Trying my best to quicken the progress the story. Had a little bit of the plot at the end of the last chapter and now, here's where the stuff gets really juicy.
I've been waiting to write this chapter for awhile. I promise you; it'll be a good one. Plenty of action.
Enjoy, and thanks to those who have faithfully read and reviewed!
Kree
"It can't be any later than dusk!" Malchior exclaimed as her gentle hands opened his book. "Do you realize how early you are? Have you lost your mind?"
"Relax, Malchior," Raven rolled her eyes. "My friends are out for tonight."
"How can you be so sure? They could be trying to spy on you to find out whether or not we're still talking!"
"You sound so ridiculous right now, you paranoid freak," she mused. "They aren't interested in you anymore. Robin has been asking Starfire out a lot the past two weeks. That's where they are tonight. Cyborg, of course, as you know…" she paused, "is out with Jinx," she grimaced. "Beast Boy has a date with a rock," her eyes shifted. "I figured that I would have a little time to talk to you now instead of the middle of the night."
"No dates for you?"
"Don't make me laugh."
"How did you convince your friends to leave you all alone in the Tower, then?"
"I told them I was going to talk to my mother for awhile. If they should come in and hear a tiny bit of talking, it won't look too suspicious." She set the book on the stand with ease and fell back onto her bed at the same time.
"Always thinking of everything. I like that. The two of us could have might quite a team."
"If I hadn't been on a team already," Raven said sharply. She didn't want an idea like that to stick in his head.
"Raven," he hesitated. His silence was not comforting. "I know this is quite audacious of me to implore… but could you…" Holding her breath, she prayed that he would not ask the impossible of her. "Could you bring me outside?"
She let a sigh of relief slip through her lips as she pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Her heart slowed down a notch, a rapid metronome beat catching its breath. "I suppose that would be all right. Everyone's gone and we could go up to the roof. But only for a few moments, all right?"
"Raven." How was he able to make her name sound like a prayer? "You have no idea how terribly grateful I am. Thank you."
The ability to respond to gratitude was not one she was skilled in. She did not reply as she placed the book under her right arm and made her way out of her room.
A staircase leading to the rooftop was situated at the very end of the hallway. There was no one home, but she couldn't help feeling awkward walking through the hall. She figured that she wasn't afraid of getting caught with Malchior; she had no reason to. The door opened on the order of her levitation, the steps she took were light and slow. The emotions seemed to carry her up the stairs as she floated upwards. What in the world was she feeling?
With the turn of a knob, she arrived at the roof, looking up into the vast, colorful sky. A painting of reds, pinks, oranges, and purples, the sun was retreating in the west. The sea was filled with myriads of tiny stars outnumbering any night sky. Jewels of blue with pearls for foam, no treasure could possibly compare to the view the ocean provided. She flew towards the edge of the rooftop with the help of the evening breezes. She positioned herself to land in a sitting position, her legs dangling off the edge off Titans Tower.
Turning to Malchior's page, she let him look at the world he had seen once before in more than a thousand years. It was he who sighed as he looked from one end of beauty to the other and it was possible that there was regret pouring from his lungs. He did not speak for several minutes, but Raven did not mind the quietude. Watching the sunset was like another form of meditation to her; ultimate serenity. Realizing she was sharing this moment with Malchior was somewhat uncomfortable, but only for a few seconds. She ignored the discomfort and although she refused to like his company, she did not dislike it either.
"On an evening such as this," Malchior spoke up, "I would have liked to take you to many different places. The Melian waterfalls, Camarai beaches, Maiorme groves… I think you would have enjoyed such mystical sights… Yes…" his voice trailed in haphazard steps. "There are many places I would have liked to take you to…"
"It sounds like a strange scenario," she tried to feign the surprise in her voice with sarcasm. "The dragon has become a lovesick fool and has asked a half-demon out on a date. Do not mock me, Malchior. I do not care that my friends have found love lives and I stay at home with a book."
"I would never mock you, Raven. I'm afraid I must confess that what I just said was completely earnest," he said gravely.
