SUPER SMASH ANIME
A FUTURE IMPERFECT

Episode Seven: The Devil Wears White


Deep in the Japari Park, the Kemono Friends were on edge. The rumblings of the jungle had stretched far across the land and rumors and hearsay spread like wildfire. Word had reached to the Friends that everyone should avoid any humans they find, for they had brought the violence of their own animes to their once peaceful land. The Friends tensed up at the slightest noise and many flocked together in great numbers as if their size would ward off any trespassers. Even the Serval, which were known to only wander the Savannah lands, had sought shelter in the trees. The Serval had been pacing through the trees, looking for its next meal, when she heard a sharp rustling coming from the nearby brush and dashed away just before two humans came running through.

Midoriya touched the ground briefly before he kicked off into the air again, crossing his arms to protect his face as he smashed his way through the branches. Midoriya knew he was leaving a trail for the villains to follow, but he needed to get to the lake as soon as possible. All Might's last words were still ringing in his ears…. Someone was waiting there, someone more powerful than the number one hero…. Midoriya kicked off the ground again and shouldered his way through the thick trunks of the trees in front of him, apologizing to the Friends in his way….

Meanwhile, Bakugo was clinging to his rival's back with all his strength, fighting back the urge to vomit as Midoriya went faster and faster, pushing the limits of his ability, and making the world pass by in a giant blur of color. He could feel ther bile crawling up his throat…. Bakugo swallowed it back down and groaned dryly. Gritting his teeth, Bakugo glared at the back of Midoriya's head and then, without warning, suddenly grabbed the green-haired boy by the back of his head and lurched forward –

"Just stop already, you skinny bastard!" roared Bakugo.

Midoriya let out a surprised yelp when he felt Bakugo's fingers wrap around the back of his skull and was suddenly pushed to the ground, his face hitting the dirt before anything else, and was carried by the momentum he had created. He must have slid across the ground by a couple dozen feet, because Midoriya spent a whole minute with his face sliding against the ground, getting mud and dirt in his eyes, nostrils, and mouth. They came to a stop when they burst through a thick set of bushes that opened up into a vast lake with water that was almost as clear as crystal, twinkling from the rays of the sun.

Midoriya felt Bakugo climb off and walk away; he pulled his face out of the dirt, spitting out the grime on his tongue with a shuddering groan. He stood up, dusted himself off, and turned around to Bakugo, who was on his hands and knees at the edge of the lake, his head hanging forward and making a lot of retching noises. Midoriya automatically felt guilt; he didn't his version of One for All was that fast, especially compared to All Might, but then again, Midoriya couldn't really remember a time when Bakugo had carried at superhuman speed.

He walked over to Bakugo as he heaves another puddle of sick on the ground and rubbed his back helpfully. Bakugo didn't appreciate the gesture; he threw out his arm and set off an explosion in the air next to Midoriya's head, which the green-haired boy suspected would not have missed if Bakugo hadn't been so nauseated.

"Don't…don't touch me…you ba…you ba…. Ugh…," Bakugo groaned, leaning forward and holding his stomach.

"I'm sorry, Kachan," Midoriya apologized. "I didn't know you were – "

"Don't!" Bakugo hissed, jumping up and getting in close to Midoriya's face. "Say! Another! Word!" He grabbed the green-haired boy by the collar, lifting him a couple inches off the ground. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again without my permission, I will turn you into ash! Do I make myself clear?"

Midoriya nodded very quickly. Bakugo huffed, shoved him back, and walked away.

"I was only trying to help….," Midoriya muttered silently.

Bakugo approached the edge of the lake, stopping just short of the water, his hands on his hip as he looked around with a critical eye. He was silent for a long before until he said, "Is this the place? The one that All Might was talking about? I don't see anyone else here."

"Yeah, this is the spot," said Midoriya, walking over to stand beside him. "All Might said there would be someone here that could help us. Someone stronger than him."

