Chapter 89: The God-Trap

In that moment…there was no time to think.

My legs just moved on their own.

…

Katsuki Bakugo took off at a speed he'd never reached before in his life. His explosions came out like rocket fuel, propelling him forward so fast he could hardly steer. His cheeks flapped back from his teeth, and his eyes widened in panic.

He reached Hado first. He reached out and grabbed her as he passed, though it was more like a clothesline, and he could hear the wind get knocked out of her. He tucked his arm in to keep her secure, and then he reached Deku.

His other arm went around the boy he'd known since childhood, the one he'd nearly destroyed the life of. They crossed over the monster's gaping maw, and cleared to the other side.

Hado remained still; he suspected she was in shock. But Deku kicked himself free of Katsuki's grasp and shouted, "GO BACK FOR SHIGARA-"

Dammit, are you serious? He'd expected that, hadn't he? Yeah, that was about par for the damn course.

Katsuki looked back. Tomura Shigaraki's body ragdolled toward that central, oscillating pit, where violet starlight glowed far beneath. That's no clean death down there, is it?

Less than five seconds had passed since he took off. Katsuki pushed Hado toward Deku and whirled, sweeping up an explosion across the surface of the monster's open jaws. The wind blasted Shigaraki sideways and clear. He made to follow and catch the ugly bastard, but then Todoroki was there, and caught him in an ice construction.

Katsuki looked back at Deku and Hado, and then at their other allies on the ground. Todoroki, Togata, Endeavor, Burnin, Ashido, Aizawa…

All around them, more creatures were rising out of the ground, smaller, but with those same horrible maws. Their skin was grey-black, scaly and slimy, and they seemed to have millions upon millions of tendrils…or legs…or portals? Coming out of them from every angle. Strange afterimages flashed over Katsuki's eyes. A deep, percussive chuckle of pure evil crackled through the air, and the scent of rotting corpse-breath permeated the battleground.

Hado screamed. Katsuki looked back at Deku, half-expecting him to have the answers. Was this some All For One shit? "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" he demanded…and his face paled.

Deku looked as shocked as he did. He had no idea.

Come on and play, main cast! The voice was right in his ear, horrible, scraping and malevolent and dripping with glee. The glee of a foreseen victory, one they would have no trouble taking.

Well, that pissed Katsuki off.

And then, another voice came. One that once would have pissed Katsuki off just as much. But today…now…in this moment…he was filled with an elated relief.

It was the CRACKHEAD!

"ATTENTION!" Doko Katayama roared, his voice warping into all their ears. The monsters all seemed to pause in their movements. "ATTENTION HEROES AND VILLAINS IN THE AREA! THESE CREATURES HAVE COME FROM ANOTHER WORLD TO DESTROY OURS! THEY'LL BE MORE TIME TO EXPLAIN LATER, BUT FIRST WE HAVE TO MAKE A LATER HAPPEN! THEY CAN BE KILLED! I REPEAT, THEY CAN BE KILLED! SO FIGHT! FIGHT AND WIN! THAT GOES FOR EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO WIELDS A POWER THAT CAN DESTROY, WHETHER YOU'RE FOR PRESERVING SOCIETY…OR TEARING IT DOWN!"

The lead monster, the one that had tried to swallow Deku and Shigaraki, snarled in fury. Foolish child! As if he didn't cause all of this himself! We'll kill you ALL! YOU DIE IF YOU TRY!

"We die if we don't," Deku muttered.

Katsuki looked back. "What?!"

"We die if we don't." He lifted his head, and Katsuki saw the power coursing through his eyes, that hopeful green light still there. "Maybe this is what it was meant for all along, Kacchan. Come on…let's play heroes one last time."

And he held out his hand.

…

Mina felt tears swim in her eyes. Doko was alive. He was alive and fighting, and these creatures…they came from his Quirk. All that time I didn't take him seriously…

She had to find him before the end. She had to.

A creature reared up between her and Lemillion. It was something between a giant spider and a centipede. It attacked Togata first, with a stabbing, diving bite. Togata passed through harmlessly, got to Mina's side, and yelled, "Scald this thing!" Unbelievably, he was smiling.

She underhanded a cascade of her most potent acid against the thing's scaly, arching back. It howled in pain, and smoke rose up from its skin.

Mina swallowed, feeling out of her depth. That blast would have reduced a human to a pile of bones, and she'd given this creature basically no more than a second-degree burn. And there were so many of them appearing now.

"I'll be the bait!" Lemillion promised. "They can't touch me, so the rest of you attack when you see openings!"

Burnin nodded. "Got it!"

