Hey there Folxxxx !

How ya doin' ? Hope you're all as good as gold, and that studies aren't tiring ya down…

So my dear partner, SkyChild101 (yo, Ana !), kinda surprised me with a really fast update ! I had expected the next chapter to be ready rather this week, yet she was already done at the end of the previous week. Now that was almost too quick for me ! (coz yeah, my dear Ana is probably faster at storywriting than Lucky Luke is at drawing his gun and shooting !)

A biggreathugeenormousgigantic THANKYOU to CuttieGirll57 for reading + reviewing + favoriting this sTTory ! My dear Cris', you've been so supportive of my work since the very beginning… that I'm extremely indebted to ya for your countless reviews and your regular favoriting and following my stories, both MBC's and TT's ! Your encouraging me brought so much light and warmth into my heart… Hopefully I'll make ya just as pleased as usual, this time wz the help of another gifted author(ess).

Since I'm about to bring to light the first chapter of a new story, I will henceforth not be able to continue this story as quickly as before. Indeed, I always finish my current chapter before switching to something else, and that naturally means postponing the writing of the other story as long as you're still on the first story (I will never ever leave a chapter pending to start updating another fiction !). So yeah, that basically implies you'll have to cope with… hum…"delays" on my part ! And therefore, thanxxxx a bunch for bearing with this, gratitude for your patience !

Oh, and I have to celebrate something this very month : 4 years of FF publication. I indeed put my first story out during the first week of December 2011. And let me tell ya one thing : it's just AWESOME being here on Fan Fiction. What a smashing website this is ! I'll never get enough of it ! (Addiction much ? You bet ! :D)

This being said… how about we continue our lil' trip ?

So…

N'JOY !

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(SEVEN)_FACING IT_

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"What is preoccupying you, Sam ?"

The MBC leader raised her head and looked straight into Chris's blue eyes.

She sighed, a long, tired sigh that let him know how harassed she felt after not sleeping that well lately, due to her concern growing late at night, when there weren't the day's activities – fight, inquiry, plans – to distract her from her worry.

"It's about Raven, isn't it ? About her condition ?" he asked her before she had the time to formulate a reply.

"Yeah…" she said, in another of those long sighs giving away her fatigue… both moral and physical. "She has been repeating that she was… "fine", but it seems to me that she is everything but fine. You've noticed how her eyelids are always half-closed lately, and how she speaks slower than before, visibly with some effort. How could she be fine ?"

"Mmmh, I hear you on this one…" replied Chris. "She certainly isn't that well. She has been accumulating tiredness from… well, probably from a lack of sleep. I can't think of anything else, since she hasn't been especially confronted to exhausting tasks during daytime. Unless her powers would suddenly demand more energy from her, for whatever reason."

"Rae has never had any issue with her powers and the energy it needed to perform them. Not once up to now." stated Cyborg, who had come back from his analysis and overheard what they were talking about.

"But what if it had just changed ? And what would be the reason for such a change ?" questioned the black teen, trying to dig deeper, as she looked the large Titan straight in the eyes.

"Don't ask me, Sam !" retorted the "metal and flesh" boy. "I've known Rae for quite some time now, but as far as her powers are concerned… I know zilch about them ! Well, actually, I do know two basic facts about them : that they are based on dark magic and that, in order to use them at best, Raven must be able to control her emotions, to keep them in check, or else they could go haywire. But as for the rest… And unless she has been confiding more to Robin, nobody else in our team should know more about her dark powers than what I've just told you."

The female leader was supporting her chin with her right thumb, her forefinger across her lips, in a typical thoughtful expression. She was examining the options at hand about Raven's problem.

"So, in both cases, that her powers are involved or not in her issue, I would have to check the matter with her directly. I must go and talk to her."

Sam therefore turned on her heels and started for the door.

"I hope she will listen to you…" said Cyborg in her back.

"Hopefully so, since you two seem to get along just fine…" added Chris.

But when she turned her head at them… she had a sad look on.

"Hopefully…" she simply said, her mouth imperceptibly arching down, before leaving for good.

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Sam put her arm down and waited.

Seconds went by…

… yet nothing.

Concluding that Raven might be asleep, especially given her recent exhaustion, the African-American knocked again… but louder, this time.

No reaction from within.

Sam leaned forward and pricked up her ears.

Silence.

Thick, endless silence.

She was still hesitant as to retry or maybe search the Tower – in case the empath was meditating elsewhere – when she heard light footsteps behind her.