"What you insist on saying is that you would take me to see the wonders of the world," she laughed bitterly. "Pray tell, Malchior, for what reason? Why bring me to such extraordinary places?"
"Isn't it obvious? I find your personality appealing and your darkness attractive. One might infer that you've become more than a friend to me."
How dare he? How dare he even imply such emotions… such affinity? Her anger was growing hard to control, even as the skilled repressor she was. "May I remind you that the two of us are not friends. The more I talk to you, the more I'm bent on destroying you!"
"It's been more than two months since we've started talking. Maybe it's just me, but I never thought it would take you this long to be rid of me… that is, unless… you too are feeling something."
"I feel nothing!" she grit her teeth. "Don't be so confident that I never plan to eliminate you."
"Tell me, Raven, without dragonfire, how do you plan on killing me? Please Raven, I beg you. Won't you at least let me come out as the paper man as I have before? Let me prove myself to you," he pleaded. "I can change, I can change for you. We can be together… we can talk freely in the life of day without being restricted to the dead of night." No, no, no… she refused to listen to him. "We are the same,
Raven! The same darkness that once yearned for the light. I have lost everything but you. I am a man with nothing. I cannot be more honest than I am right now.
"You are a man with nothing which makes it all the more reason for you to lie!" she exclaimed. "I will not fall for your miserable begging! I will not fall for what you call affection!" She slammed her fist onto the cement beside her, a cold wind whipping her hair from side to side. "You can't make me feel sorry for you! You can't trick me anymore! I won't let you out!"
"Then hurry up and find a way to end me!" he glowered. "I cannot take this for much longer either! If you cannot trust me, then end my pitiful life! If you will not believe the way I feel about you then search your books for an alternate way to kill me off!" His voice dropped only a little bit louder than a whisper. "Living with this grief is a far crueler fate than death."
Slamming the book down, she grasped the spine, preparing to thrust him deep into the sea. But Malchior dropped from her trembling fingers as she winded her arm back and she buried her face into her hands. The sobs overcame her barriers as her fingers did the best they could to hide her sorrow. She had come into these talks in order to convince herself that he was not worth holding onto. Now, she only knew of the traits that enchanted her and kept her clinging onto his being. What a twisted trap she had laid for herself. What a damn fool she had been. How did she expect to ever get out of it…
It was Beast Boy's turn to make breakfast. She specifically remembered that it was Beast Boy who should be cooking breakfast at this morning. He'd been tormenting Cyborg all of yesterday about what he was going to serve for breakfast the next day. So far, she didn't smell the revolting odor of tofu eggs and organic pancake mix, Beast Boy's specialty stench, created with his own mixture of ingredients. She found this satisfying and disturbing at the same time. She was glad that she didn't have to smell the stink, but was a little irritated that her first meal of the day was not ready yet.
The two doors to the central Tower room opened before her but she did not have the chance to walk in. In front of her stood her leader, the Boy Wonder, Starfire, and Cyborg. Much to her dismay, as she looked a little past them, there was nothing on the stove.
However, their expressions disturbed her. Eyes wide with terror, the lines on their faces portraying their utmost anxiousness. She'd seen her friends scared before, but never like this. Never like this.
"What's wrong?" She asked, inserting a strange pause between two words. She was beginning to get worried herself as she watched their grim countenances broaden.
"Beast Boy's missing," said Robin solemnly. "He never came home last night."
Her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed once. "Beast Boy? But he called last night. He said he was coming home really late-"
"But he said that he was coming home," said Cyborg.
"Have tried contacting him? Have you tried to trace his communicator?"
"Yes. When we tried to trace him, we found that his signal jumped at different spots all around the city every five seconds. I don't know what's going on," Robin explained.
Last night, Beast Boy had gone out to see Terra. As far as Raven recollected, no somber moods had interrupted his buoyant attitude yesterday. She would have sensed something from him if he was about to run away. His feelings must have changed abruptly when he was with Terra, been kidnapped as the fear in her friends' eyes told her, or else he too, was becoming as a good liar as the dark empath.
