Bearticguy7: Now I'm tempted to make a Stand User based off of Gweneth Platrow.
Kyeo307: I hate him even when I'm writing him.
Euphoria: My goal was to make AFO as unlikable as possible, just like how Horokoshi did it. Also thanks!
Jpx0999: I would wait and see. The Villain War has just begun after all, it's never to late for a bit of comeuppance...
Makobro123: Well, the stone of Aja is gone...
Guest: I don't recall saying that...but I could be wrong.
Monster King: I shall!
Alexander Lawliet: This showdown has been built up for a while, I didn't give Tomura a powerful for no reason. I always like to have my protagonists struggle when fighting the bigger antagonists.
BryanTF2: Big things will be happening in these arcs, ESPECIALLY this one! The Barge is going to set some things in motion, The Rake will put a certain character to the test, and as for Jotaro...
He may be a surprise addition to one of these plotlines.
Death Omen Star: Quoting Rocky III I see.
Kesumi Kenshiro: The Cartoonist specializes in more cartoony artstyles, so she'd probably mess up and release feral versions of those characters if she tried to draw them.
Love is a strange thing, isn't it?
It can strengthen someone, and it can tear them down. Your special someone, platonic or otherwise, can be your greatest source of strength or your greatest weakness.
People you would die for.
People who you want to protect.
People you idolize, and wish to emulate.
Now, after serving at Santana's side for a good long while, Himiko Toga had finally understood what love truly was. It was a blessing, and a curse. Now that she knew true love...
It made the sight she had just walked into even worse.
Her body moved on it's own, ignoring it's screams for relief as she broke out into a sprint, screaming her father figure's name. A hole formed in her heart, one that only Santana's warm embrace could fill...
He couldn't do that right now.
Falling to her knees beside her burnt mentor, she grabbed his hand, sobbing. Pleading. Begging for him to suddenly regenerate, to pop up and be fine...
All she got was his attempt to wheeze out her name.
"Please...you can't die...you can't leave me..." Himiko choked out. "You're the most important person in my life...please...I need you..."
A tear formed in one of Santana's eye sockets, his eyes had crumbled away from the sun exposure, as well as most of his face. He attempted to move his arm...but he couldn't.
The hole in his side wasn't closing, and she could almost feel the flame of life slowly going out. He didn't have much time left...
Lady Nagant stood behind her with a look of shock on her face. Himiko had been sent to get the disgraced hero's attention, and had come back to find the man she admired on death's door. The sniper could only stare as the look of sheer heartbreak on Himiko Toga's face had said enough about the situation.
"No...I refuse to let it end like this..."
Himiko stood up, and pulled out her knife, a stone cold glare on her face.
"Toga?"
"There's too much at stake! I refuse to let him die, and I refuse to let that crusty bastard win!" The blond snarled, her one eye slowly beginning to glow, until it burst into a yellow flame.
The Dark Determination.
"Not without him achieving his dream! Not without his ideal world becoming reality! His ideals, they're mine too! I'm not letting it end now!" Himiko screamed as she sliced her own hand open, pouring her own blood onto Santana's failing body. "Keep blood on him at all times! He can regenerate if he has blood!"
"Not enough Toga!" Compress said, his voice shaking. "He's taken too much damage! No amount of blood can save him in time!"
"LIAR!"
"There's no hope Toga..."
"There's always hope. Did Santana give up when he found out he was the last of his kind? No! He decided to take action, and he's growing the Rock Humans! The heroes broke his lung, did he quit? NO, and if he could stand right now, he would still be fighting for all of us!"
Himiko turned her one eye toward the raging battle, and her eye burned brighter.
"Keep bleeding on him, keep him safe...as for me..."
She took her knife and used the flat end of her blade to wipe some blood from the remains of Santana's chin.
"They need to believe he's still fighting with them...they need to believe that this is a cause worth fighting, and dying for. Whoever said that villains can't have hope is a fucking moron."
Himiko licked the blade as she shed her old school uniform, and she slowly grew into Santana's appearance. Almost immediately, she felt power swell within her...and her old wounds Achilles fight healing...
As if she had suddenly become the Pillar Man himself.
"Keep him alive...and PROTECT THE FUTURE!" Himiko roared in Santana's voice, slamming her fists together.
Protect the people we love.
