Three Days Until The Duel

By the time Izuku got back home, it was late afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set. He barely noticed the golden light as he landed on the specially-reinforced balcony; his mind was still whirling, overwhelmed by panic and worry and a thousand different thoughts.

He made his way inside, heart still pounding in his ears. Immediately, he flipped a switch on the wall, and heavy shutters slid down over the glass walls that lined most of the penthouse, taking the space from orange-tinted by the dying sun to a thick, heavy darkness, alleviated somewhat a moment later when the lights turned on.

Takao may have said that he wouldn't spy on them anymore, but Izuku certainly wasn't going to trust him. Not after what he'd done.

As the shutters slid closed, a groan came up from the couch. "Izuku, I was watching that," Mina complained, rising up from her seat with an exaggerated pout.

Despite it all, the sight of her made Izuku smile, his panic ebbing away slightly. Just seeing that she was okay helped more than it had any right to. "Sorry," he said.

Mina shrugged. "It's fine," she replied, a grin spreading across her face. "After all, I've got a better view now."

Izuku chuckled, but it was weak; the memories of all the photos Takao had loomed too heavy. Every word they'd said, every intimate moment, every bit of flirting and humor…it had all been violated.

"How did things go with Ochako and Momo?" he asked, trying desperately to shove away reality for just a few minutes more.

Mina clearly suspected that something was up, judging by the skeptical look on her face, but she said nothing. Instead, she simply shrugged and answered, "About as well as I could've hoped for, really. Ochako is great. Momo…"

Izuku winced a little. He should've known that the woman who'd grown up wealthy and sheltered wouldn't mix well with the formerly-homeless mutant thief. "How bad was it?" he asked, perversely grateful for the chance to talk about something that wasn't how utterly fucked they were.

Mina said, "Ochako handled it. Momo was apologetic after she screwed up…which I guess is really all I can ask for."

Izuku nodded with relief. "That's good to hear," he replied.

As a comfortable silence fell, Mina got a familiar look in her eye. She hopped up from the couch, marched over to Izuku, and grabbed him. Izuku let his girlfriend lead him back to the couch, make him sit, and then curl up against him tightly, her horns lightly brushing the side of his head as Mina rested her chin on his shoulder. She made a satisfied purring noise as Izuku put his arm around her and drew her in closer.

"Now that we've covered my day," she said, golden eyes glimmering with sudden strength, "You're gonna spit out whatever's bothering you."

Izuku tensed a little. Caught off guard, he stammered, "H-how do you know-"

Mina rolled her eyes. "Izuku," she interrupted, "I've got the emotional intelligence of a fucking rock, and I can tell something's eating at you. What's wrong? Did something happen on the call you had to respond to?"

Ice coalesced in Izuku's stomach. He was terrified of how Mina would respond to learning about what Takao had done, but…he wouldn't lie to her, either. He could never do that.

He sighed, and said, "The call was false. The mayor made it to force me to come talk to him."

Mina frowned. "What the hell?" she asked. "Why'd he do that?"

Izuku's throat was dry. He took a deep breath, then answered, "He knows, Mina. About us. He…he's been spying on us."

There was a heartbeat of silence. Izuku heard Mina's breath catch, then return, quick and panicked. Her golden eyes went wide as she stiffened against him. He saw her gaze flit from his face, to the shuttered, darkened windows, to where her ragged black cloak hung from a peg near the door. Her hands opened and closed in her lap.

"H-how?" she choked out, clearly fighting panic. Izuku couldn't blame her. To have the first taste of comfort and hope she'd ever had shattered so abruptly…he could tell Mina was terrified.

Slowly, holding her tight as if to prove that she was still there by his side, Izuku replied, "He said something about someone with a quirk that let them take pictures."

"He has pictures?' Mina whispered.

Izuku nodded grimly. "He showed them to me," he confirmed. "It's…he was watching everything, Mina. All of it."

Mina made a strangled sound, and Izuku saw tiny droplets of acid bubbling in her palm. She was on the verge of hyperventilating.

"God," she whispered. "This is-"

"I know," Izuku murmured, pressing his lips to her temple. Her short-shaved hair prickled against his skin as he held her tight, trying to anchor her.

