Episode 2A: Truth Be Told

Action warning. The Ascension has come to introduce themselves. How would Acrisius and Carnegie react to the introduction? Proceed if you may wish to do so.

Episode 2

Truth Be Told

Part A

Splat, slice, pow, boom. Those sounds grew louder to both Logun and Crimson’s ears as they ran closer with their supernatural speed. Corpses, severed limbs, and faces covered in fresh cuts and torn wounds were not uncommon in the path they had walked on.

Aside from the chaos, the buildings were cracked, crooked, and twisted. The shattered windows were only suspended on the air. The living concrete did attempt to form faults and cracks that made earthquakes. The atmosphere was so dark and dangerous. Anyone would have to be crazy to travel there, or there could be such a crucial mission that has to be executed. And that required traveling through that dark and twisted dimension during it’s ungodly hours.

“This place, it’s so wretched and violent. Yet we hide it from our subordinates!” thought Logun to himself. “But here is the question that had always bothered me, how can we trust a government that we serve if it lies to its own people? What could be the reason why the new station is a target? Not that I’m surprised that it is but why?”

Several hangmen who had machine guns, hatchets, and batons ran away covered in blood. Some of them lost an arm screaming in agony. One hangman who held a machete with his weak remaining right arm screamed out.  

“Fall back, fall back! They are too strong.”

Crimson then gripped his hands on the hangman’s neck. This put the hangman down in a position so violently. A large thump could be heard which broke the hangman’s bones. That bloody stump on his left arm squirted blood in a matter of quartz.

“Crimson.” cheered the hangman in happiness once he got over that excruciating pain. “You are here!” His smile was so child like yet his face was so young.

“What the hell is going on? Who are they?” asked Crimson so politely.

“I...I don’t know.....but they do have some type of power. We came onto them in large numbers but now it’s about to be from infinity to zero. Please.......help me Crimson.....Logun, I need you man....I.....”

Slice!

Crimson just sliced the wrist of that hangman. The blood squirted furiously but then Crimson gripped onto the cut with his hand. The blood that trickled on his arm came back up into Crimson’s hand. That grin in Crimson’s mouth accumulated when he stared at the hangman’s face of pain with his glasses. Some of Crimson’s blood seeped into that spot.

“At least, your death could be so....honorable. Perhaps you would still serve your duty if I borrowed some of your blood. Not just a little bit, but all of it. Yeeeesssss!” said Crimson with a passion for the blood. His elegant way of speaking put the hangman to sleep.

“Don’t cry, don’t be sad, just go to sleep. I will drain all of that pain away.” He smiled so curiously as he wanted to see the hangman’s gauntly face. It was now pale white from that progressive blood drain.

“Aaahhhh, that was tasty Logun. You should try it.” stated Crimson whose arms attracted the rest of the hangman’s blood.

The environment began to close the path that was forward onto them. Logun then saw a hooded gray figure. The figure turned around because the environment noise and the twisting of the metal took the attention of the figure. The face was covered in a white face mask. Around here were about twenty to thirty men who were in SWAT helmets, and bullet proof armor. They held bladed staffs, swords, and shields. Some of them held machine guns and SMGs. As there were several other men who reacted irrationally through the violent city itself, the figure stood still with its back turned around and clutched it’s view on Logun. It didn’t move, it didn’t talk, but it did have a great view on Logun. It was too late for Logun to gaze at the figure as much as the figure was gazing at him, for the environment had closed quickly. The two parallel walls have emerged creating one wall. The walls didn’t have much depth but they were sure pretty wide.

Crimson could not stay patient, he decided to leap onto the wall with his hands which were now sticky with red liquid. Of course that would be blood but they acted as frog legs. He climbed quickly as he dug each nail into the surface. Logun had to use his knives to stab onto the walls for a great climb.  

“Leave, or bring it to me! For the debt must be paid!” said the demonic voice from the sky.

“What the f**k does it want?” Logun thought to himself.

No time for answers, the horizon built a mouth out of debris. How neat was that? Under that mouth was a void that absorbed all the little light and metal. There was a purple ring around it for anyone to realize that mouth was coming.

“D****t, We have to move Crimson.” demanded Logun as his climbing grew consecutively faster and faster.

