Title: Once Upon a Heart.
Characters: The Earl.
Word Count: 159.
-oxoxoxoxo-
The Earl had a heart once. The Earl might've been human once. (But this had long since been forgotten, and all humanity abandoned.)
The Earl had replaced his weak heart-- just as he tinkered with the Akuma, skeletons made of dark matter-- and his mechanical tick-ticking heart might've needed a ticker tune-up at this point (so thick with black oil and rusted springs).
But he remembered-- the Earl, the smiling devil-- what it was that those little contrived human hearts wanted most--
powerhappinesslovelosssuccess--
and he did his best to grant these wishes, but they were, on a whole, sinisterly quid pro quo.
So when he celebrates his creation's birthday, their first day of living in someone else's skin, after granting them the one ability everyone wants (the power to bring back the dead), he spins them a twisted story, one full of love and happiness, and they must all start "Once upon a Time..."