A moment later, Mina tore herself from his arms, bolting to her feet. Izuku tensed, but instead of what he'd feared-Mina sprinting from the apartment, never to be seen again-she began to pace rapidly in front of him, her movements jerky and rapid.

"Wh-what did he want?" Mina asked after a moment.

Izuku sighed. "He wanted to force me to publicly support him in the election campaign he's running. He's worried he won't win, and he wants to stay in power."

Mina nodded shakily. "And…in exchange, the pictures stay buried?" she guessed.

Izuku nodded. "And if I say no…every major newspaper in Japan gets a file with pictures of us having sex," he added.

Mina shook her head. "Fuck," she spat. "Fucking fuck."

"Yeah," Izuku agreed, staring at his hands.

"How could we have been so stupid?" Mina suddenly erupted, flinging a ball of acid at a lamp on an end table next to the couch. It melted into a hissing puddle, the lightbulb flickering and dying as it was consumed.

Izuku didn't even flinch. He just shook his head. "I…don't know," he answered. "We just…we didn't think, I guess."

"No shit!" Mina yelled. "I didn't even realize that bastard was a threat to us! I…I thought…"

Her voice broke, dissolving into a barely-suppressed sob. Izuku felt frozen. If he touched Mina, he feared she would shatter like glass-or run away. He didn't dare go to her, no matter how his body screamed at him to move.

He stayed silent until Mina managed to finish, "I…I thought I would be allowed to love you without…without being afraid."

Izuku rose. He couldn't stay still. He didn't approach, didn't dare make Mina more scared-but he could speak.

"You are," he insisted. "You can. I won't let the mayor out us, you hear me?"

Mina looked up at him, visibly trembling. "I can't do that to you," she whispered. "I won't let you be blackmailed for my sake."

Izuku took a step closer to her. Mina didn't run. "I'm willing to do it," he replied firmly. "For you…I'd do anything that bastard asked me to."

Mina flinched, drawing her arms tight around herself. "Please," she whispered. "Don't. I'm not worth it."

Izuku took another step. "Don't ever say that again," he pleaded. "You are worth it, Mina. You are."

Again, Mina flinched, but didn't respond. Izuku paused a few feet from her, then opened his arms, an unspoken question in his eyes. Mina let out a shaky breath, then nodded. Izuku gathered her into his arms, and he felt her tears wetting his shoulder as she hugged him back.

"I will fix this, you hear me?" he murmured in Mina's ear. "I promise."

"You shouldn't have to," she whispered. "This is my fault."

"How?" Izuku demanded. "How is this your fault? The mayor is the one to blame, not you. Not me. Him."

Mina sighed, finally starting to calm down as she processed the information and worked past her fight-or-flight response. "Okay," she sighed at last. "I…okay."

Izuku nodded, still holding her tight. Gently, he guided her back to the couch, letting her curl up against him once again. They clung tightly to each other, the silence and the darkness cozy instead of threatening.

"I know we've moved fast," Izuku said quietly. "And that you're still struggling to adjust, and that we've got all these things hanging over our heads. But I love you, Mina. Never forget that."

Mina smiled, a little brightness restored to her eyes, and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When she pulled back, though, she said, "We haven't."

Izuku blinked. "Haven't what?" he asked.

Mina's eyes were sad as she said, "Moved fast. Not by my standards, at least."

Izuku's confused expression must have spoken for itself, because Mina regained just enough of her usual fire to roll her eyes in amusement-albeit weighted with pain and darkness.

"Izuku," she reminded him. "Where I come from, people die. Die young. Before I met you, I never really expected to live long enough to meet someone I could care about enough to think of a relationship. Why do you think Tsu and Mezou got married so young? Because they knew-and I know-that it's better to have some happiness now, in case you lose it tomorrow. So…we haven't moved fast. Not as far as I'm concerned. This speed, where I've gone from meeting you to loving you with my whole heart in two months or so? That's the only speed love can be at, for someone like me."

For a moment, Izuku said nothing, as Mina's words sank into his mind. They resonated with him, more deeply than he ever would have expected them to, even the hitch in her voice when she said "die," a hitch he knew came from thoughts of Fumikage, the man she'd never get to see again.

In an achingly soft voice, he said, "That…might still be the case, Mina. You know heroics is dangerous."

Mina nodded. "I know," she confirmed. "And so was my life. There might be a day when you don't come back. Or a day when I don't. So…I'm going to use the time we have, as best I can."

