After boarding the truck Storm and Octane had driven a short distance away so that they couldn't be seen by the mansion anymore, the team returned home.
"I never thought that plan would really work out," Storm scoffed as they were driving.
"Yeah? Well, this definitely didn't go flawlessly, but we managed to pull it off," Octane chuckled. "Aunt Melvia, welcome back."
Melvia smiled and giggled softly. "Yes… glad to be back, Max."
At this, Octane stiffened up. "I-I told you not to call me by that…"
"Oh my~ you still get embarrassed when I call you by your real name? Hehe."
"W-Well, yeah… you're pretty much the only person who calls me that ever since…"
"Hey! Watch where you're driving!" Storm cut in angrily.
"Oh shi-"
*****
In the end, the eight of them managed to get back to their squadron headquarters safely. After everyone cleaned themselves off with a shower, Archon and Storm headed into the kitchen and began whipping up one hell of a meal to celebrate Melvia's return.
"Just wait until you try my cooking skills, Melvia," Storm chuckled. "I'm not the same useless boy as I was back then."
"Hehe, well then, I'll be waiting," Melvia replied with a bright smile as he left.
"Hey Auntie Melvia… boss told us about his past, and the whole incident with Alpha Lupi," Octane scratched his head awkwardly. "About your dad…"
"If you're worried I'm sad, don't be," Melvia quickly interrupted. "While he is my family, this is the path he chose for himself. I tried steering him back on course, but he wouldn't listen, so — I don't pity him at all."
"O-Okay, good. I thought you were going to get mad at us or something…" Octane sighed in relief.
Melvia laughed softly. "C'mon… you're grown up now. When are you going to leave behind that childish mindset of yours?"
"Sorry, I can't help it…"
Finn listened in amusement at their exchange. To him, Octane did indeed seem a bit immature, but he always thought it was just his personality. But maybe there was some underlying condition…?
This was a good opportunity to learn more about the teammates he will be fighting alongside for the time being, so taking advantage of this time was a good idea.
And besides… he still needed to think of how to tell everyone he was able to fix that door in Archon's stead earlier. That was the main problem.
He originally didn't want to reveal his powers like this, but at the time, that was the only possible solution. Since no one else was helping Archon, Finn had figured only the Blacksmith Angelica could give other Blacksmith Angelicas mana. That said, it was far easier to just fix it himself, since he was going to reveal his power either way.
It was either he did this, or he risked Heartbeat finding out and coming back for revenge in the future, which could very possibly result in his death. As much as he hated it, he was still weak right now. When faced against a powerhouse such as the House of Crimson Moons, he was nothing but an ant for them to squash — for now, anyway.
When weighing these two options, revealing his power to his squadron member was obviously the right way to go. In fact, recently, he had been thinking of whether or not to tell them anyway.
If he told them the truth (minus Zelestria's existence, since she probably wouldn't like that given how quickly she had disappeared when Iris woke up this morning), he could acquire all the Angelicas of the people in this squadron, and also learn Abilities from them.
At the same time, however, he was risking them betraying him one day and spreading knowledge of his power everywhere. That would invite tons of unwanted trouble — people wanting to hire him as mercenaries, scientists who wanted to use him as a lab rat to see if they could replicate his power, and just fellow Ghost Hunters who are jealous of his strength.
The first one he didn't really mind, but the latter two would certainly be a hassle to deal with.
If he didn't tell them the truth, however… it would make acquiring Angelicas and Abilities more difficult. Since he couldn't read himself with his blindness, he had to rely on Iris whenever they go to that library Archon mentioned. He would have to think of various excuses to use in order to get Iris to help him learn Abilities of a different Angelica.
Of course, he could always just tell Iris and Iris alone of his powers, but…
Well, what was done was done. Finn didn't know why he was still thinking about all this, as it was already in the past. He would just have to make do with the current situation, and hope his squadron members don't betray him in the future.
Soon after, the food was ready. Storm and Archon carried it over to the table, where everyone else was sitting. Melvia had been telling stories of her past and sharing some of Archon's embarrassing moments, but he didn't need to know.
