[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230203/c4c0e0e354a223fc3575b6683fba53c4.png[/img][hr]
[color=CC00CC][h2]The Raven[/h2][/color][/center][hr]
The night must've been a particularly violent one for Gotham, Rachel found herself musing quietly as she ducked down yet another decrepit alleyway. As she grew closer and closer to the blessed oasis of the night that could only be provided by free tacos, her mind was continually assaulted with the same emotions and surface thoughts. Fear, pain, anger, and then... silence. She knew what those emotions meant, she'd felt them all before too many times in this cursed city. Somewhere nearby, people were losing their lives. Snuffed out by the cruelty that ran in the city's veins, likely more innate to the way Gotham operated than anything else in this damnable place. A long sigh left her lips as she shook her head, eyes closed for the briefest of moments. A couple more streets, that was all she needed to make and then she could forget about all this tragedy for a little bit. Well, not really, but she'd be able to push it to the back of her mind at the very least. 

[b][color=#e60000]"Sure about all that?"[/color][/b] Came the specter's voice again, earning itself an ancient gesture using only Rachel's middle finger by way of a response. 

[b][color=#e60000]"Seems pretty endemic to this place. I could silence it all, you know."[/color][/b] The voice said again, causing Rachel to pause her walk. 

Closing her eyes, she dove deep into her subconscious. Reaching out for that serenity she'd longed learned to hold deep within herself, to form a cage for the monster currently haunting her every step. As she did, Red threw a variety of inappropriate curses and threats her way amidst a series of demands to not be locked away. Yet, after only a few minutes, Rachel's mind was quiet once more. The technique was useful but temporary. Often times more of a hassle to perform than the temporary respite it provided from Red's constant attempts to seduce her into a more demonic way of seeing things. Giving a little shrug, Rachel then turned her attention to the path ahead to finish off her trip to the shelter. As she approached, not even five minutes later, Rachel immediately knew that something was horrifically wrong. The typical line out front was missing, and the door sat closed. The volunteers who usually were outside with a smile on their features, welcoming any into the building, were missing. Slowly, Rachel made her way closer as another key detail registered with her. 

[center][i]The Silence.[/i][/center]

In a swift move, Rachel yanked open the front door and stepped into the shelter. As the heavy door slammed itself shut behind her, Rachel froze in place with eyes wide in horror. [color=CC00CC]"W-what..."[/color] Rachel stammered out, taking a step back as she looked about the cafeteria-styled central lounge. Yet, instead of the typical bustle of hungry people tucking into their free food... only chaos filled the room. The scent of blood and death reeked all about, with bodies littering the floor and tables. Sitting amidst drawn-out circles and makeshift alters, the killings were clearly part of some twisted ritual. Rachel slowly pieced together that the thoughts and emotions from before were those of the homeless and volunteers who now lay lifeless on the floor. In a fraction of a second, the girl found herself bent over as she lost her lunch from the pure horror of the scene before her. Somehow, the girl found herself being drawn further into the cafeteria, eyes still wide in horror. 

Then she froze, staring at the stage that sat at the far end of the shelter. Where typically volunteers would get up to make announcements, or use a projector to play some film. Yet, it was now covered in those same crimson paints. The ritualistic markings were... horrifyingly familiar to Rachel. Even as her gaze fell on the image in the center of the altar, she already knew exactly who had caused all this chaos. The Cult of Trigon. This fact was only further cemented by the picture of herself sitting in the center of the altar, with inscriptions dedicating these sacrifices to 'The Raven', hoping to bring her back home, to their embrace. The room about her seemed to shutter, as her mind filled once more with vicious noise. The remnants of those who had been slaughtered here, and the meddling of a certain being within her own mind. [b][color=#e60000]"Beautiful. They did this for you, Rachel."[/color][/b] Came that very voice, even as Rachel's breaths became more ragged, and tears welled up in her eyes. Panic settled in over the girl's mind, enveloping her even as Red slowly strode about to sit calmly atop a corpse draped over the edge of a table. 

[b][color=#e60000]"They want us to come home, you know, to fulfill our duty."[/color][/b] Red whispered a deviant grin upon her features as Rachel's tortured gaze drifted towards her. [b][color=#e60000]"All this... [i]tragic[/i] loss of life, 'tis meant to be a gift. Their pain feeds us and gives us strength. Their fear breaks our chains. Their rage unbinds the power deep within us, so we might... become more."[/color][/b] Red said softly, that grin turning steadily more demonic even as Rachel noticed a figure approaching from behind the main altar. A man wearing the robes of the cult, and brandishing a bloodied dagger as he approached. He spoke, but words did not reach Rachel's ears, anger flooded through her very being... and too late did she realize the mistake she'd made. 

[b][color=#e60000]"Did I say us? Oh, I meant ME."[/color][/b] Red growled out, surging forward to meld into Rachel. The last thing that the girl heard before everything faded black was a single, whispered promise. [b][color=#e60000]"I'll take care of him for you."[/color][/b]

When Rachel finally managed to claw her way back to the surface, she was standing on the altar now, her jeans stained a deep red. The broken form of the cultist lay before her, and the midnight-black shadow of her soul self slowly edged its way back into her form. She staggered back, shaking her head at the chaos before her. [color=CC00CC]"W-what did you do..."[/color] She whispered, yet heard no response from Red. Her body shaking, she slowly turned from the scene and made a mad dash for the exit. She needed to leave, to get away. As she dashed out of the building, Rachel spotted the nearby assembly of news trucks already recording the building... and her. In the distance, she heard police sirens growing closer and closer. 

[color=CC00CC][i]I have to get away... I... this can't be happening again.[/i][/color] The girl thought quietly to herself, old memories slowly resurfacing from the last time she had encountered the cult.

And of the hero who saved her before, yet wouldn't be able to save her this time.