A/N:
You guys are absolutely amazing for sticking with me and being so patient. I'm sorry it took so long, but I'm sure you know how life and school and jobs go!
As an apology and as a thanks, I've written two chapter for this update! I finished editing and revising this one, and I really feel like I should read it a couple of times more, but I'm about to head off to work and my head is so tired of reading this damn thing! Action scenes are hard, guys, so hard...
And anyways, I'm super excited to move this story along.
On that note, I would greatly appreciate reviews — are you still there?!
Comments and critiques would be great, too; I hope I wrote this well. A lot happens, and I didn't want drama drama drama, but some things needed to happen, and one thing led to another and it ended up being hella long and...well...ahaha...
I hope you enjoy. I'll post the next chapter in the next couple of days once I get off work and revise it, so expect it! Three days max!
Thanks everyone! I hope you're still enjoying it and still sticking around!
O7. Hearts in the Shadows
"God I want you
in some primal way, wild way
animals want each other.
Untamed and full of teeth."
Clementine von Radics, Want
Before he had teleported off his apartment building, Red had downed another six pain killers. If it was up to Red, he would wait another week before doing the heist. Unfortunately, all clients had a time constraint, and he was supposed to have given an answer two days ago.
The ache was still there, a dull reminder in his side that he had more bad ideas than good, but he doubted he could ask for an extension. One needed to be professional after all.
As he fell into the routine of traveling through shadows, rushing and appearing beside bird nests and rooftop cats, he listened to the after hours of the city. By this time, everything had died down; most people had already returned to their homes, their curtains pulled with only the flickering light of the forgotten TV a sign that anyone had been awake. A few stragglers hung about in darkened alleyways, but no one ever looked up to see Red shooting above them along his route, their desires hidden down in bottles.
Red's mind took to wandering. From what he read, the jewel wasn't a prized possession, despite its ridiculous name, "The Heart of the Shadows." Even its value was low, and if that wasn't enough of a clue, its location in a mid-tier museum with less than state-of-the-art security and blueprints definitely were. Clearly, it wasn't important, not worth what the client was offering, but Red made it a point not to ask questions. He was a thief, not a sociopath; he had morals and a conscience, and the last thing he needed was that annoying voice in his head to kick in and make him question his decisions.
He knew what he needed to know to get the job done; in and out of museums, mansions, business transactions. Not even names were disclosed, and that was how it should be.
He hissed suddenly, feeling his ribs throb; he had made a routine move in how his body landed on this particular roof with a large ventilation system, but being that he was not completely 100%, his ribs clenched in protest. Red paused on the roof, making fists to keep from pounding his ribs; if only throwing tantrums would make everything better.
When the pain subsided, he continued on his way, throwing a quick prayer to whatever was out there that the pills would soon kick in.
Golem was already at the meeting point, sitting in the center of the rooftop. He was chewing on a banana peel; beside him was a trash bag, probably filled with a variety of rotting fruit skins taken from a dumpster. Red tried not to stand too close for fear of vomiting; unfortunately, Golem also had particularly pungent breath.
"Ah, my good friend, X," Golem greeted.
"Yo." Red didn't bother correcting him. "Guess it's my turn to apologize for being late."
"Oh, no, never, X," Golem said dramatically, swallowing the last pieces of his meal. "I wasn't waiting long. And besides, I was having a good dinner." He raised his bag and Red nodded quickly, hoping that Golem wouldn't try and show off his dinner.
"Anyways," Red continued, "there was a bit of a mix up earlier. I couldn't make the date."
"No harm done," Golem responded. "It is imperative, however, that you get the job done today."
"Right," Red said. "I've already scoped out the area."
"Oh?" Golem tilted his head; the grin grew wider.
"Yes…" Red responded, feeling that there was something he wasn't being told. "Takker's Museum, Heart of the Shadows."
"Oh, that."
Behind the mask, Red frowned. He wasn't much for surprises. It was imperative, as a thief, that he knew every twist and turn of the plot, every guard's schedule, their bathroom breaks and phone calls; surprises meant failed plans, loss profits, Teen Titans, sprained ribs…
"I understand you didn't make our earlier date, and thus you do not know, but the Heart at Takker's Museum is not the one he wants."
