A/N: ALL YOUR DRAGONS ARE BELONG TO US! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
XP
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.
Raven sat up straight in bed, sweating with the effort to keep herself from screaming. Her bedsheets, which were tangled around her as obvious signs she'd been tossing and turning, were clutched tightly in her hands, they had holes in them from her nails. Raven stuffed a hand in her mouth and bit down hard on it, willing herself not to scream, turning it into silent sobs. Her hand began to bleed.
She slipped out of her bed and went to the mirror, staring at herself. She couldn't help but feel…chained. Like there was something heavy weighing her down, so heavy…like a lock of some sort, something that was preventing her from being able to tap into Avelona's memories, but the more she tried to find the key, the farther away it drew itself, almost as though she herself were levitating it away from her hand. Raven stared at her reflection, she almost expected to see actual chains there around her form, wrapped around her arms, her legs, with shackles on her neck, wrists, and ankles. She shook her head.
"What is it?" She whispered, touching the mirror. What was it that she didn't want to remember? What was Avelona's secret? Was it her guilt at destroying all those people who attacked her home that one time? Was it true, true that Avelona was still thirsty for blood? ….Was it true that she was, in fact, the one who murdered Val'hilran? Perhaps…maybe, Avelona was half demon. But surely she should have realized that Malorek wouldn't care…but then, the other part of her nightmare, that sounded like Rorek and Malchior when Judora was controlling them, and so the purpose was to ruin her. But it didn't make sense that a demon, even a half-demon, would be possessed by other demons! A half-demon would be immune, unless they were very special demons. But then these would have to be demons crafted specifically for the person themselves, and what would be the point of that? Avelona was only a child when she was possessed after all, what could she have done to deserve that sort of torture? Was it something her parents did perhaps? That would explain it…but still, there was something off about all of this, something that was eluding Raven's mind, and yet dangling in front of her, just beyond her reach, taunting her with whispered hints that she couldn't understand.
"The most beautiful woman in the cosmos stares back at herself from the surface of a mirror," Said a low, soothing voice as strong arms took Raven's wrists and held them around her own form, "But, I wonder, what is she expecting to find there?" He asked, pressing his cheek to hers and staring in the mirror with her. Then, his face sober, he asked, "What's wrong, Raven?" And he held her tightly, protectively, and Raven felt herself sink deep into his arms. She sighed and melted against him, he nuzzled her neck in affection.
"I…had another nightmare." She told him.
"What about?" He asked.
Raven paused a moment, her eyes distant, "Malorek? Do you…do you remember that time, when you were both Malchior and Rorek, the last time you saw Avelona? That time when Judora's control over your mind finally drove her into the underground?"
Malorek stiffened slightly, "As though it has been burned into my mind forever." He answered softly. "I remember what was said, the expression on her face, the tears in your eyes. But why? Is that what…your dream was about?" He asked
"You remember I told you Judora sent the Death Wraith after me, a Death Wraith forces their victim to relive their worst experiences and/or fears. It's a bit complicated, not as straightforward as the Dementors in Harry Potter, but, if someone had a deadly secret they forced themselves to forget, that's something the Death Wraith will work to bring to the surface. The event I experienced was that time, that particular time, and there were words said before then…it had something to do with a secret Avelona had, a secret she was keeping, even from herself. Ignoring certain…hints I suppose, and determined that something didn't happen, or wouldn't happen. Can you…can you remember what this secret is?" Raven asked.
Malorek's reflection scrunched up his face, trying to remember, "Something was said, this was what sent her over the edge, this secret. But I don't know what it could possibly be that she thought I would truly desert her if I knew. I'm sure that nothing she, nor you, can tell me would, or will, make any difference whatsoever to me." He said.
"Yes, well, we never said Avelona was emotionally stable." Raven sighed. Malorek chuckled in spite of himself.
"Still, this isn't something you should be worrying about now, we have bigger things to get stressed out over." Malorek told her, bringing her around and them, before she could react, sweeping her off her feet and into his arms. Raven let out a small woop of surprise, but then brought an arm up around his bear neck and sighed into his chest.
