Chapter 24 - USJ Part 4

The heavy stench of rot and decay was the first thing to hit my senses. The smell reminiscent of raw sewage that had been left to stew and bake out in the sun. It was everywhere, surrounding me in its filth as I tumbled down, down, down, deeper into the villain's body. I gagged, wanting to vomit out this putrid scent that was touching my soul, entering it. Villains always had a nasty taste to them, but this was without a doubt the worst body I had ever inhabited.

Swallowing back my revulsion, I extended my soul outwards, searching for the soul of my host. Yet, the more I invaded, the more I felt the sense of an overwhelming nothingness. There was no personality to wrestle. No free will to subdue. No consciousness to bury. The act of possession was one of domination, but there was absolutely nothing in here to fight against.

Like this body was nothing but an empty shell.

Icy awareness prickled at the edges of my thought.

Something was seriously wrong.

I had seen a soul. I was sure of it. The villain couldn't be walking around without one. So where was it?

I stretched further and finally felt a kernel of essence brush against my own. A soft whisper of something in the nothing. I stalked its trail through the vast, cold emptiness and horror dropped like lead into my core.

What I found was not a soul. It was barely even an ember, a mere husk of a soulfire that had gone out long ago. All that was left was a vestige, an echo of what once was.

And a body without a soul unequivocally meant one thing:

This body was dead.

The realization was swift and brutal, and on its heels came another -

I had possessed a corpse.

The rotting stench of death flooded my system like a wave and I convulsed, shrinking back. I was going to vomit, but with no stomach or internal organs to speak of, I had nothing to expel this terrifying realization from my soul. But still, my soul went through the motions just the same and I couldn't stop heaving, the all consuming decaying presence forcing its way into me.

How could this happen? How was this happening? A body could not survive without a soul, much less move about, and yet I had seen this villain walking and fighting. By gods, he - it - was currently holding All Might in its clutches. Such a thing was not possible. Shouldn't be possible.

The stench continued pouring into my soul, filling me to the brim and amongst its swill I began to pick out other flavors of putrefaction. There wasn't just one. There were others. Lots more. They came in from all over, heavier in the places they resided. An arm. A liver. A pair of eyes. The heart. They were all different. All unique.

All foreign.

They were the remnants of people - people cleaved of their parts and sewn together in one great big patchwork collage. Whoever these people were, wherever these parts had come from, they were all dead.

Abject horror like I had never known entered my heart, saving the best for last.

Not only had I possessed a corpse, but also a walking mortuary.

My stomach turned over and over and over again, and I wanted nothing more than to eject and fly towards the nearest shower. Or fire. Anything to erase the vile corruption that I was swimming in.

But I couldn't do that. I had to endure. For All Might. I had come in here for a purpose and I'll be damned if I left before doing that.

I turned my sights towards the sputtering ember and swept in, smothering it and taking its place. In an instant my soul exploded outwards, every sense, every limb, and every fiber aligning into place as I seized control.

The villain was now mine.

And I was now his.

The moment I had plugged my soul in a rush of energy left me all at once, spilling out like a damn with no gate. I couldn't stop it. My power was being stolen and I felt it then. Quirks. With an s. This body had more than one, more than two, and I could tell that they weren't natural either. They had their own auras, more people added to this monster. It wasn't possible, but I couldn't deny the proof. They were gobbling up my energy like starved leeches, and before I knew it they had taken more than half of my stamina.

The nature of quirks had been poured over endlessly ever since they first emerged, but people never really gave a thought to how they were powered. Where the energy came from that powered their abilities, made them grow.

It was souls. Souls powered quirks. And I, foolishly, stupidly, recklessly, had replaced this body's power source with something far greater:

Me.

My power was being eaten away, and I could feel myself getting dangerously weak. Finding every single quirk and shutting them down would be an arduous task, time consuming. Fingers. I just needed to move the monster's fingers and I could get out of here. I could feel them. In All Might's sides. The rush of his warm blood thrumming out with each hard pulse to trickle down my arm.

I focused my dwindling energy on unlocking the fingers, the muscles, and the tendons that were fixed into place. Not so easy to do, as I soon found out. It was near impossible, as if there was a wall between the brain and the rest of the body that prevented the monster from acting freely on its own. Though, now was not the time to think about why that was. I grunted, slamming my way through the mental barrier with all the delicacy of a sledgehammer. It shattered and I was rewarded. One finger twitched and began to release.

Scorching cold skittered up my left side and encased my arm in a thick layer of ice, stopping short of my hand. The hoarfrost bit into the dark flesh, searing through the skin and into the nerves like a sweeping fire. This body may be a corpse, but it could still feel.

My mouth opened and an animalistic howl ripped out of me.

The monster's voice. Our pain.

I couldn't think. Couldn't focus. Any thoughts about freeing All Might were left by the wayside.

The ice sank deeper, penetrating into the muscles, and our scream broke, passing beyond all sound. My mind threatened to crack under the merciless cut of the ice. If I went down here, it wouldn't just be me trapped. All Might was the only Hero who had come, who was here. If the villains took him, then everything was lost. And after everything I had done, it could not end like this.

I unleashed a scream of fury back into the face of pain, toeing the line between sanity and madness as I commanded the last of the remaining nine fingers to move. I was Eve. I was Ghost. I was the queen of souls and I will be obeyed.

All at once the fingers shot out of All Might's sides with a sickening squelch. All Might was free. I tore myself out of the abomination in the next, rolling hard across the ground. The world spun out of control, the flash of ambient dome and coral colored plaza tile alternating in quick succession until I rolled a final time, coming to a stop facedown on the ground.

Everything became quiet. Still. I trembled against the ground, trying to draw whatever warmth I could back into me. The ice was gone but not its memory. That was still fresh and alive within my mind, the phantom feel of its bone-chilling cold wrapping around me, burning me.

I needed to stand. Needed to see if All Might had taken the chance to escape.

I started to move. My limbs were heavy weights and the mere effort to call them under me, to lift me from the ground, was insurmountable. I loosed a groan, shaking with the task. My strength failed me and I fell back in a weak crumpled heap.

A moment…I just needed a moment. To rest. And I could…

My eyes closed softly into darkness.

Where one sense ebbed, another one was heightened, and a faint buzzing and ringing filled my ears. Sounds started to flow again. Voices.

"Huh? A woman came out of that guy."

"Must be another villain."

"You're just full of annoying surprises, aren't you?"

