300 Year Descent Into Hell
The Elevator hummed softly as it continued it's endless descent. I stared absentmindedly at the ceiling. It was mind-numbingly boring, but that was better than anything else I've experienced here.
I didn't know how long I had been traveling down. My sense of time was horrifically altered by the constant influx of memories. And, just my fucking luck, this Elevator didn't have a goddamn clock.
I rolled over on my side. I never managed to fall asleep. But closing my eyes, if even for a second... I could distract myself. Focus on the good things I could remember.
Instead of torture, I could remember those stupid experiments we use to conduct.
Instead of blood and pain, I could remember her smile.
Instead of the elevator, I could remember ho-
There was a sudden lurch, and a grinding sound. I panic for a moment, before the Elevator seems to correct itself. The intercom above buzzed, and I heard a familiar voice ring out.
"Today is April 20th. We are conducting our monthly recollection interview with ██ ████████. The purpose of this meeting is to identify any current gaps that exist in his memory, giving us time to sure up deficiencies and possible threats before they grow dangerous. Joining me is-"
It's cut violently, static screeching through the intercom. I frown. Paul Crémieux. Better known as De Jais. He was one of the more Villains in Europe, but I didn't know anything about him before coming here. Now? I knew far more than I would ever want to.
The intercom buzzed once again.
And with it, the nightmare started.
Patients
De Jais
I fell into the shadows, a world of darkness embracing me. An instant later, I reappeared - the wine cellar of a 5 Michelin star restaurant, only a mile away from the Eiffel Tower. Or, rather, what was left of the Eiffel. The sounds of screaming and explosions could be heard outside as the Reaper went about his slaughter.
It was the last of my worries. I had to find the boy. Couldn't take too long, not with the trap that Renard laid out.
13 minutes left. Over 100,000 basements in Paris left unexplored. The chance of finding him was almost impossib-
Didn't matter. I had to try. I wouldn't let him die. I couldn't.
I won't forget to turn off the lights this time.
I snap my head around, and failing to see the boy, instantly fall into the shadows once again. I investigate the next 3 basements in just as many seconds. I had been keeping this pace for the last 2 hours, and I could feel my Quirk breaking under the strain. Ever time I fell in the shadows, a few more drops of blood leaked from my wounds.
I can't stop yet. Not until I found him. Not until I saved the only person who gave a shit about me in this fucking burning city. And then I'd kill Renard, bash his skull in with those stupid paintings he loves so-
I pause, a wasted second. He couldn't be...
I go back to where this started.
The Louvre.
When I warped into the basement, I saw the guillotine instantly. An instant later, and I saw the boy's headless body.
There was supposed to be 12 minutes and 30 seconds left.
A small screen on the wall lit up. A horrically mutillated face stares at him through the screen.
"Dépêche-toi De Jais! J'ai le cou super raide dans ce truc!"
A yipping sound, barely recognizable as laughter, followed after the mocking comment. The familiar fox-like head of Renard pokes out from the side of the screen, a sneer on his face.
"Ne t'en fais pas trop! Il est mort il y a une éternité. Je te promets, je ne l'ai pas laissé partir trop vite!"
The yipping laugh rang out as Renard threw the head to the ground. It burst like an overripe fruit, and I felt the bile rise up in my throat.
I collapsed, vomiting. The yipping intensified, as if he could see my reaction.
The blood pounded in my ears. The blood that was left, anyways. I grit my teeth.
I couldn't teleport much more. Each time, I could feel myself leaving something behind - hair, skin...
I looked down. An entire finger missing, blood squirting out before fading into shadows.
I allow gravity to drag me through the shadows once again.
...
...
...
"I'll never es-escape... but I promise, Paul... If I get the c-chance... I'm dragging that fox down here with me..."
Suslik
A blackened space, with a single circle of light shining above. I don't have time to gather my bearings before I feel the sludge. A thick deluge of sticky wet ooze, sticking to my... skin?
Weighing me down. I try to lift my arms, but the goop has sunken in. Stiffened me. Made me viscous.
The room began to spin. Slowly at first. Barely noticeable. But every second, it spun faster and faster. The ooze on me, inside me - it pushed against me like a sack of bricks. I didn't have a second to get my bearings before another wave of the stuff slammed against me, sending me sprawling.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't fucking breathe. If someone doesn't get me out of here, I'm going to fucking suffocate.
I try to stand - the area where my legs should have been is missing. Just a mass of dirt.
Dirt.
Dirt.
I'm just Dirt.
Where is the orphanage?
"Ой... Хватит крутиться... П-пожалуйста... Выключите миксер, пожалуйста..."
