AN: Gee Billy, why does mom let you have two chapters this month?

Before the discovery of the Void, linear time was believed to be the model the universe operated by. In this outdated theory of time, the present you are experiencing now would be classified as the "Present Absolute". That would be the only state of time that truly exists. There is no future, and the past is left behind as an unchangeable irrefutable remnant.

We know now that time is far more complex than a simple arrow moving forward. We know this theory as Eternalism. Each and every moment in time, past, present, and future is equally valid. The textbook example, of which we use in our education on Temporal Axioms, is the choice between saving two people. Whoever is saved, there now exists an opposite reality where they were not, and the other survived. Both realities are equally real. But how would one access these other realities?

-Eulera Entrati, Postulates on Eternalism Vol 1

[?]

"Hey kiddo."

Haylee awoke with a start, grasping her right arm in search of a phantom pain. To her surprise, her outfit bore no scars from battle or salt-stains from the sea. In fact, it wasn't the outfit she wore on the beach at all. It was her old Zariman uniform. 'Please… Don't make me go back there again.'

Pulling herself off the floor, she took in her new surroundings. It wasn't the Zariman, not fully at least. There were three pathways in front of her, forking off into different landscapes. The left opened up into a vast throne room, and she could see someone sitting there. The middle was an expanse filled with mountains of corpses with a blood red sky, in an area much bigger than the two paths next to it. Some sort of extradimensional space that was larger on the inside.

The right path was a long hallway with many doors, and the terrain of the hall changed the further in it went. The first section of the hall was vaguely familiar…

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"

'Is that a baby crying? What's a baby doing in a place like this?' She cautiously made her way to the first door, which automatically slid open as she got close. Inside was a room, containing many small containers with moving things inside them. All were blurry and undetailed, save for one in the center of the room.

Approaching the container, she peered inside to see a now sleeping baby swaddled in a blanket. 'So this is a nursery…' She tried to touch the nursery container, only for her hand to pass through it like a mist, causing the whole room to shimmer briefly. Removing her hand, she spied a small metal plaque on the other side.

As she crouched down to read it, she immediately recoiled once she saw what was inscribed.

Haylee M.

Her breathing quickened to a frantic pace as she staggered backwards in shock. "No, please not this!" She spun around and bolted out the door, back into the main hub of the space.

This place was her mind. That hallway was her memories. Memories she never wanted to re-live. Her breathing slowed as she leaned against the wall, tears streaming down her face. 'Not again. I can't see them again."

Eventually she composed herself. She needed to find a way out of here, probably by waking up. She looked down the middle path, filled with hundreds of thousands of bodies stacked as far as the eye could see. Bodies of the various Grineer, Dax, Orokin, Corpus, Infested, and Sentients she had killed over her lifetime.

A graveyard of stolen souls. Nothing there would help her. The only option that remained was the left path. The throne room. There was a foreboding sense of dread as she advanced toward the figure on the throne. That sense was amplified once she entered, as the figure on the throne was her, or rather… it.

The entity masquerading itself in her form sat upon the hourglass shaped throne, playing with what seemed to be a doll.

She stormed up to it. "What the hell are you doing here? You said you would perish during the transfer?"

The being looked down on her with amusement before tossing its toy to the side. "You are correct. The one who made the deal with you is dead. It did not survive the encounter with whatever deity controlled this universe. I am but a mere fragment—a vestige, you could say."

She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean controlled?"

It chuckled. " I don't know the full details, as you were drifting in and out of unconsciousness at the time. It seems that the real me breached this universe and killed its goddess, at the price of it's own life. I doubt that you and whoever else arrived with you would've been spared if she were allowed to live. Your mere existence makes you a potential rival for absolute control of this reality." The being gave her an eerie smile. "Not that she had it all to begin with, even the real me couldn't control this reality. It had to break the rules of this reality in order to hurt her."

She narrowed her eyes. "Rules?"

