Hello, everyone. I know last weeks' chapter was ultimately somewhat uneventful, but this chapter should hopefully make up for it. This story so far has been allowing me a lot of practice in planning out and writing action scenes, which for the longest time has not been my strong point. Hopefully you can all take the time to leave a review and let me know how it turned out, if the action itself was easy to follow and enjoyable, above all else.
So yeah, this chapter, even more so than a lot of the previous ones, had a lot of planning put into it in order to mix events up a touch from canon in order to make things a little less predictable and more interesting. Hopefully you'll all enjoy it. If so, please, please, PLEASE take the time out of your busy day to write up a review and let me know your thoughts and feelings on it, because I really do want feedback on how this story is coming along for you all.
My Hero Academia is the property of Kohei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, and the alterations from canon events that occur as a result of their existence in this universe.
Chapter 11
Fight for Survival
(Борьба за Выживание)
Wednesday had been starting off on a weird note for Tunguska. What he had thought to be the regular weekly curriculum had gotten turned around, and he had thus far spent the day trying to get his bearings straight as to what class he was going to be giving one of his Quirk History lectures to. Thankfully that issue had been resolved soon enough, and now, with the afternoon rolling on, he found himself absentmindedly wandering the Yuuei halls, with nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company.
Truth be told, it wasn't the minor hiccup in his working curriculum that had been weighing on him the most. Rather, as always, his true focus was forever on his son. It had been two whole days since Nikolay had made the single greatest change in his whole life direction, and thus far, it seemed he had been sticking to it. However, after looking over what Class 1-A was supposed to be doing today, namely going to a whole other facility on the Yuuei grounds to conduct more elaborate rescue trials, Oleg couldn't help but feel his paternal sense of worry come back with renewed vigor.
Seeing that his sons' positive attitude adjustment had carried over through regular classroom activities and daily life had been all well and good, but today was to be the first real test to see just how strong his new dedication would really be. It was like Aizawa had consistently been telling him: there is a world of difference between a Heroes' attitude in times of peace, and in times of high stress. This was where Nikolays' resolve was going to matter most, now. Right now, Tunguska could only think of how much he wished he were there right now.
An instinctive glance through the window to the door of Recovery Girls' office made Tunguska stop dead mid-stride and back up to find the unmistakable blonde form of Toshinori Yagi inside. His curiosity drove him to step inside and check in, only to earn a look of annoyance from the elderly nurse, while Toshinori looked far more focused on something else, as he was currently on the phone.
"For goodness' sakes, Tunguska, would it be too much for you to knock?" Recovery Girl reprimanded the large Russian, who gave the meekest of apologies before stepping closer so that Toshinori would notice his presence. The frail middle-aged man finally hung up the phone, a contemplative sigh escaping his mouth.
"Toshinori-san, what are you doing here? I looked over the curriculum papers for the week. Aren't you supposed to be accompanying Aizawa-san and…er, Thirteen-san over at the USJ?" Tunguska wasted no time asking, causing Toshinori to groan in embarrassment as he sat on a nearby stool. "Yes, that was the plan. Unfortunately, I allowed myself to get sidetracked by a number of emergencies that required my direct involvement on the way over here, and I…overdid it a bit. I've only got about ten minutes worth of power left in me now for today."
Tunguska almost wanted to let out a similar groan of frustration as Recovery Girl did at that moment. For as admirable as Toshinoris' dedication to his ideals as a Hero were, the man really seemed to lack a sense of pacing himself, and now he was in the most easily avoidable bind. However, as he prepared to scold his fellow veteran Hero, Tunguska realized something; something that spending so much time around All Might had helped him to clue in on.
The serious air hanging over Toshinoris' head, or rather, the serious look on his gaunt face clearly wasn't on the matter at hand. He looked to be miles away in his own head, focusing on something much different, but no less serious. Seeing that look, once again sparked Tunguskas' morbid curiosity. "What's on your mind, Toshinori-san? Is this something to do with why you were on the phone?" To this, Toshinori solemnly nodded.
"I've been trying to contact either Aizawa-san or Thirteen-san over at the USJ, just to let them know of my considerable delay, and see if we could perhaps formulate a plan where I could still appear, at least at the end of the school day, so the students wouldn't wonder where I had been. For a moment I'd even considered relinquishing my teaching position here at Yuuei, as recompense for my reckless behavior today."
Tunguska couldn't help but let out the beginnings of a bemused chuckle, finding this woeful train of thought a touch too overdramatic, even for the identity holder of All Might. "But the strange thing is that I've been trying to reach either one of them for the last several minutes, but no one is answering." Tunguskas' amusement had now vanished, and he could understand his fellows' concern much better now, but he wasn't about to let his earlier paternal worries start sending him off the rails with hypothetical scenarios that probably weren't even happening.
"Do you think it's at all possible that, with the way the USJ is set up and supposed to run, they've simply been too preoccupied with making sure the trials go smoothly, to answer back?" The theory made perfect sense in his head, but Toshinori still looked considerably troubled. "I had considered that at first, but I know Aizawa-san and Thirteen-san too well. However busy things would be over there, they wouldn't just not answer, period."
In that moment, Toshinori rose from his seat, and in a sudden flash of light and smoke, transformed into the much more familiar form of All Might, albeit looking considerably unnatural in a yellow blazer. "Yes, I will be there at USJ! Something is off, and they and the children may need me!" Tunguska honestly could not bring himself to talk All might down, now that the remote possibility of something going wrong had entered his mind. And besides, the man didn't become the Top Pro Hero in the world by not having a good sense for these kinds of things. If there was any persons' judgment he was willing to trust, especially if his sons' safety was potentially involved, it was All Mights' "In that case, at least let me come with you. There's no telling what, if anything, we might run into."
"Now hold your horses, you two!" The two large men instantly stopped in their tracks at the sound of Headmaster Nezus' voice, standing confidently in the office doorway, completely ignorant to Recovery Girl mumbling to herself about nobody knocking.
"Headmaster Nezu, what brings you down here?" Tunguska instinctively asked, his anxiety replaced with visible courtesy, while All Might knelt down to his level. "I see your fur is looking especially neat today," he noted in an awkward compliment. Nezu was nowhere as visibly expressive as his human counterparts, but he still had a way of making it perfectly clear what his mood was. It was simply a good thing All Mights' compliment had left him as jovial as he always was.
"Oh, it's the keratin. Humans simply aren't capable of achieving this level of luster. However, grooming is not why I came down here, gentlemen. I understood All Might did not show up to school on time today, and upon hearing he was waylaid here, I felt it was best to speak my piece on the whole matter. Take a look at this, if you will." With that, Nezu pulled out a tablet, upon which was projected a series of news headlines, all depicting All Might from just that morning.
"Even after your arrival, there are still droves of evildoers in this town, but that you would simply rush off on reflex to wherever you hear there's danger is so like you, All Might-san. You really haven't changed at all since the old days." All Might suddenly became enveloped in the same smoke from earlier, reverting back to Toshinori Yagi as it cleared.
"These are the effects of your wounds and complications; the limit of your Heroics as of this moment. That is the entire reason why you're raising up a successor for One For All, while following your adherence to the idea of being the 'Symbol of Peace', is it not? You simply cannot keep pushing the envelope of your luck like this, All Might-san! As long as society at large remains unenlightened about either of your predicaments, then the only place you can continue your work is exactly the place I recommended to you: as a teacher here! Isn't it all right to you, that you can just allow yourself to recuperate here a bit more from now on?"
Toshinori visibly bowed his head in shame, as Nezu struggled to climb up onto a nearby couch, with several tea cups and a thermos set out on the table already, as though just waiting for the headmasters' arrival. All the while, Tunguska felt torn as to who was really in the right in this discussion. "Headmaster Nezu, if I may; it's not that easy for us Heroes to simply ignore it when people are in need of our help. It's practically in our DNA to step in where we're needed, even if it may work against our current circumstances. Yes, it was reckless on All Mights' part, but if his time as the Symbol of Peace is as limited as we understand it is, then it only makes sense he would want to try and leave as much of a positive impact out there on the streets as possible before his time wielding One For All is officially over."
Toshinori looked up with visible appreciation for Tunguskas' support, while Nezu simply looked unconvinced. "Well, by your logic, Tunguska-san, it sounds like you would be out there day and night trying to save people, even now, instead of standing here discussing it with me. You're simply being here, and by extension, respecting your recently acquired role as a fellow educator, ultimately prove my point. You at least seem to understand and appreciate the limitations you are currently facing as a man still capable of becoming a Pro Hero again. However, until you eventually get registered and signed with a Hero Agency, at least you seem to possess the common sense to know your services are best applied here."
Tunguska couldn't help but feel embarrassed his argument in All Mights' favor had been shot down so thoroughly and quickly, and soon found himself kneeling down right beside the man himself, unable to come up with a better retort. Figuring they weren't going to try and argue, Nezu proceeded to make the three of them some tea, as he always did wherever he went. "You see, All Might-san? You may have been the one to recommend and recruit Tunguska-san to our noble cause, and yet he is already proving to follow our intended example much better. The two of you are virtually two sides of the same coin, so there really should be no reason you can't simply let your habits sit on the sidelines, and more fully accept your new role of responsibility like he has. Besides, there are already dozens and dozens of other Pro Heroes patrolling this city, you can surely trust them to take some of the weight off your shoulders, surely."
