Hello again, everyone. The last two chapters of the Villains Abroad Arc have been quite chaotic, I'm sure you'd all agree, and I hope you're all enjoying that so far. This chapter, we start to more directly tie these events into what we know has happened thus far in the Shie Hassaikai Arc, but in order to maintain narrative focus, this will currently round out this portion of this particular arc so we can then focus on Nikolay, Mina and Kyouka back in Hokkaido with their internships, and the slowly building events behind the scenes there. Hopefully this shift won't discourage you all from continuing to keep reading here every week. Your continued readership is more appreciated than I can ever properly convey, no matter how much I wish you would all please give me some kind of written feedback so I can know where to improve, or what you think works particularly well here.

I'd like to give another thankful shoutout to my two beta readers and consultants, Mizu and Jonny, for their ongoing support and assistance in helping make this story the best it can be, presentation and detail-wise. And I would also like to once again give another shout of gratitude to all of you for your continued support once more.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters, the original events surrounding them, and the alterations of established events that occur because of them.

A/N: [[]] indicates that characters are contextually speaking Russian.

Chapter 72

Ambush

(Засада)

Tuesday, September 9th, Sudogda, Russia

[[In continuation of the series of disastrous reports that is even at this moment developing; military and law enforcement entities are continuing to investigate the potential links between the series of border checkpoint explosions that rocked the Georgian borders; the recent collapse and complete annihilation of the Cathedral of Saint Theodore Ushakov in Saransk, and the mass prison break and utter implosion of a major high-security Quirk-class prison just outside of Mstyora, Vladimir Oblast just one day ago.

[[In an update to the aforementioned incident, it has been discovered via recovery of a partially destroyed registry, that all but three of the registered inmates were killed throughout the duration of the event itself, and the three that have yet to have been discovered amid the remains have been identified as formerly incarcerated Villains: Ivan Voyevodovich a.k.a Bombardment; Pavel Shostakov a.k.a. Riptide, and Lyubava Ignasvili a.k.a. Quiller.

[[The close timing of all three of these incidents has led authorities to believe that these three otherwise disparate incidents may in fact have been committed by at least one of, if not all of the same perpetrators, judged primarily by the similar means with which the latter two structures were destroyed so thoroughly. Some further investigation was also able to recover some street camera footage that revealed a handful of individuals near the scenes of both incidents shortly before they both occurred.

[[As such, the authorities and the government have seen fit to place these individuals under suspicion, and are thus mobilizing at every city, town and major road in order to apprehend them for questioning. Citizens are also being urged to contact their local authorities if they possess any information at all that may lead to the apprehension of these potential Villains and criminals. Be cautioned that these individuals are to be considered extremely dangerous, and that you must not make any attempt to apprehend them yourselves, and instead leave such matters to official authorities.]]

As the Russian news broadcast continued to play on through the small wall-mounted TV inside this quaint little small town convenience store, nearly every customer and employee inside was watching and listening with rapt attention. All the recent news of increasingly dire destructive acts had been leaving people all across Russia growingly uneasy, but now the news that there were a whole handful of potentially responsible culprits, and now three well-known Villains on the loose, had everyone watching hitching in a frightened breath.

However, what none of them realized was that, standing among them throughout the store, were a small number of those very same individuals in question; Vukodlak, Himiko Toga and the League of Villains' three newest conscripts: Bombardment, Quiller and Riptide themselves; now donning brand new outfits and new disguises that would ultimately make it impossible for any of the authorities to find those they believed to be responsible.

While the regular customers began chattering amongst themselves and the clerks their distaste and fear regarding this evolving situation; Himiko was simply standing enraptured as she kept watching the TV, focusing her mind on all sounds around her, not only for the sake of strengthening her hearing's focus in order to pick out certain voices amid the buzz; but also to keep practicing her linguistic learning. The speed with which everyone spoke Russian around her still made it difficult to precisely figure out what they were saying, but her brain was continuing to be able to recognize more and more words after all of the intense lessons Vukodlak had been drilling into her every moment they were on the road, alongside her continued sensory training.

It was now to the point where Himiko was actually able to mostly put together exactly what the news was talking about, and while she at least had enough awareness of her surroundings to know not to be smiling when everyone else around her was in such a downer mood; in her head, she was dancing and squealing with excitement to hear what her teacher would have to say about her translation skills at this point.

Once the news broadcast had gone over to talking about whatever else was of no interest to her, the disguised young Villain hastily returned to her mentor in question, as he was still busily picking through whatever canned foods he could find that would be good for helping them keep up their nutritional levels for the journey still ahead. That was the whole reason this many of their group had decided to disguise themselves and stock up like this after finding a new place to hole up and rest in at the end of nearly a whole day's worth of travel after the prison break.

[[Hey, Sensei, I could actually understand the news. Isn't that cool? I'm actually learning.]] Himiko immediately opened up; only barely remembering to keep her voice down when Vukodlak gave her a stern glare the moment he could see that unmistakable excitement on her face, disguise or not.

[[That's good. Keep what they said in mind and wait until we get back.]] Despite his advice, Himiko was still at least peppy enough to start humming eagerly to herself while rocking back and forth on the heels of her shoes; her mind racing for any one of the countless other questions racing through her head.

[[Hey, any idea how much longer until we get to Moscow? I really wanna try and get some photos while we're there.]] In between all of their stops to carry out their work, Himiko had been consistently pestering Vukodlak for them to take pictures to commemorate the trip. The fact she was choosing now to bring it back up left him letting out a sigh of notable irritation.

[[If things go smoothly, we could be there within a single day's travel nonstop. However, we must always be prepared for things to go awry, hence the need to stock up on food. Now go on and grab what you can from the other aisles… and don't just pile up on nothing but sweets; you'll give yourself a stomachache.]]

The last-minute reminder came the moment he saw his student skipping right for the candy aisle; leaving Himiko pouting with disappointment, before just as quickly bringing that smile right back and heading on her way. The veteran Villain rolled his eyes at her display, before a timely chuckle from the watchful and disguised Quiller on the other side of his aisle drew his attention.

The smile on hers and the fellow disguised Riptide's faces were unmistakable, forcing Vukodlak to start moving again to get away from them. [[Well, listen to you, suddenly sounding like Father of the Year. That girl really seems to have sunk some kind of hooks into you. Are you sure you've only known those three for just a month or two?]]

Vukodlak didn't answer at first, instead trying to spot Bombardment somewhere in the store; prompting Riptide to finally chime in as well, albeit while likewise showing a sense of caution as he kept his voice down: [[Yeah, the way I'd heard talk about you, I didn't think you were the kind of guy who'd actually settle down with any group, not after… well, you know. I would've thought you'd have just gone out on your own and left that girl and those other two foreigners to fend for themselves out here.]]

[[That may have been the prerogative of you three, but I'm not like that. The fact is that the world needs a better class of Villain who focuses on the bigger picture. I shouldn't have to keep repeating this sentiment to you people, and especially not when we're supposed to be incognito.]] Vukodlak's voice, while spoken in a hushed whisper, was especially intense in how serious he was of their need to not draw attention to themselves.

Riptide thankfully took a step back, but Quiller was nowhere as merciful, as she instead decided to step in that much closer; still smiling that devious way that proved she was simply aiming to get under some skin. [[There's no need to get so defensive; we're just curious about what you see in those three. It's hard to get a bead on any of them but that girl. She's obviously head-over-heels in admiration of you; it'd honestly be adorable if she weren't so annoyingly energetic all the time and pestering us with questions she can barely put words together properly enough to ask. But I suppose, since we can't really do anything about taking care of our… unfinished business with the dearly departed; rolling with you lot is about as good a second choice as any.]]

She and Riptide both flashed momentary grimaces of frustration to themselves at the painful reminder that neither of them could get their revenge on their respective nemeses within the New Bogatyrs anymore; but both Villains were thankfully quick to let that distaste fade, just as she turned her sharp gaze back to Himiko at the other end of the store.

[[That girl; Toga, isn't it? She doesn't seem to annoy you any less than she does me, or any of us for that matter. So why did you bring her along with us on this little shopping trip after we'd already had to sit in that cramped little rust bucket of a car with her for a whole day already?]]

Vukodlak soon found himself similarly looking back to his grinning student alongside them. It was true that Himiko's boundless energy, enthusiasm and childlike curiosity got incredibly annoying to deal with more often than not. And yet, despite this, his answer still came as such: [[I don't really know, actually. At first just being around her at all got under my skin. Now, though? There's something about her willingness to push herself to learn whatever she can from what I have to offer, and get stronger from it, that I can't help but find especially endearing. She may seem airheaded, but she's definitely sincere where it counts. Now, if she just learned to be quiet more often, it would be much better.]]

Quiller couldn't help but notice a peculiar softness in Vukodlak's gaze when watching the young female Villain. At the same time, Riptide couldn't keep his own uncertainty to himself: [[That's all well and good for her, but what about those other two; the ninja-looking guy and that wrinkly-faced freak with the death touch? How can you be so sure they haven't just gone ahead and taken off while we're just wasting time out here? I mean, you made it sound pretty clear that the latter's definitely in some kind of hurry.]]

An easy-to-miss flash of tension took hold in Vukodlak's gloved hands as he clenched them into tight fists; turning around and leaning in so that Riptide had no choice but to look right into his eyes. [[It's only natural for you to run your mouth about such things for people you don't know. I was exactly the same way with these people at first. However, I can tell you this now, and you can take it to heart; both of you: my comrades are not so fickle as to just leave their own behind for anything. They may have their tics, but they are nothing if not absolutely sincere. Give it enough time, and you'll all be able to see that for yourselves as well. Now do yourselves a favor and keep such thoughts to yourselves from here on. We've wasted enough time here as it is.]]

