A/N: …. Swallows hard Hi?
XP
"Wait, wait, wait, I'm lost. How do you know each other? And what do you mean by, 'this is Earth, your own world'? They're not from around here! If they were, they'd have known all about The Demon and The Sorceress and everything!" Mace pointed out.
Bruce looked at them, "Maybe you all should leave." He said. "Mrs. Magnus, please escort Terri to the infirmary, and get those four situated." He instructed.
"Er, of course." Terri's mother said, breathless.
"Hang on! We're their friends, we—" Shila tried.
"Go." Malorek snapped. Raven suddenly realized he was clutching her tightly, as if shielding her from what was going to come. But she was hardly paying attention to what was going on.
"We're in…the future…she sent us…to the future…this is…no…" She whispered, clutching her head.
"Raven?" Shila questioned, coming to her side in concern.
"No!" She suddenly burst, "W-where's Robin then! And Starfire, and Beast Boy, Cyborg, Zacroma, where's Chire'ni!" She demanded shrilly. The entire room seemed to be silent, everyone was staring at her now, but she ignored them, she brushed Malorek's hand away from her shoulder. "They'd be adults now, right! They could…they could…" She trailed off with a choke. "Where's…me?" She asked in a whisper.
Bruce gave her a stern look, and then shook his head. "Dead, all of them. Though I don't know about this 'Chire'ni', I never met her and don't know if she's still around. As for you…I think you already know the answer to that." He stood up, leaning heavily on his crutch, and gave Raven a look of utmost sympathy.
"N-no…" She said, shaking her head in denial.
"What's the matter?" Shila tried again. Raven was vaguely aware of the girl's hand coming to her shoulder.
Bruice took a deep breath, "About 50 years ago, roughly, a catastrophe, the like of which no one could have foreseen, nor fought against, took place on Earth. As most of you know. At the same time, a group of particularly bright super heroes, possibly the only ones who could have fought against it, died. My own sidekick for a while, Robin, the Temeranian Princess, Starfire, the Changling, Beast Boy, the robotic man, Cyborg, and the powerful mystic, Raven." He nodded to her. "Along with three new members, named Zacroma, Malchior, and Rorek.
"But there came an enemy that they were unable to defeat, an enemy, who today is known only as The Sorceress, for people have long since stopped saying her name. She summoned The Demon, and this band, called the Teen Titans, fell before it's might. Unfortunately for her, it turned around and tried to kill her as well, thus resulting in the 50 year reign of terror The Demon has caused, and the lingering 'stability' that The Sorceress has been able to keep up, just so that we all suffer. No one really knows what happened, and we are unable to contact the three who know the most about it all. I'm fairly sure you've guessed who The Sorceress is, haven't you?"
"Judora." Malorek hissed. Terri suddenly jumped and his mother let out a scream. Raven couldn't help but be reminded of Harry Potter because of this, in spite of what was currently going on in her head.
"S-so that's, that's her name, is it?" Mace swallowed, looking pale. "Didn't they say that to speak it was a curse in itself?" He whispered.
All four of them were looking scared, but Grissom and Shila were staring intently at Raven, they didn't ask questions, but their eyes reflected a growing comprehension. "But, so, so Raven didn't really die, she just, came here, for some reason?" Shila asked.
"It's beginning to look that way." Bruce said, with a nod.
"Stop." Raven said flatly, and everyone stared at her, "You can stop sugar coating it, Bruce," She told him, her hair shading her eyes from view. "Avoiding it…it won't do any good, all it'll do is grant me a piece of mind, but we can't afford it. Not…not if I'm going to change this future." She said, raising her head finally, "If we're going to make sure none of this ever happens, we have to have a clear, precise view of what happened, and what's happening."
The two of them stared at one another, and everyone was staring at Raven, save for Malorek, who was bowing his head, shading his eyes from view with his own hair. For a while, no one spoke, and then Raven bowed her head, "Judora won," Her shoulder's fell, "She did it, obviously it didn't go all according to plan but, she still…" She swallowed, feeling tears about to fall down her cheeks. "It's me, isn't it? That thing, The Demon, that's me. The thing I spent my entire life fighting against…I lost, and I killed them." She choked on a sob, and buried her face in her hands, tears flowing freely from her eyes.
