Mirko didn't meet anyone as she bounded down the hallways. She barely even took in her surroundings.

The building was all in dark colors, though, not much like a regular lab. The long corridors were like a hospital's in that they were empty, but their color and shape seemed more like an old mansion's. 

She came to the end of one, and it split two ways. She had no idea where she was going.

The main thing was to give Shine enough chance to get some distance, right? So as long as it was away from AFO, it didn't matter. She turned to the right and kept going.

This corridor was shorter and turned sharply again. Left this time.

She kept going.

* * *

Shine held her sword up. 

"You won't win this fight, AFO," she said steadily.

"I don't really need to," AFO said. "Now that your companion has run off, it seems to me I have bigger problems. She's gone to get reinforcements, no doubt. That was your plan this whole time, wasn't it?"

"Do you...live in you own little world?" Shine said.

"Tomura Shigaraki, you had best find the Doctor and warn him," AFO said. "I will keep Miss Likstar busy. We have much to talk about."

"But..." Shigaraki began uncertainly.

"Oh, I won't kill her just yet," AFO said. "Let us see how she can defend her actions. But hurry back. If it turns out the Hero is going to betray us, I know what you will want to do, and we must hurry."

"It's all right, go," Shine said. She didn't want Shigaraki there. If AFO convinced him to attack her, she doubted she could hold off both of them. "It won't help for you to have to watch this."

Whether it was her endorsement or AFO's that sealed it, Shigaraki left the room in search of Ujiko.

"You wanted this all along," Shine said to AFO. "You knew I was a threat to you if I knew the truth about you. Is this the part where you kill me and claim I attacked first?"

"It has been many decades since anyone has brought up my brother," AFO said flatly, "at least the way you did. But that is not really of any major concern. You wanted to take Tomura Shigaraki away from me. That much was clear...but you'll find he is devoted to me, and that his hatred for All Might is immovable. My only question now is why you thought you could change that at all."

He was mocking her.

"A girl can dream," Shine said. "But I confess, it's my duty to offer a chance to anyone to turn from their wicked ways. But I never did think you'd listen. I'm not fond enough of you to try more than once. You've had plenty of chances to realize you were wrong already, and you don't seem interested in that."

She twisted her sword. "But I can assure you, you will pay for what you did to that poor boy. And all those other people whose lives you stole also. But most of all, for Tenko Shimura. What kind of monster can do that to an innocent child, who was bereft of his whole family already...? But then, I've known so many like you. You tyrants are all the same--don't see people as people anymore. I bet you think it's funny I'm even talking about it to you."

"It's true, you are amusing," AFO said. "It stings that you think so little of me, but what else are you but a tyrant trying to get your followers to do your will? If I was as you say, you are no different. You intrigued me, I admit, when I heard of you. I rarely see anyone who has any ability to read people at all fighting on the Heroes side. But sadly, you wasted your talents by trying to undo my work."

"I thought you might have caught on," Shine said. "The real battle here was between what the two of us want for Tenko. You want him to give his all for you and your goals, which you forced on him while he was defenseless to resist you and too numb from grief to feel it was any abuse of power. It's so exhilarating to you to exploit people who are helpless, isn't it? Your type always likes that."

AFO didn't deny it. He just stood up and came a little towards her.

"And you want the same thing--the devotion of followers. I understand your hunger for it, Likstar. But you will never get the kind of devotion you want. You're too weak for that. How often do you fail to really protect them?"

Shine bit her lip.

"Too often," she said meekly, "but protecting them is not my main goal, even if it's important to me. I can't protect them always, but I can show them how to live right, even if they live dangerously. I can't say the same for you. But pointing fingers at you will hardly get me what I want... I know what you want for Tenko. I know the lies you told him. Even if I knew nothing else about you, the evidence in that young man of your influence and your ideas is enough to condemn you forever. There's a special place in hell for people who do what you do, no mistake."

"How very dramatic," AFO said, "but perhaps you are just envious of my superior ability to guide him. I took care of him all this time--of course he would prefer me. And that is how it should be. People like you don't understand. You're determined to have people work on their own and choose you, not because it gains them anything, but to match some vague idea of what's right and good. But why should they care about that? It's not like it benefits them to conform to your will. I offered the heart's desires of the people I led if they did as asked."

Shine laughed bitterly.

