Chapter 10
"Warning: Tell me what I need to know meatbag, or I shall insert my firearm into your rectum and discharge it."
The soldiers who had come down into the lower levels under the orders of the Crimson Lady were a good deal less skilled than the elites that Raven and CJ had faced on the ice shelves. These raw recruits had joined the Crimson King's army out of a lust for power and personal glory. To them, the Crimson King was an unstoppable force, and to join him was to one day be in a favored position of the Crimson King's regime. They had taken oaths to die for the cause of the Crimson King and his lady, and in that dark passageway beneath factory 419, many of those oaths had been fulfilled.
"It… its that way!" The terrified soldier gagged, his voice was distorted by the fact that HK held him a good two feet off the ground.
"Alright, lets go." Raven turned down the indicated tunnel, motioning for HK to follow her. "Don't worry, if he's lying, we'll be back this way."
"Gleeful reply: You hear that, meatbag? I'LL BE BACK"
"I… I… I just remembered!" The gasped for breath as HK dropped him onto the mucky floor. "Its actually… this way." The man pointed.
"Thank you." Raven nodded to HK, who promptly struck the man with his rifle butt, knocking him out cold. About a dozen other soldiers lay about this section of the corridor, all part of the Crimson Lady's attempted ambush of Raven. The soldiers had been there the minute she had come through the door, and had opened fire immediately. Raven was about to teach the soldiers proper manners, when HK had appeared behind them. The battledroid was ruthlessly efficient, his armor repelling the gunfire of the soldiers (who were not nearly as well equipped as the elites). He had taken them out systematically, leaving a young private alive for questioning upon Raven's request.
The two began walking down the indicated tunnel, HK filling Raven in on CJ's detour. The vast network of tunnels that ran under factory 419 was even more immense than Raven had first thought. Especially on this, the last floor, where the doorway to their next destination waited. First though, they would need to regroup. That meant finding their way back to CJ and whatever he had found on the other side of the door.
Raven kept her own story to herself, and HK didn't ask. She needed to put some distance between herself and the door. She shivered a little as her mind drifted back to that dark place. She had a feeling the horrors she had witnessed were but a taste of what would happen if the Dark Tower were destroyed. The day of reckoning foretold by so many religions would come to pass.
Upon leaving the horrid darkness, seeing a companion, albeit a rather unfriendly one, was a welcome thing. Despite his violent tendencies, HK had proved a capable companion. He had saved CJ, for that alone she owed him some gratitude and respect. She also had begun to suspect that a good deal of HK's attitude was mere posturing. Not to say he didn't hate meatbags. He did. But his contempt seemed well in check, and he hadn't thought twice about helping Raven when she had needed it, despite his earlier comments. It was also good to know that CJ was all right when the battledroid had left him. Curiously, she couldn't stop worrying about her friend. It was not her habit to fret, and she certainly believed that CJ was capable of taking care of himself, yet still she worried. She remembered the last time she had seen him, falling debris obscuring her view as the Guardian of factory 419 made its bid to end their quest.
The events of the last few hours rushed back to her, making her cringe at the memory of her own personal demons being brought to life. It was a nightmare on par with any she had had in her life, the images of her ordeal were burned into her minds eye. She was tired, more tired than she had been in her entire life.
All this struggle, for what? Were they any closer to the Dark Tower? Raven felt as though she had struggled long and hard, yet was no closer to her objective. A slight warmth against her palm reminded her that she had made some progress indeed. The petal was there, its delicate form held gently in Raven's fingers. When she had picked it up, she had felt a slight connection to CJ and the revolver he carried. Though she had had other more pressing issues to take care of, she had nevertheless made note of that fact. Raven and CJ had not discovered these artifacts by chance. No, the tower had left them for in their path, meaning that they had some significant role to play in their journey. Only time would tell what that role was. Their ka-tet was nearly complete. Raven found herself wondering about CJ. When the link had been established between them, she had sensed he was in dire straights. She was not concerned though, as she had learned that CJ was more than capable of taking care of himself. Still, the sooner she met up with him, the better.
Raven was so deep in thought, that she didn't notice the figure sitting on a piece of rubble ahead of them until HK whipped his rifle up and fired. The bullets seemed to pass through the figure, leaving a wisp of red smoke where they struck the person. The figure rose from its seat, and Raven gasped. It was the woman from her vision about the Dark Tower, the one who looked so much like her mother. The Crimson Lady.
HK fired until the clip was empty, then reached to his storage section for another when time suddenly seemed to stand still. Droplets falling from the ceiling were suspended in mid air, and HK looked like a statue. Only Raven and the woman in red were unaffected.
