Back to Reality, or something like it

Garlo kept a close eye on the woman beside him as they walked, his mind still struggling. Could he really trust her, after all she was Raven. She was the same as that demoness in the tower, but she couldn't be. This girl, she was....she was....cocky, arrogant, strong willed, and she.....she knew how to play the game, his game, revealing without revealing. He shook his head slightly, no, he couldn't let emotions cloud his judgement, he had done that twice now, and both times something terrible had happened, there was no telling what might happen this time.

No, in order to deal with the woman next to him, he would have to get rid of a large, four eyed, bitchy problem. The road leading from shore to the small island housing the evil demoness' centerpiece was directly before them, and something was begining to nag at him. In the corner of his mind, he could hear the beast struggling to be heard, to make some human like word, but it wasn't important. Defeating Raven....he looked at his companion, defeating the Supreme Leader was what was important.

Raven was having the same problem, somewhere in the nexus of her emotions, a certain red cloaked annoyance was suddenly back in full swing. Screams were almost audible as she tried to break through to Raven's conscienceness. Rage was supressed however, and ignored.

What had once been a T was now warped and twisted, appearing more like a Y with a rounder inside and serated edges. The bottom had spread and dug into the earth, like the roots of some demented tree.

Both heroes had been preocupied since the massacre at the base, Garlo with guilt and supsicion, Raven with concern and doubt. She didn't beleive for a second that if they hadn't of made love, yes that was what they had done, that the incident wouldn't have happened. The only problem was that she wasn't sure Garlo had the same thoughts. That could complicate things in the trust department.

Yes both had definately been preoccupied, and only a small part of them had sensed what was to come. Only those parts put together why if the entire populous of the headquarters had been destroyed, why hadn't they even been attacked, why hadn't there been any resistance on the way to the twoer, simple to anyone with a clear head....or a devious mind.. At almost the exact same instant, Rage and the inner beast finally got thier message across, an instant too late. They both screamed in feral tones at thier outer selves, "TRAP!!!!"

Spikes made of stone sailed directly in front of Garlo, catching his gothic comrad's clothing andsending her back into the shadows with a surpsed shriek and then silence. He had no time to worry about her however, as cement hands had jerked from beneath the ground and were slowly dragging him under. Both had a flashback to thier dreams from only a few hours ago, one sinking into the earth, the other engulfed in darkness, each suffocating.

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When the masked man awoke, he wanted to scream in frustration at the sight before him. Being captured was bad enough, being tricked into it so easily was unthinkable, but this, this was just the most infuriating thing he had ever had the misfortune of expiencing.

Red X leaned against the wall near him, but not close enough to be within reach of the shackled warrior. In the center of the room was the alien girl with red hair and green eyes, shrieking some ear splitting sound that like a bat being lowered inch by inch into boiling acid. It went on for several minutes, until Garlo began slamming his head back into the metal wall over and over again, trying to drown out the noise. Finally it stopped, and the girl smiled.

"That was the Tameraniun Song of Ultimate Victory. Now I shall sing the eighty seven verses of the Song of Gloating." She took a deep breath, but was thankfully stopped by her companion.

"I don't think that is necisarry. Queen Raven wants him able to hear her when she comes down." For an instant Garlo could have hugged the human betrayer. Another song and he would have put his own head through the surface behind him and probably used any jaged edges to slit his own throat.

The moment passed when the male capture snapped his fingers and the lights came on. Across the room, Raven was similarly shackled to the wall. Her head hung low, eyes closed, she was out cold. Somewhere deep inside him, Garlo's beast self roared with rage. He could actually hear it's thoughts.

"HOW DARE THEY!" He could feel his heartbeat deepen, not quicken, but become powerful enough to be felt throughout his body.

"What did you do to her?" The first words he had spoken since waking.

Red X turned and stared at him for a minute, before using his hand to hold the gothic girls face up. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, and her left eye would swell, not enough to blacken, but enough to be visible for a day or two. If they survived that long.

"THAT BASTARD, DON'T TOUCH HER!!!" The animalist protests were becoming stronger, more urgent.

