Chapter Text
Hawks stood amongst the bustling individuals, his posture seemingly relaxed as activity buzzed around him. His eyes were set nowhere except the giant box in the middle of the room, where one of his colleagues stood awaiting instruction. Her posture was stiff as she was inspected and hooked up to one of the multiple machines scattered around the room.
"Good, good. Haruka, you should be able to start soon. Remember, you need to grab all of them at once, just like we practised," one of their handlers reminded her as she nodded back to him.
"So what's the hustle here boss? You don't really call me here during work hours," Hawks said, electing to speak when the tension in the room was lower.
Anri, Hawks' handler, looked up from where they were speaking to the technical aids. They expression darkened momentarily before they rolled their eyes and motioned up to where Haruka was standing with Mera.
"You remember the multiverse theory that was presented to us a while back before you joined the ranks. And I'm judging by your record that you should have some semblance of awareness of why this was built. But, today, in particular, is a big multiversal alignment day. Meaning, this is the perfect chance for us to both test Haruka's reach, and grab the subjects we've been monitoring to see if we can bring them all here."
"And you have tested this beforehand, right? Like- Subjects have come here alive-?"
"Are you doubting our abilities, Hawks?"
"Not at all," Hawks smirked, pushing his hands deeper into his pockets, "Just pullin' your leg, Anri, lighten up."
Anri grumbled in response, waving him off as they turned back towards the computer screen. Hawks relaxed his shoulders, wandering a bit closer to where Haruka was standing.
Her body posture was rigid, stock still except for the rise and fall of her chest and blink of her eyes. She was one of the younger soldiers, so she was still in her 'obey all orders perfectly without the slightest deviation' phase. Hawks felt bad for her.
She was only 18, anyway.
Too much pressure on her shoulders.
'No, it's necessary. She needs to learn somehow,' his inner voice said, 'It's how we learned. We're fine. She will be too.'
He nodded to himself, either out of satisfaction with the answer or dismissal of the topic, he didn't know.
"So when we gonna fire whatever this bad boy is up? Waiting for extra diagnostic results 'er something?"
"We're waiting for the exact moment that the 'gateways' align, so we can bring them here without a negative effect."
"How many?"
"We planned for 5. But we're grabbing 8. They're all grouped together right now, unlike our schedule of them suggested. If the others prove useless, we'll either send them back or sell them. It doesn't matter," Mera clarified.
"8 huh? We know how old they all are?" he asked, brushing off how casually the other had mentioned selling living beings.
"Younger. Their bodies' systems have aged well beyond their years, but their mental and physical states remain that of teenagers. We can't put an exact age on them."
"Hm..."
Hawks looked up at the ceiling of the enclosed box, inspecting all of the wires and equipment. The box was made of some quirk-enforced metal, able to withstand practically any type of brute force. With all of the electrical currents running through the walls, it was also useful to subdue anything inside as well with a good 10k of voltage.
"Hawks, you need to stand clear so Haruka can do the procedure," Mera spoke up from his place outside the box.
Hawks hummed in reply, shuffling his wings closer to his back as he passed by Haruka so he didn't hit her with them. He took his place behind the control centre, watching as everyone busied themselves once more with the equipment.
"Alright! Haruka, when the light is green, you need to use your quirk to grab them all and pull them here. Understood?" Mera spoke into the mic as the doors to the box closed.
"Yes sir!" she answered, her voice crackling over the speakers.
"Our coordinates are set in sir!" one of the technicians called out.
"Good. Now we wait."
Anri came over to Hawk's side, watching the younger with a subtle glare. Hawks ignored them, electing to instead focus on the girl in the enclosed box. His fist clenched as the buzzer sounded, the light inside the box turning bright green.
Haruka sucked in a breath, activating her Reach and holding her hands out. She grit her teeth as she focused on all 8 of their targets, making sure that she grabbed hold of each of them. She could feel them struggle against her, making it harder to keep hold, but she managed. She had trained for this after all. Failure was not an option.
Hawks eyes widened comically as a huge rip in reality tore through space in the box. The tear was pulsating gently, a low thrum coming from it as it grew bigger and bigger. He stepped back a bit as the floor below him began to rumble, his feathers sharpening on instinct.
"Good, good! Now pull them through!" Mera yelled over the noise.
Haruku nodded from her spot, yanking her arms back in a pulling motion.
And their screams were louder than the damned themselves.