Tunguska and Toshinori shared respective knowing glances, unwilling to let Nezus' soft-spoken reprimand make them forget just what was still weighing heaviest on their minds. "It is just as you say, Headmaster. That's exactly why we've already made preparations to head over to USJ ourselves." At Toshinoris' admission of their plan, Nezu simply continued on with his tea brewing, as though none of it had sunken in. Of course, both men knew the bipedal mouse that was their boss far better than that.
"Yes, but if you were to do that, either of you, it would only cause further trouble. Tunguska, you and Aizawa-san are already on shaky enough ground as individuals, and I really believe you showing up unannounced in the middle of his class' rescue trial will only serve to widen the gap of understanding between you two. This school doesn't need unnecessary hostilities between its educators on top of everything else. And besides, with your sons' recent emotional breakthrough, I can't imagine you popping in to keep an eye on him at every possible opportunity would do much good for his self-confidence. You must believe, yourself; that Bezpalov-san is going through all the necessary steps to make sure he is good and ready to become a Hero when the time is right. You simply need to learn when to take a step back and let the boy experience things on his own."
Tunguska bowed his head in immense thought at what Nezu was saying, for he knew the headmaster was absolutely right. He was currently torn between his desires as a Hero instructor and as a father, and he needed to find that balance in a way that wouldn't sabotage either himself or Nikolay. The last thing he wanted was to overstep his boundaries and risk alienating himself from his son again. As he contemplated this, Nezu then turned to address Toshinori likewise.
"And on the subject of you going to USJ now, All Might-san; I believe doing so would simply put you in yet another bind where you would have to return soon thereafter anyway, correct? With all the work you put in on your way here, I cannot imagine you have much time left for today to be in your top form. Please, why don't the two of you just stay here for now, let your fellow educators and the students do what needs to be done for their own development and benefit, and I'll ply you both with my humble educational theories while you take in some sustenance."
Tunguska and Toshinori both, gave worried yet knowing glances once again; knowing that if they let the headmaster get started, he would not stop. It was so difficult to try and figure out just what was the right course of action to take. It was always possible they may have been worrying over nothing. But it simply made no sense that nobody on the other end was answering. At least, that was as far as Tunguska was aware of the situation. What worried Toshinori, yet he simply had not had the chance to elaborate on it with his fellow Hero, was that his calls to USJ simply weren't connecting, period.
"IS EVERYBODY STILL HERE?! CAN YOU CONFIRM?!" Tenya shouted with the utmost urgency as the black haze had finally dissipated. From what he and his fellow classmates could tell, they and Thirteen had just been teleported from the perch overlooking the central plaza of USJ, to somewhere just near the entrance. However, the black haze had begun to recollect into the humanoid shape that had just attacked them, proving they were still far from safe. And worst yet, he could already tell that not everyone was accounted for, remembering their assailants' recent threat of having them be scattered.
"N-no! There's no sign of Deku-kun, Asui-san, Yaoyorozu-san or Jirou-san!" Ochako immediately realized, unable to hide the shaking in her voice, spurring the rest of the students to start looking around to confirm the dreaded truth. "Yeah, I don't see Ojiro, Aoyama, Hagakure, Kouda, Fumikage, Todoroki, Kaminari, Mineta, Bakugo, or—"Kirishima? Kolya-kun?!" A very panicked Mina had swiftly interrupted Rikidos' report, as she was frantically looking around for a sign of either of the boys, only to find none.
"We're scattered and in disarray, but we're all still within the park limits." Thirteen mainly said in realization to themselves, while all the students felt a chilling foreboding creep into their bodies at this ugly truth. With all those Villains they had seen scattering across USJ, and now with several of their classmates scattered to god-only-knew-where within the park, there was no telling the odds they were potentially facing alone.
"What are we all just standing here for?! Our friends need our help! They could be somewhere out there hurt, or worse! W-we need to go back, we need to find and help them!" Mina was borderline frantic as she tried to rally the rest of the students to do the same, but they were all stuck where they were, clearly too intimidated by just what they were up against. "Mina-chan, we don't know what kind of Villains we could run into out there. And even if we did, we'd have no way of knowing just where in the park they've been warped to." Ochako tried to reason with the pink girl, even though her face did nothing to hide the fact that she was just as scared, if not even more so.
"Uraraka-san is right, Ashido-san. I understand you're worried about them, we all are. However, none of us are prepared to take on legitimate Villains in open combat. If we were to start spreading out across the park in search of our classmates, we'd be likely to get ourselves killed. Right now, our best course of action is to stick together, and hope the rest of the Pro Heroes back at Yuuei will figure out what's happening and come here to save us."
As much as Tenya's explanation made perfect sense on the surface, it did nothing to quell Minas' suffocating sense of worry for her friends and classmates. Hell, it did nothing to soften that feeling for anybody, let alone himself. However, as much as she hated having to admit it, she knew he was right. She clutched her pink fists tight, biting her lip to try and fight back the oncoming tears of fear and concern, knowing there was something much more immediate they all needed to worry about right here.
The black haze Villain was simply standing before them, not saying or doing anything. He had mentioned before he was simply to make sure they couldn't leave, so perhaps his being here to watch them was how he planned to do just that. Nevertheless, the fact he could scatter them so efficiently left them all visibly terrified of doing anything to rouse a reaction out of him at that moment.
"So this guy has the ability to attack with a warp in space, and he can become intangible, too! How the hell are we supposed to handle somebody like that?" Hanta Sero couldn't help but express how intimidated he felt; while Thirteen took everything they had seen into consideration, before suddenly turning back to the students, and one in particular among them.
"Class President!" At the mention, Tenya immediately shot up straight in posture and at attention. "SIR!" Thirteen knew what they were about to suggest would be deemed foolish by many, themselves included, but taking everything into consideration they were up against and had to work with, this was their only true shot. "I'm entrusting this task to you! Please dash as fast as you can back to the school and relay the following: somehow, the alarms never triggered, and our phones have lost reception. Our alarms operate by infrared rays, and in spite of Aiza—I mean, Eraserhead canceling Quirks down below, their continued deactivation is still, likely, the work of someone with an interfering Quirk, who wasted no time in hiding themselves. So, in order to smoke that person out, you must bolt and inform the school of our situation!"
Tenyas' once ready posture immediately went to one of protest and indignation, forcing Rikido to step in and restrain him. "But it would be a disgrace to the class if their president were to aband—"They said GO, Emergency Exit! Don't you get it? You can alert the outside of what's going on! Think about it; there's gotta be a reason they made sure to cause their trouble here!" At this point, even Hanta had started to step forward, with many of the other students beginning to follow suit, their fear being replaced with determination. "Yeah, and that means they won't chase after you if you make it out! Use those legs of yours and kick free of that black mist, Emergency Exit!"
Finally, Thirteen took the lead ahead of everyone else, staring down the haze Villain ahead. "Class President, please use your Quirk…to save others!"
This struck Tenya like a lightning bolt, his once resistant expression now alight with realization. This was what needed to be done. This was how he would live up to the standard he had set for himself. True Heroes do what they do to save others, no matter what, and if his running on his own would save his classmates, then that was what he would do. As if needing one last bit of assurance, he looked to see even the once frightened Ochako and Mina, were giving him their own looks of encouragement. "It's just like that time in the lunchroom. Besides, we can back the others up as support like nobody's business! Promise!"
Mina had to keep swallowing her overflowing emotions, so she could only settle for giving Tenya an assuring nod. She couldn't stop worrying about Nikolay and Eijirou on top of everyone else, but if staying here and helping Tenya escape to school would get the help their friends needed, then she was going to give it 110% at the very least. In the end, everyone finally voiced their mutual belief: "You're our best hope, Class President!"
Suddenly, the haze Villains' humanoid form began to ripple and spread out, whether as a scare tactic or his preparation to attack, nobody knew, but they were all already putting themselves on the defensive. "I will admit I may or may not be able to stop him from escaping, but still, I am surprised there are still simpletons among us who would spout off their plans so confidently whilst in the company of their enemies."
Unperturbed, Thirteen suddenly opened the caps of the fingertips to their suit, which began to produce an inhaling wind, sucking everything inside with ever-increasing force. "Isn't it obvious? We let you hear us, because it's not a problem if you know!"
For the first few moments, it seemed as though Thirteens' Black Hole Quirk was actually having an effect, as some of the Villains' hazy mass began to get sucked inside, with him even letting out what sounded like a grunt of strain, trying to avoid its increasing power.
That's when another black hazy portal suddenly opened up right behind Thirteen, and the back of their spacesuit began to get sucked in very similarly, tearing and disintegrating at the seams, until even their helmet began to crack from the now massive power.
The Villain had effectively opened a portal between himself and the Black Hole, and now Thirteen was getting severely harmed by their own Quirk.
"SENSEI!" That desperate cry of horrified realization rang out of every student watching, as Thirteen continued to slowly disintegrate in the mouth of their own Black Hole, while the Villain simply observed with that cold, unreadable expression of his luminescent eyes.
"The Space Hero, Thirteen. As to be expected from a Hero whose efforts majored primarily in disaster relief. Your battle experience is far lower than that of the average Hero. And now, you have rendered yourself into dust by your own power."
As this torturous display continued, Rikido Sato was only able to break his eyes from it to find Tenya was still frozen where he stood, barely trembling less than the rest of them. Nevertheless, the sight ignited a flare of desperate anger in him. "IIDA, WE TOLD YOU TO RUN!"
This thankfully kicked Tenya into gear, as he finally revved the engines of his legs and took off into the most powerful dash he had gone into yet, his blood burning hot within his veins as he had his eyes set squarely on the USJ entrance. Unfortunately, the Villain spotted this as well, as his body began to contort and expand, before another portal suddenly began to open up directly in Tenyas' path. "Oh, scattered children. If you called your teachers to come to your aid now, I fear that would cause a spot of considerable concern for us."
