A/N: GETHSEMANE IS ONE OF THE BEST NIGHTWISH SONGS EVA! One of them mind, it's hard to chose a favorite from all these incredible songs.

PS: Forgot to put the escript of The Raven up first time I uploaded this, sorry!

XP

But the raven, sitting lonely on the placid bust, spoke only,
That one word, as if his soul in that one word he did outpour.
Nothing further then he uttered - not a feather then he fluttered -
Till I scarcely more than muttered Other friends have flown before -
On the morrow will he leave me, as my hopes have flown before.'
Then the bird said, Nevermore.'

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

XD

Toll no bell for me Father
But let this cup of suffering pass from me
Send me no shepherd to heal my world
But the Angel - the dream foretold
Prayed more than thrice for You to see
The wolf of loneliness in me
...not my own will but Yours be done...

You wake up where's the tomb?
Will Easter come, enter my room?
The Lord weeps with me
But my tears fall for you

Another Beauty
Loved by a Beast
Another tale of infinite dreams
Your eyes they were my paradise
Your smile made my sun rise

Forgive me for I don't know what I gain
Alone in this garden of pain
Enchantment has but one truth:
I weep to have what I fear to lose

You wake up where's the tomb?
Will Easter come, enter my room?
The Lord weeps with me
But my tears fall for you

"I knew you never before
I see you never more
But the love the pain the hope O beautiful one
Have made you mine 'till all my years are done"

Without you
The poetry within me is dead

"That's…and interesting song. Nightwish again?" Rorek asked.

"Yes. It's called Gethsemane." Raven answered, looking up from her book. "What's up?" She asked.

"Well, it's almost 9:30." He answered. Raven looked at her clock and smirked.

"Yes it is, but isn't it a little too soon?" She asked.

"Not for you. I'm going to make sure Malchior sees me leave at a different time." He answered.

"Um, you think we're, I dunno, over-planning this a little?" She questioned as she put her book up. "You think he'll get suspicious if we're too unsuspicious?" She asked.

"Uh…well, maybe, but let's hope he's too excited over the Shaving Cream War to notice anything else." He answered.

"Alright, let me get dressed and then I'll go." She said.

"Dressed?" Rorek questioned.

"We're going out aren't we? And you might as well wear that outfit Zacroma got you for public. Just tell them you want to blend in as much as possible if anyone asks." Raven told him.

"Ah, sounds like a good idea, okay. I'll leave in about fifteen minutes and meet you at Alabaster's." He told her, exiting her room.

Raven mentally locked the door and took a deep breath. She opened her closet and, almost cringing, pulled out the box, which contained Zacroma's reaction to the knowledge that they were going out. A little black dress.

She brushed her hair out, but decided to leave it down, and then put on a pair of small danging earrings with tear-drop shaped rhinestones in them. And then put on a matching necklace which rested about an inch above the neckline of her dress. She put on her white cloak, made sure everything was hidden, and finally walked downstairs.

"I'll be at Alabaster's until the chaos has passed." She called. She heard a few grunts, and caught sight of Zacroma in the living room, who gave her a small, nearly unnoticeable wink, before she flew down the stairs, and then out of the tower.

She could hardly believe she'd just done that without any problems. Well, they did know she was going out for all this already, and it was normal for her, and pretty much everyone else, to just call out that they were leaving, which was oddly less often than you'd expect as a lot of them got schedules that didn't make them work every day of the week like she did. So this was just like another day, they knew she was leaving, she told them when she did, and then she left. Simple.

Rorek was going to have a much harder time escaping and making it seem like a casual getaway, but he seemed to have it planned, so, if all went well, Malchior need never know they went out.

Yeah right. There was a 1 in a ten thousand chance that that was going to happen. Besides, when it was over they wouldn't need any more secrecy, just another completely different plan of action if ever they wanted to do this again.

The waxing moon shone overhead, but it was little needed. Big City lights always granted Raven a little more than the required light to direct her flight to Alabaster's. On she flew, over the familiar billboard signs, office buildings, and skyscraper apartments, with her eyes finding all the familiar parks along the way, a group of teenagers were hanging out around the swing set of a particularly large one, probably just hanging out. And then, as she began to descend, there was the familiar violet glow of Alabaster's nighttime sign. She landed just outside the shop and went in, the familiar incense greeted her nose, as did Justin's sulky face at the front counter.

