Terra laughed, a sound that bubbled up and seemed to echo through the air.  Across from her table was a boy with sunset orange hair that seemed spiky all over, yet irresistibly fluffy.  He smiled so wide he had to close his stunningly blue eyes. He had been the only one to come share a table with the new girl and broke any tension with jokes. 

This was the first time she had met Reiji Ishihara, the boy that had made her laugh with his first words to her. The boy that helped fill the emptiness and loneliness that constantly changing homes and schools left. Her best friend since that day the first day off middle school. 

She wanted more than anything to go back there. Back to simpler times, with new friends in the school year and back to Kacchan and Deku for the summer. Back to Reji. 

The young boy held his hand out to her and said, "You're Rikuto right? Terra? I'm Reiji!"

Terra reached out to take his hand, but he was gone. 

"You and me against the world!" his young excited voice echoed around them. Then it changed to his older voice as she remembered him saying, "No villain could stand against us! Together we're unstoppable!" 

In the blink of an eye his place was taken by a girl with soft purple hair. She was sitting cross legged on a bed just across from the one Terra found herself sitting on. This was their room, the dorm that they shared when they entered the hero program. 

"I don't think I'm cut out for this," Haru was saying with heartbroken eyes. "Maybe I'm not cut out to be a hero. I'm a lousy fighter and bubbles aren't exactly heroic." 

What if Terra had told her to leave that day? What would have happened? She remembered comforting the other girl. What she had done instead was convince Haru to stay, to become a hero. What better defense was there than her bubble shields?  Plus they were bubbles, she'd easily be able to float people to safety and trap bad guys within. Bubbles were a perfect hero quirk. Besides if anything happened, Terra promised she would be there for her. 

"Until you make it through the program and are tough enough to be on your own, I've got your back," Terra promised with a comforting smile. 

Haru smiled with relief exactly as she had that day, but when she opened her mouth to speak different words came out, "You promised me. You promised Reiji. You PROMISED, but you lied." 

Suddenly Terra was blinded by a cloud of dust and debris. She choked on it and coughed, trying to rub it out of her eyes. When she opened them up again she was back to where she had returned every night. 

"No please," she whimpered, "Not again." 

"You defend the wounded. I'll be right back," Reiji said, suddenly there. He put his arms around her in a quick hug. She clung to him, trying to hold him there, but he slipped through her fingers again and he ran off.  A wall of villains rose up and suddenly it was as if she was reliving it again. It felt real. 

Her muscles ached, pushed way past their limit. She was breathing heavily, exhausted from overusing her quirk, and the air was filled with smoke and dust, making the air hard to breath. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye, moving on reflex she put her stone gauntlets out to colloid with something heavy. A villain standing twice as tall as her and twice as wide. He was green and covered in spikes like a cactus. If her gauntlets weren't made of stone she was sure the spikes would have broken through her skin. From her other side two other villains were coming at her. 

The odds of Terra's survival were growing lower as she was vaguely aware of even more villains behind them. Still behind her were the wounded and scared students without combat quirks. They were counting on her. She couldn't afford to lose. Mustering what strength she could, she pulled one of her stone covered fists back and punched the cactus man with enough force to send him stumbling back, sliding down into a hole. She turned to face the two oncoming fiends but they had moved faster than expected. 

A woman with snake arms struck at Terra. She just managed to raise her gauntlets to avoid being pierced by fangs, but the force of the blow sent her staggering back a few steps. Before she could regain her balance the other charged into her and tackled her to the ground with a force that knocked the wind out of her. He had greyish skin and his nose was twisted up into a rhinoceros horn. His weight alone was starting to crush her. The woman with snake arms approached slowly, knowing that Terra had limited strength left. 

Terra's thoughts ran wildly for a plan. As her eyes scanned for options she saw Haru a small distance away. She had one arm reached out towards the wounded, making a bubble-like shield around them to protect them from falling debris. A large man with cement hands knocked her to the ground. Haru and Terra's eyes met across the field, each realizing the danger the other was in.

The woman with snakes for arms was before Terra now, and dramatically lifted the snake above Terra's head as she grinned in amusement. The snake opened it's jaws ready to strike. Terra had already crumbled one of her gauntlets to nothing and pressed her hand to the ground, sending signals into it, trying to focus her quirk to make the ground jump as spikes. She looked back to Haru as the man stood over her. He raised both arms over his head. His cement hands merged together, forming a large cement ball over Haru. Both Terra and Haru knew that while she held the shield above the wounded, in her state could make only one more. 

