Hello! I hope you've all stayed healthy during these times. Yes, I'm still alive. I never got sick, but my personal life got in the way. Things happened. That's why I didn't finish this story last year though it was my goal. I really wish you can still enjoy it until the end. Let's proceed to the story.

A short summary of what has happened previously:

All twelve students; Midoriya, Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki, Bakugo, Kirishima, Kaminari, Jiro, Asui, Ashido, Tokoyami, and Yaoyorozu, were in the castle full of villains. After many fights and flights, they were able to reunite and get to the top floor where they met Blindwalker, who easily defeated them with Kurogiri. Kurogiri then sent them to a strange arena where they encountered unknown dark and slimy matter, that attacked the students. The slime created copies of Iida, Todoroki, Asui, Yaoyorozu, and Kaminari. Together they fought the fakes and were able to defeat them. After that, they encountered more weird enemies, metal lions, and managed to beat them.

The students found themselves in a large room, and Midoriya, Iida, Bakugo, Kaminari, Ashido, and Kirishima left to search the building for a possible escape route. Meanwhile, Uraraka, Jiro, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Asui, and Tokoyami stayed behind. Four villains, Queen, Toaster, Genie, and Shadow Maiden, met Uraraka and the others. Shadow Maiden and Queen proceeded after Midoriya's group. During the battle against Genie and Toaster, Genie left somewhere in the middle of the fight. They managed to beat Toaster and break the large window at the same time.

Midoriya's group found a room full of noumus, and soon Queen and Shadow Maiden began to fight them. When the six students won against the two villains, the noumus went berserk, and soldiers arrived in the training room. Despite all the chaos, the students were able to escape from the room.

This is where the story continues...

Chapter 24: Time limit

The corridor felt longer as the students ran back. When they arrived at the large room, where their friends were supposed to be, the first thing they saw was a big mess of ice and glass.

"What happened here?" Kirishima wondered eyes wide open, looking at the mess on the floor and then the broken window. "Are the others okay?"

Midoriya looked around in concern. There was no trace of any villains or their classmates. He walked further into the room, carefully choosing where he stepped. "Is anybody here?" he called, but not too loud, in case there were villains close by.

They heard a door slide open, and Jiro came out of the room with Tokoyami behind her. "Midoriya?" she said in relief. "You're here!"

"There's real chaos back where we came from," Iida explained, waving his arms. "Noumus going berserk and many villains trying to suppress them. Or so I think. I'm glad we all got away. Are you okay?"

"More or less," Tokoyami replied and tilted his head slightly. "But what do you mean you all got away? Where's Kaminari? And Bakugo?"

The four students turned around quickly just to see that the two boys were nowhere to be found.

"But Bakugo was right behind me a second ago!" Kirishima said in disbelief.

Ashido frowned in worry. "Now that I think about it, did Kaminari even get out of the hall?" she gasped. "How didn't we notice?! What have I done?! We have to go back! Now!"

"Hold on!" Midoriya said, holding up his hands. "While we were escaping, I happened to overhear one of the villains. There's an explosion about to go off, but I don't know when or where. That means we have to leave this place as soon as possible."

"But we can't just leave them!" Ashido exclaimed, almost screaming.

"Of course, we won't leave them!" Midoriya frowned but kept his voice calm. "I mean that you have to go through that window. I'll go get Kaminari and Kacchan."

"Okay, I know we can't stop you," Jiro said. "But it'd be better if you wouldn't go alone. We're all pretty worn out, but I think I can join you."

"No, Jiro, but you're right," Iida stated, correcting his bent glasses. "I'll stay with him. The two of us are the fastest here. The rest of you should leave and help those who cannot move well. Midoriya and I will get our friends back in no time."

Tokoyami nodded in agreement. "I wish you luck."

The door back to the training hall had so severely damaged it wouldn't open using the control panel. The flying noumu from before had bent the door, so it was stuck. It had a small gap, but Bakugo couldn't tear it open. He heard people shouting, noumus screaming, rapid gunfire, and rocks getting crushed.