With that, she leaned in and kissed him, more deeply this time. The heat of it washed the world away, just for a moment, and Izuku let himself get lost in it, in the proof that this unique, incredible woman loved him and he loved her.

Then, Mina pulled away. Softly, she murmured, "Earlier, when I got up…you thought I was going to run away again, didn't you?"

Izuku winced. It had been his biggest, darkest fear, yes-but he'd not dared put it into a coherent thought. Raw and honest, he replied, "I was afraid of it. Were you going to?"

Mina sat up, meeting his eyes. Her gaze was shining and golden, but deeply, deeply scared. "I…I almost did," she admitted. "Before I'd even had a chance to think. My first reaction was to run. It…it took you talking me down to keep me from running."

Izuku took her hand. "But you didn't run," he reminded her. "You stayed."

Mina nodded shakily. "But one day, I might not," she replied. "I…I want to stay. But I have to fight my own brain to do it. I've spent so long running…I don't know if I can stop."

Izuku whispered, "That's okay. I understand."

Mina leaned close, fingers stroking down his cheek. "I want to make you a promise," she said, her voice low and deep. "No matter how far or how long I run away, I'll always come back to you. I swear."

Izuku responded by kissing her, deep and tender. When he pulled away, he made a promise of his own. "We'll face this together," he told her. "The mayor, the media…all of it. Together."

Mina smiled. "Together," she echoed. "That'll be enough for me."

This time, when they kissed, they refused to let it end.

Two Days Until The Duel

Mezou had just returned from another training session with Fumikage-who was currently taking on several of the Outcasts' finest fighters in preparation for the duel against the Chimera-when Tsu found him.

Mezou couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face at the sight of his wife. She'd been helping Ibara in the hospital the last few days, mostly to have something to do. The smile quickly faded when he saw how worried she looked.

"What's wrong?" he asked as she joined him in the small living room of the house.

Tsu smiled bitterly. "Other than the fact that one of our oldest friends is about to fight the most dangerous man in the Depths to the death?" she cracked. "Or that I haven't been able to contact another one since we got here?"

Mezou felt his heart skip a beat. Aside from talking about her with Fumikage, he'd barely even thought of Mina since arriving in Homeland. "Shit," he whispered, "I didn't even realize-"

Tsu cut him off with a raised hand. "Mina's fine," she assured him. "She and I were talking when we saw the fires that the Outcasts started. I sent her somewhere safe before coming to find you."

Mezou sighed with relief. "Where?" he asked, mostly out of curiosity. Maybe they could find her. Maybe Fumikage would finally get the chance to apologize for all the things he'd done. Maybe Mina would finally see that the boy who saved her life was still alive, still fighting for her to have a better chance than the one she'd been unfairly dealt. Maybe they could all finally be whole again.

Tsu's eyes darkened, an odd guardedness creeping into her expression. "I…think it's best that I wait a while to tell you that," she said carefully.

Mezou narrowed his eyes. Keeping secrets like this wasn't something Tsu normally did. "Why not?" he asked suspiciously.

Tsu, as always, met his gaze levelly. "Because now isn't the best time," she replied. "There's…something else we need to deal with first."

Somehow, Mezou suspected that there was more to Tsu's rationale than she was letting on, but he decided that pressing it wasn't important at that moment. They'd find Mina soon enough, and make things right.

"What is it?" he asked.

Tsu sighed. "It's Kugo," she told him. "He's…well, I think it's best if I let him talk about it. So…could you go see him?"

Mezou knew better than to argue with his wife. Tsu was usually right about things like this-and besides, he'd barely seen Kugo since they'd arrived here. After getting out of the hospital, he'd more or less just been sulking in the hut Fumikage had given him, as far as Mezou knew.

"Okay," he said. He kissed Tsu goodbye, then slipped out the door.

Time to find Kugo.

Mezou finally found the man after half an hour of searching. Rather than sulking in his hut, Kugo was sitting in one of Homeland's squares, on a bench that let him watch one of the waterfalls cascade from the ceiling into a large pool of sparkling, clean water. There was a large pack next to him, though Mezou had no clue what was inside.

Kugo's eyes were distant and thoughtful as Mezou crossed the square to join him on the bench. The large man finally spotted Mezou as he sat down, and nodded in greeting, a brief smile flashing across his face.

