Chapter 25: The Prison Break from Hell
Itsuka Kendo had one job: Make sure that the position of the ship and the squad within the outskirts of the city was not compromised. And thankfully, it didn't happen.
Unfortunately, things still went wrong, regardless.
And that began when Lieutenant Yaoyorozu's team went inside the city with Kamiji, and then came back with Kamiji, two of the Todoroki children… and no Lieutenant Yaoyorozu.
Fucking wonderful.
After some quick introductions, Neito, her annoying yet lovable boyfriend, was the first one to ask the big question. "So. What exactly happened to the Lieutenant back at the party?"
The prince with the half-and-half hair, Shoto, said, "My father sent her to Tartarus."
Despite knowing this already, Awase still gulped. "Tartarus?! You mean the realm of the damned?! Home of the monsters?! The place no man ever returns from?!"
Melissa shook her head. "No, the real Tartarus is out on the edge of the world, if you believe in the notion that the world is flat. He's not sending her there."
"Oh, phew." Sato breathed a sigh of relief, as did a few others.
"He's probably referring to the prison the emperor made. The underground prison with the lava moat, monstrous guards, and where the idea of personal hygiene is a joke."
Okay, it was now Itsuka's turn to panic.
"HOW IS THAT BETTER?!"
"Because we might actually have a plan to rescue Yaoyorozu," Neito said.
Okay, that got Itsuka's attention. "And that plan would be…?"
If Momo was gonna rate this place, she'd give it two stars, at best.
Tartarus, or as her now-fellow inmates nicknamed it, "The Prison of Agony," was a hot mess. Literally. The structure itself was dangling above a pool of lava bigger than the prison itself, the only thing keeping it from taking a dive into the molten liquid being the massive chains attached to the walls, keeping the entire place balanced like some kind of sick trapeze act.
It had been less than an hour since she had arrived, and the only positive thing she could give this place was that Emperor Todoroki was an efficient dictator. The second the big man ordered his guards to take her away, she was placed into a prison convoy, not even given due process or a trial by jury. She was just grabbed, processed into the system, and sent here.
Arriving in Tartarus, it was safe to make the fair assumption that this place was designed with the aesthetic choice of "abandon all hope, ye who enter here." Aside from the fact that the entire prison was above fucking lava, the drawbridge that allowed access to the hanging fortress was around sixty meters in length, on had to be activated from the lever located next to volcanic wall, meaning that the only people who had access to it was the guards. That also meant that any prisoners who tried to use it would have to be newcomers who weren't trapped on the "floating" island, which was pretty much impossible since they were being escorted inside.
The second thing that made Momo believe that this place was designed with the explicit purpose of breaking the spirit was the architecture. The massive doorway leading into the underground volcano looked like a giant mouth with sharp teeth, and the level to activate the drawbridge looked like the head of a dragon. Sure, she could have probably written that off as the interior decorator being a bit of an edgelord, if it wasn't for the fact that once she arrived at the prison doors, the inside of them were covered in massive spikes.
Aside from the fact that these giant wooden doors were locked from the outside by a massive barricade bar with yet another dragon design, the inside of the doors were covered with spikes, meaning that if someone tried to forcefully open the doors, they'd most likely die.
Then she looked around the prison, and… it wasn't what she expected. The inside was massive, granted, but she figured it would have been designed to be cramped. Then again, the races of this world came in multiple sizes, so that probably wasn't feasible. But what surprised her most was the fact that all the prisoners… They were just walking around.
None of them were behind bars, and only a few of them were chained to the wall or locked up in a gibbet a few meters above her head. But another thing that struck her as odd was… the complete lack of guards. But then… who would have chained up the other prisoners?
And that's when it hit her.
The other prisoners.
What the Emperor of Flames did was construct a soul-crushing environment where escape was nigh-impossible, dumped whatever criminal, dissident, or political opponent who pissed him off in here, and then… just left them to their own devices.
Did the inmates just create their own society within the walls of this place? Looking around, she could see a few of them huddled around some tables, some of them were just lying around the walls sleeping, and one or two of them throwing up into barrels, as if they were drunk.
