Falling Hope
Hello everyone and welcome to the latest chapter of Hailstorm Vol. 2! Today we find out the fate of one of our heroes along with the continued fight against the newly empowered Shigaraki! And for those who haven't heard, I've been asked to put my story, Spiral Flames In Lugnica, on hiatus by the requestor so that I can focus more time on the other requested story, I'm Too Sober For This. But worry not, I'm certain I'll have it going again soon enough. Of course, if you're looking for an extra story, my book, Plains Riders, might just be what you're looking for on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Now then, it seems we have no guest reviews to answer this time around so let's dive on in!
Wreckage of Jaku City
A mile a minute. That was a good way to describe Clay's current thought process right now as he gazed up at the sky. Things honestly just seemed, surreal, at that particular moment. When Shigaraki flicked that deleter round towards his uncle he'd done the only thing he could at that particular moment and literally took a bullet for him by diving straight into its path. He didn't know how long it had been since that had happened: a moment, a second, a minute, a full hour?
All he knew was that he was waiting for it to stop, his control over his clouds. 'Quirkless,' he thought, 'hadn't really considered what I'd do if I ever became quirkless. Maybe that's something I should start thinking about but….later.' A small cloud burst from the hole in his outfit then, sending the now depleted deleter round into the rubble as he sat up straight.
"Holy shit that was way too close," Clay said breathlessly as he looked down at where he'd been struck. It had been another instinctive move that he'd pulled while diving, forming a layer of clouds underneath his costume while also upping the density of the ones in his miniature reserve tanks. And damn if he didn't love those tanks right now, especially the punctured one that had stopped the round. "Now I owe you a drink, Hatsume."
"Clay, are you," Midoriya dared to ask from his position on Shigaraki's back. The cloud wielder answered by forming a hand with his clouds giving a thumbs up. He still had his quirk, something that everyone breathed a sigh of relief over. Unfortunately, for a brief moment, Shigaraki's quirks also became active again. A sudden and very powerful blast of air sent Izuku and Ryukyu flying away from him while also obstructing Endeavor's approach.
The horrible realization struck Clay and the others then as they realized that despite not taking a quirk the deleter round still did its job: breaking Aizawa's focus even if only for a couple seconds. He'd blinked when letting out a sigh of relief at his nephew's good fortune and now Shigaraki had room to take a powerful, flying leap towards him with his hand outstretched. Clay and Midoriya reacted with cloud tendrils and Black Whip in an attempt to ensare him and stop his momentum. They were only ninety percent successful as the villain's outstretched hand raked across the Erasure Hero's face, causing him to shut his eyes in pain.
Clay braced for the worst as he and Izuku pulled back with their quirks but was surprised when a large ice spike suddenly formed and nearly impaled Shigaraki. "Sensei!" Todoroki called in concern, having shown up just a moment ago. But as much as he hated it, none of them could afford to check on Eraserhead right now as Tomura put his hand on the ice formation he was currently sprawled on top of. It was confirmed then that his quirks were back as the ice began to crumble.
Before it got too far, however, Midoriya came in with a powerful punch to the villain's side. Clay moved in and wrapped his uncle along with Manual and Lock Rock in his clouds before moving them out of the way. "Uncle, uncle are you still with me," Clay asked, trying to keep his voice even.
"I'm not dead," Aizawa replied with a hand over his eyes, "but there's too much blood now, my eyes are stinging and it hurts to keep them open for more than a minute."
"Guess that settles it then," the cloud wielder said as he set the trio down near the area Gran Torino had told him and his two classmates to wait earlier, "try and get in touch with someone who's got a healing quirk if you can. We'll keep hammering away at the wannabe destroyer back there."
"Clay, if you try to fight him now," Aizawa attempted to protest before being interrupted by his nephew.
"If we don't fight him now he'll meet up with his allies and the situation really will be untenable," he reminded, "we have to take this chance now because who knows if we'll get another one like this." His uncle clearly didn't like it but he was also the logical sort. So even despite his reservations, of which there were many, he nodded to Clay to go ahead. His unspoken words of 'be careful' didn't even need to be said as the cloud wielder turned and headed back towards the battle. While this was happening, Slade was having a battle of his own.
Aboard the Walking Disaster: Gigantomachia
'This is ridiculous,' thought Slade as he clung to one of the spikes on the lower part of Machia's back, 'we did everything right. We trapped it, got the anesthetics down its throat and bided enough time for the other heroes to show up. And we did all of that with only two minutes worth of prep time! So why in the everliving fuck is this thing still moving?!'