Hawks immediately pulled his headphones over his ears, squishing them desperately to block out the grating shrieks against his sensitive ears. He stumbled back, reaching out to steady himself as he forced himself to look into the enclosure. His eyes widened even more at the sight they were seeing.
The first thing he saw was bones, and knowing basic human knowledge, that was not good. But as he watched, he came to the horrifying realization that those bones were being covered, and extremely fast.
Viens slithered up bodies like snakes, organs pooling under their ribs, muscles fleshing out their bodies. Vocal cords accentuated their screams, going from grating shrieks to wails of agony and desperation. Hawks watched the creatures in front him go through rebirth while completely conscious.
Haruka remained frozen in her spot, her eyes wider than humanly possible as she stared at what she had done. Trails of blood pooled down from her ears, but she made no move to protect them. No move at all.
Mera's expression was blank as he stared at the screaming group, his eyes lidded as if he had been expecting this. And if Hawks knew the guy at all, he probably had.
It took a while for them to stop screaming, and no one in the room made any move at all towards them. Merely watching them grovel in pain as if they circus freaks. It didn't take long for most of them to pass out from the pain, as anyone would. But one in particular, a tall young person, their working eye a bright aquamarine with raven black hair, refused to give in. Their chest heaved, blood trailed down their face and hands but they stood up shakily.
Mera's brow quirked with interest, watching the person sway as if they would stumble and then steady themselves.
"Well Done Haruka," he spoke into the mic.
Haruka didn't even blink.
The new person turned to her, toffee coloured skin stained with deep crimson blood trails, matted in their hair. Their breathing remained ragged and coarse, even as their face darkened.
"Figlio di puttana (You son of a bitch)" their hoarse voice drew out, laced with venom.
"Cazzo pezzo di merda! (You fucking piece of shit!)" their volume rose, despite sounding like it had been rung dry.
Haruka FINALLY moved, blinking and stepping back as she was yelled at in a language she did not know. She looked over to her handler, her eyes desperate and confused, even as she was met with his usual blank stare.
She backed up against the wall, just in case, and watched the new person's moves very carefully.
They heaved a bit more, but instead of moving towards her, they looked around, taking in the bodies of their group members. They fell to their knees in front of one particular smaller person, holding their head close to their chest.
"Dannazione (Damnit)" they just barely whispered.
"Sir, diagnostics are complete. They're all alive and minorly damaged," one of the staff at the computer said, after what seemed like hours of silence, "Nothing serious."
"Good. Open the doors," Mera instructed.
The one awake shot their head up when the whooshing sound of the automatic doors hit their ears, and they watched Haruka run out of the enclosure with thin pupils. But then they made their first mistake.
As the security had begun to filter into the enclosure, the whole air of the environment shifted. There was nothing, and then there was a threat weighing heavily on their shoulders.
They all watched, as the stranger shot up to their feet and stood to their full height.
They all watched as the stranger held out their hands and a low thrumming accompanied their ragged breathing.
They all watched as each and every body they had just brought there, disappeared into a cloud of swirling black mass.
And they all watched, as the mass closed and their projects became out of reach.
`~-00-~`
"-So anyway that's why I think we should be allowed to have more kids in class," Mic concluded, placing their hands in their pockets as they walked with Shouta and Toshinori off the school grounds.
"You only say that because you're not a homeroom teacher," Shouta sighs, rubbing his temple tiredly.
"While I do agree that it is wonderful to be able to nurture as many children as we can, we're only three people, Hizashi," Toshinori gently reminds them, placing a hand on their shoulder.
Mic groaned, crossing their arms and pouting.
"But come on!! Don't you wanna rally an army of kids who grow up to kick ass but would also enjoy being in your presence?!"
"No."
"YOU LIAR SHOUTA-"
"Hizashi-"
Shouta gave a small amused smirk at Mic's distress, gently elbowing them affectionately.
"Relax. You're gonna get wrinkles," he teased.
"RUDE!! My wrinkles are sexy as hell-" Mic huffed.
Toshinori sighed at the both of them, nonetheless smiling softly at their antics. He reached out and gently carded his hands through Shouta's hair since he knew that relaxed him, the poor man had seemed awfully stressed today. Shouta relaxed a bit, slowing his pace so Toshinori could continue easier.
Toshinori smiled even more, letting out a low chuckle. Mic spun to face him, bonking their head on the taller's chest.
"You're an idiot-" they grumbled.
"My apologies-" Toshinori said softly.
"Don't apologise, it adds to your himbo persona," Shouta joked.
