ACT 6
SCENE 1
STARFIRE, ROBIN and GAR sit by their bags.
STARFIRE: …And that is how, after a grand battle of two hundred days, the great kingdom of Tamaran defeated the evil slavers from the Citadel.
GAR: (Frightened) …Wow.
ROBIN: (Smitten) Amazing.
VICTOR enters. The others start.
ROBIN: Prince Victor?
GAR: Hey, look at you! No visor! You have a nose!
VICTOR: Yep. Raven healed me last night.
ROBIN: What about the rest of the armor?
VICTOR: It's fused to me now. It's not a magic armor, and it's not necromancy anymore. This is my new body. It's the real deal.
GAR: (Lifting VICTOR's arm) Wow, Raven did a great job.
STARFIRE: I am glad you have found what you were looking for, Prince Victor. But where is Raven?
VICTOR: I don't know. (Beat) I spoke to her harshly last night.
GAR: Hey, it's cool. Rob's been a jerk to her since the beginning.
ROBIN: (Glowering) Let's get going.
STARFIRE: We are not going to wait for Raven?
VICTOR: It's cool, she always catches up with us on the way.
ROBIN: Yeah, and I'm not gonna wait around.
GAR: So, what now? We're going back to the capital, right?
VICTOR: Yeah. You two will have your reward… And then to take Tamaran.
ROBIN, STARFIRE and VICTOR exit.
GAR: (To a SQUIRREL) Have you seen her?
SQUIRREL shrugs.
GAR exits.
SCENE 2
The group walks on.
GAR: I have a bad feeling about leaving without Raven.
VICTOR: She really should have showed up by now.
STARFIRE: Perhaps she is not coming back. Perhaps all she wanted was to heal the prince, and now she has retreated back home.
GAR: (Stopping) But she doesn't have a home.
All but GAR exit.
GAR: Besides, she can't be gone. She said tomorrow. That's today, and today isn't over. Right, buddy?
BIRD chirps.
GAR: (To BIRD) It's gonna be alright for me. I'm gonna be known as the prince's savior, and I'm gonna have everything I want. I'm trying not to be selfish here… but I know Rob's gonna try to shake me off once we get to the capital. And then what am I gonna do? (Laughing) I mean, what does a guy have to do to find adventure, right? …Oh, who am I kidding? Raven was right about all of us. I just repeat lies about myself, and that's no better than saying nothing. I don't care for adventures, just like Robin doesn't just want righteousness or whatever. What I really wanted was a family. What I wanted was friends, and somewhere to belong.
BIRD chirps.
GAR: Hey, you're right. This is the spot she was starting it last night. But what is there? (Moves foliage) Well, there's a path.
BIRD chirps.
GAR: You say she went down there? You sure? (To the others) Guys! Come back here a second!
ROBIN, VICTOR and STARFIRE re-enter.
STARFIRE: What is it?
GAR: I know where Raven went. She went down this way. And I'm pretty sure we're meant to follow her.
ROBIN: Why? She's always come to us before.
GAR: But what if this time we have to go find her? Look, yesterday she was talking about something big that was supposed to happen tomorrow—meaning today!
STARFIRE: What did she say of today?
GAR: She said the story was ending.
VICTOR: What story?
GAR: I don't know! All of this! I think!
STARFIRE: We are in a story?
GAR: Apparently.
ROBIN: Wait, that's ridiculous. This isn't a story. It's a journey, but it's not not a story.
VICTOR: Yeah, we're real people in a journey!
GAR: I know. That must not be what she meant. I bet it's one of those things where you say one thing to express another thing you really mean.
VICTOR: A metaphor.
GAR: No, that's not it.
STARFIRE: An allegory.
GAR: Look, it doesn't matter! Point is, we have to join her down there!
ROBIN: Hold on, how do you even know that's the way she took?
GAR: Well, I… I… A group of birds told me, okay?
Pause.
VICTOR: …Birds?
GAR: Yes, birds. I can talk to birds. I can talk to animals in general, okay? It's no big deal!
ROBIN: Wait. Could you always do this? All our lives?
GAR: Yes, now can we go? Robin, look… I know you don't trust her. But I do, and I'm going. Do you trust me?
ROBIN: Gar, you once traded a bunch of magic seeds for a cow that couldn't give milk.
GAR: I keep telling you I did that on purpose. They were gonna kill that cow, Rob!
ROBIN: It was still a terrible business decision! Point is, no, I don't trust you in the least. (Sighs) Let's go.
GAR and ROBIN exit.
VICTOR: (To STARFIRE) Uh…
STARFIRE: I recognize the value of this side quest. I shall allow the time for us to help Raven.
VICTOR: Good. Because I owe a debt to this girl.
They exit.
SCENE 3
The four stop when they see a building in the distance.
ROBIN: Hold on. Take cover. Look at that building.
STARFIRE: What is that place?
VICTOR: (Amazed) That would be Hive.
GAR: That's Hive? You sure?
VICTOR: Yeah, look at this sign right there! Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination. …Yeah, okay, that's a pretty evil name.
ROBIN: It is evil. Raven was right all along.
VICTOR: What makes you say that?
ROBIN: Those guards. Their black armor and orange masks. I know them. I've seen them march out of a burning village. They're what people tell me about when I've asked about the man I'm chasing.
GAR: Wait, you mean the guy you're after could be here?
STARFIRE: I too have heard of these men in orange masks! Their tales of savagery have reached my kingdom.
VICTOR: I'll do you one better. The man who told me to come here was wearing a black and orange mask. You guys are talking about sir Slade.
ROBIN: (Turning on him) Sir Slade?
VICTOR: He came into court, introduced himself, and told me only Hive would help me.
STARFIRE: In my country, he is known as Deathstroke.
VICTOR: Yep, more incriminating names.
ROBIN: Okay, a man came to you wearing a mask that covered his entire face, and you didn't think something was off?
VICTOR: Hey man, I was wearing full magic armor! Who am I to judge?
ROBIN: Could we have been talking about the same guy all along?
GAR: Of course we were! And he's also the guy who burned down Raven's village. Dudes! She's in there! She went after him! Obviously!
STARFIRE: Look! The guards are mobilizing.
VICTOR: It's gotta be about Raven.
GAR: We have to help her. Come on!
ROBIN: You don't need to tell me twice.
They exit.
A/N: Scene has been a bit shaky since the narrator left.