The Raven Part 6: End of the World

Chapter 16

Jake walked up the stairwell to the second floor of his old home. Rebecca's underlings had let him pass without a word, but he had felt their eyes boring a hole in his back. There was an eerie silence that blanketed the main hall. He did his best to avoid eye contact with the women he passed along the stairs. He wasn't here for them, he was here for Rebecca. He recognized one of the women that he passed. A young woman who'd been an intern at his company. He'd never learned her name, but she'd brought him and others coffee a handful of times. Rebecca must have swayed her with promises of power, and now she stood at the gates of death. Just another soul that Rebecca had twisted for her own gain. The thought made him sick to his stomach.

He ascended the final stair, and started down the hallway. He was alone with only his thoughts and the dancing shadows cast from the arcane fires burning on the wall. "She really has a flair for interior decorating," Ashley scoffed, standing in front of a large Gothic mirror, "It's nothing compared to my old abode, but I can admire the taste all the same. Mind you, I'd never tell that witch that to her face."

"You're really talking about decor right now?" Jake asked, continuing down the hall, "The fate of my city is at stake, and everyone wants to talk about the layout of my house."

"Would you rather discuss the possibilities of failure?" Ashley asked, "I know what's at stake, as does everyone else, Jake. Sometimes it's better to distract oneself from the potential horrors of what's to come, rather than to dwell on the negatives."

"I guess I see your point," he sighed as he passed by a massive portrait of Rebecca, "I can't believe what she's done to my family home."

"Are you really so surprised?" Ashley asked, trailing lightly behind him, "Her entitlement is only matched by her desire to destroy. You are an object to her, love. You are nothing more than a trophy for her to have, or a toy to keep on a shelf until she feels inclined to play. To her, everything in this world should bend to her will. Why would anything of yours have any consequence to her?"

"You really believe there's never been anything between us beyond possession?" Jake asked, his heart twisting at the idea, "Part of me believes that she did love me at some point. All those late night talks we had back in our old apartment made me believe that maybe there was something more than just that."

"Perhaps there was at some point, but I believe those feelings died before you came to exist in this life," Ashley mused, "Whatever humanity and sanity she had have been eroded by time and the influence of the demons. From what I've seen, even in her mortality, still struggled with the darkness eating at her heart and mind. Now, the woman you knew is no more. All that is left is a monster wearing the skin of her."

"That's cryptic," Jake said, running his hand along a rosewood chest, "You don't think there is any chance of saving her, do you?"

"Do you?" Ashley countered before sighing, "The distortion that I have felt, that Pamela has felt, can only be explained by one thing. There is a spell, a ritual, that predates even me. Long ago, there were entities that posed as Gods to humans. They were worshipped by ancient sects of pagans, but they were forgotten even before the rise of the judeochristian faith. The old Gods, or the Forgotten Ones, are the forces that lurk within the shadows awaiting someone or something to evoke their names. They transcend even the demons of Hell, and they exist between worlds, yet beyond the void. Some of your kind have found them by accident while conducting theoretical sciences that border on the arcane, but those that have often disappear, cease to exist, or are dragged down to the pits that the Forgotten Ones call home."

"That's…unsettling," Jake said, suppressing a shiver, "You think Rebecca called on them?"

"I do indeed," Ashley answered, "There is a ritual that invokes their names and powers, but few have been brazen enough to attempt it. It gives power and clarity to what the casters desires, but it comes at a terrible price. All other worldly and otherworldly concerns are stripped from the mind, and the caster is consumed by whatever greed is within their heart. The witch is no fool, so she must have been desperate to attempt such a spell. Upon completion, whatever was left of her was taken to the pits of sin that those monsters call home. All that was left was the essence of her persona as the Goth Goddess. I know your heart, my love, it beats as one with mine. You wish to save her, but the only mercy you can give her is at the edge of that blade."

"I'll be condemning her to an eternity of torment," Jake sighed.

