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sustraiii · 8 months

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TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 CHAPTER 17

Team ZRCN and Helia, team up once more to finish Belleza Rossi once and for all.

Zelde

It was funny how certain circumstances put the unlikeliest of allies together. Looking around the room, Zelde marvelled at the strange group that had come together. She couldn't have imagined that she would find herself in the same room as one of the Rossi sisters, much less in the form of allies.

According to Morgan, Bianca had quickly defected when Calantha had been threatened, even going so far as to threaten Belleza herself when Calantha had been injured.

Poor Calantha was in the worst state of all, currently lying on one of the beds, being checked over by Theodora Crest with Bianca hovering in the background. The Rossi’s father was also nearby but didn’t really seem to have grasped what was going on, humming contentedly as he fiddled with a small device.

By the sound of it, Calantha was lucky to be alive, with the resuscitation efforts of Morgan and Bianca being the reason she was still breathing. Occasionally, Bianca would tear her eyes away from her sister and look at Uriah, who was sitting on the floor cuffed to one of the beds thrashing about trying to get free. He had been the one to strike Calantha and leave her in that state and Bianca looked like she would not forget anytime soon.

Zelde found herself sitting on another of the spare beds with Cordovan. Opposite them sat Callaway and Rosie who had been rescued from their captivity by the two of them with the help of Euphemia Crest. Neela's sister Mira and a man named Lunick had also been rescued from captivity. Lunick was sat on a bed speaking in hushed voices with Laurel and Biggs - whom Zelde had since been told were actually named Nerine and Jesper.

Mira was currently sitting not far from where Calantha was being treated. Compared to the other former captives, she seemed to be in a sorry state with a black eye, chipped tooth, and various bruises and small cuts lining her arms and shoulders. According to Mira herself, she had taken most of the abuse from their captors, ensuring that Callaway and Rosie were unharmed. Her actions might have been a little foolish on account of her having no aura, but Zelde could not thank her enough for shielding the two of them.

Zelde watched Callaway and Rosie quietly before she felt Cordovan bump her knee with his own. She looked at him briefly before he gestured with his head towards the approaching Euphemia.

The older woman carried a plastic cup of water with her, handing it to Zelde before continuing on. "For your brother."

Zelde held it in her hands for a moment before turning and extending it to Callaway. He smiled appreciatively but shook his head. "I'm fine," He assured her. Theodora had checked him over along with Rosie and Mira and already confirmed they were alright. Still, that didn't stop Zelde from fussing over him. He had been held longer than Rosie and Mira, and though he carried no bruises or healed injuries like the elder Oxford sibling, he seemed tired.

"Drink," Zelde said, which was less of a question and more of an instruction.

Callaway pulled a face but took the cup without arguing. He finished the water before crinkling it in his hand.

"I cannot tell you how glad we are that you're all alright," Cordovan said, smiling softly at Rosie in particular. Zelde had not forgotten the breakdown he had following the explosion at the university and the truth he had revealed about his and Rosie's relationship. Half-siblings. It was no wonder he had been so affected by her capture. As they sat there, Cordovan's hand found hers. Zelde did not know if it was intentional or not, but she looked down at their hands and then leaned into him.

Callaway and Rosie exchanged a glance. "Are you two a couple now?" Callaway asked.

"Eww, gross," Rosie said in a childlike manner.

At their words, Cordovan looked down and realised his hand was resting atop Zelde's. He stared at their hands for a long moment but did not move it away.

"We haven't really had time to discuss what we are given everything that has happened," Cordovan confessed. His eyes met hers for a moment and his hard features softened. "I like to think that we are though."

Zelde's cheeks warmed. As he said, they hadn't really discussed where their relationship now stood following their kiss at the dance and confession of feelings for each other. There hadn't been time and with everything that happened afterwards it hadn't seemed appropriate. Even now, in this secure room within the Rossi's base, Cordovan's words seemed a little out of place but Zelde was glad for them.

