Lighters

by Fezzgator

Out on a job for the mayor, Michiru is pulled away from her world and dumped in one that, at least on the surface, is paradise. Along with a cranky chimera who hates monsters, a girl who barely talks and a group of misfits displaced from across time and space Michiru will try to find her place. Plus crossovers with Slayers!, Xenogears, Final Fantasy 6, Escaflowne and more!

10. Chapter 10

It was…a disaster.

Everything seemed to be going well enough. The lab had been raided, many of those horrible Nomu captured, even if no signs of her true target had been found, and no one had so much as broken a sweat.

Now? Now Celty, the highly regarded underground hero Shadow Rider, found herself prone on the ground, her body screaming at her in pain. Being a supernatural being of ancient lore, she didn't wound easily and when she did, she also recovered much quicker than humans. So, this pain was a rare sensation for the dullahan. Regardless of the novelty, what she was feeling was all because she hadn't acted fast enough. It turned out the man she and her partner had been searching for had been here after all; All for One, the greatest villain Japan had ever seen.

Because Celty hadn't acted soon enough, even when Best Jeanist had constrained the mask wearing master of evil, it was all she could do to use her shadows to pull the other heroes out of the direct line of the massive blast All for One unleashed when he revealed himself. The shadow hero strained to look around, able to see Mt. Lady lying unconscious but breathing some distance away in a pile of rumble. Hopefully she wasn't the only survivor because as she searched, Celty could see a massive trail of destruction around and for a great distance behind her, with buildings torn asunder and fires beginning to rage.

Then, the true gravity of the situation made himself known once more as Celty heard footsteps making their way toward her. At once, a flood of emotions filled the dullahan, fear being one of the strongest among them. True, heart-gripping fear. Not just for her but for her fellow heroes and any poor soul caught in this mess. Then there was shame. Shame at having been laid so low when only a moment before all was well. Then, when All For One came into view, so too came the rage. Burning, unbridled rage, constrained only by the limits of her broken body.

There he stood, the source of all those emotions, seeming to lord over her. Even with a mask covering his entire face and head, All For One looked smug and certainly sounded it when he spoke "I'm impressed, Celty Sturluson. Oh, I'm sorry, Shadow Rider."

A short distance away, the nine students and lighters had already recovered from the blast, mostly shielded by the building and wall between them and all that was transpiring beyond. The five UA students seemed completely mortified by the mere presence of the masked man a short distance away. The four lighters, though, were ready to join the fray, their eyes hard and focused. It was only when Iida again reached out to restrain the leading two, Zelgadis and Emeralda, that the four stopped as the stern-looking young man whispered with urgency "Are you mad! You can't go out there, he'll kill you!"

It took every once of courage Izuku had but he mustered enough to add "W-we need to wait, see what happens. M-more heroes are bound to s-show up after that blast."

While the two were speaking, Zelgadis stared at the hand that held him, sure that if he had his sword, he'd have cut it off. He was done with dancing around this world's rules, not when their ticket home was right in front of him. Looking up at the younger man holding him, a steely gaze meant to bore right into the boy, the chimera said "You five can stay here and whimper if you want, but we're here for him." Then, pointing in the masked man's direction, began to add "I don't know what you five were doing here and I don't-"

Zelgadis stopped talking when the object of his scorn began talking himself and all conversation ended to listen in.

"…You have a strong, let's call it a quirk, Celty. Unlike that fabric wielding fool over there, whose quirk's strength comes from training, yours is naturally quite strong. I've yet to have the chance to steal the quirk of a lighter. I'll be honest though; I have my doubts as to whether or not I can."

If Celty had a mouth, she would have spat on him. Then the meaning of his words sank in and Celty's anger abated enough for her to ask, her voice breaking as the device on her neck that allowed her to speak was damaged "Ho *rizz* how do *crack* ou know *rizz* that?"

"Come now, Celty, I may have been driven underground but I've always kept my information network active. I know a great deal about you and your fellow lighters." The master of evil responded, placing a hand on his chest. "For instance, I know that you would very much like to get home to see, oh what was his name again? Oh yes, Shinra, I do believe."

In an instant, Celty's fury exploded again, her heart screaming with rage, only able to be expressed through the electric popping and fizzing of her failing voice box as blades of shadow shot forward.

The deadly wisps never reached their target. Instead, the blades disappeared inches from the masked man's face as Celty lay unconscious from a blast to her chest that All For One shot from his hand even as he was finishing speaking, sure of the reaction his words would have.

Back behind the wall, things weren't going a lot better as Zelgadis snarled "Is that the kind of information we were looking for, huh? For all we know, he just killed that woman while we just stood here. You all proud of yourselves, whoever the hell you all are!"

Iida tightened his grip on Zelgadis and Emeralda as he reiterated, his voice laced with pain at the very possibility the chimera had just voiced "I-I will not let go! None of us are heroes, we've no right to act!"

The spikey red-haired guy spoke up as well "Come on, man! Keep it down! We want to help, too, but it'd be crazy to just rush in like that."

"Oh? Are you suggesting you'd help if there was a plan then?" Xellos coolly countered.

"Not with the fighting." Izuku shakily answered, drawing attention to him.

Her eyebrow raised, Michiru asked as she kept glancing out toward the prone form of the shadow-wielding woman "What do you mean 'not with the fighting?' Who are you all anyway?"

"We're-"

"Midoriya, no!" Momo implored.

"We're first year UA students. Several of us have already been involved in unauthorized quirk use against a villain. If we do it again, our futures as heroes are most likely over. But that doesn't mean we can't rescue Shadow Rider! After all, we came here looking to save our classmate in the first place!" Izuku continued, unabated, his voice growing more confident as he spoke.

