#farron hargrave

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 1 REWRITE - PROLOGUE

What’s this....arc 1? Yes, as some of you might recall I spoke of rewriting ZRCN’s arc 1 storyline some time ago, and the time has come to start posting. The storyline will largely be the same to the original albeit with some additional chapters at the start and some expansion of characters and their motives.

Enjoy!

Verde

He does not have a watch on him but Verde knows the man they are waiting for is running late. From where he is leaning against a nearby wall, he tries not to show his concerns about the present situation he and his companions found themselves in. Despite his best efforts to hide his concerns, it seems his companions are starting to notice something is off.

“Verde,” Saika calls out to him, pulling him out of his thoughts. He looks towards her and is aware of her pink eyes boring into him, searching for answers. For a moment he is distracted by the vibrancy of the pink in her hair, recently dyed if the colour was anything to go by. “When is Mr Hargrave going to get here?”

“Soon,” Verde assured her calmly.

“You said that like an hour ago,” Saika pouted. “I thought you said this Hargrave guy was always on time?”

Beside her, her companion Merlot put a hand on her arm. “Easy, Sai,” He said with the usual calm and neutral tone Verde had come to expect of the younger man. “No need to bite his head off.”

“I believe I said he’s usually on time,” Verde corrected, forcing a bit of a sarcastic tone to his voice. Although he was technically undercover, he was still uncomfortable arguing or speaking down to Merlot and Saika. At twenty, they were only six years younger than he was, but in many ways, they were still teenagers in his eyes. It didn’t help that they brought a slightly childlike energy with them whenever they were on a job together; Saika especially always seemed too eager to rush into things. When Verde had agreed to take this job he had been a little put off by their presence within Farron Hargrave’s circle of associates and wasn’t entirely comfortable with manipulating them as his predecessor had done so. 

All of a sudden, Merlot shifted and looked down the opposite end of the alley they were waiting in. "Someone's coming," He said, his purple eyes squinting. Verde could not see anyone but he did not doubt Merlot's assertion, the young man's semblance granted him a heightened awareness of his surroundings.

Sure enough, as Merlot had said, somebody did appear at the other end of the alley. What caught the three of them by surprise however was the appearance of two men approaching them. Verde recognised Farron quickly but the other man was unknown to him, though if he had to guess, he had a former military background like Farron based on the way he carried himself. Farron was a short, stocky man, whose size betrayed his true strength. Whilst he was completely bald, he had a five-o-clock shadow. He always dressed neatly in tailored suits and a green tie to match his eyes. Verde had learned long ago that Farron always wore longer blazers to conceal his badger tail. His companion was a slightly taller man with a wiry build and broad shoulders. The hair on top of his head was light brown and thinning but he possessed a thick, enviable moustache.  His eyes were a rich copper colour.

When the two men stopped before the three of them, Farron extended a gloved hand for Verde to shake. "Verde," He greeted, gripping his hand firmly when Verde shook it.

"Farron," Verde echoed in a similar neutral tone. As they parted, his eyes shifted to the man beside Farron who had been studying the three of them intently since their arrival. "I wasn't aware you would be bringing anyone with you. Is this a new business partner?"

"It was a last minute decision," Farron admitted, his green eyes glancing at his companion for a brief moment. "Crocus and I actually go way back. We were at the academy together and joined the military at the same time. Let's just say he has a vested interest in our work."

"Pah, vested interest my ass!" The man scoffed. "Don't sell me short, Farron." Although the tone had a hint of playfulness to it, Verde got the impression that Farron's companion was genuinely irritated by his introduction. "If not for me you would not have known about some of your jobs."

Verde now looked at the man with interest. There had always been rumours of Farron having a man on the inside giving him locations to raid but there was very little solid proof. His superiors had always kept it open as a potential line of investigation down the line, but with no real evidence, there had been no reason to pursue it. "Are you a military man?" Verde asked, looking at the stranger. "Forgive me...what did you say your name was?"

"Crocus. Crocus Navarro." The man answered, giving him a wide grin that unsettled him somewhat."And I was a military man. I stepped down some years ago due to differences with my superiors. I work private security now but I still have many dear friends in the military who give me the information I can offer out to those deserving of it." Crocus winked. Rotten all the way up, Verde thought bitterly. "And you are the mysterious Verde. Farron speaks highly of you. I must say it was odd to hear Teak had someone he worked with, I thought that man was just an isolated loon, to be honest with you."

Although suspicious of Crocus pointing out his supposed connection with Teak, Verde did well to keep his expression as a mask of neutral indifference. "As you said yourself, he preferred his privacy," Verde said curtly. "He might have been eccentric but he was sharper than he looked. He understood the wisdom of not putting your eggs all in one basket."

A curious expression passed over Crocus's face, as though he was not sure what to make of that. After a moment, he nodded and looked at Farron. “I like him.”

Farron nodded. “I told you he was good,” He said. 

“Very good,” Crocus said, before turning to speak to Verde again. “Your last job still has the authorities scratching their heads apparently. According to one of my sources, there was even talk of dropping it, in part due to the lack of evidence you left them.”

Verde flashed the man a grateful smile, slipping easily into the mindset that he needed to be proud of his supposed success. “You are too kind,” Verde said, feigning embarrassment. “Some credit should go to my companions here though.” He gestured towards Merlot and Saika, who had kept back since the conversation began. With a smile and a wave of the hand, he invited them forward.  As much as Verde personally wanted to keep the two of them out of things, he had to allow them to be present on some jobs, including the most recent. He likely would have kept them away from the last job too but his superiors were getting concerned that Farron and his associates might start getting suspicious.

“Ah, yes the two academy students. I'm impressed they held their own given that they didn't always perform so well under Teak,” Crocus mused, stepping forward to shake their hands. “Merlot Sigal and Saika Fujioka, yes?”

Saika was holding his hand as he said that, and Verde did not miss how she did not let go for a few passing moments. “Former students,” She corrected as she finally relinquished his grip.

Crocus merely shrugged, clearly not caring about this information. It might have frustrated Saika but it was a great relief to Verde who still couldn’t quite get a good read on Crocus.

“Well, Farron, I am satisfied we can progress with our work,” Crocus said, looking back to Farron. “I am still waiting on confirmation from my sources about the completion of their project but all signs indicate the end is in sight. Until then, I have a few more jobs you might be interested in to bide your time with.”

“Actually, I have a suggestion,” Saika interrupted.

Verde raised a brow. He had known of Crocus’s plans from his own sources but he was genuinely taken aback and curious about what Saika had to suggest.

Unbothered by the sudden shift of attention onto her, Saika pressed on. "Well, I was thinking how about we raid Princeton's Province? It's in a fairly secluded location, doesn't attract many shoppers, and they deal with a number of high quality goods. From what I recall, some pre-war artifacts and military memorabilia have passed through the owner's hands."

Farron looked at her suspiciously. "You seem quite well informed on this location, Saika."

"It's something I've been considering for a while," Saika admitted.

"You might want to know that we are familiar with the owner too," Merlot added something which earned him a glare from Saika.

Farron and Crocus shared a look. Verde noted that Farron seemed warier now but Crocus appeared to be more curious. "How familiar?" Crocus asked.

Saika shifted uncomfortably. "The owner's daughter was our teammate Jasmine."

"So this is, what, a revenge mission?" Farron questioned, narrowing his eyes at Saika in particular. "You are aware of how reckless that sounds?"

"I assure you it is no revenge mission," Saika began to say. Verde noticed her voice had begun to shift into a whining tone, a trait of hers that tended to flare up when she was angry or lying. 

"Don't fret child," Crocus cut in, giving Saika a dismissive wave which stopped her talking. He looked back to Farron. "Farron, my good man, don't you think this would be a good opportunity?"

"A good opportunity for what?" Farron asked. "That business has never been on our radar for a start. Besides, I doubt that they would sell anything worth our while."

"Oh, just because it's not to your tastes doesn't mean it's necessarily worth ignoring," Crocus responded, speaking in a way that felt like more of a jab to Farron. "As the girl said, they do on occasion sell some high value pieces. I should know, my estranged wife and daughter have purchased from there in recent months."

"But anything that will be of use to us?"

Crocus shrugged. "Well, I cannot say for certain. From what I recall, they don't keep a list of products they keep in besides the regular stock. But even if none of what they have is what we need, some of the valuable pieces would certainly fetch a pretty penny on the black market."

"Are you seriously considering this?" Farron huffed.

"I am always serious when it comes to money," Crocus said, flashing a charming smile towards Farron.

"Money or not, I am still unsure about this," Farron confessed. 

"Think of it this way, my friend, let this be a test for our two students," Crocus said, putting an arm around his companion. "If they can handle themselves it will prove what happened with Verde wasn't a one-off. And that they can handle themselves without needing to hold somebody's hand."

"I assure you they can handle themselves," Verde cut in. He didn't like this idea that Crocus was suggesting. Not only was this a location that had not been on their radar, but Crocus was also suggesting they do it alone which meant he could not keep an eye on them. And should they get caught as Teak had, well, he had no doubt Farron and Crocus would not come to their rescue.

"Can they though?" Crocus suddenly asked. Verde noted there was a slight edge to his tone now, suspicious and not at all pleasant. Where moments before he had been engaging in playful banter, it seemed now a darker side was slipping out. "I noticed that under Teak's watchful eye they were sloppy. He let them get away with far too much, far too often. He didn't care about cleaning up," Crocus said. He stared intently at Verde. "I notice under you it's more of the opposite."

"You're acting as though that's a bad thing," Verde snapped, easily letting his worries work into making him sound frustrated. "You can see how they were under Teak. I can't possibly see how being more cautious and watchful over them is a bad thing."

"There is such a thing as being too protective," Crocus pointed out. "Besides, they aren't children anymore."

"Nor are they soldiers," Verde retorted.

Verde had anticipated Crocus snapping at this but his expression remained fairly neutral, though his eyes briefly looked him up and down. "No, they are not."

"Crocus, I believe we have gotten off track," Farron interjected. "We are not here to discuss how Verde orders our associates around. As our middleman, he is allowed to handle things at his own discretion."

Crocus was still looking at Verde as Farron spoke. A long moment passed before he straightened and the more charming expression and attitude returned. "Of course, of course!" Crocus agreed. "Forgive me, friend, as you know, sometimes old habits die hard." The man clapped his hands. "Now, what about the matter with Princeton's Province? Have you given it more thought?"

"I have considered it, yes," Farron confirmed. "And I have decided you are right. There is potential for us to make good money if we find the right products there."

"I am glad we are in agreement," Crocus smiled in satisfaction. "Perhaps it would be a wise idea to get some surveillance on the location ahead of time? Do you have someone who can handle it?"

"I have people in mind. New talent you might say," Farron answered.

New talent? As far as Verde was aware there had been no new faces introduced to the group for some time. For multiple new people to have been referenced was intriguing. Verde made a mental note to ask his superiors if any names came up on the channels. However, he anticipated there would be little information on that front, as he knew Farron had a hacker working for him.

"So, about this job...when would you like us to do it?" Saika asked.

"Give it some time," Crocus answered, mostly speaking to Farron as he said this. "There's still an increased police presence as of late. It would be wise to wait until it has died down to go there. The last thing we want is any unwanted attention."

"Agreed," Farron nodded, turning to Merlot and Saika. "Keep your heads down for now and I will tell Verde to contact you when I am ready. Does this sound amenable to you, Verde?"

"I would rather be there myself, but that will suffice," Verde admitted, even though it was a lie. 

"Well, if everything is settled, we should be on our way, don't you think Farron?" Crocus suggested, looking at his watch as he did. 

"Yes that is fine," Farron nodded. "Besides I know you have further work to get to."

"Actual work," The other man chuckled. Crocus stepped forward to shake everyone's hands in a gesture of farewell. "Pleasure meeting all of you. I hope what we planned here today goes well."

As Crocus turned to depart, Farron lingered a moment, leaning toward Verde. "Your concerns about Merlot and Saika have been noted," He said cryptically. "Don't worry, I will send Candy with them to assist."

"That is good of you to offer," Verde said. "Hopefully that won't put you in trouble with Crocus."

As Farron leaned back, he grimaced slightly. "He does not control what I do."

Except that's exactly what he does, Verde thought as he flashed Farron an appreciative farewell smile.

The three of them waited for Farron and Crocus to leave before they in turn departed. Leaving the alley, they eased themselves back onto the street, blending in with the other Atlesian citizens milling about on the streets.

"Did that go well?" Merlot asked.

"Honestly, I couldn't say for certain," Verde admitted without turning around. "I'd say it went as well as we could have hoped."

"That's good to know," Merlot said, before seconds later turning to Saika. "Where did that come from about Jasmine's place!?"

"As I said, it was something that I've been planning for a while," Saika responded simply. "I thought you'd be more understanding."

"How long?"

"Since that bitch stabbed us in the back and didn't bother to defend us when the academy threatened to expel us," Saika said. Verde didn't need to turn around to know she was seething behind him. He could hear the venom in her voice.

"The past is in the past," Verde cut in before they could hash things out. "I would have preferred a head's up if you had been thinking of something like that, but the plan of action is in motion now."

"How long will we have to wait?" Saika pressed.

"As long as Farron deems necessary," Verde responded. In truth, he wanted things to happen sooner rather than later, but that would require his own superiors to get the Atlesians to pull back on their investigation, albeit temporarily.

The three of them came to a junction in the road and Verde made a gesture for the two of them to act like they were saying farewell. "It was so nice to catch up with you both again!" Verde said in an exaggerated tone. "Stay out of trouble until I get in contact again." He would add in a quieter tone.

Merlot and Saika nodded and made their own false goodbyes before the three of them departed. Verde remained where he was for a few minutes, making sure the two were out of sight before tucking himself into a concealed doorway.

He pulled out a secure scroll and dialed a number.

"Hello?" A masculine voice answered.

"Hello sir, it's Vernon," Verde greeted, using his real name to address his boss. "I have an update."

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 1 REWRITE EPILOGUE

Here's the epilogue for the first arc rewrite! Slowly working on the arc 2 stuff currently but keep an eye out for when that drops too!

Wisteria

A fresh cup of Friar Tuck’s in her hand, Wisteria moved down the street with ease. To any passersby, she would have just looked like a regular citizen, enjoying a latte on a brisk Atlesian day.

When she reached her destination, Wisteria looked up and down the street, before removing a key card from her bag and letting herself in. On the outside, it looked to be a private, three-storied apartment building, but had long ago been emptied and rebuilt as a place of operations for Farron Hargrave and his people.

Wisteria left her coat and bag downstairs, making note of who was already present, before climbing two flights of stairs to reach Farron’s office within the building. She had barely reached the door when she could hear yelling.

“It isn’t your place to ask questions on production!”

Wisteria winced slightly as she entered the room, Candy’s yelling already beginning to annoy her. The pink-haired woman was speaking down to one of their associates, a faunus named Lunick. Sometimes the two of them had butted heads in the past but never to this extent. More often than not, Candy playfully flirted with him, as she did with Farron too.

“Ladies, ladies, it’s a little early to be yelling don’t you think?” Wisteria said, preventing Candy from saying something else. “What’s the problem?”

“I was telling Candy how the incident at the factory has obviously dropped production values,” Lunick said, shooting Wisteria an appreciative look.

“It isn’t your place to look into that!” Candy snapped. “Just stick to your computers.”

Lunick sighed, rubbing his temple with his hand. “When your antics have an impact on the funds we have then it becomes my place, Candy,” He told her, managing to keep his voice surprisingly even. “If you’d rather work without any money then feel free. We’ll see how long that lasts when you come crawling to me asking for someone to help fix your weapons because you broke them yet again.”

Wisteria smirked. “Does she come crawling there for anything else, Lunick?”

“Wisteria I swear I’ll -”

“Nice to see you’re all getting along,” A fourth voice cut in. Standing in the doorway stood Farron Hargrave, the leader of the group. His green eyes studied them all carefully, before he walked round to his desk, and took a seat.

