Hello again. I hope you like this chapter's sooner arrival. I don't have any intention of dragging this story on until December, so I'm trying to get these out ASAP. But before I go on, thanks to everyone for the great reviews! They're really appreciated.
As for my next TT work that I announced earlier, it will have to be posted a tad later than I'd hoped, but mostly due to this one taking so long. In case you are wondering what it will be about, here's a hint: it's actually inspired by something else. Here's another hint: it's a musical work. Can you guess?
Chapter 17: Demon Dreams
The first thing Raven did was try to find a way out of her new prison. She searched everywhere, hoping to find a place to escape, but it was all in vain. There were no windows, and the only openings were a small sewer grate in the corner and a small open panel in the door. The panel, as well as the sewer grate, was reinforced with sturdy iron bars. Raven tried everything she could think of to dislodge them, but they were too strong. She searched everything she could think of for an opening, even searching the chimney over the fireplace for a way out. But she nearly burned herself several times only to discover that a heavy iron grate also blocked the chimney spout. After seemingly endless searching and frustration building up to a near breaking point, Raven let out an angry cry and kicked one of the wooden chairs over. She found herself very angry and tried to keep herself under control, but found it very difficult.
Soon her anger turned to frustration, then to near desperation. On top of everything else, she was now alone and awaiting whatever diabolical purpose her captor held in store for her. At least before she had Beast Boy to keep her company. Now, she had no one. But that wasn't even the worst part. This meant Beast Boy was on his own, too. If he couldn't find her or find a way out on his own…well, she didn't want to think about that. Whether he found her or not, she could only pray to Azar that he was okay. After finally deciding that escaping was out of the question, at least for now, Raven walked over to the bed and sat down. The fire still crackled, but she didn't think it'd be long before it burned down. Apart from that, the only light in the room came from a bright lantern on the table. Realizing the room wasn't much warmer than her cell, Raven grabbed a couple of the extra logs near the fireplace and threw them on, then went back to the bed.
As she lay down and stared blankly at the ceiling, her mind went over all her possible options of escaping her situation. Every time though, her mind kept drifting back to Beast Boy. Raven couldn't stop worrying about him, and Calabos's earlier words still stung her heart. She should never have allowed herself to feel anything for him. She shouldn't have allowed him to get close to her! He didn't feel anything for her anyway, and her own feelings for him were now being used against her! It wasn't fair. She couldn't keep this up. She couldn't keep having feelings for him. She couldn't…
"Monster, they called me…"
Raven saw a dark room. In it were darkly clad figures gathered around a table. They were gathered around something in the center, and as Raven drew closer, she saw that it was a woman holding a crying baby in her arms. It was a cult of some kind, devoted to an evil god. And this woman had just given birth to his child.
"Behold, friends!" a voice boomed in the room. Whatever he was, he was obviously the cult's leader. "Our savior! This child born unto us will lead us to dominion over this nation…and then, the entire world!"
"Demon child…spawn of evil…"
Raven found herself in a different room, this one was slightly better lit. The same woman sat down on a chair, holding a small child in her arms. His skin was pale, and his hair was a dark shade of blue. Suddenly the door to the room was broken down, and the woman gave a scream of shock as a band of heavily armed soldiers came into the room.
"There she is!" one of them shouted as he brandished a sword at her. "You've led us on quite a chase, but it's over for you and your cult!
One of them grabbed the woman roughly and jerked her up.
"Mommy!" the child shouted. His eyes started shifting color, and the soldier was encased in red energy and thrown hard into the wall.
"Get the child!" one of them yelled. Two more lunged for him, but the child used his powers to hit them head on with a table. Then, one of them came up from behind and struck him on the back of the head with the butt of his sword, knocking him down.
"No! Please don't hurt him!" the woman pleaded. The soldiers ignored her, and surrounded the boy.
"The cuffs! Get the cuffs!" they yelled. One of them brought forward a pair of black metallic bracers and clamped them on his wrists. They were the same kind Raven was wearing.
"Ha! Now let's see you use those powers of yours!" a soldier taunted. It took three soldiers to subdue the child, but once they did, they bound his hands and feet.
"No! Please don't!" the woman screamed as she watched her child get dragged away kicking and screaming.