Each voice floated in like a wave, rolling into me, over me. It took a moment before I was able to recognize each one. The first two were Kirishima and Bakugo - the idiots. They were alive, but why were they here? My mind shifted to the last of the voices, and I snarled. Villain.

Bitter hatred sung forth new energy and I shifted, my fingers clawing the ground.

"Ghost! Are you alright? Can you stand?" Came All Might's voice in a hushed, worried murmur. He sounded so close. Felt so close. I could hear his small panting breaths, smell the faint scent of his body, a blend of citrus and soap now tainted by the sharp tones of blood and sweat as it filled my nostrils.

Gathering my strength, I rose up onto all fours and lifted my head. All Might stood by my side. He was hunched slightly forward, a hand clasped tightly over his bleeding ribs. He cast an eye down at me, and for a moment concern flickered in those irises.

What a sorry sight I must have looked if the Number One Hero was concerned for me. It wasn't like I was the one bleeding. Not that souls actually could.

I pushed up and onto my legs, groaning. "I'm fine."

It was a lie. Even now my body was calling me back, pulling on my tether as it often did when I was nearing the end of my limits. I ignored it. For how much longer I could, would be the dangerous question.

All Might's gaze swept over me, an unreadable emotion passing through him before he turned back towards the villains. I took the opportunity and surveyed the area. Not only had Bakugo and Kirishima come, but so had Todoroki and - I growled. Midoriya.

As if sensing my burning glare, the teen glanced in my direction and jerked, his eyes creaking away.

Oh, he was in big trouble. He wasn't supposed to be here. But there again, none of them were. Bakugo had the warp villain pinned under a hand, a maniacal grin spread on his lips that promised untold pain if the villain even thought of moving. Kirishima stood off to his side, ready to fight or defend. To their left was Todoroki, a river of ice spanning from him and to the monster still stuck between the warp gates.

I gave an involuntary shiver, the memory of searing ice resurfacing. So it was his quirk that I had felt, and I made a mental note to avoid all forms of ice for perpetuity.

"What did you do to my Nomu?"

My gaze sliced to the left. There the villain stood, back to the water, red eyes poised between the slits of the fingers of his mask as tangles of his soft blue hair danced about his face. There was not a speck of blood on him, not a bruise to be found. He was as I had left him.

A noise came out of me, low and curling and savage, as all of my attention settled on him. I felt All Might's stare swivel towards me at the sound, and subtly he shifted closer. What he could possibly do, I had no idea.

I stared back at the villain, feeling the malicious aura leaking from him like a poisonous fog. He was surrounded. His two companions, one captured, one frozen, were out. It was over. He was over.

Yet, he didn't seem to care.

Cracked lips dipped down into an irritable scowl, his chin lifting up as those eyes narrowed into thin slits straight at me.

"Well? Are you going to answer or not?"

My brows hitched high. "Yours?"

"That's right. He's mine." He rasped. "And you," he dragged a finger to me, pointing, "did something to him, didn't you?"

Mine? The word was filled with so much possession, like a child speaking of his favorite toy. That kind of blatant claim of ownership was only borne out of a sense of superiority. Of knowledge.

My eyes widened then sharply narrowed.

The villain was aware. He knew what Nomu was.

He was complicit.

And that sparked a whole new host of animosity.

I shrugged, dawning a hardened mask as I stared back in equal measure. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Tough to say."

Why I was even answering, I didn't know. Perhaps it was only to rile him up, goad him into attacking recklessly. He was literally backed into a corner with nowhere to go, and reckless villains typically equaled stupid villains. Whatever it took to wrap this up quickly. This had gone on far enough. And I was dangerously running out of time.

Scarlet eyes seared into me and the villain's right hand twitched at his side, long gnarly digits scratching the air. An image suddenly flashed into my mind - that hand clasped around my throat.

I bent forward, the taste of his bloodlust dancing across my tongue as a wicked grin spread across my face.

He was certainly welcome to try.

Those eyes didn't waver as we stared at each other, drawing up the threat of violence. Around us the others tensed, bracing, waiting.

A moment more and the fingers twitched one final time, falling strangely still by his thigh. Swiftly the villain turned, an air of cold indifference settling about him as he set his attention on the monster still halved between the warp gates.

"Nomu."

A command.

My smile faded quickly into a frown. What could he possibly -

The cracking of ice shot out like a series of echoed gunshots as the half frozen monster pulled himself back through the warp gates. Bits and pieces of him crumbled off and onto the ground encased in chunks of solid ice. Half of him was gone and my stomach threatened to surge again. Clumsily, like an infant, he stumbled forward, trying to stand and his left leg broke off, forming a hard stump that sent him tumbling to the ground.

It was horrifying to watch, and a bit of pity swam alongside that feeling. The creature had to be in complete agony - no he was in agony - but unlike me he did not even give a single scream to show the pain. Some part of me doubted he had enough awareness to recognize what pain was beyond just a feeling.

"How is that thing still moving?" Midoriya gasped in shock. "He's all messed up."

Nomu's eyes rolled wildly around in their sockets before locking onto All Might. Beside me I felt the Hero suddenly grow rigid.

"Stay back everybody!" He cried out, sweeping his free hand to the side to block the children from taking a single step forward.

The ice that still clung to Nomu suddenly dropped away as fresh muscle and tendon sprang forth from his side. Pink tissue twisted and grew, a new arm and leg forming within seconds. Black skin shot over the surface, and just like that Nomu was whole again.

"What is this?!" All Might yelled out to the villain in disbelief. "I thought you said his power was shock absorption."

My attention spun to All Might.

"I didn't say that was his only quirk." The villain replied, slight glee coloring his tone and my head whipped back to him. "He also has super-regeneration." He continued, grinning. "Nomu has been modified to take you on even at one-hundred percent of your power. He's basically a highly efficient punching bag that hits back."

If that wasn't a confession, I didn't know what was.

All Might ground his teeth by my side in frustration, a hand still clutching over his wound. The kids bent forward, their faces hardening as they braced themselves, feeling the rising tension in the air.

"First, we need to free our method of escape." The villain turned towards Bakugo and a sinister energy rolled off of him that made my hairs stand on end.

A cold pause. "Get him, Nomu."

In the time it took me to blink, the monster had vanished. Right along with All Might. I caught movement, the tail end of two bodies set on a collision path. Straight at Bakugo.

