Chapter 69: The Funny Number
Day two of the camp started earlier than the previous day, with everyone starting their training early. For most of them, it was easy. But for Izumi, it was a difficult wake-up.
She was still processing yesterday's info dump, as well as the fact that both Eri and Kota found out about the existence of aliens, as well as hints to the existence of One for All. A lot of information and not much time to process it. She was just glad they only covered a bit about the species these telepaths come from. These Sematicks sounded old, very old. They had a vast empire about three thousand years ago. Humanity was mostly hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists back then. And they had an empire that spanned the stars. And that's about the time period that their empire had fallen. Clearly, they had been around for a long period of time.
Just how old was their species?
Of course, Izumi's brain was too tired to deal with that right now, so she focused on mastering Blackwhip. She needed to be able to control it. She was close, she knew it. She just had to get the right emotional mindset down.
Eri wanting to know more about this Paltheus woman did not help calm her nerves or help her to sleep. Izumi personally did not want to know more about someone who killed a god and had no idea why her little sister wanted to. Maybe the young girl heard the title god slayer and wanted to recruit the woman into the ever-growing Overhaul murder army. Which now included the forty Seiai academy girls, because of course she would tell them.
She really had to find a way to stop her from telling people about her past, they did not need an army to face this guy, only about ten-fifteen guys.
"You know, Izumi," Durandal said. "Something about what Rolls said yesterday didn't make sense. She said that different variants couldn't procreate with each other. Then how can they procreate with humans? You're a completely different species on the other side of the galaxy to them. And yet, there are Human-Sematick hybrids. How the hell is that possible?".
"Another time, please Durandal," Izumi said, panting as she lay on the ground. "My brain can't process this right now".
"Right," Durandal said. "We'll cover this later then".
Izumi grunted before she got up off the ground. When she went off to this summer camp she expected to learn how to improve her control over One for All, not learn life-changing facts such as the existence of god-like entities. She doesn't have the available brain power to wrap her head around how these Human-Sematick hybrids came about.
She then saw Ochaco nearby, sitting on a log. "Hey Ochaco," Izumi said as she walked over to her girlfriend. "You doing ok?".
"Izumi! Do I look ok?" Ochaco asked, whisper shouting as she glared at Izumi, a tired look on her face. "Yesterday, I found out that the very being that I worship is a real fucking entity! Of course I'm panicking! I'm like a Christian who just found out that god is fucking real! I could not sleep! I honestly wish she told me that beforehand because I had no idea the god I worshipped was real! And I found out that there are not only more of these god-like entities, but someone was able to kill one of the things! A minor panic attack barely describes what I'm going through right now. I am having a full-on crisis!".
"Well, now that you mention it, you do look a bit tired," Izumi said. "Maybe a good night's sleep will do you good?".
"Izumi, this isn't something that a simple good night's sleep can solve," Ochaco growled. "There is a difference between believing something exists, and knowing that it exists. And now that I know that my god is real, I am having a panic attack!".
"Oh, yeah, I can see why that could happen," Izumi said. "Releasing your god is real must be difficult to comprehend. What is your god anyway?".
"A being called Mother. She's the only real god the Sematicks have," Ochaco replied. "I only know of her from a prayer my 'father' told me. I don't even know her real name".
Izumi looked at Ochaco with a confused look on her face. There was venom in those words, about her father. Previously she only had good things to say about him, but now, it sounded like she hated him. What had changed?
She decided to not ask her about it. She seemed tired. Best not to inquire about that today. The prayer, on the other hand, sounds interesting.
"Prayer?" Izumi asked, looking confused.
Ochaco sighed and closed her eyes. "Oh great Mother, listen to our call. Hear our voices as we ask for your protection against your enemies. Harden our armour so his talons and teeth may break upon it, sharpen our blade so that we might slice through his flesh and strengthen our hearts so we might resist his great terror. Grant us your blessing in our fight against those who seek to destroy us. And protect our souls against the devourers. As Mother commands, so shall it be".
"You're sure that's a standard prayer?" Durandal asked. "That sounds more like something you say before going into battle".
"It is," Ochaco said. "Rolls told me it's used by soldiers of one of the variants before they go into battle. It's the only one he ever used or taught me".
Izumi nodded. Was Ochaco's dad a soldier?
"Sounds like a bunch of religious zealots," Durandal remarked.
'You don't know the half of it,' Ochaco thought. "Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" she chuckled before sighing. "You know, life was so much simpler before I found out what I was. Ever since Rolls started telling me about what I am, it's just gotten more and more complicated. Sometimes I wish I didn't call myself Gallastram. That brought a lot of attention towards me".
"Ok," Izumi said. "What does Gallastram even mean anyway?"
"I don't know," Ochaco said with a shrug, "All I know is that it has something to do with how people travel FTL. But that's something very complicated that I'm not ready to learn about yet".
Izumi nodded. "Well, at least you are finding this stuff out. It may seem much, but at least it'll be a weight off of your shoulders".
Ochaco nodded. As mind-boggling as this stuff was, she was glad that she was able to find this stuff out now. To finally know what she is. Damn her father, why didn't he tell her this stuff?
"SO! What are you lovebirds talking about?" Mina asked, popping up out of nowhere.
The other two girls jumped back in surprise. "How much did you hear?" Izumi asked in a panic.
"Nothing!" Mina replied. "That's why I'm here asking about what you're talking about".
"Mina!" Toru shouted, slapping her friend on the head. Completely invisible and not wearing anything.
"Toru! Put some clothes on!" Durandal said in a panic. "You are naked right now!".
"So, I'm practising being sneaky!" Toru replied. "I need to be naked! Also Mina, you can't just butt in on someone else's conversation like that!".
"Toru! I need deets!" Mina said. "They walked off with Himiko last night and I just have to know what they talked about. Right Tsu!" she asked loudly, shouting towards the frog girl.
