Chapter Text
Momo’s head pounded with a dull, yet unrelenting pain. She hadn’t felt it, but she knew there was a huge bump on her head, which probably made her look quite silly.
“Oh, I think she’s starting to wake up,” A harmonic voice hummed. It sounded almost electronic.
Momo groggily opened her eyes… and nearly shrieked.
Standing above her, to one side of the cot she was laying on, was a Tenebris, with blackened skin and dark particles rushing around him, looking like a swarm of flies feeding off of its decaying body.
“Woah! It’s okay!” Izuku shouted, peeking out from behind the demon. He could feel her tensing up, about to pull a weapon from her skin. “They’re friends!”
“They?” Momo hesitantly sat up, making slow and delicate movements, as if the Tenebris would spring into action any second. But the demon seemed relaxed as he stepped aside, revealing… a Lux.
It was the first time Momo had gotten a good look at one that wasn’t moving at mach 10.
She had a feminine form, made up of multiple layered plates of metal, seemingly interwoven with the same bright blue energy that the other Lux had been emitting. Six long and thin structures floated behind her, spread out to mimic the appearance of wings. Her face, despite being made of the same metal, was, by all human standards, beautiful. She was the definition of perfection, aside from a small divot running along her abdomen like a scar.
“I am Quorra, and this is my husband, Merix,” Every movement of her body, from her hand gesturing towards the Tenebris, to the steps she took, were perfect, so fluid that they almost seemed to flow like some sort of optical illusion.
“Husband?” Momo asked, looking up at the demon, then to Izuku. “Why does all the crazy stuff happen when I’m not around?”
“Well… you were there… you were just… unconscious?” Izuku’s confidence faltered with each word he spoke, but Momo just snorted in amusement.
“He reminds me of you,” Quorra giggled, pointing to her husband.
“Conversation is not my strong suit,” Merix said bluntly.
Now that the perceived threat had passed, Momo took the time to look around. In an almost comical realization, Momo saw that they were sequestered within what looked like a log cabin. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all made out of wood, and there were even little knickknacks scattered about, all of which looked like they belonged in the human world. The bear skin rug and the taxidermied deer head standing out in particular. But in the corner of her vision, Momo spotted something even more interesting.
*******
[Hidden Quest: The Princess of Both Worlds]
- Assist the defectors of Heaven and Hell
*******
Izuku noticed her eyes on the alert and he gave a lopsided grin. “This place is more complicated than I was expecting.”
“I suppose now would be a good time for an explanation,” Quorra said, moving over to a table where she pulled out a chair. It was too normal in a place so strange, but Momo wanted answers.
*******
As it turned out, Izuku had waited for Momo to wake up before getting any info. He had a lot more patience than Momo would’ve had.
“We’ve been watching our kind for quite some time, so when we saw the towers falling, we also spotted you.” Quorra gestured to her husband. “He’s extremely adept at spatial magic, so he pulled you both into our home to save you. Unfortunately, one of you already got hit on the head by that point.”
“I don’t even remember it…” Momo muttered, rubbing the spot where the bump had once been. She had taken one of her own potions to heal herself completely.
“Heroes are more likely to survive a hit to the head, as opposed to a normal human, but they’re also more likely to get knocked unconscious. A normal human would die from a lot of head trauma, rather than just going unconscious like you see in the movies. Heroes can survive the hit to the head, but the jostling of your brain inside your skull can still cause you to get knocked out,” Izuku chimed in briefly.
“Well, thank you for saving us,” Momo said, bowing her head.
“Thank you for surviving,” Merix replied.
“Uh… you’re… welcome?” She looked to Izuku, who seemed amused by the exchange.
Quorra folded her hands over the table’s wooden surface. “I’m going to be honest, our intentions for saving you were not altruistic. We have our own motives, but we will not force them on you. We merely recognized the presence of someone who could help.”
“We’ll do whatever we can to help you,” Izuku replied without hesitation and Momo nodded along. If he trusted them and was willing to help, she’d follow his lead.
Quorra returned his promise with a bittersweet smile. “You see… I was injured during a battle with the Tenebris,” She laid a hand atop her scar. “The Lux value order and perfection above all else, so a scar like this was… unacceptable. They tried to destroy me, but Merix found me first.”
