Deep Into That Darkness Peering Part-15 (Conclusion)

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Deep Into That Darkness Peering-
Part Fifteen (Conclusion)

by:
Enemyoffun


Ryan Roth is a college freshman with a good life. He has a great girlfriend, a good best friend and seems to be starting his college career off on the right start. But something dark and dangerous comes into his life and things go from bad to worse.

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Author's Note: Here's the final chapter of Raven's very dark and interesting tale. I've loved writing this one, its been a lot of fun. I have to thank everyone who was involved (you know who you are). I also want to thank everyone for their wonderful support of this story, a different tale than the others I've told so far. Last but not least I have to thank DC Comics for their wonderful characters once again.

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Chapter Fifteen:

When I woke up this time, I wasn’t the least bit confused as to where I was. It was sterile smell that invaded my nose and when I opened my eyes for a moment all I saw was white. After blinking a few times, the white faded into shapes and the room came into focus. It was a hospital room. There was a huge light overhead, happy landscape prints on the wall and a large window with the curtain drawn. My bed was in a half upright position and there was one of those little tables next to me with some flowers and a tiny black teddy bear. I smiled at it, then turned to look to my other side. Sitting in a chair, fast asleep, was my mother. I nearly jumped out of bed when I saw her. I started to tear up a bit, surprised and confused.

I reached out for her, but stopped inches from her hand. It was strange. No one would ever guess the two of us were related. Her hands had a reddish hue like someone who had stayed out in the sun far too long---a perpetual, never-ending suntan. At least we had the same hair, though. Hers was currently in a French braid, down her back. She usually wore it loose unless she was going somewhere. Looking at her face, I couldn’t help but gasp. Back when I was Ryan, it was hard to tell that she was my mother because we didn’t look anything alike. Now, the two of us could almost be sisters---me being the paler one, of course.

Mom always looked like a young mother. When I was still a child, people often mistook her for my older sister or the babysitter. She had a beautiful, youthful face. Even now at only thirty-eight, she still looked to be in her early twenties. She often said it was good genes. My grandmother was very youthful-looking, as well. But, she still looked old enough to be the mother of an almost forty-year-old. My Mom didn’t look old enough to be the mother of anyone. It used to drive the guys at school nuts whenever they saw her. They all drooled and made lewd comments before they ever even knew if we were related or not. Azarath was a small town but not small enough for everyone to know everyone. Mom got a lot of strange looks, especially from envious women her age.

There were a lot of whispered stories, too. Mom was the girl that got knocked up the summer before her senior year of high school. What’s worse, it was by some grifter passing through town. In Azarath, that was big news. She was severely ostracized because of it. I got some of it, too, as I was growing up. Our community was mainly Native Americans, save for a few families like Bart’s. Even then, Bart still passed as “normal”, what with his skin tanning pretty dark in the summer. But me, I was always the pale, strange kid that only ever had two friends. Growing up was rough, but, at least, I had drama to fall back on. I loved the theater and now, after a few weeks of not performing, I realizing how much I really missed it.

After staring at the woman sleeping next to me, I finally got up the nerve to touch her. I slipped my hand around hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. As soon as I did, Mom stirred and slowly opened her eyes. Like me, she blinked and looked a little groggy. She stared around the room and, then her eyes focused on me. As soon as she did, she smiled.

“Oh, sweetie, you’re finally awake.”

I nodded. I was a bit choked up for a second. With tears, I spoke. “It’s good to see you, Mom.”

That’s about all I could muster before tears overtook me. She reacted fast, wrapping me into a tight hug. I had forgotten what it felt like to be hugged by Mom. She had great hugs: so reassuring, so safe. Every single bit of emotion that I had been holding back started to well up and I let it out in tears. I sobbed through telling her about Katie and poor Shay and about the hell I just went through. She reassured me with her soothing voice, telling me everything was going to be all right. I believed her, too. She was Mom and, now that she was here, I was certain that nothing more could go wrong. I held onto her and cried and I felt safe. The two of us stayed like that for some time.

When I was finally finished crying, Mom pulled away. She placed her hands on my shoulders, then smiled real big. “You look so beautiful, honey–like the daughter I always wanted” I frowned. So she quickly added. “Not that I never wanted a son, but there’s something about mothers and daughters…”

I laughed. “It’s okay, Mom. I liked being Ryan and I like being Rachel. The transition was strange, at first, but I feel pretty normal, now… well, normal as far as I can be, anyway.”

She didn’t respond to my last comment. I had to wonder how much of everything that she knew. I had told her some things on our phone conversations, but I kept it all pretty vague. Mom was a very accepting person, but, even to her, some things were a bit too much. For instance, I never had the heart to tell her that I was the one who actually caused Katie’s death. That truth would have destroyed her as much as it did me.

