Here we are! No April Fools here, I'm updating like I said I would haha. Sorry it's a month late, but I definitely needed that extra time. Having said that... I still despise this chapter lol. I hope you guys like it, and I should be fine to be back on my regular monthly updates. Thanks for your patience!
Mission day had arrived. The dorms buzzed the night before as the calls came in from Work Study assignments for folks to head to various meeting points. Many of the class were split up, I feared for my friends of course, but I would just focus on my team as much as I could; and I was glad to have them by my side. Deku, Bakugo, Sho and myself, along with Ingenium, Froppy and Uravity were going to be in the downtown area for evac duties. It would be intense. But we knew our job and we would do it well.
But I can't deny, the next morning, as we stood atop that cliff overlooking the town, my nerves were on a razor point. What would the world look like after today? How would this one battle change things? Hosu, the USJ, all of them had changed things to a degree. But this was bigger. It felt like the cliff was literal and metaphorical. The details of this mission had been vague, but I knew the League was involved, and it was something to do with Shigaraki reaching new heights. But in what way? How could his power get any worse? And why was he targeting this town specifically? Or rather, he probably wasn't. It wasn't lost on me that Deku and Bakugo, previous targets of the League were here with me, perhaps being kept out of the way of direct threats. Or at least, removed enough that if the League caught wind of where we were, the pros could try to intercept. Maybe. Or we were just best suited to this part of the fight. I couldn't be sure.
Burnin was with us as well, her keen eyes scanning the area the whole time. No doubt she had information being whispered into her earpiece, but she wasn't one to rely on one source of information. Beyond anything else, it told me there was a fair amount of guess work going on for the pros as well. They had information, but not the whole picture. That was fair. We hadn't heard from the League in a long time, whatever they had been up to, it had likely been a complicated plan. But even with that logic applied, my nerves fizzed. For a long time I hadn't bothered to rely on adults, they had been the people I pick-pocketed more than anything else. But then I went home with Dad. He looked after me, took care of things; he had made me see pros and adults alike as reliable. So now, knowing they were fairly in the dark as well, it made me cold.
I scanned the horizon. Was Shigaraki out there somewhere in the town? In the woodlands? Or in some unknown location, brooding away on how best to break the world. And Dabi, was he here? Or had he finally cut ties with Shigaraki's nonsense? I snorted at myself and tugged on the front of my cowl. That was nothing but wishful thinking. Dabi would be here, and he would be trying just as hard as usual to tear things apart. But I couldn't let him do it. And I couldn't let him use this as the opportunity to try and hurt Sho.
Before we left the Dorms, Dad had held me so tightly, ignoring the fact my classmates were making their way past or still getting their costumes sorted for the transports. He didn't care. Right then he just needed to hold onto his daughter, and I was bloody thankful, because I needed to hold onto my Dad. We trusted each other to do our best, but we also knew that sometimes that wasn't good enough. We might lose one another today. We might lose any number of people. That wasn't down to their skills, it was mainly down to damned luck.
Dad kissed the top of my head. "I love you, Alex. You're going to be amazing."
"Love you too, Dad. And right back at you. Let's go kick their arses."
He gave a final squeeze. "That's my girl."
And now, stood looking over the town, waiting for the order to get moving, I had no real idea where he was on the field. Certain parts of the plan had been left out of our debriefs, same as any of the other teams. Information was a big weapon for both sides. So all I could do was hope and trust. And do my best not to let my itching eyes actually tear up. I was frightened, but I knew there was no point in denying that. It was okay to be frightened, the main thing was to avoid letting it make me crumble.
"All right!" Burnin' barked, waving her arm ahead. "Move out!"
I clasped Sho's hand tightly, and he squeezed mine in return. We could do this. We were ready.
And we did, as a single unit we flowed down the cliff and into the town, beginning evacuation proceedings. The townspeople were confused of course, but they followed orders and allowed us to do our jobs. A few of them hesitated, being uncertain on the level of threat. But I think the sheer number of present Heroes soon silenced those arguments. This was not a drill. Something big was about to happen, and they needed to get out of the crossfire.
