Chapter XVIII - The Raven and the Crowe
Azar's eyes burst open, glowing an intense white shortly before returning to their normal golden hue. She clutched her chest and breathed calmly, trying to pacify her emotions. But she knew what she had seen.
When the first Azar passed away, she passed on her soul and her power into a young woman, who then inherited all of Azar's powers coupled with her own innate ones. The second Azar likewise did the same with the third and present one, so like the two Azar's before her, the current Azar possesses the gift of limited clairvoyance, but because some of the second Azar's powers were lost in the protection of Azarath from Trigon, the third Azar's powers were not as great as that of the second's.
That being said, the vision she had just saw was one she should have seen many years ago. The powerful sorceress stood to her feet and stepped out of the Throne Room where she had been meditating, making her way to one of the highest rooms in the Azarathean Palace. It was a room completely made of glass to let the light from outside bathe the room inside. In the very center of the room was a small pool, a perfect circle filled to the brim with a cloudy water that was not quite liquid and not quite gas. It was the Gate of Betwixt and Between, Azar knew, a passageway that could transport people into anywhere in existence.
Silently, the sorceress stepped into the pool, levitating at first until she reached the middle of the pool, then slowly lowering herself down, eyes shut. She felt the coolness of the smoky waters touch and surround her until she was engulfed in it. She felt herself sinking lower and lower into the pool, diving deeper and deeper until not even the light of the room above was able to reach her.
Her feet touched ground, and her surroundings solidified. Azar opened her eyes to find herself in a dark, cold, empty realm of nothingness. She used her powers to scan the area, but to her chagrin she could find no sign of life anywhere. Taking to the skies, she flew around the realm, searching for any sign of life in the shadowy and cold world, but found none. Her search brought her to the boundary of the land—a magically sealed gate erected by two massive mountainous towers. Beyond the gate was the spirit of Trigon.
"Arella…" Azar breathed. "I am sorry I did not sense it earlier. Why have you done this? Why have you used the last breadth of your power to create a false imitation of your aura so that no one would sense your disappearance? Why? I should have foreseen this… Why did you not tell me?"
The leader of New Azarath then created a portal and returned to the Azarathean Palace, where she found a woman dressed in a purple robe waiting for her. "Your Holiness," the woman addressed her. "Is something the matter?"
"High Priestess Dulcinea," Azar replied. "I fear something very grave has happened." She placed the fingers of her right hand onto her forehead in an attempt to sense something, but seemingly failed. "Lady Arella has disappeared."
"Disappeared! How? When?"
"I do not know," she shook her head. "It may have been many years already. Before she did so, she must have used her powers to create an artificial aura imitating hers so that we would not sense her disappearance. How could I have been so easily fooled?"
"Do not blame yourself, your Holiness," the priestess said comfortingly. "You know that Lady Arella's powers are very strong. The question is why did she disappear?"
Azar was quiet for a moment, then said, "It is possible that she had experienced a vision."
High Priestess Dulcinea took a step back in surprise. "A vision?" she cried. "But that is impossible! Only you have the magic sufficient enough to experience visions."
"Not necessarily. Lady Raven, herself, also had experienced visions in the past."
"That is true… But Lady Raven was the offspring of the most powerful demon in existence. Lady Arella was only a mere mortal before she came here. How is it possible that she had gained the power to experience clairvoyance?"
"Do you remember your history lessons, High Priestess Dulcinea? About the history of who we are and where we come from?"
"Of course, I do, your Holiness. Our origins started with the three: Dante who travelled through the realms and unlocked the gift of magic to a few special mortals, the first Azar who protected those gifted with magic and created Azarath, Sorceror Leon who conquered the demons and set peace to the worlds."
"Exactly. When Dante unlocked the gift of magic, not all of those who were gifted followed Azar to Azarath. Some stayed behind and hid their powers. Their magic flowed through their bloodlines from generation to generation, becoming weaker and weaker before being completely dormant. However, magic can never disappear. It is possible that Arella had been a descendent of one of those gifted with magic. That magic might have been that beacon that attracted the second Azar to come save her and bring her to Azarath. That magic might have been awakened through her years of training with us."
"And Lady Raven?"
"Raven has some of that power as well, which makes her even more powerful than Trigon, himself. That was what helped her defeat him the first time. Only this time… I fear he may strike back."
