A/N: Much like the USJ all the tense action in one big ol' chapter. Enjoy!


01000011 01101111 01101110 01110011 I'vE bEeN hErE bEfOrE?01110101 01101101 01100101 00100000 01000101 01101110 01101000 01100001 01101110 01100011 01100101 ThIs CoDe, ThIs HeAdAcHe 00100000 01010010 01100101 01110000 01101100 01101001 01100011 01100001 WhO aM i? 01110100 01100101 WhO aM i!?

Nothing, the empty silence in her head put her heart on the wire. SIVA hadn't made a sound for the whole day, she could still perform to the best of her abilities but there was no robotic, Russian accent to greet her with blunt questioning. It made her skin crawl with worry and uncertainty, it was there, deep down in her soul she felt it, the grains of sand starting to dwindle.

"This might be our last night, together, SIVA," She slipped her mask on, eyes immediately downcast. "For what it's worth, thank you for giving me a little more time."

With a gradual, red line her costume materialized atop her clothing, the skin-tight fabric felt smoother, but the red threading, especially for her twin-tail scarf and mark of SIVA came off as diluted, a paler version than before. Then there was a knock at the door.

"Yuki, we're heading out, let's go," Shoto's muffled voice broke her worries while she grabbed her phone and augmented it into her mask, the HUD coming online once more

To their surprise, Endeavor was taking them to Hosu, after the string of connected murders and attacks the dead-beat of a hero speculated where the Hero-Killer Stain may show up next, although SIVA and Yuki managed to determine this a few days ago. He stuck to alleyways away from crowds, and more importantly, he never fought more than two people at a time, his Quirk paralyzed people somehow, so that meant he wouldn't attack those who were powerhouses like Yuki.

She swung the door open to find Shoto back in his new hero suit. A dark blue jacket with elbow-length sleeves, its collar high and joined in the center by a gray neckpiece, baggy pants of the same color, a metal-plated combat vest and white boots, their soles and a thin line running down the center of each of them a darker pale gray. He also sports a brown utility belt around his waist, with little metal capsules containing medical supplies hanging off the front.

Even while Yuki stood before him he realized the changes to her costume, eyeing the strange shimmer cautiously. "You look weaker." Yuki blinked, hands held out as the fabric did indeed dim, he realized it had to be her Quirk. "It's happening again, isn't it?" "If we're heading into a fight she may not survive like this..."

'We can worry about it later, let's go' She slapped the back of her hand off his shoulder as the two took off for the main lobby to join the number two hero. The confidence in her step was greater than before, Shoto had to give her credit, she wasn't going to stop even if he tried to apply logic to it


[Hosu]

It was a long ride there, so much so that nightfall befell the city, and it gave the teens and Pro the sight of a large-scale fire scorching the skyline afar. Yuki held out her reply. 'This doesn't fit the Hero Killer's M.O, something about this screams 'Tomura'' "Leaving out the fact I hacked the CCTV and found him and that 'Kurogiri' guy overlooking the carnage."

"You mean that guy from the USJ?" Shoto inquired to her immediate nod, his hand instinctively running across his chin, the other against his elbow. "If they're behind this then it might be more things like that Nomu."

Endeavor smirked, "You seem to have already grasped the situation," Yuki couldn't tell if that was a good compliment or one of his, 'you'll make a fine catalyst for children' compliments. She was about fifty-fifty. "However, the two of you will focus on keeping civilians out of trouble while you watch a Pro at work."

The trio took off toward the wailing sirens and screams that filled Yukiu's ears like the day she... lost everything, or when she brought carnage across some city when SIVA went beserk, those scars still fresh in her mind, even at her possible end. Even while the two kept back yet complied with the Pro's order, both their notifications when off, forcing them to stop and stare at one another.

Upon her HUD came Izuku's phone location, some random back alley in Hosu. "Wait... a back alley?" Her eyes widened as prominent as her thundering heart. 'He's in trouble! Although, that doesn't surprise me'

"All he sent was his location..." Shoto was some irked by that lack of knowledge from the very astute student, but given Yuki's reaction and the lack of clarity it was clear this wasn't a situation he could necessarily send details

"You both should be watching me - Hey, where are you going!?" Hearing him yell furiously was one of the many things Yuki took great pride in bringing, she'd be lying if she didn't like to entertain the thought she was stealing Shoto away but alas her heart yearns for another

"An alleyway at 4210 Echo Street, if you've finished what you're doing or see extra Pros send them there!" Shoto yelled as the duo sped off, Yuki tossing the Flame Hero a note as she gave a hop and wave, spinning back around to run down the next street with her friend

The note in Endeavor's confused hand gave him a slither of infliction as he read it. 'You're a good hero, so we know we can trust you'll listen to us, thanks for the internship, seeya!' Then he read the back. 'Still a right bellend though'

His hand lowered with an unreadable expression. "Both of you... very well."


The two slid round the next street, the location on Yuki's HUD was drawing closer, or it would if not for the panicked mob storming past them as a new fire raged across the open street, cars overturned or on fire as destruction reined. "Trouble ahead." She stopped at his arm and saw the perplexed expression lost in his eyes

Crawling atop the rubble and cars were creatures unlike any the pair had seen before. They stood as tall as an average man, but their outfits and aesthetical designs were horrifically accurate to a similar style both students have witnessed before. As they sowed chaos across the streets, they got a good look at them in the fires they created with the energy blasts.

Their legs were like black blades, splitting like a tripod to keep them upright, spikes jutting from the shins with red fluid fed into the servos by wires. A white jumpsuit over their bodies decorated in black or dark silver armor, prongs jutted depending on the size of the creature. The smaller ones had their heads covered only with a respirator and black visor with beady scarlet eres and a red mohawk. Their armor light but the static dagger and remnant shock from their pistols told them they were still dangerous.

