HEPHAESTUS is on his usual shenanigans making murder machines. This time, it's gonna lead to something more dangerous with the added Zenith tech into the mix. What will arise from this?

Matt22152: Kotallo is HIM.

NewMystery356: Bakugo bashing is welcome in the TMIC space.

Kakriot: Glad you're along for the ride.

Author's Note: I'm sorry if this chapter felt rushed.

Chapter 12: The Zenith Variable

The Utaru land-god La reawakens after its attack. It turns around, not noticing the Utaru who praise its awakening, and walks away in a different direction.

However, the damage it took was enough for it to stumble a bit during its walk cycle. Something Momo Yaoyorozu noticed.

"Wow, it's still going. You say you have to escort it, Zo?" Yaoyorozu turned to the Utaru gravesinger.

"I do. As time wears the land-gods down, they head toward the mountain in the west." Zo stated. "Each land-god returning to the mountain is a cause for celebration. La in particular returns during the summer solstice."

"But since La here was attacked and was broken, I believe directives are now causing it to return." Yaoyorozu thought.

Sounds of running footsteps were heard, and the two of them turned to see Iida who had returned from Plainsong.

"I've returned. Should we proceed, Zo?" Iida asked.

"Yes. La knows the way to the mountain. All we have to do is to watch over her as she walks towards it." Zo stated.

"I see." Iida noted. "I understand that this machine is important to the culture of your people."

"Thank you for understanding. May I catch your names?" Zo asked.

"Tenya Iida."

"Momo Yaoyorozu."

"Hmm. You two have wonderful names." Zo smiled before turning in the direction where the Plowhorn land-god left. "Follow me, you two."

The three of them began to follow the large machine as it made its way through the fields of Plainsong. As they did, Iida and Yaoyorozu took the time to appreciate the beauty surrounding them.

It was fascinating. And there was a sort of nostalgic feeling that was associated with it. Sure, they have not been that interested in different cultures all that much, but this somewhat resonated with them close to their core. They just cannot really pinpoint the reason for it.

However, they were cut off from this feeling as they reached a bridge on a river bordering the Utaru fields. To the side, they see another Utaru gravesinger in prayer. They recognize this as an Utaru who was with the ones who died in the machine attack.

"Hmm?" Iida took full notice as the gravesinger finished his prayer and took out three small pouches from his person. "Zo, may I ask what he is doing with those pouches?"

"Oh?" Zo walked to the side of the bridge to watch the gravesinger perform the ritual. "You want to know about the seed pouches?"

"Seed pouches?" Yaoyorozu turns with curiosity, even more so as Zo reaches into one of her pockets and takes out her own seed pouch.

"When an Utaru is in their youth, we each get a pouch of seeds that we have to carry with us throughout our lifetime." Zo stated. "Upon death, these seed pouches will be planted on the homeland of the deceased."

"So the ones who died in the machine attack will have their seed pouches planted?" Iida asked. "An interesting take on immortalization, I must say."

"We do this to ensure those who die will live on. New life, their own place in this world." Zo's expression then took on a more melancholic tone. "But recently, I had some time to reflect when one of our land-gods, Fa, was transformed into a killing machine by HEPHAESTUS."

"HEPHAESTUS made one of the land-gods turn against you?!" Yaoyorozu gasped.

"Unfortunately, yes. I helped Aloy take it down before it would reach Plainsong, but it left me in doubt about my place in this world." Zo stated. "Especially once I learned about what happened to the Old World, I dedicated a lot of my time into what they call 'introspection'."

Zo's melancholic expression slowly turns into a smile. She then brings her hand to her belly, which the two notice was getting slightly swollen.

"I suppose you two are too young to think of this sort of thing. Maybe it's the thought of being a mother getting to me." Zo sighed.

Iida and Yaoyorozu look at each other, before nodding in agreement.

"Miss Zo. I know all too well how doubtful thoughts can weigh on one's mind." Iida waved his hand robotically. "I also know that this process may take a great amount of time. You have people like Aloy that can help you. I'm sure you'll find what you seek."

Zo smiled a little bit more.

