Huzzah! It's part ten of Raven's game! I'm glad we've all ocme this far, and thank you for all the reviews. They make me write and update stuff faster! Well, Raven has eight of the twelve alchemy symbols now. She has Malus at her side, but right now that her only defense. Meanwhile, Beast Boy has gone down into the cave all by himself! Will he come out alive, or is the game and the real world starting to converge too closely? How long before all sorts of horrible things start happening at the real tower? Read on and find out! I don't own Teen Titans!

Raven's Game

Part 10: Olkas

Beast Boy could hear nothing but the drip, drip, drip of water in the cave. There must've been a body of water nearby… an underground stream, maybe? Carefully picking his way amongst the rocks and shadows, the changling came upon his goal. Licking his dry lips, he swept the gaze of his helmet's flashlight across the wreckage. The giant slab of rock that Cyborg had ruined lay in innumeral pieces. He reached down and picked a piece up. It looked like sand stone, but that would've dissolved with time an age ago. Not a real expert on rocks, Beast Boy tossed it over his shoulder. It broke into tiny pieces on impact, and he went on. "What the…?" He came upon, perhaps, what he'd been searching for.

A passageway was carved into the cave. A perfect square passage of perhaps ten feet in every direction, it gave Beast Boy the willies. How far did it go? Chewing his lower lip and trying to remember his mission, he took the first step inside. Unmistakable columns were set in pairs, holding an unthinkable amount of rock up. Trying not imagine the whole thing cave in on him, Beast Boy gazed at the walls. Symbols. Thousands of scriptures and drawings and hieroglyphs. He stopped to have a look, swallowing. Amongst them, repeatedly, was an oddly simple symbol. It reminded Beast Boy of a gun-sight, but with no plus-sign in the middle of the circle. Tilting his head, he looked at another oddity. Some sort of creature? It was a strange animal-shape that not even he recognized. It looked vaguely drawn, as though the stone carver wasn't sure of the creature's appearance. All around it, randomly, was the same simple symbol he'd seen only seconds ago.

Scratching the back of his head and knowing exactly what the wall was pertaining too, he swallowed loudly. "Raven…? Are you here?" he whispered. Nothing. It was dead silent aside from his breathing. And, to one with animal instincts, complete silence was always something to be on edge about. "Raven…?" he whispered again. The rather shallow beam of light pierces as deeply into the darkness as it could, but it still wasn't much. "I shoulda brought a bigger light…" Beast Boy murmured, looking back and forth quickly. Suddenly braving the darkness alone didn't seem like such a great idea. But, he had to keep going if he wanted to find Raven. If she was still alive… of course she was! Beast Boy huffed loudly, quickly walking forward to keep his thoughts from wandering.

More and more writing greeted him, more the gun-sight-similar symbol, and more depiction of what could only be the shadow he'd seen in Raven's room. How freaking long was this hallway? Not knowing if he truly wanted to reach the end… he did. And what greeted him was a sight that would haunt him forever.

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"Okay Star, let's try that one again." Robin pointed to the book. He was trying to teach Starfire better English, but wasn't having much luck. The hunt for Raven was in brief recess, and this seemed like the most productive thing to do.

"The rain in Spain is mostly in the plains?" It came out like a question as she read it. The redhead tilted her head. "Surely Earth's flying machines have doors and windows to keep rain out?" she asked, looking concerned.

Robin sighed, closing the book at last. "I think that's enough for today." He set the book aside, leaning back with a sigh. "You're progressing, but still…" he let his sentence hang, for she was looking at him with her big green eyes. "What?" He asked.

"I am concerned about friend Beast Boy." said Starfire, looking uncomfortably away. "He went into the basement again to search for Raven." Robin's expression hardened a little as she went on. "He is determined to find her and the shadowy creature of which he spoke. I am beginning to think perhaps… he is not lying."

"You're still thinking about that?" Robin said, frustrated. "He made a nasty joke, and then tried to weasel his way out of it. You shouldn't believe him. Besides–"

Robin's voice suddenly faded into the background, as though someone had lowered the Boy Wonder's volume control. Starfire suddenlyturned such a discolored, pale version of orange she was almost white. Black mist was rising out of the floor, behind Robin's back and twenty feet away. The sight of it filled her with an instinctive terror, and he lips went slightly agape. What on Tameran…? A pair of white eyes stared at her, widened, then vanished.

"Robin… ah…" Starfire couldn't find her voice to tell him to turn and look. Thousands of screaming voices filled her head and she groaned. Her brow furrowed, and a bead of sweat worked its way down her temple.

"Starfire?" Robin said, watching her swoon one way then the other. "Hey, are you sick? Starfire?" He watched her eyes roll into her head and cried her name as she hit the floor. "HEY! Starfire! What's wrong!" He cradled her in his arms, shaking her shoulders.

