So, welcome to my rewrite of the end of My Hero Academia. To clarify, I am not going to make the claim that what I write here is canon or should be considered canon over the original content- that's not my purpose here. My purpose here is to satisfy a selfish itch about not liking the way MHA is ending, given what I expected the series would do.

The way MHA is ending so far isn't terrible, it's just not really what I thought the series could do with all its potential. Kohei Horikoshi is a fantastic artist and a great writer, and for inspiring me in many ways he'll always have my undying respect as both, but I feel as though he's not playing his cards correctly. I suppose it doesn't help when ending a big series such as MHA and keeping all its fans is so hard to do, but I still want to get my own ideas out there.

So some quick information about the project itself- the first couple of chapters will be more like adaptations of the original content, as I need them to help set the stage for the direction I want to take this story in. There will be minor changes at first, but after a certain chapter I will be changing the story entirely to something else; I will mark when this happens.

I don't plan to create OCs who have a big impact on the story, only background or filler characters. I feel as though adding OCs would just muddle the project, and adding characters this late into the plot would be difficlut to accomplish in an engaging way. With that in mind, I may or may not use characters introduced in the final arc; it entirely depends on what I want for the story moving forwards, but I can at least confirm I will be using Lady Nagant.

There will be no shipping beyond what I feel is obviously pushed in the canon story; this does not include characters with close friendships or teases of a relationship in the main series. Essentially, I'll not be doing any shipping outside Deku and Uraraka, because they're the main romance focus of the series. If this kills in your interest, then I apologize. However, there may be a possibilty I do some side projects indulging in my own ideas for characters and their relationships in the future.

The story itself will start at Chapter 296, Hellish Hell; when the war has just ended and Shigaraki has made his escape. This is because this is where the first minor changes will be made to help influence the story for later parts.

I feel as though that is all I need to clarify at the moment. I will try and get a chapter published weekly, and I have some chapters already written in advance while I write the rest of the series. If I am to be on a hiatus for any reason, I will try to let you know beforehand, but I won't make any promises; life can get hectic.

Please DM if you have any inquiries, criticisms, or suggestions for the series; I want to be as communicative with people as much as possible given my passion for this project. Lastly, all rights belong to Kohei Horikoshi; I am not the writer of My Hero Academia, creator of its characters, nor do I have any influence on the main series.

With that length introduction, let's get into it-

Chapter 296- Hellish Hell

Rubble and smoke. That was all that could be seen by many victims of the recent war still trapped in the city. Toppled buildings and broken glass lined the streets, among the many bodies of innocents who weren't evacuated in time. Shigaraki's wrath had known no bounds, and many paid dearly for it.

Shigaraki stood and observed the damage he had done. Even though he was fully aware of the past hour, he didn't completely understand it. How had his mentor been able to momentarily speak and act through him? Many of his actions in this fight were not his own, and that concerned him greatly. But a call from Spinner shook him out of those thoughts. He had won his war, now he needed to get away with it. Heroes from the frontline, like the Pussycats, Wash, Present Mic, and Thirteen were approaching him in an attempt to stop his escape-not that they could stop him, but they'd certainly be an annoyance.

As he mounted his winged Nomu and took to the skies, he watched the holder of One for All- Deku- reach out to him with a bloodied and bruised arm. A look mixed with pain, rage, and hatred was on his face, tears streaming from his eyes as energy sparked around him. For a moment, Shigaraki wondered if the boy would try and give chase, but that concerned him none. There would be no way for the boy to do anything to him and his Nomus- the past 10 minutes had just proven that.

'Come, Tomura.' A familiar voice called to him in his head. 'It's time to carry out the next step.' Shigaraki faced forwards on his Nomu- the Near High-End, as the doctor told him to call it and its siblings, before the war had started- and took off high above the clouds, where no hero would dare to try and track them. They flew in a V-formation, with Dabi on his left and Spinner on his right, while Skeptic was somewhere behind him. In total, there were 7 High-Ends, each worth about 500 of the soldiers they had left behind, Toga and Mr. Compress notwithstanding.

