Chapter 136 - The Perfect Trap

|Siege Engine Collision - 02:03:09|

It just over two hours, it would be the end of Japan, the broadcast concluded with said countdown, as if to mock the heroes and their efforts to the whole world. Any cities still housing civilians in the path of the Siege Engine were to be evacuated to avoid the crossfire yet to properly ensue. Those not working ground control were preparing to assault the flying fortress, a dark dreadnaught over the country. The earlier display of a now finalized Escalation Judgement had left an impact on the world, if it were to become a global threat, nowhere would be safe from its glare.

A video feed appeared, displaying All Might and Detective Tsukauchi as people ran around the room behind them, scrambling to grab their bearings. All Might wore a steely expression, mirroring his friend. Gathered to listen in on the briefing within the off-campus dormitory Troy, were Class 2A. All geared up and awaiting further instructions. To say the tension in the room could be cut with a knife would be an understatement.

~Now, much to out predictions, Kovik has started his operations early, and from the exact location the coordinates tell us, confirming it to be linked via a corresponding gate upon the Siege Engine~ Tsukauchi kept it brief, bringing up a quick display of both the exact course the Siege Engine would be taking. ~From this overview, the fortress originated from the Aomori Prefecture and is now on a straight flight to Kanto, specifically, Tokyo's Skytree~

~If the Siege Engine were to collide it is speculated NARA will begin to merge with the tower, effectively giving Kovik not only strengthening his broadcast frequency but the ability to turn the tower into a targeting proxy, thereby furthering the already dangerous scope of Escalation Judgement, if that happens, nowhere on our planet will be safe from its range~ The grave news was enough to choke the air out of the lungs of the students.

"That damn boss will be able to toss as many of those javelins as he wants," Katsuki glowered.

"And the damage they've caused to Jaku City alone was already intense," Shoto agreed, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek.

Tsukauchi then eyed Yuki and Izuku. ~To gain the best possible advantage with the most minimal risk to our limited heroes. Aksis and Deku will be the first to make contact on the fortress, from there, once an LZ has been secured, yourselves and Pros will be dropped in. Any questions? If so, keep this brief, time is our most valued asset right now~

Hagakure waved her glove. "What if the gate separates them or it's moved?" A valid point.

"I'm still not completely on board with this, just screams 'bad news'," Kirishima frowned worryingly. Sending their friends in headfirst felt wrong.

~This is why we discussed the issue with Young Azuru and Young Akio first, as he will be hiding within their shadow in the likelihood of a trap~ All Might assured them, the brunette in question raising a thumb. ~There's not much time to say what hasn't already been said, but... all of you have grown tremendously, be it through your cooperation, your skills, or your experiences. I believe in you, in all of you~ Despite the harrowing situation, All Might's words of encouragement brought a wave of eased smiles from most of the class.

~You have your orders, now, move out!~ Tsukauchi declared, looking down at a few notes in his hand. ~We'll keep in constant contact, the support studio have developed these new communicators to break through any interference you may encounter~ He explained as some held up the tiny device no bigger than a fingernail as they placed them into one ear. ~They'll allow us to constantly track your movements so we may map out the interior of the Siege Engine and better navigate to the core objective points~

~There's not much more to say that All Might hasn't already, good luck~ The detective looked firm but it was clear he meant what he said. Without a second to waste, everyone grabbed whatever extra tools came with their costumes and headed for the doors.

"You better keep the way open, Nerd," Katsuki grumbled next to Izuku and Yuki, adjusting his gauntlets before striking them with a toothy grin and burning glare. "I'll be the one to blast through that bastard's whole army, got it?"

Izuku smiled slightly, "Right, we'll do our part for everyone," If not, then there truly wasn't a way out this time. Clicking his new Mid-Gauntlet/Air Force glove hybrid in place, he turned to Yuki as she held her mask just above her eyes, giving him a quick wink before it slipped away, and her hands patted his and Katsuki's shoulder.

"Come on, save the aggression for Kovik, Dumb-Dumb," She teased.