"Please… make it stop…" she moaned. "Those eyes… those horrid eyes…" she looked as though she was having some kind of attack! Robin, thinking her delirious with fever, laid her quickly on the couch and went to fetch some ice. She was sweating profusely when he came back, and flinched when she felt the ice pack on her forehead.

"It's okay Star…" Robin whispered, holding her hand in both of his. "Breathe. Whatever it is, breathe." She was a Tameranian, and he had no idea what was going on. Was it some sort of alien sickness? Another transformation?

Starfire could hear them. Lost souls weeping. Screaming. Writhing in eternal agony. Tears poured from her eyes at the haunting, terrible sound. Her mouth was agape as she tried to gasp for air. She couldn't see. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't–!

Beast Boy burst into the room, shouting incoherently. Starfire broke out of her trance and sat bolt up, scaring Robin back a few feet. Cold sweat chilled her body, and she burst into new tears. Pulling her legs up to her chest with her arms, she hid her face and wept. Robin had never seen such a spectacle. "I found something!" Beast Boy shouted. "I… what's wrong with Starfire?"

"I dunno..." The Boy Wonder admitted. "I think she had some kind of attack!"

Still pale to the point of looking sick, Starfire looked up and stared at Beast Boy. The pure, unbridled fear poured from her eyes. Her lips trembled before she spoke. "I… am sorry I doubted you." she whispered, twin streaks of saltwater on her cheeks.

He regarded her for a long few seconds of silence. His helmet's flashlight was broken, and he was covered with earth. In his clutching hand was what looked like a piece of stretched paper. "You saw it, didn't you?" Beast Boy said, coming closer. "The shadow thing?"

"FOR THE LAST TIME YOU FREAKING IDIOT!" Robin jumped to his feet, stomping over to where the changling stood. Beast Boy knew Robin would never believe them until he saw it with his own eyes. Why? Who knew. But… Starfire had seen it. He could see in her eyes that she'd seen and heard more than she would've ever been able to handle. Robin's screaming lecture would mean little to him as soon as it was over, and then they would talk. They would talk about the vellum he'd just found.

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Raven sighed, done resting for the moment. Closing Beast Boy's diary and standing, she stuffed it into the purse. There was more than before written down. It was in greater detail, as though it were changing as the story went on. Was the diary… linked to the real world? Raven sighed, knowing this not to be true. It was a part of the game, twisted to tug at her emotionally. She didn't have to luxury of thinking about what was going on at home. She had to concentrate on the task at hand.

Armed only with the symbol of Malus for protection, Raven exited the common room. She checked the walls, ceiling, and floor of everywhere she went. Room by painstaking room, she searched for hours. No luck at all. Frustrated and thinking of stopping to rest again, she returned to the stairwell. Grunting as she went up the stairs one at a time, she came to a sudden halt. "Could it really be that easy…?" she murmured. She looked up the stairwell. Up the many floors of Titans tower to the only exit outside the front door and garage. "The roof." She whispered.

Beast Boy had hidden all the symbols where he thought Raven would find them… she spent a lot of time on the roof, didn't she? Would he hide something up there for her to find… or would she even be able to get outside onto the tower? She didn't know, but it seemed like the best answer.

Invigorated by her inspiration, Raven started up the stairs more quickly. A small smile actually touched her lips as she sprang up them two by two. Starfire's necklace tinkled merrily between her breasts, and Robin's utility belt was rubbing against her hip. All of Beast Boy's knowledge and a few other trinkets were at her disposal. For the first time since she'd arrived, Raven felt a small surge of confidence.

Arriving at the top stair, Raven came to the door. She looked around before she even touched it. No binding symbols in sight, but no whispering shadows either. Putting her hood back and taking a deep breath, Raven pushed the door. It swung open with great difficulty, squealing on its hinges. She winced, emerging out onto the roof. Just as she'd seen through the common room window, the heavy fog and swirling mist kept Jump City from view.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

Raven froze on the spot, her breath catching in her throat. She certainly hadn't said that!

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

Raven's eyes grew wide in absolute disbelief. There was someone else on the roof, chanting her chant… with her own voice. Ready to shout the word Malus, she edged forward to see through the thick fog.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

How had she not heard it when she was in the attic? Or, had it just arrived? Was it another demonic shade of herself to face? Swallowing, she came a little further forward. "Who's there…?" she whispered loudly.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

There was a figure sitting on the roof, near the edge. Sure enough, it was wearing Raven's cloak. All hunched over and with a slight hump in its back, it vibrated gently as it repeated the chant in even intervals.