With Farron now having arrived, Candy was quick to play nice, walking over to his desk and sitting on it. Lunick merely rolled his eyes and sighed softly but seemed quietly relieved not to have Candy snapping at him currently.

“How was your trip, Farron?” Candy asked, using the sugary sweet voice she reserved only for when she was playing nice. 

“Fine,” He grumbled, his neutral expression suddenly shifting to a frown. “Or at least it was until the police started asking questions! Do any of you care to explain what happened?”

“Well as you know, Lunick suggested Verde to us, so any blame for what happened at Verdant Storage goes to him.”

“Thank you for that, Candy,” Farron said with a sarcastic tone. “And whilst I will need to speak with Lunick about Verde, what happened at Verdant Storage was not the problem. I am talking about my factory, my family’s factory. Which I had entrusted to you to take care of whilst I was gone.”

“You’re not blaming me surely!?” Candy said with an incredulous tone jumping off the desk.

“The machines were riddled with mostly your bullet holes were they not? You were also supposed to have moved those additional supplies by the time of the attack.”

“If I may interrupt, sir,” Wisteria said with a cough. Farron and Candy both turned to to look at her, whilst Farron had returned to his neutral expression, Candy’s was nothing but hostile. “Candy is merely angry because she was defeated by a group of children.”

Farron arched a brow. Candy on the other hand was quick to remove herself from the desk and march over to Wisteria.

“I was not the only one ‘defeated’ by them.”

“I was not defeated by them,” Wisteria pointed out. “I was helping get you out of there so you didn’t wind up like our dear friends Merlot and Saika.”

“As if I would fail like-”

“Enough!” Farron snapped, silencing the two women. Whilst Candy turned to him with a pleading glance, Wisteria found herself feeling quite smug.

“What’s done is done,” Farron began, now addressing everyone in the room. “To avoid further questions, I have allowed the police to seize the factory completely, claiming that I have no knowledge of the supplies found there.”

“And that worked?” Lunick asked. “Surely having the supplies found there won’t look good when held up against your existing record and discharge from the army.”

Farron nodded his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “You are right it doesn’t look good. Thankfully my brother still has legal ownership of the factory, and as I was away on business at the time, it should provide us with enough cover to get away.”

“And go where?” Candy asked.

“You and I will be returning to Shizukana,” Farron said, looking at Candy. “That is where we have been funnelling most of our resources, and we already have a base of operations there as you all know.” He paused and now looked at Lunick and Wisteria. “Lunick will stay here and continue to monitor his network. Hopefully, he might even be able to lure Verde out from whatever hole he crawled into. As for Wisteria, she will also be joining us on Shizukana, but not before seizing the asset from Crocus.”

Wisteria seemed a bit surprised by this. She had no idea what the ‘asset’ was, but she knew it had to be something of value, as the man who informed them was an old military contact of Farron. Like Farron, he wasn’t part of the military anymore, though he left on his own volition rather than being discharged, and currently worked at a laboratory in the city. From what little she knew, the laboratory took a lot of contracts from the military, upgrading weapons and armour, and helping with some of the androids they used. However, following the incident at Beacon, she imagined they probably wouldn’t be dealing with robots for a while.

“I thought you wanted me to retrieve the asset?” Candy said, looking surprisingly crestfallen.

Farron’s steely gaze fixed on Candy. “I did initially. However, I require someone with a certain degree of subtlety to retrieve it, and following your antics at the factory I do not think I can trust you to handle it anymore.”

“She almost blew the place up with her little trick with the dust crystal!” Candy protested.

“I’m aware of that, and whilst that wasn’t too wise of our friend, I’m willing to overlook it for the time being due to her previous track record,” He explained. He glanced towards Wisteria. “Whilst I do not doubt your skills, the place is likely to be highly secured, do you have anyone you trust to accompany you?”

Wisteria inclined her head to the side. “I know some people who’ll be willing to help me.” Nieve and Ulysses had been waiting in the wings for an eventuality such as this.

Farron nodded. “Good. Speak to them as soon as you can - today if possible. I would like the asset retrieved as soon as possible. Once you do have it, I would advise you lay low for a few days before joining us on Shizukana, to ensure the police aren’t tracking you.”

“As you wish,” Wisteria said, dipping her head in acknowledgement. With a new task at hand, she was about to leave the room but found herself stopping near the door to respond to the questioning look Candy gave her. “I’ll get in contact with my people and we’ll get on this right away.” She stopped to give a wink to Candy, aiming to further rile her up. “See you soon.”

Wisteria headed back downstairs to retrieve her coat and bag before leaving. She discarded her empty coffee cup in a bin as she left, and then waited a moment to ensure the door was locked behind her. Wisteria made sure she was a safe distance away from the meeting place, before pulling out the modified scroll she carried with her. She clicked it on and scrolled down until she saw the person she needed to call and pressed their name. They answered within a few rings.

“Bianca,” Wisteria greeted.

“How good to hear from you again, Wisteria. We were beginning to think you had forgotten about us.”

“I have news,” Wisteria said coolly, hoping to get straight to the point. “Farron intends to move his operations to Shizukana. I will be joining him there soon, but I will first need Nieve and Ulysses to help retrieve the asset we discussed weeks back.”

“He’s finally decided to go after it then? Excellent. Ensure that you have it delivered to us once you’ve dealt with them. Belle is practically salivating at the chance to get her hands on new Atlesian tech,” Bianca said, with the faintest hint of sarcasm. There was a pause before they spoke again. “How long do you think it will take you to deal with them?”

“Not long I don’t think,” Wisteria began. “They were practically falling apart by the time I arrived two months ago and all these recent setbacks have only added to our advantage.”

“That is pleasing to hear, and I’m sure father will be delighted as well. The sooner Farron has been dealt with, the sooner you can return to us and we can begin phase three. Now get in contact with Nieve and Ulysses and I hope when we next speak you’ll bring me further good news.” There was a small click as Bianca disconnected the call.

“Here’s hoping,” Wisteria mumbled to herself, sliding the scroll back into her back pocket. She scanned the area for a moment, before heading off into the city to reunite with her dear friends Nieve and Ulysses.

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 1 REWRITE - CHAPTER 7

Team ZRCN goes in search of a further lead.

Zelde

After successfully taking care of Merlot and Saika, Team ZRCN spent the next few days attempting to resolve their mission. Whilst it could have been resolved sooner, the involvement with the Mistrali Police had slowed the completion down. Luckily, despite the delay, it was eventually resolved without too much issue and ZRCN were permitted to complete their mission.

It was pleasing to return the missing Princeton supplies but in the process of searching the warehouse, they had found clues and more stolen supplies that hinted to a far larger operation, and one that linked with several robberies that had occurred in Mantle.

Vernon had been able to explain some of what they found but there was even more he could not. Although their mission had only been to resolve the Princeton’s case, all of ZRCN had expressed an interest in potentially pursuing things further and trying to expose Farron Hargrave. It seemed like a difficult task, especially given that Vernon himself had struggled to make any real progress on that front, but he was happy to provide them with what information he could so long as they got permission.

Zelde had tasked herself with speaking to General Ironwood on their behalf that morning, with Xanthos accompanying her for, as he put it ‘moral support’. Cordovan would have offered himself but Zelde waved him off, telling him and Neela that they did not need to all be present as she was quite certain she could get the point across well enough.

With little else to do, Corodvan and Neela headed down to the training room for a few hours. As Zelde was unsure of when she would be finished, she thought it was a fine idea to keep themselves occupied.

Once Zelde and Xanthos had finished, they headed to the training room in search of their teammates. Figuring that they would be in the main room already, the two of them headed to the viewing area, where they were met by half of Team ZNIA - Noah Azouf and Ajax Hodios.

Ajax explained that Cordovan and Neela hadn’t been there long when Team ZNIA appeared and suggested the two of them join them for a little spar. Apparently Cordovan would have been happy enough to leave it as just the two of them, but Neela seemed quite keen on the idea. Luckily, Ajax and Noah elected to hold back now for the time being, allowing it to be a fair fight between them.

As Xanthos continued chatting with Noah and Ajax, Zelde stepped closer to the window, peering down below to watch. Cordovan was currently sparring with Zinnia, using his sword to counter and parry the strikes from her weapon in its sickle form. If they had both been using their weapons in their rifle forms, Zelde thought they'd have been fairly evenly matched. In their current state, Zinnia had the upper hand, her lighter weapon granting her more mobility. Cordovan did have a slight advantage in that he could still use his semblance.

Zinnia's semblance required the absorption of natural light, something which she could not tap into in this room of hard light constructs.

As Zinnia took a step back to land a heavy blow, Cordovan threw up a small shield, which her weapon collided with. As she pulled back, Cordovan dropped his shield, drawing back his sword and then swinging it at Zinnia. Her weapon hastily came up to parry it, but not fast enough to avoid the power behind the attack.

Zinnia took a step back, her back hitting against a stack of hard light cubes. Cordovan gripped his weapon tight, stalking towards her, intent on taking her out of combat. However, before he could, Isolde’s throwable shield came out of nowhere and disrupted his walk when it hit him on the shoulder. Cordovan looked around for the other woman and Zelde also looked, half expecting to spot her lingering nearby. Isolde was close enough to see the two of them and to have thrown her shield, but it seemed that once she recalled it to her, Isolde was quick to return her attention to Neela.

The training continued for some time and as Zelde continued to watch, she was joined by the rest of Team ZNIA and Xanthos. She and Ajax enjoyed talking battle strategy together, pointing out ledges or angles their teammates could use against each other. They shared similar strategies but Zelde was also interested to hear how he viewed certain things differently from her. There were some things she agreed with and even found to be quite insightful, but other suggestions she thought were just plain wrong.

Down below, Isolde was taking her chances with both Cordovan and Neela, having backed them into a tight corner. Zelde found it difficult to plan for a fight with the Azouf woman. Like her brother, Isolde could be as unpredictable and lethal in combat as she was when playing Remnant: The Game, which made it difficult to counter.

Isolde neatly deflected shots from Cordovan’s rifle with her shield, barely even breaking a sweat the entire time. Neela managed to get Isolde back by forming some ice crystals with her trident and then using her semblance to give herself and Cordovan an escape.

Although they were able to avoid Isolde, they were not so lucky when it came to Zinnia. From where she waiting on a platform of blocks, Zinnia shot a couple of warning shots at Cordovan and Neela. The first couple of shots caught their aura, but Cordovan was ready with a shield for himself on the last.

Zelde watched as her teammates looked around for Zinnia but she had already gone. From their position below, they could not see her using the platforms of hard light blocks to close in on them, using her weapon as a makeshift grappling hook to swing from one ledge to the other before dropping down between them. Cordovan was caught by surprise and quickly felled by Zinnia. Neela attempted to parry her, blocking a swing from her sickle with her trident, before ultimately falling to a quick shot from Zinnia who had swapped her weapon back to its rifle form.

“The spar is over,” Noah’s voice intoned over the speakers in the training room. “ Cordovan, Neela, both of your auras dropped to a critical level.”

Down below, Zelde could see the four combatants shifting around awkwardly before they shared a few light-hearted words. After holstering their weapons, the four of them took the elevator back up to the viewing platform. Xanthos was quick to rush over and commend Neela, whilst Cordovan, Zinnia, and Isolde came to stand with Zelde, Ajax, and Noah.

"That was impressive, Zinnia," Zelde commended. Neela and Xanthos were lagging behind in catching up, but all of Zinnia's teammates were beginning to crowd around her.

She waved Zelde's comment off playfully. "Oh, it wasn't that impressive. Just luck really. Neela would have had me out otherwise."

"You always impress me, sötnos," Noah Azouf blurted out suddenly. It took him a moment to realise what he had just said before his cheeks began to flush with colour. "I, um…I'm going to see about getting the room set up for me and Ajax."

The two boys quickly departed and Isolde followed close behind, flashing an amused grin at Zinnia before joining her twin and teammate.

“So…” Neela said, her tone innocent but her expression betraying the ribbing she was about to give Zinnia.

Zinnia made a groaning sound, holding a hand out to try to stop her. “Please don’t.”

“You and Noah, huh?” Neela chuckled, raising her brow.

“It's not like that,” Zinnia said before shaking a head. “It's…complicated? No, no, that's the wrong word for it.” Her gaze moved over to her teammates, who were still trying to set up the room. “To be honest, I’m not sure what we are. I mean we've flirted a little and went on one date but we've never given ourselves an official title or anything. I suppose we're still trying to figure it out ourselves.”

Although she had never been in a relationship herself, Zelde nodded in understanding. It must have been hard for the two of them to try and pursue a relationship between all their training and various huntsmen activities. That, and the Atlas dormitories offered little in the way of privacy, so Zelde would have been surprised if they even managed to find any private moments for themselves.

“Do you mind if I steal my team away from you?” Zelde asked, eager to share the news she and Xanthos had received from General Ironwood.

“Sure,” Zinnia smiled. “Thanks for the spar!” She gave Cordovan and Neela and thumbs up before departing to rejoin her teammates.

“How did it go with the General?” Cordovan asked once the other woman was out of earshot.

“He was a little reluctant at first but after explaining the situation to him and how we felt there was something larger at play, the General was willing to consent to a further investigation,” Zelde explained.

Xanthos pushed out his chest. “My charms never fail!” He boasted.

Zelde rolled her eyes but her lips twitched faintly. More so in amusement at the fact that Xanthos had barely said anything during that meeting as opposed to his supposed charming of General Ironwood.

“If you were both willing, I thought we might head out to Hargrave Manufacturing this evening?” Zelde prompted.

Cordovan and Neela shared a glance before Neela shrugged. “Well, we’ll need a little bit to recover after the spar, but I’m open to the idea if you are, Cor?”

“I am also fine with it,” Cordovan nodded. “Once we’ve rested of course.”

**

Three hours later, on the opposite side of the city, the team had finally arrived at Hargrave Manufacturing. From the outside it was not very impressive, being what you’d expect from a manufacturing plant. As it was nearing nighttime now, there were few people around, though even from outside they could still hear the sounds of machines working away from within.

It took some time to get into the place, Xanthos was eventually able to jimmy open a locked back door, and they slipped inside. To Zelde’s surprise, the place didn’t seem particularly secure, and besides one solitary security guard at the entrance, there was little in the way of protection. Avoiding any workers they stumbled across, using a number of concealed spots, they all were able to eventually slip inside the building. The main factory floor had at least four assembly lines, two of which were active. Clearly, these were automatic machines, as no workers were operating them. Dotted around the room were little trolleys carrying various pieces of metal, and some crates lined the back wall. There was a pair of double doors at the rear of the factory floor, leading to what Zelde assumed to be either storage or another production room. A single staircase led up to a balcony and a windowed room which appeared to be an office of sorts.

“Neela and I will investigate the office,” Zelde told her team as they paused for breath behind one of the machines. Looking at Cordovan and Xanthos, she gestured to some of the crates lining the wall. “You two stay down here and see what you can find. Try not to cause any trouble.” She looked pointedly at Xanthos as she said this.

Splitting up, Zelde waited a moment to watch as the boys made their way to the side of the room, before nodding to Neela to carry on their way. They moved up the stairs slowly, careful not to make too much noise, and as soon as they had reached the balcony they kept low and close to the wall. Stopping by the window, Zelde took a small look inside. It turned out to not be an office but rather a security room with one man manning a computer system.

Zelde held up a finger to indicate there was one person to deal with, before gesturing for the two of them to enter. Despite best efforts to enter quietly, the man saw them approaching in the glare of the monitors and turned to stop them. Fortunately, Neela was quicker to react, and a few well-timed kicks sent him to the floor.

Zelde was moved to look at the monitors, whilst Neela searched his body for anything useful. The monitors displayed a number of camera feeds one of which had been focused on where they had entered before. She quietly wondered if he had spotted them at all. As she continued to look at the monitors she was certain she saw a casually dressed figure approaching the building in one of the screens.

