Episode 7 Intro: Beneath the Shadows

Logun and Samuel have just arrived out of the underworld, but will they be safe in the rest of Acrisius

Episode 7

Beneath the Shadows

Intro

Injuries, wounds, cuts, and the critical damage he received did not satisfy his body. The revelation of the one who was in that mask had bothered him. Logun did not know whether his interest in Tanya was love or obsession. It was one of the confusions that bothered him greatly. What was he searching for? Well right now he began to exit out of the portal along with Samuel and Tanya to find the Ascension headquarters. Still, Logun had to hold his right shoulder that was recently put back to place. His left arm bled but it did not catch Logun’s attention.

They both found themselves in a more stable and cleaner courtyard. There were a small amount of citizens who did nothing but mind their own business. The subordinates did not care about the scenery or the fact Samuel held Tanya with his own hands. In fact the scenery was beautiful than what the underworld had to offer. The fountain cycled the water in a fluid animation. The decorations and detail were not cracked, scratched or ruined, but were instead just clean and maintained with effort and care.

Samuel placed her on the bench closest to them so his arms could rest. He observed the world, smelling the fresh air and enjoying the scenery. His laughter of happiness kicked in, his nostalgia had overlapped his other senses. For he could not remember how long he had been trapped in the underworld but he could remember what the physical world felt like. The tragedy he had experienced was the fact he could not lay his fingers on the clean surfaces of the physical world. The underworld had driven him crazy and insane! He leaped on the grass and rolled over.

Logun observed the fun and happiness that Samuel had. This was a rare moment for him to see another person have fun without the expenses of killing another. He could understand and analyze what emotions flew through Samuel but he could never feel it. When he saw Tanya on the bench he stood with a slouch and stared at her in her hooded outfit. He still could not see her as the enemy but he did realize that she was dangerous and capable of bringing death to others. She did kill many people at the Underworld but could that mean Logun would be brutally dismembered cold blooded? He also realized that he was breaking his own circle through sin. Looking back at that deadly battle, he knew that he would have killed her. If he was a good hangman then he would never be a happy being.

Suddenly, Logun said. “We need to keep moving!”

Samuel looked around, turned to Logun, and said. “Logun, couldn’t you have picked a better Portal without anyone here?”

“When was the last time subordinates stopped walking to see something interesting?” asked Logun rhetorically.

“Aaahhh, good point my boy! I forgot about the social interactions here… because there are none! Hah! They don’t know what they are missing!”

Logun sat down on the bench and stared at Tanya’s face then stated. “That’s why they are fighting Samuel! It’s because we live in a city without human beings. After this war and conflict, emotions will rise and everybody will understand what its like to live.”

“But you said war and conflict right? I am inferring that this involves overthrowing Carnegie off of his throne! If that is right, then who will rule Acrisius?”

“I don’t know but we don’t know what to expect! Come on we need to get Tanya right where she belongs. Both of you are targets and we need to do this quickly!”

“Right Logun! Let’s go!” said Samuel right when he lifted Tanya’s left arm up. Logun had lifted Tanya’s other arm up and carried her away from the park.

After an hour of travel, Logun and Samuel had went into an old and abandoned building. It clearly did not look maintained at all. However, Samuel and Logun still carried Tanya to the Ascension’s headquarters. The area was quiet but not clean. It was peaceful but lonely, or was it lonely at all?

“Samuel? where is the next path?” asked Logun rudely towards Samuel.

“This is it?”

“What?”

“Logun…. this is our stop! Behold the headquarters of the Ascension. I knew I was able to see them through the Underworld. I was right! Ha ha! Welcome to the Ascension my boy!”

Logun analyzed and observed the absence and the messiness of the area. He was cautious of where he was at. He knew that whatever step he made could cause trouble for him and Samuel. It was not a very comfortable setting since most of Acrisius were against the Ascension itself.

“Samuel….. why were you a target of Acrisius again?” asked Logun.

“My oh my you are full of questions Logun! I took a quick peek of the Hermes library.” answered Samuel in a polite way.

“I think it’s time you tell me what the hell you read in there. You have answers!”

“Alright I’ll tell you that…..”

Suddenly, seven men came from behind the dumpsters and the abandoned shops. Each one wore a helmet that covered their faces. The black face shields stared directly at both Logun, Samuel, and Tanya. The Ascension members held automatic rifles that were strapped on their shoulders. The sounds of the clips brought the attention of Logun and Samuel.