"This universe is such an ugly thing. It runs on linear time. The past untouchable, the future unwritten. Not fun at all, not as many toys to play with, unlike our old world. You and your drifter were so amusing to fool around with, despite the annoying thief she was, stealing a part of the void from me." It gestured to the throne room. "Sacrificing all of the "yous" across all timelines in exchange for the lives of two, the one who took my power, and the one who was never saved. Unfortunately she didn't take being stranded for centuries very well. I assume you recognize this?" The doll from before flew toward Haylee, who caught it reflexively.

It was more of an articula than a doll, the figurine vaguely familiar, tugging at the threads of long forgotten memories. "Where have I seen this before?" It looked vaguely like an Orokin wearing a theater mask with bent rings on the side.

"She didn't take being stranded for centuries very well."

"As far as I can make it out: You're the me that got rescued from this shit. And I'm the you that did not."

Wait. She knew this. From a memory long buried. A children's story. The Tales of Duviri, a book written by the Entrati matriarch. "She… manifested the land from the story?" Haylee remembered reading The Tales of Duviri when she was aboard the Zariman.

"Yes, her own little slice of paradise in the Void… or a hell of her own creation. Depends who you ask. It doesn't really matter now." It shrugged.

Speaking of the drifter, where was her alternate self?

"I see that inquisitive look on your face. I bet you're wondering what happened to her, aren't you?" It drummed its fingers on the armrest of the throne. "She took your place when Ballas sent you to the Void, the real me just repeated the process. Such a noble sacrifice to give up her life for you, after all you did to help her."

What did it mean by that? She hadn't even met the drifter before! "What?"

"Well, I should say you will help her, or rather would have helped in the future. Paradoxes are a tricky thing, no?" The vestige laughed. "Of course she realized you had more to live for compared to her. Everything she had left was probably the first to go once the Void started to collapse."

Her alternate self, gone without even a goodbye. She never even got to thank her for helping the Lotus in her absence, or even learn her story. At least she had the knowledge that she would have helped her in the future. She wouldn't forget the drifter's sacrifice, buying her enough time to make the deal to get everyone out. Speaking of which…

"How many?" She pointedly asked. "How many made it here?"

The creature raised a hand to it's chin, pondering the question. "Hard to say. They would have to be strong or lucky to survive a void jump between universes. From what I saw through your fluttering eyes, maybe one, two thousand?"

The origin system had a population of billions. Sure, a vast majority of them were murderous Grineer, but only two thousand?

She was devastated. There was barely anyone saved. She knew at least four others, two of which were enemies that washed up on the beach with her. Who else survived? Her people?

She blinked back tears. "And the Tenno?"

"Only you." She stiffened. "You are the last child of the Zariman that draws breath. All the power of the Void was needed to breach the wall with our deal."

Haylee fell to her knees. All the Tenno. Dead. Because of her choice.

It scoffed at her. "I don't see why you are so upset. It's not like you interacted with the others much. Too afraid to lose anyone else you love, so you closed off your heart to all but a few. Besides, you really think they wouldn't have done the same thing were they in your position? You Tenno are far too noble and self-sacrificing for my tast-"

SNAP!