…

Right as Doko finished his announcement, his world went dark, and he realized the shadow of a void creature was looming over him. The thing opened its jaws and moved to swallow him whole, and then Tsuyu was there, planting a kick to the top of its "head", right where the narrow orange eyes were. The kick barely budged it, but it did pause long enough for Doko to warp out of the way.

Tsuyu flipped nimbly upward as the thing's tendrils gave chase to her, and then ducked low, her legs bending, her hair flapping. She hopped sideways, this way and that, and slapped a tendril away with her tongue.

Doko warped in a zigzag in toward the creature and put his hand against it. "VOID SHRED!"

Purple cracks formed all over the surface of the monster, and it howled in pain, swelling up. It was resisting his Quirk, fighting it, forcing him to push, push harder than he'd ever had before. It ballooned to a huge size, and then finally burst. BOOOOOOOOM!

Horrible black guts rained down on the battlefield. Tsuyu shrieked and hopped backwards, and was suddenly knocked sideways hard by another creature, sweeping its entire body into her.

Doko screamed. "TSU-"

Gentle Criminal landed on the creature's back, activating his Quirk against it. The creature's skin elasticated, shimmering and rubber-banding. It shook back and forth violently, throwing Gentle off. He righted himself in midair and bounced off a barrier.

Kaminari ducked a sweeping tendril and fired a shock at the creature. Sparks traveled up the length of its body. It opened its jaw, and Nagant fired a spray of bullets into its mouth. The thing collapsed.

Three more creatures were coming from the left. They were being driven back down the street, down toward the place where Doko was hearing more and more loud noises…the clearing where he suspected that Midoriya and Shigaraki and the rest all were. And Mina, too. That meant they'd heard his call. That was good.

What was less good was the creatures swarming them. Doko warped left, then right, ducking what felt like a hundred tendrils, their breath and horrible growls overwhelming him.

Kurogiri flashed by. They were working like mad, cutting creatures in half by closing portals on them, but the things seemed to resist their Quirk just like it resisted Doko's. We have to work twice as hard as everyone else.

Doko's eyes bugged out. He saw Tsuyu hop past again. Sweat poured down his face. A creature nearly bit his head off, and he had to duck. He slammed his fist into the ground and activated Warp Field.

His vision shrunk to the five meters immediately around him, and he gave up on processing the larger battle. His heart pounded in his ears. He warped. Warped again. Cut a tendril off a creature. Another one tried to sweep his legs. He activated Warp Shield, but it immediately faded. He was getting exhausted already. And there were so many more.

He nearly ran smack into Kaminari with his next warp. The blonde boy grabbed him, and shook him. "HEY!" he screamed.

Doko blinked dumbly. The electricity user was dirty, black soot streaked across his face, and his yellow eyes were wide with panic. "THE GIANT-"

Gigantomachia's massive foot stepped down onto a nearby creature, crushing it like a bug. Tsuyu and Gentle had to dive out of the way.

High above them, the giant was moving through their fight. Moving past it. Looking toward some place half a kilometer behind them, where the other fight was happening.

We have to follow. The creatures were taking the street and driving them back anyway, so it was inevitable, but…

A larger monster was looming over the two boys. DIE NOW! it seemed to command them. Doko could see into its belly, could see the madness that lay in wait there. He panicked. He grabbed Kaminari and prepared to warp away…

This monster sweeped its maw across the air in front of them, and a shimmering seemed to pass over their bodies. Kaminari let out a yelp. Doko's Quirk died inside his legs. The whole world turned upside down and inside out for a moment, and the ground beneath them crackled and tremored. Some kind of horrible…spell?! That was the only word he could think to describe it…because all of a sudden, it was like he'd forgotten how to warp. As the shadow of the monster's mouth over them grew larger, Doko could only think, Great. I got both me AND Kaminari killed.

Tenya Iida blasted through the creature's head like a missile, blue engine-light streaming out behind him. "On your feet, valued allies!" he screamed, finishing his swinging kick on the far side, as the massive monster collapsed, blood spraying out of its temples in a line.

…

Tenya felt almost disgustingly alive.

He zapped and blasted his way through the creatures, clearing the battlefield as best he could. More seemed to appear with each kick and blast, but he was killing them. He was exterminating them. Each dash of his engine was more human lives saved. Across the street he zigged and zagged, his heart exulting.

Upon running a quick calculation, he'd concluded that his own Quirk was the third most effective at stopping these monsters among their group, behind Katayama and Kurogiri. But the creatures, being from the void, seemed to have a natural resistance to those two Quirks. Meaning he had become their most valuable asset. So I can't afford to slack off!

He saved Katayama and Kaminari, and then moved to follow the path of the giant, which was clearing of creatures as they fled before his feet. One of them tried to wrap around his leg and tangle him up, but he just lifted it and then stomped it back down.

