Welcome to the bridge chapter for Arc 2 of 3! I project this arc will probably be six or so chapters long—though I'll probably be wrong. For all I know, it could be shorter than that, but I doubt it. Once we get halfway through the second arc, I will do an Opening & Ending Change. That's probably been the most fun thing about this story.
However, before we begin the chapter, I have something that I want to get off my chest. It's something I've started to notice when it comes to fanfiction as a whole. This doesn't *really* apply to All For Luz, but in a small sense, it does.
Please stop asking people to stick to canon when writing fanfiction or canon depictions of characters. I know I've mentioned this before, but it bears repeating since I keep seeing people mention it. I shouldn't have to keep saying it, nor do I want to. But it's honestly getting to the point where it's pissing me off.
As I said, this doesn't specifically apply to All For Luz, but I have seen comments here and on other fics that I read that [Insert Character Here] Would *never* do that! Why would you make them do that? Or something to that effect.
A great example of this was the whole Camila thing in "Season 1." I've flip-flopped on that a lot, and I think I've finally come to my true opinion regarding that scene. Simply put, I don't regret it. Not even remotely. I thought I overdid it, but after reading it back with the rest of what's out?
I honestly have no idea why a lot of you thought it was a bit much. Yes, it was jarring and shocking, but the story would not be the same if I had removed that scene now. Luz's character would have been drastically different if that scene had not been included.
That being said, you're entitled to your own opinion.
Anyway, enough of my yapping. Let's get to this super late chapter, shall we?
[Opening Song: Bokurano – By Eve]
*The scene opens with the strumming of a guitar in a slow, methodical rhythm, as Luz–dressed in a white bodysuit with a red cape attached to her back, kind of like a hero costume you'd see from a comic book, with her back facing the camera–slowly rises in a void of darkness, a bright white light in front of her; all the while a quiet choir-like voice hums alongside the strumming of the guitar. Luz looks over her shoulder, a lone brown eye looking back at the camera before it zooms in on her eye as the beat drops.*
*The drums kick in, continuing the same beat before, but this time more intense alongside an electric guitar. The camera zooms past her shoulder and into the bright light, as a cityscape looms underneath, the title of the story appearing once again, "The Owl House - All For Luz" appears, with the Japanese Kanji "フクロウの家 -すべてはルスのために！ " Underneath it, and in smaller font. This time, there's a large bright yellow 2 next to both English and Japanese.*
*The guitar riffs, causing the scene to change to the same Luz from the beginning standing atop a building, overlooking the city of Waterbury with a solemn yet hopeful expression on her face. She takes in the scenery around her, a smile taking up her visage as a hand touches her shoulder. She turns around and sees Julia, who is also wearing a costume consisting of a white shirt, a large pink feather coat over her shoulders, a purple corset, brown shorts and sandals, along with red goggles on her forehead. Next to her is an older black-haired woman in a skintight futuristic suit with purple streaks going through it, resting an elbow on Julia's shoulder. Luz smiles, before walking over to them as a disembodied voice sings this opening's song*
"A world that's lacking black and white"
"Where sorrow kills us deep inside"
"I cannot stop myself from falling to the other side again"
"So, are you waiting?"
*The scene changes to two young boys running through a forest, both with white hair. One has red eyes, the other has green eyes. The boy with green eyes has the red-eyed boy by the wrist, both dressed in rags as they're running down the forest to an open clearing at the edge of a mountain. The boy with red eyes has a worried look on his face before the green-eyed boy lets go, getting to the edge of the cliff before turning around, looking at the red-eyed boy, smiling with both his hands behind his back.*
*The red-eyed boy relaxes, calmly walking toward the boy, an honest, caring smile on his face, reaching out to the boy as the scene changes. The boy looks older, a horrified look on his face (the boy was Yoichi) and the red-eyed boy (All For One) reaches out toward him, that same concern as before as the city of Tokyo is in the middle of a burning battle. The scene glitches out to Luz, in her hero costume in Waterbury, where it looks like a large battle had taken place, stumbling forward with blood on her hands as she looks down at said hands, panic and horror in her eyes as a ghost of All For One appears over her shoulder, a reassuring hand on her shoulder, all the while the disembodied voice continues to sing*
"Decayed, we break and stumble while reaching for the light"
"Is there somewhere to search and find?"
"A reason to keep up the lie?"
"When misery will block the way, never cry"
"'Cause I'm by your side through all the hurting!"
*The beat reaches a crescendo, then drops as Luz stands up, the spirit of All For One disappearing as a vengeful look appears in Luz's eye, red sparks burst around her, dashing forward toward a shadowy group of villains, rearing back a punch to gut check the first one. Julia swings in from out of nowhere, wrapping up one of the villains in string, and swinging them away into a nearby building. Hunter appears next to Luz, generating a light sword, helping her fight the same villain she's attacking, as an older-looking woman in her mid-20s (Riley) lunges at a taller villain with a purple smog Quirk, her eyes bursting with explosive energy.*
"Take every single bitter feeling"
"That the future we are reaching…"
"I want to hold you forever through everything…!"
"Break away, 'cause that's a hero!"
*The scene cuts to a different scene with Vee (in her human form) alongside Camila fighting off a witch(Millie) inside a large penthouse in the human realm who wears the Elite Emperor Coven garb, each taking turns attacking the witch, Camila using a sword on her hip, and Vee shape-shifting their arm into a large mace, both of them missing their attacks, allowing the witch leap back, create distance between them, and to create a magic circle and blast off a fire spell, which acts as a transition for the next scene all the while the voice continues the song*
"Take every prayer repeating,"
"Hold dear to every meaning…"
"My broken body will carry onward through the dark!"
"I'll fly to where you are!"
*The scene changes to Luz standing in front of a blue portal of some kind, a shattered vial of *something* next to her as she looks to her left. The ghost of All for One stands next to her, offering her his hand. For a moment, she looks hesitant, before she takes it. The two glitch out, replaced by shadowy versions of Caleb and Philip, then those two glitch out to be replaced with a menacing All For One, before Luz and the ghost of All For One appears again, as they step through the portal to a place entirely unknown, but not before Luz looks over her shoulder once again, her eye now red, and a smirk on her face, with the opening coming to an end as the disembodied voice finishes the song.*
"Crying out!"
