Jpx0999: There will be more, my friend, and not just in this arc.
Kyeo307: Next chapter will be the conclusion!
FinchFlyingAce: Polnareff will have a few chapters to himself!
Bearticguy7: Nice!
Exodus crashed up to the surface of the water, it's massive tank head surveying the heroes as it's legs stepped onto the top of the Mustafu Dam. From a cockpit, covered by yellow tinted glass, Ulric piloted the giant mech using what appeared to be an advanced series of controls and buttons. On the inside of the cockpit, projections covering multiple areas of the mech were displayed on the glass.
"Well, you were certainly ready, I have to give you all credit! However, you will find that my machine is more than prepared for battle!" Ulric said from a speaker near the cannon, gesturing from the cockpit.
Momo only stared at him from the ground, conflicted. She could feel his eyes on her, and Paradise City jumped from the top of the massive bipedal tank, landing in front of her. It's empty eye sockets were trained on her as it stood up to it's full height.
"It has finally come to this, my most esteemed adversary. Exodus will achieve it's purpose, and I will not let you stop me. Considering our...affinity for one another, I must implore you to reconsider your stance. There is no backing down on my end...if you choose to resist...I will have no other choice than to resort to violence."
"I have come too far to simply give up. Our feud...comes from a disagreement rather than hatred, but I cannot let your plan succeed." Momo replied, facing down her opponent. "I must also ask you to surrender."
"...we aren't getting out of this without a fight, are we?"
"...no...we're not. As soon as you make preparations to fire Exodus, we will attack. You need to fire Paradise City from that cannon, along with the water. I finally realized why it is pyramid-shaped...your stand moves like a spider, but those are propellers. Your stand has been a torpedo this whole time, hence your high stat in speed."
"You're right, that is precisely it. My stand was always intended to be used in water. I cannot fire the water cannon until you are dealt with, because sending [Paradise City] away would leave me and Exodus unguarded. Which is why...if you will not step aside...I will subdue you all here and now!"
Exodus lifted up it's main body, and the whole mech jumped off of the Dam to the ground, causing a wave of dust and debris to come flying at the heroes. It began stomping around the battlefield, while Paradise City swung it's arms at Momo, attempting to take her.
Of course, Momo expected that.
He's trying to take me so he doesn't have to hurt me. The ravenette thought to herself as she created her Anti-Stand suit around herself, blocking both of Paradise City's arms and bring her knee into the stand's chest, earning a grunt from it's user up above. Sorry to disappoint Dr. Stewart, but this isn't Nabu Island's sewers anymore!
A steel ball flew at the stand, but Paradise City leptbackwards, landing on Exodus' knee as the not-Metal Gear rampaged past. Ice suddenly held the giant mech in place, Todoroki had used his Heaven Piercing Ice Wall to trap Exodus where it stood.
"Where do you think you're going?" Todoroki asked. "You aren't using that thing."
The dual-quirk user dodged to the side as Exodus used it's minigun to fire several exploding projectiles at him. The not-Metal Gear was constantly pumping out these explosives, which upon closer inspection turned out to be concussive shells.
Designed to incapacitate, not kill.
However, getting hit by one of these would still send someone to the hospital, so they had to be avoided. Kirishima was the only person who didn't have to avoid them, protecting Kaminari like the good friend he was.
"YOU OKAY MAN?!" Kirishima yelled amidst the pounding of the shells.
"YEAH! I MIGHT BE ABLE TO SHORT CIRCUIT THIS THING! GET ME IN CLOSE!" Kaminari yelled back, and Kirishima nodded. Looking over at Gyro, the faux redhead jerked his head, and the Italian began drawing Paradise City's attention by hurling steel balls at it.
Katsuki, meanwhile, had propelled himself above the battlefield and was rocketing towards the cockpit, aiming to blow a hole in the glass windshield to confront the Doctor directly. Instead, the explosion only washed over the yellow-tinted glass.
"COME ON AND DIE ALREADY!" Katsuki screamed, unleashing several explosions at the glass, but it didn't even crack.
"This isn't glass, but rather a synthetic transparent form of plastic that can withstand a nuclear bomb. I invented it myself. Exodus can withstand any explosion, hence, your quirk is useless Katsuki Bakugo." Ulric said from within. "Coincidentally, it also has the same effect as sunglasses, hence your attacks will also fail to blind me."
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!"
"Screaming is also ineffective."
"I'LL TEAR THIS THING APART SOMEHOW, JUST YOU WAIT BEAKFACE!"
