Fuck, my back.
No, I do not want somebody to fuck my back.
It just hurts like a bitch.
I lightly groan, before turning a little to my side.
My eyes blast open in an instant, and my right eye feels a little...weird. It's like I woke up in a cold sweat, but not really. You know?
I wipe my forehead, and it's a little wet. There's a towel on there.
I snap it off, tossing it onto the table and quickly sit up, hearing the bed creak underneath me. Was this thing from the dollar store or something?
Speaking of, where am I?
Crap, what even happened?
I remember that that asshole bird thing picked me up before I could finish them off, and I don't even remember what happened after that.
Did it carry me all the way back here?
Jeez, talk about insistent.
I glance to my side, seeing a letter, and quickly pick it up.
I rest an elbow on my knee, which I propped up 'cause it felt comfy, reading the letter.
To Garou,
If you're reading this, then you survived. Obviously.
Welcome to the Monster Association. As we are the ones who saved your life, we kindly request that you wait here until further notice. If you go outside now, you'll be a clear target for the heroes. Consider this your safe haven.
We've prepared an outfit for you. Do please wear it.
Okay, that's a little creepy. What sort of things did they look at in my body for this sort of thing? How long was I even out?
I crumple up the paper, tossing it to the side as I reach over to pick up the shirt.
I hiss a little bit at the sudden ache in my shoulder, before turning into a glowstick with how much my bones crack and stuff like that. As I slip on the shirt, I can feel just how dry my mouth and lips are, but I don't show it. I don't know why I don't show it. It's not like I have to act tough around literally nobody, but it feels like nature at this point.
Christ, the Monster Association bugs me.
Speaking of bugs, what happened to that huge ass centipede against Bang and the others?
As I get up, I notice the rusty metal door that they kept me in with. Did they really think that'd work?
I narrow my eyes. The smell of air's becoming more stale, and the smell of iron from blood is getting stronger. What's going on? Am I deep underground or something?
"Please! Please just let us live!" I hear faintly, a few stuttering and cracking echoes going through the hallway I'm walking through.
I bite the inside of my cheek, deciding to investigate. I narrow in on the source, coming across an open door. I arrive at the edge of it, listening in. I peek my head in, seeing the sight of five...no, six people in some weird suits sitting in front of this gigantic cyclops-king sort of thing. Is he their leader?
Now that I think of it...that's...a ton of monsters there! I see all of them quite a bit behind them...there's gotta be a few hundred of them, if not more.
"Please forgive us!" One of them begs, getting on his knees. Is he crying? I can't really blame him. If he got captured and all he had was that rusty piece of junk? Not much you can do there.
"We were wrong! We'll never bother you again! We just did it for the money!" One of the girls sputters, her hair disheveled and her makeup running.
The first guy speaks again, and I can feel an eye on me.
That thing's noticed me already.
It's smart.
"She's right! So please don't eat us and kill us!" He begs, putting his face to the ground.
Christ, those aren't even pro heroes. Talk about reckless!
The cyclops in the seat hums, blinking multiple times before staring at them with focused, bloodshot eyes, "Hmm...I feel like we could, but you killed two of our members. Can't let that slide, you know."
He...is it a he? It? Who knows.
Anyways, it gestures grandly to the stadium of monsters that they've gathered that are impatiently waiting, "Your employer's given you some strong gear, so you kind of have to fight to the end. Unless, of course, you'd like to be toyed with. These guys love toying with unwilling prey, you know!"
Their leader whimpers, leaning a little forward as he hit the ground furiously, "Goddamn it, this is all his fault!"
He glares at something, and I follow where his head goes.
Woah. That's a cool looking robot. Is it stronger than Demon Cyborg
No, probably not. It looks like I could probably take it on, even in the state that I'm in right now.
The initial monster chuckles vigorously, "Indeed, I'm glad that the advertisements that we set out were most effective! First, you guys as souvenirs in addition to a fine new fighter!" It shot its eye towards the robot, "Do tell, what is your name?"
The robot answers, all monotone and stuff, "I was on my way here when I encountered them before capturing them. I am glad you are pleased."
That...didn't answer the question.
"Okay, your name?"
Thank god, at least this monster has some sort of actual memory.
"I am Machine God G5," the robot explained, without any motion. "An...organization dispatched me to assist the Monster Association."
"How did you ever find our hideout?" The monster in the chair muses, before brushing it off. "Well, may I at least speak with your maker?"
