Chapter 67
[Silence]
Close by, in another section of the Forest, Izuku was running straight ahead, cutting through the forest in an attempt to find Katsuki, who he had a rough estimation of where he could be. Since they went second in the test of courage, if they didn't make it back to camp yet, then they'd still be around this area.
As he was pressing forward, he saw a shadowy hand blitz towards him, which he tried to dodge, only for a sudden surge of pain to halt him. He was finally starting to feel his injuries, and at the worst possible time. He was spared receiving more of it however when someone picked him up and got out of the way of the dark hand's attack.
Midoriya knew who the person who saved him was. "Shoji." He could see his fellow 1-A student missing one of his hands as he was bleeding where it used to be. "What happened?"
"With those injuries, you should be laid up in bed recovering." Mezo said to his classmate. "But you want to save your friends...no matter what the cost."
"You're injured too." Izuku pointed out.
"Yes. We were ambushed by Villains, and I covered us." Shoji told him. " but the attack triggered Tokoyami's quirk, even though he was desperately trying to hold it back."
Midoriya then remembered how Fumikage explained his quirk to him back at the sports festival, and how dangerous and difficult it is to control the darker it gets. And since it's currently the dead of night, in a dense forest, that could only mean one thing. "No...don't tell me..." He uttered.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Robo Inferno]
"Yeah." Mezo confirmed. "If we want to get through here...we'll have to face Dark Shadow First."
Just up ahead, the monstrous roar of a berserking Dark Shadow echoed throughout the area, while the massive shadowy beast, now with eyes now glowing a burning red, instead of his normal yellow glow. Tokoyami was in the middle of this monstrosity, his head enveloped in the darkness and in extreme distress as he desperately tried to regain control, only to fail and be forced to watch his quirk go on a rampage. "STAY AWAY...FROM ME! YOU'LL DIE!"
"Tokoyami NO!" Midoriya yelled out, dreading what he had to face. "But, how did he get this way?!"
"Keep it down." Shoji told him. "After Mandalay told us what was happening, and we shouldn't engage, we were both on high alert. Still, one of the Villains got the drop on us. I hid in the bushes and tried to cover Tokoyami, even though one of my arms was cut off."
"Really?" Izuku replied.
"It looks bad, but it's not like it's lost forever. My dupli arms are capable of making duplicates upon duplicates. One of those was cut off." Mezo assured him. "The thing is, he couldn't stand seeing me injured like that. The quirk he had been suppressing began to rage and take over."
As Dark Shadow let out another monstrous roar, tearing down the trees around him, it was heard by Sora, who was in the middle of fighting off multiple Darkballs. "What was that?" He said out loud before ducking under a Darkball, charging towards him. He then used the last of his magic to cast Aero and pull in the group of Darkballs, and then cast Thunder to obliterate them. "Whatever that is, I don't think it's friendly. I need to deal with it." He then began to make his way towards the distant noise.
Back at Dark Shadow's location, "The darker it is, the less control Tokoyami has. I had no idea his quirk could explode like this." Midoriya said.
"It's probably fueled by his righteous indignation and regret." Shoji guessed. "He's tried to hold it back, but they made it wilder." He accidentally stepped on a twig and snapped it, which Dark Shadow heard and attacked. Luckily he got out of the way. "It started lunging at any sound or movement. A beast lashing out with indiscriminate attack."
"FORGET ABOUT ME!" Fumikage painfully screamed out. "GOOO! FIND OUR CLASSMATES!...HELP THEM INSTEAD!" He tried to talk to his quirk. "STOP THIS! CALM DOWN, DARK SHADOW!"
"His quirk has a weakness to light. If we can lead them to the fire or back to camp, we can contain it." Mezo stated. "Midoriya. I know these are strange circumstances, but I can't just leave a suffering friend behind. You forced your broken body to get you here, because you were worried about Bakugo. If you still want to save him, I'll distract Dark Shadow for you, and you can run."
"Hold on. The fire and carp are both pretty far away. You'll be in danger if you..." Izuku was interrupted when Dark Shadow heard him and attacked, prompting Shoji to get out of the way and hide somewhere else.
"I know that. But to save people, you have to take risks. That's what makes a Hero, a Hero." Mezo replied. "Will you stay with me and help Tokoyami, or will you rush to Bakugo's side? You have to make a choice, right now."
Midoriya had a fiery look in his eyes, but before he could say anything, a blue streak of light caught his attention. "Is that…?"
[Silence]
Sora was using his flowmotion to blitz from tree to tree, quickly closing the distance between himself and whatever was making this roar. He noticed multiple trees that were toppled to the ground and crushed. "Is it another one of those big Heartless, or did a Villain cause this?" He then saw a massive dark claw blitz towards him. "What the!?" He got out of the way. Sora then blitzed to the dark limb and ran on it towards whatever it came from, ready to strike down this threat. Then he saw who it was.
[Play KH BBS OST Extreme Encounters]
"Dark Shadow?!" The Keyblade wielder realized. He ceased his advance due to his shock, before he noticed Dark Shadow swipe at him, prompting Sora to get out of the way. "Hey! It's me! Sora! Your friend!"
Dark Shadow let out a roar, before attacking again, barely missing his current target. Fumikage then yelled out. "SORA!...HE'S BERSERKING...CAN'T RECOGNIZE ANYONE!"
"Sora!" Izuku yelled out. "Make a light to calm him down!"
The Keyblade wielder looted to where he heard the sound and saw Shoji holding Midoriya with his dupli arms as he got out of the way of Dark Shadow's attack. "Got it!" He replied as he pointed the Keyblade towards the berserking quirk and got ready to use his light beam, only for Dark Shadow to attack him and force Sora to dodge instead.
The three boys managed to get out of Dark Shadow's sight and Mezo spoke to Sora in a low volume. "Thank goodness you're here. If you can make some fire or electricity to brighten up the area, Dark Shadow should calm down."
"I can't do that for another minute." Sora told them. "I used up the energy I stored to fight off a bunch of Heartless on the way here."
"Another minute?" Izuku repeated. "I don't think we can hide and dodge Dark Shadow for that long."
"Maybe not you two, but I can." The Keyblade wielder told the pair. "I can distract Dark Shadow while Mezo carries you to Katsuki."
"Wait, you know where he is?" Midoriya questioned.
"They were after Fumikage and Mezo in the test of courage." Sora pointed out. "If you just follow the path back the way they came, then you should be able to find him and Shoto."
"But what about Tokoyami?" Shoji replied.
"Once I calm down Dark Shadow, Fumikage and I will catch up with you." The Keyblade wielder assured him. "It won't take long. Trust me." Before a reply could be given, Dark Shadow attacked their location, prompting the trio to get out of the way. Sora went towards Dark Shadow, yelling out. "Go! Find Katsuki! I got this!"
Both boys seemed hesitant at first, but they knew how good Sora was. If there was anybody who could do this alone, it would be him. So the boys put their faith in their friend and set off towards where Bakugo should be. Since Mezo had already been down the path before, he knew where to backtrack.
As the pair left the area, someone else entered it, however it was not a student or a Pro Hero. The Figure had come to this section of the forest, because he sensed a surge of rage and fear, and wanted to see what was causing it. He was slightly surprised to see what it was, but then realized that he could use this to his advantage. He snapped his fingers and summoned some Neoshadows. "Don't bother with the big guy. Pin the Keyblade wielder down and let the big one take care of him." The Neoshadows then sunk into the floor and made their way towards the action, while the Figure watched from the distant shadows.
[Silence]
Elsewhere in the forest. "FlEeEeEeSh...PiEcEs oF MeEeAt!" Moonfish attacked again with his blade teeth, relentlessly striking Todoroki's ice mounds, and forcing his teeth through them to attack the ice user directly, only for more ice to be made in between them.
