A note on chronology:
This chapter picks up where 84 left off and runs concurrently to 85.
Chapter 86: Heroes and Villains
Tomura Shigaraki blinked.
"Where am I?" he muttered. "Am I dreaming?"
Disembodied hands floated in a white void. He stood atop one of them, shirtless, his pants ragged at his hips. His old house floated by. The Shimura home.
"I know Daddy said all that stuff, but…I'm on your side, Tenko."
Tomura turned. His sister was standing there, black pigtails and all.
"Hana-chan…"
"I shouldn't have pulled that picture of Grandma out. It was my fault, I'm sorry. I was the one who said it had to be a secret."
"Oh, that…" Tomura remembered. Nana, his grandmother had been named. She'd been a hero. But he and Hana had been forbidden by their father to talk about her.
"Whatever," he told her with a shrug. "It doesn't matter now."
"Tenko…"
His mother loomed down, the lower half of her body dissolving away. "You've scratched yourself ragged…I told you to stop rubbing your eyes."
Tenko looked up at her, a child again. "Sorry, Mom. But…I'll be okay now."
"Tenko! Did you sneak into my study!?" His father, the man's massive hand descending to strike him.
Tomura smiled. He raised his own hand against his father's much larger one, and dissolved it away. He dissolved it all away, leaving nothing but dark.
And out of that darkness came Master.
"Tomura…come to me now," said All For One, floating across a rock bridge in the middle of the void.
Tomura took a step forward. His family reached out to hold him back. Their hands placed on the exact parts of his body where he'd kept them for so long.
"Tenko, wait!"
"Tenko, don't forget!"
I don't…need you anymore. I'm beyond you. I'm beyond your abuse, your hate and your love.
Nana Shimura's hand touched the back of his head. Tomura struggled onward, toward All For One.
"Tenko, please!" Nana called sharply.
"Ignore her," AFO said smoothly. "She's dead and gone, worthless."
"Tenko! It's bigger than this! It's…" Nana's voice became warped, and suddenly the whole void lurched.
"You're all going to DIE!" his grandmother roared, and the air around them began to crack and shatter.
All For One's grin faded. "Huh?" he muttered. "Wh-wha…"
Tomura blinked. I don't understand.
His master's form began to shimmer and glitch, like an old TV. AFO reached up for his own throat, his legs kicking.
"Stop!" he demanded hoarsely, his voice filling with fear. "Stop, we…we had a DEAL!"
Tomura looked on, horrified. His vision seemed to be collapsing around him. He looked down at his own hands. Am…am I doing this?
Somehow, he thought not. There was something else yet unseen.
And despite that, he felt exulted, flowing with power. Like he could do anything.
Fine then, Master, Tomura thought, as the man disappeared, dragged into the darkness behind him. Die. I don't need you either. I need no one but myself. I'll destroy it ALL!
The vision faded completely. He became aware of the cold floor beneath him, and a caped man sitting next to him.
"I'm…cold," Shigaraki muttered.
…
"He can't have gone far!" Endeavor barked. He was moving as if to leave the lab, carrying a barely conscious Mirko in his arms.
"Yes, he could have," said Aizawa, keeping his eyes on Yamishiwa as he dragged him along the floor. Next to him, Mic was doing the same with the older scientist, both captured. You're not getting away. "The Quirk has a range of several hundred miles at least."
"Still," insisted Mic, taking Endeavor's side. "Eraser, you know that with Everywhere unaccounted for…"
They both remembered what the boy had told the UA staff.
"Come on, Lemillion! Crust! We can't linger!"
Togata was holding Nighteye. "Your Quirk…your Quirk…" he seemed inconsolable. "It's my fault…"
"It's okay, Mirio…" Nighteye got himself to his feet. "We have to move. Something's about to happen."
Crust was near the back of the lab. Beyond him was a mess of wreckage, nigh-impassable, but X-less had gone back there to collect Shigaraki. "What's about to happen?"
In Aizawa's arms, Yamishiwa chuckled. "You will not find my son anywhere nearby."
In the distance, thunder.
Endeavor looked up at the gaping hole above them that led to the upper area of the hospital. "Come on! Eraser's eyes won't work forever!"
"All I did…I did for Shigaraki…" Doctor Garaki mumbled. Mic winced, as if revolted to even touch the old man.
"Master sacrificed everything…even his own Quirk…he took on a duplicate…and gave the original to…"
A strange electrical buzzing sounded off at the back of the lab.
Crust took a step backward. "Umm…everyone?"
Then, the decay began.
It all seemed to happen in silence. The wreckage blasted apart, dissolving away in a wave that spread toward them like a dark fire. All of Aizawa's nerves buzzed at once, a sweeping of fear that seized him and froze him solid. His mouth opened to scream, and he blinked.
Yamishiwa broke free, kicking out of Aizawa's grip, and warped away, gone. Aizawa reached out to grab him, but his fingers swiped through air and a remnant of black goo. Garaki cackled in glorious glee. Endeavor grabbed him and Mic with one hand and took off with a blast of flame. The wave came right behind him, reaching Aizawa's feet, reaching, reaching.