Toshinori opened his mouth to speak once more but was interrupted by a swirling black mass blocking out the sunset behind it. Shouta, Mic and Toshinori were all immediately on guard, Shouta suddenly very glad he had kept his capture weapon on.
To their horror, a crowd of bodies fell from the mass, each one toppling after the other and all seemingly unconscious. It was even more unnerving by how much blood coated their bodies. One more body stumbled out from the mass, the only one conscious, looking up groggily at the three's faces. There was a flash of confusion in their eye before they passed out at their feet and the swirling mass closed.
It had happened too fast for any of them to really react to it, but when the reality of their newfound situation finally set in, Shouta was quick to pull out his phone and dial Nedzu.
"Check for pulses," he said to the others as he kneeled down in front of one of the bodies.
Mic and Toshinori nodded, kneeling down next to him to check the others. It bothered Shouta so much how... Thin they all were. They were thinner than Toshinori, and he could literally see their bones through their skin. It gave them all a ghastly inhumane look. With that thought aside, all of their diversities made him question where the hell they had come from.
How many even are there here-?
He counted 8, but he could be wrong-
"They're alive, but their heartbeats are extremely fast-" Toshinori spoke up, "I am hoping whatever happened to them doesn't result in any serious damage, because their physiques are concerning."
"Concerning? They look like someone just slapped skin onto a skeleton-! Where the hell did they come from-?" Mic huffed, their brows furrowed in worry.
"Shut up. On the phone." Shouta said as he waited for Nedzu to pick up.
"Ah, Eraserhead! I thought you and your triad had just left?" Nedzu answered cheerfully.
"Nedzu, we have a... situation- There's a cluster of bodies that appeared to have been warped here right outside the gates and they do not look like they'll survive the night," he informed, lifting one of the smaller's head into his lap so he could inspect them for injuries.
"Oh dear- I'll send Recovery Girl your way. May I ask why you haven't called the paramedics?"
"They look too... Inhumane to send to any old care centre. And they're all in school grounds, technically. It's only logical."
"I trust your judgement. Recovery Girl is on her way now. Would you like me to stay on the phone?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Do you know how many there are?"
"I counted 8. 2 look like children, and the others more teenage to young adult range."
"Any serious life-threatening injuries?"
"They're all covered in blood, but I can't locate where the blood could have come from. It's either that or they've all killed before their arrival. I doubt it though, because they barely look like they're able to stand on their own."
"Thank you for notifying me. Please let me know when you have arrived at the medbay so I may come down and have a look myself. Any IDs?"
"None. They're not carrying wallets or such of any kind."
"Alright, so I'll need to narrow down our list then."
Shouta gave a low hum in agreement, turning back to both of his partners. They both were checking over each of the... kids? People? For any injuries they may have missed at first glance. Shouta watched them numbly as he waited until movement to his left caused him to zone back in.
"Shouta... They're filling out," Hizashi said, their voice low.
Shouta's brows furrowed in confusion at what that could mean, but as he looked down at the little one in his lap, he realized what Hizashi meant. He watched as, very slowly, their facial features started to soften, looking more human with every passing second.
"Could this be some sort of torture method? A quirk that takes muscle mass until it slowly replenishes?" Toshinori offered, though the idea horrified him.
"That could be possible. I don't know of any quirks that would fit that criterion, but there are new quirks every day, so we never know," Shouta responded absently, his eyes never leaving the face below him.
"There you lot are!"
The three of them looked up at the familiar sound of a shrill, aged voice, visibly relaxing at the sight of Recovery Girl and Ectoplasm. It seems it was a little far for the small nurse to come, so she had incited some help.
"Good lord, Eraser! You couldn't have at least separated them a bit to make them easier to carry?" Chiyo scrutinized.
"We have medbots. I saw no purpose," Shouta explained, even as he picked up the one he had lain in his lap up with care.
Maybe it was the dad in him talking, but something just- Tugged at him when he looked down at the bony, tired, and bloody face that refused to leave him be. Now, that they had a bit more colour to their skin and the blood had been (carefully) wiped away, Shouta noticed they had vitiligo, and that was certainly something he spent a bit more time staring at. (Call it curiosity. Where he grew up, there was hardly anyone interesting, let alone another person of colour.)
"You're lucky I'm in a good mood," Chiyo warned as the medbots whirred by her, "Carefully place them on, but try to be a bit quick about it. The longer those open wounds are unattended to, the more chance they have of being infected."
