Chapter 41: Rage Awakened
Katsuki didn't even bother giving the two idiots a chance. Exploding himself forward, he channeled his latest surprise in his hand.
Hands and Bulky tried to jump him. Their funeral. Katsuki put two hands glowing cerulean blue forward and smirked, "Ultima."
An explosion of pure power blinded everyone on the floor. The villains were sprawled on the ground when it was gone, twitching and unconscious.
Katsuki cracked his neck and looked over his shoulder at the mob of Nobodies. "Next."
Seeing that, Eijiro grinned from ear to ear and activated his Unbreakable, "That's so manly!" So excited he was, the living boulder threw himself at their foes like a bull.
Shoto saw that and deadpanned, "If I knew you guys didn't need help I would have gone with them."
"Less bitching, more fighting!"
The trio leaped at the Nobodies, who put much more of a fight compared to the villains.
—
Up on the hundredth floor, the group had to plow through a veritable tidal wave of the empty husks.
"This is getting ridiculous," Fumikage commented while jabbing the spear he turned Dark Shadow into through a Dragoon, beating the Nobody in its own game.
Speaking of games, Toru finished her third round of card calling with a Gambler, "Tell me about it. Oh, c'mon!" She groaned at another one starting to play with a dice. Fed up, Toru pulled a kunai from her boot and stabbed it instead.
"Don't be disheartened, we're halfway there!" Tenya blitzed multiple Dusks and finished with an overhead kick to a Berserker's head. "We have to pick up the pace, the whole island is counting on us!"
"Nice speech, but move!" Kyoka called out just in time for Tenya to get out of the line of fire. She primed her earring and sent her drumming heartbeat into it, making the overturned boombox blast a sound wave that punched a hole in the tide of Nobodies. "Your turn!"
Mina skated down the cleared path and sprayed her Acid everywhere, melting Nobodies in droves.
Izuku used his overcoat to protect himself and follow behind her, taking out any stragglers. He waved it and the acidic goo slid right off the cloth. Maybe the thing wasn't so bad. "Vanitas knows we're getting close so he'll take the kiddie gloves off and throw everything he brought at us."
"Let him try!" Ochaco punched a Sorcerer out of the air, her hands enveloped by purple-pink orbs and hitting with the virtual mass of a mountain. "When we get to him, we're kicking his butt all the way to the moon!" She flew to a Berserk, covered in an aura of the fusion of her magic and quirk, and sent the heavy Nobody back to Nothing with a slam dunk.
Tsuyu watched her friend with a flat glare, "Ocha is fired up." She grabbed a Dragoon's spear with her tongue and nailed the Nobody with it. "It's kinda scary."
They kept fighting their way up for the next thirty floors, encountering less blocked doors, but much more enemies.
Melissa stayed on the back holding Eri so the little girl didn't run off on her own again, and with her help, they both used healing magic to help the others to keep fighting.
On the 130th floor, they came across a lab with a room with a giant cylinder full of glowing green liquid. The only way to go through it was by the interlocked catwalks over the machinery connected to the cylinder.
It was no surprise they got ambushed then.
"Called it. Pay up, suckers!" Hanta, unbothered by the cage of laser cubes that formed around them, grabbed his wins from Mina and Minoru.
Izuku ignored his friends' antics and marched forward while spinning his arm, "Let's see if I can't crack this-" Danger Sense gave a shrill alarm in his mind, and Izuku leaped back just in time for a laser bullet to miss his head.
It went wide, and then ricocheted from one wall to the other, bouncing out of the cubes and gaining speed.
"Get down!"
His warning saved Momo from getting a hole in her arm. Everybody hit the deck, but more laser bullets joined the first and they quickly saw that nowhere was safe.
"Oh, you're on!" Toru leaped in the middle of the bullet hell, her form starting to glint a rainbow of colors. "Mirror Shield!" The light-based attacks got refracted away from her form, and Toru quickly slapped the lasers onto the floor, dispersing them.
Izuku saw this as his cue, "Vacuum Cannon!" The Full Gauntlet buckled on his arm, the 50% plus Fa Jin punch put a hole in the laser wall big enough for them to jump through. From there, tearing down the Sorcerers and Snipers was child's play.
They rushed up, getting closer and closer to the end. Their next roadblock coming a few floors later.
In a room with large server towers, dozens of Nobodies appeared, boxing them.
There was a standoff, no one taking the first move… That was until a Sniper primed a shot.
The Nobody aimed at Izuku, who tensed. In the last second, the crossbow-esque gun was aimed at the side.
Melissa cried out seeing that, "The servers!"
Izuku didn't know exactly why it was a problem, but from Melissa's tone alone he knew they couldn't let it destroy the servers. He bolted and kicked the laser back at the sender, and the battle started.
"Don't hit the servers, if they go down them the island's systems will go with them!"
