Spellfire Chapter 12: Tainted Blood, a teen titans fanfic

A/N: I could put something random and funny right here…but my mind is drawing a blank when it comes to the witty, so you get this: AAAAAAAHHHH! MY TAIL'S ON FIRE! AAAAAAHHHHH!

But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling,
Straight I wheeled a cushioned seat in front of bird and bust and door;
Then, upon the velvet sinking, I betook myself to linking
Fancy unto fancy, thinking what this ominous bird of yore -
What this grim, ungainly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore
Meant in croaking Nevermore.'

The Raven, By Edgar Allan Poe

Darkness seemed to press down on all sides, swallowing any light which might have been, and seeming to stifle the sounds of four sets of feet, running through the hall. But she could see perfectly, this was her element, this was where she belonged. A true creature of the darkness, she had no need to be afraid, no reason to hesitate. Only those three behind her, one of which granting his fellows and himself light enough to keep up, kept her from running as fast as she would have liked to.

So far, no priests, so far, the corridor was disserted. Not even the scent of Judora and her accursed snake polluted the area. But it wasn't long before Raven's nostrils picked up Blood Priests. She stopped when the light from the next room could be seen in the hall, and motioned for Daniel to turn off his light. He did so, and silently they crept over to the edge of the wall. And then they peered around the corner.

These walls were like murals as well, though not so much as the last room, and the things they depicted weren't half as grotesque. But the same circle had been drawn on the floor in blood, and twelve priests were standing in strategic places around it. Tall candle holders were set at each individual point, all six of them bearing a candle shaped like a red skull, and blazing with a black flame. The priests were singing prayer in the demonic language Raven heard Judora chanting in. In the center of them was a small boy, sitting down with his legs clutched to his chest, and weeping uncontrollably. Raven leered, Oh no you don't! She thought.

She waited for the second when the priests would draw breath for the next verse, and then practically flew in. She went straight for the leading priest first, ripping his head right off his shoulders before he had time to assess what was going on. She scooped up the boy and flew him out of the circle while the three guys began to experiment with their newfound abilities by joining in the fight.

It was probably the element of surprise that made this particular battle so easy, though the fact that the priests and priestesses, after seeing Raven was still after their blood (no pun intended), ran for their lives. And as this happened, Raven flew back into the middle of the circle and began to unstring the power that had been gathering when the ritual was begun. It wouldn't be a good idea to leave it all hanging and not canceled. After making sure the blood on the floor wasn't going to be detrimental to her state of mind, she began absorbing it, also putting out the black flames and destroying the candles.

"This is cool so far, but I'm still hoping this is all a dream." Said Michael.

"Hey kid, you okay?" Shade asked, helping the boy back to his feet.

"He hasn't been physically injured, but he is far from 'okay'." Raven snapped, smearing some of the symbols that had been drawn on the ground with ashes instead of blood. "They were about to use him to summon a higher demon, which would have used his body to make its own flesh. And I'm fairly certain he knew exactly what was going on too." The boy nodded dumbly, tears still streaming down his eyes.

Raven pulled off her cloak and gave it to him so he could cover himself up. "Yeah, but now we have him to deal with as well." Shade said.

"You keep hold of him, do it right and you can make him ephemeral as well." She said. She then came up to the boy, who was regarding her with both fear and admiration, and cupped his face gently in her hands. "When this is over, I will remove these bad memories for you." She told him. He nodded again, still unable to speak, and then hovered near Shade. The shadow-user complied, picking him up on his shoulders and waiting, with the rest, for Raven to make a decision on which door to take.

"This way." She said, coming do a decision. She took the door, which was bordered with demon children, and they found themselves in another hall, only this one was lit and more like a castle corridor than the one they had just gone through. But now they had two directions to go in, and either one looked to lead to another fork.

"That sucks." Muttered Daniel.

"Let's find a priest and interrogate them." Raven said, her nostrils flaring again. "This way."

"Raven's mother said you'd know what to do." Malchior said when he unearthed the stone that Arella had told them was there. It was very smooth, white, and had some strange black character on its surface.

