MHA Fantasy Quest for the SOL

Part 7: Two towers and a thief

But no such luck. Deku was at that moment sitting in some kind of tower, where he'd been thrown after some hooded figures jumped him in the woods. They'd taken his knife before he even had a chance to use it, but by some good fortune, they had left his map, to them it looked like a piece of scrap paper, after all. However, it was no help escaping from here. It was too high to climb down, and there was only one small window that he could see out of. He paced around the room. No sign of Shoto, he wondered if he'd been taken too or if he'd escaped.

Shoto was in his own tower, not that far from Deku's had he known it. His sword was gone, and his wristguards refused to activate. The tower must be enchanted against magical weapons. He sat there, unsure what to do, and nervous as the shadows seemed to grow too long, and the air seemed too still.

The fivesome who were searching for them didn't have to search long. Bakugo spotted something in the distance between two larger duffs, and they went towards it, till they saw two towers shimmering in the light. 

"That's neat," Denki said. "Where did those come from?"

"They aren't real, you fool," Bakugo snapped. But he seemed kind of excited. "I'd know that illusion magic anywhere."

He shot a huge magic explosion into the air, causing a large poof of smoke. "Utsushimia! Show yourself, you pretentious vixen!" 

"Oh, no," Kyoka groaned, "not this again." 

"Again? Who's Utsushimia?" Denki asked.

"Utushimia is the name of our sister tribe," Momo explained. "Mine is the Yaoyoroza tribe, after the many numbers in it, but Utushimia is a bandit tribe that relies heavily on illusion magic."
She stretched "I will retrieve our two companions, not to worry, these towers aren't dangerous, once you know they're false."

"But there could be a trap around them," Kyoka had her ear to the ground. "I'm sure I hear breathing, be careful, looks like one of those fools is in each tower." 

"It's harder to fool two people at once," Momo nodded. "So, that makes sense." She sprinted lightly towards the towers, staying low to the ground.

* * *

Shoto felt cold. The tower was in the full sun, but he was still cold. Memories were coming back to him. He stared at his hands. There has to be a way out. There has to. Come on, think. You can't just sit here waiting for someone else to help you. The tower only seemed to grow darker the more he thought this. Suddenly, someone's voice called:

"Sir Shoto?" 

Shoto blinked. It was the princess. What was she doing here? He stood up and looked out the window. Momo was waving up at him.

"Come on, it's okay."

Shoto looked around. 

"You should go, they're probably waiting for someone to try this."

"What? Oh, no, this is a trick," Momo smiled. "It's not real. Just step out of it." 

Shoto looked at the tower. "It feels real."

"It's not, it's just very convincing." Momo insisted. "Just try, walk toward me."

 "Out the window?" Shoto said.

"Yes," Momo said, gently. "I've been caught in these scores of times in training. There's always a trick to it, the exit looks impossible, but if you just do it, it's easy." She tilted her head. "I'll catch you if you fall, how about that?"