"I know you told yourself that," she said, not shaken at all. "I might even believe you thought it was true...but then, you ensured that all Tenko wanted was what you wanted. If you were really so benevolent, you would not have taught him to hate your greatest enemy, a fight that was not his. You just wanted a tool, a pawn, and if you had any real affection for him, you'd have left off when you saw it was destroying him to do as you wanted. But you let him shrivel down into almost nothing and blame himself for his family's death, on the grounds that it was just his nature, and not a horrible accident brought on by trauma, as any clear-sighted person would have seen, and as I'm sure you were clever enough to know, as you're such an expert on quirks. But then, you helped people who didn't like their quirks, didn't you? Given the ability to take them, you didn't use it to make people's lives better just on their own wishes, but to bind them to you. As if that is what a gift like yours is for. Do not lie to me about caring about him."

She spat, literally.

AFO opened his hands to show more energy in them. "You will rue the day you interfered in my affairs, Likstar. I have not let anyone get away with that in my whole career. I will not start with you. And you have not spared All Might either in all this. I will still finish what I started with him."

"You'll die trying," Shine said.

AFO let the energy fly at her.

She deflected it the same as before.

"You could really try a new attack," she complained.

"I wouldn't like to pull out all the show stoppers before the final act," AFO said smugly. "All the pieces need to come into place first."

Shine blinked. "Oh...what did you do?"

* * *

Shigaraki didn't know what to think while he searched for Ujko. His mind was swirling with all that had just happened, but he blindly followed AFO's suggestion.

But when he found Ujiko, it was already too late to warn him, from the looks of it.

The Doctor was in a room not far from AFO's, with more equipment in it, though just test tubes and stuff like that, not his high tech stuff.

But the room was already a wreck, broken glass everywhere.

Ujiko was cut up from shards of glass, it looked like, and bleeding pretty badly.

"What...happened?" Shigaraki said.

Ujiko looked up. "It was the rabbit. She just burst in here like a bat out of hell and destroyed everything again. She said something about looking for the others. She went that way." He pointed. 

"But I wouldn't follow her. She already had her phone out. No doubt that West person will be here any moment because of her. And the others. We should run while we have the chance."

Shigaraki said nothing for a moment, then he said, "Where are Twice and Toga?"

"They ran. I guess they were scared," Ujiko said. "Compress has gone off alone. I don't know where he is."

"I will find that Pro before she can do any more," Shigaraki said. "Stay put."

"I'm not likely to go anywhere, but if you go after her, be prepared," Ujiko said. "I wouldn't let her get close."

Shigaraki went the way he'd said.

Mirko breaking all that was pretty in character, though Ujiko being in that condition was pushing it.

But for the moment he wasn't sure Mirko was, in fact, doing as Ujiko had said. After AFO attacked, she could have just panicked. He wasn't sure what he would do if he found her, but letting Ujiko get the chance to seemed like a bad idea.

But, in fact, she wasn't that far away.

Mirko was hiding in an alcove behind curtains. But she was on the phone, in fact.

"It's all up," she was saying. "You have to come and end this now. We've been had..."

Shigaraki yanked the curtain said, and she looked up, looking at him slyly. "Uh, I'll have to call you back." She hung up.

Shigaraki was going to say something, but she didn't give him the chance.

"Sorry," she said, "but it's too late now. They're going to be here. You should probably just run for it."

She jumped over his head nimbly. "By the way, it was nothing personal," she called, "but after AFO called us here, I knew it was all over. Its a shame. It was fun while it lasted." She shrugged. "But what can you do?" She yanked the curtains off the rod.

Shigaraki got buried in them, but he disintegrated them.

But when he had, she was gone.

He stared at the empty wall.

So...it was true.

He heard the distinct sound of blasts shaking the room... Likstar must still be fighting Master...or maybe not--maybe it was Mirko and Shine, both.

* * *

"It should be about time now," AFO said to Shine, after she asked what he'd done. "But you don't need to worry about using your ability to get out of here, Miss Likstar. I'll send you myself."

"No you don't." Shine's sword blazed up.

Before either of them could make another move, Shigaraki came back into the room, and he looked pissed.

"It was true!" he said angrily. "All of it. Likstar, you b---h!"

"Excuse me?" Shine was confused. "What did Ujiko tell you?"

"I saw it for myself," Shigaraki said.

Shine didn't have enough information.

"Um...you'll have to explain--"

But while she wasn't paying attention, AFO shot some red things out of his fingers and hooked onto her.

Shine's whole body shuddered. It was excruciatingly painful.

It did not, as AFO hoped, force her powers to activate, it just hurt like hell.

But it was enough to throw her off. She fell over.

"She'll be down for the count now," AFO said. "I know what you want to do, Tomura Shigaraki. I will send you to do it. That will be for the best, won't it?"

"Don't," Shine managed to gasp, feeling she must stop this somehow, whatever it was. "It's a trap."