Dabi- or, Toya, now- was busy coming off his high, gleefully smiling and cackling up a storm. The adrenaline of confessing to his father and the world about his true identity was something he had looked forward to for a long time now, and he wasn't about to stop enjoying its success. Spinner was silent as the grave, occasionally stealing a nervous glance at his leader. Shigaraki knew of these glances, but didn't pay them much mind. Spinner had always lacked nerve- no doubt he was concerned for his boss's well-being, as well his own. As for Skeptic, Shigaraki couldn't care less what he was up to. He knew Compress had been captured as a result of his sacrifice (Shigaraki WAS grateful, but he knew they didn't have the time or resources to save him; better to leave him with the heroes and come back for him later) and Toga had run off at some point after Twice's demise. He wasn't worried about the young killer- she could sneak in and out of any situation.

Twice… his death had certainly not been something Shigaraki could've predicted. With his improved state of mind and his ability to infinitely duplicate himself, he figured Twice should've been nigh invincible- that had been the impression he had gotten when Twice first unleashed his Sad Man's Parade Redestro's army. What a great shame it was to lose such a valuable comrade. He'd have to tear Hawks limb from limb next time he saw that traitorous bastard.

Hawks… He knew he couldn't trust that cocky hero. He kept prying where he shouldn't have, but he did so in a way that never aroused suspicion in anyone for all the months Shigaraki was busy with his transformation. Wasn't Dabi the one in charge of letting him in? Dabi certainly didn't seem to care about Shigaraki winning- he just wanted to confess his little sob story to the world, and he could do that with or without Hawks spying on him, it seemed. No matter. Dabi's done all but kill Endeavor at this point, so Shigaraki knew he had nothing to threaten the man with. As long as Endeavor dies at some point, Dabi could die or suffer with glee.

Shigaraki didn't need to direct the Nomus on where to go- they seemingly had a destination in mind on their own, likely a safehouse the doctor had set up- so Shigaraki decided to decompress while awaiting their arrival. Looking down at his hand, Shigaraki noticed that his arm was still incredibly bruised, likely with a broken bone or two. He passively called on his Regeneration ability to heal the wound- he wasn't necessarily concerned, but being in peak condition would certainly do no harm.

But his Regeneration never activated. Shigaraki focused a little more on it- maybe it was easier to activate when he was in battle, where all his senses were heightened. But no regeneration took effect still, and the young villain started to become frustrated. Had All for One and the good doctor not given him access to the very same quirks All for One once held? Did he imagine recovering from incredible burn damage in a matter of minutes?

'Don't worry.' His mentor's voice called again. 'Come to me, and I will properly explain everything.' Shigaraki merely snorted. As if Shigaraki needed any more motivation to visit that man again. He still had his questions.

Edgeshot had just gotten the news as he finished restraining Redestro after a long fight. Gigantomachia was stopped, Mr. Compress was apprehended- and Shigaraki had gotten away. The ninja hero glared at nothing in particular as he thought about the results of this war- his group had managed to subdue the lieutenants Geten and Trumpet alongside Redestro, but that felt nothing like a victory when he heard Shigaraki had escaped with several Nomu, Spinner, Dabi, and Skeptic, while Toga was nowhere to be found. The girl had been last seen attacking a group of heroes before she fled into the woods, where she disappeared without a trace.

The disparity of their failure to beat Shigaraki was compounded by what he had heard next- so many civilians and heroes' lives were taken, and among them were the likes of Majestic, Native, and UA's Midnight. Her students had been the one to discover her body, and Edgeshot could swear he heard their wails from his position in the hideout.

For a brief moment, Edgeshot pondered if allowing the children to stay was even necessary, but he immediately dismissed it. The trauma they would suffer would be severe, but right now the damages and carnage needed to be assessed and innocents needed to be saved. They needed every pair of hands available- even the young children. It's what they trained themselves for, after all. At least, that's what Edgeshot would like to believe.

