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"...and that's what happened." Beast Boy said, finishing up the long tale on what turned him and his pale beauty into vampires. The remaining three Titans just stared back blankly, their faces vacant expressions of shock.
They had regrouped back in Ops, but with the lights out as per the request of Beast Boy. Instead, the only light in the room came from several candles, courtesy of Starfire's scented candle collection, that had been lit casting tall dancing shadows across the room.
Beast Boy had put on a ratty, worn out Thundercats tee-shirt, but clad in his black boxers with the glittery red heart pattern. Raven on the other hand was still in her underwear, her blanket wrapped tightly around her body as she stared down at the floor, unblinking, unmoving. Just staring.
"So...does that mean you can turn into a bat and stuff?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy just shook his head. "No dude...Rae taught me all about it. All that stuff about garlic and crosses and no reflections...it's all just urban legends." he said quietly, his hand on the small of Raven's back, though on the blanket as she wouldn't let him touch her bare skin, which was odd for her. Though given the circumstances, the broken hearted changeling knew exactly why.
"What do you and friend Raven plan on doing now?" Starfire asked, her emerald eyes serving as a gateway into her emotions. The once shiny emerald orbs were now dull and lacked their normal luster due to the concern she felt for her friends.
Beast Boy sighed dejectedly, as he knew the all too familiar answer by this point. "The only thing we can do, Star...Raven and I have to leave."
Starfire gasped and covered her mouth with her hands from shock. "No! This simply cannot be! Why, friend Beast Boy, must you take leave of us?"
"It's...it's not that we want to leave, Star...we kinda have to..." Beast Boy managed to spit out. He didn't like the idea that he had to field all their questions alone, but poor Raven seemed to be in a state of shock as she just continued to stare her unmoving glaze, fixated at the floor.
"You don't have to do that. You two are welcome to stay here for as long as you want..." Robin offered.
"Dude...I appreciate that, but Rae is right...what good could we do? Hide in the shadows? Only fight villains at night?" he asked, the bitter truth of the changeling's words stinging the Boy Wonder deep within. "There has to be a way to reverse the effects..." said Cyborg, his words now echoing the very same blissful optimism that Beast Boy himself had once had.
"Cy, as much as..." the jade skinned prankster had started to speak, but was cut off by a quiet and emotionless Raven.
"There is a cure." she said softly, her voice gentle and fragile at the same time. She had always been an emotionally strong Titan, but Dominic's repeated attacks and his attempted rape have pushed the empath to her emotional limit.
Beast Boy's jaw dropped, as the air felt like it was sucked out of Ops in one sudden and swift gust. "Wha-wha?" was all he could stammer. "You...you said there was no cure?"
Her focus still on the floor and away from the other Titans, Raven spoke quietly. Her frail voice reminded Starfire of a dying tree she had once seen as a young girl on Tammaran. It had been poisoned by a vengeful farmer, wishing to extract his own brand of justice on his rival. The once proud tree had been reduced to a sickly hollowed out twig, beaten and abused by the elements. Starfire could feel her her heart break inside to a thousands little shards of misery for her fallen friend, but at the same time felt a fury build inside her like she had never quite felt before. A hurricane of malice and torment she wished to exact on Dominic, making him regret the day he ever set foot in Jump City.
"I...I didn't think there was a cure." said Raven, "But when Dominic was..." she swallowed her spit hard trying to tame the uncontrollable tears that wanted to explode out of her eyes "...on top of me...he forced his thoughts into my mind. His desires...his life...everything he knows, he made me know."
There was another tense silence in the room as everyone waited for Raven to continue at her own will.
"The cure lies in the ruins of Azarath, underneath the Temple of Azar, in a hidden chamber that I was unaware existed."
Robin raised an eyebrow. "And what is the cure exactly?"
Raven took a deep breath, as she was having a difficult time attempting to separate her memories and desires from those of Dominic's. Without her normal means of meditation to help balance her emotions out, she felt devastated and empty inside, like the aftermath of a huge war had been waged in her soul and now only chaos and disorder remained.
