Chapter 66: The Nightmare’s End?

With the arrival of aide, the battle is pushed into the favour of the heroes, and yet-many can't see it as victory, especially not Todoroki who is weighed down by his choice to only use ice, and the consequences of that.

“Text” – Normal speech

‘Text’ – Thought

“Text” – Quirk Spirit speaking in the human world

“Text” - Attack

“Text” – Radio/Communication lines

“Text” – None Japanese speech

(text) – Subtext/meaning behind a spoken word

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Ripping it out like it had just been some lifeless wood, she gazed up into the quirk beast’s eyes. "I told you, I'm not so ineffective as the rest." Without another word, she drove the spike into its chest, twisting and then pulling back, jumping back right as a jet of its blood shot out and would have stained her clothing.

"But I can show you how well-versed I can be when protecting my flock." She pulled out a capture ball, allowed it to grow to normal size, and tossed it at the bellowing in agony quirk, the spirit too weak to put up a fight as it was absorbed.

Pulling out 3 more, she turned the rest, and they knew.

They were the ones being hunted now.

Line Break

One could almost hear a pin drop through the lingering sounds of the battlefield; not a single word was spoken. How could anyone speak when they had just witnessed something that seemed impossible? For Shoto, the only one conscious who knew what happened, it was still a shock to see her handle something that had pushed them all so hard. Even when he recalled the USJ, neither Midoriya nor Aoyama had been that effective.

The rest of the heroes couldn't believe what they had seen. They could barely see the threats, and they couldn't even hurt the villains; they could just keep them distracted. Yet this newcomer fell out of the sky and so easily wounded and captured one.

For Stain, he was wondering just what the hell she was. Dabi was one thing, but that woman had refused to explain anything, even when he held a blade to her paralyzed neck. Was this newcomer the same as her? What sort of quirk was this, as she could fight separately while having a giant sheep made of wool to keep him busy?

The rest of the quirk beasts felt fear, fear in knowing they weren't the predators anymore, not when Shepherdess still had the blood of one of their own dripping from her weapon. But what they feared more was angering Dabi.

So the conclusion was decided long before the fight had even begun.

“Kill her!" The ice golem yelled, the rest following him as he slammed his foot into the ground, creating a massive wave of jagged ice and sending it towards the humans like a tidal wave. The flying squirrel shifted into pure electricity again, hissing as he zipped towards her from the left. At the same time, the giant bird soared to the right of Shepherdess, charging up its own attack as its throat sac swelled.

Shepherdess remained calm. Shifting her feet, she swung her Polish Sheppard's Axe against the tidal wave of ice, managing to carve straight through all of it down the middle, giving her an opening right towards the golem.

She didn’t waste it, as the two quirks to her side only saw her lifting her rear foot before she dashed, moving so fast most could hardly see her, with Todoroki only catching glimpses as she closed the gap and swung her weapon as she passed by the golem, a moment later, a giant gash seemed to explode into being across its chest, taking a large chunk of its right arm.

The ice golem cried in shock and agony from the damage; its body didn't bleed red but instead oozed an icy fluid. “Wha-how did you-” The golem was interrupted by Sheppard swinging her axe once more, but instead of a slash, a wad of wool shot out, growing in size till it was the size of her body and shaped like an open hand, grabbing onto the golem and pinning it to the ground.

"I'll handle you in a moment, please don't resist, or else I'll take the arm." With that said, she took off. The flying squirrel hissed at the incoming threat, as they wouldn’t fail, they couldn’t fail!

“You might be fast, but you’re still human!" he screeched as he formed into lightning and dashed towards her, aiming to fill her body with so much electricity that she was fried from the inside out.

Shepherdess couldn’t take such a hit, and she knew it. But she wasn’t so slow and ill-trained that she would allow herself to get hit.

As the living lightning closed in, she pierced her ace headfirst into the ground before her, which the lightning slammed into before it.

