Chapter 40: Welcome to the Jungle
Summary:
The League of Villains attacks the training camp!
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
In retrospect, Izuku was practically grateful it took that long for the other shoe to drop. Even without being constantly harangued by villains this term, he'd never been able to just enjoy something wholeheartedly without something ruining it.
To that end, he was enjoying his time doing the Test of Courage, walking side-by-side with Fumikage throughout the forest.
"1-B has their work cut out for them," Izuku told Fumikage.
"Indeed," Fumikage said. "You have the means to pierce through and see their plots, whereas I hold something even more terrifying within me…"
"It's just so wonderful out here, Fumi…" Dark Shadow said. "I mean, there's almost no artificial light here, since we're away from the camp. The shadows here are so deep… so pure … " Her tone became deeper, and a little manic.
Hedging his bets, Izuku said, "Dark Shadow, come on, if you do this, there's a chance Eri will find out and get scared…"
Dark Shadow twitched, and said, "I suppose I'll constrain myself, Class Rep. Wouldn't want to disappoint the little unicorn child."
Fumikage nodded in thanks to Izuku as he said, "So what do you suppose they'll-"
The bird-headed boy was cut off as Izuku grunted in pain, clutching his head, then reaching for the one piece of electronic equipment U.A. let all students bring to the training camp, the panic button.
"What peril do we now face?" Fumikage asked, his eyes glinting at the situation.
"Worse than the USJ," Izuku managed to say as he looked behind him. Though he could scarcely see it between the night and the trees, there was a plume of black mist billowing into the sky. Izuku managed to tamp down the sensation, and yelled, "We have to get back!"
A gout of flames erupted into the forest, illuminating the area as their enemies spread out. From the underbrush, a pale humanoid creature jumped out at them, with an exposed brain, a single eye where its nose should be, jaws like a bear trap, and elongated claw-like fingers that snapped as they grew additional joints that undulated towards them.
"Nomu!" Fumikage cried out as Dark Shadow erupted, grabbing the beast in a truly enormous talon and slamming it into the ground.
Izuku spread Danger Sense around, trying to see what was going on, and he realized one of the situations that was going to play out, "Eri and Kota! They're in danger! One of the worst ones is heading straight for them!"
"Go to your foundling!" Fumikage said as Dark Shadow crushed the Nomu, "We'll be fine here!"
Izuku nodded, leaping into the sky and taking off like a green bolt of lightning.
A new form approached, a bald man wearing a simple black surgical mask, with crystals growing across his arms and torso. The flames made him shimmer, but that meager light did little to weaken the sentient Quirk.
"Tell me," Dark Shadow hissed, "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
Ochako and Yui were paired together, and they knew the smart thing was to get back to camp as soon as possible. As such, Ochako had taken Yui into a princess carry and was about to fly both of them out of there.
It was a good idea, one that was unfortunately sidestepped by a new person leaping onto them and stabbing Ochako in the arm with a syringe, causing her to drop Yui.
"Awwww, I was hoping I'd find my love first," came a manic female voice clinging to Ochako's back like a baby koala. "It would have been soooo romantic, just-"
Whatever she was about to continue saying was interrupted by Yui delivering a palm strike to the girl's chin, shutting her mouth and driving her back as Ochako used the opportunity to remove the syringe and suplex her assailant. The girl twisted out and brandished a knife at the other two, who saw her features in the dim light of the forest's flames.
Blonde hair tied into two messy buns. Amber catlike eyes that shone in the light of the flame. Elongated canine teeth in a smiling mouth. A disheveled schoolgirl uniform, worn with an odd mask and an elaborate contraption of tubes and syringes. They knew who this girl was supposed to be.
"Himiko Toga," Ochako said, furious. Sure, Izuku, sweet as he was, wanted to get this girl some help, where she could receive proper treatment and not harm innocent people. But, not only did Toga just stab her, but her entire goal was to murder her beloved boyfriend. She felt entitled to a little anger.
Toga gasped happily, "He told others about me! I knew I left an impression on him!" she charged forward with her blade.
Ochako dodged the cutting edge as Yui grabbed a stick and enlarged it to the size of a bo staff. "Not a good one."
"Awww, phooey," Toga pouted as she threw a separate box cutter Ochako's way and dodged a blow from Yui's improvised weapon. "I'll just have to show him just how much I adore him after we met…"
Ochako growled, "You mean you intend to drain his blood until he dies."