After managing to pay for all their bought supplies with a helping of money that Bombardment, Vukodlak and Himiko had all managed to secure over the course of the trip through some especially crafty pick-pocketing; the quintet of Villains was soon on their way back to their current shelter for the night, traversing down one of the many lonely forested roads leading out of the tiny town of Sudogda, before soon after venturing off road and up the tree-covered hills, where they were finally able to remove their disguises and breathe easy.

And with the threat of being overheard no longer being an issue, Himiko was immediately right back to her bouncy and excited self as she hurried right back to her mentor's side. "Sensei, I kept trying to listen to what the TV was saying, and I think I heard them saying something about the police figuring out we're connected to all the other stuff we destroyed so far, and that they're asking people for any info to lead them to us. Did I get any of that right? You had to have heard it too, right? Were you testing me the whole time? Did I get it right? How did I do, huh?!"

Vukodlak could once again hear Quiller, Riptide and Bombardment all snickering in amusement to each other, but he wasn't about to let them even entertain the thought that they were seeing him be vulnerable or embarrassed, as he kept his eyes on the invisible route ahead; granting Himiko only the slightest of head pats. "Yes, you pretty much got that all right. Good job, Toga-san."

Even a barely worthwhile attempt at a head pat was enough to leave Himiko blushing wildly and giggling ecstatically to herself; completely ignorant to Vukodlak momentarily peeking into her own bag and giving her the slightest glare of disapproval when seeing just how much sweets she had grabbed for herself, against his own advice. 'God, for such an eager Villain, she's still such a damn child.'

[[You're getting too sentimental for your own good, Vukodlak.]] Bombardment suddenly called out; and while the Villain in question never broke his stride, the momentary flinch in his shoulders was just visible enough for his fellow Slavic Villains to see; making their chuckling that much more noticeable to himself and Himiko.

[[Honestly, after that disastrous run you had as a Hero, why would you suddenly go with joining a whole other group; no matter if they're Villains, too. Yeah, I know you gave us that whole fancy speech about goals and all, but you know just as well as we do that to be a Villain simply means exercising our power to live as we want, where we want and when we want. Groups with organized personnel structures and goals ultimately just get in the way of that.]]

"Hey, Sensei; what's that baldie with the stupid mustache saying?" Himiko suddenly asked with the same cheer in her voice the moment a gap in Bombardment's taunting came. Vukodlak proceeded to give her the short and sweet translation of exactly his point.

To this, his twin-bun-wearing student suddenly hopped and spun so that she was now trekking alongside her mentor backwards, looking their three tagalongs in the eye with the same wide fanged smile, but with a much more off-putting sharpness in her yellow eyes. [[I totally agree.]]

The fact she was now directly addressing them, and actually echoing their sentiment, made the three Villains come to a momentary stop with surprise, before just as hurriedly trying to catch up; all while Himiko was continuing to travel alongside Vukodlak with her back to the path ahead, and yet somehow managing to avoid tripping on any protruding rocks or tree roots.

[[All I want is an easy and simple life for me, without unpleasant things like stupid Heroes or rules getting in the way. Me, Tomura, Twice, Sensei and others are making that happen, and you can help us do it, too. And one day, Sensei will help make me strong enough to stand on my own; then I can kill him and any other nasty Heroes or bothersome people super-easy. One day, I'll get to be a Hunter of Heroes too; just as cool as Sensei is!]]

With that, Himiko happily hopped and twirled so she was now walking forward again; completely oblivious to the all-around shocked expressions on the three, and also on Vukodlak's face as well. This was the first time he'd gotten to hear the full extent of her plans for her future, and to know that his death at her own hands was one of them had now left an especially nasty twisting sensation in his stomach. There had been so many moments in literature and other dramas he could think of that revolved around the student wanting to fatally surpass the master, but even as a Villain, he'd failed to consider that possibility ever befalling him.

Knowing now how much of a place in his cold heart Himiko had somehow managed to burrow her way into, this realization was especially painful. Unfortunately, that sentiment was not echoed by the others, as Quiller immediately spoke up: [[Are you deaf, Vukodlak? That little brat just straight-up said she plans to kill you! Why aren't you bleeding her out right here? Are you mad?]]

[[Yeah, are you seriously willing to just concede your reputation to that little runt? You could easily kill her before she'd even get a chance to blink, let alone act!]] At this point when Bombardment chimed in, he wasn't even trying to be subtle. No, if anything, he was deliberately trying to get Vukodlak fired up, and he didn't give a damn if Himiko heard him. He was honestly looking forward to seeing the two fight, and see just who would come out on top. And if whoever did ended up deciding to try and go for him, he had plenty of options immediately on hand to keep himself out of harm's way.

However, while Riptide was trying to calm his two fellow Villains down and not try and make a scene, Vukodlak had finally come to a stop, with Himiko not following far behind, as she slowly turned back to see just what her mentor was thinking, since her ears and head had been able to decipher just enough of what the other Villains had been saying to him in the wake of her ultimate confession.

Looking her in the eye in return, Vukodlak couldn't tell if there was fear, sadness, anticipation or outright bloodlust in Himiko's eyes. If anything, she was probably trying to decide whether to act on it herself, or if she'd said too much far too soon, and was now realizing what a mistake she'd made.

His own survival instincts were similarly screaming for Vukodlak to just split Himiko from top to bottom and just leave her here. Kill or be killed was the age-old law of the wild, after all; and in these circumstances in this environment, Villains as a whole pretty much were forced to become like wild animals if they wanted to survive, let alone thrive.

But his sense of reason, and that same damned sense of comradery kept him from acting as such, as Vukodlak took a deep breath, continued to stand tall, and spoke to his patiently waiting student before him: "Toga-san; I get where you're coming from, about how you want to keep getting stronger whichever way you can so you can be the strongest there is. I get it, because that's exactly where I was in my head when I made the return to being a Villain all those years ago. I was exactly where you are right now.

"At some point or another, we all want nothing more than to try and become stronger so we can crush every last one of those we consider our enemies. However, all those years I spent hunting Heroes, looking back on what made me the way I am, forced me to realize that in order to truly achieve the vision for the world that I want, that we all want; I have to look at the world from a perspective outside my own. Instead of acting out of my own wants and anger, I came to the conclusion that Heroes need to be eradicated so that the people they and their society constantly oppress can live freely and without fear. If you give yourself a bigger picture like that to train yourself towards; you'll find yourself even more driven to succeed, Toga-san. Why not push yourself towards making a world of simple and easy lives for everybody like that?"

As Vukodlak continued laying this whole philosophy of his out for Himiko to take in; Bombardment, Quiller and Riptide were both still standing back and watching with anticipation (at least for two of them) for the two to still come to lethal blows. Bombardment ultimately couldn't help but snicker to himself: [[That idiot; all his talk of working for the sake of others, even if it involves wiping out Heroes all around. He can go ahead and call himself a Villain as much as he wants, but he still sounds way too much like a damn Hero.]]

In the end, though; Himiko simply cocked her head to the side; an adorably confused smile on her face that somehow matched the always tired-looking dark bags under her eyes. "What are you talking about, Sensei? Why would I want to focus on making things better for more people than myself?"

Vukodlak refused to back down in the face of his student's confusion. "Because if you only ever think about yourself; you may ultimately find yourself to be more alone than you've ever been before in your life."

However, at this, Himiko actually started giggling eagerly to herself: "Oh, you're funny, Sensei! You said yourself that we're all working towards the same goal; making a life that's easy for all of us. So if I'm just focusing on accomplishing what I want like I have been, then aren't I sort of working towards helping us all get what we want anyway? Therefore, I won't ever be lonely. And when I get you and all the other people I love all together with me in the end, then I'll be even less lonely than that! Honestly, you're talking all confusing-like right now, Sensei."

With that, Himiko once again began skipping happily along, leaving Vukodlak and his fellow foreign Villains in a state of momentary dumbfounded shock. For as childish as her choice of words and reasoning was; there was a very bizarre kind of sense to it as well, at least from Himiko's perspective, which was what made it so much more difficult for even him to grasp.

[[Looks like Daddy's Little Girl is a little too smart for her old man to handle, huh, Vukodlak?]] Bombardment suddenly chimed in with a big smart-ass smirk on his mustachioed face; made even more so when he saw the deeply frustrated look in Vukodlak's gaze.

THWIP!

In the blink of an eye, Vukodlak suddenly threw his left arm up, thrusting it just outside of Bombardment's field of view; and when the other Villain looked to see what just happened, he instantly leaped back when he saw the unmistakable sight of a gleaming combat knife's point hanging just an inch away from where one of his carotid arteries had just been; currently being held between two of Vukodlak's fingers.

From the handle, Bombardment and his fellow Villains could see a thin line running several feet ahead to where Himiko was now standing, her left arm extended, with that same line finishing at the sleeve of her coat. It all suddenly became crystal clear what the girl had nearly done without any of them even being prepared for it in time. If Vukodlak had simply decided not to intervene just then, Bombardment would have been lying dead in a pool of his own blood right now, thanks to that otherwise airheaded young Japanese school girl Villain.

The moment Vukodlak separated his fingers, Himiko tugged her wrist back, reeling her knife back into her grip before she slid it back into its sheathe. The smile on her face when she saw how pale Bombardment's face was reflected pure satisfaction. [[Don't talk all crappy about my Sensei like that, please.]]

With that, she continued on her way, and just as Vukodlak began to do the same, he momentarily glanced back over his shoulder to the still wide-eyed Quiller and Riptide; a satisfied smirk of his own overtaking his otherwise stoic expression, seeing how sharp her hearing now was. [[Like I said; she's sincere where it matters most. Now come on.]]

