Teen Titans; These New Years; Part One - Chapter 10: Detour To Shibuya! - An Unrequieted Admiration By The Sea Goddess; A Villain's Last Remainder Of Pride Crumbles Down By His False Ambitions.
The trip towards the portal that would take Hakuro to the earthen realm where his old ally dwelt, was very well guarded within the higher deity's keep. As if a saint could detect his next move, the boy knew that animals were graced or cursed just as on other planes. "A cat. One with snowy white fur that can mask it's presence with shadow and sunbeams." The tween Ethereal concentrated as his body's mass became light, almost by his newly warped appearance did the guards think the odd fellow...cute?
"Mew!" The youngster strut up to the doorway and pawed it needily , the craft wasn't due to remain if his shadow were spotted , this had to give him time to observe for a nightfall escape into the cloudscape.
The starch white and fluffed up , curious , feline mosied in to the hallway where the standing watchmen had been stationed. The odd thing hadn't been the guards and their raised eyebrows, but there co-captain still standing with a gleaming one eye. "That is an odd combination of stealth to pick up on , youngster?"
The mouse catcher raised it's hackles , thinking that the commander was the villain that had begun this war by letting the red blooded monster to roost! "I'm just the guy yer dragon's cronie ate half the sights of." He chuckled as if not fazed by the stance of the tween's cat self. "Then..you are the guard that!-
"I was...and also ended up digging up just why the top dog that stationed me, made me forget that harpy, but not you.."
The tween's eyes dialated from the light as a blade's sheen gave away his undetectable shadow. His form diminished into smoke as the Ethereal son scat quickly when the mists had become a true fog. "A diversion! Go after that runt! He's trying to break through to the 'veil of time ' channel!" The sister dark and light's library came into view as the child recalled a passage that had led up to the tower of his destination in the last chapter! (An eternal tommorow arc! That was the two ; one before the To the Future arc. Go check out the whole start! Aannnd , back to the saga!)
"Can I make it to the portal in time?..."He breathed as the guard's shouts grew to echo throughout the corridor. "Up...no.." He scratched his long hair's warrior's tail and tugged it nervously. ~Tsani isn't here, I have to go it alone! The secret stairwell...I remember!~
The knob to the great doorway leading within the study of a few many Celestial scholars was left untouched . Ye it had crreaked open a tad to allow the the lad a peek. "That's it."
Shadows cascaded around as he let the goons chase a false version of the Ethereal seer's own reflection. Hakuro's eyes could not see a mental picture of the room, but felt every draft of wind, the shades dancing by the bowing presence of another element. It was after all, the elemental Bao Shi watching the tween work in mysterious ways from a low lying branch in the gardens outside the window. "How did you find me ?" Hakuro peered out and saw her faze , barely into a spectral sight. ~I shall never change by time, for my fullest mention is of the sects I rule. Wind , and secondly , wood.~The far eastern deity swam through the space as she landed to almost become whole inside of the study, surrounded by texts she had never thought still held any mention to her cousins the Celestials.
~You are running away.~
"I am running away, to the rebel stronghold. Then to earth, I am running to locate the chosen. So yes, I am running away." The sniping comments were to low key as the elemental miss raised a brow, then rubbed her chin. ~You are running , hoping time is on your side, no one shall stand for time. It moves, freely by the nature of forces unlike even we elementals .~ She frowned up to the child, becoming more teen that adult but still aging a bit by his interferrence WITH the chosen. Would that be a wise course of action?
~You have still the power to oppose the sanction, yet I advise that you quiet what wishes you to protest for another.~ The spirit over the eastern dictation of order, was aware that Tsani was involved...was she to be trusted? Should the Ethereal boy just bolt?
"I am doing this to finish the king." He decided with a firm hand to the globe that had a switch imbedded within it's size. "Tsani is in her weakest light here, the imperial Sayu is after something..and I will search with those rebels and guardians if I must to discover a flaw." The youthful yet ancient spirit lady covered her arms up inside of her sleeves of a goddess. With a sigh it was really a sad sight...the boy wanted rebellion without realizin-
~Then you say Lady Sayumon has no power over the rebels? Might I wonder just who is giving them protection from within their ranks?..~
Hakuro stepped back as the passage opened from his side with a swift slam up against a tall book case. "I haven't time to tell you here! Meet me in the realml of spirit, the encampment to the west! Then, I shall give a full explanation of whom it is guarding the stronghold! Farewell! Wish me luck!" The selfish whim of the curious spirit Bao Shi, had to cause the madame to chuckle over her official run away's witty actions. ~Clever. My guidance will not let you slip from your path. May the wind element help you to fall slowly! For there is no portal below!~
The teen saw a cloud and fog mass when he'd stepped inside of the passage way. It was right below; clouds and a sky that he would fall from as Tsani had to have done to reach the chosen. "Aaaaaaah!"
It was rivetting yet terrifying all at once. Hakuro was dropping like a roaring comet into the stratosphere of the spirit plane! The Eternal plane firstly was bypassed as Hakuro felt the sharp tug and landed by the sky villa station's plaza. The dazed teen dusted off his smokey cloak and coughed to retain his lung capacity! This was!
"The portal was not...then why did I recall it having been there through the wall before?" He scratched his scalp , but realized all he felt was...a nearly immortal grime! Was he no longer flowing with that same magic?
"I have to ready my appearance before my old ally..." He nodded and dug into a compartment Tsani had handed before his leave. "My last gold pieces..a bath would be a god send. " With a sigh Hakuro wove through the crowds and tried to locate the cheapest 'one night stay' inn. Within the commuter's plane to his surprise, the shopkeeps were too suspicious of his gold helpings to rent a room!
"Sorry lil boy, haven't ya heard the times? There is war goin' on. I don't want you turning out to have some motive if we come across...well, the guy by the' warf den' should take you in for the night." The keep whispered once the Ethereal on his mission leaned into the front desk. "A war? Any chance for...a conversion of silver you could tell me the details?" The shoppe owner of the inn shook his head with hands up in defense. "Bah! We have no way of getting kept safe if word's out! Not that you aren't to be trusted kid, got mouths besides my mates to keep! The miss is hopin' I have every ounce still intact so that they don't start recruiting." The boy blinked and stepped back with a pause. "Taken to war? I do see your point...then let me be on my way. You have a business to run, without the likes of a mysterious traveller to muck up your even - paced lifestyle..!" He laughed away the trouble as the man had seen a charming and polite fellow to think...why had he let the boy walk out all the way to a rotten warf by decree? It was a blow to his ego as the male was contacted by a messenger in the shadowy corner behind his desk. "That's low...lower than a ground rat meddlin' into another species' territory!" He hissed back to the stalk tall official by his arm now. ~That is no young man, nor is he going to bring anything well of the worlds if you protect him. Let us deal with traitors. You, do your job properly . No harm no foul?" The guard from earlier into the chase had Sayumon's blessing as a hunter now. It would just be to capture the brat by the waterways , just in time to come back to his empress.
Piper was drooling into the crook of her elbow as her head had shifted to lean up against the glass of the craft. It had a newer, sleek , apparance..and it was DAYLIGHT!?
"Yaaawn!*...How long was I.." Her hands fell to her throat as she'd realized the 'speak' was not how she had spoken!
"I...I'M!-
A mortal child whom already existed once on the plane, she had ended up in a strange city, but not the one of the legendary night everlasting! The city was familiar!-
"This...is Shoji's territory...why am I in modern day...This is incorrect!" She looked into the glass's reflection to see a short haired brunette with specs , small brown boots , a navy blue sailor skirt , and cream white sweater without a matching emblem or!..-
~Calm yourself Pippette..~She thought and bit her lip as the ride passed in to dock as an ordinary bullet train. ~You were bound to lose your appearance if the earth's balance had differed!~ She sat up ridgedly as the train started to crowd some more. Humans were coming her way , to make their stop!