"Don't worry, I can be quite patient."
Katsuki angrily backflipped away from the cockpit, and Ulric watched him rocket away, smirking from underneath his mask. Then, he noticed a pair of dots that resembled ketchup and mustard stains heading towards the frozen leg of his vehicle. "Ah...the new recruits are quite bold. Bold...but foolish."
Ulric swiveled around in his seat and grabbed a lever, yanking it downwards.
All the metal panels covering Exodus' legs popped out, breaking the ice and freeing the not-Metal Gear from it's prison, and it stomped near the two, sending Kirishima and Kaminari flying from the resulting shockwave. Then, he made the mech's foot kick out, booting Kirishima across the battlefield.
Kaminari latched onto the foot once it came back down, and a third cannon located underneath the minigun began to glow red, slowly angling itself toward the blond in preparation to fire.
*PEW!*
A red beam hit Kaminari in the head just before he could unleash an electric attack, knocking him out instantly. As the electric teen's body crumpled to the ground, Gyro grabbed him and dragged him out of the fight, quickly checking up on him.
"KAMINARI! DUDE IS HE ALRIGHT?!" A bruised Kirishima yelled, running up to the two of them.
"He was hit with a heat ray, not enough to cause any permanent damage...but it conked him out with just one hit. He isn't getting up any time soon." Gyro surmised after checking up on Kaminari's injury. "We're already down one, and we haven't even put a dent in that thing."
"How are we supposed to fight it?!" Todoroki asked, freezing a leg, grimacing as Exodus broke out of the ice instantly. "If I froze it the machinery would be ruined...but he shatters the ice before it can do any damage to the circuitry. He's prepared for us."
Everyone stumbled around as Exodus performed another stomp.
"If only I could get a steel ball inside of it." Gyro said, assessing the cannon. "I could screw it up from the inside like I did with Von Stroheim's tank...but it's a lot bigger than that thing ever was. I mean, that thing is basically a Metal Gear, is it not?"
"I wouldn't know, I've never played the games." Momo said, reaching behind her cape to pull an object out to the forefront. "However, Kaminari wasn't the only trick up our sleeves."
Kyoka blinked in confusion, glancing around the storage room she had found herself in. "Johnny? Shizuka? Where are you?"
The sudden absence of her boyfriend immediately stirred up a bit of a panic inside of her, her thoughts turning to his and his aunt's safety. Putting her back to a crate, her violet eyes scanned the room in an attempt to spot the danger.
Her ears had already picked it up. Someone was in the room with her.
"Hello 'Billy'...miss your friendssss?" Glycon's voice echoed throughout the room. "I must admit...you had me fooled for a while there, but now I'm angry."
"Where are they?" Kyoka called out. "You better not have hurt them, or I'll get the fucking rake."
A weird hissing sound went through the air, which Kyoka realized was Glycon's laughter. "A sssshhharp tongue eh? I like your sssspunk."
"Unfortunately, it will not save you." A second voice chimed in, and a spotlight focused in on Shadow Moth, posing elegantly on one of the crates, moths flying all around him. "You see, one of my akumatized had the dark desire to abduct young women, and it manifested as an ability. Of course, we had full control over where you went."
"We killed him for good measssure, wouldn't want him going rogue on usss." Glycon added. "People like that are unpredictable, essspecially when given power."
"Just me? Why?"
"Because you were the weakest link, of course. Did you really think that the Doctor was the mastermind behind all of this? It was me the whole time! The Doctor is just a means to an end, all so I can ensure that my memes will be passed along."
"...memes?"
"Memes, the DNA of the soul! They shape our will. They are the culture, they are everything that we pass along. Expose someone to anger long enough, they will learn to hate. They become a carrier!" Shadow Moth said, still posing as if he were a Bond villain. "Envy, Greed, Despair...all memes, all passed along."
"How about 'full of shit?' Is that a meme?" Kyoka responded with her usual snark.
"No, that's just you being a bitch. The Quirk Singularity theory is a meme-"
"Because it's a joke?"
"-because it is an idea that can be passed along! The more people believe in it, the stronger a meme gets, until it becomes what is known as a Dominant Ideology. Meaning that soon, the general population will know of the Quirk Singularity, and they will fear it!" Shadow Moth exclaimed. "I will be known as the man who called attention to a pandemic! I will liberate society, through Exodus and my memes, and I will crush all who stand in my way, starting with you." Shadow Moth said. "Where...ever you are..."
"What do you mean, I'm over here." Kyoka's voice called out from the other side of the room.