"Of course," Toshinori agreed, already picking up the palest one of the bodies and gently setting them on the gurney.
"Do we even have enough room for all of them?" Hizashi asked, helping with the rest.
"My office was built with the intention of holding Hero Course students with reckless abandon. I'm sure a few tortured souls will do me no harm," Chiyo waved them off, turning back to Ectoplasm.
"Not funny, Chi," Shouta scrutinized, holding the little one in his arms as gently as he could.
"I'm VERY funny. You're just boring," Chiyo teased, looking back to him, "Are you going to set them down anytime soon?"
Shouta's grip tightened in the slightest, and he turned back to look at his partners for a moment. It was just a very brief moment, a quick flick back before he shook his head firmly.
"Nerves. Don't need them to stop breathing when I can do something or notice."
Chiyo chose not to comment on how that could apply to any of their new patients, instead nodding her head slowly as she climbed back onto Ectoplasm's shoulder.
"Then let's get going then," she concluded.
`~-00-~`
"Nedzu."
The principal looked up from where he was typing away furiously at his laptop, seated only a few feet away from their new patients. Shouta's eyes were narrow, as they usually were, but something else sat behind them that Nedzu recognized. He gave a smile up to the underground hero.
"What can I do for you?""
"Something doesn't sit right with me about them," was all he said, looking at the chimaera principal with a blank gaze.
"Ah- I do suppose this is a bit bizarre. But we'll handle it. I'm not quite sure how yet, but we'll figure it out!"
Shouta didn't seem any less tense with that answer, instead turning back to look over to the vitiligo...child? He had held earlier. Now that he was looking, he realized how similar a few of them looked. Possibly familial relations? None of them looked old enough to be parents, but he was well proof teenagers did stupid things, and they knew nothing about their quirks yet so he only shelved that idea for now.
"Their heart rates refuse to go down. It hasn't changed at all since we've brought them in, and it's been 3 hours," Chiyo said, checking over her patients again.
"Maybe they just naturally have high heart rates-?" Toshinori asked more than stated.
"That would be plausible if it were a quirk situation. But this is 8 different individuals with different genetic makeups. I can't for the life of me figure out what it is exactly that is causing this, but I know it's not something natural and it's not going to just go away," Chiyo sighs, backing up from her desk.
Aizawa hums, not really a sound of anything besides acknowledgement. His eyes stray over to the x rays Chiyo had displayed on her screen. They lingered a bit, examining the different bone structures of the scans he could see. He didn't know why, but the tension he felt definitely eased a bit when he realized that they looked so thin because their bones were sizeably bigger than average, no just lack of muscle. His eyes flicked up and he tensed as a hand came into view in his peripheral. Mic gave him a small reassuring smile, resting their hand on his shoulder. His posture relaxed as they did, and he sighed as he looked back down to the group.
"We're going to need another medic here. I'm very good at what I do, but I'm only one person," Chiyo speaks up.
"Would you like me to call in Maiko?" Toshinori offers, pulling out his phone.
"If you would, please. Let them know they'll need to bring in the overnight kit. These patients are not leaving this bay today."
Toshinori nods quietly, dialing the other nurse and stepping out of the room. Mic and Shouta watch him go, before Mic turns back to Chiyo.
"Is there anything we can do to help you-?" they ask.
Chiyo shakes her head as she sits down again, leaning her cane against the desk.
"There's not much to be done until they wake up or Nedzu can give us answers. I don't have enough on them to safely treat them," she says, her tone remorseful.
"Well," Nedzu began, his face pensive, "I'm afraid I'm not getting much on my end either. I'm not finding anyone with their description in any official documents, and nothing in police files either. I may need to run these pictures by Naomasa to see if his team can find anything, if nothing turns up."
"Great. So we have a bunch of unidentified people bedrest without any knowledge of how to treat them. Wonderful," Mic replies sarcastically, pinching the bridge of their nose.
Shouta doesn't say a word, merely staring at the body that had been conscious when the warp gate had opened. Their hair was a deep raven black, deeper than his own, and the skin around their right eye was marred and scaring up. Like the skin couldn't decide whether to heal over whatever wound was there or leave it open to scab. But he wasn't focusing on that.
He was focusing on how their eye was twitching under their lid.
They were conscious.
He held out a hand to silence everyone, not even realizing they had been talking or what the topic of discussion was. They stopped abruptly, looking to him with curious eyes. But he didn't move. Instead, his vision was fully trained on that twitching lid.
"Chiyo you need to move back in case they lash out," he stated, his voice low.