Looking at the defeated body of Redestro, strung up and immobile, the words "We failed" kept ringing in his head. It didn't stop, even as he moved the captured villains to their private cells to be brought to maximum security prisons.

The city was in complete ruins. Smoke and fire billowed high into the skies, making an eagle eye view impossible for heroes with flight abilities. On the ground, rubble and corpses lined the streets, the mixed smell of destroyed waste and burning flesh damaging the senses of heroes with good smelling abilities that could've been used to find victims. No matter how much the heroes with water abilities doused the flames, more rose in their place, burning high and cackling as though the villains responsible were watching through the flames, and enjoying the sight of heroes struggling to do even the most basic of rescue attempts.

A young girl was struggling to pull her brother out from under a large stalagmite, crying and wailing as her brother moaned in pain while she tugged on his arm. Her brother's upper half and arms were free, but his wait and legs were still pinned.

"It hurts…" The boy grunted out. The young girl could tell he was barely hanging on to consciousness, his dust-laden eyes fluttering open and shut. As far as she could tell, he hadn't made an attempt to move his other arm. Maybe he couldn't. But as long as she got him out from that wreckage, she could help move him to a hero. They could help him then. She had tried calling for help 5 minutes ago, and there was no response. Why was there no response? Heroes were supposed to arrive quickly, her mommy had always told her. She was supposed to be ushered away while the pros delicately pulled her brother out and reassured the both of them that everything would be okay. But nobody had arrived, and she was stuck helping him by herself- a feat that she was beginning to fear she would be unable to do in time.

"Get away…" She heard her brother cough up as she pulled his arm again. "These rocks're gon' fall… Save yourself!" She could hear the groaning of the wreckage as it was becoming more and more unstable, but she didn't care. "If you can get away… you can have… my Endeavor pouch…"

"I don't want the pouch!" The girl cried out. "I just want to be with you!" At this point, she began pulling harder than ever, but this caused the wreckage to shift further.

CRRRRRACK! The sound of crumbling debris rang out as a pillar above the two began to shatter into smaller fragments, flying straight down towards them. The girl continued to not pay attention as she pulled on her brother's arm, who couldn't muster the energy to warn her. The fragments were inches away from hitting them… when with a woosh and a loud slam, they found themselves in the arms (or in the brother's case, tongue) of two young heroes who managed to find them before it was too late. Uravity and Froppy landed away from the rubble, carefully setting down the children.

"Close one, huh?!" Uravity called out, slightly huffing. It had been too close in her eyes, but the kids were safe. That's what mattered, she told herself. "Where's your mom and da-" The kids began wailing and hugging each other, clearly overwhelmed. Right. Let them calm down, then ask. All Might and Aizawa had taught her how dealing with child victims was supposed to go.

But she didn't have the time. There were more people who needed saving.

"The boy's leg is hurt." Froppy spoke. She had her usual calm demeanor, but Uravity could hear a slight wave in her voice. Not even Tsu's stoicism could hold up in the wake of this war. But she had to keep appearances to help those in need- they all did. "I'll take him to the evac camp."

"Help! There's somebody under here!" A voice rang out. Uravity and Froppy shared a look of understanding and Uravity began to run over to the source. "I'm on my way!" She responded.

Uravity found a man standing in the wreckage of an apartment complex. He was horribly bloodied and bruised all over, and clutching an open wound on his arm, but he was standing on his own. "My wife's… inside… Hurry, miss! Please! Apartment 83!"

Uraraka rushed to the room with no hesitation, making sure that where she was walking was stable and that there was no immediate danger of further collapse. 'Gotta save them.' She told herself. 'As many as I can!' She found the woman under some debris and used her Zero Gravity to remove it, then used the Zero Gravity on the woman herself. Once they made it outside, she reunited the couple and took off again, not waiting for a sign of gratitude. There were more people to save.