"Well, shit." Denki instantly leaped away from the hardware and turned off his quirk. "Momo!"
"Here!" She threw him a bat and switched weapons for a staff. All her bombs would damage the room, and most of her weapons were geared to take things down hard. Back to the basics it was.
Fumikage released Dark Shadow so the Dark Guardian could fight by himself. He raised his cuffs and cracked his neck, "Like the ancients did then." The raven-headed boy shot Izuku a look, "This will take some time. Time we do not have. Go ahead, we will take it from here."
Izuku wanted to protest, but Fumikage was right. That was just Vanitas stalling, they couldn't fall for it. "You guys better not be hurt when I get back."
"Come back? We will reach you before you are even at the top. Now, godspeed." With that, Fumikage joined his friends in the slugfest the battle rapidly devolved into.
Izuku hopped back to Melissa's side, "Come on, we're pushing ahead."
Ochaco flew to his side and tapped his head, "Not without me you're not."
Eri pouted, waving from her place in Melissa's arms, "I'm here too!"
The youngest Shield looked at them with wide eyes, before a slight smile formed on her face, "Right. This way!" She turned away from the fight and ran to one of the side corridors between the server towers, Izuku and Ochaco hot on her heels.
They rushed down hallways that led further and further away from the conflict, and the center of the building. Ultimately, they ended up outside.
In that section of the building, multiple wind turbines used the strong currents at that altitude to generate energy for the tower. And most importantly, it gave them a straight shot further up the tower.
Izuku marveled at the architectural wonder before him. Something about the megastructure spoke to him. "This place is amazing, but why are we here?"
Melissa pointed upwards, at a gate on the next session of the tower, "There! We can take the direct route instead of fighting our way up."
The key bearer was about to comment that it would be risky, with them exposed like that on the way up when his mind exploded with white noise. Danger Sense screamed at him with everything it had, and Izuku had a fraction of a second to act.
He threw himself at Melissa, pushing her and Eri into Ochaco's hold where they would be safe. The next moment, the world turned white.
Izuku blinked the spots out of his sight, his eyes burning. What greeted him was a dire scene.
Izuku was floating in the air, hanging from bluish-gray orbs that enveloped his hands and feet. He struggled, but the orbs didn't bulge.
A sharp whistling noise filled the air, and a colossal form sprung into existence before Izuku.
It was like someone had taken an axe to his brain. The humongous silvery form, the Nobody emblem emblazoned on the face, the blue scarf.
A Twilight Thorn.
"The thing is, Izuku… I think I hate you."
"Funny you say that Roxas… because I think I deserve it."
A massive, fingerless hand caught Izuku. The boy struggled, but the grip tightened painfully. Then the hand headed back, and Izuku was smashed on the tower's side one, two, three times. With a backhand throw, Izuku was launched off I-Tower.
He righted himself and activated Float, throwing his limbs wide to help stop his flight.
The Twilight Thorn's hands extended to the sides, stretching impossibly far. Then they swung and smashed into Izuku. His head was so filled with static that he didn't even notice Danger Sense, getting grabbed into the vice grip of the Nobody again.
The silvery limbs retracted, pulling the Twilight Thorn off the tower and right into Izuku's face. The Nobody stood in thin air, glaring at Izuku with a featureless face.
Izuku tried to put up some resistance, but couldn't achieve anything before his foe threw him upwards.
He spun without control, his mind seemed far away from his body. The Nobody reared its hand back, ready to spike Izuku all the way back to earth.
There, so close to the sky, was Izuku destined to fail every time?
"Hey Roxas, I kept my promise."
The world seemed to slow down. The static in Izuku's mind gave way to sharp clarity and a burning determination.
No! Izuku would never, ever let his friends down! He would save everyone, no matter what it took, he would never stop fighting!
Izuku swung his leg and twisted in the air, dodging the colossal hand by a hair. He fell to the back of the Nobody, still spinning with the force of his last movement.
He held his right fist with his left hand, pushing everything he had into it. Melissa built the Full Gauntlet to help someone like him give their all, and that was why Izuku would trust her and do just that.
The moment he reached the back of the Twilight Thorn's head, the moment the blank face twisted to look at him, Izuku struck.
"Detroit Smash!" 100% of One For All and Izuku's iron will were condensed in a single punch.
The sky shook with the collision.
The Nobody was sent spinning like a top, getting farther and farther away before coming to an abrupt halt.
Izuku righted himself and stood in the sky like his foe.
They stood stockstill for a moment, but the peace didn't last. The Twilight Thorn cupped its hands, where a silvery-blue orb of energy expanded, getting bigger and bigger until it surpassed the Nobody in size.
Izuku watched with an impassive face. Winding up his fist, the entirety of One For All's power flowed into it. Flesh and bone glowed with overwhelming energy, but it wasn't enough.
Fa Jin came to life and a ring of scarlet light sprung forth from Izuku's arm, then a second larger one over it, and a third greater still over the second.