She chewed her lip before speaking. “Your professor told me some of the stuff that happened,” her voice trailed off again. Then, after a moment or two, she said. “It’s horrible what those people did to all those girls and to you. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through and then to see them… with another girl… your friend… right in…”

She stopped when I felt myself tearing up. I think she saw the tears because she wrapped me in a hug, again. When I closed my eyes, I could see Shay’s lifeless face and her empty, agonized stare. I opened my eyes, shuddering. Then, I had some questions. I pulled back and wiped the tears off my cheeks, trying to remain strong. “How long have I been here?”

“Two days.” she said, brushing a strand of hair from my face.

“And the others? Lori, Bart, Barbara, Dr. O?”

She shook her head. “I met your professor when I got in last night. I don’t know about anyone else. But, there was a girl here earlier. She had black hair, wore lots of black.”

I smiled. “That would be Lori.”

“Very strange girl.” Mom said with a sigh.

“She is definitely that.”

Mom and I talked for a little while. She tried to get the topic away from the tragic events of the other day. She asked me about school and about my love life. I dodged the last question, while, inside, all I could see was Bart’s smiling face and that scared me. I was definitely not interested in him and probably never would be. But, it was clear that I definitely wasn’t interested in girls, either. As much as I loved Katie and missed her, I knew now if she had lived all we could ever be, now, would be really good friends. A part of me was a bit saddened by that revelation. I couldn’t help but cry to think that we’d never even get the chance to be that.

Our talk was interrupted by a knock on the door. Then, the door opened and the nurse came in. She stayed for a few minutes, checking this and that. I asked when I’d be able to get out of here but she didn’t know. Apparently, I was officially here because of heat exhaustion, or something. At least, that’s the story my Mom said she was told. Then, Dr. O told her it was actually because of magical exhaustion, I used up too much magic and it drained me.

After the nurse finally left, I heard Mom’s stomach grumble. She frowned. “I’m sorry, sweetie, I’m starving. I haven’t eaten anything since before I drove down here. I hate to leave you, but I’m not sure how much longer I can go without something to eat.”

I laughed. “Its okay, Mom. I’ll be fine while you stuff yourself.”

She frowned at the remark. Mom still had a beautiful figure. I found myself wishing I’d be able to look like that at her age and got scared at the thought. I was even starting to think like a normal girl. A few weeks ago, that would have horrified me, but this is my life now.
My mom left after that, leaving me alone. I sat in bed, staring around the room a bit. I looked over at the bear and couldn’t help but think someone was making fun of me. Who thought I needed a cute little bear? I reached for it and took it off the table. I turned it over in my hands, looking for some sign of who might have given it to me.

“Angelina got that for you from the gift shop,” said a voice from behind me.

I turned and saw Lori standing in the doorway in all of her goth glory. She was leaning against the doorframe, a cup of coffee in her hands. She stayed there for a second before walking into the room and taking up Mom’s former seat. Then, she set the cup on my little table and wrapped me in a tight hug. She mumbled something about me “never doing something like that again”. I hugged her for a while then I pulled away to get some much needed air.

I took a deep breath. “How are the others?”

“Angelina brought that bear by this morning, Bart is camped out in the waiting room and the professor disappeared.”

Disappeared? That didn’t bode well.

I waited a few seconds before asking the big question. “How’s Jas?”

Lori frowned. It was clear she wasn’t done mourning for Shay either. “Not good.” she finally said and sighed heavily. “Ang and I tried to talk her into coming here, but she refused. She kinda…well she….”

I nodded. So, Jas blamed me for Shay’s death. I wondered what they told her. I guess I couldn’t blame her. I was, after all, responsible for it. They only took her to get me angry and it worked, too. I killed all those bastards for what they did to poor Shay. I was so angry and so pissed. I shuddered to think about what I did. They all deserved it, though, and that’s what truly mattered.

“What happened to the Church?” I finally asked, trying to move my mind onto other things.

“The cops showed up pretty quickly after you passed out. I’m not sure who called them. They tried to arrest all of us until the Flash stepped up. She took charge pretty quickly. She was bossing them all around as if they were her little bitches. What members of the cult that she and I subdued were arrested on the spot, but a lot of them got away. After that, some feds showed up, some Native American chick with a badge. As soon as she started flashing that around, we were free to go. They brought you to the hospital, Bart called your Mom and then the professor sorta disappeared.

“He was kinda shifty about it, too. One minute he was there and gone the next, like freaking Houdini or something. Anyway, after he disappeared, Bart, Angelina and I took turns at your bedside until your Mom arrived last night. She’s awesome, by the way. I can definitely see where you got your new looks from. Ummm….you know pretty much everything after that, I guess.”

