Chapter 8: The true monster

Darkness. That was all they could see. Garfield felt that he was sitting on some type of chair with his hands tied behind the back, he was blindfolded, that was for sure.

"Mom? Dad?" He asked.

"Garfield?" Marie asked from his right.

"Thank god you're okay!" Mark yelled with joy.

"Where are we?" Gar asked.

He heard Mark sniff the air. "The lab, I know that smell." Mark tried to look around but he was blindfolded as well. "Do anyone remember what happened?"

"Yes, we were ambushed. I remember they drove by and attacked." Marie muttered.

"Where's Raven?" Garfield asked.

"She's back in her cage…" Everyone's head turned up towards the new voice. Even though they couldn't see him, they knew who he was.

"Slade!" Mark hissed.

"Dr. Logan, you have all seen too much, but then again, not enough." The blindfolds dropped from their eyes. And they found themselves bound to metal chairs in a white room with a screen in front of them.

Slade smiled. "You didn't think you could escape like that? You looked way more suspicious walking in the bushes than just walking on the street." He laughed. "But it made no difference, you were still caught."

"What are you doing with Raven?" Garfield hissed.

"As I said, she is back in her cage. Away from anyone, away from the traitors."

"We're not traitors! We wanted to help her!" Mark yelled. "I was done with the torture!"

"She entered her monster form while you were out, you would want to see this." Slade turned to the screen that suddenly came alive.

The screen was white for a few seconds before the screen cleared. They gasped.

The camera stood in front of her a few feet away. Raven was hanging from the ceiling with chains around her wrists, ankles, waist and neck. She was hanging there almost naked, a top and a short ripped skirt covered her. Her skin was light red with scars dripping with blood. Her hair had grown long and changed to white with antler horns sticking out of her head, and her eyes were half open, but the thing about her eyes was that it was four of them and all were glowing yellow. Strange stripe like symbols had formed around her arms, legs, chest, belly, and face.

"What the-" Marie started.

"Indeed, she has reached the highest level I believe. You did a great job, Dr. Logan. You teached her, gave her a higher intelligence and now she is falling." Slade lifted Mark's face with a staff he pulled out from his belt. "She has you to thank for her capture-"

An alarm went off.

Slade turned to the screen, Raven was staring hard into it. It made everyone in the room shake with fear, it was like she stared at them like the camera wasn't there. Her mouth opened and she said something they couldn't hear.

Then, the room she was in turned black and began to crumble around her. The chains snapped like thread and she shakily stood up like nothing was happening.

Slade grabbed his phone. "What's going on down there?!" He yelled.

"We don't know! Her vital signals went haywire, her brainwaves literally smashed the screen, her heart monitor stopped it's flat, but she's standing, breathing and… -" The voice of the man changed to fear. "- Freaking walking towards us!" The sound of screams echoed through the hallway.

"What's going on?" Garfield asked.

"Slade! Let us go! We can help her!" Mark yelled.

"No." He walked to the door. "It's time she learned her place." He left and closed the door. Immediately the family began to struggle and trying to get the bindings off.

"We have to stop them!" Mark yelled.

"Don't you think I know that!" Garfield sounded the most worried.

Both Marie and Mark looked at him as he somehow freed himself from the chair but not the bindings. The boy looked around for anything sharp, then he found a knife laying on the table to the right. He did find it difficult to hold the knife right without looking.

"Garfield, careful." Marie called.

"Careful isn't important right now." He cursed as the knife cut into his skin. "Just a little more…" The binding fell to the floor. "There." He swung the knife in his hand and proceed to free his parents.

Both rubbed their wrist before they ran out the door. Garfield took the knife with him as he might need it, he placed it in his belt as he ran.

They followed the loud scream of a man that ended short as they knew he just died.

They were about to turn a corner, when. "Just go back to your cell and everything will be back to normal…" It was Slade.

They heard her roar, it shook them to the core. She growled and her voice seem almost doubled. "How about I just kill you!" That voice was not hers, that was the sound of a scared and angry animal.

"You couldn't kill me if you wanted to." He teased.

