Blair hardens a layer of magma armor around her left forearm to block an incoming scythe strike from Talon.
Talon:
Pescy armor!
Blair tries to use her other arm to punch Talon.
Ester:
Talon, fall back!
Talon uses his wings to repel himself away from Blair, dodging her attack.
Blair:
Damn!
Talon:
Nice try, but you won’t be able to defeat us using simple punches.
Blair stares at Ester in her scythe form.
Blair:
(She’s like a second set of eyes for him… her quirk is a complementary type, its true potential isn’t achieved when she’s fighting alone.)
Talon tosses Ester in the air; she returns to normal and lands next to Talon.
Ester:
You don’t stand a chance against both of us.
Talon:
And even if you’re able to hold your own for a little while, you won’t last much longer once Bruno joins us, which should be very soon.
Blair looks off in the direction she last saw Wes.
Blair:
(I can’t see Wes anymore… it looks like I’m on my own for this fight.) You two picked the wrong girl to team up on!
Talon smiles.
Talon:
You mean the girl that Sydney nearly drowned during the Sports Festival, correct?
Blair:
*frustrated grunt*
Talon:
I’ll take that as a yes.
Ester:
Oh, that’s right! And you had a mental breakdown during your first match!
Blair:
I WAS HAVING A REAL HARD TIME, OKAY!
Talon laughs.
Talon:
Based on that performance, we’re not concerned with our ability to take you down. You showed nothing but instability and a lack of technique. That isn’t anything worth worrying about.
Blair:
If I recall correctly, you two didn’t even come close to making the tournament! At least I won a match!
Talon:
You defeated the one girl in the tournament that wasn’t a hero course student. When you fought a real opponent, you were crushed. Context is important when judging strength by accomplishments and you overachieved.
Blair clenches her fist, visibly angry.
Blair:
Why, you little-
“
Saige:
First of all, you lost at the Sports Festival because you played your opponent’s game. “
— Chapter 65
Blair’s fist loosens.
Blair:
(I see what they’re up to… they’ve only seen me in action twice, so they’re trying to replicate what worked against me before.)
Blair starts to pool lava in the palms of her hands.
Blair:
That’s fine, you can believe what you want, but I’ve changed a lot since then.
Talon:
You seem the same to me.
Ester:
Especially in the chest region…
Blair grinds her teeth but doesn’t retaliate.
Talon:
(Hm… our remarks don’t seem to entice the same reaction as Tara and Sydney’s during the Sports Festival.) Ester.
Talon holds out his hand. Ester transforms back into her scythe form and falls into his hand.
Talon:
(She’s clearly learned how to control her outbursts effectively. However, I can tell by her body language that those comments still provoked her.)
Talon extends his wings.
Talon:
(If we continue to target her emotional instability, eventually she’ll break, and when she does…)
Talon takes flight.
Talon:
(We’ll crush her!)
Blair fires off a lava beam at Talon.
Blair:
Laval Lambasting!
Talon uses a spin move to dodge the beam. It melts several trees in its path, causing a fire to spread.
Talon:
Hm… that’s interesting.
Ester:
Huh? What is?
Talon:
Nothing, just stay vigilant.
Talon dives at Blair, winding back Ester.
Blair:
(This again? Whatever, I’ll just block it.)
As Talon approaches, Blair hardens magma on her forearms and readies for the strike. However, just as Talon reaches Blair, Ester transforms back to normal, catching Blair entirely off guard.
Blair:
(What!)
Ester punches Blair in the face, knocks her back, and provides an opening for Talon to attack.
Talon:
Claw strike!
Talon extends his razor-sharp talons and embeds one of his sets of claws into Blair’s chest.
Blair:
AHH!
Ester transforms into a scythe, and Talon leaps back off of Blair. She falls to her knees, holding her bleeding abdomen. Talon’s claws regenerate.
Blair:
(Shit…)
Talon:
You really fell for such an obvious fake-out? Pathetic.
Talon’s words jog a memory in Blair’s mind.
“
Hayze:
1st rule of strategy: the first move is always a fake! “
Blair looks depressed.
Blair:
(I should have seen that coming, dammit!)
Talon:
What happened to all that talk about how you’ve changed since the Sports Festival? We landed one attack, and you look utterly dazed. If my memory serves me well, the same thing happened against-
Blair:
Just shut up!
Talon:
(That struck a nerve…)
Blair gets to her feet.
Blair:
Don’t get all high and mighty with me. This fight has only just begun!
Blair puts both of her hands together and begins forming a sphere of lava between them.