"Teeth attacks, seriously?" Bakugo angrily commented. "It's time to blast this freak with everything I've got!"
"You can't!" Shoto told him.
"If the trees burh, then just cover them with ice, stupid!" Katsuki argued.
"A big explosion will impair my vision, you know!" The flame user pointed out. "I may not be able to see the fire! And how are you gonna get close to him anyway!?"
The explosive teen growled at that, unable to come up with an answer.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Threat of Offense and Defense]
"There! I see them!" Another voice was heard, and both boys recognized it as they turned to see Izuku coming towards them, with Mezo carrying him on his back. The pair came into view, then multiple blade teeth blitzed towards them. "Watch out!"
Shoji got out of the way just in time, recognizing the blade teeth. "That's the one who ambushed us before!"
"Deku?!" Bakugo called out. "What the hell are you doing here?!"
"Kacchan!" Midoriya called back. "Thank goodness you're okay! The Villains are after you and Sora! I came to make sure you were safe!"
Before the conversation could continue, more blade teeth blitzed towards Mezo, but were intercepted by an ice mound. Todoroki then spoke up. "Save the catching up for later! Right now, we need to deal with this Villain."
"Just cover your eyes and let me blast him, so you can see where to put out the fire, IcyHot!" Katsuki yelled out.
"I'm the only one who could cover your approach, and I'd need to see in order to do that!" Shoto pointed out.
"No, you wouldn't!" Izuku replied. "Not with Shoji here to tell you where to attack! He can be your eyes!"
"FLEEeEEESh! UuAaGuE!" Moonfish exclaimed as he traversed over the ice mounds and behind the four boys. "GIVe mE yOUR FLEEeeesH!"
"Screw this!" Katsuki used his quirk to launch himself up in the air.
"Bakugo!" Shoto called out.
"Mask! Give him directions!" The explosive teen ordered.
"Damn it, Bakugo." Shoji cursed. Moonfish sent more blade teeth after Katsuki, but an ice mound got in between the pair. "Bakugo is six meters to your left and twenty meters above the ground. Todoroki, make a mound there to propel him and then make another mound fifteen meters in front of you to distract the Villain."
Shoto did as instructed and made the two ice mounds where he was told to make them. While Moonfish was distracted with the ice mound in front of him, Katsuki was high in the air, above the Villain's eyesight, his palms sparking with his nitro sweat that he was ready to ignite on his opponent. He used one explosion to correct his trajectory and blitz towards Moonfish, as he then creamed out "DIIIIIIE!"
The Villain knew that the boy was coming and retracted his blade teeth, letting himself fall to avoid the large explosion that was aimed at him. He then halted his descent by extending the blade teeth back into the ground. "FLEEEEEEEESH YoUr fLeSh iS MiNe!" He extended his blade teeth out again, only for more ice to intercept his attack, greatly frustrating the Villain. "RAAauuGH!"
In the trees nearby, another Villain was watching from the shadows. "I suppose even if they are just students, U.A. Heroes are still a batch of golden eggs." Mr. Compress sat in wait. He was not planning on getting into the fray with Moonfish there. And that is a smart move, considering that Moonfish will attack everyone he detects right now. He just hoped that Moonfish would remember that one of those students he was fighting was a priority capture target.
Back over with Sora and Dark Shadow, the Keyblade wielder was using his flowmotion to just barely avoid the onslaught of attacks that Dark Shadow was sending towards him. "Jeez! It's like back at the haunted house with him!" He commented as he kept dodging Dark Shadow. He only needed to do this for about twenty more seconds and then he could quickly cast some fire or thunder magic to calm the quirk down. "Just hold on a little longer! I'm almost charged!" He wished he had an ether, but he wasn't allowed to pack those or potions or refocusers for the trip, as they would have been seen as a cheat during his training.
"RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" Dark Shadow roared out. "YOU INSIGNIFICANT BUG! I'LL SQUASH YOU!"
"And I thought we were friends!" Sora replied. "Or are you still mad from me accidentally calling you a pet back then?!"
"SORA!" Fumikage yelled out. "HURRY AND...MAKE A LIGHT!"
"Just ten more seconds!" The Keyblade wielder told his friend. "Then I've got you!" Then he landed on the ground and was ready to dodge the next violent swing that Dark Shadow would throw at him.
The rampaging quirk then thrusted one of his claws forward, towards Sora. "WATCH OUT!" Tokoyami warned him.
Sora lunged to the left, but he didn't move from his position, as a few pairs of claws had grabbed onto his legs and kept him in place. "What?!" It was too late though.
[Silence]
The bird boy's eyes widened in shock and horror as he witnessed what happened. "No..." He uttered.
Blood splattered onto the arm that Dark Shadow had used to attack his prey. "NO..." Fumikage repeated a little louder.
[Play KH BBS OST The Key of Darkness]
A streak of blood began to leak out of Sora's mouth and down his chin. Then Tokoyami let out a mortified scream "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" He saw Dark Shadow's claw pierce through Sora's stomach region and exit through his lower back. The Keyblade wielder's mid section had a large hole where it used to be. The only reason he wasn't gushing blood everywhere was because Dark Shadow's claw was still embedded where that hole was.
Sora coughed up blood from his mouth as he gripped Dark Shadow's claw with his free hand. The boy gagged as he was currently in shock, unable to breath from the sudden overflow of blood in his lungs, forcing him to cough out more of it from his body. "Augh...cu...ch...agh...haaaa...hhhhha...hhhhoh...no..." The Keyblade wielder's eyes began to shift from blue to a glowing yellow color. "F...F...Fumi...kage..." He struggled to say as he looked at his friend. "I...I'm...sorry for….what...you're about...to see…!" His skin quickly darkened as he let out an agonizing scream, before a red and black aura exploded from him.
The force of the shockwave pushed Dark Shadow back a few meters, who let out another roar. "YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO MEEEEEE!"
Fumikage was silent as he looked at what was happening in front of him. When the dark aura subsided, his tear filled eyes widened once more, but this time they showed pure, genuine horror.
The Figure watched as the results of the Neoshadows' interference paid off for him. He then left the area through a dark corridor and smiled under his hood. "This is going to be good."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Serious Shiver]
In another section of the forest, Ochako and Tsuyu were dealing with a problem of their own. Asui noticed Uraraka had received a cut on her arm and asked. "Ochako, is your arm okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Uraraka assured her partner. "It's just a scratch."
Himiko Toga, the one responsible for inflicting that injury, looked at the bloody knife she used to make that cut, inspecting the red liquid that now rested on the tip of it. "Hmm. Hmm...shallow. Not much blood."
"What kind of person slashes people out of nowhere?" Tsu questioned. "Just who do you think you are?"
"I'm Toga." The Villainess introduced herself as he pointed the bloody knife towards the pair. "Jeez. You two are super cute." She then pointed to Ochako. "Uraraka." Then to Tsuyu. "And Asui."
"How did she know who we are?" Ochako whispered to Tsu.
"Maybe from the Sports Festival?" Asui quietly replied. "We know nothing about her, so we're at a disadvantage. Stay on guard."
"There's not enough blood." Himiko commented as she reached behind her and pulled out a device that was attached to a tube. "Normally, I'd suck it directly from the cut, to make it flow out, but there's no time." She pressed on the device and out came a needle. "Don't worry, girls. This machine will start pumping it out as soon as I stick it in you. I'll bet my fill, then move on. Who's first?" She pounced towards the girls.
[Silence]
Elsewhere, in the burning section of the forest, Dabi and Twice watched as the blue flames burned the trees around them, but they weren't alone. Hiding in the bushes, was one boy from Class 1-A. It was Yuga Aoyama, who was staying hidden, keeping his mouth covered and not moving a muscle. Two others were with him, Toru and Kyouka, but they were unconscious, because of the gas from earlier. He was supposed to take them back to camp, but he took a wrong turn and ended up even deeper in the forest. Worst of all, he found not only one, but two of the Villains that were responsible for this attack. He dared not make a move, because if he did then he and the girls he were with would most certainly be killed.
