Author's Note: Wow. KC, I totally forgot to reply to your comment. I think you're a fantastic writer. Needless to say, I would be honnored to collaborate on a story with you! Haha. E-mail me, it's in the profile. I didn't respond to reviewers at all last A/N session, so now is YOUR time. VashTheStampede7123-- I love RENT! Check out my profile for more favorite things we might have in common, and drop me a line sometime ;-). Hoshi-ko88-- I ship-hop. It's like barhopping, only with less alcohol. I ship every which way. This one is Rob/Rae with a little hint of Rob/Star (there's a big Rob/Rae finale-- good things come to those who wait). I hope the ship doesn't deter you from reading. I don't particularly like people who do that. But I like you nonetheless! Bobalina-- I'm curious... How exactly does my story remind you of AI? LOL. Archon of Midgard-- Haha, a Stargate fan, wonderful. But I must confess a secret. I have a weakness for the show Angel. In it, the character Cordelia ascends to a higher plane as well. But I know about Daniel and his little trip (coincidentally from an Angel/Stargate crossover, haha).
As for the rest of you, I am so happy you are enjoying this. My aim is to please. I was worried there was too much dialogue and it gets boring at parts, but I'm just self-critical haha. Thanks for all of your support. Sorry this took so long-- I've been putting it off as long as possible because... well... to tell you the truth, I've only written one sentence in the next chapter and I'm thinking of deleting those four words and starting from scratch. BUT THIS FIC IS ALMOST OVER. Check in soon for my upcoming events: "Forgotten, but Never Gone" and "A Hole in the World."
Since I am very into personal plugs (and plugging other people, why just see my profile), here is a summary for both:
Forgotten: What if you were a boy who woke up one day with no memory of the past? You're given a name, find a best friend, and live the life you'd always known you wanted... And then realize there was a life left behind. A life of honor, duty, and friendship. Do you go back? Can you?
Holes: Starfire's body is inhabbited by a reincarnated demon. It causes her body great distress as she struggles to stay alive. Beast Boy and Raven set out to find its tomb before the demon decides to stay. Terra wrestles with guilt. Cyborg tries hard not to hope. And Robin... Robin tries to comfort Starfire and say all he never had before... Before he loses her for good. (plotline borrowed and elaborated on from the Angel episode of the same name-- I am not a thief!)
(PS: KC-- I wouldn't mind a little of your sage insight on both these projects. I think I have way too many projects).
Alright, alright, stop moaning, here's the story!
Chapter 8: The Bright Idea
"So long, Astoria. We found a map to buried treasure and even if we come home empty handed, we'll still have our stories, battle scars, pirate ships and wounded hearts, broken bones, and the best of friendships."– The Ataris, So Long, Astoria
– The Ataris,"Man, it takes a silly girl to lie about the dreams she has, but Lord it takes a lonely one to wish that she had never dreamt at all."– Dashboard Confessional, Carve Your Heart Out Yourself
– Dashboard Confessional,The five Titans were together in the common room of the tower for the first time in years. Cyborg was pacing around, looking at the walls covered in old newspaper clippings. He emitted a low whistle to express his opinion. "Wow... you're like a serial killer, Rob."
"Excuse me?" Robin said, looking up at him from the couch with a cocked eyebrow.
Cyborg looked at him and shrugged. "You know, they often have little shrines to themselves on their walls. Clippings of articles about the murders they committed. Only, in your case, it's the murders you prevented."
"Hey, dude, you're right!" cried Beast Boy, excitedly. Robin shot him a look and he fell silent. But Starfire decided to join in on the conversation.
"So perhaps, since Robin is much unlike the killer of serials, he is in fact, the anti-killer?"
"Any relation to the antichrist?" Beast Boy blurted out.
"Hey!" Robin said, looking at him with a 'what did you say?' look on his face.
Beast Boy shrugged. "Hey man, I didn't mean to say it aloud."
But Cyborg was laughing. "C'mon, Rob, you have been a little bleak lately. Maybe you should lighten up."
"Well what about Raven?" Robin said in his defense, pointing at the silent demon in the corner. "She's pretty bleak herself, I mean just look at her, that outfit screams suicidal!"
"Eureka!"
At this exclamation, all four other Titans turned to the grinning Raven.
"Eureka?" they all chorused.
