Moonjava- Thanks.
Kit Aurora- Thank you! Don't mind me- I randomly feel the need to harass people. Reviews make me happy. Thanks for taking the time to leave a few lines- it means a lot to me. I hope you do keep reviewing, for me and everyone else.
D- Nice idea- I like that. You wouldn't be too offended if I use that sometime, I hope. I was just going to do something else in the idea I've been toying with, but that could do. My random rants guilted at least one read-and-runner into reviewing. See? (Points to review directly above.) Bugging everyone for the sake of the few helps out.
XPhoenixX- You will get . . . official recognition. XPhoenixX officially left the one hundredth review, everybody. Evil cats are fun. I've never had once, thanks to an allergic mother, but plan to get the quirkiest cat ever born the instant I have my own apartment, assuming I can afford to live outside of dormitories.
The Last- I just took SATs, so I had them on the mind. I wish vocabulary was on them- that's my best section. I should go on strike, or just send a chapter by e-mail to everyone known for reviewing, as well as the newly converted and baptized into the Reviews-Are-Nice mantra. Reviews definitely cheer me up- I was having a completely horrible day, until I read all these lovely things.
Teleportal- I am not at all sure about a tiger. I've just looked at various cats that looked somewhat dangerous enough that they would be chosen for an insane run at a dragon. Tigers are very quiet- they rely on stealth, and their surroundings usually help them out with that. If some other cat is quieter, Gar doesn't know about it. Resorting to applicable character knowledge always is a good excuse, right?
They-Call-Me-Orange- It's always a bit hard to picture the kid. I mean, one's completely green, and one's pretty much grey-ish and violet. They'd have some pretty unique babies, on the scale of Donkey and Dragon's (nice Dragon, not to be confused with the evil black dragon that isn't cool enough for a capital letter) mutant pink flying fire-breathing donkeys. I think Robin needs a bit of playful bashing (not the usual DIE! stuff that happens to others, especially Terra and Starfire). He's too serious- he invites this kind of stunt. It just isn't as funny if the victim had been Cyborg, or Starfire.
cazzy- away from the dark side and keep reviewing! I heart reviewers.
FirefliesWish- Thanks for reviewing! I hope I have converted you to the R&R sector of the Make-An-Author's-Day, instead of read & run. Violet hair is always interesting- not many people have that. One girl at my school does, but that's only because the other dyes wore out to make purple-grey. Raven's is prettier. Green is winning so far.
Regrem Erutaerc- Thanks. I think. To me, 'not bad' is the lack of a compliment, but ignore me. I'm overly sensitive to word nuances. Helpful to writing, not so helpful to dealing with people.
Chapter warning- contains swearing. Well, two words in a longish chapter. Be nice- I avoided a cliff-hanger, and could have held out. But, as all reviewers rock, I decided to be benevolent and munificent, as well as the opportunity to use superfluous wording. Just a side note- BBRae, all the way. The other guys can wait a chapter.
The official (and only) up-to-date (sort of) poll results- Three for green, one for violet eyes, one for bi-color eyes (one violet, one green, with a blue chakra), one for a sort of a mix (teal/turquoise) and one for other (hazel) on a potential child.
Beast Boy darted through the door. Seldom-used hinges let out an ear-piercing screech. Raven pulled him back, even as he struggled to reach Bravery. The sound of the hinges was enough to wake the dead, let alone wake a sleeping dragon.
"I could have gotten there," he said, fighting until he was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, landing as a green changeling human. "You need Bravery."
"I don't need you getting killed by Malchior. If I say you're retreating, you're retreating. If you're going to pull some superhero act, you'll be back in my apartment before you figure out what hit you. I'm leader here, got it? Nothing personal, but you're very likely to get yourself killed or injured. You do not want to see what that could do." Her tone could have made a drill sergeant back down.
"Gee, Rae, I didn't know you cared." He dusted him off, irritated with the drop-Beast-Boy business. The stone floor was hard, and did not make a good surface for landing atop of.
Rude interrupted, deciding she needed to comment. "Of course we care, moron. Now, I'm sure this revelation will spark some overly emotional scene everyone but Dovey, Pinkie, and Timid will fervently hope to avoid. We have a dragon to slay. In case you haven't noticed, he's heading this way, we don't have Bravery, and we should do something."
Raven made a series of snap decisions, rattling off orders like a pro. "Dovey, go down the hall so you're out of sight. Timid, you're with her. Knowledge, you're in charge of logistics during battle. Beast Boy, you're rear guard. I don't know what getting hurt here would do to you."
