Darkness. Blood. The smell of rotting flesh. Smoke. A sudden blaze illuminated everything. Madness. Chaos. Everything is lost. A never ending nightmare.

The sun had barely begun to rise. A tall boy clad in all black walked the street. His red eyes burned with vengeance. His black hair clung to his face, dripping with sweat. A single red section stuck out from the rest. He stopped behind an abandoned building. A meeting place. He crouched down leaning on the wall, clutching his head. Tormented by the misfortune, the injustice of his past. Several minutes went by in silence. The faint sound of footsteps. Closer, louder. The approached. A shorter stouter figure, face obscured by a dark red hooded sweatshirt. The guy stood. He walked out of the blackness into the light of dawn.

"Snake." his dark voice resounded in the near lifeless street. The hooded figure removed the hood, Alex stood before the sinister guy.

"Yes, Master?" he straightened his posture.

"I have a special mission for you, only you." a thin smile crawled across his face. Alex looked on intently. "Tiger and Rabbit, they cannot be trusted." He handed Alex a letter. "Keep watch over them and report anything questionable to me." Alex nodded and looked down to the letter. On it an address and a name. 'Kaarlo'.

"Aren't they under your jurisdiction?" Alex looked up inquisitively.

"The two of them have been disregarding orders, I need you to watch them while I cannot." his tone grew agitated at Alex's hesitation. Alex averted his eyes. "Don't make me regret my decision, boy!" his voice filled with contempt. "I have no problems with replacing 'faulty parts'!" Alex looked to the ground.

"Y-yes, Master." Alex looked back to the guy then started to back off.

"And remember" He began to speak again. "Hands off of Tiger if you value your miserable life!" He warned in a condescending tone.

"Right!" Alex nodded then turned around and continued walking. "'Avoid conflict with Tiger at all costs'." previous orders replayed in Alex's head. "Then why are you sending me to him?!" Alex sighed somewhat annoyed. Curiosity struck. He opened the letter containing the details of his mission. "'You're the only one who can do this.'" he said in a mocking tone as he skimmed the page. "Oh..." he bared his teeth in frustration. "So that’s what he meant."

After classes ended, he left the campus. Another day of nothing to report. His suspicions grew. He spent the free afternoon alone on top of the abandoned building he frequently met Alex at. The sky was overcast but no rain. He unintentionally dozed off. When he awoke, the sun had begun to set. "That dream again?" He rubbed his temples with two fingers then made his way down. He used this building and a few other scattered around the city as hideouts, bases for his operations. This had previously been a restaurant of some kind but closed awhile back. Despite that the electricity hadn't been shut off, so he'd spend most of his free time there or the surrounding shops. He didn't really have a home, orphaned as a young child. The massacre haunted his soul. As he made his way back to his lodging, a voice called out to him.

"Master!" A much younger blond boy with blue eyes (Reese Krisel) was leaning against a nearby wall. His feathery hair was pulled back into a short braid reaching just passed his shoulder blades.

"Good evening, Bird." he answered in a cold tone. The kid, Reese, pushed off the wall and started toward him.

"I have something I would like to report." Reese gave a wry smile. He returned the expression.

"Excellent!" his eyes gleamed with a twisted joy.