And Machia was most certainly moving. With the elongated claws and lower jaw faceplate he was now sporting, the giant villain was carving through buildings one after the other like a mole on a mission. He'd done much the same to the other pro heroes when they'd shown up back at Gunga Mountain. Despite barraging the beast with their best quirks Machia seemed to shrug off most of the damage before swinging back with blows so powerful they carved up the landscape and sent everything from trees to rocks to people flying. Slade had initially worked to shield Momo and Kendo from the barrage of rocks flying everywhere but once they were back on their feet the duo proved more than capable of defending themselves from any excess debris with their quirks.
So he sprinted across the battlefield, grabbing and shielding whoever he could to prevent injury. Thanks to his ability to shift his density the shockwaves from the brawl, if it could even be called that, didn't send him flying as far and he could quickly revert to low density to swiftly traverse the area. But that was about the only thing he was able to do. The rest of the time he was basically forced to watch as Machia brutally knocked the pros aside again and again.
The frustration of it all was maddening and when Slade couldn't take it anymore he did possibly one of the stupidest things he'd ever done in his life. He rushed Machia when its back was turned. He truthfully didn't have a plan and was lucky he even managed to get as close as he did before jumping up and grabbing onto one of the giant's curved spikes. He traversed up a couple more when he could but that was as far as he got.
The battle must've ended because Machia suddenly stopped moving for a moment, long enough for Slade to catch a brief glimpse of his classmate's when he paused his climb in slight confusion. They were all thankfully safe, having been moved out of the way by Majestic's quirk. But it was shortly after that Slade realized how much he might've just screwed himself. The giant took off then at a rapid pace and the density shifter found about all he could do was hold on. Naturally the beast would stop when it reached its destination but what in the world would he do then?
'Come on you moron, think,' he told himself, 'you might not be able to stop this guy from getting where he's going but there has to be something you can do when you get there!' He racked his brain, trying to come up with even the smallest of ideas. All the while, he tried his best to ignore the fact that the monster he'd caught a ride on was tearing through entire towns, whether the buildings were inhabited or not. He made a decision when Machia seemed to be in between cities and his movements were less erratic.
He climbed up just a bit further and caught a very narrow glimpse of the League of Villains members. Chimera was high up above, clinging to one of the giant spikes to enjoy the view of destruction while the other members seemed to be discussing something. Toga was suiting up in a new set of gear while Dabi was giving instructions to a man with very long black hair and a laptop, likely a Liberation member. Not long after that, Himiko actually hopped off of Machia, heading to an unknown destination.
As for Dabi, he had a wicked smile on his face. Slade dared to move closer so he could hear what was being said and froze at the words he heard next. "We're going to destroy this fake hero society," Dabi declared. He laid out his plan to the Liberation member then as the density shifter listened intently.
The Ruins of Jakku City
Clay sped back towards the battle as fast as he could, knowing that letting Shigaraki touch the gound again for even a moment could prove disastrous now that he had his quirk of destruction back. Yet even despite his speed it seemed the cloud wielder would be too late as the villain reached for the spot on which he stood. Just as he was about to touch it, though, something unexpected happened: a large wound tore open on the right side of his chest. 'But how,' thought Clay, 'his super regeneration should be back on.'
That's when he remembered. Shigaraki was supposed to be spending four months in a tank getting All For One's quirks transplanted into him but thanks to Mirko and the other pros the process had been stopped a month ahead of schedule. If his body hadn't been fully modified to accept the quirks being implanted into him then at best he'd have trouble using them and at worst, for him anyway, the use of said quirks would tear him apart. Though by the looks of things Midoriya would do the job long before his quirks did as he used Black Whip to yank him off the ground along with Endeavor, Todoroki, Bakugou and Gran Torino. But what was amazing about this rescue was Izuku's execution of it using a newly unlocked quirk: the seventh holder's Float ability.
'Nana Shimura's quirk,' Clay recalled as he approached. Shigaraki was clearly surprised by this turn of events as Midoriya reared his right arm back for a punch. But just as he was about to attack, the tendrils holding Gran Torino and the others started to shake, signaling that his control of them was wavering from his use of multiple quirks. "Midoriya!" Clay called to get his attention while generating several riding clouds.
"Get them out of here Clay!" Izuku called as he lowered the others onto the clouds before his Black Whip completely dissipated. The only one that remained was holding up a still stunned Shigaraki. The cloud wielder moved everyone several meters away, knowing that getting too far from the fight right now might be a problem for his friend later if he couldn't make it back fast enough.
"What do you think you're doing stormy?!" Bakugou exclaimed as he set them all down, "Deku's back there fighting that guy on his own when he should be getting the furthest away! You should be getting him out of here!"
"You clearly didn't see the look on his face," Clay replied as he floated back into the air, "Midoriya isn't going anywhere, not after Shigaraki hurt Aizawa and Gran Torino. As far as he's concerned the only one who can stop that bastard is him."
