Clawstrider was going for an attack with its razor sharp claws.

Right in the middle of an attack, huh? Who knew such a pile of junk had the capacity to play dirty? As if he wasn't humiliated enough by this thing. Bakugo then saw another shadow behind him, moving to counter the machine. Well, that fucking Deku definitely took his sweet time, and now he'll be able to draw away the Apex Clawstrider and-

"Tekkrah! Don't!" Midoriya yelled out in fear.

"Graaaagh!" Tekkrah's scream of pain was heard as well.

Once the blast and shockwave of Bakugo's Stun Grenade had dissipated, he quickly turned around to figure out what happened, and froze at the sight. Tekkrah had taken the initiative and stabbed the Apex Clawstrider in the face with his spear. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of him being in the way of the machine's claw attack.

And it wasn't just a claw swipe either. The Desert Tenakth had been impaled in the stomach by the machine's claws, one of which managed to go all the way through.

"Tekkrah!" Midoriya gasped.

"Grrrgh! Like I said… I'm not letting anyone else…" Tekkrah grunted painfully as he kept the machine at bay. "...pay for my mistakes!"

Tekkrah shoves the Clawstrider away with his spear, causing the machine's metal claws to dislodge from his stomach. This causes him to collapse onto the sand, with only Bakugo rushing (somewhat reluctantly) to his aid.

"No!" Midoriya yelled out, charging up Full Cowl.

In the blink of an eye, Midoriya went on the strike the machine with a powerful kick, causing it to stagger with a dent. As it recoils, it turns back to the teens and lets out a vicious roar.

"Incoming!" Aloy finally entered the scene on her mount.

Aloy uses her overridden Charger to ram through the Apex Clawstrider. The larger machine stumbles to the ground as the huntress' mount uses its chainsaw horns to rip into its metallic neck.

"It's down!" Aloy yelled out, taking Tekkrah's spear and aims it downward onto the Clawstrider's head. "Midoriya! Now!"

"Shoot Style!" Midoriya yells out, jumping over the machine and spinning it in the air. "Manchester Smash!"

The green haired boy delivers and axe kick directly onto the spear, causing it to drive itself powerfully into the Clawstrider's head. A powerful shockwave wave was felt, with electrified sand being kicked up as the machine was rendered inoperable.

"Well… that was… something." Aloy exclaimed as she braced herself from the shockwave, before turning to Bakugo and the injured Tekkrah. "Don't celebrate just yet."

"I… I know…" Midoriya stated, washing off the adrenaline from his system as his priorities begin to change. "T-Tekkrah…"

The two of them quickly went towards Tekkrah. Bakugo was holding him by the shoulders, and he definitely didn't look like he knew what to do.

"You extra! If you didn't jump in the way, this wouldn't have happened!" Bakugo yelled out.

"I couldn't… risk a kid's life, even if he was a skilled warrior…" Tekkrah grunted as he held his stomach. "I wouldn't let… anyone die for my mistakes…"

"B-But, we could've helped you…" Midoriya stated concerningly. "You would've returned to Arrowhand…"

"I admire your sense of camaraderie, soldier… You would make a fine Tenakth…" Tekkrah stated before trying to lift himself up. "Now… please… let me head to the dried meat…"

"That is the reason you left, right? We'll handle it." Aloy says. "These two will take you back to Arrowhand and-"

"N-No, I have… I have to go there…" Tekkrah interrupted, struggling as he stood up. "Grraagh!"

"But you're injured! You should get back to Arrowhand and get treated!" Midoriya pleaded.

"Stop acting so tough and get help, dumbass!" Bakugo pleaded as well.

"Just… please…" Tekkrah pleaded. "You'll see when we get there…"

Hearing this, Aloy decided to walk over to Tekkrah and sling his arm over her shoulders, helping him stand.

Midoriya and Bakugo look at each other as they try to figure out what was going on. The former with a look of concern and the latter a look of confusion.

"Where is this station where you dry your meat?" Aloy asked the Desert Tenakth.

"It's close by… around that dune and-GRAAAGH!" Tekkrah yelled out due to the pain.

"Hey, easy there. Geez." Aloy says, trying to keep the injured Tenakth standing.

Aloy helps Tekkrah towards the direction of the station while the two hero students reluctantly follow them.


As the group turned around a corner, the group can see the station in the distance. It was a circular encampment, with multiple racks were seen with a lot of cured meats hanging off of it.

The huts surrounding the rack didn't do so well, though. The destroyed remains of the structure was littered across the sand along with multiple machine carcasses and scrap. One of which was the carcass of a large Behemoth

"O-Over there! The Behemoth!" Tekkrah strained himself trying to get to the fallen machine.

"H-Hey! I'm trying to stop you from collapsing here!" Aloy exclaimed, trying to keep the both of them balanced.

The four of them approach the fallen machine, and all of them except for Tekkrah were shocked to see a female Desert Tenakth half-buried underneath the dead machine, cold and lifeless. Midoriya and Bakugo slightly shivered at the sight.

"W-What… happened here?" Midoriya asked through shaken breaths.