"A heart that reflects the words of the love it found!"
"Never doubting any step…!"
"We'll rise up to see a new end, once again!"
*The beat of the song reaches a crescendo again, before closing out with a final riff, as the portal vanishes–closing in on itself–revealing a familiar cabin in the woods, as the light of the moon shines down on it with an ominous eerie glow.*
[In A Silent Way]
It started abruptly, with nothing to prelude it. The creature before Magnessa lunged toward her; its arm blades prepared to slash through her like silly putty. Magnessa blinked, and it was already in front of her. Luckily for her, training with Ranger had helped her with reaction timing. She flicked her wrist, and the cars that she had levitated next to her flew at the creature at top speeds, crashing into its body.
The creature was sent into the ground, being flattened by the vehicles that were thrown atop it. It didn't last long, though, as it easily slashed through the cars. Unfortunately for it, the creature wasn't very smart. When it cut through the vehicles, it also cut through the gas tanks. The sparks from the metal being slashed hit the gas and prompted all of the vehicles to blow up on top of it.
The explosion, caused by the detonation of all the gas, was the size of a small bomb. It devastated the area around it, leaving a giant ball of smoke and shattering all the windows in the surrounding area—at least 10 feet in diameter from ground zero of the explosion.
Magnessa smirked, a triumphant smile on her face. "That was easier than I thought." She had no reason to believe that the creature was still alive. After all, the only person she could possibly think of being able to survive anything like that was, ironically, Luzura. Or, perhaps, maybe not. She didn't know Luzura like that. All she knew was that she was strong, and that was it.
"I should probably report this back to—"
Before she could finish that thought, just as she was turning around to fly back to her team's headquarters, she felt a sharp pain spread throughout the center of her back as she began hurdling toward the ground at blinding fast speeds.
The moment she made an impact with the ground, a large crater emerged from the impact zone, spreading out from where she had landed—which had been in the middle of the street—to the front of a Starbucks further down the street. The impact also damaged some surrounding buildings, leaving huge holes in the walls.
Pain surged throughout Magnessa's body as she tried to stand up. It didn't help that she was also dizzy, coupled with the fact that it had become extremely hard to breathe…. "I think… I broke… a few bones…!" Magnessa thought as she looked over her shoulder. A black blur was racing toward her, and she only had a split second to create a shield made of various bits of scrap metal in the area before a large, scythe-like blade could impale her.
Peering through the cracks in the makeshift shield, she was met with the beast. Its dull, dead eyes stared back at her as they narrowed. That implied it had some cognitive thought after all. "What the hell is this thing?" Magnessa thought, grunting as she pushed back against the creature's formidable strength.
So far, this time, it has demonstrated that it has two powers. It had some kind of regeneration factor, which a lot of people seemed to be popping up with across not only the United States but the whole world. But, on top of that, it also had some kind of arm blade power.
Which begged the question… "What the hell is this thing?" And with that thought, and using the cover she had been given, she flung the scrap metal shield into the creature as she strained her muscles. The shield flew into the beast, causing it to fly at least three feet away from her and into another building.
As she slowly stood up and began to levitate, Magnessa couldn't help but feel a little bit overwhelmed. She had never had to fight this hard in her life. Most people who saw her when it came time to battle either surrendered or went down in one go. Never had she had to actually try in a fight.
She blamed the lack of power that some of these people had. It also didn't help that she had formal training and that most "villains," as the media was starting to call them, were primarily petty thugs. Sure, there was the odd group of superpowered thugs here and there, but that was about it.
So now that this thing was coming after her… well, needless to say, she was both excited but also extremely nervous. This wasn't a friendly spare. This was an attack. This was a life-or-death battle. Whatever this thing was, it wanted to kill her.
"Seriously, though, what is this thing? Is it an alien? No… if it were an alien, those freaks online would be jumping for joy. No, this has to be something else. Maybe… a government experiment?" Magnessa mused as she kept a close eye on the creature. It began to stalk out of the building, the wounds it had acquired still healing.
When she first encountered it, it healed without a problem. But now? Now it was having a problem. It was almost like… it was tiring out like its regeneration was only slowing it down. Either that or it was something else.
"Its regeneration is slowing down… so it's not like Luzura's. Luzura's regeneration is instantaneous and seemingly unending. This thing seems to have a limit to the amount it can heal, and then, if my theories are correct, it will stop. Something is fueling its regeneration. But what? Is it blood? Adrenaline? Or something else?"
Its glowing red eyes narrowed, emotionless and lifeless. Its index and middle fingers pressed against one another before looking up at Magnessa. It pointed at her, making her raise an eyebrow in confusion. Then, it flicked its fingers down toward the ground. As soon as it did, out of nowhere, a diagonal slash split across Magnessa's chest. It hurt a lot but didn't cut deep—only about an inch deep.
Magnessa stifled a scream as pain flared throughout her body. "A third power!? What the hell!?" Magnessa thought, narrowing her eyes as she started flinging empty cars that the creature used her Magnet power, all of which the beast swiped at, cutting in two without effort.
The slashes weren't causing the cars to explode, meaning it was learning from its past mistakes. If she had to guess, it was because it was aiming away from where the gas canisters were. "Regeneration, Arm Blades, some kind of Air Slash… Wait a second… These powers… All of them are reminiscent of that camp we heard about. But… all of those kids are dead, so how does this thing have their powers?"
It was starting to get stranger and stranger by the second. There was no way that was a coincidence. It couldn't be. Not with all the similarities that were starting to crop up. "This reeks of a military project gone AWOL. Whatever happened here, it wasn't on purpose. But then, why did it kill Senator Burns?"
Magnessa conjured as much power as she could, more cars levitating behind her, along with a tanker truck filled with gasoline. "This has to do it in. If it doesn't, I might be screwed," Magnessa thought, raising her arm into the air before throwing it forward, aiming at the creature.
