A/N: Hey guys! Guess who! Yeah, yeah okay. Ahem, since most of you don't read the beginning author notes I'm just gonna leave my comments till the end. For now, enjoy the fic.
My fall will be for you
My love will be in you
You were the one to cut me
So I will bleed forever
"Rorek can court you all he likes, but you are still mine, you are my sweet Raven." Raven ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get Malchior's words out of her head, without much success. What did he mean? Rorek wasn't courting her, and even if he was, how would he know that? He probably didn't, perhaps he just assumed that he would. But why? Did he misinterpreted something in the way she acted? That didn't seem possible.
"Know that I did not lie when I told you I loved you." Another lie, he just...he just...but...why? Why would he say that? Surely he wasn't expecting her to release him again, especially when he...she shuddered, remembering the dream. Would she be lucky enough to wake up so soon next time? What would happen if she couldn't wake herself up? If she couldn't get away from him? No, she couldn't let that happen, she wouldn't let that happen.
But, still, why would he tell her that lie? She knew it was a lie, he was a dragon after all, and if he did love her he wouldn't have done that to her. He wouldn't have betrayed her like that...But then, how do dragons love? No, they didn't love, he didn't have that kind of heart. It was a lie.
"Hey Raaaaaaaveeeeeen." Came a haughty call from her door. What could Beast Boy possibly want at...oh, it was 11:00 already.
"What?" Raven asked, opening the door its usual width. Beast Boy gave her a superior grin.
"I, contrary to popular belief, was able to get a job, that did not require fast food!" He declared gloatingly, "I am working in construction, boo-ya!"
"Good for you, maybe you can entertain the other workers." Raven said with a slight smirk.
"Yep! And I—hey wait a minute!" BB came back, looking ticked, "What do I gotta do to prove to you that I'm just as capable as anyone else, huh?!" He exclaimed.
"Heheh, I apologize. Congratulations, Beast Boy, you proved me wrong." She said.
"Uuuuuh, Raven? Are you feeling okay?" Beast Boy asked, raising his eyebrow at her.
Raven didn't answer, she just ruffled his hair up a bit while passing him to go on to the living room. Beast Boy watched her with a freaked out expression on his face, "Uuuuuh, hey wait up!" He exclaimed.
"'Sup Rae?" Cyborg greeted as she entered the living room. She walked over into the kitchen to look for something to eat, and found very little.
"Um, we're almost out of food." She said.
"Er, yeah, all our grocery money went to the electric bill as well as Star's first paycheck, we're gonna have to make due." Robin said.
Raven sighed and poured the rest of the raisin brand into a bowl, she then poured as little milk as she could get away with and brought it over to the table to eat. "Next paycheck, whoever gets it, needs to go to food." BB said as he rummaged through the fridge and pantry.
"I wanna go out for pizza so bad." Cyborg grumbled, looking at his cereal with distain.
"Sorry, Cy, but we can't justify pizza right now." Robin said with a sigh.
"Good morning." Said a drowsy voice.
"Hey Rorek, you're up earlier than usual." Beast Boy said.
"I felt it would be best if I altered my sleep schedule to match everyone else's." He answered, rubbing one of his eyes. He went over to the fridge and took out an apple. He then sat down (next to Raven of course snickers evilly ), and worked off his scarf so he could eat. Everyone but Raven stared. Rorek looked up, "Yes?" He asked, slightly confused.
"Dude, you have a face!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Errr..." Rorek just looked at him.
"Someone hit him." Raven said. Cyborg gave Beast Boy a good smack upside the head. "Thank you." She said.
"Please forgive our staring, but this is the first time that we have seen you without your scarf on." Starfire said.
Rorek chuckled, "I understand. I haven't been eating at the same times as you, and I don't exactly make a point of having it off either." He said.
"Why not?" Beast Boy asked. Cyborg hit him again. "Owe!"
"No, it's alright. It's because I was born with a very strong sense of smell, and the scarf muffles the scents so that they don't overwhelm me." He explained.
"Oh. Well that's cool." Beast Boy said.
BWEEEP BWEEEEP BWEEEEEEEEP!!!"I hope no one has to go to work soon." Robin said.
"Not until tomorrow!" BB exclaimed.
"Let's go!"
"But my breakfast!" Cyborg exclaimed.
"You don't really like raisin bran do you?" Raven asked.
"Well, no, but—"
"Then come on." She said, "Or Beast Boy will be driving your car." She threatened.
"Not my baby! Oh no he doesn't!!!" Cyborg exclaimed, running after them.
"Heyyyyy, how come we gotta sit in the back seat again?!" Beast Boy complained.
"Because we are girls and you are boys!" Starfire answered brightly.
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow, "Okay, Star, just how many magazines have you been reading?" He asked.
