*From now on, I’ll underline the parts where they’re speaking in beast tongue. I’ll also be using English for the more complicated moves since they don’t translate well in Latin.*

It took nearly two weeks for Teka to return to her normal cheery self. Christmas eve was just around the corner as the four were on a train to Minato Hotel. With the expectation of Kori who said he had to take care of some things.

Mitsuki was nervous at first but ultimately decided to let them go after Teka and Midoriya pestered her. "Fine, he can go. But you gotta make sure he gets home safe. Ya got that?” She made sure Teka promised that he would get back home no matter what. Despite the yelling from that Katsuki could protect himself and all of them need be.

But during that time, Hawks had been keeping notes on everything that had been going on. His feathers came in handy since he managed to slip some inside the house. As a result, he picked up a lot of information but failed to listen in on Kori and Mei’s conversation. He had been reporting it all to the Hero Public Safety Commission president, but she refused to act on it for reasons unknown even to him.

What the hell is she doing. The elevator doors opened to the server floor, where all the technicians ran background checks for the police commission and where the data on some of the heroes were stored.

“Ah, hey hawks! How are ya doing?” A female technician waved to him from behind one of the servers. “Need something?” She caught his suspicious look when he realized she was the only one in the room. “Ah, All the other technicians have gone on their lunch break so I’m the only one that’s here right now.”

He simply shrugged in response. “I’m wondering if you could pull up some information on someone for me.”

“Sure!” She walked over to a nearby computer and logged in. Hawks moved over next to her. Maybe a bit too close. “W-what’s their name?”

“Teka Kai. Musutafu, Japan.”

She froze for a second and quickly made up an excuse. “I’m going to go run another check on the servers! Bye!” Hawks didn’t even get to say thanks as she hid behind the massive servers. Hawks had to type it out himself.

Well, that was weird. He focused back on the screen, only to be shocked as nothing came up. Nothing? He typed it again and again. Absolutely nothing showed up. Not even a picture or their name. Even if he expanded the area, the person he was looking for never came up.

Frustratedly, he moved back into the elevator and typed in the code for Ami’s office. The elevator doors closed with a resounding shut. The technician slowly crept out from behind the servers and looked down at the screen. She rubbed her eyes a bit to make sure she was reading things right.

“So I guess that means Phoenix is really Princess Teka.” She pulled out her phone and began dialing a number. “It has to be her, right? I wonder what Ryuku would think about this.” A feather suddenly struck her hand and the elevators opened up again. Dozens of more feathers pinned her down before she could even register what to do next. “How did you...”

“All the technicians have a badge that states their name and number. You have a number that doesn’t exist yet.” His eyes were grim and sharp, unlike before where they were kind and goofy. He buzzed his phone and called for backup. “I don’t know who you are, but for now, you’re coming with me.”

*

“Oh! So this is Minato! I can see Tokyo Tower from here!” Teka's new phone zoomed in onto the Tokyo Tower. The four of them were currently huddled up in a café on Christmas eve. She pulled Mei and Bakugo closer and urged Midoriya to snap a picture of the three. Bakugo of course had a grumbly face but didn’t protest it.

“It’s my first time here! Kacchan has already been here, so he can guide us around the city!” Midoriya said. Bakugo, of course, complained but didn’t deny it. They paid and left for the hotel which Midoriya had vouchers for from his mother. She was happy that he finally started to become brighter after looking a bit darker the months before Teka showed up.

“…Damn,” Teka grinned while looking at the skyline of Minato. She wanted to fly through its skyline while releasing blue flames for everyone to see. “I want to fly.”

“You’re lucky that your damn embers covered your face and you're talking about flying?” Bakugo chopped at her head while standing on the deck next to her. Teka pouted a bit but didn’t say anything else.

“You wouldn’t understand man,” She stretched out her arms as blue flames slowly danced around her hands. “That feeling of complete freedom from the laws of the world is something you can’t get anywhere else.”

“…”

“Minato is so beautiful.” A warm feeling washed over her as her eyes gazed over the city. She grabbed at her chest as the embers flowed around her. “Flying through the skies is something you just wouldn’t understand.” Bakugo stared at her for a few seconds before heading back inside, which Teka soon followed after.

That was when he realized that everyone once in his room. “Firecracker, why the hell are you in our room?”

“It’s almost Christmas Eve and you’re asking why we’re in your room? We plan on staying up the entire night!”

“Hah? Says who?”

“Ah, Kacchan has always been like that,” Midoriya smiled a bit while looking up from the notebooks he was showing Mei. She was seriously impressed with his skills and silently wondered if he could help make new drones with her. “When we were kids, we’d stay up the entire night every time. Kacchan probably plans to not sleep at all tomorrow.”

“Ha? Don’t talk about us like we’re friends!”

Teka’s interest was sparked. “Hey Midoriya, got any stories you want to share?”

An evil grin popped on the three kids’ faces. Bakugo let off a line of mini-explosions, which Teka quickly snuffed out.