It pushed up to Lemillion, Crust, and Nighteye. Mirio threw Nighteye to Aizawa's arms in a last, desperate move. Mere seconds had passed. Aizawa had enough time to process the pain and sadness in the third year's always-joyful blue eyes, and his heart broke. What world is this, where a boy of eighteen has to sacrifice himself for…?
Aizawa caught Nighteye, and watched Mirio permeate downward into the decay wave. Be safe, boy! He urged. You, at least, will grow up to be a great hero. Even if he himself died before he could teach the rest. Class A…I'm sorry.
Ryukyu's great scaly wings flapped down from above, a ray of open sunshine breaking behind her as the roof of the hospital decayed and collapsed. She reached down to pick Aizawa and Nighteye up in her talons, but the wave was outracing her faster and faster and…
…Crust gave Aizawa a shove. He stumbled backward, the other man's fingers decaying even as they finished their last act, Crust smiling as his whole body disintegrated.
Ryukyu's claws closed around the two surviving men. Aizawa screamed. "NOOOOO…"
Nighteye only slouched and let himself be carried up into the sky. Beneath them, the wave continued on.
…
"…Huh?" Burnin tapped her earpiece. "What was that!? Endeavor, what's happening up there? You…"
A distant rumbling. Izuku froze.
He and Mina had just returned to the rally point. Bakugo and Todoroki had returned as well, but the other groups were still out, finishing their jobs.
Mina looked back. "Midoriya?" she swallowed, fear filling her heart. "What is it?"
Bakugo looked as well. "Fuck," he said under his breath.
Izuku was looking at the ground. On his face was an expression of heart-stopping terror.
"He's coming!" he choked out, hoarsely. "He's…he's coming right now!"
…
"Follow me!" Tsuyu said, leading three families out onto the street. Nejire floated above the corner, directing traffic from above. "This way!" she told them, pointing to the right. "Keep going until you reach Uravity-chan, then turn left!"
At the next corner down, Ochaco was floating. Both her and Nejire were directing traffic as Tsuyu coaxed the families out of the houses. It was working well as a system, but…
Then, Nejire heard a rumbling.
She looked up across the town. Up to the hill, where the heroes were fighting in the hospital. From up here, she could see the site.
A cloud of dust was raising up from it. Beyond the cloud, she could see the building's dark silhouette…and she could see it moving. Falling in on itself. Collapsing. Decaying.
The cloud was spreading toward the city.
"URAVITY!" she screamed, pointing.
Ochaco turned and looked. For a moment, fear gripped her, but then she narrowed her eyes.
She knew what that was. What that QUIRK was. Even though she'd never seen it at that level of power, she knew. Her old friend from the rooftop and the mall, who'd threatened her time and time again and had begun her spiral into depression.
"It's Shigaraki!" she called, and closed her fist. Come on out and play, you whiny scum. I'll end you myself.
…
Dabi groaned and turned over. Every part of his body hurt. Damn, he thought. Those kids almost got me, and I haven't even gotten to Dad and Shoto yet.
"Dabi! Are you okay?!"
Compress and Spinner came running up. They helped him to his feet.
"No," Dabi groaned. "I might have broken something." He'd taken some bad punches and a nasty fall. That, along with his burns…it's fine, I'm ready to die soon. Just gotta make it to the family…
"Twice is dead," he told them.
"We know. Toga's gone crazy. I told her she'd get herself killed, but she's standing against the heroes. They're overflowing the walls. The side of the mansion is ripped open. Dabi, we have to…" Spinner cut himself off.
A HUGE arm burst out of the floor, probing, swooping. Debris and pieces of mansion rained down on the space. Heroes and PLF members alike broke off their battles and screamed and fled.
Riding in the palm of the arm's hand was a furious Himiko Toga, goo dripping off of her.
Dabi grinned. "Shigaraki's awake! The big idiot is moving!"
Compress clutched his hat in fear. "Oh dear! Does that mean…"
Gigantomachia pulled himself up fully into the ground floor of the villa, dislodging the building's foundations with a rumble.
"Master…" he groaned. "I'll come save you…! And bring all your little friends!"
He stepped forward, casually crushing two heroes with his foot, and reached down to pick up Dabi, Spinner, and Compress. They had no choice but to let themselves get taken.
The giant moved Toga to his back along with the other three. Spinner stumbled as he landed, and stepped gingerly. "It's spiky up here!" he complained.
Toga twirled her knife. "Is it just us, then?" she muttered. "Forward, Giga-Chan. Get us out of this stupid mansion. Crush any bugs in your path."
"Oh!" Compress exclaimed. "I didn't know he was willing to take commands from us!"
"Master's friends…must protect…"
Far beneath them, people swarmed like ants. Dabi smiled. "In that case…Gigantomachia, find Skeptic and bring him with us. We need him too." Time to start the second satellite broadcast!
Gigantomachia lowered his head like a bull and looked out through the opening seam in the mansion. Beyond was the forest, and a thick army of heroes. "Understood," he grunted.
…
"Head south, please!" Iida commanded the steam of evacuating citizens robotically, zipping back and forth amongst them, gesturing with his arms in the direction they needed to go. "Follow Comicman's signs! Head to the safe area!"
"Safe area!" someone scoffed. "Like that's a real thing anymore!"
