Hayze frantically turns his head.

Hayze: Whoever you are, show yourself!

Hayze readies two fireballs.

Hayze: (That voice… it sounded like mine… what the hell is going on?)

Voice: (That chick was getting on your nerves, huh? Yeah, she was getting on mine too.)

Hayze blasts fire down each path of the mineshaft.

Hayze: Where are you!

Voice: (That’s right, get angry. The angrier you are, the better.)

Hayze: (I don’t understand… I blasted both pathways, where the hell is he?)

Voice: (I’m right here.)

Hayze is shocked.

Hayze: (He can hear my thoughts?)

Voice: (Oh yes, I can, and you can hear mine…)

Hayze: (What? Who the hell are you?)

Voice: (Ah, I forgot they erased your memories… let me show you mine instead.)

Suddenly a flash of Adonis squaring off against Khaos flashes through Hayze’s mind. Hayze falls to his knees, holding his head.

Hayze: (What- What was that?)

Voice: (The truth… something that girl and your teacher have been keeping away from you. If you thought you were angry before… just wait until-)

Hayze slams his head against one of the bars of the mineshaft.

Voice: (What the hell are you doing!)

Hayze: (Get out of my head!)

Voice: (Woah, Woah, Woah, I like the attitude but don’t go beating yourself up before I can take over.)

Suddenly a flash of Khaos standing on Adonis with his sword raised goes through Hayze’s head.

Hayze: AHHHHH!

Hayze hangs his head in pain.

Hayze: (My head is spinning, this is the worst headache I’ve had in my entire life!)

Blair is cowering by herself.

Blair: (It’s not that dark…)

Blair looks around.

Blair: (IT’S VERY DARK.)

Blair closes her eyes.

Blair: (Fuck Jake for leaving me alone, selfish asshole… maybe Hayze will help me…)

Hayze is screaming at the top of his lungs, shooting fireballs everywhere.

Blair: (Look at me, I always end up like this, I’m always the damsel, never the savior. That’s not what being a hero is about… I’m letting my fear control me. Come on, Blair, I know it’s scary, but you can’t let your team down. You have to rely on yourself for once!)

Blair stands up slowly.

Blair: (I’m not some weakling anymore… I can’t let my fears bog me down like this. Think back to the Sports Festival. I felt so triumphant in defeating Tara… then I got annihilated by that bitch Sydney… that was a pretty big blow to my confidence. Getting knocked out like that was tough, and then when we got attacked in the forest, I let my temper get the better of me and got captured. And now look at me cowering in a corner when I’m supposed to be helping my team… I feel pathetic. Why can’t I be like Hayze; I told him to forfeit before fighting Sydney…)

“ Hayze: Don’t ever tell me what I can’t do. “ - Chapter 24

Blair: (He doesn’t back down from a challenge, no matter who he faces off against. He always believes there’s a way for him to win, even if it seems impossible.)

“ Hayze: Justus... when I was very young, a hero told me, “Kid, the hardest part about this job is that you can’t save everybody.” and I told him: “says who?” “ - Chapter 26

Blair: (He has a goal, and he refuses to not achieve it, that’s what drives him, what gives him that never-ending will to win… it’s admirable. But what’s my goal? At first, I thought it was to become stronger, to prove everyone who ever doubted me wrong. Those guys have their goals, and becoming stronger is a part of that, but it’s not the whole thing. They want it for a greater purpose: Aaron to avenge his father, Silver to live up to the hype, Justus to become a better hero than his dad, Kevin to fight in the most intense battles, and Hayze to save people. So, If I want to be as good as them, I need a goal, a real goal...)

Blair looks down at her hands. Lava starts oozing from them.

Blair: (If I can’t get over my fear of the dark, then I’ll make my own light.)

Jake stumbles through the dark tunnel by himself.

Jake: (Maybe I shouldn’t have left Blair alone… Nah, she’s a bitch.)

Jake hears faint groaning.

Jake: (Huh? What’s that?)

Jake heads toward the sound of the noise.

Jake: Hello? Who's there?

Angel: Jake?