The frog girl ribbited. "No. I may be her girlfriend but she's entitled to her own privacy," she said before she shot out her tongue, grabbed Mina, and dragged her over.
"Please don't eat me!" Mina screamed as she was dragged over.
"I'm not going to eat you!" Tsu said before she dropped Mina onto the ground. "You're too big to fit into my mouth anyway, ribbit".
"Oh, so I'm too big to fit in there but several tons of explosives are?" Mina asked.
"Yes," Tsu replied bluntly. "Now please, leave them be, ribbit. Not everything is gossip after all," she said before she walked off.
Mina huffed. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said before she walked off as well.
"Well, that deals with that," Toru said. "Well, I'll catch up with you two later!".
Ochaco and Izumi shared a quick glance before they looked back at where Toru had been standing.
"Toru. You're still standing there," Izumi said with an unimpressed look on her face.
"No, I'm not!" Toru denied quietly.
"Toru, I can see you, you know," Durandal remarked.
"No you can't," Toru said nervously.
"Toru, we've been over this. Your body still produces heat, and I can see that heat," Durandal explained. "Unless you find a way to hide your body heat, I will always be able to see you".
Toru groaned. "I am both glad and annoyed that you can see me," she said before she sighed. "I'll leave then," she said before she walked away, properly this time.
Ochaco and Izumi sighed. They were probably going to have to be a lot more careful when talking about certain things. Especially out here, where there are too few places to talk in private.
"Again, I liked it better when I didn't know what I was," Ochaco said telepathically. "I didn't need to worry about people finding out about it back then".
Izumi nodded. She felt the same.
She'd be shocked if they somehow managed to prevent more people from finding out the truth of either One for All or Aliens.
Beros was silent as she followed Slice up the woodland path. It had taken them slightly longer than expected to get here. The train was delayed because of a villain attack, and Slice was rather picky about which car she wanted to steal.
She didn't know why the woman was so picky. They were cars! Just pick any car to hotwire! They didn't need to look through eight different car parks for a car to hotwire!
Thankfully, they eventually found a car, a dark green sedan that was shockingly easy to break into and hotwire.
It was almost like she already had the key to it.
Once they had their car, they drove off, driving for a few hours before arriving at a large forest. They had to ditch the car and go the rest of the way on foot, but Beros was fine with that. As long as she got some answers, she'd be fine with everything.
"So, you said you saw a Dreadnought around here?" Beros asked, looking around. "Doesn't look like much. It's just a forest".
"What, did you think they would operate somewhere densely populated?" Slice replied with a shrug. "Come now, these are killers, avatars of death. They wouldn't risk going into a city unless they needed to".
"But you did see one of them around here, right?" Beros asked.
Slice nodded. "Yep. But it was about a decade or so ago. There's an old campsite around here as well. It was around that area where I saw them. But it was a while ago, so I'm not sure exactly where I saw them".
Beros nodded. That was understandable. Memories became more fickle as time went on. "What was the guy's quirk?".
"Don't know," Slice replied. "He never used it. He wore dark purple and red armour the entire time I saw him, so I couldn't tell if he had a mutation quirk or not," she said before she stopped. "And here we are".
Beros stopped and looked around. They were on the edge of a large clearing, the remains of a large wooded structure before them. Burnt, rotten wood lay everywhere.
"Is this the campsite?" Beros asked, a surprised look on her face. "What happened to this place? Did the Dreadnought do this?".
Slice shook her head. "No. This was someone else's doing," she said somberly. "I was only a little girl when I saw them. No, this happened only a few years ago".
"I see," Beros said. "What happened here?".
Slice frowned. "Argonaut happened".
Beros gasped as she looked back at the structure. Argonaut did this. But that meant.
She rushed forward towards the building and started frantically looking through the remains. This was the place. This was where that Greek bastard killed him, this was where Papa died. There had to be something about the man here, something that could help her remember him.
A name, she just needed a name!
She frantically looked through the ruins of the building, checking the remains of every room she could find. There were broken desks, beds, cabinets, and all manner of other furniture. All burnt and broken. Everything she found was in ruins. There wasn't so much a piece of paper left intact.
Beros collapsed onto her knees, tears falling from her eyes. There was nothing left. Not one scrap she could use to remember him by.
"Damn you Argonaut!" Beros shouted, slamming her fist into the floor. How could she have been so stupid to fall for that man's advances?
She should have known fucking better!
"Beros, what's wrong?" Slice asked as she walked up behind her, sounding worried.
"Argonaut, he took someone from me, someone important," Beros cried. "He didn't just kill him, but he took my memories as well. It's the shrapnel, you see-" she tapped her head. "-The doctors said that the shrapnel caused me permanent brain damage, as well as memory loss. I can't remember anything about him, not even his name. All I know is that there was someone who looked after me, but I don't remember any of it".
Slice gasped, a single tear fell down her face. "Y-you don't even remember him?".
Beros nodded. "Nothing. Everything before the day Argonaut killed him, was lost. Because of him! He took everything from me! I just want it back, just something! Anything! I just, want to-" she cried before she noticed something beside her. She looked to the side and saw a book being held next to her head.
"It's a photo album," Slice said somberly. "Atsuo Atsushi, your papa. He gave this to me the last time I was here. It might help you to remember".
Beros looked at the photo album, tears clogging her eyes. "H-how?".
"He ran the summer camp here," Slice replied as Beros took the photo album. "This was his home after all. And you were here as well," she said before she walked off. "Have a look through, it should help. I'll have a look round. Maybe there's something else about here that could help you remember".
Beros didn't argue with Slice. She just opened the album and looked through the photos.
Sure enough, on the first page were eight photos, each one had a young girl with mint-green hair and eyes. No doubt about it, that was her when she was younger. There was also a young girl with red in each photo as well. Probably that Slice woman when she was younger.