Zacroma swiftly took it from his hand and examined it, her eyes widening. "Yes, I do." She said, shaking her head as if to tell herself she could be amazed later. "Stand back." She said, walking swiftly over to the center of the church's back wall. She then began chanting in a strange language Malchior was sure he'd never heard before, and began to draw the same character on the stone there, using the stone and making white marks that seemed to glow in the darkness.

"What's she doing?" Beast Boy whispered.

"Sssh!" Robin hushed. At least someone understood this was a delicate process.

Zacroma finished the character, and then drew a straight line from the ground, to a few inches above the symbol, over, and then down to the ground again, completely boxing the glowing symbol. White light seemed to glitter within the box, and then settle itself. Zacroma placed a hand to the wall, and pushed.

It came open like a door, and she gestured them all to follow her. "Wait," Said Malchior, "Shouldn't we wait for Raven's mother?" he asked.

"No need." Malchior practically jumped out of his skin. Arella had somehow appeared right beside him.

"Great Ryuujin woman! Are you trying to give me a heart attack!" He hissed.

"Don't be silly, you're far too young to be getting heart attacks. If I meant to do that I'd need a full moon and a few herbs only found on Azarath." She replied.

"Um, er, high miss Raven's mom, my name's—" Beast Boy began awkwardly, but Arella stopped him with a wave of her hand.

"Introductions can come later, right now, let's focus on staying alive and saving Raven and Rorek." She said.

"Um, do you know about—" Robin began.

"Yes, she does." Malchior answered swiftly. "Come on." He said, following a rather nervous looking Zacroma through the doorway. He stopped for a moment and cocked his head at her questioningly.

"H-hi…Arella." Zacroma greeted awkwardly.

"Hello, Zira." Arella nodded.

"'Zira'!" Exclaimed the titans, all at once.

"Can we take this inside please? There are a few priests coming in our direction!" Malchior hissed.

"Right, we can worry about all this afterwards!" Robin said, taking charge and moving the group through the door.

"Where are we now?" Asked Beast Boy as they found themselves in a room that seemed to resemble an old castle armory, only there was more rust than actual armor and blades it seemed. When they had all come through, the doorway that was made sealed itself shut behind them.

Arella then turned to Zacroma, "I'll assume you had a very good reason for disobeying the council and leave it at that for now." She said.

"I did!" Zacroma defended swiftly. Everyone stared. "And I was right! You can ask Raven, you can even ask them! If I hadn't—"

"Zira! Zira it's okay, I understand. But you know the Council is not going to be as forgiving about this. You've put yourself in a very dangerous situation, I'm sure you realize. But we can talk about it later. This is neither the time, nor the place." Arella told her soothingly.

"You told us that they sent you! And that Arella gave you those rings to give to Raven from Azar!" Beast Boy came up.

"You gave Raven the rings? Zira, those were for you!" Arella suddenly cried out, "What were you thinking?"

"I don't need them, Arella! I'm not a little girl anymore, I can defend myself! I've gotten good at blade fighting, I even mastered flight magic and some small speed spells! I was ready, I am ready, I was trained as a priestess, so why can't I be trusted to make the right decisions regarding my own future! I'm not just some object with power you people have to make sure is safe and secure all the time, I'm a person too, and apparently I knew better than your freak'n council because Raven did, in fact, need me!" Zacroma exploded.

Arella heaved a great sigh, "Azar warned us about this. I agree with you Zira, you are your own person, and if you believe strongly that you were in the right, and the others agree, I will tell the council as much. But from now on," She said, putting her hands on Zacroma's shoulders, "Please consider your own safety, and what it could mean if—"

"I know." Zacroma said sharply, cutting her off. "I've heard it a thousand times already."

"As much as I would love an explanation to this whole thing, can it wait until after we save the universe from demonic rule?" Malchior asked loudly.

"Yeah, let's get going." Robin said, the group then made their way for the door to the room.

"Friend Zacroma, are you alright?" Starfire asked with concern.

"Yes, I am. For now anyway." Zacroma said, plastering her usual winning smile on her face, which fooled no one this time.

It seemed the light of the room had been reversed. Far from there being no light at all, it was as if there was light where there was no darkness, and candles of black flame were shining darkness into the room. Had he been unable to see well in the dark, he might not have seen the murals on the walls and ceiling, much like the ones of the previous room he'd been in, nor would he have noticed the many sacrificial implements, the boiling caldron over a pit of green fire, and the circle, much like the last, drawn in blood around the large alter he was currently laying on, obviously meant for two people.

