Dozens and dozens of eyes watched. They were quiet. But only as quiet as they could be with some intruders in their void. Hato sat on a seat of glass while pinching his nose. Axel, Riza, and Rei played with some of the shadows as the siblings stared at one another. “You formed a bond with a human? Not to mention, one without a shard?”
Kage sighed while petting the kitten. “It was an accident.”
“So that’s the reason why you ran off?” He sighed and let the ribbons flow off of him. Not that it really mattered since they were sucked up by the black hole in the sky. So he decided to let it go. It’s not like he could force her to break the bond with him anyway. “We almost had her too.”
“You don’t know if it would’ve worked anyway.”
“She has father's blood in her. That’s all that matters in the end.” Hato thought back to the fight. But why “What I don’t get is why she was with a human.”
“…I guess this world had more mysteries than what we’ve been told.”
*
A sigh escaped Kori’s lips as he collapsed back on one of the beanbags, the red glow of the hologram annoying him to no end. Behind them was Teka, silently floating the container. He turned around to his bond, who was furiously typing away on a holographic keyboard. “Any luck?”
“…It worked for a second. Her body won’t accept prosthetics. A mechanical body is also out of the window.” Luna displayed another hologram. They were low on materials and needed more. “Looks like we’re low on materials too. I'll get Luna to order some more for me."
“I could ask a friend of mine to help.”
“Are they a beast?”
He nodded. “The metal she makes is good. Amazing actually.” Eyeing the timer on the container, his stomach dropped. “And we don’t have that long too.”
When a beast bonds, they can feel the emotions of their bond. Mei felt it and made her way over to him. Her cold hands touched his cheeks as they looked into each other’s eyes. “We’ll do this together alright? Teka over here wouldn’t want you to worry about this.”
Kori sighed and pulled her in for a hug. It felt nice. Like he’d been needing this for a long time. The air around them grew cold as he pulled away. This time with a smile on his face. “I think I have an idea, but we’ll need a lot of materials for this.”
“What’s the idea? I have a person who can get me the materials, so we don’t need to worry about it.”
“Nanites,” Articles appeared around them of a brilliant scientist and his invention of these tiny machines. Except they came with a fatal flaw. “Apparently, a scientist named David Shield created a prototype. It worked too. Gave the test subject enhanced abilities. But, the body couldn’t handle the stress of the nanites and it caused the subject to become brain dead as a result. Energy consumption was also a big factor since it used calories as a source.”
“So you think that'll work on Teka?”
“I don’t think we have a choice at this point. Every idea we’ve tried over the past month has failed.” Time passed so fast compared to last year for him. It was already February. And the time of shattering was in June. A mere four months to get everything set. “Besides. Beasts are far more resilient than humans. We have to hurry.”
“…Luna.”
A pink Luna materialized above Mei’s head. She was different now. When Mei was brought back, something changed in her. The circuit boards that had once been a part of the drone fused to her body. The Ether Kori pumped into her intertwined it with her very own DNA. Creating a whole new beast that was far different than any other.
[If you’re wondering where the nanite prototype is, I-Island is your best guess. The I-Island sponsors rarely allow scientists to leave the island for security reasons. Along with their inventions.]
Kori stood up and stretched his arms. “How’s security?”
[…It’s good. Security Bots, state-of-the-art lockdown measures, and it’s teeming with heroes. They even have anti-aircraft guns stationed on the outer ring.]
“Wait, Kori. You’re not really going to attempt to steal the nanites right?”
He nodded. “Of course I am. How many drones are on standby?"
“Um. Twenty-two are ready right now. But don’t you think this is a bit risky?” Mei was nervous and could feel a bit coming from Kori too.
“It’ll be alright Mei. And I’ll just need a few.” He materialized in the hanger which housed most of the drones alongside Mei and activated seven of them.
Bits of icy circuits formed around her eyes. She wanted to go with him but didn’t want to get in his way. Kori picked up on this right away. He stopped looking at the drones and at his bond instead.
They’d been working so hard to save Teka that he’d started to neglect his bond.
He sighed and drew her into another hug. “…I know that I haven’t been paying much attention to you. So once we’re done with this, I’ll take you to a place where we can build machines all we want.”