~Next stop, Shibuya Station.~ The teen had to gawk as the few hundreds seemed to knock into her as she shuffled to try and reach the exit. With one final shove, Piper had to gasp a breath of fresh air. This was! Tokyo!
Her only kept item from the academy trip had been a scarf her dear friends inside the school had gifted upon her arrival. Also her report materials had become low grade materials..The scarf's design was brilliant by distinction, though Piper refused to become the center of attention ...Shi...buya..why was that so alluring to her current form? The shops looked fun too peer in through the window. Some fashions ranged from east west and fantasy based by nature..almost past and present...it looked fun..but she had NO IDEA WHY THE TRAIN WASN'T IN THE CITY OF ALUEHAINYU'S!
She ruffled her scarf as the passing winds between corridors left a chill to remind the season had not become spring yet here. "The location is interesting, yet I must contact...Yumi?!"
The girl gaped as the light haired deity of snow and moonbows stood in her sights. Piper was..not the least bit confused. Nope..not..at..all...!
"The..." She gulped and tried to cool down a moment before-
"You would be parched in a city that may not rest till daybreak." The sisterly Eternal dropped a cold can of ...milk?...Oh, it was sweet..! "Drink now, so that we might find my old comrade in his newest location. Yet, he is away for the moment. . We might see someone more surprising!" She smiled down to the girl as they walked back towards a large business district after a couple of stops by subway. "Here we are. Takahara Industries. You know the cat, this is his largest firm since a decade-
"A ...ten year period!?" Piper exclaimed up to the building as tall as a sky tower in her land. "Who is it you would like me ...to meet here?" Panic or excitement. It was bubbling away faster than the beverage in her hands. The scarf was still neatly shouldering the cold as the breeze picked up and her skirt!-
"Normal reaction . Aria must have gone on the same search. Shall we go up then?"
The girl flustered a bit less and lowered her stupid down - dress with a scowl. "Lead me in! This wind is not alive! I must be dreaming too deeply to have believed it possible..."
The building was more 'desk office cubicle' oriented than as a science lab , as Shoji's appropriate title of his work depicted it to have been. The Eternal scholar's child gazed back and then around as the older snow goddess waltzed up to the head of staff , knocked onto her door without asking full permission, and gathered whispers from onlookers by their computer desks as they wondered what position she held!
"Miss Sakurano. An old friend has just come too see -
The tip toe of a thief might have not allowed the lady behind the door the advantage of surprise. Yet, she was not a true human - justly.
The lady was the spitting image of the younger teen years of the spirit world princess ; Lorelai Ainsley. The goddess Tsukiyume had already met the dear secretary reincarnate by Shoji's meeting place after the court ruling against the guardians had lost it's spark. ( To the future arc, sort of an out take since that wasn't explained enough.) She was still trying not to feel sorry for the maiden who was in over her knees, deep in Takahara's unmanned paperwork. As if the daughter of spirt hadn't slept in a week's time, the secretary of Shoji's looked thoroughly worn out and in need of a cat nap-
"I saw her through the window..and my old...teacher is...here?..." Sakurano Ayane whined as the flowing gowns of Andrea Grotto- rather Aria; of the four wind strewn passages, had gotten one step ahead to scare Shoji's sub witless in the background of the drab office setting. None of the spirits had seen her enter but Ayane alone..Yumi was fuming hot as dry ice with a glare in the half Eternal daughter's direction.
"Your gust was in the worst sense, not my cup of tea!"The girl beside the elder snowy maiden blurt out . "No skirt has ever been this...unimpressive and that was a cruel way to change my course-
"I apologize!" Ayane bowed slightly to her staff, ( Shoji's staff)..And shut the ladies inside her office as they followed briskly, one in tapping high heels. "This will no longer disturb ? Thank you for the work you do, my meeting will only take a few moments! Please act as if nothing has changed. Thank you!" Her weary expression was turned to the clingy Aria who had not stopped teasing the princess's reicarnated self since a few moments earlier!
"Why must you glower like that Sister Tsuki? For this young student, I was simply giving a warm welcome to the novice- Aria batted her eyes and smiled too sweetly to lower the sub worker's guard. Ayane was unable to intervene as these deity would not focus alone on her problems it seemed..
"That would be true...but it's more immoral than in other worlds! The old realms should not-
"Please do not feel so twisted by this 'deity's' arrival...I was the one who gave her an A - Ok to-
"Ai simply wanted to see my darling princess!" Aria weasled in a word of admiration for the once power source Ainsley of her past. "Is that just why?...Aria! Those are personal reasons alone! Restrain from your pining!" The snowy - front child raised up to tower over the deity of 'southern airs.' The spirit of high waters grinned back and continued to goad the elemental with reason she should not be so brisk in her removal of a royal one that could haildown on her parade if she so chose. She let her eyes drift up towards the Eternal and pointed out."My dear Tsuki...Lori was too busy, but she seemed, bored! I wanted to visit my student to bright her mood! With the cat away!-
"It seems the siren shall dance and play!" The Eternal mage - in - training strictly gazed off into the secretary's eyes then back towards Aria, whom was not the least bit regretful of her actions!
"It was due to our bond-
"You tried to use mind control on-
"The puppet had. I , was just a test subject for the harpy woman...Did you not read the indication in the report as to whether I had been wholy responsible? The puppet was Aria, I would never go that low as to harm a hair-
"Then tell this to Shoji! Hakuro, Destiny, Even Cecilia Daia! You were tempted by the harpy through her travels to your concert! Mindless dope!-
"Tell that mean old hag to stop hurting meee !..Ayaneee!" The pun was intended as a child to their sibling. "No rough housing! Takahara would disembark into a monk's life style by such turmoil inside his office! I am fully responsible...she said Lori was a dear friend..And I wanted to trust her spirit-
The Eternal Yumi sniffed to the reincarnated lady and tried to remind her that this was a spirit still on probation!
"Siren...this is a legendary being who rules them! You were dragged into her war, or have you forgotten Miss Sakurano of the dangerous being that was her target, and the one Lil the owl woman had hoped to free?" Yumi returned to her least threatening pose but Aria still scuttled into a desk chair looking untainted; and as proud as any spolit, half Celestial , as a deity over waters flowing everlasting with desires of many fools she had enticed. Even Lori had forgotten? She had the power to speak directly with the natural forces,. and to bend by them! That was why she had underwent training throughout the entire continental planes in the past! Was Aria also, just blind to it? Had being a traitor by temptation of her truce- keeper Lil, made the Siren ...lose her normalcy? Yumi had to groan. What a true royal pain...
"The , spirit is not going to cause harm. I told her, the building is not a playground, that she must abide by the human laws made since olden days, and of today." Ayane looked off towards the window where she had spoken with the sweet scented spirit for more than a single day. "Aria has a message as well. Her relative was sighted in the City of-
"That had been my destination...yet I had not only ended up in Shibuya!" Piper clenched her fists to either side, her scarf still tight round her throat. "It was my mission to help Destiny's vassal Aluehainyu and report the disturbance of a great foe!" The three mistresses with entwined pasts looked to the girl without a mention till now, for more detail on the terrible brawls and murders reported by her old acquaintance in the Eternal keep.
Aluehainyu had left out a chunk of information over the chosen's pursuer. The dragon..they had to have figured out the rest by now..
She reworked her dressings and snipped the last piece free of it's roll , right before the one she'd wished to not have shown her weakness, had walked into the room. Her face was split by shame and her own guilt...Cecilia Daia..had nearly lost the eye possessing the black widow adversary. ~You...I know, the one thing ye had spoken, was of my need to reconcile...look, I am not here to make any enemies. You let this onto-
The second to arrive was knocked out cold. The hero leader?
~Why is he unwell! That hair is still past his shoulders...are you for certain it will not-
Malchior had been in the room last, the group was as it had been ; now including the Wizard prince, and the android no where in sight.
