Go Beyond
You may notice that I cut a lot out regarding the final fight of All Might vs the Nomu. That was intentional. I believe that the anime kinda unnecessarily drew that part out and filled it with unneeded fluff. Therefore, I condensed it.
ALSO, I COMMISSIONED A PIECE FOR THIS FIC. IT WAS DONE BY THE BRILLIANTLY TALENTED KATE7H ON TUMBLR. LINK (Replace DOT with '.'): Kate7hDOTtumblrDOTcom
Riolu followed Uraraka and Todoroki to the main pavillion, sticking close to their heels. As much as he would like to go out and search for Izuku on his own, he knew that sticking together would be the best plan of action. If any of them got caught alone versus a group of villains, then it would be bad news for everyone.
As they ran, Riolu couldn't shake the sense of uneasiness with regards to Todoroki. He'd seemed so, well without any other way to put it, cold at first. His overconfidence in being able to take on the entire group of villains alone and his general tone just screamed that he was looking out for himself and himself alone.
Yet, then Riolu saw how he treated his Ice type Ninetales. Yuki, he'd called it. The cold expression he'd had the entire time melted away when he was congratulating his partner. That softness was one that Riolu recognized. It was the same feeling that he got when it came to Izuku, or the same expression Uraraka wore when she was with any of her pokemon.
Then, he'd turned to his other ninetales and the front was back. The cold, hard expression that conveyed no emotion. He'd called the other Ninetales just 'Ninetales'. No endearing nickname, no love and affection. It didn't make sense.
Perhaps the two had come to some sort of misunderstanding, but Riolu doubted that was it. If they had a disagreement, then Ninetales could have just ignored Todoroki's orders. Yet, it did what he'd said, and did it happily. Something was fishy, and Riolu couldn't quite put his finger on it. Not that it mattered right now.
"Todoroki! Over there!" Ochako said, pointing to the group's left. Heads snapped to where she was looking. Through a line of trees, it looked like the main event was going on. A heated battle between Aizawa and the villains. Riolu could spot villains piled up on the ground, presumably taken out by Aizawa and his Darkrai.
"Use the bushes as cover to sneak closer. We need to be ready to help if things go south." Todoroki said, motioning with his hand for the three of them to follow. They crept behind the line of bushes, keeping out of sight of the villains while also peering through the cracks to get a good sight on the events.
As Riolu got closer, he could see the full extent of what was going on. Currently, Aizawa was standing still, staring down the villains and the monstrosity that looked like a fusion between tens of different pokemon. Just the sight of it made Riolu want to vomit.
Suddenly, there was a massive explosion as a geyser of water shot straight up into the air, causing a resounding boom throughout the entire building. Everyone's eyes were drawn to the attraction. Just as the distraction happened, the villain leader, the man covered in hands, said something, pointing.
Riolu didn't even have time to blink. One moment, the purple skinned monster was standing at the villain's side, not moving, and the next moment, Aizawa's Darkrai was sailing through the air from a high-powered punch. It slammed into the staircase where it stopped moving. Knocked out instantly.
Riolu felt his body start to move before he had the time to process what was going on. He started to step towards Aizawa, to help him before the monster got to him. It was a bad idea, he knew it was. Yet, his legs started moving on their own.
And just as he was about to run out from behind the bushes he stopped. Not of his own accord, but rather, a hand grasping his wrist. He turned back to see it was Uraraka grabbing his hand, stopping him from running to Aizawa's rescue.
"You're just like Deku, you know? Runnin' out to save everyone like that." She said with a smile. The look on her face was friendly, and Riolu calmed down a little bit. He had no idea what he would've done if that Todoroki boy had grabbed him like that.
"We can't go exposing ourselves, even if it is to try to save our teacher." Todoroki said calmly. Riolu immediately felt a little bad. He hadn't been thinking and had nearly endangered everyone.
"We have more pressing issues." Todoroki said, gesturing to the fight. The monster now had Aizawa pinned to the ground, his right arm held behind his back and holding the back of his head with the other hand.
With the gesture of the villain leader, the monster slammed Aizawa's head into the ground at full force.
