trigons_child | New York City, Saturday Afternoon Fandom Time (Reply)

[Follows this.]

Trigon had risen, his strength now restored. He was too late to save his daughter, and her death filled him with anger. She would be avenged.

"I FEEL THE POWER NOW, FOUR BILLION SOULS ALL IN MY POSSESSION," he said, relishing the suffering all around him. "I FEEL THEIR ENERGIES AND THEY GIVE ME STRENGTH. THEY CRY OUT TO ME, PLEAD WITH ME. THEY WANT DEATH AND DISSOLUTION, BUT I GIVE THEM NEITHER. I HAVE NEED OF THEM. FOR CONQUEST OF THIS WORLD WAS BUT A MEANS TO ACHIEVE MY TRUE GOAL."

He gazed down at the figures on the street below. "PREPARE TO DIE."

Trigon	Trigon strode across the city to tower over them. He ignored those of Fandom for the moment, his four eyes on Arella and Raven's lifeless body. "THIS WORLD HAS BREATHED ITS LAST," he said, apparently feeling the need for exposition. "IT HAS SEEN ITS FINAL GLORY. BUT BEFORE IT IS GONE, IT SHALL, FOR AN INSTANT, BURN BRIGHT AGAIN. AHHH, RAVEN -- THE GLORY COULD HAVE BEEN YOURS, TOO. I TOOK YOUR MOTHER, GAVE HER MY SEED, THEN RETURNED HER TO EARTH LEST MY ENEMIES SLAY HER BEFORE YOU WERE BORN. I HAD SUCH HOPES FOR US, DAUGHTER. BUT THEN YOUR MOTHER WAS TAKEN BY AZAR -- SHE WHO HAD FOLLOWED ME IN ALL MY GUISES FROM WORLD TO WORLD. AZAR ANTICIPATED MY NEXT MOVE. TOOK MY DAUGHTER TO HER TEMPLE. TOOK HER AND FED HER LIES! SHE TRIED TO EXPUNGE MY BLOOD FROM RAVEN, BUT SHE FAILED. AZAR, AS YOUR OWN WORLD WAS DESTROYED, SO, TOO, SHALL THIS PLANET PERISH. FOR THIS WORLD, AN INSIGNIFICANT THREAD OF LIGHT IN THE TAPESTRY OF ENDLESS SPACE, HAS RESISTED MY POWER LONGER THAN ANY OTHER. FROM HERE CAME THE ONES WHO IMPRISONED ME IN THE NEITHERVERSE. A DARK DIMENSION YOU GUARDED, ARELLA. AS LONG AS EARTH EXISTS IT STANDS A REMINDER OF MY DEFEAT. THUS, ARELLA -- YOU WHO CARRIED MY CHILD UNTIL I WAS READY TO CLAIM HER -- THUS YOU SHALL WATCH AS THIS PLANET DIES."
Arella	Arella looked up, screaming at Trigon. "Why? Why Raven? Why my daughter? I loved her! You were never her father. You never cared for her. You never loved her. She was mine and you took her away from me."
Trigon	"ARELLA, YOU WERE MERELY THE VESSEL WHICH CARRIED HER," Trigon said. "YOUR MILK NUTURED HER BUT MY BLOOD GAVE HER LIFE. HOW DARE YOU CLAIM I DID NOT LOVE MY CHILD WHEN I SACRIFIED ONE HUNDRED BILLION SOULS IN HER NAME? TO ESCAPE THE NETHERVERSE I SIPHONED THE LIFE FROM MY DIMENSION -- THOSE SOULS GAVE ME THE POWER TO COME HERE, TO CLAIM MY DAUGHTER. NOW I USE THE FOUR BILLION EARTH SOULS I HAVE CLAIMED TO RETURN TO MY WORLDS, TO POPULATE MY PLANETS, TO RULE AS A TRUE RULER SHOULD. THIS DIMENSION SHALL CEASE TO BE -- BUT MINE, ARELLA, MINE SHALL LIVE AGAIN! EVEN NOW MY WINGED DEMONS OBEY MY COMMANDS. EVEN NOW THEY PREPARE THE PATH WHICH SHALL RETURN ME TO MY HOME. DESPITE RAVEN'S DEATH, I HAVE SUCCEEDED, ARELLA, DESPITE YOUR MUCH VAUNTED AZAR, DESPITE THE CHILDREN WHO RESIST MY POWER. DESPITE ALL, I HAVE SUCCEEDED! MY DIMENSION SHALL LIVE!" Now he deigned to notice the others below him. "AND YOU SHALL ALL NOW DIE WITH THIS WORLD."