Jake: You can’t be Jake! I’m Jake!

Angel: No, Jake, it’s me, Angel.

Jake: Angel? Like the pasta?

Angel: No… like your classmate.

Jake: Oh right, I forgot about you.

Angel: I get that a lot… you mind helping me out?

Jake: Uh… sure? I can’t really see you.

Angel: That’s okay, I’m pinned against the wall by a minecart, and I don’t have the strength to push it off me; I need you to do it.

Jake: But that sounds like work…

Angel: Can you at least try?

Jake: I don’t know. The last time I did that, I got stuck on Eve’s team.

Angel: Wait, you were trying in the Sports Festival?

Jake: Yeah… was that not obvious?

Silence.

Angel: So anyway, this minecart is pretty heavy and-

Jake: Heavy? Sorry Angel, I don’t think I can help.

Angel: What do you mean? It won’t be that hard if you pull, and I push!

Jake: Hm… I don’t know…

Angel: Come on, can you just try a little?

Jake: *sighs* Okay.

Jake finds the minecart.

Jake: I got it.

Angel: Okay, on the count of three, you start pulling… 3… 2… 1…

Angel starts pushing but to no avail.

Angel: Jake, you said you would try!

Jake: That jerk!

Angel: W- what?

Jake: The Sports Festival, you made me remember that Silver promised me 80 chicken nuggets and never paid up!

Silence.

Angel: On the count of 3, you start to pull-

Jake: I’ve gotta go find that guy. You’ve got this, Angel!

Angel: What! No, I don't! That’s the reason I’m asking you for help! Silver isn’t even in this exercise!

Jake leaves.

Angel: *sighs* Well, at least he’s passionate about something…

Spectre appears in front of Angel.

Spectre: Again, I can’t believe this worked…

Angel: I need to work on being less passive…

Spectre: Yeah… you should do that.

Alexis runs through the mineshaft aimlessly.

Alexis: (Great... Aaron’s out, and I lost Angel… I need to find one of the others. Jake’s awful, so that leaves Blair, Hayze, and the new girl… Hayze it is, I guess...)

Alexis looks down at the dying flame on her paper.

Alexis: (If I run out of light, I’m a sitting duck… I need to stay on the move and find the power switch.)

Saige finally locates the trapdoor and smashes it open.

Saige: (That’s a deep tunnel, I hope he’s okay down there.)

Saige hears footsteps.

Saige: Who’s there!

Saige shines the flashlight on Jake.

Saige: Oh… aren’t you… uh… does it start with a ‘B’?

Jake: Have you seen Silver?

Saige: … What?

Jake: I’m looking for Silver! Where is he!

Saige: Y- you mean the guy who isn’t in this exercise?

Jake: Wait… he isn’t?

Saige: No…

Jake: Oh crap...

Jake starts running back where he came from.

Saige: Wait, where are you going!

Jake: Angel said Silver was here!

Saige watches as Jake leaves her sight.

Saige: Weird guy… anyway, back to what I was doing.

Saige starts scaling down the hole.

Saige: (I hope he didn’t stray far from the end of this tunnel.)

Inside the control room, all of the screens are dark.

Jace: Man, we can’t see anything…

Demetri: This is pretty boring…

Eve: Won’t you too just quiet down? We’ll see once they turn the power on.

Isaiah: But that could be forever.

Lilith: I hope they’re doing okay in there…

Ash: I’m sure they are!

Kevin: Yeah, they have Aaron.

Aaron is passed out on the ground.

Zach: And Hayze.

Hayze is smashing his head against the wall.

Jace: Angel isn’t too bad either.

Angel is passed out, still wedged behind the minecart.

Ash: See, Lilith, I’m sure they're doing fine!

Spectre is beating the shit out of Jake.

Kevin: Perfectly fine!

Hayze wanders down the mineshaft tunnel holding his bleeding head.

Hayze: (Why am I still angry? I don’t even know what I’m mad about anymore… my mind is spinning; I can barely think straight…)

Voice: (Just give up… it’s my turn.)

Hayze: (Your turn for what?)

