01/02/2025

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The Emperor's Dragon
Chapter 94 - Ambush!

Izuku was glad Twice had told him about the Search quirk. He had used it several times to check where his father was. The fact that they could communicate with Radio Waves was a bonus but just knowing where his father was…

I am on the fourth level now, his father sent with the quirk.

Second level for me, Izuku replied.

They couldn't actually talk. Not exactly. Radio Waves was what it said. They could send messages but had to be listening to receive them and they could talk over each other and that just scrambled the signal. But it was useful and Izuku could feel his father sending out a general scrambling pulse. It was comforting to him.

I have Toxic Chainsaw with me.

Izuku blinked at that message. And then he grinned. He couldn't help it. His father… Even in the middle of Tartarus his father thought about him. His good mood translated itself to the Nomu around him. They seemed more energised, and Hood rushed at one of the blast doors.

It was closed. That wasn't as a result of their assault. Tartarus kept the blast doors closed at all times but between Hood, the other two High End Nomu, the Near High Ends, Gigantomachia and himself, the blast doors were mere annoyances. They weren't going to hinder their passage out.

He didn't even have to order the Nomu to get the doors now. They knew. They were clearing the guards too. "Clear the next couple of doors," Izuku ordered them as he looked around.

This level of the prison looked very much like how he'd imagine a prison was. They were in one underground wing, and the corridors were steel lined. The corridor was wide enough for the guards to walk without being harassed by the prisoners. About the only thing that was missing from his stereotypical view was an atrium. But given they were underground, an atrium would simply provide access to the lower levels, with was an unnecessary security risk.

Izuku didn't recognise any of the prisoners but… maybe one of the others did. "You can release people if you want," he told Himiko, Whisper and Mr Compress. The three of them were travelling with him.

"Why would I want to do that?" Himiko asked.

He shrugged. The suggestion was mostly for Whisper and Mr Compress. They were more likely to have former companions here. He tilted his head slightly. "Just so long as they don't stab us in the back now," Izuku added, making it clear who the statement was directed to.

Mr Compress made a show of looking around. The prisoners were shouting at them, and it was noisy but Izuku was ignoring it. So were the others. "I imagine releasing them on the way out would provide a suitable distraction for any authorities who have gathered," he observed.

That was true. Izuku nodded. "There's no one you want to come with us?" Izuku was aware that he had a limited set of companions.

Whisper actually chuckled. "Only to gloat," she told him.

"Okay," Izuku giggled. "We will release them on the way out but if you see someone you think is interesting then-" he left it open. They understood.

They moved as a group through the door the Nomu had forced open. Gigantomachia was with them. He was bringing up the rear. There was always a chance the Nomu would miss some guards, and while Izuku was fairly sure he could throw off an attack but he knew the others were vulnerable. Gigantomachia's armoured back would wither any attack.

They made their way to the third level and … it was interesting. Physically it was similar to the other levels but… it was quiet. Even the prisoners were subdued. What could be causing that?

Either his father was here or... Are you on the third level?

Not yet, came the immediate response.

Or the guards had set up an ambush. Izuku used Search and, sure enough, there was a cluster of guards near the middle of the level. There were two guard rooms that…

I can send some of the more … expendable members to trigger it, his father sent.

How did Dad know there was an ambush just from his question? Izuku's slight exasperation merely confirmed his actions. Having his dad with him would make things far simpler for the future.

The Nomu are already on it, Izuku told him. "Whisper, extend your quirk over us," Izuku said aloud. "There's an ambush."

She nodded. "And there's no need for them to hear us coming," Whisper agreed and then everything went silent as her quirk activated. It cut off Gigantomachia's indignant growl.

A hand signal to the Nomu sent them streaming ahead. Hood was only too happy to spring the ambush and his eyes glowed as he flowed down the corridor.

Izuku moved out, emerging from the stairs to look down the corridor of cells. The Nomu were quickly overpowering the guards who had set up an obvious blockade. It hadn't hindered the Nomu in the slightest. It looked like the thin High End had done something to break through the barrier and Hood was takin- had taken care of the rest.

A quick look with Search confirmed it and Izuku nodded at Whisper who let her quirk fade. There had probably been no need for it but… If the guards had been more of an issue, or had heavier weapons then…

The explosion took them all by surprise.

There was a cacophony of noise and light and Izuku was thrown back. So was everyone else and after he'd tumbled to a stop in the corridor Izuku just lay there for a few moments.

He hissed as regeneration took effect and forced himself to lie still until the sting that represented healing flesh faded. It was hard. Izuku knew that between his costume and scales he'd have gotten off without too much damage. He couldn't say the same for the others.