“I found a spot Logun.” responded Crimson who sunk into the wall. The blood then forced a crack on the wall which created a hole. There Logun got an excellent view through the hole. What was behind that hole? Oh right, it was a bunch of hangmen who were becoming mincemeat, or dismembered body parts. What use were the hangmen? Target practice? Logun jumped out of the hole allowing his knife to let him drag his way down to reduce the gravity, for too much gravity would kill him once he impacted the ground.

Logun landed on a puddle of blood spilled through the battle. The buildings began to be lopsided leaning towards the sprinting Crimson and Logun.

Crash, Bang, Pow, Pop, Clank!

Those rapid sounds came as the result of the bending underworld. The road they walked on grew narrower and narrower. Of course those two had been so used to the underworld but then they came to cut in closer. However they were not that far from the new station.

Boom! Clank! Pow!

The road they had walked on shattered into several bits. Below them was only a void. Crimson and Logun leaped across side to side. The shattered road was only a group of platforms.

In the meanwhile, the figure and the fellow men stood at the entrance of the PRO news building. The figure held two glaives, which each of them was a boomerang with a chain attached to the figure’s hands. On front of them was a huge vastly large pair of doors. They all had to tilt their head backwards to see the maximum peak of the door. The figure sliced the door in two slices using both the glaives.

“We have two hangmen chasing us down!” announced one of the men whose voice was mildly muffled through the helmet. “Hurry up!”

The figure still continued to slice the doors. The effort was not as fast as the men would demand but the figure was still doing work. Progress was made quicker and quicker. Crimson was just a bloody comet bouncing through each platform.

splat sploch Splat Sploch SPLAT SPLOCH!

Logun kept up with the speed Crimson had to get closer to the intruders of the underworld. But then, the door had opened. Too bad for both Logun and Crimson, they had a couple of more platforms that were not that far from the entrance.

“Go go go!” said an electronic voice underneath that mask. It was so deep and low pitched. The men shot bows and arrows toward Logun and Crimson who dodged them with their fast reflexes. It was chaotic, violent, and intense. The men and the figure ran through the darkness of the building. For no one outside of the building could see what was inside. Logun then stopped running once he had reached the door. He chose to not proceed as Crimson blindly ran through the darkness. He instead approached the darkness more cautiously. Crimson on the other hand got shot by ammunition. His chest was penetrated by a long bladed staff. His right arm got severed. The ammunition skinned his face. He did not have any eyes, a scalp, or cheeks. Eventually more bullets were fired causing his body to be covered in bullet wounds. It was not a clean job the men were doing considering Crimson was splattering gallons of his own blood. Then right when the bullets had there rest, close range weapons then came in to slice and dice that hangman. He was nothing but a bloody mess, but....was it over?

See this was why Logun did not want to proceed. Blam, boom, pow. Each man he shot collapsed like rag dolls. Helmets shattered along with the blood that left the heads. Logun shot a couple of men here and there. Dang what a crack shot he was! Logun ran towards a pillar as the men shot bows and arrows at Logun. He dodged them and hid behind a pillar. Wait, where was Crimson?

That’s right, he wasn’t in the surface where he had been dismembered, he was right behind one of the men who pulled out a katana. Yet Crimson stuck his knife behind the person’s spinal cord causing the man to scream. Crimson’s other hand was stuck behind the man’s neck.  Eventually everything from the face to the chest exploded into bits of gore and blood which created a lot of attention.

“Aaawwww did you all miss me?” laughed Crimson when he held the exposed spinal cord along with the skull.

Crimson dodged the bullets and arrows that were shot all around. He immersed himself onto one pillar onto another. He then extended his arms which involved breaking them. The extension was not clean, his nerves and tissue were scaled to be thin but long. The blood splattered from each ligament but was worth the slices and damages he had caused on several of the men. He sliced each of their vital organs one by one. Underneath those helmets were faces that puked blood. There were bullets that were shot from above. Would that be these two hangmen’s worries? No, they dashed away from them so quickly. Those men may as well be wasting ammunition.

Logun indeed had to fight close range with his knives against the blade wielding men in those helmets that covered their faces. He took out a couple of hands and throats. Logun had stabbed through hearts, stomachs, and chests. This was not a fight, it was pure slaughter. Half of his body was drenched in the bloody rain he had caused. They could not see through the bulletproof and transparent shield that was on front of their faces.

Pow Pow Cling Cling!

Logun had shot the two glaives that were about to slice Crimson to intersect them. The purpose was served, the aim was skewed and distorted. It was the figure who had to pull those back. But was there an agenda they had? Of course, that is why the figure ran away.