The sadness that she felt a moment ago shattered like glass hitting the floor. “Promise?”
Kori smiled again and touched their foreheads together. The beast version of a kiss. “Anything for my bond.”
*
They’re changing.
From blue to white and red. The flowers that hovered around Minato had been changing. A section of the city had been cut off and the residents had been forced to move once the flowers had begun settling themselves on the tops of some buildings. The snow that was somehow still falling couldn’t even get within a few feet of them without evaporating.
Hawks scratched his cheek while floating around a blue flower. Below him, some scientists from most nations were writing down and taking notes on some of the ones that landed on the roofs. They’d been instructed not to touch them by Ryuku and Aiko. They said that what they saw would give them nightmares.
Now, why would they say that?
He moved in until he was inches from one, taking in its features. It entranced him. The way the flowers moved; the way they were made up. It just seemed off to him. Without thinking, he reached out and touched it.
In an instant, his world changed. The sky fell. The ground exploded into a sea of colors. Blue flames engulfed him, and he tried to call out to someone. He didn’t get the chance though as the colors began to shift.
The Aether in all its glory became spread out to him. He was shocked. Beasts of all kinds roamed the skies and all types of colors flowed off their bodies. It was a stunning sight that he couldn’t take his eyes off. Or at least, that’s what he thought.
Just in front of him were two little girls, no older than kindergarteners.
“Come on Teka!” The ground cracked as Akako’s hands rapidly began decaying the ground. The grass withered, and the decay began to spread. Teka blasted flames from her feet and launched a volley of white flames towards her, which she stopped with a wall of Umbra.
“You’ve improved Akako!” A smile was on her face. She smashed her hands together, forming a pair of beautifully crafted gauntlets. Akako responded by letting a black liquid form in her hands. A black scythe that seemed to decay the life rose into her hands.
They smiled and ran at one another. The sounds of metal clashing filled the forest and the trees recoiled from every hit, some decaying and some lighting up in flames. It was an even fight. Hawks was awestruck at the power the two put out. It was only for a moment though.
Suddenly, a silver arrow tore through Teka’s face, knocking her off balance and causing Akako’s scythe to cut deep into her chest. Blood gushed out of her, coating the grass in a dark red. Hawks tried to reach out, but he simply phased through. He could only watch.
Her flames disappeared in an instant as she gripped her jaw and chest while trying not to let out groans of pain. A child with midnight hair like Kage’s hair came into view. In his hands, he clutched a silver bow as white ribbons flowed around him.
“You know that as a royal, you shouldn’t play with filth,” Hato Sora, the third prince eyed Akako and Teka with an annoyed look. White flames sprouted out of Teka and raced towards Hato. He simply ignored it and made a small shield of ribbons. He turned his attention towards Akako. “When will you come to your senses? You don’t need to focus your attention on her anymore.”
She slowly pumped out blue flames around her mouth, causing the blown-off pieces to regenerate. She glared at Hato through her flames and spoke. “Why… why do you hate me so much?”
“Tch. Isn’t it obvious? You’re nothing more than a disgrace to the royals. You refuse to use your other elements because of a stupid reason,” He looked down at her with disgust. “Not to mention, you’re obsessed with those pretentious humans. Have you forgotten what they’ve done to us?”
He stomped on Teka’s head and pushed her to the ground. She looked to Akako for help, but she just avoided her gaze. “This is your last warning. If I see you around Akako again, I’ll gouge your eyes out and make sure you suffer a worse death than last time. Maybe I’ll shatter your core this time.”
Her flames died down once she heard that. The sounds of the feet crunching on the scorched grass echoed in the distance. Akako walked up to her as she struggled to look up.
“Let’s stop seeing each other. I won’t tell Mother about your weapons… but you shouldn’t bother me anymore.” Then she walked away, leaving Teka all by herself under the dual suns and the coming storm.
She didn’t know when the tears flowed. But she knew as the cold rain hit her skin and the lightning crackled around her, she’d never forgiven them.
Then he was back on Earth. The flaming rose disappeared in a burst of blue as Hawks silently floated to the ground. He didn’t notice it, but tears had started leaking from the corners of his eyes. Aiko said Teka split her flames into three different parts after an incident. Blue being the softest. His eyes looked towards the white and red flowers. Then to the few purple ones. If that was just blue… then what the hell are the others?