"What?" High Priestess Dulcinea gasped. "What do you mean?"
"Lady Arella's disappearance for an indefinite amount of time… mind control of New Azarathean government officials, attacks, and attempts at unlocking the Weapons just a few years back… Lady Raven's disappearance for the past five years… I doubt it is all a coincidence."
"But Trigon?"
"With Lady Arella gone, no one is left to guard the demon," Azar explained. "The only reason she would have disappeared was if she had seen something very horrible and believed only she could stop it. The Seven Weapons could be used by Trigon to defeat anything and anyone in his way should he escape his gated prison. And if something happened to the only person with the power to stop him—Raven—everything would be doomed."
"It is all too perfect… This is something Trigon would do," the priestess nodded.
"Alert the others. Call in the council for an immediate meeting," the leader of New Azarath ordered.
"Yes, my liege, but there is something I wished to speak to you about."
"Yes? What is it?"
The high priestess reached into her robe and pulled out a communication book. "Just a few moments ago, I received a message and… it relates to Lady Raven." She handed the book to the sorceress, who opened it and proceeded to read it aloud.
"To the owner of this book. My name is Garfield Logan. I am a close friend of Raven's and she had taught me what this kind of book was a long time ago. I'm not sure if I'm doing this right, but if I am and someone is reading this, please send this message to Raphael, friend of Captain Etzel Giles. Something has happened to Raven and she is dying. I know we have had differences in the past, Raphael, and you know that quite honestly, you are the last person I want here. But you can help Raven. She is dying and she might one day start losing her memories. Please send help right away. – Garfield Logan."
"Lady Raven is dying, the message says," High Priestess Dulcinea said. "Should we believe it?"
"Garfield Logan… he is one of the Earthlings who are the closest with Lady Raven. He is to be trusted." She shook her head. "If this is true, and Lady Raven is dying, I have no doubts that this is Trigon's doing. Send Master Lieutenant Raphael the message right now."
The priestess nodded and began to walk away, but stopped and turned back to the sorceress for a moment. "Your Holiness," said she. "If this was Trigon's doing, surely you must have sensed it. You did sense it, did you not?"
Slowly, the woman shook her head. "I have only sensed it now," she replied. "I fear he is starting to become even more powerful than I."
"What is happening now, then? Is it the Second Coming?"
"I fear more… I fear a second Sorceror-Demon War is approaching."
At this, the priestess nearly fell in shock and disbelief. "What—what makes you believe that? It cannot be. It is impossible!"
"Do you remember… do you remember that story of the Inheritance?"
"Y—yes. The story that when the demons attack for the second time, the descendants of Dante, Azar, and Leon would come together for the first time in many millennia to defeat it once more. But that is only a fairy tale. An old wives' tale, is it not?"
"That is what I have always believed as well," Azar admitted. "But… it seems to be happening now."
"But the only descendant we know of is you, my liege! And you said so yourself that perhaps you cannot defeat Trigon this time."
At this, Azar shook her head with a shadow of a smile. "What if I told you… there was another Azar?"
"What? Another Azar?"
The shadow on Azar's face grew slightly. "It has been a secret kept even from her, but she will find out soon enough. When the second Azar's powers were lost in the fight against Trigon, much of it transferred to her. This caused her to inherit some of Azar's powers, making her a descendant of Azar. You realize who I am speaking of, correct?"
"Yes…" Dulcinea gasped. "Raven…"
…
The darkness over Raven's eyes subsided as she managed to force her eyelids open. An immense pain in her head caused her to almost pass out in pain, but she held onto consciousness. With much difficulty, she took notice of her surroundings. Immediately, she became aware that she was bound to a chair by some sturdy rope. Her arms were throbbing with pain as if on fire, but she tried her best to ignore it. She looked around and took in the disturbing sight.
She was in what appeared to be a dining room—there was a table set out with an aged and yellowing tablecloth. Laid out over the table was an assortment of food that had rotted and decayed as if they haven't been touched in years. The two candles on the table were unlit but appear old and dusty. There were a few clocks in the room—a grandfather clock in the corner, a smaller clock on the wall, and one more set on top of a burning fireplace. Upon closer inspection, Raven saw that they were all broken, completely still and set exactly on 1:07. The only source of light was from the aforementioned fireplace, which illuminated a beautiful wedding dress in the corner of the room hung on a mannequin. Beside it was another mannequin that bore a tuxedo. Her eyes centered back to the brimming fireplace, and the flames that protruded from it. Slowly, she changed her gaze from the fireplace up towards the wall above it, where there hung a large picture of a man and a woman wearing the garments that now hung on the mannequins. Staring intensely at the two, Raven realized that they were the images of Malcolm and Anna Crowe.
