WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

WATCHING YOUR LIFE

NEVER KNOW WHICH WAY TO GO

IT MIGHT NOT BE RIGHT

…so you better be strong.

Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5

"So, Mercury has Bakugou!" Twice asked, as the two walked through the burning forest. "That's good."

"Yep." Dabi rasped.

"Quick job! We've barely been here an hour." Twice grinned. "So why'd it take him so damn LONG!? And why aren't you rounding up the others?"

"I know Mercury- he's pretty underpowered compared to the rest of us. And he's injured, too." Dabi said. "I'm sure one of those damn UA brats is gonna knock him down with ease. So, if that happens...Plan B."

Twice raised an eyebrow. "Aw, what? You had a Plan B?" Twice paused. "Wait, what the hell am I so confused about!? I thought up Plan B!"

Dabi looked around. "Looks like Mustard got KO'd." Dabi noted. "There's no more gas around us. Damn it."

"Eh, that kid was a schmuck! He came out of nowhere." Twice frowned.

"Yeah, but that kid would've been useful down the line. For a pragmatist or whatever, he sure wasn't effective in battle."

"Maybe he was faking it!" Twice shrugged.

"Doubtful- do you know how hard it is to get a gun in Japan?" Dabi asked.

"I've never needed one." Twice said. "So, no."

Dabi blinked.

"Well, it's hard." Dabi said.

"How do you know? You don't need a gun." Twice pointed out. "You have LITERAL fire power."

"Everyone needs something for a boost. Weak criminals have Trigger. Heroes that can't take a hit have armor. And me? I have...my pet." Dabi said.

"Ooooh, yeah! I forgot we brought him along." Twice said, snapping his finger. "Where is he?"

"I had Compress drop him off in the middle of the forest. He's pretty much on free roam right now." Dabi said. "My dear little Brando..."

"I still don't get that name, man." Twice said. "Funny reference! That's like the third Jojo ref this arc."

"You're the one who told me to bring it, y'know." Dabi said. "Something about...letting him have play time."

"Oh, yeah." Twice said. "Bow before me!"

Dabi smirked. "In your dreams."

"Well, what do you imagine Brando's doing right now?" Twice asked.

"Given the quirks Shigaraki was able to get, and the 'finishing touches' Doctor Animo was able to make?" Dabi said. "...I imagine Brando's killed a few kids by now."

Momo took off her mask, and breathed in the fresh air. "Well, it looks like Tetsutetsu and Kendo were successful with taking care of the gas."

"Hell yeah," Awase said, taking off his mask. "That just makes finding all the other kids easier. Who's accounted for?"

Momo paused to think. For a brief summary, here's the current status of everyone:

At the camp: Aizawa, Kota, Vlad, Monoma, Kaminari, Mina, Mineta and Satou

Near the campsite: Iida, Kirishima, Ojiro, Sero, Kouda, Mandalay, Tiger, Bondo, Pony, Ibara, Pixie-Bob, Yui, Honenuki

Near the edge of the forest: Bakugou, Ochako, Tsu, Tsuburaba

In the middle of the forest: Tetsutetsu, Kendo, Izuku, Shoji, Todoroki, Setsuna, Tokoyami, Kurorio

Unaccounted: Yanagi, Rin, Shoda, Kamakiri, Shishida, Manga, Komori, Kaibara, Aoyoma, Jirou, Tooru, Ragdoll

"12 missing people, with a number of villains currently unknown and still growing- I don't like the sound of that." Momo admitted.

She held her hand close to her chest. Jirou was missing- and that was really stressing her out. Jirou was one of the first friends she made at UA, and if something happened to her, she'd never forgive herself for not finding her sooner. Aoyoma was also a huge issue. If he really did get dragged away by a villain, there was a possibility that he took a hit for her or something-

Momo shook her head. Don't worry about this right now! You're in a crisis… Momo steeled her spirit.

"Keep searching." Momo said.

