Hello again, everyone. Well, it's been a long and tumultuous road, but here we have finally arrived to the climactic final battle of the Hokkaido Arc! I hope you're all just as excited as I am, since I've come to realize that I tend to take longer to write battle scenes than I do with the more talkative scenes, so it obviously took a while for me to put this all together in a manner that could put as many of our Heroes to good use as possible without breaking the flow and overall spacial awareness of where everyone is in relation to each other. I understand that can be one of the biggest obstacles in writing major multi-person battle scenes.

Either way, this is what everything this arc has ultimately been building up to, so if you could all please take the time to leave a review letting me know of what you think about what you've read here today, it would be greatly appreciated. I know I keep asking this week after week, but please, if there was ever a point in this arc where I absolutely need to know what you think of this story overall, this is it. Please.

Thanks for everything to my two beta readers, consultants and friends, Mizu and Jonny; as well as all current contributing artists on DA and through my subsequent account 'ubasnaga,' Syyndev, Akane Kahomi, Suki-Chan2509 and AliceKuroCross.

My Hero Academia is the property of Kouhei Horikoshi and Shonen Jump. I only own my original characters and the original events surrounding them.

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

Chapter 86

Symbols of Hope

(Символы Надежды)

The news that Gagaringrad had been hit by a massive remote tidal wave in the wake of the mass evacuation efforts, had brought nearly the entire combined forces of both police and emergency rescue services racing right back to the now flooded remains of the town in near record time, with what doctors the Arakisu City hospital could realistically spare tagging along just in case. And where the authorities and rescue services were racing today, the media was immediately right on their tail, no questions asked.

The initial sight of the widespread destruction was disheartening at first, especially when they had come across the further dreadful sight of High Noon and De-Condenser travelling the same road back to the city, accompanied by a small collective of more police officers and two foreign civilians. Upon running into their group, they'd quickly learned of the rest of the Heroes' having gone off to intercept Pietro and his forces out on the ocean.

With the two Pros having since then been taken back to the hospital for proper treatment of their wounds; the rest of the police, emergency services and the media had all been very quick to pinpoint the distant sight of the gunboat collided with the immobile submarine on the horizon, made easy by the unnatural mass of darkened storm clouds having collected directly over it and nowhere else, with the waters localized around it clearly being much stormier as well.

"Are you able to see anyone out there? Any sign of our colleagues or the interns?" As soon as it had been reported to their fellow officers that they had spotted the stolen sub, Chiaroscuro had wasted no time taking charge, as she and Blast Beat finally came marching up to the forefront of the gathering, even despite the scattered exclamations of concern from the medical personnel on scene, all making note of the risk of reopening or offsetting their respective injuries by moving around as such.

However, ever since the girl who'd introduced herself at the hospital as Mei Hatsume had suggested having the means to help the two previously de-commissioned Pro Heroes be able to move about on the field and help their fellow Heroes stop the Villains and their plans, it would've taken a miracle to convince the older female Agency head and Kyouka's mentor to stay put at all.

And with the articulated yet powerful-feeling mechanical rigs mounted to both their bodies through their spinal columns and limbs to assist in their moving around without further injuring themselves right off the bat (which she had explained she'd replicated from one of the pieces of equipment the previously imprisoned Russian soldier Ilya at the hospital had been wearing that had been taken by the police), even said miracle wasn't going to be enough.

One of the police officers was still busily scanning all around the horizon through binoculars. "I don't know, the submarine's too far for me to properly tell…w-wait…I see something coming from it…o-oh, hang on…it's coming this way! I think…y-yes, it's one of the Hero interns! And it looks like…it looks like she's got a kid with her!"

Many other officers proceeded to bring up their own binoculars, and with many relieved exclamations echoing up and down the scene, Pony Tsunotori came flying at breakneck speed their way upon two of her detached horns supporting her feet, as she was busy trying not to crash while holding tight to the feisty and violent blonde-haired child in her arms, who even now was still kicking and screaming [[LET ME GO! LET GO OF ME!]]

Just as she was finally about to stop and jump back down onto the watery ground, Valera finally managed to get a lucky hit in, elbowing the blonde-haired girl in her left eye, forcing her to finally lose balance and send them both tumbling off her horns as she lost focus on keeping them airborne. Fortunately, the nearest police officers were quick to rush in and catch Valera in mid-air, while Pony regained concentration just in time to catch one of her horns and stop her fall.

However, Valera was proving no less resistant to the police than he had been with Pony, as he was still kicking and swinging his tiny fists, screaming all the while, before breaking out into an especially bad-sounding coughing fit, which the doctors on standby were immediately able to notice. "What on earth has happened to this boy? He looks about ready to keel over!"

Unfortunately, the lingering effect of Leonid's Quirk made it impossible for Pony to properly explain the toll Pietro's constant use of Valera's Quirk on himself had taken on the poor child. However, even this issue was quick to be forgotten once the voices of Valera's parents came frantically shouting from amid the crowd: [[VALERA! OH MY BABY, THANK GOD YOU'RE BACK! OH, WHAT DID THAT MONSTER DO TO YOU?!]]

Pony's initial instinct, as well as those of Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat, was to try and tell the two rushing adults to stop upon seeing how violent the child was still trying to be despite his weakened state.

But that was when the most miraculous thing happened: the moment Valera's frantic-looking parents finally emerged out into the open from the crowd, and he laid his eyes on them, all of the aggression in his body vanished instantly. Unfortunately, with the weakened condition he was in, that made it easy for his legs to buckle under his small body and send him collapsing, only for his parents to immediately rush in and scoop him up, both of them borderline incapable of putting together words of both worry and relief at once at having finally gotten their child back, with Valera barely strong enough to even mutter: [[Mama…? Papa…?]]

Through their tears and frantic breathing, the two young adults tried to keep his light blonde bangs from his sickly-looking face while trying to say every reassuring thing they could while they still had that much composure: [[T-that's right, Valera, it's us! Oh, thank God you're in one piece! You're safe now, you hear? We're not going to let any bad people take you away from us ever again!]]

Even in his half-delirious and spinning head, these words managed to get through to the little boy, as Valera began to finally cry as his parents hugged him close. As the doctors similarly closed in to try and help the boy and his parents, Pony, Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat were watching this admittedly very touching scene unfold alongside the police; all silent from the sheer force of that sense of relief before Chiaroscuro finally broke the silence: [[I suppose that must be why Pietro kept all those kids' families imprisoned like he did, from what you'd all told us yesterday. Maybe something about blood relatives breaks his Quirk's affect on his victims, just like being knocked out does.]]

However, Pony was too busy looking back worriedly to the distant shape of the submarine, which the two Pros immediately noticed as Blast Beat asked: [[What's wrong, Rocketti-chan? Are all the others over there?]]

She immediately started nodding frantically as she began to pop off another pair of her horns: [[Yeah! Dat Pietro guy, he used his Quirk and got Mina-chan to start fightin' all da others! I gotta get back and help!]]

The news of one of their interns having gotten turned into an opponent for the rest of their fellow Heroes and interns had Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat both go rigid, before they just as quickly spotted Pony's two previously used horns and picked one up for each of them, with the Kapenta Hero head declaring: [[If that Support girl is as serious about these mobile rig things as she sounded, then that's all the vote of confidence I need! You ready to show those kids we don't go down so easily, Kazuki-kun?]]

[[More than ready!]] Blast Beat stated with all the enthusiasm and volume he could with his ribs still recovering. With both their declarations made, Pony immediately began focusing on having all four detached horns flying again, and soon the trio were dashing across the water towards the submarine while the police, media and rescue services could only watch with anticipation.

So much so, that none of them were ever even aware of the fact that Angel's Eye, Ilya and even Konstantin (now finally freed from his wheelchair prison back at the hospital) had likewise decided to follow after the mob towards Gagaringrad, and had similarly overheard everything Pony had explained was going on.

And most curious of all, was the pensive look on the leader's face that matched his two able-bodied fellows, which Angel's Eye was very quick to point out: [[Sir…what exactly are you thinking?]]

Rubbing his stubble-covered chin anxiously, Konstantin was staring like a hawk straight at the submarine. [[You both said your equipment and weapons had been taken by the police when you'd been knocked out attacking that Hero Agency…but assuming nothing in the general area got tossed over too badly, we may still have one final tool at our disposal to help.]]

It was the final word that visibly jolted his men as Ilya immediately answered: [[Sir, are you being serious? We have all those Heroes taking care of Pietro and his threat as we speak. Are you actually considering helping them, knowing they have Quirks?]]

Konstantin's eyes never lost a bit of their intensity as he glanced to the large bearded soldier that was actually questioning him: [[Are you actually saying that after you and Angel's Eye had actually volunteered to help the police back at the hospital with evacuations, that you're thinking of doing anything different? Those kids and their Quirks have been fighting tooth and nail for the sake of the people of our Motherland, even when they have no original connection to it; we would have no right to call ourselves soldiers or patriots if we were to do anything less. Now come on!]]

To Konstantin's relief, this confirmation brought a truly proud smile to Angel's Eye, and soon even Ilya's faces, clearly showing they truly were all on the same page. And so, without another word while the authorities still had their attention drawn, the three soldiers hurried their way through the woods towards the hill overlooking the now ruined Gagaringrad where they had originally set themselves up so many days ago.

BWOOM!

The moment Nikolay had given the word for his fellow interns to hurry to get Tenya, Tetsutetsu, Kyouka and all of Pietro's remaining victims out of the now rapidly sinking submarine, and to get the unconscious Mina out of harm's way; he and Pietro had wasted no further time with a clichéd standoff, especially now that the scar-covered commander had not only revealed the insanely complicated control he possessed over his own mechanical implants, but had now drawn a vicious-looking karambit and a retractable bayonet or half-length sword from out the forearm of his mechanical arm.

However, even as Nikolay had taken the initiative by throwing himself into a boosted charge right for the man, Pietro proved to be just as quick to react, as he leapt and proceeded to split himself off at the waist and his left arm, encircling Nikolay's path from two different directions and managing to land a good enough slash at his left shoulder blade and right arm.

Nikolay's feet skid and slipped across the slick steel deck as he spun himself around to face Pietro as he reconnected himself and maintained his knife-fighting stance. Nikolay tried to fight the pain of the two bleeding laceration wounds, as he and Pietro locked eyes; the commander grinning in satisfaction. [[What do you think you can realistically do against me, Kolya? Your speed and Quirk can't match up to my years of experience, especially not with these little additions of mine. The time of my living in the shadow of Heroes with bombastic Quirks like your father is over! If I can't avenge the people, then I can at least finally avenge myself on you!]]

Nikolay couldn't risk taking his eyes off Pietro to take stock of his realistic chances. The battle he'd been forced into against Mina had left him deprived of all his equipment. Now he had nothing but his own raw fighting skills with his torn up hands, his feet and his Quirk to help him against, yes, a seasoned veteran with mechanical enhancement, an armored bodysuit and blades on his side.

