[Opening Song: Kyouran Hey Kids! – By: The Oral Cigarettes]
*The sound of a guitar stringing in the background can be heard, along with drums. The scene zooms in on a man standing in a destroyed looking city, fires burning around him as he turns to look back at the camera, a smirk taking up his visage as a lone crimson red eye glows. Following along with the lyrics, he mouths the words*
"Tonight we honour the hero."
*A guitar and a set of drums begin to play wildly, alongside what sounds like a choir in the background matching the beat of the song, as a camera zooms up to a clear blue sky with white fluffy clouds, followed by the title "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.*
*The scene slams down to a forest, where in the centre of the woods, Luz stands, looking around, confused and concerned, taking a step back, bumping into a blond-haired girl wearing a white dress (Julia), who looks over at her, with a matching concerned gaze, golden eyes glimmering with worry. As they stare at one another, a large brown-skinned teen (Stanley) wraps both of his arms around them, smiling, catching both of them off guard, all the while a disembodied voice sings the lyrics to the song that's playing*
"No place for stubborn masks, broken by crazy kids"
"So full of lies and chaos are these days we live"
*The scene pans out to where Luz is looking at a large group of kids, who also look scared and confused. Luz breaks away from the hold she is in, before walking toward them, a weary smile on her face. She reaches out to them, but as she does, her hand and arm spark red, which causes her to recoil, stop what's she's doing, and look at her arms, confusion and annoyance taking up her expression. She stares at her hands, specifically the holes in the palms of her hands, before looking up at a military drone, staring at all of them, all the while the same disembodied voice sings*
"The scent of honey from the body in the air"
"So full of flavour, flavour, flavour…"
*The scene abruptly changes as the drums kick in, as does the metal guitar, to a man sitting in front of bunch of screens with a beard and slicked back hair as the lyrics "Just wanna hold your hands" can be heard in the scene, and with each time it's said, a new person takes their place along with a new location. The first time, it's a man dressed in a shirt with suspenders and black slacks, standing with his back facing the camera, the only thing noticeable being blond hair the same shade as the girls as he holds a martini. The second time, however, it changes to the man in the beginning of the opening, sitting in a throne surrounded by darkness.*
*The camera pans up to his face, red eyes gleaming as the guitar plays a little slower and suspenseful, as the man smirks, as he mouths along to the next set of lyrics "Hey people! Let's go back to zero!"*
*The Camera suddenly blasts into his eyes, as a fight scene breaks out between an orange haired boy and Luz, flames sparking off of the boys arm that barely miss her face. She ducks under a follow up punch. Anger flares in her eyes as she goes to punch the boy in the face. Just as the fist is about to connect, the scene shoots to the brown-skinned teen (Stanley) going blow for blow with a silver haired boy in a grey hoodie, who's throwing air slashes at him, that the other tanks as if they're nothing. Finally, it shows the blond girl (Julia) backed into a corner next to a cabin-like structure by another golden-haired guy, his hand having an ominous aura around it. As this entire scene is happening, the disembodied voice continues the song*
"Get crazy - Hey, Kids!"
"And ditch that ego that has held you back,"
"Why struggle pointlessly?"
"Get crazy - Hey, Kids!"
"The search for the place that you cannot return to Whoah, oh!"
*The scene abruptly changes to a solemn looking Camila, who's staring down at family photos, as the spectre of Manny lingers behind her, an almost disappointed look on his face. His spectre disappears in the wind as the front door to their house opens, revealing an old man dressed in priestly attire, looking at her with concern on his face. The scene shifts again to Luz staring out at something, a wooden wall surrounding her, a reflection of what looks to be fire and blood stains everywhere as her pupils dilate. Her brown eyes flickering from red back to brown constantly with the stringing of the guitar, and just as the rest of the scene, the disembodied voice continues the song*
"Get Crazy - Tell me"
"The times are changing as days go by,"
"Always uncomfortable!"
"Get Crazy - Hey Kids!"
"But nonetheless our future has begun to fade..!"
*The scene changes to a more frantic battle, this time between the blond-haired boy and Luz, only this time Luz has a more furious expression on her face, and her eyes are red. The blond haired boy slams the ground, creating spikes that Luz dodges, her hand sparks red, as a litany of faces belonging to several people appear behind her like ghosts, a small, venomous grin on her face, her hair raising with the red and black electricity, flames bursting across the forest, matching the same flames from the beginning of the opening, the disembodied voice continuing the song, which nears its end.*
"Get Crazy - Hey Kids!"
"And light up the doors that shut away the past"
"This urge with no release,"
"Get Crazy - Tell me,"
"Is that what you want? Then won't you call my name?"
*The opening ends with Luz, almost responding to the man in the beginning of the opening, mouthing the words "I swear, I respect the hero!" The opening ends with a final guitar riff, the camera flickering and glitching out, showing an empty forest, as it transitions to the start of the episode…*
[The Hunt Begins – Part 2]
Out of all the things to have happened today, this was something that Kennedy wasn't expecting. After hearing those words. With those ugly, downright vile words that flung out of Luz's mouth, Kennedy couldn't help but snarl.
Who did she think she was? They were all victims in this situation! They weren't his tools. They doing what needed to be done to protect their families. However, he doubted Luz would've cared. No matter what they said, he could tell she had gone insane.
This was what he was worried about. That something like this would've happened. Where she would be impossible to reason with. Obviously, they had tried to kill her, and maybe it was impossible to reason with her. But still, the audacity she had to say that they weren't victims because they decided to do something regarding protecting their parents and guardians was ridiculous.
