A/N: Happy New Year! 2019 is finally here! As a New Year's gift, this chapter is coming out a few days earlier than planned. I still can't believe I started this series in 2016 and it's still going three years later. I have all of you to thank for your support. VRSZ wouldn't have made it this far without any of you. I hope you continue to enjoy what comes next.


Setting: Corona

"Royal! Royal! I'm calling your punk ass out!" Grayson screamed at the top of his lungs as his team continued wreaking havoc on the people of Corona.

Alexandrite destroyed another building by charging through it and Shiranui continued to drag the half-dead man with his lantern whip. The Ravagers were here to retaliate after a militia group attack in Royal's name. Grayson didn't care if Royal didn't order them to attack his home, he wasn't going to let it slide without doing anything. It would be an embarrassing mark on his reputation. He was going to make sure everyone, especially Royal, knew that it was a mistake to cross him.

Grayson pulled out two more bombs and threw them in in a random direction to cause more pandemonium. His actions were causing all the citizens to panic and release more negative emotions. And everyone knew what followed after so much negativity.

Leaning by a building, observing all of the Ravagers' actions was Ghost. He stayed out of sight to see what was going on and he cursed when he saw it was Grayson's group. He hated them. After what he and the others did to Fortuna, Ghost possessed the same feeling Clair, Bianca, and everyone in VRSZ possessed. Pure hatred. He was seething with anger when he saw them, but he wasn't stupid. Confronting all of them was foolish and dangerous. His encounter with Shiranui proved that.

"What am I supposed to do?"

Suddenly, a torrent of flame flew towards the Ravagers and engulfed them in a fiery explosion. Ghost turned to see who attacked them and saw Brenton Drake with Oathburner aimed at the Ravagers. Ghost didn't know who he was and assumed he was either Royal or a guardian, but most of all, he was glad someone stopped their rampage.

The sandy floor where the explosion took place was scorched as well as the destroyed buildings, but the Ravagers were unfazed. Grayson remained where he stood and in front of him was Shiranui. The fox faunus was prepared to defend his leader, but he was also unharmed thanks to Alexandrite taking the fire blast for them. She was still coated in purple crystal armor which protected her from taking any damage though she was sweating from the intense heat of the blast.

Brenton told the citizens to leave the area and they thanked him. The lizard faunus glared at the Ravagers and readied himself for battle.

Grayson walked around Shiranui and Alexandrite and said, "You Royal?"

"No," Brenton said and didn't plan to say anything else.

"Then beat it. We're looking for the boss, not a grunt," Grayson said, but Brenton didn't budge. Grayson sighed, "Whatever, hero. Take him out."

Ever the eager warrior, Alexandrite rushed toward Brenton and Shiranui followed behind her. Brenton was waiting for them to make the first move. The fox faunus attacked first thanks to his long-range weapon. He swung his lantern whip at Brenton with the man still wrapped around it. He used him as a weapon and Brenton was shocked to see a body attached to the whip. He quickly put his greatsword away and grabbed the man when the whip came his way. Brenton was untangling the man from the whip and Alexandrite leaped up to slam her massive halberd down on his skull. It took Brenton a second to untie the man and he quickly jumped backward, narrowly dodging Alexandrite's weapon.

"You move well with a corpse in your arms," Alexandrite commented.

Brenton glanced down and saw this man was in a horrendous condition. He had broken bones and a lot of bruises. He was bleeding from a lot of open wounds around his body. It was too late to do anything. This man was at death's door. It was only a matter of time before this person was going to pass away. The lizard faunus was infuriated.

Shiranui lashed his lantern whip at him a second time, but Brenton raised his arm. The whip wrapped around it and Brenton violently yanked the whip, pulling Shiranui to his location. Alexandrite moved in after Shiranui passed her and planned to strike when there was an opening. With the fox faunus coming his way, Brenton planned to pierce him with Oathburner then set him ablaze. Before he could do it, Shiranui activated Wisp and transformed into a fog of white smoke. He swirled around Brenton, blinding him and making him cough uncontrollably, leaving him open to the bedazzled behemoth.