An empty smile split the lady's lips. "Greetings Raven, daughter of Trigon. Thou hast left the darkness behind thee. Impressive."
Raven let loose a mighty blast of black energy, a wave that seemed to envelope the Crimson Lady. After it subsided though, she stood unharmed.
"Temper temper my lady." The smile grew wider, and as the muscles in her face flexed, the red symbol on her head glowed. "I hath come to speak with thee on a matter of great importance."
She took a couple steps forward, her arms held before her.
"That's far enough!" Raven yelled, dropping into a fighting stance.
The Crimson Lady halted her advance. "You have seen the land of the Crimson King, my dear. The end of this pitiful existence is nigh. The rebirth shall be bloody, and all those who do not accept the Crimson King as their master will forever twist in the darkness you have seen. Though the Crimson King walks this world no longer, his progeny yet remains. Look upon me! I am heiress to my father's throne!"
For a moment, Raven saw the Crimson Lady for what she was, a demon of incredible power and guile. Daughter of a fallen angel, spawn of the ultimate evil, offspring of the Crimson King. A sound like thunder seemed to rip Raven's skull, and a bright red light emanated from the woman.
Her voice was incredibly deep, and it echoed in Raven's mind. "I was born in the todash darkness. I escaped, and now seek the fall of the Dark Tower. You and I are much alike, Raven. Cursed daughters brought into a world we were destined to destroy. Let both of our prophecies be fulfilled together! Let us join one another, and let all worlds fear the ruin we would rain down upon them!"
The Crimson Lady now seemed to stand over fifty feet tall, a bend in existence that stretched the corridor. It was a truly frightful visage, but Raven would not allow herself to look away.
"It is not the tower, but YOU who shall be destroyed!" Raven yelled over the thunder, not sure if she could be heard. "My destiny is my own! I am a prisoner of my birth no longer!"
In an instant, the world snapped back, the light and noise were gone, and Raven stood facing the Crimson Lady.
The smile was gone. "So you have chosen death. But not for thee. Ye shall endure, as all around ye perish. And when the time hath come, ye shall return to the darkness, this time with no escape."
Then she was gone, and the hold she had on time was released.
With super human speed, HK finished reloading the rifle, but now there was no need. Raven felt a chill go down her spine, the words of the Crimson Lady imprinted on her mind.
"So you have chosen death. But not for thee. Ye shall endure, as all around ye perish. And when the time hath come, ye shall return to the darkness, this time with no escape."
These words would haunt Raven for some time.
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The Crimson Lady paused at the entrance of Factory 419, her gaze piercing the gloom beyond. Things had not progressed as well as she had hoped, but she was still in control. She had hoped that at least one, if not two, of their ka-tet would be dead by now. They still remained far from their objective, though, and a good deal could happen along the way.
The fate of the four she could not see, a fact that disturbed her. Despite her powers of foretelling, she was denied witnessing her own fate, and any caught up with it. Could these fools be connected to her own end? She had brought about the deaths of many others like them, and yet she could not shake the doubt within her heart. Raven had seen it, fear and doubt. Those who live exceptionally long lives either grow weary of life, or crave more of it. The Crimson Lady was one of the later, and the only thing that scared her now was death.
She focused her power, feeling it grow beneath the mountain. The fools still tarried within the factory.
The evil smile returned. "Some guests don't know when they hath worn out their welcome. Perhaps I should provide them with some incentive?" She laughed as she departed, and beneath factory 419, the temperature began to rise.
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It was not everyday one had his existence questioned. During his time with the Teen Titans, CJ had met Blackfire on two occasions before breaking her out of the Elicoor II orbiting prison facility.
The first was in Titan Tower, where Blackfire had shown up supposedly to visit her sister, when in actuality she was planning on incriminating her. Until this plot had been uncovered, Blackfire had proven to be a lively and amiable person, one who bonded quickly with the other Titans. CJ was no different. They had talked, played video games, and had even sparred in the Titans gym. The team even went with Blackfire to a club, where CJ had gone so far to hit on her (alas, like most beautiful ladies encountered by the group, she was far more interested in Robin, something CJ could never quite forgive him for). The fun time was disrupted when the plot was revealed and Starfire ended up kicking the crap out of her sister.
The second time was on the planet Tameran, after Blackfire had seized the throne. She had decreed Starfire was to wed a rather unsavory alien in a Tameranian ceremony, but this too ended with Starfire kicking the crap out of her sister. CJ had been there, along with the rest of the Titans, but like his friends he had kept his distance from Blackfire. Blackfire was subsequently named an intergalactic criminal, and incarcerated at a number of facilities around the known universe.