I leapt, tearing after them both. My strings cascaded out in a rush, reaching. I wouldn't - I wouldn't make it in time. They were too fast. Too far ahead.

An explosion swallowed the area in a thundering crash as hurricane force winds blasted outwards, knocking everyone off their feet. The kids went flying back and I changed course, chasing after them, capturing them. Bakugo's body came flying at me next, too direct, too pointed. The why and how was barely a thought before my strings surrounded his torso and I hauled his and the other's bodies high into the sky, above the danger.

I slowed, hovering, waiting, listening. The sound of the crash died in a rolling echo off the ceiling, fading slowly into absolute silence. All there was left was the dust, tumbling and swaying in a dense blanket beneath our feet.

Behind me the kids jerked in my strings, their new environment now dawning upon them.

"Whoa! How did we get up here?" Kirishima exclaimed in astonishment as he looked down at the distant ground. Immediately his hands went to his midsection just like Tokoyami and Koda had done, feeling my strings but finding nothing.

"Must be her quirk."

I spared a glance back at Todoroki, briefly catching his eye before running my own critically over the rest of them, scanning them for any injuries. Damn kids were lucky that there was not a scratch on them after being caught in a blast like that. My sights flicked to Bakugo. He had been the closest, the focus of the attack.

Hard crimson eyes glared back. His stare was…chilling. He reminded me of a feral cat, seconds away from hissing and spitting and clawing his way to get free, even though capture meant safety.

I twisted away and back to the scene beneath me, quickly searching for All Might. The roiling, thick dust made it hard to see anything, and my sight shifted, searching for signs of his soul. I found it far from where I thought it was, discovering it at the outer edges of the plaza. He was still alive, still standing, but his soul… It was sputtering like a candle wick at the end of its line.

That couldn't be good.

"Hey."

I heard his voice, but didn't turn.

"Hey." Bakugo said again, this time louder. "You're her, aren't you?"

Kirishima cocked his head. "Huh?"

"You're Eve, or Ghost, or whatever your name is." Bakugo growled, his eyes sharply focused into the back of my head. "I'm pretty sure I heard All Might calling you 'Ghost' earlier when you exploded out of that villain, so I know I'm right. You're that criminal that U.A. let in." He let the word hang ominously in the air.

"Kacchan- '' Midoriya started, "She's-"

"Shuttup, Deku!" Bakugo barked angrily. "Or are you too stupid that you didn't notice-"

Too loud. They were all being too loud.

"Zip it." I shushed him sharply, cutting him off.

Murderous dark energy licked up my spine, threatening to explode out of the fiery teen and quickly I held up a hand for silence. I felt his moment of hesitation, that spurned fury simmering back and forth, furiously debating whether to submit or to roar back at me before something new caught its attention. Below.

All eyes turned down.

The dust dropped away and All Might appeared before a broken, crumbling wall, coughing heavily. His hands were raised defensively in front of him, the sleeves to his shirt disintegrated clear up to his broad shoulders and revealing scuffed skin. Sharp, ragged breaths left him in a rush, and that red spot on his side slowly grew bigger.

"All Might!" Midoriya called down frantically.

I winced. There went our position and any hope of the element of surprise.

"These are kids, and you didn't hold back?" All Might growled through a haggard cough. His soul sputtered a little bit more, dimming.

"I didn't have much choice." The hand-clad villain stepped forward. "He was threatening my companion. And besides, these children are no angels. The half-and-half brat?" The villain lazily pointed up at us and I tensed at the attention. "He froze half of Nomu's body. If he had done that to anyone else, he would have killed them. What kind of 'Hero' does something like that? You think you can get away with being as violent as you want if you say it's for the sake of others. Well, you know what, All Might? That pisses me off." He snarled, spreading his arms wide.

"Why do people get to decide that some violent acts are heroic and others are villainous? Casting judgment as to what's 'good' and what's 'evil'. You think you're the Symbol of Peace? Ha! You're just another government-sponsored instrument of violence. And violence always breeds more violence. I'll make sure the world understands that once you're dead." His arms dropped back as he stared at All Might with venomous eyes.

"You're nothing more than a lunatic." All Might muttered, his face as hard as stone. "Criminals like you; you always try to make your actions sound noble. But admit it; you're only doing this because you like it. Isn't that right?"

A chord was struck, deep and rallying. I could feel it - something stirring awake like a beast of trouble. Or in this case, four.

"You can let us down now, Ms. Ghost." Todoroki murmured softly, his face the vision of lethal calm as he stared down at the villains below. "We've got them outnumbered."

"Yah, and with your and All Might's help we can take 'em down easy. Let's do this!" Kirishima agreed, powering up his quirk with an eager grin.

Think again.

I was not about to release baby chicks back into a den of snakes just because they had found a bit of pluck. I don't know how Todoroki, Kirishima, and Bakugo had arrived, but it was clear by their keenness to fight that they had defeated whoever they encountered on their way here. Their victories had given them a false sense of confidence. The kind of confidence that would get them killed.

Stupidity would do that too. My thoughts ran to Midoriya in particular.

I had barely thought of a response when All Might hunched forward. "Get them out of here, Ghost!" He shouted up at me.

Seriously?

We should be switching places, him and I. Screw Hero rules and regulations. I had the villains once. I could do it again. It was obvious how out of breath All Might was, and now there were three villains. Not two. The answer to this whole mess was obvious if All Might could stop for a moment and put his stubborn Heroic pride aside. But the chance of that happening -

Midoriya abruptly lurched forward, my strings cutting sharply into his waist. "All Might! You can't!" He cried out. "You're hurt, and you're bleeding. And you're almost out of ti-"

His voice was suddenly forgotten as All Might launched himself at the villains. He shot forward like a bullet and Nomu met him halfway. Flesh met flesh as their fists sent shockwave after shockwave tearing through the air and forcing everything around them backwards. Trees cracked, their branches tumbling violently in turbulent waves. The pool tossed against its shore, the water there a hammering echo of their blows.

While I had taken us high above the plaza, it was not high enough. Strong winds ripped past us bearing the sting of dust and debris - a testament to the power that those two were putting out. The kids' startled gasps of shock and surprise barely made it above the sounds of destruction happening below, and I glanced back. All of them had their arms braced protectively in front of them, shielding their faces against the vicious onslaught as the air clawed at their clothes.

There was no way I was going down there now. No matter that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the speeds those two were traveling at. No. I had been saddled with cargo.

