Black Coats: Volume 1

The events that transpired were odd ones, to say the least. It was as though he was simply a spectator through his own eyes. Halfway through his fight with Melus, he realized he wasn't the one fighting, and that his mind had been clouded into picking the fight in the first place. Now he could only stare on as someone used his body and his skills to beat Melus nearly to death. He was only vaguely aware of what was happening. Only coherent enough to know who he was fighting, but not why, or who was controlling him. Thankfully, his body ceased to be able to move. At least now he wouldn't have to do anything against his will. He'd have closed his eyes if he could move any part of him. His consciousness began to blur, but returned to him almost all at once some time later. It was difficult to tell exactly how long he was in that state. ​

​

The second he regained control of himself, rage washed over him. He knew exactly what had happened, what he'd been made to do, and who was controlling him. The second the cage dropped, he saw Vallus had already inflicted quite the large wound in her chest. It wasn't fatal, but his would be. He stood, and composed himself. Closing his eyes and brandishing his sword, an deathly calm air fell over him. When he opened his eyes, everyone in the room could feel it. He dashed toward Krista. While in reality it only lasted a moment, it seemed to drag on for ages. Normally Luther's movements were darting and blindingly quick, trying to keep in his opponent's peripheral vision, so as to make it all the harder to detect when exactly he swapped out for an illusion, and harder to discern what his true movement was. This, however, was different. The bloodlust behind this one thrust was palatable. No natural attack could produce this kind of intensity behind its killing intent, and no illusion could possibly recreate it. There was no question this was the real Luther, using his power to draw all focus to him and amplify his own presence by a thousand fold. ​

And there was murder in his eyes.

She would feel fear before she died, and he made sure of it. The blade finally approached her throat. It was impossible to look away from through the amplified killing intent behind the attack. The attack would register as the most immediate threat to one's life no matter what, and set off their instincts to defend against it. The more honed one's skills were, the more their mind screamed at them to negate it somehow, some way, but that was the trap it laid. At the eleventh hour of the attack, right before it connected, his fingers loosened, and the blade fell from his hands. In the mere fraction of a second before it registered what happened, while their eyes still followed the blade downward on its journey to the ground, a loud, resounding sound tore through the unbelievable tension. A clap. Loud and boisterous, right in front of Krista's face. To be in such an extreme state of your survival instincts screaming at your body to move, only to be all at once forcefully ripped out of it put incredible strain on the concentration. The more skilled they were, the farther into the trap the fell, and the more effective the attack proved to be. It was a laughably simple conclusion to an attack with such an overwhelming build up, but it served its purpose. Never had a warrior lived who could keep his guard up with his concentration sundered so badly. It was all but guaranteed to create an opening for a split second. He didn't waste it. Before her mind had fully registered being torn out of her fight or flight instinct, he produced his second weapon. He'd always had it brandished, but as he never used it in his attacks, it was incredibly easy to forget about, or miss altogether. In one swift, upward motion, he brought it to where her throat met the bottom of her jaw and plunged it deep inside of her head. ​

 

When the girl was down and out, Melus still had a skeptical nature to her. But she was also just, not doing so hot anyway. She'd managed to do alright when Krista was trying to get the others to attack, the clones of her's doing most of the work for her. But when everything seemed relatively safe, Melus let her harp kind of fall and disappear into the wind before she collapsed. But she didn't let the clones disappear. If anything, they surrounded her even more defensively now while she tried to catch her breath. But she was still hurting, and she didn't know any spells for curing. She wished she hadn't been down and out so easily, she didn't want to look like she was made of glass or anything but she was naturally more build like a mage. She really didn't know how she would have handled anyone in combat on her own, and that was never really her intent.