The Twilight Thorn swung its arms forward, sending the sphere of energy at Izuku.
Green eyes hardened, he wasn't afraid. The outer red ring closed and smashed into the middle one, making the sound of a gong that echoed through the heavens. The same happened when the second ring fused with the first, and when it melded back into Izuku's arm.
Izuku's arm lit up like a live lightning bolt. Stray arcs of power flew around, illuminating the sky and painting the clouds green.
He wasn't worried, not with all the people who blessed his life at his back, helping him every step of the way. Izuku would win, because he had too much, too many, to lose.
He wouldn't lose anyone. Never again.
Leaning forward, he threw his fist with a roar that made the very heavens tremble.
"Power Cannon!"
A wave of not wind, but pure force punched through the Twilight Thorn's attack, its form, and the clouds for miles away.
Izuku flipped back and landed on the tower, adjusting his scarf while gazing at the cataclysm he just caused.
He got them back. He knew, from the bottom of his heart, that Roxas, Axel, Xion, and he had been reunited in the end. Their paths might have separated again, but Izuku would fight with everything he had to reunite with his friends, no matter how many times it took until they had their happy ending.
"Let's go." He glanced back to the shocked Melissa and concerned Eri.
It was an understanding Ochaco that nodded at him, "Okay." She knew, just knew, that something about Izuku changed. A piece that he lost was back, and a weight that had been heavy on his shoulders for a long, long time was now gone.
Ochaco grabbed Melissa's arm, enveloping the blonde and Eri in her pink aura. Just like Izuku's, it was the result of the magic in her heart interacting with the quirk in her body, which resulted in both compounding into each other. With it, removing, or better saying controlling the gravity acting over them was as easy as breathing.
The three girls started to float, going up the tower at a quick pace.
Not as quick as Izuku, that shot up in a flash. His hastiness was rewarded with black and white thorns completely blocking the door that led back into the tower.
"I'm done playing your game." Izuku used Float to get to the wall beside the door, which wasn't barred by Nothingness, and clenched his fist.
Ochaco pulled back just as a cloud of powdered concrete all but exploded from the point Izuku punched. She brought them close and into the hole leading inside the tower, "Are we done following Vanitas' rules?"
"Yeah, we're almost at the top." Izuku didn't even look back as Danger Sense buzzed, he just raised his hand and caught the knife hand going for his head. "That means both of us are past pretending we care about this farce." He glared back at the shaggy-haired villain in the tactical suit.
Melissa blinked, and in that fraction of a second the man who tried to stab her friend got sent into a wall so hard he cratered the concrete. She gulped, more than a bit scared from the sudden tone shift Izuku went through.
Before he had been driven, now he was laser-focused, and the intensity was intimidating.
"Izuku," Eri called for her Master, a frown on her face. "You're doing it wrong! A hero should smile, like Toshi, right?"
That seemed to break through whatever funk he fell into. The boy smiled and nodded, "Yeah, guess I got a little carried away."
"It's fine to get intense, but let's save the intensity for that punk, okay?" Ochaco winked, knowing that was rich coming from her.
"Aye aye! Now let's get going!" Izuku went ahead, not noticing the other three trading looks and nodding.
They would help him get his head straight, it was what friends did for each other.
Izuku plowed through the enemies on his way, blitzing Nobodies and villains in a flash of green that left only beaten and fading foes in his path.
Two villains tried to ambush him on a flight of stairs and gun him down, only for Izuku to summon Heroes Rising and deflect every bullet from their automatic rifles out of the air. He cleaved the firearms in half and clocked the villains on their heads, sending them straight under.
A Berserk rampaged, shrinking its body and enlarging its claymore, only for Izuku to wrestle the overcharged weapon from its hold. With it in hand, a reddish aura covered Izuku, and the boy flailed the claymore wildly, dispatching Nobodies in droves.
More and more opposition was bulldozed at each floor, suffering fast and brutally efficient takedowns at the hands of the young hero.
He was almost there. 'Hang on just a bit longer everyone!'
—
David sighed, which made the barrel at the back of his head press painfully into it.
"The clock is ticking, Doc. I would hurry this up if I was you."
The researcher went back to typing into the terminal, "I have to subvert the containment systems one by one as I don't have access to them. You would know that if you've done your research before crashing the party." He glanced aside at the man he thought was his friend. "Or if you had listened to your inside man."
Samuel huffed, the portly blond man glared back at his old superior, "You know I couldn't let it end like that. You were just as invested in this as me before you simply decided to throw it all away. We could have reclaimed our research together if you hadn't got cold feet at the last moment."
"Spare me, Sam. I created the quirk enhancer for a reason, a reason that doesn't exist anymore, so I don't need it." It was as simple as that at the end of the day. Science was applied to solve problems, tools were built to solve problems. If the problem didn't exist anymore, there was no need for the solution.
