Chapter 1: Birthed In Blood

We open with a wide shot of Xtopia, the modern metropolis in the Land of X.

Decades ago this city was the bustling capital of an Empire, and then a Kingdom.

Now it's a slum-ridden hub for gang violence and corporate malfeasance. Gone were the days of rulers parading through the streets; instead, the streets were ruling themselves.

The Revolution seized power, then collapsed before consolidating control. Chairwoman Waters fled, and the metropolis plunged into chaos.

The camera strolls through slum after slum, showing the cold and unplowed streets in all their former glory. The unhoused masses huddled for warmth around flaming piles of trash.

Then the camera catches a glimpse of Xtopia’s last beacon of hope:

The Corporate Plaza.

A shining light in the darkness, located in the cold heart of the metropolis. In The Corporate Plaza, peace and prosperity were protected by the long barrel of the law…or what was left of it.

Dozens of skyscrapers touched the heavens, immaculate roads slicing through indulgent homes. The Corporate Plaza oozed with the smugness of a bubble begging to burst.

The freshly plowed streets were patrolled by AI-powered guards known ‘Guardians Roaming Our Keep’- or GROKs for short. They manned military checkpoints along every entrance into The Plaza.

Most people would never dare approach, for fear of being shot on sight.

But The Nickleman wasn’t most people.

The camera settled upon a shot of a hummer limousine slowly rolling towards the guard post. The license plates on the limo just read ‘BOB’.

The camera switches to a shot inside the limo, where we see The Nichols Brood in all their glory for the first time.

Charlie was a former Warlord in the Land of X, who traded away his power for an expensive suit. He once ruled this city with an iron fist, but now he was just another cog in a broken machine.

His sister Jennie was a notorious killer, formerly barred from The Corporate Plaza for repeatedly brutally murdering corrupt businessmen. But these days, she ferried back and forth through the checkpoints with ease.

That was part of the deal her brother struck with The Corporation.

Part of the deal that saw Charlie fall from the throne, and into the backseat of this limousine.

The window in the back rolled down as the limo reached the checkpoint. Charlie produced his credentials with a huff of authority, showing his ID badge and his sister’s authorization forms to the GROK manning the station. After a brief inspection the GROK returned the credentials and opened the gate, allowing the scarlet limousine into Xtopia’s inner sanctum.

Once the limousine pulled off, Jennie flipped her hair over her shoulder and rolled her eyes.

“Those GROKs get dumber by the day. I swear, they’re only good for one thing and that’s-”

A look of disgust spread across Charlie’s face as he raised his jeweled hand to interrupt her. The diamond-encrusted Balenciaga on his wrist flashed in harmony with his ruby rings as the sun’s rays peeked through the tinted windows.

“Enough, Jennie. We have serious business to handle; I don’t have time for your perversions.”

Jennie crossed her arms defiantly.

“What’s so important, anyways? Why do we have to get the whole squad together on such short notice?”

Charlie looks at Jennie with a smirk the size of a canyon.

“We are going to steal The Universal Stone.”

Jennie’s eyes go wide as a look of shock flashes across her features.

“You mean you actually found it?!”

“Well, sort of…”

Jennie audibly groans, but Charlie quickly reassures her.

“But I know where it is! And I know who has it!”

Charlie pauses briefly, letting Jennie’s imagination run wild- for a moment.

“House of Hardcore.”

Jennie’s jaw slacks, as if she can’t believe what she’s hearing.

“How did those idiots get a hold of it? I thought they just played video games and jerked each other off all day! When the hell did they become major players?”

“Two words: Dickie. Watson.”

“You’re not sending us on another wild goose chase, are you?”

“Of course not.”

Jennie raised a skeptical eyebrow, but Charlie paid her no further mind. The Nickleman folded his hands in his lap as his sister turned once more to gaze out the window, staring up at the massive skyscrapers stretching to the heavens.

But heaven was the last thing on Charlie’s mind.

Tonight, he was aiming to unleash hell on his enemies.

As the limousine strolled through The Corporate Plaza, Charlie turned directly towards the camera. While facing the audience head-on, he unfurled a knowing grin- as if he knew there was a viewer riding alongside him. The Nickleman leaned forward in his seat, loosening the tie around his neck before he spoke.

“The Universal Stone….oh, how I’ve longed for her. How I’ve missed her.”

When Charlie spoke, it was as if he were speaking directly to the audience behind the camera. His sister didn’t even react, as if she couldn’t hear him at all. The Nickleman was speaking directly to you, and you alone.

“The Universal Stone is the high that keeps on giving.

It’s the rock you can cut a thousand lines from, that will never reduce or diminish.

It’s the power of the Universe in your pocket, and it used to be mine…”

The Nickleman tries to hide his pain, but his clenched fists are a dead giveaway. A fire rages behind his eyes, a fire he plans to unleash all across Xtopia tonight.

“But now, it belongs to Dickie Watson…a man who doesn’t even know how to snort it properly.

By the time the powder settles tonight, both the stone and this city will be mine!

But Xtopia will not fall in some grand battle all at once.

It will fall one district at a time, one gang at a time, and one name at a time.”

As Charlie monologues, we see the limo slowly roll to a stop as it picks up another passenger. That’s when The Corporation’s Chief Physician, Dr. Holly Cambric, takes a seat next to Jennie.