"What do you mean? There's another one?"
"Yes, the real one. It's in a cavern to the south of here." Golem rose to his feet, dusting off his knees. "Come, X, I'll take you." Golem paused then, staring pointedly at him. "Do try to keep up, yes…?"
There was a flitter in Red's stomach at his words. Did he know about his ribs?
Golem crawled off the side of the building; Red followed him, ignoring the growing pain. They maneuvered without speaking through the darkness, edging toward the side of the city he rarely visited.
Red wondered why he hadn't stumbled on the fact that there were two jewels while he was researching. It wasn't as if he only used google; there were several sites only criminals were privy to, protected and funded by an anonymous group, and one would think that of all his resources, of all the historical data, there would be something somewhere that talked of a second jewel, of a real jewel, of a damn cavern.
His stomach did a weird flip in time to an inner alarm ringing somewhere in the back of his mind, but he ignored it.
True to his word, Golem had moved rather quickly; it wasn't difficult to keep up, but every time Red shifted and jumped and breathed, his ribs cried a small complaint.
They passed through the south side of the city, the poorer part of town; it was the main reason he avoided it: there was nothing to steal. In fact, most people did the stealing there, and it was usually from each other. There were a few stragglers on the streets, even at that time of night; they were probably plotting something illegal.
Eventually, the south side disappeared behind them. On the outskirts of town, Golem suddenly took a sharp left, passing through some sparse woods, dipping down a hill, and then he skidded to a stop.
A large cavern came into view as he neared Golem, sitting at the base of another hill. There was something eerie about it. He couldn't quite put his finger on any particular reason; maybe it was the way the crescent moon was just over the trees, or maybe it was because he was with Golem, whose yellow-teethed smile still glowed ominously in the dark. And maybe it was nothing at all, and he just felt tired and wanted to go home, poke the bear, and then go to sleep.
Red took a few steps forward; the giant mouth of the cave loomed over him as though it had opened wide in preparation to devour him. "Where are we?" he asked.
Beneath his suit, his skin prickled, revolting against the atmosphere the cave breathed out. He wondered if it was an old instinct honed by ancestors, passed down from generation to generation — not his ancestors, but the human race's. Was this a warning? A self-preservation tactic? Or just ghost story goosebumps?
Red frowned. What was inside the cave?
"Golem," he called when his companion didn't answer. When Red turned, he saw Golem standing several feet away on a boulder, his head high in the air, as high as his curved spine and shoulders allowed. It looked as if he was smelling something; his eyes were closed to the view.
"It's in there," Golem said. "I can smell it."
"What is? The jewel?"
Golem smiled. "Yes, the Heart of the Shadows."
Red's frown deepened. For some reason, that didn't sit well with him, though he should have been pleased that he didn't have to go through the tediousness of museum security — but if not the hum and drum of motion detectors, of security cameras and pressure sensors, then what would he face in there?
He asked the thought just as it materialized in his mind: "Didn't two people die?"
Golem didn't bother hiding the snicker. "Three, X," he replied. "Three have died."
Red stretched out his arm. "Great," he muttered.
"I said to be careful, X."
Red stepped into the mouth of the cave; he stood there, staring into the darkness. He almost expected movement in the shadows, or a strange voice whispering to him his secrets, but all was silent and still. When he turned around, Golem had already disappeared, probably gone off to another client or eat banana peels out of dumpsters.
He didn't like surprises on the best of days. Red touched his side. It was tender; the pills were doing its job, but he didn't know how long until everything would come flooding back.
8.4 billion was a lot of money, though, and he had yet to turn down an already accepted job.
Red ventured forward into the darkness; it wasn't long before the cavern swallowed him in its deep embrace. As he walked, the light from the entrance grew fainter and fainter until it disappeared altogether. Red shifted the backpack on his shoulders, He held up his hands; the red X's on his palms began to glow, providing dim lighting. He could barely see a foot in front of him. Of all the neat gadgets and gizmos he got to play with, how was it that the suit didn't come with a flashlight? Or, better yet, why hadn't he simply brought his own? There was nothing in the backpack that would help him — granted, he hadn't known he'd have to do business in a creepy cavern.