Did this place actually have goods like alcohol? They clearly had food and water, since they were all still alive, but did they have non-essential foods like sweets, and similar luxuries such as, say, books to keep themselves entertained, or dice to play some games with?
If that was the case, then that could explain why some of these inmates were chained up; thieves and more violent offenders needed to be locked up for the safety of others, and since there were no guards here, it meant that the other inmates would have to do it.
Okay, so, since escape was pretty much a bad joke here, the inmates decided to make do and develop their own mini-society in here, with their own laws and practices? Momo figured it was certainly possible. However, there was a nastier, and far more likely alternative.
Momo had watched a couple of prison shows and movies when she was a teenager, and if they were anything like real life, it meant that in order to survive in a place like this, inmates would band together to form gangs, and press newcomers to join them, or else.
If that was the case, then that could mean that those poor souls currently in cages and in chains were either rival gang members that majorly pissed some big fish off, or were some loners that decided to not join any side, and suffered the consequences.
For the moment, Momo decided to play it safe. She'd stay observant, keep her distance, and if someone approached her with a brochure about how things worked around here, she would accept it with a grain of salt until she could either confirm or disprove any claims. If this was a society created by those Enji Todoroki hated the most, fine, great. But if this was some sort of "survival of the fittest" gang mentality dump, she'd make sure to sleep with one eye open.
Momo wasn't stupid, she was aware of how conventionally attractive she was, and she was still wearing the evening dress that she was provided with for the party. If this place was as lawless as her cynical side speculated, then there was a pretty good chance that some creep here might end up acting on some pretty nasty impulses of theirs.
Thankfully, the guards didn't perform any search before throwing her in here, so she still had both her pistol and her knife with her. She doubted that her radio would be able to work down here, but hey, at least she'd be able to defend herself. Plus, she was more than willing to dig through a dead man's corpse to pull out her bullets, she only had a few of those, and it would make for a pretty good intimidation tactic to anyone who might have a similar idea.
She knew how to deal with cretins and shady organizations thanks to her family. She managed to get through Aizwa's hell training, and she survived for months on end in this monster-infested world. This prison would be her bitch by the end of the day, she just knew it.
Now, the only question was… who would she go talk to first?
Well, those two demon-looking fellows over there are as good a start as any… Momo figured, as she went up to the two inmates and asked, "So… what are you in for?"
Shoto Todoroki wasn't sure what to make of this plan.
Yes, it had potential; if they pulled this off correctly, not only would they be able to liberate Yaoyorozu, but also every single person that his father had ever locked up. However, the biggest problem with the plan was also the first step: Getting near the drawbridge.
While he never went inside the prison itself, Shoto and his siblings had visited Tartarus before when they were younger. So, yes, it was possible for them to show up and not make the guards suspicious, but not many other people would be able to do the same thing.
So, if this was going to work, they would need to get in quietly without his father knowing, get everyone out fast, and make sure that they don't leave any guards alive as witnesses.
Easier said than done.
Both he and Fuyumi got prepared back in the palace, while Moe and the SREU got themselves ready back at their airship. Clothes that were both regal and capable of surviving combat in a superheated environment? Check. Packed supplies and coins for when both he and Fuyumi inevitably go on the run? Check. Sword that is both decorative and deadly? Check.
Stepping out of his bedroom, Shoto could see that his older sister was also prepared to disappear, and potentially become a fugitive. Natsuo had agreed to stay out of this to make sure the Empire kept running while the two of them were away, and to keep their father off their trail.
Such a nice older brother.
"Ready?" Fuyumi asked.
Shoto nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."
Katsuki Bakugou did not like this.
For one, he, Copycat, Shield and Mushroom Girl were the only ones that were accompanying the Ice Princess and Prince Zuko into this suicide mission to discount Mount Doom. Headband, Big Lips and Monsterfucker #2 were ordered to stay back at the airship with everyone else.
Katsuki wasn't sure if this was because the latter three didn't have any magic, but if that was the case, then why not swap them out with people who did? Or would the guards be aware of everyone who was at the Ranking party, and they didn't want to draw suspicion when three of the guests suddenly don't resemble how they were a couple hours ago?
