Hey folks, we're back! I know it hasn't been long since the last chapter, but it sure feels great to get into this story after the development hell that was last week's chapter of "Omni Force: ORIGINS". Now it's back to working on "Space", which is my big passion project for the rest of the year, along with "The Challenge of a Lifetime" and "Omni Force: ORIGINS".
After this chapter, there won't be an update for this story for another month, which may be disheartening to some of you. It hurts me the most, but I assure you, the waits ahead will be well worth it, especially for this chapter. I'm excited to get started on this one.
No point in waiting around, let's get into it!
SPACE
Hurrying down the corridors and bounding off of the walls as he jumped ahead, Izuku had green sparks of bio-electricity crackle around him as he carried Nezuko along. Communications weren't down between him and most of his colleagues. However, those that were a part the infiltration team had been surprisingly silent. The One For All inheritor landed down at the end of an alleyway, peeking out to see if any enemies lurked about, android or otherwise. No one was there.
"Mmm…" Nezuko moaned out, getting his attention.
"Are you okay, Nezuko?" he asked quietly.
"Sorry…" she apologized, "After I use my demon form, I get really exhausted…" she noted to him, "I hope I'm not causing you too much trouble…" she mentioned on.
"Don't worry, you're fine," Izuku assured with a smile, "It's thanks to you we were able to beat that Ultron body," he added, making her smile a little before she closed her eyes.
'Still, for every android that's here on this planet, Ultron has a way of escaping if a body he inhabits gets destroyed…' he noted to himself, putting his right hand onto his chin in thought, 'The priority should still be getting the Space Stone from Ziggy and then having Rebecca call upon the Chronophage…' he mentioned through his thoughts, 'But why do I get the feeling that something's not right…?' he wondered inwardly. He then felt a buzz from one of his pouches, enticing him to take out his MPG. He pressed its center icon, with a hologram of Tenya appearing over the device.
"Midoriya!" he addressed.
"Iida, what's up?" the One For All inheritor asked with a blink of surprise. Elsewhere on the planet, the group of Zenitsu, Luck and Fumikage followed the Engine Quirk user as they were running along.
"I couldn't help but notice that your marker is heading away from the factory," he pointed out to his fellow hero via his MPG, "Is something wrong?" he inquired.
"Yeah," Izuku replied, "Torunn, Kacchan and Fushiguro weren't able to stop Ziggy with Miss Elsie," he told him and the others, causing them to gasp in surprise.
"I expected there would at least be a challenge with Ziggy having access to an Infinity Stone, but still…" the Dark Shadow Quirk user noted, quite astonished.
"Torunn's okay, though," Izuku assured, "And I think Kacchan and Fushiguro got away, too," he mentioned, "We also ended up fighting Ultron," he added further to the group's shock as they came to a stop, "Riri and the others came down to help us stop him, and they're dealing with what's left of his drones where we fought," he explained on.
"Well, it sounds like you're okay at least…" Tenya pointed out.
"It must've been a blast to fight all those robots, right?!" Luck assumed excitedly.
"Voltia!" the Engine Quirk user shouted in a reprimanding tone.
"What's your location now, Deku?" Fumikage inquired.
"I'm heading to meet up with the infiltration team," Izuku answered, "I've got Nezuko with me, too," he mentioned, causing Zenitsu to perk up as the blood vessels at his head bulged.
"I see," Tenya responded in understanding, "The infiltration mission is crucial to this Operation Starbiter," he pointed out, "We'll trust your judgment and—" All of a sudden, his MPG was snatched away from him by Zenitsu, making him yelp in surprise. "Hey!" he shouted.
"Izuku… you bastard…" the yellow-haired man growled as a hiss like crackling electricity left his teeth, "WHAT DO THINK YOU'RE DOING GOING OFF ON YOUR OWN WITH MY NEZUKO, HUH?!" he roared angrily in question. From where he was, the One For All inheritor flinched from how loud the demon slayer was. "IF YOU SO MUCH AS LAY A SINGLE HAIR ON HER, I'LL MAKE YOU DROP DEAD!" he threatened over the MPG.
"Agatsuma, that's enough!" Tenya yelled, grunting as he tried to take his device back from the yellow-haired man.
"Mmm…" Nezuko groaned, "Zenitsu… don't be so loud…" she complained tiredly. Back at his current location, her boyfriend smiled dopily.
"Okay, Nezukooo~…" he sang in reply, allowing for Tenya to reclaim the MPG in his grasp.
"How maddening…" Fumikage commented.
"Hahaha!" Luck laughed, "I think he's funny!" he affirmed with a smile.
"Huh…" Tenya sighed in exasperation, "Good luck to you, Midoriya," he remarked to his friend, whose hologram nodded before disappearing. Meanwhile, Shiki and Shoto were still standing over the ruined body of Wizard, as the former had just posed his question to the android.
"Ziggy knew he was going to lose his mind?" the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user asked of his colleague, "What does that even mean?" he inquired on.
"I'm not entirely sure, but…" Shiki began, "no one could explain why he did what he did eighteen years ago, erasing all the memories of the Shining Stars and the Dark Stars, too," he explained, "So did he know he was gonna go crazy? Is that why he did it?" he questioned on, looking over to the injured Wizard, "If that's the case, does that mean there's some secret in the memories he erased from the Shining Stars…?" he wondered on. With his lone arm, the android before the pair of Omni Force members tried pushing himself up.
"That… is ridiculous…" he said weakly, making his foes blink in surprise, "His current personality… the way he thinks now…" he continued as sweat trickled down his face, "That is the real Ziggy," he affirmed, "Eighteen years ago… he was the one… who had lost his memories…" he proclaimed on.
"But's that exactly why it doesn't add up," Shiki stated, "Why would he erase his friends' memories?" he questioned further, "And more importantly, why are you in them?" he wondered further. Wizard didn't respond, instead slipping and falling back onto the ground.
"We should hurry and find a way out of here," Shoto advised, getting his colleague's attention, "Given how our fight went, I don't know how the others are faring," he pointed out.
"Yeah, good point," the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user agreed.
X
"This… is all your fault! You wretched girl!"
"Please, dear! She was only worried where your ambitions were leading our kingdom!"
"She's a traitor! A filthy liar! Someone not fit to be even considered my child, let alone a princess!"
The voices in Elsie's head echoed uncomfortably as she started to stir a little. Her mind was hazy after she failed to stop Ziggy. And with Justice snatching her from the jaws of death at seemingly the last possible second, she lost consciousness from her wounds. She moaned a little as she finally awoke, her eye fluttering open.
It widened upon noticing a few things. For one, she had been stripped down to her undergarments and was cuffed to a pole while seated. Another was that her wounds had been treated and bandaged. She tried to move her arms, but to no avail as her wrists were firmly bound thanks to her cuffs. Her stomach injury still throbbed with pain, making her wince.
"Keep your voice down," a familiar voice advised, causing her to gasp lightly with surprise as she looked to see Justice sitting across from her upon a crate, "This place is crawling with android soldiers," he pointed out.
"James…" Elsie uttered.
"As you can tell, I did some first aid," he noted, "But if you strain yourself, you'll reopen those wounds," he told her.
"Wh…Why did you help me…?" she stammered in question, glancing away.
"I told you, I'm not helping you," the Oración Seis Interestelar member retorted, "It is my mission in life to kill you," he confirmed. Rolling her eye, the Space Pirate sighed.
"Then do it already," she insisted, "I won't have the strength to fight back as I am now…" she pointed out additionally.
"Sorry, but I intend to do more than merely kill you," Justice said to her annoyance, "First, you'll stand trial in Galactic High Court," he told her, "You will confess and atone for your crimes," he affirmed on, "I won't kill you until after that," he promised.
"Allowing me to atone and then killing me?" Elsie inquired rhetorically with a smirk, "Honestly, you're sounding more and more childish," she noted, much to the Oración Seis Interestelar member's chagrin, "Ziggy taught me…" she continued as sweat was trickling down her face, "if you don't kill your opponent when you have the chance, you'll come to regret it…" she pointed out. Justice didn't bother to entertain her remarks.
"For now, my focus is getting off of Lendard," he confirmed. The Oración Seis Galáctica member let out a laugh.
"The great champion of justice turning tail and leaving Lendard to let Ziggy run amok?" she presumed.
"Holy can take care of Ziggy," Justice affirmed to her surprise as her eye widened.
