The fire crackles between Saige and Hayze, Jake is fast asleep, and Eve is overlooking Blair a small distance away from them.

Hayze: How have you been?

Saige: Hm? Great! How about you?

Hayze looks down at the fire with a stern look on his face.

Hayze: I had a talk… with Khaos.

Saige is surprised.

Saige: Was it another dream?

Hayze: Yeah… but…

A few seconds of silence pass.

Saige: But what?

Hayze: I know that my “dreams” I’ve been having… The ones you told me were nothing more than Khaos playing tricks on me. I know that they’re not dreams… they’re memories I’ve lost.

Saige’s eyes widen.

Saige: I-

Hayze: You don’t need to explain yourself… I understand why you lied to me… However, I don’t want “confirmation” of what happened that day… at least not from you.

Saige: You’re- you’re not mad at me?

Hayze: *sighs* I won’t lie. I’ve lost a lot of trust in you, but you helped me learn how to control my emotions better, so I’m not going to pretend like you didn’t have my best interest in mind…

Saige can’t look Hayze in the eye.

Saige: I’m sorry…

Hayze stands up.

Hayze: It’s okay.

Saige looks up at Hayze in surprise.

Hayze: I forgive you.

Hayze walks off towards Eve and Blair. Saige watches him with a blank stare.

Saige: (Thank God… that was terrifying.)

Hayze walks up behind Eve.

Hayze: How is she doing?

Eve: She’s doing well. The color is coming back to her face.

Hayze: That’s good.

Eve thinks for a moment.

Eve: We should have someone on watch.

Hayze: I can do it, no big de-

Eve: No, I’d rather you stay with Blair.

Hayze: Hm? Why?

Eve: God, you’re annoying…

Hayze: You’re the one who hit me…

Eve: Blair.

Blair: Hm…

Eve: Come on, you should stay by the fire. It’s warmer there.

Blair: Oh, alright… I guess I am a little cold.

Eve helps Blair up.

Eve: Be careful. It’d be pretty bad if you ripped a stitch.

Blair: I’ll be fine.

Eve helps Blair walk over to the fire and lays her down there.

Eve: I’ll take watch.

Hayze: I said I’d do it.

Eve: You just donated a lot of blood. We need someone who won’t pass out watching our asses.

Saige: Can I go with you?

Eve: Wh- why?

Saige: Just in case you fall asleep!

Eve stares at Saige blankly.

Eve: What does that mean…

Saige: Many things!

Eve: You’re not going to take no for an answer, are you?

Saige: Nope!

Eve: *sighs* Let’s go…

Saige: Yay!

Eve and Saige walk off. Hayze sits down next to a tree.

Blair: Hey, Hayze…

Hayze: Yeah, Blair?

Blair: I came up with an attack name for your lightning quirk… Hurricane Hammer… it’s not perfect, but… I-

Hayze smiles.

Hayze: It’s fine, Blair. I like it.

Blair blushes.

Hayze: You should try to get some sleep. You got hurt pretty bad; you need to rest if you’re going to heal.

Blair: I uh… I don’t want to sleep…

Hayze: What? Why?

Blair looks embarrassed.

Hayze: Blair?

Blair: Saige… she said if I fell asleep, she was going to… steal my underwear.

Hayze stares at Blair blankly.

Hayze: I believe you…

Blair: I haven’t slept in three days because of her…

Hayze: Don’t worry… I’ll make sure she doesn’t do anything, just go to sleep.

Blair: How?

Hayze: She owes me one... just, rest Blair, you need it.

Blair still looks worried, but she trusts Hayze. She closes her eyes.

Blair: Hayze…

Hayze: Yeah, Blair?

Blair: Can you come here?

Hayze gets up and kneels down next to Blair.

Blair: When this exam is over, could you… could you show me how you make arrows out of fire?

Hayze: Uh… sure, but I mean I could do that now or-

Blair: No, I mean… show me how you do it… I want to learn how to do stuff like that with my quirk…

Hayze: It might not work the same…

Blair: That’s fine… but I want to try… what do you say?