"Mommy!" he shouted as he was pulled away from her. The woman cried as she then was led, bound at the wrists, out of the room.
"They hid me away, forgetting of my own existence. Many years I was imprisoned, even forgetting the feel of the sun..."
Raven saw a child sitting in a dark, damp prison cell. He was emaciated, and his eyes were sunken into his sockets from years of undernourishment. He was filthy, and his long blue hair lay matted over his head. He stared blankly ahead, not even noticing the door to the ward open and the approaching footsteps.
"Child," the dark figure said aloud. The gaunt boy barely looked up, but upon seeing the man his eyes widened.
"Who are you?" the boy asked.
"I am Kilthar. I used to be the leader of the cult that brought you into this world. I have spent so many years trying to find you, I had almost given up hope."
The boy eyed him skeptically. "What do you want?"
"Patience, child. I am here to release you." At this, the boy suddenly seemed very interested. "But first, I need to know, what is your name?"
The boy hesitated. He had almost forgotten his name, it was so long since he or anyone had used it.
"Ca…cal…Calab?" he stuttered. Then, he remembered it. "Calabos!"
The dark man nodded in satisfaction. "Ah yes, the one and only. Your mother named you after your father, you know. I can sense his spirit in you. I am here to help free that."
"Can you help me?" the boy pleaded. "I've been in here so long…"
"Of course! But first, we need to understand something," Kilthar said. "You are blessed with extraordinary powers. Powers that will allow you to conquer this world. All you have to do his harness them. I can help you do that."
"Go on…"
"I will release you, but first, you must promise to serve me. Only then will you be free."
"Yes! Yes, I'll serve you! Anything!" the child said anxiously. "Just let me out of here!"
"Very well then," Kilthar said. He raised a staff he had hidden under his cloak, and touched the lock to the cell door. The lock flashed and melted away, and the door swung open.
"You're free, child. Come on out," he said. Cautiously, Calabos stepped forward. Once he was out, Kilthar touched his staff to both of his wrists, causing the metal cuffs on him to open and fall off. Surprised, the demon child grabbed and rubbed his wrists in awe.
"I've worn those for so long," he said. Instantly, he felt a warm sensation rush over him as his powers returned. It was almost like seeing an old friend who had been gone for so long. He suddenly felt renewed, invigorated. Before they could do anything, the door to the ward burst open, and in came two guards.
"Hey! He's freed the child! Kill him!" one shouted. Before they moved though, red energy surrounded their spears, yanked them out of their hands, and turned them on their captors. The child narrowed his eyes, and thrust the spears forward. The two guards collapsed on the ground, dead. To his left, Kilthar grabbed a nearby torch and tossed it onto the ground. The flames instantly caught and ignited the strewn hay, causing the flames to spread rapidly.
"Come child, your training awaits," the sorcerer said. Calabos nodded, and eagerly followed him out as the fire spread rapidly behind him. By the time they got out of the building, the fire had already spread and had ignited practically the entire floor it was on. Flames and smoke poured at the windows, sending a black column up into the night sky.
"Did that feel good, child?" his master asked. Steadily, the child nodded. "Good. That was but a taste of what is to come."
Calabos stood near the building, with his new master watching from far behind. Once practically the entire building was aflame, he turned around to face his master, his silhouette outlined by the flames.
"So, what shall we do now?" he asked.
"They thought locking me away could get rid of me. They were wrong…"
A new vision appeared, and this time Raven saw a great hall. Both sides were lined with armored soldiers and fearsome-looking gnolls. The large doors swung open, and in stepped the half-demon himself. Only he was no longer the gaunt little child in the prison cell. He had aged, and was now in his late teens. His previously skinny body was now tall and muscular, and the dark armor and black cloak he wore only added to his intimidating figure. His blue hair hung over his eyes, and contrasted starkly with his pale skin. At the end of the other hall stood Kilthar, wearing his usual rusty-colored cloak and carrying his staff.
"And how did your studies in the infernal dimension go?" he asked curiously.
"Rather well," Calabos said with a sly grin. "Trigon feels I have already progressed far beyond what they had expected."
"Excellent. Then all is going according to plan," Kilthar said with satisfaction. "You've practically mastered your powers at such a young age. This bodes very well for us."
