A complete list of all the teams is displayed on the screen:
Final Exam Teams Team JAJ Justus Grey Ash Wright Jace Neil Team ALG Aaron Zunino Lilith Weber Gus Riggs Team KID Kevin Bohm Isaiah Ware Demetri Perish Team BSW Blair Maddox Saige Neidert Wes Zunino Team ZAK Zach Crawford Alexis Meadows Karma Montgomery Team SAA Ryne Verdugo Angel Northcroft Alden Taillon Team JEH Jake Kopech Eve Avery Adam Hayze Team BET Bruno Nurkic Ester Clarke Talon Stafford Team CFR Charlotte Matthews Filip Fredrik Ryan Gay Team KGW Killian Calhoun Gavin Thompson Whitney White Team DSR Desiree Bautista Sydney Bowers Romeo Julian Team MRS Mike Hitchcock Reed Grier Seth Waller Team VHF Verity Larson Hailey Stone Fabio Flores Team AT Alec Vyxon Tobias Ingram None
Walker: Remember this list.
Everyone examines the list carefully.
Silver: (I can’t believe I got saddled with Alden, of all people.)
Justus: (Relatively speaking, my team looks quite strong.)
Aaron: (I wish I could have gotten at least one person I can count on in a fight.)
Demetri: (Even though I have a bone to pick with him, Kevin was the runner-up at the Sports Festival, so that’s better than nothing.)
Eve: (Ugh, Hayze and Jake, talk about a terrible pairing for me…)
Wes: (Why… why did I get to put on a team with a psychopath and a sociopath…)
Ash: (I hope I can pull my weight!)
Blair: (Fucking slut…)
Saige: (I’m going to have a lot of fun!)
Karma: (By the looks of it, my team is the strongest grouping on paper… I wonder what Mr. Walker was thinking with that?)
Hayze: (This isn’t going to be easy… but I’m up for the task.)
Walker: Alright, now it’s time to start transporting you all to your respective entrances using my quirk.
Houston: Your assigned gateway was determined by random draw, and you will not know who is at the entrances closest to you.
Walker: Once everyone is set, you’ll have five minutes to strategize before the gateway opens and the exam officially starts.
Houston: Good luck to you all.
Walker: And try not to fail.
Wes: (WHAT KIND OF ADVICE IS THAT!)
Alden: (He has such a way with words!)
All the teams are escorted to their entrances. Alden starts doing push-ups.
Angel: What are you doing?
Alden: I’m getting ready to go in there and kick some ass!
Angel: You know we’re going to be on little food and sleep, right?
Alden: Yeah! What about it?
Angel: You probably shouldn’t be wasting energy. This is the best we’re gonna feel until the exam is over.
Silver: Don’t remind me that we’re going to be stuck with him for 5 whole days.
Angel: Well, unless he is medically evacuated, that is.
Silver: Hm…
Alden leaps up.
Alden: Don’t even think about it!
Silver: Don’t worry, we need you.
Alden’s eyes light up. Silver takes their blue orb out of their supply bag.
Silver: Angel, hold him down.
Angel: Why?
Silver: I have a plan to keep the orb safe.
Alden looks confused, Angel realizes.
Angel: Oh… that’s uh… do you really want to go through with that?
Alden: W- What are you guys talking about...
Silver: Yes, we need to keep the orb safe at all costs, and this will make him useful to us in some way.
Angel: Alright, man… if you think it’s for the best.
Alden: G- guys… w- what’s going on?
Angel grabs Alden’s head and forces his jaw open wide; Alden starts panicking.
Alden: *muffled* WHAT ARE YOU DOING!
Silver: Wrong hole Angel, the orb won’t fit in there.
Angel lets go of Alden and backs away with his hands up; Alden falls on his ass.
Angel: No way, man, I’m not going back there.
Silver: Fine.
Silver opens up a silver dust canister. Alden quivers in fear on the ground.
Silver: I’ll do it myself.
Alden: Please no! Please don’t do this!
Alden’s screams can be heard by every team around the facility.
Wes: Jesus Christ! The exam hasn’t even started yet!
Blair scoffs.
Saige: I expected the ceiling guy to annoy Silver to the point of friendly fire. I just didn’t think it would happen before the beginning of the exam. What do you think, Duracell?
Wes: (Oh god…)
Blair doesn’t respond.