Whatever, it wasn't like it mattered. Naturally, Kennedy was calm in this situation. Yes, it was a little unnerving that their opponent was someone like Luz, but they would be fine. They just needed to cut off her way of attack. If she couldn't get started on stealing powers and gaining strength, they'd be fine.
Yes, she already had Super Strength, and yes she already had Pyrokinesis, and whatever else she had picked up along the way. But they still had a chance. And Kennedy was going to use that chance. No matter how hopeless the current situation was. "ATTACK! DON'T GIVE HER A CHANCE TO GRAB YOU! IF YOU DO, SHE'LL TAKE YOUR POWER!" Kennedy shouted, and like stupid worker drones, both teams charged at Luz, whose manic smile never wavered.
Maybe that should've been his first sign to abort the mission, but as far as Kennedy was concerned, the lives of those outside of this camp were more worth protecting than the ones inside this camp. After all, all of their parents were innocent in this situation. As for him and his cohorts? They had blood on their hands. If they died here today, then while he would've been panicked and scared witless, at least it would rid the world of future criminals.
Of course, Kennedy didn't view himself as a criminal. His arm was being twisted and he was forced into this situation. But he would like to think he wouldn't fall down the path of depravity. While others were border lining on that path, he wouldn't—no, scratch that, he would never. Sure, he was a little disturbed, and he had strange ideas—he blamed his Bipolar for that, but oh well.
He looked over to Emelia, who was standing behind him. She looked horrified. He raised an eyebrow, but when he saw that her right eye was glowing a bright purple, that was when he realized she was using Foresight.
Kennedy didn't know much about that power. All he knew was that it allowed her to glimpse into the near future. About three hours into the future, at the cost that she would go blind in that eye for 24 hours, and then she could use it again afterward. She had used it when they went to attack The Alpha Squadron to see if there would be any immediate retaliation. There wasn't, so he okayed the plan.
She was against the whole thing. But he was able to convince her that it would be worth it in the end. But now that he was looking at her, and witnessing the horror on her face, he knew that something was up.
"Emelia?" Kennedy asked, before getting her attention. She took a step back, silently, before full-on running away, screaming in terror. What did she see? Was it bad? How bad would this turn out for them?
That was when he turned around, and what he saw made his eyes wide and his jaw drop. He had only looked away for a few seconds, and yet, what he was greeted by was nothing but chaos and death.
The first to find themselves on the opposite end of Luz's hand was a girl by the name of Lucy, one of Kennedy's own. She had no real power to call her own, with her only power being to regenerate from any wound. Kennedy had found that out when she broke her arm trying to lift something too heavy for her, and rather than try and do something himself, he watched as her arm fixed itself and moved back into place.
Lucy wound a punch to hit Luz in square in the jaw, but she never made it very far. She was wrapped up by vines, slammed into the ground hard enough for a small hole to be made out of her impact, and then dragged toward Luz. Lucy was limp, meaning she was unconscious. Not that it mattered, because her fate was already decided for her. She was the first of them to have their power taken. The black and red sparks flashed for a second or two before Lucy's body was thrown to the wayside, a sickening crunch echoing out when her body hit the eastern wall of the Alpha Squadron's base.
More than likely, she was dead. One didn't just have their neck snapped in two with bits of their spine sticking out and survive that. That was Kennedy's second sign to abort the mission, but he didn't take it. It was just one death.
There was no way it could've gotten worse, right?
Wrong.
The next person to find themselves a victim of the power vacuum that was Luz Noceda was a boy named Gregory. He kept at a distance near the back of the horde, which was smart given what his power was. Gregory was a member of Foxtrot and was considered their strongest. Why? Well, it had to do with the fact that he could summon two, very large, tree-sized purple dragon-like ethereal beings from his upper shoulders.
Needless to say, when he summoned them toward Luz, Kennedy was under the belief that it would've been over like that. Sure, she had stolen Lucy's regeneration power, but it wouldn't be enough. At least, that was what Kennedy thought. Instead, the first tree-length blue dragon was grabbed by vines before they even so much as came into grabbing distance of Luz and thrown into the oncoming horde of teenagers. Afterward, Luz blasted past the rest of them, and grabbed Gregory's face, red and black sparks covering both his and Luz's bodies, signifying that he had his power sapped from him.
His head was then crushed like a grape between Luz's fingers, and once he was dead, she put the dragons to work. They roared out from her shoulders, growing taller and taller until they loomed over the walls of the base. They were a deep purple rather than a deep blue and had glowing yellow eyes.
The moment they were summoned, they dove into the ground, uplifting it and throwing chunks of dirt and rock all over the place. That, mixed with the vines and the flames to play keep away made her basically impossible to approach. And anyone who was unlucky to get close to her was essentially already dead.
No matter what was thrown at her, it either got deflected because of the ethereal Dragons or was outright dodged by Luz herself. She was agile and quick, and because of that agileness and quickness not much was able to phase her.
Kennedy should've taken that as his third and final warning. But, once again, he didn't take it. He believed that he had this entire situation under control. At least, until one, single thing happened that changed the course of the battle.
And it was not in their favour.
At one point, amidst the chaos of the energy beams, the chucking of rocks, and everything else, Daniel, a close friend of Kennedy, tried to rush Luz and hit him with his Impact power. A power that increased the output of power based on how much he moved in that direction. He had been increasing his power before the raid, and a little more after that. He was strong enough to easily knock down trees, which was a good metric to judge things by.
Theoretically, it should've been enough to overpower Luz's Kinetic Absorption. After all, the last time he had checked, Stanley had only barely survived being hit by that car. Even if it did flip over him, he still felt the burden of the hit. So, again, theoretically, she should've gotten killed by that one attack.
