As the Ball Drops
Chapter 5: The Sha'menr'a
By Lady Croww (or Anubiana)
I awoke to the sound of a teapot whistling. Had I really fallen asleep while I was making it? Stretching luxuriously on my bed, I opened my eyes and looked around. This room. . . This is not my room. It was a nearly barren white apartment room, and when I looked for a window, there wasn't one.
Well, at least that better suits my tastes.
Suddenly the memories from last night hit me like an 18 wheeler. I looked around in fear and suddenly began chanting furiously. However, when I moved my lips, no sound came out. I slumped to the ground in frustration only to meet a pair of familiar steel toed boots.
"I have noticed that you are quite a talented sorceress and I thought it best to put a simple spell to disable your vocal cords. I'll remove it after you give me the information I need to know."
He handed me a pen and a pad of paper, and I immediately wrote the question that was currently haunting me.
"Did you rape me last night? Why aren't you raping me now? Why are you being so gentle?"
"Because I am not the man you saw two nights ago."
The voice that came from Red X was not raspy this time. Instead it was a cultured British accent that seemed vaguely familiar to me . . . a little too familiar. I suddenly realized why I recognized the voice.
HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET OUT OF THAT BOOK, MALCHIOR!
Red X took off his mask to reveal shortly cut silver hair and bright blue eyes with grey markings around them; he looked like he stepped out of a roman Sculpture. He blinked and looked at me accusingly as I stared. He looked exactly like Malchior, spoke exactly like Malchior, he even smelled exactly like Malchior. (in the old book sense.)
"So you truly have been dealing with Malchior. In that case, give me one good reason as to why I should not kill you right here and now."
I told him the partial truth.
Malchior manipulated me into letting him out of the book. I realized he was a dragon too late and then did some quick thinking and found the curse. Then I put him back in his book.
When the strange man finished my note he glared at me. I could already tell that he didn't believe me.
"I don't believe you (See?), so be patient as I search your mind."
I hurriedly scribbled NO, DON'T! as he began walking to me. He smirked and shook his head mockingly. After what seemed like an eternity, he made it right in front of me and closed his eyes, placing his forehead right below my head and on my neck.
I knew what he was going to see. He was just going to witness a stupid girl who let her defenses down lose all of her good sense because of a dragon who gave her a paper rose . . . nothing more. By the time the man finished experiencing my memory, he was shaking. I suddenly realized that there were droplets of water falling down my neck; he was crying. With a dejected wave of his hand, he lifted the spell from my throat and I could speak again. Unsure of what to do, I held him in a close embrace and wiped the tears from his eyes. After a few seconds, he stopped crying and looked at me apologetically.
"I'm so sorry for the breakdown. When I experience memories, I sometimes feel their emotions too . . . and I had to stop when I saw you put the knife to your arm. Please forgive me for capturing you like this. I thought that you were protecting Malchior. . . except in a way you are."
I looked at him quizzically before asking, "What!"
He smiled down at me and said, "You are protecting Malchior from any other who he may hurt."
I forced a smile back as I realized just how true his statement was, and he pulled me closer to him sympathetically. Tears were starting to form in my eyes. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was apologetic.
"I'm so sorry . . . When I heard of a dragon at your tower, I immediately checked into all of your backgrounds. It didn't take that much time for me to figure out that you were at least half demon . . . But you are still plagued by the emotions of a human."
I held back the tears and tried to keep my emotions in check. He was right. At that moment, my communicator chose the time to start beeping. The man looked at it quizzically then turned his confused gaze to me. I smiled and wiped my eyes before assuming a neutral expression and turning on the communicator.
"RAVEN! YOU HAVE TO TRY TO GET AWAY FROM WHEREVER YOU ARE NOW!"
I held the communicator away from me. After all, Beastboy could be really loud at times. A questioned look came over my face.
"What's wrong?"
His answer surprised me.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT YOU WERE NEARLY RAPED ON NEW YEAR'S EVE!"
"It must have slipped my mind. How did you know?"
"SPEEDY IS RED X."
"WHAT!"
Gritting my teeth, I told Beastboy to get me Robin. To my horror, Beastboy told me that Robin was unconscious and he patched me a picture of Robin's chest. I looked at the picture in horror than at the man looking at me from the other side of the room. I backed away from the man and towards the wall.
"How do you know that?"
"When Batman told us that he saw Red X carry you off last night, we left him to tend to Robin while we searched for you. You'd never guess who Star, Cye, and I found in this old warehouse building."
"Who?"
"Speedy claiming that some dude with silvery hair that called himself ROREK took the costume and tied him up here. He then told us that if that dude did that to him for nearly raping you on New Years Eve, then he was sorry."
I looked at the man across the room and turned off my communicator completely. He walked towards me with a worried look in his eyes.
I backed away from him, and I knew that the pain in my eyes was easy to see.
"No. No. You can't be Rorek. You're dead."
"No, Raven. I'm not. I had only one small tendril of magic left after I locked Malchior up. I used it to encase myself in a piece of armor, actually my breastplate, and I would awaken when somebody awoke him.
"You're telling me that breastplate that was recently put in the Tower of London, but was even more recently 'stolen' was really yours?"
"Yes."
I sat down and put my hands to my temples. This was definitely a lot to consume in one day. I felt a strong arm around my shoulders. I looked up to see him with a determined light in his eyes.
"Please Raven, take me to Malchior. I must destroy him before the Gyrphoenix changes."
"Why is that?"
"I have no idea who the Gyrphoenix is. Once the Gyrphoenix has changed, then only the Gyrphoenix can destroy him. Raven? Why are you shaking?"
I looked up at him, but I didn't tell him why I was shaking. I didn't trust him that much yet.
"I'll take you to Malchior."
Bad chapter, next will be better. Now that Rorek's in the game, who knows what will happen? Also, I do have a nasty habit of writing triangles or at least something close to that, so this will end up being a RaRobRor triangle. Who will she end up with at the end? Good question. I don't know either. I'll update as soon as I can. Also, I'm not giving up on Darkest of Worlds. I am just not inspired to write a new chapter for it right now. (It's the writer's block, ya know?)
Preview: Raven changes on the way to the tower, and Beastboy finds Rorek in Raven's room and assumes the worst. Robin wakes up and finds out about Speedy. The men all square it off in Friends and Foes.