"What's the plan?" asked Raven finally.
"Separate and search," said Robin with a sigh. "It could be that his signal is malfunctioning but that is highly unlikely. But in case Beast Boy is really in trouble…we've got to find him."
"There is one other explanation, Robin," Raven started. "If Beast Boy is kidnapped, his kidnapper could possibly be using magic to teleport him from place to place."
"That makes more sense that can the communicator malfunction," Cyborg nodded.
"Then be wary of the kidnapper if they use magic!" Robin began walking towards the exit of Titans Tower. "For all we know, they could be just like Mumbo."
"How lucky we would be if they were just like Mumbo," Raven thought to herself as Sagira's face slipped into her mind. "Someone like Mumbo would be the least of our problems."
Cyborg was exhausted. Definitely more worried than exhausted, but completely drained out. It was at least six in the evening and he'd only stopped once the entire day to grab a hamburger. He drove around the city, following Beast Boy's signal when he could, parked his car, and searched for his green friend on foot. It was an extremely aggravating task, especially at times when he was only a doorstep away from the red dot on his locator. When he opened the door, he would face an empty room, the red dot would disappear, only to reappear miles away. It seemed nearly impossible to ever catch Beast Boy and his kidnapper.
His mind wasn't only on as Beast Boy, however. Ashamedly, he could admit that. There was a certain pink haired witch lingering in the caverns of his lovesick head. He kept thinking about last night and how she agreed to consider dropping out of H.I.V.E. Sure, to consider in her terms would only mean a few moments of thinking about it, but it was a start. Besides that bit of news, he was overjoyed to see her for the first time in a… what, maybe a week? All right, so he was getting pretty bad. He did not see buildings and alleyways he walked past through. All he saw were pink tresses tied up, fluttering in the nightly breeze, with big pink irises to match her hair. The way she kissed him with rose petal lips, tasting of sweet sugar. The way she whispered three words in his ear, three words that could not be matched by any amount in the world. She was hypnotizing, mesmerizing.
Yep, he was officially addicted.
He sighed. He was thinking about his beautiful Jinx in a time that he shouldn't be.
That thought was suddenly interrupted as he turned the corner. The pink dissolved into black and then into a relaxing nothingness.
Starfire scoured the afternoon skies, following the red dot while she looked down at the sidewalks, roads, and rooftops from above. She hoped that Beast Boy would turn up soon for although she was tired, she was also worried for her green skinned friend. To think that someone had kidnapped him when he went out last night was a terrifying thought. Humming a Tamaranean song of hope, she wished for Beast Boy's safety as she glided in the air.
There! The red dot was only a block away! She dived towards the building it appeared to be coming from, a crimson and violet star falling from the sky. With a graceful landing, her feet kissed the ground and let her fiery red hair fall behind her. The beautiful alien girl stepped towards the bank the red dot was coming from. Hurrying through a pair of glass doors, she scanned the room for a familiar face and found none. She looked at the yellow communicator screen in her hand: Beast Boy was three miles away from where she stood now. Glorchek, she had missed him again! However, there was a loud commotion in the center of the room where people crowded around an empty circular area. From the shouts and exclamation, it sounded as if someone had disappeared out of thin air. It definitely sounded like Beast Boy and his kidnapper.
She sighed. Well, it was back to searching from the skies. She solemnly walked outside the building and took another look at her communicator. To her surprise the red dot was now just between the bank and the shoe store beside it. Sprinting to the side of right of the building where an alleyway was formed between both structures, there she saw two dark shadows beside a green dumpster.
"Friend Beast Boy, is that you?" She called out to him, cautiously stepping into the alley.
A terrible burst of pain traveled down from the back of her head to the rest of her body like electricity. Starfire was unconscious before she hit the ground.
This was incredibly annoying.
Annoying could not even describe how Robin felt right now. He was frustrated beyond all description and he was having a hard time hiding it as he sped on his motorcycle. Why did Beast Boy's kidnapper keep zapping away? What did they want with the Titans? Who were they? And more importantly, was Beast Boy still even alive?