"What's the plan when we find a body?" Awase said. "Do we just leave it there, or-"

"I haven't quite figured it out yet." Momo said. "I don't want to leave them there, but we may not have a choice. Maybe if someone's still awake from the gas, we can leave it to them to carry them back to the camp."

"Assuming they aren't grievously injured." Awase said.

"Assuming that as well." Momo added.

"Can't you make a car or something?" Awase asked. "I forget how your powers work."

"I can make individual car parts, but not a whole car itself. Even if I could do both, it would take a lot out of me- producing something roughly 35 times my size would be taxing." Momo said. "Similarly, producing multiple things in succession is…just as taxing."

"But the gas masks-" Awase said.

"Are much less than my body weight. Therefore, I can create a small supply of them with no cost." Momo said. "Even so- I need to conserve my power just in case."

"Fair enough," Awase said, as something caught his attention in the distance. "Hey…what's that?"

Momo looked to where Awase was pointing. There was something staggering through the woods. It looked big and menacing, but Momo couldn't make out many of the features from this distance. Momo felt an uneasy pain in her stomach.

"I…I don't know." Momo muttered. "But let's stay away from it. Keep low."

Momo and Awase crouched down, and began to move through the forest quietly. This was probably the best move- if kids were lucky enough to escape the gas, they could've crawled into the bushes and hidden their bodies from any attackers. Momo crossed her fingers that Jirou and Tooru were able to do so.

Awase was also hoping his friends were able to escape. This situation was terrifying for Class 1-B. All they wanted to do was come out, do a few scares, and have a good laugh. But they weren't even allowed to do that without something going wrong. How they found out they were even here was another mystery that he'd loved to have answered.

Part of him wanted to blame Class 1-A for this, since the villains were after Bakugou. They had no part in this, they were just innocent bystanders. Why should they suffer for some loudmouth who looked down on everyone around him?

Awase shook his head. Don't think about those things, dude. He told himself. Only a villain blames others for his misfortune. I'm probably one of the lucky ones here…

Awase's hand suddenly grabbed onto something. He looked down, to see nothing. His eyebrow went up, before it suddenly hit him.

"M-momo!" Awase whispered, as he wrapped his hand around the invisible thing. "I think I found Tooru's body!"

"What?" Momo whispered. "Are you sure?"

Awase held up Tooru's leg. "I'm scared to feel the rest up. I might grab onto something…y'know." He tugged it a few times. "But I can tell it's attached to a body!"

Momo felt around for Tooru's other leg, and pulled her out. She began feeling around for any missing parts. Tooru had her arms, her legs, and she hadn't taken any physical blows to the head. It felt like it was attached properly.

"Okay, so here's Tooru. Where's Jirou?" Awase asked, as Momo looked around worriedly. She squeezed Tooru's hand.

"I don't think she's here." Momo said. "There's a big chance the two got separated. Tooru looks like she got lucky and fell unconscious in the bushes." Momo lifted her up. "Awase- can you carry Tooru? We just need to carry her unless we find someone else who can."

"Can do." Awase nodded, as Momo put Tooru on his back. "I'd weld her to my back if I could, just to keep her safe."

"I appreciate that," Momo said, as she peered her head out of the thicket. She scanned the area, making sure that beast wasn't around. "Okay, looks like it's gone. Just keep an eye out."

Momo and Awase got out of the bushes. Awase held onto Tooru tightly as they scanned the area. Momo produced some infrared goggles, and scanned the forest. Her goggles quickly detected some humanoid movement. Someone was crouching behind a tree, looking around for someone.

"Got someone." Momo said, as she led Awase over to their potential able bodied rescuer. She and Awase arrived at their location, and Momo was relieved to see someone was still awake. And even more relieved to see them unharmed.

"Aoyoma!" Momo said with a smile. Aoyoma nearly jumped when he saw Momo, but quickly straightened himself out.

"M-momo…" Aoyoma stuttered.