"Oh my god…" Tsu muttered, bringing her hand up to her mouth in horror. Displayed in front of them was the scene of the main fight. The fight that had been going on since the beginning of the entire break in. Tens of villains piled up with their pokemon, presumably taken out by Aizawa and Darkrai.
The villain leader was in the middle circle, seemingly untouched.
Then there was Aizawa, pinned down by the monstrosity with dark black-blue skin. His arm was twisted at the wrong angle and there was a pool of blood on the ground under his head. It was horrifying.
Izuku's entire body was practically frozen. If Aizawa lost to this thing...what was he supposed to do? Wait for help to arrive? But, he didn't even know if help was on the way, and he couldn't just leave Aizawa behind.
The sound of the air splitting again filled the area as the man in the suit from the top of the stairs stepped through a veil of purple mist with his spiritomb. Izuku was just close enough that he could hear what he said.
"Thirteen is...out of commission, but one of the student's pokemon made it out. We have a limited amount of time before the pros show up." Izuku let out a breath. The pros were on the way. They just had to hold out for a little longer.
Izuku looked between Tsu and Mineta to see them just as relieved. Izuku steeled his determination. They weren't out of the ball park yet. They had to stay safe until the pro's arrived, while also trying to get Aizawa out alive. That would be the hardest part, as the hero did not look like he was in good condition.
"Annoying. Annoying! We get to the final boss and he doesn't even show up! It's a stupid glitch!" The main with the hands sais, stomping his foot into the ground and scratching at the sides of his face. The way he talked struck Izuku a weird way. It was like listening to a child have a tantrum.
"Ugh fine!" he said, throwing his hands into the air, "We'll come back. Maybe All Might will be there next time." He said, turning around. He waved over his shoulder, "Nomu."
The monster got up off of the ground where he was standing over Aizawa, letting the teacher go where he plopped onto the ground, motionless.
"Are they seriously just leaving?" Izuku muttered under his breath. After everything they'd done to break into this place, they were seriously just going to leave on a whim like that? They were leaving all of their minions, for a lack of a better term, behind as well.
The purple gas filled the area and the three villains walked up to the gas. Just before any of them passed into it, however, the man covered in hands stopped in his tracks. He turned around slowly, looking over his right shoulder. Just as his head turned around, Izuku saw his eyes. Strained and bright red pupils bore into Izuku. He wasn't looking anywhere else. No, the villain was looking directly at him.
"I think that before we leave, we should pick up a few extra kills. Take some of their brats down, maybe make this trip worth something." The villain sneered. Izuku's heart froze in his chest as the villain reached for his side belt, grabbing a pokeball and tossing it into the air.
"Toxicroak, use Poison Jab."
The blue and black frog popped out of the pokeball in midair, sailing towards Izuku from the sky, The pokemon's talons on his hands were glowing a bright purple. It was going to hit him. The attack was going to hit him and there was nothing he could do about it. Not enough time to move out of the way, and not enough time for either Mineta or Tsu's pokemon to get in the way to block the attack.
Time seemed to slow down for Izuku as the pokemon closed the distance. He was getting caught up in his own head again, brain shutting down from panic. This was not the time that this needed to be happening. Izuku could see it already. Those talons hitting him directly, spearing him through the stomach, nothing he could do about it.
It got closer and closer. Izuku closed his eyes. Closer still.
Then, he felt it. A prodding at the edge of his consciousness. An all too familiar feeling by now. The feeling of Riolu prodding to activate One for All. That could only mean one thing. Riolu was close, and he knew Izuku was in danger.
Izuku reached out in response, feeling for Riolu's side of the bond and reaching out and grabbing for it. He felt himself tap into the well of power that is One for All. Except, this time, something was different.
Maybe it was because of his panic, or maybe it was due to the way that he was planning on using it, but something was definitely different. All other times Izuku had activated One for All, he had been focused on actually using it. Be it attacking the zero pointer, throwing a ball in the fitness test, or using it directly against Bakugo's typhlosion, he'd been set on actually using the power for a purpose. This time, something was off.
As Izuku frantically grasped for the power like a lifeline, instead of taking ahold of it, he let it take him over, engulfing him. He felt himself slip into the limbo that was the battle bond. This time, it somehow felt more...succinct. Instead of being stuck between Riolu's and his own body, it felt like a if someone mashed them into one person. He could feel his won body and he was looking through his own eyes, but he could also see, hear, and feel everything Riolu was. Including emotions. It was like a second set of senses.
