Zach takes a sip of water from a river and shutters.

Zach: Man, for virtual water, this sure does taste bad…

Alexis and Karma stare at Zach.

Zach: Wh… what’s up, guys?

Alexis: Zach... why are you drinking that?

Zach: … Because I’m thirsty? Why else would I be drinking water?

Alexis stares at Zach.

Alexis: Alrighty then.

Zach: Huh?

Karma: That water isn’t real, so you’re not getting sustenance from it.

Zach: Oh.

Alexis: And that “bad” taste is because it’s disappearing from the simulation as you swallow it.

Zach: Oh.

Karma: Would you like the water bottle?

Zach: Yes, please.

Alexis: It’s in the bag.

Zach: Okay.

Zach walks over to their supply bag.

Karma: So, I guess we should just continue aimlessly walking through the forest?

Alexis: Yeah, it’s only the first day, so we don’t need to worry about optimizing our time usage.

Karma: Still, I feel like we should at least implement some strategy to find opponents.

Alexis: If you have one, go ahead and say it, I’m not going to object.

Karma: Uh- Well… I don’t have one.

Alexis: Then come up with one while we stick to the current plan, then we’ll switch.

Karma doesn’t respond.

Alexis: I think we’re okay right now; I can’t imagine too much has gone on already.

A massive explosion is heard in the distance.

Karma: You were saying?

Alexis: (Aaron…)

Lilith feels the ground shake from the explosion.

Lilith: W- what was that? (That couldn’t have been Aaron and Gus… could it?)

Gus emerges from the woods.

Lilith: Gus! Wait, where’s Aaron?

Gus: He stayed behind to fight Hayze.

Lilith: What? Why didn’t you guys come and get me before getting into a fight?

Gus: Because you’re a-

Gus stops himself.

Gus: You were too far away.

Lilith: Well, do you think Aaron is alright?

Gus looks back in the direction of the explosion.

Gus: Hm… I’m not sure. Hayze isn’t an easy opponent to take on.

Lilith grabs their supply bag and starts heading in that direction.

Gus: Woah, what are you doing?

Lilith: I’m going to help Aaron!

Gus: He wouldn’t want that. That’s why he sent me back here.

Lilith: Wait… you came back here by choice!

Gus: Well... yeah...

Lilith: I thought you came back here to bring me to the fight!

Gus: Aaron wanted a one-on-one fight; he asked me to leave. It seemed important to him, so I did.

Lilith walks away in a huff.

Gus: Didn’t you hear me? I said he wanted a one-on-one fight.

Lilith: We’re a team, and teammates don’t abandon one another!

Lilith continues walking in the direction the explosion came from. Gus stares at her for a few seconds before deciding to follow along.

Gus: *sighs* So emotional…

Elsewhere, Eve carves a line into a tree.

Jake: *yawns loudly*

Eve: DO YOU EVER STOP DOING THAT!

Jake: Hey, I’m not getting mad at you for stopping us every 20 yards to cut a tree.

Eve: YES, YES YOU ARE, BECAUSE YOU YAWN EVERY SINGLE TIME!

Jake: … Okay.

Eve: *frustrated grunt* (Oh my fucking god! Where the hell is Hayze!)

Hayze stumbles through the forest. He leans against a tree with a line carved into it.

Hayze: (Eve’s leaving a good trail…)

Hayze looks down at his gunshot wounds which have slightly shrunk.

Hayze: (Slowly but surely healing.)

Hayze spots the next tree with a line and starts limping towards it.

Hayze: (This’ll be a while…)

Kevin walks through the forest with Demetri and Isaiah about 10 paces behind him.

Demetri: Why the hell are we following his orders?

Isaiah: Because we’re afraid of him.

Demetri: Speaking for yourself! I’m not afraid of Kevin! I could take him!

Kevin turns back toward Isaiah and Demetri.

Kevin: Hey, did you guys say my name?

Demetri: Nope.

Isaiah: Never.

Demetri: Wouldn’t ever think of it.

Isaiah: Mhm.

Kevin looks confused for a moment but returns to walking.

Isaiah: You were saying?

Demetri: Shut up…

Isaiah: That’s what I thought.

Kevin looks at their orb in his hand.