"It's thoughts like these that haunt me at night," he mumbled to himself, trying to resist the goosebumps. Though he had spoken softly, the crackled mumble still reverberated against the cave walls, thrown back at him as warped and distorted as he had sent it out.
There was a damp and moldy smell in the air; beneath it lay a soft rotting scent. It wasn't unbearable, but it belied a deeper problem: what was the source?
The cave walls gradually narrowed the further he walked, and it was starting to get to him that there was no sign of life or the jewel.
Where did this cave lead to? Maybe a better question was: to what?
Right before his imagination could get the best of him, an echo touched him from behind. Red turned swiftly, holding his hands up, frustrated that he had to choose between light or fists. He waited; nothing happened. Hesitantly, Red turned back around, wondering about demons and if they were behind him, waiting for the chance when he let his guard drop.
He wondered when he had picked up such an interest in them — that vicious four-eyed one surely had something to do with it.
He grinned, and then quickly wiped it off his face.
Dangerous territory, Red, he warned himself. She was interesting. Let's just leave it at that.
Red whipped around; he had heard the noise again. Just as before, nothing happened. Turning back to the path, Red shook his head; the cavern was getting to him, he told himself, the complete darkness. That, and the thought of demons, something he had never needed to worry about before, was gnawing at the edges of his mind those days. Usually it was just about ways to bother Raven, but alone in the cave with obscurities around him, he couldn't help but think of other worldly creatures. Maybe she was at fault for that too.
Wait, she? Too?
Eyes on the prize, man.
Abruptly, up ahead, he saw an orange glow flickering against the rocky walls. With quick flicks of his wrists, the red X's on his hands turned off. Red paused, confused and skeptical and feeling the growth of a burning irritation gathering into a rage.
Why were there lights in a cavern? Was it going to lead him to a jewel, or something else?
Inwardly he growled; if there were others at the lights, he didn't want to alert them of his presence, no matter how frustrated he was. Golem was keeping secrets. He had to be keeping secrets.
As he got closer, he heard soft breathing.
Three people have already died, he heard in his head. Three people.
What the fuck is going on?
Was this all for a jewel? Was there even a jewel? Was there even a client? Or did Golem just send him in as a sacrifice for a cult? Maybe that was why those three travelers died; maybe they were sacrifices, too.
Everything was starting to make him nervous, activating his flight or fight response; the adrenaline was pulsing and he didn't know what to do with it. His imagination started to run through all the possible scenarios of what this could be: a double crossing, a demonic cult ritual, a lost teenage idiot making camp inside a cave.
As Red neared the entrance, he pressed against the wall and peered around the corner. The end of the tunnel led into a large cavern room; there were no other entrances and exits. Mounted on the walls were torches, the source of the orange glow. There was something strange about them; the fire seemed more intense, more colorful than what it normally was in reality. It could've been just the dimness of the cavern that changed his perspective, but Red didn't have time to dwell on it; movement from the center of the room caught his eyes.
There was a curse word ready to fly from his mouth, but he caught it in his throat and swallowed it. His eyes widened at the four creatures standing in the center hunched over as if asleep. Their large black wings drooped and dragged against the ground; they had large heads due to an elongated jaw, like that of an alligator's. Their teeth looked yellow and brown in the lighting, and they were unable to fully fit inside their huge maw; their mouth was left slightly ajar to compensate. They had to be at least eight feet tall.
The adrenaline gave way to a cold feeling, a numbness.
Demons?
Are you fucking kidding me?
Demons — he swallowed. What else could they be? Did Jump City have underground chimera experiments that they kept hush-hush? Which was worse?
At their horned feet were what looked to be human remains, half eaten, half forgotten — that explained the smell. He counted four bodies (he used that term loosely); it looked like another bystander and gotten caught in a "wrong place, wrong time" scenario.
Holy f… What the actual fuck.
