Sorry this is a day late. Enjoy!

Beros stood frozen, staring straight forward, seeing but not comprehending.

This had to be an illusion. A trick. Anything other than what Beros was seeing right now. Her mother wasn't here. She didn't have an arrow sticking out of her torso. The arrow wasn't shot by Beros. This couldn't happen.

Beros' mother collapsed to the ground. All at once reality crashed down on Beros. She ran forward. "MOM!"

She paid no attention to Eraserhead, the Abomination, or even Lady Nagant. All she could see was her mother's injured form on the ground. Beros skidded to a stop and examined the wound. She felt for her mother's pulse. Still going. The wound wasn't bleeding too much, and the arrow didn't seem to have hit any vital organs (but it was hard to tell). If Beros had to guess, the wound wasn't immediately fatal, but would become so if left untreated.

Beros raised her mother's knees, then elevated her head. Beros' mother slowly looked at her. Droplets of water fell on her mother, but there wasn't a cloud in the sky. A quick touch to Beros's face confirmed the truth.

"Can you hear me?" Beros choked out. "How much does it hurt?"

Her mother's hand lifted and cupped Beros' cheek. Beros couldn't even bring herself to remind her mother not to touch her. "Why?" Beros said.

Why had she come here? Why hadn't she run to the nearest Humarise operative for protection? Why had she gotten in front of Beros' arrow?

"I…had to," Mom said.

"Why?!"

She gave Beros a sad smile. She turned her head sideways, toward Lady Nagant. "Because…she's my daughter too."

Beros stilled. "What?"

"Neither of you would remember. You'd barely been born and she was only a toddler. I could only…keep one. But then…"

Tears fell down her mother's face. Beros slowly looked up at Lady Nagant, who was watching stunned. Beros looked back down at her mother. Beros touched the wound. Her mother winced.

Beros had to get her out of here. She tenderly lifted her mother and carried her toward the nearest Humarise vehicle. There was more fighting behind her but she ignored it, focusing only on her mother's warmth. It meant that she was still alive.

Beros placed her mother in the backseat, buckled her in, then got into the driver's seat. As she was about to leave, two operatives got in the car.

"Hurry up! Or we'll all be caught!"

Beros gave no reply. She simply started the engine and drove away.

Toshinori saw the arrow pierce Botan. In that moment of hesitation, Flect Turn hit Toshinori with his strongest punch, augmented by his many mirrors. The blow blasted Toshinori away. He recovered, deciding to let Lady Nagant help Botan while he quickly finished this fight. Toshinori charged through the dust cloud, but Flect Turn wasn't inside.

Toshinori looked up to see Flect Turn disappearing over the top of the cliff. Toshinori was about to follow, but he saw a cultist sneaking up on Aizawa. Toshinroi threw a rock, which hit with the at the cultist's feet with enough force to cause a small explosion, sending the cultist flying. Toshinori leapt over the cliff only to see Flect Turn speeding away.

Toshinori looked back down. Lady Nagant hadn't moved. More concerning, Botan was no longer there. Someone had already taken her.

Toshinori leaped down next to Lady Nagant. For someone who'd seen plenty of death in her Hero career, probably even dealt a little, she looked thoroughly shaken.

"Lady Nagant? What happened?"

"I can read lips…"

"What?"

She shook her head, then gave herself a painfully false stoic expression. "I hesitated. Beros took her mother and escaped. We-We should help Eraserhead finish the rest of them off." She got up, but her steps were unsteady, while her eyes remained distant and unfocused.

Toshinori put a hand in front of her. "No, let me. See if you have any leads on where Beros went."

It was busywork and they both knew it. But Toshinori didn't want to risk her fighting in this state. Soon, the rest of the cultists had either been captured or driven off. The trio of Heroes examined the area for any clues they could find. Or at least, Aizawa and Toshinori did. Lady Nagant was too shaken to do anything. It was odd to be so haunted by the injury of someone she barely knew. Then again, Botan was the first person she'd known since Tartarus. It was natural she'd develop a deeper bond than normal.

