Shine wiped blood off her face while Ender's attention was on the monitor, but then she saw what was happening on the screens.

Every single one of her friends were losing their fights...

The monitor suddenly went black.

"Oh dear," Ender said. "I guess we dragged out our fight a few minutes too long. Forgive me, I was having a little too much fun beating the s--- out of you. Seems they're all already dead."

"What?" Shine said.

Ender's gleeful smile was insufferable.

"Thanks for playing anyway," he said, with evident satisfaction.

Wally froze.

Then the claws suddenly jerked and threw him into the dimension gateway.

Shine turned, horrified. "Wally..." she gasped.

"I guess they got tired of waiting," Ender said. "Well, in my defense, you did know the game was rigged before you played it."

He laughed coldly. "What did you expect? Justice?"

Shine turned to look at him. Her eyes were blazing gold.

Ender took a step back. "Now you know how I felt," he said. "Are you going to attack me again?"

Shine raised her sword.

Then...she stopped.

"If I attacked you now," she said slowly, "it would just be to get revenge.... It accomplishes nothing."

Ender waited. "Is...is that all?" he said, almost...disappointed.

Shine wiped tears away. "Yeah," she said, feeling anger and sadness pressing against her chest. "That's all. Good game.... I almost thought I'd win for a second there."

"You...you're really giving up?" Ender said.

Shine walked, unhindered, back to her chair and sat down in it. "That's what you wanted, wasn't it?" she said flatly. "What more can you do? Kill me? I'll see them on the other side. That's....that's the thing." She drew a deep breath. "I don't know what's real right now, Lucian, but I know this much: my friends and I...we'll go to a better place...so whatever you did to them...in the end...it's going to be okay. You could win every fight here but not win the war. Maybe you beat me, maybe you're stronger than I am because you cheat." She stared at him without any fear. "But you can't beat God. And if we've failed, He will have to take over and strike you down Himself...or maybe you'll do it yourself. I guess I might not see it, but, oh well...I knew it might be that way."

"Stop," Ender said, suddenly frenzied. "You're pretending. You're devastated right now. Aren't you angry at Him? Look what He let happen!"

"I have questions," Shine said, "but...well...it was in His hands." She ran her hand along her sword. "Whatever seems best to God.... We don't choose when we die.... I'm devastated all right, but would I give into hatred right now just because of that? And spit in the face of all my friends and I were fighting for? What does that prove except that darkness is stronger anyway? Is that what you want? To see me become you?"

She looked up. "I will not become you, because you have shown me the folly of doing what you did, 100 fold. I ought to thank you, you absolute horror of a human being, for proving to me once and for all that people who go their own way truly do become monsters."

"You...are actually saying I am the monster?" Ender said. "You're heartless. I took them all away from you!"

"But you blame God?" Shine said. "So which is it, Ender? Are you god, or is God god? Because if God is god, he gave you whatever power you have, and one day you'll have to give it back. I will wait for that day. Meanwhile, I won't take revenge on you."

She looked up. "Strike him down already, please.... Enough already...don't make me watch this anymore."

There was a dreadfully heavy silence.

* * *

https://youtu.be/O1asGKxmS34

A few minutes before this, right when the monitors went black, Camie had been reaching her limit.

She covered her ears and shut her eyes...

Then someone kicked her.

She looked up. It was another her...but then it morphed into Kali.

"Hello, Camie," she said.

"Go away!" Camie yelled. "You're not even real!"

The Kali slid out a knife. "Or am I?" She grinned.

Camie blinked. "Toga," she said, getting up and stumbling back, only to be blocked by the other hers.

"Yeah, figured I'd finish the job for our dear friend who's no longer with us." Toga slid out more knives. "After all, I had blood samples for a reason."

This could not get any worse, Camie thought.

Toga slashed at her. Camie somehow dodged, but the hissing of the mirrors in the background was back...

Suddenly, feathers hit Toga in the chest and sent her flying into the walls of the hologram mirrors...making them crack.

"Ow..." she muttered.

The walls shattered like actual glass and then melted away.

Camie looked up. Hawks was flying overhead. 

"Hey, kid," he called, "if you're okay, go help the others. Everyone's caught in these weird traps. Hurry, something's going on in the middle of the hill."

