A nervous swallow trapped Raven's breath in her throat as a wet spray of hot, sticky air landed on the back of her neck. Her eyes went wide and her body tightened as she turned. The creature before her was unlike anything she had ever seen before, either in or out of her mind. It stood beast-like on all fours an incredible ten feet tall. Its head seemed weirdly too big for it's body and from cheek to cheek it was a good five feet of grey, scaly flesh. Its eyes were like dinner platters, sickening milky white spheres resting at the base of a long crocodile snout and peeking out from beneath a forrest of dark purple tendrils which sat atop its head like hair. Its body was long and black. Each of its gnarled toes housed a long, sickle-like claw. The creature burned Raven with its gaze as it coyly slid its fat, worm-like tail back and forth along the museum floor, swishing away piles of debris and knocking over several unturned easels. It arched its back like a cat and shot a wave of disgusting smelling air through its cavernous nostrils as it rose. It growled and a large gob of salmon colored sludge dripped from its maw and landed in a pile on the floor. Standing up almost on its hind legs, the beast let out a soul shattering roar that shook not only the walls of the museum, but the very boundaries of Raven's mind.
With serpent like speed the creature struck. Its massive jaws sought out Raven's flesh with all the voracity of a starving dog. It was only by a stroke of luck that Raven was able to conjure up a protective energy dome around herself in time. The creature gnashed and scratched against the black shield as it struggled in vain to get at the empath within. It hissed and lunged once more. The shield held, but this time the attack left several large cracks along the surface. The creature reared back and struck again and this time made it through. Thinking quickly, Raven teleported to safety. She reappeared at the creature's back as it briefly struggled to make sense of her disappearance. It was clever though and quickly found her. Fear gripped Raven's insides as the creature once again came at her. Leaving the ground she flew backwards as it lunged, snapping its jaws and making several wild swipes with it's claws. Once more, it was only by the skin of her teeth that she managed to avoid its grasp.
Again and again, Raven somehow managed to keep herself out of the creature's wildly snapping jaws. Through flying, teleporting and good old fashioned dodging, she avoided every attack. She desperately sought an opening, a chance to strike back, but the creature was relentless. No quarter was given. All she could do was try and put as much distance between them as possible.
She went for the exit, but the monster cut her off. It made a wild swipe with its claws and she stumbled to avoid the blow. Tumbling, falling onto her back, she threw up another energy barrier, this time making sure to triple its thickness. Bitting and scratching at the barrier, the beast struggled to get through. The barrier was holding but not for much longer. Raven could feel it. She was tiring and with each bite, scratch and pound, the structure was losing integrity. Retreat was her only option. She needed to get out of there.
Increasing the strength of the barrier the best she could, she got into lotus position. Ignoring the fear surging inside her she did her best to find her center. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, did whatever she could to block out all outside distractions. Seconds passed and she could feel the world around her slowly start to dissipate. She was almost through. She only needed to last a little longer. The barrier cracked. Large chunks of the black shield broke off and vanished, but still she kept her breathing steady. Almost there. Finally with one last thunderous strike, the shield broke...
xxxxxx
Raven's eyes shot open. Her breath came to her in short rapid gasps. She grasped the railing of her bed with one hand and struggled to steady herself as she gripped her magic hand mirror tightly with the other. It took her a few moments but soon her thoughts began to slow. Her surroundings came into focus and she knew where she was. Body and mind were separate entities once more. For a moment she looked into her hand mirror and simply observed her reflection. She looked terrible and she felt worse. What had she done to herself? The thought of that monster inside her, tearing away pieces of her personality like fried chicken skin, it made her nauseous. This was not what she wanted. She needed to fix this. Someone needed to fix this. Brow furrowing in total determination she put her hand mirror back on the bureau and headed for the door.
xxxxxx
Raven arrived at Calebog's in no mood for games. Unfortunately, as soon as she set foot through the inter-dimensional doorway she had a big eared junk peddler shoving a jar of fairy wings in her face, asking that she 'buy it.' She tried to be polite but it was only after she "persuaded" the peddler to swallow the jar's entire contents in one gulp, that the rest of the merchants granted her the space she desired. She left the cost of the wings sitting on his table and then proceeded on her way.