Red thought suddenly that a half-demon Titan would be really useful in his current predicament. He wondered if the spirit-soul-connection thing would relay her his position up shit creek.
He could leave, go find Golem and beat him senseless, then leave him for dead amongst the fish, go back to solo-ing it — why had he wanted a middle man in the first place?
The creatures hadn't sensed his presence yet, hadn't heard him or smelled him; he could turn around and run back the way he came, in complete darkness, and no one would be the wiser.
One of the creatures shifted in Red's direction and he froze, pressing himself hard against the rough cavern wall.
When the creature moved, an old, cracking pillar, dim in the light of the cavern, shifted into Red's line of sight. He frowned and craned his neck curiously. Floating above the pillar was a deep blue jewel, no larger than his hand; despite the lack of clear light, it still sparkled extraordinarily. At this point, he didn't doubt the possibility of magic, but he wasn't convinced it was worth 8.4 billion, not if he had to go toe-to-toe against monsters.
Red, what the hell have you gotten yourself into?
It was always too good to be true. There was always a catch, and fighting demonic monsters was definitely a price too hefty for him, a thought affirmed by the four bodies. Red chewed on his tongue; one of those bodies had a ripped green backpack still attached to its shoulders, pressing against its broken spine. Some poor sap really did get lost in here.
The money was good, it was true, but sometimes you had to stop and realize that you bit off more than you could chew.
He took another look at the jewel, unsure of its value, of why it needed to be hidden and protected; however, knowing that there was a whole lore and otherworldliness to it, he knew he wasn't interested in finding out.
Time to get the hell out, he thought firmly to himself. Even criminals had lines they wouldn't cross. Red reached for his belt, figuring he could teleport himself out; he had never done it underground before, and in all honesty, he didn't fully understand the mechanizations and theories behind the teleportation belt (only that it was a sweet steal).
But the one thing he did understand, and the one thing he should've expected: life.
The moment he touched the teleportation button, it backlashed, fizzing out with a burst of painful blue sparks. His spot, once shrouded in darkness, lit up like fireworks.
Sixteen eyes turned to look at him.
Why did all the demons have four eyes?
"Uh…" Cheekily, he gave a short wave. "Hey?"
Without missing a beat, two of the monsters screeched in response; they opened their mouths wide, ready to swallow up his entire lower body if he made one stupid move. Their wings flapped and chattered excitedly as they rushed forward, faster than what he expected for their large size.
"Shit, shit, shit!" Red ran forward and jumped, unable to go backward for fear of getting trapped in the narrowness of the hall.
One creature dove underneath him; he used its head as a footstool to propel himself up into the air. He flipped and kicked the other's face on the way down, feeling his foot throb despite the reinforced material of the Red-X uniform.
Red landed easily, but when he looked up, he realized he had dropped right in the center of the four. Now that he was facing them, he saw up close how warped and deformed they looked, as if they had been born of the devil's imagination.
One of them looked as if it was smiling, but he couldn't tell for sure with the way its long teeth kept it from positioning its mouth in any particular way.
The five of them stood still, none making any sudden movements. Red glanced around; the jewel was still floating above the pillar with one monster hanging close by. The cave emptied out into a rather large cavern; the only exit was the narrow way he came in, impossible to fight in. There were torches on the wall, and four beasts, a possibly magical jewel, and that was all the data.
Swift movement in the corner of his eye — Red flipped backward, pushing off the wall to get height and distance; he narrowly missed a gaping mouth and flying saliva. He suddenly realized how heavy he felt with the backpack; it wasn't filled with junk, only a few gadgets he thought he'd need for the museum when he took into consideration his tiredness. Now it was weighing him down; he had to push himself off harder, move faster to compensate for the extra pound.
Red jumped again, but despite his acrobatics, the creatures were tall enough that their jaws snapped dangerously close to his thighs, forcing mid-air turns and weaves. The moment he landed another would clamp its mouth near him, and he was back up in the air, there was no time to even check if the belt was working.
