Disclaimer: I really don't like repeating myself but… I do not own either Teen Titans or RIFTS. The characters Caine, Ilistraza, and Tank are mine however even though they both exist in the Rifts universe.
New Future, Broken Past.
Chapter 2: Awakening to a new world.
Caine's eyebrow twitched irritably as the van made another sudden jolt, jarring his attention away from the book that he was currently reading: an ancient text dealing with pre-cataclysmic art and architecture. It wouldn't have been so aggravating to hit bumps while driving a van across the rough prairie lands of old California if it weren't for the fact that the van they were currently riding in was equipped with hover capability.
Just how in the hell could Tank hit bumps when they were driving three feet above the ground?
"Hey Tank! Could you smooth it out a bit please? I'm trying to read here!" He yelled up front, his voice betraying only a small fraction of his annoyance.
Another bump and jolt was his answer, followed by a deep chortle.
"You did that on purpose!" He shouted accusingly.
"No shit!" Tank laughed back.
Grumbling, Caine reluctantly set the book aside. There was no way he was going to get any reading done with Tank acting like a complete ass. Casting a glance over at their sleeping 'guest' he figured that he might as well check on her. It would give him something to do, and besides he really didn't want to get his ass kicked in psychic chess with Ilistraza again. The psychic entity in his arm was unquestioningly intelligent, a great intellectual challenge for him to test his own mental capacity, but she was a very poor winner with a massive superiority complex. That made for a very bad combination. Constant taunts of 'Oh don't feel too bad, you're only human after all' and 'That's it? But I went so easy on you this time…' really set his nerves on edge, not to mention it sucked all the fun out of the game.
And she wondered why he was so reluctant to play the damn game with her.
Walking over to her silently, making sure to keep a hold of something in case Tank decided to pull another one of his 'accidental' bumps, he did a quick check of her condition. She was sleeping peacefully enough, despite the bumpy ride, though considering her current state he was certain that most of that was due to her lingering effects of prolonged hibernation.
Still this was a delicate and dangerous time for her, as people who had awoken from prolonged stasis like she had were known to simply shut down a few hours afterwards. Their body simply lacked the strength to make it back into the waking world after such a long period of inactivity. Still, there shouldn't be any real danger, so long as there was someone who could provide aid should such a situation arise.
Confident that everything was in order, he regarded her with open interest. He could only imagine the kind of historical insights she could provide to him and it was all he could do to remain patient.
'Give the poor child time to adjust' came a gentle reprimand inside his mind. He winced involuntarily. It was sometimes easy to forget his telepathic bond with Ilistraza, so accustomed he had become to the ancient being over the past two years. Interestingly enough she had 'adopted' him, so-to-speak, and naturally the entity had taken it upon herself to keep him in line.
'Oh come on now Ilistraza, it's not like I'm going to put her through a full scale interrogation as soon as she wakes up' He protested.
'Liar, you even have a list of questions made up and everything.'
He sighed. She got him there. Sometimes he was just too inquisitive for his own, not to mention other peoples, own good. There were plenty of occasions where his thirst for knowledge had gotten him into a whole heap of trouble.
And he could see her point, loathe he was to admit it. It wouldn't be kind if the first thing she woke up to was a bombardment of questions, even though he had already compiled a mental list. Still, that could wait, let her get adjusted to her new setting, then the bombardment could commence. He cast a look at her.
"I wonder just what kind of secrets you hold. What kind of stories do you have to tell?" He mused aloud.
"Beastboy, B-Beastboy! Stop! Aren't you even going to talk to me!" She shouted desperately.
"There's nothing more say." Came a chillingly cold voice. Cyborg.
"You attempted to annihilate us!" Came another, the tone both sad and accusing. Starfire.
"Did you think we wouldn't take it personally?" Came the question, full of spite and barely repressed rage. Raven.
"It's over Terra." Came the final nail in the coffin. Robin.
This scene still played out in her mind, over and over. Even though it had happened only hours ago, for some reason she felt as if an eternity had passed her by.
