Life in The Nightmare has been… interesting.
With our house, the old mansion as our home/base here we've been mostly just working and adapting.
I hate that our farm got left behind but thankfully our house has the means to make an indoor garden.
Food here various but it's all edible. Mostly canned or preserved in jars.
Delilah's been trying to keep calm, being the only one pregnant.
Three comes and goes, looking through the further parts of The Nightmare and maybe finding others from Candlelight or just anyone willing to help.
For the most part once the moon comes up I spend a few hours killing the monsters for blood echoes. We still only have the one lantern but it's better than nothing and at least keeps them out of the yard.
Right now the priority is sustainability. Our group is thousands big. Food back home kept up because most everyone had a job or hunted or something to help keep it stockpiled. Here, not all of them can fight let alone deal with The Nightmares.
Aside from food we also need better fortifications and more of the Lanterns. According to Patches they can be found as loot, but it's not a very common drop.
I sighed, wishing Tomura was here. This RNG stuff is right up his alley…
I really hope he and his family is alright…
"This bites…" I sighed, wondering how absolutely pissed mom is right now for being transported here.
It was morning now and I was looking over the remaining Nightmares. Most would fade out of existing, others decayed rapidly or melted. Some burst into flames.
The smell was horrible with the last three.
"So much to do and so little time…" I muttered, hating how new problems kept cropping up even as I spent days planning so much out with everyone…though I found it funny how a majority barely kept up with me in my mutter storms.
"Hey." I looked up, seeing Todoroki walk up to me. "I have a place in mind for a quick check over. It's a hospital by the looks of it."
"Cool." I nodded. "Hopefully there's some supplies there that we can use…"
"Yeah, cause eventually Delilah is going to give birth, and the better prepared we are for that the better. Plus, sooner or later we all might end up having kids too so, best to have a proper infirmary and all that. Even if the supplies we find might be archaic."
"Yeah…" I said, looking away and taking a deep breath. "Let's…just get going…" I said, trying not to think of how I might have to keep the one joy that all my girlfriend's want to experience away from them because of this place.
Todoroki and I rushed down the streets. While no monsters spawned in the day, there was also noticeably fewer resources and loot. At nights when I hunt for Blood Echoes, the loot in the environment is much more. Especially around groups of monsters. Makes sense all things considered, but that doesn't mean there isn't any loot During the day. Just less.
The hospital in question was the same victorian as the rest of this place. All old bricks and some wood here and there.
We walked in through the front entrance, seeing corpses, tossed over wheelchairs, the usual for this zone in the day.
"Still as morbid as ever…" I muttered.
"At least they aren't walking around." Todoroki said, giving a shiver.
"True." I nodded. "No need to tack on zombie apocalypse to this nonsense…"
We looked through rooms, drawers, cabinets, shelves and boxes. There was some bandages, weak pain killers, syringes, and a few antibiotics but nothing much.
"Hey Midoriya!" Todoroki called out.
"Yeah?" I called out, walking over to see what Todoroki found. "What up?"
"Look." She said. In one of the office rooms was… a prize Pod? "Think there's a doctor in it?"
"I…would be surprised if they weren't." I said honestly, walking over to the pod carefully and seeing if I could open it.
It was a Servant Class. Touching It, it opened with a hiss of steam. Pulling themselves up from the pod was a man, short black hair with a black, graying beard. He was Caucasian, and wore the usual white t-shirt and pants/shoes all Prize Pod People wore when they were opened. "Agh. Stiff sleep." They said, rolling their shoulders. He sounded British.
"Hi there sir." I nodded to the older gentleman.
"Hello there young Lord." He addressed me… huh? "Anyone in need of medical attention?"
"Uh…young lord?" I inquired. "And…not at the moment but I am very thankful that you're a doctor."
"Of course." He said, pulling himself out of the pod and giving me a bow. "Doctor Jonathan Reid, at your service my Lord."
"It's nice to meet you Jonathan…but why are you calling me 'lord'?" I inquired, looking over him again. "I mean, I know we're in a Victorian era area but still…"
"How else would I address you?"
"Uh, Mydoria?" Todoroki spoke up. "He's a servant Class. Calling the people who open them Sir, Lord, Master, Mistress, things like that are kinda normal."
"Alright…" I sighed, not really hearing much of this…but considering that I mostly had Lover class…"So, Mr Red, what are your specialties?"
"Primarily I am a Surgeon but I also know how to diagnose and craft various medicines for illnesses."
"That's good." I nodded, thinking we were going to need someone like him. "But…are you capable of fighting?" I asked, knowing that he's a doctor and I would make damn well sure that he stays in a safe spot but was curious if he could fight.
"I am more than adequate for combat. Both in fire arms and the sword. Or similar."
"Good to know." I nodded, thankful to know they can handle themselves in a fight just in case. "So right now, the two of us are searching for medical supplies,
"Understood. I shall help search for any and everything of use. Oh, before I forget to ask, will there be children at your house my Lord? Pediatrics isn't my strong suit but I am more than capable of learning and adapting my current knowledge."
"Actually, one of Midorya's girls is pregnant. Six months along." Todoroki said.
"I see. I will also keep a lookout for anything of use for expecting mothers and the eventual delivery."
"Thank you." I nodded. "Having you hear will help us immensely."
