Gabriel Khan walked to the left door, it glowed before the shine dissipated.
"Gabe!" A maternal voice called out, awakening the knight who was in the bed– his form regressed to a child-like state, he was wearing a hockey mask and had patches of brown hair lumps plastered atop his head. He was on top of a race-car bed, a static television beeping in the corner and posters of muscular action figures surveilled the room– he got up to look at the door, open revealing a woman of brown descent– a baby bump evident holding the door open– "Wake up Gabriel, it's serious."
The knight sprung out his bed and jumped towards his mother, hugging her tightly. His voice croaked as he began to mutter, "MotHer.. I trIed mY bEest." Gabriel's voice cracked after every syllable as tears began to flow down from beneath the mask. Gabriel's mother bewildered as she began to pat the boy's head.
"You can't be crying hunny, you're the best so of course you tried the most you can do." She chuckled, "You got the second highest in the class."
"Second is nothing," Gabriel whimpered, clutching her gown, the scent of flowers clinging to it. He backed off his mother collapsing to the ground, gripping his head whilst screaming. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" His voice rang across the room, the agonising pain caused his mother to tremble forwards as blood began to seep from his mask.
The television began to play a jingle…
"Opena Sesame! The best cafe… in Floria… is back open!" The voice wasn't human — more beast than salesman, pausing unnaturally between words. "Now with animatronics! The kind and sweet Thalia and Melphonne! Smiley and Frowny… and they both love you! Come soon!" The television cut off.
Gabriel's screams played throughout the advert, as the static returned– his pain did not. The hockey mask from before began to crack before it fell apart completely. Gabriel's hair unveiled from the lumps into long curly hair, his dusky skin paired alongside his almond eyes which glowed green– emerald green. There were two slashed scars on the corner of his lips which made smiling difficult, not that he'd smile anyways as blood was oozing from his forehead, a minor slash leading to a waterfall of red mist. He gazed at where his mother should be… but she was gone– no sight of her close. The boy stared at the television– static raging onwards and then left the room.
Gabriel was still on the floor, exhausted and a door was in front of him. The television spoke once more..
"Gabriel Khan, you are a mistake.. Your mother either died or abandoned you due to your freakiness. You sleep with a mask on, concealing the truth from others because you are too pathetic to show anyone it. So why stay alive anymore, acknowledge your mistakes and just stay in the room– don't leave." A familiar silhouette appeared on the screen, it was just a head– the shadowy head that Gabriel had carried all this time.
The boy got up from the ground, pointing and laughing at the television, "Didn't you fail to kill Jeremiah? A child. Why are you speaking of mistakes?" Gabriel clapped his hands together, the dust on the ground– the remains of the hockey mask, as he pointed to the television, "Thalia and Melphonne are me. They are the pieces of me! They represent the good and the bad of life– masking what from anyone? I'm confident because being second is nothing and I need my own elixir of joyousness.. You think I make the excuse that I'm only second because Amarze fulfills both the roles of First Saint and First Angel? It's because I'm so weak that he does so." The Archangel grabbed the television as the world began to shake– the furniture in the room phasing out and in existence. "Fuck you! I didn't need to keep a rude head like you around!"
Then he punched the screen..
Gabriel shot up from a cocoon awoken from a dreamlike state– Around him, the cocoons pulsed — eleven in total. Some bubbled, some shook, others were already silent. Not all of them would wake.
But one was open. Destroyed even, the second saint glanced upwards to see, the same kid who interrupted one of his colleagues laughing– his suit of mechanical armor different, no longer did he look like a boy dressed in toys but he was built in a machine-like full body powered exoskeleton sporting a cape and a bright turquoise mask, the white hollow eyes peered at the saint.
"You look different from how the news portrays you Sir.." A mocking voice echoed from the suit.
The man was right.
In the grease, something else floated. The shadow-head, the one Gabriel had carried all this time, its mouth opening and closing like a fish.
"Your first success, you beat the challenge.. But you always fail" it hissed. "You failed your mother. You'll fail the Reprisal. You'll fail everyone. Like always…"
Gabriel pressed his palm to the cocoon wall. "I'm reborn now."
The grease boiled. The head screamed– pressed into the wall, skin peeling into nothing as…
Gabriel's mask no longer was broken nor the same, the left side constructed with a smiling Thalia whilst the right was the frowning Melphonne, his white suit of armor replaced with a crimson medieval leather fur-coat which cloaked his body head to toe, whilst his shoes remained the same knightly attire. Wings sprouted from his back, angelic.
Gabriel looked at the grease inside the pod to view his makeover, and he laughed.
"You're not as sane as they portray you, Sir. I am Felix Nightingale, entrepreneur of Nightingale corporation and prolific trial taker– what I mean is I go to every trial, wipe the participants out then you know-"
The arrogant man was cut off by Gabriel's shushing, "When'd you finish Metal Man?" the Saint mocked back.
"Before you, and everyone. I didn't even have to start. I finish things before they begin. That's what makes me better than the rest of you." The man chuckled before pointing out to the door they came from, it was pure white as it was before. "We got to leave after, I wasn't going to be alone so I waited a while for someone to wake up from that little coma. Are you ready now?" Felix was cut off once more as Gabriel walked to the exit leaving him behind to attempt to catch up. "I'll explain the trial wait the fuck up!"
Gabriel halted.
"That memory of something in your past, that was the test and since you're alive– you must have passed it." Nightingale spoke out of breath.
"How was that a test?" Both pieces of the mask pronounce every word with hostility whilst slowly turning to face Felix's white eyes.
"I don't know! I didn't set this up! You bastard, you should be happy you're alive! I know some of these guys wouldn't cut it!" Felix yelled pointing at different cocoons which had the participants inside. "So now, this time we leave." his tone, firm and adamant.
Gabriel stood still, the wings on his back flapping before he spoke, "I trust Saraline and Jeremiah to make it out."
Then the two walked out of the room, strolling into a pure white light.