Toga blushed heavily as Ochako described it, and said, "Yeeeeesssss…" in a sensual tone that made it unclear whether or not she was actually responding to Ochako or if the thought sent her into a heavy state of arousal. "Oh, I love him so much. More than anyone I've ever met. When I become him, I'll finally be complete…"
Ochako's protective fury flared. Escaping was still key, but maybe they should try and bring her in? She could evade Danger Sense, and leaving her on the field could place Izuku in danger, and she'd be damned before she let that happen, "I won't let you touch him! As long as I have any strength left in my body, I won't let you harm Izu-kun!"
Ochako had hoped that, perhaps, her proclamation would intimidate the vampire. If not, she expected her to perhaps act indifferent, or to mock her for her claims.
She never expected Toga to gasp happily, looking like a child who got the present they wanted for their birthday.
"You! I've found you! I may not have found my Izuku-chan yet, but this is great!"
Ochako was confused, as Toga licked her lips and stared at her hungrily, taking out a syringe.
"You're the first of my sister-wives that I've met!" Toga cheered, and she lunged.
Everything happened so fast for Kota.
One minute, he was at his secret base, thinking about everything that had been going on, the next Eri had come running towards him, before stopping to catch her breath.
She looked scared. More scared than she had looked when Kota unknowingly made her relive her trauma.
"The hell's going on?" Kota asked.
"Masks…" Eri said, in between her panting. "The Shie Hassaikai… Here… " she managed to choke out.
"Well, aren't I lucky?" came a deep voice. Kota and Eri turned to the source to see a hulking figure in a cloak and mask coming up towards them. "I just came here to get a good vantage point, and I managed to run into one of the targets on my list, along with an extra. Nice hat, kid. Wanna trade it for my mask?"
He removed his mask, and Kota found that the face from his nightmares had come as well. There was a scar, and a false eye, but it was the face of the man who'd destroyed his world. Muscular.
"Ah well," Muscular said. "You, girlie, you're on the no-kill list. I've gotta bring you back with us. Though they did say you didn't need to be in one piece…" Muscular cracked his knuckles as he grinned, "You in the hat. I'm feeling generous. I've got this one here, so I don't need to play with you right now. I'm giving you one chance. Leave her and run away and I won't kill you…"
Kota would have. Probably should have. Two things kept him there though. Firstly, he was so scared that his legs weren't responding, leaving him frozen. And the second, oddly enough, was one of the things that the green-haired guy told him.
"If I didn't run up and reach out my hand when I did, the regret would make me wish I were dead myself." And it was partly out of remembering that, and partly out of fear and needing comfort, that Kota grabbed Eri's hand with his own. That seemed to shake Eri out of her own fear and as she moved, so did he, and they ran for it.
Muscular gave an ugly laugh, "Not like I wasn't lying. So you'll die braver than most, brat!" Muscular threw off his cloak, muscles growing around him, encircling him like a suit of armor as he ran towards the children.
Only to be thrown off by an incredibly fast impact as Izuku flew straight at him, Fa Jin empowering his kick as he dug the jagged metal soles of his All-I-Gaiters into the villain's jaw. Izuku covered himself in Laser Disc scale mail, as well as brandishing a larger one as a shield.
Muscular grinned widely, "Oh man, this is PERFECT! A second target on the list shows up! I thought I'd have to get in line behind those Eight Precepts of whatever to get a crack at you, but you just hand yourself over to-"
That was as far as he got before Izuku sent a flurry of Laser Discs straight into Muscular, tearing through the man's muscle fibers like tissue paper. The vestiges in his head wanted to cheer him on, but feared distracting him, so they remained silent.
Growling in pain, Muscular smiled cruelly, "Cute little gimmick, kid. Not enough, though. SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD!"
As the man lunged, Izuku burst out a Smokescreen, one that, to him and the children behind them, was completely transparent. Izuku let One for All charge to fifty percent, letting it course through him, feeling his body creaking wildly as he drove a fist into Muscular's face. He followed that up with a Brooklyn Smash, smacking him with the shield-sized Laser Disc and letting the concussive explosion send the Villain reeling.
