Wes wakes up in a rowboat.
Wes: *groans* Huh?
Wes realizes where he is.
Wes: Oh god! The fight is still going on! Was I dreaming! WHERE IS SHE?
Wes reaches for his gun.
Wes: Wait… why am I in my underwear? DAMMIT AARON!
Wes notices the box labeled “Open Me.”
Wes: Huh…
On the island, the shelter has cleared out. Charlotte, Romeo, Talon, Desiree, and Filip raised the flag over the previous few days and left the simulation.
Zach: A new arrival should be here any day now. Which match was next?
Alexis: Sydney, Wes, and Eve.
Verity perks her head up, as does Bruno.
Zach: So our choices are no help or Sydney, huh… that bites.
Killian: Hey, Sydney isn’t that bad.
Alec: Besides, no way the princess is showing up here half-naked.
Killian and Alec laugh. Ash slaps them on the head.
Killian: Hey!
Alec: What was that for?
Ash: You two know the rule.
The students have a piece of driftwood with the title: “Rules” caved into it. The only one listed is: “No Perversion.”
Ash: Unless you want to end up like them.
Grace is still tied to the tree. Demetri and Isaiah are both hanging from the branches by their ankles.
Grace: I spy with my little eye something beginning with ‘T.’
Demetri: If you say “Tiny Dick” again, I will fucking kill you.
Grace: Tiny Dick.
Demetri: AHHHHHHH!
Isaiah: Being here is hell…
Demetri: *groans* Yeah...
Demetri and Isaiah start crying.
Demetri and Isaiah: We almost won!
Everyone stares at them with blank expressions.
Karma: Between them and Tobias, we haven’t gotten much production out of our most recent arrivals.
Tobias is standing at the edge of a cliff within sight of the students’ campsite. He’s staring out at the ocean.
Zach: Should we be concerned? He hasn’t said a word since getting here.
Bruno: Don’t worry about Tobias; he’s a bit of a loner.
Killian: Yeah, and the dude’s got an ego the size of a planet. He probably got embarrassed and doesn’t want to talk about it.
Alec: Pretty weak if you ask me.
Karma notices something.
Karma: Hey, the boats are here!
Everyone turns their attention to the boats.
Ash: I’ll go greet them.
A few minutes later, Ash returns with Eve and Wes.
Wes: So this is where everyone has been. Quite the sad place.
Zach: Yup! And as part of the welcome, you have to go across the island to pick up today’s rations!
Wes: *sighs* Great…
Eve: Does that include both of us?
Bruno: You do not have to go, Eve. I will take your place.
Wes: No!
Verity: I will go as well.
Wes: GODDAMMIT! Why couldn’t I have won…
Zach: Alright, then I’m off to go fishing. Care to join me, Justus?
Justus: Yes.
Angel: Mind if I tag along?
Zach: No problem.
Bruno drags Wes into the forest alongside Verity while Angel, Zach, and Justus depart to fish.
Killian: Alright, Alec, let’s get to work on the camp.
Alec: Yup…
Killian and Alec get up and head into the woods.
Eve: You guys have a pretty good system going here, huh?
Karma: We’ve been here for a long time, at least in our minds. Certain routines have been established.
Ash: Yeah, and don’t worry, the irony hasn’t been lost on us that it’s just the girls left here at camp.
Alexis: Well, not exactly.
Gavin is farting in the corner of the campsite while Gus is starving in the shelter.
Eve: Right…
Karma: Are you alright, Eve?
Eve: *sighs* I just wanted to win… I can’t believe I lost in the first round.
Ash: So did Alexis and I.
Karma: And I didn’t even make the tournament.
Eve: I- I know I just… *sighs*
Alexis: You lost, but do you feel like you put up a good fight?
Eve: Kind of… I had Sydney on the ropes, and Wes was all but down.
Alexis: Then that’s all that matters. Now, come on, misery loves company, and you’ve got us now. Don’t think about the others who are still in the tournament. You’re here, and we’ve gotta survive together.
Eve: Yeah. Right!
Saige and Blair exit the spectators’ stands.