For the ones carrying long rifles or either four cutlasses of black-metal. The upper torso was reinforced with black armor, some sporting triangular pauldron across their four arms. Their neck bound with a red cape displaying SIVA's symbol proudly, their helmets angular and jagged with horns, demons of technology.

The one in the back of the troops was by far the most augmented. Larger build with arms snaked with red wiring and feeding from the triangles atop its shoulders to its neck, it stood with a sturdy placement while lifting its large, black weapon to the sky with a howl, the eyes glowed madly with power, strange, crackling energy dripping from the muzzle.

"They look just like you," Shoto commented briefly, seeing the blue-haired girl step forward, her fists trembling with rage. He raised his own hands in preparation. "We can't take too long but these people might end up getting hurt."

Yuki agreed, with a little focus she withdrew the power of SIVA on her own, his voice still unheard as her arms converted to the same metallic sheen as the larger creatures, her eyes cast in red while her legs fixed themselves with black metal and wiring. The second she cast a subtle glow, the fighting stopped, and the leader of these creatures took heed of their presence, raising an arm out to them with a howl, many of its kind turning to them, weapons were drawn.

"SIVA. Enhance. Twenty Percent!" It was a stretch but it should be enough

"I'll keep the civilians out of the crossfire," Frost licked his forearm a moment, "Here!" He brought the limb high, conjuring a massive glacier to keep the people safe while Yuki took the lead, dashing up the ice with precision, her eyes dancing with a contrail, her arms drawing two blades of her own. Shoto breathed mist, storming from behind the wall. "We need to clear the way forward otherwise Midoriya might be in serious trouble by the time we arrive."

The hellfire of crimson broke into the glacier, signaling Yuki to descend upon the street infested with the monsters. She skewered two of the smaller ones with her blades run through their necks, drawing up with a spin to evade a bolt of red while tossing her blade across the area, silencing the sniper on a car.

Yuki conjured a shield on her left forearm, blocking a few stray bolts while ramming into another creature, swinging back to toss it straight into a sharp spire of ice, another smaller uproar of frost blocking a number of shots while impaling one of the creatures to a nearby building. With her optics on high alert, Yuki dived with her feet to drop kick another sniper from two cowering children, her hand reaching out for what looked to be... the older of the two girls.

They looked up at Yuki with awe-stricken eyes as her red eyes curved, motioning for them to run for the safety behind the many walls of ice. "...a hero...!" The older one grabbed the youngest by the wrist and tugged her away, leaving Yuki to be pinned by the leader's weapon as it drew a blade to her stomach.

She grunted and kicked out with her feet, performing a flip onto the side of the building to evade its blades, launching herself into the fray as her swords slit another creature's throat before it could lunge for Shoto, his left arm unleashing a torrent of flames to blind the mob for Yuki to sweep through the embers, blasting one with her palm while impaling another through the stomach, summoning another blade as she stood behind it, sinking the tip through its nape.

She dipped under a sword swing, drawing her shield across its abdomen while parrying another with her sword. She dragged her shield forward, giving the creature a face-full of plasma while drawing her sword backward to take off the second's upper right arm. It reeled back while she spun on her heel, blocking three blades with her weapon and shield before unleashing a burst of energy to push it and two smaller ones away, flicking her blade through the larger one's forehead while Shoto stood with his back to Yuki's, taking out the smaller reinforcements.

"There's alot of them, we can't keep this up!" Much as he wanted to leave and help Midoriya with whatever he's caught himself in, leaving the city to be ravaged by these monsters was also a risky move. Or it would have been if not for the clawed hand pushing him out of his conjuration of an ice wave. "Do you have a plan?" One nod and her finger poked ahead, down the street leading to Echo street, his brow furrowed. "Taking on all these guys alone, that's risky, even for you?"

She liked Shoto, seeing that past his resentment he was a generally caring guy and an honest friend, she'd certainly wished she could have made a better relationship with him sooner, but the woes of the past aren't her concern right now, the safety of her best friend was and the people of Hosu. With a little difficulty as the two friends defended themselves from the retaliation of the creatures, her mask translated the thoughts she wished to share, the flash of red like bolts of lightning behind the ice.

Todoroki | Protect Friends | Thank you

His eyes froze on her mask, it was English but classes helped him understand her clearly. There was much to interpret in her message but he's known Yuki alot more in the last few days than in the time since they sat in the same class. Shoto came to an abrupt, a heavy conclusion.

"Alright, once I shatter this ice it'll create a smokescreen," His left palm pressed to the surface with a hiss. "I'll leave these guys to you, but once I've helped Mirodriya we'll come back, got it?" She gave him a thumbs-up and he grinned. "Alright," It dropped with a glare. "NOW!"

He brought his hand forward through the glassy formation, a webbing of gold erupting from the ice as shards splintered the group, the people that remained at a safe distance watched with their phones as the ice shell burst with a brilliant, orange flame swirling around the ice that melted away, blinding the creatures as the two took their own paths, leaving Yuki alone to face the oncoming threat with her swords decapitating the first two snipers who were left reeling from the attack.

If she was to die here, if tonight was the last day she'd spend on Earth then she and SIVA would push past the last of their limits, throw precaution to the winds and strike without remorse, to save her friends, the person she cared for most in this world, for herself, "I swear, that the name 'Aksis' will be the name of a hero!"

A red arc twirled through the red energy, splitting the atoms between her blades as she withdrew four arms of her own, blades in each as she warped, slamming the hilts into the sniper that almost took the head off a civilian nearby as another stray bolt struck her shoulder with a hail of small rounds. This didn't deter her aim, drawing back two of her swords in a helix spin, their silver sheen slicing their collarbone apart while her body materialized with her hands catching the blades, drawing them down into the tarmac to uproot a few shards, blinding the leader as its powerful slug dispenser tore apart the road beside her.

