"Father…"

"What's wrong son? That look on your face almost make's me think you never expected to see me up again." The old yakuza leader questioned, a hint of parental condescension in his voice as he took another challenging step forward with a loud clack of his cane.

The Bullets remained silent, waiting on bated breath for how their leader would react. Most of Kai's loyal squad had joined after he had taken leadership of the group but those who had been with him longest knew this changed everything.

Kai remained in a state of shock for several more moments after his father had spoken again. Then, though, as if struck by realization, the calm returned to his eyes and his shoulders relaxed as he said "Ah…of course. I wondered in the back of my mind if you were going to make some sort of move and I have to admit, I wasn't expecting this."

The old man raised a grey, bushy eyebrow "I'm not sure I follow your meaning, son. Are you saying you were expecting me to lay in a coma for so long just to wake up to this madness, hmm?"

"No" Kai replied, a hint of menace in his voice as he began to walk forward, "I don't suppose you wouldn't, since your nothing more than an illusion conjured by that thief, Xellos."

With the gasps of several members of the Bullets, Kai reached out to prove his point and dispel the illusion when his hand passed through it. Instead, dumb shock again gripped the masked villain as his hand instead grabbed the cloth of his father's draped jacket. Slowly, Kai rose his head to meet his father's eyes. The disapproving glare that met him was so heavy that Kai immediately let go and threw himself on the ground before his father.

Shocked disbelieve took hold of the gathered Bullets as their leader prostrated himself before this man who seemed barely able to walk. With an audible grunt that bordered on a growl, the old boss spoke in a commanding tone that belied his frail state "I thought I raised you to be strong, Kai-kun. To protect the Family. But what do I find? Our boys running around, terrified heroes will descend upon them any second and their leader planning to use them as shields so his cowardly ass can run away with my granddaughter? No, this will not stand."

"Yes, your right Father. I...I was trying to bring the yakuza back to their rightful place…for you! For the family that had taken me in!" Kai pleaded, his voice muffled as he remained face down.

Chronostasis tried to defend his master, hoping his prior history with the boss, having been by Kai's side the longest, by saying "But sir! Those men won't change the world! We need them to buy us time for the plan to move forward! Otherwise, everything will have been for nothing!"

The old boss's eyes suddenly burned with righteous indignation as he rose up to his full height, managing to make even a hospital gown intimating as he snapped "If you aren't doing it for those boys up there then what's the damn point, fool!"

Chronostasis cowered backwards under the, until recently, bedridden yakuza boss. With no one else moving to challenge him, the old man spoke again, this time calmer but still commanding. "No, what's going to happen is you lot are going to be the ones to stand guard outside to by time for the boys to escape, ya hear me?"

Kai couldn't help but look up, wide-eyed at his father's declaration. The old man couldn't sacrifice his men like that! But then, at this point, what option did he have? They weren't ready to move yet if they wanted to retain everything they needed to build an empire in a new world on the back of his new quick-cancelling bullet. Someone needed to be a shield and with his father up and about, the grunts wouldn't listen to an adopted son who had ruled though fear.

Even though Kai had touched the man before him with his own hands, this whole situation still felt far to contrived to be coincidence. Something was up and he had to find out what before everything was destroyed. Kai had got his old man out of the picture once, and it seemed he'd have to do it again.

His composure regained and with his reeling subordinates watching on, Kai cooly answered from the ground "Yes, father. My Bullets are yours to use. We'll do what has to be done to save the family…"

(X)

With the plan agreed upon and logistics being seen to by Mirai and the police, most of the heroes were left to wait in several staging rooms in and around the police station that they had been briefed in. Terra sat alone at the makeshift conference table they had all been gathered at before. She was already dressed in her hero costume, a mostly faithful reproduction of her cloths from her home world, a mostly red outfit with pink highlights and a sheer pink cape trailing behind as she sat there. One hand was held open in front of her, a small ball of fire dancing just above it as the half-esper starred at it absent-mindedly.

"Hey"

Startled, Terra dispelled the ember in her hand as she turned to see who had spoken. Surprise turned to comfortable familiarity when the green-haired girl saw Zelgadis approaching. "Hello Zelgadis. Is everything alright?"

Though Terra looked pleased to see the chimera, the same could not be said for the rock-encrusted swordsmen as he came to stand beside her and answered "That's what I was going to ask you. Are you really ok with your role in all of this?"

The smile on Terra's face shrank as she turned away to look at the wall, as if considering Zelgadis' words. "Zelgadis, have I ever told you what my life was like back in my own world?"

Zelgadis frowned, thinking of everything the girl beside him had said on the subject and coming up short. "You've talked about your world for the most part and your friends but honestly, no, not that I can recall."

When Terra turned to meet to the chimera again, Zelgadis was struck by how sad her smile was as she began to speak, "I was…the only half-esper in the world and that led me to be used most of my life. I was raised by the very empire that had murdered my mother and imprisoned and slowly drained away my father. Ultimately, I was made a thoughtless slave, meant to destroy on command. When I broke free of their control, I spent the next two years doing little more than reacting to situations as they came. Desperate to help and do right, all while discovering my true nature, something that scared myself and many around me."

Zelgadis listened on silently, pained to hear of his friend's suffering but struggling to see where she was going with all of it. He got his answer when Terra continued, "I tell you this because I wanted you to understand how much I value my own ability to make my own choices in life. Zelgadis, we're not just here to save a little girl and crush a criminal organization. Xellos means to take our only means of getting home away from us. I refuse to let him rob us of that choice and I will do anything in my power to get you home."