Hayze thinks for a few moments.

Hayze: Sure, Blair, we can do that.

Blair smiles.

Blair: Thanks, Hayze.

Saige watches Hayze and Blair from afar with a blank expression on her face.

Eve: Saige… why are you staring at them?

Saige: Hm? No reason.

Eve: Really? Because it looked to me like you were a little jealous.

Saige laughs.

Saige: Oh, Eve, that would imply I have feelings for Hayze.

Eve: You don't?

Saige is caught off guard by this response.

Eve: Look, I’m not calling you a liar or anything, but you show up as a transfer student out of nowhere searching for the guy and calling him “Hayzey,” then you basically attach yourself to his hip. You guys leave school together, train together, and sit next to each other. It’s just hard for me to believe you don’t have any feelings for the guy.

Saige smiles.

Saige: I transferred to U.A. to meet Hayze.

Eve: Y- you did?

Saige: I grew up around this area, but I moved to the west coast to attend U.A. West for reasons I don’t want to get into. I know a lot of your animosity towards Hayze stems from the fact that his quirk didn’t reach its full potential until about a year ago… Well, that’s kind of what happened to me.

Eve is shocked.

Eve: What? You also had that happen? But you seem so advanced!

Saige: Well, I’ve had my quirk for many years now, but I was initially thought to not have one until that point. Growing up seemingly quirkless is… pretty hard in a superhuman society. Being an ordinary human is just about the worst thing you can be. I got bullied by kids who thought I was dirt because I wasn’t “special.” Hayze may have had a minor healing quirk, but that only meant kids wouldn’t be afraid to hit him harder. We’re one and the same. We understand each other’s pain… and there aren’t many other people like that. When I found out about Hayze’s story… I had to meet him.

Eve: Switching schools seems pretty drastic…

Saige: Well, I was under-matched at U.A. West. Coming back here also presented a better path for my hero career.

Eve looks back at Hayze.

Eve: So he got bullied, huh? I guess that doesn’t shock me. I’m just surprised I’ve never heard about it.

Saige: Hayze grew up with no parents or friends. He’s just used to not talking about what’s going on in his head… or expressing his emotions... he bottles everything up inside.

Eve: God, you’re making me feel bad for the guy… and I don’t even like him...

Saige: You shouldn’t hit him for being ignorant of Blair’s feelings.

Eve: What? Why not? The poor girl has her own issues, you know?

Saige: Hayze is ignorant because he doesn’t remember what love feels like.

Eve is taken aback.

Eve: Jeez… that’s… just wow.

Saige: Sorry about that, but I know it seems like he’s being a jerk when he does it, but he doesn’t mean it maliciously. Trust me, he might feel something for Blair… he just doesn’t know how to express it, or maybe even understand it.

Eve: Saige…

Saige: Hm?

Eve: Why do you know all of this about Hayze?

Saige: Because he’s my friend.

Eve: And why are you telling me all of this?

Saige: Because… I know he’s never going to say things like this out loud. He doesn’t want people to feel bad for him… like I said… he bottles everything up.

Eve: Well, Saige, let me tell you something that I know you’ll never say out loud.

Saige: Huh?

Eve: The way you talk about Hayze, how you act with Hayze, and how you just looked at him with Blair, I think you care about him as more than just a friend, but that’s just my opinion. But Saige, if you do, don’t get yourself hurt because you’re too proud to admit your feelings.

Saige stares at Eve for a few moments, then looks over at Hayze.

Saige: (Too proud… that’s ironic.)

Alec’s scythe pierces through Filip’s arm and embeds into a tree, trapping Filip against it.

Filip: Alec, come on! We’re on the same team, dude!

Alec walks up, dabs his finger in Filip’s blood, and licks it.

Alec: Not in this exam, Filip. I’m on my own here!

Alec rips his scythe out of Filip’s arm.

Filip: AHHHHH!