"I think the same too," Zelde responded, sharing his sentiment that she thought they were a couple. Cordovan smiled at her. A genuine warm and wide smile that she often did not see from her teammate.

"You two are so cute!!" Rosie gushed. Her enthusiasm broke the two of them apart and Cordovan looked at his sister with an amused face.

"I thought you said this was 'gross' before?" He pointed out.

"Well, it still would be if you started kissing," Rosie responded very matter-of-factly. "Are you two going to get married and have babies now?"

"Rosie!" Cordovan snapped, blushing fiercely.

Callaway laughed out loud and Zelde couldn't help but emit a small chuckle herself. Their conversation was promptly interrupted by Morgan catching their attention.

"Heads up, Cherry is on the way back with your teammates," Morgan told them.

Cordovan nodded to show they had understood. They were only kept waiting for a minute or two before they heard a knock on the door. Euphemia turned to look at the door, her expression dour, before slowly moving towards it. She opened the door and let three figures in.

Zelde was a bit slow to turn around but hastened her pace when she saw some of the shocked expressions in the room. Cherry stood to the left, sizing up Euphemia, and beside her, bloodied and shell-shocked were Xanthos and Neela.

"What happened?" Morgan asked, approaching swiftly but hanging back when he acknowledged the blood again. Zelde and Cordovan were on their feet now too, mirroring each other's concerned expressions as they came to listen to what had happened.

"It was my fault!" Neela suddenly blurted out. Whatever had happened, she sounded quite distressed. Xanthos touched her arm soothingly.

"We encountered Maia as you know," Cherry explained. "She fought the three of us and we managed to disarm her and break her aura. She was on her knees otherwise defeated when I got through to you, Morgan. Foolishly I let my guard down and looked away. I was distracted and didn't hear anything until it was too late. Maia had managed to grab her weapon and would have likely attacked us if not for Neela. She reacted swiftly to defend herself and us. Unfortunately, the wounds she inflicted on Maia were too severe and she passed." A few gasps echoed in the room, and Zelde looked back to see Elio and Bianca listening with particular interest. "It was an accident," Cherry said in a softer tone.

Zelde was about to say something in response when Uriah's voice pierced the air.

"What did you say about Maia?" He questioned sharply, looking around for answers. "My sister, is she…?"

"She's dead," Bianca confirmed for him, suddenly appearing near the handcuffed man and looming over him. She had seemed like one of the more reasonable members of the Rossi's group but as she stood over Uriah there was something malicious in her expression, and more chillingly something joyful too. Bianca leaned towards him. "I hope you feel as I felt when I thought you'd killed my sister."

Uriah looked alarmed by her words. Zelde thought he might have fought back and argued, as his earlier behaviour suggested he would, but the news of his sister's death had defeated him. Satisfied her words had cut deep, Bianca walked away to hover near Calantha again.

“Times like this I am reminded of exactly who Bianca is related to,” Euphemia mused, watching the white-haired woman leave. “Behind all her formalities lies a cold heart deep down.”

“Uriah did nearly kill her sister,” Morgan pointed out.

“True,” Euphemia conceded briefly, before continuing, “but she also survived. Maia did not. I’m not excusing his behaviour or that of his sister but as an older sibling myself, I’m not sure I’d have appreciated someone gloating of their possible deaths in my face.” Euphemia looked towards her sister and stiffened slightly, her expression soon shifting into a grimace. “I certainly never Miho get away with talking about Ulysses. Even if I got a broken horn for my troubles.”

With those words lingering in the air, Euphemia moved aside, leaned against a nearby wall and crossed her arms over her broad chest. She didn't linger too far from the door, likely ready to intervene should any of the remaining unaccounted Rossi allies try their luck with the door. They wouldn't have been able to break the lock by conventional methods but Zelde would not have put it past them to try other ways of breaking in.