Izuku said nothing as he let out a strand of Blackwhip, which wrapped around the Villain's ankle and Izuku flung him onto the ground, back and forth like some sort of metronome. Muscular managed to bulk up and grab onto the ground, kicking his leg to throw Izuku off, then leapt forward, bringing a knee to the boy's gut, which blew Muscular back as the Laser Discs along Izuku's body exploded in response. In response, Muscular slapped two cupped palms against the side of Izuku's head, disorienting the boy. He raised his fist to potentially take off the student's head.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Kota yelled, letting a jet of water erupt from his hands, directly in Muscular's face, blinding him and pushing him back slightly. Muscular spat, wiped his face, and turned to the source.
"Oh! Oh, I'm really lucky today aren't I… I know that Quirk, you must be the son of those Water Hose Heroes I splattered! I'll never forget that, not after they gave me this!" He gestured to his scar and prosthetic eye with his thumb, "Must be fate. Told those chumps I'd hunt down their family if they couldn't stop me, and they couldn't! Didn't expect it to take this long, but- the Hell?!"
Muscular was interrupted once more, as a shimmering translucent Laser Disc covered him, locking him in a dome.
"You just have trick after trick, don't you, brat?" Muscular turned to Izuku. "Gotta give you some respect. Takes guts to trap yourself in a slaughterhouse floor. Let's see if you can cash the check you just wrote…"
"You don't understand what I just did," Izuku said, Blackwhip covering him like a second skin, until only the green of his pupils was visible. Laser Discs clung to him, like stars along a night sky. Tendrils snaked out of his back, and smoke poured out of him, filling the bubble. Green lightning sparked before the smoke obscured him entirely.
" I'm not trapped in here with you. You're trapped in here with me! "
"Are these the Nomu you fought at the USJ?" Vlad King asked Eraserhead as he hardened the blood surrounding his target, protecting Aoyama, Sato, Sero, and Monoma from the ambulatory corpse.
"Not on the same level," Eraserhead said. "I think they're scraping the bottom of the barrel with these creatures." He kicked one of the paler ones into a tree.
The Big Three had charged into the forest to retrieve their underclassmen. The Wild Wild Pussycats, meanwhile, were fighting two of the League of Villains, both of whom were wearing masks. A squirmy one who called himself Gluttony was eating through all of Pixie-Bob's earthen creations, while another with arrow-shaped dreadlocks named Chronostasis was slowing down Tiger to the point that his elastic body flowed less like water and more like molasses. Mandalay was coordinating, fighting hand-to-hand while seemingly stressed about Kota's whereabouts. Ragdoll, unfortunately, wasn't present. Would've been nice to know their weak points.
As Eraserhead glared at Chronostasis, activating his Quirk and allowing Tiger to move at full speed and clock the guy, he noticed a flash coming from his peripheral vision, the roar of engines accompanying a figure bounding from tree to tree.
"Aizawa-sensei! The League of Villains is attacking en masse in the forest!" Tenya cried out. He was carrying a conscious but clearly weakened Ojiro on his back. "We are attempting to evacuate, but there are complications, particularly involving the enemies' Quirks! Two of them dosed themselves up with what seems to be Trigger! One of them can now drain stamina from us simply by inhaling, rendering a large number of us exhausted! Another is able to merge with the ground and the trees, able to both attack and disorient us!"
Eraserhead had to blink around then as Tiger coiled himself around Chronostasis, "Good to know. Any other useful information? Motive, perhaps?"
Tenya's eyes narrowed, "This is a kidnapping attempt. Their primary targets are Midoriya-kun and Eri-chan."
Eraserhead somehow stopped himself from swearing. He said, "Get Ojiro into the classroom and stay put." As Tenya complied, Eraserhead went to Mandalay. Within minutes, all of U-A's students were told of what was going on, who was behind it, and who was being targeted. And all of them were informed that Eraserhead gave them permission to use their Quirks.
Shortly thereafter, there was a deafening sound as the helicopter Momo created on the hike took off over the forest. Melissa was at the helm, and Mei took her position at the minigun.
(Yes, they'd included a minigun and numerous rounds of rubber bullets. When Eraserhead had asked why, they simply replied that there was a non-zero chance they'd need it. Eraserhead was prepared to give them extra credit for that.)
The helicopter turned on its massive floodlights and the speakers were blaring some old-timey American song that had something to do with a pre-Quirk war they'd had. Something about a lucky son, if he was translating that right?