"Hey." Justin said, waving when he saw her. "'Sup?" He asked, noticing the nice dress beneath her cloak.

"Mmm, first date." She answered with a shrug as the cloak fell back over her body.

"Malchior or Rorek?" he asked.

Raven blinked, "You know about all that?" She asked.

"Yeah. Elsa couldn't go a day without bringing up theories on the subject. She talks to much, it's really annoying." He drawled, looking as though he'd like to go to bed.

"She is, but she's not a bad person, just…out there." Raven said.

"Hang on." Justin rose his hand, and then he went to help the customers that were lining up on the other side.

While he was doing that, Raven looked around. Nothing was new, but the familiar atmosphere was calming. Currently the song playing was by a band called Lacuna Coil, one Raven had heard a few songs from, but had yet to buy the CD.

"So, who is it?" Justin came back.

"Huh? Oh, it's Rorek." She told him.

"Nervous?"

"No, not really."

"That him?" He asked, nodding to the door.

Raven turned her head, sure enough there was Rorek, who, on account of having no scarf over his face, had swiftly put a hand over his nose and mouth, his eyes watering as he looked around for Raven. He was wearing a pair of rather tight-fitting jeans, and an equally tight black T-shirt with a silver dragon on the front. Zacroma had definitely known what she was doing, and Raven's face was growing hot because of it. Fighting the blush, she waved him over. "Yeah, that's him." She answered.

"He's cute." Raven's eyes widened to a considerable size, and turned to look at Justin. The smallest sliver of a grin was playing upon his lips, "That's what's called a joke." He said.

"You call it a joke, I call it, me reevaluating my entire perception of you." Raven said. He was unable to keep the snicker from escaping his lips.

"Hey, I," Rorek began, but had to cough a few times, "need to get out of here before I pass out." He finished.

"Sorry, forgot about the incense. Okay, quick introduction, Rorek, Justin, Justin, Rorek. He's my co-worker, he's my date." Raven said swiftly.

"Hi." Justin said. Rorek could only cough out something that resembled a 'hello' in response. "Have fun, I guess." He said. They bid goodbye and swiftly walked out of the shop.

"Alright, I think I can get rid of this now. Sorry, I didn't think about your nose." Raven said, banishing her cloak back to her room in the tower, so now she was just wearing the dress. "Um, Rorek?"

The moment she got rid of the cloak, he couldn't take his eyes off her. Only once before had he seen Raven in a dress, and that was a very long, flowing gown with a rather modest neckline. But this was different, even from the one outfit Starfire had talked her into that one time back when he was still on shaky terms with her. It was sleek, and went down to her knees, but had slits in the sides that showed a few more inches of her shapely legs. The top part had a rather low collar, with a sort of gathered cloth pinned around it for decoration, being clasped to her right shoulder by a black rose decoration. The sleeves clung to her arms and gradually flared down from her elbow to her wrists. She had on just enough jewelry to be noticed, which seemed to be the perfect amount for her, and had even put on a pair of high-heel shoes for the occasion.

Next to her, Rorek felt like he should have worn a princely tunic instead of the common garb he had been stuck in.

Raven waved her hand over Rorek's eyes to get his attention. "What? Oh, sorry!" He gasped, realizing that he had been staring rudely.

"That's okay, just making sure you're still there." She snickered, taking his arm and steering him on down the walkway.

"Raven, you look beautiful! I mean, well, you always look beautiful but this, I don't think I've ever seen you so dressed up before." He babbled, still unable to take his eyes off her.

"Yeah, well, mall-addict Zacroma strikes again. I think Starfire's enjoyed her addition the most because now she has a willing victim for 'girl time'." Raven responded. "You don't look that bad yourself." She added, after glancing at him as well. Rorek relaxed when he saw the light blush on her cheeks. Maybe he wasn't too bad in comparison.

"Thanks, but I think from now on I should be the one giving the compliments. Isn't that how it works?" He asked, smiling.

