Episode 2B: Truth Be Told

A Chapter by Xerclipse

What happens after the message the ascension have sent? Will anyone be able to uncover the mysteries of the city and Acrisius? Find out

Episode 2
Truth Be Told
Part B

His eyes gazed straight at the masked figure. His guns were steady as his focus was clear to him. Logun walked towards the figure step by step. The figure then leaned against a machine which marked the limit on how much the figure had.

“Who are you?” asked Logun.

“I am part of the ascension!” answered the figure in that electronic voice.

“I didn’t ask for your allegiance, I asked for your identification and name!”

“Now that would defeat the purpose of wearing the mask hangman.”

Blam Blam Blam Blam.

He fired his bullets which landed around the figure. The figure made a sudden jerk until the figure realized none of the bullets impacted the body but only the machine. Logun then stated.

“Don’t play that game you god damn freak! I’m not afraid to shoot you down! Believe me I have killed many people!”

“Hangman..... is that true? Then why didn’t you at least shoot my limb?”

The figure then got up and stood up tall and straight. This one was not afraid of what was to come. In fact it had something for Logun. However Logun then shouted.

“Stand back! All of you guys are a just gonna be considered a bunch of god damn psychos.”

The figure put its hands up to represent partial submission. That white mask was clearly visible for Logun’s eyes as the mask gazed on front of Logun himself.

“One that would not be afraid to kill is one who has already lost innocence.” responded the figure.

“Innocence? You wanna talk innocence with me. Yeah I’m pretty sure you weren’t afraid of turning the other hangmen into pieces.” shouted Logun. “Now I want you to talk more about innocence since you have killed many of us.”

“It is something we all have lost. We are the results of humanity’s shame and weakness. I know you hate the city, I know you do not agree with Carnegie’s orders, and I know you do not agree with the law. Tell me how many times have you smiled when you executed your missions as a hangman?”

Now instead of speaking out loud to answer the figure’s question, Logun answered the question to himself mentally. “This one has a point. Now I am trying to remember....d****t! When was the last time I enjoyed shooting and stabbing the targets in the underworld? Where was that f*****g satisfaction of that? I see....Crimson and the other fellow hangmen have treated it like a game. But why me? Why do I have to be the odd one out? Well it will be eventually time to see if Ryan Gillard would enjoy it after this.”

“Do not be so sorrowful Logun...you...”

Logun? Who said that was Logun’s name? How did the figure know?

“Wait a minute.....how the hell did you know my name? How much do you and the Ascension know about me and the city? Who was that guy on the air?”

Splat, Crash, Boom.

Blood splattered underneath the surface which caused a rendering of the floor. Crimson then squirted blood from his wrists onto the figure but then the figure disappeared. The figure pulled out those glaives and spun them around as those chains were extended. Crimson caught each of them with his own hands and then Logun attempted to grapple onto the figure. Crimson stood up with those blades dug deep in his palms. Those chains wrapped around Crimson’s forearms so tightly. The figure yanked them both away which slid off of Crimson’s flesh and then attempted to swing them at the sprinting Logun. Fortunately Logun was able to dodge the glaives but then the figure ran off to a window.

Crash.

The figure went through a pretty high free fall. “D****t” thought Logun.

“Pay the debt! Give it to me!” It was that awful voice of the skies again. The atmosphere turned red right before Logun and Crimson were about to leap.

Clank pow screech!

The window tightened so hastily, they couldn’t leap or pass the window at all. The top of the ceiling exploded, but it didn’t scatter in all directions. The debris levitated upwards but Logun and Crimson still clutched onto the surface they were at. The eye of the broken moon gazed at both of them.

“What the hell do you want?” asked Logun with all of his vocal strength.

Crimson then grappled Logun’s back and then jumped with Logun on his hands.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Crimson as they were both free falling. “Don’t question it, escape it! You know that isn’t very smart to do during the night time! That thing could have killed us.” Of course those words didn’t change Logun’s thoughts. He had to know.

In the other world, the moon was white not yellow. The moon was whole not broken. The sky was dark not red. It was quiet, peaceful, but had no feelings of isolation and chaos. The buildings were straight and perfectly geometrical. There was a pentagram on the wall outside of the new station.

Woosh!

Both Logun and Crimson sprung out of the pentagram at a very, very high altitude. When the gravity delivered them to the surface, the impact was not so pretty.

Thump!

Logun took a while to recover from the fall but it didn’t do more than give him sore limbs. Boy oh boy what an experience they had during the night time hangman shifts. Crimson on the other hand didn’t really show any signs of the impact.

“Congratulations Logun, we have failed our mission!” laughed Crimson who cracked his neck and limbs for straightening.