"Only 22 so far!" She answered. Everyone sweatdropped.
"Where have you been getting them, just wondering?" Raven asked.
"Hey Cy! Wanna put our Stink Ball moves to the test?!" Beast Boy asked.
"Are you two still playing that game?" Raven questioned, shocked that they had actually found something that would hold their attention for more than a week.
"They've been using it as a way of coming up with new battle moves, so this should be rather interesting." Robin said.
"Hnhnhn." Rorek chuckled.
"Hey, don't dis Stink Ball yo!" Cyborg exclaimed.
"Cyborg, keep your eyes on the road." Raven ordered.
"Uh...." Cyborg stared at what should have been the road.
"Dude, what road?" BB asked.
Raven looked out the window, streaks of darkly colored light was going past them against a black background, and that was about it. There was no road, nor was there a sky. "I think, we've been trapped." She said.
"Naw, really!?" BB exclaimed.
"No, we're being ported." Rorek said.
"Say what?" Robin questioned.
"Ported, it's old magic, like being teleported, only it isn't instant, obviously. Distance and quantity matter, but it is almost impossible to break away from, in spite of the time it sometimes takes to get from one point to the next." He told them.
"Meaning...?" BB asked.
"Meaning our assailant knows there are mystics in the vehicle who could, rather easily, block a regular external teleportation spell. That being the case, he wouldn't be doing so unless he were confident that we would be unable to defeat him in combat." Rorek explained.
"Which is a real bad thing. Okay plan time." Robin said, turning around in his seat.
"The instant we get to wherever we're going, we jump out of the car at once and start blasting anything that moves, right?" Cyborg asked.
"Uh, no. Since this guy knows we have magic users, and is probably considering Raven and Rorek his biggest threat, let's see about surprising him with a completely non-magical battle tactic." Robin told them.
"Oh yea! Sucker punching time, whoo!" Cyborg cheered.
"I shall administer the most lethal b$& slap in all of b$& history." Starfire said. Everyone stared.
"Star, as leader I hereby forbade, with your own interests in mind, you from reading anymore magazines, and will ask you never to say that word ever again." Robin said.
"Yeah, it's really creepy." Beast Boy said, making a very freaked out face.
"Um, I'm not that skilled at hand-to-hand." Raven pointed out.
"Then you can be our defense." Robin told her.
"Look!" Starfire suddenly exclaimed. The background of black and streaks was fading, and the car was sitting still in what looked like the inside of a mediaeval castle of very gothic design.
"Okay this is way creepy." Beast Boy said.
"Everyone out!" Robin ordered. In an instant they were out of the car, and in the threshold of whoever had brought them here. Who was...no where to be seen.
"Okay, this is new." Beast Boy said, "Check it out." He then pointed them to the other side of their vehicle, where a large table, practically towering with different foods, stood, seemingly waiting for them.
"It's probably poisoned." Raven told them.
"Probably, or drugged. Don't touch it." Robin agreed.
"I don't sense anyone else in the room with us." Rorek told them.
"Search for exits then." Robin ordered.
Starfire, Raven, and Rorek flew up to the windows, Cyborg and Beast Boy tried the doors, while Robin poked about the tapestries, rugs, and anything that might conceal a secret passageway.
Starfire tried to blast her window, without much luck, and when Raven tried to break it her magic was instantly repelled, not even Rorek could get through. So they combined their magic and focused on one window. But for all they could see it was an ordinary stain glass window. Cyborg was currently hammering in what he thought was the weakest looking wooden door, and Beast Boy was currently turning into all sorts of different tinsy animals and bugs, but not even his fly form was able to get through the non-existing cracks. Robin's search was, likewise, unfruitful.
After a good while they gathered back. "Alright, let's try and think this through, Rorek, what sorts of properties does this spell have, exactly?" Robin asked.
"Well, it is very complex to perform, but the spell itself is rather basic, which makes it nearly impossible to get free of or even avoid. You understand?" He asked.
"Uh, no." BB answered.
"Any chance that the caster could have ported us to another dimension?" Raven asked.
Rorek suddenly looked at her as if he was about to shout, 'Raven you're a genius!', but he wasn't quite that far into modern-day speech, though he was swiftly learning. Instead he said, "Yes! Yes it very well could! If the caster can use the spell at all, well, there are few limits to basic spells like this. Which is why ancient magic is so powerful. That's it then! This must be a sub-space dimension!" He exclaimed.
"A what?" everyone (save Raven and Rorek) asked.
"A sub-space dimension is a man-made dimension, and these dimensions can only exist within sub-space, which is a lot like the magical version of the internet, however it's physical as well. But it's a personal dimension, like a sub-space pocket, but its only function is not to store items." Raven answered.
"Oh! I get it! So we're inside someone's advanced version of a sub-space pocket!!!" BB exclaimed.