"Does it interest you?" a voice called. Raven jumped upon the sound and glanced towards the dining table. She immediately looked away in shock, for sitting on one of the chairs was Malcolm, stark naked from head to toe. How had she not noticed him earlier? Shaking it off, she slowly returned her gaze cautiously, where she saw from the corner of her eyes Malcolm standing up and walking across the room towards the two mannequins. Undressing the male mannequin, he began to put the tuxedo on himself.
"I thought that I could be happy once more," he said as he dressed himself. "I thought that with my power, I could bring back the one person I loved. So I had thought." He chuckled to himself half-heartedly. "How foolish I was…"
Raven opened her mouth as if to say something, but found that her voice was very weak and she could produce very little sound. Instead, she was forced to continue listening to the man. "You struck me as a very different girl from the moment we've met, my dear Raven. Of course, I knew from the moment I set eyes on you that you were his daughter. I could sense it, you know. Just as I was able to sense that Slade Wilson was once his servant."
"Who are you?" the sorceress managed to gasp.
Malcolm seemed unable to answer the question, himself, and proceeded to gaze uncertainly at the fireplace. "I am… no one. I am a nobody, just a shell of a man… ever since she left."
"She died, Malcolm. You have to accept that," Raven tried. "You can't keep running from the truth. She died."
"She's not dead!" he suddenly yelled in return, causing Raven to flinch for a moment. The immediate explosion subsiding, Malcolm's voice fell. "She's not dead…" he repeated. "The Anna who died in the explosion, in the nuclear reactor… she was a fake as well. She was the first of my fake Anna's, followed by Madame Rouge and many others."
"Why? Why did you do all of this? Why?" Raven questioned.
The man, now fully dressed in his tuxedo, turned to face her. The fire cast a shadow over his face. "March 18th," he said to her with a sad voice. "March 18th. That was our wedding day. That was supposed to be it, at least." He pointed towards the large picture of him and Anna above the fire. "'You are cordially invited to celebrate the Holy Matrimony of Malcolm Crowe and Anna Havisham.' We had those words nearly engraved in our hearts ever since our engagement. My mother was against the marriage from the start; how could a physicist like me even think of marrying a poor and lowly woman like Anna? Over time, we convinced her to accept the marriage and accept Anna. Everything was going great… until Anna decided she didn't want it anymore.
"A few days before the wedding, we got into an argument. She felt like all my family and friends did not truly accept her, and she would always be an outsider and a burden to me. I tried to convince her otherwise, but the argument heated up and I told her that if she didn't believe how much I loved her, then she should just… just leave. The next day, I talked my mother into taking Anna out for a day to show that she will be accepted. Begrudgingly, my mother accepted. That was March 15th, three days before our wedding. My mother came home and told me everything went fine, but that Anna said something about you not caring for her. Minutes later, I received a text message from Anna: 'I can't take this anymore. Let's end all of this. I'm leaving. Don't look for me. I'm sorry.'"
Malcolm's voice choked up as he recounted this. Raven sat silently, half listening and half suppressing the pain in her body. Pausing for a second, he then continued his story. "I looked everywhere for her, but she was nowhere to be found. Just like that, she disappeared from my life. All because of something that I said. A stupid little argument leading me to say something so stupid. My last words to her were me telling her to leave." He should his head. "What a fool… The wedding day came, and I was dressed in the tuxedo I'm wearing now, the feast laid out over there, that picture up there newly hung. The wedding was ready, the groom was ready, but the bride was gone forever. It was then that I knew she was never coming back.
"This was supposed to be our home. We were supposed to build our lives in this house right here. But in the end, there I was staring at a wedding dress with no one to wear it. I went insane, and took all the clocks in this room and set it to 1:07, the exact time that I received the text message from Anna. I thought that maybe by stopping the clocks, I could stop time to that point. One day, my Anna will return. As long as it's still 1:07… A few days passed, and starving and dirty as I was, I refused to change out of my tuxedo and refused to even touch the food that was set out for our wedding feast.