“Kieran King and his “Kingsguard” will have to be eliminated first.

Before I can even attempt to reclaim The Stone, I’ll need to dislodge that glutton from his dusty throne.

The King’s District lays directly between The Plaza and The Slums, so to get my stone back I have to go THROUGH him.

There’s no other way.

But even if there was?

I wouldn’t take it.

He’s been clinging to the power of nothing but nostalgia for too long.

It’s time for him to find his place in the past he claims to represent.”

Then, we see the illustrious Mr. Oz pile into the back.

“And once I draw that egocentric cretin out of the picture, House of Hardcore will be next.

Snakes McGee, and then his Dickless boy wonder.

Somehow these two pinheads have wrangled together the vermin in the slums, and united them under the banner of Hardcore…

But what the fuck do they know about Hardcore?

McGee is just another snake in the grass, and Watson is nothing without a Sherlock.”

Vitriol spills from The Nickleman’s mouth as spittle flies from his lips, just in time for a little bit to land on the limousine’s newest passenger- Jenny Myst! The blonde-haired diva opened her mouth to complain- but the audience doesn’t hear it, because the camera and the boom mic are still centered on Charlie’s monologue!

“One by one they will all fall, their bodies will turn cold before they ever touch the snow.

Tonight, The Corporation will take back what’s always been ours:

This City.

And-

The Stone.”

Now, everyone in the limousine is listening to Charlie’s rambling scheme. Mr. Oz pulls out his glock and cocks it back for action, as Dr. Cambric adjusted her gloves like a surgeon preparing for a different kind of operation. Jenny and Jennie feign disinterest, their resting bitch faces proving resistant to even the most rousing of speeches!

“We’re here. Now remember, everyone- let ME do the talking…because I do it best.”

The Nickleman cracks a cocky smirk as the doors to the limousine are opened from the outside, and every member of The Corporation exits one-by-one.

The camera changes perspectives, revealing that the limousine has pulled up to a massive skyscraper- the largest and most phallic structure in all Xtopia.

It was The Trillionaire’s seat of power.

A tower built not for defense, but for watching the city burn beneath it.

As Charlie led his crew through the double-wide glass doors, the camera shifted perspectives once more. Inside the building, we see Charlie leading his soldiers towards a different sort of battle. One that involved marching straight to the elevator.

Ding!

When the doors opened, Charlie turned back to his crew while adjusting his tie.

“You all wait down here, alright?”

“Why can’t we go up there?! I’ve got some issues I’ve been meaning to take up with those Trillionaire scumbags.”

The Nickleman fixed the buttons on his cuffs as he stepped onto the elevator.

“Yeah, that’s exactly why I’m not taking you. Just stay down here, look tough, and be ready to roll- because once we declare Warfare, it’s gonna’ be show time.”

Then the elevator door slammed shut, and the floor began to rise.

Charlie was headed up to the room where champions were crowned…and then quietly buried behind the scenes.

Up to the room where he once bought his sister’s freedom.

The room where he sold a stake in The Stone to The Trillionaires.

The room that transformed him from a Warlord…

Into another empty suit.

DING!

A familiar bell chimed as the doors to the top floor crawled away from each other.

We switch to a shot inside the elevator, looking out into the grandiose room as it slowly reveals itself. The room was vast and luxurious, but every eye was drawn towards the long, upwards sloping table placed right in the center.

At the head of the obsidian table, lifted twenty feet off the ground on black platforms, sat three self-important oligarchs with more dollars than sense.

The Trillionaires.

Musk, Zuckerberg, and Bezos: the three men who had seized control of The Corporation, and laid claim to all of Xtopia.

On either side of the table, lifted on ten-foot platforms, sat The Trillionaire’s two middle managers: Peter Principal and Dick Lichter. Or as Charlie liked to call them, ‘the cripple and the dwarf’.

Charlie stepped off the elevator and sat at his end of the sloped table, low and close to the floor. He stared up at The Trillionaires, but they wouldn’t make eye contact with him. They’d barely even glance in his direction, but that was nothing unusual. Every time Charlie met with the corporate brass, The Trillionaires let their mouthpieces speak for them.

“Welcome back, Charlie! It’s always a pleasure to see you.”

The Nickleman shifted his gaze towards the aptly named Peter Principal, who had been confined to a motorized chair ever since the last uprising.

“A pleasure indeed. Even if you are…”

The little manager, Dick Lichter, checks his watch.

“One minute and seven seconds late.”

The Nickleman tried hard to bite his tongue, but he couldn’t stop himself from rolling his eyes at Lichter’s feigned indignation.

“You have my sincere apologies. The trip up to the top floor always takes longer than I expect.”

Peter waves away Lichter’s concerns with a simple flick of his wrist, which is pretty much all he can do from inside his wheelchair.

“Oh it’s no problem, Charlie! After all, no one has spilled as much blood for The Corporation as you have. What’s an extra minute here or there, when you take the lives of dissidents and traitors everywhere?!”

The Nickleman gave a gruff nod in response.

“We received your request for an emergency meeting, and of course, we are always happy to oblige our favorite expense! So how can The Corporation help you today, Mr. Nickles? Did you rack up another giant tab at the brothel? Does your limousine need a new coat of paint? Just say the word, and we’ll write some checks!”

The Nickleman slowly folded his hands together on the obsidian table.