The boy gritted and blasted the door off its hinges. The door immediately hit someone or something. A cry definitely belonged to a man but not to Kaminari, so Bakugo didn't care who he'd hit. He arrived right into the middle of chaos. There were soldiers right in front of him, some carrying their wounded partners toward the door. They came to a halt when they saw Bakugo, and for a second, they stared at each other. Then one of the villains rose his gun, pointing it at the boy. He immediately dodged to the side and used Stun Grenade to blind his enemies. Some of the soldiers shouted, and Bakugo rushed forward in the cover of the smokescreen. He heard bullets hitting floor and wall, he even felt one bullet scraping his left shoulder. It stung, but he didn't stop running, he had more important things to concentrate on. The idiot blonde was still somewhere in this deadly room. He'd better be alive.

When Bakugo exited the smokescreen, he found himself between a charging muscle noumu and three men with guns pointed at the monster. He leaped forward and took cover behind a sturdy rock, shielding his head just in time when the soldiers opened the fire, and the noumu started screaming. Without pausing, he stood up and looked around. There was no sign of Kaminari. The boy glanced up at a tall and wide rock next to him. He could get a better view from up there. So, with his honed climbing skills, he agilely made his way up, keeping an eye out for any attacks. He could've just launched himself on top of the rock, but he didn't want to get attention from the soldiers or the noumus.

It didn't take Bakugo long to climb up, and when he pulled himself onto the rock, he turned around to scan the area. The soldiers were backing towards the exit, using firearms to keep the noumus away. There weren't any soldiers lying around, the wounded were taken out of the room first. At least they weren't so low as to leave their comrades to die. Bakugo noticed dark, oily matter all around the room, meaning that they had taken down quite many noumus already. So, the noumu copies weren't that tough.

Bakugo shook his head. He was here because of one idiot. "Where the hell is he?" He examined the area as carefully as he could. Then, suddenly, he caught a glimpse of bright yellow hair behind a large rock which was half-shattered. The electric quirk user wasn't too far from him. With a blast, he flew high and landed in front of his sparky friend.

Kaminari's glum face brightened after a small shriek of surprise. "Are you my guardian angel or what?"

"Shut up and get moving! Everyone's already gone. You're the only one left in here", Bakugo snarled and stood up straight, trying to figure the best route to take. There were still many noumus between them and the door. He almost screamed at Kaminari to move faster, but when he turned around to see the boy standing up his left arm covered in blood, he shut his mouth.

When Kaminari realized Bakugo staring at his bloody arm, he laughed nervously. "I got shot. I should've been more careful. My bad," he explained, trying to crack a smile. "I can still move, no worries!"

Bakugo gritted but kept his mouth shut. He looked for an escape route, but it was hell everywhere. Now that almost every soldier was out of the room, the noumus were fighting among themselves even more fiercely. A large stone flew over them and smashed against a cliff behind them. "We need to move," Bakugo stated and went around the rock, Kaminari following close behind.

"I'm sorry," Kaminari apologized, and Bakugo glanced at him. "You had to come back to help me. Thanks."

"Nobody forced me to come, idiot," Bakugo replied bluntly. They weren't far from the exit, just three broken rocks, one noumu with multiple arms fighting against a muscle noumu, and two saw noumus trying to bring down a winged noumu that was flying above the two. It would be dangerous to go through those monsters, but there weren't many other choices. There were more noumus to the left, and to the right, there was a steep cliff, and Kaminari wouldn't be able to climb it in his state.

The way Bakugo stared towards the exit made Kaminari swallow. "Do we have to go through that?" he asked, shivers running down his spine. "Never mind. I'll follow you straight to hell if that's our fate."

The ash-blonde boy snorted. "You better keep up with me if you wanna survive. I'm not coming to save you a second time", he said, and Kaminari nodded quickly. They had to move fast.

Bakugo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He glanced at the very nervous Kaminari next to him. He took a few slow steps before he started to run fast toward the exit and the fighting noumus. He heard Kaminari sprinting right behind him, so he didn't bother to look back. They could avoid the saw noumus, but that meant going near the two noumus that were struggling with each other. The slender one had a firm grasp of the other, trying to twist its back, while the muscle monster was throwing a fist at its opponent's back. Maybe they wouldn't attack them when they were stuck like that.