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*
Teka’s eyes shot open with her heart beating out of her chest. The liquid quickly drained from the container and a towel wrapped around her body. Her head was pounding as a memory flashed through her head. Someone touched one of them. She silently cursed her luck as she looked for Mei and Kori.
[Kori and Mei aren’t here.] Luna answered what was on her mind. The A.I floated over from a computer and landed on her head.
“Where are they then?” She collapsed on a nearby beanbag despite the pain shooting through her body. Holograms of the map of Japan appeared in front of her. Several drones were speeding east while another was heading up north.
[Kori is acquiring something that he believes will help heal your core. Mei is currently heading over to Aiko Hinata to recover a metal that I have no identified yet.]
It’s already February… With a pained expression, she thought back to Mitsuki. She closed her eyes and dipped into her void. It was… empty. The endless flowers that used to be there had all but disappeared. The few that remained were the ones surrounding a partially iced Bakugo.
“…Luna, if I were to fly to Musutafu right now, would I make it?”
[You wouldn’t make it halfway. Your thrusters will break down from just a bit of Ether input. It is not recommended.]
Teka stood up again, despite the protests of her cracking body. “Please prepare a drone. Since I’m awake, I might as well show her that he’s still alive.”
*
Around the same time…
Aiko silently cursed at the pair of gauntlets in front of her. Damn pieces of! She muttered a string of curses while tinkering with them. Nana had given them to her to hold on to. She’d tried to keep it in tip-top shape, but the way they were constructed made them a pain to keep up.
I want to make an artifact that will give me the ability to restrain myself. I don’t want to crack Nana again.
Another sigh left her mouth as she thought back to the young Teka back in the Aether. She used to smile so much then. So when Aiko saw the glare on Flaming Christmas…
A shiver ran down her spine just thinking about it.
“…I know how you feel about it.” Ryuku walked into the room. Aiko gave a weak smile as she sat down next to her. “These are her artifacts, right? I never would’ve thought that they would look so… futuristic.”
A mix of black and white metals made up the gauntlets. They looked futuristic but also a bit steampunk like at the same time. The tips were sharp and reminded Ryuku of her own. Faded runes decorated each separate part.
“Any news from Kori?”
“Not a single lick.” A flash of something out of the window caught her attention. She sat back in her chair and let out a yawn. “I wonder what Kori’s bond looks like. She must be cute if she got his attention.”
“Those two always stuck together when they were kids. But they’ve both changed so much.”
The lights flickered for a bit and the air became more frigid. From the outside of the window, a massive drone peeled off the backside of its camouflage. The hatch hissed open and Mei stepped onto the balcony with icy circuits rising from her body.
“Holy shit.” Aiko rushed to the balcony and tried to get a closer look at the drone. It quickly camouflaged itself and rose into the sky. Her attention changed to the A.I currently sitting on top of Mei’s head. “Ryuku! I thought you said It was illegal for civilians to have their own planes!”
“It is illegal,” She opened the door for Mei who quickly came in. “I’m guessing you’re Kori’s bond.”
She nodded, her eyes eagerly looking at the support items. “We found a way to heal Teka’s core. But to do that, he said that we need a metal that you make.”
Ryuku and Aiko looked at one another. “Are you planning to…”
Mei nodded as she started tinkering with one of the gadgets. Pink ice rose around her as the support item broke into dozens of pieces. “Nanites.”
Aiko froze for a second. “I read that the person who volunteered for that experiment was left brain dead. Don’t tell me you’re seriously going to use that on Teka.”
“Look, Aiko. I came to get the metal that Kori told me to get. This was his idea and if you want to take it up with him, then you can do that.” The support item put itself back together as the pink died from her eyes. Luna displayed holograms of the core and the estimated date it’ll shatter. “Her core will shatter in June which leaves us with four months to do this. Kori had been looking ever since he came down from the Aether. And this is our last option.”
The two stared at each other, one with annoyance in their eyes and another with confusion. After a few seconds, Aiko sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them, they glowed a bit as an assortment of metals began flowing around her. “Let me see her.”
[Teka isn’t in the container.]
