Izuku wobbles on his feet as his body threatens to give up on him. Yet, he stands his ground.

Kota stands next to him, his hand hovering near him as if ready to catch him if he falls over. He can't help but smile at the thought.

"Hey...Are you okay?" Kota asks hesitantly, his voice quiet and his eyes trained on Izuku's body.

With a jolt, Izuku realizes that his shirt was discarded during the fight. His scars and injuries are all on display. It's not a good sight to see, especially not for a child.

"Don't worry, I'm okay. But there's still something I have to do..." He takes a moment to catch his breath.

"What could you possibly do right now! You're hurt!" Kota asks, worry and fear tinges his every word.

"I gave it everything I had... It still wasn't good enough." He continues on despite the confusion clear on the boy's features. "If all the villains attacking tonight are this strong, then everyone is in trouble. Aizawa... The Pussycats... I have to warn them. The villains are after me and my friends." He looks up, meeting the smaller boy's gaze. "First and foremost, I've got to protect you. So, hop on... I have to get you back to camp"

"Are- are you sure you can move with those injuries?"

"This is why I saved my legs for..." Izuku reassures as he feels one for all course through his body once more. His movements are strained but he can still move.

They take off into the forest once more. Izuku prays to whatever force out there that they won't encounter any more villains.

Just as they round the clearing, he spots a figure running through the trees

"Sensei!" Relief floods his system as he finds himself face to face with his guardian.

The man's eyes widen as his eyes rack over his body. Izuku cringes as he imagines what he must look like right now.

"Izuku..." Aizawa whispers, his words laced with worry and anger.

"I'm glad I found you! It's bad! The villains want Kacchan! There's a lot I have to tell you but first of all... There's something I have to tell Mandalay!" He rambles as he shifts from one foot to the other. Knowing full well that he's on a time limit and sooner than later, the adrenaline is going to wear off.

"Izuku- "

"Take Kota with you! His quirk can help with the fires! Please protect him!" He's about to take off when a capture weapon wraps around his leg. Not tight enough to trip him but tight enough to make him stop.

"Izuku!" Aizawa's words make him pause. He turns around expecting to be scolds but he's met with a sad look "With those injuries you won't make it!" The man's usual monotone voice is gone. "I know you won't listen if I tell you to stay behind... so, tell Mandalay the following message. In the name of the pro Hero Eraserhead, the students are allowed to fight back!" just Izuku nods his head in understanding. As he's about to go, the man speaks again. "Make it back alive problem child."

Izuku can only nod silently. His eyes harden in determination as he races through the forest again. His mind going a mile a minute as he tries to think of the possible reasons for the villains to want Kacchan.

_______________________________________________

He reaches the clearing he left in what felt like hours ago. Yet, it couldn't have been more than fifty minutes.

Mandalay and Tiger are still there fending off the villains; Pixie-bob is unconscious on the ground, unmoving with a streak of blood through her hair.

"Kota is safe!" Izuku shouts; Mandalay's eyes flicker over to him for a moment before she lands another punch to the villain's face. "And I have a message from Aizawa-sensei!"

"Make it fast!" Mandalay strains through gritted teeth. "And then get out of here, Midoriya! Those injuries aren't natural!"

"No! Sorry, Mandalay! I mean, I can't!" He shouts back, not registering the fact that he's going against orders. "There's still one more message I have to relay! One of the villain's targets is Kacchan! Use your telepathy please!" He hopes she heard him as he continues his race through the trees. He has to find Bakugou. He has to make sure he's safe.

He's so focused on his goal that he doesn't hear it when Mandalay speaks up next. "One of... Wait! Who's the other!"

Aizawa carries Kota and runs. Smoke fills the air and clouds the sky above them. The smoke burns his nostrils and his eyes water as the winds hit his eyes. Still, he keeps his head down and runs.

"Mister, I..." Kota is clinging to him, arms wrapped tightly around his neck. His voice is thick with tears. "I don't want him to die," Kota chokes, and his voice breaks. "He saved me... If- if he dies now, it'll be my fault-"

"Midoriya isn't going to die today," Aizawa cuts in firmly. "That kid... he's stubborn as hell and when he puts his head into something, there's nothing that can stop him. Next time you see him when all this madness is over, make sure to tell him. Just focus on a nice big 'Thank you'."

"B-but...what if the villains get to him first?" Shouta stops running at that. He lifts Kota, getting the boy to look at him directly.

"What do you mean?" He asks, dread pools in his stomach

"M- muscular, he s-said that they wanted to take Midoriya too." The boy whimpers, surely feeling the way Shouta stiffens at the implication.

Midoriya went off, knowing that the villains were also after him. Aizawa curses himself for ever letting the self-sacrificing problem child go off on his own.

