The Soul of a Hero

Chapter 8

Now it's time for the meisters to get more involved with the heroes. With two being at the forefront of the job. Not to mention….. we'll peek in on a few other witches that Da Ji allied with before long. For various reasons. So on with the show.

(No POV)

Jon had fully calmed down after leaving the lecture room. He rested in the teachers' room while still feeling a twinge in his old scars. "I've got a really bad feeling. She's up to her old tricks again. And I think she's looking to make a more controllable version of me."

"Probably yeah. The question though is who it is that she's kidnapped. Think she grabbed a quirkless person and modified them? They're so neglected that it would probably be easy to do." Ming asks while handing her partner some water.

Her statement though makes all the heroes nearby wince. As they know she isn't wrong and that it had been a problem for a while now. Jon though has a different suspicion. "I'm sure she has one or two who were or are quirkless. But they probably aren't her main interest. No. She'll be experimenting with a person who has a quirk."

This unsettles the heroes as they question more of who the person in question is. With Aizawa being the one to actually bring up the question. "You've told us she's a witch. And that she had experimented on you for years. But we're still in the dark about a lot of other things. So. Care to explain?"

Ming and Jon share a look before silently agreeing to divulge a bit more about their quarry. "Charybdis is a witch who takes twisted enjoyment in modifying and reshaping anything she gets her hands on. Enjoying the process of making some things more monstrous or the torment she puts some captives under."

The weapon woman goes on to mention that she seems to enjoy adding new aspects or modifying limbs. Trying to make them better for specific reasons or capabilities. Or just making new sorts of monsters to terrorize the world.

Jon chuckles before noting she even did it to herself. "She disassembled one of her own arms and fused it with her familiar. Modified it too. I think it was originally an eel but she made it into something much more disturbing. Thing has teeth that can be launched, and its so big it could eat a person whole."

All of the heroes gulp at this thought and questioned what the villainous witch looked like. "Like are we talking a stereotypical witch with the hat and black hair? Ridding a broom? Not mention looking like an old decrepit woman? What does she look like?"

"Something far more disturbing. Her preferred default appearance….. is a young girl. Like I wouldn't even suspect she's in her teens with her appearance. And yet she is hundreds of years old and enjoys torturing people with that twisted grin on her face and her blue eyes gleaming with malice." Jon says before picking up a piece of paper.

He thinks for a moment and starts to sketch what he remembered from his nightmares and memories. When the teachers look at sketch they are surprised. "I thought you were just a fighter. But you can draw this well? Where did that come from?" Midnight questions while looking at the shaded, detailed, and well-defined sketch of the witch they were looking for.

While also being unsettled at the thought of what appeared to be a harmless looking little girl. Who apparently loved to kill and maim people just for her curiosity. Or just for her twisted idea of fun.

Nezu thinks for a moment before remembering something important. "I believe a villain that matches this description was a part of a recent raid. I had considered planning the raid but there were other matters to attend to here."

Vlad nodded as he had seen some of the reports on the incident. "Though a hero is still MIA. Come to think of it, isn't the class rep of 1-A the younger brother of the one who went missing?" Aizawa speaks up next and notes that Ida Tenya was the brother of Ingenium. "Ida Tensei. He's a pretty capable hero himself."

"Wait! Ten-Sei? And Ida? Can you give me more details!?" Jon says before going over and grabbing both men's shoulders. "What are you – oh right! I forgot you said Sei and Ida earlier!" Vlad says while being shook a bit.

Nezu takes this moment to question Jon on what they both probably suspect. "Ingenium is being held captive by Charybdis. Am I correct in assuming so?" Jon nods and notes that she probably captured him during the raid because he underestimated the witch.

"We need to get wherever this raid happened. Ming. Get Johari as well. We'll need her to try and track the souls involved." Jon says before asking Nezu to give him the location. And while the teachers are a bit irritated with how pushy the meister is being, Nezu sees the point and acknowledges that time is of the essence.

Explaining to his staff, "we're accustomed to villains that generally attack us just so they can use their powers. They are used to dealing with entities that would terrify most heroes on a daily basis. And they can get it done quickly."