Alec: Failure is not an option for me. I didn’t want to turn on my classmates to do it, but with only two days left, and Tobias eliminated, I’m left with no choice.

Alec turns around. Charlotte and Ryan have already been dispatched.

Alec: You three didn’t even put up much of a fight. It’s pathetic!

Filip: You’re a monster, Alec! How could we hope to beat you!

Alec: Monster, eh? That’s not a very nice thing to say about a person you call a classmate.

Filip: You’re taking joy in making us bleed and sentencing us to inevitable failure! We’re going to be removed from the hero course because of you!

Alec: You think I enjoy this!

Filip doesn’t have a response.

Alec: The weak deserve to lose, and the strong deserve to survive!

Alec takes out his knife and holds it to his own thigh.

Alec: Tell me where your orb is, now.

Filip: No, Alec, I-

Alec stabs the knife into his thigh.

Filip, Ryan, and Charlotte: AHHHHH!

Alec: Where is your orb!

Filip: It’s in the tree over there! Just stop hurting us!

Alec looks back at the tree Filip is referring to.

Alec: Thank you for making this simple.

Alec starts walking towards the tree.

Alec: (I love bloodshed… but it doesn’t feel the same, not since I fought her…)

Karma wakes up on the ground and looks around at her surroundings.

Karma: *groans* Well, I guess it worked...

Alexis notices Karma is awake and comes to her aid.

Alexis: How are you feeling?

Karma: Besides my splitting headache? Well, I guess…

Alexis: That’s good. You got us out of a huge jam back there. We owe you one.

Karma: Thanks. I’ve never used Slipstream Acceleration in a non-training situation before; that was new for me.

Zach: Yeah, what even was that? It was like we were watching a movie on fast forward. It was crazy!

Karma: It’s my ultimate move. I accelerated us 20 minutes into the future. Well, where we’d be in 20 minutes.

Zach: Woah.

Alexis: So this is where we would have ended up after 20 minutes if we started running at that moment?

Karma: Precisely, it’s an effective getaway technique, but the only problem is that it eats up almost all of my energy to use.

Zach: Well, you were able to get some good rest.

Karma: How long was I out for?

Alexis: About 5 hours. We didn’t want to leave you or force you to move before your body was ready, so we’ve been strategizing on how we can get nine more of these white orbs before the end of the 5th day.

Karma: And have you made any progress?

Alexis: Yup.

Alexis helps Karma up.

Alexis: I know your quirk already has helped us out a lot, but we will have to rely on it again.

Karma: Hm? How so?

Alexis: Are you able to reverse time on objects, not just yourself?

Karma: Well, yes, any object I’m holding when I activate my time reversal also has its time rewound by 3 seconds. It’s not something I typically use because there isn’t much utility for it. Why do you ask?

Alexis: Say you were holding an alarm clock, and it went off. If you reversed it back by three seconds, would the sound stop?

Kevin and Isaiah sit in silence with their fire between them.

Isaiah: So… uh… how’s uh...

Kevin doesn’t look like he’s listening to Isaiah.

Isaiah: Tits or ass?

Kevin stares at Isaiah with a blank expression.

Isaiah: What! I’m just trying to strike a conversation, man!

Kevin: *sighs* You never learn, do you?

Isaiah: Oh, come on! Are you telling me you don’t think about girls at all?

Kevin: Isaiah, I’m not referring to that. It’s okay to have an active libido, but not if it’s at someone else’s expense.

Isaiah looks down at the fire.

Isaiah: Are you referring to our… “deal.”

Kevin: Look, the girl’s a bitch, but losing to you guys is embarrassing enough. There’s no need to put her through more shame to fulfill your own weird obsessions.

Isaiah looks distraught.

Kevin: Plus, what’s even the endgame here?

Isaiah: Huh?

Kevin: You’re gonna make her kiss you in front of everyone to humiliate her? I want the girls to like you, right? Well, that’s not gonna help.

Isaiah: Well… girls have never liked me, so this might be my only shot at… you know.

