Boku no Hero Academia: Custodian Izuku
Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfiction story of 'Boku no Hero Academia' and 'Warhammer 40k' (yes, really). I own nothing of the two series other than the fanfiction stories that I make.
I am making this story for the sake of fun, fluff and awesome after writing a one-shot story of the same story concept. If I am able to somehow impress fans of Warhammer 40k or even move someone to tears, even better.
Also, if anyone wants to know how in the world I got this idea in the first place, please refer to the artist, Ryuusei (Mark II), who has made some awesome pictures of gender-bent primarchs. The link is: .us/pools/17320
Please note that while I am familiar with the Warhammer 40k setting, my actual knowledge of it is casual at best. Also, if the genderbent primarchs seem at least a bit OOC, please kindly consider the fact that their bodies (especially the traitor primarchs) have changed drastically after entering Izuku's world.
In case anyone asks how much crack I was taking in to come up with the idea, I am just going to say enough to make even a loyalist Adaptus Astartes trippy.
Chapter 4: A Gentle Voice
Three days had passed since the infamous murder of Chisaki Kai and his three men. During that time, Izuku and the six former primarchs did more physical and combat training than before in preparation for the possible confrontation with Curze. Shouta (a.k.a Eraser Head) took part in the training as well as he wanted to see how good the six girls and Izuku would be in a fight. Izuku's performance, while a bit better than expected from a boy who had never trained before meeting the six girls, was still predictably lacking. As for the six former primarchs, Shouta was begrudgingly willing to admit that they were excellent fighters with distinct individual fighting styles. The six girls were, in turn, impressed by Shouta's own skills as an underground pro-hero and admitted that he would have been quite effective against enemies that lacked shard-edged weapons and were overly dependent on their quirks in combat.
To Shouta's displeasure, the six girls informed him that Curze had a habit of carrying sharp-edged weapons everywhere and was a naturally skilled combatant.
Besides training, the girls also oversaw the upgrades of the defences of U.A. High School. While it would be impossible to make massive improvements within just three days, never mind issues such as the ethics of mass-producing clones for producing cyborgs known as 'servitors', Nedzu's willingness to implement at least some of their ideas was appreciated. After all, a functional 'ion shield' would be very useful for protecting the school from potential enemy bombardment.
Dorn was little unhappy about anti-orbital canons being deemed as "excessive" though.
However, while Nedzu had expected Curze to arrive at U.A. High School before long, even his hyper-intelligence was incapable of anticipating every possible scenario…
-Somewhere in the outskirts of Musutafu…-
"Are you certain that Curze is heading to U.A. High School?" asked Lion.
Guilliman nodded and explained, "While I will not deny the possibility of being wrong, all the information that Icarian, Corax and Alpharius have gathered thus far indicates that Curze probably intends to somehow meet up with the primarchs there."
"But why would she even consider going there? Surely she can simply leave that child to the local authorities," said Ferrus.
"I believe that she simply lacks faith in the local authorities actually taking good care of the child. After all, corrupt leaders are hardly unusual even before the Great Crusade," said Corax.
"That would make sense," agreed Icarian who had been accepted by the group after meeting them two days ago. She had used her precognitive powers to predict the chances of Curze heading to U.A. High School and the results were consistently high. There was also a fifty percent chance of Curze actually deciding to stay at the school after sending the small child there.
Alpharius, who might actually be Omegon in disguise, nodded and said, "If she continues in her current course, she will likely arrive at the school by midnight at latest."
"Then we will strike her down before she has a chance to even see the gates of the school," said Lion.
Corax frowned and asked, "And what of the child?" Although Corax never had a younger sister, she had been raised by Nasturi Ephrenia who became her elder foster sister during her past life as a primarch. Also, the idea of harming a child reminded her of a terrible mistake which still haunted her even in her current life.
"If the child dares to resist and poses an actual threat, then she will be struck down like any other enemy of the Emperor," said Lion.
Icarian frowned and said, "If we harm that child and everyone else finds out, our chances of receiving any help from the local authorities and even the other loyalists will be reduced to less than three percent."
Lion glared at Icarian and argued, "Letting Curze reach that place will mean a fifty percent chance of her being taken in by people who have no idea what kind of monster she really is."
Guilliman placed her hand onto Lion's shoulder and said, "While I understand your desire to take down that traitor before she harms anyone else, we can't simply attack her unprovoked. The local abhumans are generally more adverse to killing than the people of the Imperium and will quite likely interfere if they see us trying to take her down." Guilliman was confident that she and the other primarchs with her could take down Curze by working together but she also knew better than to underestimate Curze's own abilities.
"Then what do you suggest?" asked Lion.
"I suggest taking a more diplomatic approach," said Guilliman who then explained, "We will surround Curze and attempt to persuade her to let one of us send the child to the school in her place. If she refuses, we can assume that she only sees the child as a means to an end and act accordingly. If she accepts, we will follow our end of the bargain and then give her the Emperor's mercy."
Like the other primarchs, with the exception of Icarian who had never met Curze in person before even in her past life, Guilliman was certain that Curze was still the same person as before even if some of her current actions seemed a bit perplexing. Even so, Guilliman refused to ignore the fact that Curze was unusually dedicated to helping the child.
