Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia, nor Worm. Those belong to Kohei Hirokoshi and Wildbow respectively.

Slaughterhouse(3)

Izuku woke up to a constant, thumping heart beat. He felt the beat within his chest drowned out by the loud beat that surrounded him, and he almost thought his own heart had stopped before he looked around. However, looking around had the opposite effect than calming him down.

The floor itself was just tatami mats, laying conspicuously over large bumps in the floor. However, that was probably where any feeling of normalcy ended. Large, white bones framed the room, and Izuku could see the makings of a massive spine above his head. Pulsating, red flesh surrounded the boy, letting him see the long veins and arteries that pumped alongside the heavy heartbeat that thundered in his ears.

He was in something. Something living.

As soon as that thought came to him he felt his breathing begin to pick up, almost to the point of hyperventilating. Everything was happening too quickly, and he was still trying to process where he was, so the whole 'being in someone else' was just another thing that set him off. Yet, he slowly noticed that he no longer felt the presence of the Nine at the back of his head. Their constant presence was something that brought unease and pain to him, but now that they were gone, Izuku felt more and more insecure. The Nine were the reason why he could confidently understand he was kidnapped before, and without them... he was just a useless boy in over his head.

Izuku quickly jumped out of the bed he was in, throwing the white sheets he lay in against the walls and gagging as they stuck there for a second. He shuffled uneasily on the tatami mats below, feeling the heartbeat through the thin floors. Hitoshi had made him a 'if you get kidnapped again' booklet, and the first thing Izuku knew he needed to do was get out of there.

The room itself was cramped and narrow. There was barely enough space just for the bed in the middle of the room, and he even had to lean onto the bed to make sure not to touch the pulsating walls in order to move closer to where he supposed the front of the room was. As for how he figured that, there was a thin, reddish membrane that was clearly different from the thicker, meatier walls. And that seemed to be where light was coming from.

He paced a bit in front of the membrane, and reached out carefully to touch it. The membrane felt as off-putting as it looked. There was a sort of slimy film on it and the whole thing felt almost as if he touched a thin trampoline.

Suddenly, there was a looming shadow on the other side of the membrane. Izuku only had a second to panic as their arm came up and a knife stabbed through the membrane before cutting straight down. Through the hole was a man wearing a menacing oni mask, holding one of the largest knives that Izuku had ever seen up close.

The boy screamed, scrambling back and instinctively reaching for the Nine's powers. However, his panic only continued as he remembered that the Nine were unresponsive for whatever reason. He stumbled a bit as the backs of his legs met the bed frame, and he fell over and rolled onto the bed.

Izuku snapped to look at the man still standing at the entrance to the room, but his gaze was cut off as the membrane suddenly started to wriggle and seemingly seal itself again. The green-haired boy was left breathing heavily, staring at the silhouette of the imposing man on the other side.

He saw the man turn his head before yelling, "The boy is awake!"

"Well, what are you waiting for? Drag the kid out!" Another voice yelled back, causing Izuku to shrink further into his bed. They had sounded like anger was their default setting.

"Can you shut it, Iron dog. I don't want the girl to shock me again if you let your mouth run again."

"It's Hookwolf, you fuc-"

"There are children here! Watch your language."

"Argh!"

"Fuc- Dam- Darn it! See! Ahhh!"

Izuku wasn't sure what he was hearing anymore. He was panicking, that was a fact. However, he had recognized one of those voices outside, and his face slowly lost a bit of its color. A terrifying fact was beginning to build in the back of his head. Of course, he was given no means to prepare himself as another familiar silhouette pushed the oni-masked man out of area of the membrane to his room. The large, stylized mouse ears atop their head were a giveaway to their identity. Though, Izuku debated on whether they were good or not based on where they had taken him.

"Mask, mask." Izuku mumbled, remembering Hitoshi's number one rule for being a Vigilante. Well, it was 'not to be an idiot,' but Izuku was sure that 'masks have to be worn at all times' was a pretty close second. However, the boy was disappointed at how he had no mask on him. "Figures..."

"Ahem, ahem, can I come in now?" Mouse Protector asked, tapping the membrane with what Izuku remembered to be that giant claymore she was waving around.

Izuku looked around the room one last time, carefully checking under the bed in the hopes that there might be some trap door to escape. Sadly, there was only the same pulsating flash under the tatami mats. He then remembered that his booklet mentioned that 'weapons should be scavenged for safety' should his timer to use the Nine ever run out. The boy tried pulling off one of the wooden posts on the bed frame, freezing as Mouse Protector had seemingly gotten impatient and slashed through the membrane at the front of the room.

Now that he had finally gotten a look at them, Izuku found the woman wearing what Hitoshi would probably call a 'costume wreck.' Shiny metal armor that covered most of their front, and a short, blue cape ran over their shoulders, trailing down to the middle of their back with a large, yellow 'M' in the middle. A button shield was slung on their left arm this time with a large 'P' over the front of it.

"Do you feel the heroism in my image? Don't worry I won't let any of the bad guys outside hurt you." The woman said, striking a pose by pointing her claymore into the air only to accidentally stab the ceiling. "Oops..."