Jono	Jonothon wasn't thinking. Jonothon wasn't letting himself think. Thinking meant that he'd have to recognize what was going on around him, that Raven was dead, that he'd been the one to finish her, that... No. No thinking. There, there was the cause for all of this. Instead of thought, there was only fire. A veritable wall of it. Jono would think later. He couldn't afford to break just yet.
Kennedy	There wasn't much Kennedy could do, except at close range, and she couldn't get past that wall of fire to get a good hack in. The yell she let out was as much frustration as anything else, and she hurled one of her throwing knives, then another, toward Trigon's head with all the strength she could muster.
Bobby	Next to, and strangely unaffected by, that wall of fire, a tidal wave of ice rose up from Bobby's feet as he directed it towards Trigon. For once, he didn't have a witty little quip to accompany it. He figured the ice said enough.
Dinah	They stopped Raven. They saved Raven. They killed Raven.... Dinah turned and screamed defiance and grief at Trigon. It wouldn't be enough to bring back Raven. But she had to try this. Couldn't stop yet.
Karla	Karla just stood there. All around her was screaming and pain and ice and fire, but it echoed oddly in her head, as if all the noise and chaos were coming from very far away, or from underwater, or was happening to someone else entirely. Nothing made sense. She turned her back on everything, kneeling by Raven's body and clinging to her limp hands. Let the others destroy Trigon. Karla was having trouble caring.
Sookie	Sick with what she'd done, and what the other her had done, Sookie had a choice. Crumble and cry, retreat and die. Or embrace what she had. She didn't say anything. Words were a luxury now. But the scream she unleashed was animalistic and hungry as she sent wave after wave of purple energy at the man that had made her kill her friend.
Emma	Emma didn't really care about Trigon's need for exposition, or Arella's grief, really. Everything else could come later. Right now? She was planning on living. Since he seemed to enjoy pain and suffering so much, Emma decided on a different track. Raven, she said, both aloud and telepathically as she slipped silently into his mind. You see her, broken, everywhere. The city is fine, the city is green. Children play and laugh, and no one notices your child. No one acknowledges you. You have failed, again. She would leave the flashy displays of power to others as she stood, perfectly still, continuing her silent assault on his psyche. All Emma needed to do was confuse him, slow him down, and let the others take care of the rest.
Trigon	Trigon laughed, not realizing the attacks were doing exactly what was necessary -- distracting him from his daughter's body below. "A LAST FUTILE RESISTANCE. DROLL. THE STING OF A GNAT. HOW USELESS AGAINST THE BEHEMOTH. I HAD WANTED YOU ALIVE TO WITNESS MY POWER. TO KNOW WHAT FATES YOU TEMPTED WHEN YOU SLEW MY DAUGHTER AND TOOK HER FROM ME. BUT ENOUGH. I NEED NO AUDIENCE TO WITNESS MY TRIUMPH. YOUR TIME HAS COME. YOUR LIVES ARE FORFEIT." He raised his staff to the skies, tearing a hole in the black storm clouds. Winged demons spiraled about him, waiting. A flow of power ripped through the Earth's molten core, and up through this planet's very history. It surrounded him, caressed him, then moved inside him. ~~MY GOD THIS IS DIRTY.~~ He is Trigon the Ravager. Spawn of hate and fear. The violence of the universe boiled inside him, waiting to erupt. He felt a joy greater than any ever felt; this lifeless world of rock would die, and his world, which he consumed as he consumed all worlds in his universe, shall live once more. Yet, he wished his daughter was at his side. But she was dead, as were all the others he has spawned. He was ready now. "ONE BY ONE TO STAY ALIVE I STOLE THE SOULS OF A UNIVERSE." Trigon really liked to talk as he prepared to destroy a world. "MY WORLD STANDS DEPLETED, MY UNIVERSE A HOLLOW, BURNING HUSK. ALL THAT I TOUCH MUST ULTIMATELY DIE. BUT I, I CANNOT DIE. I GO ON, I THRIVE, I GROW. MY UNIVERSE IS OLD AND DEAD, BUT THIS ONE IS YOUNG AND HEALTHY. IT WILL SATE MY HUNGER UNTIL IT, TOO, IS MADE ANCIENT BEFORE ITS TIME. THE EARTH'S ENERGIES NOW OPEN THE DOOR TO MY DIMENSION. HEAR ME, UNIVERSE OF MY BIRTH -- TRIGON RETURNS! THE DOOR OPENS EVER WIDER. SOON IT SHALL ABSORB THIS WORLD, THEN THIS VERY DIMENSION, TEEMING WITH LIFE, SHALL BE THRUST INTO MINE. WHAT I DESTROY, I SHALL RESEED. THUS SHALL I EVER GROW STRONGER."
