PROLOGUE

It was a warm night at Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. The sky was overcast, which was odd, since it had been clear for the past week and the weather forecast had not made any mention of rain for the following days. Not that any of this was important. What mattered was that it was still perfect for training. It was late enough that Izuku and his mentor could talk and train all they wanted without worrying about random passersby.

"Are you sure you're up to it, All Might?" Izuku asked anxiously as they walked side by side and made their way to the shore. "I mean, you just got the cast off your arm, right? Shouldn't you be taking it easy?"

All Might chuckled and waved Izuku's worries away. "My boy, I am taking it easy. You're going to do all the work and I'll just watch, right? I really want to see that new technique of yours again!"

Izuku grinned, feeling his heart beat faster in his excitement to show off his Shoot Style. Back when he had first used it in front of All Might, Izuku had been in the middle of a class and they hadn't had time to discuss the technique in detail. Now that it was just the two of them, maybe All Might could even offer some advice on how to improve it.

He made sure All Might was a safe distance away — neither of them wanted a repeat from that same class in which Katchan had accidentally almost crushed All Might with a boulder — and then Izuku demonstrated the Shoot Style and a few variations he had been trying out. Between one move and the other, he launched into long-winded explanations on how each move worked, why they were ideal, where he had gotten inspiration for them, comparing them to All Might's signature moves, and so on and so forth.

At one point, when he paused for breath, he self-consciously wondered if All Might was put off or bored by his rambling, like most people. To his delight, All Might seemed to be genuinely interested in what Izuku was saying. He even offered to spar a little, though that idea was short-lived, as two minutes in, All Might started coughing up blood and collapsed on his back on the sand.

Izuku eyed him warily, trying to glean his state of health and mind. Did he need to go to the hospital? Or back to UA? However, All Might was smiling peacefully. He beckoned Izuku to join him, which the boy promptly did, albeit a little confused. They lay there, side by side, just looking at the dark cloudy sky. No stars to be seen. Not a very interesting sight, but relaxing nonetheless.

"I'm very proud of you, young Midoriya," said All Might softly, but earnestly. "I couldn't have found a better successor to be the new holder of the One for All and the new Symbol of Peace."

His mentor's words awoke in him several conflicting feelings. He was so happy — elated, even — to be acknowledged and validated by his greatest idol… However, he was also scared. You're next, All Might had said. Of course, what scared him the most wasn't All for One or any other villain. He was scared that moments like this — showing his mentor and idol how much he was improving every day, getting praised by him — were numbered. All Might the Hero was no more. How much longer until All Might the Teacher was also gone?

He felt his eyes prickle with the threat of tears. This wouldn't do. He had to stop being a crybaby. He had to stop sullying these precious moments in All Might's company with such negative feelings and thoughts. He wanted to keep them as happy memories. It shouldn't be so hard. He was happy, after all!

Something seemed to shine in the sky like a star. Which was ridiculous, of course, because the sky was still completely overcast. Izuku figured that it must have been a reflection from his tears. He closed his eyes hard and wiped any stubborn tear left with his gloved hand. There, now he could see clearly.

Or he would have, if a sudden thick fog hadn't enveloped them so that Izuku could barely see anything beyond All Might. They both got up slowly, allert.

"What the…?" All Might muttered.

Villain attack or natural phenomenon?

Izuku tried clenching his hands into fists, and found that it took way more effort than it should. His limbs felt alarmingly tense, almost paralyzed.

Definitely a villain attack, then. Oh, they shouldn't have breathed in the strange fog.

Before he could fully analyze their situation and come up with a plan to get backup, a very bright light turned on overhead like a spotlight. Izuku struggled to bend his neck so he could look up, but the fog prevented him from seeing the source of the light. At his side, All Might was having the same trouble.

"Wh-Who… Who's there?!" Izuku asked through gritted teeth, his jaw locked. Even breathing was starting to get hard. Whoever was behind this, they had a very powerful Quirk.

A smothered yelp from All Might caught Izuku's attention, his eyes darting to the side where his mentor had been standing precariously. To his surprise, All Might was now apparently floating several feet in the air, his long arms stretched upwards as if being held up by invisible strings.

Izuku was completely paralyzed now, still on his feet only by some miracle. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't even blink. He could just watch as All Might was slowly suspended higher and higher until the thick fog swallowed his thin form.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, the fog started to disperse and the blinding light above diminished. Izuku fell on his knees and took a couple of harsh breaths, realizing he was finally able to move freely, before he stood up and looked up. His jaw dropped at what he saw.

It was a UFO. A freaking alien ship. Like straight out of a movie.

This was a dream. Izuku was dreaming. Any moment now, he would wake up in his bed, hungry for breakfast.

But…

Dream or not, they had taken All Might, and Izuku — Deku — couldn't allow it. He tapped into the power of One for All and jumped with all his might and beyond to reach the disk-shaped ship that had started to ascend. He didn't care how many bones he would break in the process; he would get All Might back.

He was shooting through the increasingly cold air like a bullet, his watering eyes fixed on the uncanny ship, which was barely visible in the night sky now that its lights were off.

"A hundred percent…" he whispered, and then, "DETROIT SMAAAAAASH!" he screamed when he was drawing close to the ship. He felt so panicked and disoriented that he didn't even think to attack with his new, safer technique. He attacked recklessly and purely out of instinct.

His arm never touched the ship, though. The ship just… vanished into thin air, the remaining fog dissipating. Like it had never been there. Like nothing had happened.

But something had happened, because All Might was no longer lying peacefully by his side on the beach, and Izuku was twenty stories in the air and freefalling with his legs and his right arm flapping uselessly. He didn't even try to save himself. A small part of him was still waiting for him to wake up from this horrible nightmare.

His whole body went limp and he blacked out before he hit the ground.