Frustrated, I turned away, abandoning All Might once more.

The way back to the entrance was becoming a familiar one, yet this time it was filled by the push of the wind at our backs, the rap of thunder striking thunder, and Bakugo's roars of rage.

"Release me, you damn criminal!" He thrashed against my hold, going as far as trying to bite through the invisible - and untouchable - bonds that were around his waist.

"Um, Bakugo, we're pretty high up." Kirishima said, sweatdropping. "And you shouldn't be calling her a criminal. She's one of our teachers."

"Like I give a damn about something like that!" Bakugo raged, and for a moment I wondered to which part he was referring. He went on, growling like a wild animal, "I'm not running from a fight! I'm going to tear those villains a new one and blow them all to hell!"

"Do you think you could get close to something like that?" Todoroki asked as another huge explosion sounded behind us. Large swaths of the facility and surrounding landscaping were being uprooted - the only evidence that All Might and Nomu had been there seconds before.

"Tch! I can try." Bakugo snapped, though there was now an edge of uncertainty there.

"I will knock you out if you try." I cut in. It was a promise. Midoriya had already pushed the last limits of my graciousness, and the next person who got foolish heroic thoughts in their head would get knocked flat on their ass. I had had enough of Heroes, even miniature ones, thinking they knew what was best. This entire event had been one Hero after another making decisions only for things to get worse because of it.

"Huh? What did you say to me, criminal?" Bakugo sneered.

"Bakugo! - Kacchan!" Kirishima and Midoriya exclaimed at the same time.

"What?!" Bakugo shot back defensively. "I can't be the only one thinking it! Two attacks on the school in the same week just when a criminal comes to U.A. to be 'our teacher'? Ha! Don't make me laugh! It can't be a coincidence. I bet she has something to do with everything going on here."

"If she is working with the villains, then why is she saving us right now and not helping them take down All Might?" Todoroki asked placidly, as he stared down at the rushing ground beneath his feet.

"Like hell would I know!" Bakugo roared. "All I know is that we shouldn't be trusting her so quickly. Not until we know for sure that she's not on their side. She's a criminal. She admitted it herself. And once a criminal, always a criminal."

The kids fell silent, mulling over the truth to Bakugo's words. Another blast erupted behind us, the fight continuing to carve a path of destruction across the plaza.

"But All Might trusts her." Kirishima offered quietly. "You all saw that, right?" He looked around at his companions. "The way he threw Bakugo to her when that brain-villain went after him?"

A rumble of detest emanated from Bakugo at the memory, but he kept silent otherwise, his arms crossing with a huff over his chest.

Kirishima went on. "Why would All Might do that if he didn't trust her completely? She could have held all of us hostage against him if she was truly with the villains."

"Why don't we ask her?" Bakugo jerked his chin towards me, raising his voice. "Tell us, Ghost," his nostrils flared wide, "why does the Number One Hero trust you so damn much?"

All eyes suddenly landed on me. Their silence was a prickling fire as they waited for an answer I did not have.

"You'll have to ask him that." I replied at last. "I've done nothing more than what I've always done."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Bakugo snarled.

"It means," I slowed as I approached the entrance, "that the lines between what you believe to be a criminal and a Hero are sometimes a matter of who defined them in the first place."

"If you're not going to speak plainly, then-"

He was abruptly cut off as I dropped him. It was only a foot, but it was enough to earn me a dark glare as I guided the others to a much softer landing, releasing them against solid ground. Instantly they were swarmed in a tide of their own classmates.

"We were so worried, man!" Sero said, coming up beside and slinging an arm around Midoriya's shoulders, a broad grin spreading wide.

"Ah!" Said Midoriya, suddenly remembering why he had caused concern in the first place. "I'm so sorry!" Immediately his arms snapped to their sides, his frame pumping furiously up and and down like a rabid woodpecker.

Sero shot up his hands, a look of awkwardness on his face as he waved for him to stop.

"It's cool! Ms. Eve managed to get you back, and she even brought back those three too." He said, chucking his thumb to the side at Todoroki, Kirishima, and Bakugo. All three stiffened at the mention.

"Get you back?" Todoroki repeated in concern. He twisted towards Midoriya. "Were you taken as well?"

"Ah, well, you see the thing is," Midoriya shifted nervously, his gaze slipping on then away from me, "I was taken originally - I mean Ms. Eve did come and get me, Mineta, and Tsuyu when we were warped by that villain, but then I…kinda ran off." His voice grew smaller, guilt creeping in.

One of my brows arched. At least he had the decency to feel regret for his actions, and I sighed internally. If only this would the last time he acted before thinking, though I doubted that would be the case. I knew his type all too well.

"So you got yourself into trouble." Bakugo stated, forcing his way through to the center and staring Midoriya down with a weight that boiled with hatred. "Leaping into things like always when you're not needed. Or wanted."

Midoriya's eyes turned down and away. "Yah, I guess you're right." He murmured softly. "But when I saw that All Might was in trouble," his hands gripped the front of his costume, and I noticed then that one of them was bound, "I couldn't help but act, and before I knew it I was running towards him."

Bakugo's mouth hardened into a thin line, as if he was trying to make sense of some strange creature before him.

An uneasy hush blanketed the group as they glanced nervously between the pair.

Thankfully it was only a moment before it was Sato who raised his voice, cutting through the tension.

"So what was it like fighting those villains?" He asked, his tone light and open - an invitation for any of the four to answer.

"Yah! We saw you take down that smoke villain, Bakugo!" Uraraka exclaimed eagerly, joining in. "That was seriously awesome! But," she frowned, a thought striking, "how did you know where to attack?"

"What?!" Bakugo rounded swiftly on Uraraka, his attention changing targets. "Weren't you watching? Even an idiot could see that-"

I slipped away before I could hear his answer.

I had taken several steps before my gaze darted to the place I had left and found Thirteen and Aizawa gone. They had moved off to the side and further down, closer to the great double doors now broken wide open. Someone had moved my body there too, laying me out beside Aizawa. The sight shook something within me that I could not put to words.

Thirteen continued to hover over him, her hands flitting back and forth as she dressed wounds that I could not see. Beside her, watching, aiding, were Mina and Tsu. Their expressions were all I needed to know about Aizawa's state, and worry lanced through me once more.