"I had to leave my important documents behind!" another person said. "My boss needs them by Friday…"
"We will ensure their safety," Iida promised. Inwardly, Koji Koda kinda doubted it.
Fukidashi was at the end of the lane, his speech-bubble head flashing an arrow to the left. Someone tried to throw a water bottle at him. He retracted his head into his body to dodge, and then popped it back out. Written on it now was LEARN YOUR MANNERS.
Someone else in the crowd swore, and there were more complaints about leaving stuff behind. Iida was trying to reassure them with little success. Koji wished he was better at this sort of thing.
Then suddenly, Iida was next to him. "Is that all of this sector?" he asked.
"Nearly," Koji said. He'd been using birds to scout all the nooks and crannies of the neighborhood. Now, he controlled a dog to come running up to them, tongue lolling.
A crying girl in the crowd suddenly screamed out, and the dog ran up to her. She picked it up and smiled. Her parents looked toward Koji. "Thank you…?"
"Anima," he said. "You ever lose a pet again, come calling to m-me."
It was weird to say something like that with confidence, but the Pussycats had been trying their best to train him up. Speaking of which…
Koji scouted with another bird in the air.
Oh no. It said. Oh no, oh no, oh no.
The other birds he was controlling joined in, until it was a cacophony. No no no no no.
What?! What is it?
Destruction cloud/wave/circle on its way. Cat heroes trying to stop it…! Ah!
Beneath his feet, Koji felt a rumbling. His heart was stricken with terror, and he used a part of his power that he hadn't used since he was little. Because it scared him. But whatever the bird was saying scared him more, and he needed to see it.
He blinked, and skinchanged into the bird, seeing through its eyes. The bird briefly fought his consciousness off, blood rising in the back of its throat, but they were both overcome by the distraction of the sight in front of them.
The hospital was gone. A rolling wall of cloud was spreading out over the city, reaching the front nearly twenty blocks ahead where the pro heroes were. Koji spotted Ryukyu the dragon flying away from the cloud, other heroes in her claws and riding on her back. A burst of flame further out that could only be Endeavor. And on the ground…
Mandalay and Tiger were running, but Pixie-Bob stopped, and turned back toward the decay wave. She slammed her pawed hands into the ground, and activated her Quirk.
BOOOOOOOM! A huge rumble shook the Earth, and the road collapsed before her as the wave of dust reared up, the two Quirks clashing against each other, one frantically trying to hold the other back.
Koji could only watch helplessly as Pixie-Bob fell into the collapsing debris as she sacrificed herself to halt the wave, disappearing into the gloom. The woman who'd picked him up from his internship, a million years ago.
The bird squawked in agony. "NOOOOOO!" the boy screamed.
Iida shook him back into his own body. "Koda! KODA! WHAT IS IT?! WHAT'S HAPPENING?"
Koda shook his head slowly. Many of his classmates had gathered around him. Ashido, Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki were all back. That was good. That meant that they'd gotten almost everyone clear.
"Run," he croaked.
…
Fat Gum dropped Komori, Amajiki, and Honenuki back at the clearing in the woods, where the rest of the UA students who'd been assigned to the villa attack were holding out.
Yaoyorozu stepped forward. "What's happening up there, sir?"
"No time to explain! One of your classmates is still all up in it!" Fat Gum shouted. He turned to head back up the hill toward the battle.
"Tokoyami?" Sero asked hoarsely.
"Fat Gum, sir! We can fight!" Jiro declared.
Amajiki nodded. "I'm not done, sensei…I've got some left in the tank…"
"No, you need to stay here and protect these first years! Stay out of it! We've almost secured things here, just gotta…" Fat Gum's voice trailed off as he disappeared back into the trees.
"What was it like up there?" Tokage demanded, asking her two classmates.
Komori was shaking. "Chaos, shroom. Thousands of enemies."
"The heroes needed our Quirks to clear the zone," said Honenuki. "Do not envy us. I'm glad to be back here, and safely out of the way…"
"We're not," said Jiro.
All eyes turned to her. Her jacks were plugged into the ground, and her eyes were glazed over.
"Something is coming. Something huge."
…
Mirio Togata descended into hell.
Usually when he permeated into the floor or the ground, he lost all his senses, and had to focus entirely on driving himself into one direction, popping out somewhere else before he passed out from lack of oxygen.
But this time…the ground around him was decaying, falling away. So it was more akin to drowning in a dark ocean, with fragmented images of the destruction around him.
He knew he had to find a direction to pop out, but he didn't know where to go. He was tumbling over and over, his heart pounding in his ears. Debris and decay and concrete passed through him.
Blinking in and out of sight, a single figure resolved in the distance, standing tall in a swirling inferno of decay, a ragged cape streaming out behind him. His hair was pure white.
Shigaraki. We failed after all. He, Mirko, and Everywhere had been so close…but the reveal that the scientist was Katayama's father had thrown him off. Then Mirko had lost her arm, and the Quirk-destroying bullet had been fired…
Unlike last time, Mirio had assumed there was no one to protect, so he'd permeated and let the bullet pass through him. But there was always someone to protect. He'd never make that mistake again, if he got out of this alive.
I'm sorry, Sir. Nighteye's Quirk was gone, and Katayama was lost.
