Writing Prompt: Baku-X

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I. Crimson Dreams

Where am I? There's no cute girls here… so what am I doing here?

Heart pounding, Inigo rushed through the Daiichi manor, only to find scenes of carnage. In every room, friends and family lay slain, their lifeless eyes staring back at him. Panic began to build inside him.

An otherworldly roar echoed from the end of a shadowy hall. Inigo froze, then steeled himself and raced towards the sound. Sliding open the door, he saw an eerie crimson glow. A twisted red version of Gigan loomed before him, its claws dripping with blood. Behind it, Inigo spotted his younger self, curled against the wall and weeping.

"They took her from me..." the crying Inigo said. “Give her back!”

“Give who back?”

Images flashed in Inigo’s head. A girl. Before Shiketsu?

“Who the hell is that?”

"GIVE. HER. BACK!"

The red Gigan snarled. It lunged towards Inigo, killing intent burning in its eyes. The real Gigan appeared just before its claws could eviscerate him. A brilliant emerald light burst forth, driving the red monster back. As the green glow consumed his vision, Inigo jolted awake.

II. Chaos

Inigo laid disoriented, his heart pounding as Gigan licked his cheek with concern. The fluorescent lights and white walls indicated he was in Shiketsu's infirmary. Memories rushed back - he had been on campus when a sudden wave of drowsiness overtook him during hero training. Rubbing his aching head, Inigo sat up to find Nurse Becky and Aura Curie hovering over him anxiously.

"We got another one," Nurse Becky said as she held up a small flashlight, blinding Inigo. "How are you feeling, Myoga.?"

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Curie walked with Inigo down the hallway, worry creasing her forehead. "Here, take this," she said softly, handing him a small white pill. "It's something I've been working on, it should help you resist the sleep effect."

"Sleep effect?" Inigo asked. "What happened out there? Where is everyone?" The halls were empty.

Curie explained that some creature had attacked the city. All unprotected people within 12 miles instantly fell into an intense, unwakable dream state. Accidents spread chaos across the city as drivers, pilots, doctors - anyone without psychic defenses - collapsed where they stood.

"The school activated emergency protocols to shield students' minds," Aura continued. "But we weren't fast enough to block it completely. You and your classmates got hit before the psychic barrier went up."

"Is Hoge alright?" Inigo said with concern.

Curie narrowed her eyes.

"Gee Curie, thanks for staying by my side the whole time. I'm gonna run off to be with my blurry class president now," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry. I'm just worried about my class."

Curie sighed.

"They're all fine. Some of them are probably awake already," She looked outside the window. "They need you out there. Things are pretty bad."

Inigo nodded. "Then that's where I'll go! Thanks Curie!" He hugged the silver-haired senior, leaving her flushing as he ran down the hall.

If people are hurt out there, I have to help, dream monster or not.

Gigan transformed into glittering wings. Flying up over the campus, Inigo surveyed the unfolding catastrophe below. Billowing smoke and wailing sirens attested to the havoc caused by suddenly driverless vehicles. Checking his hero app, he spotted over a hundred accident notifications across the city.

It's Rescue Hero time!

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III. Hero Work

Inigo dove towards the sounds of sirens and calls for help. Pulling victims from the wrecks with Gigan's help, he ferried the injured to makeshift shelters erected on Shiketsu's fields. He spotted classmates like Yui and Imai tending to casualties alongside pro heroes and emergency workers rushing to contain the disaster. For hours Inigo pushed his quirk to the limit, putting out fires and plucking stranded motorists from roads and runaway vehicles. As noon set in, exhaustion crept through his muscles, but he still had plenty to do.

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"The roads are busy right now. So I'm here to bring you to the hospital personally," the hero Ryu-kishi said.

"I'm scared. It's really loud out there," the wheel chaired boy muttered.

Inigo looked to the boy's parents and gave them a reassuring smile.

"I know but we can't miss your surgery now. Besides, it's not every day you get to ride on a dragon, right?"

Ryu-kishi snapped his fingers and Gigan's dragon form emerged behind him, complete with a comfy carriage on top for the boy.

"I want you to do me a favor. Don't look down."

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As night fell, Inigo finally paused to catch his breath atop a downtown high-rise. Far below, the streets were still chaotic, but shelter tents were up and help was arriving from neighboring cities. Through the darkness, Inigo spotted strange lights flashing around Valiant Park where the entity, had first appeared. That seemed as good a place as any to investigate the center of this madness. If he could discover the root of this disaster, maybe he could help stop it.

IV. Baku-X

Arriving at Valiant Park, Inigo followed the sounds of growling and gunshots to find a mutated dog-mutant pursuing two scientists and a police officer down a debris-strewn alley. Swooping down in front of them, Inigo encased the slobbering beast in a spherical force-field.

Is it cheating if I use my finisher at the start of a fight? "Sorry, don't have time to play!" Launching skyward, Inigo focused his quirk.

"Crash Dragon Claw!" he yelled, engulfing the villain and bringing him crashing down as Inigo dove into the ground, construct claws shattering.

Turning to the panicked civilians, Inigo flashed a confident grin. "You folks alright down there?"

The scientists gaped at the young hero who'd just rescued them as he fluttered down. The female scientist found her voice first. "Ryu-Kishi? You're a Shiketsu student. You..you shouldn't be here, it's too dangerous without psychic shielding!"

