Disclaimer:

A/N: Yes, my friend Pixie, my stories can get confusing and I'm terribly sorry for it, but what can I say it's my fault for skipping around in the past a thousand years ago … (bows low for forgiveness) terribly sorry. BUT fear not, you shall understand as you read on, if I have to kill my fingers for you people I will! Especially for you evilsangel, since you're just so obsessed with this story.

So enough rambling …

Enjoy the next chapter …

(Closet in the back bangs and cracks)

Raven/Rorek/Malchior/X: Oooohhhh cccciiiimmmpppplllleeee ….

Oh … shit … I'm busted … pray for me:'(

--

Dude Needing Assistance

Rorek gaped … and blinked … then shook his head and gave Raven a pensive expression as he glanced to the thief that was off to the side scrapping a tree trunk absentmindedly. A distant look upon his face, obviously still disturbed with the news, Malchior sitting a top a tree branch swung his left leg over the edge and scoffed when Rorek sent a glare up at Malchior, "And you knew of this?"

Malchior sneered at the wizard, "Hell no! Kenneth has become such a common name in the human world currently that it's hard to tell whether or not who's the descendent."

"But how many have the name Aftaka!" Raven argued, "That should have given it far away for you!"

The dragon glared at the half-bred demon, dropping from the tree and stalking towards her, caught off guard Raven backed up till her back hit a tree and she was pushed against it. Trying to keep as much distance as she could from the agitated dragon that growled into her ear, "Well if it would have given it far away for me, then how is it that you never picked it up till now? You're the one with the visions right?"

"Malchior," X gritted his teeth, "back off the Titan, she didn't do anything, she was just stating the obvious. Since you're the one that was personally involved with my supposed distant frickin' grandmother! She's right!"

"Just because you made the revelation that you're the Prince's distant son gives you no power over me," Malchior growled directing his attention from Raven to X, stalking towards him, X stood tall and glared just wanting for the dragon to try anything with him, "it's no wonder I never liked you from the start."

X snorted, "No jackass you never liked me just because I was stealing the Red Sea Sapphire that was promised to you from the Prince. That's why you don't like me."

Malchior snarled in X's face the two being nearly the same height with Malchior an inch taller, it was little to no threat to X. With Francesca still molded into his back, the nightstalker felt her master being threatened and fluttered the silver-wings in warning for the dragon to back off. Not like he was listening as Malchior said, "You don't know what I like."

X scoffed and smugly grinned, "No, but I know what you hate … you hate the fact that I'm closer to Raven then she'll ever be to you, ain't I right scale-face. And I'm not talkin' blood, no, I'm talking connected, something you'll never have with her with that that attitude of yours."

Snap! That was the final straw for the dragon when his aura flared and his eyes glowed a deadly scarlet, his clawed hands snatched up the thief's neck, but agile and quick X jumped back into the trees and flipped back to the ground. Breaking into a sprint when Malchior went after him, "What's the matter? To fast for you?"

Rorek shook his head, "This is pathetic. Kenneth! Knock it off! Malchior stop this instant!"

Raven sighed tiredly, taking up a leaning spot on a random tree listening to the destruction the two were causing, "Don't even bother Rorek they're not listening."

"But we're still in danger! Those idiots are going to give us away!" Rorek make a break to stop them, but stopped when he realized there wasn't a big enough room for a fight, one of them was going to get hurt if he tried to stop them. However if he didn't try, then they're going to get hurt any way because one of them wouldn't shut their mouth and the other couldn't control his temper!

X jumped, spun around and sent a hard kick to the side of Malchior's head; the dragon grabbed his ankle and pulled him to the ground. Throwing him, X rolled and not even thinking about it leap off the ground when Malchior came down in a power drop kick. Pushing off Malchior went after the amateur flyer when Francesca began to take to the air in order to escape the dragon to the skies. Twirling, spinning, and diving, Malchior caught up with out effort and hovered over X.

Letting himself drop, Malchior grabbed a hold of Francesca's wings and nearly snapped them broken as he dropped him and X back into the forest, hitting a branch threw each other apart. With Malchior hitting his head on a tree and X just dropping flat on his stomach in the dirt. The thief shakily got to his feet and looked around for Malchior, feeling him approaching from the rear, X delivered a round house kick that forced Malchior to dodge and send an upper cut to the back of the thief's head.

X flipped forward and had his hell hit the chin of the dragon as he rolled to his feet in a crouch. Never noticing the Raven that snuck up from behind him and tackled him to the ground, "STOP! NOW!"