"You knew she was with us…?" she inquired in shock, grimacing with frustration afterward, "That two-faced…" she growled out, "So she did betray us…" she concluded.
"No," the Oración Seis Interestelar member retorted, "I received the report from Feather, who looked into what she was plotting with you, Shiki Granbell, and those otherworlders," he told her, "We're all surprised that five of the six Oración Seis Galáctica are in one place," he mentioned on, "So our whole team's prepared to fight, too," he confirmed, "Cure, Eraser and Feather are all on their way here," he stated. Hearing that, Elsie lowered her head and sighed.
"This is getting serious…" she realized.
"Still…" Justice began, making her perk up a little, "I know you were fighting the great Demon King himself…" he pointed out, "but I can't believe you were beaten so easily," he admitted, "especially when you had help," he added further. The infamous Space Pirate stayed silent for a moment, thinking back to when she had Ziggy on the cusp of defeat… and then…
"For a moment… he was the old Ziggy again…" she noted.
"Hm," the Oración Seis Interestelar member huffed out, "That was obviously part of his plan," he said.
"I'm not so sure…" Elsie admitted, lifting her head up, "I just can't help feeling that part of his heart from the old days is still there…" she added on. Justice stood up.
"I'll be taking you to my ship," he told her, "After that, we'll deal with the rest of the Oración Seis Galáctica and the otherworlders," he confirmed on.
"James…" the infamous Space Pirate uttered, "The last time we met…" she began, "I regret speaking so lightly of what happened…" she confessed sadly. The Oración Seis Interestelar member narrowed his eyes onto her. "That day… I only wanted to make certain that the Kaede Cosmos would remain peaceful…" she affirmed, "And I ended up starting something that's led to this…" she admitted with remorse in her tone, "In my mind, I might've prevented a great catastrophe to the cosmos…" she kept going, "but in turn, I ruined many lives…" she finished.
"…Save your confessions for the court," Justice insisted in response, "I won't be swayed from hearing them now," he stated firmly. Elsie kept her head lowered with shame. In hindsight, the whole situation for the Kaede Cosmos was her fault. Even if she thought what she had done was for the best, it still caused so much strife for her planet, which one teemed with life.
Suddenly, something shattered through the glass window of the room she and her captor were in. It was an arrow, which flew by their gazes as it pierced into the wall. A red light flashed upon it before a purple smoke suddenly spewed out. Both Elsie and Justice flinched from it.
"So your friends decided to come and rescue you, did they…?" the latter growled out as he held his left arm over his mouth. The infamous Space Pirate grimaced. Outside, Francis readied another arrow upon his bow, prepared to nock it back with the string. Standing beside him was Megumi, who was wielding a pair of tonfa in his hands.
"You sure we wanna piss off the guy who beat up Shiki three years back?" the archer inquired of the jujutsu sorcerer.
"We can't afford to lose Crimson here," he responded firmly, "Without her, we might not be able to stop Ziggy and Ultron together…" he added in a grim tone. All of a sudden, a blue light suddenly shot out from the building, with all of the purple smoke getting blown away in the process. Both Francis and Megumi gasped to find themselves faced with Justice, who glared at them.
"If you otherworlders are so intent on obstructing justice…" he began, "then I'll gladly take your lives as compensation," he proclaimed as his Ether Gear markings shined brightly, making his hair turn blue.
"HOW 'BOUT YOUR LIFE FIRST?!" Katsuki roared as he blasted in, kneeing the crossed arms of the Oración Seis Interestelar member as he barely managed to block the sudden attack, getting blown back a few feet as he slid across the roof to its very edge. He looked out and growled at his foes, who all stood together. "Alright, you blue-haired bastard…" the Explosion Quirk user began, clenching his fists tightly as he smirked, "Let's see what kinda 'justice' you can dish out!" he challenged.
X
As Rin landed down upon the platform on the opposite end of the tightrope, she grimaced. Laughter echoed throughout the circus-like setting of the subdimension she, Rebecca, Happy and Pino found themselves trapped in. And of course, they were faced with one of the Dark Stars, Clown, whose grin grew wide.
'He wasn't just able to withstand my Gandr, he actually repelled it!' the mage noted inwardly as she clenched her teeth, 'I knew these androids were going to be more difficult to deal with compared to Ziggy's Skeleton Army, but still…' she continued through her thoughts.
"Shocked, are you?" Clown presumed, getting her attention, "There's much that we Dark Stars are capable of," he pointed out, "The little bot even told you herself, didn't she?" he inquired with a giggle, "We far surpass even the Four Shining Stars…" he affirmed.
"That doesn't matter!" Rebecca's voice suddenly shouted, causing him to turn to see her gripping the rope tightly, finding a firm balance. She then charged forward. "HI-YAH!" she yelled, thrusting her right leg out at Clown.
"Ooh!" he yelped gleefully before flipping back to evade her kick. Hopping along the tightrope, the Cat Leaper Quirk user continued her swipes with her legs, which he narrowly managed to avoid. "Whoopsie!" he exclaimed, tilting his head evade another Gandr shot from Rin.
"Damn it!" she cursed. Green lines of energy formed around her legs as she crouched down and lunged toward the Dark Star, reaching into her pockets to pull out various jewels. She flung a few of them out as Clown turned to her, opening his left arm to reveal a cannon there, which fired off of searing blasts of energy that shattered the jewels. However, the mage smirked as mist spewed out around her foe.
"Ooh…" he uttered with a curious grin, "Trying to play games, hm?" he assumed. Coming in from behind was Rebecca, who swung her left leg at him. He ducked, followed by attempting to swipe at her feet with his own legs, only for her to flip back along the tightrope. Rin charged in with magic circuits formed along her right arm, rearing her fist back for a punch. The Dark Star was quick to block the attack with his right arm, much to her surprise as she gasped. "Bad call, Little Miss Tohsaka…" he remarked mockingly.
"I wouldn't say that…" she retorted with a smirk to his confusion. She opened her hand, dropping a green jewel that promptly exploded in a shockwave that blew her and her foe back, landing upon the tightrope, though Rin lost her balance and had to grab it to keep herself from falling. Clown snickered.
"Was that your brilliant idea of stopping me?" he wondered aloud.
"SSSMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rebecca roared, getting his attention as he turned to find himself met with a roundhouse kick from the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user, making him stumble back upon the tightrope. He grinned widely, standing firm.
"My, you're certainly more eager than usual today…" he pointed out, "What's gotten into you?" he inquired.
"Apparently, my Overdrive improves my balance," Rebecca answered, standing on just her left foot as she held her arms out, "Also, I can't sit back and let you do whatever you want!" she mentioned firmly.
"Ooh, how heroic!" Clown commented with a clap of his hands. Rin sighed as she started to pull herself up.
'For goodness' sake…' she muttered inwardly, 'Just how many people have you affected with your sense of heroism, Midoriya?' she wondered through her thoughts, managing to bring herself back to the landing on the other side of the tightrope.
"You know, Wizard did say we had permission to use Overclock…" Clown noted to Rebecca, causing her to blink in confusion, "But I do wonder if I'll even need it against you…" he admitted aloud, "Perhaps for Little Miss Tohsaka, but not the wimpiest weakling of them all…" he mentioned. The Cat Leaper Ether Gear user tensed up slightly.
"So what if I'm weak?!" she shouted out, lunging forward, "I knew what I was getting into when I decided to fight!" she proclaimed fiercely as she swung her right leg at the Dark Star, which he dodged, "I don't care how weak I am…" she continued, attempting a high leg kick with her left foot, which her foe evaded against, "If I can help my friends, that's good enough for me!" she affirmed.
"But can you?" Clown questioned back, rearing his left fist back for a punch. For a moment, Rebecca thought of Izuku. She flipped over her foe's fist.
"It's not about if I can or not…" she said as she started descending, readying her right leg, "I already decided I will!" she declared, landing a fierce axe kick to the back of the Dark Star's head, making his eyes bulge out in surprise as he fell down from the tightrope.
"You did it!" Happy exclaimed from the birdcage he and Pino were trapped in.
"Nicely done, Rebecca!" the latter of the two complimented. However, Clown did land safely upon the ground with both of his feet together, looking up at his foes as the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user landed upon the tightrope. He grinned again.