She slashed upward at Brenton with her halberd, launching him in the air. Shiranui returned to being solid and twirled his whip to strike his opponent while he was still airborne. Brenton quickly recovered in the air and aimed Oathburner at Alexandrite. The gun chamber released another powerful blast of fire, enveloping her in a tower of flame. Her armor protected her, but the heat was wearing her body down.

Brenton landed right next to the fox faunus and swung his sword at him. Shiranui stepped back, dodging the blade by a hair, but the gun chamber was still releasing fire that followed the sword as he swung it. He didn't hit his opponent with the blade, but the flames did reach Shiranui, making him reel in pain. Brenton quickly spun around and aimed Oathburner at Shiranui again. He released a burst of flames, hitting Shiranui point-blank with an explosion.

Immediately after he did this, the fire enveloping Alexandrite died out and she was sweating beneath her armor. She quickly released her semblance, shattering the crystals, to give herself some air.

The fox faunus was sent flying into a building, breaking through it and lying in the rubble. His aura was very low, but he planned to keep fighting if Grayson demanded it. Grayson himself sighed and was ready to fight as well until he noticed someone coming. "Huh? Can't be," he thought as he reached for his sword.

Coming from behind was Azura. She jumped high above Brenton with her elemental staff cloaked in lightning and brought it down on Alexandrite. However, the bejeweled warrior caught her staff with a hand quickly covered in red crystal. She did so instinctively, not realizing it was Azura. When she got a good look, Alexandrite immediately recognized the Cobalt with an angry look on her face. While Azura was glaring angrily at her, Alexandrite appeared ecstatic.

"Baby-blue! You're alive!" Alexandrite said excitedly, calling Azura by her hated nickname.

The last time she or the Ravagers saw Azura was when they left her to die in that buried temple. Grayson's eyes were on her as well. He was shocked to see her, too, but he figured if VRSZ got out, then she probably tagged along. It didn't change the fact that Grayson planned to kill her for good this time. He wasn't the type of person to leave loose ends.

Grayson hurled two bombs at Alexandrite and Azura. As they flew to their location, Alexandrite used her superior strength to shove Azura back a couple of feet then moved back herself. Her actions revealed to Azura the bombs coming her way. Before she could defend herself, Brenton ran between them and swung Oathburner underhandedly. The flames cloaking the sword spread across the ground, creating a wall of fire that acted as a shield for both of them. The bombs went off when they made contact with the wall which shielded them from the explosion while dispersing the flames.

When the wall of fire fizzled out, Alexandrite was about to make her move until she was hit by a spray of bullets. Half of them were charged with lightning dust and the other half had fire dust. The barrage forced Alexandrite to hunker down to guard herself to construct new armor, pinning her in place. Bianca stood further away from the battle, relentlessly attacking her enemy from a distance to keep her from moving.

Azura and Brenton were about to turn around to see Bianca, but a blur and a force of wind soared past them and Alexandrite. Grayson held up the broad side of his grapple sword just in time block the fist of Blood when he tried to punch him in the face. The anger on Blood's face was obvious and Grayson countered it with a taunting smirk.

"ENOUGH!" Royal's voice echoed throughout the area. Clair and Ebony were beside him and their bodies vibrated from the sheer volume of his voice. Royal truly was the personification of power. His presence demanded everyone to know he was here.

The single word he uttered stopped everyone from fighting. Bianca ceased firing from her Archangels, Brenton lowered Oathburner, and Blood quickly flew back to Ebony's side. Shiranui rose from the rubble, finally coming to, and Alexandrite eyed everyone, ready to fight them all by herself if she needed to. Azura was the only one unaffected by his command. She personally wanted to take down the Ravagers, but realized going against Royal's wishes would make Clair look bad and doubted she could get away with that a second time. Azura grunted to herself then lowered her elemental staff.

Ghost, still perched in his spot, held his breath as he watched everything unfold. He was prepared to leap in when he was needed, but felt now was the worst time to reveal himself.

Grayson stood still, observing Royal and could already tell he wasn't someone to take lightly. He needed to be smart about this. "So, you're the one called Royal."

"And you're the vermin infiltrating my domain," Royal insulted. He looked down on Grayson and the Ravagers.

"This vermin's named Grayson. I'll make sure to carve it into your chest so you don't forget." Grayson kept his hand on his weapon and Royal took notice. He grinned with amusement.