*Yes, she just got her Quirk Awakening. Santana's state and the Dark Determination brought it out. Since she consumed Santana's blood, she got access to his Pillar Man biology before her Quirk wears off.*
AFO grinned as he removed his mask, putting on a respirator as he sat back and observed the ensuing battle. "Look at them, they are losing their morale now that their leader has fallen."
"I would've preferred it if you kept him alive."
The Stranger emerged from the darkness, his red eyes peering at AFO from underneath his mask.
"You aren't me, Lugh." AFO responded. "He was too much of a threat to keep alive, and even if he has not died yet...he has a few minutes at best. It's better this way, that way my rise to power is unimpeded by nothing but One For All."
"You truly believe that nothing else poses a threat to you, don't you?"
"It's destiny."
"Is it though? Or have you just convinced yourself that it is?" The Stranger inquired. "The Quirk, All For One, and it's counterpart One For All are just that: Quirks. A biological factor that most humans share. They aren't truly connected to fate, so theoretically, anything can pose a threat to you."
"I was given this power for a reason, and that reason is to become a Demon King, like the ones from the comic books I used to read. That is my destiny." AFO responded. "My Quirk is a gift."
"Sure...my word..."
AFO's eyeless face made a motion as if he were raising an eyebrow, and he turned to the battlefield, his jaw dropping.
Santana had somehow rejoined the fight, brutalizing all villains in his path as he made his way towards them. Dark flames were burning in the Pillar Man's eyes as he screamed in fury.
"That's...impossible..." AFO said, his breath catching in his throat. "I ripped out his lung, I burned him to the point of no recovery! How is he suddenly healthy again?!"
The Stranger began chuckling, and vanished back into the darkness.
"Lugh? Lugh!"
The reappearance of the Pillar Man had reinvigorated Santana's side of the conflict, many were cheering for him as he swung a powerful arm, knocking many aside in his fury.
"ALLL FOOOOR OOOONE!"
Santana roared his name across the battlefield, and AFO took a step back, his breath quickening in terror.
This is impossible! This should not be happening! Why is he still alive?!
Why is he reminding me of...?
The image of an enraged All Might barreling towards him with his guts hanging out popped into AFO's mind, justifying his terror. The look in Santana's eyes was the same one the Symbol of Peace had during their two battles.
Hatred, and the willingness to do anything to put AFO in the ground.
Nothing was more dangerous than a wounded hero...apparently the same could be said for Pillar Men.
Even after he had targeted Santana's weakness, the Pillar Man still rose up once more.
DAMN YOU SANTANA! STAY DEAD!
"It must be hard...dying without achieving your goals."
Santana turned around in the field of wheat, trying to find the source of the voice. "Who's there?"
"A friend."
The Pillar Man ran a hand along the reeds as he observed his surroundings. It was a peaceful woodland, filled with trees and wildlife. A far cry from the collapsing battlefield.
"Is that so? Tell me then, 'friend', am I dead?"
"No, you're not...but you are well on your way to it."
Santana fell into silence, sitting down with his head hung low.
"So...a fever dream I'd imagine..."
"In a way."
"Pre-death hallucinations...you my subconscious?"
"If you would like me to be."
Santana hummed. "All For One...I never expected him to show up, let alone blindsiding me like a cowardly little bitch. Tomura did all the work for him. That man does not deserve anything other than a fucking beatdown."
"I agree. What he did was dishonorable, he deserves a coward's death."
"Not even death. He deserves to learn the truth about himself, that without his Quirk, without his power, he isn't special at all. He lives in delusion, a pathetic old man clinging onto comic books as a means to cope with his true inferiority. He's the most shallow bastard I've ever met." Santana said with a huff. "Although...I suppose it's up to Izuku Midoriya and OFA to teach him that lesson."
"Not really. Anyone can take a stand against him, it really is only a matter of power scaling. If you had seen him coming, he'd already be dead." The voice said. "If OFA defeats him, it would only prove his delusions correct, am I wrong?"
"You are not, but as it stands...I am no longer able to fight. AFO has beaten me..."
"Only if you give up. Himiko Toga hasn't. She has taken your appearance and is currently inspiring your army in your place. She was inspired by you. You felt it, didn't you? She gave you her blood in an attempt to save you."
"I never wanted her to do something like that...if Tomura or AFO kills her too..."