She glared at them. "It's Greek, look it up."
"Eureka what?" Beast Boy asked. Raven seemed so ecstatic she seemed to buzz with excitement.
"I figured it out, what we have to do! The only thing we can do to stop him."
"What is it?" Starfire asked, intrigued. Raven was looking pointedly at Cyborg, but said nothing. Her gaze seemed to burn and he shifted uncomfortably under her scrutiny.
"Whaaat?" he whined with an odd pout. But she was grinning.
Even after fifteen years, it was strange to see this dark woman grin. The expression was alien, even and especially to the lips that wore it, but she wore it proudly, like a badge of hope.
"I'll need your help, Cyborg," she said.
"And what about the rest of us?" Robin asked with a skeptical raise of the eyebrows. But she just nodded at him.
"You all will shine, trust me," she said. "But right now, I need Cyborg."
"Yeah, Rae, what do you want?" he mumbled, slouching down on the couch.
"Is that anyway to speak to your superior, Cadet!" Raven snapped harshly. Cyborg was on his feet in an instant, something snapping in his brain, his eyes bright and smiling in spite of himself.
"Ma'am, yes ma'am!" he replied, saluting her. "With all do respect, the title is lieutenant."
Raven smiled and nodded in understanding. "Then Lieutenant. Forgive my disrespect. You are hereby promoted to General of the Earth Armed Forces. I trust the army is still standing."
"At your call, ma'am, ready to fight," Cyborg responded, standing tall and beaming with pride.
For the others, it was strange to watch this exchange. Cyborg and Raven, old friends, were treating each other like coworkers.
But then, Beast Boy thought to himself, beginning to figure things out, That's what they are. Raven's rebuilding the Triad of Light.
, Beast Boy thought to himself, beginning to figure things out,In his excitement, the shape shifter too jumped to his feet and saluted his commanding officer. "Cadet Beast Boy reporting for duty, ma'am!"
Raven turned to him and nodded. "Colonel Logan," she corrected. "I have faith you won't let General Stone down."
"What are these formalities?" Starfire asked. "What is happening?"
Raven looked at Starfire long and hard. "Lance Corporal Star," she said. "You've just been enlisted in the Earth Army. How does it feel?"
"You're rebuilding the army," Robin noted, stating the obvious.
"You have eyes," said Raven in return. She studied him a moment. "Tell me, Robin, what position do you think you're eligible for?"
"What are we talking about?" It was Terra, standing at the top of the stairs in a robe and drying her hair with a towel. Raven looked up at her.
"We're building an army," she said, simply.
Robin stood up, strangely sweating slightly. He looked nervously at all his friends a moment. "Hey, um, I'll be right back, I just have to... go to the bathroom really quickly, OK?"
The other Titans watched him curiously as he walked by, brushing Raven by the shoulder, who had a brief premonition of his intentions. Her smile faded.
"I have to go too," she said quietly.
She found him right where she thought she would– on the roof. The air was so cold, he seemed to exhale smoke in the early morning light. But no... it wasn't that cold. One look at his hand told her that it wasn't the temperature of the air that made his breath so black.
"When did you take up smoking?"
He spun around, caught off guard, and looked from Raven, to the cigarette in his hand. "God dammit, Raven, do you follow me everywhere?"
"I could tell you were up to something. So tell me. When?" she replied.
He turned away from her and looked out across the bay, taking another puff of his cigarette. "Go away. I haven't had a damn cigarette in twelve hours."
"Sounds like you're hooked. So is that why you've been so uptight all night?"
"I said piss off," Robin snarled, not looking back.
"Oooh, I see I struck a nerve," said Raven, walking over to him and leaning on the wall next to him. "Tell me, Robin... do you really hate me as much as you let on?"
"Gee, Raven, I don't know. Do you really hate me so much that you want to kill me?"
"That was harsh."
"So was murdering one of my best friends."
There was a silence between them a moment. Raven opened her mouth to speak, then turned away. She hesitated, then tried again.
"There's nothing I can say to erase what I have done," she said, quietly. "And I know there's nothing I can say to make you... I suppose I've always known. I guess that's why I freaked out. You confirmed my worst suspicions–"
"No, Rae," Robin interrupted, turning to face her at last. "You did that all by yourself. You expected the worst and nothing but the worst, therefore whatever reaction I gave you, you twisted to mean what it didn't. I..." But all of a sudden he had lost the words. The words that had haunted him for fifteen years, those specific words he had always tried to get rid of were finally gone when he needed them the most. "... don't hate you, Raven. I never did."