"If you don't, then you condemn this world to the same," Ashley said, "She will tear down the fabric of this world, and she will raise a new one in her own image. A world where all who oppose her suffer, and a world where the people you love will be broken. The fate of the world rests in your hands, and it is a burden you have no choice but to bear."

"It's not fair," he whispered.

"Life is not fair, my love," Ashley said, "One life to save billions, but I know the pain that it will bring upon you. Fate has a cruel sense of humor, but it is fate that you are the one to end this. Remember the ones who have fallen to her spells, your friends, and the pain she has brought into your life. Do not do this for yourself, but do it for all those that depend on you."

They arrived at the large doors to the ball room. The doors were covered in an aura of red energy with strange runes glowing on its surface. Even without Pam's abilities, Jake could feel the magic radiating off of it. Rebecca was just beyond the barrier. It shimmered for a second before it slowly began to dissipate. Her voice called out from behind the doors, "Enter!"

"The time has come," Ashley said as she began to fade, "Do not let her twist your mind, Jake. I will be with you every step of the way."

Jake nodded and swallowed the lump that was in his throat. He stepped forward and pushed the doors open. The ball room was one of the largest rooms in his home. A grand piano sat off to the side, and the dance floor shimmered in the light of the torches Rebecca had placed along the walls. There in the center of the room, stood the woman who'd brought devastation into his life. Rebecca stood with her back to him, and her body still in its transformed state. Her wings were furled in around herself, and the edges of her crown protruded over the top of her head. Her presence was intimidating and heavy, and the air carried a chill in it that made him uneasy. He approached her with his hands at his side and a heart that felt like it weighed a ton.

She turned around slowly and raised one of her clawed hands. The barrier rose again, and sealed his only escape. She put her hands together at her waist and spoke in an oddly calm tone, "My Raven has betrayed me. Of all things, I never expected you to delve back into the depths of Hell. You struck another deal with Lilith, didn't you?"

"Rebecca, I-" he started before she lunged forward and screamed.

"You have lost the right to speak that name, Jake!" the air crackled as she howled in rage, "That name I'd a gift! A memory of a woman long since scorned, a woman gone from this world. I am the savior of this sinful world, Jake, and you were to be my herald. You have thrown away your true calling for the sake of a world that will burn you in effigy. Can't you see that I am the only hope that this world has? Are you so blind that you cannot see that I am the way, the truth, and the light of salvation? I offered peace to even that wretched whore that led Pamela astray, but you have chosen to defy me at every turn!"

Jake nearly faltered as the air grew colder and heavier from her outburst. He stood his ground and glared at her, "You demanded submission! There is no peace or salvation with you, there's only pain and suffering!"

"So you consort with devils rather than simply approach me?!" she asked, "Do you have even the faintest idea what Lilith will do to you? The price of her aid goes beyond what your mortal mind can imagine!"

"Whatever price she demands is one I'll pay to prevent the hell you're trying to make!" Jake yelled, stepping forward and feeling bold, "This is my city, my world, and I won't let you destroy it for your own selfish wants!"

"You would dare to lecture me?!" Goth screamed, raising her hand and striking him across his face, "You were nothing when I found you! A sniveling boy hiding behind a mask pretending to be a hero! A knight without a lord is little more than a dog without a master, and that is all you were and are! I gave credence to your deepest desires, I fulfilled your darkest fantasies, and I gave you a purpose in life that you lacked! This world will never remember you as you are, but it will never forget me. I am eternal, but you and the cur down stairs are nothing more than scum beneath my boot! Like the flowers in the fields, you all will burn in my light, and you will wither and die unless I choose to save you!"

Jake had hit the ground hard and slid from her forceful backhand. He pushed himself up and yelled back at her, "You twisted my mind to suit your needs! You preyed on the darkest parts of my mind, lied to me, and used me for your own ends!"

"I have never lied to you!" Goth howled, her body lifting into air as her rage grew, "I may have withheld the unnecessary aspects of some things, but I never lied to you! You stand before a Goddess of integrity, boy, and I will cleanse this world of all unruly and defiant abominations!"