For a moment, he said nothing.

He simply stared past Peter Principal, past Dick Lichter…

And right into the eyes of The Trillionaires themselves.

“I didn’t come here to beg for scraps.”

Peter blinked. Lichter cocked his head.

“I came here to collect what I’m owed.”

The Trillionaires lifted their eyes in unison, like three pieces of the same machine, meeting Charlie’s steeled gaze for the first time.

“Oh come now, Charlie. Whatever you need, we can afford-”

The sound of a manilla folder smacking against the table interrupts Peter. Charlie carefully peels it open, before pulling out an intel report and lifting it up for all to see.

“I’ve found The Universal Stone- and tonight, I’m taking it back.”

Peter’s jaw drops as Lichter’s eyes grow wide. The Trillionaires look down their noses and down their table at Charlie, their faces completely blank.

“My snitches told me that House of Hardcore had begun moving serious weight, and that almost overnight, they’d taken complete control of the slums.

So I drove out to the slums to do a little digging…

And I scored myself a bag.”

The Nickleman reached back into his suit jacket and pulled out a small bag of yellow powder. He flicked the baggy a couple times before throwing it down on the table.

“It’s golden snow.

The Universal kind.

And that can only mean one thing…

House of Hardcore has The Stone.”

The Nickleman flipped to the next page in his folder, showcasing the floor plans of a house.

“More specifically, their leader- Dickie Watson, has it.

And I know exactly where that boy sleeps.”

Then, Charlie pulls out a detailed map of Xtopia- complete with invasion plans originating from The Corporate Plaza.

“I propose that we mobilize all GROKs immediately, and deploy them across the city, taking complete control of Xtopia one district at a time. First, we march our GROKs through the King’s District- razing it to ash- so that way we can cross freely into The Slums and begin our door-to-door hunt of House Hardcore.

No one will see it coming…and by the time the sun rises, the city and the stone will both be ours.”

The Nickleman set all his papers down as he looked up towards The Trillionaires, a bloodthirsty grin glued to his lips.

A long silence followed. Peter and Lichter looked panicked, exchanging worried glances before their eyes shifted up to The Trillionaires as well.

Finally, Bezos leaned forward.

“Impressive, Charlie.”

Zuckerberg nodded.

“Decisive.”

Musk tilted his head, amused.

“Very…you.”

Then, Bezos steepled his fingers.

“But war is expensive, Charlie.”

Zuckerberg’s voice flattened.

“Messy, even.”

Musk smiled.

“Unpredictable at best.”

The Trillionaires shared a collective smirk at Charlie’s expense.

“We’re not storming the slums tonight, or ever, for that matter.”

Charlie raised a hand to protest- but the other Trillionaires interjected faster.

“But rest assured, we know that Dickie Watson has the stone. We’ve known for weeks.”

“And we plan on taking down House of Hardcore from the inside. We already have a man in place- a fellow by the name of Scoops.”

Charlie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His jaw dropped at the same time as The Trillionaire’s other shoe.

“You built The Corporation for us.”

“You bled for it.”

“But you’re not what this Corporation needs anymore.”

The Trillionaires paused as they let their words sink in.

“You’re too violent.”

“Too expensive.”

“Too volatile.”

Charlie stared at them.

For a long time.

Then…

He slowly closed the folder.

Carefully slid the maps back inside.

Straightened the stack.

And nodded once.

“I see.”

Peter noticed the life draining from Charlie’s face, and quickly chimed in.

“It’s nothing personal, of course: it’s strictly business!”

“Of course…strictly business.”

Charlie muttered in agreement as he stood up from the table, gathering his belongings. Just as he was leaving the table, Lichter piped up again.

“But before you go, maybe you could do us a favor tonight, just a quick little errand…”

The Nickleman hid a scowl as he turned back to gaze up at the little middle manager.

“Scoops McGee is expecting a visit from us. He wants to make sure our deal is legit, and he wants to hear it in person. I figure, who better to tell Scoops about all we can offer than The Nickleman himself?”

“Hmmph. I’ll see what I can do.”

Charlie pressed the call elevator button, quickly summoning his ride and stepping on. As the doors rush towards the middle, Charlie catches one last glimpse of The Trillionaires sitting up on their platforms, grinning like wolves as he makes his descent.

The doors slam shut in his face, and Charlie is finally alone.

Alone with himself…

And with memories of The Warlord he used to be.

Charlie unknotted his tie with a snarl as the elevator slowly brought him back down to earth.

“Does no one know…

Who they're dealing with?

They think I'll let it go…

Just forget and forgive?”

The Nickleman burned with a controlled rage as he took off his tie and unbuttoned the cuffs of his jacket.

“They thought they could use ME, like I use everyone else…

Like I was just another puppet with strings…”

The Nickleman stared directly into the camera in classic Scorsese style.

“And maybe they were right.

I spilled blood when they told me.

I heeded their calls, I took their orders, I danced to their music…”

The Nickleman took off his suit jacket, laying it down on the floor of the elevator alongside his tie.

“But that was back when I thought they owned this city.

Now, I realize…

They just lease it.”

DING!

“So tonight…this puppet cuts the strings.”

The elevator doors crawl open, revealing Charlie’s gaggle of goons waiting outside. Charlie steps out sans his jacket or tie, and suddenly, the camera changes perspective.