Street by street we emptied the place, we ensured buildings were vacant and then checked again just to be sure. Nothing was being left to chance. And as we went, several of the pros were rounding up other pros who were 'corrupt' apparently. It was confusing at first, but as I caught wind of a few of them, it became clear that they had been working with the League. The conspiracy reached deep. Was there also arrests happening back at the school? Had some of the faculty been involved in this? I hadn't heard of a lot of the traitor heroes, but the number of them hurt my heart. So many of them had turned their backs on society. So many. And we hadn't known till now? It was a horrible thought. How many more did we not know about? Was this battle going to break that conspiracy apart? Or help it thrive?
We had been working for half an hour, and I could only assume all teams had moved at once. A lot could happen in a fight during that much time, but so far we had heard nothing from the other teams. Were they okay? Had they made contact with the villains? We were almost through the entire suburban area when suddenly Deku went still. The others kept walking, but he had entirely frozen. It was the first real indication of danger, so I wasn't going to ignore it. I checked our vicinity. Nothing around us had caught my eye. This was something else, so I went back to his side. He stared at the ground. His hands clutched his stomach and his chest, almost like he was in pain. But that wasn't the expression on his face. It was fear. Total and absolute fear.
"Deku?" I asked softly, reaching for his shoulder and gently placing my hand there. He was entirely rigid, a small tremor running through his frame before he flinched and looked towards the hills where a large hospital was perched.
"He's coming." He whispered, right before a huge cracking noise splintered through the air. He swallowed. "The hospital…"
The look in his eyes made me cold to the core, something like a held breath draped over all of us. The building across the way, nestled amongst the woodland, looked fine. Just a building. And yet, as Deku's voice faded, a tension gripped us all. Something was coming. It rumbled in our chests, and glancing around our group, I knew they all felt it. The need to run. The want to flee. We were trained, we were skilled, we were Heroes. And yet? We were still kids. And I knew they all felt that impulse, the want to cling to each other and get the hell out of there. But we couldn't. We had to stand. We had to fight.
And then it began.
The hospital turned to dust.
Then the trees turned to dust.
It was coming for the town.
It was coming for us all.
Shigaraki…
"Shit!" I threw an enormous shield up and cast it forward, trying to slow the oncoming wave of decay, but it barely slowed it. I maybe made it hesitate for a second, if that.
At first I hadn't wanted to admit to myself I recognised the effect, but as that smell caught on the wind, I knew it. Shigaraki's power. New heights they said. Well they weren't kidding. How had it become this strong in such a short time? There was no way he had this capability before now, if he had, we would have known. He wasn't exactly the type for restraint. I turned to the civilians and got them moving like everyone else, helping shift cars out of the way or get the elderly further to the front, moving them with my power as quickly and carefully as possible.
"45%!" I heard Deku yell, throwing out a huge kick, sending a massive shockwave of pressure back at the crumbling effect, but it barely delayed it, just like my efforts hadn't.
Shigaraki. How the hell had he grown this powerful? It hadn't been that long. And yet his power had grown tenfold. My knees wobbled, my breathing became thin, but I kept moving. We had to get the civilians out. Tears fogged my vision, the fear brimming my heart and overflowing. The hospital was totally gone. The surrounding area too. Was Dad gone? Had he crumbled at the same moment? His blood turned to ash, his voice choked to silence. Fuck. Oh god. Hizashi, Nemuri, the rest of our class, had they been over there? Shit. Focus! Keep moving. Just keep on fucking moving. You're not the little kid chained to the bed anymore, you can fight back, you can beat this. I think…
"Alex, c'mon." Sho encouraged, clasping my hand for a moment. "You can beat him."
I hoped he was right.
"What's up at the hospital?" Burnin' yelled into her earpiece. "Someone please respond!"
No communications? Crap. They could all be wiped out already. We might be all that's left. Panic rose in the back of my throat as we rushed around, getting civilians out of the way, trying to interrupt and slow the oncoming surge of death. But it was chaos. I could barely breathe. I could barely think.
Our earpieces crackled. A bright light burned in the sky, blazing towards the hospital. Endeavour? It had to be. No one else burned like that. He was going for the kill? For all his faults, I wished him every possible bit of luck I could. Get Shigaraki. Fry him. Burn him away. And then our earpieces crackled again.
"One for… All?"
Did I really just hear that? I turned to ask Deku if he had heard it as well, but he wasn't by my side anymore. I skidded to a halt. Deku had suddenly changed direction. In the opposite direction from the civilians.
