Living Nightmare

"Look! It's the pro hero Ragdoll!" Screamed a girl.

"Ragdoll! From the Wild Wild Pussycats! She's so pretty!" Fangirled another.

"Ragdoll over here! Look in the camera!" Said others, which followed with a blinding flash of light.

Tomoko, aka Ragdoll, sighed angrily. She just wanted to have a nice quiet outing with her not really nephew, but in heart yes he was; she wanted all these somewhat annoying fans and paparazzi out of her face. Though she could never admit on how she sometimes felt about her fans; she had to always put on the front she had grown so used to. Smile and wave, she always told herself; the fans could not help it of course, she was a popular hero in the top thirty.

Ragdoll always wondered how fans had always noticed her when out in public, it most likely was because of her green hair and signature smile. At Least that's what she told herself; or what the others had told her anyways.

In any case, as the fans grew a bit closer, flashing their cameras and such, the hero grew extremely annoyed and angered when a bold pack tried crowding around Izuku in the seat he was in.

Izuku's worried and fearful eyes only angered her as she immediately stood up tall, stopping all the voices around her.

She was known as a cheery jokester type of person, but when it came to the boy she was watching, she could not help the protective tendencies that arose from her bosom, nor could she control how cold her voice sounded when she finally spoke.

"I would greatly appreciate it. If you would stop touching and shoving my nephew. We were just trying to enjoy a quiet evening out for some ice cream, so could you all just leave us be?" She questioned, her voice filled with ice.

The many fans that surrounded them, and some paparazzi shivered at the angered hero's tone. Many decided to do the obvious, and walk away from the scene, apologizing profusely as they went. Of course, there will always be those stubborn and idiotic few who would dare try to challenge the hero's ire.

Not many knew this, but when Tomoko used her quirk; those she explicitly targeted could feel a foreboding feeling fill their bodies. One of the drawbacks to her quirk as it was a noticeable feeling. However, since villains did not know what the feeling was if they never experienced it it was always the ace in her teams overall perfect dynamic. Also since they were mainly rescue heroes, it always helped that their quirks also exiled in that region as well. It was no wonder her team were widely respected for their equal power to one another. Now, imagine the surprise of the stubborn few staying around when they felt a dreadful feeling consume their souls, unaware to why they were feeling such a thing.

Her quirk allowed her to target a maximum of one hundred people, showing their weak points on their bodies and their locations; which she could only see in an orange glow in her vision. It was an almost broken quirk to have for a hero, and one could only wonder how dangerous it would be in the hands of a villain. So when she activated her quirk for a few seconds, it did the trick as eventually the two were left alone once again, as the remaining 'fly's' scurried off. Also, it probably did not help that during this time, the hero adopted a slightly crazed smile over her annoyed one as she used her quirk.

"A-Auntie you did it again huh?" Izuku said with a nervous giggle.

Tomoko's crazed smile turned into a genuine one when she looked to the small boy sitting besides her.

She giggled. "Hehe, well they were interrupting our date, so of course I'd be upset!" She teased.

Izuku blushed, but smiled nonetheless. "O-Oh…" He said cutely.

Tomoko then laughed heartedly. "Bah! Don't worry Izuku, we should be heading home anyways…" She paused, feeling her phone buzz in her pocket. "Oh?" She questioned as she pulled the device into her hands.

Izuku hummed in satisfaction as he plopped another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. By now most of it had melted, but the cold substance was still a satisfying feeling on his palate.

"It's Ryuko?" She wondered. As she read the message. However, the cat hero could not help but smile hugely as she read the whole message.

"Oh! Izuku! Ryuko said she will be running pretty late so it's best if you were to stay the night, and she will swing by tomorrow morning to get you!" Tomoko giggled as she jumped up and down comically. "Sleepover!" She shouted in joy.

Izuku forgot about the ice cream he had just been eating as he joined in her excitement. The last time he had stayed overnight with the energetic woman was some of the most fun he had ever had.

"Wooo!" He cheered as the hero scooped him up.

"C'mon! We need to get home quickly so we can watch some movies!"

Izuku giggled joyously as she carried him over to her car parked just down the street.

