Drageria
Ch.19: Invasion, part. 2
Izuku ran through the streets with Eri in his arms, flocks of people running and screaming all around him! He tried to break free from the stampede many times, but nothing came of it! He wanted to duck into an alley, on the sidewalk, or even into the awning of a house, but everyone kept pushing him forward! He couldn't even move to the left or right!
Then, something made a screaming sound in the sky, almost like fireworks being set off. The sound grew louder and more high-pitched until something like a dumpster being dropped from the sky reverberated throughout the area! People screamed and covered their heads as debris from a rooftop fell across the crowd, causing them to stop! Everyone was scared but also confused by what was happening until another scream and explosion were heard from a street adjacent to the crowd of panicking people!
Then, one person figured out what was happening and yelled, "Bombs! The invaders are throwing bombs at us!"
"They're trying to kill us!", A woman screeched.
"Run for your lives!", Another woman yelled, and the panicked crowd started to run again!
During the crowd's momentary break of confusion from the first explosion, Izuku managed to slip away and onto the sidewalk. When the crowd started to run in a panic again, he jumped on top of a barrel holding planted flowers since he realized he had lost his friends in all the commotion. Using his new vantage point, he tried to spot them in all the people, but once they started rushing around, Izuku couldn't make any one person out of the other! In a pit of desperation, he tried to call out to them.
"Kirishima! Momo! Shinso! Where are you?!", But no one called back, just the rushing bodies and screaming voices of panicked citizens.
Eri started to shiver and grab tightly to Izuku as she started to run her horn. Izuku knew what this meant and dropped his calling to comfort her.
Petting her head, he soothed her, saying, "It's okay, Eri. It's okay. You don't need to panic. I'm just worried about my friends. The guards and Tachibana will keep us safe. Do you think you can put on a brave face for me?"
Eri stopped rubbing her horn and sniffled before saying, "I'll try."
"That's all I want.", Izuku told her with a smile.
Before their touching moment could continue, Izuku was grabbed off his stepping stool and nearly panicked. He thought he was being captured by one of the Japanese soldiers! Luckily, he calmed down the moment he saw it was a Dragerian soldier. Panicked yet irritated, the soldier looked at him, making Izuku's hair rise on ends.
"Hey! What are you two kids doing here?! All citizens are to be evacuated! Come on!", he yelled over the screaming voices and dropped bombs, pulling Izuku by his arm.
The teen fought back momentarily and stammered to the armored man, "But-But my friends-!"
"You are probably already at the security bunkers. Hurry!" the soldier cut him off, answering his question and forcing him to run.
As the three of them ran, Izuku did his best to keep pace with the much faster soldier and keep Eri's face hidden away from everything he was seeing! Back in school, he had seen many videos on wars, their brutal imagery and casualties, the haunting imagery, and descriptions from those who were there. Izuku never thought he'd be the one experiencing it firsthand! The sound of the whistling bombs and screaming people, their desperate cries for help, the crying of children from their parents, the crumbled houses, and the explosion that seemed to be set off just a few feet away from them. The people who lay unconscious in the street, those with bleeding injuries, those trying to help the fallen or free them from the rubble, the screams of a woman trying to free her husband, a child crying with their newborn sibling as their mother lay unconscious and bleeding from her head. Sights that no person should have to see.
Then the whistle of a bomb came straight toward them! The soldier tackled Izuku and Eri, pulling up his shield and blocking the rubble from the house that was blown to bits from the explosion! Eri screamed in terror as she covered her ears from the sound, and Izuku felt his ears ringing for a while. After things seemed to settle down, the soldier helped the teen and young girl back up and helped calm both of them down.
When Izuku got his bearings back, he asked the soldier with a tearful and angry expression, "Why are they dropping bombs at us!? We didn't even do anything!"
"It's a tactical bombing.", the soldier said through his grit teeth.
"What?", Izuku asked, unsure of what he meant.
"They're not trying to hit us directly; they're trying to control our movements.", the soldier explained a bit better.
"Why are they doing that?!", Izuku asked in a panic, unsure if he wanted to know.
The soldier looked towards the sky, his eyes glowing yellow as a hawk flew past. Within a few seconds, he explained to him, "They've separated the bulk of the population into four groups and are keeping them corralled. I think they're after the citizens, you know, divide and conquer." Izuku looked like he wanted to ask more questions, his mind racing with thoughts and emotions, but he couldn't as the soldier took his arm and pulled him away once more, exclaiming, "But that doesn't matter right now! Right now, everyone has to-!", thought before he could finish that thought, he stopped short of their path.