"What happened? Why are you out here?" Momo asked. "I thought you either ran back to camp or got kidnapped-"

"W-well! I got…dragged away by a villain, but I was able to escape him." Yuga said. "He was…something. I managed to steal a gas mask off of him." Yuga held up a gas mask, clearly a different make than the ones Momo was making. Momo gave a sigh of relief.

"Well, I'm glad you're alright. And the fact you escaped a villain is a good sign that the others can handle them." Awase said. "Since you're still awake, we're hoping you can help us with something. We found Tooru-"

"I'll do it." Aoyoma said.

"Huh?"

"If you wish for me to take her back to the camp, I will do my best to make sure she arrives safely," Aoyoma frowned. "I was stupid enough to try and wait the gas out- I had no idea that others were nearby. Allow me to make up for my error!"

Momo nodded. "Thank you, Aoyoma." She said, as Awase put Tooru on his back. Aoyoma gripped Tooru's hands.

"I'm sorry, Tooru…I hope this makes up for what I've done." Aoyoma said, running off down the path. Momo took a deep breath.

"What an overdramatic guy." Awase said.

Momo held up her goggles again, and scanned the surrounding area. There were a few more bodies hiding in some far off bushes, none of which were moving. They still had heat, and they were thankfully in one piece. "Good news- there's a few more bodies nearby. Your classmates were conscious enough to move into the bushes."

"Really? This was a thicker part of the fog. I'm not even sure how they navigated themselves without a mask." Awase said.

"Well, let's just say lady luck was on their side. Now, let's…" Momo whiffed the air, and nearly choked. "Ugh."

"What? What's wrong now? Another airborne attack!?" Awase said, throwing on his mask again.

"N-no. It's just…there's this awful smell in the air. Have you ever smelt a corpse flower?" Momo asked.

Awase looked at her with his well off middle class eyes. "No." He answered honestly.

"Well, it's one of the foulest stenches of the world. I've smelt it first hand- it's horrid." Momo said.

(Fun fact: So has the author. It smells terrible.)

"Okay, so is this stench corpse flower like?" Awase asked, hesitant to take off his gas mask.

"No- this is worse than that." Momo said, putting on her mask again. She surveyed the area once again…when she saw something on a nearby tree. Her eyes narrowed, as she got closer.

There was an odd, green gunk on the side of the tree. It didn't look like moss- moss usually hugged a tree tightly, wrapped around it in a more natural sense. This looked like it had been plastered onto the tree messily. Plus, the puke green color (there was no better word for it) was a huge telltale sign that this was not any sort of moss cataloged.

Momo produced a Biodegradable Nitrile glove, and put it on. She pushed her glove hand onto the unknown substance and nearly gagged as her hand sank into the gross mess. She cringed as she felt it run down her wrist. This was just as disgusting as she thought it was. She quickly pulled her hand out, and nearly gagged again. The glove had gotten stuck in the muck.

"Revolting." Momo gagged, as she turned around. Awase was investigating something else.

"Awase?" Momo asked, walking over. Awase had his eyes fixed upon a massive crystal, dug into the ground. It was greenish-blue in color, and was as big as Kota. Momo's eyebrows went up.

"This is so weird…" Awase said. "What's this thing doing here?"

"Probably a villain's quirk. Maybe we're passing through a battlefield or something." Momo said. "There was some green gunk on that tree-"

"No no no, you don't get it. I know where this crystal's from. I could never mistake it." Awase said.

Momo was confused. "Where is it from?"

"My little cousin's a huge Ben 10k fan. His favorite alien- it's Diamondhead." Awase said. "I've seen that action figure in his hands so many times that I can't mistake the color of this crystal."

Momo's eyebrows went up as she heard that. This was an alien's power- doesn't Uraraka have a crystal alien? Momo wondered. No, that form had pink crystals. But it has to be an alien…maybe Uraraka just had a tiny battle through here, and got a new form. Happened with her and that…Shock Rock alien when Ben 10k attacked us.

Awase smirked as he tried pulling the thing out of the ground. The thing slid right out, and he had the biggest grin. "This thing's about 20 pounds…I can work with that." He muttered, walking towards a tree trunk.