It was probably not in his best interest to think of these things. Robin shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. This kidnapper, still assuming that Beast Boy was kidnapped, must be pretty powerful. The Titans' experience was magic was never a good one, for one who's trade is magic never shows how powerful they truly are. The kidnapper had been toying with the Titans all day, leading them to one spot and then disappearing at the last second. What was the point? Did the kidnapper want to be found? Or did they want to tire them out before they finally showed up? There were so many questions that could only be answered when they met the kidnapper face to face. And when they did, Robin would probably kill them. Not just because they had taken Beast Boy, but because they had led the Titans on a wild goose chase all around the city.
Robin was not very happy.
The Titans had stopped calling each other hours ago when they almost came across Beast Boy and he disappeared. It was the same old story every time and it was getting quite tiring. Robin was hoping that as he approached the red dot on the screen that he would have a new story to tell. He wouldn't mind facing danger now that the whole day was filled with chasing and disappointment.
The red dot disappeared and blinked on the opposite side of the screen. Damn! He could not take this for much longer. Although determined as he usually was, this was getting ridiculous. He swerved his motorcycle around in order to change directions. Here we go again.
All of a sudden he felt a vigorous blast of wind against his side, rocketing him and his motorcycle off of the road. He was lucky that he and the motorcycle did not crash into the brick wall of the edifice on the left or it would have meant certain death for him. The throbbing in his ribs, however, felt just as bad as death as he lay down on the pale, cement sidewalk. Sleep devoured his consciousness by the second and something that banged against his head finished him up.
It was almost eight in the evening. The sun had taken her bow an hour ago and left Raven to searching for Beast Boy in the dark. Not that she minded the dark, but it reminded her just how long she had looked for Beast Boy since they found out he was missing. She had tried several times to teleport to where the red dot was on her communicator screen but found that every time, the kidnapper was already gone. Teleporting became too tiring, for it took a lot of energy and concentration for Raven to accomplish it. She had even tried getting in touch with Beast Boy but found that something was blocking her from reaching him. A magic barrier was probably what it was. Whoever they were dealing with, they were certainly adept in the art of magic.
Sagira. It had to be Sagira. This thought had been weighing on her heart since the search started. It made perfect sense and there was no one else Raven knew of. Of course, she had hoping that perhaps it was some other magic-user but there was little chance of that. Sagira had business with her, and unfortunately, it probably had something to do with Malchior as well.
She decided that she give teleportation one more go. She had enough energy since the last few times she used it and she wasn't that far away from where the red dot was on the screen. It looked like it was in an old warehouse by the sea, she guessed from the location. Closing her eyes in meditation, she felt her body dissolve into an agile black bird, a black cloud traveling through a cosmic tunnel between worlds. The incredible sensation ripped her body apart, only to put it back together when she reached her destination. And when she did, her violet irises escaped her eyelids.
It was just as she suspected: a warehouse by the sea. From the looks of it, the warehouse had not been occupied in many, many years. The gray, metallic walls were decorated with a scaly, bronze rust that was visibly seen in the night. Large radiators ran just below the ceiling and there was a large opening in the west wall. On the ground were empty oil cans, piled up on one another and dozens of brown cardboard boxes scattered aimlessly across the floor. Taking a quick glance at her communicator, she saw that the red dot hadn't moved since she had last seen it. That meant that Beast Boy should be right here…
And as she stepped to the side, she realized that he was here. He and the rest of her friends. Her vision had been obscured by the oil cans before, but now she saw her fellow Titans trapped in what looked like a yellow force field. It looked as if Robin was barely awake and every one of them were bloodied and bruised. Of course, there, holding the force field with her blue orbed staff, was Sagira the Ageless in all of her splendor. Hair of the sun dancing with the breeze her power created and amber eyes glowing just as brightly. A black robe trimmed with gold, she was breathtaking, but threatening: as was many things in this world, Raven sighed.
"You…" Raven lowered her eyes, approaching Sagira and her friends. "You did this."