With a nod Jonathan began to walk around and search. I walked next to Todoroki since this is new to me.
"This is…still really new…" I sighed.
"Well, it's actually not that complicated. The Ally and Servant Class of Pod people can be opened by anyone, unlike Lovers Class who can only be opened by those who can Truly reciprocate their love and are compatible with one another personality wise. With Servant Class they typically specialize in a certain job and area of expertise. This can be anything from being say, a Butler, Maid, Nanny or Gardener, but can also be things like a Blacksmith, Sorcerer, Alchemist, scientist, ECT. Their nature differs however as they typically will idolize or overly praise or show appreciation for the ones who open them. It varies from person to person but it does calm down over time. Ally Class have no such sense of genuine loyalty or obsession with whoever opens them but in order for them to access their full powers and potential they must be in a party with someone, doesn't matter who, for a year before no longer needing to even be their openers ally."
"Huh, that's…definitely something." I said honestly.
"It's a little weird but other than that Servant and Ally class are no different than anyone else." Todoroki said with a shrug.
"Well, as long as we treat them right and fairly, everything should be fine." I said honestly.
"That's the rules and laws everyone agrees on. At least, on civilized planets…"
"Yeah…" I sighed. "I'm not gonna like what we have to learn fast here…especially this…'Dark Skill Tree'...I really don't want that…"
"I didn't even know Dark Skill Trees existed before you and Three talked about them." Todoroki said, opening a door and inside seemed to be a storage room of sorts. "Makes me wonder how insane or bad those abilities are to have their own special skill trees?"
"I was told that I needed to do…terrible thing's…and that's not something I'm going to do." I said readily. "I want to be a hero, not fall to depravity."
"Well, just try and not to do terrible things."
"So this world better not magically say monster hunting is a terrible thing." I rolled my eyes.
"I doubt it."
"You never know…" I sighed. "Things could get really weird…"
We managed to clear out anything of use from this hospital then headed back. Our house still had enough power in the special… magic engine thing and made Jonathan his own room, that also counted as our med bay.
There was still a lot of daylight left. Maybe I should check on Patches? Might have another Lantern.
I made it to his shop rather quickly. To my surprise there was a wagon outside his shop. A huge covered thing that had a lot of items in it…
I also saw, seated in the back with a blindfold and no clothes was a woman, rather… large body type but she also had ears and a tail… very similar to Delilah…
"Uh…hello?" I asked nervously, really really hoping this wasn't Delilah somehow.
I walked closer up to them and sighed in relief. This lady was taller, older and with a red and silver coloring. She didn't respond, but seemed to be breathing fine.
"Don't worry, I'll get you to safety." I said, hoping she could hear me as I gently took her hand and tried to coax her out of the carriage, not removing the blindfold just in case her eyes would react poorly to the light or if there was some other reason.
I recoiled as a gunshot rang and a burning sensation went across my arm. It grazed me, and bled a little.
"If you want the Breeder ya got to pay for it." I turned, seeing a man in a leather duster, messy chrome hair and holding the still smoking gun pointed at me. "Or will you be trying that again? Because you only get the one warning shot."
I blinked, looking at the blindfolded lady. "A…breeder?" I muttered in growing horror.
"What? The fact she's in her birthday suit and has a busty curvy body didn't clue that in for you?" The man asked with a roll of his eyes. "Got her on the cheap side from a Lust sale. They sold her on a discount since she ain't a Den Mother, they sold her to me at a bargain. I figure some pervert will buy her."
"The fuck is wrong with you?" I asked in shock, just…buying people like their cattle? "No, seriously, the actual hell is wrong with you that you'd literally buy someone like cattle and even think that supporting this is a good idea!?" I shouted incredulously.
"It's just business. We all have to get by on this world. Some sell and trade, be them people, weapons, food and water, others dive into the depravity, others kill and slaughter towns and travelers for fun. It's nothing personal. Never is. Think of me what you will, but I just try and get by. If you think what I do is that bad, then you must be new here, because compared to others I'm a saint."
I looked at him, more horrified that people just…do all this either to scrape by or…or just for fun!? "Is…is there literally anyone that gives a shit about their fellow person? Is this world so bad that people just throw away any and all common decency and good will that they just…use and abuse everyone and everything?" I asked, unwilling to believe one bad time can just let people do whatever they and and be as deplorable as they want.
"Decency is a luxury here. You're clearly new."
"It's not a luxury to show the bare minimum of kindness and respect to another individual, and I'm forced to be here because of Nexus thinking this dumb rock needs friends or a family." I said bitterly.
"Then for your sake and anyone you care for, I recommend growing some tougher skin. This planet can and will eat idealistic people like you alive."
"Not with that attitude." I countered.
"You think better than you haven't tried?" The man asked, putting his gun away and pulling up a cigarette and lighting it with a simple fire spell.
"I'm not saying it should be fixed in a day, it's a slow process, but the fact that people have tried and are still trying should mean something, not be tossed away and forgotten about because people believe 'why should we care?'." I stated. "People shouldn't throw away their morals just because things suck, people shouldn't bend a knee and treat their fellow person like cattle or slaves! You should stand up against such depravity, you should help your fellow person who are on the brink of losing it, stand up to the darkness and tell them I won't back down…" I said. "And I will stand up high, staring down all those that fell to depravity and shout 'I am here!'..." I trailed off, realization that I just went on a loud and proud hero speech…in front of a guy that didn't give a shit…though I thought I heard a few people clapping at my display but I wasn't sure where or who.