Rorek had, at the last second, guarded himself against any sleep spell. And it was a good thing too, because a very powerful one had hit him, nearly knocking him out in spite of his barriers. Likely, Judora didn't know he was powerful enough to stay conscious, because the chains that bound him were not iron, but a mix of iron and an easily molded form of alapaster. He couldn't just force off pure iron with his bear hands, but impure iron was easy. He still might not be able to use very powerful magic with them on, but once he forced them off that wouldn't be a problem.

He'd laid there for a moment, just to make sure no one was in the room, and then he made fists with his hands, and began to fight against the chains. He got his hands free, and then he was able to break off the rest of the chains, and then get off the alter.

There was a door in the back, likely it would have some sort of spell on it, unless, of course, Judora was that confidante that she'd knocked him unconscious, which was unlikely. After all, pure alabaster was best for the spells that required it, why put iron in silver if not to be more comfortable that your captive couldn't escape easily? There was probably a time limit as to how long you can keep a dragon asleep, even with that powerful a spell, and Judora most likely planed to get there before he'd finished getting all the chains off him, or before he woke up, either one.

Sure enough, there was a strong sealing spell on the door. Like that was going to stop him. There was nothing on the walls, so he merely side-stepped the door, muttered a few words under his breath, and then slid on through the wall.

The next room resembled that of a large study, apothecary, and reptilian store at the same time. Shelves upon shelves of books, bottles, veils, cages, and stones. All of the reptiles in the cages were asleep, fortunately, and there were a few books open on the desk. Rorek swiftly flew over all the obstacles to get there and bent over them to look at what Judora might be planning.

The first picture he saw was one of Trigon, holding his sword and standing on a world encased with flames. The next, Raven.

But it was not the Raven he knew, the style of her cloak was different, as was her bodysuite. But what really marked the difference was her hair. It was the exact same color, but it was much, much longer. The bulk of it pulled back into a large ponytail with two waist-length locks framing her face, and it also looked as though it were moving around her of its own accord. Closer inspection told him that there were a few differences in her face as well. For one she was older in this picture, her nose was a little different, and her cheeks a bit more narrow. But her eyes, her eyes were exactly the same as Raven's.

Rorek took a deep breath and backed away from the picture, clutching his chest as though it were hurting. He closed his eyes for a moment,

There was something about her, the way she moved, the way she spoke. She is no human, that much is for sure.

He felt the same way about Raven.

I had to meet her, speak with her. Perhaps we could be friends, at first maybe, and then…well, maybe more.

His thoughts about Raven when he first met her…

She's the most beautiful creature I've ever laid eyes on. A jewel with no equal. I mock the humans who shy away from her. If she was half as beautiful in their eyes as she is in mine, no male would be able to stay away for long.

Raven…Raven…Raven…

There could be no doubt, these memories, he knew they were of this Avelona, and they matched Raven perfectly. It seemed almost impossible, but there was no doubt in his mind anymore. Raven was Avelona reincarnated.

And, what happened with Judora, he and Malchior, as one, had fallen in love with Avelona, angering her. So the White Magus became the Black Magus, and Tainted herself. And because Avelona loathed demons with a passion, she never stopped trying to kill Judora, even though they were suppose to be like sisters.

Rorek shook his head, this was not the time. He had to get out of here and find Raven.

"Well, well, well. Seems I underestimated you, you're a bit stronger than the last time I saw you. But, no matter. I guess I'll have to bind you the old fashioned way." Said an all-too familiar voice.

Rorek whirled around to face Judora's smug face. "Not so fast. You think after our last encounter we didn't prepare ourselves for the next?" he asked. He then slipped out a chain of rosary beads that supported a large crucifix made of pure silver from his sub-space pocket. Judora's eyes narrowed in suppressed anger as he slipped it around his neck. "Now you're going to have to fight me without using any demonic power boosts." He said.

But Judora just smirked again, "You think I can't use powerful magic without calling upon my demonic blood?" She asked, petting her familiar lovingly.

"Absolutely not. But now, I believe, we are more or less equal." He answered.

Judora glared at him, hissing. "Very well then, we shall see!"