The three returned to their vehicle. In the backseat, there was a gap in their bags. So that was how Botan had come with them. Toshinori clenched his fist. If he'd checked that spot, she would have been fine. He glanced at Lady Nagant and could see she was thinking something very similar.

"Don't worry about Botan," Toshinori said. "Humarise highly values their quirkless people. Protecting them is a sacred duty. Their protection may not be good by any stretch of the word, but it means they'll do anything to save an injured one.

"Are…are you sure?" Lady Nagant said.

"Trust me. I was in their clutches once. They won't let anything happen to Botan.

Lady Nagant shakily nodded, then got into the car. They rode back to their hotel in total silence.

Sidero finally let himself relax as they arrived back at the compound. He'd joined the early stages of the fight, but once the Abomination showed that he could take on the Supreme Leader himself, and Eraserhead showed he could take everyone else, Sidero had hidden away. After all, in the chaos of battle who could tell he wasn't out there fighting with the rest?

Sidero couldn't wait for them to ship out those bombs and wipe those impure filth off the earth. Then Sidero could finally rest and protect the Chosen Ones in peace and tranquility, challenged by no one. Sure, he was impure too, but he'd rather be with Humarise than against. Especially when the rest of the world burned.

Up ahead Beros got out of one of the front cars, carrying some green-haired person in civilian clothes. She looked upset, but he didn't care. She could deal with her own issues for all Sidero cared. Dealing with her was hard enough on a normal day.

More concerning was the Supreme Leader, who looked like someone had used his favorite cereal bowl as a toilet. He'd really taken All Might's beating poorly. Sidero almost pitied the poor idiot who made him mad.

Beros tried to go to the medical wing, but they didn't let her. They said the Supreme Leader Turn ordered everyone involved in the operation to the debrief room, no exceptions. Beros tried to reason with them, reminding them that her mother, a Chosen One, could die without treatment, but they didn't listen! Did Humarise's teachings mean nothing to them?!

Beros walked into the room, still holding her unconscious mother. Beros tried cradling her as gently as possible, doing her best to avoid exacerbating the wounds.

Supreme Leader Turn informed them that they'd failed to stop the Abomination, and that he was even more wicked than initially believed. They were going to speed up the deployment of the Trigger bombs and end the world sooner than expected. Beros almost spoke up to ask about the various field operatives they'd need to recall. However, something in his eyes made her decide against it.

As Beros waited for the speech to end, barely even listening for once, his eyes fell on her. Or more accurately, on her mother.

"What is she doing here?" he said.

"M-my lord," Beros said, dipping her head. "This is my mother. She is one of the Chosen Ones, but she-she was hit by an arrow in the attack. She needs medical care! With your leave, I would like to take her to receive it."

"I saw it," a masked operative with wrist gauntlets said. "She," he gestured to Beros, "was about to kill the sniper with that arrow, but the woman threw herself in the way."

"Did she now?" Supreme Leader said, his voice sending a shiver down Beros. He turned to Beros, his gaze boring into her. "Why would she do that?"

Beros looked away. "She…she's a kind soul."

"Really? Is there no other motive?" he said. "After all, she didn't come with us, so she had to come with them."

"Wait!" Beros said. "She…she also said something about being related to Lady Nagant. I-I'm not sure. She could've been delirious."

"I see," Supreme Leader Turn said. "No matter. She shall go to the Room of Enlightenment."

"I understand," Beros said, placing her hand on her chest in salute. "I shall inform the people in the medical wing to bring her straight there after her treatmen-"

"No," Supreme Leader Turn said. "She will go there immediately."

Beros' heart fell into her stomach. "B-but-"

"She has been in the presence of those filthy sinners for too long. It has polluted her mind. She must have her mind purged if she is to be allowed near any of the faithful, let alone Chosen Ones."

"But if she doesn't receive medical treatment, she could die!"

Flect Turn's eyes were unsympathetic. "Then that shall be the penalty for her crimes."

Beros felt like she'd just been slapped. "B-but she's a Chosen One!"

"One past breeding age, meaning there will be no more from her line.

