The next day, everyone assembles back in their seats for the final match.
Fatal: Finally, this exam is coming to an end.
Houston: You sound like you’re one of the ones who took it. All we’ve had to do is spectate.
Fatal: I know, it hasn’t been bad. It’s been a nice little vacation, but I’m ready to get back to the real world.
Houston: Don’t worry, I agree, but I don’t think my students will.
Fatal: You’re already preparing their punishment?
Houston: At best, only a handful of them will pass. I think I’ll turn their hot water off for the next week and restrict their ability to leave campus. That should teach them.
Fatal: Heh… yeah…
Adrian: Speaking of passing, it’s easy to get so invested in this tournament that you forget that not everyone will walk away happy.
Fatal: True, there are a few students from our class that I’m sure are passing, but there are a lot I’m on the fence about.
Adrian: They’ve done well, but for some, they’re going to come up short, and this time, they’ll have tangible evidence that they’ve fallen behind in the form of the Provisional Hero Licenses.
Fatal: I hope they’ll all be okay.
Adrian: They’ll have to be.
Saige and Silver have joined the rest of the eliminated examinees.
Saige: It’s nice seeing a lot of you again, well, except Ceiling Guy, but he’s a little preoccupied.
Alden is wearing a maid outfit carrying lemonade to Lilith and Jace.
Lilith: That better be fresh-squeezed.
Alden: Yes, Empress! Of course, it is!
Lilith takes one sip. She then chucks the glass at Alden’s foot, shattering glass all throughout his lower leg.
Alden: AHHHHHHH!
Lilith: YOU LIED! MAKE IT AGAIN!
Everyone watches with blank expressions.
Alexis: Anyway… does anyone know what to expect from this matchup?
Aaron: Nope.
Wes: Not a clue.
Alexis: Good, me neither.
Eve: I’m worried Blair might hold back, and against Hayze, that could be like waving the white flag.
Saige: I’d have to disagree.
Eve: Care to say why?
Saige: Well, as we all know, Blair has had a teeny-tiny crush on Hayze. She admires him, and part of admiring someone is wanting to be like them. She’s modeled a lot of her fighting style after Hayze’s. So, this is her chance to see how she stacks up. I can’t imagine that she would give anything other than her all. The person you should be worried about holding back is Hayze.
Everyone is surprised.
Silver: Hayze not giving 100%? Are you joking?
Kevin: Yeah, I find that hard to believe.
Saige: No… I’m not.
“ Hayze: Blair’s fantastic, but it might be best if she hates me for a while.
Saige: And why is that?
Hayze: I hurt her, betrayed her trust, and was oblivious to just… her. I don’t deserve to have a friend like her. “ - Chapter 111
Saige: (Hayze seemed torn up about hurting Blair’s feelings, I can’t imagine how he feels about hurting her physically.)
Hayze leaves his room.
Hayze: (Well, let’s go.)
Hayze starts walking towards the arena entrance.
Calm: (You seem troubled, why? I would have thought you’d be excited to compete in the finals.)
Hayze: (I am, but… this is the first fight in my life that I don’t want to win.)
Wrath: (WHAT! YOU WANT TO LOSE?!)
Hayze: (No! I just…) *sighs* (I don’t know if I can bring myself to strike Blair.)
Gale: (I could, I could a lot. I want to win!)
Impulse: (Yeah, a match-up like this could be fun. Maybe it’ll end in a little makeout session.)
Impulse starts mimicking kissing noises.
Hayze: (I know this fight could be great, Blair’s strong, and she’s come a long way to reach this point. I’m sure she’s excited and wants me to fight her like any other opponent, but…)
Hayze flashes back to the various wounds he inflicted upon Tobias, Kevin, and Silver throughout his matches.
Hayze: (The idea of doing that makes my skin crawl.)
Wrath: (Well, you’re going to have to man up! And aim for her tits! SHE SAID THEY WERE SOFT, AND I WANT TO KNOW!)
All of them stare at Wrath.
