Prologue: For the Common Good
It had started with a flashbang that had been thrown through one of the classroom windows when he was teaching. The news reports had been going around for months at that point… The countless attacks from a militaristic group had everyone on edge. He and UA had thought they weren't even remotely a threat, and here he was on the ground paying the price.
The orange from the fires were almost blinding, as the darkened sky only served to contrast the once graceful school. The constant sound of explosions along with the never ending array of screaming made him sick. Those were students… HIS students dying out there. He was useless laying on the ground. He would've gotten up if his legs would corporate, but when you can't even feel them there's really no use. The man turned his head to survey his surroundings, maybe, just maybe somebody had survived and was trying their hardest to save everyone?
His look for help was only met by the sight of more fire, and debris that had once been his classroom. The place where his students had once sat, was replaced by the steel bars from the foundation of the roof. And… oh god… Kai was… He turned his head away from the horrific sight immediately. If he got out of this, he'd make them pay even if it killed him.
That sight of what was once one of his students gave him enough determination to push one arm forward, and then another, and another. Soon, he was crawling, even if his stomach was almost ripped to shreds, he kept his pace. The longer he went, the more he saw of what he had once loved. The teachers lounge, which had once housed his favorite coffee maker, was covered in some sort of green slime. It had seemingly been dissolving what was left, the smell was a clear indication that something had been rotting there quite a while ago.
He kept his pace, one arm after another. The longer he went, the more cuts found their way onto his arms. The pain was excruciating on many fronts, especially his stomach. It was like replacing your intestines with barbed wire, and dragging that up and down.
Seconds turned into minutes as he moved, and the destruction of UA High made it look less like a school and more like a junkyard as he moved. 2-A's classroom, filled with memories he'd never forget, wasn't even there anymore. It was almost as if it was never there in the first place.. Class 3-B, empty, with nothing but the stain of blood on a wall. Oddly enough the cafeteria was completely empty, a large contrast to what he was used to. The smell of food was mixed with the smoke, giving an almost barbeque esque scent that brought back memories of his childhood.
Whatever that bitch's quirk had done to his stomach had cut it open but somehow slowed the blood flow. He'd die from an outside force long before the man could even think of bleeding out.
Soon the sound of fighting and quirks ceased as silence filled the air. He had made it into the gymnasium, but at the cost of leaving a blood trail from his entrance to the middle of the room where he laid. The silence left him with time to finally process what was happening. What he had seen to this point left no doubt in his mind that barley, if any people survived the attack. He had lost all of his students… He had lost most of his colleagues… All that was left was him… The dread that overtook him was overwhelming. The realization that so many individuals that he was helping develop as people, his friends amongst the staff, and everything he aspired to do, lying dead around him was like a reality check. He had been known for his stark optimism in the hero scene that had boosted his popularity when he first started. The next Deku people had called him… Heh, fucking, ironic.
What would his family think of this? He had tried his hardest to be a good kid, a role model student, and be a good brother. But, all of those besides one were accomplished in his lifetime. The happy go lucky attitude that clouded his judgment only made him clash with his younger brother. Whenever he was little he had always talked to his parents about wanting a sibling. His happiness was only boosted by the wish coming true about 11 years ago.
By the time he had gone into hero work, him and his brother were practically inseparable. It likely would've stayed that way if their father was still with them...
His thoughts were interrupted by footsteps closing in from behind him. They were heavy, clearly a sort of boot with metal plating. When they stopped behind him, his body was harshly kicked. He screamed out in agony as metal spikes on the sole stabbed into him. The individual who had done this, flipped him over on his back using their foot. He would've tried to use his quirk but it was far too late for anything in that regard to be attempted.
The metal boots that had been stabbed into him was complemented by black pants covered in padding with a belt full of blades and other weapons. What was odd was the multiple small trinkets laced around another belt. Some of them were as simple as a ring, or even a broken stopwatch. Or even the odd trinkets like what looked like a metal keychain? It really looked like a cornucopia of jewelry to someone from far away.