Saige: Duracell? Can you not hear me?
Blair doesn’t respond.
Wes: Saige, I don’t think she-
Saige: Man, Wes, you were right about what you said about Duracell.
Wes: Don’t involve me in this… please.
Blair opens her mouth to speak but immediately shuts it.
Blair: (Don’t fall for her trap… don’t do it!)
Saige: And if you were right about that… I wonder what else you were right about?
Blair: (Don’t do it!)
Wes: Saige… please don’t do this…
Saige: I didn’t believe you when you said Duracell was a freak that runs around with no underwear, but I guess if you were right about one thing then-
Blair: SHUT THE HELL UP, YOU SLUT!
Saige: Duracell! Why do you get to use a nickname for me, but I don’t get to use one for you!
Blair doesn’t answer.
Wes: You know… she’s got a point-
Blair chucks their orb at Wes’ face, smashing it.
Wes: AHHHH! MY FUCKING NOSE! I THINK SHE BROKE IT!
Saige giggles.
Saige: This’ll be a fun few days!
Wes: THERE’S SO MUCH BLOOD!
Aaron stares at his team’s orb in his hand.
Aaron: (Hm...)
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Lilith walks up behind Aaron.
Lilith: So, Aaron? What’s our plan?
Aaron: Well, we have to decide which combination of orbs we’re going to go for.
Gus: That seems fair.
Lilith: Which one do you think is best?
Aaron thinks for a moment.
Aaron: I think we should go after a second blue orb.
Lilith looks concerned.
Aaron: What? What’s wrong? That’s the simplest solution we have.
Lilith: I… I don’t want to mess up our classmates’ chances of passing…
Aaron: Neither do I, but we have to prioritize ourselves, or else we risk getting kicked out of U.A.
Lilith: I just… I don’t want anyone to fail…
Aaron: I know, but if you had to choose between you or them failing, which would you choose?
Lilith: I- I- I guess them, but-
Aaron: I get where you’re coming from, I don’t want to see anyone from our class be dropped from the hero course, but we have to worry about ourselves right now.
Lilith looks sad.
Lilith: I know…
Gus: Do you have a particular group in mind you want to go after?
Aaron: You saw the map. There’s a team to our left and right; if they go straight and we head diagonally in their direction, we’ll meet with them not long after the exam starts. Regardless of whether they’re from 1-A or 1-B, we fight them.
Isaiah and Demetri glare at each other.
Demetri: I can’t believe we got placed on the same damn team again!
Isaiah: Trust me, I’m not happy about it either!
Kevin examines their orb.
Kevin: So can I trust either of you two with this thing?
They both glare at Kevin.
Demetri: I don’t know, Kevin!
Isaiah: Can we trust you!
Kevin: Yeah… why not?
Demetri and Isaiah: BECAUSE YOU TRICKED US INTO GETTING CAUGHT AND SAVAGELY BEAT BY THE GIRLS!
Kevin stares at them for a moment.
Kevin: I did do that… huh.
Demetri and Isaiah: HUH? THAT’S ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY!
Kevin: Kind of… yeah.
Demetri: Do you know what a penis being bent at a 90-degree angle sounds like?
Kevin: No…
Isaiah: Well, we do!
Demetri: It sounds like a belt being snapped…
They both shiver.
Demetri and Isaiah: AND IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.
Kevin: You guys were trying to steal the girls’ underwear… I’m having a hard time seeing how bringing you guys to justice is a bad thing…
Demetri and Isaiah: Well, we-
Kevin: And don’t say that you were just trying to trick Alden into doing it, and you were never going to do it yourselves. I was literally there.
Demetri and Isaiah stare at Kevin.
Isaiah: Lovely weather we have today!
Demetri: Yeah, not a cloud in the sky!
Justus picks up his team’s backpack of supplies and takes out their orb.
Justus: So who shall carry the orb?
Jace: Well, I don’t want it! Every time I do anything meaningful, I get hit with a stream of bad luck…
Ash: I don’t know if I should either… I might be an easy target when using my quirk.
Justus: That’s a fair point, Ash, so Jace, it’s yours.
Jace: What! But what about my excuse!
Justus: I’m sure you’ll be fine.
Jace: You’re talking to the guy who got separated with a group of Wes, Gus, and Jake against Mr. Multi, got matched up versus Kevin in the first round of the Sports Festival Tournament, and was used as a human punching bag against Mr. Houston! I will get massacred if I have that thing! You take it!