He then heard a rustle in the bushes next to him, which made Yuga's heart rate speed up even faster than it already was.
Dabi heard the rustle too. "Who's there?" he called out. "Come out, or I'll burn this whole place down." Normally, he wouldn't hesitate, but since he had allies here, he had to make sure that he didn't accidentally kill a fellow Vanguard Action Squad member. After a moment of silence, Dabi's other arm began to emit blue flames, but before he could let them loose, multiple Shadows, Neoshadows, Darkballs, Earth Cores, Powerwilds and Bouncywilds run out of the bushes and through the area, as if they were being drawn to something. "What the?"
"OH MAN. IT'S HAPPENING!...What's happening?" Twice asked.
"No idea." The blue flame user replied, before he pulled out a small communication device. "I better call the Nomu back, just in case, since that was basically our guards that just left us."
Aoyama was still alive, and was somehow spared from the creatures as they just ignored him and the girls, running towards whatever it was that they were clearly more interested in.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Villain Invasion Theme]
Elsewhere in another section of the Forest, The Nomu that Dabi was talking about was in the middle of chasing someone. Actually, it was two people, but one of them was being carried by the other. Yosetsu Awase was running from this monster, while an injured Momo Yaoyorozu had her arm welded to his and was being carried by the 1-B student. "This is bad! This is really bad! What the crap is this thing doing here!?" He exclaimed as he kept running from the Nomu. "Yaoyorozu! Are you alive?!" He asked that because the Nomu they were running from had used various drill, hammer and chainsaw limbs to attack the pair and incapacitate her. "If you are, please wake up! It's gonna catch us!"
"I'm sorry...Awase..." Momo weakly replied. "I'm...alive, but..."
Yosetsu kept trying to get away, but Nomu easily caught up to them and had it's drills and chainsaws ready to make the pair into red mush on the ground. "What the hell! What are those!?" The limbs made their way towards the pair as Awase held Momo close, in an attempt to shield her with his body. "Oh no! Oh, GOD I'M SO SORRY!" He closed his eyes and braced himself for death, only to hear the sounds of the drills and chainsaws stop. He opened his eyes and then saw the Nomu retract it's drill, hammer and chainsaw limbs into its back before turning around and walking away. "It's just...gonna leave us here?"
Momo weakly looked up and guessed that the Villains might have completed their mission. If that was the case, then she needed to act fast. She used what little energy she could muster to create something in her hand. She then turned to Yosetsu. "Awase...Use your quirk to attach this...to that monster."
"What is it? A button?" He asked as he unwelded himself from her.
"Just hurry up and do it before he's gone." She told him.
The 1-B student did as instructed. "I don't know what's going on, but okay!" He ran up and welded the tiny device to the Nomu's lower back, before retreating behind a tree. "No way he's getting that thing off."
"Thank you so much..." Yaoyorozu said to him. "...Good job."
Yosetsu then let out a sigh. "That was scary. Okay, let's run." He then grabbed the 1-A deputy and welded her arm to his again. But before they could do so, multiple pairs of yellow eyes were seen in front of them. "What the?..."
"Oh no...not them." Momo recognized the creatures coming towards the pair.
"Oh god, please no." Awase was hoping that whatever Yaoyorozu was thinking was wrong. But she was right, as many Heartless came rushing through the bushes and towards the pair. "OH, GOD!" He braced himself for death again, but was once again spared that fate as the heartless just ignored the pair and went past them. "Wha...are they all just leaving?"
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Hero Killer]
Back with the group dealing with Moonfish, Katsuki couldn't get a single hit on Moonfish who kept avoiding his explosions and attempting to cut up the explosive boy, only to get blocked by Shoto's ice.
The Cannibalistic Villain was only getting more and more irritated and violent with each failed attempt of feasting on the flesh of his victims. He began to attack the ice user, only for more ice to block him.
Meanwhile, Mr. Compress was starting to worry. If Moonfish killed the capture target, Shigaraki would not be pleased. As he was about to move in to attempt to capture the target, a dark corridor appeared in front of him.
Out of the corridor came the figure. "Oh, good. You're here. This is perfect."
"What's perfect?" Compress asked.
"Just get ready to start recording on my mark." The Figure instructed.
Moonfish let out a hungry scream. "YYAaauUGH! YoUr FLesH iS MiNe!"
[Silence]
Suddenly, a pitch black object blitzed through the trees and struck Moonfish in the chest, launching him back and slamming him through a tree, while the object that struck him fell to the ground and the tip lodged itself into the soil.
"What?" Bakugo was confused as he touched the ground.
"What was that?" Todoroki questioned.
"Wait. Someone's coming, behind us." Shoji told the group as they looked behind them.
In the distance, they could see a silhouette of someone, with a familiar head of spiky hair, dragging what looked to be someone with a bird head. "That's Sora!" Midoriya recognized the silhouette. "And he's got Tokoyami with him!"
"He did it." Shoji was relieved.
"Sora?" Shoto looked at the pitch black object that was close by.
"Toy Sword's here too?" Katsuki growled.
As the silhouette slowly approached them. The one that looked like Sora looked towards them, with glowing yellow eyes. "Wh...What?" Izuku was no longer certain that it was Sora approaching them.
"Sora's eyes aren't yellow...Nor do they glow." Shoji pointed out in discomfort.
"Guys..." Todoroki got their attention as he recognized the pitch black object on the ground. "This is one of Sora's blades...but..."
"It's completely blackened out." Midoriya also realized.
"What happened to Toy Sword?" Bakugo questioned, feeling uneasy.
The pitch black Keyblade dislodged itself from the ground and then flew back into the silhouette's hand, before it threw a knocked out Fumikage to the group. Mezo caught his partner, but almost fell back from the force that the bird boy was thrown at.
[Play KH ReOrchestrated Night Of Fate]
Moonfish's blade teeth blitzed through the trees and towards the students, who only just saw them coming as they were inches away from their bodies. Then the teeth shattered as the silhouette destroyed them. The students could clearly see the silhouette and as much as they wanted to deny it, it was in fact Sora, however, it wasn't the Sora they were familiar with.
Sora's skin and clothes were now pitch black, devoid of any color that they had before, like it was sucked out of them by the darkness, with the only color left being the dark red that was the blood on his hands, mouth and midsection. His shirt also had two massive holes on the front and back of it, but his midsection was intact, showing no signs of the hole that Dark Shadow created earlier. His Keyblade, currently Two Become One, was also stripped of its color having the same pitch black pigmentation as it's current wielder. His eyes glowed a bright yellow, having no irises or pupils, as they looked exactly like the eyes of a Heartless. His face was devoid of any emotion, just showing a black stare as Sora was now in a form he kept hidden until now. Rage Form.
Rage Sora moved fast and followed the trail of blade teeth towards their creator, as it and Moonfish were now face to face. "DOn'T StEAL fROM mE!" The cannibal roared out as he sent out more blade teeth towards Rage Sora, but it cut through the attack like it was nothing before slamming the blackened Keyblade into his chest. "AUGH!" He was launched high into the air.
Rage Sora then pounced into the air and continued to attack Moonfish, however it didn't use the Keyblade. Instead, it used its hands, which were currently formed as claws, and it's legs to slash, kick, scratch, batter, claw, bludgeon, and beat the cannibal, ripping off some of the fabric on Moonfish's straightjacket. This allowed the man to see what was tearing him apart so easily.
The look in his eyes showed surprise, shock, and pain, but most of all, it showed terror, as he remembered receiving a beating like this before. Not only that, but he remembered that this person was the one that said person who had previously brutalized him wanted to capture. He could see why. If this monster was just as strong as he is, then he would be a serious threat.
