NewMystery356: Their growth has only just begun, mate. They'll soon see that you do not need a Quirk to be heroes, and some of the students will focus on different aspects of the Quirkless.

EDIT: Thank you to fireclaw239 for letting me clear a mistake.


Chapter 7: Back At Base


Things were silent on the way back to Arrowhand. They had food for the entire Desert Tenakth settlement, but yet they couldn't get their minds off of the deaths of Tekkrah and Lirakka. Midoriya somewhat suggested bringing the two corpses back to the Tenakth for a proper burial, but they already knew Tekkrah wouldn't want to be separated from Lirakka again.

Aloy was the one who had to explain what had happened to Jetakka and Marshall Okkoreh, and needless to say, they were displeased at the news. They ensured to give honors to the two Desert Tenakth for what they did for the tribe.

During this, Midoriya took the opportunity to trade parts of the Clawstrider for a hunter bow. Luckily Aloy was there to pick out one for ease of use; he had a lot of choices and narrowing it down would probably turn this detour into 75% muttering about which bow would be the best.

Once all was said and done, it was finally time to head back to the base. By now, the two students wanted to leave what happened behind them and focus on getting home, and they weren't bothered by the snow falling around them. Until…

"Wait, is that…?" Midoriya asked, seemingly eyeing something in the distance.

Curious, Aloy and Bakugo look forward to it as well. There, they see Uraraka climbing up a snowy cliff face, struggling to pull herself up. Tsuyu was still at the top overlooking the girl as she climbed.

"Ochako-chan. I'm guessing it's time to head in now." Tsuyu spoke out.

"N-No, wait, I got this." Uraraka stated, setting her eyes upon her next ledge to jump on. "If I can get enough momentum, the… HHRRGH-WHOA!"

The gravity girl had enough energy to launch herself upward, but it just wasn't enough to reach the ledge. She suddenly finds herself falling as she tries to grip onto anything that may stop her fall.

A flash of green energy, and her plummet came to a halt. Her eyes were closed during the entire ordeal, so when she opened her eyes, she was surprised to see that Midoriya was the one who caught her.

"Uraraka, are you okay?" Midoriya asked.

"I-I-I… Um…" Uraraka immediately turned as red as a tomato upon realizing who caught her.

This caused Midoriya to blush uncomfortably as well. The two lay silent, unable to make a move that would make this situation more embarrassing. That was until the other two arrived at the scene.

"What in the fuck were you doing, rose-cheeks?" Bakugo asked.

"Ehe… well, you see." Uraraka went on to answer as Midoriya set her up on the mountain ground. "I was trying to climb up the cliff by myself."

"And why exactly were you doing it?" Aloy asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, I wanted to see if I could make this climb. You can climb it, right?" Uraraka asked, prompting the huntress to answer with a nod. "So, if I can't use my Quirk in the future, I might as well learn how to be, you know, Quirkless."

Midoriya smiled softly at the remark. He hadn't thought about it before, to train his body and skills to at least hold his own and not be as useless as he was in the past. Maybe he had been relying on One For All a bit too much for his own liking.

"Well, that sounds great, Uraraka. I'm glad you're thinking positively despite your condition." Midoriya responded with a smile. "I feel like I should stay by in case you fall again."

"Then I guess I'll have to teach you. Are you sure you're okay?" Aloy stated.

"Ehe, I'm okay, Aloy." Uraraka responded with a thumbs up.

"You can go on ahead, Bakugo. Maybe you would want to freshen up?" Aloy turned her attention to the spiky blonde.

"Tch." Was all Bakugo responded with before launching himself to the top of the cliff face with a single explosion.

"Well then, let's head up." Aloy turned to Uraraka, who nodded happily as a response.


It took a while. Mostly because Aloy suggested the gravity girl to take it slow with the ascent and carefully pick which path to go. As an expert climber due to her training for the Proving over a year ago, this process was almost automatic to her, but even she knew someone new to this should start somewhere.

Eventually, the gravity girl triumphantly managed to scale the cliff wall under Aloy's instruction, and she was immediately met with celebratory remarks from Midoriya and Tsuyu. The huntress herself couldn't help but smile at this small victory. Was this what Rost felt?