"I have a question though." He said before the fight could begin. "If you are so certain that Raven is Avelona reincarnated, why do you still consider her your mistress as a demon? If you hated her so much in the past, why so willing to follow her rule?" He asked.

But Judora smirked again, giving him a very off look. Like there was something that she was relishing at the moment. "Oh, I don't hate her, I never did. We're like family after all. But she did seal away my master, and for that she had to pay, dearly. This is all a game, you see. The beginning of which, none of you seem to remember very clearly, giving me quite the upper edge." She told him.

"What do you mean, a game! This isn't a game, this is—"

"Everything is a game, and while power gives you an edge, what really counts is how you play, and if you can win. If not, your a worthless piece, your life is just a tool for others, much more worthy, who might be able to win themselves. You see, currently you're her pawn, but the rules of the game are very vague, the only rules set are physical laws, and the laws of ones own beliefs. So, someone who is a pawn of one true player, can be used, depending on the way, by another player, even if they oppose the first. While you might not come to me willingly, well, I warped your mind once, I can do it again." She said, laughing a deep, cold laugh.

"You what!" Rorek gasped, eyes widening.

"Oh, but you wouldn't remember, would you? Too bad you won't have time to gather everything up, it would have been fun to watch all three of you squirm. Such drama! The emotions it would reap, yes, dragons can sometimes be so like humans when it comes to emotions. Though, I suppose, that does depend a lot on the dragon. But enough chit-chat, it's time to get down to business." She said, raising her hands so that green flames began to erupt from them, "Surendui, Vesta'Aarak, Val'Lolth!" She hissed.

"Animatus, Specula, Aeternitus!" Rorek chanted, his own hands glowing white. The two powers clashed with an insurmountable boom.

"DUDE! WHAT IS THAT!" Daniel roared over the huge thunderous crashing sound that had filled the entire fortress.

"I believe it is coming from where Judora is." Raven assessed, "Shade, you take the boy and go through the barrier, I'm sure there will be guards on the other side, so try not to be seen. Stay until I come for you. You two, with me." She said, pointing to Daniel and Michael.

They nodded. "Right!" They said. They waited until Shade and the boy were safely through the barrier, and Raven absorbed the blood of the last priest who'd been guarding the place before they left.

"HAAAA!" Robin exclaimed, a wave of bright red energy shot from the slice of his sword, sending all five priests back into the wall.

"Atrum, Exspes, Mortis!" Malchior cried, sending his own energy streaming at them.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" Light blue energy shot from Arella, binding them all up.

"Traterous b!#!" They cried at her.

"Oh shut up!" Cyborg ordered, marching over to kick them with his metal foot, knocking a few out cold with the impact.

Malchior turned to Robin and opened his mouth, but Robin beat him to it, "No! For the hundredth time I am not giving you the sword!" He snapped, getting tired of Malchior questioning him.

"That's not what I was going to ask." The dragon growled, "I was going to ask if your arm is alright."

Robin blinked, and looked down at his left arm. One of the cuts he'd gotten was gushing blood, but he'd just now realized it. "It's fine, but I think I need it bandaged." He said.

"Here." Arella said, taking his arm in her hands. She rubbed the wound, causing Robin to cringe, but the next moment she was whipping the blood off her hand on her cloak, and there was no more coming out. "Best not to loose any more. Keeping your blood in your body is vital, especially in a Church of Blood." She told him.

"Right, thanks."

"Anyone know where we go next?" Asked Starfire.

"No, but I can find out." Zacroma said, kneeling over the priests. Her hands then began to move around them swiftly, in and out of pockets, within the folds of their cloth, with such swiftness her hands were almost blurred. She didn't have to look farther than one of them, though, before she found what she was looking for. "Here." She said, pulling out a jewel that resembled the 'map' Batman had unearthed the last time they had been in this sort of situation. "I can—" But she was cut off, a huge thundering sound had suddenly begun in the direction they had currently been heading.

"Well, I think that answers the question of where to go!" Malchior yelled.

"Ya think!" Beast Boy came back.

"This way!" Arella cried, leading them onward.

They ran, maneuvering through the corridor's with Zacroma's instructions, going through a few rooms, and then finding themselves in a particularly nasty one when,

"Not so fast!" Boomed an annoyingly familiar voice. Doors slammed shut and sealed themselves, and the company spun around rather reluctantly, each with pained looks on their faces.