"Midoriya, man, what're you doing? Telling them could be just as bad!" the red-headed Eijiro softly barked.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes "We don't care about you all getting in trouble so don't worry about it, we just want to get out there and take that prick down. If all goes well, we won't be aro-"

"You're all here to save that feral-looking Bakugo guy, aren't you?" Michiru suddenly cut in, as the dots connected for her.

Silent to this point, the boy with the terrible wig hair spoke up "That was the plan but he doesn't appear to be here. Frankly, the smart thing now would be to retreat. Things have gotten way out of hand and if Bakugo isn't here then-"

The young man's comment was cut off by the somewhat disconcerting sound of splashing water and disgusted grunts on the other side of the wall. The group shifted their attention once more to the other side as voices began to be heard again.

Indeed, nine swirling portals of what looked like the nastiest, dirtiest water one could image had appeared between the wall that hid the group and All For One. Moments later, each portal produced a body, two of which fell to the ground, unconscious. The first to speak was instantly recognizable to the five UA students as an angry voice coughed, then said "Damn it. The hell!? *cough* *cough*"

The tall, mask-covered man standing before Katsuki spoke, his voice now recognizable to the dirty blonde as the voice on the TV screen at the bar "My apologies, Bakugo."

This confused the explosion-wielding student, as he turned about wondering what was going on, audibly asking no one in particular "Huh?"

The villains who had been imprisoning him in that run-down old bar just attacked by the other hero unit were gasping and gagging at their own entrance onto the scene. The knife wielding blonde Himiko Toga, in the simple schoolgirl outfit that looked a bit too big for her whined as she held her nose "That was so gross!?"

An oddly dressed man, Double, in a black bodysuit with a grey line pattern running from his legs, chest and shoulders and a mask that covered his whole head that was black from the nose down and grey up was rest added "This black stuff reeks! I love it."

Three others didn't speak at all, the lizard-like Spinner who had both a red scarf and a cloth mask over his eyes, the extra length of which also billowed down the back of his head. Mr. Compress had a black top hat, and a signature head covering mask the was black with prominent white markings over the face. Magne was the most casual of the lot, wearing blue jeans, a white V-neck and orange shirt over it. Her defining features being her muscular build, pronounced lips and red-magenta hair.

On the ground lay Dabi, a young man with black hair and much of his body horribly scarred and stitched. The other was the misty Kurogiri.

Last was the leader of this little group and All For One's prized apprentice, Tomura, a single dismembered hand still covering his face as he sat knelling when he said "Master." In acknowledgement of his great benefactor.

A bit of exacerbation in his voice, All for One spoke now that everyone had gathered "So. You've failed once more, Tomura." Then, as he began walking between the assembled villains, he spoke again "But you must not be discouraged. You'll try again. That's why I brought your associates back with you. Even this child, because you judged that he was an important piece on your game board."

Finally stopping directly in front the young man he had been shaping for years, the mastermind offered his hand and said, his voice sounding as encouraging as a father "Start over as many times as it takes. I am here to provide you with help. All of this is for you."

Tomura sat dead still, his lone exposed eye wide in awe at the love and care his master was demonstrating, even in the face of another failure.

Back behind the wall, the dynamics had shifted drastically. With their classmate now on the scene, Izuku was overwhelmed with the sense to act. This was it, this was his chance to make up for his failure at the training camp, to finally make up for his missed chance. The lighters, on the other hand, were now less sure about charging in, now that another hostage had been added to the mix and six more combatants stood in their way.

Luckily for Iida, he felt the resistance from Zelgadis and Emeralda slacken just when he felt the need to let go and turn his attention to Izuku and Shoto while Momo grabbed hold of Eijiro. Before either students or lighters could act though, All For One's voice again drew all the proceedings back to him as he casually spoke "Ah. There you are."

Not a moment later, the still lingering dust cloud that continued to obscure the sky was pierced and dissipated by the rocketing form of the greatest hero of Japan barreling right for the master of evil. All Might smashed into All For One, the latter able to catch and hold the fists of the former in a struggle for dominance as All Might exclaimed "I'll have you return my student, All For One!"

If All For One was struggling onllokers would never know. With the mask hiding his face, only his voice could have betrayed such labors. Instead, just as casually as before, the symbol of evil replied, "Have you come to kill me a second time, All Might?"

The two continued to push into one another, each putting more and more power trying to subdue the other. After another moment, All For One was able to force All Might's fists down just enough that All For One could force the two of them to throw their arms to the ground, breaking the stalemate and creating a massive shockwave, knocking the league of villains and their hostage to the ground and causing the nine behind the wall to duck to the ground to avoid a repeat of the last blast.

Before the dust could settle, All For One's menacingly calm voice could be heard calling out to his nemesis "It took you long enough to find us. It's only five kilometers from the bar to here. It took you far too long to arrive after I sent those Nomus that you arrived. You've gotten weaker, All Might."

The two were revealed to a few yards apart, All For One shaking the stinging sensation out of his right hand while All Might was crouched down on one knee, ready to strike back. Before he did though, All Might responded to his nemesis' barb with one of his own "You're one to talk, it's kind of difficult to ignore that fancy life-support mask you've got on. Aren't you overexerting yourself?" All Might finished as he stood.

Back behind the wall, Zelgadis and Izuku had taken up watching what was going on from a hole in the wall when Michiru asked "Zel, was that the guy who stopped Terra the other day?"

"The blowhard blonde? Yeah, it's him and he looks pissed." The rock-encrusted swordsmen replied sardonically.

