Prophecy and Ritual
Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I don't own the Titans.
"Cyborg, how is she doing?" Robin asked.
"Slade really did a number on her, but she'll live. There is one thing that is confusing me though." Cyborg stated. "Most of her DNA wasn't touched at all. Only a few traits were altered."
"Have you determined which traits were affected by the alterations?" Ex said, beating Robin to the question.
"All that I can see is that her speed was increased dramatically. She could probably rival you in a sprinting contest, Ex."
"Why would this Slade guy modify her to make her more powerful?" Zaru asked.
"Think about it Zaru, from what we've learned about this Slade guy, it seems that it would be his style to make his potential apprentice strong enough to take on the Titans." Gabya jumped in. "But I sense that she isn't here as a spy. She truly came here for aid."
"That makes sense, but how can we be sure that she won't betray us?" Raven asked.
"All I can say is that with our past experiences, we should keep a close eye on her for now. But if Gabya is right about her, then we have gained a powerful ally against Slade." Robin stated.
"Speaking of Slade, we need to have a plan of attack ready for when the final battle comes. One that will guarantee that he will be gone for good this time." Cyborg said.
"Dude, with our new allies, this battle should be cake!" Beastboy interjected.
"Don't underestimate him. We may have gained really powerful allies, but he is always getting stronger. Not to mention, he has made several allies of his own. We still need a plan." Robin told Beastboy.
Before anything else could be said Starfire rushed into the conference room. "Friends! Vagare has awakened!"
Everyone rushed out of the room, and quickly made their way to the med lab. A loud groan could be heard from within the room.
"Wha…Where am I?" Vagare said as she tried to get up.
"Whoa, take it easy kid. You've been out for a couple of hours." Lilith stated, as she forced the girl to lie back down. "That's better."
"Where am I?" The girl asked again.
"You're at the Titan's Tower. You came to us fairly beat up several hours ago. I was able to heal most of your external wounds, but you shouldn't move too much." Raven stated.
"I made it." Vagare said with some relief. "I need your help. I can't remember anything about my life before he took me." She took a deep breath before continuing. "He never told me his name, all I know is that he wears black and gold armor, and his mask covers one eye. His voice is pure evil…"
"We know who you're talking about. His name is Slade. We've been after him for a couple years." Robin told her.
Vagare nodded, and brought her hands up to massage her headache away, when her eyes shot open. "Where the hell are my glasses?" She asked in a concerned voice.
Starfire stepped up, holding her hands up, "I'm sorry my friend, we couldn't save your glasses." She lowered her head as if to morn the loss.
Vagare stared at the remains of her glasses in utter shock. Her breath hitched as she slowly reached for the glasses and cradled them.
"I'm going to have to go out and buy new glasses and a new outfit, this one is in tatters. Does someone know where the nearest mall is?" Vagare asked.
At the sound of the word 'mall', Starfire's eyes lit up. "YES! We shall journey to the mall of shopping for you. Oh joy!"
"I'll come with you too, just so you don't completely lose your mind." Lilith said.
"I'll come too. I have a couple of things that I want to talk to you about, Lilith." Raven said.
"Wonderful! We can do much of the hanging out!" Starfire squealed as she floated around in a circle.
"Umm, that's great, but could we get back to the plan before you all leave?" Robin asked.
Everyone turned their attention to Robin when he said this. Ex leaned towards Raven and asked, "Is he always like this?"
"Like what?" Raven responded in confusion.
"Like he has something shoved up his ass, making him all uptight." Ex stated trying to keep a straight face.
Raven laughed, and shook her head. "He's not always like this. He just usually gets like this when it comes to Slade."
The both laughed as they joined everyone else. Cyborg spoke up, "Vagare, did you see anyone else there with Slade?"
She closed her eyes to try to remember the night before. "Well, there was a skinny guy, that had a similar body to yours, Cyborg, but he was red, not blue. But other then that, I don't know."
Cyborg growled, "Brother Blood."
"So that means that Brother Blood joined forces with Slade." Robin stated. "I guess that means we're up against the Hive as well."
"What's so special about this Brother Blood?" Zaru asked.
"He can manipulate any of his opponents into working for him. So far, the only one to completely evade his power is myself." Cyborg stated. "So I guess I'll be taking him on alone then."
Gabya started to laugh. "Hey! What's so funny?" Cyborg yelled.
"You say that this guy can manipulate any of his opponents by controlling their minds right?" Cyborg nodded. "Then I should be able to back you up. No one can enter my mind with out becoming brain dead for a couple of days."