Yuki slid under its arms, catching its cape with her symbol as she tucked and pulled the veil over its helmet, the thread caught in the horns as it flailed and shot randomly, some of its own men shooting it by mistake in vain to catch the girl that zipped between the leader and a flipped car. Yuki kept low as she shot with her lower arms, taking off pieces of the leader's armor as wires and scrap clattered to the ground during its retreat behind its underlings.

Without hesitance to cloud her she ran from cover, armor soaking up gunfire for the crowd that watched from afar as she lunged with her right blades horizontally, severing one of the snipers with blades, she spun around and did the same to two smaller units as her left hands fired a stream of red energy to intercept and blind the snipers guarding their leader who clutched the side of its crumbling face.

Yuki grabbed the shoulder of a swordbearer, shanking it once, while tossing it to her side, bringing her arm back to slice it across the shoulder and nape while her left carved through the smaller unit's torso and neck, throwing its crackling dagger away from her hip as blood dripped for a second, repaired by a swarm of nanites.

Sprinting headlong into the firefight, a sword in her left and right she slid under two lines of energy and pounced back, impaling both through the sternum, tossing their bodies to the ground while the leader crouched, holding its launcher out with two arms to unleash a burst of unstable plasma to melt the road while Yuki dived into a roll, her hair singed by the heat as her lower left arm was enforced with a brace, tearing her knuckle through the leader's side, gouging out cybernetics and a strange, black substance.

As red sparks and metal fell from the wound, Yuki and the leader turned to face one another, its eyes catching her left hook, while her lower arms hooked to its abdomen, her right foot swept it off its own while her hand tore out a strange, blue cluster attached to its chest, seeing the lights in its armor and eyes flicker and die in an instant, fingers crushing the strangely familiar technology to scrap.

"Cheap knock-offs..." Yuki stood tall, clutching her side as the burns were healed gradually. She heard a few cheers behind her quickly die out, her own gaze lost to the darkness ahead of her, the streets lined with shadows and glare of crimson coming to life. "They won't stop, huh?"

More of these creatures stood before her, weapons crackled and burned with excess energy, some sharpened blades on the road and against their armor, the glint from the fire casting sharp umbral visages across their bodies as growls and snarls rattled over the snap of flames. If dread had a physical form, Yuki had found it, crooked blades and all.

Grabbing her sword from the ground, she brought both into a cross before her gaze, sharp friction casting her mask in light briefly as her eyes dipped back into the devil's color, her own black mark stained in blood.


Somewhere else sometime later...

A skirmish of blood had taken an alleyway mere moments ago, the dread and fleeting desperation no longer remained as a heart-pounding battle between three UA students and the blood curdler, Stain came to an end, the students had survived and prevailed against the elusive Hero Killer.

But his strength was beyond that of a human, a strange, red energy turned his strikes to unbreakable slashes, his speed, and reactions almost instantaneous as his body moved with the grace of wind and the ferocity of a roaring inferno. Unlike the reports, Stain was beyond a monster tonight and nearly struck a blow that would have sent ripples through hero society.

Now, Pros and students either fell to their haunches or were rooted to the spot, unrivaled terror chained and pulled their muscles from budging an inch in the blood moon's glare, only encompassed by that of the crimson, unstable gaze that rose to smother their forms.

Izuku's eyes were wide with unparalleled horror, a dark red wave of cascading terror locked his body to the earth next to the corpse of the sickly yellow Nomu, blood dripping from its gouged out eye while the saviour above him raised his blade. Stain had saved him from capture, but when his veil fell he could see it, feel the aura deep inside his soul batter with the conviction carved into the killer's face, his fanatical eyes twitching and erratic, blood and spit dripping from his chin.

"I'll make this right!" He snarled under a strained breath, his crocodile grin etched into his cheeks as his eyes cast a scarlet shade over the heroes. "These streets must run with the blood of hypocrites!"

His foot burrowed into the footpath, a breath ragged and seething with blood. "'HERO'I will reclaim that word!" His voice thundered as an indisputable decree to those that observed, unable to lift the shackles from their bones, some falling over under the pressing wave of unutterable, paralyzing conviction brought them to their knees. "Come on! Just try and stop me you fakes!"

"There is only one man I'll let kill me, he is a true hero!" His shadow grew, and his eyes jagged in the ocean of torrential rage as it pressed firmly to the would-be heroes he despised, his breath still jagged with each step. "ALL MIGHT IS WORTHY!"

A chime of a blade and the energy cut out with a fountain of blood. All eyes adjusted once more, only now they hardened, Izuku was still stuck below, his face struck by the spray of blood leaving the Hero Killer as his pupils were almost non-existent, his muscles unable to stay still as his heart almost broke his ribs.

"Sorry, but that won't happen," The hand clutched a blue cluster now stained in blood as the Killer was silenced, the arm piercing the villain's chest entirely to grab the device before crushing it. "Be like all other legends... die," The man tore his arm out, Stain landing in a pool of his own blood as Izuku's eyes focused solely on the bandaged figure above, the red eyes staring back at him. "Hello again, boy."

The sharp hiss of steam from the jack o' lantern mask made him jump. Kovik stood wrapped in black armor, bandages around his forearms and legs while his tattered cloak flapped in the soft breeze. He leaned down, eyeing Izuku like prey, and he knew he hadn't the strength to retaliate, his heart hadn't quite adjusted to what Stain had said, nor the sight of the dead killer.

"Still think you can protect her?" Was all he said before standing to address the heroes, some were moving again but others remained frozen on the spot. Kovik clicked his fingers, and to his left, a number of his Fallen brothers crawled from the shadows. "A shame really, that upgrade augmented his capabilities and yet he lost to students... very peculiar."