"Don't Haru!" Terra shouted as the purple haired girl reached out in her direction, aiming a place to put her shield. Terra tried to change her order to the ground. She wouldn't be able to block the snakes this way but it didn't matter. Haru was in danger. The man swung his arms down. Terra's eyes widened in horror. Her quirk wouldn't make it.  "Look out!" she screamed a warning to her friend. 'Make a shield around yourself', she begged with her thoughts. 

Haru didn't flinch. She opened her hand and an orb formed around Terra, blocking the snakes as they lunged forward and stunning themselves from the impact. The ground beside Haru jumped up as spikes from Terra's command so fast the villain didn't have time to react. They pierced through his side, going straight through him, but it was too late. Even without his force, gravity brought the large cement ball of his combined fists onto Haru's skull. 

"HARU! NO!" Terra screamed. From her angle she couldn't see past the light purple curls but she saw the blood pooling around and knew it didn't just come from the villain. "Haru!" The shields around Terra and the others flickered and then popped, disappearing into sparkles around them as Haru died. 

The rhino villain above her shook her shoulders roughly and said, "Terra! Terra wake up!" 

----------

Terra's eyes flew open and she jolted up right, fists clenched and ready to defend herself. She was panting, sweaty and shaking. Her eyes scanned wildly around her, mind still in a life or death state. 

"Terra! Calm the fuck down!" Bakugo shouted, getting her attention. His arms were on her shoulders he had shaken her awake. Bakugo was here. Tears filled her ran down her face and she sobbed, falling into into his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her together while she gathered her thoughts. 

"Hey, hey, you're alright. Nothin's gonna get you here. You're okay," Bakugo told her, his voice calm as he rested his head on hers. He held her like that until her shaking and sobbing stopped. She breathed deeply, trying to pull herself together. Looking over she saw her classmates gathered around the doorway, faces full of concern. She buried her face in Bakugo's shirt, shielding herself from them.  She'd been asleep, had another nightmare, and her screams must've woken up the entire class. Her eyes leaked more tears and her face burned with embarrassment and shame. 

"Alright, everyone that doesn't sleep in this room, get out now," Aizawa said firmly as he entered the room. 

"Let's give her space," Todoroki said, gently taking Midoriya by the shoulder and ushering everyone out when they hesitated. Midoriya looked back to his friend with worry as Todoroki lead him away. She refused to look at them. 

" That means you too Bakugo," Aizawa said gruffly. 

"Like hell I'm just gonna leave her," the blond snapped. 

"Please go," Terra said softly, gently pulling his arms from around her. 

He looked to her in confusion but didn't fight her. "But-" 

"Just go!" She snapped. The words came out harsh and she looked away from him. Of all of the people  who had to see her at her weakest, why did it have to be him? 

He said nothing and shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets as he walked to the door. He paused there and said without turning around, "I'll be next door if you need me." There was a moment of silence and Terra said nothing so he left. 

Aizowa also moved towards the door. "Rikuto, follow me. The rest of you go back to sleep."  Terra rose to her feet stiffly and followed her teacher out the door, careful to avoid looking at the remaining girls. The man with untamed long black hair said nothing until their reached another room. It was a sort of teachers lounge with a small table set, some vending machines and a couch. 

"Sit," he told her, gesturing towards the couch. Terra did as he said, feeling numb. He took a seat in a chair across from her before asking, "What happened?"

"It was just a nightmare," she said. 

"No. What happened?"

"I was... back... at my old high school... the night of the attack..." she said in a hoarse whisper. 

"How long have you been having the nightmares?" He asked.

"They started a few weeks after the attack."

"How frequently?"

"Before it was spaced. Maybe once or twice a week. Now it's every night," she replied. Her responses were automatic. She felt like a hollow robot. She was just exhausted, like she hadn't been asleep at all. 

"Why didn't you mention this to anyone?"

"I didn't want anyone to think I wasn't ready to continue with the hero program. I didn't want to get expelled." At her own words she was reminded, and finally brought her eyes up to meet the hero's. "Will I get expelled for this." 

Aizawa sighed tiredly before replying, "Not likely, however you will be seeing a therapist from now on. Its up to Principal Nezu whether or not you continue." Terra managed a nod, accepting her teachers words. He rose from his seat, went to a nearby closet and pulled out a blanket and pillow, setting them next to Terra. "You'll be saying here for the night. Sleep if you can."  

He moved to a chair at the other end of the room and slouched into it, turning on the tv. He would stay up the rest of the night in case there were more nightmares. Terra pulled the blanket over herself and rested her head on the pillow. Her eyes were heavy from exhaustion and fell closed on their own before she fell into a dreamless sleep.