A/N: It took a long time, but I was finally able to put out a chapter at its usual length. I contemplated making another short one but felt like that was just

Setting: Bramble Chasm

"Burning. Burning. My whole body feels like it's on fire! And...electricity is surging through my veins. I feel like I'm going to burst...but it doesn't hurt. My aura… I barely had any left, but now I don't feel a bottom," Alexandrite thoughts raced as she felt Supernova take effect.

Ebony watched the Behemoth inject herself with the very drug they were trying to eliminate. Unable to stop her teammate or know what will happen next left filled her with terrible dread. It didn't help that a horde of assassins was approaching from their front. She held Trois Reines and prayed Alexandrite remembered they were allies.

Alexandrite had her eyes on the enemy whose numbers were intimidating at first but they and the world around her seemed to move so slowly. The assassins appeared to be moving at half their speed to her and she looked to her hands, flipping them over to understand what was happening. More thoughts coursed through her head as she did this and it didn't stop once Supernova took effect. Those thoughts were scattered at first but they began to form into one singular word that repeated in her head.

"Semblance"

It was time to follow through with those thoughts and go with the flow of things. She slammed her hand against the bramble branch and activated Chrysalis. Any expectations Alexandrite had about the boost Supernova were eclipsed by the reality. Bright red crystal spikes erupted from the bramble rapidly and were heading to the enemy at speed Alexandrite has never performed before. The crystals continued to grow once they were off the bramble, creating more spikes using the other spikes as a foundation instead. They were forming on their own like a crystal bridge, something she wasn't able to do before, and slammed into the assassins.

Many were blown away by the blunt force and others were impaled by the spikes. Her crystals expanded on impact and continued to grow, encasing any unlucky assassins who weren't able to scatter to other brambles like the others. This was incredible in Alexandrite's eyes. She could never do such a feat on her own. Over a dozen were trapped inside the crystal bridge, but their fellow brethren showed no sign of concern or hesitation. Alexandrite looked as the enemy began to jump onto her bridge and use it to advance.

All Ebony did was stand and watched the warped wonder Alexandrite created. The boon from the drug helped greatly, but she was more concerned about what happens after. It was given the name Supernova for a reason. The enemy was coming and she saw how Alexandrite was going to face them alone.

The energy flowing through her body urged Alexandrite to fight and she did so without reservation. She stepped onto the bridge and rushed ahead, not taking any precautionary steps to see if the bridge was stable, to face the enemy with reckless abandon. No weapon was in her hand. She returned Trois Reines to Ebony, but it didn't slow her down. Instead, Alexandrite extended her hand, and red crystals formed in her palm. It grew and grew until it took the shape of a halberd similar to her original weapon, but the make was much cruder. The question of how far Supernova pushed aura was unknown to her, but she intended to test it out while she could. Holding a weapon so familiar to her sent a surge of confidence. She felt unbeatable.

The sounds of Alexandrite's battle resounded through the enormous ravine. It was heard above where Zinnia continued twirling her whip-sword violently to shred the mass of assassins trying to rain down on her and the rest of her group. Her actions kept them at bay, but now they were perched atop her on nearby bramble branches. They waited for her to cease her actions and get the drop. She could tell that was their plan and continued twirling her whip to stall them for as long as possible until she heard the sounds from below.

A glance down while keeping her whip twirling gave Zinnia a look at the predicament her friends were in. Alexandrite was creating crystals and mowing down enemies. The majority of the Parliament was facing her, but the others were circling around her and heading for Ebony who was fending them off. Worried about Ebony, Alexandrite, herself, everything. "How long can they last? How long can we last?"

She kept her eyes on Ebony who danced around twenty enemies that tried to corner her on the bramble. All she could see was the Charming Vantablack attack with her shotgun one hand and sword in the other. Ebony jumped from one branch to another but the enemy pursued her and more of them were getting by Alexandrite. "What the hell was she doing? How could she let them pass her? If your semblance is back, then create a wall to keep them at bay!"

"What is wrong with you?!" she shouted aloud. Her frustration reached its peak and so did her composure.

Zinnia ceased her whip vortex and leaped from branch to branch hastily to protect Ebony, ignoring the enemy above that came rushing down after her. Their formation was broken and the Parliament did not waste time in exploiting that.