The individual was shirtless, and his body was covered in dark green scales. His head was humanoid with white messy hair that reached his shoulders, but the shit eating grin he had displayed some of the sharpest teeth the teacher had ever seen. The eyes were black, devoid of anything resembling a human. The glimmer and hope that was seen in the eyes of an average person was nowhere to be found. He looked like he was nine feet tall from where the man was lying.
"Look at you, still breathing and trying to crawl away?"
This thing let out a laugh that almost sounded like an alligator bellowing.
"It looks like you're in quite the fix with that stomach of yours… Here, let me help with that."
His assailant quickly stomped on his stomach, and the pain came full force. He felt like he was going to throw up, maybe even scream, but all that managed to come out was blood. He wasn't choking on it yet, so he could still have a fighting chance. That small hope wasn't enough though… he tried to use his quirk, but all that came out was a small gust of wind from his hands.
"I find it funny when you all squirm, but sadly orders are orders."
He was going to die here, he was actually going to die here. There… there had to be more than this right? Everything he had done to this point had to have some sort of meaning right? Was everything he had done to this point useless? Every single person he had taught was either dead, or had long since moved on, and this was how it would end? Not with some triumphant battle that would cost him his life, not some inspirational speech to his sidekick on how to continue his legacy… His life was going to end at the mercy of something that by his standards wasn't even human?
He thought to himself as the tears started to well up in his eyes. The flash of the time he had scraped his knee at the playground and his mother had assured him it was okay, when his father had shown him how to ride a bike, and when he had held his baby brother… All of it was before his eyes. They say that the second before you die your life flashes before your eyes. The reality of that second, is that it isn't one at all. It's like an ocean of time. Every single droplet of that ocean was a memory, be it good or bad, that contributed to the large body of water we call life.
The experiences we all make as we live, the emotions that we all experience, all contributed to the amazing thing that is a single person. The time that this single person had on the earth was in it's own way beautiful. He had experienced so much in the little time he had, the endless stream of memories that flashed over him made the tears start to fall down his eyes. His face had long since contorted into a smile at the thought of his family. His time as a hero was something that he wouldn't have forgotten if he was able to live longer…
His favorite maple tree he had climbed, his grandmother's baking, his grandfather's wisdom, his girlfriend's embrace, his mother's care that wrapped around him like a blanket, his father's writing, and the bond between him and his brother… The one thing he regretted he could never fix.
"For the common good."
Was all that came out of the thing's mouth as its boot stomped on the man's neck at a speed that killed the teacher immediately. The crunch from the windpipe being snapped being the only sound aside from the reptilien's heavy breathing. He quickly looked to his belt and pulled out a radio.
"Last of the staff has been eliminated."
There was a second of silence before a feminine voice emitted from the speaker.
"Affirmative, report to my position ASAP, Ouroboros ordered clean up operations, effective immediately."
The man turned the radio off and took a moment to bask in the warmth of the flames.
However, something shining caught the reptile's eyes as the fires around him continued to burn. There on the corpse was a silver watch on the right hand. He bent down and quickly ripped it off. He admired it for a second. The watch was alien to him, he had never really seen anything like it. The face of the watch was expressly unique due to a picture of the man he had just killed hugging a younger individual with white hair.
He smiled as he put it on one of his belts. Another fine addition to his growing collection.
'All in a day's work.'
5 years later…
If you were to ask David Connor his opinion of how schools in Ireland were run in the modern day, he'd say it was quote on quote "An absolute insult to be called an education system." His thoughts were no different as he walked through the downpour of rain that was coating the streets. The 16 year old was moderately tall in height, standing at 5'11, and his body build being pretty average all things considered. His black straight hair that dropped right below his chin, with bangs that left his right eye almost covered in hair with the opposite being left untouched, combined with his silver eyes that had become a commonality in the age of quirks made it so he didn't really stand out. You'd think he'd be a normal kid if it wasn't for the almost completely black school uniform with a red tie and buttons that accompanied it.