Talon:
(Like last time, she panics and starts making foolish decisions once you get her off balance.)
The lava sphere continues growing.
Blair:
Let’s see how you handle this!
Blair fires the massive sphere into the sky.
Blair:
Napalm Annihilation!
The sphere bursts into a rainstorm of lava particles.
Talon:
Ready, Ester?
Ester:
Yup!
Talon holds Ester above his head and starts spinning Ester around in circles at rapid rotations per minute.
Ester:
Scythe Defense: Unassuming Umbrella!
The descending lava particles bounce off Ester, protecting both herself and Talon.
Blair:
(What!)
The napalm ends, and many of the surrounding trees have caught on fire, creating a blazing inferno around them. Talon ceases spinning Ester around.
Ester:
Wo- Woah…
Talon:
Dizzy?
Ester:
A little…
Blair falls to her knees in shock.
Blair:
(My best move… countered again…)
Blair’s battle against Tara begins flashing through her mind.
Blair:
(After all of this time… I’m still making the same mistakes…)
Talon stares at Blair.
Talon:
Her emotional frailty is beginning to do her in. This won’t take much longer.
Ester:
I wonder what this girl has been through in her life to make her this insecure? She makes one mistake and just gets flustered.
Talon starts walking toward Blair.
Talon:
It amazes me how someone with an armor quirk could be so fragile.
Blair:
Wh- what? What are you talking about!
Talon:
You really can’t figure out what I mean by that? I’m glad we’ll be taking your orb. You don’t belong in U.A.
Blair:
Shut the hell up! Of course, I do!
Talon:
This is the final exam, your chance to prove that you’ve progressed, yet all I’m seeing is a repeat of a match from 7 months ago.
Blair has no response.
Talon:
This exam is tailor-made to test who does and doesn’t belong. We’ve all seen each other in action; if you haven’t made improvements, then your weaknesses will be exposed.
Blair digs her fingers into the dirt in frustration.
Blair:
(He’s right… I’m just doing the same things again…)
Talon stares at Blair.
Talon:
Shall we finish this, Ester?
Ester:
Yeah, I think she’s had enough.
Talon gets up next to Blair.
Talon:
You can’t be a hero if you crumble this easily.
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Blair’s eyes widen as Talon winds back Ester over his head.
Talon:
Goodbye!
Blair grabs Ester’s staff, stopping Talon’s attack.
Ester:
Huh!
Talon:
What! I thought your will to fight was broken!
Blair:
I’m tired of being everyone’s punching bag!
Blair’s palm starts to heat up, burning Ester.
Ester:
AHHHH!
Blair:
You thought if you knocked me down the same way Tara did, I wouldn’t have the strength to get back up again… but you made a big mistake!
Talon:
What mistake?
Blair five stars Talon’s chest with her other blistering hot palm.
Blair:
Don’t ever tell me what I can’t do!
Talon is sent flying back, leaving Blair, holding Ester in her grasp and burning her. Talon smacks against a tree. The handmark burned into his chest through his shirt is smoldering.
Talon:
*groans*
Ester transforms to normal, releasing herself from Blair; her hips are burnt.
Ester:
What didn’t our plan work! Last time-
Blair:
You can stop babbling about what happened during the Sports Festival! I’m not the same Blair I was then. And I’ll prove it!
Ester is surprised.
Ester:
B- bu- but you… you were-
Blair:
You thought that using that fight as a parallel to this one would make me realize I haven’t changed at all, but all you did was remind me of how powerless I felt at that moment. I promised myself after that day, I wouldn’t let myself feel that way again, especially after a conversation I had with a friend of mine.
Blair thinks back to her confrontation with Hayze before his match with Sydney.
Blair:
(Back when I fought Tara… I realized that strength isn’t everything, that you have to be smart with your strength to win fights. So I got back up and started fighting because I knew if I just took that philosophy to heart, I could win… and I did. I felt strong. It wasn’t the strength I was used to feeling, but it felt good… and then I lost to Sydney, and it wasn’t just a loss. I was outclassed; I went right back to square one: feeling weak. I told Hayze to give up because I genuinely thought he would die… he didn’t just defy me. He proved me wrong and then some…)
“
Blair:
That line has stuck with me ever since. No matter the challenge, no matter how powerful his opponent is, and especially no matter the odds, he doesn’t stop believing he’ll win. I aspire to have that kind of confidence in my abilities. That was when I knew I could learn a lot from him and wanted to be around him more. I saw him as a way to get stronger. “
— Chapter 65
Blair:
(I’m done fighting scared, it’s time to finally break free.)