Zelgadis stood by his friend, held by the conviction in her eyes, feeling the weight of her words and almost let himself be swept away by them. Then, the cold, rational part of his mind wrestled control. Terra may be willing to do everything she could to stop the mischievous mazuku but the truth of Xellos' strength could lead Zelgadis to only one realistic conclusion. "Even if that means you'll die?" the sorcerer coldly responded, a scowl on his face.

Terra's expression tightened as she stood up and faced the chimera. Without preamble, Terra was bathed in pink light as her form became enveloped with pink fur and her hair matching as it flowed wildly down her back. With an aura of energy emanating from her, it was hard for Zelgadis to not be intimidated by not just the sight but the power that stood in front of him. Now, as only someone with an ability to sense magic could, Zelgadis felt Terra's presence as much as he could see her and that logical part of him mind began to have its doubts.

"If it means I'll die, then it means I die the way want to, as what I want to, Zelgadis. I didn't have a choice, being made this way but it is how I choose to be." Terra answered firmly.

Zelgadis' eye's widened at the half-esper's words. She may have been born the way she was but him? Zelgadis had asked for this. He was the way he was because he had wanted power. Even if this wasn't what he had expected when he wished for it. No. He was the way he was because of a mistake. One he aimed to correct. And if that meant getting home, then so be it. If it meant using some child's power, he'd do that to.

Still, even if he disagreed with what Terra was trying to tell him without actually say it, Zelgadis at least felt more confidence in their chances against Xellos. Nodding, the rock-encrusted swordsmen replied "You're stronger than I gave you credit for. I'm sorry for thinking otherwise. I'll see you out there, Terra."

When Zelgadis turned and left the way he came, Terra reverted to human form, a worried frown on her face. Zelgadis was often as rough underneath as his rocky skin but the green-haired half-esper knew beneath it all was a person of deep caring and deep passion. People like that, Terra knew, would bottle those passions up, blaming themselves for past trauma. Many of her friends back home were like that. Terra just hoped that she could help her friend before something terrible happened.

(X)

"…You hear me boys? This may be our home but nothing matters more than this family, so get your asses down into the tunnels and head for the compound! Kobe will lead you there!" the now returned head of the Shie Hassaikai boomed in front of the stunned and awestruck rank and file of the yakuza group.

The speech was met by raucous cheering as men threw their arms in the air, some openly weeping at the return of their seemly lost leader. The old man grinned before shouting once more, a hint of pride in his voice "I didn't say cheer, you punks! I said get moving!"

With a renewed cheer, the men began gathering material belongings and started the process of leaving their headquarters. Confident he had made his point, the old leader moved into the house, followed by the aforementioned Kobe, who, once he was sure they were alone confidently said "That was perfect! With you here, we can save the boys instead of sacrificing ourselves for that madman of a son!"

The old man let slip a sly smile as the young man beside him heaped on the praise. Then the boss replied "Oh no, without you, Kobe-san, it never would have gone so smoothly."

Both men's smiles vanished when the sound of a slow clap filled the room. Both turned to look in a dimly lit corner to find what looked like a blonde-haired schoolgirl with predatory eyes and a hungry grin flanked by a taller man in a black full-body suit. Both men turned and were on their guard when Himiko slowly began to step forward as she stopped clapping and petitely placed her hands behind her back. As she got closeer she spoke in a sing-song voice "Now THAT was a pre-t-good performance there! If I wasn't so good at pretending to be others myself, I might have been fooled too…Xellos."

"I know you fooled me! I didn't buy it for a second." Twice added as he followed behind his friend.

When Kobe brandished a knife and tried to step forward, the old "leader" threw his hand in front of the younger man and replied "Why, whatever do you mean? I am clearly the head of this family. If you plan to renege on the deal your boss made with my son, I give you permission to do so, no questions asked."

Glancing over at the underling, Himiko realized what was at play and changed tactics "Oh? How generous of you, boss-san! Tell you what, why not we make a deal with you then, since you're now the man in charge again. Fair?"

"Toga! What are you doing? That's not what the boss wanted! Yeah! Lets do some back-stabbing!" Twice frantically whispered into the blood thirsty blonde's ear.

Himiko paid her friend's concerns no mind, her smile disappearing to show how serious she was as the old man answered "Interesting. And brave. I like it! What did you have in mind, girl?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm not talking deals with lackeys around. We'll talk in private." Himiko answered.

The old man's eyebrow raised, a hint of a smile on his lips as he turned to his compatriot "Kobe, I'd like a word with this young lady, if you wouldn't mind?"

"I aint going unless this weirdo in the suit comes too!" the young yakuza snapped.

Himiko and Twice exchanged glances, followed by Twice shrugging before he began walking, as he said "I'll be right outside. I'm not going anywhere!"

With the other two gone, Himiko spoke again "Ok, let's try that again. The boss felt you when he killed you back in Kamino so clearly whatever your quirk is, it isn't illusions so cut the crap, Xellos! You told Shigaraki about getting All For One back and we're here to collect, so cut the bullshit."

The old man stood, looming over the far smaller girl, his arms crossed, unmoving. For a moment, Himiko considered having to gut the bastard to get him to drop the façade but finally, the act began to crumble as a massive, almost unnatural smile spread across the man's face.

"Very good, Toga-san! I am pleased to know Shigaraki has someone with even a hint of discretion among his ranks!" Then, as Himiko blinked, the old man was replaced by the purple-haired, purple suited enigma.

If Himiko was impressed, she didn't show it, as she cooly regarded the man with the disarming smile in front of her. "Had that fool outside coach you on how to act like the old man, not bad at all. But why? Planning to take the group over from that asshole, Overhaul?"

