"Once upon a time in a kingdom of Bethmoora lived a King and his Queen. There subjects were a happy people and the prosperity of their race seemed never ending. One day there came a happy announcement that the Queen was pregnant. Thirteen months later twins were born. Twins are very unusual for the elves, and these two even more so. They were connected with each other in a way never before heard of. They were connected with mind and body. Adding to that they both got a special gift form the gods.

"But the King's blessing that were his children came with a curse. Elvin women, being small in frame, were not suited for giving birth to twins. The Queen died just after she gave birth to the second. The King and his kingdom both rejoiced and sorrowed. Rejoicing because of the two tinny heirs to the throne, and sorrowed because of the loss of their Queen.

"Three years later the humans started to move against the fey. The humans and the fey were at war for many years. When the twins were seventeen the King and his people were losing the war, and he was getting desperate. A goblin came to him and offered to build the King a Golden Army that could not be stopped. The Prince, who had been in the battles and seen his friends slaughtered by the humans, begged his father to say yes. And the King did.

"The Golden Army was made, and the next battle in between the humans and the fay didn't end well. The King's army not only slaughtered the humans' army, but those who weren't fighting as well. The army killed not only soldiers, but women, old ones and children. The army couldn't tell the difference. The King regretted his chose. He sent out an offer of truce, one that the humans accepted without hesitation. Though they were not at was anymore they were far from peace. The humans made it illegal for fey to be in human land without permission. But that law wasn't the only thing that cursed the fey. The gods decided to punish the fey, so they took what was most precious to them: their children. Every child born within three years of the wars' beginning disappeared, all except the prince and princess. None know why only these two were spared, least of all the king. Seeing all the children there age and younger die changed the prince and princess. The prince blamed the humans, saying that it was there fault. The princess blamed no one, saying that it was a simple fact and that it was no one's fault. But the King knew better. It was his fault, and only his fault. The King had the crown that controlled the Golden Army broken, and gave one to the humans and kept two for his own.

"The prince wished to continue the war, but all refused. So he set out to find the humans' piece of the crown, so that he might again start the Great War again," Professor Trevor Bruttenholm finished. He put the book down and turned back to his children. He had two sons and a daughter, none of which were his. Professor Bruttenholm was a traveler, and he has come across many different things in his day. They were still traveling. He needed to get his kids somewhere safe, before it was too late. Trevor looked at his oldest son.

His name was Hellboy. The red skinned demon grinned at his father, his stone hand around his brother, and his left around his sister. Cocky, determined, and stubborn. He would do almost anything to protect his family.

"Is that all, Pa?" he asked as he itched his broken horn. Bruttenholm looked around. They were sitting in a train car that's sides were open. It was getting late, and tonight it would drop below zero. Not for the first time he was worried. He and his children needed to get out of human land and into fey lands.

He thought for a moment before answering. "Yes, that is all for tonight." Hellboy groaned. "But Pa." Bruttenholm gave Hellboy a look that made him stop complaining.

"Father, are they real?" asked his second oldest son, Abraham. A unique boy, who was the complete opposite of Hellboy. Abe was quiet, secretive, and loved to read anything, from books to people. He was a blue blood, a race that died out centuries ago, and he wasn't like the old mers at all. He was an icthyo sapien. Not only could he breathe underwater, but he had powers. When he got near people he could read their thoughts and emotions. A similar thing happened when he touched things with his hands, he saw the past and future of whatever the object is.

"What do you mean, Abe?" asked Hellboy. Abe gestured to the book with a graceful hand. "Is thing just a story, or did this happen?" Abe asked. All three of the kids looked up at their father. And their father just smiled at them. "It is going to be real."

Finally the youngest spoke. "What do you mean, Dad?" Elizabeth Sherman asked. Like the others she was different. Only she was human. A human with special powers, a fire starter with raven hair and brown eyes. When she was younger her powers manifested in an explosive way, killing all her friends and family. Since then the Professor took her in and gave her a new family. One that would accept her no matter what.

The professor smiled and handed the book to Abe. Abe tucked it into his backpack. Bruttenholm leaned forward as to tell them a secret, and the three kids moved forward automatically. Trevor pointed at Abe's bag. "That book was given to me by to very special people," he whispered.

"Like us?" Liz asked.

"Sort of," he whispered again. "Their names are Yin and Yang. They were born with special powers, just like you three." The three siblings looked at each other and scooched closer to their father and each other. The temperature was dropping fast. Outside the train car they could hear the life of winter wising past. Bruttenholm continued his story. "Once I met the sisters, and they gave me a book that told stories of thing before they happen."

Abe sucked in an excited breath. "This book!" he said loudly as he pointed to his bag.

"What was that noise?" The strange family looked at each other and sat still.

"Don' know. Let's go check it out." Bruttenholm looked at his children and made a quick decision. "Abe! Grab your bag and go with Hellboy. Liz, follow me. We have to get off this train." The children quickly did what they were told. They learned long ago never question their father when strangers are concerned. They grabbed the small amount of stuff that they brought with them, just as two men walked through the door on either side.

Liz let out a small scream and her hand burst into flames. Bruttenholm grabbed his daughter, not caring that he was getting burned. "Hellboy! Get Abe!" Hellboy grabbed Abe's hand just as the two men ran to catch them. They ran to the other side of the train.

"Grab them!" one of the men yelled as he lunged for the brothers. The other went for the professor and Liz. Bruttenholm looked at the open sides of the trains and to his sons, then at his daughter in his hands, to the two men that were trying to catch them. He took a deep breath. Trevor looked at his sons with a pained expression. "Jump!" he called to them, just before he jumped off the train into the snowy mass below carrying Liz. The brothers looked at each other. Both of them had the same worried expression on their faces. They looked out of the train, held their breath and jumped, just as the man grabbed Abe. Hellboy didn't even have time to look back as Abe was yanked out of his hand. Abe watched his brother plunge head first into the snow.

"Got you now, you little freak," the man behind him growled. Abe yanked away from him and jumped. The wind and snow wiped past him and Abe landed with a grunt in the snow. He picked himself up and looked around for his family, not daring to make a sound. Then through the wind he heard a sound. Horses. And lots of them.

Abe ran in the opposite direction, but the snow was so deep that he could scarcely move. A small wine left his lips as he heard the horses get closer. The cold wetness was sinking into his clothes sending shivers down his spine. They were getting closer. He could feel it. Abe pulled himself out of the snow just as a hand grabbed his arm. Pain seared through his arm as the man dragged Abe onto his horse.

The man who's horse Abe was on pointed at two others. "You two! Go, and find the others!" The men nodded and galloped away. The man pushed his horse forward into the woods, still holding Abe. When they reached a small clearing the man tossed Abe off of the horse, and grabbed something that glinted in the low light.

Abe tried to get up, but the man simply pushed him down and pulled back the sleeve of his left arm. Abe tried to squirm away from the man. The man grabbed Abe by the neck and dug his knee into Abe's shoulder while his left hand held his wrist. In his right hand he held the silvery object that Abe had seen before. It was a knife. Abe, who was already in enough pain and didn't wasn't to add the knife to the mix, pulled away. The man raised the dagger over his head and plunged it into the ground a half an inch for his face.

"You move, you little maggot, and I'll kill you," the man growled again. Abe was cold and wet from the snow, and he was covered in bruises from this man and from jumping off the train. He couldn't see the dagger, but he felt it tear at his skin. Abe let out a painful yelp as the dagger dug deeper into him. Darkness ate away from the edges of his vision, and the last thing he heard before he collapsed into the dark was three short, strong, beautiful notes.