Outside of the tower, we see the hummer limo pulled up curbside. Gray storm clouds roll in overhead, engulfing the top few floors of the tower. Roaring thunder breaks overhead as the doors to the tower swing wide open, with The Nickleman and his gang storming towards the limousine.

“What’s going on? What happened up there?”

Jennie pestered Charlie with questions, but he was in no mood to answer. He walked right to the back hatch of his hummer and lifted it open. Then, the camera switched to a shot inside the hatch of the limousine: where we see Charlie rifling through a hidden cache of machineguns.

“Charlie, what are you doing?!”

The Nickleman pulls out tommy gun after tommy gun, and begins handing them out to his motley crew. He hands his sister the last tommy gun, and stares her dead in the eyes as he pushes it into her chest.

“I’m starting a war.”

Without any further explanation, Charlie cocks back his gun and walks back into the tower. His crew followed close behind with varied expressions, but equal loyalty. His sister wore a sick and twisted grin, as if she had been dreaming of this moment. Jenny Myst was equal parts antsy and anxious, while Mr. Oz wore the grizzled face of a veteran who’s done this a thousand times. Cambric, for her part, appeared completely unfazed by the whole ordeal.

We switch back to a wide shot, showing both the tower and the limousine on the curb. Dark snow falls from the clouds wrapped around The Corporate skyscrapers as Charlie’s crew reenter the tower.

There are a few moments of quiet, of calm, of tranquility…

Before the first shots ring out.

The top floor of the tower lights up like a pyrotechnic display, while the bloodcurdling screams of yes-men get cut short.

The clouds themselves flash and roar with chaos as the pinnacle of order is ripped to shreds, one tommy drum at a time.

Three more screams ring out before the gunshots finally cease, and the top floor of the towers goes pitch black.

The snow falls heavier now, as the city of Xtopia is pushed to it’s breaking point once more.

After a few moments of somber calm, the doors to the tower reopen, and Charlie’s crew walked out with the quiet confidence of sycophants drenched in victory. Their footsteps leave scarlet in the snow, just like their breath leaves clouds of hot air.

They throw their empty guns in the back hatch of the limousine as the hummer starts up, kicking dirty exhaust fumes into the air. All five of them hop into the back of the limousine before it swiftly strolls off, leaving just as quickly as it had arrived.

The camera fades out on a wide shot of the largest skyscraper in Xtopia, now completely engulfed by storm clouds and rolling thunder.

This was the night The Corporation died…

And something far older was reborn.

Chapter 2: Burying The Past

The scarlet hummer rolls up to The King’s District with 6 or 7 GROK corpses caught between the wheels and in the grill. Robotic heads, arms, and legs stick out from the limousine like custom accessories. The hummer slows to a rolling stop as it reaches the front-gate of Kieran’s sanctum.

The gate looks like a cheap Victorian antique. The bars were too frail and decorative to be a barrier: at best, this gate was a veneer of deterrence. The brick work keeping the gate in place was so shoddy, it seemed that more effort went into forming a crown with the bricks than in forming a real foundation.

Behind the gate sat the only blocks in Xtopia that remembered the name ‘Kieran King’. Back in it’s heyday, The King’s District was home to the city’s premiere aristocrats.

But now?

The King’s District was home to abandoned mansions and the crackheads sneaking into them. The Kingsguard were waging a losing battle as they tried to secure the forgotten district.

As Charlie analyzed the two Kingsguards standing watch at the gate, he started to understand why. That’s when Mr. Oz looked betwixt his comrades in the limousine with trepidation.

“Uh…do those guards have special needs?”

The camera cuts to a close shot of the gate. We see Kieran’s guards giggling while making  ‘6, 7’ motions with their hands. They’re wearing gold-plated helmets that read ‘CAUTION - CHAMPION’.

“We can’t murder people with special needs, can we?”

“Why not? Look at their shiny golden helmets! They’re Kieran’s CHAMPION guards!”

Jenny Myst nods in agreement with Charlie- but Jennie Nickles cocks her head to the side and purses her lips before objecting.

“I don’t feel comfortable murdering people with special needs, even if Kieran King is using them as human shields.”

“I agree with Jennie.”

Jenny Myst perks up and offers a gracious smile to Cambric.

“Thanks!”

“No, I meant the other Jennie…”

“Oh…”

Jenny Myst looks sheepishly at the ground as Charlie keeps his eyes peeled to the ‘champion’ guards watching over the gate, or rather, playing “6-7” with each other next to the gate.

“I think we can probably drive right through. They don’t have the capacities to stop us, or even understand what’s happening. It’s not like they’re real people, after all.”

Jennie smacks her brother’s shoulder.

“You can’t say that!”

“I’m just telling the truth! If you and Ozzy were guarding that gate- that’d be one thing. But when the Kingsguard are at the gate, it’s a completely OTHER thing…because, well…you know.”

Charlie makes a gesture with his hands, and you do in fact know.

“That may be true, but it’s not polite to say.”

The Nickleman rolls his eyes at the political correctness of his compatriots.

“Well what do you want to do? Would you rather we shoot them down in cold blood, then drive over their disabled bodies with our hummer?”

“YES! I’m voting for that option!”

Dr. Cambric raises her hand with an idea.