Turning around, she faced the sorceress who was coming her way…

…but alas not the one she wanted to talk to !

"Looking for Rae, eh ?" asked the pink-haired female as she stopped across from the yellow alien fighter. "She often meditates in her room, but she regularly also chooses the roof for that. So you should check up there as well. Hopefully you'll find her there."

Sam smiled.

"Thanks… uh… Jinx, right ?"

The witch with the cat's eyes smirked.

"The one and only ! But true that such a name is kinda trickier to retain than, say… Sam, for instance !"

The African-American snorted.

"You really have the gift of the gab, I can tell. I like that." A short pause. "But anyway… I hope I can find her up there. I almost wondered if she either was sleeping too soundly to have heard my knocks or heard them yet didn't want to talk to anyone… and therefore ignored it. But perhaps she simply isn't in here…"

Jinx crossed her arms.

"Mmmmh… would it have been anybody else's room, I certainly would have advised you to open the door. But Rae's door is now constantly locked, because she values her privacy so much and… some immature jerk [she swiftly rolled her eyes] managed to recently invade that privacy, so… she decided to make sure no one would be able to open that door. Which means that, if she actually is in there yet isn't reacting, whatever the reason… well, you'll just have to wait for her to come out from her own will."

Then the cheeky witch briefly bit her lip.

"I just hope that she isn't feeling too tired. She has been appearing so pooped recently…"

Sam nodded.

"That was what I had come to discuss with her. To try to find out what is wrong with her. She keeps saying that she is fine, but… come on, she clearly isn't !"

The teen with the golden eyes sighed.

"Okay I guess I'll go on the roof. Which way is that, please ?"

Jinx pointed to the left.

"That way. But, hum…"

She hesitated, yet decided to spit it out.

"I was considering asking her about her recent condition issue. So… do you mind if I come with you ? And, uh… knowing Rae and her stubbornness, I guess that it would be better to be two and not one to convince her. That okay with you ?"

"Sure. Let's go together then !" concluded Sam.

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The roof door opened. They walked out and peered around.

No one.

"Gosh ! I hoped she would be here, but…" said a visibly disappointed Samantha, standing close to the open door, whose knob she was still holding, and ready to turn back inside.

Jinx, who had stepped forward, turned around then slightly leaned forward to look on the other side of the wall neighbouring the roof door.

And her eyes opened imperceptibly.

She had just seen blue fabric close to the concrete surface !

After taking two more steps, she could see it all… and she rushed forth, screaming Raven's name, which made Sam hurry in the same direction as Jinx.

The two girls kneeled down by Raven, who was sitting with her back arched against the wall, both legs spread apart, her head down as if in a discouraged attitude, leaving only her purple hair visible.

"Rae ! Rae !" screamed the pink witch as she tapped the empath's shoulder.

The Dark Titan slowly raised her head… and her friends could see that she had been crying very recently, like only minutes ago.

"Oh God ! Raven !" exclaimed Sam as she put her hand on the Azarathian's shoulder.

"I… I c-can't… meditate anymore… I'm… I'm too exhausted… I've tried… tried focusing… on m-my mantra… but I can't… I've got… I've got a headache… I couldn't focus… and I… I suddenly fell… I fell as if I… I hadn't enough power… to… to levitate… What will I do… if I… if I can't… m-meditate…?"

Tears had been welling up in her purple eyes and were now slowly rolling down her cheeks, making her stutter while she was explaining.

Sam didn't know Raven that well, but the general impression she had about her was one of self-control, of inner mastery, therefore was she surprised that her new friend showed sudden fragility.

But for Jinx, who knew her really well, it was a shock. Her fellow sorceress had always kept her emotions under control and never, never had she appeared emotionally challenged. Therefore, seeing the powerful empath weep really stunned the Bad Luck Charm.

"Rae… what's wrong ? What's the matter with you ? How can we help ?" Jinx urged her magical partner to reply.

"Please, Raven, tell us what the problem is and how it shows itself. We must find a way to cure you from your exhaustion. Maybe Chris could examine you…?"

Raven whipped her eyes and looked back at them.

"I lied. I didn't want to worry you, and thought I could handle it myself, so I said I was fine… but I'm not. I can feel I'm getting weaker every day…."

Sam and Jinx quickly exchanged a worried look.

"…and I have the same feeling as those patients : I feel empty… or as if I was missing something !"