For another good twenty minutes they continued to make their way through these thick and mountainous woods in notable silence. Of course, that didn't last long once their recognition of their surroundings, even in near total darkness like this, had Himiko once more voicing her curiosity: "Hey, Sensei, if I understand what you were saying about time zones and stuff like that is right, then this should be just about the time Tomura would be checking in on how his clone meeting that Overhaul guy went, right?"

With that reminder, Vukodlak actually found his sense of certainty momentarily shaken, considering it was one aspect of their ever-expanding plan he had no direct control over. "I certainly hope so, Toga-san. Until I can find something in those Hero records that'll give us the big advantage over Tunguska and Kolya we've been looking for; this'll be the best chance we have of having an immediate advantage over any enemy of ours."

Himiko, thinking back on how much she'd seen Vukodlak poring over those old folders over their traveling stretches, and not coming up with anything noteworthy, finally asked: "But there looks like so much stuff in all those old books and stuff. How is none of it useful?"

Vukodlak let out a tired sigh: "Because nothing I've looked over so far in relation to Tunguska or his ancestry is anything that normal people wouldn't have immediate access to, anyway. Every generation leading up to him, one parent was that generation's Number One Hero of the Soviet Union; so of course the government's going to want to compile all information about them that they can for any other proud citizen to peruse through. There's nothing in any of those files, though, that has any clues as to why All For One is so interested in him… or why All Might would be, for that matter; regardless of their history."

With that grim finality now out in the open, Himiko slightly bowed her head, covering her mouth under the thick scarf around her neck as she thought. "I know Tomura said his sensei kept telling him that this was the only reason we busted you out. What do you think will happen if you go all the way back, there's no useful info, and we don't have anything like what he's looking for about that Tunguska guy or Kolya-kun?"

It was a very sensible and important question to ask, but Vukodlak wasn't about to let that weigh him down, as he instead looked his student in the eye and spoke with complete conviction: "If that ends up being the case, then I'll simply look through his mother's history next. Tomaz was a painstakingly thorough man in all the time I've known him; there's no way he would've missed any step in Gamayun's family history out of anyone else. If All For One truly believed I could find something he could use against those two through this, then I'm going to find it."

The sheer force of will through which he stated this would have normally left Himiko looking downright inspired, but now her mind was simply going through any other worrying things going on around them that she had taken notice of. "I hope you're right, Sensei. Even if I wanna kill you one day, I still think you're super cool, and I really like learning stuff from you in the meantime. I don't want Tomura or his sensei to do something to you just because of some dumb books not having what they're looking for."

"Well, let's try not to dwell too much on it since we still have a long ways to go through it, Toga-san. Is there anything else on your mind right now?" Vukodlak immediately asked; leaving them all in silence once more as they began to climb an especially pronounced rocky ledge.

"Yeah. Has Twice been seeming kinda different to you lately? Like, more intense than usual, I mean?" Now that she had finally asked, Vukodlak bowed his head, pretty much answering her question without saying a word. The truth was that, even though their clone-making comrade had consistently been pulling through in tough times, in the times between he'd been proving to be increasingly more irritable, to a point Vukodlak had been particularly reluctant to leave him with nobody else but Tomura even for a brief outing like this.

"Yeah, he has. He and Tomura-san both; only at least with the latter, I can understand why he wants to get this all done sooner. I must say I'm growing anxious to know what this voice speaking to him in his head is, myself."

[[Hey, what the hell are you two getting so chatty with each other about? For all your talk about us all working together, the least you could do is let us in, too.]] Quiller suddenly called out to them from several feet behind. Himiko and Vukodlak exchanged a mutually aggravated glance before the older Villain called back:

[[We're just discussing our two other comrades; nothing you all need to be worried about.]]

[[Oh, yeah, right. I've been pretty curious about those two, myself; no thanks to them being so cold. What's the deal with that wrinkle-faced one? Why does he go around carrying a duffle bag full of severed hands?]] Bombardment immediately asked; completely ignorant to the lack of tact in his words before Himiko suddenly stopped and turned back; her hand already slowly inching for her side, leaving the bald Villain looking especially wary.

[[We don't know because it's not our business. It's not yours, either. Don't ask, baldy.]] With her own point being made especially clear, even as her smile betrayed how deathly serious she and her mentor both visibly looked, she and Vukodlak immediately turned back to continue on their way, prompting their three companions to stay quiet about their leader and continue on their way.

After another good half-hour stretch of trekking through the woods, the group finally found themselves stepping out into a clearing, wherein stood the remains of a Victorian-looking small-sized castle composed of two buildings. The whole place still looked to be at least somewhat structurally sound, and while it didn't offer any protection from the cold on its own, all their clothes thankfully made up for it. What was curious enough about this place, was how Vukodlak had immediately known about it from the moment their travels had brought them to this part of the country, noting that it was the remains of what the locals referred to as the Muromtsevo Estate.

While it had been left completely uninhabited and to the mercy of the elements for centuries, it was still enough for the Villains to all kick their feet up for the night, for the moment they all stepped into the clearing and made their way for the main building, they could already spot the faint glow of lantern light within one of the boarded up windows. Stepping inside and making their way upstairs to the second floor, Vukodlak and Himiko both let out a sigh of exhaustion and relief at the sight of Twice pacing anxiously back and forth across the room with the lantern, finally coming to a jolt and a stop the moment he spotted the newly arrived five faces before him.

"Oh God, finally you're back! I thought you all up and ditched us after a while! What did you get? I could eat anything right now after that pain-in-the-ass trip! I'm very picky! Did anybody recognize you? The newbies didn't cause trouble, did they?" Twice was already running a mile a minute with the questions as the five Villains all laid their supplies out and he began perusing through, completely ignorant of the looks of distaste from the three aforementioned newcomers. Even with the language barrier, there was something in their guts that told them he was bad-mouthing them somewhere in the middle of all his rambling.

"You don't gotta worry, Twice, we were ultra incognito, just as expected from Sensei! Don't touch any of the candy, it's mine… unless you ask nicely, of course. Where's Tomura? He's gotta be hungry too, right?" Himiko asked, she and Vukodlak already busily looking around the room for any sign of their leader.

As Twice pulled his mask halfway up to start eating his share and more, he jerked a thumb towards a nearby stairway. "Tomura-san locked himself up that way once he got the Doctor's tape recorder from Kurogiri-san. He said he needed to hear what was talked about and think before telling the rest of us. That was barely a half hour ago."

Suddenly, the sound of a door opening broke the ambient silence, and after the foreboding sound of several descending footsteps, the whole group soon found themselves being rejoined by an especially pensively-walking Tomura; his eyes barely visible behind the hand mask he'd taken to wearing while alone. Thankfully, Bombardment and Quiller were both smart enough to remember Himiko's warning, and instead kept their mouths shut while the white-haired Villain silently pulled out a cellphone from his pocket, hooked it up to the same long-distance radio rig Vukodlak had built for them days ago, before hitting the speed dial and then speaker button.

As the phone began to ring, he turned his eye to Vukodlak. "This is really important, Vukodlak-san. Translate everything I'm about to say for the new arrivals."

Vukodlak cleared his throat just as the other end of the call finally clicked, and the sound of Kurogiri's voice finally answered: "I wasn't sure whether or not to expect to hear from you again so soon, Shigaraki Tomura-san. I trust you've listened to everything your clone and Overhaul discussed?"

"Yeah, I think it's safe to say the rest of us are getting tired of sitting here and twiddling our thumbs, waiting for a course of action. Let's hope you don't disappoint us." The sudden intrusion of Dabi's cold voice was momentarily left unanswered. The frigid aura coming off of Tomura in this moment even had the three new foreign Villains instinctively inching back, able to pick up the ill-advised tone in the other unfamiliar voice on the other end.

Tomura situated himself at what was essentially the head of the room so he could look over all of his immediately present fellow Villains, and so his voice could come through loud and clear for all those on the other end. "I've listened to everything Overhaul discussed with 'me' twice over, and I wanted to include every one of you in this discussion, as this is a matter that will ultimately affect all of us. Vukodlak-san, fill them in."

Vukodlak immediately proceeded to fill Bombardment, Quiller and Riptide on everything there was to know, regarding their enemy Villain organization known as the Shie Hassaikai, the man known as Overhaul at the head of it all, and the literal bad blood that had been spilled between them that led to the Japanese Villains and their foreign comrade coming all this way and busting them out in the first place.

Before any of the three could even instinctively react and voice their opinions, Tomura immediately interrupted, holding his hands up for silence as he did so: "What Overhaul wants from the League of Villains is for a few of us to be transferred over into his ranks in order to help him and his associates in carrying out their plans to dismantle Hero society in Japan, and eventually the world over… and as a way to keep a leash around the rest of our necks. He has specifically asked for me to send Toga-san, Twice-san and Vukodlak-san over to his headquarters no later than tomorrow in Japanese time. I've thought about it long and hard… and I've officially decided that as of right now, on a temporary basis… the League of Villains shall work with the Shie Hassaikai in a collaborative effort."

Vukodlak was barely able to finish translating exactly what Tomura was saying before he, Himiko and Twice all did a visible double take, and the three new Villains couldn't help but glance at each other and then Tomura incredulously, completely dumbfounded that no sooner had they learned about an apparent war between the two organizations, that now they were suddenly being expected to work together. It completely defied all basic human logic, let alone that of Villains.

