Sorry for the uber long wait, but I've been very busy (and I'm still not done with homework ) But I was determined to get this story done, even if I don't get a review... Time for the recommended authors of the day! All are great writers, and you should read their stories:
Brit The Mighty- Plots are always interesting, and it makes you want to read more (I've been waiting for an update BTM, you know D)
Insanity 101- The master at writing drama and suspense. My personal favorites are Aftereffects and its sequel, Broken, but all stories are very well written.
thSamurai- Really good at writing crossovers. I highly recommend "Dreamcatcher", a crossover between TT and Harry Potter. Very well done, and if you do read this thSamurai, please update soon! It's getting really good :D.
Post- Do I even need to state why? Great at writing stories from different perspectives, from both first person to third person. "These Black Eyes" and "The Things Raven Sees" are the best in my opinion. If you ever need something to do during the summer, I suggest reading "These Black Eyes". Since, after all, it has 237 chapters, which is 2033933 words long. It'll take me another 12 years for all my stories to reach that number altogether, so I congratulate him on his dedication to typing to his fans.
Golden-Sama- Excellent writer who definitely knows how to get you guessing what's going to happen next. I highly recommend "Anything, Anytime, Anywhere For You" each character gets a lot of airtime (never neglected or not used) and the plot is captivating. Hope you update soon!
CidGregor- Writer of the beloved, "Clash of the Titans". Very good story, like the other authors I highly recommend this story for its interesting storyline, and has there ever been a story bad that has Malchior in it? D
Now before I completely forget what I was going to type in this chapter, lets begin!
Note: There is Spanish in here, so if you don't understand it, I'll have the translations at the end on my AN.
Chapter 11: The Ravens Prophecy
The group flew over the calm bay of the open ocean, their shadows silently streaking across its illuminated vastness. Lights from the taller buildings of Jump stretched into its dark interior, making it gleam with an eccentric ness that it would never usually show. But attention was not drawn to the beauty underneath them, rather it was directed in front of them. A large, silent T shaped tower loomed over the tiny island that was its host, to hold its structure to the ends of time. It was dark, as if not a single occupant existed within it's boundaries. But of course, that was not the case.
The ravens hovered and landed on the rocks before the open sea, looking up at the monstrous sized building with unease. Now that they had crossed the channel, and the entire city for that matter, what were they to do?
"We are now all gathered near the last hope of our brethren. Let the moon shine forth and approve our choice!" the biggest of the black birds called, indicating that it would be the leader. The caws of the ravens died down, and all looked into the cloudy night sky, searching for any clue to where the moon might be. Minutes passed, and their passion dwindled like the slowly dimming lights of Jump. Had they made the wrong decision? Was their desecration to become a reality?
"Look!" the youngest of the group called out in excitement. The gloating birds slowly looked up, and made a short caw of delight as the moon shone upon them, separating the clouds just to reveal it's crater-like surface. The leader, Merlov, called for silence to strategize their quest.
"I say we fly around the windows and look for the human that way. I hear they like to look upon the outside world, though most refuse to leave their cage for the haven that surrounds them." One suggested, looking towards the rest of the group. Most nodded in approval, and the bird's heart filled up with pride at the thought.
"I say we also get in this human's nest." Merlov's general, Karik said.
"But how?" cawed one.
"Through what the humans call, a "Ventilation Shaft". I do not know what it is supposed to do, but I hear that these 'shafts' usually go all around the nest, within every "room" and surface." Karik replied with wisdom.
"You must study them thoroughly, Karik," said one mockingly, "wanting to become one someday?"
"We might as well become one, moron. Nearly every race except the humans and close allies of them are going to die." Silence protruded from Karik's last comment, all of them thinking of what their general had just pointed out. Realization struck them all, and most began to caw loudly in their distress.
"Now is not the time to be enshrouded in our worries," Merlov interrupted, batting his wings out disapprovingly. "We must find these "ventilation shafts" quickly. Karik, you will lead the 2nd division, and your main objective is to look for the openings to these shafts. I will lead the other division, searching through every window for the human. All set? Move out!"
