Ever After
He'd remember the years as if they were seconds that followed one after another with just enough pause in their motion for him to appreciate them… and to mourn them.
Roy had his green eyes turned to the ground, his arms wrapped around his shoulders to suppress the cold tremor that was running up his body. To his right, Sakura was lying in her hospital bed, doing her best not to cry.
I thought he was wrong… I thought I was stronger than Holy… but I'm not…
Over the course of their marriage, Sakura had been pregnant exactly three times and failed three times to carry them to term. Their doctors had no explanation for it; Sakura had no words that she could tell. When their fourth attempt failed, Sakura's doctors told her and Roy to stop trying. Roy had ushered the doctors out, but could barely find the strength in his voice to do it. He knew that Sakura wanted a family just as much as he did: they had seen how absolutely stunning and beautiful was the life that Raven and Richard lead with little Hiiro on their hip. Watching Hiiro grow up inspired Roy to make something just as beautiful with Sakura. It broke his heart to see that that tiny bit of hesitance he had seen in Sakura's eyes those years ago was now being justified.
For Sakura's health, the doctors told them to stop attempting to conceive. For their hearts, Roy knew that that was the right decision. He ran his hand through his moderately tamed shock of red hair before turning to stand beside Sakura. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to talk. His slender fingers moved along her cheek to trace the tear that ran there.
"I'm so sorry, Sakura." He said finally.
She said nothing.
"I know you're hurt, so am I, but this isn't your fault. It could have just as easily been me."
Fault? Is that what this is? My fault?
"But," Roy continued, "This isn't something we should beat ourselves up over. Maybe we can't have a baby the traditional way, but we're hardly traditional people. We'll find a way to make a family. We always find a way."
His hands found hers and wove his fingers between hers. "Sakura Harper, listen to me. There are thousands of children in orphanages right now that would love to call us mommy and daddy. We can adopt a baby and raise him as our own and he'll be equally ours, your son, my son."
"Daughter." Sakura said.
Roy felt her squeeze his hand gently. He smiled. "A daughter then. We'll have a little girl and she'll grow up and be beautiful like her mother."
"Roy, I love you so much."
"I know."
…
At five years old, he was a champion. It was the way he moved, the way he spoke, and that pretty boy face; all of which he got from his father, so he really had no choice in the matter. He dressed himself, bathed himself, took after his things and kept his mother close to hysterics with his daredevil moves. After all, he was his father's son.
It was near eight in the morning and Raven was making breakfast. She had gotten infinitely better at making breakfast, though the masterfulness of culinary abilities required for making pancakes still eluded her. She could make a mean omelet, which her boy loved. Her back was to the set table, busy keeping her eyes on the eggs and the bacon at the same time.
Raven Grayson made quite the attractive housewife. She was the head of the neighborhood watch, on the director's board of the PTA for the Gotham City school district and consistently outshined the other Ladies of Gotham at their social galas and charity events.
Her long hair was braided down her back, keeping most of the purple strands from falling into her face, or worse, her cooking. She heard the front door open and only thought to turn her head when the footprints approached the kitchen.
"Ohayo!" Sakura called as she entered, holding a diaper bag across her shoulder and an infant car seat in her arm. Sakura gently placed the car seat on the table before dropping her bag to the floor. She retracted the shade on the infant and untucked her blanket, revealing a slumbering infant girl.
"Good morning Sakura. Is she still sleeping?"
"Oh, yeah. She can't stay awake during a car ride. Roy's waiting outside, is Richard ready?"
"He's not going. He's still sick." Raven replied, flipping her eggs carefully.
For the last three years, Roy Harper and Richard Grayson had taken over complete control of Wayne Enterprise's domestic affairs. Because they were family men, Bruce stayed on at his corporation to maintain overseas affairs. Normally, Bruce handled all proceedings without Roy or Richard, but last week he decided that eventually they'd have to get a feel for the pace their business was expanding at. He took them both with him across the world for business and in a stroke of remarkable timing, Richard contracted a flu like sickness that stayed with him even when he returned to Gotham. He hadn't so much left his bed in two days, though by the end of the first day he had little more than a fever.
"My brother's such a baby when he's sick."
"Hiiro's exactly the same way." Raven replied.
"When Richard was younger, Mother would have to carry him a certain way to get him to fall asleep or feel better."
"Then that's where Hiiro gets it from. If I don't carry him over my left shoulder with his head in my neck, he won't feel any relief."
"Where is Hii-chan?" Sakura asked.
Five year old boys had the world's best timing. As if he heard his pet name, one Hiiro Grayson came dashing into the kitchen. His purple eyes were open wide with a mix of childish wonder and childish mischievousness. His short black hair flapped in the air as he ran and before Raven could shout for him to not run, Hiiro vaulted into a somersault. His hands pressed into the outturned chair and used it as a launch to catapult into a series of flips. He untucked and landed perfectly on his chair on the other side of the table, his hands up in the air as he stuck the landing. Raven sweatdropped when Hiiro sat down and chomped on a piece of bacon.
"Hiiro! How many times have I told you, no front flips at the table?" Raven asked.
"But Mommy-chan! I didn't do any front flips! I somersaulted!" Hiiro replied.
Raven dropped her head in exasperation. Sakura laughed. "He has a point." She added.
"Regardless! No more acrobatics on, to or over the table, Hiiro! You give me a heart attack every time. What if you were to miss?"
"I don't miss Mommy! I'm a Grayson!"
Sakura laughed and patted Raven's shoulder. "That's my brother's son."
Hiiro stood up in his chair and raised his arms to hug Sakura. "Sakura-kun!"
Sakura hugged her nephew tightly. "How's my favorite nephew?"
"There's no summer camp because it's a holyday."
"Holiday, Hiiro."
"Uh huh. I thought my Daddy was gonna stay and play with me but he's still sick!" Hiiro noticed the baby carriage on the table. "Sakura-kun! Can I play with Lian-chan?"
"She's still too small for you. When she's strong enough to sit on her own, then you can play with her Hiiro."
Raven slid Hiiro's eggs onto his plate and the dark haired boy lost himself in his breakfast. Sakura turned to her sister-in-law. "I'm gonna go tell Roy that Richard isn't coming. Oh! That's right; I picked up your newspaper." Sakura dropped the bundled paper on the table then turned to exit the house. Raven unbounded the paper and sat in her seat where Lian could see her, incase the baby should wake up and want a familiar face. On the front page of the Gotham Herald was an intense snapshot of two warrior queens in mid-battle. Since the Titans had disbanded a few years ago, when Cyborg became a father and when Hotspot finally proposed to Bumble Bee, vigilante justice had been at a record low. Only a year ago did some of that righteousness that Raven herself had once fought with returned in the form of two women fighters who governed Gotham, Bludhaven and Steel City on occasion. The picture was in black and white, so Raven didn't know much about them: one was called Sango and the other was Osiris. No one knew where they were from or anything really about them. Raven read the article then went to the next one.