“We could talk to them. While working at a clinic for the disabled, I learned that they’re quite easy to bargain with…”

“Fine.”

Cambric nods her head in gratitude. Then, she slides closer to the window as the limo approaches the gate. Kingsguard 6 and Kingsguard 7 take a break from their games to address the car.

“Halt!”

As the limo stops, Cambric rolls down the window. 

“You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Actually, we are supposed to be here.”

Cambric states it with such confidence and authority that the guards look at each other. Then, they start scratching their helmets.

“We are here to deliver a package to Kieran King.”

Kingsguard #6 is about to open the gate for the limousine, but #7 squints his eyes suspiciously.

“Wait a second…what kind of package?”

“Uhm…”

Cambric’s mind blanks, but Jenny Myst is quick to chime in.

“An X-tra small package of condoms for Kieran’s MICRO-dick!”

The rest of the limo gasps at the blatant disrespect, but the guards don’t seem to get the joke. The only joke they understand is 6-7.

“Oh we oughta let them through, boss man is going to be real mad at us if he doesn’t get those!”

The gate creaks open allowing the hummer to pass through. As the limo rolls on, Charlie explains his plan of attack to the team.

“Tonight, we’re not chasing history…we’re erasing it.

Once and for all.

The King’s District lays squarely between The Plaza and The Slums.

That means, it lays right in between our sights.

There’s no getting to The Stone without going through The King’s Palace.

But his Kingsguard can’t defend districts anymore. They can only haunt them. They don’t protect a throne anymore- they just guard the ego of a ghost.

And egos, like bubbles, burst when pressure is applied.”

The Nickleman grinned as his soldiers prepared for war. The limousine slowed to a stop as it pulled up to the intersection of Shane Street & Pryce Lane, neatly marked for the audience by the street signs in the corner of the frame. The backdoors flew open as Charlie’s crew piled out of the hummer with tommy guns.

Mr. Oz takes a big whiff of the fresh air and immediately gags!

“Why does it smell like shit and maggots out here?!”

Jenny Myst cheerfully quips back.

“Because we’re on Shane Street! Whenever Kieran talks about “returning Xtopia to it’s former glory”, he’s talking about making the whole city like this! Because in his mind, THESE were the good old days! The days before plumbing!”

Jennie Nickles flips her hair over her shoulders in dramatic fashion.

“I find it hard to believe a “King” would willingly live in this toilet bowl.”

Charlie’s crew marched towards The Palace, walking past abandoned villas and run-down dreamhouses. A once opulent district now rendered hollow by the sands of time.

As they approached The King’s Palace, they took a moment to scout the defenses. They didn’t see any security personnel: apparently, the Kingsguard was stretched so thin they couldn’t even fortify Kieran’s estate.

But a sign warned:

BEWARE OF T.O.M.E.-GUN (totally overpowered missile equipped gun)

Charlie ignored it and tried the door. Locked. A keypad sat on the doorframe

“So…what do we think the password is?”

“Maybe try 1234?”

Charlie shrugs, because Oz’s guess is just as good as any other. Charlie inputs the code, and then the console beeps.

ERROR! INCORRECT CODE! 1 ATTEMPT REMAINING!

“What do you think happens when we run out of attempts?”

“Maybe an alarm sounds?”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that- hmm, I wonder if the code is…”

That’s when a lightbulb went off over Charlie’s head. But it was just the porchlight. Either way, Charlie typed in his last guess: 6767.

The console was silent for a moment.

Then, it let out a loud and continuous BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

The palace lawn splits open like a tomb as a platform rises from underground. Atop the platform sits a giant battle-mech coated in gold paint and equipped with an array of missiles, firearms, and defensive plating.

After a few seconds, a flash of green flickers in the mech’s eyes.

Then, the T.O.M.E.-GUN activates.

“WARNING! YOU ARE TRESPASSING! THE PUNISHMENT…

IS DEATH!

The battle mech sends a barrage of missiles towards Charlie’s crew. The projectiles squeal and crackle through the air.

BOOM!

The barrage rocks the front of the house, exactly where the gang was standing. Most of them dodge out of the way just in time, before the missiles explode against the front porch…

Except for Jenny Myst.

Her entire body evaporates into red paste as soon as the missiles hit.

Her innards fly outward, coating Cambric and Oz in scarlet goo. Charlie’s sister screams in horror as her linguistic doppelganger is swiftly dispatched by the King’s mech.

“OH MY GOD!”

But amidst the havoc, Charlie notices a giant hole has been blown into the palace. Charlie doesn’t have time to grieve a lost puppet: he still has a war to win.

“EVERYONE, inside the palace, NOW!”

The survivors duck into the hole. Another missile barrage crumbles the wall as the mech moves forward.

"We gotta’ take this motherfucker out!"

Charlie unloads shots. Bullets bounce off metal plating. Return fire forces him back into cover as the massive mech advances toward them.

That’s when Mr. Oz, the most loyal bastard in Xtopia, turns to Charlie with a martyr’s resolve.

“You go find Kieran. We’ll hold the line and take this mech down!”

Jennie and Holly look like they’ve just seen a ghost, but Charlie extends his hand out towards Oz to shake it with gratitude.

“You’re a true friend.”

“I’m your Brother, and that means I don’t have a choice. I know you would do the same for me, or for any of us.”

