- Facade

"Let me go you bitch!"

"Come on! Please! Just stop for a moment! Let's talk this through!"

"I have nothing to discuss with you, I made up my mind!"

The blond girl was effortlessly trying to stop the already badly drunk guy. She was clinging to the man's right arm, pulling, adding force by pushing both heels on the floor. She was sliding through the hallways, dragged by the stubborn man's surprising strength.

"Hey! Let me go already for fuck sake! How much longer are you gonna keep this up? I told you already, you ain't gonna stop me!"

"No! You don't know what you're doing! You are blinded by hatred and alcohol, you need to calm down."

The man abruptly stopped his course. The young girl bumped on his back from the sudden stop. His long bangs were hiding his facial traits, leaving his face covered in thick and sombre shadows. A dark and malicious emerald aura was leaking through his skin, enveloping his whole body in this frightening shroud. The young woman, whose hands had been grappling with full strength on her friend's forearm, quickly let go of her hold. She got scared by the sudden change in the boy's attitude. She was truly afraid of him, of his evil aura.

"Calm… Down?"

The now-possessed drunken monster turned around to face the one who spoke the words that triggered his internal demons. He was close to her face, too close for her comfort. He was yelling at her.

"Are you fucking serious right now! LOOK AT ME!!!"

She was trying her best to listen to his demand. Her eyes were shaking. She was trying to look at this new person, this new thing in front of her. Setting aside his new mood, he clearly had major changes to him. Ones she knew about, but didn't want to accept. His left arm was absent.

It was torn apart and ripped out of his body when he took the shot, during that whole lamentations show. The left side of his face was also affected. Covered under a bunch of bandages, a scar was running down his eyebrow, all the way to his cheek. In the middle, his left eye was gone. Only a cold and lonely eye socket was left behind.

"But I don't give a damn about myself! LOOK AT THEM!!!"

The mutilated man used his only upper limb to ferociously point at something behind her, ordering her to look. She turned and looked. All three others in their group were there. She didn't notice they were following them while she was trying with all her might to stop her friend from arriving at his destination. All three of them were just watching the scene, not knowing what to do.

"YOU SEE THEM?! TAKE A GOOD LOOK!!"

He was violently shouting at her as if it would help her vision. Tears were forming in his eyes. As for her, she was sobbing uncontrollably, letting out quiet and sad noises. She was closing her eyes as hard as she could, but powerful flows of tears were still able to leak through. All this violence and madness was scaring her to this point. But not only that. She didn't want to open her eyes because she knew too well what was lying before her. She didn't need to take a good look. She knows what she would see. She didn't want to see it, to believe it. But it was there, it was real.

The young woman with the brown hair was being pushed around in a wheelchair by the big guy. She had a ton of medical devices attached to her. She was the only one not completely healed. She was the one who, from the exterior, looked in the best shape. But her internal body took a horrible toll. The damages were unbelievable. All the medical gears were there to make her organs work somewhat normally. Making her heart pulsate, her lungs pump air, her kidneys filter blood.

On the other hand, her servant behind her, the muscular guy, is the one who clearly appears to the human eye to have suffered the most. His head is buried in layers of bandages. Not a single facial feature can be seen or could have been seen, that is. His eyes were destroyed and gouged out, his nose almost completely melted and his mouth was damaged beyond any hope of restoration or use. In addition to that, his entire face was covered in burns and scars. Only his ears were miraculously unscathed.

Next to them, the Soldier with the dark skin was standing straight, her ukulele attached to her back. An oversized cloak was also hiding her whole body. The hoodie was partially allowing some of her face to be revealed. Eyes closed, she was smiling; like she always does. This smile was both soothing and ominous. It's hiding something. Under the dark fabric was hiding a surprising sight. Most of her skin was melted away. Her bones overgrew and were now showing at the surface, forming white markings along her body.

"DID YOU TAKE A GOOD LOOK?! ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW?!"

"Please… Stop… Please..."

Her assailant seemed to have a slight and brief moment of lucidity and sanity. He looked at the completely broken girl in front of him and was horrified by his actions. He quickly drew back his body, leaving a more suitable space between them. He brought his hand alongside his body, clenched his fist and gritted his teeth.