I nodded. “Mom said she talked to Dr. O.”

Lori frowned. “Maybe he met her elsewhere because he wasn’t in the waiting room when your Mom arrived.”

A small part of me felt better knowing that things with the cult were done for. I still wished I knew more of what was going on, there. Like, who the hell were those nuts and what the hell did they really want me for? I was kinda pissed that I didn’t spare Blood’s life. I mean, he deserved to die, of course, but now that he was dead, I had no answers. A part of me cursed myself for being so rash. But, the rest of me was happy that I put whatever operation that son of bitch was running out of commission.

Lori stayed for a couple of hours. Then, Mom came back and the three of us discussed what was going to happen next. The only thing I could think about was going home.

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“Just like you left it,” said my mother as I stood in the doorway of my bedroom.

I nodded and stared around the room, the room that was distinctively “Ryan”. I couldn’t help but frown. It wasn’t like I was unhappy because I loved my room; it was my own private little sanctuary. The only problem was that it was Ryan’s private sanctuary. Standing in the doorway, staring at it reminded me of all that had changed since leaving it a few months before. It was a guy’s room, made apparent by the blue painted walls and the clothes littering the floor. My bed wasn’t made, just as I had left it, and everything seemed to smell. It’s funny how I never noticed how much of a slob I was before. Now, staring at this mess, I couldn’t help but feel my skin crawl. That feeling made me a bit uneasy. I couldn’t help but think that maybe I wasn’t the same person I was before.

My mother put her hand gently on my shoulder. “You can sleep in the guest room if you like.”

How is it that mothers always seem to know what you’re thinking?

I shook my head. “I guess I wasn’t prepared for how much I’ve changed.”

She stepped around so she stood in front of me, taking my left hand. Her hand she waved around the room. “This isn’t you.” she said, then tapped me in the chest with a finger. “This is you, in here. You may look and even act differently, but you’re still the same person, boy or girl.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Mom.”

She kissed me on the forehead, then left me to stand in my doorway. It took me a few seconds, but eventually I carried my overstuffed duffel into the room. I dropped it on the floor near my desk and then sat on the edge of the bed. It felt strange being back here, being back home. Home. A small part of me actually thought of the dorm room as home, but only for a moment. A small part of me also thought of going back there after I left the hospital, this morning. But, I couldn’t do it. Yeah, I went there to get my stuff but that was it. Though it wasn’t official yet, I was withdrawing from school---at least for the rest of the semester. I thought I could do it, but, in the end, it was just too much. First Katie, then Shay. I couldn’t imagine what might happen if I stayed there any longer.

When I broke the news to Angelina and Lori, there was a lot of crying. I surprised myself by joining in. Though Angelina promised to keep in touch, I think Lori really meant it. In fact, this weekend, she planned to drive here and I was supposed to give her a tour of Azarath. Not that there was much to show her, but it might be nice to have a friend to hang out with. As far as Bart and I were concerned, it was complicated. It was me, not him. I found it hard to look at him, especially after what Fake Bart did. I know it wasn’t really him, but the thought of him getting like that scared me. When he hugged me “good-bye” at the hospital, there was a moment of dread.

I had to wondered if our friendship would survive all this.

I sighed and looked around. There were half a dozen theater posters all over the walls. Most of them were plays I dreamed of seeing. Scattered amongst them were pictures, most with Katie and me. I couldn’t help but frown at those. We looked so happy then or, rather, they looked happy. Katie and Ryan, I mean. It pained me to see her with him, the other me. I couldn’t bring myself to think of him as me, any longer. It felt like another life, he was the caterpillar and I was the seriously fucked up butterfly. More fucked up than I could possibly imagine.

Lori told me what she and Barbara saw when they went speeding into the room, her words still echoed in my head: “You had this blackness all around you as you floated there and for a second it looked like a giant black bird was forming around you.” I couldn’t help but remember the black bird I’d been seeing in my dreams, the one that appeared at the death scenes. I hadn’t really thought about it much, but it reminded me a lot of Katie’s tattoo, the one the two of us now shared. I remembered when she first got it, the exact conversation the two of us had:

“Why did you get a crow tattooed on your butt?”

Katie frowned and smacked me. “It’s not a crow you jack ass, it’s a raven.”

“Okay…” I said with a laugh. “Why a raven then?”

“It’s you, actually”

“Me?”

She nodded. “There are two highly held beliefs in the Raven. Many people believe they’re the Messengers of the Dead.”

I interrupted her. “You think of death when you think of me?” I frowned. “Thanks a lot.”