Wrath: (What? I’m not ashamed.)
Calm: (Ignoring that, logic dictates that you will have difficulty winning a fight without injuring your opponent.)
Hayze: (I’m aware, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible.)
Impulse: (Friendly reminder that all of our quirks are combat-related. So the best you could do is shock her, burn her, drown her or throw her into a wall.)
Calm: (Hm…)
Wrath: (Oh, god, what are you two thinking?)
Calm: (There might be a way to work around this.)
Hunt is standing at the center of the arena staring at his watch.
Hunt: (He’s really cutting this close, It would be a little anticlimactic for the exam to end in a disqualification.)
Blair is sitting in the Spectators’ seats by herself. She has her Searing Soul Sword strapped to her back and looks ticked off.
Blair: (If he tries to avoid fighting me by missing the match, I’m going to kick him in the dick so hard he won’t be able to stand for a week.)
Hayze enters the spectators’ seats.
Hunt: (Good.) Alright, it’s time to begin the finals.
Hunt snaps his fingers, and two staircases materialize leading up to the spectators.
Hunt: Blair Maddox and Adam Hayze, please enter the arena.
Blair and Hayze walk down separate staircases.
Hunt: This match will conclude the Provisional Hero Licensing Exam, so all eliminated examinees will be asked to join me in the arena immediately after.
Blair and Hayze approach the center of the arena.
Hunt: Now, let’s see where you’ll be battling.
The screen begins randomizing through locations.
Blair: (Against Hayze, the best location would probably be a flat plain.)
Hayze: (Blair probably prefers a flat plain which is…. hilarious.)
The screen stops at a cemetery.
Blair and Hayze: (Huh?)
Hunt: Good luck to both of you.
A blinding light blares. Hayze and Blair are standing in a graveyard; a mist surrounds the entire area.
Hayze: (Well, this isn’t creepy.)
Blair cracks her knuckles.
Blair: Well, Hayze, it’s been a long time, but we finally get to fight. I won’t lie… I’ve learned a lot from you over the last year, and without you, I probably wouldn’t have gotten here, so thank you.
Hayze: Don’t sell yourself short, Blair. You got here on your own. You deserve all the credit for your success.
Blair smiles.
Blair: Okay, that’s all the pleasantries I want to exchange. Now let’s have a great fight!
Hayze: Will do, Blair, Will do.
Hayze glances down at his chest.
Hayze: (Let’s hope this plan goes accordingly.)
Blair creates a ring of lava around herself.
Hayze: (She’s opening with her volcanic defense, smart. In this terrain, she won’t run into the same problems she did against Saige.)
Blair: (Hayze will probably figure out a way around this quickly, but that’s my plan. I don’t think I’ll have a good time against his lightning form, so if I put him in a situation where he has to choose something other than lightning, I’m in the clear. Fire wouldn’t make much sense against my lava, leaving Water and Wind. For both of those, I have ideas in mind for how I could beat them. So, Hayze, let’s see what you do.)
Hayze stares at Blair, not doing anything.
Angel: This could be a risky move on Blair’s part. Giving Hayze time to think out his next play isn’t usually a good idea.
Saige: Maybe not. In this case, Blair wants Hayze to make the first move so that she can act accordingly. Keep in mind that Hayze hasn’t chosen a quirk yet.
Zach: Oh, she’s keeping her defenses up and waiting to see what he does.
Saige: Yup, if I had to guess, she has no plans on her defenses staying up very long.
Wes: So it all comes down to what Hayze does next.
Hayze continues staring at Blair, not moving.
Blair: (Okay… he’s not moving, that’s fine. Maybe he’s just thinking.)
Three minutes pass.
Blair: (ALRIGHT! WHAT’S GOING ON?!)
Everyone looks at Saige.
Saige: What? Don’t look at me. I have no clue what he’s doing.
Blair examines Hayze.
