Chapter 1: Beginnings

(note: there's some Spanish and it's translated at the bottom of the page!)


Once upon a time, there were three siblings: two brothers and a sister. The three of them worked very hard their whole lives only to become rich behind their wildest dreams. With these riches, they built a great palace. It was very much admired among others, but it could always use something more. It needed this and that and so on and so forth. They built all that it needed and it was even more admired, but an old man told them it needed three more things: a pitcher of el agua de la vida, the water of life, a branch where the smell of the flowers gave eternal beauty, and the talking bird.

The oldest brother decided to set out after it. Of course, his siblings worried about the journey ahead in search of such things. They asked the old man how they could know he was safe, and the man gave them a knife: as long as it was bright, he was well, but when it was bloody, evil had fallen upon him. And so, he set off.

His journey took him far and wide until he met with a friendly giant along a winding path of stones that went up the mountain. He was told that he had to walk past stones that would mock him; if he did not turn, he could gain what he was after, but if he did, he would turn to stone as well. He went to the mountain, but the stones jeered at him so loudly he turned to throw a rock at them, and turned to stone.

Warned by the knife that something had happened, his brother followed him, and suffered the same fate. The mocking got to him and he couldn't ignore their words, just as his brother before him had. Their sister was all that remained.

She later followed their footsteps, but did not turn. Their words couldn't find her nor ruin her. At the top of the mountain, she found a pool and the talking bird perched on a branch within the tree. She took all that they'd seeker, but being tired from the journey, she let spill a few drops of the water of life, which turned her stone brothers back. She sprinkled the water on all the stones and restored them all to life. At home, she planted the tree and watered it, and it grew, and the bird perched in its boughs. With the water, they could live eternally but only wished for that tree to live on beyond them. The bird spoke truths and its songs attracted all from fat and wide. The flowers that grew from their tree granted them eternal beauty only for them to find happiness in the love of others.

"And then what happened?" The woman somewhat shut the book resting in her lap, curiously looking over at the boy who asked the question. She looked back up, seeing the other children lying in their beds as they all stared at her expectantly. She smiled and shook her head with a warm smile.

"And then they all lived happily ever after." She replied, standing up from her place sitting at the end of one of the small beds.

"I told you!" A girl whispered to her group of friends where all of them were crammed together on one bed. They soon launched into giggles.

"Alright, alright. That's enough. It's way past your bedtimes." The woman clapped her hands and all the kids ran back to their beds, either yawning or complaining quietly about how they weren't tired.

"Can't we stay up a little longer?" The boy from before mumbled softly. The woman raised an eyebrow at him, that smile still apparent on her face though still a little stern.

"Carlitos, it's late enough as it is."

"*Lo siento, Señora Maria." The elderly woman smiled and tucked the child in, kissing his forehead before shuffling back to the door. She stopped in the doorway, her hand on the light switch as she smiled at the kids.

"*Buenas noches."

"Buenas noches, Señora Maria!" She chuckled and turned out the light, softly shutting the door behind her.

She walked down the hall of the large building quietly, listening to the rain outside. She hummed to herself quietly with only the sounds of that and the rain filling the house as she continued on until she came to the top of the stairs. The calm was interrupted by a frantic pounding at the front door, causing Maria to jump in surprise before rushing to the door. She'd hardly opened it when another woman ran into the house, drenched from the rain outside, and looked absolutely terrified. The woman, once inside, spoke so quickly and with such fear to her voice that it took Maria a moment of concerned confusion for her to go comfort the poor woman.

"What is the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost." Even with rather lighthearted words, there was genuine worry laced within.

"T-They're back! *¡Ellos están de regreso! ¡Muchos de ellos! ¡No sé lo que quieren, no en este momento, pero que significan problema! ¡Lo sé, lo–!" Maria was in no way prepared for the extremely fast words thrown her way in less than one minute.

"Calm down, hija! Now, take a deep breath and tell me…who is here?"