Especially when it could so easily tempt the wrong kind of person.
Wolfram rolled his eyes, "As amusing as all this drama is, we have a schedule to keep. Open. The. Coffer."
David would have shook his head if not for the pistol aimed at it. "Have it your way." He tapped enter one last time and the locking system shut down, making the mechanical lock disengage.
Samuel rushed to the right safe between the multitude covering the walls of the vault and manually opened the latch, pulling a briefcase from inside. "It's here. Finally, I can have my recognition after all those years. All that work wasn't in vain!"
"Is that the reason for all this?" A voice surprised the three men. They all turned to the entrance of the vault and saw Izuku marching in. "Letting villains into your home, letting Vanitas terrorize the island, all for one trinket?"
The tall villain in front of him laughed, "Shows what you brat knows. That trinket is worth millions, even your precious Doctor Shield here wanted to steal it back."
David finally had enough, "It wasn't for that! Money and fame was never the point, what mattered was creating something to help All Might, something to ease his burden…" He looked at Izuku, a multitude of complex feelings flashing through his eyes before simple acceptance filled them. "But it wasn't a fancy gadget that would continue his legacy. It's him, and all the kids that fought the way up here. They're the ones that will keep his flame alive."
The villain let out a bark of laughter, "Oh, what nice words! Unfortunately, that useless idealism is worth nothing in the real world!" Wolfram suddenly turned and shot.
Izuku's head lurched back…then it swung forward, a bullet in between his teeth. He spat it aside and glared, "And your pointless cruelty is worth nothing in our future. You can say whatever crap you want, you're going down!"
"Let's see about that!" Wolfram tried to reach for David to use him as a hostage, only for a pinkish-purple glow to cover the man and pull him upward.
Ochaco grabbed the researcher with a smile, "Got him! Your turn, Deku!"
Energy exploded from Izuku's form, making his scarf and coat flutter, "Better grit your teeth." He burst forward, the floor cracking and shattering under the force of his lunge.
Wolfram slapped his hand on the ground, the metal sparkling blue. A thick wall rose before him, barely catching the brat's punch.
He sent spikes and columns of metal at the meddling annoyance, only to have them cut down one after the other. Still, it bought Wolfram all the time he needed.
The villain bolted, rushing Samuel and ripping the briefcase from his hand. He grabbed the man by the shirt and threw him down the stairs, making the other brat dive for him and not Wolfram.
The masked man laughed while making his escape, "That was fun while it lasted, but I think you bastards have other problems now!" His backup had been a pain the whole time, but he was useful.
Izuku lashed out with a kick that obliterated the wall blocking his way. He was about to give chase when Danger Sense flared.
Vanitas was a cheater.
Putting Heroes Rising up, Izuku barely had the time to block a giant, burning hammer from flattening him. The key bearer gritted his teeth and pushed up, glaring at the towering form over him all the while.
The Iron Imprisoner matched his stare with its jagged red eyes. The two pairs of crooked horns on each side of the head and its purple body with fuchsia arms and legs made the Unversed look like a jester, but the sheer malice radiating from the dark spawn killed any notion of it being amicable.
Izuku's eyes narrowed. If that was how Vanitas wanted to play, then… "Fa Jin: Second Form!"
The Unversed was thrown back by the wave of power that washed over it.
"Ochaco!"
"Don't worry about us, just get rid of that thing!" She was holding both David and Samuel floating beside her near the ceiling, away from the battle to not get in the way.
Izuku nodded and turned back to the Iron Imprisoner.
He hoped Melissa and Eri were having an easier time.
—
"Water-Earth!" The liquid rock splashed on a group of Dusks with such weight they popped like balloons. Eri blew at her hands and whimpered, her new form of magic was making her palms sore.
The princess turned to Melissa, who was sitting by a computer terminal and typing furiously.
That was when she didn't stop to rub the tears off her eyes.
They had heard what David said, but Izuku sent them ahead to take back control of the security system while he dealt with that.
Some Nobodies ambushed them just now, but Eri had been strong and protected Melissa. Now, she needed to help the older girl with the pain in her heart.
Walking to her side, Eri climbed on her lap and hugged Melissa, who froze. "It's okay. Your papa had some dumb ideas, but he didn't really try to do anything with them."
Melissa choked back a sob, "I know, Eri, but… To know he would try to go behind all our backs like that… It hurts so much."
Eri tightened her hold, "It's okay to feel like that, he hurt you even if he didn't mean to. You have to tell him that, and he'll apologize and make up for it." She looked up at Melissa, smiling at her surprised face. "Because he's a good dad, right?"
Melissa sniffed, rubbing her eyes on her forearm and nodding, "Right! But he'll only be able to do that if we get out of this mess." She went back to typing, now with renewed vigor.
Eri watched as screens and prompts appeared and Melissa punched various commands in them. The system's compromised access was taken down and the whole program was made to verify all connections again.