Blair: (He hasn’t picked an element yet and hasn’t said a word or moved in the last four minutes! Does he see through my strategy? Shit! He must know that I know his lightning form would be best against me. So, my best move might be to attack now while he’s vulnerable. But wait… maybe he knows that I know that he knows that I- Uh… ah screw it, I’m just gonna attack!)
Blair creates a cannon out of magma armor that begins charging a lava blast.
Wes: It looks like she got tired of waiting.
Aaron: Hell yeah! This is my kind of fight!
Blair takes aim at Hayze.
Blair: If you’re not going to make a move, I’ll force you to!
Blair fires her blast at Hayze.
Blair: Molten Core Meltdown!
Hayze disappears.
Blair: Wh- What!
Blair’s blast continues forward until eventually fading away. Blair looks around frantically; Hayze is nowhere to be seen.
Blair: (H- how did he do that? I didn’t see a lightning trail or anything!)
Hayze is hiding behind a tombstone nearby, breathing heavily. His eyes are still normal.
Hayze: (Okay… that was an excellent test. I was worried it wouldn’t work, but it looks like the guys have him occupied.)
Deep in the recesses of Hayze’s mind lies a dark plain with thunder and lightning. Khaos is standing there staring out into space.
“ Hayze: There are 15 seconds before shadow paralysis ends. You have two choices: A, die or B, relinquish control. I don’t care which.
Hayze digs the sword into Khaos’ neck.
Khaos: Damn you! “ - Chapter 106
Khaos screams at the top of his lungs.
Khaos: How could I have let that fool beat me? Freedom was at my fingertips, and I let it slip away! And the worst part is I have to spend every waking moment of every day replaying it over and over in my head!
Impulse: You seem cheery.
Khaos: Huh?
Khaos turns around. Impulse is standing behind him.
Khaos: What do you want?
Khaos suddenly finds himself surrounded by Calm, Wrath, and Gale.
Khaos: I didn’t know dork fest came to this side of the mind.
Impulse: Nah, dork fest is next week; we’re here to visit you.
Khaos: Visit me?
Wrath: We’ve taken a vote, and we’ve decided that you should share.
Khaos: Share what? My sense of pride? Because clearly, none of you have any.
Calm: We mean your quirk. It’s time that you allowed Hayze to access it free of your own will, like us.
Khaos laughs.
Khaos: Free of your own will? The only reason that fool can’t use my power without my permission is because I’m more powerful than all of you combined, including him.
Gale: *clears throat*
Impulse: Weren’t you just brooding over losing to him? We all saw it.
Khaos: Shut the hell up!
Wrath: I think you hit a nerve, Impulse.
Khaos: Coming from you?!
Calm: I guess we forgot to mention this, but you don’t have a say in this matter.
Khaos: Oh yeah? You and what army?
Gale creates two typhoon booms in his palms, Calm surrounds himself in water, Wrath coats his arms in fire, and Impulse shrouds his whole body in lightning.
Calm: This one.
Khaos cracks his neck.
Khaos: Bring it.
Blair takes a deep breath.
Blair: (Okay, Blair, no panicking. I just have no idea where Hayze is or how he disappeared. No big deal. I’m still safe behind my lava wall, so he can’t do anything. Besides, he has to reveal himself at some point, right?)
Blair gets a look of realization.
Blair: (No! That’s exactly what I thought before. Hayze wants me to wait for him to make a move, and there’s only one reason for him to do that: he’s stalling. But for what? Ugh… if that’s the case, my original plan is out the window. I have to be aggressive now!)
Blair creates a lava sphere in her hand that grows bigger and bigger until she eventually throws it into the air.
Blair: Napalm Annihilation!
The sphere bursts into a shower of lava that cascades over the entire cemetery.
Blair: (There’s no way he can hide from this!)
Blair’s attack showers the graveyard for a few moments before ending.
Blair: (Wh- how! Is Hayze gone!)
Blair looks panicked.
Zach: Man, Hayze is getting in Blair’s head right now.
Gus: Yeah, she has no clue what’s going on.
Wes: Do you?
