Board Thread:Role Plays/@comment-25119920-20150417182333/@comment-26130256-20150711053408

(Warning:  Wall of text inbound...)

"Well, to understand that story, ya need a little history lesson first," Azulius explained, his words not matching with his sober tone of voice. "I said my family runs most of Vacuo.  It's been that way for decades.  My grandpa's actually third generation in the family business.  As you might guess, you don't stay at the top for that long without getting a target on your back."

"Now for my grandma Rosa.  I don't remember too much of her myself, but the rest of the family filled me in on some of the big details.  I think the phrase 'too good for this sinful world' gets tossed around too much these days, but apparently it was apt.  Just the nicest woman.  When she talked to you, there was just this feeling of... of focus.  Like you were the most important person in the world, and she was glad just to be speaking with you.  She never did like the family business, but she loved Ochre enough to look past that.  But she'd poke him every once in a while how she wished the family could invest in some less shadowy areas."

"Then it finally happened.  The last guy kicked the bucket, and my grandfather was Don.  While he was still wet behind the ears, this group called the Glass Heart Gang decided to make a move.  They weren't guys you messed with on a whim, but they were minor leaguers.  The best they coulda hoped for was to snatch up some new turf while we scrambled for a new leader.  As Ochre and Rosa left a building together, the Glass Hearts unloaded.  They brought some heavy gear, but one of them lugged a light machine gun to the party.  The bodyguards were busy fighting off everyone else, so he had a clear shot to them.  Ochre took a few hits, but nothing his Aura and combat training couldn't solve.  Rosa wasn't so lucky.  She died in Grandpa's arms before a doc could get to her." Azzie stopped for a moment to wipe his eyes.

"The part that tore me up wasn't the actual hit so much as what happened afterwards.  Everyone took it hard.  My dad, Sienna "The Sneak" Cardamom, got crazy drunk for a week.  My uncle Trigo went sober, which is even more scary.  Mom buried herself in her botanical studies.  And Grandpa himself locked himself in his study for two weeks straight after the funeral, only opening the door so a servant could bring in some food, alcohol, or cigars.  The food usually went untouched." Azulius loosened his tie before looking back at Hitori. "You've got to understand, ever since I was a kid, I was a problem solver.  I just loved taking a situation, mixing it with what I knew and what I had, and making it all better.  So seeing my family all so affected, and knowing there was nothing I could do to fix it," he sniffled, "Tore me up inside like flechette rounds through a Grimm's hide."

"After the two weeks, Grandpa finally got out, showered and shaved, and called a family meeting.  Everyone.  The time for mourning was over, and it was time for vengeance.  The entire Cardamom army -- foot soldiers, capos, even the Don himself-- set off for the Glass Heart's HQ.  Not a single one of them survived.  Ochre found the machine gunner and killed him personally.  They blew up the warehouse, and bribed the papers to say it was an industrial accident.  Everyone who wasn't at the base was tracked down and dealt with.  Then, for icing on the cake, my dad snuck into the Vacuo PD's evidence lockers and torched everything they had on the Glass Hearts.  Now, they only exist as a fading memory." Azulius smiled, but it was a melancholy one.

"So we had our revenge, but it wasn't enough.  Grandpa Ochre was real shook up, and I think he had realized that all that work still wasn't going to bring Rosa back.  So one month after the hit, he called another meeting.  Effective immediately, the Cardamom family was moving all of its assets into more legitimate enterprises.  And thus we began the long, shaky road to being a 'reforming' crime family.  But even now, I look in my grandfather's eyes when he spaces out, and I can almost see the reflection of his beloved and that Glass Heart grunt who got lucky.  He's still alive, but a big piece of him is just as lost as my grandmother is."

"And the rest is history.  The family still runs the kingdom, though with not quite as much violence as the old days.  And now, as then, we take care of our own as best we can." Azzie's grip tightened on the bench. "It's probably why I agreed to help Iris end Satan's Legion, even though we really didn't know each other until this got started.  Nobody messes with my family, or friends." He stood in an instant, not even bothering to wipe his tears. "And anyone who thinks they can hurt, or kill, me and mine will wind up like the Glass Hearts." He was almost shaking from emotion as he stood.

"There will be no body left to bury, and no family left to mourn."