"I didn't expect you to say something like that. I guess you are like heroes." Zo stated. "I suppose should thank you for listening."

"You're welcome, Zo." Yaoyorozu then realized how far the machine had walked away. "Oh, the Plowhorn has gone ahead. Come on, let's catch up to it."

"Okay. Let's move." Iida nodded in agreement.

Midoriya spent a good part of the walk scrolling through files that were stored in his Focus, mostly focusing on files that detail many of the machines that can be found in this new world. They were interesting to learn, and it would certainly give them an edge on whatever it is they were hunting at the moment.

"So what kind of machine are we hunting down?" Kaminari asked. "I have to admit, it feels scary not knowing what we're up against."

"I'm in the dark as well. The Utaru mentioned that this is an entirely new machine, so we're going into this hunt blind." Aloy looked at the ground, following a set of unique machine footprints that were imprinted into the forest floor. "All I know for certain is that this machine will be made of completely new tech. But whatever it is, we have to hunt it down before it can endanger any more Utaru."

At the mention of the new tech that was being used for the machines, Midoriya quickly scrolled through the files of machine data, eventually finding himself at a file of a Clawstrider, the same one they fought back in the Stillsands. Specifically, he notices the tail of the machine, the one made of nanomachines.

"By this new tech, is it like the tail of that Clawstrider, the one we fought in the Stillsands?" Midoriya asked. "You mention calling it Zenith tech, am I right?

"Hmm, yes. I did plan on covering that, but the time constraints and your friend running off complicated things." Aloy stated, with realization etched into her face. "I guess I should explain it to you now as we find it."

Aloy turned to the contacts of her Focus and contacted Zo. The call was quickly answered.

"Aloy, you have called me for something?" Zo asked.

"Yes, get the other two on call. We should brief them about the Zenith tech before anything else." Aloy stated.

Two pings were heard, and two people joined the call.

"Is this something we have to know, Aloy?" Iida asked.

"Yeah. HEPHAESTUS has new tricks up its sleeve, it's best you all prepare for it." Aloy stated. "So, before the Faro Plague, there was another company that tried to achieve the impossible. Far Zenith had the ambition to send people to the Sirius Star System in order to establish humanity's first off-world colony."

"The Sirius Star System? Isn't that like several light years away?" Midoriya asked.

"Yeah, it's very far. Around 8.6 light years to be precise." Yaoyorozu added.

"They planned to reach into outer space to establish a colony?" Kaminari asked.

"That's what was advertised, when in reality, it was a means of the Earth's elite to escape its calamities, such as economic instabilities, biological warfare, and the Faro Plague." Aloy explained. "However, it was reported that their ship, known as the Odyssey, had been destroyed in its attempts to leave the Solar System. Of course, it was merely a lie spread so that nobody else would follow them."

"Wait, so the people that were aboard the Odyssey left the world behind as it was being destroyed by the Faro Plague?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"I'm not surprised. After we learned about what FAS did with the Chariot Line, I kinda expected for them to do this." Kaminari grumbled.

"How disgraceful." Iida commented bitterly.

"During their sweet time away from everything, they had rapid technological advancements on Sirius. They even genetically altered their lifespans to essentially become immortal." Aloy stated.

lifespans to essentially become immortal." Aloy stated with an expression similar to when she was discussing Ted Faro, but a bit more muted. "But, that leads us to another problem. Nemesis."

"Nemesis?" Midoriya raised an eyebrow.

"To put it simply, the Zeniths were attempting to upload their consciousness into the digital space, as they were unhappy with physical immortality. Nemesis was a database of failed copies of Far Zenith minds." Aloy explained. "It was left to fester for years, until it broke out of containment and caused the Zenith colony to be destroyed. The surviving Zeniths returned here in order to escape."

"What happened to the Zeniths then?" Iida asked.

"We dealt with them a few months back after they tried to take GAIA. But now their mess will be ours to clean." Aloy sighed. "First of which is HEPHAESTUS getting its hands on their tech. And then there is NEMESIS itself, currently on its way to take revenge on the Zeniths for leaving it to fester."