One of the photos was most interesting, it was of her, sitting on the knee of an older man. He looked like he was in his fifties. Dull orange hair with a strip of white hair, and yellow eyes. He had a bright smile on his face.
Was that, Papa?
Meanwhile, Slice walked out of the damaged building and out into the forest around it. She'd give Beros a few minutes to look through the photo album before she headed back. She needed some time to be alone to process this.
She didn't walk far into the forest before she stopped. Before her stood an armoured figure with a skeletal metal hand, leaning against a tree. "Well, Slice?" the figure asked. His voice, deep and sinister.
"She's not a heretic if that's what you're worried about," Slice replied, glaring at the man.
"Don't worry," the figure said. "She's human, she can't be a heretic. I'm asking if she remembers anything yet".
Slice shook her head, a sad frown on her face. "No. I thought bringing her here would help jog her memory a bit, but it hasn't worked. I'm worried that there's nothing left of who she once was. That's why I left her with a scrapbook the old man had filled with photos of her," she said, wiping a tear away from her eyes. "I just-, I just".
"You want your friend back," the figure said. Slice nodded. "I can't help her, you know," the figure stated. "We can't waste resources on helping a human. We're too busy with other things. Only you can".
"I know," Slice said. "I just wish that I could just reach into her head and give her the memories back. But, with those barriers protecting her mind, I can't do that".
"The old man was quite attached to her," the figure remarked. "It'll make sense he'd give her some means to protect herself from our kind. Those mental barriers he put up around her mind and soul are the only reason why she's alive right now and not a puppet like the rest of Humarise. It would take years to break through those, and I don't think he'll appreciate it if you broke those down just to restore your friend's memories".
"I know," Slice said. "But don't worry, I'm sure I can help her remember. No matter how long it takes, I'll help her to remember. Not that I have anything better to do. Unless another heretic shows up. By the way, are you sure it is wise to leave the last heretic who took over Humarise alive? He's the most dangerous of the lot".
"No," the figure replied. "But, the Prefect ordered him to be targeted last. Moron. Never leave the strongest till last, he'll just build an army".
"An army he already has," Slice said. "Two hundred puppets. All with powerful quirks, and a lot of Trigger as well. I dread to think what he plans to do with that army. Good thing I stopped that train in Russia. His army would be twice its size by now. If I wasn't scared of him tearing my soul out and consuming it then I would have taken that little toy I took from those RAFT boys got their hands on and killed him already".
"You do know that you shouldn't have done that, right?" the figure said. "You aren't like me. If either of those two noticed you then they would have overwhelmed and devoured you. You got lucky with those two with those traps of yours. How did you acquire those things anyway?".
Slice smiled. "Mireesh sell to anyone, remember".
The figure sighed. "Of course the Mireesh Syndicate found a way here as well. Why are so many people interested in this little backwater planet? We wouldn't even be out here if it weren't for the heretics. Speaking of them, we located the other one," he said before he raised his skeletal hand. The hand retracted back into his arm, and a red energy blade came out of it. "They'll be dead before daybreak".
"Just be quick about it, please," Slice said. "The longer that last one remains alive the more worried I get".
"Don't worry, I'll make sure he dies," the figure said. "Oh yeah, just thought you should know, Jack's taken his car back".
"Of course," Slice said with a sigh. "I take it he left something in its place, right?".
"Yep," the figure said before he threw her some car keys.
Slice grabbed the keys. "You know, for a human, he's quite reliable," she said as she looked at the keys. She looked back up and saw that the figure was gone. "Figures," she said before she turned and walked back to the building.
When she came back to where she had Beros, she found the woman sitting on the floor, the photo album lying on her lap. "Atsuo Atsushi," she said, turning a page with her good hand. "That was his name, wasn't it?".
Slice nodded. "Yep, that was his name. Do you remember now?"
"Bits," Beros replied. "It's still a mangled mess, but I've been able to piece most of this together from these pictures. We were friends, close friends, weren't we?".
Slice nodded. "Yes. We were almost like sisters, you and I. We used to cause all kinds of chaos around her, getting on Atsuo and the other camp leaders' nerves. You were one of the few reasons why I always liked coming here".
Beros frowned. "I don't remember any of it. All those memories, lost. Because of some shrapnel in my head. I want to remember, I want to remember all of this, but I can't. Twenty-plus years of my life, taken from me. Just because one man wanted to kill another. I don't even know why Argonaut even wanted to kill Atsuo".
"I don't know either," Slice said. "Atsuo was a good man. Always looking out for all of us at the camp, teaching us useful skills, setting up activities for us to do" 'helping us learn how to control our powers, come to terms with why the heretics created us in the first place' "-protecting us and keeping us safe. He treated all of us like we were his children. And we all loved him. For a lot of us, he was the only father-like figure we knew".
"And this Dreadnought?".
"We both saw him. I wouldn't have gone out into the forest at night poking around without you. It's why I brought you here. To help you remember. When Argonaut destroyed this place, I felt a piece of me get destroyed as well. And when you were reported missing, I didn't know what to do. After all the fun we had together, I didn't know what to do without you. So, seeing you out there on the streets, after so long, I just couldn't believe it. I just had to do something. I'm sorry".
"I-it's alright," Beros said as she closed the photo album, and held it close to her. "I'm thankful for this opportunity. I finally know his name, and I know I had a friend. There's so much I still need to remember, but this-" she tapped the book with her stump. "-this helps. Thank you".
Slice smiles. It wasn't much, but it was progress. It may take months or even years, but hopefully, she'll eventually get her friend back.
Beros meanwhile was grateful for this woman's help. Thanks to Slice she now knew more about her past. Why didn't she do this sooner? Why did she allow vengeance to cloud her mind? She should have focused on remembering what had been taken from her. Was her brain so messed up that she just didn't realise what had been taken from her?
Why did she join Humarise again? It was so long ago that she didn't really remember. How could that lot have helped her kill that Greek bastard? Maybe she thought that if she got rid of all quirks it would kill Argonaut somehow. Made sense, her brain was scrambled after all.