"Then talk some sense into him!" The explosion user growled, "we can't just let him handle this on his own or he'll go too far!"
"Believe me he won't be alone," Clay assured, "you guys come up with a plan and jump back in once you're ready. Be sure to take care of Gran Torino too." He turned and shot towards the still ongoing battle then, moving as fast as his clouds would carry him. Even from this distance Clay could tell Izuku had increased his output to one hundred percent.
'Moron,' thought the U.A. student in irritation, 'break yourself too much here and it might hurt us all in the long run.' For one not in the know, Midoriya clearly had the advantage as he kept reeling Shigaraki in with Black Whip on his left arm and slamming his right fist into him with everything he had. Problem was, Shigaraki's enhanced body was managing to take the pummeling and even if he was on the defensive every blow that didn't bring him down was another painful backlash against Midoriya's body. 'I Need to get his guard down lower for a decisive hit before Izuku wears himself out.'
Clay directed his newly created clouds to race up towards Shigaraki as the makings of a slight plan formed in his mind. It turned out to be none too soon as the villain raised his right hand in an attempt to use his Air Cannon quirk. Clay's clouds were faster, thankfully, and wrapped around him before electrocuting his body with Grasping Thunder. It didn't seem to hurt the madman too much but it did stop him from using his quirk, an opening Izuku exploited with another powerful punch to his body.
The cloud wielder shocked him again in between blows, quickly forming a pattern of attack. Midoriya would reel him in and pummel Shigaraki with one hundred percent of his strength. The moment Tomura went flying back, Clay would watch him like a hawk and electrocute him whenever he made a move of any kind towards the cloud or his friend. It was a slightly better approach from the strategy being employed before but it was still a game of endurance.
Even if Shigaraki's regeneration was slowed severely he was still regenerating while Deku wasn't. Each hit from him at one hundred percent injured his body further and further, affecting his muscles, tendons and bones drastically. His left arm was already busted and on top of that he was using multiple quirks to keep their opponent in the air. The moment his right arm went they'd be in trouble with Midoriya only able to use his legs for fighting while his arms would only be capable of producing Black Whip and nothing else.
Clay racked his brain for something, anything else he could do with his quirk to end the fight now before it reached that point. The solution, for lack of a better term, came soaring up towards them not in the form of his quirk, but in the form of Endeavor, Todoroki and Bakugou. The explosive boy was handling most of the propulsion with his quirk while Todoroki provided a little stability with flames from his left side. What was impressive, though, was how he was using his right side to keep Endeavor's body cool at the same time.
"Guess they're ready," the U.A. student thought aloud as he directed another cloud towards Midoriya. He already had an idea of what they were thinking and wasn't disappointed when Bakugou yelled 'NOW!' the moment Shigaraki was sent flying away from Izuku again. Clay snagged his friend's leg, stopping him before he could charge again and accidentally hit the pro hero with his attack.
Endeavor, for his part, grabbed onto Tomura with a full nelson hold in midair. "Keep away!" He ordered as powerful flames ignited from his body, "Plus Ultra! Prominence Burn!" Clay did as instructed, moving away while also yanking Midoriya farther from the epicenter of the attack. Even so, the intensity of the heat was so high that it dissipated the clouds on both Shigaraki and Deku, making the cloud user very glad his friend could float.
He was also glad for the photoreflective lenses on his costume's mask, the only thing that was allowing him to look at the bright flames without shielding his eyes. He didn't know precisely how high the temperature was but given the amount of screaming their enemy was doing it had to be up there in at least the hundreds if not thousands of degrees. Then, just as quickly as it had begun, the flames went out. "Did we do it," Clay dared to ask as some spots cleared from his eyes.
What he saw should've filled him with elation. Shigaraki's body had been charred so badly that his hair was gone and all of his skin was greyish black. Even his eyes appeared to have been incinerated, leaving nothing but hollow holes, assuming they were open. So one might understand the confusion Endeavor was experiencing when he asked the following question: "Why arent'…you dead?" Those were his only words as multiple circuit boardlike black tendrils pierced his body before retracting.
Endeavor fell then as Clay, realizing what was about to happen, attempted to send his clouds towards his friend. His reaction was too slow, though, as the moving corpse that was Shigaraki's body fired more of the tendrils at the One For All holder. Just as it seemed Deku wouldn't be able to move away in time, numerous small explosions filled the air as a shape went flying by. It was Bakugou, somehow using even smaller explosions to propel himself through the air far quicker than before.
His body slammed into Midoriya's, knocking it out of the way and saving his life. But the cost was Bakugou wound up being the one impaled by the tendrils instead. "Don't try," he coughed with blood coming out of his mouth, "to win…..by yourself." The tendrils retracted then, letting the explosion user fall towards the ground.