"Everyone, quickly now, there is no time to be standing around!" Iida, already at the doors, waved his hand down sharply like a machine, filing everyone out of the building.

"Dude, you're the last one inside," Kaminari stated, and it was true, Iida was the only one standing at the doorway now.

"I could've sworn I had learned to expect this!" Iida clenched his fist, trembling at his lack of self awareness again.

"Happens to the best of us, Rep," Akio reassured then gave a salute, pecking Kyoka on her cheek unexpectedly. "Just for luck, peace!" With a shift of darkness, he seeped away into Yuki's shadow, thumb risen out before it slowly sank into the abyss.

"Did he just make a-" Sero began.

"Yes, yes he did," Kyoka rolled her eyes, running a thumb over her right cheek gingerly, smirking slightly. "Dork."

"The portal will be active shortly," Tekres announced to the class, mulling over his console as stray sparks gathered at the base of the archway and webbed across the apparatus with a brief flicker of white code and lilac ether. The completed structure was roughly five meters tall and four meters wide. A circular archway with plating on the exterior stretched over a flat, disc platform. Two Eliksni generators injecting the energy flow through the contraption, SIVA flowing through several pieces to keep it stable while Tekres entered the coordinates.

Standing just at the lip of the disc, Yuki and Izuku stood idly by, they would be the first through, then, there would be no turning back, no second chances. Izuku felt anxious, not for the portal potentially spitting them out into a trap, or the battles ahead, rather, he couldn't peel his eyes off the amazing girl next to him. Her face was hidden still by her mask, gaze unblinking as various noises rumbled beneath their feet into the heart of the gateway.

"It's almost over..." Yuki made his trance break, hearing her let out a soft chuckle, lowering her head slightly. "I can't even begin to imagine what that would feel like, I still can't believe this is it, the final battle, I... I never thought there would be an ending,"

"Yuki..." He tried to say but she held his wrist with just two fingers, tugging his glove.

"But, the two of us..." She lifted her mask for a moment, smiling with gratitude. "Thank you for becoming my best friend that day, thank you for always supporting me, accepting me, and being in my life," "...let's both try to survive."

His hand moved up to catch her fingers, pulling them into a hold as Izuku smiled, sharing a brief kiss, that warmth once again flooding through his body. "Right," As he turned back, the visages of OFA appeared at his back, with Shimura cooing. "Please don't..." Yuki raised a brow at him, seeing his cheeks flush a little, and then blushed slightly herself, gigging that matched the astral woman's.

"That was so cute, ah, young love..." Shimura joked, arms crossed. "But in all seriousness, time to put all that hard work to the real test, you ready, Izuku?"

"Yeah," He nodded.

Banjo roughly slapped the greenette's back. "Ain't no time to get cold feet, kid! Ya got our powers, use 'em right and we'll support ya!"

"Keep a level head, stick to the plan, do so, and victory will be ours," En nodded, kneeling to Izuku's right.

Shinomori folded his arms, staring at the portal, then to Yuki. "You have your partner with you, rely on her where Danger Sense may lack, put forward as much effort to do the same for her and Siva," He instructed, nodding his head to Izuku.

The third user, Fa Jin's original holder, kept his eyes closed in deep thought. "There's much improvement to be made, but... often combat is the best teacher when your life is on the line, don't needlessly exert yourself."

"Hey, Ninth," A hand grabbed his right shoulder, belonging to the Second User, he stared straight at the light beginning to form within the circumference of the gateway. "Have faith." It was all he offered as another hand pressed to his free shoulder, another hand against Yuki's but she couldn't see nor feel it, lowering her mask in preparation.

"Izuku, you've grown since you first inherited One For All from Toshinori, your strength is now your own, what you do with it, how you act with it, that is solely in your hands, the future you seek for an imperfect world like ours must be met with an equally strong will," Yoichi explained, the gateway burning to life as a thin veil of purplish-white light. "My brother's quirk, alongside NARA, seek to uproot that future, what will you do about it?"

