"So, my mom will be here by tomorrow." Scotch said as he and I sat in a booth at the usual bar. I still wasn't much for booze, save sake, but I did gain a taste for rum & cokes. Mainly since it was more soda than rum. "I let her know about the situation in town and she seemed excited. Apparently something happened in another zone that has a lot of Greed buzzing."
"What? Did they suddenly have a competitor or something?" I inquired. "Or did someone just shatter the stock market for something?"
"No, apparently rumor has it that a while ago, some merchants defected. Taking the stock of items from Violence and Lust and Nexus and joining some people looking to stick it to the Chaos Guilds like you." He smirked, taking a sip from his beer. "Looks like you aren't the only hero on Armageddon after all."
"Well, that's great!" I said happily. "But…wouldn't the merchants still be a part of Greed even if they 'defected' from the others?"
"While true, they'll be wanted by the other guilds. After all, that was a lot of product they basically stole from the three big guilds. Even if it was mostly basic Breeders that Lust lost they would be pissed. Not to mention Violence and Nexus. Nexus was basically just spat at so they won't take this lightly, neither will Violence, though I hear this started because the one who got them to defect has some beef with some Violence scientist." Scotch said.
Basic Breeders? I… don't like the sound of that…
"What do you mean by basic breeders?" I asked worriedly.
"Okay, so you know how every, well, almost every Breeder is a Den Mother?" I nodded. "Well have you noticed almost all those Den Mothers are either Feline or Canine or some form of that in terms of species? Like the Floof Noodles and such?"
Huh… that… that's actually true…
"Yes…I have noticed that." I nodded. "Does that have to do with the amount of children they can have?"
"Yes. These species of Den Mother, as Breeders still breed the minimum amount of children that Lust sells. Meaning the Den Mothers Saw saved and Lust puts out in pop up shops and brothels are actually considered stock that is worth very little to Lust. Other species though, ones that breed faster and in much larger numbers are far more valuable."
"Well…that's horrible." I frowned.
"Gets worse. Mom told me stories about their 'Gold Stock'. Breeders who were Den Mothers of species that are notorious for rapid and excessive breeding naturally. She said she heard from one Lust merchant that they got to see someone purchase an Equis Changeling Queen Den Mother. A normal of her species could birth hundreds of eggs and lay them all in a day. A Den Mother of her species? Thousands in a week, and since they're shapeshifters, if she's in the form of another species when she births the eggs will hatch and the children will be the species of their mother's form."
"Oh…" I blinked. "That's…uh…that's a lot…" I said worriedly. "Who…bought them?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Puritans likely. Despite their… fascist ideals, they're some of Lust's biggest buyers. They purchase Shapeshifters to have them populate their settlements, then have them change shape to a different form, birthing a slave race for them to oppress. Other times, it's Violence looking for an excess of test subjects. Then of course, general Chaos Guild populations are born from Breeders, raised to know nothing else but the guild they were born to and are brainwashed from birth to obey with blinding loyalty. Take your pick, either way, everyone suffers one way or another."
"That's…" I muttered, not even knowing what words to describe such horrid abuse of life…"And…and I thought this reality was above such base bullshit…also…Puritans? Really…they're still here?" I asked, remembering the Humerizer and Creature Rejection Plan cults…
"Yeah. And off Armageddon, it's rare to see. Most are just assholes that keep to themselves. But here on Armageddon, they thrive. If it's bad, vial and just plain evil, it thrives on Armageddon." Scotch sighed, taking another swing of his beer. "It's why so many willingly move here."
"There has to be a way to stop this nonsense." I said carefully.
"Well, you do have two Keyblades that are basically reset buttons." Scotch brought up. "It will be slow but possible."
"I guess…but at this point, if what I have in mind goes through, is the Planet, or whoever created this Planet, going to stop me if the inhabitants can't?" I asked carefully, as I've noticed the monsters outside the safety of the World Room were getting…a lot bigger, stronger and more aggressive, some even coming out during the day when that should have been impossible.
"Who knows. All I know is that the people most against you will be the Chaos Guilds."
"Goodie…" I sighed. "Isn't there any of the Chaos Guilds that wouldn't try ot murder me?"
"Well, Greed is neutral. Wanted by the other guilds or not, they'll barter and trade with you. I guess technically the Anarchist Guild might be helpful, depending on who you meet." Scotch said in thought.
"Good to know." I nodded. "This is still…a lot to think about…"
"Yeah, always is. So, that aside anything new with you?"
"Well…besides obtaining some…neat items…it feels like I had someone die in my arms but…I can't remember who…"
"Well that… is weirdly specific…" Scotch hummed. "Maybe you're just stressed? Like, more than usual."
"No, I'm pretty certain that…someone died in my arms but…there was nobody there, and I can't remember…and everytime I hold the Time Gem I found my…heart aches and I cry more than usual…" I said, scratching my head as I keep trying to figure out what I'm missing.
"Time Gem? Huh… where did you find it?"
"I found it where I was… kneeling down." I said. "I also was given the Book of Creation, and a Compass that points to whoever I want to see…no idea who the hell gave me those cause they are supposedly very rare…but…" I groaned. "None of this makes any sense now…cause it can't be memory erasure, there was no one around but me and Saw…" I frowned, not remembering there being any weird traps in the area we were looking around.
"Huh… Well that's freaky. But then again this is Armageddon, freaky shit is normal. By the way I was wondering… do you know what Saw is planning for our anniversary?"
"He asked me for some advice and…well, depending on how he takes it, I think he'll have something really special for ya." I said honestly, though I really should try and do something for my own anniversary for all my lovers…
"That's sweet… I'm thinking about what to do myself. Two years is actually a record for me in terms of relationships. I'm thinking about getting him some weapons or maybe even some neat things. I plan on introducing him to my mom when she comes by tomorrow… but honestly… I want to ask him to move in with me."
"Considering how often you two are joined at the hip, I'm surprised you didn't ask sooner." I admitted. "And no, that's not what I meant." I quickly added as I saw the dog get a cheeky look when I said that.
"I know, still, if Saw was here he wouldn't have hesitated." He chuckled. "I know we spend a lot of time, even multiple nights at one another's places, but I still get nervous thinking about it. It's new territory for me. All my exes prior were just either passer byes, one night stands or just experimenting." Scotch sighed. "Saw has been the first real, stable relationship I've ever had."
"That's good to hear." I nodded. "Everyone deserves someone important in their life."
"In some cases that's multiple someones." Scotch said, giving me a cheeky smirk, but dropped it and messed with their beer bottle. "Still, As scared as I am I know I want that, but I'm worried if he's ready. Given his past and what happened with his late ex Zach, I dunno. Just feel like he might get scared or maybe I'm just scared of him reacting negatively or… ugh…" Scotch groaned, dropping their head to the table with a thud. "This feels simultaneously so stupid yet also so terrifying…"
I put my hand on his shoulder. "Trust me…I get it…" I said honestly. "I mean…let's look at Delilah for instance…first girlfriend and….ho boy was that a journey of massive awkward proportions."
"And positions I imagine from what she's told us." Scotch said as he pulled himself up.
Has she told Scotch too?! Why!?
"Can Delilah please not talk about our sex life!?" I whined, blushing like mad. "Why did she tell you?"
"The girl likes to brag." He chuckled and smirked. "And if her latest stories are true then she has really been pulling you out of that awkward shell and into some real kinky stuff." Scotch chuckled.
My blush turned my face pink.
