Black Coats: Volume 1

The stabbing motion Dastgir performed after weakening Charlie with ice was enough to get a grunt out of him. "It's only funny until you start to get annoying!" he yelled.
He grabbed Dasgir's weapon and pulled it towards him, having Dastgir pulled along with it. After this, he dealt a swift kick to his solar plexus and throwing the man's weapon to the side.
"FACE IT! IF YOU CAN'T GET RID OF ME, THEN GET RID OF EACH OTHER! TICK TOCK YOU DOGS!"

In the meanwhile, Alex was growing restless with his void disc. He wanted to clear this mission and get out of there. Melus seemed passive with her intentions, Luther was taking his sweet time, and Echo was... well Echo wasn't being much help. Seeing that Shiro was watching them from above with two other keybladers, he decided that he would take matters into his own hand. If Luther was going to get rid of Mizu, than at the very least, he could get rid of Shiro. Doubling back he ran along the wall to make sure he wasn't in the order member's line of sight. Taking advantage that Shiro was focused on other fights, Alex threw his void disc into the air, and hit it with his keyblade like a bat hitting a ball. He watched as the void disc whizzed through the air, getting closer and closer to Shiro. He was about to take out one of the order's strongest members...

 

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"Your judgment on these guys is probably better than mine. They're of...little interest to me." Arctus answered Karina as he watched the on goings of the others' challenge with some curiosity. It didn't take long for him to realize this had become a life or death situation and when it looked that Shiro was about to bite it Arctus cursed under his breath and moved forward slightly. "Screw this. Sitting around is getting boring." Arctus muttered under his breath. Magic flowed from his arm as he thrust out his hand and extended it in Shiro's direction. The air began to ripple and beside Shiro a rip in space formed and a dark hole, barely larger than the flying void disc, intercepted the projectile's path and closed the instant it was sucked into the dimensional tear. At that moment a new hole tore itself open and launched out that same void disc right back at Alex.

 

Alex wanted to catch the disc, but knew that the second he touched it, the disc would send him to the void. "Stay outta this!" he yelled as he batted the void disc away from him. It had already been activated and was flying through the air, unsure of where it would land. Gritting his teeth, Alex chased after the disc only to see it land on the edge of Vanitas' keyblade. "Lose something?" he asked as he bobbed the disc at the edge of his keyblade.
"Why don't you just grab it and give it back then," Alex scowled.
"Oh I know full well what this is... I wonder though, how did you manage to get one? Looks like Nequa's been busy...." he smiled as his unversed continued to protect him.
"I don't have time for this! Echo! Grab him!"
Vanitas wrapped his arms around Vanitas from behind and held down his arms, causing the void disc to be tossed into the air again.
"Let go of me you weaker half!" Vanitas grunted, as the robotic Ventus complied.

The disc tossed into the air, Alex trying to follow it...

 

Well this was turning into an interesting situation as something got tossed as Shiro, and it was only thanks to Arctus' quick thinking that stopped it from colliding with him. Karina watched the chaos below for another moment before turning around and stepping away from the viewing platform. "I have a few things to take care of. I will be back in a bit. It shouldn't take too long." Karina said in a rather offhanded tone, but really she just needed time and space to sort things out, and perhaps a thank you gift or two. She might not have been a proper lady in any way, shape, or form, and manners were not often used, but the weight of the necklace she wore, reminded her that she shouldn't come back empty handed, not after everything that had been done for her. And she was the leader of this team, she couldn't just leave them without some security of knowing they were alright. Perhaps if she could find a way to contact someone, then she could leave breathing a little easier, knowing they would be taken care of. ​

 

Mizu's pupils shifted as she noticed herself slowly fading from the void disc.
'It happened again,' Mizu thought to herself. As a member of the order, she was a poor excuse of a leader. She was powerful, but she didn't have the rational decision making needed to keep up with everything. She was still just a child. And now more than ever, she was terrified.