"Machia can defeat the smaller ones with ease, without even focusing on it!" said a voice next to Tenya. "So how do we get him to start actually focusing?"

It was Stain. Tenya put his back to the Hero Killer, and kicked another creature aside. Stain slashed at another with his sword.

"Your armor's covered in their guts, you know," Stain said. "Looks filthy."

"Why do you care?!" Tenya still didn't look at him, continuing to fight. "You want to lick it all off or something?"

"Is your brother alive?"

"Yes," he answered forcefully. "He's alive and…safe." He paused with that last word. Safe? Are these things appearing everywhere? It may have been that he was not safe at all.

"You still want to kill me?"

"Does that really matter right now?!" The two of them crossed each other, Stain swinging his sword through the underbelly of a creature while Tenya kicked across its head.

"It matters because I may never have another chance to speak to you."

Tenya paused for a moment, against his better judgement. He finally turned to look at the Hero Killer. "I still think you're an arrogant prick."

Stain's normally-narrow eyes widened as far as they would go. He had been called many things, but arrogant?

"Regardless of whether certain heroes are worthy of the job, you should never have taken matters into your own hands. One man cannot change the world."

"What about All Might?"

"All Might just sprayed some perfume on the world." Tenya kicked another monster away. "At the end of the day…he still retired, and we're still in situations like this!"

A HUGE one suddenly loomed over them. You think you have time to talk? We shall strike you down.

Two feet slammed onto it from above.

Tenya and Stain looked up. The lizard villain Spinner was standing atop the creature, a massive smile on his face. "STAIN!" he said. "I SHALL ASSIST YOU IN THIS CRUSADE!"

…

"Oh my God, he just…" Mr. Compress blurted in disbelief. "He actually jumped off!"

"LEAVE HIM!" Dabi snarled. He was getting more and more annoyed and frustrated at all these distractions. "MACHIA, FORWARD!" His vision caved in for a moment. He clutched his side where he'd landed after Tokoyami had pushed him off the ledge. Can't afford to pass out now.

"Confused…" the giant muttered. He was stomping on a few of the weird monsters, but he was mostly going forward…only much more slowly. Slow enough that the people on the ground could run alongside him.

Compress and Skeptic exchanged a concerned glance. "That boy called for both heroes and villains to act," said Compress. "My own Quirk could be quite useful in stopping those things down there, and Spinner has already left us…"

"It doesn't matter!" Dabi choked out. He swayed. "It's all a distraction. They want to take out Machia because they know he's our best chance of getting rid of them all. We're so close! We HAVE to get to Endea…to Shigaraki."

Machia perked up upon mention of Shigaraki. "Master…" he growled. "Master over there. Gotta get to Master."

"Yes, Machia." Dabi nodded, a crazed look creeping into his blue eyes, which Compress and Skeptic noticed nervously. "Yes, yes, go go go. Ignore all the other insects. Our only objective is ahead."

…

The knife descended.

Ochaco rolled.

Himiko was thrown aside, Ochaco's foot flying out and kicking her legs away. Ochaco got onto her knees, sweeping her fingertips across the spilled objects from the overturned shelf, which had scattered across the floor of the dark room. They began to float upward.

From Ochaco's wrist she launched her wires, grabbing all the floating objects out of the air. She leapt to her feet and spun, throwing her arm upward like she was pitching a softball, the wires flinging about her. And she released her Quirk as she threw the objects.

One hit Himiko in the face, causing her to cry out, but she swatted another out of the air with the hilt of her knife, and dived at Ochaco again.

She stabbed for Ochaco's chest. The gravity girl pivoted sideways and prepared to take Himiko down to the floor, but Himiko spun away with a catlike quickness and retreated deeper into the room, putting a shelf between them. "YOU'RE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN TRAIN!" Toga screamed. Ochaco had never heard her sound so desperate, so angry.

Behind Ochaco, Ojiro was rocking back and forth in the chair frantically, at an increasing pace.

Ochaco kicked the shelf over onto Himiko with a crash. The girl's eyes widened and she slid aside. Broken glass scattered across the floor.

She fired another wire at Toga's waist. It wrapped around her, and Ochaco gave a yank. She released the wire as Toga came toward her and cocked back a punch, but Toga went low, and sliced the knife shallowly through Ochaco's side.

Ochaco cried out, and rolled, avoiding the next knife slash, which was downward and aimed at her back. Toga gave chase. The girls grappled and danced backward through the room, further and further away from Ojiro, in-between shelves.

Toga stabbed at Ochaco's neck. Ochaco stopped her arm with her own, closing her fingers around Toga's wrist. The girl's feet floated off the floor, her blonde bangs rising up off her forehead as if she was underwater. She snarled and spat in Ochaco's face, and then kicked her in the crotch. Ochaco screamed. Her Quirk released, and Toga fell awkwardly to the floor, stumbling backward toward a shelf.