Logun had coughed. That blood and marks around his body and jacket reflected how intense the underworld had been. Crimson walked peacefully as if he were never harmed.

“Sure, Carnegie would not be so pleased with us, and you know it Crimson!” stated Logun who finally had the strength to stand up straight.

“Don’t worry Logun. He will give us a chance. Trust me, I’ve known him more than you have.”

“Alright.... I trust you!” said Logun who put his hand over his head to wipe the dripping blood off of his forehead.

“Crimson baby? Logun baby?” said a voice from a distance. It was so feminine but slightly muffled through a mask. It was a hangwoman with a spiked baseball bat, green and red pigtails, and a candy colored suit. The clothes were pretty tight for the hangwoman but it only covered the upper torso and lower body. There were spiked bracelets that the hangwoman wore.

“Vixen?” said Crimson who put his arms out open for the running girl. She ran with her arms up ready to be held. They both hugged and clutched onto each other. Logun stood by to watch the reunion. They laughed had laughed and cheered according to Logun’s ears.

“You know Vixen doesn’t like it when you take night shifts.” said Vixen who placed her fingers on Crimson’s chest. What was under that face? Great another figure whose face was hidden, but this one both Logun and Crimson could identify so easily, for they have known her.

“But I had an emergency mission from the boss. You know I volunteer for those night shifts.” laughed Crimson with a ridiculous tone.

“Well Vixen don’t like it when you get hurt!” she responded with a nasty tone. Then Crimson’s head popped out and got caught by his own hand. The decapitated body held the head on front of Vixen.

“Trust me, if I can still talk, then why are you worried about me getting hurt?” questioned Crimson rhetorically.

Yeah, Crimson did have a logical point. Vixen then stepped back not just by walking, but by hopping like a bunny rabbit. Wasn’t that a bit too old for her, considering that she looked about seventeen? Then came the Ryan Gillard who walked with his shotgun and bowie knife. He saw Logun and then grew with excitement.

“Logun.... how are you? Was that night underworld hunting that hard?” asked Ryan who looked upon Logun. But wait, he saw the way Logun looked from the battle.

“Dude....are you okay?” Ryan questioned to Logun.

“Yeah, just.....just get us to Carnegie. We have a lot of explaining to do” responded Logun.

A day later, Logun and Crimson stood on front of the desk Carnegie always sat at. They were at the tower of Acrisius. Crimson stood up tall and lengthy as Logun.....well on the opposite hand.....had a hunch of burden on him. Boy he did not look so well. Vixen and Ryan stood opposite of each other to observe how the chat would go. Time has passed from this point.

“So let me get this straight.” Said Carnegie Spree who leaned towards Logun and Crimson. “This Ascension sent a mysterious lovely person who could swing chained bladed boomerangs to play a message for this city. In order to do so this figure was guarded by skilled warriors with weapons that are in match with ours.” That happy but curious tone was within those words.

“Yes” said Crimson. “We failed to stop the Ascension. We don’t even know who they are except that they are a bunch of revolutionists.”

“But Vixen don’t like revolutionists who hate Mister Spree and Acrisius” stated Vixen in a whiney tone.

“No worries Vixen girl.” said Carnegie in a very childish manner. He continued to speak with that accent of his. “I has an idea my little girl! What you should do is tell PRO news that it was nothing special. Make sure Dick Bobber makes his words clear. Keep the little itty bitty subordinates happy and not worried about them silly Ascension terrorists who keep on killing our hangmen. I no like it when them subordinates get funny ideas. Here, have some chocolate Vixen girl.”

Carnegie then pulled two chocolate bars out of thin air. How neat was that? Vixen then took the two chocolate bars, laughing, and so childly. She leaped around cheering for herself and then left the room nonchalantly.

“Crimson I want you to go and gather information on the Ascension! But don’t let our little subordinates learn about what you see!” ordered Carnegie Spree who smiled politely at Crimson.

“As you command!” said Crimson who then disintegrated into a puddle of blood rapidly.

“Logun, tomorrow is your little friend’s day. He has to go on his first subordinate hunting. You know the targets he has to kill right?” asked Carnegie.

“Yes I do.” responded Logun who then looked up.

“Ryan, you be a good boy and listen to whatever Logun says! He’s been a wonderful hangman and I hope to see you become like him.”

“Understood!” said Ryan Gillard.

"Oh, and one more thing, don't enter into the red room!"

In the elevator, Ryan and Logun stood very still in it as it descended to the first floor. But wait, Ryan did not seem so still. In fact he seemed to have something in mind. They had a while to wait until the elevator reached the first floor.

“So Logun, what did you do to become a hangman? Was there anything special about you?” asked Ryan.