The creature had zero time to react. All of the debris slammed into the beast's body as yet another massive explosion filled out the cityscape. Magnessa could hear the screams of nearby people. Some of the buildings hadn't been evacuated yet, so there would no doubt be civilian casualties. It was something that she hated to see, but given the fact that this was such an intensive fight, she didn't have the time to warn others.
The explosion had enough power to knock over one of the nearby skyscrapers. The large, almost 200-foot-tall building began to collapse. From a distance, she could tell that there were still people inside. And so, Magnessa thrust her hands out toward it, a large purple aura surrounding it. If it hadn't been for the fact that she was tired, this would've been easy.
Using Magnet too much often led to her being tired. There was another drawback, but it had rarely ever happened. "Hopefully, that thing is dead. If it is, that means I can focus on the rescue effort. I need to call for backup, though…"
Magnessa thought as she reached for her ear. Taping the small device in her ear, she waited for a response. After a moment, she finally got one. "Yo, Vanessa! Wassup? Monkey King, I'm here and ready to answer the call! Speaking of calls, I don't remember you answering mine last night. Too busy with your Boyfriend?"
"Now's not the time, Dave," Magnessa bit out, scowling. "Listen, I need you and Ranger to get down here. Asap. I don't know what this thing is, but I've been dealing with it for the last two minutes. I'm being pushed to my limits. Get down here as fast as you can!"
"On it." With that, Jack, or as he was known to the public, Monkey King, cut off the call as Magnessa glanced over to where she had tossed the multiple bits of scrap and the tanker truck. The smoke was blown away as flames littered the immediate area of the explosion and caught several buildings in the surrounding area on fire.
"That's going to cost a lot to repair," Magnessa thought, narrowing her eyes. The creature was nowhere in sight. A part of her believed that she had defeated it. That it was dead. But Magnessa knew better. She was rewarded with her intuition when she directed half of her power output from holding up the building and making another shield to block a punch from the creature.
Its body was severely burned, but it was slowly—very slowly—regenerating the damage. Bones and muscles were exposed due to the deep burns around its body. Its lower face had been completely blown away, but it was slowly coming back. As it did, it didn't form a mouth. That confirmed to Magnessa that it did lack a mouth instead of it having been sewn shut.
Its eyes were bloodshot, and while it appeared emotionless, it was clearly frustrated with how its eyes were narrowed. It raised its right arm and swiped it downward. The sound of a blade cutting through the air reverberated throughout the immediate area; a massive ravine appeared in the place of everything that it cut through, split the street down the middle, digging at least six feet deep before it cut through a building cleanly in half as Magnessa gasped.
Why?
Because, on top of all the damage that it had caused….
Her right arm was no longer attached to her body.
The massive building being held up by Magnet lost its purple aura as it crashed down, slamming into other buildings. Clouds of dust from the destruction kicked up everywhere. Blood spurted from the wound as Magnessa grit her teeth, her eyes narrowed as panic danced in her eyes.
"Shit! No… No, this can't be happening! This thing… I've whittled it down, but I'll die before backup arrives!" Magnessa thought as she looked over to her wound. She had an idea. She slammed the creature in the side of the head with the shield she made, sending it flying back down to the floor. As she did, she snapped her fingers as the metal scrap morphed into the shape of an arm.
The new arm attached to where the severed appendage used to be. The metal squeezed and dug into where it belonged, applying enough pressure to stop as much of the bleeding as possible. It wasn't the healthiest fix in the world, but it was the best that she could get for the time being.
Applying Magnet to the arm, she used her mind to control it just as she would her old arm freely. She felt a headache coming on, which was another drawback of overusing Magnet. "If I use it for too long…" Magnessa thought as she lowered herself to the ground. "I have to stop flying. Otherwise, I'll speed up the process."
Magnessa stared at where she had flung the monster. She didn't dare move, and as the smoke cleared, the creature twisted its head back to where it was supposed to be. Its chest was rising and falling, hot air huffing from its nose. "It's finally tiring out… It's running out of steam. Good."
"I have no idea how intelligent you are, whatever it is you may be. But if you were smart—" Magnessa wasn't allowed to finish as the beast charged toward her. She had no choice but to defend herself. Gathering more and more metal debris, she conjured yet another shield to block another punch from the creature.
As soon as she blocked it, she turned the shield to its side and began to rotate it at blindingly fast speeds. Rearing it back as the beast lunged at her, she flung the spinning disc of scrap metal toward the creature, cutting its head off of its shoulders. It barely made it a foot in front of her before it fell to the ground, lifeless as its head rolled toward a nearby destroyed sidewalk.
At the same time, a helicopter began to descend from the sky. Magnessa looked over to it as a man dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and blue jeans stood in the doorway, holding onto a metal bar as he stared at both her and the creature.
As soon as the helicopter landed, the man stepped out and approached her. She immediately knew who the man was, her eyes narrowing. "Governor Adrian Rogers. What brings you to Austin, Texas?" Magnessa said, and just as she did, fatigue caught up to her as she slumped forward.
Adrian caught her, holding her upright as the metal scrap that was held around her arm fell to the ground. Blood began to fall from the wound immediately afterward. Adrian cursed but didn't need to say anything as the small medical team he had brought with him immediately took hold of the situation.
Adrian looked over to the remains of Mr. Silent and scowled. "How…. How did it go AWOL? We had the best programmers in Connecticut make this thing and its firewalls…"
"H-huh…?" Magnessa muttered, looking up at Adrian, who glanced over at her.
"You will pretend you heard nothing. Do you understand me, Vanessa Storm?" Adrian stated, a dark look in his eyes as several soldiers came out of the helicopter to collect Mr. Silent's remains. Two people came running around the corner as the soldiers collected everything.
The first was a man dressed in a black trenchcoat with steel cuffs around his wrists, white gloves, and a black bodysuit underneath. The emblem of a bullseye was on the front of his bodysuit, and he wore a cowboy hat atop his head. Tufts of dark brown hair stuck out from underneath his hat, which curved down to frame his face, and his eyes shone a deep blue.