Ochaco's vision was going in and out, but she saw her opportunity there, and lurched forward. Toga's hand closed around something on the floor, and Ochaco realized too late that it was broken glass.

Himiko flung the shards at Ochaco's face. She raised her forearms to block them, but felt them cut and slash her. She cried out in agony and disbelief. The hand that Toga had used to pick up the shards was now running with red, rivulets of blood pouring down her arm. And she was grinning.

She stepped forward and slammed the length of her forearm against Ochaco's belly, pushing her against the wall. They struggled and grappled with each other. In the distance, Ochaco heard a CRASH. But before she could comprehend what that meant, Toga stabbed her in the shoulder.

Her world went white, then red, then black. "Gggg…ggghh…" The pain coursed through her, withering her, causing her whole body to shiver and turn white, like all the blood was being sucked toward that one spot. All she could focus on were Himiko's glowing yellow eyes. "How…could you…" Ochaco forced out. "I thought you…cared about me…"

"I do," she whispered back. "I care about you so much that I'll keep your skin. I'll wear it and finger myself thinking of you, Ochaco-chan. To the end of my days, I will. I promise you."

"NOOOOOOOO!" Mashirao Ojiro screamed.

Toga barely had time to turn around. The rope that she'd tied Ojiro up with came down through the air, crackling like a whip, lashing across her face hard.

Toga screamed and staggered backward, her hands going to her face. Ojiro brought the rope up again, and then down. He threw it again and again. Hit her again. Missed. Then another hit. Himiko stumbled into a shelf. Ochaco felt herself sink against the wall, barely able to watch. Her heart soared out toward Ojiro, like she was trying to lend him her last bit of strength.

The next time the rope came down, Toga caught it and pulled it. Ojiro almost got yanked, but he released the rope instead, letting it slide out of his hands.

Himiko grinned, blood running down her bruised face, but before she could get the rope up to whip him back, Ojiro was on her, wrapping his tail around her abdomen and pulling her to the ground.

"WHY DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND!" he screamed. "WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE YOU, HIMIKO TOGA! WE WANT TO HELP YOU!"

"I'm…beyond…your help…" Toga cackled. "This power…this desire…it's part of me…and it'll never go away…" Tears were coming down her face. Mixing with the blood.

Ochaco stood.

Toga slashed at Ojiro's tail, causing blood to spray from it, and releasing herself. The two of them spun counter-clockwise, and Toga's knife came around first. Ojiro was forced to stop it with his forearms, and the girl pushed him against a shelf. Her knife floundered for his vitals. His arms struggled. Ochaco stepped forward.

Ojiro was reaching, reaching for something on the shelf.

Toga's eyes darted to the left. She realized too late what he was doing.

His hand closed around the neck of the glass bottle, and he brought it around, smashing it against the side of her head with a sickening CRASH!

Himiko Toga fell to her knees. She lifted the knife half-heartedly, her eyes rolling toward the back of her head…

Ochaco reached her, and gently, slowly, took the knife away.

She fell into Ochaco's lap. The impact of her body was a dull plop. With that sound, everything else seemed to suck out of the room.

For a moment, there was only the breathing of the three combatants, their heartbeats slowing down, their rage fading.

Ojiro came down next to her, worrying over her. "Uraraka! You're bleeding from a lot…I mean, I am too, but…"

She held up a hand to get him to stop. Just for a moment. She could worry about all that in a moment.

"...Himiko?" she asked.

Toga's eyes had shut, but they opened a crack. That yellow glow was almost dying out.

"I'm not…I'm not dying or anything…I don't think…" She actually laughed dryly then, and a little blood came out. "I think I need a hospital, though…"

"We'll get you to one," Ochaco promised. "We will."

Toga nodded sleepily, and closed her eyes again. "...Okay. I…I bel-ieve you…"

The last of her words faded to a breathy whisper. She fell unconscious.

Ochaco sat there for a bit. Her wounds were leaking blood, and she knew she needed immediate medical attention too, but she couldn't bring herself to move.

Slowly, nervously, Ojiro's arm came over her shoulder. She accepted it gratefully, and tilted her head into him, nuzzling him a little.

She felt him stiffen, and that made her smile a little. Even now he was careful. "Thank you…Mashirao…" she mumbled. "Only together were we able to do this."

He sniffed. "I…I meant what I said. I had to carry it out to the end. I had to."

"I know."

…

THE. END. IS. HERE.

Those four words pounded rhythmically into Shota Aizawa's brain. All around him, his students were fighting for their lives.

Midoriya. Bakugo. Todoroki. Ashido. Even the two third years. And what could he do? These things, they had no Quirks.