"A collaboration with the Hassaikai?" Twice immediately asked in disbelief. Despite this sentiment clearly being mirrored by all those in front of him, and no doubt by those on the other end of the call, Tomura remained steadfast. "That's right. Don't make me repeat myself, and don't interrupt me. The fact is that, after thinking about it, their big overall plan's actually got some serious bite to it. On the surface of it all; starting today, Toga-san, Twice-san, Vukodlak-san, you are all officially yakuza… at least, that's what Overhaul is going to be thinking."

Momentarily putting aside the looks of confusion on their faces still, Tomura reached into another of the nearby bags, pulling out another of the small Quirk-empowering bracelets for emphasis. "Twice-san, now that we've seen what these bracelets can do for your Quirk; you're going to use it to make clones of yourself, Toga-san and Vukodlak-san, and they will be the ones Kurogiri-san will send to the Shie Hassaikai headquarters to act as doubles for the real thing. Their increased durability will make them that much more convincing, thus keeping Overhaul's suspicions of us low while we continue our work shoring our resources out here in preparation for our return. If things go as timely as I'm thinking, we may even be able to return just in time for you all to slip into your clone's places without the Shie Hassaikai suspecting a thing, let alone what we'll have in store for them when the time is right."

The sheer confidence with which Tomura described this plan was unbelievable to everyone, including Bombardment, Quiller and Riptide as Vukodlak kept translating for them despite his own disbelief. Of course, even as impressed as they were with this downright gamble of a plan, that wasn't the first thing Bombardment couldn't help but comment on out the corner of his mouth to his fellows: [[Hey, you think those bracelets are what allowed him to reduce the whole bloody prison to a crater like he did? Holy shit, just imagine what one of those things could be able to do for us.]]

Of course, this side chatter was completely missed, as Twice, Himiko and Vukodlak could only ever focus on just what Tomura was suggesting; with the Clone-Making Villain being the first to finally speak up: "Sounds boring! That's really interesting, Shigaraki-san! But it's totally unbelievable to pull off, even with my clones!"

As always, Tomura's expression was impossible to glean behind the hand on his face, as was his tall and still posture. "I hardly think so, Twice-san. Your clones already perfectly mimic personalities and memories; this just works in our favor as far as deceiving them goes. Besides, it's a far better alternative than what Overhaul was originally asking. He also wanted Kurogiri-san on top of you lot, but I stuck to my guns. That secures our means of getting back home when we finally get what we need. Besides, he has the important task of getting our decoys to their underground route towards—"

"That's not the point, Tomura-san!" Vukodlak suddenly exclaimed; his voice actually leaving the whole room in silence as all eyes now fell upon him; his silver eyes staring straight through the hand mask and into Tomura's.

With their leader's verbal momentum halted, Twice likewise stepped in; his masked expression clearly reflecting total anger: "Damn right! What's all this nonsense you're saying, Shigaraki-san?! Their big plan has bite?! Why, because of that Overhaul bastard's smooth-talking? Why the hell did you let him win you over?!"

Once more, Vukodlak likewise echoed Twice's sentiments, shooting right up onto his feet: "This is very disconcerting to hear from you of all people, Tomura-san! I know you're not an unintelligent man! You know this is still the man responsible for killing Comrade Magne-san and blowing up Compress-san's arm, right? It doesn't matter if I was able to help him get it back; that's still the blood of our organization as a whole that Overhaul spilled, and no matter where or who you are, blood spilled needs to be repaid in full, lest you be torn apart by the wolves as a weakling!"

At that moment, Vukodlak's voiced anger was suddenly accompanied by the unmistakable sound of agonized sniffling emanating from Twice, as his shoulders began to tremble and shake; his whole body starting to squirm afterwards as his fingers clawed and grabbed at his mask. "Vukodlak-san's total nonsense metaphors are absolutely right, Shigaraki-san! I need to repay that debt more than any of us, you know! I was foolish enough to let that bastard trick me into bringing him right to our doorstep in the first place! It's because of me that precious things were taken from us!"

Finally, unable to hide his fullest extent of his own guilt any longer, Twice proceeded to agonizingly peel his mask from his face; revealing his stubble-adorned face with the straight stitched scar running up the center of his forehead to his short blonde hair to the now-surprised three foreign Villains for the first time; his expression twisted with sadness. "I'm only human, y'know, Shigaraki-san! How could I not feel this way?!"

Twice finally fell to his knees, almost looking like an apostle prostrating himself before the feet of their very God as he continued to weep, before Vukodlak stepped forward and placed a surprisingly comforting clawed hand upon his shoulder; his own vehement anger having by now visibly simmered down as he continued to stare into Tomura's hidden eyes.

"Our personal needs for retribution and redemption aside; you must surely understand what an act like this could do for the League's presentation in the eyes of the rest of the Villain world, Tomura-san. How can we expect anyone else to willingly join our ranks if we're seen even pretending to bend the knee to the very same organization that killed and maimed two of our own? Just because we know it would only be a ruse, doesn't mean they would. We all know just how quickly and thoroughly word spreads among our kind, and how difficult it can be to regain even a fraction of our original reputation."

Thanks to his up-til-now duty of continuously translating for the sake of their newcomers; Quiller felt confident enough in her understanding of what was happening to actually chime in herself: [[Damn right, everybody would think you guys are weak. If this Tomura is seriously considering even pretending to do this after what this Overhaul guy did, instead of taking the fight directly to his doorstep and kicking his teeth in, then why the hell are you still choosing to stand with these people, Vukodlak?]]

Himiko's icy glare for silence was perfectly timed with Vukodlak's own piercing glare from over his shoulder. [[You really want to know? You're really going to force me to repeat myself now of all times, Quiller? Then allow my student to translate for you, while I make my point for the rest of us.]]

Realizing she now had a big part to play in what was going on, Himiko proceeded to try and follow her mentor's words and translate them as best she could, if not completely grammatically correct, for the sake of the trio, while Vukodlak looked her, Twice and Tomura straight in the eye as he spoke: "If you all want the real truth; even after what your master had asked of me back in prison to do for you, I had half a mind at first to simply take my freedom and your help as a way to get my revenge on Tunguska and his son before I could just go out on my Hero-hunting journey completely unencumbered.

"And yet, despite that, I'm still here even now, on my own home turf; when if this had been me years ago, I happily would've left you all here to fend for yourselves. And do you know why I'm still here? Because in the time I've been with the League, I've seen all your respective convictions and loyalties, not only to what you want, but most importantly to each other. It was the kind of comradery, the sense of belonging to something truly greater than myself that I hadn't felt in decades. That's why I want to be able to help you all in bringing the League of Villains' grand vision for the world to fruition; not just because it aligns with how I've always felt the world should be.

"However, if you're truly so willing to cast aside our principles as an organization, as individuals united by a greater cause, and even pretend to betray just who we are as a group and as a concept… then that ultimate goal is meaningless. Many have used the excuse of the ends justifying the means in order to achieve their goals… but we all know by now that the world needs a greater class of Villain than that. I had thought this organization may be able to be that.]]

The absolute conviction that Vukodlak's words carried somehow managed the once impossible task of communicating everything he was saying for all those present, regardless of language; as even his fellow Slavic Villains for once found themselves speechless, while Himiko had fallen out of her translating duty halfway through as she felt her teacher's sincere words stab right into her heart as effectively as any knife could.

So much so, in fact, that she nearly jumped when she realized that Vukodlak and Twice (who by now was hurriedly pulling his mask back on) were calling to her beseechingly: "Toga-san, what about you?" Yeah, c'mon, say something, please!"

Taking into account everything that was being said, especially after everything they'd already gone through up to this point, Himiko felt a strange confidence in her own words as she listlessly hopped up from her own seat, swaying in a manner just as carefree as she ever had been, even as she instinctively began to draw her knife from its sheath; causing Bombardment to instinctively inch away whenever she got close.

Of course, her attention was as far from the bald Villain in question as could be, as her narrowed yellow eyes shifted towards the patiently waiting Tomura. "What exactly are we to you, Tomura? What do we mean to you?"

By now, Himiko had begun to even spin and sway on her heels with every few steps, almost as though she were dancing literally to the rhythm of her own sense of self, of her own life. "Because for me, the League just… just makes me feel good. Vukodlak-sensei was my real inspiration to come to you guys, even if he wasn't actually a part of you yet back then. You see, all this talk about grand Villain ideals and all that boring grown-up talk doesn't mean anything to me. I just wanna be able to live however I feel like in this world of ours Of course, the first step is to see if that kind of thing is even possible to achieve, right? If everything we do will make it so I can do that, and other people can too, without Heroes getting in the way with their dumb old rules, then great! I'll gladly do whatever I have to so I can live free and happy in the end. Heck, I wanted Sensei to teach me how to get stronger just so I can make such a life that much more possible. I hate doing unpleasant things so much, that anything would be worth it so I don't have to anymore."

Vukodlak had by now taken it upon himself to once more start translating his student's words as she continued to approach the pensive Tomura with her swaying and twirling movements; before with a sudden swiftness and precision, with the same distant look in her eyes and the same whimsical smile on her face, Himiko suddenly brought her knife straight up to where the blade hovered mere centimeters from Tomura's neck. The threatening gesture was unmistakable… and yet Tomura never even flinched, even as the girl before him stared right into his eyes and asked with an unreadable tone: "So with that all being said… why do any of us have to do things we don't like or even want to do, Tomura? Even if it's just pretend, it's still some version of us having to do stupid unpleasant things for unpleasant people, isn't it? Isn't that right?"

It was easy for even the three foreign Villains to see that if Himiko didn't like whatever Tomura's answer would be, she could easily slice his carotid wide open before he would even have a chance to touch and disintegrate her, and none of them were close enough to stop her from simply pulling her arm back and doing just that. Unlike when Vukodlak had put the League's leader in this position, Tomura didn't have the advantage of having put them both in a stalemate. She was entirely the victor here.