The thought flickered in his mind that maybe he could talk his way out of it. The ugliest one tried to ram its head into his body; Red ducked, about to activate the blades on the back of his gloves, but he hesitated. Instead, him dodged and took a few quick steps backward, holding his hands up. If he was going to bargain, maybe it was better if he didn't try and slice up their faces.
"Listen, I'm leaving!" he yelled. "Just keep the jewel!"
In the back, he saw one tilt its head, but the other three rushed toward him, jaws open, snapping shut with sharp noises. The stench of decaying bodies choked him when they got too close. He could feel his body tiring, the past few days finally taking a deadly toll.
"I don't need to jewel," he shouted, but his words didn't have the reaction he was hoping.
They weren't going to let him leave. He felt like he was in a movie cliché, the one where he saw too much and now they wouldn't let him leave.
Red hopped over two, thinking about how he was going to get out of this mess, how he was going to fight four demons, how maybe if he ran at top speed through the cavern hall, he could escape them — and then he felt his side flaring up in burns. He was flying off trajectory; one of them had guessed (calculated? He hoped not) his landing and had head-butted his ribs.
Red hit the wall and then slumped to the ground; his entire body was throbbing from pain, from exhaustion. He thought he had heard a sickening crack on the way down, but now was not the time to find out.
"Fuck!" he growled, clenching his fists.
This was not what he signed up for. Was this worth 8.4 billion? Maybe — but he would've needed to know all the details before hand, every supernatural bit of it, to make a conscious and educated decision. That was the best case scenario, but as far as he knew, from what he could gather, this surely wasn't worth his life.
He didn't like surprises. The next time he saw Golem, he'd make sure he'd convey his sincerest appreciation for finding him such a good gig.
Yes — the next time, not if, because he was going to make out of this alive.
Red closed his eyes, breathing out; he focused on the pounding in his side, the pulsing in his back, his heart palpitating too loudly in his ears.
The same one that head-butted him came closer, eager to finish off the job, and without stuttering in movement Red jumped up and took it by surprise. His red blades activated on the back of his gloves, right as he punched the creature under its chin with all his resentment and frustration. Bone split from the force of his attack, and blue blood dotted the floor from where the blades cut its jaw.
While it was dazed and stumbling over to the side, Red pushed himself off with a leg, gaining height in the air, and with the instinct of a honed fighter he twisted; his other leg shot at the monster's face the moment as it recovered back into standing position.
It teetered and toppled to the ground, bat wings twitching. He jumped over it, pressing his hands on its maw and releasing an X-shaped bomb on its face; he flipped and it exploded, the sounds sparking and echoing throughout the cavern and the hall, though the small explosion did nothing to shake the structure.
The three monsters stood feet away, their beady eyes turning from their fallen comrade to Red as if sizing him up for the first time.
He shrugged off the backpack; it dropped to the floor with a soft smash. Something had broke, probably already broken, but what did it matter now?
"Let's go, fuckers," he snarled.
The three charged him. A tail came swinging his way; he ducked just in time to feel the air rush over his head despite the protection of the mask. He tried to drop lower and sweep one off its feet, but its legs were placed solidly on the ground and he only ended up smashing his shin; the vibration in his bone told him that he would regret it later.
A leg lifted up, trying to smash his face in while he was on the ground. Red rolled out of the way, finding himself right beneath one; he touched its stomach, placing a bright right X on its flesh. When he lifted his hand, the X elongated, a powerful adhesive. Red twisted and jumped, touching another one right beneath its jaw; immediately, both slammed toward the other as if propelled by powerful gravity.
Red turned to the last one, the ugliest.
It tilted its head.
Red bolted forward.
With a quick flick of his wrist, he sent out a ray of shurikens; the monster raised an arm with bulging skin and warts. They embedded themselves in its arm, no damages; he wondered if it was the leader. It acted differently than the others. As he got closer, the monster abruptly darted toward him, faster than any of the others; its jaw snapped at his stomach, then at his knee, and if he hadn't moved his arm in time it would've sunken sharp canines into soft flesh.