On contact, the quirk let out a loud, electronic scream as it was involuntarily and painfully grounded. Its power zapped enough to shift back into regular form, if only for a moment.

Shepherdess would have capitalized on this if not for the others, as the giant bird and flying dinosaur both came down, diving towards her with murder in their eyes as they screamed for revenge. Seeing them, she frowned as she twisted on her heel and jumped onto the dinosaur, avoiding the bird whose body was crackling with electricity. The dinosaur made a surprised sound as it missed her, but she wasn't out of the woods yet.

“Got you!” The bug type buzzed into her face, ready to cast a sleep move on her. Shepherdess's eyes widened before she instinctively shut them, threw herself back with as much force as possible, and swung out her leg. She felt it hit something, but the surprised sound lacked pain, and the ease of impact told her that she missed its main body and struck something like its wings or legs.

The floating ball of ice and rock moved beneath her, ready to strike her as she descended. Its icy portions formed into a spear on which she would be impaled.

"Look out-!" Shoto was yelling, seeing this, but he didn't bother, as while Shepherdess didn't see it, her sheep did, and her quirk kept her informed through their link. So moments before she would have been run through, she twisted her body, throwing it to the side, evading the ice lance, clenched her fist, and punched the surprised quirk square in the face.

It did nothing, but it did throw it off guard as she landed like a cat, and quickly retreated from the renewed assault from the flying squirrel, which had come out of its daze and was furious with her.

“Now you don’t have your weapon, human, you’re dead, you hear me, dead!” The bug type growled through its mandibles, its mouth dripping in anticipation for what her quirk would taste like, like the others, as they knew she would be the tastiest meal they've ever had.

Surrounded by powerful, angry monsters most couldn't see, never mind hope to fight or escape from, would typically be scary. It was scary for the still too weak to move Shoto. And yet Shepherdess seemed unbothered by the entire thing.

If anything, Shoto and the others could spot how her gaze seemed more focused on how her giant sheep was keeping the man with the sword and body count busy. Stain had already tried to slip away a couple of times, but couldn't get past the giant, fluffy, and huggable sheep monster.

"So angry. Are you angry that I grounded you?" She instead asked, with Shoto…pretty sure she was being genuine, but to the other heroes, it sounded like a taunt. Regardless of what it was, it had its effects. The floating ice and rock ball vibrated in fury as it layered layer upon layer of ice and rock to its body, quadrupling its size and turning into a sentient morning star sans handle.

At the same time, the giant bird's throat sac remained swollen as lightning cloaked its body. Lightning focused on its wings as it flapped them, sending blades towards the Shepherdess. Finally, the flying squirrel fired off a massive burst of lightning.

To try to evade the attack, she turned to rush to the side, right into the path of the flying dinosaur, furious about being used as a stepping stone. It raced towards her headfirst, ready to crush her ribs against its enlarged head. Again, she spotted it. Again, she didn't panic as she clenched her fist.

For those critical moments, the quirks through she was insane. To try and punch the incoming villain in the head? She'll be lucky if she only breaks a couple of fingers. She suspected the same for the other heroes, too wounded to lend help, and wondered if she had some trick up her sleeve.

But for Shoto, he recalled something he had heard from the rest, those who had seen Midoriya fighting Shigaraki, and he suspected this was the same. He would be proven true as the axe still stuck in the ground vanished into thin air, and in its place, a brand new one formed in the Shepherdess’s hand.

Her opponent only had a moment to see it and no time to counter or dodge as she swung it towards his head, hammer side facing him. A clear and distinct cracking sound rang out through the battlefield as she slammed her hammerhead into its skull, which, while durable and comparable to some of the toughest rocks, gave way.

The light left the quirk's eyes as its skull wasn't just cracked but smashed, thrown back by the force of the hit, crashing into the snow, twitching, and spasming out. The Shepherdess tossed another capture ball and secured it.

The lab techs could handle the damage when she was done.