Emma	Emma just gritted her teeth and pushed harder, doing her best to try and distract him just enough for one of her ~~teammates~~ companions to get in a decent shot. "Do you ever even listen to what you're saying?"
Dinah	Dinah was pausing for breath, and muttered, "How can he hear himself over the sound of how awesome he is?" Then let loose another Canary Cry, trying to make a dent in the eyes, the joints, the damn loincloth, something.

Arella	Arella clung to Raven, tears streaming down her face. "I fought back as long as I could, but I'm not strong enough to go on," she said. "Trigon made me pregnant because he knew he could control me. And yes, I knew my child would be the devil's own. Just as I somehow knew unless I killed the baby he would one day take her as his. But, please forgive me...I was never strong enough to do what I had to do. I let Raven live, and because I was weak, our planet will die!"
Tara	"Arella, all that has happened was pre-ordained," Tara said in a soothing tone, running a hand down the woman's arm. "I need you now. That is all that is important."
Arella	"You need me. Azar needed me. Trigon needed me. Everyone's needed me, and used me and abused me, too," Arella said angrily through her tears. "Go away, Tara. Leave me with what's left of my daughter."
Tarazar	"No, Arella," Tara said, in that voice that was not her own. Her eyes were unusually bright and clear now. "We cannot leave thee. Your destiny -- and ours -- is not yet fulfilled."
Arella	Arella stared at Tara, and something finally clicked for her. "Azar?" she said. "That was Azar's voice?"
Tarazar	"Have you not grown, Arella?" Azar asked, as if Arella had not spoken at all. "Did I not wash away your despair with the teachings of those who came before us? Our sins were purged that the greatest blasphemy of all would meet its end." "Heed the words of this woman who will guide great warriors," Azar added, as Tara removed a ring from her finger and held it to the woman. "Take this ring ... the one I long ago gave to your daughter. If you give into your despair, all is lost. But if you reach into your soul, a world may yet be saved."
Arella	The ground around them was beginning to shake, buildings collapsing into further rubble. "Azar, it's too late. Can't you see the end is here?" Arella said. "The Earth is dead! Azar, it's over! It's...the ring?" She stared at it, then slipped it on her own finger.
Tarazar	"Both rings. Now. This is the moment," Azar ordered through Tara. "Hurry! They must again be placed on Raven. She is the vessel through which the power must flow. She is not truly dead, only emptied ... no one with a soul could survive what comes next." She knelt next to Raven's form, removing the ring she'd kept and sliding it onto Raven's finger. "Hurry, my dear Arella -- and know you serve your daughter well."
Arella	"What do you mean by that?" Arella said, but she knelt on Raven's opposite side, taking the ring Tara had given her and sliding it on Raven's hand. "She's dead...."
Trigon	Trigon paused in his fighting now, gaze turning toward where his daughter's body lay. "SHE LIVES," he said. "NO!"
Arella	What now?" Arella said, clinging to Raven's hand, still not understanding what was happening. "I don't know what to do next." Glimmers of white light began to sparkle across Raven's body, the glow growing and spreading to encompass her.