Blair: This stadium is starting to feel really empty…
Saige: Well, only eight of us are left, thirty-one eliminated. Kind of crazy when you think about it.
Blair: Yeah… I wonder how the others are doing.
Saige: They’re probably fine, but you should worry about yourself.
Blair: Huh?
Saige: You and I fight tomorrow, and you know what happens if we both win?
Blair: *grunts* Yeah… I do.
Saige places her hand on Blair’s shoulder.
Saige: Don’t worry. You’ll probably lose to Lilith anyway.
Blair: No, I won’t! Besides, what if you lose to Aaron!
Saige: I wouldn’t count on that. Aaron’s tough, but he’s no match for me.
Blair: How are you so sure?
Saige: I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but let’s just say I’m built to fight someone like Aaron.
Blair: Huh?
Saige starts walking away.
Saige: I’ll catch you later. I’m going to head back to my room to prepare.
Blair: (Prepare?)
Saige leaves.
Blair: (I can’t concentrate on Saige right now, beating Lilith is more critical. Normally, I wouldn’t be too concerned with her, but this new attitude Jace gave her is just… weird.)
Blair starts walking down the hall.
Blair: (You know… if Saige is going to her room and Kevin and Silver are in the infirmary… that means…)
Blair starts running.
Blair: (Hayze is all by himself!)
Hayze wakes up in a medical bed.
Hayze: *groans* How long was I out for?
Hayze notices he has a TV; he finds the remote and turns it on. The screen displays the bracket.
Hayze: (So, the other matches are already over, Silver and Sydney won, eh? That means that if I defeat Kevin, I’ll face one of them in the semi-finals.)
Hayze hears a knock on his door.
Hayze: Come in.
Aaron enters.
Aaron: Hey, buddy! Enjoying the shitty mattress?
Hayze: I just woke up, so I guess so.
Aaron: I’m glad to see you made it to the second round. I was worried during your match that you’d ruin our chances at a rematch.
Hayze: *nasal grunt* Yeah, right.
Aaron: So, now you and Kevin will faceoff. That’ll be an interesting one.
Hayze: Yeah… a match between Kevin and I has been in the cards for a while now; I’m glad we can finally duke it out.
Aaron: I hope I’ll be around to see it.
Hayze raises an eyebrow.
Hayze: Hm?
Aaron: What?
Hayze: I’ve never heard you talk like that. You know, acknowledging potential defeat.
Aaron: Heh… yeah… it’s a little weird. Alexis opened my eyes during our match, and I couldn’t let my confidence blind me. Saige just defeated Justus, so at minimum, we’re evenly matched, and at most, she’s out of my league. That’s actually partially why I came to see you. You know Saige better than anyone. Could you give me any tips for defeating her?
Hayze thinks for a moment.
Hayze: You’re both my friends, so I can only give you hints.
Aaron: That’s fine.
Hayze: Obviously, your main priority should be destroying one of her psychic constructs. Your explosives should easily do the trick.
Aaron: Well, I know that.
Hayze: Do you know that Saige is aware of that? She isn’t going to make it easy for you. Saige’s greatest strength is her intellect. She can strategize as well as anyone.
Aaron: So I should go on the offense from the start? I shouldn’t allow her a second to even think.
Hayze: I wouldn’t recommend that.
Aaron: Hm?
Hayze: All I can tell you is that you haven’t seen the full capabilities of Saige’s quirk.
Aaron: Huh! What? There’s more to it?
Hayze: Yes, remember that her constructs are materializations of her thoughts. And if she’s able to do that with her thoughts…
Aaron: She’s probably able to do things with my thoughts.
Hayze: Bingo.
Aaron: So what should I do then? You’re making it sound like she’s unbeatable.
Hayze: She’s not. Saige’s weakness is that she sometimes gets stuck following a script, so to speak. She gets so caught up in her own plan and the subsequent moves that she has trouble recovering when something interferes with that plan.
Aaron: Like when Justus turned her own trap against her during their fight.
Hayze: Exactly. If you want to beat Saige. There are two things you have to do. First, don’t get caught in her script, and second, if you do… put every ounce of energy in your body into breaking free.
Aaron: Right.
Hayze’s dorm slams open.