"Eventually, I snapped. I decided that if Anna wasn't going to come back, I was going to make an Anna for myself. So I went out into the city and into a bar. A college student was sitting there—her name escapes me now—and I found that she remarkably looked very similar to Anna. I went over and lured her away from her friends, convincing her to come with me. As she got into the car, I drugged her and bound her, driving her back to my house to change into the dress. I was going to marry Anna that day, and I didn't care if it was the real or a fake one. On the road back to my house, we passed a nuclear reactor. At that time, the girl woke up and realized what was happening. She started fighting back and her efforts to escape caused me to accidentally crash at the reactor."
He shook his head and began rubbing his face as if he, himself, was unable to believe the story he was recounting. Raven, in the meanwhile, felt the pain in her head growing stronger. Her fists clenched the chair she was bound to as waves of pain flowed throughout her body. "I don't even remember how the explosion happened. I don't remember when the girl snapped her neck and died. I don't remember anything. I just remember the fire, the explosion. As I was bathed in the fire, I thought I was going to die. I thought I felt my soul leaving my body. I thought I felt my body burning away. Instead, I heard a voice. It spoke to me there, in the fire. 'I can give you all your heart's deepest desires if you serve me,' it said. How could I do anything but accept? I was so desperate to see my Anna again. The voice spoke again and told me everything.
"He told me that his name was Trigon, lord of the demons and rightful lord of the entire realm of existence. He told me that he had recently succeeded in conquering the whole realm, but was defeated by his foolish daughter, who did not realize his true right as king of everything. He told me that shortly before his defeat and casting away into a dimensional prison, he sent out a fragment of his power in the form of the voice that spoke to me now. He told me that if I become his servant and assist him in regaining his power, he could give me anything and everything I wanted. With nothing else I could do, I accepted.
"He gave me three deeds to complete. The first deed was to seek revenge onto those who had wronged him—namely, the mother of his offspring, Arella Roth, and the four friends of his offspring, the Teen Titans. The second deed was to gather the Seven Weapons of Azarath, which will grant him absolute invincibility and eternal power. The first and second deeds were not necessary, however; only the third was crucial to Trigon—that I must find his daughter and impregnate her with his essence. He planted into my body a fragment of his soul and ordered me to impregnate his daughter. When I do so, his soul fragment will be transferred into her, in which it will gradually take over her body and transform her into an incarnation of him. Eventually, once his soul fragment takes complete control over his daughter's body and mind, he will be able to transfer himself into her. She will no longer be the portal to free Trigon, but she will become Trigon, herself. The lord Trigon, the daughter Raven, and the spirit of the demons he controls. All three in one body—his plan to become a god.
"To assist me in my three deeds, he also gave me three powers. The first was the ability to sense his soul. With this, I would be able to sense the presence of his daughter. It was also with this that I was able to find his former servant, Slade, and place him under my employ for a while. The second ability imparted in me was the ability to teleport myself and others through vast distances with practically no limit. With this ability, I would be able to travel easily to the world of New Azarath in order to find the Weapons. But most interesting was the third gift he granted to me—the ability to replace others' thoughts and actions with my own consciousness. In an instant, I was able to completely control those around me, all with three simple words: Would you please. All I had to do was say those three words and everyone would obey without question. For instance, Raven, would you please hold your breath?"
Raven suddenly found her throat clog up and was unable to breathe at all. She opened her mouth as wide as she could, but no air was allowed in. "Good," Malcolm complimented. "Would you please breathe normally?" The sorceress, in relief, felt her throat free up once more and she panted heavily. "And so, my mission became clear," the man explained. "I was to become Trigon's servant, and him my master. With the three gifts he gave to me, I was to follow his orders. As I woke in the hospital, I immediately tested my newfound powers by controlling everyone and forcing them to rewrite the events of what happened at the reactor. I had them revise the official reports, so that it became that I had hit my head but had no damage, and that Anna had lived and merely absorbed some radiation. With that done, I went out in town and searched for a woman who looked similar to my Anna. In time, a woman with a close enough resemblance was found, and I controlled her to take on the life of my fiancée, Anna Crowe. And thus it all began.
