#chapter 001

1 month after the founding of the Mafia

All was calm in the Mahogany Mansion on one seemingly normal Saturday afternoon. The glow of the reddish landscape flowed into the mansion through the hundreds of windows around the home. Velvet sat in their room silently, seemingly lost in thought. With her black hoodie zipped up all the way, she gazed at the empty red rocky world that lay outside the mansion, music blasting through her headphones.

Maroon could be found in their mushroom, a pun they are especially proud of, tending to their hundreds of mushrooms and planters of moss. They were softly humming an old Victorian tune as they worked, replanting and watering plants with great efficiency. Their brown overalls had dirt all over them, which wasn’t surprising since Maroon kept their black and red hair covering their eyes. The hair kept pushing their golden glasses off of the bridge of their nose, forcing them to pause what they were doing to readjust them. 

Mad was painting. A glance at the canvas would show nothing but squiggles and random splotches of paint. But to Mad, this painting showed all of their current emotions and feelings. They wore an apron in an attempt to keep paint from getting on them, but some splotches of white and blue still appeared that the robot would have to scrub off of their metal arms later.

Yes, all was calm as the afternoon slowly faded into evening and the red sun descended below the dark horizon. Mad continued to lather paint onto the canvas as the light slowly dissipated, not that it noticed. Nothing could shake the droid’s focus on the image they were creating in front of them. That was until a loud scream echoed through the mansion. 

Mad looked around, confused.

“What the…” it asked, setting the paint pallet down on the table. They moved out the door and into the hallway. It sat in darkness for a few moments, carefully scanning the area. 

Must’ve been Maroon in their room, they thought, crossing their arms, I wonder what they’re screaming about? It began to wander the halls, attempting to find their bedroom. The red and black walls of the mansion twisted and turned as they walked. There were words etched into the bottom, wooden part of the wall, but it couldn’t tell the language. Mad kneeled down to get a closer look.

“Mad?” 

The purple robot quickly turned its T.V. head around, a green exclamation mark appearing on the screen. Above them stood a teen, about 15 years old or so. 

“Velvet,” Mad muttered, “Hi.” The teen shined a small flashlight onto it, their face expressionless. Her short red hair was slightly pinned back by a black hair clip, revealing chocolate-brown eyes that looked Mad up and down. Their black jeans and hoodie blended into the darkness but their pale skin reflected some of the light. They were about as tall as Mad, around 170 centimetres. Their other hand gripped onto a pitch-black dagger with several red skulls lining the hilt and sheath on their hip. 

“What happened to you?” she asked, gesturing her dagger at one of the many paint splotches along their arm. Mad let out a small chuckle, although it was distorted due to the quality of its speakers. 

“I was painting. Did you hear that scream?” 

“Do you think I’m deaf or something?” 

“No-” they paused, sighing, “Was it you?” 

“It was probably that kid.”

“Maroon,” Mad corrected, “And they’re only a year younger than you.” Velvet rolled her eyes. 

“Whatever. What the hell are you doing anyway?” Mad slowly stood, using the wall to help it stand.

“I was trying to find Maroon’s room but got distracted. What’s this writing on the wall say?” 

“It’s just Astarca,” Velvet stated, shining the light on the wood, “...yeah, nothing you need to know.” Mad’s screen went blank, causing Velvet to narrow her eyes at them. 

“Anyways, you’re in the completely wrong area to find the kid’s room. This is the east wing, they’re in the west.”

“Oh. This place is…confusing.” 

“Not sure how you can confuse a robot,” they muttered, “But who knows, maybe being you makes you different.” 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Velvet slid her dagger back into its sheath. 

“I’m going to deal with the power outage,” she stated coldly, ignoring the robot’s question. Mad’s screen powered on again, displaying a question mark. 

“Power outage?” Velvet groaned.

“The power’s out, asinus.”

“Asinus?” 

“Fool,” Velvet translated. They mumbled something under their breath, but Mad couldn’t make it out.

“Why is the power out?” Mad asked.

“I was hoping you’d know the answer to that. I’m going to check the breaker now. Hopefully there’s not an intruder.”

“Do you not have security systems?” 

“Oh, we have them. Whether or not they work is a different question.”

“Of course. Can you take me to Maroon’s room before you go?” 

Velvet raised an eyebrow. “Why?” 

“No doubt the lights going off scared them. Do you remember when they first came into the mansion?” 

The teen groaned. 

“Yeah, I do. It’ll probably be better for all of us to be together if there is an intruder anyway.” Velvet began walking down the hallway and Mad soon followed suit. 