Camie rubbed her arms. "Uh...yeah, that's where Ender is!"

Hawks flew off.

Camie could see the other holograms, but to her they were transparent, not solid looking. She saw the others caught in them and could see what they were fighting

She rushed towards Dillon.

Dillon had found himself getting dragged into the jail by some shady figures, and his guns seemed to have been snatched.

"Oh, heck no!" he was yelping. "Not in there again!"

Someone had a device. They were pointing it at his head.

Camie raced into the hologram.... As she passed in, she could see it almost like a real thing, but it shimmered a little.

"Yo, cowboy dude!" she called. "It's not real! I mean it is, but we can break it."

"Chipper?" Dillon said. "How did you get in here....? Oh...dang this whole thing is just an illusion, ain't it?"

"That's right." Midnight suddenly came dashing into it, whip swinging at the apparitions. She snapped off the guys holding him, who seemed unable to attack her at all. They fell back and vanished into shadows. 

Then the whole thing did.

"Wow..." Dillon said. "That was impressive aim, ma'am."

Midnight smiled. "Well, you know, I was always--"

"Like, no time, guys. Quick, go get Ender," Camie said. "I'mma get the rest of them."

"Right. Yeehaw!" Dillon ran back up the hill.  Midnight followed.

Camie saw the rest of the group they'd left by the bay was also running up the hill. Some of them were going to assist the others.

Kaminari raced up to Silk and used electricity to fry the spider just as it was about to bite her. The whole web itself came undone, and she dropped free.

She brushed herself off. "I'm sure Compress and Spinner are here somewhere," she said, "for leverage.... Come, help me."

"But the others--"

"Will be fine," Silk said. "We have to hurry. I have bad feeling about what will happen here soon." She took off around the hill, heading for the other side of it, where they hadn't been yet. Kaminari followed her uncertainly.

Jiro raced after them.

Bakugo was about to keel over when Aizawa's scarf suddenly grabbed him and yanked him out of it...then it was gone.

"Are you okay?" Aizawa asked.

"What the...?" Bakugo was puzzled.

Eri touched him and he felt fine.

"How did you find us?" Bakugo sputtered.

"Same way you found this place," Aizawa said. "But you were all caught already when we arrived. We have to free the others. I don't see Likstar or West anywhere."

"That's because freaking Ender has them!" Bakugo realized. "This was just some stupid trick to separate us! Frick!"

"Hey," Aizawa said, "before we go...the fox girl, I think she's falling..."

Kitsune did appear to think she was...and her hologram looked just like a dark hole.

"Can you get her?" Aizawa asked. "You can blast it."

Bakugo blasted over and at the hole.

Aizawa grabbed her with his scarf, and she seemed to come out of it.

"We have to hurry," Aizawa said. "Also, we ran into some reinforcements on the way. Well, really just one."

* * *

Shoto sank to the floor...

His eyes were heavy...so tired..... Hot, cold, hot, cold...

Suddenly heat seared him from both sides. He blinked. Fire...

"Shoto!!?" It was Endeavor.

Shoto sat up dizzily. "Wha---? How are you...?"

Endeavor plucked him up like he was a little kid. "After you hung up I headed this way and finally got ahold of Aizawa.... Sorry I'm late. Are you hurt?"

"I..." Shoto felt fine now, actually...other than he was shaky. "I don't think so.... Uh...thanks..."

"Oh..." Endeavor cleared his throat awkwardly. "Any time..." He put him down.

"Where's Momo?" Shoto asked.

"The pony-tailed girl? I didn't see her up here," Endeavor said. "Perhaps she was separated from all of you."

"They wanted her quirk!" Shoto realized. "Oh no!" He took off across the hill, veering to the side a bit.

Endeavor followed.

They passed Dabi though. Shoto shot ice and quenched the fire.

Dabi was almost passed out himself, but the cold seemed to revitalize him.

"Whoa..." he muttered, sitting up.

"Gotta find Momo!" Shoto shouted at him.

He got up and followed them.

They finally found Momo.

In fact, she was in a hologram...but hers had been constructed much more like a prison of sorts. It seemed to be a huge box. Inside, the floor was moving and shifting and turning on its side, so she was sliding off and to the next level constantly, unable to get to a stable position.

