Prolouge

It was sunny out today. The sky was clear and blue, no clouds in sight, allowing the sun to shower its heat and light upon the world. A slight breeze stirred the corners of the cloth resting atop the table covered with enough food to hold a small banquet. There were eight chairs present at the table, though only four were occupied. The largest man of the group slammed his fist on the table and rose to his feet, knocking the chair out underneath him. His muscles tensed under the colorful clothing that he wore. His dark slicked back hair moved with his head as he stood.

“What do you mean I can’t kill them!” he furiously shouted staring at the man across from him. The man simply laughed and motioned for him to sit down.

“Honestly Murdock, you can’t solve everything by killing. Sometimes things require a more subtle approach. So please, do not ruin the meal. 

Murdock glared a bit longer before picking his chair up and setting it back in its place. He sat down and continued to glare at the man.

“That’s better Murdock, perhaps next time you’ll take my advice.” The man reached for the glass on the table and raised it to his lips. “After all, your big brother knows what he is saying.” He took a sip of the wine in the glass and sighed with pleasure. “That’s what I love about wine. Rich, elegant, and delightfully pleasant.” He swirled the wine around inside the glass and turned his attention to the young girl at his side. “Is something the matter Alex? You’ve barely touched your lunch.” He place the wineglass down and swept his hand across his brown hair pushing it out of his eyes.

The girl looked at him sourly and turned away. “I’m not hungry.” She folded her arms and stuck her tongue at him. He sighed and began massaging his temples.

“We can play after lunch dear, but right now Uncle Christof is rather famished. After all, isn’t nice to just sit down with the family and enjoy a good meal. If only everyone else could have made it.” He placed his hand on Alex’s head and ruffled her blue hair.

“You talk to much Christof, one day that’ll be the death of you.” Murdock exclaimed biting into his steak. He chewed it noisily and took a drink of the wine. He immediately spat it out and threw the wineglass away. “Don’t we have anything stronger?”

Christof sighed again and motioned to a man standing in the corner. He quickly moved to the spot where the glass had shatter and swept up the shards. He then produced a cloth from his coat and wiped up the wine. He moved back to his previous spot and stood once more.

“Thank you James. Now Murdock what did I tell you about that. Just because we’re rich doesn’t mean you smash whatever you want.” He was going to continue until a piece of salad hit him in the face. He slowly turned to Alex and glared at her. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran off. He sighed and turned to Murdock. “I’ll be back in a sec, one game of tag shouldn’t take to long.” He rose from the table and pushed both his and Alex’s chair under the table. He grabbed the white coat from the back of the chair and placed it overtop his gray shirt and began to walk after Alex looking around as he did so. Murdock shook his head and turned to the other man.

“I like you Zain. You don’t say much and you don’t stop me from killing.” The man just continued to eat his meal. His long white hair was tied back into a ponytail and the orange sleeves rolled up to not make a mess. He looked up at Murdock and opened his eyes.

“I prefer to allow my actions to speak for me.” His crimson eyes flashed brilliantly as he went back to his meal. Murdock shook his head looked over his shoulder at the butler.

“James, get me real beer. Not this girly wine.”

The butler bowed and began to walk away. “As you wish sir.”


Christof walked down the stairs into the main room up the mansion and cupped his hands around his mouth. “Alex! Come out come out wherever you are!” He waited for a response and continued his search once it was clear there would be none. He opened the door and looked around. He smiled as he saw the outline of a girl and creped up to it.

“Aha! Got you!” He exclaimed grabbing the girl’s shoulders and turning her around. He frowned as the head fell off and clattered on the floor. He turned around and flicked the switch turning the lights on. He grimaced as he realized he’d been tricked. He was holding a mop rapped in a cloth and kicked the bucket. Before he could move, something jumped on his back and covered his eyes.

“Haha, I tricked you!” Alex laughed as she held onto his back. “Give me a ride!” Christof smiled and laughed.