“Umm, Zelde?”

The sound of Neela’s voice caught her attention, and before she could get a good look at the screen, she found herself looking back at her teammate. Neela was holding up a tiny earpiece, with a worried expression on her face. And for good reason, it would seem, as Zelde could hear the faint chatter of a woman on the other end.

“He was communicating with someone,” Neela said, confirming Zelde’s growing fear.

No sooner had she said it, did the wail of a siren punctuated the air, followed by the sound of something metallic hitting the floor from down below. Realising either Xanthos or Cordovan had been spooked, both girls went for the door, but practically tumbled backwards into the room, when rapid-fire gunshots could be heard below.

“Get your scroll out,” Zelde instructed, doing her best to keep her voice level and calm. “Call for the police. I’m going to see who is shooting.”

With a nod, Zelde left Neela alone for a moment, slipping out the balcony and peering over. A woman with reddish-pink hair was firing bullets in the direction of where Xanthos and Cordovan were hiding. They seemed cornered which was troubling, but Zelde could see Cordovan managing to fire back a few shots when the woman paused to reload. They had to get down there and help, but there was no way she or Neela would make it down those stairs without some cover or a distraction.

A moment later Neela appeared beside her. Zelde was about to mention they tried catching the attention of one of their teammates when she saw the expression on Neela’s face.

“What’s wrong?” Zelde asked.

“I couldn’t get through!” Neela responded quickly. “The signal was down or something! I can’t get through to anyone.”

“Try mine,” Zelde offered, handing her scroll to Neela to try, before looking over the edge again. She managed to get Xanthos’ attention, who promptly nudged Cordovan to look up as well.

“No good,” Neela suddenly said, passing the scroll back to Zelde. Before she put it away, Zelde could see for herself that she had no signal. “What are we going to do now?”

“We’ve got to get down there somehow,” Zelde said, “I’ll see if Xanthos can give us a distraction, can you maybe use your semblance for a little extra help?”

“I can try.”

“Good. Do it.”

With a little trepidation, Neela stepped forward, and holding her arms over the balcony started to produce her misty semblance. Zelde wasn’t sure how well it would work, but it was something at least. Grabbing Xanthos’ attention, she gestured for him to hit one of the machines with his whip.

With Cordovan’s help, Xanthos was able to inch forward a little, to stand and strike one of the machines. He had infused it with dust, and a crackle of electricity sparked as it hit the machine, which groaned to a halt. This seemed to catch the woman’s attention a little, as she turned her gun in that direction, almost as though expecting someone to be there. With this little error in judgment, Zelde and Neela made for the stairs, not quite reaching the bottom before the woman turned and saw them. Wanting to give Neela more cover, Zelde fired at her, which caught her by surprise. Attempting to shield herself, she had raised her rifle to protect her, only for it to fly out of her hand when struck by some of the bullets. As Zelde raced to join her team, she noticed that the woman’s aura flared in her hands, clearly in response to having the rifle shot away.

“Attack her now!” Zelde cried.

Cordovan and Neela were first to attack, with Cordovan’s Braveheart in its sword form. Neela’s spear struck her in the abdomen and the woman fell backwards, her aura flaring up again. Although her teammates had done well to push her back so far, the last hit had left her in reaching distance for her weapon, and she had managed to grab it and shift it into a sword form, which she was now using to parry Neela’s strikes.

She was certainly not the fastest, but the pink-haired woman was able to keep up with the team and deflect some of their hits - at least for a while. After a solid ten minutes of combat, Zelde noticed something strange - the woman seemed to almost purposely be allowing herself to get hit. She seemed to avoid large blows, but every so often she appeared to almost purposely get in the way of an attack, her aura flaring up in response to the direct blows to her body. Unfortunately for Zelde, she realised that not all was as it seemed a little too late.

The woman dropped to her knee suddenly, after ducking to avoid a swing from Cordovan. Zelde attempted to motion for her team to stop, but Xanthos didn’t see her and was already about to attack again before Zelde could stop him.

“Xanthos, wait!” Zelde cried out, turning around to attempt to stop him. But it was too late. He lashed out with his whip, and in response, the woman had raised one of her arms, the whip curling around it, and allowing her to grip it tightly. She slowly began to stand back up, her body now appearing to give off a reddish-pink glow, not unlike her aura. With a sharp tug, she pulled at the whip, dragging Xanthos forward with alarming strength. He attempted to dodge out of her way but was struck in the shoulder by her other fist, which sent him toppling to the side.

The next few attacks were difficult. The older woman no longer appeared to have much difficulty in deflecting their attacks. And now it appeared as though the tables had switched. She seemed stronger now, quicker as well, managing to knock them aside on some hits. Zelde wondered if this sudden surge in strength was her semblance, and that by allowing the team to deplete her aura, they had unwillingly triggered it.

Cordovan and Neela seemed to suffer the brunt of the woman’s attacks, being pushed back numerous times when they attempted to attack. Xanthos and Zelde had fared a little better, though a sharp kick had knocked Xanthos into one of the other machines, and winded him for the time being.

Just as she began to fear how long she’d be able to keep up, the woman seemed to slow, tiring almost. She parried a few hits from Neela before finally seeming to give up. Winded slightly, she appeared to wobble on the spot, leaning against one of the machines for support.

Hesitantly the team lowered their weapons and Xanthos struggled back to his feet, having remained there since the woman had knocked him down.

“I must admit I expected more,” Cordovan muttered, the blades of his sword retracting into the stock of his gun.

“I agree,” Neela added, “this seemed a little too easy.”

“Well, that’s probably because you didn’t face anyone with any real talent.”

A voice behind them made them all swivel around to look at the door that likely backed into another room. Even the red-haired woman turned, much like the team, seeming rather unimpressed to see the figure standing there.

The voice belonged to another woman. She had lavender hair styled in an inverted bob, and eyes a shade of striking green. She had lightly tanned skin, mostly unblemished save for a healed scar on her chin. Under a thin, dark purple jacket with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, she wore a high-necked dark grey shirt and an armoured corset over that. She wore trousers the same colour as her jacket and heeled boots that came to just below her knees. Although her weapon wasn’t visible, Zelde could see a holster at her waist, partially concealed by her jacket.

This new woman went to crouch beside the pink-haired woman, inclining her head as though curious. “Having trouble, Candy?” She asked the pink-haired woman in a mocking tone.

Candy grumbled something under her breath and shook her head. “I’m fine, Wisteria.” She responded curtly. As she pulled herself up onto her hands and knees, she gave ZRCN a withering glare.  “Just take care of this.”

With a wicked grin, Wisteria stood up straight and turned her attention to the team. “With pleasure.” She proceeded to bow to them.

It was then that Zelde was struck by a growing sense of unease. It almost felt as though she were afraid, but at the same time, it felt almost unnatural, as though she knew she didn’t have any real reason to be this fearful. Looking at her teammates, she saw that Neela and Cordovan had similar expressions on their faces, and she wondered if they were feeling the same way.

Before any of them had much time to react, Wisteria lunged for them, going straight for Zelde. Initially caught off guard, Zelde narrowly dodged her attack, a hand scrambling for her gun to retaliate. When she had it in her hand she swung out but Wisteria avoided it, practically doing a backflip to get out of the way. She avoided many of Zelde’s attacks with ease, moving with a speed that Zelde couldn’t quite match. Still, despite this, Wisteria had only made one attempt to properly attack.

After dodging a few more of Zelde’s attacks, Wisteria finally responded. After throwing a few punches in Zelde’s direction, she shifted into going for a roundhouse kick to Zelde’s head. Just as Zelde moved to avoid it she heard a noise that sounded like that of a blade sliding out and was alarmed to see what appeared to have been a concealed blade in her heel aiming for her head. Wanting to get out of the way, Zelde forced herself to fall backwards, narrowly avoiding cracking her head on one of the machines as she hit the the floor.

Wisteria stood over, cocking her head in fake sympathy. “What’s the matter? Feeling a little scared are we?”

She began to laugh a little but was cut off as a yellow blur crashed into her. To Zelde’s great relief, Xanthos had come to her rescue. As Neela and Cordovan pulled her to safety, Zelde watched as Xanthos and Wisteria fought on the floor. They seemed evenly matched at first, but Xanthos, still weakened from his earlier bout with Candy, was quickly overpowered. 

Xanthos lay sprawled on his back, with Wisteria straddled over him, pinning his arms to the floor temporarily. Wisteria hissed something into his ear, before releasing his arms, grabbing his head and slamming it into the floor. Once she clambered off of him, she moved towards Candy, who was waiting nearby with a hand over her waist.

“Stop playing, Wisteria!” Candy urged. “We need to go!”

Zelde was close enough to hear Wisteria muttering under her breath. “Playing?”

As Wisteria helped Candy to flee, Cordovan rushed to help Xanthos struggling to get him back to his feet. Meanwhile, Wisteria and Candy reached the door they had likely entered through, but Wisteria stopped when  saw Cordovan helping Xanthos. She gestured for Candy to carry on without her, before reaching for something in a back pocket with one hand, and the other going for the pistol holstered at her waist. Zelde didn’t see what she grabbed at first but felt her heart sink when she saw a bright orange dust crystal thrown at her teammates.

With a smile and a shrug of her shoulders, Wisteria aimed her revolver at the crystal. “There’s nothing personal, it’s just business.”

Zelde was barely able to shout at the two of them to run before Wisteria shot the crystal and it unleashed a fiery explosion.

Sensing there would be little time to move, Cordovan had quickly put up a shield, but it was no match for the force of the explosion, and fell apart easily, sending them both flying backwards. Zelde and Neela avoided the blast for the most part though the force had still knocked them back as well. To her relief, Cordovan and Xanthos looked to have avoided getting majorly hurt, though neither of them was moving much. With the sirens kicking in again, and fire spreading into the machines following the blast, Zelde knew this battle had been lost. There would be no point in chasing after the two women who had since disappeared in the commotion. The most important thing right now was to get her team away from the smoke and fire and outside to safety.

Neela ran towards Xanthos to get him back up, whilst Zelde went for Cordovan, who upon closer inspection seemed on the verge of losing consciousness. Zelde kept speaking to him to keep him alert, but she suspected if he stopped he would likely hit the floor and be impossible to move.

Helping the boys up onto their feet, Zelde urged her team to begin to evacuate the building. A lot of smoke was coming off the machines now, several of them having been heavily damaged by Wisteria’s explosive tactic to flee.

Neela was supporting Xanthos and Zelde had Cordovan’s arm over her shoulder, attempting to keep him upright despite their height difference.

“Come on,” Zelde said, looking between the four of them. “Let’s get out of here before any more of us get hurt.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 12

Back with the villain squad this chapter! Neela’s fate is revealed, and tensions bubble over in a tense meeting.

WISTERIA

The room was quiet today Wisteria noted, as she stepped inside. Although it was noon, the windows had been blackened out long ago, giving the room a state of near-permanent darkness. Or at least it would be, if not for the dim light hanging from the ceiling.

“Lunch is ready,” Wisteria announced, setting down the tray she was carrying onto the fold-out table into the room.

The figure in the corner slowly rose to her feet, tentatively coming closer, and grabbing the sandwich as if she expected Wisteria to snatch it away again.

“Hungry aren’t we?” Wisteria remarked.

The young woman swallowed her mouthful of the sandwich before answering. “You don’t exactly give me much to eat. I think I could be forgiven for feeling as though I’m being starved.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that, Neela,” Wisteria assured her, catching the younger woman off guard by her casual use of her name. “They deem you to valuable to risk hurting. From what I can tell they’re planning on using you to blackmail your father into giving them a considerable amount of money.”

Neela went silent for a moment, the look on her face appearing to imply she was processing this new information. A moment passed before she looked up at Wisteria, scowling at her. “Don’t act as though you’re above killing someone like me.”

“What’s that supposed to me- Oh! For the last time, I didn’t ‘kill’ your teammate!” Wisteria fired back, more defensively than she intended. She already had enough comments from Candy, who seemed to delight in taunting Wisteria by saying she didn’t know she had it in her.

“Can you say that for certain though?” Neela challenged, tilting her head to one side.

“I’m not having this conversation with you again,” Wisteria told her outright, already turning to leave. “The answer is going to be the same as the last five times you’ve asked.”

Neela didn’t respond after that, so Wisteria left her to brood in silence. She had barely closed the door behind her, before another voice cut through her thoughts.

“Wisteria,” Candy greeted, a teasing smile on her lips. “Did I scare you?”

Hardly. But Wisteria opted against responding to that, instead asking, “What is it that you want Candy?”

Candy’s smile soon disappeared when she clearly didn’t get the response she was hoping for. Good, Wisteria thought. It would take more to scare me than someone like you.

“Farron wants to speak with us,”

“Finally!” Wisteria said, emphasising a relieved sigh if only for the annoyance it provided for Candy. “It has taken him long enough. What was he doing? Trying to wrap his head around how much of a colossal fuck-up you made?”

Candy’s lips pressed into a thin line, and Wisteria likely would have gotten an earful, had she not turned and began walking away. With a shrug, Wisteria followed close behind. The building they currently found themselves was the old processing plant for the Shizukana mines, long since closed and disused after the mines blew up. It was dark, miserable building, both inside and out. Much of the old factory had been gutted long ago, but you could still see reminders of what it had once been. If all went to plan, Wisteria would finish her mission here, and then she could finally say goodbye to Farron and his group. Then it was only two years left of her contract with the Rossi’s and she could finally go home. Whatever home was anymore...

Farron waited for them in what had once been the foreman’s office, as evidenced by the now faded lettering on the door. The two women entered quietly, but Candy came to a sudden stop inside, almost causing Wisteria to crash into her. Wondering what had caused the sudden halt, Wisteria glanced around her to see Nieve and Ulysses stood behind Farron.

“What are they doing here?” Candy questioned, gesturing towards the two of them.

Farron’s expression remained as neutral as ever, but he relaxed into his chair slightly before he spoke. “Helping me get the story straight.”

“I’m not following,” Candy said, her features shifting into a confused frown. “I thought things were pretty clear.”

“To a degree,” Farron admitted. “However, I have since learnt you weren’t very forthcoming about the build-up to certain events. Including how I supposedly gave you permission to use my prototype in that village to attack those students.”

Candy seemed to turn mute at that. Wisteria couldn’t help but smirk at her getting called out. 

“Don’t smirk, Wisteria,” Farron advised with a firm tone, his green eyes shifting towards her for a moment. “You are not exempt from this diversion to my plans. I hear you gravely wounded one of these students. That he might even potentially be dead. Would you care to explain yourself?”

“I can’t say for certain whether he survived obviously, as I’ve been here for five days, but I can assure you that was never my intention,” Wisteria informed him. And she wasn’t lying either. True, she had meant to attack him, but only to knock him down and get him to yield. She had never intended to cut him like that. “The boy slipped when attempting to parry me, and unfortunately it threw off my aim as well, leading to what eventually happened.”

Farron frowned slightly and Wisteria got the impression he wasn’t overly satisfied with the answer, despite it being the truth. His gaze soon shifted back to Candy.

“Not only did you divert from the plan, but you also wasted the prototype. I warned you that it was unstable and that it was to come back to me as soon as Wisteria arrived,” Farron scolded.

“Why does she only get to walk away with a slapped wrist?” Candy asked, gesturing angrily towards Wisteria.

“Wisteria isn’t the issue,” Farron responded, cooly, “Now if I can continue -”

“No!” Candy shouted, interrupting him. “Ever since she joined, things have been going wrong! Verde’s gone underground, Saika and Merlot were arrested, half our supplies were reclaimed. And it's all her fault.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m to blame for like zero of the things you mentioned,” Wisteria pointed out with a smirk. 

“And there you go with a smirk again,” Candy yelled. She came striding up to Wisteria and grabbed her arm roughly. “I swear this is all just a little game to you.”