"After we got out asses handed to us by the scrawny midget," said Bakugo, gritting his teeth, "I wouldn't complain about getting a little help for a change. But I don't see anything here that could help. Just a lot of water, some trees, that weird animal people hiding in the bushes, a giant black rock, some fish – "

"Wait, giant black rock?" asked Midoriya, looking up in surprise.

Bakugo rolled his eyes, groaning, and pointed lazily off to the left. Midoriya leaned around and spotted the gigantic black meteor resting on the edge of the shoreline, the waves of the lake lapping against its surface. It was largely out of place with everything else in the Park. Maybe it had something to do with the person All Might had they look for?

Midoriya walked over to the black rock, leaving Bakugo to stew in his annoyance, when the ground suddenly rumbled beneath their feet. Both heroes-in-training stopped moving, automatically dropping into ready positions on pure instinct. There was a brief moment of pause before the ground rumbled again and Midoriya noticed a ripple in the lake. He narrowed his eyes, focusing his sight on the middle of the water where bubbles were starting to appear on the surface. He continued to watch in thoughtful silence until the lake exploded and something massive emerged from the depths.

Midoriya fell back on his butt, shrieking from a combination of disbelief and terror. The beast that arose looked like a combination of both monster and machine. An evil-looking dragon with a serpentine lower body, but a masculine upper body covered entirely in metallic plates of blood-red and pale-white with golden accents. Tattered, fiery-orange wings sprouted from its back and bore a triangular biohazard symbol on its chest. The Evil dragon flexed its claws, it's piercing-red eyes scanning the shoreline for pray when its gaze fell upon Midoriya, who was crawling backwards away from the monster. The young wielder of One for All had scooted all the way back to the bushes when he overheard the Friends hiding in the trees muttering to each other.

"It's Megidramon! He's awake! Who woke him up?"

"It must have been the humans."

"Should we help them?"

"They caused this mess, they can live with the consequences!"

So the monster's name was Megidramon, thought Midoriya. That name seemed familiar to him somehow. Of course, he didn't have much time to think about it when the evil dragon reared its head with a terrifying roar that literally made the earth tremble – and tilted the black meteor slightly to the side, exposing a glove hand underneath. Midoriya's mind was screaming for him to move, to run away, but Megidramon's presence had him petrified in place. As flames began to coat the evil dragon's lips, Midoriya was only slightly aware of Bakugo's panicked screams.

"Deku! Move your ass, damn it!" shouted Bakugo, running as fast he could to his rival's aid, but he didn't get far before Megidramon unleashed a hellstorm of flames on them both.

There was a long moment before the flames washed over them where Midoriya could only think about how he had failed them, Kachan and All Might both. He was chosen to be All Might's successor and he still froze up when it mattered most. Feeling shaming and anguish, Midoriya closed his eyes at the same time as Bakugo reached his side, grabbing his arm, waiting for the flames to burn them to ash –

Midoriya's eyes quickly snapped open again when a thunderous crack rang from the side and turned his head so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. The shards of the black meteor were thrown every which way, as if it had exploded from the inside, and someone dashed through the debris at such speed that they only looked like a white blur. The strange being crossed the shore in a split-second, making Iida look like a snail by comparison, and stopped directly between the heroes-in-training and Megidramon's flames. Whoever it was raised their right hand, palm up to the fire, and feminine, mechanical-sound voice called out, "Round Sheid!"

A glyph of pink energy appeared in front of the newcomer, pushing Megidramon's flames around them until the evil dragon ran out of steam. When Megidramon paused to catch its breath, the strange held up their hand again, the mechanical voice shouted, "Divine Shooter!" and eight balls of pink energy formed around their wrist, shooting across the air at blinding speeds. The bullets curved around Megirdamon's outstretched arm and wailed on the dragon's chest and face, knocking the monster around until it fell back into the water. Midoriya watched the battle in awe, then turned to the stranger that had saved them both as they turned around.