"Y̷̞̾̐o̸͔͈͐u̸̪͖͒̉ ̴͇̎͒d̵͙̙̀o̸̥͂̋ṋ̶̕'̶̬̑͐t̷̠̠͋ ̵̠̋̑g̶͎̾e̴̯̎͐t̵͕̂ ̵̡̺̚t̸̞̃̅ọ̴̅ ̴̯̹̎̉s̶͚͊ͅp̴͍̅̋ė̷̹a̷̺̪̽́ḵ̴̃ ̷͓̀ã̶̡b̴̥̒ȍ̵͚͖͊û̵̖͂t̵͓͒ ̵̖̺̀͛t̶̥̞̚h̸̫͒e̵͕͐m̶͙͆ ̴͖̤̐y̸͍͊ǒ̷͈͘ù̵͚ ̴̟̬̎̆p̸̭̱̀ȋ̷̟e̶̗̓ć̵͕̽e̴͉̣̓̀ ̸̼̕ọ̸̉̍f̶̢̞̈́ ̷͓̬̅͒s̷̞͐h̵̠̹́͝i̸̦̲̅́t̵̬̓.̵͚̓!" She roared. Her wrathful eyes glowed gold, like the vestige before her. The room took on a dark red hue, her voice echoing tenfold. "Y̸̠̗̆o̴̡͚͛u̷̻͂ ̶̭͓̀a̸̲̥̓̓r̸̨̀e̸̺͚̋͝ ̴̡̐n̸̡̆o̶̫̿t̸͎͊͘ḧ̷̜̞́͝ĩ̸̺̚n̷̯̬̋ǧ̴̖͕ ̷̪̣͐̃b̴̞͙̆͐ŭ̴̦̙t̶̝̾̈́ ̶͎͘a̴̯̿̔ ̷͎̳̓m̸̤̀ë̴͙̙́͑m̷̢͍̌͂o̵̡̖̊́r̶̡͛ỳ̵̔͜ ̷͗͜o̸̬͝͠f̷̩̕ ̸̤̀̎a̷̝͎͗n ̵̧̂̕a̸͉̖̾b̷̰̝̕ö̸̲́̋m̶̩͇͋i̵̢̨͆n̴͎͙͆̎ä̵͇̖́t̴̪͊͒ǐ̶̗̤̓o̶͈͉͊̐ṉ̷̮̐.̸̩̈́̂ ̸̖̃͛Y̵̫̔̃ò̴͉̞̎ú̵̝͕ ̵̞̑̿d̵͎͆o̶̻̪̿͋n̵͎̈'̸͕̅͛t̵̢̛͘ ̴͇̿g̸̟̓̂e̶̪͑t̷̮̲̐̊ ̶̯̅t̸͚͗̏ö̸̢̹́ ̶͚̀͑l̵͚̠̂̐e̴̝̐c̵̘̜̓t̵̻̃u̴̧̅͝r̶̻̮̒ȩ̷̊ ̶͙͈̃m̵̪̺̎̚ḙ̶̛͇͋ ̴̯̅̎ŏ̷̫̀͜n̸̨͇̍ ̶̪̌̀Ą̷̪̀̒Ṋ̴́Y̶̺͋͌Ṯ̵͇̌H̴͉̋́I̶͎̰͝N̴̳͈̔G̴͇͚͗̆!̵̪̚

It didn't seem to phase the vestige, in fact, it was giggling madly. "Now this! This I like. So much more entertaining when you embrace your true nature!" The giggling continued as she regained her composure, the realization of what she was doing seeping in. She began to hyperventilate, her arms shaking.

"I'm not like that thing. I'll never be like that. Don't let it decide what you are. Control yourself. Focus." Her breathing slowed.

"Done with your little temper tantrum?" It asked, meeting her now seething glare. "While I do enjoy the entertainment, I think we have more important things to think about. Namely, what will you do with what you know now?"

"Why the fuck do you expect me to have an answer for that?" Haylee yelled. She was done with the vestige's bullshit. Ever since she woke up here all she got was unwanted memories and finding out almost everyone she knew was most likely dead. What did it expect her to say? That everything was fine?.

"You can take your condescending tone and go fuck yourself. We're done here." And with that, she stormed out of the throne room.

When Haylee returned to concourse, the area had changed to reflect her mental state. A suffocating red glow darkened the room. She curled up into a fetal position in one of the corners and began to sob, the light changing from dark red to a misty gray.

"All the other Tenno are gone. I'm the last one." She shivered. She didn't have the best relationship with the others, save a few. She preferred to work alone. From time to time she had helped a few of the larger clans during large operations, even made a few friends.

But she never got too close to them. Not in any way that mattered. And now that they were gone, she was filled with regrets. She could have opened up more, instead she locked herself in an endless grind of mission after mission. Anything to distract her from the pain. And it worked, for a time, until she crashed, hard.