Recalling the location of Madame Yvonne's store, Raven made her way speedily through the market. She may have followed the looking glass last time, but she had been sure to observe her surroundings and make mental notes of where she was heading. It took some doing but in the end her memory did not fail her. She arrived at her destination. The tent looked exactly how she remembered it. Flat, drab and unassuming. Taking a deep breath, steadying her resolve, she lifted the flap and made her way inside. Heartbreak was the only thing that greeted her, however. The store was empty. More than just empty, the place had been gutted. The shelves and display cases had all vanished with their contents in tow. Gone were the wonders. Gone were the mediocrities. Gone was the mysterious shop owner who had promised her salvation.
Hoping it was another visual trick, Raven walked out into the middle of the store. Several times she turned, each time hoping that this would be the one that would cause the store to reveal itself much in the same way it had before, but every 180 she pulled only served to make her more dizzy. She growled in frustration, and then despondent fell to her knees. It was no use. What would she do now?
She was busy fighting back frustrated tears when the sound of fluttering wings caught her attention. Whirling around she spotted the familiar image of the looking glass as it hovered behind her, its white dove-like wings keeping it magically suspended in the air. It said nothing only turned and quickly zipped out of the tent.
"Hey, wait!" called Raven. Jumping from her knees directly into the air, she raced after it. "Come back!"
Much like last time the looking glass led Raven back through the center of town, in and around a series of corridors. This time its destination brought her to a secluded section of the market and a small nondescript building in the heart of an out-of-the-way back ally. There were no signs and the door was nothing more than a worn and weathered piece of wood work with iron hinges. She watched as the looking glass disappeared beneath the door's feet. Wasting no time, she reached for the cast iron handle and let herself in. The door opened with a creak, and to her relief, the store she remembered from last time was inside waiting for her. All the wonders were back in place, exactly where she remembered, including the shop's mysterious owner. At the back of the store, facing away from Raven, stood Miss Yvonne.
"Welcome back, my little moon beam," cooed the green haired woman as she finished tying what appeared to be a purple and black apron around her slender hips.
Like a loyal pet, the looking glass flew directly into Madame Yvonne's hand. She held it with an outstretched arm and smiled as she gazed into it's surface. Raven was about to speak when she noticed something unusual. She suddenly felt as if there were eyes upon her. Her glance fell to a large vanity mirror hung on the far wall, just above a glass countertop, and instantly she knew why. There in the mirror's smooth surface sat Madame Yvonne's familiar visage, standing tall and ominous like the way you think of gods. This was the other half of the looking glass, she figured, the gateway through which the light of the outside world traveled. This was what allowed her to study and observe without ever having to leave the comfort of her shop. The sight of such an oversized gaze made Raven feel very unnerved. Something was different. She couldn't quite say what, but the woman's eyes no longer held the playfulness that made her so initially disarming.
"It's so nice to see you again," said the reflection after a beat. Setting down the mirror on the counter, the shop owner ducked her head inside of what looked like an ordinary convention oven. Retrieving a sliver colored baking sheet full of what appeared to be chocolate chip cookies from the middle rack, she finally turned and met Raven with her own gaze. "I take the potion was to your liking."
"Not exactly," replied Raven, bitterly. Steadying her resolve and letting the door slam shut behind her, she fully entered the store.
"Aw, what's wrong? Here, why don't you sit down, have a cookie and tell me all about it."
"Your stupid potion poisoned me."
The mysterious woman chuckled as she slowly began moving cookies from pan to plate with her spatula. "My dear child, I gave you exactly what you asked for. You wanted me to solve your love problem and I did.
"It turned all my love into hate."
"Rae-Rae, I told you. It's an anti-love potion. What did you think was going to happen?"
"I wanted to not be in love with Beast Boy, but that doesn't mean I wanted to stop liking him."
With her plate now full of cookies, Madame Yvonne approached Raven. "You should know better than anyone, dearie, how powerful emotions are. You can't simply make them disappear. You need to do something with all that energy, and there's always been a thin line between love and hate. You see? It all makes sense. Now here, have a cookie. It'll make you feel better." She held the plate out so that the steam rising off the cookies landed just under Raven's nose.
Raven, however, was not having it. Tired of the whole situation and incensed at Madame Yvonne's indifferent response to her problem, she slapped the plate out of the shopkeeper's hand, sending it clattering to the floor along with the dozen or so cookies. The impact left everything cracked and crumbled. "I don't want any of your damn cookies," she snapped.
Seeing the ruination of her work, Madame Yvonne's smile slowly faded. Her mouth twisted into a scowl. Her lips pulled tight against her teeth and her eyes narrowed. "How dare you," she hissed.
