Crimson Beast - The story of Raven Blair

Raven let out an emphatic cheer as the bike rocketed down the road by the force of Ima's laser. He could hear the gears crying but it was fine. This was some of the finest engineering he had ever seen. The machine held out it's shield, blocking a large portion of the lasers connecting with it, yet so many more were coming. It seemed like it would block them all. Raven looked back, then yelled out.

He brought the bike up on one wheel, turning three-hundreed sixty degrees. As he did a half turn, a gleam of life flashed off his sunglasses, a gun aimed at the creature. Raven's crimson and black aura pulsed around the gun in a flash.

"JACKPOT! CURSE TRIGGER!"

A wave of wicked energy launched, mixingin in with the barrage of red lasers. The machine stood no chance as the fusion of blasts slammed into it, tearing it's shield apart, soon followed by it's body. Burning metal clanged on the ground as Raven landed the bike straight again, the two driving off stereotypically into the sunset.

"Yay!" The teen cheered as the giant creature finally fell for good. She was glad that it was finally over...though she still wished she knew what it was.

"Raven, what was that thing? Do you know?" Ima questioned him.

Raven ran thoughts through before responding.

"I caught a glimpse of an emblem on it's chest. It was the same as the gaurds. I think the King knows that we're coming."

He turned back to the road, seeing the last few glimpses of the sun disappear into the horizon. Nights in the deserts were nortious for being very cold, and Raven knew for sure Ima would not be able to handle that.

He worried for a few seconds before catching sight of light once again. Hundreds and hundreds of them. Towers, streets, vehicles. Alabastor.

"Hold on Ima, there's plenty of light over there."

He cranked back on the throttle, peeling out through the open night to the city of Alabastor.

Ima frowned as she saw the sun go down, missing the light already. She really hoped that she could one day find a place on earth where it was warm and the sun shone constantly. She wasn't sure if she ever would, but a girl could dream, right?

"Even if he knows we're coming, we're still going to kick his butt!" Ima claimed enthusiastically, throwing a fist in the air; and then thinking better of it when she nearly fell off again. She put away her gun. "Oh yay, a city!" She added when she saw Alabastor.

The engine calmed as the two rolled into the city. The lights were breath taking. Neon signs displayed smiling faces, fantastic places, and the names of the multiple stores and services they were placed on. Raven sat back, taking in the scene. It felt even better than Terra Rex, at least to him. This was more of his style.

He held the bike still as he dismounted. He looked through the crowds of pedestrians, picking out one man in a wide-brimmed hat.

"Excuse me, sir. How long is it until sunrise?"

The man simply laughed.

"You don't know where you are, do you son? Alabastor isn't called "the night city" for nothing."

Raven was caught off-gaurd. It was eternally night? How was that even physically possible? He looked around. How sad of an existance to never see the sun at home. Nevermind that, he needed to know a few things.

"Can you tell us where the closest inn is? My friend needs to rest up."

The man pointed them down the street, to which Raven thanked him, pushing the motorcycle-like vehicle as opposed to riding it. He had enough of driving for one day.

Ima was looking around the city in fascination. So many interesting things were here too! Wherever that train on the mountain had taken them too, she was glad. It was so amazing here!

Then she heard the part about the sun never rising. Internally, she panicked. A city of forever-night? She was already a little tired from that fight with the creature sent by the king. She would only end up getting more and more tired without the sun, and eventually the same thing that happened on the mountain would happen here.

She didn't think Raven could take that again.

Outwardly though Ima just looked at the stars.

"Hey Raven, do you ever miss your home?" She asked the man without thinking as she looked in the direction of her own. "You said that your hometown was gone for some reason. Do you miss it?"

Raven's steady pace ceased as he pulled the bike onto the sidewalk. He looked up to the neon sign, the red outline holding in blue words stating to all that this was the "Blue Moon Inn". More like a hotel, but Raven wasn't complaining. He leaned against the wall on the outside, he too looking up to the stars above.

"That's the whole reason we're here, Ima."

He could feel the cool air on his skin, it reminded him of the breezes back home, out in the fields. He took in the night sky, the billions upon billions of stars above int he heavens. They were just like back at home when he used to stargaze at home with his Brother and Mother. He heard the laughter of the people around him. It was like the kids he used to play with. Now gone.