“Of course…”

The Nickleman trails off, knowing in his heart that it was a lie. But right now, Charlie didn’t have time to explain the nuances of his Bastardry. There was still a King in need of slaying, and a Stone in need of reclaiming.

As Charlie crept back through the innards of the palace, Mr. Oz stood tall above the wreckage and began unloading his entire magazine onto the battle mech.

“COME AND GET SOME, YOU DIRTY CLANKER!”

Oz screamed as he held the trigger down. The mech turned to face Oz as the bullets ricocheted off it. Before the mech could fire back, Jennie and Holly had crawled towards a position on the opposite side of the rubble, effectively flanking the war machine.

“TASTE OUR METAL, DICKWEED!”

Jennie and Holly blasted at the T.O.M.E.-GUN with tommy guns of their own, and within seconds the entire palace had turned into a warzone.

It was the perfect cover for Charlie to announce his arrival- but first, he had to find Kieran.

As the battle raged in the front of the house, The Nickleman snuck down long corridors and up a few flights of rickety stairs, searching for the man who used to rule this land with an iron fist.

But those days were long gone.

Because tonight, Kieran wasn’t going to war.

Warfare was coming to him.

The Nickleman stopped in his tracks once we saw the faded arches of Kieran’s throne room. The gold trim had cracked long ago, and the wood beneath was showing it’s rot. The paint was peeling off the double-doors leading into the room, and the bronze doorknobs had long since dulled.

But Charlie knew this relic of grandiosity was exactly what he was looking for. As Charlie pulled open the doors to the throne room, the hinges creaked with age. The Nickleman kept his tommy gun close to the chest as he stepped through the gap.

Kieran’s abode had seen better days.  The marble floor was cracked, the velvet drapes hanging from the windows had faded, and the chandelier overhead was still swinging- but it was missing most of the bulbs.

In the back, seated on a rusted platform with a crown insignia, was Kieran King himself.

Or rather, the foul monstrosity he had become.



Kieran had grown fatter and more disgusting over the years, as his insatiable appetite for glory caused him to devour everything he encountered. From feasting on his own nostalgia to swallowing whole the dreams of others, Kieran never met a meal he didn’t like. Surrounding the platform were stacks of golden plates, each one licked clean by the gluttonous King himself.

The weight of Kieran’s stuffed stomach stopped him from moving off the platform and kept him confined inside his own palatial prison.

But it didn’t stop him from abusing the sorry sods he kept in his Kingsguard. Especially that sorry sod he kept leashed to his platform. A grown man in a gimp costume, he wore a collar that read ‘#69”.

Charlie was disgusted by the sight of Kieran’s hoggish debauchery.

“You’re pathetic.

You're no King – you never have been. You're just a mark for yourself. You worked yourself into believing your own hype, and now you're too heavy to carry your own weight.

I killed my past tonight. Shot it dead on the top floor of that tower. But you? You're still clinging to yours like it's the only meal you've got left. Difference is, I can still make power moves. And you’re stuck on that platform, choking on rotted memories.

You know what your problem is, Kieran? You think people still pop for your tired fucking gimmick. But they don't.

So the only pop you’re getting tonight…is when my bullet meets your skull.”

Charlie raises the tommy gun and puts the golden pig in his sights. Kieran’s face tries to move, his eyebrows try to rise and his mouth tries to drop, but the fatty skin drooping down his face makes it hard for him to react.

But somehow, Kieran’s able to unleash his gimp!

“GUARD! SAVE ME!”

Kingsguard #69 comes running towards Charlie on all fours, growling like a mad dog!

BANG! BANG!

Two shots ring out, and four holes appear in the gimp’s suit before he collapses in a pool of his own blood. The guard drops dead halfway between Charlie and Kieran.

The Nickleman lowers his gun as he raises a devilish brow at the gluttonous King. Charlie walks forward as Kieran tries to reach for his panic button- but alas, he can’t even lift his oversized arm.

“You thought that feeding on the weak would make you strong, but it just made you fat and lazy.

So since you love eating so much…

Why don’t you EAT THIS?!”

The Nickleman cackles as he empties the drum of his gun into Kieran’s fatty flesh. Hot metal slices through King’s buttery body, causing the engorged gargantuan to collapse from the platform. Kieran falls facedown in a pool of his own oily blood, one last gasp escaping his lungs as Charlie turns to the door.

Without another solemn word, The Nickleman just walks out the same way he came in.

The camera stays in the throne room when Charlie leaves, slowly zooming out from Kieran’s body. As the camera zooms out further, Kieran’s corpse begins to appear as small and inconsequential as his legacy.

Back at the front of the palace, Charlie walks towards the fallen battle mech with a soft smile of surprise. Somehow, his soldiers had taken down the golden automaton. The most powerful weapon in the Kingsguard arsenal, the T.O.M.E.-GUN, was fully decommissioned by Charlie’s goons.

“You’re going to be ok, just stay with me!”

A few meters away from the wreckage, we see Dr. Cambric treating a gravely wounded Oz. Jennie is standing just above them, her entire body coated in blood. As Charlie looks over at the commotion, he sees that Oz is missing a leg- and a huge chunk of his chest.

“Can you save him, Holly?!”

“I think so- I just need some time!”

Dr. Cambric had already applied a tourniquet to Oz’s leg and was quickly trying to patch up the hole in his chest- but the gushing blood made it difficult. The Nickleman marched in their direction with a blank face of disinterest.

