In the hallways of the hotel max and Harley were making their way to the bottom floor to get out.
Of course while they were making their way down they encountered monokumas but they obviously didn't stand a chance.
However they each noticed odd things about one another while they fought against monokumas.
For Harley she noticed that max was ridiculously strong and not to mention he seem unphased by the pile of corpses.
Normally someone would freak out or puke at the sight of corpses but max just bats an eye and just looks away.
She thought that maybe like her he was also a victim of some sort of superhuman expirement.
As for max as he saw Harley fight he noticed those green veins again when she tenses her muscles.
He make sure to use his senses to make sure to check if Harley is actually using spiritual energy.
And the result is that he didn't sensed Jack so it's confirmed that Harley doesn't have any spiritual awareness unlike him.
So he started to piece together that Harley must have some sort of drug or serum that enhanced her body and that would explain the healing factor.
The two didn't talk much but Harley was surely having some fun while max was fighting with only his fist but he's not trying too much since he can easily break a wall.
Now why dont do that? Well obviously he can't just show his power to a stranger he just met and who the hell knows how she will react.
For she knows she does a one eighty and goes crazy for power.
But those little bits and pieces they managed to get to the ground floor and max stopped Harley because he sensed two people in the lobby.
They both peeked through the corner and they saw two girls one was wearing a normal uniform while another wore a purple uniform with a long skirt and round glasses and they were talking to each other.
Harley herself was surprised that the girls were talking English because max told her that they were in Japan.
But here they are an they were speaking perfect English. On one hand she has a lot of questions but at the same time this saves her the trouble of language barrier.
However unknowingly to her the chain wristband on her is actually changing her cognition and she can basically understand any language.
How it works is that inside her head people are speaking in another language while in reality they are still speaking said language and Harley is unknowingly speaking in the same language.
As for max what honestly has his interest is in what's going on.
Because he doesn't have a way to got back and not to mention a part of him who was getting bored of just seating in rooftops and he meant it when he said he didn't care because this wasn't his world and therefore not his problem.
But again sitting on rooftops was getting redundant and he was getting interested in what was going on with this take over.
This world is already a mess as it is and he wasn't planning on saying it he didn't have some sort of hero complex because he was realistic.
Max decided to get out of corner and instantly one of the girl in the plain uniform saw him and had a face of recognition.
Komaru: no way. It's you!
Max: huh?
Komaru: I recognize that jacket you're the one who saved me.
That confused him. Because he knew well that he never met her.
Toko got close to Komaru and whispered to her.
Toko: you know him?
Komaru: yeah he saved from a monokuma that was about to-
Komaru seemed to get read his expression because now she realized that she saw him but he never saw her.
Komaru: sorry I guess you don't know what I'm talking about. But anyway thank you for helping me.
Max: um. no problem?
Harley who was watching with her arms crossed decided to walk forward and nudge max with her elbow.
Harley: look at you being the knight in shining armor.
He just rolled his eyes and shoved her away from him.
When Toko saw Harley however she froze because she remembered her of junko not in terms of appearance but in her vibes.
Komaru unaware of Toko's episode talked the two.
Komaru: so who are you guys? You don't look Japanese.
Max: we aren't were Americans. I'm max McKnight.
He then pointed at Harley who had her arms cuffed behind her head.
Max: this nut case here is Harley Quinn.
Harley threw max a dirty glare and was tempted to hit him but she decided to let it go for now.
Komaru: max,Harley. Wow your names are less complicated than Japanese names.
Max: well our names aside. What are you doing here?
Komaru: well you see I got captured y those kids and they put this wristband on me.
The two saw the wristband that had the red eye of a monokuma.
Max gave it a glance but Harley without a word grabbed her wrist to get a closer look at it.
Toko who finally snapped out of her episode pushed her from Komaru.
Toko: don't get near her!
Everyone was surprised at her sudden change in behavior and max could see that she looked somewhat scared.
Harley: what's your deal?
Toko: I don't trust you. And I'm not letting you anywhere near Komaru.
Komaru: Toko! Why are you acting like this?
Toko: this girl is not normal I can tell just by looking at her and as soon as she sees a chance she's gonna back stab us.
Harley was now offended sure she did some bad stuff but all she mostly did was beating up other criminals some police and she was concerned a criminal or a mad woman.
But seeing someone actually treating her like she's a criminal even though she didn't do anything wrong.
Harley: I don't know what's got your panties in a bind but I was about to tell you that your girlfriend over there has a bomb tracker on her wrist.
That comment shut Toko up and Komaru looked horrified. As for max he looked at Harley with an eyebrow raised.
Max: who could you know that?
Harley: would you believe me if I told you I was kidnapped by some creep calling himself the riddler and put me in some bullshit puzzle with a bomb on my wrist?