The vampiric murderer nearly lunged instinctively when the man in front of her leaned in a bit and waved a gloved finger in front of her and said "Now that…is a secret! Well, at least some of my plan is. I can indeed get you in contact with All for One but in exchange, there are some things I would ask of you and your boss."

This guy was starting to piss Himiko off. Most anyone else would have reacted at least alittle to her threatening to attack them but not this Xellos. He acted as though there was literally nothing she could do to him. Maybe that was true, but he was coming off very condescendingly and it made her want to kill him all the more. Still, she had sought him out and having got what she came for, she wasn't about to back out now. Not when there was the chance to gut some fish. That playfully predatory smile spread across her face once more as she replied "Sounds fun. What've ya got in mind?"

"Wonderful!" Xellos beamed, "Feel free to share all of this with your two-sided friend out there. So here's the plan…"

(X)

With only an hour left before the raid began, all of the rookie heroes-in-training were gathered so Shouta and Celty could speak with them one last time. It started straightforward enough, going over the plan of attack and responsibilities. Since they only had the base layout of the house from when it was built, and the quirks of some of groups members, they were playing it safe. The heavy hitters like Fatgum, Shadow Rider, Eraserhead and Ryukyu would lead, followed by the search team, with Michiru at its core, whose job it was to find Eri. She would be protected by Zelgadis, Emeralda Izuku and Mirio. Esper would be in the rear guard with other heroes and police to be called up if needed and when Xellos showed up along with the other 1-A students.

"Wait a minute" Eijiro interjected as Shouta was finishing, "Why are we the ones in back and all the lighters up front?"

Sounding even more put off then normal, Shouta sighed and answered "Weren't you listening? We need Animalia's tracking to get us to the girl. Besides, the three lighters have proven they are just as capable as the Big Three. All of them can handle themselves out there."

"As long as everyone sticks to the plan." Celty felt the need to add, her visor reflecting the image of a frowning Zelgadis.

Several looks were exchanged between the students before Shouta spoke again, this time his tone notably less harsh, almost bordering on caring "This is a major operation, your first and you lack experience. Help when asked but otherwise, I want you to learn out there. You're my students but tonight I'm a hero. We have a job to do and that can't include protecting you. This goes double for you Midoriya. I know its been hard living without being able to save that girl before but know that by staying your hand then, we were able to prepare for today. We will save her. You've already had a big part in that so please don't push yourself, you hear me?"

Though Izuku was the one being addressed at the end, the whole group nodded. Having said their peace, the two veteran heroes departed, leaving mixed feelings, especially among the 1-A students. His pride still wounded by his placement in the rear guard, Eijiro turned toward his now former classmates "What did Aisawa-sensei mean you were just as capable as the Big Three, huh? I feel like I'm missing something because not too long ago you were right there with us taking the exam, right?

Standing against the back wall of the room, arms crossed and hood up, Zelgadis answered with a grumble "We beat your precious Big Three, that's why."

Eijiro, Tsu and Ochaco looked completely shocked as they starred at the brooding chimera. When no further explanation was forthcoming, they turned to Michiru, with the frog-like Tsu asking "What does Magus mean by that?"

"Yeah!" Ochaco added breathlessly, "Just one of them totally wiped the floor with our entire class!"

Michiru leaned back, feeling the pressure of the heroes-in-training bearing down on her "Uhh…" was all she could manage as she looked to Emeralda for some help.

The tan girl saw the look in her friend's eyes and instead of taking it as a plea for help out of the situation, took it to mean she needed help with the explanation itself and cut in saying "Magus is correct. As a condition of being allowed to join your class for the exam, we were required to go up against several other students, three of which were the Big Three."

"Wow, that's totally manly! I guess it shouldn't be a surprise you three scored so high on the exam!" Eijiro exclaimed, pumping his fist.

Michiru groaned, drawing the opposite reaction than she wanted as Emeralda's expression went from modestly proud of herself to confused. The gravity defying brunette in the meantime was seeing stars as she eagerly asked "How'd you do it? Get so strong I mean? You're all about our age, right? You were only with us a couple of weeks. Were you all in hero classes before you got taken?"

At that last question, Ochaco covered her mouth, her eyes widening as Tsu said with a hint of reproach "Uraraka…"

The students of 1-A had been warned when the lighters first joined the class that it was considered very rude to even ask about a lighter's time before their 'rescue' and Ochaco, in her enthusiasm had bulled right passed that. At first, none of the three displaced souls had an answer to the questions they'd been bombarded with. Finally, Michiru looked the rosey-cheeked girl in the eye, almost remorsefully and said simply "Life. Life made us this way…"

It wasn't a wrong answer and it was vague enough to let the others fill in their own gaps while also shutting down follow-ups. As the atmosphere grew heavy, Izuku decided to do nothing to ease the mood as he spoke up for the first time since Shouta left, his voice grave "None of that matters right now. All that matters is we'll finally get the chance to save Eri!"

No one argued that point as the group fell into silence again. Then, in an attempt to lighten things up, Tsu spoke up, curious about something else earlier in the day. "Crescens, back when we were still getting here, I couldn't help but notice how you and Suneater acted when we ran into them, ribbit."

Seizing on anything to bring everyone's spirits up, Michiru answered before her friend could "Oh yeah! He asked her out at the opening ceremony."

"Wow, didn't know he had it in him. He seems so, you know, completely afraid to talk to anyone." Eijiro astutely observed.

The two female 1-A students on the other hand almost looked scandalized, Ochaco looking even redder in the face than normal as she almost whispered "…did, did you say yes?"

Emeralda, despite herself, blushed as she withered under the other's gaze, looking away as she said "No…I didn't. I'm sorry."