My legs buckled beneath me, and I stumbled, catching myself against my knees as a wave of exhaustion overtook me. The pull on my tether had become a dragging force, and I ground myself down, willing myself to stay. I didn't dare take a step towards Aizawa, or Thirteen, or my body. If I took just one, then I would be tempted to take another, and another, and another until I arrived at the place that I could not be. Not yet. I was not done. I still had to protect.

"Are you alright?"

The voice was a rumble of soft, whispering darkness and my head snapped up, finding Tokoyami standing before me. He was alone, having broken away from the boisterous conversation of his classmates that was happening a few paces away. His face was a blank mask save for the slight narrowing of his eyes as he stared. The look there was one of concern - a far cry from the suspicion he once held when I had found him and Koda in that wet, howling place.

A smile tugged on my lips, weak but there. "I'm okay."

I stood slowly, the very movement taxing, but once I stood straight my smile warmed at the teen. "Thank you, though."

Tokoyami stared at me for a moment, as if studying the truth of me before at last he nodded.

He was one of those that I had to protect. Keep safe. He had a future. They all did. I could not fail. I would not fail.

I locked myself down, cutting off the call of my own body.

Now, to make sure that there were no more villains nearby -

Tokoyami's gaze suddenly darted behind me.

"Look there!"

Gasps and similar phrases rose up from the other students, their eyes and fingers pointing in the same direction.

I whirled, catching sight of a smear of black shooting through the air just before it collided into the ceiling's underside. Blinding sparks and fire spewed out, the very ground we were standing on shaking like an earthquake. Metal groaned, the dome's hull buckling and warping before finally breaking, allowing the flying object to punch straight through to blue skies beyond.

"Um, did a villain just fly by? Or am I going crazy?" Sero asked open-mouthed, blinking at the huge, gaping hole left behind.

"It was that brain dude." Sato murmured, equally stunned.

I was running, running past the students and to the stairs. I skidded to their very edge and looked down even as the cheers and hollers rose up into a single chorus behind me. Out of everyone here, out of everyone that I had to make sure stayed safe, there was one I had forgotten to include on that list.

All Might stood in the center of a swirling storm of dust, fist still stretched high in that pose that had sent the monstrosity flying. One villain gone. Knocked clear out to who knows where. But it had taken too much. Too long. All Might's shirt was in tatters, thin strips of frayed fabric clinging to his shoulders as splatters of blood and dirt marked across his skin. The fight had been brutal, and a part of me, the dark, unfeeling, analytical part of me whispered that it had been wholly unnecessary. The villains had been mine. His victory - this fight - didn't need to happen. Heroic pride and stupid rules ensured this outcome.

Yet, as much as I wanted to place the blame on the shackles of Hero dogma, I was not innocent. I had the villains and could have taken care of them then, but didn't. And when I returned, flying inside that being, that Nomu, had I acted faster, endured through Todoroki's ice, I could have shut down each and every one of those quirks that thing possessed after releasing All Might. But again, I didn't. The reason why All Might was hurt, the reason why he looked so haggard, so spent was because of me. I was responsible for all of this.

The guilt was like poison in my veins, hidden and mine alone.

I watched as All Might's fist slowly curled back towards his chest, his body gradually rising amid the tumbling dust. I watched as the rest of the students found their way to my sides, their faces blooming with awestruck expressions at the scene below. I watched as they all at once started to cheer.

"That's how it's done!" Sato whooped.

"You villains are done for now!" Kirishima yelled down the stairs.

"Beat 'em All Might!" Mineta cried out shrilly. "Kick them in the balls!"

They didn't know. Couldn't see.

All they saw was victory and not the cost. All Might's soul was sputtering, literally smoking as it started to roll off of him, blending into the dust that still swirled. It had taken so much for one villain to be defeated.

And two still remained.

The kids continued to shout down cheers of encouragement as All Might turned, facing the final villains. Yet, among the clamoring voices, one was mysteriously absent that had been so loud before. My gaze dropped to my right and Midoriya came into view. He stared silently below, still as a statue while his classmates celebrated around him. Trepidation was on his face just like it had been when I had dragged him into the sky. He had shouted down to All Might, shouted -

My eyes suddenly widened.

He knew. Somehow he knew. All Might's weakness. His limit.

The kid was smart. Had he figured it out on his own? Overheard Thirteen telling Aizawa?

Midoriya moved, taking a step downward and all thoughts ceased. My strings shot out, wrapping themselves around him and locking his limbs from taking a second step. Midoriya's head twisted back and up, viridian orbs meeting mine. They widened as he understood what I had done.

"Don't even think it." I whispered to him, my voice going cold with warning.

"But All Might," Midoriya murmured fearfully, eyes beginning to glitter with burgeoning wetness, "He's-"

The corners of my eyes contracted and a connection shot between us, an understanding. Midoriya stopped speaking. He knew that I knew, and now I had confirmation of my suspicions.

Midoriya's mouth closed and opened again, working on words that did not seem to come. I knew what he wanted, but -

Behind him I spied movement.

My head whipped away and down the stairs. Every single one of the villains strewn below started to stir, sluggishly rising to their feet - even the ones that Aizawa had fought were beginning to come to. One by one they rose up, an army to slaughter us all. The kids' cheering caught their attention, and they turned towards us, grinning.

The kids' voices choked back into muted horror, finally seeing the danger smiling up at them, watching as that danger started to climb.

"Back! All of you!" I shouted, sweeping an arm out wide behind me as my strings transported a frozen Midoriya back as far as they would go before releasing him. I was taking no chances with him.

The kids scrambled away from the edge at the command.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Came Bakugo's seething roar before he too was swept up in the current, herded along by Kirishima.

The kids clustered together a short distance away, and Thirteen, alerted by my cry, left Aizawa's side, running swiftly towards me.

My attention returned to the fast approaching villains, sizing them up, counting them off. My heart was hammering just as fast as my mind, and beneath it all, the steady drip drip of my power as it left me. I barely had enough energy for another fight, let alone for whatever problem that may arise afterwards. If I fought again, that would be it. I would be dragged back into my body like the snapping of a rubber band, my body descending into a coma-like state in the name of survival. By that point I would be worse than useless - I would be a liability, leaving Thirteen utterly alone in the protection of everyone here.

But if I could take out the majority of the advancing villains, it would render me inert, but it would give everyone else a chance. And sometimes a chance was all that stood between life and death.

I would be that chance.

Thirteen's footsteps pounded out behind me, nearing. I knew that if I warned her what I was about to do, what was to come, she would try to stop me. She would try to plan and negotiate, or worse yet, take on the villains herself. Like All Might had done. Like Aizawa had done.