THE. END. IS. HERE.

The monsters had no Quirks, and so he couldn't erase them. He couldn't erase them and couldn't fight.

Even Endeavor, as battered and ruined as he was, was managing to blast some supporting fire from here, at the backlines. Manual was doing the same with his water. But Shota was standing here, useless.

Behind him, Mic, Thirteen, Wash, and the surviving Pussycats were pulling Ryukyu and Gran Torino and the other casualties and wounded clear of the battle. I should be going with them, and then come back when my head is clear.

No! I can't leave! He saw a creature come within inches of biting Todoroki's head off. Nejire blasted it sideways at the last millisecond.

But I'm useless here! I can't protect my students, so I should help evacuate at least…

His eyes darted toward the unconscious Shigaraki, still hanging limply in Todoroki's ice sculpture off to the left. The monsters were ignoring that. What knocked him out, even? He was conscious when he fell, and Midoriya didn't hit him again. Was it Bakugo's explosion? That seems unlikely.

If he could get rid of Shigaraki, or at least get him in an Iron Maiden…

But the police wouldn't be here for a while, if they managed to get here at all.

Shota felt a tremor. Then another. Footsteps. Massive ones.

He looked up to the right. From behind a building, Gigantomachia appeared at last.

Ah, he thought. Now comes the end, then.

THE. END. IS. HERE.

He heard, unbelievably, the sound of a car engine.

He turned, thinking the police were here after all. "WE NEED AN IRON MAI-" he cut himself off. No sirens. Of course no sirens.

This car did not contain police officers.

Shota swayed. He was now convinced he was in his worst nightmare.

Hitoshi Shinso stepped out of the driver's seat, dressed in his binding cloth, his mask on his face. He ran right past Shota, as if not even seeing him.

"NO!" Shota screamed, running past Manual and Endeavor, into the hell in the center of the battlefield. "NO, NOT YOU TOO!"

Shinso did not seem to hear. He raced straight for the middle, where the largest of the creatures was fighting Midoriya and Bakugo.

…

Hitoshi had been just on the edge of range when Katayama's announcement had washed over them all. He understood the situation.

And he'd heard the monsters calling back. They always say we. They have individual bodies…but they all answer to the big one, don't they? The big one that was now directly in front of him, all its attention pulled to the two flashy power users in the sky. It was nearly as tall as the giant that was closing in on their position from the right, and its tendrils had a million times the range.

If they think as a collective…and Katayama says they can be killed…they are susceptible to Quirks. THEY ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO QUIRKS!

"HEY, UGLY!" Hitoshi screamed.

The leader of the void creatures threw Midoriya aside like a ragdoll and turned. Oh? it asked evilly. And who is this little insect that dares…?

Its orange, slitted eyes seemed to widen at the last second, and Hitoshi realized in that moment…it knew my Quirk. It knew my Quirk but it forGOT and I have to activate it NOW!

"Got you," he whispered.

The air of the whole battlefield seemed to freeze. A striking connection flashed between Hitoshi and the void leader, and then between all the creatures…

...They all stopped moving, and Hitoshi was suddenly wracked with a horrible, pushing, convulsing agony. He fell to his knees and screamed. His purple eyes faded, and turned black, swirling with stars and galaxies. Images flashed across his vision. Horrible, horrible things. Unspeakable evil and atrocity. The worst sort of horror.

Hehehehe…the thing's voice whispered at him. You got us, Hitoshi Shinso. You got us good. I will admit it.

But now you're stuck in our mind with us. You got our tongue but we got yours too. And now we're connected here, Hitoshi! Stuck together, for better or worse!

Welcome to our hell, boy! You've immobilized us for now, but how long can you keep it up?

A horrible pulling seemed to tug at his brain, his soul. He was going mad. He could feel his own sanity cracking at the seams. I have…to…keep…them…occupied…

Normally, when he brainwashed someone, he was able to give them a command immediately. But he couldn't…get any words out…he had managed to immobilize the monsters in the immediate vicinity, but there was no follow-up!

The creatures seemed to swirl about him. He was seeing into their void. The land beyond the universe. Like a spiraling galaxy, they moved about a center that was pure black, the darkest dark…

And they were flinging him out there. Flinging his mind out there.

This is a one-way trip, Hitoshi realized. Well, that was alright. All he'd ever wanted to do was prove that his Quirk could be that of a hero. And he'd done it, right? Midoriya, at least, surely, would act. Midoriya would catch on to what was going on and with his power…he could destroy them. He could save the world with Hitoshi's opening. And that's enough for me.

He could see something in the darkness, something that gave him pause. A dull violet glow, fading in and out, like a pulsing, diseased heart.

A realization passed through him.