Jake glared up at her as she held up a hand and conjured a ball of red energy with runes circling it. He held out his arms as though welcoming her attack, "Go ahead, kill the only man who ever loved you! I don't care if I'm remembered or not, but you're a fool if you think the world will remember you as anything more than a blood-thirsty tyrant! All you're doing is proving what everyone has ever said about you! You're insane, hateful, and incapable of love!"

"I have heard enough of you!" Goth screamed as she prepared to hurl the orb at him.

"Stop!" a distant voice cried out in her mind, "Don't kill him! We love him, remember?!"

Jake watched as Goth froze and faltered. He furrowed his brow as he watched her seemingly talk to herself, "Away with you, you pathetic shell of a woman! I cast you into the pits of despair so I wouldn't have to listen to your insistent prattling!"

"Go ahead, Rebecca," Dilatrix voice rang out in Goth's head, "Destroy him, and destroy whatever hope you have left within you."

"Begone!" Goth screamed, crushing the ball of energy in her hand and sending out a shockwave, "I have no need of either of you anymore! I have grown beyond your weakness, and I will not have my victory stained by your infernal ravings!"

"It would seem that the ritual could not completely banish the other facets of herself," Ashley said, appearing beside Jake and staring up at Goth, "Interesting that the Forgotten Ones haven't been able to contain her."

Goth descended to the ground and approached Jake, "Out of the graciousness of my heart, Jake, I will give you one final chance to kneel before me. Submit to me, as you did before, and I will raise you to new heights. I will personally see to freeing you from whatever contract you've entered into with Lilith. Think carefully before you decline. I am your greatest chance of coming out of your deal unscathed. I will overlook everything you've said and done, and I will forgive you for all your transgressions. Take this mercy, and make the wise decision for once. I do not want to fight you if I don't have to."

"Let me have a word with her, Jake," Ashley said.

Jake could feel Ashley pulling at his mind from the depths of his consciousness. "Why would I trust anything you say?" he asked Goth, "All you're going to do is continue down this path of hate and destruction."

"What choice do you have?" Goth asked, "You will serve me, one way or another. I am offering you the chance to do so without the cost of penance."

Jake suddenly felt his mind go blank as Ashley ripped control from him. "Go back to the depths of Hell from wence you came, you charlatan!" Ashley snapped at her, "He doesn't need your aid, and neither of us wish to serve your repulsive whims!"

"It speaks," Goth sneered, "I was wondering when you might show yourself, you miserable little parasite. Do you speak for him, or do you speak for yourself? Does Jake even realize the truth within you?"

"Shut your mouth, you unholy cur!" Ashley yelled, "I am with him because I love him, and unlike you, I will not abandon him or use him!"

"Is that why you've stolen his body?" Goth asked, chuckling darkly, "How long before your thirst becomes too strong for him? How long before you take his body for your own means? You forget, I know who you are. It is only a matter of time before you grow restless in the passenger seat of his mind."

Ashley used Jake's body to lunge at her with blinding speed, but Goth held out a hand and took them by the throat. "You know nothing of who I am!" Ashley yelled, "I am not the monster that others see!"

"When this is over, I will rip your soul from his, and I will make you watch while I break his spirit once and for all," Goth said coldly as she held out a hand, "I have grown beyond you, little girl. Away with you, let the adults have their time. Yours will come soon enough."

A pulse shot out from Goth's hand, and Jake was brought back to his body. He gasped as Goth dropped him to the ground. He fell in a heap, unsure of what had just happened. "What the hell?!" he demanded.

"I merely put your parasitic passenger to sleep so that we may speak without interruption," Goth replied calmly, "How often does that little thief hijack your body? You do realize that she's going to eventually steal you completely, right? You call me selfish, but that harpie is just waiting for the opportunity to seize control completely."

"Don't speak of her like that," Jake rasped as he got to his feet, "She's done more for me in the last week than you have the entire time we were together!"