"You're assuming that the traitor will even hold her own end of the bargain," said Lion.
"There is that, but I'm simply making sure that, not matter what happens, we will not end up being treated as though we are the heretical traitors of this version of Terra," argued Guilliman.
Lion glared at Guilliman for a moment before she relented and said, "Very well, we will try your way. However, if the plan fails, we will do things my way."
Guilliman nodded at Lion before she turned her attention towards the other girls and asked, "Does anyone have any objections?"
"No, but I am curious if Icarian has anything to add given the nature of her 'quirk'," said Alpharius.
Icarian almost grimaced as she admitted, "There is one thing that I have decided to leave out partly because the plan is to stop Curze from reaching U.A. High School in the first place."
Guilliman raised and eyebrow and asked, "And what would that be?"
Icarian hesitated for a moment before she answered, "If Curze decides to stay at U.A. High School with that child, there is a ninety percent chance that she will, for the lack of a better term, change for the better."
The silence that followed was deafening before Lion glared at Icarian and growled, "Curze, changing for the better? That would imply that she even bothers to take responsibility the atrocities that she committed in the past."
Guilliman, who was clearly unconvinced as well, asked, "Why would your power give it such a high percentage?"
"I'm honestly not sure," admitted Icarian who then said, "However, it might be for the same reason why the other loyalists at U.A. High School are willing to tolerate Angron."
"Are you implying that Midoriya Izuku has some kind of ability that encourages even enemies to get along?" asked Ferrus.
"My power can only predict possible futures by percentage, not obtain accurate information about other people," replied Icarian who had already explained her precognitive ability to the others in the group.
"Enough pointless discussion," said Lion who then started walking off while saying, "We have a traitor to hunt down and eliminate before she commits any more acts of chaos and terror that will ultimately harm us all."
As the other primarchs followed Lion's lead, Icarian frowned and thought, "I know that Curze betrayed the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, never mind the horrors that she and her legion had committed, but is there truly nothing else in her?"
-Meanwhile, with Curze and Eri…-
Curze was about to set off to U.A. High School with Eri when she decided to use her power to see visions of the future. Her eyes widened ever so slightly as she saw a vision of Eri, whose horn was glowing, being cut down by a merciless person whom she instinctively recognised as Lion in her current form. She then saw a different vision which showed her and Eri being protected by a man with blond hair and a presence that made him comparable to a genuine primarch or even greater.
Had Curze not grown attached to Eri, she might have actually chosen the worse of the two possible futures due to her tendency of believing that nothing could prevent her dark visions from coming true. However, due to her genuine attachment to the young girl who somehow cared for her in spite of being a monster, Curze decided to pick a different path for arguably the very first time in her very existence.
Eri looked up at Curze worriedly and asked, "Curze-neesan?"
"We. Leave. Now," said Curze while picking Eri up and leaving the bag of unused basic necessities behind. Realising that Curze was trying to flee from something, Eri did not question her decision as she clung onto her and stayed quiet while keeping an eye out for anything dangerous.
-Back to Lion's group…-
"Wait!" yelled Icarian while she and the other former primarchs were on their way to get into position to ambush Curze.
"What is it?" asked Guilliman.
"The percentage of the ambush succeeding has dropped to zero!" answered Icarian.
It took a moment for the other girls to realise the shocking implications of Icarian's statement. Curze, who had always believed that fate was unavoidable during her time as a primarch, had actually decided to go against it for once.
Guilliman's mind went into overdrive as she thought about the situation and came to a conclusion, "Assuming that Curze still possesses her ability to see into the future like in her past life, never mind her sudden desire to somehow change destiny, finding her may very well be near impossible if she wants to stay hidden!"
"What about her chances of reaching U.A. High School?" asked Ferrus.
"The chances of her reaching the school today as dropped but it's no less than eighty percent," answered Icarian.
Lion grabbed Icarian by her collar and growled at her, "I don't care how many times you have to use your power, I want directions to Curze's location, now!"
Intimidated by Lion's obvious fury, Icarian immediately complied as she pushed her power to its limits to gauge the likelihood of finding Curze. Her eyes glowed as she pointed to a seemingly random direction and said, "Our best chance of finding Curze is that way!"
Lion shoved Icarian aside and said, "Move out! That dishonourable traitor dies today!"
"Lion, wait!" yelled Guilliman. However, Lion left without waiting for an answer from anyone. "Damn it!" cursed Guilliman before she turned her attention towards the other former primarchs and said, "Everyone, follow Lion's lead. Icarian, keep us updated on Curze's course. Ferrus, take the forward position while Corrax covers the rear!" Seeing no better alternative, that did not involve abandoning a fellow former primarch at least, the girls nodded at Guilliman and then set off to catch up with Lion.
As the former primarchs set off, Alpharious thought, "This situation… is definitely not going as planned!"
Originally, Alpharius considered letting Curze join the four former traitor primarchs who were led by Magnus as Fulgrim was one of the few people whom Curze would even consider trusting. However, between Curze's act of murder, which was admittedly expected, and the robbery that happened soon after, it was simply impossible for Alpharius to prevent a confrontation between Curze and the former loyalists led by Lion and Guilliman. Icarian's own involvement simply made the confrontation even more difficult to prevent as basically everyone assumed that Curze would not avoid her fate even if it meant literally walking towards her own death. Although Alpharius was reluctant to sacrifice Curze, she was even more unwilling to lose the already-minimal trust of the former loyalist primarchs for the sake of helping someone who might still be an unstable murderer.