Wisteria only returned the comment with a sneer, before glancing down at where Candy was holding her arm. “Let go of me.”

“Or what?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Usually, when using her semblance, Wisteria liked to ease her victims into it, but to be frank, she had had enough of Candy’s snide remarks. She was sure the Rossi’s wouldn’t mind if she had a little fun in her last few days here. The effects of getting hit with the full force of Wisteria’s semblance was almost immediate: Candy’s pupils went wide, she seemed to pale in colour, and she dropped to her knees trembling. Her breaths became nervous and ragged, and her body trembled violently. Nieve was used to such scenes, but Ulysses seemed visibly shocked at what was going on, becoming even more distressed when Candy began gasping about her chest hurting.

Seeing Candy knelt in front of her, Wisteria was reminded of a story she once knew. The story of a frightened little girl who lived in constant fear. Her parents left her when she was young, and she had been taken in by people who were supposed to protect her, care for her, and love her. But they didn’t.

She was a slave to them, a helpful tool to complete the tasks they didn’t want to do. And when she refused, they would lock her away, withhold her toys, or beat the back of her shins with a cane. Sometimes she would only have to cry to get such treatment. And unfortunately for that poor little girl, she cried often.

Her life was so very sad and fearful. Until one day it wasn’t.

One day that frightened little decided she had enough. She didn’t want to be afraid anymore. She wanted them to stop hurting her and leave her alone.

They knocked her down, yelling and screaming in her ear, calling her worthless and insignificant. And then she raised her hand to defend herself. “Leave me alone!” the girl cried out. And they did. They dropped to their knees and shied away from her. They were afraid. Stop. They begged the girl. Stop. You’re hurting us! Please, stop this!

“Say my name,” Was all the girl requested. “Say my name, and I’ll let you go.”

But they hesitated, and so she squeezed harder, and they screamed louder. Four more times she asked before she finally got her answer.

Wisteria! Your name is Wisteria Bloome.

“P-please…” Candy croaked, a shaky holding a shaky hand up for mercy.

Beg as much as you like, Wisteria thought, if I really wanted to kill you, it wouldn’t matter much. I could choke the life from you without even laying a hand on your throat.

And perhaps she might have done just that, had it not been for Nieve intervening, resting a hand on her shoulder, and pulling her out of her thoughts. There was a concerned look in her eyes.

“I think you’ve made your point,” She said, casting a glance between Wisteria and Candy, who was still trembling in front of them. With a small, almost reluctant nod, Wisteria released her hold on her. Candy gasped loudly, and the first few breaths after her release were long and deep, desperate to steady her nerves.

Wisteria was also feeling the effects of her powers. It had been a long time since she had pushed herself that much and she felt light-headed and little dizzy; had it not been for Nieve stood nearby, Wisteria would have likely toppled over herself. Nieve had been with her for a long time though, she knew what could happen in situations like these - both for the victim and Wisteria.

“Thank you, old friend,” She whispered quietly, giving her an affectionate pat on the back. Wisteria straightened slightly, before addressing Farron and Candy. “We’re done here for today.” She informed them, before clicking her fingers and summoning Ulysses towards her and Nieve. As they moved to leave, Candy finally seemed to have recovered enough strength to be able to lift her head. The look she aimed at Wisteria was one of hurt and questioning. 

“I did warn you,” Wisteria said softly, the faintest of smiles gracing her lips. And with that she and her companions departed, leaving Farron and Candy to deal with what had just happened.

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 16

The time has come for ZRCN to go up against Farron and his men one final time. The truth is revealed in the final main chapter of arc 2!!!

Keep an eye out soon for the epilogue!

ZELDE

The time had come to finally deal with Farron and his men. Or at least, Zelde hoped the time had come. With how things had panned out so far that night, it certainly seemed like they were headed that way.

She only wished Cordovan could be with them during this moment, and not miles away at an Atlas hospital. Zelde was certain she wouldn’t be alone in thinking that if they did take down Farron’s group tonight, part of their motivation would be for Cordovan.

As they made their way down the back corridor, Zelde was suddenly struck by what felt like a headache. To the unknowing eye that’s certainly what it would look like at least. It had been a while since she had felt this sensation, so long in fact, that the sharpness of it caught her off guard and forced her to steady herself against a wall. Xanthos was the closest to her at the time, and seeing her stumble, was quick to call Helia and Neela back over to them.

Helia immediately rushed over to her, a concerned look in her eye. Zelde noted it probably didn’t help matters she had a wound on her head, so Helia would have likely been panicking it was something attributed to that.

“Are you alright, Zelde?” She asked. “Do you need to stop?”

“Was it one of your ‘feelings’?” Xanthos asked, to which she nodded.

Helia seemed confused. “Feelings?”

“Her semblance,” Neela clarified. “She has limited precognition. She can sense when something bad is going to happen but is unable to determine exactly when or how that’ll take place.”

“It’s probably nothing to worry about,” Zelde assured them, slowly easing herself away from the wall. “Usually, they don’t pan out as being that bad.”

Zelde might have considered throwing in an attempted laugh after that, had it not been for the two consecutive shots and high-pitched scream that echoed from further down the corridor.

“You were saying?” Xanthos quipped, giving her a look.

Zelde said nothing and grunted, before pushing on ahead. At the end of the corridor, they finally came across the foreman’s office, though the lettering was hard to make out as part of the glass in the door had been shattered, presumably by one of the gunshots they had heard before.

As they entered the room, there was a lot to take in. On the floor was a writhing Candy, who was violently trembling, alongside clutching a bleeding wound in her shoulder. To the left, Nieve and Ulysses were clambering out of a window, to the instruction of “getting an airship ready” from Wisteria. Speaking of Wisteria, she stood in the centre of the room, clearly the perpetrator of all the chaos, while holding Farron at gunpoint. He also had a gun drawn but held it less confidently than Wisteria was holding hers.

Hearing the four of them enter the room, Wisteria inclined her head slightly to the side. “Glad to see you made it!” She smirked. “Ulysses said you were here, but I was beginning to worry you’d forgotten about us.”

“Were you secretly working with these students all along? Did you betray me for them?!” Farron asked, glancing back at them, an accusatory note to his voice.

“I fear only the direst of circumstances would ever bring us together,” Wisteria responded to him. She then gave the four of them another glance. “Lucky you - you made it for the big reveal.”

“Reveal?” Xanthos repeated quietly.

“You see Farron, the truth is, I could never have betrayed you, because I was never really working for you,” Wisteria explained. She seemed to relish in the shock that dawned on Farron’s face. “Surprisingly, Candy was pretty close to figuring it out. She might even have been able to do something about it, had she not been so determined to believe I had a personal vendetta against her.”

Farron took a moment before asking another question. “Who did you work for really?”

“My lips are sealed,” Wisteria said quickly. The answer surprised Zelde, in truth. With the way Wisteria seemed to enjoy revealing this all to him, it didn’t make much sense for her not to give him the most crucial bit of information. “Unfortunately, my employers like a certain degree of discretion, and have no intentions of revealing themselves or their motives until they are ready.” The purple-haired woman inched closer to the desk, and when she was close enough, she lowered Farron’s gun and gripped his chin with her free hand. “All I will say is that you pissed off the wrong people, Farron.”

With that, she released him, giving him a shove as she stepped backwards. She put her gun back into her holster and made a two-finger salute at the group. “Well, it’s been fun but I’ve gotta run - or rather fly.”

Before any of them could react, she had made a dash for the window, Zelde attempted to make a grab for her before she could fully leave but was only successful in brushing against her ankle before she slipped out. 

“Damn!” She cursed.

“What are we waiting for? Let’s get after her!” Xanthos said, brushing past her, and moving towards the window. He already had a leg outside before Zelde could stop him.

Before she could say anything else, there was a small click that caught their attention, and the group turned to see Farron with his gun to his head, having clearly attempted to shoot himself. The scene caused Zelde, Neela, and Xanthos to hesitate.

“She’s destroyed everything I’ve worked for…” He mumbled with a defeated tone.

Farron didn’t seem to put up much of a fight when Helia took the gun from him, before waving the three of them off to catch up with Wisteria, insisting she would keep an eye on Farron.

With some reluctance, the three of them parted from their associate and hurried out the window after Wisteria, Nieve, and Ulysses. It didn’t take long to find them - clearly getting an airship ready had taken more time than they thought. They came across Wisteria stood below a hovering airship, a ladder dangling from before to help her get aboard. When Zelde saw Wisteria, she stepped forward from her team. “Wisteria!” She called out to her. “Running away, are we?”

With a fluid movement, Zelde proceeded to ease off her cloak, dropping it to the ground softly.

“Zelde, what are you doing!” Neela cried out from behind her. “Your aura!”

Wisteria ignored Neela’s cries, and looked towards Zelde, meeting her gaze. “Somebody means business.”

“Enough talk,” Zelde snapped, before charging at the older woman. The sudden charge afforded her a brief advantage against Wisteria, as she was sluggish in responding. But it didn’t take long for Wisteria to get the upper hand. She was quicker with her movements and flipped and jumped out of the way of the more forceful attacks Zelde threw at her.

She didn’t need to use her weapon for an extra advantage, unlike Zelde, who continued to grip Järnpigor like a lifeline. 

Zelde managed to throw a few punches that met their mark, but Wisteria continued to shrug them off. Zelde, on the other hand, felt every blow due to her depleted aura. It was when Wisteria made a sudden lunge for her, that Zelde saw her chance to strike back, and took it. She swung her pistol in an upwards motion with her left hand, successfully smashing it into Wisteria’s jaw, hitting her with such force her aura flared up and it sent her stumbling backwards.

From above, Zelde could hear the shouts of her companions, begging Wisteria to get in the airship. The woman didn’t seem to hear them and was more interested in massaging her jaw. The look she gave Zelde seemed oddly impressed.

Zelde made an attempt to charge her again but was forced backwards, by a current of air suddenly blasting her from above. Moments later, Ulysses dropped from the airship, landing beside Wisteria with a soft thud. “Go!” He insisted, giving her a rough shove towards the ladder.

There was a look of reluctance in Wisteria’s eyes for a moment before she nodded and began clambering up the ladder. Zelde raised her gun in an attempt to shoot near the ladder and knock Wisteria off, but was pushed back by Ulysses and his dagger. He was using his weapon to direct whip-like blasts of air in her direction, keeping her from getting too close or firing off her weapon with a clear shot.

But she was not alone, and behind her, Xanthos and Neela were mobilising. Like her, Neela was somewhat immobilized by the air blasts, but Xanthos seemed less unencumbered. As he twirled his whip around his head, the crackle of lightning could be heard from the dust he had infused into his weapon. Although his attempt at lashing out was not a direct hit, it did make some contact with Ulysses, as Zelde heard the man grunt and stumble backwards.

With Xanthos fighting back, Ulysses seemed to lose his interest in the fight, giving them another sharp blast to push them back before attempting to clamber away. Zelde didn’t want to see them go, but she certainly wasn’t going to risk herself or her team any further harm in chasing after them. She could only hope this would be the last they had seen of them.

With Ulysses on the ladder, the airship began to pull up, turning to make its leave off the island. The airship had just made its way above a cluster of trees when a sudden round of gunfire went off. At the sound, Zelde, Neela, and Xanthos all ducked down, but it soon became apparent they weren’t the target.

Behind them, a manic and bloody Candy was firing wildly at the airship, screaming one name in particular. 

“Wisteria!” She screeched. “Wisteria, get back here and finish what you started, you bitch!”

More gunfire followed, some dinging the rear of the airship, and others flying elsewhere. But some were successful in downing one target; even if the said target wasn’t Wisteria. One or several bullets had managed to sever the rope of the ladder, so much so that it eventually snapped and Ulysses tumbled from several feet up in the air, crashing through the canopy where he vanished from sight. Both Neela and Xanthos cursed in shock.

Despite losing one of their own, the airship did not stop or change direction and instead picked up speed before it finally moved out of everyone’s line of sight. With Wisteria gone, attention went to Candy behind them. She was teetering on her feet, a confused and dazed expression on her face, as though she was not aware of anything around her. Her weapon dropped out of her hand, and she looked up one final time, before toppling forward in front of them.

“Is it over?” Xanthos asked with a shaky tone. He inched forward a bit, and Zelde noted he seemed focused on the now still body of Candy. Neela was the one to gently ease him away.

“For now,” Zelde nodded, wincing slightly as a sharp pain hit her. She put a hand on her hip, and leaned over slightly, exhaling deeply. “Farron and his men have been dealt with at last. We did what we set out to do.”

A look passed between Neela and Xanthos, one that did not go unnoticed by Zelde. She knew what they were thinking, but did not press them for a further response.

“Does this mean we can go home?” Neela asked, a nervous laugh parting her lips.

Zelde smiled faintly. “Yes, Neela, I think it does.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN - EPILOGUE ONE

And here’s the epilogue for arc 1! We get to see what our villains are up to, but not all is as it seems...

WISTERIA

“It isn’t your place to ask questions on production!”

Wisteria winced slightly as she entered the room, Candy’s yelling already beginning to annoy her. The red-haired woman was speaking down to one of their associates, a faunus named Lunick.

“It’s a little early to be yelling don’t you think?” Wisteria said, preventing Candy from saying something else. “What’s the problem?”

“I was telling Candy how the incident at the factory has obviously dropped production values,” Lunick said, shooting Wisteria an appreciative look.

“It isn’t your place to look into that!” Candy snapped. “Just stick to your computers.”

Lunick sighed, rubbing his temple with his hand. “When your antics have an impact on the funds we have then it becomes my place, Candy.” He told her, managing to keep his voice surprisingly even. “If you’d rather work without any money then feel free. We’ll see how long that lasts when you come crawling to me asking for someone to help fix your weapons cause you broke them yet again.”

“Lunick I swear I’ll -”

“Nice to see you’re all getting along,” A fourth voice cut in. Stood in the doorway stood Farron Hargrave, the leader of the group. His green eyes studied them all carefully, before he walked round to his desk, and took a seat.

With Farron now having arrived, Candy was quick to play nice, walking over to his desk and sitting on it. Wisteria had always suspected there was something going on between them, or at least that there had been something going on. It wasn’t really her place to ask, but she did enjoy winding up Candy with remarks about Farron.

“How was your trip, Farron?” Candy asked, using the sugary sweet voice she reserved only for him.

“Fine,” He grumbled, his neutral expression suddenly shifting to a frown. “Or at least it was until the police started asking questions! Do any of you care to explain what happened?”

“Well as you know, Lunick suggested Verde to us, so any blame for what happened at Verdant Storage goes to him.”

“Thank you for that, Candy,” Farron said with a sarcastic tone. “And whilst I will need to speak with Lunick about Verde, what happened at Verdant Storage was not the problem. I am talking about my factory, my family’s factory. Which I had entrusted to you to take care of whilst I was gone.”

“You’re not blaming me surely!?” Candy said with an incredulous tone.

“The machines were riddled with mostly your bullet holes were they not? You were also supposed to have moved those supplies by the time of the attack.”

“But without Verde I couldn’t-”

“If I may interrupt, sir,” Wisteria said with a cough. Farron and Candy both turned to look at her, whilst Farron had returned to his neutral expression, Candy’s was nothing but hostile. “Candy is merely angry because she was defeated by a group of children.”

Farron arched a brow. Candy, on the other hand, was quick to remove herself from the desk and march over to Wisteria.

“I was not the only one ‘defeated’ by them.”

“I was not defeated by them,” Wisteria pointed out. “I was helping get you out of there so you didn’t wind up like our dear friends Merlot and Saika.”

“I would nev-”

“Enough!” Faroon snapped, silencing the two women. Whilst Candy turned to him with a pleading glance, Wisteria found herself feeling quite smug.

“What’s done is done,” Farron began, now addressing everyone in the room. “To avoid further questions, I have allowed the police to seize the factory completely, claiming that I have no knowledge of the supplies found there.”