However, even if the young Russian had to admit his odds were grim, that did nothing to lessen the fire in his heart as he and Pietro this time charged for each other in tandem; all while the boy answered with a devoted weight to his voice: [[As long as I'm able to at least do something, then that's what I'm going to do! You're not going to hurt anyone else again!]]

Pietro once again split himself apart at the waist to try another encircling maneuver, but this time, Nikolay reacted by shooting himself up and forward in order to throw Pietro's timing off; only to then flip himself forward in a roll and fire off through his feet against the air to ricochet himself for Pietro's back, grabbing onto his shoulders and using his momentum to flip them both over forward again and slamming into the unforgiving steel.

Unfortunately, Pietro once again proved to be the quick reactor, as he drove the blade in his prosthetic arm straight into the hull to keep from getting face-planted, and then proceeded to shoot off from the arm itself, flipping himself and Nikolay on his back over to their right, opening the boy enough for both of Pietro's incoming extended legs from his flying lower half to go driving straight into Nikolay's back, knocking the air right out of his lungs, and sending him rolling across the deck while Pietro put himself back together.

Nikolay once more flipped himself forwards back onto his feet, and the adrenaline rushing through his veins allowed him to see the dual-bladed assault Pietro was already proceeding to send his way after he'd managed to close the distance in a mad sprint. As a result, Nikolay managed to finally start backing himself out of Pietro's attack range, and start throwing a number of boosted kicks, elbows, jabs and grapples for the commander as well, in order to either stop his attacks, or manipulate Pietro's swings just enough so as to avoid the full force of them.

This lightning-fast battle between the two almost passed like a blur to anyone who would've been able to truly observe it from the outside. For a matter of seconds that felt like hours, Nikolay and Pietro were engaged in a series of slashes, stabs, palm strikes, elbow and knee strikes, and Kinetic-Blasting counters to throw Pietro's arms off course, and even a couple occasions of the commander sneakily switching his karambit from one hand to the next mid-spin, or even trying to launch his bladed prosthetic arm off at the elbow to try and impale Nikolay where he stood, or send it flying about remotely only to try and turn it around and stab Nikolay from behind.

As far as the young Hero was concerned, it was a miracle he was still managing to hold his own against Pietro's impressive hand-to-hand skills aided by his prosthetics, even if he'd suffered a multitude of painful bleeding slashes all over his arms, midsection and face in the process. Truly, if it hadn't been for his Kinetic refraction ability sending those remote blade arm attacks of Pietro's flying back, he easily would've been dead by now.

However, that Hail Mary of an ability and a miracle would only be able to carry Nikolay so far, and with the number of times Valera had resurrected Pietro up to this point, there was no doubt in his mind that he would tire out long before Pietro would. It didn't matter how many successful Kinetic palm strikes, elbows or knees he'd managed to land up until now into Pietro's armored body, which had already left several noticeable dents in their wake, to his encouragement. The fact remained that they were utterly outmatched in terms of overall endurance. But Nikolay knew he would sooner die than just let himself get tuckered out and left to this Villain's mercy; especially before he'd ever leave his friends here to the very same thing.

What Nikolay never realized up until this point in their continuous Quirk-and-knife battle, though, was that underneath the hauntingly focused look on Pietro's scar-strewn face; the man's own adrenaline and anger was nearing a boiling point. He'd been expecting the boy to have ultimately crumbled and be left for the finishing blow by now, and yet no matter how much his blades managed to cut away at his tattered Hero costume or his delicate fair face, the insufferable little brat simply would not go down.

[[I shouldn't be surprised you're lasting this long out of sheer stubbornness, Kolya! You take after Tunguska like a perfect picture! That'll make killing you all the more satisfying!]] The bloodlust in Pietro's voice was near rabid as he once more started to take farther reaching swipes with the blade from his prosthetic arm, cutting Nikolay's mariner cap in half, as well as cutting away a few strands of his hair as he ducked out of the way, only to immediately throw a Kinetically-charged full punch straight into the reinforced machinery connecting Pietro's two halves. Even if he didn't have Mei's improved gloves to better focus and harness his Kinetics Quirk through actual punches, Nikolay knew the palm strikes simply weren't going to cut it.

The force of this lucky blow managed to send Pietro sliding upon his feet a couple of yards, but he was already firing his arm off to try and catch Nikolay by surprise, quickly flying right after it and forcing Nikolay back with a 360-degree spinning kick, as his lower half began spinning with its legs extended like a spinning top; coming to a stop as his arm reconnected itself to him, and the two came charging into another striking and deflecting standoff against each other, slowly but surely whittling and striking away at each other.

Observing the persistent fire in Nikolay's green eyes once they both finally became airborne again to try and take each other down; Pietro continued with his long-simmering diatribe: [[All my life, I've had to live like a second-rate sidekick to Heroes and people with game-changing Quirks and strength, like Tunguska and the New Bogatyrs! I was constantly being told my Quirk could never make me a Hero of their caliber! Even if I found out how to make use of it to distinguish myself, there was always a part of me that hated it; that wished I could've been given a Quirk to match theirs! Maybe if I had, I could've been the Hero capable of preventing the Siberian Flash from ever happening in the first place! I could've been a bigger patriot, a greater Hero to our Motherland than Tunguska ever could've hoped to be!]]

A lucky grapple Nikolay managed to land on Pietro's prosthetic arm just as quickly ended up being undone, as Pietro hurriedly began to spin the arm about at the elbow joint like a drill bit; the extended blade slicing through Nikolay's already bloodied hands with ease, just before doing the same spinning attack with his lower half; sending a well-aimed knee straight into Nikolay's left side, nearly folding the poor boy on his way back down.

Pietro quickly took off downward after him in a mad descending rush, only to find himself presented with the image of Nikolay's body propelling upward towards him far faster than was possible. What was happening, was that once he'd gotten his back parallel to the deck below as he fell from that strike to his side, Nikolay saw Pietro coming his way, and had proceeded to launch himself right back upwards through his hands and feet aiming behind himself once again, giving him the speed boost just strong enough to deliver an especially crushing high-speed right knee straight into Pietro's wide-eyed face, sending him flipping backwards from the blow and now plummeting just as Nikolay himself just had.

When Nikolay had proceeded to fire himself through his feet downward in pursuit, though, Pietro had once again proven the sneaky devil; as the moment Nikolay was looking back down at his falling form; the commander had managed to line up a shot and flung his karambit like a deadly throwing star right for the boy, forcing Nikolay to bring his hands over his face in defense, and end up taking the curved blade straight into the palm and right out the back of his right hand before he could fire a refracting blast, completely impaling the young Hero's right hand.

Pietro barely managed to correct himself in time to land on his hands and feet on the deck, with Nikolay managing a much less successful landing thanks to the agony in his right hand, instead landing in a nasty bounce and roll against the steel.

Through the fiery pain enveloping his face from the knee he'd just taken to it; the taste of his own blood filling his mouth; Pietro kept watching as Nikolay struggled back to his feet while prying the karambit from out of his now profusely bleeding right hand, among his numerous other bleeding slash wounds all over. The sight of the tenacious child refusing to lie down and die through all his bleeding wounds had both the Villain's hands clenched into trembling fists.

[[But no! I got the short end of the Quirk deal, and because other less deserving people got the power that I deserved, everything I'd believed in, everything I'd sacrificed for my country I love had been reduced to nothing! I was a goddamn patriot, and now I'm just a shell of a once-proud soldier with no nation to fight for, or call home or anything! But even if my own countrymen's fear of Quirked people like us means I'll never be able to proudly show my face there again and be proclaimed a Hero that gave his all for it; I can at least still do one last thing to punish the real Villains that have taken it over! Whether I only live long enough to kill you and punish Tunguska for what he robbed me of from the start, or if I'm still able to at least deliver that much righteous punishment on those that deserve it back home, either way I'm going to get what I'm due! You hear me, boy?! I'm going to become the closest thing to the Hero for Russia that I was meant to be before I die!]]

The pain engulfing Nikolay's whole body fueled the anger in his own heart, as he looked into Pietro's inhuman eyes; his own green irises retracted in his own anger: [[But why do so many innocent people have to die in the crossfire if you're so obsessed with being called a Hero?! How can you possibly believe you'd ever be called such a thing after doing something like that?!]]

Just the thought of so many deaths drove Nikolay to launch himself for Pietro again; the Villain leaping up to meet him head on, only for both their bodies to collide into each other and slam back into the deck with a heavy thud. The two were viciously grappling onto each other as Nikolay tried to fight against the sheer physical strength of the adult before him, in order to keep from getting slashed by the razor's edge of his arm blade as it neared closer and closer to his throat; countering by repeatedly hammering his Kinetic punches against the armor over Pietro's sternum and chest. The steel was slowly but surely starting to warp and bend inward against the repeated blows, soon drawing further blood out of Pietro's snarling mouth as he could feel his chest getting progressively tighter.

Finally, realizing he needed to breathe, Pietro threw his body weight so that Nikolay was now the one on top, and proceeded to fire off his prosthetic arm into the young Hero's chest at point-blank, sending him reeling back and barely managing to bounce and land on his hands and feet, visibly shaking as he struggled to breathe from the clearly cracked ribs he'd just taken.

As his arm snapped back into place, Pietro stood tall, determined, and utterly monstrous as he approached Nikolay step by step. [[Heroes have only ever been truly created in the wake of sacrifice, Kolya. It's been that way ever since we could even conceive the concept of Heroes, long before we ever had the factor of Quirks to consider. Heroes are the people who are willing to make the hard decisions for the greater good, such as saving our homeland from the tyrants in power. So long as you and your little friends keep telling yourselves otherwise, that Heroes are supposed to be able to save anyone and everyone they can from danger, then you're all just setting yourselves up for loss and death to a degree you can't even imagine. Although, considering the choices you've all made ultimately brought you here, I suppose it doesn't make sense to act like you're even going to live long enough to regret them.]]

Just as Nikolay was bracing himself for Pietro to send another attack his way; the man instead began to turn at the waist while raising his blade arm, aiming right for the collection of his friends at the base of the submarine tower, where Whiteout was still in the process of trying to freeze the intense flow of water flooding inside; and Reiko, Yui and Maja were in the process of finally getting Tenya, Tetsutetsu and Kyouka out of the tower and back out into the open, and getting Mina away from the battlefield respectively.

The moment Nikolay could hear a mechanical whirring start to emanate from Pietro's arm, his protective instincts led him to immediately assume the worst, and fire himself off forward in a mad dash to get in front of Pietro, skidding to a stop just at the same moment the elongated blade from the commander's forearm suddenly shot out from it like a spear.

KLANG!

Before he even came to a stop from his emergency rushing skid, Nikolay fired off from his right foot, throwing his lower half upwards while his hands were still affixed to the deck, resulting in a handstand and a miraculous saving deflecting kick, as the power behind his charging left foot managed to knock Pietro's detached blade off course, and instead now flipping upwards into the air before tumbling and falling through one of the melted holes in the deck.

[[BEZPALOV-SAN!]]

The distant sound of Tenya and Tetsutetsu's urgent voices from down the deck barely reached Nikolay's ears before he heard the incoming sound of Pietro's rushing footsteps. Looking up in preparation to counter, Nikolay was surprised to find he was being attacked by yet another, albeit shorter blade protruding from the Villain's prosthetic arm.