Curze's unprecedented decision to somehow defy fate not only threw Guilliman's plan to ambush her into disarray but also made Alpharius realise that any plans that relied on the former primarchs reacting the same way as they had done in their past lives would have to be thoroughly restructured if not scrapped altogether. Unlike Angron, whose apparent changes in personality could be justified by having a body that lacked both the influence of Khorne and the butcher's nails, Curze's own change in behaviour seemed downright random in comparison.
"Do you think that the other traitors are somehow involved in this?" asked Corax.
"While it's possible, I doubt it," replied Alpharius who knew that her twin was already keeping tabs on Gwalchavad while keeping an eye out for the former traitors led by Magnus. Just like in their past lives, the former primarchs were still unaware that Alpharius had a twin named Omegon.
Corax frowned as she recalled when, on the day that Icarian joined them, Alpharius had insisted that she needed ten minutes alone to locate the former lost primarch. Although there was no denying that Icarian's ability to predict the chances of possible future events made any attempt to surround her difficult, Corax could not shake the feeling that Alpharius had done more than just meet Icarian during those ten minutes. Her suspicion was shared by the other former loyalists, especially Lion and Guilliman. However, without any concrete proof that Alpharius had a means to contact anyone during those ten minutes, such as a mobile phone or even a crayon, Corax and the other former loyalists had no choice but to continue tolerating her after she returned with Icarian as promised.
Guilliman was racking her brain to figure out the cause of their current predicament and could only think of one possible variable, "What did that child do to make Curze even consider defying destiny?"
-A short while later…-
Normally, Curze would hide in the shadows to avoid detection. However, with enemy former primarchs clearly in pursuit of her even after choosing a different destiny, she had no choice but to run into the open, shocking and scaring many local civilians in the process. Fortunately for her, the vision of herself and Eri being defended by the large blond man had not changed so she was at least certain that she was on the correct path to prevent Eri's death.
As the two ran past, one of the civilians who managed to get a good look at Curze shouted, "T-that's the 'ghost girl' who stole from the convenience store the other day!"
"She has a girl in her arms!"
"She must have kidnapped her!"
"Someone should save her!"
Suddenly, a tall muscular man with a wide build, a square jaw that jutted out a bit and spiky white hair appeared before Curze and assumed a fighting stance while yelling, "Halt, villain!"
Seeing that the white-haired man, who was a pro-hero named Death Arms, was not the one she was looking for, Curze leapt into the air and kicked him in the face. The kick was executed in such a way that Death Arms was knocked down onto his back while Curze ended up literally stepping onto his face before continuing to run away from her pursuers without even slowing down. Eri, being a gentle-natured child, apologised as loudly as she could to the fallen pro-hero, "Sorry, Hero-san!"
Death Arms swore while getting up with a bloody nose and spitting in disgust, "Bloody hell! When was the last time that villain washed her bare feet?!"
Quite a few civilian onlookers who had heard Death Arm's swearing grimaced in sympathy while others wasted no time in posting the admittedly comical situation onto social media.
Suddenly, Lion appeared and ran towards Death Arms. The distracted pro-hero did not have time to get up or move out of the way when the former primarch leapt into the air and stomped onto the top of his head before continuing her pursuit without even slowing down, causing him to fall onto his back again as a result. She was soon followed by Ferrus, Icarian, Guilliman, Alpharius and Corax, who all ran over Death Arms in that order, without sparing a single thought about the pro-hero. As the girls ran off, Death Arms groaned in resigned defeat, "What… the hell… is with today…?"
It did not take long for Death Arms' unfortunate encounter with the former primarchs to become a hilarious meme on the internet.
Lion's eyes narrowed as she finally caught sight of Curze. Determined to stop Curze from getting away, Lion threw her iron pipe at her as though it was a spear. The pipe flew through the air at great speed and accuracy but Curze easily deflected it by spinning around and drawing out her own crudely-sharpened weapon to deflect it with one arm. To Lion's growing frustration, Curze continued to run away instead of facing her in battle. As the iron pipe spun in the air, Lion leapt upwards and grabbed it without taking her eyes off Curze. She then threw the pipe again with the intention of impaling Curze in the back. However, just like before, Curze spun around and deflected the incoming projectile before continuing to run away.
Sorely wishing she still had her original primarch war gear, Lion yelled in English, "Stop running and face us, you damnable traitor!"
Curze, turned her attention towards Lion for only a moment to yell in English, "Kiss my unwashed arse!"
Shocked by Curze's vulgar response, Lion almost tripped before she regained her composure and continued to chase after her.
"Did Curze actually say that?" asked Ferrus who could hardly believe what she had just heard after finally catching up with Lion.
"Seems like it," said Guilliman who was equally shocked
Icarian widened her eyes as she said, "Someone's going to stop us from taking down Curze!"
Guilliman bit back a swear as she asked, "How likely?!"
"Seventy percent and rising!" answered Icarian. Her eyes then widened as the percentage suddenly rose to a hundred percent and swore, "Oh, frak…!"