"Don't you ever give up!" Beast Boy demanded. "I mean, the odds are against you man! And Robin's sword keeps all your priest peeps from harming us, so you're the only one who can do a thing, and you try facing all of us at once!" He exclaimed.

"Hmph!" Balegor smirked, "This time's different, this time I have—"

"An alabaster stone infused with dragon's bane, demon blood, and serpent venom, courtesy of your tainted friend Judora." Malchior finished. "You know, dragon's bane only works to protect you against fire issued directly from the dragon's belly, and while it would probably make me pass out if turned into a fine powder then blown in my face, I could easily touch it without having so much as a rash pop up. Only pure dragon's bane can do that. Besides, I'm a higher dragon, the best that stuff is used for against me is in blades. Also, do you honestly think that little trinket would protect you against Robin's sword?" He asked.

But Balegor was still smirking. "Oh, it'll do more than just that, and you've forgotten a very powerful ingredient too." He said, pulling out the large, rectangular shaped talisman the color of blood with a few large emeralds in the setting. "Moles, Dissolutio, Impetus!" He exclaimed.

It was as if a huge void, like a black hole, was starting to wrap itself around him, creating a sphere, pulsing with dark reds and greens at the edges, and drawing itself towards the talisman in his hand, as if preparing something huge. It was too late to pull up a proper shield, so Malchior pushed himself in front of the group, forcing Arella to stand directly behind him, in an attempt to take the bulk of the blast himself.

But, it never came. The last second, when a huge pulsing beam had shot at them, a dark figure appeared in front of him in a flurry. It raised its hands up in front, and seemed to suck in all of the power that had been put into that beam. And once it had all been extracted, the figure's hands seemed to mold the energy into the shape it wished.

Balegor collapsed onto the ground, apparently having been drained far more than he had expected due to the figure. "This time you die." Hissed an echoy voice which sounded as though more than one person were speaking at a time. A small beam of darkness shot from her to Balegor, and with one last cry of fright, he crumpled to the floor. Bones seemingly to have been crushed, and his blood drained from him.

The figure turned around, and no one was surprised to see the demonic form of Raven, cloakless though, and holding a beautiful, green crystal bow in her hand, crafted from Balegor's attack. No one, except Arella.

"Raven!" She gasped.

Raven's four eyes widened and she darted to her mother, who had side-stepped from behind Malchior, "Mother? Mother what are you doing here!" She exclaimed, grabbing Arella by the shoulders.

"Oh Raven, what have they done to you?" Arella cried, regarding her daughter fearfully.

"No, mother, it's alright! I'm still me, I don't know how I can do this, but I can. I've become a sort of purified demon, it's okay." Raven swiftly assured her.

"Sorry, I forgot to tell you, it seemed Azar and your suspicions were correct in this area. Raven's been able to transform, yet keep herself pure and, well, herself somehow. And she's just fine afterwards too." Zacroma came in.

Arella's expression was first a mixture of relief and amazement, but then she pulled Raven into a tight embrace and began to weep uncontrollably. "Um, Mother? This really isn't the time. I think Rorek's in trouble." She said.

"R-right, I-I'm sorry but, but, oh Raven I was so worried!" Arella exclaimed, wiping the tears from her eyes with difficulty.

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt but, who are they?" Asked Cyborg, pointing to Daniel and Michael.

"Ah, well, that's an interesting story, isn't it?" Raven chuckled, looking at them. But the two were staring at the group, wide eyed. Eyes lingering mostly on Zacroma and Starfire.

"Whoa, it's the Teen Titans!" Daniel exclaimed, breathlessly. "You're Zacroma right?" He asked.

"Um, yeah.…?" She answered awkwardly.

"Can we bow and worship you?" Asked Michael. Raven sweatdropped.

"Um, maybe later!" Zacroma said, still regarding them as though they were a little loony.

"Swift answer, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and were brought to this place with Rorek and I. So I had to give them powers in order to keep them from being a handy-cap." Raven told them.

"Er, yeah, about that," Malchior began, making himself finally known.

"Drop it." Raven snapped before he could continue. "Starfire, I think this would suite you best." She said, holding out the bow to her friend.