Bruce nodded, and looked away, but Malorek grabbed Raven and held her tightly to his chest in a protective manner. He glared furiously at the rest of them, eyes burning with fire at the white faces, some still confused, others disbelieving, but a few supporting a growing fear beneath their eyes. "Out." He growled, his voice reaching an inhuman sound. "And not a word of this to anyone or so help me I will rip out your insides and stuff them down your throats." He told them, slowly and dangerously.
Quietly, and swiftly, everyone but Bruce left the room. Bruce took a deep breath. "Come on, I'll show you to an empty room you can stay in." He said, walking with his crutch over to another door.
Malorek brought one arm up around her legs and picked her up so that it was like she was sitting on one arm and being held in place by the other. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his scarf, not wanting to look up, not wanting to speak. He just carried her, numbly, to wherever Bruce was taking them.
XD
I won't let it happen, no, I've worked too hard for this, far too hard. I'm pure now, that won't change…but what if it does? What if this is our future no matter what I do? Quiet little thoughts began to rise in the back of Raven's mind, like memories, but she stifled them. No, it can change, it can. She thought forcibly to herself. So why hasn't it already?
If things weren't going to work out this way, if she could change it, why did this future happen in the first place? If she changed it, then she wouldn't know to change it in the past, and what if she tried, but that caused her transformation in the first place? Why did time have to be so darn confusing?
Raven's eyes fluttered open, seeing a relatively decent sized room, plane, but with what she took to be a couch, a television, refrigerator, desk, and bathroom door. She took this in only a moment before noticing the unnatural warmth pressed to her back, and the lean, yet powerful arm around her waist. Slowly, she turned around, facing Malorek's bear chest, and looking up to see his face still in a relaxed position. He was still asleep, apparently, and the fact that her leotard and his pants were still on their skin gave her some comfort.
Slowly, she reached a hand up and brushed away some of the hair that was hiding his face from view. Raven couldn't help but marvel at what a beautiful creature he was, such perfect skin, painfully handsome features, just feminine enough to make them irresistible to any woman. Full lips, long lashes, and hair which gave him an ethereal touch that he didn't need, but certainly made him all the more mystical. She couldn't help but run her fingers through it again, it was so soft, and felt as though it never tangled, ever, as her fingers just went right through it, as though it were made of liquid metal somehow.
Gently, she pressed her lips to his for just a moment, but that seemed enough to rouse him. He took in a deep breath, and tightened his arm's hold on her, opening his eyes. She curled her hand around the back of his head and kissed him again, only this time more passionately. He returned it, breathing in deeply through his nose as he pulled her under him in order to deepen it, and soon their tongues were intermingling with each other, sending shocks of electric pleasure through their bodies.
Raven's darker side was struggling out, and she began to fight for dominance, rolling over on top of him. But Malorek didn't seem to be quite as keen on this as Malchior had, either because he didn't enjoy it as much, or he wasn't so desperate for Raven's attention he'd put up with anything, she wasn't sure. As it was, he soon had her back under him, his hands pinning her wrists down to the bed as he began to kiss her possessively, asserting complete dominancy, for about two seconds. Raven refused to be owned, she didn't need her darker side to come out and say that. She pushed him off her with strength that surprised them both, and sprang back on him, though this time suppressing the urge to take possession of him, and merely kissing him lovingly, massaging his shoulders and melting into his embrace. He seemed to agree to this, and didn't push any farther.
It seemed like forever before they stopped, but it soon became apparent that if they didn't, the meager amount of clothes they did have on would most likely disappear, and they both agreed that this neither the time, nor the place for that.
Raven found her cloak, boots, and belt where she'd left them the night before and put them on as Malorek began slipping back into his own attire. They did all this wordlessly, but after Malorek finished, he came over and wrapped his arms around Raven, "Are you alright?" He whispered.
She rested her head on the familiar metal plate, cool and somewhat soothing, if rather ill adapt for any kind of snuggling, and sighed. "No." She answered truthfully.
"I won't let it happen, Raven." He told her firmly.
"But what if…what if we have no choice? What if, whatever we do, we did in the 'past' and it ended up being the same exact thing?" She asked.
"Listen, Raven, we can make this change, we can force it to. Remember what you have with you?" He told her. When she just looked at him, he went on, "Angel blood!" She jumped, and her eyes widened at the realization.