She watched her two friends with alarming sadness in her tired eyes.

"I'm afraid they got me as well, last Tuesday…"

"Last Tuesday ? What happened last Tuesday ?" asked a worried Jinx.

Raven sighed.

"I guess I should have told the team earlier…" she said, almost disgusted by her own carelessness about that matter.

"But told what ? What didn't you tell us, Raven ?" questioned Samantha, just as anxious as the Badlucker.

"We've got to see Robin. I will tell him." wearily replied the Azarathian, nictating very slowly.

"Let's go find him !" the golden-eyed girl said on a decided tone.

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As it was meal time, the Titans and MBC members were all gathering for lunch in the common room.

Raven, who was followed closely by Sam and Jinx, slowly approached Boy Wonder.

"Hum… Robin… I have something to tell you… but in fact, on second thought, I want to share it with the whole team. It wouldn't be normal to confess only to you : we're a team, a large team made of two superheroes teams, and there mustn't be secrets among us all. I've been stupid enough to keep it to myself up to now… but I can't anymore. I apologize for not coming to you before."

The acrobat's eyes narrowed behind his mask.

"Right. So you have something important to share… with the whole team ? Okay then. I'm going to call everybody."

And walking the walk as well as talking the talk, he hailed the rest of the two groups.

They all gathered in front of Robin, while Sam and Jinx remained by Raven's side, in a somewhat protective fashion.

"Raven has something to share with us all" he simply announced before stepping to the side.

The dark magic wielder looked at Jinx and Sam.

"Please join the rest of our friends. I'd prefer to have you all in front of me as I confess."

The two girls nodded and gathered with the others.

Raven took a deep inspiration (1), eyes closed, then reopened them and cast a quick panoramic look at all her teammates.

"I have to apologize to you for… not telling you immediately what happened to me on Tuesday. I thought it wasn't that serious and that I could handle it, but… I was wrong. And I'm sorry for not telling you, and have you guys worry for me…"

Nobody spoke, so she had to continue.

"I was meditating on the roof when I saw several objects fall from the sky. I dodged them and noticed they were dark blue crystals. But no matter how fast I was moving, I couldn't avoid them all… and got hit at some point. I didn't notice any change at first, but got more tired the next day, and always more and more afterwards. I didn't understand what was happening to me… until you mentioned the symptoms of the patients at the hospital. That excessive fatigue… and that sensation of emptiness, of lacking something. I have exactly the same impression, every morning, and I started searching my spell books, to find a magical cure against it, but… I couldn't find any up to now. I also have had difficulties meditating, since yesterday… Massive headaches, and this morning, I even fell… as if I had become too weak to levitate. It's true that I'm exhausted lately… but not to the point I couldn't even float up for my meditation sessions. It's worsening every day. I must absolutely continue looking for a spell, a cure that can cancel the effects of that attack. But once again, I have to apologize to you all for not being honest with you from the start and keeping it all to myself. I thought I could handle it personally and didn't want to uselessly worry you… yet I was wrong. Sorry once more."

She got silent after that, her gaze looking more specifically for Robin and Sam.

But neither of these two was the first to speak.

It was instead, alas for Raven, the very person with whom she had the most complicated relationship.

"How could you hide something from your friends ? You don't trust us enough or what ?! Or you don't consider us able to help you ?! That's really careless and hurtful ! I thought you were smarter than that !" half-screamed the shapeshifter.

"Wow wow wow, easy, Beast Boy ! Raven clearly proved us that she was really sorry for not telling us, and that she additionally really didn't feel well physically. So take that into consideration and don't be so offensive ! Everybody makes mistakes, but as long as they apologize for it, why be so severe to them ?" scolded Jinx.

"You're on her side, of course…" noted the green teenager as he glared at her.

"I'm in favour of justice but also of humanity. Humanity as a moral virtue, that is. I wouldn't necessarily be defending Raven at any cost, if she really was way wrong… but in this case, given her apologies and her condition, I say we should forgive her and help her."

"Well, if it was me who had been attacked and was feeling so tired afterwards, to the point of falling down, I sure as hell would have told my team. I would never have kept it to myself, because that's not a team spirit !" Danny chimed in.

"Alright, Danny, I think Raven got the message, between you and Beast Boy. So how about we drop that pointless arguing and do our best to help a friend in need ?" Sam intervened.

"Just saying…" replied the spiked-hair boy as he raised both hands up, in the "non-guilty" attitude.