"Right." This was all Tomura uttered as he suddenly began to reach up and removed his hand mask; allowing his visibly surprised allies to see the sincerity on his face and in his eyes as he looked them all head-on; his gaze passing through the three onlookers as though they didn't even exist. Until they would effectively prove themselves and their loyalty alike, they might as well have not.

"All of you are correct, in your own ways. We do owe it to ourselves to see our blood that has been shed is repaid; we shouldn't have to sell ourselves and our ideals out for the sake of an easy win, and we shouldn't be forced to do things we don't want to do. However, I know now that sometimes, we have to accept that we have no choice but to at least feign the illusion of doing so in order to gain ourselves a greater win in the end. No matter how distasteful we may find it, the fact is that none of us are actually going. In the end, it's all an illusion… an illusion that, with all your cooperation, will be able to help us retain just who and what we are. Twice-san, Toga-san, Vukodlak-san; I'm not telling you all to do this for me. I'm asking you to do this… for me, for yourselves, for all of us."

For Vukodlak (who was somehow still managing to keep up his translating for the others amid this huge personal moment between them), Himiko and Twice, this was the very first time they had ever actually seen Tomura open himself up to them like this, for once not giving an air of pure maliciousness and threatening, but one of actually trying to be personable to his comrades, to help them try and see this entire situation from his perspective, understand the context to his decision making so they could ultimately have a better understanding of each other.

As he saw their body language start to lower, Tomura continued: "As I said before, Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai; those idiots are ultimately hoping to slow down the League's momentum and win you three over to their side because of how useful they believe you all are. They're tunneling in from the outside and trying to take over. I knew they were never about equality in this little team-up idea of theirs. With this plan, they'll at least think their influence over our group is growing, while never knowing just what we're preparing for them all the way out here."

Acting off of the rise of his own momentum, Tomura's red eyes fell upon Himiko, who visibly flinched with surprise now that he was addressing her personally: "Toga-san, rest assured that, even as unpleasant as allowing something like this may be, the easy life or world you want to make for yourself will still be reachable., but only if you're willing to concede at least this much for us."

From there, his gaze now lifted to the similarly moved Vukodlak. "Vukodlak-san, at first I couldn't stand the thought or sight of you… but in the time you've been with us, you've proven yourself and come through for us more than enough times for me to see that I'd misjudged you. Our ways of thinking in terms of ideals may be vastly different, but there is one thing we can both agree on: we can't ever allow ourselves as a group to truly forget just what we are and what that means to the world at large. No matter how a feint like this might look, the truth is that I will never allow the League and its principles to be destroyed; not by Overhaul or anyone else…especially not myself."

And finally, his eyes fell upon the still kneeling and downright enraptured-looking Twice. "Twice-san… remember when you said that someone had to pay the blood debt between us and the Shie Hassaikai? Well, with all the details that have now risen, your creating the clones I'm asking for and sending them to work with them in our comrades' places will not only be temporary, but also the best way for you to take responsibility for your failure and help repay that debt in full. I'm asking you all for this strictly because I believe in the three of you."

The entire room hung deathly silent for a good minute or two as Tomura remained silent and steadfast, watching as his deeply personal honest words sank into his three allies before him. Even among the newcomers, thanks to not only Vukodlak's translation but even just the sheer universal emotion that could be observed and felt between their hosts; even Riptide couldn't help but look notably moved by such an impassioned display of genuine leadership among Villains.

Finally, choking down another agonizing sob and struggling back to his feet, Twice accepted the old bracelet still waiting in Tomura's hand, the very first one he'd personally used; looking upon the single red dot upon it, the last shot it had available. "Okay, Shigaraki-san. If this is really going to help us like you say it will… and help me to atone… then no matter how much I don't want to do it… I'LL DO IT GLADLY!"

With that declaration, he snapped the bracelet shut around his wrist and began to convulse as he felt the last shot for this one run through his veins. Emboldened and empowered, Twice proceeded to focus, and within a matter of seconds, steps back as the human-shaped inky blot that stood in his place quickly separated into three that quickly took on different matching shapes and sizes, before the features finally came through. In less than a minute, and as the now useless bracelet cracked in half and fell at Twice's feet; the group now found themselves standing before three perfect clones of Twice himself, Vukodlak and Himiko Toga.

While Twice proceeded to crack his knuckles and the joints in his neck from the exertion of making three improved clones at once, Tomura turned his attention back to his phone still sitting in the middle on speaker. "Kurogiri-san, our coordinates are still the same as the last call. You know what to do and where to send them afterward."

Before bombardment, Quiller or Riptide could even start to marvel at witnessing Twice's Quirk this up close and personal, a large black portal suddenly opened up before the three clones, who all simultaneously proceeded to walk through, and the moment they vanished in its pitch black haze, it just as quickly retracted and vanished; leaving the small group of Villains alone once more in this dingy room of an ancient relic.

[[Whoa… so, does that Quirk of his just make clones in terms of looks, personality and sound, or is he actually able to clone their Quirks, too?]] Quiller asked in genuine impression, unable to keep her own curiosity to herself.

Just as Vukodlak and Himiko were both about to answer; the two visibly came to a sudden stop; their eyes just as quickly darting towards the nearest window like an animal sensing the presence of a clear threat. Thankfully, the rest of their comrades were just as quick to pick up on this, as they all began to reach into the bag to grab a single bracelet for themselves in preparation. "How many are out there, you two?"

Silently motioning for everyone else to step out of the view of the window frames, Vukodlak listened carefully, singling out the sound of multiple foreign heart beats emanating from within the woods lining the clearing. "Several dozen… a little under sixty. Their footsteps… coming from all around us. They've got this place completely encircled. Police and military both, from the sounds of their boots. They're still loading weapons… non-lethal from the sounds of them. Most likely tranquilizer guns."

Suddenly, Himiko likewise spoke up as she knelt down so her ear was just above the ground; an expectant smile on her face as she kept her eyes closed. "And they've got vehicles coming, too. I can hear the rumbling… it's still pretty far away, though."

An approving nod of confirmation from Vukodlak had Himiko practically aglow with pride in her growing abilities, just before they were both tossed their own bracelets by Twice, just before Bombardment, Quiller and Riptide all came in towards him with urgency in their every step, anxiously motioning for Vukodlak to translate for them: [[Hey, if we're in the middle of an assault, we all gotta be able to help each other out the best we can. You got enough of those Quirk bracelets for us, too? C'mon, you gotta give us a chance to at least show we can be useful for you guys!]]

Twice was still understandably quite hesitant about doing so, but given their circumstances, and especially after being given a resolved nod of approval from Tomura, he proceeded to hand the three foreign Villains one each of their own.

And none too soon, either, for the moment the three had each clicked the things shut around their wrists and began to reel back from the respective shots of whatever compound was inside them to make their Quirks that much stronger; the entire clearing was suddenly awash in blinding searchlights from the perimeter of the woods, quickly followed by a booming voice from a set of loudspeakers: [[We know you Villains are all holed up in there! We have this place completely encircled! There's no way for any of you to escape! Surrender now, or we will take you down with extreme prejudice! Consider yourselves lucky you're being given that much choice!]]

Listening to this and translating at the same time, Vukodlak couldn't help but note to his comrades: "Sounds like these guys are actually willing to get deadly after all. Not that it makes much difference; they catch us and we'll be carted off for execution, regardless."

"So it's either die now or die later." Tomura concluded as he and the rest of the Villains began to take positions at several different window frames across the face of the castle ruins.

"How the hell did they manage to find us all the way out here, though? We were always wearing those uncomfortable disguises of yours whenever we were out in public since coming here." Twice asked in a borderline state of panic as Vukodlak took position at the window next to his; his expression furrowed and grim.

"I don't know, Twice-san, because you're exactly right. We can't focus on why right now; all we should focus on now is fighting enough so that we can get out of here."

SHKSHKSHKSHK!

As though that were just the verbal cue she'd been waiting for, Quiller suddenly let loose not only with several handfuls of her plucked quills from out the window on the floor directly above theirs, but thanks to the empowering of her own bracelet, they were quills that actually proceeded to explode out into several dozen more quills each, resulting in a devastating rain of veritable arrows upon the frontline directly in front of the castle, shattering and dousing several of the searchlights, and pinning several soldiers and policemen to the vehicles, or left writhing and bleeding on the ground.

BKBKBKBKOOM!

Immediately following off of her lead, Bombardment proceeded to let loose with throwing multiple pieces of scattered rubble from out his own window for the nearest people within the tree line on the other side of the building, and as soon as he had run out, immediately proceeded to snap both his fingers; triggering a whole chain reaction of massive explosions from each one, engulfing half the forest in flames, and annihilating three-quarters of the forces trying to move through that area.

With their own Quirks doing little at far distance, Vukodlak and Riptide had to resort to using two of the automatic rifles that the League group had managed to steal back in Tbilisi, and carefully take pot shots at the first standing soldiers or police officers they could spot without exposing themselves entirely, primarily aiming to either cripple or kill, but when necessary, for the purpose of pinning them down and buying their comrades time to move or act.

At the same time, Tomura was similarly using his empowered Quirk to send a wave of his Decay through the ground before him, rotting away his portion of the castle face, but also tearing through the few men unfortunate enough to be in his line of sight; reducing them to dust and destroying their vehicles in another series of furious explosions all at once.

By this point, the authorities still standing were officially done with taking chances, as Vukodlak and Himiko could both hear the distinct sound of other machine guns being loaded and having their bullets snapped into place with each lever click.