"For two years, I continued living. My new Anna was not perfect, but it was enough. One day, I was enraged by how little I found her to be like the real Anna Crowe, so I killed her and looked for a replacement in the city. The next victim had the same face as Anna, but her hair and eyes were wrong, so I bought her a wig and colored contacts. I was pleased with my new creation, the third Anna. And so began my cycle. Whenever I became too enraged, I would kill her and just find another replacement. I became so tired of how each one never looked exactly like Anna, so I did my research and found out about a shape-shifter named Madame Rouge. A shape-shifter was what I needed, I realized, and I immediately found her and possessed her to take on the form of Anna Crowe. I was immediately taken aback by how much she was able to perfectly resemble my lost love and I sought to marry her immediately.
"I dressed my new, perfect Anna in the wedding dress from two years before and scheduled our wedding to be at Andern Falls. Because I haven't been working in years and secluded myself from my family ever since Anna's disappearance, I knew I would need some money for the wedding and for the new life I was to live with my creation, so I adopted the persona of Rift, and began robbing banks and such. I found out about a rare fragment of Unobtainium in Jump City and so I took it, leading me to come in contact with you and your friends. Immediately I sensed you, and when I constructed a portal to escape, I drew you into it, hoping to separate you from the others. To my dismay, your friend Beast Boy came in as well and distracted me enough for you to escape. No matter, I sold the Unobtainium for a large sum of money and teleported to Andern Falls just in time for my wedding with my new Anna Crowe. I bought a house in Jump City so I could keep a close eye on you, the daughter of Trigon. Eventually, the Brotherhood of Evil's attempts at taking back Madame Rouge proved too annoying, so I enlisted the help of Titans East to keep the Brotherhood at bay for a while. Eventually, they succeeded in taking back Madame Rouge, in part because my control over her was starting to wear out as she came in more and more contact with you. You see, Raven, those who have been touched by Trigon have an immunity to the mind control, which is why it was difficult for me to completely control Slade and for me to control you at all. When you entered her mind, your immunity to my powers rubbed off on her and she managed to break free from my spell.
"Three years after that, I began to search for the real Anna Crowe, knowing I wouldn't be able to keep on kidnapping young women. I had Slade help me, but when he betrayed me, I was forced to kill him. I was also growing desperate not only of my plans to find the real Anna, but of also Trigon's three deeds as well, none of which I had successfully completed. Luckily, one night, Beast Boy came to me in your body and created the perfect opportunity for me to fulfill the third deed."
Raven cried out both in pain and in horror. "You—you monster!" she spitted. "Monster!"
"The only monster here is you," he replied. "Or rather, the beast growing inside you. You can feel it can't you? All that pain you've been feeling for the past five years, it's all been Trigon. It's been his influence taking over your body. Slowly, his presence will wipe you of all your thoughts and memories. Without those, you will be a blank slate, perfect for him to take complete dominance of you and transfer himself into your body." Raven had heard enough. She struggled to free herself, but was bounded too tight and was too weak. "Would you please stop moving?" he commanded her. Immediately her entire body stiffened. She watched frightfully as Malcolm approached her slowly with a menacing gaze. He snapped his fingers, causing the rope to untie itself and fall lifelessly to the floor.
"Now that your magic and powers have been suppressed," he explained, "I am able to have complete control over you. Pity it wasn't like this before. All of Trigon's plans might have been fulfilled many years ago had you just been as obedient as you are now. Would you please stand up?" She found her body to stand up obediently. "Good girl," the man taunted. "Now would you please sit down and stay down?" Again, her body obeyed without question.
"I figure that now there only is a little while longer until your transformation is complete, you might as well serve me for my desires until the end of the world comes," he said to her. "Madame Rouge was the fifth Anna. The woman you saw earlier was the sixth. My seventh and last Anna, I've decided, will be none other than you, Raven. Until you become the one to destroy all worlds, you shall be my Anna."
"Never!" she cried out. "I won't let you touch me. Don't you dare lay a finger on me!" she spat in his face, an action which only seemed to delight him even more.
"Oh really, now?" he cackled as he clasped his hands all over her face. Raven struggled to shake them off, but was bound by the spell and could barely move at all. "You are my sweet little puppet, Raven," he whispered ravenously. "You are not the most beautiful of my Anna's, nor were you the most resembling. However, there is something about you that I've always been attracted to since the very beginning. In particular, that night we shared together was especially—"
"Shut up!" Raven cried out. For a split second, her two eyes were replaced with the glow of four scarlet eyes and a powerful force expelled from her body and struck Malcolm Crowe, pushing him back several feet. He was shocked by the outburst of energy, but recuperated quickly.