Unfortunately for Moonfish, he had to learn the hard way that picking a fight with Rage Sora was a mistake. He could see red streaks of liquid flow from Rage Sora's hands as it was clawing him hard enough to draw his blood. He could almost fully see red because of how fast it was clawing him. Until he was kicked in the face and launched up even further in the air. This wasn't the end.
Rage Sora called it's Keyblade to it and the blackened Two Become One flew into its hands, before Rage Sora warped up to Moonfish's height and thrusted forward. The blade grazed the Villains side before Rage Sora warped to another side and thrusted again, then again and again and again, before rising up far above Moonfish, erupting black tendrils then diving down, forcing the cannibal to the ground with a downward thrust.
Meanwhile, in the distance, Mr. Compress, who was holding a video camera and recording this for the Figure, who was next to him, was taken aback by this sudden brutality, and from a U.A. student no less. "I must admit...I'm glad you stopped me from running in when you did. I would most surely be dead if that boy saw me."
The Figure then took the camera from him. "I'll take over now."
"Should I go?" Compress asked.
"No. You'll get our other target when Sora leaves." The Figure told him.
"Leaves to do what, might I ask?" The theatrical Villain questioned.
Suddenly, a massive wave of Heartless approached their location and went past them and towards Rage Sora. "To destroy all the enemies that he can find."
Rage Sora heard the groans of Moonfish before it grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed his face repeatedly into the ground, breaking all of the teeth that the Villain had in his mouth and cutting up his face with those blade teeth that were on the ground. However, he somehow wasn't dead, even after all that excruciating torture, he was still alive, though he wished for death right now.
Rage Sora let the broken man lay face down on the floor before it turned to face the group of boys with the same blank expression it had kept on its face. It looked ready to pounce on whoever tried to make a move, so the boys stayed still. With only Izuku speaking up. "Sora! It's us! Your friends! Please tell us you remember!"
Rage Sora responded with a pounce that was way too fast to get out of the way of. As Mezo looked at his friend come towards him and Midoriya, he thought that he was going to die, that his friend, the one who he was partnered up with on the first day of the Hero course, the one who helped him keep his spirit high during the school year, would be the one to murder him. He tightly closed his eyes.
Then the slashing sound of the Keyblade was heard, but he felt nothing. Shoji opened his eyes and saw that Rage Sora had attacked a Darkball that snuck up behind the group. Rage Sora then landed behind the group and got into a wild and animalistic combat stance, as Heatless poured in from literally all sides. Even the ground below them and the space above them was being swarmed with Heartless.
Shoto, Katsuki and Mezo attacked the Heartless, taking out a few, but the one doing damage was Rage Sora, who tore through wave after wave after wave of Heartless, ripping them apart with its claws, butchering them with its Keyblade, crushing them under its shoes. They saw Rage Sora straight up rip a Shadow in half with its claws. That's how violently brutal it was.
As the massive swath of heartless shrunk down to three Darkballs, a Bouncywild, a Powerwild, two Shadows, a Neoshadow, an Earth Core, two Dark Plants and a Dire Plant. The Heartless began to retreat from the area, knowing that their survival was a bigger priority if they wanted to grow their numbers. Rage Sora gave chase, without hesitation.
"He's pursuing them!" Shoji realized.
"We can't leave Sora alone like this!" Midoriya spoke up.
"Damn it, Toy Sword!" Bakugo yelled out.
"Follow him!" Todoroki ordered as he took point.
Mezo was behind Shoto, carrying Fumikage and Izuku, while Katsuki was in the back. As the boys followed their darkened friend, another person loosely trailed behind them, waiting for his chance to move in.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Iron Battle]
Back with Ochako and Tsusu, Himiko ran towards the pair, ready to draw more blood. Uraraka was startled by the Villainess' speed, but her partner had her covered as Asui used her tongue to get her out of the way. "Ochako! You have to get back to camp! We got permission to use quirks to protect ourselves, not to counterattack! I'm sure that's what Mr. Aizawa meant!"
"Tsu! Come on!" Uraraka called out to her.
"I'll be right behind you!" Asui told her, only to turn around and see Toga get close and cut the tip of her tongue.
Himiko pondered what she heard, which gave her opponent time to back away from her. "Tsu?...Hehe...Tsu. What a cute nickname." She took off her mask. "I think I'll call you that too."
"No you won't! Don't even think about it!" Asui demanded. "Only my friends get to call me that!"
The frog girl tried to jump around Toga, but the knife wielder was quick and pinned the Hero in training's hair to a tree with a well timed throw of the needle, suspending her body as well. "YAAAAY!" Himiko cheered. "That means I must be your friend too!" She got dangerously close to her new 'friend.' while letting out a joyous giggle.
"I'm coming!" Ochako told her partner as she ran to her.
"Aww. You're bleeding, Tsu." Toga said. "You couldn't be more adorable. I just love blood." She got close to Asui's mouth. "We're gonna be such good friends."
"Get away from her!" Uraraka demanded. Himiko went for a stab at the gravity girl, but her Gunhead martial arts training kicked in, as she avoided the attack with a single pivot of her foot, grabbed the wrist of the hand lodging the knife and the base of Toga's neck, pulled with all her strength, and then slammed the Villainess into the ground, pinning her down.
[Silence]
"Ochako, that was amazing." Tsuyu said.
"Tsu! Can you use your tongue to restrain her hands? Or is it hurt?" Uraraka asked.
"It'll be fine in a second." Asui assured her partner.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Vanguard Action Squad -Darkness-]
"Ochako." Himiko spoke to her other 'friend.' "You're delightful too. You've got the same smell as me. You've got a crush on someone right?" That deeply discomforted the gravity girl. "So do I. And I bet you also wanna be exactly like that special person, huh?" The situation only became more discomforting for Uraraka as Toga went on. "I can tell. Two lovesick girls. At first, you try to model yourself after the person you want. You start dressing like them. Thing is, that's not enough. You have to go further. Then, you realize you actually want to become that person. And once you get to that point, there's no going back. That's how love works, right? What kind of charmer's got your eye, huh?" She then told her 'friend' what her 'type' was. "I'm fond of people who've been slashed up and reek of fresh blood. That's why I always end up cutting them." She let out a giggle. "Hey, Ochako, isn't this fun?! Just two girls, hanging out, talking about our crushes?"
The Villainess then got a second needle with her free hand while Uraraka was distracted and jammed it in the 1-A girl's leg. "Ochako!" Tsuyu called out to her ally.
Blood began to flow into the tube while Himiko whispered. "Suck suck. Suck suck. Suck suck. Suck suck."
[Silence]
Suddenly, a rustle in the bushes was heard and out came a group of Heartless. "Ochako, behind you!"
While Uraraka was distracted, Himiko pushed herself off of the Hero in training and looked back to see the Heartless approach them, however someone was also close behind them. She then retreated into the bushes.
The two girls recognized the silhouette. "Sora!" Ochako called out.
"Help Ochako, Sora!" Asui spoke up.
However, when the silhouette got closer, the two girls' faces shifted from relief to horror. Meanwhile, Himiko also got a clear view of who the girls were looking at, but her expression was much different, as she looked like she saw her 'type' of crush right in front of her.
[Resume KH ReOrchestrated Night Of Fate]
Rage Sora's body was still covered in blood, and it's torn clothes showed that it had been in a scuffle and had been roughed up. But then the three girls watched as the Heartless were intercepted by Rage Sora and his violence was unleashed upon the creatures.
Rage Sora threw its blackened Keyblade into one of a Darkball's eyes, before grabbing a Shadow and viciously ripping the Heartless' head off with its bare hands. It then punted the only other Shadow into the Darkball with the Keyblade jammed into its eye, imbedding the blade deeper and killing it. Rage Sora then called the blade back to itself, letting it cut through the Shadow's midsection on the way.