Suddenly, a loud boisterous laugh could he heard as someone yelled, "Never fear, for I AM HERE!"
A large muscular man with the physique of an American superhero, a strong jawline, short blond hair with two distinctively long tufts, bright blue eyes and a confident smile on his face landed between the pursuers and the pursued. Although the large man was undoubtedly strong and imposing in appearance, it was his sheer presence which caused even Lion to stop and stare as she and the other former primarchs shared one thought, "Is he… this world's version of a powerful perpetual like the Emperor?"
The civilian onlookers and a number of incoming pro-heroes smiled jubilantly as one of them yelled, "It's All Might!"
All Might crossed his arms over his chest as he asked Lion and the other girls who were clearly following her lead in pursuing Curze and Eri, "Now then, may I ask why you young ladies were chasing after these two?"
Lion glared at All Might and growled, "This has nothing to do with you, abhuman. Step aside!"
All Might raised an eyebrow and asked, "You're not going to even try explaining yourselves?"
"You wouldn't understand even if we spend days explaining to you," answered Lion.
"She's not entirely wrong, unfortunately," said Guilliman who grimaced when she noticed how many people had gathered around her and her companions.
All Might hummed in consideration before he turned around and asked Curze and Eri, much to Lion's immense displeasure, "What about you two? Do you have anything you wish to say?"
Curze nodded and said, "I. Am. Traitor. Monster. But. I. Want. Help. Her." Her admission of her own nature was not lost to both the local people and the former primarchs.
Eri nodded and said, "She saved me from Overhaul by killing him."
"Overhaul, you say?" said All Might who had heard about the infamous deaths of Overhaul and his three most trusted lieutenants a few days ago. If the young girl was being honest, and All Might had no reason to think otherwise, then it was clear who needed his protection more. Also, Nedzu had already informed him about the six girls who were currently staying at U.A. High School with the boy who had found them and suspected that the current situation was somehow related to them.
All Might turned his attention back towards Lion and the girls who had followed her lead and said, "While I do not have the means to tell who is telling the truth or not, I happen to know someone who does. If all of you cooperate, we can settle this matter peacefully and avoid any unnecessary violence.
"Will. Be. At. U.A. High School?" asked Curze.
Realising that his suspicions of Curze being related to the six girls were correct, All Might answered, "I can't guarantee that the questioning will be held there but I can assure you that Principal Nedzu will be very interested to hear your side of the story."
Lion glared at All Might and growled, "You may be powerful. You may even be a perpetual, but you are not my Emperor and you have NO idea what that traitor has done and is capable of!" She then drew out a hidden knife and charged towards Curze.
"Lion, wait!" shouted Guilliman who knew that openly defying the clearly powerful and famous pro-hero, while in their current situation at least, would be a very bad idea.
All Might reacted quickly and tried to stop Lion but the former primarch easily read the pro-hero's moves and immediately thrust her knife towards his neck while yelling, "Stay out of my way!"
Shocked by Lion's skill with the knife, All Might was barely able to avoid getting stabbed in the neck but was left vulnerable to a strong kick to the left side of his torso. Some blood spewed from his mouth and he started to have trouble breathing as a result of the kick.
While the local onlookers were shocked by what Lion had done to All Might, she continued to charge towards Curze and Eri with the single-minded intention of killing the former of the two. Eri curled up and shut her eyes in fear of Lion while Curze held her close with one arm and drew out her own weapon with the other. Curze's expression was one of grim determination as she refused to let Eri die.
However, Lion's attack never reached Curze as a wall of cement suddenly appeared between her and her target. Frustrated by the new interference, Lion leapt onto the top of the wall only to end up being assailed by a powerful sonic attack, "YEAAAAAAAAAH!"
Lion yelled in pain as she dropped her knife and covered her ears to block out the sonic attack which reminded her far too much of slaaneshi noise marines for her liking. Unlike her original primarch body, she lacked the 'Lyman's Ears' 'gene seed' which allowed her to be immune to both dizziness and motion sickness. As such, she was slowly but surely becoming dizzy and nauseous due to the sound that that was actually a quirk-empowered yell from Hizashi (a.k.a. Present Mic). In desperation, she jumped off the wall of cement but it quickly changed into a literal cement jail cell thus effectively immobilising her as a result.
Ken (a.k.a. Cementoss) gave a thumb's up to Hizashi and said, "Thanks for the assist, Present Mic!"
Realising that the pro-heroes were retaliating, Guilliman was about to tell her fellow former primarchs to scatter when she sensed an incoming attack. She immediately raised her right arm in self-defence and saw a long piece of what seemed to be grey cloth wrapped around the forearm. The piece of "cloth" quickly proved to be much more durable than expected as Guilliman failed to tear it off with her bare hands. Her eyes narrowed as she noticed that Shouta, who was wielding the "cloth", was glaring at her and her comrades with glowing red eyes.
Corax tried to activate her ability to transform into a wraith-like shadow form to attack Shouta. To her shock, she could not transform and said, "M-my abhuman powers are not working!"
Ferrus and Icarian, who were also in Shouta's line of sight, quickly realised that they were also unable to use their own abilities. Shocked by the sudden loss of their abilities, Guilliman almost failed to notice that some pink pellets had landed at their feet and exploded to release a pink mist. As the mist started to spread, Guilliman yelled, "Everyone, get back!"