She didn't get a moment to breathe or think as the others moved in, trying to overwhelm her with their numbers. So, she didn’t, spinning her axe so that its sharpened edge faced them, she swung it once more, creating a giant wall of wool before she slammed its spike into the ground, before quickly extracting it and revealing she left a tuff of wool in the hole.

“Like that would stop me.” The bird declared as it easily evaded the barrier by flying to the side and coming in to strike her. When she jumped back, it flew over the spot she had just been. At that moment, the wool she had left bloomed like a carnivorous plant, cotton tendrils bursting out and latching onto the quirk, which let out a squawk of shock. “What the-the heck is that?”

She didn't answer as she smacked its side with her weapon, using neither its hammer nor axe blade. At the point of contact, more cotton formed and spread across it. Even as it tried to flap its wings, form wind blades, or charge up electricity, nothing worked, as the cotton seemed to almost feed off its struggles.

Shepherdess didn't stick around to watch it, leaving it much like she had done the ice golem as she went to handle the rest of them. Four of the seven had been dealt with, leaving just three active, and they felt the pressure. They had started with the numbers advantage, but that didn't work. They needed to change strategies.

Unfortunately for them, Shepherdess had the same idea.

With all of them charging towards her, each bringing something unique to the assault, she raised her weapon high, took a breath, and used one of her Ultimate Moves.

“Sakurahitsuji-Flock Scatter!" she called out. As she said this, her giant sheep froze before it started to balloon, and then it exploded. The same was true for her weapon's head, as it swelled many times its regular size and shifted into poor wool before it, too, exploded.

The double explosions sent wool across the field, coating the ruins, the trees, the people, and most importantly, her targets. The entire portion of the park, once a winter wonderland turned pothole-dotted smoking battlefield, went through a new transformation. It became a field of fluffy, pink wool—absolutely soft, comfy, and unescapable like a good bean bag.

Stain wanted none of this and tried to evade it, but he was swallowed up nearly entirely. His blades were as effective as a butter knife against slime as they passed through several layers, only to be slowed and wrapped up by the hundreds more layers beneath. The same was true for the hero killer, who was treated to perhaps the most pleasant means of restraint.

The quirks suffered a similar fate, but because of the quantity difference, she couldn't capture them, only slow them.

“It’s everywhere!” The floating boulder whined as he tried to fight out of it, but it was like the wool was latched onto him.

“I can’t fly like this!” The bug type whined, its wings weighed down by wool, keeping them from getting any movement.

“We-we can’t fail, she’ll devour us if we do!” The squirrel squirmed the hardest, desperate to get out and complete the job, and maybe get a tasty meal out of it. Shepherdess was wise to this and knew if she didn't do something, they would escape quickly, so she couldn't just slash or beat them down.

She needed another means, and luckily, she had already set things up with Flock Scatter for this, though it would be a pain to use so soon. Her weapon remained headless, so she flipped it in her hand, holding it now like a wand and raised it towards the wool constricting the 3 quirks.

At her command, it started shifting. “This should do it…” She took a breath and called out. “Sakurahitsuji – Flock Return!” At her words, the shifting wool grew into giant sheep, nearly as big as the original, each white and pink with the cutest eyes you’ve ever seen.

Their size meant they could swallow the quirks into them, muffling their voice and ensuring escape would be near impossible. She let out a little chuckle, then yawned as she willed them towards her. As they got close, they opened up just enough for her to toss a capture ball into their coats, which closed right back up.

She then went to capture the other 2 who had thus far remained tied down.

“There…that should do it…” She flashed the still-conscious heroes and Shoto a peace sign, but it faltered as she lost her balance and nearly fell over. “Dang, I might have gone overboard there…” she muttered as she used her headless axe as a cane, walking towards one of the many hills of wool. She sat down, then laid down.