She laughed and smacked me. “No, I think of the ever-changing. The Raven is also a shape shifter, like an actor. He changes with the situation–sometimes the wise man, sometimes the trickster–but always wise and cunning.”

I pushed myself off the bed and walked over to the mirror on the wall. It wasn’t like the mirror in the girl’s shower room, but it was good enough. I pulled off my shirt and stood so I could look at my tattoo. I think I got it right the first time around when I called myself a Messenger of Death. I killed Katie and I killed Shay, plus all those other girls who died just so those twisted mother-fuckers could get to me. And for what? I didn’t even know. I sighed and stormed over to my bed, pulling my cell from my purse. I tried once again to get a hold of Dr. O, but still it just rang. After leaving the college, I had Mom drive me over to his house. I used my key to let myself in, but the place was deserted. Everything that he owned was gone, except two things: a book and a note.

I pulled the note out of my purse and stared at it, reading aloud the simple message. “I went out of town; don’t try to find me because you won’t be able to. I’ll be back soon.” I crumbled the note and tossed it across the room. What the fuck kind of message is that? The book wasn’t much help, either. It was one I’d never seen before, but it was like all the others, old and dusty. I didn’t dare read it in the car, but I couldn’t stop myself from opening it, now. I was surprised that it was in English and even more surprised that it talked mainly about ways to focus one’s power. I cursed, wondering why he couldn’t have given me this to begin with.

I found myself reading into the night, absorbing the words. Most of them were nonsense, words that didn’t mean a thing to me. But, the words I could understand meant even less. “In order to properly focus, you need three important key factors,” I read aloud. “You need something close to your heart, something of great power and something to help you control everything in the end.” What the hell did that mean anyway? I knew all this before. It was the same stuff that Dr. O had been trying to teach me. I tried time and again to find my words with little luck. Even now I tried, running words over and over in my head. I closed my eyes as I did so, trying to concentrate on words, any words.

I got myself into my meditation stance, stripping down to my underwear as I did so. I closed my eyes and tried hard to concentrate. I started mumbling, running words over and over, trying to see if any clicked. I kept my eyes closed and felt weightless as I slowly lifted off the bed. I concentrated harder, mumbling more. Soon the words out of my mouth were utter nonsense and I felt real lightheaded. There was a knock on the door, my grandfather’s faint voice on the other side, but I could hear none of it as the meditation took me…

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

My eyes were forced open by a huge gust of wind. It whipped around my nearly naked form, tearing my hair about in a tempest. I looked around and watched it awe as my room slowly started to crumble around me. Bit by bit, it broke away, leaving a huge gaping black void around me. Soon, I was floating in the nothingness just like that dream from so long ago. But, unlike that first dream, the blackness didn’t last. As quickly as it came, it started to fade. There was a flash of blinding white light, which forced me to close my eyes. When I reopened them, I found myself floating above a strange and nasty black landscape. It was all crags and rock, blackened by God knows what. The sky around me was blood red and there were black, ominous clouds looming in the distance, sparkling with lightning.

I unfolded my legs and slowly drifted down to the ground beneath me. As soon as my feet touched it, the ground cracked and shattered. It broke into several large pieces, drifting apart like leaves on water. It was a slow drift, allowing me to jump from one to the other without too much of a problem. I found myself involuntarily hopping along. I was several feet from my starting point before I even realized what I was doing. When I did, I turned and looked back at where I came from. I was surprised to see how far I’d come. A small part of me wanted to turn back but the rest of me was pushing forward.

An unconscious urge seemed to drive me forward, though. Any attempts to fight it seemed futile, so I just decided to go with it.

It got kinda tedious after a while, though, moving from one floating rock to the next. It didn’t help matters that it seemed like I was going nowhere. The rocks seemed to go on forever with no end in sight. Every time I stopped to look, all I could see was more of nothing. A small part of me wanted to just stop and try to find some way to wake up. The rest of me, the majority, wanted to move on. The majority won in the end and I kept going. I started to pick up pace, too, as if I got a second wind, running from one stone to the next. I kept going for a while–what felt like hours, in fact. When I couldn’t possibly jump onto another floating stone, they seemed to stop. I landed on the last one and the ones in front of me seemed to fade away. In their place was a twisted structure of stone, made of winding paths, snagging this way and that like some demented mass from hell, but there were no walls to this maze and there didn’t seem to be any end in sight. I stood on the end of this wacky menagerie of rock pathways, wondering if, just maybe, I might have gone too far.