Eraserhead just shook his head as he kicked a Nomu in the solar plexus. At least now, the chaos was being directed at Villains.
Ochako tried to subdue Toga. Her bond was the strongest, and that allowed more of One for All to flow through it into her, and between that and the training they'd been doing, she was able to wield about five percent of it safely.
But Toga was quick and she had experience in combat beyond U.A. training and an internship with Ryukyu. She was difficult to pin down, and more difficult to dodge her blows.
Luckily, though, she wasn't alone, as Yui's makeshift staff smacked into Toga's head and sent her flying. She picked up a rock as Toga recovered.
After wincing in pain, Toga gasped in delight, "Aww, you're both covered in lightning like Izuku-chan! And they're different colors, too! I wonder what mine is!"
"You won't get a color," Yui said, projecting her voice in a way Ochako hadn't heard before. "Izu-kun has a finite amount of bonds. You had the last one before he cut you off… And I took it instead." And while the bond made that declaration sound loud and passionate, even Toga would have heard her intense pride and seen the smirk on her face.
"Aww, don't be jealous, dear!" Toga said, licking her lips. "I have plenty of love to go around, too! I can love all of you, and he'll love me, and we'll all be together as I become you all!"
Toga lunged forward, ready to cut Yui down, but Yui hurled the rock in her hand, and it glowed with energy and grew to the size of a boulder. Toga managed to leap over it, but caught her foot on it as she landed, causing the boulder to explode and making her land on her face.
Ochako put the girl in a submission hold, increasing the blond girl's gravity, "Toga… we can get you the help you need. Izu-kun may not want to be in a relationship with you, but he knows you can't control your urges. We all know that you need blood to survive thanks to your Quirk. We can get you what you need. Please, surrender. Let us help you…"
Tsu leapt into the trees, ignoring the shifting terrain caused by the formerly doll-like Villain. She was holding Koji in her tongue and Kinoko in her arms, the two of them drained of their energy. Neither of their Quirks would be overly helpful, as the flames caused by one of the Villains destroyed Kinoko's mushrooms and the various animals were overwhelmed by the instinct to flee from the fire to follow Koji's commands.
She could see Toru run past as well, carrying the large form of Bondo, knowing she was invisible to anyone else. Somehow, she had enough control that the light coming off of her rendered her visible to the eyes of those she chose, but wouldn't register to anyone else.
It made very little sense, but to quote their boyfriend when he reached a dead end in his analysis, Quirks were bullshit.
While they were fighting in the clearing, the various members of the Ennead coordinated telepathically. One for All was enough to keep them from succumbing to Siphon's enhanced Quirk, and allowed them to carry off those who were rendered unable to fight in the aftermath.
Momo was leading the counterattack, creating numerous weapons. There'd been some issues with one of the Villains named Larceny who could snatch objects out of a person's hand and take them in his own, but Reiko was with her, and she could play keepaway. Not to mention, Momo used alternate tactics, like making items out of an osmium alloy, or creating flashbang grenades and removing the pins as he stole them.
Setsuna's mouth had flown over as well, informing them that she, Mina, Eijiro, and Tetsutetsu were fighting the villain Moonfish. Mina was hurling acid at the creep's elongating teeth, Setsuna was attacking with her flying body parts, and both of the boys were protecting them while breaking the toothy blades on their bodies. Still, they were at a stalemate, and Setsuna managed to spot Fumikage and Dark Shadow going on a rampage, so she was going to try and lure the boy over.
As the Big Three rocketed past her, followed closely by the helicopter, Tsu was concerned, but not overly worried. They were strong. Their connections made them mighty.
Izuku would later admit, he was going a bit overboard.
He had a lot of anger, how couldn't he, with his background? He strove to ensure it didn't overtake him, make him something he didn't want to be, so he would always try not to hold onto the anger, but to identify its source and either correct it, or use that as motivation. But, occasionally, that anger had a righteous outlet for him to use.
And, here he was with a psychotic murderer. One who wanted to kill a five-year old kid, a kid who was an orphan thanks to him. One who was trying to abduct his adopted daughter, and would certainly not do so gently and painlessly. One who could take some of the harshest beatings that pro Heroes could offer and still keep standing.
So, Izuku truly went Plus Ultra.