"Right, you said it. Now let her be."

"Okay, okay, Sam…" he continued, his hands still raised to indicate he wasn't willing to argue.

Robin looked at Raven, his arms crossed.

"Raven, you may have been wrong to not mention the attack to us, as well as your symptoms, which were identical to the hospital patients. You should indeed have shared it with us. But I don't want to actually blame you, as you're in such condition that we must look for help rather than severely disapprove of you. But we must find out how we can help you… because, if I recall correctly what you told us, you haven't found a cure up to now. So maybe Cyborg and Chris can help you get better ? Unless you prefer continuing to search for a cure spell ? But you would at least need some medicine in the mean time, to help you fight exhaustion…"

Boy Wonder then got silent and observed his dark friend, waiting for her reply.

"I definitely will continue checking my books for a spell, but… it's true that my tiredness appeals for some medicine, something that would boost me and prevent me from collapsing from fatigue" she admitted.

Robin nodded and glanced at Cyborg.

"Got it ! I know exactly what to give Raven !" announced the technician and doctor of the Titans.

"And I will help you take care of her !" announced the MBC gadget boy.

"Excellent, Chris !" said Sam, before stepping to the empath. "We will do everything we can to have you back, Raven. To get you back to normal. I know we can't help you search your books for the right cure spell, but we can at least help you feel better until we have found a way to heal you. And we WILL heal you, Raven ! Trust me, we WILL !"

"Yes, Friend Sam is right : we will save you, Friend Raven !" enthusiastically added Starfire, in her ever-so-optimistic manner.

"We are all here for you, Raven !" concluded Cathy, smiling at the gothic teen.

The Dark Titan smiled back.

"Thank you everybody. And sorry again…"

Then she turned to Sam and slowly nictated at her, and the latter felt her heart contract upon realizing how terribly tired the powerful sorceress was…

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The cloaked girl had closed another book ten minutes ago and was struggling to keep her eyes open. She couldn't afford sleeping already. She would try later, but now wasn't the time yet.

A knock at the door.

She got up with some effort and trudged across her room, being just a shadow of her former self.

Cyborg was there, a glass container filled with an orange liquid in his hand.

"Hey Rae ! How are you doing ?"

"Been better… and been worse."

He quickly nodded three times in a row.

"I understand. And I've got your back, now more than ever !"

She weakly smiled.

"Is that something for me ?" she asked, with a head nod towards the glass container.

He glanced down at it and raised it.

"Yeah. It's a mixture I elaborated to revitalize your body and counter fatigue. You naturally shouldn't take it at night, or else you won't get a wink of sleep. So you can start taking it tomorrow morning. And I'm studying the analysis of your organism, from the scanner we made earlier. There aren't any toxins or other unknown substances, so I'm at a loss right now. And so is Chris. But we won't give up. We MUST find a way to have that tiredness first blocked, then annihilated."

"Okay. Thank you very much, Cyborg. I really appreciate and value your help. Your own, Chris's and everybody else's. I'm fully aware of your concern about me. But I'll be alright. I'm pretty convinced that I will find something of help in on of my books. My sixth sense tells me so. I just hope I will find it quickly !"

The large Titan pondered that, then his eyes lit up.

"Is there a way we can help you ? Like, read your books with you ?"

But she shook her head.

"They are written in Azarathian, and none of you would understand anything. Nobody would know what each spell is about, what is its utility. Only me can read Azarathian. And so, I'll be the only one on this task. But thanks anyway. Again, I appreciate."

And she weakly smiled at him.

"Oh. Okay then…" he replied, visibly disappointed.

"I don't want to chase you away, but… I must get back to it. I'm sure you understand."

"Yeah, of course I do, Rae. No problem, really. Well… I wish you good luck, and I hope you'll find something useful ! Good night !" he said in a supporting way, a hand on her shoulder.

She reached out and grabbed his arm, which she gently squeezed.

"Thank you, Cyborg. Thank you very much."

He nodded at her then removed his hand and, after an awkward smile – he was so concerned for her that he felt it difficult to actually smile -, he left her to her own devices.

Arella's daughter slowly walked back to her chair and put the glass container on the table as she sat.

She stared at the orange liquid and briefly hesitated.

But she recalled Cyborg's words (You naturally shouldn't take it at night, or else you won't get a wink of sleep) and decided to be reasonable. She already didn't sleep too good, so not sleeping at all… that wasn't conceivable !

