After the terrifying events at Olympia, the group take a moment to recover and take stock of what happened before finally pushing on to the O.R.C.A.S!
ZELDE
After the events of the night before the group had found themselves holed up at an old military outpost a few miles out of town. According to Calantha, her family had always used it as a sort of halfway point between the town and the facility.
The outpost was small with just enough room for the whole group to sit inside comfortably thanks to having been gutted of most of its furniture. Morgan reluctantly gave up more of the fire dust he had bought with him, using it to start a small fire to warm up the room. The whole group huddled around the fire, pressing close together to share the warmth. Trying to get to sleep proved to be more of a struggle. Elio was insistent the Husks wouldn't have followed them this far, but this didn't stop him and the rest of the Mob Ops from setting up a little watch between themselves whilst the rest of the group rested just in case. This was slightly more comforting for Zelde and that coupled with being wrapped up in Cordovan's safe embrace, ensured she was able to get a fairly restful sleep.
It was a welcome relief when morning finally arrived and the lingering threat of a second Husk attack faded. Once everyone was awake, Cherry briefly slipped outside to retrieve some rations from the car, before returning to hand them out. There wasn’t much, to begin with, and spread out between all of them there was even less; still, it helped to stave off the hunger pangs that Zelde felt kicking in.
As they ate, Elio took the opportunity to drill the group on the plan of action once more.
“It’s a bit early for battle tactics, don’t you think?” Wisteria quipped from where she was sitting.
“After what happened yesterday, I think we could do with the reminder, so it’s fresh in our minds instead of those things,” Elio responded without even sparing her a glance. “If you’d rather stay out of the conversation, that’s fine by me.”
Wisteria shrugged and gave no further response. Although she had spoken against the topic of conversation, Zelde noted that the woman did seem to be listening to what was being said.
As Zelde finished up the last of her rations, she felt her gaze shift instinctively towards Cordovan. He hadn't said much this morning other than a brief hello, but as she turned her head to look at him she saw him staring at Wisteria. It wasn't the first time she had caught him doing so since they had left Highpoint. After all the bad blood between him and Wisteria, she couldn't fault him for still being suspicious around her.
Zelde touched his knee which seemed to snap him out of his thoughts. He turned to her and she gave him a brief smile that seemed to get him to relax.
As Elio continued with his conversation, he invited the other members of the group to bring up any queries they might have had, so they could try and work through them before they left for the Rossi's base. Morgan was naturally concerned about the situation regarding their Dust supplies, which Zelde couldn't fault him for. After their attempt to hold off the Husks, their supplies had definitely taken a dent. Zelde wasn’t anticipating much of a firefight - based on what she knew of the Rossi’s and their allies few of them even had guns - but she was certainly aware of how little ammunition she had left.
After assuring Morgan they would be fine, Elio rallied the group in preparing to leave. It was still early but Elio was keen to leave for the O.R.C.A.S and deal with the remaining Rossi’s as soon as possible - a sentiment that was shared by Cherry and Xanthos. There wasn’t much to pack up and bring with them so it did not take long to gather their things and head out. Like the day before, Zelde and the rest of her teammates found themselves seated in the back with Helia and Wisteria whilst Calantha sat upfront with the Mob Ops.
The journey from the outpost to the Rossi’s base did not take long, with the journey only appearing to take longer due to the slow, careful, driving of Elio. The further north they travelled the harder it became to see, with a thick fog descending upon them, which made it difficult for Zelde to see the base at first when Cherry announced that they had arrived. It was only after looking for some time that Zelde was finally able to make out more of the building, with the dim lights from inside the building helping it stand out through the fog.
The building became more visible the closer Elio and it soon became clear to Zelde that she had vastly underestimated just how large the O.R.C.A.S was. From Calantha’s descriptions and the blueprints that the Mob Ops had, she had been able to put together a rough idea of what it might look like in her mind but nothing prepared her for seeing it up close. And with the walls surrounding it made it seem like a fortress - an impenetrable fortress.
Xanthos let out a whistle. "Bigger than I thought it would be."
"Are we okay to stop here?" Helia asked, shifting in her seat. “Won’t they be able to see us?”
“I don’t think so,” Calantha answered from upfront. “They wouldn’t be able to see far with the fog.”
“You’d better switch the headlights off to be safe,” Cherry suggested to Elio.
“So how are you planning on getting inside?” Wisteria asked after a few moments had passed. Zelde thought the woman was trying to get a rise from them again but to her surprise, she actually seemed genuinely curious. Or at least she did for a brief moment. “I do hope you’re not planning on knocking on the gates and hoping they’ll let you in.”
“We’re not knocking on the gate,” Elio answered, a hint of irritation in his voice as he responded. “Well...not in that sense at least.”
“What are you gonna do? Ram the car into it?”
“Yes.”
Zelde stiffened in her seat. “You must be joking.”
The nervous laughter that preceded any actual verbal response from Elio gave Zelde the confirmation she was looking for. Looking around at Helia and the rest of her teammates, Zelde noted that they all had similar confused and slightly worried expressions on their faces. Wisteria on the other hand seemed mildly amused by his answer.
“That doesn’t seem like a very safe idea...” Cordovan mused. “And what’s to say you’ll even be able to break through the gate?”
“Trust me, these bad boys are designed to take a hit, it’ll make it,” Elio responded confidently, before giving the roof a light punch with his fist. “You’d better make sure you’re all fastened in, kids. This could get bumpy!”
Zelde didn’t even get the chance to check before she lurched forward slightly with the sudden momentum of Elio reversing before suddenly accelerating. Genuinely fearing they wouldn’t even break through the gate, Zelde closed her eyes and braced for the impact. A loud bang echoed around the car, followed by the sound of metal scraping. To her relief - and surprise - they had actually made it through the gate unscathed and without issue. Everyone had been jostled around in the impact but were otherwise okay. Unfortunately, if the faint odour of smoke wafting around was anything to go by, the car had not fared so well.
Turning the engine off, Elio ordered everyone out of the car. Stepping outside, Zelde took a sharp intake of breath, unprepared for how much colder it felt now. Before huddling together with the rest of the group, Zelde took a moment to look around, making note of the now mangled gate, which was now sitting a short distance away from the car, along with a small portion of the wall which lay scattered between the two.
Further ahead, two beacons on either side of the doors into the building were beginning to flash an alarming shade of red, but interestingly enough there was no sound to accompany it.
"Silent alarms." Turning her head slightly, Zelde could see Calantha looking at her as she spoke. "Less likely to attract Grimm that way."
"No denying they know we're here then," Xanthos quipped.
"No doubt," Elio grinned in response. His smirk quickly faded as he began to speak again. "Okay once we head in, we’re going to go through and clear it floor by floor.” His red eyes shifted to ZRCN before continuing. “And if you see anyone you are not to engage by yourself, understood? Wait for one of us or Helia to assist, unless we give you permission.”
“And what about me?” Wisteria inquired. “Will I have to ask for permission too?”
Elio grunted a little. “No, but it would be preferable if you stuck close to us regardless.”
For a moment, Zelde thought Wisteria would argue against this, but the purple haired woman merely gave a shrug in response.
"Perhaps it would be more advisable for us to split into smaller groups," Morgan suggested. "We'll be able to go through more of the base quickly then, and smaller groups would be less noticeable to any potential enemies."
"Good point." Elio conceded. "Who wants to go with who?"
"I would like to try and find Bianca," Calantha said nervously. "If she sees me I am certain she would listen to my pleas and surrender. There are only a few places here that she frequents so I don't think it would take long to find her and then meet back up if we do decide to split into smaller groups that is."
"I could accompany you," Morgan offered politely, before turning his head to Elio. "Considering Calantha is a non-combatant, one of us should go with her to protect her."
"On a similar note, one of us should stay with her." Zelde turned to see Cherry gesturing towards Wisteria, who in turn rolled her eyes.
"I would like to scope out some of the larger rooms myself," Elio said. "Perhaps ZRCN could stick close to you, Cher? I'm certain Wren would have our heads if we let them go off by themselves."
"No more than she will for us coming here in the first place," Cherry pointed out. "But sure - at least I can trust them not to do anything stupid. Just stay within eyesight, kids, and we'll be fine."
"And what about me?" Helia asked.
"I don't think it's wise for any of us to go alone," Cordovan said softly. "Maybe you should go with Elio?"
"I'd be fine with it," Elio responded, giving Helia a small smile.
Helia considered Cordovan's suggestion for a moment before nodding in agreement. Zelde wasn't sure she was hundred percent on board with the notion of them all splitting up into smaller groups, but she was comforted knowing Cherry was with them. At least if the worst happened they would have a Specialist watching their backs.
"Anyone got anything else to add?" Elio asked, looking to each of the group in turn. One by one, each of them shook their head no, and once Morgan had given his response, Elio gave a curt nod. "Okay, we all know the plan, let's go and get this over with. It's time for these assholes to pay for what they've done."
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This time we’re focusing on Bianca in the midst of the attack on the O.R.C.A.S. Many thanks to @neopoliitan for doing a bit of proofreading for me again!
BIANCA
Flashing red lights marked the long-awaited arrival of the Atlas army to Rossi’s base of operations, or so Bianca at first assumed. It was only a matter of time until someone had come looking for them after everything Belleza had done.
When the alarms had been set off, Belleza had been quick to call Bianca away from her work and order her to the surveillance room. Bianca asked her sister if she could take a moment to check on their father and ensure the alarms hadn't distressed or confused him, but based on the expletive-laden response Belleza fired back, she knew better than to protest.
Bianca hurried to the surveillance room as she was requested to do, and passed Miho heading upstairs and Laurel and Biggs walking in the direction of the parking bay. When she finally reached the surveillance room, she found Belleza and Uriah waiting for her. Uriah sat in front of several screens nervously typing away to try and get some images to show up, whilst Belleza paced irritably behind him.
“Oh finally! Someone who knows what they’re doing!” Belleza said, throwing her hands up dramatically. Bianca did not miss the glare her sister gave Uriah when he stood up to let Bianca sit at the desk.
“Don’t be too harsh on him, Belle,” Bianca said as she sat down. “You should know by now he doesn’t perform well under pressure.”
With a few masterful strokes, Bianca had nearly all the screens displaying a feed within a minute or two. There weren't as many cameras as there used to be due to Bianca and their father deciding they needed to cut a few corners years ago. With limited resources they had access to, it was decided they needed to limit the power to certain areas of the facility. Bianca did repair the cameras when she was able to, but she had never been in a particular hurry to do so, and up until recently, there hadn't been much need for the cameras as the alarms sufficed to tell them when Grimm or other enemies were present.
"There we go," Bianca said, gesturing to the screens. "Now Belle, remember, the feeds are a few seconds out so these aren't live, but this should show us who you'll be dealing with."
Out of the corner of her eye, Bianca saw her sister step up closer to the screens. Based on what Bianca could see, it looked as though the Mob Ops and the team of students had been the only ones who turned up, as opposed to Belleza assuming the General would send the army. They also appeared to have split up once they got inside, which Bianca had to admit was a smart idea, though it would certainly make things harder on Belleza.
"Hmm, I thought there would be more," Belleza grumbled.
"I thought you'd just be glad anyone turned up at all," Bianca muttered under her breath.
"Can you rewind this footage so we can see where they all went?" Belleza asked. Bianca gave a little nod before typing in an instruction and turning a knob, which started to rewind the footage on all the cameras. The trio's attention was focused on the cameras pointing outside and by the entrance, watching as the group came back together. Bianca paused when she was certain they were all back together, and when she looked at the screen she was surprised at who she saw among them.
It was Calantha.
At first, she didn't recognise she was looking at her sister. But once she realised who she was looking at it was unmistakably her sister. Bianca reached forward and touched her sister on the screen.