But still, she had made friends there, and those freaks who took over killed them all, leaving them nothing more but mindless puppets. Someone needed to avenge them. But, all she could do was hope that the heroes could deal with them, because she did not want to go back there.
She didn't know why she was immune to their mind control or whatever it was, only that whatever the hell they were doing freaked her the fuck out.
"You ok?" Slice asked, looking worried.
"Yes, I'm fine," Beros replied. "Just remembering something I'd rather not. Don't worry, it's not from my forgotten past," she said before she stood up, struggling slightly due to only having one hand. "But, where do I go now? I can't stay here".
"You could stay with me," Slice said. "I can help you lay low from the heroes".
Beros looked at the other woman with a shocked look. "How do you know I'm on the run from heroes?".
"Well, I may be slightly wanted by the authorities for a few things as well," Slice replied with a shrug. "But hey, at least we sort of doing what we did back in the day, just annoying heroes and not camp counsellors," 'As well as the occasional Dreadnought, even if it was the mother of all bad ideas'.
"You're a villain?" Beros said deadpan. Trust the only friend from before Argonaut messed it up turned out to be a villain.
Well, she was a villain herself, so she might as well go with her.
"Thank you," Beros said with a smile.
"Don't mention it," Slice said with a friendly smile. "Friends look out for each other, remember? Now then, I have an apartment we can stay at that's an hour or two away. We should be able to lay low there for a while. Hopefully, it'll give you some time to get your memories back".
Beros nodded before the two headed back to the car. She may not be able to help Humarise anymore, but, at least she was on the path to recovering what she had lost.
When they returned to the car, they found that the sedan that they used to get there was gone. In its place was a car that looked like it could fall apart any second.
"That's not the car we came here in," she remarked. "What happened to the nice sedan you jacked?"
Slice meanwhile looked downright pissed. "Jack you fucking bastard!" she fumed. "This is the piece of shit you left me with! It's a pile of junk! I swear the next time I see that green hair bastard I'm throwing him into the sea! ".
One slash-cut to the car in question. Jack was busy driving HIS car away from the forest.
'Damn it, woman. Stop taking my car!' he thought as he drove off. Why is it that whenever Slice needs a car she always takes his? It's his car!
This was very annoying. Especially when he has a date tonight!
Back at the forest, Slice was breathing heavily, an angry look on her face. She absolutely refused to get into that hump of junk. Her hair would get dirty and ruined if she did.
Beros, meanwhile, just stood there looking confused. "So, what happened to the car we came here in?" she asked.
"Oh, the guy I stole it from came back to collect it," Slice replied. "And replace it with a piece of shit!" she growled.
"I see," Beros said. She had no idea who this Jack guy was, but he sounded like a friend of Slice. If only she could remember the woman's name. She was her friend for god's sake. How could she have forgotten about her?
What else had she forgotten?
"Well then," Slice said, smirking. "Looks like we'll be having to use a different form of transportation to get there," she said before she clicked her fingers.
There was a loud crash behind them. Beros shuddered before she slowly turned and looked behind them. And found herself staring at a single sinister red light.
Her jaw dropped. "What in the holy name of Armored Core Six is that?!" she asked as she took a step back.
Slice smiled as she turned towards her friend. "Just a little something I stole from those RAFT guys~".
Chapter 70: Hybrid
That night, the students at the camp took part in a test of courage. It was UA VS Seiai. With the UA students trying to scare the Seiai girls.
Two of Seiai's students, one with orange, tentacle-like hair with glasses over her eyes, the other had short, cyan hair, were walking through the forest path.
Neither of them had been impressed by the UA students' attempts at scaring them.
The orange-haired girl, Saya, sighed as they walked. "I wasn't expecting much from a group of first years, but this is ridiculous. Nothing they do is scary".
The cyan-haired girl, Itoka, nodded. "Agreed. Everything they've done so far is so basic. I've seen bad horror movies with better scares than that".
"I will admit, I was slightly scared of that thing they did with Dark Shadow," Saya said. "And the attempt to mind control us almost worked. But, the majority of their scare attempts so far are just bad".
"Seems like even the best fail at some things," Itoka said with a smile. "I don't think there's anything those UA first years can do to scare us".
"Are you sure about that?" Saya asked.
"Positive," Itoka said. "What's the worst that can happen?"
"It's just that, Chifuyu and Tamayo, they ran past us earlier looking scared out of their mind," Saya said with a frown. "They didn't even stop to tell us what scared them. But, they looked horrified".
"The UA students they encountered probably just got lucky with them," Itoka said.
"I hope you're right," Saya said, looking ahead of them. "In any case, we shouldn't underestimate them-. What the!".
The two girls stopped. On the path before them lay a girl with ashburn hair, sprawled out on the ground surrounded and covered in blood. Eyes wide open staring at them with an unblinking, unmoving stare.
"Is that the girl who punched Katsuragi?" Itoka asked.
"It is," Saya replied before she walked over to the girl. "Do they really think playing dead and covering themselves with fake blood is going to scare us? Please. Like that wou-" she said before she paused, looking down in horror.
The other girl wasn't breathing, and that wasn't fake blood. It was real.
Saya started to shiver in fear, stepping back from the corpse in front of her. As in, a real dead body. They weren't faking this, this was real, someone had killed her.
"Saya, what's wrong?" Itoka asked.
"S-s-she's dead!" Saya replied, her body shaking with fear.
"What!" Itoka gasped. The other girl was dead. How? This was supposed to be a game, so who killed her?
The two Seiai girls stared in shock at the body before them. Did a villain find the camp and do this to her?
They noticed a trail of blood leading away from the body, starting from the girl's neck and leading into the forest.
The two slowly followed the trail with their eyes, following it to its end and finding a horrifying sight.