Deciding that Kugo didn't need his time wasted, Mezou said, "Tsu told me to come talk to you."

Kugo smiled at that. "Of course she did," he grunted, not unkindly. "God forbid that I make my own decisions around here."

Mezou snorted. "Well, then?" he asked. "Something's clearly on your mind. Spit it out."

Kugo rolled his eyes at Mezou's bluntness, but his heart clearly wasn't in it; he seemed dulled, somehow, distracted. He seemed small compared to the thundering waterfall and the organized chaos of Homeland, when he'd always been one of the biggest, most overpowering personalities Mezou had ever known.

Kugo sighed. "I'm planning to leave soon," he replied.

Mezou blinked. "Leave Homeland?" he asked. "Why?"

Kugo raised an eyebrow at the tone of Mezou's voice; Mezou was honestly surprised by himself, too. He sounded shocked that Kugo would leave, more so than he'd expected. Kugo certainly hadn't been very active since he woke up from getting his ass kicked by Fumikage. He'd mostly just stayed in town, sulking…or thinking.

Kugo leaned back on the bench, eyes still distant. "Look, kid," he said. "This Outcast thing…I don't think it's for me."

Mezou frowned. "Why not?" he shot back. "They'd welcome you, you know that. They don't hold grudges, and they admire strength like yours."

Kugo raised an eyebrow. "You sound like one of them," he grunted.

Mezou froze. He hadn't even realized that, but Kugo was right. He'd neatly parroted Fumikage and Kamakiri's words. That was…unnerving.

Shaking his head to refocus on the problem in front of him, Mezou shot back, "The point still stands, though."

Kugo shook his head. "Maybe you're right," he agreed. "But…well, I hold grudges. And I don't want to face the old members of my group who joined them."

Mezou stared at him. "You're scared of losing face?" he asked, bewildered. That didn't sound like Kugo.

"No," Kugo replied. "It's just…look, kid, it's complicated."

Mezou crossed his arms. "Try me," he shot back.

Kugo sighed once more, rubbing one massive hand over the rounded dome of his forehead. For a long moment, Mezou waited, wondering if Kugo would even respond.

He did. "Kid," Kugo began, "I know it's hard for you to realize, but I'm old."

Mezou raised an eyebrow. "You're barely forty," he protested.

Kugo met his eyes, and Mezou hesitated. He knew the life expectancy down here, especially of a man like Kugo.

"Like I said,'' Kugo repeated. "Old. And more importantly…I'm tired. I led the Neo-Stainists for years, building a home, defending it, giving people a safe place to live. And then…"

"And then the Outcasts came and took it all over," Mezou finished.

Kugo nodded. "Worse," he added, "They did it better than I ever could."

Mezou said nothing, and Kugo saw the confusion on his face. The orca-man explained, "Look, I may hold grudges, but I ain't blind. This place-all the places the Outcasts have taken over-is safer, healthier, and happier than anywhere else I've ever seen down here. I'm not so old that I can't face the facts. The Outcasts are better than the Neo-Stainists-including me-ever were."

"Then why don't you want to join them?" Mezou asked.

Kugo shook his head. "Again," he said, "I'm old, and set in my ways. This fight, the things the Outcasts are doing…that's a younger man's game. I fought my war, years ago, and…I lost."

Mezou blinked. "What are you talking about?" he asked. "What makes this a young man's game? You can help them plenty."

Kugo snorted. "You don't know anything, kid," he said, his voice dark. "You have no idea the things I've seen and done."

Mezou narrowed his eyes. "Try me," he retorted.

Kugo turned on the bench, leaning in with bared teeth. He loomed in Mezou's vision, a hulking figure in sleek black and white, his flesh marked by years and years of scars, a history of violence written on his very skin.

"You want to know what I was?" Kugo growled, low and deadly. "I was a Claw for thirty years, boy. A two-bit thug, a worthless monster who used strength and threats to bully everyone around me into obedience. I was exactly the kind of man the Outcasts are trying to stomp out. The kind of man the Chimera is."

Mezou stared at him. He'd never known that. He'd always subconsciously imagined Kugo as being a Neo-Stainist for life, despite the fact that he was decades older than the Neo-Stainist movement itself.

"What happened?" he asked. "To make you change?"