Other Tenno had helped her, tried to befriend her and get her to join their groups so she wouldn't be alone.

"Hey, would you like to come to visit our Dojo? It must get lonely cramped up in that ship all day"

"We're having a Lunaro tournament over at Orcus Relay in a few days, if you'd like to join us."

"I got some fresh fish from Hai-Luk today, would you like to eat dinner with me?"

All those missed opportunities. And there was nothing she could do to change that now. They were all gone. "Lotus will probably take this worse than me. We were all essentially her children." She thought to herself, still sniffling. "At least… I still have her. Her and Ordis."

She wasn't sure how long she lay there crying. It felt like hours, maybe even a day. Time was weird inside her mindscape. "I need to wake up." She wiped the tears from her eyes. "Wake up Haylee." Her vision blurred, her form began to fade from the mindscape.

From the shadows, golden eyes peered out. Perhaps it was too pushy with her. Too much information dumped on her at once. It was only a vestige of a dead eldritch being, with no real power over the girl. She could run from what was to come all she wanted to, but eventually she would have to embrace her new power. Her story was just beginning.

An unnatural smile bloomed on it's face. It would be so much fun to see what she would become. For now, it had the other beings inside her head to keep it company…

The first thing Haylee felt when she woke up was the intense burning sensation on her arm. Her eyes shot open, hospital gown and sheets rustling. Her hand found purchase on the side of the bed as she sat upright, easily crunching the metal. She let out a shout of panic as her eyes adjusted to the light

"Haylee! Stop! It's okay, we are just in an infirm-" She heard hasty footsteps followed by Ordis's voice, his blurry form approaching her. He was cut off as he started to fall face first toward the floor.

Suddenly, from white patches that appeared on his skin, roots of bone jutted out, forming a branching structure that stopped his fall.

Her mouth hung open in shock.

He spoke again after a moment of stunned silence. "That's new." He deadpanned.

"Ordis, what the hell is that?" She managed to sputter out.

The former cephalon struggled to stay upright, his legs giving out on him leaving him entirely propped up by the bones protruding from his arms. "I have no idea… I don't know how to stop it either." He really hoped these new bones could be retracted or at the very least broken off. He couldn't really feel anything through them, but losing bones, no matter where they came from couldn't be good.

It was then that Haylee noticed they were not alone. Off further to her right was Lotus, who looked like she was trying (and failing) to stay composed at the bizarre scene in front of her. To her left was a woman dressed in a white bodysuit with cuffs and leather straps. Also there was a small animal in a suit holding a tablet.

Hold up. Haylee did a double take at that. "The fuck?!" She mentally shouted, pain momentarily forgotten.

Nezu meanwhile mentally took note of her shocked reaction. "It's like he didn't know he had the quirk. They seem just as surprised that he was able to do that." That didn't bode well considering his theory on Hunhow's multiple quirks. "Midnight, keep watch over them. I'll summon Recovery Girl, we may need a bone saw."
With that, he scurried out the door, leaving a bewildered Nemuri to deal with them.

Haylee shook herself out of the stupor she was in. The pain in her right arm was returning every time she moved it. Flesh as hard as steel pinched against the skin on her shoulder. It felt unnatural. She was used to the dissociation of controlling the infested puppet body, but this was entirely different.

Her right arm was that of the Excalibur Umbra, which made no sense. If anything it should have been Inaros, since that was what she was using on her mission to rescue Lotus. Why was it Excalibur, and why was her arm transformed instead of using transference?

Her eyes darted around the room. Lotus had risen from the bed and was attempting to pull Ordan up from his slumped over position. The other woman watched them curiously near the now locked sliding door.

"You're finally awake, Operator." Ordan said.

"Ordis-"

"Call me Ordan."

"Ordan, where are we?" Haylee asked.