"Tch, while no 'Hero Killer' this should still be fun," Endeavor grinned but that brought a chilling laugh to Kovik, his own calm and orderly demeanor twisting under the mask

"You aren't what makes this laughable, tonight I have been blessed with the erasing of the Thief that has been a thorn in my side," His eyes glowed with another jet of steam. "The League of Villains, Stain, all stepping stones toward perfection - My Kell's Perfection!"

He brought his arm back to point at the Heroes. "Burn. Maim. Kill them all!" The creatures took heed of their leader's words, drawing their weapons to the heroes now ready to defend the injured to the best of their ability, Shoto scoffed angrily, having been so narrowminded to not quickly call Yuki beforehand

Izuku was no longer trembling, his eyes remained wide as he took in what Kovik said about the 'Theif'. "He meant Yuki... no... no-no, that, that can't be right!" Like a glass, his heart fractured. 'Still think you can protect her', the words rang like a drum in his head, and his tears brought his body forward off the dirt. "No... she's alive, I know she's still alive!" His eyes glowed a sharp emerald, reaching out to Kovik. "I won't let you hurt her again!"

Kovik anticipated this, snapping his wrist back to ensnare Izuku by the throat, tightening his hold as he slammed the boy against the wall with a grunt. "You are so -" His head leaned back sharply, turning his gaze beyond the heroes who were ready to go at the tip of a scale. "...No..." His grip loosened

"Look, down the street!" Iida called out as hero and villain alike heeded his words, a strange, red blur barreling down the gloomy streets away from the dimming fires

Shoto sighed with his back to the wall. And Izuku felt his confident smile return with each detail that came into focus, enough for Kovik to drop him to the ground and divert his attention to the road. "Yuki!" Izuku confirmed and he saw the visible twitch in the mysterious villain

"That thief is alive..." His voice growled, raising a hand. "Forget the heroes, kill that mockery of the Fallen!" Even his order was unhinged in his throat but the creatures took their muzzles from the heroes, training them on the approaching target

Her armor was heavily damaged, cracks and pieces were missing, her left side was without most of her black armor, cuts crossed her stomach and dirt clung to her hair, one of her shin guards were cracked and the left optic was also split through the middle, both extra arms were gone too, left with sparking stumps attached to her sides.

The ground under her broke apart as she lunged high into the air above the buildings, without delay a hail of red blasts were hurdled into the group of creatures, disorganizing them while her body fell from the sky, feet dashing along the verticle wall of the building to her right, drawing two cutlasses.

She swung herself back onto the road, her right shin snapped the neck of the first creature, body drove into the tarmac while Yuki rolled onto the scene. Yuki brought both swords up and across the mandible of a 'Captain'. One of the snipers with swords, a 'Vandal' swung down in the instance, swiping her mask optics as another grabbed her shoulder, slicing her right side while she elbowed it in the face, gutting it on the spot while a bolt struck her left leg, shoving her into the waiting blades of a Vandal, locking swords for a moment.

Yuki inverted her hold, pulling down then kneeing the Vandal for the tips of her swords to gouge out its throat. Another appeared and sliced her left forearm and breastplate, catching her in a blind spot. Quickly, her body hopped over its strikes, slicing two horizontal slants into its crown.

Her momentum was shot twice, then slashed from behind by a Vandal, its blade sunk through her barding, then the 'Captain' pulled the girl aside, the hiss and whirl within the launcher built as the unbearable heat sunk against her stomach, tearing the hero across the street under a scarlet torrent, her armor almost blown away completely as the onlookers watched as her body collided with the corner of a building, landing in a heap as they surrounded her slowly.

"Yuki-!" Izuku went to engage but found a blade resting neatly to his throat, Kovik raising his finger to point at his eyes

"Anyone dares to move and I'll ensure two children die tonight, you have my word." He gave the heroes a one-over, scowls and taut nerves far and wide. "Helpless, ironic." Then his neck craned to look over his shoulder. "Is the lives of the city not worth one Theif?"

Yuki wanted to spit out the ash and dust in her mouth but had a mask so she just swallowed it and took to her feet again. Their blades scraped off the ground, a slow build-up of energy within their weapons, lighting the dark street with a crude scarlet. "He'd never stop at one... no more limitations, it's now or never SIVA!" The veins across her whole body came to life with a comforting sound akin to Izuku went channeling One For All. "We'll take them all on!"

The stumps expanded into cybernetic arms again, the mask regained some of its metallic sheen with the addition of a horn fed with red wires. Her legs reinforced with black steel while the nanomachines infected her neck and protected her fresh wounds from further damage.

"SIVA. Enhance. Fifty-Percent!" Her red cape fluttered in the hot breeze she conjured, the same symbol the creature wore stained into her own

Kovik snarled. "You dare mock my kind by taking our banner? Kill her." No empathy crossed his mask as the creatures overwhelmed Yuki once more

Drawing her swords across to her right she caved the first Vandal's head through the ground, kicking one of the swords up with her right to create a crackling whirlwind while drawing a new sword down on the Captain's launcher as it fired on its own 'Dregs', as her HUD labeled, while she grabbed the Captain's shoulder, tearing off some of the armor before ducking under the backswing of the launcher, smacking it across the jaw with her swords stripping metal from its back.

Yuki withdrew with a twirl, a snap-kick to her sword forcing a number of them to evade, seeing another sword pierce two more Vandals approaching from the alleyway.

Drawing back another sword she smashed it through the Captain's chestplate, tossing it back while more ran from the dark corners of the streets. So with her arms tucked in close Yuki gathered an unstable amount of SIVA clusters between her joints, the buzz in her ears turning to a ring before bringing a fist down on the road. "Perfected Meteor Strike!"

