A/N: ….okay nothing to say here. JUST READ!
XP
She dodged, she struck, dodged again, sent a blast of dark energy at her enemy, dodged his own dark blast, and struck. He tried to trick her with clever moves, tried to fake her out, move swiftly so that her eyes might not see what I was up to, he did many complicated and near impossible techniques that she doubted she might ever be able to learn, much less accomplish, but they were still on barely even ground, her being a bit higher. Frustration, perspiration, she could see through him easily. For all his knowledge of fighting styles and his speed, he was week. Stronger than the average human male, yes, but by the standards of his race he would be considered puny. Likely, he focused on speed and agility attacks to compensate, but Raven's forte was brute force, a complete turnaround from her human form, but currently she was not human. Currently she was powerful, much more powerful than he.
Her eyes were starting to be fooled less and less, she could sense him, hear his heartbeat, and the moment she was able to snag his skin with one of her claw-like nails, she had won. He knew this, which was why most of his attacks focused on the wolf's way of fighting, jump in, then jump out. He was avoiding anything that might pierce his skin as though he had a near die-hard phobia about it, and in spite of the fact that he was showing more skin than anything else, this wasn't hard as it was tough enough to withstand a slight graze of her nails and come out undamaged.
But she was winning, no matter how many times he harmed her body, it healed back up at an alarming rate. If he was to defeat her, he would have to hit and hit over and over again without stopping, and he couldn't do that, because that was not his strength. His method was slow and gradual, but all he was doing was giving Raven a good bit of exercise, and exhausting his own amount of physical energy as well. He could use dark energy, but not nearly enough to rival Raven's power, and though he could use powerful magic spells, not many of these were helping him in an actual fight.
Shijuko was losing, badly, and was being quite flustered by this. She could see him staring at her, panic behind his red slit eyes, she saw him wondering, apparently not everything was going as planned.
And then, she did it, catching him off guard by suddenly darting towards him during one of their little 'stare down' breaks, her nails cut four long gashes in his chest, his blood and flesh getting into them, and then the blood began to soak into her as she placed her other hand on the wound, and grabbed, so that she could keep a hold of him as her power shot throughout his entire system, branching through every vein from her hand.
He couldn't move, she had him from the inside, controlling his blood, and therefore controlling his body, she could do what she wanted, easily. "Where are my friends?" She asked him. "Never mind, I'll find out myself." She said, suddenly remembering she could. She used her free hand, mopped up a little blood, and licked it, allowing the memories to enter into her mind, what memories she wanted anyway. Her eyes widened when they hit her.
They're in trouble. She thought desperately. She glared at the demon menacingly, and he had enough time to give her a look of terror, before she plunged her teeth into his flesh and killed him so fast, he didn't have time to cry out in pain or surprise.
She took enough blood to replace the energy she lost, and then let his body drop like a sack of potatoes.
"Impressive, to tell you the truth I wasn't expecting you to do quite as good against a full demon with your father's blood, but then, you are the Chosen. I'd expect nothing less, well done Lady Raven, but then, the worse has yet to come, hasn't it?" Judora's voice echoed throughout the empty room, causing every inch of Raven's being to prickle defensively.
"You, I have a question for y—" Raven began, but she stopped abruptly, as though her voice, her brain, her entire body had just stopped, frozen, rigid, every ounce screaming in warning. She was only vaguely aware of herself falling, for the sight before her caused her heart to thump in her ears, a wave of unwanted, uncalled for terror was filling her up, and only the remembrance of her rigid training kept her from losing it.
It had appeared from the shadows, and seemed to have draped itself in them as well. Gliding, barely recognizable silhouette of a hooded figure, its eyes, only seen by the waves of dark energy that crafted them, making them no more than voids of nothing, stared at her, taking her in. It barely seemed to move, the stillness of the air about it was stifling, and it took her a moment to realize that it was slowly making its way towards her. It's hands, blood-stained like they had been eroded unevenly with sandpaper, held a lantern, one that did not emit light, but sucked it in instead.
She couldn't hear it, in fact, it was like all sound had been taken, because the pain in her lungs, she just realized, was a result of screaming, screaming that she couldn't hear.
