Raven

Raven had been grateful for Karla's insistence that she stay with her once they returned to the dorms. The thought of being alone again terrified her. But her guilt and sadness made it impossible for her to rest, and since she didn't want to disturb Karla or Gabrielle's sleep, she slipped out of the room to find some place to meditate.

She didn't want to go up to her room; she had no idea what Ariel had been told about her disappearance or return and didn't want to frighten her by suddenly walking into the room. So she retreated to the roof instead. The black nightgown Karla had given her (her own, in fact, which had been left behind after Karla's Virgin Night) would have been little defense against the cold, so she'd taken the white cloak Sebastian had insisted she wear. She didn't like that it was his or that it was stained with Warren's blood, smeared there when she'd hugged Karla, but it was better than freezing.

She was back in Fandom, back home with those she loved, much as the memory of what she'd done to them tormented her. But people had died to bring her back, some willingly, some not. She hadn't asked for that, she never would have asked for that, and now she was scared what the dark magics used to resurrect her body might have done.

Her father was gone, but so was Azarath. Her friends were forgiving, but she could feel the tension beneath their words. Jono was afraid of her -- no, not her. Himself. And she was so weary of being used, by Sebastian, by Trigon, even by Azar.

She didn't know how to begin to make things right. So for now, she huddled in a dark corner of the roof and quietly cried.


[OOC: open! But emo girl is emo. ;) ]
 

The moment her chakra had been restored to her and her mind and emotions became her own once more, Raven had been furious at being so used by Sebastian. She did not let the anger control her, however, but she had quickly removed the threat to her friends by pulling Sebastian and his followers and the demons into the netherverse, ejecting them into some random hell dimension. It was only fitting.

That taken care of, her next need was home. Away from this place. She wrapped her Soul-Self around her friends, healing them of any injuries they'd suffered to come find her here, and teleported them all back to Fandom. Darkness had just begun to fall as they appeared on the edge of the Preserve behind the dorms.

Except she wasn't sure this was home anymore. The anger and adrenaline faded as soon as they were all safe, now replaced by guilt and shame. Once again her friends had been harmed because of her. "I am sorry," she said quietly. The words weren't nearly enough to make up for what she'd done to them. ( Awkward and confused, she had no idea what to do now. )

[OOC: Preplayed with the wonderful blondecanary, furnaceface, glacial_witch, justwantsquiet, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, sith_happened, and weetuskenraider. This is for broadcast, but NFI, and OOC is always happy!]
 

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.]
 

She remembered.

There were still things her mind shied away from -- Trigon and New York chief among them, for they were things she was not yet prepared to face -- but slowly her memories crept back. Azarath and her mother. Fandom. Jono. Karla. Anakin. All her friends and the time she'd spent with them and the things she'd learned. And Sebastian, who and what he was.

Drinking her blood gave him her powers, she'd deduced. Not permanently, but long enough for him to keep her emotions muddled, compelling her to love and obey him and accept the adoration of his followers. Some feared her, some loved her, and all bowed in her presence. She'd been given handmaidens who brought her food and drink and clean clothing, a white dress and cloak that Sebastian wished her to wear. She'd timidly asked for black at first and he'd refused, telling her that was her old life and she must embrace the new. Then he'd brought his power -- and what he'd stolen from her as well -- to bear on her mind, and she'd had no choice but to agree.

But she kept her returning memories locked away, not wishing him to take those away from her as well. She remembered her lessons with Anakin and how to shield herself. Slowly she began to rebuild those shields to block out Sebastian's will. And as she began to become herself once more, she made her plans to escape. She still felt too weak from her resurrection to teleport, so she had to come up with alternative means of sneaking out of the church. Her white cloak made her stand out among the red-robed followers of "Saint" Sebastian, but she was able to "convince" one of the cultists to switch clothing with her. She didn't feel good about manipulating the woman's emotions like Sebastian was playing with her own, but she was desperate. Her own revulsion at Sebastian's attention aside, she knew what he had planned now, and he had to be stopped. Her father had a contingency plan for Earth, it seemed.

She waited until nightfall to slip from the church and into the cold darkness, though she didn't get far before her ruse was discovered. Voices sounded in alarm, and she could hear the sounds of pursuit. She had to force herself to teleport. Concentrate, step between dimensions, feel her friends, let love guide her to them. Will herself to Fandom. ( Home. )

[Preplayed with furnaceface, glacial_witch, justwantsquiet, and longislandiceme. This is for broadcast but NFI, and OOC is always welcomed!]
 