Though Himiko was giving rather vociferous evidence of her recovery. It was the others he was concerned with. Izuku got up, his concern growing when his helmet split in two and fell to the ground. If the blast was strong enough for that then… He spun, absently noting that the Nomu were recovering. There was a lot of smoke and dust in the air, limiting visibility but that was quickly taken care of by Caeli Imperium.

Himiko was staggering to her feet and while her clothes were burnt and torn and now blood stained, they were still covering everything. Whisper was lying up against the bars of a cell and Izuku could see shrapnel sticking out from her. That had to be painful, but she was moving and Mr Compress…

He looked around for the magician and eventually spotted him. "No," Izuku said.

Mr Compress had been thrown up against the bars of a cell but unlike Whisper, he didn't just have shrapnel… the bars had impaled him. Blood was pooling around him and running down the bars underneath him. The cell occupant was lying against the back of the cell, unconscious.

"Shit!" Izuku cried and ran to Mr Compress.

He'd better still be alive! Izuku tried to feel for his pulse but couldn't. "No…" Izuku said. "No, no, no!"

Atsuhiro was warm… He had to still be alive… Regeneration. He needed that… He had the copy he was going to give to his dad! Frantically, Izuku reached into his pocket, and grabbed the quirk holder. Some of the prisoners were recovering and he ignored them as he let the quirk holder fall to the ground. He'd already taken Regeneration. He pushed it towards Mr Compress and gasped with relief.

He couldn't give a corpse a quirk. Atsuhiro was alive, and he could feel his quirk within him. It was long moments before he saw Regeneration take effect and the smaller wounds healed but… With the bars still impaling the magician, he couldn't heal fully.

"I'm going to have to lift you off them," Izuku told Atsuhiro, though he hoped he remained unconscious.

"Just do it," came the pained words.

Izuku nodded and then made a platform with Caeli Imperium under Atsuhiro to help him lift evenly. "I'm sorry," he whispered and pushed the platform up.

Mr Compress gritted his teeth and groaned.

"Sorry!"

"Do it!" came the command.

Izuku closed his eyes and reached out to take Mr Compress' hand. The man gripped his hand tightly and Izuku swallowed once before he scrunched his eyes closed and raised the platform in one smooth motion.

"Urgh!" Mr Compress groaned and panted. Izuku opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. Under the platform he'd made there was blood pooling. He quickly lowered Atsuhiro to the ground and was thankful when he could see the wounds closing.

Regeneration was a powerful quirk.

Izuku spun back to where the explosion had come from. The Nomu were already recovered and swarming the rubble. "No one survives!" Izuku snapped. Gigantomachia moved past him to help.

"I…" Mr Compress said but whatever else he had to say was silenced when he lost consciousness. While Regeneration was effective, it did take a lot of energy and while Atsuhiro was used to using his own quirk, the second quirk took a lot out of him.

Izuku sighed with relief and then turned his attention back to Whisper. The woman had moved to prop herself up against the bars and was removing the smaller bits of shrapnel. She was bleeding profusely.

"Nomu!" Izuku ordered. "Guard," he instructed, pointing towards Atsuhiro as he moved towards Whisper. "You okay?" he asked.

She grimaced.

"Stupid question, sorry," Izuku agreed with the unspoken statement. "Himiko, can I borrow Regeneration?"

"Izu?" She questioned, coming over.

"I put the copy in Mr Compress and I want to leave it there for a little while, just to make sure everything is healed," he explained. "But-" he gestured towards Whisper.

"Sure!" Himiko chirped, holding out her hand

"Thank you," Whisper replied for Izuku.

"You're my friend," Himiko told her. "You are like my… big sister who I can rely on," she elaborated with a grin. "And besides, you want Izu to win, just like I do!"

Whisper swallowed and nodded but didn't say anything.

Izuku took Himiko's hand and gently grabbed at Regeneration. He then took Whisper's hand and put the quirk into her. "Help me with the shrapnel?" he asked Himiko.

Regeneration would heal the wounds, but it would be easier if there was nothing in the wound. He'd been protected by his costume mostly and Whisper… well, her dress had blocked some, but the larger pieces had torn straight through. Like Himiko, she was still decent.

They worked quickly and Izuku was glad when they were finished.

"Sorry," he said to Whisper. They had hurt her inadvertently.

"It's okay," she told him. "Though… this quirk is-" Whisper didn't finish the sentence.

"It's the best!" Himiko inserted.

"It's tiring," Whisper corrected.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Izuku chuckled. "Now you know why I wanted all those support quirks," he told her. It was better than saying now you know why I fell on my nose all the time!

"Yes," she agreed.