Justus: I can’t. I need to have my full attention on combat during battle.
Jace: So what about me?
Justus: Jace, just take the orb.
Jace: No! I don’t want to be cursed! The guy who has the best chance of survival should take it!
Ash: (I thought we’d get along well… but I guess I didn’t consider that Justus and Jace are basically polar opposites when it comes to their past experiences…)
Alexis, Karma, and Zach are standing in a triangle, not saying anything.
Alexis: (Whatever they want to do with the orb or our strategy, I’m okay with.)
Zach: (Karma and Alexis seem like smart girls… they have to have a plan… right?)
Karma: (I’m not sure what we’re going to do… there are so many combinations of orbs we could go after, I don’t know which would be our best choice…)
Zach looks back and forth at Karma and Alexis.
Zach: So… Do we have a plan?
Karma and Alexis stare at each other.
Alexis: You’re up, time girl.
Karma: What? I- I- I- don’t know what we should do!
Alexis: Get orbs… it’s not that hard.
Karma: But which combination? All of them have their caveats, and I just am so unsure which would be best for us.
Alexis: Well, I’m sure we can figure it out in the woods.
Zach: (So basically, Karma just said she can’t come up with a plan because there are too many choices, and Alexis replied by telling her we can choose later because she just wants to go with the flow… I think I’m starting to see why we were put on the same team now… we have an over-thinker, an under-thinker, and me...)
Jake yawns loudly.
Eve: Could you do that a little louder?
Jake: Probably not. I’m not that tired.
Eve: God, you’re annoying…
Jake: Okay.
Jake yawns louder.
Eve: (As much as I can’t stand these two, the stakes are too high for me to be letting personal vendettas influence our teamwork. So, come on, Eve, woman up and get through this.) So what’s the plan here?
Jake: Why are you asking us? I thought you liked being in control even though you never do anything.
Eve stares at Jake.
Eve: I will rip your tongue out.
Jake: No, you-
Hayze: Jake, she means it.
Jake thinks for a moment, then decides to stop talking.
Eve: Anyway, I’m willing to set aside our differences to work together for this exam.
Jake: Thank you!
Eve: Not you!
Hayze: I don’t have a problem with you, though…
Eve: Just take the damn olive branch!
Hayze: Alright… (Every way I think about it… this exam is pure evil. It’s not surprising that Eve is trying to get past her personal bias towards Jake and me considering what’s at stake, but the teachers knew that might happen. That’s why they created this survival scenario. Between our lack of food and hygiene, sleep deprivation, and stress of needing to look over our shoulders at all times mixed with a time limit, our patience towards one another will quickly become thin. Eve is playing nice now, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that changes by day 3, not that I’d blame her. That’s why we have to try to finish this exam as quickly as possible. Between Eve’s frustrations and Jake’s hunger, things will only get worse for us as time goes on.)
Hayze takes the orb out of the back.
Hayze: Well, first, we have to identify which orb combination we will target.
Jake: It seemed to me like the white orbs are the easiest, we already have our original orb, so we’d only need to go to the city and collect three white orbs to pass.
Eve: I hate to say this, but I agree with Jake.
Hayze: Yeah, that was my first thought as well, but then it hit me: that’s what they want us to think.
Jake: What do you mean?
Hayze: The second everyone heard how the white orbs worked, most immediately targeted that scenario as the simplest. Do you think the teachers wouldn’t have thought of that either?
Eve: Probably not.
Hayze: Which means only one thing: the white orbs are a trap.
Jake: You think so?
Hayze: Remember the five words that Mr. Walker wrote on the board when he told us about the final exams? Adaptability, Loyalty, Unity, Strategy, and Efficiency.
Eve: Okay… and what about them?
Hayze: Don’t you find it weird that neither Mr. Walker nor Mr. Houston mentioned those words when explaining the exam’s premise?
Jake: Well, now that you mention it… yeah.
Hayze: That’s because we needed to read through the lines of the exam… there’s more to it than just collecting orbs and heading to the center of the arena… I can’t figure it all out… but the white orbs are a pretty clear indication that there’s more at play here.
Jake: So explain why the white orbs are a trap exactly.
