I mention the character Azar in here. Since this is AU, I hope you don't mind about it. Peace no war :)

Enjoy!

"Where are you keeping her?" his voice was hoarse out of desperation. He tightened his grip onto her shoulders, as if threatening to crush her if she refused to give him answers. She failed to hide her fear but she had to remind herself not to give in to her husband.

"Answer me, Arella!" he shook her. She let out a startled gasp.

"You couldn't find her if I told you anyway!" she gathered her courage to push him away. He gritted his teeth; his eyes were ablaze with anger.

"And why is that?" he approached her, step by step. She looked away, avoiding any eye contact. She was beginning to crumble as fear overtook her. No, she needed to be brave. She needed to protect her daughter.

Raven must be safe from him.

"I took her–" she couldn't find her voice all of a sudden.

Trigon grabbed her face so that she looked at him, directly in his eyes. "You took her where?"

His voice was intimidating and sent shivers to her spine that she could not stop herself from spitting out the truth. She admitted her defeat and let her tears flow. "I took her to see Azar!"

"You what!" He pushed her away, she fell backwards but thankfully she landed on a couch.

"I did it to protect her! What mother wants to see her daughter being killed? Especially by her father who wants nothing but to satisfy his lust and greed," she exclaimed. Her fears hadn't subsided and so had her tears. Trigon bent towards the couch she was sitting on. Their face was inches away. Arella gulped and tried to slow down her rapid breathing. She failed.

"This power is the reason I live," he clenched his fists right in front of her face to emphasize his source of life, "And I'd like to remain alive for a long, long time."

Trigon stood back up turned his back to her. He ran his fingers through his hair.

"But your grandfather still lives, he's more than a hundred years old. And yet he hadn't killed and seized powers from any wizards or witches," Arella said.

"Yeah, Azar still lives! So do I, but I want to live with power. I want to be remembered as the most powerful wizard." Arella shook her head. She hadn't had a clue why she married him in the first place. She cursed herself for falling into his traps when they first met.

Arella stood up to her husband.

"You'll be remembered for killing the innocents! But I don't care, really Trigon, I don't. Kill them all, kill them but do spare my daughter's life."

Trigon smiled. It was a smile with pure evil. Arella could sense the grin even with his back was facing her. "Dear, dear. The others are just 'side dishes'. The main course is Azar's descendants. You see, we possessed the most incredible and strongest powers there is. Each of them is unique, and I'm collecting all of them. Azar may have protected Raven, but I will do anything to find her. I'll take her powers the very day she has come of age. Nothing and no one is going in my way."

Trigon turned and looked at his wife sharply. She wished she would be able to face Raven that moment, and stare at her soothing amethyst eyes. And tell her how anyone couldn't love her the way she could. Instead, those evil red eyes had somehow bore into hers before hers were closed permanently.

Raven remembered when Trigon crashed into her great-grandfather's house, bragging about her mother's death by his own hands. But Raven was too shocked to fight him back, and Azar had to hold her behind his back without Trigon knowing. But either way, it was no use. Raven couldn't even blink, let alone think of what was next. Azar was instantly killed that day of their encounter. His powers were seized away. Azar somehow knew that that day was coming. He knew the consequences of protecting Raven. And thus he had cast an invisible spell on her for her own's safety. The magic was temporary but lasted for a long time. Thanks to the spell, only Trigon was unable to see her.

And this was the reason Trigon sent a beast to chase after her. Her scent couldn't hide her away even if she were invisible to the beasts.

Raven's footsteps met no end. It echoed throughout the hospital. She could not figure out how she could still run with an empty stomach. There was no fuel for her to keep going. Maybe the adrenaline gave a boost. Raven hoped that the hormone was secreted continuously. She needed to be safe so her friends could be saved.

Raven looked back.

Rage filled the face of the beast, a typical ferocious look she used to see. Raven turned so she was facing him and quickly held out both her hands towards him. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

._.

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Rich fidgeted continuously. Vic, on the other hand, grew aggravated.

"Stop it, will ya? Don't tell me you wanna take a piss," Vic said.

"No," Rich replied, much to Vic's relief, "I'm just nervous about Kori."

"Then think of how to escape," Vic suggested. Rich nodded and tried his best not to be too anxious. He knew he was supposed to be calm in any kind of situation, though he found it extremely difficult to do so when something happened to Kori.

Rich suddenly cursed and banged his head backwards so it hit the wall behind him. "I'm so stupid!"