Chiyo nodded, standing and moving over to Aizawa's side as her eyes never left the twitching figure. Their body started to twitch more violently, and Mic held their breath as their heart rate slowed just the tiniest bit. Aizawa moved half a step forward, trying to pick up any signs of emotional distress or health difficulties.
As soon as he moved, the figure's eye shot open and they leapt up into a defensive position immediately. Their eyes were wide and crazed, more akin to someone not fully there or a wild animal. They whipped their head around for a moment before landing on the child Shouta had been holding earlier. Shouta's lip pursed, and for a moment he worried that they had made a mistake keeping them all in the same place. That thought was quickly interrupted as the most inhumane sound he has ever heard ripped from their throat.
Mic's hands flew up to take out their hearing aids, stumbling back a bit with widened eyes. The adults watched with horror as the person doubled over in pain, the skin on their back bubbling and tearing.
What the hell-
They could see the movements from under the skin, and they had to back up and shield their ears when the screaming got louder. The growths under their skin looks much akin to worms underground, but that wasn't an image Shouta wanted to think about right now. The person dry heaving now, as they looked up to the adults in agony. Four large, bloody, and thick growths burst from their back, spurting blood everywhere they writhed. Their body was trembling violently, their arms unable to support the weight of their body. They flopped down, face first, onto the bed, twitching too much to grimace at the blood now smeared on their face. The worst looked over, since the growths had broken through the skin, but that didn't mean they stopped getting bigger.
In all of the panic and shock, the adults hadn't even realized that the screaming had woken the others lying there as well. Which is why Shouta reached up for his capture weapon when someone ran over to the tentacled one's side. It was the child he had been holding earlier, and they looked terrified even as they took the taller's hands into their own.
"Incubo!! (Nightmare!!)" they called out desperately, worry in their voice.
Another one stumbled to get out of their bed, ripping out their IV with a hiss. Only then did anyone start to move.
"Hey-! Woah-! Be careful with those-! Those lines are putting medicine into your bloodstream-!" Chiyo called out, walking forwards with urgency.
All of the patients, sans 'Incubo' flinched back at her approach. Another, about the same height as 'Incubo' let out a pained cry as their back hit the wall. Their eyes widened in fear, looking down at their blood-soaked companion before shaking their head wildly and repeating 'Nonono' under their breath as they clawed at their back.
Shouta tensed for a moment before he made up his mind. Pushing his own discomfort aside, he would not let this one suffer alone too. He walked up to them slowly, making sure to not startle the others who were clearly in high alert. They tensed, one of them even hissed at him as he got closer, but none made a move. He held his hands out as a show of peace, making his way to the tall one's side.
Unlike 'Incubo', this one's hair was a lighter shade, probably closer to platinum blond, and ran past their lower back. Their skin was spotted with freckles, from what he could see, but he hadn't any time to worry about that. He held out his hand to them, just as their head jerked up to meet his eyes.
Gold eyes met gold, yet this stranger's were lighter than his. They backed away from him at first, but cried out in pain again before desperately grabbing his hand. He grit his teeth at how tight their grip was, but relented.
"Can you understand me?" he asked softly.
They opened their eyes again, looking at him quizically. Before they could respond though, a low trilling sound came from their left, and both Shouta and the figure turned to the noise. Another person, their skin a deep mahogany, made a series of clicks and trills to the person before motioning to Shouta. The person apparently understood what their companion meant, turning back to Shouta.
"S-... Speak... Again-?"
"Can you understand me?" he repeated.
"Y-yes-"
"Alright. My name is Eraserhead. You can call me Aizawa. You and your friends are in the med bay right now. Are you in any pain?"
"B-back- My-... My wings-" they grimaced.
"D-Dream-" they spoke up again, pointing to themselves, "Nightmare-"
They pointed over to the first person, who was still lying in a pool of blood but had passed out.
"Don't- D-don't want- He- Screamed-" they sobbed, tears falling from their eyes.
"It's going to be alright. You can hold onto my hand through the pain. You're going to need to just let it happen if you want the pain to stop."
They sobbed even harder but nodded as they started to tremble. Shouta braced himself as their grip started to tighten. He heard steps approach behind him and whipped his head around, his hand out to stop whoever was coming closer.
Toshinori pursed his lips as Shouta reached out to stop him. He had come back inside the second he heard the screaming, call with Maiko completely forgotten. He wanted to help- These individuals were clearly in pain, and getting their quirks rather quickly. What baffled him though was why.