“And that worked?” Lunick asked. “Surely having the supplies found there won’t look good when held up against your existing record and discharge from the army.”

Farron nodded his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “You are right it doesn’t look good. Thankfully my brother still has formal ownership of the factory, and as I was away on business at the time, it should provide us with enough cover to get away.”

“And go where?” Candy asked.

“You and I will be returning to Shizukana,” Farron said, looking at Candy. “That is where we have been funnelling most of our resources, and we already have a base of operations there as you all know.” He paused and now looked at Lunick and Wisteria. “Lunick will stay here and continue to monitor his network. Hopefully, he might even be able to lure Verde out from whatever hole he crawled into. As for Wisteria, she will also be joining us on Shizukana, but not before seizing the asset from Nightlock.”

Wisteria seemed a bit surprised by this. She had no idea what the ‘asset’ was, but she knew it had to be something of value, as the man who informed them was an old military contact of Farrons. Like Farron, he wasn’t part of the military anymore, though he left on his own volition rather than being discharged, and currently worked at a lab in the city. From what little she knew, they took a lot of contracts from the military, upgrading weapons and armour, and helping with some of the androids they used. However, following the incident at Beacon, she imagined they probably wouldn’t be dealing with robots for a while.

“I thought you wanted me to retrieve the asset?” Candy said, looking surprisingly crestfallen.

Farron’s steely gaze fixed onto Candy. “I did initially. However, I require someone with a certain degree of subtlety to retrieve it, and following your antics at the factory I do not think I can trust you to handle it anymore.”

“She almost blew the place up with her little trick with the dust crystal!” Candy protested.

“I’m aware of that, and whilst that wasn’t too wise of our friend, I’m willing to overlook it for the time being due to her previous track record,” He explained. He glanced towards Wisteria. “Whilst I do not doubt your skills, the place is likely to be highly secured, do you have anyone you trust to accompany you?”

Wisteria inclined her head to the side. “I know some people who’ll be willing to help me,”

Farron nodded. “Good. Speak to them as soon as you can - today if possible. I would like the asset retrieved as soon as possible. Once you do have it, I would advise you lay low for a few days before joining us on Shizukana, to ensure the police aren’t tracking you.”

“As you wish,” Wisteria said, dipping her head in acknowledgement. With a new task at hand, she was about to leave the room but found herself stopping near the door to respond to the questioning look Candy gave her. “I’ll get in contact with my people and we’ll get on this right away.” She stopped to give a wink to Candy, aiming to further rile her up. “See you soon.”

Wisteria made she was a safe distance away from the meeting place, Wisteria pulled out the modified scroll she carried with her. She clicked it on and scrolled down until she saw the person she needed to call and pressed their name. They answered within a few rings.

“How good to hear from you again Wisteria. We were beginning to think you had forgotten about us.”

“I have news,” Wisteria said coolly, hoping to get straight to the point. “Farron intends to move his operations to Shizukana. I will be joining him there soon, but I will first need Nieve and Ulysses to help retrieve the asset we discussed weeks back.”

“He’s finally decided to go after it then? Excellent. Ensure that you have it delivered to us once you’ve dealt with them. Belle is practically salivating at the chance to get her hands on new Atlesian tech,” the voice said, with the faintest hint of sarcasm. There was a pause before they spoke again. “How long do you think it will take you to deal with them?”

“Not long I don’t think,” Wisteria began. “They were practically falling apart by the time I arrived two months ago and all these recent setbacks have only added to our advantage.”

“That is pleasing to hear, and I��m sure father will be delighted as well. The sooner Farron has been dealt with, the sooner you can return to us and we can begin phase three. Now get in contact with Nieve and Ulysses and I hope when we next speak you’ll bring me further good news.” There was a small click as the other person disconnected the call.

“Here’s hoping,” Wisteria mumbled to herself, sliding the scroll back into her back pocket. She scanned the area for a moment, before heading off into the city to find Nieve and Ulysses.

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 4 - CHAPTER 7

ZRCN’S back baby and so is our favourite purple haired villain! 😎

ZELDE

It had been a week since the explosions at the university, and Highpoint was falling back into a sense of normality again. The hole in the wall had been patched up, and work was now beginning on repairing the other parts of the university that had been damaged.

Among other things that had been picked up again was the situation with how to deal with the Rossi family. Although the threat with them was still present, it had been pushed to the side momentarily to secure the town, but now it was once again in full focus.

One of the first tasks that was being put forward was to talk with Wisteria. After Belleza had mocked them all for not speaking to Wisteria prior to the proposed meeting, it had since been addressed by the Mob Ops as something which needed to happen as soon as they were able. It had been something which Wren had wanted to do herself, but it was at Zelde's request that she allowed Zelde and the rest of her teammates to speak with her first. Team ZRCN had something of a complicated relationship with Wisteria, none more so than Cordovan, and admittedly Zelde was wary of how he would respond to her, especially following his explosive rant.

The team hadn't really spoken of Cordovan's outburst after it had happened; they had more or less pushed it to one side whilst they dealt with securing the town. Zelde knew they would all need to speak about it soon, but for now they all seemed content to leave things as they were for now. The only one who seemed finicky on the subject was Xanthos, who had been on the receiving end of Cordovan's rage.

With the meeting set to go ahead, the team found themselves ushered into an interview room, ready for Wisteria to be brought in by Cherry. 

"Do you know what you will ask her?" Wren inquired, as she paced around the room.

"We'd like to see how much she knew about Belleza's plans," Cordovan explained. "Hopefully she might give us an idea of what to expect moving forward."

"Provided she actually responds," Wren pointed out, as she ceased walking. "As you know, she hasn't exactly been forthcoming in any of the previous interviews we've conducted."

Zelde nodded her head softly, knowing that Wren was correct when she said this. In all the time she had known Wisteria, she had never been the sort to give a straight answer, so it didn't surprise her in the slightest that she wasn't going to make it easy for the Mob Ops. However, Zelde knew from Cordovan, that there was something off about the woman compared to the previous times they had interacted with her. Zelde had heard the story of how she had willingly given herself up to Cordovan and Parson after their clash at the Porfirio's warehouse.

"She's here."

At Wren's words, the team quickly straightened in their streets. A sharp knock at the door confirmed her arrival moments later. As she was led in, Zelde noticed Wisteria glance over in their direction, clearly surprised to see ZRCN sat there. Her eyes never left them as Cherry forced her into the seat opposite and Wren cuffed her to the table.

"We'll be right outside listening in," Wren said, as she and Cherry moved towards the door. "If anything untoward happens, I warn you, I will cut this interview immediately." Zelde noted that she seemed to be directing this more at Wisteria.

Wren and Cherry left the room, leaving the five of them alone. A long, awkward silence took hold for a few seconds, with neither party saying anything, merely staring at one another, as though sizing each other up.

As the leader, Zelde knew it fell to her to start the conversation, but before she could she was interrupted by Wisteria trying to reach across to pour herself a cup of water. Unfortunately, her cuffs prevented her from getting too far, so the water remained out of her grasp.

"Water." Wisteria said simply, looking at the group as she spoke. When nobody responded to her request, she rolled her eyes. "Water, please.”

It was Cordovan who answered her request, quietly pouring out a half-cup of water, before sliding it towards Wisteria. She swiftly grabbed it in both her hands, raised it to her lips, and took a few large gulps before setting it down.

"You know," Wisteria began, "I must say I'm surprised to see you all here. To what, do I owe such a pleasure?"

"We need to ask you some questions," Zelde responded.

"Everyone wants to ask me a question lately," Wisteria mused. "I hope yours is something worth answering."

"Did you know about Belleza's plans to attack Highpoint?"

Wisteria sat back in her chair. "Well, for starters, I have no idea what 'attack' you're talking about. And second of all, it's bold of you to assume Belleza actually trusted me enough to let her in on her plans."

"You seem more like yourself," Cordovan observed, eyeing Wisteria from across the table. "The last time I saw you, you were moping around and barely said a word."

"I could say the same about you," Wisteria quipped. "You caught me at a weak point back then. And whilst I am still grieving now, I refuse to let it hold me back from what I need to do."

"What would someone like you have to grieve for?" Xanthos asked.

Wisteria shot him a glare, and Zelde could see genuine anger flashing in her green eyes. "This may surprise you, but unlike a certain someone we've mentioned today, I actually care about people," She responded sharply. Wisteria continued glaring at Xanthos for a moment, before turning her head towards Zelde. "Tell me exactly what Belleza did."

At her request, Zelde launched into explaining what had happened. As things had taken a turn after Wisteria had been captured - or rather surrendered - at the warehouse, Zelde started from there. She spoke at length about how Belleza and Miho had managed to sneak into the ball and capture Rosie, Callaway, and Mira. How they had planned for Calantha to give herself up in exchange for them, only for Belleza to go back on the deal, and attack the school. And last of all she spoke about how Belleza had implied that they should have spoken to Wisteria about the code Ulysses had worked on. For her part, Wisteria listened to all of this silently, occasionally nodding her head to show she was following along with what she was being told. It was only at the mention of Ulysses that she had a strong reaction.

"Convenient to blame a dead man," Wisteria mused. “Whilst I know it's wrong to speak ill of the dead you should know that Ulysses was good but he wasn’t that good. They had Lunick modify his code to better suit their needs.”

“I’m not familiar with that name,” Zelde said, after taking a moment to try and recall if she had heard that name before. “Who is he?”

“Remember dear old Farron Hargrave? He used to work for him. And unlike Ulysses he actually did hack into the Atlas Military. Twice if I recall correctly. Which is how Farron came to recruit him in the first place,” Wisteria explained. “Belleza snatched him up from Mantle after Ulysses died on Shizukana. Neither of her sisters are particularly gifted in coding and hacking computer systems, so she needed someone who could match Ulysses’s skill, and possibly improve on it. They already had some contact details for Lunick from back when they first implanted me within Farron’s group. They just needed me for his actual address, and they did the rest.”

“The rest?” Neela pressed.

“Oh you know - a little bit of kidnap and murder.”

The mood in the room suddenly changed. Xanthos shook his head in disbelief. “She killed someone else?”

“Wasn’t the first time and certainly won’t be the last,” Wisteria said in a grim tone.

Zelde frowned a little at that, but knew deep down that Wisteria was right. They had already lost a lot to the Rossi's and it stood to reason there would be more suffering yet to come.

"So what do you plan to do about her?"

Wisteria's words stirred her from her thoughts and Zelde saw her giving her an expectant look. "Well?" She pressed.

"There is no plan," Zelde told her. "Not yet anyway."

"Well, I wouldn't hold off for much longer," Wisteria advised. "Take it from me, Belleza isn't just a problem you can ignore and hope she'll go away."

"We're aware of that," Cordovan grunted.

"Are you?" Wisteria made a scoffing sound. She turned her head towards the window. "I know you're out there listening, Wren," She said. "Don't wait for your general's permission, you need to be the decisive one here. If you don't deal with Belleza she'll just come for you."

"She said as much herself," Zelde admitted, thinking back to what Belleza had said before she blew up part of the university. An invitation to fight her on home territory. 

"Let me help you," Wisteria offered. Zelde got the impression she had more to say at that moment, but a sharp intake of breath from Cordovan interrupted her.

"Absolutely not."

“You haven’t heard me out yet,” Wisteria countered.

"To be honest I don't really want to hear what you have to say."

"Cor." Zelde rested a hand softly on his arm. She kept it there until his posture relaxed. "It can't hurt to hear what she has to say. Your mother is unlikely to change her stance on what to do with her so I doubt anything she has to say would do her any good anyway."

"Go on," Cordovan conceded, giving Wisteria a nod to continue.

"As I said, I want to help you," Wisteria said, continuing from where she left off. "I'd like to accompany you to Olympia and help take them out. Of course, you'd be free to do most of - if not all - the hard work. My only request is that you let me have Miho. After that you can do whatever you'd like with me. Imprison me, kill me-"

"We're not killers," Xanthos butted in.

"Everyone says that until their hand is forced."

"You're a fool if you think we'd agree to such a plan," Cordovan said. "For starters, I doubt we would even be going to Olympia at all. Matters regarding what to do with the Rossis and their allies have been left to the military following the attack on the university. Ultimately, it will be up to them to decide how they’re dealt with, not us.”

"Well now they know where I stand," Wisteria said. Zelde noted that as she said this, she was looking at the window, and although Wisteria could not see her Zelde knew she was addressing Wren now. "You've heard what I have to say now, Major, you've heard my offer. The question is are you actually going to do anything with that knowledge or are you going to wait for your orders like an obedient little soldier?"

Zelde looked around at the rest of her teammates, each of them had the same surprised expression as her, taken aback by Wisteria’s brazen offer.

“Is that all we have to say to each other?” Wisteria asked, turning her attention back to ZRCN. “If so I would very much like to return to me cell and let you all mull over what I’ve said.” 

[sustraiii]

Let’s talk about ZRCN

Okay so despite the ambiguous title, I want to set the record straight and say this isn’t anything bad! This isn’t me coming here like “Oh yeah I’m not working on this anymore”.

No, this is me here to talk about the future and what you can expect moving forward

So, as most of you know by now, Arc 4 will be my last arc for ZRCN. If all goes to plan I should be finished by the end of this year. If not then, then definitely early 2022! However, there is something I plan to afterwards and that is a rewrite of Arc 1.

Why a rewrite?

Arc1 was in need of some touch ups anyways in my opinion, but it was only during a recent readthrough that I realised how all over the place it was and how certain parts don’t connect as well to the established fanon as much as I’d like. I was already considered heavy editing and after reading it I was like “You know what, let’s just rewrite it instead” so that’s what we’re going to do.

What’s staying the same?

For the most part I’d like the major story beats to remain the same i.e, the Fall of Beacon, introduction of Wisteria, staying with the Sewicks. There are also certain blocks of dialogue I’d like to keep too.

What’s changing?

A LOT to be quite frank.

I’ll bullet some of the changes I’d like to implement below:

Slightly tweaking the timeline a bit so that certain events flow together better. What this basically means is that Wisteria’s intro won’t happen until after the FoB as opposed to concurrent with things in Vale. This also allows for some more wriggle room between Helia’s appearances in RAIN (and a future appearance in LLAC) before returning home.

Additional chapters at the start + a prologue. I’m definitely not a huge fan of how I started things off with ZRCN. I’d like to keep them watching Team KWTZ at some point, but I’ll move that to a later chapter and actually show their losing match against Team CARN (who, on a slightly unrelated note are being renamed to PCAN). As for the prologue I’d like to use that to set things up with Farron’s group.

Speaking of Farron’s group, I’d like to expand on them a bit in the rewrite. I feel like we didn’t see them enough in Arc 1 which was a shame, so I’d like to rectify that. I’d also like to expand Saika and Merlot’s time in the fic, and make them more of a multi-chapter issue as opposed to appearing in one chapter and then getting imprisoned straight away.

Going back to CARN/PCAN I’d like to implement them a little more in the rewrite too. Giving them the opportunity to cross paths with ZRCN again post-FoB and possibly giving them the nudge to explore Hargrave Manufacturing which in turn triggers the larger plot as a whole.

I’d like to maybe spend a bit more time at the Sewick Manor/with the Sewick family. I’d like to fit in some more interactions between Callaway and ZRCN that didn’t occur over a dinner.

There’s a couple of other things that might be added too, but they’re a bit more up in the air. This includes training with Team DAMK in some of the first chapters, putting a little bit of a nod to the Mob Ops in when they meet with Wren, further elaboration on the friendship between Neela and Chester (as well as their families), a new conversation with Jasmine.

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 3 - PROLOGUE

Five months on from the ending of arc 2, we return to events in the story. In this prologue, Belleze Rossi and her allies return to Shizukana to deliver a message.

BELLEZA

There was a small thud behind her, as the last of their little group jumped down to join them. Miho shifted slightly, allowing Wisteria enough room to squeeze past and squat beside her. 