As I was contemplating whether or not to go on, there was a cawing sound from above. I looked up and saw a large black bird fly over my head. It had to be the size of an eagle and landed on the middle of the path in front of me, its back to me. When it turned its head, I was startled. It looked like any other raven, but it had four eyes instead of two–not just any four eyes, either. They were vicious looking slits, glowing red like the Thing. The bird and I glared at one another, neither of us moving for the longest time. After several minutes of this, it let out a caw and took off into the air. I followed its flight with my eyes, watching as it soared toward a large black opening that wasn’t there before.

The raven disappeared into the void. I got over my momentary confusion and found myself running after it. It wasn’t fully involuntary, but I couldn’t seem to stop, either. I ran through the winding, twisting paths around me. Looking down, I saw nothing but darkness. Looking up I saw the blood red sky and horrible black clouds. I tried not to think of them as I ran; in fact, I tried to force every thought from my mind. I barreled on ahead, my main focus on catching that damn bird. When I finally reached the black void---a trip that took less time than it should have---I found myself pausing before it. I reached out and gently touched it, half expecting to get pulled inside.

I didn’t. Instead, my finger dipped into it like it was a pool of black water. I pulled my hand quickly away, then took a deep breath. Like ripping off a Band-Aid, I stepped quickly into the void. There was a tingling throughout my whole body and, for a moment, I felt like someone was pulling at my insides. The feeling lasted only a few seconds, but it was agonizing. I didn’t even know my eyes were closed until I opened them. When I did, I found myself standing in mid-air, in a large circular opening. The walls around me were stone. The focal point of the room was a girl sitting in the center of it, sitting like I would if I’d been meditating. She was dressed in an outfit identical to the one I wore for the party; save for the fact it was red. I looked down. It was like the one I was wearing, now, except mine was black. How had I not noticed that?

The Raven was sitting on her shoulder.

“It’s about time you got here,” she said, in a voice that was my own, but not my own.

It was sinister and familiar. It was the Thing.

“You!” I said angrily, taking a step forward.

I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t afraid of it, anymore. Even now with it being out of its prison, I wasn’t scared. I’m not sure what changed but I felt stronger now, braver definitely. I took another step toward it. The Thing turned its head, the hood obscuring its features. The only things I could see where its four glowing red eyes. I didn’t waver though as I continued to walk toward it. I didn’t waver, either. It just sat there as if it was waiting for me to come to it. The bird turned and watched my progress, staring at me with those very same red eyes. It watched and scrutinized as she just sat there and waited.

“How did you get out?” I asked as I stopped about a hundred feet away.

She laughed, then waved her hands theatrically. “This is your doing. You created this glorious new place for me.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t do any of this.”

She turned to face me, her movements almost like my own now. “Of course you did. When you finally let yourself feel our power, when you killed those fools in the Church. You finally unlocked the door and let me out.”

I shook my head and suddenly the key was in my hand. “I still have the key.”

She laughed. “The key? It was never about the key, in the end.”

She jumped to her feet. When she did, I realized she didn’t have any at all. Instead, it was those tentacles, the very same ones she tried to strangle me with before. The very same ones that I used to kill all those people. A feeling of dread overwhelmed me. I hadn’t even thought about it when I summoned up all that power, it had come like second nature. It didn’t even occur to me that those tentacles might be her tentacles. But she knew, she always knew. It was so clear, now. She didn’t want me to run from those bastards. She wanted me to be scared of them. She needed my fear because she knew it would turn into anger and that anger would finally break her free. She was right; it was never about the key, at all. It was all about fear and my ability to use it as a weapon.

Now, my anger was fueling her.

“Not me,” she said, reaching up and grabbing the hood. “Us.”

She dropped the hood and what I saw made my heart skip a beat. It was me, but different. She had gray skin; her hair was limp and greasy. She had those four glowing eyes and something else, something that the hood had been hiding. There were antlers growing out of her head, small ones like little nubs but antlers nonetheless. Like the skull in the Church, like the pictures all over that horrible place. I shuddered at the thought. What did they have to do with me and this strange evil doppelganger of mine?

She smiled; her mouth stretching a bit longer than it should, revealing a row of pointed teeth. “Still haven’t put all the pieces together, yet?”

I shook my head. “You’re lying.”

She smiled and laughed. “There was a reason they wanted you, a reason the Rapture would only work on you. It’s your blood, you see. It’s very special. The fools who tried to use it before didn’t have your very special blood and it killed them. The Church and its pathetic followers have been looking for you for centuries… the blood of ‘The One’ who could open the portal… the blood of ‘The One’ who could bring the darkness. You must see it. You must know who and what you are.”

I shook my head, tears streaming down my face. I couldn’t–wouldn’t–believe.

She laughed. “That fool Occult knows. That’s what he does for a living. He was trying to suppress me, to hold me back. Trying to teach you Old Magic to bind me and control me. It’s pathetic, really.”