"Now that is a surprise," Uriah quipped.
"Like a lamb to the slaughter," Belleza said. The words made Bianca retract her hand sharply, and she whipped around almost defensively. Belleza gave her a wicked grin in response, before stepping forward to the desk and turning the knob the other way, fast-forwarding the footage again. "Let's see where our dear sister ran off to."
This time Bianca's attention was solely focused on her younger sister when she looked back at the screen. It was easy to keep track of her at first, with her and the younger member of the Mob Ops splitting off from the rest of the group. They tracked them down a few corridors before they disappeared off the camera, reappearing a few moments later on another screen.
"She looks like she's looking for something," Uriah mused as he leaned closer to the screen.
"Or someone…" Belleza muttered. Bianca didn't need to turn around to know her sister was looking at her as she said that. "She'll be coming here... to us."
"You don't know that for sure," Bianca said, though her confident tone was only a mere mask for the uncertainty she felt.
"She's looking for you," Belleza said, leaning in closer. "And where better to look than the place where you spend most of your time?"
Bianca frowned. She didn’t want to admit but a small part of her knew that what Belleza said was likely to be true. She knew Calantha too well. She knew the only reason she was here was for her sake. Despite what she knew, it didn’t stop Bianca from watching the screens intently to see where Calantha was going, a growing sense of dread forming within her when she realised Calantha was doing just as Belleza had predicted. Silently, she willed for Calantha to turn around and go away, to forget this place and to forget her.
But she knew her sister too well.
Bianca continued to watch the screens until she knew Calantha was nearby, and then her gaze shifted to the door, waiting for it to open. A click of a door handle signalled their arrival. Bianca opened her mouth to say something - a warning perhaps - but before she even had the chance, she felt herself being pulled out of her seat by Belleza, an arm over her chest to keep her from moving once Belleza had gotten her up.
"What are you doing?" Bianca hissed.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Belleza smirk at her, before turning to look at the doorway as their sister and the young man entered.
"Hello, little lamb," Belleza cooed in a falsely sweet voice. "How nice of you to finally come home."
“Bianca, are you alright?” Calantha asked, ignoring Belleza’s words. Bianca gave a feeble nod in response.
Belleza huffed. “What no ‘hello’ for your big sister?”
Calantha flinched a little at that but quickly settled when the young man gave her a gentle, reassuring touch on her arm. “Thank you.” The two shared a look before Calantha turned her attention back to her sisters. “We’re here to stop you, Belle.”
“Who? You and pretty boy over there?” Belleza asked. “I’m so terrified.”
“I have a name you know. It’s Morgan,“ Morgan responded with a dry tone. You know we’re not alone, don’t you?”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that! Do you not see these screens behind me?” Belleza jeered, gesturing to the monitors behind where they were standing. “We’ve been following your movements since you first arrived.”
“Then I would advise you to come quietly,” The man said calmly. “This doesn’t have to end in a fight.”
“And what if I want it to end in a fight?” Belleza taunted.
Morgan stared back at them for a moment before withdrawing his weapon from his back. “Then I will use force if it is required.”
Belleza merely smirked. “Who do you think you are to come into my home and give me orders?”She asked. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking you or your little friends have the upper hand here - because you don’t!”
Bianca hadn’t even seen Uriah work his way round to them having been too focused on Calantha. But now he was here and he was rapidly becoming a problem. The man jabbed at the pair of them, forcing them apart before rapidly turning to swing his staff at Morgan. As Morgan stepped back, he grabbed his gun from his back and readied it to defend himself. Morgan recovered just in time to avoid the first swing of Uriah’s staff but was not quick enough to dodge the second swing before it struck him on the chin. Morgan grunted as he was knocked backwards before rising to his feet and charging Uriah. Bianca quickly deduced that his weapon must have only had one form, as he used the butt of the gun to force Uriah back.
Bianca knew from experience it would do little to deter Uriah. He might not have had an aura nor a semblance, but he was a dangerous fighter if allowed to get too close, utilising the same brutish attacking style as his sister. All he needed was a gap in Morgan's defence and he would quickly find a way to weaken him.
And soon enough he had that gap.
After being pushed back, Uriah was quick to approach again, spinning his staff around his hand before jabbing the end into Morgan's abdomen. Morgan recoiled from the jab and before he had a chance to put his gun up to block another strike, Uriah suddenly jabbed four times in succession.
Staggered by the last blow, Morgan struggled to stand upright, which gave Uriah another opportunity to land more attacks on him before he was able to get up and defend himself. The sparring between them continued to go on in this way until Uriah managed to knock Morgan to the floor. As Morgan scrambled to retrieve his weapon which had skidded away from him, Uriah approached him and shifted his weapon to deliver a nasty overhead strike that would have surely broken the other man's aura now that it had been weakened by his relentless attacking.
But rather than hit Morgan, when Uriah swung, his staff struck Calantha's wrist blade instead. Bianca had heard the schting as her sister had readied her weapon but had not made the connection until she actually saw her sister block Uriah.
Both Morgan and Uriah seemed surprised at her sudden intervention, but no one seemed more surprised than Calantha herself. Uriah pulled his weapon back before jabbing it in Calantha’s direction, which she neatly dodged with a spin.
“Hmph,” Belleza huffed loudly. “Looks like someone has been learning a few new tricks while she’s been away.”
And Belleza was not wrong in that regard. With Morgan still winded from the last blow, Uriah had turned his sights onto Calantha after she had parried him. Bianca was surprised to see she was actually holding her ground against Uriah, although she did not look confident as she did so, grimacing slightly as she blocked and dodged his attacks. What little training she had been given whilst she had been away was clearly paying off.
It was all going well until Belleza had finally had enough of the spectacle.
"Uriah, hurry up and deal with her," Belleza snapped. "She should not be giving you this much trouble."
Uriah grunted in annoyance but did not verbally speak back to Belleza; Bianca knew he cared too much about his perceived relationship with her to even dare to try something like that. Uriah took a step back from Calantha and twisted the middle of the shaft of his weapon, triggering blue electricity to spark down the entire staff. Bianca had a feeling about what was coming before it happened but she could not call out a warning quick enough for Calantha to move out of the way before Uriah jabbed his weapon directly at her.
The tip of the staff struck Calantha in the chest and sent electricity coursing through her body. Her body tensed up through the shock of his attack and after a few painful moments, she finally toppled forward and landed on the floor with a heavy thud.
Calantha lay on the floor unmoving and making little sound. Morgan crawled over to her from his spot on the floor and Bianca was relieved to see Uriah did not intervene despite hovering over the two. Once Morgan reached Calantha, he gently rolled her onto her back, and placed two fingers against her neck and lowered his head close to hers to check for signs of breathing.
"She's not breathing!" Morgan said, panic raising his voice. He didn't even wait for any reaction from the others before immediately starting compressions and rescue breathing.
Bianca glanced around for Uriah, full of rage towards him knowing he was responsible for Calantha's current condition. The man was staring down at Morgan and Calantha, a dawning look of realisation beginning to emerge on his features, as he realised what he had done.
"You--" Bianca snarled at him, making a swipe at him with one of her hands. If not for Belleza still holding her back she might very well have lunged herself at the man and wrung his neck with her bare hands. Panicked, Uriah did not linger in the room much longer, and turned tail and ran, ignoring Belleza yelling at him to stay and Bianca's angry cursing.
Bianca was desperate to get to her sister but Belleza still had a firm grip on her, despite it having slackened slightly since Uriah had struck Calantha. She needed to get to Calantha but she knew that Belleza wouldn't let her go easily. Belleza's hand was still on her chest, restraining her from getting too far, so Bianca lowered her head and bit down hard on her sister's between her thumb and index finger. With a yelp of surprise, Belleza released her grip, allowing Bianca to get away and drop to the floor to help Calantha.
For the moment it seemed as though Morgan had it covered. Although Bianca was desperate to help she found herself too numb with shock to do anything. Instead, she turned her attention back to Belleza who was still standing nearby. With a shaking hand, she withdrew the gun she wore holstered on her hip and pointed it at her sister. "Help her!" Bianca demanded.
Her elder sister studied her carefully for a moment before tilting her head to the side. "What are you going to do, shoot me?"
Bianca hesitated briefly before moving her finger to the trigger and squeezing it. Unfortunately, Bianca had little experience with guns, or weapons in general for that matter so the shot went wide and struck the wall above Belleza's head.
Belleza glanced at the wall behind and then turned to glare at Bianca. "You actually tried to shoot me!?"
"Help her!" Bianca called out, ignoring her elder sister's words. Her hands were shaking violently as she continued to point her gun at her. "Damn it, Belle, just help her!"
Despite the threat of being shot - or at least shot at - Belleza was not moved by Bianca's pleas. Rather than help she looked down at Calantha with a look of disgust. “Sorry, Bianca, she’s just not worth the effort,” Belleza said coldly, before hurrying out of the room in the same direction that Uriah had left in.
"Belleza!" Bianca called after her sister. For a moment, Bianca simply stared at the spot where her elder sister had been moments before, unable to believe what Belleza had just done. It was a struggle for her not to let her anger and frustration towards her elder sister overwhelm her at that moment, but her more pressing concern was Calantha.
"Move." She told Morgan, as she quickly holstered her weapon. He didn't have a chance to respond to her before Bianca knelt down and practically pulled him aside so she could work on Calantha herself. "She's my sister, I'll be the one to save her."
Bianca half expected him to stop her once she took over the compressions but he remained quietly by her side, watching over Calantha with a worried gaze that Bianca was sure matched her own. The only time he got close to Calantha again was to periodically check for a pulse or breathing.
“Come on, Cala. Come back to us.” Morgan crooned, bowing his head as he spoke.
“Stay with me! Please stay with me!” Bianca started to sob as she continued her compressions on her sister. “Please…I can’t lose you too.”
As she pushed down on her sister’s chest, Bianca was taken aback when her sister’s body seemed to arch upwards momentarily before lying flat again. For a brief, fleeting moment, Bianca thought her sister was waking back up, but quickly lost hope again when she saw how still Calantha remained.
“Bianca, can you do that again?”
“Do what?” Bianca asked, looking at Morgan as she spoke. It was only as she turned that she realised he was looking down at her hands, which she held just above Calantha’s chest after briefly stopping her chest compressions. Bianca looked down at her own hands and was amazed to see what looked like small currents of red coloured electricity dancing over her hands.
“Quickly!” Morgan urged. “Do it again!”
Bianca wasn’t even sure she could do it again but she was willing to try. Gently she placed her hands on her sister’s chest and willed herself to channel all the energy into her hands. Sure enough, Calantha’s body reacted in the same way. Bianca pulled her hands away briefly and Morgan tried again to search for a pulse, shaking his head when he found none.
Bianca readied herself to try again, giving Morgan a chance to pull back before putting her hands back on her sister.
“Come back, Cala, come back,” Bianca willed as she pushed down again.
Once more, Bianca pulled her hands away and Morgan checked for a pulse. Unlike before, he hesitated, and checked twice, as though needing to be certain. “There’s a pulse,” Morgan told her calmly, though Bianca could see the relief washing over him. “It’s weak but it is there.”
“How did I do that?” Bianca asked, glancing at her hands.
“It must have been your semblance,” Morgan responded, moving to grip one of Calantha’s wrists so he could monitor her pulse. “We should be fortunate that you can create some form of electricity with your semblance, it acts like a defibrillator.”
“I don’t-” Bianca began to speak but cut herself off as she looked down at her hands. No, he was wrong, she didn’t have a semblance. Or did she? After what had just happened Bianca was beginning to question that herself. And the more she thought about it, the more she realised it wasn’t the first time she had created such a jolt of electricity, recalling when Bianca had been working to recall their assets back to the O.R.C.A.S after Wisteria had defected in Highpoint and she had touched Belleza’s hand only to be met with a jolt of electricity. She had believed it had discharged from the earpiece that had passed between but now she was wondering if it was something more.