The bolts rippled and snapped against walls and lampposts as they atomized a large portion of the creatures in a nanosecond, a red halo dissipating around her. Yuki then propelled over a blast, landing on the edge of a rail to dive backward over another. Landing behind the Captain, its arms grabbed the girl and threw her toward the heroes, firing another barrage to keep her on the defense.

The Captain withdrew two daggers, appearing before her to graze her stomach, the launcher's glare poised to her forehead. With a careless fall to the ground, Yuki kicked the muzzle into the air, the blast splitting the building above the heroes my a millimeter before she tackled the Captain, sinking her final sword through its throat, twisting right before latching onto the blade with both hands, twisting it right and snapping the edge across to the left, decapitating the Captain with enough force to slam the corpse into the earth.

As the body slumped, Yuki stumbled back into the street, panting heavily while feeling sweat drip down her chin. The augments weakened under the oppressive strain of going too close to her limit. "Impressive," Her body was on edge again, eyes locked to the blade tickling Izuku's throat, her own feeling itchy. "But time's up you thief."

*Bu-Bum!*

With a sharp inhale Yuki fell to the ground with a gag, coughing up a large swab of blood while her right hand started to crumble alongside her left foot, the cybernetics trying desperately to stay together as her insides started to pull themselves apart, if she could scream she would have shattered glass, tears streaming down her face as blood mingled with sweat and tears.

Kovik vanished, dropping Izuku as he appeared between Yuki and the heroes, arms wide. "Without SIVA running through your veins you are nothing, you should have died with the rest of your family that day," That brought a trembled eye forward. "Oh? I should tell you my little secret before your broken, irreparable body is revealed to the world." He leaned forward, a jet of steam hissing in her ringing eardrums

"I'm the one who killed your family," The words pounded in her ears, her head bowing out of grief. "I arrived with SIVA only to be intercepted by some... Renegade, if not for his involvement I wouldn't have had SIVA be tainted by some Quirkless runt!" His boot came crashing to her stomach, tossing her back into the ground in a heap. "You are weak, naive, cowering behind a power you could never understand,"

She pushed herself onto her knees, coughing up more blood while lifting her scornful eyes to his own, seeing him twist his head and lean down to greet her, arm folded across his chest. "You stole what was ours, my own master's name for your self-satisfaction, I will reacquaint you with Death, grah!"

His arm backhanded her face, breaking a portion of her mask while she rolled into a puddle. "Your kind have no understanding of the potential of SIVA, of the perfect world my kin so desperately cling too, one I will help to reforge with metal and pride!" His towering visage loomed over Yuki, and much like Stain, all could barely move as his conviction chilled their bones. "I am Kovik, Splicer Priest of the House of Devils, for the glory of Aksis, the Fallen will rise again!"

He disappeared seconds before Yuki could so much as bring a fist down on his mask, the blue wisps like her own teleportation dancing through her as pain stung her stomach, a long, black blade piercing her back and out her gut, spilling blood onto the pavement with a sickening slosh of liquid as the blade was removed just as easily.

Fright and heartache struck the onlookers, Iida felt his head bow in defeat and guilt, his arms slumped to his sides. Shoto bore his teeth with so much fury his fire almost came bursting to life without control. Izuku... was frozen, his mouth was agape and trembled while Yuki stumbled forward, trying to stop the bleeding with one hand to no avail.

His breath hitched in his throat, dry and unable to say anything while arms kept him from advancing, he didn't hear them as he desperately reached out with his hand to her dying gaze. "...y-yuki..." He croaked, tears finally freed themselves. "NO!" Shoto and Iida flinched at the pain in his voice

Behind her bloodstained mask, a touched smile crossed her lips in black the outlines of her face white as snow.

*BOOSH!*

The sudden jerk of her body flung through the air was the last she could make out, body soaring high enough to observe the city far and wide. She crashed into the alleyway, hitting trash and buildings before crumpling into a heap on the cold, hard ground, remnants of ice broken away to ease her fall into the earth.

Static glazed her eyes, filling her ears with popping, white noise as her world drained of colors and depth, like an animation stripped-down frame-by-frame until all that could remain was darkness. This was it, all she could think, feel, cry in silence was nothing, soon, she felt she was nothing.

The last speck of light shattered into tiny fireflies that in turn faded away.

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"-rock-paper-scissors-shoot!" Yuki drew rock while her sister mirrored her fist. Both grunted in the backseats of the car, this had been the fifth time. "Okay, something's up, and no, not the sky." That shut the smaller lookalike of her up as Nana puffed her cheeks out

"You're the one always drawing the same as me," Was her illogical reply that had Yuki flatten her gaze

"It's 'Rock-Paper-Scissors', of course I'm going to draw the same as you!" This was every weekend with her, they'd find some mediocre game to play while driving to and from their weekly shopping trip, and at some point or another, they'd come to some disagreement. "Face it, we've got some weird form of telepathy."

"Nope!" Nana stunk her tongue out, "Mom and Dad's Quirks don't relate to telepathy, you're just using voodoo or something." Her cocky attitude earned a wack to the back of the head from Yuki, exciting a whine from the younger sister. "See? I'm the victim here!"

Yuki rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a victim of an inflated ego."

"You both will be victims if I have to pull this car over." Their Mom warned with a leer from the mirror, both sisters froze like deers in headlights, leaning between each other

"Truce?" Yuki murmured, a hand shaking hers

"Truce." The agreement was struck and their Dad chuckled

"Always routine," It was, Yuki knew this well by now as the four shared a small smile among them. "Although your lines are a little rusty." To emphasize, he put his finger and thumb very close together

The car jittered slightly as Mom kept her eyes to the road but glanced to her left for a second. "Ooooh, so I use old threats and it's an issue but you get to spout those God-awful 'Dad-Jokes' all year round... for the last eight years?" She made that point quite indicative as she dipped closer to the wheel with each word. "I love you and all but I will hurt you if you say another when I'm driving."