"Ha, I see your sense of humor is still intact," Goth laughed, "Need I remind you that it was she who infected Elizabeth, or that it was I who saved you from her curse? That woman is a poison, a cancer that is growing within you. She will be your undoing, Jake."

"And you'll somehow save me from her and the other demons?" Jake scoffed, "All she wanted was to exist and be with me! Was that really such a crime?!"

"Her crime was trying to steal you from me," Goth replied, "You belong to me, by my side for all eternity. You are not some creature of the night, you are destined to be with me! I can make you into something greater than you could ever be! Let me raise you to the heights of your potential. All you have to do is kneel before me, and I will give you everything you could ever wish. Give me your answer, Jake. I will not wait another minute."

He stood up and drew his batons, keeping the dagger bound to him at the ready within his suit. He stared at her for a moment, searching for some shred of the woman he'd met so long ago. Her crimson eyes stared down at him with impatience, and he realized that Rebecca was indeed gone from this world. "My answer is no," he said, calmly, "I'm not some puppet that you can continue to control, and I'd sooner die than give you anything!"

"That is your final answer?" she asked and he nodded, "Then death is a mercy that you will not be afforded. You will suffer the gravest punishment for your insolence, Jake Blackridge, and you will know my word is law when I am done. The cost of your decision will be the lives of everyone and everything that you care for. I have wept over you for long enough, and I am tired of waiting for you to see sense. I will break everything that makes you defiant, and I will reshape you in my image! You will call me your Goddess once more, but not before you know true torment and suffering! I will show you fear unlike anything you could ever imagine! Come, darling, and face my wrath!"

She began to rise into the air, and winds stirred around her as she did. Jake was pushed back as the force increased, and the chairs in the room were knocked over. He stood his ground and yelled up at her, "I'm done being afraid of you, Rebecca! If I have to kill you to stop you, then I will!"

"Foolish little boy," she laughed, "You cannot kill a Goddess! Come, my wayward little bird, let us see how long you can last!"

This was it. Jake had made his choice, and Goth had made hers. Their paths had come to a crossroads at last, and only one of them would come out victorious. There was no saving her, not as she was. Goth raised a hand, and a series of bolts converged in her open palm. Jake took off in a sprint as a ball of lightning formed in her hand, and she hurled it at him with a sadistic laugh. He dove into a roll as the ball of energy crashed into the ground and exploded. He launched two birdarangs from his utility belt at her, and got back to his feet to continue running. She swatted them away with an unseen force. His weapons wouldn't do anything against her in her newfound state. He had to think of something to get her on his level. The dagger was his only advantage, but he had to be close to strike her.

Goth's menacing cackle filled the air as she began throwing orb after orb of energy at him. He wished he had someone to provide backup, but this was his tight and his alone. The scorch marks on the ground from her attacks made him leery. It wasn't likely that they'd kill him, but they'd almost certainly incapacitate him. He had to do something, though. He could keep running from her. It wouldn't be long before he either made a misstep or she managed to get a lead on him. If he could hit her with her own attack, then maybe it would be enough to stun her and bring her down. How was he supposed to repel any of her attacks, though?

His arm tangled as he dodged another electric blast. It felt like it was going numb, but then it began to burn. He heard a familiar hissing voice in his head, one that he'd hoped to never hear again, "Use the dagger, you stupid ape!"

Lilith was in his head. On top of having Ashley, now he had a demon queen lurking in his mind. He snarled and decided to focus on the task at hand. He could worry about Lilith once he was finished with Goth. He held out his right arm and let the bound dagger loose. The curved blade materialized in his hand. The blade seemed to have a red fog rolling along its edges, and Jake clutched the black leather handle. He didn't have a clue if it would work, but he stood still as a ball of lightning rocketed at him. He waited until it was close before swinging his dagger at it. To his and Goth's shock, the blade sent her dark magic hurtling back at her. She swatted the ball of energy away, and it crashed into the wall adjacent her.

