***Sorry it took so long. Work has been tough with the large project I'm working on, and finding time to write was hard. But, as always, thanks for the support and comments and emails!
***Please read the note at the end.
***Warnings: Language, violence, fighting

Chapter 13: The Escape: Part 2: Torrent of Trouble

Bakugo received word from Iida that he has the key and is ready for the escape. Neither of them has heard from Izuku, but Bakugo decided that they cannot wait. Bakugo tells Shoji to be prepared after their mining shift is over. The guards pay little attention to Bakugo when he goes to the Pit, hovering above it with his wings humming over the sounds of screeching from below. His first task is to keep the creatures from attacking him so that he can grab one. Since Dabi is with Izuku, Bakugo snuck into the secret closet of flesh in jars, took one, and tucked it away. He will use this to distract the monsters, and when their backs are turned, he'll grab one.

Bakugo takes the jar out, opens it, and turns his head away from the smell, making a gagging sound. The creatures smell it too and start jumping up. Perfect. Bakugo slowly lowers himself to the center of the pit, just out of reach of the monsters. He tosses the piece of flesh to the further area of the Pit, watching the creatures swarm over it. He drops the jar and grabs the closest monster under its arms and flies upward. The beast is heavy, and it's struggling to get free. Bakugo can hear it snapping its jaws.

Finally out of the Pit, Bakugo drops the creature to the floor, and it takes off in a run, screaming with excitement, and enters the main room of the mines. Bakugo looks down to see the others want to escape as well, reaching up as if begging him to take them. Bakugo flies down, takes another, and brings it up. He does this until all the monsters are out and they begin running amuck. Bakugo hears the guards start to shout and panic.

"The monsters escaped!" One shouts.

"Run away! Run for your lives!"

Bakugo smirks and flies from the Pit to the pully, watching the chaos with devilish glee. The monsters spare no one, attacking and tearing apart the unfortunate guards who did not get to escape.

'Where are you, Shoji? You'd better show up!'

"Bakugo!"

Bakugo turns at the sound of his name to see Shoji and the other nobles coming towards him. A creature screams and rushes towards the nobles. Bakugo flies over with his sword and easily slays the monster.

"Hurry! Get them out!" Bakugo barks the orders to Shoji.

"Everyone, in the bucket!" Momo orders, helping the others into the bucket after Shoji poured out all the rocks. They all look towards the sound of an alarm bell, and they know they have to move quickly. "Shoji, start pulling!" Momo says.

Bakugo flies to the top to look out, checking their surroundings. Three guards stand talking and point upwards. Bakugo can hear the sounds of the locus, but there is another sound- the sound of thunder. 'Oh, fuck no,' He grits his teeth. 'The last fucking thing we need is fucking rain!' Taking his sword, Bakugo flies towards the guards and slays them, slicing and running them through with the blade. Going back to the hole, he looks down to see that Shoji is lifting the others and they are halfway. "HURRY UP!" He shouts down at them.

Momo gathers Jiro, Uraraka, and Tokoyami close to her. "Remember, when we get out, we follow the sound of the locus and head east. We must keep heading east, and no matter what, we can't lose focus."

"But what if we need to fight?" Uraraka asks.

"Then, we will fight," Momo tells her. "Don't forget that Prince Shouto has his army spread out all over to help us. Our main goal is to keep running- to make it back to the Valley, and leave the fighting to the warriors."

Tokoyami looks down at Shoji, silently asking the other with his eyes to not leave them.

Before the bucket even reaches the top, Bakugo starts pulling the nobles out one by one. "We have to move fast! There's a storm coming!"

"That will wet our wings!" Jiro says, trying not to panic.

"I fucking know that!" Bakugo hisses at her. "GET UP HERE YOU GIANT DUNG BEETLE!" he shouts down at Shoji, who has just settled himself in the bucket to start pulling himself up. Bakugo hears more than one alarm bell now. "Shit! We need to start moving!"

"I'm not leaving without Shoji!" Tokoyami shouts at Bakugo.

"Whatever," Bakugo hovers in the air, looking around for signs of either Iida or Izuku. 'Come on, come on, where are you assholes? You'd better not fuck this up for me!'

Iida panics when he hears the alarm bells, but All Might's steady hands rest on his shoulders, instantly relaxing him.

"Keep your wits about you, Young Iida," He says.