Their Dad then leaned over to kiss their Mom's cheek with a sly grin, "No promises!" That earned a grumble from their Mom who held a faint blush on her cheeks as the siblings rolled their eyes

"Ugh, parents." Nana gagged, Yuki crossing her arms

"I know right, never will happen." That earned them sharp whistle of sound that struck their heads like a flick to the nose, their Mom's head had turned back around before either of them noticed. "See?"

"Mmmhmm," Nana nodded, then the car came to a halt abruptly.

The moment one of them opened their mouths a large impact crater surfaced in front of the car, dust and debris ravaging the crossroads in a heartbeat as panicked surfaced outside the car, fading to a dull thump while Yuki's head spun, gravity flipping a few times in such an erratic frame of time.

... "...uki! Yuki, get up!" Per the command the girl shot up from her seat, the car had flipped on its side, leaving her disorientated and feeling lightheaded as her Mom ushered her hastily from her seat, blood dripping down her peachy face while her sister was aided by her Dad, whatever was happening it left her unable to hear much besides a ringing and her Mom's voice breaching the white noise. "We need to go!"

"M-mom...?" There was a terrible wail that crawled from the depths of Hell, and it terrified Yuki, tears welling up in her eyes as her Mom's hand soothed her with a comforting hand to her cheek

"Shh, It's okay sweetie, I promise, everything will be alright-" Then darkness overtook her eyes once more, pain unleashed upon her body like a train off-course, hurdling through her bones and muscle

"MOM!" Yuki sat up, no longer lost in her memory, and instead, she stood in some strange, dilapidated crypt of metal, monitors lined the back wall with the same, crimson symbol she came to know as SIVA glitching between the monitors ensnared by wires and clusters. What was once ominous, red lighting was illuminated by spotlights Yuki couldn't see. "Some serious redecorating... Siva? Are you here?"

She had been lost in the moment she last saw her family, Kovik... took them from her, left her sister as she was now. If she ever saw his face again she'd make him pay. Coincidentally, it changed her life, it all led to SIVA. Without that incident, neither of them would be here. But she's dying, she could feel it, the walls around her were breaking, red cracks hissed and tugged at the... complex like a puppet to strings.

Some of the framed monitors blurred with images, of a woman in crimson armor, the sun forged into a hammer in her hand, others like her standing against something in the darkness, massive, seething with SIVA wrapped around a metallic heart. "That thing... I've seen it before, man, what the hell was Siva before he came to this world?" A question Yuki particularly didn't want to find out

Across the walkway, atop a throne of SIVA wiring was a lone creature similar to that of the 'Fallen' she fought in Hosu, it was larger than the others, standing roughly six-feet-tall. It was hunched over on its knees, arms down in defeat, head low as its icy-blue eyes dimmed.

"How many of my kind did I promise freedom in here?" It wasn't SIVA, but it spoke with sorrow and dread in its voice, reptilian in nature. "I gave them the gift to free themselves of weakness, of the ether that bound us to life, it would have been perfect, to undo all our mistakes with the failures of another."

Its arm lowered from that faint flicker of greed with disdain, playing with a cluster between its fingers before crushing it out of anger. "I failed. My desires turned to static orders of code and constricted processing. I was no perfectionist, I was a mere marionette to my own narrow-mindedness."

Yuki stood before the creature, he couldn't even look up at her, eyes remained on his hands like a monster stained with blood. "Another like you saw to my end, cut the cords and protected those she called brothers and sisters, where I only sought the throw mine at fate," His eyes closed, respirator moving as it chuckled. "I became a prisoner of my own mistakes yet again."

"You're Siva..." Yuki pieced it together, and the cracks continued to chip away at the world

"No, the technology is SIVA, I am... was, something else, a tyrant who saw himself a God," His gaze lifted to her own, filled with guilt and pain. "When I came to this world when I saw what had befallen you, I realized the depth of my incompetence, that others have suffered as I have yet grasped life to the bitter end where I foolishly challenged fate, and over time, I could see... the light that you and that woman shared, pure and just." His throat clicked. "Or maybe these thoughts of clarity came after my demise? It is hard to contemplate time inside a world that never ends nor dies."

Siva... Aksis knew this was the end, all this time, it wasn't some computer but a living being, trapped within the very failures she would find herself consumed by. He had risked it all to undo his mistakes through her. Gently, her mask fell, and she knelt before the fallen Kell with a warmth he had only ever known once inside his hollowed, metal frame. Her eyes ignited in a blue flame that radiated across his own.

"You did horrible things, and I can't imagine the number of people you've hurt," This was indisputable, "But," His eyes met hers again. "You don't have to be the bad guy... you changed my life, you saved me!" Yuki wiped her eyes, cupping his metal cheek with her hand. "I could never have lived without you with me, even if I'm just some 'thief', it was you who guided me, not a computer or A.I."

"From now on, Aksis is the name of a guardian." A 'Guardian'? He found that word to be quite the poetic irony

For the longest time his mind was scattered, sharing in this unlucky girl's life as nothing more than a catalyst of strength, he felt fueled by vengeance, hatred, aguish... but learned compassion, understanding, trust from her eyes, her memory. But now he was free, the seconds they had before the program would be complete and consume them both, it was then he realized.

"I... can choose?" His eyes widened, then they stared solemnly as his head rested in her assuring palm, mouth concealed behind his black helmet. "Of course..." His answer was clear, she had always seen it where his bitterness rotted away at old memories

The two knelt before one another, his posture straightened, and his head bowed to her own, her hand in his as the cracks ceased their ominous glare, undoing their ugly, broken design, revitalizing the chamber in a light unlike the harrowing stains of time it held for Aksis. Slowly, life breathed a sigh through their brutalized minds, the coils, and claws of corruption rewriting in seconds. A new directive, conjured between them within the derelict horror.