Daniel dodged and weaved between the Energy Dragons and the Vines, along with the claws that Luz now sported above her knuckles, all to get in close, reel back his fist, and strike her in the head. All the while he was provided backup support by Darlene who fired her Spear Fingers in Luz's direction, and Lucas who was struck from behind with his Puppeteer power.
At the same time the punch connected, Luz's arms were raised high by the strings, and she was impaled in various locations, specifically right in the center of her chest where her heart should've been, the neck and throat, along with her upper thighs, hitting vital places where intense bleeding out would occur.
All of that should've killed Luz, and it seemed like it worked. Her eyes rolled back in what seemed like pain to the average onlooker, blood exploded out of her mouth, and even though her regeneration was going overtime, it wasn't nor should it have been enough.
The impact of the blow was strong enough to cause something to break, most likely her neck, and if nothing else that should've been the thing that killed her. It should have killed her. She should have died right then and right there.
But then, it regenerated.
Her head fixed itself, her expression one of complete disinterest, and some confusion. But then, she went right back to smiling. As if what had happened had been a delightful surprise.
And then all hell broke loose.
Daniel kept landing blow after blow on the crazed teen, trying to kill her, but it never worked. It got to the point where, with each hit, Daniel's blows were getting weaker, and it was all due to Impact's side effect, that being that the more force was used, the less power each blow had behind it.
In other words, his usefulness was slowly becoming less and less. And no matter what Daniel did, he would never do the same damage again to her. But in case that wasn't obvious, and in case Daniel hadn't realized just how fucked he was, Luz activated Pyrokinesis.
The moment that flames began to appear around her body was their cue to bounce. But they didn't take that cue. They kept trying to kill her. It resulted in them being caught up in a massive blooming flame that burst out from her body like that of an explosion, as it expanded outward and blew away the strings and Spear Fingers that kept her in place.
Daniel took the explosion of fire head-on, and his reward was being burnt to a crisp, the waves of heat burning away his first and second layers of skin. What remained was bubbling and boiling, with some of his veins being exposed and burst, blood trailing down every split wound.
It was disgusting.
It was revolting.
And it horrified Kennedy. But that wasn't the end of his torment. As if it was one last "fuck you" Luz grabbed his head, activated her power, and as the red and black sparks washed over the burnt corpse of his former friend, Kennedy already knew that his power was taken.
Next came Darlene, whose fingers were broken off entirely, blood falling down in cascading waterfalls from the stumps she fell to her knees in tears. She was fine, for the time being, because she wasn't Luz's first target. That pleasure belonged to Lucas, who had been the least damaged of the trio who had attacked Luz. Well, he was fine, until one of the ethereal dragons grabbed him by the waist and drove him through several feet of the ground, upturning the ground for every inch he was dragged.
Rocks dug through and split apart his skin like a paring knife to freshly baked cake, and as he was thrown up into the air once the dragging reached a certain point—just about a foot or two away from the western wall, he was tossed into the air, and as he hovered there for a few seconds, his eyes wide with pain as he screamed in unimaginable horror, he was unceremoniously slammed back down to the earth by the other dragon. Lucas hit the ground with a sickening crack and an explosion of blood, leaving him a crumpled pile of jagged bones in the ground, mostly dead.
Luz calmly walked over to the crippled Lucas, her wounds regenerating in the time it took for one to blink their eyes, and as she finally approached him, she placed a hand on his head and stole his power. Now she had Puppeteer, but she wasn't finished with Lucas, whom she left to die in the hole that she had made for him.
She walked over to Darlene, who was still in shock at the loss of her fingers, not even noticing Luz's approach, who had been holding back everyone else with her vines and dragons, knocking them away as if they were nothing more than flies and maggots. By the time Luz was looming over her, Darlene looked up at her, fear and panic in her eyes as she fell to her rear, scuttling backward.
From Darlene's perspective, Luz looked as if she was a Demon-given flesh who was staring her down. The way the night's shadow cast over Luz, and the way that her eyes glowed… all of it made it seem like death itself was given manifest and was there to take her away.
Darlene screamed as Luz's hand outstretched toward her, the hole in her palm glowing a violent crimson. Kennedy didn't have to look to know that Darlene was already dead, as he heard her pained-filled cries for mercy. The sound of an electrical buzz filled his ears, then a sickening crunch.
He hadn't realized it, but his body was shaking, all the while a million thoughts ran through his head. How could someone get that powerful that quickly? The power to take away others' abilities and make them their own…. That power did not belong to a mortal being. There was no way that was the case. It was more correct to assume that Luz Noceda was a divine being, here to send them into the abyss for committing sins that they would not repent for.
Everyone else seemed to agree with that notion, as they no longer tried to press an attack against what seemed to be an unkillable opponent. Luz held Darlene's corpse, before throwing it to the wayside. She looked over her shoulder, her crimson red eyes glaring at the now huddled group of thirteen teenagers, terrified out of their minds.
There was only one option left.
They had to leave. Now.
Fuck their parents.
Fuck their guardians.
And more importantly, Fuck the Governor.
"RETREAT!" Kennedy shouted at the top of his lungs. And that was exactly what they did. One by one, they began to evacuate the scene, fleeing through the sole entrance of the base and into the woods. Kennedy led the charge, running the fastest out of everyone there, second to Darwin, who used his Spring-like Limbs to bounce and hop away.
They had made a wise choice, fleeing when they did. If they didn't, they would've all been killed right then and there. Now, they had a chance to flee. To run away until they lost the monster that was behind them—because there was no way that she was human. To even think that Luz Noceda was a human did a disservice to the term "human".