Clair was silently standing with Royal and Ebony, but her body was shaking. Royal was too absorbed with himself, but Ebony had her eyes on her cousin and felt her animosity. The charming Vantablack completely understood why Clair felt this way because she was partly to blame. In front of Clair was Grayson, the man who killed Sterling, her uncle, destroyed her home and made it his own. Not to mention he's always trying to kill Violet and her team.

Clair always thought about what she'd do if she came face to face with Grayson. The last time they saw each other, Clair was shedding tears, mourning her uncle, who died in front of her, and Grayson smiled with satisfaction when he did it. Now, Clair dropped her friendly air when she glared at Grayson, wanting nothing more than to see him dead. This was part of the reason she wanted Violet to train her.

"Tell me, bold one," Royal called out to Grayson. "Why did you and your group come here?"

"Some of your dogs ransacked my home in your name. I'm here for retribution," Grayson answered as Shiranui walked to his side.

"It's not your home!" Clair grumbled mentally.

"I see." Royal looked at Alexandrite and smiled at her. He watched her battle and enjoyed what he saw. She interested him more than Grayson. Alexandrite looked at him with ambivalence. She didn't know anything about him, but she began to feel his powerful aura and it sent a shiver down her spine.

"Then let's take this dispute to the proper place. Follow me, everyone. All matters will be dealt with in the Coliseum. As the king, I command it," Royal decreed and began walking.

"Your Highness," Brenton called out to Royal. "What about the people who were injured?"

"Forget them. Any with the strength to recover are worthy to remain. Come. We go to the Coliseum."

Brenton growled lowly to himself before walking with his king. He never liked Royal's treatment of the citizen who would die for him. This didn't go unnoticed by Ebony, whose silver eyes were locked onto him. She grinned to herself before following Royal.

Azura kept her eyes on Grayson's group as they walked. She wanted to make sure they didn't try to pull something, but none of them did anything underhanded during the whole walk, which was extremely tense. Bianca walked beside Clair, hands on her shoulders to help her stay calm. She understood that Clair needed support right now, walking beside the killer of her uncle. She'd probably attack Grayson if Bianca wasn't holding her back. Grayson recognized Clair from the destruction of Fortuna, but nothing else. To Clair, Grayson killed Sterling and destroyed her Fortuna. To Grayson, that day was another mission to increase his status.

He did, however, recognize Ebony when he got a good look of her. He remembered her as the girl who was part of Fortuna's downfall and prevented Violet from killing him. He hasn't seen or heard about VRSZ for months and assumed he ran them out of Vacuo. Eliminating all of them would've been preferable, but not seeing them ever again was just as good. Maybe.

Setting: Royal's Coliseum

All of them were in the large arena of the Coliseum with all of the citizens in the spectator seats, prepared to watch what was about to go down. They all cheered for Royal even though he only stood before the others. It showed just how much they adored him. Ghost was in the stands too, sitting close to the arena in case he needed to help Clair, his sister, and Azura.

Clair, Bianca, and Azura stood together in their own area. Ebony and her group did the same as well as Grayson's. Royal and Brenton stood in the middle of them with the former basking in the cheers of the people before calling out to the others.

"Here is where all quarrels and discussion in Corona are dealt with. The one called Grayson. If you want to settle your grudge with me, then do so here. You and your group can face me and fight to your heart's content. It'll end when either side forfeits, dies, or when I judge there's no further reason to battle."

Grayson eyed Royal for any deception in his words, but the man was speaking honestly. This was going to be a straightforward battle. With all these people around, he was going to make sure everyone witnessed how dangerous he was. He planned on killing Royal or at least humiliate him.

"Clair and Ebony Vantablack," Royal addressed them to get their attention. "I have heard both your proposals, but have yet to come to a concrete decision about either. Anyone can say whatever they want in order to get the results they're after. However, one's goals cannot be realized without the strength and power to bring it to fruition. In Corona, strength is the determining factor in many things, including negotiations."

"I see where this is going," Ebony thought.

"You two shall participate in this battle as well. Both parties shall face me and I'll decide whose deal is worth my attention. It can be both, one, or neither. This is a free-for-all battle! Let's enjoy ourselves!" The king's true colors were showing.