Mirio pushed himself away from Shigaraki, determined to get clear of the decay wave and regroup. I may be one of the few capable of fighting him with his Quirk like that. I can't let myself die!
He propelled himself through fragmented ground, catching glimpses of other fleeing heroes. Gran Torino had grabbed Wash and Rock Lock and was jetting out just ahead of the wave. Thirteen had briefly stopped to use her Quirk on the decay, but then turned and kept running once she saw it was ineffective. The wave might have caught up and killed her; Mirio wasn't sure. He only got a glimpse. We could have stopped this.
The doctors had truly won.
A massive wave of ice rose up against the decay wave, jutting out between three houses and rising up, a blockade of safety. Mirio permeated through it and gasped for breath, rolling on the ground, solidifying himself.
Nearby stood Shoto Todoroki, backing up hastily. "Come on, Senpai!" he shouted when he saw Mirio. "That won't hold it…"
He'd made it all the way to the evacuation zone. That was no relief, because it meant the decay had reached the civilians, too.
Mirio turned and watched the ice crumble, Shigaraki's unimaginable power reducing it to nothing, forward and forward and forward….
Deku leapt upward and sliced a kick through the air. "FORTY FIVE PERCENT….SMASH!"
A shimmering, percussive shockwave blasted against the decay. Mirio winced and covered his eyes, then an explosion went off next to him, and he was suddenly being carried into the sky.
The last of the problematic first-year trio, Bakugo, was taking him back away from Deku and Todoroki's battlefront.
"You may be slippery, senpai, but your power won't do much against that shit," he hissed.
"We ALL have to get clear!" Mirio told him.
"We're trying, dammit! All the civilians are clear, but we can't find Round Face, or Frog Face, OR Deku's airheaded girlfriend!"
Mirio's eyes widened. "Nejire?!"
Bakugo set him down next to Burnin and a few other first year students. Ashido, Iida, Koda, and Fukidashi.
The sound behind them stopped. They all looked to see Deku standing there, green lightning wreathed around him, chest heaving with breath. Todoroki stood somewhat back.
The wave had ceased.
"He…he stopped it?" Iida croaked in disbelief.
"It wasn't just him," Koda muttered.
Ashido was looking directly at Mirio. "Where is he?" she asked.
Mirio knew exactly who she meant, and he hated that he could do nothing but shrug. "I'm sorry, Ashido-san. I…I don't know."
Burnin was tapping her earpiece frantically. "Endeavor!" she called. "Endeavor, where are you?!"
…
Endeavor, meanwhile, was blasting back toward the ruined hospital. The initial wave had stopped. That meant Shigaraki was regrouping. Time to attack now.
"Ryukyu!" he roared into the communication earpiece. "Set down all you rescued in a safe place and come back! Anyone else who can mobilize without touching the ground, rally to my position! We're going to stop him here and now!"
He descended through the dust cloud, and saw his enemy standing on a single solid pillar amidst a complete wasteland.
Shigaraki looked up, a dreadful ruin of a grin slashed across his face. "The number one hero here to wish me good morning? What a nice wake-up call."
…
They could only hear massive footsteps. Boom. Boom. Boom.
Jiro had pulled her jacks out of the ground and was now trying to protect them from the deep sound. Yaoyorozu was standing in front of her, appearing deep in thought.
"What do we do?" Kirishima demanded. He looked to Shishida, then Tokage, then Yaoyorozu again. "Anyone?! Any ideas?"
Hanta Sero heard a CRACK. A tree falling.
"Cellophane! Vine! Can you hear me?"
Both he and Ibara typed their earpieces together. "Edgeshot/Sensei!" they exclaimed. They'd never heard him sound panicked. And he was using the private communication channel that only he, the two of them, Mount Lady, and Kamui Woods were on.
"There's a giant villain headed your way! Mount Lady is trying to hold it back, but you kids…need to…"
…
"…RUN!" He shouted into the earpiece. Edgeshot bobbed and weaved amidst the scattered, chaotic forces of the Paranormal Liberation Front, piercing them with his Quirk, resolving to take out as many of them as he could. I currently stand as the number two hero! I must pull my weight!
"Kamui! Takeyama! I'm sorry I cannot back you up!" he screamed through gritted teeth, dodging a strange dark sphere that was shot at him by a nearby enemy.
High above them, Gigantomachia roared, his feet digging huge muddy grooves into the ground as he tried to push forward. Mount Lady snarled, pushing back, every muscle in her entire body strained against him, a wild, bloody expression on her face.
"I…will not…let you pass…" she growled. "You BEAST!"
"Bugs…flies…" the giant returned. Their clash was knocking trees over at the edge of the villa's property line, as PLF members attempted to escape into the woods. Edgeshot dashed through them, determined to let none get away. "We need a weakness!" he called. "Takeyama cannot hold out forever…"
"Kamui," said a voice through Kamui Woods' channel. "Get me near his mouth!"
"Midnight-sensei?! Is that you?!" called Shiozaki through the channel.
"What's going on?" Sero echoed. They both sounded frightened.
Edgeshot took out two more of the enemy, whirled, and took out another. More difficult-looking opponents were streaming out of the seam in the mansion. The rear guard.
Kamui leapt past him, Midnight riding on his back. "Going to back up Takeyama!" he screamed as he passed. "We can't let that thing get downhill!"