The Leader of the Void's physical body…was far behind him, on Earth, currently whispering in his ear, currently trapping him while he trapped it back. But the void's soul was down there. If they could destroy that…

But how could anyone come in here without dying? I might reach that place eventually…whenever the monsters want me to, which could be in a million billion years from now. And I have no destructive power to use. How would anyone reach it when it counts, with the strength to do what's necessary?

…

All the combatants had stilled, in the real world.

Todoroki and the others on the ground stared at Shinso in disbelief. He was crumbled on the ground, screaming in agony, his eyes seeing something far, far away.

"NO!" Aizawa was screaming. "NO, NO, NOOOOOOO! WHY!"

None of the monsters in the immediate vicinity were moving.

"He got them," Izuku whispered, gaping at Shinso. "HE GOT THEM! WE HAVE TO-"

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR.

Izuku looked up to the right in panic. All eyes cast in the direction of the great sound. Bakugo, Nejire, Todoroki, Aizawa, Endeavor…Mina's own eyes widened, and then narrowed in determination.

Gigantomachia had arrived. Standing atop his shoulders was Dabi, looking down at the battlefield with a gleeful expression.

"WHAT A PARTY WE'VE CRASHED!" he cackled.

Around Machia's feet were more creatures, and these were still moving. Shinso's Brainwashing had limited range! Izuku realized. A whole horde of the things were coming for them now, though the ones inside the battlefield were still frozen, Shinso on his knees in the center of them all.

He could hear their voices, too.

Must free the Lord!

Free master! Take out the brainwasher!

Any cost, any cost, any cost!

"WE HAVE TO DEFEND!" Izuku yelled, pointing at the oncoming army. "THEY'RE COMING FOR SHINSO!"

The others all nodded, and they leapt into battle.

…

Shota watched the battle engage, and then looked back at Shinso on the ground. He was in the center of the monsters, and had just become their number one target.

He's descending! He's descending into a place he know he can't come back from. I have to get him out. I can erase his Quirk, if I do that then he…

He'd even stepped forward, intending to do it, and then stopped. He looked up at the stilled monsters.

If I do that, then…all his work goes to waste. He created this opening, but no one can take advantage of it. Least of all me.

I have to wait. I have to wait for someone…for someone to do ANYTHING with this!

…

In the distance, Hitoshi could feel a shaking of the ground. He was still feeling sensations from his body. Did that mean he could return to it…?

Never, the leader snarled at him. You're stuck in here with me for eternity. The difference is that I'll get free. Your Quirk breaks when the brainwashed entity is struck with sufficient force. The second that one of your little friends tries to strike me, I'll get out. And I'll leave you here to MELT, Hitoshi Shinso. To DISSOLVE into NOTHING.

And if they hit you with a blow hard enough to kill you instantly? Hitoshi shot back. What then?

Tsssk. Would never happen. I DESIGNED all these Quirks, foolish boy. They are all made with one drawback or another. Though your own human evolution did much of the work, I have always ensured…SECURED my position as the strongest. There is nothing you can do. I have made you all what you are. You cannot defeat me. Not even All For One could.

Maybe not, Hitoshi said. But then…but then I'll keep you here with me. I'll inconvenience as long as I can. We'll make you regret starting this campaign, even if you win it in the end…we'll fight to the last man, to the last BREATH!

…

Behind a crashed car, Koji Koda trembled, and tried to get his breathing under control.

Coward. Coward. Coward.

He'd tried to fight with his friends. He'd really tried. He'd stood his ground initially with the others, but then the battle had turned into a…he wasn't sure. He wasn't sure what it had turned into. He wasn't sure if anyone had died, but it had been chaos. He'd lost sight of all his friends, and so they'd lost sight of him.

He'd tried to swarm bugs over a creature, but he may as well have been giving it a massage. I'm useless, aren't I? Tears streamed down his cheeks. Completely useless.

Beyond the car, the battle had changed. If he peeked out from behind to look, he could see the entire scope of it.

On the ground, a line of heroes, mainly his classmates, were meeting the oncoming creatures that could still move. Flashy explosions and blasts ricocheted off the line of battle. Behind that was the blasted ruin of a clearing where the battle with Shigaraki had taken place. More creatures were covering this area, including the largest one, which Koji felt like he couldn't look at for long without completely losing his mind. None of these were moving, though. Only the creatures that Katayama's group had brought with them, along with the giant, were mobilized.

The giant himself was stepping across all of this, making his way toward an ice sculpture at the very back of the battle, where Shigaraki was passed out. Near that was a very back line of heroes. From this distance, Koji thought he could make out Endeavor's hulking frame.

In the very center of it all, Shinso was on his knees.