"This is going to be so fun!" Izuku laughed.


Ryuko was very, very, VERY tired. She had just finished having a deep talk with the commissioner of the Hero Association, and even though the meeting went smoothly. Ryuko could see the small annoyance on her superiors face.

Heroes had their own agencies and their own sets of rules in their own prefectures that they ran, but no matter what, everyone would answer to the commissioner, who was essentially under the prime minister of Japan. While the prime minister would focus on running the country, the commissioner was in charge of running the legal aspects of heroes and monitoring what they all did. Budgeting and paying the heroes was also their role of duty, and it was something the commissioner took special pride in.

The commissioner was a strong and sensible woman. She was very respected, intelligent, and had a cold stare to boot. Though she may be quirkless, the commissioner was a woman many heroes had feared. In fear of their jobs or their own well beings, it depended on who one asked. To Ryuko, she feared the woman in both aspects; the woman may be quirkless, but she was a beast of a woman. Standing at 6'10, pure muscle, ice white hair, scars riddling her body, and cold dead silver eyes, Ryuko wondered if she could take the woman on without her quirk and survive. Hell even with using her quirk, she knew the woman would give her a run for her money.

Nonetheless, the commissioner had only been annoyed since without the hero knowing, she had planned a special little party for Ryuko's celebration into the top ten. So when the commissioner had received the news a while back that Ryuko would be taking a break from the hero world, she was a bit sour and disappointed that her 'surprise' celebration was all set up for nothing.

The commissioner understood perfectly why Ryuko would be taking a break, and of course Ryuko had her blessings. Though the commissioner was a somewhat grudgeful woman; fortunately, she was also more kind and caring.

Their little talk concluded with the commissioner wishing Ryuko the best, and that she would still receive smaller checks in the mail for her time as a hero. Also, if she ever decided to come back, her previous score and records would stay, but she would be set in the rankings in which her score would let her.

So if she was in the top ten rankings as of now, in five, or ten years from now, she would most likely be in the top one hundred since the rankings were always changing. Ryuko was perfectly fine with all of this, though what she did not expect was the meeting to take a total of five hours.

When she had left Izuku alone with Tomoko, it was roughly five o'clock in the afternoon. So when she walked to her car in the darkness of the outside world, she only had the full moon and some lights to guide her way.

Ryuko sighed. "Now to drive three hours to Tomoko's…" She grumbled.

Ryuko was not so lucky as she did not live to close to the Hero Association HQ, but there was one thing the dragon absolutely dreaded, and that was driving.

It was still a morbid fear of hers due to how she had been found by the duo hero Midoriya's, her adoptive parents so long ago. Inko had always driven the two anywhere she wanted, or wherever Inko wanted. Her sister had always been understanding of the woman's fear of driving, or being in a vehicle for that matter. It was a memory she still repressed to this day, and no amount of therapy had ever fixed the fear she had of it.

As she seated herself in the cold leather seats of the car, Ryuko shuddered as she strapped herself in. "F-For Izuku…" She always told herself.

Not even little Izuku knew of her fear, she had only shared this secret with her deceased parents and Inko; and of course to Rumi, Tomoko, and a few therapist. All of which kept it a secret from the boy, or anyone for that matter. Though Ryuko had never told her two friends the full story, she had only said it was from a traumatic time before she was taken into the care of the late Midoriya's.

Ryuko could barely control the small tears in her eyes as she hesitantly turned the car on. The purr of the engine may have been customized to be as silent as possible, she could still feel the rumbles of the vibrations.

"F-For Izuku!" She pumped herself up.

It was always a ritual to get herself moving in a car, and it was only with Izuku in the car, was she able to conquer the fear. As the one she wanted to conquer it for would be there with her, unknowingly motivating her every time she would drive them anywhere.

As she reversed, and got on the main roadway to Tomoko's, the hero slowly eased into her seat. Her mind always wandered when driving long distances. A gift she was grateful for, and accustomed her mind to do. It helped alleviate the tension and fear, as if she was not 'all there' she had less time to think while driving a vehicle.

Of course she would still have the utmost attention on the road, but anything to help herself ease the trembles in her hands. She could already feel her legs slightly cramping from her stiff stance, and her back aching slightly. She sighed as she shook her head to clear her head.