This was gradually moving her back towards the center where Ender was...though it seemed he was in no hurry.

"Momo!" Shoto shouted, but he didn't think she could hear him.

Momo stuck a climbing pick into the floor and tried to pull herself up.

"She's not doing too bad, all things considered," Dabi remarked.

"We have to get to her," Shoto said. 

He shot fire at the box.... It didn't dissolve right off.

"It's different," Dabi said.

The floor tilted up, perhaps to dump Momo to the bottom...quite a drop.

"That will break her bones." Endeavor wasn't helping. 

"Okay, let's not stand here gawking." Dabi shot fire at the box. "All of us together, come on. This is the only form of family bonding I'm okay with."

Shoto shot fire and ice both. Endeavor shot fire...

"Come on..." Shoto muttered..

Finally, the wall began to melt. It might have been the light more than the heat.

Shoto skated in on ice, in just enough time to catch Momo as she fell.

"Shoto?" Momo was shocked. "Where did you...?"

Shoto hugged her. "That was too close," he said, kissing her forehead several times, to her surprise, then he leaned his face on her hair.

Momo swallowed and hugged him back.

"Ew...sappy," Dabi said.

"Shut up," Endeavor said. "We should be helping the others, not watching them." He turned purposefully to look for any other victims.

Dabi shrugged and looked around. Then he frowned. "Mabui," he said.

He took off. Endeavor did also.

Momo looked past them. "Should we go help...?"

"Just...one more moment," Shoto said, tightening his grip. "I thought...I mean, for a second, I thought..."

Momo tried to hold back tears. "I wasn't sure what happened to you either..."

Shoto pulled back to look her in the eyes. "Hey, don't cry," he said. "I mean...unless you need to, but...it's okay." He took her face.

Momo nodded. 

Shoto leaned forward and planted a light kiss on her mouth, making her blush. "Shoto..."

He leaned back. "Oh, sorry...it just...felt like the right time. No, you're right. I should have asked first..."

Momo smiled weakly. "Shoto, it's fine." She took his hand. "Here." She leaned upward and kissed him back. "Was that all right?"

"That was...wow..." Shoto said.

Momo reddened more. "Uh...we probably should go..."

"Right, help them," Shoto said, grabbing her hand harder. "Just don't get separated again."

They ran back towards the others.

[Somehow I got another kiss in the middle of this.... Weird timing, but cute.]

* * *

Time and space were all out of joint, Mabui thought, as she was slipping off the tree.

Somehow she could sense that the gateway was directly under her...though it shouldn't have been...but things no longer were aligned properly on this hill.... Space overlapped. Time was being jumbled...

Probably only she could sense this at the moment. Shine and Wally would have been too distracted and the others not sensitive enough, but she had nothing else to focus on except plunging to her death.

The gateway wasn't fully charged yet...or she'd have been sucked in already, but it was close. She could feel the prickling on her skin and the energy in the air increasing every second.

Suddenly, vines came out and snatched her and yanked her away...

Then Iida caught her.

"Are you all right Miss Tsukura?" he asked.

Mabui blinked at him and then Ibara.

"I... Yes," she said. "I am now..."

The jungle vanished, but she still felt the gateway.

"Our time is almost up," she said. "Quick, run me back up the hill. We must shut that machine down."

"Yes, ma'am," Iida said.

"I'll cover you," Ibara said, following them.

* * *

Mirko was moments away from being swallowed up by the monster dog, when Hawks suddenly came swooping in and plucked her off her feet and flew over its heads.

The hologram vanished from sight.

"Sorry I'm late," Hawks said. "You'd not believe what we dealt with on the way here."

"Well, better late than never..." Mirko swallowed. "Thanks."

"Oh, no problem. But look." Hawks pointed.

From up here, they saw Ender and Shine. Shine was sitting in a chair.

"Where's West?" Mirko asked.

"I haven't seen him," Hawks said. "But look."

He pointed again.

Ujiko was lurking around the end of the tiled area, and he had a pack of nomu with him. No doubt no one else could see them...

Mirko frowned.

"Get the nomu," she said. "Hold them off."

"Right." Hawks set her down and shot feathers at them.