He transformed a bit of the smoke around Muscular's good eye into a reflective surface, creating a flashing effect that blinded him, no matter the fog surrounding him. Laser Discs tore through the muscles grown around his body. Blackwhip snared his arms, legs, and neck, locking Muscular spread eagle in midair. And Izuku went to town on him.
Izuku's limbs, including two additional Blackwhips, were a flurry of blows, hitting Muscular across his body. The vestiges gave him small, nonverbal pointers. His eyes, solar plexus, kidneys, groin, were all hammered away as Laser Discs pelted Muscular like blasts from a shotgun.
Finally, Izuku slammed Muscular onto the ground and kicked him square in the mouth. His jagged soles hit mandibles with a sickening crack, and Muscular went slack. Izuku checked the man, finding that he was still breathing, unconscious, and with both of his arms and legs broken.
Breathing heavily, Izuku dropped the dome surrounding him and the smoke dissipated. Eri and Kota were still there. Izuku hadn't let them see the beatdown he was giving Muscular, not wanting them to see the violence. As Muscular's prone, unmoving form lay on the ground, Izuku smiled at them.
Kota was in absolute awe, and Eri looked like she was about to cheer, when she saw something behind him and gasped.
Izuku turned to see another hulking figure walk out of the forest, laughing and wearing a birdlike mask over a mane of unruly hair. Izuku snarled.
"Well, damn, kid!" the new brute said. "That guy with the hands talked you up, but I wasn't expecting a brawl like that! That was such a thrill! Now, the Rapper's here to face you!"
"You're one of Overhaul's goons," Izuku growled.
"Hey, I only followed him so I could one day beat his ass," the Rapper said. "I don't give a shit about that guy's scheme to restore the Yakuza, and I certainly don't care about taking the girl he kept for who-knows-why. All I care about is fighting and winning through my own strength! No weapons, just man-to-man! If none of you Hero students gave me the brawl I wanted, I was going to take on Muscular myself, but here you are! You beat both Overhaul and Muscular!" He raised his gauntlet-clad fists, "I want a piece of you now!"
Sending Danger Sense outwards, Izuku couldn't detect anything nearby. That didn't mean there wasn't a threat that could evade it, but Nana told him that Ochako and Yui were fighting Toga at the moment, and hopefully there weren't any other blind spots. "Eri, Kota! Get back to camp, now! Run! I'll come back for you!" Izuku yelled as he held up his fists in response. The two children ran like hell.
"Excellent!" the Rapper said. "Don't worry, kid, I'm not gonna go after them. A real man doesn't act that way."
"Great, first we get Akira, now there's a villainous Kiri-Tetsu," Daigoro muttered.
With a cheer, the Rapper hurled himself into the fray, his arm arms rotating at tremendous speeds to punch in rapid succession. Izuku endured the assault, between his Blackwhip armor, throwing up Laser Discs to block, using Blackwhip to intercept, and dodging with the bending Melissa gave him. Still, it was a brutal attack, which eventually stopped, leaving Izuku hurting but still in the fight, at which point, he counterattacked.
The Rapper only laughed in joy, taking the punches, the kicks, the blackwhips, the discs, the frequent bursts of Fa Jin, "Yes! This is PERFECT! You've got extra fiddly bits, sure, but the strength beneath them is REAL! This is how it's supposed to be! Fuck that shithead Canopy and the 'spear and shield' horseshit! Just two men tearing each other apart!"
Will this guy shut his stupid trap? The Hero student thought in response, scowling. Izuku was trying to take this fucker down as soon as humanly possible. He didn't care about fighting for its own sake. He just wanted to make sure the people he cared about weren't going to die!
His train of thought got cut off as Danger Sense warned him of a threat behind him. He had to stop it! Unfortunately, the Rapper had just taken a fresh cycle to his Quirk and was raining down Hell on Izuku. Everything Izuku had was being used to meet his opponent head on!
And then he started to feel dizzy.
As his coordination slipped and his senses dulled, Izuku heard the gunshot and felt it impact on his back. At first, he didn't think it was much, but then his Laser Discs started to fade, and the Blackwhips retreated. The Rapper's punch sent him sailing.
When it did, two more masked figures appeared in Izuku's blurred vision. One was taking a swig from a bottle, the other was reloading a revolver.