The other individual was dressed in a dark blue gi with a black belt wrapping around his waist. Dark brown fur coated his entire body, and his face appeared like a monkey's. He had large red eyes, and his feet and hands shared the same appearance, precisely like a chimpanzee. In his right hand was a golden staff alongside a set of golden brass knuckles on his free hand.
"Magnessa!" Ranger shouted, running toward her as Monkey King frowned, approaching Adrian.
"Oi, what's going on here?" Monkey King spat as Adrian crossed his arms.
"We're collecting what belongs to us, and then we're shipping Magnessa off to a hospital," Adrian said as Monkey King looked at the remains of Mr. Silent before looking back to Adrian.
"That thing that Vanessa was fighting? That belongs to you?" Monkey King said incredulously as Adrian sighed while Ranger looked over at him.
"What?" Ranger snarled as he stood up, glaring at Adrian. "That… That Demon is yours!?"
"It's not a Demon. It's supposed to be a super soldier. It went AWOL. If you're looking for someone to blame for its creation, blame the President. He issued the order for their creation," Adrian lied seamlessly. After all, the last thing he wanted was for these guys to find out that Luzura actually ordered their creation.
Although… it was odd. When Luzura had done so, her demeanour was much more… reserved. When Adrian told her they had authorized Project N, she was confused, asking what he had meant. He had been meaning to get to the bottom of what that was. While Luzura didn't change her mind, it was clear that she was slightly uncomfortable with it, at least in the beginning.
She had warmed up to it. While she had no idea that this had happened, she would soon. Whether or not she would be happy with what transpired today wouldn't matter. This was progress, and progress was what was necessary regarding the project.
Luzura told him she wanted a fully operational Nomu by September 21st. It was August 13th, meaning he only had a month and a few days before the deadline. Mr. Silent proved helpful, but it was beyond repair now, meaning he needed to start over again.
"I'll need to contact Luzura. She needs to strip the body of its powers so we can scrap the body," Adrian thought as he cleared his throat. "If you'd excuse me, I need to leave. I have a four-hour flight ahead of me, and I need to report to my superiors."
"Hold on! Whaddya mean the President signed off on this!?" Ranger spat as Adrian scowled.
"It's exactly as I said. Do I need to repeat myself?" Adrian turned his back on Ranger and walked back toward the helicopter. He snapped his fingers as the medical team took Vanessa onto the helicopter. As the helicopter started its engine, Adrian stared down at the two heroes, who looked up at him, completely astonished.
They fell for the lie.
Good.
Now, he had to contact Governor Scott, who replaced Abbott after his assassination, to ensure that this news never left the state, let alone the city. As he looked over to Vanessa, who was barely clinging to consciousness, his expression changed from neutral to concerned.
She looked barely older than Luz. Maybe a year at most. That type of damage to have sustained… It wasn't fair to someone her age. This whole "hero" idea had flaws, but it was either this or extreme repression that could've led to a lot of problems in the future.
Looking back at the remains of Mr. Silent, Adrian frowned. Its powers were mostly disposable. There was Adrenaline Stitching, which they had gotten from a Death Row inmate, and Cleave, which came from one of the dead campers. While that one was a pain to get their hands on, all he had to do was pay off the orphanage that laid claim to the corpse. The same could be said about Blade Arms. That being said, Luzura had been very explicit about keeping those powers.
Adrenaline Stitching was the only one he had no idea why she wanted to keep. It was a significantly weaker version of her Super Regeneration that only healed an individual if adrenaline was pumping through their veins. Even if Mr. Silent was a walking corpse, they had pumped enough Adrenaline into its system to last six hours.
He guessed that rigorous movement and constant damage lessened the amount of adrenaline it would have over time. If it worked by consuming the Adrenaline, then that would've explained it. All that meant was they needed to find a way to copy powers.
If Luzura knew how to make these Nomu's, maybe she'd know how to? Although, they could barely develop the technology to create these Nomu's. If the process was too complicated to copy powers, then there was a chance that it would be impossible for them to do be able to copy them in this current lifetime.
The body they were using to store all of the powers when Luzura didn't want them was still in cold storage. They'd have to pull it out again. It was annoying, but it had to happen. He had no idea why she wanted to hold on to them if she could only hold up to 25 powers, but if he had to guess, it was probably sentimental.
Sighing, Adrian walked over to his seat and sat down, resting his head in his hands. This would be a very, very annoying call he'd have to make.
[XXXX]
Shigaraki was bored.
It was very rare that he got bored, but even watching the downfall of this hero group that Luz was making had bored him. Maybe it was the fact that he was trapped within her subconscious, but his inability to do anything was starting to get to him.
The brief moment of time that he had taken control of her body…when he had switched with her… it felt like heaven to him. Living again had made him feel, well, alive. Closing his eyes, he reclined in his chair as he let out a sigh.
"Wait a minute… Sigh?" Shigaraki thought as he jetted forward, opening his eyes. A blinding light hit him as he shielded his eyes. The sudden light made him hiss, and he felt… weird. He felt air brushing against his skin and…
"What the hell!?" Luz's voice echoed out in the back of his head.
"What…?" Shigaraki thought as he looked down at his… those weren't his hands. They were Luz's hands. Why was he….
"Luz? Are you okay?" An unfamiliar voice spoke out to him as he glanced to his left. A woman with curly brown and gray hair, wearing a pair of thick red sunglasses, a green and white striped cardigan and blue pants, stood next to him. She was taller than him. No one was ever taller than him, save for All Might.
But… this wasn't his body.
"HEY! Shigaraki!? What the hell happened!?"
"I'm working on it. Give me a second," Shigaraki bit out mentally, his eyes narrowing as he looked away from who he could only assume was Luz's mother. "I am fine. I… Need some alone time." Without waiting for a response, Shigaraki walked to where he had seen Luz enter, meaning it was her room.
Closing the door behind him, he looked at the door-mounted mirror and frowned. His eyes were in place of Luz's, at least, their colour anyway. Unlike when Luz got mad, his eyes were a much brighter red.