"Yes," the half-demon said quietly. A brief silence passed between them.
"So…do you have it?" Kilthar asked with a hint of anticipation.
"It was not easy…but I got it," Calabos said. He held out his hand and revealed a large, jagged, red chakra stone. At seeing it, Kilthar's eyes lit up.
"Yes…the chakra stone forged by greatest sorcerers of all time!" Kilthar extended his hand. "Now…?"
After hesitating, Calabos approached him and handed it over. "Of course. It is all yours, master."
"Excellent," Kilthar said hungrily. "This will allow me to completely control any magic I choose to wield…and give me even greater power at the same time!"
"And with this, our last step toward dominating this world is finished."
Kilthar turned to him. "Oh no, you mean my last step."
"Oh?" Calabos asked curiously.
"Why yes," Kilthar said evilly. "Now that I have this stone, my powers will be unstoppable. Therefore, I don't need you anymore." He raised his staff and pointed it at the teenage demon. "But I must thank you. You've been a spectacular help to me."
"Oh no, Kilthar," Calabos said with an evil grin of his own. "Now that I have that stone, I don't need you anymore." The older sorcerer laughed.
"And just how do you intend to do that? I am the one holding the stone, not you!"
"You mean this?" Calabos asked. He reached into his pocket and held out another stone that looked almost exactly the same, only this one seemed to radiate an energy of its own.
"Impossible…" Kilthar said in awe. "Then what is-"
"A fake, of course," Calabos said. "And now that I have the real one, I'm afraid your useful time is over. Not that I need it to finish you, anyway. You've taught me too well, master." He said that last word very mockingly, and his master grew furious.
Kilthar scoffed. "You think you can overthrow me with that little gem?! You stand no chance. Look around you! You see these warriors around you? Every one of these servants of mine will kill you as soon as I give the command!"
Calabos shook his head. "They are my servants now."
Kilthar looked around, and saw everyone else in the room gather behind Calabos.
"Why, you insolent little hellspawn! I will kill you where you stand!" with that, Kilthar launched a black bolt of energy at the demon, surrounding him in it. However, the energy swirled around Calabos and soon disappeared, leaving him completely unharmed.
"Brilliant effort, Kilthar. Now it's my turn." Calabos shot a wave of red lightning out of his hand, which struck the older sorcerer off guard, and sent him flying across the room. He finished off by sending a large fireball at the spot, exploding on impact. If the first blow hadn't killed him, he was almost certainly dead now. Calabos sneered at his defeated opponent, and turned to face the servants gathered behind him.
"This is the dawning of a new age, my fellow disciples! Nothing can stop us now! One by one, all the nations of this world will fall before us. Our time has come!"
A deafening cheer erupted from the crowd of men and monsters, and with this, Raven awoke.
The mage shot up in her bed and frantically looked around. To her shock (and disgust), she saw Calabos standing near the fireplace, which had by now died down a little.
"Now you have seen my past," he said quietly. "Like you, my mother was a human. My father was a powerful demon by the name of Caldeon. The brought me in because they felt they could use me to take over the world. Unlike you though, my mother had conceived me willingly. However, after I was born, her maternal instinct took over, and she tried to hide me, so she could 'protect' me from the others. Of course, you saw how that ended."
Then without warning, he unbuttoned the section of shirt over his chest and parted it. Raven's eyes widened when she saw the red chakra stone from her vision sticking out from his chest, barely half an inch over it. "And the stone you see, hasn't left me," he continued as he buttoned it up again. "It was what allowed me to have full control over my powers and emotions, but it stayed with me, even when I was cursed to have no body. Since then, I've lived this doomed existence with little hope for an escape. Until now."
Raven sensed that his sudden confession was just a prelude to something very important he was about to tell her.
"What do you want from me?" she asked plainly. Calabos stared at her as intently as ever, and his gaze now seemed to have a sort of hunger as well.
"Answer me this, Raven…what is the one thing that can replace the flesh of a half-demon?"
Beast Boy paced frantically in his cell. Raven was still gone, and he was becoming very worried.
"Too long. She's been gone too long," he said nervously as he rubbed his hands nervously. His instincts told him something was very wrong, and if there was one thing he had learned over the years, it was to trust his instincts.