“Go on. We’ll be up all night listening to these stories.”

*

“Look, I’m sorry about breaking into your… facility or whatever you call it. Call Ryuku and she’ll explain what I was doing!” Hinata sat handcuffed in the police station. A few days had passed at this point and it was Christmas Eve. Hawks had to drag her out of the server room. It was a bit hard though. She was stronger than he anticipated, so he struggled a bit. And she hadn’t given any serious reason as to why.

Tsukauchi sipped on his coffee and started the files. “Aiko Hinata. Age 28. Owner of a small support shop. Never finished high school but you’ve been arrested a few times for quirk usage. Although, your quirk isn’t listed on your file.” He placed the files down and looked her in the eyes. “What were you doing in the HPSC server room? And we can’t just bring a hero in here…”

His phone began buzzing, which he picked up with a confused look after seeing it was an unknown number.

His demeanor changed after answering it though. Ryuku, one of the top 10 heroes called him personally and told him to buzz her into the room. At first, he didn’t believe it. That was until he heard a knock on the door.

“Fucking Aiko,” Ryuku walked into the room with an annoyed look. She didn’t hesitate to move towards her and embrace her into a hug. One that Hinata was surprised to have. “I thought I told you not to investigate them Do you know how worried I was when you didn’t show up?”

“Ah…” The cuffs around her hands bent away as she wrapped her arms around the shaking Ryuku, shocking both Hawks and Tsukauchi. “My bad for worrying your dearie. I just wanted to find out how much they knew about them. Apparently, it’s not much too.”

The door behind them shut. Tsukauchi quietly sat back down next to Hawks. They nodded at one another as Hawks pulled out three photos. Ryuku and Aiko froze. “You two clearly know one another. And judging by your reactions, you know these three.”

“…”

Hawks pointed to the picture in the middle. His eyes were sharp. The two avoided looking at the pictures and his gaze. “Ryuku, as a hero, you need to tell us who these three are. We know both of you know and we can’t let you go at this point.”

They looked at each other before speaking. Aiko took the lead. “We can tell you about two of them, but we can’t say anything about the middle one.”

“And why is that?”

Aiko raised her hands to her shirt and pulled it up slightly. Icy marks were stretched out across her stomach that reached just under her chest. Ryuku had the same markings but smaller. “If we do, then we’ll be shattered.”

“…” Hawks shivered but didn’t show it as he looked into her deep orange eyes. Ignoring her last remark, he spoke again. “Ryuku, you are aware that a criminal is sitting next to you. And if you or Hinata refuse to answer, then you’ll both be arrested?”

Ryuku leaned back in her chair. “You’re spouting out shit like we have a choice. If we even mention that girl’s name until her core is healed…” Her eyes widened once, and she clamped her hands over her mouth and ran over her side and she let out a sigh of relief. “Like I said before. I can talk about the other two, but not her. ”

She never got the chance to though. Alarms rang across the building as all their phones lit up. Ryuku and Aiko’s bodies froze, and their faces were scribbled with fear. All with a dire message that all heroes in the vicinity need to head to Tokyo at this very moment.

A few minutes before…

“Is everything ready?” Hato questioned. Kage and Hato were watching as Curious set up the broadcast. Orbs of lights circled her as Curious tinkered with wires. She knew that she was going to get fired for this, but she honestly didn’t care. With this recording, she’d go down as one of the best reporters in history.

Curious nodded as she tapped on a few buttons on her laptop. The upload signal on the screen began flickering. She sat back in the chair as those strange shadow creatures watched her every move. They were smaller now than when she last saw them. You could say that they were in a ‘Chibi’ form. She turned to Kage, who was sitting on a smokey cloud with a kitten and another shadow on her shoulder. “Kage, right?”

She looked up from the cat. “Yea?”

“…Are all of the shadows yours?”

Kage nodded again. “Why do you ask?”

“Do they listen to you?”

Kage thought about it for a second. “I can force them to listen, but I’m not a big fan of doing that…”

“And they’re all dead?”

The kitten in her clouds purred a bit. Kage nodded again.

“And your sis…” She didn’t get to finish that sentence. A shadow scythe and a bright longsword were aimed at her neck. Sweat dripped down her forehead as the shadow chibis began to grow bigger.

“Please don’t talk to me about it.”

Curious quickly raised her hands in response. Teka is a soft spot, but why? “Right. My bad.” She thought back to when he was talking to Sora. He never mentioned more than what he had to. Just her name, a picture, and some basic information with a memory that contained a younger version of her. It was odd to her, but she didn’t question it as to not lose her life at this moment.

Her phone buzzed as their weapons dispersed back to their rightful owners. At the same time though, Hato and Kage both stood up. Their faces were shocked but also confused. Hato turned to Curious before disappearing in a burst of ribbons along with Kage who already sunk into her shadow. “Stay here and make sure it’s uploaded. Looks like we might not need Teka after all.”