Lotus answered, having given up on pulling the spikes of bone out of the floor and opting to cut them using a miniature form of Danse Macabre. "We seem to be in some sort of infirmary, the location of which is unknown. I believe we may be underground with the absence of windows." She glanced over to the woman guarding the door. "And they don't seem like they want us to leave this room at the moment." She finished cutting through the main bones holding Ordan up, grabbing him by the waist to keep him from falling flat on his face.

"-Freedom!- Thank you, Lotus." Ordan said as Lotus sat him back down on his bed. The smoking stumps of bone were still stuck to his arms, but he wasn't stuck to the floor anymore. He let out a chuckle. "The universe must have a sick sense of humor, giving the 'Beast of Bones' a power like this."

"How do you even have powers?" Haylee wondered. "I don't sense any Void energy from it either, so it's not because of that…"

Lotus eyed the other woman in the room. She didn't seem shocked by Ordan suddenly growing bones out of his skin, nor the fact that she had severed those bones with a laser. She wasn't sure why the woman was dressed so… promiscuously. It seemed odd to have someone like that standing guard, ignoring the insanity of having a talking animal attempt to interview them moments ago.

Nemuri didn't show it, but she noticed the woman watching her. Not that all the strangers were awake, they were starting to get antsy. They couldn't just let them leave, having seen All Might's true form and having no way to identify who the hell they were. It didn't help that they had no way to communicate with them either, but hopefully the Principal would have a solution to that soon.

"Speaking of powers, Lotus is human now and still has her abilities." Ordan casually said like it was no big deal, earning him a swift chop to the neck. "Ow!"

"Don't just drop shocking information on her like that Karris!" Scolded Lotus. "We've all been through enough the past few days as is!"

Haylee sweatdropped. That was a bit out of character for Lotus, who was usually far more composed and formal.

Ordan rubbed his neck, glaring at Lotus. "Sorry, jeez." He turned back to Haylee. "Anyways, what's up with your arm? It's been stuck like that since yesterday."

She peeled back the teal cloth of her hospital gown around her shoulder. The skin around the transformed appendage was colored a lavender gray. It looked like when they brought her in they had to cut off her transference suit. Only a small strip that was partially fused to her skin remained. 'So my suit transformed along with my body, but only up to my shoulder. Is the pain because the transformation is incomplete? I need to try and reverse it."

Ordan watched with worry as Haylee grunted. Her arm started to shrink, light purple and gold replaced by a violet and blue sleeve of her suit's glove. She looked back up to him, panting but no longer in pain. "I wonder…" He closed his eyes, imagining the bones retracting back into him. Nothing happened. "Maybe they can't go back in? Maybe if I do this." Instead of trying to retract them, he focused on the point where they met his skin. With a pop, one of the bones fell onto his sheets. That left three more. "I think I got this now." He said.

A few minutes later he was free of the protruding spears of bone, the last one clattering to the ground as he scratched his arms. The skin they came out of was a bit dry and itchy now, but at least he didn't have to drag around a bunch of dangling bones.

While the strangers were talking,Nemuri texted Nezu.

NightyNight - Rat King

NightyNight

: Won't be needing that bone saw. He just popped 'em off a minute ago.

Rat King: I see, I will let Chiyo know. What are our mystery guests doing now?

NightyNight: It looks like they are talking. The girl's arm is back to normal too.

Rat King is typing…

NightyNight: Sir?

Rat King: Apologies, just thinking. Keep an eye on them until Chiyo gets there with lunch.

The woman watching them glanced up every so often from the device in her hand. Ordan watched out of the corner of his eye while Haylee removed the tattered remains of her suit sleeve.

"What do we do now?" The young Tenno asked.

"I'm not sure. Me and Lotus were going over what we knew, then that weird animal came in and tried to talk to us." He was still reeling from that experience.

"What do we know?" Haylee questioned.

