The Ascended, "This is the Future"

The Red Haired Man

Alex was dragged down into a dimly lit room! The Man stood nearby! The whip-like weapon flowed along the ground towards him! It was...his arm! His entire right arm now looked different! It looked bloated, with grooves mixed in. The grooves made it look similar to honey combs! The grooves glowed red, while the rest was black!

At the end of the arm was a strange, small claw. The claw was what dragged him down! He also had bubbles all over him! "Ah, fantastic." Alex said, standing up. He took a quick glance around. The room was barely lit up by red lights. They were on a set of connected platforms. In between them were grinders! Fortunately, the grinders were turned off. It seemed one would have to turn them on manually via a switch next to each one.

There was railing on either side, to prevent people from falling in. Alex took the little time he had to prepare!
They rushed each other, and met one another's attack! Alex slashed at the bubbles, only for them to reform! Though it did seem to hurt the Man! He kept slashing at the bubbles every chance he got, and with each hit the Man seemed to weaken just a tad! "Are you alright, Alex??? I'm coming down!" David shouted!

He jumped down, and hurt his legs! "Ow my legs!" David exclaimed, "Why would you jump down you idiot?!" Alex asked, barely dodging an attack! Right after dodging, he saw another attack coming! This time, the Man was attempting to slam the palm of his claw into him! Alex blocked with his forearms, but just barely! The claws pressure far outweighed that of his normal arm!

Alex was pressured down onto his knees, and his arms were rapidly being pushed away! He focused all of his strength into his legs, before letting go of his block! In the split second he wasn't pressured, he used the strength in his legs to dodge away! The Man's claw cut through a part of the railing, and got stuck for a moment. Though he quickly ripped it out!

That part of the railing was now sticking out a small ways, with a jagged, sharp edge on one part! Seemingly from nowhere, the lights turned on! "Oh great..." Alex said, "Alex, I have an idea! Just keep slashing at the bubbles with wind! I'll take care of the rest!" David exclaimed!

Alex began slashing through the bubbles with gusts of wind, and David set the Man on fire! He fell to his knees while bubbles formed! It was just like the previous time! Alex continued slashing, and David kept the fire on him! This went on for a few moments, before the Man stood up! He let out a deafening roar, before throwing his claw forward!

His claw attached to Alex, before pulling him wildly! The Man angrily pulled him back, and slammed him into the jagged part of the railing! It stabbed straight through his left shoulder, and got stuck! He let out a cry of pain, before David pushed the Man back with more fire! But without Alex's wind, he just seemed to brush it off!

The Man rushed towards Alex! His life seemed to flash before his eyes. Tears began to run down his face as he realized he would die there. Only, just before the attack hit, David threw a knife at the railing he was stuck on! It cut it free, and he rolled aside! The Man couldn't change his momentum, and dashed straight over the railing! He fell down, and his normal arm got stuck in a grinder!

Alex turned the grinder on, and it started to pull him in! Blood splattered everywhere as his body was slowly destroyed! Using his claw, he took something off his neck, and held it in the air! "Au...tumn..." The Man said! First his legs, then his lower torso, then all the way up to his head had gone in! He attempted to speak one last word, but his head was swiftly crushed!

His claw started to come apart, but the grinder got stuck! It seemed the arm was too much for it. Alex noticed what it was holding, and grabbed it. "Are you crying?" David asked, "No." Alex answered, looking away, "You totally are! Just like that one time I pranked you by pretending to be a ghost!" David exclaimed, "That was you?!?!" Alex asked.

"Huh? No, definitely not. It was for sure a real ghost." David answered, "Well, maybe I am...but I know for sure you cried when you got all your bones broken!" Alex exclaimed, "You know, it's remarkable how fast we can change subjects. Like 'yeah, we just fought a creepy monster with a demon claw, no big deal.'" David replied.

"Well, I don't know what you expect. Do you want to talk about how he got ripped apart or something?" Alex asked, "Well, no, not really." David answered, "Right. You know, he dropped this..." Alex cut himself off, and held his shoulder. The railing part was still stabbed through him! "Do you need me to get that?" David asked.

"Do it. Just like the knife in the Halloween decorations box." Alex said, "I sincerely hope it goes smoother than that." David replied, grabbing the piece of the railing. He pulled it out quickly, and Alex let out another cry of pain! "You cry like a girl." David said, "Dude, I have heard you scream when there is a spider. Don't even try." Alex responded.

"Well, what did he have?" David asked, "This...it's...a pendant." Alex answered, holding out a round, gold pendant. It looked as if it could be opened, but it wasn't quite clear whether it could be or not. "Huh, neat. Well, I guess it's yours now." David said, "I don't know...I feel kinda bad taking a dead guy's pendant..." Alex replied, "Well, he held it out. It seemed he wanted it preserved." David said.

"I guess I'll keep it." Alex responded, "Maybe you can get a pretty princess dress to go with it." David said, "I'm gonna smack you." Alex replied, "Alright, alright. Let's try to find the others...again." David said, "Let's hope we can make it further than three centimeters this time." Alex responded.

With that, they exited through a side door, and began looking for the others. It seemed there was nothing standing in their way now! Unless...

Outside of the facility, a Man stood on a ledge. It was the man who took Red's arm from the snow! The one with the scorpion helmet. "The power's on in the facility, huh? Well, what do you know. They caged themselves in like rats." The Man said, "We have bigger problems than just them, you know." A Voice replied.

Another man walked up. It was the Cowboy from Red's memory! "Yes. The roar of the Dragon will signal Ascended, and Humans from all over Redwhich. We could hear it on the far East coast, which means everyone and their mother could hear it. Many will seek the Dragon's power, including the great alliances and clans from all over the land." Another Man said, walking up.

This time, it was Varoka! "I found footprints in the snow where you found her arm, Mathias. It seems they went in that way." Kimera said, walking up to them from further back! All four of them were here! "You got nearly our entire branch here for this, Ranger. What is it you desire?" Mathias, the man with the Scorpion helmet asked.

"Get the girl, one-seventeen. We need her." Ranger, the Cowboy answered. They all nodded, and dashed off towards the facility!