All it takes is one activation, and his life was over.
One use of his quirk and the countermeasures would trigger and end his life.
Including ones that help him counter his eye condition.
Therefore, he couldn't see what was going on, he had to rely on his ears.
All he heard was shouting, yelling, explosions, the sounds of chaos that he missed.
Before he heard little footsteps, seemingly approaching him.
"Ah, you're finally here." All for One spoke.
(Earlier…)
"Okay, here's the plan," Briseuse pulls up her laptop from her backpack, "I've managed to gain access to the prison facility without letting off alerts, but I only can activate certain parts, anything else would put them on alert, once we're on the island, I can work on cutting the power and releasing the cells, but first we need to cross that bridge."
Hearing the plan, though it would have been better if she talked slower, Eri already had a straightforward plan, one that worked during her escape. If it worked there, it will work here.
"Leave it to me." Eri said, turning around before the red hair villainess hold her shoulder, "oh, before you go…" the white hair girl turn to see Briseuse in interest, who was holding a small device, "this is a way to contact and communicate with me, in case we split up. put it in your ear and hold this button to talk to me." She demonstrated the button before giving the ear device to Eri who puts it on.
"Before we start, I want to say thank you." The red hair girl said with a smile, "I waited years for this day, and I hope you're enough to do this."
"And I will," Eri smiles back, "we need to free the birds after all…"
With the plan set in motion, Eri starts to walk towards the entrance of Tartarus, the guards at the front immediately catch her.
"Young girl, this is a restricted facility, turn around." One of the guards said, but Eri kept walking up to them.
The guards look around, seeing the girl as some lost child who somehow got all the way here, his warning tone lowered before turning to the other guard who was just as confused as he was.
"I… I think she's lost…" he suggested.
This surprised the guards, their duty was to keep any civilians from entering the grounds of the prison. The last thing they expect was a young girl to appear in front of them, a lost girl no less.
"I… I think we need to call this…"
But before the first guard could finish his suggestion, a sudden action jumped the other guard. As Eri, with one swift motion push the guard and used her quirk, no amount of body armour was prepared to go against such power, all that's left was a big bloody stain on the wall.
"Christ!" the guard shouted before raising his weapon at the girl, "guard down at main entrance!" he called on his radio, alerting the prison, "I repeat, guard down at- AGH!" the same fate happens to the other guard.
After killing the two guards, Eri suddenly hears a high siren ringing in her ears, she quickly turns to see the bridge opening up, disconnecting the passage from her and the prison island.
"Eri! What did you do!" Briseuse shouted in the device. "Now the whole facility is under lockdown!"
Eri pushed the button, reassuring the red hair villain, "I know what I'm doing, and we'll get across."
After the call, the girl walks upon the lifted bridge, seeing it as a big wall that kept her from going through.
And wall she can easily break.
After one touch, half of the bridge was blown away and crumbled.
She didn't need that part, because she can make her own.
Squatting down, Eri put two hands on the floor thinking about the Overhaul quirk, how she managed to make spikes from the ground, she needed to make one big spike.
She put all her focus in, closing her eyes to think about it as much as possible, before opening her eyes and a huge spike under the bridge throwing towards the other end, landing the island.
She made her own passageway to get on the island.
"Now we can cross." She called on the ear device again causing Briseuse to run out of her hiding spot and catch up with Eri while she walks on her large spike before coming up to the other part of the bridge and destroying it to open the doors.
The first two doors were open.
There are many other doors she needs to open.
There wasn't much to tell on how Eri and Briseuse broke into the facility.
After the bridge incident, it was obvious that the whole prison went into lockdown. Every door, including the front entrance, was quickly locked up and shut tight. It would have been impossible for anyone to go in or out.
But for Eri, who can disassemble anything she touches, going through even the hardest doors in the world was no challenge to her.
While Briseuse was out of the system upon lockdown, she managed to gain access to a map of the building, the two worked together, one guides them to the right place, the other was the muscle and destroy anything that gets in their way.
Eri got through several doors, there were a few guards in the way, but like always, she dealt with them like she was back in the underground facility, seeing them as the bad people that kept her in and killing them in the most brutal way possible.
All to reach a room Eri wasn't aware of, which they eventually arrived at.