"Quiet, you little deceiver," AFO said. "We've had enough of you."

Shigaraki was listening, but he clenched his fists.

Black goo swallowed him up.

"Nice try, Likstar," AFO said, "but game over. He'll kill her now, and then I will kill you. It won't matter by then. But thanks for playing. I needed your help to make it convincing enough for him to be angry."

"He'll...find out you lied, sooner or later." Shine shoved herself up onto her hands and knees. "Truth always comes out."

"Miss Likstar, by the time that happens, if it ever does," AFO sounded so happy about it, "it won't matter anymore. You see, it is just his nature to destroy, and that is just what he wanted to do, with or without a reason for it."

That...line...filled Shine with so much fury that adrenaline rushed through her whole body.

AFO was surprised when she suddenly lurched to her feet and threw her sword at him like a javelin.

He reached out and caught it with one hand, but then he gasped like it burned him and recoiled.

The sword reappeared in Shine's hand.

[Fanart by Julianna Gardner]

"You may have stalled, but you can't truly stop the power of God," she said, her voice ringing out even with her body shaking. "And I'm not ready to die in this manner, doing your will. Get back from me!"

She stabbed the ground with all her might, and shock waves radiated out from her sword, rattling the whole room, cracking the walls, and knocking AFO back into his chair, knocking the whole thing over, in fact.

Electric sparks shot out as some cords were yanked out of his chair.

AFO gave cries of pain at the impact.

Shine leaned on her sword for a moment. "Next time we meet, I won't let you talk so long," she said through gritted teeth. Then she stumbled out of the room.

"Ujiko!" AFO began to yell in a furious tone. "Where are you!?"

Shine stumbled down the hall and saw Ujiko, kind of cut up, stumbling out of a side room. He looked at her with something like fear.

Her eyes were glowing bright gold. "Well, go lick his wounds," she said in a terrible voice. "I wouldn't stick around and give me the chance to forget that revenge is not part of my religion."

Ujiko actually yelped and dashed past her to where AFO was.

Shine kept stumbling. "Come on," she muttered, "let me go to her, quickly, before it's too late, please, please, please..."

* * *

Mirko was hopelessly lost. She'd found a window or two along these hallways, but they were blacked out when she opened the curtains, and only thin lines of light came in around the edge. Not enough to see what was outside.

She considered breaking them but was afraid that would draw whoever was in this building to wherever she was.

She was pretty sure she'd doubled back the other way by mistake with all the turns she'd taken, but Shine still should have found her by now... Maybe she should go back.

It was during this that she stumbled into Twice.

Twice was curled up in a corner, muttering to himself.

"Twice?" she said.

"Ah!" Twice cringed away from her. "Don't hurt me! Come closer! No, don't!"

"Hurt you? When have I ever?" Mirko was puzzled. "Listen, Twice, why are you here? I need help. I have to find Shine. Can you make some clones or something?"

"No, no more," Twice mumbled. "I didn't want to do it! I loved it! I don't want to hurt anyone! I'll kill you!"

"What?" Mirko said.

"The nomu," Twice mumbled, "I knew it wouldn't please Shigaraki, but I didn't want Toga to die... Go away! Help me!"

Mirko's ears twitched.

"Okay...Twice, you're not making sense, but I guess that's normal. Just...get up and let's get out of here, okay?"

She was just glad to see anyone she recognized, really.

Twice sniffed and looked up at her nervously. "We can leave?"

"Yes," Mirko said.

Twice nodded. "Yes! No!" He got up. "Follow me. You lead."

"Whatever," Mirko said. "Let's just start moving."

But they'd moved for half a minute when they heard a loud crashing noise.

"Ah!" Twice grabbed Mirko's arm. "He's coming!"

"If that's still AFO, then I'm worried it's too late," Mirko said.

"Not just him!" Twice said. "Shut up! No, you shut up!"

"Twice, stop it!" Mirko covered his mouth. "I think I hear something else." She strained her ears.

But she couldn't figure out what it was.

For a moment it almost sounded like voices...or hissing...or footsteps...

"This house is freaky..." she said.

"It's spooky," Twice whimpered.

Another sound that they couldn't place resounded near them.

Twice freaked out. "I'm going to die in here!" He suddenly yanked at Mirko around the neck so hard she saw stars.

"Twice, stop it!" She pried his hands off her neck and tried to hold him off. "You're going to strangle me!"

A few clones of Twice appeared, all of them yelling different things.

[Because it fits him too well.]

To Mirko, it was torture to be surrounded by that racket.

The real Twice put his hands on his head. "I'm splitting..."

Funny, she thought he only said that when his mask was off...