Raven	Bathed in white light, Raven rose into the air, arms outstretched, though her eyes remained closed. She is Raven, conceived in another dimension, born on Azarath, died on Earth. Years ago she was taught to separate soul from form. That was taught to her for a reason. Two days ago her separate soul was wrenched from her body, then replaced with the power of Trigon, her father. Raven is now a conduit, but not for Trigon, whose powers fled with her physical death. Raven now belongs to Azar, she who has hunted Trigon the Terrible from one universe to another. Raven is a funnel though which shall flow all the souls of Azarath itself.
Trigon	"AZAR HAUNTS ME," Trigon said, ignoring everything but Raven now. "VERY WELL, WITCH. YOU WILL DIE BEFORE THIS PLANET PERISHES."
Raven	"No, demon. My body is already dead, and my immortal soul cannot die this day." Raven's Soul-Self, white now, not red or even black, rose from her body, growing in size as Azar continued to speak through Raven. "Nor shall the soul of your daughter, who has been cleansed of your evil and returns to destroy the one who gave her life. You twist the mind, Trigon, you try to corrupt the soul. but there are those who cannot be corrupted. Centuries ago I came to this Earth and founded Azarath and peopled it with those who believed as I believed. I expunged the darkness in their souls, knowing all to well that all evil finds its way to you. And when my body died, and when I placed my immortal soul in the rings given Raven, I continued to watch the heavens for a sign of your coming. Then you came, and you destroyed my people's forms, but you could not destroy their true being. For theirs, as mine, and Raven's own, are safe, alive within the rings."
Trigon	Trigon roared in rage, red energy shooting from his eyes to bathe Raven's Soul-Self, but it didn't stop the white raven form from wrapping its wings around him. "MY DEATH STARE DOES NOT WORK!" he yelled. "I CANNOT FIGHT BACK! YOU FILL ME WITH PAIN, AZAR! I HAVE NEVER FELT ITS LIKE BEFORE!"
Raven	"We live, Trigon!" Was that Azar's voice now, or Raven's? "All of Azarath! And we who have devoted our lives to pacifism, to ultimate peace of the immortal soul, we who are without the darkness, we strike at you who is the ultimate dark. You cannot survive against the light. We now corrupt your dark soul. We insinuate ourselves within your shell. Your daughter, Trigon, the one you gave life to, the one you sought to rule at your side, she is your destroyer. It is through her body we live."
Trigon	"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Trigon howled. His flesh withered, melting from his bones, devoured by the light. The light grew brighter, blinding all who watched, then exploded like a newborn star. Then Trigon was gone, leaving only a ball of flame in the air.
Arella	"Look!" Arella cried, pointing. "Do you see her? Rising from the flames? Raven! Raven!"
Raven	If Raven heard her mother, she gave no sign. She hovered in the air for a moment, all white and golden, her eyes closed, a hint of a smile on her lips, her face more at peace than it had been in weeks. Then she vanished. It is over now, and the darkness which blanketed the Earth has fled with Trigon's destruction. The Earth returns to what it had been. And the people, held in status awaiting the dimensional shift, reawaken. They will dimly remember the dark and very little else, but they will block even that from their minds, because to dwell on its meaning would surely drive them mad. New York, and the world, was back to normal, as if nothing had happened.

Karla	Listening to Azar's ~~ridiculous dialogue~~ words, Karla felt ashamed for how she had spoken to Arella and the others of Azarath, calling them cowards and looking at them with contempt, even as they died. She hadn't realized they'd had a plan, had only seen them as more people she could not save... She hit the ground, knees first, tears streaming down her face. Their deaths had freed Raven, had allowed Azar to defeat Trigon. And what had she done? The anger and violence inside her had been used to kill one of her dearest friends. And then there was no room anymore for thoughts. There was only tears.
Warren	Warren didn't have words. He hadn't exactly been the greatest friends with Raven, but he wouldn't have wished any of this on her, even if they'd never gotten over the weirdness that the Safframate had caused, back when. This was entirely too much. And Karla... No, there weren't words, but he did kneel down at Karla's side, draping a bloodied wing around her and offering her a shoulder to cry on. What else could he do?
Karla	Even now, understanding Tara's--Azar's--whomever's--larger plan, Karla still wasn't entirely sure the cost was worth it. Yes, they'd stopped Trigon and saved the world, but she was only conscious of the gaping hole in her heart where Raven had been and the thick black loathing she felt for her part in Raven's death. Selfishly, she clung to Warren, accepting the comfort she didn't deserve. And sobbed.