Although Zelde still found Bianca one of the more tolerable members of the Rossi’s group, Euphemia’s words had certainly given her food for thought. After everything that had happened to Calantha, Zelde couldn’t truly begrudge the woman for being a little cold towards him, if the situations were reversed and it was Callaway instead of Calantha, Zelde knew she'd have had a few choice words for him, but the way Bianca had acted around him was exceedingly harsh. Perhaps it was just the heightened emotions of the situation, or perhaps Euphemia wasn’t too far off the mark when she said Bianca had a cold heart.

Zelde was pulled from her thoughts by the approach of Theodora Crest. The bespectacled woman stopped before the group and looked at Neela's bloodied hands unflinchingly.

"Come and wash your hands," Theodora said, gesturing for Neela to follow her. The blue-haired woman followed without arguing but Theodora stopped and urged Xanthos to come too, noting the small amount of blood he had on his hands.

As their teammates were led to a small en suite at the back of the room, Zelde found herself moving towards Elio and Helia with the rest of the assembled group, having been waved over by Elio. The only person who didn't come with them was Euphemia who was still leaning against the wall.

Elio had gotten pretty badly beaten when he and Helia had encountered Nerine and Jesper. The assailants had eventually relented and whilst Helia had walked away practically unscathed, Elio barely had any aura left. The blonde man was currently sitting up on another bed in the room, looking quite alert despite how worn down he had been from his previous battle.

“How are you holding up, Cher?” He would ask when the group stopped before him. He extended a hand out for her to hold and she reached out and gave him a reassuring squeeze.

“I’ve been better,” Cherry confessed, releasing his hand. “Took a few nasty hits between both fights and my aura broke so I’m really feeling it. Losing Wisteria and Miho and then Maia on top of that…yeah, I’m not going to lie Elio, it hasn’t been a great day for us.” Cherry shook her head and then looked to the en suite, the door of which was ajar allowing them to see Xanthos and Neela inside. “They’re taking things rough. Especially Neela.”

“Not much we can do now, unfortunately,” Elio said sympathetically. “When this is all over, we’ll ensure they get the support they need to talk things through won’t we?” He looked to his fellow Mob Ops members as he said that, to which they both nodded their heads. “Now, to why I called you all over here. Firstly, let’s start with this.”

The man proceeded to pull his scroll out and showed them what appeared to be a message from Wren. By what was written it seemed she and some “support” were inbound.

“When did that come through?” Cherry asked. “The connection is pretty spotty in here, I’m surprised a message from outside reached you.”

“It was about an hour ago,” Morgan responded. “Bianca has since confirmed that their aerial radar has picked up an incoming Atlesian ship. Based on the speed they were supposedly travelling, they should be here soon probably within the next hour if my estimations are correct.”

“Well that’s good,” Cherry said. “What else did you want to talk about, Elio? You made it seem like there were multiple things.”

Elio and Helia shared a glance. “We still have Belleza and Sparrow unaccounted for. Now, we could wait for Wren and her backup to arrive, but we know from prior experience that Belleza is a wily opponent and will probably try and make a run for it if she can, if she hasn't already.”

“What’s going on?” Xanthos asked, interrupting the flow of conversation as he and Neela returned. Cordovan took it upon himself to catch them up to speed.

“What about Sparrow?” Cherry asked.

“We already know from prior intel that Sparrow tends to more or less disappear into thin air. Given the circumstances, we shouldn’t waste time looking for them and focus on efforts on capturing Belleza,” Elio responded. “Bianca has already agreed to lend us her scroll to track where Belleza is in this place - apparently, they modified their scrolls to have a tracking app that can be activated when necessary - our main issue lies in which of us should apprehend her.”

Zelde realised he was referring to the Mob Ops with that statement, what with all three of them in varying states of health after fighting their way through this place.

“I’ve already agreed to help,” Helia announced. “I’m a trained huntress, not a civilian, I know how to handle myself. Besides, I’m one of the few of us here who has all her aura.”

“What about us?” Xanthos piped up, looking between his teammates. “Could we help?”