*

Snow littered Tokyo. People wore thick clothes to keep themselves warm and huddled together in groups to celebrate. From this height though, they looked like tiny ants scurrying across a vast ant farm.

Erity, also known as the first candidate, and Shigaraki, All for One’s successor, perched themselves on Tokyo Tower. Hands decorated his body while Erity opted for a simple winter wardrobe. Why do I have to be here right now? Erity yawned as she eyed Shigaraki looking down at the ‘ants’. “So what? You going to start now?”

“…”

“Tch. You know that once you do this, there ain’t no going back.”

“…Erity, Master told me that I can destroy whatever I want,” The red of his eyes revealed themselves as the cold air blew his white hair out of his face. A shiver ran down Erity’s spine as Shigaraki held out his hands. “So I’ll gladly do whatever I please. I’ll destroy this society and start a new one.” That was the signal.

Erity didn’t say anything else and tapped into her core. She received one order from All for One. Assist Shigaraki in whatever he pleases to do. She intended to follow that command since she owed the old bastard when she first left the Aether. Purple energy shot out of her hand, climbed the tower, and broke into the sky. The snow slowed to a crawl. People looked up, confused at why it suddenly stopped. First, the snow stopped. Then the snow became purple. And finally, the sky shattered.

Kage rose from her shadow in front of a shocked crowd along with Hato. Her red eyes widened as the sky broke open and puppet beasts began pouring out. She could make out two figures on top of the tower and realized that one of them looked familiar. Erity? Why are you with a human?

Not wasting another second, she spread her shadow across the landscape. Her shadows, no longer in their chibi forms, rose from the ground. The beasts began to howl and laugh. A smokey scythe rose from the ground and a thorny crown was placed on her head. Her eyes glowed and she let out a scream as she entered her first state.

“Vocans de Anubis."

*

Teka and Midoriya stopped in their tracks. Blue embers and dark green smoke rose from their bodies. Something strong washed over the two as Bakugo looked back in confusion. Mei immediately knew what was happening.

A piercing scream echoed across the mall, sending the hundreds of Christmas shoppers to the ground. The glass overhead cracked and shards began to rain down. Teka snapped out of her shock and grabbed her friends and shoved them into a nearby shop. Before Bakugo could say anything, the ground cracked where the four were just standing as the glass shards shattered into millions of pieces.

“…What the hell. Is it a villain attack?” Midoriya’s smoke leaked off of him a bit faster. Teka’s heart was pounding against her ribcage as she stood up and looked towards the sky.

“Oi, Firecracker, the hell is going on?” Bakugo snapped.

“…” Teka didn’t say anything. Her blue eyes looked up towards the sky as another roar echoed across the building. Teka ignored his comment and grabbed a new fox mask from Mei’s backpack. She didn’t bother to hide from the rest of the people in the store since they'd just started to recover the scream.

“I’ll be right back.” Blue flames blasted out of the ends of her thrusters as she disappeared through what used to be the glass ceiling.

The city... was in chaos. Beasts poured out of the sky and attacked the city. Many of which were dragons. Teka's thrusters exploded as she sped up, intent on stopping as much damage as she could.

Dragons… they really do exist. So do the other creatures too. Her chest tightened a bit as she held onto her necklace that she received from Kori. Grandma was right. The sound of screaming and feet stamping on concrete brought out of her thoughts.

She shook her head and dove down, stopping any useless thoughts and focusing all attacks on creatures. I’ll turn up the heat a bit.

Her blue flames expanded and strengthened until they became a bright white color. She focused her attention on a wyvern hovering above a group of kids, preparing to launch a blast of orange energy at them.

Energy gathered at her mouth as she tossed off the mask. I'll deal with the backlash later! The white and orange energy blossomed into a fury of colors as she spread her thrusters around the children.

The wind kicked up and she pulled them away from where the wyvern just crashed down. She gritted her teeth and pointed at an alleyway. She switched a part of her flames to blue and guided them. “Don’t worry, I’ll protect you guys. Now run!”

Teka dropped down and let her blue flames push the kids in the alleyway. The wyvern released another roar before charging another blast. Letting white flames wrap around her hands, she charged back into battle… but at the same time, something big was happening.

*

Fuck! How the hell is this happening!

Alarms rang out across the buildings as the ground shook. The security system had been sabotaged and a video had suddenly begun blasting across all channels. It ran so deep that it was playing on some of the massive screens that decorated Tokyo. Daichi’s fingers ran across the keyboards as the video blasted on the monitors next to him.

So this is what you’ve been up to Curious? He finally accessed the logs and realized it was Curious who set this entire thing up. Every attempt he tried to shut the system down resulted in an error saying he didn’t have access.

“My God, what the hell have you done?” Daichi silently whispered to himself. He slumped back into his chair while rubbing his hair. “This definitely has something to do with Phoenix…”

With no other options, he sat back and watched the video.