The newcomer was a young woman, possibly only just reaching her twenties, with light-auburn hair tied into two sidetails by white ribbons. The main theme of her costume was blue-and-white – a short jacket stuffed with extra padding around the arms ending in armored cuffs and a big red ribbon in the middle, a short dress with a length cape straps to her waist, and metal-plated shoes with white stockings. Gripped in her left hand was a long pink staff that was topped by a golden headpiece with a ruby jewel in the middle. The woman looked at Midoriya and Bakugo, sharing an expression that was both serious and concerned.

"Are you two all right?" she asked.

NANOHA TAKAMACHI (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS)

"Uh…y-yeah, we're fine," Midoriya stuttered, feeling his face suddenly heat up. He couldn't help noticing that she was awfully pretty….

"No thanks to this dumbass!" snapped Bakugo, beating Midoriya over the head with his knuckles.

"Ow!" Midoriya whined, rubbing the spot. "You don't have to be so violent, Kachan…."

"The hell I don't!" yelled Bakugo. "We fight villains all the time! How could you just freeze up like that?"

"Uh…."

"You can argue about that later," said Nanoha, returning her attention to the lake. "First, we have to handle him – "

For Megidramon rose from the lake with a thunderous splash, unfurling its wings and leaping into the air. The evil dragon landing heavily on the shore just down the way from them; Nanoha immediately stepped over and stood between it and the heroes-in-training. Bakugo's fingers crackled with many miniature explosions and Midoriya clenched his fists as the green lightning covered his body again. Nanoha glanced back at both of them out of the corner of her eye, frowning.

"Don't get ahead of yourselves," said Nanoha warningly. "You don't have the level of experience needed to take on a Mega-Level Digimon. Just stay back and follow my instructions – "

"Like hell I'm gonna take orders from you!" Bakugo snapped. "Just stay out of my way – "

Nanoha turned around sharply on her heel toward him, staring down Bakugo with a piercing stare with wide, unblinking eyes, a shadow casting over her face to give her an extra menacing look. For some reason, both Bakugo and Midoriya felt the sudden urge to straighten their posture, arms at their sides, standing at attention like soldiers waiting for instructions from a drill sergeant. Bakugo made an audible gulping noise; not even Aizawa could command that kind of authority.

"I said…follow my instructions…,"Nanoha spoke in a low, threatening tone. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Midoriya and Bakugo answered in unison, suddenly saluting her without realizing it.

Nanoha's darkened expression immediately brightened up with an amused giggle; Midoriya and Bakugo slumped over, free from whatever authoritative control she had over them.

Megidrmon reminded them that it was still present by bellowing an earth-rumbling roar, spreading its wings and gliding across the shoreline towards them with its claws poised to slice them. Nanoha snapped her focus back on the dragon and shouted a quick order to Midoriya and Bakugo ("JUMP!") before leaping into the air herself. Midoriya effortlessly jumped over the dragon using One for All to boost the strength in his legs while Bakugo unleashed a powerful explosion below himself, propelling him into the air just as Megidramon took a swing at them. The young hero-in-training landed safely on the other side, but Nanoha hovered loftily in the air, unsupported. Midoriya couldn't resist staring at her open-mouthed; despite having an anime where everyone has superpowers, actual flight was incredibly rare.

The evil dragon folded its wings, spinning around on its serpentine tail, and paused for a moment. It seemed to be considering them. First, its eyes fell on Midroiya and Bakugo, two young heroes with incredible power, and then they roamed to Nanoha in the air, a woman with skill, tactics, and experience on her side. From Midoriya's point of view, it seemed to be thinking which of them was the greater threat; perhaps it was more intelligent than they were giving it credit for. Finally, it seemed to make a decision and charge towards Nanoha, flapping its wings to become airborne.

Nanoha flipped backwards as Megidramon swooped by, then took off in the direction of the forest with the evil dragon in hot pursuit. As she flew directly into the forest canopy, Nanoha held out her right hand and formed another barrier ahead of herself, creating a pseudo-battering ram to smash through the branches; Megidramon plowed his way straight through the trees. Midoriya and Bakugo couldn't see what was happening in the forest after that, but the sounds of pure destruction mixed in with the shouts of fleeing Kemono Friends painted a very vivid picture. They occasionally saw entire trees being tossed in the air, columns of flames rising at angles, and the glow of pink magic in the air. There was an intense battle going on in the forest and neither of them were there to see it.