"I had no choice, Raven of Azareth," her smile was cruel. "You left me no choice. You would not accept my initial proposition so I had to take matter into my own hands. I tried to be kind at first, but now I must be forceful. Now, you and your friends must suffer."
"Malchior is truly this important to you?" Raven shouted, aghast.
"He is the key to everything, but I cannot summon him. Here's where you come in: I need you to summon him. I heard he taught you, himself, the magic words and arrangement needed to bring him up. Such a spell has been forgotten for many centuries."
"I was wondering why you didn't just poof into my bedroom and take the book," she sneered.
"Who's to say I didn't?" Sagira mused and held her out her right hand, her left hand still clutching the staff. A familiar white book with sable markings appeared, much to Raven's anxiety. As soon as Robin saw the book where he lay in Starfire's arms, he immediately began shouting and banging against the golden force field. Raven, however, could not hear his words, only see him and others panicking, shaking their heads. It was apparent that although her friends could not hear her and Sagira, they knew Malchior had something to do with it. She sighed. The truth would have to come out soon. Unfortunately, it had to be done with Sagira in the picture.
"Well, Raven," Sagira began. "I believe I don't have to explain. A regular extortion: your friends' lives or Malchior's. You know the deal."
"Give it here," Raven grit her teeth as the book came flying into her hands. "I'll need eight books: the Id Pages, the Gothram, the Book of Cantor, Majere, the Kaoirian, the Book of Illitar, the Bursean Chronicle, and the Endreal Verses," she said reluctantly. "And a book stand."
"Mind if I take them from your private library?" she snickered, using her staff to make eight thick books appear and Raven's own dark bookstand. Raven hated this woman.
What else was she supposed to do? The lives of her friends were obviously more important than Malchior's. There should be not a doubt in her heart when it came to handing Malchior over in exchange for her friends. But yet she could not help feeling guilt… along with two tons of inconsolable grief. Trained repression was the only thing that kept her from crying hysterically.
"Malchior, what do I do?" she whispered to the book, almost breaking down right there. "How am I supposed to make this exchange? How could I do it?"
"Do not worry, Raven," his soothing voice comforted her. "I have a plan. Just bring me up as Sagira says. I will take care of the rest. "
The strange thing was, she trusted him. Her heart was untouchable to her mind's past rebuking and advice. She trusted him, who had deceived her before, to deliver her and the Titans from Sagira. She, who had sworn many times before that she would never believe in the young wizard, the dragon she loved before, would do so now. Irony was a wretched thing.
"Don't keep me waiting, now," Sagira jeered. "I've got a busy millennium planned ahead of me and I don't need you wasting any more time."
A flood of black magic took hold of the books and the stand in a torrent of Raven's annoyance and anxiousness. The eight books fluttered opened, their white pages, broken wings against the cold ground. They were positioned in a circle while Malchior's white book lay in the center. The tall book stand was just outside the circle and Raven stepped up to begin the chanting.
She took one final look at her friends in the force field. Wide eyed, in disbelief, they weren't even struggling anymore. Not one of them could believe this was happening, that Raven would summon the great beast that had assaulted them before. They may not have known that she had been talking to him but they now knew she lied about destroying him. One lie uncovered another and the truth was inevitable. She had betrayed her friends and now she would unleash the dragon. She would give Sagira what she wanted and who knows what Sagira might accomplish after that.
She looked into the eyes of her friends and down at Malchior on the floor. She had to trust him. She had no other choice. She took a breath and then thrust her arms in the air.
"Hesberek Admoriney Gostwenthin Verbusnex. Indobrium Bispendruay Haransicortis Rex!"
White beams shot up from the nine books, pillars of brilliant light stretching all the way up to the ceiling. From Malchior's book, pearly ribbons twisted upwards in many different directions. Everyone shielded their eyes with at least on of their hands, an instant reaction to the blinding illumination. The radiant strips in the center of the circle transformed into multiple colors, forming a solid and complete shape hidden by the columns of the other eight books. A show of tremendous colors, bright lights, and a storm of loose pages stole the breath of every being in the warehouse.