On the ground, Calantha began to stir, and Bianca had to restrain herself from throwing herself upon her sister when she heard the small murmurs from her sister. Slowly, Calantha’s eyes fluttered open, and she looked around, first at Morgan and then at Bianca.
“Bianca…” Calantha’s voice was weak, barely louder than a whisper. With some effort, she moved the hand which wasn’t being held by Morgan to grasp her sisters. ”You saved me.”
“We both did,” Bianca corrected, finally giving Morgan the appreciative look he deserved for his efforts.
A faint smile formed on Calantha’s lips before it faded away to a more panicked expression. “Where’s Belle?” She asked.
“Shh, it’s okay, she’s not here now,” Bianca answered, speaking with a soothing tone. “We’ll keep you safe.”
However, no sooner had she said that Bianca heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and for a dreaded moment she thought Belleza and Uriah had come back for them. She was so certain that it must have been them that when the door opened she pulled her gun out again, this time ready to defend herself properly if need be. To her surprise, and the surprise of those who opened the door, neither party seemed to expect the other.
Standing in the doorway was Helia Vines, the blonde member of the Mob Ops that Bianca faintly recalled was named Elio, Laurel, and Biggs.
“It’s okay they won’t hurt you,” Morgan promised, putting a hand on the gun Bianca still held out, and lowering it slowly.
Bianca did not miss the way he gave her a look of suspicion as he said that, which she thought was ironic given Laurel and Biggs’ presence behind him and the fact he was clearly injured in some manner by the way he was leaning on Helia for support.
“It’s a long story,” Morgan told him. “One I’ll explain to you a bit more in detail once we get Calantha somewhere safer. And I suspect you also have something to tell me based on your new allies.” That seemed to be all he had to say for the matter until he looked back at Bianca. “If you must know, Bianca is helping us now. If not for her Calantha might have died.”
“Is she alright? Can she move?” Helia asked, looking down at Calantha who was still sprawled on the floor.
“I can move,” Calantha answered before attempting to lift her head only to find she lacked the strength to do so.
“No you can’t,” Bianca said firmly, giving her sister a glance to warn her off trying to move again. “Cala, your heart stopped beating for several minutes, I know this isn’t the most opportune time given our current situation but you need to give yourself time to recover.”
“Is there somewhere we can take her?”Morgan asked. “Somewhere she’d be safe from the conflict?”
Bianca paused to think for a moment before giving an answer. “We can take her to the medical bay,” Bianca told him. “There are a few beds there we can lie her down on. Plus it has an inner security lock, so no one can get in from the outside when it's activated unless they have the correct codes which only three people do - myself, Theodora, and Euphemia.”
“Theodora was heading there with your father when the alarms started going off,” Laurel chimed in. “If she’s there she can keep an eye on her. And Aelius too. I might have roughed him up a bit too hard.” Bianca noticed that she looked at Elio as she said that name.
“What are we going to do about you?” Elio asked, looking at Bianca as he said that. “We still have a mission to complete.”
“If you’re worried about whether I'll be a threat don’t be,” Bianca assured him, rising to her feet as she spoke. “My only concern is my sister’s safety.”
“Both of them?”
Bianca closed her eyes and took a breath. “Only Calantha.”
Elio looked at her silently, an expression that was surprisingly devoid of judgement, and gave her a nod.
“Someone will need to help me carry Calantha,” Bianca said. “I’m not strong enough to carry her on my own.”
“I’ll do it,” Morgan responded, not even waiting for anybody else to offer before hoisting Calantha into his arms, trying to do so as carefully as possible without causing her too much discomfort. “Just show me where to go.”
Bianca nodded and began to lead the group away when Elio interrupted them. “Wait!” He said urgently, breaking free from Helia’s support, and then turning to the woman in question. “Helia, we do still have a mission to do here. Don’t worry about me for now, just go and find the others. I’ll go with Calantha and Bianca, you should go back and find the rest of the group. You’re the most able-bodied fighter here right now they need you more than I do.”
“I’ll go with her too,” Laurel insisted. “I told you I wanted to help and I meant it.” The blonde woman’s gaze moved to Biggs and she gave him a knowing look. “Jes, go with my cousin and the Rossis. They might need your strength should someone like Miho come knocking.”
The ursine man gave a curt nod and separated himself from Laurel to stand with Morgan, Calantha, Bianca, and Elio.
“I’ll come and find you once I’m sure they’re safe,” Morgan promised Helia.
Helia and Laurel left them soon after, leaving the five unlikely allies all together. Bianca gave Calantha a quick once over in Morgan’s arms, before leading the small group of them on their way.
In the tenth chapter of Arc 4 Team ZRCN & Co finally make it to the long ruined town of Olympia.
Thanks go to @neopoliitan for proofreading again!
CALANTHA
After a long journey, the group had nearly made it to Olympia. Despite her fatigue, Calantha found herself staring out of the window, eager for her first glimpse at the home she had never known. It was strange she was so eager when she already knew there would be nothing of worth waiting for her there.
“We should be coming up on Olympia soon,” Elio said. Calantha looked away from the window and noticed Elio had turned his attention away from the road briefly to look at her. “At least if the old coordinates and your directions are anything to go by.”
“Well, as I said a few hours ago, I apologise if my directions are a little off. The last time I was in Olympia I was less than a year old.”
“Don’t sweat it,” Elio assured her, before focusing on driving again. “Speaking of, I see something ahead.”
As Elio said, there was indeed something ahead, though it was hard to determine exactly what it was. It was only as the vehicle drew closer that Calantha and the others could make out what they were seeing. Ruined fences served as a border for the town, some remained standing but most were broken and charred, some scattered in the ground nearby with blackened wood slightly peeking out through the snow. Beyond that the ruined houses sat barren and empty, long abandoned by their former inhabitants. Some of the houses looked in better shape than others, only a few crumbling roofs and time worn walls indicating how long they'd stood abandoned. The rest of them were broken and falling apart having borne the brunt of the Grimm attack all those years ago.
Elio brought the car to a halt in the middle of the road. As Calantha, Cherry, and Morgan all removed their seatbelts he yelled back to the rest of their travelling companions to inform them they had arrived at their destination.
Getting out of the car, Calantha was hit by a freezing gust of wind, causing her to shiver. She would be glad to get inside the old Rossi house soon, as the wind was bone chillingly cold and sounded rather unsettling as it whipped around the empty town.
A whistle behind her, caused her to turn. The rest of the group - save for Wisteria, who had to be cuffed by Cherry - had exited the back of the car and were now looking around at their surroundings.
“What happened here?” Xanthos asked, looking around at the ruined buildings surrounding them.
“A tragedy.” Calantha replied simply.
Xanthos nodded solemnly and Calantha was surprised to see a look of understanding cross his features. Had he lost a home once? She pondered.
“Must have been a lot of Grimm to do all this damage.” Xanthos observed.
“It was a Stampeder, wasn’t it?” Neela’s voice cut in. Calantha turned her head to see the blue-haired girl approaching them.
“Just one Grimm?” Xanthos blinked in disbelief.
“Mostly one Grimm,” Calantha corrected him. “There were others that came afterwards, drawn by the negative energy, but most of the damage you see around us was done by one rampaging Stampeder. Well, except for the fire damage. Apparently that was the result of a wannabe huntsman thinking he could take it out by himself.” Calantha then turned to look at Neela. She had been surprised that Neela knew of what had caused the damage. Calantha knew that there were not many outside of those who had been there on that day, or the military backup that had come too late, that knew the truth. “How did you know it was a Stampeder that did this?” She asked.
Neela scratched her head nervously. “Unfortunately my grandfather Titus is quite well known for his actions - or rather inaction -, on that day,” She answered. “Since you grew up hearing about what happened, no doubt you know about how when Atlas was delayed in mobilising the military to assist, Highpoint could have sent aid. But for some reason my grandfather refused to send any of our huntsmen or members of the security team, until it was too late. Maybe if he had... more people would have survived. Maybe if he had, Olympia might still be standing…”
“I’d heard a little about him,” Calantha confirmed. "If it makes you feel any better I doubt it would have done much help had he sent help. From what I heard from my father, even the military struggled to contain the Grimm once they arrived. I doubt the huntsmen of Highpoint would have been able to make much of a difference."
Neela gave her a weak smile, before leaving Calantha to go and speak with Zelde and Cordovan. Another frigid breeze whipped through the town, and Calantha blew into her hands to warm them. A moment later she heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Morgan approaching, his cheeks flushed red from the cold.
"So... Elio thinks we should try and look for your old house to lie low in for a few hours," He said. "Do you know where it is?"
"How do you know her house wasn't one of the ones that were destroyed?" Xanthos asked.
"Don't worry, it’s not,” Calantha assured him, before turning back to Morgan. “We just need to find a house with ‘Rossi’ on the gate.”
Morgan gave a little nod before going to relay this information to Elio, which then prompted the group to start looking for a house matching that description. As Calantha could not recall much else about the house where she was born, it took several minutes of wandering through the snow until Cordovan found it and signalled the others to him.
The old Rossi family home was a fairly large detached house, which had once clearly been defended by a sturdy iron fence. Although the house was in better condition than many of those in Olympia, it was clear that time had taken its toll on it. Parts of the fence had collapsed, stone steps which lead up to the front door were cracked and crumbling, and part of the roof had caved with more of it looking on the verge of collapsing due to the weight of the snow.
The doors and windows had all been boarded up long ago so it took a moment for them to get inside, until Xanthos used his semblance to aid him in pulling off the planks on the door.
Stepping inside, they were once again greeted by a cool breeze, likely wafting down from the gaping hole in the roof, but Calantha was relieved it was marginally warmer. As they stepped further into the hallway, the floorboards creaked as they walked over them, almost as though groaning in disapproval.
"We can rest in the living room," Calantha said, pointing to the room in question. "It connects to the main hall and the dining room, but once we can get a fire going we can shut the doors to keep in the heat."
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Elio gave her a thumbs before glancing towards Morgan. "How much dust can we spare to get a fire going?"
Morgan considered this for a moment, his features scrunching together in thought. "Not much," He responded after a moment. "We'll have to find something to burn if we want it to last."
"There should be some books and old paperwork around the house you could burn," Calantha told them. "My father won't mind, it's not like he ever came back looking for any of it."
Elio clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention. "Alright then everyone, we need to look for some things to burn!"
"Not you, Elio," Cherry said, coming up beside him. She put a hand on his arm to hold him back. "Go get some rest, you've been driving for hours."
"So have you." Elio pointed out.
"Both of you get some rest," Morgan said, before either had a chance to argue. He reached into one of his pockets and retrieved two dust crystals which he handed to Elio. "This should do to get a fire going."
Calantha and Wisteria decided to stay with Cherry and Elio, though the latter didn't have much choice in the matter as being cuffed prevented her from doing much else.
Elio held off on using the dust to make a fire until Helia returned, bringing a stack of old newspapers and leaflets. Once a fire was going, he got himself settled on an old sofa, whipping off the tarp with such speed it sent a flurry of dust everywhere.
There wasn't anywhere else to sit in the living room as Cherry was already eyeing up the second sofa, so Calantha spread the tarp out in front of the fireplace before taking a seat. It was an old, dirty piece of cloth, but it was certainly better than sitting on the cold floor.
Wisteria also came and sat on the floor with her. Calantha couldn't help but feel she looked like a moody child the way she was sat, a frown playing on her features, that only seemed to deepen once Elio started snoring.
"I'm starting to think you should have left me back at your base." Wisteria complained.
