Okay! So, finally, finally finally finally, I've gotten chapter 14 up. . I am so sorry that took so long. Wow...Um...Thank you to anyone who is actually bothering to keep reading this despite the MAJOR time gap. Um...here's hoping you like it? And seriously, I have -NO- idea how long it'll be between chapters...for some reason I get really motivated to work on it sometimes, and....not so much other times. Also, a thanks to PhantomGirl12. ^___^ Thank you! Okay, I'll shut up now. Enjoy~!
Ch. 14 – The Masque
Silently the five entered the run-down building, which seemed nearly empty inside. Robin and Starfire came in through a broken window in the skylight to what had apparently been the section of the building used for most of the public. Dust and cobwebs clung to the interior anywhere the heroes looked. Most of the room was coated in ancient carpet, and broken tables were strewn about the floor; the booths attached to the walls seemed mostly intact.
Near the back of the room was a stage that had obviously at one point been quite grand and lived up to all the glory of Gotham; now it was coated in a thick layer of dust that prominently displayed the trail of any who set foot on it. The dark, moth-eaten curtains that hung from above it were faded with a combination of grime and age.
Several of the pillars supporting the second floor had been broken in one way or another, and above them the floor sagged slightly. In many places on the second floor, the booths had been torn out, and the railing that went around the edges had mysteriously vanished. A pair of grand gold and crystal chandeliers hung above it all, coated in dozens upon dozens of spider webs a piece, casting dim light over the entirety of the main room.
Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg entered the building through what at one point had been the kitchen; in any direction the trio could see broken collapsing shelving, decrepit ovens, or taps that probably gave off rusty brown water. The grey tiles on the floor had most likely been white at one point, and were now simply stained with age.
Beast Boy shifted his shape into that of a mouse again, and scurried out of the kitchen door which only just hung on its hinges, thus perpetually keeping it open just a crack. He ran down a hallway to the left of the kitchen, past a broken down couch next and moldy velvet rope that had once been used to keep the VIP's away from the crowds. This, he thought, seemed the most likely place to find Slade and Jericho.
After a moment he changed into a fly, figuring that the smaller he was, the less likely the mute or the masked man were to notice he was green; surprise was their best weapon for the moment. He flew into two different rooms before he started to become skeptical as to whether or not they were even here.
He changed back to normal, scratching the back of his head slightly. "Where are they?!" he mumbled, sounding frustrated. As soon as the words had slipped out, however, the green boy wished he could have taken them back; the door snapped shut, and he turned around only to come eye-to-eye with Jericho.
Meanwhile, the eerie silence was starting to get to Starfire as well. "Robin, are we sure they are in this place?" she asked quietly, not wanting to alert anyone if she were to be proven wrong.
"They're here, Star…I'm sure of it," Robin replied confidently, in the same stealthy tone. Unfortunately for their cover, that was the moment when BB came running back around the corner, bumping into everything he possibly could with his protective goggles on, and making a noise that could wake the dead.
"So much for stealthy…"said Robin, a little annoyed. He managed to grab BB by the shoulders and make some sense out of him after a moment, though.
"You guys! I just ran straight into Jericho! I only just managed to get away thanks to these!" he said in a slightly frantic tone, as he put his hands on the sides of the goggles sounding immensely grateful to them.
Considering that they no longer really had any reason to be quiet thanks to the combination of Beast Boy's racket, and the fact that the blond had actually SEEN him, the three hurried back to the kitchens for Raven and Cyborg.
"Way to go, you green goof," Said Cy, apparently thinking that at least all that noise could have been avoided. BB just scratched the back of his head with a slightly awkward laugh as his response. Admittedly, it was a bit clumsy, even for him.
"Come on, he's this way," said BB, as he led them down the hallway he had just come from. They went quickly and carefully, goggles on, ready to fight at any moment. They passed one door, then another, and another, until they came to a pair of large closed doors.
"He's in here, or was when I ran out," Said Beast Boy, gesturing to the door.
"Right…On three," Robin said, taking the lead, "…One…Two…Three!" The Boy Wonder threw the doors, taking the lead as the five ran in to find…nothing. Behind the doors was just another darkened room. There were no windows, and apparently no other doors, but neither the master nor apprentice were in sight.
What little light had been entering the room from the open doors back into the hallway, suddenly disappeared, obscured by another shadow. Four of the Titans turned around to look, realizing the fifth had caused it; behind them stood a green Tyrannosaurus Rex, with glowing green eyes. The goggles hadn't been used to protect him from the mute; they had been used to hide the fact that Beast Boy was possessed by Jericho.
With no more than a prehistoric roar, the green dinosaur had managed to knock Starfire out of the air, and unbalance Cyborg
"Titans, move!" shouted Robin, as a large scaled foot dropped down into the doorway they had been standing in, the four only just getting out of the way by darting farther into the darkened room. An elephant chased after them, squeezing through the door frame, before the dinosaur was back.
Jericho's ability made opposing him difficult; how could they fight him without hurting Beast Boy?
"I do not wish to fight you!" said Starfire, who regardless had her Starbolts ready. Sure, if it could be avoided she didn't want to use them…but she wouldn't let him hurt any of her other friends either. However, that train of thought distracted her enough so that as BB shifted to the form of a giant squid, he could wrap one long tentacle around her, pinning her arms to her sides.
Simultaneously, this gave Raven the chance to try her hand in the fight. Just as she was chanting her mantra, though, Jericho noticed her. He threw Star into, and partially through a wall, and turned his attention to the blue-hooded girl behind him in the form of the large lizard once more.
Before she could finish all three words, Raven had been smacked across the room by the dinosaur's tail, knocking her goggles off. She recovered quickly however, and in a moment she was back on her feet, with "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" at her lips, using her power just to hold the possessed one still; after all, she didn't want to hurt either of them.
