Part 36: Knights in Nevermore

The Titans were going against Dr. Light. He was throwing his light blast every where. The blasts were more powerful than before and packed more punch since he did a major overhaul on his suit. It now looked like armor and he was wearing a helmet with a blue visor. Dr. Light made it an effort not to mess with Raven again since he was almost killed the last time. He diverted all of his attention to the new members of the Titans. This meant that he was going after the Zodiac Knights and Jinx.

Jinx used her hex magic to bounce the beams back to Dr. Light when they got too close to her. The beams dispersed when they hit his suit. It was a new improvement just in case his blasts were reflected.

Dr. Light aimed a blast right at Shadowcobra's face, blinding him. Another blast slammed Shadowcobra against the side of a building, in which he slid down to the ground. Raven saw this and was getting mad.

Dr. Light continued to blast Shadowcobra repeatedly, laughing maniacally as he did so. Shadowcobra yelled with pain as the heat from the blasts burned through his skin. Dr. Light formed a force field around him so that none of the Titans weapons and powers could damage him. Sonic blasts and Starbolts bounced off him. Birdarangs and explosive discs couldn't reach him. The glare got into Terra and Beast Boy's eyes and Jinx wasn't able to do a thing since it seemed that Dr. Light had an amazing amount of good luck. Neither Draco nor Pluto could do anything. None of them could help Shadowcobra.

None of them, except one.

Another scream from Shadowcobra reached Raven's ears and she snarled with rage.

Raven was going to let her anger show.

Her eyes glowed blow red and another pair appeared above her brow. Growing several feet taller and allowing her cloak to grow as well, Raven allowed dark tendrils of energy snake through Dr. Light's force field, short circuiting the suit. Tendrils wrapped around him and started pulling him into the darkness within her cloak.

"I surrender! Please! Don't!" he begged.

"What's the matter?" Raven asked in an evil voice. Her smile contorted to show an evil grin as her eyes glowed the deepest shade of red. "Afraid of the dark? You don't look so tough now, huh?" She continued to pull him in. "You hurt MY love! Now feel my wrath! DIE!"

Dr. Light froze with fear as he was pulled closer and closer into the darkness he feared so much.

"Raven! STOP!" Shadowcobra yelled out, trying to reach her. He was badly injured, but was still able to stand. He cried out to Raven, not wanting her to make a fatal mistake.

Raven snapped out of her anger and let go of Dr. Light. Dr. Light was having a seizure and was shaking with fear. His eyes were wide open with horror and he was foaming at the mouth. Raven fell to her knees.

"What did I almost do?" she asked her self as she looked at her hands. Small red markings appeared briefly on her palms. A pair of black clad arms wrapped around her protectively. She tried to pull away, but she couldn't resist from looking at Shadowcobra's worried expression. He hugged her tight.

"Calm down, Raven", he said, stroking her pale cheeks.

"I…I almost killed…" she cried.

Draco looked at Dr. Light. "Raven, what the heck did you do to him?"

At this, Raven snarled angrily at Draco and flung him into a nearby car.

"Ow…" Draco groaned.

"That wasn't necessary!" Jinx yelled angrily at Raven before she ran to her boyfriend.

Raven shut her eyes again as she was surrounded by the darkness that was Shadowcobra's cloak.

"Please take me home," she pleaded. Shadowcobra complied and wrapped the two if them within his cloak and disappeared.

Shadowcobra and Raven appeared in her room. He removed her cloak and then gently placed her on her bed and pulled the covers over her. He was about to leave when he felt Raven tugging at his cloak.

"Please, don't go," she requested. "Stay here with me, tonight. I don't want to be alone."

Shadowcobra smiled and nodded. "Certainly." He climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled up against him and rested her eyes. He was too overcome by exhaustion and fell asleep as well.

Unknown to him, a hand mirror was glowing black and in the reflection, two pairs of glowing red eyes shone.

Opening theme

Lonely Soldier - Matsuda Satoshi : English

The moon of the knife with which the wind is sliced, the night which shines coldly.
Now is merely one person running to tomorrow
Your recollections are not isolated and timid..
The promised ring tremors in my chest.