Some minutes passed, with nothing but silence as they waited for the other shoe to drop, or for the strange newcomer to say something more like release them from the wool, as she hadn't been all that selective on who wasn't drawn in by it, but nothing occurred. "Is… this gonna last long?" One eventually asked, but got no response.

“Hey, you still there!” another yelled, but again, nothing. The woman seemingly ignored them, but Shoto could see she just didn't hear them, and for a pretty weird reason.

“She passed out.” He called out, as he could still see her face, her eyes closed, and her breathing leveled out.

As if to confirm this, she let out a cute little giggle in her sleep, turned onto her side, cuddled her axe like it was a plushie, and muttered, “So soft…”

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It wasn't long after that help arrived, as without word from the pros themselves, the police had waited a while after the fighting stopped to enter. With them came other pros helping to keep people back and together.

They had to first wake up Shepherdess and get her to release her quirk, as they discovered it was incredibly difficult to retrieve the people otherwise. She did so, but admitted that it would have taken at least 3 hours for the stuff to fade on its own, as she used her short-term combat wool, which in turn was faster to produce.

She first let out the pros, then the wounded who had to be taken out, which included the exhausted Shoto and unconscious Frostbyte. After that, she aided them in getting Stain out, keeping him largely restricted to a giant ball of wool so he couldn’t make an escape attempt even if he wished.

All in all, things looked worse than they appeared. Civilians hadn't been impacted too badly; there were a few injuries, but nothing serious, and no deaths. The incident hadn't spread to their corner of the park, and because of the Shepherdess' timely arrival, they managed to capture all seven of the rampaging quirks and even the elusive Hero Killer.

But for those on the ground, such was far from the truth, and for Todoroki Shoto, it didn't mark the end of the nightmare.

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Shoto gazed up at the ceiling, counting the tiles for the 20th time, if for no other reason than to try to keep sane. He rested in his hospital bed, his wounds, if one could call them that, all treated. He could be back on his feet by afternoon, but he hadn't been cleared.

'I could be cleared earlier if the doctors came to see me.' He thought as he looked away from the ceiling tiles out the window. The sun had long risen and illuminated the typically cold and snow-covered city.

He should be out on patrol, doing his part, he should be….but he wasn't. He was stuck in here and found he couldn't blame those monsters nearly as much as himself. He didn't even know what happened. Things had looked bad, but he didn't know how bad. He knew that Stain had…he knew three were killed, but that was all. He had been so focused on his own battles that he couldn't focus much on others.

And then there was Frostbyte. He needed to apologize to her and make things right, but he didn't know if she was awake or taking guests right now.

His musings were cut short when the door opened, and two familiar figures stood there—or, more accurately, one stood while the other rode in the former's scarf. "Good, you're awake," Aizawa called out, looking more drained than normal.

“Eraser?” Shoto asked, his teacher frowning something fierce when he looked his way. He wasn't glaring, but Shoto understood that the man wasn't happy to see him…though that made sense when he thought about it.

He wouldn’t like to see himself either.

“Kid, you’re given us so many problems, I’m half tempted to throw you out the window.” Never one to mince his words, Eraser said it as it was as Nezu climbed out of the scarf.

“Let’s not be so hasty, Eraser. These things are an unfortunate part of our careers.” Nezu spoke, his tone as peppy as ever, yet it too carried a somber air to it, hidden beneath the smile. “Good morning, Todoroki. I hope you had a good rest.”

“It wasn’t bad, what about the others? Frostbyte? Are they okay?” Todoroki quickly answered before he moved on to the important stuff, as surely they'll know, right?

Nezu hummed but didn't answer the question as he turned towards the door. “Well, that would better be explained by our guest.” A third figure stepped into the room, or, more accurately, slid in. They were heteromorphs, a man whose body seemed like that of a quirkless man from the waist up, with light skin, red eyes, and grey hair.

But from the waist down, they were snakes. Bright red scales covered their tails, one of which extended at least 2.5m back.