A step to the left to avoid a knife to the neck and weave of the head to dodge a hand with sharp claws. Ebony played evasive against her opponents who continued to grow in number. There was no longer an open window for her to strike back. Running was all she could do, but with their numbers increasing, the area she could roam kept getting smaller and smaller. Backing away from the enemy, she felt her back slam into the rocky wall at the end of the branch. It was pointless to look back and check. Her predicament was obvious. She was cornered.

"Damn," she cursed her predicament.

The masked enemies before her had an intimidating aura. It wouldn't be far off to admit the fear of death loomed over her. Eyes on the enemy that rushed to finish her off flicked above them and she found Zinnia falling to her location with more assassins trailing behind her. Things were getting too chaotic for her liking, but she sighed in relief at the sight of her best friend. Perhaps a bittersweet ending wasn't too bad to her.

Falling to the bramble branch where Ebony was surrounded by enemies made Zinnia forget about the threat coming from above. The well-being of her best friend took priority over everything else, including the incoming threat and Alexandrite who left to fight on her own. The Bedazzled Behemoth was nothing but a hindrance to her and paid her no mind.

Before landing, Zinnia used Armaments to imbue her weapon with her aura again then swung it at the enemy moving toward Ebony. She aura around the whip-sword to the same form as the blade, extending further and reaching her Zinnia's target faster than the enemy could reach Ebony. The blade came down and sliced through the bramble branch, splintering the wood, grabbing everyone's attention, and dividing them from Ebony. She swung the blade again to deliver the same blow to the branch and did so against the enemy, cutting through the branch and the enemy ranks.

The branch the assassins were standing on collapsed and fell into the chasm with them as well. Some jumped to any branches around, but there was only one and only a few made it. The rest fell further into the darkness while Ebony stood on the stub of the branch that was still stuck in the wall and hugged it. No room to move or do anything left Ebony with nothing to do but watch.

Zinnia landed on the branch where the few assassins jumped to and quickly lashed at all of them, slashing and smacking them off the branch. Some of the assassins fell while a few crashed into the walls before peeling off and falling like the rest. A quick scan showed the enemies surrounding them were gone, but a glance above showed more were closing in. Zinnia shot out her blade and it pierced the wall where Ebony was. The segmented blade was next to Ebony who reached out and grabbed it. Zinnia retracted the blade to use it as a grappling hook to pull her friend and liege to her side.

Ebony landed on the branch roughly with the force of the blade's pull making take three steps forward, but she stopped before bumping into Zinnia who looked at her with a reassuring smile. It was a moment of comfort for both of them with no enemies abound, but it was short-lived as Zinnia's eyes moved to the rest of the assassins scaling down the bramble branches. Ebony's face followed then held a stern expression. The few seconds of ease ended as swiftly as it started. She wielded Trois Reines in sword form and held her rifle in her left hand. Zinnia kept Armaments on her whip-sword.

"By my side?" the Charming Vantablack asked her closest friend.

"Now and always," the Paragon answered.

The duo got in their battle stance as they watched the wave of enemies come their way, then a beam of bright light came down in a flash. It landed on the enemy ranks and lightning was discharged violently, spreading across the cavern and blinding those around it. Ebony and Zinnia shut their eyes against the intense light. When they opened their eyes, all of the assassins were falling down the chasm with electricity surging through their bodies. Whatever that light was, it took out all the assassins.

"What was that?" Zinnia wondered aloud.

Ebony didn't look as puzzled as her friend, rather she held a small grin. "Took them long enough."

"Hm?" Zinnia turned to her friend.

"I gave them a message before chasing after Alexandrite. Glad we lasted until they got here."

Far above them, the assassins perched on the branches had their gazes fixed on the opening of their cavern. Four figures stood over it. Three were together while the fourth person stood behind a large contraption.

Standing on the edge of the ravine was every member of the Caped Corps. Patterns grabbed two javelins. He turned to his team to see if they were ready. Rouge cracked his knuckles, something he did habitually before a fight he looked forward to. Rose had three spheres floating in a circle in her palm as she waited for directions. D'Rado changed the dust of his crossbow and nodded to Patterns to let him know he was ready to fire again.