"Use it the right way and…we might even be able to effect time and space." She murmured.
"We could send ourselves back to the exact same time that we were thrown into that vortex." He said.
"How, though? I may know a lot of spells and have a good amount of power and ability when manipulating blood in demon form, but I don't have anywhere near the stock of spells and incantations that Judora does, I wouldn't know where to begin, even if I did have my books! Sure I remember a few passages and all but—"
"Are you forgetting who you were in a past life?" Malorek asked, beginning to look exasperated. "Avelona, The White Magus herself! Those books and mentions we have of you in that time period don't come close to describing the vastness of your knowledge. I swear, sometimes I thought there was no limit, you seemed to have such an utter and complete understanding of everything magical, or even merely paranormal, that there seemed to be nothing you couldn't do. And you had the power to back it all up, not to mention physical endurance. There was no spell you could neither break nor cast, no action or objective you couldn't accomplish, and no goal that you didn't meet and pass. You will find a way to change this, I know you will." He told her.
Raven just looked at him, "But I'm not Avelona." She said.
"I know you're not, you are Raven. However, you used Avelona's own power chant against those demons back on Earth." He said quietly, pressing his lips to the jewel on her forehead.
"That? But that was, I learned that from you, er, your darker half, remember?" She asked.
"All I did was teach you the words. No one but you could ever actually use that particular chant. And, did you know, you were the one who invented the power chant in the first place? Taught it to me, and told me that everyone's chant was different." He said.
"But most of the people on Azarath can use the one I had been—"
"A proper power chant is unique to the individual person, let me correct myself." He told her. "That was more of a sort of…well it seemed like an attempt to recreate the entire concept, or it is the result of it going through too many generations to keep it's proper form. But the one you did use, was yours."
"So why couldn't I accomplish it properly that…one time…?" She asked, thinking back to when she had nearly killed a little girl with her recklessness.
"You'd only just begun obtaining your original powers, trying to use it then would, of course, have been dangerous." He told her.
"But you said when I came back—"
"And just how was I suppose to know you'd tried to use that power chant? All you said was an accusation of me teaching you dark magic, which I was. If I had known, I'd have realized who you were." He answered swiftly.
She shut her mouth, "Oh." She said. "So…am I just suppose to remember something to help us with this? Because right now, my mind is drawing a blank."
"Not now, but as you gain more memories, I'm sure you will obtain some of your magic as well. Admittedly, you are weaker than your past self, but I have a feeling it is only for the time being." He told her.
"I know I am, in this form anyway. But…I don't get it. Why did Judora send us back here? Did she mean to? I mean, surely we come back at one point, if, well, I'm currently in two places at the same time." She said. "But…when? And why did I…revert, in the first place?" She asked. "I mean, what went wrong? The me that Judora was aiming for was the one who cooperated with him and would have happily fulfill my 'duty'. This other form…it's not at all what she wanted, so what went wrong? Why did it happen?"
"Maybe…hangman's blood reacted strangely with your system? Maybe it was from a particularly prolonged hanging or something and you went overboard." He suggested. "She might have tried another method, a number of things could have gone wrong."
"But what was it?" Raven persisted, "Judora's become wise to us, she wouldn't make that sort of mistake…even though she's been making mistakes, apparently. But still, if I knew why, how exactly it happened, I might be able to prevent it, guard myself against it somehow."
"Let's start one step at a time, and step one can be figuring out that cross." He said.
"They should have tried to process a piece of it by now." Raven mused, "Let try and see if they found anything particular."
XD
"HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND!" A familiar female voice shouted, "Listen to me, all of you! Raven is our friend, she went out of her way to get us here, she saved us, she even went so far as to keep the piece between her man and us. You saw her, you heard her, she is not The Demon!"
"Shila, you know very well—"
"I know very well that she might be the past form, but she isn't the same! She has a soul, a human soul, and she has human emotions. She is our friend." Shila snapped.
"But you can't deny that if we killed her now, none of this would have ever hap—"
"You're exactly right," Raven said, "None of this would have ever happened, and that would erase the need to kill me, wouldn't it? So how would you know to kill me?" She asked. Everyone stared at her, most startled, and two of them looking a little frightened. "It would create a paradox, I imagine it might have already happened once, but time would have corrected itself and snapped back on track." She said.