Anyway, after a bit of time, all of them decided to head into the base at long last. Aloy opens the door (In which Uraraka saw an interface on the door through the Focus, something she thought was neat) and the group were led through a metal hall that led into the mountain. Despite the more modern aspects of the hall, there were still some tribal crates and weapons still stored to the side.

"Heh, I guess you didn't need to buy a bow for me, Deku-kun." Uraraka giggled upon seeing the weapons, specifically the bows.

"O-Oh, maybe I should've thought about that." Midoriya scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.

"Well, I'm not too sure about that. I specifically selected that bow since it was good for young hunters. All these other bows may put too much strain on your arms." Aloy explained.

"Ah, I see." Uraraka nodded.

"So you're really gonna learn archery, Ochako-chan?" Tsuyu asked.

"Yep. I at least want to learn new skills now that I can't use my Quirk." Uraraka explained. "This may further my skills as a hero in the future."

At the end of the hall, Aloy opens the door into the main area of the base. It was a large, circular lounge of sorts, with doors from multiple angles converging into this singular room. The center of the lounge had a couple couches next to some growing plants as well as a bar-like station next to them.

Among the modern design of the room, there were also a lot of the more primitive items such as empty wooden kegs of ale, crates of weapons and machine parts and a… wooden fighting dummy to the side. All of which were probably used by Aloy's allies, as they probably have lived here for quite a bit.

Overall, this seemed pretty cozy for an underground bunker.

"Wowee. This looks nice." Midoriya stated.

"I know. It feels like when we were first introduced to our dorms." Uraraka exclaimed as well. "This is your base, Aloy?"

"Yeah, it is. Make yourselves comfortable, I guess." Aloy stated.

Some rustling sound was heard above the group, slightly spooking the teens. The group looked upwards to see Mineta taped onto the ceiling of the room. He also had his mouth shut by said tape.

"Great, what did you do this time, Mineta?" Tsuyu asked.

"He tried his usual shit again." The group turned to see Jiro, wrapped in a towel and currently drying her hair. "Tried to sneak into the showers while we used it, which by the way was pretty cramped for my liking."

"Wait, he tried to take a peek?" Aloy asked skeptically. "Wait, don't tell me he's one of those…"

"Yeah… he's what we call a 'pervert'. You should definitely keep an eye on him." Tsuyu stated.

"And he made some pretty nasty remarks towards your sister." Sero says, walking into the scene with a towel as well. "She went downstairs after that, and she has yet to come out."

"He really went after Beta?!" Uraraka asked in shock.

"Oh my… why did you have to drag Beta into this." Aloy pinched her bridge, before turning to the purple-haired runt on the ceiling. "Hey, Mineta? I've got some arrows here that can make your stay on the ceiling nice and permanent. Should I shoot at your shoulders or…?"

This caused the grape hero to begin thrashing around in fear of getting impaled by arrows. Some muffled screams can be heard as they were muted by the tape in his mouth.

"Just don't get Beta into your shit then. Is that a deal?" Aloy asked mockingly, pointing an arrow at the boy for good measure.

Mineta nodded as desperate as he could, not wanting to mess with the huntress knowing her capabilities.

"Alright then, pleasure doing business." Aloy turned to the others. "Get yourselves a shower. I have to get Beta out again and after that, I can show you the history of our world."

"Okay then. I hope your sister is okay." Midoriya stated.

"I'll be lucky if she'll even let me in. That's for sure." Aloy sighed at the situation. "And that Clawstrider meant that things are starting to get worse."

"Oh? What do you mean?" Uraraka asked.

"It means we found out that the situation outside is getting more dangerous by the second." Aloy stated. "Like I said, freshen up, and I expect you all to be waiting here so we can start on the debriefing."

"Alright." Tsuyu nodded in return.

Nodding at this response, Aloy then turned to a nearby staircase that led downstairs, leaving the teens to their own devices.


At the bottom, the huntress opens a door to gain access to a large, circular server room, seemingly a vital component to the systems of the base.