She recalled their faces, the shock each of them displayed at her betrayal. She remembered Beastboy's face the most, the hurt that she saw there before she cast him into the void she had created. She could remember her cruel, what she thought were her final words to him.
"Hope you're not expecting a goodbye kiss."
Why had she done it?
She still didn't know herself.
Oh, she had taken the first step towards redemption that was true, but that seemed so small in comparison to the enormous atrocity that she had committed.
The girl shifted a little in her sleep, mumbling something that sounded like a name before she rolled over to her side. A single tear went streaking down her cheek.
"Hmm, bad dream I suppose." He murmured. He watched her for a few more moments, his expression softening with pity and sympathy. But activity during sleep was a good sign. It meant that she had passed from deep hibernation to regular sleep. It shouldn't be long before she woke.
"It's going to be a rather large shock when she discovers just how displaced she is from everything she knows." He said, more to himself than anything.
'That it will. But for her this may be a blessing in disguise.' Ilistraza stated, her voice carrying a hint of sadness.
'How do you mean?'
Ilistraza was silent for a moment. He felt her mulling over her response.
'During my probe earlier, I was able to touch her mind, at least partially. I was not able to glean anything specific like thoughts or memories, but her emotions were clear. She was being eaten away by guilt. This may give her the opportunity to make a new start.' She finally answered.
Caine nodded in understanding. Guilt. That was something that he could certainly sympathize with.
"Hey Caine! Think it's 'bout time to set up for the night!" Tank yelled from the front. Looking out the side window, the Line Walker could see that the sun had nearly set over the horizon. But more importantly, he could see and feel the presence of several ley lines in the distance, the two of them intersecting at a point roughly half a mile away. He smiled slightly, this was a perfect location for camp, the presence of a nexus point(1) would provide him with more than enough PPE(2) to draw upon should anything unexpected happen.
"Yeah, let's stop here tonight." He called back.
It took only a few moments to set up camp. The buffalo meat that hadn't been dried and stored was taken out, sitting over a small fire on makeshift skewers. Tank watched them eagerly, a string of saliva hanging from the Grackle Tooth's(3) mouth.
The girl lay resting on the opposite side between the fire and the van, her body covered by Caine's cloak. She would toss and turn every so often, mumbling various words in her sleep before she would quiet down again.
Caine himself sat absorbed in his book 'Gardener's Art Through the Ages'. It had been a hell of an adventure acquiring it, leading them through a buried library up in northern Washington. What had they found there again… oh yeah, that nest of Bladeclaws. But considering all the impressive lore it contained, the risk had been well worth it, in his opinion at least. His partner Tank had given him a good tongue lashing afterwards however, the D-Bee complaining quite loudly about risking his neck for a stupid stack of paper. And considering the damage he had taken during the acquisition, his companion Ilistraza had a few choice things to add as well.
"Meats done!" Tank shouted, immediately snatching up one of the skewers. Caine simply smiled, silently deciding that he would wait a few more minutes. 'Done' for Tank could basically be referred to as 'blood-drippin rare' which frankly did not sound particularly appetizing to him.
'Don't knock it until you've tried it. Why I can still remember when I was flesh and blood, I would love the thrill of tearing into my food. Mmmm.' Ilistraza proclaimed. Was it just him, or could he actually sense her 'salivating'?
'There are some things you just know, Ilistraza. And wipe away that drool.' He chided, failing to keep the laughter out of his tone.
'Whatever…' She grumped.
After another minute Caine gingerly took the skewer that he was preparing. He ate slowly, trying valiantly to ignore the atrocious slurping of his comrade.
"Mmngh…"
"…!" Stopping in mid bite, Caine turned towards the girl who was beginning to turn about regularly now. Her eyelids twitched slightly.
"Hmm, looks like she might awaken soon…" Caine commented absently.
"What, really?" Tank asked, a bit of meat hanging from his mouth, before he slurped it up.
"She should be up by morning, so let's go ahead and turn in for the night."
"Yeah, sure thing."
There was the sudden sensation of light. Squinting behind closed lids, Terra swam slowly to consciousness. Was it morning already?
Then reality hit her.
