Storm brought out the lunch he had made while Archon, Finn, and Iris were away. Setting the large pot of soup on the table and lifting the lid up, a sweet and rich aroma immediately swarmed the air.
"Thank you, Storm," Archon said with a sad smile. "Perhaps this… can help soothe my pain a bit."
"Hey, boss… if ya don't mind me askin', why are you telling us about this now?" Octane asked, scratching his head. "It seems kinda… how do I say it, out of the blue."
"I will get to that later on, but for now… please. Listen to my story. If I just tell you to follow me tomorrow without any context… I would feel far too guilty. I still do, even now, but at least it's not as bad."
As they all fell silent, quietly sipping on their meal, Archon began his tale.
*****
"It all started about ten years ago," he said quietly, looking down at nothing in particular. "When I first started chasing after Melvia."
At the sound of this name, Fanatic, Storm, and Octane all widened their eyes in surprise.
"Melvia… that's…"
"Do you three remember that day, when I returned home from a mission, saying she was dead?"
"I remember it very well," Storm replied, closing his eyes. "It was raining… horribly. I recall every crash of thunder, every strike of lightning. That… was the darkest day of my life, even more so than when I was first abandoned by my family."
"Yeah…" Octane, who was usually all excited, gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows. "Melvia was like a mom to us, boss… we thought of her as family, and she did the same with us… I was young back then, but I still can't count the amount of tears I shed that night."
"I was only 7 at the time," Fanatic said emotionlessly. "Right after watching my family get slaughtered before my very eyes, she was the one to comfort me. And despite the short amount of time I knew her for, I… genuinely began to think of her as someone I could trust. Too bad that hope… never came to fruition."
"It still can, Fanatic," Archon said firmly, clenching his fists and biting his lip. "I've been hiding it from you all this time, but… Melvia is not dead."
"… What?!"
The three young teens dropped their jaws in shock at this news, unable to react any other way.
"I'm sorry…" Archon gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly as a single tear flowed out of his right eyelid. "At the time, I… I wanted all of you to just forget about her. That's why I told you she was dead… but perhaps it was for myself as well. I wanted to forget her too — though clearly, it didn't work."
"But… why?" Storm cried, voice hollow from astonishment. "Why would you want us to just forget about her…? The same woman who took care of us during our toughest times, the same mother who loved us during our darkest hours… how could we ever forget…?"
"She was captured, Storm… by none other than our own guild — the Phantom Slayers."
The three nearly fainted from the mixture of emotions swelling up in their hearts, a combination of surprise and hatred. "Wha… why would they…!"
"I'm sure you are all confused as to why they would do that… which stems from the origin of Melvia," Archon explained, refusing to shed another tear. Taking a deep breath, he continued.
"Ten years ago, I was assigned by the guild on a mission — to track down and exterminate a group of outlaws known as Alpha Lupi. They were a band of rogue Angelica users who abused the powers they had for evil. Ghost Hunters don't just hunt down Ghosts — they also have to deal with things like this.
"Together with four other squadmates, we were given the location of their hideout. It was supposed to be an easy, flawless mission. Everything was set in place — but the only thing I could not predict… was my heart."
'Love, huh?' Finn thought in his head, already seeing where this was going.
"At the time, I was chasing Melvia, who worked as a waitress at a restaurant I visited quite frequently. I was hopelessly in love with her — she just seemed perfect from every angle, no matter how I looked at her.
"She was kind, caring, and always had a passion for caring for kids. No matter the situation, she could always remain positive… and on my saddest, most exhausting nights after work, she would always be there to cheer me up. Before I knew it, I asked her out, andwe began dating."
A smile tugged on the corners of Archon's lips in memory. However, it was not happy, but melancholy.
"Of course, I used a fake identity as an office worker," he continued. "I couldn't tell her about the Ghost Hunter and Angelica world… not until we were married. Those were the rules. But what I didn't know… was that she was using a fake identity too. She was not just some random, innocent waitress. No — she was the daughter of Alpha Lupi's leader."
"What?! There's no way," Octane shook his head frantically. "Melvia isn't that kind of person!"
"You're right, Octane — she isn't," Archon replied. "And that's why I was so surprised to see her there, standing in front of her father, right before I could deliver the final bullet to his head."
As everyone at the table fell silent, the story reaching its climax, Archon placed a hand on his forehead like he had a headache.
"At the time, my other squadron members were busy keeping attempting to dismantle the various mines placed in the hideout to prevent them from exploding and causing damage to the hideout's surroundings, as it was in the middle of a city. None of us knew that the mines were actually not just based on time alone, but also on a remote detonator the leader held in his hands. Right before I could shoot the bastard, however, Melvia jumped in front, and… and I hesitated."