"And yes, she is very detailed."
"At this point she might as well just ask to make it a fourway with how much she talks to you two about me plowing her." I groaned, hitting my forehead against the table and groaning loudly. "She'd probably get off to me doing, and being done, by a guy too…"
"Heh, kinky but no thanks." Scotch laughed. "So, that aside, anything you're gonna ask my mom about? Or anything you wanna know about her?"
"Well, what's she like?" I inquired.
"She can be harsh, but is fair. Life traveling Armageddon will do that. For the most part she only really hates raiders and thieves, as a merchant would."
"That is fair." I nodded. "I suppose I could ask her about what Greed does and if there's anyway to make the people living on Armageddon obtain thing's easier from them, cause I have a feeling there's plenty of important things like food, water and other things that are monopolized by a few and go for way too much."
"Yeah. Meat mostly. Fresh meat can be hard to come by and the main producers hold the meat market by the neck. Though I hear there's a new meat producer that's selling Demon Meat. It's similar to beef, pork, chicken and some others depending on the demon species and if it's a huge demon that's a lot of meat. They hit the market cheap and sold fast."
"Bet that pissed off a lot of Greed merchants." I laughed.
"More the meat producers than anyone from Greed. Fact is Greed acts like the seller to keep the producers of the products' identities anonymous. After all, you can imagine that there would be lots of people willing to take out competition if they knew just who their competition was. So, Greed acts as cover for the manufacturers, taking a cut of sales in compensation."
"Fair enough." I nodded. "Going to be a lot of talking there…but just to refresh my memory, how good are you at crafting?"
"I'm one of the towns primary crafters. Mostly just from the Assistant menu. Hard to find a crafting bench unfortunately. Even harder to make one."
"And what if I said that I have the Book of Creation?" I asked in a low tone so only he could hear as this was a very important item.
"...Show me." Scotch asked.
I carefully pulled out the book in question to show him, as I saw his eyes widen in shock as if I literally pulled out the Holy Grail itself.
"A… Midoriya…" Scotch said, taking a deep breath. "This item, here on Armageddon, has started wars…" He started. "They say this item was used by one of the Five Brothers back in the day to get them all their gear. There is little that can't be created from this book and the only other copies known to exist are in possession of Violence, Nexus and Lust…"
"Oh…" I looked around real quick to make sure people weren't paying attention to us as I put it away quickly. "Uh…I didn't know that…I don't know who gave to me or why…but I wish I could ask them why." I frowned.
"This is a good thing though." Scotch said, now talking in a low tone. "This book can help build anything. Anything. Including empires. This can be the key to making a group, a guild that can rival the Chaos Guilds."
"That would be amazing." I nodded. "But…it's still dangerous…if anyone learn this and word spreads…everything's going to go to hell…"
"Then keep it a secret. You can start a whole secret factory with this thing."
"And I'm going to need your help given you are one of like…maybe two people I know that have any Crafting abilities or experience." I said, as I can probably guess the Saint has all the Crafting skills available I didn't want to immediately assume.
"Given the item, I'd be an idiot not to accept."
"So you must be Midoriya?" I looked at the female dog person standing before me outside my home. She had a small RV that was drivable, and unlike Scotch she had only two arms, but she looked identical to him in terms of colors. "I'm Kelly."
"Yes, I'm Midoriya, and it's nice to meet you Kelly." I said politely.
"Huh. Scotch told me you were some kind of hero wannabe but I didn't think you were an ass kisser to." She said, making me pause from the… response. "Honestly cut the nice act, feel like I'm talking to a snotty toddler- Scotch!" She said, pushing me aside… and flinging me through several buildings…
…
What just happened?
I jumped back up and walked out from the rubble to see her happily hugging Scotch, tail wagging as she hugged her son.
What the fuck just…
How strong is she? Also, the fuck she talks like-
…
…
I… Think I know why Scotch loves Saw so much…
"Alright…so should I question the similarities between your mom and Saw or should I just leave that thought process at the door after she flung me through four fucking buildings." I frowned.
I walked myself back over to the two. "Hey, mom, this is Midoriya." Scotch said, motioning to me.
"We met." She said flatly. "Didn't tell me he was a fool and a kiss ass."
"Mom…" Scotch groaned. "Please be nice."
"No promises sweetie, you know the rules, don't trust stranger and don't trust sluts."
E-Excuse me!?
"Mom!" Scotch barked.
"What? I can smell all that pussy on them!" Kelly said.
Now I was blushing. She can actually smell that!?
"Cool! Can we move past my sexcapades and get onto why your here instead of me just immediately assuming your just a bitch from your actions towards me?" I asked.
"... I am a bitch. Dumb ass!" She yelled.
"I see your even dumber than I thought." I countered bluntly.
"Alright, alright, play nice!" Scotch said, getting between us. "Mom, you're here to help us out and the town, of which Midoriya is the de facto leader of… and Midoriya, please try not to fight my mother…"
"Only because you asked sweetie." Kelly said, crossing her arms but glaring at me.
"And she immediately started this conflict because I wanted to make a good first impression like a decent person, but what do I get? You not telling me she's somehow a worse version of Saw." I countered.
"Oh isn't that the name of your boyfriend? Oh I have to meet them, I hope they're good people." Kelly said, her tone taking a complete one eighty as she spoke to her son.
"Well, their personality is like yours but somehow he's the more sensible one." I admitted, which slightly annoyed me that I had to put some of Saw's nonsense on a pedestal compared to this jackass.
"Right… did you bring the things though mom?" Scotch asked.
"Yes, I brought all the supplies you recommended and then some." Kelly said. "Even the stuff for asparagus head there."
"And I'm certain the quality will be about as hit or miss as your personality." I fired off.
I was suddenly grabbed by the scruff of my shirt collar, eye to eye with Kelly as her hand was near my face and produced that looked like a ball of pure plasma. "You wanna go bitch?"
"Mom!" Scotch yelled.
I used Harden and Steel and headbutt the dog, causing her to drop me from the sudden action. "Bring it ya overgrown mutt!" I snapped.
The battle lasted most of the day. We threw each other across the Nightmare pretty far, through buildings, across fields and even through a mountain. I've never gone all out with my powers before…
And Kelly tanked and returned all that damage too…
We were both lying in a field of grass. Bruised, beaten, exhausted. How the hell does Mortal Sun heal the injuries but not my stamina…
Agh… ouch… still so sore.
"Agh.. how… the hell… did a twink like you… learn to fuck that decently?" Kelly asked.
I took rapid deep breaths. Somehow, our fighting turned… physical, in a whole different way…
I guess us fighting til our clothes were tattered, torn and fell off didn't help but still…
I can't believe I did that…
I can't believe I did her!
… I wonder if Scotch is gonna wanna kill me for this…
"Lot's of practice with a…much…hornier cat girl." I panted. "But…wow…"
"Huh… Practice more." She huffed. "I barely climaxed."
"I don't know, those howls of pleasure sure seemed to differ." I countered.
"That was only because those stomach kicks you gave me made it feel a kinky kind of painful when you finally put it in." She chuckled. "Sure knows how to beat a girl. Course you can't take it. I barely put a finger in there and you were soaking me." She chuckled.
"Oh you are just asking for a pounding." I growled.
"Heh… if ya think you can go another round be my guest. You hit like the woman you look like anyway." She laughed.
"You underestimate my power." I said, as I used Creation and created a Stamina potion…and immediately chugged the thing. "Now, where were we?"
