Bride of Pagan Blood Chapter 4: Tyranny and Terror

Disclaimer: I, once again, do not own Teen Titans. Or Raven. Or Microsoft. Or the world. But not yet….evil grin… And I do not own the lyrics to Walk Through the Fire, written by that dude who wrote Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Except, I own the plot and two OCs, one of which will be released into this chapter. Thanks for reviewing, all. I really appreciate it.

On with the fic!


Three Days Later…

Sebastian stood, pacing, in his chamber, impatiently waiting for something important to happen-something that would change the Earth substantially. By marrying his captive, he would bring Armageddon and cleanse the Earth, and his Bride, his Mother Mayhem, and himself would rule. His thin slips formed a smile when the clock finally struck twelve midnight. A servant entered the room shakily, greeting him.

"Brother Sebastian, it is time…." The servant murmured. Blood smiled.

"Indeed."

Blood turned from the priest and approached a small alcove in the rear of the room, carefully pocketing something, giving a small, malevolent laugh as he did.

"Let us go. Time does not wait for such a prophecy. It will be fulfilled. Now."

Blood flounced out of the room, the shining object he carried with him glimmering as polished metal would in the sunlight, though the sun had not risen. Turning into Raven's prison cell, he watched the sun rise in the sky, for perhaps the last time in this coming age.

"Wake up, dearest." Blood shook Raven roughly, and the coldness of his palms roused her.

"What do you want, murderer?" Raven asked coldly.

"Today's the day, Raven. The end of the world. And…" he paused, allowing Raven to put together the pieces of his puzzle.

"…our wedding day." Then, he laughed and struck the floor with his glaive loudly.

"Please, you can't do this! I won't let you!" Raven cried; her pleas fell on deaf ears.

"I must leave you now, dearest," he said mockingly. "There are…preparations to be made." Brother Blood locked the cell door shut, and maliciously grinning, turned away from his frightened prisoner.

"Please, someone, help me!"


MEANWHILE…


In the dead of night, Robin had slipped away from the tower in hopes of finding the missing Titan. Unbeknownst to him, however, another shadowy figure emerged in the darkness.

"Good thing I had Cyborg lock Blood's location on my communicator," muttered Robin. As he approached the location of Blood's hideout, there was nothing. Just an old library that had been burned down and now couldn't shelter anything inside it.

"That's weird," Robin said to himself. "There's nothing here. Unless…" his thoughts were interrupted by a sharp cry that only he could hear.

"Raven? Raven? Oh no…" Stopping, Robin closed his eyes and re-opened the mind-meld Raven had created during their encounter with Slade.

Robin! Please…Help me! Raven appeared to him clearly inside his mind. She was severely wounded and her voice was fading and weak.

Raven? Where are you? Robin began to panic. At this rate, if he failed o find her, she'd be dead. Or worse.

I'm underground, beneath the library. Hurry! Today's the Ceremony! You have to-

Robin saw his comrade wrench and cry out in pain, and then, nothing. The mind-meld had ended. Frozen in fear and rapture, he knew the outcome: ultimately, the world would end unless he somehow interfered.

He began to investigate the area surrounding the ruins to find a possible entrance to the so-called Church of Blood; he found none.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath. "Where is it?"


MEANWHILE…YET AGAIN…


Beast Boy too, searched through the city in hopes of finding Raven as well.

I don't have that mental connection thingy that Robin does with her, so I'm gonna have a harder time with it. Whatever. As long as I find her before it's too late.

As he leapt from rooftop to rooftop and scoured the city, the young shapeshifter recalled thestrange melody he had heard Raven sing one year ago on that fateful night.

I touch the fire, and it freezes me

I look into and it's black

Why can't I feel?

My skin should crack and peel

I want the fire back

Now through the smoke she calls to me

To make my way across the flame

To save the day

Or maybe melt away

I guess it's all the same

So I will walk through the fire

Cause where else can I turn

And I will walk through the fire

And let it…

Suddenly, Beast Boy remembered the song. It was a clue, and Raven had foreseen it the year before.

"So, if one can walk through a fire and not get burned, then that means…that library!"

(NOTE: "Walking through fire and never getting burned" is a Gaelic expression my grandmother uses. It means being pushed to the edge of one's sanity and still being able to come out alive. In Beast Boy's sense, he already can't stand the library, so that's how he got the clue. Now, on with the fic!)

Taking the shape of a falcon, Beast Boy steered left and flew into the ruined building.

"Now, I just have to find an entrance or something. Dude, this bunch of psychotic old guys really have to put in a sign or something!" Upon saying this, Beast Boy overheard another male voice talking to itself amongst the burned walls.

"There! I can see it now." The figure grabbed what appeared to be some kind of boomerang and raked open a hole in the charred floor. Then, the figure jumped down without a second thought.

"Well, here I go…" thought Beast Boy nervously before he plunged into the darkness.


MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH, ER, TEMPLE…


Lines of Church members filled the gigantic hallway of the main room of the temple. Upon a blood-red throne, Brother Sebastian sat imperiously; to his right, a young girl with long, black hair and a red flowing gown stood, a sword at her side.

"The time has come for Armageddon! The cleansing of the Earth is at hand!" Brother Sebastian announced. Whispering something to the swordsmistress, Blood watched as she teleported out of the room. As he began his speech about the conquest and destruction of the world, the girl, only about fourteen, appeared in front of Raven's cell.

"Hey, Raven," she called mockingly. Raven picked up her head to find the voice belonged to her half-sister Mina! (Read the prequel Black Angel to find more about Mina.)

"What? Mina…I thought you were dead…?" Raven murmured, incredulous and shocked.

"Well, big sister, you thought wrong. I work for Sebastian now, and you're going to as well. You know the prophecy doesn't lie, Raven," Mina cooed, her eyes growing narrow.

"Traitor…" Raven started. Her eyes started to glow, but her concentration was broken by her sister's laugh. Instead of the beautiful and watery laugh that Mina had once possessed, a cold and harsh one penetrated the air.

"Honestly, do you think you can resist? It's your destiny, Raven. You'd best follow it."

Raven turned from her sister, her eyes brimming with tears. Clenching her fists, she hurled herself to the floor and lay there, unmoving.

"You're only making yourself more vulnerable-"

"STOP IT! This won't come to pass. I won't let it. And he won't let it…" He wouldn't betray me…would he?

To be continued….


Tsuki/Morgan: Mwahaha! Cliffhanger! Sorry for the wait people. My computer, as always, was retarded, I went on holiday, and I had coursework and some graphic art requests to do. Anyway, sorry it's short, but at least I updated, right? …Right?

Lee: You did take a while, Shini-san.

Tsuki: I didn't ask, Lee-kun. Ninjas...