Setting: Corona

Scorched sand, glass, and blue flames were all that lay in front of Brenton. His enemies were gone, their vehicle included, but he knew they weren't finished.

Don't be fooled, don't let up for a moment. They aren't finished. They won't go down that easily,"

Gunfire. Two shots. From above. Brenton flicked his eyes upward to see Silver floating in mid-air with his guns aimed at him and two bullets being fired his way. A swing of Oathburner and he unleashed a wave of blue flames, heading toward Silver. It consumed the bullets, melting them in an instant and were on the mark to hit Silver, but the gunslinger used his semblance to make his body heavier and lowered himself, avoiding the fire altogether.

Beads of sweat were forming on Silver's forehead. That wasn't a good sign. Aura kept them protected from dangerous climates like extreme cold or intense heat, but they certainly took their toll. That's why wearing the appropriate outfit drew away a lot of the burden, but there was nothing that could be done about Brenton's flames. The intensity of the blue flames was so great, its heat eclipsed that of Vacuo itself and he only made them bigger.

The longer the battle progressed, the worse the outcome became for VRSZ.

"Please do something already," Silver said to his allies as he descended into the sand.

Watching Silver go down, Brenton prepared for another swing but felt his head get struck and knocked back, forcing him to take a few steps back. A quick scan of his surroundings and there was nothing around him. He knew immediately what was going on, but felt another blow hit his side. This attack he could see as he found Remus with his foot jammed against his right ribs. Violet and Remus were a dangerous pair, but he knew they weren't the threat in this situation. They were the opening act.

He fought through the pain and brought his arms and greatsword up in front of him as he felt Violet and Remus leave only to feel his arms ring as a large shield smashed into him.

Zelts Allister. He was the real danger.

Sent flying through the air, Brenton braced himself and landed on his feet, skidding through the sand for a few meters before stopping just in front of Corona's borders where his citizens watched in silence.

"Not in front of them. I won't falter in front of them,"

In a rage, the King of Flames unleashed a battle cry and used Boost to power himself even further. Pulling Oathburner's trigger, He released fire, creating a tower of blue flames. It rose high in the sky for all to see. Such proximity to Corona would harm his people, but they were unharmed, feeling nothing but the magnificent heat. The flames spiraled around each other, keeping them from harming anyone.

Dazzling was the only word to describe what Brenton was doing.

"Is the Fantasia okay?" Silver asked Zelts.

"She's got a few marks, but I shielded her from most of the flames," he answered. "She's further back than where we parked."

Violet and Remus looked to the flames as they rose higher and higher. The former could tell this wasn't good, realizing Brenton's aura level must've been enormous. "Guys, we have to finish this now before he overwhelms us. Remus, can you handle it?"

"I'll have to do it quickly, but I can do it."

"Zelts, once he's finished, it's all you," Violet informed her friend who already activated Conversion.

He already knew this was going to happen. With such tremendous flames, the only one who could go toe-to-toe with Brenton was himself. A force of nature against another. He knew if the others got involved, they'd be caught up in the fight. Not incorporating teamwork was not VRSZ's style, but in this instance, it needed to be done.

"I'll be their shield. One more time."

With no hesitation, Violet and Silver marched forward to Corona. "I'm counting on you, big guy," Silver shouted as he ran to the settlement.

Zelts nodded then took a deep breath. He finished absorbing all the dust woven into his clothes and his eyes shone like the brightest gold.

"I'm ready. Do it," he told Remus as he split Heart of Gold into wingblades.

It was the Blue Flicker's turn to take a deep breath as he resonated with his aura and the piece of aura he injected in Brenton from his earlier attack. This was going to hurt. Badly.

Brenton could see nothing but the flames surrounding him. It was a testament to his strength and kept his foes at bay. Prolonging this battle until his team arrived was his goal and so was proving to his people he was fit to rule. He'll let everyone here witness his resolve.

With flames this big, it would simple to send them toward VRSZ and burn them all to-

The rage of fire vanished and there was nothing but blue fog around him.