"Just one hour..." She told herself.


"We are here Izuku!"

"Yay! Sleepover! Sleepover! Sleepover!" Izuku chanted happily.

"Ohh Izuku~" Tomoko sighed in bliss. "Stay precious forever okay?"

"Hurry! We need to get inside quick before it gets darker!" He said giddily.

Tomoko giggled herself setting the car in park, and turning off the vehicle. She unstrapped herself from the cars seat belt and exited the vehicle, hurriedly walking to the back passenger door. She took the boy's seat belts off, and took him into her arms, squeezing him tightly as her keys rattled loudly by her side.

Izuku moved about in her arms excitedly, trying his best to pull the both of them to the front door of her house.

"Ah Ah Ahh!" She lightly scolded. "Be patient Izuku, or I might have to leave you alone with Pixie-Bob~" She gasped in pretend fright herself.

Izuku quickly stopped his movements as he gulped audibly.

"I-I'll be patient."

Tomoko grinned from ear to ear. "Now that's a good boy!" She teased, already standing in front of her door.

She fiddled with the keys in her other hand for a few seconds before finding the right key to unlock her door. As she inserted the key and twisted, it was just then that the hero realized how oddly quiet it was out in the woods tonight.

Tomoko actually lived in a secluded mountainous range, along with the other members of the Wild Wild Pussycats. They all lived in their own properties on the huge mountain range, with their own houses on their own sets of acres. They all enjoyed the seclusion and quietness of nature, and they were only about ten minutes from one another, so it was not unusual for them to visit one another almost daily. Also they specialized in mountain rescue missions, so they would help U.A out with students when they reached a certain point in their training.

However, today Tomoko had told the other three that she would be spending alone time with little Izuku, much to their minor jealousy, but they all understood that Ryuko had explicitly stated she wanted Tomoko to try and get the boy to open up. Tomoko for some reason just clicked with the boy, and he was infatuated with her; which she found absolutely adorable.

Whatever the case, the hero opened the door before looking at the immediate area around her. Her eyes could just make out the surrounding trees around them thankfully due to the full moon out. Fortunately, she noticed nothing out of the ordinary other than the subtle breeze that swayed some of the darkened leaves of the trees. Something was telling her to use her quirk to scan the area, it was screaming in her head that she needed to contact the others, contact Ryuko even, but a feeling of complete content filled her body as she looked off to the woods.

"A-Auntie?" Izuku said worriedly.

"It's probably nothing…" She told herself, shaking her head to clear a mysterious fog that clouded her mind.

"Well lets get inside and get some snacks going huh? I have your favorite!" She cheered.

His little eyes widened as he jumped in her arms in joy. "POPCORN!" He roared like his aunt would do.

Tomoko set him on the ground as he ran about the familiar house; it was suited for a family of four, but since she lived alone it would, not surprisingly, get lonesome. So when she had company, especially from the little Izuku, Tomoko cherished every second of it, even if thinking of it as the last time she would ever see him. A morbid thought, but she knew she only thought that way in order to make it as fun as possible for her adoptive charge. He may be Ryuko's real aunt, but Tomoko was proud to be in the place she was at now.

"Life is good..." She said blissfully as she could hear the boy rummaging in the kitchen.

"HUH?! YOU DO HAVE POPCORN!" He cried.

Tomoko giggled as she made her way to the kitchen, passing the windows by her living room. She paused in front of the glass, looking out to the darkness of the trees being illuminated by the glow of the moon. She wanted to use her quirk and make sure this feeling she felt was nothing, but every time she thought of doing such a thing her mind would be at ease.

"Raggy! Hurry! I can't reach the microwave!"

The fog cleared from her vision once again, and she was completely oblivious to it.

"Coming!" She answered. She always loved it when he called her that...

Tomoko would forever regret never trusting her gut feeling to use her quirk to scout the area. She would never forgive herself to take that sudden feeling of content as not a warning sign of what was to come. She should have realized the warning signs as a pro hero; but it was already too late for the both of them. For a quirk that relaxed the mind and soul, who could have ever known of such a thing? And that they were not alone in the woods this night?


