Hello once more. Sora here! I'm back with the fifth installment of Returning. I realize things are going slow right now, but I promise, I am going somewhere with this story, and I'll try to update a little more quickly. I don't have too much to say right now.
This is a Rob/Rae, BB/Terra work of fiction. I greatly welcome compliments and criticism. I take flames as well, but you know me, I dislike pairing flames, so kindly refrain from using them.
I don't own Teen Titans, but I think I'll live, for now. On with the story.
It took some sprinting, but Terra was finally able to catch up with the gothic woman. "Where are we going?" she panted.
"To find Starfire," Raven answered simply. "That's the whole purpose of this visit, isn't it?"
"Won't we get in trouble?"
"Possibly." Raven's tone clearly indicated she did not care. Terra sighed.
"We don't even know where she is. Won't we get lost in a palace so large?"
"I'm going to try to find her old room," Raven answered. "I'm guessing she'll be there. We won't get lost at any rate."
"And where is her old room?" Terra asked warily. Raven paused in front of a tall column of spiraling stairs.
"See those?" she asked calmly. Terra was struck by a sense of foreboding.
"Yeah…" she answered hesitantly. "What about them?"
"We're going to climb them."
"Climb them," Terra repeated, "how many flights?"
"48 if I remember correctly," Raven answered flatly. Terra fainted. Raven rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Oh for Azar's sake," she muttered. With no other way available to transport the blonde, Raven began to drag her up the stairs.
Around the eighth floor, Terra started coming to. "Ugh," she moaned. "What hit me?"
"The floor," Raven answered. "You passed out, remember?" Terra took in the shorter woman's flushed face and faintly panting figure.
"And you dragged me up the stairs, didn't you?"
"Well, it was better than wasting time. You were out for quite awhile." Terra groaned and massaged the base of her skull.
"Man alive, I'll be feeling this in the morning."
"It seems," Raven said dryly, "that you are already feeling it." Terra spared her a glare.
"Okay, Ms. High and Mighty, explain this. Why didn't you just use your powers? Are you trying to kill me or something?" she demanded. Raven sighed again, but kept her patience in check.
"I'm not trying to kill you…if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead," Raven explained simply. Terra looked slightly nervous and the gothic woman continued. "Touch your shoulder." Terra raised an eyebrow but did as she was told. She was met with a terrible shock, literally.
"Yeow! What the Hell was that?" she demanded in startled irritation.
"That," Raven said, "is a Tamaranian neutralizer. It blocks out all magic and powers."
"Okay, so that's why we can't fly, but why did it shock me?" Terra asked.
"Security mostly. The patches are programmed a certain way. Only qualified officials can remove them." Raven answered.
"How did they get on us?"
"You ask too many questions. But if you must know, it was the guard; when he tapped our shoulders, we got tagged."
"Oh," Terra murmured before subsiding into silence. Raven's face had an unreadable look to it.
"I'm sorry," she finally said haltingly. Terra looked very startled. "I've been giving you the short end of the stick ever since we got here," Raven elaborated.
"Well, kinda," Terra admitted. Raven nodded.
"I will admit this to you. Being here, and doing what we're about to do is hard on me. I haven't seen Star in years, I don't know if she's still willing to bury the hatchet and I haven't had to be this social in a long time." Terra looked somewhat confused.
"I thought you lived withthree other people."
"I did," Raven affirmed. "I never really saw them much. It was a large house and they rarely came out of their respective wings. It was sort of like living by myself with the occasional visitor."
"Sounds like an arrangement you'd enjoy," Terra remarked.
"I guess," Raven said softly. "Come on, we still have forty flights to go. It'll take some time." Terra said nothing, but she prepared to follow. The two commenced their climbing.
Thirty-eight flights later, both women were quite short of breath. "Let's…take…a break," Terra gasped out. Raven offered no argument. While Raven leaned against a wall to catch her breath, Terra sought a chair to sit on. A large potted plant sat innocuously a few feet down the hall. The rim of the pot appeared wide enough for someone to sit on. The idea appealed to Terra and she went to sit. Raven did not get the warning out in time.
"AHHH!" Terra screamed as the formerly innocent looking plant lunged forward and trapped her in its perilously sharp teeth. Raven moved to aid her distressed companion but someone beat her to it.
A hulking Tamaranian man raced forward from the shadows. In one fluid motion, he delivered an accurate blow to the area where the stem met the head. The monster shrieked and relinquished the blonde. The man gently caught her.
Terra, still rattled from her near death experience, flipped out at the sight of the man and released another scream. Her cry hurt the man's sensitive ears and he began yelling at her to cease, and that he meant her no harm. Because of the language barrier, neither understood each other and they kept yelling.
Through it all, Raven protected her own ears and prayed to Azar the dreadful noise would abate soon. Eventually, her patience wore thin. "Hynak Alezra!" she called out in a fierce tone. Everyone silenced at her command. "Thank you," she murmured. "Now, Terra, calm down. You are in no danger with this man. Galfor, please set her down." Both did as they were told.
Terra, still understandably stricken by the chain of events, stood shaking while the man known as Galfor took one of Raven's infinitely smaller hands into his own. "Lady Raven, it has been awhile since your last visit to my planet. What has kept you so long my small friend?" he asked cheerfully. It was all spoken in Tamaranian and Terra was, once again, left to wonder.
"Events on Earth have kept me away," Raven answered evasively. "But I am here now, for a short while at least." Galfor frowned.
"Is this another visit I must keep from my princess? She still speaks of you quite often." Raven cracked a small smile.
"Actually, I'm here to see her. That is, if you'll permit me." Galfor grinned widely.
"Of course. And her? Is she with you?" His tone was teasing and suggestive.
"Bite your tongue," she snapped lightly to his good humor. "She is a former Titan. She's here to see Starfire." Galfor's smile grew. He reached forward and removed their neutralizing patches. As he did so, he spoke.
"She will be overjoyed to hear that name again."
With the patches removed and Galfor's approval in mind, Raven teleported herself and Terra to the long corridor leading to Starfire's room. "Well," she said softly," let's go. Her room should be the sixth door on the right."
Well, that completes chapter five. I am not sure if I like it as well as the other's. I feel I rather rushed it to get to the next chapter, which I believe I like quite a bit better. Thank you for waiting for this update. As I speak, I am typing chapter six. I should have it up shortly. Until next time! Sora out.