Meanwhile, the battle against Crow was continuing, with the titanic android unleashing his laser beams and missiles out at Asta, who flew around rapidly to evade them as he gripped his Demon-Slayer Sword tightly. However, he was caught off guard by his foe swinging his right arm down at him, striking him down to the ground. From the Edens Zero's bridge, Hermit gasped.
"Asta!" she screamed.
"Are you alright, lad?!" Connor asked emphatically in concern.
"…Yeah, I'm good!" the Black Bulls' vice-captain responded over the communication line, much to the relief of those in the bridge. He emerged from the rubble, panting as he held up his broadsword. "Is it just me… or is this guy not taking any damage?" he asked in between breaths.
"What?!" Hermit exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, it feels like with all of us around, we'd see some scrapes by now…" America noted, floating beside the Steel Sorceress Knight Gear that Holy was piloting.
"The wound Asta dealt earlier's gone, too…" Yuno pointed out with a grimace.
"Seriously?!" Laguna exclaimed from his starfighter.
"This isn't good at all…" Kris realized as he clutched the throttles of his ship tightly, while his little sister trembled a little in hers. Back aboard the Edens Zero, Henry sat up in the infirmary as both Mimosa and Sister had finished treating him.
"Thanks for the assist…" he said gratefully.
"Glad to help," the Golden Dawn magic knight responded with a smile.
"It'd be a bad idea to try and get back out there now, though…" Sister pointed out, crossing her arms over her chest, "Sounds like Crow's pretty much invincible…" she muttered with narrowed eyes.
"Even with Asta's anti-magic against him…" Mimosa added worriedly. Just then, she blinked in surprise to find the likes of Torunn being led into the room by Jaime and Kenny, while Jessica followed them in.
"Torunn!" Sister exclaimed as she approached, taking the injured demigoddess out of the young men's hands.
"What happened?!" Henry asked as he hopped out from his bed.
"Ziggy… and Ultron…" Torunn responded after a few deep breaths, "We were battling Ziggy until he caught Elsie off guard, followed by Ultron intervening to let him escape," she explained, coughing a little.
"Hey, take it easy…" Sister insisted, leading her over to a bed.
"So Elsie's hurt, too?" Henry presumed.
"That's what we heard," Jessica replied, folding her arms over her chest. The ship rumbled, causing her and the others to gasp in surprise. "I'm guessing that means Crow's still causing you trouble, too…" she realized with a grimace.
"I can head out there to help," Kenny affirmed, hurrying off.
"Same here!" Jaime exclaimed, following him as he drew forth his beetle-like wings to glide off through the hall.
"Wasn't Riri with you guys?" Henry inquired out of concern.
"She went off to find out where Ultron is," Jessica answered, "We won't be able to beat him without taking out his main body," she told the group.
"And to do that, we need to take down the factory first," Henry confirmed, "Otherwise, he could transfer his consciousness to other bodies," he mentioned.
"Man, talk about a total pain in the ass…" Sister grumbled out.
"If we're at least able to take out the factory, that helps us on a lot of different fronts," the Green Lantern noted, "We'll just have to trust the team to handle that," she affirmed. Elsewhere aboard the ship, a door opened for Alice as she wandered into the storage area, blinking in surprise to find both Couchpo and Labilia there.
"So you're hiding here for the time being?" she presumed of the pair of B-Cubers, getting their attentions.
"Yeah," the heavyset woman responded, munching on a burger. Seated next to her and trembling was Labilia. She held her head in her hands, sweating with fright as explosions were sounding off outside.
"It's hard to stay calm in this sort of situation…" Alice pointed out.
"Oh, Libby…" Couchpo said sympathetically, "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea for you to stay on this ship after all…" she noted aloud.
"I-I'm fine, thank you!" Labilia stammered in claim, still shivering.
"There you go again…" her fellow B-Cuber sighed out, "Hiding behind that persona isn't going to do you any good…" she affirmed.
"Rebecca's out there fighting for us!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed, "I don't wanna be the coward who hides away like this!" she added emphatically as tears pricked her eyes. Alice looked on in surprise before giving off a smile.
"Don't worry," she said, crouching down and putting her right hand onto Labilia's shoulder, causing her to perk up and look at her, "Remember, Rebecca isn't fighting this battle alone," she pointed out, "None of us are," she mentioned further, "We're going to win and protect this universe," she vowed. The blue-haired B-Cuber's eyes shimmered for a moment… before she blinked in realization.
"What… happened to your clothes?" she asked of the ice and water mage, enticing her to glance down to find herself in nothing but her sports bra and underwear, much to her embarrassment as she gasped.
"Damn it!" she cursed with a heavy blush across her cheeks, quickly reclaiming her garments and putting them back on.
"Huh…" Couchpo sighed, "There's not much we can do anyway," she pointed out, "Cowardly as it seems, we're nowhere near capable of fighting," she added on. Labilia grimaced.
"I-I know!" she stuttered, taking out her B-Cube, "Let's raise our morale with a B-Cube video!" she insisted, clicking her device to make the holographic icons appear over it. Immediately, she took notice of a notification that read 'REPORT'. "Wait… this is…" she uttered, slowly widening her eyes as Couchpo and Alice leaned over to see what she was looking at, "It's… Rebecca's latest video…" she realized.
"When'd she upload it?" her fellow B-Cuber inquired aloud. As the play button was hit, the video started with the Cat Leaper Ether seated in her gamer chair, dressed in a black shirt with her hair down.
"Hey everyone…" she greeted, "Welcome back to the Aoneko Channel. It's me, Rebecca," she confirmed, "I made this video today because I've got something important to tell all my loyal viewers, new and old," she told her intended audience, "I might've mentioned it a few times before…" she continued with a sheepish expression as she blushed a little, "but I live on a spaceship," she pointed out, "The entire crew here's like family to me," she mentioned as Labilia's eyes shook upon hearing that, "And tomorrow… our ship's going to be setting off on a dangerous mission…" she added on, "I can't tell you the details… but it's to protect the people I care most about," she affirmed, "And well… I can't say it won't be dangerous…" she admitted further, "I won't be able to upload any more videos until things are settled," she noted, bowing her head, "And I'm really sorry about that," she apologized, "But I promise you'll see me again," she vowed, smiling as she waved goodbye, "Until then," she remarked in farewell before the video ended.
"Becky…" Couchpo uttered out. Labilia whimpered as tears streaked down her cheeks. The hiatus message was essentially a placeholder in case something bad were to happen. "What's the matter, Libby?" her fellow B-Cuber asked in concern.
"It's just… not fair…" she responded through a sob, "Why did Rebecca… have to get dragged into all this fighting…?" she inquired, "She's just… a video streamer like us…" she pointed out while continuing to cry, "So why…?" she asked again.
"Well… it's like she said," the heavyset woman replied, "She thinks of the people on this ship as her family," she affirmed.
"That doesn't mean she has to go out there and fight!" Labilia shouted out.
"But's that for her to decide," Alice stated to her surprise, "I don't think it means that she isn't scared…" she mentioned, "But wanting to help her friends dwarfs that fear," she pointed out, "That's what's moving her forward," she finished, letting off a grin, "I think she learned that from someone special to her," she added. The blue-haired B-Cuber whimpered on. She never knew what Rebecca had been putting herself through in her efforts to help her friends… rather, her family. And here she was cowering. A determined look crossed her face in spite of the tears still in her eyes.
"Fine…" she said to the confusion of those in the room, "Then that means… I've got the right to protect her, too!" she proclaimed, getting to her feet and dashing off.
"Libby, wait!" Couchpo cried out as she reached for her fellow B-Cuber.
"You can't leave the safe room now!" Alice yelled, chasing after the blue-haired girl as the doors opened for her to run through, "Labilia!" she shouted on. As battles were raging on throughout Lendard, one thing was clear to Labilia. She was going to whatever she could to protect her family, too.
X
Turning a corner with his colleagues following, Tenya screeched to a halt upon seeing the likes of a robot there. They all readied themselves to attack, but stopped upon seeing its body morph, turning into M'gann. Coming out from the shadows of the corridor were Momo and Magna.
"Good, you're here," the Creation Quirk user noted as she approached.
"Are we ready to begin our assault?" Fumikage inquired.
"Pretty much," Magna confirmed, "Those Dragon-things took off, so we've got ourselves a straight shot into the place," he proclaimed confidently.
"You say that, yet there's still the bots to worry about…" Zora's voice grumbled as he sat at the ledge of a building nearby.
