"Guards." "No, don't hurt them." "Pleas show our guests out." One by one they where almost pushed threw the portal. Raven was just standing there. She wanted to say something, but it was like Apeps arm was draining her of all her energy.
"I never want to see them here again." "But they are my friend." "Friends?" Apep let her go and moved so he was standing in front of her. Now that his arm was gone she felt some of her energy come back.
"Raven they are different. We are different. They will never understand." "They do." He took one step closer and started to pet her hair. "Was that why you felt like the outsider? The odd one out? Didn't you choose not to do things with them? To decline when they wanted you to have fun."
"I didn't want them to be hurt." Raven couldn't say anything else. "And when you did that. Sacrificed yourself like that, what did they do? Thank you? No, they called you creepy. They thought you where weird, and mean. Antisocial. We will never think that about you Raven. You are with equals now. And that is why you can't talk with them anymore. They are different."
Raven nodded, blinded by her own tears, before she turned and calmly went back to her room. When she found sanctuary behind her locked doors she fell on the floor and cried. He was right.
She knew they cared. She could feel it. But she also knew they thought she was weird. She had been the odd one out. The fifth wheel. Apep was right. She was better of her with kinsmen. People who didn't care she was different.
She felt to her lips. Garfields kiss lingered on them. Where she could find people to love, where she didn't have to run away from fear of hurting them.
"You know, most people cry on their bed." "Most people know that it's rude to teleport into locked rooms. At least without knocking." "Aren't I glad I'm not like most people then." Raven sat up and smiled to the girl.
"I just wanted to see if you where all right." Raven moved so she was leaning at the foot of her bed, and motioned Luna to sit down next to her. Which she did.
"Apeps right." Luna eyes widened ever so slightly. Raven didn't notice. "He is?" "Yes. I love my friends, and I owe them my life, my heart and my sanity. But we are different, and there are things about me they will never understand."
"If I had what you had, I would never have left it." "You don't like it here?" "Now that you are here." The girl smiled, but Raven could feel she was hiding something that almost pulled her apart.
"What are you not telling me Luna?" "Raven I…" A knock on the door interrupted her. "Luna, are you inn there? My cd player is acting funny again." Lamias voice made the two girls smile. With her mind Raven unlocked the door, and the girl came in.
"Have you let Erik near it." "He just wanted to…" Luna rose and smiled weakly at Raven. "I better fix this." Then she turned to Lamia. "I told you, never let Erik near the cd player. Not only is his magnetic filed destined to destroy anything electronically. He's a clots." "I'm sorry." The two girls went out of the room, and Raven was once again alone.
She hated being alone. She had been alone so much in her life and she was tired of it. She rose to her feet and went out into the hall. Empty. She started to walk. Looking for someone, anyone, who could be with her. It was almost ironic. When she had been in the tower she had almost never found peace and quite to be alone. Now that she didn't want to be, she couldn't find anyone.
Suddenly she heard it. A ballade. So lovely it actually moved her to tears. She followed the music and went into a room she had never seen before. It was a bedroom, but a bit bigger than hers. And there in the corner, sat Apep playing the grand.
She went closer, and she knew he knew she was there. But he just continued to play. She stood so close to him she could have touched him if she wanted to. "Sit down. You're making me nervous when you're just standing there."
She sat down next to him. "Do you play?" "No." She looked down at his fingers, almost flying over the black and white keys. "To bad. We could have done a duet." She smiled to him, and was glad he smiled back.
"I just want to apologise. I have no right to tell you that you couldn't see your friends anymore." "You where right." "I just wish… Wait what?" He stopped playing and looked at her. "I love my friends, but you where right. I'm different. They are different. There are things about me they would never understand. Never see."
He rose and asked for her hand. "Dance with me." "There's no music." Suddenly the grand started to play by itself. "My gift. I can manipulate metal. Including the strings in the piano. Now dance with me." Reluctantly she took his hand and let him start leading her across the floor.
He was a good dancer. He never stumbled, even how much she stepped on his toes. She didn't have to tell him this was her first time dancing. After a while it became easier, and she even let out a chuckle.
Garfield should have seen me now, she thought as Apep twirled her inn to his arms. He would never believe it. The thought of Garfield made her stop.
"Is something wrong?" "I know you are right, and I should just forget my old friends, but it's so hard." He led her to a chair so she could sit down, before sitting down at her feet.
"I once had friends on the other side." "You did?" "Or at least I thought they where my friends. But they only used me. They needed my gift, and didn't care about me. When I got upset, and my powers went high wire, they only wanted to calm me down so I didn't hurt anyone."