By the time Sakura came back in the house, Raven was on page three and the front page was spread open facing Hiiro and Sakura. Hiiro looked at the image as he munched on his last piece of bacon, he appeared to be a bit more fascinated than Raven had been, but neither of them were as captivated as Sakura was.
The image was a vivid one. Though it was black and white, she could see color, distinct colors: brown and gold, purple, and black, thrown across their eyes and their hair. She could see distinct features, a distinct mouth and chin on Sango, the shape of Osiris' eyes and face. Though some features were different, the coloring a little darker than she remembered, she still remembered…
By the disinterested look on Raven's face, she didn't.
Lian began to fuss and Raven dropped her newspaper. She folded it simply, the front page facing upwards as she looked into the car seat to see the tanned skin child squirm in her place. Sakura walked around and lifted her adopted daughter, quieting her immediately with the least bit of her attention. Raven stood up and moved to start cleaning up the kitchen, smiling at Sakura, who returned the smile with a little less enthusiasm.
"Raven, did you read the article about Sango and Osiris?"
"Yes. It's the first time those two have ever been captured on film. It's a bit blurry, but I suppose its proof enough that they're actual people and not just phantoms." Raven replied.
"Don't they look… a little familiar?" Sakura asked.
"Familiar? No, why do you ask?" Raven asked.
Sakura shook her head, brushing off the question. She continued to look at the newspaper article until Lian fussed again and Sakura gave her a bottle. It started to rain, keeping Hiiro in the house. He sat on the floor and played with his blocks, continuing his beginnings of what he claimed would be 'the greatest leggo pyramid in the whole wide world.' Richard came out of the bedroom long enough to eat and grab the newspaper before laying down on the couch to watch Hiiro continue to build as he practiced his counting. He kept getting messed up when transitioning from one tens group to another. More than once Richard had to correct Hiiro's number game, reminding him that twenty-nine and one was actually thirty. When Hiiro took his afternoon nap, he had made it to two hundred and nineteen. Richard made a mental note of the number, knowing very well that his baby boy would want to start exactly where he left off.
Being a father was the most satisfying event in Richard's life. He watched Hiiro sleep on his chest, despite the protest he'd originally put up, but apparently Hiiro had the immune system of Raven and like Raven, could not be refused. Hiiro's slumbering face was turned under Richard's chin, his short black hair soft under Richard's fingers. Raven checked Richard's forehead when he too fell asleep in the afternoon and took the newspaper from his relaxed digits. Sakura noticed that Richard failed to see any parallel between Sango, Osiris and the two daughters missing from their family.
…
There was a rule in the Grayson house that Hiiro had sworn to obey: that when Mommy and Daddy's door was closed, Hiiro absolutely had to knock. It was no stretch of the truth that Hiiro was a smart boy, but there were some lessons that neither Richard nor Raven were ready for their kindergartener to learn.
As it was, that night Richard had closed the door behind Raven, not to be physically intimate, but mentally. He watched his wife sit on the edge of their marital bed and brush out her long locks. Everything she did was like poetry. She always had a fluidity about her, even in the most simple of tasks. It was one of the things he loved about her. He also loved the smooth expanse of her shoulder, the tiny dusting of freckles she thought no one noticed, and that cute pout she would get when he beat her in chess. There were a million more things he loved about her, but her freckles, her smile and her movement were the things that inspired him.
Hiiro was proof enough that Raven was the muse of Richard's existence. Only an artist could make something as beautiful as that little miracle. Richard's eyes watched Raven, her brush strokes long and soft, her eyes closed and a sweet little hum barely audible from her lips. Richard had never doubted for a minute that underneath it all she was beautiful. It almost blinded him sometimes, just to lay beside her and her moon pale skin, her exotic eyes, that hair, that body, she was two kinds of perfection to him and no matter how many times he told her he loved her, he knew he'd never be able to speak the volumes of just what Raven Grayson meant to him.
When he was younger, and a struggling Boy Wonder, he'd have nightmares and turn to her. She'd calm him down, relax his heart and ease his worry. Now that she was his, he didn't have nightmares at all. Not really.
Richard moved to sit beside his wife as she finished braiding her hair. He pushed the thick tress from her right shoulder and kissed the skin there before kissing the side of her head. "I love you." He said simply.
"I know." She replied in that cool way that was reason six hundred and thirty eight in the million plus reasons why he loved her.
"You remember," Richard asked as he rubbed her shoulders gently, "when Hiiro just learned to walk, he was so proud of himself that he didn't look where he was going…"
"And tripped over the garden hose and took a header into the herb garden. He still won't go near it."
"Hiiro's first words." Richard continued.
"Tuborkle. I still can't believe they mass produce those for children."
"How about the first time he ever ran a fever?"
"August fifth, when he was exactly six months old. You nearly gave the nurses a heart attack because you jumped out of your seat and accosted anyone in smocks that walked by."
"Here I was thinking it was my devilish good looks." Richard replied, winding his arms around her slender middle. She was twenty nine years old with a perfect hour glass figure.
"What are you getting at, Richard? You're not the reminiscent type." Raven said, bringing her hand up to rub the side of his handsome face.
"Rae, what do you think of the idea of us having another child? We both agree that the best thing we've done in our lives is being parents… Hiiro's crazy about Lian, so you know he'd love a little sister and I think it would be nice to have a little girl… my eyes, your nose and smile."
"She sounds wonderful, but…"
"Rae."
"What if it's a boy? You know how hyper competitive Hiiro is. Heaven forbid he thinks he has to compete with another male for my affection." Raven replied.
"If I didn't know you as well as I do, I'd sense absolutely no apprehension in your tone."
"You know why."
"I know why. I know. Rae, do you remember what you said to me when we confirmed that Hiiro was going to be a Hiiro and not a Heroine?"
"We were never going to name h--"
"You said," Richard replied, silencing her with his interruption. "I hope boys are as easy as girls are, because little girls are absolute miracles."
