Chapter Twenty-Five:
The Choice
Though there were bitter feelings about having to be out in the summer weather once more, the group had stopped between their last resting point and whatever destination Dante had in his head. He had been short on details about where they were going, much to everyone's annoyance. And though they had gone off road a bit in the truck to camp out for the night, he was still tight lipped about it. Said stingy Commander was left to sort out their sleeping arrangements with Razaria in the forest as Ivy, Mari, and Justin gathered up different sized wood from the surrounding area.
Everyone seemed to be hard at work setting up a rudimentary camp. Until Mari decided to ever so gently wack Ivy's hand with the end of a rather straight stick they found.
"Look, you are getting slow," she teased, holding her stick like it was a baton as she picked up another one.
"Oh, I'll show you slow!" Ivy said as she shook out her hand, quickly looking for a comparable piece of wood that wasn't in the fire pit yet.
The two girls got up and started to play what Razaria could only describe as sword fighting. Ivy lunged towards Mari who perried, doing some sort of twist before going back to attacking the white haired young woman. Ivy blocked it, striking out with a kick. Before they started getting too wild with it, Ivy and Mari's antics had reminded Razaria of some of the play fights she'd done with her own younger sister. As the 'fight' continued on though, it changed from anything that resembled a play fight; she realized she was actually watching them spar off against each other. Including full contact that was sure to leave massive bruises. Even as she winced sympathetically for the girl that got hit, which seemed to be roughly matched up as a back to back tit for tat match, it made her think about all the possible battles they might face in the future.
The last fight hadn't gone well from what she'd gathered. Ivy had been shot almost right out the gate, though thanks to her Gift she apparently had healed before the fight had even finished. Justin had been raked through the coals and smashed through another car's window - they still found glass shards in the truck at random times - and the only reason he'd survived was because he wasn't human. Mari had been hypnotically lured away from her position near Razaria, breaking herself free and electrocuting the person that had done that. Dante had been fighting Silver, a man who could phase through anything as far as Razaria could tell. And the only reason he'd been brought to a halt was because Razaria had been thrown around, then lured out by an imposter, and then man handled by Silver who had used her as leverage against Dante and the others. She couldn't even remember how they'd actually won the fight.
She just knew that if it wasn't for her, Dante wouldn't have had to stop fighting. The group wouldn't have needed to try to surround her, to protect her, if she knew how to protect herself. Compared to them she had been useless - a burden. And from where she stood now, Razaria had a feeling she was going to be a burden during every single one in the future. She only had a few training sessions while they were at The Organization compared to the years of training each one of her companions had. She felt almost guilty, knowing that because of this they had to protect her and put themselves in danger to ensure her safety.
She turned her attention away from her female companions and looked to the males of the group who were busy putting together the best makeshift camping space they could with their limited supplies. She wondered in the back of her mind how long it would take for anyone to actually notice if she left. It would make it so they wouldn't have to protect her anymore, and thus lift a burden from them, possibly saving one of them from dying to protect her. She was broken from her thoughts as Ivy came up to her and pulled her up using her as an almost shield.
"You can't hit me now Mari, I have a human ice princess as a shield!"
Razaria squirmed in her grasp. "I don't want to be hit either Ivy!"
"Cheater!" Mari called out with a pout. "DANTE SHE'S KIDNAPPING RAZARIA!"
"Hey, no fair!" Ivy called out. "Donny isn't a part of this!
"Dante you better come save your damsel in distress!" Mari shouted not really thinking about her words, or what they would mean to Razaria with her current train of thought.
"Ivy, stop using her as a shield, you know she can't take as much damage even if it is just a sparring match!" Dante yelled across to them.
Ivy sighed and relented. She let go of Razaria who, at this point, had enough and decided she wasn't even going to wait for them to fall asleep. She was leaving and she was leaving now. If Razaria hadn't walked away when she did, they would have seen just how deep their words cut her. It sucked having things she already felt bad about shoved in her face. As she walked away, Razaria tried to force back the tears of frustration. She didn't want to cry in front of the group; she didn't need them seeing another weakness.
She was far enough away that she didn't hear Dante groan to himself. Nor did she see him shoot the girls a reprimanding look as he got up. He followed after her, taking larger steps than she had and so caught her before she got too far away. The closer they got towards the road, the thicker the trees had gotten. They had picked their camping location based on the amount of foliage between them and the road to make it hard for snipers to pick them off from a distance. Razaria had been headed back towards the country road they'd turned off of; it was a few miles away from their off the-grid camping location. So he would have had plenty of time to catch her even if he hadn't caught up to her quickly.