"But Our Scriptures make it clear that Chosen Ones are to be protected at all costs! Regardless of fertility! It's said one of their lives is worth ten of ours!"

"The woman helped our enemies, even saving one of them from your arrows. Her mind must be purged of their wicked ideas. If she is so polluted that she cannot withstand the Room of Enlightenment, then it will serve as a valuable lesson to the others in our care to not forsake our cause!"

Beros didn't move. She couldn't. The Supreme Leader was letting her mother die...willingly?! Beros looked down at her mother, at the arrow still protruding from her torso. Beros' arrow, which she'd willingly fired.

Beros set her mother down and did the only thing she could still do. She threw herself at the Supreme Leader's feet and begged. "Please!" she said, tears falling. "Have mercy! Let them save her first, then she can go to be enlightened! Our Scriptures justify it!" Then in a smaller voice added, "I can't be the one who killed her…"

Flect Turn kicked Beros, the impact of it hitting her twice over. Beros tumbled to the ground, her mask rolling into the wall. "Don't tell me what our Scriptures are you whelp! I am Humarise, and you should learn your place!"

The Supreme Leader's eyes burned with fury. Beros immediately directed her gaze downward. "M-my apologies Supreme Leader. I shall do as you say." She picked up her mask, then lifted her mother and took her from the room.

Beros moved like a machine, her mind utterly blank as she brought her mother to the Room of Enlightenment, telling the guards something before leaving. It was like she was a spectator to her own actions, seeing but taking no part in them.

Even as she was healed by their healers, Beros barely felt anything. No relief from her injuries being gone. No sense of vigor or health. Just…emptiness. Nothing felt real. It was like a bad dream. She received message on her phone saying that she was barred from seeing the Messiah. And so, the one person Beros could speak to about her problems was out of reach. Beros instead paced her room, trying to figure out something to do.

Her mother would die if Beros did nothing. But there was no way to receive treatment within Humarise. Getting help from the outside wasn't an option, since that would require stealing her mother and delivering her to the sinful outside world. A capital crime!

And yet, Beros' mother was dying. She would probably be dead tomorrow if she did nothing.

Beros clenched her fist. There was no choice. If giving her life would save her mother's then she'd do it in a heartbeat. Beros was a vile, sinful, cursed creature, while her mother was a Chosen One. A kindhearted woman who deserved a better daughter than her.

Yet she still gave Beros love, and Beros loved her.

There was no choice. She'd save her mother.

Toshinori and Aizawa sat over the table, slowly going over their evidence. They'd defeated and arrested dozens of cultists. Toshinori had nearly defeated Flect Turn. And yet, they felt like they'd lost.

Toshinori glanced at the bed where Botan had been using, a lonely suitcase sitting next to it. Lady Nagant sat nearby, analyzing the evidence with a desperate fervor. Toshinori recognized what she was doing. She was trying to hide in her work to distract her from the loss. Toshinori had done the same thing himself.

"Since that was a bust, I'd say we move here," she said pointing at the map. Her tone was empty, sounding more like a text to speech app than a human. "That was our best lead before we found out about the Float Tanks. If that fails, we interrogate the captives."

Aizawa nodded. "That's a good plan. We'll need to move out tomorrow. Humarise will be on its toes."

"We'll reconvene tomorrow to plan the attack," Toshinori said.

"Good," Lady Nagant said. Before Toshinori could say anything, she got up and left. She reappeared a few minutes later dressed in gym clothes. "I'm going to train. Don't wait for me."

Once she was gone, Toshinori let himself deflate. He may not trust her, but…"I'm worried about her."

"Me too," said Aizawa. "The amount of grief is totally irrational, but…"

"But?"

"I know what it's like to lose a friend," he said in a quiet tone.

Toshinori dipped his head. "Heroism can be a very harsh and unforgiving job."

"I'm well aware," Aizawa said. "And she knew it too."

"Botan was the first acquaintance she'd had since being imprisoned. The minimum-security wing of Tartarus is still Tartarus! It's not the place where one gets positive human contact. It's no surprise she bonded so closely with Botan, even after only a few days."