Voice: (Control… You’ve had it too good for too long, and you’re wasting my power on a goddamn light source, put me in charge, and I’ll win this exercise!)

Hayze: (Like hell, I’ll do that!)

Voice: (Why not… what’s the downside?)

Hayze: (I-)

Voice: (All they’ve done is lie to you, they told you that I’m a terrible thing, right? I’m telling you the truth, but you don’t believe me because you’re weak!)

Hayze: (I’m not giving up control of my body to you!)

Voice: (You feel that anger coursing through your veins? That’s my influence, that’s the power of wrath!)

Hayze: Wrath? Is that what you are?

Wrath: (I’m your inner anger incarnate, I know my power in and out, unlike you, you’ve barely scratched the surface of what I can do.)

Hayze: (But I-)

Wrath: (But what, you idiot? I’ve told you more about what I am than any of those other morons! Do you want to be number 1? Do you want the power?)

Hayze: (I- I don’t know…)

Wrath: (What do you mean you don’t know, all those speeches to those losers in the Sports Festival and you’re not sure you want power? You’re pathetic!)

Hayze: (Shut the hell up!)

Wrath: (See? The angrier you get, the more influence I gain, the closer I get to finally being free!)

Hayze: (Free, huh? I’ve seen what happens when that happens, and I don’t like it.)

Hayze flashes back to Fatal fighting Ivy.

Hayze: (I understand now what was going on back then, why Fatal was in that catatonic state… she had someone just like you breathing down her neck.)

Wrath: (*grunts* So you’re gonna keep fighting me off, huh?)

Hayze: This is my mind, so follow my rules and stay out of my head!

Wrath: (That’s fine because I’m already ahead in this battle for control, and when I win, it’ll be my mind!)

Saige continues scaling down the hole. She hears Hayze’s yelling faintly.

Saige: Oh crap!

Saige starts descending faster.

Hayze: I gotta figure out how to get this guy out of my head…

Wrath: (You can’t…)

Hayze: Shut up, you annoying piece of shit!

Wrath: (Hey loser, I’m part of you, so watch your words!)

Hayze: You just called me a loser!

Wrath: (That’s because that’s all you’ve been your whole life, you’re never the winner, you’re always the loser.)

Hayze: Nice try, but look at the Sports Festival, I won two of my matches and made the semifinals!

Wrath: (Oh yeah, because you’re so content with fourth place? You only beat that first loser because he was arrogant and threw away the match, and that smart bitch bailed you out of that second match. So those are the wins you’re proud of?)

Hayze has no response.

Wrath: (You know I’m right, you’ve never felt what it’s like to be a winner, and I know you want to, the same way I do.)

Hayze clenches his fists.

Wrath: (I’ll say it once, and I’ll say it again: they’re lying to you, they’re afraid of how powerful we could become, and they want to keep you where you belong, the bottom! Don’t tell me you’re okay with losing. I know you’re not! Now embrace the anger! Embrace your strength and-)

Hayze’s eyes stop glowing.

Wrath and Hayze: Let’s win!

Saige wanders through the mineshaft, seeing burn markings everywhere and blood on the mineshaft posts.

Saige: This isn’t good. I have to help him before it’s too late.

Wrath: Before it’s too late for what?

Saige: That voice…

Saige turns around to see Wrath with his fist and forearm on fire.

Wrath: Infernal Impact!

Saige narrowly dodges Wrath’s punch; it collides with the wall of the mineshaft as fire streams up and down it.

Wrath: Nice dodge. I guess you might actually be as strong as they’ve all been touting you out to be.

Saige: Who are you?

Wrath: Funny you should ask that. The loser gave me a pretty good idea for a name. I’m Wrath.

Saige: Judging by the walls, you guys talked about more than just your name.

Wrath: Yeah, it’s unfortunate I’m not as powerful as Khaos. I actually have to work for control, but I eventually got through to him that I deserve to be the dominant personality.

Saige: Interesting, and I guess I’m partially to blame for that…

Wrath: *laughs* Honey, you pissed him off nice and good. It gave me an excellent big opening. I should be thanking you more.