"You know what? Let's forget about Starfire and Zacroma's 'date lessons' and do things our own way from here on in. So, where do you want to go first?" Raven asked.

"Hm…you know I've been meaning to check out these 'museums' you have, they sound very interesting from what I've been able to gather." He answered.

"Well, I think there's only two that are still open, we'll go to the one that closes at 10:30 first and then the one that closes at midnight for a while. Here, hang on a moment, its far so I'll need to teleport us there." She said, stopping them. She held onto Rorek's hand and closed her eyes, being sure to fix the exact location in her mind before performing the spell.

XD

It was 11:30 at night, streets were dark in spite of the illumination the streetlamps offered, so still it was hard to see clearly the couple that walked out of the Antiquity Museum. However, both Raven and Rorek's eyes were no strangers to darkness, and could see clearly, though others might not.

It wasn't at all like being in a museum with any of the other titans, of course, usually the only reason they'd set foot in one is if you had a rampaging lunatic steeling and/or destroying stuff in it. With Rorek, however, Raven was able to enjoy it as she was suppose to. Relaxing, yet contemplating and admiring works of art and pieces of history that had much significance. She especially enjoyed the one Hangman tapestry which was said to be a real man cursed to hang in the tapestry forever. In the slightly blinking florescent lights it actually seemed as though the man in the tapestry was moving a bit. That's how astonishing the mastery was.

Rorek had probably enjoyed it more than she did though. She had to drag him out of the first museum because he just couldn't seem to stop staring at one of the portraits that depicted a single slender hand clutching an intricate silver cross. And then in the second when they found a white dress that was thought to be over 5 hundred years old laying in a sealed case. Even Raven had to admire that one. It looked to be made out of a fine silk, embroidered with tiny diamonds and decorated with slips of an indistinct transparent cloth. It was something Raven wouldn't have minded wearing, even though it probably would neither look good on her, nor fit her for that matter.

But they agreed that, while the night was still young in comparison to the time they still had, it would be a good idea to use it wisely and visit somewhere else.

"So, what now?" Rorek asked her.

"Hm, well, there is a really nice park a quarter of a mile that way. It's really nice in spite of the metropolitan environment. I bet the woods will be nice to take a stroll through, especially at night." She answered.

"Alright, let's go."

Once again, Raven closed her eyes to focus on their destination, and once again found herself and Rorek in the exact spot she'd wanted to be at. It was getting much easier to do that the more times she tried. It use to be rather hard to teleport more than one person like that.

"Wow, look at that." Rorek breathed, pointing across the lake. Raven looked, and smiled. There was Jump City Bridge, probably a mile away across the water, but yet they could still see it, the lights dancing merrily in the restless waters, and the stars seemed to be playing about it. A good ways past the bridge was the T-Tower, but they weren't exactly at an angle to see it very well. The only reason they could see the bridge was because they were standing close to the edge of a small section of the lake that ran into the park, and there were no trees to block it from view.

"Pretty, but I wish we could see more stars. Natural beauty is always so much nicer. But there are too many city lights and pollution, so the stars are only visible in the best weather." She sighed.

"Its sad what the age of man had done. Some things are amazing and wonderful, but it seems, more often than not, everything has a negative side to it." Rorek mused.

"Come on, let's enjoy what little is left of nature in this part of the world." Raven suggested, steering him over to a path that would lead them into the woods and away from the city lights.

For a while, they merely walked side-by-side, silently enjoying the other's company and warmth. The cool night air seemed to keep the mood sweet, while the moon above, though not exactly full, cast down its rays all the same, doing its best to make the night romantic as well.

"Raven?" Rorek whispered, finally breaking the silence.

"Hm?" Raven asked.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why…why do you always keep your arms covered like that?" He asked. Raven stopped walking, and so did he. The lamp above them was giving the scene far too much light, but really, there was no getting around it.

Raven bit her lip, "I…um…" She tried to speak, but she couldn't. She couldn't look him in the face. Surely he knew, after all, she remembered when he'd found out, when Robin had told him, he had to know why…what was there.

