Faces Chapter 1

Faces

Chapter 1 – The Mansion
The face of a person is a mask. A mask that is worn as a disguise to hide the true self of a person. Different faces walked in and out from this world. But there is a question to ask as we live in this world. What lies hidden underneath that ugly and beautiful face?
There was a great curiosity to those who live near this mysterious place. There was a large block near the heart of the city. A ten feet grassy wall surrounds it with a large mysterious gate. The walls were covered with vines and on top are a very dangerous collection of vines and barb wires clearly visible on top of it. Nobody who lived near there knew what really is happening inside.
Different faces walked in and out from those gates. An intercom was installed near the gate’s doors along with it are cameras that watch every corner of the block. In some instances, there are some people would go to this place. They would press the intercom and speak to someone from the inside. The gates will then open for them.
It was a clear inky black night. The stars twinkled over the cloudless sky and no moon could be seen. A young man could be seen pressing the intercom button that late midnight. The gates creaked open for him. He walked inside these mysterious gates.
This man was tall and broad. His hair was short and golden. He had a pale, ghostly skin. His eyes’ irises were pink with dark blood red pupils. This man was born without any name, he was found at the door step of the Mansion. As a boy, he was an expert in the art of paper folding. They all called him as Origami.
Origami walked over the grassy plain of the lot. Walking towards a large house almost surrounded by trees, this is the place he called as the Mansion.
He opened the great oak doors of the Mansion. There was no light inside. There was no one there. He walked in a deserted corridor with different doors at each opposite side. He finally stopped to open a metal door that had revealed to him a square space not larger than an ordinary cabinet. But something was noticeable in the room; it was a hole that showed a narrow set of stairs that led underground.
He went down to find another metal door. The handle was cold and between the gaps, a clear blue light was shining inside. He opened the door and found himself with a lady gazing over a body.
The lady had a long waist-length dirty brown hair. Her eyes were dark and brown and were staring blankly on the body before her. She did not look up when Origami arrived. I seemed that she did not even notice him at all.
“What are you thinking, Sphinx?” Origami asked as he approached her. His red eyes scanned the body in front of them.
The body was dead cold already. It was a body of a young man with a pitch black hair. His lean body had open wounds that seemed to have reached every part of him. His body was cold a well preserved. He was dead a long time ago. His name was Heliopath.
“It has been eleven years,” said Sphinx, “since we saw him die. He died in a sense of being stupid and being a hero. He saved the world that never knew his existence.”
“He died as a great man,” said Origami. “I honored him the most of what he has done. That is why I took him after they left him to show that he was a part of the accident. I was the one that cleaned up their mess right after he left this world.”
“I know that Origami. After he left, we were vulnerable. The Rogues declared war to us. They knew that without Heliopath, we would be very defenseless. After that, I always thought that we are history.”
“But then, we are still standing. There is a new leader among us now. Did you know?”
“Yes,” Sphinx replied, covering Heliopath’s body. “His name is Phoenix, I knew him before. Heliopath introduced me to him. He is the Assassin that trained our so called ‘hero’ here to be the greatest assassin we have ever known.”
“If you have heard about him,” said Origami. “Surely, you know what he intends to do with Heliopath’s body?”
Sphinx shrugged for an answer.
“He plans to use the Cross on him,” Origami informed.
“Cross?”
“It’s a plan, the Cross Program as they would call it,” Origami explained. “The Cross is an experimental program on an Assassin, whether he may be dead or alive. He will be modified and be given superhuman powers that are very unique that the person itself will become a weapon. However, in doing this, the Cross is under a full control of the Master Assassin, a puppet with strings.”
“What?!” Sphinx clapped her hand to her mouth. “I will not let him do that to Heliopath! That is very inhumane!”
“Who are we to say things like that?” Origami shook his head calmly. “We ourselves are inhumane. We kill people Sphinx. We are Assassins.”
“But Heliopath is dead,” she insisted. “He just can’t disturb his eternal slumber. He already is at peace!”
“Why Sphinx?” he asked her directly on her eyes. “Do we have the right to stop him? Do we have the power to do so? We don’t. We need to obey. He is our master.”
She buried her face on Origami’s shoulder. She knew that she had no choice. She wept as she is unable to fight off the tears from her eyes.
Then to what they have not expected the metal door swung open before them. A man with dark hair in a midnight blue suit was greeted by the room’s cold light. Both Origami and Sphinx bowed lowed before him. He is the person that they both were talking about; he is the new Master Assassin of the Assassin’s Legion. His real name was unknown by everyone. His face was forbidden to be seen thus he was a blank and faceless mask. He was whom they called as Phoenix.
“What are you two doing down here at the middle of the night?” he asked the both of them.
“Master,” said Origami as he remained still on his bow. “Sphinx and I were just talking about the Cross Program.”
“And so what do you know about it?”
“We know that you are going to use it to Heliopath.” Sphinx replied without hesitation. Origami elbowed her to keep her mouth shut.
But Phoenix laughed at the both of them.
“Rumors, I tell you that.” His blank face seemed to smile behind the mask. “I do not plan to make Heliopath as a Cross.”
They both observed their master surveyed over the body before him.
“I met him when he was young, you know.” Phoenix was saying. “I always thought that he would be here at my place as a Master Assassin. But I never imagined him being a hero in his own way.
“He was a child with vengeance and hatred. It fueled his raged to conquer everything on his path, but still he is able to keep a face that is so innocent that nobody would ever suspect him. With this anger inside him, I knew that I would make a great difference in the strength of the Legion.
