Shigaraki activates his decay to blast a hole in the wall and escape from All Might.
Shigaraki: "Fuck, fuck, I never thought he'd be this fast. I have to get back to Overhaul—there's no way I can take this alone, not against All Might."
He crawls through the gap, listening to All Might smashing through the concrete walls behind him, hunting him down.
(Meanwhile, back at the Hassaikai base).
Overhaul: "I can hear smashing—that must be Shigaraki in trouble."
He glances outside and spots a nearby building shuddering under heavy blows.
The small child breaks away from him, running off in fear of the rising noise.
Overhaul: "Wait!"
He yells after her, but the smashing grows louder by the second, and worries for Shigaraki gnaws at him.
Overhaul: "Fuck."
He charges outside, immediately slamming his palm into the ground to reshape the earth into jagged spikes aimed at All Might, desperate to draw the zombie's attention.
Overhaul: "Hopefully that's enough."
He glances over his shoulder suddenly, and his blood runs cold—Zombie All Might is standing right behind him. His eyes blow wide, every instinct screaming that he's done for.
(A few minutes earlier, in the crumbling building.)
Shigaraki: "I'm going to die."
He crawls faster through the hole he blasted, the sound of smashing getting closer from directly above.
Shigaraki: "Shit, I'm going to die!"
He keeps crawling as fast as his shaking limbs will carry him, then a massive crash rings out from outside the building. He hears the heavy thud of something jumping clear of the crumbling structure.
Shigaraki: "Who's that?"
He crawls out of the damaged building, and immediately spots Zombie All Might standing right behind Overhaul.
Shigaraki: "Shit, I have to do something now!"
He bursts from the rubble, sprinting toward the Hassaikai entrance as fast as his legs can carry him.
(Back in the present.)
Overhaul: "..."
He steps back several paces as Zombie All Might looms closer, his hands trembling almost imperceptibly with the strain of the moment.
(In his mind).
"Why won't my body move? Am I actually afraid?"
He crumples to sit back on his butt, staring up at All Might as the zombie opens his slack jaw. A few hot tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.
"Am I really going to die?"
(Out of his mind).
He keeps staring as All Might looms closer and closer.
Shigaraki: "Fucking die!"
He yells at the top of his lungs, slamming his hand against All Might's back and activating his quirk. He watches half the zombie's body dissolve into ash, leaving the other half motionless on the ground.
Overhaul: "S-Shigaraki?"
He stares at the younger man, his expression caught between surprise and quiet gratitude that Shigaraki came back for him.
Shigaraki: "You okay?"
He holds out a hand to pull Overhaul to his feet.
Overhaul: "I take it back. Your quirk is useful."
He grips Shigaraki's hand and pulls himself up from the soaking wet grass.
Shigaraki: "Told you."
He smirks, cracked lips pulling up at the corner of his mouth.
Overhaul: "You got rid of one problem, but now we need to go help Dabi. The thing is, those creatures walked straight through his flames. Could they be fireproof? Or are they just too mindless to care about getting burned?"
He glances at Shigaraki, waiting to hear his take on the strange threat.
Shigaraki: "I don't know, but did you ever stop to notice they never show up during the day? I mean, All Might made enough noise to draw every last one of them here. They could've rushed us at any point during the day, but they only hunt after dark."
He fixes Overhaul with a steady look.
Overhaul: "You're right about that. That bastard Random must have merged his world with ours, we already know that much. If they only hunt at night, we'll call them Night Hunters for now."
(In his mind).
"All Might the zombie is down, but those creatures lurk in the dark and hunt in packs. That's both good and bad—going alone after dark is a death sentence. Damn, overthinking this just makes everything more complicated."
(Out of his mind).
Shigaraki: "Wait, what about the kid?"
He looks at Overhaul, suddenly jolted by the forgotten memory of the small girl.
Overhaul: "She's probably hiding somewhere inside the base. I didn't go after her because I was worried about you. She'll be fine, probably."
He looks at Shigaraki calmly, though a faint nervous flicker crosses his eyes as he explains.
Shigaraki: "Let's head inside. Find her."
He glances at Overhaul, then freezes—someone is standing right behind the other man, pressing a gun to the back of his head.
Overhaul: "Don't move."
He holds his position perfectly still.
Shigaraki: "Hey, we're not looking for trouble here."
He lifts both hands up slowly in surrender.
Unknown Female: "Well now, what do we have here? Two handsome men. I didn't think today would be my lucky day."