"First, we know that we are on Earth, but it's not our Earth. We don't know why the void sent us here and how many others may have arrived." Lotus responded, noticing Haylee's guilty look at the second part. Her eyes narrowed briefly. "Second, all of us seem to be human even if we previously weren't, including my father and likely Erra as well."

"Which Ordan mentioned… how do you feel?"

Lotus looked conflicted. "My mind is… fuzzy. I remember everything that happened to me. The things I was forced to do… What I agreed to do…" She shook her head. "I will discuss it with you later, Tenno." Her expression brightened. "I am glad to see you are safe, my child. I hope my other children are safe as well."

She didn't expect the crestfallen expression on the young girl's face as a single tear fell down her cheek.

"They didn't make it. I'm the last Tenno."

Lotus's first instinct was to embrace Haylee, letting the girl sob into her chest. Her face remained composed, but tears leaked from her eyes. "So this is what it's like… to cry."

She could mourn later. She needed to be there for Haylee now.

Ordan's head hung low in sorrow. It wasn't the first time he had known the Tenno to die, but never on this scale. He knew Haylee was never particularly close with the others, but that might have made it hurt even more.

And now she was the only one left. He didn't know how she knew this information, being unconscious all this time, but now wasn't the time to grill her on it. All he could do now was let her grieve with the closest thing she had left to family. He managed to use the bed as a makeshift crutch, joining in the hug to comfort her. His operator. It was only when he felt a tear dripping down his cheek that he realized this was the first time he could truly comfort her with a hug.

[Midoriya Family Apartment, April 26, 2242]

Yesterday had been a chaotic day for the number one hero. He had always been careful to not reveal his weakened state to anyone. Maybe it was luck that he always had convenient cover to transform and leap into action.

He guessed that yesterday he used up all that luck. His knee still ached from the beating Chiyo had given him when she heard about what happened. To be fair, he didn't expect to have five complete strangers wash up on the beach they were using either.

He certainly didn't expect to have to fight one of them. That red behemoth would've been trouble if he hadn't ended the fight in a single blow. Even then, he could tell that the only reason the fight hadn't gone on is that the man was weakened.

And they all had seen his true form, or at least the four who were conscious did. The worst part is that they had no idea who these people were. They didn't speak Japanese or English, had no identification, and almost all of them had passed out from dehydration or exhaustion as soon as the ambulances arrived.

But that wasn't what he was worrying about right now. Nezu and Naomasa would handle things on their end. It was far better for them to be involved than the HPSC. They were far too overzealous when it came to protecting any information about the "World Symbol of Peace".

What he was worried about was the meeting with Inko Midoriya. Tsukauchi had called her to get permission to interview Izuku, which of course led to her finding out about her son being in danger for the second time in around a month. From what he had heard from the young man, his mother supported his training, even going along with the meal plan he had provided.

But she worried about her son and it showed, which is why she had called off further training until she could discuss it with him.

Knock Knock Knock!

"Come in!" He heard a woman's voice from the other side. That must be Mrs. Midoriya. He slowly opened the door and shuffled into the apartment.

He made his way past a few closed doors. One room had a nameplate with the boy's name with some yellow attachments. He chuckled when he realized it was supposed to be the stuck up hair of his buff form. Further down the hall framed pictures, some of the Midoriya family, while others were All Might posters. He wondered if the boy's room was filled with merch as well. Young Midoriya was a huge hero fanboy after all.

Speaking of the lad, he was sitting at the kitchen table with a nervous look on his face.
"OhmygodsAllMightisinmyhousehesawtheheromerchonthewallsIhopeitsnottoocringy-" He thought to himself.

Next to him was his mother. She stood up from the table and gave him a slight bow in greeting. "You must be the Yagi Toshinori I have heard so much about. Come, take a seat. Would you like anything to drink? We have tea, coffee, and water."

"Tea is fine, I can't drink coffee due to a medical condition. Thank you for the offer though." A few moments later she returned with drinks for all. "Thank you." He took a sip of the iced tea. "So, I believe you wanted to speak with me about young Midoriya's hero training?"