"Foolish of you to reveal your location, girl!" Shadow Moth said, grinning.
"Foolisssh to assssume sshe did, Ssshadow Moth." Glycon replied. "There's no heat coming from over there, she'sss usssing sssome sssort of trick."
"Or that long monologue about memes gave me time to move, did you really think I was just going to sit around and wait until you're finished?" Kyoka responded from a completely different part of the room. "Or, maybe I'm faster than you think, maybe I'm not even here, this is alllll just a dream. You'll wake up sad, fat, and alone just like every other morning."
"I'M NOT FAT!" Shadow Moth snapped.
"But you are sad and alone, right?"
"I HAD A WIFE!"
"What was her name, Betty Boobsalot?"
"Her name was Emilie! She was the most beautiful-"
"That's the wife's name from the TV show, dumbass. You are the most unoriginal villain we have ever faced, if I didn't know any better...I'd say you've never been touched by a woman in your life."
An earphone jack wrapped around Shadow Moth's neck from the back, and next thing he knew, Kyoka was pointing the other one directly at his eye. He gasped for air as the jack squeezed tighter.
"Well, a woman is touching you now...but I doubt you're enjoying it." Kyoka said with a smirk, throwing away a cardboard box she was using to sneak around.
"WHAT DID I TELL YOU?!" Glycon yelled. "SSSSHE SSSSNUCK RIGHT PASSSST USSSSS!"
"Careful Monty, I've got your employer here." Kyoka responded, having trapped Shadow Moth's arms behind his back. "Get any closer, and it'll be the third time our group kicks his sorry ass. Now...I'd imagine you wouldn't want to lose that fat paycheck this loser is promising you...so why don't you go ahead and back out of the room?"
Glycon snarled, but then smirked. "Taking hostagessss issssn't something a hero would do...like I ssaid before, I like your ssspunk. It might be more interesssting to keep you alive..."
"Literally...choking..." Shadow Moth managed to get out, his face was starting to match the color of his jacket.
"He's running out of air." Kyoka said, her violet eyes meeting cold, reptilian orbs. "I hope you don't think I'm bluffing, I'm not backing down."
"Neither isss he, do it Bug."
"Huh?" Kyoka looked at her hostage to find that his cowl was lined with a neon purple outline of a moth, and she realized that he had activated Darkest Desire with the intent of using it on Glycon.
Without missing a beat, she threw the villain at the assassin and began bolting. She had taken a hostage because Glycon was someone who could take Katsuki's explosions and laugh it off. An empowered Glycon would most likely be the death of her.
A loud hiss filled the corridors, and soon a giant cobra stuck it's head through the door, much bigger than it used to be. Glycon had gone from a man with snake-like qualities, to a full blown snake. His limbs were gone, and his fangs were much larger, dripping with saliva.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA! NOW THISSS ISSSS A PARTY! COME HERE LITTLE BUG, DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN BEAT ME WITH THOSSSE ANTENNAE?!"
Shadow Moth rode atop the giant snake, laughing as the giant snake began slithering after Kyoka in the hallway.
WHEN DID THIS BECOME THE END OF ALADDIN?! HOW MANY INTELLECTUAL PROPERTIES IS THIS GUY GOING TO RIP OFF?!
No...keep a level head Kyoka. This guy is a compulsive showboater, both of them are. You may have a giant snake and a weeb after you, but you can overcome this. I may not have the power to stop them with brute force, but Shadow Moth is a brain dead idiot.
Let's start there, shall we?
Ochako shuddered as she stared up at the medieval buildings, barely believing that she had to come back to this place.
The sky was blue.
The sun shone brightly over a beautiful flower-laden fields, and yet...
All she could feel was sadness. An unbearable weight dragging down her body and soul, Ulric's despair over his tragic life was bleeding into Elysium.
"Damn...I feel like Johnny was killed all over again." Patch said, rubbing her arms with a disturbed look on her face. "This feeling...I used to have it not too long ago...I don't like it here, not at all."
"Neither do the people within." Valentine said, as several LCA soldiers began entering buildings and providing assistance to those who needed it. "It is a paradise...but one that brings no joy, no leisure. In his attempt to create another Eden, the Doctor accidentally created another Hell."
"We're killing him with every soul set free from this place...you know that, right?" Patch asked. "This is a man with good intentions, who has no idea that he is hurting people...is what we're doing right?"
"Would you like for them to remain here? We are not dealing with a real enemy here, I'm aware of that...but for the sake of everyone in this place...we have to do what we have to do." Valentine used D4C to send a victim back to the real world. "It brings me no pleasure, I think...judging by Yaoyorozu's description of the man...he and I would get along well."