Kugo snorted. "I didn't change," he replied. "I just found new ways to channel my anger. I always had it-but it wasn't until I heard about Stain that I realized what I was angry at."

Mezou frowned. "You said yourself that the Neo-Stainists don't really care much about Stain's teachings anymore," he pointed out.

Kugo nodded. "You're right," he admitted. "Stain was only ever a convenient rallying point for most of us. There's so much anger down here…he was the spark dropped in a pool of oil. The Outcasts are the same. In the end, the Neo-Stainists that survived weren't the fanatics-we were the ones who used the ideology as a vehicle for what really mattered: safety and shelter for people who just wanted to live their lives in peace."

Mezou asked, "What does this have to do with why you're leaving?"

Kugo met his eyes. "I've seen what happens when mutants follow a man on a crusade," he said, voice groaning under the weight of years. "I saw it happen with Stain, and Shigaraki. I'm done following it. It's time for me to stop trying to force the world to be better. That's not my role anymore."

For a long, frozen moment, Mezou couldn't think of a response. Kugo sighed heavily as he continued, "I know Tsu probably sent you here to talk me out of it. But you're not gonna be able to-"

Mezou shook his head. "I wasn't planning on it," he replied, "And I'm not going to try. The least I owe you is to respect your decision."

Kugo raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"Where will you go?" Mezou asked.

Kugo shrugged. "Haven't decided," he answered. "I think I'll just…wander for a while. See if I can't find a place where I'm needed."

Mezou nodded. He extended a hand, and Kugo clasped it. "Thank you," he said. "For helping me."

Kugo snorted. "You and your wife saved me," he replied. "It was the least I could do."

The two stood, and Kugo hefted his pack onto his shoulders. He turned to go…then hesitated, turning back.

"Mezou," he said softly. "You're a good man. Whatever happens, hold onto that, alright? Wherever your crusade leads you, whatever war you fight…hold onto it."

"I will," Mezou answered softly.

Kugo nodded, and turned. He strode away, through the city, towards the exit. Mezou watched the massive man until his retreating back vanished into the crowd.

Then, he headed home. There were two days left until the duel-and he wanted to be with Tsu. Soon, it would all come to a head.

One Day Until The Duel

Izuku was getting very tired of his phone going off.

He and Mina were in the middle of dinner when the call came in. At first, Izuku's blood went cold, half-expecting it to be Takao, calling with some new taunt or demand. Instead, when he answered it, his blood went cold for a different reason.

"Atlas," the brisk, businesslike voice of Bloodhound said. "We've got a problem."

Izuku sighed. "Bloodhound," he replied, his voice somewhere between strained and calm. "Can it wait? I'm busy right now."

"Sorry," Bloodhound said, sounding not very sorry at all. "But this is serious. Remember the report on the Outcasts I gave you a while back?"

Izuku met Mina's eyes across the small dining table. She was able to hear his conversation, and obviously remembered the Outcasts. The look of concern in her eyes mirrored his own.

"Yeah," Izuku said. "Has something new happened?"

"Yes," Bloodhound said. "They've destroyed the Tunnel Rats, too. One of my sources in the Tunnel Rats confirmed it. The man barely escaped with his life."

Izuku and Mina's eyes went wide. Shit.

"I see," Izuku responded. "How strong have they gotten?"

"Strong enough that the boss of the Ten Kings, Chojuro Kon, has personally challenged their leader to a duel to the death," Bloodhound said.

Izuku's eyes narrowed, his grip on the phone tightening, while Mina paled, golden eyes wide and shocked. They both knew Kon by reputation. He was one of the most wanted men in the Depths-and, of course, one of the most untouchable. Izuku had wanted to take a crack at the most notorious human trafficker in the city for years. For her part, Mina knew exactly what Kon was capable of. The stories about him were known by every man, woman, and child in the Depths.

"Do we know anything about the Outcasts' leader?" Izuku asked. "Why would Kon challenge him personally?"

"I haven't been able to find anything much," Bloodhound admitted. "All my sources have been going dark over the last few weeks. But if Kon has challenged him, then he thinks that whoever it is is dangerous. Kon is scared-and if the Outcasts are masters of two-thirds of the Depths now, then he should be."

Izuku, seeing how deeply unnerved Mina was, wordlessly reached out to cover her hand with his own. Refocusing on the call, he asked, "Do you think we should take action?"