She licks her lips, pulls out a pair of handcuffs, and moves toward Overhaul first, since he's closest.
Overhaul: "Shigaraki, go to the child. I'll be fine."
He looks at Shigaraki calmly, even as the cold metal clicks shut around his wrists.
Shigaraki: "Fuck no! Listen, lady—let him go right now, or I'll decay you!"
He raises his hand toward her, knuckles white with rage.
Unknown Female: "How about no. And he's right—those zombies are already heading for the building."
She activates her quirk, teleporting a horde of zombies straight to the entrance where Shigaraki stands.
Unknown Female: "Well then, see you around."
She teleports away, taking Overhaul with her.
Shigaraki: "Fuck! This day just keeps getting worse!"
He unleashes his decay on every zombie that tries to push through the Hassaikai entrance, chest heaving.
Shigaraki: "Hopefully Dabi's okay—I don't even know what the hell to do next!"
He snarls the words out in a fit of raw frustration.
(Meanwhile, in the abandoned building a few minutes from the Hassaikai base.)
Dabi is still hiding in the closet. He peeks out through a crack in the door, and notices the creatures starting to file out of the room and move away.
(In his mind).
"Where are they going? Wait, why do I care? I should get the hell out of here while I can."
(Out of his mind).
He slowly pulls the closet door open, crawls low across the floor toward the nearest window, and spots a faint glow creeping up over the horizon—it's the sun.
Dabi: "Now I get it—these creatures don't like the sun."
He leans against the window frame, squinting into the distance, and spots the massive jagged spikes rising near the Hassaikai base.
Dabi: "Shigaraki and Overhaul."
He yanks the window open immediately, glances down, and freezes—an enormous zombie is tearing into a dead body on the street below, and it looks almost exactly like All For One. His eyes blow wide, and he slams the window shut as quietly as he can. He glances back toward the door where the other creatures just left.
Dabi: "I guess I have to find another way out."
He stands silent, staring at the entrance the creatures just left through.
(In his mind).
"I'll probably get killed heading down there. They just walked straight through my flames like they weren't even there."
He thinks, recalling how easily the creatures pushed past his fire.
"There's no other way out of this building except that entrance, though. I just hope Overhaul and Shigaraki are okay—All Might is still out there, and god knows what else. I need to get back to them as soon as I can."
(Out of his mind).
He walks slowly toward the opening of the creatures left, getting closer and closer, before he stops short. He realizes the floor drops away into a deep, broken hole that would send anyone tumbling down before they can react.
Dabi: "It's a hole.
He picks up a loose rock and tosses it down, waiting to hear it land. It clatters into something solid far below—the fall wasn't very long, but he still can't tell what else is waiting in the darkness.
Dabi: "It looks so dark inside, I guess I need to find a light and a weapon."
He glances around the crumbling room searching for a flashlight or lantern, but stumbles over a crumpled lighter instead.
Dabi: "Oh fuck, but I guess that's good enough."
He picks it up, and spots a long knife right next to a long-dead zombie on the floor.
Dabi: "This could be useful."
He grabs the hilt and yanks the blade free from the zombie's rotting ribs.
Dabi: "Alright, time to go."
He moves closer to the edge of the hole and jumps off, flicking the lighter open to light his way once his boots land in something cool and wet. He pulls himself out of the shallow water and holds the lighter up, realizing he's stumbled into an old underground facility.
Dabi: "What is this place?"
He turns slowly, scanning the dark concrete walls, and catches the low sound of something growling far in the distance—it sounds like it's still asleep.
Dabi: "Everything's happening so fast. That means Random has to be somewhere here in Japan..."
His eyes widen slightly, the implication of that thought hanging heavy in the stale air.
(In his mind).
"Thinking through the whole situation, every twist feels like Random wants us split apart again. He's picking us off one by one. I didn't think Random still had power here, but anything goes now. I have to get back fast!"
He slips back into the shallow water, moving quietly to avoid waking the sleeping creatures.
"If this is true, Random will go after the one who's figured out his game."
He thinks of Overhaul, jaw tightening.
"He'll go after Overhaul first."
(Out of his mind).
(Meanwhile, back at Hassaikai Headquarters).
Shigaraki: "Shit! I can't believe I let her take him!"
He keeps decaying every zombie that lunges toward the entrance, chest heaving.
Shigaraki: "I need to go find Overhaul, but Dabi's still trapped with those creatures. What the hell do I do?"