Raven blinked twice then turned to press her forehead into Richard's jaw. He rubbed her back gently, his slim fingers tracing over her tiny freckles. He felt her sigh and kept speaking. "I think we're entitled to another miracle or two. Neither of us… really got the chance to… and I don't want you to think that I'm trying to replace them, because I'm not…"
"I know what you mean… and I suppose there's really no reason to be afraid. Can we talk about this more later?"
Richard nodded and kissed her goodnight, taking his place beside her in bed. He fell asleep in fifteen minutes. Raven didn't sleep at all.
…
It was about eleven forty at night and it was time for Lian's late night bottle. She was on a six hour feeding cycle. If Sakura fed her at midnight, Roy would feed her at six when he got up to prepare for work.
The Harpers lived on the east side of Gotham, a good thirty minute across town drive to Wayne Enterprises and a good fifteen minute drive to the Grayson house in the same direction. Every morning Roy would get up, feed his daughter, eat breakfast, kiss Sakura goodbye and take the fifteen minute drive to pick up his brother-in-law before completing the commute to his office. It was a routine they had fallen into easily. The adoption process had been an easy one; though they couldn't find a Japanese child or one with Roy's devastating red hair, a woman gave birth to a little girl and gave her a name before she gave her up. That little girl was Lian Harper and she fit in well within their arms.
Sakura pulled her bedrobe tight as she moved to the kitchen to prepare a bottle. She heated up a cup of water in the microwave, her bare feet tapping an invisible hymn into the wooden floor as she removed the formula from the refrigerator. The container slipped from her fingers when a loud crash erupted from down the hall.
Roy leapt out of bed and met her in the hallway. His green eyes had become wide awake when he heard the crash. "What was that?"
"I don't know! It sounded like glass, but from where?"
"It wasn't in our room… Lian!"
The former fighters took into a run, dashing down the hall to the baby's nursery. Broken glass was scattered on the floor care of a fragmented window. The frightened parents ran into the room and checked the crib to confirm their worst fear: their baby was missing. Sakura screamed in terror as Roy tore through the crib, lifting the mattress, tossing the blanket, searching for some sign of their baby girl. What he found was a sheet of paper with nothing on it.
"Sakura, call the police!" Sakura nodded and ran to the phone. Before she picked it up, the phone rang. Sakura grabbed it and answered it hastily.
"Mrs. Harper I presume? I'm guessing you were planning to call the police right now about the kidnapping of your precious baby girl."
The voice on the end of the line was grossly disinterested in the conversation, though the words he spoke were dark enough to turn Sakura's blood to ice.
"Put Roy on the phone." The voice commanded.
"Listen, you son of a---"
"No need for such unpleasantries, Mrs. Harper. I haven't done anything to your baby… yet. However, I will if you don't do exactly as I say."
"If its money you want you can have it! Just don't hurt my baby!"
"Mrs. Harper, you're not listening. And when people don't listen to me, I get upset and that's when people get hurt. Give Roy the phone."
Sakura turned hard and heard her husband approach and immediately gave him the phone. She stayed at his side, worrying her nails in her teeth as Roy took over the call.
"Who is this?" Roy asked, his tone betraying his worry. He was sweating, Sakura could see that he was as terrified as she was and she was nearly beside herself with worry.
"Oh Roy, don't tell me you've forgotten my voice. It hurts my heart."
His voice was a slithering cord through his mind, unwinding the complications of his life back to a time when all his life was complication: finding food, finding shelter, staying out of sight, staying alive.
"So you go and get married and forget where you came from, is that it Roy? You marry a millionaire's daughter and didn't think for a second to look back at where you came from. I suppose now that you're a big shot, you don't remember what its like to be hungry all the time, broke all the time, do you Roy?"
"Just tell me what you want so I can have my daughter back." Roy gritted from between his teeth.
"It's the same thing I've always wanted Roy. Unlike you, I didn't change. I want to play, Roy… and I can either play with you or with your little bundle of joy. Come to the Cook Piers at four AM with one million dollars in unmarked bills. Bring the Mrs. But leave the suits behind. If I so much as smell bacon on the horizon… well I won't go into details, but I've always wanted to try… cutting up a baby."
The line went dead. Roy's jaw tightened and shook before he let out a horrible yell and threw the phone across the room. He turned his body sharply before he pounded his fist against the closest wall three times. Sakura grabbed his arm before he could strike a fourth time and forced Roy to look at her. "Roy! What did he say! What does he want?"
"Me."
"What?"
"Roark Harold wants me and one million dollars."
…
Sakura had to drive because Roy was so angry he couldn't see straight. His fingers gripped the leather case that contained the money, but he knew that the money was just a formality: Roark Harold wasn't the kind of shut call who ruled because he had money, he ruled because he was the most dangerous criminal ever to walk Cook County.
Roy's hair was disheveled as a result of his alternating between tugging his hair in frustration and running his hands through it to get it out of his face. Roy cursed himself a million times for being so stupid to think that if he forgot about it, that everyone else would. They were heading toward a dark alley in his history, a length of turns he wanted to have absolutely no part of: it wasn't prideful and sorrowful like Sakura's past: it was brutal and monstrous and it still made him shudder to think about that life he once lead.
Roark Harold was a murderer. Though he preferred to prey on the confident, he wasn't against traumatizing the weak, especially children. He picked a target and sunk his claws in and gave a harsh sting to life.
He had once found Roy Harper and decided to play.
As a result of Roark Harold's constant and cruel gaze, Roy Harper spent a lot of time on the run. He had gashes on his thighs from when he wasn't fast enough, scratches on his feet when he had made wrong turns into alleys and exactly six permanent scars in the inside slope of his shoulders that were distinctly in the shape of struck-burned matches.
Six scars like talon marks, where Roark bit into me and cut me deep… even with the claws retracted, the venom still runs through me and those talons beg for another taste.
Sakura found the pier and they arrived just before four A.M carrying a million dollars. Roark Harold was waiting, holding Lian possessively while two henchmen stood off to the side, both with devious stares in their eyes.
"Roy, long time no speak. I hope it wasn't hard to find me. You were certainly hard to find, but my efforts were worth it, don't you think?"
"Shut up. Give me my daughter and take your damn money and leave me alone!"
"But Roy, I can't do that. You and I have years and years and years of catching up to do. When I'm done with you, then you can go back to your stepford wife… though Mrs. Harper appears to be a pretty lady, maybe I will keep her too and we can all be one happy family."