"Hey, they were just playing around," Dante said as he grabbed her arm, trying to get her to stop walking.
When he saw the tears that had started to fall down her cheeks during her escape attempt, Dante felt even worse over the situation. He wasn't exactly sure what he had said wrong but she'd only got up from the group after he said something. Therefore, in his head, it had been his fault somehow.
"It's true though," Razaria started, finally stopping in her tracks. "I will always be a problem for you guys. I'm not trained, I'm not strong, I can't win a fight against anyone like you."
"We can work on all that," Dante responded, choosing his words carefully.
"You guys all trained for years to get to where you are!" She yelled at him. "Who's to say that when we get attacked again I won't become a liability to you? Or anyone else for that matter? If one of you guys got hurt because of me I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Don't you get that?"
"I get it. No one likes when their friends get hurt, fault or no fault," Dante expressed as he let his hand slip down from the top of her arm. "But trying to run away isn't the solution. I know my father Razaria. He won't stop coming after us just because you leave. It'll just be that he could get to you a lot easier if you're on your own and then turn right back around and use you against me. It's better if we stick together."
"But I'm useless to the group. I don't even know how to use my powers," Razaria said quietly, tears still coming, "I killed my family, because my emotions control me. What if that happens again? What if I hurt you guys?"
"We're made of pretty strong stuff. Besides, you'll learn how to use your Gift. We'll learn how to use them together, okay?"
"What do you mean together? Ivy and Mari already know how to use their powers! And you are the sword god, remember?" Razaria said, trying her hardest to stop crying by cracking a joke.
Dante frowned and shifted his stance reflectively. "I know. But apparently I also have a destructive Gift. Yeah, I know, I just found out too."
"You have a Gift? Is that how we got out of that last fight, and why I was covered...in Silver?"
Dante simply nodded, "Sorry about that."
"So you will help me get better then?"
"Are you going to bite my head off if I do?"
"If I do I'll make it up to you later that night, promise."
Dante fought a smile as he spoke, "What good would that be if I don't have a head to enjoy it?"
Razaria laughed as she heard a faint almost yelp from the campsite with a following: "Donny ewwwwww!"
"Justin can hear us can't he?" Razaria asked.
Dante simply nodded. "Every word."
Razaria smiled, something that seemed mismatched on her tear soaked face. "Well, since he's listening in...I just want you to know that your sword skills are so much better than his."
"I'm the sword god, remember?" Dante smirked.
From the distance they heard a more masculine voice call out: "YOU WISH!"
~✧~
After a full night's rest in the woods, it had taken the group half a day to get another clue as to where Dante was leading them. They were on a road that overlooked the ocean. Once again Ivy was the most excited of the group to see it. Mari looked at the salt water from their spot on the pier as though it were the nastiest thing she had ever seen.
"Okay, so, are you going to tell us where we're going now?" Razaria asked.
"Weiss," Dante said simply, motioning outwards.
"Making a quick stop in Yansid first though," Justin added in a pleased tone from the backseat where he sat with Mari and Ivy.
"Money?" Mari questioned casually; both Dante and Justin confirmed that with a nod. "So, am I getting it or are you two big strong men signing up to crew a ship?"
"You are getting it. As fun as that ship thing sounds, signing up to 'crew a ship' is never a guarantee of profit," Justin said, thinking about his past with a smile.
"Exactly how old are you Justin?" Razaria asked from the front seat, cocking an eyebrow.
"Does it matter when I still look this good?" Was his smart-alec reply.
"Yes," Mari answered. "I need to know if I should start calling you grandpa or not."
"Don't you dare," Justin said in an affronted tone. "Maybe Daddy but only when we're alone."
"You wish," Mari said as she stuck her tongue out at him.
As the majority of the cabin conversed back and forth, Dante chose to stay silent. He wasn't sure what he could add to their babbling, plus he had to focus on where he was going. Especially as they got into the proper metropolis that was the Yansid downtown. The sea side pathway they had taken gave way to smaller buildings at first. Gradually the buildings got bigger and bigger until they were well above ten stories high. As they drove through the very center of the city, Mari and Ivy looked around excitedly. He smiled to himself; at least they were happy. They didn't stay in the downtown area for long though. Dante drove them back towards the ocean; the old road had been deterred through the city or else he'd have never gone through it to begin with. The high rises and skyscrapers gave way to more industrial style buildings of brick and concrete, coming back down towards a more manageable three stories. He slowly pulled into a community parking lot and stopped the truck.