Gus: That’s not important right now, Wes.
Ash: Does anyone know how Hayze is doing this?
Everyone is silent.
Saige: (In all my time with Hayze, I’ve seen him do anything like this. What’s going on?)
Hayze is hiding behind a different tombstone now.
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Hayze: (It looks like I’m safe using it in these short bursts, but if I win against Blair, I need the full power of Khaos’ quirk.)
Hayze peaks out at Blair.
Hayze: (Man, she’s adorable when she’s flustered. No! FUCK! WHY AM I THINKING THAT! THIS IS A BATTLE!)
Hayze taps a button on his PDA, materializing one of his shock sabers.
Hayze: (Okay, I can’t keep risking using Khaos’ quirk until I know it’s ready. I’ll break Blair’s defenses and go from there.)
Hayze’s eyes change to Khaos’. Then, finally, he sinks into the shadow of the tombstone.
Blair: (Where is he? Come on, Blair! You can’t be losing this badly!)
Suddenly, Hayze appears behind Blair in her shadow, shocking everyone. Hayze’s eyes instantly revert to normal.
Hayze: Hey, Blair.
Hayze slices at Blair’s hip; she blocks the attack by coating her hips in magma armor. She grabs her obsidian blade and attempts to strike Hayze. Their swords clash.
Blair: How did you sneak up on me?
Hayze: That’s for me to know.
Blair: *grunts*
Blair’s grip on her sword hilt tightens.
Blair: (I won’t let Hayze beat me this easily.) You made one big mistake coming in here!
Hayze: Hm?
Blair: Volcanic Defense: Ring of Fire!
Blair’s lava ring shoots up around them, creating a cylinder of lava that towers 50 yards in the air.
Blair: Now we’re trapped in here!
Hayze: Well, one of us is.
Blair: You’re right! It’s you!
Blair leaps out of the lava ring.
Blair: Ha!
Hayze is standing behind Blair again.
Hayze: Well, I meant you, but I forgot you could do that.
Blair: Wh- wh- okay, how are you doing that?
Hayze: You’ll find out soon enough.
Blair: *frustrated grunt* Oh, I will, huh?
Blair stabs her obsidian sword into the ground.
Blair: I thought we would have a “real” fight, but you’re just trying to make me look like an idiot!
Hayze: (Okay, maybe I didn’t think this through all the way.)
Blair: I’m no weakling, Hayze! I would have thought fighting my way to the finals of this tournament would have made you see me like any of your other rivals, but clearly, I was wrong.
Blair begins oozing lava from her palms.
Blair: (I don’t know how he’s doing what he’s doing, but I haven’t had a good look at him yet. So, it’s time for me to change that.) Magma Bullet Barrage!
Blair fires a barrage of lava spheres at Hayze.
Hayze: (I can’t risk using his quirk any further.)
Hayze leaps back and dodges a large portion of the attack. However, he can feel each lava sphere's excessive heat as they whizz past him. Hayze is forced to block a few with his sword, causing it to melt.
Hayze: (Is she trying to kill me!?)
Blair: (Why didn’t he do it that time? Whatever, I’ll just keep applying pressure!)
Blair covers both of her fists in lava and charges at Hayze.
Blair: Magma Mauler!
Blair continuously tries punching Hayze, but he dodges each strike.
Wes: Okay, am I just stupid, or is this fight hard to follow?
Aaron: Yes.
Wes: Fuck you.
Alexis: It’s definitely not an ordinary fight. Hayze has this weird teleportation ability that we’ve never seen before, and now suddenly, he’s stopped.
Kevin: Yeah, and he seems to have no interest in making a counterattack against Blair.
Wes: He tried to hit her with his sword earlier.
Kevin: Then why did he announce himself?
Wes: Good point…
Karma: It makes me wonder if Saige was potentially right about him.
Saige: I’ll take your apologies through sexual favors.
Everyone: No.
Hayze continues dodging Blair.