Izuku was mortified that his idol, the greatest hero of them all, had just been called a blowhard. It took everything in him to not turn and debate the clearly baseless slander then and there. Far, far more important things lay before them and though the green-haired hero-in-training was glad to know his mentor had arrived, he knew things still looked grim. It was this same All For One who had permanently injured the great warrior of justice five years earlier after all.

Hopping up on one foot as though warming up, All Might continued the verbal sparring from before "I won't repeat the same mistake I made five years ago." Then, firmly placing both his feet and clinching his left fist, he added "You hear me? I will take Young Bakugo back and I will make certain you're locked up for the rest of your sad life. RIGHT ALONG WITH YOUR DESPICABLE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS!" As he finished his declaration, the massive hero charged forward again.

As All Might surged forward, All For One rose his left arm, the entire extremity bulging well beyond normal proportions as he said "Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you. This will be hard for us both."

Just as All Might was about to smash into All For One's open palm, a massive blast of wind far stronger than any wind spell Zelgadis had ever seen exploded forth. The Symbol of Peace was blown back whole city blocks away, buildings tumbling as he shot by until he came to rest smashing into another high rise, well out of everyone's sight.

All For One was left standing there, looking at the hand that had just sent his great rival tumbling away, admiring the combination of quirks that had made his air cannon so effective. After the UA student Tomura had kidnapped called out for his downed teacher, All For One took the moment to move things along, addressing both the UA student and his apprentice "It'll take more than that to kill him. Get off the battlefield, Tomura, take that child with you and if you would be so kind as to take this lighter as well? The good doctor has been eager to study one for some time."

Then, All For One raised his right hand, his digits beginning to turn black with glowing red lines before they shot forward. The fingers extended forward piercing the body of the unconscious mist villain as the master of evil commanded "Kurogiri, warp them away."

Magne stepped forward to caution, concern for her teammate in her voice "Careful. One of the heroes messed with him and he's unconscious. I'm not sure what's going on but if you can teleport, why don't you get us out of here?"

Despite the disrespect the question offered, All For One respected Tomura's pieces and took the time to explain that the teleporting quirk he had used to get them all there was still new to him so the most he could do was move people to or from his location, and even then, just a short distance. It was far better to force the other, more effective teleport quirk's usage.

Sure enough, as All For One retracted his finger's extensions, Kurogiri's quirk activated and a large black portal opened up above his prone body. With an escape for his apprentice secured, All For One told Tomura to leave, to which the hand-wearing villain worriedly asked "What about you?"

Tomura's answer came in the form of the recovering All Might, who had just shot out of the rubble and was barreling toward them again. Levitating into the air, All For One felt the need for one more lesson for his apprentice "You're not thinking, Tomura. There remains much room for you to grow."

Tomura had a moment to let that sink in before All Might smashed into his master and the two again began their struggle. Mr. Compress touched the unconscious Dabi, changing him into a small ball for easy transport as he said to his leader "Let's go, Shigaraki, while our masked lead is keeping All Might entertained. Claim your and your master's prize."

With that, the six villains turned their attention to the surrounded Katsuki Bakugo and the seriously injured and knocked out Celty that lay beyond him. The sports festival champion couldn't help but smirk at the challenge.

Meanwhile, Izuku had watched everything and the chaos beginning to unfold. All Might's successor felt he had a plan that could work and keep everyone out of trouble, more or less. Moving away from the hole he and Zelgadis and been using to spy on the situation, the freckled boy addressed the group with as much confidence as he could muster "Guys, I think we can do this. I think we can save Bakugo and Shadow Rider!"

The proclamation was met with a mix of surprise and skepticism, though Zelgadis was well past skepticism as he rather angrily asked "And who are you to think you can decide what we're going to do! We just met, kid!"

To the chimera's surprise, Izuku didn't back down, meeting the rock-encrusted swordsmen with determination, reflected in his voice when he countered "I know a lot of us are scared and I know if we go out there in fight, the least that's going to happen to us is we get kicked out of UA. I know we've just met and, yeah, I have no idea what your quirks are but at least hear me out. All Might is taking care of All For One so this is our chance to save those two!"

Izuku's fellow UA students only took a moment to put their faith in their classmate, each nodding, ready to hear what he had in mind. Not as much for the lighters, at least not all of them. Zelgadis was clearly not sold but Michiru stepped forward, looking a bit pensive at first as she said "Zel…that hero out there, she's a lighter, just like we are. She must be the one we've been following. That means she's been one of the people looking for this All For One for a long time. As, as much as we want to get home, as much as we want to get this guy, don't you think we owe her something? They want to take her! We can't let that happen!"

Zelgadis' expression went from an angry scowl to an annoyed frown as he pursed his lips and crossed his arms, unwilling to admit the point. In his mind, this was the perfect time to hit All For One, while he was distracted. The chimera's posturing was cut short, however when Emeralda flatly stated "We're going. Michiru is right. I may want to go home but not at others expense."

Just to pile on, Xellos added, a bit of glee in his mostly closed eye "You never could say no once Miss Lina and Miss Amelia had their minds set on something, could you, Zelgadis-san? Why should this be any different, hmm?"

The sorcerer-swordsmen grumbled as he almost comically slumped his shoulders "Fine! I'm in, you happy? Just makes me wish I had my sword even more…"

From the UA group, Momo perked up at hearing Zelgadis' bemoanment and stepped away from Izuku having just finished telling them his plan for them. Crazy as her classmate's plan was, it didn't really include her, so she was determined to be of some use in this mess. Still clearly disturbed by the events transpiring mere meters away, 1-A's vice class rep came off meeker than usual when she sheepishly said "I…couldn't help but overhear you lacking a sword?"

Having recovered from his cowing by his follow lighters, Zelgadis now regarded this oddly dressed young woman wearily as he replied rather sharply "Yes? What of it?"

