The cognition of Wakaba lay at the bottom of the pyramid, leaking black smoke all over its colossal body. Instead of the exhaustion he usually felt at the end of the day in a Palace, Izuku felt invigorated, giddy even, like all the energy he'd poured into the basilica had returned to him threefold. Looking away from the fading cognition, he was just in time to see Futaba's persona disappear in a flash only to reform as goggles on her eyes, leaving her to drop to the ground. She fell on her butt.

The rest of the Phantom Thieves gathered around her. Izuku crouched at her side. "Futaba!"

"Dude, you were freakin' incredible!" Skull crowed.

Brushing herself off, Futaba shakily stood. She stared down at her new, Tron-like outfit in shock. "Whoa, what in the world!?"

Izuku stood next to her. "You like it?"

"I look like a frog!" She said with a grin. Izuku laughed as she twisted around. "Ooh! It's totally skin-tight!"

A few of the others chuckled, but before anyone could say anything, a soft white glow manifested off to the side. There, a new cognition of Wakaba walked forward, this time very human in appearance and without the anger of the last. She smiled at Futaba.

"…Mom!?" Futaba gasped. Izuku grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Futaba," the ghost whispered. "Thank you for choosing to remember the real me."

Futaba's voice was literally choked with tears. "I'm sorry for being so selfish. Mom…" Even after her awakening, she still thought she'd been selfish?

She took a step forward, but Wakaba gently scolded, "Don't come over here. This isn't where you're supposed to be, is it?"

"But I finally get to see you again!"

"Are you being selfish again?" Wait, what?

Futaba shook her head. "Um, I… I love you, Mom…"

"I love you too, Futaba."

Tears stung Izuku's eyes. He knew it shouldn't, that this Wakaba was just another part of Futaba's mind, but… He wished he could hear his dad say he loved him, one last time. Even if it was all in her head, this was the greatest gift she could receive. So, he promised Wakaba. "We'll take care of her."

Wakaba smiled at him, even as the other thieves stared incredulously at him. "I know you will, Izuku-kun. Now, you should get going." And as suddenly as she appeared, the cognition dissolved in a cloud of white lights.

He expected Futaba to start crying, but she only sighed. If only he could see her eyes through her red goggle lenses. She stared at the Phantom Thieves before remembering, "Oh, right. Medjed." Letting go of his hand, she walked away.

"Where are you going?" Queen asked.

"Home. I know how to use the Nav now." She walked back down into the pyramid, leaving them all behind.

Queen's mouth couldn't close. "Huh? Oh… right."

"She left…"

Fox shook his head. "That girl marches to the beat of her own drum, doesn't she?"

"Like you're one to talk," Skull scoffed.

Queen mused, "But if we have her on our side… Wait, what about her Treasure!?"

They all ran back to the sarcophagus where Mona had sensed the Treasure earlier. Only now, it was ripped open, laying on its long-end with only empty black inside. Just as they all realized it, the pyramid shook.

Izuku flinched. "What? Another shadow!?"

"No, the Palace!" Mona shouted over the rumbling. "Since Futaba herself was the Treasure, now that she's gone, this whole place is going down! Shoot! This is bad! This place is going to collapse any second now!"

"What!?" Why didn't anyone warn him about this!?

Everyone started running as a group and, as the tremors got stronger and stronger, Izuku followed suit. Dark clouds of dust and rubble plumed behind him as he jumped over the edge, racing down the side of the pyramid as fast as he could. Legs pumping, lungs burning, coat flapping behind him, he caught up to the others, racing neck-to-neck with Joker. He couldn't stop running even if he wanted to; his momentum, the gravity, the fear, it all was pulling at him to run faster, jump further, even as the destruction nipped at their heels.

"It's catching up to us!" Fox yelled in between pants.

"Running here's a bitch!"

"Mona!" Panther screamed, "turn into a car already!"

"I know, I know!"

Fed up with his excuses, Panther snatched Mona by the scruff of his neck and threw him the rest of the way down, their friend transforming into his bus form moments from hitting the ground. But that didn't save the rest of them. Hot air scalded his back as the destruction finally caught up to them and sent them all flying.

Next thing Izuku knew, they were all inside the Mona bus, but even then they weren't save. Queen slammed on the accelerator as chunks of pyramid and data rained down upon the desert. Izuku clung for dear life, his body half on the floor as Queen's driving threatened to send him crashing into the door. The cascading rubble got closer and closer to hiding them until—

"Aah!"

Izuku fell into the wall opposite to LeBlanc shoulder first. Sharp pain lanced through his chest, spreading out and down his arm. He fell on his butt, only slightly surprised to see that they were back in the real world, with his friends scattered on the ground around him.

Ryuji groaned. "Hey… you guys still alive?"

"Barely," Izuku muttered.

"I thought I was gonna die in—" Ann realized her compromising position, held on Yusuke's lap. "HEY! Will you let go already!?" She elbowed him in the chest, sending him sprawling as she climbed to her feet.

Akira stretched out his hand to Izuku. "Need some help?"

"No, I got it." Ignoring his shoulder, he struggled to his feet.

Boss exited LeBlanc, the bell in the door ringing. He looked over all of them. "What was that sound? Are you all alright?"

Ann panicked, trying to come up with an excuse, but Ryuji had to open his mouth. "That reminds me, where's Futaba?"

"What about Futaba!?"

No one was saying anything, so Makoto thought of an excuse. "Ah, yes! We came all this way, so how about we enjoy some coffee?"

"Oh, that's a great idea!"

"I'm not thirsty though…" Yusuke protested.

Makoto marched over to him and punched him in the side. "Oh, I almost forgot! I have some business to take care of, so you guys go on ahead. Akira, Izuku, could you both help me?"

Izuku wanted to check on Futaba too. "Of course."

While the other three retreated into the café, Makoto, Akira, and Izuku hurried over to Boss' house. They found Futaba sitting in a ball outside, head against her knees, completely unresponsive. As Makoto panicked, he picked up Futaba the best he could while Akira called the doctor.

Takemi-sensei looked Futaba over. Izuku was relieved to hear that Futaba would be alright, even if she was unconscious right now. As Takemi-sensei left, he stopped her, face hot.

He'd heard tales about what the spider-doctor could do; hopefully she could ensure that his hurt shoulder wasn't anything serious.