The former primarchs immediately tried to avoid the mist but Lion could not avoid inhaling it due to being both disorientated and inside of Ken's cement jail at the time. As for Guilliman, she tried to get away from the pink mist when pillars of cement suddenly erupted from the ground at her feet and formed a cone-shaped structure that held her inside. She tried to literally punch her way out of the structure but, between Ken's ability to replace the pillars and Shouta's admittedly minimal assistance in restraining her, she was unable to avoid inhaling the pink mist. Both Lion and Guilliman were quickly knocked out as a result.
Nemuri (a.k.a. Midnight) smiled at the effectiveness of her newest support gear and thought, "I'll have to send a signed 'Thank You!' note to Midoriya-kun after this!" She then proceeded to face Icarian while wielding her whip.
"Keep up the pressure! We can't let any of them escape or harm anyone!" shouted Shouta while taking the chance to pull back his cloth-like capturing weapon.
Ferrus, who was out of Shouta's line of sight, could feel her arms transforming into metallic gauntlets. Realising the implications, she pointed at Shouta and yelled, "We must stop that abhuman with the glowing eyes! He can disable our own abhuman abilities!"
Immediately understanding what needed to be done, Corax charged towards Shouta. Even if she could not transform, she still possessed not only the superhuman speed of her current body but also her combat experience from her past life.
Well aware of how dangerous Corax could be after facing the six girls who were wards of U.A. High School, Shouta swore as he lashed out with his capturing weapon to stop Corax. As his eyes started to become dry as a side-effect of using his quirk, he was forced to blink. Corax could feel her body beginning to transform and took advantage of it as she transformed into a wraith-like shadow that easily slipped past Shouta's capturing weapon. Shouta gritted his teeth as he thought, "Of course the one coming after me can do this kind of shit!"
Just as Corax turned solid to punch Shouta with enough force to break his facial bones, extensively, All Might appeared between the two and blocked her fist with the palm of one hand. Corax's eyes widened in shock as All Might smiled at her in a manner that seemed downright casual and said, "Normally, I'd try to be gentle with the ladies but you and your companions are clearly too strong for that." He then punched her in her abdomen with enough force to knock her out in spite of her own superhuman body.
While Corax was knocked out by All Might, Ferrus was forced to engage with a young man who had a lean muscular build and the ability to produce strong tree branches from his wooden arms named Nishiya Shinji. Also known as the pro-hero, Kamui Woods, Shinji tried to restrain Ferrus by coiling tough tree branches around her arms and legs. However, Ferrus was agile enough to avoid the branches and could use her metallic arms to tear the branches apart. Even so, she did not dare to get overconfident as she instinctively knew that letting enough branches coil around her limbs would effectively immobilise her.
Nemuri was barely able to stop Icarian from trying to help the other former primarchs with Ken's help. Icarian, who was slowly becoming mentally exhausted due to near-constant use of her ability to look into future probabilities, swore as she realised that escape with even one of her companions was basically impossible. She then noticed something that made her almost lose her combat focus, "Where's Alpharius?!"
-Somewhere within the crowd of excited onlookers…-
Alpharius frowned as she used her ability to suppress her own presence thoroughly to the point that not even the other former primarchs noticed her absence until it was too late. She used her ability from the moment Lion decided to attack All Might as she knew that any chance for the rest of the group to escape or avoid being labelled as criminals was lost. She shook her head in disappointment and thought, "Well, assuming that they all end up at U.A. High School after this, at least all the loyalists, plus three more, will be in one location."
Unwilling to risk getting captured, never mind the fact that there was little she could have done regardless, Alpharius walked away with no one even acknowledging her existence…
-Back to Icarian…-
"She… she frakking abandoned us!" thought Icarian. She was so distracted by the feeling of betrayal that she almost failed to realise that Nemuri had tossed a few pink pellets at her feet. Recognising the pellets, Icarian tried to jump away but Ken was able to create a few cement arches that prevented her from leaping away from the mist. He then quickly created a few cement pillars so that Icarian would be trapped and unable to avoid breathing in the pink mist that would knock her out.
Ferrus, who realised that her companions had been knocked, out bit back a curse as she glared at the pro-heroes around her. She then pointed at Curze and yelled at the pro-heroes, "You're supposed to be heroes. Why are you all defending HER from us?"
"She may be the one who killed those men a few days ago, but we will not ignore the fact that that you clearly wanted to kill her as well," said Shouta.
"None of you have even a single clue of what she has done!" yelled Ferrus.
"You're wrong," said Hizashi who wore a solemn expression as he stepped forward and continued speaking to Ferrus with a quite tone that was unlike his usual bombastic way of speaking, "I was there when Sanguinius, Vulkan, Russ, Jaghatai, Dorn and Angron told some people about their lives before coming here."
Shocked, Ferrus turned her attention towards Hizashi and asked, "They told you of the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy?"
"And the Indomitus and Great Rift Crusades," confirmed Hizashi who then added, "You may not believe that traitor primarchs like Curze deserve redemption, but I have spent enough time with Angron to believe that it is not impossible as long as they genuinely wish to better themselves." He smiled sadly as he added, "An old friend of mind would have agreed with me."