Acting fast, Nikolay caught his incoming fist with his bleeding right hand, gritting his teeth in an effort to fight the agonizing pain of his impalement wound, in order to keep from getting stabbed. The moment he could hear the mechanics of the machinery connecting his two halves start to fire up for another spinning kick attack, Nikolay hurriedly fired up from his left foot to send his own knee up to block Pietro's leg, using this stop in his enemy's momentum to then follow up by driving an upward palm strike with his left hand straight into the joint of Pietro's mechanical elbow, sending a channeling Kinetic Blast straight into it that was just powerful enough to warp the intricate parts so that he couldn't pull another spinning drill bit trick like before.

But this did little to remove the confident smirk on Pietro's face, as the forearm on its own began to spin instead, allowing the end of the blade to slash at Nikolay's right forearm, drawing another pained yell from the boy as he instinctively clutched at his wrist. [[You can't take me down with such elementary grappling techniques, you little shit, no matter how strong your Quirk is!]]

[[YOUR CHEAP TRICKS CAN'T SAVE YOU HERE, YOU VILLAIN!]] [[DAMN STRAIGHT!]]

All of a sudden, with a deafening roar of a revving engine echoing all around, Pietro found himself getting charged by Tenya mid-Recipro Burst, carrying the Iron-coated Tetsutetsu by the arm behind him. In the blink of an eye, he used his momentum to dig his feet in and throw Tetsutetsu forward like a wrecking ball; the sharp-toothed boy driving two reared back fists straight into the chest of Pietro's armor, resulting in a deafening ringing sound as the shockwave of such force caused several of the armor plates to crack, and a couple to outright shatter.

Pietro barely managed to get his prosthetic arm up to catch a roundhouse kick from Tetsutetsu that had been aimed for his head, before just as quickly splitting off at his waist again, flying high overhead to get away from his intrusive opponent, before then dive-bombing Tenya just as he'd started to try and get Nikolay back to his feet.

The moment he realized they were both in Pietro's sight and path, Tenya hurriedly threw Nikolay back towards the others near the tower, before then using that same momentum to throw a high kick of his own with the few seconds of his Recipro Burst left, aiming to strike Pietro's prosthetic arm or the upper half of his armor with enough force to destroy either one outright, and thus leave the Villain more vulnerable.

But without Nikolay there to deflect this time, Pietro followed through with his original attack from seconds ago, and proceeded to blindside Tenya by firing the blade free from his prosthetic, leaving Tenya shouting with pain as he instinctively tried to block and instead felt the whole knife-length blade stab straight through his left forearm; the tip just poking out through the armor plate adorning it.

Pietro hurriedly flew past Tenya just as his lower half did the same, reconnecting just before meeting the deck running, only to find Tetsutetsu sprinting with everything he had to try and stop him from pursuing Nikolay and attacking all the others. [[THAT FANCY KNIFE CRAP AIN'T GONNA SAVE YOU FROM ME, YOU BASTARD!]]

B-KOOM!

The moment Tetsutetsu leapt for a downward strike, Pietro hurriedly leveled his prosthetic arm, aiming for his center mass, and in the blink of an eye, the hand dislodged at the wrist, revealing a single shotgun barrel inside, that proceeded to blast a point blank shot straight into Tetsutetsu; a deafening metallic ring piercing the air as he got sent back flying.

Tetsutetsu struggled to get his breath back as his whole torso throbbed and ached with pain. And with the last of the Iron injections in his custom armbands having been used up, he was officially in the worst position he could've been, needing to utilize what energy and Iron in his body was left much more carefully for his and everyone else's sake.

Pietro was already snapping his fake hand back into place and muttering to himself: [[You've managed to discard my sword, one of my bayonets and one half of my shotgun chances. Not bad for a bunch of hardheaded children. But it's still not going to save any of you.]]

He turned back to continue making his way to finish off Nikolay and the rest of his friends, only for the boy's voice to cry out: [[THUNDEROUS CLAP!]], and a high-speed blizzard came blasting across the deck, catching Pietro in the open the moment Whiteout and Nikolay had decided to use their Quirks together to slow him down.

The subzero temperature was causing the mechanics of Pietro's augmentations to stiffen and become less responsive. However, even as the cold slowed him down, his adrenaline kept burning hot as he continued to try and power his way through, even as Yui and Reiko began throwing a multitude of ice chunks Monoma conjured up for them to try beating him down with.

At the same time, Momo and Maja were working together, with the ponytail-wearing Hero focusing on creating a high-pressure hose for the turquoise-haired Polish girl to channel the Wax of her melting arms into, in order to encase and immobilize him.

Taking advantage of the blinding flurry, Nikolay hurriedly launched off into an accelerated blast-aided slide across the ice, timing his blasts from his hands in order to try and get himself behind Pietro, even if the moment he spent in the frigid mist left him just as blind as Pietro himself. Regardless, once he brought himself to a stop, Nikolay wasted no time firing a Distant Thunder blast through his feet into the deck, focusing for the spot he knew Pietro to have been standing before he and Whiteout had acted.

When the resultant BWOOM sounded from mere feet in front of him, though, there was no surprised exclamation like he'd been expecting. Instinctively looking up, Nikolay found Pietro's upper half flying out of the haze and plowing straight into him in a mad tackle that sent them both sliding further away from the rest of the onlooking Heroes towards the bow of the deck.

A timely blast from both of Nikolay's hands straight into the nearly destroyed chest of Pietro's armor sent the Villain flying back, meeting his incoming lower half with expert precision that left him whole again, while Nikolay hurriedly flipped himself backwards and landing on his own two feet just before meeting the end of the submarine, with the unforgiving waters below now much higher up than they were supposed to. Even with Whiteout's aid in trying to prevent further flooding in order to help in the rescue efforts from the inside, there was no stopping this thing from sinking in the end.

Pietro's already nonexistent patience had now given way to blind fury, as he wasted no time charging Nikolay; the two meeting each other in equally accelerated charges that ended with them each throwing a punch and catching the other with their free hands, and then finally slamming their heads with full force into each other; grinding their foreheads furiously against each other while pushing with their fists with just as much force, leaving the Villain and young Hero barely skidding an inch one way or the other, as they were both likewise using their respective means to try and accelerate into one another to no avail. Even the combination of the Refractive Blast from their heads colliding, combined with the initial Kinetic Blast Nikolay had fired through his right fist into Pietro's prosthetic left arm did little more than cause the chassis to only slightly crumple, and send a heavy and normally disorienting ripple through the rest of his body from his head to his toes for a few seconds.

With his bloody teeth grinding, Pietro snarled: [[I am done with these goddamn games you kids keep insisting on playing, Kolya! No matter what any of you throws at me, I'm just gonna keep coming, and I won't stop until I see you all dead for what you've prevented here today!]]

In his blind anger, Pietro failed to notice how Nikolay's equally fiery green eyes momentarily glanced off to his right for but a fraction of a moment, and immediately followed up by pulling both his arms in a clockwise motion, launching out his feet at the same time in order to send his entire body into a cartwheel, and pulling Pietro along with him for the ride, turning them both so that Pietro was now facing the distant shore behind Nikolay's back.

Using the intense speed and wind friction to momentarily distract Pietro enough, Nikolay surprisingly released his grip on Pietro and kept himself rolling several feet away, leaving Pietro out in the open. Shaking away the dizziness in his head, the Villain furiously got back to his feet, but in that one moment before he could refocus his killing gaze on Nikolay, he inadvertently lifted his head to see the shore, and in that moment, his whole field of vision was suddenly blocked by the superimposed image of an older adult woman with graying purple hair and a cloak; a woman that he'd come to recognize just enough in his time here, and with that recognition came the realization of just what was happening:

Somehow, someway, despite the reports given by his soldiers before, Pietro had just been hit dead in the eyes by Chiaroscuro's distracting Quirk, as she and Blast Beat both came flying in across the ocean surface alongside Pony on four of her detached horns, all of them finally reaching the submarine deck battlefield just in the nick of time, as Blast Beat too capitalized on the moment and dropped down from the horn he'd been hanging onto in order to land a plenty powerful dropkick into Pietro's reeling head, sending him crashing and tumbling several feet across the width of the deck.

Nikolay, his friends and Whiteout all looked utterly astounded to see the two previously decommissioned Pros mobile in the field of battle despite the injuries they'd received before, while the interns were all just as quick to feel immense relief at Pony's safe return, knowing that this had to mean she'd gotten Valera to the authorities safely, by the ready smile on her wide-eyed face.

Before Nikolay or Kyouka could both express their relief and curiosity as to how Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat were back on their feet so quick (just as quickly noticing the advanced-looking skeletal metallic frames lining both their backs and the lengths of their limbs, very similar to the rig Pietro himself was wearing that had been able to expand into his currently near busted-up armor), Whiteout was gliding in like the wind itself, sending another frigid front from both her hands right for where Pietro was lying.

[[We can't afford to take any more risks with this Villain, he's proven far craftier than we gave him credit for,]] she hurriedly explained to her newly arrived fellow Pros, just as Nikolay, Tenya and Tetsutetsu were both finally getting back to their feet, watching as Whiteout continued to lay down the frigid air of her Quirk; the area where Pietro was, now turning into a quickly growing outgrowth of pure ice on the side of the sub.

But it was only through looking closely that one would have been able to see a look of visible strain on Whiteout's face, as though she could sense something was wrong. Before anyone even noticed, though, a sudden massive plume of fire came erupting out of the haze, catching the Blizzard Hero's right arm and leg in its path and sending her to the deck with a pained shout of surprise and anguish.

As the ice continued to melt and the fiery bloom continued to spread in a circle, Pietro soon emerged with a furious howl amid the embers, with a newly unveiled small flaming nozzle protruding from the wrist of his prosthetic arm. His wide white eyes zeroed in on Whiteout as she tried to roll and put out the flames on her arm and side, before just as quickly shifting to find Pony, Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat rushing him all at once.

Seeing this, and just barely glimpsing a movement in the Villain's fake hand, Tetsutetsu hurriedly shouted: [[NO, GET BACK! HE'S GOT A-!]]

BKOOM!

The deafening rapport of Pietro's hidden shotgun had the three charging Heroes hitting the deck, with Blast Beat practically throwing himself into Chiaroscuro and Pony the moment he could hear Tetsutetsu's voice calling to them; at the cost of offsetting his still-healing ribs.

What they hadn't noticed in their momentary surprise, though, was that Nikolay, too, had seen what the Villain had been preparing to do, and after what had happened to the shouting Class B boy beside him, his reaction time still hadn't lost a step. With another powerful launching blast from his feet, Nikolay had thrown himself straight for Pietro once his hand had dislodged; using that momentum and another timely accelerating blast from his left foot to send a skyward kick straight into the forearm the gun was hidden inside, just at the moment Pietro had fired.