With that, Nezu hands Jon a slip of paper with the address of the warehouse. As well as a phone number for the Ida patriarch to call if he asks extra questions. "Please. Find Ingenium, Star-san."

Jon nods before pocketing the paper. "Are you sure this is a good idea sir?" Snipe questions as the weapon and meister leave. "I don't know for certain. But it is what we have to work with. I just hope they do the fighting and just have Bayana do the tracking."

"So we've got a witch to kill?" Johari says after meeting up with the elder meister. Jon gives her a quick affirmative and tells her to get ready. "We're going after one of Da Ji's main accomplices. Charybdis." The younger teen just gives him a firm nod while Muwali seems a bit nervous. "Hey I'm all for doing what I do best, but a witch? You sure we're ready for that."

Ming is the one to speak up with, "it doesn't matter if you think you are ready or not. There are times when you have to jump in. No matter the stakes." The younger weapon sighs a bit before agreeing. "Let's hope we can find some good news."

After a short bus ride, the impromptu team reaches the warehouse. With multiple police outside (and Jon still being wanted), Johari suggests that they take the assassin's approach. Jon nods before lifting up his eyepatch and taking look inside.

"Okay. I think I see the one we need to find. There's one down there that seems similar to that Ida kid. There's a few others but we'll deal with that when the time comes." Jon says while also noting the distinct trails of magic in the building. Johari smirks a bit before saying, "perfect. I'll be able to track her, and maybe any others she's taken, down easily."

The weapons transform while the meisters work their way across the rooftops to get on top of the warehouse. And while Jon ready to just bust through one of the skylights, Johari stops him. "How about we don't make a huge scene that makes more people want to attack us?"

Johari slips over to an open skylight and gestures for the elder meister to follow her. "Didn't your father teach you about the way of assassination?" Jon rolls his eyes before saying, "yes, but it was a somewhat jaundiced version. After all he, just like me, switched to the way of the warrior."

Johari gives him an annoyed look before saying, "now we need a way to get the attention of that one in the white armor." Johari seems to be thinking of plans and trying to come up with a way to surreptitiously alert the man. Jon just rolls his eyes before stepping out of the shadows.

"Hey! Your name is Ida, right? I need to talk with you." Johari facepalms while the heroes and police are freaking out. "That villain! We need to call All Might! How many of us are going to die?!" Jon lets out a sigh before speaking to the Ida patriarch. "I know you're looking for your son. I may know how to track him. Not to mention I know who took him."

This gets a few to slow their panicking (while still keeping guns trained on the man), while Ida takes a measured step forward. He removed his helmet, showing a similar hair color to his sons. And Jon took note that he seemed to have almost the same power as Tenya. With engines in his calves.

"I am Ida Tetsuo. You were the villain that aided a young vigilante and fought All Might. How and why do you know about what happened to my son?"

Jon lets out a small sigh before saying, "I know the one who took him quite well. Believe me. I'm familiar with her and her ally's handiwork." He lifts his shirt while saying this, and all the heroes and police get a good view of his scars. And muscles that some comment on.

"Hm. So….. whoever it is tortured you as well. I suppose I can see why you feel the need to kill those like her. If for no other reason than that no one else would have to go through what you did." Tetsuo bows before asking how Jon intended to find Tensei. "Oh I won't be the main one. C'mon out Johari. We need your perception."

"You know, we could have done this in a more subtle way. You didn't have to make a huge scene." Johari says while resting Muwali on her shoulder. Jon shrugs before asking if she could find the traces of the soul wavelengths.

Johari nods and focus on the ambient wavelengths. While most of the police are confused, Tetsuo notices the strange shine that comes over her gray eyes. "Who are you people? And how do we know we can trust you?"

Jon shrugs before pulling out the paper Nezu gave him. He hands it to the man who seems confused at first. And is shocked when he calls the number and Nezu answers. "There are….. extenuating and unusual circumstances involved sir. But rest assured these people can be trusted….. for the most part."

These assurances don't alleviate Tetsuo's suspicions and fears, but he is willing to go along. If for no other reason than finding Tensei. Johari hums for a moment before finding a set of wavelengths that didn't go the same way as the rest.