"What?" asked Vic. He could tell Rich had figured a way out of this.

"I have a pocket knife. It's in my back pocket. Think you could reach for it?" Rich stirred and wiggled his bottom so that his behind was facing Vic. Vic also moved so that his hands that were tied at his back could reach for the small knife in Rich's pocket jeans.

"I'll get out of here through the ceiling and get Raven. I hope she wakes up by now."

"She's not gonna be happy to find out that Malcolm's dead and her dad's trying to get to her," Vic said. By now he was already cutting the ropes that tied Rich up.

Rich chuckled lowly. "We're never gonna be happy as long as we live in this world."

Rich was finally free. He rubbed his wrists to alleviate the pain and soon after he untied the ropes that held Vic.

._.

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Raven needed her magic dusts. The ones that kept beasts from tracking her scent. Unfortunately, she left her backpack back at the ward. And worse, she forgot which way she had to go. Raven groaned, frustrated with her lack of luck and her bad sense of direction. On the contrary, she was a bit grateful that she remembered a few spells and that she possessed the power of telekinesis to protect herself.

Above all, she was grateful she ended up in the hospital kitchen.

She raided the fridge and pantry, finding anything that was edible. She didn't care if the food was spoiled, she just wanted to eat.

While she gobbled up a small loaf of dried bread ravenously, she noticed something speaking in her head. There was a faint voice yelling for her. 'Oh no, not again. Not now.'

She knew that the beast was near. He was warning her that he was near.

But that voice didn't tell her to run.

"I don't want to do this. Stop making me doing this! Stop. Controlling. ME!" She heard him speak.

She sensed a struggle in his voice. He wasn't speaking to her. He was speaking to another person. And at the same time, he was letting her know about it. At that moment she was certain that the beast really was under Trigon's control.

With her magic, Raven grabbed trolleys, tables and anything that could keep the door from being crashed down by the beast. In the mean time, she tried to telepathically connect with Trigon. She needed to persuade him to release her friends. She knew this sounded impossible and impossible enough to believe. But she needed to try.

"Father, I know you're somewhere out there. Answer me."

"Daughter."

"I'm the one you want. I'm the one you're after. Not the beast and not my friends. Let go of them. Stop torturing them. They don't deserve this."

"As much as they don't deserve you. You're a witch, dear Raven. They see you as nothing but a threat. They hate you. They hate us."

"No, they hate you. I hate you. Mother hates you. Because even in this world, you're the real BEAST!"

A deafening laugh echoed in her head. It began to ache and she found it difficult to concentrate and stay connected to her father. She gritted her teeth, trying to keep her focus. She prayed he would stop. The guffaws sounded ruthless and gruesome.

When the guffaws abated, he began to speak again. Though, she could still hear the remnants of his laughter. She grew aggravated by them.

"Then that makes you the daughter of the beast. Now, now... let's cut the chase. Truthfully, that was one hell of a show. Even though I couldn't see you, you manage to entertain me. The way your bloody footprints running from that green beast, wow you're fast. Really, I'm impressed. I'd like to play another game, you know. I hope you don't mind."

She could sense him grinning. Oh how she wished she could rip it off of his face.

"I mind a lot, but it's not hard to understand that you couldn't care less."

"Oh, I care Raven. I care for you and your friends. Because if you refuse to play–"

Raven didn't want to hear this. She wanted to cupped her ears, but the voice was in her head.

"They're all gonna die."

She hoped he would stop there. She hoped.

"Slowly and painfully."

._.

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Rich was now standing outside the operating room. He managed to escape. But he failed to kick the door opened. Clearly, the magic hadn't worn off. He ran back towards Raven's ward to check on her. As he arrived, he noticed that the ward was empty. Raven had woke up and probably looking for them. There was also a long trail of blood heading towards the other side of the hospital. It was Kori's.

But it wasn't the only thing he had noticed.

Right outside the ward, at the door, an object lay still.

It was his Glock 17.

He picked it up and pressed the magazine release and let the empty magazine drop onto the floor. He pulled out a loaded one from his left shoe and inserted it in his gun. He placed his left hand on top of the slide and pulled it back sharply before releasing it. By this, he felt good to finally reunite with his gun.

Without wasting anymore time, he followed the trail to search for Raven.

Wow suddenly writer's block is gone! Wheww.

I like suspense. But I feel like a psychopath when I write Trigon's threats and games and all.

Anyway do REVIEW! :)