You all rock. Do you know how incredible it is to open an e-mail account to find notices for fifteen reviews? I couldn't do this without you. Well, I could, but I wouldn't have nearly as much fun. Two pages of replies, but that's what scrolling down is for.
Celsie- Definitely. Boy Wonder should just suck it up. I've only had one person disapprove of the cat (whose name shall be in a later chapter, if I can work it in), and they had a childhood memory of almost being murdered. They're excused. Thanks for reviewing- I love it when people click that little icon. That makes my day.
Moonjava- Thanks. Nothing else to comment, at least that I haven't said before for that review.
Kit Aurora- I agree. He makes dragons look bad. BB's in there to boost the image a bit. Dragon-boy better figure out how dragons work pretty fast, though- he's never been one of those before, at least in my story.
The Last- Someone's yelling. I was planning for that one- I wanted to see a huge in-your-face fight somewhere, instead of mind games. Mind games are awesome and entertaining in their own right, but everyone needs pure action once in a while. I think a strike isn't needed- people are getting the message. Instead, confetti. Confetti is great, and up there with the wheel as a history-altering invention.
Slade's Downfall- I'm honored, and I'm not being facetious. Slade will not be in this story (except for a few side notes about Robin's obsession that I think I've made), but will be in the next story I plan to write. Cyborg isn't developed enough (no Cy-Rae- just Cy). Thanks for reviewing.
Fernnu- It's fine, really. I was guilt-tripping all people to put me on a favorites list without a single review. Life is nuts. I would agree with your closing statement about Malchior, except for one thing. Malchior is a big btch.
BeastWithin- I also want to see the dirty (what I would like to insert is extremely inappropriate, so shall be kept to my mind) have the snot beaten out of him. All in good time, of course. I hope the battle scene makes sense- I can see it in my head, and want to get the images to everyone else.
XPhoenixX- I heard from the first writer to turn him into a dragon. I had no idea she (he?) had done that, but I would have done this anyway. Raven's the kind of girl you would battle mentally. Besides, that's the only way she could fight a dragon, as a few judo flips would be kind of strange. I hated taking Raven out of the running so fast, but the dirty (I felt that writing the series of derisive and uncouth language would be inappropriate) knows all weaknesses.
Jim Starluck- I can understand life being hectic. I didn't update for a few days during similar events. All is forgiven- I was targeting people who had me listed on their favorites list but never left a single word. I had to get BB into something cool. I have, in one corner, a giant dragon completely aware of Raven's weaknesses. Obviously, he needs to be a dragon. Besides, I've always thought a dragon-on-dragon fight would be awesome. Wish granted- I hope my fight scene works.
ToughFront- Yes ma'am (sir? I'll guess a gender), that's my job. Guilting people into reviewing is a good pastime. I heartily recommend it, after the responses I've gotten. The cat is fairly evil, but I love her. I apologize for recurring nightmares inflicted by the cat, but the cat's mostly comedic relief, with the added bonus of being an insight into Raven's character. She's a cat person- that says a lot about her, from people I've known.
Dakyu- Well, I say what he's turning into. That's the last line of the chapter. I've consistently identified Malchior as a black dragon, and there's one possibility for the identity of the green dragon. I was making a point that more than half of the people with this story on their favorites list hadn't left a single word, but I'm happy now after many people have been baptized into the Read and Review faith.
Star-eye-1701- Thanks, and here's the next part. About finding an identical cat- I have no idea. She's basically the embodiment of several different traits from various cats I've known. The closest model belongs to a friend, and I plan on catnapping her, so I have no idea. Look around- there has to be a cat somewhere that enjoys air ducts, half-robots, and aliens.
A Pleasant Reader- Yes, Wisdom and Knowledge are redundant, but they're two halves of the same whole. Basically, they separate inner insight from outer insight, because otherwise I'd have someone knowing way too much. Raven and BB's relationship is supposed to be a bit off-kilter. They know, but (as always) they're still perpetually in the "s/he can't really mean it" stage until someone says it out loud, face-to-face, usually after a coercive event of some kind. They'll figure it out eventually, hopefully. Thanks for reviewing.
YumeTakato- Welcome back! Thanks. I was pretty fond of those chapters, but I can never tell exactly how plotlines will go over. It all sounds better in my head, you see. Green's the winner, so far, but keep checking in my handy-dandy poll-reader whatsit. Gotta love those scientific professional terms.
TheUbu- Thanks! I hope this is original, or somewhere out there, there's someone with the same thought process as me. That is scary. One of me is enough to inflict upon the world. Thanks for the cookie- cookies are good. I'm sure they help writing.