"Then protect her."
"HOW?! I'M DYING!" Santana yelled, angered. "How?"
"Are you really going to accept death at the hands of that pathetic excuse of a 'Demon King?' You're stronger than him in every way Santana. Not just in power...stronger conviction, stronger mind, body, morals...he does not deserve a victory over you."
"I don't accept it...not at all." Santana said, sitting down, dejected. "I...just don't have any hope of recovery."
"Did you not hear the girl? She said, 'who says villains can't have hope?' Santana...there IS hope, you have it within you. Conviction alone is nothing without the hope to back it up. I can help you find it..."
Santana was about to ask how, when he was suddenly blanketed with darkness.
Next thing he knew, everything was in pain. He was back in the realm of the living, listening as someone talked...
"The girl was sent to get me...it was so he could keep her out of danger. He didn't need me for this fight, not at all. He wanted me to protect her." Lady Nagant said, and from the sound of it, she was loading her rifle.
"Toga is somehow tapping into a Pillar Man's biology. It appears as though her Quirk allows her to mimic the physical abilities of those she loves...but she can't use his Stand! They're either going to find out...or she'll fall in battle too..."
"That's why I'm going out there."
"Nagant, you were against joining us last time."
"I'm not letting a 16-year old girl martyr herself! Especially since Santana clearly cares for her...I was wrong about him, about all of this, the fact that he sent her away from the battle proves it."
Santana tried to speak, but his throat was burning.
"S...sa..."
"Santana! Don't waste your energy!" The Cartoonist yelled, and judging from her voice she was barely holding it together.
A hand clasped around his, gently, assuringly.
"You were about to say 'save her', right?" Nagant asked. Santana lifted his head in an attempt to nod, but Nagant's other hand gently pushed it back down. "You don't need to respond...I can tell. You're...a good man Santana, I can see that now. I'll do my best to protect her...and if we both live through this...you can consider me your friend."
"Already...do..." Santana managed to wheeze out, the remainder of his lips curving into a smile before he slipped back into darkness.
Nagant stood up, letting go of Santana's hand to leave the Pillar Man to rest. Her eyes were different, they had a bit more color to them.
"He said we were kindred spirits y'know. We were both pawns in someone else's game. Kars...the Public Hero Safety Commission...both child soldiers made to fight someone else's war...yet he kept his compassion."
Her gaze turned steely as she began walking towards the battlefield.
"I see why he freed me now, he wanted to create a world where people like us wouldn't exist. A world where no one is an outcast...a pawn...and you know what? I fucking believe in it!"
Nagant got on her knees, looking into her scope. If she could line up a shot on AFO...
Tomura, fully healed, landed on the battlefield once more.
"SANTANA!"
He slammed into "Santana" before he could attack AFO, and the imposter flipped back with a surprising amount of acrobatic skill...
As if he had adopted a different fighting style.
Tomura punched out, but Santana sidestepped and drove a fist into his side, knocking him away. With a snarl of rage, the imposter grabbed Tomura by the hair and began aggressively punching him in the face.
"Santana" was going feral.
"YOU FUCKING MONSTER!"
Tomura attempted to defend himself by encasing himself in his stone hands, and the imposter Pillar Man's fists thudded against them. This was an immediate red flag for the villain.
He was able to break through them before...why isn't he using his Stand? He's only attacking me with his normal Pillar Man strength...
Did I decay his Stand so that it is taking awhile to come back?
No...it only took a few seconds when I fought him last, and this Santana seems much angrier, wilder...
TOGA.
"Santana is still on the ground, ain't he?" The eyeless monster asked with a smirk. "You've taken his place to inspire these idiots!"
"I WON'T FORGIVE YOU FOR WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!" Himiko screamed in Santana's voice, her yellow eye briefly being exposed with a fiery yellow glare. Tears were flying from underneath her disguise. "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
"We were worried for nothing! Turns out it's just a cheap imitation!" Tomura called up to his master, who grinned.
"Ah...that makes more sense." AFO said, and levitated into the battle, a casually blasting a LOV villain's head off. That feeling of panic...it's subsiding...now that I know it's just one of the fallen Pillar Man's goons...
Still...the fact that I felt fear in the first place, Santana isn't a OFA user, I never had anything to worry about. I just got reminded of All Might, that's all...
