Thanks for your patience while waiting for chapter 2! I hope you enjoy it!

Izuku was dreaming. Except, it wasn't his regular kind of dream because this time he felt actual pain. True, terrible pain. He was caught in it, unable to claw his way out of the darkness that held him.

Oh, the pain.

His body was in agony. His arm was on fire. His head pulsed like a heavy drumbeat and everything ached. He almost believed that if he moved a muscle he'd just fall apart. And so, it was only when he actually focused on waking up did he finally hear somebody shouting. There were voices… wait, no, just one. It sounded deeply familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on who it was.

"Mi...oriya!"

Something cold was pressed against his right cheek and he let out a strangled gasp at the feeling. Suddenly, he could feel the world again. What seemed to be dust clogged his throat and a bout of coughs ripped out, so violent that it was painful.

"Let it out, Midoriya… breathe."

Was that… Todoroki...?

It took another good minute before he was finally able to steady his breathing without choking on dust when he inhaled. He laid there, heaving for breath, while a hand gripped his shoulder. He guessed it was Todoroki's as he had just heard his friend's voice. His eyes slowly peered out from under their lids and he squinted against the lucid shining above. He blinked, and his eyes traveled over to the left when they suddenly caught onto Todoroki's face.

The other boy seemed deeply worried, lines furrowing his brow as he stared down at him. But the thing that stood out the most to Izuku was how terrible he looked. His face was covered in cuts and bruises and blood smeared the top of his head near the scalp. It was already drying into a reddish-brown color, but the injury still looked relatively new- and most likely serious. Startled, Izuku started to push himself into a sitting position when pain erupted in his left arm and he cried out, falling back to the ground.

Todoroki's hands scrambled after him and held him in place as he heaved in pain. "Stay still! You shouldn't much yet," he told him, and Izuku started to feel his arm calming down once he stopped moving. "Your arm looks pretty bad. How do you feel?"

My arm…?

Izuku pried open his eyes again and they moved over to his left arm which was sprawled out in a painful position beside him. He sucked in a breath at the sight of it.

The fabric of his uniform was soaked through with blood and he could barely feel his fingers at all. The whole limb pulsed with pain, and he immediately knew that something was very wrong with it. And that wasn't all. Reflecting back at what Todoroki looked like, he could only imagine what marred his own face. It did throb some, most likely cut in some places.

"Calm down," he heard Todoroki say to him. "I was just as surprised when I woke up."

"Where… w-where are we?" Izuku said hoarsely as he looked up at his friend, and was surprised to hear how raspy his voice was.

Todoroki pursed his lips, rubbing his chin in thought. "I… I suppose we're somewhere in the Arabian Desert."

That caught Izuku's attention. "What?"

"I know…" Todoroki sighed. "Since we were taking a tour near the edge of the desert earlier, I figured Raashim would have sent us somewhere close but dangerous. A painful death, seeing as there's not a great chance of us being found out here."

Izuku coughed again as he pulled himself into a sitting position. He didn't use his left arm this time, only cradling it against his chest. "If you're right, then-then we have to find a way out of here. There have to be people around-"

"Midoriya, you remember what Mr. Aizawa told us about the desert before we came here," Todoroki argued. "It's gotten much hotter over these last few years that not many people travel out here anymore. There are even fewer animals that are able to survive." He raised his hand and, slowly, his frost began to form on it. "I can make ice to drink if we need it, but it's not going to be the same as regular water."

"Wait, it's drinkable?" Izuku didn't know that.

"Well, mostly. It doesn't taste exactly the same as normal water, but it's not poisonous." Todoroki slowly stood up, wiping a bit of grime away from his face as he did. He looked around at the sand around them, his eyes sweeping across the countless dunes. "We both were wearing backpacks when Raashim hit us with his quirk. They must be somewhere close by since we're not wearing them now, and they both have supplies in them. Mr. Aizawa made us pack those special blankets in case we ventured out further than planned, right? And water bottles. If we found them, they would be extremely useful." He looked back down at Izuku and frowned. "Can you stand?"

Izuku honestly didn't know. His legs felt like they would collapse underneath of him if he tried, and his arm almost seemed to throb more in protest. But he at least had to make an effort.

"I can try," he offered.