It is understandable, therefore, that CJ would find it difficult to believe that Blackfire had no memory of him, and in fact was rather vehement in her denial that they had ever met.
Different worlds, endless in number. That was what Raven had said to him once about the nature of the Dark Tower and of existence. Many different realties, some so different that they would be unrecognizable, others far more similar except for the tiniest detail: and in the world where he had found Blackfire, that little detail was that he didn't exist. Sometimes, CJ could be overly introspective. Now was one of those times. He sat in the wet corridor, the revolver with the etching of the Dark Tower sitting in his lap, his head lowered. CJ had been quiet so long that Blackfire had begun to think he had fallen asleep, when he spoke at last.
"My injuries have closed, we should get going." He rose, using the wall for leverage.
"So you really are a Teen Titan?" Blackfire asked incredulously.
"Yep."
"From some other dimension?"
"Yep."
"And you broke me out of prison?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
"You know why: the Dark Tower."
"That's not an answer. What is the Dark Tower?"
"Raven called it the lynchpin of existence. If the universe, infinite in size, had a single point as its center, the Dark Tower would be it. You've had dreams, haven't you?"
"A black tower, in a field of roses." Blackfire replied quietly, as if speaking to herself.
"The Dark Tower." CJ nodded. "We're in the world of the Dark Tower now, somewhere on the path ahead lies a beam, a beam that leads straight to the tower. We need to meet up with Raven and HK, and continue on our journey."
"Hold on a second! Do you really expect me to come with you just like that? You're a Teen Titan! Well, sort of… But, anyway, why should I trust you?"
"I busted you out, didn't I? Besides, where else are you going to go?"
He had a point, but Blackfire still couldn't trust him. Not yet, anyway. "Raven I know. My dear sister's little girlfriend. Do you think she's going to be fine with this?"
"Don't know." CJ didn't feel like arguing anymore. As his head began to clear, he was becoming more and more uneasy. Their enemies knew they were here. The ambush by that thing at the prison proved that. The longer they stayed here, the more danger they would be in.
As he looked at Blackfire again, he noticed something about her restraining collar that made him feel once again as if something was watching out for them. On the back of the device, next to the keypad that unlocked it, a small circular hole with a notch could be seen. He walked towards Blackfire and ordered her to turn around.
"Alright, but if you'd like to keep all your teeth, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself."
As CJ inspected the hole, he saw the words "Key Release: Emergencies Only!" printed next to it. He smiled, then addressed Blackfire.
"Ok sweetheart, I'll make you a deal. I'll get you out of this collar, and you come along with me. What do you say?"
"Well, fine. But how are you…?"
"Just leave that to me, sweetheart."
Knowing that she probably wouldn't appreciate having a gun pointed at the back of her neck, CJ positioned himself behind her, then drew the weapon. The barrel of the gun snapped into the hole as if it had been made for it. With a slight twist, the collar opened and slid to the floor.
Blackfire stared at it for a moment before grinning wickedly and blasting it into a million pieces. CJ closed his eyes to shield them from the glare of the blast.
"Remind me to never piss you off." He muttered, holstering the gun and looking at the scorched section of floor where the collar had been.
Blackfire turned to him, the wicked grin still on her face.
"What is it? You're giving me the creeps."
"Remember when you slung me over your shoulder?" She began walking toward him.
"Hold on just a minute! I got you out of prison AND out of the collar! Cut me some slack, will you?"
Blackfire sighed. "I guess I owe you one, don't I. Thanks for spoiling my fun. So where to next, hero?"
A loud rumble like thunder began roaring down the corridor, making the two turn in surprise. A wall of water rushed down the hallway toward them.
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"Does it seem warm in here to you?" Raven asked HK as they continued their search. This was supposedly the way to the exit from the world that CJ had entered (according to the soldier, who still could have been lying). Although it was still pretty chilly, Raven had noticed a substantial change in the atmosphere. HK confirmed this suspicion.
"Statement: The temperature has increased incrementally from 37 degrees to 51 degrees. The standing water in this corridor has risen four inches as a result."
"How much higher can it get?"
"Speculation: I predict no more than eight to twelve inches. Anymore would require an unnatural temperature jump that is quite impossible."
A peal of what sounded like thunder echoed up the hallway, and in an instant, a huge wave, as big as the hallway, was rushing towards them.
"Retraction: It would appear that my calculations were incorrect."
Raven glided, and HK ran down the hallway as the wave swallowed everything in its path, its destructive force was amazing.
They continued to flee until they suddenly found themselves in a large round room with an exit on either side. Standing alone in the center of the room was a single door. Behind them, the wave began to catch up.
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"Don't look back!" The Weretiger roared as he and Blackfire streaked down the corridor. "Just keep going!"