"So, what are you saying? That there's an alien here?" Momo asked. I can't risk Uraraka's secret getting spoiled here. She probably had no choice but to use it.

"Maybe." Awase said, setting the diamond down. "Hey, can you make a staff?"

"What for?" Momo tilted her head.

"Well, you said it. We're passing through a battlefield. And I'm not taking my chances if something's still around." Awase said. Momo sighed.

Fair argument, she thought as she produced a staff from her hand. Awase quickly welded the staff to the diamond, and lifted up his makeshift weapon.

"There we go. I present- the Diamondbreaker." Awase grinned. "This thing's probably strong enough to do some serious damage."

"I pray you have some experience with hammers." Momo said.

"Eh, give or take." Awase said.

Momo didn't like that answer, but…it'd have to do.

The two looked in on the other kids in the bushes- Manga, Komori, and Kaibara had all succumbed to Mustard's quirk. Their vital signs were normal, but the gas they were subjected to may have badly harmed them in some unknown way. Curiously, the students were a little more battered, with a few scratches and bruises here and there. Aside from that, they didn't appear to be in too hurt. The more and more they found the other students, the stranger the scene got. It looked like they were in battle before they got knocked out. Some of Rin's scales were dug into a tree. Some debris was scattered around Reiko.

"They're okay- but no one's awake." Awase said. "I can't carry them all, but I think we're better off leaving them here."

"Hopefully someone is awake…" Momo said. It was strange that Yuga was dragged all the way out here. Maybe the villain wanted him to fall asleep like the rest, but since he snatched the gas mask…

Momo's thoughts were cut short by a horrific noise.

The starting of a chainsaw.

Awase spun around, holding his hammer. He was ready for a fight. In the distance, down the path they'd just come, was…the creature.

Momo grit her teeth, as she made herself a sword and reinforced shield. The thing from earlier found us! Momo thought.

And that's when the thing sped over.

Momo saw exactly what she and Awase were up against. It was a horrifying sight. Everything was starting to make sense. The random damage around the others, the crystals, the slime…Uraraka hadn't been around this place. None of her aliens had.

But…this thing had.

It was a Nomu.

This Nomu wasn't like the USJ Nomu. He had a very large, muscular build similar to the first. He wore black trousers ripped just above his kneecaps, and a brown belt. Like the previous Nomu his brain is exposed, but most of it was protected by a shiny, purple helmet with two red visors and a metal gag.

That was a basic gist of what he looked like. Now came the scary part. Other parts of his body...were a misshapen, chaotic amalgam of creatures from the Omnitrix. The Nomu had an upper left arm belonging to Heatblast, an upper right arm belonging to Diamondhead, and lower arms belonging to Wildmutt. He also had Stinkfly's wings, XLR8's tail, Ghostfreak's eye track on his chest, and an upper back resembling Upgrade's. Poking out of his head were four eyestalks that belonged to Stinkfly, but the pupils were Grey Matter's.

Momo slowly realized what she was up against.

An Omnitrix powered Nomu.

Chainsaws ripped out of his back, and they were horrifyingly diverse- a Heatblast arm, an Upgrade arm, and a Diamondhead arm all possessed multiple chainsaws, each with their own unique blade.

Momo almost accepted the fact she might die in this battle, but then came a saving grace. The thing looked injured, and it had some 'leftover battle scars'. Some shrooms had been growing on his body, but had fallen off. It looked like the balls on his feet had been knocked away as well, given how he lacked the signature 'balls'. There was also a massive, black mark on its chest. Maybe someone had blasted it or something.

But that didn't mean it wasn't any less dangerous. If Momo was right to assume this thing had battled the kids in the forest before they got knocked out by the gas…then this thing could deal with anything.

Awase rushed forward, and slammed into the Nomu's chest with his hammer. The creature didn't budge, making Awase freeze up.