"I mean, I see a lot of girls without sleeves sometimes, Starfire for example, and Zacroma also have varying outfits, not all have sleeves. But it seems like everything you where is just, well. I mean, I don't mind it, I was just wondering if it was something to do with you not liking the way your arms looked bare." He babbled, sensing something wrong

"It's, they don't look good, without sleeves." She answered, shifting a bit.

"Raven? Is, did I offend you somehow?" Rorek asked in worry.

"No, no it's not that it's just…don't you know?" She questioned, looking up at him.

"Know…what?" He asked, staring at her blankly.

Raven fingered the edge of the sleeve and then, deciding to just get it over with, pulled it back. Immediately Rorek began to splutter apologies. "Oh my, Raven I am so sorry! I-I wasn't thinking I forgot, I didn't mean—"

"It's okay." She told him, pulling the sleeve back down.

"No, its not, I should have known! I should have remembered, I can't believe I—I just, I shouldn't have even asked! I mean it was stupid and—" He exclaimed, still going, his face red with shame.

"No, Rorek it's alright. They don't…it's not that big of a deal anymore. I mean, well, most of them left when I became a demon, they healed, and the rest are fading swiftly. Eventually they'll disappear, but…well that's why I wear sleeves. I don't want to show them until every scar has disappeared." She told him.

"I, I see. Still, I'm really sorry. I should have known, I mean…well, I guess I thought they'd disappeared by now or something and I…well, I really don't have any business in that and—"

"Rorek! It is okay, let's just drop the subject now. Alright?" She interrupted.

"Okay." He answered, letting out a deep breath. He resumed his place beside her, put his arm around her shoulders, and they resumed their walk. "That Justin, your co-worker, he didn't seem to like me much did he?" Rorek asked.

Raven blinked and looked at him. "What brought this on?" She asked. He just shrugged.

"I don't know, really, it just came to mind for some reason." He answered.

"Oh, well, I seriously doubt he doesn't like you, he just doesn't talk very much. That's how he is to everyone. He's the polar opposite of Elsa if you want to think about it that way." She told him.

"Ah, I see, not very social?" He asked.

"No."

"Where is Elsa by the way?" He questioned.

"She's on a vacation, probably permanent if all goes well. Her ex-now-current-boyfriend somehow got his boss to allow her on the set of some movie, so if that works out for her and she just seems to shine like a beacon, she might get some offers and become an actress. Frankly I think she'd be best suited for that kind of job, she just needs to learn how to school her facial features better." Raven answered.

"Yes, I think she would be good, from what I've gathered anyway." He snickered.

"Mmmm, wanna sit down?" She asked, suddenly noticing there was a park bench along the walk.

"Sure." Rorek answered with a nod.

The metal bench was cool, and looked nice, but wasn't much for comfort. There was a street lamp just beside it, giving them, once again, far more light than was really necessary. Rorek's arm was still around her shoulders, and he seemed to just be enjoying the moment with her, but there was a familiar ache making itself known just beneath her navel. Raven's heart was starting to beat swiftly, the situation was almost perfect now. She waited, but Rorek didn't do anything, he was just staring into space. Slightly irritated, she decided to move closer.

Thankfully, Rorek wasn't stupid and got the hint swiftly. He slipped his arm down a little from her shoulders so that it was more of a hug, and brought his other arm around, its hand holding the small of her back. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers. She met him part of the way, slipping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

They massaged each others lips with their own, both of them becoming caught up in the moment as the kiss became more passionate, deeper. The little space left between them was lessened even more as somehow Raven ended up sitting on Rorek's lap.

Daringly, Rorek began to lick her lips with the tip of his tongue, just a little. Raven retaliated by doing the same, and soon it was becoming less surface oriented, and a lot more heated. Granted, it still wasn't anywhere near what Malchior would be doing right now if she'd done this with him, but it was farther than they had gone before. And this time, there was no one around to interrupt them, no one around to ogle and giggle silently from just around the edge of her doorway, it was just them.

"Hey, hey, hey! What do we have here?" jeered a loud, haughty voice that practically shattered the entire thing.

Raven and Rorek broke apart, looked at the three big men who'd interrupted, and then at each other. "I'm going to kill them, any objections?" Raven asked.