For a few seconds, the screen had static before all the monitors in the room switched to a view of Hato. White ribbons surrounded him as his snow-white eyes looked into the camera.

Hato took a deep breath and began to speak. “Before I get to the main point, I’d like to point out that I don’t give a damn about any of you humans. Just because you have a tiny piece of power does not mean you will tell me what to do or bother me. If you still don’t understand this and pursue me, I won’t hesitate to put you down.

Now that that’s out of the way, I would like to start by saying that Teka, I know you’re out there and you’re probably wondering what is going on. Me coming down from the Aether after being the cause for your unfortunate accident,” The ribbons switched to glass and a replica of a blue core took hold. One without any cracks. He smiled a little and continued his speech.

“Now, I know once you… ‘reclaim’ your memories, you’ll be looking for a way to heal your core without going back to the Aether. Ya know. Since yours was nearly shattered on that day. Fear not though. I have a solution,” The glass switched again to an image of their mother.

“You see, ever since you've been cracked, Mother has become incompetent in her position of Queen. A real shame since she's ruining the legacy of the King. But back to the topic. If you help me become king, I’ll gladly let you absorb some of the Aether’s Ether. Then you’ll finally be able to do whatever you please. Think of it as a mutual exchange. If you accept... No, I should be saying when you accept, you know where to contact me.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

*

Curious looked out from the glass of the Tokyo Sky Tower. Hundreds of shadows decorated the city. The sky was fractured as beasts of all kinds poured out from the cracks. Ribboned and glass boomed across the city. Curious’s body shook as she witnessed what was essentially an all-out war. What exactly have I gotten myself into…?

A small ping from her laptop brought her out of her trance. She looked back at the laptop which had finished broadcasting and was beginning to play it again.

…But it didn’t feel right. It doesn’t matter what you feel Curious! Just do your job and forward your career! Her finger shook a bit while hovering over the confirm button.

The door suddenly swung open, causing Curious to slip and her hand to crash onto the keyboard. Figures too fast for her to see stormed in and pin Curious to the ground. The feet of multiple feet stamping around filled her ears.

Curious didn’t wait and managed to touch the foot of one of them. Tiny explosions rocked it, causing it to slip. Using that chance, she detonated the rest of her landmines.

The top of the Tokyo Sky Tree erupted with explosions and glass burst onto the streets. Screams and dust filled the room. Curious took advantage of the situation. She broke free from whatever was binding her and rushed to the door.

But she didn’t make it very far though as the figures materialized in front of her. Curious reached out to touch one but the front one grabbed her wrists.

“Are all of you damn humans like this? So goddamn annoying.” A voice said.

“Wow, she has quite a powerful shard. Being able to cause explosions like that…” Another one spoke.

“Wonder why Hato said to keep this one. He ain’t growing fond of them now is he?” The last one finished.

Curious was stunned at this turn of events. The first one stepped into the light. His blazing red hair and sharp yellow eyes shined a bit in the moonlight. “Geez, Hato told us humans have changed but attacking on sight? Fucking barbaric.”

Curious calmed down a bit and stopped struggling from his grip. They'd switched to Japanese so she could understand them now. “You guys are with him?”

He nodded and pulled her towards the window. “What matters now is killing those puppets in Minato before shit gets worse.”

“Wait wait wait! What exactly is happening!”

“Bah, shut up. Oi, Riza. Rei. Go take care of the other cracks in the sky. If we want to make sure Teka comes back without a problem, we have to make sure we’re on her good side.”

Riza, a girl with blue hair and red eyes groaned before disappearing in a burst of water. Rei, a girl with red hair and orange, nodded quietly as she sunk into the earth. “Just make sure we don’t mess this up, Axel.”

“Now then,” A red mist began to emit from him as reached for a nearby camera bag. “I think it’s about time to make our move.”

*

Ryuku briefed Hawks while they flew to Tokyo. She told them everything she could about Akako and Hato. About how they weren’t human along with her. That the beasts that they were slaying were nothing more than puppets. When questioned about the first, she couldn’t say because she simply knew nothing about who was controlling them.

“Hawks! Get the civilians out of here. I’ll join these two.” Ryuku dipped down and smashed onto a wyvern that was giving the shadows a hard time. They recognized her and let out a battle cry before continuing the slaughter of puppets. Glass beasts roamed the streets as Akako and Hato battled with a figure clouded with a mysterious aura.

Among the beasts, Akako and Hato were the strongest so it was odd to see them struggling with an opponent. Even if it had been years since she left. She shook those thoughts before focusing back on the fight at hand. This is going to shock all of Japan…

*

Curious was the first newscaster to be on the scene due to Axel. He dropped her and the bag at an underpass before disappearing, saying he has better things to do than to babysit.

A massive dragon collapsed about 30 meters in front of her as she hurriedly got her camera ready. The dust kicked up as a blue comet approached. Teka smashed its head in the ground before opening her mouth and firing a blast of white.