“I wanted to use my magic to help others, save the wounded, retreat from battle, and so on. But the Tenebris live for chaos. They wanted me to create portals for sneak attacks and terrible ambushes… I didn’t have the stomach to create such things.” Merix, despite his outwardly frightening appearance, looked almost pitiful as he recalled his past. “Thankfully, they figured that leaving me alive would cause more chaos than anything, so I wandered with no purpose, until I sensed Quorra in danger and saved her from her kind.”
Quorra smiled bashfully, as she recalled her knight in shining armor. “Neither of us belonged to our kin, so we decided to forge our own path. Not chaos, but not order either. We chose to live like humans would.”
“Uhm… why humans?” Izuku asked, moved by the story, but confused as to why such powerful beings would choose such a simple species.
“They are what neither species could achieve, balance,” Merix answered. “You strive for perfection, yet struggle to claw your way there. It is not perfect, not even close, but it is far more normal than most species in the universe. It is…” Merix lowered his head, trying to think of the word.
“It is simple.” Quorra finished for her husband. “Which is why we constructed this house, in a small pocket dimension, hidden from the Tenebris or the Lux.”
“Hmm… I never thought angels or demons would want to be like humans…” Izuku muttered.
Quorra gave a light chuckle at his remark. “Most find it detestable, because they have been raised in a society that deems it so. Only a few recognize the possibilities outside of their birthplace, and even fewer escape said lifestyle like we have.”
“Then… you want us to try and open their eyes to human ways of life?” Izuku guessed, worried that Merix didn’t know about the Tenebris they had killed.
The demon scoffed. “It is futile to try something like that. There are hundreds of floors within this territory, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of Tenebris and Lux live here. To try and turn their minds would be to try and confront reality itself. No, we no longer have qualms about what happens to our species’, we only care about one thing… our daughter, Esil.”
*******
Ryukyu awoke to a dark room, her room. Beneath the sheets that were usually empty, save herself, Dabi, or rather, Touya, laid naked next to her. His scarred body rubbed against the sheets in a way that always looked painful to her, but he claimed the burns didn’t hurt any longer. She doubted that.
Ryukyu slipped out of bed, careful to not wake her partner. They had tried looking for a love hotel, but their acclaim as Heroes made that a bit of a tough task. They decided to be patient and instead head back to her place. That taxi ride was… tense to say the least.
She would accompany him home to America when the Jeju Raid was over, but he had made it clear he didn’t want to go. She would respect his wishes.
Donning her armor, she admired the ruby shine of the scales that made it up. It looked much like her iconic chinese dress that she wore for public appearances, just without the combat flaws that such a dress would have. In many ways, she embodied the classic dragon of the west.
Though she lived a relatively modest lifestyle, Ryukyu had a certain fascination for shiny things. Even when cautioned against making such armor, which stood out greatly, she couldn’t help but request it anyways. Her closet was somewhat… filled with shiny things, like a dragon hoarding its treasure. If a psychologist knew about it, they’d probably want to launch a search into how transformation Quirks affected personality. Then again, there was a high chance such a study existed already. Ryukyu simply didn’t care enough to check.
And like a dragon, she possessed pride in great abundance. It was why her breakup with Touya had gone so wrongly, and why it took so long for them to even speak. She wasn’t arrogant by any means, that sort of character trait would quickly turn you into a meal for Gate denizens, but she knew she was one of the strongest people on the planet. No matter how humble you remained, that thought would always tickle the back of your head.
Absolute power corrupts absolutely. No Hero had absolute power, so one could say that they were only marginally corrupted by it. There was simply no avoiding it. You could be the most altruistic person on the planet, but that pride would still be there, like a parasite latched onto your brain. It was the duty of all Heroes to fight the clutches of that parasite, for all of their life.
Affixing a draconic mask to her helmet, her best set of armor was completed. It was the sort of thing she took out only for the big Raids, otherwise, she’d take less expensive armor.
Leaving her small apartment complex, she exited into her Agency, the Wyrm Agency. It wasn’t exactly convenient for an Agency President to live away from their HQ, so most Agencies had an apartment built in.
Dabi was still asleep by the time Ryukyu filed into the Agency’s transport, which was closer to an APC than a car. Due to her high ranking, her transport vehicle had siren permits, which allowed them to fly through traffic in an emergency. But the sun hadn’t even risen yet. The streets were always busy, but they had plenty of time to reach the docks.
