Stuck Between Realities-Remastered

Part 54~Human

The next thing Katsuki remembers is feeling like he's suffocating. Scratch that. He was suffocating. He floated in one of the test tubes, surrounded by green liquid that stung his eyes.

He woke up in the test tube as it shattered, dropping him on the floor as he gasped. Something felt wrong.

His body moved without his command, pushing himself up. His skin wasn't skin anymore. It was blue-black and almost looked furry.

"Kacchan?"

Katsuki knew that voice. Izuku. Izuku was right in front of him, but he couldn't make his body move to look at him.

"I told you, he's not human anymore," a different voice announced. It was also young, sounding like a 4-5 year old girl.

"You brought me back. Bring him back!" Izuku sounded desperate. Katsuki wanted to comfort him and reassure him, but he still didn't move.

"You had only just turned. He's been like this for days."

"I don't care. Bring him back!" Izuku was crying. "Please, Charlie. Just try."

The girl sighed, leaning down in front of Katsuki. She was short with brown hair and deep brown eyes that reminded Katsuki of the trees he used to see in the local forest. On her cheek and stretching down her neck was a large burn, blistering and oozing.

Charlie put her hands on Katsuki's head, and it took him a moment to register that she was touching his brain. She closed her eyes as her body started to glow.

Katsuki's body screamed in protest. It was almost like the girl was ripping apart his body, tearing off the infected bits and seeing if there was anything left.

"Kacchan?" Izuku kneeled next to Katsuki, gently touching his hand. The normal colour had returned to it.

Katsuki tried to open his mouth and respond, but his body still couldn't cooperate.

"I told you, he's gone. He's just a beast now," the girl stated, looking exhausted.

"We can take him with us. Someone will be able to reverse this," Izuku insisted as Charlie sighed.

"I'm not carrying him. Your friend."

That suggestion didn't seem to bother Izuku. Izuku took a deep breath as his body started shifting. He stood, an oddly cute-looking dragon now standing in his place. "Get him on my back."

Charlie nodded, pulling Katsuki onto Izuku before she concentrated. She reached into her arm, pulled out a rope and wrapped it around Katsuki. "Thank you."

"Go. Before the doc comes back."

"Come with us. You deserve better than this."

The girl didn't look convinced, but she couldn't think of it when footsteps echoed in the hall. "Well, what do we have here? Charlie, I expected better from you."

Charlie gritted her teeth before she charged in. "Greenie, go!" The little girl held out her hand as a powerful wave of fire burst out.

"What about you?!"

"I'll be fine! Dad won't kill me."

Izuku frowned, opening and closing his mouth.

"Izu-ku," Katsuki whispered, the word broken and strained. "The others."

Izuku looked around the hall. Hundreds of kids had suffered. Thousands more suffering.

Izuku cut Katsuki off his back. He charged in recklessly, spewing out a fire as Charlie stared at him in shock. "What are you doing?!"

"He can't be left to do this. We need to stop this all. It ends here. Then, I want to take you to go get Katsudon."

Charlie stared in shock before she smiled. "Okay, but it better live up to my expectations." The fire spread around Charlie's other arm before firing at the doctor. "Let's burn this place to the ground."

The doctor screamed, running away as he picked up a small nomu from the ground. Before Charlie could stop him, the doctor was absorbed by a grey liquid.

"I can follow him," Charlie shouted as Izuku grabbed her.

"The others." The lab was filled with smoke as Charlie frowned. After a moment, she nodded. She ran into the smoke as Izuku returned to Katsuki's side, picking him up.

Katsuki tried to hold on, but the best he could do was to grip Izuku's scales lightly. "Izuku."

"Save your breath, Kacchan."

"We'll be number 1 together."

Izuku's step faltered. "Yeah, we will be."

They rushed about, unplugging the children. In total, the lab had seven labs, including the final lab, where the nomus were made.

When Charlie and Izuku went to save the Nomus, they were already gone.

The children sat on a hill, watching the lab burn. It was late, and the fire was casting everything in an orange glow. There were no buildings around them, and they were fairly sure civilisation was a long way away. They chose to wait till morning before they moved.

Izuku sat with Katsuki and Charlie. Katsuki stared at the fire. He could make his wrists move, but full control was coming slowly.

Charlie looked almost disturbed as she watched the flames.

"Your dad must have taken them," Izuku muttered as Charlie nodded.

"He doesn't let his chosen get away."

"Is it over?" Katsuki's question was quiet as Charlie sighed.

"Not even close."

"You can't stay," Izuku guessed as the girl smiled.

"Dad's watching. I can feel him. If he wants to get me, he'll have to chase me." Charlie stood up. Even back then, Katsuki thought she looked too young for how she talked. "You'll still owe me a meal."

"I know. We can go as a family, my mum, sister, you and me."

Charlie smiles. "I'd like that, Greenie."

"It's Izuku."

"Alright, Izuku." And then the girl disappeared with a pop.

Izuku sighed, laying his head down next to Katsuki. "I want to go home."

"Me too."

Katsuki didn't like thinking about those memories. They had wandered in the countryside for 10 days before anyone had found them. In that time, 5 of the children they had saved died, and Katsuki had just about gained basic movement in all his limbs, though he couldn't move them far.

Izuku never told him what had happened to him, and not only a week later, his parents took him out of the city.

Katsuki tried to breathe. A nomu was a non-human beast made of multiple human DNA strands to make a super-powered individual with multiple Quirks.

Katsuki closed his eyes as the stuff Charlie had said rang in his ears.

'I'm human', Katsuki repeated to himself, holding onto the chant despite AFO's laugh as he walked back into the room.