Shinso. I've never talked to you, but…

He knew exactly what was happening here. Shinso had brainwashed a bunch of the monsters, including the leader…but he had given them no follow-up commands. None to speak of.

He could see Midoriya, Bakugo, Todoroki, Ashido, even two of the Big Three, fighting for their lives, trying to push back the creatures…

He wasn't sure where Tsuyu and Katayama and Iida and the others had gone. Were they on their way? He couldn't see them. But the heroes that WERE here were being pushed back. A stray creature had made its way toward Shinso. Only a backwards black whip from Midoriya pulled it away from killing him.

Koji stood. He walked toward the battlefield. Toward the stilled horrors that covered it. They stuck out of the ground like organic towers, their tendrils vibrating in the breeze. Their mouths were open toward the sky, like they were praying. It was an arresting, unsettling visual. His stomach roiled.

He kept walking. His legs tried to turn to jelly and he forced them to move. Shinso had not completed his opening, and so now the heroes were losing. The only one that could turn the tides was…

…me.

Koji Koda got within a hundred meters of the leader of the void, towering over him, its shadow falling over his trembling frame. He opened his mouth, and activated his Quirk. His Anivoice.

"KILL EACH OTHER!" he screamed. "KILL EACH OTHER NOW, DO IT NOW!"

Midoriya stopped fighting and looked back, stunned. "Koda-san…? Koda-san, NO!"

A horrible shimmering, a whispering, passed over Koji, but he stood his ground. He felt his command wash over the creatures, felt it strike them, pass into them…

And then the creatures began to move toward each other. Their mouths stayed open. Their tendrils intertwined. They began to consume, drool and horrible other drippings splashing off of them. Their teeth sank into each other's flesh.

It was like witnessing some absurd group dance, or an orgy out of hell. The creatures ate and bit at each other, collapsing in on themselves in glowing portals of void. It was working. It was working. Koji felt his heart soar with exultation. He was doing it. He was winning the battle. HIM. He was making it all happen. They could win! They could save the world! They…

One of the smaller creatures bit into the side of the leader.

Koji's face fell. The leader did not so much as budge. But it DID open its orange eyes, blinking slowly…and he heard its evil laughter once again.

It swatted away the one of its own that attempted to attack it, and swooped about, taking stock of its surroundings. The old one-two attempt! Hitoshi Shinso, Koji Koda, I must acknowledge that I'm impressed!

All combatants had stopped and covered their ears, screaming. Its voice was HORRIBLE. Even the other creatures…its subordinates, they had stopped, stopped attacking the heroes, stopped attacking each other, and were lowering their bodies, as if bowing, bowing to their king, their god.

A trap for the ages! It would be remembered in the history books of Earth, if I intended to leave any of you humans alive. Which, of course, I do not.

…

Hitoshi felt the leader's presence get violently ripped away from him, and realized that the worst case scenario had happened. Something had struck the leader's body, but had been far, far too weak to kill it…and just strong enough to break its Brainwashing.

NO! he shrieked, but now there was nothing to hear. He plummeted toward the center of the void, realizing what he was truly in for, millennia upon millennia of the worst torture possible…and for what…

…

Shota Aizawa stepped forward, and erased Shinso's Quirk. It was useless now that the leader was free.

Together, he and Koda had killed an unimaginable amount of the monsters, but his part in this was done. Shota got his tape wrapped around Shinso's limp form, and pulled him back toward the edge of the battlefield.

Shinso stirred, and blinked awake. "...Huh? Aizawa…sensei…"

"You idiot." Shota's voice broke. "You're not authorized to be out here."

"Heh…and look what…we managed to do…and I get to come back after all…that's a relief." He slumped against the ground. "Eri's in the car…make sure she's safe…"

Shota's eyes widened. "You…you WHAT?!"

He looked back at the car. The back seat door was hanging open, swinging slightly on his hinges.

A whole new bout of panic wracked his entire body.

…

Izuku noticed that the leader had re-awakened. He looked back. Aizawa was pulling Shinso clear, but the large monster was descending on Koda, preparing to make him the next casualty.

NO! I WILL NOT LET YOU…KILL A SINGLE PERSON!

I CAN'T ALLOW IT!

…

He awoke in a familiar place.

Ethereal wind washed around him. Darkness stretched in all directions, but directly in front of him was an arc of thrones.

Sitting in them were the previous wielders of his Quirk.

Nana Shimura looked at him with sad eyes. "Izuku…" she whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. We…we abandoned you when you needed us most."

Banjo, user of Blackwhip, had a dark expression. "When that thing first appeared…we truly didn't know what to do. We knew something like this was coming for a long time, and tried to warn you…but even we didn't know the true scope of what was to come."

The sixth user, En, nodded. "We have failed you, Izuku."