Three more beasts touched down in front of her. Curious didn’t waste this chance and immediately linked the antenna up with the news channel while setting up a camera and Curious began commentary. This is my chance!

Just as they went live, Teka launched a massive wave of white flames that engulfed the entire road. The screams of pain from the puppet shook Curious to her core.

“This… this is Curious! Right now, we’re in Minato City where beasts have conquered the skies!” The camera switched to a drone view which showed dozens of beasts swarming over Minato City. “But the Phoenix and some heroes are taking care of them one by…” She went on, constantly commenting on Teka's technique.

After what seemed like hours, the flow of beasts stopped coming. She collapsed against the bodies of scorched corpses that littered the streets. They'd already begun to disperse into the sky. I’m almost at my limit. Her thrusters were scorched. A deep breath escaped her lips as she eyed the skies. A voice made her look to her side.

“Phoenix! Before you leave, do you have anything to say to the audience?” Curious didn’t miss this chance and ran up to her before she could fly away. This is the chance I’ve been waiting for!

“What?” Teka’s thrusters cut off as she faced the camera. Without her mask, Curious was stunned for a moment. She was… beautiful. Deep blue eyes and ebony skin with white hair that reached down to her waist.

Curious quickly shook her head out of it and pressed the mic towards her. “Please, do you anything to say to the audience that witnessed your power?”

Ah, shit. She thought about ignoring her but decided to use this chance. Her voice came out sharp and serious. “Kori, I know your ass is out there. Hurry the fuck up and get over here.”

She didn’t waste another second before climbing back into the sky.

*

Kori whistled a bit before turning back to his work. “Sorry, Teka… but this chance is too perfect to pass up.” He leaned back in his chair while Luna sat on top of his head. The A.I didn’t say anything as Kori looked through the files that Mei’s bots had gathered. “We can’t wait any longer to fix your core, so I hope you can forgive me for not coming this one time.”

*

“Tch, what the hell is this?” Shigaraki’s neck bled as his nails scratched his worn-out skin. The beasts that Erity summoned barely did anything. The destruction wasn’t nearly as big as he hoped, and his thoughts of a broken city didn’t live up to reality. His attention turned towards the duo smashing their way through the puppets. Erity seemed calm though. She deflected each attack thrown at her like it was nothing. These damn beasts. “Erity… what the fuck is this?”

A copy of Erity materialized next to him. “It appears my step-siblings have appeared.”

“Like I give a damn about that.” The number of puppets was decreasing every second and it seemed like this was all a pointless attack. Shigaraki’s impatience spiked once he was ignored. Erity’s arm decayed into dust once his hand contacted her arm. “You fucker. Call one of those beasts you were talking about. An Ace."

A smirk crept up on her face as purple energy surrounded and repaired her arm. “I already thought of that.” She tapped into her core but pulled out even more energy than before. The cracked sky above Tokyo and Minato collapsed as a purple dragon at least three times the size of the smaller ones reached into this world.

“I’m sure that'll please you.”

*

The smell of burnt clothes filled Teka’s nose. White flames rose from her heaving body. She stood on a pile of flames while facing a drake, just like Kori’s beast form. Deep gashes ran down its body as blood ran down Teka’s too. After she found out that they were nothing more than puppets, she didn’t bother holding back and attacking all the vitals. She didn’t know why, but it felt so familiar. Like she’d done it before…

A roar escaped its jaw as it got up, ready to begin round two. It was struggling though, so she didn’t take it too seriously. Without giving it a chance, she charged back into battle. White flames began to wrap around her hands as she delivered a solid punch to its stomach. Its teeth sunk into her shoulder, but she didn’t let that stop her. Fine then!

She shoved her hand into its gash and set off a blast of explosions. It howled in pain and crumbled to the ground. Where are all of the damn heroes! Teka wiped the white liquid off her face before collapsing onto the ground. And where is Kori? He would always come rushing to her aid.

She wiped the snow off her nose before pulling off her burnt overcoat to reveal a black turtleneck. “Such a shame. This was the first thing Kori got for me too…”

Her headache picked up again as she grabbed at her head. The pulses came strong and hard, but she didn’t fall as another roar filled the skies. The snow that was there moments ago dispersed. In fact, the weather had completely changed.

A dragon with dark purple scales and wild eyes dropped from the expanding crack in the skies.

“Why now of all times!” Her dulled sapphire eyes looked up at the cracked sky. To her horror, she could sense it was nothing like the ones she just took care of. The purple dragon dropped down from the sky. Its feet smashed onto cars that had clogged the streets, sending them flying and crashing into nearby buildings. The mist only got worse as the dragon spread its wings and screamed like a wild beast. Fucking Poison?!

She created a blue mask and stood back up. Even though her body was screaming at her to stay down; to just let it past, she pushed past all of it.

Suddenly, the crackle of explosions echoed across the street. A drone burst through the mist and the back end opened up, unveiling three people with fox masks.

