Of Shadow and Flame
Chapter 4: Fight
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I don't even have a share in Warner Brother's or DC Comic's stock, so don't sue me if something shows up here that unintentionally matches the comics, or somebody else's ideas. Also, the whole real scenario here is mine, as well as all the new characters I bring in.
Alright, this is what some of my faithful readers have been waiting for. Chapter four is where the action comes in and a new enemy shows up...and, of course, the Titans come into it, too.
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Raven groaned and sat up, shaking her head. Things came into focus slowly and the row of antiques across from her startled her.
"What?" Raven half cried, snapping awake. "Why am I in the shop?"
"Because you wouldn't leave my books be. You fell asleep, again," Falchion said, setting a cup of tea in front of Raven. She hadn't noticed him when she woke up.
"Thanks. What time is it?" Raven asked, picked up the cup gratefully and noticing the blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"About eight. Why, is there somewhere you need to go?" Falchion said, picking up his own cup. Raven almost choked on her tea.
"Eight...in the morning? You mean I slept here all night?" Raven cried, standing up.
"Yep. You fell asleep facedown in that book about animals, remember? Maybe you should switch books. You've been on that one for almost a week now." Falchion said, pointing to the book in question. It was creased where Raven's face had rested on it.
"I can't believe it! I don't even remember getting sleepy!" Raven said, hurriedly straightening out the creased page. "Thanks for letting me stay here, and for the blanket."
"It wasn't any trouble. You actually gave me something to occupy myself with," Falchion said, smiling and glancing at the end of the counter.
Raven stared at the painting. The canvas was painted so it looked like a window into the shop, with Raven sleeping in the middle with an arm cupped under her head. Raven didn't recognize that it was her at first; She looked like a sleeping angel, an epitome of beauty among the oddities of the shop. It didn't suit someone dark like Raven.
"It's...nice, but," Raven said slowly, fishing for words.
"It isn't supposed to be nice. I drew what was there, nothing more, nothing less," Falchion said distantly, then, brightening up. "And how would you know what you look like when you're sleeping?"
The bell clanged.
Falchion glanced over his shoulder casually and froze. Raven turned to look as well, but all she could see was the frost on the door.
"Frost?" Raven thought out loud. "But it's not cold enough!" The windows, she noticed a moment later lacked even a drop of water.
"I'm afraid one of my charms has gone awry," Falchion said, sighing. "I'll have to go fix it. You can stay in the shop today if you want, but it's Sunday, so lock up if you go home."
"Um..." Raven asked as Falchion hopped up and headed for the door. "When will you be back?"
"I'll try to be back by tonight, but I might be gone a few days, so..." Falchion said, flashing a false smile at Raven.
"Watch the shop. Got it," Raven said dully, slumping. It didn't seem like the right thing to say. She wanted to ask him what was really wrong, but he'd probably just smile and explain his story, just like the last two times. If he did that, Raven would probably end up believing him and she'd be right back where she was before. No, it wouldn't do to ask him directly.
The bell clanged and he was gone before Raven could add so much as a goodbye to her abrupt comment. She shook her head and reached out to close the book in front of her.
Raven's hand hovered an inch from the page. The page wasn't like the others in the animal documentary; it had a short paragraph and a short poem, and nothing else but the name of the entity.
"Noble?" Raven read, running a hand over the page. "A race of unknown origin who do not hail from any known world, these creatures come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from small humanoids to enormous lizards, to seemingly inanimate lumps of rock. The only physical trait that all Nobles share is a large crystal growing in their chests, and they all also possess Tera Humanoid Intelligence."
Raven shook her head at the page staring at the poem. It looked as if the thing had changed position as soon as she read the paragraph above it, but that couldn't be.
Their hair is of the finest gold, their skin as pale as death;
their heartless chests bear a crystal and their brows the
weight of horrors untold. In the night they come, in the
day they battle, and leave worlds in ruin in the twilight.
In their eyes, dying galaxies fall away for all eternity, drawing
their victims with them. If there is a god, let him end the
Noble, for if he does not, surely they shall end us all.
Raven read, shivering. She swallowed and turned the page. A picture of a Century Dragon stared back at her, distant, defined, and normal, as far as this book went.
Raven slammed the book shut and put it back on the shelf. She decided to find something without apocalyptic poems in it.
Falchion pulled the cloak around his shoulders as he ran down the street. This action would only have been unusual if he hadn't been running at about eighty miles per hour.
"What's the rush? I'm right here," a cruel, but not unfamiliar voice called as Falchion dashed past. Falchion slid sideways and turned around, crouching defensively. But the man he expected to be attacking him was leaning against a building, smirking, with no sign he meant any harm.