She was gone before anyone could protest decisions. Raven's hands were already cupping black spheres of power as she flew through the air in a reckless charge at a gigantic black dragon. All emotions but Timid, Dovey, and Bravery followed her in a phalanx of Ravens. Beast Boy trailed behind, ready to get Bravery to them. They needed the final emotion.
"Raven, you haven't learned at all. Your mental blocks are nothing." Malchior's voice echoed grandly, an effect that seemed to be planned. "Foolish girl- you brought your green friend. I'll crush him, too. I know all your weaknesses, and he looks to be his own liability."
"Malchior, I have just five words to say." Raven paused at his eye level, a fair sight above the ground when he only sat on back haunches. She extended a single finger in the salute so classic to teenagers and young adults. "Fuck you." She raised her arms, screaming three words as she did so. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
She waited for clouds of dust to settle. When they did, an unmarked giant black dragon was revealed. He laughed, the sound a rumble of thunder growing only louder in the semi-containment of the four walls until it threatened to deafen.
"You are nothing but a little girl, with just a hint of real power. You're weaker than even before. You didn't meditate at all, pining after some absent figure. I think I can guess who that would be." As typical with many villains, he slipped into a monologue. "I know your every flaw, ever weakness, every way in a fight to exploit your failings. I know that you have less power than you did while you were seven. You told me, and- Dovey, did you call her? - was only too happy to help when I used someone else's voice."
Raven's hands clenched into fists. "Didn't anyone ever tell you that tricking the blind girl is politically incorrect? Imitating someone's voice is definitely on the Intergalactic Code of Foreign Relations, but you wouldn't know. That encompasses basic morality."
"Morals are completely subjective, my dear Rae."
"Don't call me that."
"I'll call you anything I wish, Raven Roth. Perhaps even . . . Lucy."
Black energy shot from her to wrap around the dragon's muzzle, gagging him only for a second before his skin repulsed her hold. "Who told you that? I've never told anyone about that, ever!"
Beast Boy snuck to the side, as interesting as the main conversation was. The instant Bravery was free, she sprang forward. He clapped a hand over her mouth, making a quick gesture. Attracting the attention of the dragon would not be a good plan. "Bravery, we need you to get Timid and Dovey. They're just inside and around the corner. Move quiet, move fast, and get them out here."
Bravery nodded before dashing off. After hearing the other's bemoan her slowness, her quick pace was a surprise. After watching Wisdom run by in a brown blur, he understood their point. Comparatively, she was slow, but could still beat most Olympic contenders.
"Dovey again. She told me everything, Raven, more than even you told me. She told me all the darkness that you hide, even from yourself, a few interesting tidbits about your first few days alone on the planet, and told me exactly how a mysterious bad guy could defeat you in battle."
Malchior had tired of their conversation, and showed his impatience by switching his tail. Rude, Wisdom, and Envy were sent flying into the wall with enough force that after the impact, they slid to the ground. While Malchior was stretched to his full standing height, he watched Raven's reaction to his tail slamming Knowledge and Happiness to the ground. The giant weapon, like a dexterous club, maneuvered to take out two emotions at once, knowing exactly how they would run.
"Raven!" he yelled, trying to get her attention. "They're coming!"
"Beast Boy, get out of here! I'll be fine- everyone can fight with me!"
"No, they can't- not until they recover. Timid and Dovey are with Bravery, and Rage is-"
"Incapacitated," Malchior supplied helpfully, hitting the red-cloaked emotion with a direct blast of magic. "As you soon shall be, actually. Raven, all you need do is lift your spells on room, chest, and book. Then, no irreparable harm will be caused."
"Never," she hissed. "You are a liar, a coward, a manipulator, and the basest of bullies. If have nothing for you but disdain."
"Then why are you afraid?" Malchior whispered in his thunderous voice. He took up almost the entire open area of the square within the castle. "You'll never be anything but a scared little girl. Even after your pathetic father lost his battle with you, the emotions were kept locked away from sheer habit. You never will use their full potential."
Raven didn't waver. "Malchior, our reckoning is now. You have no new tricks."
"On the contrary, I do." He moved faster than even Beast Boy would have guessed possible, taking out Bravery, Timid, and Dovey with a hind foot and swipe of his tail while knocking Raven off balance with a blast that wasn't audible or visible, or even tangible. All that was observable were the effects. Raven fell from the air, face contorted into a grimace. The attack had been purely mental, hammering at the shields she kept around less savory details of her past, the times that her emotions had not been under control.
Raven stood after a mental struggle, pulling herself to her feet with all the strength she could muster. After taking such a hit, even without one's entire life being a lightning rod to attract the blow, many would be dead, some would be insane, and most would give up. She wasn't many, some, or most.