Talk about a tough crowd. Not a single response, all while I think those two guys in the back of the super suit gang probably pissed themselves. Again, not that I could blame them. When a ton of monsters are standing right in front of them, waiting to eat them, and I'm over here if they try to get in my way? I probably wouldn't want to be in their situation either.
The monster blinks, "Well, I suppose we can cross that bridge when we come to it. I welcome you."
The next words that the monster says are obscured by another voice, this time from...inside my head.
Stay hidden and wait a little longer, Garou.
The voice feels...slimy. Unnatural.
Telepathy? Maybe that monster there's a psychic. Must be; there aren't too many ways to really be able to take control of all the monsters there. Must be pretty strong, too. I'm gonna need to recover a little more before I'm able to take that thing on.
"Now, now, now..." The monster, amused, chuckles as he taps his fingers on the arm of the throne he's built himself. "What should we do with you? Monsterize you? Toy with you?"
He blinked, motioning to the monsters behind him, "What do you believe we should do with him?"
In an instant, a cacophony of screeches, howls, hisses, yells, and everything else that you could think to associate as a verb with a fucking loud ass sound could be paired with all the noise that came out of all of the monsters.
"I can't wait anymore!" One of them hisses, shutting up most of the monsters as they see it jump out from the shadows towards the guys in suits, followed by what I can only assume are his few friends.
Wait, are monsters allowed to kill each other? That seems a little counterintuitive...if they were all under that thing's control, they wouldn't have done that...so this is all of their own volition.
Man, these guys seem pretty well-organized! They thought this out pretty well, didn't they?
"Well, if it's first come, first serve..." A snake-like voice...no, it's not snake-like. It's like that one dude who keeps mooching off of you, but he's a fun enough person to be around that you don't care, but you feel like it's an act?
That's the type of snake that I'm talking about.
"Then I want my turn first."
Yeah, monsters are allowed to kill each other, I guess.
Jeez, how are these guys even organized? Is there someone else strong enough to subdue all of them? No offense to that guy in the seat, but the psychic dude doesn't seem strong enough to be able to subdue every single person there.
"Gyoro Gyoro, are monsters allowed to kill each other?" The robot asks, inquisitive.
Damn, I'm wondering the same thing too, man.
"Killing among monsters is natural," ...Gyoro Gyoro (Still didn't explain the thing's gender to me, but okay) explains. "But I will not overlook too much. Those monsters weren't going to absolutely slaughter anyone other than small fry, anyways."
That...thing with a sword slowly drags the edge along the face of the leader, making multiple surface-level cuts (sounds kinky, I'll be honest), greedily chuckling at the sight of blood, "I'm barely able to contain my urges, you know...just let me take one of them!"
He sounds like a kid in a candy store.
The robotic voice speaks again, and I bite the inside of my cheek. If it's from an organization, what organization could it possibly be from?
Wait a minute, what's that...girl doing there? Is that a girl? It's gotta be, right?
No, she's dressed way too...prostitute...y? Is that fine to say in today's day and age? Probably not, I'm not sure.
To be blunt, she looked like a hooker if hookers sold fucking BDSM equipment...times ten. A whip and everything? Gotta be insane.
"Gyoro Gyoro, could I make my own thoughts clear?" It requested, taking the silence as a confirmation. "These suits are valuable. They could definitely be of use...except for the fact that they wouldn't fit on any normal monster. I suppose-"
"Do you suppose we tame them? Ask them to join our forces and fight heroes?" Mr. Samurai Ripoff smirks lightly, its chin jutting out from the bandages. "As if! These guys are too wimpy to even think of fighting the heroes."
Ms. A little bit too kinky snatches his sword's blade, chuckling, "Then let me take care of them! I'll just make them mine!"
Gyoro Gyoro tapped its chin for a little bit, "Royal Ripper...let Super S control them. I'm curious to see whatever she can do with them."
"M-Make us h-her's -" One of them stutters, before she whips them all at...a relatively slow speed.
"Silence!" She hisses, her eyes turning completely white.
I don't think the human body was meant to literally have its eyes look like hearts.
Yeah, there's no way she's a human. She's definitely a monster.
Would that thing work on other people, like me, or does something need to happen for it to work?
It's gotta be something will-power based. If they can override the hypnosis, I mean.
I could probably do that if I tried.
They start drooling and salivating, grunting vigorously while Super S smirks under her mask, "Excellent! It's so fun to have so many promising slaves, you know?"
Royal Ripper scoffs, "Tch. I still smell human, though...in fact, I've been aware of this smell for a while!"
He sniffs the air again.
I guess I've been caught.
"Come on out!"
I'd like to say that I did it out of my own accord, but I feel like it was really just convenient to go along with whatever bullshit he was spewing at the moment.