That caused Ochaco to look confused "Why are you sorry?"

"You…seemed so invested in an affirmative response I thought I had disappointed you." Came the embarrassed response.

"No, I'm sorry!" Ochaco shot back, her face suddenly set in determination, "I just got excited is all! You do whatever you think is best, don't let what I, or anyone else thinks, influence your decisions."

"She's right, Emmy" Michiru added, "You said you weren't ready and that's that! No shame in saying what you thought, ok!"

Emeralda seemed to contemplate what the two young women had said before bringing her attention back to them and offered her own question "If I may ask…have any of you been on a date before? I am familiar with the concept but…maybe if I could talk to someone about actual experience I may change my perspective."

At this point Izuku had moved to be by Zelgadis and was entirely disengaged with the conversation, focused on the battle at hand. Eijiro, though, groaned, mumbling something about wishing they were still talking about fighting the Big Three. The three girls, though, suddenly found literally anything else in the room more interesting to look at. This was especially convenient for Ochaco, who almost instinctively glanced toward Izuku before pulling her eyes away to avoid someone else notoicing.

Michiru spoke first, sounding apologetic as she did so "Sorry, Emmy, but back at my…old school I was more focused on sports. Most of the guys were pigs or assholes and the only guy I spent time with after that…well he's distant, grumpy and patronizing and a whole lot older than me. I guess I never really got to think about it since my, umm, quirk came in, ya know?"

That had been a rather…unusual answer that gave Tsu another reason to raise an eyebrow but decided to leave it be for her own rather straight forward answer "Ribbit, I've been focused on becoming a hero for a long time now. I guess if the right person came along I'd think about it but dating just isn't something I'm interested in. Sorry, Crescens."

"Yeah, its mostly been the same for me, too! I've been so focused on getting to be a hero to support my parents as soon as possible that getting into UA and being the best I can has pretty much been my focus for a while too. Sorry I couldn't be more help either!" Ochaco answered as well, looking rather sheepish as she spoke.

Emeralda, for her part, felt a bit better knowing she wasn't the only one with no experience in what had, up till now, seemed like such an important part of life that had been at best confusing and at worse painful for the nanomachine girl. Still, there was a common thread in the other girl's answers. They had all been focused on other things in their lives. They had had the chance to live lives long before such things even became an option. It was something she desperately wished she had gotten the chance to have before circumstances and her own foolish choice had taken it away from her.

Her inner doubt notwithstanding, Emeralda's and Tsu's questions had at least succeeded in bringing down the tension as they awaited the call to load up and head out. Soon enough that call came and the young heroes made their way to the police transports where they saw the Big Three, Terra and to Michiru's surprise, a very excited ant girl. The tanuki girl wasn't sure if she should be happy or worried that she had succeeded in fulfilling her promise to the overly eager third year as they all headed for what was likely a hard battle.

(X)

With the creaking of her door opening, Eri sat up in her bed, having spent the last hour huddled under the covers as she heard far more activity outside her room than she could ever remember. She knew something was happening but she had no idea what and the fact that no one had come to tell her scared her greatly. Eri's fear began to subside however when the familiar and kind face of her caretaker came through the door, his ever-present smile exactly what she needed to see.

"Xellos? Is everything ok out there? It sounds like a lot is going on." The young horned girl ventured, still cloaked in her sheets.

If her purple-haired friend was worried, it didn't show on his face as he came to the foot of Eri's bed and leaned forward, offering his hand before gently responding "It seems we're going to have to move to a new home, Eri-chan. Do you remember what that means?"

The platinum-haired girl wrapped the sheets tighter around herself, her eyes pleading as she answered with a whimper "B-but Xellos…I don't want to make grandpa disappear too!"

Xellos moved his hand to gently pat the girl's sheet covered head reassuringly as he said "Eri-chan, sweety, we've talked about this. Your grandpa may be breathing but as he is, he's never waking up. Right now, you're the only one who came save him. If you fail, he is no worse off then before. You're a big girl, I know you can do this!"

Eri looked up at the man who had been so kind and supportive of her, her eyes awash in the all too familiar fear of her own power. She was terrified. Even if Xellos could protect her from her father, she wasn't sure she could live with herself if she made her grandpa disappear just like her real daddy. But…maybe Xellos was right…maybe she could save someone and maybe even be saved herself. Sniffling, the frightened girl tried to steel herself as she offered a firm nod, taking Xellos' hand and getting out of her shabby bed for what she hoped would be the last time.

(X)

If the Shie Hassaikai didn't know something was about to descend upon them, they surely knew now as what seemed like a small army of police flowed out of transport vehicles and readied in formation as heroes gathered in smaller groups in front of them like a wedge. The atmosphere among those gathered was tense as everyone found their place and did their best to not look as nervous as they actually were. Some because they had never done something like this before and wanted to do their best, others worried about those same inexperienced compatriots while others still simply worried if they'd even be going home to their families by night's end.

Walking past the officers and groups of heroes in turn, Mirai had the look of a general sizing up his troops before coming to stand at the head of the column, with the ranking police officer. When the officer nodded, Mirai called out "This is it! You've all been briefed on the quirks we know we'll be facing but that only goes so far. Be vigilant! We're serving a warrant to search for illegal drugs, and that includes the girl Eri, whom we know is the origin of those drugs. That is our number one priority! Understand?"

When the assembled raid team shouted in the affirmative, Mirai added "Animalia! Are you ready? Our plan hinges on you!"