All gone....

"Ya know.....whenever I look up at the stars, I don't wonder what's out there like everyone else does. I'm pretty positive we'd have to be idiots to think Earth was the only populated place in our universe. I think back to my home town. My Mom would take me and my older brother to this one hill, and we'd just lay there and watch stars pass."

He took a deep breath in, letting out a deeply disappointed sigh. He loved remembering his family, it was what he lived on, what kept him going, but at the same time he couldn't stop thinking back to that one day. That massacre. This king's burning eyes, his horns.

"Everyday since I lost them I think back to those times. Every last thing I do is for my family, my village. Before I left to seek out my new life, I left a rose in the center of town. I carry one with me to remind myself......"

He reached into his coat pocket, removing from it a glorious single rose. It was surprisingly untouched, not damaged in any way. Raven twirled it in his hand or a bit, before raising it up, the red petals pressed against the twilight.

"....of the payment I owe to the one that took it from me."

A part of Ima couldn't help but wonder what Raven would think if he found that one of those beings that didn't naturally populate Earth.

So the king was somehow related to what happened to his home, and his family it seemed. By the way he spoke, she got the feeling that they were no longer alive. She felt saddened by this. Raven was a good person, he didn't deserve anything like that, and now Ima felt rather bad for asking.

Ima hoped her feeling was wrong.

"What happened?" She looked at him and asked, though her eyes said that he was free to not answer.

It was his past, after all, and she had barely said anything about hers.

Raven nodded and made a very light laughing motion as he twirled the flower in his hand around a bit more. He was never actually asked that question before, and if he was, he never heard it. Raven lowered the flower slightly, looking away from Ima. It was too long ago, and Raven had made it his mission to keep his past in the past, but here was this girl who had gone through everything with him, even risked her very life just to make sure he was alright.

She deserved to know.

He sighed again, slumping down the wall into a sitting position. He hit the kickstand, allowing the bike to stand on it's own. He looked at Ima, then back at the bike, studing it's details.

"I don't remember a lot of it because I wasn't outside for very long. It just remmeber seeing smoke from the other side of town. People were running by but I had no clue what was going on. Dad picked up his sword. He loved that thing, but not as much as the two he left behind. My brother, Drake, he left his own personal weapon, Gravedo. It was a beautiful Katana, the one in my shop is a replication. The other one....."

Raven reached behind him, pulling from his back the large sword he carried on him at all times. The massive blade pointed to the glittering night, the streetlights waltzing on the sterling features, the skulls, one side a normal human, the other horned.

"The Sword of Azrael. He never told us where he got it but he would always tell us the story of how it was forged by the blade of the angel of death's scythe, hence the name. He would tell us that whoever the sword chose would wield it like it was a everyday knife, but only when a swordsman who fought for something worthy revealed himself would it's true power be unveiled. I always loved the stories, so he left me this."

He shook his head.

"I'm getting off topic. Dad ran off toward the smoke. I never ehard from him.....at least in person ever again. I thought he was gone until a few weeks ago. He told mom to keep Drake and I inside but I wasn't going to listen to that. Drake had been training with dad for a long time, and I was always looking for a fight. We both ran outside......"

He paused for a moment, then looked to the ground.

"I only remembering looking at this thing's face. It was like fire had taken a physical body. The horns......they were like nothing I ever saw."

Raven stopped again, his thoughts haunted him now more than ever. He could hear the sound of burning homes, screams of warriors going to protect their home from a force they didn't know existed.

"Mom.....came out and forced us indoors, said she'd follow us in. She didn't. Drake got worried after a bit, grabbed Gravedo and ran out. He disappeared too. I woke up the next morning inside a pile of rubble. They burned my village to the ground. I don't know why the attack happened or what they wanted......but they took everything."

His hand thrusted forward, a finger aimed at a picture of the King, his demonic face looking down on them.

"He took everything!"

Raven's emotions got the best of him for a split second, his form returning to a clam position after. He placed his forehead into his palms, realizing exactly what he was hear for. Revenge.

Ima didn't speak. She just hugged the man she was happy to call her friend.

The girl felt herself tear up a little. It wasn't right that someone like Raven, like her friend Raven, had to go through something like this.

