A Sinister Beginning

"Wild, dark times are rumbling toward us, and the prophet who wishes to write a new apocalypse will have to invent entirely new beasts, and beasts so terrible that the ancient animal symbols of St. John will seem like cooing doves and cupids in comparison." - HEINRICH HEINE, "Lutetia; or, Paris," Augsberg Gazette, 1842


A single cargo ship floated across the sea. Its existence, destination, and purpose were entirely unknown. The fact this cargo ship was off the charts and seemingly invisible to radar meant one thing. The cargo was either precious and irreplaceable, or the owner was upping the security for no reason whatsoever. Considering armed thugs patrolled the deck of this large ship that claimed the ocean as its own, it was safe to say the former theory was most likely correct. Perhaps that would be the reason it had become a target.

An older man, brimmed with dusty clothes and garments, stood in the main cabin of the ship. His facial expression seemed to emphasize the wariness of the crew members; for what they carried was either a godsend or a first class ticket to hell. Making a slow stride towards the table that swayed towards the center of the room, thanks to the rocking of the ship, the older man would place a hand on the splinted wood as if to catch himself from falling. He couldn't help but question himself if he made the right decision to transport such cargo and put his entire crew in danger. It was too late for the man to contemplate if he made the appropriate decision or not. Especially since they were out in the center of the sea without another soul within fifty miles. Or so they thought.

An abrupt knocking came to the door of the cabin, and the older man let out a grunt to signify the others entrance. Walking into the cabin would be a younger man, armed with a standard AK-47 and wearing a black mask over his head. "Doing the daily rounds, Captain. Everything is in order." The older man simply looked towards the mercenary with a raised brow. Perhaps he was being too cautious. One would have to be a madman to try and take what was on this ship. No one was that crazy; because if they were they surely would court death. These thoughts boosted the old man's confidence in the mission, and caused him to raise his head up high. "Yes I figured as much, boy. When you're in work this long, you get used to the dangers of it. The THRILL, if I might add! Hahah!" This man, also known as the captain, gave a heart filled laugh as he took a seat upon the table he was just leaning upon for support. "You see kid, the-", his words would be cut off by the sound of gunfire, and like the "good" captain he was, he would dive behind his desk like a coward.

The gunfire went on for only a few seconds, but it felt like hours to the "brave" captain of the ship. The man who stood at the door way charged out into the action, and after seconds of him leaving, all went quiet. Slowly peeking over his worn, wooden desk, the captain would keep eyes on the door. His body was trembling like he was sitting in Alaska with nothing but a speedo on. Suddenly the sound of footsteps would be heard, and at the doorway the good Captain would see his armed guards holding a feminine figure with a bag tied and tightened around her head. Tossing the female down to the ground, the mercenaries would keep their guns on her, while one would address the Captain."She killed one of our guys and carved into his face with a knife." The Captain stood up from behind his desk while wiping beads of sweat from his forehead. "How did she get here? Why didn't you kill her?" The man looked at the Captain with a slightly confused expression. "Well sir, she turned herself in. Maybe she was a stow away on the ship. When we were taking her in, she said she wasn't alone." The Captain raised his hand towards the woman's head and pulled the bag off slowly. To his surprise he'd see a pale painted face with a deranged smile looking up at him.


The man almost jumped from her maniacal expression, but found alittle courage knowing that his men were in the room aswell. "Who are you? How did you get on this ship? Who else is with you?" The pale faced female would continue to smile without saying a word. The Captain would raise his hand and send a slap across her face, sending her on the ground. This warranted a loud laugh that echoed through the room from the girl. "I would have answered if you said please. Jeez, no manners these days. Heheh.." The Captain grabbed the woman by the shirt and lifted her up, ready to strike her again. "HOW DID YOU GET ON THIS SHIP?!..please." Once she heard the word, she would close her eyes and give a sly smile. "I swam." "That's bullshit. We're more than fifty miles away from any sort of land." The pale faced woman would open her eyes slowly and give a slight tilt of head. "I'm a good swimmer." The Captain sent a punch down upon the woman, knocking her back to the ground where she'd start laughing once again. "This is getting me no where. Kid, give me your gun." The Captain would extend his hand and the man would place the gun in his hand. Pressing the barrel to the woman's head, the Captain would give his own smile. "By the count of three, I want a clear answer from you. The truth. If you don't tell me what I want to know, I'll be cleaning bits and pieces of your brain off my floor."




"Ooooh okay okay! You're noooo fun! I'll tell you what you want to know..But I don't think you're going to like it.." The Captain give a grin as he grabbed the woman by the hair and looked her in the eye. "Now, who are you, how did you get here, and who are you working for?" The woman with the pale face would close her eyes. "I am..Jesteria, and I was always here. Here before you, or your men, boarded this little cargo ship..and who do I work for? Now that's the million dollar question, isn't it?" The green headed woman would press herself to her feet and the Captain watched with confused eyes. "Get back down, I'm not done asking you questions." "Oh I know you're not, but sadly our time is up. If I were you, I'd cover my ears." And the moment she uttered the words, a series of explosions occurred on the main platform of the ship, where the cargo was held. Soon, small platoons of armed men would make their way out of the large crates of cargo that was to be simply for show. Each of these men and woman were armed head to toe, and wore what appeared to be a white faced masks. All in All, they appeared to be some sort of organized cult.