"But I don't see Izuku! He should be here by now!"

"I want you to go with Bakugo and the others," All Might says. "They need your help more than I do. I will wait for Izuku."

Iida pulls away from him. "No, I'm not leaving you here! If you get caught again, all of this would be for nothing!" Iida shivers at the serious, hard look on All Might's worn face. "All Might...?"

"I have named Izuku my successor. It's important that I make sure he gets out safely. Go with Bakugo. We will join you shortly. Now go!"

Iida hesitates for a moment, but the fierce, determined look in All Might's sunken eyes assures him that there is nothing to worry about. Even though All Might may be withered and worn, he is still, to Iida, the Hero of the Valley- and he won't lose. "Take care," Iida says to him.

Izuku can't believe his ears. Dabi isn't asleep; the alpha is awake! Slowly- ever so slowly- Izuku turns around to see all eight of Dabi's blue eyes staring hard at him. Dabi uses his spider legs to lift himself from the bed. How could this have happened? Izuku thought they were so careful! He willed his body to move, but his body froze in place. His heat is telling him to remain with the alpha, to obey his body's wishes. However, when Dabi walks close to him, Izuku finds the strength and flies up out of his reach, remaining in the center of the room to avoid the webs.

"A fine attempt to overpower me," Dabi says coolly. "Too bad it didn't work."

"How did you know?" Izuku asks.

"I became a little suspicious at your change in behavior. At first, I thought you were really coming to like me. And then, I found that someone was in my closet, one of many, and my vial of sleeping poison had gone missing. No one ever goes into my closets, which means that it had to be Bakugo who found it since he knows where my...other closet is. I knew then that you had to be planning something with him, and that's why you changed your behavior towards me. So, when you wanted to make your night of heat special, I knew this would be the time when you would do it. I was prepared," he smirks. "Since I help make the poison, I know what it looks like, and the wine was a different color from when I poured it. I pretended to drink it, then played along with your little game."

'Iida took the poison from Dabi's closet? He must not have known! If he did, he would have swapped it with something! This was nobody's fault, but now it complicates things.'

"Come down from there, wife," Dabi holds his arms up to Izuku. "Come down, and I won't rip your wings off."

Izuku doesn't know what he should do since part of the plan failed. Are the others ready? Did Iida get All Might out? What should he do? Both Dabi and Izuku hear the sounds of shouting in the distance of the castle. Izuku knows what that is! Bakugo freed the creatures! The plan is working! He can fight now.

"What's going on?" Dabi looks to the door when he hears the shouts and nearly dodges Izuku's stinger. He looks up at the bee to see that Izuku's mandibles are out and his stinger has formed and uncurled. Dabi grins. "You've been planning an escape behind our backs, haven't you?"

Izuku grins madly at Dabi, readying his fists and stinger. "This ends now, 'husband!' I won't let you lay a hand on me again!" Izuku flies at Dabi, itching for his revenge. "Let's see how you like getting forcibly penetrated!"

Izuku slams into Dabi at full force, planning to catch the other off guard. Dabi's fangs open up and try to snap at him, but Izuku darts away. His speed in the air is no match for Dabi's on the ground, so he floats out of reach. Waiting for an opening, Izuku holds his stinger out and starts jabbing it towards Dabi. The spider avoids it each time, so Izuku speeds it up, thrusting his stinger faster. He notices that Dabi is moving slower, and Izuku believes it is a reaction to his heat. Izuku uses this along with the jabbing of his stinger to finally trip Dabi up. With a cry of pent up rage and pure satisfaction, he stabs Dabi in the side with his stinger, releasing venom.

Darting up and away, Izuku watches as Dabi struggles to stay upright while holding his side. Eight eyes glare dangerously up at him, but Izuku doesn't care. As of now, he has won his revenge on Dabi. The huntsman spider falls to his knees- no doubt the venom painfully numbing every blood vessel and limb. The spider legs start to droop, and Dabi flops to the floor, twitching, with his weak spider legs trying to lift him.

While Izuku wants to gloat over his long-awaited victory, he has to join the others. Without looking back at Dabi, he flies out of the room and through the halls of Graventhorn, looking for the nearest exit. No one tries to stop him, though by now, Tomura must know something is happening. Just as Izuku finds the front entrance, he hears alarm bells tolling.