Rage Sora caught the blackened Keyblade and then blitzed over to another Darkball, before wildly stabbing the Heartless over and over again, butchering the creature until it disappeared into nothing. Rage Sora then saw a dark puddle below him and saw the last living Neoshadow in this forest try to grab the Darkness consumed Keyblade wielder's ankles. Rage Sora then stomped down hard, forcing the Neoshadow's head into the ground before it grabbed the Heartless in the black puddle by the face and crushed it in its hands.
Rage Sora then blitzed towards the Bouncywild and Powerwild, who tried to attack from a distance, only for Rage Sora to grab their heads and slam their faces into each other so hard that it instantly destroyed them. Rage Sora then made its way through the Dark plants and Dire plant, literally ripping them from their roots and killing them with just it's hands.
All that was left was a single Darkball and an Earth Core. The Earth Core made itself into a golem, while the Darkball charged Rage Sora, only for Rage Sora to kick the Heartless like a football through the Golem, forcing out the Earth Core and dazing the two long enough for Rage Sora to run its Keyblade through both Heartless at once.
It was then that Mezo,who was carrying Fumikage and Izuku, and Shoto, who was still carrying Sen, were seen. "Uraraka! Asui!" Midoriya called out to them.
The two girls snapped out of their horrified daze and Ochako spoke up. "What happened to Sora?!"
"I don't know!" Izuku replied. "But he isn't attacking us, only the Villains and the Heartless."
[Silence]
Toga then caught a glimpse of The green haired boy and also had that same look she gave to Rage Sora, before she quickly ran away, as to not get killed by one of her new crushes. Before Rage Sora could pursue her, it felt a tongue grab its waist.
[Play KH3 OST Aqua in the Abyss]
Rage Sora quickly looked back and saw that it was Tsuyu who wrapped her bleeding tongue around the dark powered Keyblade wielder's waste. "Sora..."
"Sora...is that really you?" Uraraka asked as she slowly approached it.
Rage Sora didn't retaliate, but it's head was twitching, as if it was unstable and about to snap. Asui then let go of her friend and watched as Rage Sora stayed in place, seeming to do as they requested. "Sora. What happened to you?" Tsu asked.
Rage Sora didn't answer. It couldn't answer, even if it wanted to. "Please tell me, that you can at least change back." Ochako requested.
"Sora. This isn't you. You're not violent and aggressive." Shoji chimed in. "You're compassionate, and kind."
"You're not a monster that attacks on sight." Todoroki spoke up. "You're a Hero that helps anyone and everyone, even if they don't ask for it."
"Remember your Hero name?" Midoriya stated. "You're not a Heartless. You're the positive Hero, Light Heart."
Rage Sora dropped to its knees and wrapped its arms around its stomach as it slowly began to regain the colors that were blackened out before. The black skin slowly began to steam off of the body, while the glowing yellow eyes now returned to their white color and regained their black pupils and irises that shifted from yellow to blue.
Sora's skin, hair, eyes and clothes were back to their normal colors, but the group could hear Sora himself was far from feeling well, as he choked and gagged the entire time that this happened, until when he finally regained all of his colors, he vomited out a black ooze from his mouth, as well as some of his own blood.
"Guh...hhhhhhaaaaaaaa...hhhhhhhh...eugh..." Sora couldn't speak at the moment as he was still recovering, but his friends were there for him nonetheless.
"He's back." Asui said.
"He's okay." Uraraka spoke up.
[Silence]
Sora coughed out more black stuff for a while before he could finally speak. "I'm sorry...that you had to see that."
"What was that?" Shoto questioned.
"Rage Form." The Keyblade wielder explained. "A form that only comes out when I'm either extremely angry or about to die."
"About to die?" Mezo repeated as he looked at his friend's shirt, which had a large hole in the front and back ends. "Is that what happened?"
"Yeah." Sora confirmed. "But we don't have time for that. We've got to get Katsuki back to camp. He's still with you guys, right?"
Midoriya looked back to confirm that. "Yeah, he's right...behind us."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST I'm Seriously Going to Crush You]
Everyone looked back to see that The explosive teen was gone. Izuku was now going through a crisis internally, before he and the others heard a voice. "Impressive eh?" The students turned to see another Villain in a trenchcoat, top hat and mask. "I took the lad you're talking about with my magic." He flaunted a small blue marble in his hand. "A talent like his would be squandered, were he cast as a Hero. We'll provide him with a grander stage, where he can truly shine."
"Give him back!" Izuku spoke up.
"Give him back?" Mr. Compress repeated. "What an odd thing to say. Bakugo doesn't belong to anyone. He's his own person. Don\t be so arrogant."
"We'll stop you!" Midoriya yelled out.
"Right now!" Todoroki said as he sent out a massive wave of ice to attack the Villain.
Compress evaded the ice and continued to speak. "Why the aggression? We merely wish to show him that there are options besides the fanatical world of heroism that he's drowning in. It's important to choose a path that aligns with your core values, after all."
Sora then began to glow blue as he was about to use his flowmotion to go after the Villain, but then he felt himself gag before he dropped to his knees and coughed out more black stuff. "Shoot...I can't chase him."
Shoto took the initiative this time. "If you're monologuing because you think you've beaten us, you're mistaken!"
"A bad habit of mine." Compress admitted. "I was once an entertainer, you know. While I must admit, recruiting Bakugo was a given with that boy's personality, I had my doubts on why Sora would be a target, at least until I saw what he did to Moonfish, our dear blade tooth. He may not look it, but he's a dastardly Death Row devil who's last appeal was denied. When I saw the young swordsman take him down so easily and violently, I could see why he was also on the capture list."
"Like I'd ever join you..." Sora uttered out as he forced himself to his feet.
"Who said anything about letting you join?" Compress corrected. "That power is a threat to us, so long as it is in your hands." Sora and Izuku knew that the Villain was referring to All For One having an interest in Sora's powers.
"YOU BASTARD!" The One For All user screamed out. "YOU CAN'T TAKE THEM!"
"Midoriya, calm down." Shoji told him.
"Here, take this guy for me." Todoroki gave Kaibara to Ochako before moving ahead and sending out a wave of ice that was just as large as the one he made in the sports festival.
"Apologies." Mr. Compress spoke up as he evaded that attack. "But slight of hand and escape tactics are my specialties, not combat." He then placed the marble that he was holding in his pocket. "I'm not foolish enough to fight Hero candidates from U.A." He then turned on a communications device in his mask. "Vanguard Action Squad. I've acquired the capture target Bakugo. Our little show is about to reach its climax. Meet me at the retrieval point in the next five minutes for the curtain call."
"They're going to take Bakugo while they have him." Shoto realized.
"We can't let that happen." Sora once again tried to use flowmotion, but he then coughed out more black ooze. "Dang it!...I still can't use it."
"We need to move! We can still stop them!" Todoroki spoke up as he took point in the pursuit, while everyone else closely followed him.
[Silence]
Back in the burning section of the forest, Twice spoke to Dabi. "HEY DABI, DID YOU HEAR THE RADIO? I'M SO PUMPED UP. OUR BOY COMPRESS TOTALLY GOT THE JOB DONE...The man certainly took his time. I was starting to get bored."
"Don't be a pain." The blue flame user replied. "He did a good job. Now we just have to wait for everyone to regroup here."
"YOU'RE THE PAIN!...Forgive me." The split personality Villain responded.
"This place was supposed to be hard to find, because of the wall of flames and poisonous gas." Dabi stated. "But it looks like the gas is gone. Things never go according to plan, do they?"
"FOR REAL!...This is the plan." Twice said.