Not really, but oh well. Raven sweatdropped.
"So how do we get out?" Robin asked.
"Simple, either the person who made this dimension brings us out, or we destroy it." Raven said.
"Alright, how do we destroy it?" Asked Cyborg.
"Not so simple." Rorek put in. He was about to go on, but he suddenly spun around, facing the large throne at the end of the threshold. There sat a man completely covered in a black cloak, only a small portion of his mouth was visible, which was currently curved up in a smirk.
"Very perceptive, I must admit that I am impressed. I was not expecting another wizard, though. I thought the Teen Titans had only 5 members currently, seems they've added on since I last checked my records." He said.
"How did you get out of jail? I told them to drug you." Raven said, her voice was the same monotone it usually was, which suggested that she didn't see him as too much of a threat. After all, if she beat him once, she can do it again.
"Ah, Raven, how nice to see you remember me. And they did drug me, but I am immune to all human drugs." He then stood up and pushed back the head of his cloak.
"Is it just me, or is the creepiness level of this mission skyrocketing?" Beast Boy asked. The titans all stared, even Raven's eyes were wide.
His skin color was a cross between lavender and silver without seeming too out of place, his hair was copper colored, styled in an uneven bowl-cut so that his front bangs were longer than his back hair. And his eyes, well, it seemed like he had a mask on, but it was also apparent that that was natural. They were completely white with a dark black rim around the edges. All in all, he was not what anyone had expected him to be: Young and quite attractive.
"To be honest, I don't intend to keep you here, in fact I will gladly send you all back. The only one I wanted was my bride." He said.
Everyone stared at him, eyes wide, and then they all looked at Starfire, who was looked both shock and as if she were debating on whether to be disgusted or just plain freaked out.
"No! I mean you Raven!" Balegor exclaimed. Starfire breathed out a very obvious sigh of relief. But now everyone was staring at Raven, and she was looking at Balegor like he was crazy, which he probably was.
"Did I hit you a little too hard back there?" She asked him.
"So that's the other sorcerer you were talking about?" Robin asked.
"Alright, first one villain gets a crush on Robin, and this guy wants to make Raven his wife, does this mean one of us is next?!" Beast Boy exclaimed, now looking more freaked at that prospect than at Balegor.
"Starfire and Cyborg maybe." Raven said.
"HEY!" BB yelled.
"AHEM!" Balegor exclaimed.
"I'm sorry, are we ignoring you?" Robin asked, smirking slightly. Balegor looked ticked.
Cyborg looked at BB, and the two grinned evilly at each other, and then at Balegor, who raised a cocky eyebrow. The fool.
"STANK BALL!!!" Cyborg yelled, somehow producing the large knot of smelly socks from out of nowhere and inserting it into his cannon. He then shot it up in the air where Beast Boy suddenly appeared, did some crazy move in the air, and kicked it at Balegor. And since a wizard is usually a lot more magically powerful than physically able, he got creamed.
"Don't laugh, it'll encourage them." Raven told Rorek, who was having a hard time not laughing. "I don't suppose you have an all-purpose drug potion on hand we could use on him?" Raven asked.
"Sorry, but give me three minutes in that closet of yours and I could make a large batch." He answered.
"It isn't over yet guys." Robin said, just as Balegor gathered himself up and glared at them all.
"I hadn't planed on killing you, but now I think I will." He said. He raised his hands into the air and summoned up some violet energy. "Vigor, Divinitas, Nox!" He chanted.
"Azrath, Metriom, Zynthos!" Raven said.
"Animatus, Specula, Aeternitus!" Rorek exclaimed.
The three power chants clashed, black and white energies against the violet of Balegor. Rorek and Raven stood beside each other, their energies mixed and empowered one another, driving Balegor back with surprising ease. The stone walls, the stained glass, and all the other ornaments in the dimensional room began to crumble around them all, fading into black, and becoming what looked to be an abandoned warehouse, probably where Balegor had last been when he entered his sub-space dimension.
"You may have won for now, but you can't count on your little friends to be there for you all the time, Raven. You will be my bride!" Balegor's voice rang.
Raven sweatdropped, "Shoot me now." She said as Cyborg and Beast Boy started snickering and poking her with evil grins on their faces."Hey, what's up Rorek?" Robin asked.
"It was...too easy." The three looked up at him, Starfire flew over to his side.
"But you and Raven are very powerful, surely it is not a surprise that, combined, your powers are far grater than that strangely skinned man." She said.
"He used ancient magic to bring us to his sub-space dimension, which also required a bit of ancient magic as well. I have yet to accomplish creating myself a sub-space pocket, and yet when I faced him the other day, it was actually quite easy to defeat him." Raven said.