The blond shook his head. Whatever, that was some minor semantics. The second thing that was setting him off was that he still needed to be wearing the damn monkey suit from the party. He understood that they needed to maintain their cover, but it was somewhat hard to move while his combat uniform was underneath it. Yes, they took off their costumes, all got into their combat uniforms and then put on their costumes again, because they weren't stupid enough to go into what could be described as an active volcano while wearing sandals.
At least Prince Zuko was understanding enough to understand that modern JSDF combat boots were far more firm and snug than whatever leather garbage the Todoroki Empire considered fashionable these days. And besides, the peppermint-haired pretty boy figured that the second they started the escape plan, they'd remove their disguises regardless, so taking off some sandals just to put on their combat boots would be a waste of time.
But speaking of escape plans, the first stage had just begun.
According to Green Hair, the guard change at Tartarus occurred at midnight, so the rescue team went in five minutes after that, to make sure the previous guards were far enough away that they wouldn't hear anything, and that the new guys would not be able to register that anything was off just yet. Now all they had to do was just… walk in like they belonged.
Ice Princess took the lead, acting like she was just taking her bourgeois friends on a tour of their max-security prison, walking down the hallway, until the group exited out of a doorway… and towards the outer walls of a literal lake of lava, and the prison hanging above it.
"What are you doing here?"
Katsuki stopped staring at the edgiest fortress ever to see that one of the guards was actually doing their fucking job. He could also see why Shield called the guards here monstrous, given how they had multiple arms and ugly faces, emphasis on the ug.
"Oh, I'm simply giving our friends a tour of the place…" Ice Princess began to stall, as she signaled behind her back for everyone else to get into position.
Looking around, Katsuki counted at least six guards, two of them keeping an eye on the drawbridge lever, and the other four patrolling around the prison itself. The blond decided to be proactive and headed toward the one farthest away, while the others all picked their target, with some of them even asking questions about the place to keep them distracted.
"NOW!"
"What –?!"
BLAM!
In an instant, Katsuki pulled out his sidearm and popped the guard in the face, while the others killed theirs using a mix of either their weapons and magic, with the most notable kills being Shield decapitating one of them with her sword, and Prince Zuko piercing a third with his ice.
Fucking metal.
"All right, in less than twenty minutes, two guards are going to come down here to make sure everything is secure. We have until then to get the prisoners out of here," Ice Princess said, as Katsuki and the others removed their costumes, leaving only their uniforms.
"Okay, Shield, you and Bakugou fly across the lava and blow open the door," Lieutenant Copycat said. "The rest of us will meet you there once we get the drawbridge lowered."
"On it," the angel said, grabbing Katsuki. "Hold on tight."
The explosive blond did just that, as Shield revealed her massive white wings again, and flew over the lava like a bird, before gently landing onto the prison, next to the massive doors.
"Aight, stand back, this is gonna get loud…"
The blond angel held up her hand. "Wait, hold on!"
"Huh?! Whaddya mean by that?!"
"Look at this brick over there," she said, pointing at a red brick the size of two cinder blocks. "I think it's loose. If we can pry it open, we can tell everyone inside what's going on."
"Ugh, fine! But hurry!"
Shield nodded, as she knelt down, and pulled the block right out of the wall.
"Bakugou, you think you can blow the door towards the outside?"
Katsuki smiled at what he considered child's play. "Hell yeah."
Melissa squeezed through the opening she made, and stood up as soon as she made it to the other side. Needless to say, the conditions of this place were… deplorable.
Prisoners in cages, some of them hanging from the ceiling, while others were just laying on the floor, either asleep, passed out, or… no longer among the living. And the entire place was only lit by the light of the lava that pierced through the barred windows, like, holy fuck.
It looked like something her would-be father-in-law would have approved of.
But enough about that! She had a job to do!
"LISTEN UP, ALL OF YOU!" she shouted, gaining everyone's attention in the vicinity. "That door is about to be broken down, and when that happens, I want all of you to stay away from it until the explosion is done! Once the smoke clears, I want all of you to tell everyone that the door is gone and that you're all free! Congratulations, you're all getting out of here!"