Saige: So, what’s your goal here? You have control, so now what? You’re probably running close to the time limit anyway.

Wrath: *groans* Shit… I forgot about that. I guess I’ll just have to get in a quickie against you.

Saige: That’s all you want? A fight? That’s a lot less ambition than what I heard about Khaos.

Wrath: Don’t lump me in with that guy! That guy kills for the sake of killing. It’s disgusting. Me, on the other hand? I want to prove that I’m the baddest mother fucker on this earth, and I’ll take down anyone I need to prove it!

Saige: (Well, that explains why he wants to fight me at least… whatever, I’ll dispatch him quickly.) You want to fight me? Then let’s go!

Wrath: Now that’s what I like to hear!

Wrath breathes in. Saige braces herself.

Wrath: Searing Scorch Shot!

Wrath spits a beam of fire; Saige counters by making a pink shield appear and block the attack. The fire blast streams off the sides of the shield while Saige remains unscathed.

Saige: (One thing they all have in common… a love for alliteration…)

The fire subsides, Wrath examines the shield from a distance.

Wrath: So this is your quirk, huh? It doesn’t look that tough.

Saige dispels the shield.

Saige: Oh, I’m only getting started.

Saige makes a boomerang and throws it at Wrath, but he dodges it.

Wrath: Ha, what was that!

The boomerang flips around and knocks Wrath on the back of the head and knocking him to the ground.

Saige: (Okay, so he definitely doesn’t have any of Hayze’s smarts…)

Wrath starts to pick himself up.

Wrath: Very funny, but you wouldn’t want to piss me off now, would you-

Wrath looks up to see Saige leaping at him with a sledgehammer.

Wrath: Shit! Boost!

Wrath dodges the attack by thrusting himself backward. The sledgehammer slams into the ground, but Saige quickly pivots into throwing an uppercut.

Wrath: (This chick’s movements are quick! I can barely keep up, and it’s not helping that I can already feel my power fading!)

Wrath creates some heat grenades in his hands. Saige notices this and makes another shield. The grenades go off, and the two of them fly backward unscathed.

Wrath: (Her reaction times… they’re nearly perfect.)

Saige: (He’s a pretty one-dimensional fighter, burn and blow things up type, I’ll have him down with just one more engagement.)

Wrath creates a fireball in each hand.

Wrath: (I’ll just have to keep my distance and try and break through her defenses, I’m at a disadvantage at this range.)

Wrath starts rapid-firing fireballs at Saige. Saige creates a smaller shield that attaches to her right forearm and runs toward the attack.

Wrath: (What’s she doing?).

Saige starts batting down and dodging each fireball as she progresses toward Wrath.

Wrath: Just burn already!

Wrath changes up his attack and points his palm toward Saige. It starts to glow like magma. A grenade pin of fire appears out of Wrath’s inner bicep; he grabs the pin.

Wrath: I’m gonna wipe you out!

Saige quickly detaches the shield and tosses it at Wrath’s legs, knocking him off his feet and crashing him into the dirt.

Wrath: *frustrated grunt* Goddammit!

Wrath reaches for the pin. Saige steps on his hand.

Saige: If you’re gonna pick a fight with someone, make sure you actually have a chance first.

Wrath: Go to hell!

Saige places her hands on his temples.

Wrath: What are you-

Saige’s fingertips glow pink as pulsating rays are cast all through Wrath’s head. His eyes revert to normal.

Hayze: W- what?

Saige: Good to have you back.

Saige stands up and offers Hayze her hand. Hayze grabs it as she helps him to his feet.

Hayze: H- how did you do that? It’s like you made us switch places…

Saige: My quirk is Psychic Constructs, I can materialize objects using my thoughts, but I have other “mini” psychic abilities. One of those is emotion control; I can change the thoughts and emotions of a person by making physical contact with them. This also extends to dream manipulation and other things of that nature. They’re small because of the caveat of needing to make contact, so they’re a little tricky to actually use.

Hayze: So you just turned off my anger?

Saige: Pretty much, and without the personality’s origin emotion in place, they can’t maintain control over your body.

