3.
Unknown Location
Unknown Date
Unknown Time
Ten minutes ago:
Thunder shook the bridge as five superhero teens squared of against a black dragon. Explosions, roars, the sound of boulders breaking, and rapid fire bursts filled the air above the floating pathway connecting two islands above a never ending looping void. Remarkably, the land mass did not seem in any danger of falling out of the sky.
With the teens fighting it out with the large creature, a swift figure flew close to the underside of the bridge and arrived at a glowing green wall. Donned in a black cloak with a purple boarder, the figure placed its hands on the construct, not knowing what it was or how to get through it. Searching for a way past it, the figure looked around the edges of the barrier before floating back a few feet.
Straightening their body, the figure inhaled deeply and began to glow. It then moved below where the construct was and placed its hands on the rock. The glow then extended to the stone, creating an energy to cause the rock to act like water and drop the sleeping Raven gently into the figure's arms. The stone then solidified to look like nothing had ever happened.
With the Teen in its arms, the figure hastily flew away, leaving the battle above far behind.
Now:
"Feeling better?" Kneeling beside Garfield, Cissie rubbed his back as the green skinned teen finished releasing the sickness he felt and wiped his mouth.
"A little. Should have rethought that bellyflop." Standing, Garfield accepted a rag from the arched just as Lantern arrived back where they were and depowered.
"Code red, guys," the ring bearing teen announced. "Raven's gone."
"What?" Terra yelled.
"Did she fall?" Garfield asked.
"She couldn't have," Cissie said. "She would have fell on the bridge if she did."
"Someone got past my construct. How, I don't know."
"Can't you track her?" Garfield asked as he ran up to Kyle. "Isn't there some way of tracking someone who's had contact with your constructs or something?"
"Whoa, calm down, Gar."
"We lost a team member! How can I calm down!" Walking away from the dark haired teen, Garfield racked his hands through his hair. "Look, There can only be one place she's at. If she woke up, she would have helped us. So someone had to have grabbed her and beside the place where we arrived, there's only one other spot she could be at."
"So we head for the temple," Terra said. "Most logical."
"Okay." Kyle said. "We travel together and scope it out from the sky. Hopefully there won't be anymore dragons."
Forming a sphere to contain them all, Kyle lifted them off and flew to the second mass of floating land.
"Yeah," Garfield agreed. "Cause I'm not doing another belly bomb anytime soon." Looking in the direction the temple lay in, he only hoped Raven was not in any trouble."
(-)
Inside the temple, the form responsible for taking Raven was joined by a dark shape. Flying in, it appeared a shadow came over it before joining with it's body like the night before.
Opening its eyes, the form looked upon the sleeping girl and the healing wound on her chest. Extending a dainty hand, the form gently caressed the side of her face, lightly tracing the curvature of her cheek. It was a loving touch, one that screamed longing and loss but also displayed awe.
Slowly raising its hands, the form grabbed the sides of its hood and folded the material down, reviling a beautiful feminine face with sharp angles and coal colored hair, a sharp contrast to her pale, porcelain skin. A red diamond shaped gem sat in the center of her forehead and shimmered with the light as it caught it at different angles. Large purple colored eyes looked lovingly at the teen as a small smile stretched across her lips.
"Rachel, my daughter. How I have missed you so."
Taking her hand, the woman held it loosely while touching Raven's forehead with her free hand and silently said an incantation. A bright light covered both their bodies and after a few moments, the teenage girl inhaled deeply and opened her eyes. Arching her back, Raven's body went stiff with a white light shooting out of her eyes and mouth. Settling back down, the light faded away with her relaxing before quickly sitting back up again.
"Guah!" Breathing hard, Raven held a hand to her chest where the dagger stuck and punctured a lung. Looking in the direction the woman stood, she scrambled against the nearby wall and formed her black energy around her hands. "Who are you? Where am I?"
Looking up at the girl, the woman had nothing but love in her eyes. "Rachel."
Sensing there was no hostility, Raven dropped her energy but not her stance, should she need to fly out of there. "How, how did you know my name?"
Backing up, the woman drew her hood back over her head and walked out on the girl. "Because I named you."
Outside the temple, Kyle, Garfield, Terra, and Cissie looked up at the dilapidated building. The once white outside was a light gray along the bottom where more of the plants grew among fallen pillars and destroyed statues. Venus-like decorations stood or lay broken around twin fountains on either side of the wide stone pathway the group stood on with grass surrounding them. The water was long dried up but the plant life was still as green as ever.
"Think she's in there?" Kyle asked while looking at the semi-destroyed doors.
"No other place I can see." Taking the lead, Garfield headed up the stone steps with the others following.
Stepping around the demolished door, the group did know what to expect once they were inside. A wide foyer opened up before them with light being allowed in by a multitude of holes in the ceiling. Several statues of beautiful women and masculine warriors standing atop five foot high pedestals or lay smashed on the floor. Tapestries lay buried underneath rubble with a few torn one still hung on the walls haphazardly. Even more of the strange plants snaked their way in through whatever cracks and large openings they could find entry with. It was obvious the light gray and white room was once beautiful instead of the mess it was.
"Where do we begin?" Cissie asked. "There's four hallways but e shouldn't split up."
"Three, actually," Kyle corrected her. "One's caved in."
"I just want to know who that is." Pointing ahead of her, Terra indicated a large female statue still intact.
In the back of the temple, a fifteen foot, white marble statue looked across the room in a peaceful stance. A carved shall was wrapped around her shoulders and draped down to her feet. Her serine face had a slight smile to her, sad but lovely at the same time.