He takes off running, this time faster as he tries to get to camp. He needs to make sure Kota is safe first. Then he can go make sure his kid is safe. He just hopes he won't be too late.

________________________________________

Izuku feels his energy slowly dissipate. The only thing that's keeping him going right now is the need to save his friend. He thinks he sees something out of the corner of his eye and dives out of the way not a second too soon.

He sees something shifting in the shadows, something massive and dark and it's heading right for him. He tries to dodge but a searing pain erupts in his arms as he moves. He braces himself for the impact. Yet, it never comes.

Instead, he's being carried by someone at an unbelievable speed as they both duck behind some bushes.

"Don't say anything, Midoriya," A familiar voice hisses close to his ear. "He's attacking anything that moves, you can't make a sound."

"Shoji..."

"Those wounds... You shouldn't be moving in that state. Yet, here you are trying to save everyone... You're full of surprises."

"Just now...was that?" Izuku asks instead. This shadow... it looked like...

"Yup... it was a sneak attack from a villain. I took the hit for us." Shoji raises one of his tentacles and to Izuku's horror, one of his hands are missing. "Tokayami got mad, he couldn't control Dark Shadow anymore, the darkness and his unfiltered emotions made him lose control."

Izuku nods. He remembers Tokoyami telling him about Dark Shadow and how, in dark, lightless places, Dark Shadow becomes restless and harder to control. Dark Shadow must have overpowered Tokoyami and taken the reigns, it's the only explanation.

"I heard the announcement," Shouji murmurs, barely loud enough for Izuku to hear. "The villains are after Bakugou, right?"

"Yes... they are." Izuku whispers back. After a moment of hesitation, he decides against telling Shouji about the rest. "That's why we need to find Bakugou. If we stick together, we'll be safe."

"So... we find ourselves at a crossroad. Will you help me save Tokoyami, or will you rush in to save Bakugou?"

"I think I have an idea that's going to take care of both of our problems... You're not going to like it though."

___________________________

"Dammit!" Bakugou fires off another blast, one that the villain dodges with ease. "What's with this guy!?"

The villain's literal teeth, strong like metal and long like ribbons, shoot from the villain's mouth; Todoroki barely has time to throw up a wall of ice before they reach him. The teeth sink into the ice harmlessly, and the villain retracts them and shoots them at Bakugou instead.

"You need to stop attacking," Shouto says, swinging out an arm in Bakugou's direction. "Your explosions are blocking our fields of vision! We need to stop and come up with a plan!"

"I get it, IcyHot!" Bakugou snaps, but he fires off another blast at the villain anyway, one that is again dodged easily. "Dammit, it's hard enough just keeping him back! How the hell are we supposed to come up with a plan, huh!?"

Before Todoroki can even come up with a reply, the trees behind them rustle and he hears a familiar voice shouting his name.

"Todoroki! Bakugou! One of you please! Give us some light!" Midoriya cries out.

Midoriya and Shouji are sprinting towards them from the nearby forest. Their eyes dart around frantically, they seemed to be scared of whatever is chasing them.

The trees behind Midoriya and Shouji splinter and crack and topple to the ground, and then emerges the roaring, gigantic form of Dark Shadow.

Todoroki is about to use his fire when Bakugou motions for him to stop. He stares at him incredulously for a second before understanding dawns on him.

They wait with bated breath as Izuku and Shoji dive out of the way. As a result, Dark Shadow goes in for the only visible enemy in the vicinity. The villain.

In a matter of seconds, the villain is thrown up against the side of a tree, and he slides to the ground and lays there in an unmoving heap.

"Bakugou, now!" Shouto yells, leaping from his position with his left hand ablaze. Bakugou flanks Dark Shadow on the opposite side, hands crackling with explosions.

Dark Shadow shrieks and writhes, but it's over quickly. Moments later, Tokoyami sits on the ground, gasping, and Shouto and Bakugou stand on either side of him doing the same.

"I'm sorry," Tokoyami pants, shaking his head. "That was my fault for losing control..."

"You single-handedly took out the villain Bakugou and I had been struggling with since the start of this whole thing," Shouto says, turning to him. "It worked out in the end, I think."

Midoriya hums in agreement and that's when Todoroki and Bakugou finally get to look at the greenette. Their eyes widen comically as they take in the extent to the shorter boy's injuries.

"What the hell happened to you!" Comes a less than tactful inquiry from the fiery blond.

"It's kind of a long story..."

"We have time." Todoroki ships in. Izuku can't help but groan at the pair. The one time they agree on something and it has to be this!

"Well, Kota was being attacked by a villain so... you probably can guess what happened next." He answered sheepishly, trying to ignore the way the world seemed to sway as he tried to keep his balance.

His friends seemed to notice this as they all harden their gazes, Shoji offers him once again a piggyback ride. Izuku didn't protest.

