Izuku Midoriya awoke lying on the cold floor, his body inflamed with pain once again. He spluttered, blackened ichor drooling from his mouth as he tried to stand. His legs buckled, as he knocked into the floor again.

"Prisoner 492, it is time to get up. We must resume Experiment 90132."

Memories of his first awakening flooded through his mind, as he looked to where the plastic cartoon of pills and the metal cup of water lay. He rolled onto his back, staring at the ceiling for a moment as he tried to gather his thoughts… however, the pain made it almost impossible to focus on anything, and even if he could, what was there to think about? He didn't know where he was, he didn't know who had taken him. He'd just woken up here.

"Prisoner 492, please proceed to the pills and water that have been placed in your room and consume them both."

Midoriya managed to pull himself to his knees, resting his heavy body on the wall as he panted, staring at the pills in front of him.

"You're not going to break me," he muttered faintly.

"Prisoner 492, please proceed to the pills and water that have been placed in your room and consume them both. This is your first caution."

Midoriya panted for a moment, chest rising and falling as he gasped for breath.

"What colour are they?" a small, very faint voice sounded.

Midoriya froze, eyes scanning the cell for the source of the voice.

"The pills. What colour are they?"

"Who…?"

"That's not important. What colour are the pills?" the soft voice asked again.

"Prisoner 492, please proceed to the pills and water that have been placed in your room and consume them both. This is your second caution," the voice buzzed.

Midoriya ears swivelled, noticing the sound seemed to be coming out of one of the rusted pipes that criss-crossed above him. He looked down at the pills in the container, seeing large, oblong pills with an azure hue.

"They're… light blue."

"Oh, that's good, then. The light blue ones are OK, they help with the headaches a bit. You'll feel a bit more skittish, but trust me, they're better than another shock."

"Prisoner 492, please proceed to the pills and water that have been placed in your room and consume them both. This is your third and final caution."

Midoriya wondered what to do for a moment. The voice could've been from one of… whoever had brought him here. This could just be a trick to ensure he did what they said. But, for some reason, he just felt an urge to trust it. Midoriya crawled forward, grabbing the plastic cup and tipping it into the air, the azure oblongs falling down his throat. He grabbed the metal cup, pressing his lips against the rim as he greedily gulped down the cool water, feeling the dryness of his throat and his desperate thirst abiding for a moment.

"That's better," the loudspeaker said. "You may now resume as you were."

The loudspeaker's background static clicked off, as Midoriya panted for a moment, feeling no different. After a few seconds, he shakily leaned against the wall, standing as he pressed his lips to one of the pipes.

"Hello?" he asked with a shaky voice.

"I guess you must've taken the pills, then, huh?"

"Umm… yeah. Who are you?"

"My name's Hana. You?"

"I'm Izuku Midoriya. Wh-where am I?"

"They call it the facility. I don't know much else. None of us do."

"Us? Who else is here?"

"Oh, there's plenty of us. From what little outside this room I've seen, it's a big facility."

"What do they want from us? What are they doing? Who…?!"

"I know you've a lot of questions, but I'm afraid I don't have many answers. I've been here a few months, but I haven't gotten any answers. None of the others I've talked to know either."

"Can…?" Izuku started, before groaning from a sharp pain in his side.

"Don't worry, the pain gets better. It doesn't disappear, but it gets better."

"Can you talk to others through the pipes? Can we talk to other prisoners?"

"My pipe only connects to your cell."

"I need to find a way to contact my friends. They'll be able to…!"

"Stop. Please," the voice quivered through the pipes. "I know what it's like to be new here. But we've tried it. Everything. Breaking through the walls, ambushing the guards, crawling through the slot, pulling the door off… everything."

Midoryia's heart sank for a moment, as his foggy mind struggled to think of a plan.

"You keep saying 'we'. Are you talking about the person who had my cell before me?"

"I did know the boy who used to stay in your cell, but I'm not sure what happened to him. Still, I've talked to others here."

"How?"

"Sometimes they let us out into the yard to exercise, or we eat meals together, or they put us together for testing."

"Testing?"

"I'm not sure why they're keeping us here, but I think they're trying to investigate Quirks. Mostly, we just stay in our rooms, downing pills so they can study what they do to us. Sometimes, they force us to do tests, but they're always different. If we're good, they give us some luxuries. I got to eat meat last week."

"I'm not going to let them get away with this!"

"I know you're upset. But it's a lot easier if you just do what they say. They'll make you do it anyway. It's easier if you just let them."

"I… I can't do that," Izuku Midoriya answered. "I can't give up. My friends will come for me! I just need to stay strong!"

"I knew you'd say that. We all say the same thing… at first," Hana with a snivel. "I…"

You hear the faint, crackling voice of the speaker say something through the pipes.

"I have to go. Just… trust me. Do what the voices say. Please."

With that, Hana's voice stops coming through the pipes, as Midoriya collapsed against the wall, anguish overtaking him as he scratched aggressively at his burning skin.

"My friends are going to come… my friends are going to come… my friends are going to come…"

Izuku kept muttering that to himself until he passed into unconsciousness once more.