Room 509, Thursday night after radio
Raven sat on the floor of her room, completely dark but for a single candle. "Azar, I beseech you," she prayed. "Hear my words, answer my prayers. I need you, Goddess. I need you. My mind is a battleground, whipped and ripped asunder, torn from the very fabric of reality. He, that demon who is Trigon, that demon who is my father...he calls for me. And his summons becomes so hard to resist."
She heard nothing from her former teacher, no words or comforting touch on her mind, but she hadn't really expected she would. Still, it hurt to have that last bit of hope crumble. "Then my course is charted," she murmured. "And my sad destiny awaits."
She'd leave in the morning. She'd run like she'd run from Azarath, a last attempt to protect those she loved before the evil churning within her consumed her. But for one last night she'd pretend Fandom was still her home.
Raven blew out the candle, crawled into her bed, and cried herself to sleep.
Karla
Raven wasn't the only person still awake. Three floors below, Karla was pacing, trying to figure out exactly what to do. There was no longer any denying that Trigon was influencing Raven. Karla just didn't know how or how strongly.
Her Black Widow senses had been tingling throughout the day, but without any kind of useful dream or vision to go along with it. The last time she'd tried to spin a web it had caught fire and possibly alerted Trigon to her activities, so she couldn't try that again. All she knew is that Raven was at the center of something very very big.
And unless she missed her guess, something very dangerous as well.
"Maybe I should just sleep on it?" she murmured. "Maybe something will come to me tonight?"
As soon as she tried to lay down, her instincts starting screaming. Too late! Too late! Too late! She leapt up and they instantly quieted, but Karla was already running out the door. She needed to get to Raven now.
Raven
Fortunately, Raven had never gotten into the habit of locking her door. Azarath had no locks, so she often forgot to use them in Fandom. And Ariel wasn't there to lock it herself, if she even cared to.
Raven was deep asleep, but that sleep was anything but peaceful. She thrashed and moaned, lost in another of the nightmarish images her father sent her. Her friends, dead or enslaved at her feet. Jono. Karla. Anakin. Relishing their suffering. Accepting the mantle of her power. No please no....
Karla
No locks probably saved the door, at least, since Karla would have had no problem just blasting it off the hinges if it had become an obstacle.
"Raven!" she cried, the light from the hallway illuminating Raven's thrashing form. There was something more than a nightmare at work here, she could almost feel it, like electricity across her skin. She flung herself at Raven and without thinking, dropped her shields and joined minds. She needed to pull Raven out of whatever dreamscape she was in and fast.
Raven
Karla had been inside Raven's mind before, but this time was very different. The first thing she felt would be the pain. Everything Raven had healed since leaving Kaeleer was still inside her: Jacob's cracked ribs, Sookie's vampire bite, a stranger's concussion and head injury...Karla's own Virgin Night. Raven had done her best to shield herself and ignore the pain she could not purge, but it was still there, burning inside her.
It was cold as well, much colder than it had ever felt there before. The dark skies above were red instead of black. The netherverse inside Raven was a storm of negative feelings, bleakness, anguish, despair. The rocky stepping stones that usually dotted her mental landscape were gone, replaced by interlinked twisted spires of bone.
Raven was nowhere in sight, but Karla would feel her near, hiding and horrified.
Arella
Then the bones beneath Karla's feet began to shift, and an arm reached out, grabbing for her leg. The woman who clutched at her was barely recognizable as Raven's mother, Arella, and her eyes were filled with fear. "My sacrifice was for you! Why did you come? Go away, Daughter! Run before it is too--!" Recognition dawned in her wild eyes. "You are not Raven! You are not my daughter!"
Karla
Karla swallowed the bitter words that leapt to her tongue. Regardless of what had gone on before, Arella had sacrificed herself so her daughter could live, and that sacrifice had taken a terrible toll on her. "I am not Raven, though I can sense her nearby," Karla murmured, stooping down to take Arella's hand. "Help me find her. I've come to help whatever's is happening here."
Except....wait. Arella was supposed to be acting as some fancy door-guard to Trigon, wherever he was locked away. So why was she here, and why did the Netherverse look like someone had hired those creepy, kidnapping goblins to redecorate? "Arella, if you know what's happening, you have to tell me!" Karla demanded. "I need to help Raven!"
Trigon the Terrible
Arella didn't have a chance to answer. A giant red hand reached down to seize hold of Karla, lifting her up so that she was staring Trigon in the face. "NOT MY DAUGHTER, BUT I AM PLEASED TO SEE YOU NONETHELESS," he said, his grip enough to be uncomfortable but still allow her to breathe. "THIS IS INDEED A FORTUNATE NIGHT. I HAVE YOU, AND SOON I WILL HAVE RAVEN."
Karla
Oh, this was not good. Very not good. In fact, it went straight to very, very bad. The only thing that kept it from being flat-out catastrophic was that he'd just admitted that he didn't have Raven yet. Maybe this would give her friend a chance to flee?