Ryuko drove for an uneventful hour, nothing of interest was on the road, nor did anything catch her attention. She of course had to stop at a hotel nearby as she could barely feel her hands and legs. It was becoming too much for her, and she needed to stop for the night. She knew she would have not been able to make the full three hour drive home, but she would always hope she could one day do it. Do it alone at least.

Ryuko sighed in disappointment, she always felt so childish when her fears overcame her, but Inko had always told her it was okay to feel weak and vulnerable; especially when what had happened to her was so traumatic. However, Ryuko believed otherwise, even if her sister was her world, it was the one thing the two could not see eye to eye on. Ryuko had tried for years to beat out the fear, even talking to some of the best therapist in the hero industry, especially those who specialized in PTSD or trauma in general.

The hero parked her car gently in the hotels parking lot, the loud and bright luminescent light from the large sign above shining down on her car. She liked to stay at this quaint looking hotel, it was quiet, homey, and most of the time not to packed with other guests. Just how the hero liked it, and judging by the some fifteen cars in the parking spaces, it was going to be another quiet stay.

Like clockwork, the hero made her way to the hotel's lobby to check in; let's just say Ryuko had stopped at this hotel more times than she could count. When it came to driving late at night, and her morbid fear of being in vehicles, it was not the best of combos. She had no problem driving when the sun was out as she could see others around her, but her fear had always and was still there.

In any case, if Ryuko found herself at the Hero Association HQ late at night, she'd push through to this hotel to stay the night, as the morning sun promised better visibility, and eased her fear just a little.

"Well if innit the mighty dragon." An old, but gentle voice chirped.

Ryuko recognized the voice immediately. "Hey Agnis, got a room available tonight?"

The foreigner from America chuckled creakily, as she reached for a key behind her.

"I always have room for me favorite hero and person." The old woman croaked happily.

"Thank you Agnis, same price correct?" Ryuko said, reaching for her purse by her waist.

The old woman smiled, holding a hand up to stop her.

"Ya always pay too much girly, just go up to that there room, and sleep ya hear?" Agnis scolded lovingly.

"Agnis we do this every time, let me pay you please…" Ryuko sighed.

"Hush child, don't ya be arguing with yer elders now…"

Ryuko laughed in defeat. "Thanks Agnis, I really appreciate it, I'll be down in the morning to pay, whether you like it or not."

"Ya always do love."

With that, Ryuko wished the aging woman a goodnight, and made her way up to the room the woman always gave her. It was a suite of sorts, by far the largest room in the hotel Ryuko was sure of it, but no matter how much Ryuko tried paying the woman the price she deserved. Agnis never asked her to pay for the nights stay, though Ryuko would always leave the money behind the counter for her, much to the elders chagrin.

As she opened the door, Ryuko saw the nicely made queen sized bed, a bathroom, and small looking TV on a stand in front of the bed. With no care for her clothing, other than her shoes she had already taken off, the hero plopped right on the bed with a groan.

Her tired and tensed muscles from that short drive was always a drag, but the hero slowly let herself slip into the dreamscape. She thought back to Izuku, wondering how her little Wyrmling was doing with Tomoko. The two were such a cute dynamic to witness, and she knew the boy was in good hands.

Flopping on her back now, Ryuko closed her eyes, her face to the ceiling above. She set a mental alarm clock in her head to wake her up at the crack of dawn, so she could get to her nephew sooner. She never really liked being separated from him, but it was not the first time Tomoko had watched the boy. Just like every time, Izuku was perfectly fine, and he would be perfectly fine. The two having had a 'sleepover' as they called it, and Ryuko was glad she had someone she knew she could trust with the boy alone overnight. Ryuko did not even trust Rumi with such a thing, much to the other hero's sadness, but Ryuko was extremely picky on who she let the boy spend time with.

Calming her thinking mind, Ryuko took a deep breath as she pulled the covers over her body, letting the darkness of sleep eventually swallow her mind and body.

"I'll see you tomorrow Izuku…" She sighed blissfully to herself as she dozed off.

()

? ? ? ?