"Did your little benefactor give you that?!" Goth demanded, eyeing the blade in his hand, "Just further proof that you're nothing on your own! You need someone to give you the edge, Jake, you always have! Why don't we play a little game of catch?! Amuse me, my little bird, and let's see how well you can use powers that aren't yours!"

Her words cut almost as deep as a knife. She knew his every fear, insecurity, and weakness. She'd been in his head, but he'd let her in long before that night. He shook off her biting remarks and yelled back, "I don't need anyone to take you down!"

"Ha, says the boy fighting with borrowed time!" Goth mocked, "Ashley, Lilith, and even Pamela and Elizabeth, it's always someone else to your rescue! You are nothing, and you will always be nothing!"

He stood his ground as she charged another ball of energy. She threw it at him harder and faster than before, but he swung his blade and knocked it back to her. Her vicious laugh filled the air as she knocked it back to him faster than it before. Still, he swung and managed to knock it back just in time. Over and over, the process repeated itself. She would fling it at him, and he would return it to her. With every swing, the ball grew in speed and size. The velocity continued to increase, and after the fifth exchange he missed. The ball exploded into his chest, and he screamed in pain as volts of dark magic coursed through him. He fell to his knees in pain, but he clung to the hope that the evil blade carried.

Goth cackled and mocked him from above, "Oh, how I've missed the feeling of your pain and agony! It's like a fine wine, or a sweet nectar to my soul! Stay where you are, Jake! This is how you're meant to be, on your knees like the lowly insect that you are!"

"No," he whispered as he got back to his feet, "I am not done yet! Ive still got some fight left in me!"

"As you wish, little bird," Goth laughed as she charged another attack, "I can do this all night. Your little friends are dying below us, and soon you'll beg to join them! Why don't we take things to the next level, darling?! We've known each other for so long now, I'd hate to keep anything from you!"

Goth's laughter grew louder and more unhinged as she held out her left hand. She bent her elbow and brought her arm back. Pool of shadows began to form along the ground, and a deep crimson light started to cut through their darkness. One of them appeared under Jake, and he quickly took off to avoid whatever it was. A column burst from the shadows where he'd stood only a second ago. Goth threw her attack at him, and he had to dive to avoid getting struck by it. He rolled onto another of her traps, and he only just barely managed to avoid another column of what appeared to be hellfire. He could feel heat coming from whatever it was, and he stumbled as he got to his feet and resumed his run. He heard the crackle of another ball of energy charging in her hand above him.

"Run, run, run, as fast as you can, little bird!" Goth mocked from above, "You can't avoid me forever! I am inevitable!"

The darkness creeping along the ground continued to build, and more bursts of her power began cutting through the ground. She lobbed another ball of energy at him, and he only just managed to send it flying back at her with his dagger. He jersey to the side to avoid another sudden eruption from the ground. "I can't keep this up," he said to himself, feeling more trapped by the second, "There has to be an opening somewhere in her defenses, but where?"

Goth twisted her hand, and suddenly the air around him seemed to distort and twist with it. He'd felt this only a handful of times before, and he cursed as he realized what she was doing. She was bending time around him, warping it to suit her own ends. If she managed to slow him down, even a little, he'd be caught in one of her geysers or take another blast. He couldn't let her win, not now, not when everyone was fighting for their lives below. He summoned everything he had deep within, and he felt a strange warmth wash over his body. His muscles tensed as the flow of time bent inward around him, but with a thunderous cry of rage, he somehow managed to break free from her spell. A surge of energy shot out of his body, and the blowback from it interrupted her casting.

"What?!" Goth screamed, "That's not possible!"

Jake assumed that she meant breaking her spell, but what he hadn't realized was that somehow he'd tapped into a distant touch of magic. He felt incredible, and that was all that mattered to him at the moment. He grabbed his grappling gun from his utility belt, and he fired it at the ceiling just beyond her. He held the blade out and at the ready as he rocketed towards her. This was his one chance to end this. He couldn't bring her down to his level, but maybe he could get close enough to wound her. Goth raised her hands to summon another torrent of hellfire between them, but Jake wasn't afraid. He stayed the course, and prepared for the unholy sting of the blast. The cable on his grappling gun was burned, and he found himself flying towards her without the safety of the cord. He rode the inertia, and placed both hands on the hilt as he approached. He flew through the fire, and ignored the pain that came with it. The tip of the blade plunged into her chest, and her sudden scream eclipsed all other sounds in the room as they fell to the ground.