"Alright… everyone, cups up!" Archon cheered, raising his glass cup filled with beer.
Everyone else did the same, except Fanatic was underage so he stuck with apple juice.
"Ready? 3, 2, 1…"
The group bumped their cups together, making a loud clinging sound.
"Welcome Melvia back home!"
*****
"Fwah… the operation today was so scuffed," Octane sighed, taking a drink of his beer. "What took you guys so long inside, man?"
"Er… for some reason, the key our spy gave us didn't work," Iris replied. "I don't think he betrayed us or anything, but the only other explanation is that Heartbeat changed the lock last-minute. I don't understand why, but…"
"It's not that," Archon interrupted firmly. "Tell me, what did you feel when you tried inserting the key?"
"Um… like it didn't fit?" Iris raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "What else could it be?"
'She seems to be warming up to the other squadron members more…' Finn thought in his head as he listened to this interaction.
"He didn't change the lock," Archon chuckled. "Nothing of the sort, actually. It was just a side effect of his Angelica, if I'm guessing correctly."
"Huh?" Iris tilted her head in confusion.
"You see, Heartbeat possesses the Bloodcaller Angelica. Essentially, it allows him to control — well, blood — but the true extents of this Angelica are far beyond just that. For example, from when I tried fighting against him in the past, I know he has an Ability that turns nearby blood into crystals he can morph and use as a weapon."
"Today, right beside the door, one of his guards bashed a prisoner's head straight in, sending blood everywhere." Archon continued. "What could've happened was some of the blood crystals that were formed got lodged in the keyhole. He may have done this on purpose as a double security measure. Actually, knowing him, it probably was."
"Wait, but if that's the case… doesn't that mean we were exposed?" Iris asked in shock. "When he gets back, he'll see that the blood crystals he made weren't there, and-"
"Relax. The blood crystals, in the end, are mere liquid temporarily turned solid. After a while, they go back to liquid form and dissipate. Heartbeat won't find anything wrong with it."
"I see…" Iris breathed out in relief.
"So that's what happened…" Storm sighed. "You guys are lucky the last-ditch excuse I used actually worked, or else we all would've been toast."
"Oh? What kind of last-ditch excuse did you use?" Archon asked, curious.
"Boss! This guy came up with the most unbelievable backstory ever, and Heartbeat actually bought it!" Octane quickly interrupted. "Storm said we were two sons, looking to get recruited into his A-Class squadron so that we could get enough money to save our fathers who were in need of surgery. Can you believe it?!"
"Ha! What happened next?"
"The worst part is — HEARTBEAT ACTUALLY GAVE US 100,000 DOLLARS!" Octane yelled, pulling out the debit card they had received earlier and showing it to Archon. "So now, we basically are indebted to them!"
"Uh… this…" Archon slowly turned his gaze from the card to Storm, who looked away uncomfortably.
"L-Look… I didn't think it would turn out this way. Heartbeat was already getting suspicious of our motives, so I had to come up with something."
Archon sighed. "Yeah… I'm not mad or anything. It's just… what are we going to do with this $100,000?"
"I mean, since we got it, might as well just use it," Octane said with a shrug. "Right?"
"No," Finn and Iris immediately said at the same time.
"H-Huh?"
"Ah… Finn, you can go first," Iris whispered softly, suddenly embarrassed for whatever reason.
Finn cleared his throat and spoke. "It was a bait. If you spend those 100,000 dollars but don't report back to Heartbeat soon, he can easily go to a bank and tell them you two stole his card. Once that happens, you will be arrested, possibly even killed. The only way to save you then would be if you beg him for mercy, in which case he will take advantage of that and force you into his squadron the hard way."
Everyone on scene looked at Finn, stunned — except for Iris, who had thought of the same thing.
"Wow… I didn't even think of that…" Storm muttered, clenching his fists. "I almost thought Heartbeat wasn't all that evil for a second… that bastard."
"S-So what do we do now?" Octane asked frightfully. "Return the money?"
"No, that obviously won't work," Finn replied, shaking his head as a brilliant plan began formulating in his mind. "Instead, since he's already laid out this trap so beautifully for us… we'll beat him at his own game."
Comments