Raven looked at him, wide-eyed. "But you said... That night, here on this roof, you said..."
He looked at her with stone-cold eyes. "I said what you forced me to say. I made the mistake of a lifetime because I thought telling you what you wanted to hear would make things better. But it only made it worse. And it cost me Beast Boy's life."
Raven sighed. "That wasn't your fault. I should never even have thought, anticipated... I should never have hoped..."
But Robin was laughing. "Man, Rae," he said, with a sad smile, looking down at the water. "I mean... it takes a silly girl to lie about her dreams, but... You can't wish you'd never had them to begin with." He turned to face her, looking as compassionate as he ever had. "God, Raven, I can only imagine... Exactly how lonely are you?"
She turned away. "I always thought, always hoped, that I could one day get everything under control, that one day I wouldn't have to worry anymore. Fifteen years ago, I thought that maybe, maybe I could do something good for once, instead of all the badness I was intended for. Maybe if I felt something pure, it would be reflected in the consequences. Now do you see what love brings? Death and betrayal. Fifteen years later, and I'm still afraid to tap that power. The most ancient, deepest of all human emotions, the ultimate power house of destruction. You see me now, master of the dark arts, queen of confidence, expert at controlling my powers. But I'm not. There are still leaks, Robin, and bad things happen. I'm like a black cat. Bad luck follows me wherever I go."
There was an odd sense of quiet that settled over them a moment.
"Sometimes I think I was lucky... to have a friend like you," Raven whispered.
"Why?" Robin spat, sounding bitter. "I threw you into another dimension."
"Exactly," said Raven, her voice barely audible. "You did what was best for our friends. What was safe. You got rid of me. If I'd stayed with you, Beast Boy might not have been the only dead one."
Robin looked at her a moment, startled. Because it was at exactly that moment that he realized she thought exactly like he did.
He fumbled in his pocket and took out his box of cigarettes. "Hey, um... you want one?" he asked, almost as a peace offering.
She shook her head and looked away. "I don't smoke. Never have. I never liked the effects things like that had on a person."
"Really?" Robin asked, putting out his cigarette and lighting up the one he'd offered Raven. "I always found them to be soothing."
"I guess you're allowed to lose it every now and then," Raven mumbled.
Robin cocked an eyebrow at her. "It's not like I'm smoking a joint," he said. "They're just cigarettes."
Raven sighed, but didn't look at him, and he looked away in shame, because he could see that somehow, she knew that his troubles went far beyond cigarettes.
"Listen," he said. "Things have changed... with me."
"You're right," said Raven. "Because the Robin I know would never compromise his judgement for a quick high."
"It's not like that," he snapped.
"Not only that, but it affects your physical performance!" she said, and it was beginning to sound like a lecture. Robin would have none of it.
"Sometimes it improves it," he muttered through clenched teeth.
"Oh really?" Raven said, turning to him. "Which brand, Robin. Zoloft? Prozac? Ecstacy?"
"Speed," Robin screamed, just to spite her. But his voice tapered off into silence. "Methamphetamines... They make things... a little better, sometimes."
Raven shook her head sadly. "Robin, I'm so sorry..." she whispered to herself. "I'm so sorry I ever let you sink this low."
"You couldn't have done anything to stop it," Robin said.
"But I did everything to start it," Raven returned.
They were quiet again and each tried to tear their shame apart with blame. But they knew that it wasn't right. Nothing between them was right anymore.
"Rae, I'm... I'm sorry too."
Raven smiled up at him. "I know," she said. "I guess that's done then. The apologies."
"Yeah," said Robin smiling back. "So... we're pretty cool, then?"
"As cool as we'll get," Raven replied. "Now come back downstairs. You haven't yet enlisted in the army."
"I'd rather not," said Robin. "I don't do well as part of a team anymore."
Raven smiled. "OK. Then you can help me."
Robin bowed. "How may I be of service?"