"The Holy Grail." she said flatly. "The cup Christ drank from the night he was arrested. It's said whoever drinks from the cup will be cleaned of any and all infirmities...that is, if the heart is pure."
"And...if the heart isn't pure?" Cyborg asked, his voice tinted with a sense of worry and even traces of disbelief. The empath's delivery was cold and emotionless. "Then they die." she said simply.
Robin shook his head, still confused by her explanation. "I don't want to pry Raven, but this doesn't add up. How would Azarath wind up with the Holy Grail?" Raven closed her eyes, trying to shut out Dominic's thoughts and essence which were at war with hers. A couple of minutes passed before she spoke again.
"Thousands of years ago there was an angel named Lucifer who was one of the most trusted and loyal servants in all of Heaven. As time passed, though, he began to find himself in disagreement with the management, so to speak, over various issues. He felt man should embrace their lust, greed and hate as that's what truly made them human, not to deny it as others would say. As his patience with the status quo wore thin, he began to stir up some of the other angels with talk of a revolution to overtake the throne. One of these angels was a man named Dominic..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa..." Beast Boy interrupted. "You're trying tell me that psychopath dude is an angel!" he squealed in disbelief..
Raven merely raised a hand to silence him. "Please, let me finish." she said.
"Over time Dominic became Lucifer's general, if you will. Lucifer managed to convince one third of the entire angel population to join him, claiming that he and he alone should be chosen to rule Heaven. Dominic agreed...for the most part, though his reasons were a little more personal. He was in love with another angel who returned his feelings. They were lovers, though they attempted to keep it a secret from the rest."
"I fail to see the reason why this may cause Dominic to join the rebellion." Starfire said quietly, completely engrossed in Raven's story.
"Angels aren't allowed to love as you love Robin or I love Gar. This infuriated Dominic as he felt he should be free to love who he wanted." the empath added.
Starfire nodded, suddenly feeling slightly sorry for Dominic, but quickly replacing the sympathy with the anger she felt towards him. "So who was Dominic's girlfriend?" Cyborg asked, leaning forward on a backwards chair. Raven grimaced as if someone had stabbed her with a hunting knife. Her gaze returned to the floor, and when she spoke, her voice was merely a tone above a whisper.
"Her name was Arella..."
Beast Boy's face contorted to that of awe and bewilderment, reeling from what Raven has just uttered. "Rae...that's your Mom's name..." he said quietly. The pale girl just nodded her head. "I know..." she finally said, "My mother and Dominic were lovers."
That simple phrase sent a shock wave through the four Titans, each one staring back in complete disbelief. "Raven...I'm...sorry..." Robin said in a hushed voice. Raven never acknowledged the Boy Wonder, just felt a single tear run down her cheek as she drew herself back together to finish the story.
"Dominic tried to convince my mother to join him on Lucifer's army, but she refused. She insisted they served a higher cause and deep down inside, she knew Lucifer's army didn't stand a chance. War broke out between the two sides and needless to say, God's army won easily. The rebels were stripped of their holy blood and cast out from Heaven, with Lucifer vowing revenge but Dominic...Dominic was furious at my mother at her refusal, calling her traitor and a witch."
She cleared her throat, as she could feel Dominic's anger towards her mother crawl into her soul and it made the Azarathian sick at her stomach.
"So...what happened next?" Beast Boy asked. Robin cringed thinking it was the wrong thing to dredge up these memories that weren't even hers to begin with, but surprisingly she stayed calm and continued on...
"Sensing a problem, God took the angels who wished to feel love and sent them away from Heaven. But in order to make sure they were happy, Azarath was created so that they could live in peace. Dominic, on the other hand, demanded reward from Lucifer for his service, saying he was loyal and faithful to 'the cause' to the very end. And he was rewarded...rewarded with immortality..."
"But at a catch, right? He was made a vampire?" Robin asked, the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place now.
Raven nodded. "He made a deal with the devil."
"So this Dominic merely wishes to get the revenge on your mother by attacking you?" Starfire asked.