"Hey, you're the one who wanted to come, remember?" Cherry mocked. "Believe me... I would have gladly left your ass behind."
"My ass would have been glad to stay behind."
"Here," Cherry began, sliding some of the old newspapers towards Wisteria. "Make yourself useful and start scrunching some of this up to burn."
Wisteria started doing as she was told, but frowned the entire time. "You know what would be really useful? Discussing what your plan of attack will be."
"Considering we don't know exactly who is going to be there, we're always going to be at a slight disadvantage," Cherry began. "The way Elio, Morgan, and I planned it was that our main priority would be to deal with those we've previously seen attack. The ones whose manner of attacks we’re familiar with or that we know will attack. Miho, Uriah, possibly that Sparrow person, Belleza."
"Better add Laurel, Biggs, and Maia to that list," Wisteria said, as she scrunched up a page and tossed it into the fire.
"Who?"
"Okay, first of all, don't waste your time worrying about Uriah and Sparrow.” Wisteria explained, “Uriah hits hard but he's not the sharpest tool in the shed. There's no tactics, no control, to how he fights. A little unpredictable, sure, but wear him out and he'll be easy to deal with. Sparrow, on the other hand, isn't really a fighter. They would if pushed... but I doubt they'd go all out. They’re more likely to flee or surrender than fight." During the woman’s speech Cherry looked towards Calantha as though to ask her if this was true, to which she nodded.
"Biggs, Laurel, and Maia are the ones you really want to worry about.” Wisteria continued. “They're all heavy hitters and extremely dangerous. Out of the three Biggs would be easiest as he has no aura, but don't let that fool you into complacency and thinking he's an easy target. He damn near dislocated my shoulder the one time I trained against him."
"There's also the Crest siblings." Calantha pointed out.
"Sisters of Ulysses Crest, correct?" Cherry asked.
Wisteria nodded. "I doubt you'd have much to worry about with them though," She told Cherry. "Euphemia might fight back, but considering what happened to Ulysses and a general distrust of Belleza, like Sparrow she's more likely to surrender than to fight."
Cherry listened quietly to what Wisteria had to say, before nodding her head. "Okay, you know what? That was actually helpful -- maybe you're not entirely a waste of space."
Wisteria rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she did, but Calantha could have sworn she was smiling. As the conversation drew to a close, Cherry stretched out on the sofa and rolled on her side to get some sleep, leaving Calantha and Wisteria to continue scrunching up bits of the newspapers. They didn't have to wait long until the rest of the group returned, bringing with them more paper and books they could rip up and burn. Helia was also carrying some sheets with her from upstairs, which were promptly handed out amongst the group. Calantha notes she saved one for Elio, and personally draped it over him.
Xanthos was quick to spread himself on the tarp in front of the fireplace, not seeming to care when his foot touched Wisteria and she shot him death glares in return. Neela also came to join him, shifting herself under the crook of his arm as the two of them enjoyed the warmth.
“Between the cold, the strange noises, and how eerily dark it is everywhere because of the boarded up windows, I don’t think I’ve ever been more glad to be in front of a fire in my life,” Xanthos said, tittering to himself as he spoke. His shaking disturbed Neela, and she gave him a little prod to shut him up. “Ow, okay, Nee, no need to poke so hard,” He said. A moment of silence passed before he added, “I mean, come on... you do have to admit we did hear some strange noises as we were looking around the place.”
“It’s an old house, Ravi, what do you expect?” Neela said sleepily, not even bothering to open her eyes as she spoke. “Now be quiet so I can get some sleep. You’re too noisy.”
“Yes, mom.”
“Cheeky bas-”
"I thought you might be interested in these."
Looking away from Neela and Xanthos, Calantha turned her head to see Morgan standing behind her, a collection of photographs and personal notes clasped in an outstretched hand. She looked at his extended hand for a moment before taking them and giving him a grateful smile in return.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome," He said with a smile. "I'm going to check over our supplies. If you need anything, give me a shout."
As Morgan moved away, Calantha began to have a cursory look over the photos and notes he had given her. There wasn't anything of much interest written on the paper, but she found herself smiling at the little reminders her father had written to himself in his once neat scrawl.
The photos were of more interest to her naturally. A lot of them were of her parents, younger and happier, their lives still so full of promise. There was a photograph of Belleza in a ruffled dress with red ribbons in her hair looking thoroughly unimpressed. Another photograph of Belleza followed this, only in this one she was younger, and was holding an infant Bianca awkwardly on her lap. Calantha chuckled at the perplexed expression on her sister's face, clearly confused at what to do with the young child that had been given to her.
The last picture was older than the rest. It showed two men shaking hands in a celebratory fashion in what looked to be a laboratory of some kind. Time had slowly leeched it of colour, much like how her father's illness was slowly leeching him of life. Her father was unmistakable with his snowy white hair, but Calantha did not recognise the other man in the picture who was shaking hands with him. He looked to be her father's age with dark hair and pale eyes, a near mirror opposite to her father's colouring.
She turned the picture around and was surprised to see some writing on the back of it, in a scrawl she didn't think she would see again. Her mother's.
'Finally got these processed for you!
Congratulations on your achievements, Al.
- Love always, Dee'
Calantha traced a finger sadly over the words trying to imagine her mother writing them. She felt tears prick at her eyes and hastily wiped them away, not wanting anyone to see.
Standing up, she returned the photos and scraps of paper back to Morgan, asking him to keep them safe for her which he promised to do so. Calantha then moved back to the tarp, this time lying down, so she could also get some rest. It wasn't a comfortable sleep by any means, but for the first time in a long time, her dreams were pleasant and peaceful.
There’s something strange about Olympia...something not quite human.
Many thanks to @neopoliitan for proofreading again and helping me with some information in this chapter.
XANTHOS
There was something about the town of Olympia that unsettled Xanthos. He could not put his finger on what exactly, but something was off.
Zelde was the first to pick up that something was bothering him when she caught him staring at her - waiting for her semblance to suddenly activate because of incoming danger. When she asked what was wrong, he told her the truth that there was something about Olympia that unsettled him. Zelde had given him a sympathetic pat on his hand and told him not to worry so much; if anything bad was going to happen she would know about it right away. Though her semblance had improved over time, Xanthos didn’t like to point out to Zelde that it hadn’t always been accurate.
To take his mind off of things, Xanthos had saved one of the books from being ripped up and had taken to reading it in front of the fire. He only made it through a small portion before giving up and setting it back down. He was about to consider starting to rip out some pages from it when a conversation between Calantha and Cherry caught his attention.
Now that some of the group had gotten some rest, Cherry and Elio were keen to gather some of the additional supplies Calantha had suggested might be available. However, Morgan, who pointed out there was little else in the house that would be of use to them, had halted their plans. Calantha, meanwhile, seemed more hopeful there might be something in the cellar outside. As she and Cherry readied to head outside, Xanthos jumped to his feet and offered his help.
Cherry looked at him for a moment as she slipped her boots on, almost as if trying to gauge if he genuinely wanted to help. When she could see he was serious, she shrugged. "Sure - why not?"
Xanthos gave her an appreciative nod and waited for her to finish getting ready before heading out. Cutting through the dining room, the three of them slipped outside through a backdoor in the kitchen. The air was cooler than before, and the light was slowly disappearing as the sunset. It made the houses in the distance look even darker and foreboding, with long shadows stretching out across the garden, inching closer and closer.
Xanthos squashed his unease down inside him and followed Calantha and Cherry to the cellar door. It had a lock on it, but it was so rusted that a sharp tug from Cherry broke it off. They pulled the doors open and found themselves greeted by a dark opening, only slightly illuminated by the quickly fading daylight.
"Is there any chance of there being lights down there?" Cherry asked, looking at Calantha.
Calantha shook her head. "There were years ago. I doubt there'd still be any power."
"Alright then - scrolls out, you two." Cherry instructed.
They both did as she asked, pulling out their scrolls and turning the flashlights on before Cherry led them down the stairs.
Xanthos was surprised to see that the “cellar” was much more like an underground shelter. There were four beds and a cot in the room, a few shelves with tins and jars of food, and a simple sword.
"I don't think this is going to be edible." Cherry said in a disappointed tone, as she walked up to one of the shelves and plucked a suspiciously dented tin off of it.
As Calantha walked over to investigate the jars and tins, Xanthos continued walking and was surprised to find part of the wall with a hole in it. He was even more surprised to see that the hole led into another tunnel rather than dirt or another room.
"What’s this?" He asked, shining his flashlight around the hole and down the tunnel. As Calantha and Cherry came over to join him, he looked up and could see some exposed pipes above him that had ruptured years ago, and were likely the cause of the damage.
"Oh, a lot of the houses in Olympia had these shelters built below them," Calantha explained. "As you might have guessed, Olympia wasn't a well-defended town. They had these shelters built so that people could retreat to safety until the military arrived. Some of them were further connected by tunnels too, like this one."
"Did they use them when the Stampeder attacked?" Cherry questioned.
Calantha considered this for a moment. "I don't think they had time. It was all so sudden, and the Stampeder knocked down parts of houses before people could get to them."
"Thought as much." Cherry admitted with a soft sigh.
After another once over of the cellar, Cherry decided they should investigate down the tunnel Xanthos had discovered. It was even darker down there, but Xanthos agreed, deciding it was worth potentially finding more supplies than leaving it alone.
As they walked, passing by some locked doors and haphazardly stacked boxes, Xanthos was aware of a musty stench, which only seemed to get stronger the further they walked.
Xanthos pinched his nose. “It smells like something died in here.”
“I think something did.” Cherry said. Her blunt tone caught Xanthos by surprise, partly because he hadn’t been expecting a response. He noticed she had stopped up ahead, the light from her scroll pointed down at the floor, illuminating an object he couldn’t clearly see from where he was standing.
Walking towards her, with Calantha close behind him, Xanthos could soon see what she was looking at. Sat on the ground, illuminated by the light from Cherry's torch, was a bone. When she realised what it was Calantha grabbed his arm, clearly distressed by what they were looking at. The only reason Xanthos wasn't reacting similarly was that it looked old.
"Do you think that's animal or human bone?" Xanthos asked, looking at Cherry.
"Do I look like an archaeologist?" Cherry quipped. "At any rate, it doesn't look like it was left here recently, so there's probably nothing to worry about."
Probably. Xanthos echoed sarcastically in his head.
They walked a little further down the hall until they came to a dead end, blocked by a final door. There wasn't a lock, nor was it blocked from this side, so it was already more promising than the other doors they'd tried. Xanthos tried the handle and found it was unlocked, as he opened the door he was greeted by inky black darkness which seemed to encompass the entirety of the room.
It was only at second glance that Xanthos realised he wasn't just looking into a dark room. No, what he had mistaken for shadows and generally poorly lighting was something entirely different. For starters, the dark mass was moving. Twitching.
Xanthos found himself unable to move from the spot, transfixed by the dark mass. It was only as his senses started to come back to him that he realised that it was far worse than a benign black shape.
It was Grimm.
Multiple of them.
All clumped together in a strange cluster of bodies.
It was hard for him to determine what kind of Grimm they were, as he couldn't make out their appearance too well, but they were humanoid, or at the very least might have looked humanoid had they not seemingly been stitched together.
For some reason, the Grimm did not appear to be aware of his presence. Considering the sheer number of them, he decided to back away slowly, and then quietly signalled for Calantha and Cherry to backtrack the way they had come. If things went to plan they and some of the others would come back and deal with the infestation.
Unfortunately, his plan would not see the light of day.
“Ravi?”
Cherry quickly called his name, no doubt wondering why he was just standing there.
Xanthos turned his head to flash her a warning glance before turning back to the mass, and as he did so, he quickly wished he hadn't. Cherry's voice had alerted the Grimm, and he found himself being stared at by several faces. They couldn't see him though, as in the faint light he could see bone plating over their eyes, obscuring their vision.