Ahahahahahaha, yeah right. Because that would happen.
"I wouldn't start bragging quite yet," Karla said, glaring up in defiance at Trigon. She had mentioned she didn't handle intimidation well, right? "You're awfully good at grabbing, not so great at keeping. What's the problem Trigon? All loincloth?"
Trigon the Terrible
Trigon's laughter rumbled like thunder across the red skies. "YOU WILL LEARN THAT SOON ENOUGH WHEN YOU BECOME MY NEW BRIDE," he said. "YOU WILL BE MOTHER TO THE FIRST OF MY NEW CHILDREN."
Raven
That was enough to bring Raven out of hiding. "Father, no!" she screamed, dropping the power that was keeping her hidden, just barely, from her father.
Karla
"Hell's fire and Mother Night, Raven!" Karla snapped. "Couldn't you have just for once run away?"
A little selfishness was healthy in a person! Like when one's father was a giant demon infesting one's mind and one had to get away!
Never mind that Karla didn't exactly have an exit strategy worked out yet. That was neither here nor there. Raven could have taken a golden opportunity and fled!
Turning towards Trigon, Karla did the only thing possible. She wiggled in his grasp and leaned over to bite down, hard, onto the hand that was holding her captive. "You may be the undisputed god-king of a few universes, but there's still not enough magic to ever make that happen!"
Trigon the Terrible
Trigon didn't appear to notice the bite, though he did open his hand to let Karla drop to the bone-strewn ground below, where Arella was still huddled as well. He stretched out his arm to where Raven had appeared. "RAVEN? YOU HAVE ARRIVED. JOIN ME!"
Raven
"No!" Raven shouted again. "No!" But her father had her in his grasp. She reached out desperately with her power, trying at least to save Karla and her mother. The tips of the wings of her Soul-Self brushed against them, knocking them in separate directions to fly out of her mind.
Back in room 509, Raven's bed was empty now, save for the two golden rings she always wore.
Karla
"Raaaaaaaaaa--!" Karla screamed as she flew through the air.
"--veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" The scream was physical now as she was jolted back into her body.
Even before she opened her eyes, she knew Raven was gone, but that didn't stop her from frantically pawing at bed anyway, tossing blankets and pillows about as if Raven might be hiding beneath them. "Raven, dammit, no!" she whispered fiercely, ignoring the tears that burned her eyes. "You stupid, stupid--why didn't you say anything?! We could have helped you!"
Her frantic search turned up only the two rings Raven had left behind. Karla scooped them up and clenched them in her fist. "Damn you to Hell, Trigon," she snarled. "We're going to get her back!"
[And away we go. Preplayed with glacial_witch. NFI and NFB, but OOC, as always, is welcome.]
She heard nothing from her former teacher, no words or comforting touch on her mind, but she hadn't really expected she would. Still, it hurt to have that last bit of hope crumble. "Then my course is charted," she murmured. "And my sad destiny awaits."
She'd leave in the morning. She'd run like she'd run from Azarath, a last attempt to protect those she loved before the evil churning within her consumed her. But for one last night she'd pretend Fandom was still her home.
Raven blew out the candle, crawled into her bed, and cried herself to sleep.
Karla
Raven wasn't the only person still awake. Three floors below, Karla was pacing, trying to figure out exactly what to do. There was no longer any denying that Trigon was influencing Raven. Karla just didn't know how or how strongly.
Her Black Widow senses had been tingling throughout the day, but without any kind of useful dream or vision to go along with it. The last time she'd tried to spin a web it had caught fire and possibly alerted Trigon to her activities, so she couldn't try that again. All she knew is that Raven was at the center of something very very big.
And unless she missed her guess, something very dangerous as well.
"Maybe I should just sleep on it?" she murmured. "Maybe something will come to me tonight?"
As soon as she tried to lay down, her instincts starting screaming. Too late! Too late! Too late! She leapt up and they instantly quieted, but Karla was already running out the door. She needed to get to Raven now.
Raven
Fortunately, Raven had never gotten into the habit of locking her door. Azarath had no locks, so she often forgot to use them in Fandom. And Ariel wasn't there to lock it herself, if she even cared to.
Raven was deep asleep, but that sleep was anything but peaceful. She thrashed and moaned, lost in another of the nightmarish images her father sent her. Her friends, dead or enslaved at her feet. Jono. Karla. Anakin. Relishing their suffering. Accepting the mantle of her power. No please no....
Karla
No locks probably saved the door, at least, since Karla would have had no problem just blasting it off the hinges if it had become an obstacle.
"Raven!" she cried, the light from the hallway illuminating Raven's thrashing form. There was something more than a nightmare at work here, she could almost feel it, like electricity across her skin. She flung herself at Raven and without thinking, dropped her shields and joined minds. She needed to pull Raven out of whatever dreamscape she was in and fast.
