Okay, this would be chapter four! Plus, I put up a new oneshot, so check out that one, too. It's called "White as Snow", and it's awesome. So, don't let my babbling hold you back!

Disclaimer: Apples and oranges, bubble and gum, last time I checked, I didn't own 'em. ...Nuts...

Seeing that it had wounded its prey, the dragon had a new sense of pride. Its opponents fight was dwindling, and it could finish her off at anytime. A deep rumble like thunder sounded in the back of its throat. It lifted its great head, and blew bouts of fire into the air, fine wisps of smoke escaping through its nostrils. The creature could take its time now. Surely its prey was no longer a threat. Raven began to formulate her next plan. It was becoming increasingly difficult because of her dwindling energy level, and power restrictions. But restrictions or not, she had no choice but use her powers. Raising her free hand, she lifted two large earth masses, leaving craters in the ground. The creature seemed almost bored with her petty attempts to defeat it, which was more-or-less to the struggling titan's advantage. Having let its guard down, she knew the dragon wouldn't see an attack coming. Using her powers, she chiseled away at the rock, sharpening the earth she had summoned at one end. The behemoth had sensed her powers, and acting on instinct, began to advance forward toward the dark girl.

Come on. Closer, closer…

The dragon continued to advance ever so slowly, which was like watching a steamroller coming forward, but not being able to get out of the way. When its scaly snout was about ten feet away from the empaths daring violet stare, she mustered up all of her courage.

"Azarath…metrion…zinthos!" She hurled the deadly masses straight for the creatures face. Before it could absorb the unexpected attack, they slammed into it, one of them brushing past its shoulder blade, the other hitting it sideways across the face. It reared back, snarling and roaring, not only from the fresh cut in its shoulder and throbbing pain in its face, but also surprise. It had underestimated its prey, and it was time it brought this to an end.

Raven saw that her attack had temporarily blinded the beast, and knowing that she didn't have a lot of time before it recovered; she tried to forget about the pain from the gashes in her side and went in for another attack. She gathered most of what was left of her strength, and ran forward. The dragon shook its head from side to side, the deep red from the cut on its shoulder blade tracing the outline of its scales and reflecting the sun with pinpoints of light. The shaking ceased as it regained its vision. As the beast came back to its senses, the charging empath filled its vision. She came forward at a speed at so fast, it knew she couldn't stop properly. Raven had underestimated her opponent as well. Not only did this creature have brawn, it had brains. Nevertheless, she charged forward, leaping nimbly into the air so as to plant another powerful kick in its face. But before she could finish the attack, the behemoth quickly lowered its head so that its fierce hooked horns were directly in the dark girl's path. The dragon thrust its horns forward in one swift, vicious movement, striking her in mid air square in the stomach as the two forces collided. Raven flew backwards, hitting her head, and blacked out.

Rays of sun began to invade Raven's dark world. Her surroundings became lighter and lighter until the blotches of color she saw came into focus. The empath was beginning to come to after being knocked senseless by her massive opponent, a small trickle of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth; a result of the harsh knock in the head she had taken earlier. She groaned. Her temples throbbed as she grimaced at the bitter taste of blood that still lingered in her mouth. How long had she been out? A few seconds, minutes, perhaps even hours? As she gained more and more consciousness, she was aware of a strange pressure on her back and neck. In one swift jolt, the pressure greatly increased, forcing the wind out of her lungs and making it difficult to breathe. The empath realized too late that while she was unconscious, the dragon had pinned her down with one powerful claw, and was tightening its grip, forcing its weight on her entire torso.

She was quite literally stuck between a rock and a hard place. What could she do now? It couldn't hold her like this forever, could it? Would it simply kill her quickly, or would it make her suffer? Questions like this swirled in her head, invading her thoughts. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she tried to think of how to free herself from her captors grasp. She had just and enough strength for an escape, she determined, but just as she was preparing for a counter attack to regain her freedom, her captor lowered its menacing face until it was only a few feet from the empaths, teeth bared, and features contorted as if it were sneering at the dark girl, taunting its victim. Icy blue light poured from the creature's beady eyes, as an aura of the same eerie blue surrounded Ravens battered body.

The empath felt herself begin to grow weaker and weaker, her breathing becoming ragged and shallow, the fight slowly being drained from her body. Her violent struggling subsided, leaving weak efforts in their wake. She gasped as waves of pain wracked her body.

I-it's…draining my energy…I…h-have to do s-something before…he completely d-drains me…

Raven's logic fought through her fear. She cried out as yet another wave of pain swept through her tired body, sapping her powers. She had to act fast if she wanted to free herself. It would cost her all of her remaining energy, but she knew it was necessary for her survival.

She closed her eyes, focusing the rest of her remaining powers.

"Azarath…metrion…"

Black light poured from her amethyst eyes as wisps of black energy swirled around the dark girl, creating a whirlwind of energy. Numerous fallen branches and twigs were caught up in the hurricane, which tossed them back into the forest like daggers.

"Zinthos!"

Okay, so I'll let you know, that the begining to the next chapter might be a little akward, so it might be wise to re-read the end of this chapter before you read the next one that I'll be posting tomorrow. And thank you to everyone who has been reviewing! Keep up the reviews!

-MissyE.