"Ok we're here," He said as he opened the door. "There are a couple banks over there, Mari. Go do your thing."
Mari sarcastically saluted him as she got out of the truck herself. Almost as though it was an instinctual thing at this point, Justin got out and walked down behind her. After all, they had been turning the money that Mari got from the banks (sparingly) into a lot more money together. Ivy, however, pointed at his retreating form and smiled as though he was just proving her point. They continued down the road, Mari's shoulders were tense and her hands were stiff by her side. As they got closer to the bank, Justin quietly watched as her eyes lit up into a pale version of what they normally were. They flickered so quickly at random times and it seemed like there were little electric sparks coming out of them.
The redhead put her hand out towards the teller machine. As she did so, Justin could easily hear the gears clicking over to release a stack of cash. The screen never even changed to anyone's accounts. The process repeated a couple times as they walked down the streets to the other banks. One by one Mari took large amounts of cash from each while Justin just watched her work. Though he understood that expediency was the key he couldn't help but favor their prior method. For the start of this trip, Mari had only taken out relatively small amounts from the automated tellers she found. That money was then used to fund any bets he'd made with the locals to watch it grow when he won. And he had always won; it would have been hard for him not to win the games often found in small town drinking establishments. Though he liked that method more, Justin was at a loss for why it had developed if she could take whatever amount she wanted anyways. The more banks they walked through, the more pain his redheaded companion seemed to be in. Unfortunately the most he'd been able to help with this time was sticking a couple wads of money into his pockets but even then, the majority of it was stashed into the leather pack she'd brought with them.
After they'd finished with all of the different banks nearby, she had looked ready to pass out. Justin walked beside her until they got to a local dinner. Even as he ordered them some drinks, sadly nonalcoholic, he scanned the place to make sure that they weren't going to run into any major complications. Other than the scent of some less than fresh patrons and noisy neighbors, something that he was used to dealing with, the place was alright. What was far more troubling was the fact that she didn't even make a sassy comment when he slid into the booth beside her instead of taking a spot across the table. Though that was possibly because she'd started to suck down the caffeinated beverage as though it were her saving grace.
"What's wrong?" Justin asked as he frowned.
"Nothing."
"Liar."
"My head hurts," Mari finally responded as she propped herself miserably up on the table. "The caffeine helps."
"Why?"
The thought that she had something as common as a headache was out of place. The serum that she'd been injected with over the years reduced such common ailments, even without a Legacy having a Gift like Ivy's.
"Interfacing from a distance isn't easy. I was diverting cameras in the area on top of getting into the machine," the redhead explained as she let out a deep breath, rubbing at her head with the hands still holding it up. "I haven't had much practice. I over extended myself."
That was something new to him. "I would have thought The Organization would have jumped on the chance to train you to be the best hacker you could be."
Instead of answering him right away, Mari slowly laid down her wrist. Justin looked at it, trying to understand what she was talking about, with the bar code crisp and clean along the skin. He may have been quick on the uptake in most things, even if he turned them into word games that benefitted his tastes, but Justin was lost to what she had been indicating.
"1-4-6 A 3," Mari said, emphasizing the letter. She kept her eyes closed as she tried to ride out the backlash of her Gift. "The Organization brought me in for collapsing my home's grid. Not for hacking into it. They don't know I can interface with technology. At least they didn't. If they had I'd probably have been redesignated as a B a long time ago and they definitely wouldn't have let me have free time around electronics."
Justin made a short sound of understanding. He turned his body more towards her. The normally carefree man had a look of concentration going through his light green eyes as he went to grab her hands. Mari watched him wearily, wincing when she first reopened her eyes, but stayed quiet as Justin used his opposite hands to massage somewhere between the joints of her thumbs. Then he held a certain point. As the minutes ticked by she felt the major sting of some of the headache fade. It wasn't a magic cure but at least the pain faded into something more manageable.
"What was that?"
Justin sat back in his spot, arm going to the back of the booth, with a look of satisfaction on his face. "Basic Acupressure. I used the pressure points in your hands to relieve the tension."
"Oh," she seemed baffled by the notion, sitting back and staring at him with a sort of curiosity. "Thanks. That helped. I feel a little better."