'No time to waste now! I have to find the others!' He breaks through the doors, heart pounding, and flies outside. Izuku's greeted with wetness. Wetness? Rain? Landing on the ground, he looks up through the dead trees to see clouds overhead with rumbles of thunder. 'Oh no! No, no, no, no! Where are the locus?' he tries to listen for the hum but only hears the rain. 'Wait, head east!'

"Young Izuku!"

Izuku gasps when he hears the familiar voice of his mentor. Can it really be? He turns and sees All Might, still a skeletal form, but alive. Izuku feels the tears falling down his cheeks as he runs to All Might and embraces the hornet. "ALL MIGHT! ALL MIGHT, YOU'RE SAFE!" All of his emotions came crashing into one another like the thunder from above. His victory, his fear, his heat, and his happiness all rolled into one. He thought he might go mad.

All Might returns the embrace and says, "I'm glad you made it out! But we don't have much time! We must join the others,"

"Then, everyone got out?" Izuku looks up at him, wiping away the tears.

"Yes, now, follow me. Iida has already gone to join the others."

"But how are we to escape with this rain?"

"We will have to run, and run fast," All Might tells him. "The Centipede King knows by now that something has happened, and it won't take him long to find out what. His speed is a hundred times faster than all of ours."

Izuku nods. "Then there's no time to waste! Let's head east!"

Izuku and All Might go east, hoping to get as far away from the castle as they can. The rain begins to fall harder in a steady flow. Izuku hears Iida's voice calling to them and tells All Might to follow him. As they run through the trees, Izuku's antennas pick up the chemical trail of Bakugo. He grins when they see Bakugo and Iida standing with the others.

"It's about time, you pollen-sucking bastard!" Bakugo shouts at him.

"And All Might, too!" Uraraka says.

Izuku stops in front of Bakugo and says, "I stabbed Dabi with my venom!"

"Good. Tell me about it later! Now we all have to run!" Bakugo says. "Izuku, you take the front! Shoji and I will take the back!"

"Put All Might in the middle," Momo offers.

"More alarms are going off!" Iida says. "We have to leave! Now!"

"Everyone, follow me!" Izuku waves his hand and signals for the others to follow him. They start running, and he looks back to make sure everyone is there. All Might is in the middle, Bakugo is in the way back with Shoji, who is carrying both Tokoyami and Uraraka. Iida and Momo are on either side of All Might, and Jiro is behind him.

There's the sound of a horn, a war horn, and as if on cue, the rain falls harder. 'This is bad!' Izuku says, feeling the rain wetting his wings and antenna, making them droop. His wings feel like wet paper, and now are utterly useless until they dry. 'Shouto's army is expected to fly low to the ground to give them the upper hand! But if they're all stuck to the ground like we are, fighting is going to be difficult for them!'

"Tomura is sending out the Army of Ants!" Iida shouts. "They'll be on us soon! Where's Shouto's army?"

"Those two block-heads!" Bakugo curses Kirishima and Kaminari for not being here. "I ask them to do one fucking thing!"

"It's the rain!" Izuku shouts back, wiping the water from his eyes. "It's slowing everyone down!"

"We keep running!" All Might says. "We don't have any other choices! No one despair! We're going to make it!"

Izuku smiles at All Might's positivity. So long as All Might says it, then they really don't have anything to worry about.

Dabi stumbles through the halls and to Tomura's throne room where he sees the centipede gripping the armrests of the chair. His gaze is blurry and his body aches with the venom flowing through his veins. He's fortunate to be standing at all. Because of Izuku's heat, the venom wasn't sharp- a biological event to keep an unwilling omega from killing a mounting alpha. Tomura isn't smiling in the crazy way that he does. Instead, his red eyes glare at Dabi, almost as if they see right through him.

"Is it true they've all escaped?" Tomura asks slowly. "Your bride, All Might, and the nobles?"

"Y-Yes,"

"I see. I've already sounded the alarms and sent out the Ant Army."

"The rain will slow them down," Dabi manages to say through the pain. "Our fighters strive on the ground. We're used to the rain. This is our chance to catch them,"

Tomura stands up from his throne. "Oh, I am going to catch them," he says "But there will be no leniency, and I will leave no one alive!"

"You're highness; the locus can't fly!" Says a soldier to Shouto. "How are they going to navigate?"

Shouto keeps his expression calm, but the rest of him is panicking internally. "What do the firefly say?"