Kevin: (If we’re going to pass this exam, I’ve gotta step up my game, I’m in charge of this operation whether I like it or not, and I will not allow us to fail!)

Kevin looks over his shoulder at Demetri and Isaiah, who are bickering with each other.

Kevin: (I’ve led them before… technically, but they don’t have a lot of trust in me. I’m going to have to fix that before we can get serious. But first we-)

Kevin abruptly stops.

Isaiah: What’s up, Kevin?

Demetri: What are you finally going to apologize for the mall incident?

Kevin points down at the ground: There are footprints.

Isaiah: Woah! We could actually get the jump on someone!

Demetri: I’d say nice work, but I’m sure I would have spotted them myself.

Kevin: Hold that thought. When are YOU going to apologize for the mall incident?

Demetri: What do I have to apologize to you for?

Isaiah: I think he means the girls…

Demetri: We made that group apology!

Kevin: All you said was, “We have an announcement to make!”.

Isaiah: We also pretended like we didn’t know the incident was after Mr. Walker questioned us about it…

Demetri looks back and forth at Kevin and Isaiah.

Demetri: Oh fuck off! I’m not taking this!

Demetri starts walking toward the footprints.

Kevin: Demetri! Wait!

Demetri: Fuck you! I’m gonna follow these footprints and take down whoever they lead to all by myself!

Suddenly Demetri gets hoisted up by his ankle via a rope.

Isaiah: It was a trap!

Kevin: Well yeah… that’s what I was pointing out. There’s only one set of footprints, not three. It was pretty clearly a trap.

Isaiah: Oh… uh… yeah, I noticed that too!

Demetri: GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!

Kevin: Calm down, we’ll get on it.

Demetri hears buzzing. Kevin and Isaiah see something he cannot.

Isaiah: Oh no!

Kevin: Those… those are…

Demetri spins around to see a massive hornets’ nest. A bunch of hornets slowly fly towards him.

Kevin: White Knight Hornets!

Isaiah: W- what?

Kevin: They’re a special breed of hornets that only sting the male genitalia! It’s all to protect their Queen!

Demetri: KEEP THOSE THINGS AWAY FROM ME!

Kevin: Demetri! Don’t move! If you show even the slightest sign of aggression towards a female, the white knights will swarm to protect her!

Demetri is dead still, but the hornets continue flying towards him.

Isaiah: It’s not working! What’s going on?

Kevin: Oh no...

Isaiah: What! What is it?

Kevin: They sense Demetri’s perverted nature and feel the need to protect the sanctity of women!

Kevin salutes Demetri.

Kevin: Salute your friend Isaiah. We must honor him in his tough time.

Isaiah: Not my friend, but okay!

Isaiah salutes Demetri.

Demetri: FUCK YOU GUYS! HELP ME!

The White Knight Hornets start continuously stinging Demetri in the crotch.

Demetri: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

A tear falls from Kevin’s eye.

Kevin: He was a brave soldier.

Isaiah: And an asshole.

Kevin: That too!

Demetri: HELP! ME!

Saige and Blair walk through the forest as Wes struggles to keep up due to carrying their supply bag. Wes is sweating profusely.

Wes: Please… can we take a break…

Blair: For the last time, NO!

Saige: We stopped 5 minutes ago, Wes. Are you really that exhausted already?

Wes: I have to pee…

Blair: Just go in your pants!

Wes: Fuck you, bitch!

Blair stops.

Wes: I- I- I- I meant uh…

Blair: You have 90 seconds. If you are not back by the end of those 90 seconds, I will beat the piss out of you, literally.

Wes: Okay! Okay!

Wes drops the supply bag and runs off. Blair folds her arms and taps her foot.

Saige: So do the small boobs fuel your anger? Is that part of your quirk?

Blair: BITCH, I DO NOT NEED THIS FROM YOU RIGHT NOW!

Wes starts peeing into a bush.

Wes: (How the fuck does Hayze hang out with these chicks… the guy has some weird tastes. Then again, who am I to judge?)

Wes looks up at the sky.

Wes: *sighs* (I just gotta survive these next couple days… I can do it… I hope…)

Voice: That’s a healthy stream you have there.

Wes tenses up.

Voice: Although there is some discoloration in your urine, you should consider drinking more water.