"Impressive…" he noted. "Trigon's power over you is getting stronger. It won't be long until you become him completely."
The sorceress blinked and the four red eyes disappeared. He was right, she thought to herself. If Trigon was indeed growing inside her, he was become stronger. She sensed her father's presence, the same feeling that was in her ten years ago. She raised her hands and two black orbs of magic faintly appeared. "I—I'm going to fight you, no matter what," she said weakly. "I don't care how weak I am, but I will fight you. And if my father is, indeed, returning, he should know that I will fight him as well. Until the very end, I will fight him. Never will he touch my world again."
"Why?" Malcolm Crowe asked her, standing up straight with the fire behind him casting a great shadow over Raven. "What is the point? Let's just bring this world to an end. What is the point in living? Love? Bah—a foolish thing. Nothing lasts forever. All love is destined to end. All life is destined to end. That's the one truth humans can never accept—that everything in this world is transient, temporary. Why do people insist on creating things that will inevitably be destroyed? Why do people cling to life, knowing that they must someday die? Why…knowing that none of it will have meant anything once they do? All happiness is doomed to fade into sorrow, all life to death, all light to darkness. What is the meaning of this broken world of ours? What is the meaning when everything will inevitably come to an end?"
"It's—it's love," Raven answered as she regained her strength. "Love is what makes life worth living. The day to day struggles that we face are worth it because of the day to day love that we experience. The love within each other that we cherish in our hearts… Once upon a time, I didn't understand such a thing. But right now, I see it as clear as day. My love—my friends, my family, my home, my everything—they all bring to me the strength I need, the strength for me to live another day. Even now as I'm dying, they're the ones who give me the reason to cling onto life one more day. They're the reason that I'll always fight to protect this world and to protect them. Love isn't about obsession, about grief, about sorrow. Love isn't a cold, heartless thing like those. Love is… love is a warm back that carries you when you're weak, love is a crystal bell ringing in the night, love is a hundred messages written in small pills. Love is the celebrations with friends, the laughter we share, the happy memories we cherish. All that is love. All that makes it easier to live another day. And even though in the end, they might disappear, in the end they are not meaningless because they have made a difference in the lives of those they affect. Knowing that in the end, you are thankful and grateful for having had that love in your life."
Upon hearing this, Malcolm Crowe clutched his heart. Her words had penetrated him and she could tell as she was speaking them that tears were growing on his eyes. He fell down to his knees and began sobbing. "Why?" he cried aloud. "Why can I not feel this? Why can I not feel this love?"
"Because you are dead, Malcolm. You are dead and you have been ever since Anna left you. You can't keep living a broken life like this. I don't know why she left you, but you can't keep living in the past, fueled completely by your bitterness and obsession. You have to let her go."
"I can't!" he screamed as he knelt on the ground before Raven, tears dripping on the floor. "I can't! How can I let her go knowing that I was the reason? Ten years! It's been ten years since she left me and not a day has passed since I haven't thought of her." He lifted his face to Raven and she saw his blood-shot eyes and wet cheeks. "Do you know what it is like to live a living hell for ten years because you are the reason the only person you've loved is gone forever? Do you know? Do you?!"
"I—I can't," she stammered back. She felt her eyes begin to burn with tears as she suddenly recalled Garfield and the five years he had spent in grief and guilt. Had Garfield felt this way too? Was Gar suffering inside just like Malcolm?
"All I want is to be able to see her again!" Crowe shouted. "I miss her. I want to tell her that. I want to tell her that I miss her… and that I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. What have I done? What have I done?"
"Malcolm…" Raven said as her own tears began to appear. She felt her heart beating intensely as she imagined Garfield was the one kneeling before her and crying. "She would have forgiven you. I know she would."
"How? How could you know? She left me because I was cruel to her!" the man sobbed. "Every day I keep on thinking, 'I should have loved her more. I should have cared for her more. I shouldn't have been so cruel to her in the end.' How could she have forgiven me for all I had done?"
"Be—because she loved you," Raven said finally. "If she loved you, she would have forgiven you. Love is forgiveness, Malcolm. So it's time you forgave her for leaving. And it's time you forgave yourself."