Hayze: Thank you.

Saige: You’re welcome… Do you now see why I’ve been all over you about this?

Hayze: Yes… and I’m sorry about the way I acted.

Saige: Eh, it’s fine… I realized that I wasn’t exactly going about things in the right way. It’s just… I know what that feeling is like, struggling for control over your own mind… I didn’t want you to have to go through it.

Hayze: It’s almost like it’s impossible to fight off. Anything you say or think… they hear, and they prey on your distracted state of mind. He said so many things to try and get me worked up… I couldn’t process them all effectively because he was there feeding me lies and false memories. I didn’t know what to think… or even if I was thinking at all.

Saige: They prey on their origin emotion. If you start to feel that feeling strongly, they get more powerful, eventually they’re able to communicate with you, and they try to convince you to feel that way more and more. Controlling your emotions becomes impossible when you’ve got someone breathing down your neck hearing your every thought.

Hayze: And you know how to control it?

Saige: I wouldn’t be here otherwise… like I said, I came here to help you. It feels good to finally be able to talk to someone who understands what I’ve been through… I’ve been alone for so long.

Hayze: (I finally get it… why she felt the need to come all this way to meet me. Just having her talk to me makes everything I went through seem so much less strange and scary… and she had to go through it herself. That feeling of being trapped inside my own body, looking out at the world through my own eyes but not being in control of anything I’m doing or saying… it’s maddening… how the hell did she do it all on her own…)

Saige: So are you ready to finally accept my help?

Hayze: Yeah… I am.

Saige smiles.

Saige: (I knew I’d get him eventually, I was hoping to do it before an incident, but I handled it quickly.) Alright, then let’s get back to this exercise. Hopefully, there are still some of our teammates left.

Hayze: Oh shit, I forgot about that… What are we gonna do for light now that I’m powered down?

Saige materializes a flashlight.

Saige: Oh, we can just use this.

Hayze: Wait a second… Why didn’t you pull that out earlier!

Saige: What are you saying you didn’t like me grabbing onto your arm?

Hayze stares at Saige.

Hayze: Let’s just go.

Spectre finishes beating the shit out of Jake.

Spectre: That’s what you get for abandoning a teammate!

Jake tries crawling away despite blood spewing from his head, mouth, nose, and just about everywhere else.

Jake: Nuggets… I need nuggets!

Spectre: (For such a talented class… there sure are a few rotten eggs…)

Spectre notices a bright light approaching from one of the tunnels.

Spectre: Hm?

Spectre approaches the light.

Spectre: What the hell…

Spectre sees Blair walking through the tunnel, leaving a pool of lava in her wake.

Blair: Come out, come out wherever you are…

Spectre gets scared.

Spectre: (She must be looking for me, I’d better hide!)

Spectre phases into the wall but leaves his eye exposed.

Spectre: (She can’t see me… I’ll wait for her to leave-)

Blair: I FOUND YOU!

Spectre starts sweating profusely.

Spectre: (My eye isn’t even illuminated yet! How!)

Blair starts running toward Spectre.

Spectre: (This might be it…)

Blair runs past Spectre.

Spectre: (W- what?)

Blair makes a magma armor boot and kicks Jake in the stomach, smashing him against the wall.

Jake: AHHHHH!

Spectre: …

Jake looks up at Blair, whose eyes are blood red.

Jake: Oh… Hey, Blair…

Blair: So you thought it would be funny to leave me alone in the dark, huh?

Jake: Yes.

Blair: Well, I hope you got a good laugh out of it…

Jake’s stomach growls.

Blair: So you’re hungry, I see.

Jake: Yeah, you wouldn’t happen to have any nuggets, would you?

Blair: Oh, I might.

Jake: Can I have some- wait, what are you doing with that lava?

Spectre watches in horror as Jake’s screams are heard.

Spectre: (Nope… I’m not messing with her!)

Spectre leaves. Elsewhere, Alexis’ tunnel leads to a large open cavern; the cavern is barely lit. Alexis looks up to see a hole in the ceiling where the light is coming from.