Wes falls over in fear. He turns over to see a shorter girl standing in front of him.

Wes: Who the hell are you! Why were you watching me pee!

Verity: My name is Verity. How are you?

Wes: Uh… fine. (Not really… I’m kind of pissed at Blair…)

Verity: Isn’t she the flat-chested one?

Wes: What the fuck! How did you hear that!

Verity: … Why would I tell you-

Wes: *sighs* I realized the moment I said it.

Suddenly Wes’ ankle gets wrapped around by long thick blonde hair, and he’s hoisted into the air. Fabio and Hailey are standing on the tree branches overlooking Wes and Verity.

Verity: I like this one. Let’s keep him hostage.

Fabio: Ugh, I can’t believe I’m touching this cretin with my beautiful hair!

Hailey: It’s okay, Fabio, he’s disgusting, but it could be worse.

Wes: Oh fuck you guys! (... well, at least my 90 seconds are almost up.)

Verity: His teammates will be here shortly.

Blair arrives.

Blair: Wes! Your 90 seconds is-

Blair looks around at the situation.

Blair: *sighs* You just can’t do anything right, can you?

Wes: Blair! Watch out for the one on the ground, she-

Fabio covers Wes’ mouth with his hair. Blair looks at Verity, who is staring at her chest.

Blair: If you say-

Verity: Do you think you can defeat all of us? Because if you can’t, I’d recommend giving us your orb.

Blair: Of course, I can!

Verity: Your fake confidence is admirable, but it’s clear you’re unsure of yourself.

Blair: What did you just say?

Verity: Insecure and deaf? That’s not a very good combination.

Blair stares at Verity.

Blair: Bitch, I will break you.

Verity: Psychical pain is temporary. I prefer mental wounds.

Blair: Yeah, and I prefer people who don’t talk in monotone, but we all can’t have what we want, can we?

Wes begins reaching for his knife strapped to his ankle.

Wes: (This chick seems like she knows exactly which of Blair’s buttons to push. If I don’t warn her quick, she could-)

Fabio slams Wes into a tree.

Fabio: What was that I saw? Were you trying to escape my grasp? That’s not happening, my dear boy.

Wes: *muffled groan*

Verity: Don’t be so rough, Fabio. He can’t afford to lose many more brain cells.

Wes: *heavily muffled* Fuck you…

Blair: Wes! Stop messing around! I’ll get you down from there in a second!

Wes rolls his eyes.

Blair: I SAW THAT!

Verity: Maybe you should pay attention to me rather than your teammate.

Blair: Oh really?

Blair’s hands start to steam.

Blair: (I don’t know what this chick’s quirk is, but it’s not better than mine. However, just to be safe, I’ll start off slow.)

Verity sprints at Blair.

Blair: (What? She’s coming at me? That’s fine, that’ll make this easier for me.)

Blair points both of her palms at Verity. Verity shifts her weight to her heels.

Blair: Laval Lamb-

Verity leaps into the air, spin kicks Blair upside the head, and sends her straight into a tree.

Blair: *groans* (What the fuck? How did she know to-)

Verity: You were going to use an attack you call: Laval Lambasting. It’s an attack that fires twin beams of lava at your opponent, but the move has a single-second delay that leaves you wide open to a direct strike.

Blair’s eyes widen.

Blair: (How- how did she-)

Verity: You were trying to hide your fear earlier, but now it’s all over your face.

Blair gets up.

Blair: I’m not afraid.

Verity: You are a liar.

Wes looks concerned.

Wes: (With her quirk… She can make counterattacks before the initial attack is even made, and Blair can’t do anything about it. But there’s something I can’t figure out… if she can read minds, how come she didn’t warn her teammates I was trying to escape? It could have been bad for her if the hair guy didn’t notice.)

Wes’ wrists have been bound by Fabio’s hair.

Wes: (I’ve gotta break out of this… somehow.)

Blair closes her eyes.

Blair: (Okay. She predicted my move and perfectly countered it… she talked a lot about me. Maybe her quirk allows her to analyze a person’s tendencies, and she uses those to predict their moves, so that means I should do things I usually wouldn’t.)

Verity thinks for a moment and then sprints at Blair again.

Blair: (She probably expects a different attack this time, but instead, I’ll defend!)