Roark Harold seemed to forget that Sakura and Roy used to be Teen Titans. In a flash Sakura and Roy moved. Roy threw the briefcase to his right, striking one of Roark's body guards in the kneecap, busting the joint. The other guard found unconsciousness at the fist of Sakura. His prone body soared through the air with no resistance as he was thrown into the knee-busted counterpoint across the room. Both Roy and Sakura turned back to Roark with their fists drawn.
Roark sighed heavily before tsking. "Roy, Roy, Roy. When will you learn? You can't beat me." From the shadows emerged dozens of Roark's men, some wielding thick link chains, baseball bats or lead pipes. "If you wanna be a problem, I've obviously got the solution." Roark added as he watched Roy press his back against Sakura's. Mrs. Harper shifted her weight to the balls of her feet, her hands balled in her Xing Yi fighting style. Roark smirked. "Remember Roy, I want you. I'm not against crushing your girl… both of them."
Roy opened his mouth to curse him, when a shuddering energy wrapped around Roark. The shut call widened his eyes in surprise as the energy coiled around him and wrapped around the baby in his arm. The energy pulled her away smoothly and delivered her in a black sphere of power to her mother. All the occupants of the pier house stuttered in surprise, Sakura dropped to her knees clutching her baby to her chest. Roy used his trained eyes to find the source of that rescue and found two sets of furiously powerful eyes emerging from the shadows.
A short black boot was the first vision to emerge from the shadows. That boot turned swiftly in the darkness and connected with Roark Harold's ear, knocking him to the floor. He grabbed the abused appendage and turned his head as the legs and body that belonged to that black boot emerged shadows. Her brown dress wrapped tightly around her figure, leaving one arm and the opposite leg exposed. Her black hair fell down over her shoulder and across her right eye. Her eyes were a brown he was unfamiliar with, the deep color was swirled and impacted with a subtle gold highlight, just along the corners when the light shined just so… or if she was on the verge of tears. Those eyes remained hard as her companion emerged from the shadows.
It had been her powers; it was obvious that while Sango wielded a great fighting ability, Osiris had great potential for magic. Osiris' purple hair was pulled high away from her face; her bangs laid clear of her amethyst eyes. Her white uniform was tied with red ribbon to hold the bits of cloth to her stomach, chest and shoulders.
"You are a bad man, that you are." Osiris said definitively as she stared down at a cowering Roark Harold.
Sango stepped forward, the wind pitching as she moved. "And you are going to pay for your crimes."
The two women fighters moved faster than shadow to take care of Roark Harold and the legion of his gang. Before Roy could put words to his surprise, the entirety of Roark's band was disabled and Roark Harold was hanging upside down from a ceiling hook, bound and gagged and clearly incapacitated. Sango wiped her hands against each other as she admired her handiwork. Osiris turned to her and smiled, knowing they had done a good job.
Sakura was stupefied by what she had seen. There they were, standing in front of her. She was seeing them with her own eyes. She felt like crying, she felt like fainting, she felt like she was going to fall apart. Lian began to cry in her arms.
"Please call the authorities to take in these men. I am sure there is sufficient evidence for an arrest and sentencing." Sango said to Roy. Roy nodded and barely forced out a thank you before the girls turned their backs to walk away.
"WAIT!" Sakura called.
Sango and Osiris turned their pretty heads to watch Sakura pass Lian to Roy before running to their side. She stared at them, stared at them hard as if trying to find something that told her the truth about what she knew. Their faces were blank or a bit perplexed. There was absolutely no recognition in their eyes. Before she would have been afraid, before she wouldn't dare risk a word for all her sacrifice. But Sango and Osiris were before her and they had saved her child's life. That simply changed everything.
"When was the last time you saw Jericho?" She asked simply.
Osiris and Sango were unable to hide their surprise. Osiris spoke first, her lovely voice calm despite the anxiety in her eyes. "It has been a year, that it has."
Sakura swallowed hard. Sango furrowed her pretty brow. "How did you know he was our master?" She asked.
"He was once my master too. Please tell me, what has become of him?"
"We… do not know. Last year he disappeared leaving us no instructions." Sango replied.
"Except…" Osiris admitted.
"Except what?" Sakura asked.
"He left a simple message that stated: rescue her. However, there were many hers and we have no idea where to look or really for whom."
"I do." Sakura replied. She noticed immediately that she had both Osiris's and Sango's attention. "I'm her… I know it… But he didn't send you to rescue me… he wanted you to find me."
"Why did our master send us to find his former student? Did he have a lesson that you are suited to teach us?"
"Yes," Sakura replied, a tear sliding out of her eye. "A history lesson."
…
Roy, Sakura and Lian returned home. Roy fed Lian and laid her down her crib as Sakura checked the work of the repair man that Alfred had sent immediately. They would install a security system in the morning, but for the moment, they were utterly exhausted. Roy fell into bed and Sakura dropped down beside him.
Roy took a deep sigh and explained to her what had happened that night and why Roark Harold was after him and all the truths that he had kept from her. She accepted his apology, but didn't blame him for anything.
"Sakura?"
"Un?"
"What did you talk to Sango and Osiris about?" Roy asked.
Sakura seemed to think for a moment, turning onto her stomach, her head rotated to look Roy in his green eyes. "I guess I can tell you now since I know they're safe… Akane and Choris aren't dead…"
"What? How do you know?"
"Because I sacrificed my Holy to save their lives seven years ago."
"Sakura… but that was…"
"That's the reason I can't… have children… I gave up my ability to be a parent so they could live."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I couldn't. If the energy surrounding them were to change, they wouldn't be brought back and I still wouldn't be able to be a mother…" Sakura replied.
"All this time, you've had to keep this secret. My brave girl… this must have been so hard on you."
"It was worth it… I think they're safe now Roy."
Sakura laid beside her husband and told her the last of her truths.
"What does that mean for you?" Roy asked.
"Nani?"
"Can you still not… have any children? Your sacrifice was to give them life… they have it now… for as long as a year… we haven't tried for a year… maybe…"
That night the air in the universe changed.
Everything changed.
…
At six thirty three on that day, that fated day, Richard Grayson came home from work to find his wife and a nude Hiiro Grayson involved in a game of tag that Hiiro appeared to be winning. Raven ran behind Hiiro, determined to towel dry the five year old, who apparently was having none of it. Hiiro ran past Richard stopping long enough to smile, hug his knees and greet him before ducking under the table and evading his mother's grab.
Richard grabbed Raven as she attempted to chase Hiiro for a bit longer. He laughed as she huffed and blew a strand of purple hair from her face. "Rae, he's awfully nude."
"You should have seen him in front of the mirror. He's a little exhibitionist."