“Do you really think an intruder could get here?” 

“Anything’s possible.”

Mad stood in front of the wooden door labelled “MushROOM”. Moss patches covered various parts of it and a few mushrooms had sprouted around the sign. Velvet gestured to the rotting door. 

“Well?” 

Mad glanced back at them but slowly reached out to the door handle. 

“We might be a minute.”

“Just hurry up.” 

The droid stepped through the doorway. Tables lined the walls and created a square in the middle, all covered in various types of fungi. A bed was pushed in the far corner from the door and seemed to be serving as another table instead of a sleeping area. Mad glanced around the room but Maroon was nowhere to be found. 

“Maroon?” Mad called out, stepping around the closest table, “Whe-” It was cut off by a giant mushroom growing in front of it, pushing it backwards. 

“Who’s there?” A young voice called out, slightly shaking. It sounded British and reminded the robot of…well. 

Mad regained their balance before walking back up to the mushroom. 

“It’s me, Mad. Do you remember me? I’m the robot who makes those weird dial-up modem sounds at night.” The mushroom slightly shrunk, revealing the black and red hair of Maroon. Their hair covered their eyes and their arms hugged their sides. 

“Y-yeah.” 

A smile took over Mad’s T.V. screen.

“Are you okay? Was it you who screamed when the power went out?” The teen nodded. Mad kneeled down and stepped past the mushroom. Maroon towered over them but seemed to shrink down as Mad looked up at them. 

“Well, Velvet’s going to fix the lights-” 

Maroon looked up at the robot.

“D-did Velvet come with you?” the teen stuttered out, looking down at the floor.

“Yeah, they did. I’m pretty sure they’re on their way to the breaker by now. I don’t think they’d wait for us-” They were cut off by two loud bangs on the door, causing both of them to jump and glance towards the door.

“Hurry up, you two!” Velvet shouted from the other side, “I don’t have all day.” 

Mad sighed. “Apparently not.” 

The mushroom in front of them shrunk until it was no longer visible. Mad glanced back at Maroon, who was attempting to brush the patches of dirt off of their overalls and pale blue shirt. It heard them mumble something under their breath but it couldn’t make it out.

“What was that?” the droid asked. Maroon slightly jumped again before looking at their TV.

“N-nothing.” 

“Alright. You ready?” 

“Mhm.” 

Another bang came from the door.

“Did you not hear me?”

“We’re coming, Velvet!”

Maroon walked closely next to Mad, not taking their eyes off of the older teen walking in front of them. Velvet barely said anything on the way to the breaker room, just off of the mansion’s foyer. Mad looked at them. 

“Are you ok, Maroon?” it asked quietly. Maroon flinched before looking at it.

“U-uh, is Velvet mad at us?” 

Mad glanced at her before a smile emoticon lit up its screen. 

“I don’t think she’s angry. She’s just…not used to having people around yet. Give them time, I’m sure they’ll warm up to you.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Velvet called out, stopping and turning around to face them, “Here’s the breaker room, go figure out what’s wrong.” Mad’s emoticon disappeared, but they kept their T.V. on and emitting light. 

“I thought you were going to fix it.”

“And? You’re a robot, you can do it. I don’t trust either of you to keep watch.” 

The droid paused before letting out a robotic sigh. “Alright.” 

Maroon looked at Velvet, who narrowed her eyes at them. 

“What?”

“N-nothing.” 

Mad opened the door and Maroon hurried past them. Velvet rolled their eyes. Inside, a small blinking red light sat on the door to the control panel. Maroon moved next to Mad again as the droid slowly approached it. They opened the door and were greeted by hundreds of lights and error messages.

“What the…” it mumbled. 

“Well?” Velvet called from the open door.

“Something’s definitely wrong.” 

“Oh no fucking shit, I had no idea! I meant what’s wrong, stultus.” Maroon held the door open while Mad leaned closer.

“Let’s see…” it paused, staring at the status window. Before they could say anything, a loud thud echoed from the second floor. Mad and Maroon turned around just in time to see Velvet sprint towards the steps. They quickly followed suit, the sound of metal clashing quickly drifting down. Velvet rolled backwards when they reached halfway stop on the staircase, a small slash in their hoodie’s left sleeve. A masked man towered over them, gripping two metal blades. 