"Shigaraki!?"
"I'm working on it! Have some patience…" Shigaraki replied mentally, narrowing his eyes as he squeezed his hand into a fist. She had definitely gotten stronger. He could feel it. "Well, at least you aren't weak anymore…."
"Give me my body back! How did you even do that?!"
"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I know I've done this before. Twice. I've done this twice and had no idea how each time. Once at the camp and once when you passed out, both of those times, you had gone unconscious. I have no idea why I took control when you were conscious."
Shigaraki felt the spark of All For One rush through his body, and it calmed him. It had been far too long since he had felt this power… It gave him a sense of protection he had lacked. Looking down at the rest of Luz's form… he felt a sense of disgust.
This body… it didn't suit him. He hated it. It wasn't his, and it made him feel gross. He needed to get out of it as fast as possible.
"Think, Shigaraki, think… How do I switch back—" Before he could finish that thought, he was back in the Vestige Realm, and Luz was back in control of herself. She looked down and swallowed, shuddering in both discomfort and relief.
"What… the hell was that?"
"I believe… we can freely switch each other out, but we both must agree that the switch is necessary. Tell me, Luz. What were you thinking before it happened?"
"That I wanted to be anywhere else but next to my mother. I'm still not all that comfortable around her…" Luz admitted as she looked around her room.
"And I was thinking about being alive again. When I took over your body back at the camp and when I told Governor Rogers about Project Nomu, I was resting and not fully paying attention while reminiscing about the past. That allowed me to take over, but that was because you weren't conscious."
Luz frowned, crossing her arms. "I'm still peeved that you didn't run it by me first, but whatever," Luz grumbled as she rolled her shoulder. "I still haven't gotten any word back about meaningful progress other than failure."
"It is bound to bring some kind of success, Luz. If it worked for me and my team of researchers and scientists with similar, if not slightly worse, tech, it should work for you as well. However, now that I know about our ability to switch out… Even though I feel gross being in your body… I have an idea. You have an immense work ethic, but you still need to rest occasionally."
"Ha! I already know where this is going. No."
"Do you not trust me?" Shigaraki asked as Luz narrowed her eyes, staring at herself in the mirror.
"Give me one good reason to trust you. You helped me back at the camp, but then you went behind my back with Project Nomu. A project I still have yet to tell anyone else at Beacon. So, obviously, I don't trust you. Why should I?" Luz replied matter-of-factly.
"Think about it like this. I get work done, and I make you stronger. All the while, you recover from the back-to-back tragedies you've been experiencing. That allows me to expand the number of quirks you can hold. You've been on the right track, having gone from a limit of ten to 25. But if you're going to be my successor, 25 isn't going to cut it."
Luz scowled, turning away from the mirror. "Forget it. I don't trust you. I'm not letting you take control of my body, and that's final. That means to stop doing it when I'm unconscious, too."
"And what's stopping me from doing that? What could you possibly do—"
"Don't push me, Shigaraki," Luz interrupted. "Remember, we both have to agree on it. Now that I'm aware of it, you can't make me switch out. You should've kept it to yourself, idiot." After that, Shigaraki went silent. She waited a few minutes for him to respond, but he never did.
"Heh, so much for being a super genius," Luz snarked as she sighed. She had seen far too many movies about body swapping to know what it was that Shigaraki had planned to do. He more than likely wanted to take over her body and override her completely. But she wasn't stupid.
This was her life.
This was her world.
This was her power.
He was the old generation. The one that was dead and buried. She was the new generation—the new "All For One," so to speak.
Looking over to her bed, a pang of sadness washed over her. While what Shigaraki had said was a good distraction from what had happened, grief was quick to take over the momentary triumph she had felt over Shigaraki.
"Julia…" Luz pushed her image of her now-deceased girlfriend out of her mind. No. She didn't need to think about it anymore. She needed to move on… Maybe not right away, but she needed to think about other things for now.
For example, the purple smog coming out of her vents.
Luz blinked, confusion taking up her visage. "Huh?"
"So… Yer the infamous "Luzura" aren't ya?" a very heavily southern accented voice echoed throughout Luz's room as she stepped back, red sparks flashing all over her body as she looked for where the voice was coming from. A cloud of purple mist floated over to her bed as a figure formed from the fog.
The figure in question was tall. Easily twice the height of someone like her mother—literally. His head nearly touched the ceiling. That was how tall he was. He wore a gas mask that only covered his nose and mouth, with two valves on the front of the mask. The mask was connected to a gas tank on his back, and he was dressed in what she would've assumed a cowboy would've worn back in the day.
He wore a brown leather vest with tassels on the edge of the vest, a white short-sleeved button-down shirt, two brown fingerless gloves, dark brown jeans, and a pair of black chaps over his jeans. The outfit was completed by a pair of cowboy boots and a traditional cowboy hat.
He had long, black hair that framed his face and went down his shoulders, and he had dark purple eyes filled with just as much curiosity as there was confidence. His arms were crossed as he leaned against the head of the bed and shot her a look. "I neva woulda expected ya to be so young. But I suppose it makes sense. Afta all, yer boss didn't get much a choice, now did he?"
"Who are. Are you with The Order?" Luz spat as the man scoffed.
"Oh, please. Ya think that someone like myself would eva deal with two-bit pieces o' shit like 'em? HA! Yer making me laugh!" As the man said that, he outstretched his hand in front of himself, curling his fingers toward his palm as he stared at his nails, which were painted red. "Gotta admit. Charlie did a good job… Neva been a fan of paintin' my nails, but he really made them look good. I should probably thank him for that… Or… hold on, was it her? Ya can neva really tell with 'im. Ya kinda 'ave to ask 'em…"
Luz felt uncomfortable around the tall man. He didn't look all that friendly, and with how he carried himself, she felt like she was staring down a psychopath. "Okay… then what do you want?"