"Don't know, but he's hot," Kyle told the group.
Slapping him on the shoulder, Cissie rolled her eyes. "You think every woman's hot."
"Not the un-hot ones."
"Yippee," Terra said sarcastically. "So where do we search first, Garfield?"
In another part of the temple, Raven flew after the cloaked woman. Landing behind her, the teen girl ran the last few steps to come up behind her. "Wait. What do you mean you named me? Who are you?"
Leading the way, the woman extended her hand to open a set of stone doors without ever touching them. Inside the room, hundreds of books lined shelves with carved marble tables and chairs sitting in the center of the room atop deep red colored rugs.
"This place was once a holy temple," the woman said. "Thousands of our kind would come here to pray, meditate, study, and find peace to sooth their souls and calm their minds. We would take in lost souls needing a place to go. Some would find a place among us while others would move on after obtaining peace. One of these poor souls was named Angela Roth. Your mother."
"My, my mother? But, I never knew my mother."
"But she knew you." Flying to a higher level, the woman landed on the third story of the massive library with Raven following her.
"She couldn't have known me," Raven said as she followed the woman past several stacks of books. "Or at least not enough to care."
"She did care." There was a hint of sadness in the woman's voice as she brought the young girl before a large painting. "Your mother, we passed her story on through the years since she first came here."
"Hope it was better than this. What happened to Azerath? Why haven't I seen anyone? From what I've read, I-"
"Azerath was beautiful once. A utopia as far as the eye could see with people numbering the stars."
Motioning to the painting, the woman showed Raven just how the world of Azerath looked some time ago.
"We were happy. We were peaceful. The world was full of green pastures and endless oceans. The sky was a blue one could never forget. Your mother, Angela, was found begging for release. She had fallen in love with a man, forsaking her family to follow her heart. She did not possess the abilities she passed down to her daughter upon birth. Had she had them, she would have seen him for what he really was."
Moving on, the woman had the teen follow her to another painting. This one showcased two individuals marrying under a stone archway in what appeared to be Earth. "All Azratheans have the ability to sense emotional auras. We can tell what a person really is by reading them, our empathic nature. Your father-"
"Trigon," Raven said.
"Yes, Trigon," the woman nodded. "He tricked your mother into falling for him. He was, in reality, looking for a way to enter this realm."
Turning to Raven, the woman covered herself with her cloak but left her head exposed. "You see, in order to enter a realm, he must have a child born of that people. This child would be considered a herald for him. For the past conquered realms, his sons then use their powers granted by him to keep him present, allowing him to take the souls of others to ad to is power. Hatred is his food source. The more he gains, the stronger he becomes. Hate, fear, sadness, sins associated with the seven deadly ones all factor into giving him power. And now, he wants Earth. Bringing with him a darkness that will never end for all time."
"Is, is that what I am? I know I'm part demon, but-" wrapping her arms around herself, Raven squeezed tightly.
"After finding she was with child, and discovering what the father was, Angela attempted to end her life. It was by sheer luck we found her before she went too far. It was discovered she would give birth to a daughter, the first one born of Trigon."
Moving to another painting, the woman had Raven look upon it, which had the young girl's eyes grow wide in awe. Framed with a golden boarder, the painting stood a female Azrathean floating in the sky, legs together and pointed, arms held out. The body was whited out with no visible detail on the face. Around her, darkness was being pushed away by the pure light she produced.
"Women are creators of life. And a woman can save life. The sons of Trigon have all loyally followed his word. Angela's daughter was the first female to be born of trigon. Once we learned of this, we began instructing her in our ways. Azrathean majick bonded with her. And was passed down to her daughter who would be equally or more powerful. You."
Kneeling down, the woman placed her hands on Raven's shoulders. "Rachel, you are the light meant to chase away the darkness. You have something the sons of Trigon never had, free will. That is the gift your mother gave you along with her abilities. You are darkness who walks in light."
Backing up, raven shook her head. She knew who she was and what her powers were. She knew where she came from with the tomes she read countless times, wishing there was something different among the spells she would practice.
"I can't be. I'm, my father's a demon. My mother abandoned me and never-"
"Your mother loved you, Rachel. She was always thinking and worrying about you. Those tomes you read? She left them for you, knowing you would read them and learn to build on your powers. Where do you think they came from? She placed them where you would find them, for this. To make sure you would know what you were meant for."
"If that's true, then why did she never once come see me?" Rachel's eyes began to water with a few drops spilling out. "I lived on my own away from other people thinking I'll get them killed because of who I am! I never had any friends because of what I could do! I was alone every day I can remember and when I needed her, she wasn't there! No one was there!"
"She knew, Rachel. She knew." Taking the emotional girl in her arms, the woman hugged her tightly. "She knew what you were going through and it killed her to not be there with you. Trigon conquered Azerath, leaving only a few of us left. This temple, this place is all that is left our our people, trapped forever in time. Wherever he goes, whatever realm he enters, time comes to a standstill. He left us like this. Should I leave here, should I leave Azerath, I will age rapidly. Otherwise, I would have left this place when I had the chance. Your mother may not have been with you physically, but she was always with you in spirit, always watching over you and became proud seeing you learn and grow."
Clutching the woman tight, Raven cried into he shoulder. She could not remember the last time she cried, most likely never, but she was finally giving into her emotions in this moment. As she wept, the woman held her close with her head resting on Raven's. She would continue to hold her for as long as she needed. It is what mothers do.