Verity bends her left knee slightly. Blair forms Magma armor on her face and arms to shield herself from the kick, but this time Verity uses a low sweep kick from her right leg to knock her off balance, followed by a second kick that knocks Blair away.

Blair: *groans* Ow…

Wes: (Blair… I’ve gotta help her! Come on, Wes! Think! Think! Th- … God, I’m a fucking idiot.)

Wes grabs Fabio’s hair in his hand and starts transforming it into a mirror surface.

Fabio: Hey Hailey, where do you think their last teammate is?

Hailey: I don’t know, but she must be a coward to have not shown up by now.

Fabio: Yeah, she’s probably not much of anything anyway. Once Verity wipes out that girl, we can interrogate the one I have captured and-

Fabio looks down at Wes with horror.

Fabio: WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MY HAIR!

Wes has transformed the entire bottom portion of Fabio’s hair into a mirror surface.

Wes: (Now that he can’t control the tension of his hair anymore…)

Wes rips his hand free of Fabio’s hair, immediately grabs his gun, and fires at Fabio. Fabio jumps back to avoid the shot but loses his grip on Wes in the process. Wes falls to the ground and actually lands safely; he points his gun at Verity.

Wes: Blair! She can read minds!

Verity: Uh oh, looks like that cat is out of the bag.

Blair gets to her knees.

Blair: What? That’s how she was predicting my attacks!

Wes: Yeah, but she can only do it while she’s making eye contact with someone meaning she can only read one person’s mind at a time, so if we take her on together, she can’t win!

Fabio reels his hair in and starts crying.

Fabio: MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR WAS SULLIED BY HIS FILTHY QUIRK!

Hailey: Quiet down…

Verity takes a few steps towards Wes.

Wes: Bitch I will shoot!

Verity: Oh, I know, I can read your thoughts, remember?

Wes: Then why are you-

Verity: What do you think of my breasts?

Wes is dumbfounded.

Wes: Uh… I…

Verity blushes and puts her hand to her mouth.

Verity: Oh my…

Blair: WES! YOU PERVERT! I knew you were like the others!

Wes: WHAT! NO! NO! She’s lying! I didn’t-

Suddenly Hailey’s stretched-out plastic arm reaches down and grabs Wes’ gun out of his hand.

Hailey: Nice distraction, Verity!

Verity: Thank you, Hailey.

Blair: That was a distraction? So I guess Wes didn’t think of something perverted.

Wes: (Oh, thank god...)

Verity: No, he did.

Wes: (OH, FUCK ME!)

Hailey reverts her arm to normal and wields Wes’ gun.

Wes: Whatever, we can still beat you!

Verity: Maybe, but I’m not partial to uneven matches.

Hailey leaps down from the tree branch and hands Verity the gun.

Verity: Which one would you like, Hailey?

Hailey: I’ll-

Verity starts walking towards Wes.

Hailey: Right… that still catches me off guard sometimes.

Wes takes out his knife.

Verity: That’s futile, any move you make, I’ll be able to predict and-

Wes closes his eyes.

Wes: WHAT ABOUT NOW!

Verity: …

Verity shoots Wes in the leg.

Wes: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!

Wes falls to the ground holding his leg and writhing in pain.

Verity: I assume you closed your eyes so that I wouldn’t be able to hear your thoughts?

Wes: Y- yes?

Verity: That would have been smart if-

Wes: Yeah, yeah, I know! “It would have been smart if you didn’t have a gun.” At least let me be happy I tried something!

Blair gets to her feet to face Hailey.

Blair: So now I’m up against this bitch, huh?

Hailey: Bold words for a girl who's been face-down ass up twice in this battle already.

Blair: *frustrated grunt* I’ll-

They all hear clapping.

Hailey: What the?

Verity: Hm?

Wes: Oh boy…

Blair: Here comes the floozy…

Saige emerges from behind a tree.

Saige: That was a great showing from all of you, but I think it’s time we relieved you three of your orb.

Hailey: Oh really, Ms. Hotshot? Do you really think you can just show up and tell us what to do?

Saige: I wasn’t telling; I was informing.

Wes: HOW LONG WERE YOU THERE!

Saige: Since the psychical pain line.

Wes: … I don’t know what I expected...

