***Hi everyone. It's been a while since I've updated, I know. Things have been hard on my end recently, and thinking creatively has been draining. Lol, it's easier to play Animal Crossing and do puzzles.

***I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

***Warnings: Language, baby antics, dialogue-heavy, flashbacks, blood, cliffhanger

***Please read on and enjoy! Reviews and kudos are welcomed!

'You're going to be amazing,'

-Griffin McElroy- The Adventure Zone D&D podcast

Chapter 21: We're Going To Be Amazing

Izuku didn't know what happened. He thought he'd thrown up, but when looking at the sheets, he sees splatters of blood. The liquid in his mouth is metallic, trickling out over his lips to further stain the sheets below. There's a buzzing in his ears as he senses Bakugo and some others hurrying around. Izuku collapses onto the bed, coughing again, and tasting more blood. He thought about his children, wondering if he was going to die here and leave them alone. The gurgling of blood keeps him from talking to tell the others to get the pearl.

Someone rolls him over onto his side and Izuku feels the pressure off of his chest and throat though blood still spills out. His vision becomes gray and then dark. He's being jostled and pulled around on the bed. Dark forms swarm above him. Izuku doesn't know what's happening. Everything becomes black for a second and then turns to white.

The white is silent but warm and comforting as Izuku finds himself standing in nothingness. He looks around, trying to figure out where he is and what's happening. 'Am I dead?' he wonders gravely to himself. 'Is this the afterlife?'

'Young Midoriya!' booms a proud, merry voice from somewhere around him.

Izuku searches all around for the source of the voice, finding it both familiar as well as curious. 'Who's there?' Izuku calls in the white nothingness. A bright warmth of shining light nearly blinds him and Izuku averts his eyes until they can adjust. He's seen this large, muscular form before in the white mist coming from the pearl. 'It's you again!' Izuku gasps when the large man looks over his broad shoulder to give him the biggest smile on a powerful yet gentle and friendly face. He reminds Izuku of the world above; golden hair like the sun and blue eyes like the sky.

'I know you…' Izuku whispers.

'It's been a long time, Young Midoriya! Although, the last time I saw you, you were much younger!'

'Why can't I remember anything about you?' Izuku asks him, stepping closer to the large man.

'I have long been gone from the world, but it was I who gave your past self the power to banish all evil and darkness from the human world! My time in that world had come to an end, and you were my chosen one!'

Izuku stares at the smiling face and then casts his downward. 'But...I failed you as your predecessor.'

'You did no such thing! You made a great sacrifice that locked the demons away for centuries! The human world has known only peace since then! Though the choice was through heartbreak and sorrow, in the end, you were the strongest for everyone.' He then gets on one knee in front of Izuku. 'And you can do it again.'

Izuku looks away sheepishly. 'But…something is wrong with me. I don't know where this place is…I just gave birth to twins…am I dying? If I'm dying, how can I save everyone?'

'You're not dying. I won't let you.' He smiles brightly and stands back up. 'Soon you will be awake and feeling better than ever! And when you do, everything will become clear! I have faith in you, Young Midoriya!' The man starts to fade away.

'Wait! Don't go! I have so many more questions!' but he was alone again. Izuku slumps his shoulders, alone in the vast white land, wondering what he should do now. Should he just stay here until someone wakes him up? Or is this just his brain showing visions and dreams before death?

'I haven't changed a bit,' Came Izuku's own voice from behind him.

Izuku swirls around and gasps to see a mirror image of himself, though with a few physical differences. This Izuku is a little younger than he is now. His green hair is a bit longer but still a mess of wild curls. The clothing looks to be made out of gold silk; a sleeveless tunic long in length. This Izuku wore no shoes or pants, only the tunic. The mirror-self smiled gleefully at him.

'Don't be afraid. I'm who you used to be before you were reborn. You need to pick up where I left off,'

'But how? I don't understand. If you brought peace to the world through your…suicide…then what else is there that I must to do? I'm just a human…I don't have the power that you have,'

'Not now, you don't,' Past Izuku says. 'But soon you will. Let me show you the last great battle of that day,'

Izuku watches as the white world suddenly parts to reveal a vast field where the battle is taking place. He and his Past Self are floating above it. Izuku can see his friends, Kirishima and the others, fighting hordes of demons and monsters.