And look where that got them.

No. These villains were mine and mine alone. As they should have been all along.

My eyes snapped to the closest of the villains as I called forth the hum of my energy for one final fight.

A flash of rushing black snagged my attention and my gaze lifted a fraction, sweeping past the jeering villains and towards the plaza. If I had any thoughts about how dire our situation was, they were drowned under a fresh new panic. The hand-clad villain was spearing towards All Might, long hands outstretched as if readying to take his pound of flesh. All Might didn't move. And I knew then that he couldn't. The smoke had become thicker around him, his soul struggling to hold on with all it had, but the smokescreen would offer no shield to his defense once the villain reached him.

My eyes shot back to the villains steadily climbing the stairs before darting back again to the plaza. A weight far greater than anything before settled into my core. Thirteen would protect the students here with her life with or without me, but All Might? Who would protect him? Who saves the Hero when they need saving?

My gaze dropped back to the approaching villains, now three steps closer. There were too many. Even if Thirteen fought, they would overwhelm her either by force or by going after the students - the students who I had sacrificed my freedom for. Who dreamed so brightly and fiercely.

My mind turned, weighing the choice. I only had time and energy to address one problem, not both. Whomever I chose, I was going to forsake the other. And so the question remained - should I save All Might, the Symbol of Peace to millions? Or the students, the Heroes of tomorrow who could potentially save millions more? Whose blood could I stomach to have on my hands? Either way I was going to lose. Someone was going to die.

Behind me I heard the children's' nervous fidgeting, Thirteen's sprinting footsteps seconds away.

"You gotta help him, Ms. Eve!" Midoriya suddenly shouted out to me as he peeled away from the group. His companions glanced at him in confusion but he went on, his voice pleading desperately. "Please! Save All Might!"

I closed my eyes, releasing a shaky sigh. There was no choice here.

Gunshots, loud and abrupt, rang out like cracks of dark thunder. Bullets sliced through the air, whizzing one after another mere inches from my cheek and disappearing. Down below the hand-clad villain collapsed to the ground, clutching his hands as they started to bleed.

I didn't turn, didn't dare look. Hope was a dangerous thing that would dance and flirt and beguile, but when it came time to touch, to hold, to see, it was often no more than a siren luring souls into despair. And I was so close to falling.

"Sorry, everyone!" A voice cried out somewhere far behind. "I know we're a bit late. But I got the teachers over here as fast as I could."

But that voice - that wasn't hope. It was real and solid and it was here. Help. Help had finally come.

I turned, eyes fixed on the approaching Heroes. There they were, all of them, their frames silhouetted against the bright light of day.

Uraraka's voice rose high, relief filling it completely. "It's Iida!"

Sure enough the teen had returned, leading the charge at the front of the Heroes, his face ablaze with determination. "Your class rep has returned!" He roared fiercely. "I've fulfilled my duty, and I've brought reinforcements!"

I felt his cry echo down into my core, watched as the Heroes hurried from the broken doorway just as Snipe raised his gun, firing it off to the side. One, two, three shots. The bullets went forth, passing out of sight towards some unseen target.

Closer the Heroes came, sweeping across the path with singular, sped purpose. They passed the point where Aizawa's and my bodies lay, their gazes raking over Aizawa's wounds, my lifeless form. Their expressions flickered with an array of emotions, and they pressed on. Only Mic lingered a step behind, staring down at his fallen friend. A silent storm raged across his face, his mouth tightening down.

The UA staff descended upon me like a crashing wave, surrounding me and blocking my vision from seeing anything more. I felt their attention wash over me for an instant before their eyes turned to the facility and the villains at our feet. Mic pushed through their ranks a second later, maneuvering to step before me. Through sunset tinted glasses his concentric irises focused sharply down into mine, taking in my exhaustion, my relief, and now my fear too. That cold expression searched over my face, as if I held the answer to everything.

My throat constricted as I stared back, and inside I started to tremble. From the very beginning I had convinced myself that what I had done was right, what was necessary to save the students from the villains, and it was. But now that I was surrounded by the very people who had accepted me, I was filled not with regret, but with remorse that this was how I was going to leave them - just another criminal for them to capture.

Mic raised a hand towards me and I flinched, my eyes clamping tightly shut as I waited for the inevitable to come.

Yet, no touch came. No hand to grab me or seize me. Nothing.

Slowly, I opened my eyes just enough to see Mic's gloved hand hang between us, frozen. It paused for a breath before crossing the final distance to lightly connect with my upper arm.

My head shot back up, meeting his eyes. Mic didn't say anything to accompany the touch, instead taking a deep inhale and silently passing me by. He moved in front of me, casting me behind him as if he was a human shield before releasing an ear-splitting scream. The sound waves crashed into the villains below, causing them to fall to their knees in pain as they clutched their heads, covering their bleeding ears. It was only the beginning. White fog flowed from Ectoplasm's mouth next, cascading down the stairs and taking the shape of his clones. They moved as one, evicting the ascending villains with roundhouse kicks back to the ground below.

"Our priority is to protect all of our students!" Nezu directed from atop Vlad King's shoulder, pointing the teachers forwards.

A chorus of singular agreement went out and the teachers dispersed. The majority vanished down the stairs - Present Mic included - while a few turned about, heading straight for the students behind us.

I watched as if caught in a dream as the Heroes worked quickly, moving through the villains on the ground with deadly efficiency before spanning out in search of the remaining students. Explosions and cries filled the facility, marking the path of the advancing Heroes.

It was finally over. The urge to collapse to my knees right then and there was overwhelming, and I felt myself slipping down.

Yet, a voice halted my fall.

"Ms. Eve, if you would step this way, please."

I knew that voice instantly. Dreaded it.

Hesitantly, I turned around and then looked down, finding Nezu standing before me. He stared up at me pleasantly enough, but even then I felt the trickle of something else, an awareness like he already knew everything. It was in his eyes.

I was done for.

He beckoned me with a paw, spinning on the heel of his sneaker and walking away. "Follow me please, Ms. Eve."

With feet of concrete I trailed after him.

How much did Nezu know? He had only just arrived so he couldn't know everything. Yes, I was out of my body but that was not necessarily indicative of a crime. Only the missing collar was evidence of that particular infraction, and I wasn't totally sure if Nezu had seen that yet. He would need to talk to Thirteen, or even the students, to get a full picture of everything else that I did. And that was only a matter of time. But until then, I was innocent until proven guilty. Right? Right?