"HE FELT BAD FOR YOU!" Himiko screamed throughout the battlefield, and her real voice started to break through.
Tomura's smirk faltered slightly. "He did? I don't need the pity of a dead man."
"He said he felt bad for Tenko...said he knew what it was like to lose everything, to become a pawn to some old man's game!" Himiko continued, using her fist to bash Tomura's chest. The villain wheezed, but stood his ground, sending a flurry of hands her way.
She screamed as several of them bashed her across the face, destroying part of her disguise and sending her eye patch flying. The scars given to her by Diego Brando, and the missing eyeball, were now exposed to the world.
Everyone on the battlefield who was paying attention went quiet.
Santana's face melted away, but his muscular body remained. A bloody Himiko Toga stood firm in the face of Tomura and the approaching AFO, and her eye began burning with a greater intensity, the Dark Determination never wavering.
"Santana never once thought about using someone like that...Santana views us all as equals. He isn't even human, but AFO is..."
Himiko pointed at AFO with a snarl.
"WHY IS IT THAT A PILLAR MAN IS MORE HUMAN THAN YOU'LL EVER BE? ALL FOR ONE?!"
AFO laughed, spreading his arms wide.
"I see what this is! I used to read about this in comic books! This is the part where the side characters make a last stand, only to be picked off!"
"You're absolutely right AFO." Himiko said, her bloody face sporting a wide smile. "So hurry up and die already."
The king of villainy stopped laughing, taking a moment to process what Himiko had just said. While his mask hid any sort of expression, his anger was clear. "You dare...?"
"Come here and prove me wrong then! Or is it better to let Tomura do all the work for you like the pawn he is?!" Himiko taunted.
Tomura was frozen by her words, his mouth hanging open.
AFO's hands were shaking as he slowly began lifting them. "You...little...INSECT! You should know your place!"
*BANG!*
A shot rang out through the battlefield, and a blue/pink projectile slammed into AFO's head, shattering a portion of his helmet. He cried out in surprise as he turned around and produced a shield, deflecting the other shot.
Lady Nagant had hit her mark, and now part of AFO's mouth was exposed. His mask wasn't producing as much oxygen as it should.
"You see that? He isn't invincible! He isn't some 'Demon King!' He's an old man struggling to cope with his asthma! He may have a lot of power, but he still has a weakness! WE STILL HAVE A CHANCE! PROTECT THE FUTURE!" Himiko screamed, pointing her knife up to the sky.
The LOV portion of the war began cheering Himiko's name, rallying behind her. AFO could only stare in shock, unable to believe it.
They scored a hit on my mask! Now they're rallying behind that little pest?! She's weak compared to the Pillar Man!
A giant figure emerged from behind the rocks, further shocking the nemesis of OFA.
"It took a while, but I managed to draw someone who can help!" The Cartoonist said, grinning from the figure's shoulder.
What. The. Hell?
Optimus Prime cocked his gun, glaring at All For One with clear disdain. "AFO...your reign of terror ends here!"
WHY IS THERE A TRANSFORMER?! WHAT?!
"I can draw anyone who was animated with pencil and paper, that includes the old 80s Transformers cartoons!" The Cartoonist declared. "Art is one of the greatest weapons on Earth, and I'll use it to take you down, ALL FOR ONE!"
"This is nonsensical! You don't stand a chance!" AFO shouted, and as she engaged with a silent Tomura, Himiko grinned as she muttered a response.
"Nonsensical is how I do things, motherfucker!"
"You see how they fight for you? You're special to them."
Santana was hearing everything happening outside, and he was barely holding it together. Himiko's bravery and determination, AFO's amusing reaction to Optimus Prime, Nagant's promise...
He already wanted to fight alongside them...but something was holding him back.
"What do we do about him?"
Kars' voice rang through the space as visions of him and Esidesi appeared before him.
"He isn't as powerful as Wammu, his ribcage attack is only for situational, close-quarters combat."
"He is a remarkable fighter though, skilled would be an understatement."
"It doesn't matter how skilled he is...look at him."
A vision of a young orange haired boy in a loincloth appeared before him. The boy was laughing, playing around with a small racoon. Teasing the small animal by holding a stick above it's head, he began playing tug of war with it.
Such joy...