"Pst. So you aren't buying then. Well, off to the next place then." He said with a shrug as he walked over to his wagon.
"I never said you're leaving with her." I stated.
He looked over at me with a raised brow. "You really want to try it?"
I drew Starlight as I also activated Mastered Full Cowling. "I gotta be true to my word."
"Alright, but if you're gonna take her from me without buying-" I activated Harden just in time to tank the gunshot, forcing me back a bit as he eyed me. "You'll have to send me to a Respawn. Then pray I don't find you again."
I huffed. "More like you should pray you never see me again." I said, using Overhaul and sending spikes towards him swiftly.
They jumped out of the way, shooting off three more shots that all hit me in the head and neck. Thankfully Harden tanked it, but the impacts still knocked me back. Okay, he's fast and Copy Cat didn't activate so he hasn't used an Ability yet.
"How long have you been here?" I just had to ask, using Full Cowling and Engine and rushing towards him swiftly as I did some tricky movement to make sure he would miss.
"Born and raised." He said, back stepping from where I landed and taking another shot, but I managed to dodge by jumping.
"You were born here!?" I asked in surprise. "Oh…wow…"
"What? Didn't think people were born to this place?" He shot off again, making me jump away some. "Half the reason Lust makes Breeders is to ensure that."
"I'm sorry…" I said. "Knowing nothing but…this?"
"Cut the crap!" He said, another gunshot but the bullet hit near me and exploded, knocking me down. "Off world people like you always looked at born natives like me with pitty and sadness." He shot again, I rolled but the bullet exploded again and blasted me against a gate. "Well I for one don't take kindly to pity. Especially from off world hopeful bleeding hearts like you." He shot again, hitting me in the stomach with another exploding bullet that knocked the wind out of me. Even with Harden, I was bleeding now.
"Cause genuine feelings of sadness that you've known nothing but strife, conflict, and trafficking when you should have had a nice simple life is totally the problem!" I snapped, using All for One and combining Explosion and Decay, and using Overhaul as I sent Decay Explosive dart's from the ground towards him.
He shot off another exploding bullet at my hand, the Decay Explosion making it go off.
In the smoke he managed to dodge but now was missing his shooting arm. "I don't expect some punk to know what it's like. To be looked at like a hopeless cause or a mistake. To have everyone who knows the other worlds out there look at you with the same look of sadness like I should know what I'm missing, well I don't. Don't go shoving your sadness about never being able to leave on me just because you miss whatever is out there!"
I actually paused for a bit… looks from others… like I'm a hopeless cause… a mistake…
I knew them all my life. Before coming here. Back when I was a quirkless no one…
Before I could reply, they suddenly grabbed another gun from a strap on their back and shot off some more rounds.
"I don't need you or your pity to live my life."
I don't know what came over me…but I couldn't help but bark out laughing. "Oh, I'm so sorry, the irony is fucking palpable here." I laughed, getting back up. "I know full well what you've been through…" I said. "I've lived my whole life knowing that…what's your name sir?"
"Cliff." They said, narrowing their eyes at me.
"It's nice to meet you Cliff. I'm Izuku Midorya." I said. "I understand your pain…I truly do." I said, getting ready to finish this fight.
"Pst. Talk is cheap." He said, looking over his missing arm. "Heh. This much trouble for a single Breeder… heheh. If the Chaos Guild's don't get you, taking care of that Breeder you're trying to save just might. Maybe then you'll be less of an optimist." He grinned.
"Not going to happen." I said. "Cause I'm going to be the greatest hero Armageddon has ever seen, I promise."
"Heh. So you wanna save everyone then?"
"Yes, I've tried to do that with starting a town made up of Prize Pod people, cause they deserve just as much of a right to be out and about, happy and alive as everyone else." I said readily. "I've endured too much to know that just because of what you are or what you don't have is what's keeping honest people from getting the lives they deserve."
"Heh. That so? Well then," My eyes widened as he raised the gun to his chin. "Just try and save me, hero." He said, his voice ripe with sarcasm as he spat out the word.
I rushed.
"You can't save everyone. Especially not people like her." He added, pulling the trigger right as I grabbed him.
I got covered in his blood. For a moment, my mind flashed back to that day… the day I jumped… the day I got here… and I imagined by body, bloody and splattered on the ground below…
"Oh…oh god…" I muttered in horror, pulling off my helmet and throwing up in horror. "Why…"
"Well, at least the wagon goods are secure." Patches said, walking past me and climbing up and into the wagon.
"And where the fuck were you?" I asked, moving over to the wagon before Patches could do anything wrong to the woman in there.
Looking inside he was actually ignoring her and instead looking through the items inside. "I was inside my shop counting my rem and supplies, but thanks to you I get all I sold back plus extra!" He said happily as he looked over a box of ores.
"And you acted insulted when I called you out on doing this." I frowned.
"And I said I never had anything to do with their deaths. This loot is on you." He said, pointing an arachnid leg at me.
That… hurt…
I took a deep breath, struggling hard at the fact that I just got someone to kill themselves. "Listen…" I tried to think of someway to not sound horrible as I watched the stupid spider looting Cliff's stuff. "Can you stop looting his shit please?"