Kennedy	With everything suddenly back to the way it had been, the adrenaline and the defiance and the nightmare-fueled rage that had been driving her just drained away; all the pain from the cuts and bruises she'd taken hit her, and right about then Kennedy realized she just had no energy left. Her legs wobbled and gave out, and she sprawled onto the ground. The downside to the sudden peace: there wasn't anything left to distract her from the reality of everything that had just happened. Kennedy wasn't crying-- she didn't cry, she'd never liked to-- but her expression was stricken and there was a visible glint of tears in her eyes, despite her best efforts.
Tara	Tara felt an enormous rush, as if all the blood was leaving her body at once. Then the memories came back. It had worked. Trigon was gone. Azar was pleased she still knew that much. Raven was ... Where was Raven? And what had Tara done? She curled herself into a ball, tears starting to stream from her eyes.
Emma	The moment Emma's telepathy had no longer been needed, her body had automatically reverted to diamond, protecting her from dealing with the physical (and emotional) exhaustion until she felt safe again. For now, she would lean against a lamppost and wait for the others to deal with the immediate effects of their grief.
Bobby	As Bobby looked around at the complete lack of devastation, an irrational surge of anger (as opposed to the completely rational one he'd felt towards Trigon) rose in his heart. These people, this world... they had no idea what had just happened. Raven was gone, and there wasn't even a body. He couldn't concentrate long enough to will his body to shift back to human form, and had to resist the urge to let out a hysterical little giggle at that particular failure. Wasn't like he could ask Raven for help now, was it?

Jono	Over. It was over. ... Good. That was... Jonothon's knees buckled underneath him, and he hit the ground in one swift motion. She was gone. Raven was gone. They'd... And then... And... Gone.
Emma	"On your feet, Jonothon," Emma said, coming over to stand beside him after a bit. "We can't stay here, darling."
Jono	Emma. Emma was talking to him. She was probably right, too. This New York probably wasn't terribly used to a group of blood-soaked riff-raff collapsing in the streets, particularly not when some of them happened to be, oh, on fire. He looked up at her, slowly. And from there... He was supposed to get up. Onto his feet. That was the next step, here. It's what she'd told him to do, and it made sense, if he cared to think about it long enough, but... There was far more of him that was concerned with this suffocating feeling that was welling up inside of him, far more than it was concerned with hauling himself upright.
Emma	Emma held out a hand patiently. It was easy to be patient, since all her emotions were locked away so tightly. It took a lot more than Jono indulging in a fit of emo at an inappropriate location to get her annoyed when she was like this. "That's right," she said, meeting his eyes. "Let's go home, darling. We'll find you a place to sleep, I'll have a sip of brandy for you, and then it's right to bed."
Jono	His eyes landed on that hand, now. Held out toward him, not worried about the fire, about... anything. Why should she be? In that form, maybe she could survive whatever it was that he'd hit Raven with. Raven. His hand was about halfway to Emma's when he reeled again, just stopping, not retreating. Shaking. God. Oh, God. He'd killed her.
Emma	Emma wasn't afraid of his fire even when she was fleshy and she bridged the last bit of space easily, taking a step forward and wrapping her hand around his wrist. "See? That wasn't so hard."
Jono	Not so hard. No, Jonothon supposed that reaching up wasn't so difficult. Standing was more difficult. Walking would be a challenge. Finding the will to do anything once he'd gotten however far it was that Emma was nudging him... But holding up one hand wasn't so hard at all. He even managed a slight nod in agreement. Jono could hold up his hands like a champ.
Emma	Emma sighed and tilted her head at him, causing her hair to make that strange half-rustle / half-chiming sound it did when she was stone. "Jono, so help me, I will carry you over my shoulder like a kitten if that is what it takes to get you home. So you can either use your feet and keep your dignity, or get hauled around by a hundred-pound girl."