As the two students got closer, Bakugo picked up the pace. Kaminari was breathing loudly, he sounded exhausted, and Bakugo wondered if he could keep up with him. As they were passing the two noumus, the slender monster tried to grab them like its attention had switched entirely to them. Kaminari almost stumbled over when he took side steps. The noumu's long fingers reached him, but his friend sent a blast at it, sending it back. Right after the explosion, the muscle noumu rushed at them. Bakugo grabbed Kaminari's unharmed arm and send himself up with a blast, taking Kaminari with him. They managed to avoid the noumu's attack, and Bakugo decided to continue through the air, though it was tough while trying not to hit Kaminari.

"Kacchan, watch out!" Kaminari shrieked.

Bakugo saw the flying noumu flying towards them at high speed. He had to redirect them down, so the monster couldn't get them. Their landing was pretty harsh, both of them crashed into the uneven, rocky ground. Kaminari landed onto his stomach with a painful shout. Bakugo managed to land with a roll, so he got up quickly and immediately pulled his friend up. There wasn't time to stop, no matter how much it hurt and no matter how exhausted they were.

They were almost at the door, but the muscle noumu was still closing in on them. Suddenly one of the saw noumus cut its way by slashing its back, dark, slimy matter coming out of its wound. That gave them more time to get away.

"Kaminari! Kacchan!" Bakugo heard Midoriya's voice. The freckled boy arrived through the broken door. He was breathing fast but was clearly relieved to see them, well, alive.

"Midoriya!" Kaminari waved at his friend but was instantly reminded of his bullet wound in his arm. He grinned in pain and slowed down. Bakugo pulled him along right away, making sure he wouldn't get left behind.

"Go back!" Bakugo shouted as he let go of Kaminari. "We're getting the hell out of here!" Midoriya waited for them at the exit, looking at them, worried. Bakugo glanced back and saw the other saw noumu looking at their way. It wouldn't be able to follow them through the door, they had too much lead.

Then, without any warning, his legs gave way. He fell onto his knees in surprise. After all this time, now wasn't the time for exhaustion to kick in. The boy tried to stand up, but he felt like his legs weighed a ton. Even his stamina had its limits.

"Kacchan!" Midoriya and Kaminari shouted in unison. Midoriya started to run toward them, and Kaminari kneeled down next to Bakugo, who was struggling to get up.

"Are you okay?" Kaminari asked, scared. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Bakugo muttered angrily. His whole body was aching very badly, and he was fatigued. Suddenly he was pulled up by Midoriya.

"Can you stand?" Midoriya asked his friend, but Bakugo pushed him lazily away from him. "I guess you can," he frowned and noticed the saw noumu walking toward them. "We have to go! Can you two run? The bomb can go off at any moment now."

"A bomb!?" Kaminari gasped, horrified. "Is that why the soldiers left in such a hurry? I had no idea!" He straightened himself. "Let's not waste any time!"

"Right!" Midoriya agreed with a nod. "Let's go!" The boy looked at Bakugo, who seemed to do okay despite his slightly shaking legs and trembling arms.

Together they finally made their way through the broken door, leaving the fighting and screaming noumus behind.

Iida followed loud soldiers armed with weapons. They had come from the training room, right after Midoriya had gone there to get Bakugo and Kaminari. He could only hope that his classmates were okay.

They had agreed with Midoriya, that he'd go find the two and Iida would check out the other way, where he was currently going, jogging behind the soldiers. This shouldn't be as important as to get away, but something made Midoriya and Iida want to know what was in this way. The soldiers didn't pay him any mind, even though some of them had definitely seen him. They had to be in a great hurry, whatever they were going to do.

The corridor was almost as long as the other corridor to the training hall. They went past several doors along the way, but no-one slowed down. The soldiers talked among themselves, Iida couldn't make out what they were saying most of the time. Something about the bomb and containers. They also mentioned the villain, Genie. There could be a chance that she was at their destination. He wasn't sure what to do if he encountered her.

When they arrived at the end of the corridor, Iida stopped far from them, staying behind a corner. He peered silently as the soldiers entered the room, and when the last man had gone in, Iida hurried to the door and slip through it before it closed behind him. Without thinking, he stepped quickly behind a large tank made of dark metal that was close to the door. The boy wasn't sure if somebody had seen him, but at least nobody was coming after him.