It is for protecting all of you with this hand.
Even if the world is an enemy, courage will go through.
I feel the right answer.
I believe the ended future that reflects in your eye.

In the sun glitters waves from the coastline of a far off day.
I suddenly hear your innocent laughing voice.
In last journey's end, I will hold only you.
Stronger than the violence of fate.

I will keep protecting all of you with this hand.
Darkness is torn apart by the brightness of my engulfed heart.
Do not feel sad if my life changes.
I am filled with hope when your eye awakes, I believe that day.

In colliding friendship,
I can't see inside of that chest. I will continue fighting.

It is for protecting all of you with this hand.
Even if the world is an enemy, courage will go through.
Do not feel sad if my life changes.
I am filled with hope when your eye awakes, I believe that day.

The next morning, the Titans were having breakfast. It was a good thing Draco was making breakfast so that everyone would be happy. He didn't want anyone, especially Cyborg and Beast Boy, argue over breakfast. He made scrambles eggs, bacon and toast for everyone and made the Tofu substitute for Beast Boy and Terra.

Aside from Beast Boy, Terra was the only person that liked Tofu. Well, besides Draco of course. Then again, the dragon knight and geokinetic even liked Star's cooking, so it made sense.

Raven and Shadowcobra came in later and poured themselves some herbal tea. A happy and calm smile spread across Raven's lips. At this, Shadowcobra's couldn't help but smile himself. Draco thought it was a good time to approach her.

"Raven…Would you like some breakfast?" At that possible moment, he had to say the most stupidest thing in history, "You might need some energy after that number you ran on Dr. Light."

Raven's eyes glowed red with anger and everyone's breakfast blew up in their faces. Draco was also flung across the room and slammed against the wall. He slid, upside down, back to the floor.

"Ouch…" Draco moaned.

Shadowcobra glared at the dragon knight. "Baka," he swore in Japanese.

Raven saw what she had done and walked away. Jinx was helping Draco up. Shadowcobra walked up to him and glared angrily at his friend.

"I think you owe Raven an apology," he said.

"An apology? She was the one who ruined breakfast," Draco retorted.

Shadowcobra's eyes glowed red. "Now!"

Draco paled and then ran after Raven, followed by Shadowcobra.

In front of Raven's door, Draco knocked. When he heard no response, he tried to walk away. "Well, it looks like she isn't in her room." He turned and was looking straight into Shadowcobra's angry blue eyes.

"Knock again," he said.

"Fine," Draco knocked again, but a little bit too hard. He knocked the door down. "Ooops! Seems I don't know my own strength."

Shadowcobra rubbed his temples in frustration, "Let's just go in."

They both walked into the dark room and Draco cringed at the sight. "Man, this is some creepy décor."

Shadowcobra shrugged. "I like it," Shadowcobra admitted. He then saw Draco looking through Raven's stuff. "You know that I'm the only other person that Raven allows into her room, right?"

Draco shrugged. "What she don't know won't hurt her." He lifted up a strange hand mirror. "What a freaky lookin' mirror."

Shadowcobra's senses went crazy, "Um, Draco…I don't think you should be touching that."

"C'mon! What's the worst that could happen?" Draco said as he looked at the mirror. The mirror glowed black and created a portal.

"You had to say THAT didn't you?" Shadowcobra screamed as the portal sucked them in.

Draco woke up to find himself and Shadow in a strange place. The sky was black and the terrain consisted of rocky hills, a desert and dead trees. It was like a wasteland

"Okay…Where the hell are we?" Draco asked no one in particular.

"You just had to touch her mirror, didn't you?" Shadowcobra said angrily to Draco.

"How was I supposed to know?" Draco replied.

Shadowcobra sighed. "Fighting isn't going to help us at all. It'd be better if we searched for the portal that brought us here."

"Fine," Draco said. "The sooner we get outta here, the betta,"

They walked through the barren wasteland.

Draco saw a flock of cute baby ravens.

"Aww, how cute!" Draco said as he took a closer look.

The birds repeated, "Turn back…Turn back…" in creepy voices.

"Draco," Shadowcobra began. "I don't think it's a good idea to get too close."