Hayze: The white orbs are a test of our strategy; those who aren’t smart enough to realize the orbs are a trap are doomed to fall into it. They’re made to sound easy and lure those trying to avoid the hard road. The most dangerous part of the arena is the city because the teachers are there, and they would massacre us. If a teacher finds your team, it’s practically a guaranteed game over.
Eve: And because of the teachers' presence in the city… the best strategy is to avoid being there for longer than you have to… and the white orbs contradict that…
Hayze: Exactly.
Jake: So then, what should we be doing?
Hayze: Well, that’s the part that I’m not sure of…
Jake: Why? It seems to me that going for a 2nd blue orb makes the most sense. So we just have to get one of those and head to the center.
Eve: It’s not that easy, you moron…
Jake: Why not?
Hayze: Because the only way for us to collect a second blue orb is to take one from another team in our class, but in doing so… we’ll be putting them steps away from being removed from the hero course…
Jake: That’s fine.
Eve smacks Jake upside the head.
Eve: Shut up, dumbass. They’re our friends!
Jake: Yours maybe…
Hayze looks at their gate into the arena.
Hayze: (This exam is supposed to test our loyalty… by putting us in a situation where we’re almost forced to betray our classmates to survive… this exam… it’s one big nightmare.)
The gate starts to open.
Hayze: (And I don’t know if we’re going to wake up.)
All the groups step into the arena, their gates shut behind them.
Walker: *over intercom* The Final Exams… have begun.
Aaron starts running through the forest, Lilith follows behind him.
Lilith: Come on, Gus! Let’s go!
Gus: *Breathing heavily* Why are we running already?
Aaron stashes their orb in his pocket.
Aaron: (Out of all the teams from our class, there’s one that sticks out as the weak link. If we find them, we’re golden.)
Killian is sniffing around, Whitney watches him with confusion.
Gavin: Killian, you goober, what are you doing?
Killian: Trying to see if I can find any trace of tracks.
Whitney: The exam just started… How could anyone have been here already?
Killian: They couldn’t, I’m just getting my nose acclimated to the smell of the forest, so I’ll be able to detect changes easier as the exam goes on.
Gavin: Ah, so you’re seeing how fresh the forest is.
Killian: Yeah… sure…
Killian claws a marking into a tree.
Killian: This’ll make sure we don’t walk around in circles. We’ll leave these marks often and leave traps along the trail, so if anyone follows, they’ll get a tasty treat.
Whitney: That sounds good, but what’s our plan exactly? Are we going for our own classmates, or are we concentrating on the city?
Killian: C: We’re going to wipe out two of class 1-A’s teams.
Whitney is surprised.
Whitney: You’re not serious, right? Do you really think we can defeat two of their teams?
Killian: Hell yeah, we’re going to exploit the loophole in this exam and use two of class 1-A’s orbs. We’ll pass and wipe out six of them all at once!
Whitney: Well, I guess it’s better than betraying our classmates… What do you think, Gavin?
Gavin: Eh, let’s get big nasty.
Whitney: Wise words, wise words.
Silver trudges through the forest, Angel carrying an unconscious Alden, is about 10 feet back.
Angel: (I haven’t seen Silver this way since before the Sports Festival… he’s so determined to pass at all costs. Then again, the reason for his change of personality was his loss to Hayze in the first round. I'm sure he learned a lot from that, but I’m also sure he doesn’t want a repeat of that failure.)
Silver stops, Angel catches up to him and stops as well.
Angel: So. What's up?
Silver: Stay here with the orb. I’m going to step up a circle around this area with my silver dust. This will be our base of operations.
Angel: We’re going to camp out here?
Silver: Just for a day, we’re at our most vulnerable right now.
Angel: Huh? Why?
Silver: Because every team has a rough idea of where two other teams are. Directly to our left and right. If one of the teams parallel to us decides they want some early action, we’ll have an ambush set up, giving us a massive advantage.
Angel: I see… great idea.
Silver takes off the supply bag and places it on the ground.
Silver: I’ll be back.
Silver runs off.
Angel: (Silver is strategizing around Alden’s weakness so heavily he’s developed an ambush first strategy… he’s also knocked Alden out so that he can’t annoy him and made Alden useful by keeping the orb… with him. Silver really is a remarkable person. I just hope I stay on his good side.)
Wes, Saige, and Blair are stopped. Blair looks pissed while Saige is inspecting Wes’ nose.
Saige: Well… it’s not broken… just swollen.