"Oh? What do I want?" The man asked, his voice taking up a much more… venomous tone. "Ya see… there's plenty of things I want to do. But I have to wait till I've been given clearance. Good ol' Tyler won't let me off my leash until he gives the okay. I'm only here to have a bit of a conversation. That's all. If it wasn't fer you, I woulda neva gotten my vengeance on that piece of shit, Maxwell. So I gotta thank ya for that."
"Huh?" Luz thought as she relaxed slightly. "What… do you mean by that?"
"Ya know, that camp you went through wasn't the first. It was the second," the man replied as he scoffed. "I won the last one. I killed just 'bout everyone aside from Amy, someone who I used to talk to, but I haven't seen since the camp. I heard her daughter died in your Camp. That kinda blows."
"You… what?" Luz balked, confusion washing over her expression as the man chuckled.
"It's a shame we're enemies. We coulda been allies, ya know. But then ya had to go and do this. A shame, really. Tyler saw some promise in you. Was even gonna cover yer medical bills and all that until he found out his shitty kid was alive," the man said as it finally clicked for Luz.
"Wait a minute… you're talking about Julia's father, aren't you?" Luz said, her eyes narrowing as the man cackled.
"There ya go! I was wonderin' when you'd put two and two togetha! I—" Before the man could finish, several blade-like fingers came flying toward him at blinding speeds. It was only because he had turned into gas that he was able to avoid getting skewered by the fingers, which wound up getting lodged in the wall before retracting back to Luz's right hand. "Woah! Now that's what I call deadly force!" the man exclaimed as he reformed near one of the vents.
Just as that happened, the door to Luz's room burst open as Riley stood in the doorway. Her eye widened as a snarl took up her visage. "You!" Riley spat as the man bowed respectfully.
"Ah, if it ain't my dear acquaintance. I came to deliver a message," the man said as Luz looked over to Riley. Before she could ask, the man continued. "Hurry up. Tyler's getting impatient." With that, the man disappeared into the ventilation system, and as he did, Hunter, Camila, and Emelia walked into the room.
"What happened?!" Emelia asked, looking at the damage done to the wall that Luz had caused. Luz, for her part, looked over to Riley and also Hunter.
"Luz—"
"Shut up. That man knew you, Riley. Since you and Hunter came as a pair, that means he also knows who Hunter is—and don't bullshit me, either. You have some explaining to do. Both of you. Now." As Luz said, Riley was about to say something when Hunter spoke up.
"Damnit. Jonah blew our cover," and then, without warning, A sword made of light plunged through Emelia's back and poked out of her chest before it sliced down her torso and out of her abdomen. Blood coated the floor as Emelia choked on the rushing blood that came out of her mouth before collapsing to the ground. Riley took a step back, away from Emelia's body, eyes wide as Hunter shot her a glance. "We're leaving."
A black sludge formed out of Hunter's mouth as it began to envelop him. Luz tried to grab him, but he was long gone, her hand missing him by an inch. Riley was still transfixed on Emelia's body, panic gleaming in her eyes.
"No… This… This wasn't what…"
"Riley…" Camila began as she looked at her. Disappointment and confusion danced in Camilia's eyes as Riley stepped back. "What… what's going on? What was Hunter talking about? What—" Before Camila could finish, black sludge exploded out of Riley's mouth. Riley reached out, trying to grab Camila, but before she could, it fully enveloped her, taking her away as she fell to the hard concrete ground.
She was dragged to her feet by a very peeved, very annoyed Tyler. "You failed me, Stewardson," Tyler growled as Riley took a few steps back, looking around her as Jonah scoffed.
"I wouldn't say that chief," Jonah said as Tyler scowled.
"Oh, really? Do I need to remind you that not only did you leave the compound without addressing me first, but you blew their cover!" Tyler spat, sneering at Jonah before looking back to Riley. "And you. You had multiple opportunities to take out members of Beacon, and yet, you didn't! You could've killed Flamingo, Beholder, or Luzura at any time, and you never did. For two weeks, you did nothing but sit on your hands and let opportunity after opportunity slide!"
Tyler then turned to Hunter, a scowl on his face as he glared at him. "The same goes for you! When I tell that Emperor of yours just how badly you fucked up, I can only imagine what he'll do. Maybe you'd appreciate being locked in that cell again? The one that, if I remember correctly, prevents you from using your powers and makes you feel sluggish, right?"
Hunter snarled, rising to his feet as he wiped the black sludge away from his lips. Transporter, aka Charlie, bowed silently in a form of apology. Hunter cleared his throat, looking back at Tyler. "You know nothing about what that little psychopath is capable of. She's much more of a threat than you thought, Tyler."
"Oh?" Tyler mused, raising an eyebrow. "What makes you say that? I believe you said you could take her down by yourself, could you not?"
"That was before she gained all that other shit! Now, she has a power that destroys whatever she touches. She can match my speed on foot from what I've seen in our sparring matches before my cover was blown, and she only seems to get stronger!" Hunter answered as Tyler frowned.
"So what do you suppose we do then?" Tyler said as Hunter looked over at the rest of the team.
"We train. Luz will more than likely still be distracted by The Order, giving us enough time to strengthen ourselves," Hunter said as someone from behind him cackled. He looked over his shoulder and frowned.
The person in question was a woman. She was dressed in a red coat with a black fur collar and hood. She had medium-length white hair and bright blue eyes. Her skin was a paler shade of white than most others, and she wore a pair of shades that rested on the bridge of her nose. Her outfit underneath her jacket was a simple, baggy black shirt, a combat skirt that stopped just below her thighs and knee-high fur boots.
"So that means I get to let loose soon, right?!" The woman said as Tyler sighed.
"Yes, Sophia. You can," Tyler said as the woman, Sophia, whooped while pumping her fist in the air. A black aura wafted off her, making chills crawl up everyone else's backs. It was pure bloodlust and given physical form, and it oozed off of her as if it were natural. Which, given her Negative Energy power… yeah, that made sense.