"Do we have to worry about NEMESIS?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Not yet. GAIA estimates it to take years before reaching our solar system." Aloy stated. "But it still isn't a problem we can put aside, can we?"

"You have a lot of things to do, Aloy." Kaminari commented.

"I know. And that includes getting you all back to your home dimension." Aloy stated. "Once we get your friend back, we can repair the Transwarp and get you back. But first, we have to deal with this new machine."

"Of course. Of course." Iida nodded at the prospect. "Midoriya, Kaminari. I want you to remember our school's motto."

"Yeah, Plus Ultra!" Midoriya smiled.

"Plus Ultra." Kaminari stated, not as enthusiastic, but still smiling.

Aloy ends the call, and the three of them continue to walk through the forest north of Plainsong. She ponders about the school motto they mentioned and is curious.

"By the way, your school motto. Plus Ultra. What does it mean exactly?" Aloy asked

"O-Oh, well you see, as heroes, we have to strive to push ourselves past our limits." Midoriya explained. "Have you heard of Napoleon Bonaparte before?"

"I believe I have, but I don't really think I got the full picture. I could only get bits in pieces since APOLLO was purged." Aloy thought.

"Of course, that damn Ted." Kaminari exclaimed.

"Well, the motto takes influence from one of his quotes, 'True heroism is to overcome the ills of life', to push past your limits and overcome anything that comes your way." Midoriya explained.

Hearing this, Aloy felt a tinge of nostalgia. It reminds her of the time before any of this, before the Transwarp, before the Zeniths, before Elisabet. It reminds her of him.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Midoriya asked.

"No, no… you just reminded me of someone. Someone important to me." Aloy stated. "What you said reminds me of something he used to say to me often."

"What did he say?" Midoriya asked with curiosity, and Aloy smiled.

"When it looks impossible, look deeper..." Aloy's expression heaved with pride and longing. "And fight like you can win."

"Wow. That also sounds good." Kaminari exclaimed. "Whoever this was, he was very wise."

"One of the wisest… I miss him every day."

Seeing Aloy's face turn melancholic, Midoriya realized he had slipped up.

"O-Oh, I'm… sorry for your loss." Midoriya apologized.

"It's okay. I just miss him." Aloy smiled.

Eventually, they come across a small clearing in the forest, with the trail ending on a particularly large mound of dirt in the center.

"Well, this is where the trail ends." Aloy stated. "It must've gone underground."

"I-It can go underground?!" Kaminari gulped at the thought.

"It's okay, Kaminari. We can see where it went with the Focus." Midoriya smiled at the boy, while pointing at the device.

The three of them activated their Focuses to scan through any irregularities in the dirt, trying to pinpoint where exactly this new machine went.

Meanwhile, a large metal tail began to emerge from a nearby mound of bushes, slowly peering into the clearing as its stinger-like time points towards Midoriya.

"Do you think it left the clearing?" Kaminari asked.

"It's possible. Though if it did, we can still follow its trail. It can't be that far." Aloy hummed.

"Hmm… maybe we should- GAH!"

Aloy and Kaminari turn to see Midoriya getting blasted by a bolt of lightning. The boy, while in pain, turned to see the metal tail currently sending heavy volts of electricity into his body.

"Th… There's the machine." Midoriya grit his teeth before preparing an attack with his fingers. "A-Air Force…"

Midoriya released the pressure from his fingers, sending a blast of air into the bush. This caused the tail to retreat and stop the surge of energy being flooded into the green haired boy.

"Heh… heh…" Midoriya panted heavily before standing up.

"Are you okay?" Aloy asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Midoriya took a deep breath to recover his stamina.

Kaminari quickly bolted to the bush, his support gear at the ready. He pulls away the branches and leaves and aims.

Only to see another mound of dirt, freshly dug.

"It's back underground!" Kaminari yelled out.

"Will it go away?" Midoriya asked.

"No, not likely." Aloy pulled out her spear for defense. "This is a hunter-killer. Made to attack onsight. It will not back down."

"Well, we won't back down either." Midoriya stated, filling with resolve.