"She just...Nina must have known to report this..." Verra as his form of a warrior felt the pit of his stomache for any wounds. He was, not marked ..but that could mean he'd been careful. Kaien...was after Isis for the attention to be brought before the deity. Shoji was on guard with Greg, and the Titans, all but one uncertain...
Koriand'r had never seen Robin...this angry...he had changed 'over the night' as if another person had taken over...was the terrible other self from the last year of the evil dragon's plots to blame? Richard...had been after the one to have ruined his life ...was Verra really to blame? He wasn't. Not if Richard had only said it to blow off his steam...
Which facts were true then? Her head ached and attention had waivered earlier during a meal. This being sick and..the love...it was not supposed to rule her!
"Robin may not wish to fight what he carries, though I know he is strong...this will not help any of our friends! The dragonic creature is surely doing terrible things while-
Arianna's light cast over the curtain of the room and left Starfire once again stunned. The princess was not as before in her straight and presentable purple robes or gown. She was, almost as an amazon in her scale guarded top ,with more armor by her chest. Her red locks plastered to fall farther than her princess style haircut ? The longest sword she held to her hip had the shape of a large, almost prehistoric creature's nail or tooth. Very sharp, neatly tucked by her short sword and the rest...was a bit less coverage than the saintly Arianna she had known. "You...are the princess that ...-
The self as a warrior dragon tamer bowed to one knee. Things were not as they should seem..Here, the Star capital ally had her head held low...and to her vessel in thought of why this was?
~The body I must return...I must find Isis or the Eternal might find the location.~ She said a bit softer. ~The ones I had failed to slay was my prince and his king...yet...the one to have taken them...was not I...~ Tears started to trickle down the bridge of her nose. The drop would have been unseen by any other, but Kori saw. The lady was still half of her own spirit after all that time as a participant for the spirit's prophecy.
~Then...you will leave me? What of the prophecy? Robin is no longer well and you have not told me of the important role in which we shall all partake! Why must this happen all too-
~I will return.~ The warrior orderly of the past tried to peer back into the princess of another planet's gaze. They were near tears, but she had been well in leaving no trace for the dragon to pry. Emotions could not only sway one to act on them, it could also drown them into the depths of their own non-existance...he would not have the light she still kept. ~I hand to you the crest of my capital. You will need it's powers once the time arrives to use it..I pray that the collection of a new body-
"But..." Kori's lip wobbled and she cried out to the princess dragon slayer. "But I am your...'buddy!" She had mispoken the word ; body for buddy. Yet her reincarnated royal did not reply with anything other than a small smile. "Please be safe...you are an important person...the ones whom care about you..do not forget we shall be waiting ! That is for certain.." The Star capital mistress fell away into light as her presence sped through the voidlessness of earth's time at lightening speed. If she had a chance, Isis might grant her wish to aid the chosen, and bring her love Richard Ainsley/ Rokuro Noburo, to rest ..no longer a pawn of the dragon's bloodline. All before it infected another, she had to find the goddess- and had less time to hurry! The time she had to make it safely to the queen's , was running out day by day..
Slade awoke that early morning with the gut he kept a bit, empty..it felt as if he had eaten a meal set for a king..then it had just-
~That was my steak. Sorry for the confusio-
"The game ends." Slade groaned and pushed to sit up from his king size with a strangled yawn. "You really think I haven't known of your body snatching tactics taking effect? While I was knocked out no less?" He was perturbed mostly by the self Rokou hiding it's true plans , and while mind control had been the very least of his troubles, Deathstroke had been sleepwalking into the territory of one of the dragon's enemies! Wilson's last remark would lie in wait for the moment , to tell the kid that the villain had regrets after taking the self in-
~What would be the fun in leaving him out there to end it? You wanted to see how long this would all last! Admit it! Rokuro will grant your dying wish!~
The mercenary shot up to look around his room. A dream..a deream of waking up , then hearing the spiteful taunts of...
The solid wooden door slammed shut as the kind enough killer had not listened all so entirely to the brat's story. He was awake. Awake and reading minds this late...
"Answer me!" Slade shot out towards the bubble holding the imprisoned daemon son from his duty. "Reveal just who you are!" The teen's eyes turned to light as his entire body shook. Static the form of snaking dark entities spiralled around his vivid hurt in form of a dark blue aura. "Tell me! You came here using the boy! Roku!"
Laughter followed the cries and groans as the child returned to share the light with his real captor. Roku stood as a red and dark maroon robed figure beside the boy. His long hair of jasper and the length...it was surely true the dragon had been seperated from earth...but by that power..he was even stronger in seclusion!
"Just as you might have been blind, the boy was never trying to win over my graces...he was to put it simply; used as bait. That, and the position is not what I would have guessed on your part? The self Rokou's masculine side is out for my name to be heard. Pity...the other sided child will not relent. The mortal brat has her in check. At least for now.."
Slade was out matched. The dragon had torn through the voidless prison on...whatever world he'd been left to suffer, and the boy had tried to; begging the man to not do the wrong thing by letting him...and yet, he had tried to bargain, as if not in his own mind by his own will...to shut out the dragon's commands...
"You should have run a knife through his heart before, when Rokou had spoken of a truce..? That was your fault for showing sympathy ov-
"Any chance I can bury YOU now!?" Slade rushed by to face the lizard in a man's body with only the blade from the Eternal plane as his last resort .
"The dragon then, was only a copy. I intend to make it legend! You will not strike, if the blade here on earth holds no power over this form!" The dragon proclaimed it aloud. With a touch on his tool's shoulder, Rokuro's dark energies by tainting flowed into the god's fist with a ragged gasp of breathessness. Panting with his head lowered, the teen had no strength great enough to call out to the soldier. Nor to warn him without a a shooting glower from his king..who had no trouble with finding the criminal still useful by some means..Sweat trickled down his cheek , one might have thought the boy to be weeping in silence of his apocalyptic fate...Not only would it effect the selves, but the chosen would have to strive harder to free the last remainder of the curse..Rokuro held down his bloodshot gaze from the two males . He would not be decided this end..it was not filled with his desired understanding of truly being able to relish the feelings of freedom. By means of a fitting finale of himself alone..
"You should have let him grant your wish! My blood is still of a half Djinn, the dragon was only a ruse once I had overtaken the eastern plane! My true body is of pure energy!"
"Power source..He's a container?" Slade had...been digging too deep into the mystery of the son. It made sense. Roku's children spread their king's law, and in return existed by giving the dragon the right to control their abilities! Just like Terra...
"Explains all too well why you were chosen to bring me home.." The dragon blasted and Slade saw the child cry out. "No!" The frustration bubbled to the temperature of an uncontrolable volcano . Slade...had been sent flying back through the wall. As if a laser beam had tried to go through his chest, just barely passing! Rokuro's lost self panted heavily. Dripping of an essence that made Slade grimace and try to squirm away. "You are under my contract. Rather, it still holds. You wanted a wish, let me hear it. The boy will still grant the request..Though I may guide it respectively. And ...should there be any...mistrust between the pact - holder.." He gazed down towards where his own son's humiliation knelt. "I...won't grant IT-
A shock woke the boy up as he yelped in surprise and lay sprawled onto his side. The pain was being tainted further by the snakes all around his dark aura. "It will be granted, you made the contract, now complete it to the end!" As if a demon father reprimanding his teenage son...or a killer saying to his protege to finish the job..
"I ..don't know why I even decided , a wish..then...Break, the contract-
"..not up to you..any longer..." What the boy gasped out had the mercenary on his feet, out the door. A wisp of smoke. Just as a soul stealer, he was trying to turn the boy from changing his mind.
"Hmph. Rokou is only in spirit...yet the self still took hold of you ..Will?"
The assassin froze before his hand could turn the knob to the foyer. "Rokou isn't through with you...he still wants a way out!" The villain was tossed as a rag doll against the opposite wall. The dragon was walking down the stepsnof the main floor, gliding swiftly as if his whole body wasn't readily tangible . The child was still encased in the bubble with a look of pure horror painted past his anguish. "S..st stop!-
"Not another word!" The dragon rebounded both at once when the off duty killer had tried a sneak attack for the stairwell. He was untouchable. There yet everywhere, though unfazed by a single glare from his captives.