A certain blond lept out of the drone while screaming at the dragon to die. The dragon spread its wing to try and knock Bakugo away, but he was well aware of it. Orange explosions blasted away at the purple mist as the drone touched down next to her. The drone had been damaged, but it didn’t seem like it was enough to stop it from flying.

Teka was stunned again at the sudden appearance of her friends. Fuck am I scared for? I have friends! She quickly covered the faces of her friends with blue flames as Bakugo touched down next to her and threw off his mask “Oi Firecracker! How many of these fuckers have you killed? I’ll let the entire world know that I did more than Phoenix!”

“Hah! More than you ever could Katsuki.” The dragon released another wave of poisonous gas. It wouldn’t have been a big problem, but the fact that she picked up on children crying a few blocks away made her stomach drop. “Katsuki! Get its attention and get it away from here. I can hear some kids!”

She nodded to Mei and Midoriya as they boarded the drone again. “Don’t tell me what to do Firecracker!” He snapped back.

Teka simply gave a smile from behind the fire mask before blasting herself through the alleyways. She followed the cries until she came across a small child with a hat that had two golden horns. Approaching slowly, she kneeled in front of him. “You don’t have to be scared now. Cause the Phoenix is here!”

Blue flames washed over him despite her body’s protests. She didn’t waste another second before pulling him into her arms and taking flight to avoid more gas. The tears that were there just a second ago evaporated as they flew across the city.

Mei had set up a bunch of mini-drones that acted as a spotlight for civilians to converge. The people slowly spread out as Teka touched down. At this point, her thrusters had all but given out, but she didn’t show that to these people. “There we go. Wasn’t so scary right?”

The boy’s smile disappeared once he looked at her face. Looks of shock from the other civilians made her a bit anxious. But not for the reason she was thinking. “You’re cracking.”

“Huh?”

“Your face. There’s a crack over your left eye!”

Before Teka could confirm what he said, something deep inside of her shook her. Her eyes widened as she eyed the dragon over the city. It… changed. A black liquid began to drip out of its mouth, and she knew something was instantly wrong.

She spread her fractured thrusters once more and charged forward to stop it. Please no! Teka pleaded to herself. White filled her thrusters as she blasted herself across the skyline. Her body cracked even more but she didn’t care at all. She knew that if she could reach the dragon before it blasted that energy, she could save them.

Just when it seemed like she would make it, the sounds of her thrusters shattering filled the air. The beast opened its mouth and fired at the drone. The last thing she saw before her body slammed into the ground was the bright orange explosions that rocked the city streets.

*

Kage stopped, her scythe centimeters away from Erity. After fighting for god knows how long, she finally got within reach. And she froze. Hato, who had already been killed a few times knew something was wrong. But it had nothing to do with him.

A pain worse than anything she’d ever felt rang through her body. No, it ran across all her shadows. From the most powerful to the weakest ones. They all cried out from the pain they left from their queen. Her smoke twisted and turned as Hato tried to get her under control. But it was already too late. Purple filled her vision. She’d become Lost.

*

Inko, Masaru, and Mitsuki were speechless as they silently watched the news. No, it wasn’t just them. In fact, the entire café was silent. Everyone’s eyes were glued to the tv screen in the top corner as they watched the events unfold. Even the waiters stood still and watched.

It started with Phoenix, or rather Teka, bursting onto the scene. She took down beast after beast while saving others. Even as her body grew tired with each passing second, she never gave up.

A video suddenly popped up though. It was the man named Hato Sora. The same one who showed up months ago with Kage. At first, it confused Mitsuki when he said, humans. But then the puzzle pieces clicked in her head. When Kori explained to them what they were doing, he introduced themselves and named their ‘quirks’ as ‘shards.’

Her stomach clenched. The man mentioned Teka’s lost memories and something in a language she couldn't;t understand. It was all too much for her to handle that she placed her head in her hands. What exactly have I gotten myself into?

Inko gasped and her eyes widened. It prompted Mitsuki to look up again. Her own son and Midoriya, fighting and protecting a group of children before getting them all on to a separate drone. Even when that mysterious mist began filling the streets, they still didn’t back down.

Watching your son fight unknown creatures wasn’t an easy thing to do. Especially when there were no pro heroes around to deal with them. Her eyes didn’t leave the tv screen for the entire fight.

After what seemed like hours, the battle finally seemed to be ending. Thank god. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. A purple dragon that was at least five times as big as the other fell from the sky. The situation only worsened once she saw her son directly attack it.

He boarded the drone with Midoriya when Teka suddenly left and ducked into an alleyway before suddenly emerging with a boy and speeding across the city. The dragon’s mouth began to foam as the Bakugo fired blasts after blast at it.

In the distance, she could make out a white comet approaching at a blazing fast speed… but it was already too late. The dragon fired off a blast, hitting the drone’s wing and causing it to spiral into the ground.

The comet fell like Icarus. And the drone exploded into a fury of flames.