“I was still a mere Superior Assassin by that time when we met. He was still a cry baby trying to find justice and vengeance with his tears. And I taught him that Life is one material thing that has a price like everything else in this world, money, and so it can be bought.”
“When he finally agreed to go with me, I shaped him to be a great assassin. He took his rage and put it into another form: Fire. He christened himself as Heliopath. He was my greatest creation.
“When I became a Grand Assassin, such as the both of you, I did not have any hesitation at all, I chose him to be the next Superior Assassin. A Superior Assassin that became the very fear of the city, the very fear of the entire state. He was more than an abomination that no one could ever describe.
“You knew that,” he said to both of them. “You were both his partners.”
“But no one could control Heliopath,” said Origami sadly. “We feared him more than we fear ourselves.”
“But he had a good heart,” added Sphinx, “a heart that was only confused because of all the hatred that he has. “
“Exactly,” Phoenix agreed. “I can’t afford him to have a heart if he were to be a Cross. And because of that reason, I did not make him as a Cross. But I was able to create something that is almost like him.”
“What do you mean?” Origami Asked.
“Follow me.”
Phoenix led them out from the cold room and up back towards the long corridor. He led them further towards the very end door that was painted in dark green. He slowly opened the door for them.
To Origami’s confusion, he had never been in such room that is decorated like this before. Being honest to himself, he hadn’t been in the Mansion for a while. But he doubted that the hideout of murderers have this kind of room.
The room was wallpapered with bright blue designs. The lights was still off, it was only the moonlight that showed him the entire room. There were toys and materials neatly organized on different colored cabinets. The floor was almost covered with rubber mats. And at the very center of the room was a wooded crib.
“What are you trying to tell us?” Origami asked.
“Shhhhhhh!!!” Phoenix shushed him, as he silently walked to look over the crib.
Origami and Sphinx leaned forward to look over the crib. At first, they both thought that it is just full of white blankets. But as they looked more to it, it was clearly visible, a child sound asleep.
“A child?” said Sphinx. “But ---?”
“Before you is Heliopath’s son.” Phoenix said silently.
“What?” shrieked Sphinx. “Is this some kind of joke? This is not possible! Heliopath is dead for almost eleven years now. If this is his child it would be around ten or eleven year old by now!”
The child stirred and threatened to cry. But his mouth found his way to his bottle and did not cry. Phoenix seemed to have frowned on his blank face.
“You almost woke him up,” he said calmly. “I’ll explain but we must talk outside. I would not want to risk waking him up.”
They opened the door silently and went out. Sphinx carefully closed the door behind her without a sound.
“A few years back when Heliopath was alive,” Phoenix explained standing on the corridor. “He took the blood sample of Renalyn Groove, his girlfriend. But in an unexpected turn of events she was killed before Heliopath died.
“That blood was kept in our storage facilities safe and fresh. Heliopath, himself had a blood sample there. And it took me two years to find their blood sample in the large number of vials that are stored in there.
“After finding them, I learned how to recreate the Heliopath through what I have learned. I learned that I may be able to extract Heliopath’s DNA and alter it to create a stronger being than he ever is.
“By Groove’s blood I was able to create an egg cell from her DNA. With Heliopath’s DNA, I took his weaknesses. Including the recessive genes that would cause Heliopath’s body to be weak, like the Bleeder’s Disease. I reconstructed his DNA that it would be more indestructible than it was before.
“To finally create the him, I took out the nucleus of Groove’s egg cell and replaced it with the reconstructed DNA of Heliopath. And it was a success, it began fertilization. Taking the zygote, I planted it to a shell: a human shell that would protect it for nine months until he will be born.”
“Wait a minute,” said Origami. “Are you saying that this child is really Heliopath’s son with Groove?”
“Yes,” Phoenix nodded. “I ran DNA tests on the three of them, and it matched. The child is really Heliopath and Groove’s son”
“But, what about the woman that carried the child?” asked Sphinx. “Isn’t she his mother?”
“No, she is not.” Phoenix said coldly. “She is a mere vessel of the Cross. I disposed her as soon as she gave birth to the child.”
“Master Phoenix,” said Origami.”What do you intend to do with this child?”
“The plan has started Origami,” replied Phoenix. “He is my Cross.”
“Cross?!” Sphinx raised her voiced in disbelief. “But you can’t do this to the child! He has a life to live Phoenix! He’s not a mere puppet!”
“Not yet he is,” said Phoenix. “When the right time comes, he will be. He is almost is his father.”
“What do you mean?” asked Origami.
“Of course!” said Sphinx, realizing what a friend told her in the past. “One of us here know how to create the same person, it was Werewolf that rediscovered it. It is his cloning process!”
“So this child is a clone?” asked Origami.
“Not exactly,” said Phoenix. “He still is the son of the both of them. But most of his traits would really come from Heliopath.”
“Where is he going to live?” asked Sphinx. “Who’s going to take care of him?”
“I will,” Phoenix answered her question. “He will stay with me and he will be trained to be an assassin just like his father.”
“Wait!” said Origami. “He will not be an assassin!”
“And why is that?” Phoenix finally raised his voice.
“If Heliopath is still alive, he would never have let his own son to be an assassin!”
“Origami is right,” she agreed. “He would not agree with this to happen!”
Phoenix seemed to have smirked with his black face. “Do you think you can stop me? The child is here already, it has begun. This is not for me, but for Heliopath. This is his vengeance.”
“But revenge isn’t always the answer to our problems,” said Sphinx.
“He will be an assassin,” said Phoenix, “whether you like it or not.”
There was a great silence that swept over them. They all looked towards the door that held the child, until finally Phoenix spoke up.
“This child will not be just an assassin,” he said. “He is turning one tomorrow and I will take him away from here.”