"Time is not a neccessity. Waste it wisely why don't you? Rokuro's self is still incomplete. If you were to cooperate with my plans to overtake the chosen, then maybe...you might have a chance to beat me." Slade raised a brow, panting with his chest heaving by the dreaded miasma growing into something stagnant and too odorous for the crime lord's taste. Roku was really playing for keeps. The Titans...the chosen were here...the dragon knew too much by his spying brat's mind games.
"If only first, you might, tell me where to look for them." Slade stood up slowly. Risky. He would have to warn the heroes and combat the danger awaiting their world...
The child beside the king shook his head , telling the male meta human to turn back. All before he sold off his humanity forever!
The dragon's human form cocked it's head and trekked down the stairs towards the fridged killer. "Within the manor , belonging to the man he no longer wants to trust...you wanted his ward to serve you...the damned terrible, interdimensional lout Trigon, had no power in that regard...nothing to last, compared to my own magic." The cool air rippled in by the gash upstairs from the laser show earlier. "You want those times to last...it was not your fault. Even the serum could turn to venom and strip away your happiness ..this is your last chance to change it. Now, the wish you have decided...let him grant it..." The growl felt more towards a purr by a demon intent on reaping the villain's living soul.
Slade was powerless here. The blade no longer stored enough to dispose of the creature..so biding his time seemed all too worth the extra effort to escape and warn stronger gladiators for the beast to rip apart first.
"An...-
~Please! It will end in disas!-
The boy was knocked steadily into a calm state as he fell back to the floor, crumpled without a say and no longer for his own desires...the wishes meant a sacrifice...
"Tell me , what is you wish..Slade Wilson?..." The male gulped and had no choice but to state his since abandoned remainder of pride...his last dying wish.
"Let , Robin become my heir. Learn to walk the path of a mercenary . To grow into what he..was meant to be..-
"Excellent choice!" The dragon chuckled as his fingers snapped,.bringing the boy's eyes out as the red that had only the dragon's voice to sway them. ~Bound as one...He shall be forever sworn by the blood that ties you...by the dragon's decree, he shall never leave your teachings! The contract is finalislze!-
"That-
A strong red glow surrounded the child as he cried louder than a phoenix to the lapping flames. "It is near completion! The boy chosen is that missing shard! You have doomed your entire realm of it's fate! Just as the 'terrible ogre, I shall now take my rule over your lowly earth! Thank you , Will, for playing the part until your demise! Now! You shall live by my mark along with your student!-
Slade was speachless but had bolted out as the apartment tumbled down into smoldering ash. The skies were a lit with the glow of the child's powers as the restless wandering came to lose themselves by the light, and die in it's flames...like a soul stealer showing full potential...the mercenary ran towards the subway station, his legs dead beneath him still pried free, gasping for relief from this make believe armaggedon. Never go to war with a demon..was he losing his mind? The steps , strung along only by the curse, lead the crime lord to the manor of Gotham's lone protector. This was not a good day to worry over his own humanity. The whole earth would be in peril ! The Titan's foe...had sold off both he and Robin...just to shut up the screaming brat!... It must have been a trait from the dragon. As if pulled in by unimaginable beings gasping for air. In the end, stealing the last rasp from all they craved...Soul stealers were indeed , legendary monsters!
Lothos coughed out into his sleevec as the teen Kyrios fumed over their retreat back to the temporary safe house. ~Idiot...the girl...was a tactless...gach!*~
The dark haired assassin wizard flipped around the elder half vamp to see his vital points before he'd lost too much blood. "The demon of the century, and you couldn't be any more of a washed-up old crow-
The vampiric entity chuckled, with his pointed teeth nashing in annoyance towards something other than his protege that night. "Time is not your wisest bargaining chip...You bloody well knew...the dragon inside of your thick skull was our link!-
The cretinous teacher's eyes ran hot as burning cinders as he shoved the brat ways away to face his glare with more edge dripping in his tone. ~You were spying on our conversation, eh? Not a trouble at all! In fact! The last remainder of the mission we hold is about to come to pass...the chosen are driving their dear comrade to dread his fate once again! That is why we are here as to bring up to speed a, transformation. True fear lies in the soul of one craving a way as that day..his only wish will be to have it all reverse! Just you watch my dear student...We are nearing towards a shift in the balance between the earth's time and our grand Celestial's destruction!~
The exiled elder brother scoffed and wanted to pull out of this farce. The dragon was making demands that Kyrios less than agreed with, all because the old teacher Lothos had dragged the prince of fair folk since fallen, back in. That soul reaper only trusted the dragon's word, not even his own desires were allowed spoken..a puppet. A fool!
~How far do you intend to take the king's name?~ The draconic demon's words interlaced within Lord Lothos's own. His eyes burning to the intensity of a rippling fireplace. It was too inviting , which made Kyrios hate the folly of a plot in the same regard . Kyrios; as it seemed, had been used .He had bargained with a monster, like a spoilt member of a royal line...just to have his name dragged across the muddy waters of Knoll's dead shores..He had not attracted Malchior's attention far enough across...his immediate thoughts fell onto how he could free himself, and be rid of both dragon and wizard brother...
"I ask. Yet do pray tell; How is this to last by a single wish granted? Is it not true that the dragon could read the hearts of many? Is that why a soul stealer's brand is what he has claimed? Why did you let those ideals dredge out into the present? Lothos, what are you really trying to gain by leading the king lizard to this plane-
The vamp coughed as he tried not to keel over then and there by the parkway. ~Haah...the realm of Eternal was once the immortal's creation...the dragon was beside Destiny as an Eternal and spirit low lander. You could call it ..something of a pity for the dragon's son...though that might be a bit too mellow an explanation.~He smoothed down his robes as a dark lord firstly and tried to find the words that might have his protege back down. His hair was smoothed after as he took in a great , deep sigh . The rumble almost had given the wizard teen goosebumps. He was still thinking of a way to trick the trickster.
"The dragon wanted me, to bring ...why is this any of a difference from the last take over?" He rebuked with arms flung out in a huff. "Tell me, really. Is he still eating away the soul you carry to make it into a living one again? That would seem to me a dead man's trust in a single , high category demon...you intend to let him do you in?" The groaning vamp had not the words as he had known. The child was too ...independant for many reasons that went against their lord's, almost finalized precedure. ~I can see your resolve waivering. Then go, try to run into the wary dragon halfling again!~ He grunted and pointed to the manor's direction from where they had escaped. "I never said!-
~I might even set up a field for a duel...why not let your blood run rampant! Gather what is rightfully yours..last prince of Knoll's line. Drag the priestess to your teacher...unless, you yourself would rather she at your feet, not by your blade..?~ The shiver that had crawled up the prince of fair folk's lineage's spine...made him want to call off the entire, ridiculous revenge!...was he the one to ruin the younger son? No!...Kyrios had patiently...
"Why..." His eyes tore towards the skies as the male behind him was still waiting for his pupil to pass over such negative though. "Malchior was not your true target...why was I as important for it?...You have had other bratty students besides myself and partly the dragon's son...so why.."
The question should have been placed on hold for a moment, but the sorcerer in silver and cold shades decided then and there; his dear brother was not going to let the entirety of their plans fail..that half blooded cursed brother was nothing but a wanderer disguising his shame, and behind the fabled prophetess Ravenna..