"Hey – what the – get off me!" X sputtered and tried to flip her off, but when he did, his back hit the ground when Raven teleported and reappeared through the tree beside him and held him down. Her indigo/violet eyes glaring warningly into his fiery amber hews.

"I said stop! Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere!"

"Yeah? But it'll make me feel better! Now get off before that frickin' dragon gets here, I'll kick his ass, he thinks he's so hot! Bullshit! You hear me jackass!" X struggled, actually surprised that Raven was strong enough to hold him down with her own weight and magic. Raven looked back to see Rorek holding up a strong white barrier to keep the enraged dragon away.

Malchior clawed and scrapped at just seeing Raven with X was pissing him off, "You just wait thief, once I get out of this I'll eat you limb from limb and I'll be enjoying every minute of hearing you scream!"

X growled and tried hard to flip Raven off, but she held him down with her black magic and even got up once she established a strong chained bound, "Then come get some, hot shit! I'm waiting! Think you're so tough, you can't even break that fucking wizard's barrier!"

Malchior roared and rammed the barrier, causing Rorek to cringe and strength it, Raven watched the two and shook her head as Malchior scrapped at Rorek's hold, "You're one to talk human, how pathetic of you to be caught! Thought you were supposed to be the great phantom thief."

"Keep talkin' fucktar just keep it up!"

Rorek huffed and glared over at Raven, "You think they'll stop any time soon?"

Raven shrugged and looked down at X, crouching near him she spoke calmly and assertively, "X it's up to you if you want to stay there on the cold ground or suck up your childish behavior, shut-up and get with the program. You're not on earth, this isn't the criminal world, and not everything can go you're way anymore. You're the true Prince of Azalon, live with it."

X gritted his teeth and glared up at Raven, "I don't have to live with shit, and I don't have to live with that Prince crap, Rorek can keep that fucked up title. I'm just Red X."

Raven scoffed, "Even Red X doesn't belong to you, it's Robin's alter-ego."

"Well, yippy-fuckin'-do, think I give a damn?" X sneered, "Robin isn't a thief, isn't a criminal, and isn't ever going to be. Now let me off the fucking ground, I think I feel ants crawling up ass down here."

Rorek sneered, "Thank you for that crude image."

Raven glared at X who wasn't afraid of glaring straight back, "You promise not to cause any more trouble?"

"Give me one good reason for me to do anything anymore." X countered, getting Raven to think for a moment before she released her magic on him and let the thief up, Francesca on his back fluttered her wings to get the numbness and pain to go away. X rubbed his wrists and glared mockingly at Malchior who still had his scarlet tint at the damned human.

Raven walked away from X and up to Malchior, with the same tone and air she spoke, "Same goes for you Malchior, what's it gonna be?"

The dragon scoffed and looked off to the side, "Cute how you can be so serious, even though you know you can't keep me in this cage all night. Lives are too important to waste here, isn't that right little Raven?"

"Just give me your word and you're free," Raven sighed tiredly, she really didn't want to talk, to face, or interact with the dragon. Not after the cavern, but for the sake of making it out alive she did … and it was killing her. Especially whenever she looked at him, she remembered so many things that she should hate him for, but ended up forgiving him. Going against her very vow to never forgive, or to never give him another chance … Raven was just so twisted inside that she felt she was going to rip herself to pieces!

The fact of the matter was … she still loved him … but she didn't want to!

How could she after everything he put her through!

It was mind-boggling how she could still love him and forgive him after he stole her first kiss …

Though she was going through all this trouble in her head, her passive expression remained and steeled when Malchior sighed and the scarlet tint in his eyes diminished. Finally calm, Malchior just couldn't find the strength to stay angry when he could feel her aura trying to calm him down. Rorek, seeing the dragon's change in mood hesitantly weakened the barrier, slowly at first, but then dropped it all together. Allowing for Malchior to walk right up to Raven and capture her in a sudden hug, shocking the sorceress in a gasp, Raven stared up into the trees wondering what the hell had come over him! Holding her as if air wasn't enough to sustain his life.

Raven debated whether or not to push away, but all thoughts seized when he whispered, "I'll give you my life … if you only knew what that meant …"

Just this once … maybe … just this once … Raven thought apprehensively, hesitantly bringing her arms up and around his neck, she hugged him back and closed her eyes. Leaning her head against his chest to listen to his slow heart beat … Malchior just held on tighter when she didn't push him away.

On the side, Rorek smiled amusingly, and X couldn't help to snicker to himself, the wizard noticed and raised a brow, walking to his side he asked in a low whisper, "You didn't happen to have planned that did you?"

X raised a brow and scoffed, "Get outta', I'm a thief I do things for myself, that damn dragon just gotta' learn how it's done by the pro."