Morgan looked uncertain. “I don’t know, that’s a potentially big risk.”

“Morgan,” Elio cut him off. “It was a big risk in them even coming here. Besides, it’s not like some of them haven’t already fought their way through some of the Rossi’s people. And they won’t be alone they’ll have Helia with them too.”

Xanthos had volunteered their team, but ultimately it was Zelde who had the deciding opinion. She already knew Cordovan was keen to fight, and by his quick offer Xanthos was too, but she was uncertain about Neela who was currently looking down at her feet. “I’d certainly be amenable to the idea of helping,” Zelde confirmed with a nod. Her silver eyes looked at Neela. “Perhaps Neela could sit this one out though.”

“What?” Neela’s head shot up swiftly. “I can help!”

“You don’t have to, Neela,” Zelde told her reassuringly. “You’ve already been a great help so far and after everything you’ve been through I’m not forcing you to come.”

“I want to come,” Neela said, lifting her head.

“Only if you are certain,” Zelde said, peering into Neela’s eyes. Despite her posture and words, Neela’s eyes seemed to suggest she was a little more uncertain.

“I’m certain,” Neela responded. “Let’s go get her.”

“Well there you have it,” Elio said, glancing between the group. “Looks like we have a plan.”

Zelde noted that Cherry and Morgan seemed less enthusiastic about this plan, but given where the group stood currently, it was one of the better ones they had.

The five of them approached Bianca, who was still hovering near Calantha. Theodora was also nearby, monitoring one of the machines that were hooked up to Calantha.

"You're going after, Belle?" Bianca asked, lifting her head to look at the group.

They all nodded and Helia stepped forward. "You mentioned earlier to me and Elio that you'd lend us your scroll to track her."

Bianca looked at Helia's hand and then proceeded to retrieve her scroll. She tapped a few buttons on the screen before handing it over. "Here you go," Bianca said. As the scroll was passed between hands, Zelde noted Bianca frowning slightly as she did, her eyes staring at the screen. "Strange…she doesn't appear to be moving."

Helia held the scroll in her hands and ZRCN all gathered to look around at the screen. "Where is this?" Helia asked.

"The cafeteria on the ground floor," Bianca responded. "Save for the kitchen, it was cleared out years ago, so I'm not sure why she'd be there."

"How do we get to it?"

"Once you leave the medical wing, take two lefts and then follow the corridor until you come out onto the atrium. The cafeteria will be opposite you, beyond a dried-up fountain," Bianca explained.

"Oh." Zelde looked to the left and saw Xanthos pulling a face. "Yeah, me and Neela know the place. Or well, we saw it from above at least. Before Miho and Wisteria, you know…fell."

Zelde grimaced at the choice of words her teammate had used. It was an accurate statement at least but perhaps not wholly appropriate given the seriousness of the situation.

With information gathered on Belleza, the five of them set out to finally bring Belleza Rossi down, words of luck being offered to them as they left. They followed Bianca’s previous instructions upon leaving the medical wing, taking two lefts, and then following the corridor until they reached the atrium. It was a large open space that Zelde and Cordovan had only recently passed by on a different angle when Euphemia had taken them to retrieve the captives.

In the centre of the vast space, sat a now dried-up water fountain, and sprawled over that fountain with blood, glass, and various other bits of debris scattered on the ground, was the broken and twisted body of Miho Ryuzaki. Zelde had known the woman had died from when Cherry had briefly updated Morgan on the situation before reuniting with the group in the medical wing and then Morgan had in turn relayed it to those present. Regardless of knowing what was waiting for them here, it still didn’t stop Zelde’s stomach from churning, and she bit her lip to stop the bile from rising in her throat.

Zelde was too busy fighting the urge not to vomit that she didn’t notice what - or rather who - wasn’t there. And it was only when Xanthos spoke up that she looked over the scene again.

“Where’s Wisteria?”