The fluffy green-haired girl who won the UA sports festival was pinned to a tree, a pair of knives pinning her hands to it. There was someone pressing her against it, that red-haired girl with buns in her hair. She was pinning the other girl to the tree and biting her neck.
The green-haired girl looked to be in pain, mouth wide open but unable to scream.
"W-w-w-what's going on!" Itoka gasped, shaking with fear. "Aren't they classmates? Why is she doing this?".
"Maybe she's snapped!" Saya gasped. "I've heard of people whose quirks give them cravings for something snapping if they don't consume it!".
The red-haired girl stopped biting the other girl. She then slowly turned her head towards them, a blood-covered smile on her face.
Itoka and Saya screamed loudly before running off the way they came. The corpse of Ochaco watched them as they ran.
The body remained motionless, long after the two Seiai girls had run off.
The body suddenly blinked, smiled, and began to laugh. With Himiko and Izumi joining in as well.
Durandal walked out of his hiding spot in the forest, joining in on the laughter as well. He had recorded the entire thing. "Man we got those two good as well," he laughed. "We're four for four on the number of Seiai students scared off by us".
"We sure are," Himiko laughed as she got off of Izumi, allowing the other girl to move away from the tree. Her hands not really pinned to it. "This is fun~".
"Man, this was such a good idea," Izumi said with a smile as she checked the fake knives attached to her hands. She was so glad she had asked Momo for these, they made this scare look so much more realistic. As did the blood.
Good thing they brought plenty of blood bags for Himiko.
Ochaco giggled as she sat up. "Man, I am so glad I agreed to this plan. Just seeing the realisation on those girls' faces when they realise I'm 'dead' is just so worth it".
Himiko smiled. "Yep! They thought they were ready for us. Rule number one of being a hero, don't underestimate your opponent. Shame about the blood though. I could have drank that".
"You can drink our blood," Izumi said. "It's as we said, you can have our blood whenever you like. We're friends after all".
Himiko smiled. "Thanks for that. I'll
"Are you ok, Izumi? I didn't take too much blood?".
"No, I don't think you took anything either," Izumi said, scratching the bite mark on her neck. "I'm surprised you can bite someone and not drink any blood".
"Oh that, that's easy," Himiko said with a smirk, "I just bite, but don't suck~".
"Just make sure you don't suck anything else," Ochaco pouted. Whilst she did agree to this, she really didn't like the idea of Izumi being the one she's actively 'biting'.
"Oh, are you jealous over there, Ochaco?" Himiko asked with a grin. "Do you want to be the one I'm biting?".
"Can't. I'm the only one who can trick the others into thinking that I'm dead," Ochaco said, shaking her head. "I have to be close to them to affect their perception. I can't do that for Izumi if I'm the one Himiko's pinning to a tree".
'Oh, you have no idea how much I really want to do that to you' Himiko thought, licking her lips.
"Shame this won't work on Rolls," Ochaco continued. "Her abilities are just so much stronger than mine".
"I'm surprised how quickly your powers have been improving since we got here," Durandal remarked as he walked up beside her.
"So am I," Ochaco said, looking at her hands. "Who knew meditating would help me improve them so quickly?".
"Sometimes it's the simplest things that can help a person's quirk to improve," Izumi said. "Just that one little detail that you're missing to put everything together. Oftentimes those with mental quirks need to meditate to help improve them. Finding inner peace can sometimes be better to improve one's quirk than say, brute force training".
"Yeah, that's what Rolls said," Ochaco said.
"You think meditating would help for me?" Himiko asked. "I know I may struggle with it since it's not exactly my kind of thing. And my telepathy is kind of different from yours".
"Well, you won't know until you try," Izumi said with a smile.
"Heads up, more people incoming," Durandal warned.
"Places!" Ochaco said before she went back to playing dead.
Izumi and Himiko quickly went back to their little scene against the tree whilst Durandal went back to hide.
By the time the test of courage was over, only six Seiai girls managed to pass their little 'vampire terror'. Rolls and her partner of course managed to make it past them, as did Saiko and her partner. The last two who made it past were an odd pair. One of them failed to even see them due to her glasses being broken earlier in the challenge, and the other was turned on by the fake gruesome scene.
Apparently, there are people out there who are into that sort of thing.
Ochaco was at least glad that the boob-groping girl was one of those who ran away scared. A little bit of revenge felt nice.
Kiruka Hasaki, better known as Slice, smiled as she made her way back to the apartment she was hiding out in at the moment. Using back alleys to avoid staying on the streets as much as possible.
She was honestly happy right now. An old friend of hers had been found. Ok so she had forgotten everything from before she got backstabbed by that Greek arsehole (who she was going to help her friend kill), but, she just so happened to have the resources to help her remember and piece everything together.
Her friend was currently resting back at the apartment. She just slipped out for a bit to stock up on a few things.
Beros may have fainted a bit after seeing the 'toy' she stole. But she should be fine after a few hours of sleep.
She may have realised a bit too late that said memory loss included everything Atsuo had told her about all the important things, like why her species was even bothering with this very out-of-the-way planet, what a Dreadnought is, and why it is important that the hybrids are kept hidden.
Looking at you Gallastram.
Seriously, who the fuck approved that? Weren't hybrids who were approved to go into this world's heroics industry supposed to have their hero names approved ahead of time? So who the fuck approved Gallastram?
She would have a word with who's in charge of looking after hybrids like her if she, well, was allowed to see the guy that is. The Imps don't really like her going up to their ships, especially after she sneaked aboard The Key ship.
She was a bit of a troublemaker after all.
"Stop right there!" a female voice shouted out to her from behind.
Case in point, she was wanted by the heroes for a few, minor things. Like destroying two trains and killing a few RAFT personnel, among other small things.
Kiruka turned around and saw the pro-hero Clair Voyance standing at the end of the alleyway. Hand resting on the butt of her pulse gun.