Charlie sighed at Dastgir's challenge. "I don't understand what keeps you going. If it were up to me, I wouldn't pass any of you..." The more he talked, the closer the flying void disc was getting to him. "You're using Ice against a rock user. You're only asking to make this harder on yourself. You're better off facing one of the weaker ones, but noooo, you go after the BIG FISH! Well, here's something that even the weakest of you will be able to comprehend... I AM UNBEATABLE! I AM UNBREAKABLE! I AM-"

Before he could finish his final statemet, he felt something hit his head like a pebble.
"What the....' the voic disc slowly began consuming him as a purple veil caused him. His eyes widened with confusion. "The hell is this... X-RAY!!!" He yelled out.
"Dammit," Alex hufed under his breath. "I am so screwed!" He quickly aimed his keyblade at charlie and fired a small electrical spell at Charlie. "It's gonna blow! So get bent or blow up!" he shouted to Luther, Echo and Melus, before disappearing through a dark corridor.

Vanitas was still in Ventus' grasp as he was trying to escape. "Let go you loser!"
"Following directive," Ventus replied.
Vanitas struggled before he managed to phase out and strike Ventus in the head, damaging the chip that Zulu had placed there. Echo's eyes went dark as he fell to the ground. Vanitas throwing Ventus over his shoulder, scoffed. "I'll fiugure out what to do about you later," he said, disappearing through a dark corridor as well.

The spell stuck to the fading behemoth of a man as the spell grew brighter and louder. As if it was a bomb about to go off. The high pitched sound grew louder as electricity surged all around Charlie. "THIS IS NOT OVER!" Charlie barked. "YOU THINK THIS WILL STOP ME, BUT YOU'RE WRONG! I won't rest until every last one of you is dead! You hear me?!"
The intensity of Alex's spell grew louder.

Mizu watched, as half her body was already gone.
'I can't let them die... Not like this...' She held her sole arm up and summoned a smaller version of Sprinkles the ice golem to wrap itself around Charlie to take most of the damage.
'Let me do this... this one thing before I go,' she said before closing her eyes and fading into the void.

Sprinkles kept Charlie from moving as the large man yelled at the top of his lungs in rage. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The explosion went off and Sprinkles took all the damage, causing snow and hail to fall all around the stadium.

The reaper's game was over.

 

Having walked away to take care of her own things, Karina found herself away from the fighting and towards a more civil area. It was quiet and she knew that she had some shopping to do, but first she found a place to sit and start writing. A letter, something that would ease the guilt that was weighing on her for leaving, or at least she hoped it would. She was writing to the same person who found her shortly after she had run away from home, when she was feeling sorry for herself, barely starting to heal up after the beating she had taken, realizing how badly she messed up. The woman took her in and helped her heal even, hone her anger a little bit. Surprisingly this woman didn't reprimand her for her anger, instead telling her it was justified and encouraging her to keep going and don't look back. Karina had seen some fear in the woman's eyes though as soon as Karina was healed she seemed like she was in a rush to get her out and while she never met anyone else, there was evidence someone else lived in the house. It was her, it was Dawn that sent Karina on her way towards this group of keyblade wielders where she could learn and grow more. That is where she met Luna and Noroz. Wait, there was another person, wasn't there? A third person had been there hadn't they? Shapur? No he had shown up for a short time later. But there was someone. Karina wracked her brain over this but couldn't seem to figure it out.

Placing down her pen Karina just sat there, frustrated with herself. Who was she forgetting? She would have to ask when she got back. Quickly finishing her letter to Dawn, got it ready to send out before standing up and heading into the nearest shop. Perhaps she would remember while distracting herself with the other things that she needed to do. She had things to purchase. Something for Beuce, something for Kel, something for Stratos, and there was one more... again a spot that she couldn't put a name or a face to. It drove her insane, twisting the ring on her finger she remembered it was the same person who gave her the ring but she couldn't put a name to it. It almost made her eyes water with hate that she couldn't remember. A little longer, she would stay away a little longer before she returned. She wouldn't be able to face Arctus or Shiro like this. She didn't want them to see her so frustrated and upset. ​

 

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With new revelations brought to light, the group was still intact somehow. Melus, Koa, Finlay, Vallus, Aeira, Dastgir, Rydia were left in the arena, all other combatants fleein or sent to the void.
"So... we won, aye? I mean... That boulder headed giant is gone and so's the girly, but we won, yeah?" Finlay asked, taking a small cause to contemplate it. "FINLAY WINS!" he cheered, falling to his knees.. "FINLAY ALWAYS WINS!!!!"