"I- I- I'm sorry I- I never wanted to scare you, but… it's just… It's just that I can't take it! You see us, don't you? You know how much you're suffering right now, don't you? I can't tell by looking at you, but I'm sure you're fucked up on the inside! But that's not even the point! We survived. But they all died. They're all dead!

"..."

"They're all dead! And I can't just let him get away with this! He needs to pay for what he did! Doc needs to pay! I don't give a flying fuck about what you all think! Yall ain't gonna stop me!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They finally allowed me to leave my bed. I'm healed now; at least that's what the nurse told me. Those guys really fucked me up bad at the bar. If only they could have finished the job. I'm walking in the Lab's hallways. I've been trying to follow the noises I was hearing from my medical room. I'm still pursuing them, those noises. They sound like screams or shouting of some sort. It's been a while since I started my quest to find the core of this lousy happening. How far is it? Well, more like, how far can I hear?

I have been walking for a while now, chasing those noises, but I didn't find them yet. From how far did my ears catch up on them? But now, they are close. Right after this corner, I think. Just have to make that turn and I think I wi- Urgh! Wha- I just bumped into someone going my way, turning the same corner. Who is i- Holy shit! He's alive?! My arms instinctively protected me by shielding me from a punch. My fear made me look away and close my eyes, prepared to take a hit. … Nothing. What is up with him? It was that guy. Yeah, I'm sure of it. I only briefly saw the right side of his face, but I recognized him immediately. He's the drunk bastard who always wants to pick a fight. I got scared because I was sure he was going to attack me. I mean, I bumped into him and he assaulted me before for less than that. But no, nothing.

I slowly and uncertainly opened one of my eyelids to see what was going on. I looked through my forearms still in my face, and saw that he was already far ahead in the hallway I was coming from. My body dropped its defense and I fully opened both my eyes. I saw the blond girl passing next to me. She looked totally healthy. She looks sad though. She definitely was crying before, it's easy to see. What happened? I'm looking at them walking away, still shocked by the fact they survived that day. But then a strange sound was coming from around the corner. I wasn't able to tell what the noise was until I saw them. It was the sound of the wheelchair rolling around. But- But they look...

"Hmm- ehh- Wha- What happ- You're alive too? But- But you look in terrible shapes?!"

"Oooohhh! It's the ballsy boy! Hey there~!"

For someone to call me like that, it has to be her. I couldn't tell right away; she was hiding under a huge cloak. The other girl really is in bad condition. I wonder why the nurses even let her out like that. The big guy is also.. hmm.. he doesn't look good either. His face.

"What happened to your face?"

Maybe it was rude to ask that right off the bat, but I couldn't help myself.

"Sorry. We're in a hurry! See you around!"

Just like that, they rushed past me. They are trying to keep up with the other in front. My curiosity is burning. I need to talk to them.

"Hey stop! Wait for me!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"HEY!! COME OUT HERE YOU OLD BASTARD!!!"

How didn't I notice before? It's true that I only briefly saw the right side of his face. But seeing his small mutilated figure like that, alone in the middle of the gigantic Coliseum, he really looks pitiful. He took off his shirt, showing bandages wrapped around his upper body. It's enveloping what's left of his left shoulder, circling around his chest and upper back, attached to the other side, on his ribs, under his right arm. It reflects those strapped around his head, covering his left eye.

He's shouting like a madman, throwing his arm around, circling on himself, addressing the empty seats, and yelling at the vacant stage surrounding him. Who is he talking to? As for us, we're all standing in the doorway of the back door.

"I KNOW YOU'RE HEARING ME! STEP OUT OF YOUR HIDING SPOT AND COME FACE ME YOU COWARD! YOU MURDERER!!"

A little while after he started his ruckus, silhouettes entered the Coliseum from the entrance door. Our group also started to draw closer to him. The blonde moved before anyone else, and we instinctively followed her lead.

"Hey, punk! It's been a while! I'm here to settle the score with your stupid ass!"

Oh. Those are the black suits men. That big man probably wants to pay him back for the lucky punch he landed on him. The other agent caught up to him. He put his hand on his partner's shoulder, getting him to turn his head to look at him.

"Calm down. We were ordered to avoid contact with the target. Plus, you won't be able to land a hit on him anymore. You're out of his league now. He's changed."

"Hun?"