Shinji wore a confused expression as he turned to Shouta, Nemuri, Ken and All Might for answers about what Ferrus and Hizashi were talking about. However, the other four pro-heroes did not know either and were thus either just as confused or were just beginning to realise just how much Nedzu had kept hidden from them.
The sound of grinding metal would be faintly heard as Ferrus clenched her metallic fists and said, "Them? Deserving redemption?" She then started to laugh with an unmistakable hint of hysteria that deeply disturbed even the pro-heroes around her before she suddenly started yelling with a furious expression on her face, "You only think so because you can't even grasp the true scale and consequences of their betrayal! You weren't there when humanity was on the verge of its greatest victory across the stars only to be brought down to a new dark age of misery and pain because of their betrayal and heresy! You weren't there to witness friends, brothers and sons be betrayed and slaughtered in the thousands by the very people whom they had trusted and loved! You weren't there to witness of the horrors that the traitors had inflicted upon the people they were supposed to protect!" Tears streamed down her face as she spoke more softly with a broken voice, "You weren't there… to help the trillions of souls who actually deserved to be happy." She then fell onto her knees and sobbed as the accumulated stress of being reborn in a vastly different version of Terra after getting beheaded by Fulgrim and learning the terrible consequences of the Horus Heresy finally became too much for her current self to bear.
As Ferrus wept, Hizashi walked towards her said, "You're right, I wasn't there when everything went wrong in your home. Never mind trying to understand the scale of how badly things had gone wrong back there, I wasn't even aware that your home actually existed until just over a week ago." He then knelt down so and took out his shades so that he could look at her in the eyes with a kind smile and say, "But you're all here now, and we are here to help."
Ferrus tried to find falsehood in Hizashi's eyes but found none. Full of both grief and relief, Ferrus hugged him while wailing. It was an emotional scene that made even pro-heroes like All Might shed a tear while Curze looked away with a shamed expression on her face. It did not take long for the former primarchs and Eri to be taken to U.A. High School for further questioning.
While many people would later agree that Ferrus' words implied many worrying things, there was also no denying that Lion was able to make All Might, the No.1 pro-hero in all of Japan if not the entire world, bleed and stagger like a mere mortal.
-Some time later…-
When Lion finally regained consciousness, she woke up with a start and looked around while expecting an incoming attack. Once she was certain that there was no incoming attack, she took in her surroundings and quickly realised that she was in a room with Guilliman, Ferrus, Corax and Icarian. It was also clear that all of them were wearing manacles of some sort that had to have some sort of function in restricting them.
Lion narrowed her eyes as she asked the other four former primarchs, "What happened?"
"Long story short, the pro-heroes of this world decided to capture us and Alpharius abandoned us," said Guilliman who then wore a deadpan expression as she added, "As you can see, both of them succeeded."
"What of Curze?" asked Lion.
"She's still alive," answered Icarian who then added, "Unless we're mistaken, she's here as well. Just in a different part of this place."
"So we have failed to take down the traitor," said Lion who was convinced that Curze would soon betray the local abhumans' trust in her and spread terror just as she had done during her time as a primarch.
"Yes," confirmed Guilliman. Although Lion had acted hastily, especially when she basically provoked the pro-heroes, there was no denying that letting Curze be free was simply too dangerous a risk for Guilliman and the other former loyalists in her group to even consider taking. She then turned her attention towards Ferrus and said, "Now that all of us are awake, tell us where we are and what's going on right now."
Ferrus sighed and said, "We're at U.A. High School. Also, at least some of the pro-heroes here already know the truth about us and are apparently interested in helping us, repentant traitors included."
While the other girls were shocked by the implications of Ferrus' statement, Lion narrowed her eyes and said, "How can they be so sure that the traitors are even repentant in the first place?"
"Do you remember that… abhuman named All Might saying that he knows someone who can tell if someone is lying or not?" asked Ferrus.
"You're implying that he was telling the truth," said Guilliman.
Ferrus nodded and said, "The lie-detecting abhuman is also apparently one of the few who knows the actual truth about us."
"Can his abhuman abilities even be trusted?" asked Corax.
"Honestly, I'm not sure," admitted Ferrus who then added, "That being said, when I asked the abhuman who knows about us, Present Mic, for details of the Great Crusade to be sure, he gave me basic but generally accurate information."
"Which means that they most likely chose to believe our loyalist sisters over Angron, assuming that she even tried to contradict them," said Guilliman.
"If that is true, then it will not be difficult to convince them that Curze is dangerous," said Lion.
"The same can be argued about Angron," said Icarian. Just as she had never met Curze personally in her past life, she had never met Angron in person either.
"True, but Angron's issues, even before she betrayed the Imperium and became a daemon prince in her past life, can be tied to the butcher's nails which she currently lacks," said Guilliman.
"Ancient 'archeotech' aside, what do you think will happen to us?" asked Corax.
"That will depend on whether you are willing to live with not only the girls who are former loyalists but also the two former traitors, Angron and Curze," said Nedzu as he stepped into the room together with Naomasa, Hizashi, Shouta and Nemuri.
Lion frowned as she stared at Nedzu and asked, "Does your… 'quirk' make you resemble a small animal?"