Kevin: With that attitude, maybe…

Isaiah: Hm?

Kevin: That kind of defeatist mentality is never going to get you anywhere, you’re either a winner or a loser, and with the way you’re thinking, you’re a loser.

Isaiah: Gee… thanks, Kevin.

Kevin: But there are things you can do to become a winner, and the first step is minimizing the reasons for people to hate you.

Isaiah: And how do I do that?

Kevin: You really need me to say it…

Isaiah thinks for a moment.

Isaiah: You’re right, Kevin. If I want my own harem, I have to make myself appealing!

Kevin: Oh god… don’t shoot for a harem, just start with making just one of the girls like you as a friend…

Isaiah: I WILL BUILD MY HAREM FROM THE GROUND UP STARTING NOW!

Kevin: Well... at least we’re making some progress… now, here’s what you should-

Isaiah: I am the king of everything!

Kevin: *sighs* You’re gonna have to call off the deal, you know that, right?

Isaiah: That’s fine!

Kevin: Good, because you need to convince Demetri to do it too.

Isaiah falls to his knees in defeat.

Isaiah: That’ll never happen…

Kevin: Good luck!

Isaiah sits down again, and a few seconds of silence pass.

Isaiah: Hey, Kevin…

Kevin: Yeah, Isaiah?

Isaiah: Back when we took on Hive Five for the second time, I remember overhearing you telling Wes that you didn’t think you were a good leader…

Kevin: Yeah?

Isaiah sits up.

Isaiah: Well, I think you’re pretty good at it from everything I've seen.

Kevin: Maybe…

Isaiah: What do you mean maybe! You’ve been calling the shots and making the right decisions, plus you gave Demetri and me great advice that helped us defeat Sydney and Desiree! So what makes you think you aren’t a good leader?

Kevin stares at the fire.

Kevin: Being a good leader isn’t just about making the right choices and inspiring your team Isaiah.

Isaiah: Huh? But that sounds exactly like what a leader does…

Kevin: There’s another core fundamental of being a leader that I don’t have.

Isaiah: And what’s that?

Kevin: I can make the right choice… but I don’t have it in me to make the hard choice.

Kevin stares into the fire.

Kevin: (Not anymore…)

Demetri looks back at Isaiah and Kevin from his lookout.

Demetri: (I’m sick and tired of being treated like a fool, I’ll show that bastard what I’m worth!)

The 4th day has arrived. Aaron and Lilith both stand on the forest edge, looking at the city.

Aaron: Alright, this is it. We have to make it to the center quickly. No time for breaks, got it, Lilith?

Lilith: R- right!

Aaron takes off their supply bag, takes out their two blue orbs, and throws the bag aside.

Lilith: Wh- what are you doing?

Aaron: The supplies will just slow us down. We only need the orbs; if all goes well, we’ll be done with this exam within the next few hours and won’t need it.

Lilith: What happens if we don’t make it and lose an orb?

Aaron: Then we hope that we can pass the red orb exam.

Lilith: Do… do you think we can?

Aaron: Let’s not think about that...

Aaron approaches Lilith.

Lilith: Huh? Why are you-

Aaron lifts up Lilith’s eye bandage.

Aaron: This doesn’t look too bad. Sorry, I figured we should check this before abandoning the medical supplies. How does it feel?

Lilith: G- good…

Aaron reaches into the bag and pulls down some bandages.

Aaron: Alright, well, I’m just going to replace the bandage to be safe. I don’t want that thing getting infected.

Aaron takes Lilith’s bandage off and starts switching it with a fresh one.

Lilith: Hey Aaron?

Aaron: Hm?

Lilith: Where did you learn all this first aid stuff?

Aaron: My mom is a nurse. She taught me stuff like this when I was growing up, so if I ever needed to help somebody injured, I could.

Lilith: Oh, that’s nice…

Aaron: Why do you ask?

Lilith: Just curious…

Aaron finishes replacing Lilith’s bandage.

Aaron: Alright, let’s get to it.

Lilith: Right!