The plan was exceedingly simple. Raven designated the Titans into three groups: Robin and Starfire were to go speak with Louis Cohen and his son. Cyborg and Beast Boy were off to gather the veterans of the interdimensional war. And Raven took Terra on her own mission.
"Where are we going?" Terra asked, whizzing through the sky on a rock platform with Raven by her side.
Raven smiled. "You and I need to have a little bonding time," she said, speeding off towards the horizon, which the sun was now completely above, creating an acute angle to the ocean.
Terra looked nervous. "So... you're taking me out to the middle of the ocean?" she said, looking around for any sight of land at all. She found none.
Raven laughed as she stopped and Terra went a little past her, then swung around.
"Oh my God, I get it!" she exclaimed, her eyes wide. "You're going to make it so they never find my body, aren't you?"
Raven tilted her head at Terra with a sigh. "You really think I'm going to kill you, don't you?"
"I betrayed you once," said Terra. "And... well, I don't mean to walk on thin ice, but you killed Beast Boy for nothing."
Raven shook her head. "I'm not going to kill you, Terra," she said, seriously. "We need you too damn much."
"That's all?" Terra said, with a raise of her eyebrow.
"... I need you too damn much," Raven said, reluctantly. "I feel... less like an outsider with you around."
"Because I'm more of an outsider than you," Terra said, nodding in understanding.
"No, that's not it at all," said Raven. "I look at you... And I look at the way Beast Boy still looks at you... And then I look in your eyes. And you still have that bright look of a kid, Terra, because you still are a kid. And I'm taken back to the days before the accident, before I went crazy and made that unforgivable mistake. I remember what it was like... to have friends. And I missed that, having friends."
"... Even the ones that betrayed you?" Terra asked, timidly.
Raven smiled. "I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't," she said. "Now come on, we have work to do."
"Huh?" Terra asked, confused.
"I didn't bring you out here to kill you, Terra," said Raven, as a portal began to open in front of her. "I brought you here to see my home."
And before Terra could respond, Raven pulled her into the widening portal.
The enormous barracks warehouse was silent. He stared out at all of them with a hard gaze, remembering his war days and drawing strength from them. He held his head high and smiled at them all, young despite being veterans, only in their twenties, maybe thirties. The youngest, he noted, was only twenty-one. He must have been barely legal when he'd enlisted for the war. But the number was significantly less than it had been when he had served among them. Their own general, Warren Baker, had been hit with a lightning spell and burned instantly on the battlefield.
Not all the generals had fought with their men, but Baker had always thought it was his duty to lead them into battle, obviously an earth custom as Raven and the Lorethelian general had always stayed at camp to keep a step ahead of their enemy, unless there had been an attack.
That was the only time he had seen Raven in battle, but he had to admit she did look like a Goddess, with her long sword raised high above her head and her cry echoing in the bloody night like a siren across the land. She had never seen him, but he had always watched her. He watched after her more passionately than he looked after himself. She was always above her army, defending her home base, shouting orders from a hovering black cloud, throwing her own curses at the enemy, four eyes glowing red, tentacles flaring... She went all out when she was in battle, showing them no mercy. She was all demon in battle. And Cyborg had come to respect that. And when she was hit once, and fell to the ground, Cyborg had thrust his sword into the enemy shaman he'd been fending off and retreated back into the swarm of human bodies, pushing them aside, into the Azarath's ranks and he found her, groaning, winded from the blow. Her eyesight had been blurry and she had suffered some head trauma. Cyborg had grabbed her by the shoulders, fear-stricken and tried to bring her to her senses.
"Raven–" he had said, then remembered his place. "General– get up! You're in a war zone here!"
Her eyes had gone red again, but she had looked up at Cyborg unseeing. "Soldier!" she cried.
Her urgent call and the sudden sense of apprehension had spurred instinct to grab her and move. And right as he did, a blast spell had blown that place to bits.
But that had been years ago. And she wouldn't remember that now anyway.
He stopped in his pacing, to the relief of his nervous regiment. The clinking of his heels on the floor had reminded them of the sound the tanks made as spells wheeled into them before they exploded.
He sighed and stared out at them, trying to see the face of each and every man before him. He wanted to look them in the eye. He wanted to gain their trust before he gained their respect.