"I could, but won't. Besides, if we don't you'd be leaving that poor Breeder out in the cold." He pointed another let at the cat humanoid in question. "And me thinks you don't want to leave her out since she was his cargo. Besides, first rule of Armageddon. The dead are not sacred, take what you can and or what you want. Not like they'll be using it when they respawn who knows where."
"That's…awful." I said carefully as I sadly looked over all the crap Cliff had given I might need it for us…which really sucks that I'm looting from someone that just…
With a sigh I got up, disbanded Starlight and my armor and walked over to the woman. She looks just like a… bigger, older version of Delilah, save the difference in colors of hair and fur… still. Weird she's… completely naked… save the blindfold.
"Hey so…what's with the blindfold and…I heard that Breeders are…bad but…how bad are Breeder's situation?"
"The second their eyes gaze upon another being they become owned by whoever they see. Bound to them by an endless sense of lust, obsession and desire to please their owners in any way they can. Primarily sexually." Patches said, sorting through a box of what looked like potions. "If not used as a sexual plaything for an extended period of time, they will fall into a deep spiraling depression leading to self inflicted harm, starvation, dehydration and willingly to mutilate themselves if it earns them their masters attention. Their master is their world and without their approval they think themselves worthless, pointless and down right meaningless. It's a depressing existence."
I looked even more horrified than I was before. "Why!?" I asked incredulously, wondering why in the Mother's name this is even a thing.
"No idea, but, were I to wager a guess it was a means to ensure even mean well do gooders like yourselves had to steep into depravity if it meant 'saving' a Breeder."
"This is completely insane!" I said, not believing that…anyone would do this, even some truly insane people.
"That's the unfortunate fact of life here on Armageddon. Especially if you're a Den Mother. They actually hunt them down to turn them into Breeders. The fact she isn't one means she was probably sold off by a town or something she lived in as payment to the Chaos Guilds to not be raided and pillaged. Happens a lot, a sad truth that safety comes at such a sacrifice on this planet."
"Why…" I muttered in horror. "This…this isn't right…at all, and I'm going to fix it."
Patches chuckled. "I'm sorry to tell ya this my friend but what's done to her and all like her can't be undone. Whoever she was before is basically dead. While her flesh and blood remain her memories and who she was can never be recovered. What she is now is what she is, and you can train her to do all kinds of tricks and trades but in her mind and in her soul she will only ever see and believe herself your personal plaything." He said, opening a box that seemed to have all kinds of candies inside.
"No…no that can't be." I shook my head. "That's impossible, you can't just…revoke someone's existence like that, cause if we're talking about her as a person like energy, than it would have to go somewhere else, you can't…"
"Kid." Patches said, handing me the box of candies. "Cliff was right. When it comes to the unlucky folks like her, you can't save them. All you can do is keep them comfortable and happy. Because either you're the one bedding her and treating her right, or someone else uses her and mistreats her."
"And in this reality, everything is supposed to be possible." I countered. "This deplorable shit is possible, why can't we revert it? It's not like the Mother themselves came down and said 'no' to these Breeders and made it so, so there has to be a way to revert it." I said, cause if Patches was right then this entire place would be a logical fallacy and that everything would be wrong and the world would just be fit for those with power who can do whatever they want.
"Kid, do you even know how they're made? It ain't as simple as brainwashing."
"Then how are they 'made'?" I asked carefully. "How can this not be reversed when it's a possibility?" I asked, knowing I'm grasping at straw's here and the only thing keeping this brand of hope alive was literally the first rule of this damn universe.
"Well, for starters, everyone and everything in this reality came from a place, or rather, a machine. In a way we're all individually like computer programs. I'm sure you've heard of Admins, well, Admins utilize and controle code, the base 'energy' of all our existence. Now, I don't know how, but when they turn them into Breeders, Serfs and Slaves, they get into whatever basically like profile data. Very few admins can even do this, and they… erase everything. Put in the new programming, then sell them off."
I…was at a loss at hearing that…just…being able to rewrite the fabric of reality like that to do all this? "I…I…"
"You can't save who she was, but you can at least help who she'll become… even if it's someone who will be blindly obsessed with you."
I sighed, hating this so much as I brought up my assistant and brought out a cloak as I wrapped it around the woman. "I hate this…I hate this so much…" I muttered, carefully wrapping the cloak around her till she was at least semi-decent as I moved up to her eyes and…undid the blindfold.
Her pale violet eyes fell upon me. For the briefest of moments her eyes flashed green. Then the pale violet eyes lit up to a brighter shade of violet. Her expression changed to a warm, kind smile as she looked at me… like I was everything to her…
"Hello Master." She said to me, her voice was… deep, soft and gentle.
"Hi there." I said softly, not believing I'm doing this but…at least she looked okay.
"Will you be using me right now Master? I'm more than ready~"
I was…honestly very thankful for how much horny my girlfriend's gave me on a daily basis that this didn't effect be as bad as it should have. "Not right now, we're not safe…but I want to know, how much do you trust me?"
"With my life Master. I'm yours, body and soul."
"Thank you." I nodded. "Now come on…we need to head home."
"Huh." Delilah said as I explained everything to her and the others. "And does… she have a name?"