In front of them, blocking their way to safety, the three saw a small group of mostly Japanese soldiers and a few heroes marching toward them. A few of the soldiers would break off the rank and grab any fleeing or hiding people in the street. Some would break down doors, enter houses, and pull people out, kicking and screaming. Some were pulled away from one another or restrained. The injured or unconscious were easily taken and then pulled away to wherever, as were children and babies.
"Shit! Get outta here, kids! Go!", the soldier yelled at him while pulling out his sword.
Before he could run into the fray, Izuku grabbed his cape and exclaimed in terror, "But what about you!? You can't fight that many people on your own!"
"Kid, there's a time in every soldier's life when he has to make a choice. Save one, or save yourself. And if my sacrifice alone allows you two to escape, then that's fine with me. Now go!", he told the teen, reminding him of one of All Might's invigorating speeches, while activating the electricity on his weapon.
Izuku hesitated momentarily as he watched the soldier break out into a sprint and war cry towards the upcoming opponents! But he eventually found his footing and began to run away as fast as he could! He didn't want to, as he knew he would regret it, but he looked behind himself and watched the lone man run without fear toward the enemy before watching him get swallowed up by them. It was like watching an ant get swarmed by a group of hornets! Izuku couldn't break his eyes away; all he could do was watch as the man bravely charged forward and disappeared, leading to his eyes welling up with tears!
As he ran blind, Izuku eventually ran into something or, rather, someone. Panic overtook him immediately, and he tried to crawl away after falling to his butt! But when he looked up at what he thought would be his abductors, it was a very familiar face.
"G-General?!", Izuku questioned with panic and confusion.
The general put up his hands and, kneeling, said softly yet sternly, "Easy, son. It's alright. I'm glad to see you and Miss Eri in one piece."
He sputtered out in a panic of relief and recognition, "G-General! A-A-A soldier! He just-!"
The General placed his hand on his head and ruffled his hair, stopping his ramblings as he assured him, "I saw. Don't worry; I'll take care of things from here. You just get to safety."
Izuku wiped back his tears, readjusted Eri in his arms, and stood up, saying, "Okay."
With this, Izuku maneuvered between the other soldiers and escaped to the security bunkers….wherever they were. General Mac Arthur entered his commander mode once the young teen and girl were gone. With a motion of his wrist, one of the elite guards jumped out from the other soldiers and ran towards the opposing soldiers, the one with the green plum. Once they were halfway across from their enemies, they pulled out their wrist whips and began to assault the opposing forces! Within seconds, the Japanese soldiers backed away from the onslaught of attacks, causing the fallen soldier to be revealed. The Green Plumed soldier grabbed the fallen man by their whips and dragged him back to the other, where he was deposited at the General's feet.
Now barely conscious, the young soldier opened his eyes and asked weakly, "G-General?"
"Easy, son. You're going to be alright.", MacArthur told him reassuringly while patting his shoulder.
"I'm sorry….I failed." the young man winched out, tears growing on his face.
The General chuckled at him and said, stern yet comforting, "Don't be stupid; You did excellently. You allowed those kids to escape and bought us enough time to gather. You should feel proud, and rest up. You deserve it."
"Thank you.", was the last thing the young man said before finally passing out.
The downed soldier was quickly taken away from the oncoming battle by two other soldiers of his rank. Once out of harm, the General looked toward the opposing military force and announced in demand, "Attention invaders! You have defiled the good name of Daregeria and its people! You have but one chance to leave! If you don't, then this soil will be your grave!"
But the invading army did nothing of the sort. Instead, they took position and raised their weapons at them. The General grimaced at this, and in an accepting tone, he said, "Very well. Company attention!", the soldiers around him all stood perfectly and erect attention.
"Defense-up!", he called out as several soldiers bearing long, broad shields came out to the front in a honeycomb-like formation.
"Set-to-post!", at this command, several of the lighter armored soldiers, the ones with firearms, stood at the back of the shield bearers.
"Ready!", the General shouted in command, causing the arms brigade to point their weapons in front, muzzles aimed toward the sky. "Aim!", he commanded as the arms brigade pointed their weapons at the enemy.