"He doesn't get that from me." Richard said quickly, keeping his wife pinned to him with his hands on her hips.
"He gets everything from you: his mischief, his stamina and his ability to wiggle. I caught him once but he went completely slack and slipped out of my grip."
"He may have my mischief and my… ability to wiggle, but if I recall, you were the exhibitionist between us." Richard replied.
"Me?"
"I remember rather vividly, images of you in a skin tight leotard." Richard replied. His hands found her braid and unwound it, shaking it free as he kissed her face. Raven pushed a purple lock of her long tress behind her ear.
"I'm thinking about cutting it."
"No, I like it… it… inspires me."
He kissed her passionately. Raven's toes curled, her fingers clenching the expensive cloth of his business suit. Somehow she found the strength to pull away from her husband. "I need to catch Hiiro."
Richard didn't release his grip on her body. "Let him run… he'll exhaust himself."
Raven shook her head in the negative. "Not Hiiro."
"Then let him play…" Richard gave her a peck on the mouth and another. "We can make another one."
Raven blushed and Richard's kiss showed her how serious he was about a new addition. Raven really didn't know where she had the strength to resist him. "Here we are plotting our way to the bedroom and our son is running around in the nude."
Behind their backs the doorbell rang. A microsecond later they heard Hiiro's voice.
"I'll get it!"
Richard and Raven turned their heads towards the door. "No!"
The door opened and a lovely young voice flowed into their home. "Hey, little man. You're awfully nude."
Hiiro laughed then turned his head back towards the hall way. "Ka-san, Otou-sama! Ane-chans!"
Richard frowned before taking the towel from Raven's hands and running to the door. He dropped to his knee beside his son and lifted the towel over him. "Sorry about that, he just had a bath." Richard looked up then, satisfied that Hiiro was covered. He was about to usher Hiiro back towards his mother when he saw Sango's eyes.
Her eyes were a brown he was familiar with, the deep color was swirled and impacted with a subtle gold highlight, just along the corners when the light shined just so… or if she was on the verge of tears.
They were his eyes. There was only one person in the world with his eyes.
"Choris?" He whispered gently.
Her face became unreadable, a million emotions flying over her face one after another after another. "Father?"
Richard stood to his full height, forgetting that he had been holding Hiiro's towel up. Hiiro grabbed the falling cloth, barely able to secure it himself. Osiris dropped to her knees and helped the young boy with a smile on her face. Above their heads Richard and Choris stared into each other, laying eyes on each other for the first time ever in truth. Raven came into the corridor after hearing no sound from Hiiro or Richard. She found Richard standing in the door way and Hiiro beside him, but unable to see what Richard saw. She moved forward to scoot Hiiro back into the house when she saw the teenage girl kneeling in front of Raven's son… in front of her brother.
"Mother." Akane's voice was a sweet as Raven remembered. It was so lovely it absolutely took her breath away. Her heart skipped beats at a time as she stared into the face she knew and loved and missed terribly every night for seven years.
"Akane."
Hiiro was the only one who remembered he was naked. He held his towel firmly looking up as his ane-chans stood mesmerized by the parents that they shared. He stumbled back into the house and sometime later his family followed him.
…
For six hours the family Grayson sat in the dining room piecing their universe together. Hiiro fell asleep in the crook of Raven's arms and Richard noticed the sleepy haze his daughters were trying to fight off. Akane and Choris watched Raven lay Hiiro down to sleep before Raven and Richard guided them to the guest room where the girls shared a full sized bed.
Raven and Richard watched them sleep for a few minutes, afraid that if they left their sight for a moment it would all become a dream.
Dreams couldn't be so beautiful or cruel as that.
Raven and Richard went to bed breathless and woke up to the sound of Hiiro's feet drumming down the hall. He broke the rule he swore he'd always obey and burst into his parents' bedroom. That was enough to rouse Raven from her sleep, it took Hiiro landing on his middle to wake Richard.
"Papa-san. Mommy-Chan. Up! Up! You said we're going to the park today! Up. Up! I want to go! Mommy-Chan! Papa-san! Akane-Chan and Choris-Chan want to get new dresses. Come! Come!"
Both Raven and Richard blinked at his young words, piecing together his excited five year old speak in the same way, picking up the same words: Akane and Choris. Richard and Raven climbed out of bed, Hiiro secured on Richard's hip as they moved to the guest room.
What they found wasn't a guest room. It was a bedroom of two slumbering seven year old girls.
Raven stood stupefied as her eyes roamed over the bedroom that the slumbering angels were sharing. Twin beds were pushed against opposite walls of the yellow painted bedroom. White sheets and comforters were piled on top of black tressed Choris and pale blue ones defended a purple tressed Akane from the cold. The room was scattered with toys, dressers and two school desks, lined up outside the window that streamed sunlight onto the Grayson daughters. Raven fell easily back against the wall behind her, her hand covering her mouth as she trembled.
Richard's eyes took in every inch of everything he couldn't explain. When Akane and Choris had gone to bed last night, they were teenagers, aged the way they remembered them, the way they had seen them last. Now, they were beautiful little girls that fit in with their home, with their family, where they belonged.
Hiiro squirmed out of Richard's arms and jumped onto Choris' bed. "Chor-is! Wake up!" Hiiro demanded.
Choris pushed her baby brother away from her face with her small pale hands. "Hiir-o! I'm awake!" She responded, climbing from under her blankets. Her yellow nightgown had green flowers plastered over it, standing against her drape of black hair that fell down her back.
Richard was mesmerized by her angelic voice and would become equally, pleasantly surprised when Akane rose to the world, chirping out a good morning to her siblings. Her hair was pulled up, unlike Choris', the purple locks held tight in playful ponytails. Hiiro leapt from one of his sister's beds to the other and back again while Richard simply stared.
Raven had to sit down.
She walked into the room and sat shakily at the foot of Choris' bed. Akane frown and jumped to the bed of her sister and patted her mother's head gently. Choris crawled forward and sat in Raven's lap, wrapping her arms around Raven's neck gently. "Mommy, when you make that face, you make me want to cry."
Raven's body shook involuntarily before she forced herself to calm down. She returned the hug with all her soul, pressing her daughter into her chest. "Don't cry my beautiful girl. I don't want you to ever cry."
"I'm your brave girl." Choris said.
"You are, my love. You are."
"Me too! Me too! I'm your good girl!" Akane added.
"Yes. Yes, you are." Raven responded, stroking Akane's face with her free hand.