His satisfied expression grew into a cocky smirk. "I keep telling you, I'm good with my hands. Once the headache goes away, let's find a room so I can give you a full demonstration."
Given the tone in his voice and the look that overtook his face, it was easy to see where his thoughts went. Mari shoved him, forcing him to drop his arm and scoot off of the bench, as she rolled her eyes.
"Pervert," she muttered as she glared at his grinning face. "Let's just go. We need to get the ship tickets and leave a trail of decoys for the organization to follow."
"That's no fun — My idea is a lot more enjoyable."
Mari smacked him upside the head before walking past him and out to do what they had set out to do in the first place.
~✧~
As Justin and Mari were getting the money and tickets, Razaria took a moment to look at their surroundings. She quickly deduced where they were, down to the exact neighborhood. She had lived in Yansid, the metropolis where they currently were, for three years before The Organization found her. It was probably as close to feeling like home she'd ever get. At least for a good long while. She looked to Ivy and Dante and decided then, while Mari and Justin were off doing their thing, she would take the chance to make a quick stop at the place she'd once lived; she had a couple things at home that she wouldn't mind picking up.
"I need to go get some things," She said aloud to Dante and Ivy.
"Some things?" Dante asked as he tried to prompt for further details.
"Yeah, some of my things, from my apartment," Razaria stated. "It's not even far from where we are. I used to live about a block away. We can walk there and back before Mari and Justin are even done."
"Ooooh I wanna see where Razy used to live! I bet it's awesome!" Ivy said with excitement.
Dante shrugged rather than argue with the two women. He knew that Mari and Justin would probably be gone for at least an hour. He trusted them both to get the money by themselves. And he knew that they were smart enough to set up some contingency plans together. Even if Justin was a bit of a wild card when it came to interacting with the female population, Mari would keep him in line long enough for their mission to be completed. Justin could actually be very helpful when he was kept on task; Dante knew that first hand. Besides that, Dante knew that he was outnumbered as both of the girls in front of him suddenly wanted to go off and do their own thing too.
"Fine, let's go, but we have to be quick."
Razaria smiled and started down the street towards her former home. As they walked, she pointed out different places she used to frequent to Ivy. There was a sandwich shop, a local clothing shop, and a few other places along the way. They even walked past the bar she used to work at. This part of the tour was where she stopped the longest, quickly scanning through the windows as if trying to see if anyone she knew was in there.
"Looking for someone?" Dante asked as he came up behind her.
Razaria shook her head. She answered him without even a glance in his direction. "No, not really I guess just wondering who was working today is all, see if I knew anyone."
Dante had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He'd read about her previous places of employment in her personnel file; knowing the possible skills of his subordinates was just standard practice. He also knew that pasts had a way of being far messier than they were on paper. Which was why visiting Razaria's was not something he really wanted to deal with right now. He knew that anyone showing up from her happier and free days could possibly throw a wrench into his plans. Not to mention it could screw up their newly formed relationship. It was hard enough getting to the point where they were now and they weren't even officially dating yet. He didn't need someone from her past, a less problematic time, to highlight all of the issues in their current relationship.
The three continued on their way until they came to a long two-story building made of white brick. There were about six doors that lined it along the bottom and six that lined the second story, with black iron staircase leading up to them. He watched as Razaria went to the front office and started talking to an elderly man behind the front desk. After a few smiles and words exchanged he handed her what looked to be a key. She exited the building and made a b-line to the stairs leading up and took them two at a time.
Dante and Ivy followed, Dante bringing up the rear. Razaria stopped at one of the doors, and put the key into the doorknob, opening it up with a creak after a few moments. She stepped forward and let Ivy and Dante in before flipping on a lightswitch and flooding the small apartment with light.
"Welcome to my humble abode," Razaria said with a grin.
"It looks so cozy," Ivy complimented as she looked around. "It's like...a real person's home and everything! There's even a kitchen! Is the food ready in the kitchen? I'm kinda hungry."
Razaria laughed and offered, "No, but Simon probably has something in the cupboards if you want to look."
Dante stood still by the door. "Who is Simon?"
"My boy—" Razaria stopped mid-word and looked at Dante with an 'oops' face, even as she continued with the word, "...friend."
"But Donny is your boyfriend," Ivy said as she frowned.
Razaria sighed. She wasn't really looking to start a fight but it wasn't like she didn't have a life before she was taken.
"I had a life before I met you guys. I had a job, a car...I even had a cat," Razaria said as she watched a small white ball of fluff come trodding towards her. She bent down, scratched behind the feline's ears for a moment as she stretched and picked her up. "Her name is Lily."