"Your little tramp got caught in the crossfires, but since you have such a connection with her, then she will probably be killed slowly. While you watch of course." His voice was slow, low and deliberate. If he had bothered to remove the other man's mask, he would have seen grinding fangs and the death glare. As it was, he did hear the growl. It made him laugh.

"FUCKER, COME HERE AND LAUGH!!" Garlo's eye twitched as he tried to supress his emotions. He was becoming more convinced that letting him out would be very satisfying. For an instant he weighed the options, remain in control, rip fuckhead's throat out with bare fangs. He doubted he ever made a harder decision in his life. Then the darkness was back, and the two tormentors had left. No need for such decisions any more.

The inner rage lessened, though the beast was apparently not happy about the woman who had been across the room. She had been hurt, badly, and it was not something that he or it wanted to see. He shook his head, this was not something to be thinking about at the moment.

The silence was deafening, and seemed to last an eternity. Then the soft moans from the opposite wall, the other captive apparently waking. He fought the urge to howl in anger from the pain he could hear in the voice. Instead he spoke low, "Ralee.....Raven? Are you ok?"

"G...Garlo? Is that you?" A cough escaped the shadows, she didn't wait for the answer, she knew. "I feel like shit. I think I have a broken rib." A long pause, niether sure of what to say. "Where are we?"

Garlo closed his eyes, letting his animalistic senses stretch as far as they could. He could hear water splashing against something several feet higher then them. He could still smell the salt in it. "In some kind of dungeon, below the surface. Must have been built after She took over this place."

Another long pause, this one seemed different, less stressful. A sudden thought shattered the tranquility. "Why haven't you changed?"

The masked man's eyes jerked open, a sudden lump in his throat. He knew the answer, but asked anyway. "Change, what do you mean?"

"Like into a gorrila or something, to break out of here? What's holding you down?" Her voice sounded urgent, he almost felt guilty telling her the truth.

"I can't. I can't change anymore. I took pills to supress something inside me, and it took it's toll on my powers. Now I can only change into a beast, and I can't control my actions." He shook his head. "So weak..." He mumbled.

A venomous voice filled the room. "You don't have to be, you can be so much stronger." The lights came back on, blinding Garlo for a moment before four eyes stared at him. She brushed her upper right hand through her hair, clearing it from her face. her lower left began tracing delicatee designs over her body, while her free right did the same over Garlo's. He didn't take his eyes off her's, but he could swear he heard a growl from across the room. Queen Raven smiled, ignoring any noise she heard. "All you have to do is join me my love. Then you will not only be the greatest warrior this pathetic planet has ever produced, but with the powers that a demon can give you. Think of it, all you have to do is say you want to be mine."

Within Raven's head, all of her emotions spoke as one, erupting through to the surface with devistating impact. Her four eyes opened, an almost blood red light shining from within. At the same instant the feeling and sound of flesh riping tore at her back, bursting forth with black feathered wings. Her hands changed to ebony talons, jerking hard on her chains. "HE'S MINE BITCH!!"

The red skinned woman was immediately in the other woman's face. "Who do you think you are? You don't know what your saying, is that it? Learn now, I am the dominant female here, and no one will ever change that." She turned back to Garlo, "What is your decision?" Her voice was deadly low.

The masked man opened his mouth, but it was the beast that answered. "You heard her."

Screaming in anger, she slammed the winged girl's head against the wall with all her strength, causing the angery catpive to faulter and her talons to change back to hands. Her wings however, seemed to not require any thought. They flopped uselessly at her sides.

"Very well, then you can both sit here and rot until Red X and Starfire come to release you from my misery." With that she stormed from the room, leaving them alone, this time in the light.

Qeen Raven stalked through the hallways of her tower, fuming at the ignorance of Garlo. Terra stepped forward, bowing to the leader she had pledged her allegiance to some time ago. "What did he say my queen?"

Without hesitation, a red claw sank deeply into the tender flesh of her breast. A jerking motion, then the sight of her own still beating heart directly before her eyes greeted her. "What do you think?" The blond fell to the ground, a sickening thump as her open would hit cement.

Holding the heart, she continued to her thrown room in silence.