Everybody in the crowd around him was running to get under some sort of cover, or had somewhere to be. But David walked like it was a casual stroll through one of the summer days that had been present not too long ago. He had his umbrella over him as well, the kid was actually prepared for once. It could've been because he thought to plan ahead for once.
Or it could have just been the fact his mother looked at the forecast, but that's besides the point.
It wasn't long before he reached his destination, which just so happened to be the supposed heart of Ireland; Chulainn High. He didn't even stop for the gates that opened in front of him as he walked in. The cracked grey stone steps had long since been turned brown from the water that had fallen on it. When he reached the entrance, it didn't take someone that was observant to see the damage. The marble pillars that stood outside the front entrance were cracked, as if they'd fall to pieces at any time. The logo of the school had long since been vandalized, in which nobody had bothered to clean.
It would be hard to believe that this school once pumped out some of the biggest hero names in Ireland's history. But how far the mighty fall…
The boy pushed his way through the somewhat heavy doors and the crowning jewel of the school came in full view. In the center of the giant entrance was a golden statue of a man on a stone pillar, he had a machete in his right hand, and was seemingly reaching down with his other. If you just focused on the immaculate figure of the statue, you'd forget to look around and see the dump that the surroundings had become. Wall paper had long since been torn off, and the posters that had once promoted clubs were half haphazardly strawn everywhere.
David sighed as he put away his umbrella into his bag. This hero school wasn't anything like the immaculate nature of the statue, and he sadly had no room to complain. He owed it to his family to be here, but it didn't help that being a hero was the last thing the average person would want their child to be.
After the attack on UA, hero schools from across the world had suffered the same fate. One day the students would be texting their parents to say goodnight and that they loved them, and the next their bodies were nowhere to be found. Not even a single trace of the students and staff were ever discovered. Generally the teacher's lounge would be the only area left standing. Maybe out of some sick joke? Nobody ever really knew the cause.
The teen walked up stairs behind the statue and soon found his classroom after walking down hallways of similar fashion to the entrance. Upon opening the door, he was only met with the sight of 16 other students. All of whom were dead silent, and showed no signs of being in the room mentally. David tossed his bag under his desk and sat down, and right when the instructor walked in as well.
The teacher to put it simply, was a hero way past his time. He had long since gotten grey hair, and his wrinkly skin only served to permeate how long he had been alive. His quirk was an emitter that had also long since been lost to age. The best the guy could do now was maybe light a candle if the power went out again.
"Good morning everyone. As much as I'd like to stand here and tell you how good of a day it will be, I won't stall for time that we can't get back."
His voice was monotonous, the kind of monotone that could put you to sleep if you weren't actively trying to find something interesting about the topic he was speaking of.
"Now, turn your textbooks to page 54. We're going over the history of heroes, so don't get lost."
David rolled his eyes as he took out his unnecessarily large textbook they had all been forced to buy at the beginning of the year. Lucky his family still had royalties on the book his father had written, so it was of no issue to them. The same could be said for the majority of his classmates, who almost all came from middle class families.
"Now, the first aspect of heroics that everyone neglects is the motivations, not only tha-"
And not even a second later David had tuned the old man out. If his brother were here he'd probably chastise him for not paying attention in class and the like. Well, it wasn't his fault that the rain was relaxing to him. Or well that's what he would've said if not for…
Not a moment before the teen could get lost in his own mind, the door to the classroom was opened.
In stepped in a 6'7 behemoth of a man covered in white and brown feathers with the eyes and beak of an owl to match.
"Ah, principal Orion! What brings you here?"
The tone the teacher asked in was clearly fake, but if it was his salary on the line, and guy the guy could physically rip him apart, there was really no room for a lack of a cordius attitude.
"I need David Connor, we have… important matters to discuss."