Izuku's gaze hardened, stepping forward with Yuki at the same time, their hands remained joined. His resolve didn't falter for a second, discharging emerald bolts from his repair costume, a blue cap fluttering behind him. "I will take back our lives, and ensure something as disastrous as this never happens again, no matter what I will defeat Tomura Shigaraki!"

Yoichi smiled, letting their shoulders go as the visages started to fade again. "Then we have nothing to fear, you were the right choice through and through."

With two flashes, the teen vanished without a trace.

An Eliksni warp pad bubbled to life, sparking fiercely as Izuku and Yuki stumbled through, their feet nearly tripping on the uneven platform of the massive flatland of a deck facing the titanic fortress ahead of them, the wind at their backs as the low rumbling of the Siege Engine moved forward through the darkened skies.

The Siege Engine... | I never thought it would become so gigantic | Kovik is a monster, but he has ambition...

"Tsk, that's the only compliment he gets," Yuki brushed off, letting go of Izuku's hand. "This is bad..."

"Yuki, the portal!" Alarmed by Izuku's gasp, she spun around and found that the warp pad had powered down entirely, cutting off their connection to their friends.

~The fact you two came alone is already beyond my expectations!~ A resounding voice echoed across the fortress, Kovik announcing his presence to them in the form of a projection of his body, floating above them both. ~Colour me impressed you eagerly sent yourselves to an early grave, I had thought you'd use the magic user's spell 'Gateway' to bring yourselves to me, instead, that gamble with Scourge's scheming paid off~

"So it was a trap to lure us in... typical," Yuki huffed, eyes narrowed up at the False Kell.

Kovik laughed briefly, motioning toward them. ~How poetic, I spent all my time chasing after SIVA, now, I no longer need it, and it comes running back to me. A twist of fate I suppose, but that's all you and I have ever been, Yuki. A Splicer and a Thief, both in pursuit of a future for their races. Yours for peace and hope. Mine to reclaim what was lost centuries ago~ He shook his head. ~I will unite the fractured Houses, take back the Great Machine, and then, our homeworld~

"And you'll do all that by sacrificing the lives of millions across both worlds!" Yuki growled, body burning with SIVA. "I won't let that happen!"

"Heads up!" Akio appeared, swatting a protrusion of metal with his leg to block an arm as it was severed inches from Yuki's chest. It seeped away, flowing back toward Kovik as Infernal crawled out from the shadows of the deck, grinning giddily as his arm immediately regrew. "Guess our hand's been seen, lovely..."

"Hehehehe, you can't hide from me, not when I've gotten so much more powerful than you!" Infernal cooed, scratching his cheek, digging into his flesh as embers puffed out from the wound. "I saw you the second you arrived, you were going to use a portal to escape, weren't you?" The three didn't say a word, but their souls were clear as day. A toothy grin formed, Infernal cackling. "Hahaha, you're not as sharp without Viral, just another aging human corpse clinging to a soul."

~Have you ever wondered why the other nations have not come to your aid aside from that embarrassment Star and Stripe? The Day of Red Glare and the weeks that followed have plunged Japan into turmoil, the resulting ripples have reached the farthest corners of the world, villain activity has risen, akin to something called the 'Great Depression' many years ago, or the first surge of Quirks~ Kovik elaborated as the ripples around him stabilized.

~Collapsing economies, soaring unemployment due to many branches of Japanese companies going bankrupt, and societal chaos among the rise of villains will choke the world. They will cling to whatever strength they have, cutting off Japan as a lost cause, Ms. Star's death was just a tipping point in that design~ The Splicer motioned to the world afar, envisioning the hellfire engulfing it all. ~The world will be in turmoil, fearing annihilation under Escalation Judgement's global range, the foothold will be made for the new Demon Lord to rise among the ash and rubble, as for me? I will do the same, bringing NARA to my people, offering them... Salvation

The sheer absurdity in Kovik's tone made Izuku's blood boil, they had an idea Escalation Judgement's worldwide range was his ultimate goal but this was beyond insane. Yuki clenched her fists, waiting for the right moment to act, but she needed to see his whole hand first. Akio kept his composure, glowering at Infernal who sent them a mocking grin.