"I…don't know, I'm just…really scared all around…" I said, seeing the sponges at the ready for my waterworks…which was fair cause two buckets were already used…
"I have no name Master. I am your property and property requires no name." She, the new girl, stated.
The others all winced.
"No, you are not property." I told her. "Why do you think you're property when I have told you you're not?"
"Because I exist solely for your enjoyment, pleasure, entertainment and to birth your children should you bless me with them."
Everyone winced again.
"So you're calling me a liar?" I asked, just…so done with whatever they did to her and feeling my heart crack more at hearing this…insane bullshit.
"I… no I… did I upset you Master?" The defeated mortified look on her face as she looked on the verge of her own panic attack snapped me out of my slump.
"No! No no no." I said quickly, moving over and hugging the lady tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm not upset, please don't be sad."
"I'm sorry if I upset you Master. I promise I'll keep quiet…"
Awh crap!
"No no, please, I don't want you to do that." I said quickly, looking the poor woman in the eyes. "Remember when I said do you trust me?" They nodded…tears in their eyes making my heart clench. "I said that because I wanted you to know that you are not 'property', you're not just some object I have…you are a person, someone with thoughts and feelings…you're not property…"
"But I like being yours…"
Crap… what did they do to you…
"Uh, Midoriya…" Delilah whispered. "Just… agree. I know it sucks but just go with it, I get the feeling she isn't going to get the point you're trying to make…"
I sighed, hugging the woman a little closer. "Alright…"
"So… what now?" Sonya asked.
"Well…I give her a name and…I try to figure out what to do next…"
"Pretty sure what's supposed to do next is her…" Rin said.
"Wh-what?" I asked, blushing brightly. "But…she's not who she was…I doubt she can even say no so…wouldn't that be…?" I left the word hang in the air, being told so much about Breeder's and how…horrid they were treated, I wasn't sure if this was a good idea.
"Well, maybe? But didn't you say that Patches said if they aren't… you know, used every so often they get like she just was but… worse?" Delilah asked.
Crap… I actually forgot that…
"O-oh…" I muttered, starting to panic as I thought of…what I had to do and…what I might lose…
I now realized what Cliff meant when he said taking care and saving Breeders would get me if the Chaos Guilds didn't…
"I…I can't…" I said. "I…I'm supposed to be a hero…I made a promise…"
"If you don't then she might go crazy…" Delilah said.
"But…" I tried to think of something, anything to not do this…to not possibly gain a dark skill tree from this horrible thing…hell, I don't want to rape someone!
"Would it… help if one of us was with you?" Sonya asked.
"No…it should just be me that…that has to do this…" I gulped.
"She should get a name though." Rin spoke up. "it's… the least we can do for her."
"Yeah…" I said. "But…what name should we give her?"
"Well… she seems to be the same species of cat humanoid as me… maybe give her a name the same as a flower?" Delilah offered.
"That…makes sense." I nodded.
"Maybe… Poppy. It's pretty simple but easy to remember."
"Yeah, Poppy sounds like a good name." I nodded.
"If that is what you wish to call me Master than I happily accept." Poppy said, giving me a smile.
I sighed… and took her hand… well, better now than… later…
"Alright Poppy…let's…let's go to my room…" I said, already feeling sick as I thought of how I was going to defile this beautiful woman that couldn't say no…someone that…reminded me so much of Delilah…
It made it all the worse how happy she was... And how much she enjoyed it.
By the time we finished she was happily purring against me… a lot like Delilah does…
[New Skill Trees Unlocked.
New Skill Menu Available. Dark Skill Trees Unlocked.
Dark Skill Tree Taboo, Available. Dark Skill Tree, Slave Master, Available. Dark Skill Tree, Slaver, Available. Dark Skill Tree, Sinner, Available.
Dark Skill Tree Taboo Skills Unselected. Dark Skill Tree Slave Master Skills, Obedience, Blindness, and Terror, selected and active. Dark Skill Tree Slaver Skills, Enslavement, Manipulation, and Marked Ownership, Selected and available. Dark Skill Tree Sinner Skill, Rapist, Selected and available.
Dark Skill Trees do not require Skill Points to grow and increase in power. Only Actions.]
I read the message over several times… and just cried. Quietly.
"I'll…I'll never be a hero…I'm…I'm just a monster…" I thought to myself, clutching my chest as I tried not to let my sob's be heard.
The next morning I was up but not getting out of bed.
"I've never seen you in bed past noon before." Delilah said, wrapping her arms around me and getting under the blankets.
"I'm a monster…" I mumbled.
"You are not."
"Yes I am, and I have the skill tree to prove it." I told her bluntly.
"I do not believe any of those skills or trees say Monster." She retorted.
"Sinner…Slaver…Slave Master…sounds pretty cut and dry…"
"Everyone sins. This bump is proof you and I did. Biblically at least." She said. "Slaver… well, just don't use that tree."
"Then I also have Taboo but…I don't know what that really means…but it doesn't matter if I don't use the tree's…they'll grow stronger anyways, it's all about what actions I do and that's it…"
"Well, then don't do horrible actions."
"I literally can't cause Poppy." I answered. "Plus…whatever other Breeders I save cause I'd rather them not be in the hands of even worse people…"
"Well… you can still be a hero."