The instant that the connection formed, something kicked into gear. One moment the Toxicroak was mere feet away from him, mere seconds away from hitting Izuku with a direct attack. The next moment, Riolu was there, blocking the attack with a One for All powered up Force Palm with a shower of green sparks. Riolu hit Toxicroak away with a thrust, hitting it in the chest and sending it sprawling away.
"Riolu?" Tsu muttered, "Where did you come from?"
"Thanks for the save, buddy." Izuku said, brushing off the question from Tsu. Izuku stood up fully, taking him out of the hiding place he was in. There was no point in trying to hide when the villains obviously knew where he was.
As Izuku walked out from behind the bushes, he felt unnaturally energetic. Like he could do anything he ever wanted. When he looked down at his own body, he saw small green sparks coiling off of his body, similar to Riolu, but to a far lesser extent. The pokemon was practically cackling with energy.
"There's no way we can fight that thing. We need to get Aizawa to safety." Izuku muttered under his breath. Riolu must have heard him, because he nodded in agreement. Tsu and Mineta had climbed out from behind the bushes as well, taking up stance next to Izuku.
"If I can make a distraction, can you two get Aizawa up the stairs? The Pro's are on the way." Izuku said. Tsu looked between Izuku and the monster that the Villain leader had dubbed the 'Nomu' with concern. Izuku gave her a smile of reassurance, and she reluctantly nodded.
Izuku took a deep breath and steeled himself for the oncoming villain.
"Poison jab. Don't miss this time."
The villain's pokemon broke into a sprint, bringing it's body low to the ground. Izuku and Riolu broke into a battle ready stance, mirroring each other's movements. The toxicroak made the lunge, aiming for Riolu's throat. Not even needing to call out a command, Izuku and Riolu reached forwards, grabbing the toxicroak by the shoulder. Jumping over to the pokemon so that he was behind the enemy, Riolu used the pokemon's arm like a lever, flipping toxicroak over his head with ease and slamming him into the ground. Riolu jumped away, showering sparks.
"That's cheating!" The Villain sneered. He smirked, "Too bad I have the cheat codes as well, little hero. Nomu, get the brat." The monster started to surge forwards. Even with the enhanced strength and speed, Izuku knew that Riolu would have neither time to dodge, nor block the attack. It was going to hit him full force.
"Ice Beam!"
A blue and white cackling beam shot out of the other side of the pavillion, hitting the Nomu square in the side. The the entire creature was encased in a block of ice within seconds.
Looking over, Izuku saw two figures and a couple pokemon. Ochako holding Eevee with her Togekiss, and the Todoroki boy from class with his Alolan Ninetales.
No time to think! Izuku chastised himself.
"Tsu!" Izuku called out. She took the clue and dashed towards their teacher's limp form on the ground. Hopefully she would get done in time.
"Deku!" Uraraka called, running over. Todoroki jogged over as well. Togekiss took up a place next to Riolu, and then Todoroki's Ninetales next to Togekiss.
"What's going on with Riolu?" Uraraka asked, setting Eevee down on the ground next to her. She instructed the little pokemon to go sit off to the side for the battle. Apparently she'd lost Eevee's pokeball during the teleporting.
"Whatever that thing is, it shouldn't be able to go anywhere unless-" Todoroki was cut off by the sound of the Nomu screeching at the top of its lungs. It looked down at its frozen body and opened its mouth. Fire streamed out, coating his prison in ruby flames. "-Unless it knows a fire move." Todoroki finished.
"The steam is blocking our vision. Everyone be ready for that thing to attack again." Izuku said. The steam from the fire on the ice had filled the whole area, leaving only silhouettes of the people in the distance.
Izuku strained to see or hear anything when he heard one small command from the villain, "Nomu, get the runt."
Eevee was terrified. She was stuck in this battle that she didn't want to be a part of. She'd been dragged into the most dangerous part of the entire building, and was barely keeping herself from shaking as she hid next to a bush. Steam filled the area as the monster, the abomination of pokemon that wasn't supposed to exist, destroyed its ice prison.