"Like Yuki said, we won't let it come to that!" Izuku's body charged up, "One For All, Full Cowling, Fifty Percent!" There wasn't a reason to withhold saying it any longer.

Kovik lowered his arms, ~You are annoyingly stubborn even now? Obviously you would resist despite knowing what has befallen my people... so, let's see... how you crawl out from THIS!His body flashed red, and several distortions rocketed the air.

The rifts stretched like bloodied gashes, seeping through, dozens of Devil Splicers, Dregs, Vandal, and Captains alike pulled themselves free from the rifts. Dabi stepped forward with an aloof stare as Infernal joined him once more. From larger scars, the ungodly sight familiar to Izuku came into view. Copies of Selas the Augmented landed, drawing her dragon maw arm forward. Freksos the Drifter sat atop her modified pike, slamming the front of it. Zarlik swung his censer into the ground, spewing dark crimson flames with a howl.

But behind the projection of Kovik was a nightmare the likes of which no one had ever seen before. It slithered to the vanguard, a thick carbon black hide brimming with red nodes growing between plates with wires spewing through the metal flesh. It rose into two infused torsos, the back wielding a shrapnel launcher, the front half sweeping the air with its scorch cannon arm, a large pyramid jutting between their backs, forming a grotesque abomination. It was Dren and Vosik, transformed into a creature straight from hell as it let out an awful shrill.

Various still-human villains emerged among the crowd, all spared the horrible transformation Kovik injected onto the others. Now, it was three against the combined might of the Devil Splicers and Paranormal Liberation Front.

~Whatever ploy you had up your sleeves has been wasted~ Kovik ushered with his arms wide at the display. ~It's already far too late!~

The wind was hot against their bodies, but neither looked shocked and surprised anymore. Kovik leered at them, they hadn't even tried to escape yet. Kovik made a low hum when the girl's head lifted, eyes turned a deep shade of blue. "You know, I learned something from Siva's memories of you, of how you always used underhanded tricks to lure your enemies in, even now, it's the one trait that's stuck with you into the Fallen you are,"

"But another trait, the thing you hate the most..." Behind the girl's head, a dark, swirling mass of blackish-purple mist took form.

This forced Kovik to jolt his head upright, "When did they gain control over Kurogiri's quirk? Hrm, no matter, I suppose now would be the best chance to remove him from-"

"...is when the enemy refuses to give up, despite the hardships and turmoil you helped create, because you know that means others will follow, and their strength will grow to surpass yours!" Yuki barked as several of Kurogiri's portals expanded, a teen with combed blonde hair staring through the portal behind Yuki. From the other rifts, the Pros pulled themselves forward, landing on deck to face against the horde of Splicers and villains. "So if Japan can lead the way forward, the world will surely follow our path!"

"That's why we'll defeat you, right here and now!" Izuku finished for her, the trio no longer alone, standing with the heroes at their backs.

At the Central Hospital, days before the plan was set into motion. Aizawa and Vlad King brought with them one of their students to see Kurogiri. On the opposite side of the glass, they stared back at the slumbering villain. "This is a request from All Might and the others," Aizawa answered the teen's burning questions clear in his eyes.

"This is the most important role in this fight, can you do this?" Vlad addressed his own student who stared back impassively. "Monoma, The Phantom Thief?"

"Are you seriously asking me to proficiently use a person's quirk in a mere few days? Is this a joke?" He dropped into his sardonic act, waving his hands at the teachers at the absurd request.

"I apologize," Aizawa replied dryly, watching his former friend slumber like he truly was dead again. "My voice and Akame's couldn't reach him, besides, I don't even know if he's Kurogiri or Shirakumo anymore..." Then there was the other issue. "And I am almost incapable of using Eraser anymore with just one eye, in the next war, I will be unable to do anything."