"Just a week ago… I was one of the men stationed here to keep an eye on the meat as it dried… and so was she…" Tekkrah spoke out. "Lirakka… we were trained together as kids… did everything we could to live up to the standards of the Ten…"

"So you two were stationed here together?" Aloy asked.

"The Tenakth have respect for strong bonds among soldiers… I wonder if our bond was strong enough that day…" Tekkrah stated, with emotional turmoil in his voice rather than the pain from his injury. "It was supposed to be a simple shift, none of us realized it would grow out of control…"

"The machines attacked you… you were unprepared for it." Midoriya said.

"Indeed we were. Lirakka and I managed to bring our comrades away from the machines' wrath… but we left our food supply here in the middle of it all…" Tekkrah stated. "Lirakka was never one to back down without a fight. When we realized we hadn't gathered any of our rations when we left, she charged back into that shitstorm like a Longleg with a stick up its ass…"

"She went back to fight the machines if it meant your people would still have food." Aloy stated. "And what did you mean when you said your bond wasn't strong enough?"

"I wanted to fight with her, I really did… But she urged me to get our squad to safety knowing she would die fighting alone. Too many of our squad were injured already, none of them would've survived Arrowhand… I had to make a choice." Tekkrah stated, breath faltering. "And so I left Lirakka to fight on her own… that… was my first mistake…"

"Lirakka never made it home. And because of that, the people of Arrowhand are facing a food shortage." Aloy stated.

"She struck true as the Ten… More than I could've done… I decided to return to her so I can return her soldier tag to the rest of the Desert Clan… to atone for my mistakes." Tekkrah stated, clutching the stab wound in his abdomen. "Maybe I already have…"

Tekkrah reached out to the hand of the dead Lirakka, so much so that he actually pushed himself off of Aloy, causing him to drop onto the ground with crimson blood staining the desert sand.

"Hey!" Aloy quickly approached him once again.

"Tekkrah!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"What are you doing, dumbass?!" Bakugo asked.

"This wound is fatal… nobody in the Tenakth is able to heal this scar…" Tekkrah coughed up more blood, trying to reach out to Lirakka. "I ask of you to return the meat to Arrowhand, so our people will worry less about our food shortage… and bring my and Lirakka's soldier tags with you…"

"Wait… are you…" Midoriya gasped at the implication of this.

"You… you can't…" Bakugo silently muttered, unable to comprehend the situation in front of him

"I may have done my best to fulfill a soldier's duty… but Lirakka deserves to be honored for her actions… Please bring them to our families and tell them of our duties…" Tekkrah grunted forth, strength leaving his body. "May the lives the both of us have saved… strike true as the Ten…"

The moment Tekkrah's hand reaches Lirakka's, it goes limp. There the two lay. Two bodies of the Desert Tenakth, one of which did what was best for her tribe, the other who did what he could to atone for his mistakes.

The moment was silent, but with tension that thickens the air. Aloy slowly moved the hands of the two Tenakth so that their grasp was made tighter.

"Rest easy now… you've done what you could for your people… and for each other." Aloy said solemnly.

Aloy quickly gathered the soldier tags of the two Desert Tenakth. As she stood up to begin getting the dry meat for the tribe, she noticed Midoriya shaking as he stared at the two corpses in solemnity.

"Midoriya?" Aloy approached the boy.

"Why…?" Midoriya asked. "We are supposed to be heroes. We are supposed to be beacons of hope, to protect people so they will not worry about chaos and… death."

That was when the green haired teen dropped to his knees, beginning to sob for the life he couldn't save.

"I don't know why I'm feeling this way… He accepted his death, and yet… we failed in our duty as heroes…" Midoriya sobbed. "He shouldn't have ended like this…"

Aloy breathed in a bit, and approached the boy as he sobbed. She didn't know how to deal with this situation, so there wasn't much shoulder patting, but she knew she had to do something. The best she could do was squat down next to him. She had met only a few with that kind of heart, kind of reminded her of Alva for a bit.

Bakugo stared at the sight, frozen with the inability to process what had happened. He said it himself, that there was nothing to worry about, that since they are the only people in this world with Quirks, it meant that they were heroes, and heroes never lose.

And here they stand, despite managing to triumph in the battle of that Apex Clawstrider, have failed in doing the one thing that heroes are meant to do.

"Even heroes can't save everyone. I've accepted that fact. But heroes should save everyone that they can..." Midoriya stated, wiping off the tears from his eyes before turning to Aloy. "Aloy. Once we fix the Transwarp, I promise to find a way to help you fix the problems in this world. It is our duty as heroes to bring hope to those who need it."

"Wow, didn't think someone your age could make a promise like that." Aloy stated, standing up from her crouching position. "But, we actually need to get you all home. And first thing's first, we have to get the meat to Arrowhand."

Midoriya and Bakugo turn to look at the racks of meat left to dry in the station. They lightened up a little, this may be a good distraction from what happened to Tekkrah.

"And besides, you get to help the people of Arrowhand with their food shortage." Aloy stated. "That can be a start.

"Yeah…" Midoriya stated, mouth slightly forming a hopeful smile. "It's a start."