Raventhedarkgoddess: Why? Why go to bake cookies and drag ME with you to watch the little kids......... How I hate little kids........ (picks up notebook) I guess I'll write another chapter, seeing as how there's NOTHING else to do...... May not be all that great, written while under the influence of boredom and too much spare time.
Chapter Thirteen: Arms Wide Open
Raven and Robin moved quickly through the narrow hall together, more one person than two, holding hands, exchanging whispers. Raven tried to keep Robin from running, but he dragged her along as if she were dead weight. "Robin, you're hurting me," she finally whispered to him.
His grip did not loosen or relax, and her wrist was begining to throb painfully. He sped up as another loud crash and a scream came over them both. "We just need to hurry, Rae. I don't mean to hurt you, but we do." She ground her teeth against his words: Protest would do nothing for her and she knew that.
Raven nodded, another scream coming to them. Raven felt herself being dragged faster than she could walk in her present condition: Her only comfort was in the fact that he would rather pull her along and have her with him than leave her alone to catch up later. Raven tried to speed up a bit, although the waves of pain in her legs were making it so hard to move......
"Does that scream sound familier to you at all?" She asked Robin earnestly, the echo still in her ears.
"I can't really say for sure," Robin replied softly, and Raven knew he didn't hear the resemblence in the voice. He didn't realize it to be the voice of a girl he had laughed with, joked with, accepted into the team, the girl he thought he had killed..........
It's Terra, she thought to herself.
Just then, the hallway ahead of them seemed to open up, get wider. A large open room, filled with boxes and the smell of decay, was in front of the pair. A battle was unfolding in front of them, and a very bloody one at that. Three of their teammates were present: Beast Boy was fighting to what looked to be the death, covered in brusies, Starfire, who was standing in the corner, looking defeated, and......
There in front was Terra, bloody and matted. Across from her was Slade, and he appered to be winning.
Terra flew into the wall, screaming again, screaming bloody murder as she took another blow across her shoulder and was pelted by her own planned attack, a boulder smacking her face. "Get away from me," she shouted as the rocks slammed her again.
Slade did not listen, but instead came closer, grinning like a mad man, until one of his feet was inches from her face. "So, apprintice, one last shot." He lifted the staff above his head and twirled it, listening to it's metalic clank against the dent in the side of his own mask, the only damage he had substained. "Not a scratch on me. You are nothing without me, apprintice."
"I'd rather be dead than be with you again. I made a mistake: At least I have friends." Terra tried to pull herself back, but she was closer pressed to the wall than ever. A single drop of blood fell onto one of her hands and she stared up into the mask, the mask she had once thought so wonderful. I need to get away from him.......
Scared, aren't we? His face mocked, and he brought himself closer. "You don't have friends. You have people who are too concerned for their own lives. Notice how they took you back only in a time of desperate need. If you hadn't tried to lead them out, none of this would have happened."
"Shut up!" She struggled to her feet, blonde hair flinging around her as she struggled to balence on her own two feet. The world seemed to be spinning, spinning..... "No," she whispered in feeble protest, protest to both her lack of standing and to Slade's request.
"Apprintice.......... If you refuse me....... Then you refuse your life as well." His face was insane, the jagged edge of his mask gleaming.......
Beast Boy threw another Slade-bot into the corner, totally unfocused on the task. Instead his eyes were only on Terra, no matter what form he was in, watching her hit the wall, seeing Slade move in on her, being held back only by the robots around him........ He felt his teeth tearing through the wires of the last one. Terra. A pulsing thought, over and over in his head. I've got to get to Terra, I've got to help Terra........ "Star, a little help here!"
Starfire was pelting no less than fifteen Slade-bots with starbolts, but they seemed to do nothing. She seemed to lack fury or pep or any emotion at all, let alone ones strong enough to activate the extent of her powers. As Beast Boy moved in on them too, she watched him with a helpless sense. He is only defending me for the sake of Terra. He tossed his green head, fury and anger upon his face.........
"Goodbye, Terra." Slade swung a peice of metal, hard, at her head, giving a victory shout as it flew toward her........
"TERRA!" Beast Boy saw the jagged edge falling toward her, wanted to move, but the onslaught of robots held him back..... I'll never reach her in time, he realized desperatly. "Terra, move!" He ripped his way through another one, saw Starfire looking on in silent, unmoving horror.....
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The peice of metal stopped falling, seemed to struggle, seemed to fight Slade's hands....... "Leave her alone!" Raven hissed, winning the control and throwing it off to one side, staring Slade down. Slade pretended to take no notice. This is a time for action and talking them down, he reminded himself sinisterly.
"Little bird girl isn't dead yet, I s...." A loud cracking filled the room as Robin slammed his foot into the side of Slade's skull yet again. Slade's taunt was cut off in mid-speach: Robin's foot landed on his chest, meant to hold him there.
"Stay down!" His chest heaved as he yelled, as he hollored at Slade with anger in every note of his voice, desire to kill in his fingers. No, don't kill him, you remember what you thought you did last time.........