Tenyas' momentum couldn't be stopped, and he realized this with grim certainty. All he could think as he came closer and closer to being consumed in the mist was to beg his classmates' forgiveness for his failure. However, that was before the large form of Mezo Shouji came flying through the air, crashing into the mist to help disperse it before it could turn into the portal their enemy was aiming for.
"GO! QUICKLY," one of the mouths at the end of Mezos' tentacles shouted desperately. Tenya launched himself with greater power than he thought he could, his body running on pure adrenaline as he ran with everything he had in mind, body and spirit. 'Everybody, please wait for me!'
"Children these days. So rude to simply exit without permission," the Villain muttered in annoyance to himself as he already began to reform himself in Tenyas' direct path.
With the earlier portals having now been deactivated, Thirteen had thankfully stopped inadvertently disintegrating themselves with their Black Hole, but they had since gone unconscious from the devastating damage to their body. Mina was quick to rush to the teachers' aid, while Ochako suddenly launched herself forward, right after Tenya and straight for the Villain as his form began to regain its shape.
"URARA-CHAN, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Mina asked in terrified confusion when she realized the gravity girl was rushing right for the Villain, who was already summoning up another portal right in Tenyas' path. "Everyone, look!" Ochako called back as she focused squarely on the strange white plates around the Villains' neck area.
Tenya could feel the beginnings of a panicked scream crawl up his throat as his vision began to be engulfed in the blast mist, unable to stop himself in time, and with no one else nearby to try and disperse it before forming like Mezo had just done. "You are far too arrogant for your own good, young man. Now do me the courtesy of vanishing," the Villain taunted.
Suddenly, the Villain felt the unmistakable physical impact of something touching the plates around his neck, and before he even realized it, his body had begun to levitate higher and higher outside of his own control. "WHAT?!"
Right behind where he had stood, Ochako stood defiantly, her hands outstretched to put her fingers right up to the plates, watching with renewed vigor and confidence as her anti-gravity sent him up helplessly. "I don't know why those plates are there, but if he's wearing them, then that has to mean he has a true body in there somewhere, something with the gravity I can remove! NOW! RUN, IIDA-SAN! RUN!"
As if on cue, the double doors to the USJ entrance finally began to open. The Villain, despite his weightlessness, began to focus his mist towards outstretching and intercepting the speedster, until he suddenly felt something else attach to his plates.
Down below, Hanta Sero had extended a length of his tape from his elbow, latching onto the weightless Villain above, and using his momentum, swung him as far away from Tenya as he could like a makeshift lasso. Taking the opportunity, Tenya finally squeezed himself through the opening and was finally dashing out of sight of USJ like no tomorrow.
"Damn it all! If that boy does indeed call for reinforcements, then this mission has sadly ended before it could truly begin." With this grim realization cemented in his head, the Villains' hazy form began to shrink into itself, teleporting himself away from the battlefield, and leaving the shaken 1-A students with the cautious realization that they had technically just achieved their own little victory. However, until the rest of the Pro Heroes would come and take care of the rest of these Villains and get them out of USJ, the fight was far from over.
Shoto Todoroki was not sure how much time had passed, if any, after he and the rest of Class 1-A had gotten sucked up in that Villains' black haze. All he had to work off of was that it worked as a teleporting Quirk, since the next thing he knew when the mist had cleared; he was all by himself in the middle of what had to be the landslide area of USJ. It occurred to him that this was clearly meant as a stalling tactic, since he was still able to see the entrance to USJ from where he was; it was essentially a straight shot.
However, describing his current status as 'alone' was far from accurate. Rather, once he had gotten his bearings, he was soon encircled by a number of numerous Villains, all looking at him with expressions of a very grim delight, while others had an air of aggravation about them. Nevertheless, the red-and-white-haired boy was far from intimidated, already encasing the left half of his suit in ice.
"Man, what kind of crappy job is this? I thought we were gonna be goin' up against All Might, not a bunch of snivelin' little half-pint Hero wannabes," one of the Villains complained, while a few others began to close the distance. "Aw, quit your gripin'! That big loudmouth oughta show up sooner or later! And besides, what better way to work some of the edge off than with a little Hero appetizer, right?"
"I just wish we had more than one! There's hardly any fun in it!" While the Villains chatted amongst themselves, Shoto was simply taking in their numbers and making minor calculations in his head as he began to channel his ice power into his right hand, silent all the while. "Aw, we gotta make do with what we got. From what I heard from some of the others, some other hapless loser kid ended up all by himself in the avalanche area next door. I don't hear them complainin', so neither should you!" With that, the Villains finally seemed to reach an understanding, as they all returned their focus to Shoto. However, what they were too foolish to realize, was that he was just waiting for that.
Within seconds, the entire area all around Shoto had become completely and utterly frozen, as if hit by the most concentrated cold front imaginable. Every one of the Villains had been encased in ice or frozen stiff where they stood before they even got a chance to react. All the while, the young boy let the ice melt from the left half of his body as he looked upon this pathetic rabble. "Honestly, don't you lot have any mercy for kids? Pull yourselves together. You're supposed to be grown-ups, aren't you?
"Scatter us and kill us, huh? Sorry to say it, but to me it looks like you're just a bunch of reckless hotheads and ruffians who don't even know how to use their own Quirks remotely effectively. Now, in all of your current states, you will all inevitably succumb to death by necrosis in due time from the cold. However, since I'm aiming to become a Hero, I want to avoid doing something that…excessively unpleasant as much as I can. So tell me: what is the basis of your plan to kill All Might?"
Once he had gotten what information he felt was necessary, and also figuring there was no further need to waste his time here, Shoto began to make his way for the exit to the landslide area, and head straight for the USJ entrance, where he had no doubt the majority of his classmates would already have congregated. However, a momentary parting glance to his left revealed the snow-capped mountain range that was to serve as the avalanche area, and just a little ways below that, was a small door in the barrier wall labeled as a connecting utility tunnel.
What the Villains had mentioned in their foolishness replayed in Shotos' head for a moment. It was no concern of his. Surely whoever had been warped there had already taken care of things themselves as efficiently as he had, or at least close enough.
He looked up to the mountain once more, and then back to the exit and entrance ahead, ready to get out of this place and put this whole unpleasant distraction to rest.
Weightlessness, a lack of spatial awareness, and an overall feeling of being completely out of his body. Those were the only ways Nikolay Bezpalov could describe what it was like being consumed in that black haze. He had no idea where he was, or if time even existed in this infinite void. That feeling of complete sensory deprivation was what made the impact hit that much harder, when his consciousness had finally returned to him, just in time to find himself being expelled from the black mist through the air towards the snowy ground.
Nikolay didn't even have time to try and react before his body collided with the thick powdery snow, thankfully managing to break the majority of the impact, rather than leave him a confused and frightened grease stain. However, he didn't even have time to feel grateful that he wasn't dead yet, as he struggled to dig himself out of the snow, his mind racing at what felt like a million miles a second.
When he finally resurfaced, his goggles had thankfully managed to keep the light of the sun refracting off the snow from momentarily blinding him, as he tried to regain a sense of just where he was. At first, all he could see was sky, snow and trees, but when he finally got back to his feet, and started to walk, he noticed the distant shape of the fountain of the central plaza, a good distance away, at the foot of the massive slope he stood upon.
Looking around further, Nikolay finally realized he was on the face of a large, snowy and forested mountain, remembering Thirteen had mentioned a recently added avalanche area. However, thinking back on their instructor suddenly brought everything back at once. The Villains, their plans to kill All Might, the one that had sent out that mist that apparently had warped him here. For a foolish moment, he'd actually forgotten, and now all the panic and fear he had felt back there was all coming around again.
"Hello! Is there anybody else here?! Thirteen-sensei! Midoriya! Iida! Kirishima! Mina! Anybody?!" Unfortunately, no matter how much he called out to anyone and everyone he could think of, he was only ever met with his same damned echo across the mountain. As he began to ponder on the possibility of escaping to the entrance of USJ, as he assumed many of his classmates were no doubt trying to do as well, he took another look at his surroundings, only now realizing just how huge this area of the park was. It almost resembled a mountain range of Switzerland in microcosm. There was no way of telling which way to go in order to get to the exit faster.
Crunch, crunch
The sound of approaching footsteps made Nikolay instinctively turn in the hopes that one of his classmates had heard him, but he was instead met by a very aggressive looking young man in leather who looked to have spiked hair made of ice, and what looked like icy blades protruding from his knuckles; all capped off with a very sadistic grin on his face.
"Well, well, well, looks like I might get to have some fun, even without All Might being here." Nikolay didn't even have a chance to process what was happening, before his assailant suddenly leaped forward from the snow, his clawed hands at the ready to strike. There was no mistaking it in his body language, this guy was aiming to legitimately kill him.
Nikolay barely managed to scream as he leapt back and tried to keep as far away from this guy as possible, which was much harder thanks to the limited mobility this thick snow gave him. Thankfully, the same seemed to go for this Villain, as well. Even with his heart racing and his mind in an absolute frenzy, the months of martial training with Tunguska had wired itself into Nikolays' brain, as he seemed to be able to see what kind of strikes or directions his enemy was going to follow up with, thus allowing him to instinctively move his body the way he needed to in order to avoid getting dealt a killing blow.