Richard stepped closer to where his beautiful family was gathered. He patted Hiiro's head tenderly. "All three of you are little miracles."
Akane turned her huge purple eyes to her father. "Otou! Can we have pancakes?"
"Of course."
Akane jumped into his arms. Hiiro took into a run to the kitchen. Richard watched his son run swiftly out the door before turning back to see Raven staring into Choris' face, touching her skin.
"Choris, sweetheart, you and Akane go with your brother into the kitchen and wait for mommy and daddy." Richard commanded as he set Akane on the floor. The beautiful seven year old girls left as told and followed their baby brother.
"You looked into her mind." Richard said.
Raven nodded slowly.
"What did you see?"
"Us… you, me, Hiiro and Akane. That's it… everything she knows is so beautiful."
Raven stood up. She pressed her face into his shoulder pitifully as she cried. Richard wrapped his arms around his beautiful wife, stroking her head lovingly until Raven pulled back and kissed him hard on the mouth. "I don't care how you did it. I don't."
Richard furrowed his brow, his fingers finding the loose hairs and pushing them behind her ears. "How was it me?" He asked.
Raven shook her head furiously before burying her tear soaked face back into his shoulder to finish her sob. "It's you. It's always you."
Behind Richard's shoulder, Raven could distinctly see Akane's dream catcher glimmering in the window.
…
Life became a dream then. As a year passed, moments became memories instantly: Choris' scrapped knee, Hiiro turned six, Akane's goldfish Pongo, their last days of summer before school started again.
Richard loaded the car as his daughters and son climbed into the backseat. Raven handed him the last of their gear. She fastened herself in after making sure her children were secured. Richard got in the car last, gave his family a perfect smile before turning back to the road.
Their ride was too short to put the children to sleep. The ride to Steel City never took very long. There wasn't a trace of traffic and not a single cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day for a reunion.
"I can't believe how long it's been since we were all together." Richard said as he unbuckled Choris' seat belt and helped his daughter out. She stood beside the car with her siblings, holding her straw hat on her dark crowned head as the wind picked up.
"I know, but this is good. I'm glad its close." Raven pulled the picnic blanket from the back and entrusted Hiiro to carry it as she followed behind Akane and Choris deeper into the park.
"It had to be close. From the way Victor was talking, Jinx is so big with numbers three and four that she can barely walk. They only live two towns over but we never make our way to see them… we should change that." Richard said.
Victor and Jinx Stone greeted the Graysons as they entered their picnic grounds. Victor waved a massive arm, signaling them closer. The residents of Steel City greeted Richard and his family with enthusiasm. For the most part, Jinx was so pregnant she could barely stand, let alone be accommodating.
"Jinx, how much longer are you in for?" Richard asked.
"Two weeks and I swear this is it. No more kids." Jinx said pointing a dangerous eye to Victor.
"You love the boys." Victor responded.
"I do, but I don't love being pregnant." Jinx replied.
Raven laughed and found the Stone boys were hiding behind their father waiting to be discovered. "Which one is which?" Raven asked, pointing to the boys.
"I'm Gage!" The slightly taller boy shouted. His eyes were blue and decidedly Victor's. His shape was his father's as well. Nothing other than that glimmer of intelligence belonged to Jinx's influence.
"I'm Chronos!" Gage's twin brother shouted to match his brother. The boys shared a glare at each other before throwing themselves at one another and roughhousing in the grass.
Richard laughed at the display. Akane and Choris curtseyed before Mr. and Mrs. Stone while Hiiro bowed.
"I'm Akane Gwendolyn Grayson."
"I'm Choris Rebecca Grayson."
"I'm Hiiro Jonathan Grayson."
"It's a pleasure to meet you. All of you."
The next arrivals would be the Tameranians. Komand'r came out of the ship first, holding the hand of a toddling baby boy. His hair was dark as midnight, his eyes so blue they were like diamonds. He had a handsome face and was smiling behind his pacifier. He waved immediately when he was in range of smiling faces. Orin came out, carrying a girl who looked to be about seven years old. Like the little boy holding Blackfire's hand, her hair was long and black. Her eyes were easily identified as Orin's.
"Orin, Blackfire! I'm so glad you could make it."
"It has been too long." Komand'r replied.
"Besides, we never pass up an opportunity to show off. This is Marina." Orin said, patting the back of the girl at his side.
"This is Adrial." Blackfire said and the blue eyed boy waved again.
Starfire and D'ucel weren't far behind them. Starfire wore the helm of Tameran's Grand Ruler. D'ucel was outfitted in a garb that was equivalent of a prince's uniform as he was married to the Grand Ruler herself. Their daughter was wrapped up tightly in Tameranian garb. Her eyes were green and her hair was red, but she wore white and blue proudly even for a blaxrig old infant. Her name translated to Heartfire.
When Roy and Sakura arrived, Lian was holding Roy's hand as she toddled forward. She nearly slipped once or twice but Roy was beside her to keep her balance. Sakura walked behind them, holding a newborn son close to her body. Lian and Joshua were introduced to everyone who didn't know them.
The sun was high, the sky was clear and the water beside the picnic area was just begging for them to swim. They decided to wait a bit longer.
The air stayed warm as an hour passed. Roy and Orin caught up as they held their toddling children in their laps. Chronos and Gage displayed their muscles for Starfire's affections and Hiiro occupied his time trying to find the perfect blade of grass.
Raven turned her back when she felt a shadow approaching her. Or maybe because Sakura and Blackfire were smiling at something behind her shoulder. Either way, she turned to look behind her and gained a smile on her face when she saw what they saw.
She didn't look a single day older though more than eight years had passed since the day she left the Titans. Her dark red hair fluttered down her back and over her shoulder, the longer strands tucked behind her ear or behind a shell clip. Her long skirt billowed in the breeze. She used her left hand to smooth the fabric out, her right hand was holding the nervous fingers of a beautiful little girl.
"Celine!"
A roar of excitement filled the air as one of the missing players returned. Raven hugged the still much taller girl. She smiled fully, her purple eyes shifting from Celine's face to the gentle features of the child at her side. Her long hair was in two pigtails tied off behind her ears with dark green ribbon. Her hair was black as midnight and her eyes were so green and dark they were almost black against her smooth brown skin. Raven smiled at the girl and she smiled shyly before moving to hide behind her mother's skirt.
"She's shy?" Victor noticed.
"Not when she gets to know you. She's always a bit intimidated by new people." Celine replied.
Victor ducked down so he was at the same height as Celine's daughter. He offered her a hand. She looked at it then looked at his face then up at her mother.