"Keep smiling, keep smiling, keep smiling, keep smiling..." A woman in her sixties muttered as Ochako guided her over to the former president.
"Don't worry...soon, you'll be able to smile for real." Ochako consoled the woman as Valentine sent her over.
"I'm glad to see another kind Ochako, I've seen a few universes where you were kinda nasty." Patch commented.
"What would make me that way?" Ochako asked, confused.
"Some versions of you just want money, other are like, scarily obsessed with Izuku for some reason. I don't know...it's just nice to see a version of you that was like mine." Patch responded. "Well, my original you anyway. My new you is one of the clingy ones."
"That's weird...I mean, Deku is one of my best friends...and, well my version of you already knows how I feel about him, but I would never be that crazy about him."
Patch turned to Valentine. "Fluffy, can I trade Ochakos?"
"No, that would be unethical."
"Fuck, now I have to listen to 'stay away from my Deku, he's mine!' for the the rest of my life. All I do is talk to the guy. Is he not allowed to have friends?"
"Apparently so." Valentine said, ushering a small weeping child under the American flag. "Alright...let's get back to it."
Ochako and Patch both nodded, and got back to work.
Ulric grunted when his projectors shut down, and yellow sparks flew everywhere from down below. Damn, Yaoyorozu threw a disruptor grenade...my sonar is temporarily down!
A heavy object smashed into Exodus from the side, and turned to see that Johnny and Tusk had joined the ground unit, and he had just thrown Kirishima at him. The faux redhead was now getting on top of the not-Metal Gear, and he threw a punch at the synthetic dome protecting the cockpit, his hardened fist actually made a dent.
Kirishima went for another punch, when Paradise City punched him in his unhardened face, sending him back to the ground. Meanwhile, Ulric was rotating the head of his bipedal tank in an attempt to spot any attacks coming from behind. With his sonar down, he could no longer see things coming.
That is, until he got it up and running again.
"Tusk can't get in close without being shot." A roughed up Johnny said with a scowl as he avoided a shell. "He has some sort of targeting system that can see my stand coming."
"Like I said earlier, he was ready for us. We're even attacking him before the project was ready, and he's still beating us." Todoroki replied, and unleashed a burst of flame to try and overheat the legs of the mech. Exodus responded by kicking a mountain of dirt in the heroes' direction, also putting out the flames. "He's predicting our every move!"
"Which is why we all have to start acting out of character, start doing things that you normally wouldn't do. This man has data on our behavior, our patterns, and our attacks. We need to improvise in order to beat that thing!" Momo yelled. "We all know it's incomplete, it must have some sort of weakness that we haven't found yet!"
"That disc on top of it's head, do you think we can damage it?" Gyro asked. "That might be his targeting system, if we can damage it, he won't be able to aim properly!"
"It's probably made of some tough shit, we'd need something even tougher in order to break it." Johnny responded to his partner. "Can you hurl a steel ball that high?"
"At this angle? No, not without fucking up the curve. We'd need something a bit larger."
"My nail bullets are way too small...maybe if I use the Golden Rotation..."
"Throw me." Kirishima said, his face determined. "And use the Spin to do it! You said that it increases the damage of projectiles, right? I'd do mega damage!"
"Kirishima, that could do some serious damage to your body, even if you harden yourself." Momo said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Not to mention the Doctor would likely use Paradise City to intercept you."
"Then it's time for our ace in the hole." Johnny said, pressing a button on his phone. "Kirishima, are you sure about this? I'm willing to do it..."
"Putting my body on the line is kind of my thing, I'm a human shield after all." Kirishima reaponded, clenching his fist. "If we can stop that thing, I will totally go through with it."
A green flash entered the battlefield, and Izuku Midoriya came to a stop in front of Exodus. The glowing green pupils peeking out from his cowl were focused on Paradise City as he spoke. "About time...you know I can't sit in the sidelines forever."
Paradise City, which had been guarding the legs from a recently revived Kaminari, turned to stare at Izuku. There was a moment of silence between the two as they assessed each other, almost egging the other to move first.
"Well?"
"I thought you weren't present. I see...your friends hid you away until the situation got desperate, you are probably trying to bait [Paradise City] away from Exodus...I hate to disappoint, but once I have an opportunity to fire Exodus' main cannon, I'm afraid you and all the others will be in Elysium. My stand is unrivaled in the water."