Teleportal- I try to answer questions, unless doing so would mess up some twist in the plotline. For instance, B is a dragon. Whether or not he can use magic will be addressed in this chapter, so just read for that answer. KRFN- Keep Reading For Now.
The official (and only) up-to-date (sort of) poll results- Four 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. Question, for those who missed it: If BB and Rae had a kid, what color eyes would s/he have?
"I think something's wrong." Robin glanced at the couch. No one was listening, but the cat lashed her tail in what seemed to be a dismissal.
"Relax. Raven and the grass stain are probably having a great time. She might have redecorated Nevermore- the place was really creepy when I visited.
"Raven did write that letter, and he's been showing symptoms of a crush since day one, actually. She was the first girl to not laugh at his jokes."
The cat yawned, making a sound that immediately brought a two-part harmony chorus of "Aww!" from Cyborg and Starfire.
"I'll go check on them, then."
Cyborg was off the couch and holding Robin's shoulders before the Boy Wonder could complete his first step. "Robin, you are not going in there. Even if she did redecorate, that's still her mind, or something like it, and it's polite to wait for an invitation."
"You and Gar went in," Robin challenged.
"We had no idea what that was. If you're seriously considering that, I'll sit on you. Remember the time you were drunk and wanted to go for a spin on the R-Cycle and kept bursting into some unpronounceable martial art whenever Starfire tried to hold you down? I have, I can, and I will, and you better believe that if you push this topic, you will again have bruises on your scrawny torso."
"Sensitive, are we?" Robin held out his hands, trying to placate Cyborg before his shoulders were bruised enough to make him stiff for a few nights of crime-fighting. "Nonetheless, I concede."
"Robin, there's another reason," Cyborg added after he released his friend. "Those two are probably having some romantic moment. Between Raven's down-touch-me attitude and Beast Boy's Raven-probably-deserves-to-kill-me-ten-times-by-now mentality, there will be very little of anything going on."
"Well, if you're sure. . . "
"Yeah. I'm sure." Moderately, he added silently. With Raven, nothing was ever that simple.
"She will be the victor's, then," Malchior rumbled, setting an unconscious Raven in one of the four circular open-roofed towers. The towers basically consisted of a part-wall along the outsides of the walkway that went along the entire surface of the tower, near where Beast Boy was balancing.
"I wouldn't put it that way. The terms are simple. The loser of the dragon-fight gets out, and will take no final retribution while doing so." Raven's never going to believe that I used 'retribution' in a sentence. Dovey can back me up, at least.
"Or leave a parting shot," Malchior agreed. The terms were part of a dragon's instinct, along with penchants for hoarding gold, jewels, treasure, and the occasional princess.
"Ready to fight?"
"For a weakling like you? I crawled out of my mother ready for this."
Beast Boy ignored his opportunity for tough talk and aggressive posturing. Instead, he glanced at Raven. She didn't stir, but he could see her breathing, gulping air without opening her eyes.
Malchior yelled something in a language Beast Boy understood. "Begin!" The black dragon pumped his wings, launching himself into the air. Beast Boy followed, a little less steadily. He only looked back at Raven once more before the fight. From all classes he had attended on animal duels fought for mating rights (well, no college course covered being trapped in the mind of a half-demon while dragons fought, so he was guessing), this would be a contest of speed and strength. She looked fragile, but he saw her open her eyes for a split second before they closed again. She was either twitching or awake- he would hope for the latter.
Malchior dove without preamble, hitting the green dragon squarely in the side. Gar spun and banked, lashing out with the muscular tail that felt like a natural fifth limb and landing a glancing blow to the neck. The fight was joined.
The display of aerial acrobatics was unlike anything either had ever seen. Beast Boy could only liken a dragon to a bigger, meaner, stronger, smarter pteranydon. Malchior had never fought another dragon. The two dragons dove and kicked, slashed and bit, and then Beast Boy let out a stream of green fire tinged with violet. Most hit Malchior's scales and rebounded, but some hit in the black dragon's open mouth just as he began some taunt.
Malchior roared from the pain, recklessly slamming into the other combatant in anger. Malchior had been holding back. He literally could fly circles around a changeling unfamiliar with an animal assumed mythical. Dragon-wings were like nothing else. He coated the green dragon in fire, dragon-screams of pain not slowing his will to assault and hurt.
Beast Boy ignored everything but fighting the dragon. He couldn't lose. There was too much on the line. He let out another burst of green flames, covering the entire area within a half-mile radius in fire. Out of the corner of his vision from predator-forward eyes, he saw Bravery and Wisdom leading the others to raven, helping the blind Dovey and terrified Timid. He made an effort to not look at Raven- he had to distract Malchior.