"You apparently had a boyfriend too," Dante said sourly.
"Yes Dante, I had a boyfriend," Razaria said. "But it's not like anything will come of that, things are different now."
"So you are trying to tell me that you have no feelings for him? Or that if he showed up right now you wouldn't fall right back into his arms?"
Razaria hesitated at that question. Part of her wanted to say 'no' but the other part of her wasn't as sure. She'd spent so long with Simon - he'd been her longest relationship to date. They had been good together. He'd even helped her after the death of her mother and sister.
"I can't," Razaria said in a realistic tone. "I don't want him caught up in the middle. Besides, I've gotten attached to you too."
Dante just looked at her. He wasn't sure of what else to say at the moment. He wanted to argue, but everything told him that was definitely not the brightest idea. Razaria passed the white ball of fluff over to Ivy who took the cat into her arms with a huge grin.
"You're sooooooo cute!" Ivy squeed and made her way over to a large recliner in the living room to better pet her new found friend.
"Look, Dante." Razaria said, closing the distance between them. "I like you ok? Simon and I had a good time together but that's over now, it's part of a life I can never get back understand?"
"Whatever," Dante said. "Go get your stuff so we can leave please, I don't like it here."
Dante watched as Razaria nodded and walked off down a hallway. He figured it led to what once was her bedroom, one she shared with another man, something he really didn't want to see. So he stayed right where he was even as Ivy followed with the cat in tow. Though he hadn't followed them Dante listened in as Razaria and Ivy discussed clothing; he was guessing they were gathering some for the girls. It made sense since they lost most of what they had acquired back in Wolvesbane when the manor burned.
As the girls packed, he took a moment to look at all the things in the apartment. His eyes found their way to a side table with framed photos sitting on them, all of which included Razaria. There seemed to be a whole range of them starting from when she was a little kid, surrounded by people that he assumed was her family. The picture where she looked the oldest included a man with dark hair and bright blue eyes. Vaguely Dante noted that he didn't look bad but he, himself, was definitely better looking.
Orange eyes snapped up from the photos when the door started to open. Dante moved as quickly and as quietly as he could back into the kitchen, looking for anything he could use. He quickly grabbed for the sturdiest thing he could find - an ice pick. With his back to the wall he waited until the person walked into the room to get the upper hand. Thankfully before the new person was stabbed with an ice-pick, Dante recognized him as the guy from the photo: Simon. Dante lowered the make-shift weapon in his hand, putting it on the counter. It was still in reach if he needed it but hopefully he didn't look like he was about to stab the guy in his own apartment.
"Before you scream, I can explain," Dante spoke up, standing his ground.
Simon jumped as he turned to see him. "Who the fuck are you‽"
"My name is Dante," He started. "I am...a...friend of Razaria's."
"You're the guy that kidnapped her?" Simon asked with a building look of outrage. "You've got some balls coming here."
"Kidnapped?" Dante shook his head. "I didn't kidnap anyone, if anything I saved her."
"You took her away from people who were trying to help her, how is that saving her?" The other man asked as the two girls finally came down the hall upon hearing the commotion.
She had a backpack packed full of whatever she was getting in the room, Ivy sporting something similar with more items stuffed inside. Razaria looked at them both but then rested her gaze on Simon.
"Simon." Razaria said his name, a quiver in her voice.
The man turned to look at her, his expression softening, as he went to her wrapping her in his arms. Much to Dante's annoyance he pulled her into a hug.
"Razaria, I missed you so much."
Suddenly face to face with him again, Razaria was having trouble finding what she wanted to say; especially as his words to Dante danced around in her brain. Her eyes moved from Simon to Dante, then back again as she was wrapped in his arms. Her arms hung limp at her side as she searched for the words she wanted to use.
"It's good to see you," she settled on, carefully pushing away from him. "How—How have you been?"
"I've been good. Better now that I know you're safe," Simon spoke out as he searched her face to assure himself of that. "I'm glad you came back home, don't get me wrong, but what's going on? That's the guy that kidnapped you, why haven't you called the cops?"
Razaria looked at him, anger slowly coming over her features. Simon was talking as if he knew where she had been. He'd mentioned something to Dante about how he'd taken her from the people that had been trying to help her. Which made her consider the fact that he might have known exactly what had happened to her a couple of months ago. He must have known that the Organization had taken her. And yet here he was thinking she had been kidnapped from her actual abductors by Dante.