“Logun, go get the intruder!” Commanded Crimson who had his arms be pulled back for reattachment.

Logun climbed around the stairs for a more efficient and quicker path. He leaped onto a balcony to intersect with the running figure. The figure sliced the ceiling from a distance which brought down debris.

Boom, Pow.

Logun was distorted by the debris on front of him but he did not care, he jumped on it and ran towards the figure. This was indeed a cat and mouse game. He ran hallway through hallway trying to tail the figure. For the figure knew the path but Logun did not. Sure he was familiar which hallway would lead to where or what not but the figure had an agenda. Left, right, slice, boom, pow, bam!

The figure sliced each desk and chair one by one to serve as obstacles for Logun. They had traveled through stairs, hallways, lobbies, and stations. What more could they possibly go through. It was one hell of a blood bath but this was a decathalon! Once the figure had arrived into one room, a glaive was thrown onto the ceiling which pulled the figure up.

“S**t!” said Logun who now pointed his pistols towards the figure, but then the figure threw the glaives to disarm Logun. He dropped his pistols but then had to switch his weapons to knives. Once he had an aim at the figure, he saw debris that impacted the ground and a hole from above. Before he proceeded to the hole he had to pick the pistols back up. Logun then climbed onto a wall and then made his way to the ceiling so quickly. Climbing upside down was one of the things he was definitely good at. Hangmen are trained to climb and adapt through different parts of the environment. Come on what if there was no floor and the only thing you had was a ceiling?

Logun then eventually faced the hole and then tried to climb his way into the room. It was revealed that the room was an emergency broadcasting station. It was dark but lit by some machines that had static. The figure stood by a machine holding a disk on one hand.

“Stop!” commanded Logun which brought the attention of the figure. His pistols were pointing the figure.

“Who the hell are you?” asked Logun with all of his remaining vocal strength.

The figure then stepped back with a nervous but prepared and cautious posture. The disc was then placed inside the machine before the figure’s hands were up.

“Listen to the message hangman!” said that electronic voice underneath that mask.

“Message, what message?” asked Logun who walked closer and closer.

Meanwhile, at the other world, the new station was very bright and welcoming. The people stood bye going on with their businesses and shuffling around. There was Dick Bobber who sat down with a smile and his arms folded. He gazed at the camera as one man counted from three to one.

“Three....two.....one.”

Dick Bobber then said right when the lights and camera was on action.

“Good evening. This is PRO news for the evening. Now that you all have been respectful citizens and followed your curfew, don’t go to sleep, go and get the news from me so you can be informed of what goes on in Acrisius. Right now I would like to report.....”

ZAAAAAPPPP.......ZZZZZZZZWWWWWW!!!

Oh no....it was dark in the room. There came a powersurge. The lights had flickered on and off quickly.

“What just happened? What son of a b***h would touch the power supply?” questioned Dick Bobber to himself.

“Ladies and gentlemen. This is the Ascension.” said a voice from the television. The screen reflected a different figure. This figure wore a top hat and a mask with wide eyes. The red mouth was smiling so friendly but yet somehow....creepy. The man wore white and black robes around him.

“Who is that man on the television? I want that f****r off the air now!” demanded Dick Bobber who pointed his finger at the screen.

“It is such an honor that I am here right now, talking to you. I assume that it is your curfew time right? Ah, what a lovely day of Acrisius. Is it lovely to you or is it just another ordinary day to you? Look at the clear sky, look at the beautiful buildings, and look at the great, wonderful business that happens today!” said the audio from the television.

Many citizens in the city began to be hooked by the figure. In their homes they have took their time to watch this new figure.

“Oh for pete’s sake, override!” commanded Dick Bobber. “Override!” For the pressure his words had made the people rush more and more.

“Those are only within the boundaries of this city, but may I at least make a request for you to look beyond those boundaries? Oh wait, someone in this city doesn’t want anyone to pass your own limits. In fact that someone attempted to restrict us from chatting. Do you really want to know who that someone is? I’ll give you a hint. It’s someone that feeds you, delivers order, and provides peace.”

Meanwhile at the underworld, Logun still had his guns pointed at the hooded and masked figure. They both have not moved an inch, yet Logun still listened to the message.

