Raven

Raven thought she didn't have any guests at graduation (though she had hoped a little that her mother would appear). It was a relief, since everyone else related to her tended to be evil, and since her dream about her brothers and her brush with her father, she'd felt especially wary.

After the ceremony, she'd wandered away to town and the park, seeking a relief from the strong emotions around her. The Pride was delicious, too much so, and she needed a break from it as well as all the anxieties about the future and happiness and love from visitors. That last she may have been a tiny bit envious of as well.

It felt good to relax, both her shields and herself, and she looked up at the night sky, wishing the clouds weren't in the way so she could see the stars.

( The moment of peace wasn't going to last. )

Raven teleported them back to Glacia, not the Keep -- she didn't relish another run-in with Jaenelle. The skies of the netherverse were tossed with storms, and once they appeared in Karla's room, the ragged shreds of Raven's soul rushed back into her body, and she dropped to her knees, spent.

( Two Karlas, a Warren, a Dinah, a Raven, and an improbable child walk into a bar.... )

[NFI, NFB, OOC is always love. Preplayed with glacial_witch, blondecanary, and not_a_parakeet, and coded using whateverknight's spiffy coder. Follows this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and *pants* this. AUs is srs bzns. This is what happens when you let Nu play with your canon.]
 

Once Karla had vanished and Dinah taken Rook and run, Raven did her best to prevent her future self from pursuing them. She couldn't stop all of the minions, but she could keep the deadliest threat occupied while Dinah got Rook to safety and Karla sought out her own future self and Warren.

Their Soul-Selves still clashed overhead, neither gaining the upper hand over the other. "You can't stop me," the older Raven said as she lashed out with a jolt of pain. "No one can. I will destroy the child, and you all will be mine."

( Raven versus Raven, Round One, FIGHT. )

[NFI, NFB, OOC is always love. Preplayed with glacial_witch and blondecanary, coded using whateverknight's spiffy coder. Warning for violence, megalomania, the occasional comic book villain monologue, and cliffhangers. Follows this, this, this, and this, happening concurrently with this and this. This is what happens when you let Nu play with your canon.]
 

At Sebastian's command, Raven had -- unwillingly, but quite literally -- unleashed hell.

Trigon had destroyed his own dimension, sacrificing it to give him the power to free himself and corrupt his daughter. His death hadn't changed that. Thousands of worlds had burned, billions of souls had died, and all that dwelled there now were demons, bereft of their master.

They had a new master now -- Sebastian Blood. And Raven was the portal from their world to this one. Her power tore a hole between dimensions, and now they poured out of her, ( howling in blood-thirsty rage. )

[OOC: Preplayed with the wonderful blondecanary, furnaceface, glacial_witch, justwantsquiet, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, sith_happened, and weetuskenraider. NFB, but OOC is happy!]
 

Going with Dinah's knowledge of where main Church of Blood was located in her world, Karla had arranged for a portal to the dimension that was home to Raven's Earth and handwavily gathered people to help.

The front entrance to the church in Buzzard's Bay looked normal enough -- except for the armed guards lurking by the doors. But before they'd even had a chance to consider their approach, a faint tendril of black energy that felt distinctly of Raven to anyone who was sensitive to such things wrapped around Warren and seized control of him again. "Raven belongs to Brother Blood!" he said before launching up into the air and flying for the woods behind the church. They had to scramble to follow as he led them to a secret entrance there in the form of a hidden cave in the side of a hill.

Raven's power left Warren then, but her message was clear. This was the way to go. The passage into the hill led to steps and a hallway that ended in a set of closed double doors, ( behind which murmuring voices could be heard. )

[OOC: Preplayed with the fabulous blondecanary, furnaceface, glacial_witch, justwantsquiet, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, sith_happened, and weetuskenraider. NFB, but OOC is happy! I take no responsibility for much of the dialogue. GOD, canon.]
 

When Sebastian's power had pulled her back to the church, Raven found herself quickly bound to a tilted stone wall beneath the church, leaning over a pool of blood, the very one she'd been resurrected in. More blood dripped from the ceiling, both from sacrifice and the willing donation of Brother Blood's followers. It sickened her, but she didn't have the strength to try to teleport again.

She'd been so close. She'd wait and regain her strength and try to escape again. She had to get back to Fandom. The looks on her friend's faces when they saw her -- how long had she been gone? What did they think of her now? She had to apologize for how she'd hurt them....and stop Sebastian from succeeding with his plans for her and unleashing hell on Earth.

( ''She's beautiful,'' Sebastian said. )

[NFB, but OOC is welcomed!]
 

She was floating in light, feeling nothing but peace, warm and golden and free. The passage of time had become meaningless; she had no idea how long she'd been like this. A week? A year? Longer?

The first few days/months after Didi had left had been almost unbearable. She just was. There was nothing for her to do or see but think about what she'd done. How her father had ripped her soul from her body and replaced it with his own power. Azarath's fall. Twisting the world with Trigon's power and reveling in the suffering she'd caused. Attacking her friends with words and pain and their own fears. Dying at their hands.

The last bothered her the least; they'd stopped her. She'd always said she'd rather die than serve her father. But she hadn't been strong enough to resist him, and that failure tormented her with visions of the damage she'd done. Blessedly, the memories of her former life had slowly melted away before they drove her mad, allowing her serenity she didn't think she deserved.

But they weren't completely gone. At times she could feel something tugging at her, a faraway call that brought momentary confusion and the wish -- the need -- to respond. She'd follow the fragile thread but recoiled from the pain and sorrow she felt. Pain she had caused. Guilt and shame overwhelmed her, and she fled. It was safe here, why should she leave? No, she had to leave -- she did not truly belong here. Didi had told her that; it wasn't her time. She remembered that much. And as tempting as it was to stay here, and as frightening as the prospect of going back was, she wanted to return to what she'd left. But she didn't know how or when.

Ultimately that decision wasn't hers. Everything suddenly turned red and hot, swallowing the light. She struggled against the pressure she felt, like a giant hand clenching around her spirit. She tasted blood and screamed. She wanted to fly away, but the wings of her soul were wet and heavy now, and the hand was squeezing tighter and tighter, ( pulling her down. )

[ooc: Oh, my canon. NFB, of course, but OOC is welcomed!]