“Freeze hangman! Let go of the girl now!” commanded one of the men through the muffled voice of the helmet.

Logun thought to himself “Son of a f**k!”

He let go of Tanya while Samuel still held her. Logun put his hands up on his head and looked directly ahead. He could not fight back due to the distance between him and the seven men.

“Oh boy mister Hangman, you are in trouble!” said Samuel in a quiet voice.

“You too citizen of Acrisius. Let go of her and walk to the corner! Hangman, you walk the other direction!” commanded another one of the Ascension members.

Logun and Samuel followed the orders due to the fact several guns had pointed at them. The Ascension members were in control of the them. Tanya had laid down on the ground but then one of the men rushed and lifted her up.

“Hangman, kneel down, and state your presence!”

Logun didn’t think of an initial sentence to reply to that statement. He couldn’t comply but he couldn’t resist the situation either. It took him awhile to say something but he was stuck. In fact he did have to stick with the truth.

“To return a member of your’s!” stated Logun in a very unemotional way.

“Whose side are you on Hangman? Whose side are you on? Don’t play with the Ascension!” said the Ascension member.

“I think this is the one that she talked about!” stated another Ascension member. “He is one of the hangmen who took down one of the units who sent the message to all of Acrisius.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes! We need to watch over this one! But he doesn’t look good! Seems like he and her went in a deadly conflict somehow.”

Samuel could not look behind him but he was able to get a great idea of what was going on.

Logun thought to himself. “F**k, what am I going to do? This is exactly what I didn’t want. Am I going to resist and use violence to get out or assimilate and fight with them! This isn’t good! I don’t even know if I am going to get out of here alive! Clearly I am known in the Ascension fairly well in some way! It can’t be good fame either but I won’t leave alive as a hangman! D****t!”

“Get up on your feet hangman! The law won’t save you now scum!”

Bam!

His right shoulder had been hit by the butt of the rifle. This of course caused extreme pain again for the shoulder. Logun screamed in pain therefore he could not hide it. The day was not a very comfortable day for him at all. After he was able to get over the pain, he wondered what the motives of the Ascension were.

“Bring the citizen, the hangman, and Tanya to the lobby!” commanded one of the Ascension members.

Author's Note

This was a quick chapter but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. Hopefully I am able to post 7A shortly and this time you will get deep into the Ascension guys! It took the last few episodes to get to know more about the Hangmen, but will you know everything? Ha Ha ha! Alrighty then, I got lots of homework to do this week and I don't know if I will be doing more writing until I can manage all the time I am given.

Reviews

[Writer #00]

In fact the scenery was beautiful than what the underworld had to offer. --> In fact, the scenery was MORE beautiful than what the underworld had to offer.

I loved that opening! The first paragraph! "Was this love or obsession"! Beautiful! Logun's beginning to have more intrinsic conflict because of Tanya (well, who wouldn't after discovering something like that), and I can see that this will definitely add another layer to your story (and there are already so many!).

"He could understand and analyze what emotions flew through Samuel but he could never feel it. "-->he could never feel THEM (it replaces emotions, not Samuel, right?). Aside from that, this is such a lovely line that masterfully encapsulates what seems to be the major dilemma of the hangmen and all the members of Acrisius--their lack of humanity. I wonder if Logun will choose to join the Ascension or stay loyal to Carnegie as a hangmen? Hmm...is this the climax (turning point)? I guess I'll just have to wait for more. Great chapter, (awesome description of the Ascension, by the way) I look forward to more (but no rush, I know you're busy!).

[Xerclipse]

thanks for reading :D I was wondering where you had been. Hope you haven't been eaten by your sirens. This is a really big turning point for my story and I have to actually flesh this out properly before I could screw it up. I am already thinking about adding a different chapter than what I have written now.

Ascension or Carnegie.... hhmmmmm let me think. Ha ha ha ha! Well I have to also get through the other characters like Ryan, Crimson, and Vixen (who I have not paid any attention to lately) so I may have to divert and add some arcs. Thanks again. I missed you!

[Writer #00]

No problem, and my sirens haven't eaten me...yet. : ) The more arcs the merrier, it'll probably help "flesh things out". Haha, I'll probably be on WC only a few times a month, probably weekends. Good luck with this chapter, turning points have to be treated with care. :