However, as miraculous as his reflexes were proving to be, the Villain also wasn't giving him the chance to try and either counter or even use his Quirk. This psychopath was simply too good on his feet in the snow, and too fast and up close for the young Russian to really focus enough to aim and fire. Doing so would risk breaking his reflexive concentration and get him a full hand of those ice claws right in his gut.
He lost track of how long this game of keep-away went on for, but before long he found he and his attacker were now in a much more forested area of the course. He could feel he was starting to tire, having to constantly duck, swerve and step backwards continuously to avoid getting killed. There was no way this fight could go on for much longer, but how could he end it if this guy was so fast and maintaining such proximity?
Nikolay began looking wherever he could afford to for some kind of clue, but the more he noticed the growing capacity of trees, the beginning of an idea took hold.
After ducking beneath another clawed swipe, Nikolay threw himself to the side to break the direction and allow himself one more second of breathing room while the Villain tried to adjust himself. He was soon on Nikolays' ass again with the constant slashes and swipes, but Nikolay had already come up with an idea he could only pray this guy would be short-sighted enough to fall for.
The young Russian kept backing up, maintaining his reflexes with each step and subsequent attack, until he suddenly felt his back up against the trunk of a tree. He looked upwards to see he'd backed himself right up to a dead husk of a tree whose branches had long since fallen off. "Aww, nowhere left to run to, little boy! Good. I was getting' sick of chasin' you," the Villain taunted as he reared his hands back for a double stabbing attack, looking to pin Nikolay right up to the side. The boy knew he couldn't afford to act a fraction of a second early or late. It was like his focus had brought time to a crawl, as he watched the claws inch close and closer, and his own hands leveling flat with the ground at the same time. Finally…
'NOW!'
BWOOOM!
Nikolay launched himself straight up into the air parallel to the tree like a human rocket, barely managing to kick himself forward off the tree trunk as he began to already descend. The Villain hadn't even had a chance to physically react, before he had embedded both his fistfuls of claws deep into the trunk, unable to pry himself out.
Nikolay came crashing back down into the snow, but he had no time to let the stun of the impact effect him. His body was essentially on autopilot, carrying out every step of his last-ditch plan on reflex, after having played it so much in his own head while trying to avoid getting cut to ribbons.
The instant he was back on his feet behind the Villains' back, he had one hand aimed backwards, and another aimed right at the Villain himself, and with a moments' absolute focus, fired a single devastating blast from each hand in opposing directions, keeping himself grounded where he stood instead of being thrown this way and that, but more importantly, sending the Villain crashing face first right through the tree itself, and flopping across the snow behind like a rag doll, as the rest of the tree collapsed just inches away from where Nikolay still stood.
As soon as it was over, Nikolay remembered to start breathing again, his heart racing like a jackrabbit as he looked upon the aftermath of his very first battle plan having actually paid off. He couldn't even rightly tell if it was still the adrenaline or the euphoria he was feeling now that it was over. However, looking upon the Villain lying unconscious in the snow, Nikolay knew this fight wasn't over yet. He looked to the gold-colored belt around his waist, and the few pouches attached to it. Remembering the Battle Trial, he reached in and pulled out one of the small spools of thread that had been sitting inside.
The Russian boy hurried over and proceeded to tie the Villains' unconscious body up around the wrists, ankles, legs and waist, officially binding him so that, if he were to wake up, he couldn't maneuver his clawed hands around to cut them. Nikolay had come to recognize these spools actually had a very specially made and nearly indestructible micro-wire, just from the way it felt when he pulled at it. He could only hope it would be enough.
Now that it was finally over and he had emerged the winner, Nikolay collapsed onto his backside in the snow, trying to ride out the resultant trembling rocking his entire body as the reality of it all sank in. He had just gotten caught up in his very first legitimate life-or-death fight, and he'd actually won! Granted, he knew it was still a desperate, stupid plan he had come up with at best, and if, God forbid, there were any more Villains in this area, there was no way they would all fall for the same trick.
Once his trembling had finally settled down, Nikolay knew he needed to formulate some kind of plan for getting out of here. First thing was first, he needed to see how good a layout he could get of the whole avalanche area, and see if perhaps any more of his classmates had gotten warped here as well. From the layout of the park he had seen upon their arrival, there weren't nearly enough areas for that Villain to have sent only one student per place. Or at least, he could only hope so.
Taking in his immediate surroundings, he soon spotted a considerably tall tree just a little ways up the slope, and it thankfully had enough sturdy looking branches that he could use to climb up and see what he could find. He hadn't climbed trees in years, but once he had gotten started, he didn't dare look down. Aside from that little handicap, he moved as though he hadn't lost a step over those years. Soon enough, he had managed to reach the top of the tree, and had a much better view of the entire zone.
From the looks of it, the entrance to the avalanche zone was right near what looked like a small frozen body of water situated just next to a moderate-sized slope a little ways down the mountain past the trees. Assuming all went well, he could get there within ten minutes, and it could potentially be a straight shot to the exit.
Just as he began to descend the tree, he looked up to notice the strangest thing: there was a single human-shaped figure gliding through the air above that section of the course, going about in ever-widening circles. They looked like they had some kind of fleshy webbing beneath their arms and between their legs, almost resembling people that wore those paragliding parachute outfits for high diving.
Suddenly, within moments of having spotted this figure, Nikolay felt an increasingly strong and unnaturally cold wind start blowing about all around him, almost as though it were centralized solely around him; a thought that became more and more prevalent when he took the chance to notice none of the trees around him were being blown by that strange frigid gust.
It quickly grew so powerful that Nikolay, in a moment of blindly trying to protect himself from its cold, inadvertently lost his footing and went toppling down from the tree top and back down into the mercifully thick snow bank, rolling down the slope for a good ways.
When he had finally managed to stop tumbling down and recollect himself, his face was burning from the frigid cold all around him, before once more managing to wrestle his way back to the surface. He looked back up the slope to find he had come down a good distance, at least enough to cut the time getting to the exit some.
"Hey, look over there! He was right, one of those brats did end up here!" A distant voice suddenly called out a small ways away, and when the young Russian looked to the source, he found himself being approached by more than a handful of similarly hostile-looking people of all shapes and sizes, all sizing him up like a pack of wolves to a single wounded lamb.
He already knew there was no way he could pull a similar trick on every single one of these guys, so Nikolay did the only thing that made any sense to him: he ran. He trudged his way through the knee-high snow as best he could, thankful that his pursuers seemed to be having the same trouble. However, gravity was only further proving to be on their side, as they slowly but surely began to close the distance on him, even as he tried to divert his course for the trees.
At the last moment, Nikolays' foot ended up getting caught in a little sink trap in the snow, causing him to trip face first into powder. The Villains on his tail all started to laugh as he could hear them closing in, when suddenly the air was filled with what sounded like an icy charge of wind silencing all of them. And just as quickly as it had come, there was only silence once again. Yet, Nikolay didn't feel the dreaded curb-stomping or worse that he had been bracing himself for.
After a few moments, he got back up out of the snow and looked back to find all his pursuers had been frozen stuck to their places in varying degrees in ice, with some struggling to try and speak with their faces frozen in place. And standing next to their now motionless gang was none other than Shoto Todoroki, who was looking upon this recently made batch of frozen ready Villains with that same look of complete apathy that Nikolay and the rest of their classmates had come to recognize him for.
"Balshoy spasibo (Thank you so much), Todoroki-san. I thought that was it for a second. I wasn't sure anyone else got warped here besides me. Have you found anyone else from class here?" Nikolays' gratitude and frantic question came almost simultaneously, but Shoto wouldn't grant him the courtesy of eye contact, instead further observing the new surroundings. "I have not. I didn't even originally get sent here, I ended up in the landslide area next to this one. However, a few of the Villains I found there, said one of our classmates had gotten sent here alone. I found one of the utility tunnels connecting the different areas together, so I decided to investigate. Thusly, I found you."
"Well, I appreciate you coming and saving me, regardless. I found a pretty good vantage point back up the mountain and got a decent idea of the terrain we're working with. I didn't see any of our classmates, but it was a pretty long distance, I could have missed someone. The exit is just through those trees back there and across a small frozen lake. We should try and see if we can find any of the others on the way."
While Nikolay felt certain the plan itself was sound in theory, Shoto looked to be deep in thought as he looked upon their now-frozen assailants. "These Villains all seem to share a common trait, in that their Quirks give them a natural advantage in snowy environments like this. The Villains that attacked me in the landslide area all seemed to possess commonly earth-based Quirks. That tells me the Villains responsible for coordinating this whole attack have access to information as to how USJ is set up, so they would know what Villains to send where.
"However, neither groups I've encountered seemed to be aware of my Quirk, or yours. That gives us a natural advantage. However, we still don't know how many more Villains we could be up against in this area, and we still don't know how many more could be waiting on standby in the plaza in case any of our classmates were to make it out of wherever they were sent. Not knowing what specific Quirks they would possess also provides a significant obstacle. Taking all those factors into consideration, alongside our respective affinities with our Quirks, I would say our chances are actually looking rather good."
Nikolay was utterly speechless, listening to Shoto speak with such calm collectedness, in spite of everything. It was a display of rather surprising maturity from another 15-year-old boy like himself. "And I'm guessing those chances mainly stem from you?" Shoto didn't even bother answering, instead opting to start heading for the trees the young Russian had pointed out. The kid was clearly more powerful than people would automatically give him credit for, so Nikolay wasn't about to start arguing on who was more powerful or effective. Right now, getting out of here and back to their classmates was all he cared about.