Melissa logged in with the emergency administrative access to the security systems her father had given her and sighed in relief, "We're in! Now I just have to release Uncle Might and-"
"Wait!" Eri pointed to one of the screens showing the ballroom, "The Nobodies are still there, Toshi will need something to buy him time or they'll hurt the others!"
That caused the young woman to blank. She verified the rest of the countermeasures set for the room, only to find it all offline. The Nobodies must have destroyed the other security features besides the one used against All Might.
They needed something, anything! Melissa accepted magic was a thing, so she begged for a miracle with all her heart. They couldn't fail, not so close!
Her wish was answered.
—
Inko, surrounded by Nobodies and in constant danger, could only worry about her children.
They were up there, fighting, and all she could do was pray they would come back to her. Toshi tried to reassure her with a look, but seeing the man bound and restrained like that only served to twist the knife in her chest.
If someone, anyone could help them now, then Inko would pay whatever price needed to see her family safe.
Her wish was heard.
The same whistle that marked the arrival of the monsters that trapped her echoed through the room.
From Nothing, they arose. Cylindrical heads bearing diagonal slits, bodies like jumpsuits with bell sleeves marked with the Nobody emblem, featureless and pointed feet like getas. They grasped the two blades floating at their backs and struck with fast and decisive slashes.
The Samurai quickly dispatched most of the other Nobodies in the room, rescuing the hostages, and most importantly, clearing the way for All Might.
The hero was shocked, that and more, but he wouldn't complain about getting the miracle he had been hoping for. Now, Toshinori only needed to get rid of those bindings and-
The blue restraints powered down and released him. All Might blinked, twice, three times. Maybe he should have asked for world peace while he was at it.
"Well well well, seems like luck is at my side now." All Might flexed. The Berserkers were violently flung away from the sheer force contained in each of the hero's muscles.
Turning blindingly fast, All Might slashed with his hand, his fingers more than enough to tear through the heavy Nobodies.
Toshinori turned to the Samurai then, wary but not taking any hostile action. They had just saved them after all. Clearing his throat, he nodded at the beings, "Thank you for the assistance."
The Samurai bowed to him, then vanished back into Nothing.
Inko also thanked the ones who saved her, earning respectful bows too before the Nobodies were gone. She turned to Toshi, and seeing the man about to run off, she used her quirk to gently pull at him.
Never would Inko be able to physically stop All Might, but the feeling of the woman who was the love of his life calling for him was more than enough.
"The kids are up there already. I want you to go save them more than anything, but I know they want you to go to the people on the island first." Inko knew her children, knew their friends, they all were too good for their sakes. "Go, save everyone, then bring the children back."
All Might clenched his fist tightly, the knuckles popping. She was right. There were people out there in desperate need of a hero, more than their kids. He would trust his students to hold the line, just a little longer. "I will." No grandiose line or bombastic promise, just a calm and simple stating of fact. All Might would rescue every single person in need in I-Island, climb I-Tower, and show why he was the Symbol of Peace.
With that burning conviction he nodded, and then was gone. All around the island, Unversed started to be taken out in droves.
—
Izuku roared at the Unversed. The Iron Imprisoner tried to hammer him down again, but Izuku batted the burning head aside and stepped into the pole.
He ran up the weapon and leaped, smashing a flying knee on the Unversed's face. Izuku held his Keyblade with both hands and followed up with an overhead strike that sent the Iron Imprisoner crashing into the wall.
Safes were smashed under its form, and the amalgam of negative emotions shook with rage. Its weapon inflamed itself further, and it swung.
Izuku moved back, the hammer barely missing him. He kept dodging the wild flailing, until the Unversed jumped Izuku, bringing the weapon down.
Izuku dismissed his Keyblade and stepped into the attack, grabbing the pole right by the hammerhead, the flames at his back licking his coat but not leaving even a mark. He heaved and swung the Unversed up.
"You're going down!" He flipped the Iron Imprisoner onto the floor, making the whole room shake with the impact.
The dark spawn lurched, then sunk into the ground.
Danger Sense pinged in his head, and Izuku rolled his eyes. Vanitas liked that dirty trick.
The young hero jumped up just as the Unversed burst from the floor, phasing out of it and spinning like a top with his flaming weapon.
Izuku flipped up and landed on the ceiling feet first. "I said…" His legs bulged under his formal white trousers, muscles coiling like overcharged cables. "YOU'RE GOING DOWN!"
With that warcry, Izuku launched into a guillotine kick that dropped on the head of the Iron Imprisoner with all the force of a meteor. A loud boom followed the shockwave that shook the vault room, and the crash of the Unversed on the ground.
The giant being laid in the crater its body formed before slowly dissipating back into Darkness.
Izuku landed and cracked his neck. More than a third of One For All seemed like enough to take care of Vanitas' surprises. Izuku couldn't wait to see if it would be enough to punch that cruel smugness off his face.
