98 ——~(88)~——

"Evil is unspectacular and always human;

it shares our bed and eats at our table."

-W. H. Auden

"Go wild, you say?"

He smiled widely like his mouth was big enough to swallow the world whole and he'd just been given permission.

"Why, I think I'll do just that."

He pressed his hands to the floor: cold, unfeeling, and with a faint waft of chemicals as it were. And indeed, Zero was searching for his target, spreading out his senses to get the prey under lock. The cursed mark of his quirk zipped this and that way, slowing down for not a moment's rest and consequently, not attracting the attention of any naysayer.

It was entirely invisible, but something about it... Upon discovery, there was no way that it would be ignored. Its' very presence made man's heart race and their spirits howl. It gifted them nightmares, flashes of panic and death on a moonless night. It made the instincts of man and animal alike scream out in abject horror, for that thing made their very souls quake.

It was almost as if... It was the echo of death itself. Or maybe, the Grim Reaper's sickle at your throat. Or perhaps, the chill of a body long gone cold. None of these would be incorrect, honestly. For it was all that, and more. But for Deku, the power almost felt... homey, in a way, and wasn't that truly sad interesting?

Regardless, things were finally kicking into gear, so he scooped up all his stray thoughts and banished them off to his subconscious once more. It worked out rather nicely too, for Zero had finished fishing for information merely a few seconds later. And whatever that information was, it didn't seem to be that gracious towards their side.

"...How is it?"

"Tsk. This damn place... Well, it isn't called Tarturas for no good reason," He grimaced, sudden exhaustion overcoming him, but it was likely that he simply was dissuaded by the bad news, rather than being unable to withstand the sudden strain. "I can normally bypass the great majority of the so-called 'quirk resistant' materials simply by virtue of my less-than-material quirk. Usually, it can pass through just fine, but somehow, it's repelling something that's supposed to be entirely spiritual."

Deku got most of what he was saying, but Zero proceeded to explain further regardless.

"It's like being able to block telekinesis with a wall..."

His eyebrows furrowed as his teeth ground against each other.

"Where the hell did they find so much high-quality quirk repellant?!"

Deku was indifferent to his exasperation.

"Calm down. It's Tarturas. It's a given to expect this much, or else it wouldn't have held anyone, needless to say, All for One in for such a long period of time. Just be thankful that he's been kept still in one place," Deku took time to place the palm of his hand on the floor as well, making it look like he was doing something with the pipe on the floor, but really calling out to Gray in his mind's eye. He was going to try something. "It's not like we don't have any options left with us."

Zero's slanted brows of anger and frustration transformed into a single, questioning eyebrow by the end of his little speech.

"Oh~? And what is that?"

Deku's eyes flared momentarily in surprise at his new little... discoveries, but they quickly reverted to a normal, at ease look in the next. If one wasn't looking carefully, then it would have been nothing more than a trick of the light. Even then, it would be impossible to prove anything.

Zero caught the drift quickly, and once more displayed the excellent adaptation skills that he had. Instead of going rigid or looking around and just seeming more suspicious, he yawned and stretched from side to side; only someone incredibly close like Deku could see the casual tension in his muscles or the little dart-like movements of his eyes.

'...I didn't want to reveal this much if I could, but I suppose there's nothing for it. Gray, can you keep up the surveillance, maybe map out Tartarus in its entirety... Including All for One's location, if you can. And send some words to Zero at the same time?'

{That's not a problem, although it might backfire if that pushes him over the edge when I connect with his mind. People like that are real twitchy about intrusions. Bunch of paranoid bastards.}

'You just don't like them because they make your job harder, Gray. ...But yeah, go ahead and try. He might cause more trouble if he doesn't realize.'

Surprisingly, it didn't go that bad, all things considered, although Deku would later swear on his life that Zero almost choked on thin air when it happened.

'I swear... If you had something like this, tell me beforehand. I almost threw this little friend out. And you never tried to introduce me either... Ms. Gray, was it?'

Zero immediately jumped on the chance to utilize the newly established telepathic link.

Gray didn't appreciate it all that much, silently glaring at the man through the link, majorly preoccupied with her task.

Deku was just done with everything and naturally ignored Zero. Even if (especially since) he was implying a degree of untrustworthiness in regard to himself, seeing as he hadn't told him about Gray. He refused to fall for the rise, seeing as he was sure Zero had a few secret trump cards of his own.

He wasn't that much of a rookie.

'Throw away the charades; something big has just come up. That 'window' is just a television screen. The guards aren't really that sloppy. In fact, they're staring very intently at us right this second. If it weren't for the limited quirk useability pass I procured and the lack of destructive harm that occurred when we did use our quirks, I venture we'd be thrown in one of these very cells ourselves. Then there's that beast... Needless to say, we're very lucky.'

Zero thoughts were silent for a moment or two, although it was clear that he was thinking about something. Oddly enough, the man seemed to be very proficient in telepathic communication.

'...Wait, if the access pass came with a quirk use clause, why'd you have to get the quirk sensor idiot drunk?'

'It only extends to a certain range around our bodies. The quirk sensor is free to target everywhere else; any usage pass a range is an automatic jail. It was only natural I prepared.'

The line was silent for a moment.

'You know, I don't think it's luck that we haven't been discovered yet. You're just an incredibly paranoid bastard, kid. Even if you don't know a security measure or two, your total paranoia level more than makes up for it.'

Deku crouched down, ignoring Zero's commentary for the moment as he began to work on the pipe.

Although he had no knowledge of the subject beyond a surface level, he had made sure to acquire the technical skills of fixing a pipe through Gray and some poor old fellow.

He rolled over what Zero had said in his mind and out of his surface-level thoughts and ended up coming to a single conclusion:

'...It isn't paranoia if they're really out to get you.'

Unfortunately for Deku, sometimes you just couldn't prepare for everything.

Even if you are a paranoid-bastard-that-isn't-that-paranoid-because-they're-really-out-to-get-you.

'Well, well, if it isn't my beloved protege...'

Deku froze, becoming an ice sculpture frozen in the vastness of time and space, as a voice from his very nightmares themselves reverberated in his mind.

'gRAY, CUT THE LINK-'

He felt Zero get thrown out, but just as he was about to heave a sigh of relief...

He felt his mind get locked in place, unable to move.

And a very familiar, very sinister presence still echoed without remorse.

'Now, don't you have better manners than to shoo a guest away? I thought I raised you better than that...'

A dark laugh pierced his brain, drilling into it without escape.

'Izuku. Did you come to rescue me, little one? Or did you...'

Deku fell to his knees, face pale white.

'Come to kill me?'