No one got their quirk later than at MOST 10, and he was almost certain there were no other quirks akin to his own or All For One's. Just who were these people-? Where did they come from?
Too many questions swam in his head to be able to think clearly, but he tried anyway.
Everyone's attention seemed to focus once more as Dream started to cry out, their posture slumped. Another one of the group scooted off of their bed, and this one was the only one who didn't look like a foreigner- They approached Dream's side, taking the other hand Shouta wasn't holding and murmured to Dream gently, trying to calm them.
They screamed out in agony when their skin started to tear as well, but unlike Nightmare's, their growths did not bubble. They shifted, sliding around so far that it moved the front of their hospital gown. Mic gagged next to Toshinori, grabbing their partner's hand as the other went over their mouth.
Shouta winced as Dream's nails dug into his hand, but said nothing.
"Remember to breathe, try your best to focus on that. You're almost there, " he said to them, kneeling at their side.
They only sobbed in response. The rips in their skin started to grow, tracing the whole of their back and soaking the back of their gown. Shouta watched with pursed lips as the blood dripped down and started to soak the bedsheets.
He winced when they let out an inhumane screech, similar to how Nightmare had. Shouta couldn't imagine the amount of pain they must be feeling, but he knew they didn't deserve it. Their friend continued to try and calm them, carding their fingers through their hair and whispering to them. They brought their long hair over their shoulder so it wouldn't get matted with blood, tying it up in a loose bun to keep it out of the way.
Finally, their growths broke the skin.
The cost?
Their consciousness.
They blacked out from the pain, and their companion set to work cutting through their hospital gown to free the new wings. They shout Shouta a glare, and he respectfully closed his eyes. He couldn't move, since Dream was still clutching his hand in a death grip, but he would respect their privacy.
They tapped him when they finished and Shouta opened his eyes again, grimacing at how the golden wings were absolutely drenched in their blood.
"Chiyo-"
"Already on it- Please keep hold of their hand while I check on..."
"... Dream said their name was Nightmare."
"Nightmare, then. Mic, please get me the bandages and antiseptics. Toshi, please grab me some of the extra hospital gowns.”
The two nodded quietly, setting to work. Chiyo looked up from her place as she heard laboured breathing, turning towards the source of the sound. The one from earlier, with deep brown skin, had their hands wrapped around their knees as they rocked back and forth on their bed, scratching lines into their skin. Shouta’s mind suddenly reminded him that these were indeed still humans who may have disorders similar to his own.
“Turn down the lights,” he said, looking to Mic, who was closer to the light switch.
Mic turned down the brightness of the lights without a word, just enough so they could still see, but not enough to be overwhelming. They walked over to Chiyo’s side, setting down the bandages like she asked. Chiyo took them, setting them beside her as she cleaned up the mess that was Nightmare’s back.
Another one of the patients, a smaller, more feminine featured, brunette went to their companion’s side to calm them from what Shouta was guessing was the start of a meltdown.
They REALLY needed names to these faces.
It seemed Toshinori shared that sentiment.
“I apologise if I seem rude in asking this, but could you give us names to call you? It is getting rather confusing to refer to you as just your features,” he said, holding the folded garments in his arms.
Five of them looked up to the sound of his voice, two cocking their heads in confusion.
“Sorry- I’m Lust- My friends and I would really like to know what’s going on-” the brunette spoke up, signing as they spoke.
The two who were confused perked up in understanding, queuing Shouta in on either hearing issues or a language barrier.
‘I’m Cross,’ another signed, their skin and hair pale as snow (possibly Albino? Shouta couldn’t tell, he’d have to ask later), ‘Nightmare is my partner. Is he… Is he ok?’
‘He’. Great. One set of pronouns for them down.
“He’ll be ok with proper care. He’s mostly in shock right now from the sudden and rapid growth, and I’m guessing it’s the same for your winged friend,” Chiyo explained.
Lust signed her response to Cross, and Cross nodded with a pensive face.
“Sorry- The others aren’t really speakers, but the one by Nightmare’s side is Avalon, Nightmare and Cross’s child. This is Error, and thank you for turning down the lights for him. Having a meltdown after waking up is not good for them- Uhmm-”
Shouta quickly took notice of the strange names, and how similar Lust was to Hizashi. He gave said partner a look, and Hizashi just gave him a small smile.