“We don’t have time for this. We have to move- the sooner we retake The Stone, the better.”

Cambric continues treating Oz’s wounds as Jennie snaps at her brother.

“Oz can’t go anywhere right now!”

“Well then…he can stay here and bleed out. But we have a mission to finish.”

“You must be joking.”

“We don’t have time to joke, and we don’t have time to take care of some bum who got his leg blown off. Let’s move.”

Jennie’s face contorts into a wretched expression of pure disgust. The Nickleman didn’t pay her objections any mind; instead, he started marching back towards their hummer- until he realized he wasn’t being followed.

Then, Cambric stood up. Her surgical gloves were covered in Oz’s blood.

“I’m not leaving him here. I swore a Hippocratic oath.”

Charlie stared down at Oz with a mixture of disdain and disappointment, like a puppet master watching his doll outlive it’s usefulness. Then, he lifted his gaze towards Cambric and Jennie. He rolled his eyes in their direction before finally relenting.

“Fine. You stay here and babysit the dead man. Jennie, let’s go.”

Jennie looked between Charlie and Cambric, unsure of what to do- but after Cambric gave her an assuring nod, she let out a deep sigh and followed Charlie out through the blasted doors of the palace.

And just like that…

5 turned to 2.

Because in this city…

It’s every Bastard for himself.

Chapter 3: Red Snow, Gold Stones

The Bastard limo strolled into The Slums just before dawn, looking worse for wear since it’s encounter with T.O.M.E.-GUN. Several windows had been shot out by the mech, and a giant dent flattened the hood. Yet still, a Bastard’s work is never finished- and Charlie’s night was far from over.

The limo parked along a lonely street, beside dilapidated apartments and across from a slew of narrow alleys. Jennie hopped out of the limo with her machine gun, but Charlie stayed around for a few seconds…just enough time to turn back towards the camera one last time, in classic Scorsese fashion.

"One down. Two to go.

Kieran learned what happens when you mistake nostalgia for relevance. He thought his 'glory days' meant something.

They don't.

They never did.

But at least Kieran had the decency to stay in his lane—rotting in his palace, surrounded by his special little helpers.

But Dickie Watson? That boy doesn't even know what lane he's in. He thinks holding The Universal Stone makes him powerful.

It doesn't.

It just makes him a target.

And Scoops McGee? He’s just a rat who took the bait.

The Trillionaires thought they could use Scoops to replace me. But now they’re dead, and Scoops is about to learn what happens when you bet on the wrong horse.

By sunrise, this city will have a new ruler.

Not Kieran's kind- fat, lazy, stuck in the past.

But my kind.

The kind that TAKES what he wants.

The Universal Stone will be mine.

Xtopia will be mine.

And anyone standing in my way?

Becomes another body in the street."

Then, Charlie grabs his gun and steps out into The Slums.

The duo dip into a downtrodden alleyway, where rats scurry while crackheads sleep. They walk a few blocks before arriving at a seemingly abandoned warehouse with boarded windows.

This is where Scoops did his business. A place where men bought power by the ounce and sold loyalty by the pound.

Charlie knocked once, and then waited patiently for his next victim.

After a few moments, Scoops opened the door.





Scoops always had the mind of a snake, and his life in The Slums had degraded the rest of him. The noxious sludge dumped into The Slums from The Plaza had left many of Xtopia’s poorest with incurable mutations and disease.

“Look who finally showed up.”

Scoops gestured for The Nichols Brood to enter, before shutting the door before anyone saw.

“I’m still not sure about this…”

Jennie raised a curious brow at The Snakeman whilst The Nickleman chortled dismissively.

“You don’t have to be sure. You just have to do it. Don’t you remember what The Trillionaires promised you for your cooperation?”

The snake’s eyes light up with the promise of power and riches.

“You’re right…The Corporation wants me to have The Universal Stone, and why shouldn’t I have it? I deserve it. I’ve lived in these slums for long enough, and it’s time for my dreams to become reality.
Dickie be damned!”

“Exactly.”

Charlie lied through his teeth while clutching the tommy gun.

“So when are we doing this? Next week, Dickie should be-“

“We’re doing it tonight.”

“Tonight?”

The snake quivered with trepidation as Charlie stepped closer.

“Pick up your phone, give Watson a call. He’s no Sherlock; he’ll never see it coming. Just tell him to swing by, and The Corporation will handle the rest.”

“A-a-are you sure?”

“Of course. The Trillionaires sent me here to make you their champion- and there’s no better time than the present.”

Scoops sighed, grabbed his phone, and dialed Dickie.

"Hey, Dickie- how's it hanging? Listen, I need you at the warehouse ASAP. We need to cut more bricks off The Stone. New client."

Charlie grinned as Dickie's muffled voice replied.

"Yeah, ok. See you soon."

Scoops looked towards Charlie and Jennie with regret as he hung up the phone.

“Dickie should be here any minute. Do me a favor, though…make it painless for him.”

“You’re not the first person to ask me for a favor tonight…”

The Nickleman smirked while he took the safety off his gun.

You’re a coward and a traitor, and frankly, I don’t know which disgusts me more.

You claim “House of Hardcore”, but instead of celebrating Dickie’s big win, you’re trying to claim it for yourself. You’re twisting Dickie’s emotions and manipulating him into offering up his own back.