She let a long sigh out and, grabbing the book she had just started, resumed reading.

Minutes went by, slowly…

… until the beautiful eyes of the gothic girl opened wide, the pupils shrinking in a flash in the center of those mesmeric violet irises !

Wait a minute !

She continued reading and, after two minutes, once she was done with the section that had initially caught her attention, she felt excitement rise within her, like an intoxicating substance spreading through her.

She forced herself to read again the part she had just finished, and as she progressed through it for the second time, she felt that excitement of hers augment gradually !

The dark magician licked her lips, her eyes still goggling as she arrived at the end of the section that had almost taken her breath away.

She wasn't dreaming ! Definitely not !

She had finished reading yet couldn't take her eyes off the two pages opened in front of her.

Finally !

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"Finally I've found a solution !"

All heads turned in the same direction.

Raven had silently come floating in, therefore nobody had noticed her at first. But when they heard her voice, and realized the importance of the six words she had just uttered… they fully focused on her !

Satisfied that she had their undivided attention, the violet-haired girl quickly glanced around, seeing them leave their current activity and approach her, and waited until they were all still and ready to listen.

Nobody spoke, none of them asked anything. They were all simply waiting for the great news.

Raven noticed how Sam and Robin were staring so intensely at her, clearly the most impatient to learn about "it".

"It took me a long while but I've found a way to counter the effects of the mysterious substance that prevents me from dreaming and thus provokes such great fatigue. I know how to recover."

Anybody would have uttered the last sentence with at least a hint of excitement in their voice, yet Raven was Raven, and she simply let it out in her usual monotone, as if it was nothing else than standard news and not something actually crucial.

"How ?"

The question followed almost immediately after Raven had finished speaking.

The half-demon wasn't surprised by the identity of the person eagerly talking first and asking the fundamental question. It would likely be Robin or Sam, but she would rather have guessed for Sam.

And she had got it right.

The purple gaze met the golden one that was concentrating acutely on the Dark Titan.

"Well… I will need to get extra power supply to do it, but basically… I will have to recreate my body."

All eyes opened wide around her.

"Recreate your body ?" exclaimed Cathy, extremely confused.

"That is possible ?" wondered Starfire.

"You're kidding us, right ?" asked Danny, obviously dubious about the incredible sentence he had just heard.

The powerful female wizard turned an upset gaze towards the Jock.

"Do you seriously think I would be kidding about the process of my recovery ?" she asked sharply.

"Hum… she never jokes, ya know… she's always so serious and stuff…" Beast Boy explained to his new buddy.

"These two are hopeless…" muttered Jinx, shaking her head several times.

The two machos glared at her.

"Hey ! Give us a break, you !" almost yelled Danny.

Raven closed her eyes, feeling herself simmer at such pointless arguing when she was telling her about such important news.

The pink one simply snorted while shrugging and rolling her eyes up.

"Forget about her, Dude… she's such a -"

Raven's eyes reopened wide and her jaw contracted.

"ANYWAY…" she said extremely loud, close to screaming, interrupting the vain quarrel and forcing all of them to pay attention to her and forget about distracting stuff. "I WOULD APPRECIATE IF EVERYONE STAYED QUIET WHILE WE'RE ON SERIOUS ISSUES."

"How exactly will you recreate your body ?"

Raven would have expected Sam to ask this, or perhaps Robin or Cyborg, yet it was Chris who had.

"I will have to use a really ancient spell I found yesterday evening. It will require more magical energy to gradually decompose my body into molecules and recreate it just beside. But I already know how to do it."

"Guess I'll be lending a hand, eh ?"

Jinx was smiling at her, after her question.

Raven smiled back, her eyelids still half-closed because of her extreme weariness.

"In fact… no, you won't ! Sorry, but somebody else will be required for this."

The vertical pupils opened more, slits becoming ovals.

"It won't be me to help you with magical energy supply ? Then who ?"

The half-demon hesitated to reply. Her teammates knew about… "that", but the Monster Buster Club didn't yet.

But she suddenly recalled that, as new friends, they were worth her trust, and so there was no good reason to hide it to them.

"My emoticlones" she simply said.

Jinx's mouth got ajar, before she regained her composure and reacted calmly to this.

"Ah yes, right ! Didn't saw that one coming ! But do you think they'll have enough energy to do it, Rae ?"

The empath nodded.

"Oh yes, they will, for sure ! They are part of me, but they have their own energy, which is distinct from mine. So, all their energies added to mine will be really enough to have the spell led to fruition."

