Oh, my my! What is this, I hear you ask? After some time, a lotta writer's block, things in life and all that jazz, I've wrote another chapter! We're reaching the end, slowly but surely. I hope y'all have enjoyed the ride so far, and I'm so sorry of the complete inconsistency! Tis hard for me to continue writing sometimes, but I've pushed through! Here ya go! Also, the song above is called Defence of Moscow by Sabaton! Real great song!
High in the halls of Avalon, the ragtag army had gathered, eyes burning with determination as Merlin stood over them, his eyes as grim as death.
"We'll be reaching the shores of Japan within the next hour. Be prepared, we're expecting heavy resistance. The Paranormal Liberation Front marches."
Mumbles filled the hall, whispers hushed at the news that Merlin broke. While they may have been in the dark before, they still had data on the Front, including the numbers that rank within their army and to say it was bad would be like saying a tsunami was a small wave on a nice summer day.
The Paranormal Liberation Front had over 50,000 fighters, both villains and compliant civilians alike, alone for their ground forces, compared to Avalon's 30,000 ragtag mixture of heroes, soldiers and police collected from the collective countries of the world. That number of bodies within the Front however, doesn't include the induction of the Japanese Defence Front, the Military branch of the Japanese government, who brought over their navy and air force to merge with the now superpower that was the Paranormal Liberation Front.
Luckily, however, the Japanese Army and Navy couldn't hold a candle to the hyper power that was the combined armed forces of the United World, nearly every single Country that survived after the Shattering had donated whatever they could to the task force attacking and retaking Japan without compromising their own national security.
And, from the east, piercing over the oceanic horizon rose Avalon, its mighty shadow casting across Japan as it stood tall and proud, the lone gazer on the edge of the abyss that was Japan and its new found ruler.
Alarms blared as a voice spoke over the intercom, seemingly hurried.
"Battle stations! We've picked up movement from the enemy forces! Aircraft are inbound! I Repeat! Aircraft are inbound!"
People kicked into action as they geared up, mechanical whirring occurred all around them as turrets unfolded upon the high towers of Avalon as the people manned the wall, quirk and weapon bound and ready for the action that was coming their way.
Fire, ice, bullets all rained through the sky, a macabre scene of death and misery as bodies and scrap piled up; people were dead in seconds as the skirmish toiled on, the airborne fighters torn apart by invisible forces as black lead rained from the sky and onto the battlements of Avalon.
This wasn't what people wanted, but it was a necessary action to restore the world lost to chaos.
A blink, then the sky blazed with fire, the fighters in the sky, once flying majestically with speed and precision, were melted to molten metal as the scraps fell into the blue void below them. From within the fire storm, floating like an avenging angel sent from Heaven, was Izuku Midoriya.
His veridian hair waving up in the air as if suspended in water, eyes glowing a bright white as he exuded his power, the flames obeying his will. Behind his back a pair of massive wings of fire flapped gently, a beautiful display as his right hand clutched Amaterasu tightly.
"Fall."
Then, all across his form, multicoloured lightning arched off, before he vanished, only to reappear just in front of one of the enemy fighters, spear held high as he thrust forward, cutting through the fighter as if it were nothing but butter
Fighters fell by the dozen, great balls of fire engulfing the skies as Izuku dismantled the attackers, hundreds of parachutes floating precariously in the air as the pilots drifted into Avalon's air space, where they were captured with ease.
On the tides, battle roared fiercely as two titans locked their insatiable maws into each over, a battle of naval dominance, the humming of hulking metal war machines as they glided over the deep blue of the ocean as two forces fought brutally.
Thunder roared as the cannons within the fleets opened fire, a thousand shells blitzing through the air like rain on a cold winter's day, the ocean gushing up where the shells missed their target as the fleets fought below. Hundreds of ships floated below, some ablaze, and some sinking to the ocean abyss as the men hollered and cried their last, their souls bound to the fight with iron and blood, onyx smoke whimsically filling the air as the fight continued.
While the Japanese fleet stood its ground with a fierce and grim determination, it couldn't withstand the combined might of the Heroes' force, and soon, most if not all of their fleet was sunk, their ships now wrecked at the bottom of the sea and any survivors were picked up, now prisoners of war.