Blair: Hayze! I am here to-
Aaron and Hayze stare at Blair.
Blair: Oh… Aaron got here first… I’ll uh… I’ll see myself out.
Aaron: No, it’s okay, Blair. I was just about to leave anyway. Thanks, Hayze. I’ll keep what you said in mind.
Aaron walks to the door.
Aaron: Hopefully, I’ll see you in the third round, Blair.
Blair: O- Oh… right!
Aaron leaves.
Hayze: Blair?
Blair: Huh, y- yeah?
Hayze: Did you run here?
Blair: No!
Hayze: Then why are you sweating?
Blair: It’s hot in here…
Hayze: Alright… Anyway, I’m glad you’re here. I need to talk to you.
Blair: R- really?
Hayze: Come here.
Blair takes a seat next to Hayze’s bed.
Blair: What is it?
Hayze: It’s about your match against Lilith… I’m worried.
Blair: Oh… it’s alright, Hayze; I think I can handle Lilith!
Hayze: I’m not talking about whether you can beat her. Her fight against Jace… it wasn’t really a fight at all. At least not for Jace.
Blair: What do you mean?
Hayze: He wasn’t concerned with winning in the slightest. It seemed like all he cared about was converting Lilith to whatever fucked up cult he joined underneath our noses. I’m afraid that will be Lilith’s game plan against you.
Blair: *grunts*
Hayze: What happens during your match… if you start to feel yourself becoming convinced by her… forfeit.
Blair: Huh? What?
Hayze: I don’t want you falling victim to whatever she and Jace have.
Blair stands up.
Blair: I won’t forfeit under any circumstance!
Hayze: Blair, I’m just saying that! If you feel-
Blair: No.
Blair storms away.
Hayze: Blair! Wait! Where are you going?
Blair: How dare you ask me to do that!
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Blair leaves.
Hayze: (I never was cut out for girls, huh?)
Wrath and Calm appear as spirits beside Hayze’s bed.
Calm and Wrath: Yup.
The next day, the examinees gather in the spectator’s seats. The teachers and the big four take their seats as well.
Tyson: Man, this tournament is going for days. Don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying the vacation; I just wish it was going a little faster.
Daniele: I imagine there’s a reason for that.
Yul: Technically, you can leave, Tyson. Your entire team has been eliminated.
Tyson: Oh right!
Tyson walks off.
Tyson: See yah!
Daniele turns to Yul.
Daniele: How long until he realizes he doesn’t have a ride out of here?
Yul: 5 minutes, but he’ll be too proud to return.
Daniele: Cool! A day without Tyson! Thanks, Yul!
Yul: *nasal grunt* Yes, we can enjoy the quarterfinals without him ogling the female competitors.
Aster: That’ll be nice...
Daniele: Oh, is something wrong, Aster? Feeling insecure about our bet?
Aster: Nope, not at all.
Yul: Daniele has four team members left, and you have two. That can’t feel too good, especially considering your two members are on the same side of the bracket.
Aster: Kevin and Silver can win this whole thing. I’m worried at all.
Daniele: We’ll see about that once Hayze kicks Kevin’s ass!
Aster: Heh… right.
Hunt enters the arena and walks to the center.
Hunt: It’s time to begin the quarter-finals.
Hunt snaps his fingers, and two staircases materialize leading up to the spectators.
Hunt: We’ll start with the first match; Saige Neidert and Aaron Zamora. Please enter the arena.
Saige and Aaron both walk down separate staircases.
Kevin: Saige has this in the bag; she beat Justus. No way Aaron stands a chance.
Silver: I have to agree with you on that.
Hayze: (It’s weird thinking of Aaron as the underdog in this.)
Kevin: Uh… hey Hayze?
Hayze: Hm?
Kevin: Any reason why Blair is sitting by herself?
Blair is sitting off to the side, leaving Silver, Hayze, and Kevin as the only group in the spectators’ seats.
Hayze: Uh… we had a little fight…
Kevin: Aw… that’s cute. Maybe you should go sit with her and make things up.
Blair has coated the seat next to her in lava.