"KACCHAN!" Midoriya yelled as he reached for his friend. Clay snapped back to reality then as he caught both Bakugou and Endeavor with his clouds before handing them to Todoroki who was using the flames from his left foot to slow his descent. He turned back and headed up as quickly as he could then. If he knew his friend as well as he thought, Izuku wouldn't let this slide.
Unfortunately, his hunch turned out to be right as Deku shot forward, absolute rage in his eyes directed at the one responsible for his friend's injuries. Shigaraki attempted to counter with more tendrils but they were smashed and swatted aside by multiple swift kicks and punches. The one that came closest was bitten and chomped to pieces before Midoriya reared up with another punch aimed at the villain's face. But in his angered state he forgot to keep his guard up, and the reason he was supposed to be keeping his distance in the first place as Tomura grabbed his face with his burnt hand.
"I finally touched you," he said, his voice horribly distorted. Red energy began to circulate around Deku's face, a sign that All For One's power was activating.
"No you fucking don't!" Clay exclaimed as he sent a javelin shaped cloud spinning like a bullet between them. Even if it didn't injure the villain so long as it knocked Midoriya away he'd succeed. Thankfully, it did succeed and the One For All holder was pushed away by the force of the spiraling attack. Yet something strange still happened.
In the space between them, a bright light shone before the both of them were suddenly sent flying backwards. Clay was quick to catch Midoriya, being sure to keep an eye on Shigaraki as he descended. He realized on the way down, even without looking closely at his friend, that Izuku was unconscious. 'Shit,' Clay thought, 'with him down we've lost all but one of our big guns. If he's not down now…'
He didn't want to finish the thought as he landed near Todoroki. "Midoriya!" The ice and fire wielder exclaimed as he rushed over to look at him, "is he alright?"
"Just unconscious from what I can tell," Clay replied as they set him next to the others, "what about Bakugou?"
"He's alive," Todoroki confirmed, "I'll apply first aid to him and everyone else-SMASH!" The U.A. students turned to see the source of the noise, finding their worst fears to be confirmed. Someway somehow, Tomura Shigaraki was still moving. His body had managed to catch itself by extending several more black tendrils from his fingers.
"I won't," Tomura grunted in obvious pain, "do what…you say." Clay raised an eyebrow at this before taking stock of the situation. Everyone besides him and Todoroki were down and one of them would be needed to provide first aid to the others, especially Bakugou and Endeavor. Truthfully, Todoroki could put up quite a fight given the power of his quirk, but there were a couple of problems.
Part of the required first aid would be cooling Endeavor's body and he could use either fire or ice to more permanently close wounds. Clay could technically close wounds with his quirk but he'd have to keep concentrating even with minimal effort to keep the clouds in place. And even though Todoroki could fly with his quirk aerial acrobatics weren't exactly his thing, but even if it was he could only use his ice at close range while in midair. Knowing all of this, the cloud user let out a long sigh.
"Todoroki," he said while stepping forward, "take care of the others."
"Wait, you aren't seriously planning on-," his friend started to say before being cut off.
"We need to finish this," Clay stated as he gathered his clouds around himself, "that tough body of his has taken a beating today and his regeneration is a lot slower now. My quirk's versatile so I've got more than a couple options for taking him down, especially if he goes into the air again. You need to keep applying first aid to the others until you're sure they're at least stable."
"Fine," Todoroki grunted, clearly not happy with this arrangement but already realizing the same drawbacks Clay did, "I'll help you as soon as I'm done with them. So you'd best not get yourself skewered!"
"Wasn't on my schedule anyway," Clay replied while readying his clouds and stopping a couple dozen feet from their opponent.
"And just what do you think you can do, maggot," Shigaraki grunted as his newly regenerated eye settled on him.
"And here I thought you liked to appear as a refined gentleman," Clay replied, "there's no need for this sorry act to continue, All For One." 'Shigarak's' eye widened slightly in surprise at this accusation. The villain burst out laughing then, but it definitely wasn't Tomura's voice that was coming out of his mouth.
"So you caught me," All For One said as Clay noticed a split in Shigaraki's face revealing the eyeless visage of the true villain. "But I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less from Eraserhead's nephew. It's a pleasure to meet you, Clay Cero, I am indeed All For One." 'And I'm one guy with a bunch of clouds against the most feared villain in all the world,' Clay thought, 'this is gonna be rough.'
All you gotta do is take on the most feared being on the planet and not die. It's a cinch, right? All sarcasm aside, this ain't an ideal situation for anyone at the moment and with Gigantomachia closing in the situation is destined to go more sideways than it even is now! But we'll find out about that next chapter, so in the meantime feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Also, don't forget to check out my book, Plains Riders, on Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited! Be sure to stop in next time as our hero faces down the leader of the League of Villains! 'Til then.