"Hurry up! The bomb will go off in ten minutes!" Iida heard a woman's firm voice. He peeked behind the tank and saw soldiers running around, carrying their wounded comrades through a huge door, but Iida couldn't see what was on the other side. Some carried large containers using forklifts, taking them to the separate room, where the wounded were taken. The vessels were full of dark, almost black, slime-like matter, similar to the substance that the copies were made of.

Iida gritted in frustration. They were going to take that obviously illegal thing away, and he couldn't do anything about it. At the moment, it was more important to survive, to get his friends to safety. He turned around to leave, walking quickly to the door and pressed a button to open it. He looked back one more time before running back to rendezvous with Midoriya and hopefully with Kaminari and Bakugo too.

The corridor felt much shorter now that he could run as fast as he wanted. It didn't take long for him to get back, but when he got into the room with the broken window, Midoriya was nowhere to be seen. So, he has not arrived yet. Iida was on edge. There was probably less than five minutes left before the bomb would explode. He waited patiently for a minute that felt like hours, before coming to a decision to go look for them.

Just when Iida was going to head off, the door opened, and Midoriya came into view with Bakugo and Kaminari following him close behind. It was like a huge load was lifted off his shoulders. But on closer look, the two blondes looked like death could claim them at any moment, barely keeping up with Midoriya.

"Iida!" Midoriya called out.

"Midoriya!" Iida said back, waving his arm toward the shattered window. "The bomb's going to explode at any second. Grab onto me! We're going to jump!"

"Jump?!" Kaminari repeated, not believing his ears. "It's a big drop down!"

"I know! Someone will catch us", Iida said but wasn't so sure if that'd be the truth.

Midoriya nodded and grabbed both Kaminari and Bakugo without asking, the latter protesting with vulgar language. Midoriya would use Full Cowling but was far too tired to activate it. He ran to his friend and half-threw Kaminari to him. Iida delicately caught him, and with the other hand, he grasped firmly onto Midoriya, who was still holding the angry blonde boy.

When Iida had a good hold of them, he leaned forward and activated Recipro Burst. They accelerated in an instant, and at the edge of the window, Iida leaped high. They had barely passed the window, when a massive explosion went off along with a searing heatwave that swept past them, forcing them to close their eyes. The blast tore the large building from everywhere it could, through the roof and windows, sending pieces of metal and shards of glass high into the air.

Iida opened his eyes carefully and saw a slide made of ice forming right in front of him. It was so sudden that he lost his balance and fell back-first onto the slide; the impact caused him to let go of his friends. The four students slid down fast, and when the ice came to an end, they rolled to a stop on the grassy ground. Iida blinked and gasped, trying to see through his now completely broken and useless glasses. He took them and dropped them next to him. There was no reason to use them anymore. He rose to his knees and looked around to see the rest of his classmates in one place.

"Nice catch, Todoroki!" Ashido praised her friend, who was lying on the ground, cold air steaming from his right arm. The grass was frozen under his hand, the ice merging to the icy slide, which had reduced their falling damage. Ashido went to help Iida stand up.

"Are you okay?" Uraraka worried, running to Kaminari, who was closest to her. "You're bleeding! Did you get shot?" she asked as she examined the boy's bleeding arm.

"I messed up," Kaminari replied with a hoarse voice and coughed. He had fallen onto his chest, so it was hard to breathe. "I'm not going to die."

Jiro hurried over to them, shredding a piece of her shirt to stop the bleeding on Kaminari's arm. "You idiot," she muttered, bandaging his arm using a bit too much force, making Kaminari groan in pain. Jiro immediately let go of him. "Sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you."

Midoriya rolled to his knees, his head spinning. Bakugo was sitting up next to him, breathing heavily. "Kacchan, can—"

"Midoriya! Bakugo!" Kirishima called out as he ran to them, Tokoyami coming with him. "That was pretty intense fall," he said and took a closer look. "You don't seem to be doing well at all. Neither of you."

"Well, what can you expect?" Tokoyami stated and helped Midoriya up, and Kirishima did the same to Bakugo. "Can you stand? You can lean on to me."