Hayze: Yeah… I- I- I don’t know about that…
Aaron and Saige reach the center of the arena.
Hunt: Let’s see what terrain you’ll be fighting in.
The screen begins randomizing.
Aaron: (Anywhere is fine with me, I’ve got my strategy all figured out.)
Saige: (Aaron won’t know what hit him when I’m done.)
The screen stops on a glacier.
Aaron: (That works.)
A blinding light blares, and Saige and Aaron suddenly find themselves standing on a massive, expansive glacier.
Aaron: So, Saige, it’s just you and me.
Saige: I’ll advise you now, Aaron, you should probably surrender. You’ve got a lot of pride, so I might feel lousy emasculating you.
Aaron: Heh… not for nothing, but I’ll remind you I’m the one with the advantage here.
Aaron transforms his right arm into a grenade launcher.
Aaron: Just try to make one of your psychic objects, and I’ll blast it. (Come on, take the bait.)
Saige smiles.
Saige: You boys can be so cute when you think you’re being smart.
Aaron: Huh?
Saige: Don’t worry, Aaron. I’ll play along.
Saige begins walking toward Aaron.
Hayze: (Tread lightly here, Aaron.)
Aaron’s eyes narrow.
Aaron: (She knows I’m a long to medium range fighter, so her best bet is to close the gap between us and use her psychic abilities on me. Little does she know that I’m more than ready for that.)
Aaron fires a grenade at the ground beneath him; it embeds into the ice. Saige leaps back as it explodes, sending Aaron flying backward.
Aaron: (Let’s see how you handle this, Saige!)
The explosion causes a massive crack in the glacier and breaks it into two pieces. The two glaciers float away from each other, with Saige and Aaron on each one.
Saige: (Interesting move.)
Aaron smiles as the two glaciers continue building distance between each other.
Aaron: (Now we’re forced into long-range combat!)
Aaron places his hands together, and they form into a mortar. Then, Aaron kneels down and takes aim at Saige’s glacier.
Aaron: BALLISTIC BOMBARDMENT!
Aaron fires ten mortar shells.
Aaron: TIMES 10!
Saige looks up at the explosives approaching her.
Saige: (I see; Aaron knows I can’t use my quirk to block his attacks, so if he keeps me at a set range, I’ll be at his mercy.)
Saige starts running as the shells bombard her glacier; she acrobatically dodges and avoids each blast, but her glacier begins separating into smaller fragments.
Silver: Aaron’s playing this smart. Even though his attack didn’t work, he drastically increased his odds of success on his next assault.
Kevin: Yeah, and the best part is Saige can barely even mount a counterattack.
Saige looks around at her much smaller glacier.
Saige: (I won’t be able to dodge this next attack without sustaining some form of damage. I guess I can’t afford to wait any longer.)
Saige creates a pink translucent sniper rifle in her hands. She then reaches for her belt, detaches a small cylindrical device, and loads it into the gun. Hayze’s eyes widen.
Hayze: (She’s already setting it up?)
Saige fires the device at Aaron, and due to the speed of the shot, Aaron can’t tell what she fired.
Aaron: (Fighting back, huh? Well, this gunman ain’t going to be taken down by his own game.)
Aaron dodges, and the device continues flying until it embeds into an ice formation about 30 yards behind Aaron. Then, it deploys into a satellite dish like a machine.
Silver: What is that?
Hayze: You’ll see.
Aaron’s mortars finish recharging.
Aaron: It’s time for me to do some severe damage! Ballistic Bombardment Times 5!
Aaron fires 5 more mortar shells at Saige.
Saige: (I can’t stay on this glacier, but first…)
Saige loads a dart with red liquid inside it into her sniper and fires it at Aaron. Saige then dispels her sniper and leaps into the water as Aaron’s mortars annihilate her glacier.
Aaron: (I’ve got her on the run now!)
Aaron dodges Saige’s shot.
Aaron: (It looks like she got desperate with that attack. Now that she’s in the water, I can engage with stage two of my plan.)
Aaron transforms his arms into two grenade launchers and looks over the side of his glacier.
Aaron: (Now to bomb the water! This will be like shooting fish in a barrel!)