Oh, hell. Who was I kidding?

I was - for lack of a better term - a dead man walking.

Nezu stayed frighteningly quiet as we passed by the kids. They had been sequestered to one side in effort to clear the main pathway. A few of the teachers were currently assessing their mental and physical states while also gathering any potential intel to pass off to the rest of the faculty.

I felt a few of the kids glance in my direction, and hurriedly I turned my head away, unwilling to meet their eyes. This was very likely goodbye, though most of them did not know it yet.

Amongst the curious glances, a pair of sharp red eyes burned into me, watching my every step as I left them behind. I did not need to look to know who they belonged to.

Nezu did not stop, leading me further down the entry path and away from the sounds of fighting. The further we walked, the more I began to wonder where he was taking me. Darker thoughts quickly swirled to the front of my mind. Thoughts that I was being led somewhere secluded so I could be handled. It would be quick and quiet, but most importantly out of sight of the students.

With a shudder I laid my eyes on the open doors ahead as our most likely destination, wondering in apprehension what exactly lay beyond them in wait for me. Not too long ago they had been a symbol of my potential freedom, but now they looked like the gates of my damnation.

The spirit of my own self-preservation rose up then, reminding me that I was still a soul and as such I was currently untouchable. If I was going to be handled, then they would first need my body to contain me.

The thought drew my eyes from the smashed double doors and over to where I had seen my body last. The place was not hard to find.

A small group of the teachers were kneeling around Aizawa's body, partially hiding him from view as they performed their own examination and first aid. Midnight was among them, her back turned towards us. A more comprehensive medical kit was beside her with its contents and devices scattered across the ground.

The attending teachers' bodies shifted and I caught a glimpse of Aizawa between their forms. His costume had been zipped open down to his waist, revealing a patchwork of black and blue slowly blooming across his bare torso.

My breath hitched painfully at the sight. I wanted to run to him, to be by his side - but what could I do? Aizawa was in safe hands now. The teachers would make sure he got the help he needed and would look after him. It was all I could hope for him, except…I wanted more. I wanted to see him well again. I wanted to stay. Yet, I knew that wasn't possible. Not anymore. This was part of the price I had to pay. It was just - considerably heavier than I ever thought it would be.

I cursed the fates and their cruelty, their cruelty in allowing me to discover a spark with someone only to rip it away from me. Now they wouldn't even grant me a goodbye. I was going to be long gone from here before Aizawa ever woke back up.

Something cold dropped into the pit of my stomach. Did I even want a goodbye? Goodbyes were, in my experience, painful things. And just knowing that this chance was ending was already painful enough. What would I even say? 'Thanks for everything. Take care of yourself.'? Somehow that didn't seem enough. Nothing seemed enough.

No. I didn't want the last memory I had to be one of a goodbye. Perhaps it was best that I just quietly disappeared. Like I was never here to begin with. After all, my time here had been short - hardly enough to make any significant impact. Disappearing was effortless, and if enough time was thrown in there, memories and emotions had a tendency to disappear too. Yes, maybe this was how it needed to be. No words. No conversations. Just - poof - gone. Just like what a ghost would do.

"Ms. Eve?"

Nezu's voice broke through my thoughts, bringing me back.

"Yes. Sorry." I spouted out the apology automatically, only just noticing that I had stopped walking some time ago.

Forcing myself to turn away from Aizawa and his tending colleagues, I took a single step and immediately froze, finding a familiar but unexpected addition standing next to Nezu. Hound Dog stood silently watching me, but it was the thing that he was carrying that had me transfixed.

Weighed down within his arms was my listless body.

If I had any doubts about Nezu finding out about the collar, they weren't there anymore. The thing, once a permanent fixture to my appearance, was now undeniably absent from my neck.

Nezu gestured up to my body with a smile. "If you would be so kind."

He seemed strangely composed considering the overall situation, and I had to wonder why that was.

While his tone had not been demanding, the expectation had been made clear. He wanted me back inside of my body.

It seemed that I was going to be handled right here and right now and in front of everyone.

Wordlessly, Hound Dog knelt down to give me better access, and for the first time I got a good look at my body since I had left it. Someone - Thirteen undoubtedly - had bandaged my neck and forehead, tending to the wounds I had created when I had left it suddenly. The thoughtfulness struck a chord within me, and I searched around for the Space Hero. She had tried to protect me since the beginning, offering up her own status as Hero to ensure that I would not be punished for using my quirk. But I had rejected the offer, making me a criminal. She had no obligation to do anything more after that, but yet she had bandaged up my wounds. A heartfelt 'thank you' was in order.

I turned, finding Thirteen standing beside Snipe at the edge of the stairs, a hand stretched down below as her quirk activated. She was fighting the villains alongside her colleagues. Her time spent guarding the kids was now over - just like mine was. Distance now separated us, and with it any chance of going back.

Something like bitter regret ate into me as I turned back to Nezu and Hound Dog, and I noticed then that the Dog Hero had not put me down. I frowned, but then I saw the tight grip he had on my body and my eyes trailed upwards, seeing the sharp white canines glistening behind the muzzle.

Ah. Now it made sense. Without the collar, Hound Dog would be the one to make sure that I would not leave my body again, my body now a hostage within his claws. He would keep me secured till the police arrived in case I had any wild notions of fighting or fleeing.

Well, they didn't need to worry about that. I was done fighting - I certainly didn't have the strength anymore. And even if I did, I would certainly not fight them.

Fleeing on the other hand…

Slowly, I lifted a hand out to my body, feeling the familiar suction as soon as my soul connected with my physical form and I was swept back inside.

Pain exploded across every square inch of my body before I could even open my eyes. A pain so raw and unflinching that I didn't know how I managed to keep from screaming. There was a fire under my skin, licking trails of scorching heat from my neck all the way down my back. But it was the pressure under my shoulders where I felt the stabbing white-hot needles driving into my core. It was an arm. A thick, broad arm held me, and briefly my senses cleared just enough to feel its twin looped under my knees, holding me against an equally firm, broad body.

It took a moment for me to remember where exactly I was. Who was holding me.

It felt wrong. Everything felt wrong.