Jono	Well, really, it wasn't as if Emma was the first tiny girl who had tried to cart him around over one shoulder, either. To his feet, then, though the going was slow. Even if he wasn't inclined to fall over and quit for the heartbreak, between the demons, Raven, and especially Trigon, he'd thrown around more power than he had really been prepared to. He would have preferred a little longer before making the attempt, if only to recharge. But he was standing. Leaning fairly heavily on Emma's shoulder, but at least making some sort of effort to be upright. Mostly not letting himself think, again. Doing what had to be done was somewhat easier, if he simply wasn't thinking.
Emma	Slow was fine, as was leaning on her. The added weight was nothing to her, and Emma made a mental note that she had to see what she could really do when she was transformed. Emma slipped her arm around his waist, giving him more support so he could lean on her a little more, but not yet making the move the walk him closer to the rest of the group. "Whenever you're ready," she said, making sure she wasn't going to drop him.
Jono	//I'm not... ready.// Jono's eyebrows furrowed a little, his eyes narrowed at the ground. If there were people on the streets, giving them a wide berth, or stopping to stare, he didn't notice. He didn't care. He had to be numb. Everything had to be numb. Otherwise, all there was left was the guilt. That little voice in his head that told him over and over and over again what was the matter. //I won't... be ready.// Gone gone gone killed her kissed her monster gone gone gone... //Might as well go now.//

Dinah	Dinah was still watching where Raven's soul had been. At peace. Triumphant. It didn't quite ease the horror of what they'd done, but... it was still amazing. Beautiful. Awesome, in the oldest sense. And now it was done. She looked over at Arella, and her heart broke. Then moved forward to put her arms around the woman. "I'm sorry." She whispered. "I'm so, so sorry."
Arella	Too numb to even cry now, Arella bent to pick up the two shining gold objects she spotted on the ground. "My daughter's rings," she murmured. "They're all that's left of Raven. Did you see her? Her Soul-Self was white. She looked different. So pure. Then she vanished, like Azar, like all of Azarath. I don't know if she'd alive or dead, but know at last she's free of Trigon."
Dinah	Dinah looked at the rings, and closed her eyes. "I saw. She was beautiful. Peaceful." What she'd always tried to be, she got to be in the last few minutes of her life. Or... whatever. Existence? Her chest was tight with too many emotions.
Arella	"What do I do now?" Arella said. "I can't even begin to...." She broke off, pressing the hand that wasn't holding Raven's rings to her face.
Dinah	Dinah gulped. "You don't have to do anything," she whispered. "Just... you can go back to Gotham now. If you want. Have a life there." The life she hadn't gotten to have since she fell into the Cult of Blood.
Arella	"I have parents I haven't seen in 18 years," Arella said quietly. "Not that I want to see them. But I don't know anything about Earth now. I don't have money or a job...."
Dinah	"We'll help." Dinah sniffed a little. "We all have money. Maybe, school? College-type. For ideas, of what you want to do?" She tried to smile, even though it felt painful. "I like it. And, it'll give you time, to figure stuff out." Raven would have liked that. Dinah bit her lip, hard.
Arella	"Time," Arella said, nodding. "I need that. I can't even think now." She looked around, taking in the sight of the busy city and the people going about their business. "This isn't your world though, is it? But I might be able to send you home."
Dinah	"No. Mine's really similar--" Raven's threats echoed in her mind, made her shudder, and hug herself. "But it's not any of ours." She swallowed. "You think you can do it? You still have power left, or something?"
Arella	"I should still be able to send all of you home," Arella said. "That much of Azarath is still with me, at least." It was some small comfort.
Dinah	"We could do it ourselves, but..." No one was really in any shape to call Portalocity and buy tickets, or deal with their delays. "Thanks." Raven wasn't there to just zoom them home. Raven wouldn't be there again. "She's really gone," Dinah whispered. "We failed her. Even if we saved her, too."
Arella	Arella shook her head. "You didn't fail her, I did," she said. "Maybe if I'd given her a mother's love, if I hadn't just obeyed Azar...but Azar knew this day would come, and it was her power and Raven's that destroyed Trigon."
Dinah	Which snapped Dinah out of it enough to wipe at her eyes and take a breath. "If Azar didn't explain it enough, or if Azar was wrong, and showing you cared would have helped-- that's on her. You did what you thought was right to protect Raven and keep the world safe from him." She swallowed. "She knew you loved her. She had that. That's all you could do."