"Yes, you're right. But…something bothers me." She said.
"What's that?" Malorek asked, pausing on his way to her bed.
"Judora…she knows, she knows this secret. And what if this isn't something we can just ignore till later? What if this also had a big significance to everything? Obviously Avelona felt enough shame about it she would believe that you would desert her because of it." She said.
Malorek sighed and laid her back down on her bed, then got in next to her. He waved his hand and the covers straightened out and fell over them softly. "Don't worry about it." He told her, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers, "Whatever it is, no one is going to think less of you for it, least of all me. I promise." He kissed the jewel on her forehead, and then her lips.
"Thank you." Raven breathed, melting into his arms once more, breathing in his scent as her face pressed comfortably up against his chest, his neck and chin hooked around the top of her head. He waited until she fell asleep again before allowing himself rest as well.
XD
"…Ah, shall I leave you two alone for a little while longer?" Both Malorek and Raven's heads jerked towards the door where Chire'ni was standing, trying not to look too amused. She'd just caught them in the middle of a very long and heated kiss, and Malorek with no shirt on either!
Raven's face went scarlet and, for some odd reason, couldn't help but feel the need to beg Chire'ni not to tell their mother. Malorek on the other hand, said, "Yes, if you would, that would be nice." And he recaptured Raven's lips in his own and attempted to continue, with Chire'ni letting out a bought of uncontrollable laughter as she went ahead and closed the door.
"Mmmm." Malorek wined when Raven pulled away and slipped out from under him in order to get the rest of her clothing on. "But, but, it was just getting good!" He complained so dejectedly that Raven snickered in spit of herself.
Face still red, she shook her head, "Don't want to make Chire'ni wait too long. She'll only laugh harder." She added in an undertone.
"I don't care." He said, slipping his hands back around her waist, making it difficult to strap her belt there. He pushed her hair away using his nose in order to find her ear and began to nibble.
Shivers went up her spine and she seriously considered continuing their make-out session, but caught herself and rolled her eyes at him, "Well I do." She said, shooing him away from her ear with her hand.
"You weren't saying that last night." He chuckled, earning himself a hard slap.
"Alright, Malchior, get your clothes on and let's go find the others." She ordered.
"Ouch! Well, yes, I guess I deserved that." He said, rubbing his cheek and teleporting back to his room.
The two found the rest of their group congregated in Daniel, Shade, and Michael's bedroom, which appeared to have been prepared for them already, only Mace and Shila weren't there.
"Wild horses couldn't get those two up." Chire'ni grumbled.
"Would you like me to try?" Malorek asked, cracking his knuckles.
"Uuuuuuh," But before Chire'ni could say either way, he was gone. There was silence for a few moments, and then Malorek reappeared, holding the two of them by their clothing. Shila wearing a full set of plane blue pajamas, and Mace…a set of boxers with teddy bears on them. Mace was, incidentally, held up by his waist and it looked as though he were very close to falling out of them, Malorek not helping matters very much by jiggling him a bit, an evil glint in his eye.
"MALCHIOR PUT HIM DOWN!" Raven yelled, an action which seemed to have been enough to wake Mace up, he looked up at them, looked down, and suddenly screamed. Malorek let him fall, laughing.
"Mmmm? Who screamed?" Shila asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes and looking around. She gave Malorek a rather tipsy smile, "Hey handsome, how's it going?" She asked groggily.
Malorek stared at her for a moment, held her as far away from him as he could, and then let her fall with a loud Thud! "Are you awake yet?" He asked pleasantly.
"YES!" Shila yelled, scrambling up from her awkward position, "Me and my very soar butt thank you for that!" She told him irritably, and then her eyes fell on Mace, and she began to laugh, pointing at him as he tried desperately to find something to cover himself with. Shila, of course, being fully clothed obviously found this hilarious.
Indeed, practically everyone else in the room was laughing, Raven trying very hard to keep herself from doing so, but it was difficult.