However, just as they began to enter the woods, Nikolay looked back up to the sky, and spotted that same singular gliding figure directly above. And just as quickly, did he begin to feel that same biting chilling wind beginning to pick up around both boys like an icy vortex.
Their lines of sight quickly became nearly nonexistent as the wind kicked up the snow around them like crazy. Despite the frost biting at his skin, Nikolays' goggles thankfully allowed him a natural protection, and a means of keeping his sight, while he could see Shoto was seemingly unaffected by it.
"There they are," a distant voice suddenly called out, with a very recognizable air of hostility, soon joined by the feral war cries of several others, although the flurry from the wind was keeping either Nikolay or Shoto from seeing just how many they were looking at, but they knew time was running short.
"Dammit, this wind is acting as a veritable smokescreen, and a means of revealing our location. We need to split up, thin out their numbers." Shoto surmised, not even giving Nikolay a chance to question his insane new plan, before shoving the Russian away, and out of the area of the wind. Unfortunately, it was just in time for him to be spotted by two more Villains who had been lagging behind their peers, who were much more focused on whoever was still caught inside the vortex.
Nikolay immediately took off into another downhill sprint, with the two Villains eagerly giving chase. Unfortunately, Nikolay could hear the familiar sound of something smoothly sailing along the snow, gaining up on him fast.
The sound of his heart desperately beating away with fear overpowered the otherwise devastating sound of a blizzard raging behind him, as all he could think to do was keep running. But just as soon as he reached something that could pass for a clearing in the middle of the forest, he felt something slam hard into his back with merciless speed and force, sending him flat on his face into the snow.
He could hear the Villains laughing as he picked himself back up, to find the sound he had heard before was the Villain who had just tackled him, who looked to have miniature skis extending from his feet, giving him a natural speed advantage in this terrain.
Nikolay couldn't spare a moment to think of how to fight an enemy like this, as a pair of hands and forearms suddenly wrapped around his neck from behind, forcefully pulling the young Russian back until his back slammed hard into the trunk of another tree. He couldn't focus enough to try and pry his hands underneath the arms that were continuing to constrict around his neck tighter and tighter with each passing second. Both Villains just kept laughing as his chest began to burn inside from the lack of air.
"Keep struggling all you want, baby boy! That's just gonna make you run out of air and suffocate faster! Saves us the little extra work," the ski-footed Villain taunted, while the one currently strangling Nikolay, just kept laughing from the other side of the tree he was crushing his throat against. "Man, who ever said that a rubber Quirk would never be useful in a real fight? This is almost too easy!"
Nikolay could feel himself starting to black out. If he lost consciousness here, that was it. These guys were going to kill him, there were no two ways around it. With no other idea what he could possibly do, he stopped trying to pry the arms from his neck and instead lifted his hands up, palms outward.
"Oh snap, look at that! The kid's actually surrendering," the ski-footed Villain exclaimed like he was watching the funniest thing in his life. His partner couldn't help but laugh even harder, as Nikolays' face began to turn a deep red. The ski-footed Villain began to approach, just managing to get his breath back from laughing so hard, just as he got within just a couple inches of Nikolays' face. "Surrender not accepted, bitch."
In all honesty, his biting comeback didn't even reach Nikolays' ears. His hearing had pretty much gone to sounding like everything was underwater. The only thing he had any remaining awareness of was that the guy was pretty much right in his face. That was all he needed to know.
With the last of his physical strength, Nikolay suddenly kicked his feet off the ground, and in a heartbeat, put all of his focus towards channeling every last ounce of power he could summon towards his two hands. The Villains couldn't even ask what the hell was happening, before the young Russian fired a two-handed full-power burst directly into the ski-footed Villains' face point blank, sending him flying across the clearing, while the full-strength blowback from Nikolays' feet being off the ground, propelled his body backwards against the tree so hard, it tore the whole damn thing up by the root, and sending it toppling backwards on top of the Villain on the other side.
The arms' grip around his neck finally loosened as Nikolay gasped and heaved for air, his throat burning like he'd never felt before as he could finally breathe again. As he hacked, coughed and wheezed, the red slowly draining from his normally fair face, he looked to see the Villain had been efficiently pinned underneath the tree, struggling to try and get some kind of leverage to get it off. However, it was clear that simply having a rubber Quirk didn't also give him the benefit of super strength. The tree wasn't going anywhere.
Still, for good measure, Nikolay rushed over and, remembering what he had blindly done to Eijirou to make him black out during the Battle Trial, he swiftly planted the palm of his hand against the Villains' face, and fired a much less powerful blast point blank into his face, but it was still enough to make him immediately black out from the sheer force rattling in his head.
"You little shit! You're as good as dead, you hear?!" The voice of the ski-footed Villain sounded absolutely blinded with rage as Nikolay turned to see he was already back on his feet, his ears and nose visibly bleeding from the sheer power that he had just gotten a face-full of. He immediately began charging across the clearing, and with the skis attached to his feet, he would be on Nikolay in a matter of seconds.
The boy looked around desperately for anything he could use, but realizing he was still square in the middle of a murderous Villains' path, all he could think of then was to somehow get out of the way, without him turning course to still take him out.
With no other idea what to do, with his body acing on sheer impulse, Nikolay planted his hands flat into the snowy ground, and thought with all his might of channeling the power into his palms. He could feel it all coalescing through the muscles along his arms, until finally, with one concentrated release…
BWOOOM!
Nikolay felt his whole body launched into the air like he had been shot out of a cannon. He just propelled straight up into the air, much like when fighting the giant robot at the entrance exam, he just watched the ground shrink further and further away. However, he could also see the resultant blast had kicked up all the snow around his launch point for a good couple of meters, sending the powder straight up into the attacking Villains' face, blinding him just enough for him to lose track of where he was going, and colliding with the fallen tree, sending him tumbling helplessly into the snow.
Nikolay came plummeting back down into the powdery bank, and with his adrenaline still on full overdrive; he immediately got back to his feet and ran for where the currently stunned Villain had finally landed. The guy didn't even get a chance to react before Nikolay was planting his knee into his back, pulling out another spool of his capturing wire, and binding the Villains' hands and feet together, effectively grounding him.
Nikolay rolled onto his back, looking up at the clear blue sky while trying to catch his breath. Twice now, twice he'd faced enemies that wanted him dead, and twice now his quick and desperate thinking had saved his life. If he were lucky enough to see this whole mess through to the end, he could not even begin to think how he was going to explain all of this to Oleg.
But right now, he couldn't allow himself to get careless and assuming he was in the clear just yet. He still needed to get out of USJ to begin with, and he needed to make sure the others were okay as well. He couldn't live with himself if he were to just abandon his classmates for his own safety.
"I see you were able to handle yourself somewhat efficiently." Shotos' voice suddenly called out, bringing Nikolay back to his feet as he saw the red-white-haired boy standing at the edge of the clearing, observing the aftermath of the Russian boys' little skirmish. "You too," Nikolay bluntly agreed, since the boy was standing there with nary a scratch on him. "These Villains are nothing but a bunch of careless ruffians who think their numbers give them a bigger advantage than actually knowing their own Quirks. They took no effort."
Nikolay began to approach Shoto, before the boy made a momentary glance to the sky, and his normally emotionless scarred face showed a hint of intensity. He grabbed the chest of Nikolays' costume in an instant and hurried back into the thicker parts of the forest, before finally throwing them both underneath the overhanging lip of a snowy rock, blocking them from the view of the sky.
"Todoroki-san, what are you—"Shh. Don't draw attention to us right now." Shoto still had his eyes focused on the sky, while taking care not to overexpose himself. Nikolay began to follow suit, until he noticed the image of the gliding figure up above, just before they diverted course and headed away from their location.
Once he was sure the glider was gone, Shoto finally let go of Nikolay and stepped out into the open, with his Slavic classmate quickly following suit. "When I first arrived in this area of the park, I saw that same figure in the sky, right before I was attacked by an unnatural vortex of icy wind. The fact that same wind attacked us both right after I saw the same figure is no mere coincidence."
Hearing this, and remembering what had happened when he had tried climbing the tree earlier, everything suddenly clicked in Nikolays' head. "Do you think that glider up there could be channeling that wind to attack us from a vantage point we can't reach them from?" Unfortunately, Shotos' immediate response was a resounding shake of his head. "It's exceptionally rare for someone to possess two vastly different Quirks at once like that. Not impossible…but rare.
"Considering the timing, the size of this section of the park, and the potential number of Villains we could still be up against, my guess is that the glider is serving as the eyes for another Villain, one that can potentially remotely summon and control wind, and is communicating to them our positions when they see us, so that their partner can know where to send that wind."
Before Nikolay could ask what Shoto suggested they do about such a team-up, both boys heard a sudden electronic whining noise come echoing from across the woods, in the direction of the lake. It sounded very similar to the harsh feedback from a microphone. That realization made Nikolays' eyes widen from behind his goggles. "I know that sound! Come on!" He was already off in a rush before Shoto could even say if he was going to do as was asked of him or not. Thankfully, the Russian boy remembered Shotos' example, and kept as close to the trees, and under their foliage, as much as possible, even though neither of them saw a sign of the glider whenever they could see the sky.
Soon, the two boys reached the opposite edge of the forest, and found themselves looking upon the frozen lake, among other things. Just a short distance from where they were currently hidden, they found Momo, Kyouka and Denki all standing on the defensive with their backs to each other, surrounded by nearly a dozen Villains. Momo and Kyouka looked to be wielding a blunt melee weapon each, while Denki looked to only have his own two hands, feet, and his electricity Quirk to protect him.