"No, I'm fine," Midoriya said, reassuring the bird-headed boy, who let go of him a little reluctantly but didn't say anything. Bakugo also refused Kirishima's help, walking a little unsteadily to a nearby tree to rest against it. Midoriya leaned on his knees and closed his eyes, trying to collect his thoughts. It was difficult to concentrate when his whole body started to feel numb and heavy. Soon it would be difficult to move.

The freckled boy looked behind at the destroyed building. Some places were on fire, lighting the night sky. If they had left a moment too late, they wouldn't have survived. Midoriya wondered if the soldiers made it out before the explosion. It's not like he wanted those villains to escape, but he didn't want them to die either. However, the most important thing was that he and his classmates were able to escape. The boy also pondered if somebody would come after them. It seemed unlikely, but he couldn't feel at ease. Of course, they were still in the middle of nowhere without any way to get help. The only thing he knew was that they were on an island, and that didn't help at all. Maybe they should go to the shore.

A sudden, loud noise cut his thoughts, and he looked to the way the sound had come from. Further away from the group, a winged noumu was trying to get up, but its wings were stuck in the fallen trees.

"What the hell?!" Kaminari said, voice filled with frustrated desperation.

Yaoyorozu stared at the noumu with wide eyes. "Did that thing survive the explosion?"

"Seems like it," Jiro gritted and helped Kaminari get up.

"We have to go," Tokoyami stated and turned to Todoroki. "Dark Shadow!" The shadow emerged from his body, now much larger than usual. It was still safely in control because the light of the flames was bright. Dark Shadow lifted Todoroki carefully on its arms. "Remember to behave," Tokoyami said to the shadow. "Todoroki, feel free to use flames if Dark Shadow starts to act wrong."

Todoroki nodded. He didn't complain about being carried around; the boy knew that he'd only slow down others because he was incapable of moving well. It would be best this way.

The noumu got its other wing free, and it let out an ear-splitting scream. Midoriya glanced at the monster and then the others. He pointed toward the forest. "To the shore! If we go straight, we should get to the shore."

"What can we do there?" Ashido asked hands in the air. "That monster will follow us there for sure!"

"I know!" Midoriya shouted. "But— but do you have a better idea?!" He didn't mean to be so harsh with his words, but he was very stressed.

"Let's just go!" Kirishima said, frowning. "Come on!" He grabbed Bakugo's arm and forced him to come along, not even giving him a chance to stay and fight. The redhead noticed how little strength his friend had and was very concerned about it.

The noumu screamed again, and that was the last signal to get moving. The students ran into the dark forest, everyone was tired and hurt from all the action, but they couldn't stop. The winged noumu opened its wings, spread them wide, and took off to the night sky, shrieking loudly.

The deeper they went into the forest, the darker it got, though the fire still lit their way. Trees gave them some cover, so the noumu couldn't see them very well. The monster still circled above them, making terrifying noises as it searched for its prey.

"It hasn't found us yet," Uraraka said, almost whispering. They moved as fast but silently as they possibly could.

"Let's hope it becomes uninterested in coming after us," Ashido whispered, glancing up from time to time.

Jiro looked back. "Something is coming towards us," she informed and got worried looks. "It's four-legged...There's three of them," she explained as she tried to listen carefully. "They're coming really fast. Whatever they are, they're going to outrun us."

"Seriously?" Kaminari winced and looked back. "Where are they coming from?"

"Two from behind, one from left," Jiro said as she concentrated on both listening and running at the same time.

"I see them!" Asui noted, and others looked behind.

"They're..." Tokoyami squinted his eyes to see two beings reflecting the light from the fire. "...elks?"

Uraraka gasped in realization. "They're made of metal. They're like the lions back in that one room."

"And they don't look very friendly," Kirishima stated. "The horse and the lions were already bad. And those antlers don't look promising."

"The noumu!" Jiro shouted in panic. "It's coming! Watch out!"

Right after she said it, the winged noumu crashed to the ground very ungracefully. The students managed to avoid a direct hit, but the wind from the impact sent Midoriya and Tokoyami on the ground. Dark Shadow accidentally dropped Todoroki hard onto the ground. The boy bit his lip so he wouldn't shout, and once again used his quirk to create a big ice wave to stop the approaching elks. He got the other, but the other jumped agilely over the ice, continuing its way without problems.