"At this point, we have to," Bloodhound responded. "We're in the dark here. A new player is on the verge of completely destroying the status quo in the Depths, and we know nothing about their motivations or plans. We need to stake out this duel. It's the perfect chance to identify the leader of the Outcasts-and if we don't even know who we're up against, we're screwed."

Izuku frowned. "How do we know whoever it is will be an enemy?" he pointed out. Across from him, Mina gave him a strange look. Perhaps she didn't realize that the only reason Izuku was even having such thoughts was because of her-because he had begun to understand the distinction between a villain and an enemy.

Bloodhound, jaded as always, scoffed, "You think someone trying to conquer the whole Depths will be satisfied with just the Depths? If they win, they'll come for the Underground, and the rest of the city. You know it as well as I do."

Izuku sighed. "Okay, then," he replied. "So…what's the plan?"

"We need a small team," Bloodhound replied. "Too many, and we'll start another incursion war. But that team needs to be top-tier if we're going to have any chance of getting in and out alive."
Izuku nodded thoughtfully. "Got it," he said, mind racing. "Red Riot and I will come. Other than that…Uravity and Creati are both available right now on short notice."

Bloodhound made a sound of approval. "I like it," she agreed. "I'll be coming along, too."

Izuku was about to respond when he happened to meet Mina's eyes. The sight of her expression burning with unspoken words transfixed him. Her brow was furrowed, her golden eyes aglow with an inner light that could only come from one source. Wordlessly, she raised her head, and gestured to her cloak, hanging on the wall nearby.

Izuku could read Mina's face like a book, understand her like he understood nobody else on earth. He knew her pain, her joy, her love and her loss. He knew exactly what she was saying.

"I'm coming, too."

"Are you sure?" he mouthed. He knew how fraught it had been the first time Mina had brought him to the Depths. A whole team of heroes, there on an official mission? That was a whole different beast from an off-the-books revenge job.

She nodded. Her fists were clenched on the table, her body vibrating with energy.

He knew better than to argue.

"Actually," Izuku said into the phone, "I've got one more member in mind."

"Who?" Bloodhound asked.

"A guide, of sorts," Izuku responded. "Someone who knows the territory better than any of us."

Bloodhound hummed thoughtfully. Knowing her, she wanted to know who, but could tell that Izuku was dead-set on being cryptic, and doubted there was any point in asking.

"Okay then," she said. "The duel is apparently set for tomorrow. We'll have to move quickly."

"Got it," Izuku replied. "See you then."

With that, Bloodhound disconnected, and Izuku and Mina were left in silence, their food suddenly significantly less appealing.

Izuku was the first to shatter the quiet. "So," he said. "Can…I ask why you want to come? Last time you took me to the Depths-"

Mina nodded. "I know what happened," she interrupted. "And, yeah, it's a different situation, but…but just like last time, I need to know something. The Outcasts were the ones who helped Toga. She was working for them. I…I want to know why. How could they let a monster like that run around, killing for fun? What kind of person leads a group like that?"

Izuku winced at the pain in Mina's voice. He knew grief, but Mina…her pain at Fumi's death still ran so deep. It was raw, brutal, and every time it came up to the surface, he felt his own heart twist at the darkness in the core of Mina's soul. Even the slightest hint of anyone with a connection to his murder would be enough to send her after them. But he wouldn't deny her that. As awful as it was…he understood perfectly the need for revenge, the need to destroy every hint of someone's memory.

It was what he had done to Shigaraki, after all.

Izuku reached out and took Mina's hand again. His other hand, twisted and bearing its own marks, brushed across the red, deep scar on her cheek. Broken things on broken things.

"Tomorrow," he murmured. "Tomorrow, we'll get you your answers. I promise."

Mina smiled, and it was bright, burning through the heaviness of her grief. It was a little broken, a little disturbed, but still a smile.

"Tomorrow," she agreed. "I'll lead more heroes into the only place safe from them. What's one more sin on the list, anyway?"

Nothing Izuku could say would answer that. So he kissed her instead.

Mina seemed to decide that that was an acceptable substitute. All thoughts of dinner forgotten-a rarity for her-she dragged him to her.

They had a few precious hours before tomorrow. A few precious hours before the world went to hell.

They used them well.