He didn't seem to understand what he was telling him. I didn't either. The tall agent turned back his eyes to the shirtless guy. I took a good close look at him too. That's when I understood what he was saying.

What is that? Wait no. I know what that is. I saw that before. Yeah. The Soldiers, back at the bar. They had that too. That.. that aura. He's glowing green. Is it really there? Am I the only one seeing it? No. I looked around me, to see the faces of them around. It's clear. They are seeing it too. We all stopped walking. We're all behind the bandaged man. But.. The suited man doesn't seem to see it.

"What are you saying? Stop fucking with me! Look at this idiot! We both know I can easily kick his ass!"

"NO!! We don't know what he's capable of!"

"Come on, now! Give me a fucking break here."

The angry man slipped his shoulder off his comrade's grip and started to move towards his enemy.

"Get lost, you fat fuck! I don't have time to waste on you! I'm looking for your boss, why don't you bring him in for me, hun?"

"Grrr-.. You little piece of shit! I will fucki-"

"I hear you have business with me, young man, is that it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Everyone turned and brought their attention to the front door. Doc made his entrance, accompanied by a group of nurses. The old scientist's entrance had a whole different effect on the young man. The blonde woman was already on him. She was facing him, trying to calm him down.

"Please! I beg you! Calm down. Please. Do it for me."

The drunkard was raging like insane, but he was completely locked in place; veins throbbing in his neck. He wasn't moving, not running towards Doc, like everyone was expecting him to do. No. He was staying in place, not trying to attack. He was doing it for her.

"YOU OLD FUCKING BASTARD! YOU MURDERER! YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"

"If I'm here, young Soldier, it is not because of you. I'm here for the girl. She escaped her medical room. She shouldn't be out here. I'm worried about her health. I care about her."

"DON'T IGNORE ME YOU PIECE OF SHIT! YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE! THEY'RE DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD! YOU KILLED THEM! YOU SLAUGHTERED THEM! DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT THEM TOO, HUN? DON'T YOU CARE ABOUT THEIR LIVES? DON'T YOU FEEL SORRY FOR THEM?"

For the first time, Doc looked menacing. As some nurses ran towards the Soldiers, in the direction of the ill girl, Doc was slowly marching toward the lousy threat.

"Listen here, Soldier. I regret nothing. I did what needed to be done. Call it murder if that makes you feel better, if you feel that gives you a reason to hate me. Go ahead. But I call it progress. Those Soldiers gave their lives for the Foundation, for the Lab. They died an honorable death, serving an honorable cause. They should be proud. I am proud. And you should be proud too. You should be willing to offer your life as they did. This is your job. Now, I order every Soldier here to head back to their dorm immediately. The girl will be brought back to the medical quarters. As for you, young Soldier, I am your leader. You have no right to speak to me in such ways. Know your place, Outsider. You'll be punished with proper treatment for your actions. I will personally make sure of it, believe me. That is all. Dismissed."

"Fuck no. They died because they had no choice, not because they wanted to serve the Foundation or whatever. That's bullshit! You killed them all. You need to pay for this!"

It was too much for him now. Even if he was able to cool himself, for his friend's sake, it was too much now. He couldn't do it anymore. His anger and hastiness took over. He has a big heart, even though he's trying to show anyone he's just a drunken prick. He is a kind person. He cared for all those young Soldiers who died prematurely. That's who he truly is. If he sees in you that you are a good person, he will give his life for you without a second thought. Thanks to his tender personality, even if his subconscious hatred took over, he was able to be gentle and caring to his surroundings.

Without knowing it, he calmly put his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed aside the girl who was blocking him. The physical contact only lasted a few seconds, but she went through something she never experienced before. She could feel his energy, his aura. It was pure. Filled with unconditional love. A neutral love. Not tainted by any emotion.

An emotion that was both objective and unbreakable. She could feel he deeply cared about her, for reasons she ignored. But what shocked her was that she could sense it was the same thing for him. He doesn't understand where that love comes from either. But all this was only a small part of him. He was starting to pick up the pace, charging towards Doc.

"Don't take any more steps, Soldier. The current situation will become more troublesome than you were anticipating if you do."

The young soldier paused his assault and stopped marching.

"Are you threatening me, old man? Are you trying to say you gonna kill me?"

"Those are not threats, son."