Arella	"Maybe her spirit's out there somewhere," Arella said hopefully. "Maybe I can find her. If I could just talk to her one last time...."
Dinah	"Maybe?" Because stranger things had happened, right? And Raven had always been different. Special. "Maybe there's a soul-self somewhere who wants to see you too." Dinah took a breath. She didn't hold out a lot of hope, but... there was time. "I wouldn't give up hope."

Karla	Eventually, Karla stopped sobbing on Warren's shoulder and remembered the rings. The only things that remain of Raven. "Where--?" she croaked, fresh tears spilling down her raw cheeks. "Her rings. Did someone get them? Where are they?"
Arella	Arella overheard Karla and opened up her hand. "Tara -- I mean Azar -- and I put them on her fingers," she said, showing Karla the two rings. "But wherever she went...they didn't go with her."
Karla	Karla reached out for them, hesitating just above Arella's palm. "What were you planning to do with them?" she asked, voice hoarse.
Arella	"They're all I have left of my daughter," Arella said, just a trace of defiance in her voice because she could tell what Karla wanted. She closed her fingers around the rings for a moment, feeling the weight of the metal against her skin, then shook her head. "But you loved her better than I ever could. You should take them."
Karla	Karla wanted so badly to agree. To yell at Arella that the only times she'd ever fought for her daughter was when it had been too late. That Karla had known Raven better and done more for her in the seventeen months she'd known her than in the seventeen years Arella had been her mother. That as Raven's future Queen, she was entitled to these rings as a reminder of all that was supposed to have been. But she couldn't bring herself to say any of that. Not now, when Arella was the only one among them with clean hands. Not when she was allowing Karla to take the rings. Not when the only reason Karla wanted to lash out was to try to displace the pain that she felt right now. Instead, she reached down and plucked one ring with trembling fingers, and curled Arella's hand over the other. "For Jono," she said, voice cracked and broken. "You keep the other. She would have wanted you to keep one. And I--" she turned away, fighting back more crying. "I've been selfish enough today."
Arella	Arella wasn't nearly anywhere near as powerful as her daughter, but she was an empath as well, and she keenly felt Karla's pain. "Keep that one," she said. She had fifteen years of memories of her daughter, even if she only saw her from a distance most of the time. "It's yours. But which one is Jono?" She didn't know most of her daughter's friends by name, but looking around, she could see and feel who was taking what had happened the hardest, the boy with flames coming from his face and chest. "Him?" she said, pointing. "She loved him?"
Karla	"Yes, she loved him!" Karla said, whirling back to Arella, ready to leap to Jono's defense if Arella seemed about to object. "He made her happy. This past week, I think he was the only thing that did. And he cared for her, too. He called her 'Sunshine' because that's what she was to him." She groped for more explanations to give, to explain to Arella the goodness Raven and Jono had found together. But those memories were all bound up with Raven being alive and with them and now she wasn't and, Darkness, how was she supposed to adjust to not having Raven anymore? How was Jono, who had already lost so much? "They were...good. Together. Happy."
Arella	"I'm glad she found that much at least, that she knew love before...." Arella couldn't even say it. "Keep that one," she said again. "I will give this one to him.
Karla	Karla didn't have the strength to deny it twice. She clutched the ring in her fist, daring anyone to try and take it back. "He might not..." She looked at Jono and shook her head, blinking back more tears. "If he doesn't want it, I'll keep it for him. He might not be ready to accept it yet. Not after..." Not after he had killed her. They'd all helped, but in the end, it had been his fire that had ended her life.
Arella	Arella nodded. She'd seen him provide the final blow to kill her daughter, but she couldn't find it in her heart to blame him. "If he won't accept it, I'll give it to you," she said. "And you can give it to him when he's ready."
Karla	"Best of luck with that," Karla said, trying not to sound as bitter as she felt. "I'll be here."

Arella	After talking to Karla, Arella hesitantly approached Jono, trying not to stare too much at the fire. "I wanted to give you this," she said, holding out Raven's ring to him.