"Deku where the hell are y–"
"I think he's coming for me!" He barked, eyes wide.
I frowned and looked at the trajectory of the destruction as it finally slowed, noting what Burnin' was saying into her mic and the other Pros too. Did they say One for All? And Shigaraki was coming for the evacuees. I could fully believe that he was focus on the innocent, but if this was some grand plan, that felt too random. And the one quirk All for One had always really wanted, was One for All, right? That was what Toshi had said. I was sure of it. Damn, so Deku had cracked it.
I nodded. "Okay, so you wanna get some distance between you and the civilians right?"
"Right!"
"Okay then, let's go!"
"Huh?" He yelled as we ran, me managing to keep up with his jumping due to my quirk. "Why would you–"
WHOOSH. "Ya figured it out, huh?" Bakugo flew in-line with us. "We better get moving."
Calls came from behind us, no doubt Sho was thrown by our sudden change in trajectory, but there was no time to explain. Every second Deku remained near the civilians, the more likely Shigaraki would simply wipe them out. And we had no way of defending against the decay waves. All I could do was hope that Sho would trust that I knew what I was doing. Or at least, why I was doing it.
I sincerely hoped our promise wouldn't have to be kept. By either of us.
We flew. It seemed like forever, but when I glanced back, it would also seem like barely any distance at all. Dad, where are you amongst all this madness? Were you in the hospital? Have you crumbled to ash already, drifting on the wind? Shit. Focus. Keep up with Deku. Keep moving. Keep fighting.
Wave after wave. Destruction. Decay.
With everything being obliterated around us, it was difficult to recall that this area had ever been a city at all, let alone one that was fully populated this morning. And all we could do was dodge and try to interrupt the chain reaction, to delay the inevitable. Pros began to appear in the city, having arrived from their own area of the battle. Presumably the hospital. But there wasn't time to ask questions, to get progress reports. We just had to keep moving. My ears rang with buildings crumbling, of heroes calling out to each other, finding their comrades, or losing them. It was hard to keep track. Sho. Were you doing okay back there with the civilians? I at least had Bakugo and Deku in my sights. But everyone else? Ingenium, Uravity, Froppy, Dad. Where the hell were they all? Were they still Alive? Had they… No, don't think like that. They're good heroes, they're gonna make it. My throat pinched. Dammit. Sometimes that wasn't enough. Fuck. Just keep moving.
A sense of dread sunk into my bones.
Like some nightmare was creeping up behind me, except this was coming from the trajectory of the hospital. There hadn't been another wave of decay yet, but something was definitely coming.
Whoosh!
Gran Tarino grabbed Bakugo and Deku and took a sharp turn, my own path following close behind, though obviously lagging a little. I was fast, but not Gran Tarino fast. Still, the simple fact he had got to us already gave me the chills. I looked over my shoulder, and wished I hadn't.
Shigaraki.
He loomed; hair bone white, eyes blazing red, skin torn in places, but body looking ready for battle. Every part of him radiated power. Gone was the wiry little weirdo muttering into the shadows, snivelling about the world being against him. Now he was so much more. Every nightmare I'd ever had about him was coming true. Shit. Why didn't I break his damn neck instead of his arm?
"Ah, little Alex. I'm so glad you're here to witness all this." He chuckled, tilting his head. "I'd started to worry you might not be here, being protected by that irritating Daddy of yours. Still, here you are. Ready to witness the breaking of your world?"
"Fuck you." I snarled, keeping my angle between him and the path Tarino had taken Deku and Bakugo along. I was hardly a match for one of those decay blasts, but maybe I could slow him down that little bit. Sometimes wriggle room was all a Hero needed.
He sighed. "And to think you could have been a part of this. Oh well. You can be part of the foundation instead…"
His hand edged closer, and his power thrummed at the tips of his fingers. It was strange, I could feel it like electricity almost. Any second it would hit. I'd be dust. I'd be nothing. I created several layers of shield and tried to take note of everyone's position. But who was I kidding? I was alone. I had no idea where anyone was.
He clasped my throat.
Nothing happened.
The fizzing sensation dissipated.
Dad?