She always knew that her friend was strong. Mostly when she said it or thought it she had been referring to his physical strength, not to his heart. But his heart, it was so much stronger than his body could ever be. The alien thought it was beautiful.

He kept living. When everything he knew was gone, he kept living. She would never have been able to keep going. Her people were her entire reason, her life and her soul. She would have taken her sun day early had it been her.

But he kept going.

And suddenly, Ima felt that she wanted him to know.

"Raven, can I tell you a story?"

Raven leaned into the hug a bit. He didn't get them often but from friends it was nice, especially right now. He looke dover to her, a smile now on his face.

"Of course you can."

Ima let go of Raven, looking to the stars. She gave them a small smile before beginning.

“Once upon a time” Ima began, as she heard that all good stories started this way. “there was a someone. She wasn't from here. She wasn't from anywhere around here. Because you see, that someone...was not a human.”

“She lived on a planet farther away than measurements on Earth can calculate. The planet's name isn't easily pronounceable with human vocal chords, but it would translate roughly to 'Blessed Eternal Light'. She lived there with her with her family since she was created.”

“Her planet is amazing.” Ima closed her eyes and smiled, happily, fondly, as if reminiscing. “The gases that are expelled from the natural vents make the atmosphere look like a constant rainbow, and the ground does too because it's a sort of substance that naturally reflects things, like light and such. There are two suns, constantly traveling around the planet, and there's nothing like any of the lakes or oceans you have on this world.”

Ima stopped smiling. “But her planet...her wonderful, beautiful, amazing planet...her home...” She looked at Raven with eyes that looked far too old and full of sorrow to belong to a thirteen year old girl. “...is dying.”

The child looked away. “You see...the suns are going out. Her kind, they depend on the sunlight. Even more so than humans do. Now they don't need it constantly of course. In fact that there are crystals that only form when there's no light that are necessary to build things with. But if the suns go out, they're doomed.”

“Everyone knew that the planet was dying. That one day in the not so distant future they would all cease to exist. And yet they did nothing.” She seemed saddened by this.

“So the someone secretly left for the gathering place when she turned eight. She knew she wasn't supposed to until she was ten, but she needed to go. There she built a ship and left her home planet.”

“See, there was a planet that her people knew of, one of many actually. They had been watching over it for a long time, just out of curiosity. But from what the someone had heard, the planet would be able to support their species. So she began the long trip there, so that she could learn about the planet and then teach her kind and bring them there.”

“That planet...was Earth.” She glanced at Raven before looking away swiftly.

“Originally the someone thought that she would just destroy the entire human race.” This was said with such a straight and serious face that it was almost creepy. “But after watching them for a while, she felt that she shouldn't. She just thought that she'd learn their culture and find somewhere they could all live without being disturbed.”

“Not long after she got there, some people found her. They took her to a big place, and let her stay there for a while. At first they were really good to her, they taught her their spoken language, and she and they made a human body of sorts together so that she and they could speak and interact. Even though they were so nice, something about them just felt...wrong.”

“She made her first Earth friend there. It was a robot that the people had made, saying that it was a experiment to make an artificial human. They mostly treated it as a worker though, not nicely either. It was the only one she truly felt comfortable around. They became really close, so close that friend seemed to be a word not strong enough, and the robot taught her a lot. They gave themselves names, like the humans did.”

There was a faraway look in her eyes. “But after a while, the people there started doing weird things to her. They did bad things, bad scary things that hurt her. She wanted to leave, but she found out that they weren't letting her stay there, they were making her stay there.” Ima blinked, and the look vanished.

“The robot later heard that they were planning on doing something really bad to her, worse than ever before. It helped the someone escape, but since then she had no clue what happened to it.” Ima gave a small sigh. “She was really worried about the robot, but tried not to dwell on it and just hoped that it was alright.”

“But the humans had put a sort of tracking device on her when they put her in the human body. Luckily it's not a very good one, so it only tells them the general area she's in. But she can't stay in one place for very long, so she's been moving around for a while now.”

“To this day, she is running from the people, learning about humans, and carrying the fate of her planet on her shoulders.” She paused, and then added. “The end.”