"Alright, if, if you two will…go and get dressed, we can start…planning our next course of action." Raven said, biting her lip.
"This isn't funny man!" Mace exclaimed, settling on one of the guys' blankets to wrap around himself. "I'll get you for this!" He declared, shaking a fist at Malorek, who simply smirked.
"I look forward to laughing at your pathetic attempt." He responded smoothly.
Mace grumbled something incoherent and left, with Shila still laughing behind him, to get his clothes on.
5 minutes later everyone was sitting (some standing) in the trio's bedroom, and Raven took a deep breath, as it was obvious everyone was waiting for her word. "I don't think there is going to be an easy, sure-fire way of doing this, what Judora lacks in raw power she makes up for in cunning and skill. She will know we are going to attack before we do, she will have realized our plan from the beginning, and she will use it to her advantage. Way back before all of this we only beat her simply because we had more force than she had anticipated, each time we only won because of something she hadn't anticipated, a simple mistake she made. Our past Judora has failed because she did not anticipate our future selves having the ability to go back and change things. But this does not mean we can relax in the knowledge that we will win. This does not mean that we will win. We have to make this happen, and we have to have something that Judora is not expecting. Also, we don't have any real proof that this time's Judora doesn't already know Malorek is here. Our little stunt with preventing all those demons from killing Batman may have alerted her to a force she wasn't anticipating, so we can't rely on Malorek very much. I think I know exactly where her hideout is, coincidentally, so should Chire'ni." The drow nodded grimly.
"I've just not been fool enough to try staging attack and making myself known overly much." Chire'ni explained.
"Which is good, but we can't expect Judora to not know about Chire'ni either. Neither can we think she won't expect me to have given you four special powers." Raven said.
"Alright, you've blown down every single one of our possible advantages, now what?" Shila asked rather irritably.
"Well, what she will not have expected, is that we, ourselves, have already helped us, if you get what I mean. The first clue that my future self left for me would be this bottle." She then brought out the bottle, "This water is obviously the sun-saturated water from the T-Tower, or The Cross. Water that we will undoubtedly use as there is, right now, so little of it. Some of it, I already know what it would be used for, but the rest I don't know. Also this piece of cloth," Raven took out the cloth, "This symbolizes that my dreams with the white cloak meant myself, the person who was helping us. And there's something else," Raven looked at Malorek, "As this bottle was Avelona's, and since it was in Avelona's sub-space pocket, one of our past selves must have been able to access this in order to begin the cycle for our favor. Somehow, I think, I need to figure out how to access Avelona's sub-space pocket, and that will mean more of her memories."
"Okay, we can't keep it in anymore, who is Avelona!" Shila demanded, pulling on her hair in aggravation.
"She was the most powerful and brilliant mystic of all time, she alone fought against hundreds of demons, learned and mastered all forms of magic, is the only being who has ever been able to master the use of Blood itself. She is known by many names, but mostly by her accomplishments in the field of both magic and science. She tamed the great Chimara on Mt. Everest, stilled the touch of the Grimmore in the river Styx, healed thousands of sick, destroyed plagues of disease, mended broken bones and restored lost parts of the body, she was the one who defeated the Messiah of Lucifer and sent him back to his own realm when he first arose, she is the White Magus, and she is also Raven, my sister." Chire'ni answered, surprising them all, especially Raven.
"So…ah…what do we do now? Bow down and worship you?" Mace asked in stunned amazement.
"You could do that, yes." Malorek answered. Raven sweatdropped.
"No. I am only Avelona reincarnated, and I have yet to regain very many of her memories. The ones involving her spells in particular seem to be eluding me." She answered. "All I'm able to do is manipulate Blood, and only as Dark Raven can I do that." She said.
"Wait a moment, I thought you said that gray dragons are the most powerful dragons next to the deities." Mace said, looking at Malorek, "Why can't you just go in and start blasting everything to bits?" He asked.