Everywhere she looked, there was at least one person buried in rubble. She knew Ingenium and Anima were close by, using their excellent mobility and scouting quirks to find more survivors. She only had her abilities for damage clearing and evac, so she had to make do with the search part the good old fashioned way- looking everywhere, and running fast. She refused to acknowledge the ache in her legs, arms, and back knowing full well they'd be sore tomorrow.

There were people with much worse pain around the corner.

As she helped a teenager around her age out of the rubble of his home, she could hear the words of a nearby sidekick who had taken to looking at the wreckage and carnage in complete shellshock.

"This is… too much." He muttered, either unaware or uncaring that Uravity could hear. "I need a new line of work…" Looking at the piles of bodies and buildings, Uravity couldn't decide what to think of such a statement.

Shigaraki had truly died. His rebirth was cut short the moment the equipment was destroyed. At least, that's how it should have been.

Initially, many believed it had been X-Less's laser beam that sparked life into Shigaraki once more. But there was definitely more at work, Dr. Ujiko would later explain. An electrical shock from X-Less, or any hero, could not have brought him back.

No. What brought Shigaraki back was a powerful connection to his hatred and anger. And perhaps, All for One had planned more than even Ujiko himself had realized. But that was all speculation.

The world took Dabi's confession with a surprising amount of apathy initially. 'Well dang.' Some would say as they checked the news on their phones. 'It's all over for him, huh?

'I knew that guy was a scumbag.'

'How awful… to think our children looked up to him…'

'Can't wait to see Hawks take number one now.'

'I thought heroes were supposed to protect us, but it seems like he got paid to abuse his own family.'

'He'd better give a good statement soon, or else the PR's gonna destroy him.'

More observant members of society began to understand the implication of the war, however. Many made plans to move immediately. Others began investing in self-preservation. Many began to form their own protective groups in neighborhoods. But an overall sentiment followed every single person in Japan- the heroes could not be trusted anymore.

Now, more than ever, the people could feel the tides of change in hero society.

All for One sat in his cell, silent as the grave as he had always been. The guard monitoring his brain activity could see nothing had changed for the past week- the man had truly become completely immobile.

But they couldn't tell that All for One WAS thinking. He was always thinking. He hadn't stopped since he was first strapped into his seat. They'd never pick up on it though- he had gotten so good at using his quirks and thoughts discreetly, that he could fool anyone who wasn't paying close attention at all times, and these guards, who were incredibly vigilant, couldn't remain as unmoving as he was. He could even fool the machines specifically made to monitor quirk activity- all it took was a small disrupting quirk that blocked his vitals from being read properly. He had picked up this quirk such a long time ago that he couldn't remember its original owner or purpose- perhaps it had been a situation like this, being questioned by police and digital ware that invaded his vitals to look for significant changes. How lucky for him!.

'I can feel it.' He thought, mentally smiling to himself. 'My expectations were a bit off, but it won't be long now.'

All for One could tell HE was close. He would need a small distraction, but All for One could handle that while strapped to this chair.

All for One began to smile physically; his joy was too much to contain! The tides of change weren't coming anymore. They had just arrived outside his doorstep.

Shigaraki stood on the cliffside, looking at the storming seas. He knew where his target was, far out in the ocean. Spinner and Dabi stood with him, while the Nomus restlessly shuffled about, awaiting the order. No doubt they could smell the man they had come for.

"Isn't it a bit soon?" Skeptic spoke up. He was fiddling on his computer, watching the news and making sure the heroes were too preoccupied to track them. So far, they were in the clear, but this could reveal their position too soon.

"It's been far too long, if anything." Shigaraki replied, not bothering to face him. "The sooner we strike, the better. I won't let the heroes rest." He beckoned to a Nomu, who stooped down to let Shigaraki mount him. "Now, it's my turn."

He looked once more at Tartarus, knowing that All for One was inside. Shigaraki knew his prize-

And he took to the skies, his Nomus in tow. They were going to free All for One.