The man stood up wearily and walked away from her. "What have I done?" he repeated. "I have destroyed my life… and now I've destroyed yours. It'll be my fault now that he, that Trigon, will come. It'll all by my fault."
"I'll fight Trigon, I promise."
Malcolm stood in front of the fireplace and stared at the flickering flames that protruded. His eyes then wandered over to the wedding dress on the mannequin nearby. "She never did get to wear her beautiful wedding dress," he said quietly. "I'm sorry, Raven, for everything. I am sorry, for dooming this world to damnation because of my ignorance." Turning to face Raven again, his eyes widened and he took a stepped back in surprise. "A—Anna?"
Raven quickly turned around in confusion, but found no one there. Spinning back, she faced Malcolm and asked him what was wrong. "You—you, you're Anna!" he cried out, taking a step back.
Raven opened her mouth and suddenly found herself saying, "Malcolm, I'm sorry!" Immediately she covered her mouth in surprise as if she did not speak from her own will.
"Anna!" she saw him say as he took another step back towards the fireplace. "Anna, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Forgive me, Anna!" Another step back.
"Malcolm, watch out!" she suddenly cried.
"Forgive me, Anna!" Malcolm unconsciously took another step back, accidentally going too far and stepping straight onto the fireplace. In an instant, his body was engulfed in flames, and he began dashing towards her, screaming and wailing. Tongues of fire licked all around his body and engulfed the wooden floor underneath.
Raven watched in horror as the howling Malcolm ran around the room in a mad attempt to put out the fire that covered him. He ran towards the mannequin and ripped off the wedding dress, covering himself with it until it, too, burst into flames. Snapping into action, Raven rushed to the table and yanked out the tablecloth from underneath the food, causing its contents to fly all over onto the floor. Running towards the fireplace, she threw the tablecloth over it to extinguish the flame, but the cloth was too old and weak, and eventually succumbed to the fire.
She tried to find some way to help Malcolm, but saw him instead look at her and point towards the door, as if motioning her to escape while she still could. She refused, shouting at him that she'll try to use her powers to extinguish the fire. The burning man shook his head violently and raised his hand, using the last of his strength to conjure a portal behind Raven. The last thing the woman saw before being telepathically pushed into the portal was the large portrait of Malcolm and Anna Crowe falling from its place into the wall and onto the fire below. Then the image of the burning portrait, the burning room, and the burning man all left her.
…
Raven didn't know exactly how long she had been wandering the streets. She didn't even know how long she was at Malcolm's house, which by now must have burned to the ground unless the fire department somehow arrived on time. All she saw were people walking here and there, an endless flock of humans gathering and dispersing. The intense pain that throbbed throughout her body lessened for the moment, though a ringing headache was still in her head. Her mind drew to a blank as she walked aimlessly throughout the streets.
"Raven!" she heard a voice call out to her. A hand clapped onto her shoulders, and she turned around.
"Raphael!" she exclaimed in surprise at the sight of her Azarathean friend. "What are you doing here?"
"Garfield asked for me to come," the man said. "But what are you doing here? We've been looking all over for you for the entire day! Man, it's a good thing they decided to send me to search here. Otherwise we would've never found you."
"You—you have?"
"You disappeared last night, remember? Where have you been? We've all been worried sick about you."
"S—sorry, Raphael," she apologized. "Can—can you take me home? I have no idea where I am right now."
The man chuckled. "What do you mean?"
"I mean… I'll tell you what happened later but basically I was just transported here. I have no idea where this place is."
"Raven," Raphael's face suddenly became serious. "Do you really not know where you are?"
"Should I?" she asked.
"We're… we're in Jump City. This was your home for seven years."
"Jump City?" She looked around and examined the streets about her. "Are you sure? I can't really remember what Jump City looked like."
"Hold on. Wait here. I'm gonna call the others to come pick us up," he said as he took out a communicator that the others had given him. After calling them and telling that Raven was safe and sound in Jump City, he hung up and reverted his attention to Raven. "Raven, is this some kind of joke?"
"No, why?"
"How did you just forget the city you grew up in?" Suddenly the Azarathean remembered the words in the message he had received: "She is dying and she might one day start losing her memories."
"Raven," said he. "Are you… are you okay?"
"Yes, of course," she stuttered. "Why wouldn't I be?" The ringing in her head grew.