Bakugo clenched his fists, growling in frustration.

"This is un-freakin'-believable!" spat Bakugo. "Why the hell are we being sidelined? We should be doing something, not standing around like a couple of idiots!"

"She told us to stay back and follow her instructions…," Midoriya muttered softly.

"Why the hell are we even listening to her?" Bakugo snapped. "Some random woman just shows up completely out of nowhere and starts bossing us around? No way in hell!"

"But All Might sent us here, right?" said Midoriya, catching Bakugo by the arm before he could walk off. "He told us to come to the lake because there was someone who could help us. Maybe All Might was talking about her? And if All Might trusts her enough to help, then I'm gonna trust her too. Don't you think so, Kachan?"

Bakugo clicked his tongue irritably and said, "Yeah, fine, whatever. Only because All Might said so. But if that chick things I'm just gonna sit around on my ass waiting for her, she's got another thing coming – "

Despite all his big talk, the explosive quirk user still let out a frightened squeak when a beam of pink energy shot through the trees, carving a charred line in the grass between them. Midoriya wisely kept his mouth shut when Bakugo coughed in his hand, trying to compose himself as if nothing happened, though Midoriya's stomach felt like it was going to burst. Then, completely out of nowhere, Midoriya suddenly felt a tingling sensation in the back of his head that made him shudder, and judging by Bakugo's startled expression, he felt the same thing.

"Can you hear me? Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, am I coming in loud and clear?"

It was Nanoha. Her voice was ringing his mind. She has telepathy, Midoriya thought, on top of her other powers. No wonder All Might trusted her –

"Hello? Are you there?"

"Uh, we're here…ma'am!" Midoriya yelled, not knowing how two-way telepathy worked. "Wait, how did you know our names?"

"All Might told me you were coming before he disconnected, but that's not important," said Nanoha urgently. There was a lot of frustrated grunting on the other end, and a wide pink beam could be seen off in the distance. "I've done a lot of damage to its armor, but Megidramon is still fighting at full power. He must have been augmented by Mirai's forces. I need you both to do something for me."

"It's about time we did something other than sit on our asses!" shouted Bakugo, punching his fists into his hand. "Whaddya need us to do?"

"Don't worry, you're going to love this, Bakugo," said Nanoha. "I'm going to be leading Megidramon back to the lake. Bakugo, when I fly past, you will release your most powerful explosion right in Megidramon's face. It won't hurt him, but it should break off its remaining armor. When that happens, Midoriya, I need you to give me your strongest Smash with One for All and knock Megidramon to the ground. Aim for its jaw – that it's likely to be its weakest point. After that, I will finish it with a concentrated strike from above."

"What? Why do you get to hog all the glory?" Bakugo complained.

"Do you have a problem with my tactics, Bakugo," Nanoha said in a low, menacing tone. "If you do, speak up."

"Ma'am, no, ma'am!" Midoriya and Bakugo yipped, automatically standing at attention and saluting.

"I'll be over there momentarily," said Nanoha. "Get ready."

"Man…," Midoriya let out a troubled sigh. "How can someone that cute be so scary?"

"I am a military instructor and a mother," said Nanoha. "Thanks for the compliment, by the way."

Midoriya screamed and covered his reddening face in embarrassment; he didn't realize they were still connected.

Deep in the forest, they could hear the rumbling of the battle getting closer and closer; the snapping of the trees and the fleeing Friends were strong indicators. Bakugo marched over to the edge of the tree line, holding his right fist in front so that the opening his grenade bracer was pointed into the forest. A hidden mechanism in the gauntlet revealed a small pin in the handle, which Bakugo cautiously looped his finger around, but didn't pull. Midoriya stood directly behind Bakugo by several feet, bracing his feet into the ground as he covered himself with One for All's energy, green lightning arcing off his skin. He clenched his fist so tightly that his fingers started to hurt – he might be unconsciously using too much power because of his anxiety.

