Two

Plans

Raven's POV

Four months had passed since my birthday, but the memory of that day still filled my mind. I remembered everything perfectly, but what I remembered the most was the pain I had felt when I had realized Enchantra, well Malefica, had been behind it all. Her deceit had fooled us all until it was too late, and now the Teen Titans were no more… in fact earth was no more.

'Aww, don't be too hard on yourself,' Happy sighed.

'Be quiet,' Sad groaned. 'Nothing is right anymore, and no one cares what you have to say Happy.'

'Stop,' I ordered. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos," I muttered, attempting to calm myself. Beast Boy and our newest companion sat a few meters away, discussing plans to attempt our impossible feat.

I remembered when I had pulled the white book out of my dust-covered chest as if it were yesterday, and I remembered my fear that I might summon Malchior instead of Rorek, but I had succeeded, and I was sure of it. Malchior would have destroyed us long ago, but Rorek had shown immediate concern, and he had summoned all of his knowledge to try and help our cause… however impossible it seemed.

'You realize you're not meditating, right?' Wisdom asked.

'You're right,' I admitted and got up, abandoning my hopes of meditating. I walked over to Rorek and Beast Boy to find them sitting by around a fire Rorek had conjured, and eating food Rorek had made. I took a seat and sighed. "So," I began, taking food Rorek passed me. "Have any ideas come to anyone?"

"You're journey is dangerous, as I have said many times," Rorek said. "And I cannot see any plans except for the obvious: free your friends and confront this Trigon."

"Trigon won't be destroyed easily, neither will Malefica," I replied. "And what about the restoration of the earth?"

"To restore the earth you will have to tap into the most ancient of magic; magic not implored since Malchior left much of the world in ruins," Rorek explained. "It requires a magical artifact of great power and significance, and the person must be a mage of even greater power."

"Can you do it?" Beast Boy asked.

Rorek shook his head. "Only the one who brought the destruction about can reverse it. In Malchior's case it required a very complicated trick," Rorek chuckled.

"And what are the side effects of the person who casts the spell?" I asked immediately.

Rorek's face became very grave. "In the past, mages greater than you have destroyed themselves to restore life over large areas."

"I see," I answered.

Beast Boy put his hand on mine. "I won't Raven destroy herself," he said firmly.

"If you are not willing to sacrifice, Garfield, then this fight is lost," Rorek answered calmly.

"Please, call me Beast Boy," he pleaded.

Rorek laughed. "But then I couldn't get that reaction, now could I?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. "For all your magic, you're pretty rude," he pouted.

I patted Beast Boy's shoulder. "Get over it," I smiled and kissed him on the cheek. Despite the destruction of earth, I was happy I had Beast Boy back.

Rorek pushed his white hair out of his eyes. "So, Raven, do you have any idea how to get to Azarath?" he asked.

"I can open a portal, but as to where it will take us, I don't know. We could end up on the opposite side of Azarath to the Mines," I replied.

"Then you will have to concentrate," the mage answered firmly. "If what you say about the Mines are true, then your friends may be dead already."

"NO!" Beast Boy cried.

I nodded. "Trust me, Rorek. They'll survive."

"They had better, or half of our quest will be in vain… now as to your other idea," the ancient wizard began.

"It requires an ancient Azarathian text, one that Trigon will most likely keep with him at all times," I said shortly.

"Resurrecting the dead is not something that is to be taken lightly," Rorek replied. "The last mage who attempted to resurrect those from beyond not only failed, but lost his soul. You are young, Raven, and I do not expect you to understand the consequences of the magic you wish to tap into, but you must realize that such spells require sacrifice."

"I know," I answered. "I'm not a child, Rorek."

"That is what you tell yourself," the wizard smiled. "But you must learn to control yourself. You cannot allow your rage to conquer the rest of your being. There is great evil within you, Raven, and you must learn to restrain it."

"I KNOW!" I roared.

Rorek smiled. "Apparently not."

Beast Boy cut in. "Please, guys, don't fight."

'Calm yourself,' Knowledge warned. 'Rorek is trying to help you.'

The weathered sorcerer continued: "You must learn to channel your anger into something else. Once a mage allows himself to be controlled by his emotions, he is lost to the Dark Arts. When you allow past losses and mistakes to control what you do, you will find yourself imploring dark magic, intentionally or unintentionally."

I breathed deeply. "Thank you, Rorek," I replied. I had to remain calm, no matter what. "So when do we strike?"

"It will require more planning then we have put into it. We cannot simply waltz into the hands of evil and expect to succeed. Firstly, we will need to form some sort of escape plan—"

"What about the others who are trapped in the Mines?" Beast Boy asked.

"They will be aided later, but our primary goal is to free your friends," Rorek explained. "We will have to secretly liberate your friends… two of us may have to create a distraction while the other finds them and frees them."

"And then?"

"Then we will strike against Trigon. We will have to deal with Malefica and Trigon separately," I said. "If they join they will be invincible."

"How do you know they're disjoined?" Beast Boy asked.

"I can feel the greater presences on Azarath. I feel two powerful ones, but if they were joined, I would be overwhelmed by it," I answered.

Rorek yawned. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I am tired, and I wish to get some sleep. But one last thing: Raven, when you create the portal to Azarath, you must make it inconspicuous so that Trigon does not notice."

I nodded and watched as Rorek got up and waved his hand, creating a tent. He walked in and did not come out for the rest of the night.

"Well, I'm gonna go to sleep, too," Beast Boy said. He got up and walked to the tent Rorek had created for him, leaving me alone.

'Can we do it?' Timid wondered.

'Of course we can!' Bravery cried.

'I know we can!' Happy squealed. 'Two, four, six—'

'Stop,' Rude snapped. 'Just stop before you puncture my ears.'

'We have to do it,' I thought, ignoring Rude and Happy. 'If we don't, everything is lost. Trigon and Malefica may hold all the power, but they don't expect us to strike. They probably think we're dead. We have surprise, and with Rorek, I'm sure we can do it.'

'I hope so,' Wisdom sighed. 'But do not be naïve and let the element of surprise lead you to false security,' she warned.

'I know,' I answered and got up, walked over to the tent and entered. I removed my cloak and crawled into my sleeping bag that lay on the hard floor. Tomorrow was another day; tomorrow held hope. Tomorrow held a new beginning. I knew it.

A/N: OK well now you know whom 'the figure' was, although a lot of people already guessed, and make my day by please reviewing: SoR