And so they ran. They ran and they ran, refusing to let themselves stop, knowing full well that if they stopped running, they would be next on Luz Noceda's hit list.
Unfortunately for them, it did not matter how far they ran, or where they ran too.
Because now, they were being hunted.
As they began to flee, Luz retracted all of her powers. The dragons slinked back into her shoulders. Her vines and claws slunk back into her hands, and the fire that coated the back of her neck like a mane no longer bloomed. She just stared down the entranceway with a sly, demonic smile on her face. She radiated killing intent.
She would not be satisfied with such a meagre display.
She would not be satisfied with only some of their deaths.
All of them would pay with their lives.
After all, that was the point, was it not? To kill the competition?
"Where do you think you're going?" Luz taunted, before flashing their retreating forms with a sinister grin that spread from ear to ear. "None of you are escaping this. You all die here, and now. Just as planned," Luz shouted as flames began to build and expand on her back. For a moment, they looked as if they would stay that way. But, Luz came to realize something about how her Pyrokinesis worked. It wasn't just flame creation and transformation. It was also manipulation.
And so, she did what any sane person with the ability to control, transform into, and manipulate flames would do.
She created wings.
The flames fanned out for twelve feet on both sides, fiery feathers created out of thin air as they blazed with heat so intense that nearby grass began to catch flame, the fire not even having to come into contact with it. The flames were so unbelievably hot that the flames gained a purple tint to them, border lining on blue as they flapped just as wings would. They generated a fiery wind so strong that it picked her up off the ground.
It was like second nature to her, how Pyrokinesis functioned. In a matter of a few days, she had felt as if she had mastered the power. Obviously, though, she hadn't. If she had, this would've been the first thing she ever did. Her imagination was what fueled this creation. Not that it really mattered.
As the artificial wings flapped in the air, now, more than ever, did she truly look like a Demon. Her crimson red eyes, her demonic smile, and her fiery wings. But that wasn't all. She decided to try something. Out from her fingers, strings began to form. But it wasn't just regular string. It was steel wire.
But how?
Simple.
She combined Sword and Puppeteer. She intertwined the internal strings within her body and formed them to make a singular power. The steel wire began to shift and transform until they wove together to form a single steel blade. And as the gleam in her eyes shone brighter than before, and with another flap of her new fiery wings, Luz charged forward at unparalleled speeds, with the first victim of her charged assault being a blue-haired girl.
Poor Jade.
She never stood a chance.
Jade didn't even get a chance to turn around before being impaled by her blade. Once she was dead, Luz grabbed the back of her head, used All For One, and stole her power, before throwing her to the wayside. She didn't feel an instant gain of strength, but what she did gain was seemingly something that increased her lifespan. Just by interacting with the string inside of her, she realized that the new power was a passive one, like Strength Enhancer, Super Strength, and Kinetic Absorption.
Longevity would be its name.
The next victim was a boy who looked no older than eleven years old. She grabbed him, slammed him into a tree, took his power, and then flattened the top half of his body with a kick that sent her off in another direction. This power was different. This power was interesting. Plasma began to charge at the base of her free palm, and when she fired it out toward a larger boy, she watched with glee as he vaporized into thin air.
Plasma Beam. A fun power, but not one that would be used often. It was far too complicated to use and time-consuming to properly use.
Someone turned around, a brown kid to be exact, whose arm seemed to coil like a spring. He had a determined look in his eyes, and it caused Kennedy to stop dead in his tracks. He immediately recognized the last victim she killed as Carlos, and then Darwin, which to him, had been the final straw. He watched as the boy lunged at her and tried to punch her in the face.
It backfired when she impaled him on her blade. She landed, skidding to a halt as she ripped the steel wire sword out from his abdomen, and as his body fell to the ground, Luz stopped the corpse's fall by grabbing his head, activating All For One, and stole his power. Spring-like Limbs, to be exact. Another one she'd probably not use often.
"Three down, twelve to go," Luz noted, narrowing her eyes as the rest of the group ground to a halt. She flapped her wings once again, embers flying everywhere as they caught onto trees, which began to blaze the second the embers landed. The fires spread in a circular motion, like a ring to trap cattle.
"You…" Kennedy growled, his hand balling into a fist. Luz turned to face him, her smile wider than ever before. The others grouped behind him, huddled and scared. "You're enjoying this…. What the hell happened to you!? You didn't come off as a psycho when we first met!"
"You're assuming I care. You did this to yourself. Perish." As those words left her mouth, the two dragons reappeared again.
But this time, Kennedy wasn't going to stand around and do nothing.
He couldn't save his old comrades. He didn't have the time to do so. But what he could do was fight back. Even if it was only on the defensive. And so, he slammed his hand down on the ground. The action seemed stupid at first, but that changed when the ground broke apart and exploded. He strained his fingers, gripping them into the soil and earth below before they transformed into a twelve-foot wall.
The dragons slammed into the dirt wall, making it crack and crumble. But that wasn't where Kennedy was done. Once the dragons slammed into it, he touched the dirt wall and formed it into a sphere, caging the dragons inside the dirt ball. It only lasted for a few seconds, but that was all the time that he needed.
"RUN!" Kennedy ordered, turning to look over his shoulder.
But, there was no one there to tell to run.
They were already dead.
He was too focused on the dragons, that he had completely forgotten that Luz could move freely with them being out. She had already taken away the powers of all of his now-dead friends, a pile of corpses behind him. The only one that hadn't died had been Emelia, who was god knows where within the forest.