"Oh, I'm sure. Still...One For All is right in front of you." Izuku said, stretching his arms out wide. "900 years, right? Nine whole centuries of preserving Elysium, ripe for the taking. Come on, Doctor...I'm right here."
"I know what you're doing, and I know that you're aware of that. You're stalling, Izuku Midoriya, the question is for what?"
"For us to gain an advantage of course, youseewereallyneedtofindExodus'weakspotandsinceyouraimingsystemispreventingusfromgettinginclosesowe'rejustgoingtotakeoutthatsatelliterealquickIreallyhopeitwasn'texpensivebecauseI'dfeelreallybadbutheyyouneedtobestoppedso-"
"Midoriya, please breathe. Take it from someone who has seen it, suffocation is one of the worst ways to go out."
"Okay, let me start over at the beginning-"
"Alright, you're stalling, I'm turning on the-NO!" [Paradise City] yelled once it saw a spinning red ball cradled in Tusk's arms. The giant armored stand got ready to heave the spinning Kirishima at the satellite.
Paradise City dashed towards Johnny in an instant, as all of Exodus' weaponry focused solely on the Joestar. Suddenly...
It was violently electrocuted by a bolt of electricity. Kaminari had gotten up and managed to land a shot thanks to his support gear, allowing Johnny and Kirishima to take one of their own.
As for the weapons, the timely intervention of Tsuyu helped with that. She had remained camouflaged on the not-Metal Gear as soon as it came out of the water, and was waiting for an opportunity to strike. Mucus secreted from Tsuyu's body covered the synthetic plastic of the cockpit, finally blinding Ulric. He was now forced to rely solely on the sonar system in order to see.
Tusk spun around in a circle, and hurled Kirishima straight at the disc, and Exodus suddenly activated a thruster on the side of it's body, effectively sidestepping the attack. Kirishima continued spinning harmlessly into the distance.
"Did...did we just yeet Kirishima?" Kaminari asked. "He's...gonna come down eventually, right?"
"Wait for it..." Johnny muttered.
Exodus shifted it's weight, and a set of panels broke free and acted as windshield wipers, and Tsuyu backflipped off of the mech to stand by her friends. "It didn't work..."
"Wait for it..."
"A brilliant maneuver on your end, I would never have expected you to throw your comrade. However...I'm afraid you...oh...oh YOU CLEVER DEVIL!"
Johnny had thrown Kirishima just like Gyro threw his steel balls, and like Gyro's steel balls...Kirishima came back.
*SMASH!*
Ulric was too slow this time, and the satellite disk was obliterated by the spinning red projectile. Tusk caught the spinning redhead in it's arms, slowing the rotation down until Kirishima was stationary once more.
The human shield immediately vomited, and his hardened skin was cracked and bleeding from smashing through such sturdy metal, but he gave Momo a thumbs up as soon as she ran to check on him. "We did it!"
Ulric grumbled as the sonar system went offline, without it, he wouldn't be able to see future attacks coming. The heroes had removed one of Exodus' core advantages, meaning they could now theoretically get in close and discover chinks in it's armor.
There were chinks, that was the sole reason why he hadn't fired the main cannon yet. His creation, while still strong, was incomplete thanks to the Curator jumping the gun. If only he had the full amount of time he scheduled...
Suddenly, the doctor began to feel lightheaded, and his vision was beginning to darken. What? What is...happening? I feel weak.
It doesn't matt-
"DIEEE!"
*BOOM!*
In the short amount of time in which Ulric had a dizzy spell, Katsuki had unleashed an explosion on the undercarriage of Exodus, just above the legs, causing several wires to spill out.
Dizzy spells? Exhaustion? My plan...is...falling apart? This can't be...this...
No, I'm not defeated yet!
As the heroes began attacking Exodus with renewed vigor, Ulric pushed down on the throttle, making his not-Metal Gear charge at them. He would not give up until the very end, he would follow his ideals until they killed him.
That was just the way he was.
Kyoka yelped as a pair of jaws snapped perilously close to her, all the while Shadow Moth cackled up at her from his cobra mount.
"Where's the insults Jiro?! Where's that sharp tongue of yours?! Come on, tell a joke!"
"No need, your mirror does that every day!" Kyoka fired back as she continued to sprint away from the snake.
"YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, LITTLE BUG. SSSSNAKESSS ALWAYSS CATCH THEIR PREY!" The akumatized Glycon roared as he continued slithering after her through the Dam.
Why can I imagine Johnny making a joke about having no legs right now? Kyoka thought to herself as she looked back at her legless foe. He is such an asshole with jokes like that.