"Down here. Some kind of tunnel." Johari says while gesturing with Muwali. Jon hums before lifting his eyepatch. "We've already checked the tunnel. All we found was a blood stain. Not much else. Maybe whoever it was had some kind of quirk that broke down the remains?"

While the police were trying to get them to find a different area; Johari and Jon head down to investigate the tunnel. With Tetsuo following along. "I checked down here as well. Part of it was caved in."

"Yeah, no it's not. You can't see through it because you don't have the same level of perception we do." Jon says with a firm tone. He and Johari nod before walking toward the caved in section of the tunnel. And right through the rocks.

Tetsuo is shocked and steps forward as well. He reaches out and touches the stones. He can feel it so he has no idea how they went through the stone. Only to be shocked by Jon sticking his head back through the rocks. "Don't just touch with your hands. That's how the magic fooled you idiots."

The hero was shocked and confused by what he meant. But he decided to go for it and closed his eyes as he walked into the rocks. Only to pass through and be confused by the situation. "How? I don't understand?" Tetsuo says with incredulity while looking back at where the rocks were.

Jon grabbed the older man's collar and pulled him along. "You're not dealing with the realms you are accustomed to. Now. You're seeing the power and magic of witches." While the hero wants to deny that magic exists, the some of the strange things involved made him think otherwise.

Especially when Muwali transformed out of his weapon form. "Ah! Sorry! Had a cramp. Ow, ow, ow. I just need to walk for a bit." Jon has a raised eyebrow at this and asks Ming, "do you get cramps like that when you're transformed?"

"No. Not anymore. I think part of it comes from Muwali being from this world and not as accustomed to transforming." Ming says while transforming her blade into her head. Tetsuo meanwhile wonders if there was some sort of gas making him hallucinate. "Is this really real?"

Johari and Jon look back at the man before sharing a look and telling him, "Yeah. Pretty much." They keep walking instead of waiting for Tetsuo to shake out of his shock. The hero shakes his head before jogging a bit to catch up with the meisters.

And what they found, was the exit of the tunnel. Leading into the sewer system of Mustafa city. Muwali transforms back into his weapon form before saying, "makes me kind of glad we can't really smell when in this form."

The two meisters give the throwing knife a look before focusing on the sewer system and tunnels. Tetsuo suggest that they get other heroes to aid in searching the sewer system. "No. We can't leave the possibility of the…. Gack! DAMNIT! Not again." Jon starts before his eye starts hurting again.

"What's wrong?" Tetsuo asks while looking at the elder meister with confusion. "His old injuries from the experiments are acting up. My guess? Charybdis is taking someone apart. And he can somehow feel it." Johari says with a hum. This gets the elder Ida unsettled and afraid for his son. But he quickly refocuses and notes that they still need backup.

Johari focuses her sight a different way and points to a manhole not too far from their position. "We need to go after the witch and to try and stop whatever she is working on. I'll tell you this now; if we give her a chance to run, there is a very high likelihood that she will kidnap someone else and put them through similar kinds of torment."

Tetsuo sees the firm stance the young woman was taking. As well as the determined fire in her eyes. "Alright. But I still think we need backup. I'll go up and call in more heroes. You all should go after this woman. Stop her plans." With that, the hero puts his helmet back on and rushes toward the manhole Johari pointed out.

"Good call. Remove the one who will likely get in the way of what we need to do. We have to kill that bitch." Jon says before pulling up his eyepatch. He looks around with his soul perception eye and sees the trails of magic. He warns Johari of a few likely traps that were scattered through the tunnels. And that he should disable those to keep the heroes somewhat safe.

Johari nods before heading off to track the souls of Charybdis and Tensei. Evading the magic mines and snares on the way to their goal. Jon meanwhile moves as quickly as he can to disable the handful of traps scattered along the path.

Johari of course arrives first and sneaks around inside a runoff control section. Where she sees a few operating tables and gurneys with surgeon's tools on them. And the blood spatters all around.

"How many has she butchered in her twisted obsession?" Johari says with a chill running down her spine. She continues to sneak around before coming to what appeared to be the main operating area. And can see the frightening witch working on someone else.