My eyes flew open and I lurched, instantly greeted by a wall of brown fur that went down my throat. I choked, spitting out the fur and gulping down precious air. The two arms holding me tensed, tightening around me and finally drawing a whimper of pain from my lips. The world spun in a dizzying array of colors, and if not for the arms holding me I would have sworn that I was falling. Swiftly I closed my eyes from the spinning world. A pounding tempo behind my eyes and temples threatened to split my head open, and it was then that I remembered why.

I had been right. I was going to have one hell of a headache from my body slamming into the ground. And now I was suffering the consequences of that action.

I was suffering from a whole lot of actions at the moment.

I silenced my whimpers, not daring to struggle, even as the arms held me, pressing into the tender, burning skin of my back. Struggling meant resistance, and resistance would only bring more pain. I should be counting my lucky stars that I wasn't being subdued like the villains below with a kick and a punch into the hard ground. So I stayed still in my furred cage, breathing in and out through my nose, doing my best to gather some sense about me and ease through the pain.

Hound Dog's chest rose sharply, his nostrils flaring as a scent filled them and a growling sound vibrated down through his chest and into me.

"Sir?" The voice was rough, holding some edge of concern.

"I know." Nezu replied back. "Please set her down."

I felt the arms shift, my world righting as my feet brushed against solid ground. My eyes shot open again as Hound Dog eased his arm out from under my legs, allowing me to take my full weight again. Yet, it was too much and I slumped to the ground, guided down by his other hand. The moment Hound Dog's arm left my back the pain across my shoulder blades had eased into a dull ache, the feeling of a gentle cool wind breathing softly across the raw skin.

I could have sighed if not for the confusion that now wholly arrested me. None of this made any sense, and I twisted back, chancing a look up at the Hero. Hard black eyes flashed to mine for the briefest of moments before the Dog Hero straightened, standing like a mountain of fur above me. There was nothing in that fierce expression that I could read - nothing that would give me a clue as to why I was being shown such - gentleness. My gaze dropped to the deadly looking claws at his sides, half expecting them to make some sort of gesture as if to say don't even try running.

But there was nothing.

"Thank you, Ryo." Nezu nodded to Hound Dog, the tone a polite dismissal.

Hound Dog made a sound somewhere between speech and a growl, swiftly turning and prowling away back towards the stairs. I whipped back to Nezu, instantly regretting the motion as my head reeled.

I clutched at my temples, wincing in pain. When I finally managed to open my eyes Nezu was before me, bending slightly and offering a paw for me to take.

Quickly, and repeatedly, I glanced between him and that paw as if I could decipher all his true intentions from it. But Nezu only offered a simple smile, his paw still patiently waiting in the air.

It was just a paw. How much harm could it do?

Slowly I slipped my hand into his, sluggishly rising to my feet. Blood rushed in my ears, and for a moment my vision danced with static noise until my heart eased back to a steady hum.

"I know you are injured and in pain," Nezu stated, now with an undertone of urgency, "but I'm afraid there is no time." His paw disappeared inside his vest, scrounging around the interior until he found what he was looking for. "If you would -" his paw withdrew and I spied something black, something metal shining against the pristine white of his fur. "Please put this on, Ms. Eve, before the police arrive." He unfurled his paw, holding up the object for me to take.

I blinked once, then twice, hardly believing what I was seeing. Within Nezu's paw, glinting in the light and taunting me with its resurrection, was another collar.

For a split second I began to wonder just how hard I had hit my head for my addled brain to conjure up such a delusion. But the pain - the ever twinging pain cascading down my back made that a far flung fantasy. This was very real. Which made that collar that Nezu was holding out to me very real indeed.

My mind went into overdrive as I stared at the tiny principal, a multitude of questions springing forth. They clawed and fought behind my throbbing temples until only two prevailed - how and why.

How did Nezu have a second collar on him to begin with, and why was he giving it to me?

The answers to those questions lay in front of me - literally. Even so, I couldn't draw myself to care or even ask them.

A breeze drifted against my face, kissing it lightly and causing the loose strands of my silver hair to shift into further disarray. My eyes darted up from the darkened cord to the bright entrance that lay just beyond Nezu. The doors had been blown clear off their hinges with All Might's arrival and were now great, twisted hunks of metal scattered on either side. Freedom was no longer a thin strip that I had glimpsed between two doors when Iida had left. It was right there, open wide and beckoning to the world outside.

There was no more threat for me to deal with, nothing keeping me here. I was free again. I could go right now while the teachers were distracted and disappear before the police or the Commission could arrive to take me away. Only Nezu stood between me and my freedom.

But that wasn't all, was it?

Exhaustion hit me like a truck, nearly barreling me back down to the ground.

I was tired. So incredibly tired and hurting six ways to Sunday. I wouldn't make it far in my current state. Probably not even a foot outside those doors before Nezu alerted the teachers and I was thrown to the ground and captured.

A spasm of pain rolled down my back that made me stiffen and draw sudden breath. No. Being thrown to the ground would not be pleasant right now.

My eyes lingered for a moment more on those blue skies, committing them to memory before sighing. Another breeze flowed in as my gaze landed back on the collar still held out to me, waiting for me. The wind danced lightly across Nezu's soft white fur, carrying the faint earthy traces of tobacco and bergamot over to me. My gaze rose to Nezu's face. If he had seen my lengthy stare at the entrance and gleamed the thoughts turning behind my eyes, he did not comment. There was nothing but cool, collected calm behind his expression. Calm and expectance.

That last part irked me just a little. Nezu had me. He knew I couldn't run - not any distance that really mattered. And he was still offering me a choice to accept the collar or to not accept the collar. I knew it was a choice because he could have had Hound Dog slap it on me while I was still being held, yet here we were - Nezu holding out the very thing that would put me back into my cage. Make me powerless once more.

The choice was mine to make. If only I knew what that choice was if I refused.

Accept the collar or don't accept the collar. Either way, I was going to be loaded up in the back of a prison car shortly enough. Faintly I could hear their sirens in the distance, drawing closer. Time really was up.

But I still had a choice - a little bit of control in something that I would have no control over in a moment.

And sometimes that was enough.

Reaching down, I took the obsidian circlet from Nezu in my fingers and snapped the ends open just as a sense of deja vu washed through me. Lifting the collar, the cold metal was an electric shock against the raw flesh of my neck as I positioned it there, wincing with the new flash of pain. I sucked in one final shuddering breath and drew the two ends back together, hearing the collar give out an audible chirp that it had activated. The sound was a death knell in my ears, a finality that this was over.

That everything was over.