"What the he-" Brenton was suddenly blasted by tremendous force sending him flying upward.

As he spun through the air, Brenton tried to see where he was. All he could ascertain was his tower of flame and settlement were several miles away. How was he moved from such a distance so easily?

The flaming tower died out with its source of power gone. It soon vanished, revealing someone else in the center. On his hands and knees with sweat fall from every pore in his body, Remus stood where Brenton once did. He could feel it. His aura took a heavy blow for him. If it weren't for the protection it provided, he wouldn't have committed to such a risky move. He laid in front of Corona with several of the people just watching him, wondering what happened to their sovereign, but their answer came with a gale of golden wind.

Another blast struck Brenton, but he could see it this time. Zelts. Using his own wind to carry him into the sky and send another gust Brenton's way, blasting him toward the ground and further away from Corona. He made contact with the desert and the impact did some damage.

On the other side, Zelts could still feel the intense heat from Brenton's body like it was bleeding fire. He was right after all. The only one who can fight the King of Flames head-on was him.

Zelts spun around with his wingblades in hand and created a large, golden tornado that was moving to Brenton's crash site. Before it could reach, blue fire erupted from the spot and clashed with the tornado. The collision caused the tornado to fuel the flames, making them bigger but grow out of control. The flames scattered everywhere except Brenton's location and they changed color.

The gold of Zelts' vortex and the blue of Brenton's inferno, created flames of shining emerald that danced across the desert.

The King of Flames stood with his body glowing from Boost's effect and his eyes were trained on the Knight of the Wind who rotated his body to cloak himself in wind. Then he darted to Brenton, still spinning with wind surrounding him like a torpedo. In response, Brenton fired flames from his revolver and Zelts barreled straight into it. The emerald color returned, enveloping him as he moved through the torrent of fire. He stretched his arms out with his wingblades expanding and releasing the wind around him violently, destroying the flamethrower Brenton created and giving himself a chance to strike back. A swing of both his wingblades stirred violent winds to accompany the blow, but it collided with burning metal instead of flesh. His strike didn't connect with Brenton and all he could see in front of him were fires that changed from blue to green. The same could be said for Brenton. All he saw was the golden wind being enveloped as green flames. They sprayed across the battlefield, reaching several meters before dying out.

"These flames. I'm not doing this. They're not mine," Brenton realized when he couldn't manipulate them.

There was nothing he or Zelts could do about it. The combined power of golden wind and sapphire flames created this wildfire neither of them could control.

It may have been an intense battle for the two elementals, but it was more of a grand performance for those acting as bystanders. Remus remained where he was after using Round Robin and he was met with Violet and Silver who stayed out of the fight their friend was engaged in. All three of them watched near the borders of Corona with the citizens. They could only stare in awe at the fire, wind, and colors across the desert. It was a work of art from a distance and they could only assume how destructive it really was.

Perhaps there was beauty in destruction?

The details of the battle couldn't be seen from their position, at least not by normal means. Silver was able to make out what was happening, but it wasn't completely clear. His trained marksman eyes were sharp and helped him see further than most people. Remus could see the battle perfectly thanks to the scope of his bionic eye. He noticed every shift, every step between Zelts and Brenton. He thought it was such an epic battle. Violet, however, did not have the same eyesight as these two. She could pick up details and hints better than all of them, but long-distance was not her forte.

Brenton had the advantage on the ground, so Zelts took to the sky, surrounding himself with the wind to propel upward and soar through the open air with his massive blades. See this as his chance, he made sure he flew overhead Brenton, but he noticed the lizard faunus in motion, readying a technique Zelts has seen plenty of times. This was bad. he needed to act quickly.

Oathburner was cloaked in flames before being slammed into the ground. With tremendous power, Brenton released his flames, raising them higher and higher until he created another tower of blue fire. The burning spiral was on its way to Zelts who spun around while upside down. His rotation expanded the wind surrounding him until it grew into a golden tornado with an electric current surging through it. The gale was upside down like its creator and was moving toward the hellfire below until they clashed.