"General Baker was a brave man," he said, his voice just over a whisper, but still echoing in the empty warehouse. "And you are all just as brave. He was one of us. You played poker with him. You told dirty jokes with him. He wasn't just your general. He was your friend. I know that, because he was my friend to. I was a lieutenant when I was among your ranks. And many of you were privates. And yet, he treated us like men and soldiers, not just tools. But mostly, he fought beside us. He was a soldier. He was a leader. But now, he's dead. And again, Loki has become an imminent threat. This time, not just to the Lorethelians or life in general. No, now it's personal because he wants to take out all dimensions beginning with this one. He will obliterate us, like he obliterated those other unfortunate dimensions that couldn't stand up to him. We may not be the biggest of dimensions, but we're damned near the most determined, and this world has fought its fare share of wars.
"I see before me an international army, a thousand men and more on the way. Men from all the continents. Nonetheless, we'll have less than five thousand when we're all assembled. That's less than a tenth of what we had started with. But we will not go gently into that good night. We are not fighting for a nation or a cause. We are fighting for survival, pure and simple, the most straight forward cause since the dawn of our time. And we will win."
The men were silent, but Cyborg saw that he had lit a fire in their eyes.
There was the echoing of footsteps and Cyborg looked up to see Beast Boy, who was grinning.
"They're outside," he said.
Starfire and Robin waited outside the door, both visibly anxious. They had been standing there a while, but neither one had mustered up enough courage to ring the doorbell.
"What will I say?" Robin asked, for the seventeenth time. Again, Starfire could provide no answer. "I mean... God, his fiancé just got blinded."
"No," Starfire said, staring at the door. "She is not blind. She sees... the future. And nothing else."
"What do you say to a person?" Robin asked. "'Hi, I'm sorry your fiancé got cursed, can you do us a favor?'"
Starfire looked at him and shook her head. "I do not believe that is the correct thing to do. Too insensitive... too insincere."
Robin smiled at her. "God, you really haven't changed, have you?" he said, deciding not to point out that he'd been sarcastic.
"Change is relative," she replied evenly, reminding him of Beast Boy.
He grinned. He loved everything about her. "Starfire, there's something..."
But she put a finger to his lips, knowing what he was going to say. "Hush, Robin," she whispered. "We must not speak of such things."
Robin frowned at her, confused. "Why don't you want me to say it?" he asked.
Starfire turned away from him and grasped the railing that framed the porch they stood on. She looked down at the begonias below. She wanted to say the truth, but of all the things she had to sacrifice to save the world, the burden of knowledge, knowing what would happen should she say the wrong thing, knowing what must happen for it to succeed, was by far the worst. She knew what she must say. And she had practiced the lie for years.
"Because... Robin, the sentiment... is not returned." For the first time out of all the times she had practiced it, she had actually said it as indifferently as Chrona had told her to. Her voice didn't even quiver once.
However, she couldn't bare his silence, and she couldn't bare not knowing the look on his face. But when she turned around, he was more confused than angry.
"Starfire... that's impossible. Even when we were kids, you always..."
"You are my best friend, Robin," Starfire said, her eyes bright with sincerity, but her voice as gentle as a spring wind. "Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven... I would die for any of them. But you are my purpose, Robin. I would be nothing if you were anything less than you are. But I cannot love you in the sense you wish me to.."
"Cannot..." Robin said, slowly. "Or will not?"
"Robin, what do you mean?" Starfire asked, as if this notion was completely irrelevant.
"There's something keeping you from saying it," Robin said, scrutinizing her. "But I can't see what."
Starfire did an irritated and uncharacteristic sigh, showing that she was no longer interested in the conversation. "Robin, I am so sorry. But what you want is impossible."
"I just can't figure out why it's impossible," said Robin, still looking for an ulterior motive.
"Because," Starfire snapped, becoming angry. But Robin hadn't felt he'd been that inflammatory. "Because for the final time I do not reciprocate!"
She sounded so agitated, Robin dare not question further. But in truth, her irritation only heightened his suspicions. The emotion was so uncharacteristic of her that it just made everything else so surreal, her reaction insincere. Something was wrong and she refused to share.
It was at this last thought that he decided he would press on despite her agitation.
"Starfire, you're going to tell me what's going on or–"
But she was ringing the doorbell, ignoring him. He was caught off guard. He still had no idea what he was going to say.
