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I woke up once again from being blanked out.

Oh, and you should know who this is.

I found myself laying on my bed in my room back at the HEROES base. With a confused look, I sat up since I was laying on my back.

I gazed around my room as everything I remembered rushed back to me. The Enemy...I stabbed him...because Andrea, Cade, and Bree exploded...and I was about to unlock. My eyes flew open. "The Machine of the World!" I gasped under my breath. I want to unlock it! I must do that!!!

I scrambled out of bed and hopped onto my feet; but before I was able to move, a sensation caught my attention.

I froze in my position, standing on the floor as I sensed unusual warmth coming from underneath the floor. I gradually lowered myself down near the floor, so that I would be squatting. I placed my hand on the floor, getting the same message that there was something going on underneath my room. And whatever it was, it wasn't good, because it's not normal for the floor to be this warm.

I should go check on that... I rose myself up and sprinted out from my room after opening the door.

I made a sharp left turn to the end of the hallway. On the wall that made the end of the hallway was a button, which I pressed on.

A door then formed from the wall and opened itself up; on the other side was a staircase that led downward. I gazed around my surroundings, then entered it.

I rushed down the spiral staircase, feeling the air warming up, just like the floor. The air began to throw thicker with some sparks or ashes floating by me here or there as crackling and crashing sounds began echoing louder. There was one guess on what was going on below the base: a fire.

I reached the end of the staircase and gasped with shock.

In front of me was a room that was lined with machines, desks, and screens. But they were not alone--there were flames eating them up. In the middle of all of this was Poncho, who I caught blasting a thick ribbon of fire at a machine near him with a high-tech gun.

"What are you doing‽" I cried; I immediately began to cough since I sucked in the smoky air too quickly. I dipped my head down while placing my fist against my mouth.

"I'm destroying all the tracking devices I used to find the Machine of the World!" I heard Poncho exclaim perfectly fine over the crackling and bursting sounds of the fire.

I snapped my eyes to look at him; he was giving me a grave look. "You're gonna destroy the base!" I letted out some choking coughs.

"I know," he told me seriously. "This was all a bust--time to destroy it...because it's all over."

"But wait, where's the Machine of the World?" I stared at the scene, looking frantically for the machine with my eyes.

"It's in here--" Poncho pointed his gun behind him at the burning room. "--where it belongs in."

"No!" I yelled. "No, I need it!" I began making my way deeper into the room hastily, but stopped in my tracks when Poncho raised his gun straight at me.

"That's the reason why it must be demolished," he began saying gravely, keeping his eyes glued at me. "It drives people to extreme points so that they can attain it. It makes people do crazy, stupid things that could cost them everything. Don't fall into its trap. It's gone, Aleksandr,...it's gone."

I blinked for a moment as what Poncho said to me began sinking into me. I nodded my head slowly as the desire of wanting the machine began to fade away from me; I stepped back toward the staircase.

"That's what Jake wanted," he continued as he lowered his gun a bit, "for you to have the desire to obtain the machine. He casted that upon you, so when you try to go after it, he can wipe you away with your powers with ease; it's a way to lure you out toward your death."

He brainwashed me, I thought to myself, but how? Then the answer came into my mind. Through the syringe!

I snapped my eyes up, taking in the scenery of the flames intensifying. This room is going to collapse or explode any moment...it's bound to. I looked down at Poncho.

"You gotta get outta here--you're gonna die!" I was now beginning to lean against the handle of the staircase; I felt myself beginning to lose significant among of energy.

"This team died, Aleksandr, so it's time I go with them." Poncho shot another blast of fire behind him with the gun. "I have made lots of mistakes, mistakes that I regret." He turned back to me. "I can't live with them, not at all."

"No, you're not gonna die!" I pointed to the ground harshly. "You are not!" I've already lost enough people every since I came here to America and I can't lose another person now.

"I'm sorry, Aleksandr, but I must go," he informed me sophisticatedly.

"NO!" With my last amount of energy, I sped up to him, picked him up from his wheelchair, swung him over my shoulder, and began to make my way toward the stairs. I clamoured up the stairs as best as possible with Poncho draped on my shoulder, seeing the light from the hallway on the other side getting brighter and brighter.

I reached the end of the hallway and sprinted down it as fast as I can with Poncho slung over me; I skidded into the entrance and made a sharp left turn, rushing into the main room.

Suddenly, I heard a loud BOOM! as the floor shook violently. My feet slipped due to the harsh movement, but I was luckily able to maintain my balance. With my last boost of energy, I zoomed down the main room, passing by Poncho's office and into the hallway that led to the entrance; I began feeling rushing warmth trailing up from behind me, indicating that the fire was following me in the form of an explosion.

I locked my eyes on the opened doors that showed the night sky and rocky grounds. I gotta get there, I'm gonna get there, we're gonna make it there...!

5 meters.

3 meters.

1 meter...

Before I was able to step my foot out into the open air, I felt an immense force filled with fieriness and sharpness propel me off from my feet and straight out into the outside. I flew midair with Poncho in my grasp as the whole base erupted from behind us. I stared out into the dark sky as the cool air blasted against my face, going against the feeling of the hotness of the explosion. Suddenly, I saw my sight switching downward, forcing me to see the ground rushing up to me.

I'm gonna die.

I then hit the ground and everything went dark before I could feel a single thing.

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