Once again, the blue flames grew bigger thanks to golden wind, leading to the creation of emerald fire that danced everywhere. In the sky and on the ground. Power was unrestrained as each fighter continued unleashing energy to overcome the other. The might of their abilities warped the very landscape itself.

The battle was several miles away from Corona, but the intense heat could be felt by every citizen in the settlement. Despite living in Vacuo, people were beginning to perspire more than usual. The atmosphere was becoming warmer and unbearable. It was felt by those who were witnessing this conflict, but the battle before them was so great they ignored their discomfort to continue watching. No one in VRSZ moved from their spot as they silently watched their friend fight for them.

The tornado and spire of flames finally vanished. Brenton and Zelts were in the same position they had before their attacks collided, but the air was even hotter than before and the entire ground transformed from sand to glass. Neither of them could see not one trace of sand, but they didn't care. All they were focused on was the enemy in front of them.

Boost and Conversion were pushed to the limit with that final attack. Both users were reaching the end of their strength. Putting so much of their aura into their semblances has worn them out considerably. Low aura levels meant it was only a matter of time before they couldn't use their semblances anymore.

The shining gold of Conversion was beginning to dim from Zelts' eyes. Boost was no longer consuming Brenton's body, but its presence was still there, weakly emanating from his body. The flames on Oathburner were changing between orange and blue. The light was fading from both of them. The battle became one of attrition.

He was going to fall. Zelts was falling from the sky and going to land too close to his adversary. Preventing his descent wouldn't be possible at the moment. His muscles were screaming from his last attack so he couldn't do much, but he knew there was one thing he could try, though he doubted it would land. He brought his blades together to reform his shield and he placed it in front of him as he fell, making his own version of Starfall.

Winded. Brenton was feeling his body starting to tire. He put a great deal of strength in that last attack and it wore him out considerably.

"I can't keep this up. Boost is going to burn out sooner or-" Brenton noticed a shadow in front of him and it grew bigger. He looked up to find a shield and man come his way. He leaped back to avoid the collision.

Zelts slammed into the glassy floor and shards of it flew everywhere as the ground around them shattered. When Brenton landed, glass crumbled under his feet and it reflected the flames that cloaked Oathburner, constantly changing between orange and blue. This was the final bout.

"Ebony. Zinnia. Where are you?"

A swing of their arms and their weapons clashed. A flaming sword bared down on a shield and the sound of glass cracked from the impact. The King of Flames observed the Knight of the Wind whose left eye was still golden, but his right was normal. Even his power was beginning to crumble. If he wanted to win, it had to be now.

The spectacular battle changed to a simple one with metal and metal colliding. Zelts had his wingblades and used one of them to defend and the other to attack while Brenton focused solely on offense, attacking relentlessly. Oathburner missed its mark and it cut into the glass below. It gave his opponent the chance to counterattack, but he followed through by shooting the remainder of his flames into the ground. The fires were a mixture of blue and orange spread through the area, ripped the glass apart even more, and pushed Zelts back burning through the remainder of his aura while also burning his arms.

Searing pain. The burning sensation screamed through his arms.

Burn marks now decorated his arms. He was no longer protected from harm, but that wasn't going to make him stop. With shards of glass still in the air, Zelts swung one of his wingblades to create a small gale of wind Brenton's way. The wind was green with small hints of gold and it carried the shards of glass, sending them flying like daggers toward Brenton.

The sudden attack took the lizard faunus by surprise and he brought his greatsword up to defend him, but the blade wasn't made to function as a shield so it did little to keep him safe. A few shards hit the blade and broke apart but the rest ripped through his body, reducing his aura to zero. The shards came flying after he lost his protection left cuts shallow and deep through his body. It hurt greatly, but he didn't feel like anything vital was struck. However, he had nothing left to give. His body was too ragged to fight anymore.

He lost.

"I can't be king anymore. It was… so short,"

Brenton's vision was filled with the sky above as he laid on his back. Oathburner wasn't in his hand anymore and he heard the sound of footsteps getting closer and closer. Zelts was coming. What was going to happen next?