~Then we shall stand tallest of all, my dear Kyrios?~
The boy's breath hitched as the cold eyes of his partner turned an odd bloody shade of red. ~It was true, he shall try to deny the inevitable. My body was ripped from the very fabric. It might take more sacrifices just to give to this lowly king another..And your dutiful teacher; whom was in despair ,once his lands had been pitted against one another into blooodshed, were silently spared. We have come to an agreement since then. Just as the Shadow Riders, Lothos as the vampiric king of greater dark entities , has allowed me everything if the time remains. He belongs as no more than a prop. The daemon you had once trusted, was never in his mind to let you forget the powers ye now grasp...all by my kind gesture. Kyrios, Malchior is an insect, yet you might tame his very spirit. Though not as a prince...as a dragon called, Rorek...-
The teen's eyes popped. The lengendary beast of red blooded horrors...the dragon Rorek was a monster with the powers to best Orion if he so wished!
"He...you want me to tame my own blood...to bring out the dragon self and, control it?" This was uncalled for as the prince exiled never turned to face the gaze from behind his shoulder blades. He could not end relishing this sort of freedom - by going full frontal..headfirst as a crusader! The dragon might...stab him in the back and take!-
~Malchior is really no more than an ethereal tragedy.~The dragon in Lothos's skin sighed with a hand over his brow. ~This would be putting the one since plagued by his transformation, out of such miseries. That savior of his line, would be exactly the son which had left him an outcast...Knoll never rose , due to it's sacrifice unto my sect.~
That encouragable shiver pased through the underling once again. Kyrios had dreaded the dragon this way before..
"Then.." The teen wizard gulped helplessly, frozen stiff. "Bring Malchior's transformation...to that of a daemon ...lower than I?..."
The chance had come to prove just how useful he could be. Kyrios wanted to head off towards the sun and cover his face...he was a fool..the only one who could cause Malchior to remain a fallen...to use him just as the dragon had during the violent take over of his kingdom..
"As you wish..Malchior is my business, I shall be the one to see him turn..-
It was a vivid reminder of just WHY Kyrios had been chosen to fight. Why he had been cast over this pitiful human realm. It was to tie loose ends. Malchior had escaped the dragon's rule...blind as he seemed, the dragon lord resented the fact. Knowing full well the earth guardian Lord Earth of the western realms of spirit was losing his hour day by day...the wizard would be back as a dangerous tool. The dragon took pride in the children and heirs of his rites. As if they were no more than props for a performance...this was..an ugly side to the red king in his sights!
The lizard's smirk was too apparent as the teenage dark magician turned to see him . Lothos no longer had an option. His pupil was bound by law to the dragon. Or by death if he chose to become the one to replace his younger brother..Rorek was going to walk beside a god, and Kyrios would be holding the lead as tightly as he was required. The dragon, would always remain his keeper, from that day to the end of time.
Machior wanted to talk down the Etertnal. He really tried to bottle up his frustrations long enough to reform himself as an ally once again..He had left to secure a position as guardian in spirit of the chosen, while keeping his rebel duties of utter secrecy. Alicia had helped in that way to organize portals , messages to send for Greggory, and an elaborate way to stop the breach as the guardians seemed terribly fixed over since their arrival onto earthen lands once again.
"Malchior, it's Raven." The door to the infirmary opened a bit as the sorceress of Azar stepped inside. "We have to talk about Kyrios, Lothos and Richard's condition. Right now, both Kyrios and Lothos seemed to be acting as one team. Cecilia still has a hard time remembering how she turned...against us by an event through the portal-
"If I may." Mal brought up a palm to motion the teen empath to join him. "Kyrios, was my half brother. He was the first queen's son of a second territory surrounding Knoll's borders." On the medical table he was having a difficult time wishing to recall that passage of time; as it had involved the dragon, and Kyrios's betrayal..
"Kyr...was envious due to my having been chosen to stand as the next ruler .." The teen licked his lips and felt a pointed tooth interrupt his thoughts. The prince refused to look utterly ridiculous in front of...Raven..
"Sob stories happened frequently in those ancient times...Yet, none to have an entire kingdom disappear into thin air."
Raven looked into his eyes with her questions held back for later. He really had to get the anger of betrayal off of his chest. Better time than any without the others to make the wizard fluster..
"Kyrios, was jealous. Plain and simple. My mother was from a far off country , taken to be the consort of the king that was Kyr's father...his mother had passed apparently ...though the reason is not of my own to know...it was a puzzle. My mother Gwendolyn was, also hiding just as many secrets. My king did not let that stop them from securing a new heir. Apparently,.Kyrios was deemed unfit to rule. By a prediction from an elderly seer, we had to abide by what was spoken. That was why the newest arrival was , considered an odd one.." Mal scratched is head and left a stray white strand to fall in front of his face, which he less than gracefully secured back into his tie. "Gwen...was a disaster waiting to happen. It seemed, she had fair folk mixed between her father's bloodline. The mother was touched by a spirit connected to the race ...yet my father wouldn't have known had no one seen my eyes..."
Raven nodded, he was surely taking the story thus far well enough..
"I was born with magic. He reign of the last of her generation had not been endowed since her great grandfather's age.. I was branded a monster and given special care and treatment by the royal council. Kyrios and I had not met, in fear for his prediction becoming a reality by seeing his baby brother..My mother had been strained each night after the birth...constantly fighting with the ruler and his law to have me live as..a normal prince .." The memory drifted off as Mal shook his head again. "We had an uphill battle to follow...and a dangerous involvement from a secretly summoned creature..my half brother was aware . Even if he had not brought the dragon...The queen had left at night. Just as the guardians had spoken. An enchantment had been in place since her arrival. Once my lord king of Knoll had discovered the queen's ways to be...unethical, he had no choice but to see to her tossed aside. That night...the worst was to occur. In earthen years it would have been ten years of age. Kyrios was twelve in those same terms...the dragon had apparently made a bargain to have my distant brother overthrow his capital's current king. My kingdom was under seige by the monster's hoards from within the walls. I had very little experiance with my brother's actions. So naturally, he took advantage of my torn state. That was when...I met the red lord...when he had me as a spy and assassin against those to oppose his rule...My brother was a temporary figurehead. I was the prized mutt kept by the dragon...my brother had not known all due to his infatuation over his newest position. He realized the dragon was not planning to spare Knoll..so it simply...burned."
Raven was without words. "He took your home through your brother's want of the throne..." The sorceress was in awe. The dragon king...he was a monster..now...After Richard's one happiness this time...and the entire earth...!
"The Dragon Earth elemental was last to arrive. He freed myself cast into a numb existance by the bloody hell I'd gone through...yet my brother...had not been captured. Reason tells me it is nearly similar to Alicia and Cecilia's rise and fall. Catherine lost her promising daughters by the dragon's method of infiltration. The same tricks...only we had been his first before the Daia line."
Raven tried to place a hand onto his gloved ones in reassurance. "You said Dragon Earth raised and trained you after the rescue...then you had come to earth...but what about Rorek?" He froze to that name. "Rorek...helped...to burn away...Knoll..." His head hung heavily as Raven shook, more in rage while Malchior wept on his own. "The beast...who helped...the demons ...was me...! I was responsible with...my brother for...destroying...our kingdom...our...home!"
"Calm your emotions." Raven stood him up from slumping over. "You told me to do the same. In that way, I refuse to let my friends suffer." He peered into her violet orbs from his blue and silvery, tear streaked ones. "Friend...?...But I tried to!-
"You made up for acting that way . It's in the past. Now, the dragon wants to hurt the Titans just as you had been hurt by him. No one should have to submit to the lizard. You even said it. That 'no one should ever have to feel as you did-
"I was angry towards the Ainsly's prince ! Did you forget my lie-
"We talked to Wiz Greg." She shook her head and frowned. "It was Rorek cast inside of you , without your brother Kyrios knowing that the dragon was to blame. He was unwise to let that envy cloud what those demons were really after." Her tone became serious as the empath rose swiftly with her hood raised over her eyes. "The dragon wanted power. He used you just like someone controlling a person they could use as a weapon. Whether by your fair folk blood or not, he must have known that and taken Kyrios, to have him hand over your kingdom. To gather those that could fight for him. And to let he and his followers feed off of your diustrust within the capital. I was just as cursed as the child of a human mortal. and an interdimensional devil called Trigon the Terrible."