She couldn't see anything bout outlines. She heard one thing from the other side. One thing that terrified her even more.
"Nomu, get the runt."
The steam parted way as something ran through it. The outline of the monster was getting bigger.
The steam cloud parted as something moved through it at high speed. Time seemed to slow. The Nomu wasn't running towards the three of them, and it wasn't running for Tsu who was retrieving Aizawa. It was running for the spot that Eevee was hiding on the sidelines.
"No!" Izuku yelled. He and Riolu moved as one, channeling all of the power from One for All that he could into their legs, kicking off. Izuku and Riolu ran as fast as their powered up legs could take them. Riolu got there first, leaping towards the Nomu.
"Get away!" Izuku screamed, rearing an fist back in tandem with Riolu.
"Detroit SMASH!" Izuku screamed. His fist sailed through solid air, hitting nothing, but Riolu's did not. Riolu's arm came into direct contact with the Nomu, releasing a shockwave, blowing everything, including Izuku, away from the epicenter of the blast.
Eevee froze up. The thing, the Nomu, was coming straight at her. She could see it. In a matter of a few moments, the thing was going to be on top of her, and there was nothing she could do. Eevee curled up, expecting the worst.
"Get away!" She heard a voice call. Something else moved through the for, moving possibly even faster than the monster. The fog parted as something came through, a figure. A black and blue figure, lit up with green sparks, sailed through the air, meeting the monster just as it closed in.
"Detroit SMASH!" Someone yelled as Riolu threw his arm forwards, slamming into the side of the creature's face. As a shockwave erupted from the point of impact, Eevee looked at Riolu, the way he attacked the monster fearlessly. How heroic it was. There was only one thing she could thing as the shockwave blew her away.
My savior.
Izuku darted forwards, grabbing Eevee before she was sent tumbling. He ran back to the area with Uraraka, setting Eevee down carefully on the ground. Izuku stood back up and looked at the scene.
The shockwave had blown all of the steam from the area. Izuku was expecting to see something good. A full powered One for All smash directly to the side of the Nomu's head had to do some damage. Izuku could feel his arm was sore, but he hadn't broken it, which was good.
When Izuku looked over to where the Nomu had been, the scene horrified him. There Riolu was, standing on the ground, the Nomu towering over him, completely unharmed.
"Oh, surprised, little hero? That was quite the powerful attack you put out there." The leader said. Izuku didn't take his eyes off of Riolu, but the leader continued talking anyways, "This Nomu was meant to stand up to All Might. He has all of the typings that resist fighting and steel type attacks, which leaves him with a times thirty-two resistance to fighting. Too bad for you, your Riolu's attacks happen to be fighting type. That's a little unfortunate. Now, Nomu, just knock that brat out and get over here so we can take care of these others."
The NomU moved faster than Izuku had time to react. It brought its fist down right on Riolu's forearm, and Izuku could hear the snap from where he was. At the same time as the attack contacted with Riolu, pain flared up Izuku's forearm.
The sudden jolt broke Izuku's concentration and One for All flickered out. Izuku fell to his knees at the sudden slap of being only back in his own body again. The Nomu threw Riolu down to the ground, leaving a small crater. It ran back to the leader's side, completely unmoving.
Riolu! Izuku thought, scrambling to crawl over to his partner. The second he put weight on his right arm, his forearm erupted with pain again, screaming in protest. Izuku looked down at his arm, and could see that it was bleeding.
All Might's words echoed in Izuku's mind. One of the side effects of One for All is that any injuries sustained by either of you while the bond is active is given to both of you. If Riolu breaks a bone, then you'll break the same bone.
So the Nomu's attack had broken Riolu's forearm. Izuku tried to scramble to his feet, but as soon as he tired, his legs gave out, tired and not willing to follow his directions. He was stuck there, unable to do anything.
Helpless.
Helpless to help his friends fight against that monster.
"Now, let's get this done with. Nomu ge-"
Thwoom! The entire building resounded with the sound of a giant piece of metal getting caved in. Everyone's attention turned to the source of the noise. The top of the staircase.
"Do not worry!" A familiar voice called out. Izuku knew that voice. He'd know that voice anywhere.