"Oh, thank you! But how do I use it?" She asked, taking it awkwardly.

"Use one of your plasma blasts with it, I think it will do the rest." Raven answered. Starfire nodded. She then turned to Arella, "Mother, they know the way out, please follow them. You're the last person I want Judora to meet." She said.

Arella sighed, "Gone are the days when I was the one protecting you. Very well, I will trust your judgment then." She turned to the guys, "Lead the way."

"Er, right. See you guys later I suppose." Daniel said, and the three of them went on back the way they had come.

"Let's go." Raven said. Everyone nodded, and then they ran down the hallway, at the end where two large doors, each with the design of a huge green snake peering at them. Crashes, spells, and cries of pain could be heard from the other side.

Rorek panted, clutching his arm where Judora's snake had bit him. It was searing with pain, but his dragon blood was working powerfully against it, seeing that there was a threat to his life, and forcing it out of his arm through the skin punctures the fangs had made. But the arm was numb, and he could barely move it. That also didn't account for the blood coming out of many cuts and scratches Judora had somehow managed to give him. His mithrill armor had protected him quite well, and so had the rosary around his neck.

Still, Judora hadn't come off very well either. Surprisingly swift and agile, she'd been able to dodge most of his more physical attacks, and though her punch hand landed on his armor, he'd still felt it pretty well, and her hand wasn't even bruised from it. However, being unable to guard herself against his attacks with demonic barriers due to his rosary, she was standing on one broken leg, and her face was almost covered in blood due to a deep cut across her forehead. Her snake, as well, had suffered for its attack, draped, nearly unconscious about Judora now, and supporting many wounds itself.

But Rorek wasn't going to fool himself, it wouldn't be long before Judora finished him off, even now her wounds were healing, she was even using her broken leg to stand. But the worst part was she didn't seem feel any of it anymore. She was smiling at him triumphantly, pulling herself back up into her usual haughty pose, and reviving her snake with a few gentle strokes. "I might not be able to harm you as easily as I might, but my body is still superior to yours and you know it. The demonic entity within me infuses me with more physical power than you might have guessed. And now, to end this." She said, charging up her next, and probably final, attack.

But before she could do anything, the doors burst open, and in flooded, to Rorek's utter relief, the Teen Titans, but, more importantly, Raven. Who was completely safe, demonic, and looking murderous at Judora.

"Glad to see your alive. How'd you manage to fight her?" Malchior asked, coming over to him. "Last time she whipped the floor with us, and we were together!"

"Rosary, she can't hurt me unless her attacks aren't demonically boosted." Rorek coughed out, his voice horse, and directed Malchior's attention to the chain around his neck.

"You've failed again, Judora. You couldn't defeat me alone before, but now I have friends who can deal with your familiar while I deal with you. This time, you die." Raven hissed.

To everyone's surprise (Save maybe the reader's), Judora smiled and laughed. "Die? Oh no, no, no! You misunderstand the situation, Avelona dear. I have been waiting for you all! Rorek's rosary only worked well enough to wound me a bit more than I had intended to let him, I could easily have killed him the moment we began to fight. And your friends aren't going to help you, I imagine you'd be busy trying to save them, you can't defeat me, not when I have so many little pawns at my disposal!" She said, her red slits narrowing in a malicious smirk.

Raven charged, trying to keep her from having the time to do anything, but it seemed her snake had been weaving the spell as she spoke, and the next moment Judora had a ball of string in her hands, which glowed ominously, and then shot out in all directions, tying itself around her fingers, and weaving just about everywhere.

Raven stopped abruptly, leering at the strings in front of her suspiciously, but she didn't have time to do much else. The next moment she heard a cry, "Raven!" and felt something hot and searing pierce her in the back. The wound healed itself swiftly, but she spun around, expecting to see one of Judora's friends, but found, to her astonishment, Starfire floating in the air, her hands on the bow, stringing another arrow with a look of horror on her face.

Zacroma had her duel blades out, and was moving very awkwardly towards Raven, a look of pain on her face as she tried to struggle. The rest, however, suddenly ran towards her, their faces in shock.

Raven dodged from another of Starfire's arrows, and Robin's sword at the same time, only to be blasted in the arm by Cyborg. "Raven run! Get outta here!" The mechanical man shouted, his blaster preparing another ball of plasma.