The desperate move managed to save Chiaroscuro, Blast Beat and Pony from getting shot; but the wide spread of the buckshot also managed to send two pellets burrowing into Nikolay's left knee; sending the boy rolling and spinning through the air haphazardly in reaction, nearly belly-flopping upon landing on the deck mere feet from where the Villain stood. Pietro's eyes looked at the boy struggling to get back up as though he were trying to make his whole body explode with his mind.

The pain on Nikolay's face was unmistakable, just as much as that same stubborn shimmer of fighting spirit that burned in his eyes still, which only served to make Pietro that much angrier. [[Okay…now that's most of the flamethrower and both my chances with the shotgun wasted…mostly. I'd like to see you try any more of your fancy air-ricochets and kicks with your leg in that condition now, Kolya!]]

Nikolay couldn't risk wasting the energy he still had by talking back to Pietro, instead focusing on keeping his fighting stance as steady as he could. With his eyes refusing to leave his opponent, he didn't notice how, all the way back at the base of the submarine tower where Monoma, Reiko, Yui, Momo, Maja and Kyouka still were huddled and looking for some other opening in the high-speed action before them to step in and help; Mina had started to stir among them.

As her black-gold eyes started to flutter open, she couldn't even hear Kyouka and Maja both trying to tell her to take it easy after the point-blank Kinetic Blast she'd taken to her head. All she could see in the moment was the late morning skies overhead; the stormy clouds thankfully blocking the blinding light of the sun. And all she could hear as well was the distant sounds of shouting, exerting grunts of fighting, and a single unmistakable sound of blasting bass rippling through the air.

Looking to the direction it had come from, Mina's vision finally managed to clear just in time for her to see the distant forms of the badly injured Tenya and Tetsutetsu; the surprising and welcome sights of Chiaroscuro and Blast Beat alongside Pony as they rushed to assist Whiteout; and finally, that of Nikolay and Pietro staring each other down halfway up the length of the submarine.

More than that, she could see just how beaten, bloodied and bruised Nikolay now was, not even able to stand still on his own shaking legs anymore. To see him in this state against such a dangerous enemy sent all of her momentary grogginess straight to the back of her mind as she instinctively cried out in fearful worry: [[KOLYA-KUN!]]

The sound of her voice hit Nikolay and Pietro both very hard for different reasons. For Pietro, to hear the girl that was supposed to be his final ace in the hole against the Heroes (beyond his armor and all the other fancy mechanics Alyosha had made for him) calling out to his young opponent with nary a hint of struggle had left his blood virtually steaming inside his veins. 'No! No! Goddammit, NO! How can she remember him so clearly already?! Clearly her will is much stronger than I gave her credit for…unless…unless my Quirk hasn't actually gotten strong enough to be permanent after all! But that can't be! What does that mean for my…?'

As Pietro's mind continued to race with dread for what Mina's apparent recovery of her memories meant for him as a whole; Nikolay on the other hand looked completely bowled over with emotion to see and hear that Mina was back to normal, from the visible control she had regained over her own body, to the lack of confusion and strain on her face and in her way of speaking. To simply see and hear her like this served as all the proof he could've asked for that his best friend had truly been freed from Pietro's control.

Those few moments Nikolay risked to look and see with his own eyes that Mina had recovered, had ultimately left him open for Pietro to come barreling into him with a vicious shoulder tackle to his midsection; both of them crashing hard to the deck and rolling continuously as the submarine finally began to lilt from all the water that was even now flooding into the bow section.

With every hammering punch they both threw into each other's faces as they rolled, Pietro roared: [[IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MANY OF YOUR FRIENDS COME TO HELP YOU; NONE OF YOU ARE GETTING OUT OF HERE ALIVE IF IT'S THE LAST THING I DO!]]

A timely Kinetic blast from Nikolay's hand against the deck to his back sent him and Pietro flying up and over; grabbing the Villain by his collar and throwing his body weight into a forward roll through the air toward the unforgiving steel. [[RESONATING WHEEL!]]

SLAM!

With another well-timed boost from out his feet, Nikolay sent his and Pietro's combined body weight and momentum straight into the deck, rippling through Pietro's body as the air shot right out his lungs. Nikolay still remained kneeling atop him and clutching onto his collar with one hand, rearing his bleeding right fist back as his eyes burned into those white cataracts. [[IT'S OVER, PIETRO! JUST GIVE UP!]]

WRAM!

In Nikolay's blind desperation, he failed to react in time to avoid Pietro firing off his prosthetic arm at the elbow again, slamming straight into his ribs, cracking or near breaking several more of them even before he was flung back and landing hard on his back while Pietro scrambled back onto his feet.

[[KOLYA-KUN, HANG ON, WE'RE COMING!]] Mina's frantic voice pierced through the ringing in Nikolay's head as he too hurried back onto his feet, holding up a single hand in protest before he could even actually see Mina, Maja and Kyouka rushing to try and step in. [[NO! THERE MUST STILL BE CIVILIANS AND GIVER-SENSEI IN THE SUB! DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME, FOCUS ON THEM!]]

GRRRRRRRM! FWSSSSSSH!

The moment Nikolay's plea had jolted his three driven allies to remember their ultimate priority as Heroes; looking back to see Momo, Monoma, Reiko and Yui still using their Quirks together to manually get one civilian after another out the top of the sub tower, The Giver and Alyosha included; the entire vessel's ever-increasing tilt came to a sudden stop, before slowly but surely correcting itself to be level again, to the visible shock of everyone.

With that came the sound of further rushing water, but upon looking, they were met with the unnatural sight of the water actually rushing out of the numerous openings in the submarine's hull, effectively draining it of all the water that had been rushing in before getting frozen; the ice breaking away piece by piece.

And it didn't stop there, for even once the water had all receded and left the submarine empty again, and the people still unconscious inside it safe; all the water and ice around the entire vessel began to recede further and further away from it, the water level lowering around it at increasing speed, until it looked as though the submarine were literally levitating inside a crater in the ocean's face itself. The continuous rising vapor and mist emanating from down below was the only thing to clue any of the Heroes in that the only reason the submarine wasn't plummeting freely right now, was because of a single colossal water spout shooting from the bottom of the crater, keeping the whole thing in the air.

With that, an increasingly strong wind current began to blow across the deck, but just as many began to assume the storm clouds were finally beginning to act up and bring about the real thing; an observant glance from Momo brought something else to their attention: [[Look! We're actually moving back to shore!]]

Upon looking, they could all see that, indeed, the crater was drifting, and the spout carrying the submarine moving along with it, directly towards the Gagaringrad shoreline. The Heroes could all feel immense relief that the threat of sinking was effectively being removed from the board; especially Nikolay, as it became obvious to him just who was responsible for this. [[Uncle Volga…you really came back for us!]]

Pietro's demeanor, naturally, was the exact opposite, as he instead immediately acted upon Nikolay's words by leaping right off the side of the submarine into the crater, splitting off at the waist once more as his two halves came flying with deadly force for the spout. [[YOU BACKSTABBER, WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE ALREADY?!]]

Hearing and seeing this, Nikolay's decision to leap right after Pietro came like a nervous reflex, gliding and ricocheting himself every direction he could from his hands and feet in order to keep his eyes on Pietro, and more importantly try to catch up and stop him before he could somehow get to the distinctly human shape he could barely make out inside the rushing water of the vertical spout.

Pietro's upper half was encircling the spout, undoubtedly trying to find some kind of weak point where the current wasn't as strong that he could break through, or perhaps simply waiting to see if Volga would ultimately tire himself out, and thus leave himself vulnerable. But Nikolay refused to give him that chance, as he came circling around the spout from the other direction, flying in like a human bullet straight for Pietro's focused face.

WRAM!

Unfortunately, such tactics were child's play for the Villainous commander, as his lower half came rocketing up from below while Nikolay had been so single-minded in hitting him where it mattered most, knocking the boy's already-injured legs out from under, sending him into an uncontrolled roll and near-immediate plummet, before Pietro sent his lower half barreling down right after him, ready to plant his feet straight into his gut and drive him as deep into the water as possible.

However, a natural spark of alertness hit Pietro just in time to find the mutually furious faces of Tenya, Tetsutetsu and Kyouka all flying in side-by-side on one of Pony's horns each, with the half-American Hero herself flying right with them, and all barreling straight for him with their fists, feet and Earphone Jacks at the ready.

Pietro's immediate evasive action was just as quickly offset by the collision into his upper back; courtesy of Blast Beat driving a determined flying kick to the back of his head, as he came flying across the crater alongside Chiaroscuro, Mina and Maja; thanks to one massive high-powered gust of rising frigid wind below the human-sized kites the two Pro Heroes were strapped to, and the flying chunks of ice the two teens were standing upon; all courtesy of Whiteout providing the wind from the deck, Momo creating the kites, and Reiko and Monoma using their identical Telekinetic Quirks to carry the ice for their fellow interns.

This major distraction for Pietro forced his lower half to come back to reconnect with him, and thus allowed Nikolay to recollect himself and come flying right back up; now with the support of his friends and the Pros to beat Pietro down once and for all. And as though that weren't support enough, soon there were even a multitude of towering water tendrils emanating from all around the crater, shooting and whipping out as Pietro tried to fight off his attackers and make his escape with his two remotely-controlled halves; with every tendril deliberately moving to avoid hitting any of the Heroes in the process.

Seeing this, even Mina's excited cry couldn't match the light that was burning in Nikolay's chest as he observed this right alongside her: [[ARE YOU SEEING THIS, KOLYA-KUN?! YOU DID IT! YOU REALLY DID GET THROUGH TO HIM AFTER ALL! VOLGA'S JOINED THE PARTY!]]

[[LET'S NOT START CELEBRATING UNTIL WE KNOW THIS IS REALLY WON, EVERYONE! HE'S NOT GIVING UP!]] Chiaroscuro shouted for all the interns to hear, as she tried to get a clear line of sight on Pietro's eyes so she could try and disorient him long enough for one of her fellows to hit him where it would really matter. However, Pietro's evasive maneuvers through two halves of his body were proving more and more dogged and determined. Even with a full hit from one of Kyouka's Earphone Jacks to his right arm, and ultimately even Mina managing to score a full hit with her Acid Shot to the chest of his armor, he was refusing to give up.

Finally, he ended up drawing out two more bayonet blades at once from his mechanical forearm and sent them spinning drill-like again around his fist so that he could utterly eviscerate the next person unlucky enough to get too close.

This very well nearly ended up being Tetsutetsu himself, who barely managed to avoid nearly getting split in half by channeling his Iron into his left side and arm; sparks flying as blades met Iron skin. But Pietro's aim had still been precise enough to leave a nasty bleeding gash across his left bicep; Pony's quick flying in to support him from below being the one thing to keep him from losing his grip on the one horn keeping him airborne.

Noticing this, Pietro swerved and ducked down low, barreling past every water tendril that shot up in his wake to try and throw him off, shooting skyward halfway down the depths of the crater, and pulling out his last standby pistol from out the folds of his suit's inner chest pocket, now that the chest of his armor had been completely destroyed. With swiftness and precision, he had his sight lined on Pony's back and wasted no time squeezing the trigger, just at the same time Kyouka glimpsed this by miraculous timing and countered the only way she could think of at the distance she was: [[EARPHONE JACK STRIKE!]]