"I'll protect your back!" Edgeshot screamed back. They had to protect. The three of them. The Lurkers. They'd been charged with leading this assault, and had been charged with raising up Sero and Shiozaki…
They'll make fine heroes someday.
Edgeshot dashed back toward the mansion. Cementoss was preparing another massive attack when a wall of ice bore down upon him, knocking him sideways.
Edgeshot gasped. A hooded man was standing atop the ice, controlling it. The one known as Geten!
"Focus on driving a point through their weak spots!" he was calling to his comrades. "Fall in behind the giant! The liberation isn't over yet!"
Suddenly, all his ice began to transform. It shimmered, going from a cold blue to a more silver, translucent look. Spreading out from the bottom.
Geten looked down in surprise. "Huh? I can't control it anymore! You…"
A woman was standing at the bottom of the ice wave, fury in her eyes. Her hand was against it, having turned it to a glass mirror. Reflector. Behind it were more UA students…the bird boy, and the one with multiple arms. He appeared to be holding something, and crying.
Edgeshot gestured toward the trees. "Get downhill! The rest of the students are holding there!"
A flash of orange flew past, and suddenly Switcheroo was atop the ice/mirror wave, reaching Geten's perch, and knocking him out with a chop to the back of the neck. "Got him!" he screamed. "Go, Reflector…"
Edgeshot was swept sideways by a massive arm.
He folded his body inward to protect his vitals and slid to a stop in the muddy killing ground that Gigantomachia had stomped through. But it was not the giant that had attacked him.
Emerging from Cementoss's seam in the mansion was the looming form of Re-Destro, in his largest stress mode.
The bird boy, Tokoyami, gasped. "But…I took you out…"
"It will take more than that to halt our liberation," Re-Destro growled. More warriors were streaming out at his sides, and most of the heroes had been swept aside or killed by Gigantomachia already. A nearly free, open space was before them.
Edgeshot drew himself up. Nearby, Fat Gum returned, and Switcheroo and Reflector prepared to fight as well.
"We'll stop you," he promised the CEO of Detnerat, the old leader of this group that had turned itself into Japan's most dangerous enemy in centuries.
"Ah, Edgeshot, you represent everything we will crush…" Re-Destro chuckled. "I'm going to enjoy this."
A ROAR split the air, and the glass/ice wall suddenly shattered, its shards raining down on Re-Destro and the other warriors.
Dark Shadow loomed up, raging, Tokoyami standing at its center. "We're not done, either!" he promised.
…
Midnight took her costume in her teeth and ripped the sleeve, gripping onto Kamui's back with her other arm. Kamui swung himself up above the treeline.
Ahead of them, Gigantomachia was pushing Mount Lady backward down the hill. Her feet were being driven into the earth with the force of his advance. Blood rained down on her snarling face.
"Takeyama!" Kamui screamed desperately. "Gotta help her, gotta help her…" he swung along, getting closer.
"Closer!" Midnight urged, preparing to release the gas into the giant's mouth. I may have the only Quirk here left that can stop this thing! I must!
They got eye level with the giant. Still pushing against Mount Lady, it briefly shifted its eyes to notice them, and…
Blue fire burst off its back, enveloping the two of them.
Kamui Woods screamed in agony. Midnight leapt off of him, separating, hissing as the heat grazed her, and suddenly she was tumbling through the air. "Kamui…!" she shouted, swiping at him uselessly as they fell apart, blue flames falling onto the surrounding trees.
Then, she hit a branch hard, and fell to the ground, her vision caving in.
Gotta stay…awake…Midnight forced herself to crawl. She could hear running and shouts behind her, and knew there was more enemy approaching. Edgeshot and the ragged remaining front of heroes still at the villa were not enough to catch them all.
That was our only chance to stop the giant. But Dabi was up there…
No. There was another Quirk. Just one more.
Midnight tapped her earpiece, and used the channel that would speak directly to the UA students, several hundred yards further down the forested hill.
"Yaoyorozu!" she coughed, ejecting blood as she tried to speak. "CREATI!"
"Ah! Midnight-sensei?!"
"Do you...understand the situation?"
"Yes, thanks to Kyoka's hearing and Tokage's eyes! There's a giant villain coming this way…"
"Listen, Creati. It can't be helped. You'll have to be the one…that puts him to sleep. Make an anesthetic and get it into him." Far above her, Gigantomachia threw Mount Lady aside. The giant woman hit the forest hard on her back and slid, crushing trees and kicking up a tremor. Midnight heard Yaoyorozu squeal from the shock.
"Midnight-sensei, what are you saying?! We have to…"
"I trust you, Creati. One day you'll be a fully capable leader. Goodbye, now."
The enemy was nearly upon her, and it was time to sleep.
…
"Midnight-sensei? MIDNIGHT-SENSEI?!"
"She said she's leaving it to you?" Ojiro asked, aghast. Momo's head spun. All around her, her classmates and the members of Class B were muttering.
Amajiki was looking up the hill. "It'll be here in moments!" he called. "I'll fight alongside you f-first years, I guess…but we have to make a plan…"
"It just threw Mount Lady," Kyoka was saying. "It threw her. What are we supposed to do against that?"
