The Mask Makers

"...The legacy of the Mask Makers isn't the organization itself. It's our resolve and determination."

- Luchino B. Campanella

The Mask Makers are a mercenary organization originating in the 1700s from Monica Campanella's identity as a serial killer. Monica's descendant Luchino B. Campanella runs the group in the twenty-first century.

Structure
At its founding in 1705, the Mask Maker organization only has three members to its name. In 2002 the group consists of no less than thirty people who hijack the Entrance and Exit—everyone who remained behind when Luchino's father abandoned the organization in the 1990s and took a large number of Mask Makers with him.

Luchino takes his father's place as president when he is but a teenager, thus earning him the nickname Rookie. His highest-ranking subordinates are the Four Afflictions, whom he chose based on ability and who have the authority to take charge if Luchino is elsewhere. Despite—or because of—their skills, the Mask Makers tend to regard the Four Afflictions as 'tools' and know them only by their codenames: Aging; Illness; Life; and Death.

1705 The Ironic Light Orchestra
The Mask Maker is a serial killer that terrorizes Lotto Valentino in the 1700s, named after the Venetian masks they wear. They kill all their victims by stabbing them in the heart with a stiletto, and always place a mask identical to their own over the faces of their victims before leaving the scene. As the Mask Maker continues to escape the efforts of the City Police, their reputation takes on an urban legend-like status. Rumor spreads that the Mask Maker will kill anyone who catches sight of them.

Elmer C. Albatross eventually realizes that the Mask Maker is Monica Campanella after she threatens him. When he confronts her, she explains that she became a serial killer in order to aid Huey Laforet's gold counterfeiting operation—her targets being members of Lotto Valentino's rivaling counterfeiting and drug trade.

1710 Crack Flag
To be added.

1711: Whitesmile
To be added.

2002 (Side A): Bullet Garden
By the 2000s, the Mask Makers have become a mercenary group. They hijack the sister ships Entrance and Exit in August 2002.

At this point in time, the Mask Makers seem to be a rather carefree group of eccentric but slightly malevolent movie-lovers (as exemplified by the Businessmen). Early on, the supposed strongest of the Four Afflictions, Death, is killed in South America.

Before the hijacking of the Entrance, [llness befriends Claudia Walken—an actress who has many fans among the other Mask Makers. During the night, Life sneaks aboard, and lays the groundwork for the operation. However, the plan is complicated by the unforeseen arrival of Bobby Splot, his three friends, and their fellow stowaway Carnea Kaufman, who are respectively looking for vengeance against the Martillo Family and Angelo; vacationing Martillo Family executive Firo Prochainezo, his wife Ennis, and Czeslaw Meyer; Felix Walken and Chané Laforet's descendants Claudia and Charon Walken; and Angelo, who is pursuing revenge against the Mask Makers and mistakes Firo for one of their ilk.

Eventually Illness and Czes encounter Bobby Splot's gang and capture Tall, Troy and Humpty while Bobby and Carnea escape. Unfortunately for Bobby and Carnea, they accidentally trigger one of Life's devices and are pursued by him along with the other Mask Makers. Illness is notified of this and also engages in pursuit, only to notice the time and abandon the chase to find Claudia instead.

2002 (Side B): Blood Sabbath
In Lotto Valentino, some point before the events on board the Entrance and Exit, Luchino B. Campanella recounts the history of the Mask Makers to a reporter. His understanding is that the organization was founded when Monica Campanella, the original Mask Maker, was manipulated by the plots of Huey Laforet and Elmer C. Albatross and killed by Huey as a result. In the centuries since then, the organization has existed for two purposes: first as a group of mercenaries for hire, and second as a family dedicated to avenging its ancestor.

As of the 2000s, Luchino leads the organization in the absence of his father, who had betrayed them years earlier, taking with him the majority of the most skilled Mask Makers. With the exception of Death, now deceased, the group is without any professional mercenaries; they are a self-proclaimed band of thugs, bound together only by their respect for their boss and their love of movies, and they are willing to take any job, regardless of the conflict or the level of violence required, as long as they get paid for it. Despite their title as a mercenary group, they have not been hired for this purpose since Luchino took over. Instead, their employers, from civilians to the mafia and large corporations, hire them to commit a range of crimes.