But you’re too much of a coward to stick the knife in yourself.”

“You don’t have to rub it in. I’m just looking out for myself- besides, I’ve always deserved The Stone more than Dickie. Why shouldn’t I wear the crown The Corporation wants me to have?”
Charlie looks at Scoops with a shit-eating smirk before he raises the barrel of his gun.

“Snakes don’t get crowns.

They get skinned.”

A volley of gunfire erupts inside the warehouse!

Bullets shred the snakeman’s scaley flesh. Scoops hit the floor instantly, as dead as his dreams have always been.

Charlie turns towards Jennie with pride.

“And now, we just play the waiting game.”

The Nickleman reloaded his tommy gun’s drum while posting up next to the front door. His sister, however, was looking quite queasy from this entire ordeal.

As if she couldn’t bring herself to approve of his brutal methods.

Imagine that- a serial killer, with such a stick up her ass she can’t stomach watching her brother’s crimes unfold.

"Look what you're becoming. Let's leave - skip town before The Universal Stone turns you into someone I don't recognize."

"Excuse me?"

"You left Ozzy to die. You're murdering people in cold blood! I can't watch my brother turn into a monster."

"Then close your eyes."

The Nickleman cocked his gun as he stood by the door, eagerly awaiting Dickie’s arrival.

“I can’t let you do this. I know you’re better than this.”

Jennie reached out, trying to grab a hold of Charlie’s machinegun.

I lost The Universal Stone for you once, but I won’t let that happen again!

Charlie raises the barrel of his gun, and in an instant, he sends his sister to her maker.

One shot was all he needed.

A single bullet through the skull, and his little sister nagged him no more.

Charlie stared at Jennie’s corpse with something between a smile and a frown.

But he didn’t have time to mourn her…

Because just a few moments later, there was a knock at the door.

Dickie had arrived.

Alone, and blissfully unaware of his fate.

Charlie opened the door with a nearly full magazine.



Soft, effeminate, and so pure of heart that he practically sparkled in the sun- Dickie was everything Charlie despised.

“Where’s Scoops?”

As soon as Charlie opened the door Dickie’s suspicions were raised. Then, Dickie’s suspicions were confirmed as soon as he looked over Charlie’s shoulder- and saw the corpses of Scoops and Jennie.

Dickie cried out in shock, but Charlie was ready for this confrontation.

He’d been looking forward to it all night!

The Nickleman bashed in Dickie’s face with the butt of his gun, causing Watson to fall back into the
snow.

“You’re not a leader, you’re an empty vessel others fill with their own hopes and dreams- because they reckon if someone as mediocre as you can wield The Stone, then anyone can!”

Charlie punted Dickie in the face the moment he tried to stand up.

“You’re a weak and spineless shell of a champion. You’re the dog who finally caught the car, and doesn’t know what to do with it: so you just get run over.

Rubber across the face.”

Charlie throws his machine gun down and takes his belt off.

“Belt to motherfuckin’ ass!”

As dawn breaks and the sun peeks through the clouds, Charlie breaks a piece of Dickie’s tooth off with a smack of the belt!

Dickie scrambles to his feet, darting out of the alleyway and into the inner-Slums…but The Nickleman is right behind him. Charlie grabs Dickie by the scruff of his neck while Watson screams bloody murder.

“HELP! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!”

While Dickie’s cries went unanswered, the commotion did not go unnoticed.

The common scum in The Slums came out to watch the bloodbath, but no one lifted a finger to help. Even if Dickie Watson was their hero, Charlie Nickles was their nightmare- and no one in Xtopia dared to dream of defeating him.

As Dickie fought for his freedom, The Nickleman wrapped the belt around his fragile neck.

The citizens of Xtopia watched in dismay as their idol was dragged through the snow, neck-first. Watson’s face turned blue as Charlie slowly suffocated him in the public square.

“You think you’re Xtopia’s savior? Look at you now! You can’t even save yourself!”

Charlie tightened his grip on the belt as Dickie flailed around in the snow, gasping for air.

After Dickie’s last breath left his lungs, The Nickleman let the leash loose. Then, he rifled through Dickie’s pockets until he found what he came for.

“You’re just as beautiful as I remember…”

Charlie took The Universal Stone from Dickie’s corpse and held it up for everyone to see.

A large, golden rock- a symbol of something far more than itself.

As the sun rose and dawn fully broke, Xtopia realized that this was the night everything changed forevermore.

Kieran used to believe that history was a shield.

That because he ruled once, these streets still belonged to him.

But he found out the hard way that ghosts don’t run cities: they haunt them.

Scoops thought betrayal was strategy. That if everyone’s bleeding, nobody will notice the knife in their back.

But parasites don’t inherit empires: they die in them.

Dickie assumed that because he had friends, he had allies. He thought making people like him would make people respect him.

But he was dead wrong.

On this fateful night, Charlie Nickles didn’t just shoot a few bodies.

He shot down entire legacies.

He didn’t settle for slaying mere mortals.

He killed the myths that animated them.

So when the snow finally stopped falling, when the streets went quiet and the gangs were counting what they lost…

There was only one truth left standing in Xtopia:

This city runs on blood, and it’s ruled by whoever spills the most.

Snow Pain.

Snow Gangs.