"You okay?"
He nodded at Ochaco's question, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, "I'll be when we punt that prick into the moon." Second Form and its extra power faded in the middle of his phrase, making his overcharged voice lose its undertone of power.
"Now we're talking." Ochaco put David back on his feet, then used her magic to press Samuel onto the floor. The man cried out and struggled but he couldn't even lift a finger. "You stay right there. Don't try anything funny until we're back to deal with you."
"No, w-wait! You can't- David!" Samuel looked up at his old friend and froze.
David stared at him with such defeated eyes. The researcher sighed and turned away from the restrained man, "Goodbye, Samuel."
Izuku and Ochaco followed David out of the vault, neither saying a word. Their hearts aching for the man, but he made his choice.
Ochaco took hold of Izuku's arm and pulled him closer, "We have to hurry." She whispered in his ear, the pair making sure David couldn't hear them.
"No, none of them are going anywhere. Not until Vanitas had what he came for." Izuku muttered back with certainty. He knew Vanitas, even in a sea of broken memories it was clear the type of person he was. The masked menace would throw away an assured victory for his own amusement in a heartbeat.
They had all the time in the world to make things right while at it.
She gave his arm a squeeze and nodded, conceding the point. They kept walking, not even realizing Ochaco still had her arm linked with his.
It was so natural for them they didn't notice how close they were. The pair fit together like pieces of a puzzle, Ochaco in her black dress and Izuku in his white suit, walking in step.
Ochaco felt her Light stir-
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"Melissa and Eri are in the central security room." Izuku's voice broke Ochaco out of her thoughts. She noticed their current state but now wasn't the time to make a big deal out of it.
They kept following behind David, who had only nodded silently and turned in the right direction. They barely took a minute to reach it.
The door to the room was open, and the walls and floor were covered in scorch marks and mud. No, not mud, but some form of earthly liquid that seemed to struggle to solidify before splashing again.
Izuku sighed, his apprentice was too capable for her own good. He would have an aneurysm trying to understand what Eri did later, he was sure of it.
Unlike the boy behind him, David didn't have any existential crisis seeing the signs of struggle. He just quickly went into the room, where Melissa was waiting for him.
"Mel, I… I'm sorry."
The young woman didn't even look at him, staring down instead. "You were into this, all this, wasn't you?"
There was no reason to beat around the bush, "Yes. At first, I wanted my research back no matter the consequences. I needed to help All Might, the world wasn't ready to lose its Symbol of Peace. It still isn't." David closed his eyes to hide tears that threatened to fall, just the thought of his friend… gone was too much to bear." However, there was still a hope that remained even among such dread. "But we can't put the world on the shoulders of a single man. Toshi understood that, and he made the right choice. He put his trust in you, all of you kids, and the future you'll create."
Melissa finally met her father's eyes, both of them tearing up.
"I just wished I could have trusted you from the start."
"Papa!" Melissa threw herself at David, hugging her father tightly and crying on his shoulder.
While the Shields poured their hearts out, Eri waltzed to Izuku and Ochaco.
The little princess hugged their midsections, standing on her toes to reach the farthest she could. The duo chuckled and returned the gesture.
"You did great, Eri."
"Good work, sweetie."
Eri sighed in contentment. Now, if only those two could admit they were like Mom and Toshi. "My hands hurt from casting my Paradox Spells."
Izuku blinked, a frown on his face, "Why did you name them that?" His only answer was incomprehensible grumbling and whining.
Ochaco giggled and patted her head, "Okay, you can take a break and let us take care of the rest."
"You spoil her."
"And you don't?"
"...Fair."
The three, like the Shields, enjoyed the small reprieve to bask in their little family moment.
If only such comfort could last.
—
Vanitas was slightly impressed. He thought they would take at least another hour, but nope. They were right under him, "Seems like Izzy Wizzy is getting back on his feet. Not bad." It would be much more satisfying that way.
He looked up at the dark sky, the moon appearing positively colossal from so high up. The top of the tower, and only a helipad to show for it. Vanitas was disappointed, still, beggars couldn't be choosers.
"Now, where's that braggart?" As if on cue, the doors to the rooftop burst open.
Wolfram ran in with a briefcase containing his prize in hand. He barely spared Vanitas a glance before rushing to the helicopter he had prepared beforehand, "If you don't want to get left behind, get your ass on the chopper!"
The eye roll of epic proportions was hidden by his mask. As if Vanitas had any need for it…or him.
There was a finger snap, the sound echoing into the night, and the vehicle got covered by a barrier of Darkness with Wolfram inside. The man cursed and struck the black dome, to no avail.
"You keep quiet and out of the way, and I may even let you leave with your precious trinket." Vanitas probably wouldn't, but he could poke further fun at Wolfram.
The man served his purpose setting the stage, now it was time for the main actors to enter the scene.