Before the Japanese forces could attack, the General shouted, "FIRE!" and all hell broke loose!
The arms brigade let loose a volley of gunfire as the Japanese forces tried to duck for cover or stand firm in the onslaught of hellfire! Some tried to advance, but they couldn't get far, and the ones that did couldn't break through the shields before being gunned down. As this happened, the elite guard with the green plum began quickly advancing on the enemy and taking them out with their ranged attack! They even managed to dodge and weave in between the many shots being thrown downwind of them, never taking a single hit!
Even though it seemed like things were going in the direction of Drageria's victory, this was only one of many battles happening. Small pockets of soldiers were doing their best to defend against the invaders, but few were successful. The general was the most by far due to his tactical leadership and higher numbers. Still, the smaller groups were easily overrun by the more prepared Japanese soldiers alongside their hero companies! Things were not looking good anywhere you looked.
At this time, Izuku was still running away from all the explosions and destruction, and Eri was clutched to his chest. He was running, although still trying to figure out where. He just needed to get as far away as possible! Hopefully, it would be to the castle, which looked far further away than before!
As he ran with all his stamina, he heard Eri say into his chest, "Izuku! I'm scared!"
Izuku stopped momentarily to catch his breath and replied, "I'm scared to stop, Eri. But everything will be alright; we just have to."
Before he could finish that thought, something that sounded like a big, loud warning siren blared across the whole town. Accompanied by a very familiar sounding voice that was so loud it caused everyone to stop and grab their ears from the defending noise, causing all activity to halt.
"OPEN THE GATES OF DRAKES!", the voice called out in command.
When the voice finished speaking, Izuku released the ear he had managed to cover and asked, with the other ear ringing, "Was that-?"
Eri figured it out far before he did and exclaimed excitedly, "Tachibana!"
Just then, several horns blared out from the castle, sounding off in synchronized harmony! Like Tachibana's siren mouth, the horns were so loud that they caused all commotion to die down until they stopped after a few minutes of unison.
When the horns stopped blaring their loud and body-rumbling tune, Izuku took his hands away from his ears and asked, "What were those horns?"
Eri then pointed to the castle and shouted, "Izuku, look! The mountain!"
Izuku looked back towards the mountain and saw several stone gates along the castle's face begin to clank open noisily.
All six Dragons emerged from them once the stone gates had been moved away. Stepping into the light, they spread their wings and roared into the air before taking flight! First, flying around the front of the castle before soaring down towards the town! Izuku watched in awe as they soared toward the fighting, unleashing their breath weapons!
"It's the dragons. We're saved!", he shouted with joyful glee, jumping in the air with a laughing Eri.
However, their celebration was cut short by the sound of an unfriendly voice shouting at them.
"Hey, you! Don't try to run! We're here too—" the voice commands before stopping short and following up with, "I know you."
Izuku spins around and feels his heart drop into his legs while his whole body goes ice cold!
"Y-You?!", Izuku stammered out to recognize the man before him.
The man was the hero he met after his failed rescue attempt, the one who used him so roughly and nearly broke his arm in the process!
The hero's face contorts as he begins to piece back his not-too-long memories and says, "You're that dumb brat who tried to play hero and save that angry kid from the good guy. You still haven't learned your lesson, have you?" he says with an annoyed sneer while shaking his head and stepping forward.
He brought up his head, his eyes still holding that same expression they held the first time they met—that creepy, disgusting feeling of being cornered like a cat sizing up a mouse.
His expression grew more and more intense and furious as he said, "I thought by breaking your arm you'd never try a stunt like that again. Too bad you slipped away before I could. Quirkless nobodies like you should know your place!", he yelled in disgust.
Izuku jumped at this and held Eri in his arms a bit tighter! Luckily, she hadn't been spotted yet. Izuku was too afraid to move, even as the shady hero advanced on them.
"Looks like I'm gonna have to remind you ONCE AND FOR ALL! COME HERE!", he yelled while lunging for the young teen.
Izuku turned away, shutting his eyes tight, covering Eri with his back, hunching over to protect his head as he yelled with tears in his eyes, "NO! Stay away from me!"
The shady hero was only a few feet away and closed his face with a sadistic smile! It looked like Izuku was caught and then some! But before the shady hero could do anything, something hurtled itself from the sky and snatched up the hero! The hero's blood-curdling screams and the sound of something large crashing and skidding on the ground made Izuku turn around.
