Gertrude ducked as loose fragments of crystal showered down on them.
"Who would attack us now?!" Kyren yelped
"It's obviously human." Astell prepared to transform as more cannon fire thundered above,
Victoria pulled out a pistol "You guys need to stay here." She began to follow Astell, but the door leading to the chamber suddenly burst open, and assassins poured in with modified ODM. The next few seconds were a blur, Victoria was shot in the chest, her asian black hair now stained with blood. Astell's arm was blown of by a shot at point blank range, before his legs were hacked off in quick succession, leaving him unable to transform. Gertrude was shot in the head, and fell dead. A man with a grey hat seemingly directed it all, and gave orders.
"A-alto..." Astell crawled over to him with his one remaining arm, "W-we must c-complete the ceremony." He bit into Alto's hand, drawing blood
"Dad you got to drink!" Alto cried, but instead of drinking, Astell grabbed Alto's bloodied hand.
"Alto Burke, I crown you the new Flare Titan," A spark of lighting travelled from Astell's arm into Alto's hand.
"Shit." The man with the hat dropped beside the bleeding Astell, he raised his gun. "Nothing person-"
"That's enough Kenny." someone said
"U-uncle Rod?" Alto asked, confused.
"What the...I trusted you!" Astell roared at him
"You've become a liability." Rod said simply
"What? The hell do you mean liability!" Astell coughed again,
"The founding titan... it was stolen." Rod Reiss replied,
Alto looked around, and noticed a girl, blonde and short, and quite confused. They locked eyes for a moment.
"So you think I tried to steal it?" coughed Astell
"I can't take chances. You and your relatives are to much of a risk to the peace inside the walls. Your Titan makes you dangerous, the knowledge you possess even more so. I realized that the second you joined the Scouts."
"The 145th King was a coward. And so are you, you were willing to disown Historia, your own daughter, just to save your sorry ass. I'm ashamed to share your blood." Astell spat,
Alto was confused, 'Uncle Rod has a daughter named Historia?'
"Alto run." His father's voice echoed in his head.
"Dad?" He whimpered.
"The Flare Titan allows me to communicate with you. Now go!"
"But-"
"GO!" His voice roared, Alto whimpered, and ran.
"And do not forget how the Reiss family betrayed us. How they betrayed their own people!"
"Kenny! Stop that kid!" Rod ran, but Astell, gathering the last of his strength, tackled Kenny.
'I have to get out of here!' Suddenly lighting sparked, and where Alto had stood, was now a fifteen meter Titan.
"The Flare Titan..." Rod murmured
Alto roared, unleashing a storm of flame from it's breath like a dragon, forcing the assassins' back.
"We can't fight it!" Kenny said, pushing Astell off him, who was now dead from blood loss.
"I know, we have to run Kenny." Rod said, "Historia lets go." Alto could hear as he assassins pulled back, fleeing the scene. Rod looked at the enraged Titan one last time, and left.
After a few minutes, Alto emerged from the nape of the Titan. Surrounded by nothing but corpses and flame. Finally, he collapsed, and cried.
A few hours later, Alto awoke beside the steaming body of his Titan. 'Did...I do that?' He wondered. Nothing made sense, a liquid trickled down his nose, he wiped it with the back of his hand. 'Blood?' The questions just kept mounting. He wandered around in a daze, then his eyes landed on one of the corpses surrounding him.
The corpse of his father.
Alto screamed as everything came rushing back to him, the ceremony, the massacre, the fight. "WHY?! WHY WAS I LEFT BEHIND?!" He screamed at the corpse. "IT'S NOT FAIR!" He kicked the body, he pounded his head against one of the crystal pillars. Until finally he just collapsed, and broke down. He sobbed in a fetal position for several minutes.
'And do not forget how the Reiss Family betrayed us! How they betrayed their own people!' The voice of his father echoed in his ears. He kneeled over on the ground. 'That's right...I can't give up. Who's going to avenge them if I don't?' It might take months, years maybe, but he'd find Rod Reiss, he'd find Kenny, and He. Would. Make. Them. Pay.
With a new fire in his eyes, he got up, and he left the crystal chamber behind. And walked into a new life.
When Alto got to the surface, he practically had to dig his way out. The mansion was ruined, and it was litered with bodies. 'They didn't take chances...they blew the whole place to bits.' He knew the only thing that could cause such wholesale destruction was cannon fire. Alto looked around, and suddenly he heard rustling. He quickly hid in the debris.
"This definitely doesn't look like a military exercise." Said an MP.
"It's Interior Police business. If anything some probably nobleman stuck his nose in what wasn't his business." Alto almost wanted to scream, say his family had done nothing wrong, plead for their help. But he didn't do anything, and stayed silent.
"It's best not to question it. Lest you want to end up like these people." the first MP kicked a body. Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself away from the scene. Suddenly, he cracked on a broken floorboard.
"Hey. You hear something?" One of the MPs asked.
"Listen. I ain't here to mess with bodies. This is a routine patrol that if I recall correctly, it was your idea to check this out."
"You're right. Come on." The MPs turned around, revealing their logos, a green Unicorn on the standard Military shield. Suddenly, he remembered another detail, that was the same insignia the assasins used, except the horn and mane was a crimson red. And didn't the MP mention it was 'Interior Police' business? Suddenly, he knew how he was going to find Kenny and Rod Reiss.
He'd have to join the MPs, and either become the Commander of the Regiment, or somehow join the Interior Police.
He made his way away from the mansion, at first, he stumbled around, tired and exhausted. Then he heard the sound of a wagon, 'Finally...someone who can help me..' He staggered his way onto the road,
"Woah boy! Easy!" The driver yanked on the reins,
"Please...sir..I need help! Bandits attacked my parent's wagon and set it on fire with them inside! I don't think anyone's left..." Alto lied.
The driver looked at Alto, "Alright kid, hop on board, I'll take you to Krolva. Hyah!" He whipped the reins. "Hey kid. I never caught your name." He asked, and Alto paused
'What do I say?' He wondered, finally, he remembered an old story his mother read to him 'The Legend of Christopher Holt'
"It's Christopher sir. Christopher Holt."
A/N: So. I got crod42, Author of 'A Blacksmith's tale' to look at my story, and they recommended I redid the prologue, so here it is! The new and redone prologue for 'The Flare Titan'. The first part elaborates on Alto's family and his pre-845 life the second part focuses on why he's becoming a soldier, and exactly what he went through, as well as how he took the name Christopher Holt.