[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. ( ''My name is Trigon the Terrible. You killed my daughter. PREPARE TO DIE.'' )

[WARNING for character death and assorted acts of violence. Preplayed with blondecanary, brat_intraining, furious_maximus, furnaceface, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, justwantsquiet, life_inshadow, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, and sith_happened. NFI and NFB but OOC, as always, is welcome.]
 

[Follows this.]

Raven felt the tides of each dream turning, and smiled coldly. "I am victorious!" she gloated to Tara and Arella. "One by one, they give into their dark sides. And one by one they fall under Trigon's sway. Trigon has won!" The ground around them began to shake, and stone exploded into smaller shards as a bolt of lightning struck the ground where those trapped in nightmares lay. ( When the resulting cloud of dust dispersed, they were all standing, eyes gleaming red. )

[WARNING for character death and assorted acts of violence. Preplayed with blondecanary, brat_intraining, furious_maximus, furnaceface, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, justwantsquiet, life_inshadow, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, and sith_happened. NFI and NFB but OOC, as always, is welcome.]
 

[Follows this.]

Raven teleported herself atop a building that overlooked her former friends, watching over them as they laid upon the ground, bodies thrashing as they fought against their darkest fears. She smiled and drank it all in, savoring their suffering. Soon they would be hers. Soon they would serve her father. ( Just as she did, they would have no choice. )

[Preplayed with blondecanary, brat_intraining, furious_maximus, furnaceface, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, justwantsquiet, life_inshadow, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, and sith_happened. NFI and NFB but OOC, as always, is welcome.]

[Follows this.]

Black storm clouds roiled overhead as the group appeared on the streets of New York, and thunder boomed as lightning split the sky. All the people around them were looking upward in confusion and fear when Raven appeared floating in the air far above, red and terrible.

"Humans, hear me now!" she shouted. "They call me Raven -- and though my mother was born of this earth, my soul belongs not to this planet, but to him who sired me. Universe after universe has fallen before his might. No one who has opposed him has ever survived. Lay down your weapons! Submit to his will or this pitiful planet will soon be little more than a wasted, lifeless husk! He comes, humans! He comes!"

She threw back her head, and her Soul-Self, red now instead of black, rose from her shoulders, growing in size until it dominated the skies. Trigon stepped through it and loomed above the city, straddling two tall buildings. Raven hovered beside him, continuing to speak. "From this moment forth he expects your total subservience and your complete obedience. You will view him with the respect he demands! And you will accept that he is your god, for your meaningless lives are his to play with. Now, bow before your god! Bow before Trigon the Terrible! For if you do not submit, this will be your fate!"

Trigon raised his staff above his head and the world became transformed. The streets shuddered and split, holes appearing to swallow vehicles whole, and buildings groaned and crumbled, their facades turning to cracked stone. Grotesque faces and clawed hands erupted from the stone to decorate the buildings like enormous demented gargoyles. But worst of all, the people, every living being except those who had just arrived from Azarath, became twisted together into living columns of flesh, bodies contorted in agony and faces frozen in silent screams.

Above it all, Raven smiled, arm outstretched as she soaked in the pain and suffering her father had just created. Trigon himself gazed impassively around at his work, then moved to sit atop the former United Nations Secretariat building, which had been reshaped into a throne. ( He closed his eyes and was still. )

[Preplayed with blondecanary, brat_intraining, furious_maximus, furnaceface, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, justwantsquiet, life_inshadow, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, and sith_happened. NFI and NFB but OOC, as always, is welcome.]

[Follows this.]

Those inside Temple Azarath were not fighting, of course. They chanted and waited as demons tore the roof off the temple, creating an ever-widening opening through which they would soon come. Arella, Raven's mother, was among them, tears in her eyes as she waited and listened.

"It is time, it is finished," the woman who led the ritual declared. "Azar summons us now, and we go to meet our destiny!"

( The woman who spoke turned to look at the new arrivals, stretching out a hand to Tara. )

[Preplayed with blondecanary, brat_intraining, furious_maximus, furnaceface, glacial_witch, icecoldfrost, justwantsquiet, life_inshadow, longislandiceme, not_a_parakeet, and sith_happened. NFI and NFB but OOC, as always, is welcome.]