"What the everloving hell, you little shits! Our fight was just getting good!" the Rapper roared furiously.
"Hehehehe, no worriesh, everythin' worked like it was shposht ta!" the drunken voice of the masked guy closest to Izuku slurred.
"The best way to get Kyuseishu in our custody was to distract him, get him disoriented, then hit him with one of our Quirk-erasing bullets," the other stated.
"Fuck you, Inquisitor! You two shitheads just ruined the best fight I've had in years! I'm going to… to… Punch Drunk, you asshole…" The Rapper swayed as the drunken man walked forward, getting the Rapper within range of his Quirk.
Izuku kept Full Cowl up, slowly draining from him as the bullet's effects took over his body. Maybe he could have fought back, but Punch Drunk's Quirk made him unable to get his balance up to stand from the ground.
How was this even possible? He didn't think that bullet pierced his skin.
"Pinprick…" came the voice of Nana, like a cellphone losing its signal. "... only… letting ev… love you!"
"Idiot," Inquisitor sighed as the Rapper swayed and fell over. "Still, he had his uses. Now, you…" he looked at Izuku, who could feel the glare underneath the plague doctor mask. "I wish I could kill you right now, but I suppose you'll have your uses. Shigaraki wants you alive, and I don't doubt that he'll make it painful when we bring you to him. But before I do, tell me… who killed Overhaul?"
"Dunno," Izuku slurred, unable to stop answering, as he heard the vestiges' voices grow dimmer. "Think it wash Tomura'sh Shenshei, All for One."
"Hmm, he's telling the truth, but he's a child, one who could have been lied to," Inquisitor stated. "Still, even if you weren't the one who killed Overhaul, his death is your fault. We'll ensure that you get what you deserve, and if Shigaraki's benefactor is indeed the culprit… well, we can get in close to finish the job."
"Oi, Nemoto!" Punch Drunk slurred once again. "Sho, All for Whatever tol' ush that Eri wash th' mosht important target, but that if we got at leasht one, we'd be cool? An' we heard one a th' Nomu got Ragdoll through th' portal? Sho, what if we shay that Eri got away? We fuck over Kyusheishu an' All for None together!"
Inquisitor let out a cruel laugh, "A wonderful idea, Sakaki! Not like Eri was worth anything to us anymore!"
"Gonna kick yer ash," the Rapper slurred out.
"Perhaps. As for this one… Hmm, his Quirk will be erased for anywhere from one to twelve hours, depending on dosage and metabolism, but we can't be too careful with him…" Inquisitor took a step forward, taking out a syringe.
"Izuku…" Yoichi said, before finally, the last of Full Cowl broke, One for All faded from Izuku's body.
For the first time in months, Izuku was alone in his head. Even if he complained about it at times, the absence of the vestiges and his girlfriends was so much worse than he'd remembered.
Thankfully, Inquisitor took a syringe and plunged it into Izuku's arm, and within seconds, even he was absent from his head.
Toga squirmed as the increased gravity took hold of her, "Help. You mean you want to try and turn me normal. Well, I am normal! This is my normal, how I love, and I'll never stop! I'll never hide anymore! You can't make me!"
"Ochako!" Nana called faintly in her head. "Izuku's been shot with one of the Shie Hassaikai's bullets! One for All is-" and she was cut off.
As that happened, Ochako felt One for All drain from her, the bond fading. She became weaker, she'd felt the increase in her physical prowess for so long that its absence felt so wrong! And the ones she loved were no longer in her head.
Yui's face was blank. Ochako knew her expressions from experience, but her face was no longer an open book. "No…" Yui whispered, forlorn.
Of course, without the Sharing Bond, Toga's increased gravity disappeared, and Toga managed to squirm through her hold, shoving Ochako off her body. She looked like she was going to attack again, when she heard something on her earpiece.
Toga let out a delighted squeal, "We have Izuku-chan! We can go! It was so nice to meet two of my sister-wives! Bye, Ochako-chan! Bye, Yui-chan! Don't worry, I'll take good care of our Izuku-chan, and I'll come back and bring you to us!" Toga dove into the underbrush and made her way back to the portal.
Ochako and Yui looked at her, then at each other, before racing off to follow her. They might not have been able to hear each other's thoughts, but they knew they shared the same one in that moment.
They'll have him over my dead body.