"Off to the void would be my guess," a young voice claimed, answering Dastgir. "The realm beyond. Hard to know if you'll ever see them again. I suppose only time will tell..." With the battle won and the dome in ruins, Joshua emerged from the entry way. "Tsk tsk tsk, this place got messy fast." He turned to the rest of the remaining combatants.

Meanwhile, Shiro turned to Arctus and brought Karina to address the two of them. "WELL, IT'S TIME FOR YOU TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS. WHO TO APPOINT AS A NEW LEADER, WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR AURAS, AND MOST IMPORTANTLY; REUNITING WITH YOUR ALLIES." He looked to both of them before addressing them to ensure they remembered this last instruction. "MEET YOUR ALLIES AT THE CITY OF HEROES; OLYMPUS COLISEUM. I WILL TRY AND FIND YOU THERE WHEN I'VE REPAID MY DEBT HERE..."

Joshua was still explaining the conditions of their victory, presenting them with their next objective. "Nevertheless, you did your tasks, and as a result, ready to move on to. He opened up a small device that opened up a hologram and placed it in the middle of the arena. "Your two keyblader friends are off to destiny islands, but for you select few, I've decided that a new departure destination. A large fortress of a mansion appeared on the projection. "This is Manson Manor. Your vessel back to the realm of light lies inside here."

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[VOLUME 1]
- CHAPTER XI -
SAVING GRACE​

Lynn arrived in front of Karina and Arctus, eager to know what the new dilemma was.
"So... what's the verdict?"

 

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"Hm. Olympus Coliseum? Sounds familiar but I don't think I've ever visited." He shrugged slightly. "As for this element, I'd rather hang on to it. But if I had to give it up...eenie meenie miney mo...I pick you." In a few short seconds he wound up pointing right at Melus, seemingly choosing the girl at random. "I kinda feel guilty for...." He looked at Karina and cleared his throat. "Nothing. She'll do I guess. The girl could use some offensive juice. Especially seeing as how one of our own turned on us. Not that I particularly trusted Luther to begin with." He sighed.

Artcus folded his arms and looked at Lynn. "Melus is about to understand the gravity of the situation, so to speak. As for anything beyond that? Vallus gets my vote for leader. But I suppose Karina has the final say." He glanced over at the young woman, somewhat curious as to where she had gone but he had done enough invading of her privacy to even ask about it.

 

"Someone's in an investigative mood," Joshua smirked. "But if I have to catch you up on every little detail. you'd waste more time than needed. My name's Joshua. And if I had to appoint myself a job title, I guess you could say I'm the composer of this place. The overseer and benefactor of Shibuya." He looked around at the arena and walked about casually, doing his best not to step or trip on anything. "My duties here aren't too difficult. The Game master's I select do most of the heavy lifting, but as you can see... not all of them act of your best interest." He looked to the place where Charlie vanished.

"But as composer, I remain unbiased to the needs and wants of those who come here. Shibuya is nothing more than a gateway that give those trapped in the realm of darkness the opportunity to return to the realm of light. Your morality plays no factor in the matter. What was it that Charlie said.... 'Survival of the fittest?' Thankfully it didn't get as out of hand as anticipated." Small crumbling pebbling fell on Joshua's shoulder as he dusted them off. "Now... not to be rude, but a new game is going to start soon and I have the fun duty of clearing the board. Your destination back to the realm of light has been decided. Feel free to take a black coat on your way out," he smiled as he began to walk out of the arena. "You made it this far, right? A little further won't kill you. Just don't quit too easily. Give up on yourself, and you give up on the world..."