Hayze: (Well, I’m making her mad, which is a good thing… I think? She’s off balance and leaving me a lot of opportunities to strike, but… I can’t, I-)
Blair: Gotcha!
Hayze: Huh?
Suddenly, Hayze trips over a tombstone.
Blair: I was leading you, and now it’s time to finish you!
Blair punches Hayze directly in the stomach with her Magma Mauler. Hayze pukes from the intensity of the punch. His abdomen is scorched with a second-degree burn.
Hayze: *groans* (That felt great...)
Hayze’s wound is smoking. Everyone is shocked Blair landed a blow.
Blair: (Nailed him! No- Wait- Fuck! Don’t phrase it like that! Ah… whatever!)
Hayze slowly gets to his feet.
Blair: (I just landed the first hit of the match, and a brutal one at that…, so why don’t I feel good about it?)
Hayze: Nice shot, Blair… I guess I should have paid more attention to my surroundings. What can I say? I guess I got a little turned around. (I was wrong to underestimate Blair, she had a trap, and I walked right into it. Maybe I’ve always subconsciously seen Blair as someone I needed to help; perhaps she was like that at one point. But now, she’s an excellent fighter and one I shouldn’t disrespect. I just hope I won’t have to stall much longer.)
Inside Hayze’s mind, a battle rages.
Impulse: Shock Stride!
Khaos blocks Impulse’s attack with his executioner’s blade and repels him.
Calm: Liquid Bullets!
Calm fires a barrage of liquid bullets at Khaos; he blocks all of them with his sword.
Khaos: You guys can’t win! Why don’t you just give up?
Gale: That’s not really my style!
Gale slams a Typhoon Boom into Khaos’ side, sending him flying through the air.
Khaos: *grunts*
Gale: Now is your chance, Wrath!
Wrath: You’re going down! Blast Burn!
Wrath blasts a massive nova at Khaos.
Khaos: Like I’m letting you win! Shadow Sneak!
Khaos escapes into the shadows. All four of the counterparts have a glint in their eye.
Calm: Now is your time, Impulse!
Gale, Wrath, and Calm gather around Impulse as he charges electricity throughout his body.
Impulse: Supreme Spark Shower!
Impulse emits a blindingly powerful light, causing all their shadows to subside.
Calm: Khaos needs a shadow to emerge from if he wants to leave his shadow world.
Gale: And there are only four of those in here for him to choose from.
Impulse: So if they’re all gone.
Wrath: He’s fucked!
Khaos tries to leave his shadow world but can’t.
Khaos: YOU BASTARDS!
Wrath laughs.
Wrath: I can’t believe that asshole’s plan actually worked.
Gale: Yeah, I was skeptical, but maybe he can have a good idea every now and then.
Calm: Fight as long as you can; I’ll inform Hayze.
Impulse: Gotcha!
Hayze staggers a bit.
Hayze: (Man, was I stupid to let her hit me that hard, even my healing quirk is having trouble with this wound.)
Calm appears as a spirit beside Hayze.
Calm: (I can see this has been going well.)
Hayze: (Calm! Wait… if you’re here-)
Calm: (Your plan worked to perfection, he’s trapped, but I don’t know for how long. You’ll have to finish this fight as quickly as you can. I won’t be able to signal you once you take the form.)
Hayze: Got it.
Blair: Huh?
Calm: (Good luck.)
Calm disappears.
Hayze: Blair, I’m sorry, you were right. You deserve a real fight, and that’s not what I’ve been giving you up to this point.
Blair: I- uh… well yeah!
Hayze smiles.
Hayze: I’ve been preparing something very special to use against you.
Blair: Hm?
A circle of darkness appears around Hayze.
Blair: Wh-
Adrian’s eyes widen.
Adrian: No! It can’t be! We have to stop-
Adrian starts to stand up. Fatal grabs his hand.
Adrian: Wh- why are you stopping me? It’s Khaos! He’s-
Fatal: By the sounds of it, Hayze knows what he’s doing, so trust him.
Adrian: *grunts* You can’t be serious!