"What's the plan currently?" Tenya inquired.
"For the moment, we're planning on going for an aerial attack to catch those that may be inside off guard," Momo explained in reply, "Uraraka is going to float Kirishima up above the factory, and then he'll use his Unbreakable Crimson to smash his way in," she told the group thoroughly.
"With whomever inside distracted, we'll rush in and make a mess of the place before they can think," M'gann affirmed on.
"Isn't there a good chance we might run into that Ultron guy?" Zora inquired, getting the group's attention, "They said they took him out, but that he's got other bodies to use," he pointed out.
"Yes, there's a very good chance he'll be present," Momo confirmed.
"Seriously?!" Zenitsu yelped with fright.
"Awesome!" Luck exclaimed as his eyes sparkled, "I bet we could make a real bloodbath for a fight!" he mentioned excitedly.
"The hell's wrong with you?!" the demon slayer inquired emphatically.
"At any rate, the plan seems straightforward enough," Tenya said, "So long as we succeed here, we'll give many of the others more breathing room in their own battles," he mentioned with confidence in his tone. Ochaco was getting into position with Tanjiro and Klaus, while Yuji lurked in an alleyway next to Tsuyu, peeking out at the factory. Both Noel and Ninny floated aboard their respective Broombuggies, awaiting the plan to be enacted. Heading towards the scene as well were the trio of James, Mina, Secre and Denki.
Back in the circus-like subdimension, the air had changed once Clown had gotten kicked down to the ground from the tightrope. He narrowed his eyes curiously under his mask toward Rebecca, who kept her composure. Standing atop the landing on the other side of the rope, Rin looked on.
'Now that we have him grounded, we'll have a much better advantage going forward…' she affirmed inwardly as her magic circuits appeared around her legs once again. All of a sudden though, Clown snapped his fingers. The tightrope snapped apart without warning, causing Rebecca to gasp in surprise.
"The rope!" Pino yelped out.
"Rebecca!" Happy screamed.
"It's okay!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user assured, "Cats always land on their feet after all!" she affirmed, tucking and rolling to soften her landing upon her four extremities.
"Ooh, not bad…" Clown commented, sounding impressed. At that moment, Rin herself came down, landing behind him.
"You're finished now," she proclaimed, training her left arm onto him, "I doubt you can move as quickly as we can…" she noted, narrowing her eyes.
"…And what makes you think I'll let you move?" the Dark Star inquired back to her surprise. Spotlights suddenly flashed onto the stage, causing the two young women to flinch from the sudden brightness. And then, rings of orange flames spewed up around them both as they gasped. "For our next act… we have the ring of fire!" their foe proclaimed.
"Another cheap trick…" Rin growled, grabbing a few blue jewels from her pocket and flinging them out. They shattered, releasing bursts of air that blew away the flames surrounding her. In the meantime, Rebecca leapt over the ring around herself.
"Ooh, brava, brava!" Clown complimented, clapping his hands.
"Sorry, but we don't have time for your little circus!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user remarked as she landed and charged forward, as did her colleague.
"Aw, but the fun's only getting started, my dears~!" the Dark Star retorted, swinging his arms out to shoot more rings of fire at his foes. Rin found herself forced to roll away from them as they struck the wall and dissipated, much to her surprise as she thought it would be set ablaze. As for Rebecca, she leapt and flipped her way through the rings, much to Clown's amazement. He was left so mesmerized that he ended up taking a straight kick to his face, sending him tumbling back along the ground as he crashed into a stack of presents and balloons nearby.
"Nice one, Rebecca!" Happy complimented.
"Ergh…" Clown grunted out as he sat up, "You really do pride yourself in your speed…" he noted, "But like I said before…" he continued, getting to his feet and raising his right hand, "what makes you think I'll let you move?" he inquired, snapping his fingers. All of a sudden, the floor started glowing a bright yellow. Electricity surged through it, trailing towards both Rebecca and Rin.
"Rebecca, move!" the latter of the two Omni Force members called out in warning to her colleague, enticing her to quickly turn and run. Unfortunately, the electricity had already spread just as she took her first step, zapping her.
"YEOWCH!" she shrieked, falling backwards onto the ground, only to end up zapped again, "EEEEEEEE!" she squeaked in pain.
"Electricity's running through the stage?!" Pino exclaimed out of shock.
"That's cheap!" Happy shouted.
"Cheap, you say?" Clown repeated, "It's not my fault she's got such bad luck being human…" he remarked with a giggle. However, he suddenly found himself struck from behind by a trio of rubies, which exploded upon contact, making him lurch forward. He turned to find Rin in midair as her magic circuits glowed along her legs.
"Ich werde Sie gehen lassen. Sturm, der umstürzt!" she chanted, flinging down a few emeralds.
"Hm?" the Dark Star uttered in confusion. The gems exploded, releasing a torrent of wind with lightning like a storm onto him. "Oh-ho-ho!" he laughed out as he endured the raging gust. Rin then struck with a kick intended for his head, only for him to block with his right arm. She gritted her teeth, flipping over him before firing off continuous rounds of her reddish-black energy spheres. He swiped at them with his left arm, knocking them aside easily. "You'll have to do better than that, Little Miss Tohsaka…" he remarked to her frustration.
Meanwhile, Rebecca was finding herself almost unable to even move with the charged floor beneath her feet. She took notice of the nearby curtains, leaping over and latching herself onto them. She glanced back to see Rin still trying to fight back against Clown, leaping off him to stay off of the stage. However, as he evaded a ruby flung his way, the Dark Star retaliated with a strong punch to his foe's stomach, causing her to gasp in agony as she was sent flying back.
"Rin!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user screamed. She quickly swiped at the binding of the curtains with her left hand, making them unfold as she was swung toward her falling colleague. Wrapping her tail around her right wrist, she pulled the mage to safety before she could hit the stage.
"Rebecca…" she uttered in surprise, seeing how strained she appeared to be, especially with the burns along her body from getting zapped.
"You cheater!" she shouted out to Clown, who laughed.
"Am I though?" he inquired back, sauntering to a nearby crate and pulling out a sword, "I thought it was the gold standard to suppress your opponent's best moves…" he noted, grabbing another blade. Rin grimaced.
"Rebecca, let me go," she insisted of her colleague, "You're already using up a lot of your energy as is…" she pointed out worriedly.
"No way," the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user responded firmly to her shock, "If I let you get hurt, I'd never forgive myself," she stated, "Besides…" she continued, giving off a grin, "we're not finished yet," she affirmed confidently.
"Watch out, you two!" Pino warned, getting their attentions as they glanced over to see Clown juggling multiple swords in his hands.
"For our next act…" he began with a gleeful smile, "allow me to demonstrate the art of juggling!" he declared, throwing the blades up into the air as they whisked about. After catching one of them, he chucked it towards his pair of foes, causing them to widen their eyes in surprise.
"Ack!" Rebecca yelped, barely managing to leap over and latch onto the next curtain over, still strained thanks to holding onto Rin.
"Rebecca! Rin!" Happy cried out.
"Very, very nice~!" Clown sang, "You might have what it takes to become a successful acrobat," he commented on, "The way you move is ever so comical…" he mentioned cheekily. More swords were flung towards the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user and the mage she was holding with her tail. Somehow, she was able to leap away from them all, despite the extra weight she was carrying.
"AAAAAHHHH!" she shrieked as one blade pierced into the curtain just underneath her, while it was just inches away from going through Rin's left eye. She growled at Clown, who juggled more swords in his hands. Happy banged on the glass surrounding the birdcage he and Pino were entrapped in.
"Agh, what's the deal with this?!" he complained out of frustration.
"It does not appear to be locked electronically!" the little bot beside him noted aloud, "If we were to deal enough physical force to the structure…" she started to infer, "Rebecca, can you hit the cage with one of those swords?!" she inquired loudly of the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user, getting her attention.
"A sword?" she repeated in confusion.
"I've got it!" Rin declared, grabbing the blade beside her head with her left hand. With magic circuits forming along her arm, she pitched it fiercely toward the cage. It pierced through the glass in an instant, being between Happy and Pino as the former shrieked.
"Whoa… that was too close…" he said. The bottom of the cage collapsed, freeing both of the androids as they fell towards the stage. Clown looked up and scoffed.
"So you saved your little mascots…" he noted, "They won't be able to help you now, I'm afraid," he proclaimed.