"If I'm not mistaken the only girlfriend you ever had dumped you because she was still in love with her ex – excuse the pun," Rorek ducked when X sent a punch to his head, jumping away the thief Rorek smirked when X scowled.

"You, better shut your mouth, she wasn't my only girlfriend and you know that – wait a minute, why the hell am I even talking to you about how many chicks I get with?" X snorted and looked off, dusting his shoulders snobbishly. Rorek laughed and looked back to Raven and Malchior, the earlier pulling away from him sheepishly looking to the ground and clearing her throat. She turned to the other two and glared when X smirked and wink with that suggestive gleam in his amber eyes.

Malchior sighed and ran a hand through his abused silky black hair, claws doing little to untangle the tangled mess, the dragon growled, "Well now … since we're all one big happy family again – let's get straight to business. Which one of you has had it up to their necks with this Queen already?"

Everybody raised their hands – X raised both hands along with Francesca's wings, "To be honest man, I was sick of her from the start! I say we end it, tonight and now while we still got the chance."

Rorek scoffed, modd suddenly changing, "What chance is that? We only got the four of us, with no way to contact any other Titan or sources of help beyond this dimension, and everywhere we turn here we have someone that wants us all dead. Raven because she's a relative of the Prince, Kenneth because he's a direct bloodline – which would explain the killing of your entire family – Malchior because he was entrusted with the Red Sea Sapphire after the former Prince died, and me because I'm … well … frankly I'm just a tool, I'm disposable."

"The way I see it, we're all disposable," X sneered, Francesca fluttered her wings to emphases her master's irritation as she dropped them to drag on the forest floor, "so unless we pull a rabbit out of our ass, we're gonna need a miracle."

Raven sighed, "That and a plan … any suggestions?"

X looked up to the sky and smirked, "The D.I.D. seems to always work in the movies."

Rorek and Malchior looked to each other then to X, asking at once, "What's a D-I-D?"

Raven glared at the thief that looked down to her and grinned as she explained with a low growl, "It's an abbreviation, DID, Damsel In Distress."

"Oh!" enlightened was the wizard and dragon, but as soon as they realized what the thief was thinking Malchior snarled at him, "If you're even suggesting we bait Raven, forget it! I'd rather see you dangle over the line!"

X chuckled and slid to hide behind Raven, away from the temperamental dragon, "What! I never suggested Raven flat out!"

Rorek sighed and ran a hand through his white hair in order to get it from his face, "No, but you used the term damsel, that's a female Kenneth."

The thief snorted and leaned against the tree behind Raven to keep some distance from the dragon and himself, "Geez, you guys gotta take everything so literal? Dude in Distress then if it'll make you happy. We can bait Rorek, he's the one that the Queen chose to be a replacement Prince right?"

Raven turned to X, "Yeah, but you're the one that she really wants dead, if anything Malchior's right … besides … you suggested the bait."

"You bastards," X sneered, "should've known to never trust heroes, you're all just as bad as Slade or the Brotherhood of Evil."

Malchior chuckled, "Not that I'm much of a hero myself, you already should've known I do little to nothing to help humans."

Rorek and Raven snorted and scoffed, "Go figure."

"So what's the plan again?" X asked exasperated by all the events and mental thinking, and just knowing what they were thinking already was exhausting him.

The dragon grinned an evil grin of his that even Rorek shuttered to be in X's shoes, Raven moved from hiding X and watched carefully as Malchior stalked towards the thief, "Karma's never one to mess with, Kenneth … you're going in."

"Knew it," X huffed, but stood up tall ready to take his execution with pride and dignity the thief glared challengingly at the dragon, "but if I do this, you guys better have my ass covered, cause I ain't diein' today, tonight, tomorrow, the next day or any other day after that through out my years until I die of old age or when I feel like I have to. Got it scale-face."

Malchior scoffed, ready with sarcastic retort, he silenced himself when he felt Raven wrap her arms around his right arm and pulled him back. Nodding seriously at X, she reassured him, "You can trust us X, I'm a Titan and you already know my oath."

"Yeah … oath …" the thief shivered, whether it be from the sudden cold air that blew in the wind or the thought of having to sacrifice himself for the sake of ending it all tonight … Kenneth just had one question still yet to be answered:

Where the hell was the Red Sea Sapphire now and along with that, where the hell was his dagger?

"Okay then," X blinked out his curiosity and looked to Rorek, "since we know what we're going to be doing. I guess we better head over to the Light City where the Just Palace is … granted we know little to nothing about it's lay outs, what's going to happen once X enters, or how we're going to do all this without looking too suspicious … we're basically playing this one not only by ear … but we're going in blind and reckless. We sure we're going to be doing this?"