Clear oceans awaited as the diminished allied flotilla made their mad dash towards the shores of the Japanese mainland, frothing ocean foaming under the crashing might of the navy as Avalon stood tall over the approaching force, as fighter jets danced through the sky on escort duty.
*Kra-Kra-Kra-THOOM!*
Azure flames lashed out like a furious star, the cremating flames totally disintegrating anything within its wild path, engulfing entire squadrons of fighter jets as they clawed ravenously upwards, hungry to devour everything.
What was once a force of hundreds of fighter jets was reduced to a mere handful under the intense fury of hellfire that gnawed at the sky.
Jetting down with a mighty flapping of his ethereal wings, Izuku smashed onto the beaches, immediately creating a telekinetic bubble around him as bullets and quirks rained down on him, before he coalesced his flames into a white hot beam that he threw out, blinding anyone who was even looking close to his general direction as he vanished in a blink of an eye.
Around him, the landscape was torn and scorched, the once ivory sands blackened with soot as glass sheen from within the small grains.
Following the beach upwards, nature gave way into man made structures, most strikingly of which was a concave sea wall that had seen better days; cracks and erosion had made the once smooth surface rough and coarse, with moss and seaweeds clinging to the greyed surface. Atop the wall, however were the vague silhouettes of people.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people lined the sea barrier. Their eyes flared with hatred and anger, their forms shaking with what Izuku had no doubt was anger. With a quick appraisal of the gathered force, Izuku held a hand to his ear;
"Hostiles have fortified the landing area, begin the attack."
*Boom!*
A bout of smoke emanated from the sea wall, a thick white smog that overtook the beach and stole away Izuku's line of sight. Shuffling from behind the screen filled the air and Izuku stood stock still, ready and waiting and as the wavering cloud of smoke rose, Izuku got his first clear look at the leader of the defending force. He knew someone had approached from beyond the fog, but it surprised him at who came from the smoke.
What he expected was to be met with Dabi and his cremation quirk, only... It was...
All for One.
This wasn't the true All for One, no, his power was almost severed compared to the beast, almost like a clone. Hoisting Amaterasu up, Izuku powered his throw into one of the defenders, watching as the sharp blade pierced through them, only for them to melt into a gooey pile of mud. Twice clones. With a wave of his hand, Amaterasu returned, sitting comfortably in his palm as he spoke once more into his ear.
"Enemies identified as Twice clones. All for One is present as a clone."
Above, what little remained of the Allied air force flew overhead, their eyes scouting the enemies, information flowing to Avalon as the heads worked. The cannons that lined the walls of Avalon arched down, aiming towards the beach before their barrels lit up in a brillant blue before they opened fire.
Everyone who was on the beach was incinerated, down for the count as they disintegrated into a clay goop on the floor, massive craters forming in the ivory sands as the might of Avalon bared down on the fortified beach. Sand turned to glass under the bombardment before it teetered off, leaving only Izuku and All for One standing, his hand glowing with eldritch purple power as a psionic shield protected him from the blast. It fractured like mosaic glass before it imploded like a glitter bomb and Izuku acted.
Quickly, Izuku hiked Amaterasu in his palm and put every inch of his back into his stance, throwing his spear like a javelin towards the dark lord. The man grinned, maniacal and dark, as the spear pierced through his chest, goading Izuku as he spoke.
"Ninth, so weak. Pitiful. You couldn't even save All Might, you couldn't save Japan. You couldn't save your... hehe... one true love."
Then, like the breaking of dawn, All for One fell, his form becoming liquid as he slowly melted into the same clay goop that the rest of the force on the beach had.
Gritting his teeth, Izuku shook his head as he raised his hand to his ear, speaking with a firm tone that held no nonsense within.
"The beach is clear, we're free to land for now."
Within the hour, Merlin and Star and Stripe arrived, landing on the beach where Izuku had landed before they made their way upwards, towards the minor base of operation, an open tent where the enemy had fortified their position. They were greeted by a grim looking Izuku Midoriya, who was glaring at a glass table with a mapped out hologram of Japan blinking innocently.
"What were our losses?" Bowing their heads in prayer, Merlin answered softly.