Malchior tried to think of any underground mentions of the brute...he was ..up and coming as far as the wizard had seen. "He concealed his name. Under a mark that was banished from my body ...a couple years ago my friends ...saved the world by saving me..."
"You...then the cretin was defeated ..he must have ..I am sorry...this in no possible way is how anyone breathing should act towards a-
"I am no princess. " Raven rebuked his words. She didn't want him to turn in to a pining puppy again. "I am a hero that fought Trigon and defeated his plans of a take over on earth. It never came to pass...even if a prophecy said that it would. I was no one's tool, all because my team followed out to the end. Robin saved me as a fraction of my self. Just as the dragon son changed to seem like a kid...to save what was left..I was saved. Robin never broke his promise. Now, none of us are going to let him down." The empath's voice was filled with hope, of an overwhelming pride of her home and family... She could have been there next to rival Isis...or even Darkness of the Celestial pillar!
"Then..shall we join the team? I must confront the Eternal Aluehainyu." Machior quickly covered his face with the ratty old scarf...his mother's possession since those days having known the true Ravenna as a child amongst the blood and torment...it was as before..
Raven gave the cowardly prince a smirk and pulled him out the door. "Thank you for trusting me...when it was near impossible to trust in myself..."
"We can talk later. Seems...the Titans have had an interesting run in-
She was out of breath all too quickly as the monitor of the teen's unit flashed on. "A code red is in effect for Gotham city." She gulped but felt her throat too parched to repeat the command. "Robin has run away...just like he promised..."
"This is..." Bb sniffed the outside for any intruders, clues , or villainous pests in the wake of Wayne's home. "Therewas a lot of...fighting...I think we should tell Robin's mentor that there was someone -
"It would mean a lot of digging. We don't have time to project...not anymore.." Verra sniffed the area while the Titans inside stood on guard. "Mr. Wayne...your house has become a fortress against the enemy! Are you certain that -
Cecilia was still trying to piece together just how an arachnid had tried to enchant her back to the dark side...The term black widow did not fit at all..and it had cost her a small scar Greg had miraculously patched up...with partial damage to her left side. The pain in her stomach was left to simmer to mere nothing as the mark left no more than ink to smear away. "Venom...thank gods it wasn't another possessor from the fullest perspective."Wiz wiped his brow and grunted. "Cici was a distraction...at least the roots were destroyed and the room, cleansed of another outbreak." The room had been Richard's bedroom...that had meant the imposter had known...he or she had infested the place to trap it in time...with the roof still intact...to ready for a greater loss of the odds.
"I feel, utterly disgusted with myself by allowimg a creature ...to induce such havoc over this fine house...That..I shall repay by fighting with-
"No more replaying that instance my dear!" Greg stared down the student as if, he wanted her to still remain as his right hand. She quieted herself long enpugh to aid in the sorcerer's task of a location spell. Something the scarecrow was not a fan in producing an answer for, even if it were of any use. "Location spells are by way of familiar or an entity you chose . Whether a form by the caster's mental state, or by an astral projection as Verra and Raven turn to, the smallest error could leave more than a disembodiment-
"An opening for the enemy." Cy nodded while Batman patched up things by speaking with Isis this time. She was aboard the vessel of Astarte's fleet. Her dear Ava had no way yet of returning to the Eternal realm by a free standing vortex. The child walked over tol the stern and watchedthe seas rumble from below the waves. A force of an intensifyingly high range storm was going to rock the boat. "Auntie Is! The sea is too strong! Something is all wrong!" She cried out to the madame deity through the high winds over water. "Calm yourself my child." The warrior Astarte saw from the corner of her eye that second another while comforting Ava. "Nina! Soldier, there is a high surge going through this perimeter. We must find higher ground. Is...I...Isis was just here to let us knlkw about he-
"This is more than over our heads, ma' ame!" The girl panted then straightened to salute with her most formidable teacher watching every sign. "The heroes we were told to monitor are fighting the ...you know! The batman is now involved with the chosen's ...with their task. We have news that the leader of their goup is falling victim to the same foe ur allies are trying to have fall back...it's already becoming too -
"What chosen?" Ava gasped up to the two with wide eyes. "Is mama and ...are they going to be alright?..." She was trying just as hard not to fret as the chosen had...but the thought of losing the teens before...it would mean she could not exist as the one to help them!
"Ava..please do not interrupt, the heroes are still being aided back on the mainland by the guardians. None of them , shall be lost to us.." The girl rushed by to look for Isis inside of the ship. She had to be contacting everyone now! She had although not noticed tears nearly forming and drying in those seconds of running from Astarte.
"I will just have to-
The girl paused with a short gasp as she recalled a way to help her new family!
"My violin...He will hear it! I will not stop until it resonates as the crashing shore!" With light tk surround her softly and gently as a summer breeze, the princess of an icy palace unborn brought the beautiful tool into her grasp as she readied to play. By the bow of the let her given art resound within the hearts of those she trusted. ~Find them...Tell them we shall storm forth! Tell them to call out !...RESOUND THROUGHUT MY VERY SPIRIT! BECOME MY EVERY OUNCE OF POWER! SHARP AS MY BOW'S FLUID SONG...Bring my message to the heroes that will know my voice strong!~ A lower key followed the loudest as the string's magic was soon seen by whom she had hoped. Yet the chosen could not discern the melody as before; astounded as a crowd come to gather inside a large hall, while another felt the beat a bit more a tug into their heartstrings.
"Gaaah!*" Roko had held up the pains of her host before...but this was a burning aura that made every bone in his body melt away! It burned an intensity of a branding iron .The powers of dry ice were livid upon Red's back as Selina tried to pry him to stand , or lean into a wall of the manor of Bruce Wayne's.
"We finally made it! Why are you freaking out on him! Wake up..Red!" She dragged him away as the brat controlling the thief tried to force up heavy walls to block out the magical notes. "Why is he the one suffering? Were you trying to take over , answer little girl!-
~Gah...the...song...is...kill..innn...g...heeer...!~
Red barely mind spoke as the two shared a common bond through it's abilities. "Then let her go..." Selina croaked and was ready to toss out more than a bag of kitty litter into the wall. "Let her go Jay! She isn't worth your life! She only wants to destroy you...if that happens...so don't let that kid get her way! Fight! Claw yourway out of the 'self' or whatever's world and escape! No cheshire, just you against that brat! Give up...none of this is helping...you'll end up!-
"Quit...mocking...me...!" The bratty teen Roko had fully been able to limit the tune , but Red had still gone numb by it's pitch. "Let him recover...we have to warn the heroes over that fence." The cat in black was not amusecd as she dragged the girl to fling her with a hard slam* back into the stone structure. "If you EVER put one of the bat's or my own in danger again like that...you are as good as long gone! Don't you ever think I'll let you use him, or the heroes just to save face..You got free, but now, when this is all over..you have to make like a mongrel and beat it! He doesn't need you to rot his life away...I saw it, you are just going to leave him less than human...when this ends, youwil get...out, and never come back here!"
The girl had felt that anger before. She was after all an act of misfortune made into a near living being..
"Sure..."
"What was that? Don't think of lying your way out of this...Red is going to live. Don't let that be for nothing. You want the same thing. So don't blow it. We are helping out Bats because of you anyhow." Catwoman shoved the long haired monster back with a grunt. "I will never come back, if we defeat the dragon...after all of this ends, I'll be as good as dead from your world forever." Roko's head lowered with a sullen view towards the soggy streets. "He won't even remember my very existance. That I plan to make happen.." She was commited towards freeing them both. Robin of the chosen had failed due to the dragon returning to claim his legacy. This was to end the brute's reign for a long, long, time. So that if he ever returned, his power would be that of no more an infantile pest within a darkened shadow. He would never lay a claw on anyone or self again..he was as good as finished. So that Jay coud remain fully alive to this world for the rest of his meager lifetime. It made her wish she had never lived to see him hurt by her obsessions. The dragon was toast, tonight!