Unintimidated by the new anger, Raven stood her ground. "I want a new potion," she said sharply. "I want you to fix what you've done and put my emotions back the way they were."
Still focusing on the mess, Madame Yvonne clenched her fists. "How dare you," she said again, this time louder than before.
"Did you hear what I said?" shot Raven.
At long last Madame Yvonne's eyes met Raven's. "You little brat," she sneered. "After all I've done for you, this is the thanks I get? You ill-mannered, selfish ungrateful little whippersnapper. Your a naughty girl Rae-Rae, a verrrry naughty, little girl."
Throughout Madame Yvonne's tirade something within her began to change. With every word she spoke, the smooth velvety youth of her voice faded, becoming craggily and harsh. Her light green skin tone darkened and the tiger stripes on her face melted away like candle wax. She began rapidly aging. Every passing second seemed to add ten years to her appearance. Age lines sprang up along her cheeks and in the corners of her eyes like cracks on a frozen pond. Her small dainty nose grew long and crooked. Her finely kept eyebrows became thick and bushy. Her body was changing too. In a heartbeat she began swelling up like a balloon. Her stomach and hips grew rapidly outward, and yet her dress didn't tear. Instead it grew with her, conforming to her new body shape like a second skin. Her long limbs pulled into her torso becoming half their original length. Her hair, now varying shades of gray and white, seemed to take on a life of it's own as it rose up in thick strands. Arcing in the air, it formed a bee hive on the top of her head. It stayed that way for but a moment before splitting like an egg, revealing a puffy black and purple matrons hat. Finally, in one final discomforting display, a third eye cracked open in the center of her forehead.
It was all a ruse. The whole thing. Ever since the beginning. Madame Yvonne had been a smoke screen, a shadow, a figment of a warped imagination. In a matter of seconds the shop's eccentric owner had vanished, retreating back into the twisted mind of the vial witch that had wrought her. No one had seen her in years, but assuming her to be gone forever had at this moment proved to be a critical mistake. She was a psychic vampire, a vial demon obsessed with love who used her powers to twist the minds of her victims so that she could drain them of their essence.
The dumbfounded expression on Raven's face caused the newly revealed Mother Mae-Eye immeasurable joy. "Awww, what's the matter, Rae-Rae?" she teased in between cackles. "Don't tell me you've forgotten all about your dear, sweet mother."
"You did this?" gasped Raven, finally getting over her shock enough to speak.
"Of course, dearie. A mother never forgets about her children. No matter how spoiled and nasty they are."
Another round of wicked cackles came erupting out of Mother Mae-Eye's twisted lips. Her laughter ceased, however, when a massive, bird like claw erupted out of the floor in front of her. Striking like lightning, it seized her at the base of her color bone, driving her towards the back of the shop. She let out a pained wheeze as she collided hard with a book case. The sheer force of the blow caused several totems and tinctures to fall from their respective places and shatter against the hard wood floor.
With her arm outstretched, mirroring the position of the claw, Raven let out a terrifying growl. "Fix it!" she hissed. "Fix it now!"
Despite the violent display and Raven's terrifying demeanor, Mother Mae-Eye remained unflappable. "Now, now," she tutted. "No rough-housing." With a simple gesture, her magic wand appeared. Although in the shape of an ordinary wooden spoon, it nevertheless proved it's uniqueness by glowing with an eerie, pink energy. With a wave of her wand a quintet of kitchen knives magically appeared at her side. A simple thrust in Raven's direction sent the objects shooting towards her, forcing her to conjure an energy shield to protect herself. Following up on her initial attack, Mother Mae-Eye summoned an oversized purse with her other hand and swung it hard. The bag hit like a cannon ball. It broke the air with an audible whupping sound and collided hard with Raven's side, sending her careening through the air, only to have a small display table break her fall.
Holding her head, Raven picked herself up off the floor as Mother Mae-Eye let out another unsavory cackle. "You brought this all on yourself, Rae-Rae," the old woman crowed. "All mother wanted was for you to love her, but you had to go and be a big, stinky, meanie-poo. Well, you ungrateful little brat, if you won't love mother than you won't love anyone ever again. My poison will keep eating away at you. It'll rip and tear at your insides, pull out every last bit of positive emotion you have and replace it with hatred and disgust. All those wonderful feelings you have for your friends and loved ones will be gone. And you'll be all alone. With no one to turn to...except dear, old mother."