The purplette finally found an open room, and quickly took advantage of the extra space, plugging her earphone jacks into her boots. "HEARTBEAT BOUNCE!"
She shot upwards, and fired a grappling hook into Glycon's scaly side, earning a grunt from the empowered assassin. Kyoka landed right behind Shadow Moth, who swung his cane at her head in an effort to knock her off the snake.
Pro tip: If you're going to get into a melee fight, make sure that you're good before attacking someone with extra appendages, cause Kyoka caught it with a jack, and yanked it clean put of Shadow Moth's grasp.
"YOU IDIOT! WHY DID I LEND MY SSSERVICESS TO YOU?!"
"YELL AT ME AGAIN, AND YOU AREN'T GETTING PAID!" Shadow Moth snapped, when he was suddenly punched across the face, and was now hanging off the side of the snake. Glycon was slithering around the room, up the walls and along the ceiling, all to get a shot at biting Kyoka. "WHAT HIT ME?! WHAT HIIIIT MEEEE?! THIS IS BULLSHIT!"
"That would be me." Shizuka Joestar said, deactivating Acthung Baby with a grin.
"What?! When did-"
"I never left the Dam, Johnny asked me to go and find you. Here you are, getting double teamed by these ugly bastards. I decided to even the odds a little bit." The brunette stated, standing back-to-back with Kyoka on top of the giant snake. "Besides, I want to get to know you just a little bit better, since you're an honorary Joestar and all."
"Awww, that's sweet of you!" Kyoka said, ducking under a strike from Glycon, he had twisted his head to face his back. "Okay, I'll go first, what's your favorite color?"
"Green or yellow, you?"
"It's usually purple, but I'm leaning a bit towards blue these days."
Shadow Moth climbed back onto the snake's back, and pulled out a gun from his jacket, activating Darkest Desire. "You'll regret interfering, Joestar girl. I, the magnificent Shadow Moth, shall put an end to you both! I-"
"Favorite band?"
"Deep Dope."
"Mine's Foreigner"
"Nice! You have good taste!"
"STOP BONDING!" Shadow Moth shrieked, and the two women shared a smirk, knowing full well that they were getting under his skin. "You two will die here, I'm done playing the charade of the fool! No more will I be kind to you and your lot, it is time to meet your maker! You will never stop the spread of my memes!"
"Give it a resssst already." Glycon muttered.
"Quiet underling, anyway-"
"What did you jussst call me?"
"A simpleton like you only cares about money, you don't have any ideals or memes to spread. You are weak-willed, driven only by material desires. As long as I have money, I own you."
The giant snake slowly turned it's massive cobra head to face Shadow Moth, it's glare intense. "You've been nothing but a bumbling idiot thisss whole time, and you have the audacity to insult the guy who'sss been keeping you alive? That, wasss your worsssst misstake yet."
"Now that you are akumatized, something you consented to by the way, I also have complete control over you, you couldn't attack me if you tried. This is the true power of the Miraculous!"
"That'sss it!"
Glycon was about to strike, but soon he drifted off into a kind of trance, and began slithering down the hallways as if nothing happened, eventually coming to a giant room filled with gears and electric lines. Darkest Desire began to glow as Shadow Moth smiled.
"You both are women important to Johnny Kujo, my nemesis-"
"Since when?"
"-so I think I will akumatize you both. Kujo may seem unbeatable, but there is no way he'd ever fight the two of you. Fly away my little akuma, evilize-"
Kyoka tackled him to the ground before he could finish the catchphrase, and began trying to wrestle the gun away from him.
*BANG!*
*BANG!*
Shadow Moth managed to shoot both of them, mostly due to dumb luck. Kyoka stumbled back with a wound in her side, while Shizuka looked at the hole in her hand with a bemused expression.
Lucky for Kyoka, the bullet didn't hit any internal organs, but she was bleeding pretty bad. Shadow Moth brandished the gun, triumphant, atop the giant snake.
"I will liberate this world of this dreaded disease, whether it's through a cure or extermination! Which means Jiro is dying first! Any snarky last words you wish to get out?"
"Yeah, you should pay more attention to your surroundings."
"What is that supposed to-"
*CLANG!*
Glycon had slithered under a gear, and since Shadow Moth was facing them instead of the snake's front, he didn't see it coming. It hit him right on the back of the head, and the gangster/fanatic/idiot's eyes rolled into the back of his head as the gear pulled him upwards, having snagged on his elaborate jacket.