"Rest," he instructed and looked towards where the explosion had come from.

The guards had set it off… and if any of them had survived… they were nothing more than paste now. Gigantomachia, with the help of the Nomu had smashed everything, which had, not so incidentally, cleared the debris so they could continue to the fourth level.

Except… as Izuku watched, someone emerged from the stairway that was at the end of each cell block. For security, the link between level one and two was at one end of the cell block. Between levels two and three, it was at the other end and so on as you went down the levels of Tartarus. There was no central shaft to descend or ascend. It was part of the security features, designed to ensure travel from the top to the bottom of Tartarus prison was as slow as possible.

The Nomu immediately tensed.

"Hold!" Izuku commanded and glared at the person. He didn't recognise them, and they weren't in the uniform of a guard but that didn't mean anything. If he was a Tartarus guard, he'd have ditched the uniform for the stuff the prisoners wore and hope that the change of wardrobe would be enough to let him escape. There was a chance that the prisoners wouldn't recognise him… A small one.

A very small one, Izuku amended mentally. The person ahead… felt like a prisoner. The way they walked was arrogant, so they were definitely a level 5 prisoner.

"Well, what do you know?" the man murmured. In what was left of the corridor it echoed. "I thought All For One was lying but, there you are, ready to get him."

"And you are?" Izuku demanded, as he mentally tasked one of the Nomu with keeping Whisper safe.

"No one important," came the reply.

"I don't think fifth level prisoners get to say that," he retorted.

The man looked down the corridor, no doubt judging his chances of getting past them. He quickly realised there were none. Izuku used the opportunity to look at him. He had a thin but very rectangular face. It was almost misshapen given that the only prominent feature was his nose since his cheekbones were not protruding. His hair was cut short and his eyes were slightly sunken.

"I suppose that is true," he admitted. "My name is Bloodline," the man announced.

"Bloodline," Izuku murmured the name.

"Quirkless killer," Whisper breathed the information into their comms. She said it so softly that Izuku hadn't even heard it, and he was standing close to her.

The words did not give Izuku any more recognition though he was sure he'd heard the name before. They did allow him to imply a great deal. He really hadn't thought of this much, and he should have. He'd been so focused on getting his father that it hadn't really clicked that he'd be releasing other prisoners. People who had committed crimes, who deserved to be here. Not everyone was simply misunderstood. He had considered it earlier but, he was now having to face the reality.

"You are right," Izuku said, projecting his voice down the corridor. "You aren't important to me," he confirmed.

Bloodline nodded and didn't seem offended. "I'm just heading to the surface," he explained.

"I wouldn't," Izuku warned, holding up one hand to stop any objection. "My troops will not recognise you," he explained.

"And they'd recognise Sensei?" Bloodline seemed sceptical.

"Given that he is why I'm here," Izuku shrugged. "You can go to the surface. I may even be able to facilitate getting you off the island but if you head up now, I can't guarantee my troops won't kill you."

"Ah." There was understanding in that murmur, but Izuku could tell Bloodline was considering taking his chances. There were none. He was not going to get past the Nomu unless Izuku ordered them to let him pass.

But before Izuku could say anything further to drive that point home, he felt a presence.

So did the Nomu and Gigantomachia.

Everyone did.

Izuku didn't even need to check with Search because he knew that presence so well. He grinned as his Father stepped into the corridor. The Nomu, except those he'd tasked to protect Mr Compress and Whisper broke ranks and swarmed his father. As far as Izuku could tell, none of them actually touched him but they formed a seething mass around him. Their black skin was only broken occasionally by the glow of an eye or the pink of their brains. Their movement separated All For One from any of the prisoners who were following him and blocked the stairs.

Izuku was thankful for that. He didn't want prying eyes seeing what he was going to do.

"Father," he said, feeling the tension he hadn't known he was carrying drain out of him with the word. His Dad was here. He was doing this. It was all a tumble in his mind and Izuku smiled.

Everything was going to be all right now.

-ted-

The guards really should have just locked themselves into a cell and waved Izuku by. If they'd done that, he'd probably have made an announcement that anyone killing the guards would answer to him and that would be that. But no... they had to try to be heroic. Given that most heroes suck at heroics, they didn't fare much better.

Now, I'm going away for a couple of weeks. I'll get the next chapter out as per normal on Tuesday but after that... Well... it might be impossible to post for a few weeks. But at least the reunion between DFO and Izuku will have happened.

Discord is on this code: TcBnRN7aDn FFN will remove links but you should be able to figure that out. There's a heap of other authors there, so come along and chat to us all! Not just about MHA.

-ted-

Loved it? Hated it? Found a spelling mistake? Let me know please!