"Clair Voyance," Kiruka said as she turned to face the hero. "What brings one of Otheon's best heroes to Japan?".
"That's none of your business, villain," Clair replied, her hand curling around the grip of her weapon, finger off the trigger.
Kiruka smirked. "Villain. What makes you think I'm a villain?".
"Slice, please, no games tonight," Clair said with a tired sigh. "We've been through this song and dance enough to know the playing 'I'm not a villain' card is not going to work. I've been over your numerous crimes oh so many times, and I'm really getting annoyed by how much you keep adding to them," she said before she pulled out her gun and aimed it at Kiruka.
"Oh, am I causing you problems?" Kiruka mocked as her hair solidified into blades. "What you going to do about it, hero? Cuff me?".
"If it'll stop you from causing me problems, yes," Clair replied with a determined look on her face.
"Well then, hero," Kiruka smirked before she unfurled the claws from her gloves. "I'd like to see you try".
Panting, that's what she heard, panting. She was panting, running after a young girl with long, well-cared-for hair through a forest wearing what looked like pyjamas.
"Come on Beros," the girl she was following said.
"Kiruka!" she said as she followed her. "How many times do I have to tell you not to use that nickname? My name's Beltarous".
"I know," the red-haired girl said as she turned back towards her and smiled, her blue sapphire eyes glinting in the darkness around them. "It's just — rush".
Beltarous sighed but kept following her. "Why are we even up so late?".
"I saw Atsuo walk out of the house earlier," Kiruka replied.
"So?" Beltarous said as she continued to follow her friend. "Papa sometimes heads out into the forest for a walk late at night. — this time?".
"He was carrying his special cane," Kiruka said. "You know, the one he uses — a Dreadnought".
Beltarous blinked. "Papa's Awesome stick? But, why would he be heading out to meet with a Dreadnought out in the forest. Why not inside the house?".
"I don't know," Kiruka replied. "That's why I want to see what he's doing. Aren't you curious as well?".
"I am," Beltarous said. "But, should we be doing this? You know Papa's meetings with Dreadnoughts are supposed to be private".
"I know," Kiruka said. "But aren't you the slightest bit curious as to why they're having a meeting out in the woods so late at night?".
"Well, sort of-" Beltarous said before she tripped over a tree root. She gasped as she fell, only to stop when she felt herself get grabbed by something, some kind of invisible force.
She looked up towards Kiruka. The other girl was holding a hand out towards her. "You ok?" she asked.
"I am," Beltarous replied as she stood back up. "You've gotten better with your telekinesis".
Kiruka nodded before her hair moved slightly, "Would have been easier if I used my hair. It's so much easier — my heretic-given powers".
"Hey, didn't Papa tell you never to call them that?" Beltarous said with a frown. "Your dad may have been a heretic, but that doesn't make you or your powers —".
—
The two kids kept running until they came across a clearing with two people standing in the middle of it.
One of them was an old man wearing rather funky-looking clothing and resting on an ornate cane. He had messy ginger hair and a large, puffy moustache, and his eyes were closed.
The other figure wore dark, sinister and highly advanced armour. The armour looked sturdy, with armoured plates over a bodysuit, coloured a mix of dark purple and dark red. Armoured gauntlets with claws at the end of each finger, a form-fitting helmet that was the image of fear itself, a dark black floor-length combat skirt, and heavy-duty boots. The figure's right hand was also different, a skeletal metal hand that looked sharp.
"You're sure it's safe now?" Atsuo asked, a concerned look on his face.
"I am positive, master," the armoured figure replied, his voice deep and menacing. "The heretics who found out about this place have been eliminated. They will be of no threat to the hybrids".
"Thank Mother. That's good to hear," Atsuo said with a relieved sigh. "I am glad to hear — place has yet to be compromised. I dread to think what would happen if a heretic got their hands on one of those children. They've already suffered enough —".
"Fools they may be, but they are dangerous fools," the armoured figure said. "They defy Mother's will, and follow a path she herself has told us not to follow".
"Yes yes, I am quite aware of how dangerous the heretics are, Sarada," Atsuo said with a frown. "I was out fighting — born. And no more of this master nonsense. I'm retired".
"My apologies, master," the figure, Sarada, replied. "But didn't you always tell me to respect your elders?".
"That I did," Atsuo said before he poked his old apprentice in the chest with his cane. "I also told you to respect my retirement plan, which includes dropping the whole master thing. You're a — a student," he said before he looked down at Sarada's skeletal hand. "I see your fight with the heretic lord Neberk cost you more than —".
Sarada nodded before he raised his prosthetic hand and flexed his fingers. "My arm wasn't all I lost in that battle. I don't even know how much of my soul is left".
"You should have retreated with the rest of the first wave," Atsuo said. "No one should have been around that man — time".
"I'm sorry master, but I could not bring myself to disengage," Sarada said. "I had to see the battle through. I had to see him die with my own two eyes. —".
"That kind of attitude almost got you killed, your very soul consumed by something truly abnormal," Atsuo said with a frown. "Not something — allowed to happen. You are a Dreadnought, an instrument of — will. You shouldn't be risking your soul like that. Wouldn't you agree, Beltarous, Kiruka?".
The two young girls shrieked when Atsuo turned towards them, neither of them expecting him to notice them. But then again, they should have expected this, he was a powerful telepath after all.
Sarada sighed. "Trust the troublemakers to sneak out at night to spy on a secret meeting".
"I'm sorry, Papa," Beltarous said, tears pooling around her and Kiruka's eyes. "We didn't mean to spy on you".
"It's alright, Beltarous, I'm not mad," Atsuo said with a warm smile. "You two were just curious. I understand that for — better of you. But sometimes curiosity can be a dangerous thing. It can lead you to dangerous places, and down paths best left alone".
The two young girls nodded. Atsuo was an old man and had a large amount of wisdom to share with those younger than him.