"Are you… dying?" Raven suddenly had a vision of the fire in Malcolm's room. The fire in which her father was to rise from. She was silent, and Raphael asked no more questions.
Minutes later, the T-Ship arrived and landed near them. As the Titans ran towards Raven, Richard Grayson was the first to speak.
"Raven!" he called. "Where have you been? We've been looking all over for you."
"We were all so worried," Starfire added. "Come, let us go home."
Raven's eyes glanced confusingly between the two, and she took a step back. Turning to Raphael, she whispered, "Raphael, who are they?"
The master lieutenant's eyes widened. "Raven…" he whispered in horror. "Do—do you not remember them?"
"Yo, Rae! Thought you could run away from us, huh?" Victor Stone bellowed in laughter. "Come on, Rae, let's go home now. We're all tired from looking all over for you."
The sorceress took a step forwards cautiously. "Do—" she said slowly. "Do I know you?"
The three Titans shared a surprised glance. "R—Raven," Dick said. "What are you talking about. It's us."
"Your friends," Starfire said.
"I—I'm sorry," she said. "But I—I can't remember, really. When did we meet again? How long ago was it?"
"Raven," Cyborg asked. "What do you mean?"
"I—I think I remember you," she said to Victor. "When did we last meet?"
"…Yesterday."
"Yester—" Raven stopped in mid-sentence. Her jaw lowered in fear and she took another step back. Her heart began beating faster and faster. She shook her head slowly, then was about to turn back to Raphael before her eyes settled onto another man standing near her, a man green from head to toe.
"Raven…" the man called to her.
~Difficult Words to Say~
Phew! One of my personal favorite chapters in the story. Could you tell? Well there you have it, Malcolm/Rift's story is completely fleshed out and about. Anyway, do you remember that game we had way back when? The one where you got to decide whether Raven or Beast Boy would be injured in the fight? Remember when I said I'd do it again? Well now the time has come!
This time, you, yes YOU, get to decide Malcolm Crowe's fate. There are three options available: 1) He dies. 2) He survives, but is in a coma for life. 3) He survives and is sent to a specialized mental hospital. Comment your vote in the reviews, but choose carefully. The outcome of this game will affect the ending of the story.
Also, in case it wasn't clear enough, the "disease" that Raven has is revealed to NOT be an STD, but rather Trigon's spirit growing inside her and consuming her.
CleoArrow - Haha, glad you enjoyed the twist and the notes scene. Part of the reason last chapter was one of my favorites to write, as well as this chapter. Hope you liked this one, too!
Kaarlinaa - I hope this chapter explains everything clear enough. Keep on reading to find out more about what happens to Raven!
Thebookthief18 - Thanks a lot! :) This chapter explained everything about the whole Rift ordeal. Surprised enough? And yes, it seems Rift has paid enough for this chapter. Unless you're cruel enough to kill him, too? Haha.
Lilypad009 - More has come! Keep reading. I hope you enjoyed it :)
daniiibabiii - Thanks! Hope you enjoyed the plot twists in this chapter as well.
Bluedog197 - Thank you! I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. It really explains everything about Malcolm/Rift. That was a really good prediction you made back in chapter 3, and it looks like you were right. Your other predictions... maybe they're right as well! Time will tell, of course. Just wait a few more chapters! And as for whether or not Malcolm had controlled Beast Boy during the night at the bar, that will be addressed in the next chapter.
HL - I wouldn't dismiss that as a weird theory. Lots of things can happen in this story, as we've seen already! Either way, thanks and I hope you liked this chapter!
TheLurkingShadowWillow - Did "Trigon" happen to be one of your theories? If so, congrats! Your smart brain has proved itself once again. Good job on figuring out who Rift was, though. Hope you enjoyed this plot-twisty, secret revealing chapter!
shugokage - Thank you! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
darlsonalice - Thanks! I really appreciate your review :) I'd prefer not to kill Beast Boy and Raven, though. With all the bad stuff going on with them now, it was be an injustice to deny them happiness in the end. They deserve it. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Keep on reading!
Zanzar - Thanks. I don't know what you mean by posting you, but if you follow the story, it'll automatically tell you when it's updated. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this one.
SexyPepperoni - Haha, thank you for your kind words. I hope this story has been as much a pleasure to read as it has been to write. After it ends, I hope you will be fully satisfied. Until then!