"Hey!" he shouted. No answer. "Where's Raven? What did you do with her???"
The door to the ward opened, and Beast Boy heard one of the guards approach. It snarled at him, then threw a bone at him which barely missed his head.
"It's none of yours business! Now be quiet before I turn you into green mincemeat!" After yelling at him, it stormed off angrily.
"Well, that went well," BB said sarcastically. With that option gone, he went over his remaining options. He could wait in his cell for Raven to return, or he could look for her. He knew Raven would have wanted him to stay put, and that seemed the logical thing to do for now. But then again, since when was Beast Boy ever logical?
He could look for Raven instead. But then, he risked getting caught out of his cell, then he had no doubt his captors would try to kill him, or worse, hurt Raven. But if she was in trouble, he might be too late to save her if he waited! There was no way he could bear the thought of that. But before he decided, he decided to think about his last option, which was to try to escape now. That unfortunately was pretty much out of the question, since he didn't know how to get out yet, and there was no way he'd leave Raven all alone in this horrible place. So, that left only one thing to do.
After taking off the metal cuffs and tossing them in a corner so they wouldn't be seen, he crept up to the cage door. Moments later, a green rat scurried out from underneath the door and down the dark hallway. As he crept down, he came toward the area where the guards were stationed. As usual, they were sitting around the fire, talking and fighting with each other. Beast Boy paused, afraid that he might be seen if he went further.
"Don't touch that!" one of them yelled, followed by barks and snarls as two of them fought. Beast Boy might have laughed had he not been in animal form.
"Do they ever not fight?" he thought. Whatever they were fighting about, it provided just enough distraction for Beast Boy to slink past them, under cover of the shadows, without being heard. After thanking God for his momentary luck, he proceeded down until he reached the intersection, then stopped. On either side was a long stretch of hallway, and it was too dark to see what was much further down. All he knew was he had to find Raven, so he couldn't waste time looking around. Once he made sure there was nobody around, he shifted into a dog and sniffed the air. He didn't find anything at first, but after sniffing a little more, he picked up a familiar scent, one with a hint of herbal tea and lavender. Raven.
Creeping along as quietly as he could, while making sure nobody was following, he tracked the scent down the dark labyrinth. He soon followed a pattern of flying down the hall as a moth so he could see, then turning into a dog at any intersections or doors to follow her scent, then continuing along as a moth. After a while of traveling, he came to a section of hallway and stopped to sniff around some more. As he sniffed, his ears picked up the sound of approaching footsteps. They didn't sound like a gnoll's, they sounded more human. But who could it have been? Not wanting to debate it as a dog, he mutated into a fly and flew up toward the ceiling to avoid being seen.
As the figure approached, Beast Boy was filled with an ominous sense of foreboding and fear, as if something very evil was coming his way. If he were still in human form, he would have been squeezing his eyes shut. He glanced down and saw a dark, hooded figure turn the corner and come his way down the hall. He tried to see who it was, but the darkness and the hood prevented him from seeing its face. The closer her got, the more uneasy Beast Boy became. Finally, the figure stepped into the torchlight, revealing his face.
Beast Boy couldn't believe his eyes…it was EVAD! Only, it wasn't him. Something was very wrong. His skin had gone pale, as if he hadn't seen the sun in years. The worst part though was his eyes. Instead of the normal brown and white, His irises had turned a glowing yellow, and the white part had now turned a bloody red. They were horrible, and almost seemed to glow with a dark energy of their own. The normally bright, jovial energy behind them had been replaced with something dark, cruel, and evil. His cloak, instead of its previous gray, was now a merciless black etched with bloody red symbols.
Evad paused and looked around, as if he had somehow noticed Beast Boy's presence. He glanced up in his direction, causing Beast Boy to almost panic. But thankfully, after a short pause, Evad lowered his head and continued down the hall, until he was out of sight. Once he was sure he was gone, Beast Boy dropped down from the ceiling and shifted into a human.
He didn't know what this meant, or what had happened to his former friend. He only knew one thing…he had to find Raven, now.
I know, I know. You all hate me. Rest assured though, I'll get the next one posted soon. Sorry for the chapter not being very eventful, but I had to get the villain's past out of the way so I could get on with the dang story. Hope you liked it. As always, let me know what you think!