"Oh you are so gonna get it." She laughed, rolling herself on top of me.
"He's a man after all, everyone! Ha!" Saw yelled, ringing a bell from our booth at the bar.
"I can't believe this…" Scotch said. He looked… traumatized.
"Damn it, why can't you treat me like that!?" Delilah said as she shook me.
"Cause you little flower cat would have broke." Kelly chuckled as she sat on the other side of the booth, sandwiching me between her and Delilah.
"I want him to destroy me!" Delilah shouted.
"Listen…" I said tried to defend myself here. "Delilah…later in a field because we…kind of caused a ten foot deep crater…" I said weakly, hearing Scotch groan even louder. "And Scotch…I am so, so sorry." I said sheepishly. "I…didn't know this was going to happen…"
"I'd have been fine if you two just beat each other up to a pulp, I'm used to that form mom… not this…" He groaned, face planting on the table as Saw chuckled and rubbed his back.
"Your mamma's still got it sweetie." Kelly said with a smirk and a laugh.
Scotch screamed into the table.
"Gotta admit, you're pretty strong if you kept up with Midoriya, and he's got an Immortality ability." Saw said.
"You don't become a traveling Greed Merchant and don't know how to survive." Kelly chuckled. "So you're my boy's lover huh?"
"Heh, yeah. Two years. Drunken bar bathroom thing turned long term." Saw said with a chuckle.
"Heh, I like you, you're honest and don't give a fuck." Kelly chuckled. "Looks like my boy has good taste after all."
"And that makes no sense because I wanted to make a good first impression to my friend's mother and then…this happens, but you barely have five minutes with Saw and you think he's 'an honest man'..." I shook my head.
"I'd say you made a very good first impression." Saw teased.
"It's because I could tell you were putting up a mask kid." Kelly said. "Sure you ment well and was all friendly like, but in my line of work, the people who greet you with a smile and kind words are the same people who will robe you blind, torture you, or sell you to Lust." Kelly said. "Can't trust anyone who greets you with a kind smile in my line of work. Lost a lot of good people to kind smiles."
"I thought it would have been at least worth it cause I was friends with Scotch, hell I was the one that technically got Saw and Scotch together because of all the crap I did."
"And for that I'll thank you, but next time don't be so nice. Makes my skin crawl and brings up bad memories."
"Well I'm trying to bring some genuine kindness to this world, where you won't have to stab someone because they offer a smile and a handshake." I admitted.
"So… you're gonna make a town of therapists?" Kelly asked.
"HA!" Saw laughed.
Honestly… this planet probably needs all the therapy this reality can give…
"Uh…actually that sounds like a good idea." I said, which lowered Saw's laughter a bit. "I mean…yeah, this entire world needs a lot of therapy, myself included cause I've gone through some shit…but therapy is a step in the right direction."
"Cool. Anyway, so like I was saying before we got into that fight turn sexy time, I brought all the supplies Scotch asked me to bring, and some extra, plus this." Kelly said, pulling out what looked like a flip phone from her Assistant and putting it on the table. "Don't let the looks deceive you, this bad boy is hooked up to Greed's personal message network. Got my contact info in there and a bunch of other specialty merchants I know and trust so your town needs anything, someone in that phone will have it."
"Thanks mom." Scotch said, pulling himself up from the table.
"Heh, come on Scotch. I got your surprise for our anniversary all ready." Saw said.
"That sounds like a nice distraction and do you wanna move in with me?" Scotch asked.
Saw, who was already getting out of the booth, faceplanted at hearing that. He rapidly picked himself up, looking at Scotch and was blushing… wow… I didn't know Saw could blush. "Uh… y-yeah, yes! Uh… heh, got room for my crap amongst your collections?"
"Heh, for you, there's always room." Scotch said, scooting to the end of the booth, giving Saw a kiss and then the two left, holding hands.
"Awh… that's adorable." Delilah said.
"Awh… my baby's all grown up. Guess I do owe ya for getting him and Saw to meet." Kelly chuckled.
"Yeah…I'm glad Saw and Scotch are happy." I said honestly. "From what I heard from Saw…Saw deserves to be happy, and he has a good boy to make that a reality."
"Damn right, I raised my boy right." Kelly chuckled. "Still, guess now that he's got someone like Saw in his life might not have much time for me. Heh, good thing we fucked around, now I can spoil a whole new baby."
I'd have fallen over if I were not sitting in a booth.
Excuse me what?!
"H-how do you know you're pregnant?" I asked. "Also uh…I…oh god why do I do things?" I groaned.
"After I got knocked up with Scotch I wondered if I'd ever wanna know when I get knocked up again, so I got a special implant that detects when an egg of mine has been fertilized. Not even a proper fetus yet but give it time, it will." She shrugged. "Got the notification around round four, six feet deep in that crater."
"Damn it Midoriya the one time you act like a horn dog and totally like a wild beast in sex and you knock up a woman not even in your harem!" Delilah said, shaking me again.
"I mean…she can join in if she want's, set up a shop here cause I want to be a good father to our child and…"
"Pffft! Hahahahahaha!" Kelly laughed hard at hearing what I said. "Greenie, the sex was alright but I ain't anchoring myself to you nor am I even gonna hang around here. I gotta hit the road once the cargo is unloaded. I got other towns and shit to reach with cargo they need, not to mention pick up some goodies as well from other zones."
"That's why I said 'if you want'." I brought up. "But what about our kid?"
"I'll give birth on the road and when I make it back here in a year you can meet them." Kelly shrugged.
I frowned. "So…you're just going to have our kid in some random ass area and then I still have to wait a year to just meet the kid?" I asked, my want to be a good father kind of going against her need to be a merchant.
"I have a med bay in my RV. It's how I birthed Scotch."
"Right…" I said carefully. "I…don't like it but this is up to you…"
"Damn right. Don't worry, you can hang around the kids when I visit yearly. I can probably spare a week."
"Alright." I nodded, even though I didn't like it because there would be so little time where I could spend time with my kid…just hope I can be a good father when I'm barely with them.
"Hey, at least you want to be in this kid's life. Scotch's sperm donor didn't want anything to do with him."
"Well…that is true, and it's horrible that someone wouldn't want to take responsibility and help take care of their own child." I frowned.
"Eh, it happens a lot. He was just a merc I hired when traveling through the Bloodshed Zone for extra protection. He was a jackass and probably a bit psychotic but he could fight… and those arms, those hands Mother the things he used those for~ Heh. By the end of the trip he already knew I was pregnant and we parted ways. Part of me is glad the only thing Scotch inherited from him were the four arms."
"I suppose that's fair." I nodded. "Scotch is a good boy, a good friend, and while he helps placate some of Saw's nonsense, I'm glad I can call him my friend."
"Heh. Just make sure he's kept happy and safe. My boy is many things, but prone to anger or violence is not even on that list. Part of me wondered how he can be so passive. Course doesn't stop him from being a passive aggressive sarcastic little monster at times and gods I love when it is." She chuckled.
"He put's all the possible aggression into his love for crafting…and Dr. Who." I chuckled.
"Heh, yeah. If it wasn't the Doctor's personality or smarts it was that Tardis of his. Always wanted to build his own. Heh… most I could find are toys and such though. Real Deal Tardis ships… heh. Best chances of finding one is over in Chrono-Shatter but that zone is one of the more deadly ones on Armageddon. Up there with Scarlet Kings Dominion and Singularity."