"Activating EMP!" Pino exclaimed, spreading her arms out as a purple energy expanded from her body.
"That's not going to work on me~!" the Dark Star sang out mockingly, "We Dark Star models are equipped with an anti-EMP coating!" he mentioned to his foes. To his surprise though, the little bot grinned.
"Rebecca, Rin!" she called out, "I've shut off the electric current running through the stage!" she confirmed to them.
"Alright, great!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user responded with a smile, letting go of Rin before they both dropped down onto the stage. Clown yelped in surprise, especially as the mage charged forward, dashing past him while tossing a trio of rubies up into his face, which promptly exploded. She glanced back as the smoke settled, shocked to see that he was still standing with a grin on his face
"Is that the best you can do, Little Miss Tohsaka~?" he sang in question, much to her frustration as she growled.
"Happy!" Rebecca called out, holding her hands up.
"Aye, sir!" the android feline responded as his body transformed into the twin blasters that his friend caught in her hands. She promptly swung them forward and pulled their triggers, uncorking a barrage of blue energy blasts onto the Dark Star as he yelped.
"You stupid girl!" he shouted as he opened his right arm at his wrist, revealing a gun that unleashed a barrage of orange energy blasts. Rebecca sped around them with ease, as did Rin. Meanwhile, Pino was quickly scanning Clown's body, trying to locate a potential weakness. She then came to a stop.
"Analysis complete," she confirmed, "His armor is lighter on the back of his neck!" she yelled to her comrades.
"Got it!" Rebecca responded as she flipped over her foe's head, just before he could shoot her. His expression shifted into a grimace, especially as Rin made her way behind him, preparing a sphere of dark red energy upon her fingertips.
"Let's see if your neck can deflect this!" she challenged, flinging it out. At the same time, the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user pulled the triggers of her weapons.
"Happy Blaster Full Burst!" she exclaimed, unleashing blue bursts of energy from the guns' barrels. Both attacks struck the Dark Star in the back of his neck, causing him to cry out in agony as he started to topple over. He hit the ground just as Rebecca landed, skidding to a halt.
"We did it!" Pino yelled with delight. Meanwhile, Happy reformed his body.
"Yeah, you two pulled it off!" he confirmed to the Omni Force members.
"Thanks to the two of you, too!" Rebecca noted as she transformed back to normal, now with her hair down and her clothes somewhat tattered, "Ugh, that was rough…" she grumbled out.
"Only because he resorted to those stupid tricks and whatnot…" Rin noted aloud, crossing her arms over her chest, "Not to mention that he had the area working to his advantage," she mentioned.
"Yeah…" Rebecca agreed, "Anyways, we better go find the others," she insisted of her comrades, who all nodded in agreement.
"I see, I see~!" Clown's voice suddenly sang, getting the group's attention as they turned and widened their eyes. He was starting to push himself back up. "I'm so sorry I called you a wimpy weakling," he apologized, "Quite frankly, you're actually much more trouble than I gave you credit for…" he admitted aloud, "Perhaps it's time I started taking this a little more seriously…" he decided as smoke was wafting off from his neck.
"No way…!" Rebecca yelped out.
"I knew he wasn't being completely serious earlier, but…!" Rin mentioned as she grimaced.
"So he wasn't even trying at all…?" Happy inquired, shuddering a little.
"His energy levels are rising…" Pino commented, widening her eyes, "He's—!" All of a sudden, a dark purple light shrouded the Dark Star as his body started to morph.
"Battle Dress requip!" he exclaimed, gaining a nightmarishly dark face with an evil grin. He had a jagged chin, a black coat with gold trimming, flame-like markings, and a spiked collar, leather pants with a white buttoned-up shirt, and orange, crazy hair. His foes all were shocked at the sight of him. "Nightmare Clown…" he uttered, giggling evilly.
"You're kidding me…" Rebecca said as she trembled.
'All that effort… was for nothing?!' she questioned inwardly. A dark mist began wafting off of the Dark Star as he stuck his right hand out toward the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user.
"Pleasant Nightmares," he said. All of a sudden, the mist enshrouded Rebecca as she blinked in surprise.
"Huh…?" she uttered out, feeling her body start to fade, "What's… happening?!" she yelped in panic, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as she felt herself getting dragged into the mist, disappearing with it.
"Rebecca!" Happy cried out.
"The mist is taking her…!" Pino noted in shock.
"Buh-bye," Clown remarked as the mist faded, leaving behind no trace of the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user. His foes were left all shocked, especially Rin as her eyes shook. She could only think of how Rebecca had been willing to put herself on the line in order for this plan to work. And now… she was gone.
"Rebecca…?" she uttered.
X
"Meteor," Justice echoed, cloaking himself in a blue light before dashing forward in an instant at his trio of foes. They narrowly managed to evade him, grimacing from how fast he was. He veered back around just as quickly.
"Dammit!" Francis cursed, firing off an arrow that burst into a net. However, the Oración Seis Interestelar member weaved around it before clotheslining the archer, knocking him down onto the ground as he tumbled across it.
"I'm not fond of distractions," he noted, dashing upward to avoid getting struck by Nue, who Megumi had summoned forth.
"Shit!" he exclaimed in frustration. His shikigami attempted to pursue the Oración Seis Interestelar member, but couldn't keep up with him as he was far too fast.
"What do you even hope to achieve with this?!" he inquired as he sped past the jujutsu sorcerer, striking his right shoulder as he yelped in pain, "Even if you somehow freed Elsie, I'd chase her to the ends of the cosmos to capture and kill her!" she proclaimed fiercely as he slammed his left fist into Megumi's back, knocking him down onto his hands and knees as he dropped his tonfa. He glanced up to see Justice zipping down towards him, only to be thwarted as Katsuki blasted himself over and caught him by his high-collared jacket with his right hand.
"X-CATAPULT!" he roared, unleashing explosions from his free extremity before using the gained momentum to fling the Oración Seis Interestelar member away instantaneously. He flipped and tucked his legs in, landing upon the side of a building. The Explosion Quirk user blasted himself over to him, yelling as his palms glowed a bright orange. Megumi stood up, watching with a grimace.
'Bakugo already used up a lot of energy fighting Ziggy earlier…' he noted to himself as the spiky-haired hero fired off an explosion that Justice promptly evaded, followed by zipping over and tackling his foe down to the ground, where another blast went off, 'Even though we're running on empty, we have to do whatever we can to get Crimson back to the ship for recovery!' he mentioned inwardly, glancing over to the building where Elsie was entrapped. Inside, her cuffs were broken off from the metal pole, freeing her arms.
"You have my thanks… as embarrassing as this is…" she remarked to the trio of Natalie, Kyoka, and Shirou.
"Hee-hee!" the Dragon Slayer giggled, folding her arms behind her head, "No sweat!" she remarked aloud.
"We should try to get out of the area as soon as possible," Shirou insisted of his colleagues, "I don't know if the others are gonna be able to last long…" he admitted aloud.
"Ergh…!" Elsie winced out as she grabbed her abdomen.
"That's probably not good…" Natalie noted aloud.
"I'll manage…" Elsie affirmed, grabbing an earpiece off of the floor and sticking it in her right ear, "I'm thankful that James didn't take everything…" she mentioned, throwing her black cape on as well, "Hyoga, can you read me?" she inquired into the communication line.
"…Prin…CeSs…?" a static-filled voice responded, much to her surprise.
"Listen, I'm in need of your help…" she confirmed, letting out another wince, "Can you bring the Skull Fairy down to my location?" she requested.
"…We… cAn't heeeeaarrrr… you…" the static-filled voice responded, "You're… break—" A sudden screech from the earpiece made the infamous Space Pirate wince as she yanked it out.
"Something's jamming communications…" she realized, much to the shock of her allies.
"That's not good…" Kyoka said.
"Especially now…" Shirou added with a grimace, hearing explosions going off over and over again outside.
"GWAH!" Katsuki gasped out, blood flying from his mouth as he careened back, with Justice in pursuit of him.
"This is over, you otherworlder scum!" he proclaimed, closing in.
"Water Creation Magic…" a voice started to bellow, getting their attentions as they widened their eyes, glancing over to see Noelle there with her watery lance aimed towards them, "SEA DRAGON'S ROAR!" she exclaimed, manifesting the head of a sea dragon with sharp teeth as it shot forward. Grimacing, both Justice and Katsuki quickly moved themselves away to avoid getting struck, with the latter landing upon a nearby building.