The Titans stared at him in shock. Then Lilith spoke up, "Gabya, I know you don't like talking about your past, but I think you should elaborate on this one for them."
"Fine." Gabya growled. "I have information that no living being, human, celestial, or even demon was ever meant to know. I keep it locked away in my brain, and I forget it."
"What is this information that would cause someone pain?" Starfire asked.
Gabya grinned, "It's the meaning of life." After the Titans were giving him inquisitive looks, he added, "Don't ask, or you'll see my less then holy side later."
They all nodded, then Robin turned to Raven and said, "I'm sure Slade will be coming after you, Raven, and Ex will probably have the biggest advantage over him, so you two will fight Slade."
Ex and Raven nodded and agreed to their appointed jobs. Ex was grinning as he thought; 'Finally, I can make that bastard pay for what he has done to my Raven.'
Robin then turned to Lilith and Zaru. "Because of your rather…unique…fighting styles, I want you two to take on all of the Slade-bots. So that way, you don't have to be hindered by holding back the kill."
Zaru and Lilith were happy that they didn't have to alter their fighting. The two thought at the same time, 'I get to destroy shit. I guess this fight won't be a complete waste of time.'
Then Robin continued, "Starfire, Beastboy, and I will take on the Hive students." Starfire and Beastboy nodded. Robin then turned to Vagare. "I'm not too sure where I want you to fight yet. When you get back from the mall, you'll run a few obstacle courses, and we'll go from there."
"I want to take on this Slade for what he has done to me!" Vagare argued, not happy with the leaders decision.
Robin shook his head, "I want to see who you work best with, and you'll join that team." He said with authority.
She sat there for a little bit then finally said, "Fine, but I'm not going to like not having a shot at that bastard."
"I never said you wouldn't have a shot at him. I'm going to place you with whoever you work best with. So there is a chance you could face him." Robin told her.
"That's all fine and good, but can we get going now? We have a solid plan, and I'm just getting really bored." Lilith said in an uninterested tone.
"Fine, but don't take too long. We need to train for this upcoming battle." Robin stated.
"Let's go!" Lilith yelled, as she charged for the door, and the other girls ran after her so they weren't left behind.
Once they arrived to the garage, Lilith looked around, and noticed the Titan's car situation, or the lack thereof. "I know we don't need a car, but I don't feel like running right now." Lilith stated as she started to walk towards Cyborg's car. "Look's like we're going to take this, I hope no one minds." She said with a mischievous grin on her face.
"Cyborg might freak out if he finds out that you're taking his car." Raven stated.
"Well, if he didn't want anyone to drive his car, then why did he leave the keys right here on the wall?" "Lilith asked gesturing to the now empty key hook on the wall.
The others were in deep thought, then Raven broke the silence, "Good point. Lets get this over with. I don't want to spend all day at the mall."
(An hour later)
Vagare, with the help of the Titan's credit card, replaced her entire outfit, and got a couple extras as well. The first thing she got, were a pair of silver framed sunglasses, with red lenses, to replace her precious pair that was destroyed. She also got a couple of hair ties, to hold her unusually colored hair back into a tight ponytail.
Her hair is a deep crimson color at the base, and it resembles the color of blood, then it slowly fades to a deep midnight black at the tips.
The next thing she got, was a skintight, blood red tank top that was slightly covered by a pitch-black button up shirt. Then, a pair of midnight black flares donned her legs. Finally to complete her look a pair of black Converse shoes replaced the tattered pair that once donned her feet.
Raven and Lilith finished shopping after the first half an hour, so they were forced to follow the other two girls from store to store. Watching the other two shop for an extra half an hour was too much for Lilith. She grabbed Raven and walked towards the food court.
"I'm getting bored, come and find us when you two are finally finished." She called out the Starfire and Vagare. The aforementioned girls seemed to be far from complete with their shopping.
Lilith dragged Raven all the way to the food court, where they found a few empty tables and got something to drink. For several minutes, there was a comfortable silence between the two. Lilith was the first to break that silence.
"So, you said that you had something you wanted to talk to me about?" Lilith asked.
"Yeah, that was mainly just to get away from Robin when he was in his 'capture Slade' mode." Upon a questioning stare from Lilith, Raven added, "And, I wanted to get to know you a little better."
"Oh, ok. That's good. I wanted to get to know you better too. What do you want to know?" Lilith asked in an excited tone.