“Chief of Oruto Purutonia, Yoshida Divo.” The man, newly revealed Yoshida, introduced himself, as Shoto had also spotted his police uniform, one with plenty of badges—not the type one would wear on a day-to-day basis.

Still, this was unexpected, and he moved to stand, but the man held up his hand, shaking his head. "You can keep seated. It's not like I've been chief that long. I was a Lieutenant inspector until last week." He added the last part with a sigh.

But he powered through his issues and moved further into the room, giving Shoto a firm handshake. “Pleasure to meet you, though I wish it were under more…pleasant circumstances."

‘The chief came all the way here…why?’ Shoto asked himself, as he knew Stain had to be important, and the attack was out there. Still, surely they would have sent something lower on the totem pole…but they didn't, and he wondered why. “Same here, but could I ask, what’s the situation?” He didn't ask such questions, as it might insult the man, and instead focused on the incident.

"Well, I'll tell you it's a right ole mess. But we'll start with the good, " the police chief said as he listed the positives that came out of this.

"In terms of damage to the park, it's not as bad as we thought. It'll be open again in a week. Also, no serious injuries amongst the civilians caught up in the attack. We managed to capture the hero killer, who's currently under heavy guard at a villain holding facility, 20 20-minute drive out of town." Todoroki nodded, following along so far. He already knew such holding facilities existed and how they were always built far from population centers with tightly controlled transport links to prevent unconvicted villains and criminals from escaping.

For the next part, the chief looked almost impressed with Todoroki. "You also helped keep the carnage from spreading, and thanks to a certain sheep lover, we got seven dangerous quirks off the street."

Todoroki didn't make much fuss about the strange knowledge of the details. As with U.A. revealing it to the entire student body, the fact that he carried equipment related to it to his agency, he only assumed the police would have also been informed.

Or maybe not, as maybe it was just the higher-ups, which would explain why they sent the police chief and not someone else. Still, that was the good news. “What’s the bad news?”

Here, the chief looked incensed, but tightly kept his words measured. “The flame user, who we believe to be going by the villain name, Dabi, escaped. As it turns out, they were also just quirks; they were using a corpse as a disgusting armor set. Also, from what Dabi has already admitted, she…he…it? Dabi was the mastermind of the attack and the Musutafu incident.”

The man seemed annoyed that they knew so little about this 'Dabi' quirk, that they didn't know if they came from a man or a woman. Flame quirks were a dime a dozen; it was the same with all basic elemental quirks.

Their reinforcements had been apologetic about it, and if she had known this, she could have prioritized its capture, but it had slipped through their fingers, and now it would realize they were onto it, which always made villains that much harder to locate.

"So, we have a mysterious flame quirk going around inciting attacks for an unknown purpose, and just like then, this wasn't without losses." The man continued. "Stain killed 7 more pros last night, while the quirks killed 8 more. Several other heroes, including Frostbyte, are injured and still being treated, so you can't speak with her."

That came like a gut punch to Shoto; if he had been standing, he would have fallen back into his seat. 15. 15 lives lost in a single night, his mentor sent to the hospital covered in burns, all because he didn't fight at his hardest; he didn't give it his all.

“However, that isn’t where it ends for you, Todoroki.” The detective wasn’t done, but he paused and glanced towards the 2 teachers standing in as Shoto’s legal aides. “Should I, or do you want to handle this?”

Shoto winced when he heard Aizawa sigh. That was the sound of a man about to step onto a bear trap, and he knew it. "No, I'm his teacher. This was my responsibility as much as it was his."

"Is this about my fire?" Shoto asked, to which Nezu nodded, looking…well, he didn't look angry, but he didn't look happy either. His face was blank, from his eyes down to his lips; not a single thing could be gleaned from his expression or stance.

“Unfortunately, that is correct, Todoroki. But to clarify, can you say if you used fire during the incident?" Nezu asked him, and Shoto, being too drained and ashamed, didn’t lie.