"Warn me next time, pigtail princess!" he shouted angrily.
"Huh?!" she exclaimed with a blush growing across her cheeks, "Don't call me something so stupid!" she yelled back. Justice came down onto a building across from the pair, letting the luminosity around him fade as he glared down at his foes. In the meantime, Devlin arrived on the scene, having transformed back to normal. He grimaced as he reached into his hoodie to pull out his MPG.
"We really need backup here…" he noted aloud. However, when he pressed the center icon of his device, nothing happened. Immediately, his eyes widened. He quickly put his right hand up to his earpiece. "Hey, come in!" he yelled, only to be met with a sudden crackle of static, "AH!" he yelped, yanking the communicator out of his ear, "Crap…" he muttered out.
'Comms going down is one thing, but the MPGs, too?!' he inquired inwardly, 'This is all kinds of bad!' he noted to himself as he trembled a little.
"Water Magic…" Noelle started chanting, aiming her watery lance toward Justice again, "Sea Dragon's Waterball!" she exclaimed as she formed a large, swirling sphere of water that she shot out at her opponent. A blue luminosity cloaked his body again before he sped around the attack, closing in on the magic knight. "Huh?" she uttered before being met with a roundhouse kick to her face, sending her crashing into another building.
"Bastard!" Katsuki roared, blasting himself over with an explosion from his palms. However, the Oración Seis Interestelar member rocketed away again before his foe could strike. "You think I'm gonna let you get away?!" he yelled in question, blasting himself after him with condensed explosions propelling him forward.
'This guy's way too dangerous to let go, especially if he's not on our side!' he affirmed through his thoughts as he was closing in on Justice, who gasped in surprise to see him there, 'I gotta end this here and now with all I got!' he affirmed, launching several powerful explosions to spin himself around, enveloping his body in a torrent of smoke, building with oxygen.
"Howitzer Impact…" he started to bellow, shooting in and striking his target, "CLUSTERRRR!" he roared, uncorking a massive round of explosions that streaked across the skyline. Having just stepped out from the building she was in with her rescuers, Elsie looked on in shock.
"Incredible…" she uttered out. Elsewhere, Acnoella took notice of the commotion with her horde of dragons. She cracked a small grin.
"So that's where you are…" she noted aloud. Falling out from the resulting smoke of the blasts, Katsuki hit a roof hard on his back, tumbling over onto his stomach. His body trembled as he tried to push himself up, blood and sweat dripping all the while.
'Damn…' he cursed inwardly as his vision grew hazy, 'I think… that's all I've got…' he confirmed through his thoughts, letting his eyelids droop as he fell over onto the ground, 'It's all on you now… Deku…' he declared, losing consciousness. Floating over him was Justice, whose fists were clenched with frustration. Noelle emerged from the building she had been sent flying into, wiping her stricken cheek before flying up. She widened her eyes to find the Explosion Quirk user lying upon the ground in a heap.
"Katsuki!" she screamed. The Oración Seis Interestelar member took notice of her, narrowing his eyes into a glare.
"You're about to join him," he remarked to her, getting her attention. She gritted her teeth.
"I don't think so…" she growled out as a serpentine-like figure slithered up her left shoulder.
"That was Bakugo's ultimate move, wasn't it?" Kyoka inquired while running alongside Natalie and Shirou, with Elsie following behind them closely.
"If it was, then that Justice guy's no joke…" the Dragon Slayer pointed out.
"He certainly isn't…" the Oración Seis Galáctica member confirmed, getting the group's attention, "I should split away from you to avoid getting you into more trouble," she insisted.
"No way! Not with you that injured!" Shirou argued as a retort.
"Yeah, we'll get you to your friends!" Natalie affirmed. All of a sudden, a shadow was cast over her and the others. They looked up in shock to see a dozen Dragons looming over them. Acnoella was standing atop the one in the middle.
"I assumed I'd have no feelings towards meeting you again, Elsie Crimson…" she noted to her fellow Oración Seis Galáctica member below, causing her to blink in confusion, "And yet… I'm suddenly overcome with rage…" she admitted on, "I'm so happy Ziggy gave me the chance to kill you…" she affirmed aloud.
X
All that was left of Rebecca in the dimension were her high-heeled sandals. Everything else about her presence was completely erased. Rin was still shell-shocked.
"Nighty-night," Clown remarked with an evil chuckle.
"Rebecca!" Happy cried out.
"She's completely vanished…" Pino noted in disbelief.
"She'll be waking up in a world of nightmares right about now…" the Dark Star informed the group. The feline android growled.
"You give Rebecca back right now!" he yelled, charging toward him.
"Happy, wait!" Pino cried out. With a mere swipe of his left hand, Clown unleashed a surge of electricity onto the two little androids, zapping them as they shrieked. That didn't break through to Rin, though. She still had the image of Rebecca disappearing replaying through her mind.
"So sorry," the Dark Star apologized as Happy and Pino fell down in smoky heaps, "But terminating that little girl isn't the real purpose of my creation," he affirmed aloud as he grinned, "Tee-hee-hee…" he giggled evilly.
"…her back…" Rin echoed out quietly as tears were pricking her eyes, "Give… her back…" she repeated, clenching her fists tightly.
"Hm?" Clown uttered, "What was that, Little Miss Tohsaka~?" he sang in question. The mage growled as she fiercely glared at him, preparing an orb of dark red energy upon her right hand's fingertips, aiming it at him.
"GIVE REBECCA BACK!" she commanded, firing the energy sphere. Meanwhile, Rebecca slowly awoke, finding herself in what appeared to be the Edens Kitchen, though everything around her was greyed out.
"What… is this…?" she wondered aloud.
"Where do we even go now…?" a familiar voice suddenly asked, causing her to look over to see Weisz seated at one of the tables. She couldn't help but notice the despondent expression in his eyes… along with the fact that he had a prosthetic in place of his right arm. Her eyes shook.
"We could always try to go and find Mother like Shiki wanted…" Homura's voice chimed in, causing the Cat Leaper Ether Gear to look over and see her at another table, with Sister using a stethoscope to listen closely to what looked to be a growing belly, "But… I don't know if I'll have the strength to continue going…" she admitted sadly.
"Homura…" Rebecca uttered out. She could see Pino whimpering from afar by the windows with Happy trying to comfort her. At the counter, Hermit and Witch sat despondently as well. The only one not there… was Shiki.
'Wait… now I remember…' the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user realized, lowering her head with shame, 'This… is from Timeline One…' she concluded inwardly, 'After Izu and his friends saved us from Drakken, we stayed in their universe for a while before coming back to the Edens Zero…' she remembered, 'That means Shiki isn't…' she started to tell herself, only to grimace. She didn't want to reminisce over such a terrible memory.
"Master dying was bad enough…!" Pino whimpered out, making her perk up, "Why did Rebecca have to leave, too?!" she questioned emphatically as tears streaked down her face.
'What…?' the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user uttered through her thoughts, with her eyes shaking. She could see Happy start to cry himself, while the others in the kitchen trembled.
"Rebecca must feel the most guilt for the Demon King's death, as Drakken had been targeting her…" Witch presumed.
"But for her to just leave without warning?!" Hermit inquired as tears were pricking her eyes, "Why didn't she say anything to us?!" she asked on.
'Wait… no…' Rebecca uttered inwardly, starting to tear up herself, 'That's not what happened at all!' she affirmed through her thoughts.
"She must've left because she thought there'd be no point in traveling with us anymore…" Weisz grumbled out, "Without Shiki… this crew isn't worth so much of a damn…" he added sadly.
'Weisz…!' the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user whimpered inwardly.
"Unfortunately, I too share that same sentiment…" Homura admitted, "Between both that and my…" she continued, only to stop as she wrapped her arms around her stomach, "We had fun on this journey…" she affirmed, "But I think this is where it should end…" she said.
"No…" Rebecca sobbed out, "Don't go!" she pleaded, reaching her right hand out to her friends. Suddenly, the surrounding area faded away. She blinked in shock before looking at her hand… and then her legs. Her tears rolled down her face as she whimpered, dropping to her knees. "I'm sorry…" she apologized as she trembled, "I never wanted things to turn out this way…" she admitted sadly, "I didn't want to leave…" she added, "But I…" she tried to continue, "I couldn't…" she said.