From off to the side, Mirko heard Endeavor and Dabi coming. They shot fire.

Ujiko realized they were there only once the creatures began yelling.

"My nomu!" he cried, turning.

Then someone tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned around.

"What's up, Doc?" Mirko said, then she punched him.

He fell flat on his back.

"You!!?" he sputtered.

"Yeah, me!" Mirko said, kicking him down hard. She probably broke a few ribs doing that.

"You...b----," Ujiko sputtered, before hissing in pain.

"Without your toys, you're nothing," Mirko said, disgusted. "Just a cowardly little man. That was for Shigaraki by the way, and this--" She kicked him again. "--Is for me. I'd stay down if I were you. Next kick can be for your head."

"You're too late anyway," Ujiko said, looking up at her. "AFO will have finished him off by now. You're not going to be able to rescue him, little rabbit."

Mirko's eyes widened.

"Hey," Hawks called, "we got this. Go!" He nodded at her.

Mirko nodded and bounded away. 

* * *

It felt like time had slowed down for Shigaraki as AFO was reaching out.

Time might actually have slowed down if Mabui was right, but he didn't know that.

Shigaraki felt frozen in place--but even had he chosen to try to run, the shadows were making him sink into the floor.

Out of nowhere, a small furry force slammed into AFO so hard, he went sprawling backwards.

Shigaraki knew who it was before he even got a good look. Only one person attacked like that.

AFO knew too.

"You?!" he cried. "How did you escape?"

"Ah, you see now," Mirko spat hair out of her mouth, "maybe if you could see, you'd know the answer to that already. What the he-- are you doing here?"

"How did you...?" Shigaraki sputtered.

"Where is this?" Mirko looked around. "Well, no matter. It'll be gone soon."

AFO got up slowly. "You think you can stop me, Hero? I'll take the quirk right off of you."

He shot red tendrils out of his hand.

Mirko managed to dodge.

"Need a little back up here!" she yelled at no one they could see.

But suddenly, a different voice called out. "AFO, stop!"

Shigaraki turned to see Kayla.... Her hair tints were back, and her eyes were gold.

AFO did stop, though uncertainly, like he wasn't sure why he was.

"Hey, come on, snap out of it, dumba--." Mirko was standing in front of Shigaraki, holding out her hand. "We have s--- to do."

"She's right, you know," Ren called. Somehow he'd found his way in here. "We don't have long.... I can sense that machine from here. It's almost ready. We need your help. Leave him, he's not worth it."

"Don't you walk away from me, Tomura Shigaraki!" AFO  cried. Apparently he could still argue even if he couldn't attack. "Come, you know it should be this way. What are you now but just another failure?"

Shigaraki didn't move.

"You know what? Piss off!" Mirko yelled at AFO. "Ditching you was his greatest success, you selfish, self-absorbed, greedy, vengeful, psychotic SOB."

"You tell 'em, sis," Ren applauded. "With a massive god complex, don't forget that."

"It's true," Kayla said. "It is very hard to break free of what you were told all your life...but if you do, you might find that there was something better on the other side. New purpose. Destroying people was my goal once...but it was a foolish goal. Your goal is foolish too, AFO. You should leave now, before Ender grows tired of you too. All of the others are dead. Do you think you'll be the exception? Just let the boy go."

"Never!" AFO said furiously. "Do you understand that this was my legacy? It was my plan! My empire! And they took it away! Who gave them the right! I will take back what is mine!"

He reached out.

"Move!" Mirko shoved Shigaraki aside.

AFO hit the hologram behind them instead, and the whole thing gave away and returned to the hilltop.

Somehow, they were right by the tiled, inner part too.

Ren looked up. "There it is!" he cried, running forward.

AFO started to move.

"Stop!" Kayla said again, more sing-songy. "I think you shouldn't do that."

AFO stopped again.

"That was close." Mirko looked down at Shigaraki. "You okay?"

"Uh...yeah..." Shigaraki said awkwardly. "Uh...thanks, I guess."

"Anytime." Mirko sat up, brushing her hair back. "Don't let that fool scare you.... Look at what he's doing. It's insane."