Ryuko awoke with a start, her eyes looking to the ceiling above her. Or what should have been the ceiling, had now been replaced by the night starry sky of wherever she was. The full moon above her was an odd sight, but the hero welcomed the bright light it gave off. Ryuko sat up slowly, looking at her surroundings in surprise and confusion. All around her were trees upon trees, she herself in a small clearing that circled all around her.

"A forest?" She questioned to herself.

As her eyes looked around her, the hero noticed a house in the far distance, and an odd green glow accompanying it. The green glow was but a sparkle, but it's brightness was evident in how it illuminated the surrounding areas by the house.

Cautiously, Ryuko stood up walking calmly to the somewhat familiar looking house. She noticed how quiet the immediate area was, there was no buzz or chirps of insects that could be heard. An odd thing in a wooded area definitely, but Ryuko focused on the more important thing; whatever the glowing green light was and the house.

As she grew nearer, the hero eventually realized that this was the house of Tomoko, and that she was approaching the building from behind it.

"Tomoko?" Ryuko said in wonder.

This was an unworldly experience, Ryuko assumed she had to be dreaming right now, as the last thing she remembered was falling asleep, but all of this looked to be too real. It was an eerie feeling, but she persevered with her approach.

As the hero reached the back door of the house, she noticed how it was creaked open slightly. Carefully, Ryuko opened the door making her way inside the house. Almost immediately she could see that this was obviously Tomoko's house, but a feeling of dread filled her body. Just from where she entered, there was signs of a struggle. As Ryuko walked deeper into the house, she noticed how trashed and ransacked the place looked to be, it looked like a fight had broken out from the various broken bits of furniture and scuffs on the walls. As the hero rounded a corner, she now stood in the living room which told a whole other story.

Ryuko eyes widened when she saw an odd looking man laying on the ground in one corner, and a few more were also lying limp on the ground as well. The front door was left wide open and the pathway up the stairs looked to be untouched, albeit some singe marks that lead up and down the stairs. What really caught Ryuko's attention however, was the glow from earlier; which was shining right outside the front door leading right to it. A window to the side looked to be shattered, as if something was tossed out of it from pieces of what looked like clothing was left on the glass.

As Ryuko continued to walk to the door, she heard a surprised gasp to her right, in which stood a tall man, a mask over his head. Quickly the man ran right past the hero, making his way straight outside shouting something about a 'dreamscape'.

Raising a quizzical bro, Ryuko carefully stepped over some broken glass and bits of cloth that laid by the door. She looked to the ground for a second to see small specks of red on the floor and the door. Not to mention how the trail seemed to lead right outside. Eventually the hero now stood outside once again, the green light from before was still bright and flickering, but this time she was able to see it was a fire of sorts. A green fire…

Ryuko's eyes widened as she looked at the area around her in alarm, noticing almost immediately three other men were standing near the source of the glow, while a body laid limp behind them. The subtle blood trail she saw from the door, was from this figure that looked to be crawling to the men. The man she saw from earlier was running towards them still shouting, and this time she was able to pick up on what he said.

"DREAMSCAPE YOU DUMBASS YOUR QUIRK!"

One of the men turned around, looking to the approaching man in annoyance.

"Bro! Shut your Fu-" The man paused, noticing the standing Ryuko behind them.

His eyes widened in realization as he saw a woman was standing a few feet behind them. Ryuko looked to the men curiously as two others still had their backs to her.

One of the men shot out a large amount of water from his mouth, aiming straight for the glow. Almost immediately a thick steam filled the area around them as whatever the glow was disappeared.

In that time Ryuko chanced a glance to the form that was on the floor, only to see the figure still crawling towards where the three men had been. Ryuko walked a bit closer before noticing how this person's body looked to be bruised and dirty, but more importantly Ryuko noticed the green hair of the figure immediately. It was Tomoko, and she was dragging herself forward, an angry and tearful look on her face as she screamed to the men.

"P-Please! D-Don't hurt him!" She coughed. "H-He's just a boy for g-gods sake!"

Ryuko looked at the scene in shock, her body frozen as she saw the slightly broken Tomoko continually try to pull herself forward, her teeth clenched in frustration and emotion.

