LABYRINTH

Shoji woke with a startled gasp and bolted upright. Stone walls surrounded him, branching off into different paths. He cupped an ear to the wall and heard Jirou using her own Quirk on the stone. He could sense the walls stretching around him in a labyrinthine maze, broken up with sealed rooms, pitfalls, and pools of water.

Shoji groaned and rubbed the stiffness out of his shoulders. Playing hot and cold with the ringing in the walls, Shoji followed the sound until he stumbled upon Jirou.

"Oh thank god," Jirou said. "I was hoping you'd track me down."

"Any idea where the others are, or why we're down here?"

"We're down here because Aizawa's a sadist. As to where everyone else is, I caught a few sets of feet."

Shoji and Jirou walked together, until they both heard ponderous footsteps. "Sato? That you, buddy?"

The stomping came closer. A hulking, furred figure with bull horns, a bovine face, and cloven hooves rounded the corner. It stared them down with glowing red eyes, snorted, and charged.

Shoji grew six sets of arms. As the minotaur rammed towards his gut, Shoji twisted aside, flung the minotaur off its feet, and pinned it underneath his knee.

"That's not Sato," Jirou said nervously.

"No kidding. Any idea what we should do with this thing?"

"We don't have any capture tape. Maybe try knocking it out?"

Shoji rammed its face into the ground. Its forehead made a metallic clang and had a dent in it. No longer burdened with the guilt of killing a living creature, Shoji twisted its neck until it snapped.

"Or we could do that. Jesus."

"What? It's just a robot."

The minotaur stood up. It turned around, so its face and its back aimed towards Sato.

"Oh shit. It's a robot. Run!"

The minotaur clumsily followed them, and they quickly lost it. Faced with a stone door, or the stumbling machine behind them, Shoji wrenched the door open and ran inside.

The dark room lit up with torches, and a pit of snakes all turned to stare at them.

Shoji sighed. "Why did it have to be snakes?"

Mineta ran for dear life as a boulder rolled towards him. "Not fair! How come I'm heavy enough to trigger the pressure plate, but you weren't?"

Tsuyu ribbited. "Less shouting, more running."

Mineta risked a glance back behind him. "Or we could do the thing from FMA. Fifth laboratory?"

Tsuyu nodded. They each dove into a corner and curled up. Tsuyu easily fit around the boulder, but one of Mineta's spheres stuck to the boulder. As it kept rolling it scooped up Mineta with it.

"Why can't I catch a break just once!" Mineta screamed as the boulder rolled towards a pool of electric eels.

Izuku stepped out and punched the boulder. He caught Mineta inches from the pond.

"I caught the break," Izuku said. He gave Mineta a chunk of rock and said, "You can have it."

"Uh, thanks?"

497

Meanwhile, Bakugo, dual-wielding axes and cleaving Minotaur skulls left and right: "This. Is. Sparta!"

Also, if you're craving a larger dose of insanity, with a dash more of Shigaraki suffering, check out the one-shot Mad Hatter Hero that just dropped yesterday.