Again, Zelde remembered that they had been told Wisteria had shoved Miho over the edge of an above balcony, finishing off the red-haired woman at the cost of her remaining health. From how it had been described, Wisteria’s injuries had been quite severe too. Perhaps not to the extent of what Miho had suffered but enough that she wouldn’t have been able to move. So, that begged the question, where exactly had she gone?

“She can’t have gotten far,” Neela said. “Maybe she’s nearby.”

“Possibly,” Xanthos mused in agreement. “Though I doubt she’d have gotten far with those injuries. Should we look for her?”

He was looking at Helia, Zelde, and Cordovan as he said that. The three of them shared a glance before Helia shook her head. “Belleza is the priority,” Helia told them. “If she’s taken down quickly we can spare some time to look. Or we could try and get through to the others and let them know.”

Xanthos nodded but didn’t say anything else which allowed the group to move onwards to the cafeteria where Belleza Rossi awaited them within. Double metal doors were pushed open and the five of them stepped inside. Bianca had mentioned that much of the room had been cleared out and she wasn’t lying. Only a few plastic chairs remained stacked in a corner and other than the kitchen opposite them, there was nothing to suggest this had once been a cafeteria. It made Zelde question where the group ate but she assumed with how much this building had been repurposed over the years they had probably found another space to serve as a dining room.

They didn’t have to look hard for Belleza at least. The older woman was sitting on the floor with her back leaning against a servery. She had her arms resting on her knees, fiddling with something in her hands that Zelde couldn’t quite see, and her spear sat by the side of her.

When she heard the group enter, she lifted her head, red eyes burning into them. “I knew you’d come eventually,” She said with a smirk. “Who was it who ratted me out?”

“Your sister,” Cordovan responded.

“Bianca? Hmm, figured as much the little traitor,” Belleza huffed. “Happy to play along until it suited her.” The white-haired woman let out a bitter laugh before glaring at the group. “You should have stayed in Highpoint. You should kept your noses out of where they did not belong.”

“You forget yourself, Belleza,” Helia snapped. “You made it personal when you attacked my teammates. When you killed Alcyone. When you sent your robots to attack ZRCN. When you dragged us into this mess.”

Belleza merely blinked at Helia, unfazed by the blame being put on her.“I shouldn’t blame you, really,” Belleza said. “We all know it was Wisteria’s fault. Stupid bitch couldn’t keep her mouth shut and just had to gloat to you and Farron that she never worked for him,” Belleza continued, rolling her eyes. “At least she’s dead now though. Got what she deserved in the end.”

Interesting, Zelde thought, she seems to still think Wisteria is outside.

“Sounds like a lot of bullshit to excuse your actions if you ask me,” Xanthos said, putting a hand on his hip. “Convenient to blame a ‘dead’ woman too.”

Belleza chuckled. “Bullshit? Bullshit!? No, I had a plan!” She leaned forward a bit, suddenly more agitated than before. “When Wisteria joined our group she complicated things to be sure but I adapted. But then in you all come and ruin everything! We were going to make Atlas pay! We were going to hold them accountable! Plans that my family had been building for over ten years and you ruined them all!”

“Well, they can’t have been good plans if we took you down in less than a day,” Xanthos said sarcastically.

Helia took a step forward. “It’s over now, Belleza,” She told her sternly. “Your allies are dead, gone, or saw sense and stood down. There’s nothing left to fight for anymore. You are going to jail and you will pay for what you’ve done.”

If Belleza acknowledged the latter part of Helia’s words, she didn’t let it show. Instead, she seemed fixated on the first half of the words, starting to rant incessantly.

“Cowards the lot of them. After everything I put them through, all the training they undertook, all it took was a little bit of pressure to have them all throwing their hands up and surrendering. I always knew it would be down to me in the end.”Slowly the white-haired woman rose to her feet and removed her jacket, dropping it to the floor where it covered her spear. “After all, if you want a job done right, it’s better to do it yourself.”