"Archon…" Iris bit her lip, unsure of what to say in comfort.
Archon desperately tried to hold the tears in, but the resurfacing memories and pain was too much for him to handle. Between sobs and tears, he continued, clenching his fists tightly.
"I could've killed him before he got to detonate the mines, but that brief second of hesitation… I… I…"
Finn, emotionlessly, placed a hand on the crying man's shoulder. "… It's not your-"
"Don't tell me it's not my fault!" Archon suddenly growled deeply, swatting Finn's hand away and wiping his own tears. "I could've prevented my comrades from dying. I killed them, Finn. I KILLED THEM… all because of my stupid, lovestruck heart."
"Then… what happened after?" Octane asked quietly. "How did Melvia end up here, with us…?"
Archon sighed and tried to calm down. "The mines blew up, and Alpha Lupi's remaining gang members were slowly converging on me. I knew that if I wanted to get out of there alive, I needed to run — and so I did. I managed to escape unscathed, but the damage dealt to me emotionally could not be reversed.
"After, I returned to the same restaurant where I had originally met Melvia… and there she was, once again. When she spotted me, we just stared at each other awkwardly for a few minutes straight, neither of us able to say anything after what happened. She was not evil like her father was — I was sure of that… which was why I convinced her to come with me instead and join the Ghost Hunters."
"If she was not evil, then why protect her father?" Finn asked coldly.
"Familial bonds," Archon replied stoically. "She wanted to try and persuade her father to change for the better… but eventually, I managed to convince her to just give it up. I lied to the guild, saying the mission was just an unfortunate failure, we were completely ambushed, and I was the only survivor. I wanted to just leave it all behind… carry the heavy burden of my comrades' lives with me for the rest of my life and not let it affect anyone else. But unfortunately… someone in the guild had other plans."
"Did they find out about the truth…?" Fanatic murmured, despite already knowing the answer deep down.
"Yes… his name is Heartbeat. One of my squadmates on that fateful mission was his younger brother. He couldn't believe the story I told them, so he went and did some investigating on his own. I don't know how he managed to find out, but… once he did, he attacked me and Melvia on our way home from a mission and captured her, overwhelming us with numbers instantly, and saying that he would kill her for revenge.
"After some desperate and shameful pleading, I finally convinced him to not kill her straight away. Instead, he wanted me to bring him the head of Alpha Lupi's leader myself. If I couldn't do that, then he would kill Melvia."
"That's…" Storm gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger.
"Just this morning, he issued me his final warning. I have three days to slay the leader of Alpha Lupi and bring him what he wants. If I go beyond this time restriction, Melvia will die without a doubt. So, that brings us to the heart of today's discussion… are you all willing to do this together with me?"
Archon glanced around at all of us, firm determination in his solid gaze.
Octane was the first to respond, slamming his fist down on the table and shaking it slightly. "Melvia is part of this family… as long as she's not already dead, I'll do anything to bring her back. I'm with ya, boss."
Storm was next, folding his arms as dark hatred pooled in his eyes. "I won't ever forgive Alpha Lupi or Heartbeat. Even if you refuse to bring me along, Archon, I'll do it myself."
'Wishful thinking,' Finn scoffed in his head. 'You don't even have any information right now, how are you going to 'do it yourself'? Moreover… according to what Tempest said earlier today, it was clear the little brother he was referring to was Storm, judging from appearances. If that's the case, then Storm was 'useless', as he called it.'
Finn didn't feel guilty thinking this way at all — he was just being blunt with the truth. Naturally, though, he didn't say anything out loud.
"I believe I've already said this, but…" Fanatic took a deep breath. "Melvia was the one who showed me warmth again for the first time after my family was murdered by Ghosts. I may not have any combat abilities, but I refuse to let my family ripped away from me again. Archon… I'm in."
"Good… and you two?" Archon turned to Finn and Iris hesitantly. "It's completely alright if you say no… after all, you have no connection with Melvia whatsoever."
"That may be true, but this sounds like a good opportunity to get stronger," Finn replied. "And since I'm in this Squadron anyway… it wouldn't be right for me to sit operations out. I'll join this revenge crusade."
"Likewise," Iris said, a smile on her face. "I've been bored, being the only female in this house… if we can bring Melvia back, I'm sure we would get along just fine."
Archon, for the first time since beginning this tale, grinned slightly.
"Yeah… I'm sure you will."