"A little temperamental right now, aren't we?" Rorek asked, sweatdropping nervously.

"Yes." She answered, swinging herself off his lap and onto the ground.

"Who-ho-ho, looks like the little girl wants to play!" Laughed the one with the spiky red hair and nose-ring.

"This little girl is going to send you to another dimension unless you apologize right now and be on your way." She hissed. Her eyes began to glow white, as always, and she brought her hands up to her chest to summon her black and white lightening. Now she had their attention.

"What tha f—"

"I don't know what that is, but you'd better turn it off, missy." Hissed one with a mop of dark brown hair. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her, the rest followed suit.

"Raven!" Rorek exclaimed in concern.

"It's okay, this time I see them." Raven answered.

"No! The ground!" He cried. Startled, Raven looked down, her eyes widened.

"GET OUT OF THE CIRCLE!" She yelled shrilly, speaking to their assailants as much as herself and Rorek. But it was too late.

"Tut, tut, Avelona. You know this new temper you've acquired is definitely going to be your downfall. Dear me, what would your mother say?" Tisked the voice that made Raven bristle as an automatic well of anger and hatred rose inside of her.

Raven stared down at the ground, now stone, and then the walls, which where nothing but huge murals. Judora was nowhere to be seen, and neither was an exit.

XD

Robin stared avidly, looking from face to face, from foam-covered body to foam-covered body. He shifted around a bit uncomfortably, peering and trying as best he could to make an accurate decision. But when every single one of the contestants is covered from head to foot in foam, most of which being all over the place, it was hard to decide who was the winner.

"Okay, I have a question before I decide." He said.

"What's that?" They all asked at the same time.

"Who got Malchior?" He asked. Malchior glowered at him, which wasn't vary effective as he had what resembled a shaving cream mustache covering his face. Zacroma on the other hand, grinned from ear to ear and raised her hand. "How?" Robin asked.

"Heheh, well, see I hid along one of the corridors I knew he would be coming down, mostly because he saw me going that way and had targeted me specifically from the beginning, but anyway, so I waited, and the moment he sneakily turned the corner I was there, and I jumped him with an iron chain. After that I made sure I had every inch of him covered before I took it off, and then ran for my life." She answered.

"You know, the only reason iron effects me at all is because I am, for the time being, merely a dark dragon. If I was an Ebony dragon or a Gray dragon, that trick wouldn't have worked." He informed them all pointedly.

"Zacroma still wins." Robin said.

"BOO-YA!" She cheered.

"But she cheated!" Beast Boy yelled. "Iron binds fey, WE CAN'T MAKE IRON STUFF ON A SPUR OF THE MOMENT THING!"

"I didn't cheat! I thought I made the rules quite clear, and there was nothing in the rules against using one's special talents to win! Except for magic because Malchior doesn't need magic." Zacroma answered.

"I COULDN'T USE MAGIC WHILE BOUND WITH IRON YOU TRAMP!" Malchior yelled.

"OH WELL! I STILL WIN YO! And youuuuuu, have to wear a pink frilly apron! HAHA! WHO'S THE GOD OF SHAVING CREAM NOW!" Zacroma cried in victory.

"I hate you." Malchior muttered darkly.

"No you don't, you're just trying to make me feel better." She argued.

"What?"

"Uh, by the way! Has anyone seen Rorek and Raven? You'd think they'd be back by now." Beast Boy interrupted.

"Yeah, where'd they go anyway? I know Raven was going to Alabaster's, but where would Rorek go?" Malchior questioned.

"Hm, they must not be back from their date yet." Zacroma said casually.

"Oh, well that would expla—THEY'RE WHAT!" Malchior rounded, as he suddenly realized just what Zacroma's words meant.

"What? You mean you didn't know they were going out? Oops." Zacroma said, in a voice and air that was far too innocent.

"You," Malchior hissed, bearing down upon her. "You, you planned this all along, you were in on this! That's why you did this—it was all a setup! I was wondering why you and Rorek were getting chummy all of the sudden. You traitor!" He accused, jabbing his finger at her.

