Honor Born, Honor Bound
Chapter four: Duel
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I don't even have a share in Warner Brother's or DC Comic's stock, so don't sue me if something shows up here that unintentionally matches the comics, or somebody else's ideas. Also, the whole real scenario here is mine, as well as all the new characters I bring in.
Author's note: Look at the title and read. Then review.
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Raven glared at the noble. Yes, that was what Falchion was; she could feel power coming off him in waves now, and that crystal wasn't on his shirt, it was in his chest! Raven glared at the faintly glowing red gem in Falchion's chest, wondering if there was any chance of survival. After all, his race had been known to end worlds.
"You've made your last mistake, Vronse. This is my territory; didn't you think I'd be prepared for such an attack?" Falchion said, his voice sounded inhuman, like a cold wind rustling through millions of cherry blossoms.
"Oh? What have you done, then? I've come this far, to the center of your precious wards thanks to that child," Vronse said calmly, smirking. "And I haven't met anything worth mentioning yet."
"Oh, really?" Falchion said, allowing a slight twitch of amusement to touch the corner of his mouth. "Then have you met Wren?"
"Wren?" Vronse asked, narrowing his eyes.
Raven heard Vronse cry out behind her, and turned around in time to see a massive tail sliding soundlessly through the ceiling without so much as a sound. She got a glimpse of a black boot before the ceiling shifted like water to let the creature through.
"Raven, take care of Beast Boy. As soon as Vronse is outside the tower, he'll recover," Falchion said, turning to leave, smirking. "Don't wait up."
"Wait! Whose side are you…" Raven shouted, turning back to him, but it was too late; the doorway was empty, with only a gust of air to show Falchion had ever been there.
Raven turned to the comatose changeling lying on the couch. She felt completely helpless a questions surged to the surface of her mind, drowning out all other thoughts. Was Falchion a traitor, a spy, or something else? Who was Vronse, really, and how could a demon like him just appear on earth, let alone Falchion, a noble that should have died with his race over four thousand years ago?
Raven slumped down on the couch to wait, whether for Beast Boy to wake up or Falchion to return, she didn't know.
Somehow, with all the questions and confusion, calling the others slipped her mind.
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Falchion arrived on the roof in time to see Vronse wrestling Wren off him with the demonic strength that had made him famous in the Netherworld.
"What's the matter, my friend giving you trouble?" Falchion said coolly, leaning against the stairwell. Vronse rammed his fist into Wren's head and then sending the massive creature whistling toward the roof with a well-placed kick. Falchion shifted to catch it, moving with a speed and grace that would have stunned the Flash and surprised Batman. The dragon shrank as it fell so that it was only the size of a large cat when Falchion caught it.
"Hardly! That thing couldn't beat me in a thousand years!" Vronse said smugly, dusting off his shoulders.
"He'll be about the size of a planet in a thousand years, and not a bit slower because of it," Falchion said, stroking the dragon gently. "On top of that, he's the future Nether Dragon. I seriously doubt you can beat the Keeper of Hell."
"Enough useless jabbering. Seeing as how you sicced your dragon on me, I'm demanding a duel. Now," Vronse said, cracking his knuckles. Falchion gently tossed Wren into the air, where the small dragon hovered anxiously.
"It's fine, Wren. Go stay with Raven," Falchion said coldly, letting all emotion drain from him. No distractions could be allowed in a duel of this level, and the dragon would doubtlessly be an indirect target for Vronse during the duel.
"Nice! You know I can't attack Raven, so you're protecting the dragon and that green kid all at once, right? I see you really were prepared for me!" Vronse said as the dragon flew through the roof, leaving a ripple in reality where it had bent matter. "It won't change a thing. Hal Suen Vercecutra auun. Gein vorushein, Xaen Rah?"
"Coru meletsi shuramei," Falchion said, pulling a small brown object from the back of his jacket.
Vronse gave a single chuckle as a similar black object to Falchion's appeared in his hand.
The roof of Titans Tower nearly caved in with the force Falchion used to launch himself towards Vronse. The object in his hand came to life and a long, powerful blade of energy leapt forth from it in perfect time with Falchion's diagonal slash. Vronse blocked the attack with a similar blade generated by his black object, but the force of Falchion's attack sent him hurtling away regardless.
"Gaukka Zuratose Zhun!" Falchion yelled, bringing around his left hand to face Vronse as he positioned his right hand for the next attack. Flame leapt forward in a wave, easily hot enough to melt solid steel. Vronse split the attack with a blast of frozen energy, similarly delivered from his left hand, and swept forward with his sword ready. Falchion was one step ahead; rather than letting Vronse get close enough to use his impressive strength, Falchion shot a blade of pure energy toward his enemy by swinging his sword. Vronse swatted it aside, leaving himself open for a split second.
Falchion's knee found Vronse's face in that moment, and the red-eyed demon hurtled part way through the roof. Falchion launched four more of his long range blade attacks and an impressive wave of flame into the hole he'd made in the roof before Vronse shot out of the side of the tower, bleeding from under his left eye. Falchion couldn't help but smirk; his wards had held up to such a level of attack without giving an inch.