The first thing Eri saw was computers with several buttons and monitors with screens of all the locked-up people in the facility, Eri approach the monitors while Briseuse quickly seated herself on the computers, "okay, keep watch while I locate him, he has to be here somewhere…"
While she works on them, Eri watch the screens, seeing the number of prisoners, the majority were people, sitting on a bed, some rested, some stood up, but all they had was a bed and nothing else.
Some don't even have a bed but was tied up, chained, locked up with straps, it horrified the girl to the extent.
'These people… they… they're like me…' she thought, recalling her time in her own prison, her own bed, she couldn't believe the number of people, some were angered, most had dull faces, a few were crying.
Now she understood, understood the people who were in there, the birds that were locked up, all for what? Because they did bad things? Most certainly, but for the ones that were crying, the ones who seemed they couldn't function, it was as though this whole place was running by Overhaul himself.
And she wouldn't take this anymore.
"Open them." She demanded, catching Briseuse off guard.
"Sorry?" she said in confusion.
"Open all the cells." Eri gave a full turn with a serious look.
"I mean, this is where we can open the cells… but all of them?" Briseuse said, "Eri, not all of the villains in here are like us… we have to be…"
"I SAID OPEN THEM!"
For Briseuse, she took a step back, shaken by the shout of the girl, she knew what Eri wanted, but even she knew what kinds of people were in here, not just those who have dangerous quirks or made mistakes, but complete psychopaths, cannibals, murderers, rapists. The worst of the worst are all locked up in here, and to free them all would cause worse than good, even for her.
But to not upset Eri, Briseuse did as she was told, she quickly go to the controls, finding the buttons to unlock all the cells, at first, she hesitated, unsure of what she was going to do.
She took a breath and only think of one thing, she came this far, she did everything for one purpose.
"For Gentle." She spoke before slamming her hand on the first button to release the first wave of prisoners.
And so, chaos erupts in Tartarus, after Briseuse opened the cells, she quickly searches and found the cell she was looking for rushing out of the room to find the cell.
Eri was already outside, joining in with the chaos, seeing prisoners running around, using their quirks while guards rush to try and stop them, only to die by their hands.
Some prisoners were unsure of seeing a twelve-year-old girl casually walking throughout the facility, a few attempted to attack her, but she hold her ground and showed strength against the prisoners but killing the worst of the villains, already giving them a message that she was responsible for the major escape riot and to an extent, their escape.
It was a moment where Eri felt at peace, even if everything was chaotic, she didn't shake, she wasn't worried, she had seen and been thought many things that nothing phased her anymore.
In secret, Eri enjoyed it, she took every moment of this amount of chaos, to meet the prisoners who had been trapped for a long time all while taking out both the guards and reenforce heroes that arrived at the scene.
Up until one moment, when she met a certain induvial.
One who was still in restraints, one who was still imprisoned, covered in straps and guns aiming towards him.
A man that caught her interest.
A man with no eyes, and smiled, happy to see the girl even if he can't see.
"Ah, you're finally here," he spoke.
Midoriya and Hawks arrived at the entrance of the facility, seeing various prisoners running outside, fleeing to freedom, running on a big rock like a bridge that wasn't part of the bridge.
"She caused all of this?" Hawks, still in the air raised an eyebrow, surprised yet concerned as Midoriya was.
"She couldn't have done this. Not by her choice." Midoriya said.
"We'll focus on her later, now we need to stop the prisoners from escaping," Hawks set up the plan, "I'll get the stragglers, you deal with the bridge."
"On it!" Deku nodded, already forming a plan in his mind.
There was already collateral, the bridge was out, but the spike was a way to get through to the mainland.
To keep people from going in or out, to keep the prisoners from escaping, he has to stop their only way across.
With some prisoners ganging upon him, he quickly made his move, he jumped, using One For All to increase his height, he was high, not in the clouds, but a long way down to fall.
As Hawks said, he'll deal with the stragglers, those who managed to get across, while Midoriya deals with the main issue.
As he plummets down, he set his foot and let his quirk spread as many times as he has done in the past, setting it to the highest percentage he could deal with without hurting himself.
He shouted with shut teeth, "SMASH!"
With one move, Midoriya put his leg down, going through the solid rock before the entire thing cracked like an egg and crumble till everything falls apart, those who were on the rock quickly fell into the ocean below.