"Hi, I'm Victor. What's your name?"
"Kiddian." The girl replied.
"That's a pretty name, Kiddian. Did your mommy give you that name?" Victor asked.
Kiddian shook her head. "My daddy did."
"Do you know what a Kiddian is?"
"It's a wild flower. It blooms once every eight years in the deserts."
"That's right. You sure are smart."
"My grammy knows a lot about flowers."
"Kiddian, how old are you?" Victor asked.
The little girl didn't answer. Celine smiled and rubbed her daughter's head. "Its okay, Kiddian, you can answer him."
"I'm six." Kiddian replied.
"Six, that's about the age of my boys. Would you like to meet them?"
Kiddian looked nervous for a moment before turning to her mother. "Mommy, will you come with me?"
Celine nodded and walked with her daughter to become reacquainted with the Stone brood.
"It's good to see you again, Celine."
"You too, Vic. How's married life treating you?"
"It's the best thing that ever happened to me." Victor replied.
"Good, you deserve it."
Chronos and Gage Stone were more than happy to meet Kiddian, but became more interested when they stared up into the flawless face of Kiddian's mother. The boys dog piled each other, fighting over the collective attention of Kiddian and Celine. Victor sweat dropped and thought to break them up, but thought better of it when he remember that at least one of them was a biter.
Celine watched the Stone boys fight before she became more fascinated with a black haired boy who ran and somersaulted over the fighters to land directly in front of Kiddian.
"Hi!" He said.
"Hello." Kiddian replied.
"I'm Hiiro! What's your name?"
"I'm Kiddian."
"Kiddian-chan. You're pretty. You want to play with me?"
Kiddian nodded and let Hiiro take her hand and lead her to play away from the warring Stone boys. Raven and Richard watched Hiiro lead Kiddian to his play blanket. Choris and Akane were showing Marina how to jump rope. Joshua was asleep in Sakura's lap and she spoke to Jinx about the pains of maternity.
"Sorry I'm late… I just flew in and, boy, are my arms tired."
Richard and Raven turned slowly, unsure they had heard what they did. His voice. It had been so long.
"Beast King?" Richard asked.
"I'm going a little more low-key these days. Call me Garfield." Garfield replied, his smile a winner as always.
"Garfield! We weren't sure if you got the invitation! I'm so happy to see you!" Raven stated.
"Yeah, same here."
Raven hugged him tightly. He pulled back gently and looked over her as she took his hands in hers. His hair is short again and his suit is a little rumpled but he's devilishly handsome. She touched his fingers with the pad of his thumb and realized he was wearing a wedding band.
"You're married?" She asked.
"Yep… just under eight years now."
"Garfield! When can we meet your wife?"
"Oh. She's standing right over there."
Raven and Richard turned to look over their shoulders to see Celine looking back at them, blowing Garfield a kiss.
"Garfield! You married Celine?" Richard asked.
"And had a beautiful daughter with her… we've been together for a long time. We married in Tomango a year before Kiddian was born."
"And you didn't invite us to the wedding?"
"It was just us, my parents… Celine's father… and the village priest. My love for her screams out loud, but that moment demanded just us in quiet. She never looked more beautiful."
"Raven was the same way." Richard replied.
Richard smiled, Raven smiled, Garfield smiled as well.
"So where's your brood?" Garfield asked.
"Choris and Akane are playing with Marina and I do believe Hiiro is trying to flirt with your daughter."
Garfield's green eyes shot open wide as his eyes scanned frantically and found his daughter with Hiiro Grayson's arms wrapped around her. Raven had never seen a grown man jump so high.
"! Kiddo!"
Hiiro Grayson watched intently as Kiddian Logan balled her hands together. "I have a special power." She said. "You want to see?"
Hiiro nodded enthusiastically. She opened her hands to reveal a tiny crystal made from her mind. "I can make tiny crystals, just by thinking about them."
"Wow. Your power goes with mine."
"You have a power, Hiiro?"
Hiiro nodded. "My mommy has powers and so do my sisters. Nobody knows that I can do something. Will you keep it a secret?"
Kiddian nodded quickly and pinkie swore with him solemnly. Her green eyes held that special kind of confusion that only six year olds could feel when Hiiro wrapped his arms around her. His hands found hers as he mumbled three secret words that meant nothing to her. Her green eyes widened as a white energy poured from beneath his hands and up between her fingers, catching itself in the tiny crystal in her hand. The light made a rainbow through her prism and Kiddian stared at it in all before Hiiro became tired and stopped using his magic.
"That was really pretty. What was it?"
"I don't know. I was born with it. It's not like my mommy's or my sisters', so I think I get it from my Daddy."
It was then that a frantic Garfield Logan put some distance between his six year old daughter and the six year old Hiiro Grayson. Richard laughed from his space beside Raven. He could see that she was a bit tired so he moved them both to rest beneath an oak tree.
The wind was perfect. It fluttered over his nose gently, tickling the skin of his face as the warm gust danced through the leaves of the trees. Richard scrunched his nose a bit to fight off a sneeze; his eyes remained closed, but when he felt fingers tapping his nose gently, he knew exactly who it was.
It was the woman who held his heart, it was the woman who made him happier than he had believed possible; it was the woman whose lap his head rested in. Richard felt her fingers ghost over his nose, around his cheek, dusting over the shell of his left ear before deciding to play over the wide width of his forehead. Richard sighed contently as Raven's fingers became lost in his short hair.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful day. Raven sat with her back against a giant oak tree, her long purple tress was braided with the twisted lock of hair falling over her shoulder. Richard could feel her humming, the beat matched perfectly with the dance of her fingers on his body. The warmth of their bodies spread and wrapped around Richard. He swore there was nothing that could make him leave that spot.
Something round and cool bumped against the arch of his bare foot. Richard scrunched his face and Raven giggled gently, turning her head in the direction it had come from. He didn't have to open his eyes to know there was a smile on her face. Richard felt the patter of feet through the ground even though they were very far away when they stopped to yell his name.
"Get the ball, Daddy!" Her little voice carried over the wind. Her bare feet had stopped feet away when the wind picked up and threatened to take her straw woven hat. As it was her jet black hair and bright yellow dress were waving in the gentle breeze. Richard loved the sound of Choris' voice.
"Daddy, the ball!" The other seven year old girl shouted. Richard felt Raven's fingertips dance along his forehead. Akane's purple hair was pulled up in chignons and decorated with butterfly clips, keeping everything but her bangs from flapping with her voice in the wind. The purple eyed little girl stood side by side with her sister, jumping up and down excitedly, waiting for Richard to respond.