As soon as he heard this, Vukodlak immediately slung his rifle over his shoulder, focused, and threw his hands as far to his sides as he could, creating an instant and wider Air Shield just behind the openings of the second floor windows, just in time for the ensuing barrage of bullets to pelt and slam against it harmlessly while Vukodlak hurriedly pulled Himiko out of sight of her own window.

"We don't know just how many of these guys there are; we can't afford to stay here!" Vukodlak called to all his comrades, not even bothering with translating for the others. They were able to see enough for themselves just how much of a disadvantage they were at here.

With another cluster of Bombardment's explosions blasting away at the back of the clearing, he hurriedly rushed back to the rest of his allies. [[The majority of the guys at the back have been cleared away! If we can make a quick exit up here, we can slip away and make a run for it!]]

However, before anyone else could even say anything, Himiko's head perked up; her yellow eyes intense and focused, just as she and Vukodlak both turned their attention to the stairwell from down below that led up to this very room.

"Guys, I think some of them might've actually slipped inside already." Himiko noted; her eager smile betraying her childlike nervousness as everyone else could already start to hear the sound of footsteps hurriedly making their way up.

The moment the first few soldiers poked their heads up into all the Villains' fields of view, Quiller instantly threw her next handful of quills with full force, skewering the lot of them, just before Himiko pulled out a couple of smaller butterfly knives from under the hem of her sweater and flung them forward from between her fingers; hitting the next few that dared to proceed over the bodies of their fallen fellows.

With the vanguard neutralized, Bombardment immediately proceeded to follow suit, grabbing another several pieces of rubble and a chair, imbuing his Quirk into them and flinging them down the stairwell. The moment he could hear numerous startled voices echoing up in reaction, he snapped his fingers; the resulting explosion nearly shaking the entire castle to its foundations as a wave of noise, smoke, fire and rubble shot up from the bottom of the stairwell, punctuated by multiple screams while the rest of the Villains ducked down to avoid getting caught in it.

As the smoke slowly started to clear, the sound of yet more footsteps running in from below echoed up to them. However, they all knew that if the smoke was as thick for them down there as it was for the Villains up here, then they had the element of surprise still.

This fact was not lost on Riptide, as without hesitation, he immediately went charging for the stairway before swan-diving off of it, throwing himself into a devastating razor sharp roll all the way down and out the other end as he used his webbed hands and the shark fin spines along his back to rip and tear through any and all foolish enough to still be in his way. Even despite him clearly having the advantage, even Twice was able to find the wherewithal to send some backup his way, as he hurriedly conjured clones of Vukodlak, Himiko and even Dabi to help clear the way for him to make his escape.

With the clones occupying the forces down below, the rest of the Villains on the second floor hurriedly regrouped; Vukodlak throwing up another Air Shield behind the first once it would run its course, and then another over their heads. "We can't hold out here; there's only going to be more coming. We need to move while we have the chance!"

"Wait…do you guys hear that?" Himiko suddenly asked, and as Vukodlak hurriedly tried to block out all the sounds of fighting, shouting and gunfire, his ears were able to pick up a faint but growing and unmistakable high-pitched whistling coming from above.

In that instant, his eyes went wide and he hurriedly grabbed and threw everyone he could reach flat to the ground. "EVERYONE GET DOWN!"

BKOOOOM!

A deafening blast filled the air and the entire room shook and filled with yet more rubble and dust, as an artillery-class smoke round came crashing through the roof, through the third floor and into the second; only just rebounding off of Vukodlak's overhead Air Shield just before it detonated, enshrouding nearly the entire castle in a choking smoke.

Many of their ears were ringing, but that didn't stop them from remembering just where they were and getting back on their feet, just as Himiko finally decided to take action and clasp her own bracelet around her wrist for the first time; letting out a groan of pure euphoria as she felt its power start coursing through her body.

[[Hey, Toga, if you've got something in mind, maybe you can do it sooner rather than later?!]] Quiller asked impatiently as the gunfire once again started up, this time shattering through Vukodlak's first air shield and peppering holes through the walls with ease.

Thankfully, Himiko was in far too excited a mood to let her getting yelled at bother her, as she immediately proceeded to pull out two of the small blood tanks she'd kept strapped to her back under her sweater, opening her mouth wide and letting only a couple drops of each fall into her mouth.

The moment she'd strapped them back into place; her body began to tremble from head to toe, and in a matter of seconds, the two remaining new Villains at her side reeled back when she finally lifted her head; revealing one of her yellow eyes to have suddenly turned black and gold, and half her messy blonde hair to have suddenly turned rounder and reddish brown. The fanged smile on her face was that of pure happiness as she lifted her hands. "My precious friends… thanks to them, I'll get us out of here!"

Without wasting another moment, Himiko's right hand suddenly began to turn pink, and just as quickly began to build up a bubbly and slimy coating of what the others quickly realized to be acid, as several drops fell from her hand and began to sizzle into the floorboards.

With her teeth clenched in an eager grin, Himiko began to smear her acid-coated hand against the wall, letting the fluids start quickly eating a hole into it that led directly outside to the smoldering woods Bombardment had managed to clear out for them. Once that step was underway, she just as quickly proceeded to make a dash to the side and start planting her left hand against all the large pieces of rubble and collapsed wooden beams she could find, effectively taking all their gravity and sending them floating right back up into the air; taking the extra measure to use her own agility to kick them all up and forward into the air, floating out of the massive hole that had been blasted into their roof, and ultimately over the heads of whatever suckers were dumb enough to actually be trying to move into their holdout while that smoke was still covering their own vision as well as the Villains.

After several seconds of waiting for the acid to eat through the wall, and waiting for the rubble to reach the right spot, Himiko finally brought her hands together, and just like that, a thunderous raining down of heavy rubble sounded, as all the debris she'd sent out came pounding down, audibly crushing at least a few of the soldiers and cops still out front.

"Alright, that's enough, Toga! C'mon, we gotta get outta here!" Twice bellowed anxiously as he hurriedly grabbed the bag with their remaining bracelets and explosives while Vukodlak grabbed the bag with the radio rig once he'd stuffed it back into place. "Toga-san, Tomura-san, come on!"

Thankfully, Himiko wasn't too entirely lost in herself enough to realize it was time to leave, while Tomura had taken those moments of waiting to rush back to the room on the next floor up and grab the bag with the disembodied hands inside, hurriedly affixing the one for his face back on along the way as he returned.

After Twice had made it through and Vukodlak was right on his heels, a series of deafening bursts suddenly sounded one after another from inside, and once he looked back, it was just in time for nearly the entirety of the floor beneath the rest of the Villains' feet to suddenly give way and plummet straight down to the ground floor, taking all those still standing upon it along for the ride.

"NO!" Vukodlak and Twice shouted simultaneously the moment they realized what had just happened; the Russian Villain immediately releasing his grip and dropping down to the ground outside the castle ruins right alongside Twice; both of them immediately running for the nearest window to rush in and get their comrades out.

"Toga-san, Tomura-san, all of you, this way!" Whether it was Vukodlak or Twice shouting this, it made no difference; for the moment the young girl and their white-haired leader were back on their feet and looking their way along with Bombardment and Quiller; the smoke was finally clearing enough to reveal the quickly approaching silhouettes of more than two dozen more soldiers and policemen; live-fire guns and tranquilizer rifles already in the middle of being raised.

Vukodlak could feel his heart jump into his chest as his arms instinctively swung closed together like he were throwing a pair of double doors shut, two collective Air Shields forming behind his endangered comrades with every centimeter; However, his taking of action was simply too late by a fraction of a moment, as within the first few pops of gunfire, one single round had managed to just squeeze within the opening before the walls could close; flying in at just the right trajectory to plow its way through the palm of Tomura's right hand, and then just as quickly slam into the back of Himiko's right shoulder; the mist of both their blood flying and hanging in the air as both fell to the floor with shock before Vukodlak and Twice's eyes.

"YOU SONS OF BITCHES!" Twice roared as his body began to fluctuate and jerk in his desperation to try and form a veritable army of clones in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, Vukodlak was able to just barely pick up the sound of another high pitched descending whistle in the air overhead, just in time to desperately throw up another Air Shield over the heads of their trapped comrades, just before the entire upper half of the whole building erupted in fire and rubble; sending himself and Twice flying back into the flames and ashes of the burning forest.

This alongside the sound of yet more approaching heavy vehicles and soldiers finally forced Vukodlak to understand exactly what their real options were. The pain across his body alongside the stinging in his eyes and burning in his throat from all the smoke, fire and anguish was only growing in tandem, and he had to suck in the roar of regretful rage tearing its way up his throat, as he instinctively grabbed Twice by the shoulder before he could try making a run for the wreckage, and instead began to turn the other way.

But not before, in his rage and regret, he turned back and bellowed: "This isn't the end! We're not abandoning any of you! That's our promise, comrades!"

Before Twice could even look with his incredulity and ask just what on earth his only standing ally was saying, Vukodlak pulled him along with exceptional force, fleeing from the burning castle with everything he had, forcing himself to block out his infuriated declarations of the Russian Villain's cowardice, and his desperation to get back and keep fighting for their people.

Inside the burning wreckage of the castle, Tomura was similarly fighting through the pain in his body that burned with a terrifying fury alongside his own anger. Just when things had seemed to be coming together so well, a sneak attack like this had come literally out of nowhere and dismantled everything. On one hand, after having seen and heard what had just happened mere feet away with Vukodlak and Twice; he could actually feel the faintest sense of relief. If Vukodlak was taking the effort to keep Twice out of the authorities' hands, then that was removing the risk of his whole scheme to deceive Overhaul and the Shie Hassaikai completely from the board. He could actually be very grateful to the man for thinking about that, even if it were most likely at the spur of the moment.