However, it was easy to see that the three were also being heavily incapacitated by the same concentrated vortex of wind as before, keeping them huddled together, while still somehow managing to maintain their defenses.
Shoto silently signaled for Nikolay to follow his gaze across the lake. Doing so, he soon spotted a sizeable gathering of Villains standing in the middle of the open ice, around a single individual dressed in an arctic jacket, who almost looked to be in a trance as they were motioning their hands like they were controlling or molding some invisible object.
The passing of a shadow across the ice drew both boys' attention upwards, and just as Shoto had guessed, there was that same familiar glider circling up above, right over where the huddle of Villains on the lake was.
"We have to save them, somehow. Do you think you would be able to freeze all those Villains, Todoroki-san?" Nikolay asked with a hardened resolve, only for his classmate to firmly shake his head. "Firstly, there has to be moisture in the air in order for me to use my Ice, that hasn't been a problem so far. However, the more often I use it, the more of my overall body heat drains away. Using it in an already cold environment like this has not helped in that regard. With the number of Villains we're facing right now, my guess is that I would be able to freeze a little over half of them until my body heat would be drained away and I would slip into unconsciousness."
Nikolay mentally groaned in frustration as he took in the overall layout of the area again. "Maybe if there was a way to remove a good number of those Villains that wouldn't require your Ice," he muttered primarily to himself, before noticing the edge of the frozen lake just a little ways in front of the huddled mob, led right up to the moderate-sized slope he had spotted from the tree earlier.
What really caught his attention this time, however, was an assortment of orange emergency posts lining the slope. He had seen such a setup in old footage of large snowy mountain ranges before, and soon, the reason they seemed familiar to him came back with a resounding strength.
"I think I might have an idea. If we can remove all those Villains huddled around the wind controller; that can take care of our biggest threat of a full-on battle. Todoroki-san, do you see those emergency poles up on that slope? Those are used to indicate an area at risk of an avalanche. If you could somehow draw that groups' attention, get them to come toward you, I could be able to trigger an avalanche from that slope and take them out all at once. Then we can finally take care of that glider and the wind controller, save the others, and finally get out of here."
Shoto was clearly deep in thought, processing every step of Nikolays' so-called plan. "You'll have to take a wide berth of a route in order to get up to the point you would need to, in order to trigger an avalanche powerful enough to remove them all. We also don't know if any of them perhaps have a more long-range-combat oriented Quirk. However, considering the limited effectiveness of our only other real plan, this has the most possibility of wielding a better result in terms of sheer numbers of Villains neutralized. If you give me a signal when you're in position, I can take care of luring those fools my way."
It had taken more time than he had hoped, but Nikolay eventually managed to reach the top of the slope, while remembering to keep himself out of the open as much as possible. Since the wind hadn't come to attack him by then, he could only assume he had been successful. Thankfully, from where he was perched, he could see that Momo, Kyouka and Denki had somehow been managing to keep the Villains on their toes and at a distance, but it was also clear that they couldn't carry on that way for much longer.
Once he took off his mariners' cap and angled it so that the sunlight would catch against the brass lining the rim, he saw Shoto step out of the trees and into the open, and just like he had thought, the Villains huddled together on the ice clearly noticed him, and began to make a beeline towards him across the ice.
Nikolay knew he only had a few precious seconds to pull this off. He got himself situated in the center of the slope, keeping his eyes on the advancing mob. As he began mentally counting down the time to trigger the avalanche, he momentarily looked up to see that the glider in the sky was now moving in his specific direction. Before the young Russian knew it, that same vortex of wind was now beginning to pick up around him, growing in overwhelming strength within seconds.
However, he knew he couldn't allow himself to panic, and kept remembering the countdown in his head. If that mob hadn't diverted course or stopped, then this was the moment he had to act. And so, with the ice nipping away at his face, he put all his focus towards his hands, laying them flat in the snow like before.
BWOOOM!
Nikolay felt his whole body propel upwards and forwards like a cannon ball, hearing the glorious rumbling and cracking of snow as it roared down the slope beneath him. However, he couldn't bask in that part of the plan going off for long, as when he opened his eyes, he found he was now flying straight for the glider, who clearly looked to be struggling to change their course to avoid the inevitable collision.
CRASH!
Nikolays' whole body weight, with the added force from his blast, sent him barreling straight into the gliders' center mass, knocking them both right out of the sky, and plummeting down to the icy lake below. The impact was hard, leaving the boys' head ringing something fierce as he tumbled and rolled and slid across the ice before finally coming to a stop, slowly rolling onto his stomach.
Back at the forests' edge, Shoto was simply strolling along towards the huge wave of snow that had come flooding onto the ice, and just as Nikolay had hoped, had engulfed the whole mob of Villains that had been coming toward him. It was clear from where he stood that his Slavic compatriots' launch had come just a second too early, but thankfully this bunch of louts had been too dimwitted and slow to even realize they had put themselves right in the avalanches' path.
'No matter,' he thought to himself, as he swiftly froze each Villain that managed to get themselves out of the snow in place, one by one, until he knew by his count he had incapacitated all of them.
A little ways away, once the persistent frigid wind that had been keeping them huddled together had suddenly dissipated, Momo capitalized on the moment, while Denki and Kyouka continued fighting to keep the Villains from converging on them. She had hurriedly managed to create a two-handed acetylene torch and used it to melt the snow all around them with considerable force, creating a sizeable portion of snow water that had now spread to where the Villains were all standing.
Without a word of explanation, Momo then grabbed onto Kyoukas' collar, pulling the purple-haired girl in before kneeling down, and with all her focus, managed to produce a large gray insulated sheet from her back, draping itself over the two, while Denki remained in the open, standing right in the middle of the water with the rest of the now confused Villains. "Kaminari, now's your chance! Let it all out!"
The blonde boy immediately realized what the ponytail girl was suggesting, and within a moment of absolute focus, his whole body emitted a massive surge of electricity straight into the water, channeling it all across to give a major dosage to every Villain around them, leaving them all singed and unconscious once it was all over.
As soon as they were sure the threat had been dealt with, Momo and Kyouka emerged from their protective sheet to observe how thoroughly their last second strategy had worked. Momo wasted no time creating as many bundles of rope as she could to bind all the unconscious Villains, either unaware or ignoring how her creating the insulated sheet had left the front of her costume completely open and exposed, despite Kyoukas' flustered stuttering to the fact. "I'll mend it once I'm done here. Make sure Kaminari-san is okay, Jirou-san," she instructed without a hint of embarrassment, spurring Kyouka to do exactly that.
To her surprise, Denki actually looked no worse for wear, despite the fact he had essentially served as the pivotal toaster in the bathtub in this scenario. "I thought if you exceeded your wattage, your brain goes kaput for an hour. Isn't that what happened at the Battle Trial?" she asked, while Denki looked just as surprised as she was.
"Yeah, I don't get it, either. I mean, if I had to guess, maybe me standing in the water while discharging also let me restore some of my wattage at the same time. If so, that's awesome, I don't have to be a chuckling vegetable after each time I use my Quirk now, least as long as I've got some water handy."
"Yeah, maybe you might not want to put too much stock in that. Until you prove that's how it works a second time, let's just call this a lucky fluke. Now come on, the others might need our help." Kyouka instructed as she and Momo already began to head out further onto the lake, urging Denki to quickly follow suit.
Once Nikolays' head had stopped spinning and his ears had stopped ringing from the impact, he came to recognize he was now in the middle of the frozen lake, with the now unconscious glider sprawled out right next to him. Crawling over to grab another spool to bind him, he noticed what looked like an earpiece planted in their ear. 'So Todoroki-san was right, they were communicating to…oh no.'
Nikolay barely managed to get his head back up before he felt himself getting blasted by the harshest and coldest wind yet. The wind controller was the last Villain standing here, and they were letting loose with everything they had, with him as the sole target.
He could feel his face going numb; he could even feel multiple parts of his body beginning to succumb to the cold through his suit. He knew then if he didn't do something, anything to make them call off their attack, he would be a frostbitten corpse in a minute tops.
Momentarily remembering exactly where they were, and with the afternoon sun still beating down on them despite the overall cold, Nikolay had the faintest idea what to do, even if his own internal sense of logic was calling him insane for humoring this excuse for a plan.
Trying to block out the biting pain of the cold and focusing once more on channeling all the collected kinetic energy in his body into his hands, Nikolay furiously slammed his palms down onto the ice and released a full dose of that vibrating power directly into it. This was almost immediately followed by an ever-growing rumble of cracking ice spreading outwards from where he knelt, to nearly all across the entire lake.
Finally, with one deafening crack of shattering ice, the entire lake proceeded to break apart and sink, sending Nikolay and the wind-controlling Villain both into the subzero temperature water below. Even this cold somehow managed to exceed the wind he had nearly been frozen alive in, and the fact he couldn't breathe, or even make his way back up to the surface, made it that much worse. His costume was simply too heavy, as he could feel himself beginning to sink.
Before he could black out, however, he heard the faint sound of something plunging into the water, before he felt a hand grab onto one of his own, before pulling with as much strength as it possibly could. Soon, his head was back above water, gasping for air, as he saw Shoto and Denki standing at the edge of the ice, both struggling to pull his sopping wet hide out of the water and back onto solid land.
As Nikolay struggled to regain his breath while his body was practically convulsing, he was shivering so hard, and Denki was trying to do the same after dragging something so heavy out of the lake; Shoto had already busied himself with heading further out onto the ice, and producing another icy blast from his hand, encasing the struggling wind-controller Villain in their own human-sized iceberg to keep them from drowning.