When he did, he was shocked to see one of the dragons holding the man in its vice-like jaws! In his still panicked state, Izuku could not determine which one it was, though what it did next quickly answered that question.
"HELP ME! PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME!", the shady hero begged and screeched like a little girl.
The dragon then took a deep breath through its nostrils and breathed out its breath weapon! A stream of red hot flames emerged from the gaps in its teeth, and where the hero wasn't covering it, cooked the man alive!
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!", he screamed out his last breath before the fire burnt him to a blackened corpse.
The dangling corpse of the dead hero hung in the dragon's mouth for only a few seconds before it readjusted it and swallowed it whole!
The dragon noticed the two kids and adjusted its body to stand before them.
"F-Fafnir.", Izuku says in a shaky voice upon recognizing the dragon. You-You save me." He blabbers out as Fafnir rolls his eyes as if to say it is obvious.
Izuku finally collected his nerves and shakily said to the creature, "Th-Thank you.", Fafnir made a slight chuff at the gratitude, and Izuku held up Eri, telling her, "Eri, say thank you to Fafnir."
Eri peered out from Izuku and said in a small voice, "Thank you, Dragon-kun."
Fafnir showed his pleasure by flicking out his forked tongue. Then another huge explosion ran out not too far from them! Fafnir quickly shielded the two kids with his wing and roared at the sky! The dragon dropped his wing and looked around as if on guard. Izuku found this strange since he thought the huge animal would just fly off to save more people, but he didn't. Then the answer hit him: Tachibana told Fafnir to guard them! Izuku knew this wasn't good since he could be out there helping alongside his other siblings, so he tried to make the dragon go out.
"Fafnir, you have to go! These soldiers are trying to kidnap the people! You have to defend them or destroy the weapons on that ship! It's what's keeping the people cornered!", he pleaded with the beast, only to be ignored as it continued to survey the immediate area. Izuku then pushes on one of the dragon's legs and begs, "Please! I know Tachibana probably told you to protect us, but that's not going to mean anything if everyone else is gone! These bombings are hurting everyone and keeping them cornered!"
Fafnir still did nothing as he stood on the lookout and pushed the child under his low-hanging body. Izuku nearly fell off his feet and managed to grab onto one of his underscales for support. Once back on his feet, he grew frustrated with the creature ignoring him and pushing him under. He knew that he could be helping, but he wasn't! Then again, he was listening to orders from his dad.
But still! He should at least be able to protect them and a few other people! Izuku knew that if he tried to run, Fafnir would just coil his tail around him and protect him the whole siege. Izuku had to get through this beast, but how? How does Tachibana make Fafnir do what he wants? Besides being his father.
Then it hit him! It was so obvious yet so obscure! It just has to work! Or at least he hopes it will. So he places Eri on the ground and tells her to stay there. From that, he moves toward the dragon's head and positions himself as shy of his nose.
He steadies himself with a deep breath and lets it all out, saying in a forceful voice, "Fafnir. I order you to protect Drageria and destroy the weapons on that warship; that is your order."
This time, Fafnir heard him and responded. The Dragon brings his head down, locks eyes with Izuku in a staring match that only lasts a minute, and finally, he does something unusual. The Dragon closes his eyes and dips his nose towards the ground as if to bow. Fafnir raises his head, roars into the air, spreads his wings, and takes off toward the sea!
Izuku falls to his butt, all his held-back emotions finally taking over him as he sits and breathes heavy, stressed breaths. Eri soon comes over and sits back on Izuku's lap, allowing him to calm down more quickly.
Once he can breathe enough to speak, he says to himself, "My god….it worked."
"Sir, the tactical bombing is underway and progressing better than anticipated. The troops and heroes have been sent to fight and recapture the civilians.", a younger-looking soldier tells an older and more decorated soldier in the control nest of the Japanese war vessel.
The older soldier, the General of the vessel, turns around and nods at the Lieutenant, saying in reply, "Excellent work, Lieutenant. Continue the assault. We must capture as many people as possible."
The Lieutenant salutes but looks quite distraught about something. So he pipes up and asks, "Um, sir."
"What is it, Lieutenant?" the general replied without turning around, eyes glued to the forward-facing window.
"Permission to speak freely?" the young man asks.