"C'mon, Shadow," Draco said. "What's the worst that could happen?" he pet one on the head.

All the ravens suddenly had four glowing red eyes and sharp teeth lining the inside of their beaks.

"You just had to say that, didn't you?" Shadowcobra narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms. The ravens went after Draco and pecked at him as he ran around crazily trying to lose them. Shadowcobra grabbed him by the back of his shirt and they quickly disappeared.

They reappeared a good distance away from the birds. They were in a different area in which pink was the most prominent color. The sky, trees and grass were all pink.

Shadowcobra warned, "Don't you ever say that sentence again."

Draco stood up. "Fine!" he suddenly heard laughter. "What was that?"

A pink cloak flew by. It was worn over a girl wearing a black leotard. The girl was Raven!

"Hi!" she said.

Draco's eyes widened as he looked at Raven's appearance. "Why are you wearing pink?" he asked.

"Coz it's my favorite color!" she giggled again. The two Zodiac Knights just stared at her and sweatdropped. She then saw Shadowcobra and squealed happily. "Shadow!" she hugged him tight and then let go before doing a happy dance around him. Draco looked dumbfounded at Raven.

"Oooookaaayyy," Draco said.

Shadowcobra placed his hands on Raven's shoulders. "Raven, do you know where we are?" he asked.

"Of course," she said, smiling, "You're in Nevermore."

The Knights raised their eyebrows.

"Nevermore?"

At the same time, Raven was on the roof meditating. But her thought were disturbed by vision of Shadowcobra. She saw a flash of energy that blasted right through Shadowcobra.

Raven's eyes shot open as she tried to catch her breath.

"Hey, Raven?" Jinx asked, "Have you seen Draco anywhere?"

Raven glared at her. "Why do you ask?"

"He was looking for you. I think he went into your room since your door's been knocked down."

Raven's eyes widened. Then she suddenly laughed hysterically. She placed her hands over her mouth.

Jinx jumped back in surprise. "That was a little bit on the freaky side," she said.

Raven realized something was wrong, she ran past Jinx and ran to her room.

"Hey! Wait up!" Jinx called after her as she gave chase.

"Raven?" Shadowcobra looked around to find the female half demon whom had mysteriously disappeared. Draco was looking at the large stone structure in front of him. It was a maze.

"Where did she go? We need her if we want to get out of this whacked out place," Draco said.

"You could ask nicely the next time she appears."

"Or what?"

"I can help you," said a sad female voice, "But you won't like me anymore." It was Raven, but she was wearing a gray cloak.

"Now you appear," Lea said angrily. "I can't believe you ditched us!" Draco yelled at her. Raven shrank and was crying. Shadowcobra saw this and angrily pushed Draco away.

"Draco! You're scaring her!" Shadowcobra said as he wrapped his cloak around Raven. "Hush now, Raven. Don't cry. I am here with you."

Raven stopped crying and leaned her head against his strong chest. A blush formed on her cheeks.

Draco rubbed his sore bottom. "Jeez, I'm sorry, okay!"

Shadowcobra glared at him, "You should be!" he turned to Raven who seemed to be scared. "Raven," he said softly, "Could you help us through this maze?" he kissed her chakra gem softly.

Raven looked up to him and blushed slightly. "Yes, but you won't like me anymore when you get to the end."

"What makes you say that?" Shadowcobra asked, brushing locks of her hair away from her face.

"He doesn't like me." She pointed at Draco.

"But I do, Raven," he assured her. At this, Raven smiled. She then led them into the maze.

"So you're saying, Draco and Shadowcobra are in your head?" Jinx concluded everything Raven told her.

"Yes."

They were in Raven's room and Raven was showing Jinx her meditation mirror.

"This mirror was given to me by my mentor. It is a portal into my mind," Raven explained.

"The let me go in!" Jinx demanded.

"No," Raven said, "we're going in."

"Remember when I said you were a hotheaded idiot? I'm sorry for that too," Raven apologized.

"For the last time, I FORGIVE YOU!" Draco shouted.

"And remember when…"

"I forgive you for everything bad you ever said about me."

They were at the end of the maze.