She ignored everyone's murmurs and shouts, as she shot through the prison, searching every corner and corridor for her friend. "MOMO! MOMO, WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Melissa?"
The blond angel turned around to where she heard the sound of her friend, darting towards the corner to look into a room, to see Momo and a few other inmates… rolling dice on a table?
Wait a minute, were they playing Liar's Dice?
"Melissa?" Momo stood up from her table. "What are you doing here?"
"What am I…?! I'm here to rescue you! We're here to rescue you! What are you doing?!"
"Hold on, we?! Who else is with you?!" the raven-haired woman asked.
"Bakugou, Monoma, Komori, and the Todoroki siblings!" Melissa shouted. "Look, can you tell your prison buddies to finish this game up later? You know, before the guards show up!"
"Oh, right!" Momo said, before she looked at the two demons sitting next to her. "Apologies, Shoji and Kamakiri. Perhaps we can continue this game later at the Collibus Hills?"
"Works for me," the six-armed demon with the gray hair said.
"We'll see you there!" the green demon with the mandibles exclaimed.
Momo nodded as she looked back towards Melissa. "Okay, now let's go."
Momo ran through the halls of Tartarus alongside Melissa and several dozen prisoners, all of them now rushing towards the main area, shouting in various languages, all of them excited at the prospect of freedom. Some of them were even freeing they're caged brethren!
Good to see that no man was being left behind.
BOOOOOM!
The raven-haired soldier looked towards her angelic friend. "Bakugou?"
Melissa nodded. "Yep."
The two of them kept running, as more inmates from all races and walks of life joined them. Creatures with long snouts, giant slugs, three-eyed men with green skin, dwarves, more creatures than there were inside the pages of the Monster Manual.
Making their way back towards where Momo was dumped in the first place, the young soldier could see that the spiked doors that held her in were now reduced to rubble.
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen, and monsters of all ages!" a familiar voice said near the entrance. "If you could please walk out of here in an orderly fashion, that would be greatly appreciated! The drawbridge will be coming down soon, so please be patient!"
"Bakugou!"
"Hey, Lieutenant." The blond waved at him. "Good to see you, too."
"So, I take it that Monoma is leading this operation?"
"Nah, he's just following the Ice Princess's orders. She and Prince Zuko are helping us bust everyone out of here, while the middle kid and Green Hair keep the big man busy."
"Again with those nicknames –"
"THE DRAWBRIDGE! IT'S COMING DOWN!"
Everyone looked up to see the massive pillar of stone slowly fall from the other side of the volcano, before suddenly landing with a soft boom on their side.
BOOM!
"ALRIGHT, ALL OF YOU, LISTEN UP! WE'VE STILL GOT TEN MINUTES BEFORE THE GUARDS SHOW UP! I WANT YOU ALL TO WALK, NOT RUN! AND IF I SEE ANYONE PUSHING, I SWEAR I'M GONNA THROW YOU INTO THE LAVA MYSELF!"
The now-liberated inmates all complied with Bakuogu's orders, as they, along with the members of the SREU, crossed the drawbridge, some of them believing this to still be a dream.
PLOOM!
However, before anyone could make it to the other side, the lava beneath the drawbridge surged upwards, almost as if it was alive. The lava reached the empty side of the bridge, before receding, revealing a golden monster, one with the body of a wingless dragon, with two tentacle-covered snake-like heads, which had spikes rolling down its neck and back.
"SKKRHEEEYAAAAA!"
"What the hell is that?!" Momo shouted.
Melissa shrugged. "I'm guessing that's probably the warden of Tartarus."
"Yeah, well, whatever it is, it's in our way!" Bakugou shouted, as he pulled out his pistol. "EAT LEAD, YOU DISCOUNT KING GHIDORA-LOOKING MOTHERFUCKER!"
BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!
The bullets flew straight towards the massive two-headed monster, hitting the beast, but not damaging it. In fact, they just… melted… as the metal went into their body.
Melissa simply stared in shock. "Is that thing… made of lava?!"