Instantly, the entire room breaks out in whispers about how I'm the Hero Hunter and all that. I guess my name's even spread amongst the Underground. Not bad, me.
"Garou, you're awake," Gyoro Gyoro muses, yet the lack of conviction in its tone clearly shows that it's fake, that it's sort of a show put on for all the other monsters. "Already. I'm impressed."
The room whispers even more, but Gyoro Gyoro holds up a hand to silence them.
"Quiet down! I've got important matters to discuss with this man here."
I hear a quiet grumble, and glance behind me.
Wait a minute, has...that been there the entire time?
My fucking god, that thing's huge.
Holy Christ, I can't wait to fight that thing. It's gotta be the big boss of this place, right?
There is no way in hell that this thing can't command everyone here. This thing speaking for it's probably the thing's lackey. Actually...
It's gotta be the strategist of this place. All due respect to the big guy, but he doesn't really look like the thinking type, you know? Plus, psychics are supposed to be smart, right? Gotta count for something. Gotta be a reason for the stereotype, right?
"Whaddaya want from me?" I ask; there's no point in beating around the bush, especially around this crowd.
"Blunt. Excellent," Gyoro Gyoro chuckles...it reminds me of this yellow tentacle teacher that I used to watch. He was weird. "I suppose I can be honest with you.
"At the moment, we have around 500 members. That's roughly around the amount of the Hero Association. However, we've lost many a member that were supposed to be threat level Demon or higher, leaving less than 30. Still almost certainly more than the association could handle, but we'd like to have another aspect," Gyoro Gyoro narrows its eye. "Leadership and unity. That's why I'd like you to step in as my assistant."
Another lackey? Sounds like it sucks. That...is literally everything I don't like doing. What's the point of being a lone wolf if I have to be chained down to some sort of psychic monster thing?
A...no, I literally cannot be seeing that correctly.
Fuck, is my left eye really getting that bad?
That's not a cumdrop in front of me, is it? A black cumdrop?
My soul feels impure now.
It...can talk.
God. This is to you. Personally.
Why?
Its voice is...unbearable, too, "A leader already? That's a damn sweet deal...can he follow up on it, though?"
Gyoro Gyoro explains, confident in its own choice, "I need someone strong who despises heroes! He's perfect, y'know? Fought against S-Class heroes while injured to an ungodly degree, and he's still standing here now. Perfect, isn't he?"
I bite the inside of my cheek. I got a feeling that there's something that I gotta watch out.
"However, my boss, Orochi behind you, has one condition. Simply put, we're not sure you're truly a monster yet. Kinda have to prove yourself for such a big role, right?"
I raise an eyebrow, "Do I gotta grow horns or something? Don't think I can do that normally."
I hear a light crack from behind me, and the mouth of that gigantic monster behind me opens, its voice bellowing, echoing loudly right behind me, blasting throughout the room, "You have one day. It does not matter who, but you must bring me the head of a hero."
A...giant beetle (Jeez, how many of these asswipes are there?) speaks up, "That's a great way...then we'll be certain that he's a monster!"
It reminds me of...either Puri Puri Prisoner or the Superalloy Darkshine dude.
"Didn't you literally just mention how I fought against -"
For fuck's sake, can I stop being interrupted for five seconds? By a chicken of all things, now?
"I have grave news to share!" It squawks. "Silverfang and Demon Cyborg both survived! Centichoro was also defeated!"
I bite the inside of my cheek, internally sighing. Guess they didn't die after all.
Well, if that chicken asshat didn't take me away, I could've taken them on. Can't change it now, though, sadly, and whining about it ain't gonna do me any favors.
Well, guess I gotta run this damn errand now.
They're all stepping stones in my journey. The Hero Association. The Monster Association. All of them.
Goddamn that fucking chicken thing. When I really power up, I'm coming for you.
"Did we really have to come all the way up here?" Saitama complained, a sour expression on his face.
"Unfortunately," Tatsumaki grumbled as they entered the elevator. The Hero Association had called them up to the meeting room to discuss one last thing before the true battle started; apparently there was some news that needed to be shared. Both of them believed it was just something that changed in the plan.
It didn't matter to either of them, anyways.
"Miss Tornado, Bald Cape!" Sitch called out, making the latter cringe at the name (Tornado couldn't wait to tease him about it later). "Please, come quickly!"
"Jeez, has the meeting even started yet?" Saitama sighed quietly, scratching the back of his head.
"It's just about to start!"