He stood exactly equal in height with Falchion, looked like him, but with white hair and a gaunter face. He was dressed from head to foot in tight leather with a long black coat. He didn't wear a shirt, but instead a black vest with an armless coat over it. His thickly muscled arms had a pair of armored vamguards on the end of them and he was wearing a pair of black opaque sunglasses. His pants, the only loose part of his outfit, fed into a pair of motorcycling boots.
"I'm supposed to assume you left that challenge on my door for fun, then?" Falchion said coldly, standing up. "I'm not in the mood for a joke, Vronse."
"Of course not. I just thought I'd give you a...heads up," Vronse said, cocking his head to one side and widening his smirk. "You see, I've found a way around our little agreement."
"How?" Falchion asked coldly. Truthfully, he didn't really expect an answer, but it was worth a shot.
"You'll figure it out!" Vronse said with a laugh. And with that, he hopped into the air and vanished in a haze of frozen air.
Falchion restrained himself from cursing, lashing out at the people around him, or following Vronse; he didn't, however, manage to keep from grabbing the closest lamppost and crushing it.
Raven was enjoying a good account of an ancient mage or two and a steaming cup of fresh tea when the bell tinkled furtively. By now Raven was noticing that the bell seemed to ring in however the person opening the door felt, but she couldn't b e absolutely sure without her powers. She didn't bother looking up at first, but when a familiar voice squealed loud enough to make the bottles behind her vibrate, it suddenly became much more difficult to read.
"Friend Raven!" Starfire cried as she flew across the room at her friend.
Raven was stunned, and partially in shock. Or it might have been because her spine was cracking in Starfire's arms.
"I'm happy to see you too, but I can't breathe!" Raven gasped. That wasn't the only reason she wanted Starfire off her; their proximity to one another weakened the seal on Raven's powers.
"Oh, it is so good to see you! I was beginning to think I would never see you again!" Starfire gushed, still hugging Raven, just a bit more gently. "Where have you been all this time!"
"I'd like to know that too," Robin said coolly. What with Starfire's crushing embrace, Raven hadn't even noticed him, or what the two were wearing. Starfire and Robin were both in normal teenage clothing, and startlingly Robin was missing his mask for the first time in Raven's memory.
"Well, I..." Raven started to say as Robin crossed the room, but as soon as he reached the counter, the door flew open violently. Falchion was standing there with his eyes glowing brightly. The cloak around him flowed like a living mass, reaching out and grasping the doorframe and the floor, and his entire body seemed larger, hardly fitting in the door's seven-foot space.
His eyes lanced across the three friends, sending shivers through each of them, and with that, he strode across the room and through the back door.
"Who was that?" Robin asked shakily. He was leaning against the counter, easily as pale as Raven used to be. Starfire had lost her usual radiant look and looked rather like a frightened animal clinging to Raven for support.
"He was terrifying!" Starfire exclaimed. Her hands were very cold.
Raven had no doubt that she looked just as frightened as Starfire, those eyes had cut her down to the core, and they had been so accusing. Was it wrong for her friends to be here?
"He was...my employer," Raven replied in a small voice. "Falchion. He's not normally like that."
"I've fought super villains less intimidating than him!" Robin said, shaking himself back to his suave self. "How in the world did you wind up here with him? And why'd you leave the Titans in the first place?"
"Beast Boy was most worried, as were all of us. It just did not seem like you to leave," Starfire added, almost like she felt guilty for Raven's departure. It made Raven feel guilty herself, but it was still somewhat of a relief to meet them again.
"I left for personal reasons, and I wound up with Falchion by chance. I'm sorry you were worried about me, but as you can see, I'm fine. Almost normal, in fact," Raven said quietly, trying to suppress several emotions that kept fighting to the surface. Happiness and fear were on the top and despite the fact that she wouldn't really have minded happiness, she didn't particularly want to hurt her image.
"But Raven, you're living in..." but Robin didn't get to finish. The backroom opened with a loud groan as Falchion shuffled back into the main room in his normal clothes. He had his face in an enormous book, quickly flipping through pages, not sparing a glance for the Titans in the room. He slumped down on a stool and set the book on the counter, still rifling through the pages with a troubled look on his face.
"Is there anything I can...?" Raven asked quietly.
"Not really, Raven," Falchion answered coldly.
"How...? When did you figure out...?" Raven gasped. But she'd hardly asked the question before it was obvious.
"Two of the Teen Titans walk into my shop and recognize you, treat you like a dear friend, and call you Raven, and I'm supposed not to know who you really are?" Falchion said coolly, then he shook his head. "I'm not a fool."