"At first, yes. That was his intent...but..." Raven attempted to finish, but the tears were too much now. Beast Boy encompassed her in a big hug as she sobbed bitterly into his shoulder. The changeling stroked her bare back softly underneath the blanket, kissing her head. "You don't have to finish if you don't want to..." he said compassionately.
She sat back to where she was before, and wiped a tear from her eye. "No..." she said, her quavering voice slowly starting to gather strength again. "I have to...I can't let him win." She closed her eyes and breathed in and exhaled softly several times in a row...when she felt her nerves were back in order, she continued.
"At first Dominic merely wanted revenge on my mother and the best way to do that, he felt, was to curse me to becoming a vampire. But...that wasn't enough for him. He noticed how...how I resemble her...and he became attracted to me. Even in my head right now, I can see all the sick, twisted fantasies he has towards me. His motive has changed, he just doesn't want to curse me now...he wants me. Physically."
Cyborg's metal fist was clenched in tight grip, and with a mighty yell he slammed his fist down on the chair he had been sitting at, reducing it to kindling. "I'm gonna kill that blood sucking bastard!" he fumed. "So what are we waiting for? Let's go to Azarath and get the cup!"
"It's not that easy, Cyborg." Raven said quietly. "Only those with holy blood can go to Azarath. That leaves me and Gar."
"Uhh...since when did B get holy blood?" the cybernetic Titan asked confused. "Since he drank my blood to sustain himself." she replied.
Robin stood there quietly, as did Cyborg and Starfire. "So I'll guess you'll be leaving soon..." he said, his voice misleading to the worriment he felt for his friends safety. "The sooner the better..." said Raven "Dominic wants the grail too as he believes sipping it will grant him God-like powers. And he has access to Azarath because my blood is now in him"
"Do you think you can beat him?" Robin asked.
Raven was blunt and honest with her reply. "We have no choice." she said firmly. "Come Gar.." she said standing up, the blanket draped around her like a cocoon.
"Wait!" Cyborg protested, eagerly hustling his way to Raven. "Rae...before you go, I want you to have this..." and with saying this opened a small compartment on his arm and produced from it a simple gold necklace with a small gold cross at the end. "My mother gave me this when I was just a little boy...right before she died. I want you to have it...for good luck, ya know?" he said with a faint smile on his face.
The Azarathian cradled the necklace in her hands, her eyes gentle with appreciation at the kind thought, before she fastened it on her neck, with Beast Boy holding the blanket on her. "Cyborg..." she said softly "...thank you." before attempting to hug him as best she can without dropping her blanket. Beast Boy just grinned and patted Cyborg on the shoulder. "Dude, you are so my best man if I get married..."
Dawn was close to break and Raven hurried the process along eager to get back to what was left of Azarath. She had returned to her leotard and cloak, finding it provided a familiar level of comfort and security that helped ease her mind. Beast Boy had returned to his uniform as well, snapping the belt closed as Raven poured the ceremonial salt in intricate patterns on their bedroom floor.
Beast Boy sat down in the familiar lotus meditation position, across from Raven who was sitting in a similar fashion "Now Gar...focus your mind on me. Don't worry about repeating what I say, just focus on me and make sure your hands never leave my body."
"That shouldn't be a problem..." he said with a sly grin. Raven closed her eyes and began to chant the incantation...
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Carazon Rakashas Endere...Vaserix Endrien Azarath...AZARATH AZARATH!"
Instantly the two lovers were engulfed in a piercing blue glow that surrounded them both, swirling like a vortex of pure light. Beast Boy felt completely weightless, like he was a feather in a strong wind. With his eyes tightly closed, he could hear the air wooshing around him reminding the jade skinned prankster of being on a roller coaster...and then, just as soon as it happened, it stopped.
"You can open your eyes now, Gar."
Beast Boy opened his green eyes and gasped at what he saw. As far as the eye could see stood before him what was once a beautiful city, now reduced to charred rubble thanks to Trigon. Nothing was left standing as everything had been completely demolished as if it came from a photo showing the aftermath of an atomic bomb drop.
"Azarath..." Raven said quietly. "I'm home..."