Max gave her an unimpressed look while Toko and Komaru just had wide eyes looking at her in disbelief.
Harley just shrugged at their glances.
Harley: believe it or not it happened.
Komaru looked at her the wristband she had with horror.
Komaru: that's not important if this is a bomb then I can just explode at anytime!
Harley surprisingly was the one who gave some words of advice.
Harley: toots if were you I wouldn't panic so much. You said you talked to those kids right?
Komaru: y-yeah.
Harley: well what did they say?
Komaru calmed down and started remembered what the kids had planned for her.
Komaru: well I when I first woke up I met some guy that called himself a slave and then I met those kids and they said that they were gonna play a game were they hunt people who have a wrist band just like me and they said that I can't-
Komaru pause realizing something that gave her feel horrible.
Komaru: I can't leave with this on me.
Harley who was listening now got a better idea on how the wristband works.
Harley: it's possible that when you go out of bounds it will probably explode.
Komaru bit her lip torn between desperation and fear.
Because a part of her wants to hope that Harley was wrong and the wristband was some sort of tracker instead of a bomb.
But if it turns out that it is a bomb than she would just look for an escape route and find someway to remove it
Komaru: I can't just sit here doing nothing if it is a bomb then we can just find an escape route first and then we find a way to remove it.
Harley looked at her unimpressed she expected the girl to break down but instead she was grasping at straws.
Unfortunately for Komaru Harley is a gresse monkey who knows how make custom weapons and sold them to make some money and she even managed to disable an explosive wristband before bashing eddy' skull.
Harley: it's your funeral.
Max: so where are we going?
Toko: there's a bridge near the hotel but we're gonna have to walk on foot.
Harley groaned and looked at max.
Max: what?
She didn't say anything because she climbed onto his back and max had to grab her legs to prevent her from falling and she talked while her head was resting on his shoulder.
Harley: maxi would you be a sweetie and carry me?
Max gave her a blank face and Harley felt gravity pull her down with hers landing on her ass.
She then looked at max who was walking away from the girls.
Max: you have more strength than you let on so carry yourself I'm not your damn horse.
Harley just gawked at max's audacity and honestly she couldn't help but feel a sense of respect most guys would enjoy having a girl on their back but max didn't even flinch.
Komaru: well that was something.
After that they got to walking towards the bridge but through out the walk they ran into different types of monokumas
But not only that Toko kept on watching Harley like a hawk still not trusting her.
After getting through another pack of monokumas they finally made it to the bridge.
Komaru: alright we made it!
Harley: I still think this is a bad idea but you do you.
Max sensed someone coming and brought it to attention.
Max: someone's coming this way.
Harley: mmm? How would you-
Hey!! You four!
The group saw a boy with a blue jacket running towards them.
Now that max got a closer look he had brown skin and brown hair but he also noticed he had a wristband just like Komaru.
Yuta: you four. you aren't with those kids right?
Komaru: um no.
Yuta had a look of relief and he grabbed Komaru's wrist banded hand.
Yuta: thank goodness I was worried that I was the only one left and-
He then noticed wristband on Komaru's wrist.
Yuta: that wristband it's the same as mine.
He showed off his wristband and it was the same as Komaru.
Harley: look at that. We have another walking bomber.
Yuta: huh? Is that some sort of joke?
Max: nope she's serious those things are bombs.
Yuta: there's no way this small thing is a bomb. Right?
Harley: trust me bud I have an eye for tech. I'm actually designed my own guns. But I fucking lost them thanks to that clown douche.
The 3 looked at her like she grew two heads while max just made the excuse that Harley had some screws loose which was half a lie.
Harley feeling like she was being insulted turned to see max behind him who was just looking away.
Harley: I know you did something that annoyed me.
Max: you can't prove it or it didn't happened.
Harley:(clever dick)
The 3 Japanese members just got back on track and yuta looked worried.
Yuta: so if this thing is a bomb then how do I take it off.
Toko: calm down. It's not gonna blow. The chick over here says that it only blows up if you go out of bounds.
Yuta: so if we take the bridge.
Komaru: yeah. It might explode.
Yuta looked at the bridge and then back at his wristband and clenched his fist.
Yuta: well even if we can't leave we can at least see if the bridge is a suitable exit route.
Komaru: yeah that's what we came here for. But hold on I don't think I got your name.
Yuta: oh right. My name is yuta asahina. What are yours?
Toko was suprised by the name and max remembered that one of the survivors of the killing game was named aoi asahina.
And he guessed that's why Toko looked familiar to him she was among the ones who survived and she's probably has her own reasons for being towa city.
Harley on the other hand just snickered at yuta.
Harley: god you Japanese have somewierd names. Yuta asahina sounds so much like a girl's name.