Saige’s dart careens towards the device she fired earlier. The satellite-like gadget absorbs the dart and reflects it. The dart injects into Aaron’s back.
Aaron: *pained grunt* What the?
Aaron notices the dart in his back; the liquid inside has been injected into his bloodstream.
Aaron: (What? I dodged that!)
Aaron spots Saige’s device.
Aaron: (I see… Her first shot was a setup for the next. Clever, but she just made a fatal mistake.)
Aaron rips the dart from his back and crushes it in his palm.
Aaron: (Gotcha!)
Deep underwater, Saige gets a headache.
Saige: (Looks like it worked... ) *pained grunt*
Silver watches intently.
Silver: Why would Saige do that? She’s allowed Aaron to control this battle's flow from start to finish. I would have expected more from her.
Kevin: Yeah, it’s been an impressive match so far from Aaron; he’s playing to his strengths and not giving Saige any wiggle room.
Hayze: (Aaron’s listening to my advice… maybe a little too closely. He has to realize that Saige wouldn’t be dumb enough to exchange one dart shot for a splitting headache. He’s getting in his own head. He thinks he’s in the driver’s seat, so he’s disregarding Saige’s moves as desperation. She’s already injected him with the serum, so he needs to act quickly; otherwise, this could be game over for him.)
Aaron aims his grenade launchers over the edge of the glacier.
Aaron: (I know you’re down there, Saige. It’s time for me to fish you out.)
Suddenly Aaron’s head starts to hurt; he falls to a knee as his hands revert to normal. The pain goes away momentarily.
Aaron: (What was that? Was that Saige?) *grunts* (Whatever, I’ll worry about it later, I need to attack her now before she gets even more time to flee.)
Aaron aims his arms over the edge again, but they don’t change.
Aaron: (Wait… what weapon was I using just a second ago?)
Aaron stands there staring at his arms.
Aaron: (Wh- why can’t I remember-)
Aaron’s eyes widen.
Aaron: (Shit!)
Kevin looks confused.
Kevin: Why aren’t Aaron’s arms changing?
Hayze: Because he doesn’t remember what weapon he was using.
Kevin and Silver: Huh?
Hayze: Saige’s psychic constructs are the main power of her quirk, but she also possesses the ability to control other people’s emotions and memories. With the help of Adrian, she developed this technique of using darts filled with her own psychic energy against her opponents. You’ve seen it in action a few times before.
Kevin: Like when she put that 2-B student to sleep during the joint training exercises!
Hayze: Exactly, she called it a tranquilizer dart, but that simplified it. The dart was filled with her psychic energy that manipulated his mind into believing he was tired.
Silver: I see… so what exactly has she done to Aaron?
Hayze: That serum will temporarily remove a chunk of Aaron’s memories every minute. Now, while that wouldn’t seem like too much of an issue, as long as Aaron remembers he’s fighting Saige, it wouldn’t really matter if he forgets things, right? Well, this tactic is unbelievably effective against Aaron for one big reason.
Silver thinks for a moment.
“ Aaron: I’m Aaron Zamora; my quirk lets me make my forearms into weapons; as long as I understand how the gun is made, I can also do some tools. “ - Chapter 6
Silver: Aaron’s arsenal depends entirely on his knowledge of weapons!
Hayze: Exactly, that serum’s effects will last for the next 20 minutes, and during that time, his supply of weapons will slowly leave his mind until his quirk is entirely useless.
Aaron clenches his fists.
Aaron: (Dammit! How could I have let this happen! This whole time, I thought I was in control, but she had this planned from the start. Now she’s going to hide while I-)
Aaron’s head hurts for a few moments again.
Aaron: (While I lose more and more of my weapons each minute. She probably hasn’t recovered from her migraine yet, which means I still can turn this around.)
“ Hayze: She’s not. Saige’s weakness is that she sometimes gets stuck following a script, so to speak. She gets so caught up in her own plan and the subsequent moves that she has trouble recovering when something interferes with that plan. “
“ Hayze: Exactly. If you want to beat Saige. There are two things you have to do. First, don’t get caught in her script, and second, if you do… put every ounce of energy in your body into breaking free. “
Aaron: (Well, here is every ounce of energy in my body!)