And just in time for the curtain raise, Izuku strutted in. His precious little friends with him.
Vanitas threw his arms wide, "Look who finally decided to show up! Did you enjoy your climb? I made sure to make it extra special, Izuku." No one could see the smirk that grew on his face, still, they could all hear it in his voice. "Now for your prize for getting this far!"
Izuku kept marching until he got onto the helipad, standing across from Vanitas. "Spare me your lies. We all know how this is going to end."
"Oh, and how will it end?"
"With us fighting, and me kicking you back to whatever hole you crawled out of." Izuku's body lit up with his power, his placid face nowhere nearly as calm as it appeared to be. "So why don't you spare us the trouble and leave?"
Vanitas remained silent for a moment, then his shoulders started to shake slightly. Soft chuckles escaped him, growing quickly into loud and sharp laughter.
Darkness burst from his form, all but exploding from him and washing over the whole rooftop as an almost physical force. It twisted backward, surrounding their impromptu arena with a wall of blackness.
"Make me."
Their Keyblades materialized into their grasps, and they moved. Faster than anyone could blink, they clashed in the middle, blades locked, and sparks flying.
Void Gear struggled against Heroes Rising, the dark weapon being pushed back little by little. "Seems like you're not all that weak anymore." Vanitas made the backhanded compliment sound worse than any insult.
Izuku stared at his black mask unfazed, "And it seems you still don't know when to shut up." Izuku freed his left hand from his weapon handle just so he could punch both blades up. The Keyblades almost went flying from their grips, leaving the two unbalanced. The young hero used it to press forward and shoulder-check his adversary.
The move couldn't rip more than a huff from Vanitas, even as he skidded back. "Is that the best you can do, Izzy?"
The dark warrior took another step back, bringing his Keyblade up and shooting a heavy orb of dark fire. The sphere moved forward slowly, only to divide into various others midway that were many times faster.
Izuku rolled his eyes at that. The same cheap tricks, every time, with not a care for how his dishonest style actually made him predictable.
The white formal attire Izuku wore took a maroon glow, his pant legs lighting up to the knees. "Earthga!" He stomped and a great and jagged pillar or rock rose before him, intercepting the fireballs without issue…
And setting up Izuku's comeback. With his still glowing leg, he twisted and kicked out, hitting the pillar and shattering the giant boulder into deadly shrapnel.
Simple magic, no matter how creative, was still limited in what it could accomplish. Vanitas sneered at the shards of rock the size of horses coming his way, "Not good enough." His body seemed to phase into the ground, being swallowed by his shadow and dodging the earth's spikes.
Izuku wasn't impressed. Same circus, different monkeys. "You're so unoriginal." He leaped just as Vanitas shot up from the ground where he had stood, spinning and sending fireballs scattering.
Dismissing Heroes Rising, Izuku dashed at Vanitas in mid-air and tackled him. Grabbing Void Gear with a gauntlet-clad hand and hooking an elbow on Vanitas' neck, they spun. Izuku latched his foe back to the ground, so fast he was like a black blur.
Vanitas landed heavily on his back, skipping like a pebble over a lake. He flipped back to his feet and bolted at Izuku before he could touch the ground, "Unhanding your weapon is always a mistake!" He swung Void Gear to nail Izuku on the head.
The young hero grabbed the dark Keyblade by the body, staring into Vanitas' mask while still in the air thanks to Float. "I am a weapon." Izuku cocked his legs and let them spring on Vanitas' chest, sending him back again.
Izuku softly let his feet touch the floor and summoned Heroes Rising again with a flick of his wrist. He walked to the winded Vanitas with measured steps, each echoing through the night.
The dark warrior wasn't done. Not by a long shot. "You think you're so high and mighty, don't you? The great Master, youngest to get to your precious pedestal." Vanitas straightened himself up and glared at his enemy, "Tell me, what makes you so much better than me, huh?"
Izuku stopped at arm's length of Vanitas, neither moving another muscle even while both could attack. "I never did any of this to be better than others. I fight for a reason, a reason more important than myself." His eyes glowed with both power and conviction, the green orbs reflected back on the dark glass of his mask. "That's why I'm stronger than you."
To that, no matter what resolve backed the words, Vanitas could only scoff, "Waste your holier-than-thou spiel on someone else."
Their blades flashed, impossibly fast, and dozens of strikes were traded. Sparks filled the night as the blades clashed again and again.
"You're still losing."
"And you're still such a bore."
Vanitas' form froze. When Heroes Rising sliced at his image, it dissipated like a mirage.
"Too slow!" He materialized over Izuku, bringing Void Gear down on his back.
Danger Sense shouldn't even bother with warnings, Izuku knew all Vanitas little tricks by heart at this point. Knowing what his adversary was planning, Izuku didn't break stride and followed his slash's momentum to grab his overcoat and spin.