'This is after I lost the baby and Kacchan became a demon,' Past Izuku says. 'I released my court to go out and fight while I battled the Demon Prince Tomura,' he shows the scene of him and Tomura exchanging blows.

Izuku watches the fight, his Past Self glowing with a type of green lightning, while Bakugo lies writhing in agony on the ground. The blood from the miscarriage stains the white clothing but the fight continues. Izuku's eyes widen when his Past Self calls forth a beam of light in his fist. It glows with various colors, the same as the pearl. The other Izuku slams the glowing fist into Tomura, defeating the demon villain.

'You did it!' Izuku cries happily.

'Yes, but the worst is yet to come,' Past Izuku says. 'Pay close attention, because this is the key incident that caused my sacrifice.'

Izuku immediately recognizes All For One, the Dark King, and Master of All Evil, appear in the air, hovering over Tomura's body. Izuku cannot hear the words exchanged between his Past Self and All For One, but to his horror, he sees the Demon King take their Kacchan. Izuku feels a terrible ache in his bond as All For One threatens to destroy Bakugo, to take him away from this world and make him become 'the very thing you live to destroy.'

Past Izuku, trembling with sorrow, anger, and revenge, shouts up to the sky. Izuku knows he's calling the others, watching as colored orbs of their court swirl around his Past Self, and enter him. Now he sees the true power of his friends and how they lend their own to help, making his Past Self into a legion of fighters mixed with the natural might of the Symbol of Peace. This frightens All For One, though he still has Bakugo, Izuku notices, and the Dark King uses their mate as a shield.

Then, Izuku finds himself in another area, this one dark, but with a single circle of light. He sees himself and the others, all hanging their heads.

'Listen closely,' Past Izuku whispers to him.

'When I break Legion, all of you will submit to the Master of All Evil. You must give up your human lives and hearts. Follow your alpha ruler, Katsuki Bakugo, to the Demon Realm, and remain true and loyal to him as you have done me. None of you will remember this day, will remember me, or what your true origins were. All For One cannot know our plan for the future. Once my soul is reborn, your memories will return, and once again we will defeat the darkness when it threatens the peace of our world.' Past Izuku tries to stop his tears from falling. 'I am being selfish…may the world forgive me for this, but I cannot kill my mate. I will find a way to change things in my next life! I will be weak when reborn…but once I come back into your lives, you will all know what to do. Forgive me…I will not force any of you to give up your souls because of my selfishness,'

'They never blamed you…' Izuku whispers.

'No, they didn't,' Past Izuku replies, watching as all of them lower to one knee, accepting their fate. 'They let themselves fall, allowed the Dark King to take their hearts, and I jumped to my death. My sacrifice for the love of my mate and lost child became more powerful than the Symbol of Peace's magic itself. I was able to lock the entire demon race away with my strength of will, keeping the barrier to the worlds closed until I was reborn. It was a show of strength that not even our predecessor could manage.'

Izuku then asks, 'But…why was I reborn without powers? Why don't humans have powers anymore?'

'With the centuries of peace I brought to the human world, the generations slowly lost the need for magic. That's why you have to swallow the pearl, to regain the power from All Might, revive One For All, and become Legion to defeat the Master of All Evil forever!'

'All Might? One For All? What does that mean?'

Past Izuku smiles softly at him and replies, 'You'll know soon enough,'

Izuku gasps awake, shooting up from the bed and coughing violently.

"HE'S ALIVE!" Someone shouts.

"Deku! What the fuck, you stupid human asshole!" Bakugo's eyes are solid black and he viciously bares his fangs at Deku.

Gasping and panting for breath, Izuku looks around the room at everyone watching him with relieved or shocked expressions. His eyes then focus on Bakugo in front of him. "K-Ka-Kacchan?"

"You asshole!" Bakugo pulls Deku into a tight embrace. "We thought you fucking died!"

"W-What happened?"

"A hemorrhage," Tokoyami says calmly. "Most likely caused by a demon birth."

"We are all still learning about a human bearing a demon child!" Iida added. "All of our quick thinking and Lord Bakugo's blood saved you!"

Izuku pulls away from Bakugo, a little surprised. "Your blood?"