Momo shrank a bit at the harsh tone of the chimera's voice but spoke again despite it "My quirk, I can make most any inanimate object if I know how it works…a sword would be pretty simple. I just need to know the specifics."

By this point Izuku and the rest of the UA students had turned, ready to relay their plan but waited for Momo and Zelgadis to finish. After glancing at Izuku for confirmation and getting nods from him and the other students, the swordsmen described a simple steel double-bladed broadsword at a length he was comfortable with. Momo set to work making the weapon as Izuku relayed his plan to the lighters.

"Wait, that's it?" Michiru said, a bit surprised when he was done.

"Yeah, well, I left out the finer details of how we're going to go about it, but yeah. Since I don't know about your quirks, I'll leave the how up to you on your end." Izuku replied, eager to get started before Katsuki was overwhelmed by the villains.

As Tenya, Izuku and Eijiro got into position, Zelgadis wanted to ask one more thing before everything truly went to hell "You all seem to have some experience with these guys, any tips?"

The five UA students looked at each other, flashes of shared memories of being attacked by several of those just on the other side of that wall. After a moment Izuku answered, a nervous edge to his voice "Yeah, I can do that. The one with the hand on his face, if all five of his fingers touch you at once, he can make you turn to dust. You'll want to avoid the one in the top hat touching you too. If he does, he can turn you into a small ball he can just pocket and there won't be a thing you can do."

Zelgadis gave the freckled student a nod but Michiru decided to be more appreciative, running up beside Zelgadis and giving a thumbs up as she said "Thanks guys! Good luck, and if this doesn't work, maybe we can hang out back at UA sometime!"

That last part made absolutely no sense to any of the five students but now wasn't the time to question it so after shaking the confused look on his face, Izuku replied "Um, ok? Thanks Michiru-san. Good luck to you, too!"

"Here is your sword, I hope it is an adequate replacement." Momo added, handing a simple three-foot sword to the rock-encrusted chimera before stepping away to stay out of the action.

Taking the blade in his right hand, Zelgadis felt its weight and after a couple of swings, felt satisfied and bowed slightly to the young woman "Thank you, I'll be sure to make use of it."

With everyone in position, it was time to start turning the tide of the evening. Tenya and Izuku held onto Eijiro, who used his quirk to harden his body. Izuku's super strength pushed them forward and the three crashed through the wall they had been hiding in. The six villains and their UA target all turned to see a massive ice ramp form as Tenya activated the engines in his legs to further propel the three up and off the ramp and into the air, far above the reach of any of the villains save All For One.

The master villain did try to reach out for them but was kept in check by All Might, just as had been the case a moment earlier when All Might tried to reach Katsuki. It was the spikey red-haired Eijiro, the only one of them who had a repour with the wild student bomber who called out to him. Sure enough, as Tomura reached out for his prized UA student, the dirty blonde smirked as he let lose a massive explosion from his hands, sending him skyward toward his classmates.

Katsuki's outreached hand was caught by his friend and the four continued to sail away from the action, removing one of the obstacles from All Might being able to switch to the offensive.

Just as Izuku predicted, the six members of the league of villains all were scrambling to do something to reverse their sudden turn of fortune. Watching the four UA students continue their getaway, Michiru turned to Shoto and Momo "Alight guys, now it's our turn, you two go ahead and take off, we've got this!"

Said teens nodded and took off running for their agreed upon rendezvous point. Looking at the others, Zelgadis had his sword at the ready as he said, "Whose ready to save a hero and get home?"

Meanwhile, Magne had pulled Mr. Compress and Spinner in front of her, magnetizing them in an attempt to send the former barreling up in the air to compress the students. She had just begun the process when the wall behind them exploded from a fireball Zelgadis had sent out, a few feet away from where the others had burst forth. This time though, the interlopers who surged onto the battlefield weren't going to be playing it soft.

Emeralda came in hard, her left arm a massive hammer that she used to smash Magne's face, knocking her out cold. This wasn't enough to completely stop her intended shooting of Mr. Compress but instead of soring into the air, he only shot up about ten feet before landing twenty or so feet away, flat on his face and in a fair amount of pain.

Spinner barely had moment to register what was happening when Zelgadis blasted him with a fireball, sending him through the air and rolling to a stop not too far off from Mr. Compress, though much worse off as smoke rose from his unconscious body.

With the way cleared, Michiru, her legs and tail shifted to that of a cheetah, shot forward in a beeline for the downed Celty. Xellos had moved up over the wall and was behind Zelgadis and Emeralda to support as needed. So far, things looked good. They had evened the odds a bit more with two of the villains six out with their surprise attack and Michiru was picking up their target at that moment.

What they hadn't counted on was one of the villains being able to make more villains. Coming to face the trio was the man in the black and grey body suit. Within moments there were six instead of one, five of which then began charging forward. Several deft sword slashes from the chimera and greenette however revealed these doubles were all the man was capable of, which meant numbers was his only strength.

As Michiru finished getting Celty on her shoulders, however, Mr. Compress had recovered from his shortened trip and knew if one prize was gone, he better not let the other slip away. Michiru heard the top-hatted villain approach but with her burden, wasn't able to do anything to avoid the threat. As he surged forward, hand outstretched, Mr. Compress called out "Going somewhere, young lady? I believe that belongs to us!"

Michiru briefly thought that if she dropped the hero she could dodge and counter but if this guy touched this woman and made her into a sphere, then they would surely lose her. As it was, all the tanuki girl could think was that she was sorry for messing up.