"Hun? Do you think I care if you kill me? I don't give a damn about my own death. I just need to make sure I can avenge those innocent Soldiers before that happens."

"Oh, don't worry, kid. I know that. That's why I wasn't planning to kill you."

Doc took his right hand out of his pocket. He stretched his arm before him and put his fingers in a gun shape. He was aiming at one of the nurses behind him.

"What the fuck are you doing? What's that sign you making with your hand? You're bluff is easy to see through, old man! Have you grown senile?"

He didn't even mean to. Really. It just happened. He took a small step forward. He wasn't even aware of it until it happened. He looked at his foot, confusion and terror slowly sinking in, overtaking him. His unshakable guts, his unrivalled determination, and his invincible will were also parts of him. He would never give up until he succeeded in fulfilling his desire.

That also goes for his sense of vengeance for those poor young warriors, killed in a horrible gore scenery and painful final moment. His will made him take that step forward. But this determination will now have its consequences. When he looked back up at Doc with his worried expression, the old man was smirking.

"You made your choice. Truly shameful."

Doc made a detonation noise with his mouth, while he lifted and tilted his index towards him, mimicking a recoil. At this exact time, the nurse the scientist was aiming at got her skull pierced all the way through by a bullet. Her head busted open on both the entrance of the projectile route and the exit. Pieces of brain and tissue sprayed across the floor.

Blood splattered onto the nurse's surroundings, including her patient, and her two other friends, who were now all frozen with shock. She crumpled to the ground and blood began slowly seeping from her head, creating a large puddle at the feet of the young Soldiers. There was no screaming, not even a single noise. It was completely silent. Everyone was frozen in place, paralyzed by the horrific event.

"Now that you've witnessed what I'm capable of, you probably understand that I'm not bluffing. I'm guessing now you would be more likely to listen to me, don't you son? I knew menacing to kill you wouldn't do the trick. You're trying to act tough, but you always care about others. Well now, what will you do, young man? If you still want to attack me, go ahead. But I'll be taking her life."

Doc positioned his figure in the same position. He swiftly moved his whole arm to point to the blond girl, his index now directly looking at her forehead. The blond girl was crying. When she saw Doc's deadly weapon setting her head as the target, she let out a horrified gasp. No one was moving. No one was saying anything. They were all confused, and scared. No one understood what just happened.

Only one person reacted. The one with his head wrapped around with medical bandages. He slightly turned his head to his right and slightly lifted his chin. His face was now pointing at the top of the Coliseum, at the highest row of seats. He couldn't see. But his attention was drawn towards that one spot. No one around him was looking towards this side of the stadium. No one saw the strange silhouette in the shadow, all the way up there, far far away. He was lying down. He stood up slowly, and quietly left the stage, passing through one of the doors leading at the top.

The young man was crying. A river of tears was flowing out of his only eye. Droplets were falling on the floor, in front of his feet. He was crying, but sadness wasn't what was driving him at the moment. His anger and hatred were immeasurable. He was grinning his teeth aggressively, tightening and clinging his fist. All these emotions merged with his aura. The peak of ferocious feeling morphed the shroud of energy surrounding him. The smooth emerald cloud was now filled with sharp spikes.

These auras are not visible.

People, those inflicted by the shot, were not really seeing them. They were just sensing them. But their minds were forming a mental image of these strange phenomenons, helping them envision what they were feeling and sensing. These shrouds of aura aren't real nor are they material. They were scenery made up by the minds of those who were able to sense them. Those are images created by their imagination, by their natural human need to try to understand something they don't. All this energy drew a draft of wind around him. The floor under him cracked and sunken, creating a small crater. The man was looking directly into the murderer's eyes.

"You will pay for everything you've done. I will personally make sure of it, believe me. I swear this on my life. I will kill you."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm really sorry for questioning you Sir, but what was all that about?"

Doc, James and Adam were alone in a room. Adam was confused about the reasoning behind this act, this event. Doc stood up in front of both his underlings, who were standing straight and steadily next to each other, as the good servicemen that they were.

"Adam. Your innocence and naivety are really pure. Hmm. What was all that about? James, can you please close your eyes and your ears for me? Make sure you can't see me nor hear what I say."

"Yes Sir!"

The squared man closed his eyelids with an unnecessary and exaggerated strength. He then brought both his palms to cover his ears.