The sound of drilling was heard nearby, causing all three of them to look as the machine emerged from the Earth. As it revealed its form to the heroes, they now have an idea about what they're dealing with.

The machine took the form of a scorpion, about the size of an SUV. It had six rectangular eyes that go down in twos, and it had a long tail that curves back just behind the head. Its pincers were where the bulk of the Zenith tech went to, as they were completely separate from the machine and were turning between pincers and drills on a whim. Its long tail was also notably made of Zenith tech, with multiple coils leading up to a large apparatus where its stinger was supposed to be.

The pincers of the machine turn into drills and flew at the group, with Midoriya reacting first.

"Shoot Style! St. Louis Smash!" Midoriya yelled out.

A green flash appeared as the boy roundhouse kicked the pincers. They were destroyed in the attack, but they quickly fixed themselves due to being made of nanomachines.

"Ghh…" Aloy blocks a pincer drill with her spear, but it doesn't let up in its attacks. "These things are relentless."

"Kaminari! Shoot it with your lightning!" Midoriya yelled out.

With a nod, Kaminari shot out multiple tracer rounds at the machine, with it digging quite shallowly into its chassis, but this is more than enough.

"Let's do this! Target Electro!" Kaminari yelled out.

A high voltage blast emanated from the yellow haired boy, pouring electricity into the machine.

However, this did not do much. The coils on its tail only seemed to glow brighter. It then released a blast of lightning at its attacker, causing him to fly back a bit.

"Gh…" Kaminari groaned a bit.

The machine removed the tracer rounds from its body befor it followed up with another tail blast towards its still floating pincers, with the electricity jumping between them before blasting into the other two.

"Gah!" Aloy stepped back clutching her chest.

The pincer drills made their way to attack again, but both Aloy and Midoriya use their respective abilities to swat them away.

The pincer drills return to the machine, where it stood firm, ready to pounce.

"We have to know what we're dealing with." Alpy stated. "Midoriya, use your Focus and tell us what you see."

Midoriya quickly brought up his Focus interface and began to scan the machine. Once it has collected enough data, the interface shows the details of the machine.

"It says here it's called a Stingstalker." Midoriya read out.

"Very fitting name, I suppose." Kaminari stated.

"We can tell that electricity is not effective against it, check if there is something for its elemental weaknesses." Aloy stated.

Midoriya looked down the interface and spotted the weaknesses section. There, two icons were show of the machine's weaknesses. Fire and Acid.

"The weaknesses are fire and acid." Midoriya spoke out.

"Damn it, Todoroki and Mina aren't here." Kaminari exclaimed.

"Then we'll take this thing down ourselves." Aloy exclaimed.

One of the Stingstalker's pincers grabs a nearby tree and throws it at the three of them.

"Duck!"

The three of them avoid the flying projectile and proceed to charge at the machine.

"Create an opening!" Midoriya yelled out. "Full Cowl!"

The green haired boy launches a kick that manages to hit both of the machine's pincers away, letting them smash into a nearby tree.

"Have to follow up!" Aloy yelled out.

Midoriya kicks the face of the machine, which is followed up by Aloy smashing it back down with her spear.

It was simultaneous kicking and striking after that, with each strike stunning the Stingstalker back. It looks like if they keep this up, the fight will end quickly.

Suddenly, the machine began to gather energy around itself, before blasting a small energy surge around its body, causing the two to fly back in shock.

"Hggkk!" Aloy grunted, but quickly recovered.

The machine now had a layer of electricity surrounding its chassis, and it looked ready for more. The pincers returned to the machine.

"It's trying to keep us in its effective range. This electricity is not gonna allow us to get close." Midoriya shook off the burn marks on his leg that were caused by this electrical shield.

"We need to find some way to turn this off." Aloy stated.

To the side, Kaminari tried thinking of ways to help out.

"What am I doing?! I was brought here for a reason, am I supposed to sit this one out?!" Kaminari thought.

The tail of the Stingstalker glowed once again, and it shot out a lightning blast at Midoriya. The boy couldn't react fast enough until Kaminari jumped in the way and let the electricity be absorbed into his body.

