Summoning the Beast (Kardus/1 or 2 Titans)

Gray Girl listened quietly as Kasha spoke and a wave of fear fell over her. What if doing this just invited it to take back control? This is the same terror that had been stalking her dreams for most of her life. It didn't show her compassion when she didn't sleep for weeks at a time. Whenever they had encountered each other it had always approached her with malice, hate, an insatiable hunger. Why should she treat it any differently? Maybe this was her chance to kill it, she could live her own life.

As her moment of fear arose, she could sense the terror licking its lips, as if she had thrown it a few scraps. Gray Girl turned to the spiritual form that seemed to be Kasha. "It won't leave, I don't think..." she started, speaking completely calmly. "I can't kill it...It's a part of me now. I can either ignore it...starve it until it's barely a thought...or I can be better than it. I can reach out to it and use this creature, wherever it came from, for something better."

Carrie took a step forward, away from the house and Kasha. If she wanted their relationship to be any different than just a girl and her monster, she should probably give it a name. "Just give me a minute to talk to him..."

The house slowly disappeared behind her as she roamed into the forest. The scenery became much darker. This thing was a parasite, it would never leave. She could use it maybe, or if she found it, maybe she could convince it to leave. "Clarke! Where are you hiding!?" She yelled the first name that popped into her head.

She had known a Clarke before. Back when she was in public school, she had to be five or six, there was a boy in her class. She had never spoken to him, but she knew she loved him. That was, until recess when she saw him beating up a kid behind the school. She told a teacher and he wasn't around much after that.

She weaved between the trees, meandering around, unsure of where she should turn. For some reason, though, she could feel it staring at her, between the trees, as if it was waiting for something. "Clarke! Why...are you hiding??"

Carrie was frustrated. The monster from her dreams was never like this. Something had happened to it. It was different than before. Almost angry now, Carrie spun around a last trunk. "Stop hiding..."

Then she saw him. The large black inky monster that she had grown to know sat, shriveled, skinny and defeated behind the trees. Carrie stood dumbstruck at the creature. She leaned over the creature, her hand trembling as she tried to touch it. Clarke looked over with hate in its eyes. Everything began to make sense to her. Clarke wasn't leaving. It was just as confused as she was. It would either live on the fringes of her mind, shriveled up and starving, or it could live with her, as a friend.

Carrie got down on her knees. She could tell that the creature wanted to skitter away, but it lacked the energy. It grumbled and hissed as she laid her hand on its head. "You don't need to starve...you can stay...if you'll help me."

As she spoke, the creature calmed down and began glowing. A white beam exploded out from it as it emerged.



It stood proudly beside Carrie and as she felt her becoming one with it for a moment, she could still sense fear in him. Clarke was looking into the forest and for a moment, she seemed to see some kind of long black serpent along the ground. In a moment, the forest was gone.

---

Carrie opened her eyes for a moment and glanced around as she saw Garnet and Meta standing over her. Before she could speak, shadows began flowing around her, transforming her into the visage the terror. She leaned and looked over the Titans and Kasha. She could feel the massive amount of strength that she now possessed.

"It worked! I...I can't believe it worked!" She turned to Kasha. As she spoke, her voice would be heard simultaneously with a deeper voice. "Thank you, Kasha, for helping me."

The serpent that she had seen in her dream worried her slightly, but she brushed it away as if it was just her imagination. Gray Girl then turned to speak to Garnet and Meta. "Would you guys be willing to help me find out what I can do with this guy? I can feel that he's very strong."

They waited and waited, Gray Girl was still in a coma like state with no progress for several minutes. However, Garnet knew these things took time and couldn't be rushed, it wouldn't be as successful if they rushed her. Especially when this was extremely important, all Meta and Garnet could do was wait.
It all paid off because Gray Girl woke up and slowly the fog became apart of her. It wrapped around her like a cocoon and she emerged as a beast, but instead of the beastly voice came out the voice of a small girl. Garnet was proud to see the girl become one with this monster and stand there before them, asking to see what he can do. "Why don't we try speed first, let's have a race!" Garnet said enthusiastically, probably the only time either of them heard her sound this way. It was almost like she was a mother with the way she was acting.

"Use your surroundings to win!"

A race? GG thought about the notion idea for a moment, unsure of where it came from. She supposed it made sense. She hadn't voluntarily controlled this skin before so she was certainly not used to the feel. It would be interesting to see if she could control her body motions at all, let alone win a foot race against some of the Titans. Finally, the big inky beast nodded down to Garnet and Meta and leaned forward like she'd seen from track runners.

As if understanding the group's desires, Carrie could see a black and white checkered finish line forming deep into the trees in the distance. A she stood in that form, she saw things differently. Everything seemed to have an extra outline, just shaking slightly, as if she was still in a dream, but everything was visceral, tactile, real.

GG smirked lightly, unsure if it would seem menacing in this form or not. "Looks like the Danger Room's got the right idea. We'll have to weave through the trees on our way to make it interesting. I guess we'll see if I can handle these motor skills or not."

With a glance to her left and right, the beast cleared its throat. "Three...Two...One...GO!"

With a jump, GG bounded into the woods at surprising speeds. GG galloped between the trees with moderate success, clipping trunks with her shoulders. She slipped for a moment as she took a sharp turn and charged straight into a large trunk. After a moment of panic, she plowed through the tree, tearing it apart and letting the wood chips fly around him. She bounded aggressively across the finish line, probably not first, but displaying the ferociousness that her former night terror was capable of.

The danger room seemed to sense what was going on because as they spoke of a race, a black and white checkered area would appear a distance away. Nonetheless, Gray Girl was down for a race and Meta decided to take part as well. This was good, seeing others want to help GG is something she needs to see to be able to conquer this demon of hers. If you don't feel like someone is there to help you, you are likely to crumble.
As the three got lined up, GG counted down and took off, with Garnet quickly to follow. She wasn't really running, she was just jumping at long distances and avoiding most trees. At this point, Garnet wasn't trying to win, she was staying behind Gray Girl to see how well she controlled the beast. It was surprising how fast she was, yes, but it got to a point where it was just taking out object in its way instead of dodging it. This was a powerful girl.

Garnet had no idea where Meta was at the moment, but the two girls were about to cross the finish line.