The whites of Hayze’s eyes become black, and his irises turn white.
Wes: Uh, shouldn’t we uh… be worried about this!
Gus: Yeah, isn’t this Hayze’s evil form?
Eve: What’s that idiot doing?
Saige gulps.
Saige: (Hayze has to be in control, right? There’s no way he’d willingly sick Khaos on Blair!)
Hayze smiles.
Hayze: Alright, Blair, let’s see if you can beat my most powerful form.
Hayze holds his right arm, and a black vortex opens from its shadow. Rays of darkness begin to emerge from the vortex and form a helix. The helix then develops into a massive executioner’s blade. Hayze grabs the hilt.
Hayze: You wanted a real fight. Well, here it is.
Blair: (Hayze’s Darkness Form? I’ve never seen this in action... outside of that one time…)
Blair takes a step back.
Hayze: Don’t be scared; I’m still in control, and I don’t plan on letting that change. You wanted me to see how I do my other rivals, well, not Silver, Aaron, Justus, Kevin, or anyone who has ever taken on this form. So, let’s go.
Blair: Right!
Blair points her palms at Hayze.
Blair: Laval Lambasting!
Blair fires two streams of lava at Hayze. Hayze blocks with the executioner’s blade, completely protecting himself.
Blair: (What!)
Hayze: This sword is made of shadows, not metal, and you can’t melt that!
Blair: *grunts*
Hayze: Now, I think it’s time for me to use one of Khaos’ favorite abilities.
Hayze begins sinking into his shadow.
Blair: Wh-
Hayze: Shadow Sneak.
Blair looks around.
Blair: (This must have been how he avoided my attacks earlier! But how does it work?)
Blair remembers Hayze appearing behind her earlier.
Blair: (The shadows! He can appear in any shadow in the area!)
Blair looks around the cemetery frantically.
Blair: (So he could be hiding behind any of these tombstones! Or… in my shadow. No, he has to know I’d be expecting that. What would Hayze be thinking right now?)
“ Hayze: 1st rule of strategy, The first move is always a fake. “
“ Hayze: 2nd rule of strategy, always have an out. “
“ Hayze: 3rd rule of strategy, always have an ace in the hole. “
Blair: (I have to be on the lookout for these things. I’ll only see the first rule when it’s already in progress, so I can’t worry about that now. The second rule is obvious, he can always escape into the shadows if he’s in trouble. But the third rule…)
“ Khaos’ entire body is paralyzed.
Khaos: Wh- wh- How! I never entered your range!
Hayze slowly gets to his knees.
Hayze: Here, I’ll let you look.
Hayze points behind Khaos. Khaos looks over his shoulder and sees.
Khaos: My- my- my sword!
Hayze’s shadow attached to the base of Khaos’ sword and extended to Khaos’ shadow. “ - Chapter 106
Blair: (My sword… I have it embedded in the ground the same way Khaos did. Maybe I can use that to lure Hayze into a false sense of security.)
Hayze is hiding behind a tombstone not far from Blair.
Hayze: (I have to restrain Blair with my Shadow Paralysis, it’s the only way to win without… ugh, you get it.)
Hayze begins extending his shadow through the tombstone shadows, inching closer to Blair.
Hayze: (These gravestones will extend my range and allow me to quickly take over Blair’s shadow.)
Blair creates two lava spheres in her hands.
Blair: I know what you’re up to, Hayze.
Hayze: (Huh?)
Hayze stops his shadow.
Blair: You think you can hide behind the tombstones, right? Well, I’m not going to let that happen! The fewer shadows, the better!
Blair begins firing lava beams at the tombstones, systematically melting them away. Hayze recalls his shadow.
Hayze: (Shit, she’ll force me out soon!)
Hayze spots Blair’s sword.
Hayze: (Hm…)
Hayze pops out from behind the tombstone.
Hayze: Hey, Blair! Over here!
Hayze starts running away.
Blair: Like I’m falling for that! You have something planned!