Vronse didn't waste any time; several hundred razor sharp ice spikes shot towards Falchion with deadly precision. The spikes were far too fast for Falchion to melt with the fire chant. Falchion was only just fast enough to dodge them in midair, but it left him horribly exposed. Vronse sent an energy blade quite similar to Falchion's straight at him. It was almost enough to disarm the Noble.
Falchion had no choice but to use a second tier attack. The blade of Falchion's sword shifted and spread into an orb of crackling white energy, blocking all of Vronse's attacks at once.
"Well, that's new," Vronse chuckled as he launched a wave of vicious energy blades. Falchion batted them aside, his sword in its proper shape again, and tried to judge just how much power he could risk using
Vronse had no idea that Falchion knew more than the second tier attacks; in fact, he thought that he still had the advantage when he launched another wave of ice spikes and renewed his energy barrage.
"Banryuha," Falchion said, his voice booming through the air with all the power of a sky dragon. As Vronse's attacks reached him, Falchion's sword pulled them together into a tight bundle of frozen crystal and raw energy. Falchion gritted his teeth as he put a good forty percent of his power into taking the attack for himself, infusing it with a massive energy wave and sending it back to its master. Normally, it shouldn't have even come close to hitting Vronse because the attack was so slow.
But Vronse was caught completely off guard. He hardly had time to realize just what Falchion had done before the orb was on him. He raised his sword to ward it off, and the blade shattered into millions of tiny wisps of energy that were sucked into the orb.
"No!" Vronse cried, forced to catch the orb with his hands, he was trying to force it back. "I won't be beaten so easily! You'll see, Noble! I'll be back! The same trick won't work twice!"
The orb detonated, sending Vronse clear across the bay. Falchion was tempted to go after him, but he hesitated. There was far too much water to be safe with an ice wielder nearby. No; besides it was not necessary to go after him. As he had just said, he intended to return, and Falchion intended to have the Titans in fighting shape when he did. In the meantime, renewing his wards was at the top of his list.
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Raven stared at the small dragon as it slid through the ceiling and alighted on the end of the couch. It had eyes as green, as inhuman, as Falchion's. Raven shivered as it sat there, watching her.
She was so preoccupied with the odd, gold and red dragon that she didn't even notice that Beast Boy was shivering until she heard his teeth chattering.
"Beast Boy?" Raven asked, taking hold of his arm gently. He was awake but he still felt like he'd been sitting in a freezer.
"R ..R .Raven?" Beast Boy chattered, shaking uncontrollably. "What h-happened?"
"I'm not sure, but…," Raven said, then she stopped. Then dragon had hopped onto the couch next to Beast Boy and put a clawed foreleg on his thigh, not unlike a dog. Beast Boy gave a sigh of gratitude as warmth flowed into him.
"I don't know what this little guy is, but man am I glad he's so warm!" Beast Boy exclaimed, the cold already leaving him. The dragon puffed a little ring of scentless white smoke and emitted a low grumble, not unlike a cat purring. Raven stared at it, remembering just how huge it could become if it wanted. It was easily large enough to eat Beast Boy with no problem.
The entire tower shook several times. It had felt like a series of extremely powerful earthquakes, but Raven knew better. The hairs on her neck stood on end from the energy she felt crackling into the roof above them. If it broke through, there was no chance of living through it. Raven hastily said her chant and put a layer of black energy up to support the ceiling, just in case.
The attacks broke off before her shield was fully in place, but that unsettling energy still crackled somewhere above her, sending wave after wave of ambient energy coursing over the tower. Raven's entire body was tingling uncomfortably from it.
Less than a minute later the attacks stopped, leaving Raven almost numb. Beast Boy was staring at the ceiling and the dragon was wiping its tail in worry, its huge, pointed ears flattened in passive anger.
"Are you alright, Beast Boy?" Raven asked after a moment. He looked fine, actually; the cold had completely left him.
"Yeah, I think so. But what the heck just happened? I mean, everything was shaking!" Beast Boy answered, pointing around the room. "And what happened to the TV?"
"That was me, actually," Raven said as sheepishly as she could without losing her monotone.
The communicator on Beast Boy's belt beeped loudly and he reflexively answered it.
"What's happening at the tower? The entire city was shaking!" Robin said angrily. It looked like Starfire was carrying him back to the tower.
"I'll tell you when you get here," Raven said, shoving Beast Boy aside. She couldn't imagine why she hadn't thought of calling Robin earlier.
"Fine, but you better call Cyborg too," Robin said irritably before he turned off his communicator. Raven punched in the combination for Cyborg before Beast Boy could object. They both knew he was probably busy.
"Yo! What just happened?" Cyborg asked as soon as the communicator connected. "My sensors said that shaking was coming from the tower, but I was in Metropolis when it started!"