"Midnight's okay, right?" Kirishima asked. "Why would she tell you to put it to sleep when she can just do it herself…"
Sero and Ibara looked equally panicked. "Our mentors are in trouble! We have to do SOMETHING!" Sero insisted.
Ibara folded her hands. "Midnight rescued us once…in the forest outside UA. If her wish is for us to fight, then…"
Momo rubbed her face, wracking her brain. "I…" she gasped. "I…"
They were all looking to her. Midoriya and Iida and Katayama and all the people who would normally be leaders were gone. Even Class B was looking to her. Honenuki and Tokage, the other recommended students. Shishida, despite his penchant for Iida-like leadership.
And even Kendo, her self-proclaimed rival, was giving her an encouraging look.
And Kyoka grasped her other hand. "Momo," she said. "What's the plan?"
Creati closed her fist.
"Kyoka, use your hearing to determine when he'll get here. Honenuki! Soften the ground before us to lay a trap. Sero, Shiozaki, prepare to fire your tape and vines in an arc, over the softened ground. Kendo, Shishida, Sato, Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, get on opposite sides of the trap and prepare to grab onto Sero's tape or Shiozaki's vines. The rest of us will…"
Kyoka screamed. "MOMO! He's here! HE'S…"
Up above them, they saw trees begin to part and fall. The footfalls grew louder and louder and faster. The silhouette of a massive, hulking body came up over the curve of the hill.
And then, it stumbled.
Kyoka gasped. "Mount Lady?!"
The blonde heroine, one that Ibara Shiozaki had always thought of as shallow, and unable to step up when it counted…was gripping onto Gigantomachia's leg, dragging behind him, planting her feet in the mud. Blood and dirt caked her face and costume. "I HAVEN'T BEEN THIS CLINGY WITH A GUY SINCE MIDDLE SCHOOL, DAMMIT!" she screamed…and then she used the communicator directly into Sero and Ibara's ears.
"Listen! Midnight and Kamui were about to put this guy to sleep and were attacked by blue fire! Do you understand, Cellophane, Vine! THE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS IS ON HIS BACK!"
Ibara froze.
"He's slowed down!" Kyoka reported, as the other students got into position. "But only just! He's…"
Gigantomachia roared in frustration and kicked Mount Lady backward.
Ibara and Sero looked at each other. This enemy had scattered their mentors, and had possibly taken out the woman who'd once saved them from Gentle Criminal.
"Creati," Sero said. "The League is hitching a ride."
Murmuring among the students. Every one of them save Amajiki had been at the training camp attack. And most of them had been at the USJ, too.
"He's bigger than Mount Lady," Tokage gasped. "And closing in fast!"
Honenuki had just finished softening the ground. He lowered his helmet. "Guess we're committing," he said frankly.
Kendo grew her fists. Kirishima hardened. Tetsutetsu steeled up. Shishida grew in size to beast form. Ojiro slammed his fist into his palm. Sero cracked his neck.
Yanagi lifted her hands, and Kodai folded hers together. Amajiki formed tentacles on his fingers. Kyoka reared up her jacks. Aoyama adjusted his laser lens.
And Momo lifted up her arm. "Finished!" she declared, as Gigantomachia fully appeared before them, practically tumbling down the hill, crashing like an oncoming train, his monstrous form filling their vision.
Cases of anesthetic popped out of her arms. "Everyone take one!" she said. "HURRY!"
As they did so, Ojiro looked worried. "Are we sure about this? If the League is on their backs, I mean…"
"I was never taught to be a hero who turned her back on the enemy," said Momo Yaoyorozu, not breaking her gaze from the approaching giant. "If the League comes looking for a fight, then they'll find one. We started all of this at that camp! Them and us! We started it…and we'll finish it."
Kyoka kissed her cheek as the students cheered, and they all turned to face Gigantomachia.
Do you hear me, League of Villains? Come on forward and meet your fate. Come on and finish what you started.
…
"AH! Why am I here?!" Skeptic demanded, clutching his laptop to his chest. "I don't want to go to Shigaraki! We have to protect Re-Destro!"
"Pipe down," Dabi told him. "It's all part of the plan." He held onto one of Gigantomachia's back spikes, as the giant continued to barrel forward.
"Surely Mount Lady won't get back up now," Spinner said. Nearby, Toga and Compress clutched the giant's rocklike skin tightly. It was all they could do not to fall off.
Compress squinted. "Down below!" he called, looking at the moving trees beneath them. "I think that's…"
Gigantomachia lurched.
Toga screamed, as all the League + Skeptic briefly lost their grips, sliding and falling against the giant's neck. He'd taken a bad step. A very bad, loose, sinking step.
"QUICKSAND?!" Spinner roared, confused.
"No," said Dabi, lighting his palms. "Worse. Hero students."
Toga looked down at them, a shadow falling over her face. "So it is," she muttered.
…
"THE TRAP WORKED!" Momo shouted. "NICE WORK, HONENUKI! EVERYONE ELSE, MOVE IN!"
The giant roared, sinking lower into the muck. Ibara clasped her hands, and grew her hair up and outward, sweeping her vines across the killing ground. "I'll apologize for dragging you through the mud when you apologize for hurting my mentors!" she declared.