"Beta? Are you here?" Aloy called out.

"Over here." Beta's voice responded.

The huntress walked towards a corner of the server room, ultimately finding Beta sitting on the floor looking through recordings through her Focus. She didn't seem too bothered though, she had her attention focused on what she was watching in her holographic interface.

"Beta? Are you alright?" Aloy asked.

"I-I guess you can say that. The comment was very sudden and really caught me off guard… maybe I should've expected that because their mannerisms are more aligned to those of the Old World." Beta stammered with her words, but was still relatively calm. "You know, when incidents of that caliber were more prevalent."

"Well, I don't know what I expected. But they're stuck here unless we fix their Transwarp Node." Aloy says, taking out the malfunctioning device from her pouch.

"So, let me get this straight." Beta began to clarify. "These kids come from a world where humans have evolved to gain genetic metaphysical abilities. That's… that's incredible."

"It seems like you're interested in these kids." Aloy crossed her arms in amusement.

"I know. We may be able to learn from their world." Beta stated. "There might've been new studies that might've been made possible due to their abilities! And the heroes themselves may help us in cleaning up what Zero Dawn couldn't! We may finally have a way to realize Elisabet's dream and stop NEMESIS!"

"It is interesting, I can tell you that." Aloy stated. "I would find a way to bring them home… if it weren't for this."

Reaching for her pouch once again, the huntress takes out a piece of tech to show Beta, causing her to gasp upon seeing what it was. Zenith tech. Specifically the tail piece that was attached to the Apex Clawstrider. Aloy had made sure to salvage it before heading home.

Beta looks at her genetic sister with fear, the only response from the huntress being a serious nod, understanding the weight of the entire situation.


Taking something out of a prepared basket, Midoriya, who was fresh out the shower, held the clothes prepared for him. Since he hasn't changed into anything for a while now, he had to wear something new. Not the kind of fabric he likes to wear (to be honest, he doesn't really mind), but it will do. A green t-shirt and blue pants is what he took out.

"Hey, Iida. Where did these clothes come from?" Midoriya called out to his friend, who was currently in the middle of the lounge cleaning his glasses.

"These clothes appear to be the uniforms of this facility long ago. And seeing as that the fabric is artificial, it lasted in this facility for a thousand years." Iida stated. "I don't feel good wearing another person's clothes, but it appears we have no choice."

Finally putting a shirt over his body, Midoriya finally turned to his classmates, all gathered in the lounge of the base. All of them here, in this unfamiliar world. At least they were together, who knows what would've happened if they ended up in different locations in this dangerous world.

"Thank goodness, we finally get to rest." Sato slouched on the couch, trying to rest his body.

"I know, right? And now we're finally away from those scary machines." Hagakure stated.

"Tch, they were not that scary." Bakugo scoffed.

"Um, didn't we see the Tremortusk tank your Howitzer Impact, Bakugo?" Sero asked.

"Shut it, flat face!" Bakugo yelled out.

"Whoa, really?!" Kirishima exclaimed.

"Yeah, it did. It faced his attack head on, and it only budged the damn thing!" Ojiro added.

"Damn, didn't think something like that could happen." Kaminari stated.

"I said shut it! You damn extras!" Bakugo yelled out, while the rest of the students laughed wholeheartedly at this response.

But that exclamation suddenly reminded Midoriya of the situation outside. A flash of Tekkrah's death appeared in his mind. He couldn't get the thought out of his head. The nature of this world has been troubling for a while now, but it was further exacerbated after the Tenakth soldier's death. He felt like he should- no, must use everything in his ability to help.

"Um… Deku?" Uraraka suddenly asked, noticing that the green haired boy had spaced out.

"Agh-uhuh?!" Midoriya almost scared himself out of a trance.

"What's wrong? You usually mutter when you go into thought." Uraraka asked before stifling a laugh. "I don't know if that is an improvement or not. Hehe…"

"Oh-Oh, is that so?" Midoriya scratched the back of his head, slightly blushing. "I guess it may be an improvement."