Eyes fluttering open, she found herself gazing up into a vast blue sky, the endless blue broken occasionally by the presence of wispy clouds. She shot upright.
And promptly fell back against the ground.
"O-ouch." She grunted. She tried to lift her hand to rub the back of her head, but found that her arm, while certainly getting the signals, simply didn't have the strength to respond properly. It lay limply at her side, a slight twitch the only indication that she was trying to move it at all.
Just where the heck was she! The last thing she remembered was the volcano erupting and being surrounded by liquid fire…
"Oh good, you're finally awake."
Her eyes went wide at the unfamiliar voice. Feebly moving her head to the side, she saw a young man garbed in black sitting a short distance away looking up from a large book. He smiled gently at her as he slowly stood up, lightly setting his book down. Walking over slowly, he knelt down next to her, placing one hand over her forehead and closing his eyes. A strange probing sensation went through her, eerily familiar, before he opened his eyes again. She regarded him silently, not entirely sure what to make of this completely surreal situation.
"Well, it seems as though your recovery has come along nicely. No long term damage or anything. That's good." He said, his voice light and friendly.
"W-who…" She croaked, her voice failing.Her throatfelt terriblydry and parched.
"Oh yes, water would be good. Here." He said, holding a small canteen to her lips. She accepted it gratefully.
"As to who I am, my name is Caine. Pleasure to meet you." He said. One hand was held behind her head to keep her level enough to drink as the other held the canteen.
After a minute of quenching her thirst, he pulled the canteen back and capped it before setting it inside a small pouch on his belt.
Mental faculties slowly coming back online, Terra stiffened slightly, suddenly remembering. She had pushed her powers to the limit to stop the volcano that had started to erupt. And then... what had happened? Were the others alright? Terra tried to sit up again, only to be gently restrained by Caine as he slowly pushed her back into a lying position.
"Whoa, whoa. It would be best if you didn't move too much just yet. Your muscles are still recovering, and straining them at this point could cause permanent damage. You were out for a long time."
A long time?
"Is… is the city alright?" She asked. Her anxiety went up as she saw Caine tense slightly, his eyes troubled.
"Is it alright!" She asked again desperately, "Are the other Titans alright!"
"Titans?" Caine asked, rolling the word over in his mind. 'Ahh yes, the Teen Titans right, that name listed on her plaque.'
"The Teen Titans! You've heard of them right? Are they alright, is the city alright? What's going on!" She shouted.
"Hoo boy, how to explain this." He mused out loud, rubbing the back of his head uncomfortably, "Well let me start by asking what you last remember."
She thought for a moment, trying to piece together everything that had happened "I-I was fighting with…" she stopped, her voice catching in her throat. With a supreme effort she forced herself to continue "I was fighting… against… the criminal Slade…" She trailed off, giving him a desperate look, hoping for any form of recognition on his face. Seeing none, her heart began to beat furiously with fear. Just how long had she been out?
Caine regarded her silently.
"Just tell me, w-what year is it?" She asked slowly, dreading the answer.
He sighed, bracing himself for the coming storm "It is currently the year 2505." He said, wincing a little as she gasped in horror. 'Yup, I knew she wouldn't take that well…'
Five hundred years? She had been out for over five hundred years! Her eyes began to well up, tears running down her cheeks.
"Oh…oh god. Beastboy… everybody… I…" She sobbed, unable to even raise her hands to cover her eyes. She simply lay there allowing the tears to come, her body heaving as she wept.
Everything and everyone was gone. And with it, her chance at making amends for everything she had said and done.
He watched her silently as she broke down. Ilistraza had been right; this girl was certainly carrying some heavy emotional baggage. He was just glad that Tank was currently occupied, as the brutally honest grackle tooth would likely have said something which would have immediately compelled the girl to bite her own tongue to bleed herself to death. As it was he would probably be back in just a few minutes, so it would be best if he could get her stable before that.
As to how the hell he would accomplish that, he had no idea.
Comforting and understanding would probably sound too hollow. Hearing something along the lines of 'Don't worry, everything will be just fine'or 'I know how you must feel' would probably only serve to piss her off.