The general cocks an eyebrow and replies, "Granted."
With a shaky breath, the young man loosens his tight posture and asks, "Is all this necessary? It just seems a bit…..I don't know, extreme. Aren't we supposed to be saving these people?"
"We are saving them.", the general retorts reassuringly.
The lieutenant's eyes widen as he exclaims with sarcasm, "With bombs!? With all due respect, sir, this is crazy! Even if we manage to separate them far enough for our men and the heroes to recapture as many of them as possible, we will still end up hurting, no, killing some of them! Isn't there another way?"
The general sighs while turning around. He removes his hat and places a hand on the young man's shoulder, telling him, "Lieutenant, sometimes in life, you gotta make bad choices to do good things. There's no way we can recapture all these people in one go. If some of them die, then that's a shame. The important thing is we save who we can and do our best to forget the casualties.", he explains while looking at him for some recognition.
The lieutenant says nothing but looks at the ground. The general puts his hat back on and looks out towards the window, overlooking the ship's flight deck and the many people scurrying around it.
The lieutenant sighs and says, "I understand….."
However, the general notices his subordinates suddenly trailing off and hangs his head while asking, "Lieutenant?"
"Sir, do you see that?", the young man asks as he stares out of the side windows.
The general, along with several other soldiers in the control nest, looks out where the lieutenant is looking and sees something flying in their direction.
The general squints his eyes as he asks, "What is that?"
Everyone else got closer while squinting their eyes until one of the soldiers manning the sonar exclaimed, "I have no idea, but IT's COMING THIS WAY!"
As the soldier shouted this, Fafnir finally came into view, roaring as he flew closer at breakneck speed!
"Holy shit! What are you idiots standing around for?! Redirect all weapons on that-that….thing!" the general shouted in command to the people who all rushed toward their stations.
Their counterattack was slow due to their delayed reaction, and their weapons needed to be calibrated to a fast-approaching object! But it was too late; Fafnir made it to the ship long before it could attack. The dragon spewed a huge cone of flames along with the ship as he flew in from the side, damaging several of the onboard weapons and causing several people to be engulfed in flames! Due to the fire, several rounds of ammunition went off and caused a huge explosion! Swallowing up several more people or throwing them off the side! Though Fafnir wasn't done there.
He made a U-turn after his initial attack and came straight at the ship from its nose! Once he was close enough, he breathed out another cone of flames that hit the whole length of the ship, destroying everything on the top deck and scorching up the control deck from the outside! Like last time, the fire caused whatever was left of the weapons and ammunition to catch fire and explode, causing massive damage and whipping the weather deck clean of any people! Fafnir was satisfied with his work and flew back off toward the town to defend it.
Meanwhile, panic broke out in the control deck as people were thrown from their seats or off their feet, and massive explosions rocked the boat! People scurried around to assess the damage while ensuring the boat was still floating! The general was trying to yell commands over the panic to ensure nothing worse happened in their current crisis.
As this went down, a female soldier told the general, "SIR! All weapons systems have been compromised!"
"What about the ship?!", he shouted in stress at her, trying to see the bigger picture.
A young male soldier answered that and reported to him, "We're still floating, sir. There is no damage to the engines or their controls. The weapon system is the only thing out of commission."
The general growled and ripped off his hat while throwing it to the ground and yelling, "Dammit! Why did no one tell me this place had a freaking Fire Breathing Dragon!"
Back on shore, Izuku and Eri watched as the huge ship in the distance was suddenly set ablaze and then exploded while Fafnir soared off with a victorious roar. Finally, the onslaught of compressive fire ended, allowing the cornered people to flee in all directions, making capture that much harder.
"He did it.", Izuku mumbled in shock and relief.
"GO Dragon-kun!", Eri cheered at Izuku's side.
Yet again, their celebration was short-lived as something new whistled through the air and fell from the sky, landing a few yards away from where the two kids were standing, or rather, it exploded a few yards from them. Izuku covered Eri with his body, allowing the impact of air current and dust to breeze over them. When it settled enough for his liking, Izuku looked over his shoulder and saw All Might and Tachibana in a small crater. All Might had the Dark God pinned under his foot while Tachibana lay there with a nonchalant expression. Both of them looked beat up and had several minor injuries, with their clothing torn.
All Might looked furious as he glared down at his opponent and demanded, "STAY DOWN! YOUR BEAT!"