Michiru stiffened noticeably at the call out as the eyes of her teammates fell on her. With the note Eri had left Izuku in her hand, Michiru's body briefly had sparks dance about her as her tail grew longer, fuzzier and her snout longer, very much wolf-like. With a strong whiff of the note, Michiru focused on the scent that wasn't Xellos or Izuku and immediately picked up on Eri. A trail seemed to become visible in Michiru's mind. After a brief pause, Michiru's eyes shot open and she called out "I have her, Sir Nighteye! Let's do this!"

Armed with the warrant, the head officer called out "The operation begins now!" as he turned and charged forward, the mass of law enforcement and heroes following right behind. Fatgum, with his ability to absorb damage, lead the way, overtaking the two leaders of the mission the office, followed right behind by Shadow Rider, who pierced the gate ahead of them with her shadow blades, weakening it as Ryukyo enlarged her arm to its dragon-like proportions and smashed it entirely, allowing Fatgum to bowl through, bracing himself for an onslaught of punishment.

Behind them, Shouta already had his quirk active, ready to cancel quirks as he entered and Rocklock, also ready to react at a moment's notice. Michiru ran forward, still in wolf form, Emeralda to her front, Izuku to her right, Mirio to her left and Zelgadis behind. So focused on Eri's scent, the wolf girl didn't even notice that everyone in front of her had slowed to a walk. "Wha?" she reflectively said aloud as she looked about her. Instead of the chaos of a battlefield, it appeared the raiders had walked into an empty estate. There didn't seem to be anyone around at all. No guards, no one caught off guard in the middle of a smoke. Nothing.

"What the hell is going on? Did they already evacuate?" Rocklock questioned as he kept looking about for any sign of movement.

"Animalia!" Celty called.

"Right! I was focusing on Eri and it seems she's below us. There's an underground compound below the house. Give me a minute and I'll see what else I can detect!" the wolf girl responded. Closing her eyes again, she let go of the scent she had been focusing on and let her nose take in what was around them. With so many other people around her, it was hard to tell who was apart of the raid and what was a shadow left behind. As she expanded her senses outward, she began to pick up on a half dozen or more in the direction of the building itself and she knew what was about to happen as she called out "Watch out! They're about to come through that wall!"

The front-line fighters had just about enough time to turn to face where Michiru was pointing, Ryukyu calling out "Brace yourselves!" just as the wall exploded outward and a massive man, Rikiya Katsukame, with gauntleted gloves, black tank-top and a black, pointed mask covering the whole of his head came crashing forward, throwing himself into the mass of people before him. On his massive left shoulder sat Toya Setsuno, a lanky blonde in black pants, deep green dress shirt with a pink necktie and a long, narrow black mask on his face.

Following close behind was another blonde, Hekiji Tengai, though this one kept his hair short cropped compared to the other and he wore a black yukata over his tall and slender frame. He too wore a long mask though his was brown, long and simple. He was accompanied by Deidoro Sakaki, a shirt-less man with long black hair and a white mask that covered his whole face and was notable for being flat. This second man seemed to be struggling to stay upright, but then so too were those members of the raid team around him starting to show signs of disorientation.

Four more men came spilling out of the burst wall, one esd Soramitsu Tabe, with a scarecrow like sack over his head while another, Yu Hojo, was a bald man who wore a simple white medical mask and appeared to be adorned with crystals dove forward. Behind him was another, Hari Kurono or Chronostasis, in a white cloak and gas mask with a long extended front appeared to be throwing thin projectiles. Chronostasis was being guarded by Kendo Rappa, another large man in a white shirt, but aside from his wild, long red hair, had his head covered by a bird-like black mask as well.

Even with Michiru's warning, the surprise was near total and the formation came apart immediately as many scattered to take cover. At least among the heroes that was true. The poor massed police officers were sitting ducks for the largest of the attackers as many were simply swatted away like flies by the massive boulder of a man leading the charge.

The veteran heroes remained calm but with everyone scattered it was impossible to organize a counter to the surprise assault. That meant, for the time being, everyone would more or less have to fend for themselves. Ryukyu was first to act, fully aware she was best suited to counter the behemoth laying waste to the officers behind her. With enough space to transform, her form shifted and expanded to that of a flesh-colored dragon as she charged forward. However, as she did so, she realized something felt off. She was moving slower than she should have. It only took her a moment to remember one of the scouting reports mentioned Chronostasis, who could do just this with his hair. What was done, was done, she had to stop the assault of the officers even if she had been slowed.

Looking ahead, Ryukyu could see the few police who were able to avoid being swept away were having their guns, batons and shields stolen away by the blonde man riding on the monster's shoulders. As Ryuuku approached, she caught sight of an orange blur shooting down from the sky, something the blonde didn't as he gleefully kept stealing weapons wherever possible. Thus, Toya was caught completely unaware as Brooklyn crashed into him, talons first, smashing the thieving yakuza to the ground. The growling gargoyle's eyes shown white as he raised his arm to strike a knockout blow, only to be suddenly struck with an overwhelming feeling of disorientation. It was just enough to give him pause as he was hit hard with a flurry of crushing blows to the head by the red-headed Rappa, sending him down, unconscious and bloody.

Seeing her mentor up and charging Rikiya, Ochaco, who had been hunkered down in the bushes she had thrown herself into to avoid being hit, rose to engage as well. Tsu was nearby as well and seeing her, called out "Froppy! I need you to throw me at that giant!"

The green-haired frog-girl seemed horrified by this as she answered "What? Are you sure!"

"There's no time, if I can get him off his feet, Ryukyu can hit him hard!" Ochaco yelled back without looking at her friend. Pressing her fingertips together, she activated her quirk and began floating to get her there that much faster.

Her doubt replaced by trust in her friend and classmate, Tsu shot her tongue out and wrapped it around Ochaco's waist and swung around twice to build momentum before yelling "Ok Uravity! Here. We. GO!"