"...uh oh." Awase said, as the creature's chainsaw arms started to cut into the hammer. Momo's eyes widened, as she produced a sticky explosive from her arm. She flung it at the Nomu, and grabbed Awase's hand.

"My hammer!" Awase said.

"Forget it! Physical attacks are useless against this Nomu-!" Momo yelled.

And then the bomb went off. The two hit the ground to avoid any scattering debris. Awase sat up and turned around, breathing heavily.

"The Nomu…" Momo said. "Has a Shock Absorption quirk."

"A WHAT!?" Awase yelled.

Brando! Quirks: Shock Absorption! Regeneration! And Kickback! The first two are pretty self explanatory, but Kickback allows for the user to summon chainsaw arms! Also, he has 1/11th of Ben's original 10 aliens, a gift from the good doctor. Good luck sleeping tonight imagining that nightmare!

("Hey, a Chainsaw Man ref!" Twice said, shaking the author. "That's relevant! GIVE US SEASON 2!"

"Can you not?" Janet said, annoyed.)

Momo stood back up. "When All Might fought one at the USJ, the thing could take blows from him at full power. It could absorb the blows, but not nullify them." Momo explained. "So, hitting with your hammer is…"

"Useless." Awase sighed. "But what about the alien junk!? How'd it get that?"

"I…I don't know-" Momo said, before a fireball shot out of the smoke. Momo shoved Awase out of the way, and blocked the attack with her shield. Momo lowered the shield, before a fist slammed into it. Momo was sent flying backwards into a tree, and fell to the ground.

"Momo!" Awase yelled, as the Nomu sped over towards him. Awase rolled back, avoiding chainsaw strikes and a nasty bit of fire breath meant to incinerate him. Awase flipped to his feet, and ran over to Momo. The beast tried to chase after him, but it was suddenly struck in the chest by something. The blow knocked him back, and it roared in frustration.

"What the hell?" Awase asked, as he helped Momo up. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah…" Momo said, ignoring the pain in her back. She thankfully hadn't broken anything. "What happened?

"I dunno- the Nomu was chasing me before it got knocked back by an attack." Awase said. The Nomu tried to advance again, but the same thing happened.

"I don't get it- what's going on with him?" Momo asked. "I feel like we're in the aftermath of some battle."

Awase paused to think. "A quirk that repeats itself, even after whatever hit it isn't even around-" Awase snapped his fingers. "Oh, hell yeah!" Momo tilted her head, confused. Awase blushed in embarrassment. "O-oh, yeah. Sorry. I think Shoda may be around here."

"Shoda…" Momo said. She'd met him a few times- he was the vice representative of Class 1-B. He was nice and humble, and very reliable.

"His quirk, Twin Impact- he trained like crazy during camp. Maybe he found a way to loop the same attack impact over and over again so this Nomu is always off his game!" Awase grinned. "That's our Vice Rep for you- always reliable!"

Momo hummed. It's a possibility- Twin Impact allows the user to, at the site of any initial impact, create a second impact remotely and at their discretion. The second impact will be many times stronger than the initial one…whatever hit that Nomu must have been strong.

"We need to find him." Momo said. "If his quirk is active, then he's awake."

"We should be able to track him around the area. His quirk's got a good cone radius of thirty feet." Awase explained. "So, if our Nomu friend can't attack us from…right around here…" Awase pointed down the road. "Then he's gotta be there!"

Momo stood back up. "Before we go any further…hold on." Momo said, walking over to the Nomu. The Nomu roared, before it got hit again by the same attack. Momo quickly lifted up her shirt, and focused all her energy into her next creation. Awase's jaw dropped as Momo created a cannon. Momo made a match from her finger, and lit the fuse.

"Creation…Cannon!" Momo yelled, as the cannonball slammed into the Nomu's chest at point blank range. The impact was similar to the final attack All Might used on the Nomu, and with whatever was overwhelming the Nomu with the repeated attack- maybe the regeneration quirk could be bypassed.