It was coming closer, and the closer it came, the farther she seemed to be falling, falling past the ground, falling past the very plains of reality. She could no longer see the Death Wraith, she could no longer see anything. She was cold, but couldn't feel it, and something, something that had been buried deep, so deep in her mind, so very deep it was almost like she completely forgot it, was coming to the surface. Breaking free of the many bonds, the many locks and seals she had put upon it as though they were nothing, it came, it rose, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
XD
Little Raven has a secret, doesn't she? Doesn't want anyone to know, doesn't even want to remember it. She's kept it locked away all these years, kept it inside, deluded herself into thinking she'd forgot, told herself it didn't happen, got rid of it. But really, memories can never be truly forgotten, even in rebirth. Blood is not the only thing that records memories and thoughts, no, no. You've known, all along you've known, and tried to tell yourself you forgot, that it wasn't true, that it didn't happen, won't happen. It was all something you dreamed, yes, a dream, a nightmare, placed there by your own creative fears as a child.
Blood, isn't everything, blood cannot do everything. Blood, cannot be passed through soul reincarnation unless a part of the actual body is used. Isn't that lucky, though? Considering, what you were as Avelona.
Still trying to hold on to the delusion that you don't know? Even in the past, you avoided that truth, you dodged and skirted around it, refusing to let your mind even take a step in that direction, when all the while you knew, and you know now, don't you? Come on, that's it, let that memory surface, let it writhe and torment you, let the realization hit you, remember who you are, remember what you are, and remember what purpose you were to fulfill.
If she was screaming, she couldn't hear it, if she was clutching her head, writhing on the floor to get the voice out of her head, she couldn't feel it. She was numb to anything involving physical actions, deft to any sounds. She couldn't smell, couldn't taste, couldn't see. Nothing was working, it was a dead silence, and yet it wasn't. She was screaming in her mind, wishing it to stop, wanting more than anything to break her skull open and take out the words, the images, the voices…
"You never told us, you tried to keep it hidden, and we know why now."
"You're not a demon, you're worse, a monstrosity, a creature that should have never been allowed to walk the earth alive."
"It's no wonder, really, we should have suspected something like this, but I don't think anything we might have thought would amount to such…insanity."
"We'll admit to being…unfavorable, sinful even, in the past. We don't have a clean slate, and we're monsters to the rest of the world, but you…"
"I don't think we can love you, especially since you kept something like this a secret."
"…I didn't, I don't, I didn't even know myself I…I…how, how did you find out it…I haven't told anyone, not even my own mother…"
"It was Judora who told us, Judora."
"The woman we really loved."
"But you, you said…you told me that you'd…I thought, I was going to tell you I just…but I thought you'd….understand…you said you'd never leave me, you said…"
"That was before we knew."
"Before we realized. But then, we thought that, in time, you might actually warm up. Might even smile, but you never did. You never really loved us did you?"
"We were just a toy for you, something to amuse you, weren't we?"
"No! That's not true! I, I…""You can't even say it, can you? What are we to you? You unfeeling, self-rightious, arrogant little brat!"
"You strut around as if you're above everything, you're above petty humans, above a simple dragon, even though you make him believe you actually loved him, when all this time, you were just—"
"IT'S NOT TRUE!""LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!" "LIARE!" "LIAR!" "LIAR!"
"FIGHT IT!" A sudden voice yelled in her mind, "FIGHT IT, YOU CAN, YOU ARE STRONG!" It said. It was…familiar, almost…
"It was Judora who told us, Judora."
"The woman we really loved."
"Don't go that way! Turn around, put your back to it!" The voice yelled
"You can't even say it, can you? What are we to you? You unfeeling, self-rightious, arrogant little brat!"
"You strut around as if you're above everything, you're above petty humans, above a simple dragon, even though you make him believe you actually loved him, when all this time, you were just—"
"Velduil, I swear that if you do not defeat it this instant, I will take back everything I thought about you being a strong woman!"
There was another set of voices, but it was leaving, fading, she couldn't really make out what it was. The pain, the emotions, the agony, it was all leaving, fading away, and she was regaining sensation in her limbs, she was remembering what it was like to hear properly, smell properly, to feel properly.
It was as if she were waking up from the worst nightmare she had ever had, a nightmare whose effects were fading, becoming distant as the memory of it fogged up, and left. She opened her eyes, and then saw the very last person she had expected to save her, aside from Judora herself.
"Ch-Chire'ni!" Raven gasped, staring up at the coal black face, the blue, green-rimmed eyes she knew so well, which had broke into a grin that, somehow, didn't seem to belong there.
"Surprised? So am I. I would lament about this entire thing, but we still have a bit of a problem." She said, pointing.
Raven pulled herself up enough so she could look, and she saw the Death Wraith standing there, a good ways away from them, and looking as though there was something blocking it from coming any closer. Oddly enough, Raven was feeling it's presence less and less every passing moment, as if it had left and she were merely recovering from the after-effects. "How…?"