"She was a talented Hero too," said Aizawa, "Those have a nasty tendency of putting everything on themselves."

"Yes," Toshinori said. "She needs to understand it's not her fault for what happened to Botan. Botan chose to throw herself in front of that arrow, not Lady Nagant. Besides, if it's anyone's fault it's mine. I should have noticed that Botan stowed away and-"

"I was talking about you too!" Aizawa said. "I'm the one who's an expert on sneaking around so I'm-"

"Don't you start," Toshinori said. Then, despite himself, he chuckled. "We can't go five minutes before blaming ourselves for everything, could we?"

"Your points were utterly irrational," Aizawa said. "Only mine was-"

Toshinori glared at him.

"Alright fine. Agree to disagree."

"I'll take that," Toshinori said with a rueful smile. He then looked out the door after Lady Nagant. He may not trust her. He may even suspect she's secretly plotting with All for One to seize his successor.

But.

Kaina slammed her fist into the punching bag. Again. Again. Again! She pulled back her leg and swung it into the bag so hard that the bag swung thirty degrees. When it came back, Kaina hit it with another punch, slamming it so hard it stopped in its tracks.

She growled, then threw a serious of quick punches, imagining it was someone's face. Who's? All for One's? Flect Turn's? Beros? Herself? She didn't know. She just knew that she had to keep punching. Keep attacking. Throw everything she had at this bag.

For a few moments, she paused. Sweat poured down her head. After a few quick breaths she was at it again. Punch. Kick. Jab. Right hook. She wasn't sure if her arms had started hurting or not. She just knew she couldn't stop. Whenever she stopped, she saw Botan smiling up at Kaina. Botan looking pained when Kaina explained her backstory. Botan enjoying the flowers. Botan looking at Kaina as her lips mouthed-

Kaina growled. Had she even told Botan her name before Botan used it?!

"It's been so long since I doted on…on my daughter."

How had she missed it?! Her and Beros had similar quirks and skills. Even their professional demeanors were similar! Or how about the way Botan was almost desperate to join Kaina at the start?! She'd assumed she just wanted to find her daughter, and sure enough! Or maybe Kaina could look at her apologizing for Kaina's backstory, like she felt responsible.

All of it circled back to those words she'd seen Botan mouth. "She's my daughter too."

Kaina screamed as she hit the bag again.

That was the worst part. The easy instinct would be to wish she'd let Beros take that jump, putting herself out of her and Kaina's misery. But then, not only would Kaina be unable to face Botan, it would mean she'd let her own sister die. A sister who wasn't much different than she'd been under the HPSC.

Hell, Beros was actually more innocent since at least she was raised there from infancy. Kaina was a teenager when the HPSC took her in.

Kaina slammed the bag again.

That asshole knew. All for One. He had to have. Kaina sent Botan's name to his people. He promised to tell her about her biological mother. Was Kaina supposed to think he didn't know who that was? That he wasn't keeping tabs on her name? That Kaina teamed up with her own mother without knowing it? He probably kept quiet to just to avoid giving the game away, because…

He told me to kill my own sister.

Kaina drew back and slammed her foot into the bag. The bag rocked a bit, before Kaina finally slumped against it, utterly exhausted. She almost wanted to cry, but couldn't. She never showed anyone her tears, not even herself.

"Do you want to talk?"

Kaina glanced behind her, her expression morphing into its default deadpan. "Not particularly."

All Might was there, wearing a dinky surgical mask, trenchcoat, and fedora.

"Who is that actually supposed to fool?"

"Someone who isn't looking for All Might."

Kaina looked away. "…Fair enough."

All Might looked down, seeming uncertain. "I don't know how well you and Botan knew each other."

"I barely did."

"But I am sorry for losing her. I should have noticed she'd snuck in the car with us."

"I'm the assassin. I should've noticed. I was too focused on fighting Humarise. I didn't think twice about our car getting infiltrated."

"I'm the Number One Hero. I let my guard down too."

Kaina decided not to argue with him. She'd had enough for one day.