Logun then looked at Ryan when he just leaned back on the surface. He replied to the question.

“I don’t know really. I just....don’t know how or why?”

“Oh.” Said Ryan who was disappointed by the answer. Hmmm he seemed to have an alternate way of delivering that question. “Well is there thought about why you became one?”

“I wish I knew Ryan, but I don’t.”

“Ah, well I guess we should just enjoy life as it is right now and not look back at the past.” said Ryan with a carefree attitude. However, those words did trigger Logun’s attention. That didn’t mean that he used eye contact.

“Really?” said Logun. “That’s what a good hangman does!”

“Yes but you don’t seem to enjoy yourself. Come on Logun, you do have a little something inside of you!” encouraged Ryan with a smile who walked up closer to him.

Ryan looked upon Logun’s face and his mentality taught him what Logun’s expression was. His mentality said that Logun was clearly not interested and that he should bombard him with questions. How smart was that considering that person he was talking to was Logun? Let’s see what that awkward Ryan Gillard had to ask.

“So what happened in the underworld that night. I mean you did see or went through something right? What do you know about this Ascension?”

Logun immediately underwent psychological flashbacks which made quick and jumpy images of the masked hooded figure, the dismembered bodies he had stepped on and passed by, the screaming half dead and amputated hangmen, and the whole slaughter and massacre he created together with Crimson. He couldn’t stop hearing that wretched and violent voice of the skies. He then saw the eye and the mouth that covered the horizon. After he quickly went back to the real world he was in he then said irrationally and rudely.

“I couldn’t do that goddamn mission.”

“Logun? What’s wro.....”

BAM!!!

Logun had punched a wall inside that elevator. Of course Ryan’s instincts told him to back away which he did in less than a second.

“What do you want from me? I failed a mission, I failed the mission, I f*****g failed a top priority emergency mission!” screamed Logun.

“Logun calm down, it’s cool man, it’s cool!”

Logun stood silent for a while. He let the elevator pass the other floors and heard the bells ring.

Ding ~ Ding ~ Ding ~ Ding ~ Ding

Five floors have passed and now Logun was then sucked in by his own mind.

Ding~ Ding ~ Ding ~ Ding

“Hey Logun? Are you okay, Logun.....Logun?””

He was walking through the streets as the sun was bright, the pedestrians made no disruptions, and the cars flowed by. He could move fast through the crowd as he would have but he was a man who did not want to create attention.

“Excuse me sir, pardon me, excuse me sir”

It was a voice of a very young man. That young man went through the crowd so hastily and quickly. Those steps sounded louder, louder, and louder to Logun’s ears. The rate of the foot steps decreased once the boy had reached his limit.

“Mister Logun?” asked the young man politely. Logun turned around and he saw the face of Ryan Gillard, except his hair was shorter.

“What do you want?” replied Logun very rudely.

“Mister Logun” The young Ryan was so excited that he couldn’t string a sentence together. He checked his first pocket, nothing there. He checked his second pocket, nothing there. He was stuttering through that half intelligence of his. Once he made contact with his thrid pocket.....

“Logun..... I have something for you! You’re gonna love it. I am your biggest fan of Acrisius!”

What could possibly Ryan possess that Logun was going to love? Let’s see what he had! Oh boy, he had photographs. Ryan handed them to Logun slowly. Logun took possession of those photographs as he made no eye contact at all.

What was this? Pictures of Logun, and of him running through the crowds, alleys, and roof tops. Where did he get them from?

“You see, that was when you killed a criminal who stole food, this one here was when you were hunting for a woman who had the Koran, and that one there was when you came out of the portal carrying the head of the one who questioned our great leader Carnegie Spree.” His voice was faster than his brain. And no, Logun was not happy to see those pictures. His hands immediately crumpled them together in a second. That made Ryan Gillard shut up alright!

“Logun....but...but...”

“Alright listen, you have violated the law. What’s your name?”

“Uh...uh Ryan....Ryan Gillard!” stated Ryan very nervously.

“You know it’s illegal for a subordinate like you to carry images of hangmen?” said Logun very loudly.

“But I took them for myself.” Ryan pulled out his black and white camera. “See, I am a photographer!”

Logun’s hand swiped against the camera. Crackle, Snap! The camera was then scattered in pieces.

“Taking pictures of one is also illegal Ryan. Go now away before you become a target!” Logun had warned the nervous Ryan.

Ryan Gillard stepped back with sweat and nervousness. Eventually his body rotated and ran through the crowd. Logun was disgusted by the pictures he had in his hand.

A moment had skipped later to when Logun had walked by a high school. Through the gates were teenagers sitting outside. There were others that played soccer and volleyball. Then there were the teenagers who ran across the track field. But then........