After the devastating leg attack, Midoriya then make one jump that pushed the crumbled spike downwards, till it made a big hole, separating the building to the mainland and preventing prisoners from escaping.
Midoriya jumped high again and saw many prisoners standing at the edge of the island, all shocked and unsure what to do next.
The hero was proud that he managed to cease the chaos and kept the most dangerous of villains from leaving.
"Now, have to find her." He said after landing on the island and running into the entrance of the prison, tackling, and attacking prisoners who dare to fight him.
Eri saw the blind large man, with two guns in the ceiling aimed at the man. It caught her curiosity, wondering why the man hasn't gotten out of the cell.
"I was wondering the one who had started this commotion." He spoke, his smile kept, "mind if I ask you your name?"
The girl hesitates, she was alerted and cautious towards the man, but she could give a sense of trust, "it's… Eri…"
"Hmm…" the man thought to himself, before realising the name, "ah, yes, I remember."
"You… you do?" Eri was shocked and a little frightened, wondering if he had connections with him.
"I do indeed, Eri." He said with a now frightening smile, "I know your grandfather, told many things about you and what you did in the past."
This got her curious, at first, she thought that the man was talking about Overhaul, but instead, it was her… grandfather? She didn't know she had one.
"How's Chisaki Kai? He must be running the Yakuza at his point, right?"
This set Eri off, closing her fists, "I killed him." She gave her answer, "I killed all of them."
"Really?" the man was surprised but kept his cool, "such a shame, he had potential."
"He was a monster." She spoke back, "what he did to me, I would have made him suffer more than what I did to him."
"But he wasn't the only one, right?"
Eri paused, thinking about the other people who had hurt her, who made her suffer, who didn't understand, not just Overhaul and his people, but the woman, the bullies, the hero, the truck, the prison, all of them put her through so much that she couldn't help but push them away.
"You, Eri, you now have the potential." The man said, causing Eri to peak up, "over there are the main controls, if you deactivate the weapons, release the restraints and escort me out of this place, then I will give you the greatest gift."
Eri approaches the man, now curious, "what… what gift?"
The man breaths before looking down at the girl, with no eyesight, no visible eyes, but he tilts his head down to see the girl.
"I will give you power."
The answer, the supposed gift. Eri stop to think about it, and her mind was set.
She shook her head, taking a step back.
"What is power worth?" Eri questions, which confused the man, but he tries to negotiate with her.
"Power is what makes you better than them, allow you to do whatever you well pleased, nobody can stop you and everyone will fear you."
"Then I don't want it." Eri declines right away.
"Huh?" the man was caught off guard.
"Since I free myself, everyone feared me because of what I did, I don't want them to fear me, I don't want them to be afraid of me."
"You have to." The man counters, "it's the only way they will respect you."
"But they won't… they won't… accept me…"
Eri doesn't know the word she meant at this moment, She was too young and too uneducated to know the word.
But it was a word that doesn't mean the same as respect.
The word she was looking for was 'Tolerate.'
"I'm already a monster to them." She told in her honesty, "why would I ever have them see me as more of a monster? Why have power when people don't accept me for who I am? It's already a curse to me."
"Hmmm," the man was still in his thought, trying to find an alternative, "then perhaps, you want to be rid of your curse?"
Eri look up at the man again, unsure but eager to listen to his new offer, "I can remove it, get rid of your power. You can be normal again."
"I would welcome it, want you do take it away from me," Eri said, still thinking about her problems, "but it wouldn't matter, either way, I already got blood in my hands, they're never going to forgive me for this, I have to accept that this is what I meant to be. And what I have is what I have to deal with. They're going to hunt me down with or without my quirk."
"Sound like you're completely lost," The man said, "if only you have guidance, a teacher perhaps."
"I don't need one." Eri made up her mind, "and if you knew Overhaul, I don't need you."
To All for One's shock, the girl turns around and proceed to leave.
For the first time in decades, the demon of society was at a loss of words, he thought he was not only escaping this place but gaining a new successor to replace Shigaraki, instead, this girl declines his offer, nobody had ever done that.
He grew desperate.
"No…" he said, wanting to do anything to escape.
In a desperate, irrational attempt, he activates One for All, pulling a black tentacle to reach Eri, hoping to steal her quirk.
The second he acts, the guns activate.