"Most of our air forces. Only 40 out of the 400 aircraft we brought survived. Along with the Shooting Star squadron, of course." All three heroes bowed their heads, silent in their grief before Merlin moved.
With gentle hands, Merlin overlooked the table, the map of Japan outlined clearly and with a tap thousands of red dots appeared all over the island, scattered about the lands.
"Our landing is only the beginning. We need to push both west and north to secure as much land as we can to set up a proper front line along with a hub of activity." Izuku added.
"Right now, Shizuoka Prefecture is the most volatile zone, which is where All for One is based and homed, that makes it our main priority to break. Have Avalon and her escort move here," Izuku pointed towards the map, where he highlighted the centre of the Miyagi Prefecture. "If we can secure Miyagi and then Yamagata, we can cut the north from All for One's influence and have a secure front line to push towards All for One." Continuing, Star and Stripe added.
"Intel from M.I.6 and the C.I.A suggest that the bulk of All for One's forces are centred around Shizuoka and her surrounding prefectures. Central Japan is basically fully under All for One's grasp, with the south and north in an inbetween state." Izuku hummed.
"Do we have any word on survivors? Any resistance movements? Not everyone will have fallen under All for One's control." Deep in his soul, Izuku knew that not many would have survived; All for One would have immediately sent out waves of his minions to subdue any who thought to try and usurp his 'rightful' place on the throne of Japan.
"Basically nothing. Any underground heroes were quickly subdued and the limelight heroes followed after. Other than that, we have a few odd leads here and there, but most were lures for other Heroes within Japan. Our most prominent lead was the... Capture of the remaining Top 10." Sharply, Izuku glanced at his companions.
"And their status?" Star and Stripe grinned savagely.
"Alive, according to our most recent reports and contained within the rebuilt halls of Tartarus. Edgeshot, Miruko, Best Jeanist, and Kamui Woods are alive within Tartarus, if wounded in various ways and Crust, Yoroi Musha, and Wash were casualties of the first waves of All for One's takeover with the Fall of U.A."
Pausing, Izuku pondered on the possibilities. If he could break the Top Heroes out of prison, not only would they boost his army in terms of strength, but also in morale, they'd have gained both powerful allies and the ability to show that they could fight against All for One and his oppressive reign. However, it would also mean breaking into Tartarus, the formidable fortress that once held the demon that now lords over it, and the location was far too close to All for One's main hold out was far too big a risk.
His soul sparked with indecision, he wanted to help out his fellow heroes badly, but the risks involved were greater than any one person, no matter how big they were or how large a presence, it was quite literally the entire world's fate they were now playing with and such risks could doom his world to darkness forever under the tyranny of All for One.
"Any ideas? I feel like we should rescue them, but is it possible?" Izuku turned to his two elders as they thought.
"Ideally, we should. Realistically, though, it may be near impossible. We're already severely low on manpower, we have no base location or even a steady hold on Japan, even now we could be pushed back to the seas at any moment. At this point, we should focus more on rooting ourselves down and hunkering down to prepare for a long war." Merlin looked forlorn as he spoke his thoughts. Star and Stripe perked up.
"We don't have to commit our full force, just a stealth taskforce of a few to infiltrate and bust our brothers and sisters out of that hellhole." The buff lady grinned happily, "Our best stealth operatives could do it, a quick in and out extraction, perhaps the Ghost Crew." Wincing, Izuku added.
"Yeah. They could do it, that insane family of vigilantes." Fondness could be heard in Izuku's tone.
Ghost Squadron was a ragtag group of former vigilantes turned reformed heroes, an elite squad of heroes based around stealth, hit and runs, and anything to do with the dark nitty gritty part of heroics. They were also, perhaps, the most insane group of people Izuku had ever seen, and he'd mentored under All Might, had Eraserhead as a teacher, Nezu as a Principal and his classmates had earned the moniker of the "Hell Year" yet...
The Ghost crew had thoroughly crushed Izuku's fundamentals on every level during their travel time on Avalon. Madness could only describe their antics, yet often madness and genius are two sides of the same coin and the Ghost Crew exemplify that.