It was a moment before anyone came to the door. Locks turned and it opened a crack with the sliding chain lock still in place. The weary eye that peered out at them now was different than the vibrant one that had flung open the door before. The brown eye frowned before closing the door and undoing the chain lock.
Louis stood in the doorway looking like he hadn't slept at all that night. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was disheveled. But he managed a welcoming smile.
"Hi there, Robin, Starfire. What do you guys need now?" he asked with a sigh.
Robin looked at Starfire briefly, annoyed that she had rang the doorbell without warning. But he took a deep breath and sighed.
"We need your help again," he said slowly, feeling exceptionally awkward. "Raven has a plan to defeat Loki once and for all."
Louis's smile broadened and that fire returned to his eyes. "You want me to call the army."
"And you're a regular mind reader," Robin acknowledged with a nod.
Louis's smile faded a bit but remained in place as he shrugged. "Well we have one in the household now at any rate. Kinda saw you guys coming."
"Dad?" came Josh's voice from inside. "Is that them?"
"You bet, Josh," called Louis over his shoulder.
There was the clatter of someone running down stairs. Josh threw open the door, his eyes cold and determined, somehow older than he'd looked the night before.
"Great," said Josh, looking at them with steely eyes, his expression inscrutable. "General Johan is dead. Assassinated by some rebels who've joined Loki's ranks. Apparently, he's promised them survival after the end of all life as we know it."
"So who's the new General?" Robin asked.
"Lorethel is in an uproar," he said. "They're screaming for blood. And... I promised to give it to them."
"What?" Robin stared at Josh, dumbstruck. The boy was rather short and didn't look like the leading type. However, he shared that crazy fire with his father. And with that, Robin was sure he could win any battle.
Josh nodded. "I'm leading the Lorethelian army into battle. We have four thousand men, at the ready. Not a substantial contribution, but a contribution nonetheless."
Robin smiled. "We'll be glad to have it... Sir," he said with a nod.
Terra was aghast as they approached a large cathedral-like fortress made of black stone with looming towers topped with long and sharp gold spires that seemed to reach into the heavens. For some reason, it seemed to Terra like a colossal sleeping dragon with shining teeth. Some of the higher ledges proved to be the gargoyles' haunts as their hideous faces leered at the town below. Their faces were so twisted and deformed, Terra felt like she was walking straight into Hell itself.
They walked up the wide black marble steps and approached the huge ebony doors, etched with gold leaf. The elegantly carved scene depicted gruesome images that seemed to be taken directly from Dante's inferno. As the light from the purple sky hit the door the gold seemed to make the creatures come alive. Though they were grotesque and surreal, they seemed like they could jump out and bite whoever passed them by.
Before they came close enough to admire the masterful craftsmanship, the doors swung open, revealing a long passageway complete with red carpet and shifty looking guards. The guards, who seemed to be clad in woven shadows, fell to their knees and averted their eyes, which were pure red with no visible pupils, irises or corneas. Their forms were shady, shifting with the wind, and for a moment Terra wondered if they weren't wearing shadows, but were made of shadows.
Her companion took no notice of these unusual creatures and walked right by, her head held high like a queen, as Terra followed sheepishly behind her. The hallway they passed through was littered with portraits and paintings of twisted surreal and mythological scenes that made Terra feel like she was in the heart of Count Dracula's castle. But near the end of the hall, she received her biggest shock.
As she stared at all the paintings in awe, at this Azarath king and that Azarath duchess, she came to a halt in front of a very familiar looking portrait with the only remotely normal looking subject. Raven, not noticing, continued on her way down the hall, but Terra was flabbergasted.
"Raven..." she called to her companion, eyes never leaving the canvas. "This portrait is of you!"
Raven looked briefly over her shoulder then shrugged. "I think they made my nose too big."
"But... this is you!" Terra said again, as if it was the most absurd thing in the world. She looked at the title of the portrait on the frame. Raven of Azarath, General of the World's Armed Forces 1642-Present. "You're over three hundred and fifty years old!"
Raven rolled her eyes as she continued down the long corridor. "Don't be ridiculous," she said. "That's Azarath's measurement, Terra. Look at the next line."
Terra frowned, but did as Raven said. Age of the Dragon.
"I don't get it," she said, running to catch up.
