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A little-known fact about Midoriya Izuku: He hates elevators.
He hates the gravity-defying lurch he feels in his stomach when one first begins its descent, and the way his feet become glued to the metal when one rises. He hates how he always wobbles when the carriage finally comes to a halt, the timing of the end of its journey never predictable. And that is to say nothing of the cramped stuffiness within the gliding metal box itself, how Midoriya can never shake the fear his arm will be clamped clean off when he sticks it between the doors to make the elevator wait for the stranger approaching from the end of the hallway, or the infinitesimal but still-present possibility the elevator will get stuck and he will asphyxiate to death awaiting a savior that may never come.
Unfortunately for Midoriya, Shigaraki’s base of operations seems to be 90% elevator.
His companions, thankfully, don’t seem to be fazed by this fact in the slightest, save for their fascinated gazes around the lift shaft denoting their surprise that Shigaraki has the square mileage to build such a ridiculously massive elevator through the middle of his base (and have it travel diagonally , no less!)—If a notorious villain such as Shigaraki could be bothered to do such a thing as pay property tax, Midoriya dimly surmises he could singlehandedly haul the United States of America out of federal debt.
Such thoughts regarding the economics of the value of Shigaraki’s assets do not distract Midoriya from his distaste for elevators, however.
Midoriya walked to the railing and swallowed thickly as he peered over the metal bars. The shaft was so deep he couldn’t see the bottom, combined with the fact that the lift he and his friends rode on to descend was easily the square footage of a small house he could not help but wonder at the sheer amount of labor Shigaraki would have had to employ to construct such a device. The effect on the economy at large would have been unfathomable.
There was a familiar twinge in the back of Midoriya’s mind, and he spun around just in time to catch a loud thud landing on the platform behind him. His comrades quickly whirled around to face the newcomer, immediately leaping into battle stances when they recognized the form of Shigaraki himself rising to his full height on the lift.
Midoriya looked up at the ceiling. “... Where did you even come from? Were you hiding on the ceiling like a spider?”
Shigaraki didn’t answer his question. Perhaps it was for the better that he didn’t.
When the villain spoke, his voice was distorted by the hand over his face, making him sound an awful lot like Darth Vader.
“Tell me… For whom do you fight?”
Midoriya was taken aback by the sudden attempt at conversation, but he obliged the other’s spontaneous curiosity. “I fight for humanity,” he responded simply.
“Hmph! How very glib. And do you believe in the heroes?”
Midoriya raised an eyebrow, confused, but he had no chance to reply before Shigaraki continued.
“The heroes’ unity is forged of falsehoods. Its schools are built on deceit. And its faith is an instrument of deception.
“It is naught but a cobweb of lies. To believe in heroism is to—”
Yaoyorozu made herself a gun and shot Shigaraki between the eyes.
“I hate monologues,” she muttered.
Shigaraki crumpled to the metal and did not get up.
Midoriya blinked.
“Well, if he’s dead, I’d like to stop the elevator, please,” he deadpanned after a moment of stunned silence.
Right on cue, the lift shuddered to a halt, its task of bearing the four heroes to the pit of the shaft complete.
“Oh.”
Todoroki looked around, scanning the surroundings. In front of where the lift had stopped stood a massive sliding metal door as tall as a building, the gray alloy accented with faintly glowing lights. When Todoroki approached, they slid apart seamlessly, beckoning the four within.
“You would’ve thought Shigaraki had the money to install some proper security,” Bakugou grumbled, but followed the other three into the adjoining room through the doors nonetheless despite his grousing.
The metal slid shut behind them, sealing the heroes away from the lift and the unmoving corpse of Shigaraki.
And, it was in this way that unbeknownst to Midoriya and his companions, a dark figure robed in black manifested by Shigaraki’s side.
He looked condescendingly down at the villain’s body, a disdainful frown tugging at his lips behind his mask. “Finally bit the dust, have you? What a disappointment you turned out to be.”
“You idiot. How am I supposed to answer that if I’m dead?” Groaning, Shigaraki pushed himself into a sitting position, dabbing at the fresh wound in his forehead.
The other figure ignored Shigaraki’s rhetorical question. “By the way, lest you forget, you still have a duty to do, and I’d rather not be bothered getting my hands dirty making you get on with it.”
Shigaraki shook his head, pouting behind the hand sprawled over his face. “And I’d rather not fight those kids. Especially not when they’re liable to just shoot me instead of giving me an epic duel to the death.”
Tentatively, still sitting, he brushed himself off, briefly casting his gaze around the facility to ensure he wasn’t being watched as he searched for a means of egress.
Unfortunately, it happened to be right then that the double doors slid back open, four teenage heroes lazily trudging towards the lift.
“Guys, I’m serious, there has to be stairs somewhere around here! I think that’s a fire safety hazard or something if there aren’t. And that’d be an OSHA violation! I know Shigaraki’s a villain and all, but do you seriously believe he’d willingly do something like that?”
A distracted Midoriya begrudgingly arrived at the front of the lift and froze in place, staring unblinkingly at the sitting form of Shigaraki on the metal and the robed figure next to him.
Midoriya opened his mouth, but no words came out. Meanwhile, Shigaraki continued to stare back.
Finally, he pointed at a side hallway to the teen’s right. “Third door on the left. It’s a pretty long hike up, though.”