My cries are met with silence, save for the drone of the spinning mixer. I stare at the light spinning above my head. It slowly grows dim as a lid moves to cover it.
And then, I'm alone in the dark.
...
...
...
"I... I hope it's bright out there... big guy..."
Chiami Tenko
I'm in a classroom - the rays of the setting sun streamed in through the windows, and the smell of chalk and ink was thick in the air. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. When I saw the standing next to me, icy terror flowed through my veins.
But I couldn't run. Couldn't move. I never could do things differently.
I was just remembering how things happened.
He touched my shoulder. Gentle. Almost caring. Almost. I could feel his hand rub my shoulder, slowly moving down the side of my arm.
Cupping my breast. He moved to grab the other, breathing against my neck as he groped me. I shook in fear as he touched me, his hands moving to unbutton my shirt - and then to unhook my bra.
The blood - I could see the blood move to his cock. Engorge it. He wanted to fuck. I felt the bile rise in my throat, but before I could give voice to any protest, he pushed me to the ground.
He weighed nearly 40 kilos more than me. There was nothing I could do as he pinned me down with one hand, and used the other to pull down my skirt. Rip off my panties. Nothing I could to stop him from grabbing my neck and rap-
The lights of the classroom flickers and fade.
...
...
...
"E-enjoy your new slice of life... Tenko-san... Y-you deserve to be happy..."
Villains
Midas
TBA
Desolator
TBA
Buried Dagger
TBA
Imamu
A crowd of kneeling men and women. There's barely enough for me, with them crowding the Elevator. I try to move, to reposition myself, but they simply lower themselves further. It isn't long before I'm stepping on top of them, though they pose little resistance.
I freeze when I see the chains around them. Some are here willingly, but clearly others are not. Before I have a chance to speak, they fade. The ones I was standing atop fade quicker than most, and my head crashes to the ground violently. I barely maintain consciousness as a massive shadow looms over me.
When I awaken, I'm alone again. I sigh.
"Oh god, not this again. First the anti-mutants, now the pro-mutants? How many cults will we end up helping?"
Brain Drain
A woman standing alongside a group of rope-wielding gangsters. They approach and, despite my attempts to run, pin and restrain me within seconds. The men talk amongst themselves, completely silent.
This must have been the only thing he was upset by.
"H-hey there beautiful. Mind untying me? I can give you a tour of my Elevator, heheh... heh..."
The woman stares down, expression inscrutable. As she stared, the men around her slowly lost their light. Speech slowed, postures worsened. Eventually, they were little more than drooling beasts.
And as they stared at me, I couldn't help but feel they were hungry.
I flail, the binding and zombies fading in the flickering of the light.
"Fuck... Fuck... Y-you probably can't do it if he couldn't... b-but if there's any empathy in there... You'll try to erase me... Right?"
Rescue Ray
"No... You were supposed to be the good guy..."
Smoke began to fill the Elevator, the familiar scent of tobacco clogging my lungs. I felt a sharp pain as teeth dug into my leg, forcing me to yelp and fall to the ground.
"Why!? WHY!? You- Hhh-cough!"
I can't speak before a blast of smoke hits my face, forcing me to cough violently. The barking is getting louder, and I feel more bites - my legs, my arms, my face.
I piss my pants.
An instant later, it's gone. The barking. The biting. The smoke.
I lay on the ground, shaking.
"Please... If you're anything like the hero I thought you were... P-please don't let him near the youth center..."
Reaper
A creaking sound from the door of the Elevator. A massive blow makes it dent inward slightly. Another creates a small gap between the door partition. Dozens of small, black hands move between the newly formed gap - pulling apart the door with every fiber of strength they had.
I run to the door, grabbing at the metal walls and trying to force it shut. A futile effort. but the only one thing I can do. A wave of black sludge flows through the hole, covering the floor of the elevator in a viscous soup. I see... things, floating inside of it. Eyeballs. Fingers. Scraps of metal and flesh.
I scream as I pull the doors - and miraculously, the doors creak shut , severing small hands and fingers from their misty owners. I collapse to the ground, panting, my body covered in the burning sludge. As I stare at the horrifically damaged door, I see the last thing to enter the Elevator.
A small figure of the Eiffel Tower. Cracked into two jagged pieces.
Irreparable.
"Hehehe... H-hey there! Doesn't he look tasty!? I'm sure you want this quirk, think how useful it is! C'mon, he won't stand a chance against you! Go for it!!!"
Dr. Ivon
I blinked, and the floor was covered in scattered papers. I begin collecting them, almost mechanical in my movements. Scientific jargon I can't begin to understand flashes in front of me. Complex mathematical equations, chemical formulae, and long sequences of DNA cover entire pages.