She nodded. "When Izuku first told me that he found someone who was willing to train him to be a hero, I was skeptical at first. You were just some complete stranger and for a few days I was worried. But then I saw how happy he was every day after he came back, exhausted as he was."

To be honest, he probably should have consulted with her before he started training the young man. In his true form he didn't exactly look like someone who should be training a hero. Him hanging around a beach with a teenager looking like that might seem a bit sketchy at first glance.

"I haven't seen him this full of life in a long time, and I don't want to take that away from him… but this is the second time in almost two weeks that Izuku's been put in danger by villains. As his mother I want to support his dream of becoming a hero, but I also worry for his safety." She blubbered.

"Mom…"

Toshinori raised his hand. "I understand your concerns about young Izuku's safety. He has told you about what happened, correct?"

She nodded. "He told me that you both found some people washed up on the beach you were training at, and that one of them might have been a villain, who was then taken down by a passing hero. Is that correct?"

He nodded, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Yes, however…"

Before he returned to UA that evening, Toshinori had driven Izuku home. On the way they had a discussion about the phone call with his mother. He was distraught at the news that he wouldn't be allowed to continue training. Toshinori had arranged a meeting with the both of them tomorrow to try and smooth things over.

"Young Izuku, I've been thinking, it might be best if I-"

He heard a sniffle. "It's alright Yagi-sensei. If you can't train me anymore-"

"What? No, that's not what I was going to say!" He went over to the side of the road. "I was saying it might be best if I tell your mother the truth. No more lying about your quirk being a late-blooming power stockpile and me being a secretary for a hero."

Izuku looked shocked. "But your secret-"

"If you are to inherit One For All, she would find out sooner or later. Plus, she's your mother. She deserves to know what her son is signing up for. Honestly I probably should've done this from the start. I trust you, and I hope that I can trust your mother to keep the secret as well." He let out a hearty laugh. "I think she'd rest easy knowing that All Might is keeping her son safe as opposed to some skeleton man."

"... it wasn't just some hero who saved your son. It was me!" He boasted to an unconvinced Inko. "You have nothing to worry about when it comes to Izuku's training…" He transformed with a puff of steam, luckily not breaking the chair he was sitting in. "Because I AM HERE!"

Inko fainted.

Shiiiiiiit.

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to transform like that without warning her. Both Toshinori and Izuku were in a panic trying to wake her up. The hero had set her down on the couch, profusely apologizing to the boy.

"Ugh… Izuku? I had the strangest dream that All Might was in our house…" She froze when she noticed Toshinori awkwardly standing off to the side. "Oh, Yagi, I'm so sorry you had to see me like this."

Toshinori had the sense to not comment about being All Might this time around, letting her son explain it slowly. Her eyes widened when she realized that it wasn't a dream.

"And you're sure it's really him?" She looked at the sickly looking man before her. He was supposed to be All Might? The #1 hero in the entire world? "He looks so… frail!"

He couldn't blame her for the suspicion. To most it looked like the slightest breeze could send him into death's cold embrace. Hell, Izuku thought he was some sort of imposter up on the rooftop…

"Mom, I know it's really hard to believe, but it really is him. I've seen him in action against the sludge villain and the villain on the beach." He persuaded. "And we were at U.A. yesterday, remember?" He paused. He was at U.A. yesterday. He hadn't even had the chance to look around or even process that he was within the sacred halls of the best hero school in the world, beating out Egypt's Akademiya College of Quirk Science and Heroism, and the United State's hero program out of West Point. The realization of all he had missed out on just dawned on him.

While Izuku recovered from the realization of missed opportunities, Toshinori told her everything, his injury and the villain he killed five years ago, the nature of One For All, and how Izuku had inspired his heroic spirit against the sludge villain.

"This is… a lot to take in." Inko managed to stutter out. On the one hand, she had faith that All Might of all people could protect her son during training… but once he became a hero he wouldn't always have the number one hero to protect him. She'd seen the horrific injury on his torso. The thought of Izuku suffering something like that, or worse… "You promise you will keep him safe?" She questioned.