He decided to try and stand still for a moment, hoping that the Grimm might settle again. He tried to silently gesture for Calantha and Cherry to stay away, though he was certain his gestures must've looked strange as he couldn't turn around to see them.
As Xanthos waited, he was aware that one of the many Grimm faces seemed to be getting closer. He could see a more defined neck and shoulders beginning to emerge out of the mass and waited with bated breath as it continued to inch closer until suddenly it stopped. For a moment it seemed as though he was okay, and that the Grimm had ignored him.
Then the Grimm opened its mouth and let out a moan, which seemed to progress into more of a whine as it faded, and it was so loud Xanthos could feel it not only reverberating through the tunnel behind him but his bones too.
Xanthos instantly recognised the other Grimm moving rapidly now, pushing towards him, alerted by their packmate. Not only were the heads still visible, but he could now see arms and feet clawing to get free, none more so than the Grimm that had let out that moan. A good half of its torso was free now, and it had unbound an arm out which it used to swing at him, forcing Xanthos to quickly retreat.
What Xanthos hadn't been expecting was for the Grimm to move forward almost as fast as he had stepped back. It was a good thing it was still part of the larger cluster, as Xanthos had no doubt in his mind it would have easily snared him otherwise.
Xanthos finally stepped back into the tunnel and tried to shut the door, but the mass of Grimm had closed the gap between them and was preventing him from doing so - none more so than the moaning Grimm, which had wedged its body in the door and was snapping and clawing at Xanthos and Cherry as they tried to stop it from escaping.
“Watch out!”
Xanthos barely had time to react to twist his body away as Calantha stepped forward and drove her blade into the Grimm’s head - it slacked before dissipating entirely. Whilst there was still the cluster of Grimm still pushing at the door they were at least able to get it to shut, albeit with some effort, now that the main troublemaker was dealt with.
“Oh shit!” Xanthos exclaimed, hunching over a moment to catch his breath.
“That door isn’t going to hold, we need to block it with something!” Cherry said, looking panicked.
“Go and find something - quick!” Xanthos instructed, already moving to take over holding the door in her place. He shook his arms out, before quickly triggering his semblance as he placed his hands on the door. Despite nearly the full force of his boosted weight, Xanthos could still feel his feet struggling to remain in position as the Grimm on the other side continued to push, desperate to get out. For a moment, he wondered how many more might be in there, but then remembering just how full that room was he decided he’d rather not know.
“Okay, I’ve got a crate!” Cherry called from back down the hall. A moment later he could hear footsteps and scraping as Cherry reappeared pushing a box. Behind her, Calantha was carrying a mismatch of items in her arms - clearly whatever she could grab that had some weight behind it. Xanthos shifted his body slightly, allowing Calantha and Cherry to stack the items. When they were done they all stepped back.
Xanthos looked at the stack sceptically, watching as some of the items Calantha found shook from the force of the Grimm behind the door. “Do you think it’ll hold?”
“For now,” Cherry responded, but Xanthos noted the doubt in her voice. “We just need to hope it holds until we get the others and weapons to come back and deal with them.”
Beside them, Calantha suddenly gasped, and there was a small thunk as she dropped her scroll on the floor.
“Calantha what’s wrong?” Xanthos asked. But before she could answer, he felt Cherry’s hand tapping him on the shoulder, forcing him to look down the tunnel. With Cherry’s shaky hand illuminating the passage, Xanthos saw that there were more of the same Grimm coming away from the walls, literally pulling themselves off of it, and some of them even dangled off the ceiling, hands outstretched in the general direction of the three of them. They stood there watching them for a moment until more moans from further down the hall alerted them to the fact that there were more of them appearing out of the gloom and shuffling towards them.
“Run.” Was Cherry’s single word instruction. Xanthos felt her hand tugging at his wrist.
Xanthos lead the charge down the tunnel back the way they came. He didn’t dare afford himself a moment to look around. He couldn’t truly gauge how fast they were, but he could hear them shuffling and moaning pretty clearly, and that told him all he needed to know. As they ran past the locked doors they had passed earlier, Xanthos could now hear distinct banging from behind them indicating that there was even more of the Grimm behind them too. The three of them hurried back out the cellar and as Calantha and Cherry dashed ahead into the house, Xanthos stayed behind to shut the cellar doors -- though he had his doubts over how long it would hold as there was no lock.
Hurtling through the kitchen and into the dining room, Xanthos could already hear the confused voices of the rest of the group, no doubt confused over the sudden way Calantha and Cherry had reentered the room. Pushing on ahead into the living room, he found Cherry stood in the middle of the room, a flurry of questions being directed at her. Calantha, meanwhile, had moved to one of the windows and stood there silently looking out through the gaps in the boards.
“Ravi...?” Xanthos turned to face Zelde at the sound of her calling his name. “What’s going on? Why do you all look so flustered?”
"We've gotta go." Came Xanthos's response.
"That didn't answer my question," Zelde said, giving him a disapproving glance.
"There's no time to answer pointless questions, we have to go now!"
"Ravi--"
"Cher, what's going on, what happened down there?" Elio asked, looking at Cherry.
"Grimm."
"Well what's the problem, we can deal with that. We're trained aren't we?"
"You don't understand--"Cherry began to fire back.
And then Calantha screamed. Xanthos whipped around to hurry to her side, coming over to see what she was looking at. To his horror, he could see more of those Grimm from the cellar emerging out of the ruined buildings and wandering in the street in alarming numbers.
“Oh god, we’re surrounded…” He moaned, stepping away from the window.
Neela came over to see what had caused their reactions. “What is that?” Neela asked, looking at him.
In the end, it was Morgan who was able to answer. Like Neela, he came over to investigate what had caused Calantha and Xanthos’ reactions before quietly stepping back and turning to address the group.
“We need to go,” Morgan said simply, reiterating what Xanthos had said earlier. “Those are Husks out there.”
“Husks? Are you sure?” Elio prompted, to which Morgan responded with a grim nod. Elio cursed under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. “Okay, okay, we really need to go.”
Elio quickly ordered everyone to stand together, making sure they were all present before they even thought of heading out. As she was still cuffed, Wisteria was forced into the middle, with everyone else surrounding her. Calantha and Elio took up positions at the front being the only two to have their weapons actually on them.
Heading outside, the group moved carefully as they made their way back to the vehicle. It was a short distance to travel but they couldn't afford to go slow. Xanthos noted that many of the Grimm - the Husks as he now knew them to be - were more focused on getting to the house as opposed to outright launching themselves at the group. However, a few did stray towards them, drawn in by the sounds of their movement and had to be quickly dispatched by Calantha and Elio to ensure more didn't get lured over.
Now that they were in the open, Xanthos could see what they were dealing with. The Husks were feeble in appearance with an emaciated humanoid frame, but moved with frightful unpredictability and were quick on their feet; he could see the scores of creatures in the distance darting behind obstacles and springing from obstacles as if hiding. Though they were frail individually, their number was steadily reaching a hundred and they would soon overwhelm the whole town.
Eventually, the group made it back to the vehicle and Cherry swiftly clambered inside to pass out weapons to everyone - all except for Wisteria, who waited expectantly and pouted when she wasn't given her pistol.
"Let me help." She insisted.
"No." Cherry snapped, as she hopped out the rear of the vehicle with her Bhuj.
"Cher." Elio glanced at her. "I don't like it either, but we need all the help we can get to deal with these things."
Cherry shrugged. "Alright, fine." She said with a sigh. She got back into the vehicle with some reluctance and retrieved Wisteria's pistol before jumping back out and releasing the first of her cuffs.
Cherry grabbed her still cuffed hand, and pulled Wisteria close to her. "Don't do anything stupid now, Bloome." She warned, before removing her second cuff.
The rest of the group had slowly begun to work on dealing with the Husks. Xanthos was able to deal with a cluster of them at a time, his whip affording him extra range to work with. Beside him, Neela created icy formations with the dust in her trident, creating small blockades to slow the Husks or direct them towards Helia and Cordovan. Cordovan had uncharacteristically opted to use the sword form of his weapon to deal with them - Xanthos noted that was probably the wisest course of action in hindsight, as his weapon wasn't known for its rapid rate of fire in its rifle form.
Morgan and Zelde were faring much better on that front, both of their guns allowing them to cut through large swathes of the Husks with ease. Unfortunately, this brought along an added problem, in that the sound of rapid gunfire was luring more Husks to the area. Wisteria was also proving her worth a little, taking three Husks out with clean headshots in less than a minute.
Calantha wasn't coping as well as the rest of the group. While Xanthos was impressed to see her participating in combat, every stab or slash she inflicted made her look deeply uncomfortable -- not that he could blame her after the horrific manner in which they had uncovered the Husks under the town.
Despite the group managing to take out large numbers of them, the Husks just kept coming, and it seemed that the more they dealt with, the more seemed to literally crawl out of the woodwork to replenish their numbers. Elio and Cherry had done a good job at flitting around the area dealing with the Husks the rest of the group couldn't catch, but even they were struggling to keep up.
"Elio, we can't keep doing this," Morgan shouted, as he loaded another cartridge into his gun.
"Just a bit longer," Elio shouted back. "We can do this! Don't give up yet everyone!"
Despite Elio's reassuring words, Xanthos could see that the morale was starting to slip. Although all ten of the group were able to fight, they simply could not keep up with the numbers of Husks. More and more of them were trickling out of the ruined houses, some of them were even stuck together, which reminded Xanthos of the larger cluster down below and wondered if they had broken free of it or had perhaps come from yet another cluster entirely.
"I'm running low on bullets!" Wisteria called out.
"Me too," Morgan said. "I'm down to my last two cartridges."
Elio came to a halt by the group, panting from all the running around he had done to try and manage the Grimm.
"They just keep coming," He mumbled, more to himself than anyone else in the group. "I haven't seen an infestation this bad since-"
"Elio, watch out!" Cherry called, as a Husk wandered too close and reached out for him.
Morgan and Zelde both whipped round to attempt to shoot it, but it was Wisteria who finished it off. She kicked up with her leg, driving her heel blade into its head.
Wisteria did a little mock curtsey when she was done. "You're welcome."
"Thanks," Elio said, giving her a small smile in return. And then the smile dropped as he addressed the group in a more serious tone. "I think we are going to have to retreat. There's simply too many of them and they're eating through our ammo like crazy."
"Can we even leave?" Xanthos asked, looking at Elio sceptically. "Won't they just follow us?"
"Husks don't wander very far if they don't have a noise to follow," Elio explained.
"Where would we even go?" Helia pressed.
"There's that outpost we passed on the way here," Elio pointed out. "The one that we used to determine which direction Olympia was."
"That could work," Cherry conceded. "Certainly better than here."
"I think anywhere is better than here," Elio responded. "Okay, Morgan, you up for a little performance?"
Morgan gave a small nod. "Of course."
"Okay, everyone, Songbird formation!" Elio yelled. "Protect Morgan. Once some of the Husks are dazed, start retreating to the truck. Zelde, Cordovan, you two go last; we'll need your guns. Don't worry, I'll stay with you." Elio paused to retrieve the keys from his trouser pocket and Xanthos watched as he tossed them to Cherry. "Start the truck."
As Cherry did as she was told, Xanthos and the others huddled around Morgan as he readied himself to use his semblance. Elio gave him a small countdown, and then Morgan began to sing. It took only a few mere seconds for the Husks to start to become dazed, slowing and stumbling as Morgan's semblance began to take effect.
As advised by Elio, members of the group began to pull back. Xanthos left with some reluctance, and as he clambered into the back of the vehicle, he watched as Morgan continued to hold them at bay. Zelde and Cordovan were the last to retreat and then it was just a matter of time until Elio pulled himself back.