"Man…was that you who did all that, Kolya-san? If so…you really saved our asses." Denki thanked as soon as he could breathe normally again, while Nikolay was already huddled up against himself to try and regain some of his body heat, even if it was proving fruitless. "Y-y-you s-should thank T-T-Todoroki-san. I-if it hadn't been for him…I-I-I wouldn't even b-b-be here."
"Enough talking. Here, we need to try and get you warm enough to move again." Momo quickly intervened before focusing and creating a single-person blanket to wrap him up in, in an attempt to get him as dry as could be in this circumstance.
"When we got warped here, for a short while we thought we might have gotten lucky and been here by ourselves. Unfortunately those Villains got the drop on us as soon as we'd found the exit." Kyouka explained as Shoto returned to their little gathering, and Nikolay continued hurriedly patting himself down to try and get himself anywhere close to warm.
"Staying out here in this cold won't do either of us any favors. The exit's just that way, so the sooner we can get back to a moderate temperature area, you can start warming up again, and I can regain enough body heat to use my Ice more consistently. Let's go." With that, Shoto was already making his way for the exit, spurring everyone else to quickly follow suit, Nikolay especially. Despite his whole plan actually managing to go off successfully, more or less, for the third time today, Shoto hadn't even spared a moment to tell him he did well or anything of the sort.
And yet, despite that, he didn't exude the same kind of arrogant spitefulness like Bakugo no doubt would have, had their places been swapped. If anything, Nikolay was coming to the conclusion that Shoto Todoroki wasn't the kind of person who gave compliments as openly as other people did. The fact he wasn't calling Nikolay a fool or anything like that, was probably the closest thing to a compliment he was going to get, and right now, he was perfectly okay with that. The fact they had managed to deal with such overwhelming odds and ultimately come out okay was all that mattered to him.
Of course, that all did nothing for the reminder that they could have potentially been facing much, much worse threats once they got to the plaza itself.
Tunguska and Toshinori had miraculously managed to escape from Headmaster Nezus' normally nonstop pontification on the values and future of education, and had since decided that, if nothing else, they would at least make a momentary swing by USJ, if just to make sure their mutual concerns had indeed been for naught. The headmaster had made some inarguable points for both of them, and the decision as to either honor his concerns, or simply follow their gut instincts, was proving harder than either Pro Hero had imagined.
"Do you think it's possible that the years of experience between us, constantly fighting Villains and facing dangerous situations at every corner, have simply rendered us too paranoid of others' safety for our own good?" Tunguska finally asked as they had begun to make their way down the road towards USJ, while Toshinori still looked as contemplative as ever. "It's possible. I have been feeling worry in my gut more consistently since giving Midoriya-shonen One For All. At first I thought it was simply because his inexperience with it was getting him hurt consistently. I should know better than to let that bog me down with concern this much, though. I was no different when I first inherited it. And besides, the boy is already proving to be more adaptable with the effects of its use than I was in the beginning. He'll be figuring out ways to use it without crippling himself in due time.
"And then, of course, there's Bezpalov-shonens' recent improvement in attitude. Most people who would go as far as he did to get away wouldn't turn back around, even with someone there to help guide them along. The fact he has been consistent in his drive since then is no small thing. I think this has been a real proving moment for him that he really is ready to do his best to become a Hero."
While it was comforting to hear Toshinori speak so confidently about his sons' chances, Tunguska was simply ashamed he could not bring himself to share the same sentiment. "Well, up to this point, everyone else in the class has been showing remarkable improvement in the handling of their Quirks, and especially in using them in the most effective combinations. They seem to be gaining something of an understanding of which classmates they work best with. I just can't help but worry that a test of this kind of intensity may be happening too soon after Kolyas' episode. I don't know if he's really emotionally or mentally ready for it."
"Well, it's a good thing we're going about it this way, then. I would much rather follow my hunch and find I was worried for nothing, than just ignore it and find out something awful has happened." On that, the two men could absolutely agree as they continued on their way, trying their best to let the calm of the afternoon ease their respective nerves. However, even after a minute of this, Tunguska could see Toshinori still looked about as tense as he likewise felt.
"You're still thinking about the communication error back at Recovery Girls' office, aren't you?" he asked, already knowing the answer. "It just isn't sitting right with me, no matter how I try to rationalize it. Even if they were too busy conducting the rescue trials to maintain a conversation, it's not like Aizawa-san and Thirteen-san to just not answer at all like that. I'm hoping it's some kind of technical issue with the phone lines." By this point, even Tunguska couldn't help but share in Toshinoris' concern. By this point in time, he had come to understand Aizawas' sense of professionalism enough to know that the man would not half-ass his duty to his fellow teachers by simply ghosting them like this.
Suddenly, the two men caught sight of a plume of dust hurriedly heading down the road in their direction, and it was moving far too accurately to the road to simply be a result of the wind. Something, or someone, was coming for them. "Toshinori-san, get behind me and change, hurry!" Tunguska ordered as he quickly got in front of the shorter blonde man, relieved when he already heard the sound of that burst of power that signaled his transformation back into All Might.
The moment came none too soon, either, as the plume of dust had finally rounded the last corner before the men, and quickly grinded to a halt to reveal an utterly frantic-looking Tenya Iida in its wake. The look on his face sent both Heroes' senses of danger into full alert. They had never seen the studious young boy look this serious before, which was seriously saying something.
"Malenkii Iida, what's going on? You look as though you've seen a ghost!" Tunguska asked worriedly as the bespectacled boy tried to catch his breath, looking even more frantic now that he had finally run into two of the teachers he'd been hoping to find. "Sensei, something terrible is happening at the USJ! I don't know how they managed it, but a whole army of Villains has taken the area over without setting off the campus security! One of them managed to teleport several of us to different areas of the park! I was barely able to get out myself, I need to inform the rest of the Pro Heroes; they need to help!"
Tenya sounded like he was on the verge of a panic attack until All Might finally stepped forward with a firm hand on the boys' shoulder, immediately pacifying him with that trademark smile. "You've done well informing us of this, Iida-shonen. Go and inform the other teachers now. Tunguska-san and I will be the vanguard. We'll help thin out their numbers and get your classmates to safety."
Tenya looked wholly re-inspired by All Mights' presence, and with a single nod of understanding, took off the rest of the way, while Tunguska and All Might looked ahead to the distant shape of USJ on the horizon, a sensation of grim realization burning inside them, alongside a newly ignited fire of determination. Their instincts had not proven wrong, and if Tenya had been able to get out to go for help, then it clearly meant they were not too late.
At least, the two Heroes could only hope that was still the case. All they could think of was how much they had hoped the children were somehow managing in the meantime.
Nikolay and his group had finally managed to cross the threshold of the avalanche area and found themselves back in the central plaza. Nikolay and Shoto could already feel their body heat returning, and at that same moment, they all noticed the distant yet unmistakable forms of Izuku, Tsuyu and Minoru emerging from a body of water across the plaza, no doubt connected to the flood area of the park. However, the relief of that was quickly dashed away by the next thing they all saw right in the center between them.
Laying motionless on the ground was Aizawa, looking beaten down to hell and back, with the large oily-skinned inhuman creature with the exposed brain from before, kneeling over his body like a predator ready to devour its beaten prey. On top of that, the white-haired man with the disembodied hands clutching all over his body was standing at the sideline, observing the pathetic sight, before just as suddenly noticing the arrival of the two groups of young students on both sides.
The sight of his one bulging red eye from behind the hand on his face sent a chill of indescribable terror into the students that met his gaze, before he finally seemed to take a decrepit, wheezing breath to speak. "All you children…you go and inform All Might, the 'Symbol of Peace', that he is wanted…by the Artificial Human, 'Nomu'!"
As if to simply emphasize the gravity of his declaration, the creature that could only be the 'Nomu' he was referring to, went on to continuously smash Aizawas' head into the crater of the ground, bending his right arm in its grasp. It was stomach-churning to watch for that alone, but it was especially chilling, just knowing that someone as powerful as their homeroom teacher was being manhandled by this thing like he was nothing. Many of them could feel their skin prickle with horror and overwhelm at the might of just one of these Villains. There was no telling what the white-haired one was able to do, and that was terrifying beyond words for the students on its own.
As he continued to look upon the childrens' horrified faces, the white-haired Villain suddenly felt a familiar disturbance in the air, quickly followed by a familiar black mist taking form at his side.
"Shigaraki Tomura-san," the mist spoke to him in a calm, yet clearly alert tone that drew his attention immediately. He was not expecting anything to garner such a state from his teleporting compatriot. "Kurogiri-san. By your being here, instead of attending to those children, I take it that Thirteen is finally dead?"
"I have managed to severely incapacitate him. However, I'm afraid the students I could not manage to scatter impeded me. As a result, one of them was able to escape with his life. Furthermore, he had a speed-related Quirk, so I fear time has been stacked much further against us than we had originally anticipated." For a chilling moment, the man known as Shigaraki had no visible reaction. But then, his body started to tremble, whether with fear or anger, nobody could rightly say.
"Kurogiri, if you…if you can't act as a proper warp gate, for us or for disposing of our enemies, then our plans have already crumbled. There's no doubt that if they throw dozens of Pro Heroes at us now, we can't possibly win. It's game over. Aaaagh…it's game over…for now. So, shall we hop back?"