Jake stayed atop her as they hit the ground. He stared down into her shocked eyes as he twisted the blade and ripped it out. "It's over, Goth," he said, "You lost."

She growled as she shoved him off of her and tried to sit up. "No," she growled and winced, "I will not be undone by a mortal man, not again. I am-ugh!"

He slowly got to his feet and grabbed the dagger, ready for anything that she might try. "You're finished," he said, "Don't make me slit your throat."

Her body convulsed before the glow left her eyes, and the familiar shades of purple returned. There was fear in her eyes, something he'd only seen a handful of times before. "Do it," she said, her voice quivering as her body shook, "Jake, you have to kill me. I can't hold it back for long, please! She's fighting for control!"

"What?" he asked, staring at her confusedly, "Rebecca? Who's trying to get control?"

"There's no time!" she screamed, "Please, just end this! I can't…she's coming back! If you don't end this now, then things will only get worse! Jake, I love you, and I never wanted any of this…I only wanted to give you the world. I wanted to raise statues in your name, proclaim my love for you for all, and to ensure that you would want for nothing…"

"Rebecca," Jake said, "I never…I never wanted any of that. All I wanted was to be with you. Please, what's going on?"

"Jake, I'm sorry, I-" she stopped and screamed as her eyes began to glow again and she began to chuckle darkly, "My little Raven wants to be with me? If that is all you ever wished, then I will give you just that! You stupid, arrogant, little boy! You should have killed me when that weakling had control!"

"Rebecca-" Jake started.

"Do not call me that!" she screamed, and her voice shook the foundation of the manor, "Rebecca is dead, you saw to that! All that is left is the Goth Goddess, and I will bring this world to its knees! You think you've won?! We're only just getting started!"

Jake took a step back as he remembered what Ashley and Pam had said. Two sides of Rebecca were waring for control, and the ritual had given the demonic half the opening it needed. "I won't let you!" he shouted as he charged forward and tried to plunge the dagger into her chest, but he was flung back by a wave of energy.

"You're too late, boy!" Goth cackled as she shakily got to her feet and began to scream, "I'll bury you all in the rubble of a Forgotten world, and I will pluck your ashes from the debris! You will all serve me, and you will be the emissary, the herald, of the coming of a new God! Life, death, and everything in between will bend and bow before me!"

The manor quaked and shook as a strange light rose from the floor and swirled around her. What was going on? The tremors grew as her body began to glow. The windows began to shatter, and the ceiling started to fall in. She was going to bring down his home! Was she really this desperate? It was her demonic side. The lights continued to grow and swirl in a vortex around her, and he couldn't get close to her. A beam crashed down in front of her, and it was just the first of many to fall. She screamed in rage, and her voice continued to distort as her laughter grew in volume and insanity. He couldn't stay here. He'd be crushed under the weight of his family home. He didn't have a choice but to run. He'd have to escape if he was going to continue to stand against her.

He turned to the doors, but the barrier remained in place. He was trapped. He looked over the shattered windows. They were his only option. It was a long drop, and without his grappling gun it would be risky. One of the things he'd grabbed from the warehouse had been an experimental cape for gliding, but he hadn't been able to field test it. It wasn't the best circumstance to test it, but he didn't see another way out. The tremors were growing, and he knew it was now or never. Jake took off running and dodging falling debris. He dove out the window and pressed a button on his chest. His cape folded out like a glider, and he caught a large gust of wind from Goth's explosion. He felt a small sense of relief beside the impending dread as he managed to fly away from his collapsing home. He just hoped that Beth and the others were able to escape in time.