Aaron starts running towards the city, and Lilith follows.

Lilith: (Aaron’s tenacity is almost infectious. Even when roadblocks come his way, he never loses sight of completing the mission. He’s relentless in his objective, but even through all of that, he still took the time to make sure I’m okay...)

Ash, Jace, and Justus have spotted a white orb machine in the middle of a city street from an alleyway.

Jace: So there it is.

Ash: A white orb machine! I can’t believe they’re just out in the open like that!

Jace: It looks like nobody has touched it yet, and we haven’t even seen a single teacher or another team. This’ll be a sinch!

Justus: Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Jace.

Ash and Jace both look at Justus with confused expressions.

Ash: What do you mean, Justus?

Jace: Yeah, dude, I could grab an orb from this distance using my springs right now!

Justus: There’s something off about this… it’s too easy…

Jace: Huh?

Ash: That’s… a good point.

Justus: This makes it look like it would be simple for us to spend the next hour scavenging three white orbs to finish the exam… there’s no way that’s the case.

Ash: You think there’s a catch?

Justus: Yes.

Jace: *sighs* Why can’t anything be easy at this school…

Justus: My guess is that there is some form of trap mechanism inside the-

An alarm goes off in the distance.

Jace: You were saying?

Justus: Easy is as easy does.

Fatal leaps over the alleyway heading in the direction of the alarm.

Ash: Was that Ms. Fatal?

Jace: It looked like it.

Justus thinks for a few moments.

Justus: We can’t go for that machine. We’ll be tracked down by a pro in minutes if we do.

Jace: What! But these orbs are our only chance of passing this exam!

Justus: No… they aren’t.

Justus starts walking down the alleyway.

Justus: Follow me. I have a plan.

Jace and Ash look at each other.

Jace: I don’t like this…

Ash: We have to trust Justus’ intuition.

Ash follows Justus.

Jace: Well, screw my intuition…

Jace follows as well.

Justus: (If the white orbs aren’t a viable option for us, we have to resort to drastic measures.)

Hayze, Jake, Blair, Saige, and Eve traverse to the hill Hayze’s team was on yesterday. Hayze and Saige reach the top.

Saige: Well, this is it. Our time in this forest is over!

Hayze: The end of an era…

Saige: Oh, don’t look so down, Hayze!

Hayze: I’m sure you had nothing but fun in this forest, but I think the rest of us are ready to move on to the city.

Saige: Pfft, you’re going to miss being stuck with Eve and Jake.

Hayze looks down the hill at Eve, walking with Blair and dragging Jake.

Hayze: Yeah… I think I’m ready to move on.

Saige giggles.

Saige: Oh, and Hayze?

Saige starts reaching into her pocket, and Hayze looks back at her.

Hayze: Yeah? What’s-

Saige hands him her and Blair’s original blue orb.

Saige: Take this.

Hayze: Huh? No, that’s yours. I can’t.

Saige: Hayze, this isn’t a request. It’s an order.

Hayze: Saige, I don’t want a handout, and I’m sure Eve doesn’t either. We have a plan. We’re getting the red orb.

Saige: Hayze, you can do that with or without this orb, but you should have more options than not. If something goes wrong, we can get you three white orbs, or you can fight a team for a green orb and get a more straightforward red orb challenge. It’s better this way.

Hayze: Saige, I-

Saige looks Hayze straight in the eye.

Saige: Hayze, I need you to take this orb.

Hayze: (I’ve never seen her this serious…)

Saige: If you fail this exam and get expelled… I don’t want to think about that. So please, take this so that I can feel better.

Hayze stares at Saige for a few moments.

Hayze: (She’s always been the type of girl that gets what she wants, but she usually does it in clever ways. I’ve never seen her be this direct and talk about her emotions this openly.)

Hayze takes the orb.

Saige: Thank you.

Saige’s whole tone shifts.

Saige: Now, who's ready for the city!

Hayze: (This girl…)

Hayze stuffs the blue orb in his pocket. Eve, Blair, and Jake reach the top of the hill.