Richard kept his eyes closed and took in every inch of the sounds around him. Raven tapped his nose gently with her index finger. "You better do what they say," Raven said gently.
"Right. They out number me."
She giggled gently. Richard smiled and opened his eyes, looking up at his beautiful wife. He stood up, his jeans and oxford shirt rustled against the wind and his skin as he moved the distance to his daughters.
He squatted down between the two girls and presented the ball in one hand. Akane had to take it using both her smaller hands. "Thank you, Daddy!" Both girls chirped.
"Your welcome, little loves. Be careful with your new clothes okay?"
"I won't get my new dress dirty, Daddy. I promise." The dark-tressed Choris promised.
"That's my girls. Make sure to invite the other children to play."
"We asked Chronos and Gage, but they keep fighting each other rather than play with us."
"And Hiiro has Kiddian all to himself." Choris added.
"What about Marina? You were playing with her before."
"We'll go and invite her!"
Richard watched his little girls, their laughter the sweetest sounds he knew. His bare feet dragged along the grass. From his right he could see his dancing angels, his Akane and his Choris, and from his left he could see his resting angel, his Raven, with her eyes closed.
Richard returned to his spot, laying his head in Raven's lap. His hands sought the grass absently, his fingers finding the perfect blade on their own. He knew it when he found it, taking the grass and folding it over just so. Raven patted his forehead, her eyes looking out at the expanse of their family. Garfield and Celine looked every inch newlyweds even after eight years. It seemed that only Victor could make Jinx forget the ordeal that was her pregnancy. Starfire and D'ucel doted on their child and Orin and Blackfire watched their little ones play. Joshua and Lian were taking naps, resting their sleepy bodies against their parents. Hiiro held hands with Kiddian as the brothers Stone continued to wrestle, neither of them willing to submit. That blue ball danced in the air, leaving little hands for another set of little hands back and forth like a set, lovely rhythm.
Richard smiled and thought about the twists and turns his life had taken and smiled over the outcome. He had great friends, a wonderful life and the universe seemed content with all of their places in it, all their happy roles and everything was good.
He put the grass blade whistle to his lips and blew a gentle note through it.
The wind carried it long and low, lost in Richard's triumphant shout when he realized he was going to be a father again. The dark haired man turned his deep eyes to his lovely wife, the warmth of what they were making spread through him.
"Do you know what it will be?" Richard asked.
"He will be ours." Raven replied. "And our youngest."
Richard laughed deep in his throat and brought his whistle back to his lips. He blew it one more time. Ha… four is a good number…
The End.
Final Author's Notes:
Images of Sango and Osiris are posted.
Character Names:
Lethe and Astarte are both goddesses from Greek Mythology.
Sakura Chloe was based off of Sasuke Uichii from Naruto. My original idea of her was based loosely off of Sasuke's characterization. She also has a bit of Sango from Inuyasha in her: her weapon, the cute/complicated boyfriend and the relationship she has with her younger brother.
Kenosuke and Sakuja Matsuhiro, basically I took the name Sakuja from Tenchi Universe, though there is no further significance. Kenosuke was simply something that sounded cool. Matsuhiro was a name I tossed around manly for the way it sounded, that which lead to the naming of Hiiro Grayson.
Choris and Akane were just word play. Akane was named after the character with the same name in Rurouni Kenshin who lost her life trying to protect someone she only knew a day. Choris was playing around with Dischord, who's name I had thought up long before I thought of the character. If you'll remember, Raven choose the name Choris and Robin choose the name Akane so they named each other's children.
Terra Nostra was based on an artwork I saw of a woman holding a sphere that looked in the shape of a planet. I didn't want to play much into Terra's history, so I made one up for her.
Titans History:
I took a lot of liberties with all the Titans. I made Robin a totally different person, I muffed up Starfire's introduction to the team and played a bit with Beast Boy's past. I built over Raven's history, though I did make Azar a man – not that it had any significance in the plot. Originally Sabrah wasn't going to play the role she did, but I decided to make a new character rather than work with the restraints of an old one. Cyborg was pretty much the same, Celine played a duel role as Sara Simms and an OC and tying Jinx in there was playing off the fanon timeline of Wavelength. I totally over hauled Speedy, manly because I felt like it, same thing with Blackfire. Aqualad I really didn't touch on his past, keeping him the way I wanted to in the present. Terra was mostly based on her canon appearance, being insane and hating the Titans for no justifiable reason. I found canon Terra just more interesting than fanon Terra. Foxfire was my knock around guy, he was an OC with elements of Karras and Phy'zzon from the comic books. I built him as a transitional character who served no real purpose but was integral to the plot. I also wanted to make sure that Starfire had a pairing that was outside of the original Titans team.
Notes and tricks you might have missed:
From this chapter, Raven gets pregnant with a boy. Her first child with Richard was a boy as well, which means that if Raven were to have gotten pregnant with Robin during their almost sexual encounters, she would have been useless to Trigon and so would her kid. Richard being her husband/love was a way to defeat Trigon/Doomgaze's plans.
Choris and Akane reverted to their seven year old forms because Sakura broke her word to Jericho. She wasn't supposed to tell so when she did she unwove the energies around Akane and Choris leaving them as they should have been chronologically as seven year old girls.
That energy that Hiiro should Kiddian wasn't a form of Raven's magic. It was Holy… something about Hiiro made the dormant power become something he could control. I'm going to leave it to you to figure out what it is.
Baby Joshua was named after Jericho Wilson, who is not the Gabriel Jericho. I just decided to play with the names since Joshua "Jericho" Wilson wasn't making an appearance in the story.
Somewhere in "The End" pt 1, I included my real name. Bet you can't find it.
I alluded to Cheshire three times in this story: first was with Slade when he wanted to make Sakura into his general. Second when Sakura was training with Bushido under the True Master, a girl name Jade was with her. Jade is Cheshire's real name. Thirdly with Sakura and Roy's adopted daughter. Originally the actual Cheshire was going to appear in the story playing the role Batgirl did in "Delta", but I figured it would be more fun to put Batgirl and Kid Flash into the mix.
If you have any unanswered questions, feel free to ask them in a review.
Last, but not least: Thanks to all my wonderful readers/reviewers. I couldn't have written this story without you. This chapter is dedicated to all of you. This story was nine hundred and thirty pages. You all deserve a medal, I've had text books that weren't this big.
Thank you all.
Lankree.