"Don't you worry little kitty, it was fate I'd be reunited with my boy eventually." A strong and deep voice chuckled.

Ryuko's heart fell to her stomach, her body shuddered as the voice belonged to someone she wished and never wished to see again. Her mind was a whirlwind of emotions as her dragon instincts grew with rage.

The steam cleared, and in the man's arms laid the unconscious form of Izuku. The man's eyes glowed brightly, hints of smoke leaving his mouth as he looked to Ryuko, a crazed smile on his face.

"Well I'll be damned. Dreamscape, who would have known that's what the boy was hoping for?"

Ryuko felt weak, her vision grew blurry with tears and rage. Her arm was held out towards the boy and the man, the appendage shaking violently.

"P-Put him d-down." She said weakly.

"Hmm?" The man hummed. "Oh my apologizes Ryuko, I'll be taking care of him from here on out. Thanks for keeping him warm for me…." He grew a crazed smile. "It's a shame Inko missed the family reunion don't you think?"

Ryuko charged forward in pure rage, roaring as she transformed into her full form. She was aiming straight for the man, wishing nothing more than to crush him to a pulp, but her eyes widened as she came to a stop when the man held a dangerous looking blade by the boy's neck.

"Tsk tsk, I see you still have a temper, is that anyway to greet your brother-in-law Hisashi?" He teased darkly.

"B-Boss I can't hold it m-much longer…"

Hisashi looked to the voice in disappointment, but nodded his head.

"No worries Dreamscape, I'll just say my peace now."

Hisashi brought the knife closer to the still unconscious boy's neck, causing Ryuko to grumble in fear.

"Don't worry Ryuko, like I said, I'll take it from here. Looks like Inko trusted the wrong person to take on the parental role huh?" He chuckled.

"P-Please…"

Hisashi was about to tell Dreamscape to drop his quirk, but looked to the hero with some intrigue.

"Please? I can't hear you there." He sneered.

Ryuko dropped her dragon form, collapsing to her knees in defeat. She could not risk hurting Izuku if she tried taking down the four men, and she knew she could easily do it. Though with the knife so close to her nephews neck, she had to do as Hisashi said.

"P-Please don't…"

Hisashi sighed. "Seriously, you need to speak up, you still got that stutter from when you were little? Even when you're a grown woman now?"

Ryuko winced, looking to the ground in shame and sadness.

"P-P-P-Ple-"

"PPPPPP SPEAK WOMAN." Hisashi roared. "Its not hard, I swear that car should of reversed while it was at it." He finished darkly.

Ryuko let out a pitiful sob. "P-Please don't take my b-baby…"

Hisashi said nothing at first, looking to the woman in surprise before laughing loudly, the sound was poisonous to her ears. She would have preferred going deaf over hearing anymore of the mans voice.

"Oh! HA! HA! Still the jokester!" He wheezed, wiping a tear from his eye. "Oh don't worry, you'll have him again soon enough." He said ominously.

Ryuko looked to him in surprise, a small glimmer of hope filling her chest as she looked to the man. Though it was crushed when she saw the wicked smile on his face.

"Eventually….see you soon Ryuko."

"W-Wait!" She cried, standing once more.

She ran as fast as her legs allowed her, the four mens forms only growing in the distance.

"Don't take my baby! Please Hisashi!" She shouted, her vision grew blurry.

Ryuko's inner dragon roared in rage, her eyes flaring as they dilated looking to the still unconscious boy. Her eyes focused as hard as they could on the boy as she now sprinted as fast as her legs could. She fully transformed once again and beat her wings as fast as they could, but it was no use. The figures disappeared from her sight and she collapsed to the floor. All around her colors swirled around her, as she clutched her ears shut with her clawed hands.

She let out an ear piercing roar as her emotions flooded her body. Ryuko clutched her eyes harshly as the blinding colors painted her mind white, then nothing.

? ? ? ?

()

Ryuko awoke in a deep sweat, her head felt like it was on fire, and her eyes stung. She looked around the room in panic, her eyes landing on the clock by her night stand. It read eight in the morning, and judging by the morning sun shining through the curtains from a window by her bed, it was now morning.