"*¡Los Perros Negros!" Both of their eyes were wide at this, Maria quickly recovering from the news and holding the frantic woman by the shoulders gently, but firmly.

"Was anyone else outside? Is everyone in town still in their homes? They need to be safe."

The woman nodded slowly. "N-No…I didn't see anyone else outside."

"Good. Go upstairs, my office is the first room you will see: I'm sure someone else is awake and will see to you. I'll be up in a moment." Even as Maria spoke, the woman seemed a bit skeptical, but another glance at the door sent her scurrying up the stairs. The Sister sighed and tentatively pulled back the curtains just a bit on front window, peering out at the darkened streets. She could already hear slight laughter and gruff voices alongside trucks making their way down the street, the lights within houses and workplaces all shut off. Even the streetlights seemed scarily dim as if the town was holding its breath while the dangerous group made its way through.

"Los Perros Negros…" She was mentally praying for them to continue on their way without trouble. No doubt, they either were on their way to deliver something or had already stolen a fair amount of goods and were just headed back home to look over the spoils. To her, it didn't matter as long as no one got hurt.

They were out of sight, going farther and farther away as they closed in on the roads that followed the dense jungles. "Stay safe, *mi niña precisoa…" With those whispered words, she shut the curtains again and rushed back upstairs.


The group continued on its way, joking and laughing with such inflated confidence that it had terrified the town they'd been passing through. Of course, they'd stolen quite a bit from the next one over and utterly trashed it, but they'd let this one off easy with just the thievery.

"Yes…yes…well, tell him we'll have it by tomorrow. Look, you think my job is any easier, gringo? You do yours and I'll do mine, got it. I've got a reputation here and I'm not letting the boss spoil that…yes…alright. Done. Hasta mañana." One of the men hung his phone with a growl. He was one of several others, dressed in all black with steel, studded accents and one touch of dark red. He seemed less fearful than some of his men, some of which had hid their faces, while he lounged about in one of the trucks with his arm laying comfortably out of the window. Things seemed to be looking up his gang until the truck jolted forward when it was forced to stop so suddenly.

"Watch the road!"

"There's a tree in the road, sir! There's no way we can move it, we've gotta find a way around." He wasn't lying when he spoke: the cars ahead of them had abruptly halted due to the large tree that blocked a good majority of the road, providing absolutely no way around it.

"Warn me next time or someone's gonna find you in the road." The discussion amongst them all was quick: they couldn't afford to ever waste time by holding themselves up with a simple roadblock. The rain pounded down a bit heavier now as they took a side road that lead through the trees, lightning lighting up their surroundings more than their headlights ever could in comparison. Of course, with how dark it was, they hardly noticed a pair of eyes that glinted dangerously in that flash of light, watching them from not too far in eerie silence. A low voice, unintelligible to anyone who might have heard it due to its volume, spoke quietly as a pair of lights lit up on the ground near this person before both rushed forward after the trucks.

They continued on their way without a care, though were still wary of the animals and the low light within the jungles that made their headlights seem like nothing and even the lightning only worked on occasion when it crackled through the sky. The deeper into the jungle they went, the darker it seemed. However, their group was more or less used to it: on the other hand, the heavy rain limited vision much more and they'd already come across a road block, so who's to say they wouldn't find another?

That's exactly what Los Perros Negros came across, only not like the tree from before.

An annoyed groan came from the one in charge, poking his head out of the window and banging against the side of the truck as he called out to his men ahead of his truck. "What is it this time?"

"Animal in the road! We're gonna move it." One called back in a gruff voice, soon followed by some annoyance from a few others as they exited their vehicles with a slam of the truck doors.

The headlights of the first truck stayed locked on the animal that was laying on its side, its back facing them and staying still to the point where it looked completely dead. Even still, one of them raised a gun as they approached it and muttered with confusion, "…what is that?"