Mei’s stomach dropped as Luna pulled up more holograms. “Then where is she? And how did she get out?”
[She asked if she could fly to Musutafu. I told her that her thrusters would fail if she did. So she took a drone instead. As for how she got out... Her brain activity spiked for a second which led to the anesthesia wearing off.]
“And you didn’t stop her?”
[Security Clearance was high enough.]
“Son of a…” A long sigh escaped her lips as she walked over to the balcony. The drone appeared again and Mei lept into it. Before she could give Luna a command, Aiko eyed the drone-like she wanted to come along too.
“You can come along too.”
“Haha! Yes!”
*
Melissa Shield was never one to make friends. Her father was a world-renown scientist, which led to her traveling the world with him. But ever since they settled down on I-Island, it only made sense that she’d opened up a bit. What didn’t make sense was the fact that she was sitting across from one of the most dangerous villains from Japan.
Kori Okami quietly sipped his tea as he looked through the multiple holograms. Like it was just another day. Like he was just another civilian. “Melissa Shield, right?”
She jumped a bit as his icy blue eyes rose from them and met her own.
Giving a smile, he extended his hands out to Melissa. “It’s a pleasure to meet the daughter of David Shield.”
She returned the handshake but with some worry. “You do realize you’re wanted in Japan?”
“I’m fully aware of that,” The holograms dinged. Luna dropped from the sky and landed on top of his head. He leaned back in his chair as Melissa’s eyes widened.
[Scan complete. Drones are set. Waiting on your command.]
“Nice work Luna,” He got up and looked towards the main tower. “Now we can…”
“Is that a functional sentient A.I?!” Melissa shouted, shocking not only Kori but some passersbys. She didn’t seem to care though because she got up in his face. “Please, you have to let me see it! Wait, would this even be right? But this could be groundbreaking!”
Luna silently sat on Kori’s head. Melissa excitedly circled the two with an exciting look. Both Kori and Luna had the same thought though. Is she an idiot?
That wasn’t the case though. She was just like Mei. A girl obsessed with machines of all kinds. “Look, Melissa. It’s her choice if she wants to let anyone touch her. It’s not up to me,” He started to walk out onto the streets. Ice formed around his eyes and he looked into the sky. The air around him became colder.
“Also… about the whole ‘wanted in Japan’ thing. Let’s just say that I might go international for this stunt.” Seven drones dropped from the skies, two for each city and one for the main tower. “Nah, I’ll definitely go international for this. Anyways, thanks for the chat, Melissa. You were a good person to pass the time with.”
A second later, missiles crashed down into the ground and began releasing plums of thick smoke. Ice wrapped around his face and two icy horns sprouted from the top part. Silently though, he wondered how long this would take before he could finally go back to his bond.
He didn’t get much time to think about it as the security system flared up. With a smile on his face, he entered his first and only state.
“Absoluta Nulla. ”
*
Teka was one of the few beasts that never heavily relied that their cores. Instead, she chose to use it only when she had to or when she was defending herself. Or whenever she was training. She was hated for that. How could you have so much power and not use it?
She thought about it as the drone approached the home that they all used to live in. It touched down on a clean part of the beach and the backside opened up. Luna had made an automatic wheelchair for her to use so she didn’t have to walk as much.
The drone rose up into the air and camouflaged itself again as she rolled across the ground. The trash that had been building up had gotten a lot smaller since the last time she’d seen it. With a closer look, she noticed that some parts looked like they’d been cracked up. Decayed even.
Midoriya officially has a core.
Without thinking much of it, she stopped in front of the house. Police tape decorated it and the doors had been broken open. “…What a sad sight.”
She rolled down the streets without giving it another thought. The snow didn’t really bother her. She and Kori had fought enough to the point where they had become… resistant in some sort of way.
What did were some of the stares she was getting from the alleyways. They eyed her with greed in their eyes. Yet Teka didn’t care enough to even look in their direction. This would’ve been so much easier if we’d just landed at her house.
“Oi, little girl,” A voice echoed from in front of her. Looking up from the holograms, her blue eyes made out a couple of guys a few blocks from the Bakugo residence. Teka sighed tried to move around them.
The ground shook and the ring leader sent clear vines around the wheels of the chair. A vein popped out of his head while the other snickered. “I’m talking to you little girl. Are you deaf too?”