In 2002, the Mask Makers are commissioned by a client to seajack the luxury cruise liners Exit and Entrance in order to capture one of the immortals aboard either ship. Luchino hires his own team out for an additional, personal mission—along with obtaining the immortal Elmer C. Albatross for his client, he intends to use him to find Huey Laforet and exact his revenge.

The Mask Makers board the Exit in their business attire, with the exception of Aging and the president himself, who is dressed for his cover identity as the well-known stage magician Rookie Warlock. On the first evening, he lures three of the immortals to his magic show. Later that night, Aging and the other Mask Makers retrieve their weapons and suit up for the mission.

By the morning of the second day, word reaches Luchino that the Mask Makers have secured the communications office, control room, and bridge of the ship without resistance; however, unbeknownst to their leader, the Mask Makers watching over their hostages have been slaughtered by SAMPLE. Aging pieces together the fates of her coworkers and sets out to find Luchino. After rescuing him from a number of SAMPLE's followers, she explains to him that they are the only Mask Makers left alive on the Exit.

Meanwhile, on the Entrance, Life discovers Illness in a state of distress. Initially she refuses his demand that she suit-up and arm herself for combat, stating that she does not have to do anything until the police arrive; once Life threatens to abandon her to SAMPLE, however, she promises she will be a Mask Maker forever as long as they do not send her back to the cult.

The Mask Makers on the Bridge are contacted by Aging, who informs them of their situation. Shortly after they receive a threat from the Demolisher saying that he intends to blow up the Entrance. At the same time Angelo elsewhere seeks out the Mask Makers.

Via the PA system aboard Exit, Bride poses as a Mask Maker and announces both the hijacking of the ship and their pursuit of the immortals. Luchino is outraged to hear the Mask Maker name defiled, and vows to keep their organization alive until their scores are settled.

In the corridors of the Entrance, Life runs into Czeslaw and Bobby's gang, and fires warning shots at their feet to make them scramble. He stops in a storage room to speak to Angelo as the Demolisher, and is witnessed by Charon Walken.

Later, he confers with the Mask Makers on the bridge, who explain that the Exit is heading for them at top speeds contrary to their plan. Illness enters the bridge and asks for orders. The businessmen decide to speed the Entrance up as much as possible in preparation for the collision, and task her with taking care of the gunman. She faces off against Angelo in the Entrance shopping mall, but Czes steps in to stop their fight.

Elmer finds Luchino and Aging in the theme park and offers his help, as he is still technically a member of the Mask Makers. Aboard the Entrance, Illness brings Claudia, Charon, Angelo, and Firo to the Mask Makers to negotiate an alliance. When the ships collide they work together against SAMPLE, sending Firo, Angelo, and the poison gas infused animatronic shark across to the other ship while the Mask Makers on the Entrance fire rocket launchers at the followers.

Aided by Elmer's distraction, Aging makes an attack on the group of followers holding Sylvie hostage. When Bride attempts to flee Luchino crushes him between the hulls of the colliding ships, leaving him badly injured.

With the exception of Illness, the surviving Mask Makers leave on the boat that had been arranged as an escape route for Luchino in the case of an emergency. Life is revealed by the autographed Mask Maker to be the Demolisher, and thus a traitor to their organization. After receiving confirmation from Angelo, Luchino tortures Life until he removes his own handcuffs and flees to a passing ocean liner belonging to SAMPLE. Shortly after, Elmer comes out of hiding and requests once again to help the Mask Makers, this time by accompanying them as a hostage.

Several days later, Luchino shares his goal of vengeance with Elmer, and is consequently informed of the true story behind Monica's death.

The Mask
The Mask Makers of the twenty-first century wear the same mask of their founder, Monica: an expressionless white mask reminiscent of a Venetian carnival. The mask, described both as beautiful and strange, is plain save for a floral design on its left cheek.

Trivia

 * in the 2002-A prologue, an unnamed Mask Maker says that the Four Afflictions are called the Four Heavenly Kings (shitennou) in Japan. This is a reference to Buddhist protective deities of the cardinal directions.