"Demons… all of them," Tyler thought bitterly, sighing. "But they're my Demons. Demons that I'll get rid of once all this is over." Tyler inhaled and exhaled before turning his back on the group of super-powered monsters that worked for him. "Very well. But I expect results. Luz Noceda must die. This is not—"
"Actually…" A voice rumbled throughout the room as Tyler paled. His eyes widened as he turned to look over his shoulder. Something swirled into existence like a tornado of energy. Blue mixed with yellow, and yellow mixed with blue as a burst of light exploded from the back of the room.
A door manifested out of nowhere, a large glowing yellow eye watching over the group of five as the door swung open. Two figures stepped out of the portal, one of whom was Millie Ravenclaw, and the other was someone Tyler hadn't expected to show up. Not for a while, at least.
The man was tall, easily standing at six feet tall, if not a little bit taller than that. He wore a cracked golden mask with two long upturned facing horns, one of which was broken off. Empty black pits stared into Tyler's golden yellow eyes, making him swallow back the growing nausea he was beginning to feel.
The man was dressed in a white cloak with golden trimming. Around the shoulders of his cloak was dark brown leather padding that covered his shoulders, several golden coins, and a popped brown leather collar. Keeping his cloak together was a golden emblem with a triangle, a ball of energy with wings that pointed up toward the sky, and a single point aiming toward the bottom of the symbol.
Hanging off his shoulder is a red cape that trailed behind him. One of his arms was exposed to the air, showing off a black glove covering his elbow. In his right arm was a staff. It was pure white with a golden point at the end, a single wing with a golden edge, a wire attached to the staff's top and into the shaft of the weapon, and a giant red orb atop the staff that glowed ominously.
"I brought the boss man~!" Millie said, skipping past Tyler as she smirked. "And he's not very happy with you, Ty-ty."
"Tyler Kirksman Wittebane. You lied to me."
"E-Emperor Belos! I—"
"Be quiet," Belos spat, the dark pits of his mask teeming with blue ethereal energy that sparked from within. "You told me that you would not send Julia to that camp. You did, anyway. I let it slide when you promised that you would have someone watch over her and protect her. However, it has come to my attention that you did the opposite."
The rage behind Belos's eyes was palpable. Everyone within the room could feel it. Tyler especially. And while everyone was terrified of him, Millie seemed oddly calm about it all, humming to herself as she rocked back and forth near the doorway to the basement chamber. "My liaison from The Emperor's Coven tells me you planned to have her and the successor of The Interloper killed when I expressly said that they were to be brought to me."
Tyler felt sweat drip down his face as fear built up in his chest. "I-I—"
"No. This is more than enough. It is clear to me that you cannot be trusted. It would seem as if I must do things myself," Belos growled as the red orb on his staff began to glow. It let off red electricity that sparked everywhere, zapping random spots in the room. The other members of the assassin group had to take cover as Tyler took a step back.
"P-Please! Give me one more chance! I—" Tyler couldn't finish what he wanted to say as a red beam of energy slammed into his chest. Tyler screamed in pain as it coursed throughout his body; all the while, Belos grunted. His free hand glowed red with the same energy, the eye on the back of the glove opening wide as Tyler was lifted into the air.
"Let this be a reminder to everyone in the room. This is what I do to failures," Belos stated as the power reached a threshold. Beams of red energy shot out of Tyler's eyes and mouth and began to burst out from his chest, shoulders, arms, legs and feet. His skin cracked like porcelain, blood seeped from the wounds, and finally, in the blink of an eye, Tyler exploded.
Blood coated the walls surrounding Tyler's standing area, staining the walls, floor, and doorway. Belos sighed and lowered his staff, the end of the weapon hitting the floor. The silence was deafening.
No one moved from where they were. Everyone stayed perfectly still, especially after witnessing all of that. It was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. The power on display at that moment had been more than they had seen before.
"I want each one of you to understand this. As of now, you will all be led by me until you are either dead or have failed, and Hunter will be the individual who will remind you of those orders," Belos stated as he turned to face the door-like portal. "Your new orders are to retrieve Luzura, otherwise known as Luz Noceda, and bring her here. I do not care how you do it. You just will. Many of you may die in the process, but you signed up for this to be a reality."
Belos cleared his throat, snarling as he did. "Of course… I will give you however much time you need to prepare for your fight against her. After all, I like my subordinates to be alive."
Belos then looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes toward Hunter. For his part, Hunter shrunk under Belos's gaze, looking away as he did. "Hunter. Do not forget. You are to find Subject Five and terminate them as soon as possible. I know they have escaped to this realm. I do not want them alive anymore. Especially after all the trouble they have caused me."
"Yes, My Emperor…" Hunter replied as Belos hummed in acknowledgement. Belos looked down at his gloved hand and scowled.
"It is a shame. When I met Julia, I quite liked her. She reminded me of him. To know that she is more than likely now dead… Tyler, you fool. How could you have doomed our bloodline so quickly?" Belos whispered. No one else heard him, which had been the point. He sighed before re-activating the portal door as it roared to life.
"I will return in two weeks your time. In doing so, I expect results, be it progressing in your strength or having Luz Noceda here and at my feet along with the head of Subject Five. I do not care how many people fall in their capture. I expect results. Do not disappoint me."
With that, Belos stepped through the door as it vanished alongside him.
From a distance, standing on the stairwell, Mary Wittebane was stood frozen in fear. She had every reason to be, especially after hearing what she had. While she would shed no tears for the death of her husband, the fact that it was through that man from the portal that she learned of the death of her daughter…
"Tyler… You promised that she would live…" Mary thought, closing her eyes as she tried not to cry. It didn't matter now. Whatever happened, happened. There was nothing that she could do about it. All that mattered now was that she was the sole inheritor of The Wittebane fortune, the church, and the companies.
This, on top of the fact that she was pregnant with that awful man's son… "I won't let him end up the same way. I won't let our child become a monster. I'll reshape this family. Never again…" Mary thought as she walked up the stairs, wiping stray tears from her eyes.
She had married Tyler in an attempt to try and fix him. To see if she couldn't change him. But all she ended up doing was kowtowing to him. That was something that she should've realized before it happened. But she was dumb and in love with a man who seemingly didn't love her at all.