Sero fired his tape up in an arc, over the giant's back. The tape and the vines soared together.
On the opposite side, Kirishima and Sato gripped them, and pulled them toward the ground. The arc of the material created bindings that pinned Gigantomachia further into the mud. He struggled and screamed, his massive hands digging up toward them like claws.
Ibara felt her vines begin to rip. MORE! MORE! She grew them further over the giant, constricting his neck and arms and back. Sero continued to fire his tape out of both elbows, screaming…
Kendo and Shishida grabbed on, yanking the vines and tape, constricting him further. They screamed with effort and dug their heels into the ground, sliding forward as the giant pushed up harder and harder. Kirishima almost lost his grip, and then Tetsutetsu was there, holding onto the end of the same vine, the two of them pulling downward together.
"GO NOW!" Momo screamed. "GET HIS MOUTH OPEN!"
The rest of the students leapt forward into battle.
Amajiki had returned to Chimera form, and he fired pineapples at the giant's eyes. Machia was forming a shield over his face, made of his rock-like skin.
Amajiki created a swordfish-blade as he galloped up to the edge of the killing ground, preparing to stab. Blue fire came down from above.
The third year gasped, and slipped sideways. Dabi heard another sound behind him, and whirled.
Several of the students had leapt up at them.
Ojiro spun, and threw Kyoka upward toward the giant's back. In midair, she plugged her jacks into her speakers. "HEARTBEAT...ASSAULT!"
BWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOMMMM.
A massive wave of sound slammed into Machia and the League, and the giant stumbled, briefly succumbing. Sero fired another length of tape, and then Sato came to secure it. "GO!" the sugar user told him.
In that moment of weakness, Ibara got another half dozen vines tightened around the thing's back. Kendo was gripping two at once, practically being dragged forward by her massive fists, clashing her teeth together.
Gigantomachia screamed, and Sero attached one of the anesthetic capsules to the end of his tape. He spun and slung it from his elbow, right toward the giant's mouth…
Dabi fired at Kyoka, and the blue flame singed the tip of her jacks. She screamed, and the sound wave cut off. Gigantomachia's mouth snapped shut.
Jiro was falling. "I GOT HER!" Shishida called, rushing forward to catch her…and released some of the tape.
The tape slid forward like a whip, pulled along the killing ground as Gigantomachia struggled upward. Ibara felt the strain on her hair increase, and screamed in pain.
Kirishima dived forward it, and stumbled, nearly falling into Honenuki's softened ground. Kendo slid further forward. "WE CAN'T HOLD IT!" she screamed. "WE CAN'T!"
Amajiki galloped forward again, firing more pineapples and crab claws up toward the League. Toga threw a knife at one pineapple and dodged another. They bounced harmlessly off of the giant's back. Spinner ducked behind a spike.
Aoyama was riding on Amajiki's back, and he jumped upward, firing his laser. The laser met Dabi's fire in midair, and Toga had to slide sideways to dodge. Compress threw two orbs, and then snapped his fingers. The orbs expanded into huge chunks of debris. One of them hit Aoyama in the side of the head. He cried out and fell off of Amajiki.
Tokage landed behind the League, on the giant's back. Dabi fired at her, and she split her body up into dozens of pieces. She punched Spinner with one fist, dodged Toga's knife, and slapped Compress across the face. He bounced another piece of debris at her, and she was forced to reform and back off.
Yanagi caught Compress's flying debris with her Quirk. "KODAI!" she called.
Using her telekinesis, she sent the rocks past Kodai, who touched them with her fingers as they passed. Yanagi sent the rocks to right under Gigantomachia's chin, at high speed, then upward…
...And Kodai enlarged them.
The massive boulders struck him like an uppercut, folding his jaw in and causing all the League to fall backward again. Ibara tightened her grip on her vines, and Sato dug himself into a hard spot behind a rock, holding the bindings strong.
"COME….ON!" Kirishima screamed, holding on with all his might across from Sato. "WE CAN'T HOLD ON LIKE THIS!"
Momo was about to finish her cannon, planning to fire a full vat of the anesthetic directly at the thing's mouth. But Kyoka's attack had failed, and so had Aoyama's, and all their strength users were occupied…we don't have anyone that can take out the League!
Mashirao Ojiro leapt upward.
He ducked under another debris throw from Compress. Dabi whirled about to fire at him…
...And Yanagi caught the debris on the backswing with her Quirk, and hit Dabi in the back of the head with it. The fire user fell forward, sprawling, and Ojiro swiped Spinner across the chest with his tail.
The lizard villain cried out and flew backward, hitting against a spike and slumping. Ojiro didn't stop. Toga came at him with a knife. He moved sideways and let the knife stab the air next to him, and then gripped her forearm. The two of them locked together briefly, snarling.
"Where's Ochaco?" Toga demanded, her yellow eyes glinting.
"Not here!" Ojiro returned. "What do you want with her?!" He sounded more possessive than he'd meant to, and Toga's eyebrows went up.
"Oh?" she whispered. "Are you perhaps…a rival?" She licked her lips. "You want Ochaco too. Well then. That makes this interesting."