"Right, so we know that one of the villain's targets is you Kacchan! So, we need to make sure your safe while we go back to camp."

"I can protect myself nerd, worry about yourself for a change," Bakugou mutters in irritation, not actual bite in his tone.

They eventually decided on walking in a pairing formation. Bakugou and Izuku in the middle, while Shoji, Tokoyami, and Todoroki flank them.

They hear a commotion going on nearby. In fear that one of their classmates might be in trouble, they go check it out.

Right as they step out of the main path, a knife whizzes past Todoroki's face, missing him by mere centimeters.

"OH, looks like we have company!" A girl's voice resounds through the area, quickly followed by a small whimper. They sprint in the direction of the voice.

There, standing over the fallen form of Uraraka is a girl. She seems to be about their age. Dressed in a school-girl uniform as she holds a knife to the gravity girl's throat.

Shoji has to physically hold Midoriya back.

A couple of feet away, also stands Tsuyu, she's stuck to the tree by her hair, probably the work of the villain.

Taking their arrival as her distraction, Uraraka flips the girl onto her back and disarms her. The knife clatters to the ground with a resounding clang. Izuku can't help the pride that swells in his chest as he watches how much his friend has grown.

However, she doesn't have the upper hand for long as the girl suddenly stabs her with a needle. The action startles Urarka into letting go of her hold. Long enough for the villain to get to her feet.

"Oh poo, there are too many now and I don't feel like dying... see ya!" A hysterical giggle resounds through the trees as the girl runs away and into the darkness.

A moment passes as they're all on edge.

It's only broken as Tsuyu whimpers from her position. Tokoyami and Shoji move to help her while Midoriya and Todoroki check on Uraraka.

"Are you guys okay?!" Izuku asks as he checks his friends for any obvious injuries.

"Yes, we're good! That girl was crazy" Uraraka exclaims as she tries to regain her breath. The whole ordeal must have taken away from her energy.

"Midoriya, those injuries..." Tsuyu asks worriedly.

"Don't worry about that right now. We need to keep moving. Come with us, we're guarding Kacchan and heading for camp- "

"Bakugou...?" Uraraka interrupts, confusion clear on her features. "But, if that's the case... where is he?"

"What do you mean he's right behind... us..." Terror strikes him as he realizes that, while they were distracted, someone managed to take Bakugou.

Izuku knows they were careless. They got distracted. Bakugou paid the price.

A figure suddenly surfaces from the trees, the man is dressed in a long cloak, coupled with a magician's hat and a cane. In his hand, he holds a small marble. "Ah... I was hoping I'd take the priority target before I went... anyways, I've taken your friend with my magic." He holds out the marble in his hand, making it clear that Bakugou is most likely trapped in it. "He's not a resource that belongs on the heroes' side...We're going to put him on a stage where he can truly shine."

"Give him back!" Todoroki yells as he shoots a wave of ice towards the villain.

"You're talking like he's some kind of property! Tsk, heroes today..." The man scuffs as he dodges the ice easily. "Lucky for me, deception and escape is my specialty so... Bye heroes." He moves to go but stops at the last second "Although, if our main target would be so kind to come to the main clearing... We may find ourselves making a deal." He winks at them and disappears back into the trees. No one notices the way his eyes were directed at on particular green haired boy.

"What did he mean by that!?" Uraraka exclaims, her expression mirroring the confusion in everyone's faces. All but one, at least. "What was he talking about? What priority target?"

Izuku avoids the others gazes as he tries to calm down his racing mind. The villains, they know he knows. They're willing to make a trade.

Izuku doesn't want to give up that easily, but if that's what it will take to get his friend back. Then so be it.

"We need to move! Quick! Uraraka can you make me and Todoroki weightless?" She nods but opens her mouth to question it. Izuku doesn't give her the chance though. They're running out of time. "Tokoyami can you make Dark Shadow propel us forward towards the villain's direction?" They finally seem to catch on to his plan. Soon enough, they're all in position. Izuku can't help the guilt he feels at the amount of blind trust they have in him.

_________________________

"Now!" Just like that, Dark Shadow lifts them up and throws them in the direction the villain ran off to. Uraraka's powers, coupled with Tsuyu's tongue for a more precise trajectory makes their target easier to reach. They find themselves mere meters away from the retreating villains.

Todoroki throws a wall of ice in front of the villain, effectively blocking his way. It's not a really smart move though... They ram into the villain and collide with the ice at full force. The wall shatters as they rocket straight for the ground.

"Compress... What the hell! I thought you said you had the target!" A man's voice calls out from in front of them. The villain has scars all over his body, even more than Izuku himself.

"I got- uhh- little sidetracked." The villain- compress- wheezes out from under them.

