Shadowsnail seemed to have found me again. I felt the familiar waves of nausea and disorientation as he took me from the building. I shot a blast of fire at nowhere in particular on the vain hope that I'd hit something vital. Lost puppy or not, he was getting on my nerves. I heard a low hiss and felt the darkness recoil from around me. Once I'd finally adjusted well enough to see, all I saw was the outline of a large black body in a chair. I lifted my palm, fully intending on spreading some literal light on the situation, but crumpled instead.
I voice spoke in the dim light. "This isn't All Might. Try again."
I expected to awaken bound in some way. To find the same wooden floor beneath my side was as surprising as it disconcerting. I imagined that at some point my breathing pattern had changed. If the guy was still loitering and he had any sense about him, he'd know I'd awakened. I slowly slid my eyes open.
"Finally." He felt familiar, even though I'd never seen him before in my life. "Your costume changed," he remarked casually, as if we were old friends reconnecting over a cup of tea. "I liked the old one better." Even though he was a large man, he moved with a quiet grace and open confidence. Spiky blonde hair stood out from the top of his broad skull. All I wanted to do was puke. I was so tired that maybe I'd nap in it, too. The fellow leaned down and put his hand over my head. I thought he was going to lift me by the hair, but nothing of the sort happened. Though I knew I should struggle, I felt too heavy to move. I felt energy flood into my body.
"That's good." I tried not to squirm as more poured in. I began to see lights, like I was experiencing a sort of system overload. I thought my head was going to split open. "Enough," I said again, my voice quite a bit louder. Would he stop? What would happen if he didn't?
To my surprise, he did. I rolled to my knees and took a shuddering breath into my sore stomach. I felt like all of my muscles had been zapped with an intoxicating level of swiftness and strength, at the expense of being sore. "Bossy, yet compliant. That hasn't changed."
"Well, you know me," I said with a nonchalant shrug. Even though they looked nothing alike, I felt sure that I was speaking with Bear. That would explain why Shadowsnail had taken me. At any other time, I might have considered just how small my social circle was.
"I do know you. When you burned me, I saw you smile." He raised his wrapped left hand.
"You should really advertise the asylum you visited. You're like an entirely different person." I chose not to answer his accusation. What point would there be in admitting that yes, I'd grinned, but it had only been for a second.
"Where's All Might? This was supposed to be his trap."
I put my hands on the floor and pushed myself to my feet. "My apologies, Friend. I walked in first."
"He let a woman go in first? How unheroic."
"Or, stay with me here, how not-sexist." I offered. "How long was I out?"
"Only half an hour. Your body is becoming more immune to the effects. Soon you'll be able to travel like it's nothing."
He spoke so plainly of my future. "Where will I be traveling?"
"Wherever I need you to." He spoke as if I had no choice. "Even though this was supposed to be a trap for All Might, this might work out in everyone's best interest. Once I get rid of that young upstart, you can have room to do whatever makes you happy. You won't have to answer to anyone."
"Except you," I clarified.
"Except me," he agreed.
"And your name is…?" I figured it was about time to ask, since he had such high hopes for me. As he looked now, 'Bear' didn't cut it.
"Call me All For One."
"It's nice to meet you, All For One. I'm Sandspark." He spun his chair away from me. Now that I focused on the world beyond him, I noticed the windows and the dim light shining from below. Judging by the distance, we must have been in some sort of sky scraper. I looked down at the still bright city, careful not to get within ten feet of my kidnapper. Billboards flashed, stop lights changed, headlights moved like ants. "Nice place you've got, here," I said conversationally. I was fairly certain that Bear had been nothing more than an act. He'd been too theatric when he switched his moods. I felt foolish for thinking I'd talked anyone into handing themselves over.
"I wish Quirk Marriages were still legal. Look at you. You're proof they work." My head turned to regard him. All For One wore a broad and triumphant smirk. As curious as I was, I couldn't give him the satisfaction of answering. "Your parents refused to let me meet you, or your brother." Fire sprang to life in his injured palm. A lazy whirlwind of sand meandered at his right. "So I took their quirks and killed them." I caught the threat. He'd have things his way, or no way.
"You would've been quite the role model. I can't imagine how different my life would've been."
"No. An infant like you can't even comprehend it." He agreed. A monitor in the corner showed dozens of screens. Some played videos, while others seemed to be scanning audio. I noted with apprehension that the video of my spar against All Might was on silent repeat. I heard One For All rise.