"Well for starters, what do the piercings and scars on your body really mean? I don't think they are really for show, are they?" Raven asked timidly.
"Well, actually the piercings are just a part of cat demon culture. The scars however, are my marks. They symbolize things like my family lineage, my clan and things of that sort. They also tell others that I'm an assassin. That's really all there is to them." Lilith stated plainly. "What about you, what's your story?"
Raven took a deep breath, "Well, I'm half demon. My mother was raped by Trigon the Terrible, a horrible demon who is Lucifer's right hand man. I've had to keep my emotions in check all of my life, in fear that my father would use them against me." Raven said. "Then there's Slade. He was killed by a former Titan, but he was resurrected by my father to fulfill the prophecy."
"Which prophecy is that?" Lilith asked curiosity.
"If my father is able to manipulate me, I will become the portal that my father uses to come and destroy the earth." Raven stated grimly.
"Prophecy, prophecy. It's all the goddamn prophecy's fault that you're in danger, right?" Lilith leaned her head in her hand and looked at Raven over the rim of her coffee cup.
"Basically, yes. If I succumb to my father's control, I will be forced to open a portal with my magic that would allow him to come to this realm and destroy it."
The cat demon leaned back in her chair and reached one clawed finger up under the edge of her knit cap to scratch her scalp.
"So if your mind and your demon blood were to change in such a way that you were unrecognizable to your father, he would have no hold over you. Is that correct?"
"Yes, I suppose so." Raven answered, her husky voice sounding a bit confused. "But how on earth could I change my mind like that, let alone my blood?"
Lilith sighed deeply, then leaned forward and took Raven's hand in her own, careful not to cut the other girl with her claws.
"I might have a way, but it's very, very dangerous, and I can't talk about it here. I can tell you when we get home."
"Ok, but why not here? No one can hear us." Raven gestured around the food court with her free hand. She was very eager to hear a way she might be freed from her father's control.
"There are monsters here, Raven."
"You mean demons-"
"No!" Lilith cut her off, her golden eyes dilated like she was hunting, her tail bushed out and flicking in agitation. "Monsters, and they have been sent here by your father. If they heard what I have to say, if they knew about the ritual, all would be lost. Do you understand me? We're not just talking about you and Exile anymore, or even the fate of Earth. We are talking about existence as we know it."
Raven sat very still, held in thrall by the demon woman's spell of words. There was no telling how long they might have sat there, had a cheerful voice not broken the trance.
"The mall of shopping is a wonderful place, is it not, Friend Vagare?"
Raven jumped at the sound, and Lilith whipped her head around, claws sinking deep into the metal table as though it were butter. Vagare flinched and took a step back, recognizing another predator when she saw one. She cleared her throat and spoke in what she hoped was a normal tone of voice.
"Um, yeah, Starfire. It's great."
"Are we…are we ready to go, then?" Raven asked, and when she got nods, stood up from the table. She looked back at Lilith to find the older woman with her eyes shut, nose raised to the air. Suddenly, those golden eyes snapped open, and she fixed them on a teenage boy ambling across the far side of the food court.
"There. We've got to go."
"What do you-" Vagare started, then flinched again as the cat demon grabbed her arm and Raven's and began to haul them toward the exits at a breakneck pace. Starfire followed behind as quickly as she could, being laden with bags.
"Now! Don't fucking argue, don't fucking question, just haul your ass!"
Lilith got them all into Cyborg's car, and floored it out of the parking lot, taking a left turn so hard the car skidded along on two wheels for a second. Vagare, Starfire, and assorted bags and boxes flew around in the backseat. Raven scrabbled for her seatbelt, terrified of the older woman for the first time since they'd met.
"Lilith, where's the fire? Are you trying to get us killed!"
"I'm trying to save you!" Lilith snarled back, jerking the wheel to the right. "One of those bastards saw us, and they're on our tail!"
Her tail pointed over her shoulder out the back window. Raven looked, and gasped. There appeared to be three large, vaguely dragon like shapes following them through the air.
After a seemingly endless chase through the heart of the city, crashing over bridges and through buildings, Lilith finally declared: "I think we lost them." She slowed the car to a crawl, and peered into the backseat. "Everyone alive back there?"
"Yeah, no thanks to you." Vagare muttered, and Lilith growled, making the hair on the falcon's neck stand up.
Lilith sighed after a second, and dropped the car into drive again. "Let's get home."
When they arrived at Titan Tower, the men were waiting for them, and were horrified as they relayed the story.