Hearing this made Monoma sigh, smiling by force as he rubbed his neck. It was absurd to him that a great teacher like Aizawa was beating himself down this much consider how effective his quirk was. "I heard that during the Jaku City Incident... if it weren't for Eraserhead, we would've faced utter and complete destruction," He held his head upward, eyes closed at awful memories. "You know what I've been told my whole life? 'You can't become a hero with that quirk', 'That's the quirk of a side character'," He stared lazily ahead.

But Vlad placed an arm around his shoulders, easing his student's woes. "Monoma, this plan would've never worked without everyone's help. There is no such thing as a side character, you never were, and never will be," His words struck home for Monoma, a real small smile breaking his eccentric façade.

"You are the protagonist."

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Monoma let out the loudest, most heartfelt laughter imaginable, summoning every hero on the Raid team together, darkness leaking from his hands. His eyes and Yuki's locked momentarily, the bluette giving him a thankful nod that he smirked wider at, continuing to pour heroes into the fray.

Then suddenly, a wave of blue flames protruded from the villain's side, Dabi lunging forward with a manic grin. "I didn't think I'd meet you hear, dear father!" His scorching blue flames burned away at his right arm, swinging it wide to gather momentum. "Shall I start with your allies' cremation!?"

*BWOOM-SHNK!*

The great wall of hellfire collided with a massive jagged wall of white and blue ice, shadowing a good majority of the Siege Engine as it collapsed from the impact. "Haha!" Dabi grinned ear to ear, watching the elements collapse around him, from another large vortex, Class 2A arrived with frost gathered around one of them.

"As if I'd let you! You stupid big brother!" Shoto declared, sailing through the air.

"SHOTOOOO!" Dabi cried out with joy, levelling his hand again. "Let's pick up where we left off, you don't mind Infernal sticking around, right!?" He asked, several orbs of fire surrounding his burnt skin.

"Not at all, right, Viral!?" At Shoto's call, two shadows dove above the whole battle ready to explode.

Akio swung himself horizontally, bringing his right arm down as the wind caught in his coat and hair, his Nightmare mark glowing a deep purple. "You're staying in this realm?" The memory relapsed in his head.

Scourge, the gothic Nightmare with an affinity for ailments stumped both Velk and Akio at his arrival to UA's front door, of course, several stood guard, Hana included, as the trio spoke amongst themselves. He gave a slight tilt of his head, adjusting his hat with his tail. "I was considering moving on from this realm after handing over my package to your allies, but now... well, more my Host wishes to patrol this world longer, I do not mind, it has its charms..."

"That's not like you to be so lax, what changed?" Velk asked in genuine curiosity, watching her old friend turn to look up at the sky.

"I was a coward, Harrow's sway over me was beyond my capabilities, I feared we would die, so I allowed him to commit many terrible things to this world, and now, Viral's existence is gone, the memory of him left to us," He didn't hide his feelings behind pretty words, even if it did hurt Viral's Host. "To that end, I cannot feel at ease myself until the last of Harrow's sins are wiped out, leaving only one on that list,"

"Infernal," Akio said it with bile on his tongue.

Now, Scourge stared back at them, taking off his hat to place over his heart. "Will you allow us to accompany you on this battle, for old times' sake?"

Velk and Akio turned to look at one another, silently gauging the choice offered to them.

Scourge warped from Akio's back, his left arm running flush against Akio's right. Together, a larger scarlet glyph manifested with a double-layered triangle in the center. "GATEWAY - CORRIDORS!" The double-layered ring expanded twice over the sky above the armies, and beneath the feet of several groups, including the Barons defeated by Izuku, wide, triangular rifts pulled them down before they had a chance to evade.

Dabi kept himself aloft with flames, rocketing toward the pair of Nightmares only to grunt as an ice-cold boot struck his jaw. Velk flipped around, tail curled back as white mist spewed from the mummified edge. "Release - Clear White Sky!" A striking burst of ice severed his arms, keeping his soul secure but the force of the cold front sent him flying through the gateway below, Shoto, and several others falling through after the patchwork villain. The two Nightmares and Akio falling with them, the latter giving a two-finger salute to his allies as he held the portals open long enough to suck away a massive majority of Kovik's forces.