"Because that is exactly what Judora wants. Nothing would please her more than to have me barrel in there blindly and attempt to simply destroy everything in sight." Malorek answered. "Let me re-explain the situation, Judora wants to use me, my power, in order to resurrect Trigon. If I start to exert an overlarge amount of power she will have me in a circle before you can blink and the next thing I know I'll probably be shackled to an alter with iron specially made to bind a gray dragon and a sacrificial dagger in my chest sucking all the power and life from me. The more power we exert outside of specially protected areas the easier it is for her to pin-point our location and the more precise and refined she can make her circles. Especially if we're that close to her location. We can only assume that Judora's become more proficient at making circles as well, and so anything we do within 10 miles of her location will have to be low-scale unless we plan on moving out of that area, fast." He told them.
"Dang, that sucks." He said, flinching. "So, any plans?"
"Well," Shila begin, but Raven suddenly sat up and stared at Malorek with a wide-eyed expression, as though she just suddenly realized something.
"Malorek, do you remember that one time, when you as Malchior were still trapped in a book, and I wanted to protect my room in the way that I protected the secret closet behind my hangman tapestry?" She asked, Malorek's eyes widened in dawning comprehension and he nodded, "I've been wondering, actually, what it was that kept Judora from being able to teleport anyone in or out of the tower using her circles, since she obviously knew that was our base, and why she couldn't send anything to destroy it, even all those years ago before it became The Cross. The general protections that I, myself, had placed around the T-Tower wouldn't be particularly apt at blocking her circles, but the jewel…"
His mouth dropped open, "You made it powerful enough to block circles like that?" he asked.
"That was the intended purpose, but the way it was made, that was just a defect of the magic used. Honestly I wasn't thinking about blocking circles, but circles are tricky things in general so any amount of a certain type of protection would be able to block her ability to use them externally. To use this type of protection without an enchanted object of some sort would require a constant amount of concentration. So if we could get our hands on that jewel, it's probably still inside the tower…"
"We could break it into smaller pieces so that each one of us would have that protection from Judora's circles." Malorek finished. "External circles anyway," He added at Mace's expression, "It would still be useless if I walked right into her fortress and started blowing things up. But outside the fortress we would have a means of protecting ourselves."
"So, obviously, our first coarse of action will be to get inside The Cross." Chire'ni said.
"Well, that settles it, let's go." Daniel said, standing up.
"What, now?" Shila asked, staring at him.
"Yes now, what, do you have a date or something?" He asked. Shila looked insulted and she got on her feet immediately.
"No." She answered hotly. "We'll go now!" Her three fellows followed her lead and stood up with her.
"I'll notify my subordinates and meet you at the exit tunnel you came in from." Chire'ni told them, also standing up.
"What, you're coming too?" Malorek asked in slight surprise.
Chire'ni put her hands on her hips, giving him a look that would have made any human man shrink in terror, "Of course I am coming. I want to see this snake destroyed and I'm not going to let you have the pleasure of doing it yourself! I'll have my own vengeance, and woe be to any demon who dares stand in my way."
Mace stared at her, and then at Daniel, "I'm, kinda, scared." He admitted sheepishly.
"So are we. Just be glad she's on our side." Daniel replied under his breath.
XD
Raven was almost surprised to see that the ship was exactly how they left it, hadn't been attacked or stolen or anything. The only things that seemed to have done it any harm were the birds that decided the windshield would make a nice toilet. The got inside of it, and Raven directed its flight path towards Jump City.
They had to land in a deserted area fairly far from the city itself, high above the ground in a place that one couldn't reach without an aircraft. When they got out, Raven was about to ask Chire'ni if she could fly, but the drow had already begun a spell, "Power of mana, I call thee from the depths of the abyss, flow through my body, change my form, change my shape. Give me the power of a dragon with wings to fly." She changed, and before their very eyes a set of large, black and violet dragon wings grew from her back, an actual tale snaked out from her tail bone, her muscles seem to grow, her hands became claw-like, she grew small horns around her ears, her teeth became fangs, and her blue pupils became like slits. Everyone but Shade, Michael, and Daniel stared.