"Let's see here. I now have Vines, Pyrokinesis, Repair, Kinetic Absorption, Strength Enhancer, Blade Arms, Sword, Super Strength, Super Regeneration, Energy Dragons, Puppeteer, Spear-like Fingers, Longevity, Plasma Beam, Spring-like Limbs, Forcefield Projector, Pain Nullification, Stamina Negation, Heat Vision, Bone-like Whips, Projectile Blood, Ice, and the last one I took, which I believe belonged to that Tyrone friend of yours, was WindBlast. Almost a full collection of everyone's powers, but I missed seven. Either because they were destroyed by yours, or their bodies were so horrendously broken that I could not salvage their power."
Luz sneered at that, staring at the palm of her hand as if disgusted by the prospect. "What a waste. Oh well, it's not an issue anymore, now is it?" Luz continued as she glanced over at Kennedy. "I'm not entirely surprised that this ended this way. From how everything had been going, I had actually expected this to come a lot sooner. But, I suppose the prisoner's dilemma is now in full effect, is it not? I always loved those kinds of situations. It's a shame that it is what will cause your demise."
All Kennedy could do was stare. What was going on here? Something didn't seem right. He might not have known Luz for very long, but the way she was speaking…. Robotic and completely uninterested in the situation as she had been before… something changed.
It was almost as if he wasn't talking to Luz anymore.
It was like he was talking to someone else entirely.
And as he stared, bewildered at the situation before him, he forgot about the dragons he was keeping at bay. The dragons broke free from the dirt ball, roaring as they charged him.
Kennedy knew what he had to do, though. He wasn't worried about dying to the dragons. Nor was he worried about dying to Luz, or whatever had now decided to start controlling Luz, or whatever the hell was going on with her. All he cared about was surviving long enough to tire her out—if that was even possible given how she had mentioned Stamina Negation, whatever that meant. And so, he slammed his hand down on the ground, as a pillar of dirt and rock rose out of the ground and lifted him to the tree line.
"Luz", in response, flapped her fiery wings and flew up to meet him, with the dragons coiling around the pillar like serpents. Her eyes narrowed, rage on her face as she hovered briefly in front of him. She went to swing her steel wire sword at him, only for something unprecedented to happen. A crack began to form across her face, and an explosion of blood followed suit.
At that moment, when she flinched, so too did the dragons, and they unwittingly crushed the dirt pillar Kennedy was on. Kennedy, for his part, wasn't experienced in using his Cellular Manipulation ability. But, he did have a basic understanding of how it worked. So long as he was touching something, he could manipulate its molecules.
And so, when he pressed his hand down on the largest pile of dirt, turning it into a jutting spear-like appendage to impale "Luz" it worked just like that. He stood atop the floating piece of dirt as it began to crumble apart, gravity slowly taking advantage of it. "Luz" was stunned for a moment, red eyes glowing as she sneered.
"Tch. This body is still too weak, it would seem. Oh well, I'll just have to make due, then. I'm on borrowed time. The fool exhausted herself and I had to take control. It would seem she went a little overboard. Whatever. It's not my problem. So long as I stick to her wish to kill you, then there won't be a problem."
"This body?"
Before Kennedy could question any further, the bone-like whips. A smile warped "Luz's" face, as Kennedy ducked out of the way, jumped into the air, and grabbed a branch. He chose not to activate his power, and instead, he used the branch to hop to a lower part of the tree. "Luz", smile ever present, sent out more of those bone-like whips in his direction.
He was just barely able to avoid them, with one snagging his shoulder. When he got close to the ground, he slapped the tree next to him, blowing it to bits and creating a slide smooth enough to not have him get splinters. A collum of fire just barely missed him, and when he looked up at "Luz" she was covered in cracks with blood leaking out of her body.
Then, "Luz" did something strange. She dived toward him, faster than he could avoid her. She grabbed him by the throat and dragged him through the dirt.
He had no choice.
He had to do something.
He was being torn up by the ground around him. So he had to do something risky. He touched himself and activated Cellular Manipulation. It took everything in his power to avoid the pain, as he blew himself apart and in a split second, he reformed behind her. His body ached. He hated doing that. He had done it on accident when he first activated his power. It was a painful experience.
"Luz" was dripping in blood, panting heavily, and covered in cracks as blood seeped from them. That was when he had an idea. "I can help you, you know…" Kennedy said as "Luz" looked over at him.
"I'm listening…"
"I have Cellular Manipulation. I can use it on you and fix your body. If you spare me, I'll do it…" Kennedy said as "Luz" hummed. Another crack formed on her neck. That seemed to make her choice for her.
"Very well. I'll trust you. But, I'm adding another request on top of it. You must bring back Julia Wittebane. Can you do that? The last thing that this body needs is a horde of angry vestiges pestering it."
"What are you?" Kennedy bluttered out as "Luz" sighed.
"I am All For One. The Quirk. My… user is unconscious. I am acting in her best interest. Now hurry up and heal this vessel." "Luz" or, All For One, whatever the hell it was, demanded as Kennedy walked over to All For One, and did exactly as he said he would do. He didn't question what a "Quirk" was, but he assumed that was what Luz's power called itself. Whatever the case was, he didn't want to tempt fate by insulting it. He repaired Luz's body, and when he did, All For One looked down at its hands and nodded, then looked back at Kennedy with a neutral expression. "Good. Now, let us resurrect a corpse."
And that was exactly what they did. They walked back to The Alpha Squadron base, and it was a silent walk at that. It left him alone with his thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, he would survive this! Maybe he could go home… if there was even a home to begin with.
When they got there, Kennedy found himself kneeling down at Julia's now slightly rotted body. He plugged his nose and activated Cellular Manipulation. When he did, the dried blood began to tremble, and in the blink of an eye, it pooled back around the base of Julia's neck.