"Rouge and I will demolish them as we find Ebony's team, Rose attacks from above and breaks their formations and let them squirm, and D'Rado goes all out and destroys everything," Patterns told the others with a calm intensity.

"Acknowledged," Rose answered while adding more spheres to her arsenal.

"Let's go already. This is gonna be great!" Rouge bellowed.

Patterns and Rouge jumped off the ledge and Rose sent her spheres at the enemy where her teammates would land. Gravity dust was building in them and when they hit a branch or an assassin, they expelled the dust and the gravity knocked them all back, clearing the way for the others. They landed on the branch and Rouge immediately got the drill on his right arm spinning. He leaped off the branch to one that had enemies. Watching his teammate jump into the fray so recklessly, Patterns could only sigh.

"The mission was to save Ebony and her group, but I can cause as much havoc as I want to get to them!" Rouge thought as he fell headfirst to the bramble branch.

He stretched his drill arm out and dove to the mass of assassins. He watched as they threw blades and knives at him, but he wasn't bothered. His rhinoceros hide was thick and the blades either bounced off his skin or just nicked it. None of their attacks stopped him from reaching the branch and burrowing threw it with incredible power. Rouge ripped through it with ease and found himself free falling deeper into the chasm. He listened to the branch he drilled through break apart while scanning the area around him. There were places for him to land but they were filled with enemies. This was the overwhelming odds he loved to face.

As he fell deeper in, he could hear the sound of battle from below. "Found the targets! Damn, I'm good," he thought to himself with his ego going through the roof.

Down below, Alexandrite continued her onslaught with the assassins on her crystal bridge. Supernova was still running through her body and she was using her semblance in ways she never thought she could. Her swing with her crystal halberd smacked through six more assassins before shattering from the constant battering. It made no difference to her as she realized her arsenal was only as limited as she was. This time, Alexandrite took inspiration from Zinny and created long whips with maces at the end. There were two in each hand and she spun around to strike every enemy in her vicinity. The red long-range weapons did their job as Alexandrite lashed at nearly every assassin left in her presence.

Her teammates watched in astonishment, but there were other emotions present on their faces. Ebony showed concern for Alexandrite's condition once Supernova burned out her aura, but Zinnia looked at her with disdain over how her comrade willingly used a dangerous substance. Observing Alexandrite's berserk-like actions made the Paragon remember people with similar behavior.

Zinnia couldn't help but draw parallels to Marigold's semblance. His Madness brought so much pain and misery to others who could nothing but be consumed by the rage. Alexandrite was acting just like them but of her own free will which turned Zinnia's stomach. Despite the results, her view of the Bedazzled Behemoth was poor.

She sighed, unable to hide her irritation then asked, "Do we help her?"

"Yeah," Ebony responded then jumped off the branch to get to Alexandrite's location.

Zinnia stayed in place to contemplate their situation. Rumbling took place above her and she saw rocks, branches, and assassins falling around her. She was impressed with Ebony's foresight but saw the rest of her plan as half-baked. Joining her friend in moving to Alexandrite, Zinnia made it her mission to speak with Ebony about many things.

Alexandrite's mace-whips broke apart after smashing them around so violently. There were only twelve assassins remaining and all of them were hesitant to continue the fight carelessly with something that seemed indestructible. None of them advanced, but none of them retreated. It was hard for Alexandrite to tell what faces they were making behind those masks.

"I'm gonna rip em all off," she thought to herself with deranged eyes.

She sprinted to the enemy and they did the same. All the assassins spread out to circle and encage Alexandrite before she could touch them then dashed in to stab her from every side. Each blow hit her and the assassins were in her personal space, waiting for her body to go limp. It didn't. Crystal spikes suddenly shot out from her body and impaled all of them. They grew out until the dead assassins were three feet away from her. The crystals broke apart and the assassins fell onto the bridge, lifeless.

All threats were gone but the Supernova in her body was still fueling her brain and actions even though the embers of its fires were dying out. Alexandrite wanted more of them to appear, but she found no more opponents. She felt a hand grab her shoulder. "Finally! More!"