"Hum… what are emoticlones ?" asked the ever so curious Cathy.

"They are my emotions. They are lookalikes of me, but with cloaks of different colours. And so, each of these lookalikes represents a specific emotion, and has her own powers. And I'm going to require their magical input to have enough magical energy gathered for the spell to be carried to its end. They will help splitting my body back into molecules, and these molecules will reform nearby to create an identical body… but without the nefarious substance in it, and with the ability to dream again !"

"So… these… hum, emoticlones, are clones of yours… and they represent some of your emotions… did I get it all right ?" Chris asked in order to confirm the extraordinary pieces of information he had just listened to… because such singular stuff did need confirmation !

"You got it all right, Chris." confirmed the powerful female magician.

"That's just… fantastic !" slowly said the young MBC genius, as he pondered the whole thing, and his blue eyes were lost in the vague as he did, a dreamy smile floating on his lips.

"I immediately felt you were a fascinating person…" Sam spoke up, with an admiring stare set on Raven.

"Thanks." replied the concerned party, smiling wearily.

"And I really hope your plan with those… emoticlones will work, and that you will be back to normal, as soon as possible. Is there anything I... hum, I mean : WE can do to assist you ?" continued the unofficial leader of the alien busters.

Raven slowly shook her head.

"It's kind of you to be willing to help, but this needs to be done on my own, with the help of my emotions. So there is alas nothing anyone of you can help with, sorry."

"It's okay, Raven !" Robin told her. "We will let you perform your spell the way it needs to be performed. But should you need any help…"

"I know, and thank you !" she cut him off, showing him she had understood what he meant.

Then she took a few steps towards the entrance of the common room and turned around to face them once more.

"I've got to go now. I hope to complete the spell as soon as possible, but I've got absolutely no idea how much time it involves until its end. I'll see you all soon, I'm sure."

And with that said, she forced herself to smile, her eyes still half-closed.

"Good luck, Raven ! I really hope to see you back soon, at the best of your physical and magical abilities. Take care !" Sam wished her, a kind, friendly smile on.

Raven nodded at her, her smile growing imperceptibly bigger.

"Good luck indeed, Friend Raven ! I shall wish for your soonest success !" the Tamaranean told her dark friend.

And then everyone did wish her good luck as well, even Beast Boy and Danny, who didn't get along particularly well with her.

Last to speak was Robin.

"I know you will make it, Rae. I have full trust in that spell, and in your powers and your emoticlones'. I can feel deep inside that it will work just fine. We'll all be waiting eagerly for your return. Take good care of you !"

Her smile widened again… and then she turned around and vanished in a swirl of black, as she was too tired to walk to her room… and she needed to spare her strength, as it also would have an influence on the realization of the spell !

"Will she be okay ? And will the spell work ? I don't want to sound pessimistic, but…" hesitantly uttered Cathy, clearly preoccupied, leaving her sentence unfinished.

"Nobody can tell…" answered Sam. "But we must have faith in her and in her powers. I've known her for only so long… but I already sense that Raven is capable of great things ! The kind that are beyond one's imagination…"

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Raven landed in the middle of Nevermore and, focusing, she sent a mental call that spread in all directions around her.

Two minutes went by, and then several coloured shapes appeared from various directions, up in the sky, and "dived" towards her.

A few seconds later, eight cloaked females looking exactly like her, save for the colours of their cloaks (and one of them wearing glasses), landed more or less gracefully around the exhausted half-demon… depending on what emotion they represented.

Once they were all standing on dry land, they all made a reverence, in perfect synchronization, while Knowledge, the unofficial leader of the emoticlones, greeted Raven on behalf of the whole group : "Welcome, Master !"

"Good morning, everybody ! I will need your help in order to regain my original strength ! The absence of dreams is wearing me down, and I couldn't find a spell to have my brain produce dreams again. So if I can't correct it in this body here… I will need a new body, one able to dream again, and therefore to keep my energy intact !"

"A new body ? That sounds like soooo much fun !" yelled Happy on the top of her voice.

"Less loud or I'll send you straight to hell, loudmouth !" threatened Rage, gritting her teeth and frowning hard at the bubbly emotion.

"Anyway, who would have thought that dreaming would be so important in one's life, eh ?" remarked Brave, her arms crossed.

"And it's also such a poetic activity, which can revive such nostalgic times…" whispered Love, smiling nicely.