Everyone's eyes shot to said boy as he curled up in his chair a bit. Every single person looking at him was drawing attention that he didn't want in any sense. After a second of silence, he quickly got out of his chair and was at the principals side. After a short thank you, they departed down the hall.
A few seconds of silence between the two were soon interrupted by the rather impatient teen.
"Listen, if this is about me dropping my hopes of being a hero then forget it."
The large owl shook his head, and let at a small sigh.
"As much as I'd like for you to live a normal life, I don't think that my words will stop you."
There was a clear look of pain that crossed the principal's eyes as they walked further and further down the rundown school's halls. They stopped when they reached a door, and upon Orion turning its handle, David was subjected to what was probably the cleanest room in the school. Dozens of trophies lined the walls, with display cases to show different mementos off. The desk in the center of the room was practically fit for a giant
Contrary to what one may think, that was not what caught the teen's attention when the door opened. Rather, a tall african american in a pitch black suit is what his eyes were drawn to. Orion ushered David in, and motioned to a seat in front of the desk as the owl went behind it and sat down in a chair that met the desk's stature.
"This is a good friend of mine, Ivor Karkotsky. He's a -"
The feathered man was cut off as the now named Ivor raised his hand in a sort of motion calling for silence. The moment his voice exited his mouth the deep tone of it cut through the silence of the room like a knife through hot butter.
"Just call me Ivor. As for what I do? Well, I'm a linguistics expert from the United States."
"What does this have to do with me?"
David interjected quickly.
"Impatient are we? Fine, I'll cut to the chase."
The man walked over to where David was sitting, his size ever more apparent. He had to have at least been 6'5 by the teen's estimation.
"Tell me David, which hurts more… The fact you are living the life of someone that deserved it more than you, or that you aren't living up to their standards?"
David's expression immediately turned sour. He grit his teeth as he stopped himself from saying anything.
"Answer me David, or do I have to repeat myself?"
"Is this supposed to be a trick question?"
Ivor pulled a chair over, and sat across from the teen, maybe in an attempt to seem less threatening by getting to the same level?
"No… just an honest question."
The teen relaxed a little as he thought for a few moments. As much as he hated even speaking to this guy, Orion had clearly brought him here for a reason, and due to the many personal favors the owl had done for his family, he didn't really have a way out of this.
"I hate that I'm not meeting the same level as him... "
A smile formed on Ivor's face, it wasn't the creepy kind that would give you nightmares, but it was still a bit unsettling in a way.
The man fumbled with his pocket for a second before pulling out a pamphlet.
"David Connor, I am with the Atlas Hero Association. We are a foundation that was put together by different schools from around the world. As for why, in case you haven't noticed, heroes are a dying breed. After the attack on UA, and with our next potential symbol of peace dead, nobody wants to enter the field of heroics anymore."
Ivor stood up as David looked through the pamphlet, with the teen's eyes growing the wider the longer he went.
"We have hand chosen fourteen students from around the world to represent the last chance of any semblance of heroes being commonplace. Not only will you solely be focused on heroics, but you will be studying in a safe location outside of any form detection we're aware of."
Orion was sitting anxiously in his seat, David was for the most part the weakest of his class. But his potential… well, if his brother was anything to go off of, it was staggering.
"...What's the catch? These sort of deals always have an element of a monkey's paw, so where is it?"
Ivor looked back at the teen, his gaze still unreadable.
"You will have no communication with any friends, relatives, or anyone outside of our facility."
David was silent for what seemed like forever as he internally debated whether or not this was a good idea. But then again, they said they had chosen specific students right? Why him? Why not the guy who had almost killed him in his first training session in the class?
"Why me?"
Ivor got a sly look on his face, and then looked at Orion, who had been silent. The owl's stature wasn't the confident one that he had entered with, but instead one of nervousness. His large eyes traced to David as the pair's eyes laid on the owl.
"I already talked this over with your mother. We both agreed that this would be the... Best way of achieving your goal."