"Hold on, I've got it," she said. She jumped on one clone and crushed it, then kicked the other two.

She kicked mud off her feet.

Dang it, she wasn't in costume either. That kind of hurt.

"There you are," a new voice said.

Mirko and Twice looked up.

Shigaraki was there... He'd just appeared out of black goo, it seemed. Some of it was disappearing into the air.

Twice cried, "Shigaraki! Help!"

Now, he meant help from the other things, but Shigaraki took it a different way.

"Come here, Twice," he said coldly.

Mirko didn't like that tone.

She held up her hand. "Uh, listen, Shigaraki, there's something weird about this house. I don't know what it is, but Twice is kind of freaking out."

Shigaraki wasn't listening to a word she said. "Twice!"

Twice whimpered and trotted over to him, muttering contradictory things. 

"AFO is probably trying to kill Shine right now," Mirko said. She shivered. "I've got to get back to her. Whatever you think just happened, you don't really want her to die, right? I have to try to stop it."

No answer.

Mirko felt a weird feeling of dread.

She backed up suddenly. "Shigaraki?"

"Boss?" Twice said nervously. "Are you okay? We should run! Get her!"

Not the thing she wanted to hear.

Shigaraki started moving toward her.

She knew that stride. It was aggressive.

Mirko didn't stop to ask herself if running would work, she just took off.

Of course she had no idea where she was going...and suddenly she found herself coming up to a dead end.

She'd run out of hallways. 

Shigaraki was still coming.

Mirko looked around frantically. AFO must have...she didn't know... She'd missed something here, but it was too late to ask what now.

She could fight him...but she'd seen his power before, and she didn't think she would get away from it, not if he brought the whole hallway down on her.

She could run the other way.

Twice was blocking her way though.

Even that wouldn't work if Shigaraki moved fast enough.

She looked at the wall. There was a window there.

Nothing else for it. She jumped and kicked at the glass.

It shattered nicely enough, making Twice jump. Some amount of natural light came into the room. It illuminated it in a strange, patchy way that was kind of jarring.

But she didn't kick enough to go through the window. It was thicker than she thought. Instead, she cut herself on some shard of it and fell back into the room.

One more jump ought to do it. She pushed herself up, but this was when she discovered that her reckless idea had its consequences. She had a huge shard of glass sticking out of one of her feet. Jumping on it would send it clean through.

She stared at it in horror.

She pushed at the floor, getting up on one foot, but she'd never get out the window with one leg off.

She was bleeding badly, too.

Shigaraki didn't stop. Of course he had shoes on. She didn't.

I'm going to die, Mirko thought, and it's not going to be for anything I did. It's going to be because some psychopath with a hate campaign against All Might lied about me to his pet... What a stupid way to go...

But she couldn't just give up!

Maybe she could stall.

She hopped back, trying to get out of range.

"Hey, listen, whatever AFO said, it's not true," she said, "at least...not all of it is. You have to know Shine by now. She would never lie to someone and stab them in the back later, come on. If that's what we were doing, she'd never had allowed it."

No answer. He was just closer.

Now that he was close enough, she saw his expression was so dead...almost like in trance...but it was angry too.

Maybe he wasn't hearing anything she was saying...

What were her odds of dodging this attack?

She hit the wall suddenly. Now she literally had nowhere to run.

Shigaraki didn't stop. He was right in front of her now. Twice was whimpering but not doing anything to help her.

In fact, he was so far away now, he might actually be running away.

Mirko tried to move as Shigaraki's hand came at her. She dodged, and he hit the wall.

The wall decayed slightly.

"Come on, don't do this!" She hated how pathetic she sounded, but no other words would come out. "Don't--" 

He shot his hand out again. She move--but this time it was just a trick. His other hand was ready. He grabbed her by the throat.

One finger was up though.

Mirko tried to pry his arm off and pulled up her injured foot. Kicking would be a bad idea but maybe all she could try right now.

"Don't," Shigaraki finally spoke, his tone distant. "It would only take one second to lower all five fingers."

Mirko didn't move.

A horrible pause ensued.

She couldn't stand it. If he was going to kill her, she wished he'd just do it. This was torture.

"Look, just get it over with," she said, straining her voice. "This is really uncomfortable..."

Shigaraki didn't move yet. He frowned. "I never should have allowed you into the League. In a way, this is my fault. But it's not smart, betraying someone while they're still around to see you do it."

Mirko lost her temper. If she was dying anyway, she didn't care anymore.

"I didn't betray you, stupid idiot!" She strained. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was dragged here against my will, and a lot of that crap back there didn't make sense to me. I just wanted to save Shine, that's all, and Twice."