“Compassion-! There you are love-” Lust spoke up again, bringing a smaller child under their arm who looked rather similar to themself, “This is my child Compassion. Uh- Ink is at Dream’s side. Oh- Also- Cross is deaf, so please be patient with them. Uhm-”
Lust looked around, their eyes flicking around the room for a moment before their brow set in concern.
“I’m- Sorry but- Was there- Anyone else that was with us-? Or like- Do you know where we are? Or why- We have skin-?? Is this a dream??” they asked, completely serious.
“Why you have skin?? Because you’re human?” Hizashi asked, just as confused.
“We-” Lust shared a look with Cross, “We’re monsters- We’re not supposed to have skin-”
‘Look, that can be answered later, where in the fuck are we?’ Cross signed, their hands jerky as they began to twitch.
“You’re in the med bay of Yuuei’s school grounds,” Chiyo answered.
“That still doesn’t answer my question. Where is Yuuei? What country are we in?”
“We’re in Musutafa, Japan-?” Toshinori supplied.
Ink, Lust, and Cross shared an even more frantic look.
“I haven’t been in Japan in years,” Ink spoke up, their voice low and a bit scratchy, “ We were in America not even- Wait- What time is it-??”
“So it appears there’s a lot you don’t know right now.” Shouta deadpanned, “It’s 6:25 pm, UTC.”
“None of this makes any fucking sense-” Ink grumbled, gritting their teeth but keeping their grip on Dream gentle.
“Well no shit Ink we’re sitting in a medbay with our best bets of any clue here passed out in pools of their own blood and skin on our bones,” Lust sassed.
“Papa…” Compassion said quietly, grip tightening on Lust a bit.
“You shut your whore mouth you bitch,” Ink snapped, their eyes flickering red.
"Or what? You gonna cry?" Lust egged on, "It's just a joke, Ink."
"You have no room to joke on your grounds."
"What grounds? The grounds of being funny?"
"The grounds of failed comfort."
"There's no reason to go there right now, Ink. Just relax."
" 'Or what? You gonna cry?' " Ink mocked, "I sure as hell know Error would if he could see your ugly face."
"What are you so salty about? We're in the middle of a medbay, I'd think you'd be a little to tired to get this mad, for what?"
"Keep talking and you'll just end up even worse than Nightmare."
"Are you fucking threatening me??? While we're in a medbay???"
"WELL MAYBE STOP BEING SUCH A GOD DAMN SMART ASS AND I'LL RELAX" Ink snapped, barring their teeth.
"There is NO reason to be YELLING-" Lust snapped back, their eyes dark.
“Woah, woah, woah!” Hizashi got between them, not touching Lust but putting distance between the two, “Listen, I understand you’re all very confused and disoriented, but now is not the time to snap at each other. We need to figure things out, then we can try and help you out.”
Ink did not move, their face still in a set glare. Lust, however, took a deep breath and relaxed their stance.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to get mad like that. And sorry- But we never caught any of your names, besides Aizawa.”
“Oh! My bad- I’m Present Mic! You can call me Yammada,” Hizashi introduced.
“I am Yagi Toshinori. Please call me Yagi,” Toshinori continued.
“I’m Recovery Girl. I’m a nurse. Do any of you have any visible or external injuries I need to check?” Chiyo asked as she finished bandaging Nightmare’s back up, signing as she spoke.
His tentacles lay limp, splayed out on either side of his back, and suddenly the room remembered he was there. Lust’s eye’s clouded over for a moment and they looked over to Dream as well, who had not been treated yet.
“...He screamed so loud-” Avalon whispered, gently holding their parent’s hand.
Shouta’s face softened, just the slightest bit at how small their voice sounded.
“But he’s going to be ok. Dream will be too. The worst part is over for them. They just need some rest,” he found himself reassuring.
Avalon looked up to him, and he suddenly took notice of the matching blind eye they shared with their father. Their other eye was a deep blood red, which, with a look up at Cross, he could see they got from their other parent. Avalon bit their lip gently, looking away from him and back to their father.
“...As long as you’re sure.”
“Sorry- Uhm- To answer your question, Recovery Girl, me and Compassion are alright. Error I believe as well, but he’s too curled up for me to check their chest and thighs.”
“I’m fine.” Ink said, their voice still angry.
‘I don’t have any injuries either. Just a slight headache,’ Cross signed, ‘Avalon has a small nick on their cheek from where Nightmare’s tentacles accidentally hit them, but otherwise they’re ok as well.’
“Alright. So I just need to tend to Dream then. Unless any of the rest of you have any possible growths coming in?”