Just as Ryukyu’s thoughts began to drift, her eyes unfocused and gazing out the window, a THUNK jolted her from the daydreams.
“That was the roof…” One of Ryukyu’s underlings said, grabbing his telescoping javelin.
“HEY HEY! IT'S A BIG DAY!”
But before the sidekick could spear whatever landed on the roof of the transport, a white-haired, bunny-eared, tan-skinned woman leaned over the edge of the transport, her head hanging upside down as she peered through the windows.
“Good morning, Rumi,” Ryukyu said, her spirits lifting as she removed her mask to meet her friend eye-to-eye. She lowered the window so they could talk, the rushing of air muffling some of the words. Ryukyu tried to invite her inside the truck, but Miruko declined, preferring to stay where she was.
“Where’s the flaming boy wonder?” Miruko asked.
“He won’t be coming,” Ryukyu answered, trying to keep her voice level as to not betray her feelings.
“Aww! What a prick!”
Ryukyu shrugged. “Like Endeavor said, we have more than enough firepower as is.”
“Yeah but Endeavor’s an asshole! It’s Jeju! All the more reason to have everyone we can get!”
“He’s an American,” Ryukyu reminded her.
“So was Takeyama!” Miruko said, pointing to the giantess who was in the truck with them.
Mount Lady, as she had come to be known, was actually born in the US, to Japanese immigrant parents, who had fled their country when war between Awakened people was on the horizon. Before there was the flaming asshole that was Endeavor, a man named Nine had pushed Japan and South Korea to the brink of war through excessive corruption and manipulation. Thankfully, All Might came to power around that time, and he was crucial in calming the tensions. Nine went into hiding and has been missing ever since.
Once the war was clearly defused, Yu Takeyama, who had grown up as an American, returned to her home country to seek a life as a Pro Hero, with Ryukyu taking the brash Japanese-American girl under her wing.
“It’s not even a comparable situation…” Ryukyu muttered.
“Most men are pigs,” Mount Lady began, “but families are demons.”
““What?”” Both Ryukyu and Miruko said in unison.
The Giantess smugly smiled, feeling intellectually superior for once. “Dabi fights Villains all the time in America, and he fought plenty here. It’s not the location, it's the people. I’m sure he has his trepidation about the Island, but it’s also the circumstances. Plenty of underground information dealers speculated that it was Endeavor who burned Dabi, not the dragon that broke free of its Gate. Horrifying monsters that want to eat your flesh are one thing, but a demon that’s willing to burn his own son is another.”
Ryukyu grimaced at the word “underground,” but she let it slide. After all, Mount Lady had hit the nail on the head, and Ryukyu knew that. Miruko didn’t, so she thought Dabi was simply being a coward. But sometimes it was safer to be a coward than a Hero.
“We’re here!” The driver called as they pulled through a military gate, leading to the Japanese Naval Base. Just a couple hundred yards away, an Admiral was speaking with a certain fiery Hero.
Miruko and Ryukyu immediately hopped out to join the conversation.
“The Americans have provided three of their prototype F-54s.”
“What good are those?” Miruko asked, landing next to Endeavor in a crouch.
“Lockheed Martin is attempting to develop magical military implements, so that we have more options in the event of a Gate Breaking,” The Admiral answered, with an imperceptible scowl. “The F-54s and Japan's own F-XXs are necessary developments for continued safety.”
“Meh, we’ll handle it fine without ‘em.”
The Admiral’s eye twitched. “As time has shown, you Heroes are not infallible. And David Shield’s predictive models mean we cannot rely on you forever. Humanity will evolve as it always has, by sheer ingenuity alone.”
Miruko smirked in arrogance, and Endeavor glared down at the man, but to his credit, the Admiral didn’t hesitate to meet either of their gazes, nor did his legs even tremble when Endeavor let out his considerable magical aura.
“Monsters in the closet are the fears of children. What man can create… that is what shall put the fear of God into these abominations, not magic.”
Ryukyu stepped forwards, her hands level, trying to calm everyone. “That’s valuable information Admiral, thank you. Is there anything else we should know about, sir?”