Aaron dives off of his glacier straight into the water.
Kevin: Woah! I didn’t expect him to do that.
Silver: He’s changing his strategy. Now that he’s on a timer, he can’t waste even a second.
Hayze: It’s probably the smartest thing he could have done. He needs to catch Saige off guard in any way possible.
Kevin: Do you think he can win, Hayze?
Hayze: Of course, nothing is impossible, but in the next few minutes, Aaron needs to put on the best fighting performance he’s ever had in his life.
Aaron looks around for Saige underwater.
Aaron: (There are only a few places she could be. Either hiding behind one of the fragmented glaciers I created earlier or my glacier. It wouldn’t make sense given her limited time between jumping in the water and me breaking her construct for her to try swimming to my glacier, so that means she’s on one of the fragments.)
Aaron looks up at the 10 fragmented glaciers.
Aaron: (Let’s see, what weapons do I remember? I know!)
Aaron transforms his arms into torpedo launchers.
Aaron: (Perfect.)
Aaron takes aim.
Aaron: (1 in 5 chance.)
Saige is hiding on the side of one of the glaciers. Her headache is slowly fading.
Saige: (Aaron should be feeling the effects of my serum now, and once this migraine clears, I’ll finish him off.)
Suddenly, two of the glacier fragments explode around Saige.
Saige: (What! I didn’t hear him fire a blast!)
Saige climbs on top of the glacier. She scans for Aaron.
Saige: (He jumped in the water.)
Two more glaciers blow up, leaving just six.
Saige: (He’s smoking me out, and if this ends up as a fight in the water, he can finish me off well before my memory manipulation ends him.)
Saige’s head clears as two more glaciers blow up.
Saige: I’ve gotta get out of here.
Saige creates a mini jet engine on her arm and blasts herself towards Aaron’s glacier.
Saige: (If I can get to that glacier, Aaron won’t be able-)
Suddenly a grappling hook wraps around Saige’s ankle.
Saige: (What!)
Aaron surfaces.
Aaron: Well, that was predictable. Running to the one spot you could run to?
Saige: *grunts* (I can’t believe he outsmarted me!)
Aaron aims his other arm at Saige. It transforms into an FG42.
Aaron: Not my favorite weapon but beggars can’t be choosers.
Aaron starts firing at Saige. Saige tries to block the shots with her thruster, but three of Aaron’s bullets enter each of her legs, two to her right arm and one to her upper torso.
Saige: AHHHHH!
Aaron’s head hurts again, and his FG42 reverts.
Aaron: *frustrated grunt* Uh… fuck, what else is there?
Saige: (He’s distracted!)
Saige creates another mini thruster on her other arm and blasts herself forward again, ripping Aaron out of the water and dragging him with her.
Aaron: Woah!
Saige lands on Aaron’s glacier, and Aaron smashes into the ice as well. Saige takes a moment to catch her breath.
Saige: (He’s gotta be running out of weapons, right?)
Aaron gets to his feet both of his arms transform into Type 100’s.
Aaron: I’m going World War 2 on your ass!
Saige: Giggity.
Aaron starts unloading a barrage of bullets in Saige’s direction, Saige ducks beneath some ice. Aaron continues his barrage, slowly slicing away at the ice.
Aaron: You can’t hide forever!
Aaron’s head hurts, and his arms revert. He transforms his arms into MP40s and continues firing.
Kevin: How many guns does he know?
Silver: Too many, apparently.
Aaron continues chipping away at the ice.
Saige: (He’s only using guns… either he doesn’t remember any explosive weapons, or he’s trying to trick me into using one of my psychic constructs so he can destroy it. If I let that happen, I’ll lose, but I also can’t allow him to continue shooting me with bullets.)
Aaron’s head hurts again, and his arms revert. He transforms his arms into Tommy Guns and continues firing.
Saige: (Only one choice.)
Saige reaches for her utility belt.
Aaron: (Almost got her!)
Suddenly a pink object comes flying out from behind the rock and soars over Aaron’s head.
Aaron: (What is that? Fuck it. Shoot it!)