"Whatever…" indolently uttered Sloth before yawning.

"Ah ah, that's ol' Sloth, always so damn lazy ass…!" cheekily observed Rude as she picked her nose.

"I find it interesting that dreams are so important while seeming so secondary…" murmured Timid.

"As do I. And we will do everything you ask us to in order to have your body changed. Does that imply creating a new body, out of nowhere, or decomposing your organism to recompose it into a new one, with the addition of the dreaming function in the process ?" asked Knowledge.

"It's the second option." replied the half-demon. "I've brought my book, and here is the spell we'll have to perform. Please repeat my words to enable your energies to be included in the spell."

All emoticlones stretched out their hands and Raven started to read aloud, with them repeating the mysterious words of Azarath.

Once the empath had finished reading the formula, she encased the book in dark magic and did the same with her body, which got lifted up and gained a horizontal position. And while this happened, she never ceased to repeat the sacred words of the ancient spell.

All the fingertips of the grey females surrounding their Master started to glow, each one with the colour corresponding to the related emotion : Knowledge's fingertips glowed yellow, Rage's red, Brave's green and so forth.

And after long seconds, the various colored lights left all fingertips and slowly serpentined down in direction of Raven's levitating body.

Rude's orange glow landed on their Master's right leg, Sloth's brown one on her left leg, Brave's green one on her right arm, Happy's pink glow on her left arm, Love's purple glitter on her abdomen, Timid's grey one on her chest and Rage's red aura on her head. As for Knowledge's yellow energy, it took care of both the empath's heart and brain, which were the most complex structures of her organism, and therefore the trickiest to decompose and recompose.

Soon, Raven's right leg started to dissolve in a myriad of minuscule orange bubbles.

The mass of tiny orange spheres augmented as the leg gradually split into millions of particles.

Those particles floated upward and came to a halt after a few seconds, levitating.

Then they merged, all together, and…

… grey skin slowly reappeared and developed, forming heels, calves, knees, thighs, until the whole right leg was complete, with a blue boot around the foot.

The other limbs were also dissolving into particles of different colours, depending on which emoticlone's energy was making it possible : the left leg disappeared into a cloud of brown molecules, the arms became "seas" of green and pink, respectively, while chest and abdomen turned into purple masses of purple and grey, the head split into countless minuscule red fragments and the two most vitals organs got vaporized in what looked like yellow smoke but were actually yellow atoms.

All those colourful particles rose into the air at a slow pace, and once they had reached the right spot, corresponding to the location of the new body part, they all amalgamated again into their original structure.

The process was slow but by no means tedious.

Raven's organism was thus gradually dividing up, splitting into innumerable miniature pieces, which very slowly reassembled into an whole identical shape… with the difference that, this time, the tiny brain part responsible of dream production was present again !

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AUTHOR'S NOTE :

1._ "Raven took a deep inspiration" : I've found out that 'inspiration' also has the same meaning as 'inhalation' and 'breathing in', but in a more formal way; therefore, 'inspiration' has nothing to do with being inspired by something, in this case… XD

Do we have enough ? Mmmmmmh, lemme check again… oh yeah, over 6'000 words ! That's enough, I guess, uh ? XD Hey, Ana, it's THAT MUCH that ya must type for your next chappy, and not the short 1'000-2'000-words small bunch ! C'mon, move you're a… hum, BUTT and write us sth more expanded, sth longer, sth more ambitious ! SHOW US WHAT YA GOT AND WRITE M-O-R-E !

I hope that was good enough to ya'll, Folxxxx ! Coz I'm personally not so pleased wz this chappy… :/ It's not so frequent that I end up lukewarm abt my own work… but this is one of these times. Oh, I didn't have any Writer's Block (WB), mind ya, but it's just that… hum, dunno, while I could write this in continuity… it just didn't sound as interesting as usual. Or maybe that's just me ? ^^''

Well, anyway, I'm at least satisfied that Raven found a way to counter the effect of the "dreamcatcher" and heal her body. Now… will her spell work… or not ? Seems like it will, given the very last sentence of this chapter, right ?

Okay, time to hand over the mike to my nutty, hyper, funny co-writer. SkyChild101, the dancefloor is all yours, and as I said : SHOW US WHAT YA GOT, GIRL !

Till next time, you all ! Take care and never forget to s-m-i-l-e ! :D

Peace, Love, Ecstasy ! ! !

(Dixxy)