Raven sighed. "Azarath is older than 1650 years, Terra," said Raven. "But we have different periods. Much like BC or AD or more like the Middle Ages or the Industrial Age. The date today is Day 12 of the Month of Ares, Year 1647 of the Age of the Dragon."
"Sounds like a mouthful," Terra muttered.
Raven smiled. "That's why we just call it Ares 12, 1647. See? Not so much different form Earth is it?"
Terra was about to answer when another set of grand oak doors swung open in front of them and she bit her tongue.
Not so different at all... she thought sarcastically as she stared in awe at the next chamber.
They seemed to be in some sort of throne room. The room was filled with colored light shining through stained glass windows. The windows seemed to be the only thing anywhere that depicted something natural and beautiful. The focus of every single stained glass window was a rose in bloom.
The red carpet continued down the center and up a few more wide marble steps, leading to something that looked more like a giant pipe organ than a throne which dominated the room. The grandiose chair was entirely black with more sharp spikes crowning it. It seemed drizzled with gold and had red velvet cushions. It was scattered with blood-red rubies and more ornate carvings.
To Terra, everything about Azarath seemed larger than life.
"Raven, excellent."
Terra jumped at the voice and realized that she had been so taken aback by the throne she hadn't realized there was someone sitting on it.
The man that sat upon the throne– if he could be called a man at all– was strange looking to say the least. Terra supposed it was what the average Azarath demon looked like. Horns and black tentacles and glowing red eyes and very menacing.
"Argatron, Your Highness" said Raven, sounding uncharacteristically warm, her voice echoing in the high ceilings. "My old friend. I have a favor to ask of you."
Terra looked from the demon to her fellow Titan in a mixture of awe and confusion.
A terrible grin spread across his features and Terra realized with horror that inside his mouth were rows upon rows of jagged teeth, like a shark's. He leaned forward in his throne sinisterly, his tentacles flying all over the place, playing like shadows on the wall.
"Ah, General, how may my demons be of service to you?"
"Loki." The single word changed the entire atmosphere of the room. The temperature lowered a few degrees and the stained glass windows were glazed with a black shadow that emanated from the Demon King. His tentacles went wild and Terra yelped and hid behind Raven.
"You dare speak that name in my presence?" hissed Argatron.
"There is an initiative to kill him."
The light returned and the tentacles relaxed as the demon smiled a more, surprisingly pleasant smile. He folded his tentacles and leaned back in his chair.
"Oh, well then why didn't you say so?" he said in the happy tone of voice of a game show host. For the first time he acknowledged Terra's presence and smiled at her cheesily. "How are yeh girlfriend, doing well? Oh my God, I love your hair, where do you get it done?"
"Argatron, if we could focus on the task at hand," Raven pressed, rolling her eyes behind closed lids, praying for patience.
Argatron snapped to attention and nodded at Raven, his expression serious. "Very well," he said, still in that cheesy game-show-host voice. "Um, but I should remind you, we've tried the whole killing thing before, didn't work."
"He's vulnerable now," said Raven. "He won't admit it, but we hit him hard in the last war. He lost almost as many troops as we did, and he lost more to abandonment and betrayal. His troops weren't as loyal as ours were. His army is severely depleted, and if we pool our forces with the Earth and Lorethelian armies again, we can win."
"We didn't win last time."
"But we will this time," Raven insisted. "We have to. He's fulfilling his destiny. He is summoning Ragnarok."
"Ragnarok can only be stopped by one force," said Argatron, slowly. "The one the Norse called Thor. God of all things. We know not what this symbolizes, what this is..." Slowly, his gaze shifted to Terra. "Or is that what the girl is for?"
"Terra is not Thor," Raven said with an almost mocking scoff. But she frowned. When she said the two names in the same sentence, they did have a similar ring. Could that have been what Karen meant? Why they needed the forgotten soldier?
"Whatever," said Argatron with a sigh, leaning back in his chair. "Do what you want. It's your army. I trust your judgement. Go wild, have a party. I support you 110!"
"I appreciate that, Argatron," said Raven.
Argatron grinned. "Anything for family."
As they walked out of the castle, Terra couldn't help but ask. "Argatron said that you two were..."
"Distantly," Raven said quickly, not looking at her as she strode elegantly down the steps. "Through marriage. Second cousin once removed's son in law. Or... something to that effect."