"HAHAHA, get a load of this!" Monoma ridiculed the now severely depleted forces for the villains, though the Devil Splicers still maintained their abomination of Dren and Vosik, as well as a handful of villains and many faux Splicers.

~Fatgum! Capture anyone the gates missed, you're in command!~ All Might's voice broke through the chaos via the comms.

"Rodger that!" The BMI Hero confirmed, grinning next to Yuki who was armoured up to around fifty percent herself, then his eyes were drawn down to Izuku. "'That's why we'll defeat you, right here and now', that's a helluva bluff, kid!"

"Thank you! But it remains true for us!" Izuku nodded, watching the deck of the Siege Engine begin to shift around to repair the damages. "We have an opening now!"

~Young Monoma, regroup with Aizawa!~ All Might ordered.

"On it!" He did so, shutting the last portal behind him.

~The separation was successful, the real mission begins now!~ The ex-Pro declared, waving his hand from the command post many miles away, watching their own feeds and the live feed from Kovik himself. ~Phase Two begins now!~

~Wipe Them Out~ With three words from Kovik, the dam broke.

"EVERYONE... SCATTER!" Endeavor announced as the whole heroes' side exploded across the deck, the Splicers howling in return with Drosik (Dren and Vosik) releasing another furious cry as it slithered and smashed through many faux Fallen, sending explosive payloads into the sky.

Various groups of Pros and Students took to flanking around the massive creature that seemed hellbent on keeping all those from advancing at bay. What Drosik didn't account for was the blue blur sailing straight toward it. "SIVA, Perfected, One-Hundred Percent!" Fully clothed in a suit of armour akin to Aksis, Yuki used her enhanced perception to avoid the trajectory of the bombs left by Drosik, seeing small red shields manifest around the gigantic Splicer, accurately predicting where and when attacks would fly from any given direction. "Ranged attacks won't work, then fine!"

Tearing scrap from the ground, Blackbird formed on Yuki's body, and she boosted between the Vosik half's claws, craning back her right arm as it blurred under a blue swarm, "Max Density, Ultimate Move-!" She brought her fist forward, smashing through a thick barrier and straight across Vosik's cheekbone, seeing the mask snap and bend from the sheer force. "-Legend of Chelchis!"

With a sonic boom and a screech of metal, the resounding strike threw the monster onto its back, crushing Dren with a wail, unfortunately, the tail threshed, swatting Yuki's own barrier in half as she slid across the ground, watching it slither back, swiping its claws while firing energy blasts from both sides. In seconds, the massive amount of damage done to Drosik was repaired, even while grinding the Dren half across the ground.

"Aksis, come on!" Further down the deck, sitting by a ventilation duct, she spotted Izuku and Kyoka waving her over, the latter using her Heartbeat Wall to disorientate the Splicers trying to surround them.

Pressing her hands into the ground, Yuki took a breath, then, with a back blast, she propelled herself across the battleground as more explosives blew holes open around her. Quirks and plasma flying around her, forcing her to erect two barriers at her sides as she leapt over the ever-changing terrain.

"Hey, Deku!" Kyoka jabbed his side, holding out her right arm while using the left to point worryingly up at the vent, the same that was starting to fall toward the ground again. Kovik was starting to cut off their entry into the Siege Engine. "Hold it open, quick!"

"On it!" He grabbed the lip of the vent, slamming his feet down as the ground started to bend as well as where he gripped the vent entryway, the metal groaning in protest as it struggled to seal itself. He ground his teeth, feeling his muscles tighten as a result of the applied pressure, using Blackwhip to push his back straighter.