Tachibana rolled his eyes and retorted, "If I had a Euro for every time I heard that, I'd have-.", though he didn't finish as All Might drove his foot up his chest and onto his throat, cutting his snarky remark short.
In a panic, Izuku, on pure instinct, shouted out, "Tachibana!"
"Tachibana-chan!", Eri joined him as well, half crying out his name."
At this point, Izuku hadn't noticed All Might and only Tachibana in his predicament, but once he did, he felt a cold chill run up his spine! He stepped away from the red-faced man and pushed Eri behind him. He blabbered out fearfully, "All-All Might."
All Might look up from Tachibana, finally seeing the two kids standing there. From here, he raises his foot and drives it into the Dark God's face, caving it in and causing him to lie limp in the dirt! Blood splashed up the hero's leg on impact, and he walked out of the hole, going straight toward the kids. Izuku jumped at the impact of All Might's foot on Tachibana's face and stepped away from him.
As All Might walked towards the two kids, his arms wide open as if trying to block their path and catch them, he said in a seemingly soothing voice that sounded cold and controlling, "YOU POOR POOR KIDS. YOU MUST BE SO CONFUSED AND TRAPPED. BEING CONTROLLED BY THIS MONSTER."
"No…that's not-.", Izuku tried to defend against his claims, walking back with Eri behind his legs.
"BUT FRET NOT ME AND THE HEROES OF JAPAN AND ITS ARMY HAVE TO LIBERATE YOU FROM THIS PLACE.", All Might cut him off, trying to sound heroic, but only coming across as threatening to the kids.
"No.", Izuku muttered under his breath in terror, horrified by what he may say next.
"TO TAKE YOU BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG AND RETURN TO YOUR OLD LIVES.", All Might confirm the worst thing possible to the teen.
Izuku's flight or fight reflex finally kicked in, and instead of backing away, he grabbed Eri's hand and tried to flee with her! He wouldn't return to his old life; nothing was left for him! He couldn't, he wouldn't! He just started his new life of new opportunities! He wouldn't leave this chance! He wouldn't! He tried to run away, and he did! But All Might saw what he was doing long before he did it. The huge man jumped up and landed right in front of the two kids, causing izuku to stop short and skid back onto his butt, where he tried to crawl away.
"DON'T RUN, AFTER ALL, I AM HERE.", All Might said his signature catchphrase, but this time, the meaning was different.
Instead of sparking hope, joy, and excitement deep within Izuku's soul, he only felt the opposite. Fear, panic, and hopelessness were all those words meant to represent to an opponent, and now Iuku was feeling like those villains his once idol felt. Looming above him was no longer the great symbol of peace and light in a dark world; now, he was just a sharp-faced man with shading on his face that made him terrifying. An oppressive force of terror that sought to take him away from everything new he held dear to him! He didn't look at this man like a god, but instead like a devil! Destroying everything and taking what we left behind. Izuku closed his eyes as All Might advanced on him, ready to take him and Eri away from their new home and life. And it scared the piss right out of him!
"AAAAAAAEEEEEIIIIII!", Eri suddenly screamed right beside him, jumping away and even making All Might double back from his advancement on them.
Izuku looked over to the young girl who had thrown herself away from them and was now on the floor clutching her head while trying to cover up any exposed part of her skin! Crying rivers as she tried to inch away from them, her horn outstretched and glowing with strange energy. Izuku immediately knew what was going on! He should've been paying attention to her, but he was so scared and panicked that the only thought on his mind was trying to flee or hide rather than keep Eri calm. He should've known that the young girl was panicking and just as scared as he was while everything went down! But it was too late.
Izuku did the one thing he could think of at the moment and called out to her in a panic, "ERI!"
All Might was thoroughly confused about what was happening but tried to resolve the panic as he attempted to move closer to Eri, saying, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER? FRET NOT LITTLE GIRL! I'LL-!"
Eri screamed and threw herself even farther away, yelling, "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!"
All Might stopped going near the girl, and in a panic, Izuku tried to direct her with her feral power. Shouting to her, "Eri, you have to calm down. You have to grab control of your-."
"I can't!", Eri squealed back as she bawled uncontrollably.