"Huh," Bakugou deadpanned. "Evidently, it eats lead."
"NYYYAAARRRGHHH!"
As the monster approached, Momo's brain was going a hundred miles a minute trying to figure out how to kill this thing. They couldn't use Bakugou's magic, the explosion could potentially send all of Tartarus into the lava below. Maybe Melissa would be able to –?
""CAELESTIS GLACIES DENTEM!""
SHUNK! SHUNK!
Two giant piles of spiked ice ruptured up from the drawbridge, piercing the body of the molten beast, causing the monster to squirm in pain, as the affected areas turned to stone.
"HOOOARYYYYYYRRR!"
Momo looked past the behemoth to see that, on the other side of the drawbridge, Shoto and Fuyumi were the ones responsible for the ice, as they prepared to launch more spells.
"GUYS! LOOK OUT!"
FWOOOOOM!
The snake-like heads of the lava creature figured out who was responsible for its pain, as it launched a barrage of fire towards the Todoroki siblings. Thankfully, neither of them were hit, as two of Komori's summoned mushroom creatures took the blow for them.
"We need to keep that thing occupied so they can hit it with more ice!" Momo said, as she looked at the creature… to see that the places the ice touched looked like they were… brittle. Then, she had an idea. "Bakugou, shoot at where I'm gonna shoot!"
"What?! What are you talking about –?!"
BLAM! BLAM!
Momo fired her shots from her own handgun, hitting the stone and causing it to break apart into pieces, falling off the creature, and making it stop attacking the Todoroki siblings.
"Ohh… I get it," Bakugou said, as he smiled, aiming his gun at the monster.
BLAM! BLAM!
"NYYYAAARRRGHHH!" The beast roared at the two tiny humans that were damaging its body, as out of their mouths came a torrent of flames aimed right towards them.
FWOOOOOM!
"NO!" Before the flames could reach, however, Melissa jumped forwards, raising her fists towards the top of her body like an X, and taking the brunt of the flames. "ARRGHH!"
"MELISSA!"
"DON'T WORRY ABOUT ME!" she shouted, as the flames died down, revealing her burned body. "That's right, ugly. Pay attention to me, and not the iceberg that's forming right above you."
"GIGAS' GLACIES FLOE!"
BOOM!
"Too late."
"HOOOARYYYYYYRRR!"
The oversized block of ice landed right on top of the molten monster, as steam erupted from the creature's body which was slowly turning into stone, its twin heads howling in pain, as soon enough, the steam was gone… leaving only a rock-like carcass on the drawbridge.
"Ughh…" Melissa collapsed on the floor, as Momo and Bakugou ran to check on her. Most of her skin was covered in second-degree burns, some third-degree; she was a wreck.
"Don't worry, we're gonna get you to Kodai, she'll fix you up, right as rain!" Momo said, trying to comfort her. The blond angel smiled at that, before she passed out in Momo's arms. "Shit…"
"Come on, we gotta go! We've got less than five minutes before the guards show up!"
Momona's shouting prompted all of the inmates to hurry along across the drawbridge, as Momo carried Melissa back towards the entrance, heading out of the underground with the others. But she turned around, and saw that Bakugou wasn't moving along. "You coming?"
"Yeah, I will, just as soon as I blast this medieval Guantanamo Bay all the way back to Hell," the blond said. "This place isn't gonna lock up any more folks, not when I'm through with it."
"Bakugou, we don't have time, the guards will be here any minute…"
"Then the faster you get out of range, the faster I'll be able to get out of here, then."
Momo was silent for a few seconds, before she said, "Don't die."
The explosive blond nodded. "Trust me, I'm planning not to."
As Katsuki watched Yaoyorozu and the rest of his motley crew disappear from his eyesight, a small part of him was wondering what the hell was going on with him?
Heroic sacrifices weren't his thing, his whole "thing" was getting the fuck out of there alive, regardless if the others made it or not. But… that was probably a lie, wasn't it?
He never left anyone behind, and while he might be able to dismiss that as a lucky coincidence, he couldn't ignore what happened with the Jiros. He didn't have to accept the rescue mission, but he did because… what? Because it was the right thing to do?