The deafening ring ended up stunning Pietro enough to throw his aim off, so the resulting gunshot ended up not nailing Pony right in her lungs…but it still ended up hitting her in the right arm regardless, and the burning pain that engulfed her body was still enough to completely throw off her focus and lose levitation control of her horns; sending herself, Kyouka, Tetsutetsu and Tenya all plummeting down to the watery maw below.

FWOOOSH!

With surgical precision and masterful control, the number of water tendrils below just as quickly rose up to catch the four falling young Heroes; but the shift in focus did end up thinning out the water composing the spout carrying the submarine, just at the same time half of the crater itself began to disperse to reveal an ever-present slope of rocks: the shore.

Seeing this backup plan of his play out just as he'd hoped, Pietro came flying in, ready to both blast and slice Volga away, before a large blob of Wax came flying upward from just out his pinpointed line of sight, slamming into his spinning mechanical forearm and jamming all the gears so his bayonets were no longer spinning.

Pietro's murderous eyes fell to Maja flying past him from below on her chunk of ice, following her trajectory in preparation to shoot her instead, only to then find Nikolay darting upward from his right just as Maja passed. The young Russian proceeded to drive two fully charged fists straight into Pietro's center mass; the resulting double-dose of pure vibration energy that rippled through his body ending with two emanating shockwaves that sent the Villain flying upward, ricocheting off the side of the submarine above. Immediately afterward did Chiaroscuro come flying upward with just as much force and speed behind her, thanks to Whiteout; plowing straight into Pietro's momentarily weightless body; sending them both upward even higher, before she finally began to roll her body in towards the sub below once they'd reached their penultimate height, sending them both rolling and ultimately slamming against the deck once more, just at the very same moment the submarine had finally run aground, right into the middle of the flooded Gagaringrad ruins.

The multitudes of police, doctors and media had all long since retreated back into the tree line once they'd seen the submarine was actually being carried back to their location, and had now started to poke their heads back out in astonishment, just in time to see all of the Heroes emerge from the quickly dissipating aquatic crater and come landing back on the submarine deck itself; all visibly shaken and gasping for breath from the combination of adrenaline and their injuries.

Spotting the approaching crowds along the tree line, Chiaroscuro began to reach out and get back to her feet, before a sharp pain jolted through her whole body, forcing her to roll away from Pietro with a pained groan; a warm and wet sensation spreading from her abdomen as she did so. She had to suppose it was inevitable, but at last, all of the exertion of the battle had reopened her wounds.

Taking charge, Whiteout too began to hurriedly approach the bow of the submarine, signaling to the civilians below: [[All of you, please get back! It's still not safe for y-!]]

SHIIIING!

With a flash of light and a metallic unsheathing sound, fire engulfed half of the Blizzard Hero's head as her right eye was suddenly rendered blind and burning. As she fell to the deck with a scream and numerous others emanated from the crowd; the rest of the Heroes immediately realized, to their horror, what had happened.

Even after the number of massive blows he'd just taken, Pietro's adrenaline had his alertness stubbornly remaining at its peak, hence he was still just as aware of his surroundings and who was nearest at all times. As such, upon hearing Whiteout's voice start to approach his prone body from behind, he'd pulled out yet another of his numerous crafty little sneak attacks: a pair of short yet effective blades stabbing out from the toes of his shoes, aided by his mechanical waistline sending his lower half spinning in a full circle as he threw his lower half up into the air like he was about to do a handstand. The swiftness and precision with which he did all this allowed one of his blades to slice straight across one of Whiteout's eyes, leaving her half-blind on the floor as he sprung himself back onto his feet and leaping from the submarine back to the watery ground, already having spotted exactly what he was looking for amid the civilians.

[[Valera, my boy! Your father and leader needs you! Come here!]] Pietro even tried to come across as desperate and pathetic as he reached his hands out (his flesh and blood one still clutching his gun all the while) towards the pale little boy amid the sea of frightened faces (even as the police were all drawing their tranquilizer guns on the Villain.

Before his lifeless pale eyes, Pietro felt his blood flow stop as he saw the little boy actually retreat back into the crowd, specifically to the two all-too familiar young adult blonde-haired faces just behind him; his parents, who even now were desperately scooping him up into their arms and holding him behind themselves as a pair of human shields; his devious previous maneuver poetically reversed.

A single twitch across his scarred and bloody face was all the indication of an initial reaction Pietro could give, before he immediately raised his right arm to gun the whole family down where they stood, just before a thick and wet sound emanated from just behind his back, forcing the Villainous commander to dive out of the way as Maja slammed her melted arms and legs down on the ground where he once stood with all the force she could.

The moment she realized she'd missed, she hurriedly rushed towards Valera and his parents; the two adults instinctively looking ready to run or fight her off, before she came to a sudden stop and turned back to face Pietro, showing her protective intent by letting the melting Wax of her arms coalesce together into one thickening shield against him; much to his ever-growing blood-boiling rage. [[I'm not gonna let you do what you did to me to a single other person anymore, even if it kills me, sir!]]

The sound of the bayonet protruding from Pietro's arm breaking through her previous Wax coating and going into another spin, sent all the onlookers' and Heroes' alertness into overdrive, as Nikolay led the charge diving off the side of the submarine to try and pile onto Pietro before he tried anything. Mina throwing another well-aimed handful of Acid into the back of Pietro's armor managed to force him to turn just enough so that Nikolay could land a charged up stomping blast right into his prosthetic arm, driven to shatter the thing to pieces so he could no longer keep using it against them or anyone else.

K-KRAK!

The distant crack of a high-powered sniper rifle pierced the air just at the same time Pietro was already swerving his pistol to shoot Nikolay dead center in the air; immediately followed by the Villain's only remaining natural arm to suddenly explode in a red mist at the forearm. His hand and the pistol still clutched in it came flipping listlessly through the air while the rest of the Heroes instinctively jumped back in shock at what had just happened, while Pietro simply gazed upon the bleeding stump of his last flesh and blood arm with a complete emptiness, beyond something like shellshock.

Up in the forested hills to the eastern side of Gagaringrad, Konstantin and Ilya both looked on in silent approval as Angel's Eye pulled back the slide to the last resort armor-piercing rifle he and his team had left well hidden up here on the first day after they'd snuck into the area. However, with any element of surprise now officially being gone, the three veterans could only watch and hope that this would give the Heroes enough of an advantage to finally end the battle for good.

Back at the foot of the submarine, all had fallen deathly silent as Pietro lifted his vacant eyes to the horizon behind Nikolay and the submarine itself, as though he were being called by something beyond even his own comprehension. At the same time, Nikolay kept standing his ground right alongside the rest of his partners, keeping his eyes open for the first sign of aggression.

BZZZT! BZZZT! BZZT! BWEEEP!

Suddenly, the unsettling calm was shattered by the same blaring klaxon alarms and whooping sirens from within the beached submarine, snapping everyone to attention, and bringing their single greatest objective rushing back to the forefront of all their minds as Nikolay instinctively shouted: [[Anyone who still has one of Hatsume-san's EMP devices, hurry and get inside and activate it! It should shut down the launch sequences with everything else—[[KOLYA-SAN/KUN, LOOK OUT!]]

His urgent order to any of his able comrades was swiftly cut off by Kyouka and Mina's urgent cries, as the sudden blaring of alarms drove Pietro into a rabid frenzy that put his previous rage to shame. Nikolay had to throw himself backwards straight into the side of the submarine as he turned to find Pietro launching his upper half right for him, aiming to drive the razor sharp shaft of bone protruding from his stumped right arm, or the spinning bayonets of his prosthetic left straight into his heart.

The Villain's lower half just as swiftly threw itself into another blinding spin, kicking water and small rocks all around in a matter befitting a Bouncing Betty mine; forcing civilians and Heroes alike to momentarily shield their eyes, or throw up an Acid Veil and Wax Shield in Mina and Maja's case, which still ultimately bought enough time for Pietro's legs to come flying right up after him, just as the man himself was flying in pursuit of Nikolay straight back onto the deck of the submarine.

Already, several police officers were firing off their tranquilizer rounds into Pietro's exposed and burning back, but either his adrenaline or his overall undead state was rendering them ineffectual, as he was matching Nikolay's dodges and countering blows step-for-step, slashing easily through his arms, legs and sides with either of the blades at his disposal, ignoring the rippling effects of every Kinetic Blast Nikolay managed to land on him. What had already seemed like a completely inhuman engine of violence, had turned into something unable to even be called human.

Even as Nikolay's friends all came rushing back onto the sub; with Momo, Tenya and Pony taking charge of getting into the submarine to deactivate what electronic systems were left, while everyone else tried to throw themselves into the fray in order to help their Russian friend out.

With Whiteout and Chiaroscuro completely out of commission, it fell to Blast Beat to lead the charge alongside Kyouka and Tetsutetsu from Pietro's right, while Monoma, Maja and Mina came rushing in from his left upon one of her Acid Slicks; and lastly Yui and Reiko came diving in from up above; all three branches coordinating their Quirk attacks in a desperate last-second rush to get Nikolay away, and most importantly stop Pietro at last.

Working together, Mina released a non-corrosive sticky Acid Shot from between her hands, jamming up whatever mechanics there were that kept allowing Pietro to split himself off at the waist, while Monoma and Maja likewise released dual splashes of their melting arms to stick his legs together and to the hull.

To further add to his immobilization, Yui and Reiko proceeded to rain down a few spare metal nuts the black-haired Class B girl had managed to scrounge up amid the chaos, only to then use her Quirk to enlarge them and lay them down one after another around Pietro's position, completely entrapping him inside.

From there, Nikolay and Kyouka both proceeded to lay down a double-front assault of a Distant Thunder and Heartbeat Distortion attack, sending two devastating shockwaves forward, coalescing right where Pietro was standing, and resulting in a deafening blast of pure sound and vibration energy that sent Pietro flying like a rocket straight out the hole of the metal nut cylinder, directly into the path of Tetsutetsu, who had proceeded to leap from atop the pile in a mad dash, meeting the Villain in mid-air at just the moment he channeled the Iron he still had left directly into his swinging foot, which he proceeded to drive with full contact straight into Pietro's back, sending him nose-diving straight back into the deck at full power between all the reunited Heroes.

As Tetsutetsu barely managed a clean landing onto the deck, having officially used up the last of his Quirk he could for the day, the rest of the young interns were standing back, long since having gotten used to Pietro pulling some kind of fancy trick out of his sleeve. However, upon seeing his bloodied form struggle to try and get up after such a devastating sequence of attacks, even his previous stubbornness didn't seem possible anymore. Based on just what his condition beforehand already was, the fact that he was still kicking after all of that seemed downright miraculous.

FWOOOSH!

With not even a spark to serve as a warning, Pietro suddenly unleashed a rapid-spreading sheet of raging fire from the nozzle in the wrist of his prosthetic, using up the last of the fuel in his personal flamethrower attachment in an attempt to drive the Heroes back away from him. Just as Maja and Monoma both tried to erect a wall of Wax and Ice (courtesy of Whiteout) to block it, Pietro went even further with his scattering attempt, by suddenly sending his lower half flying right into the gathering, only for a rapid electronic beeping to start sounding out from the mechanics lining and filling its width.