"And what are those places?" I inquired. "I haven't really…traveled outside of Nightmare given everything that's going on currently."
"Well, Singularity is a zone that is composed of nothing but Black Holes. Black Holes and cosmic level monsters and shit that can not only enter and exit them but destroy them just by bumping into them. Scarlet Kings Dominion is… well, imagine everything horrible you have ever heard about Armageddon, the chaos guilds and it's monsters, multiply them by fuck you and then dump it all into one zone overseen by some fuck off god of old reality multiversal power and chaos. Chrono-Shatter is… bit of a weird one. One of the few places Time Gems can be found consistently and even Time Walkers have been seen there, but the main threat is that at any moment any creature on Armageddon can appear and vanish there, people go through that place and can lose centuries, thousands of years and to them it was just a day or an hour."
"Well…that's all interesting and horrifying…" I said carefully.
"Yeah. Lot of crazy shit out there. Welp, I best go. See ya in a year baby daddy." Kelly said, patting me on the back before climbing over the table and heading for the door.
She left out the door and I sighed.
"You okay?" Delilah asked.
"Just…a lot to think about…" I sighed. "Plus…even if it turned into literal groundbreaking sex…she's only a merchant but…I struggled against her in the fight…"
"Well, she's experienced in fighting lots out there."
"Yeah…just a lot to think about…" I sighed. "Sooner or later I'm going to have to go out and see the world and get stronger…but there's too much to do here.."
"Yeah… there's a lot to fight and explore here too. Before you have to go and get stronger out there."
"Everything just keeps getting bigger and bigger and I don't have the time for it all…" I grumbled. "Cause there's a lot of things I want to do with all my lovers, taking care of the town, doing a lot of other things, and then apparently satiating your need to be bred harder than an industrial grade bread maker on max production."
"Heh… well, you have gotten better and the lot of us at least want a few kids before you… before you leave."
"You make it sound like you're not coming with me." I brought up.
"I want to. But how long would we all be gone? We're building lives here and leaving will be harder the more we have built."
"Yeah…that's one thing that I hate…" I sighed. "Being far away from my family when I have to do thing's to make the world a better place for them…I want to be a good father, I want to be a good husband…but…" I sighed bitterly.
"... I wish we could just have a means of traveling from where we reach to back here… stupid Armageddon blocking teleporting via Assistant…"
"Yeah…there has to be a way to solve this, cause while Greed can sell Teleporter's…it would cost too much and it would take forever to set up a proper network, and have it be safe so that no monsters or Chaos Guild members could use it…"
"This sucks… There has to be something we can do…"
I sighed, looking at the flip phone Kelly left. I grabbed it, picking it up and opening it… a seller for anything huh?
I brought up contacts and scrolled through them…
What?
[Ability Broker: Jin - Nexus]
"Well…there's someone named Jin that's an Ability Broker…" I hummed. "Wait…" I muttered, going through everything in my head as the name Jin sounded familiar…"Oh no…" I said in horror.
I felt strange, meeting the broker at the Blue Forest. This feels wrong but-
"You Midoriya?" I turned, seeing a man with blonde hair, dressed in some basic clothes, blue shirt, jeans, shoes. On his head however was the number 48, not tattooed but made from a metal plate that was likely embedded into their skull.
"I…fucking knew it…and I hate it…" I said carefully. "Yes…I am Midoriya…your newest adopted sibling…" I said.
"Hm? Oh, you must mean the OG." He said, Creation sparking in his hand as a cigarette was created in his hand, a lighter in the other as he lit the smoke and took a deep breath of it. "In case this didn't make it obvious, I ain't exactly the Jin you're thinking of." He said, tapping the metal plate on his head.
"Yeah, I kind of thought that by the number…but I was mostly hoping that this was a different Jin, not…what I feared…"
"Heh, sorry to burst your bubble. So, are you here to buy something or did you just wanna get to know the OG?"
"Well…both at this point." I said honestly. "So, what kind of Abilities do you have that have been…most likely given to you and duplicated ad nauseum?"
"Heh. Sorta. And what are you looking for? Can't say what's in my inventory, can only say if I have it or not."
"Hmm…do you have any abilities that can teleport me to places I've already been to? Cause I'm sure there are some Quick Travel abilities that can bypass the 'can't quick travel with the assistant' clause in this world."
"Sure. If you're looking for a Quirk a few can work, but most have range. A good ability that works is called Fast Travel. It teleports you and your party to any place you have been prior using your assistant map. It also adds a tagged list to the assistant of all locations you mark as useful. It's a rare, SSS rank ability and the Fast Travel takes no more than ten minutes for you to get anywhere. It's just limited to planets you are on though. Can't use it to travel from planet to planet."
"That sounds like a pretty good ability." I nodded. "How much?" I asked, knowing I'm going to hate the price tag but still.
"Thirty thousand rem."
Fuck… that will empty all the rem I have on me… I keep more stored at home but I doubt I can run back and get extra. Well, guess I can buy this now and buy some more later.
"Well, that would be all I can buy at the moment, but sure, I'll buy Fast Travel."
"Alright then." He said, holding out a hand.
I took it.
[Thirty Thousand Rem Transferred.
Ability: Fast Travel has been acquired.
Class: Rare.
Rank: SSS
Allows for rapid travel to previously marked locations on users mini map. Tagged locations appear on a special list. Travel times exceed no longer than ten minutes, and are bound to planet user is on. Ability can not fast travel between planets.]
"This is going to help immensely." I nodded.
"If that's all, I'll see you around then." Jin said, giving a half wave as he started to walk off.
"Wait, can't I meet the…OG?" I asked carefully. "There's…so much I want to talk about, Tomura and Kai have missed you so much…"
"... The OG, might as well be dead." Jin said, stopping to take another puff. "Nexus has no need for an Ability Bank and cloner with a conscience so, physically, he's alive, mentally, he's as good as brain dead. Only reason I know enough is because they upload a modified copy of his consciousness with some modified Slave Programming."
"Where is he?" I asked, knowing if I can just get to him and use Second Chance I could hopefully rescue him.
"No idea." He shrugged. "Not that it matters, wherever they are I know enough to know they're guarded by some serious defenses."
"Well, I'm going to save him." I said firmly. "It may not be now, but soon…he doesn't deserve what's happening to him and I'm ready to fight to save my brother."
"Hm. Touching. Well, later." He said, giving another half wave and began walking away again.
"Al-alright…" I said, feeling like I should ask more about him but…"How many clones are there?" I asked carefully.
"From my OG? Last I heard that pulled just shy of three hundred out of him."
"Right…" I nodded. "So…three hundred clones and the OG I need to get out of Nexus's hold…"
"If you say so." He shrugged, leaving. I sighed and headed back home.
As I arrived back home I felt… rather upset about this news and that the clone didn't seem to care.
This sucks…
[New Ability Obtained!
Township is now active!
Class: Legendary
Rank: SSS
When building a home or settlement, this ability allows fast and easy means to plan, map, calculate resources, view residents stats, build facilities, and even apply healing, and gift supplies to residents]
…What?!
"Okay, what the fuck is my luck here?" I asked incredulously.
[Notice! Rare Ability Fast Travel and Legendary Ability Township have generated the Combination Ability, Frontier.
Rank: SSS
By having both Fast Travel and Township, Users can create mini 'outposts' for their main town that they and even other townspeople can use to teleport around Hazard Zones. Outposts can become fully fledged towns all linked via a portal that only allows registered townspeople to use.]