The body on the ground was an exceedingly dark grey, nearly black, and very streamlined and smooth like the body of a big cat. Parts of its limbs seemed broken up in regularly jointed places and a few pieces that would make a normal animal (simple features like ears, proper feet, maybe fur) were missing. One of the men poked at its back, near the shoulder with the end of his gun as if testing if it was alive before any of them risked moving it. Those who had left their vehicles jumped back when two huge green eyes opened, causing them to raise their guns warily at the feline beast that raised its head and stared blankly at them all.

With their focus drawn to it, they couldn't have focused their gaze on the trees surrounding them. Thus, they didn't see those same eyes from before and the glint of a weapon in their hands. Shots were fired and soon the headlights began going out one by one until they were left completely in the dark. Shouting filled the air immediately and those who had left the safety of their vehicles were moving around frantically to return to the trucks. A few came out with flashlights, shining streams of light into the trees where the shots had come from.

"*¿Quién está ahí? ¡Muéstrate!" One shouted, aiming his weapon as another positioned his flashlight where they assumed someone was hiding.

Unfortunately, they assumed correctly.

"*Ahora." That one word made the beast spring to life. It leapt to its feet and launched itself at two of the men before they could blink. It moved too fast and seemed too smart to be a regular animal, its strength outweighing those that it pinned to the ground as it snatched a gun in its jaws. The bite force itself didn't actually snap it into pieces, but it broke it to the point where using it was no longer an option. A laugh resounded and rustling leaves followed with the movement of a figure, seem for a split second when someone tried to shine a light on them.

"You'll have to try harder than that." A teasing woman's voice spoke up and was followed by another shot. It seemed that she'd aimed for the lights yet again, someone dropping their flashlight with a shriek of pain from that shot meeting his hand. Someone landed on the roof of one of the trucks and the sounds of metal cutting into metal was horrible…though, it was nothing compared to hearing several pops and the air hissing out of tires. Those who weren't preoccupied by the cybernetic animal opened fire on the mysterious woman as she continued wrecking havoc for them as her damage continued from actual gang members to the trucks. They were firing desperately to get her to run or, better yet, get rid of her permanently, but that was easier said than done. She was moving quick and used cover a lot more frequently than they seemed to do, since it was either shoot her/that bot or try to protect their cargo. A shotgun being fired sent the men back to the remaining trucks that could still drive as orders were barked impatiently to everyone present.

"Leave it, we'll come back for them! We're getting out now!" The boss yelled, already being driven away as fast as possible back down the path to the blocked off road. The rest (the rest that were able to by that point) followed suit without hesitation and the woman drew back.

"*Sígueme." A single command escaped her, causing the animal to pause until she began pursuing the trucks where it bolted right after her.

With each shot fired, tires went out one by one and caused the vehicles to stop before they could possibly crash. "*Ve." The beast left the woman's side and to the trucks that were left behind, thus leaving her to continue forward towards the very last one.

The remaining truck skidded to a stop on the main road, one side of the car scratching against their original obstacle. Everyone who was left inside the remaining vehicle were freaking out just after the attack.

"W-Where do we go now?" The man who was driving stammered out, his knuckles having gone white from gripping the steering wheel so tight.

"The road is blocked. Where do you think?!" The boss shouted and raised a hand, the man at the wheel flinching just at the motion. "We'll go back through the town."

"Aww, *pobre bebitos preciosos. Leaving so soon?" The woman's voice returned just as their truck was turning around, their back to the tree and sides to the thick foliage surrounding the road. "I imagined Los Perros Negros to be just like your name, but I see you're much sadder…my condolences do go out to you…couldn't even face one woman…" Her voice had a sarcastic sting to it that was laced with such a blunt honesty that one of the men in the back climbed out, explaining that he'd handle her so they could get a move on. While the other two wanted to stop him, make him see some reason, their boss rolled his eyes and waited impatiently.

In a matter of seconds, something zipped through the leaves and landed a bullseye on his neck. He fell to the ground in a second, still breathing but definitely out cold.

"Move!" The boss grumbled as if nothing had happened. A laugh made all but him jump due to how much closer it sounded.