"I didn't know you could shapechange!" Raven exclaimed.
The half-dragon Chire'ni smirked, "Of course I can, you think I would limit myself only to becoming human? That was simply a necessity, after all." She answered, her voice seemed to have acquired a bit of a growl.
"So, why did you chose the dragounet, if I may ask?" Questioned Malorek, sounding slightly amused.
"Well, a drider cannot fly, you see." She answered in an off-hand sort of voice, spreading her wings and taking to the air with a single, effortless flap.
"Right," Said Shila, shaking her head, "I'm just not going to ask." She grumbled, jumping into the air herself along with everyone else.
Jump City soon came into view, and it looked even worse than before. Though perhaps that was because Raven was now able to associate it with the city she had seen not long ago. Nothing seemed recognizable, at all, the only landmarks were the river and The Cross, where the park was suppose to be, there was nothing, where a library was suppose to be, several fallen buildings, where theme parks, bridges, ponds, and even the lake was suppose to be, there was nothing but rubble and debris. Very little was still standing, and what was standing was the buildings closest to The Cross, but that was about it.
Raven flew towards the cross as if in a trance, she felt something wet on her cheeks but she ignored it, blinking as her vision got blurry with the salty liquid. She wished, she wished, she could blame all of this solely on Judora, and even though she knew it was, in fact, Judora's fault, it had not been she who had directly caused all of this destruction. It had been Raven, all of it, had most likely been Raven's doing. Dark Raven, no, Demon Raven, yes, but it had still been she who had done all of this, and much, much more.
How many more had been killed? The other Titans perhaps? What about the Justice League? Had they tried, and failed, to defeat her? Did friends from outer space try and come to help, only to be brutally slaughtered by her future self? Had she even killed the villains as well? The evil they knew to come from outer space to earth in an attempt to take it over, perhaps they had met with the exact same fate, and perhaps they had joined up with Judora, but it didn't seem to appear that way.
The T-Tower stood, indeed, like a beacon of hope, but for a different reason now. It seemed Judora had begun to summon more demons to guard it, not nearly as many as she'd had last time, but enough to still make a very nice swarm as they spotted the group coming towards them.
"Necronom, Hesburek, Mortix!" Raven yelled out fiercely, her eyes burning with white fire. She held very little back, her emotions welling up into tears began to spill out of her body in a wave of pure fury, her cloak flying up into a wing-like shape and, rather than add his power to hers, Malorek seemed inclined to simply stay out of the way.
The demons who were left began to shriek and attempt a cowardly escape, but Raven tore after them, transforming into her black spirit form, she ripped them to bits with a single snap of her beak, a brush of her wings, and the touch of her talons.
"Feel better?" Malorek asked cautiously when she became her normal self again.
Raven let herself smirk, "Yes, actually, I do." She answered.
"Dude, I am really scared." Mace said to Daniel.
"We all are, just be glad she's on our side." Daniel murmured back.
Simply looking at The Cross didn't hurt the eyes as much as it probably should have, due to the dark haze that seemed to blanket the city, but the closer they got the brighter it seemed to shine, until they came right next to it and it was nearly blinding.
"I don't think we can get any closer!" Michael called.
"I can, just wait here, I'll try to be quick about it." Raven called back. She then wove the same sense-dulling spell she'd used on the two dragons' noses once upon her eyes to where she could hardly see anything that wasn't blanketed with the brilliant light of the cross, and flew right into the center of it.
It looked just as it had before any of this had ever happened, the roof anyways, with the cauldron there spilling over with powerful light, and the sign warning people not to touch it or mess with it. First thing was first, Raven pulled out Avelona's bottle and dunked it into the kethnic water, filling it up. She corked it once finished, noticing that the part of her that had to be submersed in the water was now having the light wound around it, as though it were now emitting from her as well. She then fazed the familiar pathway into her room, only to find that everything was…quite normal. She even has to take off the spell on her eyes to see. The electricity was out of course, but the light still coming from her arms threw everything into sharp relief so that she could still see perfectly.