Izuku realized that in this world, the mouth that had formerly refused to form at all could now force out words. "It's…okay…" he told them. In the second to last seat, All Might's glowing, incomplete form was crying. "Kacchan…saved me. And…Nejire. I have…the others."

"Yes," said Shinomori, the fourth user. "We have been debating, you see…for the longest time, we thought that each of us had to walk alone…save for the ones that we would pass the Quirk onto…but there is so much more to it than that."

"One For All has grown," said Banjo. "It has, for better or worse, risen to the challenge that you now face."

"What…what does that mean?" Izuku asked. His own voice sounded much further away than theirs.

"It means that your cute girlfriend had the right idea by helping you," said Nana with a sad smile. "And that warping boy, as well…now I wish I hadn't rejected him so angrily…even then, the forces pulling you all together may have had the right idea. Were they our own forces, acting subconsciously? I still am not sure."

"But what we do know for sure," said the very first user, brother of All For One, "is that something is guiding us along to victory. To save the world. And we shall. We must."

"But…how…" Izuku asked. "How do I do it?"

"First, with the help of all of us." Nana stood. "You got my Quirk just now. Along with Shinomori's, actually."

"Huh?" Izuku's eyes widened.

"Danger Sense. It's what allowed you to immediately know that the leader of the void creatures had re-awakened, without even seeing him." Shinomori stood up, along with Banjo. "That's three Quirks you have."

"My Smokescreen may not serve you much in this battle, but I grant it to you all the same," said En. "We were originally planning to give you this all slowly, but…desperate times."

"And that's not all," said the first user. And he looked to the two thrones next to his.

The second and third users' faces were drenched in shadow.

"This is beyond anything I imagined," one of them muttered.

"I still don't fully approve of this boy…but if he's the best we've got, then…"

"You may have my Quirk, as well," said the third user. "Fa-Jin. You must use it immediately when you wake, if you mean to save that fool boy who managed to kill all the creatures with a command."

"Fa...Jin? But how? I don't know what it is…"

"You'll know," the man promised.

"So…I get all of your Quirks. But…but will that be enough…? Even with all that…can I…?"

Nana shook her head. "No. You cannot."

All Might's vestige stood.

"Not alone, anyway."

Izuku lifted his face. "...What? Are you all going to…to come alive?"

Nana and Banjo laughed at that. "No, unfortunately."

"That would be really something, wouldn't it, kid?"

"No, but…there is something you must do instead, Izuku. Something you know you must do. Your friends…have been trying to tell you for a while."

Izuku's eyes widened. He knew, and he woke.

…

He immediately used Fa-Jin instinctively, blasting across the battlefield like a rocket, grabbing Koda and pulling him to safety.

He heard Nejire scream. "IZUKU!"

She was coming. She had to be. There was no one else he'd rather start with.

…

The leader of the void struck Izuku with a sweeping blow of a hundred tendrils at once. He ragdolled away, and Nejire caught him in midair, crying out in terror. Her heart raced.

The two of them skidded against the ground and rolled, together coming to a hard, rough stop. Nejire felt herself strike against a piece of debris and almost blacked out. "Gggg…gguhh…"

She forced herself awake. The leader of the void was snaking its way toward them, chuckling deeply.

Izuku looked at her. Blood poured down his face. "Nejire," he whispered.

She looked back at him, and realized he was smiling. Her heart caught in her throat.

"What…?"

"I need…to kiss you…"

Her whole body was trembling. The two of them came together, the leader approaching from behind, swallowing up the whole space beyond them.

Nejire held his face in her hands and kissed him. Her eyes jammed shut, tears streaming down her cheeks. Their tears and blood and saliva mixed together.

Izuku pulled away, dragging her lip with his just a tad. And he still smiled. "Now, you can help me for real," he told her. "I accept you, and I love you. Let us do this together, Nejire Hado."

…

The Leader of the void descended onto them. Aww, a last parting kiss! It thought, with gleeful disgust. They've accepted their deaths at last, and who am I if I don't oblige them?

A blast of furious yellow lightning emerged from that spot, so bright and blinding and powerful that the God of the Void itself was blasted away, furnace wind buffering at its skin.

A spiraling pillar of energy ejected vertically into the sky, a discharge of power so great that the user had to fire it into space to prevent from leveling the whole city. The Leader skidded to a stop, knocking hard against a building and causing it to topple.

It looked back across the length of clearing that it had just been thrown across, and its eyes narrowed in rage, shock, disbelief.

Nejire Hado was rising to her feet, curving upward, her blue hair rising up around her head, yellow energy splaying out from her on all sides, wreathing her eyebrows, her fingers, her thighs. She cracked a smile as she coursed with the power of that which was inherited, the power of One for All.