"Perhaps we combine our strengths, send in Task Force 141 with them."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Light cascaded like a serene call of grace upon a large wooden table of Japan, it was painted with beautiful swirling seas around the sharp edges of the island country, with masterfully carved geography, a perfect copy of the landscape with flags flying over the locations of every city, town and village that dotted the surface.
Daichi was nothing if not decadent.
Said man was casually overlooking the map, his eyes gleaming like an arctic breeze as his mind whirred with thoughts and plans, an intricate web of knowledge and action that he danced around as he would if he were a spider. A blue light appeared on the map suddenly, on the coast as his mind filtered a new image that invaded his mindscape.
"Ahh, the Ninth has returned home."
The last holder of One for All was quite persistent, like the rest of his ilk, and just as bothersome as them too, but in the end it was of no matter. The meagre forces they had gathered were nothing compared to his own Legions, and he'd crush them into nothing but ash and bone, and from those ashes, his Empire will arise greater than any and all.
"Deep in thought eh? I never knew you were someone with a brain." Daichi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Dabi. How's your brother doing? Made any headway with our goal?" The scarred man grunted.
"Nah. Just as stubborn as his old man, and with the gentle nature of his weak mother. It'll be damn near impossible to turn him until we break him totally. Why'd ya need him anyway?" Unperturbed, Daichi turned to the flame wielder, completely blanking on the last question.
"Like you were?" Insanity gleamed in those cyan eyes as the man shot back.
"Like I was." Daichi folded his hands behind his back, ignoring the feeling in his soul as he overlooked the rebuilt Musutafu.
"You didn't answer my question." Dabi stated.
Daichi frowned.
"I've dreamed about this moment for decades. Atop my throne, heroes crushed beneath my heel and the world bowing to me alone. The Demon Lord." Daichi waved his hand,
"My oblivious brother protested of course, he was a noble bleeding heart; that of a hero. But he was my brother, and I loved him." Almost sadly, Daichi looked down.
"Yet, he was weak, feeble even, and the world that we grew up in would have taken him from me, it did take him from me eventually. I tried my hardest to protect him, alas, all that is left of him is a stubborn quirk twisted with the vile desires of those heroes." This time, Daichi turned, facing the highly unimpressed Dabi, who was blankly staring at the monologuing villain.
"You ask me, question me, why I need Shouto Todoroki, and I need him to draw in the Ninth, Izuku Midoriya. And that is all you need to know." Dabi smirked, and bowed mockingly.
"As you say, oh mighty lord."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Nezu glanced up, his scraped together hobble of a computer whirring to life as he typed rapidly. Information flooded his network as he tapped into his old systems and syphoned any and all data he needed to work with, High Specs kicking into maximum overdrive as plans formed, jigsaws pieced together and answers were being answered.
"Hawks. How are you feeling?" Barely looking up, Nezu acknowledged the bird hero as said hero strolled in.
"Freezing my wings off over here Nezu." Just like most birds, Hawks wasn't accustomed to the brutal cold that permeated the permafrost of the Siberian wilderness.
"Well, good news is that we should be able to leave soon to rendezvous with the other heroes. An alliance is moving on Japan. Headed by Izuku Midoriya, Merlin and Star and Stripe." Hawks perked up, his wings fluttering excitedly.
"We can leave? Thank the gods!" Nezu hummed.
"Before we do, would you be so kind as to prep the R.A.T. for me?" Hawks blinked, and blinked again.
"You... want the R.A.T. activated? Why?" Nezu grinned, so malicious and cruel it could have made Satan himself whimper.
"So I can fight All for One personally, of course!"
R.A.T. or the Robotic Armoured Titan, was Nezu's pride and joy, after U.A. was, of course. It was his dream since he was but a young pup to fight alongside heroes, but his stature and his nature would never allow him to fight side by side with the likes of All Might or Endeavour, so he cooked up his personal fighting mech.
Before the fiasco of the War, Nezu's R.A.T. was nothing more than thought experiments and nebulous blueprints to ponder whilst he was bored, yet as the War began to unfold and escalate further and further, the R.A.T. was becoming a higher priority in Nezu's mind; he knew he couldn't remain at the rear end of conflicts, too much room for error and communication interference, his plans wouldn't work, so he needed to be on the frontlines.