"No…I didn't. I was already down by the time I moved to, and Shepherdess had arrived.”

Nezu and Eraser didn't move for a moment. When he did, the dean looked heartbroken but spoke all the same: "I see…Well, I applaud you for your honesty, and I can see that such an experience has given you a new clarity on things."

"Sadly, that doesn't matter much in the moment. The fact is, you held back, Todoroki. You refused to fight at your fullest, and that, in part, is why we lost several lives last night." Eraser took it up from there, the man’s gaze as sharp as Stain’s sword and yet heavier than a semi-truck.

He wasn’t pissed. He was utterly disappointed in what he saw.

Shoto didn't need him to feel that; he already felt it himself as he looked at his lap, his gaze not at the sheets but stuck back on what he witnessed last night. "I know…I…I can't stop seeing them, just lying in the snow, I can't stop seeing Frostbyte, she tried-she told me to fight with all I had, that something like this could happen, and…."

"I imagine this was one of those moments she wished she were wrong." The chief muttered, softly enough that the rest of the room hadn’t heard him.

Eraser, however, didn't stop just because his student was haunted by this. "If this were any other situation, you'd be expelled from U.A. as such behavior is the antithesis of our school and beliefs."

“Then why?” Shoto asked, wondering if his father had pulled strings, and if that was the case, if Shoto could even keep attending, as he just didn't feel like he deserved it now.

“Because you were one of the only 2 present at the time who even knew what was going on, and because someone managed to record parts of the fight,” Nezu informed him as he pulled out his phone and handed it to the young man. Shoto is going through the top news stories, and aside from a massive Nomu attack in Hosu, one which Iida and his brother had fought to protect lives and earned plenty of fame, came his…' achievements'.

He was sickened by the mere mention of such, as it was just a lie. Half-truths written to make him sound like he had been a 10th the hero they claimed him to be, with his pictures showing someone who fought with all they had.

That wasn't him; he didn't earn that praise.

Handing the phone back to the dean, Nezu pocketed it and explained things. "They've been making the rounds since around midnight. It didn't get the full fight, but enough that you're in the limelight, being held up as what a hero should be. We're under pressure to not tarnish that when we can't explain what happened."

"However, that doesn't mean you'll be escaping consequences. You might remain in the hero course, but you'll be barred from any practical training sessions with the rest and will instead work with a specialist to control your fire." Eraser informed him, to which he didn’t fight. “You’ll also as well as would be writing letters of apology to everyone involved, am I clear?”

"Yes, sir." Only then, with the fact gone from Shoto, did Eraser ease up, just a little as he turned to leave.

But before he left, he gave one last piece of advice: "Some lessons can be taught in a classroom, but some…they need to be experienced. This will never be forgiven, Todoroki. You failed last night in every sense of what it means to be a hero who protects with all they have. Don't ever make this mistake again. If you do, I promise, it won't be expulsion; it would be arrest."

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My fellow weebs, the time has come. It is Not Nut November, a time of struggle and great sacrifice, but I know if you pull through, your gatcha pulls will be super cool…I'm sorry, I can't say more. I hope you all had a fun Halloween. I know I did, surprisingly, as my country doesn't really do the whole holiday, but a friend still hosted a party for it.

However, with the time of year, that also means that things will be slowing to a halt for the holiday. I'll stop uploading stuff on November 23rd, and that'll last until January 5th. I'll have time to relax, see the family, and sit down for shorter, less frequent planning and brainstorming sessions. Good Lord, I have so many ideas.

There’s the possible third Emerald Furnace story, a continuation of Deku-129(after it’s been slightly reworked), picking up things with More than You Think, getting back to Code Bakugan Brawler, and like at least 4 WIPS. Point is, I will be busy and next year will have plenty of content.

I was in a bit of a bind with this chapter. I could have shown Fuwa fighting or skipped to the end where Todoroki has to deal with the consequences of not using his quirk…so I went with the first option. Enjoy.