The green teen had picked up a scent that tickled his hound nostrils, as if the stink would rather find a home in them without the bearer's permission!
"Dahg!" The hero shook his had wildly to find that the sound of a clear bell was forcing away the miasma far from his grasp , which was responsible for the waftng, odrous aura that left a sour taste soon after once Starfire had seen him wimpering it away. "There is a sound...it is qte abraisive to the 'drums of the ears!" Starfire winced as the sound echoed through her skull without warning. ~Mama!~
The teen gasped and had not removed her hands from her ears just yet. "Stasr! What is that chime! it's freakin' killing big dog me over heeere!" The teen howled in pain as he whined up to the door of the manor. "in...siide!" He yowled again as if two forces were fighting back inside his head! ~The field isn't holding.~ Aluehainyu mind spoke to the boy with a groan. Her own head burried back her people's rivetting shockwave of a screech by a being of Eternal rites' calling out...Was it the same sound as ...Reia?
~The sound is destroying the miasma that is still attatched to the barrier's strength.~She pushed it to hold a bit longer. ~It is also...ruining my concenration to hold it sturdy! ...Try your hardest to find..the source..as another...beeast!~
The Eternal teen fell back with her arms still holding the warn field in check. Raven was amazed by how long the Eternal could fend off such draining enemies...all by her powers alone!
"We'll track his location. What about Cyborg and Greg? Starfire and Beastboy are on guard against attackers. But they are out searching for our missing leader...this...isn't going to work if the location spell backfires-
She ran a hand through her hair and uttered a small sigh. "Veravakumu is still able, so I'm going to aid the search in Gotham-
"No! If you leave the fortress, I am aiding your patrol session. No buts." Malchior grasped the teen's arm without letting go. "Malchior...this was our responsibility in the first place. He must have listened t the creature trapped inside those shackles and fled his home. I have to go. If you do, it might mean we attract your brother or-
"Lothos was connected to Ravenna." He interrupted the empath with a nervous look. "I will not trust you to put your life at risk without another partner to combat that cretinous lout! I refuse to see you drunken dry by that vampiric nightmare! I am going as well. It's been decided." Raven knew Malchior had a very strong sense of duty, but was in a way, too attached. His emotions might spiral and have them both torn to bits before even reaching Robin in time to stop a crisis!
"You have to trust me ..My emotion of loss may as well be great. Great enough that I may channel it into my own sort of protective shield to protect my...friends. Allow me to locate the Titan , at your call ..." He was on one knee again!...
"I...you have your reasons for fighting. Then don't let them be just words. ..not just feelings Just as we did during the casting. You could never have forgotten. That spell was only for emergencies like this one." The white haired soldier came to her side and did something she had not proclaimed as the right move- a kiss. It was soft enough to break away from and leave her stunned. It had always been there, his love for her left the scene off as a bond between two trusted allies . How could she have doubted how well he'd planned to guide her astray..ten back on that path once more as a heroine of justice..Her head looke to where he now had lunged o kneel by her side. "Thank you. Now, we shall find your leader. To break away the walls that keep him." As if a switch had been activated without warning, the witch turned towards the signs also.
"Let's move then. To find, Robin. And..To save the earth." Her grin boosted up the mood as the two vanished through a walk and out into the streets of Gotham. Night had fallen by a field's interference in the shifting position of the realm's tilt. Time was holding steady and all, for the arrival of a soon to be disaster.
On the southside of the dark knight's hometown, Richard Grayson finally dragged himself across the rooftops of many sturdy pier's warehouses, directly centered and close enough by the bay of Gotham's twighlight city scape. He had to locate Isis, or someone to heal it...the terribly , aggrevating serpent on the inside ofhis wrists was crying out to escape. To leave his family and friends for the vamp and crew to find...
He panted hoarsely from under the cool night air , drifting silently in from the pounding shoreline. His hands held the cursed lock and key right out of his reach. Robin could not place on a mask; as a symbol of anything other than to hide his growing shame , he could not start again as Robin...Slade had ruined every chance for a bighter future with the Titans. He growled by the memory. Yet , his enemy had told the hero that R...o...the dragon was watching that time, and that he had somehow rewritten Slade's thoughts to aid in his conquest...it was just too much as Dick waiting silently for the vessel of the deity's relative to appear from the fog. Even returning to open up this long...Bruce had kept in touch with the others.. He knew to contact and where the bewitching goddess would be waiting...Richard clasped the metal underneath his gloves and cussed softly by his luck. The sky was thick with a tension that rattled the unavoidable chains by his arms. The fog just as in the park where the Titan had confronted Lothos, poured out over the water , to rest beside the vessels by the ricketing port. Dick raised his eyes with a gasp and bolted quick as a feline far from the stench of another world's intervention ; by way of a powerful cloud of ash and-
"What was...!?" He looked up to see the selfless villain Deathstroke soar out of sight. His legs pulsed by the amount of pain the dragon had woven around them. To run..to run...to-
"Wait! Stop right there!" Slade looked far below the rooftops of the storage area , yet behind him it was clearest of all to notify ; just who was chasing the mercenary into a trap...
"Don't you dare run away! I am going to stop you personally this time! Get back here! Slade!"
Robin was out of uniform as his eyes shone by the moon's sheen across the pier. "Stay...back! ... Get...Away ..from...me!" Slade tossed a small smoke screen disc into his view with a growl as the Titan off the grid flung himself after the character as a bird on a tin roof. This was the end. If Slade had known about all of the Titans and the dragon's desire to come again, the 'young chosen' would not hold back for an answer..Running, running, running, running freely. Even if danger was just a sprint away. Lothos had waved him off before, Aluehainyu had been persistant in erasing that memory, yet Robin had been unable to forget Slade among those times. He wanted to give the villain a what for , even if another threat was currently watching into the night from within back alley shadows..
They hopped along side streets as the teen dove and missed the shot of his birdarang by a mile wide. He cussed the lame marksmanship and drove himself to plummet into busy street sidewalks far towards the central direction of Gotham's downtown area... The ringing of a single bell could be heard as a faint yet powerful pitch, one that knocked Richard back to cover one of his ears clumsily. He dashed past the crowds of many to reach the location. A subway that was ready to have itself shut down; due to it's poorly contructed infrastructure and a low budget to do any work at all, it was clear that this had to be Slade's destination. Why? It was screaming death trap right in bold letters! Robin, without the costume ...had to find the reason behind it all..
Richard jolted as soon as he'd found the railing to the stairwell; just as the boy's footing quickly saved his hide by a jump cable , from toppling into the rubble meant to wound or kill by a seious pitfall. Slade didn't want him to come here. He had thrown off the hero by decimating the stairs to the upper level...this was the way inside. He had to -
An enclosed , dug out entrance was covered by a ledge that had not been destroyed by an explosive from the Titan's arch nemesis. Dick smirked as the old memory of the fight with Cinderblock shot warnings off with a resounding crash* beneath him. "I'm coming for you, Slade." He whispered in the darkness , climbing through the hole with a brave enough swing through it by the cord, to land by a tunnel entrance that held no ounce of lamplight...The dark swallowed his senses as the snake round his wrist could feel the fear eminate through the boy's pulse points. Richard tried to use what training of his mentor's he could to find the exit quickly, before another incidental collapse had the right to bury him beneath more rubble.
As the Titan trekked on down into the further and of the old passage, the subway's trail had led to something deeper below the walls of the station. His eyes scanned without need of the his external night vision lenses. The serpent's odd attraction over this 'reundevous' was enough to allow an extra helping; and from it's dark powers...if they were dark, then the entire floor was soon blinded by it's strong, flooding magic in the form of a blinding light.
~Time to head foward.~ Dick reminded himself as the Titan runnaway skid across the ground . Wary in avoiding the rats that acted as scouts of their own hunt, the teen refused to look back. He was ready to be on top for once, the crime lord was just a ruse. One that had led Trigon and the red dragon king to earth by his carelessness and greed. This was the last stand. If Richard could knock the killer down a notch tonight, he could make this...