It was a risky move as the gravity defying girl was entirely defenseless if she was seen by her target. Luckily for her, the big man had become aware of the threat that Ryukyu posed and had turned to meet her, which left him entirely unaware as a pink and black bullet zoomed past him, lightly touching his leg as she went. Ochaco was caught by Eijiro, who had found himself on the opposite side of the piercing assault with Nejire.

The brunette activated her quirk once more and Rikiya, fully braced for the slow moving dragon woman heading toward him suddenly found himself weightless, floating above the ground and completely lacking the ability to leverage his strength. Ryukyu slammed into him hard, just as Ochaco had hoped, but instead of sending the massive yakuza flying, he latched on and took in a long breath, at once draining Ryukyu of her strength and taking it for himself as he began growing larger.

"Shit!" Ryukyu screamed in frustration as she kicked away, trying to break off from Rikiya. Instead, as the space between them grew, Rikiya reached out and pushed off of the dragon hero, causing himself to spin. As he twisted away, he came to a large tree, which he caught to stop him momentum before he proceeded to rip it out of the ground like any common weed, so immense was his strength by this point. He may have been weightless but Rikiya didn't need to be standing on firm ground to summon enough power to throw the tree like a javelin back at the slow moving dragon hero.

At that moment, Shouta, who had been disoriented by Deidoro's quirk, had recovered enough to see what was going on and turned his gaze on Chronostasis. Her body moving normally, Ryukyu was able to catch the massive tree, reducing the blow considerably, but it still knocked her backward and on to several of the lesser known heroes among their ranks.

Shouta had his goggles stolen by Toya, who was trying to steal just about anything he could as he dashed back to the protection of his gargantuan partner.

When Rikiya had first exploded onto the scene, Michiru had instinctively reverted back to tanuki form and her tail expanded into a massive ball of fur, encasing her entire protection detail. The good news was everyone would be protected from harm. The bad news was the giant fluff ball got kicked away like a soccer ball and got caught in the corner of the estate's perimeter wall, causing it to ping pong several times before coming to a stop. Michiru and her teammates were completely disoriented as she returned her tail to normal, dropping all those encased to the ground with a thud.

Getting her bearings, Michiru got to her feet and looked on as the chaos unfolded. Everywhere she looked ahead of her, the tanuki girl watched as people were fighting desperately. Many of the people she had just been with were laying on the ground incapacitated while others struggled to fend off the yakuza ambush. "This…this is much worse than I thought it would be…" she spoke aloud as the others rose as well.

"It is pretty bad." Zelgadis acknowledged.

"But we're still here" Izuku added.

"We've still got a job to do, Animalia. You still have that scent?" Mirio spoke, his normally cheery demeanor much harder and focused.

"No, when I shifted back, I lost the ability to continue tracking. But I remember that she was underground and that there's a passage in the house that leads there." Michiru responded.

"Then that's where we're headed." Zelgadis declared, a sentiment acknowledged by Mirio with a nod.

"We're with you, Animalia. We'll get you through and you'll get us to the girl." Emeralda added, her calm attitude serving to instill confidence in her friend in the mist of such a terrible sight in front of them.

Shifting once more into her wolf form, Michiru narrowed her eyes as a snarl graced her canine features "Then let's get in there. Deku! LeMillion! Take point and clear the way! Magus, Crescens, you two handle defense, on the sides!"

"Right!" came the chorus of her teammates as they got in position and moved forward.

As the group charged for the main building, they first past near the giant Rikiya and caught his attention as he loomed over the grounded Ryukyu. He never got the chance to act though because from near the entrance to the grounds, Terra rose into the air, now in her esper form and cloaked in a veil of pink energy as she let loose a battle cry and began sending blasts of magic powered fire down on the massive yakuza.

The sack-wearing Soramitsu seemed to fly in from nowhere, mouth open wide, ready to eat whatever it came into contact with. Unluckily for him, he choose to try and nibble on Mirio, and the forever hungry yakuza passed right through him and got a jaw full of Izuku's fist, which sent him flying away and out of action at least for the moment.

Chronostasis tried to let loose his hairs on the group making its way forward but Zelgadis' wind barrier easily deflected the movement slowing projectiles.

Rappa charged at the group as well, aiming his rapid fire fists at the wolf girl at the center of the formation. The red-head only managed to punch the steel wall that had a moment before been Emeralda's arms. His attack foiled,Rappa fell back when he sensed the counter attack come as Emeralda's hair extended forward as a mace that nearly took his mask off.

Michiru could see they were almost to the threshold of the building and a sense of relief was building inside her when a nauseous feeling began to wash over her as she struggled to keep her balance. As the world spun around her, she looked about to see her teammates were also feeling the same affects. Without knowing whose quirk it was they were feeling or how it worked, none of them could even begin to act to counter it.

Just as Michiru felt like she was going to lose her footing, Fatgum stepped in, having already been a victim of the quirk and realizing who was behind it, using a mighty thrust of his belly to send the offending Deidoro off his feet and several meters away, releasing the group from his quirk. "Get in there! We'll be right behind you!" Fatgum called as he turned to follow up his attack.

"Don't fall behind, Fatgum!" Mirio replied as the group began forward once again, finally crossing the threshold and entering the compound proper.

Everyone remained on guard, but Michiru wasn't going to make the same mistake twice and focused her sense of smell once more to pick up as much as she could instead of just the singular scent of Eri. "Around the corner, blocking access to the underground, there are three more!"