… What the fuck?!
"Excuse me, what the fuck!?" I shouted, completely flabbergasted at this string of events.
Also, holy crap just now I get a combination ability?!
I blinked as Township seemed to load, showing me my house, the planet room, the town there, the town in the realm of darkness, and a whole list of everyone. From my lovers and kids to all the townspeople and such.
Holy crap…
"This…this is incredible…" I muttered in awe.
… okay I gotta use this.
I immediately ran to the planet room… huh…
[Township Population: 11,240
Upgrade Planet Room/House: Population Requirement 15,000]
Upgrade huh… wonder what that will do…
"Right…now how do I set up an outpost?" I wondered, as I now practically had a free portal system…this feels too convenient but I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth on this one.
Hmm… I think I need to be a certain distance away.
Heading back out, I used Engine and Immediately began running. I kept the menu for the Ability open. Eventually after two hundred miles it popped up to make an Outpost. Said I needed materials or to convert a pre-existing structure.
Huh….
I took a look around, finding a small house nearby.
"Well…that seems like a decent place to start…" i muttered, running over to the small house and trying to use Frontier on it.
First I made sure there was no monsters inside, and then I put a hand to the door, and activated Frontier.
[Building Analyzed!
Two story house plus basement.
Select Outpost portal location!]
A 3D man displayed in my vision of the house… woah… okay I think I can… okay this is the portal so move it to… the basement. Looks like you can get into the basement either through a cellar door or the kitchen so it's secure there.
Once I placed the portal against a wall in the basement on the map, a new display popped up.
[Place Portal End/Entrance side in Township as a House Doorway or within the Planet Room?]
Hmm… looks like I can change this later if need be. For now I'll pop the other end of the portal in the Planet Room right in this open field near the entrance to the Planet Room.
[Portals placed!
Outpost Created.
Barrier active!
Outpost One Status: Secure!
Fortification: None.
Barrier Level: 1
Upgrade Barrier Cost: 10 Mana Gems.
Upgrade Outpost Cost: 100 Wood, 20 Iron Ingots.]
"Alright, so gonna have to figure out all this city building nonsense…" I muttered, getting to the basement and ready to test out the new portal.
The portal was rather plane looking, a swirling mass of purple magic. I shrugged, walking through it and I was immediately in the open field by the entrance to the planet room. Looking behind me was the same purple swirling portal.
Alright, it works, and is VERY quick.
I smirked. Alright, now how to handle this… if Tomura was here he could probably build whole fortresses with this Ability… but I'm the one with it and he's not around at the moment… so I have to figure this out.
Alright, let's see… maybe if I think of this like my Quirk studies and such I can figure out what to do…
"Wait…" I pulled out that special compass and thought of Tomura, knowing it can't give specifics but it would help to know which direction he was…as I really wanted to find and bring my family back.
I walked out back to the outpost. The compass spun around for a while and pointed in a direction my minimap told me was south east.
"Wish it told me how far…" I muttered. "But I might as well start building some more outposts here and there to get used to all of this…"
"This design sucks." Saw said. I winced. I let Saw and the others know about my development regarding Fast Travel and Township giving me Frontier. I was trying to make a hub area for all the portals so they just weren't all floating in this field… it was… going…
"Listen, I'm trying my best here, I haven't played anything like Minecraft before or any Civilization games." I tried to defend myself here. "And I'm trying to find someone that can help us but they're so far away…"
"Why not ask Luna? She's rather game knowledgeable. I've played some but casually, but the way she talks it was pretty hard core for her."
"Because the person I'm looking for is my brother Tomura." I said. "And while Luna can help…I…I want to bring my family back together after meeting Jin for the first time."
"But that could take a while, and be detrimental to what you want to do in the long run. Just delegate this to her, if your ability let's you anyway."
I sighed… I hate it when Saw is right.
"Well there's already too much crap to do…find my brothers, fix Jaku, train more…spend time with all my loved ones…" I groaned and rubbed my temples. "And now reality wants to throw me this curveball…"
"Then delegate. You really gotta start letting people help you when you need it. Can't this Township thing let you have others use parts of it or something to help build out?"
I… huh… if it does… that would make this all go by much faster and free up my time for other stuff.
I tried to look it up…but the sound of a roulette wheel ran in my ears. "Oh come on…" I grumbled.
[Genetic Ability Gained!
Celestrian Template obtained!
Gained Celestrian Wings]
As I was about to question that, my back felt…heavier…
"Fluffy wings!" Delilah shouted happily.
"What?" I asked, looking over and seeing…very fluffy wings that were connected to my back. "Also…what's a Celectrian?"
"They're basically like a naturally evolved version of how human religions portrayed humanoid angels." Saw said. "Scotch knows a lot and I like listening to him talk."
"You two are adorable." Delilah chuckled.
"Yes, they are adorable." I chuckled. "So…fantastic, now I need to learn how to fly…" I groaned.
"Can you even fly with those? I know David could but he was merged with a Phoenix so…"
I shrugged, looking into Township. Okay let's test this. There's Saw and select… hm. Ah, here, this must be it. Elect for position… hmm.
[Positions Available:
Security: Allows from crafting of defenses and weaponry from Township crafting, as well as the construction of prisons and jail cells.
Agriculture: Allows crafting of agricultural fields and rapid mass water and harvesting.
Construction: Allows the building of homes, infrastructure and repairs of any constructed facility.
Production: Allows the creation of factories and mass production facilities.]
"Alright…so which would you prefer, Security, Agriculture, Construction or Production?" I asked Saw.
"Huh… hmm… know what, I'll do Agriculture. Always said if I lived to be old I'd live out the last of my days on a farm. Technically I'm almost a hundred." He shrugged.
Nodding, I selected Agriculture.
[Resident Saw has been Elected to Agricultural Development! All relating Township features and constructions relating to Agricultural are available to them.]
"Woah… huh. Link Ability… Elected Agriculturalists… neat." Saw nodded.
"That's good to know." I nodded. "And I'm sure Scotch would love either Construction or Production."
"Production would make the most sense. Give Luna Construction and Sam and Dean Security."
"I'd also like Agricultural." Delilah said.
"Really Delilah?" I inquired, already looking them up to give them their duties.
"I wanna see if it also applies to animals too. Meats been a thing we've always needed so if with my ability and this I can gather animals and rapidly tame and farm them, then why not? Plus this might let us tame and farm other kinds of animals and such."
True. Would be useful if it does do that…
"Well, that is a fair point." I nodded to my wonderful cat girl.
I gave them each the Elect roles.
The following month was… interesting.
Luna took to the Construction like a moth to a flame. My rather shabby portal hub was now a decorative and artistic, yet fully functional hub made from Garnet and wood with a decorative foundation, benches and even had the portals all labeled. She then worked on the town itself and I won't lie, it's quickly reaching modern era building structures. Though she keeps an artsy touch.
Saw managed to turn lots of fields into farmland, all growing things like potatoes, carrots, apple trees, cabbage. It was incredible, and all able to be watered from his Link Ability too. Once they're ready, he can harvest them all in one go too and re-till and fertilize the land.
Delilah was right. Any wild animals she came across once they were in a pen or coop or something the ability allowed to be tamed, aides in animal husbandry, informed when one was sick and could apply healing magics to them if she knew any or healing potions and medicine if they were in her inventory. Pigs, chicken, goats, ducks, cows, even a fish hatchery.