The boy wonder's eyes shifted to leave him in a daze towards the cold tracks. He was...trying to fix this...meaning...it might end up ...was that really what Robin wanted?..
His head full of the supposed red fog , the Titan did not want to lose. He pushed fowards into the foul scented , dark and dank tunnel , with the only desire to bury Slade under the same rubble. No one had to suffer. He would not be found as an immortal...
The teen held his skull with a groan as the effects of the mysterious shackles dragging at his arms to point in the direction of the hero's enemy. "Nnnm...It's...not...the way!-
He woke up by one single gasp as the mindless chatter died away, the illusion was not even able to remain whole by the shaken up boy's will. "You...Lothos!" He breathed aloud an echo as the cretin in the shadows towered over the teen with that devilish grin wider than the last time. Though..he maintained his striking physique and posture, he no longer seemed as lifeless as an undead tool for his king. "You! I had believed it to have been just a , mistake on your part...yet? Well, you are here as our guest of honor...this will not be overlooked even if you wish away my binds against that rage you carry ..Shall we not talk privately away from the spying immortals? I would much like to have you know this face again." The teen hero coughed by the smog's rising and falling from ceiling to earthen ground. The ringing seemed to bring the boy to his knees along with the mid - between fits leaving him out of a way to refuse the man demon's wish. Lothos's eyes barred down to add to the torturous method of bending , with Richard left to curl tightly into a ball. "G...guest...of..?..." He was unable to breathe by the stagnant , smokey atmosphere filling his lungs to the brim, as weathering as dirty sea waters by the city coast. Jump city...the water was..This was another illusion! Dick had to fight the creature from being taken away again!
"Your name...is not ...Lo..thos.." The Titan winced to rise as best allowed he might be able. "It is not him...but the dragon...Roku!.." With another gasp of a cry, the teen fell into the same calm the self Rokuro had been brought into. The creature before him then let it's features show fully. His long, dark hair of a powerful beast, his form; that of a man waiting for his prey to follow, and the eyes were as a serpent. The same eyes Robin had known no other being other than the son and Rokou possessed. The ...fact...he was ..trapped...
"You might only see what I allow of this area, yet borders are only walls set in place..they did not protect you home; nor your loved ones and comrades...such a pity.." He seemed to chuckle and mock the boy who was still trying to block out the ringing's repetitive tones.
"You will see the transformation. You ; that 'you' that claims to know the future, is setting for...a different course." He was still talking?..Why was the floor falling away! Where was the light from the tunnel? The panic made the boy sweat though unaware of his curse creating a void. "The time was then, yet today...you shall do me the honor of completing the script . My son's last shard, is inside of you. If that is true, then you must collect the second to last remainder to claim that rite!" He was excited. Richard was fighting to shut out the tumbling thoughts as they cascaded as blows towards his dishevled mind , the form of a declaration of war loomed over them as the emotions rocked throughout his senses in shrill shrieks. Nearly identical to the halting train in the past runnaway attempt. (Life after death arc!) Only as if it were a repeating loop of screeches..Haku..ro..had been there that time.. . . This...meant the selves were here on earth...he had not saved even.. one of them...
"You did not call the brat here to bore us all to tears." Slade's blade was near the king's neck as he'd returned to do the back stabbing properly. Or..on a whim. The dragon was plotting under his breath as the assassin had nearly shocked the king...but he had only been playing the fool after all..
"Tell him the rest, dragon, or I won't let you speak again..one death out of many ; you knew I wouldn't let you leave with your prophecy fulfilled! I am no one's damn puppet!-
The dragon shrugged with a hollow laugh while he had also polished his nails to strike, all without his gloves as they flopped to the floor in an unrequired heap.
"You want his life in your hands as well!" The king pressed the male mercenary to fall back with a large bruise to his shoulder. "This unlawful, assassin..made a prolonged pact so that you can never leave! Isn't that nice of your enemy? He actually thinks any of that can protect his apprentice!"
The dragon laughed as a maniac on a joy- filled killing spree. The walls shook while Slade met them; by his face, many times. The claws did as before in the hospital of the ward's mentor in recovery...(An eternal beginning and life after death arcs! Great side of angst ! Go check them out!)
Robin was dead in this void. Rokou was clashing to win against the villain pulling out his shabby blade to defy the king! ~Let him maim you for once!~ The dragon added to the threatening bark of the copy cat to his son's own powers. "You want him to bleed every ounce before you are through...to add to the bloodshed! You want a transformation soo badly , that you would even sell away his future to a monster... like me!" The dark lord's claws splattered the man's life in red over the ground. His entire world turned red as the first night the daemon djinn had raised a fist...it ached so much, that he wanted that feeling to thrive in another.
"You should finish him." The devil king dropped the sputtering assassin to fall in front of the hero on the ground. .."wh...h. ...nn..no...I..!-
He panicked by the illusion of a sea of red when it was not oh- so glorious on the mortal end. "Take it. His blood is what I shall see as my own. You will never know a life with this criminal...to tie you down to this lifetime..." The red made the boy's eyes burn by a raging smell of ash and smoke. His eyes watered while the dragon continued his prying, as a soul stealer finishing the job well..
"My blood is the only way to end it. You will have to throw away this world, if you wish to escape your anguish...call it...a bout of sympathy on my part...you are to end me...as my new beginning...Richard ..you had promised to help the ones to have sent you into my grasp once more. They know what becomes of unlucky 'power sources' such as my own children ..Pure energy, whether in body or spirit, it is a sacrifice to quell the enemy...you have been leaving me in wait for, far too long...I will take it all! Your future now belongs to!-
~Hold tight hero!~ The tunnel lit up to banish the monster lurking. Slade had to cover his eyes crying out, yet Richard had no idea if this light were a part of the blankness the shackles had been reliving!
He also screamed as the marks fought to prevent from fading. This light...was too painful to wish to grasp out towards ..he curled up as Slade to prevent the burning from covering his hands and wrists. Roku covered his eyes and left with a terrible howl and that laugh...he was still not through with the teen's wish...his spirit was still out there. Slade had still tried forcing the healing factor to do some work, while the light turned a crysytaline blue, then shone as a lanturn swinging freely in mid air above the two enemies.
Slade had fallen still while Richard laid back , breathing with a hollow gasp as the air turned to evaporate into a normal, feel. This was...Tsani's magic!...He wanted to mind...speak...to thank...for such peaceful dreams...
Falling sleep,.the teen was soon able to shut his eyes..while the ringing sounded as a violin by an old...friend..someone had been watching over him...by the name of...Ava ..Maria...
Out like a light, the Titan had rest for the first while it seemed ..better than ever! - However..only, to find that his room looked all too familiar...Wait! It was Titan's Tower?
New Chapter! It's getting a bit too violent in Gotham for the Titans to hold up any longer! Ava calls 'all Titans' with her violin and magic over Eternal boundaries of the past. Her mother's ability to bring hope to her comrades is legendary by far! She does not want Richard turning before they meet in the future as a family - even Starfire is fighting it out while Dick goes after Slade from under their noses. The next chapter is going to be pretty intense too. Or it will sum up the battle upon familiar shores. Astarte is not going to let the wo charges down yet. Raven wants Malchior to fight for the reason of freeing them all from the dragon's enchantment. She knows Richard is afraid to leave the Titans, but he does it out of habit brought on by Lothos's cursed shackles 'once bitten' by the vampire ; who is also housing Roku from the teens until he can regain his full powers. Slade double crosses the Titan's leader to throw a few punches towards the dragon in hiding. He was lucky to have not been simply dead and burried as a darker part of his enemy wanted during the chase .. Will this new chapter bring to light the worst to come from a simple wish? Will defeat follow their every step, as the heroes will team up with their foes, and allies. The fight will commence, In... chapter 11! Read on and stick around for much more!