Despite the warning, Blackfire couldn't help but sneak a look behind her. The wave was advancing at incredible speed, crushing everything in its path.
"At this depth the water pressure is enormous!" The Weretiger continued as they navigated the hallway. "I said don't look back!" The Weretiger reached up to grab her a second before she ran head long into a piece of falling concrete. The two tumbled as debris rained down, and then continued their sprint.
The entire structure was shaking now, a horrible rumble that threatened to tear the building apart at the seams. The ice that had long made up the foundation of the factory was melting at increasing speed, testament to the power of the Crimson Lady's spell.
The crashing water came closer, closing the gap between the Weretiger and Blackfire, making them increase their pace. They were going so fast in fact, that they nearly passed the circular room on their left as they ran, but the Weretiger's sharp eyes caught a flash of blue and black, and he felt a grin split his face, showing his fangs.
"This way!" he yelled, skidding to a stop. They turned, and arrived at the separate tunnel just ahead of the monstrous wave.
The room was larger than it looked. The ceiling was high above them, atop which was an incredibly detailed mural of the Dark Tower. Rings surrounded this central image, and on each of these separate rings was a mural depicting a different world. The Weretiger was moved by a desire to more closely inspect this mural, but it was not to be. His eyes fell to the floor, where yet another large oaken door stood, painted below it was another mural of the Dark Tower, the door rested on the tower's apex. At the opposite end of the circular room was another entrance. A familiar black barrier held back the water that threatened to drown them all.
As the Weretiger entered the room, he grabbed a large piece of debris that sat near this other entrance, and turning, swung it into the mouth of the passageway with all his might. The large chunk of what looked like concrete stuck in the hole, but almost instantly began to shake, like the cork of a champagne bottle. The Weretiger threw his shoulder into the concrete, desperate to keep the water from rushing in on them. On the opposite side of the room, Raven could feel the immense pressure the water placed on her barrier, and the pressure was growing.
Blackfire immediately flew to the door in the center of the room, its brass hinges were tarnished from untold years in the rough environment, and the wording on its faceplate was almost illegible.
Her voice a little shaky, Blackfire read the riddle aloud. "I humble the mightiest warrior. I wear down the tallest mountain. I ruin the largest civilizations. I can be measured, but never stopped. What am I?" Just for the sake of trying, Blackfire gripped the knob and gave it a turn. Nothing.
The pressure was building rapidly, but they were in luck. Raven had heard this one before.
"Time!" She yelled over the rumbling. "The answer is time!"
Blackfire gave her a questioning look. "How the hell do you know?"
"JUST TRY IT YOU BIMBO!" Raven yelled, water beginning to force its way through the barrier. At the opposite entrance, the upper part of the slab of concrete broke, causing a deluge of water to spray through and soak the Weretiger.
"TIME!" Blackfire shouted, half to make sure she was heard over the rushing water, half because she was plain pissed off. She squeezed the knob as she spoke, and the door swung open. "Lets get out of here!"
"Exclamation: Move aside!" HK tossed a grenade first at the Weretiger's entrance, then at Raven's. The two heroes jumped back, and the grenades exploded, throwing debris that temporarily closed off the two exits. There was nothing holding them there now, and the four persons that ka had brought together passed through the door.
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The bleak room was replaced by a field of stars, the loud roar of the water by the quiet whisper of the wind over grassy fields. It was around midnight, a full moon high overhead as the four companions appeared with a lurch.
They stumbled, but caught themselves as they rushed into the unexpectedly peaceful landscape. Crickets could be heard chirping in the brush, and the gentle breeze was a warm one. They had left the mountains far behind. How far was impossible to tell. They stood in unison, taken in for a moment by the tranquil night.
But only for a moment. Blackfire took a swing at Raven, who quickly swooped away. "Call ME a bimbo! Well sweetie, now you're gonna get what's coming to you!"
"After the shit I've been through, this will be a walk in the park." Raven said coldly.
"Inquiry: Shall I determine odds, master? Granted there is no one to bet with, but the numbers could prove interesting…"
"Not now." The Weretiger grumbled, stepping forward. He was tired, wet, and his injuries still ached. The last thing he wanted to hear was bickering.
As was his tendency when he was tired, he decided to forgo words and immediately enforce his own particular brand of justice. The two continued to bicker, ignoring his approach until he was standing right between them. Getting down on all fours he arched his back, and began shaking with incredible force, sending a deluge of water onto the two dry women.
Drenched in an instant, they neither cursed nor yelled, they merely turned to their companion, and in unison gave him a look that threatened to strike him dead where he stood. The low, gruff chuckle of the Weretiger carried a long distance through the quiet night.