Tornado pursed her lips, "...Fine, fine. Don't get so stressed about it, Sitch. Doesn't look too good on you."
At this, the gigantic nose-possessing man couldn't hold back a smirk, "I'll be fine, Miss."
It only took a few seconds for them to enter, especially considering how obvious the meeting room was. As they were met with the familiar faces of the S-Class, Saitama noticed something.
"Why's Genos and Bang not here?" He questioned, only to be answered by the youngest in the room.
"Oh, asked them to be off the op. That's all," he explained, earning a quirked eyebrow from Tornado.
"And why's that?"
"Bang probably won't be in the best of shape," that part, Tornado could agree with. "And I'm not too sure about Demon Cyborg. He's cool and all, but he's too much of a lone wolf. Won't work too well together with the group. You understand."
Even Saitama couldn't argue with the logic, if only the conclusion was valid, "I guess."
He'd decided he wouldn't mention how he already explained every little detail to the cyborg, or at least what he thought included every little detail.
Sekingal took the opportunity to officially start the meeting, "Child Emperor."
"Huh? Oh, yeah," the kid was caught off guard before whipping something out of his backpack, bringing a hologram of City Z out.
"We were able to find out from heat signatures that, at the moment, there are over 500 monsters in there. We'll be having a few supports and backups, so with everyone, that'll mean we'll have to deal with 20-30 monsters a piece, at minimum," he explained.
"Seems pretty reasonable," Atomic Samurai shrugged. "'So, what's the hold-up?"
"Well," Zombieman glanced at Child Emperor, who nodded. "Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but from what I've found out, their leadership and organization could end up being an issue."
"Like?" Saitama prompted.
"Think about it," the immortal hero proposed. "If even Centichoro is aligned with them, and it took the combined might of three people of S-Class level to defeat them...imagine what'd be strong enough to command that beast so easily."
"Then we need to make sure that all the other enemies are crushed before we take the main base on," Child Emperor continued.
Superalloy meekly raised a hand, earning a nod from the other two heroes who'd been leading the conversation, "Got a question: Since I was guarding headquarters, I only came across one parasite. Heard it was much tougher out there. How strong were they all?"
"Most of them couldn't do much, though were a few that posed a stronger challenge than others," Puri Puri observed, humming. I can't help but wonder if that was only my experience. Was I of a lower priority?
"Child Emperor, is it true that they've taken out Drive Knight?" Zombieman questioned, lighting his cigarette calmly as he looked at the table.
"I...I'm not sure," he scratched his head sheepishly. "He learned about their hideout in City Z and went to investigate, but we haven't heard from him since."
Atomic Samurai scoffed, "Hadn't even seen his real face, and now he's gone..."
Superalloy Darkshine tried to lift the mood, "Well, he's got a cybernetic body, right? He could just be immobile and awaiting rescue!"
Pig God calmly brushed it off, "Let's hope so..."
"If the monsters could apparently easily defeat him, then we can't possibly let our guard down. Got it?" Zombieman reminded, causing Child Emperor to nod.
Tornado scoffed, "Fine." Yet she still muttered under her breath, "Like they could even beat me in the first place."
Flashy Flash built off of them, "They'll attack without mercy or hesitation, so we must treat them the same; no negotiations, no looking back."
Saitama raised his hand, "How 'bout if they try like...negotiating for the hostage?"
"Letting our guard down and showing mercy," Child Emperor sighed, looking at the bald man like he was a dumbass. "Mercy means death. Or do you not realize that?"
Saitama raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
Puri Puri Prisoner raised a hand, "May I ask a question?" Glancing around the room, he took the silence as approval. "There were some prisoners who were forcefully monsterized, correct? I'd...I'd like a chance to save them. If you see monsters in prison duds, they're mine."
The other heroes nodded, beginning to move on to the next subject before Atomic Samurai continued, "One of my old comrades became a monster...so I had to slay him."
He posed a question that seemed quite intriguing to the heroes, "Is it possible to undo the monsterization?"
Child Emperor racked his brain over it quickly, Natural monsterization might be reversible because it's a gradual change...but what about the monsterization cells? Impossible, right? It's such a rapid change that reverting back would require a heavy loss of energy and likely destroy the monster anyways.
"I think that there may be some sort of thing that could potentially undo it, but there's no proof of anything, if I'm not mistaken," Puri Puri Prisoner explained, before realizing. "Oh, I apologize, do carry on."
Flashy Flash nodded, quietly explaining, "Their leader, Orochi, and their strategist, Gyoro Gyoro, are certainly Dragon level or higher. Being able to command Elder Centipede like that without any sort of rebellion? It must've been a wuss compared to whatever Orochi has."