And with that, all birds took to the air to accomplish their objective, or at least try.
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Robin clenched his teeth to suppress a howl of pain as he was brutally knocked, once again, into a brick wall. Now that the sun was down, it was even harder fighting the Spanish-speaking twins, who so easily kicked his butt by using speed.
"Tú quedaste poseído!" Mas exclaimed, and Menos burst into mild fits of laughter as they rushed forwards to deliver the final blow.
"¡Detente, alto! Afróntame." A rough Spanish sentence sounded. Mas y Menos skidded to a halt, both of them showing faint surprise. There was another Spanish-speaking person in this city? They seemed to be struggling within themselves, as if trying to regain control. Suddenly they both gave out a yell and fell over, muttering something no one could understand, except for one person. And that was...
"Johnny? You can speak Spanish?" Robin's voice hid no surprise. There was much more to the gangster-like biker than it seemed.
"Heh, I was forced to learn it when I was younger." Johnny shrugged, as if it was one of the easiest things in the world. For him, it probably was. Robin looked over the the twins, who were talking to each other wearily, each in a mild state of confusion.
"They are asking what happened, and why are they at the docks in Jump? They seem lost." Johnny responded, listening in on the conversation conversed between the pair.
"¿Recuerdas tú cualquier cosa?" Johnny asked, walking up to Mas y Menos.
"No recuerdo ..." Mas answered, not thinking Johnny of any danger because he stood next to Robin.
"Lo que él dijo." Menos replied, dusting himself of the dirt that clung to his white outfit.
"Though I don't know Spanish, it sounded like Mas doesn't remember, and I had no idea what Menos said." Robin said to Johnny, looking for the real translation to the twins' sentences.
"Basically you got it right, both of them don't remember anything." Johnny told him, shaking his head. "But that means that if they can be brainwashed, so can we..." Robin thought about that, but gave a small grin.
"But if they got out of it, so can everyone else."
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"It is here, here!" A raven from Karik's division croaked. Instantly the general flew to his side, and looked to where the small black bird was pointing at. Sure enough, the ventilation shaft was there, but at a very odd location. It was on the roof of the tower, not at its sides like a normal human nest.
"The human definitely lives in an unusual place!" It cawed out jokingly, laughing out a little. Karik nodded.
"Agreed. Now you need to do one last thing before I can recommend your promotion, Lorak..."
"What's that?" he said eagerly.
"Help!" Lorak turned to look at what Karik was doing. Karik had latched his claws on the shaft door, and it was groaning as it was slowly being moved, but anything could tell it wasn't going to break free. Lorak instantly attached himself to the door, and began to heave, using his wings to pull up. Both were soon gasping in exhaustion from the exertion from the effort.
"One... more..." Karik breathed out, "1... 2... 3!" At the signal both tripled their efforts, and with a resounding screech, the door burst off its nails and into the air with the pair. They dropped it and stopped to perch on the edge of the now open tunnel, both trying to regain composure to address the other ravens. Finally, after a few minutes, Karik and Lorak were ready to announce their find, and went to find Merlov. After a few minutes of searching, they found their leader hovering before the biggest window, which revealed the main room of the tower.
"Very complex, these humans. I've never seen anything like it..." Merlov was whispering to himself. Karik paused his approach when he heard this. Were these humans so different from the rest of humanity that even the leader noticed it? Karik made his prescence known by a small caw, which deverted the leader's attention towards him.
"We found the shaft, Merlov. Rather, Lorak did." Karik said, and told him about their success of opening the shaft. The leader of the ravens asked to lead the way, and the general did not object. Karik gave a shrill call to the other ravens, letting it echo off the walls and rocks before flying up to the roof of the tower. When all of them had gathered, Merlov called for silence and the chatter slowly died down once more.
"How do we know we are going the right way?" Asked a curious raven, who, known to it's brethren, was Snevar.