“Hey Ryan, where were those pictures you were suppose to get?” said a coarse and low pitched voice from a muscular boy. He and several other students circled around Ryan Gillard who slouched forward. The girls then laughed at his posture as the guys advanced closer to him.

“I didn’t have them, I swear, they were gone!” answered Ryan in a nervous tone.

“It’s okay, you don’t have to have them with you right now” said another boy who stepped closer with a smile. “But too bad we don’t have images of the best hangman of Acrisius. What kind of photographer are you if you can’t even keep your pictures?”

Then one of the girls kicked Ryan’s legs down. Another girl slammed her books onto Ryan’s head. He cowered onto the ground as he absorbed the pain the boys and girls were inflicting on him. This had bought Logun’s attention quickly. He looked away after he heard a bone crack and the agony. Of course he had seen people stabbed, shot, sliced and decapitated because he was the one committing those acts. However there was something about the boy that made him look away. That boy was helpless, defenseless, and he seemed unable to fit with society. The muscular boy then grappled onto Ryan’s shirt and punched his face. Ryan screamed painfully as results of that left blood dripping arm and that punch he received. Right when Ryan could not move anymore, Logun jumped over the gate and allowed his impact to emit noise.

“Hey guys.....It’s Logun!” screamed one of the girls. The guys and girls stopped beating on Ryan Gillard and then dashed their way towards him. The muscular guy stood up as he saw the crowd orbit around Logun asking him for his autograph, pictures, or how he was. This didn’t help Logun’s social ability at all. He still continued to walk towards the muscular boy. Of course the muscular boy was very proud to have beaten Ryan nearly to death so he opened his arms for a hug.

“Yo....what up bro, I can’t believe it’s you!” said the muscular boy with excitement.

The greeting offered to Logun did not help make him smile, but it did lead to something else.

Pow!

Logun had punched the muscular boy’s abdomen which caused blood to spew out of the mouth. The circulating crowd stopped immediately. What the hell did they expect from him? What they should have expected were those roundhouse kicks he had made on the other crowd members. He grabbed one of their arms and twisted it in the reverse direction. The screams didn’t help them at all. Once he was done with the crowd he went to the muscular boy who knelt down in submission. Logun then held the muscular boy’s face with his hand.

“Yeah it’s me alright, but I can’t believe that a bunch of you f*****g subordinates have treated your fellow brother like s**t!” asked Logun in a harsher tone.

Crack.

“AAAUUUGGGHHHH!!!!! My face!”

He held onto his bleeding face with his own hands. Those two unresting and stomping feet reflected the damage on his face.

Logun looked back at the fellow students and the ones he had beaten up. They all ran away within a matter of seconds. Some crawled with the pain that occupied their nerves and body.

There was Ryan who laid down, beaten, helpless, and desperate. Logun had kneeled down to investigate Ryan's half conscious body.

“Logun.....Logun....” said the voice from the distant background. Wait, what was going on he thought.

“Are you alright? Come on wake up!”

“Are you alright? Wake up Logun!”

He had woken up from the floor of the elevator. He stood back up holding his own head. Boy oh boy that was some condition Logun had.

“It’s the first floor Logun!” said Ryan with deep concern. His face was not going to be satisfied until Logun was.

Ding!

Logun had walked out of the elevator first before Ryan. He rubbed his own eyes when he realized his vision was part blurry. The ringing in his head had stopped. Ding, Ding, Ding. That sound had faded away.

“Listen Ryan, you better get ready for tomorrow! Understand!” commanded Logun right when he turned around.

“Yes sir!” said Ryan Gillard with a passion.

The elevator doors have closed between them.

To Be Continued

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© 2013 Xerclipse

Author's Note

If you have any questions, ask me. Posting Chapter 3 will take a while so be patient. There is no magic button that posts a new chapter. So what are your thoughts, criticisms, opinions? I hope Logun isn't an unlikeable character. Other than that, enjoy!

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Reviews

InsanityWriter

Interesting. I liked the flashback. :)

Posted 11 Years Ago

11 Years Ago

thanks but i think you skipped a chapter or two

Shep	Another excelent chapter. So much going on. Looking forward to more. Posted 11 Years Ago Another excelent chapter. So much going on. Looking forward to more. Rating /100

Writer #00

Yes, I did skip this chapter...I didn't notice it, sorry.

I think the flashback made Logun even more likeable. His protection of Ryan showed Logun's nicer side without changing his character, only expanding it. Vixen was an interesting introduction...is she Crimson's apprentice or lover or both or neither? Ryan sounded like he had a little crush on Logun because of the way you described his interaction with Logun...he must be pretty stealthy to take all those pics of hangmen without being caught.