Almost as soon as those words left her mouth, the trio of yakuza appeared. One, Shin Nemoto, a slim man wore a black cloak, black bowler hat and black beaked mask with a pair of goggles stepped forward with a hand gun out and pointed at the group. Another was new to the bullets, Gai Sumitsu was larger, better built and oddly, kept his hands up in front of himself, palms open though he didn't have a mask. The third was the most unusual-looking, a tiny man in an all black body suit and white, skull-like mask stitched down the middle known as Mimic or Joi Irinaka.

"It was only a matter of time before some of you self-righteous vermin made it past the vanguard." Shin spoke calmly, as though his base wasn't being raided and his comrades not engaged in a desperate struggle just outside.

"You're stalling. Don't think that little gun of yours scares us." Zelgadis scoffed, then raised his palm before adding "Now move out of the way! Fireball!"

A singular blast of fire flew from the sorcerer's hand and shot straight at the armed yakuza. However, instead of disarming the man as intended, the flaming spell collided with what looked like thin air and dissipated in front of the hat-wearing Shin, who chuckled for a moment afterward.

"Oh, I think we have some time for questions." Shin replied with mirth in his voice.

This time Emeralda stepped forward, throwing her arm forward as it shifted into a whip, also intent on disarming the man. Her whip, too, smashed harmlessly against what seemed like air. This time though, Emeralda could feel that something was, in fact, there.

"Do you know what's in this gun?" Shin asked, ignoring the attack just moments earlier.

"Quirk cancelers, right?" Mirio answered, venom lacing his words, fully aware where those bullets would have come from.

"That's right! My, only the best from UA, I must say. I trust then that you can understand the gravity of what getting shot carries, yes?" Several among the heroes looked just a bit more nervous, the hint of hesitation visible to the former con-artist. Shin continued, confident he could milk these kids for at least some information. "Now, my quirk doesn't lend itself to combat, but it does come in very useful if given the right circumstances. It lets me get information most anyone else would struggle to retrieve. For instance, you, with the freckles, tell me, why are you here?"

Several eyes darted to Izuku, who suddenly felt an overwhelming compulsion to answer and did so "Eri! We're here to rescue Eri!"

"Deku, what're you doing?!" Michiru called from behind him.

"I-I can't help it! It must be his quirk!" Izuku answered defensively.

"Eri you say? Now that's interesting. You're the boy that Overhaul and the brat ran into aren't you? What makes Eri so special? Surely there are countless other children out there that 'need rescue', hmm? What say you scarf girl?"

This time it was Emeralda who was forced to answer and she looked absolutely surprised when she began speaking despite her best efforts not to. "We have learned that she is being used to make the bullets you have threatened us with and given Overhaul's quirk, we assume it is being done in a most painful fashion."

Shin was one to have absolute faith in his leader and as such, shared his suspensions and now with the chance to confirm them, quickly pressed "How? How did you learn about Eri?"

"It was Xellos." Izuku blurted out before he even realized he'd said it, covering his mouth immediately thereafter.

"I'm done playing games! We're getting down there one way or the other! Freeze Arrow!" Zelgadis yelled, holding one arm out and pulling back with the other, forming a magical frozen projectile.

The three yakuza smirked, expecting the same outcome as before and indeed the ice arrow did break upon the unseen barrier as the fire spell and whip had before it. This time though, once the spell hit, ice began to spread in all directions, encasing the wall to it's edges, clearly defining it and revealing they had been behind a wall.

All at once, multiple things happened. Mimic had pulled out a syringe and jabbed it into his neck, an act unseen by the heroes thanks to the ice covering the wall between them. Gai crossed his arms across his chest, putting both hands on his shoulders and disappeared while Shin fell to the side, gun out, intent on firing at the heroes and depowering as many as he could.

On the other side, Mirio charged forward, intent on phasing through the ice wall, while Emeralda dashed for the same edge that Shin had, shifting her arm into a shield as she moved. Zelgadis drew his sword and moved for the opposite side while Michiru and Izuku started to dash toward the hallway that led downstairs.

Shin fired as soon as he cleared the ice wall, intent on laying down cover fire, only to be met with Emeralda's shield, which caused the small syringe-like projectile to ricochet back and up. Just then, Mirio made it through the wall as Zelgadis rounded the other side and instead of finding two men there, watched as just one began to build an enormous amount of body mass, growing to be much taller and wider than either hero.

Zelgadis still charged forward with his sword but the newly enlarged Mimic fell backward and seemed to disappear into the back wall just as the bullet Shin had fired bounced back and by per luck, hit Gai. The needle had become too damaged to inject him with anything but it did give the former grunt's position away.

Mirio wasted no time taking a swing at Gai, managing a glancing blow as the invisible yakuza had already begun to dodge when he realized what had happened. Shin had hit the ground and now aware the hero to his front couldn't be shot, rolled backward. When Shin slammed into the back wall, Emeralda following behind, her other arm now a mean looking mallet. Shin pulled out a second gun and fired one at Mirio and the other toward Michiru and Izuku. That would be shin's last act as Emeralda caught up to him and hit him hard across his head, knocking him out cold, his bowler hat knocked off and crumpled on the ground.

Mirio simply used his quirk to allow the bullet to pass right through him but the other two didn't have such an luxury. Luckily, Zelgadis threw himself in the way, his rocky skin proving to be just as sturdy as he boasted, the bullet bouncing harmlessly off. "You two get down there, we'll be right behind!" the chimera called.

"Oh no, that won't do at all." Came a disembodied voice "None of you are going anywhere as long as I'm here!"

As Mimic finished speaking, the very walls and floor began to warp and undulate, knocking the conscious occupants of the room off balance. "What's going on? I thought that report they gave us said he could only do this to smaller objects, not whole rooms!" Michiru complained as she struggled to keep enough focus to track Eri.