Shadow Moth regained consciousness just in time to try and wriggle away, but his arm was caught. All he could do was scream as his arm was pulled in between two gears, crushing it.
Kyoka turned her head away as Shadow Moth's screams faded into the distance, his fate sealed by his own obliviousness. "Shadow Moth, it's over. Your memes end here."
"Ugh...what a way to go." Shizuka said with a shudder. "It seems he was just a little too accident-prone for his own good."
"Well, it was certainly cinematic." Kyoka remarked. "Glycon's still a cobra right now, which means Shadow Moth isn't completely dead yet. How are we gonna get rid of this guy?"
The snake was still slithering through the hallways and corridors of the Dam, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake, mindlessly following his dying employer's orders to the very end. If they tried to jump off and leave Glycon to his own devices, the criminal would either change back to his normal form and attack them later, or he would do creepy damage to the Dam, causing a flood.
To be fair, the Mustafu Dam was far enough from the city, but it would draw attention to the Musketeers and their somewhat illegal vigilantism. Not to mention the added charge of destruction of private property.
Then, Kyoka had an idea.
"Shizuka, hold onto something!"
"Oooh, is it crazy idea time? I love crazy ideas!"
Kyoka smirked. "I'm full of them now, thanks to your family. Alright, so you know how Hamon can manipulate string, I'm thinking...it might just be the same for snakes. Snakes have a malleable bone structure...so I should be able to control him..."
"That would work! Dad said that Jonathan Joestar did something with snakes, Speedwagon told him about it." Shizuka affirmed. "But...I don't think those snakes were the size of a truck, so..."
"Not to mention I'm still a rookie...but Jonathan was too. Besides, it's worth the risk." Kyoka stopped applying pressure to her bullet wound, wincing in pain, and began to breathe, visualizing Johnny's heartbeat in her head as a reference.
Glycon began to glow, along with the purplette currently riding him, and he began slithering up the wall, under Kyoka's control. Kyoka seethed as her Hamon directed the giant snake to smash clean through the ceiling of the Dam...
Straight into a live battlefield.
Exodus was now on fire, and it was clear the Ulric had lost his plan to put it out. Exodus was still fighting, despite the heavy damage, and from the looks of things, everyone down below had taken a serious beating.
There wasn't a single person down there that wasn't wounded.
Glycon, upon bursting through the ceiling, had gone straight into the air. So, despite the fact that controlling the snake had left her drained, she put just a little bit more into it, sending Glycon on a crash course for Exodus.
*CRUNCH!*
The giant snake dealt the final blow to the not-Metal Gear, and both Kyoka and Shizuka flew off of it. Exodus' knees buckled, and the giant mech fell backwards...
Right onto the Dam.
Luckily, most of the Dam remained intact, preventing a full-scale flood, but there was still a massive leak, and a tidal wave of water washed the remaining heroes away.
Johnny gasped as he poked his head out of the water, and looked around the churning tides for any of his comrades, and his heart locked up upon seeing Kyoka floating motionless down the stream.
"KYOKA!"
Johnny swam over to her and took her body in his arms, and swam over to a rock, becoming relieved once he saw his aunt become visible on top of it, helping Gyro to safety. He dragged Kyoka onto the rock, and shook her. "Hey, Kyoka...Kyoka wake up..."
The purplette proceeded to regurgitate water directly into her boyfriend's face.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"I love you."
Johnny continued to glare at Kyoka as the other two began giggling, with a very tired and waterlogged Kyoka joining in. Johnny, with his hat casting a shadow over his eyes, proceeded to start poking Kyoka in her non-wounded side, increasing the purplette's laughter as he took his frustration out on her.
"It looks like everyone is accounted for." Shizuka noted as she spotted Tsuyu and Izuku helping the others out of the water. "We did it...Exodus is finished."
"Thanks to someone throwing Glycon at it. I'm impressed that you actually pulled that off, considering that you're still quite new to Hamon." Gyro praised his friend, and Kyoka nodded, wringing out her jacket.
"To be fair, I was only 55% sure that it would work."
"You always have to find a way to make me worry about you." Johnny said with a smirk.
"Oi, don't use my own words against me! You still hold the record of the most deaths, remember?"
"Fair."
"Wait..." Gyro looked around the flooded terrain, now worried himself. "Where the fuck is Momo?!"
Ulric knelt outside of Exodus' cockpit, staring at the wreckage of his project. His doctor's mask was off, revealing a look of utter devastation on his face.
"Doctor..."