Yuta: hey that's funny coming from someone named Harley Quinn?
Harley: my name is simple you're names is like someone tried too hard.
Max: enough with your naming competition we got a bridge to check up on.
With that they went to the bridge to at least check if it's useful as an escape route.
However when they got there they saw that the bridge was destroyed and all thats left is the water below.
Komaru and yuta had an expression of dread while max Harley and Toko weren't suprised by the result because it was pretty obvious.
Especially Harley.
She knew The feeling of being trapped like a mouse with a bomb on her and she went through a lot of shit to escape and put a bullet to riddler's skull and found a way to remove the bomb safety.
However while yuta Komaru were talking about finding another exit Harley's enhanced hearing heard a beeping sound but she wasn't the only one.
Max: get down!!
He forced Komaru and yuta to duck while Harley grabbed Toko doing the same as an explosion shook the bridge.
Max and Harley who were composed in these tensed situations they each grabbed the 3 individual.
Max had yuta and komaru on his shoulders while Harley had Toko in the same position and they both hall ass back to the beginning of the bridge.
Once the crisis passed the two put the other 3 down.
Yuta: did you had to grab us like a sack of potatoes!?
Max: would you rather that I left you in the dust?
Yuta didn't answer that.
Mean while Tokyo and Harley were to the side arguing while Komaru looked on the destroyed bridge.
Max walked over and stood beside her.
Komaru: I want to say that there's another way but I don't know if there even is a way to get out.
Max: we're stuck here so we might as well stick together and besides I'm pretty sure that something weird is going on.
Komaru: what do you mean?
Max: well for one. why do the kids are even bothering playing this hunting game? Why keep you and yuta alive specially?
Komaru took some thought and now that max mentioned it. It was wierd and doesn't make sense.
On one hand she didn't care but thanks to max she was starting to think that there's something else going on.
Far away from the group a dark figure was watching them specifically max and Harley with a bit of interest.
He wasn't the only one because a kid with a camera was recording them and they were going to report the warriors of hope.
Meanwhile in the base of the warriors of hope.
Rock! paper! scissors! Shoot!
Masaru: yeah! As expected I the leader goes first.
Kotoko: no fair you cheated!
Masaru: did not!
Jataro: I'm not surprised I didn't get picked after all nobody likes me.
Off to the side Monica watched her "friends" arguing with a smile.
Nagisa then entered the room and he saw his friends arguing over something trivial.
Nagisa: I can't believe we're actually even doing this.
Masaru: why? You don't like playing games nagisa? And besides if you don't like it you can take it up with Monica.
He just rolled his eyes but he got to business.
Nagisa: litsen up we have someone new information.
Monica: oh you do?
Nagisa: yeah.
He then snapped his fingers and kids brought a tv screen and nagisa pulled a controller out of his pocket and turned it on to show the intel.
Nagisa: yesterday we lost a lot of monokumas and we managed to hack the camera system and we found something.
He pressed a button and an image of max sitting on the roof looking at his revolver.
Masaru: what's this demon supposed to be?
Kotoko: oh wow he's super adorbs too bad he's a stinkin demon.
Nagisa: that's not all look at this.
He pressed another button and it showed a video of max destroying monokumas with his barehands and he's not even terrified or even phased and if anything he seemed more annoyed.
However they saw that on the monokumas that were about to get the jump on him a sudden explosion destroyed it and max was talking to someone who wasn't even there.
Kotoko: what was that?
Nagisa: that's the thing we don't know and not to mention we didn't find anything on this guy. No date of birth no background and no occupation. And not to mention this guy's monstrous strength might pose a problem.
Masaru: mhmp. He's just a demon he's no Match for me the leader of the warriors of hope.
Nagisa: would you actually use your head for once and think about this!? This guy might be a problem and not to mention I have a bad feeling about him.
Monica: anything else to report nagisa?
Nagisa nodded but looked unsure.
Nagisa: I do but I don't know how to explain it.
He pressed another button and it showed a recent video of the group but the screen zoomed in on Harley Quinn which was a shock to the others.
Kotoko: there's no way.
Masaru: that girl she looks like big sis junko!
Jataro: woah! Why those that girl looks like big sis junko?
Nagisa cleared his throat to get their attention.
Nagisa: I know she looks like big sis junko but that's not her and like the black hair guy there's nothing on her.
Monica: so. there's nothing?
Nagisa just shook his head to make it clear.
There was a moment of silence and it was broken when Masaru walked to the door in silence.
Kotoko: so even though that girl isn't junko but the resemblance is somewhat freaky.
Nagisa: don't let that distract you we have a mission and we will get it done.
Meanwhile Monica kept at looking at the image of Harley and seeing her brought back memories of junko but she wasn't going to change her plans for Komaru.