"I don't think I can if I'm…like this…" I sighed. "Heroes save people…heroes don't do what I just did…"
"Heroes back home, both in your home world and Dechamore never had to deal with Armageddon."
"Like that's any excuse…Cliff was right…" I said sadly.
"You can't believe you won't be a hero anymore."
"How can I be a hero if I had to do something that horrible?"
"Are you telling me you think no hero has ever had to do something terrible because of the situation? We both know all of what happened to All Might, and when Izukie joined in the War, she killed lots of people, but only those who would harm the ones she was protecting."
"I mean…" I sighed, having looked up all about All Might in this world and…all thing's considered, he did have a point that, even with Quirks, it's a very dangerous job…but still. "You have a point…but how can I be one if I feel like this?"
"You get up, you look at your family, and you remember you need to protect us… and we need to keep you happy, destress and help you take the weight of your responsibilities off your shoulders. Besides," Delilah grabbed me, turning me around and moving my hands to her stomach. "You are going to be a father soon. You're gonna want to make this place safe and secure for them. I know I do."
"I…I want to be a good dad…" I said sadly,
"And you will be. Because despite what you, what we all might or will have to do to survive here, we will do them to keep one another, our kids especially, safe. You remember what Three said. You were meant to come here to shine hope on everyone, to help the lost people of Candlelight and to help the people of Armageddon too."
"Three also said to try my best to not get these Dark Skill Tree's if I wanted to get off this rock…but guess I'm stuck here forever then…"
"Well then, you're stuck here with us." Delilah added. "I can live with that."
"I mean, you can be anywhere you want and not care." I said honestly.
"Only if you're there."
"Thanks Delilah." I said softly. "It…it means so much to hear that."
"We can get through this. I know now it feels like you've got rock bottom, but the girls and I will all help you to get back up. And we'll try and help Poppy be less… Poppy, if that makes sense."
"I know…" I said softly. "And this may be rock bottom…but it could just be the barrel I'm looking at, I could be in for a rude awakening by looking into the barrel…and then scraping the bottom of it would be horrendous."
"Hey now," Delilah said, giving my cheek a gentle pat as she held my head in her hands. "None of that. For now, let's just sleep in. You've put in a lot of effort since you got here. Maybe it's time to take a rest for a bit."
"But…I need to keep going…" I said. "I know we have a Mountain God keeping us safe but…she can only do so much in this place…"
"And so can you. Powers or not you're still only human. You need to rest properly every so often."
"I know…I know…" I sighed. "This is…all too much…"
"Well, take a small break to process things. Today, let's just sleep in."
"Alright…" I said, cuddling up to Delilah and just…trying to rest after all this crap.
I only got up to use the bathroom and eat. Other than that I spent all day with Delilah in bed just resting and relaxing for the first time since I got to this hell of a planet.
The next morning I was feeling admittedly much better. I still felt bad but the girls all gathered with me in the living room to discuss plans. It helped that Three was back. Being the strongest he scouted out to see if anyone or anything of use was nearby.
"Alright everyone, time to plan." Delilah started. "Three, you said Midorya was meant to come here right?"
"Yeah. Katsuki didn't say much other than Midoriya and three others were going to bring a huge change that would eventually lead to Armageddon being, well, less of a shit show." Three replied.
"Vague, something I really don't need at the moment…" I sighed. "But did you find anyone from Candlelight? Or literally anyone else?"
"No. No one at all. Saw signs someone probably passed through a ways up north but that trail is easily weeks or months old." Three sighed. "It looks like not too many people pass through The Nightmare. I even checked in with Patches before coming here and he confirmed on average he sees maybe three travelers a year.
"Wonder why so little. Doubt it's the Monsters, they only come out at night." Delilah hummed.
"If I were to guess, it the location. Everything here has a victorian look and the loot reflects that. Most of what I found is based on Clockwork gears, sorta like myself but more primitive, alchemy and various dark to barbaric magics, even the electricity here comes from coal burning power plants."
"I actually wanted to ask about that but who and how the Fuck is water and power maintained?"
"The buildings that I did come across all had clockwork or steam powered golems preforming the mandatory actions. My guess is whoever created Armageddon at least had the courtesy to allow people a means of water and power if the zone allowed it."
"Aw, the world does care." I said sarcastically.
"Alright so we only need to worry if the golems are destroyed or the facilities are sabotaged." Delilah said.
"Actually, should the buildings themselves be destroyed the natural dungeon respawn mechanics will repair it all after a year. The golems seem to be capable of self repair and if damaged beyond that a new one spawns in the next day. I tested that last one myself just to be sure." Three informed.
"Alright, so priorities are food, medicine and raw materials."
"And the lanterns. We still need to find more." Sonya added. "It keeps even the more powerful of these nightly monsters away, and with just the one we've been getting lucky."
"Yeah…" I sighed. "I'm gonna have to go hunting…heh, funny that I say that considering I went to the Hunter's Dream before you all got here."
"Which brings me to the next topic." Delilah spoke up, then pointed a finger at me. "Midoriya is not allowed to do excess work unless it's an emergency."
"Ah what?" I asked. "Why not?"
"Because you have a horrible tendency to overwork yourself leading to stress and when you stress you panic and when you panic you try and overcompensate leading to more overworking and more stress." Delilah started.