A multitude of feelings ran through Raven's body. She was tired, frustrated, embarrassed. She was angry at Mother Mae-Eye for her treachery, but even more than that she was angry at herself. Deep down in her gut she knew she was the one who allowed all this to happen. She had willingly gone against her better judgement. The wicked old crone may have given her the tools, but it was she herself who chose to use them. However, though Raven knew she herself was the one to blame, she wasn't going to beat herself up over it. At least not while she had Mother Mae-Eye in her crosshairs.
Gritting her teeth, Raven's eyes grew white with power. Black lightning hissed and crackled from her form as her soul-self braced itself for battle. In a sudden display of power the floorboards beneath Mother Mae-Eye's feet began to rock and shift. Whips of black energy snapped up from between the cracks as the wood began to twist and shatter, throwing the wicked old woman off balance. With her opponent distracted, Raven attacked. Cutting through the air like a bullet, she extended her leg and delivered a powerful flying kick straight to the ugly matron's black heart. Mother Mae-Eye announced it's damaging effects with a loud 'ooof' as the sheer force of the blow caused her feet to leave the ground and the entirety of her body to once again go crashing back into the bookcase. The witch was wounded and down on her hands and knees, but Raven's attack refused to cease. Raising her hands, she encapsulated the bookcase in a black energy aura, and with one swooping gesture brought the structure crashing down on the woman's head. For a moment there was no movement. Silence filled the room. Then a dark and wicked howl, erupted from beneath the fallen structure. From beneath the mess of wood and paper came a furious Mother Mae-Eye. Tripling her size, becoming nearly nine feet tall, the wicked witch showed her new found strength by hefting the splintered remains of the book case high above her head. She let out a wicked shriek and hurled the massive structure in Raven's direction. Conjuring her powers, Raven phased through the attack and the bookcase smashed harmlessly against a display at the front of the shop. Mother Mae-Eye would not relent however. Once again she took hold of her purse.
"Naughty girl," she roared. "Naughty, naughty, naughty! Momma spank!" Swinging her purse like a morning star, she went on the offensive. The massive purple and black bag shattered wood and glass as Raven managed to dodge blow after blow. The damage to the store barely even registered with the old woman. She seemed to be in a blood frenzy. She cared nothing for the destruction being wrought, for all the glass delicates and priceless artifacts being crushed underfoot. Raven's complete annihilation was all that mattered. Forcing Raven into a corner she seemed poised to deliver the final blow. However, the young sorceress was far from out. Sensing the oncoming attack, she raised her hands. Calling forth her powers, she summoned a razor thin blade of energy. Swinging with precision, she cut the strap of Mother Mae-Eye's purse just before the swing, causing the bag to go hurdling off in the opposite direction where it collided with a carefully stacked bottle display. Raising her hands again, Raven grabbed the ruffles of Mother Mae-Eye's hat with her powers and yanked the fabric down over all three of the witch's eyes. She then took hold of the remains of a five foot long glass display case. Ripping the heavy structure from the floor she sent it careening hard into the side of the witch's jaw, sending her busting nearly through the wall on the far side of the shop.
Pulling herself out of the debris, Mother Mae-Eye grumbled in frustration. "Filthy jackanapes," she grumbled. "Disobedient children need more vegetables in their diet." She waved her wand. A collection of pink, glowing dust settled in the air and then with three loud pops there came into existence three mansized broccoli stalks, each one complete with wicked yellow eyes and snapping jaws. The magically conjured beasts growled as they wriggled their newly found claws and scampered across the floor on their freshly birthed legs. They leapt at Raven, swiping and snarling, forcing her on the defensive. She ducked in and around several attacks before finally striking back. With a wave of her hand another burst of razor edged energy shot forth, decapitating one of the beasts. Another seized hold of her arms, attempting to hold her for the other's attack. A pair of black energy claws shot forth from beneath Raven's hood, piercing the oncoming attacker and ripping him in two. Raven cut her captor off at the elbows with another razor strike before completely encapsulating the beast in energy and squashing it to a fine pulp with a simple flick of her wrist.