Bakugo rolls his eyes. "I wasn't going to let you bleed out, you dummy! You needed blood, so we transferred a bunch of mine to you."

"And don't worry, the babies are fine!" Kirishima adds. "We looked after them while you were healing!"

"Both of you need to rest now more than ever," Tokoyami says. "I think we should put the plans on hold for at least a day or two. Both of you need to regain your strength. We'll let All For One know about the hemorrhage."

Izuku nods and says, "I want my babies," he turns to Bakugo and says, "Rest with me, Kacchan. Please?"

"Fine. Everyone out! Iida, take over for now,"

"Yes, sir!" Iida salutes proudly. "Everyone! Let us give them the time and space they need to rest!"

Shoji brings both babies over to the bed and helps settle the twins safely between Bakugo and Izuku.

"I'll wait outside your door if you need anything," Tsu offers them.

Izuku thanks them all, waiting until their alone to smile at Bakugo and he says, "I love you so much, Kacchan!"

"Pfft."

"And I don't need to hear it from you to know that you love me just as much," he places a hand on the baby boy's head. "And you love our family."

Bakugo, frowning, rolls to sling his arm protectively over the babies and Deku. "I thought I fucking lost you today,"

"But I'm here now," Izuku says, giggling softly as the babies snuggle into them. He feels Bakugo's tail wrap around them as well. Izuku's heart swells with love, so much so that he hoped he wouldn't hemorrhage again. "I know what we have to do now, Kacchan."

Bakugo, sleepily, asks, "Oh yeah? What's that?"

"It's a long story. I'll tell you when we're both rested. I just want to be with my little family right now."

He thinks about the pearl, wondering when he should take it. With the state he is in now, taking it would no doubt quicken his health. However, he isn't sure of the plan that Bakugo and the others have figured out yet, so he doesn't want to do anything until he knows. His Past Self wants as many secrets kept from All For One as possible. 'Sorry, Kacchan, but when I eat that pearl, and you get your heart back…I'm going to be stronger than you. For the first time in my life, I won't be just a common omega digging through the dirt trying to make my way in life. I'm going to help rule over it, and keep it safe. I'm going to become the greatest hero these worlds have ever known."

With those promises he made to himself, Izuku falls asleep in the tender embrace of his children and mate.

"Is the Dom-Omega well?" Mirio asks the moment Iida and Kirishima return to the meeting room.

"All is well," Iida tells them and the Blood Lords give a sigh of relief. "The demon birth took a toll on his human body, but we were able to save him."

"Are Hawks and Dabi back yet?" Kirishima asks Shoto.

Shoto shakes his head. "The storm slowed them down, I'm sure."

"Let them take their time," Iida says. "Both Lord Bakugo and the Dom-Omega need a lot of rest right now."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Inasa asks.

Iida fixes his glasses. "If at all possible, please keep the Dark King and Tomura from coming to this castle. It will only be a matter of time before He notices the hearts are missing."

"Wait, everyone," Mirio says, "Amajiki has something to say," he encourages the trembling demon to speak.

Amajiki, keeping his gaze from everyone, says, "There is no time for rest once those hearts come back. All For One will know, and He will come. Even though we can try to distract Him for a bit, He will realize something is amiss. If anything...He is already aware of our treachery,"

"What do you mean by that?" Inasa asks. "We've been silent about it for-"

"Let him finish," Mirio says.

"He...He knows Izuku is the successor. There's no doubt that He realizes changes are happening. He is going to figure out that we know SOMETHING, even planning something. He has to figure that the hearts will be returned. With that said...I have a strong feeling that He plans to kill all of us once we reach the human realm."

"That's a far stretch," Shoto says to Amajiki.

"Lord Bakugo's plan is a solid one," Amajiki adds. "But...with the hearts gone, All For One will be prepared for an ambush of some kind."

Mirio pats Amajiki on the back. "What do you have in mind then? How can we counter this?"

"We don't give back the hearts until AFTER we reveal the plan and attack,"

Iida and Kirishima exchange glances.

"Oh, I see what you're getting at," Inasa says. "We can keep the hearts away, for now, so All For One doesn't suspect we have them, or that Bakugo and the others have them. For all He'll know, someone else took them."