Hayze: How are you doing, Blair?

Blair: I’ve been better, but I’m ready to go.

Saige: Oh, Blair, do you need a hug?

Blair: Stay away from me, or I swear I will bite one of your tits off!

Eve: And with that hostile remark, I’d say it’s time for us to get to the city, Jake?

Jake pouts.

Eve: Jake!

Jake: I don’t want to teleport that far! I’ll get really hungry!

Eve: I FUCKING CARRIED YOU UP THIS HILL SO THAT YOU COULD TELEPORT US ON A FULL STOMACH! YOU. WILL. DO. IT!

Jake: No!

Blair forms a fire nugget in her hand.

Blair: I have a meal for you if you’re that concerned about your hunger, Jake…

Jake stands up and points himself to the city.

Jake: Haha, yes, my joke was very funny! But I was kidding. Let us go now.

Blair drops the nugget.

Blair: Good.

The five join hands.

Saige: Onward to the city!

Silver and Angel are standing on the forest's edge, looking out at the plains separating them from the city.

Angel: Do you think it’s trapped?

Silver: There’s only one way to be sure.

Alden comes running up behind the two of them. He comes to a halt and is gasping for air.

Alden: WHY DID YOU GUYS LEAVE ME BACK AT CAMP!

Silver: I thought it would be funny.

Alden: WHAT!

Silver: It was.

Angel: Well, we have some good news, Alden. We found a use for you.

Alden: What do you mean! I’m always useful!

Silver bursts out laughing.

Silver: That was the funniest thing you’ve ever said.

Alden: What! I’m funny!

Silver bursts out laughing again.

Silver: Second.

Angel: We believe a minefield could be between the forest and the city.

Alden: Okay… and what does that have to do with me?

Angel and Silver stare at Alden for a few moments.

Alden: Oh, come on!

Silver: Just take a few steps. If your legs are still attached afterward, we know it’s safe.

Alden: Recovery Girl can’t heal severed limbs!

Silver: So then it’s probably safe.

Alden: Angel can fly us over!

Silver just stares at Alden.

Silver: *sighs* I was really hoping we’d see you walk into a mine.

Alden: What the fuck!

Angel grabs Alden, throws him on his back, and then grabs Silver by his arms.

Angel: Hope you’re not afraid of heights.

Alden: HEIGHTS? Nevermind I’ll take my chances with the-

Angel takes flight.

Alden: AHHHHHHHHH!

Angel: Jesus, man, calm down. I’m not going to let you fall…

Alden keeps screaming.

Silver: Can he get any more annoying!

Silver smells a strange scent.

Silver: Oh, Jesus fuck! He shit himself again!

Angel: Oh, come on, man!

Alden whimpers.

Silver: So fucking pathetic…

Angel flies to the city.

Angel: See anywhere to land?

Silver: Any rooftop will do, but I think it would be best if-

Silver notices something on the rooftops.

Silver: What the?

Angel: What? What is it?

Silver: We’re being signaled.

Angel looks down and sees a group of three flashing the sun's reflection to catch their attention.

Angel: What do you think?

Silver: If they wanted a fight, they’d be attacking us, not signaling. Let’s check it out.

Angel descends and lands on the roof of the building.

Silver: Well, well, well.

The group is Justus, Ash, and Jace.

Justus: Long time no see.

Silver: When did you become a jokester?

Justus: Since we need your help.

Silver: You need our help?

Justus: Yes, and you need ours.

Silver: How so?

Justus motions to Jace, who subsequently takes out their blue orb.

Angel: Man… you really shouldn’t be holding that…

Jace: What? Why?

Angel: Just trust me.

Silver stares at the orb.

Silver: So I see our engagement resulted in nothing more than an exchange of orbs.

Justus: Yes, but we don’t want another fight.

Silver: I figured, but what do you want then? You said we needed each other’s help earlier. Help for what?

Justus takes a deep breath.

Justus: Defeating a pro.