Yuki wasn't far, seeing the likes of Valstrax zip through a gap in the ground, the gash held open by Jura's pillars while others flooded inside at the last second. Others did the same, taking advantage of the many closing wounds in the dreadnaught to infiltrate. Unfortunately, Yuki's entry was starting to close and Drosik was sweeping through the heroes, knocking them aside to intercept, scorch cannon augment and shrapnel launcher roaring to life in front of her.

The sight of which only made her velocity increase, hopping once to glide over the hazardous terrain ripped away by more destruction. Heroes rushed in, binding and blocking many of Drosik's attacks for the bluette to move without restraint. Yuki bent her body forward, feeling the vibrations above her connect to another two bombs as they exploded, throwing her forward into a roll. She leapt up onto the thick serpent body of Drosik's, sliding down and off the pronged tail that slammed, attempting to crush her.

It doubled back around, levelling the shotgun to her back, but again, it was forced to erect another barrier, tanking to snap kicks from Kirishima and another Pro. "Keep going!" The redhead cried out, thrown aside by the forcefield's shockwave.

"Hyrah!" She screamed, blasting the air behind her with two continuous streams of plasma.

With the last burst of speed, Yuki threw herself onto her stomach, sliding forward to tackle Kyoka and Izuku through the ventilation duct before it snapped shut on them both. The three yelled in fright as their bodies were sent flying in multiple directions at a high velocity in the dark, small gaps of light not providing much view given their tumbling.

Eventually, the vent spat them out above a wide, hexagonal corridor that widened into what appeared to be a loading bay, judging by the Skiffs left dormant around them. The three groaned from the landing, pulling themselves off each other. They weren't alone in that discomfort, as another shaft spat out Ochaco, Tsu, and Katsuki. The latter of which was dogpiled by the girls. "Get off of me!" He growled, feeling his back pop as they did. "Tch, where the hell are we now?"

"It looks like a loading bay, see?" Izuku pointed to the exterior wall where large gaps between pillars displayed the outside world. "Kovik caught on quickly to what we were doing, if Kyoka hadn't pointed out the vent closing you might not have made it, Yuki,"

"That thing..." Yuki's mind was elsewhere for a moment, then shook her head. "Right, thanks you two," They nodded back at her as she opened a display of the location, already results were flooding in. Others were mapping out areas of the Siege Engine bit by bit. "So far, seems most teams are inside, we should do the same, our objective is that dome at the top of the facility, that's where Kovik should be,"

"And that hands freak," Katsuki murmured.

"Looks like we're not alone either," Tsu announced, pointing to the outside wall where flames died down at Endeavor's feet, Hawks landing just as swiftly with a wave.

"Looks like ya made it, good, that makes things less complicated," Hawks announced. "Everyone's on-route, we should get moving."

"We just said that, you two are late!" Katsuki barked in annoyance.

"What can I say? Gotta love the scenic route," The Number Two hero grinned, flexing his wings a bit.

|Incoming|

Hearing Siva's alert, the group turned to a few airlock doors that sprang open, revealing a number of Fallen Splicers in their way. "Looks like it won't be that easy,"

"That's good," Izuku replied, stepping forward with Yuki and Katsuki both displaying their quirks to the Fallen, sparks dancing around the greenette. "We'll exhaust Kovik's reserves for the rest, and carve through to him directly."

"Mm, well said, Deku," Endeavor brought his arm up, blasting a balcony in a sea of flames to scorching the Vandals hidden from view, raining embers down between the two forces. "Now, move!"

"RIGHT!" The students yelled, taking advantage of the chaos to close the gap between them and the Fallen.

To Be Continued...

The big finale begins with a bang! Anyone else get Endgame vibes from the hero entry? There's a bunch to plot out after this point, this and the final battle are probably the easiest to map out, actually getting there makes my head hurt. Thought I should point out the countdown clock will be jumping around at times based on the events happening all at once. I hope you enjoyed, I appreciate the support as always; seeya in the next chapter, Heroes!

Next Chapter Intermission: Imperfect Masquerade

Traversing the depths of the Siege Engine, Izuku's team comes across a most unexpected discovery. The question is; what choice should be made?