Grand Hyatt Nashville- Nashville, Tennessee
It was a perfect day for John to go to the one thing he was looking forward to all year long: the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention in Nashville. It wasn't Anime Expo, but it was something to look forward to nonetheless. There were lots of people cosplaying as various anime or video game characters.
Meet John, an average run-of-the-mill otaku shut-in. He has nothing much in terms of a job, but he makes plenty of money doing streams and creating YouTube videos. He has no living relatives, not much in the way of friends, and especially no girlfriend. He doesn't like to interact with others much. Not since his parents and sister were killed in a car crash five years ago.
MTAC was the only place where John could go out in public with only having to give quick responses to people complimenting his cosplay. This year, he went dressed as on e of his favorite anime villains: All For One, the Symbol of Evil from "My Hero Academia".
His cosplay was pretty much perfect. He had the physical build, the suit ensemble, and even had a custom-built All For One mask. He could see perfectly through the mask as he walked through the various stands and booths that littered the convention's hall.
"Oooh! The infamous All For One, I assume?" a strange voice asked John.
He looked to his right and saw that a stranger clad in nothing but a black suit with dark sunglasses was smiling at him. The stranger was standing behind a booth littered with all forms of anime cosplay pieces, but there was one piece that caught John's eye.
It was the new mask that All For One wears in the manga. It was a smoother skull mask with a much wider, sleeker collar. It was really cool. John checked the price and saw that the merchant here was selling it for only ten bucks!
"You're selling it for only ten bucks?! It looks lie it would go for way more!" John exclaimed.
"The lower the prices, the more customers I can attract. I find it works pretty good!" the merchant said.
"That makes sense. That mask looks really cool," John said.
"If you want it and have the money, the mask is yours," the merchant said.
John reached into his wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill before handing it to the merchant. The merchant took it with a smile and handed the John the new All For One mask. Once he touches the mask, a powerful shock shoots through his entire body.
John fell to the ground unable to move or think, with the feeling of drowsiness quickly overtaking him.
What... the hell? Am I... going to die? John thought to himself.
Then, everything went black.
John woke up with his head swimming. It took him a moment to realize that he was still wearing his All For One mask, which he felt that wasn't damaged. Thankfully. He put his hands on the ground to feel grass underneath his hands. He also felt that All For One's newest mask was right next to him, which he picked up and held under his left arm. He sluggishly got to his feet and tried to survey his surroundings.
He saw that he wasn't at the convention anymore. Everywhere he looked, he saw apple trees. Rows and rows of apple trees stretching as far as the eye can see. Understandably, John started to freak out.
"Okay, what the hell happened?! How the hell did I get here?!" he asked himself before realizing something else. "And why do I sound different?!"
He noticed that he sounds exactly like John Swasey, All For One's English voice actor. Even he if he tried an impression of All For One, he couldn't mimic John Swasey to that degree.
"Let's think about this: I bought All For One's newest mask, a fell asleep, and I woke up in an apple orchard. I sound exactly like John Swasey, which is trippy. I wonder..." John said before taking off his mask.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He pulled up the camera to look at himself. He looked exactly like a younger Prime All For One. He didn't have the scarred head like how he first appeared. What he saw was a chiseled face, red eyes, and a full head of white hair. Not only did he sound like All For One, but he looked like him as well. He put the mask back over his head. If he looked and sounded like All For One, he had to test something else. He had to see if he could use the All For One Quirk.
The first one that came to mind was All For One's Quirk Air Float, which allowed him to float and levitate. John focused hard to try to use that particular Quirk. After a few seconds, John felt his feet leave the ground and start to surpass the apple trees around him. John began to laugh in excitement.
"This is awesome! I wonder if I can technically fly with this Quirk?" he said.
Focusing his Air Float Quirk, he started to move through the air in the desired direction. Soon enough, he found himself outside the orchard and flew towards a city he didn't recognize.
"Well, I'm obviously not in Nashville anymore. I should ask someone where I am," John said.
As he flew towards the city, he saw a trio of three girls walking towards a van. He flew over to them and made sure to get their attention.
"Excuse me, ladies!" he called to them.
The girls looked up to see John floating above them. One of them had poofy golden hair and purple clothing. The second one had purple twin-tails with teal streaks. The third one had a blue ponytail and a pink skirt. They all looked at the dark masked figure floating down towards them. They held each other in fear. The one with the golden hair spoke up first.
"Wh-who are you?!" she asked in fear.
John thought about how to respond. Since he wasn't his old self anymore, he might as well go by the name of who he embodied now. He landed on the ground and gave a respectful bow towards the girls.
"You can just call me... All For One", he replied.
With All For One
All For One stood before a trio of terrified girls. They were visibly shaking, though the one with fluffy golden hair tried to put on a brave face. Mustering her courage she took a hesitant step towards the dark masked figure that just came from the sky.
"What can we do for you... All For One, was it?" the fluffy one asked.
He had to tread carefully here. He already made himself look like an ominous demon coming at them from the sky. He had to make sure he didn't do anything to frighten them even more than they already are. Especially since he simply wanted to ask them about where he was. Maintaining his calm and collected demeanor, he put his hands behind his back and stood straight up.
"I am simply a lost traveler of sorts. I just want to know where I am," he replied.