"Oi!" Bakugo barked over the radio in my ear. In that second, Shigaraki blinked, stunned his attack hadn't worked, and I had my split second opening. I got myself moving, pulling my neck free of Shigaraki's grip. Bakugo continued. "I have Deku handled. Get over to your Dad. He's gonna be the only way to keep Shigaraki contained at this point. So that'll be who the shithead goes for next."
"Got it." I cast my gaze around, noting the collection of heroes at the side of Shigaraki's wake. And sure enough there Dad was, glaring, hair rippling in the air, Eraserhead. My Dad. My Hero.
"As always… Too cool, Eraserhead." Shigaraki chuckled, sounding so amused by it all, like we were just an inconvenience rather than a threat. Was that delusion, or had he really surpassed us all?
I needed to get out of here.
"Wait a second." Shigaraki gripped my ankle as I changed trajectory, aiming to fly towards Dad. To be by his side. I cried out, the grip on my ankle immediately bruising. "I'm not done with you yet, Alex."
Dad screamed. "NO!"
I was thrown. How the hell was Shigaraki still so strong with quirks erased?
The ground rushed up to meet me, rubble and debris digging into my body, bruising me all over. But these days I did at least know how to take a fall. I rolled, and as the dust settled around me, I knew nothing had broken the skin or my bones. Just some bruises. I kicked out. I rolled. I got back on my damn feet and remembered my training. Keep low. Defensive hands up. Jab and duck. I smacked Shigaraki back a few paces, just trying to earn enough space to get the hell out of there. There was no way I would attempt to take on Shigaraki by myself. I'm not a total idiot. At least, not anymore. And even with his quirks erased, he was still damned dangerous.
He laughed and spat blood, lunging at me. "I can't wait to see your face when Daddy is finally dead."
"Then you'll keep fucking waiting." I ducked back, dodged his wild attacks and did what I could to get a read on this new body of his. But it was hard to tell what the hell was what. Like he wasn't even human anymore. Can I take this monster down, or not?
Crap. My nerves wavered. My mind scattered for that half a second.
Damn it.
A single second of hesitation and that was all it took. Shigaraki's fist slammed directly into my head, a direct shot to the temple. Toppling back, I cried out. But I still managed to roll properly.
"Whoops. Gotta watch your footing, little girl."
"Fuck you." I used the space he had created and flew towards Dad, using the space to evade any grasping from Shigaraki, and get my arse to where it needed to be.
Endeavour blasted back into view, doing everything he could to chip away at Shigaraki, but it wasn't just new quirks that had changed in Shigaraki. Sure, he now had multiple quirks. But even with Erasure on him, he was still strong, still fast, still… Terrifying. This wasn't simply training. He'd been amped up by their damned doctor, turned into some form of Nomu. And now his only real obstacle was Eraserhead. Without that quirk to impede Shigaraki, we'd lose everything in a matter of days. There would be no fighting. Shigaraki had never had a complicated plan, he just wanted to destroy. Sure it might have grown from that by now, perhaps a little more of a power structure than simply ash. But he would still demolish entire cities. Just because he could. That couldn't happen. And our best bet was Eraserhhead. For so long he'd been my hope, my rock, and now he was everyone's. Old man had some heavy weight on his shoulders. The least I could do was be there to help hold it up.
Dad.
I got myself moving. Other Heroes were gathering as well of course, but if I couldn't help Deku and Bakugo, then I would help here instead. Even if that just meant a damn shield until I was killed. If I could get a decent grip on Shigaraki though, maybe I could kill him. Maybe I could make all of it stop before it escaped this area. Shit Get over there. Make it worthwhile.
"Run, run, run, little rat!" Shigaraki cackled wildly as he continued to tussle with Endeavour.
Every panic and fear from the USJ came crashing back into my mind, festering and bursting into fresh frenzy and adrenaline. Move. Protect. I wasn't thinking, I didn't need to, all I needed to do was get over there. Save him. Save him dammit. I ran as fast as I could, seeing the water Hero guy keeping Dad's eyes from drying out, and the lock Hero holding him up. At least he had allies right there already. But it wouldn't be enough. Shigaraki didn't need decay to tear Dad apart. And Shigaraki was coming. Whooshing across the field, that deranged look of glee in his eyes.
I snarled. "I said, fuck off!"
Slam.