Meanwhile, Yuga was still hiding in the bushes as the two Villains walked by. As he heard how his classmates were fighting back and even turning the tides, he wondered if he should fight too. He very slowly peeked his eyes out of the bushes to see Dabi looking in his general direction, which made the French boy pull back and hide again, almost certain that he was spotted.
The blue flame user walked over towards the bushes, because he thought he saw something not natural, but before he could get too close, Twice spoke up. "HEY, DABI. SPEAKING OF WHICH, TOTALLY NOT IMPORTANT BUT...shouldn't that Nomu you called back be here by now? It's been a while since you gave it the order to meet up here. It is an important asset, in spite of it being expendable."
"That's right." Dabi realized. "You're the one who reminded me to let him loose on the student earlier."
"No problem...BOW BEFORE ME!" The S rank Villain replied.
"These guys hit like a truck, and they're some tough cookies." he once again activated his communication device. "Pick up the pace, Nomu. I'm not gonna wait for you if you're late."
Back with the Pussycats, they finally managed to restrain the Villains. "Damn it, Spinner!" Magne cursed. "This is your fault!"
"Shut up!" Tiger ordered as he tightened his arms around her to keep her restrained. "You have only yourself to blame. This is the consequence of your Villainy!"
"Understand Villain?" Mandalay said as she had Spinner pinned down. "This is how it ends for you."
"You haven't won a thing!" The gecko Villain barked out. "This isn't defeat! Stain endures! Do you hear me?! His will is alive and well, right here! I EMBODY IT! I WILL PURGE YOU DEGENERATE HEROES AND THAT KID WITH GLASSES TO AVENGE HIS NAME!"
"Will you be quiet already? What's your quirk anyway? All we saw was that giant sword." The red Pussycat questioned.
"GET OFF!" Spinner roared out.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Overflowing Power]
"Yes..." another voice spoke up, catching the attention of the Pussycats. "Let's move the two of you someplace more fitting." Kurogiri, the warpgate Villain, arrived and easily whisked away the pair before immediately retreating.
"No!" Both Pussycats tried to pursue, but they weren't fast enough as the three Villains had warped away.
"Damn it!" Tiger roared out.
As soon as the Pussycats were about to enter the forest to look for them, they heard a voice. "Miss Mandalay!" They turned to see that it was Tetsutetsu, who was carrying an unconscious Itsuka in his arms. "I need you to use your quirk to tell everyone something! They need to know about another Villain here!"
Back in the forest, Mr. Compress leapt through the trees while the students ran as fast as they could to catch him. "Damn it!" Shoto cursed. "This guy's quick!"
"If only I could use my flowmotion right now." Sora berated himself.
"Those other ingenues aren't as big a deal as I expected." Compress commented.
"Come on!" Todoroki said to himself.
"We can't give up. Not now!" Izuku spoke up, in spite of the pain he was starting to feel. "We have to catch him, and get Kacchan back!"
"He's pulling further ahead with every second." Mezo told him.
Midoriya then made up a plan on the fly. "Uraraka. You have to make us float. And then Asui, You launch us as far as you can using your tongue. Shoji, hold me, Sora and Todoroki, and use your quirk to correct your trajectory through the air. Measure the distance with your eyes, Uraraka, and then when the timing looks right, release us!"
"I see. Human bullet!" Shoji could see this plan working.
"But there's no way you can keep fighting with those injuries, Izuku." The Keyblade wielder spoke up.
"Midoriya, you stay here." Shoto told his classmate, agreeing with Sora. "With that much pain, you're..."
"Trust me. I don't feel any pain right now." The One For All user interrupted his classmate. "I can do this." Nobody responded to argue against that. "HURRY!"
"Wait, Deku! Here!" Knowing that there was no way of stopping him, Ochako took off her buttoned up overshirt and ripped it, wrapping them around his arms with two small tree branches, acting as makeshift casts for Izuku. After that was done, Tsuyu wrapped her tongue around the four boys while Uraraka used her quirk on them. "Okay, go ahead Tsu."
"Make sure you've got a good grip on them!" Asui told Mezo before she pulled with all her might and flung the four boys high into the air.
Sora, Shoji, Midoriya, and Todoroki flew through the air, closing the distance between themselves and the Villain who had taken their friend, who had turned around mid jump due to hearing the boy's shouts get louder and louder. By the time he could see the four approaching him though, it was far too late for him to act.
[Silence]
Back at the main building in the campgrounds, Ejiro spoke up against Vlad's current orders. "Come on! You heard what she said, didn't you?! I can't let them get my friends! You gotta let me go find them, please!"
"Not a chance." The 1-B homeroom teacher said.
"BUT WHY NOT!?" Kirishima demanded to know.
"Come on, cool it, Kirishima." Mina tried to calm him down.
"Excuse me." Tenya interjected. "We don't know how many Villains there are. Shouldn't we have as many fighters as possible?"
"You can't seriously want to face the bad guys." Minoru commented.
"Iida gets it." Ejiro said. "Even Mr. Aizawa said to fight."
"Only for self defense." Vlad reminded them. "He meant the students in the woods."
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Vanguard Action Squad -All Out Attack-]
Before any more arguing could be made, they all heard the door outside open up. "Was that the door?" Rikido questioned.
"I guess Mr. Aizawa is back already." Mashirao guessed.
"Finally." The red haired boy said. "He'll understand."
"No. Wait." Vlad King stopped him from getting to the other door. He didn't believe that it was Eraser Head. It was too soon for him to be back. He saw an unfamiliar silhouette on the other side of the door's window. "Move!"
The Pro's suspicions were correct when the door was blown off its hinges with a blast of blue fire. He pushed Kirishima and Ashido back while the other students held their arms in front of their faces to shield themselves from the heat. "EVERYONE! GET BACK!" Tenya yelled out.
Vlad Kind was in front of the group of students as Dabi entered the room. "No way!" Mineta recognized him. "That's the guy who got creamed earlier!"
Dabi's arm had blue fire around it, but he couldn't use it in time to stop Vlad King from slamming the Villain's head into the wall, then quickly binding him with the Pro's quirk. "You're too slow!"
"Blood control." Ejiro realized as he saw Vlad use blood that came out of his arm and hardened it around Dabi's body. "It's so strong."
"Just as I'd expect from our teacher." Neito spoke up.
"You dare walk into my classroom without so much as a plan?" The homeroom teacher berated his opponent. "You underestimate us."
"Are you sure about that?" Dabi responded. "You're acting exactly as I expected. You've already been defeated, regardless of what happens to me." He then elaborated. "The two most trusted pillars of the superhuman society are linked together. U.A. the pinnacle of Hero education, and All Might, the Symbol Of Peace. But embarrassing incidents have damaged the world's trust in you both. Sloppy management keeps allowing Villains to slip in and attack. People are so shaken, that they've almost lost all faith in you. Imagine how they'll react when they find out you've let a pair of students get kidnapped."
"You shut up!" Ejiro barked out as he hardened his arms. "That's NOT gonna happen!"
"Not our classmates!" Iida added as he got ready to fight.
"Not while we're here!" Denki also spoke up as he had sparks emit from his hands.
"Don't be naïve." The blue flame user told the kids as he began to emit more flames on his body. "It only took a handful of us to separate you from the Pros and start picking you off."
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Vlad king roared out as he went for a punch.
Dabi was ready to blow this entire building away with his fire, but a strong kick to the face stopped him from doing so as Eraser Head made it into the room and delivered that kick. "It's no use, Vlad."
"Mr. Aizawa!" Mina and Sato cheered.
[Silence]
Eraser Head didn't stop his attack as he repeatedly stomped on the downed body. "This guy is just trying to provoke you. He won't talk."
"Uh, Mr. Aizawa, I think you got him." Kaminari pointed out his teacher's slight overkill.
Dabi's body turned to mud as it was another clone instead of the real thing. "Look at him. Another fake." Eraser Head told them. "I fought one before."