The Nomu slammed into a tree, and fell down to the ground, twitching from the cannonball's impact and repeated attack. Momo smirked, as she ran back towards Awase. "Come on!" Momo said, as Awase followed.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen." Awase admitted.

Momo wanted to gush, but now didn't seem like the proper time. She and Awase needed to find Shoda and fast. Momo used her goggles to scout the area- she quickly picked up on two bodies, huddled close together in some bushes. The duo rushed over.

"I might've found him! And he's got someone else with him, too!" Awase said, as Momo saw who it was- the sigh of relief she let out was cathartic. Shoda was with Jirou the entire time. The two were close together.

"Oh, thank goodness." Momo sighed, as she examined Jirou's body. She had some bruises here and there, but she hadn't lost any limbs or digits.

"...that's weird." Awase said.

"What? What's wrong?" Momo asked.

"Shoda's been knocked out." Awase said. "But his quirk's still active. How's that possible?"

Momo stopped for a second. "Maybe…the stress from the battle made him unlock an ability he never knew he had?" She said, as she lifted Jirou up.

"It's a possibility." Awase said. "But I was seriously hoping someone else would be awake so-"

Awase never finished his sentence. The Nomu suddenly slammed into him at breakneck speeds, causing him to crash into a tree. Momo heard a horrific snapping noise- Awase yelled in pain. His arm was bent at a horrific angle, and Momo swore she saw something sticking out of his arm. She didn't get a great look.

The creature quickly lifted up its arm, and diamonds shot out of the ground and trapped Momo's body. Her body was trapped, as she struggled to free herself. "A-awase!" She yelled.

"I-I'm fine!" Awase yelled, trying to hold back the tears. "What the hell happened!? Why did Shoda's quirk suddenly stop?"

Momo tried to think back- in the last thirty seconds, what had changed? They found Jirou and Shoda. Momo picked her up. And then the Nomu attacked. The details had to be there-

Then it dawned on Momo.

Jirou may have overloaded the Nomu with a strong earphone attack at some point, and Shoda kept repeating the attack since it was circumventing the Shock Absorption quirk.

The link was broken when I moved Jirou away. I sabotaged the counterattack! Momo's eyes narrowed in fear as she understood what she had done. She could hear the Nomu approaching Awase and his chainsaw humming. Awase tried to rise up again, but his body was immobilized by terror.

"AWASE!" Momo screamed, attempting to break free. Her mind was filled with uncertainty and guilt, and her body couldn't muster the energy to produce anything. Momo was left alone to listen to the terrifying buzz of the chainsaws…

I'm sorry.

Momo closed her eyes, accepting defeat.

I'm sorry that I killed all of us.

Momo heard Awase's screams grow louder.

And I'm sorry…I wasn't strong enough.

Those were Momo's last thoughts.

Iida attached the makeshift handcuffs to Fistrick's hands. "There," He huffed. "That should hold you. Thank you for that, Ship."

Ship chirped happily, as he slithered up Iida's leg and up to his shoulder. He rubbed against Iida's cheek. Iida scratched his adorable chin, before he turned to the Nosedeenians.

"I…don't exactly know what to do with you three," Iida said. "So, I suppose you can go?"

The Nosedeenians chattered for a second, pointing frantically all over the place. Iida didn't understand their language, so he was lost in translation. Eventually, the Nosedeenians darted off into the forest, never to be seen for the rest of the night.

Iida blinked. "Well, I trust that they won't cause mischief."

(They did.)

Iida limped over to the cabin, bandages in hand. "We need to return these to whoever had them. Which bag did you steal this from?"

Ship tilted his head. "Shiiiip?"

"Come on. I know you take things. You forget Uraraka sends me your 'cute list of crimes'-" Iida said, before something zipped past him. Iida and Ship flinched, as he turned around to see what it was.

Iida only caught a glimpse of it, but it looked like a wrapped up present. Iida and Ship watched the gift fly into the woods, and shared a look.

"...Ship, make me a cast." Iida said. "We need to see what that was!"