"Just grab him." Another woman shouldered past the mouse-themed hero, and Izuku instantly knew they were no good. They were also dressed in a costume, but there were no soft colors like Mouse protector's. A back cowl covered most of their head, only showing their thin, white neck. Similar black cloth wrapped around their figure while skin-tight white cloths was found below. However, when she moved, Izuku could see the handles of different weapons strapped to her body.

"Com'ere kid. I won't hurt you." The woman pulled down her cowl, showing equally pale skin underneath. Her hair was black and greasy almost as if she hadn't showered in weeks, but Izuku couldn't really smell anything. She forced a smile through cherry red lips, trying to get all her teeth in it almost as if the smile wouldn't get through without them.

Izuku backed further away. His back eventually touched the red wall, and his heart jumped into his throat. He wondered if he could call for help. Would help even hear him?

"Stay- stay back." Izuku said, swallowing back the panic that was building. He was barely a vigilante, but that still meant he had dealt with villains before. There was no need to panic here.

"See," Mouse Protector slashed through the membrane that had regrown, stepping through and patting the woman on the shoulder. That seemed to only make the woman growl, though. "Leave this to me, Ravvy. I am obviously the more trustworthy of us two."

"Call me 'Ravvy' one more time and I swear I'll kill you five times."

"Can you guys not try to fight at every moment you get?" Another person entered the small room, removing more of the space up at the front. Izuku felt it was getting more cramped in there as Mouse Protector and 'Ravvy' seemed to shiver and quickly move away from the new entry.

Izuku also felt a bit apprehensive, too. He had recognized that voice again, and this time he finally put a face to the name he had been using for awhile. The girl wasn't as young as he expected, probably a little older than him. She even reminded him of Himiko, but her blonde hair was styled into curls that trailed a bit over her shoulders. Her outfit had seemed to take inspiration from Mouse Protector as she wore a shining breastplate and metal skirt that made the tennis shoes she also wore look out of place.

"Riley?" Izuku asked apprehensively. The girl was nothing like he imagined, but the more worrying thing on the top of his mind was: could Jack be here too? He felt a sense of dread and panic stir up at that thought.

"Hey, Izuku." Riley smiled and Izuku felt that there were many things he couldn't see in that simple action. The only thing he knew was that the Riley in front of him seemed rather different, personality-wise. "I know this sounds weird, but I'm not the Riley you're thinking about."

"What? What does that even- no, no, do you know what's going on?"

The girl shook her head. "Not really. Honestly, everyone here panicked when they saw Mouse Protector carry you in. We're kind of hoping for the best case scenario, but..." she trailed off, letting Izuku cast a glance at the two silent people leaning away from the other child in the room. "L- let's talk in a more open area, okay? I know its scary being away from what you know, but trust- no, can you trust me? I promise no one will hurt you."

Izuku looked at Riley. He didn't trust her, really. She was originally a voice in his head, a part of his power, but now she looked like a normal person. The two other people in the room hadn't taken their eyes off her the second she came in, and Izuku could tell they were absolutely terrified of the girl. He had seen those faces before, after all.

However, there was something off about this Riley. The way she presented herself seemed almost... apologetic. She talked different from her normal, what Izuku considered default high-pitch voice, and while he had plenty of reasons to not trust anyone right now, especially Riley, he found himself trusting in her a bit.

Quickly, everyone exited the small room and Izuku finally found himself... still inside whatever creature they were using as housing. There was an even bigger spine along the ceiling, and this time Izuku could see large ribs extending from said spine and running overhead before disappearing in different sections of the massive room. The walls were still the same fleshy material, which Izuku was beginning to think was Riley's handiwork. Tatami mats littered the floor as small lamps were lit up in different parts. Izuku followed their wires to a small generator that was silently humming in a corner.

Along the walls, there were rows of membranes similar to the one Izuku had been in before. At what seemed to be the back of the room there were a row of chairs bolted to the floor in the form of a makeshift bench. On one end sat a bare chested, blonde man who wore a metal mask. He leaned into an open palm that was propped against his knee, and while his gaze was mainly on another blonde, Izuku could almost feel the majority of the man's attention on himself. As for the other blonde, they were one of the only people not wearing a mask. Instead, they seemed dressed up in normal clothes except for the cheap, plastic crown that was lazily hanging off their head and a fur cape that draped down their entire back and fell to the floor even as they sat down. The man had a smirk stuck to their face as they unreservedly stared a hole into Izuku.

Izuku felt the man's gaze and carefully placed himself behind Mouse Protector, but that only made the man chuckle. The green-haired boy paused as Mouse Protector glared over at the man, causing him to playfully raise his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Spare me, great hero." he spoke, and Izuku shuddered at the tone he used. It wasn't quite like Jack's, but there was something more within their words.

"Shut it, King." The metal-masked blonde said, turning fully to show his broad shoulders to the man. "If you're the reason why the kid runs away, I'm going to tear you apart till you actually die."