Nedzu chuckled and replied, "No, I'm actually an animal with a hyper-intelligence quirk."
Lion immediately became tense as the idea of an animal with a quirk reminded her of the warp-tainted beast of Caliban which she faced during the early childhood of her past life. Having taken the time to ask the six girls about the "new arrivals", Nedzu was not surprised by Lion's reaction as he spoke to her, "Sanguinius told me that you survived on your own while facing warp-tainted creatures on your former homeworld. I can assure that that I am neither tainted by the warp nor am I possessed by a daemon. I'm just an animal with a mutation that grants me super intelligence, not unlike how an 'ogryn' is an abhuman that lacks complex intellect but possesses immense size and strength."
Although Lion was reluctant to relax her guard, she was willing to restrain herself from attacking Nedzu while Guilliman asked, "Are you considering letting us stay here with the others?"
Nedzu nodded and said, "We are. However, your willingness to kill Curze, justified as it may to you be due to her actions in her past life, is not something we can simply ignore, especially after one of you actually struck All Might and made him bleed." He then turned his attention towards Lion and asked, "How did you know where to hit him by the way?"
Lion shrugged and answered, "I just knew where it would hurt."
Nedzu accepted Lion's answer and turned his attention towards Icarian, "Sanguinius claims that she does not recognise you even though she can tell that you're a former primarch. Are you one of the two 'lost primarchs'?"
Icarian nodded and explained, "My name is Icarian, former primarch off the Lightning Bearers. I exiled myself from the Imperium due to my selfish actions during the Rangdan Xenocides that not only prolonged the war but also caused countless loyal people of the Imperium to be killed. You can ask my executioner, Russ, for details of my execution."
"Did you by any chance meet the other 'lost primarch' after coming to this world?" asked Nedzu.
"Yes, but we parted ways a few days ago as she did not want to be associated with anyone who was loyal to the Imperium, especially Russ," answered Icarian.
Nedzu nodded in response before he turned his attention towards Guilliman and said, "I heard from Sanguinius that you were quite a diplomat in your past life."
"Then you must have heard that Curze was, to put it very lightly, quite a murderous psychopath in her past life," said Guilliman.
"True, but most murderous psycopaths do not go out their way to protect and care for a child," replied Nedzu.
"They would if the child can offer them some sort benefit," argued Guilliman.
"Again, true," agreed Nedzu who then added, "However, most gentle-natured children would not consider a terrifying murderess as a heroine to be loved."
Stunned by Nedzu's statement, the former primarchs in the room were silent for a moment before Icarian said, "We've heard that Curze saved her from someone."
Guilliman was almost afraid to know the answer as she asked, "Just how badly was that child suffering to even consider Curze of all people as a beloved hero?"
Naomasa sighed before he told the girls what was supposed to be classified information about the Shie Hassaikai, "To put a long story short, the child was treated as a prisoner, test subject and literal human resource by her former caretaker, Overhaul. He had the ability to disassemble and reassemble anything that he touched down to the molecular level and he used that ability on her, multiple times, so that he could use her very flesh and blood to create a drug of some sort."
Had Corax not been a primarch in her past life, she would have looked sickened by Naomasa's statement about Eri's past circumstances. Images of growling monstrous aberrations of humanity, which were the result of her past attempt to rapidly increase the number of space marines during a time of all-out war, flashed through her mind.
Ferrus, who had recently learnt how followers of Slaanesh would capture humans slaves to either torture them or process them into potent drugs, felt just as sickened as Corax. The fact that her former best friend, Fulgrim, became a slaaneshi daemon prince only sickened her further.
Both Lion and Guilliman looked at each other for a moment before Guilliman asked Nedzu, "Does the child know Curze's past life?"
"We have not asked her that yet but I doubt she knows everything," answered Nedzu who then added, "However, given the fact that she was present when Curze reduced four men into pieces of flesh, bone and blood before her very eyes, I doubt she needs to be told how dangerous Curze can be even in her current form."
"Fair enough," conceded Guilliman who then said, "Regardless, I strongly suggest keeping Curze on a short leash."
"Oh, I plan to do just that," said Nedzu who was already planning to set up a "Villain and Vigilante Reform Program" for the upcoming school year.
"Will we be allowed to see the others who are already staying here?" asked Icarian.
"I intend to hold a meeting with all of you by tonight at latest so you will be able to meet them before long," said Nedzu who then added, "That being said, I suggest that you all take a hot bath with a change of clothes, have a hot meal and get some much-needed rest."
Seeing no reason to disagree with Nedzu's suggestion, the five girls accepted his offer…
-Meanwhile, at a certain seedy bar…-
Lorgar rubbed her chin as she read the latest online news article and said, "So, all of the loyalists, plus a few additions, will most likely be staying at U.A. High School."
"Are there any among them who is a potential party member?" asked Tomura.
Lorgar thought for a moment before she shook her head and said, "Angron's a lost cause at this point and, recent murders aside, I get the feeling that Curze will be no easier to convince."
"A shame," said Tomura who was clearly being insincere. He then smirked dementedly as he added, "But at least we won't have to worry too much about 'friendly fire' when we decide to attack that school."
Lorgar smiled darkly as she spoke, "That is something we can both agree on."