Beast Boy dove forward in a move so reckless it bordered on stupid, flying directly at the slightly larger dragon and slashing with claws. Malchior never could have anticipated it. The two dragons were locked in a mid-air wrestling match, clawing and biting. Fire was forgotten, even as wings were caught in the fight so both plummeted to the ground. Anyone standing down there would have been flattened.
Beast Boy finally had the upper hand (claw?). Just as he drew in the almost-breath to let out fire (he never could accurately describe the feeling of drawing the fire to place in his throat enough to satisfy his own expectations), three things happened at once as he was thrown off Malchior by a sudden burst of strength.
"Beast Boy! Duck!" Raven yelled, half out loud and half into his mind.
Malchior said something in a language he couldn't comprehend.
Beast Boy sneezed.
It was too late. Malchior had hit him with. . . something that coated the green dragon in a dark shadow that rippled like something alive and possessed. The noises a dragon could make while feeling as if its skin, flesh, bones, and extremities were being slowly carved away with a filleting knife hurt the ears of all nearby. He felt himself change back to a human. He was falling, but at least wasn't a quarter-mile off the ground. Instead, he only had thirty feet to fall.
Invisible hands slowed his fall. A black-violet scarf, partially transparent but still obvious even in the faint light, wrapped around him as gently as a mother tucking in her child. He was lowered to the ground, dropped abruptly when his feet were just four inches from the broken dirt of the ground. Raven levitated to the ground quickly, obviously drawn from the effort of making the spell. She was paler than usual, and leaning on Bravery as she descended to the ground.
Malchior sneered. "So, I guess guilt didn't destroy you. A pity, really. Of course, another shot could do it." He hid surprise. That trick had destroyed others with less to be guilty about. He would have to dwell on that later.
Raven ignored him. "Ready?" Raven spoke to her emotions, looking at the small group circled around her. They nodded. She blinked, chanting under her breath to stay focused, and it was done. She wore a radiantly white cape, and her chakra was gleaming bright as a live ember on her forehead, melted in place by black fire and awakened by green.
Dovey still stood beside her, as Raven had guessed. "I'm for someone else," Dovey told Gar. Raven had a good idea what was meant. "For Raven to truly feel as I do, I will leave for another's mind, and a replacement will stand in my place."
"Malchior!" Raven hovered in the air, perfectly steady. If she felt any pain from the earlier mental attack, she didn't show it, even as a visible muscle in her calf would not stop twitching. "We finish this now. You cheated- using mage-tricks to force reversion of form voids Dragon ways. Your last chance to leave peacefully is now."
Malchior smirked at Raven, who looked to be a particularly innocuous shrew standing beside a rabid tiger. "I will get to your world, and not stay in a pathetic mind or prison of ink and paper but where I will have real power."
"We're all adults here, Malchior. Cut the crap. You're here for revenge, a way to the physical world, and to yet again screw with my life. This time, though, my emotions are safe from you." Raven's voice only gained strength, even as her right hand was tremoring.
"You love me." Malchior's smirk only grew. "I know. You told me."
"Wrong. I loved you, past tense, before I knew you were a sick and heartless bastard. But you knew that- that's why you had to borrow someone else's voice and never let Dovey get too close to you."
"What are you going to do? Zap me? I'm a bit big for that."
Raven lowered herself into the hollow castle, looking at the walls and prodding a few bricks experimentally. "This is a big castle, extremely strong. Given two days and about five trebuchets, or at the best, a few laser-guided bomb launchers, and this will be rubble. Or, I could look closer at what seems to be very strong." She launched a single small orb of black energy at a section of twelve bricks. She threw a shield around herself and Beast Boy at the same time, also blocking out the sound of an explosion far too loud for just twelve pieces of stone.
The dust finally settled. The entire castle was gone, leveled into small piles of gravel. Raven smiled. "Sloppy, Malchior. You based the entire structure off one group of stones. I'm not one to rely solely on power and trickery, as you seem to."
"Raven, I hear Dovey saying some things very uncomplimentary about dragons, but I don't see her," Beast Boy whispered urgently, not that Malchior wouldn't hear. It just didn't seem right to broadcast that fact too loud. "She's saying a few things that would make a herpephobe blush."
Malchior towered over them, all the larger without the confining walls, if that was even possible. He held his hands cupped, and Raven knew who she had forgotten when creating her shield. Malchior had Dovey.