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pat.reon: Keanu_Eugene (30+ chapters ahead)
CHAPTER START---
"Are you curious about how I know such things?" All For One asks, Horizon had taken an offensive stance with his blade facing forward, but has not bothered to strike as of yet.
"..."
"Ahh, so you don't feel like speaking, well luckily I quite enjoy the sound of my own voice," All For One releases a deep chuckle, receiving communications from the other villains directly into his head.
He focuses everything he has on Horizon, not taking any chances with this Mystery Class anomaly, just as Horizon is focusing everything on him.
Both completely ignored the fights that were about to break out, not particularly caring enough to look away to save anyone here.
Noticing this standoff wouldn't break All For One got to the point of why he's here.
"For the past twenty years, Arsenal has been doing quite a lot of contract work with me, but naturally not under this name. You may know me as, 'Mister Collector', yes?"Horizon doesn't respond, but this matches exactly what he knew. There were no secrets between him and his parents, including who they do business with. While he doesn't know all of his mom's past contracts, he knows the most high-paying clients.
And this man is at the very top of that list, but he'd always ask for the corpses to be dropped off at certain places.
Heroes, civilians, and villains, all with unique Quirks.
"But I hadn't known she had a family, I've only met her in person once in fact, she was strictly professional and covert, but so efficient... it's a real shame she's locked away in Tartarus..."
Horizon's grip on his sword tightens, and All For One doesn't miss it.
"That's actually how I put the pieces together. After your grand reveal at the Sports Festival, I assumed your parents were dead and gone, but only a few days later...the lines within the Hero Commission were going mad, quiet calls pulling all the files they had on three particular people.
Horizon, Arsenal, and The Heart Thief...a heinous duo, and an up-and-coming hero, how strange."
"That doesn't prove anything," Horizon says.
"True, but I have friends everywhere, and they gave me everything they could find...including some very hidden reports about a certain swordsman doctor with a warping Quirk being arrested along with that duo.
How strange, but I must admit, Nezu did his job exceptionally well. I couldn't find a real name or face for any of you, and I couldn't even call you because he's so intertwined with you. That's why I'm here in person."
"We live in a superhuman world, coincidences can happen, and anyone can use a sword," Horizon says, still unknowingly avoiding All For One's lie detector Quirk.
"Very true, but we both know it was you, in fact, you've already confessed as much."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh come now," All For One gestures to the forest around them, and the dead Nomu on the floor. "As if the great and powerful Horizon would have allowed any villain to warp here, or not simply cut me down already, you're obviously smart enough to listen to what I have to say, and that means it must be true. Because if I didn't have leverage, you'd be trying to cut me into little pieces right now..."
The air between them becomes tense for a moment, then Horizon sighs, "what do you want Collector?"
"Well firstly, that isn't my true name, I am, All For One."
Horizon chuckles at that, "All For One? You're a fanboy? That's a myth, you named yourself after a myth?"
"No, it is my true self, but there are so many more benefits to hiding from the world," All For One raises his hand to the side and creates a small flowing tendril of water, then one of fire, then iron spikes from his fingers. "Enough proof for you?"
"Mmm, if you're really the 'Demon Lord', why hide from the world?"
"Oh, that's half the fun, I'm not ready to take over yet. When I do that humanity will unite against me, so I have to make sure I can fight them all. And besides, the greatest trick the devil has ever played on humanity---"
"Is convincing them he doesn't exist," Horizon finishes the quote. "Ok, so assuming you're real, what do you want?"
All For One cancels the Quirks and drops his hand, "a doctor."
"A doctor? Really?"
"Oh come now Horizon, you've obviously put the pieces together by now, All Might must have told you about our fight five years ago, that's why he was in such a rush to pass it down to you."
"So you're the villain that hurt him," Horizon mutters quietly. He sees a plume of smoke rising out of the forest far to their left but ignores it. "And pass what down to me?"
"Hmm," All For One is completely thrown off by this. "Ohhh, it seems I got some things wrong. But if you aren't it, then this is how powerful you are naturally...you Mystery Class people really are a different breed."
Horizon just keeps the sword ready, now even more on guard, giving the benefit of the doubt that this really was Japan's mythic Demon Lord.
"That disastrous fight didn't only injure him, but also myself," All For One says. "Now I need this mask to help me breathe, and I can't even hold anywhere near as many Quirks as I did before. My body is simply failing. It would take a miracle to fix me, from a genetic level upward."
"And I specialize in miracles, so you came to me."