"We don't," Karik announced, "but since there are many of us, we shall split up when another way is revealed, and it will be a process of elemination until we find it." No one questioned Karik's approach, it was the most sensible plan they had, so everyone stuck to it. One by one, they jumped into the metal tunnel, and hovered slowly downwards, until only Karik was left, watching the others sluggishly go down the shaft. He gave himself one reassuring look at the moon before following.
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"Starfire!" Beast Boy yelled, attempting to catch the injured red head before she crashed into a nearby dumpster. But his efforts came to no avail, as a ferocious blast of water knocked him over and dragged him into the ocean. Aqualad smirked as a loud clang was heard from the open trash can, but quickly his smirk disappeared as he realized that he couldn't breathe. He grabbed and pulled uselessly on the thick, scaly like substance on his neck. He gave a small cry and fell unconscious onto the ground. Beast Boy reverted back to human form, a smug look upon his face. He had just suffocated an honorary titan, and he knew that was the wrong thing to do, but...
It felt good. Really good. Revenge is sweet, it really is. But, he questioned himself, is it worth dying for? His question was never answered as something hit him on his back hard and threw him face first into the wall. He slumped unconsciously to the floor, out for the count.
"BB!" Cyborg exclaimed, and found BB's attacker on top of a small warehouse building. Of course, it was Speedy, his deadly aim accurate and effective. Cyborg gave him a look of such pure disdain and hatred that it made Speedy laugh.
"Not gonna miss him anytime soon, aye?" Speedy mocked, jumping down from his perch on the building. That was a bad mistake, as a titanium fist collided with his face, causing him to fly across the dockyard and sprawl limp on the ground. Cyborg also had a strange feeling as Beast Boy did, and he couldn't quite figure out what it was. Whatever it was, he knew it was bad, yet... he liked the feeling. He forgot his thoughts and ran over to Beast Boy's fragile form, and stooped slightly to pick him up. He went off to find Robin, not knowing that Starfire was still within the dumpster...
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They had nearly gone through the whole tower without much luck until a loud caw of success grabbed everyone's attention. The ravens, spread out across the building, heard the call echoing and went off to seek their comrade. When Karik and Merlov arrived, they found that the cawing came from Snevar, who was batting away at another of the shaft's doors. No one needed to ask if he found the human, because it's aura floated up upon them, acknowledging their prescence. Karik and Lorak repeated their tactic on the door, this time with Snevar helping. It easily came undone, not bolted down as hard as the one on the roof was. Soon the whole clan of ravens swooped down into the room, examining their surroundings. The room was a blinding white, and the ravens stuck out like sore thumbs in the place. Karik's eyes drifted over SOMO, Cyborg's creation, until his small dark orbs focused on the last bed in the row. Blue cloth draped off the sides, it's design encrusted in dirt that had long settled within it.
Merlov, Karik, and Lorak flew towards the bed, and stopped at the base of it. Were they committed on going through with this? The answer was...
Yes. They had come too far, and just seeing the blue cloth had risen their hopes high beyond it had ever been before. Nodding to each other, the 3 birds flew up and perched on the side of the bed, before giving out an angry cry.
The condition and appearance of Raven was very distraught. Still being glued to the bed, she hadn't moved position in hours, and her muscles were beginning to cramp up, and the dirt clung to every part of her clothes, making her look monstrous. Scars covered her persona and the bandage that hid her large wound was drenched in dried-up blood that should of been cleaned hours ago. The ravens gave a howl of displeasure. In the current state this human was in, their desecration was going to happen even sooner than expected.
"The human is unwell! We are doomed!" Lorak cried, openly bawling out his distress. He had not yet seen Raven's emblem, but it didn't matter to him, for he thought everything was doomed.