As Morgan's voice began to waver, Elio jumped into action. "Alright, bud, time to go."
Elio grabbed Morgan and carried him back to the truck himself. He gave Morgan a boost inside and clambered in after him. Once they were both inside, Neela and Xanthos quickly slammed the doors shut behind him.
"Go, go!" Helia yelled, banging on the side of the car for Cherry to drive away.
There was a sharp jolt as Cherry accelerated away, and Xanthos quickly sat down to avoid nearly falling over. As they drove away, Xanthos looked out the rear window, watching as some of the Husks seemed to stir back to life now that they were not under the control of Morgan's semblance.
For a few minutes, Xanthos thought that Elio had been mistaken in saying they wouldn't follow, as a few of them began to run after the car. Xanthos was relieved to see this wasn't the case, as the further they drove away, the more the Husks fell back until they were nothing but small blobs in the distance.
When they were a safe distance away, Xanthos felt comfortable enough to relax again, the tension he had carried for the last hour or so finally beginning to ebb away. As Olympia faded into the darkness of night, so too did the monsters they left behind. But as Xanthos leaned back and closed his eyes, Xanthos knew there would be monsters of a different kind waiting for them to face tomorrow.
It was late at night when the group approached the military base. They had managed to get through the town unbothered by anyone, and it was only a matter of time to see whether getting Wisteria out of her cell and then out of town would go without a hitch.
"You sure your mom isn't going to be here?" Xanthos asked as they approached the building from the rear. Cordovan had suggested they approach from where the landing bay was and enter through the rear entrance, avoiding the majority of the security cameras, and potentially avoid an awkward confrontation with the rest of the Mob Ops if they entered via the front entrance.
"As far as I'm aware she should be at the hospital with Parson," Cordovan answered. Following the incident at the university, Wren had spent most of her spare time at the hospital, waiting for further updates on Parson's condition.
"Well, let's just hope if we run into any of the others they don't call her back," Xanthos said with a nervous laugh. "I get the impression there'd be hell to pay if she caught wind of what we're doing."
"You're not wrong," Cordovan agreed with a nod.
They made it to the safety of the hangar next to the landing bay, and waited for a moment before proceeding, just to be sure no-one was about to appear and put a halt to their plans. When they were certain they were safe for the time being, Zelde gestured for them to huddle together.
"Let's go over what each of us are doing," She began, looking at each of them in turn. "Ravi, you first."
"I'll be going with Cordovan to look for the keys to the cell as well as to provide back up if we come across any of the Mob Ops. Once we have the keys we'll meet you and Neela by the cells."
"Good. Calantha?"
"Helia and I are going looking for the keys to one of the armoured vehicles," Calantha said. "And if we can't then I'll hotwire one of them."
"I still love that you can do that," Xanthos smirked. "Of all the people who could hotwire a car, you were the last person I could think of."
"Focus, Ravi," Zelde advised before she turned her attention to Neela. "Neela, what's our plan?"
"We're heading to the cells to get Wisteria ready to go. And possibly intercept the Mob Ops if we come across them."
"Perfect," Zelde smiled. "Right then, let's go. Remember everyone, stick to your plans, don't draw attention to yourself, and meet back here when we're done."
With that, the group headed inside the base, splitting up once they were safely inside. As Cordovan and Xanthos passed by the comms room, Cordovan noticed that the Mob Ops were nowhere to be seen. Whilst he was glad they weren’t around, there was something odd about the fact they had not seen them yet.
When they made it to Wren’s office, Cordovan held the door open for Xanthos before following him inside. Cordovan looked around briefly, almost as though expecting someone else to be in here, before making his way over to his mother’s desk, leaving his teammate standing by the door.
“This feels wrong,” He said, as he opened a drawer.
Xanthos chuckled. “I think it’s a bit too late to back out now, Cor.”
“I am aware of that,” Cordovan rolled his eyes. He spotted the key sitting near the back and picked it up. “I merely meant that doing this - stealing from my own mother - feels wrong.”
“At least you’re doing it for a good reason,” Xanthos pointed out.
“I suppose,” Cordovan grunted. He shut the drawer, stood up, and made his way over to Xanthos. “Come on let’s go,” He said, putting the key into Xanthos’s hand. “The sooner we get her out, the quicker we can leave the base and avoid getting caught by any of the Mob Ops.”
After leaving Wren’s office, Cordovan and Xanthos retraced their steps through the base, before walking down a different corridor and towards the cells, instead of returning to the hangar.
“Look what we’ve got!” Xanthos declared as they walked into the cell. No sooner had the words come out of Xanthos’s mouth did Cordovan realise something was wrong. His teammate’s posture tensed, and Cordovan heard him take in a breath. Cordovan stepped around him to see what he was looking at and realised why Xanthos had reacted the way he did.
Wisteria had already been let out of her cell by none other than Cherry and Elio, who she was awkwardly standing between, hands cuffed in front of her. By the looks of it, it seemed as though Cherry and Elio had been speaking to Zelde prior to their arrival, likely curious what they were doing here at this hour.
“Well, there’s the rest of them, Cher,” Elio said.
Xanthos leaned in towards Cordovan. “I guess this explains why we haven’t seen them until now.”
“Elio! Cherry!” A third voice belonging to Morgan echoed from behind Xanthos and Cordovan. “We’ve got a problem. I found - “
Morgan appeared behind them, leading Helia and Calantha along with him. When he spotted ZRCN standing there with Cherry and Elio, he trailed off with what he had been saying and proceeded to gawk at them awkwardly.
“I think you better start explaining what you’re all doing here,” Cherry suggested.
“I think you should explain what you’re doing,” Neela said, raising her head a little as she spoke.
Realising what was going on, Wisteria threw her head back in laughter. “Oh, this is just too good!”
“This isn’t funny!” Cherry snapped, glaring at Wisteria.
“It kinda is,” Wisteria responded, smiling back at her. “Just a little bit.”
“So are you going to explain yourselves?” Elio pressed, looking at the group expectantly.
“We came for her,” Cordovan answered, gesturing to Wisteria who had finally stopped laughing. “And I’m guessing you did too.”
Elio smirked ever so slightly, but quickly squashed it down. "How exactly did you think you were getting out of here?" He asked. "Even if by some miracle you had managed to get Wisteria out of the base, you can't imagine you would have gotten beyond the walls do you?"
"That's where my brother would have come in," Neela said smugly, "or rather his friends."
"How so?"
"His friends Clinton and Nerio work on the security team, and would have allowed us to pass through the walls unnoticed," Neela further explained. It had been a last minute addition to their plan on how to get out of Highpoint, mostly to get Neela's brother off their backs, in case he still felt jaded over being told he couldn't come. Initially the plan had been for Neela to bribe them, but with their amendment, it meant Caspian could still help without being directly involved.
"For what it's worth that was a pretty solid plan," Cherry conceded, albeit somewhat reluctantly.
"So what do we do now?" Elio asked, looking at Morgan and Cherry. "Do we let them come with us?"
"Elio, no," Morgan said.
"Okay, but hear me out first," Elio protested. "They've clearly thought this through a lot, they want to help, and it's not like they can't fight. We still don't know exactly how many people are waiting for us at the Rossi's base - we might need all the extra help we can get. And sure, they might just be students, but we trained them, and who better to protect them and keep them safe than some of Atlas's best and brightest?"
"We haven't been sanctioned to go," Morgan pointed out. "How do you think it'll look if we take them with us? Helia would potentially get a free pass, but students? A civilian? Do you have any idea how much trouble we would be in?"
"You'll be in even more trouble if Belleza is allowed to go through with her plans," Wisteria said coolly.
Cherry made a scoffing sound. "I liked you better when you didn't speak."
Meanwhile, Elio still seemed to be considering Morgan's words, and was looking between ZRCN and his own teammates, as he pondered what to do. Minutes seemed to pass before he spoke again, "Alright, I've decided they can come, but only if they are aware of the risks this might entail."
"Elio…" Morgan sighed wearily.
"Don’t ‘Elio’ me, Morgan. I know this is a risk, but I am of the opinion we'll need all the help we can get. Yes, it's not the safest idea bringing them all with us, but they can fight, they want to help, I say let them," Elio pressed on. He put his hands on his hips. "Look, if anything does happen, I'll take the punishment. I pushed for this, I allowed them to come, I'll bear whatever punishment Wren or the General might give us."
Elio stepped away from Wisteria and Cherry and took a step towards ZRCN. Cordovan noted a more serious expression on his face, as he approached. “I might be agreeing to let you come with us, but let’s make one thing perfectly clear, you will do exactly what we tell you to do, do you understand? I don’t want any of you running off, thinking you can play hero. You might not be soldiers, but you will follow our orders.”
One by one, ZRCN nodded in turn, followed by Calantha and Helia. Cordovan saw no point in arguing with Elio, especially considering he had consented to let them all come. He believed Elio was fair to ask them to follow orders and do exactly as what he and the Mob Ops told them to do. True, they had fought with members of the Rossi family and their allies before, but never altogether, and never on their home turf. Cordovan knew they would have to be careful with how they progressed once they arrived, knowing full well that there were few of that group who go easy on them or show them any mercy simply because of their youth.
After they had agreed to his terms, Elio had moved to speak with Morgan, who still seemed more reluctant. Their voices were hushed, but Cordovan could make out parts of their conversation, with Elio trying to convince him, and Morgan understandably being more reluctant. They finally continued to talk things over for a while before finally appearing to come to some sort of agreement, which Elio promptly relayed to Cherry.
With everything seemingly in agreement, Cherry led Wisteria away, leaving the group alone with Morgan and Elio.
“So before we head out do you have everything you need?” Morgan asked, turning to look at the group. "There aren't any settlements or outposts in the direction of the O.R.C.A.S, at least none that are inhabited, so it'll be hard to find more once we've left Highpoint."
"We have some but we were planning on picking up some supplies by stopping at Olympia to supplement that before moving on to the Rossi's base," Zelde explained.
"Really?" Elio seemed surprised to hear this.
"Were you not planning on stopping there?" Xanthos asked.
Elio shared a glance with Morgan. "Well, our plan was to head straight for the O.R.C.A.S and begin dealing with the Rossis. We found some old blueprints in the system, so we have a rough idea of the layout of the place," Elio responded. He then turned his attention to Calantha. "Does Olympia even have any supplies you can scavenge?"
"Probably not much, but it could still be worth looking at," Calantha revealed. "A lot of the supplies got moved to the O.R.C.A.S when the town fell, and no one has been back there since, so there would definitely be something left."
Morgan raised a hand to his chin. "Stopping at Olympia would also give us a chance to go over our plan of attack now that they're coming with us," He looked at Elio as he said this.
"Alright then, we'll head to Olympia first," Elio said. "I guess trying to find more supplies wouldn't hurt either, especially as I imagine the ones we were taking won't stretch between ten of us."
Morgan nodded his head in agreement. With a new plan being settled on, Elio was keen to move them out, so gestured for the group to leave, and led them back to the hangar. Cherry had already gotten a vehicle ready for them.
"It'll be a tight fit, but I think everyone should fit in," Cherry said, hopping out of the driver's seat to walk over to the group. "We can fit one of you up front with us - who's it going to be?"
"Calantha." Elio answered for them. "We'll be heading for Olympia first, and she's the best one here to guide us there safely."
"Fair enough," Cherry said. "What about Wisteria? Will you guys be alright having her sit in the back with you?" She looked at ZRCN as she said this.
Cordovan could feel the eyes of his teammates on him, knowing full well that he was the one who had the most bad blood with her, they looked to him to see if he was alright with everything. Cordovan considered it for a moment before nodding. "I can handle it."