"Precisely. I am the living embodiment of your correction on the Quirk Singularity theory, and I need you to help prevent it."
"So you're why they need to build the Nomu creatures, their test runs for making you a new body."
"And you can complete it, can't you?"
"I can do anything, and I assumed you'd want to have eyes and a nose again," Horizon says as he relaxes slightly.
All For One reaches up to his mask, "X-Ray Vision?" he asks Horizon.
"So what's the deal?" Horizon asks, ignoring All For One's curiosity about how he saw past the mask, not wanting to reveal Scan to him. "Blackmailing me?"
"You really think so little of me," All For One sounds genuinely offended as he takes an even more relaxed posture. "Arsenal was one of what society would call, 'a horrific and dangerous mass murderer', someone raised by her won't truly care about heroic nonsense.
The only reason you seem to care is because of whatever deal you've made with Nezu, I assume if you save a million people they get released, yes?"
"That's none of your business."
"True, and it simply does not matter," All For One says. "Because I need you to be willing to help me, because it won't do any good if my surgeon wants to kill me. And if the truth is revealed the government will likely execute your parents to prove that they don't play favorites.
And if that happens you won't be helping anyone. So I'll simply give you what you want. I will free them for you."
"How?" Horizon asks, he'd spent weeks thinking about this. But Tartarus's defenses would detect any changes within the prison the moment he does it. And with them molecularly bonded to the prison he can't warp them out.
They'd be executed the moment he tries anything, that's the standard procedure for all the cells in Tartarus, everyone would be killed rather than having anyone escape.
"I have friends everywhere," All For One says. "Shutting down the execution procedure would allow Gigantomachi and myself to invade the prison, free them, and recruit some new blood. But it would also reveal me to the world...and I'd rather remain dead for now."
"So it can't be done?"
"It can be, but you'd simply have to prove to me that my sacrifice is worth your favor."
"As if I'd operate before getting paid," Horizon says. "You bring them to me, safely, then I fix you. The operation itself should only take a week or two, depending on how many Quirks are in there."
"Really?"
"I can't transfer Quirks between people, but if someone is force-fed a few Quirks I can make it act as one."
"You've considered this before?" All For One asks.
"You keep sending Nomu after me, of course I studied them, but I'm guessing your Quirk isn't a Frankenstein's Monster situation," Horizon tilts his head a bit to show he's studying him.
"Oh, and how do you think it works?"
"Hmm," Horizon looks him up and down, then pauses for a moment to think about it. "Your Quirk works like a server and the other Quirks are just files on it for you to access. I assume you have mutation Quirks that give things like horns and claws, but even those aren't active since you haven't used All For One to trigger them.
And All For One lets you cut and paste genetic code from person to person, but you can't make a copy of the Quirks, it's the basis of everything.
But the Nomu don't have All For One, so they have all the Quirks active all the time, and that's why they can't really think, right?"
All For One is genuinely stunned, including himself, only two people have ever understood his Quirk so well.
"Mmm," All For One gives an annoyed growl, "a perfect and intuitive understanding of my Quirk, you're much more dangerous than expected."
"I get that a lot," Horizon says. "So if we're done here, can you go collect my payment, I'd like this all to be over as quickly as possible."
"I'm afraid I still need proof before I reveal myself to the world," All For One says.
"And I never break a contract, so I'll at least need payment before I break this one..."
"Well that is unfortunate, we seem to be at an impasse, but there is one solution," All For One says.
"And what might that be?"
"I know you are proud, as am I, but I mean no insult by this."
"Hmm?"
All For One raises his hands, palms up to reveal the holes in his palms, "allow me to grant you power, to give you more power than you can naturally handle. If you solve the mystery of your own body, of your own mind, and should you survive I will gladly break the barriers of Tartarus and deliver your parents to you."
Horizon considers it for a long moment, this was an easy way out...assuming All For One could be trusted.
But that was the problem, if this person was the real All For One, then he definitely couldn't trust them.
Allowing him to make contact with those hands and mess with his body, and if they can't overcome or steal his Quirk he could simply be killed by one of the other dozen Quirks.
It wasn't worth the risk.
Hand Of God is far too valuable for either side to risk losing.
"Sorry," Horizon raises his sword, "but I'm never letting you mess with my body, when you get them then we can talk, and I'll do you the courtesy of not telling anyone about this..."
"Well that is unfortunate," All For One sighs, "but at least I don't have to be too careful, you can heal anything I'm about to do to you..."
All For One immediately raises his hands.
AIR CANON!
END CHAPTER---