Old Magic? The words, the three words he wanted me to learn. I thought they were focus words, but now I realized they were much more than that. They were power and she feared them. If only I could find the right ones. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate. She started laughing, her voice growing louder and louder. The circular room amplified the laughter, making it all that much more sinister. I wasn’t afraid of it, or her. I’d never be afraid of her again. After all, how can I be afraid of myself? Yes, I knew who she was: my darker half. Knowing that helped me find power over her because I remembered something else.

It was the book; the one Dr. O left me before he vanished. I was so pissed on the car ride home because I thought he was abandoning me, afraid that what I did in the Church might have crossed the line. Now, I see he was giving me the tools I needed to fight. I had gotten it all wrong. The words were not Heart, Power and Control. That’s why they would never work for me. The words were Heart, Power, Darkness. Meaning it was an incantation, a spell of Old Magic, something to control the Darkness inside of me. I knew it, now. I knew something else, too. In the book, I found the word for Power, it was old but it still had great strength. I also stumbled upon the word for Darkness, too. At the time, I didn’t think anything of it. They were just two words, without the first word, they were meaningless. Now, I knew the first word. I’d been blind not to see it before.

I opened my eyes and smiling, mumbling it softly on my breath.

The laughing stopped. “What did you say?” she asked, fear shaking in her voice.

I said it a little louder, she screamed. I said it again, speaking the word that was my Heart, my Soul. I thought it was Katie but it wasn’t. I loved her with all my heart but she wasn’t my real Heart. My real Heart lied in a place of warmth and comfort, a place where heart always lay. My real Heart was Home and the word for Home was “Azarath”.

“AZARATH!” I said, speaking it loudly for the first time.

She shrieked, putting her hands on her ears. “You can’t know…you can’t possibly…”

I smirked. Now, for Power. “METRION!”

She shrieked even louder, the circular room shaking with my voice. Trembling with my power. She fell to the ground, chains appearing out of nowhere, lashing onto her arms, and holding her in place. She screamed and cried, pleading with me to stop. I wasn’t going to stop; not now, not ever. She was evil and she needed to be contained, to be locked away for good.

“You don’t have to do this. You and I can come to an agreement.”

I shook my head. “You should have thought of that before you made me kill my lover.”

For the first time, I saw fear in those four eyes of her and it made me feel good. I took a deep breath and brought forth the last word, the word that had power over her. The word that would have power over my concentration and skill from now until the day I died. With these three words strung together, I knew I would be able to do anything.

I took a deep breath and shouted the last word. “ZINTHOS!”

The chains came from all over the place. The Raven on her shoulder shrieked even louder than her and flew up into the air. The chains wrapped tightly around the shriveling wreck on the ground. They bound her and held her, making sure she never got loose. A new lock appeared, but this one didn’t have a hole for a key. I held the key in my mind and watched as it disintegrated. Then, I held out my arm and the raven fluttered down. Its features changed as it flew, so by the time it got to me it was a normal bird once again. The darkness that was plaguing it was gone for good.
I smiled and opened my eyes….

….I was sitting on my bed, Dr. O’s book opened in front of me. My body was drenched in sweat, my hair clinging to my back. I took a deep breath and, for the first time, I felt everything go out of me. It was a very relieved feeling. I wouldn’t say I was overly happy, but I felt a lot better knowing that the darkness was contained---at least, for the moment. There was still a lot of stuff that I needed to learn, a lot of stuff that plagued me. First and foremost was the Rapture, I knew that it wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. I also knew that Blood failed to use it, but there would be others out there that would try. Maybe they might be more successful. I’d have to be vigilant.

I closed the book, setting it aside. Then, I ran my hands through my damp hair. I definitely needed a nice hot bath after all that. First, there was something I wanted to try, something bugging me from the beginning of all this. I closed my eyes, took my meditation position and concentrated. This time I had the proper words, this time I had the proper focus.

I took a deep breath and said them very slowly. “Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.”

I rose six feet into the air and couldn’t be happier.

Author’s note: As I’m sure all of you know, comments are life blood to an author. I’m not begging or demanding, but I certainly would appreciate anything you have to say (or ask). It doesn’t have to be long and involved, just give me your reaction to the story. Thanks in advance...EOF

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Comments

Nice wrap up

Thanks for that ending it was really good and explained a lot.

Thanks :)

Enemyoffun's picture

I hoped I was able to explain and wrap up everything I could.

Hindsight is 20/20

I wonder if the Thing was able to rewind time about a month or three back, would it choose a different approach? I mean, if it offered power without constraints, if it offered life without fear, if it offered protection for the happiness that was, would it have an easier time getting her way?