There was an explosion. Something zipped by him, but that was all he could see. He was too tired to raise his head a few inches.

Zelts needed information on Ebony from Brenton. He couldn't fight anymore so Violet and Silver can interrogate him and squeeze the information out of him. He approached Zelts, but the ground in front of him exploded without warning then he felt a sharp pain in the left side of his lower abdomen. He didn't have time to look down as he fell to his knees. The pain lingered and his head was hanging low. It gave him a chance to see what hurt him and he found a sword on a cable piercing his body. The long sword extended and he raised his head to find its origin point. The sound of glass cracking in front of him alerted him to the presence of another.

Standing between Zelts and Brenton was Zinnia Underland. The Paragon's whip-sword had its tip impaled into his body.

Her eyes were stern but there was no sign of hatred or anger. She did this for one reason: to keep her friend safe. She retracted her whip-sword and it dislodged itself from Zelts who groaned from the pain. He fell forward and clutched his new injury, pressing his hands against it to stop the bleeding. She didn't care to check his condition. Her priority was Brenton.

"You okay?" she asked with concern and worry. "It doesn't look like anything's fatal…" She stopped analyzing his body when she felt something out of the ordinary.

Turning swiftly while drawing her blade, Zinnia clashed with Remus and his Delta. She was able to push him back but when she did she found Silver overhead with his pair of guns. He was a distraction just like Remus. She could hear the invisible blades ripping through the air from her right side. She saw through their little ploy.

Zinnia activated Armaments and cloaked her weapon with a large amount of her aura. One swing of her arm and the whip-sword followed with Armaments extended the reach of the weapon by four times its size. How much aura did she possess?

The enormous reach and the red glow of Armament that imbued the whip-sword made it look like some large serpentine-like creature. It surrounded Zinnia and Brenton then extended outward toward those around them. The first thing to make contact was the throwing knives Violet threw. They were deflected and the whip was closing in on Violet who was invisible as well. She ran as far as she could to avoid the weapon's reach.

When the whip reached Remus, he jumped high into the air and moved back to avoid being hit. He noticed Zelts was still on the ground and couldn't avoid the incoming attack. He quickly used Checkpoint to teleport to Zelts, placed a hand on him, then teleport again, taking him away from the conflict.

Silver was already airborne, so he felt he was in no danger until the whip-sword suddenly moved upward, heading directly toward him. The swift, unexpected movement left him vulnerable and unable to properly defend himself. The blade slashed upwardly from Silver's leg to his torso. Armaments amplifying the reach and power of her weapon. The whip-sword kept dragging on Silver's body and it ripped through a great deal of his aura. He fell from his position and crashed down onto the glassy surface.

Keep them away from Brenton. That's my priority," Zinnia thought, keeping a cool head so she can fight against these numbers efficiently.

She retracted all the aura on her weapon, deactivating Armaments and taking back all the aura she expended. As long as she reabsorbed what she dished out, her aura levels would remain unchanged.

"I know you're lurking around, Violet!" Zinnia called out to her cousin who was unseen on the battlefield. "I'll keep this short because I need to tend to Brenton. Ebony is not here. She's taking care of some Grimm business and won't be back for a while. There's no reason for VRSZ to be here. Leave."

She was right to call out to Violet because the Scarred Flower was stalking around her while invisible. She dissected Zinnia's words as she silently watched her. When Zinnia spoke, she did so with confidence. The time they spent together in Atlas was short, but one thing Violet learned about Zinnia was that she was always truthful. A lady of her word.

Ebony was currently not in Corona.

As Zinnia said, they have no reason to be here. More importantly, she needed to get Zelts treated. She wanted to make sure his wound wasn't life-threatening.

Silver got up from his fall and he had one of Fenrir and had it aimed at Zinnia.

"Enough!" Violet shouted as she reappeared. She started walking to Silver, moving past Brenton, who was still wounded and winded on the ground, and Zinnia who did nothing except keep her eyes on her cousin. "We're going home."