I threw him into the dirt. My head throbbed in pain, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. The attack only interrupted his trajectory for a moment, but at least it reminded him this wasn't going to be an easy win. He gnashed his teeth at me. I just kept running. Almost there. Almost to Dad.
"You're in the way Eraserhead."
No. Shigaraki was already back up, already nearly there, about to get hold of Dad, to wipe him away like nothing. No. Please! I pushed myself with my quirk, sealed a shield around Dad, reached as far as I could. But there was no opening. Why couldn't I focus on a vein or an artery? How had they stopped me doing that? No. Please!
Dad bared his teeth. He wouldn't blink, he wouldn't even run to try and save himself. No, he'd take it all on the mere chance it would give us enough of an opening.
And it did.
Holy crap, it did!
Deku appeared, with Bakugo mere seconds behind. They slammed into Shigaraki and cast him aside, the energy crackling around Deku in a dazzling show of power. I skidded in front of Dad, having been maybe another two seconds slower than them. My breathing burned. My vision swam. But I was there, and now so were my friends.
"A-Alex–"
"Dad, it's our turn to protect you." I sunk into a defensive position. Ready for anything.
Deku yelled as he tussled with Shigaraki. "We can't lose our teacher!"
"Midoryia…" Dad sounded totally stunned. He always said I didn't realise how much the class loved me, and yet in that moment I think he finally realised how much that also applied to him. He had no idea. But they all adored him. His help, his guidance, they appreciated every grumbling word of it. Because they trusted him. They knew he wanted the best for all of them, for them to be the best Heroes they could be. For their futures to be bright.
I looked over my shoulder and smiled. We could do this.
Deku grappled Shigaraki with black whip and Bakugo gave some hard blasts as well, but it wasn't containing Shigaraki at all. It seemed to be barely phasing him. Shit. I kept reaching, trying to find something to stop him with, but it was like the Nomu, like trying to dent a tank with a feather. I guess I couldn't hope for the Villains to never learn. Endeavour reappeared next, and the fight continued, my own stance only shifting when Dad did or when the trajectory of the fight did.
Dad spoke between his teeth. "You got a shield around us?"
"Yeah, not gonna let some random lackie take you out with a bullshit backshot or something. We're focused on Shigaraki right now, but that doesn't mean the cronies aren't kicking about."
The water guy gave a breathless laugh. "She's on it."
"Damn right." I said with Dad in unison.
"How's your head, kid?"
"Fine, just a nasty punch. Go ahead and check me over though, Lock guy."
"Excuse me?" He scoffed. "Lock guy? Cheeky little–"
"Whatever, just make sure I can keep going would ya?"
It took a couple of seconds, but apparently it was just bruising. Finally, I was starting to learn some lessons, huh? I was not being taken out of this fight dammit. I'm part of this team. Tapping in and out was key. Using our strengths in tandem.
Shigaraki skidded to the side. He didn't look like many of the hits were taking effect, but then he jolted. He doubled over. Was he hurt? He shuddered. And then he raised his eyes, blazing white, like he was possessed. What the hell was happenin–
"You will be mine, little brother."
What the ever-loving-fuck?
And in the next instant, Shigaraki looked just as confused as the rest of us. Where the hell had that come from? It hadn't even sounded like his voice. He wavered. He fidgeted.
Then he grinned. "Shut the hell up… I control myself!"
A shiver ran down my spine.
My mouth went dry.
A puppet. I had always said it about All for One, that he was using Shigaraki as a puppet, but in that moment I felt my fears confirmed. Whatever process they had put Shigaraki through in order for this power to be realised, it had been with the intention of All for One taking over, hadn't it? Taking over Shigaraki's body. I shivered. For once, I was glad of Shigaraki's stubbornness. He was bad enough in this state, but a fully reworked and revitalised All for One? No. Please no.
And with those few seconds pause, the others enacted their plan.
Go guys.
Get him.
Bakugo went up high, getting into position. Gran Tarino laid the ground work. Deku stayed to the side to draw attention. And in went Endeavour. A well-oiled machine. A very impressive display. And yet I didn't find myself feeling hopeful, not deep in my bones. Something about the way Shigaraki was smiling had that old sense of helplessness sinking into my mind. This wasn't going to be it. We had to pay a much higher price, didn't we?
Whoosh.