Raven
Karla had been inside Raven's mind before, but this time was very different. The first thing she felt would be the pain. Everything Raven had healed since leaving Kaeleer was still inside her: Jacob's cracked ribs, Sookie's vampire bite, a stranger's concussion and head injury...Karla's own Virgin Night. Raven had done her best to shield herself and ignore the pain she could not purge, but it was still there, burning inside her.
It was cold as well, much colder than it had ever felt there before. The dark skies above were red instead of black. The netherverse inside Raven was a storm of negative feelings, bleakness, anguish, despair. The rocky stepping stones that usually dotted her mental landscape were gone, replaced by interlinked twisted spires of bone.
Raven was nowhere in sight, but Karla would feel her near, hiding and horrified.
Arella
Then the bones beneath Karla's feet began to shift, and an arm reached out, grabbing for her leg. The woman who clutched at her was barely recognizable as Raven's mother, Arella, and her eyes were filled with fear. "My sacrifice was for you! Why did you come? Go away, Daughter! Run before it is too--!" Recognition dawned in her wild eyes. "You are not Raven! You are not my daughter!"
Karla
Karla swallowed the bitter words that leapt to her tongue. Regardless of what had gone on before, Arella had sacrificed herself so her daughter could live, and that sacrifice had taken a terrible toll on her. "I am not Raven, though I can sense her nearby," Karla murmured, stooping down to take Arella's hand. "Help me find her. I've come to help whatever's is happening here."
Except....wait. Arella was supposed to be acting as some fancy door-guard to Trigon, wherever he was locked away. So why was she here, and why did the Netherverse look like someone had hired those creepy, kidnapping goblins to redecorate? "Arella, if you know what's happening, you have to tell me!" Karla demanded. "I need to help Raven!"
Trigon the Terrible
Arella didn't have a chance to answer. A giant red hand reached down to seize hold of Karla, lifting her up so that she was staring Trigon in the face. "NOT MY DAUGHTER, BUT I AM PLEASED TO SEE YOU NONETHELESS," he said, his grip enough to be uncomfortable but still allow her to breathe. "THIS IS INDEED A FORTUNATE NIGHT. I HAVE YOU, AND SOON I WILL HAVE RAVEN."
Karla
Oh, this was not good. Very not good. In fact, it went straight to very, very bad. The only thing that kept it from being flat-out catastrophic was that he'd just admitted that he didn't have Raven yet. Maybe this would give her friend a chance to flee?
Ahahahahahaha, yeah right. Because that would happen.
"I wouldn't start bragging quite yet," Karla said, glaring up in defiance at Trigon. She had mentioned she didn't handle intimidation well, right? "You're awfully good at grabbing, not so great at keeping. What's the problem Trigon? All loincloth?"
Trigon the Terrible
Trigon's laughter rumbled like thunder across the red skies. "YOU WILL LEARN THAT SOON ENOUGH WHEN YOU BECOME MY NEW BRIDE," he said. "YOU WILL BE MOTHER TO THE FIRST OF MY NEW CHILDREN."
Raven
That was enough to bring Raven out of hiding. "Father, no!" she screamed, dropping the power that was keeping her hidden, just barely, from her father.
Karla
"Hell's fire and Mother Night, Raven!" Karla snapped. "Couldn't you have just for once run away?"
A little selfishness was healthy in a person! Like when one's father was a giant demon infesting one's mind and one had to get away!
Never mind that Karla didn't exactly have an exit strategy worked out yet. That was neither here nor there. Raven could have taken a golden opportunity and fled!
Turning towards Trigon, Karla did the only thing possible. She wiggled in his grasp and leaned over to bite down, hard, onto the hand that was holding her captive. "You may be the undisputed god-king of a few universes, but there's still not enough magic to ever make that happen!"
Trigon the Terrible
Trigon didn't appear to notice the bite, though he did open his hand to let Karla drop to the bone-strewn ground below, where Arella was still huddled as well. He stretched out his arm to where Raven had appeared. "RAVEN? YOU HAVE ARRIVED. JOIN ME!"
Raven
"No!" Raven shouted again. "No!" But her father had her in his grasp. She reached out desperately with her power, trying at least to save Karla and her mother. The tips of the wings of her Soul-Self brushed against them, knocking them in separate directions to fly out of her mind.
Back in room 509, Raven's bed was empty now, save for the two golden rings she always wore.
Karla
"Raaaaaaaaaa--!" Karla screamed as she flew through the air.
"--veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" The scream was physical now as she was jolted back into her body.
Even before she opened her eyes, she knew Raven was gone, but that didn't stop her from frantically pawing at bed anyway, tossing blankets and pillows about as if Raven might be hiding beneath them. "Raven, dammit, no!" she whispered fiercely, ignoring the tears that burned her eyes. "You stupid, stupid--why didn't you say anything?! We could have helped you!"
Her frantic search turned up only the two rings Raven had left behind. Karla scooped them up and clenched them in her fist. "Damn you to Hell, Trigon," she snarled. "We're going to get her back!"
[And away we go. Preplayed with glacial_witch. NFI and NFB, but OOC, as always, is welcome.]