Sam and Dean really enjoyed the Security stuff. Both brothers being experts in dealing with monsters wasted no time gathering resources to fortify the Outposts and create some barricades and obstacles as well as some mounted weaponry. Dean would not stop talking about the giant trebuchet for days. Sam was more pissed that Dean was accurate with the damn thing.
And I was left with time to spend with the other girls, my kids, father a few more… and create more outposts and expand my map of the Nightmare.
Scotch, now in possession of the oh so special crafting book and the Production, wasted no time establishing various factories that made things like purifying the salt water from the sea into drinking water and also gave us sea salt, sewage processing, a proper metal refinery, a solar and wind power plant. Luna loved linking the power for the streets and new buildings to them, as well as the sewage system. Not to mention a Potion factory for various healing potions, and other factories that made small things.
With all the factories, everyone had a job of some sort to do if they didn't already and it kept everyone busy. We actually had to slow down cause all the adults had jobs and we were running out of adults for the positions.
It was quickly decided that only eighteen and up could work on the factories. Common sense and all.
All on all, for once everything is going amazing.
"Well…glad things are finally going well for once." I admitted. "Now I just…need to start setting up more Outposts in my travels…"
"You've already made like twenty." Saw said, he and I sharing a meal at the bar. With all the new food production and such, there's more menu selection. Including an old favorite of mine. Pork cutlets katsudon.
"And?" I asked. "The twenty I made barely scratched the surface of the area I need to go…plus, during all this hustle and bustle, I remembered that I actually have a list of combinations of Quirks as I've more or less just…did it without thinking."
"Now see, this is what happens when you delegate, more stuff gets done and faster, and you can pig out on those katsudon bowls you love so much." He said, pointing a fork at my three empty bowls, a fourth half gone in my hands.
"Listen, it's not my fault I haven't had my favorite food in ten years." I stated. "Just…even with this, I miss the way my mom cooked it…hopefully Saint's work on getting her a soul is going well." I said, still holding onto hope about that.
"How long has he been in that Lab of his anyway?"
Uh… actually… holy crap has he been in there for the whole year and one month?
"Uh…he might actually have been in there the whole time…" I said carefully.
"... You should probably check on him. Last guy I knew that stayed in a room for a whole year doing research OD'd on whatever it was he made."
Heh. There's Saw classic. Also wow.
"Uh…sure, that is a thing." I said, finishing up my fourth bowl of Katsudon. "Alright, now to head off and see if the Saint didn't accidentally do something really weird."
I got up and headed back to the house proper. I walked up to the door that appeared when the Saint installed his lab and I opened it.
… holy crap!
There was a lot of insane machines here. All of which I have no idea what any of it does so… just gonna be careful as I walk through here…
I walked for a while, this lab was way larger than I was expecting. Passing through all kinds of machines, works in progress, tanks of odd fluids and chemicals and such.
Eventually I reached an area I could see the Saint at. He was sitting on a chair looking at…
…
She looked like how I remember when I was little. Her body floated in that tube of unknown liquid, machines displaying data at a rapid pace and the Saint sat there watching it all.
"Hey Saint…how goes it?" I asked carefully.
"Hello Midoriya." He said, turning and looking at me. "Incubation is almost done."
"It's been a year and a month…and you've been down here this whole time?" I inquired.
"Of course. Building new life from cells from scratch is easy, but bringing someone back, the body and memories from the ashes of the dead, and a dead Isekai, took longer than expected. First I had to scan every bit of ash for the genetic imprints of her memories, personality, body, everything. Then reconstruct those and convert them into the cells of this realities biology, then allow all that to grow into the proper form, once it was stable enough I implanted the new soul and Heart, and from then I've been monitoring to ensure there are no malfunctions or errors."
"Alright." I nodded. "Again…thank you for this Saint…it means the world to me." I said with a smile. "Though there has been a lot that happened over the past year."
"Please do tell. I was going to ask you for a report when she was done."
"So first, I obtained a special Compass that leads me to anyone I think of…and then I was also handed a Book of Creation by the same person who…for the life of me I can't remember and it pains me to this day…" I said carefully. "Got a Time Gem out of it though which…also hurts like a truck given it's in the shape of a heart…" I sighed, shaking my head as I went into detail about what happened before I start crying…again…
"A Time Gem you say? Hm." He said simply. "Whoever they were, they loved you dearly."
"Yes…it's…it's rough, as I can't remember who or what gave it all to me …" I sighed. "Also, a little surprised you didn't react to when I said Book of Creation, cause Scotch told me it causes wars…"
"It does. Surprised you never asked me for one. I have seven."
Of course he does…
"I'm not surprised you do…" I sighed. "But I've also obtained Fast Travel from…Jin…" I sighed. "And Township from…somewhere, and that turned into Frontier so I can start making outposts and a portal grid."
"Township? Frontier? Hm. Never heard of them." They said, making me blink. "They must be new Abilities."
"Huh…hearing something that's new to you is…surprising." I admitted. "But apparently Township is…Civilization the Ability." I said carefully. "And Frontier is a Compound Ability that let's me create Outposts wherever I want as long as it's within certain building parameters, and I can create portals that are practically instant between the Outpost and any Town I want or have."
"I see. Very useful." He said, looking back at the data screen on my mother's tube. "Anything else?"
"Well, we started a whole lot of production, especially with Scotch having a blast with the Book of Creation." I admitted
"I'd imagine. Anyone who enjoys crafting and create would consider it a blessing to use one of those books."
"Yep." I nodded. "And so far I have over twenty outposts at the moment but…that's barely scratched any reasonable distance between here and out in the Nightmare…'
"Makes sense. The zones are rather massive."
"Yes…" I sighed. "I'm still trying to find Tomura and Kai…just wish my Compass was a bit more specific with the distance…"
"It could. If hooked up to a special navigation tool."
"And what's the device?" I inquired.
"It's called a Space Distance Locator. You put an item on it and it can tell you where to find more of that item. Put your compass on it, and it will tell you exactly where it's pointing on a map no matter how far."
"And I have a feeling to create it would take some important items, and to find it would take…a long time." I admitted.
"Depends. Some merchants on Armageddon have them equipped on their ships on in their inventory if they also scavenge for supplies. Making one will take time."
"Fair enough." I nodded.
"Is that everything?"
"Well…considering how much I've been going through with my Keyblade's…can I…try and help Jaku?" I asked, knowing his mind is probably fucked but his Heart is someplace I need to look into…I need to see if he was still okay as a whole.
"Soon." The Saint said. "You have made great progress, but you still have one last thing to learn, and that is Keyblade mastery."
"Which is something I've heard and looked up and it's…extremely vague on what Keyblade Mastery is." I admitted.
"In the end, a Keyblade Master is not someone who has gathered all the skills or learned every spell or even someone who has perfected combat with their key, no. A Keyblade Master is someone who's heart will not waver, will not falter, and will always hold those they care about close."
"Well…I'm probably real close or real far away from doing that." I admitted.
"That depends on what happens when you take the Mark of Mastery Exam."
"And…when or how will that happen?"
"When I say so."
"So it could be right now or in the most inopportune times…" I said carefully.
"It will be when I say." The Saint said. The data on the screen flashed and then the whole thing turned green. "It's done." He said, standing up and heading over to a console.
"Is…is she going to wake up?"
"In a moment." He said, the tube draining down and my mom floating down with it. "You wouldn't want her to wake up naked now would you?" He chuckled.