Todoroki held out his hand, and gently, Izuku took it with his good arm. Todoroki was just pulling him upward when suddenly white-hot pain spiked through his left arm and he cried out, clutching at it as he fell to his knees. His ankle also throbbed at the movement and he found that it was injured as well.

"Midoriya!" One of Todoroki's hands hovered over the back of his neck while the other reached out, not knowing quite what to do. "What's wrong?"

"My arm, I…" Izuku held back a grimace but he still couldn't hide the tremble in his voice. His head bowed even lower, allowing his tusks of hair to shadow his face. He hated to admit it but he knew he had to tell his friend what was going on. "I-I think it's broken."

"Broken?" Todoroki's eyes widened. "Let me look at it."

Izuku couldn't find the strength to argue. The sharp, pounding pain in his arm was already making him feel sick and any more talking would only make it worse.

Todoroki bent down to Izuku's level until he crouched on the sand, and then he held out a hand. "All right, let me see it."

Tenderly, Izuku held out his swollen arm for his friend to see. Todoroki gently took it before prying away at the cloth that covered it. It took a minute and many of Izuku's hisses of pain, but finally, he managed to get the whole sleeve nearly up to his elbow. This way, he could see what it really looked like.

Todoroki's fingers brushed against the surface of his swollen skin but he stopped when Izuku cried out again. He tried touching it in different places, but it mostly received the same response. Furrowing his brow, he inspected it for a little longer and then nodded.

"I think you're right about it being broken. It's swollen and discolored, but I don't see any bone protruding so I don't think it's too dangerous. For now, at least."

"Wow, lucky me," Izuku breathed as he fought to keep his arm from shaking.

Todoroki raised an eyebrow. "Still, it looks bad on its own. It's heavily bruised on top and there's no way to know how bad the break is without an x-ray. Until we find help, you shouldn't use it more than you have to."

"That'll be hard, seeing as we're stuck in the middle of the desert," Izuku breathed out. He winced again, shifting his left arm. "Maybe I can make a sling. It's not like I haven't had broken bones before!"

"Midoriya, this wasn't like the other times. It wasn't by using your quirk." Todoroki berated. "You really hurt yourself this time. We can't even treat it, seeing as we have no supplies…" He cursed under his breath and dropped a fist into the sand "Now what are we supposed to do?"

Izuku stayed silent for a long moment. "Todoroki, if… if we're both injured like this, and we're stuck out in the desert, then…" He bit his lip, not wanting to state the truth. "T-then…"

"We're not going to die," Todoroki said firmly. "We just need a plan. It'll be hard to travel with your arm like this, and I suppose… my head…"

"What about your head?" Izuku asked, his green eyes shining in concern. A moment later, he tensed as he remembered something. "Wait, I saw that it looked pretty bad when I woke up! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Todoroki brushed off. "It probably just got hurt while we were being transported here. A concussion at most."

"That's still not good," Izuku insisted, his tone doubtful. "Are you sure you-"

"Midoriya, like I said, I'm fine." Todoroki's tone made it clear he was done arguing. "All right, I think I know what to do next. You need to stay here while I go looking for the backpacks- they'll have what we need. Besides, we can't do anything to help your injuries without them."

"And yours," Izuku reminded.

Todoroki ignored his remark as he stood back up. "Will you be all right waiting here? The backpacks shouldn't be too far away, and the dunes don't look too high. You could probably still see me."

Izuku gave a small nod as he shifted his injured arm. It wouldn't do either of them any good if Todoroki stayed looking after him. This way, they could find something that could actually help them while they were stranded out here. "Yeah, I'll be fine. And we do need the backpacks!"

"All right, then." Todoroki was about to turn away when he looked at him again. His eyes were a little softer now, as was his expression. "Just… don't move. You don't want to worsen your arm.'

"I know." Izuku nodded. "Good luck!"

Nodding, Todoroki began to walk off into the surrounding sands.

Class 1-A was in an absolute panic.

Shortly after Izuku and Todoroki had disappeared, Aizawa had erased Haashim's quirk and, with some help from the students, overpowered the man in mere moments. Aizawa had stuffed him in the jeep and allowed Iida to come with him to help while he took Haashim back into town, leaving Rashid behind to watch over the rest of the students. There was only one jeep, so Aizawa had told them that he'd send the rest to pick them up once he'd arrived in town.

By the time they had all been picked up in the jeeps and brought back to town, Ochako was feeling the shock leave her, but it was now being replaced by fear.