“Nobody else is in the area, we’re good to go,” She informed her. Belleza nodded her head, but out of the corner of her eye, she could see Wisteria had conflicted expression on her face and appeared as though she wanted to say more.

“Do you have anything else to add, Wisteria?” Belleza asked, raising a brow.

Most people wouldn’t have dared speaking back to her, but Wisteria wasn’t most people. Belleza found it annoying, but her dear father seemed to find it gave her character, and as such, she had fast become one of his favourite “assets”. If Belleza had her way, she would have disposed of her and that little bug the moment they had come to Olympia, winding up on their doorstep like a pair of pitiful strays.

“I just think - after everything that happened with Farron - this is taking a huge risk,” Wisteria said. “Like Bianca said this could potentially make a lot of noise.”

“Which is why we’re doing this at night,” Belleza pointed out, rolling her eyes. “Besides, we wouldn’t have to make so much noise if you would only tell us where our sweet little spider is.”

Wisteria stiffened. “I told you - I don’t know where she is,”

Belleza said nothing. If that was the story Wisteria wanted to stick with then so be it. Bianca and Calantha might have been quick to accept her word as truth, but Belleza had her suspicions, and she had her ways of finding out the truth.

“Let’s move,” Belleza instructed, gesturing with her hand for them to move forward. The three women would rise to their feet, walking slowly out from their hiding place, and began to approach the house of Leyla Noira. She would bring them to a halt a few metres in front of the house. “Miho, do your thing.”

“Yes, milady.”

The large muscular woman would come forward, a smirk already on her lips for the fun that was to come. She bumped past Wisteria roughly, making the other woman scowl, before stepping in front of the group. Miho moved her arms as though shaking them, readying her bracers into their offensive position, before holding them in front of her. In quick succession, she would punch the air four times, releasing a small blast in the direction of the house each time. Each blast met its mark. The house wasn’t completely destroyed, but it had certainly caused a considerable amount of damage to the house.

Belleza was quick to move forward, hopping over debris as she lead them inside.

“Ding dong!” She called out, glancing around at the confused occupants. 

She had to give this little group of huntresses some credit; considering they just had part of their house blown up, they were already getting to their feet, with two moving to grab their weapons. Of the two she recognised one as one of their intended targets - Helia Vines.

She and Leyla Noire had ruined their little plan to take down Farron Hargrave along with a team of students. Bianca had forbidden her from directly dealing with the children, so sending a message to them via their allies would have to suffice. The appearance of Leyla and Helia’s former teammates, though a surprise, was just an added bonus.

The confusion was evident in the faces of Helia and the woman Belleza knew to be Anthea. However, Helia’s expression soon shifted when she noticed Wisteria.

“You!” She said, her voice trembling with rage. 

Wisteria moved to go towards her, but Miho swatted her away. “She’s mine,” Miho grinned, giving Wisteria a wink when she returned the shove with an angry glare.

With Miho gunning for Helia, Wisteria turned her attentions to Leyla, and a flaxen-haired woman named Alcyone. Leyla seemed out for the count of this battle, judging by the moaning she was doing on the floor, clutching her arm which Belleza could see appeared to be broken. 

Alcyone proved to be more of a threat than she realised, for even with her larger size, she was managing to hold off Wisteria thanks to her semblance. Belleza could have stood there admiring them for some time, had it not been for Anthea charging her like an angry bull.

Belleza drew her weapon out ready, snapping it into its spear form ready to clash with Anthea’s sword, but was caught off guard by a deafening screech instead. Ah, so that would be her semblance then. Lunick had mentioned it was vocal, he had just neglected to mention the specifics of it. Belleza would have to call him out on that.

Not wanting to get hit with another one of her cries again, Belleza was quick to retaliate, hitting her in the stomach with the butt of her spear. Then as she stumbled away, she spun the weapon in her hand and swung it at her head, catching her square in the jaw causing her pale blue aura to surge, and sending her toppling to the floor. She held her jaw with one hand and began shuffling back towards her sword, reaching for the hilt. Just as she grasped it, Belleza thrust her spear at her, careful not to directly strike her.

“Don’t.” Was Belleza’s one-word instruction to her. Unfortunately, the woman wasn’t reckless enough to continue their fight, so reluctantly released her hold on her weapon, before moving to tend to Leyla.

Elsewhere, Wisteria appeared to be victorious in her battle with Alcyone, as she got the woman on bended knee, seemingly defeated for now. Wisteria’s attentions - much like her own - were now focused on Helia and Miho. Unsurprisingly, the former champion was the one proving to put up more of a fight. She and Miho were matched in regards to height, but her speed and useful semblance gave her a slight advantage. But she seemed to be tiring now - most likely from the surprising way this whole battle had been instigated - and her slip-ups were costing her dearly.

Miho kicked Helia sharply in the gut forcing the other woman back. In the moment it took Helia to steady herself, Alcyone had already lifted her arm ready to deliver another blast. Helia didn’t have much time to respond, but could only hold up her two katanas as a way of defending herself as the blast came towards her.

Well, she was spared from any major physical damage at least, but getting thrown back as far as she did from the recoil certainly wouldn’t have helped. She hit the wall with a small thud and slid down to the floor. Belleza couldn’t help but smirk when she noticed one of her katanas had fractured from the blast. 

With a smirk, Belleza practically danced into the living room, earning a wary glance from Wisteria, who reluctantly came to stand by her.

“Oh dear, oh dear! How the mighty have fallen!” Belleza laughed, glancing around at the downed huntresses. “This is what you -”

“No!” Alcyone interrupted, lifting her head. “It’s not over yet.”

Belleza threw her head back, forcing out a loud laugh. “Look around, Miss Sternberg. It’s over. You’re done” 

She then proceeded to walk forward and kicked Alcyone sharply, knocking her down again. She was glad when she saw Alcyone moving to sit back up, eventually shifting onto her knees. 

Good. This was just what Belleza wanted. “Stand up, I dare you,” She warned. Although she acted as though this was a warning, she was very subtle in making it appear to Alcyone as though she was egging her on. 

“Ally...don’t,” Helia advised, outstretching a hand towards her teammate.

“Ally...” Anthea echoed.

But she didn’t listen to her teammates and stood up. And that was the invitation Belleza needed to send her message. She stamped her spear on the floor, before spinning it in her hand and catching it in a position to throw it. It took her only a few seconds to aim and throw it. With her aura depleted, she had little defence against it, and it speared her directly in the abdomen. 

Anthea and Helia screamed, and whilst Leyla turned to look, she appeared too out of it to really comprehend what was going. Hearing the screams of anguish for their stricken teammate and the cries of anger directed towards her, Belleza could only smile. Oh, how she enjoyed moments like this.

Once again she walked towards Alcyone, whose hands were clutching at the shaft of the spear, but appeared too afraid to move it. Belleza however, was not afraid to do just that. She wrapped a hand around the shaft, and began to pull, causing the other woman to wince. Belleza would pause momentarily, and leant forward to whisper something to her. “I did warn you,” She pointed out, before sharply tugging the spear out. The woman cried out in pain, before falling to her knees.

Belleza squatted down in front of her and cupped her chin with her hand. “Does it hurt?” She asked mockingly, tilting her head to one side. Alcyone said nothing but stared back blankly. “Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.”

Belleza rose back to her feet and looked around the room, her eyes settling on Helia in particular. “Consider this a warning.” She said, already beginning to move out of the house. As much as she would have liked to stand there gloating, they had done what they needed to do, and now they could return home to Atlas. She could only hope her message would make it to its intended targets. “Next time, it’ll be much worse.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 15

ZRCN head out to rescue Neela, but are they successful? Find out in this penultimate main chapter of arc 2! Featuring a new P.O.V ;)

HELIA

As the trio drew near to the mines, a light rain formed above. Helia frowned when she felt the first drops against her bare shoulders, praying that this wasn’t the onset of another storm - either an actual storm or another argument between Zelde and Xanthos.

The pair of them had been quite calm for most of the journey, but had become a bit tetchy when Xanthos had delivered a poorly timed joke about the weather being an ominous sign.

Having been with ZRCN for a while now, it pained her to see them at odds like this, especially when they had seemed so close before. Though if anyone could understand and sympathise with the stresses of a team that was crumbling apart then Helia would fit the role perfectly. Still, despite her concerns, she was hopeful that ZRCN would not meet the same fate her own team had. It was a difficult time for the four - that she could not deny - and she could not imagine being in Zelde’s place, forced to decide between which teammate needed her most.

The three of them eventually found themselves in front of the old Shizukana mines. Chainlink fences lined the border, along with several signs warning of the hazards supposedly waiting within. A number of the signs were adorned with crude remarks; most of them cursing the Hargraves or Atlas in some capacity. Although the fence should have deterred anyone from going any further, there were several holes and loose bits of fence, where if you pushed hard enough you could get through. It was through one bit of loose fence that the three of them managed to get through. It was difficult to budge it at first, only able to lift it enough for all of them to squeeze under when Xanthos used Neela’s weapon to shift it some more.

When they had all squeezed through, Zelde gave him a disapproving look. “I thought the idea of bringing that was to give it back to Neela when we found her,” Zelde said. “Not try and break it trying to get through a fence.”

“It wouldn’t have broke,” Xanthos fired back, pushing on. “Trust me, I would know. I’m the only one who’s messed around with it besides Neela herself.”

Zelde made a small ‘hmph’ sound, before falling in beside Helia as they made their way towards the processing plant. It was an imposing building, dark and miserable looking, with an appearance that wasn’t helped by its dated appearance. A few bits of old machinery lingered outside, rusted and weather-beaten, but as Leyla had told her long ago, the islanders had been quick to do away with most of the equipment that could remind them of the dreadful tragedy that had struck their island.

Moving up to the outside of the building, the three of them kept close to the walls as they made their way to the entrance of the building. The entrance wasn’t particularly well secure save for a basic lock which could easily be taken care of. Helia found it interesting that there was a lock on the outside. It either meant there was another entrance round the back that they used or their idea of the group being here had been drastically wrong.

“Stay back,” Helia advised to the two of them, before drawing Phlegon. With a quick slash, the blade cut through the lock with ease, and dropped to the ground with a soft plunk. With some caution, she pushed on the door with her free hand. 

There was a faint noise as the door caught on the floor as it opened, but otherwise, the three of them were able to slip inside quietly. The inside was just as miserable-looking as the outside, and possess a strange odour which Helia couldn’t quite place.

“Not many places for cover,” Zelde mused to the left of her, drawing her gun out ready. “If we get into a fight this could get rough.”

Helia nodded silently in agreement. As Zelde had observed, the room didn’t exactly provide much in the way of cover. If a battle was to follow it could get messy fast.

“Where do you think she might be?” Xanthos asked from the right of them. Out of the corner of her eye, Helia could see him looking around. When they talked about their plan with Leyla hours earlier, she had suggested either the foreman’s office or one of the abandoned storerooms. Helia couldn’t see the foreman’s office, but there were several doors to the left of the building, that could be storerooms. There was also what appeared to be a small office above them as well, though it was hard to tell what purpose it held exactly, as the windows had been blacked out. 

They checked behind the doors first, cautiously opening each one to see what was inside. They had cleared two of the rooms, when Zelde decided she was going to check on the upper office. Xanthos pouted slightly, but Zelde eventually won them over, agreeing to Helia’s plea of being careful. 

“I think she’s purposely avoiding me now,” Xanthos confided to her, when the jimmied the third door open. 

“Well given that argument you had, I can’t say I’m surprised,” Helia admitted. Xanthos’s shoulders sagged slightly at that, and Helia was compelled to come over and give him a reassuring pat on the arm. “She’ll come around eventually,” She assured him. “Just give her some space and - “

“Watch out!” Helia’s words were cut short by a sudden shout from Zelde outside. Helia turned just in time to see a woman charging at them with a chigiriki. While Xanthos ducked out of the way, Helia raised Phlegon to parry her, the blade striking the metal body of the weapon. Helia had to move her head quickly to avoid getting hit with the recoil of the chain.

After the parry, the other woman jumped back, landing in a crouched position. Helia was surprised to see she was smirking. “Wisty said you were a good fighter,” She said, staring at Helia. “Show me what you’re made of Vytal champion.”

“Nieve.” Came a warning tone from the doorway. A brown-skinned man stood there, giving her a disapproving glance. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to play later. Leave them be, Wisteria has another use for us.”

“You’re no fun,” The woman - Nieve - complained with a laugh. She straightened and then did a little hop over to him. “Don’t be too rough, Yule. That look doesn’t suit you.”

With that she squeezed past him, leaving him standing in the doorway, his piercing blue eyes watching them intently. A hand went to a dagger he kept by his waist, but he didn’t draw his weapon immediately. With his free hand, he glanced at a watch on his wrist. “I hope your friends got out in time.”

“What does that mean?” Xanthos inquired. But the man didn’t need to speak before they got their answer. There was a boom from above, before the whole room seemed to quake, causing dust and a few bits of debris to begin to rain down upon them. Fearing something large was about to collapse, Helia turned and practically threw herself at Xanthos, forcing him down in an effort to shield him. It was only when the shaking seemed to stop, that she eased her hold on him.

“Are you okay?” She asked, hand still on his back. However, Xanthos didn’t respond, instead jumping to his feet, and panicked expression on his face. The other man had since vanished from the doorway - likely fleeing in the chaos. Xanthos practically flung himself out the doorway as he shouted for his teammates. “Zelde! Neela!”

Rising to her feet, Helia went after him. He hadn’t gone far thankfully and was still shouting for his teammates. The dust and debris that had fallen had impaired their vision slightly, so it was proving a little difficult in looking around.

As the two of them looked around, Helia was suddenly aware of the sound of approaching footsteps - fast ones at that. “Ravi!” She called out in warning.

The golden-haired man turned in the direction of the footsteps, but to their surprise and relief, it wasn’t one of Farron’s men, rather a very dusty Neela, who proceeded to fling herself at Ravi. She was followed close behind by Zelde, who lingered back while her other teammates reunited. Helia noticed she had some blood dripping down her forehead, and shot her a concerned look.

“Are you okay?” Helia asked, putting a hand on her back soothingly. 

“Could have been worse,” Zelde admitted, offering a shy smile in return. “Thankfully, Neela got me out of the way of the blast just in time.”

It was then that a light cough interrupted them, and both women turned to see, Xanthos and Neela looking expectantly at Zelde, arms open as though inviting her to their group hug.

Zelde looked uncertain, but Xanthos waved her over with more force. “Get over here, Zee.”

With a shrug, she stepped forward and was quickly enveloped into the group hug. Joyous laughter soon turned into relieved tears, and Helia found herself feeling very wistful watching them. When had been the last time her own team had acted like that? Was it before her Vytal win? She made a vow to herself that once this was all over she would reach out Ally and Anthea again.

A few minutes passed, before the three of them eventually parted, Xanthos and Neela still sniffling as they stepped apart. Zelde had regained her composure, but her flushed cheeks betrayed her previous emotions.

“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Zelde said, gesturing for where the three of them had walked in earlier.

“No,” Neela was quick to object. “We finish this now. I’m not letting these people get away with what they’ve done.”

“I’m with, Neela,” Xanthos was quick to say.

Zelde studied them both carefully, an uncertain look in her eye. “Are you sure? I don’t want to push you both too much.”

“And what about you?” Helia cut in. “Don’t think that wound on your head went unnoticed by me.”

“I can hold back if necessary,” Zelde assured her. Which was true; unlike Helia, Zelde’s weapon allowed her to keep her distance in a fight. 

“Well, I’ve got the energy to spare!” Xanthos assured them all, giving a little thumbs up for further emphasis.

All attention went to Neela. She looked fine enough, but Helia could see the fatigue in her eyes, and she was certain it hadn’t gone unnoticed by her teammates. “Okay, I’ll admit I’m not in the best of forms,” Neela said, holding her hands up in admittance. “But I can fight if I need to.”

“Are you absolutely certain?” Zelde asked. “I don’t want another person injured on my watch.”