Royal wanted to battle for the enjoyment of it. That was clear to everyone. Clair saw he was engrossed with strength and how it ruled much of his decision making. She thought he would be a man with a better mentality than this, but that obviously wasn't the case. He was not the type of person she wanted to be associated with Nexus.

The battle to win his favor was pointless to her now. However, there was still something to gain from this situation. Clair wanted to use this as an opportunity to kill Grayson. Bianca had kept her eyes on Clair since their walk to the Coliseum and knew what her friend was going to do. She needed to have her back throughout this fiasco and prevent her from doing something reckless.

Brenton pulled out Oathburner and he was ready to fight against all of them until he felt a large hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Royal. "Sorry friend, but I'm doing this alone. I haven't had a sporting battle in a while and if they prove themselves, worthy opponents, it'll get my blood flowing," Royal said, dismissing Brenton from the battle. The lizard faunus was frustrated, but he did as Royal said and walked to the edge of the arena to watch. This side of his liege was always vexing.

Everyone went further out to their sections of the arena with Royal in the middle. Brenton stood against the wall where he was told to just observe. "Are we ready?" Royal asked. No one said a thing, indicating they were indeed ready. "Begin!" Royal shouted and the crowd roared.

Immediately, Grayson and his Ravagers raced toward Royal, who faced them with a wide smile. Grayson threw a few of his bombs at Royal. They exploded with their intended target within range and smoke surrounded Royal. Alexandrite continued charging forward while Shiranui ran past her to swing his lantern whip. The metal chain reached Royal and wrapped around him while he was still in the smoke. The fox faunus used the fire dust in his weapon to light and cloak his entire weapon in blue fire.

The smoke cleared, showing the lantern whip was wrapped around Royal's arm cloth and it was being burned, but the regal man didn't seem fazed at all. In fact, his pleased look didn't waver. Royal grabbed onto the whip with his other arm and yanked on it harshly, pulling Shiranui toward him, just like Brenton did. He lifted the chain of the whip up, flinging the fox faunus into the air, then swung it down, slamming the wielder down to the ground violently.

Shiranui was down. His aura, already low from his bout with Brenton, broke apart upon impact. He was writhing in pain, losing his grip on his lantern whip which was no longer imbued in blue flames. Royal pulled the lantern whip's chain, jerking the handle from Shiranui's limp hand to Royal's feet. The regal conqueror picked up the handle and looked at Alexandrite, who was already beside him.

She raised a fist covered in blue crystal and punched Royal in the right cheek with all her might. The large man wasn't expecting to be hit in the face. He also didn't expect the punch to hurt that much. Despite Royal's surprise, he was barely blown back by the hit. Alexandrite's strike only forced him to take a single step back. She was surprised and a little impressed. There were very few people who can take a punch from her like that and keep standing.

Both of them were very intrigued by the other. However, Alexandrite failed to notice her body and Royal's faintly glow purple before it faded away.

Royal flung Shiranui's lantern whip and the lantern smacked her in the face. It didn't hurt much, but the surprise attack forced her to take a few steps back to regain her bearings. He swung his leg to kick her and she blocked it with the pole of her halberd. She used this opportunity to punch him again, knocking him back further now that he was on one leg. Alexandrite punched him the exact same way she did before, but she realized something was different: her attack didn't seem to do as much damage as before. She went to punch him a third time and Royal motioned for the same move. Their fists collide and their bodies glowed purple again when they made contact and Alexandrite noticed this time.

"What the hell are you doing to me?" she asked curiously.

"We are fighting on equal footing. Be pleased. How many kings allow those beneath them to fight like this?" Royal boasted and Alexandrite didn't know what he was saying. Brenton knew what was happening. It was Royal's semblance and one of the biggest reasons people love him so much. Whenever Royal makes contact with another person, their natural capabilities are balanced equally. Strength, speed, reflexes, no matter the difference between people, his semblance will always balance the gap.

Royal called his semblance Libra. This allowed even the weakest of people to fight Royal on even terms. He enjoyed fighting his people in the Coliseum and the people love taking their chance to fight the king. It gave them hope they could reach such a level of strength, even though he always won. The only difference between fighters was tenacity. It changed every battle one of attrition and Royal hardly ever tired.