Red's leg torpedoed out in an attempt to disorient it by smashing its head, but one monster came from behind; Red had seen it too late. When the black wings showed in his peripherals, he turned his head; the jaw missed his neck but got his shoulder. There was a piercing pain; he held back a scream and swear. Instead, he took advantage of the close proximity and pulled out another blade and jammed it in one of its eyes, digging and twisting out of vengeance. It released his shoulder and screeched, a noise that sounded like grating rocks against glass. Red rolled away, one hand pressing against his injury in pain –– fuck, it had bitten through the suit.
Abruptly, Red toppled over, his foot giving out beneath him, and then the world started spinning — the bloodied eye monster had snatched his leg in its mouth and dragged him through the air, throwing him across the room.
The thought hit that maybe he wouldn't make out of this alive — this was the end.
Red hit the ground, groaning, his vision blurring.
He rolled over onto his stomach, tried to push himself up. Would the adrenaline be enough to get him out?
Somewhere over there, they screeched; it sounded triumphant to him, and his blood and anger flared, but he didn't have any other tricks, any other clever ideas up his sleeves.
Heavy footsteps, noises of scraping claws against stone.
There were black spots in his vision. He yanked off his mask, feeling constricted, the air refusing to travel to his lungs.
Was this the end?
How would Raven get better without him?
And then he heard her laughter — soft and light, bell chimes.
He pushed himself up, pulled out two red blades. The monsters had congregated together and were slowly making their way toward him. He didn't need to know their language to read the arrogance, the merriment on their bodies. They could smell his fatigue; he was an animal missing a leg, and they were going to slowly give him his end.
Red gathered the rest of his energy, pooled together whatever he had left in his reserves. A wrist flick and shurikens were sent toward the other two, distracting them momentarily; he wanted to bring down the ugly one.
Red sprinted forward and threw the blade. The monster raised its hand, giving Red the opportunity to slide beneath it between its legs. He arrived on the other side behind it, and without pausing for breath, he pulled its wing and climbed onto its back, holding onto its neck.
He raised his blade and then crashed it down onto an eye, and then another eye, and another. Blood spluttered outward, a stream of blue, dotting his cheeks and suit. It tilted its head and roared, jerked its body side to side. The creature raised its wings, but Red held on tightly, reaching out with his drenched and sticky blade to carve out its last eye.
The other two suddenly jumped toward them. He jammed the blade in and pressed an X bomb to its head and hurdled himself off — boom!
Smoke and chunks of wart-covered flesh, dark blood (his or the monsters'?) — was it enough?
And then abruptly, shattering his hopes, the three monsters surged forward from the smoke, screaming and bloodied. Though they were missing pieces from their faces, they were more excited and provoked.
He felt his spirit sank, despite the clenching and unclenching of his fists to keep up his attitude. Despite all that, in the face of three gaping and blood-splattered demons that still had the energy to rip your bones from your flesh, there wasn't much sarcastic optimism he could find.
Red had never believed the cliched "time slowing down," but he had never been so close to the other side before: bleeding and throbbing, trapped in a cave with creatures ready to take him to hell. From his perspective, everything slowed down, as if life was giving him a chance to figure a way out, to make crazy calculations and create innovations that would save him, but he didn't have anything, nothing more to give.
In the back of his mind, he thought about Raven, about what she was doing.
Would she know, once he passed?
Would she feel it in her soul?
"Red!"
The monsters had jumped into the air, ready to land on his soon-to-be corpse, when suddenly, a black silhouette of a bird crowed and emerged from the ceiling, dropping down in front of him. It raised his wings, its voice shrill and shaking the walls. As if his body had always known, he instinctively stepped back and shielded his face with his arms, turned his eyes away.
In a bright flash of white light, the three demons froze in mid-air, a blackness devouring their body slowly at first, then all at once, and Red was reminded of that first night with Raven. Without any warning, the demons were sent flying backward, slamming into the ceiling and plummeting to the ground, their wings forcibly ripped off.
Red shot for the pillar, grabbing the jewel as they writhed on the ground. In the same movement, he snatched his mask and then dove for the backpack — "Raven!"
Immediately after grabbing the straps, the black bird engulfed him and took him through the cavern roof.