On the other hand, though, even as the sounds of numerous boots on hardwood floors were steadily approaching his prone form, all Tomura could focus on then was the sight of Himiko lying unconscious beside him, undoubtedly from the painful shock of having been genuinely shot. He could easily relate; that was exactly how he'd felt back when he'd gotten shot in his legs back at USJ so many months ago.

And the reminder of that on top of everything else had his blood boiling just as a handful of soldiers and police officers began to encircle around the lot, looking down on the white-haired Villain with cold, hateful eyes.

[[These pieces of shit, we oughta just put them down right here like the animals they are! You know the families of all those men they killed would thank us for it!]] The first of the men was spitting with what Tomura could easily hear was rage, just as the sound of the rack of a shotgun being cocked sounded in his ears.

[[Stand down, private! We have our orders, and these come down from the very top! Unless you wanna end up taking their place for what awaits, I suggest you take your itchy trigger finger out at the practice range once we get them all squared away.]] An older but no less angry-sounding voice somehow managed to talk the much more hot-tempered one down, as Tomura could only assume when he wasn't feeling his head get blown apart by a point-blank load of buckshot to his skull.

However, his eyes couldn't help but follow the sound of another pair of footsteps pacing around his prone form, just in time to see a soldier actually foolishly step forward very close and reach down to grab his bag he had dropped when the floor had given way. The look of frightened disgust on his face, and the clear sound of the same in his tone left the Villain seeing nothing but red. [[What the hell? There's nothing but severed hands in this thing! What kind of sick mother-?]]

GRAB!

"Don't… touch them!" Tomura growled through his clenched teeth as he instinctively shot his right hand forward, grabbing the soldier by the ankle and immediately applying the full force of his Decay into it, leaving the man screaming with horror and agony as his leg began to whither and waste away before his very eyes.

BLAM!

In the blink of an eye with a deafening rapport of gunfire, Tomura watched and felt that very same grabbing hand suddenly get blasted to bloody bits as the first soldier from before immediately reacted and blew nearly his entire right forearm away with his shotgun. Of course, all Tomura could feel more than the pain was that same anger, at the man foolish enough to touch his most precious keepsakes, and at the world for putting him in this position to begin with; him and his allies alike.

Another timely thrashing from the butt of another rifle to the back of his head finally left Tomura reeling into the pits of unconsciousness; mentally begging for All For One to somehow come all this way and help him as he always had before.

And yet, the answer from his master never came. Instead, bubbling up from the void was the now-oddly reassuring sound of that same enigmatic voice from the last several days. Only now, instead of the frustration it often left in its wake, it spoke in a way that actually brought an upturn in the corner of his mouth.

"Do not fight this, Tomura Shigaraki. I know it's not what you would have willingly chosen, but all roads ultimately lead to the same end. These fools don't know it, but they are ultimately helping you to obtain your destiny and bring us together at last. Trust in me, young one, and you will see that none of those you look to will steer you wrong; least of all myself. Trust in me, and meet your true fate."

With that, and the release of a last angered breath, Tomura let himself finally lose consciousness, surprised with just how willing he was to actually take this strange entity at its word and see where this unexpected loss would ultimately lead him.

All the while, the soldier responsible for knocking him out immediately threw a commanding arm to the opposite window. [[The rest of you head out after the ones who fled! We can't let these monsters escape!]]

The earliest hours of Wednesday, September 10th

Vukodlak wasn't entirely sure just how long he had forced Twice to keep running until they had finally found themselves holed up in the remains of a long-since abandoned farmhouse that had no habitable house nearby for people to live in. All he knew was that after having made the choice to take several extensive turns along the way, it seemed a safe bet that they had lost their pursuers. He would have easily heard all the chatter, footsteps and racing heartbeats of every single one coming this way if there were. For that reason alone, this was as perfect a place for the two Villains to catch their breath and hide as there was ever going to be.

After locking the barn doors behind himself so no random drifter or wanderer would chance eyes upon them, Vukodlak finally turned back to find Twice was already frantically pacing, slapping himself viciously against the forehead and repeatedly punching at the support beams as he was repeatedly shouting in agonizing guilt and anger to himself.

"Do you really think this is the right time and place for another of your episodes?! You keep shouting like that, you're liable to draw attention to us!" Vukodlak sternly told his only remaining ally as though he were scolding a child even less developed than Himiko was.

And that was exactly the worst possible thing he could have done then, as the next thing he knew, Twice was actually throwing a fist at his face, this time fast enough to actually fully connect. "You really think I care?! We left them all to those people's mercy! We should let them catch us, then maybe they'll take us to where they're taking them, and we can figure out a way of escape then! Not a chance, right? I can't believe I actually let you take me away! I let them down! I let them all down all over again! They both were counting on me, and I blew it! We blew it!"

As Vukodlak let the initial pain of the hit to his face ride out, he was quick to notice how Twice was already falling to his knees, clutching at his head as though his head were about to explode. "AAAAGH! Oh God, no! Why am I here?! Why am I even alive if I can't do anything?! What even am I to anyone now?! I'm coming apart! I'm gonna split, Vukodlak-san, I'm gonna split and never come together again!"

As his eyes were completely blinded with the stinging of tears, Twice didn't see how Vukodlak circled around and knelt before him, until a momentary lifting of his head was met with a single resounding slap across his face; forcing him to look the Russian Villain right in his deathly sharp silver eyes.

The moment he knew for a fact he had the weeping Villain's attention, Vukodlak grabbed tight onto his shoulder, but never taking any step further than that, instead maintaining eye contact so that Twice could at least know that his pain was being acknowledged, if not empathized with.

"You're not going to split apart, Twice-san. I won't let that happen; just like Tomura-san and Toga-san wouldn't. You said it before; you're still you, you're still human. That's why you're feeling this way right now, and that's the most important thing. That feeling is the single most vital clue that you are real."

Vukodlak, honestly, had no idea the real context as to why Twice, in these moments of hysteria, was always calling his own existence or place into question, but if simply telling him he was real was what it would take to get the man's head back on straight, then Vukodlak would gladly do it.

Fortunately, this actually seemed to be doing the trick. While Twice was still crying underneath his mask, he at least seemed to be slowly but surely calming down. "What are we gonna do, Vukodlak-san? We're stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with no idea where to go, what to do or how to help, and our friends are all getting carted away like livestock? We're gonna be okay though, right? We're safe and in danger too, right? How can we help?"

To this, looking back the way they came and taking in a deep breath, Vukodlak's expression was as grim as the dead autumn landscape around them. The only thing keeping himself even remotely optimistic was the light spray of red that had been adorning the left side of his face for the last few hours, and the ever-fresh scent it filled his nostrils and the entirety of his brain with.

"I agree that we shouldn't have left them behind, Twice-san… but given the odds we were dealing with, we would've just gotten captured or killed, and have been no good to any one of our people. At least this way, we're able to regroup and come up with a real plan. We're not gonna let those bastards take them away from us. This is our chance to prove both their faith in us is truly well-founded. Luckily, I have this…"

With that, he proceeded to finally reach up and wipe some of the blood off his face with the tip of his finger before just as quickly popping it into his mouth; his eyes rolling back and his body only slightly shivering with euphoria as the tastes embedded into every one of his senses.

As Twice watched on with wonder in the white eyes of his mask, Vukodlak continued: "Tomura-san and Toga-san's blood. I have both their scents locked on now. No matter where they're taken, I'll know where to go, so don't worry about that. Secondly, we still have the explosives and the bracelets, I recognize the bag you grabbed. Good work on that."

Glancing down to the bag he'd actually forgotten was still slung over his shoulder, Twice was actually starting to breathe and let out a few pained groans of what almost sounded like relief, all things considered.

Finally, Vukodlak proceeded to rummage through his own bag before pulling out the radio rig and Tomura's cellphone that had still been left hanging connected to it in the wake of the attack, even though by the screen on it, the call had long since been disconnected. Regardless, he proceeded to clear the dust and refuse away from the nearby barely standing table before setting it back up. "And with this, we have the biggest card up our sleeve we can still play. I just have to hope I'm still able to connect with the others."

As Vukodlak was already busy getting to work on making sure this little bit of their equipment had managed to not get too damaged in the midst of their escape, Twice could only watch him carry on with a new sense of appreciation. So many other people could have easily have just gotten fed up with him and his hair trigger emotional swings, and yet even in the face of that on top of this serious setback to their overall plans, the man was still staying by his side and trying to help him keep it together.

That was exactly the kind of attachment, the kind of comradery he'd been looking for that, until now, he'd only started to feel from Himiko more than anyone else. Now remembering the real danger she was now in, on top of this inspiring moment, fired Twice right back up as he finally got back onto his feet and joined Vukodlak at the table. "Alright, Vukodlak-san… thank you for all that. Anything at all you need my help for, I'll do it, within reason! Now let's get our buddies back! I'm just still curious how the cops and army were able to find us back there, though."

Vukodlak's eyes never left the wiring of the radio once he'd finished unscrewing the casing, looking over for any signs of crippling damage. However, Twice's curious concerns were not falling on deaf ears, as Vukodlak's clawed fingers momentarily paused now that the question had been brought up again. "That's a damn good question, Twice-san; one I intend to get us an answer to before this is all through."

As soon as he'd finished screwing the casing back onto the radio body, Vukodlak immediately hit the speed dial for Kurogiri's number through the connected phone, while Twice was still standing by and watching with growing anticipation. "Alright, time to get back into action! So what's the plan, Vukodlak-san? Lay it on me! I wanna crack some skulls! That's way too scary for just me!"