Before awakening her emotions, Raven could have simply taken this in stride but now, to her surprise, Falchion's words hurt. She sat back on the stool and looked at him wide-eyed.
Robin's communicator started beeping.
"What's the trouble?" Robin said in hushed tones turning away from the visible tension between Raven and Falchion.
"Oh, not much, just Slade's back with an army!" Cyborg yelled. "Get over here, now!"
Robin snapped the communicator closed and pulled off his shirt. Starfire did the same and in a few moments they were both in costume.
"Raven, may we ask for your help?" Starfire asked quietly. Robin had that horribly determined look on his face again, but he was waiting patiently.
"I don't have my powers anymore. I sealed them when I left the Titans," Raven said, quietly, bowing her head. "I'm sorry."
"Come on Star, we don't have time," Robin said coldly. Starfire turned reluctantly and flew out of the shop after Robin.
Raven jumped when Falchion slammed the book down and stood up.
"What's going on here? Slade shouldn't have recovered so soon," Falchion said coldly, then, turning to Raven. "Perhaps you should go after all."
"But I don't have any power," Raven protested, looking up.
"You don't have to use your power. I'll give you all you need," Falchion said as he strode around the counter and took a stack of scrolls off the shelf. He sorted them and came back, setting them on the counter in front of Raven in separate little piles.
"Gaushin, Maknua, Ignaun, Rauhn," Falchion said, tapping each separate little pile of scrolls in turn. "Summoning, Empowerment, Inferno, Lighting Fist. Say the word "Kanju" with one of these scrolls in your right hand and it will automatically target your enemy, or ally, dependant upon the nature of the scroll. Take them."
"But I can't! I can't go anywhere near them or the seals..."Raven said, terrified at the idea.
"You don't need to be very near to them, Raven. These scrolls only require eye contact, and with the sky scrapers in this city, that means you can be several miles away," Falchion explained, then he smiled. "Go help your friends. It's what you really want."
Raven stared at him in wonder for a moment, then she smiled warmly, grabbed the scrolls, and ran out of the shop.
"Hurry, Raven. Go and get your power back," Falchion said as his clothes changed shape and his cloak dropped out of the air around him and settled itself around his shoulders.
To put it bluntly, the Titans were getting pounded.
Robin was fighting Slade personally, but how he ever thought he'd be able to beat him was beyond Raven; he hadn't landed a single blow yet and Slade had already broken a few of his ribs. Beast Boy was getting swarmed by a hoard of Slade double robots and Starfire was flattened by Cinderblock and Plasmus working together. Cyborg was holding his own against a hoard of robots, but he was outnumbered eighty to one.
That's about what Raven saw from the top of an office building a half a mile away.
"Kanju!" Raven said, holding up the summoning scroll. The ground underneath Raven glowed faintly in a crisscross of runes, and with a small puff of energy...nothing happened.
Raven swallowed hard and looked at the scroll turning to dust in her hands. There had been power there, she knew it! She must have simply done it wrong.
Raven's fears were dispelled a moment later when an enormous snake, easily three hundred feet long, shot out from the ground and grabbed the Titans up in its tail while it bit pieces off of the androids and tried to crush Cinderblock in its coils.
Raven almost laughed at how helpless Slade's robots were, but Slade's absence bothered her. He'd slipped away as soon as the snake appeared, and with Falchion's scrolls on her side, getting him back wouldn't be a problem. Raven raised another summoning scroll and hoped for something that she could ride to appear as she said the magic word.
A horse-sized dragon whisked into existence and tossed Raven onto its back. So, then, the scrolls worked just as she'd hoped: they reacted the way the user wanted them to.
"Follow Slade!" Raven yelled, pointing. She still had plenty of scrolls left, and it would be fun to see just what the dragon could do.
It was a quick trip; Slade had only gone down to a secluded section of the city before he stopped. Evidently, he thought the Titans wouldn't think to look so close.
The Dragon swooped down and landed about twenty feet in front of Slade with a scrape of claws.
"Where did you think you were going?" Raven asked smugly.
"Why, Raven, you underestimate me. I wasn't going anywhere. You were coming to me," Slade said, raising a glittering red crystal in his right hand. "Now join the right side."
Slade threw the crystal, and Raven never had a chance to dodge it. The crystal buried itself in her chest at the same moment the dragon threw her off and melted away into air.
The last thing Raven knew as she fell was the other Titans rushing towards her and Slade's laughter.
"It seems that at least one of my children are useful," a familiar voice echoed.