"So? Just because he can use a certain type of magic doesn't mean he—"
"It takes a lot of power to weld the spells of old. Many believe that spells have become more powerful along the ages, but really they have only become more power efficient, yet more easy to deflect." Rorek explained.
"It's like old cars, they cost more to maintain and put energy into, but they were made of steel and iron. Ancient spells are basic, hard to use, but also nearly impossible to deflect or fool. More recent spells are more complicated in order to save power and energy in their casting. A wizard who could use ancient spells in this time period should have been able to put up a very powerful match to even our combined force chants." Raven explained.
"Exactly, and yet we fought him off with hardly any trouble at all. Either of us could have handled him individually without much hassle." Rorek said.
"Maybe he was spent up from the port spell." Robin suggested.
"He would have regained that power during the period in which we had been trying to find a way out of there." Rorek told him.
"There are three explanations for this, one is that he was using another ancient spell in the process of combating us, two is that he used the power of an item or a book which he was too cocky to think he'd need against us, and three is that he had some external help." Raven said.
"And because the first two are unlikely, seeing as he had battled Raven once before and lost, the last is very possibly the answer." Rorek finished.
"So you're saying that he's working under someone?!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Perhaps the villain Slade..." Starfire began.
"Starfire, Slade isn't a mystic in any way, shape, or form." Raven told her.
"Right, so now we have a new threat on our hands, one that is probably more powerful than Raven and Rorek put together, right?" Robin asked.
"It depends, but yes, basically." Raven answered.
"But what about the dude wanting Raven to be his wife?" Beast Boy asked. Rorek coughed uncomfortably.
"He's a, how do you say? Pushover." Rorek answered.
"We will let that subject die now." Raven told BB with a fierce glare.
"Yes ma'am." Beast Boy squeaked, shrinking into a rat so he could hide behind Cyborg.
Lightening is power, it is pure energy and can be quite destructive. Positive and negative charges can also have different effects upon things and spells. Now that you have finished this chapter you should be well able to use this element either raw or to charge the destructive spells you cast. However, these elemental chapters are only to get you familiar and comfortable with each different element in turn so that this book can begin to teach you, the reader and student, powerful spells that pertain to this magic type.
Knock, knock, knock. "Raven?" Raven marked her place and closed her book so she could go over to the door. She opened it as much as she usually does and looked at Rorek.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Well, you said last night that there was something I might be able to help you with." He answered.
Raven nodded. She'd been thinking a good long while about how to approach the subject, and thought she might have a solution. "Yes, I do." She answered. She then looked into her room, thinking hard. It would be the best place to study, but...she didn't like anyone coming into her room but her.
"It might be easier if we did this in your room, unless you'd like to go into mine instead." Rorek offered. Well, that settled it, there was no way she was going into his room.
"Lately, when I begin to relax my mind too much, I start to hear things. And I've been having very...off, dreams." She said uncomfortably.
"What kind of dreams?" He asked. Raven pressed her lips together and averted her eyes from him. "Right, I won't ask. So what can I help you with?" He asked.
"I need to know if there is a way to shut my mind off from any and all external forces unless I consciously wish otherwise." She said.
"There is, remember? When we first...er...met, I was able to close my mind to you. Which was no easy task, mind you, but because it is ancient magic..." He didn't have to say anymore.
"Can you teach me how to do use it? And will it still be with me when I sleep?" She asked him.
"Of course. This is actually more of a skill than a spell, and once you are able to use it proficiently it will be like a door that you can open and close yourself." He answered. "However, if I am to really know how well you can use it, you must teach me empathy." He told her.
"I'm afraid I can't, I wouldn't know where to start because it's an innate talent. Would you be able to teach me how to have a better sense of smell?" She asked him.
Rorek chuckled, "To a certain point, maybe, but never fully." He answered. "I see, then. Well, I suppose all we can do then is see if the dreams and voices go away. For now I can give you a recipe for a dreamless sleep potion if you think it will help." He told her.
"Yes, I'd like that." Raven answered.
"Well then, shall we get started?"
A/N: Whee! Another chapter finished!
Anyways, I think I'm gonna keep it at pg-13, just to be safe, because eventually there will be some blood and gore and a few more heavy scenes. Though in my opinion it isn't really as bad as some authors have out. But we'll have to see how it goes. I might even write some really violent scenes just to satisfy the rating, and then again, have I ever written something violent...? (Thinks about certain other characters in her stories) Okay, ya I have.
And to those of you who are still a little confused, I am the spirit of a powerful dragon that was slain over 10 thousand years ago and am currently possessing the body of a teenage girl so that one day I might rise up once more and take over the world! Actually, no, that's way to cliché, I think I'll just take over some big jewelry company so I can shower myself with wonderful shiny things and rebuild my horde. Just as fun and without all the political hassle.