"I promise you, Mrs. Midoriya, I will do everything in my power to keep young Izuku safe on his journey to become a hero." He stated truthfully.

She trusted All Might to keep his word. But even still, she knew it wasn't a guarantee of safety. She knew firsthand how dangerous the world could be. Her eyes drifted to the shelf with a picture of a younger Izuku alongside her and Hisashi, and the urn with his ashes beside it.

The phone rang a few times before being picked up. Izuku was already in bed following his diagnosis as quirkless.

"Do you think… I can be a hero too?" He had sobbed, tears in his adorable little eyes as he rewatched his favorite video.

She broke down crying as she hugged him. "I'm sorry Izuku! I wish things could be different!"

And now all she felt was regret. Regret at not telling her son that he could still be a hero.

"Inko, honey? Are you alright? Has something happened?" Hisashi's concerned voice came from through the line. It was early morning in the United States, the only time she could call him before he went to work.

"It's about Izuku… the doctors say he's quirkless." She sobbed. "He asked me if he could still be a hero and all I could do was apologize…" She wiped the tears from her eyes. "I feel like a terrible mother."

He was silent for a moment. "Dear, don't blame yourself for this. I know you love Izuku, it's just been a long day." Hisashi sighed."I'm catching the next flight to Japan. We can discuss this more when I'm back."

The first thing Hisashi had done when he arrived was go to comfort his son. Currently her little boy was sitting on his father's lap.
"No matter what happens to you, your mother and I will always love and support you. Even if you don't have a quirk it doesn't mean you have to give up on your dreams." He pulled out a notebook titled 'Quirk Analysis' and opened it up to show his son. "Quirks are amazing, but it's the people behind them that really matter."

Hisashi's visit had to be brief. His work was demanding, and required him to spend a long time out of the country. His analytical work paid very well, but he would drop everything if his family truly needed him. Izuku was staying over at the Bakugo's while Inko dropped her husband off at the airport.

"I know that I'm not around as much as I'd like, and that you've had to parent Izuku without me." His expression brightened. "But next year I have the opportunity to transfer back to Japan. I won't have to spend months apart from my beautiful wife and wonderful son." He gave her a freckled smile she loved so much.

She gave him a deep hug. "Just keep looking after Izuku, and help him follow his dreams."

Hisashi was supposed to come back, but the year Izuku turned six, Hisashi Midoriya was killed. She didn't want to think about it right now, but the words he said to her rang in her head.

"-help him follow his dreams"

She felt like she failed her son that day all those years ago. Back then, she hadn't been strong enough, supportive enough. She'd broken her little boy's heart when she was supposed to be there for him. And now he had the opportunity to train under the Symbol of Peace, and even receive his quirk.

She wouldn't let him down a second time. She wouldn't disrespect Hisashi's last wish.

Inko looked back to the weakened form of All Might. "I've made my decision. You can continue to train my son."

Izuku's anxious expression turned into a smile.

"BUT! There are conditions. I'm going to be more involved in what you're doing down there."

Izuku and Toshinori both gulped.

"Firstly, no more secrets. If something happens like this you come straight to me. Second, I'll be coming down there periodically to check on you." She turned to her son. "And don't you dare overwork yourself young man. The school year still isn't over."

Both of them shrunk in their seats as she continued to lecture them. Eventually they turned to other topics before Toshinori bid them farewell for the night.

"Barring the few hiccups, this turned out pretty well." He thought to himself as he waved goodbye. "This is probably the strangest week I've had in a while. Huh."

Little did he know, next week would be even stranger.

AN: So the MHA universe runs on linear time. There is no written future, and the past can't be altered (Because the universe has no concept of nonlinear time).

Warframe runs on nonlinear time, but each timeline is like it's own universe.
So how did Inosuke get to the future then?