The 7th Heir: Chapter 1

The Voice Of Ecstasy
''It had been three days since they had all heard the news. Ecstasy, the famous assassin, killed by the marines. That's what the news papers said anyway. Argo, he knew the truth. It wasn't the self righteous navy who took out Ecstasy...It was that incurable disease. The disease he had fought for so long. The disease that, until recently, everyone thought he would be able to beat. Despite the way Argo was treated in this "family", he couldn't help but wonder...what would happen to them now? Now that he was gone. Argo shook off the thought. This was the day of his will reading. Argo, his six brothers, and some other people who must have been friends of Ecstasy sat in a large office, which was right in the center of a large building just on the outskirts of town. The man, who was so unfamiliar to Argo, dressed in a tuxedo red off of a letter. Argo wasn't paying attention until a certain phrase caught his interest.''

Attorney: And now for my six sons.

''Argo could see from the corner of his eye, each one of his brothers stiffened as those words left the attorney's mouth. It was our turn to see what our father had left us.''

Attorney: I know this must be a bit...sudden...for you all. This disease, I tried my best to fight it, but the fact that you are hearing this letter means I lost that uphill battle. But I digress, none of that matters. I taught you all not to give into emotions, so there's no use for mushy words here. Even so, you all know that I love you all oh so equally. Which brings me to my next point. There is just no way I could choose between the seven of you: which one deserves the family heirloom.

''Argo looked over. That word, heirloom, it defiantly brought a reaction out of everyone. Dalenora, in particular. He was the eldest brother out of the seven of them. Just by his look alone, everyone could tell Dalenora felt the heirloom should go to him, the first born.. Dalenora squeezed his fists in secret. The Attorney continued on with the letter.''

Attorney: This heirloom has been passed through my family for countless generations, I must continue the tradition. But I cant choose. So I've decided to make it a competition. I wont tell you what, or where the heirloom is, which is why you have one hour.

''That. That is what really sparked a reaction. Everyone, not just the seven brothers, but everyone's eyes lit up in confusion. Murmurs began to fill the room. They were murmurs of confusion.''

Kayn: What the hell is the old man talking about?

''Argo looked at the picture of Ecstasy sitting on the attorny's desk. He looked at his long, messy grey hair, and the scars on his face. What was Ecstasy thinking? The attorney cleared his throat and continued where he had left off''.

Attorney: You have one hour to escape this building. That will be the first step, that is all the information I will give you on this subject.

Ikon, another one of the brothers, the second youngest, slammed his fist on the table in front of him out of anger and frustration.

Attorney: If you aren't interested, its not a problem, you don't need to participate, but if I were you, I would get out of this building before the timer reaches zero.

Ikon: Hey hey hey, the old man isn't serious about this is he?

''The attorney ignored all the murmurs and grunts of anger coming from the gathering in this small office. Argo didn't know how to feel about this whole situation. Suddenly, a beep filled the room, a den den mushi, high up on one of the bookshelves began to count down.''

Den Den Mushi: T minus fifty-nine minutes.

''Screams of horror came from the back of the room. Not everyone in here was an assassin, there were ordinary people who just happened to be close to Ecstasy somehow. What are you doing old man, this isn't fare to these civilians, Argo thought to himself. The door to the office was locked. The attorney sat motionless in his chair. Dalenora grabbed his shirt and yanked him.''

Dalenora: Hey, let us out of this room!

No response...

''Dalentora pushed the attorney and walked to the locked door through the frantic crowd. He slammed his shoulder into the door. One slam didn't work. He kept at it. The other brothers began to get out of their chairs to watch as Dalenora assaulted the steel door. Dalenora decided it was time to use his devil fruit, the wind wind fruit. He would wind up his arm, like a jack-in-the-box. The more he winded his arm, the stronger his punch would be.''

Dalenora: One...Two...Three!

''The door stood no chance. The frantic crowd squeezed through the doorway. Everyone parted ways without explanation, that was what this family was like; Every man for himself. Soon, Argo and the motionless attorney were the only two left in the room. Argo looked back at him. Argo couldn't tell if he was dead or not.''

Argo: Hey pops, you dead?

''Argo searched his pockets for money. He sighed after finding nothing and left the room to join the commotion. What could ''

possibly be so hard about escaping this building, Argo thought.

''He was in the dark hallway. Alone. Like always.''

Argo: Damn old man. I'm not gonna let his riddles screw me over this time. I'm smart!

''Argo stormed off to the right of the hallway. It was dark, but towards the end, one of the lights was lit, illuminating the red carpet and brown wooden walls. Argo stood there, in the dark, for a moment. He recalled the amount of people who were invited to this will reading. 13 to be exact.''

''This guy, he's giving us riddles? How typical, Argo thought. ''

Argo sighed..

Argo: Well, there are seven of us brothers, and six of the acquaintances. There's no way these numbers are random.

''Argo continued to walk down this oddly long hallway. At the end of this hallway was a circular room with four other possible hallways.''

Argo: Come on! *sigh* Well, if there are 13 people and 4 hallways. What could this mean?

He looked behind him.

Argo: Make that three. The one I just came from cant be the way. That means I have three choices. The numbers! ugh!

''Argo sat on the ground and pulled a bar from his pocket and began to eat. After a few minutes he had come to a conclusion.''

Argo: Well, there are six brothers related by blood, one adopted, and six acquaintances not related at all. Three different groups, three different hallways. By this logic, I'm in the second group, one adopted. So I guess I'll take the second hallway.

''He walked into the hallway with the number two on it. Ho stopped walking for a moment. Why was that one light on? Argo thought to himself. He went back and unscrewed the light bulb. Nothing happened. He waited there in the dark by himself. The floor from under him suddenly gave way. Argo yelled as he plummeted in the darkness He landed on the ground, hard.''

Argo: Ah that really hurt!

''As he got up, he saw a girl in the same room as him. She was in the room earlier as well. The girl looked over at Argo.''

Girl: Are you okay?

Argo*sarcasm*: Yea, I'm okay after I just fell who knows how far.

The girl scoffed.

Argo: Have you found anything, random girl?

Girl: My name is Naomi.

''She pouted. Argo sighed.''

Naomi*whimper*: I haven't seen anything in this room. We might be trapped down here.

Argo: Calm down. There's gotta be something in this room.

''Argo looked around the room for an exit of some sorts. He was beginning to regret not going down that hallway when he had the chance. Argo sighed.''

Argo: Worse-case scenario, this is one of the old man's traps, and were gonna be stuck down here until the time runs out.

Naomi shivered.

Naomi:W...Whats going to happen then?

Argo: Psht! I don't know. Lets just calm down, and i don't know, look around or something.

''A blood culturing scream echoed the entire building. Argo and Naomi froze then looked at each other. Argo sighed.''

Naomi: We have to hurry.

''The two began searching the room even more thoroughly. Argo found something interesting. A video dem dem mushi. He sat it on a coffee table nearby and pointed it towards the wall. It's eyes lit up and projected an image on the wall. No. It was a movie, and the person in it was none other that Ecstasy. He was sitting in a velvet chair.''

Ecstasy: Congratulations, you found the first clue. You saw right through the false riddle I had set up.

''Argo was embarrassed, he almost fell for that riddle. Had he not been curious, he would have taken the bait.''

Ecstasy: The first clue; avoid the seekers. That is all for now.

The screen shut off. One of the bookshelves slid, revealing a pitch black hallway. Naomi and Argo looked at each other, both confused. As they both decided to walk towards the hallway someone came out from the darkness. It was a an in a black robe, with glowing red eyes and a scythe. He was the spitting image of the grim reaper. He quickly lunged at the two.