Midoriya stared for a moment longer before hurriedly giving Shigaraki his thanks and thundering up the stairwell.
“... If you’re going to kill us, I can’t think of a better opportunity,” Todoroki said dryly, spreading his arms wide to Shigaraki and his comrade as though in invitation. “If you’d rather not, though, I won’t hold it against you.”
“No, I—I think I’ll just go,” Shigaraki replied awkwardly, hastily turning to face the back of the lift. “Have fun, kids.”
Yet before he could depart, a dark voice pierced the silence, the dark figure’s words echoing deafeningly around the chamber.
“What are you doing? Stand up, Shigaraki.”
Shigaraki froze in place. A clawed hand clasped his shoulder, staying the villain in place as the figure of darkness lowered himself to be eye level with him, something akin to mania in the eyes none could see behind his metallic mask.
“Did you forget?” he asked darkly. “The reason why you’re here.”
Shigaraki remained speechless, his eyes gazing blankly at the empty space in front of him as the robed man’s obscured irises bored into his.
“Isn’t it to get revenge for all the atrocities committed against you by the heroes?” he breathed murderously.
Yaoyorozu twitched from in front of the lift, her expression contorting into equal parts horror and impatience (mostly the latter) as she began to realize what was occurring.
“For your fellow villains, for your family, for my cause…”
Todoroki paled slightly as he realized who exactly stood before them, donning the ominous mask: The infamous bringer of chaos, the villain All For One …
“You have to avenge them, and keep moving forward. Even if you die, even after you die.”
Time itself stilled.
“This is the story that you started… Isn’t it?”
Shigaraki gasped deeply as All For One’s words penetrated his mind, reminding him of his purpose, for what reason he lived in spite of the cruelty of the world; the seeds of doubt All For One planted into his mind bloomed into a terrible flower that engulfed his senses, ensnaring Shigaraki with its twisted beauty.
Suddenly, the lift shuddered back into action, now bearing the heroes and the villain upwards; with a snarl, Bakugou leapt at Shigaraki and enveloped the villain in a fiery explosion before he could act. Todoroki quickly joined the blonde on the battlefield, alternating between ice and fire as he bombarded Shigaraki with attacks.
Yaoyorozu, alas, was slightly more tired of Shigaraki’s bullshit.
“A test of your reflexes!!” she cried, and made a lasso, golden in the artificial light, yanking Shigaraki to her side in one fluid movement. Before the villain could respond, she thrust a kick directly at Shigaraki’s chest, and he was knocked over the railing of the moving elevator, his arms flailing for comedic effect.
There was a shout from the other side of the lift, and Bakugou sped through the air, pushing the largest explosion he could muster through his outstretched palm, shooting unparalleled destruction down the elevator shaft to ensure Shigaraki stayed dead for good this time. A violent shockwave rippled off the walls, its fiery roar deafening and calamitous; it seemed as though the entire base shook with the force of Bakugou’s attack.
“Such devastation!” All For One gasped quietly, as though even he was partially in awe of the blonde’s strength. “This was not my intention!”
Todoroki swiveled around and glared at the villain. “Leave, or you’ll be next,” he threatened.
“Wait. There is one thing I want to know,” Yaoyorozu interrupted quietly, not taking her eyes off of All For One. “Tell me… For whom do you fight?”
All For One scoffed quietly, shaking his head slowly to himself as though disappointed by Yaoyorozu’s query, but indulged her nevertheless. “Would you have the long or the short of it?” he prompted.
“Give us your Wikipedia summary, please. You’ve committed the cardinal sin of boring me,” Yaoyorozu sighed lazily.
“In that case…” All For One cleared his throat. “Back in the days of PARADISE, NOBODY had Quirks and it was a glorious part of all our days!!” He gestured theatrically at himself as he spoke; once he had finished speaking he seamlessly spun around on his heel and made to leave through a shadowy portal that manifested near the back of the lift.
“Oh. Fair enough. Thank you.”
Behind his helm, All For One smirked to himself, and raised a hand limply in the air beside him, letting his wrist ragdoll the limb from side to side in a parody of a wave. The inky blackness of the portal swirled, and just like that, he was gone.
The heroes were silent for a long moment as they contemplated what to do next, the notorious villain Shigaraki now probably dead and All For One seemingly not in a mood to cause problems (for now). Thankfully, they were all spared from having to make decisions on their own for it was then that Aizawa decided to check in on his young students, his incoming call signaled by an electronic chime in their ears.
“This is Yaoyorozu.”
“How goes your quest?” Aizawa asked.
“Well enough. Shigaraki is dead. I think.”
“Good. Pray return to UA, and give me your report when you arrive.”
The trio nodded, as though Aizawa could see their acknowledgement through their voice-only communication. Aizawa asked a few more questions as the lift bore them towards the surface the way they had come, eventually choosing to inquire about Midoriya, their wayward elevator-hating companion.
“So you just… Let him go? That’s totally irresponsible,” Aizawa reprimanded halfheartedly.
“It’s, uh, a long story, okay?” Todoroki attempted to console. “We’ll explain when we get back to UA. Please look forward to it.”
A few hours later, after the students had finished detailing their foray into Shigaraki’s base, Aizawa had never regretted looking forward to something more immensely in his life.