Raven listened very carefully to every word of the story, his face as straight as a ready arrow. He took the time to look back to the stars above, then turned back to Ima as her story came to a close. He reacted to her the only way he had learned how to in the past, placing his hand on the ttop of her head and roughing her hair up slightly.

"This someone seems to be on a pretty important mission, but ya know what?"

He flashed another smile.

"She's been proving herself able to do it for a long time now."

He leaned back against the wall, looking at the twinkling skies abbove with a whole new respect for it.

"Well it's not like she's the only non-human trapped in a human world, least not anymore....."

He laughed at the irony of his situation. one of the most human people he knew, himself, now faced with true.

"She's got me."

Ima gave a relieved smile.

"Yeah." She said. "She's got you. And you've got her."

She gave a happier smile then, and laughed.

Honestly, Ima probably was feeling happier and more relieved than she had ever thought she could, and could ever put into words. At least, words in their language, but even in her own she wasn't sure she'd be able to convey it properly.

So she just hugged Raven again.

"And we've got each other, right?"

Raven nodded happily, placing his arm around her in a brotherly way.

"Yeah of course. As long as I'm around, we have each other, and I don't see me going anywhere anytime soon."

Raven stood up, grabbing the side of the motorcycle in order to walk it into the garage next to the inn. He looked down to the young alien child (to his knowledge) and spoke.

"Well we should get some sleep.......or whatever it is you need to do"

He laughed, motioning to the Inn.

TIME SKIP

Ima was waiting patiently outside the hotel, humming a tune she had learned what now felt like a long time ago. Living here was certainly changing her sense of time, among many other things.

She had forgot to tell Raven that she couldn't sleep, and so she decided to go out and explore after he went to bed. It wasn't the best idea, admittedly. She had ended up getting lost for quite some time, and now that she was finally here she didn't remember the room number. And she didn't want to bother anyone, so she had decided to wait outside and look at the stars.

Still, it had been fun! The teen had seen so many new things, it was amazing! She couldn't stop asking questions, much to the exasperation and thankfully amusement of many a random passerby. Granted she was tired now, which was bad, especially in a city where she couldn't 'recharge'...

And the alien hoped Raven didn't worry when he found her not there...she hadn't left a note...

An engine roared as the garage door opened. A two lights pierced the night as the motorcycle-like vehicle emerged, pulling up next to Ima on the sidewalk. Raven nodded to her in a cowboy-esque fashion, even catching a laugh himself from the stupidity of his action.

"Howdy ma'am. Haha, hope on, we're not wasting anytime."

He looked across the street, now seeing the similar armored men like they had faced before. He wasted no time, picking Ima up and throwing her on the back of the bike before peeling off into the distance. The farther they drove, the more Raven realized that the Royal order had occupied Alabastor. They had to get to the lake.

TIME SKIP.............AGAIN!

Trees past by at breakneck speed, stars appearing and disappearing under the heavy cover of leaves. The scent of fresh water flew into the nostrils of Raven, his feral instincts sensing that they were close to their goal. An opening could be seen like a light at the end of the tunnel.

The bike shot through the opening, turning sharply and coming to a stop, raven's foot stomped into the bank to avoid falling over. He looked around him, and in the theme of everything done since arriving in Arcana, he was stopped in awe. The grass, the leaves, even the lake itself glowed in a blue tinge. Small spark-like specks fluttered up from the lake face, disappearing into the night. The lake streched on for miles, smaller islands appearing in the center, they too glowing. Different shades of white and light green swirled within the water.

The magic here was visible.

"Wow.......it's beautiful."

Ima simply nodded, being to entranced by the water to do much else. It was so pretty! What was making it light up like that? Why were the little islands all glowing? What were the little lights all floating up from the lake? Were they fireflies? Ima had heard of those, but she had never actually seen them. She wanted to.

Ah, she was getting off topic...

"It's so pretty!" The child gushed, grinning and bouncing happily. "I wish we had time to play here!"

"Child, I'm afraid there will be no time for playing."

A muffled voice spoke behind them as the sound of metal hitting metal was heard. Blue cloth dragged just above the lakeside as a familiar form made his way between the duo and to the bank. The prince held his hands behind his back, looking out at the glowing waters from under the visor of his mistral helmet. The silver on his helm, shoulder armor, chestplate, and grives sparkled in a sapphiric hue thanks to the water. At his side, a long black sheath was placed, a blue and black wrapped hilt generating from the top in a marvelous piece of craftsmanship.