She did not question whether or not what she had was a nightmare, and for the first time since the hero's stay here, she did not pay the elderly woman. Ryuko dashed straight to her car, forgetting her fear of driving for the first time in years. Only one thing on her mind, and that was getting to where Tomoko lived as fast as she could. She could of used her quirk to get where she needed to be, but she was not thinking clearly. To her, her body felt numb, and her mind was number; and she was hopeless to stop it.

She did not care for speed limit, nor did she care about the safety of others for once; she allowed herself to be selfish just this once as she veered in and out of lanes. Ryuko knew she would catch attention from any highway patrols, but she did not care, she did not care when she saw the flashing lights behind her. She did not care when she saw multiple other units following alongside her and besides her.

They tried getting her attention, they tried reasoning with her as the hero drove like a maniac down the road. But Ryuko did not care, she did not care that a helicopter flew overhead, filming the wild police chase from above.

She only wanted to know if Izuku was safe, and that dream, or whatever it was, was just a nightmare. A horrible twisted nightmare that was a figment of her imagination. She knew she would feel silly once she appeared at the front of Tomoko's house, untouched, and the fellow hero would greet her in surprise. Especially since Ryuko practically had a squad of police cars chasing her; though count her lucky they did not catch on to her until she was already thirty minutes out from the Wild Wild Pussycat's private land.

Ryuko's fears and feeling of dread only grew worse as she noticed other glowing lights in front of her as she now approached Tomoko's house. It was only a few minutes away now, but judging by the other lights in front of her, and the chaos of people walking in the house, and around the 'scene' it dawned on the dragon hero.

Her car came to a screeching halt as she parked the car relatively close to the house. She jumped out of her car, transforming and flying the last few feet to the house. The emergency personal that was around the house cried out in shock when a seemingly menacing dragon landed right in the middle of the crime scene.

"Ryuko!" A familiar voice called to her.

She looked to the voice almost immediately, noticing Mandalay waving over to her as she ran towards her.

Ryuko shrunk down to her normal form and ran straight to the woman's arms.

The two embraced as Ryuko could feel herself collapsing to the floor in despair.

"R-Ryuko!" Mandalay said in shock.

"Freeze!" A few other voices shouted behind the two.

Mandalay looked over Ryuko's shoulder only to see a large unit of officers aiming their weapons towards the two.

"Men! At ease!" Called another voice. "Put down your weapons, that's an order!"

The police unit listened to the orders, looking to their superior in shock and confusion.

Said man happened to be the chief of police for this unit.

"Ryuko so it was you…" The man sighed tirelessly, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion.

Ryuko payed them all no mind, only clutching onto Mandalay hoping she would somehow awake from this nightmare. Hoping that she was still dreaming, and that this was not real.

"Ryuko?" Mandalay said soothingly, she too holding her tightly.

"Ma-Mandy." Ryuko wheezed.

"Shhhh Ryuko, l-let me explain o-okay?" Mandalay eased.

Ryuko nodded her head weakly, not daring to look at her close friends eyes.

"T-Tomoko is alive and in critical condition, but I-Izuku…" Mandalay gulped.

"S-So it w-wasn't a d-dream…" Ryuko said lowly, her hushed and whispered tone sounded pitiful coming from such a powerful hero.

"W-Wait what?" Mandalay said in confusion.

"Hey! Mandalay! Tiger and I found something!"

"H-Hang on Pixie!" Mandalay called out.

"So it is a living nightmare…" Ryuko said somberly, all feeling leaving her body as she fell to the ground limply.

"! ! !"

Ryuko could no longer hear or feel, she could not hear the panicked shouts from her friend, nor the other voices as they came to her aid. Ryuko was now alone in this world, her parents were gone, Inko was gone, and now Izuku was seemingly gone. A living nightmare, and Ryuko wished to just wake up from this place. To a place in time where nightmares were not real; and where she was not so alone.


Good news to all the others who read my other stories. Hopefully updates coming to those soon, they are not canceled; sorry to those who PMd me in worry. Been kind of stressed with group projects at my college so now that the load has been lightened, I have some motivation hopefully now. My apologies, have a wonderful day, evening, or night.