Just as Mr. Compress was about to make contact, Emeralda came barreling into the villain's side, sending him tumbling forward in a heap. With the doubles weaker than at first feared, Zelgadis had things under control, which let the greenette dart forward when she saw Michiru in trouble. The wall of Doubles, had, unfortunately, also served as a screen for the other two villains as well so Emeralda was caught off guard when Himiko Toga came at her right on Mr. Compress' heels.

Emeralda had enough time to turn to face her assailant but not enough to dodge the attack and the murderous high-schooler's blade found its way into the greenette's right eye. Screaming in rage and pain as Toga cackled with glee, Emeralda's hair formed into a hammer and she swung her head wildly, catching the blonde in her side and knocking her way.

Emeralda fell to her knees, blood running uncontrollably down her face as she held her hands in front of her, desperate to do something to stop the pain but afraid to touch the wound. Both girls were in shock at what had just happened, paralyzed and unable to act when Michiru noticed the pale and sickly hand-wearing Tomura looming over her friend. It was all Michiru could do to call out Emeralda's name as she reached out, her arm starting the stretch.

"I don't know who you are, but if I can't have those UA brats, you losers will have to take their place!" Tomura manically screamed as his hand reached out for Emeralda's head.

"NO, PLEASE! EMERALDA, GET UP, NOW!" Michiru desperately called as her arm began to lengthen in hopes of shoving the other girl out of harm's way, if even for just a moment.

However, it wasn't going to be ienough. Michiru's arm wouldn't get there in time, so when Tomura's hand made contact, and all five of his fingers clenched down, it shocked everyone when it wasn't onto hair, but onto a clothed forearm. The forearm of one purple-haired mazuku who had seemed to appear out of nowhere. When his arm started to turn grey and crumble though, Xellos looked down at his limb and said simply, "Oh, my."

That distinctive, nasally voice brought Emeralda back to the moment, as she rose her head to see that the mazuku had turned to face her. Her lone good eye screamed the only question that could be asked. Xellos seemed to remain calm as his body continued to decay and blow away. Seeing the girl who couldn't seem to tell a lie to save her life desperate to know why he had done it, Xellos could think of only one thing to say, his eyes opening fully as he said "Come now, Emeralda-san, I couldn't tell you why, it's a secret!"

Within moments, the fourth member of their group was nothing more than dust in the wind, and Emeralda was left with the euphoric gaze of the man who had just killed him. Despite the almost unbearable pain, Emeralda brought herself to her feet as Tomura began laughing. Seeing as the madman wasn't going to attack again for the moment, she screamed as she yanked the knife out of her eye, fresh blood coming from the socket.

That got Tomura's attention as he stopped laughing, raising both his hands as he spoke "Come on now, girl, you don't think you have any more fight left in you? Just be a good girl and let me send you to meet your friend. That way, I can at least take that hero back to my master after I dust the racoon."

That was all Emeralda needed to hear to send her over the edge. Her lip quivering in rage, she said nothing, made no sound whatsoever. Instead, she let her rage fuel her focus and a moment later, her entire body had broken down to her very cells. To Tomura, she appeared to pixelate before his eyes and a moment later, he was powerless as the broken down cluster of cells approached him like a wave. Tomura could feel her pass right through him, washing through his very being, and it hurt. A lot.

Behind Tomura, Emeralda reassembled herself and for a moment, nothing seemed to happen. Then, Tomura collapsed to his knees as small spurts of blood erupted from a thousand points all across his body. The emaciated leader of the League of Villains was still conscious, but he sat stunned in immense pain.

Michiru had watched all of this unfold, her extended arm laying limp on the ground near where Emeralda had stood before attacking Tomura, horrified at what had happened to Xellos. Seeing the leader of the League of Villains brought low, stained with his own blood snapped the tanuki girl out of her daze however. Driven by worry for her friend, Michiru finally managed to get up on two feet with Celty held on her back and ran over to where the one-eyed greenette still stood, taking the time to kick Tomura in the side to send him to the ground as he gasped for air.

When the tanuki girl wheeled about to look her friend in the face, calling out her name, what she saw almost unnerved her. Emeralda's face was a mess, the right side of her face covered in blood that had stained parts of her top, scarf and hair. Her good left eye was wide and her expression blank.

When the greenette didn't respond the first time, Michiru got up close and asked again, more frantic this time "Emeralda! Emmy, are you ok? Please say something!"

Meanwhile, Zelgadis had finally finished dealing with Double, having cut down the last of the seemingly endless horde as Xellos met his end. Whether the last one was the real one, he had no idea but he'd managed to cut, freeze, burn or electrocute more than he cared to count. In the moment Xellos turned to dust though, it didn't matter to the chimera. Something he thought impossible had just happened before his eyes and he was stunned, watching dumbly as Emeralda affected her counter. Michiru's cries brought Zelgadis back to reality and he made his way over to his remaining comrades, asking worriedly "What happened? Did…did Xellos actually…Emeralda, your eye!"

Finally, the injured young woman spoke, her voice low and hard to hear among the battle of titans raging nearby "I…will be fine. Xellos, Xellos is gone. I wasn't fast enough. I was…too distracted."

Before anyone could debate the greenette on her assertion, several of the black and red tendrils from All For One came snaking toward them, forcing the three lighters to dodge out of the way. The attack smashed into the ground they had just occupied before retracting back, announcing the arrival of All For One, who floated down in front of his apprentice, having once again managed to knock All Might away long enough to save the hand-wearing murderer.

Glancing over past Tomura, All For One called out to the boy's remaining compatriots "Mr. Compress, please take Tomura and get out of here. There is clearly nothing left to be gained at this point."