The brunette wasn't strictly speaking afraid, but the clones reacted in a manner based on how worried she was about potential danger. She didn't know if there were lingering effects to the charm she should be worried about. She didn't know if someone was gonna pop up out of nowhere and try to wipe the floor with them. Which is why Melus was now tightly surrounded by her wind clones and not willing to let anyone in unless she was absolutely sure it was safe.​

 

The fight seemed to be over as quickly as it started. The group having managed to stop the charm on the males and said males retaliating with lethal force had caused the fight to end as quickly as it started. Aeria went back into a more relaxed state, being slightly more disappointed then anything else, but was overall fine with everything. Shrugging as Lea broke the amulet, the girl felt it would be simply better to hold onto it so that they could lure Nequa's forces to them rather than have to keep hunting them out. It probably was far more dangerous, but Aeira figured if it got the job done faster it'd be better. She also didn't really feel like she did anything today, but all the same, if the boss was saying it was a good time to rest then she wasn't about to complain. "Call me when you need me then." After flatly stating that, Aeira walked away from the mess of the whole thing, seemingly uninterested in it all, and simply looked around for a place to sit or lie down at for the time being.

 

As the finishing blow was dealt to Krista, Koa turned his head away and saw Melus not looking so well. Before Koa could walk over, Lea had told everyone to get some rest and had destroyed the necklace. It had probably been for the best. Who knows what other powers it could've had? Koa tried walked over to Melus but had saw Wind clones surrounding her still. He paused as he thought about his next sentence. After a moment, he then spoke up. "Hi there. Melus right?" Koa squatted to meet her at eye level. He then saw the healing items Lea threw to her. He picked it up and looked at her once more. "I'm Koa but I think I probably mentioned it already." He paused once more. "You don't look too well. I would like to help if you don't mind. I believe these items were meant for you. I'm not here to hurt you or anything. I just want to help." Koa smiled at Melus as he held out the healing items toward her. ​

 

Melus wasn't necessarily talking at that moment. Even when Lea had come over and given the potions, she had only been on edge a bit more because of what just happened, and the clones had come closer. He hadn't really eased her mind, but when Koa spoke up, she realized the tone he was speaking at was like trying to console a child. She knew he didn't mean it in that manner, but she figured maybe at that point it was a little safer. Melus took a deep breath and she held her hand up for a moment and waved it. The clones stopped and simply faded into the air until they were no longer present. Melus looked up at Koa and reached out for one of the potions and used it. She felt a wave of healing relief wash over her and she looked up at the boy and said, "I'd keep that one on standby in case we need it later." Melus got up from the ground rubbing her arm a bit and looking around and she kind of scoffed at herself before saying, "So... everyone else got out with minor scratches?" she looked around and put on a small, relatively fake smile before saying, "How about next time someone might potentially be working for the enemy, we don't... well... bring them back? This was our first encounter... I don't even wanna know what the others are like yet." she held her hands up and her harp materialized and she started playing it a bit to calm herself a little more, "But uh... we did it. That's a... that's a start." Melus looked over at Aeria and Kiara and said, "Maybe we've got a psychological damage issue going on instead? Alright, Shrink Melus ready for deployment. Tell me your troubles today." she looked over at Koa and said, "You. You didn't get under her control. Fascinating. Are you gay?" she paused for a moment with her playing before she held her hand up, "It's okay, if you're uncomfortable with the subject, allow me to break the tension." she placed her hand towards her heart, "I'm gay. Though uh, hm. Maybe that raises questions about me not being controlled by... wait she said men's hearts. Whatever misandry she was spilling. So yeah. If your heart set on a man?"​

 

Koa watched as the wind clones fade away from Melus. She took the potion from Koa's hands and began to remedy herself. "I'd keep that one on standby in case we need it later." Koa nodded before placing the other potion in his pocket. He watched as Melus played her harp to calm herself. "I have a feeling it might get worse. Though I don't think it'll be impossible." Koa scratched his head before Melus became Shrink Melus. She then began to ask Koa. "You. You didn't get under her control. Fascinating. Are you gay?" Koa's eyes widen in surprise over her question. He didn't even know how to respond to such a question. However, he managed to collect his thoughts before responding to Melus. "I beg your pardon??? Umm..I'm afraid that is not the case. Sorry to say." Melus continued speaking and questioning Koa. It certainly threw Koa for a loop but he continued to listen. "I'm gay. Though uh, hm. Maybe that raises questions about me not being controlled by... wait she said men's hearts. Whatever misandry she was spilling. So yeah. Is your heart set on a man?" Koa immediately waved his hands back and forth in front of him in denial. He then responded to her question. "No. As I've said, I'm not interested in men. I have a girlfriend back home. Though I can't really say that, as she is my fiance now." Koa held his necklace before looking at Melus once more. "Sorry if that disappoints you or anything. However, I'm not gay. I do have my fiance waiting for me back at home." Though I do have a feeling that I'll most likely be yelled at by her for making her wait this long. Koa thought to himself as he scratched his cheek.​

