The end

[ShadowedRaven]

Vince looked up as a very confused Psly came upon this out of the way building. Holding a finger up to his lips, Vince then pointed down to the window. Psly nodded, and remained silent.

Inside, Raven could feel the rush of her powers returning, although it didn't quite feel the same as before. It seemed somewhat less intense, somehow. The dark man, wiping the sweat from his brow, looked at her intently. "It is time." Raven nodded, and the dark man led her from the building, neither one knowing of the two shadows following them.

It was quite some distance before she noticed something strange. The aura of evil was almost palpable. Almost an oily texture in the air. No words were needed, as they increased speed to stop the creature from completing his plans. In the deep forest, they chanced upon sentries who were quickly silenced by the dark man. They cautiously edged into the clearing, watching for any more surprises.

The creature sat in a massive throne, his skin glowing in the moonlight, as it looked down on them. "How amusing," it muttered, its voice booming in the clearing, "My most trusted minion, and my greatest failure. Tell me, what is it that gives you any hope of victory?" The throne was ringed with dark forms, huddled in circles of power, the lines on the ground connected to the throne sullenly glowing as energy seeped into the vile creature.

"We have come to put an end to this atrocity," the dark one called, his voice seemingly muffled by the aura of the creature. The man raised his hands, gathering his own energy to strike, Raven following suit. The creature laughed softly. "Pitiful animals. I am beyond your meager abilities." It yawned as the dark man's energies cascaded harmlessly over the throne. Raven wisely held her strike back, realizing the futility of unleashing her attack while the creature's attention was fully upon them. "You, I have no further use for. But perhaps, there is something to be gained from you, my dear." Its eyes fell upon Raven, as a massive wall of stone jutted from the ground in front of the dark one and fell upon him making him disappear into the ground below. Fear welled up within her, as the creature reached for her. She stepped back, and its hand stopped, as if meeting an insurmountable barrier.

The vile one blinked in shock, then reeled as a bolt struck him from the forest cover. "You shall not have her!" Vince cried, firing bolt after bolt from his fingertips as he advanced into the clearing. Pslyder strolled into the clearing as well, brushing at his jacket in distaste. "Mighty poor manners, chummer. . .sprayin' us wit' former henchman like thaht. . .you ain't got no idea how hard it is ta get thaht outta leather." His eyes lit up, and a mighty bolt crashed down from the sky into the throne, cracking the heavy stone and searing the creature's flesh.

Raven fell back, surprised at the interruption, as the demon roared in pain, and sent boulders crashing towards the men. Vince blasted them into powder, while Psly simply slipped around them. Taking to her feet again, she stood defiantly against the evil demon, sending her own lightning bolts to strike at vulnerable points on the creature.

Then the demon stood, towering over them, its wings unfurling with a snap. The sudden force of wind knocked all of them to the ground for a moment, as its voice boomed into the night. "Enough of this! I will crush you all for your insolence!" The ground exploded under Pslyder, who sailed out of the clearing to land with a crash in the forest. Vince and Raven quickly regained their feet, renewing their attacks. They had both noted an apparent weakness in the demon, and both began sending sparks and bolts of lightning to strike against it. The vile one howled in pain and frustration, counterattacking by sending rocks and stones to pummel the pair into oblivion.

A surprise attack caught Vince on the temple, and he folded to the ground with a cry. Everything seemed to stop for Raven then, as she heard someone screaming, not recognizing her own voice. The demon growled at her, "Now, you traitorous little witch, I shall show you new levels of torment. I shall show you the true meaning of pain!"

Turning to face the creature, a single tear flowing down her cheek as she spoke. "I don't think so." Her eyes flashed,seemingly changing to a bright black, and a glowing energy surrounded her, small silver sparks circling her,and the creature's boulders bounced harmlessly away. "This time, you've gone much too far. This ends, NOW!" She looked to the sky, raising her hands, as a banshee wind began howling through the clearing. In the faint light, she could see dark clouds swirling above the creature, and gasped as power coursed through her. The heavens trembled, as thunder pealed through the sky, and a mighty surge of plasma flared down on the demon, piercing through its now burning body. Wailing in defeat, the creature took his final breath" I always knew the powers you had before you came to me would one day destroy me Raven" flared once, and was gone.

Raven stared for a moment at her own hands, marveling at the power she still felt within her, and thought for a moment about what the creature said. "I've always had power. . . ." before remembering what caused it. With a cry, she stumbled over to Vince's prone form. She collapsed with a sob over him, and shook with grief, until she heard him whisper weakly. "Ouch. Be careful, please?"

Sometime later, after Vince had gathered enough strength to walk, they searched in the woods for Pslyder, but found nothing beyond an elf-shaped dent in a rather large tree. Noting the lack of blood, they figured he'd gone off to tend to his own wounds, or they would hear something from him later. They had enough to worry about in their own wounds and Raven's newly recovered abilites.