"Finally!" Draco kissed the ground.

Shadowcobra looked at Raven, "Thank you, Raven."

Suddenly, the two stone statues guarding the entrance came to life and were swinging their swords at the two Knights.

"I told you that you wouldn't like me anymore," she disappeared, leaving the Knights to fend for themselves.

"She ditched us again!" Draco said as he shot a fireball at one of the statues.

"I am starting to get a bad feeling about this place." Shadowcobra shot a beam of dark energy at a statue that somehow sliced it in half.

Suddenly, there was a battle cry. "Hiiyah!"

It was Raven, but clad in a deep green cloak, "Hey uglies! Want a piece of me?" She smashed through the statues with a flying kick and destroyed them.

"Oh yeah!" she cheered "High five! Come on!" She then saw Shadowcobra and smiled. "Maybe a hug would do!" she hugged Shadowcobra.

Shadowcobra and Draco looked wide eyed at the green clad Raven.

Draco started, "Okay! What is the deal? First you're giggly, then you're weepy, now you're a marine? Make up your mind! Just who are you?"

The pink clad Raven and the gray one appeared to the left and right of the green one.

"I'm Raven," they all said in unison.

Draco's jaw dropped. "What…?"

"Pink…Gray…Green. Happy…Timid…Brave…" Shadowcobra pointed to each Raven. "Different sides of her personality. I think we're in her mind."

"You got that right. And I want you out."

Raven and Jinx appeared in front of them. She had her hands on her hips and an angry expression on her face as she looked at Draco.

"You just had to touch my mirror, didn't you?" she said.

"Um…"

"That mirror is a portal into my mind," she gritted her teeth. "IT IS NOT A TOY!" She turned to Shadowcobra. "And you should know better."

Shadowcobra bowed. "My apologies, Raven. I am sorry I could not stop Draco and his stupidity."

Draco retorted. "HEY!" Jinx hugged Draco tight.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said, smiling.

Shadowcobra suddenly felt a wave of dark energy, which was also felt by Raven.

"You all have to leave, now," she said.

"Why?" Shadowcobra raised an eyebrow.

"Last night, when Dr. Light attacked you." She shut her eyes. "Something got out, something bad."

"What?" Jinx asked.

An unholy and evil roar filled the air. The four teens turned their heads to the direction of the roar to see a gigantic, king-sized humanoid demon with red skin, flowing white hair and four yellow eyes. It was clad in a loincloth.

Trigon roared. "Hatred shall rule!"

"Let's just say I have issues with my father," Raven explained. "Lots of issues."

Shadowcobra looked wide-eyed at Trigon, then at Raven. "That monster is your father?"

"Yes!" Raven said through gritted teeth. "Go now!" she commanded. "If I lose, you'll be stuck here forever."

"And leave you with that thing?" Shadowcobra took out his purple snake deck. "I have to disagree."

"You're our friend, Raven," Draco said as he took out his red dragon deck. "And we're not going anywhere without you."

Jinx's eyes glowed pink. "I may not particularly like you," her hands glowed with pink energy, "But you're still a friend, like it or not."

"You're staying, for me?" Raven asked. They all nodded. Raven had a determined look on her face. "Let's do it."

"ZODIAC FORCE!"

"DRAGON!" The dragon armor encased Draco's body in a pillar of flames.

"Zodiac Knight Draco!" he announced

"SNAKE!" The purple cobra armor encased him as well by the means of dark purple energy.

"Zodiac Knight Shadowcobra!" he also announced.

Trigon fired yellow eyebeams at them.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos!"

"Shadow Shield!"

A shield of black energy formed around them, deflecting the blast. Draco teleported with Jinx and reappeared behind Trigon.

"Have a nice trip!" Jinx joked as she threw a disc of pink energy at Trigon's feet. The ground under Trigon shook and cracked. Trigon fell into the hole.

"That took care of him," Jinx rubbed her hands.

She spoke too soon as Trigon climbed out of the hole. He spew flames at them. Draco threw himself over Jinx and shielded her from the blast. Since his powers came from fire, he was impervious to the flames.