Raven could sense the imminent attack from Mother Mae-Eye before it happened, but wasn't quite fast enough to fully stop it. She attempted an energy shield but the blow easily pierced her hastily made defenses and collided hard with her jaw, sending her spiraling through the air before crashing to a hard glass and wood speckled floor. Tapping a baseball bat-sized carrot against her palm, Mother Mae-Eye giggled with glee. The carrot then vanished and waving her magic wand a jar of apricot preserves the size of a jukebox appeared over Raven's prone body only to then come racing down. Somehow, Raven was able to clear her head in time to phase through the floor and avoid the crushing blow. Traveling through the floorboards she moved to Mother Mae-Eye's blind side. Her attempt to get the drop on the witch, however, was unsuccessful. The old crone anticipated the attack. Spinning on her heels, she conjured a pair of anaconda-like hair ribbons into existence and sent them slithering through the air in Raven's direction. Ducking and dodging, Raven managed to avoid their pink, satin-y grasp, even as Mother Mae-Eye moved in to make a few swipes of her own with her wand. Gripping the wand firmly, the witch began firing long pink beams of light from the spoon's basin. Several of the shots grazed her, but otherwise Raven remained untouched. Frustrated, Mother Mae-Eye upped her attack. Plates and cups and bowls came pouring into existence through several small portals. Rolling pins and toasters followed and soon the whole store was a tornado of crockery and kitchen appliances. Raven did her best to avoid the attacks, but eventually a stray rolling pin caught her in the center of the back and she was downed.
Looming over the fallen Raven, Mother Mae-Eye readied her wand. "I tried to show patience with you, Rae-Rae," she sneered. "But if you insist on making such a fuss then maybe I'll just gobble you up right now."
Pain wracked Raven's body as she crawled along the floor, looking for some kind of escape, some kind of chance to launch a counterattack. She could sense the final blow coming. She needed to do something to stop it. It was then, on the other side of the store she spotted it. In all the fighting she was amazed it had survived, but there it was, the looking glass, resting against a pile of debris, looking a little dusty but otherwise no worse for wear.
"Time for your just desserts, Rae-Rae," shrieked Mother Mae-Eye, taking aim with her wand.
Rolling out of the way, Raven narrowly avoided the blast. Throwing out her arm, she seized hold of the mirror with her energy. In a heartbeat it raced towards her, right into her outstretched hand. She would potentially only have one shot at this. She had to make it count. If she could only angle it just right...
The second blast came roaring out of the witch's wand and headed straight for Raven's heart just as Raven threw the mirror up in front of her. The narrow beam of light vanished into the glass, only to then come racing out of the vanity mirror at the back of the store. Mother Mae-Eye only had time enough to realize her mistake before the energy swiftly connected with the small of her back, instantly surrounding her in a haze of pink light. Her plump body, twisted and contorted for a few moments before a puff of pink smoke erupted from nowhere, swallowing her image.
As the smoke cleared, Raven slowly climbed to her feet. She had just righted herself when the last of it dissipated. Mother Mae-Eye was no longer anywhere to be seen. The old woman was gone. All that remained now was a somewhat bewildered looking six-inch-high gingerbread girl. Trying to find new balance on her little cookie legs, she took a moment to study her new surroundings. The spoon shaped wand had clattered to the floor during the transformation. Seeing this she attempted to retrieve it only for Raven to scoop it up first. Holding the wand tight in her hand, the violet haired sorceress glared down at the helpless little baked good before summoning her powers and breaking the instrument to pieces. Frightened by the display of power the cookie attempted to run, run, run as fast as she could. Unfortunately for her there was no escape. Calling forth her powers once more, Raven easily seized hold of the cookie girl, levitating her through the air until she was eye level.
"Uhh...truce?" said the little cookie, with a barely audible squeak.
Raven's glare spoke volumes as she stared hard into the cookie girl's chocolate chip eyes. "Tell me how to reverse the spell," she threatened.
Vanilla icing poured down the cookie girl's temple's like sweat. "I-I-I don't know how," she babbled. "It was never meant to have an antidote."
"You made it. You can unmake it."
"I would if I could, but it's irreversible. The ingredients I used were too powerful. There's nothing known to magic that can cancel them out."
"You're lying."
"No, I swear. The only way to get the poison out of your system now is to drive it out."
"Drive it out?"
"It's like a tumor. It'll keep growing so long as it's inside you. But there's a spiritual element to it too. It's not enough to remove the poison from your body. You need to purge its essence completely other wise it'll just regrow."
"So how do I get rid of it?"
Little streams of chocolate syrup poured down the cookie's cheeks. "I don't know," she sobbed. "Please, you have to believe me. You'll just have to find it out for yourself."
The cookie girl's panic deepened as it began hovering closer and closer to Raven's ever glowing eyes. "You better hope I do," the violet-haired sorceress hissed. "Or tonight I'll be adding a spice of gingerbread to my tea."