Raven sighed, even the window didn't seem to know anything had transpired the past fifty years, its curtains blocked the light out efficiently enough, and everything else was dustless, nothing had decayed, no insects had come in, nothing. Everything was as it should be. She felt an unexplainable emotion of longing, wishing this were all just a bad dream, willing her arms to stop glowing, for Robin to knock on her door and ask if she could break up Malchior and Rorek's fight, for Starfire to drag her and Zacroma off to the mall for 'Girl Time', for Beast Boy and Cyborg to declare a new game of Stank Ball (Though by now they'd pretty much given that up). She wanted to hear the alarm and have Robin tell them someone like Cinder Block or Mad Mod was causing trouble, not a crazy snake woman performing sacrifice rituals in public areas to summon Death Wraiths and High Demons.
But this was reality, and she couldn't simply wish it away.
Raven went over to her bed and ran her hand underneath it, soon finding the deep violet jewel, the rune etched in black inside of it. It was a bit larger than the length of her hand, and wider than her fingers could encompass, not a particularly big stone of its type, but obviously quite enough to protect the entire Tower from Judora's circles. She put it into the jewel on her belt and fazed back outside. "I got it." She told the others, flying towards the congregated group still in the air.
"So, now what?" Shila asked. "Back to the ship?"
"That would be best." Raven answered, leading the way.
But the group hadn't flown half the length before a piercing, horrible shriek filled the air. Everyone stopped and looked around wildly.
"Oh god, it's her!" Mace hissed, suddenly fearful.
"Don't fall apart!" Grissom, who'd been inclined to silence for a while, hissed at him.
"Let's get out of here!" Shila exclaimed, and she was about to make a break for it, when something from the ground broke clean through the side of a fallen building, and a figure rose to meet them in the air.
Huge, black, bat-like wings outstreached from a lithe form, hair as long as the figure was tall flowing about it, framing a sheet white face that bore four sets of glowing red eyes and a set of vicious fangs. The torn remains of a black leotard covered the needed areas of a thin female frame, whose hands and feet were claw-like and demonic in spite of her small appearance. Blood of thousands stained her clothes and skin, matting her hair and soaking her hands, feet, and mouth. Her eyes held only emptiness, devoid of a proper soul, mad with pure rage and hatred, her expression twisted into something horrible, unrecognizable.
For a single moment, there was an unnatural stillness, like the calm before the storm, and then she shot from her position, so fast no one had time to react. Shila let out a scream, but the demon ignored it completely, she flew directly towards a single person, her eyes and her mind completely and utterly focused upon nothing else, and Malorek flew forward to meet her half way.
XP
A/N: Heheheheheheheheheh, aren't I evil? :D Anyway, I'M SO HAPPY, SO MANY PEOPLES ACTUALLY UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY IN THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER WHEEEEEEEE! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
Pixie10111: Actually, if you think about it, she's lived her life believing she's in the right, that Avelona was evil and all that. She's fairly firm in her religion, even though her goddess is supposedly dead and all she had were her mother's particular teachings, that's still her way. She's also grown quite a bit, if you'll notice the 50 year period between discovering that she was truly in the wrong and the one you see now, it's not that surprising. To me anyways, but of course, she is my character.
Raven002(aka: David): Oh man…that really sucks, I mean, really really sucks…she was so cool, thanks for telling me that, man…
Me: A water nymph, I think, I'm pretty sure. I could be wrong but I know they're some sort of water creature.
Nena-Firewind: Sorry about that, eh, (Guilty look), like I said in a previous A/N, there's no excuse, I've just been lazy, getting distracted with other stuff, and all that junk. Sorry!
Trickster's-Lulaby: Thanks a lot! I (hopefully) have some more planned on for the future, stuff, (I hope) no one will be expecting, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Well, that's about it, thanks for all the lovely reviews, and keep them coming! Ja!