“I hope you are all thinking of the great leader Carnegie Spree aren’t you? He provided peace just to keep you under his thumb. Let me ask you all a question, do you remember a friend who got into trouble once? If so, when was the last time you saw that friend? Not so recently right? That’s because the city you are in is just a projection of the real world. Behind that projection, you will learn that there is a parallel world not far from you where there is agony, chaos, destruction, pain, and violence. You are all standing in it right now but you may not know it. Soon you will understand that the world you are familiar with is the result of the darkness of that world.

So your friend may have disappeared into that world where Carnegie sends a group of people called ‘Hangmen’. Those Hangmen kill targets that are no different from you, and your friend was certainly one of the targets. Most of those targets have died but there is a rare minority who have survived the hangmen but are trapped forever in the underworld. Think about what it would be like to live in hell forever. You certainly wouldn’t want to live in darkness forever right? Or would you rather be slaughtered like a dog in that unpleasant dimension by your great leader Carnegie Spree’s order.

Who judges on the troublemakers? Who delivers what those troublemakers truly deserve? Is death the only justice in Acrisius? If you want proof of what I have said, then you are free to step out of the city and liberate yourself from that submission. They may say no but they cannot hurt your curiosity and willpower. You will know how to see if you begin to question Carnegie Spree or Acrisius. Everyone here lives in bliss to enjoy the nice things that come in a pretty package.”

But that pretty package was delivered through the heavy use of sensors, surveillance, curfews, and the death penalty that the hangmen provided for your fellow brothers and sisters. We are the Ascension, and we will uncover the truth for you all. And don’t worry, it will get interesting for you and the rest of the citizens of Acrisius.

Thank you for your attention and joining in for our chat, but now Carnegie Spree will not be so happy because he has a lot to hide from us. Just watch the news Dick Bobber provides for you and you will see, trust us, we are the ascension. You don’t have to trust us if you think we are crazy but you shouldn’t distrust us just because the city forces you not to.”

ZZWWW!

The screen turned pitch black.

Author's Note

Hey kids this chapter has lots and lots of action. And don't forget the violence. You know you could just let people shoot you and dismember you, don't worry you will regenerate like Crimson. Lol thats for the jokes.

Okay this chapter has a lot going on. Ask me questions if you got any. I've worked all day on this chapter and all week. If this chapter is too violent please tell me.

Reviews

[Taylorgwebb]

Hey there! Thank you for entering the Combat Scene Writing Contest!
http://www.writerscafe.org/contests/Combat-Scene-Contest!/48892/

This is a very fun writing style with an obvious lineage in comic book and graphic novel writing. The style is immature, and unfortunately it is not improved "by adding a lot of dark twisted things," but nor does it need to be as a fun personal expression. There are a few cases where the language is confusing ("Logun was distorted by the debris on front of him," for example), and a number of spelling or grammar errors, but it's fun and readable anyway.

Through the changing scenery and supernatural abilities of the characters, the combat scenes retain the same level of mastery as the rest of the work. Feel free to send me a private message if you would like a more detailed critique or line-notes.

Good Luck in the competition!

[Shep]

Hey I am all about the blood and gore let the skys darken and rain blood. Awesome chapter.

[Xerclipse]

yes indeed. in fact i am too. plus we have a character who has the ability to dismember and bleed himself to attack. Most violent and gory chapter indeed. Glad you liked it.

[Writer #00]

Ooooh, wonderful chapter. Not too violent, I think it accents the power of the Ascension guy. I feel like the Ascension guy is the polar opposite of Carnegie Spree. The setting of the underworld is wonderful and well written. It's very vivid--great job describing! One thing, though, is your use of 'so'. Sometimes you place so before adverbs and they aren't needed such as in 'he said so politely'. You can omit 'so', and if you want to emphasize the adverb, you can replace so with 'very'.

I loved the way the Ascension explained the two cities...the whole 'pain and ignorance yields peace' theme is rather insightful. Everything's fantastic, can't wait for part B/ chapter 3!

[Xerclipse]

Got it. I will tone down the 'so' s and replace them. Anyway this chapter was very intense compared to what else was written in the story. I thought this chapter would be mindless on the violence but I do have to agree that it emphasizes how strong the Ascension are. Yes they are opposites. Happy to hear you like the Ascension's message. I spent my eternity coming up with the message that was aired. Be patient for the next chapter because I have a lot of editing to do for it. In the meanwhile you can continue to write your story. I should probably rest from my own to continue yours.

[Writer #00]

Of course, no one can rush creativity! I finally started chapter 6, I just have to finish it...school and up coming tests can be time-consuming... no, I'm just making excuses.