Faraway


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The Thing

Enemyoffun's picture

The problem with the Thing was that it was evil and evil just doesn't think that way. Stuff like happiness and compromise, the only thing it knows is darkness and making people miserable. It used fear and pain because that's the only things it understood. In the end it was actually those things that brought about its ultimate imprisonment.

Well Done

Well Done with the ending of the story.....

It didnt surprise me about those 3 words, Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Although I did forget about them, until the first one was said.

The Words

Enemyoffun's picture

I knew from the start of this story that I wanted to put those words in there, it was just trying to find the perfect place for them. I came up with the idea to stick them at the end about halfway through the tale.

Azarath

Enemyoffun's picture

In the comics it was both the place she was from and a monastery, Raven was raised by the Monks of the Temple of Azarath :)

Thank you

I have been crying through this chapter, and wishing it were longer. I feel better, now, about this story, than I did after the previous chapter. (goodbye raven)

The Chapter

Enemyoffun's picture

There was a bit more I was going to tack onto the end but I really wanted to end the story with Rachel.

I'm glad you enjoyed the story and I knew I needed to end it with triumph, especially after the darkness in the previous chapter :)

MORE!!!!!

That was excellent! I wondered if perhaps there might be some Magi heritage from her mother's side - her unusually youthful appearance suggests it, I am not too surprised she is a scion of that four eyed demon thingy, it makes sense.
What's next from the EnemyofFun-factory?

The nature of Monkey is - Irrepressible!!!

The nature of Monkey is - Irrepressible!!!

Mother's Heritage

Enemyoffun's picture

I can actually see myself exploring some of that if I get around to writing another Rachel story. With most sequels I do have an idea in the back of my mind but it will be a long time coming.

Secrets and endings

Yes, the mother has a story to tell that needs to be told and that Rachel needs to know. I do what to thank you for the story and look forward to the next tale that you spin.

Great ending

Great ending, I do hope that we will see another story involing her in the future. Now then cracks whip get to writing the long over do green arrow squeal or a center story or another retcon ;P.

All Three

Enemyoffun's picture

Yes to all three actually...I have a new Olivia story planned, 2 new Center stories and quite a few Retcons :)

Well done, EoF!

Thank you for sharing another of your fine tales with us. Take care, my friend!

Hugs
Dianba

Thanks

Enemyoffun's picture

I have fun writing for everyone :)

A very good-

ending. It ties up the main plot very nicely even as other questions remain unanswered. Very much like a comic book should!

Hugs
Grover

Unanswered Questions

Enemyoffun's picture

I love leaving some of those behind in the end. If I get a chance and a really good idea there's a possibility that I might go back and explore some of it at a later date.

The End

Enemyoffun's picture

Alas, all good things must come to an end.

Answers and more questions.

Which is a good way to leave this one, I think. The darkness was always part of Raven, and this ending was at least satisfying in that Rachel finally learned and acknowledged the fact. Then was able to lock it away, so to speak.

Maggie

:)

Another Awsome story thank you :)

I play online games *rolls eyes* yes I am one of those people :P
Fav puplished authors atm are Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson series),Carrie Vaughn (Kitty series), Kim Harrision.

Well, well.

I’d never be afraid of her again. After all, how can I be afraid of myself?

Well, that's what makes someone extraordinary—many people are afraid of themselves, and especially what they are capable of doing. I loved that line.

Describing the mother reminded me a little of the Darkchylde story (crossover bait??) but the epiphany at the end was a piece of brilliant. Well done on an origin story and arc, with your own creative pin on it.

Really, my only criticism of value (e.g. not nit-picking) is the overuse of ‘I’ to start sentences in the narrative. First person aside, it can be dropped if it's understood the narrator is performing the action, which introduces more variety to the narrative.

Still, well done, and thank you for sharing.

Thank you

for this series.

----------
The world was so full of sharp bends that if they didn't put a few twists in you, you wouldn't stand a chance of fitting in. -- Terry Pratchett

Wow

This was such a thrilling and spell binding story, so exciting. Thanks,

Much Love,

Valerie R

Much Love,

Valerie R

So, what do the words mean?

That Azarath is his/her home, wherever it is; but the other words just draw a big null response.

* * *

There are plenty of people in this world who think they are wits. They are half right.

Karen J.


"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin

The other words

Enemyoffun's picture

The others were something made up for the cartoon they did a few years ago, I looked everywhere for their meaning but I couldn't find any. In the case of my story, Metrion equals power and Zinthos equals darkness. So its "Heart gaining power over darkness" or something like that.

:)

Loved the story, though I do have to admit that I was sort of hoping for different words (at least the last two.)
That's a minor thing though. I am definitely looking forward to your next project. :)

Loved every line of it.