"He wasn't real?" Ashido realized.
"It must be a Villain's quirk." Tenya guessed.
"Eraser. What's it like out there?" Vlad asked.
"Hard to say." Aizawa reported. "I left to direct our defense, but I ended up taking care of Kota." He directed his attention to Kota. "Look after him while I go back to the front line. I'm counting on you to keep defending this place."
"Is that wise?" Vlad questioned. "We hardly know anything about them."
"You'll be just fine by yourself." Eraser Head assured him. "The other copy of him I fought earlier used the same attack. I think their strategy is to send their strongest fighters here to keep our attention, since we're the Pros. That's how they're trying to disguise the fact that there are so few of them out there."
"If there aren't many, then we should be fighting too!" Kirishima spoke up.
"Yes! You need strength in numbers!" Iida agreed.
"No!" Aizawa responded. "If they're not here for us, then they're after the students. We know about Bakugo and Sora, but they might be targeting others as well. We're still sorely lacking in information. The only way we win this, is by making certain you students are protected."
The Pro then left the room, leaving the students and Kota under the protection of Vlad King.
Back at the burning section of the forest, Himiko reached the rendezvous point. "Huh? Lame. I'm the only one here?"
"Hey, crazy." Dabi, the real one, spoke up, showing that he was there too. "Did you get the blood? How many different kinds?"
"One person!" Toga answered.
"JUST ONE!?" Twice spoke up, showing that he was there too. "HEY! WHAT GIVES?! WEREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO GET AT LEAST THREE?"
"That's just the way it went down." The blood drinker stated. "I thought those brats were gonna kill me."
"WHATEVER...You're looking a little too happy right now." Twice noticed. "Strange, shouldn't you be full of shame?"
Himiko giggled before she did a cutesy pose and explained why she was so happy right now. "Yeah, but I made some great new friends! And I found a pair of cute boys I'm interested in."
"Is it us?" The S rank Villain referred to himself and Dabi. "NO THANKS, BABE I DON'T DIG TRIOS...I love you too, I'll share you with him."
Dabi groaned at that misinterpretation. "Both of you, shut it. You're too loud." He could faintly hear something above them.
The noise soon got much louder as Mr. Compress was heard screaming as he plummeted to the dirt, with Sora, Izuku, Mezo and Shoto all forcing the theatrical Villain's body deeper into it. "Give Kacchan BACK TO US NOW, DAMN IT!" The One For All user demanded.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Iron Battle]
"HEY! I KNOW THESE KIDS!...Who are they?" Twice spoke up, while Toga looked excited seeing her two 'crushes' in front of her.
"Out of the way, Compress!" Dabi ordered as his arm began to emit his azure flames.
"Got it!" Compress compiled as he used his quirk on himself to avoid what was coming.
Dabi then sent out a large wave of fire towards the students. "THAT'S COLD!" Twice commented.
The four teenagers barely had enough time to react to the fire, but not all of them could completely avoid it. Midoriya screamed in pain while Shoji screamed "My arms are burning!"
"Izuku! Mezo!" Sora called out to them.
"Damn it!" Todoroki cursed.
Then Twice's voice was heard by the pair. "The beat up green haired boy and you, split hair! You're on Shigaraki's kill list!...NO THEY WEREN'T!" The S rank Villain then drew his weapon, extremely sharpened measuring tape from his bracelets. Shoto sent out an ice wave to send the Villain back. "SO HOT!"
Meanwhile, Izuku got up and barely avoided a needle that was aimed at him. Himiko, the one who threw that needle, sprinted towards him. "Hi, Izuku! My name's Toga!" She then pounced on him, pinned him to the floor, drew a knife and got ready to cut him. "I've been thinking since I saw you that you'd be so much cuter if you just bled a little more! I can hel...?!" She felt someone knock her off of her 'crush'.
"Midoriya!" Mezo said as he was the one who saved him just then.
Himiko regained her balance and got ready to fight, but she didn't look as excited to fight Shoji. "So that's how it is. You want to come between us. To be honest, you're not really my type. But I'll cut you anyway."
Mezo growled. "She's crazy."
Meanwhile, Todoroki sent out another wave of ice towards Twice, who cut through chunks of it with his sharpened measuring tape. "Haha! This is easy! Give me all you've got!...HEY MAN! CUT ME SOME SLACK!"
"What the hell is with this guy?!" Shoto grunted.
While that was happening, Dabi sent out a fireball towards Shoto, but Sora protected his friend by casting a Blizzard spell to intercept the burning blue blast. He then casted a Water spell towards the Villain, but Dabi saw it coming and evaporated it with more blue fire. "Tricky little Hero, aren't you."
"You'll find I'm full of surprises!" Sora replied as he casted Thunder. However Dabi managed to sidestep the attack.
Back where Compress was, he decompressed himself and stood up. "Ugh. I can't believe you wrecked my exit. Unrehearsed amateurs." He quickly made his way over to Dabi, who covered him with a flame blast.
"You got Bakugo?" The blue flame user asked.
"Of course." Compress replied as he reached into his pocket, then had a puzzled reaction.
Shoji then spoke up. "Midoriya! Todoroki! Sora! We're done! He gave away his best trick!" He then spoke to the theatrical Villain. "I'm not sure what your quirk is, but it had to do with those little marbles, right? Like the one you stashed in your pocket." He showed that he had the marble in his hands. "So I'm guessing this is Bakugo."
"You rescued him." Izuku realized.
"Hohoho! Well color me impressed." Compress said. "Just as I'd expect with someone with so many hands! How splendid!"
Dabi sent out another flame blast, but Sora intercepted it with an Aero spell, before using the rest of his magic pool to cast two more Blizzard spells towards Twice and Toga while he ran with the other students. Shoto added on to this with an ice wall before fleeing as well. "Nice job, Shoji!"
"Moron." Dabi got ready to take it up a notch.
"No. Wait." Compress told his ally.
As the four boys were about to reach the treeline, they saw another Villain approach them. "A Nomu!" Midoriya realized.
"Quick! This way!" Todoroki took point and tried to go around, only for a familiar purple flame like mist to appear right in front of the group.
[Silence]
"Not this guy." Mezo recognized the Villain.
"He was at the U.S.J." Shoto also recognized him.
"The one who trapped me with Shigaraki." Sora recognized him as well.
"The Warp Villain." Izuku remembered him too.
"It's been five minutes since the signal." Kurogiri stated as he warped the Nomu away. "Let's go, Dabi."
"Sorry, Izuku. But I'll see you later 'kay?" Himiko apologized before looking at Sora with a thirsty look in her eyes. "But I'll see you in a minute, Sora.~" She entered the portal created for her.
Twice then dived into his portal like he was diving into a pool, leaving only Dabi and Compress left. "Hold on." The flame user ordered. "We're not leaving without Bakugo."
"Don't worry." Compress assured him. "They were so proud of themselves for rooting through my pockets that I thought I'd let them gloat." The four of them heard that and wanted to know what he meant. The theatrical Villain took off his mask, but kept his face obscure, thanks to the balaclava he had on. "But allow me to explain a basic tenet of magic. If I'm flaunting something shiny, it's because there's something else I don't want you to see." He then showed them two marbles that were in his mouth, knowing that one of them was actually the one that had Katsuki.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Threat Incoming]
"He's got him!" Izuku and Sora said at the same time.
Compress then snapped his finger and indeed the compression of the marble in Mezo's hands, revealing a chunk of ice. "Is that my ice!?" Todoroki realized.
"That's right." The theatrical Villain confirmed. "During the freezing attack, I prepared dummies, and slipped one of them into my right pocket."
"Damn it!" Midoriya cursed and the other boys turned back and made a mad dash for him. Sora tried to use his flowmotion, but once again fell to his knees and coughed out black stuff from his mouth, as he still hasn't recovered from reverting back from Rage Form. The other three kept running though.