Flame erupted down onto Shigaraki, a plume of heat and destruction. I wavered in front of it. It was like standing next to a volcano. Or at least, what I imagine that feels like. The tiny naive part of myself, curled at the bottom of my cynical heart, hoped. Please. Let him be dead?
The dust cleared, the field came back into view.
And of course…
Shigaraki was still standing. Wobbling, body seeming to crack all over with splits of flesh giving way to gored slops of blood, but still standing. And as they say. A wounded animal is when it's at its most dangerous.
He moved.
Like a bullet from a gun, he rushed forward.
Gran Tarino went in, but it wasn't a fair fight. My heart clenched. It was over in an instant. Deku screamed, the plume of blood erupting from the old man's body, Shigaraki's smiling face beaming out of the gore. Was Gran Tarino dead? We barely had time to blink before Shigaraki had moved again. Deku's black whip failed to grasp him. Shigaraki was coming for us. How was he faster? Sheer willpower?
I sunk low. "Fuck you, Shigaraki…"
Ryuku grabbed him, clasping him in her giant dragonic hands. But it wasn't a good enough prison, not for the demon he had become. He punched right through. Dammit. He couldn't get to Dad. Deku got there in the next moment, grappling Shigaraki, binding him in black whip. It was hard to see what the hell was happening, but as they struggled, Deku spat blood to the side. This wasn't going easy on anyone.
"Get in there, Stasis. They need help." The Lock Hero said.
"You can do this." Dad encouraged, and I did as ordered.
Right, time to tap back in. I ran in, skidding into the fight, trying to withhold Shigaraki as Ryku's strength wavered. He couldn't be allowed to go any further. This was the line. We had to hold it.
"Hold him there, Deku and Alex!" Endeavour bellowed, blazing forward with a strike.
I nodded and concentrated, my head screaming at me against the sheer amount of pressure exuding from Shigaraki's body. It was like trying to hold back an entire building.
And then I saw it.
N-No.
How the hell does he have one of those things?
A small red bullet. Gripped between his pale fingers, peeking through where he had punched through Ryuku's Dragon form.
"He's got a deleter round!" I yelled, trying to get hold of it with my power.
No. No you're not taking away our last hope, you piece of shit. He couldn't throw it as far as Dad, could he? He couldn't take away Eraserhead from this world.
"Move Eraserhead away!" I bellowed, not looking away, trying to get a clear focus on the bullet as the smoke and madness continued. Shit. My focus was all over the place.
Maybe I could dislodge the bullet itself.
But I took too long.
It's thrown.
I try to get hold of it, stop it in its tracks. But it slips past me, it keeps going. I reach, trying to seal another shield around Dad, but it's too much. Between rushing along the field, fighting Shigaraki, and trying to protect Dad earlier, it's just too much. I'm just one kid. Dammit. The backlash whipped at my nerves. I faltered.
"Dad!"
The bullet hit. Oh god. No. No!
Dad… Dad what're you doing?
He keeps looking at Shigaraki, his face contorted in some kind of deranged focus. His knife swung. As soon as the bullet hand landed, the blade was moving through the air. No hesitation, not a second. Swing. Slice. Gone. How sharp was that fucking knife?! The lower part of his leg fell away, toppling to the ground, before the blood began to flow. I ran. And so did Shigaraki. How was he still moving?
"Even you have to flinch Eraserhead."
Shit. Dad must have blinked when he cut away his leg. I latched onto Shigaraki's body, using his propulsion to keep up and try and take the lead.
"Finally!" Shigaraki cackled. "I'm about to clear this stupid game!"
"NO!" I screamed, hauling with all my might to try and shift his trajectory. Anything to stop his reaching Dad. Shigaraki could have disintegrated me at any second, but neither of us seemed to care. All he wanted was Dad to be dead.
He gripped Dad's face.
But he wasn't quick enough.
The chill tickled my neck before it hit, giving me that half a second warning I needed in order to jump up out of the way. A wall of ice slammed into Shigaraki, sending him toppling to the side, with a Deku's punch to follow. A seamless one-two shot from Sho and Deku alike. A team.
"Sensei!" Shouto yelled, running over, eyes wild.
I landed heavily and took a second to look up, hesitating as I feared what I was going to see. Would it have taken effect anyway? Was Dad gone? Crumbled to nothing in the Water Hero's arms? I dragged my eyes up and saw him laying there, unconscious, bloodied and bruised, but breathing. For now.