Zaru pulled Lilith into his arms and purred to her as the others rejoiced that everyone was okay.
"What are we going to do? He sent monsters after her, he's got to be serious about getting her to help him."
"I know a way." Lilith muttered into his chest, and he pulled away, grabbing her chin and shaking his head.
"Oh, no. You can't be thinking what I think you are." When her expression didn't change, he threw up his hands in frustration. "Lilith, you of all people know how dangerous the ritual is!"
"It's the only way, can't you see that?" She snarled, and turned her back on him. He put his hands on her shoulders, and she allowed him. "I need you, you big stupid lug. You know the male's words, I don't."
Zaru heaved a deep sigh behind her. "If you really think it's the only way…"
"It is. You know it."
"All right. I'll help."
Lilith turned and kissed his cheek, then clapped her hands sharply for attention.
"We need to talk to Raven and Exile, and we need a secure place to do it."
Robin stepped forward. "The briefing room should suit. Come on, this way."
He led them to the small ovoid room, everyone else trailing behind. Once there, Lilith
gently closed the door in their faces.
"This is not for your ears. Please go somewhere else."
Starfire blinked in confusion. "Is Friend Lilith angry with us?"
Robin thought a moment, then shook his head.
"No Star, I don't think so. But something important and dangerous is going on, and that can make people act oddly. Come on, guys." He led his team away.
Inside the briefing room, Lilith gestured for everyone to sit down, and took a chair herself, folding her hands in front of her. She took a few moments to compose herself, and then began to speak.
"In mating, a pair is bound together for life, by forces no one completely understands. They are completely devoted to each other, and all that is needed to seal it is a mark."
Lilith pulled the collar of her tee shirt away from her neck to show the younger pair the twin crescents of scar tissue where her neck met her shoulder. Raven looked over at Zaru with wide eyes only to see an identical mark on his shoulder.
"We are mated." He said, his voice deep and laced with a seriousness Raven had never heard, and Exile had heard only very rarely. "But we are not twinned, and we never will be."
"Twinned?" Raven whispered, but Lilith shook her head.
"There is a state higher than mates. You come to resemble one another, you smell like each other, even your blood changes to more closely resemble your partner. In effect, neither of you are exactly who you were before the twinning. This is why I think it will work to free you from your father's control, Raven. If you are not exactly Raven anymore, your father will have nothing to grab hold of."
"Tell us how it works." Exile shot out of his seat, excited.
"Don't jump in so eagerly, little brother." Zaru leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
"The ritual used to become twinned is very dangerous. There is a substantial risk of death, and even more common is insanity. Only three of ten attempts to twin are successful, and frankly, with beings in possession of as much power as you two, the threat of insanity is worse than death. If it were unsuccessful, we would have to put you down."
Exile and Raven sat stunned at the words delivered in Lilith's calm, sad tone. After a moment, Exile reached out and took Raven's hand, gripping it tightly.
"But if it's the only way to free you from your father…do you want to try?"
The sorceress considered for a long moment. "I would give anything to be free of him." She turned to the older demons, who were looking at her with sad resignation.
"I want to try."
Lilith sighed and nodded as though that was what she expected, and she wasn't happy about it.
"The magic in the ritual is old, older than the demon clans themselves. Ten days are needed for preparation, and the ritual itself must be performed on a full moon night." She cocked a sardonic eyebrow at them. "And you must be mates first, and have been mates for longer than two days. It wouldn't be safe to perform the ritual before the full moon three months from now."
"Three months!" Exile yelled. "But her father could harm her by then! I won't allow it!"
Before Exile knew it, he was pinned to the far wall by his furious, snarling older brother.
"Don't tell me what you will and won't allow, pup. This is not some game we're playing. If you want her to have any chance of survival, you'll give it the time it needs."
Zaru dropped him and slammed out of the room, leaving Lilith shaking her head.
"You two know how to become mates. I'd start talking about it if I were you."
She left the room, following her mate to wherever he went to brood.
Exile gathered a trembling Raven into his arms and held her for what seemed like hours.
Once Raven had stopped trembling, she transported them out of the briefing room, so they could be alone and discuss the situation at hand.
The Titans jumped when Zaru stormed into the room, snarling. He walked straight through the room where they were located, and went straight to the training room to work off some frustration.
Shortly after Zaru walked through the room, Lilith came through, but her expression was much more somber then her mate's was. She didn't even look at the Titans as she walked past, she just walked out of the room, and into the direction that Zaru had taken.