This sound immediately had Mina rapidly firing another sticky Acid Shot right for it to try and encase it in as thick of a quick-drying coating as she could, before in that next instant—

BKOOM!

With a blast wave that left all ears ringing, Pietro had sent the entire lower half of his body into the fray and remotely activated another hidden bomb deep inside it, sacrificing a whole half of himself in a fiery explosion that sent Nikolay and all his allies flying in scattered directions from each other, with Mina's preemptive act being the only thing that saved half of them from getting killed in the blast.

Before Nikolay's ears could even stop ringing, he felt Pietro's mechanical hand come flying in and clutching him hard by the throat, as the Villain was flying via the propulsion jets in the mechanical workings lining his waist's upper half, taking the boy for a vicious ride off the side of the submarine and across the ocean surface. With the speed they were going, Pietro proceeded to force Nikolay further and further in; the friction ultimately scraping the young Russian like butter across toast, and his painful screams as his costume and skin were shredded serving as music to the Villain's ears.

Upon reaching the cliff face overlooking the western edge of the Gagaringrad cove, Pietro proceeded to send himself and Nikolay flying skyward once more, before finally tossing his young victim forward upon reaching the peak, sending Nikolay's bloody and raw body slamming into the dirt. He didn't even give the boy a chance to breath before driving his upper half straight into him again, clutching onto his head with his one remaining hand.

[[I've been forced to use up just about every toy Comrade Alyosha gave me to deal with pissants like you! I don't know which part of me is stronger: the one that wants to commend you for driving me to this point…or the one that wants to see you and your little friends' heads on pikes! But there's at least one thing all your persistence hasn't robbed me of just yet!]]

With a rhythmic pounding of Nikolay's head into the ground three more times, Pietro positioned his mechanical fingers strategically across his ringing head. [[Even if my Quirk hasn't in fact grown strong enough to be permanent…let's see if it's strong enough to mold your very willingness to live, shall we? After all, we all know your actions are simply the thrashing and pitiful desperate acts of a fallen Hero, Kolya. You failed in your responsibility and lost everyone you ever loved and cared about, just like Tunguska before you. You're all alone, just as you know you were always destined to be. You're just too stubborn to accept it…but for how much longer, I wonder?]]

[Jóhann Jóhannsson - Escape]

In that instant, a flash blinded Nikolay and filled his brain as Pietro's words echoed endlessly before finally sinking and fading into the ether. But that sensation of complete nothingness vanished just as quickly as it had come, as from one moment to the next, Nikolay found himself still on his back, but there was no longer the disfigured animalistic snarl of Pietro's face looming over him.

What was there instead was incomparably worse, as the moment he tried to lift himself up and take in his surroundings, he was greeted by a blood red sky, and a desolate landscape blanketed by an expanse of dead bodies; all of whom Nikolay could recognize in an instant.

Izuku, Eijirou, Tenya, Shoto, Setsuna, Tooru and Denki to the left; Kyouka, Bakugo, Momo, Ochako, Tsuyu, Tetsutetsu, Aizawa, All Might and Fumikage to the right. They all looked to be completely obliterated by some inescapable and all-powerful attack that had stricken like the very essence of apocalypse itself.

The air blowing past as he tried to get to his feet was so chilling and lifeless, almost as though the very planet itself were dead; and yet Nikolay was the only proof of life there was. Everywhere he looked, there were only more dead bodies and burning ruins as far as the eye could see…and even for as much as he tried to call out for help or some sign of life, his throat couldn't make the sounds, and with every step, he felt more and more of his strength slip away, just as much as he could feel his heart plummet and shatter into nothing as he finally stumbled and fell at the foot of the one protruding mound in this sea of corpses.

And when he looked upon it, Nikolay could almost genuinely feel himself die of a broken heart and vanished spirit as he gazed upon the bloody and lifeless bodies of Tunguska and Mina lying upon it. Even as blinded as he was by the tears that came rushing at record speed as he looked upon their vacant and still faces, Nikolay couldn't summon up the strength to reach out to them or even beg forgiveness. There was no strength or willingness to live to be found within himself anymore.

Nikolay Bezpalov was trapped in the very worst of his fears in microcosm with no hopes of escape. And this was only made worse as, the moment he finally collapsed to his side and curled up into a hopeless sobbing ball of his former self amid the blood and ashes, the voices of his friends and loved ones began to echo with the deathly wind: "You failed us, Kolya. We trusted you to be a Hero, and you failed us all. Everything that's happened to us is all because of you. What kind of Hero are you if you can't even save one person, Kolya? You're not manly at all; just a weak and pathetic coward who got all his friends killed. We would've been far better off if you never came into our lives. We'd have all survived if you'd just killed yourself when you had the chance. Why did I ever believe in you for a moment, Kolya-kun? What was I thinking, ever actually caring about someone like you?"

Nikolay couldn't even bring himself to bring his hands over his ears as the voices of his father, his friends and all his loved ones simply grew louder and louder with each passing moment; soon coalescing into an incomprehensible and mind-rending cyclone of pure soul-crushing hate and despair.

Back in the real world, Pietro's already-racing heart was emboldened by the shuddering look of pure anguish on Nikolay's face as he removed his mechanical hand from it. Not only had he come to the miraculous realization that he could in fact still channel his Quirk through it, but he'd effectively trapped the boy in a personal nightmare of inescapable strength.

This part was especially pleasing, as the Villain was already preparing to drive the two bayonets of his prosthetic arm, and the bone of his right stump, straight into the shivering boy's chest; all while grinning maniacally from ear to ear…before his ears began to pick up the sound of rushing and roaring water growing from behind his back. And that sound in these circumstances left his empty eyes growing wide. 'No! No, not again!'

Pietro didn't even have time to shout in defiance when he looked back, just in time to find a colossal serpent shape looming over the cliff edge, made entirely of water, and focusing on him and Nikolay alone. With the swiftness of the very animal itself, this aquatic marvel lunged in and plowed its mass straight into the Villain and young Hero together, washing them in the inescapable current that composed it, and right off the cliff with ease.

As the water serpent came flooding fast back towards the shore and the beached submarine; Pietro was struggling against the current rushing about him with all the strength he could with the mass he had left, while Nikolay himself floated listlessly in a single-person air bubble that had been formed around him for protection. The very moment after Pietro figured this out, he turned back to find the human shape of Volga rapidly rushing with the current towards him.

With his eyes wide and murderously focused, Pietro met Volga's charge with a well-timed jab of his mutilated right arm, driving the bone straight into Volga's shoulder as he grabbed onto Pietro's collar, hammering his face with one fist and his own forehead after another, no matter how much the Villain's state numbed him to the majority of the pain.

In fact, such close-quarters bombardment was actually just as invigorating, as Pietro continued to drive the bayonets of his forearm, alongside the sheer force of his fake fist, into however much of the River Hero's midsection as he could reach. Seeing the water all around them continue turning more and more red in spite of the current, filled the Villain with that much more delight as he and his old comrade continued to trade one blow after another with each other.

Volga's own blood burned white hot, even as he felt one stab enter his body after another. After everything he'd witnessed Pietro do; after everything he'd let himself be coerced into doing against everything he had been raised to believe in; there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to give up until he had no other choice, and as long as he could get Pietro back onto the submarine for the rest of the Heroes waiting and recovering below to take out, then he was going to keep giving it his all.

Ultimately, the giant serpent of water finally came crashing and exploding upon impact with the submarine and shore; the resulting waves almost washing away the whole of Nikolay's fellow Heroes that had already been preparing to try and go after their friend and Pietro in the wake of the sneak explosion. As soon as the water had finally dissipated, they and the civilians that had retreated back into the forest, all watched with disbelief and worry altogether as Nikolay lay shuddering upon the deck, with Pietro and Volga still grappling, beating and stabbing each other mere feet away.

Feeling his blood continue to run out of his body at record speed, and knowing he couldn't possibly channel his Quirk into something that immensely powerful again in the shape he was in, Volga gripped onto both of Pietro's arms with every ounce of strength he could channel through his own mechanical limbs; preventing the Villain from being able to keep stabbing, and finally turning his blue-gold eyes to Nikolay nearby.

Amid the maelstrom of hate-filled voices burrowing deeper and deeper into Nikolay's head as he continued to lie helplessly amid the dead, the faintest sound of something different came piercing through. It was the sound of something different, something calmer…something that actually managed to counterbalance all the anger and hate that filled the air, with that of a genuine softness and…even gratitude.

At first it had come in garbled and unintelligible. But as Nikolay barely managed to try turning his head to the direction it was coming from, he could see a single bright light start to shine and grow from out of the depths of the emptiness around him. And with that light, the voice calling out to him finally grew much clearer, and filling Nikolay with a joyous recognition: [[Uncle…Volga?]]

[Jóhann Jóhannsson - Inside the Pods]

His godfather's voice rang with heart as his words finally echoed all around the boy: [[Kolya…no matter what sick trickery Pietro's tried to put in your head, I know you can hear me in there. Hear me…hear my voice, and know that you were right. You were right about me, after all…hell, you were always right about me. I was a damn fool to think that there would never be Heroes capable of really saving the world again after what had happened to the New Bogatyrs. I'd let my sadness rob me of everything I knew was still worth fighting for already…and this Villain had tricked me into letting that sadness turn into blind anger.

[[I'd let him talk me into discarding everything I held dear as a Hero, into thinking there was only one way to really look at the world and act in order to do what he told me was still right. I'd let myself be turned into something I wasn't and so much worse…and it took the persistence of you and your friends to help me finally see the truth of it: the truth that, in a time where I had lost all hope, you came in shining like a brighter symbol of hope than even your father ever did. All of you ultimately have. You're all together a greater example of what true Heroes look like and represent to the world as a whole than I ever could've thought possible after all this time.]]

As though to reflect the uplifting sense of warmth that Volga's words were managing to stir within Nikolay's chest; the more he struggled to ultimately get back onto his feet, the more the light before him continued to grow, and beams of sunlight even began to pierce through the darkness of the sky, washing away all traces of death and despair that had once permeated everything there was to see.

Looking into the light, Nikolay determinedly strode into it with pure focus visible in every step, as Volga's voice continued to spur him forward; ultimately ending up engulfed in the warm light of this seemingly infinite passage: [[The day you were born, Kolya; Tunguska said that he and Gamayun both believed you would become a truly great Hero beyond a shadow of a doubt if you had me looking after and teaching you. But seeing you as you are now, I have no doubts in myself that you truly are already on the track to becoming the truly great Hero you were born to be…and you never needed me or your father to get there. Heroes help each other to become their best selves, just as friends in general do…and no matter how much I have to bleed in order to do so; if I can help you all to be able to reach that point of becoming the truly greatest Heroes you can be together, then I'll do it with a smile on my face…and hope in my heart, because of you!]]