Raven bit her lower lip. It was just the way she sometimes felt it, back in the tower. And the sadness exuding from him almost made her cry. He looked up at her and smiled as he grabbed her hand and kissed it. "Don't cry for me Raven. I'm happy now. I have finally found people who care, and with time I forgot about the others." He rose and kissed her on the forehead, before helping her up. "And so will you."
Raven was lying in her bed. She was so exhausted from all her emotions going back and forth. No wonder Garfield was so lazy sometimes. Feeling feelings really took a lot out of you. She wanted to meditate, but knew it was futile. A workout. That was what she needed. A good long workout.
She went into the hall when she heard them. Voices. She didn't mean to listen, but as she went towards the gym, the voices became louder and louder, before she stopped outside of the common room.
"That was really close. We need to proceed with the plan." "But is she ready?" "She is weak now, but it was a close call with her friends. We can't take the risk of her human side getting sick again."
She turned in fear to walk away when suddenly Lamia was standing in front of her. "It's not nice to eavesdrop." "I didn't." "Oh come on Raven. I'm empathic, just like you. I can tell a lie. Apep we have company." Suddenly two of her siblings took her. "Oh well, we might as well bring her inn."
The crowd made room for her and the two guards holding her. Apep came up in front of her. "You know we where just talking about you." "Let me go." He just smiled sadly at her. "I'm afraid I can't do that Raven, you see, I have our family to consider." He caressed her cheek. She moved her head and bit after him. He took a step back and laughed. Raven felt sick.
"You certainly have the spirit of the chosen one." Raven froze as she heard that. No one had called her the chosen one unless they talked about her father. "The chosen one?" "Don't play coy with me. You are Trigons daughter. The one chosen to destroy the world. With gifts to match."
Raven looked terrified as his eyes turned crimson red. Demon red. She tried to get out, but she was so weak. So exhausted. "Let me go." "Now why would I do that? You're not a prisoner Raven. If you wanted to you could kill every one in this room. But I don't think you want to leave. I think you are intrigued."
Raven looked at the others. Her siblings. And saw in terror as each and every one of them got crimson eyes. A sure sign they had given in to their demon side. "You are our queen Raven. The strongest one of us. Each and every one of us would gladly bow down to you and do as you command. To let you lead us in the battle against the others."
"You are mad." "Less that you. Don't you understand? It's us against them. They are weak. We are strong. We can rule the world." She looked in terror into his eyes, and in their reflection looked back at herself. She was terrified.
"You are the strongest half demon in history. That's why we need you. You are the only one worthy of being our queen. You have more power than you realise. More power than your futile human mind can imagine. Why do you want to take orders from someone so much weaker than you."
Apep came closer. "Together we can rule the world. Both earth and any other planet we want. We can have what ever we want." "I've worked my entire life so that won't happen." "Come on Raven. I know that somewhere deep inside you, you are lusting for it. Power. You can have it. You can have whatever you want. Be what ever you want."
Raven tried to deny it, but she knew. She felt it, deep inside her, a side she hated. A side she had used her entire life to destroy. A side she now could feel flame up. He grabbed he, the guards let her go, and he started to whisper in her ear. Seeing she was about to crack.
"You would be queen. The ruler. Empress. Everyone who have let you down, or harmed you, you could get back, ten folds. No one would ever dear look wired at you ever again." Raven tried to not listen, but images formed before her closed eyes. She was great. Her arms fell limp to her sides, and he grabbed her even closer.
"You can rule the world Raven. Everyone her would bow to you, and you alone. And I would be there by your side. Ruling by you. No one would ever dear to challenge us. Think about Raven. Infamous power. Infamous control. You will be the biggest," "biggest" "best" "best" "the greatest" "greatest" "ruler of the entire universe."
She tried to fight it, but her emotion, not being held down by meditation and control, flamed in her. Consumed her. "No one would challenge you, and even if they did you could wipe them out." His voice lowered. Became sweeter, deeper, bigger.
"No one would ever make you feel unworthy or inferior ever again. You would never feel alone ever again. You are never alone. We are your family Raven. We are your equals. You think you are alone Raven, but you're not. Your family is here. We are here"
You think you're alone Raven, but you're not. She felt something in her pocket. In a daze her weak fingers tried to find the thing in her pocket. It was something important. Something that would explain why she felt so weird, why she didn't just give in.
"Give in Raven. You know you want to. Give up." Give up? Titans never give up. Her fingers rapped around a penny. The same penny that had made her understand her friends where there last night. Friends?
"Give in to your dark side, and rule to world." "No." The entire room exploded. She stood before him, with her back straight. "I am a titan, and I will never give up." Apeps eyes glowed red. Suddenly so much hatred from him and the others washed over her. Why hadn't she felt it before?