Blair clenches her fists.
Blair:
Alright, kids, Blair v.s. Tara II is over now. Time to change up your strategy because of our actual fight…
Blair hardens a magma gauntlet and lunges toward Ester.
Blair:
Starts now!
Ester leaps back to avoid Blair’s punch, causing Blair’s fist to collide and crater the ground.
Ester:
Talon! I think she means business!
Talon gets to his feet, using the tree to maintain his balance.
Talon:
(She… she was able to break free of her own self-doubt… how? I thought I was doing a good enough job at driving home her weakness.)
In frustration, Talon’s nails dig into the bark of the tree.
Talon:
(I was a naive fool to let this happen!)
Ester:
Talon!
Talon doesn’t respond.
Ester:
Dang it!
Ester runs over to Talon.
Blair:
Where do you think you’re-
Blair gets a little woozy.
Blair:
(Woah… what was that?)
Blair looks down at her still bleeding talon wound. The claws are still deeply embedded in her flesh.
Blair:
(Oh right… ow…)
Blair looks at Ester, who is shaking Talon.
Blair:
(We’re all banged up, but now that they’re going to stop trying to get in my head and focus on the fight alone. I’m not going to get another opportunity like the one I just had… this is going to be a tough fight to close out…)
“
Talon:
It amazes me how someone with an armor quirk could be so fragile. “
Talon breaks free of his daze.
Talon:
Alright, Ester, we need to resume our campaign to victory.
Ester:
Yeah… it’s about time.
Ester transforms back into a scythe, and Talon grabs hold of her.
Ester:
Ouch… be gentle. I’m still burnt.
Talon:
Right, sorry.
Talon takes flight, and a burning tree falls over.
Talon:
(This inferno we’re surrounded by will make flying difficult, but I must deal with this as an aerial fighter.)
Talon stares down at Blair.
Talon:
So you want to fight for real now, huh?
Blair:
Of course, but I’m not sure you’re strong enough for a real fight.
Talon:
Oh, I’ll show you!
Talon begins circling around Blair.
Blair:
(He’s going to randomly strike, I won’t have enough time to create a piece of magma armor to defend with!)
Blair’s eyes widen with realization.
“
Saige:
Second of all, Hayze’s fighting style is unique to him and him alone; just mine is to me, and yours is to you. “
— Chapter 65
Blair:
(Defend…)
Blair starts running, catching Talon off guard.
Talon:
What?
Talon breaks his circle and flies after Blair.
Talon:
You’re running? That’s pathetic!
Blair starts pooling lava in each of her palms.
Blair:
(I see what I’ve been doing wrong all this time…)
Blair runs through the blazing forest, Talon hot on her tail, both of them have to avoid burning falling branches and collapsing trees.
Blair:
(Saige was right… I don’t have a “style” of my own; I just attack without purpose or strategy…)
Talon sees Blair’s hands.
Talon:
(Is she just going to try and use that lava beam attack from earlier? That won’t do anything!)
Blair abruptly stops and starts forming a circle of lava around herself.
Talon:
(Now’s my chance!)
Talon dives at Blair.
Talon:
You’re finished!
Blair completes the circle.
Blair:
No, you are.
Talon is confused but continues his assault.
Blair:
Volcanic Defense: Ring of Fire!
The lava ring erupts into a cylinder of lava that completely surrounds Blair.
Talon:
What the hell!
Talon is moving too fast to stop, so he veers his trajectory, avoiding a direct collision with the firewall, but his left wing skids against the wall, heavily burning it.
Talon:
AHHH!
Ester:
Talon!
Talon crashes into the crowd, losing hold of Ester, who slides against the ground.
Talon:
*groans* What the hell… she’s never used that before.
Blair:
That’s because it’s a new move of mine.
Talon looks back, the fire ring is gone, and Blair walks towards him.
Talon:
You mean you came up with that right now?
Blair:
Well, I got the idea… from you.
Talon:
What?
Blair:
You mentioned that I’m fragile even though I have an armor quirk… it got me thinking about how some of the strong members of my class’ fighting styles play heavily into their quirks strengths. Kevin’s endure and conquer, Aaron’s constant assault, Justus’ ground and pound style, Silver’s reserved tactics, and Hayze’s strategy utilize the best aspect of their quirk and put it on display. So, I realized that I needed to do the same with my quirk for my style.
Talon gets a look of realization.
Talon:
Your quirk is armor…
Blair:
My quirk is defensive and the best defense…
Blair coats her entire body in magma armor and charges at Talon.
Blair:
Is a good offense!