Patiently waiting for the call to actually get through, Vukodlak's eyes never left, nor did he divert his ears from listening for the first click of an answer. "That's ultimately going to be the case if we want to get the others back, but we're going to need more muscle than just any number of your clones can provide, and we can't risk being reckless and burning through those bracelets in order to do it, no matter how many more we might have," he explained, while his last note prompted Twice to hurriedly look through his own back and immediately answer they had only ten bracelets left.

Click

"Shigaraki Tomura-san, is that you? Is everything alright?"

The instant Kurogiri's notably distressed voice answered, Vukodlak immediately stepped in: "Kurogiri-san, it's Vukodlak. We all got ambushed by a contingency of military and the police. Twice-san and I just managed to get away, but they've taken Tomura-san and Toga-san alongside the three new recruits I'd suggested for us."

The slightly weaker signal than before made it a little more difficult for Vukodlak to interpret the commotion going on in the background, but he still had no doubt it was Spinner, Mr. Compress and Dabi reacting to what they had no doubt been fearing being confirmed for them to hear. Finally, Kurogiri answered: "Vukodlak-san… is Shigaraki Tomura-san… dead?"

Clutching the edge of the table tight enough that he could feel his claws starting to tear through the wood, Vukodlak replied: "I can't say for certain… but one way or another, I aim to find out. Toga-san and I both heard that many of those men were wielding tranquilizing weapons. If they were at all able to help it, then for now we should assume the best, and act on the idea of them transporting our people elsewhere to face the people's justice."

With that immensely unpleasant idea now being put into his head, Twice couldn't stay silent as he forced himself into the discussion, pointing an accusing finger at the phone as he exclaimed: "Kurogiri-san, if you had any kind of feeling that we were suddenly in trouble, why didn't you help us?! You knew our coordinates cause of Shigaraki-san's crazy plan, why didn't you get us all out of there?!"

There was a notable hesitation before the misty Villain finally answered: "As much as I wanted to, Twice-san, I was wary that sending any more of our comrades into what sounded like an active battle with heavy gunfire would run the unnecessary risk of any more of our ranks being eliminated. After what happened to Magne-san, I felt certain Shigaraki Tomura-san would want to prevent any further avoidable losses."

Twice's shoulders were already beginning to tremble, and even through his mask, Vukodlak could see he was starting to emotionally slip again; hence he once more took the reins: "Any competent leader would've made the same choice, but that doesn't mean we're simply leaving him or Toga-san to fate. That's why I made sure to grab the radio to discuss with you all my plan."

Suddenly, Dabi's voice answered from within the background: "If you're planning to somehow get Shigaraki and Toga back from a whole bunch of hardened military and law enforcement, then you must already be pretty confident what you have to do, Vukodlak. So, let's hear it."

Despite the maintained coldness in his voice, Vukodlak was grateful that at least Dabi was expressing a willingness to hear him out. "The time for the constant secrecy is over. If we're going to get our comrades back in one piece, then we need to act in full force. That's why I want you to open another Warp Gate at our current coordinates and send Dabi-san, Compress-san and Spinner-san out here, Kurogiri-san."

Immediately, Twice snapped his head at attention, just about as much as Vukodlak could imagine Spinner was likewise doing right now. "Whoa, are you being serious? I mean, that disguising Quirk of yours can do something about Compress-san and Dabi-san, but if we bring Spinner along, we won't be able to slip in anywhere, people will notice us instantly!"

Twice's rambling, however, was immediately silenced when Vukodlak gave him a brief sideways glare with his piercing silver eyes. "As I said, now is not a time for subtlety. I have Tomura-san and Toga-san's scents locked in; this is strictly about our rescuing our people, and their skills will be able to help us pull that off. We can worry about being sneaky again once we've taken care of that; understand?"

Thankfully, it looked like his words had gotten through Twice's head, and into the heads of all the others, much to Vukodlak's delight, as Dabi finally responded: "Well then… if you're actually conceding that you need us, old man… I guess that makes us obliged to help, doesn't it?"

And right at his sides, Spinner and Mr. Compress both likewise answered in their own varying degrees of enthusiasm: "Damn right it does! The League of Villains needs to stay together now more than ever! If Shigaraki-san and Toga-san need our help, then it's only natural we come to their aid!" "After what you did to help me regain my arm, I am indeed in your debt, Vukodlak-san. I'll be happy to provide you and the rest of our comrades whatever assistance I can provide."

Vukodlak honestly couldn't help but feel nearly overwhelmed with surprise that their three fellow Villains were actually this open to providing help the way he was asking. Twice didn't look much different, as he was busy pulling his mask off halfway to try and wipe away at the grateful tears rushing down his face. "You guys… you guys really are the best of the worst! Thank you!"

Even Vukodlak by now couldn't help but smile in his own show of gratitude and anticipation as he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you… all of you. I won't forget this. Kurogiri-san… here are our current coordinates. Go ahead and open a gate and send them through."

After reading off the coordinate reading on the thin strip of a screen on the face of the radio, it only took a few seconds for a large black portal to open up behind Vukodlak and Twice's backs, and the moment they turned back, they were met with the empowering sight of the black-haired patch-faced visage of Dabi; the red ninja-dressed and purple-haired reptilian Spinner, and the sharply dressed, top hat-wearing and masked magician-looking Mr. Compress, with his once obliterated left arm back on his shoulder as good as new.

Once the portal closed behind them, officially sealing the three newly arrived Villains halfway across the world from the League's headquarters, Vukodlak watched as their eyes quickly took in their new and especially cold surroundings, as he leaned back to give his last words for now to their most useful comrade of all: "You have all our undying gratitude for this, Kurogiri-san. Keep your ears open for when we're ready for you to take us all back. One way or another, we're going to make this all right."

With that, he officially ended the call and stepped forward so he could speak to his fellow Villains as upfront as could be; before Dabi suddenly crossed his arms and cut him off; his cold blue eyes clearly showing the same apathy as ever. "Alright, Vukodlak; we're here. So how exactly do you plan on us getting our people back in the middle of this frigid shithole?"

Snickering in bemusement to himself, Vukodlak simply tapped a claw to the end of his own nose. "This sense of mine has never failed me, and it won't fail any of us now, Dabi-san. Simply follow my lead, and we will find them and get them back. Once we find where they are, we'll be able to more thoroughly construct a rescue plan."

*Ahem*

A momentary clearing of the throat from Mr. Compress drew all attention his way as he simply stood with his arms open in a welcoming gesture. "While we do that, though; perhaps you would be kind enough to fill us in on just what exactly we've all been missing in all your absence these last few days, Vukodlak-san? If we're going to be in this little journey to the end from now on, I feel we deserve to know just as much as you and Twice-san do."

"Compress-san is right. I already don't like the feel of this place; I should at least know exactly what all the pieces we're playing with are out here." Spinner agreed, already anxiously rubbing his hands up and down his scaly arms in reaction to the frigid air around them. Vukodlak realized it was only natural for this climate to bother a warm-blooded reptile humanoid like him.

"Very well, then. But we don't have time to waste just sitting idle here. Every second we waste, the authorities will undoubtedly be moving our comrades to Moscow for execution. So if you're all capable of multi-tasking, then let's move and you all listen close."

With no visible expressions of disagreement or reluctance to be seen, after packing the radio and phone away once more, and spying the old Hero folders lying at the bottom of his bag with another sigh of relief, Vukodlak immediately made his way to unlock the barn doors so they could finally set out on their newest leg of this entire insane journey, while Twice, overwhelmed by the sheer energy of the moment, instantly threw an eager first to the air: "It's about time! LEAGUE OF VILLAINS RECOVERY TEAM, MOVE OUT!"

With that, the newly regrown bunch of Villains officially moved out into the darkness of the early morning hours in this stretch of Russian wilderness; the once black sky only now beginning to turn the darkest shade of blue; the first sign of the coming dawn.

Rushing at the head of the pack as his nose followed the unmistakable trail of Tomura and Himiko's blood, Vukodlak's heart was racing with a sense of purpose he hadn't felt in so long for anything that didn't involve his Hero hunting or his vendetta against Tunguska and his son. There was no time for him to dwell on such curiosity, though. Too much was at stake for them now.

Instinctively patting his hand against the bag over his shoulder, specifically the folder collection lying inside, Vukodlak thought resolutely to himself: 'You'll simply need to wait for us a little bit longer, Tunguska, Kolya. I'll find whatever it is you're hiding about yourselves… and when I do, we'll be coming for you both… and this time, we'll all be ready. Just make sure you don't go getting yourselves killed before that day.'

With that promise resonating in his heart, Vukodlak and his fellow League members soon vanished into the darkness of the forests. This would prove to be the beginning of a time the Russian people would not soon forget; for now, after years of virtually nothing in the wake of the ending of the Siberian Flash and its aftermath, and after only recently having had their fragile peace rattled; the League of Villains was officially in their backyard, and ready for action.

And there it is, everyone, your new chapter for the week, and the momentary pause for the Villains Abroad Arc. I can assure you all that when we get back to this arc, things are only going to get progressively wilder from here, and for the overall grand story as a whole. This has been in the planning since nearly the beginning of my writing this story, and I can only hope you'll all find it just as worthwhile to read as it is for me to write.

If you liked what you all saw here today, please leave a review expressing your thoughts on where you think my writing could most improve, or even letting me know what original elements to the story thus far you think work the best, or you simply enjoy the most. Feedback and communication between the writer and the readers, I think, is essential for one to achieve their best potential in this particular field, after all.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your week, and I will see you all with the return of the Hokkaido Arc on 04/16!