A few more seconds passed, and the cells began to regrow and form, and after another second, her head fitted back onto her body. The rest of her body was next, and when he reconstructed it in the blink of an eye, he was breathing heavily. Using his power constantly tired him out. All the whole "All For One" watched over his shoulder.
Once it was all said and done, Julia Wittebane's body was healed. Kennedy placed two fingers on Julia's neck and felt for a pulse. There was one, but it was faint. He looked back to "All For One" who stared, a smirk on his face.
"Very good. You've outlived your usefulness. Goodbye."
Before Kennedy could say anything, and as he reached out to stop whatever was about to happen, he was met with a devilish smile, bright crimson red eyes, and a fist flying in his direction faster than he could have blocked it.
The force of the punch was strong enough to splatter his entire upper body, leaving nothing but his lower half, which crumbled and fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud.
Kennedy Jennkins was dead.
Which left "All For One" and the now resurrected Julia. "All For One" placed a hand on her head, and used Repair to fix what Cellular Manipulation could not. A crack formed across Luz's chest. Another Quirk activation and it would cause unrepairable damage.
This was another drawback of the All For One quirk. If the body was not strong enough to handle to blowback of extra powers that the body could not physically contain, then it would damage the body. Luz's body was far from perfect. It needed to get stronger.
Luz needed to get stronger.
That would be a task All For One put her to before long.
Once she awoke, of course.
That was another thing that All For One—no. That Shigaraki was not expecting. When Luz passed out from exhaustion, he was able to take over her body. And it wasn't as if it was a planned thing, either. It simply happened. One moment, he's relaxing in the vestige realm, watching the chaos unfold through her eyes, and then a moment later, he's actively being overwhelmed by multiple people all at once, and his response is to blow away everyone using a fire blast.
It was surreal. Breathing in the air again. Feeling his power out yet again. It was strange. It all felt so bizarre. He had been so used to being dead that he hadn't thought that he could hijack Luz Noceda's body. Even if it was only for a brief amount of time.
By his guess, he only had ten, maybe fifteen minutes until he had to call it quits and hand the body back over to Luz. And that was assuming he could even wrestle for control over the body. He was already running out of time, and he wasn't the dominant soul in this scenario. He did not hold the power.
Luz did.
And if Luz was the dominant one, and if he wanted to live once again—which was now a possibility—he would have to work on breaking her down even more.
The prospect of living once again. It was a wonderful idea.
Suddenly, he had an idea. But, for the time being, he'd have to hold off. Until he knew more information about the delicate balance between himself and Luz, he couldn't make any progress on his new, sudden idea.
"Still, I was not expecting this. This has opened up multiple possibilities that I did not foresee. Perhaps my threat to that oaf Yagi will pan out? That I will return, in a new form. Oh, the irony~! The look on his face when he finds out that I'm still very much alive, in a different place, in a different time, in a new form. The utter despair that will wash over him! It shall be glorious!"
As that thought ended. A new one came into being. What was going on in his old world? How much time had passed since his death? After all, ten years in That Place was more like 30 years in his world. Was the time flow between this place and his world even worse?
"Only time will tell, I suppose…" Shigaraki thought, looking down at Kennedy's torso. He felt slightly disappointed. Such a waste of a wonderful power. But, then again, it might have been for the best. This body was already falling apart at the seams. The last thing it needed was more pressure.
He was going to need to offload a bunch of Quirks, and soon. Or, convince Luz to do so when she took back control over the body. Either way, it needed to happen.
"STOP RIGHT THERE!" A loud booming voice stirred Shigaraki from his thoughts as he looked over his shoulder. The Military, although, they did not seem to be wearing the same uniforms as the ones that had escorted Luz and her friends here. The man in the middle seemed to be the one in charge. He had the most badges on his uniform. "ARE YOU A PRISONER HERE?"
"What does it look like?" Shigaraki responded, narrowing his eyes. He didn't like the tone this man was using. If it wasn't for the mounting pressure and stress being put on this body, he would've blasted the man with a beam of fire. The man nodded, gesturing for his men to lower their firearms. Good. They were smart.
"We're here to escort you to safety. Come on, we don't have all day!" The man shouted as Shigaraki took a step forward in Luz's body.
Only, there was one small issue. Something that Shigaraki hadn't thought of.
He had been so used to his own body, that he had completely forgotten that it really didn't matter if one was not using a Quirk to experience Quirk Overload.
It could be something as simple as moving that could cause an intense blowback.
The crack opened and exploded, tearing through skin, bone, and soft tissue in an array that looked like a jet hose. The utter pain that he experienced at that moment was unbelievable. He hadn't felt such pain like that in a long time.
It didn't matter if this body had Pain Nullification. The blowback ignored it. It was the only downside to having such a weak body. Blood spewed everywhere as he was hit with a wave of pain he had not been expecting. The last thing he saw before he faded back into the vestige world was being surrounded by the soldiers and picked up.
Luz was going to be mad. Scars were not her strong suit. But, oh well.
But, hey at least he was able to resurrect his friend by using that Kennedy boy to his advantage. That was all that mattered to him. After all, a happy successor and future vessel was an obedient successor and vessel.
But, just before he fell unconscious, he decided to do something to Julia's body. He decided to slip one of the Quirks that had been in Luz's system. He needed to offload some, anyway. After all, considering what he knew about her family, it made sense for her to have it.
He gave her Puppeteer.