"He's not cut out for it...he's too soft. It's better if we train him to be a...guardian of sorts."
"...they were wrong about you. There is nothing wrong with compassion."
"Even now...Kars said my compassion would be my downfall. That I could never compare to him, or Esidesi...or Lord Wammu..."
"You still call Wammu that?"
"He was the only one that didn't think that way about me. He is my inspiration..."
"There was a reason for that, brother."
Santana's eyes widened, and he turned around to find Wammu himself. There was a moment of silence between the two. "It was you..."
"Indeed."
"I..."
"Santana, you have misunderstood the situation. Kars...Esidesi...they never understood how important you really were to our cause. Me? I followed Kars out of duty, because it was part of my code of honor. You though? You have carved your own path...separate from all of us."
"Lord Wammu..."
"No...you are the one who deserves that title, Lord Santana." Wammu said with a smile. "Look at what you have created...look at the people you have inspired. I mean it, take a look..."
"WE'RE LOSING HIM!" Compress screamed as a sobbing Penance poured blood onto Santana's failing body. "WE'RE LOSING HIM!"
Dabi limped towards them, grunting. "Fuck...is...any of this really worth it?"
"Yes!"
"I understand you all care for the guy, but AFO is here...and Toga hasn't got much time left. We might honestly lose..." Dabi replied, adjusting his flamethrower arm. "A retreat...might be our only option for survival...for him too."
"If we give up here, AFO wins. We give up here, we could never stand up to them again!" Penance said, both in grief and rage. "If Santana dies...without ever achieving his dream...this is not an ending any of us can accept! His is a life we can't afford to lose!"
"If AFO wins, things will change, but for the worse." Compress agrees. "This battle is a deciding one."
"It's all that Zeppeli guy's fault!" Penance snarled. "If he hadn't wounded Santana, this wouldn't be happening! If I ever meet that guy, it's ON SIGHT!"
"We have bigger concerns than a teenager." Compress said, before he noticed something happening on the battlefield. "No...NO!"
Without a word, that magician dashed off.
Himiko stumbled back, her Pillar Man body slowly melting away. She only had a bit of time left before she reverted back to her normal self, and Tomura wasn't taking it easy on her.
"What did you mean back there?! I'm his successor, I decide the future for myself!" Tomura yelled as a bloody Himiko rolled out of the way of an attack.
"You're doing exactly what he wants you to! Do you think it was a mistake that he was the one who took you in?! You're only a tool to him, your hatred is only going to hurt you!" Himiko yelled, using Santana's fist to strike Tomura in the solar plexus once more. "That is if I don't first!"
"I decide my own destiny!" Tomura snarled, bit for a brief moment there was a look of doubt on his face.
Tenko was still in there.
"Funny how those decisions just happen to be what AFO wants, huh?'
" We have the same goal!"
"Do you though? From what I heard he wants a dictatorship, to rule the world,.pretty stereotypical motivation for a villain if you ask me!" Himiko yelled, using Santana's arm to catch Tomura's wrist, and flipped him. "Don't you just want revenge?"
"I..."
AFO slammed into the rocks at Tomura's feet, having taken a punch from Optimus Prime. The Demon King quickly got to his feet, and raised his hand.
"Enough of this tomfoolery! You are all just prolonging your inevitable defeat!"
He unleashed the same blast of light he used to take down Santana, burning several villains where they stood, hitting Himiko as well. Santana's surrogate daughter screamed as she felt the most unbearable pain she had ever felt before.
"You take on the strength of a Pillar Man, you get the weaknesses too." AFO said vindictively. "I stole a Quirk capable of unleashing UV radiation before All Might locked me away! I was prepared for him from the start!"
"YOU STABBED HIM WHILE HE WASN'T LOOKING, YOU COWARD!" Himiko screamed as she bit down on her tongue, writhing in agony as she felt her own flesh beginning to burn away.
So...she was forced to deactivate her Quirk.
Her Santana disguise melted away, and a naked, burned, and bleeding Himiko Toga rolled to her feet. Picking up a rock from the ground, she desperately hurled it at AFO, and it thunked harmlessly off of his helmet.
The part of the villain's mouth that was exposed grinned.