"Is that a challenge?!" She called, there was the sound of someone's neck snapping. "You hurt them, you deserve to die, a long painful death!"

Slade laughed. "They're still alive, I could have them killed with the snap of my fingers… You sure you want to challenge me?"

Garfield peeked around the corner and almost vomited. The entire part of the hallway was covered in blood. The walls were smeared with blood and bodies. Some laid on the ground with limbs cut off, others had their head pulled or exploded off. There was black spikes around them and some people was impaled on them. Slade and Raven was the only two that stood in the hallway. Raven was glowing with black power and Slade stood in front of her, blocking her way out as well as holding two katanas in his hands.

Raven moved first, her hand raised she threw him to the floor the bloody floor and began to crush him. What she didn't see was when Slade threw something towards her. Garfield was about to call out warning her, but it was too late as a knife cut into her side. It broke the force holding Slade down as she took a few steps back holding the wound as if healed.

Raven looked up just in time to see a fist meet her face. She flew back a few feet and landed on her side. Her hand found her jaw as she cracked it back in place. She looked towards Slade as he kicked her in the back so she fell on her stomach. He began to kick her in the wounded side as well as stomp on her weakening body.

Garfield had began to draw the knife, he just waited for the right moment. Of course, Mark noticed and started to take the knife, but Garfield held it tight as he gave his father a glare. Mark wanted to take it and stop him, but a female scream of pain made him turn the corner.

Raven was on her knees coughing up blood as she had a huge katana in her back. Slade was digging it deeper into her back. She gasped as the tip had found it's way to the other side of her body.

"You are nothing more than an item, Subject! You are to listen to orders!" Slade dug the katana deeper, listening to the sound of her cries.

Garfield had enough as he was already running up behind Slade with the knife ready, and before the grown man could react, Garfield stabbed him the back. Slade took a few steps back, turned and gripped his other katana ready to kill Garfield. He heard his mother and father yell out as Slade raised the weapon.

He heard the sound of metal hitting metal and he realized he had closed his eyes. Opening them, he saw Rose stand in front of him, her own weapon against her father's.

"R-Run!" She yelled.

Garfield ran up to Raven, who had almost passed out. Garfield quickly picked her up, careful not the wound her more. He ran with her back to the corner where his mother and father waited. Garfield looked back at Rose, her eye glanced at him, they spoke clearly of an apology and a thank. Thanks for making me see, I'm sorry for doing this.

Garfield nodded to her and she nodded back before fighting her father again.

The family ran and just as they came to the exit they heard a scream of pain, it wasn't Slade's. Their eyes widened, did he just kill his own daughter?

They didn't think about it long as they saw Slade coming around the corner with the knife in his hand. He looked mad, no, mad wasn't even close. But before he could make it closer, they saw him stabbed in the heart by a long black spear.

Garfield looked down at Raven, her arm was stretched out towards Slade with the small thread of the spear at the end of her fingertips. Her eyes was hooded and clearly clouded.

Slade fell to his knees and gripped his heart as the spear vanished. He looked Raven dead in the eyes. "Look who's the monster now…" He fell to the ground not moving.

They stared at Slade's dead body before they saw that Raven had fallen unconscious. They didn't waste anymore time as they ran to the closest car, hijacked it, and drove to the hospital. Not human or not, they needed help get that katana out.

"You're going to be okay… I promise…" Garfield kissed her gently as he held her tight to his chest, he didn't even care that his shirt was blood covered anymore.

xXx

Far away, sitting in a chair in the darkness of a room, sat a man. He was looking at the screen in front of him, smiling.

The weapon was ready, it was stronger than he had imagines, his daugher was stronger than he had imagined. Maybe he should pay her a visit? Maybe he should pick her up soon?

"More wine, Master Trigon?" He turned to the minion.

Trigon gave a grunt as he gave a half nod. "Brother Blood…" He pointed to the screen. "My daughter is growing well, don't you think…"

Blood bowed and nodded. "Indeed, are you going to pick her up soon?"

"Not yet, she doesn't have enough to lose yet…" Trigon smirked.

xXx

Okay, thanks for reading, love you all! By the way, the cut was supposed to happen...