"Shut up!" Shigaraki cut her off.

She went silent.

"I should kill you right now," Shigaraki said.

Mirko had nothing left to try.

But nothing was happening.

"Why am I hesitating...?" Shigaraki sounded like he was talking to himself. "It would be easy... Why do I always hesitate...with you?"

Mirko would have gasped if she could have. But a little ray of hope appeared inside her... Maybe...

Shigaraki winced like his head hurt. "Stop it..." he said to no one.

Inside his head, he was thinking, "Do what you want, do what you want..."

But his actions weren't complying with his thoughts. Always he had done something AFO suggested immediately, but it was as if something was holding him back now.

If only she didn't look so scared, it would have been easier...but she looked totally terrified.

It was getting hard for Mirko to hold still...

Then her expression changed...softened or became more peaceful, like she just accepted the situation.

She slowly put her hand down. It was no good. If it came to it, Shigaraki was stronger than she was for sheer force, unless she used her feet, and he'd be too fast for that.

 She knew it--she'd seen it already.

Still nothing.

Shigaraki was...actually shaking right now.

Mirko thought it was like he was more afraid to do this than she was of it happening.

Somehow, she stopped feeling afraid then. She didn't know why. It was just like seeing someone else's fear made her forget her own. Maybe it showed.

Shigaraki couldn't stand how calm she looked. Everyone always looked so afraid...or angry, d--- it!

The shaking got worse.

Then suddenly he dropped her and reeled back, turned around, and...was sick.

Gross.

But Mirko had never been so happy to see anyone throw up in her life.

She sank back against the wall, hand on her throat.

"Rumi?!" the most welcome voice in the world called.

Shine was at the far end of the hall. The light from a portal had just faded out around her.

"Wow...I'm off," Shine said. "Tomura!"

Shigaraki looked up at her, still looking nauseous. "How did you get here?"

Shine stumbled towards them as well as she could manage. She looked kind of roughed up.

"I saw Twice," she said, "He was saying something about clones... Listen...things are not what they seem here. This whole place is crawling with some dark aura, I can't put my finger on what... It's not like AFO somehow, but...whatever he said, whatever you saw, we are not here to harm any of you."

Shigaraki just stared at her blankly.

Shine held out her hand to Mirko. "Come here."

Mirko limped her way. " I have...glass..." she said.

"I can see," Shine said. "Hang on to me."

Mirko did so.

"I would have been too late," Shine said slowly, "but you hesitated, didn't you?"

"I..." Shigaraki sputtered. "Something is wrong. I feel sick..."

"That is because this is not you," Shine said. "I know that. We have to go, you know, before he finds us again...but please, Tenko, don't stay here, not with them...even if you don't come with us."

"What are you saying, Likstar?" Shigaraki suddenly straightened. "This is where I belong."

"Oh, come on!" Mirko cried. "After what just happened?"

Shigaraki glared at her. She didn't quite like it.

"Listen to me," Shine said. "AFO is going to be angry if he finds you didn't carry through with what he said. I can't bear to think of him punishing you. Please, just leave here while you can. It will be too late soon if you don't. All of this, it's going to lead to his own demise. You must know that by now. He has convinced you, but you know I have not lied to you. I am not one to lie. I didn't hurt AFO because I planned it. I had to escape, is all."

"Hurt?" Shigaraki said.

"He'll live," Shine said. "I only slowed him down for a moment. He's probably up already."

"Really?" Mirko was impressed, but she didn't have much room for a positive feeling right now. "Shine, hang on, we can't..."

"You!" Shigaraki was angry. "I hate you! How could you do such a thing!?"

Shine flinched. "I had no choice. He was going to kill me anyway. And her."

"I don't believe you!" Shigaraki cried.

Shine shivered. "Well...then you don't believe me," she said. "I'm sorry... I can't help you, then."

"Shine, no!" Mirko grabbed her arm. "Don't."

"I have no choice," Shine said.

Shigaraki took a step back. "Don't come near me!"

"That is not what I meant," Shine said. "I wish it was that easy to fix this. Heaven help you now..."

She looked up. "But I think he'll be here soon, if we can just get outside. I think I can manage once more, just out that window."

"Shine--" Mirko tried again.

A portal opened behind them.

"Good bye, Tenko," Shine said. "I'm so sorry...for everything." She smiled. "But I love you. Please, remember that."

"Don't trust AFO!" Mirko cried, seeing it was going to be too late. "He lied. He lied about all of this. Think about it, it was a set up!"

Shine yanked her through the door.

Shigaraki was left to wonder why he had just let them go.

Then he saw Twice coming back, still upset.