"A little bit of misdirection. Forgive me. I do so adore a twist ending." Compress taunted as he began to walk backwards into the portal behind him and Dabi, who was also walking backwards through the portal.
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Midoriya screamed.
"One last bow, and then the curtain falGUH!?" Compress was hit with a bright blue laser that came from the bushes.
[Play Boku no Hero Academia OST Threat of Offense and Defense]
The boys turned their heads to see who that was and knew who helped them. "Aoyama?" Izuku realized. The marbles fell from Compress' mouth as he coughed them out. It was now or never. Dabi saw the marbles fall as well and also knew that he couldn't screw this up.
Shoji pounced and extended his arm for one of them, and Shoto did the same for the other one. Izuku attempted to pounce as well, but the pain of his injuries kicked in and it caused him to trip and tumble down to the ground. It was up to those two now. They had to get both of those marbles and make sure that their classmate was safe. They couldn't risk getting one and having it be the second dummy marble.
Mezo was in reach of the marble he went for and managed to grab it. Todoroki was in reach of the marble he went for and went to grab it, but he was too slow, as Dabi's hand reached it first. The blue flame user looked at the youngest son of Endeavor and said to him "Well isn't that a tragedy. Poor little Shoto Todoroki." As the ice user skidded on the ground away from the Villains, Midoriya forced himself to his feet again and ran towards Dabi. Sora got to his feet as well and was close behind his friend as he too went for Dabi. "Confirm it now. Release them."
"That laser RUINED my finale." Compress angrily said before snapping his fingers, releasing what was in the compressed marbles. Shoji ended up catching the second dummy marble, while Dabi managed to catch Katsuki's. As the explosive teen was released, the blue flame user had a hand around his neck, so the kid wouldn't try anything.
"Checkmate." Dabi stated as he went into the portal dragging Bakugo into it with him.
"NO!" Sora screamed as he tried to go faster, but couldn't.
"KACCHAN NO!" Izuku called out to his childhood friend as he ran as fast as he could, desperately trying to reach him. He pounced towards the portal. "KACHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
"Stay back...Deku." Katsuki said before he was fully pulled into the portal.
The portal instantly vanished and just like that, he was gone. Katsuki Bakugo was captured by the League of Villains. Midoriya fell to the ground and looked to see that he was too late to save his friend.
The battle for Katsuki was over, and the remnants of the fight were clear as day. The burning blue embers of the forest, littered with a few chunks of ice and a broken mask were all that was left. The survivors of the battle, the ones that were still on this ground, were all full of shock at the realization of what had just happened to them. It was too much for one of them as Midoriya let out an agonizing scream that could be heard by anyone nearby.
In different sections of the forest, various things were happening. Aizawa found multiple members of Class 1-B and was escorting them out of the forest and back to the camp grounds. Yosetsu was doing the same with Momo, who he carried on his back. Tetsutetsu was telling Mandalay something, while Tiger took the unconscious Itsuka and Pixie Bob to the camp, finding Ragdoll's bloody headpiece on the way there. The students at the campgrounds waited in the classroom, feeling awful that they couldn't go out and help their friends and classmates.
Back at what was ground zero, Ochako and Tsuyu arrived to see the four boys' shock and Izuku's grief, while Yuga came out of the bushes, dragging Hagakure and Jiro out with him, to make sure that they weren't left alone. Even though they all survived this ordeal, they didn't win it. They suffered a defeat, while the League managed to gain a partial victory, due to the successful capture of one of their targets.
[Silence]
Sora saw his friend on the verge of tears and was about to say something, but then suddenly he and the other students heard Mandalay's voice in their heads. She was using her telepath quirk to communicate with them. Was it to tell them where to go? To tell them that the Villains are gone? They had no idea, so they listened.
"Everyone!" her voice rang out in their heads. "One of the students has told me about one of the Villains! He says that you all know who he is, that you saw him before during your training! I don't know what he meant entirely, but he wants everyone to be on the lookout for a member of the Villain Organization that was connected to Sora! The ones that wore black coats!"
Sora's eyes widened as that news was by far the worst and most stressful news he could have ever heard in his life. "What did she just say!?"
"The black coated Villains...one of those guys was here!?" Shoji remembered the Organization from the finals.
"I thought that they were dealt with before!" Todoroki recalled.
"One of those monstres is with the League?!" Aoyama was terrified.
"We need to get back to camp, now!" Sora ordered.
"But they left, didn't they?" Uraraka said.
"We didn't see anyone in a black coat there." The Keyblade pointed out. "That means that..." he couldn't finish what he said, as he felt a Keyblade strike him in the back. Sora then heard a familiar voice.
"That I'm still here." The Figure finished for Sora as he watched the Guardian of Light's body drop in front of him.
[Play KH BBS OST The Key]
The students of U.A. were all frozen with shock. They saw their best, their star classmate, drop to the floor from a single strike. They saw the blade in the Figure's hands and recognized the design. It looked exactly like the weapon used by the one who fought Kojiro and Kinoko in the practical exams, with the only difference being that the color was now black and white, instead of black red. "You. Y-You're..." Izuku knew who it was.
"It can't be...Sora said you were dead." Shoto remembered.
"So, Sora's told you about me." The Figure realized. "Then I guess we can skip the introductions..." He pulled back his hood and revealed himself to the children in front of him. His appearance was different from what they saw before, but the differences were not that drastic. He still had his face covered with a mask, but said mask now dawned a symbol on it, a symbol that was unfamiliar to the students. The symbol of the Unversed. "...and move straight to the thanks."
"Thanks?" Mezo repeated. "Thanks for what?"
"For bringing me my brother on a silver platter." The Masked boy clarified.
"Wh...What did you just call him?..." Asui said.
"Oh. So he didn't tell you everything about me." The Dark Keyblade wielder noted. "Did he at least tell you my name?"
"Va...Vani..." Uraraka tried to answer, but she was too scared to fully say the name.
"You're almost there." The former Organization member edged on.
"Vanitas." Shoto finished for her.
"It's so good to meet my brother's new friends." Vanitas said as he grabbed Sora's body with his free hand and flung it over his shoulder. "I hope you've enjoyed your time with him." He opened up a dark corridor. "Because this is the last time you're going to see him for a while."
As soon as that was said, Midoriya got to his feet and ran towards Vanitas. "NOOOOOOOOO! YOU'RE NOT TAKING HIM TOO!"
Vanitas swung his Void Gear Keyblade in front of him and the air force generated from that swing blasted Izuku, as well as all of the other students back a fair distance. The Dark Keyblade wielder let out a sadistic laugh before taunting them. "And you call yourselves Heroes? You can't even protect one single person from a Villain standing right in front of you, let alone from a group of them." He turned around and walked through the dark corridor. "Crushing this world's hope is going to be fun."
The dark corridor closed and just like that, it was over. This couldn't be called a battle, it couldn't even be called a struggle. It was a complete and thorough beating, but not of the physical kind. This one was much more painful of a beating, because it was their spirits that were attacked and wounded. It was a miracle that they weren't shattered.
The attack was finally over, and there was no question of who the victors were. The Heroes, the side of justice, had completely lost, in every way imaginable, while the Villains, the side of chaos, had gained a total victory on this night.
And now it's confirmed. The Figure's identity has been revealed. And along with the reveal came another shock for the students of U.A. The relationship between the two off-worlders has also been told to them. Sora would have a lot of explaining to do, were it not for the fact that he is now gone and cannot clarify what was just said to them. The Camp ark is now finished. And the next ark...oh boy...The next ark is going to have some dark things in it. That's my only warning to you guys. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and until I decide to upload again. ;)
P.S. There is one final Poll that should be up right now. Have fun answering it.