The rumbling was almost upon them; Midoriya could see entire trees being tossed into the air and a narrow column of flames burst through the canopy above their heads. But neither of them moved; Bakugo and Midoriya firmly held their ground despite the slight shaking in their hands.

"Almost…," Midoriya muttered. "Just a little longer…."

"Shut the hell up, Deku!" Bakugo snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate!"

"S-s-sorry!" Midoriya apologized.

The heroes-in-training started deeply into the darkness of the trees, waiting for their moment…. And then, not even a moment later, Nanoha came bursting through the brush like a speeding bullet, surrounded by a cocoon of pink energy. Megidramon thrashed his way onto the lakeshore a few seconds later, rearing with a furious roar; nearly all of its plated armor was covered in a spiderweb pattern of cracks and scars. As she flew over Bakugo's head, Nanoha craned her head down at him and shouted, "NOW!"

"Burn in hell, bastard!" screamed Bakugo, and he pulled the pin.

A geyser of furious flames spewed forth from the gap in Bakugo's gauntlets, spraying Megidramon's face with intense heat. There was a lot more power behind the blast than Nanoha had anticipated as it not only covered Megidramon's whole body, but set the surrounding forest aflame as well; Nanoha snuffed out the flames with energy bubbles before they got too far – She was definitely going to reprimand him for lack of control. But nonetheless, Bakugo's explosion did what it was meant to. Megidramon slithered its way past Bakugo, roaring and spitting furiously with its claws over its eyes, which had been charred black and its lids seemed melted together, while the remainder of its armor fell away from its body, revealing the squishy, pale-white flesh underneath.

The evil dragon flailed across the shoreline, whipping its barbed tail back and forth, cutting deep gouges into the ground, and blindly swiping one of its claws looking anyone to shred. Nanoha hovered just out of Megidramon's reach and Bakugo rolled out of the way when its tail came down on top of him. Bakugo looked like he wanted to yell something, but Nanoha telepathically told him, "Don't say anything just yet" and Bakugo lip his lip. Megidramon was unknowingly slithering up to Midoriya, who crouched low to the ground with one fist clenched, waiting…and waiting…and waiting….until the evil dragon was directly above him.

Midoriya kicked off the ground immediately, breaking the earth beneath his boots, and launched himself at the underside of Megidramon's chin. His fist glowed with concentrated energy as he swung around, shouting:

"Detroit Smash!"

Midoriya's knuckles connected a solid blow with Megidramon's jaw, which created a shockwave of pressure that caused the surrounding trees to sway, knocked Bakugo on his butt, and almost blew Nanoha out of the air had she not pulled up a barrier in time. Megidramon was thrown a few feet in the air and toppled backwards on its back, its wings spread-eagle, and moaned painfully when the back of its head hit the ground. Though it had taken a heavy hit, Megidramon was slowly starting to rise again, albeit its limbs were rather shaky and it slipped more than once. But Nanoha floated above the evil dragon like a hawk eyeing its prey, pointing her staff at Megidramon as the crystal in the center started flashing and a mechanical voice sounded from it –

"Exceed Mode!"

Her staff's head momentarily disassembled and reconfigured itself in an instant, now taking the shape of a two-pronged golden spearhead with the ruby crystal embedded in the center. Nanoha twirled the staff in her hand and raised it above her head like a javelin thrower, using her right hand to aim at Megidramon, who had pushed itself up to its elbows by now. Evil dragon seemed to sense Nanoha's imminent attack because it suddenly snapped its head skyward, glaring blindly up at her. Megidramon opened its mouth, summoning the hellfire from within its chest –

"Not this time!" shouted Nanoha fiercely. "Strike Flame!"