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

"Who are you?" Raven said a little more boldly when it didn't move. It sure sounded like her… "Are you here to guard one of the symbols…?" She got no response, of course, except –

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

"I'm here to take it from you." Raven said, slowly reaching for the utility belt she'd borrowed. Carefully and slowly in case the fake tried to attack, she pulled out the bow-stick. It sprang into existence, and she approached the chanting figure. She couldn't fight with the bow, but a good whack on the head would hurt just about anybody. Its hood was up and its body not visible, but it was still trembling as it chanted…

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

Raven raised the bow-stick high, right behind the fake version of herself.

"Azarath… Metrion…"

She brought the bow-stick down and the figure completely collapsed. The sound of breaking glass and metal met her ears as it came apart completely. She staggered back in surprise as pieces flew everywhere. Breathing hard, she suddenly got a good look at the figure. It wasn't her at all.

It was a dummy, taken from the evidence room.

On it was a crudely drawn smiley face. It had been sitting on one of Cyborg's generators, holding a CD player that was connected to a loudspeaker. The CD-player had come unhooked when Raven had pummeled the dummy, and she knelt. Pushing the jack back into the hole, she heard –

"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…"

It wasn't an evil copy of her… it was a recording of her! Beast Boy had dressed a dummy up like her and had placed the loud-speaker and CD player there for it to make the chant. Right on the location where she usually came to meditate. She pulled the jack out again to silence it. How on earth had he gotten a recording of her voice…? Raven didn't know, and decided she didn't want to. Carefully, she stepped over the broken glass. It was red, stained glass. It was meant to look like her chakra gem. Raven touched her forehead automatically. The replica was way too big, but it got the message across. Heaving a sigh, she began to examine what she'd found.

Acting as though it were a crime scene, Raven carefully set everything out and organized it. The dummy. The cloak. The broken glass. The CD player. The generator. The loud speaker. Looking slowly over everything she had to choose from, she went for the dummy first. It was a gender-less, white-skinned thing. It was a wooden puppet that had grown dusty from sitting somewhere, all alone, for so long. Aside from the silly smiling face on the head, followed by the magic-marker purple hair, it didn't seem to be a big piece of evidence. She set the whole thing carefully aside.

She examined the cloak, but found nothing there either. It was old and moth-eaten, squashing Raven's idea of switching cloaks. Even the torn one she was wearing was better than that one. Sighing, she went on to the CD player.

The generator had been keeping the CD player going for God knew how long. Since it didn't need much power, Cyborg's generator could probably keep it running for longer than the little thing was meant to last. Raven was happy she'd found it before it had simply decayed… like the rest of the tech in the tower. She opened it and pulled the CD out. It was a burnt CD of course, labeled 'Quoth the Raven: Our Lost Kin Has Ascended' in magic marker. Raven frowned at the title. What sort of title was that? Was that part of the riddle? She stared at it, but could find no words mooshed together, oddly spelled or capitalized words. Beast Boy's hints were always different, much to her tired mind's annoyance.

Sighing, she checked the generator for anything unusual. It was Cyborg's all right. She couldn't tell much about, other than it was still working. There were no markings or notes or slips of paper stuffed in any of the cracks.

"What am I looking at, Beast Boy?" Raven stood with a grunt, kicking the generator with her foot. Feeling rather foolish when she did so, she tried to calm down. Then, she quite suddenly noticed something. The little generator had tumped over, revealing something hidden beneath it. A victorious swell in her chest, Raven knelt to see. There, clawed into the cement by none other than the changling himself, was a message.

Blind red eyes can't see the truth.

"What…?" Raven murmured, reading it over and over. Beast Boy had probably been a raptor or a tiger… something large with claws… to be able to do that in cement. "Blind red eyes can't see the truth?" she asked softly. Swallowing loudly and her brow furrowing, Raven looked through all her evidence again. The dummy, the generator, the CD player, the CD, the cloak, and the red gla… she hadn't checked the red glass for anything important. Growing suspicious right away, Raven picked up one of the broken shards and looked at it closely. Was there a message scratched into it? Would she have to reassemble it to see what it said? That would take forever! She squinted, looking closer. Something white greeted her eye as she stared through the red glass. Raven let her vision focus through the glass, and she gasped.

It was enormous. Stretched across the entire roof, painted in a sort of ink that could only be seen in red light, was the ninth symbol! Raven backed slowly up until she was almost in the edge to see the whole thing. Beast Boy had really outdone himself this time. She actually smiled at the irony. Raven had told Beast Boy a thousand times that her chakra… or her third eye… was very aware of the world around her. He'd laid a puzzler that pointed to that, since less than a percent of the human race could use their third eye. They were blind in one eye, so to speak. "Blind eyes can't see the truth… but third eyes can…" she'd long-dropped that catch phrase, but he'd remembered it. The red glass was meant to represent her third eye, and let her see the truth. Through red glass. An eye. It revealed to her the ninth symbol and at the same time, its lyric:

OLKAS (Ole-cuss)