Doing as he was told, the top-hatted villain moved to compress Magne and Spinner. When Mr. Compress got to his leader, Tomura was only able to utter a weak "nooo…massstterr…" before he, too, was compressed into a ball. Then, as All For One turned back to face the remaining lighters, Himiko limped into the misty portal followed by the real Double, who had hid by some rubble, then Mr. Compress tossed Kurojiri in before jumping in himself, the portal vanishing behind him.

Finally, Michiru, Zelgadis and Emeralda faced off with the one responsible for each of them being pulled away from all they knew. With Michiru burdened with Celty and Emeralda having lost an eye, and Xellos dead, they were worse for wear, and they knew it. That didn't stop the three of them from offering a defiant front when the master villain spoke again, casual and calm as ever "It won't be long before All Might ruins our little chat so let me say this: Whatever you may think of me, know that it was nothing personal. If anything, you being here is a miracle onto itself that I have made possible. Know that the only way you may be granted another miracle, dear lighters, is through me."

Looking about the destruction around them, Michiru wasn't buying what this asshole was selling as she countered "You call all of this a miracle? What makes you think being here is any better or worse than where we were? You had no right!"

Zelgadis seconded his furry companion's thoughts as he stepped forward, his sword at the ready "Thats right! It wasn't personal? What's more personal than having your entire world ripped from you? You're right about one thing though, we're definitely going through you!" As he finished, Michiru gently set Celty down behind Zelgadis.

Emeralda said nothing, as her face twisted into a scowl and her arms extended into blades.

Releasing a sigh, All For One rose his left hand "Here a few days and already sounding like the rest of those sanctimonious fools. Such a shame." As he finished, he let loose another, albeit weaker, blast from his air cannon.

Ready for it, Zelgadis had a barrier spell ready, calling it out just in time for the blast to smash into it, nearly sending the chimera off his feet instantly. With the attack blocked, Emeralda charged forward to the right while Michiru came forward from the left. Each arrived on either side of All For One, one swinging with a massive fist, the other a bladed arm. Neither hit their mark.

Despite all the force Michiru brought to bear when she swung her massive arm, All For One blocked it with his own like it was nothing. With her momentum lost, the masked master of evil brought his arm down quickly and grabbed the tanuki girl's leg and swung her toward his left where he had managed to catch one of Emeralda's blades and was using Michiru to give the greenette pause with her other bladed arm.

That pause saved Michiru from being stabbed but it meant the two collided when All For One smashed the two together, momentum carrying the two a few feet away, though each were able to land on their feet.

With All For One distracted, Zelgadis charged forward, intent on taking the taller man's right arm off while it was still extended from throwing Michiru into Emeralda. The chimera had gotten close enough to strike with his sword but mid-swing the blade was caught by those black and red tendrils that had once again extended from All For One's fingers. Zelgadis struggled to pull the blade away but moments later his sword, only a few minutes old, shattered from the pressure the tendrils had placed on it at multiple points. The rock-encrusted sorcerer lost his balance from trying the pull on the blade, which gave All For one the opening to swing with his left arm, catching the chimera square in the face, and sending him flying backwards and landing only a couple of feet from Celty.

Turning to face the female lighters, All For One raised his hand as he said "I am sorry ladies, but this dance is over." As the symbol of evil let lose another shot from his air canon, a yellow dart shot in and delivered a blow to All For One's head, causing him to stagger and sending the blast harmlessly up and into the night sky.

Landing in front of Michiru and Emeralda was a very old and very short man with a narrow black mask over his eyes, short grey hair and goatee along with a simple yellow costume and cape. The old man called out to them, anger clear in his voice "What the hell are ya doin' here! This is All Might's fight, you need to clear out of here, now!"

At the same time, an orange winged man with a beak and wearing black leather landed beside Zelgadis and Celty, a mix of concern and distain on his face. As the winged newcomer gently picked up his partner he snapped at Zelgadis "How could you leave her behind like that! What's wrong with you!?"

Still reeling from the hit he took from All For One, Zelgadis took a moment to respond as he shook his head "If…it wasn't for us, they'd of gotten away with her already. Who the hell are you?"

Lifting the swordless swordsmen up to his feet, Brooklyn quickly said "No time for that, we need to get you all out of here and let All Might handle things here."

As All Might himself appeared on the scene once more, landing near All For One, declaring nothing else would stand in his way, Zelgadis knew in his clouded mind that their gambit had failed. Unable to hide his deep disappointment, the defeated chimera bitterly called out to his companions "Michiru, Emeralda, let's go!"

"Where?" Michiru called back.

"Follow me!" Brooklyn answered, leaping off multiple damaged walls to get enough air to start gliding away.

After invoking his flight spell, Raywing, Zelgadis called again "You got Emeralda, Michiru?"

"Yeah, no problem, Zel, we're right behind you, right Emmy?" Michiru replied back as she shifted her arms to a pair of wings and talons for feet. Emeralda could only bring herself to nod as Michiru grabbed her by the shoulders and took off after the other two, leaving the symbol of peace to do battle with his nemesis for what he hoped would be the last time.

(X)

Brooklyn guided the surviving three lighters to a recovery zone at the edge of the destroyed part of Camino ward. People who had suffered injuries large and small had been brought here where emergency medical personnel were doing their best to triage even as many watched from their phones the unfolding battle only a short distance away.

Although Celty had suffered a grievous wound, by the time she had been brought to the medics, she was already healing. Being assured she would be ok, Brooklyn had left to continue rescue efforts with the other heroes on the scene.

Emeralda had had her eye cleaned and was given a compress to make sure the bleeding stopped and reduce swelling. Since the wound wasn't immediately life threatening, the greenette was sent to rest with Zelgadis, who had suffered a concussion from All For One's last blow and Michiru, who only had some minor cuts and bruises. The three of them sat quietly for a time as they listened and watched the battle unfold between the great hero and villain of the age from the phone of others next to them.