"Heheehehee. Yes…. He's almost done. I had to rush a bit with a few new parts. But thankfully some of my previous subjects were more than happy to donate. What? Yes I know. I shouldn't have ripped off both of his arms with you. But it's too late for that. Now we just need to test out the newest monster. Care to give us some exceptional data? My former captive?"

Johari isn't sure that she is talking to her, but a blast of magic and the launching of some teeth in her direction answer for her. "How long have you known?" Johari says after dodging the attacks from the eel. "Oh, for a while. Roughly from the time you entered my secondary operating room."

'She doesn't know about Jon with any luck. Maybe I can buy time.' Johari thinks before Charybdis catches her attention again. "Oh. Now that isn't your old partner. But….. oh ho? So it seems all of us caught in the spell didn't arrive at the same time. After all, that weapon is the son of your old partner."

"So what if I am!?" Muwali shouts from his form. Charybdis shrugs before noting that it was interesting that demon weapons could be born in this world. "That could be interesting information for Zong. She did have an interest in Arachne's experiments. It's part of what happened to….. oh what was his name? Well what does it matter? He became useless to our research anyway."

Right as the witch was saying this, Johari threw the mambele at her. While resonating slightly to cause some wind blade shockwaves. The witch seems to split apart as the blade flies at her head. and she then comes back together.

"Oooh. That's different. But I'm not interested in fighting with you. You wouldn't give me much of a challenge anyway. Though I am curious as to how you deal with my creation. Flood, flood. Eel, eel. Flood, flood. Eel, eel."

As she chants, the body on the table starts to rise. It rolls over and lands in a four-point stance. Then with a burst of speed rushes at Johari. The meister is surprised and quickly bends backwards to avoid a punch to her face.

"Holy shit! That was fast! Muwali! We need to take this…. Thing….. down." The monster turns toward Johari, and she sees what it really was. What she thought was some kind of creature turned out to be a controlled zombie.

Different from Sid in that it was clear the sense of self was removed or restrained from the being. She looked closely with her soul perception to see that whoever the body and soul originally belonged to was greatly restrained by magic.

Both of the arms appeared to have been stitched together. And what looks like amor plating was attached to the being's chest and legs. And it appeared to be strong enough to take some solid hits. Johari tested this by using Muwali to unleash a wind blade. And it barely scratched the material.

'Okay. Breaking through might be possible. Just have to really resonate. But…. is that the right thing in this situation?' Johari thinks while countering and dodging the attacks from the zombie. She thinks again of Sid and how he guided and taught her to be an agent of the DWMA. And this being could be no different than her teacher.

"RAWARA!" the zombie bellows before connecting a strong punch then kick to the young meister. "Johari! Are we fighting this guy or not? Do we just get away?" Muwali questions with worry. The dark-skinned girl groans while shaking her head.

"I don't know! I want to stop him. But I…. I'm not sure if I should kill him. We may be agents who are trained to kill those on Lord Death's list. But sometimes we don't have to kill right away. Maybe – WHOA!" Johari shouts before leaping up and out of the range of another attack.

She sticks to the pipes and hides within the shadows to watch the zombie more closely. She had only vaguely noticed, but whoever the being used to be had been modified and bulked up thanks to the same armor plates as before. Some seemingly stitched to the surface or just under the skin. Meaning whoever this used to be was much smaller than the hulking monster they are now.

It groans out a few more times before Charybdis starts berating it. "I knew I should have kept another soul perception eye. But noooo! I had to loan it to that owl. She's above you idiot! Just leap up and! Ya know what! Never mind! I'll just take control!"

The witch pulls out what looks like a game controller before firing out some eel like entities. Taking physical control of the zombie and forcing him to leap up and smash the pipes Johari was hiding in.

She swings and crawls through the pipework and metal. She slips around and tries to keep out of her enemy's line of sight. She calms her soul and takes stock of the situation. An armored zombie, who was a victim of the experimentation of Charybdis. Who at the current point was controlling said zombie like a video game character. And if the witch felt like it, she could take to the field herself and could probably finish the fight alone.