As Volga's closing words rang true in Nikolay's heart, he could feel himself lifting effortlessly into the air, flying faster and faster through the passage of light as his heart rebuilt itself and his spirit came rushing back with all the eagerness and hope in the world. The further and further he went and the faster he flew, Nikolay could swear he could even start to feel a pair of incredible gentle and warm loving hands holding his extended arms up from behind, accompanied by the serene flapping of large wings behind him.

Nikolay could just instinctively feel and know the presence that was now guiding him forward, but he simply couldn't bring himself to look back just over his shoulder to make sure, as the softest woman's voice spoke reassuringly into his ear, just as the light around him began to part and flash the expecting and supportive smiles of all his friends, one after the other.

[[You have nothing to despair over anymore, Kolya, nothing to fear. You are so much stronger than you could ever know, in so many ways. You'll always find the strength in your heart to overcome and bring hope back to all those that need it most. Let the love of your friends, the love you carry in your heart for the world around you and the people in it, always be your guiding light and reminder of that. Together, you can all be able to help make the world such a better place. We'll always be supporting you through every adversity to come, my baby boy. Now go on…your family is waiting for you.]]

With the words of Gamayun and Volga, together with the encouraging, faithful and welcoming smiles of his friends here and back in Yuuei still burning bright in his heart, Nikolay came snapping back into reality with nary a gasp for air; his body automatically firing him forward across the deck like a bullet from his hands and feet; his trajectory taking him blazing right past several of his fellow interns as they'd already started to try and rush Pietro to save Volga; and driving his entire mass and momentum straight into the Villain himself.

Grappling onto him tight, Nikolay and Pietro went bouncing several times down the length of the sub; the young Hero repeatedly driving his continuously charging and releasing right fist into the Villain's face with every ricochet, even when Pietro finally managed to bring his prosthetic arm up in defense and once again drive one of his bayonets straight through the boy's palm, now leaving an overall X-shaped impalement wound in it.

With the fourth bounce, Pietro finally reacted by firing off his fake hand at the wrist, pounding directly into Nikolay's chest and sending him tumbling across the deck and ultimately back-first into the side of the tower with a resounding CLANG!

Every inch of Nikolay's body was screaming in agonizing pain from all of his wounds; but his adrenaline (or perhaps the numbness from losing so much blood) and his newly returned determination refused to let him slip into unconsciousness.

Just as well, Pietro refused to leave a single moment up to chance, as he came flying in the rest of the way through his waist propulsion jets, and before Nikolay's body could even peel off the vertical wall and slump to the floor, the Villain drove both his protruding bayonets straight through Nikolay's right leg and into the steel; stabbing through the muscles and the tibia with agonizing ease and pinning him there. Nikolay let out a pained growl through his tightly clenching bloody teeth as Pietro let himself hang there right in front of the boy, leveling the pointed end of the bone of his right arm right at Nikolay's throat as a deterrent for his friends mere feet away, to all their visible fear and anger.

[[This…is the very last way I expected today to play out…but I'm done letting outside forces dictate what my fate is, Kolya. This is my time to finally seize my own destiny, and if history decides to paint me the Villain for doing what I thought was right, then so be it. I'm not letting my story end prematurely like this because of a bunch of stubborn wannabe Hero brats like you; no matter how many fools you try winning over to your side with your damn speeches!]]

The pain of the blade sticking into the shin bone of his right leg was ungodly, but Nikolay couldn't allow himself to scream, no matter how much he wanted to. His friends were all there, all just as badly hurt, but still carrying themselves forward to help him, each other and everyone else…just like he wanted to with all his heart.

Still hanging upside down, he looked down/up to Pietro as he kept his bladed arm pinned to the young boy's leg, ignoring the stinging tears in his eyes and the taste of blood in his mouth, fighting his way through the pain in both his legs as he mustered up the words with bravado and faith: [[You can go ahead and call us wannabes or stubborn kids playing pretend all you want, Pietro. But it doesn't change the fact…that our stubbornness to save people and fight against Villains like you, no matter how much you hurt us…that's just the starting foundation of any Hero, including the kind you said you wanted to be. And if physical pain is all it takes to be able to save people…then I'll take all you can give me with a smile…and I can feel it inside…that they would be saying the very same thing.]]

The look in Pietro's eyes as he looked down at the persistent boy beneath him was the very picture of disbelief, as Nikolay's trembling mouth slowly but surely formed that very smile itself amid the blood and tears all over his beaten face. [[We'll take anything Villains can throw at us with a smile, Pietro…just like All Might did…and just like Tunguska would, too. Just look at us, and I know you can see it, too: a generation of new Heroes, crafted and trained by some of the greatest Heroes alive, forged from the wake of Tunguska's past mistakes to be better; to help restore the long lost hope and love for Quirks and Heroes everywhere…including back home.]]

Pietro indeed looked up to the gathering of ready young Heroes ahead, all of them just anxiously looking for the first opportunity to get him away from their friend and stop him at last. With Nikolay's devoted words ringing deafeningly in his head, the Villain's already deformed face twisted as he growled with an animalistic hate. All the tension in his body was already rushing down his right arm, ready to finally drive the bone shaft straight through Nikolay's throat, but that moment he had taken to observe and truly look upon the Heroes before him, was all the time Nikolay needed to finally make the sacrifice necessary to bring this battle to an end.

Bracing himself for everything he was worth, Nikolay bit down hard, clenched his utterly wrecked fists, and with his left foot flush to the vertical wall of the tower, he proceeded to let out a resonating BWOOM through it, launching his body in a spin to his right, as though he were rolling along the wall; and with his right leg still pinned motionless through this action, Nikolay nearly blacked out once he felt his right knee completely snap and disconnect from the rest of his leg as everything from that point up rolled with him.

The deafening bass of this last Kinetic Blast blindsided Pietro, as the moment he began to turn to see what the boy had just done, he was instead greeted by Nikolay's left foot flying in at terminal velocity speed, driving straight into his face at full force, full connection. His bayonets finally pulled out from the boy's right leg, as Pietro's whole body rippled with the force rushing through him from his dumbfounded face, leaving his head spinning, swimming and ringing all at once as he finally collapsed with a dull and listless thud to the floor, with Nikolay crumpled right next to him; his breathing ragged, wheezy and lined with painful groans as he knew he couldn't possibly hope to stand up and walk again after what he'd just done to take the Villain out for the count.

As Nikolay's friends and Blast Beat all finally came rushing in to attend to the heavily injured boy, so too did the police finally come climbing onto the submarine as well, with doctors already tending to Volga, Whiteout and Chiaroscuro, while the police were beginning to close in on Pietro's motionless half of a body, albeit with considerable caution.

At just the same time as the police were finally removing all of the unconscious townspeople, whom had been laid out on the deck throughout the course of the battle, as well as the still-bound Alyosha and semi-conscious The Giver, whom had both been stuck at the top of the tower; Momo, Tenya and Pony all finally came climbing out of one of the holes in the deck leading to the engine room, all of them looking especially shaken as they tried to catch their breath.

As more paramedics came in to tend to Nikolay amid his friends, just as others did to see to the blade still stabbing through Tenya's left forearm; Blast Beat turned to address the bespectacled young Hero and his partners. [[Ingenium-kun, Creati-chan, Rocketti-chan; what happened? The alarms all stopped blaring as the fight up here ended. Does that mean what I think it means?]]

The exhausted looks on all their fellow interns' faces, as well as the sheer scope of damage that had been wrought to the whole area since their mission had begun, ultimately filled the trio's hearts with pride and exuberance as Momo tiredly nodded her head. [[Yes, Blast Beat-sensei…we…we did it. Throughout the battle, two of our three EMP devices had been destroyed…but Tsunotori-san managed to keep hers safe throughout it all. It's her we should all be thanking right now. The silos that hadn't gotten disabled by the gunboat collision were near ready to launch.]]

Just as everyone was about to let out their collective sighs of relief and voice their gratitude and pride in Pony (especially her classmates), a chilling laugh began to sound from Pietro, bringing all wide and terrified eyes back to his prone half-form on the ground as his eyes stared blankly up at the sky.

[[You children really think it can be solved so simply, don't you? Just one push of a button on an EMP and it's all over and done with, yes? After all the little tricks you've seen me manage to pull from Comrade Alyosha's little mechanical gifts today…did you really think I wouldn't have a backup for this, too? Something that could remotely activate even in the event of your little toys?]]

Before any of the Heroes or the police could even react, the palm of Pietro's prosthetic hand suddenly opened up at the seams, revealing a single small red button protruding from within. And with one last desperate lurch to throw his body weight over, he furiously slapped that button straight into the floor just as the police and Heroes rushed to pile onto him in order to stop it…but the immediate resuming blare of the alarms told them it was already too late.

With the rhythmic whirring and slamming of mechanical parts sending churning vibrations all across the submarine from within, Momo was already anxiously trying to create yet another of Mei's EMP devices, but everyone's panicked cries to evacuate were just as quickly cut off as three different whirring engines began to sound, followed by the deafening roar of ignition; all finally punctuated by three medium-sized missiles shooting out of the only fully opened silos near the bow. The burning smoke of rocket fuel filled the air as everyone looked up in horror at the sight of three fully armed tactical nukes shooting straight up into the sky.

Every single person there could feel their stomachs twist into a multitude of knots as the gravity of the situation hit them with full force, made only so much worse by the mocking laughter that Pietro was nearly howling with now. [[That's it…game over! I win! Those of you who could've possibly been able to pursue and ground those rockets are far too hurt to do so now! Each of those missiles already has its respective target city fully programmed in as well! I told you brats once and I'll say it again: don't ever stop and let your guard down until you know your enemy is no longer breathing!]]

Even if his vitals were to somehow simultaneously give out and he were to finally die and stay that way forever, this time he could do so without a single regret left. As far as Pietro Dobrynich Granin was concerned, he had finally avenged himself: for his self-perceived shorthand in life, for the betrayal of his years of patriotic service for the land he was about to finally take his revenge on, all of it. He was ultimately able to get the last laugh after all.

As Nikolay and every one of his fellow Heroes watched the three brightly burning rocket engines slowly but surely inch across the sky above as they soared ever closer to the stratosphere, their minds were all racing in desperation for something, anything at all that could have been a solution to stopping this impending catastrophe…but try as they could, they all knew deep down that there was no real solution. Even if they were to somehow have a way to knock them down or destroy them mid-flight, there was no telling if the things wouldn't still simply detonate right on top of their heads upon landing, or if destroying them would result in their radioactive payloads spreading even further across the atmosphere and causing untold amounts of long-term damage for countless other people. For once, all of them, even the ever-studious and strategic Tenya and Momo…were at a complete loss.

So deep were they all in their momentary desperation and hopelessness, though, that they were scarcely even aware of how, in that moment, and to the astonishment of the onlookers still on the ground; the waters had suddenly started to come rushing in and around the base of the beached submarine, building up a flow and current within seconds, strong enough to dig away at the ground below, and actually manage to dislodge the massive vessel, before just as quickly starting to pull it further and further back out into the ever-deepening cove waters, and just as quickly after back out into the open water, yet without a single drop flowing back in through the hull lacerations; complete with the waters even forcing themselves in between the submarine and the lodged gunboat in order to pry it free, so that it and the crew still unconscious inside it could be left at the safety of the shore.