"Olkas…" Raven whispered. She stared at the almost blinding symbol for a while, looking through the shard of red glass. She moved it out of her vision, and she couldn't see the symbol anymore. She moved it back, and there it was again. What had Beast Boy used to accomplish that illusion? She shook her head, a crooked smile working its way up one side of her mouth. "Not bad, Beast Boy." She said aloud. A bright light suddenly flared on her arm, and she hissed in pain. She looked at her upper arm, the one that didn't have Larsus on it, and saw a brand new symbol. Olkas. "This is starting to feel familiar…" said Raven, her eyebrow twitching. "I don't get to just write stuff down, do I? Nope. I have to have it tattooed onto my body. "Apocalypse warnings, alchemy symbols… whatever the hell…" she trailed off into her own sarcasm, but suddenly fell silent. She stared at the dummy.

It was moving.

It got up like a puppet on strings, grabbing the bow-stick from where Raven had left it on the ground. It rose to its full height, and Raven stared in disbelief. It twirled the stick with deadly ease, and posed for battle. The mannequin that Beast Boy has stolen from the evidence room had come to life. The wooden joints groaned slightly as it stood straight. The goofy, smiling face that Beast Boy had drawn frowned at her, then it's eyes glowed red.

Regarding it evenly, Raven watched it charge at her with a silent screech of battle. With no mouth to speak of it leapt at her to knock her clear off the roof. She realized she was standing on the edge, but just as quickly realized she wouldn't be able to dodge the attack. Raven straightened up, standing squarely to face her opponent. Her mouth was a thin line as time seemed to slow down for the moment. Her eyebrows gathered into a hardened expression and, "Malus." She whispered.

It came apart in midair, and Raven was battered with wooden pieces. They pitched themselves over the edge due to their momentum, and Raven grabbed the bow-stick before it went over the edge. She turned, watching it fall into the mists. The vague sound of impact greeted her, but she found no satisfying rush to accompany it. What the hell was that supposed to be? Was the shadow growing weaker? Running out ideas? Raven wildly wondered if perhaps it wasn't focusing on her at the moment. But then again, who else was there for it go after?

She exited the roof, muttering to herself as she stuck the glass shard in the purse. Using the bow as a walking stick, she descended the stairs to make her way back to the common room.

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"Yes, I am quite sorry I did not believe you earlier." Starfire looked ashamed. She, Beast Boy, and Cyborg were all sitting around the table. Robin was searching for signs of Raven via the Jump City map. The homing device in her brooch was sure to turn up a signal soon… He left the other three to their own devices. He'd shouted at Beast Boy for a while, but had been frustrated to hardly get a reaction from him. It was as though he didn't care.

"It's alright, Star." Beast Boy said, still looking at the vellum. The only reason he knew it was vellum was because he was such an animal rights sort of guy. He knew all the vocabulary. "You saw it, and you know better now. But, we gotta focus…. Cyborg?" he spoke his friend's name.

Cyborg had been sitting there, scanning the vellum to get a carbon date on it. His red-eye flashed a few times, signaling the scan was done. "Its about… six-thousand years old." He proclaimed. "That sample of rock I took was around forty-five hundred years old." The metal man looked unsure of himself as he went on. "That place is old, and it had visitors on a regular basis. That's what I'm guessing. One of them must've dropped this." The vellum had twelve symbols on it, arranged in a pair of columns. There was a thirteenth symbol at the top, though. The gun-sight symbol with no plus-sign in the middle. "And it glittered when you picked it up?"

"Yeah, dude." Beast Boy nodded. "Like it was supposed to be found or something."

"We gotta be careful with this thing… its brittle. Lucky you got it here in one piece." Cyborg mumbled, stroking his chin.

"It's got something to do with that shadow-thing, and Raven too." Beast Boy confirmed. "We need to check out Raven's books, and see if any of them are in there."

"Mmm…" Starfire said quietly. "I shall perform the main research in Raven's room. Perhaps the two of you could search for any Earthly origins to this odd calligraphy?"

"Agreed." Cyborg nodded. "We split up the research and cover more ground."

"We gotta find Raven. That's the main mission." He pointed at both of them in turn. "This thing has to be the key. I just know it. If that shadow-thing has Raven, then this might tell us how to stop it or something!"

The metal man and the redhead nodded, and the search was on.

Yay for part ten! I hope you enjoyed it… Raven has nine symbols now, with only three to go! Will she run into anymore horrors? Perhaps one's not so corny as a living wooden dummy? The REASON I put something corny like that in there was this. If the shadow wasn't focused on getting her, and was roaming in the real world a little as well… its influence in causing terror wouldn't have been as strong. Raven didn't take long to beat this incarnation of fear because it wasn't at full power… . Well, if you feel like it, join me again in part eleven, Mortym! P.S. Sorry Robin's kind of the bad guy here, not believing anybody. But, I couldn't figure he would go on a ghost hunt. LOL!