The dim atmosphere of the abandoned structure began to overtake the magical brilliance. The paper that had escaped the book dwindled in flight. The metamorphosis was finished and a clear figure stood up from the center of the open books. To Raven's surprise, a humanoid shape arose rather than a monstrous dragon. To everyone's astonishment, there was a man…
Raven inhaled, her eyes locked on what she had released. Long, colorless hair, unkempt yet elegant at the same time, flowed like the motions of ocean waves. With armor of the moon fastened around his gray skinned body, a large "M" was engraved in the center of the chestpiece. A jet black scarf tied around his neck and lower face obscured his mouth. Finally, coal black eyes Raven had seen almost every night gleamed with a hypnotizing air. Although still hard as they looked when he was trapped in the book, it was relaxing to fall into such irises. It was the first time she had seen him as a human besides in her dreams. Adrenaline pumping through her body, triggering a weakness in her knees, she fell to the ground.
A hurricane of intense emotion was converted into black energy. For a moment, Raven lost all control and hurled objects all around the room in levitation.
He was beautiful.
"A man? No… why, you're just a boy!" Sagira cried out in anguish.
"On the contrary, I am much more than that," his lips curled to form a smile. He raised two arms way out in front of him and shouted in an articulate manner, "dormite astadep ago!"
Sagira showed no resistance to the spell. The force field retracted to the cerulean orb on the top of her staff. She dropped to the ground, a lifeless carcass, yet still breathing healthily. The Titans were free to go and Starfire helped Robin up on his feet. Simultaneously, Cyborg aided the fatigued Beast Boy. Malchior walked over to Raven where she sat beside the book stand. Extending a hand to the orchid haired girl, she took it steadily and rose to her feet. With that, she threw her arms around him, holding him in a close embrace.
"Thank you," she exclaimed, her vision blurring with rare diamonds of tears. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Malchior remained silent at first. "Pray tell, sweet Raven, for what?" his gentle voice massaged her heart. He did not, however, return the embrace.
"For defeating Sagira. For saving us. For being dependable." For being real. For being the guy I always wished you could be.
"Thanks for all of your help, Malchior," Robin spoke up as the four other Titans came towards them. "Perhaps after a little explanation about what's going on, we can start over and-"
"I'm afraid you are mistaken. All of you have thanked me too soon." With one hand on Raven's shoulder, he pushed her away with little force. A little surprised at his action, but she was more flabbergasted with his words. What was he saying?
"I have freed you, yes, returning a debt I owed Raven," he started with his frightening words. "But I have taken interest in Sagira and find her a suitable ally to continue my work with. I will finish what I started with her and fight you another day?"
"What?" Raven's voice trembled, barely above a whisper. No… this couldn't be happening… everything was going to be all right… Malchior was on their side now… Malchior changed… he was not… not again…
"We are enemies, you and I," Malchior declared. "Remember that. Go home, rest, but in the morrow, we will fight as adversaries."
"No!" Cyborg yelled, stepping forward. "You're not going to hurt her again! You're not going to do this again!" His rage teemed out of every syllable of his words and through the pores of his expression.
"We are enemies," said Malchior acidly, his eyes narrowing. "We're supposed to hurt each other."
He turned around and walked towards the sleeping Sagira and her staff to the side. Eyes, eyes she had loved were gone and now she watched him walk away. She had fallen once again, despite how hard she fought to stay high above dangerous waters. She had fallen again and she was sure that nothing except vengeance could pick her back up. Raven stood there, lavender eyes quivering, trapped in a moment that would not keep up with the present, her soul falling apart at the feet of her friends and the young wizard who betrayed her.
Hm, I thought this one was going to be a lot longer. Well, it came out decent. Not the best, but I enjoyed writing the end of this chapter. The ending went fast for me.
Hope you enjoyed! And let me keep in mind those are probably going crazy right now that this is a Raven/Malchior fic.
Please review!
-Kree