The Admiral kept his eyes locked on Endeavor for a few moments longer. The arrogance of Miruko, he could tolerate, but the utter malevolence of a man like Endeavor… Well, the Admiral had gone into the navy to eliminate evil like that. However, Ryukyu’s tone, and the important inclusion of “sir,” was enough to return him to his briefing state.
“We have outfitted the JS Atago V destroyer with a prototype cruise missile, based on the same data as the F-54 and F-XX weapon models as well as loaded her cannons with shells made of magic metals.”
“Have they been tested, sir?”
“The shells have been tested, they are effective on Villains up to at least A-Rank.”
Miruko raised her hand, following her friend’s example and trying to show some restraint. “Uhh, why not just give a bunch of us guns with magic metal bullets?”
“It is simply impractical. We do not have the necessary resources to mass produce such a thing. Only four of these cannon shells even exist. To top it off, standard rifles cannot make full use of such powerful bullets. It would not be worth the cost.” The Admiral gestured to the cannons. “The damage you could do with a rifle and a few bullets is minimal, but an explosive force like this could wipe out hordes of Villains with no problem.”
“According to your tests, at least,” Endeavor commented, to which the Admiral did not respond. Not out of fear, annoyance, or any other negative emotion towards the man. It was because what Endeavor said was true. They had tested the armaments to an extent, but it hadn’t seen field use. None of this tech had. There was the possibility, slight as it may be, that it was all a dud. The Admiral wasn’t stupid enough to discount such a thing.
“Regardless, they are merely support armaments. Your team will be the main force. If the guns are needed, they will be fired on your request.” The Admiral cast aside his personal feelings for a moment as he led them to the briefing room, this was business, lives could be lost. Some of those lives could be his own men if he wasn’t careful. He would confront the demons that were Heroes one day, but for now, he’d focus on the monsters at their doorstep.
The briefing room was more of a theater than anything. It reminded Ryukyu of the few days she spent in college before pushing forwards with her Hero career. Everyone had been filed in, except for themselves and the Admiral, who would be leading the briefing alongside Endeavor and Baek Yoonho, who was the leader of the Korean Heroes. Sung Jin-Woo may have been the strongest, but his role wasn’t that of a leader. He had the potential for it, he just didn’t want it.
“In approximately three hours, all S-Rank Heroes present will be loading onto the Akari-Class Aircraft Carrier designated as JS Mikazuki. Anyone below an S-Rank will remain on the decks of various other naval vessels. Your job will be to protect the crews whilst the S-Ranks handle the real danger.”
Baek stepped up, his translator ready to speak into the earpieces of all Japanese Heroes. Through a comm system, they had communication so seamless that it was like they were all speaking the same language.
“This island is our territory, our mistake. We will rectify it. The Korean team will approach in a transport Heli from the north of Mount Hallasan. We’ll drop into the center of the hollowed out caverns that the Nomu have nested in. Once we’re in position, Japan’s team will use their auras to attract the aggro of the hive.”
Endeavor gestured to several points on the map of Jeju Island, detailing the teams and their assignments. “Mirio and Miruko have requested to join the Koreans, so they’ll be going with Baek and his team.”
Baek gestured to the crowd, “Know where the healers are, we have them evenly placed throughout the fleet to be safe, and if something goes wrong, the ships will be the fallback point.” Endeavor scowled at the implication that something would go wrong, but said nothing, letting the man continue. “Mind the gun emplacements and missile silos, we may end up using them. One more thing, both the Korean and Japanese governments want this to be live on Tv, so there will be a few combat reporters. Remember, it's better to do your job and survive than look good for the cameras.” On that, Endeavor could agree, nodding his head.
“Any questions?” The Admiral shouted.
Miruko was the first to answer the call, with her special brand of hype. “LET’S KICK SOME ASS!”
Ryukyu smiled from her seat at the roar of the crowd, but it dropped moments later, not out of any negativity, but out of sheer shock. Because someone had entered from the back of the briefing room, their entrance obscured by the shouts. They plopped down right next to her.
“You could’ve at least called me a taxi. Not like I’m gonna leave you alone without someone to watch your back.” Dabi’s shit-eating grin stunned her into silence. Just as she had promised to follow him, he had made the same commitment to be by her side.
As the theater was filled with jubilant cries, two figures, hidden in the shadows, unaware of each other, watched silently. Lady Nagant… and Shoto Todoroki.