It had to stay that way.
Time to tap back in.
"Move." I ran over and knelt by his side, pushing their hands away as they fussed and tangled his cloth up trying to bind the leg wound. They let me work. With my power, everything moved smoothly. Rubble shifted under his leg for elevation, I also kept a tight pressure on the wound to allow the capture cloth to be tied properly, without getting slippery from the blood. Then there was his head injury. I wasn't sure if that left eye could be saved or not, but checking his other eye it looked like his brain was doing okay. His breathing was regular. His pulse quick but steady. I checked the rest of his body as carefully as I could with my quirk, but that seemed to be everything major taken care of. He was stable.
I braced against the ground, the whole process having taken me thirty seconds at most.
The water hero put a hand on my back. "You did good."
"I could have done a hell of a lot better." I sighed, but then smiled at him. "But thank you. Keep an eye on him, and as soon as the medics can get in here, get him to a hospital. He's not bleeding anymore, but he needs a fucking top up."
"Yes, Ma'am." He nodded.
Now I had to get back into the fight. This was far from over, and now we didn't have Dad to keep the decay at bay. How the hell were we going to do this? Surely Shigaraki had to be a little worn down?
It didn't look promising.
Deranged eyes focused on me and I won't lie, I'm terrified. As manic and wayward as I had seen Shigaraki over the years, something had changed. He was different. More dangerous than before, and I felt it in my bones that it went deeper than his newfound power. My back ached dully at the idea of him having the same strength as All for One, my mind reeled at that manic laughter following all this destruction, and my heart clenched as I considered the horrible reality of my horrendous past potentially being everyone else's future. Under his thumb. Being his play things. Shit.
"Don't you get it yet, Alex?" Shigaraki rasped, laughing to himself and throwing his busted up arms wide. "This isn't your world anymore! It finally happened, I finally got what I wanted."
That small part of me curled at the bottom of my heart wanted to run. She wanted to fall to her knees and sob. To crawl under the rusted bed and pretend it was all just a bad dream. But she wasn't there anymore. No. She had escaped that hell, she had fucked up, learned, healed, broken bones and rebroken them again, but she was still standing. And she would not take it lying down. Not again.
Tears were running down my face, but I didn't care. I pulled back my cowl and bared my teeth at Shigaraki, not wanting him to mistake anything. I was here. I could see him. And I wasn't running.
I met his gaze head on. "Got what you wanted, eh?"
"Yes." He hissed, eyes gleaming.
My lips wobbled as I smiled softly. "All right. Then I just gotta take it away again."
"Oh really!" He threw his head back and laughed. "I'm going to enjoy killing you so much!"
"Then get on with it!"
His head snapped back to me and he grinned. "Gladly."
SPLORT.
A rip in Shigaraki's body peeled apart, looking like his right arm might split away entirely. I looked to Deku and he looked right back at me. He tapped his own messed up arm. A lightbulb lit in my mind. Of course. If it was a similar kind of strain, maybe Shigaraki's body still had a limit. After all, as much as he didn't seem it anymore, he was still human under all of this. But he didn't need to be physical with us. Not really. And he knew that. He grinned and went down on one knee.
Decay.
It rushed forwards.
If it touched anyone, they were dead.
"Shit." I looked around, we had to get off the ground. We'd all be wiped out. "Deku!"
"Yeah?"
"Help me, I can't lift everyone. Hold them with Black whip and I'll hold you?"
He nodded, determined eyes blazing. "Together."
And as a team, up we went. My own control was shaky, and Deku's wasn't much better. But between the two of us, we lifted the whole group and kept them away from the crumbling touch of Shigaraki's original quirk. I had expected it to be more of a strain in all honesty. And then I saw a small smile from Deku. He was doing something to help? One of the quirks within One for All? Hopefully he could tell me later. The main thing was, in the air, Shigraki couldn't use his power. At least, that was the information we had. And we'd just have to hope it was still true. As soon as the effect faded, we lowered them again. But Deku remained up there with Shigaraki bound by Black Whip.
"I have to beat him up here!"
"He's not erased anymore!" I yelled, landing heavily, throat raw as I screamed up at him. "You gotta keep your distance as well."
