"Why would I ever take your deal?" Nine scoffed.
"Because Tomura lied to you," I said simply. Nine scowled as I continued. "What is your ultimate goal?"
"To tear down this society where the weak control the strong to their own gains. Those who the weak cannot control are ostracized and labeled dangerous, while the weak craft more laws and rules to keep them chained.
I want to tear it all down so that those with the real power can take charge, as it should be. In this world, might makes right. The weak would have us believe that heroes and villains are the only labels that matter, but that isn't true.
Those are the labels they force onto others: heroes that they can control, and villains who refuse to be controlled. Once I've torn it all down, I will rebuild it all so that the strong aren't oppressed for their power, and so that the weak can never use us as tools for their gains ever again.
You should be on our side; doesn't it irritate you having to listen to the weaklings of this world? To have them try time and time again to chain you to their rules and laws, only doing their bidding so they can stay in power?"
I snorted, though he wasn't wrong. It was a bit annoying how much the HPSC threw their weight around, especially after the mess they pulled with Lady Nagant.
"I'll tell you about me another time, but right now all you need to know is that your goal is not Tomura's goal. Tomura Shigaraki is nothing but a petulant child and a liar, carrying forth hatred that isn't his own, and upholding ideals that were drilled into his mind.
Tomura wishes to tear down this world: heroes, villains, governments, all of it. He wants it all gone, and for the world to descend into an unending chaos. There is no rebuilding, there is no new order; he simply wants chaos.
The worst part? It's not even his own idea. His master, whom I killed, All For One, has been trying to do that for over a century. Trying time and time again to tear things down into chaos so he can rule supreme."
Nine was silent for a long moment as he thought about that before speaking. "Do you have any way to prove this? I have no reason to believe the words of a hero." I shook my head; I actually didn't.
"I have no way to prove it, but Tomura will. With his actions, he has done so already. I'm sure you've seen the attack on Endeavor recently." He nodded. "Notice how the Nomu didn't seem bothered by collateral? Not to mention Dabi's blast of flames, there was even a known terrorist group from Germany present that day."
"What makes you think Tomura really wants to rebuild this world? I was there when the League first attacked U.A. Their goal was simple: 'Kill the Symbol of Peace, cause chaos among the heroes'. You were lied to, and you believed them."
Chimera snarled and stood up, but Nine held up a hand to stop him. His hand twitched several times before he spoke once more. "Say all of that is true, what could you possibly offer me that Tomura hasn't?"
"A cure. Right here, right now. I have two methods of doing so with me, and if neither of them works, I can take you back to U.A were several machines are waiting that are more advanced than anything else in this world."
To prove my point, I slotted in Knighting and Purification; each one activated caused my hands to glow with colored light as Nine looked at me, surprised. "Nothing comes free in this world; what is the price?" Slice spat from the side as Nine looked at me expectantly.
"This," I held up the hand glowing blue from Knighting, "Will give you a powerful regenerating pseudo-quirk, strong enough to halt the decay and reverse it, though you will still live with the pain. By granting you the pseudo-quirk, you would become my Knight."
"This," I held up the white light that was Purification, "Will totally cleanse your body of everything plaguing it. How that will affect your additional quirks and other hidden things, I have no idea, but it's an option that grants you free will."
"The price would be joining me willingly, to not only strike at the symptoms of this rotten society, but at the root itself. I share your goal, but see no reason to destroy it all to achieve it. All you will do by tearing it all down is start another quirk war, and that is what I seek to avoid."
Nine looked at each hand glowing its separate colors for a long moment. "What about my companions?" He asked as Slice and Chimera turned to him in shock. "Don't worry about us! Just get cured so you can make our dream come true." Chimera growled as I mentally checked out.
They went back and forth before they realized they couldn't talk Nine out of this, and he looked to me once more. "What will happen to my friends?"
"That's where things get tricky. Since you are all recognized as villains, I don't think I'd be able to get you all out of jail. We could spin it all as a rehabilitation of innocent civilians who were manipulated by the League.
We'd need Nezu's help to really sell that one, but it isn't impossible. You would have to commit to us, however; that means working to better things in a way that doesn't involve tearing everything apart."
Nine mulled over this in silence for a good five minutes. "I cannot decide just yet. I will give you my answer tomorrow." I shook my head. "Not going to work. I understand that I'm dropping this on you out of nowhere, but you need to decide now. Before Tomura and the Doctor decide you aren't worth keeping around anymore."
Nine scowled at this, so I left the lighthouse to give them some space so they could talk freely. Just in time, the gacha pinged.
[Gift from beyond the veil, 1x Random Gold Ticket] (Boltbit77)
[Spinning, spinning, spinning, done!]
[Ring of the Bull]
|Rare Item|
This golden ruby ring grants its wearer increased strength and endurance. These increased stats are half a flat boost and half a percentage boost.
I immediately put the ring on, relishing the warm feeling it gave me as my strength increased. The downside was I had to put a few more Restraint Levels on, but it's fine. It was good practice for when I was able to remove them all without making craters wherever I walked.
I then fiddled with the stealth suit, tweaking a few things I'd noticed were off or misaligned from flight, before I was called back. Nine had his answer.
"I'm willing to join you, but only if you can heal me right here and now." Nine said as I nodded, slotting in Purification. I then activated Six Eyes as well to make sure nothing went horribly wrong, as I turned to Slice and Chimera.
"Get ready to hold him down and keep him from screaming. I know this will work, but I don't know how painful it will be. I am curing cellular degradation after all." They nodded and got on either side of Nine as I began.
For the first few moments, everything was fine, then it all went horribly wrong. Nine was healing, yes, but he was also losing the various other quirks he'd stolen. As you can imagine, that is horribly painful to experience.
Nine's face twisted in agony, but he remained silent for almost a full minute as the glow of Purification surrounded his body, striking deep at the cellular level to cure what this world had been unable to normally.
As it continued, Nine finally broke and started groaning as the various surgeries Dr. Garaki had done on him were reversed. Chimera held his arms as Slice held his legs as his body began spasming.
I didn't stop, however; Six Eyes showed me just how much damage he'd been suffering from over the years, and how the surgeries to give him AFO had only aggravated them. I continued as I started to feel a drain on my energy for the first time.
Things took a strange turn when a black sludge began oozing out from Nine's pores, all across his body. Slotting in Four Arms, I created a thin layer of water on top of Nine's body that cleaned him as the sludge was expelled.
Finally, after nearly four hours of yelling, concentration, and swearing, Nine stilled. He lay limply in a cot they'd set aside for him as I checked him over and over with Six Eyes, finding nothing wrong. I injected him with a Stimpack before turning to the others.
"I'll be back in the morning to take you all to U.A. He can recover better there and be safe from the League." I then gave them my number, as well as a spare phone from Nezu so they could contact me in case something went wrong during the night.
It was only then that I remembered that the rest of the class was going to hold up in another part of the island. Hopefully they would be ok; if not, they had Eren and Alarielle to keep them safe.