She then held out her left hand, showing the group what she had been fiddling with before. It was a dust crystal and a rather jagged piece too that looked as though it hadn’t even been refined yet.

“A gift from a departed friend,” She smiled, and as she spoke Zelde was sure there was something akin to genuine sadness at the back of her words. Zelde felt her semblance flare into life following her words, though the sensation did not last long thanks to her efforts to focus on it more as of late, but even as her body relaxed she knew danger was imminent.

Belleza pulled the crystal back towards her, hugging it close to her chest. “If I’m going to down, I’m going to make sure I leave a message and take out as many of you with me as I can.”

And what happened next, not even Zelde could have predicted. Belleza stabbed the dust crystal into a healing wound on her shoulder. Immediately, her arms started to swell, red-orange vein-like marks running down the lengths of both of them and up the left side of her neck. Belleza was screaming too and Zelde could not tell if it was from the pain or the anger. Injecting raw dust into one’s veins was said to be excruciatingly painful, even with aura, she could only imagine the pain the other woman was in. More alarmingly, the room began to fill with the smell of what Zelde could only assume was burning flesh, which seemed a strong likelihood based on how red Belleza’s arms were going.

When the initial effects of the dust infusion subsided, Belleza straightened, and she looked to be in quite a state. Her face was a paler red from the screaming she had been doing, cheeks streaked with tears, and her eyes were glowing a similar red-orange to the veins on her arms and neck. Zelde noticed that her right arm was awkwardly dangling down as if she could no longer control it fully.

Belleza paused for a moment, teetering on the spot as if she did not want to do, and then screamed at the group. Zelde was struck by how distorted it was to her earlier screams, sounding deeper and more unnatural.

With some effort - mostly on account of the right arm she was struggling to move - Belleza raised her arms and fired a giant fireball in their direction. It was Helia who moved quickly, her katana raised, as she rushed to intercept it and stop ZRCN from getting hit. As soon as the fireball connected, a cloud of smoke engulfed the spot where Helia had been standing, and she came flying back out of it seconds later, with such force that she wound up thrown against the wall and her aura shattered.

Zelde knew Belleza would have been more powerful now due to the dust infusion, but she had underestimated just how strong her hits had become if it had been enough to take out Helia’s aura with one hit. Even Belleza seemed surprised at the raw strength of her attack, but that surprise quickly faded into joy when she realised just how powerful she had become.

Suddenly, the fireballs were coming thick and fast, Belleza doing whatever she could to try and hit them. They were able to dodge the first few without trouble, but as Cordovan threw up a shield to block one, Belleza quickly retaliated by throwing another in quick succession. The shield took the brunt of the blast but it shattered under the strength of the second hit and Xanthos and Zelde tumbled backwards.

Cordovan and Neela remained close together, with Cordovan on one knee. Neela was trying to pull him up when suddenly she saw Belleza running for them.

“Cordo, look out!” She yelled.

Neela tried to pull him back but he instead shoved her out of the way, throwing up another shield with Belleza practically fell on top of.

“Move!” He yelled, glaring not only at her but Zelde and Xanthos too.

Zelde was loathe to move and leave Cordovan but he seemed to be holding Belleza off well enough. Xanthos and Neela ended up pulling her backwards, running to the now exposed kitchen area where they might have been able to duck into cover.

Belleza thumped on Cordovan’s shield. “I think I’ll enjoy sending you back to your mother,” She snickered, before raising a hand up.

From where they had briefly ducked into cover, Zelde watched as she raised a hand back, the palm of it starting to glow as she was about to create another fireball, only to get suddenly thrown backwards, as Cordovan used his shield to shove Belleza backwards. It was really a testament to his training that he could even manipulate his shields like that, as Zelde could remember a time when his semblance was static and he could not form it anywhere beyond his person, let alone throw it up away from himself.

As the woman went back, Corodvan quickly darted away to where the rest of his team was, coming to a stop in a hunched over position next to them.