Chire'ni showed Raven her dagger, "It's creating a barrier, I think. It is one of the types of blades that killed or banished those things in the first place. It won't get near." She said. "I'd have killed it, but, well, only humans can kill those things. I'm immune because they're not exactly real to me, only to humans." She said.
"So because I'm part human…"
"Exactly." The drow answered, pushing the dagger into her hand, then helping her up.
The next moment, Raven flew at the creature, and plunged the dagger into the lantern it held so protectively. It didn't have time to react, it just simply melted, drawn into the lantern, and then dropping, the item broken in half, now appearing like nothing more than a bunch of glass and metal bits.
"Come, this way. There may still be time to help your friends." Chire'ni said, gesturing towards a wall, which opened to reveal a passageway that had previously been hidden.
Raven nodded, and followed Chire'ni into the hall, but began to question her as they walked down it swiftly. "Why did you save me?" She asked.
"Guilt, maybe? A mature decision to leave the past as the past and realize my mistakes, perhaps. After having more information about myself than even I was aware of being thrown, ever so gracefully, in my face, I did some self-assessment, and realized that you were completely and painfully right. I had to swallow enough pride to make me sick, but I know that it would have been worse to go through the remainder of my years with all of that hanging over me in the back of my mind. I was wrong, all these years, I was wrong, and I guess I'm here to try and make up for that. I don't expect you to forgive me, I just hope you realize how much it cost me, and how hard it was to completely change my views after centuries of believing otherwise." The drow answered.
Raven stared at her, it was hard not to. This was the girl, the woman, who had been plaguing many of her dreams, raising emotions she preferred not to have, and who she thought, not too happily, she'd never see again. A strange, new emotion suddenly came over her and she stopped dead, Chire'ni skidding to a halt and looking at her questioningly. Raven wasn't sure how to respond to this emotion, it felt like it wasn't hers, exactly, but at the same time it was, she was feeling it inside of her, even though her mind was questioning it considerably. But it wasn't bad, no, it was…as though something she had waited for, had worked for, had wanted for so long with such a passion, had finally come to her, she finally had it.
"Chire'ni…what, did you call me, when you were telling me to wake up?" She asked, unable to really say anything else.
"I called you, Velduil." She answered.
"What does that mean?"
"It's drow, it means 'sister'." Chire'ni answered, without a trace of shame or regret.
XD
"It's a little further." Terra called over the tapping of their own footsteps on the stone ground. She was right, a light at the end of the tunnel seemed to appear, slowly coming closer to them, until the pair of them skidded to a halt inside a large, circular room with many passageways. They hadn't been there for a moment, before Robin arrived, breathless and panting hard.
"Robin!" Beast Boy exclaimed, as he and Terra ran over to him.
"Beast Boy!" Robin gasped, a look of utter relief swept over his face, "And…Terra? But you're, wait, how'd you break free of control?" He asked.
"I don't know, it just happened." Terra answered, shrugging.
"She said she saw something white." Beast Boy said, giving Robin a meaningful look.
Robin's eyes widened, "So did I, when Slade was about to kill me, he suddenly died and all I saw was something white." He said. "You think someone's helping us?"
"Who? And why haven't they shown themselves?" Asked Terra.
"Well, we don't know." Answered Beast Boy.
"HEY!" Exclaimed a familiar voice.
"Cyborg!" Robin and Beast Boy exclaimed. Cyborg took one look at them, and Terra, then shook his head.
"Never mind, I'm not gonna ask right now. Where are the others?"
"We don't kn—" Beast Boy began.
"I am here!" Called Starfire, flying into the room, with Blackfire in tow.
"YOU!" Exclaimed all but Terra.
"Chill out, for now, I'm on your side. But just until we kill Snake Woman." Blackfire told them airily as they landed. Starfire nodded encouragingly.
"But, four of us are still missing!" The red headed girl exclaimed, looking around worriedly.
"Four? Isn't that dark girl the only one left?" Asked Blackfire, confused.
"Three, all of whom happen to be the last people we want out of our sights." Zacroma stumbled in, panting and clutching her heart. At least they thought it was Zacroma. For one, her hair, not only had grown a little longer, just enough to be noticed, but it had also become a soft, prismic white, definitely not a human hair color. And her eyes, when she raised them, were reflective disks of an iridescent gold and silver, like platinum.
"Who and what the heck are you!" Exclaimed Blackfire.