"Oh come on, can you honestly say that you'd let them go out alone like this if you even got the slightest inkling that there was anything going on? We had to distract you somehow." Zacroma said.

"No I can not honestly say I would, because I wouldn't, and won't! Rotten little prick, when I get my hands on him…" Malchior said, muttering as he turned on his heel to the door.

"Not so fast!" Zacroma called, zooming around him several times before he realized what was going on, and by then it was too late. "You're not going anywhere." She said, 'tying' off the iron chain she'd wrapped around him by molding the last two links together. She then sat on top of him.

"What are you doing!" Malchior demanded.

"Exploiting your weakness. What do you think I'm doing? Oh, yeah, and I'm keeping you from ruining Raven and Rorek's romantic evening." She answered.

"You know, I would be laughing if I wasn't so afraid of what Malchior would do to me after Zacroma lets him go." Cyborg whispered.

"You kidding? I'm scared of what he's going to do to her." Beast Boy replied.

"That's right! You push poor Rorek aside so much, that we cannot stand by and watch as he is refused his own time with Raven simply because he's more of the gentleman!" Starfire interjected enthusiastically.

"You're all against me, aren't you?" He demanded.

"Um, for the record, neither of us had any idea what was going on, so we're not apart of it." Cyborg came up. Robin was about to say something too, but then something else caught his attention.

"Well then, I guess I see who my real friends are." Malchior snorted.

Everyone stared blankly, except for Robin who'd left the room.

"What?" Malchior asked when he realized that they were all looking at him strangely.

"You just…you just admitted that we're your friends." Zacroma said, for all the world as though someone she had a crush on just proclaimed his undying love for her.

"What! I did not!" Malchior retorted, suddenly realizing his fatal error.

"It's the apocalypse man. It's happening I tell you." Cyborg said to Beast Boy.

"What a glorious day it is sir Malchior! I am overflowing with joy that I must—" But what Starfire must do, no one ever found out because the next moment Robin burst back into the room.

"Zacroma untie Malchior now! This is an emergency! Raven and Rorek have just been kidnapped by Judora!" He yelled.

Everyone gasped, faces paled in fear. But none looked more terrified than Malchior.

XP

A/N: MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EVIL CLIFFHANGER! FEEL MY NOT NICENESS PUNY MORTALS (and immortals too because you can't be immune to not niceness unless you have a lobotomy) FOR I HAVE LEFT YOU HANGING BY A SINGLE ROOT FROM THE TREE THAT HAS BEEN PERCHED CONVENIENTLY ON THE VERY EDGE OF THIS CLIFF AND AM LOOKING DOWN AT YOU LAUGHING MANIACALLY. Until either tomorrow or Wednesday when I update again anyways…probably tomorrow, SO YOU WILL NOT BE HANGING LONG AND I DON'T KNOW WHY I FIND THIS AMUSING AS THIS WOULD BRING YOU HAPPINESS!

Okay, now before I'm put in a straight jacket, on to the reviews!

Fire and Ice equals Slush: Interesting name…ahem, anyways! Yeah, now that they're merging faster than they had originally anticipated (heheh), there might be a little bit of freaky stuff going on with their personalities. Heheh.

Sakadora: Well, you know I got to end it sometime otherwise, well, it'll loose my attention and then I won't be able to continue and, well, it'll be bad. But don't worry, this one looks like it'll be longer than Spellbinder, so there's more to come. Thanks so much for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it and hope to see you again on my reviews! (PS: Yes I am a fiend, I am the great and powerful dragon Rhea Hiryuu! Muahahahaha!)

Dark Ki: Lol! Yeah, sounds like they would do that! And then when they're all standing there, watching as Zacroma walks down the isle, Cyborg's gonna be like, "I still think they're putting us on."

Technogirl: Huh? What? Split what up? Who? I have no idea what you're asking, could you elaborate please?

Crimsonsun-rk: Heheheh, you have no idea.

Troubled-ego: YES! ANOTHER CONVERT! Welcome sister (or brother, not sure which, sorry), we have been expecting you.

Well, I think that's all I have to say except, ON TO THE NEXT CHAPTER! (Starts typing)