"What was that supposed to do? You can call me a coward all you want...it doesn't change the fact that you have dreamed too big! Your pitiful little resistance has been rendered moot, your misplaced hope, CRUSHED. Your-"
Another one of Nagant's bullets slammed into AFO'S helmet, taking a bit off the top.
"You talk too much." Himiko said with a smirk. "Can't resist a good evil monologue to save your life. Are you...compensating for something?"
"Enough of this foolishness, I've grown quite bored of you." AFO said rather quickly, and raised his hand, revealing a small microphone. "May as well-"
The microphone was shot out of his hand.
"Nope, your pet giant ain't getting anywhere near here!" Himiko yelled as she jumped into a giant hand. Optimus Prime lifted her to safety and swung an axe at the Demon King, AFO deflecting it with even more annoyance.
"Why is this so much of a struggle? Being assaulted by these pushovers?" He muttered to himself.
"You are not fit to rule over this world." The Transformer said, swinging the axe once more, only to reveal it was actually a feint, and AFO dodged right into a backhand.
The Demon King was sent hurtling to the ground, skipping across the dirt as he struggled to protect his mask.
"All power, no skill. You steal the Quirks that require little training, easy to use. You never needed to be skilled, but now that is coming back to bite you." Optimus said as AFO suddenly unleashed a blast.
"Who needs training when you're unstoppable?" AFO countered. "As for your leadership comment, look at all the people who wish to follow me! I'm already a leader! Have been for quite some time!"
"I have lead the Autobots for millions of stellar cycles. Leadership is not stoking their anger, and manipulating them to do what you want. Leadership isn't about deciding who is more valuable based on power." Optimus replied, firing his gun while nursing a damaged arm. "What matters most in a soldier is their heart, and their spark...or spirit as you humans call it. Their intelligence too...the individual is more important than their abilities."
"That's hardly practical." AFO snorted. "Heart? Heart doesn't matter in the slightest!"
"That is why you have pawns, and Santana has friends." Optimus retorted as he began to decay. Tomura had caught him off guard. "That is why...you will lose...this fight..."
"OPTIMUS, NOOOO!" The Cartoonist screamed. "He was so hard to draaaaw!"
"Please, he comes back to life every other Tuesday." AFO said. "You're that one character that constantly makes obscure references, aren't you? Those characters tend to die first!"
"Kill this!"
The Cartoonist threw an abnormally large mallet at AFO, and it was hard to suppress snickers as a *BONK!* sound effect happened as a result.
Himiko snorted as she limped away from Optimus' decaying body, almost forgetting how desperate her situation was.
I need to get to Santana...I need to see how he's doing...replenish my "Pillar Man juice" if he needs more time.
I have to believe he's gonna make it, I have to believe we will win...
The Cartoonist was thrown against a rock next to Himiko, inky black blood flying everywhere. She choked back the urge to scream for her comrade, hoping that The Cartoonist had survived the blow.
Himiko could only limp on, and hold onto that hope.
We have to win...if we don't everything will be for nothing...all we've accomplished...
Please, please let us win!
"Still praying for Santana to come and save you?" AFO taunted, floating after her. "I'm afraid you're quite out of touch with reality, you won't get your pie in the sky ending that you so desperately crave! All of you are just lambs for the slaughter!"
"No...I refuse to give up." Himiko said, grimacing.
A black and red rivet stabbed through her leg, pinning her to the ground. Himiko fought the urge to scream as AFO coldly approached.
"Poor little worm...my villains are already targeting your sniper, I'm afraid she might be under attack as we speak. You actually thought you had a chance...how unbearably naive of you."
"You said...I was out of touch with reality...but that's not true...it's you who needs their eyes checked." Himiko gasped out, glaring at the Demon King with pure loathing. "Kill me, it doesn't prove you right. We still made you sweat, and I saw how you reacted when I came out as Santana. You're nothing but a coward in a Demon King's clothing."
"You even speak like him." AFO said with disgust, aiming a rivet at Himiko's chest. "Any last words?"
"I just know your dick is small!"
A rivet stabbed forward, and the arena splattered with blood.
Compress' blood.
The magician had jumped in between Himiko and the oncoming attack, being speared through the chest for her. Himiko's one eye widened as the blood of her friend splashed across her face, unable to process what had just happened.
Then it hit her.
"No...Compress...COMPRESS!" Himiko screamed as the magician fell to the ground in a heap. The teenaged girl could only stare as Compress laid still.