"Hold on. What do you mean by 'assassin'?"

Or not. Kaina looked back at him, trying to be as deadpan as possible. "Did you think the HPSC kept me around for my personality?"

All Might paled. "What do you mean?"

"I'll give you more when this is over, I haven't lost all self-preservation. But let's just say they had me do their…less than legal work."

"I see," All Might said, with thinly hidden shock. "How old were you when you started?"

Kaina looked away. "Nineteen."

"How old were you when you were recruited?"

Kaina sighed. "Fourteen. My fifteenth birthday was two months later."

All Might looked positively disgusted. As he should, when he learned she wasn't just a killer, but also a borderline serial killer-

"It's not your fault."

Kaina paused. "What?"

"You were trained from a young age to become what you did. It's not your fault."

"I was a teenager," Kaina said. "I knew murder was wrong. And I was an adult when I started killing."

"Fine. You may bear some responsibility, but you were still manipulated from a young age by people you had every reason to trust. Many have been led astray for far less. You can't blame yourself for everything."

Kaina turned away. She wouldn't let him see any tears. "Thanks." It was all she could do to stop her voice from breaking.

"You don't have to let your past define you. You may not be able to undo what you did, but you can do the right thing now. Help me save my successor."

Kaina nodded. "Thank you."

He began to walk away. "You're welcome."

Kaina took one last look at him as he left the room.

Beros placed her last batch of arrows in her quiver, just in case her escape got messy. She'd normally have asked for new arrows, but she saw no point. After all, she wouldn't live long enough to use the new ones.

She'd already come up with a plan. She'd disable the alarms in one of the garages, grab her mother from the Room of Enlightenment, take her down there, and leave. She'd reactivate the alarms once she was safely away and deliver her mother to a hospital for treatment. After that, Beros would return them both to Humarise, where she'd promptly be executed.

Yes, even if she saved a Chosen One's life, Beros would have to pay the price for stealing her. However, this was her mother, and it was Humarise's doctrine. Beros was at peace with dying for both.

Beros took one last look at her room, glancing at her meager possessions. It wasn't much, those in Humarise had little need for material things. A few books, some movies that she'd watch alone (and at least a few of them just to talk to the Messiah about), and little else. Still, she hoped they found good owners after her death. It would be a shame to burn such wonderful things just because she'd touched them.

Finally, Beros donned her most prized possession, her green cloak. Her mother had started teaching her knitting when she was four. Her teacher had a bit of knowledge himself (surprising for a grim, almost severe man like him). With his help Beros finished it. While she couldn't show her mother the cape in person, she sent a picture of herself wearing it to her. The resulting letter praising her craftsmanship was one of the happiest moments in Beros's life. That was why the cape was the one piece of personality she'd shown as an assassin. That and a golden arm ring similar to the one her teacher had worn.

Fitting that Beros modeled herself after Robin Hood, since like him she was about to break the rules to do the right thing. Beros placed her mask on her belt and donned her red cloak. All the better to keep anyone from realizing what she was about to do.

Beros snuck her way to the security room. Fortunately, being one of their best guards and assassins, she had clearance to enter this area of the compound. Beros opened the door a crack. No one inside. She slipped through the door, throwing out her hand to make absolutely sure the room was empty, especially anyone invisible.

No one. Just her.

Beros closed the door tightly, then got onto the computer. She was about to log on when something caught her eye. A filing cabinet nearby was opened a crack. Personnel Files: Combat Operatives.

Beros moved to close it, but then pulled it a little further open. She was breaking several rules after all. Besides, part of her wanted to see her own file for the first time. Beros found her own name, pulled out the file and began to read.

It mentioned her skill with a bow, her discipline, her willingness to do what she was told, as expected. But then it read "Caution: Subject has problems with authority. Similar to Othello, she has displayed frequent acts of defiance, questioned orders, or even contradicted her direct superiors. Recommend SS class mission to-"

Beros nearly dropped the file. Defiance? Problems with authority? But she always did her best to obey her elders! The most she ever did was ask them to clarify when they seemed to contradict the organization's teachings, and that was just so she'd understand what she was missing. Similarly, the only times she'd question orders was when she thought they seemed against Humarise's ways and wanted to make sure she knew the proper course of action.

