The Beast Within

Disclaimer: I don’t own iCarly, get over it.

A/N: Now we go to 15 years of age.

Chapter 21 (A True Leader)

Spencer growled and crossed his arms, his wounds were healed but he was still upset over not being able to defeat Ahriman. Carly closed her eyes and sighed, it was clear to her the reason for his loss. His heart was blocked and clouded by all the hate he held in him, he wasn’t able to see or think clearly as long as it was all in him. Carly’s face tightened and she clenched her fists tightly, she knew her brother was already lost to his lust for revenge and blood, he could never come back. He would never make a good leader, and his craze for revenge was something that seemed to take control over him.

Carly narrowed her eyes and looked over at Spencer; he was staring into the sky, watching the direction that Ahriman flew off. She had noticed something odd about Ahriman when she saw him, the beast from Hell. It was something vague, something that seemed remotely familiar to her; she was unsure what that was. She shrugged it off and continued to stare at her brother, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh, knowing full well what would happen if he continued down the road of hate even more. Carly opened her eyes and narrowed them as she remembered one of her mother's teachings.

“Remember this, Carly,” Mrs. Shay said while looking down at her daughter. A pot was on the stove, water was starting to boil in it. “Slayers are unlike humans and Angels, we each have to learn to control our anger and our rage. Like this pot of water, we can’t let our anger get out of control.” Carly tilted her head to the side while her mom pulled some ingredients for the food from the counter. “Slayers that lose control of their anger are like the beast, they have that beast that is inside of them, it will awaken when their anger hits breaking point. If this peak is reached, then the Slayer must die, because when they lose control, they lose themselves. Do you know what happens when they lose themselves?”

“No Mommy, what happens then?” The water was boiling at a fast pace now, Mrs. Shay put the food in the pot and an explosion of steam shot out.

“They lose their soul…They lose their consciousness and everything about them is gone.”

Carly clenched her fists and her jaw tightened. “They turn into a beast for good,” Carly thought while narrowing her eyes. Spencer’s hate was growing more and more, she could see it whenever she looked at him, he was definitely on the verge of losing himself. “Either the Slayer must then die, like Mom did when she started losing herself, or they must have an Angel take their powers away. For Mom, there was no angel, and she knew that she was already on the trail to being lost. She had to die.” Carly closed her eyes once more and let out a sigh; she heard a shuffling sound and quickly opened her eyes to see Spencer looking at her.

“That damn beast escaped,” Spencer said with a tight jaw and fearsome eyes. “How the hell could I lose?” Carly looked toward the ground and sighed; she crossed her arms and looked at Spencer.

“Instead of dwelling over your loss, you should think about what went wrong and where, then strategize and learn from your mistakes. This beast is Ahriman, meaning devil, he is naturally very powerful.” Carly tilted her head to the side and stared at her brother, she wondered why he did not use the weapon that he had inherited from his father. “Aside from my strength, I have inherited my mother’s ability of using a mirage and teleporting elsewhere. I can do it about twenty times, as you know. Why have you not used the guns that you inherited from Dad? If you used those guns, you may have had a better chance against that demon.”

“What are you saying?”

“Instead, you chose to allow the hate to blind you and cause you not to think clearly, you went straight into attacking and did not think things through like you should have done.”

“We’re slayers, we don’t need to strategize, we’re strong enough to take down those bastards without any of that bothersome waste of time.” Carly closed her eyes and smirked, she knew he wasn’t thinking right; even now the beast within his own self was starting to become agitated.

“Thinking things through, seeing with open eyes and an open mind, these are how one wins a battle. These are how one decides whether something is just or whether something is unjust. Mom fell to her own blade because her hate grew more and she had started to lose her own soul to the demon in her. She knew she had to be stopped before she begun, and that is why she…took her own life.” Spencer’s eyes widened and he let out a growl. “Spencer, you have been traveling down the wrong path, you’re going down the path of hate.”

“What the hell are you saying? Carly, you’re not in a good position here.” Carly raised her eyebrow and Spencer grit his teeth, he let out a growl and positioned his arms toward his side. “My own sister…I know what you have been doing, I also know that you let a beast live.”

“That beast was a good beast, just like the beast you melted the other day. Every Slayer with good eyes can see it, but you were already blind, you have been blinded by your own insecurity.”