Alexandrite and Royal continue fighting each other. Neither side was weakening or gaining the upper hand. Libra made this an even battle. Grayson watched their fight and planned to intervene to tip the balance. Royal was so enraptured with Alexandrite that he could land a surprise attack. Picking up on his strategy, Ebony told Blood and Zinnia to engage in battle. She needed to display her team's combat skill to get Royal to agree to the alliance with Vacuo's kingdom.

Blood flew toward Royal until he saw something in the corner of his eye. Grayson was ready to toss one of his bombs at Royal and Alexandrite until he felt someone's presence behind him. He quickly turned to see Clair with her pen-sword drawn and aimed to stab him through the back. Grayson quickly blocked her attack with his grapple sword and the two locked eyes.

"The hell do you want? I'm kinda busy at the moment," he told Clair, coldly.

Clair didn't say a word. She was too enveloped in her own anger to respond. All she wanted was Grayson dead for murdering Sterling. Grayson backed away and threw his sword at Clair, but gunfire was heard and the sword was shot out of its thrown path. Bianca already intercepted Grayson's attack and was sprinting in to fight for Clair with her twin, bayonet guns. Azura joined in as well, fending Grayson off with Bianca to keep him and Clair away from each other.

Blood watched Clair's group battle against Grayson. He wanted to enter the fight as well, but he didn't know what Ebony would do to him if he did. He stopped flying and stayed in one spot in the arena. The people were booing him for doing nothing. It didn't bother him. He was making an important decision. He shook his head, clearing any doubts, and flew towards Clair.

"Damn if I care what happens to me," he thought as he flew to his old comrades.

Royal and Alexandrite were still fighting each other. Alexandrite struck her opponent with her halberd twice before Royal used Shiranui's lantern whip to attack. She blocked it with her weapon and the whip wrapped around it. Royal pulled the whip hard enough to yank Alexandrite's halberd out of her hand, however, he also put too much force into his action and the lantern whip slipped out of his hands.

Both fighters were weaponless, so they resorted to battling each other the old-fashioned way.

Zinnia entered the fray, aiming her wrist blaster at Royal, firing three shot of lightning dust at him. To everyone's surprise, Alexandrite broke from her fight with Royal to block the attack, shielding him using her body covered in blue crystal armor.

"DON'T INTERFERE!" Alexandrite shouted at Zinnia.

Once again, Royal was very impressed with Alexandrite's warrior spirit. He pretty much forgot about his wagers with everyone and focused solely on Alexandrite, the object of his attention.

"You… you may well be the first person I consider an equal," he complimented before deactivating Libra. The two of them were free to use their real power. "Show me whether that is true."

Royal and Alexandrite, covered in blue crystal armor, ran towards each other with their fists reeled back. The two punched each other again with fists colliding. The strength behind Alexandrite's punch was strong. Royal could tell, but his strength was beyond her expectations. His fist was strong enough to crack the crystal covering her hand which started to shake. She could see he was truly strong. The two smiled at each other before resuming their duel. The crowd was cheering for both Royal and Alexandrite. It was a battle to behold.

Zinnia didn't understand a thing about this situation. Ebony, standing beside her, placed a hand on her retainer's shoulder and shook her head before saying, "Love is complicated."

Bianca was parrying Grayson's grapple sword with the blades on her guns. He was focused on offense while Bianca was trying to keep Clair out of danger, but her liege didn't make it easy. Clair lunged for Grayson. He saw this coming and took a large step to his side to quickly pivot then spin away from Bianca, who took a misstep forward now that his weight wasn't bearing down on her. He planned on striking Clair before she could attack, but Azura backhanded him with a fist. He stumbled a bit before composing himself and saw Azura standing between him and Clair, who only looked more frustrated her enforcers were getting in the way.

"Hmph. I thought you died," Grayson said to Azura before pulling out a handgun he brought with him.