"Cowards…you can't even face me? You'd much rather run away? I'll still find you and I'll still win. Be my guests: hide behind your boss for as long as you can…after all, it's quite clear you can't even hold your own." She spoke with an almost overbearing confidence. That confidence shined through when the driver spotted her walking on the tree that was behind them.

"We outnumber you!" The man that remained in the backseat yelled, "You wouldn't stand a chance!"

The woman laughed again. "*Qué lindo…you don't know who I am. That's fine, as it'll make this all the more fun. Unfortunately, your suppliers won't be happy to know you lost against me."

The man swore and grabbed his gun before leaving his accomplices behind in the truck despite the shouts from the driver to come back.

"Show yourself! You call us cowards, but you hide in the shadows!" He growled as he made his way around the truck. "Get out here! ¡Ahora!"

"Since you asked so nicely…" The woman's silhouetted form in the taillights paused, having moved forward a few steps until the barrel of the gun was aimed at her forehead where she raised her arms somewhat in surrender. Her stance didn't last for very long, taking aim and sending something flying towards his hand. The man shrieked in pain as he dropped his firearm to clutch painfully at his hand. A sharp bit of metal had sunk into his hand; enough to cause pain and draw blood, but clearly not sharp enough to sink into his skin deeply.

The woman ran forward as he remained standing, trying to stem the bleeding, and kicked his gun far out of reach. He was the next one to hit the ground and the woman rested her heel against his chest, her gaze turning to the patiently waiting truck. The driver was whimpering in his seat when she stared at them and the taillights soon went out one at a time. As it happened, however, he'd began moving just as the last one shattered and was soon speeding away. He was too scared to even look behind him.

Her eyes widened behind those goggles. Those two that were left would be a bigger problem if they made it back through town and could easily use anyone as a shield against her. A low growl and an incoherent string of grumbled words slipped past her lips.

Inside the truck, the driver continued to freak out as he muttered to himself in Spanish and even his boss sat beside him in a state that wasn't as calm or unamused as before. Sure, those men were expendable to him, but his own body was something more important to him (and other employers) than anything else. It was no wonder why he freaked out upon seeing flashes of red and blue lights up ahead that lit up the buildings around them. They had no choice but to stop in front of several police cars and many more officers standing beside them.

"Por favor, step out of the vehicle, nice and slow." The command came in an instant and the truck's terrified driver obeyed without a hitch, approaching the police without a hitch. Of course his boss wouldn't play as nicely, remaining seated despite the demands from one of the officers growing somewhat louder as though he hadn't heard them. He eventually conceded and left with his hands up, slow movements and a feigned look of shock on his face. It disappeared to one of aggravation when he lashed out and grabbed an officer as well as a pistol from his belt.

"Now, you're going to let us go or else! You can start by moving your cars before–!" Before he could even finish his statement, a dart zipped through the air and landed dead center between his shoulder blades. The officer in his grasp freed themselves as the man fell to the ground. Silence passed between everyone, save for footsteps and heavy breathing of someone coming up the road. A light shined next to the truck to see a woman and a cybernetic animal beside her, both dragging a few unconscious accomplices behind them.

"Officers," The woman brought up her goggles to rest on her head, a playfully calm glint in her hazel eyes, "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

They all stared on until she looked down at the criminals laying on the ground next to her. She smiled and continued forward, "They couldn't take my jeering: it simply got the best of them. Now, I'm going to need an ambulance for this man and confirmation that the rest will be taken care of justly. Sound good?" She left them with the police, but stayed around. A hero's work was never done.


*I'm sorry, Mrs. Maria.

*Good night

*They are back! Many of them! I don't know what they want, not right now, but they mean trouble! I know it, I [know it]!

*The Black Dogs! (it's a reference to a mythical creature)

*My precious child/girl

*Who's there? Show yourself!

*Now

*Follow [me]

*Go

*Poor precious babies

*How cute…