“I should believe what you say? I know you lied to me Carly, I found out when you fought that beast, that was Freddie, wasn’t it?” Carly’s eyes widened slightly, she closed her eyes and scoffed.

“Maybe it was, is there anything wrong with that?”

“Why the hell is he still alive, Carly? You’re a Slayer, do your job! He’s lied to us; he deceived us, only to get us closer to him so that we would be strung in a web of lies and spare his life!”

“That’s where you are wrong, Slayers and Angels alike are supposed to see into the heart and soul of someone, they can tell if the beast inside is evil or not. Freddie is not evil, he is human, the beast that lives inside of him is not an evil one either.” Spencer’s hands shook slightly; he closed his eyes and scoffed.

“You’re already caught up in the web of lies; I suppose this beast has caused you to become blind.”

“It is you that is blind; you cannot properly lead a group when you are so blind. Not all beasts are evil, the beast that Mom fought had not been evil, yet because of an event, she became blind and therefore she ended her own life. It is you that fell from her teachings, not her.”

“Remember that a true leader must keep an open mind to think clearly,” Mrs. Shay said with a smile and a kind voice. “One must have an open ear to listen clearly, open heart to judge properly, and open eyes to see all. Revenge, hate, anger, regret, fear, these things and more are what closes all these things and shuts you out to the world. These are the things that will open you and turn you into a ravenous, bloodthirsty beast.”

“I’m sorry to say Carly, but since you have disobeyed my strict orders, I have to stop you,” Spencer said with narrow eyes. Carly raised her eyebrows and watched as two guns appeared in Spencer’s hands. Carly sighed and stared at him.

“So that is how it is? I must subdue that beast inside you before it awakens, because if it awakens, that is what Ahriman wants. If that beast awakens, then I will have no choice…but to end your life.” A sword appeared in Carly’s hand; she held it close to her and narrowed her eyes. “I am sorry Mom, Spencer has lost himself, please give me the strength to teach him the error of his ways.” Spencer lifted his hands and fired off two gunshots, Carly shouted and brought her sword up to deflect the bullets.

“Carly, you have to know that you have fallen, accept your penalty!” Carly narrowed her eyes once more and charged toward Spencer, he punched at her and missed her.

“It is not I that has fallen, Spencer! It is you; do you not see that your strict rules and lust for revenge has caused a rift and tension between the Slayers and the world?” Carly dodged a bullet shot by Spencer and then slashed her sword toward the gun. Spencer leapt back and glared at her. “Spencer, you can’t push your desire for hate onto everyone, you are forcing them to slaughter innocent people. The evil beasts are usually the ones that live inside evil humans!”

“All beasts are evil, regardless, they killed Mom!”

“Mom killed herself, and she killed the beast. It was with this sword that she struck herself!” Carly slashed the sword toward one of Spencer’s gun and sliced it in two. Spencer shouted and leapt back; he glared at Carly and narrowed his eyes.

“You shouldn’t listen to the lies that the beasts tell you, I wonder how many lies Freddie has been telling you…” Spencer aimed his gun toward Carly and fired off another shot, hitting her in the shoulder. Carly yelped and clasped her shoulder tightly; she growled and stared at Spencer as though she was looking into his soul.

“He’s already become tainted, if I’m not careful, he will turn into a beast. I have to end this before that happens, but will I be able to do such a thing?” Carly charged toward Spencer and aimed her sword at his gun, she slashed at it only to have him pull back and fire another shot into her arm. “Damn, of course he thinks I’m the tainted one.” She knew he was only doing what he perceived as his job, but it was wrong. “He makes a poor leader, that’s for sure.”

“Carly, when are you going to accept the fact that all beasts are evil? It’s known, that’s the way it always has been, we have to exterminate every last one of them.” Carly narrowed her eyes and grit her teeth, no, they were not all evil and that was something he didn’t get.

“Sure, as long as there are beasts in this world, there will be evil ones, but there are definitely good beasts around here. They are everywhere, and you would be able to see them, if your eyes were open. A proper leader is supposed to know these things!”

“Is that it?” Spencer smirked and Carly raised her eyebrow, Spencer’s hand tightened around his gun and his eyes narrowed. “You want my seat; you want my seat so that you can allow these beasts to destroy the world.”

