Izuku prepared to fight. "Dimentio, I'm not going to kill you."

"Well, I will to you!" Dimentio, despite smiling, had no joy left in his eyes.

Instead of matching his grin, they were wide open, revealing the fact he lacked iris and pupil. The fact he had no soul in his eyes was the most terrifying part of it all.

Dimentio charged Izuku, attempting to slash him with a knife. Izuku moved aside, only to receive a kick to the gut in return. Dimentio stabbed Izuku's foot. Izuku screamed and kicked Dimentio off him. Dimentio still had the knife, blood dripping down the handle. Dimentio wiped it clean using his poncho.

"Heroes don't kill!" Izuku cried. "We try to save people, if we can! You hurt people because you enjoy it! That's not what heroes do!"

"Oh? But I'm only giving people fair treatment! That's how we play the game! Didn't they always tell you to 'treat others the way you want to be treated' in school? That's simply what I do! If I get hurt, I hurt them back! If they want to go out of their way to injure their one and only jester for the sake of not wanting to abuse their son, then you best expect me to end his sad tale where it stands, before he truly does injure his family! My rules may be different from yours, but I at least get the job done!"

"But that's wrong! Don't you get it! Because of your 'heroic actions,' you've gone insane! You've snapped!"

Dimentio tilted his head slightly, grinning wider. "Perhaps. But not as hard as I will snap your bones."

He charged Izuku, gripping the knife as hard as he could. Dimentio was fast, almost too fast to dodge. Izuku wished he had Olly's Ancient power to help him. Izuku tried to land a few hits on the jester, but he either dodged or teleported from the attack.

"But Dimentio, I did nothing to you! Y-you attacked me first, right?" Izuku had run out of options. He had to try to get Dimentio to drop his guard, for even just a second, before he could strike back.

"Perhaps, but maybe you needed it!" He sliced Izuku's cheek, chopping a bit of his hair. "After all, you heroes are all the same. Someone does something you don't like, and then you beat them senseless! That's why I vow to be the only hero! I know how to do this! I've had years of experience! So stop moving and obey me already!"

"Heroes don't want people to obey them!" He ducked under Dimentio's knife.

"But if I want there to be no more pain and suffering, then I will show them, tell them how! I can teach them how to stop their cycle of death!" Dimentio flicked his empty hand up.

Izuku stumbled over a small part of the floor, which had extended to match Dimentio's hand movement. "Waah!"

Dimentio tackled him on the ground, sitting on top of the hero. "Any last words? You're lucky I'm even giving you this last chance to agree with me!" He held the knife high above him, the metal gleaming in the green light.

"Just four."

"That was two...What's your final wish? Do you beg for mercy?"

Izuku shook his head. "Plus Ultra."

He fully charged One-For-All, mixing it with Fa Jin energy he had been building since the battle with Piper, and punched Dimentio clear in the face. Dimentio went flying, crashing into the floor and bouncing a few times until the momentum finally stopped. He skid across the floor just a bit more, a reiterating clinking against the ground as his mask and bells finally hit the floor.

Dimentio had dropped the knife when Izuku punched him, so Izuku grabbed it as he got up. He went to Dimentio, holding the knife close to himself to prevent Dimentio getting any idea as to try and take it back. Izuku looked at the blood on the knife, then to Dimentio bleeding on the floor.

His left pant leg was torn, and blood was streaming from it unlike a normal amount. Izuku realized he must have sliced his leg when he dropped the knife, when Izuku punched him off. Dimentio was shaking lightly, and Izuku thought at first that he was laughing. But as he drew nearer, he found that Dimentio was actually crying. His hat had come loose, revealing his short black hair, the bangs and underside dyed yellow.

Izuku stay silent, unsure what to do. He was only trying to defend himself, and didn't mean for Dimentio to cry. But knowing him, Dimentio was possibly leading him into a trap. Izuku crouched down, but stayed on his guard.

"Dimentio?"

Dimentio covered his face with his hands. "What is it now? Have you come to mock me further?"

"M-mock you? Why?"

He gripped at his face, blood streaming from under his bangs from the impacts against the floor. "Because of my hideous face and my accursed magic! Just do it, Izuku. Kill the witch! End this nightmare, destroy the demon child you see before you!"

"No, I'm not going to kill you." Izuku tossed the knife aside as hard as he could, to ensure it would be far away from Dimentio.