She should've stood up to him, but she didn't. She let him control their daughter, seclude her, and eventually kick her out. That was a mistake that she would never be able to make up for. But what she could do was change this rotten family.
She planned to do that, and to do so, she would have a lot of work to do.
As Riley stood up in the basement chamber, Millie placed a hand on her shoulder. "You good?"
"No…" Riley muttered, shame written all over her face. "I fucked up… I… I betrayed my only family left." As Riley said that Millie kissed her on the cheek, shocking her.
"Don't fret, Riley. Everything will work out. Besides, they're our enemies, are they not? I doubt they'll accept any kind of apology from you, though," Millie said as Riley frowned.
"No… But that doesn't mean I can't try," Riley said as Millie recoiled, confusion taking up her visage.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sophia asked as Riley scowled.
"It means… I Quit."
"Wha—Riley!? Are you insane?!" Millie shouted as Riley shoved past Millie. "Riley!"
"You have a choice, Millie. Me, or this group. Tell me now, or we'll never see each other again," Riley stated as Millie scowled.
"I swore an oath to Emperor Belos."
"Then that's all I needed to hear. Goodbye," Riley spat as she began to leave. Jonah raised his hand, seconds away from doing something, only for Hunter to grab his wrist.
"The fuck are ya doin'?" Jonah bit out in a hushed tone as Hunter shook his head.
"Don't. It's a waste of time. Besides, she'll die either way. Luzura won't accept any apology from her. She's decided to return to the rest of this useless race, so let it be. You and the rest of this group are the only exceptions to that," Hunter said as Jonah huffed.
"Whateva…" Jonah snarled as they all watched Riley leave. It didn't matter to any of them except Millie, who felt a pit well up in her chest. But if she was so willing to betray them… then why should she feel any way about it?
Regardless of what transpired that day, it was clear to them all now. Things were starting to escalate, and regardless of how anyone felt on the matter, they needed to prepare for the worst.
They needed to prepare for the fight of their lives.
They needed to prepare for the wrath of Luzura.
[-To Be Continued in – All For One Rising – Part 1-]
[Ending Song: Where Our Blue Is/ 青のすみか – By: Tatsuya Kitani]
*The ending opens with the sound of a gong ringing out, followed by the riff of a guitar, playing a calming melody. A series of flashing images of Luz and Julia hanging out, smiling, and enjoying each other's company appears, before it cuts to Luz walking down the streets of Stamford, dressed in a black hoodie and grey sweats, a solemn look on her face.*
*The scene continues with Luz looking up at the sky as the drums kick in, Luz's eyes flashing red, before changing back to normal. She looks across the street, and sees Julia, smiling and waving at her. Luz goes to wave back, but a bus drives through the street, and when it passes, Julia is no longer there. Luz looks away, continuing down the road, this time with a more hurried pace, all the while a disembodied voice sings.*
"No end to the blue, when everywhere I look I see its hue."
"Can't turn from the truth,"
"When I've seen it as clearly as the day I'll have to wake up without you."
*The scene glitches to Luz and Julia sitting in their bedroom, watching TV, with Luz looking downtrodden, and Julia talking happily. Although, it's as if Luz can't hear her, and is seemingly ignoring her presence. That's when Julia seems to fade away, which prompts Luz to get out of her room, and stepping into the main living space, where Camila, Emelia, Riley, and Hunter are all standing, looking at her, concerned, as the disembodied voice continues.*
"It rings all around,"
"The song of the cicadas crying out,"
"Makes it so loud, the depending sound,
"Of silence from your mouth."
*The scene changes to Luz, dressed in her hero costume, standing in a void of darkness. Behind her, flashing memories of her, Julia, Emelia, Camila, Riley, and Hunter–all fond and having fun with one another–fade into the background like dust, as Luz looks up from the floor. In front of her, Julia stands, a dark blurry line running over her eyes as she smiles, reaching out to her. For a moment, something flashes overtop of her–a beaten, bloodied, and bruised version of her reaching out for help–but it returns to normal, and makes Luz startle backwards, panic in her eyes as the song brings itself up to a crescendo, whilst the voice continues*
"No matter how hard, I try to hold…"
"Those innocent days will soon fade away and I'll have to let you go."
"Left behind an eternity ago,"
"Even so…!"
*Following along with the riff of the guitar in the background, the darkness gives way to light, as it shows more happy moments between Luz and Julia specifically. Running along the beachside, reading books together, watching movies and snuggling–all things normal couples do to pass the time. Mixed within are times where they're fighting villains with one another, aiding one another, the voice continuing to sing to sombre song*
"But even so..!"
"Blue still lives in me!"
"But even so..!"
"Blue Clear as the sea!"
"Even though a single prayer, a single word"
"Could change our fates, I know it's way too late to be heard!"
*The scene changes to Julia and Luz sitting across from one another, staring into each other's eyes, happiness between them, only for it to break apart when Julia begins to fade away. As she does, Luz frantically tries to chase after her. Just as she fully disappears, Luz tries to say something, but the words are caught in her throat, and instead, she stumbles to her hands and knees, tears burning down her cheeks as she silently cries, gripping at the carpeted floor in despair, all the while the song continues.*
"Just like a love that can never quite reach,"
"Or just like the colours that run down my cheeks, forever burning,"
"I couldn't even whisper to curse you,"
"The words in my throat that I never spoke:"
"You're my one and only, best friend"
"I wish I could have told you then…"
*The ending finishes as it slowly fades into a picture of Julia and Luz happily standing next to one another, behind them at a concert they were recently at. Just as the camera zooms in to capture their faces, the glass cracks in between them, as the voice finishes the song.*
"No matter how bright, no star can burn forever.*
"Tried to hold tight, you slipped through my fingers…"
And there ya have it. Hopefully, this tides everyone over till the next chapter. We get a cool fight scene, the death of someone who really needed to die because he really had no place in the story past this point, and also a bit of a mystery since you guys like to puzzle shit together.
Next time, in All For Luz, we get to finally see Luz's proper downfall arc. Hope you all are ready for that. Till then, I'll see you next time. Peace out!