At the present appearance of his comrades, Gabya muttered, "So they decided to do it…"
Robin turned to Gabya, "Who decided to do what?" he asked.
By this time, all of the Titans turned to Gabya to hear the explanation.
Gabya lowered his head, "I'm not a demon, so I don't know all that much about this particular ritual." He took a deep breath before he continued. "But what I do know is that if it is successful, Exile and Raven would change, both physically and spiritually, making it impossible for her father to take advantage of her ever again."
"That is wonderful! But why did friends Lilith and Zaru seem so upset about it?" Starfire questioned.
"Yeah! That would be awesome, why are they all depressed about it?" Beastboy added.
Gabya looked up, to face them, "Because, this ritual is one of the most dangerous and one of the oldest rituals in existence." He stated.
"How dangerous are we talking about here? Robin asked.
"If the ritual is performed with even the slightest flaw, they risk almost certain death." Gabya stated, and the four Titan's eyes widened in horror. "And knowing those two, Lilith and Zaru are going to be coaching them through it. I would advise that you leave them be on this. Once they start the ritual, stopping would lead to either death, or a complete loss of sanity"
In the training room, a lone punching bag became Zaru's prey. He attacked it without mercy, and just when Lilith walked up from behind him, the once brand-new punching bag was in pieces all over the room.
Without turning around, Zaru asked, "Do you think they can pull it off?"
"It's hard to say. They would have to be in perfect sync with one the other, and have complete trust for the other." Lilith answered, "But…that rarely ever happens."
"You know as well as I do that only three months of being mates before attempting this is damn near impossible." Zaru added. "Plus we have to worry about anyone finding out that they're attempting this, and interrupting it. We need to talk with the others, and explain the importance that it isn't interfered with."
"Gabya just gave them the basics of the Twinning ritual. We need to guard them throughout the entire process, no matter what Ex says." Lilith told him.
"And if he even complains about having all of us guard him throughout this whole ritual, he going to get it…" Zaru growled.
Lilith couldn't hold back her laughter at the weak threat. Zaru soon joined her, and all of his pent up frustration had finally slowly left laughing at his own expense.
On the roof, Ex was still holding Raven. Her face was buried in his neck, when he raised her face to his own, and kissed her lightly.
Once they had broken apart, Raven looked into his eyes, "Do you think Lilith was telling the truth about our chances if we do this?"
Ex nodded, "She may be eccentric, but she would never, ever kid around about something as serious as this."
"Oh…." Raven started, and took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you think we can pull it off?"
Ex thought for a moment, "I honestly feel that we will pull through this." He said with a soft smile.
"That's exactly what I needed to hear." Raven said as she buried her face into the nape of his neck.
They stayed like that for a long period of time, when something that Lilith said earlier snaked its way back into Raven's mind.
Raven pulled away from Ex, and looked at him. "Ex?"
"Yeah?"
"Would our chances of success increase if we were mates longer?" She asked, fighting the blush that was creeping onto her face.
"I would guess that could improve our chances." Ex said without thinking. After a few seconds, the realization of where Raven was going with that question made Ex blush. "Are you sure you want to do this so soon? We can wait if you don't…" He broke eye contact with her, and trailed off.
"Ex, I have never been so sure of something ever before in my life." Raven stated, making Ex look her in the eyes again.
Ex smiled, "I guess I should ask you properly then, shouldn't I?" He stated. Ex grabbed Raven's hand and kissed her softly, yet passionately.
Once they broke apart, he looked into her eyes, "Raven, will you be my mate?"
Once he asked, she smiled wholeheartedly as she yelled, "Yes!" She jumped on him and knocked him to the roof in one felt swoop.
Ex braced for the impact that he thought would come from the roof, but only to feel himself pass through a very similar darkness. Once the darkness passed, they had appeared on Raven's bed.
Ex pulled Raven into a long passionate kiss, and that night, two tormented souls became intertwined. They had finally found the one thing that they were searching for, the one thing to make them become whole. Completed in both body and spirit, they had truly found their soul mates.
Elsewhere, in a hellish cavern, Slade knelt before a large flaming mark of Scath, the symbol of Trigon.
A thunderous voice sounded through the empty fiery caverns, laced with pure malice. "What is happening? I feel the hold I have on my gem slipping! Slade, find out what is causing the interference and destroy it!"
Slade bowed his head, "As you wish."
"Do it quickly. The time for the prophecy is drawing near!" The voice of Trigon yelled.