Deny it all as he wanted to, but he just couldn't stand seeing others suffer. Maybe that was why he was destroying this place here and now, so no one else would have to suffer. Because he didn't want his kid to be born into a world where such things still happen, or anyone else's kid.
Ah, hell. Katsuki smirked, as he conjured up his spell. So much for the "tough guy" act…
"EXPLOOOOOSIO!"
Momo reached the airship a few minutes after Bakugou caused the earthquake with his explosion magic. She didn't hear the cries or shouts of any of her comrades, she merely zoomed in on Kodai, before placing Melissa down besides the team's field medic.
That was fifteen minutes ago.
"How is she doing?" Momo asked.
"She'll be out for a few hours, but she'll make a full recovery," Kodai said.
The raven-haired heiress nodded, as she then addressed the rest of her team. "We can't stay. We destroyed their prison and have caused city-wide chaos. We need to leave right away."
"What about Bakugou?" Uraraka asked.
"He knew what he was doing. I tried to stop him, but we all know how bull-headed he can be," she said, making sure not to use the past tense when referring to their demolition expert. "He'll find his way back to the Collibus Hills. Katsuki Bakugou's the toughest out of all of us here. It eats at me to leave him behind, but if we don't leave now, we'll be discovered soon."
"You all heard her!" Kendo shouted. "Let's move out!"
As the rest of her team scrambled to get the airship ready, Momo went to address Shoto and Fuyumi. "I need someone back at the Empire whose going to have our side –"
"Moe and our brother, Natsuo, will be here," Fuyumi interrupted her. "We're coming with you."
That threw the JSDF officer for a loop. "What?"
"My sister is planning to talk with your country's government, to appeal to them to help us take down our father, and establish a ruler far more friendly to Japan," Shoto explained.
"Wait, you two are planning a coup?"
"We've been planning a coup for the better part of a year now," Fuyumi said. "We have allies. We just need one more in the form of the strongest military we've ever come across."
Momo sighed. Of course. The whole "work alongside" thing from the letter was actually just code for "help overthrow our tyrannical father," because of course it fucking was.
"Ugh, fine. Welcome aboard, Your Highnesses."
It was morning when Katsuki finally breathed a sigh of relief.
After he had blasted Tartarus straight into the center of the earth, he had to hightail it out of there right away. He knew that if the Imperials caught him, he was a dead man, but there were now even more pressing concerns, such as the consequences of his actions, because while he did intend to sink Tartarus, he didn't intend for it to start a fucking earthquake.
Luckily, the lava spewing out of the streets, combined with the Tartarus escapees running around and the panicked civilians were enough to get local law enforcement off his back, long enough for him to run back into the woods where the airship used to be.
He knew that the others left without him. Honestly, he expected them to, so it wasn't that big of a deal. He was a trained soldier, he knew how to survive out in the woods. Sure, it might take him a while, but he'd be able to make it back to the Collibus Hills in no… time…
Katuski had to rub his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, but sure enough, nope, he was still seeing Kirishima, of all people, sleeping in the middle of the forest, buck-ass naked, while also spooning some pink woman with horns and a tail, who was also naked.
"What the actual fuck?"
Author's Note: Yep, the gang is officially separated, something that will be a running theme for all future chapters to come! Well, for the time being, that is.
Okay, so, in terms of references, we have a couple of them. This version of Tartarus was actually inspired by that one episode of the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the 1980's, specially the episode, "Servant of Evil," where you can find how the prison looks, along with its monstrous warden. And now, it's time for the comments!
valkrus: Yeah, Momo has had enough crap from this world, so she might begin to vent her frustrations, especially when their aimed towards acceptable targets.
Honey- (Guest): I have always wanted to tell a "Nunya" joke in real life, and while I have finally managed to achieve that (I think), it was before I wrote this chapter.
Anyways, back to the regular old shilling…
I'm pretty sure as you all know now, I have also made a Twitter account to post my art, so if anyone is interested in checking it out, /ErnaloreProf is the link.
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Thanks for reading, and once again, see you next time!
- Ernalore