“Alright then. You better hold on.” She gripped him tightly cutting off his circulation. “Err, not the tight.” He said grabbing her feet.

“Ops, sorry about that Uncle Chrissie.” She loosened her grip and wrapped her fingers around his hair. “I wanna go fast!” She exclaimed poking his ribs with her knees.

“You asked for it.” Christof took off out the door running at a blinding speed. He weaved in and out the columns and up the stairs. As he came upon the balcony where the meal was being enjoyed he leapt over Murdock and continued to run. Alex giggled as Murdock cursed and began to chase them. He quickly fell behind as Christof ran as fast as he could. He ran straight at the wall and continued to run up the wall. He pushed off the wall and flipped over landing on Murdock’s shoulders. He sat there wrapping his legs around Murdock’s neck.

“Now now Murdock, should you be using that kind of language in front our little sister?” He questioned Murdock leaning over so their faces were in front of one another.

“I’m going to kill you Christof!” He shouted and tried to punch him in the face. Christof simply leaned back up and jumped off his shoulders as his fist struck him in the face. Murdock cursed as his own punch knocked him to the floor, which cracked from his fall. Alex laughed as Murdock got to his feet and chased after them. Christof once again ran into the main room, but stopped, skidding to a halt in front the man who entered the door. The man smiled and removed his hat, revealing the long curly black hair that fell to his shoulders. He wore all black and dragged the body of a man along the floor. He smiled, dropped the body, and reached his arms out to Alex. She squealed with delight and jumped into his arms, snuggling against his chest.

“Well hello there my dear little Alexandra! Did you miss me?” She wrapped her fingers into his hair and kissed his cheek while he placed his hat on her head.

“Uncle Bastion! Did you get me anything?” She looked at him, her eyes sparkling waiting for his reply.

“Actually I did.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a necklace. The chain was silver and around it hung a large crystal set in a bronze flower. “I had it hand made just for you.”

She squealed delightfully as he placed it around her neck. “Its beautiful. Thank you Uncle Bastion!”

Christof smiled and gave them both a hug. “Welcome home Sebastian. How was the mission?” 

Sebastian smiled as he placed Alex down. “It went according to plan. Though this Savior tried to stop me. Should have none he was no match for me.”

Christof was about to reply when he heard an angry roar. He turned as Murdock leaped from the top of the stairs and dived at him. Murdock crashed into him, slamming him into the ground. The floor cracked where they collided with it and Murdock picked him up. He roared once more and threw him at the wall. Before he crashed into it, he quickly spun and landed on his feet. He pushed off the wall and landed in front of Murdock. Murdock stared at him murderously until he realized that Sebastian and Alex were staring at him. He looked back and forth between the three.

“Uh, hey Sebastian, when did you get here?”

“Why I just arrived actually. I was wondering if you could do me favor.” He gestured towards the body. “Could you feed this Savior to my pets?”

Murdock growled. “Whatever.”

“Oh, and I had James escort the two men I brought to your room. I do know how much you enjoy their screams.” He turned to Christof and Alex as Murdock carried the body outside. “So were you guys playing tag? Mind if I join in?”

“Yay! You missed it Uncle Bastion, I tricked Uncle Chrissie and got him!”

Sebastian smiled. “Did you now? I would have liked to see that.”

“Mother will be quite upset once she sees what you did to the floor.” The voice came from above and they all looked up. Zain was leaning against the railing staring down at them. He jumped off and landed on his feet. He stood up and pointed at the blood, and then the cracks. “It’s only been three days since it was repaired last time.”

“Aw don’t sweat it Zain! Come play tag with us!” Sebastian wrapped his arms around him. Zain just stared at him and pushed his arms off. He walked upstairs and went back out onto the balcony.

“Oh well. I guess I’m it. You two better go hide!” Christof closed his eyes and began counting. Sebastian and Alex dashed off in different directions seeking a place to hide. “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10! Here I come!”