Inigo chuckled lightheartedly. "I'll be okay! Had some help getting protected." He shook their hands enthusiastically as Gigan squeaked hello. "So what's going on here? That thing back there was nasty."

The officer stepped forward, tension etched on his face. "Name's Officer Saito. I can barely raise HQ on the radio. Even the pro heroes are spread thin till backup arrives. We won't turn down any help, son."

The scientist duo introduced themselves as Dr. Nobu and Dr. Abe, part of an emergency response team specializing in anomalous entities. They were seeking to reverse Baku-X's effects using a specialized psychic relay system. But first the relays had to be aligned atop certain high points around the creature's perimeter.

"That tower over there for example," Dr. Abe indicated a 20-story office building. "If we can establish and sync a mobile relay on its roof, we can begin stabilization. The other teams are being deployed as we speak."

Inigo nodded confidently. "I can get you up no problem! Better climb on." With civilians aboard his dragon, he ascended towards the rooftop access ladder. Inigo pulled out his phone.

"What're you doing?" Dr. Abe asked.
"You said there were other teams right? I'm asking my available classmates to help them out. Don't worry, they're cool guys."

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Soon the scientists set to work building the foundation of the relay, as the console lit up Inigo felt the tension in the air visibly weaken. Baku-X's aura was fading.

SHREEEEEK!

But then suddenly dark shapes swirled up in the distance, coalescing into swarms of bat-like beings with luminous red eyes, all emerging from the center of the park.

"Monster... bats?"

"It's Baku-X. It can sense what we're doing. The Legion of Disarray are after us," Dr. Nobu shouted. The creatures shrieked, swarming towards them. "They're drawn by psychic wavelengths like sharks to blood! The equipment is like a beacon!"

"W-we should run," Dr. Abe stammered.

"Get that relay tower going, I got these jokers!" Inigo shot skywards, moving to intercept the bat creatures before they reach the tower operation. The swarm was attacking other towers too. Inigo glimpsed at his phone as it buzzed.

The first beast collided with Inigo's shield with bone-shattering force - definitely tougher than their appearance suggested. They struck about as hard as Sally's rubber bullets or a third of a Bobby punch, Inigo thought. Whirling around, Inigo battered two aside with his shield, then slashed through another with his sword. More kept swooping in, replacing each one he battered away. Their numbers seemed endless. Gigan added glowing emerald spikes to Inigo's armor just as one latched onto his back. The spikes impaled the creature, causing it to burst into wisps of shadow with a shriek.

Inigo had no time to strategize before more of the swarm was upon him. He flew back and threw up an expanding domed shield, but the creatures piled relentlessly against it, their combined strength bowing the construct in towards Inigo.

"Damn.. there's too many." Inigo gritted his teeth as his shield cracked, allowing some of the bats through. A sudden blur collided with Inigo's back, vicious claws raking through parts of his armor.

One of the bat creatures flew towards the scientists but Officer Saitor shot it down with his gun.

"Can't let them through."

Inigo felt himself tiring. The massive swarm of bats screeched infernally as Inigo's shield shattered, the swarm engulfed him.

Muffled, Inigo flailed with all his might against the swarm as he tried to fly away. He would NOT be dragged off helplessly like some chew toy, not with lives depending on him tonight. They were clawing, attaching themselves to him. Their hold was vicelike. Inigo's strength rapidly drained as a chilling sensation spread along his muscles from each point of contact. With nauseous horror, Inigo realized they were leeching his vitality. Dark spots danced at the edges of Inigo's vision.

He was falling asleep. He felt Baku-X calling.

A burst of anger ignited within Inigo's chest - he REFUSED to end like this!

This entity had terrorized enough of Kyoto.

His mind flashed back to everything he's seen today.

All the scared faces, the hopeless stares, and the constant cries for help.

He had to do his best to bring those people some hope. And just like Popsy- put a smile back on their faces.

With his last ounce of willpower, Inigo twisted the shattered remains of his shield, his constructs formed, engulfing his own body in whirling verdant blades.

BLADE STORM!

He gritted his teeth as his circling blades overrun the swarm. An unearthly screech rang out as Inigo was abruptly released from the swarm's smothering grip.

The world spun sickeningly...then Gigan's wings stabilized his ragged form, enough to soften his landing as he fell on the ground.

From the ground, he glimpsed Dr. Nobu frantically waving her arms. Inigo spotted the completed relay tower, status lights blinking in sync! "It's aligned!" Dr. Abe proclaimed, yelling proudly over the wind. Across the cityscape, other towers flickered online. With a strange warbling cry, Baku's bat-like minions plunged from the skies like puppets with cut strings before vanishing into wisps of shadow. The park area rapidly filled with arriving heroes, no longer hindered by the psychic aura, they launched their assault to recover Baku-X. Inigo wiped his brow in relief amidst the scientists' grateful cheers.

V. Aftermath

In the following days, Inigo learned through his connections how The Legion of Disarray had attempted to free their leader, Dr. Vangelis. An investigation was underway, but most of the perpetrators had escaped in the confusion. Cleanup and recovery efforts would take weeks, but thankfully casualties were few due to fast responders.

The one strange detail was that almost no one retained memories of the event itself - even victims only recalled falling asleep and waking later to ruined vehicles or injuries. The brief hours of chaos were blurred from their minds. Inigo himself had trouble remembering specifics after. But one name stuck in his thoughts:

The Legion of Disarray - who were they? And would he see them again someday?

Random Ending Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VRTHrgA_qM