"Eh, I don't really mind anyway." Uraraka stated, before turning down to look at her bow. "Think Aloy will be able to teach me how to use a bow?"

"She probably can. She has a lot of experience even if she is only a couple years older than us." Midoriya stated. "Oh, wait. I think I have notes on some Pro Heroes that also use archery. I can show them to you as well."

"That's also a good idea. I'll try to scan the notes with my Focus."

Midoriya held out his notepad, searching for a specific article while Uraraka watched on.

A couple meters away from them, Ashido and Hagakure suddenly began to push Yaoyorozu towards the duo.

"Wha-hey! What are you two doing?!" Yaoyorozu exclaimed in confusion.

"Come on, considering your rich person status, you probably had archery training before, right?" Hagakure asked.

"I don't know if I should be offended about that." Yaoyorozu raised an eyebrow at that remark. "If I did, what would you even want me to do?"

"You can help Uraraka's archery training. And while you do that, you can bring her and Midoriya closer together! They are practically lovers now!" Ashido exclaimed.

"Hey, look, guys. I don't think I should interfere with these kinds of things." Yaoyorozu stated. "Don't get me wrong, if they get together, I'm all for it. But I don't think I should play matchmaker for that to happen."

"Aw, what? Bogus!" Hagakure exclaimed.

"Besides, I don't think my own archery compares to Aloy's. I'll leave it to her to teach-"

Suddenly, the door to the server room opens up, and Aloy and Beta walk out of it.

"Hey, they're back!" Kaminari exclaimed.

"How did we miss this?!" Beta exclaimed. "I can't believe we let HEPHAESTUS fester after we defeated the Zeniths! And now it was able to enhance machines with their tech! This shouldn't have happened!"

"We've been focused on Nemesis so much that we let it distract us from HEPHAESTUS. And now the machines it creates are getting stronger due to Zenith tech." Aloy stated.

"Wait, what?" Kirishima asked.

"Um, what are you guys talking about?" Tsuyu asked.

"Has a new machine been created yet? An entirely new machine created with Zenith tech?" Beta asked the huntress.

"I'm not sure. We have to wait for any updates from outside." Aloy stated. "I'll have to go out and find out how HEPHAESTUS has acquired the tech."

"What are you talking about?!" Mineta asked. "Guys, what are they talking about?!"

"Something about HEPHAESTUS and the Zeniths?" Todoroki pondered.

"Could this have something to do with the machines outside?" Koda asked.

"Could it be Glinthawks? Or is there another Zenith outpost we don't know about?" Beta asked.

"That's what I'll be looking into. Check the survey drones for signs of activity." Aloy stated.

"And they don't seem to acknowledge us. That's just great." Jiro exclaimed before taking out a speaker from her outfit and plugging her jacks into it. "Ahem."

An amplified echo shot out of the speakers at the two redheads. This was enough for them to drop their conversation and turn to the students, who were still left wondering what was happening.

"So…" Jiro says, placing her speaker to the side. "Mind telling us what you are talking about?"

"Oh, yeah. We should probably debrief them on the situation before we head out." Aloy stated.

"Yeah, we probably should." Beta stated.

"So is it time for us to know what happened to this world?" Midoriya asked curiously.

"Yeah, and it isn't pretty." Aloy stated as the two sisters began to walk up a set of stairs. "Come with us upstairs, people."

The two redheads head up the stairs. The students look on in curiosity, before unanimously agreeing to follow them upstairs. They stop whatever they are doing and follow them, wanting to find out what happened to this world.


The students were led into a singular circular room, characterized by a dome-like ceiling and physical servers directly underneath the floor. The dome ceiling appeared to have stars holographically adorned onto them, giving the feel of an observatory.

"Whoa…" Sato took in the sight.

"Whoa indeed, my friend." Ojiro stated.

"What purpose do you have this room for, Aloy?" Iida asked curiously.

"Well, this was originally made to monitor the biosphere's conditions." Aloy explained.

"But, due to being connected to a large server system below us, it also became a way to house our… companion." Beta added.

"Companion? You mean…" Todoroki narrowed his eyes at the implication.