“We need a plan,” He said, a little breathless from his efforts to halt Belleza. “We can’t outrun her fire forever.”

He was right of course but coming up with a plan was going to be difficult. Not just because of the little time they had but because Belleza was quite an unpredictable opponent too. Zelde gave it some thought for a moment before lowering her head.

“We have to kill her,” She said.

“Zelde…” Cordovan didn’t seem particularly alarmed by this, only troubled that the suggestion had come from Zelde’s mouth. Xanthos and Neela looked a little wary of the suggestion, and Zelde noted after their earlier bout with Maia, that they were perhaps not looking forward to the idea of killing someone else, even if that someone was Belleza.

“I know it sounds like an extreme idea, but I think that is the only option we’ve got,” Zelde said, pressing on with her suggestion. “As Cordovan said, we cannot outrun her forever. We won't stand a chance if she hits one of us with one of her fireballs. She will knock us out and kill us have no doubt about that.”

“To be honest, killing her might be a mercy,” Xathos said. “Did you see how she reacted when she injected the dust? The smell too? I think she’s quite literally burning herself alive.”

Zelde grimaced at the thought.

“I don’t know if I can,” Neela said. “I know it seems like our only choice but I’m not sure if I can kill another person. Even if it is her.”

“Just leave it to us, Neela,” Zelde said, putting a hand on her shoulder. “Can you give us as much mist as you can though?”

Neela nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.”

“FIREBALL!” Xanthos suddenly yelled, forcing them to duck down a little lower, as one flew over their heads and struck a metal cabinet. Clearly, Belleza had gotten back to her feet.

“Go, go, go!” Zelde urged, instructing Xanthos and Cordovan to follow her out of cover.

“You weren’t trying to hide were you?” Belleza asked, cocking her head to the side. “Where’s the other one?”

Belleza seemed to be preparing another fireball when thick mist suddenly started to roll out over the servery and spill out into the empty room. Zelde thanked her teammate silently. Whilst Belleza was temporarily distracted by the appearance of the mist, Zelde gestured for Xanthos and Cordovan to duck, knowing that the three of them would be a bit more obscured if they crouched and hid in the mist.

Even though the mist was thicker than usual for Neela’s semblance, the fiery outline of Belleza could still be seen in the middle of it, her head snapping from side to side rapidly as she tried to see them in the mist. With the heat she was no doubt generating the mist likely wouldn’t last, and Zelde knew they wouldn’t have long and needed to act fast.

Pulling her gun out of its holster, she aimed in the direction of Belleza, and squeezed the trigger, letting off a short burst of rounds. If one or two of them clipped Belleza then so be it, but it was mostly meant as a distraction tactic.

Sure enough, Belleza’s head whipped around to face her, eyes narrowing.

“You,” She hissed.

Come on, Zelde urged silently, as she held her ground. Charge at me.

Belleza looked at her momentarily, her left palm starting to glow as if preparing a fireball again. Zelde was about to curse when the other woman started moving towards her, possibly deciding that she’d much rather get up close and personal if she was going to hurl a fireball in her face. To Belleza’s surprise, Zelde rushed forward to greet her, raising her foot to kick her sharply in the abdomen. The first kick caught Belleza by surprise, but she was ready for the second, catching Zelde’s foot with a hand and then swinging her leg down violently causing Zelde’s leg to jolt.

“Pathetic,” Belleza sneered, closing the gap between them and slamming her head forward to headbutt Zelde.

Zelde fell backwards and wound up on the floor. Her aura had held, luckily, but she didn’t like being this close to the other woman, even if it was part of her plan.

As Belleza approached, Zelde shuffled backwards using her hands to move, suddenly yelling at Cordovan when Belleza looked ready to form another fireball.

“Cordovan, shield!”

Belleza did not have time to pull back before her fireball connected with the new shield. And being this close to the barrier, she got hit by the recoil from her own attack. Zelde meanwhile neatly rolled out of the way, feeling a bit of the heat from the blast, but avoiding any lasting damage.