'Just let her cry it out. There is nothing that you can say that will make this any easier for her to bear…' Came Ilistraza's voice, her tone deep with sympathy.
'That's right' Caine thought to himself, 'Ilistraza could certainly sympathize with her, having gone through something similar herself.'
'Maybe I should let you talk to her then.' He stated.
He could feel her mentally shake her head 'No… I would probably terrify the poor thing. As I said, it would be best if we simply let her be.'
'… Yeah…' He assented.
"Are you alright now?" He asked cautiously, noticing that her tears were beginning to slow a bit. She was not crying any longer, simply staring up at the sky, her blue eyes shining slightly from the tears.
"I don't… yeah, I think so." She managed. She looked over at him again "So… what happened while I was… asleep."
"Well… there are parts that I am unsure of, but suffice it to say that this world will probably not be anything like you remembered." He answered.
"What about Jump City, is it still there?"
He sighed and shook his head "Not as such, no. Actually I don't think a single city survived the apocalypse 200 years ago."
"APOCALYPSE!"
He jumped slightly when she yelled. Apparently her vocal cords were recovering well.
"What happened! How!" She rambled, trying desperately to wrap her mind around the enormity of this revelation.
"Well, essentially, 200 or so years ago, a worldwide calamity occurred, one that would set in motion events beyond anything anyone could have dreamed of. As for how it happened, humans happened." He finished darkly.
"Humans happened?"
He nodded "Pretty much. To make a long story short, human beings got tired of waiting for God to bring about the apocalypse, so… they made their own. And the nuclear holocaust was only the beginning."
Terra simply lay there, morbidly enraptured by the story he was telling.
Caught up in his own story as well, he continued, his voice taking a strained quality "According to my… my master in my homeland, human civilization reached a golden age world wide. All nations were either equal with one another, or at the very least were close to becoming equals. Technological breakthroughs were being made at an alarming rate, and sharing between countries of such technology was common."
She nodded silently.
"However, humans, being humans, simply could not thrive in such peaceful times. Despite the great breakthroughs, despite the peace that had taken so many centuries to form, it was all broken in a single year. Several countries, for what ever reason, took an opportunity to attack one another, inciting a world wide nuclear war. The nuclear fallout devastated the entire planet, killing billions. But…" He cut off.
"But…" She urged.
"But that was just the start. Just to break topic a little bit here, but have you ever heard of something called bio-electricity?"
Terra thought a moment. When she had still been with the Titans, she had hear Cyborg talk of various scientific matters. Most of it went well over her head, but she could recall him saying stuff about bio-electricity.
"Isn't it… the energy in the brain or something?" She ventured. Caine smiled and nodded.
"That's correct. Anyways, human beings, and all living things for that matter, are essentially biological machines which run on bio-electric energy. When a living creature dies, their bio-electric energy doubles briefly as it disperses into the earth. Normally it is not that big a deal, but… when so many people die, all at once, the massive surge of energy that was released triggered a massive planet wide chain reaction in the earths dormant ley ines and…"
"Uhhh… what are ley lines?" She asked, utterly confused. She never heard Cyborg mention anything like that.
"Ley lines are, for lack of a better description, rivers of energy which flow all over the planet. I'll get into specifics later."
"Ok."
"Anyways, all that sudden input of energy caused the earth's ley lines to go riot. Natural disasters began to occur all over the world. The ring of fire, and I mean each and every volcano in the Ring of Fire, including the dormant ones, went off all at once. This in turn caused massive tsunami to flood the coastlines of every single land mass on the planet, destroying pretty much every coastal city, probably what happened to Jump City. Entire countries were wiped out. Communication was severed."
She was quiet through that, her head bowing.
"Billions more died, which added fuel to the destruction. This all continued for about 7 days. At the end of the 7th day, the destruction stopped…" he paused.
"Then the rifts opened…"
There was only silence as the tension built. The former Titan could definitely feel that this was probably the darkest part of the story. She silently bade him to continue.
"The rifts are dimensional tears in time and space. When these rifts opened, they poured forth a flood of inter dimensional beings, demons, alienentities, and monstersof every size, shape and form you could think of, and a bunch that you could not even imagine. After the events that occurred, the human race was reduced to a mere percent of its former number."