And then, once the transfer was complete, he was met with the familiar darkness of the vestige realm, where an unconscious Luz had been. She was curled up in a ball on the red carpet. Rather than let her stay there, Shigaraki, now in his body, picked her up, placed her on the throne next to his own, and sat her up.
He walked back to his throne, sat down, and sighed, looking off into the distance as the sea of caged incomplete vestiges greeted him. He was a little disappointed that Luz had a limit like his failed experiments had. But that was something that, unlike those, could be easily fixed.
But that would have to wait. For now, he snapped his fingers and manifested the latest issue of Shonen Jump—at least, from his world that he remembered being out—and began to read, all the while he waited for Luz to wake up.
[XXXX]
Julia didn't know what was happening. One moment, she couldn't feel or see anything. An immediate nothingness that had shocked her. She couldn't hear, nor could she do anything. She felt… incomplete. And then, suddenly, she heard things. Shouts. A cold voice. And then… she felt movement.
She was being moved.
But to where? What was going on? What had happened? It felt like she had blinked, and now she was being taken somewhere. By the time she regained any form and or semblance of consciousness, even if it was only brief, she was greeted with a bright white roof, and several doctors surrounding her. A medical mask was put over her mouth, and then, she was unconscious again.
When she reawoke for a second time, she groaned, slowly sitting up. A massive headache washed over her and it made her recoil in pain. The bright light… she hated it. The sound of beeping and pumping caused her to panic slightly. And when she fully came to, she found herself in a hospital room.
"Good morning, Ms. Delmisso. How are you feeling?" A heavy Spanish-accented voice asked her as Julia looked over to her immediate right. Standing there was a tall, light brown-skinned man. He had slicked-back black hair and the makings of a beard on his face. He was dressed in a white doctor's coat, with blue scrubs underneath.
Julia blinked, looking down at herself. This wasn't right. She knew, for a fact that she had died. So, how was she alive? "I… I was dead… how can I be alive?"
"Dunno. Ask your friend when she wakes up. She's just as clueless as you are. But, according to the security footage we were able to take from the crime scene to understand what happened, it seemed that said friend of yours forced your killer to bring you back to life, then promptly killed him afterward. I don't know why she didn't bring back everyone else, but she doesn't seem to remember a damn thing from the event. All she remembers was almost dying herself, and then waking up here." As the man said that, he seemed to remember something, before smiling. "Oh, yeah, and I'm Dr. Rodriquez. A pleasure to meet you."
"You, too… but, I couldn't help but notice, you said… Delmisso. That's my mother's maiden name," Julia said as Rodriquez nodded, a disappointed look on his face.
"Si, I'm aware of that. We called your, uh, former parents. And they said they wanted nothing to do with you. I had to default you on my clipboard here as Delmisso. I'm sorry if you're just finding this out," Dr. Rodriquez said as Julia breathed in sharply.
Of course. That was just her luck.
She dies, comes back to life, and now she finds out her parents have officially disowned her. She scoffed. Good riddance. But now, she had nowhere to go. A saddened look took up her visage, but it was quickly dashed when Dr. Rodriquez cleared his throat, catching her attention as he spoke. "But, there is some good news. I don't know why she decided to do this, but I've known her for a while now. And while she's got a few rough edges about her, I know she'll take care of you. Luz Noceda's mother is willing to take you in. If you don't—"
"Really?" Julia asked, hope in her eyes, which caused Rodriquez to laugh.
"Yeah, so I take it you don't mind?" Rodriquez asked as Julia nodded. "Well, that's good. I was a little worried. I'll let her know you accepted once she's done visiting Luz. She's currently asleep, but Camilia doesn't want to leave her side. And I don't blame her. After everything that happened, I'd be a little surprised if she did. I'll let you know when she comes around. Get some rest, okay?"
With that, Dr. Rodriquez left the room. And when she did, Julia smiled. It seemed that now she had a new lease on life, she was going to make the most of it. When she looked down at the palm of her hands, though, she felt something strange about them.
She didn't know why, but she felt different. She felt strange.
"It's probably nothing…" Julia thought, before laying back on her hospital bed's pillow, closing her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
[XXXX]
"Who the hell do you think you are, locking me up in here?! I'm your Governor! Do you hear me?! You pieces of shit! When I get out of here, I'll cut all of your funding!" Maxwell screamed from his holding cell in the county jail, grabbing onto the bars with rabid rage as he shook the cell door with all of his might, only for nothing to come of it. When his screams fell on deaf ears, his hand slid down the bars, dropping to his sides as he let out a sigh.
This was not how this was supposed to go! He was supposed to have gotten away with the whole thing! How did this even happen?! Was it because he took it a step too far by kidnapping the parents? Did the parents even get kidnapped or were they found out when the attempt was made?
That's what had to have done it. After all, he never did get a response back from Holden. He probably got shot and killed. And considering Mathers wasn't responding when he was arrested, that was probably what had happened to him too. He and the rest of the soldiers.
The rest of the military caught on to what had happened. Those FBI agents were also probably killed, too. Tyler was smart to not put his name down on anything and to use a burner phone.
Oh well, as long as Tyler was safe, that's all that mattered.
"Well, ya done goofed, Maxwell. Look where you got yourself?" He muttered to himself. He walked over to the slab of metal and cushion that was supposed to be his bed and sat down, leaning against the brick wall as he did.
Not that he'd be here for long. He'd be acquitted. His party could swoop in, and save him. They had to. He had a major donor on his side. If he was allowed to rot in prison, then Tyler would pull his funding. That was the agreement he had made with him.
Tyler was a man of his word. He always had been and would continue that track record.
Right?