*

The bitter taste of blood dripped out of Teka’s mouth and the smell of burning steel filled her slashed nose. Even with the shrapnel of an upturned car piercing her chest, it was nothing compared to the pain of how useless she felt at that very moment. I really am a piece of shit. She choked on tears as the purple dragon looked down at her. Like it was mocking her. She wanted to get up. Yet she couldn’t even manage to keep her eyes open.

Blood flowed like a river out of her body, giving the snow a beautiful red tint. Like it was saying farewell and sending her off to the afterlife. Her hand tightly gripped the necklace around her neck and closed her eyes, accepting her fate. “Looks like we’ll be visiting the afterlife together Nana.”

“No… only I’ll be going.”

The landscape of Minato City shifted to that of her dream months ago. White roses, lighter than snow spread out as far as she could see. Although, some were stained from the blood dripping out of the hole in her chest. Her eyes scanned the area, looking for where the voice came from. “…Nana?”

“Turn around.”

She spun around on her feet and nearly cried again from the sight. She was brighter than before. Her greying hair had become black again and it looked like she’d gone a few decades back in time. Teka stretched out to hug her. But her hands never connected. She phased right through her. “…What?”

Nana gave a warm smile while holding onto a blue flower. “I don’t have much time, so I can only say so much,” The flower in her hands rose into the endless sky. Flames more beautiful than anything she’d ever seen Illuminated the white landscape. The floating core silently moved forward, like a dog that wanted to see its owner after a long day. “My shattering is not your fault Teka. Please. Never blame yourself for this. I chose this of my own accord.”

Teka didn’t understand it, but she did at the same time. “Wait what are you saying?! Nana?!”

She continued. “ You need to understand that you can no longer run from fights anymore.”

“Wait! This is the first time I’ve talked to you in weeks! Please, don’t go!” Teka didn’t know what to feel. She just didn’t want her to leave again. Her body trembled as her hands passed through her again. “Please…” Nana’s grin made it seem like everything was going to be ok though.

Nana’s body began to disperse into thin air. “You’ll do amazing Teka. I know that you’ll become an amazing beast. One of the best of them all.” Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. “Please. Become a good beast. I know that you'll turn out to be one of the best."

“Don’t go… please.” She was begging at this point. Tears flowed off her eyes at a faster rate. “I don’t want to be alone again…”

“You have friends Teka. Ones that’ll never leave your side,” A golden flower formed in her palms as Teka desperately attempted to stop the tears. “Remember that… my grandchild.”

And with that last sentence, Teka was left by herself. The only thing that was left was the broken core and the golden flower. She sniffled and swallowed her tears as the core silently floated. The golden flower in front of her planted itself among the rest. Like it belonged there.

She didn’t question it though. The flames of the core resonated with her with each step towards it. They wrapped themselves around her, beckoning for her to come close. And she did.

*

[…Question: Why?]

Luna watched from some of the extra drones stationed around Minato City. Originally, she wanted to assist her creator, Mei, but Kori stopped it. Saying that she’ll ruin it if she stepped in.

Kori and Luna materialized on a roof near the crash. Luna’s eyes flashed green. Her scanners picked up no vital signs. Something stirred inside of her as Kori silently began floating down as the top two heroes suddenly appeared. “Originally, I wanted to kill her. But this... this was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. And as for your question. Because this is the only way for her to remember. To become who she once was."

*

“This scene,” Curious struggled to hold back her tears. Daichi and her managed to get into a news chopper to report on the action. But this scene was too gruesome for her to even describe. “It’s like something out of a nightmare.”

“Four people, all dead. The Phoenix?” The camera shifted to the right, to Teka’s bloodied body. “Pierced through the chest from what appears to be shrapnel.” The dragon let out another screech and proceeded to attack All Might, who’d just arrived on the scene with Endeavor.

Endeavor dug out the scorched corpses while burning away at the approaching fog. “All Might and Endeavor are here. But this situation is as worse as it gets.”

“You dare lay a finger on children!” His punches were like 1000-ton weights. For the first time, the dragon was pushed back. “You’re nothing more than a beast! A monster who would kill anything it sees!” It didn’t stand a chance. No matter how much poisonous fog it released, All Might blasted it away.

It opened its mouth and fired off a blast as All Might was falling to the ground, striking him in his abdomen. His body tensed from all sides as he clutched his side. The dragon took advantage of this and smashed it into the ground. Endeavor stepped and released a wave of scorching blue flames that incinerated at all traces of the poisonous fog.

“This bastard…”

“Shut it All Might.” Both of their blue eyes shone violently. The dragon looked shocked as another strong person appeared. “Let’s just take care of this thing quickly.”

“Understood!”

The purple fog suddenly became twisted. It rushed back to the dragon as the air around them suddenly became clearer. It morphed into the form of a human. Long purple hair replaced decorated her head as light skin replaced her scales. “…It’s surprising. Humans really have become strong. Noe is my name. Remember it before I shatter you.”