Aaron lights up the object. It was Saige’s shoe spray-painted pink.
Aaron: (Huh?)
Suddenly Saige punches Aaron.
Aaron: *grunts* I’ll get you-
Saige sprays Aaron’s eye with pink spray paint.
Aaron: AHHH!
Saige continues punching Aaron as he’s stunned. His head hurts, and his arms revert.
Aaron: Oh, you asked for it!
Aaron and Saige begin fist fighting, exchanging blows. Aaron’s punches injure Saige more, but Saige is landing more hits than him.
Aaron: Metal hands gotta hurt like a bitch, right?
Saige kicks Aaron in the nuts, stunning him.
Saige: No, but I’m sure that does.
Saige leaps back as Aaron falls to his knees.
Aaron: Why every guy in this class hasn’t integrated an athletic cup into their costume is beyond me…
Saige catches her breath and wipes blood from her mouth.
Saige: You must be out of weapons by now, which means that all I need to do is finish you off.
Aaron: You’re almost right… I only have one left…
Saige: Oh yeah, and which one is it?
Aaron smiles.
Aaron: Let me show you.
Aaron places his hands together.
Saige: No!
Aaron’s arms create a Howitzer Cannon.
Aaron: I guess that’s some bad luck for you!
Saige starts running.
Saige: (I can’t let him hit me with that!)
Aaron charges the Howitzer.
Aaron: This is it… my final attack!
Saige continues running.
Aaron: HOWITZER BURST!
The cannon fires off a massive and deafening blast with extreme destructive force. The blast careens toward Saige.
Saige: (Dangit!)
The blast engulfs Saige.
Aaron: (Please tell me that worked…)
Aaron’s head hurts, and his arms revert to normal.
Kevin: Did he get her?
Silver: He might just have done it…
The smoke clears, and Saige is unharmed.
Aaron: *grunts*
Saige hid inside the initial crater Aaron made at the start of the match.
Kevin: What!
Silver: I see she used that crater as cover and used one of her psychic constructs to cover the hole, protecting herself without allowing the blast to destroy her construct. Brilliant.
Hayze: (Aaron fought well, but he caught on to Saige’s plan too late.)
Saige approaches Aaron.
Saige: Honestly, Aaron, you put up a better fight than I expected, so kudos.
Aaron: *frustrated grunt*
Saige: I guess I shouldn’t underestimate anyone with as strong of a will to fight as you.
Saige creates a pink translucent bazooka and takes aim at Aaron.
Aaron: Bring it, bitch.
Saige fires a rocket at Aaron; he grabs it with his hands holding it back as its rocket engine pushes him back closer and closer to the edge.
Aaron: AHHHHHH!
Aaron starts pushing the rocket’s nose upward.
Silver: He’s trying to deflect the rocket with his hands!
Kevin: Go, Aaron!
Saige watches in shock.
Aaron: AHHH!
The nose slowly continues moving upward.
Aaron: If I’m going down… I’m going down swing-
The rocket explodes, sending Aaron flying off the glacier and straight into the water.
Aaron: (I made my mistakes, but I can tell I’m leaving this tournament stronger than I was when I began, and that’s something to be proud of. Thank you, Alexis, I’ll see you soon.)
Aaron splashes into the water, unconscious. Saige wipes the sweat from her brow.
Saige: (I didn’t expect that last little resistance from him.)
The arena reverts to normal.
Hunt: The winner is Saige Neidert.
Two stretchers come out for Aaron and Saige.
Kevin: Damn…
Silver: He lost.
Hayze: He put up a good fight, though… one anyone could be proud of.
Saige looks at Blair in the spectator seats. The two lock eyes.
Saige: (You’d better win, Blair.)
Saige and Aaron are removed from the arena.
Hunt: Alright, let’s begin the second match.
Two staircases materialize leading up to the spectators.
Hunt: Blair Maddox and Lilith Weber, please enter the arena.
Lilith stands up.
Lilith: Ah… this will be fun.
Blair stands up.
Blair: (I’ve gotta win this.)
Both girls walk down a separate staircase.
Hayze: (Please, Blair… don’t fall under the same spell Lilith did.)