Three semi-material mana blades formed at the tip and framed edges of Nanoha's weapon, giving it an even greater resemblance to a spear. With a grunt of effort, Nanoha lurched forward and threw the staff with all her might, unconsciously creating a shockwave when the spear left her fingers. Midoriya and Bakugo tried not to blink; Nanoha's weapon was moving so fast they were afraid they were going to miss it. Megidramon had just gathered the flames in its maw when Nanoha's staff flew directly into the dragon's open mouth. Less than half a second later, it exited through the back of Megirdramon's head and stabbed into the ground, smoking wafting from the otherwise undamaged spear.

Megidramon paused in place, as if seemingly frozen in time…. Then, much to Midoriya's surprise, the evil dragon began to disintegrate from the tail upwards. By the time Nanoha returned her feet to the ground, Megidramon had evaporated entirely. The inheritor of One for All stared in awe as Nanoha casually walked over and ripped her spear-staff out of the ground, twirling its once with her fingers to throw off the dirt before turning back to him and Bakugo.

"You both did a good job," Nanoha complimented them. "You followed my instructions and we came out as the winners. You see, this what All Might should be teaching you: discipline."

"Did you…," Midoriya stuttered, pointing to the spot where Megidramon once was. "Did you just…kill him…?"

"Not exactly," said Nanoha lightly, shouldering her staff. "Megidramon was a Digimon – a monster made of data. They don't die. They are disassembled into data bits and then reconstituted somewhere else, though much weaker than they usually are. It will be reborn, but it won't be nearly as powerful as it once was." She looked at Midoriya, stared for a moment, then gave a sad smile. "Oh, right, I get why you were worried. People rarely die in your series. I think you only recently saw your first death in the manga. Don't worry, I don't kill people if I can help it," she added, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"Grr…stop being such a wuss, Deku," Bakugo hissed in Midoriya's ear. "You're making us look bad in front of her…."

"I'm sorry, I was just…. Never mind," said Midoriya. Then he turned to Bakugo with his brow raised. "Wait, since when do you care what she thinks? Weren't you just complaining how you don't take want to take orders from her?"

"Well, yeah…," Bakugo muttered softly; there was a noticeable dusting of pink on his cheeks. "She did take out that monster pretty much on her own. I can respect that…."

"Oh my god, Kachan," said Midoriya, gaping at him. "You have a crush on her – "

"That's it, you're dead, you damn nerd!" Bakugo roared, pulled Midoriya by his collar and glaring darkly.

Nanoha giggled behind her hand and said, "Aw, I'm really flattered, Bakugo, but I already have a wife and daughter. Besides…I'm way out of your league, anyway."

Bakugo hanged his head in shameful defeat, having just been dealt a killing blow.

Nanoha laughed again alongside Midoriya, Bakugo glaring at both of them with gritted teeth, when Nanoha's laugh was suddenly cut short. The heroes-in-training looked at her strangely; Nanoha had dawned a very serious expression as she slowly lowered her staff at her side, gripping the shaft so tightly her knuckles popped. The White Devil slowly, cautiously, craned her head over her shoulder…and then suddenly swiped her staff in front of Midoriya's face, deflecting a narrow red beam that had been aimed between his eyes. Nanoha spun around as another red beam shot out of the trees, this time aimed for Bakugo, but Nanoha deflected this as well.

There was a short pause afterwards, as if whoever was shooting seemed to be considering them…. Then a shower of multiple beams bombarded the group of three in rapid fire. Nanoha held out her arms, forcing Midoriya and Bakugo to take cover behind her, and then began to swing her staff back and forth through the air in a blur of motion. Midoriya could stop him jaw from dropping in awe as Nanoha not only kept with the pace of the lasers, but perfectly deflected them with her staff so that they were all sent flying harmlessly into the air. It's no wonder All Might trusted her, Midoriya thought.

When the last of the beams were knocked away, Nanoha stood straight with her staff held parallel from her chest, narrowing her eyes into the trees. A slow clapping noise was ringing from the shadows alongside a mocking sort of chuckle. As the attacker stepped out into the sunlight, Midoriya and Bakugo immediately braced themselves for battle when Frieza's face came into view. Bakugo took a step forward, his hand crackling with mini explosions, but Nanoha threw out her hand to block him again. Her expression was rigid, staring down the self-proclaimed Emperor of the Universe. Frieza chuckled again with a wicked grin.