"You'd all best buckle up and get comfy then," Elio advised. "It's a long ride."
ZRCN and Helia got themselves seated in the back, it was a tight squeeze but they managed. Once they were sitting comfortably, Cherry cuffed Wisteria into the spare seat before sitting up front with the rest of the Mob Ops and Calantha.
A moment passed, before Cherry shouted back to say they were leaving now and the vehicle juddered to life. They pulled away from the military base, and towards one of the checkpoints out of time where the icy tundra awaited them, and Olympia beyond that.
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I did say I had a bad feeling about this didn’t I?
Thanks to @neopoliitan for lending me his help with proofreading again!
HELIA
"I mean you've got to have some crazy stories right?"
Helia smirked into her cup of tea, then took a long sip before responding to the question. "I don't know what you're implying, Elio." She teased.
"No crazy fans? No crazy Grimm battles?" Elio pressed. "Come on, I bet you have some stories to tell."
"Not everyone has such a colourful life as you," Cherry laughed, nudging Elio in the side.
"Colourful is a bit of an understatement,” Morgan quipped, not looking up from where he was tinkering away on what looked to be Calantha’s armour.
“To answer your question - no, I do not have any crazy fans,” Helia responded, smiling slightly when she noticed that Elio seemed disappointed to hear that this was the case. “However, I do have a few crazy stories under my belt. There was one time in Higanbana that was particularly wild if I do say so myself.”
Elio leaned forward in interest. “Oh, do go on.”
Spurred on by Elio’s words, and further encouraged by the captive audience she had in Cherry and Calantha, Helia began to retell the events of what happened when her team had stopped in the town of Higanbana.
It was one of the last good memories she had of her team before growing tension had forced them apart. They were on their way back to Mistral following a mission in Shion when they had chosen to stop and rest. The journey back was taking longer than expected, hampered by Anthea having hurt her ankle, but they knew the village had an inn as they had passed through it on their initial journey. It seemed like a reasonable place to rest up.
In the end, it had turned out to be a good job they had stopped there - as only a few hours later the village had to contend with a large Archelon that had come up from the nearby river and had nearly bitten some poor teen’s arm off.
A long, tiresome battle between HNSA and the Archelon had soon followed, and after nearly two hours, they finally succeeded in defeating it. The Archelon had been a troublesome Grimm to deal with; its hard shell leaving it with only a few precise places to truly wound it. There was also its slightly hooked mouth to contend with, which made it nigh on impossible for anyone other than Anthea using her crossbow to hit it, until Leyla was able to successfully use her semblance to restrain it long enough for Alcyone and Helia to finish it off.
As she wrapped up her tale, there was a hint of sadness behind her words, the pain of Alcyone’s still recent passing rising up again. When tears threatened to form, she looked away, and made a hasty apology for almost crying.
“It’s okay,” Elio said, in a surprisingly soothing voice. He reached across and held her hand gently for a moment. “You don’t have to apologise.”
Helia smiled back at him in gratitude and took a moment to calm herself again with a steadying breath. She had just settled back down when Wren returned to the base with ZRCN in tow. She had received a call earlier in the morning and had left in a hurry soon after. Elio had tried to pry some information from Parson, teasing the man over the kiss he had shared with Wren the night before in an effort to get some information out of him, but he seemed to know just as little as the rest of them.
Wren and ZRCN entered the communications room and Helia noted that they appeared to be missing a member as Xanthos was nowhere to be seen. Clearly, she was not the only one who noticed as Elio was quick to ask in a light tone, “Where’s Ravindra? Don’t tell me he’s still in bed.”
“He’s on his way with Captain Bougainvillea,” Wren responded sharply. Helia was not used to such a tone from the older woman, so she would have been lying if she said she hadn’t been a little startled. Looking up at her, Helia could see the older woman appeared on edge, and it was only then that she realised the members of ZRCN who were present also appeared to look unsettled. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by the other Mob Ops either; Elio had promptly gone quiet following Wren’s response, he and the others all now looking directly at their leader, curious about her sudden change in attitude.
Despite some questioning looks from her teammates Wren said nothing and remained silent until the aforementioned arrival of Captain Bougainvillea with Xanthos in tow. When the two of them appeared, Helia suddenly had a good idea what had rattled everyone so much.
Xanthos was still wearing his formal clothes from the night before, only he was now down a jacket, his tie hung haphazardly around his neck, and the left sleeve had been torn at the shoulder.
“What even...What happened to him?” Morgan asked, following a sharp intake of breath.
“A member of staff at the university found him pretty banged up in one of the broom closets,” Carmen explained, looking at Xanthos as she spoke. “One of the medical staff checked him over and he was given the all clear - just a little dazed if anything.” Carmen smiled weakly before looking at Wren, a more serious expression taking hold. “You’ll want to hear what he has to say.”
She gestured for Xanthos to speak, but he appeared hesitant, and for a moment struggled to meet Wren’s gaze. “I’m sorry,” He finally said. “I really tried to stop them, but I failed…”
“What are you sorry for?” Wren asked.
“They took her - Belleza and Miho took Rosie!” Xanthos responded, a mix of anger and frustration in his voice. His gaze shifted over to Neela. “They took your sister too. Mira tried to help me, but she was caught in the battle and they took her with them.”
Neela blinked. “Ravi-”
But Xanthos had already turned away and was looking back at Wren. “I should have been able to do more, to put up more of a fight. They caught me off guard, and now because of me we might have lost them both!”
Wren’s expression softened considerably upon hearing his confession, and Helia watched as she stepped forward and gave him a small embrace. “It’s alright, Xanthos,” She told him as she pulled away.
“But…” He began to stammer.
“No buts,” Wren cut him off. “You did what you could at the time, and that’s all I can ask.”
“So what do we do now?” Parson asked. He rose from his chair and came to stand by Wren, resting a hand on her shoulder. Before Wren could even give an answer, it was Calantha who spoke up first.
“We could call Belle.” Was her suggestion, holding her modified scroll in one hand for emphasis.
“You’re able to call her?” Cherry asked, sounding surprised.
“Yes?”
“And you didn’t tell us this before?”
“It’s alright Cherry, I already knew,” Wren cut in, getting the other woman to stand down from her line of questioning. “The General and I both are aware she has a line of contact to her sisters. Numerous attempts were made to reach out to them before and after we left Atlas, but our calls were all ignored.”
“So why would she answer now?” Morgan questioned.
“Because she has something we want,” Calantha responded grimly.
The room fell silent after that, nobody appearing to know what to say or what to do, until finally Helia heard Wren speak again.
“Call her. And put her on speaker.”
Calantha nodded and tapped away on her scroll quickly, before placing it in the centre of the table where she was sat with Helia, Elio, and Cherry. Like everyone else, Helia watched as the scroll rang, waiting for the telltale noise the call had been connected. When the familiar click occurred, Helia was not alone in inhaling sharply.
“Helllooooooooooooooo,” Belleza Rossi’s voice rang out across the room. “Is that you, little lamb?”
Calantha hesitated. “It is.”
“Oh good, I was expecting a call from you soon. I’ve been waiting for my scroll for hours now for it to come in.” She laughed loudly. “Is Major Honeycutt there too?”
Wren leaned in close to the scroll. “I’m here,” She answered simply. “We’re all here.”
“How nice for you,” Belleza responded, her voice oozing with fake sweetness. “You must be calling about those items I have, correct?”
“They’re not items, they’re people,” Wren scolded.
“Mind your tone, major,” Belleza warned.
“We do not appreciate these games, Miss Rossi,” Wren pressed on. “We want Mira and Rosie back safe now.”
“Does that mean I get to keep the other one?”
Helia looked up, catching Cherry silently mouth “Other one?” in the direction of Elio and Morgan, who shrugged in response.
“I don’t follow.”
There was a ping sound on the scroll as another message came through. Wren was quick to give her consent, and Calantha leaned forward, tapping a few buttons on the screen to open the message, which turned out to be an image attachment, and opened it up. Helia studied the screen intently as a silver haired boy appeared on it. She did not recognise him, but it was very clear that all of ZRCN did, none more so than Zelde.
“That’s my brother!” She blurted out, which quickly answered any questions Helia and the others had over his identity. “But that’s impossible. He’s in Atlas right now.”
“He was in Atlas,” Belleza corrected, having heard Zelde’s comment through the scroll. “He was a little gift we picked up just before we left for Highpoint. I would have thought by now his parents might have filed a report for him, but we’ve heard nothing.” There was a pause before she could be heard snickering. “And here I was thinking I had parental problems.”
Although Zelde was standing far away from her, Helia could sense her tension from the other side of the room. On either side of her, Zelde was flanked by Cordovan and Neela, who pressed against her in a comforting manner. Helia could not imagine what it felt like to find out your brother had been held in the clutches of Belleza Rossi for all this time.
“We want them all back,” Wren said into the scroll. “Do you hear me? All of them.”
“I hear you loud and clear,” Belleza responded. “And you can have them all back. But first you can do something for me.”
“No.”
“You haven’t even heard what I have to say yet!” Belleza protested.
Wren groaned loudly. “Go on.”
“Wise choice,” Belleza said, as though agreeing to hear her terms was some great decision. “I have something you want, and you have something I want - or rather my sister wants - so it stands to reason we can resolve all of this with a simple trade.”
“I’m not-”
“You don’t get the deciding vote here,” Belleza said sharply, cutting Wren off before she could finish. “Calantha, are you listening?”
Helia looked up at Calantha, and noticed how rigid she had become.
“You know I couldn’t care less where you are and what you are doing right now,” Belleza began, her words implying she was speaking solely to Calantha at this point. “But Bianca...she misses you dearly. She blames me for you leaving naturally, even though I’ve told her time and again, you made that choice on your own.” Belleza let out an exaggerated sigh. “Come home, Cala. Bianca misses you and I know you miss her too. Come back to Olympia with me and I’ll let the others walk free.”
“What if I say no?” Calantha asked.
“No?” Belleza repeated. “No?” By the tone she used, she hadn’t even considered this to be an option from her sister. “If you say no, then it's quite simple - they come home with me instead.” There was a long pause before she added, “Since you seem unable to make a decision right now, I have decided to be generous and give you some time to think things over. You can have forty-eight hours. And if I don’t hear anything from you by then, I will take that as your answer. Goodbye for now, Calantha. I hope to see from you soon.”
“Wait!” Wren called. “Are they safe? Is Rosie-”
But Belleza had already hung up before Wren could get her answer. Wren placed her hands on the table, and lowered her head, sighing softly to herself.
“Malaka!” Elio cursed from his seat. “What are we going to do now?”
The Mobile Ops (Mobile Operatives) is one of the most elite groups of Huntsmen and Huntresses from Atlas Academy. As their name implies, they are something of a mobile unit, often working within the farthest reaches of the kingdom. Their current base of operations is near Highpoint, where they were deployed to help defend the town. They are led and trained by Special Operative Wren Honeycutt.
Fresh from their first appearance in the fic here they are - the Mob Ops in all their glory as drawn by @neopoliitan (thanks again pal!).Look forward to them sticking around throughout the rest of arc 3!
From l-r: Wren Honeycutt, Morgan Lark, Cherry Linnet, Parson Rook, and Elio Goldfinch
The team is taking a much needed rest after the battle in the previous chapter. Also, we’re introduced to another ZRCN family - the Oxfords!
Many thanks to @neopoliitan for proofreading again!
ZELDE
It had been a day since ZRCN and the Mob Ops had dealt with the herd of Karkadan and Krypterons threatening the town of Highpoint. Little had happened after the Grimm had been defeated, discounting three pages of paperwork the team were assigned to complete. In the early hours of the following morning the base was contacted by Councilman Oxford, extending an invitation for them to come speak with him about the attack and security measures that had previously been discussed with the Mob Ops.