"You can't defeat me that easily, Malchior." She twisted her hands, creating an abstract figure in the air that rushed at his head. It gathered on the two horns, one protruding from each side of the top of the gargantuan head. It shimmered darkly before dying as the dragon reared back.
He only hit harder, using all strength, power, and knowledge. Dovey had given away the greatest weakness, a feeling trapped inside. Guilt, when released, could tear her apart from the inside. All he needed to do was help that feeling break free, and then she would defeat herself. The second hit made her stagger, but she kept on her feet.
He only reared back a third time, directing the blow to an area he could sense as weak. This hit was direct, scoring in just the right place. Mental walls were buckling, ready to release the torrent of guilt. She should have controlled her powers the times people were hurt, she should have been better at life, she should have told people true emotions, she should have tried to help people more, she shouldn't have been so distant, she should have, would have, could have- doubts could do the job that no villain had fully accomplished. Once she was out of the way and her spells were disabled, the world was his.
The fourth attack brought a strangled sound from her throat, half a groan and half a whimper. Standing was no longer an option, and she was collapsed to the sandy ground, breathing but still too stationary. Beast Boy knew the meaning of that sound. It was an instinctive sound, one made as a warning and driven fully by the subconscious mind. Another blow would kill her. Malchior was preparing to strike a final time when the green changeling stood between the titanic dragon and the half-demon who was rapidly losing-consciousness.
"Move, fool," Malchior hissed.
"No." He squared his shoulders to hide his shaking when Malchior's eyes began to glow. He knew Raven had a high pain tolerance. He didn't. The dragon turned away, plucking a recovering emotion from the ground with quick claws.
"My, my- resilient, are we?" The emotion taken from the ground could only kick blindly. She fought with tooth and nail, but only hurt herself in attempts to attack until she was dropped to the ground, much higher than the height Raven had decided fine for Beast Boy.
Beast Boy took the time during Malchior's second monologue to look at Raven. The speech promised to be boring, long-winded, arrogant, and exasperating. He found something of hers in his pocket, just where he had left it. He placed the chakra she had once thrown at him on her forehead, lined up fully with the scar. It belonged there.
"Malchior!" Beast Boy interrupted the speech. "Your castle falls today."
"You will fight me, shiftling? As what- a dinosaur?"
"No." Beast Boy stepped forward, green eyes harder than diamonds. "But I will fight you."
"Beast Boy, he's too strong." Knowledge was waking more fully even as she spoke. "He just used memories as a weapon, and really messed with the mind. What he did- it's like a tidal wave. Everything could be swept away- memories, thoughts, and feelings alike. If- if she was hit hard enough, he won't have to trick Dovey by using your voice. He could change anything he wants."
There was no time to ask what Knowledge was talking about. All the emotions were down for the count (the yellow-cloaked emotion was in no condition to fight and Dovey was still blindly tracking a giant), Raven hadn't moved, and the dragon had spread gigantic wings, almost blocking out the sun.
Beast Boy became a peregrine falcon, a quick bird that could out-fly a dragon. Once out of the confines of the castle-frame, he flew upwards until he could barely see the dragon. He saw a small square filled with intricate detail, and knew he was high enough. He dove, restraining a falcon war-cry. He wanted Malchior to think he had fled. Eyes on the battle, he picked the point where he would make a final change. He was focusing on Raven when flames filled his view, black flames with deep purple edgings.
He changed. No one saw his new form. The flames still filled the castle, and Malchior looked at nothing but dragon-fire. "Raven!" Beast Boy's voice was the loudest it had ever been.
"You can't hope to fight me," Malchior said without looking up as Beast Boy landed clumsily on the edge of the castle, relying on instinct to balance. The black dragon had picked up Raven. She was dwarfed beside the dragon's hands, half clawed foot and half humanoid, and unsettlingly limp.
"Put her down, Malchior." Beast Boy was snarling, a rare enough reaction. "You and me, one fight, loser leaves her mind. Even a coward like you should know that torching an unconscious girl isn't polite."
"I didn't set her on fire." Malchior used his other scaled hand to hold Raven by the hood of her cape, not bothering to watch a lolling head. "She was too busy worrying about you to defend herself, not that she had a real chance. The attack was all mental, something you wouldn't understand. And the fire didn't burn her body- it just did further damage to her mind, in case she felt like waking up any time soon.
"Malchior, I challenge you to a duel by tooth and claw, blood and bone, fire and flesh, scale and wing, magic and word." The words came to him from somewhere else, a positive source that wasn't Malchior.
The black dragon stretched to stand on two legs, looking at his opponent for the first time. "She thought you can only use animals included in your DNA."
Beast Boy smiled, revealing rows of pointed teeth. "Guess again," said the green dragon.