Neela’s expression shifted slightly. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,” She assured her leader. “I won’t exert myself any further than necessary.”

The uncertain look still hadn’t fled Zelde’s eyes, but she seemed to give in after this comment, giving the four of them a small nod to show she was also ready.

Neela then glanced towards Xanthos, and held out her hand, gesturing for him to hand over her weapon, which he did so. As her grip tightened around the hilt of Triton’s Maw, a wide smile spread over her lips. “Let’s go kick some bad guy ass.”

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - EPILOGUE

The epilogue is here! As arc 2 ends, the true enemy reveals itself.

LUNICK

A small crowd had gathered outside of the electronics shop, watching with rapt attention as the reporter went through the news reports. Those who lived in this area of Mantle didn’t tend to watch the news - or rather, didn’t have the time to do so most days. However, the new report seemed of particular interest today, due to the subject of the report.

Lunick kept to the back of the crowd, reading the subtitles closely. There was some noise being emitted from the television, but even with his heightened hearing, it was difficult to make out exactly what was being said so it was easier to stick to the subtitles.

A picture flashed up on the screen beside the reporter, and she continued to speak. “Mr Hargrave was once a decorated member of the Atlesian Army, but was discharged after eleven years following a string of allegations regarding misconduct.” The picture changed to what appeared to a building of sorts. Lunick could spot Farron in the photograph, stood in front of the building shaking hands with an unknown man. “Mr Hargarve was linked to several thefts throughout Atlas and Mistral, as well as some instances of reported bribery. The most high profile case he was linked to after his discharge, was the explosion at his family's mine in Shizukana which killed forty-seven people. Mr Hargrave denied all allegations of any wrong-doing.” Once again, the picture changed; this time showing police sectioning off what Lunick recognised as Verdant Storage. “Police were unable to find any solid evidence up until recently when a raid on Verdant Storage revealed links to several stolen goods in Mantle and Atlas. Mr Hargarave was eventually brought down through the efforts of a local Atlas Academy team, alongside Haven alumni and former Vytal champion, Helia Vines.”

The picture changed again, this team to reveal several images of faces he knew well. The reported explained that Farron had been taken into custody, and one of his associates had been killed in as of yet unknown circumstances. Judging by her lack of portrait, Lunick had to assume that could have only been Candy. The other pictures showed a blurry Wisteria and a very clear shot of Verde. The reported explained that the police were interested in finding out more information on the two unknown individuals and that if anyone had any information they were to contact them immediately.

Lunick had a smug look on his face when the report ended after that, with no mention of his involvement. Which was good, he had worked hard to ensure very little, if anything could trace back to him. Farron Hargrave would take the fall and Lunick could go back to his hacking.

He had never double-crossed Farron, despite his low opinion of the man. Farron, had, after all, prevented Lunick from being arrested for hacking into somewhere he shouldn’t. He hadn’t been thrilled to work for him, but it kept him out of jail.

As he walked home, he couldn’t help the smug look that formed on his face. If anyone looked at him, they would surely wonder what he had to be smug about. He knew Solana surely would when he got home. His sister had wound up temporarily staying with him after Wisteria had raided her offices. She was frightened she had been targeted for her Faunus traits, as opposed to the prototype in they had taken, and thus had become scared of another attack and had pleaded to stay with him. He had accepted out of the obligation of being her elder brother, but soon came to regret, when she reminded him of how insufferable of a roommate she could be. 

Stepping into his apartment, Lunick was almost instantly aware something wasn’t quite right. The hallway light was on, but none of the others were, and it was oddly quiet considering Solana should have been home by now. He shrugged his coat off and moved to enter his open plan living room and kitchen. When he drew nearer, he could see a silhouette in the armchair by the window.

“Wow, waiting for me in the dark?” Lunick teased. “You’re how old exactly?”

The faint laughter died when he flicked the light switch and saw who was sat in the chair. It was not Solana, but rather a woman he had never seen before. She appeared older than he was, with short snow-white hair in a pixie cut, and the most striking bright red eyes he had ever seen. She wore a red leather coat with black trim and the sleeves pushed back to her elbows, under which she wore an off-white shirt, and a red-grey waist cincher. Her trousers were dark red, almost black in colour, and she wore knee-high black boots with red soles. She also had a bracelet made of red gemstones on her left wrist.

“Lunick, isn’t it?” She asked, tilting her head to one side as she spoke. There was something in her tone that suggested she already knew exactly who he was. “Take a seat.”  She gestured towards the seat opposite her.

Lunick hesitated only briefly, but that was enough for the amiable smile she wore, to shift into a nasty scowl. Her head turned to the left, glancing towards the door that would lead to what was his bedroom. “Bianca!” She called.

There was a small click, as the door opened, and another snowy-haired woman stepped out, dragging his sister out with her. She looked almost identical to the woman in the chair, though her skin was far paler, her hair was longer and was swept over her right shoulder. Her outfit was also very neutral in colour, consisting of white and greys, with a small splash of red on her belt and the earrings she wore. Seeing his sister in such a compromising position he was quick to seat himself opposite the snowy-haired woman.

She grinned when he sat down, an expression which quickly made him feel uneasy. “Oh good, I knew that would appeal to you,” She said with something of a mocking tone. “Bianca said you had something of a soft spot when it came to your sister, despite numerous comments online that would suggest otherwise.”

“Bianca?”

“No-one to concern yourself with,” The woman told him, giving a wink to the woman who had stepped out moments earlier. Her gaze then shifted to somewhere behind him, and she clicked her feelings. “Cala, come and do your thing.”

There was a shuffling behind him, but nothing happened, which seemed to anger the other woman, who slammed a fist on the arm of the chair. “Calantha!”

He heard a quiet squeak from behind him before a pair of hands clamped down on his shoulder. Again, nothing immediately happened, but he was suddenly aware of his golden aura surging around him, as well as a reddish aura surging around the hands of the woman behind him. He inclined his head back slightly to get a look back at her. She was younger than the other two, with wavy celadon coloured hair, but same bright red eyes.

“Ugh, pathetic,” The woman in the chair sneered, which seemed to set off a faint tremble of nerves from Cala. “She had one job, and she can barely do that right.”

“I told you not to bring her,” Bianca said, glancing at the still-unnamed woman. ��She has no business in this, Belleza.”

Belleza’s eyes narrowed. “She’s one of us, dear sister. This is her business as well, whether she likes it or not.” Belleza then turned to look back at Lunick, offering another one of her uneasy smiles. “Besides her nullification will help ensure Mr Otieno doesn’t use his gift of the gab on us.” She proceeded to draw out her own gun and pointed it at him. “I think it's time we talked.”

“Who are you people?” Lunick blurted out, golden eyes staring down the barrel of the gun.

“My, my, my! Very forward all of a sudden, aren't we?” Belleza laughed. She propped one arm on the arm of the chair and rested her chin in her hand. “Well I think it’s only fair we owe you an explanation of sorts, being our unwitting middleman. I’m Belleza Rossi and these are my sisters, Bianca and Calantha - or Cala for short.” 

“Middleman?” Lunick blinked in surprise. “How can that be, I don’t even know you!”

“Oh, but you do, Lunick. Perhaps not face-to-face, but we’ve met before I can assure you. Who do you think talked you into convincing Farron to let Wisteria join your ranks?” Belleza answered.

No, that couldn’t be. It was Wisteria he talked to. “But I spoke to Wisteria!” He protested, shaking his head as best he could. “It was Wisteria!”

“Who you spoke to was Bianca over there, masquerading as Wisteria. You unknowingly planted our spy among your own ranks,” Belleza informed, delighting in the confusion and anger this drew from Lunick. Belleza leaned forward in her chair. “Did you seriously think Wisteria did all that? She’s fucking useless at technology! Could barely use a computer before she came to us, and even now her skills are...subpar at best. Our dead granny could probably do a better job than Wisteria and she’s been dead for fifteen fucking years!”

“So how do I fit into this, besides having unknowingly helped you?” Lunick asked. 

“To put it frankly, we need your help again,” Belleza told him, feigning an exasperated sigh. “Our tech guy, Ulysses, had the brilliant idea of falling out of an airship, so now we’re down a man.” She turned to Bianca and shook her head. “I still can’t believe how much of a dumb ass he was to get himself killed. Honestly, you think you know somebody.”

Lunick sneered, spitting at Belleza. “You’ve got another thing coming if you think I’m working for you.”

“It wasn’t a request,” Belleza said with a flat tone. “You will help us.”

“Or what?”

She smiled. “Glad you asked.”

And then she turned her gun away from him, making random shots around the room. She shattered photo frames, shot up his sofa and cabinets, blasted a statue he had owned since he was a boy. She even shot above Bianca and Solana, scattering plaster from the roof down on them. 

“You know, if you don’t want to work us, there’s always plan two,” Belleza teased, as she turned back to him, cocking her head towards Solana. 

“No!” Lunick yelled in response, moving so fast that Cala lost her grip on him. The sudden release made the room seem to spin for a moment, and he was aware of a dull ache in his body. What had she done to him? Why did his aura seem so muted? “I’ll help you. Whatever you need, just don’t hurt my sister.”

Belleza smiled. “Good, you made the choice much easier for me.” And then she turned her gun away from him, and fired at Solana, hitting her in the chest and killing her instantly. Cala squealed behind him, and Lunick couldn’t help the guttural cry of anguish that escaped him. He lunged forward to attack Belleza, intending on tackling her out of the chair, but she quicker than he thought, and hit him across the jaw with the butt of her gun, knocking him out cold.

“Ugh,” She groaned, rising to her feet slowly. She was careful to step around his unconscious body before she brushed herself off.

To the side of her, Bianca finally let go of Solana’s limp body. Staring at it in horror, before she glared at Belleza. “Why did you do that for? We could have taken both of them!”

“We only lost Ulysses, so we don’t need a mechanic,” Belleza replied, glancing at Solana with a look of disgust. Her attention then turned to their younger sister, who was cowering in the doorway making quiet sobs. “Cala quit your dithering,” She hissed. But when Cala continued to cry, she stomped her foot down for more attention. “Calantha!”

Their younger sister looked up, the same fearful expression in her eyes as she usually had around Belleza. “If you’re going to stand there crying, go outside and do so. You know I hate the sound of your whimpering.”

Cala sniffled. “I-I-I’ll keep watch!” She offered, before hurrying out of the door.

“Yes, you do that, little lamb,” Belleza jeered as their sister fled.

“You shouldn’t be so harsh on her,” Bianca warned, as she came to stand beside Belleza. “She is our sister, after all.”

“Regrettably,” Belleza countered, rolling her eyes. She crossed her arms, and glanced around the room, before looking towards Bianca. “Instead of reprimanding me like our mother would, how about you be useful for once and clean this mess up?”

“I am use-”

“Oh, and don’t forget to bring him with you when you’re done,” Belleza said, pointing towards Lunick. “We didn’t come all this way for nothing.”

The eldest Rossi daughter made her way towards the door. She opened it and was about to walk out when she paused and looked back at her sister, offering a small wink. “Don’t take too long, Bianca. There is still much we need to do.” 

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 8

Team ZRCN’s plans are thwarted once more by the arrival of Candy and Wisteria. Look out for the next chapter - it’s going to be a big one.

Many thanks to @neopoliitan who proofread for me again!

ZELDE

“So, how did it go?”

The Sewick woman had barely rounded a corner when her teammates directed a slew of questions her way. The four of them - six, if you counted Helia and Leyla’s supportive presence - had spent the day asking around the island for any information on the Hargrave family, and whether they had seen any new arrivals recently.

It was repetitive work, reminding Zelde of when the team had raided Verdant Storage and had to read through several months of bills and other paperwork -- at least the questioning of the Shizukana islanders came with the benefit of face-to-face interaction.

“Mr Caswell was happy to help, and procured a number of documents for me to read over, but unfortunately if it didn’t give us anything new, at least nothing new of value,” Zelde admitted, with a defeated shrug. “As the custodian of the village records, I was honestly hoping for something more.”

“I’m sorry he wasn’t able to offer much.” Leyla said in way of apology.

“It’s not your fault,” Zelde was quick to say, giving the woman an appreciative glance regardless. “We didn’t even know for certain whether we’d find a solid lead here, so you’re hardly to blame for when that came true.”

Xanthos held a contemplative expression as he stood opposite her. “It does seem a bit strange, there isn’t much about the family given their ties to the mine. It’s almost like someone was trying to cover things up, don’t you think?”

“Ravi, this is hardly the time for a conspiracy theory.” Zelde warned.

“I don’t think it’s too far-fetched to be honest,” Leyla admitted. When everyone looked at her in surprise she merely shrugged. “There were always rumours but never any solid proof. A lot of people began to suspect there was a big cover up going on, when those of us who lost family in the explosion were heavily compensated. Matters weren’t helped when someone noted that barely anyone on the mainland knew of what happened either, only that the mine had been “closed” indefinitely.”

“Well, that’s an unexpected angle to this story.” Cordovan mused.

“Could be worth looking into?” Neela suggested, glancing at Zelde to gauge her opinion on the matter.

“It’s an interesting theory, I’ll give you that. But like Leyla said, it’s just rumours.” Zelde said. It was true that it made for an interesting hypothesis - made even more plausible given the lack of detailed information on the Hargraves specifically. “We already have enough on our plates as it, trying to track down Farron and his men, I don’t want to waste any time chasing after rumours, at least not now anyways.”

A moment passed as Zelde gave the five people stood opposite her some time to digest her words. As she was about to speak again, she noticed the attention of Cordovan drawn to something behind her, followed by Xanthos and Neela, and lastly Leyla and Helia. Curious, Zelde turned, albeit slower than the others. Stood at the opposite end of the street was none other than Candy Cornell.

“I hear you’ve been looking for me?” Candy spoke, tilting her head to one side inquisitively. “Well, look no further, for here I am.” In her right hand, she held her weapon, which Zelde recognised from their warehouse battle weeks prior. Her lips curved into a smile, as she lifted her gun, and the first spray of bullets came. 

Zelde narrowly avoided barreling into Leyla, as she, and the rest of her little group scrambled to avoid the attack. Cordovan used his semblance to throw up a small shield, but oddly, Candy didn’t seem to be aiming directly at them. Instead, she was aiming around them, at the houses and stalls still left out from earlier in the day, causing panic among the villagers who were outside at the time.

Despite this odd pattern of shooting, it did not stop her from chasing after them with a violent fury, when they attempted to run away. A return of fire from Cordovan and Zelde held her off for a moment, just long enough for the rest of their group to get into cover. Cordovan’s Braveheart - more powerful than Candy’s own weapon - quickly aimed a shot at the wall next to the woman, sending a shower of rubble down on her and giving the two of them to get into cover with the others. Of all the places they could have hid, they had chosen to hide behind the bar of one of those open front restaurants.

As the two of them vaulted over the counter, Xanthos gave a relieved sigh, pleased to see they were unharmed. His grey-yellow eyes snapped to Cordovan in particular. “Her gun seems faster than the last time, huh?”

“Hardly the time for chatting when we’re being shot at, Ravi,” Neela pointed out with a nervous laugh.

“Oh, but that’s the best time,” He said with a wink, though his voice betrayed the air of confidence he was aiming to give off. “Is she still out there?”

No sooner had he said that, the sound of gunfire could be heard again.

Cordovan shot him a look. “Does that answer your question?”

“I’ve got a plan,” Leyla suddenly declared, “Helia, you’re going to have to get them out of here and back to the house, okay?”

Helia looked uncertain. “And what about you? You’re not going to take her on are you? She has a gun, Leyla! You only have Valravn…”

“I have my semblance too,” Leyla pointed out, a trace of annoyance in her voice. She then gave Helia a light shove, urging her and the ZRCN towards the back door. “Go! I’ve got this.”