The meeting proved to be a source of curiosity for ZRCN as Councilman Oxford was none other than Neela's father. Zelde had never met him in person, but had a rough idea of the sort of man he was based on the numerous calls Neela had often made to her family at the academy.
Though the invitation had been extended to everyone at the base, not everyone would be attending. Team ZRCN was not required to attend in its entirety, but Neela had practically insisted as it meant she could formally introduce them to her family. Of the Mob Ops, only Wren and Elio would be attending, along with Helia.
Whilst waiting for some of the group to get ready, Zelde found herself sat with Cordovan in the comms room, fiddling with her gun; her weapon had taken a bit of a hit in the battle yesterday - and despite several attempts to fix the issue, it was still refusing to fire.
"It's most likely going to be something internal." Cordovan advised politely, reiterating a point he had made the day before. Zelde grumbled in response, and continued to fiddle before setting it down with a huff, hiding her face in her hands.
"This is just what we need in a time like this," She sighed, lifting her head out of her hands.
"I could take a look at it for you, if you'd like."
A voice cut in from the opposite side of the room. The offer came from Morgan, who was sat with Calantha, inputting information into a file on the screen. Zelde hesitated for a moment, then shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have another pair of eyes take a look at it."
Morgan closed the screen and he and Calantha came over to join them. Morgan held out his hand, and Zelde gave her weapon to him. Cordovan and Zelde both watched as he examined the weapon carefully. “I think Cordovan is right...” He said after a moment, “Besides some minor scratches and general wear, the outside of your weapon appears to be fine, meaning the issue is something internal. Since you will be meeting with Councilman Oxford today, I could try and fix it for you if you like?”
“That would be great. Thank you.” Zelde smiled.
“If you like I could also look into adding an attachment for you too.” Morgan offered.
“You can do that? I didn’t even think my pistol was built to allow upgrades.”
“Of course.” Morgan nodded - Zelde could have swore the man seemed to puff his chest out proudly. “Your weapon was based off of a carcass produced by Hollyhock Weapons Manufacturing, they have a tendency to allow on-the-fly modular additions. Now, speaking of attachments, what do you think would benefit you most? Based on your fighting style, I feel like a scoped attachment would be useful.”
There was a pause for Zelde to respond, but Calantha jumped in before she could.
“I think a bladed attachment would be more beneficial, actually.” Although she had spoken confidently, she seemed to shrink back in on herself when the attention was shifted to her. Morgan gestured for her to continue, after which Calantha launched herself into a lengthy explanation as to why a bladed attachment would balance out the team, and be better suited for Zelde.
Weapons and Shop class had never been Zelde’s favourite subject at the academy, and so a lot of the terminology Calantha used seemed to fly right over her head. Even Cordovan - who always seemed to fare much better in that class - was looking lost. Only Morgan seemed to truly understand what was being said, as he was the only one to engage her in further questioning. By the time the rest of their group had readied themselves to meet with Councilman Oxford, Morgan and Calantha were still in a hearty discussion, though they had come to an agreement that a bladed attachment would be best, they were now locked in a debate over which type of blade would be best.
--
After reuniting with those who would be attending the meeting, Wren led them from the base and towards the heart of the town. As they walked, Zelde noted that there were a surprising amount of shops, restaurants, and bars lining the streets, which she deduced was in part due to the high density of college students who made their home in the town during the school year.
The group continued to walk through the town until they came to a stop at a bandstand, where a man was addressing a small audience.
It wasn’t hard to realise that the man speaking was Councilman Oxford. Even without the traits he shared with Neela - the same pale skin, and sky blue eyes - the neatly tailored suit, and the presence of two guards flanking his side were a dead giveaway.
It seemed the current topic of conversation was the Grimm attack that had occured the day before, with Councilman Oxford calmly alleviating the concerns of the gathered citizens, who were clearly worked up at the growing threat.
“The rise of Grimm attacks is, of course, as much a concern to me as it is to anyone else. With resources from Atlas few and far between in recent months, we must continue to operate as we have for weeks now. It is not a pleasant thing to hear, but we will be continuing to triage supplies and resources to the most vulnerable parts of the city, at least until the agreed upon support from our Mistrali allies arrive.” He would explain to the crowd. “If any of you are in need of any further support, I request that you do not hesitate to seek help from me or my family. We have set aside a considerable amount of funds to help those less fortunate in this difficult time.”
Councilman Oxford paused to arrange some papers on the podium in front of him. When he lifted his head, he seemed to take notice of the group among those gathered. “I’m afraid that is where we will be wrapping it up for today everyone,” He said with a shy smile, “I thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any further queries, please feel free to reach out to me or my team. Thank you and goodbye.”
With a small wave, Councilman Oxford wrapped up the meeting and the crowds began to disperse. As he stepped down from the bandstand, a middle-aged woman hurried over to him, giving an affectionate kiss on the cheek. With the same blue hair as Neela, she was clearly the man’s wife and Neela’s mother.
The two of them walked hand-in-hand as they approached the group, only breaking apart when Neela rushed forward to be embraced by the two of them. It was touching seeing her teammate reunite with her parents, but Zelde couldn’t help but feel a stab of jealousy at the sight of them.
When they broke apart, Wren stepped forward, offering out a hand in greeting. “That was a wonderful speech, Councilman Oxford.”
“Oh, there’s no need to be so formal,” Oxford grinned, as he returned the gesture, shaking her hand with vigour. “Gorman will do just fine.” Neela’s father then took the opportunity to introduce himself to the rest of the group, before introducing Neela’s mother, Nerissa to them.
In return, they all introduced themselves, save for Elio as they were already familiar with one another. When Cordovan introduced himself last and revealed he was Wren’s son, Gorman and his wife shared a surprised glance between themselves.
“I never would have guessed our children would be on the same team,” Gorman laughed after a moment. “I knew there was a reason I liked you when we first met. Besides, of course, the fact you are an excellent negotiator.”
“Please don’t mind my husband,” Nerissa said with a smile, giving her husband a playful smack on the arm. “He always was a charmer.”
“And my wife would know best, since we’ve been happily married nearly thirty years.”
Nerissa rolled her eyes playfully, earning another laugh. When he stopped laughing, he clapped his hands together. “So, shall we continue this conversation at my house?”
“If you wish,” Wren shrugged.
“What, did you think I would be conducting my business out in the cold?” He questioned.
“Doesn’t feel that cold to me,” Xanthos chimed in. “Which is surprising since you don’t appear to have any generators warming the town like Atlas does.”
“Highpoint was built over a giant fire dust mine,” Gorman explained. “So it’s naturally a bit warmer here. It’s been closed since I was a young boy as it couldn’t keep up with the competition from the Schnees. Not that it ever stopped teenagers from sneaking inside and trying to break off small crystals as a test of worth when I was growing up.”
“Not that you would know anything about that, right Gorman?” Nerissa prompted.
“No, of course not,” Gorman responded - but the sheepish expression he gave his wife told Zelde it was very likely that Gorman had taken part in such hazing.
Not long after, transport was hailed to their location, and everyone piled inside before heading out to the Oxford manor. Neela's home was an impressive, three storied building, sitting within the shadow of Astrolabe University - with which the Oxford family were so closely linked. Zelde had believed her own home was large and decadent, but Neela's home put her own to shame, being close to two or three times the size of hers.
Much like when they first arrived at Zelde's home, Xanthos was quick to exclaim his awe at the size of the place, a feeling that was shared by Elio. Unlike her own parents - or at the very least, her mother - the Oxfords found the comments quite amusing.
"You'd be surprised how many times we hear such things," Gorman explained, when Wren gave them an apologetic glance for Elio's outburst.
"Neela, dear, why don't you go and find your brother whilst we have some food and drinks prepared for all of you?" Nerissa suggested. "If he's anywhere, he'll be in the training room."
Neela nodded her head in agreement, and with a wave of her hand, gestured for ZRCN to follow her. As she led them through the house, Zelde took note of numerous portraits of blue haired individuals lining the walls, and the exquisitely decorated rooms.
Eventually they came to a pair of finely carved wooden doors, which opened into what could only be described as an indoor training room. It was a large and expansive room, with sparse decor, save for a small seating area opposite the entrance. The whole room was illuminated by natural light pouring in from a glass rooftop.
Currently, a young man and woman were sparring on the floor. Both were wearing similarly designed athletic outfits, but were as different from each other in appearance wise as you could get. The man was very obviously Neela’s brother. He had choppy blue hair the same colour as Neela, as well as the same sky blue eyes. The woman sparring with him was tall and slender, with light brown skin, darker brown hair she wore in a long ponytail, and hazel coloured eyes. The woman fought with a sabre, whereas Neela’s brother fought with a pair of thin bladed weapons, which curved into hooks at the end.
There was one other person in the room with them too. Although the resemblance was obvious, Zelde was certain she had to be Neela’s sister, based on the same dark blue-black she shared with Gorman. She appeared to be acting as a referee of sorts, judging by how intently she watched the two sparring. She was also the first to notice the group in the doorway and interrupted the fight by announcing their presence.
“It seems we have some guests.”
At her words, the two of them ceased their fighting and looked over in the group’s direction. Whilst the young woman appeared curious, she didn’t hurry to approach them. Neela’s brother practically darted across the room, and headed straight for Neela, who he proceeded to envelop her into a tight hug that lifted her off her feet.
“Oh, Harebell, it’s good to see you again!” He smiled warmly.
“Ugh, Cas, don’t call me ‘Harebell’, I’m not five anymore,” Neela said with a small groan.
“Mhm, we’ll see,” He said with a wink, before letting her down and stepping aside. “So, are you going to introduce us all?”
Neela turned back to her team. “Everyone, this is my brother, Caspian Oxford.”
When Xanthos began to introduce himself, Caspian quickly waved him off, already explaining he knew who everyone was from the calls he had shared with Neela. Regrettably, Zelde did not know as much about Neela’s brother as he seemed to know about them. In fact, she hadn’t even known his name until now. The only thing she did know was that he had once aspired to be a huntsman himself before dropping out.
At that point, the two women had come over to join them, and from being this close to her, Zelde could see the girl she believed to Neela and Caspian’s sister had the same indigo coloured eyes as their mother.
She gave Neela a short hug, but it seemed less warm and inviting than Caspian’s had. She then offered out a hand for one of ZRCN to shake. “A pleasure to meet you all,” She began. “My name is Mirela Oxford, but everyone just calls me Mira. I’m Caspian and Neela’s elder sister.”
“And my name is Seraphina LeClair, but everyone calls me Sera!” The other woman loudly introduced, almost imitating yet mocking Mira’s introduction as she did so.
“Sera’s not technically our sister, but mom and dad have practically raised her with us since she was little,” Caspian explained. “She’s certainly annoying like a sister though.”
“Thanks, Cas, I love you too,” Sera laughed, before hooking an arm over his shoulder.
Mira watched them with an unflinching gaze, before turning back to the group. “I hear you are supposed to be meeting with father, correct? "She asked, looking at Neela in particular.
“Yes, but he was just preparing some things for us,” Neela explained.
Mira made an unamused face. “Well, you would do well not to keep him waiting,” She advised. “As nice as this reunion has been, father took the time out of his busy schedule, you shouldn’t waste all that time speaking to Caspian when you can easily catch up on another day now that you're here.”
“I suppose,” Neela said with a shrug. “But I doubt we’d be able to offer much input about what’s being discussed, so there’s no real hurry.”
Mira didn’t seem particularly satisfied with that answer. So opted to take matters into her own hands. She ushered Caspian and Sera away from the group, encouraging them to continue their training, before gesturing the team to follow her through the doors they had entered. “Follow me,” She instructed, beckoning them with a wave of her hand. “I will take you to father myself.”