Yaoyorozu and Jiro leaped out of the elk's way, and Asui snatched Kaminari away from both the noumu and the rampaging elk. Iida helped Midoriya and Tokoyami, and Dark Shadow grasped the noumu's right hind leg and pulled it back, but the monster was strong, so Dark Shadow had a hard time fighting it.

"Should I try to melt that monster elk's leg like I did with the lions? It worked back then", Ashido asked but sounded very uncertain.

"It's going to be very difficult because of those antlers. Besides, we're all exhausted, so keeping it down while that noumu's here would be dangerous", Midoriya explained and jumped further away from the flying noumu that tried to grab him. It shrieked again, and the elk turned around to begin its second attack.

"Ashido!" Kirishima shouted and pushed her out of an elk's way, the one that had come from their left. The girl hit the ground with a shriek, and the elk's antlers thrust Kirishima, sending him against a tree.

"Kirishima!" Ashido and Bakugo shouted in perfect unison.

Kirishima crawled up, looking mostly okay but there was blood on his shirt. "I'm fine, it just surprised me."

Bakugo grit his teeth. There was no way he was fine; he had taken too much damage from all the previous battles. Suddenly Bakugo realized that somebody was riding the elk. He hadn't noticed him first because of the surprise.

"Here you are," a man said casually. He was dressed in a leather jacket, and he sounded quite young. He had dark glasses covering his eyes. "I'm surprised you survived the explosion. I would've probably lost you if it wasn't for that noumu. Lucky me."

Suddenly Ashido felt anger. "Were you behind the lions and the horse? Those elks must be your doing!" This villain had never shown his face, not even once, and still, he was grinning like a winner. "You've never taken part in any fight personally, you just threw those puppets in your place. You're a coward!"

"And you have a sharp tongue," the man said with a chuckle.

Uraraka looked at the man. "Are you Púca?"

"You know my name?" Púca tried to pretend to be surprised but failed terribly. "That's nice. But now is your last chance to come with me. If you don't fight, neither will I. I'll tell those two to stop." He nodded toward the other elk that was scrabbling the grass, keeping its head low, ready to attack. The noumu, on the other hand, was giving the students a hard time, trying to kick and bite them, swinging its arms and wings to create wind to cause them to lose balance. The teenagers' attacks didn't have much effect, they couldn't put any real power behind their punches and kicks. The noumu smacked Tokoyami and Iida with its wings and swiped Midoriya against a tree with its foreleg.

"Do you really think that we're gonna come with you after all the suffering we've been through?" Ashido asked in disbelief. She was frustrated with the situation, and she was also scared for her friends. She didn't know what to do. "Leave us alone and go home!" was all she could say.

The elk which Púca was riding, rose to its hind legs and stroke down at Ashido. Before the hit could connect, Bakugo blasted both Púca and the elk, so its hooves stomped the grass next to the girl. Bakugo's explosion wasn't that powerful, so Púca managed to keep himself on his mount. Immediately the elk swiped its head at the boy, hitting him to the chest. The sharp antlers didn't pierce through him, but the elk knocked him down with force. Ashido screamed Bakugo's name and rushed to his aid.

The scream got Midoriya's attention even though he was on the ground, and he looked at the two and Púca in front of them. Ashido was kneeling beside Bakugo, who barely moved. The villain looked mad and reached for something inside his jacket.

"You wanna know why I don't fight in battles? I'm not that good in combat, I admit it, and I don't really like to get hurt", Púca explained angrily. "If I find myself in a fight, I like to finish things quickly. That's why I use this." He showed a pistol in his hand that he'd pulled out of his jacket's pocket. He pointed it at Ashido and Bakugo. "Which one should I get rid of first? Maybe the one who actually hit me."

Ashido looked at the gun in pure terror. She threw herself over her friend, trying to shield him. Kirishima sprinted desperately to help them, but he was too far and wouldn't make it in time. Midoriya couldn't believe his eyes. It was like time had slowed down, and he couldn't move. He couldn't help them. He was useless.

Púca grinned.

BANG

Chapter 24: END

The end is nigh... I'll try to finish the next chapter in the coming two weeks. At least I hope I can! I took a couple summer courses, so I'm quite busy for a while. However, there may be something extra in the next chapter... Please look forward to it! See you, and stay healthy!