The response seemed to relax the girls, if only slightly. At last they weren't shaking in their boots. The other two joined the fluffy-haired one's side.
"Well, we're in the outskirts of Canterlot," the fluffy one said.
He had never heard of that city. But All For One had to make it sound like he wanted to simply take a vacation to the town.
"I am new to town. I am looking for a place to stay while I'm here, though, seeing as I just arrived," All For One said.
"We'd be happy to show you around, Mister All For One!" the blue ponytail girl said.
"Thank you so much for the offer. Since you're taking the time to show me around the city, would you mind telling me your names?" All For One asked.
"My name's Sonata!" the blue ponytail girl said.
"I'm Aria. Nice to meet you, I guess," the purple twin-tail girl said.
"And I'm Adagio. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to show around this town," the fluffy girl said.
"Wonderful! Now then, shall we hurry along? I'd like to see this nice city!" All For One said with a smile under his mask.
The girls and All For One walked over to the van the girls owned. Sonata opened the door and motioned for him to enter the van before she did. It was nice seeing that she warmed up to him so quickly. He wasn't sure if he would be able to gradually win them over. All For One climbed inside the van and was hit with the smell of tacos. He sat down in the farthest seat in the back. Sonata sat in front of him while Aria sat next to Adagio in the passenger's seat. Adagio started the van and began driving.
As they were driving down the wooded road, All For One started to think that it was odd that they were all outside their van when he found them. He looked in the back and didn't see any camping equipment. Aria looked at him through the rearview mirror with a quizzical look.
"I hope you don't mind my asking, but what's with the mask? And the other one you've got with you?" Aria asked.
"I have a flair for theatrics. I simply adore having a mask like this, as well," he replied.
"Whatever floats your boat, I guess," Aria said.
All For One took his turn to ask a question. "If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you lot doing in the woods before I arrived?"
That question made the three of them visually jump. Adagio looked to her sisters and back to All For One. From the looks on their faces, they were trying to keep something hidden and trying to come up with lies to tell him. After what seemed like an eternity, Adagio spoke.
"We were getting back from camping in the woods," she said.
"If you were camping, then why isn't there any camping equipment in the back?" All For One asked.
Once again, the girls were visibly uncomfortable. All For One crossed his right leg over his left and clasped his hands together over his lap in a business-like fashion. Sonata turned as red as a tomato before she finally spoke up.
"We... were thinking of a revenge plan against someone!!" she shouted.
Both Adagio and Aria glared at their sister from the front while All For One smiled underneath his mask.
"You were thinking of a revenge plan? What's the plan? Revenge against whom?" he asked them.
Adagio and Aria, seeing that the cat was out of the bag, sighed. Aria was the one to answer first.
"Look, there's this girl we've been trying to get revenge on for quite a long time," she replied.
"Her name is Sunset Shimmer. She's just the worst," Sonata added.
"What has this girl done to warrant revenge?" All For One asked.
"See, the thing is..." Adagio started.
One Lengthy Explanation Later
After hearing everything the sisters, collectively known as the Dazzlings as they told him, All For One started laughing. Roaring and hysterical laughter. The Dazzlings were all looking shocked and indignant at his laughing. Adagio was particularly incensed.
"What's so funny?!" Adagio demanded.
"You three call yourselves villains? You're nothing but a disgrace to the name!" he replied with more laughter.
"Hey! We tried!" Aria shouted.
All For One stopped laughing. "You tried? You've barely done anything to secure victory".
"If you're so smart, how about you tell us where we went wrong?" Sonata asked with a defiant tone.
All For One cleared his throat before lifting up his right finger like a teacher about to give his students a lecture.
"First of all, one of the fundamentals of being a good villain is subtlety and patience. You planted the seed in Sunset's mind that something was wrong with you. That was where you lacked subtlety. You also jumped ahead and put the entire student body and faculty under your spell, alerting your enemy to your nature. You were all too eager to initiate your plan. It's important that you view everyone as a potential threat. I would've manipulated one person at a time, making sure to eliminate all threats in an efficient manner. Next, you did nothing but watch them ascend. You had everyone under your spell, so you would've gotten away with anything you could've done to them. Even when you manipulated someone else to take care of them, you didn't do anything to ensure that they were permanently out of commission. You have to be willing to do anything to make victory certain and have back-up plans. When you reached the height of your power and had the crowd under your command, why didn't you have them attack the Rainbooms? They would have either taken them out or distracted them until you reached your full power. So you see, when it comes to villainy, you are simply low-level trash that lost your power," All For One explained.
Once All For One was done explaining, the Dazzlings were unable to speak. The wide eyes and open mouths said it all. This man had spoken nothing but the truth. Once the shock of All For One's explanation had passed, they all hung their heads in shame. All For One smiled.
"In terms of your power, what if I told you that I have the ability to give you not only power, but purpose as well?" he asked them.
"What do you mean?" Aria asked.
"I'm a man who can take an give power. However, I don't do this kind of thing for free, though," All For One said.
Adagio squinted her eyes. "What exactly... do you want?"
"To make a deal: I'll grant you power and help you with your revenge. I only ask that you come to my aid when the time comes," he replied.
All For One then extended his hands, which had small holes in the palms.
"Do we have a deal?" he asked.
Adagio reached behind her and grabbed his hand. "We have a deal".
"I look forward to the future we're going to build," All For One said.