"S-so how do you plan on changing time without creating a paradox?" Grissom dared. Raven might have thought it amusing that such a big man was regarding a small girl like her with a huge amount of concealed fear, if the situation had been different.
Raven stopped, and bit her lip, how was she going to— "Ahem." Malorek coughed, "We have a way." He said, giving Raven a rather stern look. Oh, right, Zacroma's blood.
"What's that?" Asked Shila, eyes wide with interest.
"There's a way, we might be able to, to alter space, time, and reality, but…" Raven sighed, crossed her arms over her chest, and screwed her face up in thought, "We're going to need to know just about everything that had to do with that night about 50 years ago. That'll include knowing where The Cross came from, and, probably," She grimaced, "Cornering what is likely a much more powerful and apt Judora than what we are use to. Who, I'm certain, already knows we're here." She gave Malorek a significant look, and he coughed.
"Well, at the time we thought this was another world but, yes, she probably does." He frowned, "At least we have some idea of how her mind works."
"Yeah, with several gears unhinged." Raven muttered darkly. A sound caused her to look up, and she found, to her shock, four faces fighting back grins, two failing miserably.
"Bearing that in mind, and her habit of gloating profusely when she has the upper hand, perhaps we can use this to our advantage." Malorek said.
"Um, how?" Mace questioned.
"Her style is to get me into a corner, and then revel about it out loud. What we need to do is figure out a way of making it look like she has a hand over me, without that actually happening. She loves to gloat, so I'm pretty sure I could get all the information we could possibly need from her. The only problem being, how to get into that situation without making it look suspicious." Raven mused.
"Well, getting into her clutches will be easy, all you have to do is cast a spell, and stay in the same place long enough for her to cast a circle. The problem will be actually getting out of her clutches, but I think I know how we can do that." Malorek said.
"How?" Asked Shila.
Malorek looked at Raven, his head tilted a bit, "It's, well, a rather difficult spell, but what we could do is place our own sort of, mark on a particular spot, and the way we'd want to do it is to have some item placed where it would be covered with the mark, and then remove it from that place. Work the spell properly, and Raven could teleport right through any barriers or obstacles as if they weren't there, and come back to the place where the mark had been made the moment she cast the other half of the spell on the object. Though, ah, I think we should use a…different mark, other than a circle." He said.
"Like a Star of David?" She asked.
"A what?"
"A five point star, with one of the points facing up while two are going down at angles." She answered, using her fingers to point, "If you turn it around and have the one point going down, it's the Devil's Star. But I think it's obvious which we might prefer."
"Isn't that what Judora uses? The Devil's Star?" Asked Malorek.
"No, most circles are made with six point stars, that's what she uses. The Star of David and the Devil's Star are sometimes too easily mixed up, you have to make sure you're facing it in exactly the right direction or it could become one or the other, so they're not used very often because it can be dangerous, to both sides. There have even been times when a caster has stood at an angle that's right in between the two, and ended up killing himself even though he was only trying to summon a bird. But if we did it right, and used the Star of David as our mark, I doubt anything Judora might try will keep me from being able to use it." She said considering.
"Okay, so, why in the world would it matter which star you used so long as it's a star?" Asked Shila. Raven looked at them, and found that each and every one of them were looking thoroughly bemused.
She shook her head, "Sorry, I forgot you might not be able to follow. See, magic has just as many restrictions and rules as science, possibly more. The trick is getting around those rules, by operating within their confines. The different stars matter because of the negative and positive effects of them. It'll be easier to keep Judora from both noticing and being able to manipulate the spell if we use a powerful positive force. Obviously, her affinity is dark magic."
"There's good magic?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course there is!" Malorek answered grumpily, "Granted, most magic is more of a user-purpose type thing, it's in the middle, neither good nor bad. It just depends on who's casting it. But some magic, well, dark magic's only purpose is to devour and destroy, cause chaos and all that. While light magic heals, makes order, and nurtures. Basic natural drives, however light magic can be bent to do rather…unfavorable things. While sometimes dark magic is needed to fight against dark magic. Fighting fire with fire, that sort of thing. All you've seen is the kind of magic Judora uses, which is demonic magic, obviously." He explained.