Memories of them fooling around with Twice before the League received new leadership flashed in her mind, memories of him playing stupid card tricks, coming around to Santana, affectionately ruffling her hair...
AFO just fucking kebabed one of her best friends, after he torched her father.
"COMPRESS GET UP! COMPRESS!" The teenaged girl wailed, tears running down her face as she attempted to remove a rivet from her leg.
"Like I said...you won't be getting your fairy tale ending here." AFO said, brushing a fleck of blood off of his suit. "It's over for you and your 'save the outcasts' agenda, your false hope, everything! Goodbye, Santana's pet..."
Santana and Wammu found themselves in a white void.
"Now, my brother...is when you choose. You can rejoin our brethren in the afterlife...or you can resume your plight on Earth." Wammu said, although he was smirking.
"You already know what I'm going to choose."
"I do. That girl needs you, they all need you, and I know you are not the type to let their hope be in vain." The blond Pillar Man said with a gentle smile. "Why, that would be dishonor."
"Even if I return, my body is beyond repair, right?"
"Not necessarily. Lord Esidesi was able to replace his severed arm with a human one during his fight with JoJo, you should be able to do the same with a lung. It will become a part of you...and once you are able to breathe properly, you can regenerate from your wounds."
"Okay...that takes care of the no lung problem...but AFO and Tomura at once is a deadly combination, especially if I'm still recovering..."
"That is why you must embrace your inner strength Santana. You have already deviated from the path Kars set for you, it's time to cement it in stone. Your compassion is your greatest strength Santana, not a weakness like Kars said it would be. Your ability to form genuine connections with the people around you...something we could not do. Embrace it...embrace who you were really meant to be."
Santana stared at Wammu for a minute, and pressed his lips together. "For thousands of years I was taught to ignore it...and now I see how big of a mistake that was. Wammu...thank you for enlightening me..."
"You also no longer fight alone. You don't need to fight them both at once. AFO might have a lot of power, but at the end of the day he is a shallow, dishonorable man. He can't take on everyone at once." Wammu said. "He would be foolish if he tried."
Santana nodded, and the white void began getting brighter. Without saying a word, he hugged Wammu, and the other Pillar Man returned it.
"AWAKEN, SANTANA."
*Play the fucking OST*
The Pillar Man burst forth back to reality with a scream of fury, his burnt ruined body slamming to it's feet. Penance watched in awe as Santana, looking more like a zombie than anything, summoned a pair of golden boots, jumping somewhere into the battlefield.
Even villains can have hope. The masochist thought to himself, a bright smile forming underneath his helmet.
Dr. Ujiko was over the moon.
Finally, AFO is back in his rightful place! Sure, Santana's rats are annoying him, but...
"It appears as though your master is a bit too cocky."
The Stranger appeared beside him, and Ujiko could hear the sneer in the being's voice.
"He won."
"Did he now?"
"Yes. He's going to finish off the brat Himiko Toga as we speak, that childish cartoonist and the magician have both fallen, and Santana is pretty much a dead man. I-"
"Your master is an idiot. Here I thought he might prove useful to me...but his overconfidence is proving to be his downfall. He should've finished Santana off instead of assuming he would die." The Stranger said. "He has sealed all of your fates."
Ujiko frowned. "Aren't you on our side?"
"I have no side, I only do what benefits me. Your master has outlived his usefulness, since his arrogance stunts his intelligence." The Stranger replied, shaking his head. "Goodbye Garaki."
"Goodbye?! Wait, how do you know my real na-"
The masked horror had vanished, leaving Ujiko staring at the spot where he had vanished in disbelief.
"Good...bye?"
"Doctor..."
Ujiko's eyes widened in terror as he whirled around...
Only for the skeletal form of Santana to drive his fist into the Doctor's chest. Blood poured onto the floor as Ujiko struggled to breathe, feeling the Pillar Man's hand grasp around something inside.
"I require a transplant." Santana coldly said, and tore Ujiko's lung out. The Doctor crashed to the floor, gasping, watching as Santana shoved the his lung into the hole in his chest.
The last thing Ujiko saw was an eyeball popping back into existence on Santana's skeletal face, as the Pillar Man took a long, deep breath.
The eye was blood red.
Weren't...his eyes...blue?