He raised his hand and hit her head a few times. Much to the amusement of his friends. “What do you want?” She replied, flicking his hand off her head.
“…You’re that beast, aren’t ya?” His eyes seemed to shine in the moonlight.
“Police said that if they see one of you ‘beasts’ that we should call the police. But they also said that we’ll get cash if turn them in. So do me a favor and just come quietly with us.”
Just as he raised his hand, something caught Teka’s attention from behind the trio. The sounds of stepping increased as a woman smacked an object over the leader's head. The woman rushed to Teka, lifted her up, and sprinted past the stunned group.
Instead of fighting back, Teka just let it go as the voices behind them got farther and farther away.
They rounded a corner and quickly entered the house. Mitsuki’s breath was heavy as she placed Teka down on the ground. She collapsed and pulled back her black hoodie.
It was quiet for a few minutes. Mitsuki eventually stabilized and started to shake. But suddenly started to laugh. Teka didn’t know what to do. “I…” She didn’t know what to do, but Mitsuki did.
She lunged forward and embraced Teka in a tight hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes before she pulled away with a tear-soaked face. "It's good to have you back Teka."
There was a time when she would’ve felt more than a tang of guilt like she did now. But those days were over. “Why don’t you come inside."
Teka nodded and tried to stand up before falling back onto the floor. Another crack had appeared on her already weakening legs. Since it was dark, Mitsuki never got a good look at Teka until she carried her to the living room.
When the lights turned on, that was when she saw the issue. Dozens of cracks stretched across her body. Kind of like a broken spider web. The biggest one was over her left eye which had been bandaged off the most. Masaru came down too, disheveled but otherwise, alright.
“I’ll get to the point. Katsuki is still alive.” Under her shirt, Luna popped out and sat on her head. “But… he won’t be the same ‘Katsuki’. Physically at least.” Holograms appeared in front of them. Scans of Bakugo from when he was engulfed in ice from Flaming Christmas. And then scans of Teka’s body, which was worse in every single way you could think of.
“Ryuku and another beast told us the story of how it happened. That Midoriya and Bakugo almost died on that day in the forest. And that you and your sister saved them both.” Teka’s eyes shifted a bit when her sister was mentioned. Something she tried to hide but Mitsuki noticed. “Aiko said you don’t have a good relationship with your family, right?”
Teka gave a subtle nod and avoided her gaze. Raising her shirt, the cracked beast showed more cracks on her stomach. “My dear siblings are responsible for this. Same with my mother.”
Their faces twisted a bit at the last part. Both of them thought how could a mother do that to their child? What they failed to realize is that her mother never thought of Teka as her own child. “Katsuki… where is he? You said he was alive right?”
“You can see him right now actually,” She stretched out her hand a bit and formed a small blue flower in her palm. “All you have to do is touch this flower. But try not to be too surprised.”
They didn’t hesitate. In less than a second, their perception of the earth was shattered. The colors twisted and turned until it was nothing more than a blur of colors. It was… mind-boggling. Eventually, it all calmed down and a sea of blue and white flowers took form.
“This is my void.”
Both of them turned around to see an unbroken Teka. One without any cracks and flawless skin. They looked in awe as the flowers shifted and moved as she walked past them. Mitsuki reached out to touch one, but Teka swooped in to stop her. “It’d be best if you didn’t relive some of my memories. They’re not for the faint of heart.”
Before Mitsuki could say anything, the flowers rose into the air. Leaving only a select few around a sleeping Katsuki Bakugo.
Then they were back on Earth. Teka clutched at her cracking hand. “I’m sorry. That’s all I can show you. Maintaining another human while bringing two more consciousnesses puts a massive strain on my body.”
Mitsuki and Masaru got up from the couch and ran over to hug Teka once more. They stayed like that a minute. Teka didn’t say anything though. She sat there quietly as they thanked her repeatedly. Even though she felt like she didn’t deserve it.
A knock on the door broke their ‘family moment’. When opened, Aiko and Mei were standing there. Along with the other Luna.
[Mei and Aiko Hinata are here. Kori had finished obtaining the Nanites. I’ve run the simulations with the metal obtained from Aiko. Chance of success is 94.4%!]