"Okay, okay, I get it." He said, holding his hands up in defense.
"Is there any way we can help?" Asked Shila.
"Yes, unfortunately…" Raven said, frowning deeply, "For you to be properly able to help at all, in such a way that we're not fearing for your lives, it would involve some…unfavorable prospects." She told them.
"Like what?" She questioned, looking as though she didn't really care if it meant helping.
"Blood transfusion, with me." Raven answered.
"Ah! Like what you did with those three guys, what were their names?" Malorek asked.
"Daniel, Michael, and Shade." She answered. "And yes." She looked at their faces, and wasn't at all surprised to see that no one looked willing anymore, even Shila seemed to be having second thoughts, but then her head perked up.
"Hey wait a moment! Those are the names of those three, remember?" She asked the others, "The three who The Sor—Judora wants killed more than anyone else, but can't do it!"
"What!" Raven gasped. "They're, they're alive!" She said.
"They're the only three people yo—er, The Demon can't kill either. I think that's why Judora wants them dead." Shila answered.
"Of course," Raven whispered, "They must be the only one's alive that I could count as friends, and with them around, there's still a chance that I can return to normal. Of course Judora would want them killed. But if they didn't go anywhere near Cross Hope, she wouldn't dare go out to get them herself, and any demons she sent after them were probably either killed by them, or me before it could find them. They have to have some idea as to what happened, we have to find them!" She said.
"That might not be true, Raven. Remember they weren't with us, they probably have about as good an idea as we do." Malorek told her.
"We still have to try." She said.
"So how can we help?" Shila persisted. Raven looked at her.
"Are you sure—"
"Dead sure. If it's the same thing you did to those three, well, I want to help, I told you that. Though I don't know about them." She said, giving her three male companions a reproachful sniff as she gestured to them.
"I'll do it." said a quiet voice. Raven blinked, and then looked at Blade oddly. That had been the first time he'd spoken at all since telling them his name. She'd suspected him to be timid and rather cowardly at first.
The other three seemed just as surprised by this pronouncement as she was. But he just looked at them, not at all frightened or ashamed, "I will." He said softly, he looked at Raven, "What do I have to do?" he asked.
"Wait. Shila will have to be first. But before I start, I suppose you two are backing out?" She asked, looking at Grissom and Mace.
"Heck no! I'm in!" Mace answered, apparently wanting to prove himself now.
Raven looked at Grissom, who looked right back at her, as if studying her. His shoulders then relaxed, "I'm going to trust Shila's judgment. If she sees you as a friend, then so do I." He proclaimed. Shila beamed at them.
"Need this?" Asked Malchior, holding out a dagger to Raven. "I know you have your own dagger, but the blade is so sharp gently touching it will make you bleed, so it'll be less work for them to use it." He explained when she was about to protest.
"W-what? Use it, for what?" Asked Mace, suddenly nervous.
Raven took the dagger. "What do you think? I told you we'd need to perform blood transfusion."
"Yeah but, I thought we'd do that with, I dunno, medical staff at hand?" He said, shifting anxiously.
Raven sighed and leered at him. "Does it look like we'll be getting a medical staff in the next five seconds? Time is not on our side here, the longer Judora knows I'm here, the longer she has to sort out some twisted scheme." She said. "Now brace yourselves, this might come as a bit of a shock." She said, putting the blade to her palm and applying pressure. Malorek was right, it was very easy to draw blood with this blade.
The next moment her wound had healed, and she was looking at a paper white hand through two sets of eyes. Shila barely stifled her shriek before it came out, and the rest of them had gasped. Raven held out the blade to Shila, "Better do this quick before you change your mind." She said, but her voice seemed to trigger something as Shila jumped back involuntarily. Raven didn't even flinch, but extended her arm a little further. "I know this might be hard, but you have to trust that I am the same Raven you called your friend. All you see is a different form, with different flesh and appearance." She consoled.
It took a moment, but Shila nodded, and took the dagger. "What do I do?" She asked, her voice surprisingly steady.
"Cut your wrist open, try to get the ligament. We'll do this swiftly, and I'll warn you that the transaction will be a little…painful." She said, reopening her own hand with a fingernail. Shila bit her lip, but did as asked swiftly, and without looking. Before the blood could drip down to the ground, Raven grabbed her wrist, making sure the wounds opened into each other. Shila gasped. "Shila, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold." She recited.