"… holy…" Terra murmured, utterly appalled.
"… But, that's really not an issue anymore. The fact remains that humans did manage to survive, and are even making slow progress in taking back the world—Though new rifts do open every full moon, solstice and equinox, pouring more inter dimensional beings through."
"In other words… the whole world has gone to shit…" She finished breathlessly.
He laughed "Yes, that is a good way of putting it. Although, they are not the worst thing on this planet…" His expression grew dark, almost hateful. It was only a moment, and it was quickly replaced with another smile "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to go all dark and dreary like that." He said apologetically, shrugging with slight embarrassment. The sound of an engine caught their attention.
"Hey buddy, how's it going." Tank yelled. Hopping off the hover cycle, he hauled what looked like to large dinosaur carcasses over to the small fire where the two of them sat. Throwing them down, he plopped down next to Cain, reaching into a small pack on his belt and withdrawing a stogie. As he was lighting it, he caught Terra starring at him with a terrified look in her eyes, trying desperately to muster what muscle strength she could to back away from him.
"Hey, ah see our little guest is up an' at 'em now, eh!" He laughed, bending down to get a better look at her. For Terra, the sight of a ten foot tall, half a ton grackle tooth almost completely unhinged her, and she began to shake.
"Sorry, this is my friend and partner, Tank. He looks mean, but really he's just loud, rude and a complete ass." Caine explained, trying to soothe her while shooting the grackle tooth the evil eye. The lizard man simply burped in response, giving her a small salute and a large grin, smoke seeping through his teeth.
Terra shrieked.
"Oh for the love of God Tank!"
AN: Wow, this is coming along nicely, in my opinion at least. And now that Terra is awake, I can start introducing her to the dangerous and exciting world of RIFTS Earth. Let's see how she adapts. Expect lots more action to come!
Well here is my promised tutorial on common RIFTS terms so people don't get completely confused about what I am referring to. More will follow in later chapters when necessary or applicable.
Nexus Point: This is a location where two or more ley lines intersect. Such locations are greatly favored by spell casters due to the fact that the presence of a nexus can augment an arcanists spell casting ability many times over, allowing them to cast spells that normally require far more PPE than a typical human generally possesses.
PPE: PPE or Potential Psychic Energy, is the energy that powers living bodies. Also known as Bio-Electricity, PPE is what powers the brain and nerves. Essentially it is the energy necessary for life. It also is the power that spell casters use to cast their spells. Normal humans possess only a small amount of PPE, however spell casters and supernatural creatures possess far more, acting as living batteries for psychic energy. There are numerous methods for arcanists to acquire more PPE. The most common is to tap into a nearby ley line, as this essentially provides an unlimited source of energy, though it can only be drawn upon at a limited rate. The second method is to siphon it off from living creatures. However, most creatures do not possess enough to make such a technique useful, though a collection of spell casters can elect to pour their energy into another spell caster, thus rituals involving many arcanists are common for casting particularly powerful spells. The third is to draw upon the energy released from a living creature at the point of death, as a living creatures PPE temporarily doubles a few moments after death. Thus many evil wizards have no qualms about performing blood sacrifices to power their more powerful spells. And finally spell casters can draw power from magical items and artifacts, including PPE batteries and other devices.
Grackle Tooth: This is the race that Tank belongs to. Despite their frightening and monstrous appearance, Grackle Tooth's are typically good humored and good natured individuals. They enjoy a good drink, love to fight and roughhouse, and generally enjoy life and live hard and fast. They do have a fondness for technology, and for large guns in particular. They are well known for their love of wisecracks. For what ever reason they seem to have a strong liking for the human race, which leads some humans to think of them as large dogs. It is because of their good attitude towards humans that they are easily accepted in human society, even in places where most D-bees are discriminated against.
D-Bee: Slang for Dimensional Being. Basically any creatures that have come through the Rifts are labeled as D-Bees. Humans acceptance of D-Bees varies from location to location, some like welcome and accept them, others simply tolerate them, while others will enslave them or kill them on sight no questions asked.