Raven reached back, gripping the hilt of The Sword of Azrael, stepping forward, ready to kill. The very sight of the prince made his blood boil even more than usual.

"Arrogant bastard, coming here and walking next to us like nothing's wrong!"

The prince simply chuckled, his eyes never leaving the lake.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Let me refresh your memory then!"

The sound of metal slinging from leather and cloth struck out, but Raven had not moved his sword an inch. In the blink of an eye, cold steel rested on the throat of Ima. The prince's arm held the glorious katana-like blade in a nonchalante stance, still looking out.

"I wouldn't try anything, Raven. Your young friend here seems to enjoy her head."

"How do you know my-"

"Name? I know everything, Mr.Blair. It's my job to know. This entire empire is my ears...........my eyes."

Finally, his head turned in a sleek motion, the slits on the visor meeting the now red glare of Raven.

"My blade."

Ima's eyes widened in surprise feeling the pressure of the prince's blade at her neck. So fast! She hadn't even noticed him move. This was going to be dificult...and mildly unpleasant...

In a motion that seemed to be almost suicidal, Ima lunged forward, making the katana cut deeply into her neck.

But she wasn't, and didn't stop there. The little alien took both of her hands, and, with the surprise of the prince from her action forcing him to loosen his grip, even if ever so slightly, pushed on the sword. Despite getting both her hands cut into, Ima was able to push away the blade and made a gravity-lessened jump away from the man. Turing to face him then, she grinned.

A black almost-liquid flowed out of Ima where there should have been blood.

She grabbed her 'bleeding' neck, coating her hands in the substance even more than what they had been with simply her cut hands before crossing her arms into what seemed to be a 'X' shape. Then she threw them out to her sides, as if making a 'No' motion. The black stuff on her hands was thrown towards the prince by the action, most of it landing on his helmet, and much of that inside his visor.

"I do like my head." Ima gave a slightly smug smile as her neck and hands began to heal. "And I hope you liked yours."

No sooner than the stuff hit, it began to fizz and bubble and burn before what it came into contact with seemed to vanish. Almost like an acid, but the alien knew this was far worse. The stuff continued to eat, and didn't seem that it would be satisfied until every atom devoured all it possibly could. The katana had the same reaction, but didn't seem to disappear like the prince's helmet was, burning and dissolving away painfully and completely.

Ima had no doubt at all that this was exactly what was happening to the man's face.

The Prince let out blood-curdling scream as the substance splashed into his helmet and on it, sizzling and eating away at everything in it's path. Silver dulled and disappeared as the Prince's hands shot through the holes eaten away, ripping from his head the helmet and tossing it to the ground, soon following the shoulder gaurds, but something happened that wasn't expected. The gear sunk into the ground like it weighed many times more than they appeared.

Raven couldn't believe what had just happened. Ima had literally sacrificed a shot at life to take out the enemy threatening her. She threw her blood or whatever it was at this prince and it was eating him alive! He ran over to her, ignoring the scream of terror from the Prince as he knelt down near here.

"Holy shit, Ima! You're crazy!"

He laughed.

"You're going to be a clone of me if you keep that up! Way to go!"

Suddenly, Raven's ears perked, his skin crawling. The hair on his bodys tood on end as his crimson stare locked onto the hunched over prince. The screams of pain.....they were now chuckles. Chuckles then became laughs. his body slowly rose up, his hands still holding his face. When he reached a full stance, his hands shot down, a skeletal face screaming out to them! Flesh still remained on a few scattered spots, and the figures piercing gray eyes locked onto the girl responsible. He calmed, as if all he had received was a papercut.

"My, my.....full of surprises, aren't we?"

The skeletal face of the prince looked down to his weapon, shaking the acidic substance off like it was simple mud, the blade and hilt still perfectly intact. He held it up, his body now glowing with a blue aura as he bent his arm, bringing the sword over his body before thrusting it out, placing one hand behind his back. As the aura burned, it could be seen that the flesh on his body was slowly but surely regenerating!

"I also have a few tricks, for example...."