"Everything will be okay now! Why?" The man himself stopped at the top of the staircase, his Lucario next to him. He wasn't smiling.
"Because I am here!"
All Might was here.
All Might looked to his lucario and nodded. It all happened in the blink of an eye. One moment, Izuku and all the others were face to face with the villains. The next, with a gust of wind, they were all standing by the stairs.
"Stay back, young ones. I shall take care of this. One of you go assist Young Asui with getting Aizawa to safety." All Might said, striding down the stairs. Uraraka nodded and rushed up the stairs, hopping onto Togekiss's back.
"All Might!" Izuku said, reaching out with one arm. His legs still wouldn't cooperate properly, and his right arm was dripping blood onto the stairs. All Might turned over his shoulder, looking at Izuku.
"That thing! It has an extreme resistance to fighting and steel moves!" Izuku protested. If All Might went up against that thing...his moves would have so little effect. All Might just nodded, flashing that toothy smile that he wore when working as a hero.
"It'll be fine, young Midoriya." All Might said, turning away. Izuku wanted to believe that All Might was there to fix everything, he really did. Everyone was cheering, resting easier now that All Might was on the scene. But they didn't know what Izuku knew. They didn't know that he was already at his limit.
Izuku couldn't help but feel uneasy as he watched All Might walk down the flight of stairs, Lucario by his side.
"Midoriya, we need to focus on getting everyone safe." Todoroki's voice said from next to Izuku. He turned to look at the boy, who was gesturing next to him, "You should put Riolu back in his ball. He's not going to be able to fight anymore."
Only then did Izuku realize Riolu was there with them. Panicking, Izuku turned to his partner, and relief washed over him. His forearm looked broken,. Much like Izuku's, but it Riolu was still breathing and just looked a little beat up outside of that. Izuku reached for the pokeball at his waist, but flinched when pain shot up his arm. He grabbed the premier ball with his left hand instead, recalling Riolu. When Izuku looked back at Todoroki, he was looking at his right forearm, an odd look on his face.
"Good, now let's-" Todoroki was cut off when a massive shockwave erupted from the pavillion. Looking down at the field, Izuku could see All Might's lucario, fist to fist with the Nomu. The real battle had begun.
"Lucario! Hit it again!" All Might called out. He was still under the influence of the battle bond. That fusion of two consciousness into one. He didn't need to call out the commands. He could just do them, but from years of needing to call the commands to not look suspicious, he did it on instinct now.
Lucario struck the monster, the Nomu, again, releasing a second shockwave throughout the area as Lucario's attack was absorbed. True to what young Midoriya had said, the thing did not seem to be taking any damage. Or if it was, the damage was minimal.
"It's no use! Nomu was engineered to resist all attacks you can throw at it!" The villain leader snarled, "Give it up!"
All Might gritted his teeth, looking at the situation. Not only did the thing nullify his attacks, but it also seemed to be fast and strong enough to react and block the attacks, hitting back with his own.
"Keep hitting it!" All Might called out. Lucario broke into a stream of successive punches, each met by a block from the Nomu. The force of the blasts from each hit was growing, and All Might could see the villain leader getting forced back slowly by the intensity.
"That's it! Hit it back with Brick Break!" The villain shouted over the winds. All Might was anticipating a counter of some sort.
"Into the air!" All Might called out. Instead of kicking off the ground to dodge, Lucario jumped slightly into the air, then used force palm on his feet, slamming a foot into the Nomu's fact to vault himself into the air. The Nomu's hand just missed Lucario.
"Aura Sphere!" Lucario let go a blast of energy that sailed into the ground, making direct contact with the Nomu.
"Don't let up! Close Combat!" All Might screamed. Lucario didn't even wait for the dust to clear. He ran forwards into the cloud, meeting the massive figure. Close combat landed, hitting Nomu with a series of powerful punches, ending with one powerful hit.
"It's no use! Nomu!" The villain called out.
There was a screeching noise from inside the cloud of dust, and the next moment, Lucario was sent flying out of the cloud. The pokemon crashed into a tree, where he slumped to the ground. Pain arched up All Might's back, and he barely stopped himself from crying out in pain.