They all scramble to their feet, Izuku a little slower than the rest. His eyes dart around the clearing, taking in the villains surrounding them.

There are about three, the scarred one, Compress and the girl from before. He barely manages to suppress the urge to shiver as her eyes rack over his body.

"Ohh! It's you!" She exclaims, her voice overly excited and enthusiastic. "You're on the list too!"

All eyes turn to him, looks varying between shock and morbid understanding. His friends look so confused but they seem to make the connection. Their eyes widen as they look back and forth between Izuku and the villains. Izuku can't get himself to meet their gazes.

"So, you are the famous Izuku Midoriya" The scarred villain scuffs as he takes a step forward.

"Dabi, master wants us back with the target as soon as possible." Kurogiri's distorted voice calls out from seemingly out of nowhere. His voice is an unwanted reminder of the USJ incident. The warp gate villain must be close.

"I was just getting to that." The villain, now known as Dabi replies, his features contort into a smirk as he locks eyes once again with the green haired hero in training. "I'm guessing you want your friend back?" He doesn't even wait for a response as he motions for Compress to step towards him.

They watch with bated breath as Compress passes over the marble to him. It shines under the moonlight as he holds it up for all of them to see.

"This can go in either of two ways. You give yourself up and we give back your precious classmate." His eyes glimmer with an edge, Izuku can only describe it as prideful and smug "Or we can take you both by force... Your choice, Hero."His every word drip with malice and it makes Izuku want to scream. Because there isn't really any choice here. There never was a choice.

He knows it. His friends seem to know it too if the way they all scream at him to stop is any indication. They're begging him not to go. Telling him that theirs another way.

There's no choice though if Izuku can save someone if he can manage to free his friend, no matter the cost. He'll do it.

Their voices are all static in his mind. He feels like he's underwater, he's drowning and he's not getting out anytime soon.

He takes a step forward and feels ice creep at the soles of his feet. He powers up a small portion of One for all in his legs and the ice shatters to the ground like heaps of broken glass.

He doesn't know how he got his body to move, he feels like he's moving on autopilot as he steps towards the villains. Just a few meters in front of Dabi, he stops short. He looks the man in the eyes and nods.

Just like that, the villain throws the marble at Todoroki. The latter scrambles a little, caught off guard but catches it in the end. He looks at it in disbelief as if he wasn't expecting the villain to give up their hostage.

"I am a man of my word." Dabi says curtly "The marble will change once we're gone, it will remain like this if you try anything before we leave." He steps forward, his hand wraps around Izuku's throat.

Izuku barely manages to suppress a flinch. The situation reminds him all too well of the mall incident, too close to his liking. He feels his body shut down like it's giving up before he even has to.

He doesn't struggle, doesn't fight back as a wrap gate opens up behind them. He looks up, finally meeting his friend's gazes. They all have desperation etched on their features, all of them look like they want to do something, anything to stop them. To move. To save him. They can't though, they know it. If they do, Izuku's sacrifice will be for nothing and they'd lose both him and Bakugou.

As he feels himself sink into the void, the never-ending darkness of the warp gate, he thinks he sees the trees rustle. From the forest, emerges none other than his guardian. Aizawa looks frantic as he looks around. Izuku thinks he sees the exact moment when his teacher realizes what's happening. Desperation and fear flashes over his usual neutral expression, he's running towards them, his hand outstretched and his eyes flashing red.

Yet, it's too late. The warp gate closes in around them and Aizawa tumbles to the ground where his ward stood just moments before.

He can still see the look on his kid's face as all light left his eyes. He remembers the way, blank eyes stared at him, expression hard but resolute. The kid knew it was hopeless. He knew they wouldn't save him.

He failed. He was too late. He swore he'd never let anyone hurt his kid and he failed. He failed him.

Izuku was taken and it was his fault.

He hears Todoroki scream behind him in frustration and anger, he hears some kind of popping sound and thinks he hears small crackles of explosions. Yet, he doesn't move, doesn't react.

His kid was gone and it was his fault.

__________________________

The world spins around him for what feels like an eternity. However, it's a few moments later that he feels himself fall to the ground. The wooden floor under him is cold and from the brief look at the place they landed in, they're in some kind of a bar. He hears someone footsteps approach him and the villains around him scatter.

He feels his vision dim as his body gives up on him. He's just so tired. His arms throb as his mind finally registers the pain of the countless bones he's broken in his fight.

He's fighting against his own consciousness and he knows he's losing.

A figure crouches in front of him, however, his vision is too blurry to make out the person's features.

"Missed me Izuku-kun?"

This has to be a nightmare, right? This can't be real, right?

The last thing he hears before his world turns dark is his mother's hysterical laugh.

"Oh, honey... It's going to be okay. I'm here."