The Villains had made no effort to keep their conversation to themselves, as both groups of students had overheard their plan to retreat clear as day. "If they're retreating, does that mean we've technically won?" Nikolay couldn't help but ask; unnerved to see his companions did not visibly share his relief. "They said they came here to try and kill All Might. They've ultimately done next to nothing and now they're pulling back?" Momo explained, clearly put off by this sudden turn of events.
"So what are you suggesting? That we actually try and stop these guys from leaving, to try and find out their plans? They took down Aizawa-sensei, what chance do you legitimately think we would have?" Nikolay couldn't even hide his incredulity in his tone, as he had thought simple common sense would've made his classmates realize that the Villains' leaving was ultimately for the best.
"I was able to garner some information from the Villains that initially attacked me, in regards to those threes' roles in killing All Might. The creature on top of Sensei is essentially their muscle, their most important member in this scenario. If we find out what their ultimate plans are that would require All Mights' death in the first place, then we can inform the Pro Heroes at the school so they can prepare. If we let them leave without learning anything, then we've essentially won nothing." Shoto summarized, while Nikolay couldn't figure out which course of action was right, and which one was smart.
All the while, as Shigaraki ruminated on the sudden downturn of his plan, he couldn't help but take in the sight of the gathered students on both sides of the plaza, the theoretical apples of All Mights' eye. With that concept in mind; an idea, albeit one born of spite rather than strategy; came to mind. "Actually, before we go…why don't we use this opportunity to…take the Symbol of Peaces' pride down a peg?"
With that, he immediately dashed for Izuku, Tsuyu and Minoru, reaching for the frog girl specifically. None of the teenagers watching could even react as he lashed his hand out and clasped it right onto the dumbfounded girls' face. The frightened anticipation of all those watching was met only with an uneventful silence. Then, Shigaraki began to chuckle bitterly to himself. "Well, now…you really are as cool as they say, aren't you…Eraserhead?"
To everyones' surprise, Aizawa had managed to get his head up just enough to cancel whatever Shigarakis' Quirk was, right before the creature called 'Nomu' slammed his head into the ground again.
The distraction was all that was needed to spur Izuku to suddenly launch a red sparking punch right for Shigarakis' head. From where they stood across the plaza, Nikolay and his partners all felt certain, for just a moment, that this fight was already won. If that man leading the Villains were taken down, then this fight would be as good as over.
That was what they believed, until the Nomu suddenly darted across to Shigarakis' side, taking the full brunt of the punch to its midsection…with absolutely no visible effect to be had. Everyone felt their blood go cold at the sight of this. They knew the green-haired boy had just used a Quirk-enhanced punch, and yet that monstrosity was just standing there like nothing had happened, and was now grabbing Izuku by the arm.
Nikolay felt every last ounce of willpower coursing through his legs as he suddenly kicked himself forward in a mad dash towards the scene of battle, not even thinking in protest as to just what he was running into. All he could focus on was trying to save his classmates. This wasn't about trying to prove his dedication to becoming a Hero. This was solely about keeping his friends safe.
He was too focused on the enemies ahead to even notice the rest of his comrades had started following his lead, rushing headlong as well. Shoto and Denki both fired off their Ice and electricity respectively towards the black mist Villain, who unfortunately saw their attacks coming and quickly warped himself out of the way. As long as they could manage to keep him out of the fight, it was good enough.
"Kolya-san! Your Quirk is centered around collecting and discharging kinetic energy, correct?" Momo suddenly asked urgently, but Nikolay was too dead set on getting the three classmates in front of him out of harms' way to answer. For the class' vice-president, however, it had simply been rhetorical, as she used the moment to focus before managing to spawn a large two-handed tuning fork from her back, catching it in midair before tossing it to the Russian at her side, who only managed to catch it out of pure reflex, looking upon her creation with only momentary confusion.
"Use it as a melee weapon! You can fire your kinetic blasts into it to disorient whoever you hit with it, and be able to re-absorb the vibrations from the impact as well!" Her confidence in this sudden addition to his Quirk repertoire was downright inspiring. Nikolay had half a mind to call Momo Yaoyorozu a true blue genius for this idea, but hurriedly got his head back in the game, as he now realized he was less than a couple steps away from getting into the fight; Izuku and Tsuyu finally noticing the other groups' arrival on the scene.
"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM THEM!" Nikolay roared as he swung the large tuning fork in his hands back for a full swing, discharging a full two-handed dose into the metal object as he swung forward with all his might, right at the exact moment of making full impact with the Nomus' side. Nikolay felt more powerful than he ever had before, more in control, as he saw the massive kinetic force rippling through every inch of the Nomus' body; the creature letting out a visibly surprised guttural sound in reaction.
However, that was as far as the effect went, as it remained upright, and simply turned its bulging beady eye towards the now stunned Russian standing beside it.
SNAP!
With lightning fast reflexes and precision, the Nomu brought its free hand down hard, snapping the giant tuning fork clean in half with a single punch, leaving Nikolay trembling, with a worthless piece of broken metal loosely clutched in his hands. He had put every last ounce of physical and kinetic power into that hit, and this thing just took it like it was nothing. How the hell was anyone supposed to fight something like this? Was this monster the reason these Villains were bold enough to even launch this plan to kill All Might in the first place? Would even Tunguska be able to hold his own against something like this?
None of those questions or their answers mattered worth a damn, as the Nomu swiftly grabbed Nikolay by the arm with its free hand, lifting both him and Izuku up like rag dolls, a horrifying grin of what he could only assume was victory, upon its inhuman beaked face.
Shigaraki began to wryly chuckle to himself once more as he observed the two foolhardy boys helpless in the grip of his creature. "Both of you children…so bold…so eager to try and prove yourselves as Heroes; a couple of All Mights' precious new disciples, no doubt. Well, it doesn't matter, either way, because this is the end of the line for all you kids."
Suddenly, a familiar high-pitched electric whine pierced the air, followed by the sound of something large shattering from the inside. Unbeknownst to the two boys at the Nomus' mercy, Kyouka had managed to rush in and plant her earlobe jacks into the fountain in the center of the plaza, sending an amplified pulse into it, causing it to explode from the inside out. Thankfully, her aim had managed to damage the pipes to where the water flowing out was now raining specifically upon the Nomu itself, and not harmlessly spreading all over the plaza itself.
Everything that followed happened in what felt like the blink of an eye, as Momo managed to create a small capsule from her elbow, hurriedly pulling the pin from its end. "Both of you close your eyes and hold your breath!" Figuring she had to be addressing them, Nikolay and Izuku both did as they were told, hoping and praying that whatever she was doing was going to work. Taking advantage of the momentary confusion, Momo chucked the capsule as hard as she could towards the Nomus' face, and just before impact, the small object exploded into a moderate-sized cloud that made the creature start writhing in a momentary state of being stunned. Momo had managed to create a small tear gas bomb.
While not filled in on her classmates' impromptu plan, Tsuyu was able to recognize an opportunity, and thus used that chance to extend her tongue to knock Izuku out of the Nomus' loosened grasp, before immediately swinging it back to wrap around Nikolays' midsection, and wrangle him free as well, before tossing him to the side right beside Izuku, just enough to be out of Shigaraki and the Nomus' reach; all before submerging herself and Minoru back in the water while Shigaraki had been momentarily distracted.
"NOW! GIVE THEM ALL YOU GOT, KAMINARI!" Momo shouted once she saw both boys had been knocked safely out of harms way. With his cue being called, Denki hurried in, and in a moment of absolutely radiant brilliance, he unleashed every last watt of electricity his body had, directly into the water the Nomu had been both showered in from the busted fountain, and the body it was currently standing in.
Amid the blinding golden light of the electrical discharge, the Nomu let out another disgruntled, angered roar as an inhuman amount of electricity had been sent coursing through its entire body, while Shigaraki had managed to get himself out of the way at the last moment upon realizing the students' plans.
BOOM!
Before anybody else could even think or react, the deafening sound of the USJ double doors being blasted off their hinges echoed all across the park, drawing the attention of all those around.
Mina, Ochako and the rest of their classmates felt their hearts lift to the heavens with relief, and the students observing from the plaza felt likewise, as standing minuscule within the towering doorway, but practically radiating with power and hope, were All Might and Tunguska side-by-side, both veteran Heroes' eyes gazing upon the scene of battle they had just walked in on, their hearts burning with the desire to put these Villains to justice and save their young charges.
In this moment, everyone was gazing upon, not middle-aged teachers with Quirks, but shining paragons of Justice made flesh, standing as though neither of them had aged a day.
"HAVE NO FEAR, FOR I HAVE COME!" All Might announced with a furious bellow to his voice as though he were speaking the very word of God. "THE SUN OF JUSTICE DESCENDS UPON ALL OF YOU, FOUL VILLAINS!" Tunguska announced with equal power, a frightening edge to his voice as he saw Nikolay amid the fray beside Izuku; the sight of his son caught in the middle of this life-or-death struggle making his eyes and the floating glowing disk behind his head, burn with more intensity than ever before.
All the students observing cried out their teachers' names with joyous fervor, while Shigaraki simply observed the two larger-than-life Heroes, with a twisted sense of glee growing inside his chest.
"Tunguska…the Sun of Justice…I had heard the rumors…but I didn't think you would actually be here; and you…All Might, the Symbol of Peace, himself. Well, now…it looks like our mission…has gotten an extra continue, after all."
And there is the new chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and found it considerably more exciting this time around. If so, please, I would appreciate it if you all took the time to write a review and let me know how I'm doing. I can't make potential improvements to my overall writing ability without the proper feedback, after all.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, I hope you're all staying safe, and I will be back with the next chapter on 03/13!