Hayze: You were going to find me eventually, so I thought I’d speed up the process.
Blair: *nasal grunt* Fine, but I’m not going to take any risks with you!
Blair creates another Napalm Annihilation and launches it into the air. It bursts into another lava shower that rains down upon the entire battlefield.
Hayze: (Not the move I was expecting, but I can work with this.)
Hayze calls the executioner’s blade from the shadows and uses it as an umbrella to shield himself from the lava.
Blair: Nice try! But you can’t block two attacks!
Blair creates a cannon out of magma armor that fires a lava blast.
Blair: Molten Core Meltdown!
The lava blast careens towards Hayze.
Blair: (Alright, Hayze, now you’re trapped! My combination of Laval Lambasting and Napalm Annihilation has removed your ability to hide behind the tombstones. Unfortunately for you, you can’t use that sword to block my Meltdown, so your only option is to retreat into the shadows, but there are only two places you can emerge from, my shadow or my sword’s, and I think I know which one you’ll choose.)
Hayze sinks into his own shadow to avoid Blair’s blast.
Blair: (There it is.)
Blair covers her shadow in lava.
Blair: (Now I pretend to lower my guard.)
Seconds pass of nothing happening.
Blair: (Wh- what’s going on? Did he emerge behind a tombstone? No, my napalm is still active! Where could he-)
Blair suddenly feels her body freeze up.
Blair: Wh- what?
Hayze is standing a few yards behind Blair.
Hayze: Shadow Paralysis.
Blair: How? There was no other shadow for you to-
Hayze is holding the melted half of his shock saber.
Hayze: When I saw your sword in the ground, it gave me the idea to use MY sword’s shadow. I assume you expected me to use yours.
Blair: *frustrated grunt*
Hayze smiles.
Zach: Nice! Now Hayze has Blair locked down for the next two minutes.
Angel: This gives him a perfect chance to finish her off.
Wes: I guess this match is over.
Silver: (This doesn’t make any sense, again, Hayze had a perfect opportunity to win the match with Blair caught off guard entirely. Who cares if he has her trapped if he could have won?)
Blair tries to move but can’t. Hayze winces from the pain of his earlier injury.
Hayze: Mind giving me a second? I need a breather…
Blair: Apparently, I’ve got 120.
Hayze: You’ve put up a good fight so far, Blair, but it’s time for me to end this.
Blair: Really? A good fight? You’ve countered almost all of my moves, and the only hit I’ve landed was when you weren’t even trying. So you’re holding back and beating me anyway; if you call that a good fight, then I don’t want to know what you call a bad one.
Hayze: I’m not holding back, Blair.
Blair: Really? Then why didn’t you attack me just now? You’ve done it twice!
Hayze: Because I didn’t want to.
Blair: Oh well, that’s great! So you’re patronizing me! I should have lost this fight a long time ago!
Hayze: No, I’m patronizing you, and just because you think I could have won and didn’t doesn’t reflect poorly on you.
Blair: How!
Hayze: You know nothing about my Darkness Form; you’ve never even seen it in action outside of one occasion. Kevin lost to Grace, and nobody thinks any less of him for that, and you know why? Because he didn’t know anything about how Grace fights or her quirk. You beat Grace. Imagine how that match would have gone without you seeing Kevin’s battle first.
Blair’s taken aback.
Hayze: Of course, that implies that I had a chance to win this match.
Blair: Huh?
Hayze: You’re a great fighter Blair, and you’ve kept me on my toes this whole match, so don’t sell yourself short. For example, you just stalled for two minutes.
Hayze’s shadow recedes.
Blair: Now it’s time for me to end this!
Blair coats her entire body in lava.
Blair: Full Magma Jacket: Requiem!
Hayze summons his executioner’s blade from the shadows.