Shigaraki sat up. Then he turned toward AFO and decayed the ground towards his feet. It cracked, and AFO fell a meter or two into the dent. It wouldn't slow him down much, but it might give him some trouble.

"You dare!?" AFO raged.

"I will hold him," Kayla said. "Hurry..." She shivered. "Even I can sense that machine."

It was true. Their skin was prickling and going cold, and a heaviness was in the air more every moment.

* * *

It was just after Shine finished speaking to Ender that he flew into a cold fury and began to walk towards her, sword out.

But several things happened at once.

The first was, someone shot the sword right out of his hand, and he stumbled back, grabbing his wrist.

The second was, at least half the team who were supposed to be dead or else absent appeared over the rise and blasted or struck at the shadows a little lower around the edges.

The third was Ren came running towards the machine, dodging any attempt to stop him.

The fourth was, Wally was suddenly plucking Shine up and carrying her out of range.

"Oh...my.... How did you...?" Shine sputtered.

"I thought he got you." Wally hugged her. "I think it was a trick though...a mind trick. Something snatched me up and into the maze out there."

Shine took his face in her hands. "Really? Oh, wow...that's...a huge relief..." She started crying again.

"Hey, it's okay." Wally patted her head. "Look, everyone's here after all. He lied."

"It wasn't supposed to be a lie," Ender spat, looking furious. "They ought to have been finished off once I turned the screens off.... How did all of you filth get here?"

"Because, unlike you," Mabi was standing up on the rise, eyes flaming, "we don't desert our teammates as soon as we have no use for them. And now we will finally put an end to this festival of folly you call trying to help."

Ender glared at her, but then he laughed. "You're too late."

The gateway reached full charge then.

Over all their heads, at the top of the machine, a swirling black vortex with purple lightning in it formed, sucking the air of that place towards it.

The DJs all felt themselves being tugged towards it.

"No!" Ibara shot out her vines and caught all of them. Iida grabbed her to hold her steady. Shoto reinforced it with ice.

Ren was hanging onto the machine's control panel with one hand and trying to make adjustments with the other.

"This is fascinating," he said. "It's not like any machine I've ever seen.... The power all comes from the atmosphere itself..." He slowed down.

"Ren!" Mirko yelled at him. "Snap out of it!"

Ren looked up, dazed. "Huh...?"

"Uh oh," Shine said. "The forces that power that machine are influencing him. He's too close to it. Pull him back before he gives in. No one touch that."

Aizawa managed to hook Ren and yank him back.

Ren was still muttering about the machine, but Miss Joke slapped him, and he seemed to come out of it.

"I did switch a few dials," he said. "I don't know if it will shut it down, but I tried to point it more upward."

Sure enough, the winds did move a little more over their heads...but it was expanding so fast, it couldn't last.

"It's just a matter of minutes now." Ender sounded crazy. "One way or another, Likstar, West, you will serve me, and you too, Tsukura."

Mabui felt like hands were gripping her soul.

"Get off me!" She swatted wildly with her chakra.

Dabi grabbed her shoulders, holding out his fire. "Back off!" he said.

 "You can't resist!" Ender said. "It's inevitable. This is all that doing His will ends in: pain and suffering."

So saying, he raised his hands and a wall of darkness seemed to come from both above and below them.

In front of them it turned into a chasm, coming at them.

"I don't know how," Mabui said, "but if we fall into that, we'll land right in that gate."

"That makes no geometric sense," Dabi said.

"I know," she said.

"Listen to her," Shine warned, Wally supporting her.

"Isn't he trying to block us from the gate too?" Wally said.

"From being able to attack it," Shine said. "He's lost all patience. It was always his way--if you can't trick you opponent, annihilate them completely. He's learned nothing."

"What do we do?" Aizawa asked, holding Eri up out of the way.

Shine's eyes lit up.

"Hawks, keep us all off the ground. Ibara, tether us."

They listened.

"Everyone who can, try to cut a clearing through that darkness," Shine said. "We have to destroy that machine before it sucks us in. That vortex will only get more volatile by the minute-- I've seen it before. None of us can stand it forever. And pray, pray that God and His angels will bind back the armies of darkness."

Everyone did as she said.

All her closest students, who'd learned how to do this, used their attacks and aimed at the part of the shadow wall they thought they'd last seen the gate behind.