"Kaminari?!" Midoriya exclaimed.

"Ghh…" Kaminari grunted. "I've taken bigger jolts than this. I can take it."

The blast stops, but Kaminari still crackles with electricity. Midoriya and Aloy take notice of this.

"I may not be smart, but I know there are two things that make my brain short-circuit. One is the creation of electricity. The other is control and release." Kaminari exclaimed. "This will only work against electric enemies, but I've come up with a skill that takes away one of those factors and lets me control more energy without worry. That comes to absorption as well."

"Fight like you can win…" Aloy muttered, smiling at his improved confidence.

"Stun Gun: Conduit! I'll absorb its lightning attacks. Find an opening and wreck this tin can!" Kaminari yelled out.

"Mhmm!" Midoriya nodded in agreement.

The Stingstalker charges up its tail once again, this time, aiming at Aloy. The lightning rips through the air, but not before Kaminari intercepts the blast and absorbs it into his being.

"Thanks for the assist!"

Aloy quickly tossed a couple blaze canisters before shooting flame arrows at them. This causes multiple fiery explosions to erupt around the machine and engulf it in flames.

The machine thrashed around violently, attempting to shake off the flames that were only getting bigger due to the intake of oxygen. Everyone eyed this fact.

"Fire. One of its weaknesses." Kaminari muttered.

"It's gonna be worn down, that is the advantage we make." Aloy gripped her spear tightly.

The Stingstalker, still under flames, throws out its pincer drills at Aloy once again. This causes her to parry the machine with her spear, sending her skidding across the clearing.

"Ghh…" Aloy grunted as she redirected the strikes.

Midoriya was quick to kick one of the pincer drills away, while Aloy struck away the second pincer drill.

"Kaminari, on me." Aloy called out. "One decisive blow will end this. Midoriya, keep the pincers busy, and Kaminari will absorb the lightning strikes as I close the distance."

"Let's do this." Kaminari smirked.

Tanking a bit of a breath, Aloy begin to sprint towards the machine, and the pincer drills were quick to follow.

"St. Louis Smash!" Midoriya jumps into the fray with a spinning kick that strikes the pincer drills away and returns their attention back to him.

With the pincer drills at bay, the Stingstalker charged electricity into its tail and shot out a lightning blast at the huntress. She slid under the blast as Kaminari took the brunt of it as he absorbed its energy.

"Go!"

Aloy activates her Shield Weaver once again, and charges straight towards the machine. The Stingstalker tried to swipe at her with a tail spin, but the huntress ducks under the attack and slides right under the machine.

The sparks of electricity that try to jump at her are blocked by the Shield Weaver, and she finds herself in the zone.

"Hggk!" Aloy jams the spear directly under the Stingstalker's legs. Spinning around the limb and using the machine's chassis as leverage, the huntress uses the spear to rip the machine's leg off.

The huntress then stabs the machine right where she knew the Stingstalker's central processor was and slowly pushes it through the machine's white plating. Detecting the danger to its system, the machine charges up more electricity into its tail and prepares a lighting blast to its immediate threat.

"Kaminari!" Aloy yelled out.

"On it!"

The Stingstalker fires a lighting blast at Aloy, but Kaminari intercepts, using his Conduit form to absorb the electricity from the blast and safely grounding them into the forest floor. The orange haired boy grabs the spear as well.

"One decisive blow! Midoriya!" Aloy yelled out.

"Alright!"

The machine charges up its electricity once again, but before it could unleash an attack, Midoriya blitzes into the fray, cackling with green energy focused entirely in his leg.

"Shoot Style! 30% Smash!"

A powerful kick was unleashed. Driving the spear into the machine, the strike and the resulting shockwave not only impaled through the machine, but it also drove the spear through one of the trees on the edge of the clearing, only stopping at the second tree in which it is stuck through.

As the machine fell to the ground in a state that would not stand up anymore, its vanquishers stood proud of their result. That's one less Zenith machine to worry about.

Like I said, this chapter is shooort in comparison to the other chapters. Burnout is not an easy thing to conquer, but considering that this is my best story yet, I'll have to presevere.