"No, I wouldn't." I said quickly, using Creation to conjure up some clothes for my mom so she wouldn't wake up naked.
The Saint took them, once all the liquid was gone he snapped his fingers, mom appearing dry and clothed in the clothes I made for her on the floor before me. "She will awake in a few moments, but first I will inform you of some things Midoriya."
"What do I need to know?" I asked readily, hoping that this won't be bad news.
"Firstly, this is your mother. Biologically, memories, emotions, everything that says she is your mother is here. Part of the incubation was to have her new heart and soul adjust to the memories and imprint them into their essence. This however brings up something I must inform you. What we have done here, most of reality off Armageddon consider a highly taboo thing."
"What? Bringing someone back to life?" I asked. "Why would they think it's Taboo?"
"Because many consider this to be an insult to the dead. You see, despite she will know, feel and remember everything, her Heart and her Soul are not the ones she was born with. In our reality, there is a way to reclaim the Heart of the dead, those who have gone Mad, but not the soul. The old soul is gone, moved on to a place we can not reach and the hollow body is left a Madness filled husk in the Time Walker prison. As a result, the act of reviving the dead is a heavily taboo thing, mainly because of the soul being unable to be retrieved. So, a new soul is implanted, but many consider this to not be the same person as before. Especially if a Memory Echo was used, like I used."
"That…makes sense." I nodded. "The Soul is a very important thing and it can't just be replaced…but…mom never had a soul in this reality…"
"But she did in your prior one." The Saint stated. "And that as well as her original Heart are unable to be recovered."
I sighed. "Well…this was the only way to bring mom back…she deserves a happy life…and I'm hoping I can help give it to her and make her proud."
Nodding, the Saint kneeled down. "Just remember. Her last memories were of you vanishing, and her taking her own life, not to mention in your current form, she is likely to not recognize you at first. She might even believe she is dreaming or hallucinating."
"Kind of wish I could change how I look to give her a better first impression…" I sighed. "But…Reality will help her through this…"
"Perhaps. You should take her before she wakes up. I have to pack the lab back up."
I nodded, gently picking her up and carried her off to a spare room, my mind racing a mile a second as I tried to think of what to do, what to say…I finally have my mom back and I'm so confused on what to do when she wakes up.
I brought her into a spare bedroom I quickly had added and laid her down. I took a seat on a chair and waited for her to wake up. There's so much to say, to tell her… over ten years worth of things… god the girls, what is she gonna think about my over ten thousand person harem?! And the kids!
Crap what will she say when she meets Poppy? Or Red? I mean a feral human woman as a pet, she's gonna flip!
…Oh god…if she doesn't flip about any of that…Delilah would make her go ballistic…
Shit… this is gonna be a complete mess… oh my God when she meets Saw…
I rubbed my temples as I felt my face burn with embarrassment at all the nonsense that mom is going to freak about.
"Hmmm…" I nearly had a heart attack hearing her begin to stir. Slowly she woke up, opening her eyes as she pulled herself up. She looked around then her eyes fell on me. "W-what?" She asked, sleepily as she rubbed her eyes. "Where… am I? And who are you? You look… familiar… and kinda like me?" She asked.
"I-it's me mom…" I said, tears already filling my eyes. "It's Izuku…"
"Izuk… Izuku?" She asked, squinting at me. "... Either I'm dreaming or I owe Mitsuki a lot of money for you actually turning out trans…"
… Excuse me what?!
"Okay, first of all, there was a reason all that died out in the Dawn of Quiks." I huffed. "And secondly, you bet on me?" I asked incredulously.
"Well, she did, plus you did enjoy wearing dresses when you were little." Mom said.
I… I remember that… I grew out of that when I… found out I was Quirkless…
Okay my own repressed memories and shit aside, mom likely isn't fully realizing this is real since she's talking to me so bluntly so…
"Mom…" I tried to think of how to make her realize this is real and only things I'm thinking of is either pinching her, giving her some shock experience or something else…"This is reality, you're not dead…I'm here, and also I'm a hermaphrodite." I added.
"Oh wow… so Mitsuki was half right."
Okay so… this is gonna be a bit…
"Mom please, I'm trying to be serious here and not also cry a literal river out of this room…" I said carefully. "Still can't believe you bet on me…"
"I didn't, that was all Mitsuki. But… how can I know this isn't some dream from the pills or maybe my brain frying or just I've finally lost my mind…" Mom said, starting to tear up. "Maybe I am dead and if so then what? How do I know you're really my Izuku when you look so much older and so different?"
"It's…a long, long story." I said carefully. "You aren't dreaming…your brain is fine, and you most certainly haven't lost your mind…I almost have once or twice so I would know." I said, trying to make some joke to alleviate the growing sadness.
"Then prove it… tell me something you never told me before that I'd know was true… where were you when you disappeared?"
"I was…on a rooftop having just talked to All Might…he told me that, even with Quirks being a Hero is dangerous and…I would never be a hero." I told her. "Compounded with Bakugo telling me the exact same day to kill myself because I dared want to get into UA…so…I did what I thought would help everyone…but when I jumped, I wished I could become a hero in my next life and… I woke up in an… incredible new world."
"A new world? So... you didn't die? Wait… is this an Isekai trope in real life?!"
"Yes, yes it is." I nodded. "Had a hard time believing it myself but…this is real, and it's amazing…also uh…Isekai Trope is weirdly true when it also involves…a lot of women…"
Despite my words, mom raised a hand to my cheek. "It's… really…" I was surprised she turned my head to the side, and I felt her fold my ear. "It is you! Izuku!" Mom cried as she pulled me in and hugged me.
Feeling her hug me…feeling her cry out that it was me…I…the dam burst as I hugged mom and cried. "I'm sorry…I'm…I'm so so sorry…"
We cried, holding one another for a while, it felt like hours.
"You're so big… you're not fourteen anymore… are you?"
"I'm thirty years old now." I answered. "And…yeah, I did grow quite a bit." I chuckled.
"My god… thirty? I've missed so much…"
"Yeah…like I said before…it's a long, long story." I said softly. "Where do you want me to start?"
"I don't know. Maybe when you-"
"Hey Midoriya- oh, you're awake!" Delilah said, giving mom a smile. Oh no… "Hi, I'm Midoriya's girlfriend, Delilah."
"Oh, uh, hi." Mom said, giving Delilah a handshake. "So, you're with Izuku?"
"Yeah. We all just call them Midoriya for uh, some complicated reasons but yes. Myself and many others all call him our love."
"Many huh? I think I remember Izuku saying something like that… so, how many has my son wooed?"
"A little over ten thousand."
"Excuse me?!" Mom screamed, turning very pale.
Oh no…
"Yeah, and it's taking him a while but he's trying to give us all some kids, currently there's five hundred and sixty three that have been born and another eighty seven still yet to be born."
"What!?"
"Yeah, Midoriya has been working real hard keeping that promise to us. Even if he got real rough and kinky with a lady not even in the harem a month ago…" Delilah said with a pout.
"He did wha-huh?!"
"Yeah. I mean he's broken the bed with me and some others but he literally pounds that lady into a ten foot crater and still can't wreck me the same?"
"Ten foo-" Mom promptly passed out, falling unconscious on the bed.
"Delilah!" I snapped in embarrassment. "Why did you do that?"
"She was gonna find out sooner or later, plus I'd rather be honest with my new mother in law." She shrugged.
"Could have been…a little less blunt about it." I said carefully.
"How less blunt can anything I said be spoken when it's not only all true but when she found out, how did you expect to cushion that info?"