"She does have a point." Three added. "You have a tenancy to shoulder all responsibilities and more often than not you unintentionally shut others out when trying to make their lives easier. Keeping you on a schedule is actually be a good idea."
"Just because your right doesn't stop you all from being mean." I pouted.
"We, after a quick talk, figured it's best we all work together to keep this house safe and eventually we can work on expanding and making it safe for others. The schedule is simple, it's a day and night shift. Night shift will deal with gathering Blood Echoes from monsters, keeping them from getting too close to the main houses and primarily consistent of the strongest combat wise of us. Day shift will take over, letting night shift rest, do meal preps, look after the gardens, search for anything useful in the day and make any repairs if any are needed." Delilah stated.
"That's fair…" I nodded.
"Lastly, some news I discovered." Three spoke up. "My ability to teleport off planet is gone. Well, not gone more blocked."
"How?" I asked in surprise and mild horror. "And who could do that?"
"It's a consequence I expected to happen. See, part of the reason Armageddon is so hard to escape is because of this passive barrier around it. While the 'Welcoming Committee' shoots down anyone coming in or trying to leave, this barrier keeps people from teleporting out, but only if they have something or someone they treasure and care about on the planet. And no, trying to teleport with said person won't work. It's why Sanderson sent you here first. He knew once we all got here I couldn't teleport us out even if I wanted to. I can still teleport across distances and to locations I marked in my Assistant map but not off world. Much like the Dark Skill Trees this barrier is unique to Armageddon."
"So…we're all stuck here…" I sighed bitterly.
"Unfortunately, however I do think there might be a way to somehow turn this passive barrier off."
"What? Like a Skill Nullifier or something?" I inquired.
"No. See, Armageddon is unique for many reasons. The barrier, having no safe zones, random respawns, a respawn while pregnant… the child doesn't respawn…" I saw Delilah cover her belly. "But most importantly is the story around it's origin and explains why it's like this."
"What's the story?" I inquired. "Does it have to do with…immigration?"
"Not as far as I know. But the story goes that it was created by one of the members of The Family that oversee Evil within creation. There's several known in this group, but this one in particular is known as The Reflection of Evil. According to the stories he was some alternative timeline or copy of the original Nexus Founder. From way back before the war. He helped The Family fight his original and end them. The story goes that after the new reality was built his wicked tendencies and habits were too violent for the new reality The Family was making, so they gave him a planet with one exception. On this planet somewhere is a place called The Empty. A prison for all of the old realities worst across it's many timelines, including said original Nexus Founder and the original All Maker. It's both a prison, and a dungeon. No one has ever found it, but a lot of people think keeping them all there like that, and making their prison a dungeon means there is something at the end of it."
"Wait!" I stood up. "That's where we find Izukie's soul! It…the Admin of Souls is there…"
"Right." Three said. "But, to put that much security there means not only is the Admin of Souls there, but odds are the Reflection of Evil is there too. Even if they aren't there, The Admin of Souls would know where on this planet they call home."
"This is…getting a whole lot more complicated…"
"So you think if we can find the Reflection of Evil, we can get them to take down the barrier?" Delilah asked.
"They're probably the only one who can." Three stated. "Armageddon is their planet. And as a member of The Family, will be more than capable of removing it."
"So…only problem is, is that we can't get to The Empty because nobody has all the pieces of the Key to open the door to the place." I said honestly. "Cause you said you only have half the other pieces, and not even the Mother's Daughters knew the location of every Void Dungeon on Homeworld." I pointed out.
"And that's true. Except for here on Armageddon. Supposedly, there is a natural portal here. It's why I spent the better part of Era 2 on this planet. I looked."
"You spent a whole era here?!" Rin yelped.
"Yeah. I looked as far as wide across all the zones I could but even then I barely covered maybe a quarter of planet. Maybe less given there is also the Moon and Sun as possible locations."
"Cause why not…" I grumbled. "So…just random chance to solve all our problems…"
"In between finding the portal and getting out, we can at least do one good thing while we're here." Three said, pulling out a weird looking, almost Rubik's Cube like block from his assistant. "We can imprison as many Chaos Guild assholes as possible."
"Now that is something I'll enjoy." I said with a smile. "Cause…just with Poppy….I can't stand anything the Chaos Guilds do."
"How the Fuck did you get that?" Rin asked.
"I used to be in the War in case you forgot. I know how to make them." Three said, tossing me the cube item in question. "Crafted by Grandmaster Lord back before the war and modified stronger after. These things can imprison a Void Admin and keep them from escaping. All we need to do is knock them unconscious and the trap will keep them in a timeless pocket dimension. They won't need sleep, food or drink and best of all they can't suicide to respawn. The built in healing matrixes ensure they won't be dying even if reduced to atoms. It will just rebuild them."
"Woah… how many do you have now?" Delilah asked.
"Ten, but each cube can hold twenty six prisoners."
"So two hundred and sixty people we can capture." I said. "So, who should we be looking for to capture?"
"Easy there Midoriya, it will be a while before we can tackle a Base of theirs head on. We can lock up some stragglers, lone wolves and passer byes that work under them if they prove a threat, but for now we need to focus on making this place ready for the people we plan on helping and saving. Plus, I do still need to make more of these if we wanna really take out their bases."