"We are?" he wondered. This was a weird change in their plan.

"There's no point in coming here if Ebony's not here. She's our objective. For now, we go home and tend to Zelts' wounds. He took some heavy hits," Violet explained.

He found it frustrating to walk away empty-handed, but Silver followed his leader to the Fantasia which was slightly scorched from the earlier fight. Remus and Zelts were already there. Silver fished for the medical kit in the trunk and used the material inside to help his friend. With some gauze and cotton pads, he was able to stop the bleeding.

Violet looked back at her cousin one last time as she gets in the driver's seat. Zinnia was lifting Brenton up and having him lean on her back. She was ready to carry him back to Corona which was quite a distance from their current location.

Neither of them would give up Ebony.

Fantasia drove away with the members of VRSZ along with it.

It took some time, but Zinnia and Brenton finally reached Corona. She walked with Brenton, practically carried him to the border where the citizens waited for them. He was still bleeding from all the cuts and gashes he got and he was staining Zinnia's clothes. She didn't care, but he did. The lizard faunus was conscious of everything that happened, but he wished he wasn't for this part.

He lost. The defeated were nothing in Corona. They'll cast him aside. His reign was too short.

One person reached for Brenton and took hold of his shoulder.

"Your Majesty, are you hurt?"

"Hurry. Let's get him to the palace."

"Be careful with him. Gently now."

A group of a dozen people took Brenton from Zinnia and carried him delicately. Another held Oathburner and walked beside them. This was a sight. They were taking him back to his chambers. The Paragon walked beside him as he was taken by his people. As he was being carried, the other citizens in Corona not carrying either followed from behind expressed their worry or offered their praise. They were amazed by his abilities and couldn't be prouder to have such a powerful king.

"They... want me? Even after I lost? They still want me as-" His thoughts ceased when he felt a hand on his chest. He glanced up to see Zinnia and a warm smile on her face.

"You wanted to change this place for the better. Looks like you succeeded."

"Ugh…."

She looked down to see Brenton finally lose consciousness, but she did find him smiling. He finally achieved what he wished for Corona.

Setting: Brenton's Chambers

The King of Flames rested in his bed with bandages wrapped around his body. None of his wounds were grievous, so all he needed was sleep. Zinnia sat beside him, sitting in a chair and watching over him in case he needed assistance. She remained by his side for three hours then she heard the sound of his bedroom door opening.

"Is he okay?" Ebony asked s she sped walk to the bed.

"He'll be fine. He just needs to relax," Zinnia answered as Ebony walked closer.

Ebony sighed in relief, "Good. I'm glad he's alright." She placed her hand on Brenton's head and started petting him. His braids felt nice against her hand.

"They came just as you predicted," Zinnia spoke.

"It was only a matter of time. Did you tell them?"

"Yes. Now they know you're hunting Grimm."

"Meaning they'll follow me around and leave this place alone. I'd rather not have all of Brenton's hard work put in jeopardy."

"Exactly what you wanted. With Grimm added into the mix, there's no telling the outcome of our battles."

"It's a shame Brenton was hurt this badly, but it played out perfectly," Ebony leans forward and kisses Brenton on his forehead, "I'll find some way to pay you back."

"He needs a throne," Zinnia mentions.

"Consider it done."

Ebony leans forward to kiss Brenton again, but her target was not his forehead. She felt a hand on her arm and it pulled her back.

"That's enough," Zinnia told her and Ebony pouted.

"Spoil-sport."

Like Violet, this battle has given Zelts a new moniker: the Golden Wind. This name was bestowed upon him by the citizens of Corona who witnessed the battle. The actual fight was too far away for them to see who Brenton was fighting and the only thing they could see were Zelts' golden wind.

In Zinnia's old bedroom in Atlas, she has a collection of plush animals she likes to buy. This side of her was kept secret from her former military life because she doubted anyone would respect her as they did now. She brought several of them onto Ebony's airship. In contrast, Violet has a collection of comic books she reads openly.