Before long, Michiru realized the whole camp was riveted to the battle, save for those engaged in life saving work. The mood and comments of those around them rose and fell as All Might and All For One did battle, as if the fate of the very world hung in the balance in those city ruins.

Finally, just when all did seem lost and All Might appeared to have lost all his mighty power, a literal shell of his former self and everyone around them shouting words of encouragement at their screens, it was over. All Might had summoned enough strength to deliver one more mighty blow and through guile and sheer will had managed to defeat the titan of evil that the three of them couldn't even lay a finger on.

The camp, the city, the whole country seemed to erupt in jubilant cries of triumph then. People were delirious with joy, released from the stress and worry of possibly watching their greatest fall. As Michiru listened, she focused just a little bit and could hear the cheering from the populated unharmed parts of Yokohama beyond.

It was then, as she sat there covered in a simple blanket a medic had given her that Michiru felt it again. That same feeling she had when the beastmen of Anima City howled into the night sky. Michiru looked into the relived eyes of the people around her and the same loneliness enveloped her. Despite how welcoming, how diverse and open-minded the people of this world had seemed, Michiru knew that she wasn't apart of this world. Finding no comfort in her comrades as she glanced at their faces, Emeralda almost looking ashamed as she held the compress over the right side of her face and Zelgadis trembling with impudent anger. Michiru felt as alone as ever.

Pulling the blanket closer, all Michiru could think was that maybe there wasn't really a home for her anywhere. She wasn't human, she wasn't really a beastman and she clearly wasn't a hero. Not by this world's standards anyway.

For a time, the three continued to sit in silence as the world around them celebrated. Eventually, one of the medics came by to check on them, a kindly middle-aged man with a receding hairline "Hello you three, I wanted to check on the young woman's eye. You doing ok miss?"

Briefly removing the compress to allow the man to look at it, the medic nodded and said "It looks like the bleeding has stopped so that's good but you're going to need to go to a hospital to get it treated properly. Before I send for an ambulance, you three have your ID's on you?"

Zelgadis and Emeralda turned to look at Michiru, who had been only half paying attention to this point. Realizing what was being asked and the attention on her, the tanuki girl fumbled for an answer as she said "Oh? Uhhh, our ID's? Weee lost them! In the chaos of all the fighting, we lost them in the attack!"

The middle-aged medic raised an eyebrow but didn't challenge Michiru, instead erring on the side of compassion "Oh, well that's ok, miss, you aren't the only ones to lose something important back there. We can work on that at the hospital, if you could just-"

"I am fine" Emeralda said simply, cutting off the medic as she focused down and away with her good eye.

Receiving a worried look from the medic, Michiru put her hand on her green-haired friend's shoulder as she pleaded "Emmy, he's only trying to help. This is a serious injury…maybe we should listen to him?"

Looking up when Michiru touched her, Emeralda was unfazed by her words as she refused again "No, thank you Michiru. I…am aware this is a serious injury but…" Then the tan girl sighed heavily before continuing "…but before long, I will be fine. Please, trust me."

The middle-aged man raised his hands as he stood up, shaking his head "I can see I'm not going to convince you. I can't force you to accept treatment, just know I advise seriously against it." Putting his hands down as he glanced between the three, another thought occurred to him "You three have a place to stay? Did you live here?"

Shaking her head, Michiru struggled to bring the words to her mouth because she knew saying them would make it that much more real for the other two, but she pushed on, finally managing "No, sir. We, we live in Musutafu."

Zelgadis, who had been staring off into the distance after his furry companion had taken over answering for them, suddenly turned and starred right at her. Emeralda was watching out of the corner of her good eye, her head still hung low. The medic seemed to miss the reactions, to wrapped up in his own as he blurted out with some shock "Musutafu!? You three are pretty far from home, aren't you? You have anywhere to stay tonight? Someone you can call?"

With everything going on, it had slipped Michiru's mind but at the medic's words the tanuki girl remembered that Hina had stored several numbers in her phone. Said medic remained silent, seeing the look of realization on Michiru's face as she went digging for her phone in her jacket's pockets. By some miracle, Michiru's phone had survived the night, minor cracks in the screen notwithstanding.

Looking in her contacts, Michiru saw Hina's, Mob's, Jun's and Hitomi's numbers. Michiru had no idea if Hina and Mob were still in Yokohama and even if they were, would Majestic even be willing to take them after the stunt they pulled? On a hunch, Michiru pulled up Hitomi and saw she could track her just like they had with Shadow Rider. To her surprise, Hitomi appeared to be in Camino Ward, not far away from where they were.

Looking up at the medic, a small smile on her face, Michiru thanked him for the idea. Nodding sagely, the middle-aged man turned to check up on someone else as he said "No thanks needed, young lady. It can be easy to forget things during a traumatic event. Just glad to help. Come find me if things fall through, alright?"

With a wave and a nod, Michiru turned her attention back to the phone. Noting that Zelgadis and Emeralda were looking at her, the tanuki girl closed her eyes and let out a deep breath before she said "Alright! Let's hope she picks up!" and pressed the call button.

(X)

After Hina revealed what had happened, Hitomi used her power, with permission, to see what exactly had happened in the dojo. Unfortunately, aside from learning a bit more about Emeralda, Hitomi didn't get any clues as to where, exactly the four wayward lighters were headed. With Sadou not picking up his phone, Hitomi was forced to call Jun as she raced back to her car.

When Jun picked up, Hitomi's voice was strained as she ran "Jun, do you know of an operation to rescue Katsuki Bakugo?"