Momo had climbed the wreckage of Exodus to find her adversary/mentor to make sure he was okay...and found that besides a few cuts and bruises, the man had no physical injuries.
And yet...he looked gaunt, his face sunken in.
"All of my hard work...I was so close..." Ulric breathed out, a tear making it's way down his cheek. "I was...going to make a better world...I was going to save everyone..."
"...I am truly sorry, I know how much you put into this. Doctor...this world is cruel, you're right, but there is also good. You can't replace what we have, you can't realistically escape the world's problems...because those problems come from us."
Ulric lowered his head. "I had to try."
"I know...it's because you're a good man. Disease and famine, war...those are just a part of human nature, just as [War: What is it Good For?] said. Of course, he didn't think they were problems like you and I both do, but I won't delude myself by thinking I can stop them permanently. We can't make a better world without trying to improve this one."
"You want to fight an endless battle, I want it to end. All of it."
"That's why life is short, we don't have to fight forever. People like us exist to keep war and disease at bay, so that others don't share our suffering. That's what it means to be a hero." Momo said, putting a hand on her mentor's shoulder.
Ulric took her hand, and pulled her into a hug, and they both began to tear up. Momo knew the real meaning behind his gesture of affection.
"You still don't agree with me, do you?"
"I do...and don't. I have spent centuries believing one thing...I...I can't stop now, although you have certainly placed doubts in my head. You are truly remarkable Yaoyorozu...but from this moment onward, only one of us can continue."
"I was afraid of this..." Momo said, her voice breaking. "I'm not ready."
"Neither am I. Elysium is dying...I'm dying Yaoyorozu. It's completely empty, I only have hours, perhaps even minutes to live. To save myself, I would have to take One For All, as only a strong quirk could stop my rapid decline. However, if I do that, you'd hunt me until Midoriya was freed. Even then...I would start a new project, Exodus is salvageable."
"So, the only way..."
"Yes. I will not abandon my ideals, and you will not abandon yours, and should I steal OFA and escape, we would have to do this all over again. There is really only one solution...we let fate decide."
"...why?"
"I also want to test your resolve. This is your final lesson from me, because in the end there is no going back. There will be no stands, no quirks, and no gadgetry. Just you...and me, in one final bout to decide the future."
"Is violence really the only way we are going to settle this?!"
"Violence breeds violence..." Ulric said, putting on his doctors mask and throwing away both his cape and gadgetry, Momo reluctantly doing the same. "But in the end..."
The two faced each other for the final time.
"It has to be this way." The Doctor finished, putting up his fists.
*You know what soundtrack would be playing right now.*
Momo responded in kind. "Then show me what you've got, Doctor."
"Gladly. No holding back now, give me everything you have, or you will LOSE!" The Doctor yelled, and threw a haymaker at the side of Momo's head.
Momo went to block it, but Ulric had actually pulled a feint, and punched her in the stomach, causing her to double over. He then grappled her, putting her in a headlock, and slammed his elbow into her back.
Momo kicked out at his legs, but he was prepared, and sidestepped, letting go of her head. Since she was only standing on one foot, it was easy for him to throw her onto the ground. She rolled out of the way as he brought his foot down for a stomp, and got to her feet.
Ulric was about to press the attack, but stopped and began coughing, clutching at his heart and falling to his kness. "...damn...*cough*..."
Momo sat down beside him and helped him to his feet, waiting until his coughing fit was over. She refused to attack him unless he was on his feet.
Ulric nodded in appreciation, and they began once more, with Momo attacking with more ferocity. They both punched each other in the face at the same time, causing them both to stumble back.
Ulric went for a kick, Momo mirrored him.
Momo went for a punch, and their fists met in the middle.
The two opponents were predicting each other's moves, and they were now perfectly in sync with one another. With every attack came one that mirrored, or punished the other for the attempt. Now more than ever, it was clear to them both that this was a fight between equals.
Finally, things came to a head when Ulric caught Momo in a hold, keeping her still.
"You've fought well, but now...I shall end things. *Cough* I truly valued our time together...no matter how this plays out."
"Me too...however, there is one thing you could never predict..."
"What would that be?"
"How far I'm willing to go to stop you."
Momo grabbed Ulric's arm and ducked out of his pin, so that they were now trapped together. Ulric's eyes widened from beneath his damaged mask. "No...you wouldn't...you CAN'T!"
"Watch me."
Momo kicked off with her feet, still restraining Ulric, and jumped clean off of Exodus. Ulric screamed as the two adversaries fell from the building-sized mech, several stories into the mist below.