"Don't sound so disappointed. I'm very hard to kill," Azura spat back while activating the lightning dust in her arms which followed down to her staff. Imbued with electricity, she moved to strike. Grayson aimed his gun at her, secretly planning to shoot at Clair behind her, but another gunshot went off. Bianca fired and shot the gun out of his hand. It fell to the ground a good distance away. Bianca fired again and Grayson blocked the bullet with his sword, leaving him open for Azura to move in and attack, or so it seemed. He pulled out five shards of red dust crystals then threw them at her before throwing his sword next. The blade collided with the crystals and they exploded in a fiery blast, launching her away until she tumbled onto the ground head first and she was unconscious. Grayson retracted his sword with the cable and smirked.

"You didn't think I'd walk around with just one weapon? In the words of your dumbass cousin: I leveled up," Grayson ridiculed. He was about to change his attention to Clair until he heard the flapping of large wings. "Shit." Blood flew into the fray to punch Grayson's head off but was met with the broad side of his sword. "You again," Grayson complained before swinging his blade.

Clair was concerned about Azura, but that concern was fleeting as rage overtook her again and she continued her path toward Grayson. Every second she didn't cut him down, her hatred grew stronger. She wanted him dead more than anything. Her recklessness was stressing Ghost out a great deal. He was gripping the stone edge of the arena so hard, he was starting to bleed from his fingers.

Ebony and Zinnia watched everyone's battle, especially Blood's fight with Grayson. Royal and Alexandrite were still fighting each other and the two of them seemed to enjoy it immensely. Their focus shifted to Clair's group battling Grayson and how Blood fought with his friends instead of being by Ebony's side.

"What are you going to do with him?" Zinnia asked Ebony about Blood.

"He isn't doing anything that I particularly dislike, but I will have a talk with him afterward."

Blood and Grayson fought each other while Bianca kept Clair at bay. She had to resort to holding Clair back with force as the Lady of Nexus struggled in her enforcer's grasp. "Stop, Bianca! Let me go!" Clair yelled in the ear of her friend. The once cool and serene Clair was nowhere to be seen and this angered spirit took her place. Bianca ignored Clair and held her back, trying to take as many steps as she could away from the battle. Getting Royal's approval meant nothing now. She didn't care if Clair would hate her for doing this. Bianca wanted her employer and friend safe.

Grayson threw five of his bombs in front of Blood's face. The bat faunus used his wings to fly backward, but the force of the nearby explosion did knock him back and into the ground, making him skid across the ground with his aura taking a hit. Grayson heard the sound of Clair's struggle when he got rid of Blood and he grinned at the sight.

"I GOING TO KILL YOU!" Clair screamed at him.

"What did I ever do to you?" Grayson asked as he walked to his gun.

"You killed my uncle!"

"You're gonna have to be a little more specific. I've killed a lot of people. And I don't really remember any of them."

If Clair wasn't enraged before, she was definitely infuriated now. His blatant disregard for killing Sterling sent her into a frenzy and Bianca was having a hard time holding her back. She was also fighting the urge to shoot Grayson herself after what he said. She knew he deserved it, but putting Clair in danger wasn't worth it. Ghost heard everything and had Purgatory equipped to his hand. He was ready to jump in and rip Grayson's heart out with his clawed hand.

The hatred and rage enveloped the Coliseum and a faint rumbling could be felt from underneath.

Shiranui finally woke up and noticed the battle around him. He saw Grayson surrounded by Clair, Bianca, and Blood, so he quickly got up and ran to fight by his side. Ebony and Zinnia saw this and Ebony nodded at Zinnia, giving her the order to take him out.

Azura was finally coming to as well and she saw the chaos. While still lying on the ground, she felt the ground shake and she didn't know what was causing it. The stone ground beneath them began to crack and break apart in several areas. This caught everyone's attention and Royal cursed to himself. The ground ripped apart and emerging from underground was something Clair, Grayson, or even Ebony expected to see: the creatures of Grimm.


This chapter made me realize that Brenton is the final elemental character I've created. He wields fire, Zelts has wind, Loden is earth, and Turquoise is water. It was never my intention to do this, but it was a happy surprise. Turquoise is the only one who doesn't control her element with a weapon.

Another sub-group in the series is the Zodiacs. Individuals with semblances named after the Zodiac signs. Turquoise is also part of this group. The others are Royal and Lily.