"My, my, that was impressive," said Frieza when he stopped clapping and folded his hands behind his back. "You're definitely a step up from the last human I oh-so elegantly put down."

"What'd you do to All Might, you bastard?" Bakugo screamed. Nanoha raised her staff in front of his face to deflect another shot.

"You should mind your tongue, little boy, the grown-ups are talking," said Frieza, his finger still smoking. He lowered his hand and turned to Nanoha. "As I was saying, you're definitely an improvement from that muscle-bound lummox I trampled less than an hour ago. Then, you are the great Captain Nanoha Takamachi, the Ace of Aces. Even I have heard of your accomplishments, and I don't usually watch magical girl animes."

"You never answered Bakugo's question," said Nanoha evenly. "What happened to All Might."

"Oh, relax, he's still alive," he said mockingly, taking pleasure in Mirodiya's fear and Bakugo's anger. "But for how long, that remains to be seen. I can only imagine what Miria has in store for that buffoon."

"So it's true," said Nanoha. It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "You are working for Mirai. I never thought I'd see the day you started taking orders from someone else, Frieza."

"It's not so much as taking orders as it is working towards a common goal," said Freiza with a sinister smile. "Mirai presents a great opportunity. With the power of his Retcon Energy, I can not only erase my enemies, but I can permanently erase them from all existence. Imagine, the power to erase all hope for them universe, to wipe out the champions of so-called justice from all living memory. With that kind of power, I can make my rule over the universe absolute!"

"And what about the others?" asked Nanoha. "The Abyssal, Haruko Haruhara, Tomura Shiguraki, Nui Harime. Mirai collected an assortment of the worst villains from all over Animatia. Why? What is he planning?"

Frieza looked like he had been smacked across the face, his eyes going wider with each name that Nanoha counted off. When she had finished, they narrowed dangerously and a deep frown was etched on his face.

"Where did you learn all those names?" Frieza questioned with silent fury.

"I had a little help…," said Nanoha coolly. "Do you really think I could have gathered an army of military animes all by myself in such a short amount of time? We've been waiting for you for weeks."

Frieza began to gnash his teeth, saying, "So that's where the traitor ran off to. He knew he couldn't do it on his own, so he enlisted the help of someone who was not only resistant to the Retcon Energy, but also had experience in military command…. Any punishment I had planned for him will be a thousand times worse when I find him."

"Uh, Kachan," Midoriya whispered to Bakugo, "do you know what they're talking about?"

"How the hell should I know?" Bakugo hissed. "You're supposed to be the nerd, dammit!"

"Since you have this information at your disposal, I can't very well let you leave," said Frieza, taking a single step forward. "Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you, but I will be taking you back to Mirai to see if we can't squeeze any information out of that big brain of yours and locate that traitor."

"Heh," Nanoha gave a short chuckle, surprising Frieza. "You're making a lot of assumptions before you even caught me. If you really wanna find out, then come at me. I'll even give you the first shot," she added, making a taunting hand gesture beckoning him.

Frieza didn't take the gesture very well. Not even considering that it might be a trap, the alien menace launched himself forward, shattering the ground underneath his feet, and was suddenly in front of Nanoha before Midoriya or Bakugo had realized he had moved. But Nanoha remained calm and unflinching. Frieza raised his fist and swung it around to land squarely between Nanoha's eyes…when his knuckles suddenly stopped just a few inches short of her face.

"What?" Frieza gasped.

Nanoha couldn't fight back the urge to smirk. Frieza was frozen in place, hovering off the ground, as five wheels of pink light suddenly appears around his wrists, ankles, and tail. The intergalactic tyrant struggled against the magical bindings with veins throbbing visibly on his temple as proof, but he couldn't break free. Nanoha took a few steps away from Frieza – Midoriya and Bakugo staying close behind her – and stretched her fingers, silently commanding the restraints to move so that Frieza was floating spread eagle.