The man named King just stood up, and at that moment Izuku realized how tall they were. They seemed to have to lean away from the ceiling, but he didn't seem to mind as the smirk on his face stayed there while staring at the metal-masked man. "Oh? Bring it, Dagger doggy."

"Both of you are making this take longer than it should. If you're going to argue, wait till the kid gets caught up to pace or else." Another man spoke up, and Izuku's attention was dragged to someone dressed up like the woman who came in with Mouse Protector. However, they wore an entirely black, flowing cloak that shielded most of their body, and Izuku could only make out a fanged mask and two, glowing pinpricks where their eyes should be. Beside them, Izuku saw the same oni-masked man leaning on the pulsating wall.

King laughed before striding across the room and extending a hand to point towards the woman with a cowl. "Let's get the introductions over with first. That's Ravager. She's a bit- er, not a nice lady." He smiled as Ravager glared at him, pointing at Mouse Protector. "I'm sure you already met Mouse Protector. By the way, the two have a love-hate relationship. Though, they only show the hate part."

"Only you think that, as- bas- King." Izuku watched as Ravager went through and stopped every cuss word she was going to say, darting glances at a wincing Riley every time. "Just get on with it; you don't need to add your useless thoughts after everyone."

"I'm Hookwolf." The metal-masked man spoke up, ignoring everyone. "Don't listen to what that guy is saying. He just wants to start a fight."

"Wow," King clapped, holding an impressed look on his face. "Has the little Nazi put away his prejudice for me? I feel I should be honored."

Izuku watched as everyone stared at Hookwolf, seemingly looking for an explanation to his behavior. The boy silently followed along, scared that he'd be out of place. Hookwolf, for his part, just snorted before speaking, "He had Jack in his head for half his life, and he never changed much." for a second, Izuku saw the man shoot a glance at Riley. "That's enough proof for me."

"Anyways, I'm Harbinger." the cloaked man cut in. "This is taking awfully long for something simple as introductions." he then pointed to the oni-masked man beside him, Riley, the roof and King in succession. "That's Oni Lee, Bonesaw, Crawler, and you should already know him by now. Now, that that's out of the way, we are going to need something from you. Or more specifically, we are going to need your help."

"Hey wait, why am I the only one excluded?" King asked, extending a hand to Izuku. "Hello, it's nice to finally meet you. You can call me Ki-"

"Wait!"

"Don't you dare!"

Several shouts rang out at the same time King extended his hand and introduced himself, but everything went silent as King simply disappeared. His body seemed to have disintegrated instantly into a cloud of red droplets that vaporized in the next moment of stillness. Izuku felt his body tremble as everyone in the room had gone completely silent. He felt a pile of terror begin to build in him as he backed away from Mouse Protector.

"I- I didn't do it. It wasn't me." He stammered, glancing between everyone in the hopes that they wouldn't suddenly attack him.

Harbinger rubbed his brow inside his cloak before sighing. "Don't worry about it. We were wondering about what would happen should he do that anyways, so you could say we are partly responsible."

"But... what happened?" Izuku asked, breathing a sigh of relief.

"King has the power to transfer any wound he suffers onto a scapegoat. A scapegoat in the form of anyone he has touched in the last twenty-four hours, so when he was trying to shake your hand..." Riley spoke up before falling silent, frowning at the space King had just been in.

Izuku felt his spine tingle at the thought of the man's Quirk working like that. He had heard of plenty of freaky Quirks out there, but King's was something that honestly felt more like a curse than anything. "But then, how did he... um, you know, do whatever he did."

"That's..." Riley started, staring at everyone else in the room before her shoulders dropped. "A little more complicated to say. We can't really tell you the specifics, because even we don't have much of a clue. However, I can say that here, where we are now, is not really real. Consider it something like a tangible dream; lucid dreaming some might say. And everyone here is merely just objects that the dreamer has dreamt up."

"I call it the Mindscape!" Mouse Protector suddenly said, raising her chin in pride. She looked around to find everyone but Izuku glaring at her. "...don't you guys read comic books? There's always a place where the Main Character suddenly finds enlightenment and suddenly transforms into a master. Isn't that... fine, be boring."

"I like it." Izuku meekly added, smiling at Mouse Protector grinning behind her helmet and threw a big thumbs-up in his direction. Then, conscious that he was being watched, coughed into his hand, speaking up, "But uhm, lucid dreaming and we're all objects. Why does that mean you all need my help?"

"What she, and all of us, mean is," Harbinger started. "That all of us are objects in this dream. You can think of us like conduits of powers that are given a set personality; in more objective terms, we're training wheels. And you, Izuku Midoriya, are not an object in this dream. You are the dreamer. So, when King tried to harm the dreamer, he simply ceased to exist. Well, another version of him will be back later, but the notion stands. On more of the specifics of how you can help us, since you are the pillar in this world, we were hoping that there was some way for us to join you like Jack did with the eight previous others. "

Izuku blinked. "W-what do you mean? Training wheels? Conduits? How did I dream of this? Why are you guys in my dream? I don't even know you."

Harbinger and everyone in the room sighed. "That's what we wanted to ask you."

Shorter transitory chapter.