"We're going by the notion that He might know the hearts are gone," Kirishima points out. "What if he doesn't, though? He's probably so focused on the twins that He won't even notice."

"We can't place our bets on that," Shoto says, falling silent for a moment as the other's spoke, and then stood up. He caught everyone's attention. "I will go to All For One and distract him,"

"What do you mean by that?" Iida asks, a little confused.

"For the matter of dividing up the human world, of course," he says. "I will let Him know that the Blood Lords are having a hard time deciding who gets what, when, and where. It will distract Him, and with some chance, I can delay Him coming here; or at least find out if He knows the hearts are missing,"

Mirio laughs and stands up as well, saying to Shoto, "The art of conversation is not your strong suit, Lord Todoroki,"

Shoto frowns while Inasa snickers behind his hand and Kirishima has to turn his head away to laugh.

"Let me go instead!" Mirio offers. "Since I will be the decoy army, All For One will want to talk with me anyway about the plans for invading the human world! It would make much more sense if I go,"

"Mirio has a point," Kirishima says.

Shoto sits down quietly, turning his head away from the others with complete indifference.

"If that's settled, then I'll leave as soon as I can!" Mirio says cheerfully.

"May good fortune go with you!" Iida tells Mirio. "We will await your safe return!"

Mirio flexes his muscles and says, "We're going to be amazing!"

"Damn this rain...!" Dabi pants while taking the large basket of hearts onto his back. It was his turn to carry it. "I wish we could fly,"

Hawks cracks his back while brushing the damp bangs from his face. "I've told you- flying in the rain is hard on my wings! And we need to keep low to the ground after the attack on that guard. How old do you think that young guard was whose throat you ripped out?"

"...younger than my baby brother," Dabi grumbles out, trudging through the mud. "He was going to sound the alarm! We'd be caught,"

"A simple blow to the head would have shut him up?" Hawks points out.

"Whatever. At this point, I don't even care. I want to get back to Black Ram Hall and out of this damned rain! Again, it would be nice to FLY."

They continue in silence for a bit, and then Hawks asks,

"I've always wondered...why didn't you take the family title of Blood Lord? All For One would have granted it to you, regardless of Shoto's unique powers."

"...it was never in my nature to rule. I would be bad at it. I'd rather help my brother rule from the sidelines." he stops for a moment to catch his breath. "This rain sucks. I need to rest a moment," he put the basket sack down, and the glass jars chimed against one another. "Have you thought about how we're going to find out whose heart belongs to who?" Dabi asks. "They were labeled on the shelf."

Hawks shrugs his shoulders, using his wing to shield the rain from Dabi's head. "Like I said before, I'm sure the hearts will find their way back to their rightful owners."

Dabi had thought of the hearts all going to the wrong demon. He pictured Kirishima and Kaminari, normally happy and cheerful males, raging like Bakugo. In turn, he imagined Bakugo gaining the heart of someone like Tsu, soft-spoken, and sweet. Maybe that wasn't such a bad idea. It gave Dabi a little chuckle.

"A coin for your thoughts?" Hawks asks him.

"It's nothing."

Both become alert at the heavy sound of footfall in the woods around them. There is a shrieking noise, then a growl, and then a shriek again.

"Dabi...it's those weird monsters from All For One's castle!"

"They can't know what we've done!" he says. "It has to be random! No one saw us leave!" The shrieking came closer. "We need to hide!"

"Quick! Up in the tree!" Hawks and Dabi take the basket sack and shoot up into the nearest tree, going as high as they can.

Both sit silently, neither moving, not even breathing with the sack between them. Below, they seem the monstrous creatures walking together in a pack of three. The monsters have only one that stands on two feet- the others on all fours. The ones on four legs begin to snap and shriek at each other as a fight breaks out. The larger one shrieks at them but doesn't appear to be stepping in to stop them. The pair wrestle on the ground, banging into trees, including the one Hawks and Dabi are currently in. They struggle to keep from falling out of the tree.

With the constant banging of the tree, Hawks sees one of the jars tilting over the side of the sack, reading to topple over. Just as he goes to reach for it, the monsters slam into the trunk again, and the jar tumbles out.

"No, no, no, NO!" Both Hawks and Dabi struggle to catch the jar, juggling it between them. And then, the whole basket tumbles out of the tree.