On top of the hill, the bird dissipated and Red collapsed onto grass and dirt, groaning.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was sure he had fallen asleep for thirty minutes, but there was no way to tell for sure.
"Fuuuck…" he breathed out, feeling relief completely take over his body. His limps slumped and sank into the ground, and he wanted nothing more than to lay there for days. The night sky above him felt less creepy, now that he had faced the darkness and what it held; if anything, it looked as lullabies felt, pulling at his heavy eyelids.
He held the jewel up to the sky; it sparkled and shimmered unlike any gem he had ever seen. It was heavier than it looked, and cut in a diamond shape. There was a cloudiness inside it; he imagined a tiny demon trapped inside, but quickly pushed the thought away. He was done with demons for the night; if it was a purple-haired Titan, he wasn't interested.
At the idea of her, he heard her laughter.
Was the bird her? Did their soul-bond-connection thing actually work? He would've died without her. A debt repaid?
Red pushed himself to his feet. He slipped on his mask and tucked the jewel into a hidden pocket of his backpack. If the client wanted the jewel, Red was going to triple the price. With that smug reasoning, he teleported himself back to the apartment, slowly and painfully.
When he phased into the living room, he crashed to the floor and dropped everything to the floor. He had never known his carpet to be so comfortable. Red had the strongest urge to strip and crawl into bed — Raven or not — and fall into a deep and long sleep.
The Sand-man was intent on taking him, but the curiosity of both the bird that had saved him and the bird in his room was strong enough to pull him to standing. He made his way to his room, the tables and walls supporting the drained manner of his walk.
"Babe!" Red called out. "Was that you? The crazy bird shadow?"
She didn't respond; he entered the room, expecting her to be meditating or glaring at him for using the hated pet name, but instead, he found the spirit of Raven on the floor, gasping.
"Raven!" Red ran forward and crouched down to her level. He held out his hands, and the moment he did, realized how incapable he was of doing anything. How could he help if he couldn't even touch her?
"R-Red X — " Her breaths were coming in hard; the sound was raspy and grating, the air unable to fully make its way in. Her hands were clutching at her chest and throat.
He had just finished a job to come back home to this? Was he not allowed to relax for even a day?
"Raven, what the hell's happening?"
"S-some—thing's wr-wr-ong," she wheezed.
"No shit, Sherlock," Red exclaimed. He felt his body tense in panic as his brain flipped through all the books he had, went through all the game lore, all the hypotheses and possibilities. Was this a rejection to his soul? Was this some kind of a demon thing? Was this because she sent the bird out and used up too much energy?
Was she dying?
Her eyes were wide as she searched desperately against his mask, and for once, he was ashamed of his uniform. This could be the last moment of Raven, and in her time of terror, of death weighing on her mind, body, and spirit, she wouldn't have a human face to look into. He swallowed nervously against her purple eyes, against her invisible hands unable to reach out to him.
"X," she rasped. A black portal suddenly appeared beneath her, sucking her in slowly. Her legs disappeared as she sank lower.
"Tell me!" Red said desperately. "What do I do!"
Her stomach disappeared, and everything suddenly hit him as he watched her be submerged in her magic — something was happening to her, a half-demon. He barely knew anything about human medicine, so what could he possibly do to help her, someone who wasn't fully human? What if it required magic?
Shit, shit, shit shit shitshitshitshit!
"What do I do?" he asked frantically, "Raven — what do I do!"
He heard her voice echoing his name as she disappeared into the portal, the image of her frightened eyes pulsing in front of him.
"Damn it," he yelled, slamming his fists into the floor. "Damn it! Damn it!"
Her body that was once levitating above the bed slowly sank down onto the sheets.
A/N:
Okay! That long beast of a chapter is number seven. Number eight will get revised tonight and tomorrow and posted ASAP — again, three days max! After that is finals for December, and I hope to see you all really soon afterwards.
I hope everyone finishes up their school year strong, that they spend a lot of time with loved ones for the holidays, and that everything goes awesome and exciting for you all.
Thanks for the patience! Leave a review if you've got the time; I would appreciate it so much! Let me know what you think!
Keep writing! And see you soon.