They all quickly shook their heads, their eyes wide.
“No- Only the Dream twins had any physical alterations like that-” Lust explained.
“Dream twins?” Shouta asked.
“Right- Nightmare and Dream are twins- Oh- That just reminded me- Dream’s uh- Dream’s genderfluid so- Ask her for her pronouns when she wakes up- It may have changed since we last asked-” Lust explained.
“Thank you for letting us know,” Toshinori said softly, offering a smile to let them know of their support, “Would you like to share all of your pronouns with us so we may refer to you properly?”
“Ah- I use he/him,” Lust answered, a relieved smile on his face, “Error fell asleep from exhaustion but he uses he/they/it.”
“They/them” Ink mumbled.
‘He/they’ Cross signed.
“He/she/moo,” Compassion said, a nervous smile on his face.
“They/them,” Avalon said quietly, “Dad uses he/him and Unty Dream’s change a lot-”
“Thank you for telling us, listeners! I’m genderfluid too! Right now I’m usin’ they/them! And I’m deaf too, Cross!” Hizashi said and signed, their smile easing a bit of tension.
“Aizawa and I both use he/him,” Toshinori continued.
“I use she/her, lovelies. Now, is there anything else we may need to know before the questions begin?” Chiyo said, “Like any sensory disorders or the likes?”
“Oh-! Yeah- Uh- Error’s Autsitic- So thank you for turning down the lights before he had a meltdown- Uhm- He’s also got-... A bit of magic- So like- Uhm- I don’t- Really know how to explain this haha-” Lust struggled to say, fidgeting with his hands, “Uh- It’s not like- He just- Has a lot of influence over things- But like- Not in the sense that ‘Hey I’m really popular listen to me’ like he can actually reach into the frequencies of the universe and change it to what he wants- But uh- I’m telling you this because- He can’t, here- At least- Not as much-? Like- He was able to code a translator to us, hence why we can understand you when no one but Ink speaks or understands Japanese but- He couldn’t get us out-”
“Out-? Out of where?”Hizahis asked, choosing one thing because wow was that a lot to unpack.
“Uh- I-” Lust took a moment, looking over to his other friends.
Cross bit their lip and shook their head, Ink doing the same. Lust didn’t even need to look at Compassion and Avalon to know those two didn’t know either. He sighed.
“I don’t... Really remember exactly- You’d have better luck with Nightmare, since he has photographic memory, but... Before we were here there was- A room... I think- It was big, uh there were green lights I think but... We- We were all in too much pain to really take notice of what was around us-” He started, his hands rubbing up his arms as his eyes glazed over a bit, “There was a girl there, I think. She just stood there and stared at us while we screamed. We were literally in the most agony we’ve ever imagined, minus Nightmare and Error. Do you know how it feels, to have nothing, only bones, magic, and boatload of spite; to having nerves, organs, skin, and muscles? To gain it so fast, so quickly while you are completely unprepared, that you can’t do anything at all. And to have a group of people watch you like you were animals?”
The four adults looked to each other with worried looks, taking in Lust’s words.
“Was there anyone you could see with noticeable features? If you could, of course-” Toshinori asked.
“There was someone with red wings,” Avalon spoke, surprising everyone, “They weren’t very tall, but their wings were huge. Cherry red. I think they were blond.”
More worried looks, as that sounded VERY familiar.
“Were they alone?”
“No. There were- A lot of people there- Had no time or ability to count- I’m surprised Avalon was able to get any description at all-” Lust let out a strained laugh.
“You don’t need to keep talking if you don’t want. You’ve already given so much information already, and I do not want you to distress over recalling something that hurt you so bad. Would you like some water?” Toshinori said, his tone gentle.
“I-... Yes please- I’m sorry to bother you with our problems-”
“No! Listeners, we chose to bring you here when we saw you because we care! You’re not bothering any of us! Sure, this was unexpected, but it’s never a bother to ask for help and accept it,” Hizashi interrupted, hands on their hips.
“It would make even less sense to just leave you out there to bleed out without any knowledge of what’s going on, don’t you think?” Shouta piped in, having stayed mostly quiet.
They all stayed quiet, avoiding the adults’ gaze. Toshinori walked over to Lust’s side, holding the glass out to him. Lust took it with a small thankful smile, sipping at the water slowly.
“Done!”
Everyone jumped up in surprise, completely having forgotten Nedzu was even in the room.
“Well! Their information lines up! There’s absolutely no documentation of their existence anywhere!” he announced.