Energy (D.P./M.H.A.)

. 4 8 .

It was not going great.

Sam, Tsuyu, and Midoriya had made their way from the shipwreck zone along the shore towards the staircases at the entrance of the USJ. Sneaking along the sides of the battle between Eraserhead and what had to be at least 50 individual villains was absolutely horrendous to do, Sam decided as soon as they'd started wading through the water. She was cold, clammy, and her teeth were clattering. She'd lost her focus and was just going through the motions of putting one foot in front of the other in the waist-high water, slowly moving forward, if not at all.

Tsu had at least accepted the situation and was maybe even content. Sam was a bit jealous at seeing her swiftly dart back and forth between the shoreline and the deeper waters, keeping watch for any potential stowaways. There was not a single shred of hesitation in her movements and attitude, talking strategy and theories with Midoriya uninterrupted by the absolute freeze shaking Sam's bones.

Midoriya had seemed to find some comfort in talking strategy, and Sam was convinced the only reason Tsu was even engaging in conversation to keep him from panicking. His hand was still wrapped in the supporting fabric, although it was now thoroughly soaked. Hopefully, it would hold long enough for them to get a proper medic, or better, Recovery Girl.

They were nearing the staircases, individual shapes of their classmates now taking shape. Kurogiri had warped away from the group and was probably informing Shigaraki of the events that had happened, which meant that Iida was on his way to the main building of UA to get help. 

Sam felt a wave of relief wash over her, a bit of warmth returning to her trembling limbs. She wouldn't have to take the strategic lead now that Midoriya was almost out of commission, nor would she have to be alert every single second. Maybe she could even pass out for a hot second to regain some sense of peace. There would be a wall between them and the villains in the shape of pure numbers.

She was about to call out.

And that's when shit hit the fucking fan.

There was an absolutely agonizing cry from the plaza, and they snapped their heads in the direction. Aizawa was on the floor, battered, bruised, broken, yelling at them to run. The absolutely horrific-looking creature was pushing him down by his head. The crunch of skin meeting gravel was nearly audible over the breaths everyone was holding. 

Aizawa's elbow was...gone, skin having peeled back to reveal muscle. The gash right under his eye was bleeding, and blood was dribbling down his face from within his hair. There was an unnatural bend in his arm. That was a lot of problems, and she could only see a part of him from under the Nomu, and then there was the fact they didn't know what damages there were on the inside. The sight made Sam wanna throw up, knowing this had been preventable. 

But they'd failed.

She'd failed.

Her sight blurry with tears, panic gripped at her when she realized what was probably next. The blur of Shigaraki now dashing away from the plaza and towards the shoreline, to them, registered in her brain and Sam acted. She pulled Tsu back by her belt and braced herself for the impact.

Midoriya had moved.

So had Shigaraki.

And then there was a Nomu breathing down their necks.

Sam was pretty sure she was in some sort of shock, somehow. Time wasn't progressing as it should, fragments lasting longer than they should as if they were action frames in one of Tucker's comics, others speeding by like someone had recorded a movie and was fast-forwarding through the ads. 

She saw Midoriya's face contort into one of absolute terror when it dawned on him what she'd done. There was a recognition there, a horror that had not quite progressed in his mind, but the determination of not letting it happen was bigger than his fear of Shigaraki. 

The next thing Sam knew was that she and Tsu did not, in fact, disintegrate into dust and ash. Water flew up into her face and she nearly toppled over in the water. As she regained vision, she saw that Shigaraki was no longer in front of them, a big blue blob present instead of the tiny black one. A faint orange glow faded out on the right side of her vision, and it was accompanied by a tiny wheeze of surprise from Midoriya. With his arm stretched forward, he stood low, his left arm held back. The glove on his right hand was still completely intact, despite having used his Quirk. 

The glove was also connecting to the Nomu.

It stood tall and unfazed by the attack, having moved from holding down Aizawa to standing in front of Shigaraki to absorb the blow. Big eyes protruding from the exposed brain did not even blink as Midoriya slowly pulled his arm back when he realized his big move hadn't even put a dent in the Nomu.

Sam's panic resurfaced as she felt Tsu freeze, still clinging to her classmate to ensure she was in fact still in one piece. They were still in the water, a meter or three removed from the shoreline at best. Midoriya was on the land now, out of reach and out of protection. 

She watched Shigaraki talk, not processing the individual words well enough to comprehend what he was saying. The intent was clear, though, when he turned to them. Midoriya's eyes widened further and he tried to move.

The Nomu was faster. Its hand slammed into Midoriya's chest, pushing him back into the water as it jumped along. Midoriya tried gripping at the hand to release him, but it was useless. They went under with a big splash.

With the last line of defense gone, Sam and Tsu were now faced with Shigaraki, no backup, no plan, nothing. Aizawa was still in the plaza, either knocked out or back to defend against the villains. The group on the top of the stairs was still in the aftermath of dealing with Kurogiri, with Thirteen barely clinging to life. The others...they were still scattered around the facility, probably fighting for their lives as well.

And then it dawned on Sam.

They were going to die.