Dillon spun his holsters, re-calibrating.

For a moment it seemed it would not work, but then the wall began to part ever so slightly.

Shine flashed her sword at it, muttering this song under her breath:

https://youtu.be/VMiDvTSThts

The wall parted a little more, enough to see a narrow slit.

Ender was not paying them much mind.... He seemed to be chanting something as he stood by his device, which had things curling around his feet out of it.

His eyes were black as night.

"What...is wrong with him?" Miss Joke asked.

"Nevermind him." Shine was focused. "Get the gate."

Dillon shot at it, but the vortex knocked his bullets away.

"We have us a problem, folks," he said.

Ender paid him no mind. It was unclear if he even heard him.

Bakugo blasted more at it.

Suddenly, some kind of power-type quirk shot back at them, causing them to have to dodge.

AFO had come out of the other part of the maze and was standing near Ender now.

"Sorry to interrupt, but you shouldn't break Ender's concentration," he said.

So...Ender had had a plan if this happened.

"And...now what?" Wally asked.

Aizawa turned on his quirk. "I'll try to hold him off."

AFO came closer to block Ender from them.

"My bullets won't work on him," Dillon said. "Anyone got a power that will?"

"Perhaps, but it would knock you all out too," Midnight said.

The wind was turning into a gale force now.

Ibara's vines were struggling to hold them in place.

Shigaraki narrowed his gaze.

Then he spoke. "Master, wait."

AFO paused. "What is it?"

Shigaraki started to walk closer.

"Hey!" Mirko said.

He motioned for her to stay put.

"Before you kill us, I have one question," Shigaraki said slowly. "One last question. About All Might."

AFO seemed to hesitate, then he said, "What is it?"

Shigaraki got to be about 3 meters in front of him, right on the edge of the wall's opening.

"He's gone nuts," Hawks said. "AFO's close enough to kill him."

"He won't," Shine said. "I'm not sure what's going on here. I mean, he might, but..."

"My question," Shigaraki said slowly, "is if All Might really caused all the problems with society."

AFO laughed. "Of course he did. They set too much faith in one person."

Shigaraki nodded, then he said, "Master, I don't think you've learned from their mistakes."

AFO was caught off guard enough by that statement to not realize what was coming.

Shigaraki reached down and touched the ground.

Decay snaked over the ground in an almost a perfect straight line towards the device and up the frame of it.

It started to crack.

This happened in a matter of seconds. AFO didn't see it, so he wasn't sure what Shigaraki had done until he heard the crack of metal behind him.

"That was pretty boss," Wally said.

Mirko was grinning like crazy.

Of course, it was short lived, because as soon as AFO realized what happened, he blasted right at Shigaraki, who didn't really have time to dodge.

Hawks reacted just barely in time to use a feather to push him back, so he was not toasted on the spot, but he was singed.

"Ouch," Dabi muttered.

"It was a blasted trick!" AFO was furious. "Even to that last, Tomura Shigaraki, you defy me with your ingratitude."

"Gratitude for what?" Shine called. "Brainwashing and isolation for years? Killing off his own family? You sick person. When is enough ever enough for people like you? When will you ever realize that you alone are responsible for your life being the way it is?"

"In another moment, I'll be rid of you too, Likstar," AFO said.

"Is this really the time--?" began Aizawa.

"Hush." Miss Joke covered his mouth. "She's distracting him. Look, Shigaraki started crumbling the base of it. We need to finish the job.

The pressure of the vortex was actually making the cracks Shigaraki had made worse even now.

Shoto shot ice towards them and managed to get it past Ender, who still gave no sign of seeing any of this.

Momo bent down and slid some things over the ice, right to the base of it. In another moment, they exploded.

Bakugo caught on and tossed some of his grenades along the ice too. Keeping it lower made the wind unable to yank it away as fast. Shoto kind of formed a tunnel of ice.

Ren pulled out something. "Sis, kick this at the processing unit part, right next to it."

He handed her some kind of sonic shock device.

"Whatever." Mirko held it up, then kicked it. It was harder to do it while just barely touching the ground, but she was a professional.

It flew straight into the unit, perfect shot. Then exploded.