"— house. It's late, and you two should really get to bed," Atsuo said before he walked over to the two girls and ushered them back to the house. "Also, I don't know how much you heard, but, I'd prefer it if you didn't tell anyone about what you heard here. I don't want to cause any unwanted panic".
"Don't worry, we won't," Beltarous said with a nod.
"Will the heretics ever find this place?" Kiruka asked, shuddering with fear.
"Please, if one of them finds this place, I will make them live to regret it," Atsuo said with a friendly smile. "I promise you, I will protect every single one of you. I may be an old man, but I can still deal with minor problems that pop up from time— ".
Beros slowly opened her eyes. Was that a dream, or a memory? It felt like a dream, but the way it acted out felt more vivid, and real. Like she had lived through that personally.
Ok, so she was slightly annoyed that it ended abruptly like that. There were also gaps and random jumps from time to time. They were annoying, but probably something she should have expected. Looking through that photo album must have triggered something, helping her to remember what was lost. But it's incomplete, with bits missing here and there. Her brain was like a jigsaw puzzle with several bits missing. Not everything is there, so it's putting what it can back together, and skipping over what it can't recover.
Beltarous. Was that her name? Huh, looked like Beros was nothing more than a nickname. She always wondered why that was her name. Guess she finally found out.
But, if that was a memory, then that would mean she not only knew a Dreadnought but also knew why they were here. But that would mean that she already had the answers she needed, she just needed to remember them.
She looked around first. She was on a bed. Guess Slice must have carried her here.
There was a bedside table with a note on it. She picked it up and looked at it.
'Gone to get food. Slice'.
Well, looks like she knows where her friend is.
She sat up on the bed, sighed, and contemplated the memory she saw.
'OK brain, think! It was only a small memory and a lot of it didn't make sense, but what did I see exactly? That Kiruka girl clearly had the same powers as those who took over Humarise, but she acted like a friend to me, and seemed scared of her powers, so she's probably not aligned with them. Atsuo was talking to some Darth Vader like guy named Sarada, and, if what I heard was right, both of them were Dreadnought's. Okay, so Papa was a retired Dreadnought. That's, surprising. But then, if he was one, how did Argonaut manage to kill him?'.
'They also used the term heretic, saying that they go against Mother's will and follow a path she herself told them not to. Kiruka even called her non-quirk powers heretical. So if we use the proper term and not the 40k term, heretics are those who worship the same god but do so in a way that is seen as heretical by the main group. Guess the soul-eating part isn't something their mother approves of'.
'They also used the term hybrid. Kiruka was clearly one of them. But, what are they a hybrid of, Atlanteans?'.
She shook her head, she can ask Slice more about this when she gets back. All she knew was that the usurpers had to be stopped. If she wasn't so scared of getting killed by the bastards then she'd have gone and killed them herself. Not much she could do about it if they could just stop her arrows before they even hit them.
Oh, right, Slice had that 'toy' of hers. That could help in killing the fucker.
Now all she needed to do was somehow convince her friend, who may also have powers like those hybrids (she will be talking to her about that as well), to send it against the guy.
She got up and went to get some water. Just what the fuck had she gotten herself into?
At least she had answers to some of her questions, even if they did raise so many more.
The door to the apartment suddenly opened and closed just as quickly as it was opened. Beros turned towards the door and saw a rather strange and confusing sight.
Slice was being pinned to a wall, her hands handcuffed behind her back, and was fiercely making out with Clair Voyance. Slice's hair wrapped around Clair's body in an erotic way.
Pardon?
"Are the cuffs… really necessary?" Slice asked as the two made out, the buttons on her blouse having been undone, revealing her deep red lace bra.
"You are the one who asked to be cuffed, villain~" Clair Voyance replied. Her white dress shirt was also undone, revealing her white lace bra.
"Fair," Slice cooed. "Still mad that… you cheated to get… them on me~"
"Please girl… like you weren't… planning the same~" Clair Voyance cooed. "I felt those… psychic hands of yours… all over me~".
"Like you weren't… doing the same~. I thought you… were a serious woman?".
"Only… when on duty~".
"Fair~".
Beros just stood there, watching in shock as the two women, both of whom were on opposite sides of the law, made out in front of her. Wasn't Clair Voyance a hero? Why was she making out with a villain? Or was this some deep-cover shit no one told her about?
Her list of questions that needed answering just doubled in size.
The two women continued their passionate make-out session for a few more moments before they finally noticed that they were being watched.
"Hi," Beros said, raising her good hand.
Clair Voyance leaned away from Slice with a confused look on her face. "Oh, so this is where you ended up".
"Damn," Slice breathed. "I was hoping you'd still be asleep".
"Yeah, sorry about that," Beros said, a shocked look still on her face. "I have, so many questions right now. You don't even know just how many I have. Especially since I think I remember a bit more about my past now".
"You're starting to remember?" Slice asked with a smile. "Remember anything important?".
"Oh, nothing big," Beros replied. "That my name is Beltarous. Plus something about heretics, hybrids, psychic powers, and that Atsuo was a retired Dreadnought".
The other two women blinked a few times before they rapidly fixed their uniforms, the cuffs around Slice's hands falling to the ground. "Why the fuck didn't you start off with that? That is fucking important shit!".
"Wait, you know her?" Clair asked as they walked over to Beros.
"Of course I do, she's Beltarous," Slice replied as she picked up Beros with her hair. "You know, the friend from camp New Haven".
"She's Beltarous?" Clair said, sounding surprised. "Why didn't you tell me? I could have sent her your way if I knew she was Atsuo's daughter".
"I didn't know," Slice said with a shrug as she put Beros down on a chair before she and Clair sat down on the sofa. "Now then, Beltarous, start from the beginning. What have you learned?".
Beros raised a finger. "First thing first, why are you two friends? Aren't you two supposed to be, I don't know, fighting in a non-sexual way?".
"Ah, about that," Slice said, raising a hand before she was interrupted by Clair.