Izuku was stuck. He didn't know what to do! He had All Might on one side trying to abduct them, enemy soldiers all around ready to capture them, and Eri crying and screaming on the ground as her quirk went wild! He didn't know what to do! Everything was a mess! He had no power to help and no plan! He felt just as he did back in Japan—useless and weak….a Deku.
Just before he, too, could have a breakdown, a miracle arrived in the form of a jagged bending needle that shot out and hooked onto the very tip of Eri's horn. Within seconds, the needle was drawing away from the stockpiled power from the girl and transferring it to whatever was connected at the other end. Following the needle, the three people saw it coming from the hole Tachibana was lying in.
"Tachibana!?", Izuku cried out in question and hope.
"Tachibana-chan?", Eri called out with the same tone.
Tachibana's calm tone came from the hole. A single finger pointed out towards her where the needle sprouted from, as he said to the young girl soothingly, "It's okay, Eri doll. I promised you I'd always be here to protect you and stop your quirk when it got out of control. I mean that now more than ever."
The words coming from him were so kind that they made the girl cry out of joy. Even Izuku was hard-fought to fight back the raging river threatening to come from his eyes. All except for All Might, who looked furious at his still-conscious opponent and dashed over with a fist, ready to plow him even deeper into the earth!
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO THAT GIRL, YOU SCUM!", he yelled as he was already upon him.
But Tachibana was quick to counter; he summoned black crystal spikes from the earth and shot toward him! All Might reacted fast and jumped away before getting impaled! He stood back, still ready to pound Tachibana even more, but he had to be careful!
Seeing the man's seething expression, Tachibana rolled his one good eye and told him flat out, "Unless you want to be reverted to a zygote, I suggest you refrain from kicking the crap out of me any further."
All Might didn't know what he meant, but he decided to play it on the side of caution and allow the man to do what he was doing. The girl was clearly panicking over her quirk, and whatever the Dark God was doing seemed to be drooling it. The energy glow soon died down ultimately, and Eri's horn returned to nothing but a bump. The needle detached, and Eri felt her head with wet eyes.
She sniffled once more and stated in shocked happiness, "It….It's gone."
Izuku felt relief fold over his whole body at hearing her say that, and he ran up to the girl, scooping her up in a huge and exclaiming, "Oh, thank god!"
"You're quite welcome.", replied Tachibana as he emerged from the hole, looking unscathed.
All Might, who was fully confused by what was playing out, shouted out in a confused demand, "WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?"
Tachibana chuckled at his question; walking toward the man, he explained, "Eri has a quirk that can revert organic material to a previous state. If you had tried to grab her, like what you were planning before, you'd either have been turned into a cluster of cells or a monkey. Though the ladder wouldn't be any different from the current.", he giggles at the jab, to which All Might freezes his brow and glares at him. Tachibana examines himself and says with impressed excitement, "Though I gotta say, Eri's power is something to behold. I didn't even have to heal myself. And I've never been healed this fast or without any drawbacks."
Tachibana felt his face and body with wonder and curiosity, like a child touching a toy with a weird feeling to its body. It was like the man was experiencing something new for the first time. But the fascination with his body coming into completion quickly faded as he turned his attention back to All Might with serious intent.
"Now All Might, shall we—" he begins to say before his whole body vibrates and ripples like the waves on the coast.
Before anyone could question what had gotten into the dark god, He suddenly expanded and contracted like an old cartoon character before suddenly shrinking down and taking on the form of a very young-looking child no older than ten years of age.
Tachibana looked down at his new form and exclaimed, "What the? Uh oh, looks like Eri's quirk worked a little too well!"
A wry smile crept up on All Might's face at seeing his opponent in such a diminishing position. He briskly and casually walked up to the small god and said with a prideful mocking tone, "WELL WELL WELL. IT SEEMS LIKE THE SHOE IS ON THE OTHER END OF THE FOOT, EH?"
Tachibana puffed out his cheeks like a child and exclaimed with a small foot-stomping tantrum, "Do not be fooled by my diminutive size! I may be small, but I'm still just as powerful as you have witnessed!"
All Might's smile grew larger at his wording and replied, "SMALL IS CORRECT. SAY, HOW ABOUT WE PLAY A GAME TOGETHER? A GAME I LIKE TO CALL, KICK THE BABY.", Tachibana realized what he was getting at and felt himself grow cold as the huge man stood above him with legs tight and at the ready. Without hesitation, the hero stated excitedly, "READY SCUM! KICK THE BABY!"