The ground shook violently, the glowing waters around them bubbling over from the sheer pressure. The water tided up, pulsing until it exploded. Now standing in the center of the lake, as if walking on the water, was a large statue-like figure very familiar to a hooded-monk. In it's right hand it held a large scythe. The glow from the waters seemed to seep into it as it began to glow with blue runes.

"Have fun, my friends. If you survive.....perhaps I'll share a game with you again? I must make my leave, I have the power i came here for."

With that, the Prince turned, just in time for his face and head to completely heal. A head of silver hair rested on his head. His hand rose up, slicking it back with a spike. As he walked, he seemed to fade away into nothing.

Raven shook his head, now knowing he had the same hair-color as the prince. That must be why they confused them for each other. No time. He looked out to the statue-like figure to see it finally spring to life, it's eyes glowing blue. It held up the scythe, taking a slow, graceful turn before slashing, a large blue and green wave launching at the two. Raven picked up Ima, the black blood touching his skin as he leaped out of the way, setting her donw. He grunted as his flesh burned, only to heal up again. He removed his sword with ease, placing it on his shoulder.

"Guess it's party time again?"

Ima grinned brightly at Raven's comment. She felt somewhat proud that she had made the man scream so loud and feel so bad. He was so mean to that lady after all! And meanies and bad guys should be punished, right? Still, she couldn't help but wonder if it really hurt him when he started laughing...

She blinked in surprise when she saw his face. Wow, his burned away a lot more quickly than the hunters.....

When the prince left, Ima couldn't help but shout "Meanie!" at him before he faded away into nothing. Then she looked at Raven. "Don't touch," she scolded lightly, referring to the blood, before quoting an earlier time, "it'll devour your flesh and bones."

She looked at the figure in the lake and pulled put her guns before crying enthusiastically. "Let's get this party started!"

She didn't bother to try and copy Raven's voice again.

The statuesque monk was in no mood to "party", It placed the end of it's scythe on the water, the liquid below it churning. Suddenly, a single horizontal slash kicked it into the air, a tidal wave racing for them.

"Not happening!"

Raven shouted as he charged to the front lines. The air burned around his form as crimson and black energy slipped out of every pour in his body, raging over the surrounding area in what appeared to be flames. The area above his head formed into two hooked spikes, horns. His eyes exploded in pure crimson energy.

"Hades Trigger Stage One!"

He growled, his sword rising above his head. A slash down crashed into the wave, only to be stopped as if he had blocked the strike of a sword! Raven was pushed back slightly from the impact, his boots digging into the ground. He pushed back, tossing the wave back, reducing it back into liquid, settling into the lake.

"This thing's using the lake like a weapon!"

Ima jumped high into the air and stayed there, opting to shoot at the enemy from the air instead. Hearing Raven's comment, she couldn't help but wonder what they could do. They couldn't destroy the lake; she didn't WANT to destroy the lake.

"Do you think we could lure it away?" She called to him. That was the only other option she could think of. Besides Leviathan, but she wasn't sure that would be a good idea now, she was already tired...

All the while she rapid-fired the almost-monk.

The statue rose it's free hand into the air, a wall of the lake rising up, absorbing the blasts like they were simple stones, the reducing into the lake when the shots were done. Finally, it swiped a hand at Raven's direction.

Raven jumped to the right as multiple spikes of water which somehow hardened without becomming ice, which stabbed into the ground, melting into liquid yet again. He searched over the lake at their opponent, into it's lifeless eyes. He studied it, looking for a weak spot, then caught sight of the feet. The glow form the lake, it was being absorbed into it!

"Ima, it constantly needs to be touching it! The lake, it's somehow keeping this thing alive!"

They were stuck in a crossroad. The lake was this thing's lifesource, it was part of it's body as it appeared. This entire water mass was like a giant weapon, yet the only way to defeat it was to go into the water. It was suicide!

Lucky for them, Raven was crazy enough to do it!

His aura burst into a chaotic state as he shot onto the lake, his energy keeping him above the water as he ran at great speed, his sword gripped tightly in both hands, dragging on the lake face. The statue simply looked at him, it's stone face clear of any emotion. It slowly rose it's hand out to face him, ready for hell to be unleashed.