Jono	Nothing on Jonothon's face changed as Arella approached him. If he was looking at the ring, it would be difficult to tell, with the way his eyes seemed to have faded into nothing more than a faintly glowing white. But the fire changed. Flickered a little, from warm yellow-orange to blue. It seemed to twist around itself, almost serpentine, as if trying to get away from... from everything. If Jono could make it crawl back into his chest to hide away forever, he would. It didn't work that way. //Why.// It wasn't even a question. He didn't deserve it. He'd killed her.
Arella	"Karla told me Raven loved you," Arella said. She'd yelled at Karla for allowing Raven to know emotions like that, but that knowledge that her daughter had known love before she died...it didn't ease the pain of her loss, but it was at least a good thought to temper it. "She'd want you to have it," she said, still holding her hand outstretched.
Jono	Raven's ring. Jonothon's head moved slightly, turning toward the ring, about as clear an indication that he was looking at it as he'd ever be able to manage. His hand lifted a little, and then hesitated. And then returned to his side again, empty. //I can't.// He didn't deserve it. Didn't this woman see that? He was a monster. He'd kissed her, killed her... what right did he have to keep a memento? Would Raven want him to have it? He'd told her that he loved her once, because her demon side had made him, and then he'd destroyed her. He couldn't. Shouldn't. Gods, didn't this woman see what he'd done!? His hands lifted again, passing through the flames to grab at the sides of his head. His eyes squeezed tightly shut. He couldn't. Couldn't. Couldn't... //Can't can't can't...// More emotion than words. More panic than protest. He couldn't face this. He couldn't do this. Everything he touched, he ruined.
Arella	Though she wasn't as sensitive as Raven, Arella didn't have her daughter's shields, either, and she had to take a step back from the feeling of panic. But she didn't go far, and she quickly composed herself. "That wasn't Raven," she said, choking on the words as her own sorrow started to rise again. "You didn't kill her. Her father did."
Jono	//I knew,// he managed. It was about all that he could manage, before it turned into a mantra, just as broken and panicked as the last. Knew knew knew... //Agio...// And then they'd gone on with their lives, and he'd stupidly assumed that whatever had happened there had passed, and now she was gone. Knew knew knew...
Arella	"Azar knew this day would come as well," Arella said steadily. "Even she couldn't prevent it. And she was a goddess."
Jono	//Azar,// Jono said, his voice suddenly more fierce and even than it had been in a long, long time, //can blow it up her bloody arse.// Azar had used them to destroy Raven. She might not have been able to prevent it, but who needed prevention when you could simply use the inevitable to your own benefit? Jono was not terribly fond of Azar, just then.
Arella	"Azar gave Raven seventeen years," Arella said a little defensively. "More than any other child of Trigon got." It hadn't been nearly enough, but at least it had been something.
Jono	//And all of th'people of Azarath, conditioned to let themselves die, to become human sacrifices?// The flames were going from cool and blue to violent red-orange and spitting sparks, now. //They're gone! All of them, gone! Raven, go--// Jonothon cut himself off, shaking his head, curling into himself all over again. Maybe they weren't strong enough to take down Trigon. But there had to have been a better way. There was always a better way. ... Wasn't there?
Arella	"Don't you think I know that?" Arella said, unable to keep herself calm now. "She was my daughter. They were my friends. Azarath was my home! And now they're all gone. Trigon has taken everything from me now." Arella could give Jono a run for his money in a pity party.
Jono	Jono couldn't look up. Not after that. Not knowing she was right. //They didn't use you to destroy her.// And that... that was the best that he had. //Leave me alone.// Alone, at least, was safe.
Arella	"I'll give the ring to Karla," Arella said quietly, getting control of herself again. "When you're ready, she'll give it to you."
Jono	Jonothon had nothing left to say. Didn't know if he wanted to nod or shake his head, scream or give whatever hollow attempt he could possibly make at crying a go. Just wanted to empty himself out and not feel anything, anymore. He didn't think he'd ever be ready. He simply bent forward a little more, grasped at the sides of his head a little harder, and lost himself in the fire.

Arella

"My world may not know what just happened, but on their behalf I thank you," Arella said quietly. "I know it is no comfort after what has happened, though. Azar's blessings on you all." She lifted her hand and tapped into the last of the power of Azarath within her, sending her daughter's friends back to their home.

[WARNING for character death and assorted acts of violence. Preplayed with