Chapter 8

Flashback

The moon rose over the sky as silence filled Death City. Nothing could be heard except the silent laughter of children. Running down the street were the three nine year old children who had Lord Death as their father: the oldest, Death the Kid, the middle child, Marshall Lee, and the youngest and only female sibling, Marceline. "Guys wait up!" She yelled while trying to catch up to her brothers.

Marshall Lee looked back at her with a smirk on his face. "Come on Sis. We're gonna leave you." Marceline whined. "Don't mess around, Marshall." Kid said before he started to race back to his sister. Marshall Lee huffed his breath. "I was only kidding."

Kid was the most responsible out of the triplets. Even though he had a huge case of OCD, he still completed the work his father told him to do and instructed his younger siblings.

Marshall Lee was the middle child and the prankster of the three. He always loved to make jokes and pick on his sister. That practically causes him to get the most Reaper Chops coming from his father.

Marceline was the only female. She was the youngest and the most timid. Because of this, Kid and Marshall Lee are always finding ways to cheer her up when she's feeling down, leading to them giving her the nickname Marci. Since she was the only girl, Lord Death gave her the most protection rather than giving it to her siblings. Unlike Kid and Marshall, she has special powers that no other reapers have, which makes her a very special yet mysterious reaper.

Kid held his sister's hand as the three of them walked back to Gallows Manor. As they paced passed an alleyway, and elderly woman covered in a black cloak approached them. "Who's the hag?" Marshall Lee asked before earning a slap on the head from Kid. The woman waved her hand. "Oh it's alright." She said. "Are you three the children of Lord Death?"

"Yes but how did you know that?" Kid asked while raising an eyebrow. The woman gave him a smile before gesturing them to follow her. "I have a little present for you." She said. "Would you please come with me?" Kid gave an unconvinced face while Marceline strayed closer behind him. "We would, but we have to head home."

"It will just be a minute."

"Let's go." Marshall Lee said. "I want to see what she has for us." Kid gave his brother a glare. Marshall Lee gave him a smirk before following the old woman. "Marshall get back here!" Kid's voice almost raised to a shout before he turned to the girl behind him. "Let's go after him so he doesn't get hurt." Marceline shyly nodded as the two ran after their sibling.

Kid and Marceline followed their brother and the elderly woman into an abandoned alleyway. "So what's our present?" Marshall Lee asked the woman, who hid the smirk she wore on her face. "Your deaths." She replied. She ripped off the cloak she wore and her elderlyness melted away, revealing what the three had seen in picture books: a witch. "It's one of those witch ladies." Marceline said. "I thought those were made up."

"No we're quite real, dear." The witch replied as a few black arrows slithered from her shadow, scaring the triplets. An arrow raced straight towards Marshall Lee and he dodged quickly. "We better get out of here." He said to his siblings. They started to run out of the alleyway until they saw nothing but darkness. "Where's the way out?" Marceline asked in a scared tone as tears began to form in her eyes.

The three started to run around, trying to dodge the arrows the witch was sending at them, while also getting hurt in the process. Kid had blood running down his face with a few deep cuts on his arms and legs, Marshall Lee had a few cuts on his legs and a gash across his stomach, but he refused to give up, and Marceline had a cut on her cheek and a deep gash on her arm and leg. "We can't keep this up." She panted while falling to the ground.

"Now which one should I kill first?" The witch asked herself before she turned to the nine year old girl on the ground. "I suppose the Reaper would be devastated when he hears that his cute little daughter is dead." Kid and Marshall Lee looked up, hoping that the witch didn't refer to their beloved sister. A few arrows lifted her in the air and slammed her on the ground, concrete flying everywhere and making the girl cough up blood.

"Marci!"

She heard her siblings yell her name. She looked up at them, tears rolling down her face. "Onii-chans." She muttered.

"And now to finish you off." The witch replied before an arrow heading straight for her landed below Marceline.

"Vector Plate."

Marceline started to race towards the witch in high speed. She thought it was over until she fell back, and blood spattered everywhere. The small reaper looked up and her eyes widened.

The one who took the blow for her was Marshall.

"MARSHALL LEE!"

Kid raced towards her sister and wrapped her arms around her in a protective way. She struggled to get out of his grasp. "Kid let me go!" She yelled.

"Stop it!" His voice raised to a shout, and she stopped. Never in all of her life, has Kid ever yelled at her; not like that. "We can't do anything for him Marci. He's dead." Marshall Lee fell to the floor, sightless eyes staring at the sky. "What a stupid boy." The witch said before the arrows rose in the air. One by one, they ripped through his body as lightning lit up the sky. The remaining siblings' eyes widened as more tears began to stream down Marceline's face. "Marshall-nii chan." Once the boy's body was a bloody mess, it turned black, and withered way, leaving a glowing blue orb behind. "His soul." Kid breathed out.

The witch picked it up off of the ground. "I suppose this will have to go as well." As she started to squeezed it in her hand, a nearby voice could be heard, and it got closer. "Daddy?" Marceline looked up as the blackness surrounding the alleyway disappeared.

"Better yet." The witch said. "This little soul will be a perfect piece in my plan." As Lord Death arrived, the witch disappeared. Lord Death was shocked at the sight of spattered blood. His gaze traced from the bloody alleyway to the two children who huddled together, both of their bodies covered in blood. "What happened?" He growled, using his real voice, which scared them both. Kid gulped before he spoke with his voice shaking. "A- A witch attacked us." He said. "And. . . . ." Marceline ran out of his arms and hugged her father. "The witch killed Marshall and took his soul." She cried. Lord Death stared at the moon, before he snapped.

"REAPER CHOP!"

He chopped both Kid and Marceline. "What the hell were you thinking!?" He snapped. "There was no way that you kids could take on a witch! You could have died if I wasn't here!" The two held the bruises over their heads while tears rolled down their faces. They both hugged their father. "We're sorry." Marceline sniffed. "We didn't know."

"We're sorry." Kid repeated. "Don't be mad at us. Please Dad?" Lord Death patted them both on the head. "What did this witch look like?"

"Well." Marceline tried to dry her tears, but they wouldn't stop rolling down her face. "She was wearing black, and there were alot of arrows that acted alot like snakes." Lord Death gasped as the two held his hands. "Let's get you two clean up." He said. "We will try to forget this night, the witch, and what happened to your brother."

The three turned their backs, leaving the bloody alleyway and that night behind.

Me: Hey guys. Sorry if this chapter was a flashback about what happened the night Marshall Lee died. So until next time, stay tuned minna-san.