"I'd rather we fight them all as a group. You feel? It's probably not best for us to fight it one-on-one."
Tornado tapped her fingers on the table, "I'll take it on. Either that or the strategist. Whatever I come across first."
Zombieman inhaled, taking a good amount of smoke, "Fine, but remember that our main goal is to save the hostage. Monster eradication's just our bonus objective."
Saitama hummed, "So do I just go around killing monsters or something?"
"Basically, but if you come across the hostage, make sure to contact everyone immediately," Child Emperor explained. "If you need help or come across the boss or Gyoro Gyoro, call us as well. Cool?"
Saitama nodded, somewhat excited at the potential of finding a pretty strong opponent.
Yeah, he really wasn't. He was just hoping there was something that could survive a punch or two of his.
"My survey hasn't really given us enough information as to where the monster could be," Child Emperor admitted, showing a new hologram of the base's layout. "It seems to stretch across the entirety of City Z, not just the Ghost Town. Bald Cape, you had lived there for quite some time, correct?"
Saitama nodded, holding back the frustration that came with the name, "Yep."
"Can you tell us anything about the environment?" Zombieman inquired.
Saitama scratched his head, trying to bring up any sort of memory, "Well, at my old home, I didn't really come across too many interesting things. I came across a ton of monsters, but that's just 'cause it was the Ghost town. You'd have to ask Genos more about it, since he pays more attention to things than I do."
"Anything underground?" Flashy Flash kept pushing.
Saitama clicked his tongue, "Well, I remember that I used to hear this weird rumbling from beneath a manhole near my home. A few times, monsters came out of it, but they were usually too weak to do anything but just...sort of stand there."
"Hm..." Child Emperor put a hand on his chin. "This sort of diverges from the plan, but I have a slight suggestion."
"What do you mean?" Zombieman asked simply, glancing between the hologram and the child.
"Well, we know about the entrance that you found out about for us," he answered, shooting the hero a grateful look. "So, if our main force enters through that and splits up, it's unlikely that either of them would notice a surprise attack coming from either Tornado nor Saitama..."
"So if the two of them split up through that manhole, they probably would be able to cover just as much ground. They're also both likely to just find a way to communicate other than the communicators should there be an issue," Flashy Flash continued. "It'd cover practically the same amount of ground if the two of them could handle it."
"Could you not talk about us as if we're not sitting right here?" Tornado deadpanned. "Anyways, that's fine and all with me, but we're planning to go as a group with the support team beforehand right?"
She felt absolutely disgusted at the thought of any form of teamwork, but causing problems was not her goal.
She didn't get enough sleep last night. She just really wanted to get this over with to get another nap in. At least, that's what she told herself.
"So, would the two of us split off beforehand or after we get to the entrances?"
Child Emperor seemed pleasantly surprised with the actual cooperation from most of the heroes, "I think splitting off after we get to the entrances would be better; we don't know whether or not they've already set up an ambush, and it's better to have you both there to help take care of that."
Zombieman advised, "However, if there's a sudden distress on either end, especially if it's yours, make sure to call us, anyone who's available. That should be pretty obvious, but if we need help, you two need to keep going, got it?"
"Guess that was the plan."
"Good. Everyone else is grouped up together, so finding help wouldn't be impossible. It's you two who need to rely on each other, but if anyone's free, we'll come as fast as possible."
Saitama and Tornado shared a glance, where both of them just knew that they'd probably forget about the communicators anyways.
They both shrugged, as someone entered, "Oh, what's up, Sweet Mask?"
The hero, salty as ever, ignored Saitama's attempt at friendliness, "Tch. What's this meeting for? I'm on the team as well, if you haven't forgotten yet."
Child Emperor glanced at Zombieman, who shrugged, before sheepishly chuckling, "I mean, I thought you were leading the support team?"
Amai Mask put his hands on the table, tapping his fingers furiously, multiple veins popping on his neck. He looked as if he was about to burst. Eyes bloodshot, breathing heavy, before composing himself very hesitantly.
Amai Mask scoffed, "As if I'd ever associate with those weaklings. Now, come on. Tell me what the plan is, and who I have to take down."
Atomic Samurai took the straw out of his mouth, "Kill monsters, save the hostage, all that stuff. No biggie. Anything else that you want to point out, Child Emperor?"
"Well, we could always specify the pathways..." Child Emperor racked his brain. "You guys think you could help me decide on who goes exactly where so we can all be able to help each other?"
Zombieman nodded, "Sure, kid."