One for All was still active, so Lucario wasn't knocked out yet. Even if the pokemon wasn't done, All Might could feel that he was at his limit. Grasping for One for All was like trying to hold water in his hands. He could feel it slipping away.
He couldn't let it. Not when everyone was relying on him like this. "Lucario! Are you ready to go again?" The pokemon got up from his spot by the tree and rushed over, taking up a spot between All Might and the Nomu once again.
"Damned annoying heroes….you never know when to give up, do you?" The villain leader called out. All Might didn't say anything and just nodded to Lucario.
"Force Palm!" Lucario hit the Nomu again, only to be met with resistance. If there was one thing All Might was noticing, it was the fact that the Nomu was tiring. Lucario was tiring as well, but All Might could tell that the Nomu was slower. Its attacks packed less of a punch. They were doing damage.
"Again!"
"Give it up!"
"Again!"
"Don't you see that he resists everything you can put out?" All Might nodded.
"You said he has resistance! Not immunity! So if it can take our 100%, then we just need to put out 110%!" All Might screamed.
"Lucario! Close Combat! Don't let up!"
Lucario's attacks were like lightning. His hits faster than the human eye could see. Each successive hit struck the Nomu, but it wasn't able to block them all. Some strikes hit the Nomu directly, and All Might could see it's movements slowing.
"Force Palm!" All Might called out when he saw an opening through Lucario's eyes. His partner landed the hit directly in the Villain's stomach, sending it flying through the trees.
"After it!" All Might screamed. Lucario ran after it, and All Might could only see what was going on through his partner's eyes. The Nomu was off the ground and running back at Lucario.
"Slide under it and use Meteor Mash!"All Might knew he would be heard, and Lucario followed through, dodging a hit and hitting the Nomu in the small of its back. Nomu was sent flying back out of the trees into the pavillion, Lucario on its heels.
"Let's go! Close Combat again!" Lucario continued the onslaught. Hit after hit connected with the the Nomu.
"Tell me, villain. Have you ever heard these words?" All Might sneered. The villain leader looked actually scared.
"When a hero is losing at their best, there is one thing that they need to do. They need to push past their limits. They need to go beyond!"
"Nomu!" The villain leader cried out desperately.
"Force Palm! PLUS ULTRA!" Lucario struck true, hitting the Nomu with enough force to blast everyone in the area away from the dueling pokemon. The nomu was sent flying into the sky, where it struck the roof of the dome of the USJ.
It didn't stop there. It ripped through the building, sailing even further, up into the sky. All Might took a step back, breathing heavily.
They'd done it, but there had been a price. He was past his limit. If he moved a single inch, he'd fizzle out.
Everyone cheered when the Nomu was sent flying out of the arena. All Might had done it. He'd won. All of the students were now safely at the top of the hill, grouped up around Aizawa and Thirteen's unconscious bodies. As Izuku looked down at the scene, he noticed something.
Something bad.
All Might was leaking steam. It was streaming off of his body, and Izuku knew that only meant one thing. All Might was mere moments from reverting into his powered down form. Izuku started to try to move towards his mentor. If there was something he could do to help, Anything. Then he would do it.
Yet, the second he tried to move, his legs gave way, grounding him once more. All Might was leaking more steam now. It was only a matter of-
A gunshot cracked through the air as a bullet streaked towards the villains, striking true. Then another two followed, striking the villain leader, both landing as well. Izuku turned to the sound of the commotion and noticed the hero. Snipe, one of Yuuei's teachers. Not only snipe, though. All of the teachers at Yuuei were there.
"Solar Beam!"
"Ice Beam!"
"Hyper Beam!"
All of the teachers let off their pokemon's attacks, all sailing towards the villains. Just before the wave of attacks reached them, the villains stepped through a purple portal, disappearing. Only once Izuku was sure they were gone did he let out the breath he was holding.
They'd done it.
They'd won.
Disclaimer, I'm really bad at fight scenes. Well, I'm hoping that the style of battles I have planned for the Sports Festival will be easier to write, but that All Might fight kinda felt 'ehhh' to me. I hope it wasn't as bad as It feels to me.
SIDE NOTE: I haven't gotten many reviews on my last couple postings of this fic? Are you guys still liking it? Reviews are what help writers keep going, so keep em comin! That's all