After a long moment of contemplation, David stood up.
"...I'll do it."
Ivor smiled, and rummaged through a bag that had been put in a corner of the room. Once he was done, David was handed a simple envelope with a large red A stamped on it.
"Welcome to Atlas David, we hope you don't regret your decision."
In all honesty…
He already was
_
Well, that concludes My Hero Academia: An Age's End's prologue!
I am extremely excited to get this going, but first I have some people I'd like to thank.
First of all, I'd like to thank ManofPewter, the author of Regency Academy. He was my main inspiration for this SYOC! He's an excellent writer, and a pretty chill guy. If you have spare time, give Regency a read, I assure you it'd be worth it! Also a big thanks to him letting me edit his SYOC form for mine.
Secondly, I'd like to thank And then the sky for being another major inspiration for this SYOC. He is the author for Broken Heart Foundation, and if you're looking for a darker tone in storytelling, then you got your guy. I absolutely love his writing style, and I'd love to have something like it.
Now that I have that out of the way, here's some ground rules.
1) There will be absolutely no forms submitted through reviews. Not only does that defeat the purpose of the form, but it shows you didn't actually read the whole prologue. I will automatically reject them if they're submitted in this fashion.
2) Please no One for All, or All for Ones here. Going off of that, I will accept OCs related to canon characters. However, this is 75 years after canon class 1-A made their hero debut. So if you choose for your OC to be related to someone, be very careful with how they are.
3) Please, please, PLEASE, remember that people have flaws. I don't want your character to be perfect, and they are still human. They're also still kids, so their flaws will probably be magnified more than an adult.
4) Your character does NOT have to be powerful to be accepted by Atlas. They are going off of the potential of the kids. It doesn't matter if you have the most powerful quirk on the planet if you ran away the second you saw any sign of danger.
5) Please title your PM "An Age's End - [First and last name of your OC here]"
6) There IS a chance for character death here, however it is up to you the submitter for that to happen to your character.
There will be 13 student OC spots available, the form will be due May 15th, so please do take your time!
This form is also available on my profile. In which I will also soon have a Discord server available for An Age's End.
Death: (Just say yes if you're comfortable with the chance of your character dying, or no if you're not. Saying no does not affect your chances of being accepted.)
Name: (Please give a first, middle, and last name.)
Gender: (Self Explanatory.)
Sexuality: (I really don't care what goes here, with what is planned, romance won't be a large factor in this story.)
Age: (15-16)
Birthday: (Just give a month and day.)
Nationality/Ethnicity: (Self Explanatory)
Appearance: (Everything including scars, mutant features and the like should be here. Make sure to include everything like eye shape, face shape, hair, and the important details of what your OC looks like.)
Clothes: (Feel free to leave as many outfits as you want. Only two outfits are required. First, what's their casual clothes? The second outfit that is required will be later in the form.)
Speech Pattern: (Just give a general description of how your character talks. If you want, you could even include a voice actor as an example.)
Personality: (In my opinion, the second most important part of an SYOC form. Please make this as long and descriptive IF possible. However, there is beauty in simplicity, so it can be simple. But, I will not accept anything that is under 2 paragraphs.)
Motivation: (To put it simply, after the attack on UA, being a hero is a lot more of a danger then it ever was. Your character needs to have a strong motivation for being a hero.)
Likes: (What are some things your character likes? Three at minimum)
Dislikes: (What are some things your character dislikes? Three minimum here as well.)
Fears: (Do they have a fear that relates to their backstory? Or do they just find spiders creepy? List a few here, try and make it around five.)
Backstory: (This is the MOST important part of an SYOC form for me. This has to be descriptive and long so that I can set things up for later, and make sure your character can fit into the plot. Make sure at the very least it is 2 paragraphs! I would like 3, but I won't make that the requirement.)