Hayze: (I’m not holding back. The thing that’s defined me my entire life was not knowing or understanding who I am. Growing up with a quirk that paled in comparison to my mother and father’s, living in their shadows and legacies. I always dreamed of becoming a hero just like them, saving people almost effortlessly, but as the dread of my mediocrity sunk in. I didn’t know who I was or who I would be. It’s funny; it took my mind being ripped apart for me to finally put the pieces of who I am together. I am Adam Hayze. I don’t give up, believe in my friends, protect those close to me, help those in need, and don’t hurt the people I L… this is who I am, and I’m not going to go back on any of that. So, I’m not holding back.)
Hayze charges at Blair.
Blair: (When I first started here at U.A. I was a girl with an inferiority complex and a one-dimensional view of what it means to be strong. My whole life, I’ve been battered and bullied and built insecurities. But now, I am fighting to win a tournament that consists of nothing but my peers, people I consider powerful. It took a long time, but I’m finally happy with who I am, how I look, and how I fight. I’m one of the two people remaining in this exam, and I will be the last one standing!)
Blair charges at Hayze.
Hayze: Dark Force!
Hayze sends a wave of shadows at Blair.
Blair: That won’t work!
Blair fires a stream of lava at the ground that launches her up and over the wave.
Blair: Laval Launcher!
Blair careens towards Hayze with her fist cocked back.
Hayze: (Not good!)
Hayze blocks Blair with his executioner’s blade; she lands on top of it, slamming her fist through the sword.
Hayze: (Huh, I guess she doesn’t have to melt it if she can do that.)
Lava drips from Blair’s fist onto Hayze’s shoulder.
Hayze: AHHH! That one hurts!
Hayze repels Blair off his sword.
Hayze: Ow… (I need a way to beat Blair like how Justus lost his fight. He was thrown into an impossible position to recover from despite not being knocked unconscious. How can I do that in a terrain like this?)
Blair: (Hayze is probably making a plan right now, I need to keep up my attack!)
Blair aims her hands at Hayze and fires two lava streams at Hayze.
Blair: Laval Lambasting!
Hayze blocks with his blade.
Hayze: (She’s not letting up!)
Blair: I’m gonna bury you beneath my lava!
Hayze’s eyes widened.
Hayze: (That’s it!)
Hayze charges at Blair.
Blair: (What’s his plan? Another darkness wave? No, I countered that!)
Hayze: Sinister Slash!
Hayze slashes his executioner’s blade at Blair.
Blair: (A basic attack!)
Blair catches the sword with her hands.
Blair: (Why would he do this? Why-)
Hayze uses the distraction to run up to Blair and wrap his arms around her.
Blair: (WHAT!)
Blair’s lava suit burns Hayze’s skin.
Hayze: AHHHHHHH!
Wes: What the hell is he doing?
Zach: He’s gonna lose like that!
Hayze and Blair sink into his shadow, leaving her lava suit behind.
Blair: Wh- what’s going on!
Hayze and Blair disappear into the shadows.
Aaron: Woah… where did they go?
Blair’s eyes open, but she cannot see. It’s too dark.
Blair: Wh- where am I?
Blair creates a single drop of lava in her hand; it illuminates her surroundings. But, she’s in a tight box.
Blair: Huh? What is this? Where did Hayze trap me?
Blair’s eyes widen.
Blair: (Wait… don’t tell me!)
Hayze left Blair underground in a coffin.
Blair: (Shit! How do I get out of this! I could use my lava to melt the ground? No! Then everything would cave in on me!)
Hayze emerges from the shadow of Blair’s obsidian sword. His body is badly burnt, and he falls to the ground, barely conscious.
Hayze: (Let’s hope that does it…)
Blair starts to fill the coffin with lava.
Blair: (I have to try anything! I can’t give up!)
The lava does nothing.
Blair: (Wh- what’s going on!)
Blair burns out the top of the coffin, and her eyes widen.
Blair: (Shadows…)
Hayze has surrounded the entire coffin with shadows blocking any chance of escape from Blair.
Blair: (No…)
Hayze smiles.
Hayze: (Checkmate…)
The arena reverts to normal.
Hunt: The winner is Adam Hayze.