"Why? Why spare me, after all that I have done?"

"Because...I can see the good in you."

"The good in me? Oh Izuku, you make me laugh. The good in my heart died when I decided to become a jester and a mercenary. I have not been the same since Piper...died..."

He sobbed into his hands again. Izuku could see a small, black, vein-like scar on his left cheek, and two coming from his right eye as if they were tears themselves. They zigzagged across his cheek like a lightning bolt to the sky.

"Dimentio, are you okay? You have so many scars on your face."

"My ignorance. I did this to myself, not them. I killed him. I killed her. I practiced magic in a world where it was frowned upon. I nearly got myself beheaded. I used the Chaos Heart. I caused this. It is all my fault. And her face...Her beautiful face looks so much like mine. I ponder who she is but know I can never receive that answer. At least...not in this lifetime."

Izuku held out his hand. "I don't know what's going on, but can you let me help you?"

"Why would I need your help? I would just kill you in the end anyhow."

"Dimentio, please. I know you can change."

"Stop with the pity, Izuku. I deserve to die, so just leave me be."

"But you don't!"

"Kill me now, before I change my mind."

Izuku grabbed him by the collar. "No! You don't get it, do you? I told you, I'm not going to kill you! I don't care what you did in the past, this is the present! And if you stay stuck in the past, you're only going to get worse!"

Dimentio moved his hands from his face a bit, still shying behind them. He had a black scar above his left eye as well, cutting through his thick, black eyebrows. His eyes matched those on his mask, which Izuku had thought before now was just a stylistic choice for the mask. Dimentio's hair was a mess, and stray tears fell from his eyes.

"Dimentio, just listen. I have a feeling there's something you're not telling me; and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I think you've been traumatized. I think that, whatever happened to you, made you think this way. That the world is cruel and unjust. Can I show you something? Please? I might be able to change your mind."

Dimentio stayed silent.

Izuku released him, watching him cover his face again by pulling his hat over his face the best he could. Izuku went over to Dimentio's shattered mask, lying in pieces on the floor. The largest piece was the white half of his mask, which had survived most of the impact. A few pieces were missing here-and-there, but survived nonetheless. The black half was completely shattered, leaving the porcelain scattered haphazardly on the ground. Izuku picked up the white half and went back to Dimentio. He held it out to Dimentio.

"Here."

Dimentio peeked at him through his fingers. Izuku noticed that his head was no longer bleeding, but the injury on his leg had only gotten worse. Dimentio grabbed the half of his mask and stared at it. Izuku could finally see the entirety of his face. He had one more of those black scars over the bridge of his nose. He had a indent on his nose that looked relatively new, deforming the shape of his nose. Blood streamed from his nose.

"Oh gosh, I broke your nose!"

"...Izuku."

Izuku froze. Was he planning something? The broken ends of the mask were quite sharp...He could try to stab Izuku with them if he wanted.

But he didn't.

He tapped the mask to his face, letting it fall when it failed to stay on. He stared sadly down at the broken mask, his hands shaking lightly.

"Piper...I did this all for you..."

"Piper? Wasn't she one of your puppets? The one with the guillotine?"

"Piper...If only I could have avoided that outcome...Piper...I have been incapable of loving anyone else since you passed..."

Izuku sat down in front of him. "Did you love her?"

"...Dearly."

"What was she like?"

"..."

"It's fine if you don't want to talk about it-"

"She was beautiful, Izuku."

Izuku fell silent. He got Dimentio to talk, which was great. Maybe he could get him to get some anger off his chest.

"She was my...only friend. She taught me how to whittle. She always wanted to entertain those less fortunate. She told me once, that she wanted to become a jester. She was always interested in my magic...S-she...I could not control it then! I had no reason behind it like he said! They all accused me! They feared me! They-they did not know the true story! They ignored me when I tried to tell them! I-I..." He grabbed his hair, pulling at it. "They did not give me a chance, all because I was wrong! I looked wrong, so they hated me!"

"H-hang on, I'm sure that-"

"And then he turned on me. He tried to kill me. He tried to behead me. But he had trusted me moments before. He was only a fake. His kindness was simply an illusion, just like the trust of everyone else. I should not have trusted anyone. I trusted Piper, and Emery, and was nearly murdered. I trusted that foolish king, and he hurt me. He injured my hands in hopes I would never be able to survive again. I trusted Blumiere...and he lied to me. They deserved it. They all deserved it. They deserved to be killed, them and their corrupted worlds! Everyone else in those worlds were just like them!"