“Why?” asked Origami. “You and the child can always stay here.”
“I know that,” he replied to him. “But I want him to learn almost everything; we shall travel most of the time.”
“He will always be welcomed here,” said Sphinx.
“Yes,” he said, opening the door as the all entered the room again. “That’s why he will take his last education here.”
Sphinx gazed upon the child before her and asked, “What is his name?”
Phoenix’s blank face smiled.
“His name is Ren Ersatz Forest.”
“Ren Ersatz Forest,” Origami repeated. “Why?”
“His first name: Ren is the first name of his mother.” Phoenix explained. “Ersatz his second name is a German noun meaning substitute.”
“Will he be a Superior Assassin?” Origami asked.
“Yes,” said Phoenix. “When he returns here, he already is one.”
“What shall we call him?”
“Parasite.”
“Why?”
“He is a Cross,” Phoenix said. “He is more than what you think he is. He is very unique for in his blood runs a virus. This Virus is very lethal and it would only trigger upon his death. The virus is taken through the lungs. Once infected, you also infect those around you and you would die exactly twenty four hours later.”
“And you mean to tell us that there is no cure?” Sphinx clapped her hand in surprise.
“There is none,” said Phoenix. “While the Cross Virus is still dormant in his blood, it remains as a protection for him.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Cross Virus acts as a living antidote inside him. No poison can kill him. It acts as a healing factor that can repair his wounds faster than the other cells that he has in his body. However, the Virus cannot sustain most of the wounds especially if he doesn’t still turn into a full Cross.”
“It still can help him survive,” said Sphinx, “in its own way.”
“But I am still afraid of a few things,” said Origami. “I am afraid that Parasite being more like his father, history may repeat itself.”
“Tell me what you fear Origami,” said Phoenix.
“I am afraid that the Pillars of the Pentagram might be opened again,” he said.
“The Pentagram that is hidden in the city which is said to hold a great power?” asked Phoenix.
“Yes,” said Origami. “That is the reason why strange events happened in the world eleven years ago.”
“What events?”
“And you don’t even remember?” Origami turned to Sphinx.
“What is it to remember?!” Sphinx said, confused.
“Perhaps you should tell her,” suggested Phoenix.
“Yes, well,” he agreed on him, “did you remember the time that the sun seemed to have reached supernova and we were covered in vast darkness?”
“Nope,” said Sphinx truthfully.
“Or did you remember that all the waters around the globe disappeared?”
“No.”
“Did you remember that snow fell on all over the world, even in the tropical countries?”
“No.”
“Is there any chance that you could remember that the trees, vines and plants grew all over the ground and crept to make the world look like a vast jungle?”
“No.”
“And did you ever remember that all the dead walked and the people alive are decaying?”
“Wait,” Sphinx screwed up her face thinking very deeply, “nope, I couldn’t remember anything.”
Origami sighed. He turned to Phoenix and whispered, “She lost her marbles. I’m lucky to be her husband.”
Phoenix laughed at him.
“But the point is,” said Sphinx, “even if those things really did happen. Ren will be heavily guarded by our own assassins.”
“No,” Phoenix disagreed. “He must stand alone on his both feet. No one should be guiding him nor protecting him.”
“But,” said Sphinx, thinking of the training that will be given to the child, “don’t be too harsh on him.”
“It has to be deadly,” said Phoenix. “I remember the time that I trained Heliopath. He always went back home with his shirt soaked with his own blood.”
“What have you done to him before?!” Sphinx shrieked in disbelief.
“His training is far harder than other trainings that are held by the Legion,” he said to them, “it involves wounding the assassin for his immunity. He is also blindfolded for accuracy and awareness. He avoids my attacks blindfolded, as he walked in a room full of blades itself.”
“Good heavens!” said Sphinx. “It is really that bad?”
Phoenix merely smiled with his blank face. “Yes.”
“I hope Ren would grow up quickly,” said Origami. “We could really use the help in the war against the Rogues.”
“Rogues are geniuses in copying our works,” said Phoenix. “They know about the Cross Program and they made their own version which, to what I’ve heard, they called as Stalkers.”
“You mean they have their own puppets?”
Phoenix shook his head. “Worst than that, they are pets to them. They are stronger than our Cross and their leader has complete control over them.”
“Human pets,” Origami muttered. “The Rogues really does find a way for their animalistic behavior!”
CRASH!
Their heads turned towards the windows. The pale blue moonlight lit the lawns of the Mansion. Visible from afar the gates were on the ground. The sound of an alarm filled their ears. The child jolts awake as his cries were bare audible in the noise.
“What’s happening?!” shouted Origami, with his voice barely audible.
“I don’t know!” shouted Sphinx, who took the child from his crib.
Phoenix’s attention was still on the window. “We are under attack!”
Visible in the darkness was shadowy figures that sprinted over the Mansion. There were a lot of them that began surrounding them. The alarm came to a silence. Phoenix clearer noticed in the darkness the shine of the weapons that they held in the darkness.
“Rogues!” Phoenix said to them as the footsteps were approaching fast. He immediately kicked the crib to block the door in front of them. Underneath where the crib stood before was a trapdoor. He opened it revealing a earthy passage underground.
“Get inside,” said Phoenix as the door banged as the visitors outside tried to open it, “both of you! Now!”
“No!” Sphinx disagreed. “You go with the child. You need to flee away from here.”
“What? Why?” Phoenix asked. “Do not defy me Sphinx!”
“I am not,” she said, thrusting the child to his arms, “I am saving the both of you. The child is more important than us in this Legion.”
She pushed him to the trapped door. He nodded in agreement and closed the trapdoor above him.
“What did you do that for?” Origami mouthed at her as they back away and pinned themselves against the wall.
“Ren is our only chance to save the Legion,” she said beside him. “Anyway we can kill these Rogues in no time right? We are still the one of the best Assassins here.”
“Sometimes, I do wonder why I asked you to marry me,” Origami shook his head, smiling.
“Keep wondering love,” Sphinx grinned back.
Then, the door burst open.