"Adam. I need you to listen carefully to my explanation and watch closely what I am about to show you."

"Yes Sir!"

The old scientist took his hands off his jacket's pockets. He reached for the lowest button on his jacket. He used his left hand to rip it out of the fabric. He carefully put it in the palm of his right hand. He stretched both his arms in front of him, palm open, facing the ceiling.

"Sleight of hand. A technique used by our ancestors. This knowledge was extremely famous for the artists of the same craftsmanship. It was the basis for anyone wanting to practice this art. But, it was unknown to the public eye. It is both fairly easy to learn and extremely useful. Look carefully, son."

The old man took the button resting in his right palm with his index, major and thumb of his left hand. With his right hand, he precisely and slowly lifted his sleeves, indicating to his spectator that he wasn't hiding anything in them. He bent his arm towards him, placing his hands in front of his chest. The left hand holding onto the button and the right hand is open, palm facing Adam.

"Now, I'm gonna fake the movement of grabbing the button with my right hand and I'm going to slowly cover the button with my right hand. As I do so, I'm going to act like I'm grabbing it. At this exact moment, I will drop the button in my left palm and hold on to it. See? So I'm trying to make you believe I caught it in my right hand but in reality, it's still in my left hand. Understand?"

"I- I do."

"Tell your friend we are done now."

Adam put his hand on his partner's shoulder, and slightly shook him. James opened his eyes and turned to look at Adam. The latter nodded, confirming to his friend that he could free his ears. James did so and looked at Doc.

"Ok, you two. I will show you something. I will make this button disappear. Do you believe me?"

"Disappear? No, there's no way Doc! That's too crazy!"

James was skeptical, but he was also excited.

"Watch closely."

The old man proceeded with the same trick as earlier, but this time, he was putting on a show, he was selling his trick. He grabbed the button in his right hand and closed his hand. He gently blew on his fist and shook it gently. He slowly started to open his hand, building up suspense. James took a step forward. He was leaning, eyes and mouth wide open. He was at the climax of his excitement. When the scientist fully opened his hand, the button disappeared, like he said it would.

"Holy shit! No fucking way!! Woah! It really disappeared! You did it Doc! You really did it!"

James was wrapped in wonder. He had never seen anything so magical before. Next to him, his coworker had a totally different reaction. He was a bit confused. He doesn't understand why Doc is doing all that.

"James, you are dismissed."

"Yes Sir!"

As the amazed child was leaving the room, he was whispering to himself.

"Holy crap! Doc is so cool! How did he do it? That's insane!"

"Doc, I- I'm not sure to understand why you are showing me all this."

"Hahaha, Adam. It's easy. Why did each of you have a different reaction? You have both witnessed the same thing didn't you?"

"Eh, well. I mean, you told me about it. James didn't know about your technique, but I did."

"Knowledge. The key is knowledge. Back then, at the Coliseum, what expression did those kids have?"

"Well, they hmm... They looked confused, and scared?"

You just fucking murdered a nurse in front of them, what did you expect?

"Exactly. Confusion. Why were they confused? Knowledge. They were lacking knowledge. From our standpoint, what happened was totally clear. A sniper was positioned at the top of the Coliseum and sniped that woman. Lying on the floor, in a dark cloak, silencer on his gun, no one knew he was there. No sound. Easy. But that's not the point. They don't even know of the existence of guns. They don't know about firepower itself. If they did, even if they didn't see the shooter, they could have figured out it was a gun who shot that woman. But they don't know about guns. They lack knowledge. That's why they were confused. That's why James didn't understand my trick either. This principle is quite primitive actually."

Adam now understood Doc's method. And he was frightened by it.

"I asked James to leave so I could say what I'm about to tell you, with only you listening. I trust you, Adam. I really do. I have faith in you, no wonder I chose you as my right-hand man. You see, I'm vulnerable. I am really weak. Anyone in the Foundation could easily defeat me or kill me. Anyone who wants to take on me can deal with me easily. But if I play my cards right, I can be the most powerful man to have ever lived. You see, on a stage, behind the curtains, I am no one. I am nothing. I am powerless. But before the curtains open, I can put on whatever mask suits me. So when I go on stage with my mask on, in their eyes, I am the strongest and scariest living being they have ever seen."