"The one closest to Graventhorn hasn't seen them!"

"Do we have enough fireflies to light the way for them?"

"No, sir."

Shouto tries to keep calm to think. He has the numbers to defend them along the escape route, but they did not factor in, or plan for rain. It's even darker in the Wastelands due to the clouds. They will need light to guide them. He thought the treetops pointing east would be enough, but now the wind has begun to blow the branches in all different directions. If he doesn't think of something fast to help aid them in the escape, they may not make it out alive.

"My dear prince," Aoyama taps Shouto on the shoulder.

"Not now, Aoyama. I know the rain is threatening to make your hair frizzy."

"No, not that! Although it is getting frizzy," he flattens his hair. "What about the lanterns?"

Shouto turns to him. "Lanterns?"

"Yes. The ones I told the soldiers to take to keep on them in case it gets too dark in the woods."

Shouto grabs Aoyama by the shoulders. "That's perfect! We'll just have to light their way instead! Aoyama, tell the other fireflies to pass the message along to the soldiers on the route as quickly as possible! So long as the news reaches Kirishima or Kaminari, they can relay it to Izuku and others."

Aoyama, proud of himself, struck a pose. "I'm just a splendid wonder for anyone to have on their side!"

"Please, just do it," Shouto says. "We'll celebrate and praise you later."

Bakugo curses the rain and the wet ground as mud covers his feet and calves. It's only a matter of time before someone trips or gets stuck in the mud. He slides to a halt when all the others stop, nearly crashing into Shoji. Wiping his wet bangs from his face, he shouts to Izuku.

"What the hell is the holdup!"

"We're lost!" Izuku shouts back. "The trees no longer point east!"

"And where are the others?" Iida calls to Bakugo. "We're supposed to have backup!"

Everyone flinches when the sound of the war-horn happens again, only this time it is closer.

"We need to keep moving!" Bakugo says.

"But we have no guides!" Iida argues with him. "The locus can't fly and the trees aren't pointing east! If we keep running, we'll end up lost, or keep going in circles until we're found!"

Izuku rushes over to them to stop the fight when his antenna picks up the familiar chemical trail of Tomura. "Oh no…Tomura is coming!"

"How do you know?" All Might asks, joining them.

"I sense him! I've touched his antennas and I know what they feel like! He's coming straight towards us!"

Bakugo draws his sword. "Keep going. I'll hold him off," he says.

"You can't do that by yourself," All Might says. "Tomura is a very dangerous-"

"I don't give a shit about that," Bakugo counters. "That fucker is going to pay for making me live in his shithole of a house! Izuku, you keep going with the others! Kirishima or Kaminari should be looking for us by now! Go! I'll catch up after I've killed him!"

Izuku grabs Bakugo by his antennas and pulls him into a deep, passionate kiss. Bakugo is just as surprised as the others are. "I know you can do it!" He says after pulling away. "I want you to mount me when we're done!" He kisses him again. "Be safe! Iida, take the front! I'll watch the sides!"

"Good luck, Young Bakugo," All Might claps Bakugo on the shoulder.

Bakugo recovers from the kiss and watches the others take off running until they are out of sight. He hears the sound of dozens of feet rushing through the mud. It could be the soldiers, or it could be Tomura. He hopes it is. He's been spoiling for a good fight and will proudly carve a notch in the hilt of his sword for killing his first centipede.

"I'M OVER HERE, ASSHOLE!" Bakugo shouts. "COME AND GET ME!"

The running slows, though it is closer now. In front of him, Bakugo sees a large form heading towards him. He readies his sword. It's Tomura. The other is making himself look big by rearing on the centipede bottom. The mighty king also wields a weapon- a bow and arrow. Tomura readies the bow, aims the arrow, and shoots. Bakugo jumps away from it as it strikes the ground where his feet were. Suddenly, Tomura darts out of sight, like a puff of smoke. Bakugo readies his sword, looking in the direction Tomura disappeared in. He knows that Tomura can see in the dark and that his kind like the mud and dampness. Bakugo is fighting on Tomura's ground, and the Centipede King has the upper leg.

"Come out and fight, coward!" Bakugo shouts. There's a whistling sound, and Bakugo's antenna picks up the direction of it. An arrow sails by, almost striking his cheek. 'So, that's his plan,' Bakugo thinks, looking up. 'He's shooting from the safety of the trees!' He dodges another arrow. "Put that bow down and face me like a gamma, you loser! I'll rip out each leg one at a time!"