Beros read further. "Subject returned from SS mission alive, with target successfully eliminated. Recommend she not be given more SS missions, and instead used as a high-skill operative."

She remembered that mission. It was less than a month after Othello's death. She'd been forced to take on an entire compound to assassinate one of their organization's enemies. She'd come very close to dying, with only her training and copious amounts of luck seeing her through. Despite that, all she could think after was that she'd helped Humarise.

Beros sighed. What was she doing right now? Was she just being defiant like the file said? Should she simply go back to her room and wait? Almost involuntarily Beros opened the filing cabinet again, searching until she found her old master's name. Maybe she was curious after they mentioned him in her file. Maybe she wished he was here to give her guidance, and hoped his file would give her some.

Either way, she pulled out the file marked "Othello" and read. Her eyes widened. "Problems with authority." "Numerous acts of defiance." "Subject teaches the doctrines well in a classroom but outside demonstrates a severe lack of deference." Indignation surged in Beros. How dare they?! No one was more devoted to Humarise than he'd been!

Her teacher had been raised in Humarise after his mother abandoned him with them, and had sought to learn their doctrines perfectly! The few times he corrected his superiors, he was always right! The only reason Beros didn't do the same as often as he had was because she was nowhere near as wise as him! How could they slander him like this? Surely there had to be a mistake? She read the next line.

Beros dropped the file.

"Subject showed impudence in attacking Elder Kazmotis' character, resulting in his retirement and elimination. Subject is recommended for immediate but quiet elimination via a class SS mission."

Impudence? Elder Kazmotis was embezzling money and abusing Chosen Ones. It was proven. Why would they attack her teacher for that?

Beros' analytical side focused on that mission classification. SS. She'd never heard it before. Beros opened the computer and searched. She found it. "SS: A mission for which death is a near certainty. Recommended only for completely expendable operatives, especially ones meant to be eliminated.

Beros didn't want to see it. She couldn't. They'd…they'd sent her mentor to die. Her mentor had devoted himself to Humarise, trying so hard to understand them that he knew their teachings better than many elders. And they'd killed him for it. He'd exposed a thief, heretic, and traitor, and they'd killed him. They'd tried to kill her too, and only kept her because she'd been too skilled to lose.

Beros felt sick. She fell to her knees as the walls seemed to close around her. Mentally her entire world came crashing down. Humarise didn't care that her mentor had stopped the Chosen Ones from being abused, only that they were embarrassed. They didn't care that he (and Beros) were completely loyal to the cause, only that they were not completely loyal to them. Every scolding and chastisement in recent memory took on a new color.

One final nail embedded itself into Humarise's coffin within Beros' heart. They didn't care about saving Mom.

Beros sins flashed before her eyes. They were numerous. So numerous. But two stood out for their recentness. She'd brought the Messiah- she'd brought Izuku Midoriya here. Even then, he tried to warn her, and even befriended her. She didn't deserve to know him. She'd also brought Rody Soul here, where he was in much more danger than Midoriya.

Tears fell down Beros' cheeks. Nevertheless she rose to her feet. A fire now burned in her chest. Her mother. Izuku Midoriya. Rody Soul. She was going to save them. All of them.

Surprise! Beros and Nagant have been sisters all along! Which most of you already guessed!

(I know pretty much all of you already knew, so I didn't try that hard to hide it) (But if anyone of you are genuinely surprised, please tell me!)

AFO did indeed know Botan was with Kaina. In my earlier drafts she'd outright told him, but I cut that both to make it slightly less obvious who Botan was, and because I forgot this scene was coming. Whoops.

To the commenter who predicted Beros's first mission had actually been a suicide mission, good guess! You were right!

As for Flect Turn, congratulations. You have managed to turn Humarise's single loyalest (and most capable) operative and turned her against you. Great job!

Hope you enjoyed! Reviews make me smile!