"Restrict Lock," said Nanoha. "It's my strongest binding spell, one that I always preset before each battle when dealing with stronger opponents. Something you'd know if you actually watched my anime."

"You smug little brat!" Frieza snarled. "You think this can hold me? I'll break out of these ridiculous restraints and crush you into a fine powder!"

Nanoha didn't verbally respond to the threat, but did take a few more steps back, pushing Midoriya and Bakugo further. Once they were within a safe distance, Nanoha pointed the tip of her staff directly at Frieza's chest. The crystal in the center flashed and the mechanical feminine voice cried out, "Drive Ignition!" Three slots on the sides of the shaft flew open and angelic wings of pure pink light fluttered to life. Several electronic rings formed from one end of the weapon to the other as energy began to form and compress into a ball at the spear tip. Frieza's glare gave way to an expression of genuine fear as energy sphere grew larger, reaching its zenith in only a few seconds.

"Preperations complete, Master!" said the mechanical voice.

"Thanks, Raising Heart," Nanoha said to the staff.

"You can't do this to me!" Frieza yelled, now thrashing against his restrains; the light wheels flickered briefly. "I am the mighty Freiza! The Emperor of the Universe! I'm not about to be defeated by some lowly magical girl from some no-name anime – "

"DIVINE BUSTER!" Nanoha screamed; there was a hint of annoyance in her voice as she yelled.

A concussive beam of pink energy all but exploded from the tip of her staff, throwing Midoriya and Bakugo off their feet and sending them rolling back into the trees. The blast cleaved a deep trench in the ground while crossing the short distance to Frieza, who screamed with a thrill of panic. The self-proclaimed emperor was consumed by the light, but his dark outline was still visible and his painful cries echoed in their ears. Nanoha lifted Raising Heart, seemingly struggling under the pressure of her own attack, and curved the beam into the sky. The beam swiped across the air, cleaving a couple of overhanging clouds in half, until the energy began to dissipate and vanish. With her sharp eyes, Nanoha spotted Frieza's smoking body being thrown haphazardly across the sky – it looked like he would be landing in the swamp area of the park.

"Raising Heart, power down," Nanoha commanded.

"Good job, master," said Raising heart, venting steam from the openings in its sides and returning to its standard form.

"Ho…ly…crap…," said Bakugo, gaping open-mouthed as he stood up. "That was…."

"Incredible…," Midoriya finished for him. "You…you actually beat Frieza."

"I didn't really beat him, more like caught him off guard," said Nanoha, frowning. "He'll probably have some bruising when he wakes up, but you can bet he'll be coming back for us, and he won't fall for the same trick twice. We need to get moving," she told them as she started walking off.

"Wait, hold up!" Midoriya yelped as he and Bakugo chased after her. "Where're we going?"

"We need to catch up to Mirai's flagship, the Black Star," said Nanoha. "I initially had an army ready to take their main ship down, but we underestimated their numbers and just how coordinated their attacks were gonna be. We weren't as prepared as we thought we would be – our forces are stretched thin."

"But what about All Might?" asked Midoriya worriedly. "We have to go back! We have to save him."

"And we will," said Nanoha, spinning around to him. "Frieza said he was being taken to Mirai. That means All Might is being taken to the Black Star. If we can reach the ship, we can rescue your hero."

"And kick some asses in the process!" said Bakugo, grinning as he punched his hand, setting off a small explosion.

"Yeah, I guess so…," said Nanoha, sweatdropping.

"All right, so we have a plan," said Midoriya, nodding firmly. "Where's the Black Star headed now?"

Nanoha went quiet all of a sudden, looking solemnly at the ground as if she was remembering something terrible. She turned around with her back facing them and stared up at the sky, staring wistfully into space. When she spoke again, there was a hollow sense of mourning in her tone.

"The place where all forgotten anime are buried…. The Tomb of the Lost.


[Nanoha Takamachi has joined your party]


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