"I don't have to fight fair," Tomura says from the trees. "I only want to win. And you are in my way."

Bakugo dodges another arrow. His bangs keep getting in his eyes and the mud is making his movements slow. He can't see the bastard anywhere in the trees. If he stands still to search for movement, he allows himself to be an open target. His only hope is to keep dodging the arrows until Tomura runs out of them. An arrow lands in front of him, followed by another and then another, each one arriving faster than the last. Bakugo slips in the mud and falls back. Cursing, he looks up just in time to see Tomura's centipede body weaving in and out of the trees, the many legs twisting around the trunks. The centipede half holds him up while his body aims the arrow.

Bakugo rolls away from the next shower of arrows. He can't get his footing! He can't fly because his wings are wet, and the mud has him slipping and sliding. The bastard has to run out of arrows soon!

"It's over for you, General Bakugo," Tomura grins madly at him. "Once you're out of the way, I'll track down the others, and I plan to kill each one. I'll rip the wings right from their bodies and chop off their antennas!"

Bakugo holds up his sword to block any more arrows. "I won't give you the chance to touch them, you fucking fiend! I'll rip out all your legs first and shove them up your ass and down your fucking throat!"

"Such naughty words!" He aims the arrow. "You need to be taught a lesson!"

Bakugo growls and charges towards Tomura, dodging an arrow and aiming for the hanging part. Tomura quickly lifts himself out of reach, crawling quickly along the trunks and branches. Bakugo sheaths his sword and attempts to climb one of the trees. He'll fight Tomura that way if he has to. However, the bark is feeble and wet, cracking beneath his weight. 'Skinny ass bastard!' he hisses and dodges another arrow. He's out of ideas.

"It's over for you, sweet little bee," Tomura mocks from the shadows of the trees.

Bakugo can only see the long, many-legged form creeping along the branches.

"I won't give up! Asshole!"

Bakugo's grateful for the rain hiding his sweat. He needs an opening- one opening that will allow him to strike from the ground. As luck would have it, Tomura suddenly lets out a gasp, dropping his bow, and clawing with his hands to remain wrapped around the branch. Bakugo notices Shoji has returned, and the giant stag beetle is using his strength and multiple arms to pull Tomura's centipede half down to the ground using the legs as handles. 'My opening!'

Bakugo takes his sword and, with a fierce battle roar, slices the centipede form in half. Tomura lets out a pained, screaming cry as his severed lower half thrashes around in the mud while the other wiggles mindlessly, still in its death throes.

"WATCH OUT!" Bakugo shouts to Shoji who just dances out of the way of Tomura's squeezing jaws. Despite being cut in half, Tomura hasn't given up. Like a lunatic, he thrashes and lets out high-pitched shrieks as venom drips from his fangs, ripping through the air. Bakugo swings his sword, slicing Tomura's face, forcing the Centipede King to back down. The blood loss has finally taken its toll on Tomura and the villain is forced to cease his thrashing. Bakugo, grinning with dark triumph, holds the sword high and says, "Long live the king" then brings the tip down. The blade pierces through Tomura's throat, pinning him to the ground. "Damn, that felt fucking good!" He says, looking down at Tomura's empty, lifeless eyes roll back in his head.

"You're welcome," Shoji says, reminding Bakugo that he's here.

"Oh, you. Yeah, thanks. Where are the others? And why did you come back?"

"All Might asked me to, and it's good that I did," he lowers to one knee. "Get on my back. We need to catch up with them, and I can run faster than you."

Bakugo would have told the stag beetle to fuck off, but the idea of resting for a short bit after the fight appealed to him. Removing his sword from Tomura's throat, he puts it away and climbs on Shoji's back. "Let's go!" Before Shoji could run, both of them see something dark run past them a few feet away. It's heading in the direction of Izuku and the others, on eight legs. Bakugo could see firey blue eyes in the darkness.

'That's Dabi!'

TBC in Chapter 14: The Escape Part 3

***I didn't want to make this chapter really long, so I decided to cut it in half. The next chapter will be the last of Swarm. We will have another show-down between Dabi and Izuku, and the long-awaited mating scene (will be posted in full on AO3) between Bakugo and Izuku will happen!***