Izuku placed a hand on his shoulder, making Dimentio flinch. "Dimentio, let me show you something. Please? It might change your mind."

He stared into Izuku's eyes, a sense of familiarity shining in them. "N-no!" He shoved Izuku's hand off, standing on shaky legs. "No! You cannot change my mind! It has been proven far too many times to be changed!"

"Dimentio, when did you grow up?"

"...1790 to...1798."

"Th-the French Revolution?!"

"It was another world." He avoided eye contact. "Some worlds have castles, and dragons; whereas others hold technology beyond our comprehension. I grew to an adult during the seventeen hundreds, in a world trapped in the past."

"No wonder people were so harsh, and cruel. Dimentio, please...Can I at least try? Try to show you that not everything is as cruel as it was in the past?"

"..."

"Please." He felt like crying.

"...You get one chance. Only one. If you succeed in showing me that the world has changed, then I will consider changing my ways as well."

Izuku smiled. "Thanks."

Izuku let out a slow sigh. One chance. One chance will be just enough, if he played his cards right. It would only work if Dimentio would listen to him. He held out his hand.

"Let's head back to Japan first. Okay?"

Dimentio looked at his hand, then held up his other. "Alright. But remember, failure leads to your absolute end. And it will be a pleasure to bring forth your final curtain~"

He snapped, and they were back in the room full of puppets. Izuku motioned towards the trapped heroes and students.

"Save them first."

"You have no control over me."

"I have your knife."

Dimentio sighed. "Alright, if you insist. Remain still."

He went to Izuku first, grabbing a string attached to his arm. He pulled a pair of scissors out his poncho. They were purple, with a magenta gem in the center that mimicked a cat's eye. He cut the string, which then vanished in a small wisp of purple smoke.

"Permission to do this in a faster way?" Dimentio asked sarcastically.

"Granted."

Dimentio pushed his hand into the air, the roof being blasted directly off. He released Izuku's arm and stepped back. He held out the scissors, then tossed them up. They glew for a split second, then fell back down. They were now giant, and stuck straight up from the floor where they landed.

"Allow me to show you one of the Chaos Heart's many abilities..." Dimentio bowed, tapping a hand to his chest and tucking the other behind his back.

He fell limp, like a puppet on strings, twitching slightly. His mouth fell open slightly, purple smoke piling out and filling the room. Izuku coughed. The scissors were lifted from the ground as the smoke cleared.

"Impressive, no?"

Izuku looked up. Dimentio was now giant, twirling the scissors as he rested one arm on the top of the wall. His head was rested in his hand. Izuku looked down at the injury on his leg. Instead of blood still coming from it, a magenta glow came from it instead. Magenta smoke followed the injury whenever he moved his leg. He pushed off the wall, standing straight.

"You sure are lucky I was too weak to use this against you, Izuku. You would have been ground to a paste in a matter of seconds."

He grabbed everyone by their strings, holding them high in the air. His black eye held a purple glow. He opened the scissors, resting the blades against the strings. He released the strings and closed the scissors shut. Everyone remained in the air, which surprised Izuku.

"I thought you-I thought..."

Dimentio leaned against the wall again. "And let you die? No...If you fail me, I want to watch your look of horror as I tear your friends limb from limb!" He looked at his own hand. "Although, I do admit that this affect is different from Super Dimentio..." The same magenta mist floated from his wrists, following the form of an arm, connecting to where his shoulders would be. "I must be getting stronger~" He smirked. "Which means more trouble for you, Izuku."

He created the smoke again, then appeared back in his normal size. He replaced the roof by crushing the walls into themselves to make a cone shape. He smiled.

"That should do it."

Izuku realized that he made a mistake. There was no way he was going to change Dimentio's mind. And Dimentio was now starting to show off the full of his Quirk. He was powerful, sure, but Izuku finally realized how powerful he was.

"Oh...boy. What did I get myself into?"

"No clue," Dimentio said, sitting in the air next to him. "But I suggest you...lead away, if you want me to spare all worlds as you said I would."

"Okay. Let's get this started."