'What I said back there might've sounded cool…' she noted to herself, 'but in the end, I'm just all talk…' she concluded sadly, 'I'm too weak…' she mentioned inwardly as she whimpered, 'The only thing I'm good for is this power to go through time…' she said while gripping her legs tightly, 'I wish… I wasn't cursed with it…' she confessed through her thoughts, crying on.
"My power's scary, too…" a familiar voice said, causing her to perk up. Standing in front of her was a small girl with bluish, off-white hair, messy and unkempt, which was parted in the middle of her forehead, almost reaching down to her waist. She had very wide, innocent-looking eyes, which were bright red in color. Poking out from the right side of her forehead was a small, brown horn.
"Eri…?" Rebecca uttered out.
"I used to hate my power…" the little girl admitted, putting her hand up to her horn, "I wished I wasn't born with it…" she added on, "But… Deku said that even though it's scary…" she kept going, giving off a smile, "it could still help people," she said, "So I'm doing my best," she affirmed with clenched fists. The Cat Leaper Ether Gear user's eyes shook. She remembered those encouraging words from the little girl when she and her friends were taken into U.A. High in the wake of what happened with Drakken.
"Bluegarden," another voice chimed in, getting her attention as she turned to see a slender and tall, pale-skinned man standing behind her, having messy, shoulder-length black hair, that partially hung in front of his face and half-opened black eyes. He sported a baggy black outfit that consisted of a long-sleeved shirt and matching pants that tucked into his boots. He also wore a utility belt and his signature wrap scarf.
"Mister Aizawa…" Rebecca uttered in shock.
"You have a lot of potential, you know," the teacher said to her surprise as she blinked, "And if you're willing to put in the work, there's a chance you can change the future for yourself," he affirmed on, "Go beyond and fight for a better tomorrow for yourself and your friends," he advised of her.
"I…" she uttered, still trembling. The encouragement she remembered receiving from those at U.A. ultimately helped her jump to a new timeline, leading to her friends all surviving their struggle against Drakken. But in the process, she left behind what was in the previous timeline. And that guilt burdened her as she lowered her head. "I can't…" she proclaimed sadly, "I already cause everyone enough trouble as is…" she pointed out, "I'm not strong enough…" she confessed in frustration.
"That never stopped you from trying," another familiar voice chimed in, causing her to look over to see Ochaco there, though she was bloodied with cuts and a stab wound to her gut.
"Ochaco!" she exclaimed, getting to her feet and running over, "Are you okay?! What happened to you?!" she questioned in panic.
"It had nothing to do with you… but…" the Zero Gravity Quirk user said to her confusion.
"Wait… what are you talking about…?" Rebecca asked, only to blink in realization as she looked at her friend's injuries again. It was so long ago that she had almost forgotten what had happened.
FLASHBACK
Buried under the mob of Twice clones, Rebecca grimaced. She didn't have Happy to provide her support, and other heroes in the area were just as trapped as she was. It was an impulsive decision to follow Ochaco and Tsuyu in that warp gate leading to the remnants of Gunga.
With Himiko Toga having ingested Twice's blood, she transformed into him and created infinite amounts of doubles that were overwhelming the heroes and multiversal allies present alike. It was already bad enough with her being able to duplicate. If she could copy their powers, it'd be even worse. But fortunately, with her current state of mind muddled with malice over her so-called 'love', she couldn't use the Quirks of the people she doubled, like Dabi or Tomura.
"Ergh…!" the Cat Leaper Ether Gear grunted, trying to free herself from the mob as they were continuing to pile over her and others around them.
"We're just built different after all!" Himiko's voice echoed, getting her attention as she peered through the mob, widening her eyes to see the real Transform Quirk user stabbing Ochaco in the stomach in midair, "You people go on and on about happy, blessed lives…" she grumbled out, "but I don't get to feel a lick of that!" she shouted angrily, seemingly twisting her knife into the Zero Gravity Quirk user's gut, "Your rules tell you to pity me! But don't you dare!" she yelled on, while Ochaco coughed up blood, "I'm a villain after all, aren't I?!" she roared, pulling her weapon out as blood spilled from her victim's wound.
"Ochaco!" Tsuyu screamed from afar.
"This is bad…!" Kyoka realized with a grimace. Having heard everything, Rebecca gritted her teeth in frustration. She hadn't really understood why the Zero Gravity Quirk user was so keen on trying to have an honest conversation with Himiko during the whole ordeal rather than just trying to stop her. But now, hearing her echo her anger, she finally realized it. Society had thrown her into a downward spiral. And the result was this. She closed her eyes as her Ether Gear markings brightened.
"What the hell are we supposed to do now?!" an armored Weisz inquired amidst the sea of Twices alongside Homura, Happy, Pino, and an unmasked Miles Morales.
"It seems Ochaco is confronting the perpetrator behind these doubles…" the Soul Blade Ether Gear user noted as she spotted the Zero Gravity Quirk user bleeding profusely from her stomach, "But I don't think she's equipped to beat her…" she pointed out.
"If only Master were here…" Pino said.
"And where's Rebecca?!" Happy inquired on, "Didn't she go through that portal earlier?!" he asked while looking around frantically. All of a sudden, something burst out from one of the piles of clones.
"Look!" Pino exclaimed, enticing the others to turn and widen their eyes. Glancing over themselves, Ochaco and Himiko were surprised to find Rebecca in her Overdrive form coming towards them with a determined expression in her eyes. She was rearing her right leg back.
"I'm not gonna pity you…" she said to the Transform Quirk user, who snarled as she was ready to swing her knife at her, "but…" she continued, clenching her teeth tightly, "there's no way I'm gonna let you hurt my friends, either!" she roared, evading Himiko's attempted swipe as she widened her eyes, followed by landing a roundhouse kick with her right foot to her face, sending her flying down before she crashed onto the ground, dropping her weapon in the process. The mask of Twice and the rest of his costume was starting to ooze off of her.
"Your friends…?!" she growled out, sitting up and reclaiming her knife, while Rebecca landed down in front of her alongside Ochaco, who clutched her stomach's wound, "That must be nice…" she snarled on, "You got people you can trust, to always support you!" she pointed out angrily.
"Yeah, you're right," the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user agreed, placing her right hand onto Ochaco's shoulder, causing a bluish light to envelop her body as her wounds started disappearing, much to her surprise, "And it's thanks to those people that I got to where I am now," she affirmed, "I owe them everything, like I said earlier," she added as Himiko blinked in astonishment, "I don't care about your love, your power, or what you want…" she listed off, taking a step forward, "I'm here to return the favor for my friends!" she declared firmly.
END FLASHBACK
"That's right…" Rebecca said, looking to see that the visage of Ochaco in front of her was no longer wounded, "Even though I did jump from one timeline to another…" she noted as she looked down for a moment, "in the end, I saved my friends from a worse fate…" she affirmed, "I was able to make us a new future…" she added, looking at her open hands before closing them into fists, "And I still can," she proclaimed.
"That's right, Rebecca," another familiar voice chimed in, causing her to turn and see Izuku there, along with Shiki, Weisz, Homura, Happy, Pino, Witch, Sister, Hermit, Kris, Kleene, Laguna, and all of their other friends from throughout the multiverse. Both the One For All inheritor and the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user stepped forward.
"Your power's amazing," the latter affirmed, putting his hands onto his hips, "And you've definitely gotten stronger with it!" he added confidently with a smile.
"Rebecca…" Izuku began, approaching the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user as she blinked in surprise, "you saved me with that power," he told her, "And I know you can save others with it, too," he mentioned confidently. The ash blonde-haired young woman let off a little smile.
"Everyone… thank you," she said gratefully. Her Ether Gear markings appeared around her legs and brightened as the whole area around her turned white. Back in the subdimension, Rin's hair was fully down as her body trembled with crackling electricity, though she remained standing. In front of her was a giggling Clown.
"You really are something else, aren't you~?" he sang rhetorically as she clenched her teeth together. She fired off another reddish-black ball of energy from her left hand's fingertips, only for her foe to effortlessly flick it aside, causing her to gasp in disbelief. "That said, I'm getting bored of this…" he confessed in annoyance, "I do have other things to attend to, after all…" he mentioned.
"Ergh…" Rin growled out, "Give Rebecca back…" she demanded as her body trembled still, "I won't let you leave until you do…" she affirmed on, keeping her arm steadied on the Dark Star.