Where had Haashim sent Izuku and Todoroki? Were they still even alive? Haashim said that bigger objects didn't always come through whole… and that included people. So what if one of them hadn't made it?

Her stomach lurched as she stepped out of the jeep, and she barely heard her classmates' voices around her. What if Deku isn't alive and I don't even know it?

She felt numb as she took her place beside everyone else. What were they supposed to do next? Go and look for them? Where would they even start? Would Haashim ever tell them where they were, or would he let her friends die?

"-raka," she suddenly heard someone say, and she looked up to find Iida staring at her with concerned eyes. "Are you all right?"

Her eyes began to burn with tears and she swallowed back the lump in her throat. "Deku… and Todoroki… they- they're-"

"I know." Iida turned grave. "Haashim's in the local jail right now, although we don't know how long it will hold him. This town's pretty poor and doesn't have much security, but there are a few people watching him. All Might and Mr. Aizawa are at the police station right now."

Ochako bit her lip. "Any news on Deku and Todoroki?"

"No, not yet." Iida dipped his head. "But Mr. Aizawa wants us all to go back to the hotel until further notice. He doesn't want anyone going after Haashim."

Her eyes widened. "Go back? But-"

"Those were Mr. Aizawa's orders." He pulled his gaze away from her and turned it to everyone else, raising his arms. "All right, everyone, start heading back to the hotel! Mr. Aizawa will meet us there later once everything's been settled."

"What about Midoriya and Todoroki?" Kirishima asked.

Iida shook his head. "They're still figuring that out, but I assure you, everything will be fine!"

Ochako couldn't believe those last words. And, based on Iida's tone, it didn't seem like he did, either.

She clenched her fists and shook her head. "No, Iida, I'm going to the police station! I need to know what's going on with Deku!" Her face went red before she quickly added, "And Todoroki!"

Iida looked surprised as he turned back to her. "Uraraka, I told you what Mr. Aizawa said. We all need to return to the hotel until he gives us further orders! To do otherwise would be completely disrespectful!"

Ochako's eyes darted down the street, scanning the buildings down it before she finally saw the one she was looking for. Or, at least, the one she thought she was looking for. Without waiting for Iida, she began to march down the cracked road with Iida scrambling after her and shouting panicked exclamations. She barely heard him in her determination, too set on finding out what had happened to her friends.

It only took a minute before she was entering the quarters of the police station and, to her relief, she had picked the right building. A bell from the door jingled as she pushed it open and Aizawa and All Might looked up in surprise from where they stood talking to an Arabic police officer at his desk.

"Uraraka," Aizawa started. "Why are you-"

"What's going to happen with Deku and Todoroki?" Ochako asked, pacing up to them. Behind her, she heard the door's bells jingle as- who she guessed- Iida opened it. "Shouldn't we be looking for them? Or questioning Haashim where he sent them?"

All Might's brow creased and she could tell that he was just as worried as her. It surprised her, but at the same time, she almost expected it. Even though Izuku wouldn't admit to it, she knew he and the number one hero shared a special bond, although she didn't know why.

"You should go back to the hotel now," All Might said gently. "This is no time for you to be here. We'll inform you of what we know later."

"What do you know?" Ochako asked, her voice turning desperate. "Where's Deku? And-and Todoroki? Are they okay?"

Aizawa and All Might stayed silent for a long minute.

"We're not sure yet," Aizawa said carefully. "And I'd suggest you return to the others before I have to send you back myself."

"Listen to him, Uraraka!" Iida's voice said from behind her. "They'll let us know what happens later! We need to leave so Mr. Aizawa and All Might can figure things out."

Ochako didn't respond, only standing there with a tight expression and feeling a renewed resolve. She inhaled deeply. "Please. I need to know where Deku - and Todoroki - are. Why don't you know where Haashim sent them yet?"

Aizawa held his breath before he slowly lowered his head. "Haashim is refusing to answer any of our questions. So far, we haven't gotten anything out of him."

Ochako's brow furrowed. "Where is he?"

"The jail, a little further down the street," All Might told her. "But-"

Ochako wasn't waiting any longer. After swerving around, she marched past a frustrated Iida and out the door. She was going to find out where Deku and Todoroki were. And right now, Haashim was the only one who could give her those answers.

I'll see you guys on Monday with chapter 3! As always, feel free to leave a review if you liked it!