Tomura's smile widened as he looked at a paused video that showed All Might bleeding from the mouth and said, "And we have the perfect sales pitch to gather many party members!"
-At Jin's apartment…-
Fulgrim's eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared at a video recording of Ferrus suffering a mental breakdown before being comforted by a pro-hero named Presence Mic.
"So, Lion and Guilliman were trying to take down Curze before they and their group got captured by the local pro-heroes," said Magnus. As a former daemon prince of Tzeentch, she was able to obtain certain details of the Horus Heresy including Curze's infamous deeds on Macragge. Therefore, she was not too surprised to find out that Lion and Guilliman had decided to eliminate Curze before she could become a major problem.
"Can't say that I'm surprised to see those two working together again," said Mortarion who recalled how Lion and Guilliman worked together during the Great Rift Cursade.
Perturabo frowned as she spoke, "Unless something unexpected happens, all of them will end up staying at U.A. High School at this rate."
"Which means that we only have Horus, Lorgar, Alpharius and one more lost primarch unaccounted for," said Magnus.
The four former traitor primarchs were silent for a moment before Fulgrim got up and left while saying, "I… I need a moment."
Well aware of Fulgrim's once-close bond with Ferrus, the other three girls did not question her need to be alone as she left them. Jin, who was waiting for the girls to give him back his mobile phone, was similarly silent as he watched her shut herself into a toilet to be alone. Muffled sobs could soon be heard coming out from it.
Jin turned his attention towards the three girls who still had his mobile phone in their possession and said, "I know that you girls have your own secrets to keep, but I doubt keeping it a secret will do much good at the rate things are going." He then contradicted himself, "Your secrets aren't even all that serious anyway!"
Magnus sighed as she admitted, "It's a long story."
Not surprised by Magnus' statement, Jin said, "Well, it's not like I have anything else better to do." He then added, "I'm going to be late for my job!"
Magnus, Perturabo and Mortarion nodded at one another before they told Jin about their pasts as primarchs, traitors and daemon princes of the Ruinous Powers…
-In the primarchs' original universe…-
Although the Great Rift had shrunk as a result of the Great Rift Crusade, the four gods of Chaos had made a recent discovery that almost made them forget about the shrinking rift: an entirely new universe which possessed its own immaterium that seemed to be free of corruption.
The four gods coveted the new universe and desired to corrupt it into their respective image. However, their individual primarch champions had been freed from their control and were clearly not interested in becoming their daemon princes again. Even so, there was still one primarch who was all too willing to aid them in the invasion of the other universe. It was simply a matter of getting a strong enough foothold for the corruption of the other universe to truly begin.
While the four gods knew that the Emperor of Mankind was aware of the new universe as well, they assumed that he would be more concerned with protecting his primarchs from their machinations than protecting a version of Terra that was not his own.
They would later realise their error and the magnitude of the resulting consequences.
-End Chapter-
Author's Notes:
According to 'Warhammer 40k' canon, Curze believed that fate could not be changed and that he was ultimately doing what he had been made to do while refusing to take responsibility for the atrocities he had committed. While he came to the realisation that he was no better than the very monsters he hated in the end, it was far too late for him to be anything else. As such, Guilliman and Lion had no reason to believe that the current version of Curze would be any different from her past self and thus wanted her eliminated before her acts of terror could affect them negatively.
Also, the canon states that Lion was so skilled in combat that even Curze, who could see into the future, was unable to kill him in combat. This same instinctual combat skill also leads to the possibility of Lion instinctively knowing that All Might's left side, which had an old grievous injury, was vulnerable.
Another 'Warhammer 40k' fact is that Curze and Angron were both discovered after the conclusion of the Rangdan Xenocides so Icarian probably never meet them in person. If that is true, Icarian will have a more neutral view of them compared to most of the other primarchs.
Speaking of 'Warhammer 40k' lore…
Due to canon 'Warhammer 40k' lore stating that the second and eleventh legions of the space marines were involved in the Rangdan Xenocides, never mind the fact that it has been implied that the primarchs both legions were already deemed as lost before the Emperor met Corax, I am adding details to the back-stories of the two lost primarchs, Icarian and Gwalchavad as follows:
- Icarian was discovered in the expunged record of 821.M30. The year of discovery was before both the discovery of Ferrus Manus and the beginning of the Rangdan Xenocides so it checks out. Icarian was killed by Leman Russ in 965.30M. Due to feeling guilty over his mistakes during the Rangdan Xenocides, Icarian exiled himself in shame and did little to stop his own execution other than having an honourable duel with Leman Russ.
- Gwalchavad was "officially discovered" in the expunged record of 927.M30. However, Gwalchavad was in fact discovered much earlier during the years of the Rangdan Xenocides. The stated year of his "official discovery" was in fact the year when he was rediscovered after he turned against the Imperium at the end of the Rangdan Xenocides (Remember, the Emperor had already deemed Gwalchavad as lost when he met Corax in 922.M30 and, given Alpharious' own "official discovery", Gwalchavad's situation is not without precedent). Gwalchavad was killed by Leman Russ in 969.M30. Unlike with Icarian, Gwalchavad and his Wardens of Light fought viciously against Leman Russ and his Space Wolves.
Do let me know your opinions about the updated fan-made lore.
Until next time, go beyond, plus ultra!