"Must have used a quirk enhancer!" Mirio answered, before adding "If you point me in the right direction, I should be able to phase past this and keep looking!"

"We may not have much of a choice." Izuku agreed, "We can't stop this if we can't hit him, right?"

"He has to be in the walls to manipulate the room, yes?" Zelgadis asked, an evil glint in his eye.

"That's what the report said." Emeralda confirmed as she shifted her legs into metal girders and attempted to ram them into the ground to regain her footing, to no avail.

"Animalia! Can you tell what the underground portion of the compound is made of?" Zelgadis then asked, confusing the tanuki girl.

"Not really. I guess I can tell you what it's not. It doesn't smell like its made of wood or earthen materials at least, why?" Michiru replied.

"I'd avoided using stronger spells since we're inside a mostly wooden building, but I think its time to turn up the heat!" Zelgadis answered, as he prepared another spell.

As the sorcerer-swordsmen conjured several flaming arrows, one of Shin's discarded guns began to rise and as it did, Gai reappeared, gun in hand. Pointing at Izuku and Michiru, the recently promoted grunt spoke, his voice betraying his frustration at letting things fall so quickly "Don't you dare! You burn the Family's house down and I waste these two heroes, you hear me?" As the young man spoke, the part of the room where he stood stopped moving.

Gai was sure none of the three other heroes could rush him before he fired, even if he couldn't hit any of them and he could tell if the rocky one was about to use a long-range attack. He wasn't however, prepared when Emeralda's arm shot into the ground at an angle in front of her. The yakuza barely had time to register what the hell was even happening when the now blade-like limb shot out of the ground and pierced his hand, causing him to discharge it wildly before dropping the gun.

Mirio rushed forward and laid into Gai, punching him to the ground, where Emeralda joined, kicking him hard in the gut and knocking the wind out of him. Zelgadis wasted no more time and let his Flare Arrows loose on the roof and far walls of the room. Immediately, the house caught fire and Mimic began screaming in agony as he phased out of the ceiling and fell to the ground, his body aflame as he flailed and screamed for help.

Zelgadis quickly fired another ice arrow that, when it hit Mimic, caused him to entirely freeze over, and encased him in ice.

"Magus, what are you doing!?" Mirio called aghast.

"Relax, he isn't dead. He'll be fine once the ice melts." The chimera answered dismissively.

"And the house? You're going to bring the whole place down!" Izuku added in a panic.

A couple more Ice Arrows caused the interior of the house to become encased in ice as well, putting out the flames. As Zelgadis moved to join Michiru down the hallway, Mirio grabbed his shoulder "You could have hurt any one of us, or worse, the smoke could have gone down in the area below and caused people to die of asphyxiation! Are you insane?"

Zelgadis threw the senior hero's hand off as he shot daggers at the blonde before replying "I knew what I was doing. We weren't getting anywhere like that. Now we are. What more do you want?"

"How about some consideration for others for a start! If we weren't in a hurry, I'd leave you behind in a heartbeat!" Mirio countered as he rushed forward and put himself in front of the rock-encrusted sorcerer.

With Mirio in front of him, Zelgadis at least outwardly kept him cool as he snapped back "I don't answer to you and there is nothing you can do to stop me from completing this mission. Out of my way."

"Boys! We don't have time for this! The entrance is behind this wall, we need to get past it and get moving, there's a lot of movement down there!" Michiru chastised before adding "Deku, if you could?"

Glancing at the other two young men, who continued to stare each other down, Izuku turned and stepped up to the wall with a bookshelf in front of it. "SMASH!" he yelled as One for All rushed through him and he delivered a mighty punch that destroyed the wall, debris raining down the stairwell beyond.

Emeralda walked past the two heroes at odds and spoke, her voice deadly calm "This is hardly an efficient use of our time. We need to proceed. Let's go."

Mirio was the first to relent, frowning in disappointment as he turned to follow the rest. Michiru looked down the stairs, which were dark at first but light emanated from further down, almost inviting them down to the lion's den. "Ok, everyone, from what I can tell, its pretty complex down here. Keep close and we'll get to her. Let's finish this!"

Despite the confidence she was trying to project, Michiru had a sense of foreboding forming in the pit of her stomach and part of her was screaming at her to not go down but she knew Eri was down there looking for help but she knew Xellos was too and how that would turn out, the temporary wolf girl had no idea.

(X)

Once again I am left to leave things off at what I consider a pretty awkward place. I wanted to wrap up the entire raid here but a whole slew of things conspired to make that very difficult. Of course, the release of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom did nothing to help my time management and at the pace I'm going, it'll be months before I'm done with that beauty. But I knew that was coming, what I wasn't ready for was yet another illness, this time bronchitis, which has plagued me the whole month.

Plus one of my other interests, botanizing native plants, took a lot of time this month and on top of that, I was hit with a rare case of writer's block. All of this meant that I really struggled this go around and I am sorry if the quality isn't up to more normal standards. I expect this next month will prove to be less eventful and I'll be able to do all I want to. Why? Because next month this story turns 2 years old! I always knew this story would be a long burn but it is still very gratifying to know I've made it this far. I hope if your reading this than you will be willing to stick around till the end. Will it be another 2 years? Ideally not but one way or the other, we are getting to the end.

Once again, there were no reviews this go around so I will just close out saying the usual. Thank you so much for joining me on this little, weird journey. I know this isn't the most popular stories out there but I am eternally grateful for everyone who does read, as well as fav and follow it. Of course, reviews are always welcome, even if I haven't exactly encouraged them in the past. Take care out there, and I'll see you next month at the latest!