Ojiro sensed Compress coming up behind him, and jumped upward, propelling himself by his tail. Compress reached up with his fingers, and…
...And Tokage's fist crossed his face, punching him back. The girl's disembodied hands flew out and grabbed Ojiro, carrying him toward the ground.
"WE'VE GOT TO…" Ojiro never heard her finish.
In that moment, Gigantomachia roared, his breath billowing out like a wave. Momo prepared to fire her cannon into his open mouth, and then the cannon was swept away, her hair flapping out behind her. It was all she could do just to brace herself.
Amajiki had been about to attack again, and went flying. So did all the other strength users holding down Ibara's vines and Sero's tape. Ibara and Sero themselves had been off to the side, and now rushed forward to try and refasten the bindings…
…And Gigantomachia's massive hand swiped them aside. Momo screamed as the two of them disappeared into the forest, trees falling over at the spot where they'd just been.
Komori had been slowly growing mushrooms over the giant's front, but Dabi reached down and created a wall of flame. Blue light flickered upward, and the students felt another wall of air hit them, this one hot and deadly. The mushrooms burned away.
Tokage landed next to Momo. "I LOST THEM!" she screamed. "THEY'RE ALL..."
The fire grew in size, spreading to the trees. An impenetrable wall had formed between them and the enemy, and Momo had just lost all the anesthetic.
"It's over," she gasped.
Gigantomachia stood up.
…
Eijiro Kirishima and Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu dived into the inferno together, but Kirishima was faster. Tetsutetsu could only watch as his counterpart climbed up the giant's leg, and then his chest, and then…
"RED RIOT!" he screamed. "NO!"
What is he doing? There's no hope of capturing any one of the League by himself! Not like that!
Then Kirishima lifted up the capsule, and Tetsutetsu's heart soared.
His vat of the anesthetic had survived.
Suddenly, Mount Lady loomed up from behind the rising giant, and grabbed his jaw from above. "HERE COMES THE AIRPLANE!" she screamed. "OPEN...WIDE!"
Dabi was burning her underside with his fire, but she kept on, pulling the giant's jaw, yanking his mouth open, as wide as it could go.
Toga threw a knife down toward Kirishima. He leapt outward to dodge, lining up a shot toward the giant. "I AM RED RIOT!" he screamed. "AND I WON'T LEAVE BLOOD BEHIND ME!"
The capsule shot like a bullet into Gigantomachia's mouth, and Kirishima tumbled downward. Tetsutetsu rushed forward to catch him. Please be enough! he prayed. PLEASE!
…
This all felt too familiar.
Hanta Sero stirred and rubbed his head. His arms and legs burned from a hundred scrapes and skids. There were fallen trees all around him. In the distance, he heard their enemy roar again.
Beneath him were vines. Ibara had shielded his fall. That was why he was not dead.
"Ibara!" he called out in a panic.
"I'm fine," she said to his left. He whirled about. Indeed, there she was. And her hair was very short.
"You've almost used all your Quirk," he said, hoarsely. "We don't have time. I still have quite a bit of mine left. We've got to go and…"
"We cannot stop the giant," said Ibara.
"But…! Everything the Lurkers worked for! Everything that Midnight worked for! We can't just…"
Ibara pointed.
There was a stretch of intact woods uphill from them. Hanta supposed it must have led to the backside of the villa.
There were people running down that hill, toward them. People with weapons and strange appearances and…
"Midnight's somewhere up there!" Ibara cried. "She saved us once! I can't leave her behind! And Kamui Woods…"
Sero took a deep breath. "Okay," he said. The enemy closed in. He prepared to fight.
…
Gigantomachia threw Mount Lady off for the third and final time.
"Countless…insects…" he muttered, forming the shield in front of his face, and scratching his back. "Everyone still back there?"
"Yes," Compress groaned. The five of them had taken a few nasty hits from the kids, but the kids were still down below. Defeated. They had not stopped Machia.
"Didn't Garaki say he was capable of tunnelling?" said Spinner. "You know, he feels the need to carry us with him to Shigaraki, but we need to stay above the ground to breathe…we might actually be holding him back right now."
Machia lumbered forward. They had nearly reached the bottom of the hill. Ahead was a city. Several cities ahead was Shigaraki, and their destination.
Himiko Toga's eyes narrowed. Ochaco must have been assigned elsewhere. I need to hear it directly from her lips. Does she think my life is worth saving? Or Twice's? Her own classmates killed him, and that other boy…she licked her lips.
…
Momo and the others could only watch the giant move on past them, ignoring them utterly. He had begun to pick up the pace, and there was nothing any of them could do to catch up…besides, many of them were wounded.
"Yaoyorozu! Sero and Shiozaki are gone…Shishida's broken an arm, and Jiro's burned bad! Yaoyorozu! Yaoyorozu?"
"Kirishima got it in," she said, emptily, watching the giant leave, feeling more powerless than ever. "And yet…"
…
Mashirao Ojiro clung to Machia's leg as it swung faster and faster, trying to climb up to it to a safer spot. He'd broken free of Tokage, and clung determinedly. He had no idea how long he'd have to hold on. But he would.
They have no idea. They don't know…that I'm still here. I'm still in the fight!
…
Here's a long chaotic mess of a chapter that I took way too long with and struggled a lot with. Sorry if it's bad. Next one should be better. I hope.