Ch.1

"Oh dear god…" were the first words out of Eriks mouth when he noticed his lab door was open.

Ever since moving to the moor calm countryside- and out from under the opera- he had found himself with even more free time on his hands. Even with two rebellious and absolutely devilish sons running about, every bit as curious, stubborn, and adventurous as their father. Not a day went by that Christine did not come home from work at the opera to find they had gotten into some trouble or another. At one point she even found her poor husband, some how tied upside down to a banister, blood rushing to what little skin he had on his skeletal and marred face. To this day he refused to admit how they had managed to tie him there, and his sons who had done the act could still remember all too vividly what happened after he was freed. Gustave still swore that he can not find all the books he had before the incident, and was too afraid to lose his beloved personal library again to bring it up.

But despite Eriks mischievous sons, and wife as well, he still found himself wide awake for most of the night, queries and ideas always flowing through his head. Which led him to finally break down and not only expand the music room to once again hold an organ- this took quite a bit of convincing on Eriks part to say the least, as Christine did not want to deal with construction on top of the twin terrors- but also obtaining a laboratory, which was nestled next to the office and library. All the rooms he found essential- something his wife had snorted at but also giggled at his enthusiasm. She rather loved watching him tinker about at ungodly hours on whatever fancy he currently had.

But now was not one of those times as he stared at the door in horror. He ALWAYS locked it, knowing his sons might actually succeed in blowing the house to ash if allowed in.

Especially with what he was working on now.

One had to have picked the lock whilst Erik got a small glass of wine from the kitchen. It would not be the first time one slipped past their father in the middle of the night. He was already betting it was Charles, who resembled his father not only in appearance but in ability in stealth as well. Yes, it was a good idea they moved from under the opera, god forbid Charles figure out how to work the old passages and trap doors.

This door however, seemed far more ominous than any he had used to skulk the opera.

Swallowing his fear he managed to push open the door with a pale skeletal hand.

"Oh fuck." he gasped in horror as his stomach dropped out. Inside the once pristine lab now lay in ruin. It was almost identical to how his looked after the mob at the opera…

Tables overturned, glass strewn everywhere, dangerous acidic chemicals sprawling over the hard marble floor. Metal devices practically melted in spot. In the center of the room char marks could also be seen.

There was only one source of comfort, or at least it could be taken as such.

There was no blood.

Erik carefully stepped over to the center of the chaos. Why had he not heard it? Where in the hell was his son?

It seemed he was still too shocked to comprehend his son was missing. Also to figure out how he had managed to disappear.

Then all became starkly clear as he spotted an old leather bound book, dyed purple and laying open on a right side up table.

It was his mother's old spell book, one he had inherited from the small group of travelers he had been born to. He had been using it as of late, to see what some of the spells and potions did to different chemical reactions. To weed out any non working ones and to see the elixirs and chants full power.

Dreading each step more and more, he stepped forward and looked at the open book. His breath completely stopped as he read the caption of the page.

Flowing Time: 100 Years into the Future

And his stomach dropped even further when he felt under his feet a smaller piece of cloth.

He picked it up and realized it was his son's mask. And while neither of them wore it in the house, both always had it on hand just in case.

The thought of his son possible over a 100 years into the future, defenseless and without his mask to protect it against the cruelties of men, was enough to bring Erik to his knees.

O.G.

So this is a departure from my normal works, as it has a lighter tone. Obviously Erik and Christine are together and such. This one I suspect will be if anything, adventurous. A bit lighter than my normal work but if dark themes occur as well, it happens. Regardless I am rather excited for this one.