"True." I nodded. "So…best to just scavenge what we can, get whatever loot we can from monsters…and just hope for the best."
"Here." Three said, handing me six more of the cubes. "Just in case. I gotta rush to the zones I remember had the materials I need to make more of the imprisonment cubes."
"Gonna be gone for a while then?" Delilah asked.
"Probably. Assuming nothing has changed too much, two months should be my rough away time."
"Alright." I nodded, moving over and hugging Three. "Gonna miss ya for those two months…"
"It's alright. You won't be lonely." They replied with a laugh. "And get some sleep, you are on the Night Shift."
"Sleep is for the weak, and coffee is for the strong."
"We don't have coffee."
"Shit…" I whined.
"Bed." Rin said, pulling me up and back towards the bedroom. "You and I are part of the Night Shift and I got the lucky draw to partner up with you first."
"Alright alright." I chuckled. "I suppose some good sleep might help…"
And so, I slept in till five in the afternoon the next day. Since there was no coffee I settled for some cold water to the face before eating my meal then heading out. Rin was close behind as the sun began to set. "So, monsters drop rem and Blood Echoes, also more loot. Any in particular I should be keeping an eye out for?"
"Nothing really special that I found so far." I said honestly. "But we should be careful."
As the first monsters began to emerge, Rin quickly ended them with small, fast moving metal balls that hit their targets like bullets.
I only saw her use her Quirk for some basic reshaping and repair of metal stuff… her quirks control over metal is a lot like Psychic manipulation, but only for metallic objects. Even non magnetic metals.
"Wow, you're quirk is really impressive, when did you learn how to learn how to become Magneto?"
Rin chuckled. "I have been in this reality since I was six. I've had time to practice and pretty much Master it." She said, breaking off a gate door and using it to pin/impale one of the monsters to a nearby wall.
"That's true…" I nodded. "I did miss you Ria…one of the few people that didn't look down on me for being Quirkless…"
"No, just wanted you as a house husband~" She teased.
"Well, that's not gonna happen any time soon, cause I'm gonna be the greatest hero this world's ever seen." I said with a growing smile.
"And the greatest house husband."
I couldn't help but chuckle. "I'll try my best."
We went around attacking the monsters as they came. We got Blood Echoes, Blood Vials, Blood Bullets, Bullets, and small hoards of them seemed to be guarding stashes of food or medicine.
"Looks like the loot really is better at night." Rin said as she pocketed the newest looted stash meds.
"Yep." I nodded. "I suppose the more danger the better the rewards I guess."
"Makes sense. Basically like the whole planet is one giant Arena Hazard Zone." Rin said as we moved on down the roads.
"Which is fine but…wish it would have some safe zones so we're not in constant danger."
"Something tells me constant danger is the point."
"I know…" I sighed. "Still sucks…"
"At least they aren't that strong. And I'd rather not fly up and test those things strength." Rin said, looking up at the mass of tendrils fleshing and moving around from the cloudy night sky.
"Yeah, I'm good on not fighting those things…" I said nervously.
"So, think we'll find some more Prize Pod People?"
"Maybe, and hopefully we're the one's finding them and not…undesirables…" I said carefully.
"Hopefully. I remember hearing Armageddon actually has the highest spawn rates for Prize Pod People compared to any other planet."
"That's…very weird." I commented, rather concerned about why Prize Pod People would be spawning highest here of all places.
"It is pretty weird but that's just what people say. No idea if it's true."
"Hopefully it's not true…" I said, thinking about all these Prize People that are just…sitting there waiting to be opened only to be greeted by horrors.
"So, since we'll be here a while and we have a doctor now… who's next?
"Well…I wouldn't be surprised if we find a Hunter." I shrugged, thinking we were still on Prize Pod people.
"No. I mean which of us is going to be a mom next."
Oh. Oh!... Oh…
"I…" I looked down. "Do…you really think we should? I'm…I'm going to be doing worse and worse things…and we have to worry about our resources and space…"
"Which is why, we will be careful. Our infertility and… other contraceptive supplies are lower than we'd like and the fact we haven't found any while here, tells me we likely will run out and well, after that it's just gonna be a fact when we are together. Yeah you'll be doing some bad things, but the girls, and our kids will keep you grounded."
"I…I don't want them to only know…this." I motioned. "I don't want them to suffer what Cliff…what I went through…just because some jackass went completely insane about this place…"
Rin took my hand. "Then you'll fight. Three and you, you two will fight to ensure they get to leave this planet, and see the rest of this reality. You'll fight to ensure they can. And hey, if you see Cliff again, you get to shove it in his face."
"He'd probably want to get into a fist fight first before seeing me be right."
"And you can knock his ass out."
"True." I nodded. "Next time for sure."
"Now, which of us are you gonna knock up after Delilah gives birth?"
"Well…maybe you since you've technically waited the longest." I said honestly. "But…there's so many of you that I don't know…"
"Oh relax. We'll wait. One after another. But don't think that doesn't mean sex lives with us are out the window. There are other ways to satisfy that itch~" Rin said, giving me a kiss before walking down the road ahead of my blushing self…
It…also didn't help that I looked down at her…shapely rear and…swaying hips…hey! "You're doing that sway on purpose!" I whined, blushing even brighter.
"Didn't you do the same thing to Three a few times?"
… Shit!