" Just come back as quickly as you can," Raven said quietly. "I'll explain when we're all here." Raven shuddered. If people were feeling the effects of that energy battle in Metropolis, the Justice League would probably get involved, and things could get out of hand. The league was powerful, but they had a tendency to act quickly in delicate matters. Still, she couldn't deny that there was a Demon Noble living in Titans Tower, and as such, he was a threat to the entire planet.
The dragon came over and climbed into Raven's lap, purring approvingly. She stared at the creature for moment, and decided against throwing it off. It had helped get rid of Vronse, after all.
Robin and Starfire rushed into the room several minutes later to find Beast Boy pacing and mumbling irritably to himself about how Raven was always so secretive. Raven was holding the dragon lightly, oblivious to everyone as she tried to sort out her feelings for Falchion. It was obvious to her now that he'd manipulated her every step of the way; yet at the same time, nothing he'd done had been malicious.
"What happened?" Robin demanded, rushing up to Raven.
"Dude, don't even try! She's totally zoned out!" Beast Boy said irritably, flailing his arms.
"Please, friend, what has happened? The roof has been nearly reduced to rubble!" Starfire asked innocently.
"Falchion," Raven said calmly, looking up.
"Oh? Did someone say my name?" Falchion said coolly, sticking his head around the corner of the hallway.
Raven jumped up, completely forgetting about the dragon. It didn't really matter; the creature was already flying towards its master.
"Easy, those claws are sharp," Falchion said casually as the dragon latched onto his arm lovingly.
"Who are you?" Raven yelled suddenly. The entire Tower shook for a moment as her energy ran partially wild.
"That's hardly the tone you should take with someone that just saved your life," Falchion said with a casual smirk, setting his head to one side.
"He said you were a noble," Raven said angrily, only dimly aware that her friends were watching. "You shouldn't exist."
"Really? You must have done rather more reading than I thought," Falchion said sarcastically. "But the fact is, I do exist, so I guess that means the book was wrong. So then, how can you trust anything else you read out of it?"
"How can I trust you?" Raven hissed through gritted teeth.
"I guess you'll just have to think about that for yourself," Falchion said calmly, closing one eye.
"Are you working for Trigon?" Raven said bluntly, despite all she'd been taught about speaking a demons name. Falchion stared at her blankly for a moment before he started quaking with surpassed laughter. He wiped a tear away from his left eye and sighed.
"I'm sorry, I know it's a serious question," Falchion said when he saw the hate Raven was directing at him, but it was still hard not to smile. "It's just that the idea of working for someone so much weaker than myself is just so ridiculous!"
"Weaker…?" Raven asked, all anger forgotten; the idea of there being someone stronger than her father was something she'd never considered.
"Really, how strong did you think he could be alongside a Noble? He's only the Eighth strongest demon, after all," Falchion said, tossing Wren onto his shoulder. "In any case, I really don't have time for a long discussion right now; I need to renew the wards and set up a few new ones so Vronse doesn't get another shot at the tower."
And with that, Falchion was gone, far more quickly than any of the Titans could see. Raven stared after him for a moment, suppressing her emotions. It didn't work, really; her right eye was twitching uncontrollably.
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Author's Note: Wow, that Falchion sure is good at getting out of things, huh? In any case, if you're reading this, REVIEW NOW! Next chapter will be up eventually, just as soon as I decide how much I want you to know; can't tell you everything about Falchion now, right? That wouldn't leave anything for the next Fic! Oh yes, translations of the old tongue used in this chapter are below.
Hal Suen Vercecutra auun, Xaen Rah – I challenge you to a death duel. Do you accept, Noble?
Coru meletsi shuramei – I accept this duel(not a duel to the death, notice. Falchion escaped the responsibility of killing Vronse)
Character Talk
Me: Slitherer outererer!
Falchion: A whatsit?
Raven: He means you! How do you do it? Every time I think I'm going to get some answers out of you, poof, you vanish!
Vronse: Quit complaining! At least you don't have to fight him!
Me: He won't tell me this, he fights too rough, he's evil…sheesh, all I ever hear from you people are complaints!
Beast Boy: Dude! You turned me into a zombie and made me stupid! Where do you get this stuff, Friday night specials?
Me: No. What makes you think that? I don't even watch those specials. Really.
Robin: I don't care. At least I'll have some lines in the next chapter.
Me: Really? Have you read the script yet?
Cyborg: Do you have some personal problem with using us in your story or something?
Me: Not really, I just like Raven better. And Beast Boy was the only one stupid enough for Vronse to manipulate, and Falchion's just better than you.
Falchion: I'm glad we got that cleared up. Anyway, next episode, Terror Door! The truth may finally be revealed! (Sure it will…)
Me: Stupid! I only use one-word chapter titles! And besides, this is a fan fiction, so giving an episode preview is meaningless!
Vronse: So what is it, then? Recuperation?
Me: Stop guessing, it makes you sound pitiful. The next chapter is just called Steps.