The next day, both Izuku and Bakugo were up but remained in their chamber with the twins. Kirishima and Tokoyami had just left, one briefing Bakugo on the overthrow status, and the other helping Izuku with nursing the twins.

Izuku couldn't get over how fast baby demons grew; or rather, how quickly they could crawl on their own. It reminded him of newborn prey animals that have to learn to stand and walk a few moments after they are born or risk becoming a predator's snack. Izuku still smiles at the pair wrestling on the floor, growling and biting like bear cubs. They may be little monsters, but they are still his children. Neither of them had names yet, as Bakugo mentioned that, for now, it was a royal duty to let the Dark King name children of high birth. Bakugo just called them 'boy' or 'girl' while Izuku took a more loving approach by saying 'son' and 'daughter'.

Though the storm had let up yesterday, there was still a heavy, steady rainfall outside. Izuku was holding his daughter then, who tried to catch the raindrops as they hit the window by slapping them. She was like a kitten. His children or not, their solid black eyes still startled him whenever they focused on him, sweet as the babies were, it was like a hidden darkness beneath bouts of giggles and drool. The twins latched on to him more than Bakugo. Izuku jerks when he hears Bakugo yell behind them.

"Ow! You damned brat! Get off my tail!" Bakugo growls at his son, who was gnawing on the tip of his tail.

"Kacchan! He's just a baby!" Izuku shrieked, racing over to them and pulling the boy away. "Don't holler at him like that! He's your son!"

"Kids have to learn early!" Bakugo counters.

"And just how many children have you raised?" Izuku counters back, struggling to hold both squirming babies.

"How many have YOU raised?" Bakugo shot back.

Izuku rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath while bringing the pair to the window to watch the rain. Two sets of little hands now slap at the window to catch raindrops. Behind him, Izuku feels and senses Bakugo coming up to them. He smiles as Bakugo's arms and tail wrap around his waist. In private, his Kacchan was more open and loving than in front of the others. Bakugo still has a LONG way to go in showing pure affection, but Izuku has to take what he can get right now.

"Their eyes will stop being black in a week or two," Bakugo tells him. "They have to learn how their demon bodies work."

"Right...but what part of them are human?" Izuku looks out at the kingdom of Black Ram Hall at all the little dots of lights from candles in windows. "They seem almost...full demon."

"As Iida and Tokoyami mentioned, we'll probably find that out as they get older."

"Do you think others their age will make fun of them for having a human bearer?"

Bakugo scoffs. "They'd be stupid to," he says with a laugh. "In case you're forgetting, we are making a new world, Deku. They are basically the prince and princess of our new realm. I'm the Alpha Supreme, and you're the Dom-Omega. The world will be their SUBJECTS."

Izuku lets his daughter tug at the hem of his tunic. "I don't want to bear the title 'Dom-Omega',"

"What?"

Izuku leans his head back on Bakugo's shoulder, nuzzling under the other's ear. "I want to be the King Omega."

"...King Omega?"

"Yup."

"Uh, no?"

Izuku frowns at him. "Why not? You get to be Alpha Supreme."

"Yeah, but I'm the- well, I'm the SUPREME RULER. You're my mate."

"I'm your equal,"

"You're my mate," Bakugo reiterated.

Izuku pressed his lips together, then hands the twins over to Bakugo without warning. Bakugo nearly drops them, looking on after Izuku as he storms to the vanity. Izuku would show his 'mate' who the real power wielder is in this relationship! He's tried to reason with Bakugo, to explain to the alpha using facts and logic, as Bakugo is a highly intelligent alpha. It shouldn't be hard for the alpha demon to understand, which actually wasn't the case. Bakugo is just a stubborn male; an ego-driven prodigy of a demon who has been the best at everything and known only victory. Well, if his beloved Kacchan will not listen to reason, even after he has born the alpha TWO alpha children and nearly DIED in the process, then he will have to exercise his might by revealing the power gifted to him; the power that he was born to wield. Izuku takes out the pearl from a small box where he had stored it.

"...what's that?" Bakugo asks him curiously.

Izuku holds the pearl between his thumb and forefinger in Bakugo's direction. "THIS will show you why I am deserving of the title 'King Omega'. And it's going to be amazing!"

TBC