"Huh…" he sighed out, "There's nothing for her to come back from…" he muttered in admittance to her surprise, "Once you enter my Nightmare, there's no way you can so easily escape…" he proclaimed with a giggle. Meanwhile, both Pino and Happy started to stir awake.
"Miss… Tohsaka…" the former uttered out weakly. Clown took notice.
"And now I've got to deal with them again, too…" he grumbled, sighing once more, "Well, I guess it's not so bad when you're a bunch of wimpy weaklings…" he proclaimed, letting out more giggles. Rin glared at him. But then, she blinked in surprise upon noticing something. A bluish mist was suddenly appearing, right from where Rebecca had disappeared. The others took notice as well. "What's this?" the Dark Star inquired curiously.
"It looks like that mist from earlier…" Happy noted.
"But it's blue…" Pino pointed out additionally. The mist grew larger until suddenly, a blue streak of light shot out from it. Clown's expression went from intrigue to shock as it flew by him, tearing off his right arm in an instant.
"Ah…!" he gasped out. Rin widened her eyes, as did Happy and Pino. Landing on the stage in her Overdrive form with blue bio-electricity crackling around her was Rebecca. She turned to Clown, who clutched what remained of his severed arm as he grimaced.
'What in the world?!' he exclaimed inwardly, 'How did she break free of the nightmare?!' he questioned through his thoughts, 'I may have been distracted from putting her through the wringer, but her Ether levels were so low that I thought…!' He stopped as his eyes widened. 'Her Ether levels… have spiked tenfold?!' he noted in disbelief.
"Rebecca…?" Rin uttered in amazement.
"Stay back, Rin," the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user advised, "I'll wrap this up quick," she proclaimed, taking on a lunging stance.
"Bah, so what if your Ether levels spiked so suddenly?!" Clown yelled angrily, readying a cannon from his left arm, "I already know you're at your limits now!" he affirmed, firing a few shots.
"Rebecca, watch—!" Happy's shout was interjected as his friend seemingly disappeared in the blink of an eye to avoid the flurry of bullets shot her way. The Dark Star gasped, looking to see the blue blur racing around him at speeds he couldn't even hope to keep track of.
"She's… so much faster than before…" Pino noted aloud.
"What the heck happened?" Happy wondered, seemingly amazed. Rin was just as stunned, her eyes shaking. At one moment, Rebecca seemed to have disappeared into a void, never to return. The next, she was fighting back with all her might and then some. She raced by Clown as he aimlessly fired bullets around the stage in search of her. His smile had long since passed as he was left frightened by just how the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user had escaped his signature ability's entrapment. She sped up one of the poles in the circus-like setting, leaping off of it and descending downward, raising her right leg.
"Gah…!" Clown gasped upon noticing, aiming his cannon. But it was too late. In an instant, Rebecca zoomed down, landing an axe kick that not only severed his arm, but also decapitated his head as his jaw dropped.
"AONEKO SMASH!" she roared in the process. The pieces of her foe's body clattered onto the stage floor at her feet, with his head lying upon its side, still in disbelief. Her colleagues were left amazed.
"You really did it!" Happy exclaimed as he ran over to the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user, who transformed back to normal, letting out an exhausted breath. He leapt into her arms, allowing her to hug him warmly.
"His energy levels are nearly depleted," Pino confirmed upon approaching, looking over at the downed Clown, "I believe your victory is assured this time," she mentioned with a smile.
"Thanks, Pino," Rebecca responded gratefully, "Sorry if I worried you two…" she apologized on, rubbing Happy's head.
"It was our fault for not thinking that they'd have some kinda Battle Dress like the Shining Stars…" the android feline admitted sheepishly in reply.
"We may have to alert the others of that matter as well," Pino pointed out worriedly.
"Right," Rebecca agreed as she nodded, "Rin, are you—?" Without warning, she was suddenly tackled into a bear hug from the mage, forcing Happy to hop out of her arms to avoid getting squished. She whimpered into the Cat Leaper Ether Gear user's shoulder as she blinked in shock. "R-Rin?" she stuttered out.
"I'm so glad… you're alright…" she said through her tears. Rebecca gave off a smile, hugging her back.
"I'm glad you're okay, too," she replied, while Happy and Pino smiled. In the meantime, Clown grimaced before letting off a smile.
"So… we really won this time, right?" the android feline inquired.
"Oh yes, you certainly did~!" the Dark Star sang, causing him to shiver in surprise. The others gasped to see their enemy's talking head.
"He's… still alive?!" Rin exclaimed out of shock.
"He is an android…" Rebecca noted with a grimace.
"Well done, well done…" Clown complimented, "I doubt even the real me could beat you given your powerful Ether…" he admitted to their surprise.
"What do you mean… the 'real you'?" Rebecca repeated in question. The Dark Star grinned cheekily.
"What's your real goal?" Shiki inquired of Wizard back in the Granbell subdimension, while Shoto stood by.
"You may as well talk," the Half-Cold, Half-Hot Quirk user pointed out, narrowing his eyes, "With you defeated, your friends will soon follow," he mentioned. The Dark Star grinned.
"…You haven't defeated me at all," he remarked to the pair, much to their surprise, "In fact, I never really fought you…" he mentioned.
"What's that supposed to mean…?" Shiki questioned, clenching his fists. A bright light suddenly enveloped the android's body. The same thing was happening to Clown in the circus-like subdimension as those around him flinched from the brightness.
When it subsided, they looked out to see what looked to be the pieces of a bot scattered about the ground that didn't even resemble their foe. The same occurred where Shiki and Shoto were. They both looked to each other in surprise.
"Wait… then where's the real one?" the Satan Gravity Ether Gear user asked.
X
"Okay… I'm in position…" Eijiro confirmed, floating high above the factory. Ochaco watched on with Tanjiro and Klaus, while the likes of Yuji, Tsuyu, Noel, Ninny, Momo, M'gann, Zora, Magna, Tenya, Zenitsu, Luck and Fumikage were getting into position.
"Is this really such a good idea…?" the yellow-haired demon slayer of the group inquired worriedly in a whisper, "I feel like it'd be better for us to just sneak in…" he pointed out.
"Being that our enemies are androids, it's likely they'll be able to detect our presence, even if we were to hide ourselves somehow," the Creation Quirk user responded.
"So a headfirst approach is our best method forward," Tenya affirmed. Up in the smoggy sky, Eijiro hardened his skin to its maximum potential, taking on a monstrous appearance. His skin was then coated by a reddish-black armoring.
'Unbreakable Crimson!' he exclaimed inwardly.
"Here goes…" Ochaco said, tapping her fingertips together, "Release!" she yelled quietly. The Hardening Quirk user's weight returned as he began a freefall toward the factory. He crossed his arms over his head before crashing in through the roof, followed by a few loud bangs.
"Alright, let's move!" Yuji exclaimed, hopping down from the building he was upon with Tsuyu. Tanjiro and Klaus charged in, as did Luck and Tenya with Fumikage and a reluctant Zenitsu. Ochaco joined them, while everyone else stayed behind. Inside, Eijiro let his Haki fade along with his hardened skin as he stood up from the crater of his impact. He looked out, widening his eyes.
"Kirishima, did you find something?!" the Engine Quirk user inquired as he ran in with the others, only to come to a grinding halt, "What…?!" he gasped out. Ochaco entered the factory last, widening her eyes herself.
"Welcome," a voice echoed as lights flared to life inside the building, "It's commendable that you've made it this far in your efforts to thwart Lord Ziggy's plans," the voice complimented as the Omni Force members all grimaced, "However…" he continued, being none other than Wizard, "this is where your battle ends," he proclaimed, standing before seemingly an endless array of androids, all of which were him, Clown, Killer, or Brigandine.
"What the hell…?!" Yuji yelped.
"Those are the androids that rival the Shining Stars, right?" Tsuyu inquired of Ochaco, who nodded with a grimace.
'What's going on?!' she wondered as she clenched her fists.
END
Where one battle ends, another begins! Aside from wanting to get through the chapters with Rebecca against Clown, I also wanted to set up things with the factory battle and Justice going up against one Omni Force member after another as he's still trying to get Elsie, who's now finding herself involved with Acnoella. A lot's happening, and I won't be getting to it soon, unfortunately.
Got some more chapters of "The Challenge of a Lifetime" and "Omni Force: ORIGINS" coming up, so I'll be focusing on those for the time being. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and will see you next month for the next one! Thanks for reading!