"Technically, despite being on opposite sides of the law, your friend here and I are on the same side. But it's complicated".
"Try me," Beros said calmly.
Clair opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by Slice. "We're human-alien hybrids of a species called Sematicks, who are all natural telepaths whose abilities aren't linked to quirks. The people who took over Humarise are what we call heretics, psychic soul-eating monsters who use psychic abilities so devastatingly horrific that even our Mother, who is basically a god but doesn't like to be called one, told us not to use them. They just use them anyway. Clair and I are basically working with the same group of people to ensure that these heretics don't complete their goals".
Beros looked at the two women with a blank, unsurprised look on her face. "Huh, so that's why you called your non-quirk powers 'Heretic given powers'," she remarked. "You must have really hated them back then".
Slice chucked. "Yep, you're definitely starting to remember now. And yes, I do hate them since my arsehole of a sperm donor was one of them".
"That's it?" Clair said looking confused. "That's all you can say after being told that? You've just been told that aliens are real and that we are hybrids, and yet you are shockingly calm about it".
"To be honest, I was expecting something stranger, like an ancient conspiracy kept hidden across generations where these psychic powers came from Atlantis," Beros replied calmly. Really she felt she should be more shocked by this news, but she wasn't. It was probably because she had already been told this and being told it again was helping her to remember. "Aliens being responsible is just so much simpler than the mess I thought it was going to be. But then again, my brain is already a mess with that shrapnel inside of it. As is my life. Aliens being involved in this shit was the only logical way this could get any weirder. Also, it explains that big robot of yours".
"Wait, what big robot?" Clair asked, turning towards Slice.
Slice looked away sheepishly. "Oh, just a little something I took from those RAFT guys. That may have been given to them by a heretic".
Clair sighed. "Only you would refrain from handing in an alien combat mech".
"What, I want to have a little bit of fun with it before I hand it in," Slice replied with a shrug.
Clair groaned. "Why haven't I arrested you yet?"
"Because we need people on both sides of the law to track down heretics," Slice replied. "The Dreadnought can't do it all by themselves".
"So, you two work for these Dreadnought guys then," Beros said before looking at Clair. "Aren't you supposed to be hunting them down or something?".
"I am," Clair replied. "I'm only doing it so that they don't get complacent. I may be a hybrid, but I'm not part of their operations here, nor was one of my parents a heretic, so I'm not as restricted by what I can do like your friend here. I, like my younger sister, wanted to be a hero because, despite only being half-human, this world is my home, and I want to protect it. By being in charge of the WHA's Dreadnought case I can ensure the Dreadnought's take operations here seriously. With the stakes so high, they can't afford to take things lightly".
Beros nodded. That sort of made sense. If these guys were out there doing whatever they were doing, they probably did not need the hassle that exposure would bring. It would cause all kinds of chaos if the existence of aliens was revealed.
It also didn't take a genius to realise that these Dreadnoughts were hunting these heretics.
"Ok, I think I'm getting a better idea of what's going on, and what Atsuo was involved in," Beros said. "What about the hybrids? Why do these heretics want to make more of them? Do they want to make an enhanced army of hybrids or something?".
"Or something," Slice replied. "They want to make more hybrids, but they don't want to make an army. Heretics are more likely to devour each other than work together. No, they want to make hosts'".
"There's a power we call soul transfer that allows them to transfer their mind and soul into a new body," Clair added. "When the old body is nearing its limits they just transfer to a new, younger one. It allows them to live far longer than their natural lifespan. Because of this, it's one of the seven forbidden techniques Mother told us never to use".
"God," Beros gasped. That just made these guys so much more terrifying. How were you supposed to fight someone who can just swap to a new body? "Why? Why do something so horrifying?".
"Because heretics only want one thing, more power," Slice explained. "By living longer, they can get stronger. They are greedy bastards, only wanting to become stronger as quickly as possible. Quirks can give them more power easily. The only reason why they are bothering with making hybrids is because a regular human body can't hold the mind and soul of a Sematick. It'll burn up in a matter of days, and severely weaken their psychic powers. A hybrid would solve that problem, a quirked human with a body that won't burn up within days of transferring into it".
"Fucking hell that's messed up," Beros gasped. She felt sick, very sick. Pretending to love someone just so they could unwittingly aid them in making a hybrid child they could use as a host. It felt far too close to home for her liking. She was, after all, on the receiving end of something similar.
Did these people just not care about the lives they were destroying? Ok, so she wasn't the best person to ask that question since she was part of an organisation that wanted to kill millions of people. But that's the thing, Humarise wanted to just kill quirked people to save mankind, these heretics wanted to make compatible bodies for them to use.
Her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, all those kids at that camp".
"Were all heretic born, like me," Slice finished. "Children born from a union of a quirked human and Sematick heretic. Made for the sole purpose of being an acceptable host for their heretic parent. Thankfully the Dreadnoughts have prevented the heretics from ever switching to a fully developed hybrid. They need an adult mind to switch with, a child's mind isn't developed enough to accept an adult mind".
Beros nodded, not at all liking what she was hearing. How could these people do such a thing? It's like a worse version of a quirk marriage. At least they were all stopped before they could succeed.
"What about Humarise?" she asked.
"Ever played Xcom 2?" Clair asked. "Well, major spoiler but the aliens wanted to melt down humans and extract their genetic material to a custom-made hybrid body for their leaders to use. The guys who took over Humarise want to do the same. They can't exactly leave Earth with hundreds of humans, so they are melting as many as they can down into genetic material and shipping that off-world".
Beros gagged, now she really felt sick, and somewhat relieved. Yes, it's still messed up, killing all those people just for their genetic material. But at least it wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be.
"Ok, that explains a few things," Beros said, just managing to stop herself from throwing up. This conversation was going to give her nightmares. "But, there is one thing I still want to know. Just what is a Dreadnought?".