"Alex!" I spun as Shouto called out to me, panic lacing his voice. "We need your power for your Dad and Gran Tarino's injuries!"
Shit.
I ran over and got to work, focusing on the bleeds. My power could apply a far better pressure than the cloth, but I had hoped the medics would get here by now. Guess that was me being naive again. I held firm. Dad's pulse was threadier than before. Perhaps shock? Gran Tarino was a fucking mess. I did what I could, but eventually I was just trying to keep his heart pumping.
"Keep going. Please." I braced against the ground. "Both of you."
Shouto put a hand on my shoulder. "You got any injuries?"
"Nah, for once I'm just bruised." I panted and put my head down against Dad's chest, just focusing and trying to find any other issues. With so many delicate holds to maintain, I wasn't going to be much use elsewhere. Not without a real strain on my power.
I had to trust my team.
The fight raged on behind us, and I kept a small shield in place as debris occasionally got scuffed up in our direction. Yelling began. I could only hear the thunder of my own heart and the thrum of the two hearts I was monitoring. Shit. Please. End this, Deku.
Heat.
Immense heat.
It peeled at the earth and burned behind me. Presumably Endeavour had managed to get back in there. And then I heard Bakugo yelling. I heard Shouto yelling. What was happening? I peered over my shoulder and gaped.
"Bakugo!"
For whatever damned reason he was up there, with Endeavour, and it looked like he had moved Deku out of the way. He had saved Deku. Spikes of All for One's power punctured through Bakugo's torso in three places. My back ached dully at the memory of those things. As Shouto blasted back up there to get hold of Bakugo, I tried to help their trajectory back to the ground. The least I could do was give them a softer landing, and get Bakugo over here for my help.
Shouto brought him over, carrying him princess style. In any other situation it would have been funny. Right now, it just made my eyes water. Please don't take Bakugo from us. Please.
"Another patient." Sho knelt by me. "Are you sure you can–"
"I can do it." I nodded, helping Sho to lay Bakugo down, us both doing our best to assess the damage. More bleeds to hold steady. But at least his heart hadn't been struck. Small mercies.
But now?
Deku had gone completely insane. Not only had his teacher and mentor been brutally injured, but now his Kacchan? Shigaraki had no idea what he had just unleashed. And from the looks of the madness occurring in the sky, neither did we.
And then a pressure began to build. Like someone holding their breath. The air went still. Silence struck. A shiver ran down my spine.
What was–
A huge bright light erupted between Shigaraki and Deku, and they both began to fall back to earth. Shigaraki's body twitched and writhed as it fell. Deku was totally limp.
"I'll get him, you focus on Bakugo." Sho took off and grabbed Deku, bringing him over to me where I could at least investigate his injuries. But the impact of Shigaraki wasn't nearly as hard as it should have been.
I swallowed hard and looked. Great spindles of the black energy spiked out from his back, holding him aloft. His glazed eyes landed on us. He was speaking to someone. Someone we couldn't see. I shivered. Just like my memories of him taking to 'Master' that remained so foggy. The man holding the strings. The one I couldn't see. Shit. My focus waned, the little girl rearing her head and whimpering. It wasn't going to be enough, was it?
"Alex, can you hear me?"
"He's gonna… He…" I swallowed again and looked away, focusing on my task. Shame stung my heart. I was so afraid. Dad was unconscious. Deku was barely holding on. Bakugo was bleeding. How were we going to get to the other side of this? My hands shook and my tears fell.
And then I jolted.
A rumbling set into the earth.
"Can… Sho… Can you feel that?"
Sho frowned, but then blinked and put his hand to the ground next to mine.
Our eyes met.
What now?
So there we go, the battle in underway, blah blah blaaaaah. Again, cannot stand this chapter but I couldn't tweak it any longer without losing my mind pfft. So here we are. Hope it suffices! I'm excited to get to the next section in all honesty, as I've got some rather non-cannon "wheeee!" me just having some fuuun times ahead. So... Look forward to that, I guess? Anyway, thanks for reading, faving, following and reviewing. Cya next month!
SHOUTOUTS:
HarleKing31: Haha sorry about the wait, hope the emotional damage is bubbling along nicely for you. Plenty on the horizon I promise... Thanks for sticking with it! Hope you liked the latest chapter!