Just then, from the ventilation system in front of him, a thick, purple smog flowed into the room. Maxwell recognized it immediately, and his heart began to race. No… there was no way. Tyler wouldn't do this to him. He wouldn't send him would he? Why?!
"No…! Is he serious?! Is he actually going to kill me!?" Maxwell thought as more of the smoke began to collect and gather in the room. After a few seconds, the smoke began to form into a man, swirling around like a small tornado, before he fully formed into the man that now stood before him. He was tall, easily ten feet tall. He wore a gas mask that only covered his nose and mouth, with two valves on the front. The mask was connected to a gas tank on his back, and he was dressed in what a traditional cowboy would wear.
A brown leather vest with tassels on the edge of his vest, a white short-sleeved button-down shirt, two brown fingerless leather gloves, dark brown jeans and a pair of black chaps overtop those jeans. The outfit was completed by his cowboy boots and traditional cowboy hat.
He had long, black hair that framed his face and went down to his shoulders, and his dark purple eyes drilled nothing but hatred and loathing into Maxwell. If he could see what was underneath his mask, he'd guess there was a snarl underneath his mask.
"J-Jonah! I-I—"
"Save it, shits-for-brains. You 'ave no idea how long I've been waiting for this day," Jonah Smith spat, before reaching out for Maxwell and grabbing him by the throat. The inhuman strength that Jonah had instantly forced all the air out of Maxwell's lungs, and it was quickly replaced by the purple, poisonous smog that began to fill his lungs.
As Maxwell choked, the way Jonah's face shifted proved to Maxwell that he was smiling. "Oh, Governor, don't be so shocked. When Tyler said he was goin' to clean up all loose ends once this was over, he wasn't kiddin'. That included you. And to make things even better you failed him. Which is why he sent me. And I couldn't 'ave been happier for it!"
As his vision began to go dark, he was dropped to the ground, blood trailing out of his nose, eyes, ears, and mouth as he gasped for breath. He couldn't feel his body, and as a last "fuck you", Maxwell watched as Jonah's boot raised over his head.
And then, there was nothing.
-To Be Continued in – Betrayed and Alone-
[Ending Song: Life – By: Rude-a]
*The ending opens up with Luz sitting on the edge of a cliff, staring up at the sky with a twinkle in her eyes, all the while the sound of a guitar strumming peacefully, followed by drums matching the tempo, like a serene melody, as a disembodied voice begins to sing.*
"Lately I don't know to do"
"Hurry up, my mind is one the moon"
"Flying up to where the wind blew"
*The scene stays the same, as wind blows through Luz's hair, still staring up at the sky, before looking down at the palm of her hands, a curious gleam to her eyes. Suddenly, a hand places itself on Luz's shoulder, as she looks over it to see Julia, smiling, before she sits next to Luz. This is followed by Stanley, who sits on the other side of her. Luz smiles, as more people around her age start pooling around her, sitting, staring out at the sky above as the clouds rolls past. All the while the disembodied voice continues*
"Overflowin' in the palm of my hand, passion to be who I am"
"Spent my days all just wandering this world"
"But then there's only you who's shining and pure"
"A rusty knife'll never cut a thing now; I am burning like a fire gone wild."
*The scene changes slightly, as a total of 33 people stand around and sit next to Luz, staring up at the sky, pointing out things that look to be strange. Julia has an arm wrapped around Luz's shoulder, whereas Stanley is ruffling her hair. Kennedy looms behind both of them, smirking, as if pleased with himself as the disembodied voice continues.*
"Like in the moment that my heart began to open"
"And it had the chance to scream, loud and unbroken"
"Everything was different from that moment on, if I don't try, I'll never know."
*The scene begins to change, the subtle strum of an electric guitar, signifying something. The wind blows harder, as if trying to push them away. The clouds darken as the sun begins to set, and as it does, people begin to disappear, starting with a few people in the back. One or two people vanish, but that's all. Luz, however, looks upset, closing her eyes, her expression changing to a solemn one as the disembodied voice continues*
"I wonder why the flowers are blooming."
"Your voice still echoes out in my heart."
*More people begin to disappear, but this time more rapidly. They're not walking away. They're simply disappearing. Vanishing from sight. Leaving Luz all alone. It gets worse as it comes down to only three people. Kennedy, Julia, and Stanley. First, it's Julia, who gets up from where she's sitting, and wanders off into the forest. It makes Luz's eyes widen, her solemnness turning into Despair. Then it's Stanley, which makes her look to her left. He waves to her, before going into the forest. Then, it's Kennedy, who stuffs his hands in his pockets and leaves. Luz's eyes water, and she looks away, before looking back up at the sky, the moon taking the place of the sun. All the while the disembodied voice continues*
"Tell me why I just shouted to the sky?"
"But you are no, no longer here, that's right."
"Remembering the adventure we went on called life!"
"Just a fleeting moment…!"
"Call it just a dream, 'cause I don't mind it."
"I'll save you from the present, the one so torn and riddled with scars."
*As Luz is left alone on the cliff, tears in her eyes, the guitar strums a solemn tone. Her tears are wiped away by an older man–All For One–who puts a hand on her shoulder. Julia sits back down next to Luz, holding her hand, which makes her smile. Now it's All For One looming behind her, his expression one of pride. The ending finishes with a few more strums of the guitar, and near the end, All For One's eyes glow a deep shade of red.*
Do you guys remember when I said to throw out everything you knew about the original version of All For Luz after a certain point? Yeah, well, doubly so now. Julia's alive! Shock of all shocks! Kennedy's Quirk was, basically Overhaul, and Maxwell got the death he fucking deserved.
The next episode is going throw you all for an even worse loop. See ya later! :)