Velvet took a deep breath before charging again. She swung her dagger at his stomach, causing him to block with one of the swords. The teen smirked before quickly slamming their knee into the masked man’s chest. The man rolled backwards but Velvet ripped the sword out of his hand. The man just barely managed to regain their balance before Velvet swung his own sword toward his head. He blocked it, quickly pushing his sword forward until the stolen blade clattered to the wooden floor. He followed through with the swing and sliced Velvet’s upper cheek. Maroon immediately tensed up next to Mad, but Velvet didn’t even flinch. 

The teen, taking advantage of the man’s slower reaction time, plunged her dagger into his stomach. The masked man let out a bone-chilling scream as he fell to the ground, the second sword landing a metre or so behind him. Velvet took a deep breath before turning back to their new teammates, Maroon staring at them through their hair. 

“H-how did you-” the younger teen started, “Where did you learn to do that?” Velvet raised an eyebrow as they wiped away the blood streaming down from their wound. 

“...you’re kidding.” 

“No?-” 

“I’m an assassin, fungus,” the older teen said coldly, crossing her arms, “It’s the whole reason I’m here.” 

Maroon stood up straighter. “O-oh.” 

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, oh.”

“Wait you’ve…killed people?” Mad said, its speakers quiet. Velvet glared at them. 

“Yes Mad, that’s what the word assassin means. Honestly, I’m impressed you knew that.” 

Maroon looked between the two before rubbing their hands together and looking toward the ground. A dark feeling emerged in Mad’s soul but it couldn’t put a name to it.

“That was rude, Velvet,” Mad replied.

“Oh shut up. If you couldn’t tell, I don’t fucking care.” 

Behind them, the masked man was slowly getting to his feet. Maroon’s hands fell to their sides.

“Velvet-”

“What, Maroon? Are you going to try to make me apologise and shit, cause it’s not-” She was cut off by the masked man, who shoved her to the ground. His stomach bled profusely and he held the bloody dagger to her throat. Velvet attempted to push him off but he cut the fabric near their shoulder. They trapped his leg and threw him over, knocking the blade out of his hand. The man kicked his leg at them, forcing them to roll away. Maroon quickly sprouted mushrooms sprouted from the cracks in the hardwood floors, quickly surrounding the man and pinning him to the ground. Once Velvet regained their balance, she grabbed the sword from the ground and drove it into his chest.

Maroon quickly looked away, jumping away from Velvet. Mad put an arm in front of them, its screen dark and blank. Velvet stood as the man squirmed, picking up their dagger from the ground. 

“Wait, Velvet-” Mad stumbled out. The assassin turned back towards them.

“What, Mad?”

“Shouldn’t-” 

Maroon tightly grabbed onto one of their arms. They slowly opened one of their eyes to look up at them but quickly shut it again. Velvet rolled their eyes before kneeling down next to the masked man. Mad watched as she ripped the mask off, her eyes widening. 

“Greyhound,” they growled, raising the dagger once more. The man on the ground laughed. 

“You know, I didn’t think I would be the one to find you,” he said, coughing a bit, “But here I am.” 

“Where’s your teammate?” the teen demanded, the blade resting on the man’s throat. Greyhound shook his head.

“Now why would I tell you that?” 

Velvet pressed the knife down, drawing a bit of blood.

“I could make your death torture, slow and painful. It would be so satisfying to watch you slowly bleed out from your own sword.”

“We both know I’m fully prepa-” His words turned to muffled gargling as Velvet quickly slit his throat. Mad looked away, instead focusing on the teen next to them. They were shaking slightly, jumping a bit as Greyhound grew quieter and quieter. Mad carefully pulled them into a loose hug. Velvet let out a sigh.

“Would you two stop cowering like you’ve never seen someone die before?” they called out, “Get over yourselves, we’ve got to find the other one. He never sends an agent alone.” 

Maroon looked up at her. “W-who’s he?” 

“Your dad, right?” Mad asked. Velvet’s eyes narrowed into a glare.

“I’d watch what you say, cōnfectus.”

“I’m right though, aren’t I?” 

Maroon let go of Mad’s arm before taking a few steps away from the duo. 

“That…saevus mendax,” Velvet hissed, “Is far from a father, let alone mine. I’ll-” A mushroom sprouted between them, forcing Velvet backwards and cutting her off. They switched their glare to Maroon, who took a few more steps backwards. 

“You little-” 

Mad stepped in front of them.

“Stop. You said there’s another person here?” 

Velvet looked them up and down before sheathing their dagger.

“You two are lucky I don’t have time to deal with you.” She pushed past Mad and Maroon, turning at the stairs.

“Split up and find them,” they ordered, glancing back at their teammates, “Nothing else happens until they're dead.”