"We need to get out of here. I can't take her. And that zombie could kill me pretty easy. We need to fall back." Johari says glumly. Muwali though questions if she really believes that. "I'll follow you since you are my meister. But do you really think you can't do anything for that suffering soul? Isn't there some way you can help him?"

The stealthy meister tightens the grip on her weapon while glancing back to the arena like center. And she noticed something else. Rather than just manipulating the zombie with magic, she was also sending electric shocks through the creature. Enjoying it's groans as she electrocuted it. And making some tears fall from the sad being's eyes.

Johari grit her teeth and her soul started roiling. "No. I'm not running. This could get a little tricky. And maybe messy. You with me?" Muwali smiles from within his soul self before saying, "what do you think partner? Let's do this!"

The assassin meister smiles before calming her mind and soul. She throws her mambele at the various lights taking away the more of the villain's sight. As well as doing something special. She uses a gentle resonance with Muwali to cast some wind to send her wavelength through the area.

While Charybdis and the zombie are looking back and forth between the flickering lights to find the girl, she was reciting the assassin's rules in her head. She knows though that even in this darkness, she can't take the witch.

'But that isn't the only target.' Johari thinks in her mind. She sticks to the shadows and times her movements with the flickering of the lights. On, off, on, off. Letting off small doses of her wavelength. Not only on the ground, but through the winds in the pipes.

"WHERE ARE YOU!? COME OUT!" Charybdis shouts while feeling unsettled by the meister's actions. Johari does try to sneak up at one point, but the familiar notices and lashes out where she once was. It even protects the witch when she tries to attack with Muwali.

But these were all just feints. She uses a few bursts of her resonance with Muwali that tricks the witch into thinking she was the target once again. In just the right moment, she bursts in and severs the connection to the zombie with her weapon. And then with a concentrated point of soul force, impacts the spine of the zombie. Paralyzing it and somewhat freeing it.

Johari then knocks the being away before increasing her resonance with Muwali. Then throwing him at the witch. "You brat!" Charybdis shouts before flaring her soul out with her magic. Knocking away the mambele and pushing back the meister a bit.

"Oh you got me. You maybe could have killed me. But instead, you chose to focus on that stupid monster. And trying to save him. You might make an interesting subject though. Especially that soul perception of yours." Charybdis says while stalking towards Johari. He massive eel familiar looming out and above the girl.

Johari just smiles before saying, "maybe so. And maybe I should have taken my shot. But…. I think someone else deserves that chance." Charybdis looks at her funny before feeling a new wavelength and a rush of power coming at her. She leaps back a bit but the head of her eel familiar is cut off. Charybdis screams while the beast and her hand regenerate.

"You didn't think that through when you modified yourself. How your impressive beast of an arm could be detrimental in the larger scheme? Well. I still plan to make you suffer a bit." Jon says with Ming held in one hand and resting on his shoulder.

Charybdis snarls before casting a few spells and launching some smaller eels at the warrior. He just takes Ming in hand and spins the weapon to chop through the monstrous enemy. After the eels stop flowing, Jon boosts his soul to knock back the magic being fired.

The witch is annoyed and furious at her old test subject pushing her back. So, she thinks to take a shot at Johari and her newest subject. Only they are gone. While Jon drew the witch's attention, Muwali had transformed and helped Johari to get the zombie out of the line of fire.

"Thought you could use my comrade as a distraction, eh? Too bad for you I expected that. It's just how you operate." Jon says while walking towards the witch. He brandishes his weapon before cracking his neck.

His opponent meanwhile is roiling with anger and annoyance. "Well I suppose it's time to discipline you again. Like old times!" Charybdis snarls as her familiar regrows the head it originally lost. With its fangs snapping at the meister.

Jon and Ming both smirk before taunting the witch. "No more hiding places. No more slaves or modified beings. No allies to make sure you have numbers on your side. It's just the two of us….. and you. Time to finish this part of my grudge. Charybdis."

And scene. Sorry if that seems like a bit of a lame cliffhanger, but I want to make sure the fight I want to write has plenty of room to breathe. Not to mention some of the history between the characters will pop in next chapter too. Given I've only put a little bit of what makes Charybdis a monster. And I've only name dropped a few other witches. Please review!