Alexandrite swung her arm out to knock out the person behind her. She turned her body with the motion to get a good look at the assassin trying a sneak attack but was met with Ebony who dodged her arm by bending backward. The shock she was striking her own team seemed to break Alexandrite out of her fighting trance and the rest of Supernova finally ceased flowing through her body, but the damage was done. The next thing she saw was Zinnia rushing to her with an enraged expression and tackled her to the ground.

"Zinnia! What are you-" Ebony questioned as she lifted herself up.

"Don't touch her!" Zinnia shouted at Alexandrite, ignoring Ebony's questioning.

Alexandrite laid there as she felt Zinnia grab her arm and leg to hold her in place. It didn't matter. The side effects of Supernova were kicking in. Her body went limp then the pain kicked in.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

On the edge of the chasm, D'Rado aimed his crossbow at the wall and fired. The fire dust in the bolt exploded on impact, creating a rockslide that brought down any bramble branches underneath it. The whole place was crashing down and the assassins were scrambling like ants in a panic when their home was damaged.

There weren't many assassins at this level thanks to the chaos Patterns and Rouge were unleashing, but there were a few that tried to reach D'Rado and Rose. Any enemies that tried to climb the walls were met with Rose's orbs. She controlled them with such proficiency and skill it was like watching a conductor of a band. She waved her hands around and every orb did as they were commanded. She had one in her hand and used Rotation to make it spin at high speeds. She hurled it into the ravine and the fire dust inside the orb grew. The spinning built it up until the orb was enveloped in a large fireball. Rose stopped it in midair and began rotating it in the other direction. The sudden change caused the fireball to erupt and split apart, sending multiple fireballs in every direction, attacking any assassins in the vicinity, and protecting herself and D'Rado from anyone trying to approach them.

She kept the enemy at bay for D'Rado to fire with his weapon and he was thankful for it. He fired an ice bolt at a large branch where many assassins were and it froze instantly when hit. The assassins who weren't able to flee had the feet froze to the branch that became too fragile to stay connected to the walls and it collapsed with them. Killing so many people with a single shot left a pit in his heart, but he mentally told himself it was for the greater good. It didn't stop the trembling in his fingers each time he pulled the trigger.

More and more of the Parliament were falling in droves and the chasm was being destroyed in the process. This was felt most down below as Patterns and Rouge battled more assassins as debris fell around them.

Patterns nimbly moved through the enemy's formation while striking and jabbing any assassin in his way. To Rouge, it was just Patterns doing his usual thing, but to anyone unfamiliar with his style, he seemed untouchable. The assassins fought back, but their blows did nothing to Patterns whose rhythm wasn't disturbed in the slightest. He performed a sweeping motion ao knock several assassins off their feet but one was striking him from behind with a dagger. The dagger came down, but Patterns did nothing and he appeared unharmed. He followed through with his own attack and swept the enemy off their feet. Patterns then took his javelin and pierced the ground at his feet then lifted himself to handstand at the end of the polearm. Once he was on top, lightning was discharged from the branch and expanded throughout the branch, shocking all assassins on it and scorching the root from the inside out.

After he performed his eclectic burst, a few boulders fell on the weak branch, breaking it apart as rocks fell through. Patterns landed back on the ground, but he wasn't fast enough to escape the falling debris. He fell with the boulders along with the injured assassins, but instead of finding another branch to leap to, he jumped from boulder to boulder as he purposely fell deeper in the chasm.

"Rouge can aid Ebony. The leader of this guild should be further down. I'll end it all here and now," Patterns thought as he balanced himself on the falling rock.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

He heard painful screams as he got deeper and deeper. The speed Patterns was falling left him unable to clearly see what was going on when the screaming reached its peak then died down once he passed them. All he caught was a glance at Ebony's group with Zinnia and Alexandrite on the ground. While he couldn't do anything for them or imagined what they went through, he wished they would be able to recover.

"AAAHHHHH! AHH! AAAAAHHHHHH!"

Hearing the pained howls of her teammate rattled Ebony's bones. She stood there watching Zinnia pin Alexandrite to the ground while she wailed uncontrollably. It was clear the Supernova in her system was causing this side effect, but there was nothing she could think of to stop it. How was she supposed to come up with a cure for a drug she learned about a week ago? Her attempt to think of something ended with her unable to process anything. All she saw in her head was Violet standing over her, preventing her from forming real ideas.