Shadowcobra saw an opening and formed a black shadow energy bow. He formed five arrows of shadow energy and aimed at Trigon's head. He let the arrows fly at Trigon, but the demon smacked them away. Trigon's eyes glared at Raven and Shadowcobra. His arm shot forward, trying to make a grab for Raven. Shadowcobra saw this and pushed Raven away. He ended up in Trigon's grasp.

"Shadow!" she gasped as Trigon squeezed the life out of him.

"You are the one she loves. You are the one who stops me from coming out," Trigon said.

Shadowcobra continued for him hatefully. "And you are the one who makes her life a living hell, you monster," he spat.

Trigon snarled and increased the pressure. Shadowcobra's armor was cracking.

"Let him go!" Raven demanded.

"Do not worry, daughter," Trigon said, "It will be your turn next." He squeezed and Shadowcobra was fighting off the urge to scream.

"DRAGON COMBUSTION KICK!"

A flaming flying kick slammed into Trigon's back. Trigon stumbled and lost his grip. Shadowcobra fell from his hand and towards the ground. Raven caught him with a cloud of black energy. He lowered the injured knight to the ground. His armor shattered away.

"Shadow," she said sadly. He placed his hand on Raven's cheek.

"It is alright Raven," he smiled. He tried to get up, but Raven caught him before he fell back.

Meanwhile, Draco was using every single one of his Final Vent Attacks

"HAMMERHEAD CRUSH!"

"TIGER MOTORSMASH!"

"DRILLING SHARK SWORD!"

"LION CLAW RUSH!"

"CONDOR STORM SLASH!"

"Nothing's working on this guy!" he complained.

Trigon slammed his fist onto Draco only to have the Dragon Knight disappear. Draco reappeared with Jinx near Raven and Shadowcobra.

"We have to beat this guy!" Draco said.

"We can't beat him. Only I can, and I know how," Raven said, getting up.

"Right," Shadowcobra said, re-donning his armor. "We'll cover you the best we can."

Raven stood up on her tippie toes and faced Shadowcobra. His faceplate slid open allowing Raven to give him a kiss. "Be careful," she said as she disappeared.

Raven chanted. "Azerath Metrion Zinthos. Azerath Metrion Zinthos. Azerath Metrion Zinthos…" she repeated over and over again. All of her emotions, clad in different colored cloaks appeared. They all then spun around her as a bright flash occurred.

Draco and Shadowcobra's armors disappeared after they were blasted again by Trigon. Jinx landed in Draco's arms from the force of the blast.

"We're doomed," Draco said, panting.

"Since when were you pessimistic?" he asked his fellow Zodiac Knight.

Jinx was shaking with fear as Trigon came closer to them. She clung tightly to Draco. Draco was scared as well.

Trigon's hand came down on them and he grabbed them. Holding them in one of his massive hands, he started to squeeze. He roared with demonic laughter as they screamed in pain.

"Scream! Scream! Hahahahaha!"

"LET THEM GO!" another voice cried it, this time, female.

Trigon turned to be facing Raven, but not normal Raven. This Raven was as tall as him and was clad in a white Dracotard woth a white cloak. Her eyes flowed white under the shadows of her hood. Shadowcobra saw this and smiled. With the last ounce of his energy, he teleported himself, Draco and Jinx out of Trigon's grasp. Trigon's gaze was locked on Raven.

"GO BACK TO WHERE YOU BELONG!" She bellowed, hands glowing black.

"NEVER!" Trigon protested as he fired a beam of fire from his hands. Raven countered by firing her own beam of Dark energy from her hands as well as from her eyes and mouth.

Shadowcobra saw the beams collide and pushing at each other. "I have to help," he said. He felt Draco's hand on his shoulder.

"She can do it, Shadow. Trust me. Believe in her," Draco said.

Shadowcobra continued to watch. Raven's beam was pushing Trigon's back. Trigon was unable to do anything and was engulfed by the energy. He let out a howl and then shrunk into a red clad Raven, but with two pairs of glowing red eyes under her hood. Raven absorbed the red Raven and then glowed brightly. She shrank down to normal size. She was about to fall on her back when she felt someone catch her.

"There, there Raven," Shadowcobra said to her softly.