Talon reaches for Ester.
Talon:
Ester!
Ester transforms into normal and tries to run to Talon, but Blair kicks Talon in the chest, knocking him in the air.
Blair:
Full Magma Jacket!
Talon floats in the air in shock.
Talon:
(There’s nothing I can do! I can’t counter with her protected by that armor! I can do nothing but-)
Blair puts her hands together, winds them back over her head, and slams them both into Talon’s chest, smashing him into the ground and knocking him out cold instantly.
Ester:
Talon!
Blair stares down at Talon.
Blair:
Good fight, bird brain.
Ester quivers in fear as Blair’s magma armor disintegrates.
Blair:
(No need for that anymore.)
Blair turns her attention to Ester.
Ester:
Uh… you wouldn’t hurt a defenseless girl now, would you?
Blair:
You made a crack about my tits, you’re going to bleed for that.
Ester gets scared and starts running away.
Ester:
Brunnooo!
Ester slams into someone and falls on her ass.
Ester:
Ow…
Ester opens her eyes and sees Saige holding a pink-translucent baseball bat.
Saige:
Hiya!
Ester:
*gulp*
Saige knocks Ester out.
Blair:
Hey! You stole my kill!
Saige starts clapping.
Blair:
Why are you doing that?
Saige:
You did such a good job, Blair. I’m proud of you.
Blair:
What are you-
Blair gets a look of realization.
Blair:
YOU SET THIS UP, DIDN’T YOU, YOU BITCH!
Saige giggles.
Blair:
Why didn’t I see that coming…
Saige:
I spotted Talon tailing us about 20 minutes before I left you guys, I knew they would attack once we were separated, so I decided to see how everything would unfold, and I’d say it went pretty well.
Blair:
I hate you.
Saige:
And I love you, Blair!
Blair looks away from Saige.
Blair:
*sighs* Is Wes alright?
Saige:
Nope!
Blair:
What do you mean, “nope?”
Saige pulls out the green orb Bruno dropped.
Saige:
Wes was able to get us this.
Blair:
He beat Diamondhead?
Saige:
No, it looks like they took each other out… I found this lying between two puddles of blood.
Blair:
Why is he so good at that?
Saige:
I don’t know, but Wes is gone by the looks of it.
Blair:
Eh, that’s fine. At least we-
Saige:
You’re going to need to sit down.
Blair:
What? Why?
Saige starts walking towards Blair.
Saige:
Your wound, you’ve lost a lot of blood.
Blair looks down at the injury Talon inflicted upon her. Blair is visibly paler than usual.
Blair:
Woah… I guess the adrenaline of the battle made me… forget about… that…
Blair gets very woozy and keels over.
Blair:
Wh- wh-
Saige catches Blair, lowers her safely, and applies pressure to the wound.
Saige:
Yeah, you’re banged up pretty bad. I can rip out the claws and use our medical supplies to stitch the wound, but you’ve lost too much blood. We’re going to need to do a transfusion if you’re going to be able to stay in this exam.
Blair:
What? We don’t have the equipment needed for a blood transfusion…
Saige:
My quirk does, I can make all of the supplies we need, but there’s one problem…
Blair:
Wh- what is it?
Saige:
My blood type is AB… which means we have no blood to give you.
Blair:
What about them?
Saige looks at Talon and Ester.
Saige:
Without knowing their blood type, there’s no way we can use their blood. Mr. Walker will remove you from the exam if we’re about to make that mistake.
Blair:
Dammit…
Saige:
We’ll have to find a team willing to help.
Blair:
But wait…
Saige:
What?
Blair:
We have two green orbs… even if I get knocked out of the exam, you don’t need me…
Saige:
Oh, Blair, yes, I do.
Blair:
F- for what?
Saige:
Blair, Wes is gone.
Blair:
Y- yeah… so?
Saige:
So… it’s just you and… me.
Blair’s eyes widen with realization.
Blair:
MR. WALKER, I WANT OUT OF THE EXAM, RIGHT-
Saige covers Blair’s mouth.
Saige:
SHE’S DELUSIONAL, MR. WALKER! IGNORE HER! *whispers* I think I know someone in this forest willing to give you his blood. *winks*
Blair gets quiet.
Saige:
Good girl.
Saige picks Blair up and starts walking toward their supply bag.
Saige:
We may have the orbs we need, but we still have to get to the center, and I need you to do that, okay, Blair?
Blair:
Okay…
Saige:
Also, Blair.
Blair:
Y- yeah?
Saige:
Watching you at the end of that fight… reminded me of Hayze.