Jericho however was making great use of BB's powers, and transformed again into a mouse, slipping away as Raven tried to recover from the sudden size difference. A moment later, he took the shape of a giant serpent, wrapping around the blue-clad girl in a bone crushing embrace.
That was when Cyborg stepped in; the possessor was so busy trying to subdue Raven, he didn't even notice the other Titan until it was too late. Cyborg had gotten behind him, and with one quick word of apology in the back of his mind to Beast Boy for the undoubtedly coming headache, landed a powerful blow to the back of the snake's head.
As soon as it had happened, Jericho was quite literally thrown from Beast Boy's body and across the room. The green snake dropped to the ground, loosing itself from its grip around Raven in unconsciousness, before slowly changing back to BB. Jericho, however, wasn't ready to give up…Instead, he turned his power on the only one conscious he could make eye contact with; Raven.
Before the Titan could look away, he made the connection. Raven could feel it as Jericho ghosted into her, and she lost control over the motion of her limbs…She felt her lips start to move, her vocal cords start to resonate, and the words she spoke so often began to slip from her mouth. "Azarath Metrio…!"the words came to a sudden, complete halt. The blue-clad titan's now glowing green eyes widened in horror.
What was this? What was going on?! He shouldn't be seeing this…This wasn't his life, this wasn't reality….Jericho wasn't where he should have been! He wasn't in the musty old club anymore, he was…Somewhere much more bizarre…
The sky was black, with only splotches of the bloodiest looking red…all around the blond were floating chunks of rock acting as the only ground…They seemed to lead to a larger mass of rock…
Suddenly, Jericho felt eyes on him. He turned, and that of tiny black birds, with brightly glowing red hues, met his gaze. He was starting to calm down a bit…While he was still certainly unnerved, he wasn't panicking anymore…that was good; his father had taught him to try and keep his head…A calm mind had a much greater chance of continuing to exist…
That was, until the birds spoke. Then, he jumped. "Turn. Back." They said, each of them speaking in time with the others. He looked at them with a puzzled expression…Until they started to change.
However, in an instant, the little black beaks were filled with jagged white teeth; their bright red eyes changed, where two had been there were now four. All of them suddenly let out a cry, and spread their wings, flying straight toward the blond.
Jericho's eyes widened, and he turned, darting down the path made by the floating land masses, trying to escape the birds. It seemed no matter how fast the boy ran, the black creatures were catching up to him…and then he tripped.
The blond had caught his foot on the gap between the suspended slabs, and hit the one before him hard. He quickly tried to push himself back to his feet, only to find the beasts almost upon him. Jericho shut his eyes tightly, pulling his arms up to protect his head…only to find that he was not being barraged by sharp teeth, razored talons, or feathered wings.
He opened his eyes slowly, just a little bit as though afraid they were just waiting for him to look to attack, to see a mass of blue directly in front of him…Orange to his left. Green to his right...it took him a moment, but he finally realized that these were not just blobs of color…the were cloaks.
"Jericho, get out of here. You don't know what you've gotten yourself into," came a voice he recognized from the blue cloak…This wasn't just a cloak, this was Raven.
He raised his hand to make a protest, but the pink cloak off to his far left spoke suddenly. "Hehe, don't worry! We'll protect you until your out! But you have to hurry, or they're going to rip you apart!" she said with a giggle. This, appeared to be Raven as well…But why would she protect him? That didn't make any sense…
A grey cloak from almost behind him then spoke, "Don't be mad…But your in danger here…" Raven again? But she was so timid…How could there be so many of them?
"Just get going! We've got butt to kick!" ordered the green cloak just to his right. Yet another Raven…These cloaks, these colors…they were different pieces of Raven…These, were aspects of her personality…Then that meant…
This landscape, so black, so red…So cold and empty…Was Raven's mind.
"Get out. Get out NOW," Another voice of Raven's came out of nowhere. He looked around to see which one it had come from, but it hadn't been any of the ones in his line of vision…Suddenly, strong hands gripped him by the shoulders, dragging him to his feet.
Surprised, he saw that the one pulling him was a Raven clad in red…With four, glowing red eyes, just as those of the birds that had attacked him. "I said, get out!" she growled at him, one hand still clutching his shoulder, the other moving to his neck.
"Put him down!" The blue Raven had apparently noticed the red, and jumped back, the others closing in to block the birds from the opening that had been left after she moved.
"….Fine." Said the red, who suddenly tossed the little blonde off of the floating platform of rock they were standing on, down into the abyss.
"Jericho!" shouted the blue Raven, reaching out over the edge, hoping to catch him…but she missed his hand. He was falling….And it was terrifying.
He was falling, farther and farther and farther…it felt like he was never going to stop! He had to focus; he had to eject…He had to …He needed to focus! The blonde shut his eyes tightly, concentrating only on escaping from Raven's mind
…He could feel it….Something was trying to keep him in….That red one, she wanted him to fall! She wanted him to disappear into nothingness! But he wouldn't. He would see the end of the Teen Titans! He would make sure they would never hurt anyone again like they had Herald!
He forced himself to leave her mind, but it felt like he was crashing headfirst through a brick wall…Which is exactly what he hit when he finally managed to leave Raven. Jericho lay unconscious on the ground against the wall, a slight smile on his face…At least he had managed to hold them for a time…
Raven's head snapped up, eyes wide, "He was really trying to kill us…or hold us off while Slade escaped…whichever he could manage…"
"…We'll figure out what's going on after we get him back to the tower…" said Robin, as he picked up the limp mute, and slung him over his shoulder. With that, the Titans headed back to the T-Ship, eager to get their friend home and find out just what had happened to him.