As Belleza stumbled away, shielding her eyes, Zelde quickly jumped to her feet, making a signal to Xanthos nearby.

“Xanthos, restrain her!” Zelde instructed.

Xanthos lashed out with his whip, letting it curl around the body of Belleza. He quickly began to run around her, ensuring his whip was tightly coiled around the other woman, before activating his semblance to alter his weight to his heaviest state. He leaned back on his heels a little, making his whip go taut.

Although restrained, and unlikely to break out quickly, Belleza was trying to free herself. She was heating her palms and trying to burn away the whip with little effect.

“Cordovan,” Zelde called out again, looking towards her red-haired teammate. She shifted her weapon to its bladed form and looked expectantly at Cordovan, hoping he understood what she meant by the gesture. “Together?”

“Together,” He nodded.

“Xanthos, when Cordovan goes in for his strike, release the whip,” Zelde instructed swiftly.

He nodded and Zelde gave him a swift smile. She took a breath. It was time.

Gripping her weapon tightly, she looked towards Cordovan again, before running forward. Belleza saw her coming and yelled out an expletive at her but Zelde did not stop. She pulled back her weapon and made a strike at the back of Belleza’s knees. Her blade connected and she heard Belleza cry out before dropping to her knees, no longer able to stand. Zelde darted quickly away to let Cordovan land the finishing blow.

As promised, when Cordovan approached, Xanthos let his weapon slacken, allowing Cordovan to attack unimpeded. His weapon, Braveheart, was in its rarely used sword form. And with a grunt of effort, he pulled back, before stabbing it through Belleza’s chest and out her back.

In the end, Belleza did not go out in a blaze of glory, but rather, a small whimper.

Cordovan pulled out his blade and stood back allowing Belleza to fall back, her head near enough bouncing off the floor. Her chest gave one final heave and then grew still. Her body was spent.

Belleza Rossi was dead.

Nobody dared to move for a long time. The air felt heavy with some indescribable emotion. It was over and Belleza was defeated but it didn't feel like a victory truly worth celebrating.

Zelde stood by herself for a moment until Cordovan came near, hooking an arm around her waist and drawing her near to his body. Zelde let her weapon drop to the floor, wrapping her arms around Cordovan's neck in relief, just letting herself be held for the moment.

They pulled apart when Neela approached, having come out of hiding from behind the servery. Cordovan gave a small smile and put a hand on her back.

"We did it," She said, weakly smiling back. Her blue eyes strayed away from him and looked at the dead body on the floor. It was a grim sight to be sure and nobody wanted to linger on Belleza's corpse for too long.

Still lingering close together, they moved towards Xanthos who was trying to rouse an unconscious Helia. She seemed to be stirring back to life when they approached, still dazed but then snapping up, as if suddenly remembering she had been in a fight priorly.

"Where's…" Helia's voice trailed off when she spotted Belleza's body behind them. She gulped slightly. "She's dead then. What happened?"

"We killed her," Cordovan answered swiftly. "We couldn't take the risk. We saw what she did to you and we knew we couldn't outrun her forever. It seemed like our only option given the circumstances."

Helia processed the words carefully before nodding and trying to stand.

Cordovan and Xanthos helped her up and she took a moment to dust herself off, once again looking at Belleza before back at the group. "Let's go meet up with the others," She suggested. "I don't want to linger in here longer than we have to."

It was something all of them could agree on at least. The five of them walked out of the cafeteria, tired, and bruised, but alive. As they headed back to reunite with the rest of those who had come with them to this place, they could rest peacefully knowing that the Rossi threat had finally been dealt with.

#team zrcn fic #team zrcn #zelde sewick #cordovan radcliff #xanthos ravindra #neela oxford #helia vines #cherry linnet #elio goldfinch #morgan lark #calantha rossi #bianca rossi #belleza rossi #euphemia crest #theodora crest #alden rossi #uriah astrella

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