Wes: Ugh… this sucks…
Saige turns to Blair.
Saige: Blair, do you have anything you want to say to Wes?
Blair: No.
Saige: Blair.
Blair: I SAID NO SL-
Saige: Finish that sentence, please, Blair.
Blair: I refuse.
Saige: Okay, Wes, do you accept Blair’s apology?
Wes: That wasn’t an apology…
Saige: It’s the best you’re going to get.
Wes: *sighs* Fine, I accept her apology…
Saige: Yay! That means we can be a good team again.
Wes: You’re the one who antagonized her, to begin with…
Saige looks at Wes with a menacing smile.
Saige: Wes, you’re going to be spending the next five days with me. Do you want that to be a good experience or a great one?
Wes: G- g- g- good- no great! Fuck I don’t know which one is the wrong choice!
Saige: That’s for me to know and you to find out.
Wes: G- great then?
Saige: Great choice!
Saige skips away, Wes starts breathing heavily.
Wes: (HOW AM I GOING TO SURVIVE FIVE WHOLE DAYS WITH THESE TWO!)
Saige motions to Wes and Blair.
Saige: Come on, this way!
Blair: (I hate that slut… so much…)
Wes ducks his head in sorrow.
Wes: (I’d rather be stuck with Alden... AND THAT’S SAYING A LOT! How can this get any worse...)
Saige: *from afar* Don’t forget the bag, Wes!
Wes looks at the massive supply bag.
Wes: (FUCK!)
Justus walks ahead of Jace and Ash. Jace is holding their orb away from himself like it’s a full diaper.
Ash: Uh… Jace?
Jace: Something terrible is going to happen to me with this… I know it!
Ash: Well, it probably will with that attitude… and grip, for that matter.
Jace holds the orb closer to himself.
Jace: Fair enough…
Ash: Just put it in your pocket…
Jace: No, because then it will find some way to fall out!
Ash: Why are you being so pessimistic over this? Justus wouldn’t have given you the orb if he didn’t trust you.
Jace: Because every time something good happens to me or trust gets put in me, it’s like the universe decides that I need to be taught a lesson…
Ash: Just so you know… that hasn’t happened 100% of the time.
Jace: Okay, name 1-
Ash: When you rescued Justus, Angel, and Gus from that giant guy back in the forest.
Jace: ...name another-
Ash: When you worked with Silver, Kevin, and Angel in the Sports Festival.
Jace: ...name-
Ash: Literally this group right now.
Jace: Huh… I guess I have just been harping on the bad times… thanks, Ash.
Ash: No problem. Also, if there’s anyone in this class with bad luck, it’s Eve. Think of how often she’s been teamed with Jake, Alden, Isaiah, and Demetri.
Jace thinks for a moment.
Jace: Okay yeah… I’ll shut up.
Jace shoves the orb into his pocket.
Jace: Speaking of Eve, I wonder how she’s doing with Hayze and Jake right now.
Eve sneezes.
Jake: *from afar* Bless you.
Eve: Shut up.
Jake: *from afar* Okay.
Hayze and Eve are walking ahead of Jake, who is lagging behind.
Eve: So are we just walking for the sake of walking?
Hayze: Kind of. We’ve got a lot of daylight, and staying put does nothing for us.
Eve: I guess that’s fair, although I would have expected more out of the guy that everyone praises for being a good strategist…
Hayze: That’s fine. I’ve proven my doubters wrong before.
Eve: Whatever, I still think you beating Silver was a fluke.
Hayze: That’s because it was. I didn’t beat him; he gave me a chance to win that I shouldn’t have had in the first place.
Eve is surprised by Hayze’s response.
“ Eve: I sat here sulking through the first three fights, and you’re here completely fine; what’s your secret?
Silver: Learn to accept when you lose and aim to get better because of it. You’ve gotta fail a little to be appreciative of your success. “ - Chapter 20
Eve: (The way Silver talked about the battle was like he genuinely lost, yet the guy who won doesn’t even feel satisfied… What is with this guy?)
The air around the three of them starts to thicken.
Eve: Looks like it’s getting foggy. We’ll have to keep our eyes out because we won’t be able to see as far-
Hayze stops walking and holds his hand up to single Eve and Jake to stop.
Eve: What’s wrong with you?
Hayze: This isn’t fog…
The air gets darker.
Hayze: It’s smoke.