Shila let out a scream and fell to the floor, caught by Grissom who was now looking up at Raven with both fear and apprehension. "She's alright, idiot." Malorek muttered as Blade stepped forth, looking neither effected by Shila's reaction, nor apprehensive about what he had to do. He picked up the knife and slit his wrist without so much as flinching. Raven took the wrist.
"Blade, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold." Blade stifled a gasp, and slumped to the floor, clutching his wrist as it healed and his new power began to unfold within him. Raven picked up the knife and handed it to Mace, just as Shila was standing up, an expression of wonder on her face as she stared at her hands. He seemed to take this as a good sign, and, though with a cringe, opened up his own wrist. Raven grabbed it. "Mace, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold." She said once more.
He fell to the floor, just as Shila formed a knot of blue electricity in her hands, and then spreading it out, and began to have it dance about, making a circle. Grissom was gawking at her. "This is…this is so, so amazing." She breathed, bringing the crackling light down back into her hands and making it disappear.
"Grissom?" Raven said, holding the dagger out to him. Without a word, he took it and opened his wrist with it. "Grissom, as my blood flows in you, so does yours flow in me. With this, I grant you power you were never meant to have. If you knowingly use this gift to harm the innocent, it will come back to you ten-fold." She said. He grabbed his wrist, but bit back a scream, and walked over to a couch where he sat down instead of curling up on the floor.
"Shila's power, I think, is the most obvious. But Blade, you have the power to deafen the senses of any living being, and also the ability to move far more swiftly than a normal human. Mace, you can freeze anything you touch, even the air around you. And Grissom, you can turn things green." She said.
"I can what?" He demanded, looking up at her incredulously, and finding her smiling.
"I'm kidding." She said, chuckling. "You have heightened senses, as well as a form of ESP, and, if you concentrate hard enough, you might be able to destroy a simple mind. This should come in quite handy while dealing with lesser demons." She told him. "I'll be honest, each of you have been given, ah, some demon qualities as well. But don't worry, these only amount to an extra toughness, the ability to heal faster, and more endurance. And I think you have all been given the ability to fly, so that will come in handy." She told them.
"Great. Er…you're not going to stay like that, are you?" Asked Mace, shifting uncomfortably.
Raven smiled, "Oh didn't you know? This is permanent, I'm going to be in this form forever even though I've transformed like this before and you just saw me human not too long ago. This particular transformation is irreversible." She told them. Malorek snorted and started laughing, causing a chain reaction between the rest of them, even Grissom grinned, though he was fighting against it.
"Here." He said, slipping off his gauntlet and holding a bear wrist out for Raven.
"Thanks." She said, sinking her teeth gratefully into his skin. She released it soon, and saw her skin back to normal. "I have to drink some blood before I can change back, for energy so I'm not fainting afterwards." She explained to the stunned faces.
"Um, that makes sense, I guess." Shila said, though it was rather obvious she didn't understand a bit.
"So, what now? We have powers, what's our first course of action?" Grissom asked. Everyone turned to Raven, who couldn't help but feel like she was having to take on the roll that Robin was most suited for more and more often.
"It's obvious, we find out about that piece of The Cross they were so desperate to obtain." Raven answered. "And after that, we find those three that Judora wants dead so badly."
XP
A/N: Firstly, I would like to apologize, of course. There is no excuse for my laziness and lack of updates, I've simply been working on other…crap. Trying to explain myself will only use up useless reading time that you could be spending on other fanfics with far more faithful authors than myself. Honestly, I have been banging my head on the counter for several months thinking "It's almost over, dangit! The story is almost complete, why must I lose interest now when it's just getting to the juicy fighting parts!"
I will say this though, one of the reasons for my lack of surprises is because I've used most of them up already, and now it's just time to lay everything out and get a move on so, maybe, I can forgive myself for letting down so many faithful reviewers! I do have a few more up my sleeve, but the surprises in this chapter were, I expect, rather obvious. The three Judora wants dead are probably obvious as well, but just in case they're not I'm revealing nothing here.
I suppose that's all I wanted to say… Puts on helmet and prepares for upcoming anger, though this might not be a good idea as dragon helmets are frigg'n expensive