The heavy cloth article patter Void Gear aside and blind Vanitas for a second, which was more than enough time for Izuku to smash his sole right on Vanitas' stomach.
With a growl and a lurch, Vanitas stumbled back, "You fight like a barbarian."
"And you complain like a loser." Izuku snapped his coat back on his shoulders. After all the help, he almost felt bad for complaining about it.
"Let's see if you're gonna be so snarky after I'm done with you." Vanitas bolted and thrust his weapon at Izuku's chest.
He batted it aside with Heroes Rising, then let the weapon fade again to launch into a flurry of blows. Vanitas couldn't mount a defense for so close up, meaning Izuku had free reign to pummel him with overcharged fists.
One punch landed squarely on his mask, making the glass crack.
"Back off!" Vanitas roared and let off a burst of Darkness.
Izuku countered with a flex of his own power, "Fa Jin: Second Form!"
The shockwave made Vanitas stumble, the knuckles connecting to his chest with much more power and speed made him gasp.
Izuku glued himself to his foe, striking at him relentlessly. What attempt to swing Void Gear occurred was met with a solid punch that sent the Keyblade reeling.
"You can try as much as you like!" Smash. "But no matter how many times you come for me." Smash. "I'll keep beating you!" SMASH.
"Enough!" Vanitas' shout was followed by a dome of Darkness covering him and blocking Izuku's attacks.
That didn't mean he let up. On the contrary, Izuku struck with double the intensity, again and again to the point the barrier wavered more and more.
"I don't know what's your problem with me. I don't know what's my problem with you! But I know that if you come for the people I care about, no matter who you are, I'll tear you apart with my own hands!"
Izuku flooded his right arm with more power. After his stint with the Twilight Thorn, the Full Gauntlet was hanging on by spit and prayer, but even then… Even if everything told him that he shouldn't, Izuku would still believe in his friends.
Trusting Melissa's work one final time, Izuku went beyond.
Still, that doesn't need his Plus Ultra, just enough to knock Vanitas down a peg or twenty!
60% of One For All flooded Izuku's arm, the red encasing over it vibrating to the point it seemed about to dismantle itself right then and there.
But it didn't.
"Detroit Smash!" Izuku's fist broke through the dark barrier, his knuckles meeting Vanitas' mask with the same crack.
The darkspawn was sent flying back, leaving black shards of Darkness and glass behind. He skidded on the floor before coming to a close away from his victorious adversary.
Izuku watched as the Full Gauntlet crumbled after having fulfilled its duty. The red nanomachines lost any semblance of consistency and fell apart like ferrous sand.
In the moment of distraction, Vanitas pushed himself to his feet, a hand covering his face.
"People you care about, huh? I'm hurt you don't include me in that, after all…" Vanitas pulled his hand away, citrine eyes glaring with malice.
"You are like a brother to me."
"We're brothers!"
"We share a braincell!"
"I don't know where he ends and I start most of the time."
That face. The spiky black hair. The intense eyes. The colors were wrong, but he…
"Of course we can do it!"
"No matter what, we'll always have each other's backs."
"Together we're invincible!"
He had been there. He had been there all along. From the first moment of their lives through all the battles he saw himself and his friends warring.
"I'm sorry for running ahead without you."
"You should, you made me super worried and made a huge mess!"
"But you still have my back?"
"You know I always do. We're brothers!"
The memory of his brother's face, of spiky brunette locks and sky-blue eyes, slotted itself over the many holes in his heart.
And that only served to make it crumble in agony.
Suffering an indescribable pain, Izuku dropped to his knees with tears cascading down his eyes.
He took in a shuddering breath and howled. That was the moment…
Darkness drowned Izuku.
That doesn't seem good.
Well, I'm sure everything will be fine.
Also, I'll take this part to comment on how horrible of a matchup Izuku is to Vanitas. Like in the games, Vanitas gets you at first with his dirty tricks, but after the first time where you panic and get clapped blocking and counterattacking his moves is laughably easy. Now take Izuku whose whole thing is analysing his adversaries and dissecting their fighting styles. After the first battle, Izuku can and will clap on Vanitas if he doesn't overpower our green menace. Like now, where between all the barbs Izuku rocked Vanitas' shit.
Also also, Eri named her impossible magic Paradox Spells. Does she even know what 'paradox' means? And why the name, keep tuned on the next episode to find out!... Or not. Probably not.
Beyond that? Persona 3 Reload: Episode Aigis is awesome and my current brain rot. Nice DLC, I recommend it.
Also, of course, if you want to support me somehow, go to the infamous site that starts with P and search for Bola8. It's purely a tip jar, but it has helped me a lot, thanks to these wonderful people:
Guipa, SilverZero90, Godeater23, and kennine.
My most heartfelt thanks to you all!
Also, join the discord and join us in the madness! (Remember to delete the spaces!)
discord . gg / stAGY4V