I'm glad Rachael managed to get the better of her dark side in the end, you genuinely managed to make it feel as if it were touch and go there for a while.

Nice to see Dr Occult stepped back exactly at the right time as well, allowing Rachael to take that important step on her own.

I'm trying to remember who made up the rest of the magic fraternity from the DC side of things, I suppose there's the Mr. E, the Phantom Stranger, the Endless, Zatanna and Zatarra, Jason Blood/Etrigan, John Constantine, the Wizard Shazam, Dr Fate and of course Tim 'Harry Potter' Hunter.

Plenty of potential for cameos should you choose to do a sequel, and that's not even starting on the marvel side of things.
Having said that, I always found Marvel's take on magic less...magical somehow...

Anyway, loved it. Thanks for writing. :-D

DC's Magical Frat

Drakira's picture

Zatanna and Zatara are both spoken for, in the retcons. And so is John Constantine. I'm not sure about the rest though.

Drakira

Drakira

Ah yes...

I seem to remember EOF saying that John Constantine was taken already, I really should track that down at some point.

I noticed a Zatanna post a while back too, but never got round to reading it.

However, I wasn't suggesting that EOF tackle them as full on retcons, merely that the characters may make brief cameos in the cause of fleshing out Raven's magical world. Etrigan and Jason Blood would probably be best suited anyway.

I'll have a look when If I get a chance. :-)

John Constantine

Is a supporting character of Alena and Allison aka GL Zwei (or currently Ultra-Girl) and Copycat. Lynceus is the one to talk about her, but to sum it up Allison is currently in relationship with John, who is, well, complicated. But then when isn't John complicated? ;)

Faraway


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Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Faraway


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Where you can fool around like you want to and most you get is some bemused good ribbing!

Jason Blood

Enemyoffun's picture

I actually have Jason Blood. He appears as Cassie's mother's boyfriend in Some Kind of Wonderful. In there he's a professor who wrote a book about Etrigan. He was actually going to appear in this story before I decided on Dr. Occult. I have full plans to make Jason a bigger character in the Cassie sequel whenever I get around it that is :)

Brilliant!

Drakira's picture

A very good ending you have written here, it was Brilliant! Although, I'm going to have to agree with many of the people here. Left some questions, but they all do if you think about it. Also, who's next in the lineup?

Can't wait for the next tale, :).

Drakira

Drakira

Next

Enemyoffun's picture

Ok so I've been putting her off long enough, the next story to come up is Green Arrow. First it will be a one shot which I'm calling Green Arrow 1.5 at the moment and then I'll write a full blown Green Arrow sequel which will take place after the events of Blue Bug From Outer Space and Devil in the Details.

Thanks for another great

Thanks for another great Ret-con story, glad to see she's finally got a handle on her power, I hope we see more Raven stories.

Also I look forward to seeing your next story, as always thanks for sharing your wonderful stories.

Lizzie :)

Yule

Bailey's Angel
The Godmother :p

EOF

I must apologize first for not reaping praise in you behalf, but I wished to see more of your superb work. You have an outstanding way to tell a tale and hold the readers attention without the reader being able to get ahead of the story.
I've wondered about your pen name that possibly been given as one who at one time held a position of authority, as a teacher confronting some students accosting a classmate and receiving the excuse that, "We were only having a little fun! In return receiving the reply "I'm the "Enemy Of Fun!"".
In any respects good writing.

EOF

I must apologize first for not reaping praise in you behalf, but I wished to see more of your superb work. You have an outstanding way to tell a tale and hold the readers attention without the reader being able to get ahead of the story.
I've wondered about your pen name that possibly been given as one who at one time held a position of authority, as a teacher confronting some students accosting a classmate and receiving the excuse that, "We were only having a little fun! In return receiving the reply "I'm the "Enemy Of Fun!"".
In any respects good writing.

Deep Into That Darkness Peering 1-15

Eof, I have mentioned that your stories and Lilith's are what kick-started my writing back into gear. I have read the entire universe now and i have to say, i am jealous of your writing... i love your character development and your ideas, so when i say I'm jealous, please take it as the compliment it is... your characters seem human and you do get attached to them, you grow to love them and it is a shock when something bad happens to them, but these terrible things happen all the time to people all over.
Keep dreaming the dreams, keep writing the tales and please keep sharing your worlds with us.
Yes this series was dark, but Raven, from the comics and even the animated series was darkness held in check, sometimes only just... i hope she can find some sense of peace now that the dark is chained.
Thank you EOF,
Diana

Great story

Thanks :)

rap up

wonderful!! thanks!!
a

alissa