* * *

Meanwhile, Phoenix was running with a child on his arms. The earthy passage was dark and cold. The child was not crying anymore, he was in silence. The passage went on and it on. He thought that this child that he is carrying will bring the Legion something that is different. Like this darkness that he is running through, the child would be just like it. He would spread fear again on this city. Fear that his father started and failed to continue.
The passage began to ascend. The floor was beginning to be concrete. He knew that the passage would lead him to an exit to an alley. There was light at the very end of the passage. It was already morning. It would be easier for him to blend in the public.
The exit was getting nearer.
The light greeted them.
They were gone.

Will she?

Will she ever care about you?

Will she ever look into your eyes?

Will she ever smile because of you?

Will she ever laugh because of you?

Will she ever remember you?

Will she ever need you?

Will she ever take care of you?

Will she ever dream about you?

Will she ever cry when you're away?

Will she ever wait for you?

Will she ever stay with you?

Will she ever hug you?

Will she ever hold you close?

Will she ever keep you high?

Will she ever listen to you?

Will she ever understand you?

Will she ever think of you?

Will she ever let go the strings from her past for you?

Will she ever be sensitive about you?

Will she ever care about what you feel?

Will she ever kiss you?

Will she ever walk with you?

Will she ever talk with you?

Will she ever take time with you?

Will she ever take the pain from you?

Will she ever sacrifice for you?

Will she ever fight for you?

Will she ever realize you everytime you say,

"I love you."?