And so, secreted away in the Siberian wilderness was the Secure Area For Experimentation. S.A.F.E. Which was the single location on Earth that not even All for One could find.
The R.A.T. was an astounding 12 metres tall, armed to the teeth with a vast arsenal of weaponry from basic melee such as the chainsword in each arm, to the highly volatile and experimental laser based weaponry, along with missile pods on each shoulder, a high density shield generator along with the a Quirk nullifying bubble to act as a barrier instead of the usual area containment.
Pulling his connections from all over the globe, Nezu had integrated multiple ways to mimic quirks onto his mech, from adaptability to environments to regeneration and shock absorption with others to nullifying All for One's most used and powerful quirks that were known.
And, when U.A. fell to All for One, Nezu had upgraded his mech to the pinnacle of what science could achieve, a perfect blend of machinery, engineering, quirk science and biology to form the R.A.T. or Nexus as Nezu called it. His Magnum Opus.
"All for One, you made a grave mistake when you attacked U.A." Nezu grinned.
"While Izuku Midoriya may find it in his heart to let you live, I will personally deliver you to the vilest depths of Hell imaginable."
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Sitting alone, in the pitchest black one could imagine, was Shouto Todoroki. Dead heterochromatic eyes stared blankly forward, unseeing in the black abyss that surrounded the fraying boy.
Time had long lost all meaning, surrounded by unmoving stone, with no light to signal day or night as hunger and thirst clawed like the savage beasts they were at his body, they gnawed on his flesh as he withered away in the cells. His skin was a sickly pallor of snow white, the sun had not graced Shouto's skin in what felt like decades and it was littered with dried blood, muck and bile yellow bruises. What was once well kept hair, gleaming with life was matted and rough, calloused without care and tangled beyond repair as it jutted out jaggedly, some hanging limply down his back and some had clumped together.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
His lone companion in this hell, this horrific drivel was the slow drip of the leaky pipe as it leaked what Shouto so desperately wanted, that cool refreshing taste of water that hadn't passed his lips for an age. Like that of a forbidden fruit, it lingering in Shouto's ever deepening thoughts and yet it was out of his reach as he hung limply on wrought iron chains.
"Izuku... Please..." Broken, Shouto whispered into the oppressive silence.
"Oh... Oh, Shouto. I'm so terribly sorry..." Gasping to life, Shouto looked around, wild with the blazing emotions in his chest.
"Izuku? Was that you? Please!" Begging, so low of the spawn of Endeavour, a terrible internal voice whispered.
"It's me, Sho. I've got one of my communication officers to connect us briefly." Ugly tears rolled like a raging waterfall as Shouto sobbed.
"Izu! I-I-I tried so hard! It's b-b-b-been beyond terrible! Help me! Please! Help!" Shouto pleaded.
"I will, Sho. I promise you upon every star in the sky, I'll get you out. You've just gotta hold on. I'm almost there. Just a little bit more time." A raw keen came from Shouto's mouth, pain flaring all over his body as he shook from the force of his agony.
"I-I can't! I-i-ts too much... I d-d-don't think i-i-i'll survive, Izu." Barely able to whisper, how pathetic.
"Survive Sho. Remember your dream? Rekindle your flame, your hope! We'll be together soon and we can leave together." Shouto laughed wetly.
"Where'd w-w-we go?" The phantom voice of Izu whispered.
"Away from this, all of this. We can live alone, together just you and I, cosy in a log cabin in the woods. A nice warm fire, snuggled in a blanket as we drink hot chocolate. Doesn't that sound nice?" Shouto hummed in quiet delight.
"T-t-that sounds wonderful..." There was a pause of silence.
"Izu?" This time, there was no answer.
"Izu?!" Once again, there was no answer.
Alone, in the dark abyss of the cells, Shouto ignited his palm as fire emerged from his left side, and bitter frost from his right as he weeped; his cell imploded as the walls shattered from the intense and sudden heating then cooling. And, standing in the ruins was a supernova, a shining star with the ice of space surrounding him as Shouto whispered, hoarse but so very hopeful.
"We'll be together soon, Izu."
(How are ya doin'?)