 

Melus tilted her head at Koa's response and said, "I'm not disappointed... why would I be disappointed in you being or not being gay? I was just asking out of curiosity. But hey, pre-congratulations to the wedding. You must be real dedicated to your girl and I respect that 100%." Melus strummed a couple more times and paced away from him a bit before turning around and saying, "So, you doing this so you can eventually head on back home to your bride to be? A noble cause. I don't think I've said this before but I'm here because my world is gone." she strummed a little more before saying, "Aaaand my heart is gone." she strummed a little more and paused before saying, "I haven't addressed that before either. Probably more important than liking girls. I am a nobody. Benefits to it, I don't have to worry about emotions, clarity in mind is fantastic. Bad news. Don't have emotions, faux enjoyment. It's all an act. An act I am horribly used to." she turned to look at Luther and pointed straight at him, "It's good news for you, meatbag, because quite honestly, I'm gonna still manage to have PTSD after this despite not having emotions, but I won't hold it against you... too much..."​

 

Luther produced a white cloth and began to wipe the blood from his dagger, cleaning it to a proper sheen. He sighed, thankfully, that was over. He regretted losing his cool momentarily there. It, combined with the fact she'd been able to control him, no doubt made him seem rather weak willed to the rest of the group. While appearances were important, it wasn't the only detriment to this. A large portion of them were hot-blooded and prone to rash action. If given the opportunity to try and talk some sense into them in a desperate situation, his sway would be lessened if they thought of him as weak. It was food for thought. Walking over toward Melus, he stopped about ten feet away from her, crouched to the ground, and picked up his glove.

As while he did this that he heard her voice call to him, referring to him as "meatbag". Did that imply she wasn't...? Standing up to his full height, he looked at the girl. "I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment or not." He said coyly as he donned the black glove once more. Shortly after, his face shifted to a slightly more serious expression. "Hold it against me or not, I sincerely apologize. It was uncharacteristic of me to fall under control so easily. I nearly cost you your life in doing so." He approached her. "So, I will guard you with mine. I swear, I will let no harm come to you." ​

 

Koa listened as Melus spoke and played her harp. "I'm not disappointed... why would I be disappointed in you being or not being gay? I was just asking out of curiosity. But hey, pre-congratulations to the wedding. You must be real dedicated to your girl and I respect that 100%." Melus continued to play her harp as Koa responded. "Thank you very much. I wasn't always but I think my dedication to her started around when I was 15 or 16. Back then, her and I would always butt heads even when we were kids. In any case, I thank you for your congrats." Koa smiled at Melus as he began to reminisce about his earlier days back home. How long had it been? How long had it been since he was taken from his home. Koa shook his head as if to shake away those thoughts as Melus spoke once more. "So, you doing this so you can eventually head on back home to your bride to be? A noble cause. I don't think I've said this before but I'm here because my world is gone." Koa's eyes widen slightly in surprise over the new fact Melus brought up as she strummed away on her harp. Before Koa could speak, Melus continued. "Aaaand my heart is gone." Koa's surprise continued as Melus paused before continuing. "I haven't addressed that before either. Probably more important than liking girls. I am a nobody. Benefits to it, I don't have to worry about emotions, clarity in mind is fantastic. Bad news. Don't have emotions, faux enjoyment. It's all an act. An act I am horribly used to." Koa was speechless. He didn't know about Melus' situation and now knowing about it. Koa had felt guilty. Her problem was way worse than his own. For several moments, he didn't know what to say before speaking up. "Melus..I'm so sorry to hear that. I feel terrible now. My problem feels so minor compared to yours. Here I am complaining about not being able to see my fiance and here you are, missing your own heart. I apologize Melus." Melus then spoke over to Luther and Luther walked over to the two, apologizing about his earlier actions. "Don't beat yourself up too much over this Luther. You were under the necklace's spell. If anything, I blame the necklace." Koa scratched his head as he spoke to Luther.​