"Where'd you come from?" Asked Terra at the same time.
"Zacroma! Are you hurt, what happened to you!" Beast Boy exclaimed, running over to her as she fell to the ground, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire followed suite.
But she shook her head, "It would take too long to explain, but I'm fine, at least I will be in a minute. I think Raven's alright, that higher demon she was grabbed by is no match for her, but…Malchior and Rorek." She gave them a pained expression. "We have to get going, there's no telling how much time we've wasted. Raven has probably even gone on, not sure if we would come or not." She said, letting Beast Boy help her up.
"Actually, I'm right here." Said a voice that caused every head to turn.
"RAVEN!" They all cried, but then Zacroma let out a scream, and it was apparent to everyone why.
Coal black skin, long, flowing, and shockingly white hair with elongated and pointed ears, it was plain to everyone that this was Chire'ni. She stood there with an unreadable expression on her face, servaying them all with her arms crossed in front of her. Her outfit consisted of a hip-hugger pant-set with boots at the bottom, a shoulder-less top which started at her bust-line and curved amply to both cover her breasts, and show them off. She had long arm guards which started at her wrists in a jewel, and then came up a few inches below her shoulder. Then there was a band about her neck which completely hid it from view. The entire outfit was black, not as black as her skin, but it seemed to match well enough, and not only that, it had white strings all over it, like webs, and seemed to retain an armor-like quality. The final touch was the large tarantula that was perched on her shoulder.
"Squeamish, aren't you?" Chire'ni said, unable to keep herself from smirking at all the faces turned to her. "Don't worry, I've 'seen the error of my ways' and all of that, you can think of me as an ally for now. Afterwards you can go on with your allusions, delusions, and what-not, it's all fine by me. But currently there's a tainted woman who needs to be dealt with, and you can ask questions later." She told them.
"S-spider lady?" Beast Boy asked.
"Chire'ni, or, if that's to hard to pronounce for you, Arachnia." She answered not even blinking at the name.
"What the heck are you! What the heck are both of you! And what the heck happened to miss dark and dismal!" Demanded Blackfire, pulling on her hair in frustration. Terra obviously agreed, but she was too stunned to say as much.
"I tire of this, shouldn't we find your two males?" Chire'ni asked Raven, who suddenly paled in realization.
"Yes, we should. We can all ask questions later, right now our goal is roughly the same and we have no time to dwell on all of this. Might want to put an illusion back over your eyes, Zacroma, they'll be very obvious in combination with your hair." She said.
"Oh! Right." She said, putting her hands over her eyes. The next moment they were a very natural shade of blue. She then started running her fingers through her hair, and was able to get out the prismic look it had so that it was now merely white.
"Wait, wait, wait, since when were you the leader? I thought that was Robin's job." Blackfire questioned.
"Since this is, essentially, my battle, Judora's after me, and I know a lot more about what is going on than you do." Raven snapped, glaring so that even Blackfire shut up. "Now, if there are no more objections." She said, starting to feel agitated at all the time they were taking up.
"Wait, Raven, there's something we have to mention. Both Terra and I saw something white, and then suddenly Terra regained control of herself, and Slade was killed before he could kill me for no apparent reason. We think it has something to do with your dream." Robin said.
"I also saw something white!" Zacroma interjected. "Raven, listen, I was about to die, but then I felt something fall onto my head, and I…I changed, Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo's controllers were destroyed, but just before I was about to destroy them as well…I think this friend, whoever they are, might be a…they might be a messenger of God, the First God." She said.
Raven stared at her, her heart began to hammer against her chest as an emotion not unlike fear crept up inside of her, but she fought it back, and nodded, "M-maybe…but you changed to…?" Zacroma nodded.
"To what? What did she change to?" Asked Blackfire.
"Well that's none of your concern or they would come out and tell you, wouldn't they?" Chire'ni answered coolly. "Velduil, we must hurry. Questions can come later." She said, putting her hand on Raven's shoulder.
Raven nodded, "Alright, let's go." She told them. And without another word, she turned and began to run down the correct hall, which she knew from Shijuko's memories. Chire'ni and Zacroma were the first to follow after her, and the rest came without any more protest.
XP
A/N: ARG! Sorry guys, this chapter was kinda rushed as well! I tried to edit a bit of it, but it probably still sucks a little. Oh well, maybe later I can go back and word it better.
Storm Front: Um, R&R on a normal basis means Read and Review, that's what I meant by the last chapter.
Okay that's my only comment, I'll probably have time for more next time, for now, ja ne!