Hailey turns to Verity.

Hailey: Verity, what are these three thinking?

Verity looks at Wes.

Verity: He’s trying not to think about Blair’s ass.

Blair: WES!

Wes: SHE SAID I’M TRYING NOT TO!

Verity looks at Saige.

Verity: She’s trying to think about Blair’s ass.

Blair: WHAT THE FUCK! WILL YOU TWO STOP THINKING ABOUT MY ASS!

Saige: Nope!

Wes: I’m trying!

Verity looks at Blair.

Verity: She’s envious of that girl’s breasts.

Saige: Awww! Thanks, Blair!

Blair: FUCK YOU! SHE’S LYING!

Hailey looks dumbfounded.

Hailey: What is wrong with you three?

Saige: We’re a team, and teammates think alike!

Blair: Don’t try to turn this into an inspirational moment!

Wes: Seconded…

Saige steps toward Verity.

Saige: What do you say you and I get it on?

Verity stares at Saige for a moment.

Verity: Okay.

Saige creates a shield on her right arm and charges at Verity.

Saige: Let’s go, missy!

Verity fires the entire clip at Saige, but Saige blocks every bullet with the shield.

Verity: (Once she reaches me, she plans on leaping into the air and transforming her shield into a sledgehammer, in which case she’ll try to land a strike on my head. However, I’ll counter by grabbing her foot after she leaps into the air and throwing her back into the ground.)

Verity readies her hand as Saige continues charging at her.

Verity: (Any second now…)

Saige continues charging. Verity’s eyes widen.

Verity: (What? She…)

Saige charges directly into Verity, slamming her shield into the girl’s chest.

Saige: Shield Smackdown!

Saige slams Verity into the ground with her shield. Hailey, Wes, and Blair are shocked.

Saige: Sorry, but you’re going to have to do better than that to predict me.

Verity lies in the dirt wounded.

Hailey: Verity!

A hand is placed on Hailey’s shoulder.

Blair: Forgetting someone?

Blair flips Hailey around.

Blair: Magma Mauler!

Blair bashes her lava-covered fist into Hailey’s chest. The punch is so intense that it causes her to puke, burns her chest, and sends her flying.

Blair: Right in the diaphragm!

Hailey lands on the ground, unconscious.

Saige: I like the name of your attack Blair! I wonder if you named it like that to impress someone-

Blair: Shut it, Floozy!

Verity: How…

Saige: Huh?

Verity: How did you mask your thoughts from me?

Saige: A magician never reveals her secrets! But I will say that you’re a tough cookie with that quirk of yours, we had a short battle, but I liked it!

Verity: Thank you.

Saige turns to Blair.

Saige: Hey Blair?

Blair: What!

Saige: What do you think of my breasts?

Blair: What! Why are you-

Verity: She thinks they look perfect.

Saige: Awww! Thanks, Blair!

Blair: FUCK THIS BITCH!

Wes has crawled over to the base of a tree and is looking at his wound.

Wes: *groans* Of course, I’m the only one who got seriously hurt…

Saige: Look on the bright side. Now Blair has to carry the bag.

Blair: What! Why not you!

Saige: Because if you don’t, I’ll start asking Verity here questions about Hay-

Blair runs off to grab the bag.

Saige: I thought so.

A drop of water hits Wes’ head.

Wes: Oh great… It's raining.

Saige: No… it isn’t.

Saige points upward. Wes looks up to see Fabio still crying about his hair.

Wes: Oh right…

Saige hands Wes his gun.

Saige: Wes, you do the honors?

Wes: Gladly.

Wes shoots Fabio. He plummets into the ground.

Fabio: *groans*

Saige: Good work, Wes.

Wes: Well, I’m glad I got to do something…

Later, Saige holds their blue orb in one hand and a green orb in the other.

Saige: Well, onward to the city!

Wes has a bandage wrapped around his leg and uses a stick as a walking stick. Blair is hunched over due to the bag’s weight.

Blair: Fuck… you… Saige!

Saige: Really? You want to do that with me?

Blair: THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT, AND YOU KNOW IT!

Wes looks up at the sunset.

Wes: (Well, even though I got shot and we seem about as functional as a car with one tire, we secured our second orb before the end of the first day… I’d say we did pretty good.)