They took away their pain.


"Scatter!" One hero bellowed as a solid beam of red light burned through his armor, tossing him to the nearby building while the woman helped the students fall back with Endeavor releasing a massive wave of searing flames, all of which were dispersed in seconds by a solid pane of air, Kovik lowering his hand while drawing his right behind him to backhand Gran Torino, the old man ricocheting back to his intern

"M-Midoriya, wait!" Iida tried to reach out for his friend's arm but froze from the pain shooting up his arm. Tears fell from Izuku's face while anger filled his expression, heart racing uncontrollably with every second he looked into Kovik's eyes

"Kid, get back here!" Another hero tried to stop him but he wouldn't as he found his feet forward, twisting to his right with his arm folded back, the lime green energy gathering harshly

"You again." Kovik spat and that only infuriated Izuku further, memories flashing through his mind, increasing his strength beyond his limiter, if he broke his bones he didn't care, he wouldn't let him get away again!

"Perfected SMASH!" His throat screamed as the fist collided with the hardlight barrier but to no avail as the backlash tossed the green hero back like trash, Kovik stepped forward with another condensed beam of scorching plasma that Izuku couldn't evade, so he stood his ground with a tremendous stomp to the tarmac

The force of the stomp broke apart the ground, taking the powerful energy attack head-on for him, Kovik was generally surprised by this, leaning forward with his claws crooked. "His power has increased again... was he still holding back?"

His nerves in his leg were flaring, his body screaming. "I can't move my leg all that well, I think I tore the muscle, but I haven't broken it, even if only for a single attack!" The bolts and charge increased yet again, flowing across his body's muscles while the creak of his bones hummed in his ears. "One For All, Twenty Percent!"

Kovik wasn't impressed, his own crimson pulse gathering between his fingers like bindings. "Give up, kid. You think you're a hero, you were gifted where others were not, and still suffer, what makes you any different from some prodigy when you never earned your gift through hard work and intellect, using your own strength and not the gift of another? Call it 'heroism' but you're no better than that dead thief."

Izuku couldn't argue there. At times he wondered if maybe he could have become a hero without All Might's Quirk, after all, what made him different than some hero in a story, he gave it his all to be worthy but at the end of the day it was All Might's power not his that made Izuku special, and the same could be said for Yuki.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm no different from the rest, I'm not perfect!" Izuku raised his voice, eyes hardened to the monster ahead of him. "But I will give all I can to make a world where even people without Quirks can become heroes! Yuki wanted the same, and so do I!" He ran forward with tremendous force, screaming for the whole world. "That's why I will become the greatest hero in the world, for everyone's dreams to become a reality!"

Something snapped in Kovik. "Die you rat!" His beam attacks came erratically, some burning across Izuku's form as his muscles desperately tried not to tear, converting his output in his lower body back down to ten percent just to get in close

Izuku grits his teeth at the pain, adjusting his landing while crossing both arms under each other. "I can't dodge his attacks, I'll end this with one blow, minimizing the damage to just his body! Carolina SMASH!" The twin cross-chop made contact and the dust was dissipated, the ground torn upward like a pair of wings from the blast

"Really? That obvious?" Izuku gasped, seeing that the attack had merely broken the hardlight shield between them, a bundle of power gathered in his hand. "Compared to when I observed your fights in the past, this was easily predictable!" The glare of red shot up but so did a yellow streak, tossing Izuku down by his friends with Gran Torino pinning the reckless hero to the ground

"Are you trying to get yourself killed kid, I told you to stay put!?" He berated the intern but saw the self-loathing in his eyes, fingers clawing at the pavement despite the obvious strain from torn muscles. Even Torino sighed dejectedly. "So she really wasn't able to rewrite, even after all this? This world never takes it easy on anyone, does it?"

Walking through the torn street, Kovik's posture had changed, far less composed, and a subtle twitch in his arms with every step. "You heroes... students... villains keep getting in the way!" Steam shot from the mask again in a longer streak than before. "I didn't spend years tracking SIVA down for you to take it from me again! You hear me you degenerate race, you think you can outsmart a technological and biological Splicer like me!? I infused and controlled races with powers over dimensional manipulation with ease, compared to that this society is WEAK!"

"He's getting angrier." One of th hero's groaned Endeavor taking point. "I don't think your flames are gonna work this time!"

"We'll see about that if he can stand the heat indefinitely." While it may work if Kovik outlasted his limitations Endeavor may be out of luck. This would never be the case as dozens of head-sized sphere of plasma were brought into the world through Kovik's will, their energy unstable and set to erupt if they so much as grazed the other. "I can't strike them all if he throws them at a wide enough stroke." "Clear the area, now!"

The students didn't budge, noting the broken mask clutched between Izuku's fingers, the glass in the right eye shattered while parts remained missing from constant abuse, but he held onto the discarded item dearly, his heart racing to stand up and continue fighting.

The spheres were tossed without a final decree, their forms assaulting the heroes' eyes as they were swarmed in seconds. Then, several of the spheres were extinguished just before contact was made, catching many off guard as a red collection of bolts zipped between them, swift arcs cutting them down small enough to disperse.

Izuku felt his chest burst as the image formed, a blade shaving past Endeavor's flaming facial features to keep a ball from making contact. Standing to protect the heroes was none other than Yuki, her eyes locked seamlessly to the attacks as her bladed polearm was spun and carved through the barrage, her twist and flips swift and powerful, a sharp hiss and vibration from the blades attached to the polearm when they made contact.