"Don't kick the baby!", Tachibana shouted back in panic.
"KICK THE BABY.", All Might reinstated while he drove his leg back and sent it forward, kicking the small dark god clear into the sky.
"Biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitch!", Tachibana screamed at All Might as his body disappeared into the clouds.
All Might clapped his hands clean, despite them not getting dirty, and after patting himself on the back for a job well done, he looked back at the two kids and said, "NOW THAT HE'S OUT OF THE WAY-."
Once again, Izuku felt dread rise in him as he held Eri close to his body and said in a low yet keek voice, "No."
"YOU TWO ARE FINALLY COMING BACK WITH ME.", All Might exclaimed as he ran after them.
Even though Izuku knew All Might could and would catch them, he still tried his best to escape! He turned his tail and ran as fast as his legs would go! Ignoring his fear and doubts, he held the small girl tightly and kept his tearing eyes ahead of him!
"NO!", he yelled in protest as he could already feel his legs burning up.
"DON'T RUN AWAY! I AM HERE!", All Might spoke his catchphrase again, yet again, it still evoked the same fear-smothering feelings!
Izuku fought hard against his tears and desired to give up as he shouted in protest, "No, no, no! Leave me alone!"
Izuku could almost feel the skimming of All Might's giant fingers brushing against his neck as he tried his best to run for his life! But the feeling was soon taken away as yet another miracle happened. As the two of them ran past an alleyway, something lunged out from the darkness, its mouth wide open and aimed directly at All Might! All Might saw the incoming flurry of razor teeth and weird eyes staring at him and stopped short while jumping into the air to avoid it!
Luckily, this worked, and from above, All Might saw something large and purple rush past him and appear to vanish in and out of thin air before vanishing once more in the street around him. When he landed, he looked around for whatever tried to blindside him but saw nothing, not even tracks. Had he imagined it? Regardless, the two kids managed to get a good head start, but not good enough.
In an instant, he jumped into the air and landed right in front of Izuku, who gasped as she stopped short and fell to his butt! Just before he could grab him, something fell from above. It landed with a wet slosh sound right at his feet. It was huge, sticky, and smelled horrible! Then, two more dropped around him. All Might looked up and saw nothing at first. Then something completely invisible opened its huge mouth filled with sharp teeth and a weird-looking tongue! Drool fell from the mouth as it dropped from the sky, trying to land itself on All Might!
But the hero was quick and moved out of the way again before having to dodge three more times at having the mouth try to snap him up! By this time, All Might was several yards away from the kids with the floating mouth standing between them. Then the mouth started to collect the rest of its body, appearing in small patches around itself, and within seconds, the full form of a very familiar chameleon dragon showed its snarling face at All Might.
"WHAT THE-A DRAGON!?", All Might blabber out in surprise.
"Ladon!", Izuku shouted with relieved joy as the dragon looked back at him with a silly face.
All Might quickly recompose himself after the shock and bellowed out a laugh before triumphantly posing and boasting, "HA! IS THIS THE BEST THAT VILLAIN CAN THROW AT ME? A FLYING LIZARD? I'M EMBARRASSED FOR HIM. IT TAKES FAR MORE THAN SOME WINGED GECKO TO TAKE ON MY-." However, he didn't get a chance to finish as Ladon, who was tired of his theatrics already, suddenly whirled around and walked all night with his tail. This caused him to fly off into town, and he shouted out, "MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!"
Izuku looked up at the dragon, and with happy tears, he expressed his gratitude to the enormous animal. "Ladon, you saved us. Thank you." Ladon stuck his tongue out to the side and made a purring sound at the thanks.
But it was short-lived as All Might suddenly bounced back into the same spot he was booted from! Making a small creator as he landed with a seething expression!
Izuku gulps and hides behind the readying dragon, saying in a low tone, "Spoke too soon."
All Might cracks his neck and fists while saying to the dragon, "PERHAPS I MISJUDGED AND UNDERESTIMATED YOU ANIMAL. THOUGH I WON'T MAKE THAT MISTAKE A SECOND TIME.", All Might got into a fighting stance, to which Ladon copied on instinct. The big hero exclaimed in a challenge, "SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT!"
Ladon arched his head back while earring to his hind legs and let out a roar that shook the surrounding windows while blowing off a small air current around the Hero, showing he was ready to do or die!