 

Melus blinked at Luther's response and tilted her head, "You don't have to make promises you can't keep. I understand it was the necklace. But harm will come and you can't help that. But, I appreciate the gesture. Thanks." she looked back over towards Koa at his response and said, "Pff naaaah, my problems aren't worse than yours. Everyone's got their demons and problems, and for them, they may take things harder and that's just how it is. If you love her and you want to see her, that's equally as important. So don't apologize." Melus strummed her harp and sat down... wherever she could sit down cause the setting is unclear and Melus continued playing, "I just figured it was relevant to bring up, I don't know why many people are here, or why they are doing what they're doing. I like knowing." Melus put on a small smile, but it wasn't real, it couldn't be. She didn't care though.​

 

Koa held his necklace for a bit while Melus and Luther were speaking before Melus turned to Koa. She had begun speaking in response to his last sentence. "Pff naaaah, my problems aren't worse than yours. Everyone's got their demons and problems, and for them, they may take things harder and that's just how it is. If you love her and you want to see her, that's equally as important. So don't apologize." Koa looked over at Melus and smiled as he held his necklace. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening his eyes again. Melus is right. Everyone has their own problems and it can be equally important to them as another person's problem. I won't give up. Not now. It's been far too long and I won't waste another minute while she's still in the realm of light worried sick about me. Koa looked at Melus once more before speaking. "You're right but sometimes I can't help but worry about other people sometimes, you know?" Melus spoke once more to Koa as she continued to play her harp. "I just figured it was relevant to bring up, I don't know why many people are here, or why they are doing what they're doing. I like knowing." Koa nodded as Melus smiled a bit. Kiara had called out to Lea to give her a task of some sort. She had been growing impatient and begun to pace around. Koa looked at the ground for a moment thinking about whether to approach her or not. After some moments of thinking, Koa stood up and walked over to Kiara. He lifted his hand up a bit as if to say 'hello' before he spoke. "Hey Kiara. Is everything alright? From the way you're pacing around, are you getting a little impatient?" After a moment, Koa spoke up once more. "I apologize for bothering you by the way."​

 

As the door had exploded inward, Aeira stood up from the corner she had been both brooding and relaxing in. While the girl seemed alert, her half shadowed expression didn't seem to reveal anything beyond its usual neutrality. She seemed to study the man named Finlay, watching as he seemed to drive Lea to his wit's end. As the latter left the scene, Aeira seemed to be fine with their sudden new acquaintance, in the sense that she no longer felt that there was an imminent battle. She was more or less ambivalent about him as a person. As such, the girl walked over to him, hands still in her pocket. She looked at him, said, "hello Finlay, I am Aeira. I punch things. I don't really care about my title and so I have chosen to forget it at this moment." Humorlessly, the girl nodded as she said, "I agree with Kar-Kiara. Besides, we were just infiltrated here anyway, and Finlay seems about as covert as something that is very not stealthy."

 

Speak of the devil. Rather a devil as it actually was. Just as the words had left Lea's mouth, the door to the hideout was knocked down right before all of them. First assumptions being that an enemy had found them, Vallus had readied himself for a right rather quickly. His posture changed upon seeing that it was just a loud man that Lea knew for some odd reason. With further introduction, Finlay was indeed quite the character with the variety of accolades that he himself seemed to be very impressed with. If the cycle of introducing oneself had begun again, then he might as well . "Vallus, that's my name." He was certain that he didn't have a title and even if he did, it would've been taken away from him by this point. "Got anymore 'hideouts' in mind?" Vallus had actually made the air quotes motion when said the word "hideout". If Lea did have another one in mind, then hopefully the door to that would be stronger.