"Never mind that, Lorak. We have to get this... female, if I recall, off of this nest." Karik took charge, and began picking off the dirt from the cloak to get Raven unstuck. He pulled and accidently ripped parts of the blue cloth, but did it really matter? The leader and a few other ravens came in to help, but most just watched in fear. They had never been this close to a human before, and this one had an odd feeling about it...
Finally, after a few minutes of rough picking, fabric ripping, and caws of distress, they had completed their task. All on top of Raven flapped off in shock as she began to float above the bed, and some of those nasty scars magically disappeared. They all stared in disbelief. That was impossible! Everything went quiet as Raven gently landed on the bed, and her face scrunched was a sign of her waking up. She bolted straight up and clutched her head in pain, a killer headache forming in the depths of her mind. She untied the bandage on her waist, and let it slip off. Her side was as good as new. No signs of getting shot or anything. It was like nothing had ever happened, but of course, it did happen. Her violet eyes protruded the dark, when she heard a rustle of wings and flashed her gaze in that direction. She then realized that the ventilation shaft's door was on the floor and black shapes were surrounding it on all sides. She couldn't really distinguish what they were, but she knew they were birds by the sounds they made. Raven examined herself once more and noticed that her cloak had a lot of holes in it, that were obviously recent. Not that she cared anyway. She turned back and looked at three figures coming towards her. They seemed to levitate upwards a bit before landing with a soft plop next to her.
"Caw! Caw!" The biggest one (Merlov) spoke. They stared at her expectantly. Raven sighed. She knew she would have to use her mind powers to understand them, but she really didn't want to duplicate the pain in her head anyway. This better be worth it, one part of her said. Of course it is! There are about 20 ravens in the room, why wouldn't it be? another exclaimed. Raven focused, and made eye contact with the little black orbs that stared back at her.
Could you repeat that? I couldn't really understand it the first time.
The leader seemed to glare in shock, and wondered how she penetrated his mind. But knowing that telepathy was the only way they would understand, Merlov thought back:
Are you the one?
Now it was Raven's turn to be confused. She had never talked to a raven before, but that wasn't the first thing she expected them to say to her. What were you expecting them to say anyway? she thought to herself. She realized that she didn't expect them to say anything at all, so she dropped the subject and started to think about how to reply.
The one of what?
The one to save us from him...
Him? Who was he? Raven quickly went over the history of the raven, and then figured, if I'm the "One" then it wouldn't be just about their history. It would have to be my past... It then struck her what Merlov meant. Him could only be one person. Trigon, of course.
The demon of red eyes...
The leader looked up at her, and gave a sharp nod. It then screeched shrilly, causing all of the birds to react with one of their own screams. Raven covered her ears, the headache intensified. It seemed an enternity before it stopped, and Raven's head pounded long after that.
A vision has come! A disasterous and terrible fate awaits us all!
Merlov could barely contain himself, angry, resentment, and sadness engulfing him. Raven just stared at him, patience being her key element. Looking up and seeing her expressionless gaze, Karik was speechless. How could she be so calm? Merlov finally continued.
Flames and pure darkness will unite, and the earth will be naught...
Raven stared motionlessly onwards, thinking about what he just said. Flames and pure darkness... Merlov wasn't done yet, however.
Orange and black will become half and half, and it's eye will shine.
That totally gave it away to Raven, and she gave a small gasp.
"No..." This was bad. She knew what the ravens wished of her, and she didn't know if she could do it alone. How was she going to defeat her worst two enemies when they were together?
That's for you to figure out...
To Be Continued...
Author's Note: Time for some translations!
"Tú quedaste poseído!" - You got owned!
"¡Detente, alto! Afróntame." Stop, stop! Face me.
"¿Recuerdas tú cualquier cosa?"- Do you remember anything?
"No recuerdo ..." - I don't remember...
"Lo que él dijo." - What he said.
Heh, not much, is it? I made sure I didn't do too many sentences in Spanish, or you (if you couldn't read Spanish) would be confused. Did anyone notice how Snevar is actually ravens backwards? Yeah, I felt smart about that, lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please, please review! I love reviews :D