"What? How... how are you still alive!?" Their enemy's voice roared from afar. Yuki spun the weapon to press against her shoulder blades, hair flowing freely while her face remained stoic, a fire cast in her iris, the right bleeding from the lack of an eye, the scar bloodied and dripping under her bangs

Her right hand's cybernetics were exposed, so was her left leg while cuts reopened and bled, a red gash across her throat slowly closing up. While she was alive, the backlash needed time to recover, and every inch of her body crawled with pain, even breathing was a challenge.

Kovik is a brilliant scientist | You cannot win against him | Let me take control

Aksis' words made Yuki blink with surprise but she ultimately relaxed a smile, nodding once as her eye flickered an icy-blue, and her posture hunched with the polearm lowered to the ground while her hand rose to brush back her thin ponytail. "Good luck, Aksis!" He nodded her head, seeing the twin swords drawn by the crazed villain before them

"I've had it with you!" Kovik's pace gradually picked up. "This time you die you rat!"

Aksis did a short bow with his arms out, causing the approaching fanatic to freeze at the gesture only his kin would understand. That finally made him roar as he brought his swords down on the ground. Aksis dived back, warping behind Kovik to cut away at his cloak entirely. Kovik spun around, swiping the air while the polearm's upward stroke parried the twin blades, thrusting through the gap to slice at Kovik's barding.

The fanatic swiped low, forcing Aksis to leap into a set of arms that latched to his leg, throwing him across the ground while leaving his back exposed for a twin plunge of steel. He surprised the fanatic with a one-handed stand, swinging his feet down to plunge Kovik in the small crater.

Enraged, Kovik thrashed through the earth, his sword caught by a hand as it was plucked from his hold, a knee brought high against his jaw, followed by a swipe to the gut as the polearm drew blood, startling him into stumbling back while Aksis remained composed, twisting the polearm around in a slow clockwork manner, but his right hand was starting to fade, and the joints in his leg were chipping.

Kovik lunged, retrieving his lost sword from the ground as he thrashing through the area to reach Aksis, not noticing his solemn sigh at how far his own had fallen to fanatical outbursts. Using his host's nimble body, Aksis side-stepped more than enough before he brought the polearm back around in a sharp swipe across the jack o' lantern helmet, a red arc shattering between them while Aksis rolled up to the heroes again, stumbling to a knee while losing his grip on the staff as it clanked.

His right hand had completely dissolved into nothing, looking back his left leg could barely hold him steady and the hot sensation of blood dripped down his face with each second that passed. The degeneration had reached its final stage, but with how much energy they've used it'll take a while to heal properly.

"You can barely stand now, tell me, thief-" Aksis snapped his head up, spotting Kovik through the whirl of smoke, a static sensation in the air as he took a stand. "-Think you can beat me?" It wasn't a promise, but rather a warning, and both Aksis and Yuki weren't afraid to take that chance, not after escaping their own self-destruct

With all the energy and SIVA clusters still housed in their pouches, they accumulated them all around his right forearm, recreating a metal fist with three sharp fingers of metal, a few wires attached to his arm to hold the servos steady, the metal infecting his arm while some reinforced his left leg just a little longer.

The energy gathered at his fist, Yuki watching from within her own subconscious as Aksis allowed her some merit of control, Kovik was once a loyal fighter to Aksis but had become nothing more than a fanatic. Yuki lost her old life to this monster and his crazed ideology. Both would end this together.

"Yuki's body can't handle much more of this... but she's still going beyond her limits," Izuku realized there was no stopping her now, but what made his heartbeat was how similar she was to All Might, a toothy grin and bright glint in her eye

The two lunged forward with surprising speed, Kovik drew his blades to his left, waiting for the perfect chance to decapitate the girl with one fell swoop. For Aksis, he refused to allow anymore harm to befall his host, the girl that saved him from himself when he drowned in self-loathing and guilt. His fist curved down to rest by his hip, their contact was imminent.

"Goodbye, Kovik!" Aksis/Yuki growled, deflecting the twin edges with a smaller version of his own hardlight barrier, leaving his body exposed to the tremendous uppercut. "Wolves' Howling!"

With a sharp uppercut, the pressure inside the prosthetic expanded in a sonic boom, shattering the ground and in turn, decimating the head between Kovik's shoulders, tearing apart the fluid and machinery within, the clouds in the night sky dispersed by the shockwave. As quickly as the final stroke was made, the world became deathly quiet say for the ambient noises in the distance and the heavy breathing from Yuki through the dust.

She held herself up with just one leg, the other gone along with her right hand, blood dripped down her body as her remaining eye gazed back at the dismantled machine that imitated Kovik, and it was still forwarding his voice, the headless figure sitting upright with a finger jabbed toward the girl.

The last shockwaves of the battle died out, "ThIs IsN't OvEr... I wIlL nEvEr StOp, NoT uNtIl I..." The voice cut out, droned into darkness as the machine crumbled to dust, whisked away by a chilling breeze carrying smoke and ash.

Yuki didn't budge, eyes lingering on the spot Kovik's copy once rested, they had won this time but he wasn't through with her or SIVA. A breathless sigh left her coppery lips, and she felt herself finally succumb to a lack of blood flowing through-out her body, staring up at the stars.

I am SIVA now | You however | Are worthy of the name 'Aksis'

To Be Continued...


My elbows have been rubbed raw, worth it! This could have been two chapters but following what I did for the USJ I thought otherwise. This took alot of time to plan out as I didn't want to just try and configure Yuki into the Stain fight and instead gave her the moment to shine.

Again, some references to Kovik, Aksis, SIVA, Fallen, Splicers is all stuff from Destiny, you don't need to look into it as the background isn't necessary and I cover what's needed within this story. Anywho, I hope you all enjoyed this crazy chapter, appreciate the support, seeya in the next chapter, Plus Ultra!

Next Chapter: Our Perfect Starting Line

The battle at Hosu is over, but Yuki hasn't woken up yet and it is unclear if or how she survived being consumed by her own power. All they can do is wait.