The female clown would dive to the side as the masked man began to open fire on the mercenaries that were hired to patrol the ship. With sheer numbers and superior fire power, it didn't take long for this cult to wipe out the mercenaries. However, they did leave one man alive. The Captain himself. When the bloodshed was finally over, and the cabin was filled with the blood of mercenaries, the female clown would give a deranged smile towards the Captain. The foolish old man attempted to lift the gun and fire upon her, but she smacked it away and grabbed his neck before he could even comprehend what had occurred. Yanking him by the neck, she'd slam him ontop of his own table, and remove a blade from her boot. "Mmm, though they like to use guns, I'm a fan of the ol' fashion weapons. The slow knife always cuts the deepest, and hits all the nook and crannies the bullet could never breach. Heheh.." The Captain, at this point, had tears in his eyes and even pissed on himself. His words were jumbled but it was obvious that he was begging for his life at this point. Something that was like ecstasy for Jesteria to hear. And when she placed the point of the knife above his eye, ready to carve it out of its socket, a powerful voice would be heard towards the doorway.

"Not yet, my sister. The good Captain still has his uses."

Slowly walking into the room, a man armed head to toe, with a mask and no signs of morality, would make his confident strides. Stepping onto the back of one of the downed mercenaries at the doorway that seemed to have an inch of life left, the Faceless man would remove two blades from his belt and slice the man's head clean off. Jesteria turned to the man and tilted her head. "Aww, that's too bad. I just wanted to play with em." The female let the man go and walked to the side of the room. This was when Faceless would take the charge of the situation. Sheathing his blades back upon his body, he would raise both hands up to his collar where they'd rest defiantly. "My good, good, Captain. I believe you know why we're here." Of course he did. It was what he had feared all along. "No..No I do n-n-not.." The man stuttered over his words, and the Faceless one simply stared towards his direction. "I don't have to be a lie detector to tell you're lying, Old Man. You may get out of this alive if you start talking." Jesteria spoke from the sidelines, as she crossed her arms. "Okay Okay!..Just promise you won't kill me! Please!" Faceless simply looked at the man before giving a nonchalant answer. "Very well."

The Captain would lead Faceless, and his men, to the bowels of the ship where the prize had surely been laid. The amount of security doors and locks emphasized how important this object of a new beginning truly was. When they reached the last door before reaching the core, the Captain began to hesitate. "This passcode, I do not know it. This wasn't meant for me to open." Faceless simply raised a hand as though he had foreseen this. Through the crowd of cultist, a small woman pushed her way through and towards the front. In her hand was a cane, and her attire was completely offset when compared to everyone else there.


"There's not a riddle I can't solve. A passcode I can't crack! A pill I can't pop pop POP!" The female spoke in a weird tone, as she subtly placed a white pill on her tongue and brought it into her mouth. Walking pass the Captain, she'd begin to work on the code with extreme efficiency, speaking outloud to herself for the various answers she would need. The Captain would look towards the Faceless man with a confused expression. "Why are you doing this? This creation could help the entire world. Free energy for everyone! Free clean energy that would stop decades of war over liquid gold!" Faceless would not turn towards the man during his heart filled plea. Instead, the Faceless man remained focused on his colleague's work. "If you believe a world of free energy could really be the end of wars, then you truly are mistaken, good Captain. This is not an object of peace. It is the object of your elimination."

"We're in!"


The door opened and revealed the device that would be used to usher this new age of free, clean energy. The cultist would make their way into the room, strapped cables to the hull of the device which would be used as a medium for a pulley to yank it from the bowels of the ship. As the men worked, Faceless, Quizzionare, and Jesteria would watch from the hallway. The Captain was forced to stand by them. It took several minutes to remove the energy emitter from the ship. Once it was successfully moved to the deck, the cargo ship would begin to shake violently as if something was moving beneath it. Suddenly, like the transcript from the bible, the sea began to split and would reveal a large submarine that was twice the size of the ship itself. The Captain looked on with astonishment and horror. "Who..Who are you people?" The man could only as this, as he watched the emitter being transferred over to the submarine. "We're just like you, good Captain. Average people attempting to make a difference." The members began to board the submarine, leaving the Captain untouched and left on his ship covered in dead bodies. Faceless would be the last to board the submarine from the ship, before it would begin to descend beneath the waves to head towards its destination. The Old Man..gave a sigh of relief.

Within the submarine, Faceless sat in the captain's chair. Jesteria sat upon his lap with a poutful expression upon her face. "Why'd you say we weren't gonna kill him? I wanted to carve a smile in his face! That's no fair! No fair at all!" Quizzionare, being the know it all she was, would step to the other side of Faceless. "Well, he wasn't lying when he said he wouldn't kill him. But..well..This will surely be the last day that poor Captain will see alive." And like on cue, the waves shook violently as an explosion was heard and felt, that came from the direction of the ship. There would be no survivors.