When I get to the pictures, I can barely keep from hurling. Mutilated corpses of lab animals. Hearts beating outside their host. A severed head whose eyes still moved to follow the nub of a pencil.
If this was only what he saw and forgot about... I don't want to Imagine what kind of shit this guy was getting up to behind closed doors...
"'Genome Engine'...? What the hell are you up to, Doctor...?"
Kodoku
A single centipede crawls from one of the floor tiles. And then another. I can hear the sound of croaking and ribbits over the ever present hum of the elevator as it made it's descent.
A couple tense minutes later, and it's gone. I sigh in relief.
"Thank fuck, I can't deal with fucking bugs, man... Listen, stay the hell away from him bug chick. Unless you're planning on doing the poison thing, then go for it... Shit..."
Queen Carnivore
A picture on the ground. Noriko hunched over a table overflowing with meat, in the middle of scarfing it down. Sauce was dribbling down her mouth and onto her tank top. All things considered, it wouldn't be out of place in a PG-13 movie - but apparently it was too hot for that guy to handle.
"Woah, Tiddy Monster over here. You'd think someone that eats so much would be fat as hell, but I guess your quirk burns a lot of calories or something? Whatever, I'm not complaining~."
I toss the picture aside. No sense trying to hold onto it - soon as the light flickers, it'll be gone again. Just like everything else.
All that's left are the memories.
Heroes
Akkoro
The floor groaned, before a hole split open in the center. A viscous brown liquid shot out. For a second, I was terrified it was shit.
When it started groaning, I wish I was right.
Suslik. He was horribly disfigured, water dissolving his body into a soupy mess. He could do little more than moan in pain.
Even if he was a villain working for a piece of shit... it was hard not to feel empathetic.
A sudden pain shot through my arm. Familiar - the snapping of bone. It didn't hurt as much as it should. Just a hairline fracture. The light flickered once, twice, before shining with the intensity of the sun. The unbearable heat was almost rejuvenating for Suslik - his body hardened and reconstituted itself more with each second, and his crude smile slowly grew. As he healed, I could feel myself fall apart. My arms, my legs, my body - they broke apart and rotted, slapping against the ground like wet clay.
I screamed. Oh god, this hurts. Oh god, ow, ow OW OW OW OW MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT STOP MAKE IT ST-
It stopped. One moment I was a puddle, and the next, I was standing in the center of the Elevator. I collapsed to the ground, tears forming in my eyes.
"Ahhh... Fuck!!! Please! I know you can't hear me, but please!!! Don't have mercy! You're the only one that's got the balls to finish what I couldn't... Please... Please don't leave me like this..."
Amahagene Himekō.
"Huh."
Nothing. The Elevator kept it's usual, slow descent. No horrors came to haunt him when that name sounded off. A rare occurrence, but a welcome one.
"Guess you didn't want to forget anything about her, huh? What, you a pedo or something? Wouldn't be surprised. Monster."
Vaccine
A cracked phone flickered in the corner of the elevator. I feel my body move against my will, crawling towards the device. As I hold it to my face, I can barely manage to make out the title of the article.
'Sickest man in the world? Japanese hero Vaccine contracts 250th illness.'
There is no image with the article. The Elevator doesn't punish me with anything else. Just that tiny piece of knowledge, before the lights flicker.
And I'm alone once more.
"Please.. Please never meet him. I can't live through your hell too."
Students
Callous
The roof shook before falling down - fast. I barely have time to tense myself before it collapses on my back, pressing down like a weight. I push as hard as I can, trying to make room, to get this weight off of me.
As soon as I reach the apex, right when it's about to roll off, the weight increases, and I'm sent back to the ground. Again. Again. Again.
My arms begin to burn. Then my chest. I go through 10 sets of this torture before the roof begins to rise again.
And then the floor began to roll. From one side of the elevator to the other, the floor moved like a treadmill, slowly increasing in speed.
"Oh fuck me..."
I ran. For what felt like hours I ran. And when I couldn't run anymore, I fell to the ground. Felt the floor pull at my exposed skin, the flesh caught between the floor and the wall ripping and tearing off in thick chunks as-
And it was over. I blink. The light blinks back. Sometimes I think it's speaking in morse, but I know that's just the isolation driving me crazy.
"You narrowly avoided Hell, and kept an innocent girl from joining you. Congrats. Now stay away from the Devil..."
Dust Devil
The roof creaked dangerously, before a single tile collapsed. A torrent of mud and dirt poured out in a stream, quickly filling the elevator.
I try to climb, but it's so loose and heavy I can't keep it up for long. Eventually, it climbs up. My legs are covered. Then my waist. My chest. My neck.