"Why can't you go away?!" she thought desperately with a disgruntled face. The screams Alexandrite continued to emit eventually drowned Ebony out of her own dilemma. She opened her eyes to look at her Champion struggling in strife and she couldn't take it anymore. She walked over to Alexandrite.

Zinnia felt Alexandrite's body involuntarily jerk within her grasp. It made holding her down more troubling than before. That coupled with the screeching in her ear made this quite unbearable, but she kept it up to keep the violent spasms to a minimum. So caught with her task, Zinnia failed to notice Ebony standing before her and Alexandrite. She didn't have a chance to ask a question as she witnessed her liege raise her foot and slammed it against Alexandrite's face.

The screaming stopped.

In the deepest recesses of the chasm, the chief of the Parliament sat on his bramble throne, silently listening to the battles taking place above him. Rocks and debris fell around him as well as his fellow clansmen whose fates were sealed once they passed by the root he resided on.

The mask on his face kept whatever emotions he kept hidden and his body was so still it looked dead. He didn't emit a word or show any physical gesture even as rocks landed on his massive branch. They weren't strong enough to rend the branch from the walls, but the numerous pelting did weaken it gradually. It was only a matter of time.

Another cluster of rocks fell and landed in front of him, but they came with an unexpected passenger. Leaping off one of the rocks and landing in a few feet away from the rubble was Patterns. He stood up straight and wiped the dust off his clothes.

"Made it to hell without a scratch on me," he laughed at his own joke.

The old man on his throne simply looked at the intruder who finally acknowledged him. Patterns gave him a cocky grin before waving. "Yo. You the leader?"

He was only met with the silence he was expecting. "Wow! You guys take your silent killer motif very seriously. It's almost admirable. Almost."

The walls around them trembled and more rocks fell along with splintered branches. Despite this, Patterns kept on smirking and the old man remained quiet, leaving the leader of the Corps to lead the one-sided conversation. The smile turned to a thin line.

"It's over. Your whole organization ends here. Not our intention, but that's where things are… I was hoping for a dramatic clash between powerful adversaries once I got down here…but that doesn't seem to be the case. I came all the way down here for nothing."

The old man said nothing, but his body seemed to be responding. It was hard for Patterns to notice, but he saw the feathered cowl covering the man's back and shoulders tremble. Agitated.

"Nothing here but an old geezer who passed his prime long ago. And here I thought you guys had something more to offer us. Waste of time. I better head back up to my friends. They're waiting on me and I gotta make sure everyone gets out safe. Goodbye." Patterns leaped over to the ridge then jumped from there to reach the closest branch he could. He began jumping from branch to branch to get back to the top of the chasm.

Silence. The old assassin sat on his thorny throne in silence as his world came crashing all around them. His hands dug into the arms of his throne and his whole body shook violently. Boulders fell around him and the bramble he rested upon was beginning to fall apart. Everything was falling apart.

The elderly leader's body suddenly stopped shaking. His body was still and he retained the silent demeanor his family was famous for. Unaffected by boulders and rubble beginning to pile up, he didn't move. The dead body of an assassin fell onto the bramble several feet before the throne and the old man didn't move.

…...

…..

…

"AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

The old man screeched loudly, louder than humanly possible for someone his age. He continued to scream and do nothing else as debris fell around him. The screams went on with no reprieve as more objects fell in the old man's space. After one falling bramble branch crashed onto the spot, the screaming finally ceased.

It was silent yet again.

So yeah. Alexandrite might have a few more problems she gonna have to face in this story. The same goes for Ebony who can't get past her mental block and Violet's presence. Zinnia does a great job being the glue that is trying to maintain the group's stability. This chapter showed how not put together Eboy's retinue really is when faced with true adversity, a testament to how unharmonized their formation is after the VRSZ series and how they interact with threats from another land.

This chapter also showed how in tuned the Caped Corps are. They were able to eliminate the threat much easier than Ebony's group. Being in synch and teamwork is a huge benefit in battle.