"Yep. Hey GAIA. We have some visitors." Aloy called out.

In the center of the room was a sort of projector of sorts, which after the words of the huntress hummed into life. Tiny golden particles of light began to form, which began to form into a more discernible form. A flowing cut of fabric, arms, shoulders, and a head. The glow of golden light almost blinded the students as some of their suspicions were confirmed.

Once it was all said and done, the students all began to stare at the new holographic figure in front of them. A tall, thin elderly woman, appearing to be from African descent. The cut of fabric majestically flows off her shoulders, down and around her body and disappearing as it stretched beyond the projection

This hologram, this woman, she almost had a motherly nature to her. Firm in her stance but caring in her demeanor. To some students, this could be a loving mother or teacher, to others, she may as well be a goddess due to her ethereal nature. But to one certain grape boy…

"Damn, I'd definitely tap that." Mineta commented, before being violently smacked in the head by Tsuyu's tongue.

"You're welcome." Tsuyu commented.

"Damn it! You just had to ruin the scene, little runt!" Bakugo yelled out.

"We are in the presence of a beautiful AI hologram quite taken literally out of Star Trek, and the first thing your mind diverts to is that?!" Ashido exclaimed angrily.

"We are so sorry for our friend's behavior, GAIA. We'll be sure it will not happen again." Iida robotically bowed down multiple times in a panic.

"No need to trouble yourself, Iida. It is a particularly common hormonal reaction most prevalent in adolescents your age." GAIA spoke out in a calm demeanor. "In due time, it is likely that he will grow out of such behavior."

"Damn, really wish it would happen faster." Jiro crossed her arms at the statement.

"So this is GAIA?! I can't believe we are in the presence of an actual artificial intelligence! So cool!" Midoriya immediately became wide-eyed at the sight of the AI. "Did you guys make this?!"

"Well… no. But she was part of something good. Take note of this, she is part of an advanced terraforming system known as Zero Dawn." Aloy explained.

"Zero Dawn." Midoriya writes the information down on his notepad. "So this terraforming system, it was made to counter the event that happened a thousand years ago?"

"Yes." Beta nodded.

"And what happened to this world a thousand years ago?" Iida asked.

"To know that, you're gonna need one of these." Aloy stated, pointing to her Focus. "And now that we're here, I think it's time all of you get to use it. Beta?"

"I have them here." Beta stated, taking out a small chest of Focuses that intrigued a lot of the students.

"So we can finally use your second sight?" Koda exclaimed.

"Mhmm. You're gonna need it here." Aloy stated. "And you're gonna need it to see the datapoints stored in them."

Eventually, the Focuses were distributed among the students to be used for this debriefing, and they were all excited to use them. All at the same time, they place the devices on the sides of their heads, letting it activate as the holographic interface begins to set in.

Midoriya slightly flinches at the sudden shift in light, but he quickly gets used to it. The world around him turns a fascinating purple. Lights everywhere, just like how Uraraka had described.

"So this is how it feels to use the Focus?" Midoriya asked the girl who was next to him.

"Yep! It's very weird, isn't it?" Uraraka giggled.

"This is so awesome!" Kirishima looked around, trying to get a feel for the holographic interface. "These are like the HUDs you can find in video games! It's like I'm actually in an RPG!"

"I know, man! I know I'm not that bright, but even I know how useful it is to gather information in hero work!" Kaminari stated.

"Will it even work when you go Jamming-Yay mode?" Jiro teased.

"Hey, it might!" Kaminari responded offendedly.

Aloy smiled at the sight. These batches of students, the way they interact and support each other, it reminded her of her own group. It's not like her to think like this, but maybe she should meet with them again. Maybe they would like to see superpowered teens from another world. Erend would probably think he's finally drunk too much ale.

But that was for another time. Now, she has to debrief them on the history of this world. On Zero Dawn… and the Faro Plague.

"Alright, everyone. I hope you get comfortable with your new Focuses." Aloy called out the attention of the students. "I guess it's time to learn about the past. And it all starts a thousand years ago…"

"...at Faro Automated Solutions."