Raven snapped upright like a rag roll as a pair of huge fingers snatched her up to dangle in front of four, huge red eyes.
Raven managed to force her head upright, but it didn't matter; she knew exactly whose face she was in front of and what she was doing there.
"I hope you like what I have planned for you and your little 'friends'," Raven's father's voice boomed. "Because you're going to watch all of it!"
Raven felt her spirit being thrown back to her body with a flick of his accursed wrist. And then a feeling of utter horror overtook her.
The Titans were writhing in pain as Raven's power drained from their bodies without properly breaking the seals. And after that, aside from Slade standing at a safe distance chuckling, it was exactly like the dream that sent her away from the Titans. Her hands moved in accord with someone else's mind and she struck down Starfire and Robin, ironically, at once. Or perhaps it was some shred of Raven's own compassion, twisted in this new version of herself that let them die together. She ripped Cyborg's robotic parts to shreds with the slightest effort and blew up the nearest buildings for good measure.
Her dream, to her utter horror, was coming true, and there was nothing she could do, no matter how hard she fought. Beast Boy was in the air now, still with that look of disbelief and betrayal. Raven wanted to scream as a horrible cold lump formed in her stomach.
The crack she so vividly remembered from her dream came, and Raven found her body hurtling towards the nearest building with a sharp pain in her neck.
Raven's powers caught her, again as a sort of reflex, and she whirled around in time to see Falchion setting Beast Boy on the ground and Slade flying backwards, obviously from a considerable attack; his body embedded itself several feet into the side of a building.
"You disappoint me, Raven. I thought you were stronger than this," Falchion said. His voice only vaguely resembled a humans, and now that Raven had her perceptions back, it was obvious he wasn't even half-human.
"You'll see how strong I am...and my name isn't Raven! I'm Fiona!" Raven spoke without her own will. The name Fiona rung a bell, though.
The words had hardly left her lips before Falchion was in front of her.
"I do not wish to speak with a Ba'alzebub. Get out of the way and let Raven speak for herself," Falchion said coldly, lifting a hand and waving in a way that clearly dismissed Fiona. In any case, Raven found that she could suddenly talk again.
"My friends, they...!" Raven cried, trying to move. But aside from her mouth, she was paralyzed.
"They're fine, Raven. You restrained your dark half's attacks very well, all things considered," Falchion said calmly. His eyes were boring into hers, calmly tearing away at something within her.
"What...something...there's something in my chest..." Raven stammered as his eyes burned deeper into her.
"Yes, I see. I'm sorry, Raven, but this will hurt quite a bit," Falchion said coldly. Raven was almost certain she caught a hint of malice in his voice.
Falchion rammed his hand into Raven's chest and ripped the crystal out. Raven thought that when that crystal had first gone in, it had hurt more than anything else in her life, and she'd felt that while she was passing out. Not only was she awake for this, but it hurt ten times worse.
Raven was only dimly aware that she screamed. Everything went dull after she felt, and heard, the crystal being ripped loose. She collapsed to the ground, but she still wasn't allowed to pass out. Falchion's eyes held her awake as he bent over her with a hand outstretched to gently touch her forehead
"Control your emotions, Raven, or having the crystal or not having it will make no difference," Falchion's normal voice came to her, not spoken, but directly to her mind. "I will tend to your body, but you must tend to your mind."
And with that, Raven was allowed to slip away, down into the darkness of her mind.
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Author's Note: Well, that's chapter four. I'm sorry it took so long to update, but I've been really preoccupied lately. If you're going to review it, please ask questions in the review and leave your email; it gives me a break from writing papers to respond to people.
Character talk
Vronse: Ha ha ha! My plan worked!
Me: Oh, shut about the plan! I made it up, anyway!
Falchion: Then it's your fault I'm stuck looking after Raven!
Vronse: No! It was me! I did it! I'm the bad guy!
Slade: It would seem that it was my fault, as I did all the work.
Falchion: But you've still got a broken arm from the whole Terra thing!
Me: Oh, be quiet. Where's Beast Boy?
Beast Boy: Huh?
Me: Okay, that's the one line I promised I'd give you.
Beast Boy: Hey! But I'm not even in the fanfic, or at least not the real fanfic!
Vronse: You know, BB, it really isn't that great. And look at it this way; you're not acting all sappy and weird.
Beat Boy: Why would I be?
Me: Ku ku ku ku...stick around and find out!
Falchion: Hoo boy, should have kept his mouth closed. Oh well, next episode, Moving in!
Me: How many times am I gonna say this? This isn't an anime! Though, strangely, you got the name of the last chapter right...