I can't hold my breath long before it's filling my mouth.
Until I'm eating dirt.
As I chew and swallow, I can't help but feel an intense pain in my arm. Or, where my arm should be.
I keep eating. I have to. I have to. I have to-
I wake up on the floor of the elevator. The lights flicker their usual welcome. I swear in return.
"Jesus christ... If that's how the big guy remembers you, I don't want to see that from your perspective..."
Teocoatl
The light went out. For an instant, the elevator was plunged into complete darkness.
And, for a brief instant, it felt like I wasn't alone. Cold dread washed over me, pulling me into despair like a riptide pulls on a swimmer.
"Ahhh... Ahhhhh fuck..."
And then it was over. The lights flickered on. For a moment, I fear that the light is ever so slightly dimmer now. But no, that has to be my imagination...
"Shit... Don't feel that very often anymore... H-hey, mind staying away from us, kid? He's not gonna remember so you're only scaring me..."
Yako
An ancient-looking sword, impaled in the center of the Elevator floor. Japanese design, but I didn't know the exact name. Useful shit like that was kept up above.
I could see my reflection in the blade, and I grimaced. I was dirtier than I remembered. Older. And very, very tired.
"You already helped him once, and managed to slip away untouched. Don't push your luck. I can tell just looking at you, you're all kinds of fucked up huh?"
The sword didn't respond. It simply sat, blade gleaming in the harsh light of the elevator.
"...Yeah. About what I expected. Just... please. Don't run away from your problems like the others. I doubt you can do anything big, but if you can shit on his stupid ass ideology even once, I'll be satisfied. Do it for me... 'kay?"
Fukukiri
A woman standing above me, a look of disdain crossing her face. I smirk.
"Woof. Hey there~. Listen, I'm not the weirdo you probably talked to, so how about you relax here for a while an-"
She faded into the air a few moments later. Clearly a brief interaction, if all the asshole upstairs decided to forget was a mean look.
"Damn... whatever. She's not really my type anyways."
Reibai
Nothing. No torture. No disturbing revelation. When her name was brought up, there was just a flickering Elevator waiting for me.
"...I don't remember her either. What do you know, Paul? Why is she important...?"
Supporters
Emilia
A bright flash of pain, as pure as it was blinding. I fall to the floor like a sack of bricks, clutching my arm. Broken. A dirty pipe lies next to me.
Someone was rifling through my pockets now. They wouldn't find much - a wallet with more photos than cash, a cracked phone with a dead battery, several pieces of rock candy. Junk, really. The assailant swore under their breath and kicked me in the side, before walking away.
I didn't question where. Logically there was no escape in this Elevator. In reality, I knew the only one that couldn't escape was me.
The sound of screaming and gnawing of rats could be heard moments later. I felt something grab at my collar and pull. Another, and another, until a small army is pulling me with their teeth.
They dragged me directly under the flickering light.
A woman. Familiar, somehow. She stood over me, the angle of the light casting shadows over her face. Concealing it from me.
I didn't usually remember the faces. Not unless they were so fucked up that he didn't want to remember them.
The arm painfully jammed itself back into place over the next few minutes. Splinters of bone connecting as if they were a puzzle. I cussed out the woman hovering over me as she did her deed.
"FUCK YOU!!! He could have died! You could have left this monster to bleed out! But you had to fucking save him, you god damn monster!!!"
I cried, and bitched, and moaned. She remained silent as she worked. When she finished her task, she simply rose to her feet, and walked through the wall. Like a ghost.
I pant from the pain and exertion. Despite the healing, my arm still felt sore. The memory of the pain was so strong... Something that only faded in those rare, rare Fragments...
"...I wish your name wasn't so similar to hers. Ahhh... ahh..."
I sob.
The Elevator continues its descent.
█████ ████
I freeze, tears staining my face. I haven't heard that name in a while. There's a groan, the cables holding the Elevator growing strained from pressure.
It slows, almost imperceptibly, as it begins to stop.
"...I'm sorry."
Tick. Tick Tick. The sound of the elevator passing each floor was louder now. I could feel a growing sense of panic as the number above the door fell lower and lower. Slower and slower.
"Look, I'm sorry for complaining! G-go ahead, throw me back in the cement mixer! Bring the sword in here! Hell, bring in the feather lizard guy again!"
Tick... Tick... Tick...
"Please... Please, I'll be good! Just please..."
Tick......... Tick......... Tick.........
"Please don't open the doo-"
Ding
The Elevator door slides open. I shut my eyes, a feat that takes far more effort than it had any right to. But in the silence, I can hear the faint sound of dripping. The soft beep of an EKG machine. Against my will, my eyes slowly pry themselves open.
I scream.