[Alexandrov Ensemble a.k.a. The Red Army Choir - Song of the Volga Boatmen]

Everyone still on-deck, even Pietro, were all looking in disbelief at what was happening, before it finally clicked, and everyone looked to see the visible agonizing strain on Volga's body; his countless open wounds all but flowing with blood as he tried with everything he still had to focus on using his Quirk. By now, the waters had all started to churn and rise in intensity, once again bringing about the storm, complete with the ever-darkening storm clouds forming overhead, so high as to even cut off the trajectory of the three nukes, since their ignition flames could still be seen even now.

Nikolay's injuries were too extensive for him to move towards the struggling River Hero, but that didn't stop him from still trying to reach out to his deathly pale godfather. [[Uncle…V-Volga!]]

With the pleading sound of Nikolay's voice echoing to him even amid the roars of the sea water and the howling winds; Volga's already-focused face wrenched with even further determination, as suddenly a multitude of fast-flowing water tendrils shot up from out of the sea, expertly latching onto Nikolay himself, and every one of his friends, Blast Beat, and every remaining police officer and doctor that had been unlucky enough to still be on board beforehand.

Before any of the interns or their one remaining mentor could ask just what Volga was doing, they could all feel the water tendrils start to pull them back, off the deck and further out towards the shore, away from the submarine itself, while one other had by now latched onto Pietro's prone body, and began pushing it towards Volga himself.

However, this observation meant nothing in comparison to everything else going on for Nikolay, as his eyes burned with desperate tears as he tried to fight the crippling pain all over his body in order to try and somehow get through to the returned River Hero: [[Uncle Volga, what are you doing?! Please stop!]]

As every one of the other water tendrils continued to carry the rest of the civilians and Nikolay's crying out friends the rest of the way to shore; the one carrying Nikolay himself remained stationary for a spare moment, so that the boy and his godfather could lock eyes for the last time.

Amid every other emotion burning in his chest in that one moment their eyes met, Nikolay felt all of his sadness vanish the moment he saw the unmistakable sight of a deeply heartfelt smile on Volga's damaged face.

[[It's over for me, Kolya, I know that now…but you helped me to bring back the Hero I always was deep inside, no matter how much I argued, fought and hurt you in return. I don't ever deserve forgiveness for having done that to you or any of your friends, nor can I go back from any of the things I've done over all these years…but I can at least use what strength I have left…to make everything right again.]]

All of these sentiments together only reinforced that which tore at Nikolay's heart the most in this moment, but still did Volga refuse to back down from the decision he had clearly made for himself. His blue-gold eyes were now burning bright with a vindicated light that Nikolay could in that moment recall having heard Tunguska describe through some of his old stories of seeing the River Hero fully driven in the field of action, and truly, it was just as inspiring a sight as his father had described even then.

[[You helped me to resurrect the River Hero after far too long a time spent dormant, Kolya…and as the River Hero himself, I couldn't possibly be prouder of the kind of Hero you've already become, never once giving up on people. With friends like yours to fight alongside you, I have not a doubt in my heart that you'll truly become the great Hero your parents and I knew you would be. I just wish things could've been different so I could have seen you grow into such a fine young man like you are right now.]]

By now, Nikolay was finally continuing to get pulled back to rejoin the rest of his comrades, as Volga's final parting words still managed to echo to him loud and clear through the chaotic noises of the ever-worsening contained sea storm: [[My only other regret…is that I won't be able to see my Comrade…my brother, one final time, and let him know that I…I don't blame him…for any of it. But please…please tell him, that the River Hero went out the way he always wanted to: giving everything he had…to save the people he loved and swore to protect to the very end.]]

With a sudden flash and the following deafening crack of lightning, Nikolay could just make out the distant sight of Volga still kneeling upon the rocking deck of the submarine, extending his right arm overhead to give a solemn, heartfelt wave goodbye to the boy that had saved his life. [[Let this mark the beginning of a new era for you all to go out there and remind the people of the world…that true Heroes are never truly gone from anywhere, you young and bright-shining Symbols of Hope.]]

At the same time as Nikolay, his friends, the police and doctors had finally reached the shore again; all of them still looking on in confusion and awe at the distant contained storm, and the two men they knew to still be there; Volga had finally finished dragging Pietro's body to his side while continuing to focus his Quirk to its fullest extent.

Before Pietro's wide eyes, the mist and water that had been spraying all across the air as a result of the storm began to turn all around them in a counter-clockwise direction, increasing in both speed, density while decreasing in area, until it finally became clear to him just what Volga was trying to do: creating a towering cyclone upon the deck of the submarine that ultimately began to lift both men further and further into the air.

As soon as he could feel himself being lifted off the ground and into this watery prison, Pietro's energy came racing back in the form of instinctive panic. [[No, NO! Comrade, what do you think you're doing? We're so close to winning, to finally paying them back for everything! Why would you-?!]]

Before he could even begin to try fighting back or threatening the River Hero, though; Volga instead calmly reached out with his own prosthetic arms and held onto the Villain's; pulling him in with not a trace of aggression or malice. With Pietro rendered silent with confusion and disbelief as the cyclone finally left the deck of the sub, officially making the two airborne amid the storm, Volga's eyes drifted upward to the dark clouds and the three nukes just flying overhead.

With a multitude of flashes of light from within the clouds, Volga could so clearly see flashes of such happier days, times that felt like fragments of a whole other lifetime: his earliest days of practicing his Quirk as a child, training in the army alongside Pietro and Tunguska, the day they both became registered Pro Heroes, and all the days of excitement, comradery, smiles and family with all of his long-passed friends in the New Bogatyrs.

These visions were heartwarming enough as it was, but in the face of the brightest flash, Volga could swear, if just for a moment, that he could even see a glimpse of the times that were yet to come: a glimpse of a brown-haired, bright, green-eyed and brave young man in a Hero costume of olive and red, soaring through the sky alongside a throng of similarly fresh-faced and devoted Heroes, all joined together in racing towards the future.

With his heart pounding with resolution; a trembling and inspired smile and a joyful tear rolling down his scarred face; Volga spoke with such a wise and aged-sounding calm: [[It's alright, Pietro Dobrynich. You can let go now. All your sadness and anger…all your pain, you can finally let go of all of it. You don't need to worry anymore. We entered into this new world together…and now we can leave it the same way. Those young Heroes down there…they're the ones who will truly save it now.]]

A quickly growing and powerful rumble began to emanate from the sky above the higher they rose within the cyclone, with the three nukes now flying much closer to them, just as a greater multitude of light flashes began to emanate from the clouds. As Volga felt the last ounces of resistance finally leave Pietro's body as he continued to hold his old friend-turned-enemy close, Volga's eyes fell once more to the now-distant shore, knowing in his heart that he and Nikolay were managing to make eye contact in this pinnacle moment, before he finally closed them and let out an accepting exhale.

[[The future...my God...it will be beautiful. Oleg…Kolya…goodbye.]]

KRRRRK-BKCHOOOOOOOOOOM!

With all of the moisture and wind currents having become so strong in such a concentrated area, Volga's final focus of the fullest power of his Quirk finally culminated in a colossal burst of lightning erupting from the clouds; zapping all three nukes at once, short-circuiting their electronics and rendering them completely dead and plummeting lifeless to the waters below.

And just as powerfully did that same lightning strike come ripping down the cyclone and into the two men inside it; hitting with such power that neither of them could even feel pain before all that electrical channeling in such massive amounts all at once quickly reduced the River Hero Volga and Pietro Dobrynich Granin into dust in mid-air; the former's passing instantaneously bringing an end to the storm as a whole, as the cyclone immediately came raining down, and the once tumultuous ocean waters began to calm; the storm clouds dissipating and allowing for the late morning sun to come shining down upon the visibly sinking submarine once more.

Down on the shore, Nikolay and all his friends, the Pro Heroes still able to watch, and the countless other onlookers emerging from the woods, all instinctively knew with a heavy-hitting finality, just what it was they had bore witness to. Their eyes were all blinded with emotional tears, none of them even able to let out a kneejerk cry of cheer at the knowledge that, when all had seemed lost, the day had still been saved, at the cost of a truly great Hero in the throes of a long-needed return to duty.

Even in the forested hills overlooking the Gagaringrad ruins, Konstantin and his men had likewise been able to observe everything that had just unfolded; and while Angel's Eye and Ilya were equally stoic yet respectful in their displays, Konstantin himself had to wipe away the sting of a single emotional tear in his eye at the realization of everything he had witnessed today, and what it had all ultimately brought together inside his head after so many years.

As the authorities finally began to take charge in organizing the rescue services and the media, Nikolay and his friends still couldn't take their eyes off the spot in the sky where the sparkles of descending water still hung in the sunlight, the very spot in space wherein Volga had made the ultimate sacrifice a Hero was asked to make, and had gone into it with gusto.

The utter gut-punch of emotion that Nikolay was still reeling from had rendered him virtually deaf to Monoma, Tetsutetsu and Pony's resultant outcries of relief that their mission had finally been accomplished in the end; while Tenya, Momo, Kyouka, Reiko and Yui were respectfully silent in the wake of the human cost; and Mina and Maja were both simply overwhelmed with emotion that it was all finally over and they were still ultimately okay, both girls sobbing hysterically at all of it.

When they had finally turned to attend to Nikolay himself as soon as their cheers or choking sobs had finally started to die down, they were all met by the sight of the young Russian Hero finally unconscious on his back amid the shallow waters, with his face looking completely…at peace; his maelstrom emotions and the collective pain of all his debilitating injuries having finally caught up to him, just as the pain of all their own wounds had finally started coming back to them now that the adrenaline was dying down.

It had been the single hardest, scariest and most death-defying day any of them had experienced yet…but in the end, this near-dozen of young and aspiring Yuuei Academy Heroes had ultimately managed to come through in the way that mattered the most, and ultimately helped save an entire nation and its people, without those people ever even having known of the danger they had just been in.

At long, long last, the final battle of the Hokkaido Arc has finally reached its end. Through untold blood, sweat, tears and heartache, our Heroes have ultimately managed to save the day, and even accomplished the seemingly impossible task of restoring a once fallen Hero in the moment it counted the most.

As I mentioned previously, this whole battle took a great deal of time to put together, knowing just how big the stakes and the physical cost needed to be, especially being the climax of the longest story arc of this story to date. So knowing all of that, I really don't think I'm being unreasonable when I ask you all to please share your thoughts and feelings on this chapter and this story arc as a whole once you've finished reading this. With all the time and effort that has been put into making this original arc the best it could be, I feel like I've earned some feedback from my readers by now.

From here, it's onwards to wrapping up the finer details in the aftermath of this arc, and then proceeding onward into the unknown future for all our Heroes, including treading into both familiar and other brand new territory. I hope that's left you all just as excited as ever to see what will happen next. In the meantime, I hope you all have a pleasant rest of your week, and I will see you all again with the next chapter on 07/23!