"You did great girl," Draco told her.

"Yes you did," a gentle female voice spoke from behind them. They all turned to see a beautiful woman who looked like she was in her late twenties, dressed in a white robe and had beautiful violet hair and eyes.

"Who is that?" Jinx asked. Both Draco and Shadowcobra were mesmerized by the woman's beauty.

"Mother?" Raven looked surprised to see her mother.

"Not exactly Raven," Arella said. "When Trigon placed a piece of him into your soul, I did the same. Trigon represented your anger, hatred and rage, while I represented your love." Arella explained. "However, your father was too powerful and so I was locked away in your mind for so long, until now that is."

Tears fell from Raven's eyes as she ran towards her mother.

"I've missed you so much, mother," Raven said, hugging the older woman tight.

"As I have, child, as I have." Arella stroked Raven's hair. "You have grown to be such a beautiful woman Raven." Her attention turned to Shadowcobra, "And you have found yourself someone to love." Arella smiled knowingly, causing the Snake Knight to blush.

Shadowcobra blushed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Thank you, Ma'am."

"No need to thank me, young Knight. It is I who should thank you for opening my daughter's heart to love. You loved her, gave her your heart and made it so she could feel emotions freely, and finally, you helped her defeat the part of her father that resides in her mind," Arella told him. She let go of Raven. "I have to go now, Raven."

"But mother," Raven said, between tears, "There's so much I want to tell you."

Arella placed a hand on Raven's cheek. "Raven, I will always be there for you as long as you keep me in your heart." Arella started to fade away. "I will always be there for you." Arella kissed Raven on the forehead. "But remember that one day that the true Trigon will come. You all have to be ready when he does."

Shadowcobra nodded, gripping his deck tightly. "By my honor as the Snake Knight, I will not fail."

"And if this Trigon dude does cause trouble, he'll be dealing with the Titans." Draco smirked.

"Mother," Raven reached out to her, but Arella had completely disappeared. Raven was again. She felt Shadowcobra arms around her.

"I wanted to see her again for so long," Raven said.

"And now you have," Shadowcobra told her.

Jinx was crying for Raven, of all people! "I'm not a fan of this mushy stuff! Let's just go home." She wiped her tears.

Draco patted his stomach. "Yeah, I'm hungry," Draco said.

Both Raven and Shadowcobra laughed.

Raven formed the portal for them so they could go home.

Later, the four explained to the other Titans about their adventure in Raven's mind. It was very similar to Cyborg and Beastboy's account, except that Raven was able to see her mother again. Starfire hugged Raven tightly, much to the empath's dismay.

The Titans later celebrated with pizza, soda and junk food.

And what of Raven and Shadowcobra?

They were now asleep in Raven's room, smiles etched on both their faces.

To Be Continued...

Closing Theme:

Lonely Soldier - Matsuda Satoshi

kaze wo kiru naifu no tsuki hiyayaka ni hikaru yoru wo
ima wa tada hitori kiri asu e to hashire
kimi no koto omoidaseba kodoku nado kowaku wa nai
yakushoku no ringu ga mune ni yureteiru

kimi no subete wo kono te de mamoru tame nara
sekai wo teki ni mawashite mo yuuki wo tsuranuku
boku wa ikiteru kotae wo kanjiteiru yo
sunda hitomi ni utsushiteta mirai wo shinjiteite

taiyou ni kirameku nami tooi hi no kaigansen
adokenai warai koe fuini kikoeru
owari naki tabi no hate ni kimi dake wo dakishime you
unmei no hageshi sa yori mo tsuyoku nare

kimi no subete wo kono te de mamori nukitai
yami wo kiri saku kagayaki de kokoro wo tsutsumu you ni
boku ga inochi ni kaete mo kanashimasenai
kibou ni michite me ga sameru sono hi wo shinjiteite

butsukari au yuujou ni mo
mune no naka wa misenai de tatakai tsudzukeru

kimi no subete wo kono te de mamoru tame nara
sekai wo teki ni mawashite mo yuuki wo tsuranuku
boku ga inochi ni kaete mo kanashimasenai
kibou ni michite me ga sameru sono hi wo shinjiteite