"We can't control our bodies!" Robin yelled, swiping at Raven, who kept dodging.

"I know." Raven said. The string had wound itself around their arms, legs, and even necks. But they didn't seem to see it. Malchior and Rorek, far from being controlled, were ripping the stuff off them, trying to help her, but unable to as more and more string seemed to come after them, holding them in place.

"It must hurt, having your own friends attack you. Sort of opens up an old wound, doesn't it, Avelona?" Judora asked.

"You b!#! You're controlling us!" Robin yelled, only able to pause a second before nearly cutting Raven's head open with the sword she had made herself.

Raven cried out in fury, and shot towards Judora. But she'd been ready, a blast of green light issued from the mouth of the snake, knocking Raven back and also stunning her for a moment. Just long enough for Robin's sword to come down, piercing her in the stomach.

Raven screamed. The pain was insurmountable! It burned, pulsing throughout her body, causing all four eyes to water. She didn't understand, how could it hurt this much! Had she not crafted that sword herself using her own blood? It didn't make sense! But the pain was so immense, she could hardly think. Her heart was twisting in on itself, her vision was starting to fade, she could barely hear the scream that was still issuing from her own throat. How could anything hurt this much!

She didn't know what happened next, all she knew was that the sword had left, but the pain was still there, the wound wasn't healing up. There was a blurred mass of purple to her side, and soon she realized it had to be her hair. Her vision was going in and out, and she could only vaguely hear voices, cries, Judora's own shout seemed to be amplified above them all, probably because it was of fury and spite, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew this was a good sign, but couldn't remember why.

But soon, it was quiet, she felt a pair of strong arms gently lift her from the ground, tears still streaming from her eyes, she could barely make out a mass of cotton white hair before everything went black.

A/N: You know, cliffhangers seem to just be a thing right now, MUAHAHAHAHA! Ahem, yeah, so anyway. Good thing you guys don't seem to mind Arella being in the story, and yeah I know she sounds young, but that will be explained later. I dunno, I never actually saw a picture of her, but she just doesn't seem like some old woman to me. I don't know, I'm weird. So yeah, on with the reviews!

Jemerik: Just watch out for anything that has a design that suspiciously looks like eyes and teeth, don't make any sudden movements around those, and keep away from the chests, there's a glitch in most of their magical programming so they'll attack for no apparent reason. But yeah, I escaped as well! Seems humans have this funny notion that taking a bite out of someone is not a good way of showing that you don't like them, also, no one else seems to appreciate the beauty of fire, and when they do they're locked up like I was. So yeah, hope you enjoyed this chapter too!

Kage no ni yoru: Okay that was wayyyyy too much information there thanks! Ahem, to answer your questions, 1: Easy, see dragons aren't as obsessed with sexual relationships as humans are, our fetish is gold and stuff, y'know? So it'd make sense that Malchior (and Rorek of course) would be content with snuggly kissy stuff, for now anyways. Also, I think I've stated several times that I absolutely and completely refuse to write a lemon. 2: Until Judora either gives up, or is killed. The latter being the most likely. 3: I'm updating, I'm updating! 4: But if I puke I'll mess up my keyboard! 5: I do hope you're joking as I am female and as straight as a geometric line.

Pandora Kattalikis: Plenty! :D

PerfectlyImperfect: I'm not rushing! I'm just updating at the same rate as I did on Spellbinder! Which is once every 1-3 days roughly.

Mei Mei: It is? SWEET! THAT'S SO COOL! Ahem, anyway, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to point out the inconsistencies you were talking about, so that I can figure out if they were total screw-ups, hinted plot twists, or something that I plan on explaining later as I'd like to go back and correct them if possible (or fix them in later chapters). I'd go through and reread it all myself, in fact I just might do that anyways as I will have time to next week (being spring break and all, heheh), but if there are some major points that sort of grated on your nerves a bit I'd like to know them. I WOULD REALLY APPRICIATE IT! As for my Sailor Moon stuff…well WWS is pretty much dead, that is unless I get the drive I need to go back and repair a lot of mess up work, and Firefly Jewel isn't exactly at a stand-still, but it's at a rather…interesting part. So yeah, I might finish those after this. Thanks for R&Ring!

Until next chapter! Ja ne.