Plot Points: (Setting backstory and personality aside, this is the part of the form I am most looking forward to. As long as this isn't too overbearing to the point it takes over the whole plot, you can add ideas as minor as them cooking their favorite food because they feel homesick, to them dying in a heroic battle to the death.)
Relationships: (Give a name, and short description on what their relationship to your character is. This is for parental figures, friends, and any other relationship I haven't mentioned.)
(Optional) Romance: (If this is left blank I will assume you do not want your character to have any romantic moments. If you do fill this out, just make sure to say what type of person your character would be interested in.)
Dorm: (Pretty basic, doesn't have to be too detailed.)
School Name: (Your character is going to be sent by one of a multitude of hero schools from across the world. I will allow you to use already existing schools from canon BESIDES UA. If you have permission from the author of the story, then I will even allow you to use a character that is from another SYOC school. This does NOT mean I will accept character's that are already in the story. For instance, my OC from Regency Academy; Jonathen Joten Collins wouldn't make it in, but a new character that went to Regency in the future would be. If you have questions about this aspect, feel free to PM me! Or you could take the route I'm most interested in, and come up with your own!)
School Uniform: (For the first half of the story, your character will be wearing the uniform associated with their school. Be somewhat descriptive on how they wear it.)
(Optional) Important classmates: (Give a short list of the students that they met and have a bond with at the short time they had at their home school.)
School description: (Give a general outline of how your character's school operates. Is it run by a principal with an iron fist? Or is it run by a council that sees to it that students have as much freedom as possible?)
Hero Name: (Self explanatory.)
Hero Costume: (I absolutely LOVE hero costumes in SYOCs. Please be as descriptive as possible, and make sure to mention where gadgets would go if they have any. However, do keep in mind there is a separate category to explain said gadgets.)
Gadgets: (Depending on how complex the gadget is, is how long the description should be.)
Quirk Type: (Is your character's quirk an emitter, transformation or mutant type quirk?)
Quirk Name: (What is your character's quirk called? Be utilitarian if you feel like, but clever names get extra points)
Quirk Description: (PLEASE be descriptive here! Give a description of how the quirk works, and what it does.)
Quirk Strengths: (At minimum, this should have three.)
Quirk Weaknesses: (Same as above.)
Fighting Style: (Just give a basic outline of how they fight here.)
Special Moves: (Give a list of big hitting moves that your character has, or will learn in the future. You could also give a time when you'd want them to have their move revealed.)
Stats: (Allocate the following statistics on a scale from A to E, with A being the best and E being the worst. S is a theoretical score above A but should be reserved for ability on or around All Might level so is not wholly realistic for student submissions.)
Strength: (A straightforward measure of your character's physical stopping power. How hard can they punch? How much weight can they lift? Assume no quirk use is involved in this measurement unless it is a mutant type quirk)
Endurance: (A straightforward measure of your character's physical endurance. How much punishment can they take before giving in? How long can they keep up a physical activity like running or fighting?)
Quirk: (How powerful is your character's quirk in an objective sense? or how good are they at using it? A weak quirk used exceptionally well is just as worthy of an A and a powerful quirk used moderately well.)
Intelligence: (How smart your character is. How good are they at academics or formulating battle strategies? Can they make deductions about their opponents? Are they a top scorer in class?)
Technique: (What is your character's level of technical proficiency with their abilities? Are they a martial arts master? Have they spent years of their life studying and applying their quirk to the limit? Or are they a flailing drunken idiot?)
Teamwork: (How well can your character operate in a unit with other people? Do they take orders well? Can they lead a team to victory? Do they know how best to synergise their abilities with others? Are they a gruff, antisocial lone wolf?)
Quotes: (Some examples of how your character speaks, some things that they might say and common turns of phrase that they would use.)
Music Themes: (If you pay attention to the story, you'll see a few musical references in there. As such, I'd like some music that'd represent their overall personality. Feel free to post whatever in this category!)
Additional: (What information do you want me to know about your character that wasn't covered in the above criteria?)