The tentacle didn't reach Eri, she turns around after the shooting, seeing a blood-splattered corpse, laid rest in utter shock.
Anyone who knew the demon that haunted her, anyone who was working with him, they all deserve the same punishment.
This strange, bald, blind man was no different.
She would have declined his offer anyway, just for that alone.
After that happened, Eri walked towards the exit, a prisoner approaching her, telling her of the situation outside, that the spike she created to get in crumbled.
She assured them, that she will handle it when she gets there, as she wanted to find Briseuse so they can escape together along with everybody else in the facility.
With that in mind, Eri went in another direction, up until she arrived at what seemed to be the cafeteria, one that was either used for the staff or the most tamed villains. It was a complete mess, with blood and corpses scattered around, from the guards to a few of the prisoners.
"Briseuse? Are you there?" she called from her ear device, but no response, "Briseuse, I'm at a food place, I think, tell me where I need to go."
Again, no response.
She took a breath, looking around to see different exit ways, seeing signs that she can't read, she was completely lost and unsure where was the exit.
Until her eyes set upon a figure approaching her.
Not a guard.
Not a prisoner.
Not Briseuse.
But a hero.
A hero in green.
From the day he lost Eri, he regretted his decisions from that day.
It was the first-ever person he lost, hearing the news of Nighteye's closing investigation was a huge punch in the gut.
He argued, trying to reason with him, but it was all in vain.
Five years later, he got the chance to see her again. A chance to bring her back, a chance to finally save her.
Midoriya saw the little girl, now grown up, while she dawns a brown coat, he can still see the bandages wrapped around her hands, newfound scars that weren't there before.
He couldn't stop thinking about what Overhaul would have done to her, the amount of abuse she gained, certainly left a mark, enough for her to get angry.
He wasn't sure why Eri was attacking Tartarus, the second he heard it, he ran and jump as much as he could, reaching the prison to see the disaster and breakout, the chaos that he had to put down.
Only that the source was right in front of him.
Knowing what Eri has been through, knowing the girl, he doesn't see evil, he doesn't see a dark demon that many others deemed her as.
He saw a lost angered girl who needs much help.
Midoriya slowly approaches the girl, putting his hands up, "I… I don't want to hurt you."
Eri looked at Midoriya, her angered expression remained, does she remember him? It had been a long time since they first met, it was only not five minutes of seeing each other, it would be easy for her to forget.
"Do you remember, when you ran away?" Midoriya took a risk question, but it was necessary to rekindle her memories, "do you remember when you saw two heroes and you hold one of them?"
Her anger expression slowly fades into a face that tells she was thinking back, Midoriya keeps coming up to her, "I remember you, Eri, you ran into me, and said 'help me'…"
"Then… he took me away…" Eri said, now clicking her memories, "but you didn't help me, didn't you?"
"I… I wanted to help you, Eri, I would have fought that evil man if I knew what he did to you, I would have searched everywhere, till the end of the earth to find you."
"But you didn't come," the girl takes a small step back, with a worried expression, tears appearing in her eyes, "you didn't save me back then?"
"But I'm here now." Midoriya kept approaching her, almost near her, "I'm sorry that it took me this long to reach you, but I'm here now, and I'm here to save you."
Eri took another step, she thought about running, she thought about attacking, she was scared, unsure if she could trust this hero. But in her own surprise, she saw the comfort, the hands coming towards, not like any other, but a much more careful diligent way, she takes a breath to calm down, she saw his face, not in anger, not prideful, but, a comforting smile.
"I'll help you…" he said in the calmest and welcoming way.
The caution, her stance loosens, she slowly moves forward, coming towards the hero, he wasn't like the other heroes. He wasn't trying to stop her; he wasn't trying to attack her. Out of anyone, he was being helpful.
She pulled out her hand, trying to reach his, it was almost there, to touch the comforting hand that approach her. She welcomes his touch.
SLASH!
But before she could feel him, a sudden blade-like projectile directly hit Eri's arm, the girl scream as she pulls back her arm while the boy froze in shock.
He sees the girl holding her injured arm, and saw the object that hit her, a red feather pierce through her skin. It was enough to realise who it was.
Deku quickly turns around, to see the one who threw it.
A man floating in the air with a serious look.
A man with other feathers, ready to strike.
A man Deku knew as Hawks.
To be continued…