"Dante didn't kidnap me, Simon," She stated. "The Organization did."
"Yeah, and they tortured her!" Ivy added to the conversation, putting the cat on the ground and moving her hands to rest on her hips in a power pose. "Donny did nothing but help her!"
"And who are you?" Simon asked Ivy in anger.
"I'm the girl whose gonna kick your as-"
Razaria cut her off. "She's my friend just like Dante is my friend. And how you are so my ex now."
"I was just trying to help Razaria. Trying to give you that normal life you always wanted. When they came to me and asked me about your powers, I had no idea what they were even talking about," Simon expressed some of his frustrations as shook his head. "You never even told me."
"I didn't want to! It was none of your business Simon!" Razaria yelled at her former boyfriend.
"None of my business?" Simon scuffed as he looked at her, simmering with indignation and rage. "I was planning on proposing to you Razaria! I wanted to have a life with you! Kids, a house, the whole nine yards. But, I also knew you wanted to be normal. If you weren't you would have said no, and you would have ran."
"So you handed me over to them?"
"Yes," Simon confirmed her suspicions. "I did it for us. I called them in so that they could help, just like I did before I got back here."
Dante's eyes widened. "You didn't."
"Oh, I did," Simon said heatedly. "I don't care what you or your little brainwashed sidekick say — I'm not letting you take Razaria off to join your cult or whatever it is that you plan to do with the girls you've taken. They're going to come, take her back, and make her right again. And there's nothing you can do to stop that."
"Want to fucking bet?" Dante asked from between clenched teeth; ignoring the comment about him being a cult leader. He'd get to that later if they had time. "Ivy, Razaria, move out."
Ivy and Razaria turned to meet Dante but before she could fully get away Simon tried to grab Razaria by the wrist. Without thinking about it, Razaria turned her wrist and yanked hard before he had time to lock his fingers. And, as Dante noted with pride, she moved her whole body into a defensive stance as she did so.
"You no longer have my consent to touch me Simon. Do it again and you will regret it," Razaria said to him with her eyes narrowed into angry slits. "You are wrong by the way. They don't want to help me, they want to kill me. And they have come close on more than one occasion. If it wasn't for Dante, Ivy, and the others, I'd be dead. They're the ones that helped me. Not you."
Simon looked at her, guilt in his eyes. He was about to say something when there was a loud crash coming from his windows being shattered.
"Get down!" Dante snapped out as he saw something rolling.
The canister was roughly the size of his fist, black, and corrugated. Within microseconds it had started to spit out a white gas. Dante pulled his shirt up over his nose, closed his eyes, and held his breath. From muscle memory he dropped and rolled over to the container, continuing the roll. He threw the gas cartridge right back out the window, breaking it further, as he got back up.
Dante spun until he was wedged into a corner, right in time for the door to be kicked down. Lasers from the sights dotted the wall as three Organization guards filled in, creating a triangle of the room. Their helmets were firmly in place as they had expected to come into a gaseous zone. Dante moved in towards the door, stepping on one of the Guard's feet as he pushed the gun upwards. The body of the gun hit the Guard in the face, though he had been protected by the helmet the force of the double assault forced him back out.
Even as he was grabbing the gun from the Guard, Dante had already moved into a push kick for the second guard. The butt of the semi-automatic rifle was a follow up to the guard he just kicked, hitting the other man so hard near the jaw that Dante saw the helmet crack. By the time he'd gotten through that second guard, Ivy had already gotten over to the kitchen. She grabbed the ice pick he'd left behind and jammed it into the foot of the final guard. As she damaged that one, Dante shouldered the rifle - firing it off would have drawn too much attention. Meanwhile Ivy had spun around on the ground, knocking the final guard down towards Dante with a mule kick. As she rolled away, she pulled the ice pick back out of the man's foot and tossed it to Dante.
The pick was only in the air long enough for Dante to catch it and slam it right into the bleeding man's throat. He pulled it through as much of the softer tissue as he could before yanking it right back and out and doing the same thing to the guard he busted the helmet of. Dante stood back up from his position on the ground and looked back at Razaria who was huddled with Simon still. He moved aside as Ivy went into the hall to take down the last remaining guard as he moved back and grabbed Razaria. She moved with him without any resistance which he was thankful for at that moment.
Dante looked back at Simon who stayed in position, his eyes never leaving Razaria's retreating form.