“What the hell,” All Might had long passed his limit, and this was only making it worse. He eyed Endeavor, who seemed to be struggling as well. “Endeavor! Run! I’ll handle this!”

“Hah? Why would I run from a little girl?”

Endeavor and All Might launched powerful attacks, but they didn’t even reach her. An evil grin spread across her face as a wave of black stalagmites formed around her. She started to raise her hand but quickly stopped.

Her expression which was once cocky had been replaced by fear. It wasn’t because of All Might and Endeavor though. It was because of the ball of blue energy behind them rising into the sky and the ground at her feet becoming an endless sea of darkness.

Noe’s body shook from fear as the second princess rose from the shadows, followed by the dozens of shadows with bright purple smoke rising from each of them. A pressure so dense that you could cut right through it was being emitted from Kage. From the smoke, Kage’s shining purple eyes looked down at Izuku’s corpse. She then looked up and released a wave of Umbra that ignored the heroes and smashed Noe into the ground.

Her shadows screamed with joy. Kage took step after step towards Noe with black tears dripping down her face. “You…” She materialized in front of the crushed Noe. “Who do you think you are?”

Kage’s hand connected with her face. Her cheek became dust and she screamed in agony. “Do you think you can just kill my bond?” Kage waited for her to regenerate before slapping her again. This time, she decayed a part of her skull until pieces of her brain could be seen. Her shadows went wild. All except one, who was sitting upon a shadow with a kitten in his lap. Watching.

“I… I didn’t know!”

Kage looked down at her before raising her hand again. But, a hand reached out and grabbed it before she could do it again. She wanted to lash out but realized it wasn’t one of the heroes touching her. Blue petals filled the sky as sapphire eyes looked into her own.

A wave of blue flames roared out as Teka, who was thought to be dead moments ago, clutched onto Kage’s arm. She glared at her like she was the biggest piece of shit to ever exist. “So your dumbass has finally started acting instead of watching.”

That one line brought her back to reality. The anger in her eyes was replaced by shock. Then by guilt. So much guilt that she thought she might die just from the pressure alone. “…Teka?”

She pointed past the heroes and to Midoriya’s body which had begun leaking smoke. “Get your bond. And get the fuck out of my sight.”

“But…”

Red flames exploded and formed themselves into daggers around her neck. The shadows began to scream from rage. The cracks on her face spread down to her neck but she didn’t let that stop her. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

She looked back at Noe, who was still trembling with fear than at the two heroes who were on guard. “Go back to the Aether, and I won’t tell Hato about this.”

Kage eyed the cracked blue core in the sky then looked at Teka. All Might or Endeavor didn’t get to say anything before she materialized in front of Midoriya’s body and brought both of them into her shadow.

Now it was just the three of them. The red flames dispersed and Teka clutched her face while letting out a string of curses. Blood dripped down from the cracks as All Might slowly approached her. “…Are you alright?”

“Do I look alright?” She glared at him for a second and materialized past the two. Another crack stretched across her face as she walked past the blue roses that littered the streets.

Kori dropped down from the sky while holding onto Mei’s body, stopping the top two heroes from advancing. “Attacking her in this state is dangerous.” A few seconds later, Axel, Riza, and Rei dropped down onto the destroyed landscape. All of which kneeled as she stopped in front of Bakugo’s body.

The trio spoke in unison. “In the name of the future King, Hato Sora, we greet the reborn fourth royal of King Kaio and Princess Haru. Princess Teka Kai.”

“…” Her sapphire eyes gazed over them before looking back down at Bakugo. A throb of guilt rang through her body as she thought back to the promise she made to Mitsuki. And here I am breaking promises. “Did my brother plan all of this?”

Axel answered, still kneeling. “No. We believe it was the first. Princess Erity.”

“Then I have no reason to shatter him. And stop acting all respectful. It’d be better if you bastards stopped wearing those damn masks."

Without any hesitation, she placed her palm on Bakugo’s body and entered her first state. “Suffocatus Est Phoenix.” You said you wanted to make a dragon yours… A flaming blindfold wrapped around her eyes and the cracked core above the city flashed brightly. The roses turned into a sea of blue. So let’s see if you have the strength to do it.

It approached Bakugo like a wave approached the beach early in the morning. The flames washed over him and ate him up. She pushed her flames deeper into his body, reaching for every cell whether it was dead or alive.

…But it wasn’t enough. A snap filled the streets as Teka collapsed onto her knees. The sea that surrounded Bakugo a moment ago reverted to the blue roses. Kori was by her side in an instant.

The body that had been burnt to a crisp before had partly returned to ‘normal.’ “Making a bond with a cracked core is suicidal,” He sighed, picked up one of the roses, and placed it on top of Bakugo. Kori put out his hand while looking at the cracks that adorned her body. “Put him in your void. He’ll heal over time. But not all in one go. Let’s go alright?”

Teka eyed his icy hand before looking down at her bloodied ones. “Fine.” She reached out and disappeared in one final burst of ice.