"It's better then doing nothing," X grumbled and jumped into the air allowing for Francesca to take him higher till he was up and over the treetops noticing that the flock of scyjah and the nightstalkers were heading home. Malchior flew up beside him, Raven to his other and Rorek popping his head out from the treetops on the highest branch. A leaf falling onto his nose tickled him to sneeze. "The way I see it, we're cornered … there are only two choices to make … attack, or run … but if we run the Queen will eventual get us, so the attack sounds better. Even if we all have to die trying … I hate dragging on chases."

Raven raised a brow and from the corner of her eyes shot a side-glance to X, "That's humorous coming from a thief that runs all his life."

X snickered, running a finger under his nose and grinning an impressively evil grin the thief looked over to Raven, "You know how it is Rae, sometimes running just isn't an option. Rorek! Let's go!"

"Follow the leader!" Rorek jumped clear over the three and shot himself over the treetops, diving down into the nearby field, X pushed Francesca forward. But Malchior was far faster. Blowing by him as if he was nothing, Raven was forced to go even faster then usual to keep up with the racing trio.

With Rorek inhumanly bounding across the open field, Malchior flying circles around the agitated X, there was just no way for her to cruz and have sometime to think when the boys were playing stupid. Why was she always stuck with the idiots?

--

"Ooooo … now would you look at that …" Ellris'malchron grinned, balancing perfectly on the tip of the Just Palace looking out onto the horizon feeling his son's aura speeding fast with his little friends with them. The Queen held her breath for what seemed like seconds upon minutes later fading to hours … when it was only a pause after every breath she took. It was evident enough to Ellris that the Queen was scared out of her mind with that four taking the fight towards her.

So being the "nice" dragon Ellris was he jumped off the tip and glided soundlessly to stand next to the Queen, whispering sinisterly in her left ear like the little devil he was. Dancing in her head and playing his tune to make her dance with him … the Queen shuttered when his breath touched her skin … closing her eyes and wishing for everything to stop. Ellris was the only thing that kept talking, the only thing she was hearing when she shut her mind from the world.

He was her false sense of security that she wanted nothing to do with … but … he was the only other one that knew what happened over a thousand years ago, "… You have nothing to worry about Islasmursa … they come into your hands looking to challenge you in your lands. They mean little to nothing to you … the only thing you must focus on is killing them all off on this final night. The Red Gem is still a must for Azalon after all."

Deep blue eyes narrowed and Islasmursa pulled away from the grinning dragon: the dragon with no heart, no feeling, no consideration of others, other then his own. The Hellborn Shadow Dragon with his remaining four followers. No words a poet could conjure could do him any justice, glaring ice-cold daggers at the dragon that dared to show his amusement about the events that snowballed down the mountainside.

Still grinning Ellris looked off the balcony to concentrate on the approaching outsiders, "They first have to get through the gates in order to come her your majesty … so that will no doubt be a problem for them."

"No, Ellris …" Islasmursa clenched her fists and her teeth, trying to hold back her anger towards the dragon that ran his clawed fingers through his ebony hair leisurely while he glanced like she was nothing important to contemplate, " … they're smarter than they appear … I can feel it, their plots to destroy me …"

Ellris chuckled, "Mursa, you think and feel too much."

"Do NOT address me so informally!" she snapped, earning her a momentary exasperated growl from the dragon. Both auras conflicted and sparked – quite literally it could be seen and felt if anyone came too close. Ellris scoffed, he'll let her outburst slide for now … besides … she was going to get what she just deserved the moment Malchior, Rorek, Kenneth, and Raven came for her.

--

Me: Yeah … that's all you're getting for now people until the next chapter I will leave you with a –

SLING!

Me: AHA! What the hell was that?

X: Lock me in a closet with scale-face, prissy-boy, and my supposed cousin and not think that you're going to die for it? Say your prayers you sick-sick-SICK fanfreak!

Malchior: Back off Human this lowlife is MINE!

Raven: What the hell are you guys talking about? You think I want to be with a user like you dragon!

Rorek: Oooowwww … I'm still hurting from that cramped closet, not very pleasant, how can you guys go after her so quickly, can't we take a break?

X/Malchior/Raven: SHUT-UP!

Me: (looks to the audience) I'm dead, you guys all know it, so incase you're wondering don't put roses in my grave it's so much so overrated. Seriously, see you guys later … or … in the afterlife (sighs tiredly) next chapter's coming … that is if I can get Internet from the afterlife.

L8er daez.