With some reluctance, the five of them fled, Helia lingering a moment longer to watch as Leyla vaulted back over the counter, and called out for Candy to come to her. They made their way down a back alley, before ending up on one of the main streets, Helia insistent that she knew the way back to Leyla’s home. They continued on their way until they were stopped by a curious sight. A woman was calmly walking in front of them, seemingly undeterred by the panic. She wore a purple floral print camisole, white trousers, and white sandals. An oversized straw hat sat atop her head shielding her from the late afternoon sun, and she was sipping at a blue drink in one hand.

Nearly, all of the other villagers had fled by now and returned to the safety of their homes by now, so it was curious to see someone still out and about, and walking so calmly at that.

“Miss, I think it would be better for you if you got off the street and got somewhere safe.” Cordovan implored, taking a step towards her.

The woman laughed. “I don’t think I will.” she said, tossing the drink to one side, and removing her hat making her identity all the more clear.

“Wisteria.” Zelde breathed, her voice barely audible.

“Stay behind me.” Helia took a step forward, ushering the team behind her with a wave of her hand. Zelde was the most reluctant to do so, but eventually relented. The green-haired woman calmly withdrew her katanas, eyes never once leaving the woman stood opposite. “You must be Wisteria.”

“Well isn’t this my lucky day,” Wisteria quipped, lips tugging into a playful smile. “The famous Helia Vines knows who I am. My reputation must precede me.” Green eyes studies Helia for a long moment. “You would not fight an unarmed woman would you, Helia?” She questioned, making a gesture to her lack of weapons. When Helia hesitated at this, Wisteria’s smile only grew. That was what she wanted.

And suddenly Wisteria was on her. It did not matter that she lacked a weapon, she was a gifted enough fighter to dance around Helia and her blades. The two women were fairly evenly matched, though Helia had a slight advantage due to her height and weapons. This might have been a problem for most people, but it actually seemed like Wisteria was enjoying the challenge, as her grin never seemed to leave her.

For a brief moment, it seemed as though Helia had the upper hand, especially when she made a sudden lunge for Wisteria, wrapping her arms around her tightly. Wisteria squirmed beneath her, lifted off the ground for a moment due to the height difference, until a well timed elbow to Helia’s gut, released her. The two women stepped apart, with Wisteria doing a front roll to get away from Helia’s grasp. But when she turned, Helia had seemingly disappeared  having used her semblance to temporarily turn herself invisible and get away.

When Helia appeared once more, stood further back with ZRCN, the lilac haired woman seemed genuinely impressed. “Cute trick.”

It seemed as though she was set to lunge again until footsteps could be heard behind her and a rather battered-looking Candy appeared. Leyla was nowhere to be seen, however. “You still haven’t dealt with them yet?” Candy asked, casting her a withering look. “No matter, it seems it has fallen to me to end this instead.”

Wisteria flipped a bird at her, and the red-haired woman only rolled her eyes. The red-haired woman then reached for something she had concealed in one of her belt pouches - something which looked distinctly like a whistle. She gave the group a look before raising it to her lips.

“Let’s see how you fare against this!”

[sustraiii]

Team ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 14

Operation get Neela back is a go!!!

XANTHOS

It had been two days since his little spat with Zelde. Although it helped to relieve some of the tension in the air, things were understandably a little awkward between them still. What conversations they did have were short a brief, one or the other, making a quick exit from the conversation at the onset of any potential arguments.

It had been a quiet morning so far. Leyla needed someone to help her with some shopping, and Xanthos found himself on that duty after Zelde elected to remain behind to discuss something with Helia.

The two of them had just returned, when Zelde called out to him.

“Ravi, we need you for a moment.”

He smiled slightly to hear her refer to him by his nickname again. She had been calling him by his first name recently, and he hadn’t liked it. He had joked about being in trouble with her when she referred to him by it, but despite his good humour, she hated it when she used his first name. It reminded him of getting scolded or back when they barely knew each other.

Cautiously walking into the living room, he noted Zelde and Helia had taken over the coffee table with a large map. He didn’t need to be close to it to tell that the shape was that of Shizukana.

As he got closer, he could see they had drawn some markings on it for some unknown reason.

“What are you doing?” He asked, peering down at the map.

“Attempting to determine where that group might be holding out,” Zelde answered, tapping to a mark on the map. It was an ‘X’ scribbled right of the village. “We’re marking out locations where they attacked or were rumoured to have been seen, and then we’re trying to deduce where they might be from there.”

“Interesting,” Xanthos mused, looking over the other marks in closer detail. There didn’t seem to be any specific pattern to them in truth. Beyond the marks to denote the attacks on the village and the attack in the woods where Cordovan was attacked there weren’t really any that were close together. It was on his third time looking over it that he realised one mark was missing.

“You didn’t add that location you got from Mr Perr,” He pointed.

“I wasn’t sure where it was,” Zelde admitted with a small frown. “Besides, there are so many fishing spots on the island it would be hard to say for certain which one it was.”

“North-east, Linnear Point,” Leyla called out from the kitchen. The three of them turned to look at her. “It was from Juni, right? The old man always goes fishing up there. There are some good rockpools he likes to scavenge from up there.”

With a small nod, Zelde grabbed the marker pen she had been using and drew an ‘X’ over the point Leyla mentioned. The three of them went back to looking at the map, hoping the new mark would perhaps hint at where to go, but found no immediate luck. It took some minutes before Xanthos eventually outstretched a hand. “The pen please.”

Zelde passed it to him, and he could her eyes on him as he began drawing lines connecting some of the points together. When he straightened, he had drawn a mid-sized triangle on the map. “I’d say we’re going to be looking for somewhere in this area,” He smiled, snapping the lid back on to the marker.

Zelde glanced at the area he had created in the triangle. “But there’s nothing there.”

“Well, that’s not strictly true,” Helia interjected, also looking at the map. “If my memory serves me correct the mines were located there.”

“Really?” Xanthos blinked in surprise. “Wouldn’t something like that be marked down?”

“Not if this is a new map,” Zelde suddenly said. She tapped a number at the top of the map. “Look at the date here. This map was made after the mines collapsed.”

“Holy shit,” Xanthos breathed.

Helia was quick to her feet. “Leyla!”

From the kitchen, Xanthos heard the black-haired woman curse loudly, before she appeared in the doorway. “Yes?”

“Do you have an older map at all? One from before the mines collapsed?” Helia asked.

“Yeah, I do. Give me a sec and I’ll find it for you,” She said with a small nod. Leyla was gone for several minutes before she returned, clutching a heavy-looking rolled up map. She unfurled it over the new map and sent a cloud of dust into the air. 

“Does that help at all?” Leyla asked, glancing towards the three of them, who were comparing the previous location marked out to the same area on this new map. Zelde shrugged and looked over at Helia who had a finger on the map.

“It fits,” She said, looking up at Zelde. Her odd-coloured eyes then proceeded to glance to Xanthos. “You might have pointed us in the right direction, Ravi.” She offered him an appreciative smile.

“Nice job,” Zelde commented.

“So, where are they going to be holding out? The tunnels?” Xanthos questioned.

Leyla scoffed. “Unless they have someone whose semblance can shift rocks and dirt, that’s highly unlikely.”

“Is there anything else on the land?” Zelde asked.

“A processing plant,” Leyla answered. “It’s not a huge building, but it’s relatively secure, both from Grimm and the villagers.”

“Anywhere in this processing plant that they could use to hold a prisoner?” Zelde asked.

“Well, not specifically, no,” Leyla responded, with a small smirk. She paused for a moment to think. “I suppose the foreman's office or one of the temporary storerooms would suffice. The rest of the building is too open planned to hold a prisoner. Not unless they wanted to cuff her to a pipe or something.”

Zelde suddenly slumped backwards, a defeated look on her face. “I can’t believe we didn’t think of this sooner.”

“Hey, in our defence, everything we’ve been told about it points at it being abandoned,” Xanthos pointed out, in a weak attempt to reassure her.

“I know you mean well, Ravi, but don’t you see? That’s exactly why it’s perfect for them to hide in! Nobody will bother them there and it's perfectly situated that they can travel between less accessible points of the island within reason of course.” Zelde pointed out.

Xanthos frowned slightly at her response but was quick to nod his head in agreement to what she was saying. He looked over at Leyla. “How long would it take us to get to these mines?”

“Oh, not long,” Leyla answered. “Half a day I’d say, maybe a day if you meet any Grimm in the woods. It’s really not that long of a walk.”

“Well, there you go,” He said, jumping to his feet. He clapped a hand on Zelde’s shoulder. “We have our mission.”

“I think we need to plan out some details first,” She said, gently removing his hand. “We can’t afford to be reckless.”

“We can’t afford to wait either,” Xanthos fired back, meeting her gaze, They glared at one another before Zelde eventually eased off. 

“Fine, we’ll do it your way.”

“I’ll come too!” Helia was quick to offer.

“That’s not necessary,” Zelde smiled. “But thank you for the offer, Helia.”

“I’m not letting the two of you go in there alone,” She said, her tone suggesting she was already very set on the matter. “I vowed to help you track down and deal with this Farron Hargrave, and that’s exactly what I plan on doing.”

“I���ll sit this one out,” Leyla said softly. “Like I said, I’m not much of a huntress anymore.”

Helia looked as though she wanted to argue this with her friend, but thought better of it. With a shrug, Zelde eventually agreed to the plan and suggested they hurry to ready themselves.

Xanthos had a determined grin on his face. “Operation get Neela back is a go!”

[sustraiii]

TEAM ZRCN ARC 2 - CHAPTER 1

We’re back with the first official chapter of arc 2!

NEELA

“Come on, just one more time?” Ravi fluttered his eyelids, looking at Neela pleadingly. “Please, Bluebell. For me?”

Neela met his gaze for a moment, feigning indecision, before finally gripping her weapon and hoisting it on her shoulder. A small smile tugged at Xanthos’s lips, and he hurried inside to fetch another melon for her to aim at. In the few minutes it took for him to return, Neela let her gaze drift over to Zelde and Cordovan, who were having a mock spar between themselves.

Xanthos soon returned clutching a melon under his arm and set it upon the tree stump where another melon had sat minutes before. Once in place, he took a step back, waiting quietly whilst Neela readied herself.

She took a breath, steadying her aim, before pressing the button on the shaft twice in rapid succession. There was a small click as the trident snapped together into a single spearhead, followed by another click as the spearhead detached itself and struck the melon opposite. Xanthos made a small cheer as it struck, and Neela smiled, taking a small bow as she did so. With another double click, the spearhead came loose from the melon and snapped back into its rightful place.

A clap from behind made them both turn around. Helia was propped against the doorframe, watching the four of them with keen interest. She had been out since the early morning, making the last of their travel arrangements, but had suggested getting some practice in while they still could.

“So that’s the new upgrade then?” Helia questioned Neela, who nodded in response. “I hadn’t seen it in action before, but it looks good! Well worth the money I’d say.”

“Thank you,” Neela said, quietly agreeing with Helia’s statement. It had been a bit of a spur of the moment purchase, one that Neela had regretted almost immediately, but as she had begun to have more practice with it, she had grown used to the new alterations.

“Do you four want to come inside? Mom put some food out, so if you’re hungry feel free to help yourself,” Helia offered with a slight tilt of the head to gesture inside. She didn’t wait for a response from any of them, before slipping back inside to the warmth of her house.

The team followed her inside shortly after, quickly helping themselves to the food Olive had left out. Ravi had already wolfed down half of his plate before Helia had even begun to talk about the arrangements she had made.

“Unfortunately, as I suspected, there weren’t any ferries heading to Shizukana any time soon, so I managed to get us passage on a cargo liner heading out in two days,” Helia explained, taking a sip of coffee. “It won’t be as comfortable a journey as it would’ve been, but it’ll get us there nevertheless.”

“How we get there does not matter to us,” Zelde was quick to say.

“Speak for yourself,” Xanthos mumbled quietly from the opposite side of the table.

Zelde ignored him and pressed on. “Honestly, Helia you’ve done so much for us already, I think we can spare some luxuries.”

Helia laughed for a moment before shrugging her shoulders.

“What about where we’re staying?” Neela inquired. “Has that been sorted out yet.”

“Shizukana is a small island, and since the mines closed, it doesn’t exactly get a lot of tourists anymore,” Helia explained. “There’s one inn on the island where I’ve sometimes stayed in the past, which is our safest bet. However, it doesn’t take pre-bookings, so it’s really a matter of luck of whether there’ll be rooms or not.”

“I thought you said your friend might be able to house us; a teammate of yours if I recall correctly?” Xanthos spoke up.

“Layla?” Helia said, speaking the woman’s name as if she intended to answer Xanthos’s question with another question. She shifted uncomfortably a little at the mention of the name, a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Neela, Xanthos, and Zelde. Cordovan was the only one unfazed by her reaction, which made sense upon reflection, as he was familiar with Helia’s team. “Well, she’s a possibility at least, but I can’t say for certain whether she’ll help us. We didn’t exactly part on the best of terms, so I doubt she’d appreciate me turning up out of the blue, with four unfamiliar teenagers in tow.” Helia paused, before  adding, “No offence.”

“None taken.” Cordovan and Xanthos replied at the same time, which was followed by Xanthos making a finger gun gesture at Cordovan, and mouthing “Jinx!” at him, before chuckling at his own joke.

When his laughter had finally subsided, it was Helia’s turn to ask a question. “What about you four? You all ready to set out?”

“Cordovan needs to collect some ammo from the local shop, but other than that I think we’re all good,” Neela commented, taking a moment to think back on if she’d missed anything. “Other than me, none of our weapons needed any tweaking, and we bought some new clothing last week.”

“Amazingly, Ravi picked out an outfit, that is less revealing than his current one,” Zelde said, a hint of a smile on her lips. Xanthos shot her an offended glance.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Helia smiled. “Look, I’ve got some last minute things to talk about with my mom, but you should all finish up the food, or at least what you can.” She took a glance at what food remained on the table, before shaking her head, muttering something about how her mother always cooked too much. Helia slowly rose from her seat and wiped her mouth on her sleeve, offering a parting wave as she moved to leave the room.

When she had left, Neela was suddenly aware of Zelde looking at her. “I didn’t get to mention it earlier, but you’ve seemed perkier these last few days.” She mused. Neela arched a brow at her. “It’s not a bad thing of course, it’s just good to see you happy again.”

“Probably helped that Tilia spoke to her a few days ago,” Xanthos pointed out with a wink in Neela’s direction.

Cordovan blinked in surprise. “You never mentioned that.” And from the other side of her Zelde nodded in agreement, also surprised by this announcement. “How was she?”

“A little shaken up, as is understandable, but otherwise okay,” Neela informed them. She then shot them an apologetic glance. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell either of you beforehand. The only reason Ravi knows is because he walked in on me saying goodbye, and after that, I swore him to secrecy. We were so focused on preparing for this trip to Shizukana that I didn’t want to interrupt our planning.”

“Fair enough,” Zelde said with a slight shrug. “It’s good to know that Tilia and her team made it out alright. Obviously, the three of us don’t have as much connection to her or her team as you do, but I think I speak for all of us when I say we all shared in your worry.”

Cordovan and Xanthos bobbed their heads in agreement, and Neela could not help but smile warmly at each of her teammates. “Thank you, all of you. It means a lot to have your support.”

“Well, that’s what teammates are for!” Xanthos laughed. “When the world’s got you down, who else but us can share in your agony and help lift you up?”

Zelde groaned a little. “How inspiring of you, Ravi.”

He dipped his head, almost in a mock bow. “I try.”

“After the not so smooth couple of weeks we’ve had, it’s good to finally have some good news for a change,” Cordovan added thoughtfully. “Who knows, maybe it’s a sign that our dealings with Farron Hargrave and his men, will be over and done with rather quickly.”

Xanthos reached for his glass of water and held it in the air. “Well, let’s hope you didn’t just jinx us with that Cordovan.” He laughed, before making a toasting gesture with his glass. “Here’s to a hopefully swift victory and another successful mission.”