Alexis: (There it is… that’s the way out.)

Alexis walks into the room, unaware that she’s tripped a sensor.

Alexis: (It looks like an elevator will take me up there, but that requires power…)

Alexis looks around the cavern. She spots a control room.

Alexis: (It might be quicker to just scale the elevator, but the light would help the others just in case Mr. Spectre stops me.)

Alexis walks over and begins climbing a ladder up to the control room.

Alexis: (Maybe I’m lucky, and Mr. Spectre is distracted right now.)

Spectre starts to emerge from the ground.

Spectre: You there!

Alexis: (Crap!)

Spectre: You don’t think you’ll actually pass this exercise, do you?

Alexis starts climbing faster.

Spectre: Hey, don’t ignore me!

Spectre starts climbing after her, he begins to make up ground.

Spectre: You’re not getting away that easy!

Spectre grabs Alexis’ leg just as she reaches the top.

Alexis: (Shoot… I was so close…)

Spectre: This is where you get off!

Suddenly Spectre is hit upside the head by a pink translucent sledgehammer; this breaks his grip on Alexis as he falls off the ladder and smashes into the ground. Alexis looks over to one of the tunnels. Hayze and Saige are standing there.

Saige: Well, what are you waiting for? I got him off your perfect ass for a reason!

Alexis: Right!

Hayze: You could just… *sighs* Never mind.

Alexis runs toward the control room. Spectre shakes himself off and looks over at Saige and Hayze.

Spectre: Nice shot!

Saige: Thanks, sorry to burst your bubble, but we’re gonna pass this task!

Spectre: Not if I have anything to say about it!

Alexis looks for the light switch.

Saige: Hayze, you aren’t in any condition to fight. Go take the elevator while Alexis and I hold him off.

Hayze: This time, I think I’ll listen.

Hayze runs over to the elevator, Spectre just watches.

Saige: Not gonna stop him?

Spectre: I know you’ll stop me, so I won’t waste either of our time.

Saige: Good move.

Saige starts approaching Spectre.

Saige: You might be stronger than Alexis and me, but together we can handle you pretty quickly. Besides, you ran from me earlier.

Spectre: You had the edge in a close-quarter area like that. This is much more open, much more to my liking.

Saige: Interesting…

Saige continues walking toward Spectre. Spectre gets a sinister look in his eye.

Alexis: Found it!

Alexis pulls the switch, lights illuminate the cavern and all of the mineshaft branches.

Spectre: Thanks for that.

Saige: Huh?

Suddenly Saige is electrocuted; she falls to the ground in pain.

Spectre: You really didn’t think I would have traps set for when you would inevitably try to turn on the electricity?

Saige: *groans* It was an oversight on my part… I guess I’m not ready to be taking on pro heroes just yet.

Spectre: No… you’re not.

Alexis leaps down the ladder.

Alexis: Stay away from her!

Alexis sends a barrage of 30 origami birds at Spectre.

Saige: No! His quirk counters yours!

Alexis: What!

Spectre phases into the ground, all of the birds explode against the ground. Alexis lands and starts frantically looking around for Spectre.

Alexis: (Shit… I'm usually more composed than this, that was a huge tactical error on my part… what has me so riled up?)

Hayze gets in the elevator and starts pressing the up button, but the elevator doesn’t budge.

Hayze: Shit…

Hayze watches as Spectre reappears and throws Alexis against the ground, knocking the wind out of her.

Alexis: *groans*

Spectre: Now for the one trying to escape!

Spectre starts running toward Hayze.

Hayze: Fuck it!

Hayze begins climbing up the elevator shaft.

Spectre: You’re not getting away from me!

Spectre climbs after Hayze.

Hayze: (Shit! He’s right on my tail!)

Spectre starts to make up ground.

Spectre: You’re going down!

Suddenly a bloody Jake being held by his shirt by Blair with her magma armor fist cocked back appears in the air between Hayze and Spectre.

Blair: No, you are.

Spectre: Uh oh…

Blair punches Spectre directly in the face, sending him crashing into the top of the elevator.