“What? Hell no, I don’t want that, but I know one thing that you do not know, you do not make a good leader. I don’t dare say that I would make a good leader, but I can say this, there are Slayers out there who would make better leaders than you. It is because those Slayers fight with open eyes, open minds, open ears, and open hearts.” Carly slashed her sword toward Spencer and he jumped back slightly, but his gun was still sliced in half.

“Y-You attacked me…”

“No, I attacked the gun, but I also attacked the beast that is awakening inside of you. The more you try and dig into your hate, the more that beast will come out. Then, and only then, I may have to be forced to kill you, and I don’t desire that end.”

“Heh, I won’t become a beast, I may be the only one thinking logically here!” Carly growled slightly and the sword in her hand vanished. She glanced toward the ground and grit her teeth, a smirk formed on Spencer’s mouth. “Have you come to give up, have you realized that you are lost and you’ve decided to accept your punishment?”

“Damn it…” Carly punched Spencer in the face and sent him crashing into the ground; he sat up and stared at Carly, anger evident in his eyes. “Spencer, take a good look in the puddle next to you, take a good look at yourself.” Spencer raised his eyebrow and looked in the puddle, his eyes grew large and he quickly looked away. He lifted his hands up and stared at them, they were slightly wrinkled and a slight grayish color. “This is what your close-mindedness has done to you, all this hate and lust for revenge, the slaughter of innocents has begun to turn you into what you hate most. Spencer, it isn’t I that is the lost one here, it is you, you have lost yourself over all this burning rage inside of you.”

“I-I can’t believe this, I’m turning into this creature?” Spencer blinked and then looked up at Carly, her eyes were narrow and her fists were clenched as she stared down at him and let her hair blow in the wind. “I don’t care, I still have to lead the Slayers, I still have to defeat all the other beasts, and I must punish you for disobeying me!”

“Spencer…” Spencer growled and quickly got up, he rushed toward Carly and gasped as he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. His eyes widened and he stared into Carly’s stern but soft eyes, he glanced down and saw that she had made her sword appear once more and shoved it through him. “I’m sorry, but you are not strong enough, Spencer. You are not fit to lead the Slayers, you are not fit because you are weak…you are weak because of your own fault, your own raging heart.” Carly pulled her blade from him and he fell to his knees.

“C-Carly, how could you?” Carly sighed and looked over as Mrs. Puckett stepped next to her; Amy glanced down at Spencer and frowned.

“She’s right,” Amy said with a sigh. “You will not die here, but what will you do? You will still attack Freddie, you will still desire to slaughter all beasts, good and evil, you are not fit to lead. In this war that has begun, you will only lead the Slayers to ruin.”

“What will you do?” Amy lifted her hand up and pointed a finger toward Spencer, his eyes widened as a large blast of white light shot out and poured over his body.

“You will no longer have your slayer abilities, you will no longer remember Freddie as a beast, you will not know what a Beast is, nor will you know anything about Angels and Slayers. Spencer Shay, your penalty will be that of a normal human, your memories will be fixed.”

“My brother’s wound will be healed?” Carly asked while looking at Amy with a frown.

“Yes.”

“I did not want to fight him, but I suppose it was the only way.” Amy lowered her arm and Spencer lay on the ground, he was unconscious, as was a symptom for what had happened.

“You did the right thing, Carly, for you listened to what your mother taught you and because of that, you were calm and knew right from wrong. You saved your brother.”

“I saved him?”

“Yes, you spared him from the turmoil of allowing his hate devour his soul, I think he was looking for a savior because he knew what was going to happen to him. Carly, you make a better leader, it’s time for you to take your blade with you and lead the Slayers as the strongest Slayer. Do you think you can do this?” Amy looked at Carly and the Slayer then bowed her head.

“Yes, and I accept this.” Carly lifted her head and looked at Amy with determined eyes. “There will be a few changes that I must make, but I will not let you down, I will lead the Slayers with the best of my ability.” Amy smiled and nodded her head, she then looked to the side and frowned.

“There is something that we must tell Freddie, I suspect you know what it is.” Carly nodded and walked over to Spencer, they would have to wait for him to awaken, and then they would be going home.