"Little boy bird isn't dead either. How wonderful for me," Slade proclaimed, oddly calm for someone in his posistion, laying on the ground under Robin's boot. Beast Boy managed to finish off the last robot for real this time and ran over to Raven, who was bent over Terra.
"How are you, Terra?" Beast Boy asked, trying to remain calm, trying not to let Terra see how worried he was about her. You've gotta be okay, I'll never forgive myself if you..... You've got to live, you've got to.....
"I said go help Robin!" Raven's voice broke his thoughts apart. Robin landed, hard, on the ground, as Slade flipped out from under him. "Not good enough," he hissed at Robin softly. "I really expected more of a fight from you."
"If a fight is what you want, a fight is what you're going to get," Robin threatened, and lept in. Beast Boy caught Raven's glare, caught him just staring, and moved in quickly. Starfire still stood in a corner, watching the fighting, watching the struggle, but doing nothing to inverene, to help.....
I am alone here. The thought kept ringing through her mind, causing her to be deviod of anger or hurt, of judgement or, even of sadness. All I am is empty. All I am is alone. A single tear slid down her face. "Help them, Starfire!" Raven was yelling, her face slightly twisted with the pain and the emotional struggle going on within her mind.
I cannot help the people who betray me for themselves, Starfire thought miserably. I want to help them so much, though........ They are still my friends....... She thought of all the laughs, of the warm nights in Robin and Beast Boy's arms.......
Somehow she managed to distance herself over the battle. Anger was starting to come, anger at the world for taking them away, even though she wasnt' really sure who or what had taken the boys away from her. A starbolt pelted Slade, who fell, obviously shocked at Starfire's preformance.
Where do I belong? The question sent Starfire to Raven's side again. Raven was leaning against Terra, who held the badly-bruised girl to her side quietly. Beast Boy stepped back: Robin had Slade now, and what would happen was going to happen without him interfearing. He slid his arm around Terra, who grinned. Starfire reached over to support Raven, feeling sick at the sight of Terra and Beast Boy. Why must it be this way?
It's over. He's almost killed my friends too many times. I've got to get rid of him, Robin vowed to himself, taking the pole firmly between his own two hands. "This is going to be goodbye, Slade!"
"So sad.... I always liked your company, Robin. You and I could still take over, you know. Go on, kill me. Plauge your soul with real blood....... Plauge your soul with my blood again!" Slade hollored.
Robin could feel himself hesitating. He tried to look at Raven, at his team, to remind himself what he was fighting for, but the emotional torrent from last time filled him. Do I really want to go through with all the death again?
A blue blast that missed him, hit the wall oppisite him and bounced back, skillfully dodged by Slade, who regained his footing yet again. "Come on, ya'll! I need some help!"
"Finish me and go to your friend's aid," Slade whispered softly. "I know you want to end it. You want to end the problems and pain I've caused you. End it for me. Prove to me who you really are. Be a man!"
Again, Robin felt himself hesistate. Do I really want to be a killer? He'll put me in the same posistion as him if I murder........
"Lectia is down! I need help now!" Cyborg waved his arms widely. Don't they realize how much a person bleeds when she's been cut like that? He saw Raven and Starfire limping forward. Cyborg wasn't even thinking, just knew that Raven was a healer and she was the only one who could help him. Ignoring her feeble cry, he grabbed her arm.
Her cry made Robin spin around, forgetting to hold Slade to the ground for an instent. That instent was all the encouragement Slade needed. "Goodbye, you spineless fool," he heard Slade hiss behind him. A crash and a loud banging later, Slade was gone. Robin was torn: Helping Raven or running after Slade, Raven or Slade's blood.........
"We'll get him later! Lead the way, Cyborg!" Robin ran, pleased with the distraction in spite of the fact that it was threatening a life. I cant' let myself sink back to that level. I can't become the killer, not now or ever again........
"This is the end for both of you." Slowly, the boy looked into Anna's eyes. "Do you know what it means when an assassin lowers his hood, Anna?" As he spoke, both hands reached for his hood, played with the edging for a few moments, and then brought it down. He had greasy-looking brown hair and unforgiving gray eyes, a gray that should have been tainted with blood and memory of those he had killed but instead was calm and cold.
Anna could not help being fasinated by his face. How could someone so normal looking be so harmful.......... In spite of herself, she shook her head and stared at him, wanting an explaination even though she knew it would be grim. There was something about his eyes that held her to the spot.......
"It is known as an assassin's farwell. Only those he is about to murder will ever know his face. There is no survival. This is goodbye, for both you and your sister. I failed at first, failed with the fake suicide and the fire, when you both lived......... But it won't happen again. I will repay my debts to master Slade in full before the night is done." He turned to her, his knife clean, and raised it toward his face, letting it reflect his own eyes into his vision. "So shameful that I will soon have to clean this of your blood......."
"I won't let you!" Anna grabbed the knife from her fallen sister, ready to defend herself in any way possible. Suddenly, a scream peirced the building, and red fell to the concrete, a black braid upon the concrete floor, a sick noise........
"Now for you, Lectia."
Raventhedarkgoddess: Hope this chapter was good, I'm feeling kind of tired right now, but I tried......... Anyway, reveiws welcome.