On the other end of the line, Jun was caught off guard by the way Hitomi sounded "You ok? You sound like you're running?"

"They're gone, Jun! Emeralda, Michiru, Zelgadis and Xellos put everyone at the dojo to sleep and bolted! Hina said Sadou told them about a rescue mission and hinted that All For One would be there and they left Jun!" came Hitomi's increasingly frantic response.

Jun was at a complete loss for words. This was an absolute disaster. Still, he couldn't just sit there dumbstruck and leave Hitomi with silence. After a moment, the former hero recovered himself and responded with as much reassurance as he could muster "I'll get an answer, just leave it to me, Hitomi. Just stay where you are and try to stay calm, I'll find out what's going on."

Having gotten back to her car, Hitomi was left to her thoughts as she sat there in the driver's seat, her head forward, resting on the steering wheel along with her arms. How was she supposed to remain calm when they could be out there getting themselves killed?

With the press conference over, Jun had little trouble meeting up with Principal Nezu. After catching the small fuzzy mammal up on what was happening, Jun was able to convince him to reveal that their press conference had indeed been partially designed to be a distraction for a rescue mission that was likely going to begin any moment in Camino Ward.

Relaying the information to Hitomi, the counselor set off for that part of Yokohama, happy to have narrowed her search but still utterly desperate to avoid some horrible outcome. Unfortunately for her, as she was searching among the crowds of people on a busy street, the explosions started. She now knew where to go but also knew she was too late. If the newest lighters were there, she was now powerless to stop whatever came next.

Before long, the news cameras were broadcasting the great battle taking place not far away and Hitomi, too, couldn't help but feel the unease and subsequent relief as the battle went back and forth before ultimately ended with All Might's final victory.

Realizing it was likely now safer to approach the battlefield to search for her lost fellow lighters, Hitomi began working through the crowd, only to bump into none other than Izuku Midoriya and…was that Katsuki Bakugo? Had they…been there at the rescue? "Midoriya-san? Bakugo-san? Iida?" Plus several other 1-A students but Hitomi was so surprised to see them she didn't get to mention them.

For his part, Izuku looked like a deer in the headlights when he had been caught and while Shoto, Tenya and Momo looked wholly embarrassed, Eijiro stepped up to defend them "Kanzaki-san! We didn't break the law, we rescued Bakugo without attacking anyone! So could you let us off, just this one time?"

Katsuki, almost involuntarily felt the need to add "I would'a gotten outta there myself! I didn't need your damn help!"

Hitomi, for her part, wasn't really interested in turning the five students in, much as she likely should have. Instead, she asked "Have any of you seen a group of four, two men and two women. One of the girls looks a bit like a tanuki and the other is tan with pale green hair. One of the guys is blue skinned with rocks set in it?"

Without hesitation, Shoto answered "We did. They were with us back at the battlefield."

Hitomi's eyes went wide as she followed up with "Were they ok? What happened to them?"

It was Momo who answered this time "They…wanted to attack that man…but first they stayed to recue an injured hero. We went in first to get Bakugo-san and they were to follow up, using our action as a distraction to act. We left before they moved in. We're sorry, Kanzaki-san but we don't know what happened after that."

At least she knew where they were just a little while ago. Hitomi thanked the UA students before renewing her effort to get to the epicenter of the night's events.

Hitomi had just failed to convince a police officer to let her cross his perimeter to get closer when her phone rang with an unknown number. Briefly, the brunette thought this wasn't the time to take a phone call, but then the thought occurred to her that given everything going on, it may well be important. She was glad she did. Finally pressing the answer button Hitomi tried to stay as calmly as possible "Hello?"

For a moment, Hitomi was overjoyed when she heard "Hitomi? This…is Michiru." That excitement though was tempered when she heard the tone the tanuki girl was using. The poor girl sounded…regretful? Remorseful? Clearly, something had happened.

Trying to remain sounding positive, the counselor replied "Yes, Michiru, its Hitomi. I'm so glad to hear from you! You had me worried sick!"

There was a pause before Michiru said "Oh? You…were worried about us? Sorry about that. We…we kind of messed up. We're at the recovery station they set up on the east side of the battle zone. Do…you think you might be able to come pick us up?"

Yeah, they had fucked up alright, but that would be for later. Now getting them back to UA safely was what mattered. Hitomi warmly answered "Of course I can come get you, it'll just take a few minutes for me to get back to my car and get over there. It'll be a tight fit, but I should be able to get all four of you in just fine."

There was another long pause. For a moment, Hitomi thought the call had dropped and was about to pull the phone away from her ear to check when Michiru finally answered, her voice full of sorrow "Actually, Hitomi, you'll only be picking up three."

(X)

I admit, I thought this chapter would be longer. I hope nobody minds it didn't run as long as I thought it would. So yeah, next chapter will serve as a kind of epilogue to what I consider the prologue of this story. I still have a great deal planned for this story so I hope your willing to stick with me because I'm still stuck putting out a chapter a month so this one's going to be a long haul.

I know I don't go around asking for reviews or comments. As I've mentioned before, whether anyone does or not, I have a story that I intend to tell whether one person reads it or a thousand. That being said, I have had people take the time to share a few comments and reviews that I have appreciated very much. Even if I'm not asking for them, know that receiving any does bring a smile to my face and warmth to my heart.

Ok, now lets see if I can go a month without getting sick (something I failed at again when writing this chapter) or get distracted (damn you, Pokemon Legends: Arceus!). I have another big event coming up in April that will absolutely take all my time but I have some time off planned for March that I hope will let me get ahead of the game for when I'm neck deep in plants.

Thank you all again for taking the time to read this far and take care out there.