He stares down at the ground in frustration, mind spinning.
(In his mind).
"I hate all of this. I wish there was a better way out of this mess."
He thinks, slamming his hand into another oncoming zombie and watching it crumble to ash.
"If Dabi and I team up, we have a better shot at getting Overhaul back. But if I wait, Overhaul could be dead before we even get moving."
He clutches his fist tightly, still struggling to pick the right path, when he hears the main door creak open slowly. The small child steps out cautiously, peeking around the frame.
"I forgot about the kid. I'm such an idiot. So in the end, I'm sorry—Dabi and Overhaul will just have to hold on a little longer."
He thinks as he walks toward her.
(Out of his mind).
(Meanwhile, in the basement of a remote cabin near the edge of Suicide Forest).
Overhaul is tied to a wooden chair, stripped down, a dog collar fastened around his neck and a blindfold covering his eyes. A rag is stuffed deep in his mouth to muffle any sound.
Overhaul: "..."
(In his mind).
"Damn it, why does this keep happening to me? I can't stop trembling."
He thinks, shaking against his bonds. Fear coiled tight in his chest over what's coming next. He jolts hard when he hears slow footsteps drawing closer.
Unknown Female: "It's been so hard tracking you down. It's such a shame we only met once before. Just like in that game—we were always going to be enemies."
She drags a slow finger across Overhaul's trembling cheek.
Overhaul: "...."
"Wait, she said we're enemies?"
He remembers the girl from the diamond blade game—the one who assaulted him.
"How is she here? She was dead."
His heart hammers against his ribs, blood turning to ice at the terrible thought.
"No way. Don't tell me it's Random."
Unknown Female says nothing
She shifts, shifting back to his true male form for a brief second before melting back into the dead woman's shape.
Unknown Female: "This girl has missed you so much. I'll bring her back to keep you company while I go after the others. I'm going to kill every last one of you who survived the first game."
Overhaul's mind races.
"No—Shigaraki and Dabi are in danger. I have to do something, but what can I do like this? Something bad will happen if I try to force my quirk."
He hears a mechanical whirring starting up right beside his chair.
"What's happening?"
(Out of his mind).
Unknown Female: "If you try to use that quirk of yours, this machine will slice both your hands off. You'll be completely useless, so I suggest you behave."
She steps back, separating from the dead girl's body she was fused with, along with another fallen player from the original game.
Alexa: "It's you again."
She smiles happily, walking slowly toward the bound Overhaul.
Toga stands to the side, her face completely blank.
Random shifts his shape, transforming into Midoriya.
Midoriya: "Toga, it's time to go find Shigaraki. You have to kill him."
He looks at her calmly.
Toga: "Yes I will."
Midoriya/Random: "See you around."
The two of them disappear in a flicker of distorted light.
Overhaul: "No, no no fuck! What do I do now!"
He thrashes against his restraints, screaming into the gag stuffed in his mouth when one sharp chain tugs and cuts deep into his stretched wrist.
Alexa smirks down at the bound Overhaul.
Alexa: "It's okay, I promise I'll be gentle this time."
(Meanwhile, in the underground facility under the flooded passage).
Dabi: "..."
(In his mind)
"The water splits into two separate paths, and I don't know where either leads."
He thinks to himself. He pulls himself up to the water's surface to catch his breath, drawing in the stale underground air. When he looks around, he spots the creatures feasting on the bodies of people who were either living or dragged down here.
"Shit!"
He ducks back under the water quickly, already hearing the creatures let out a deafening, hungry screech.
"Time to go, and fast!"
He immediately starts swimming hard down one of the passages, listening to the loud screeches and heavy footsteps echo through the tunnel. He glances over and sees one of the creatures dive after him, only to flail and drown in the deep water.
"These things can't swim. So I'm safe in the water for now, but I still have to find a way out of here fast."
He glances between the two flooded paths and chooses to go right.
"Hopefully Overhaul and Shigaraki are doing better than I am right now."
(Out of his mind).
(Meanwhile, in the Hassaikai Headquarters' safe room).
Shigaraki: "Everything will be okay as long as you're safe with me."
The computer suddenly blares an alert, signaling someone is outside the base. He looks up, watches the figure walk up the entrance, and zooms the camera in closer. His eyes widen when he recognizes her.*l
Shigaraki: "Toga."
He listens through the monitor as she speaks a few soft words.
Toga: "Shigaraki, I need your help."
To be continued on next chapter