All these attacks together--definitely the base of the device was crumbling.

The gateway began to tilt.

Ender suddenly came out of his trance. "What? What have you done?"

AFO had been looking for the source of the explosions, and finding more than one, he wasn't sure where to aim. Now he realized it was too late.

The wind was messing with his infrared vision too.

"AFO, you b------!" Ender said. "Or should I say Shigaraki, really? You had one job!"

AFO frowned at being spoken to like that.

"Perhaps if you hadn't let them all escape," he began.

"Silence!" Ender said. "I am your master."

"My master?" AFO said. "You are not my master--"

The gateway fell over flat.

The vortex did not disappear however.

"Why isn't it gone?" Medea squeaked.

"It was too far already. It's already opened," Shine said. "Which means we have to do this the hard way, and we have to overcome Ender to do it. Everyone, together. Start closing that."

"Closing it? How?" Aizawa said.

In answer, Shine just closed her eyes and held out her sword.

Wally put his hand on the hilt with it.

Shoto and Dabi exchanged a look, then they shot fire at the blade, and instead of it burning her, it was like it absorbed it and caught fire itself, becoming a pillar of flame against all that blackness.

The rest of the group moved closer to them, and some of them held hands. Ibara stretched her vine around them all, holding them in place.

"Close," Shine commanded, and all the students, and the teachers once they understood, echoed her. Even Eri.

Suddenly silk threads looped around the vines. Silk, Kaminari, and Jiro were there. They pulled into the circle.

They had Compress and Spinner with them, though they didn't look so good.... No one had any time to ask about this.

"Peace," Shine said next, and again everyone echoed it.

The strangest thing happened: As they kept speaking, the light from the sword, and their fire, and even electricity, seemed to turn into a glow that went all around them, and made them stand out like a lamp again the shadows.

And as they spoke these commands repeatedly, or different ones, like "Go!" the light spread out more and more, like an expanding ring.

Ender had done nothing in this time because he was intent on the vortex itself, but now he seemed to summon his shadows, or they moved on their own and towards the light--then they hit it, and a ghastly hiss could be heard. They shrank back.

Another minute and they were fleeing from it, right back into the vortex itself.

"No!!!" Ender cried.

"What is happening?" AFO said.

"You! This is you doing!" Ender shouted at him crazily. "That's it, you have failed me for the last time. Go to hell, you old sinner."

He reached out, and AFO attempted to step back, but Ender seized his wrist and twisted it...

AFO's whole body seemed to shudder.

Shigaraki was staring at it.

"Don't look, Boss," Silk called. "Is not necessary."

AFO seemed to lock up...and then he seemed to be unraveling in a way.

Aizawa made Eri look away before she could see. Luckily she was too short to see past the others well anyway.

But before what Ender had done really finished, the vortex itself sucked AFO into it, almost like it was gobbling him up greedily as some kind of consolation prize.

"Happy?" Ender yelled at it. "Where are you going? You cowards!"

Dillon pulled out his pistol.

"You can join 'em, you sorry excuse for a man," he said.

Miss Joke covered Eri's ears before Dillon pulled the trigger.

Ender jerked and looked over at them in total shock. "You...you're one of them," he said in a ghostly voice. "How did I not sense it? I did not prepare."

"You see, I reckon you forgot to count one thing into your calculations, mister," Dillon said, blowing off his gun. "When you're messing with the Most High, He can pull little stunts like that. And He gone done outsmarted you."

Ender gasped.

"Good bye, Lucian," Shine called, her voice hard. "No one is going to remember you."

"And good riddance," Wally added.

Ender fell back.

The vortex reached down a claw even as it was shrinking, and it latched around his ankle and sucked him up with it.

And the light eclipsed it entirely.

Then it was gone...and the air was clear, and the sunlight was back.... Somehow it had been all night, and it was now morning.

But then, time passes differently in dimensional areas.

As a last nod to Ender's whole group, I found this quote to apply to them pretty well:

Aldous Huxley:

"The surest way to work up a crusade in favour of some good cause is to promise people they will have a chance of maltreating someone. To be able to destroy with good conscience, to be able to behave badly and call your bad behaviour 'righteous indignation' – this is the height of psychological luxury, the most delicious of moral treats."