I sighed…
I had never seen mom drink before. Some wine for cooking, but never drink. So I was surprised when she demanded a drink, and Delilah walked her to the bar, where I watched her down four mugs and two whiskey on rocks.
"Okay… I think I'm buzzed enough to process everything I was told…" Mom sighed.
"Wow you can drink." Saw smirked.
"I used to party hard back in my youth."
"Seriously?"
Mom nodded. "Settled a bit when I got married, and after I got pregnant with Izuku I stopped completely."
"Wow… So Midoriya get's all his tight assness from his old man then."
Mom laughed. "Oh he's not that bad… after some drinks himself."
"Yeah…so I wanted to be a little more…gentle with the explanations but…well, Delilah never likes beating around the bush when it comes to lewd stuff."
"Just want to start the relationship off with honestly." Delilah shrugged with a smirk.
"Heh… I guess I can appreciate that… still… five… hundred… grandbabies…" Mom said.
"And much, much more on the way." Delilah nodded.
"I was genuinely surprised he was with anyone when we first met." Saw chuckled. "Came off as a bit of a nerdy try hard."
"Heh. He tries to be like his role models… who if I ever meet I'm gonna castrate publically…" Mom growled.
"Okay how did you give birth to someone as largely up tight as Midoriya?"
"He's just always been rather shy, and timid. He gets that from his father." Mom smirked. "Who… is probably never coming back to Japan ever again with his son missing and wife dead…" She said, taking a fifth mug and started drinking.
"... Okay how can she hold her liquor so much better than you?" Saw asked me.
"I don't know…" I answered. "But for me being shy and timid…I mean, it didn't help that I was physically, mentally and emotionally abused by everyone other than mom and Bakugo's parents for the most part." I brought up.
"I have iron kidneys and a liver of steel… and you never told me." Mom said, pointing a finger at me. "You told me some people were being rude, not that it was full on abuse- I'd- I'd have helped Mitsuki hide her son's body!"
"Oh you mom is officially cooler than you." Saw smirked.
"She's talked about it! We had locations planned out… and insurance!"
… Huh… why am I not surprised Kacchan's mom has a plan in place for that?
"Well why didn't you say anything about it mom?" I asked. "I mean, sure I would have wondered immediately if someone was using a quirk to either clone you and replace you or duplicate your appearance if you said such a thing, but it would have been good…also you could smell the nitroglycerin that was burned into me." I frowned, now learning that my mom was actually a lot more…violent than I thought, I'm pretty sure she would have noticed the times Bakugo used his quirk on me.
"Why did you just say it was helping Katsuki train his quirk?" Mom retorted. "Always defending him like an abused girlfriend…" She sighed, taking another swig. "You might have talked to me, smiled, spent time with me but you were still keeping distant ever since the day you learned you were quirkless and ever since you either kept to your notebooks or All Might collection or was tracking the hero fights when they started… You might have been there but you cut me out and I didn't know if you even wanted me in…"
"... Well… Shit." Saw said.
"Yeah…" Delilah nodded.
"Because…at the time I thought I was nothing but a burden to you…" I said. "Remember the day when we were Quirkless and…that night, I was watching All Might in the news…I was crying and asked you…pleaded, if I could still be a hero…and all you did was cry and apologize…then after that, everyone else learned that I was Quirkless…I didn't want to cause you problems because I couldn't do anything, that I was getting beaten and abused daily by my so called 'friends'...you were my world mom, I didn't want to hurt you more than I already was…" I shook my head. "You're smile, your reassurance that things can be better even if I was hiding all my pain…it helped me get through so much…but having my idol tell me that it's a hopeless endeavor, that the sole thing I wanted in the whole world, something that would make you proud was just some pipe dream…" I grabbed my own bottle of Sake and took a quick swig. "But now…all I keep being told is I keep messing up, and having more and more people laugh and belittle me because I care…just like back when I was a kid but with less physical abuse…"
"... I remember that day well Izuku." Mom sighed. "Seeing you look so… broken… I felt like such a screw up. I blamed myself for you not getting a quirk. Thought I was the problem. That if I wasn't your mother you could have gotten a quirk and been who you always wanted to be… I swear, if I ever see All Might I will castrate him publically for saying that to you. But here in this reality, this world, despite everything and what everyone is telling you, you're still trying. I mean, Delilah said this town is what it is because of you… you're doing amazing. So let them taunt, let them laugh. Let them belittle you, their words don't hold a candle to the progress you've gained, and the results show it. You made this place on what I'm told is a hellscape planet, a sanctuary. You have friends, family, lovers… so many lovers… and so many children… Some people will always hate those who are kind, thinking them weak… but you have never been weak Izuku… and hey, even me being here is proof you can do anything."
"You were never the problem mom, you were a ray of sunshine that always brightened up the world around you…and I'm always happy that your my mom." I said. "And…well, it was due to the Saint that did a lot of technological nonsense to get you back to life but…none of this would be possible if Kacchan didn't somehow…bring your ashes with him to this world." I admitted. "And Kacchan somehow got worse with his inability to feel any emotions even if he didn't immediately insult or attack me."
"So he's here too?" Mom asked, taking another swing of her mug. "...Izuku, can anyone gain powers in this reality? Anyone at all?"
"Yup, that's what Midoriya was told and he's living proof. Lots of powerless people show up here and get powers." Delilah answered for me.
"... I'd like to try that."
…Wait what?
"Uh…what do you mean by that mom?" I asked. "Cause…while technically I can hand you quirks due to…what I can do currently…long story about that…"
"I missed out on sixteen years while you've been here. I don't want to miss out on anything else. I felt like crap for years being unable to do anything to help you achieve your dream… if I can help you in this reality, then I'm helping." Mom said, finishing her beer off. "I'm gonna help you be a hero."
"You're gonna join the Party?" Delilah asked.
"If that's what it's called then yes." She nodded.
"Well…I'm glad to have you on board mom." I said. "Though…the training isn't going to be fun at all…even if Luna and Saw got lucky one time during it…"
"I'll be fine. Can't be any worse than girls night with Mitsuki."
"What did you two get up to?" Saw asked with a smirk.
"Beat up registered rapists and pedophiles."
Wait… is THAT why there was so little crime in our area?!
"Oh I like you." Saw grinned. "Mind if I ask how that became a girls night?"
"Eh, one night back before we were moms some jackass tried to drug Mitsuki, I caught him and well, he slapped me, Mitsuki kicked him, I kicked him, we both kicked him until his crotch was beyond saving. Turns out he was a wanted serial rapist. We just kept at it."
… Mom was a vigilante?!
"I think this revelation is breaking Midoriya." Delilah said.
"It's alright, his father never knew either." Mom chuckled.
"Oh my god…" I muttered. "You were a Vigilante mom! You could have at least told me that!" I frowned. "Even if it was illegal, I would have liked to have known my mom was doing hero work."
"Well it was illegal and I was worried if anyone found out and I got in trouble that if you knew you'd be considered an accomplice. So, I didn't tell you so in case we did get caught you had no knowledge of what I did on my monthly girls night. Did meet some other vigilante heroes though. They're all such nice people. Most were like us, parents wanting to help make the streets safer for the kids since most heroes only ever took on the big messy and noisy bad guys."
"Alright, that settles it, your mother is FAR cooler than you could ever be Midoriya." Saw chuckled.
I took a deep breath… and sighed. "Yeah… I know…"