It's summer! Everyone who's celebrating the end of school with me give a cheer right now! Anyone who's not, bawl in pain. Well whether you're celebrating or sobbing, here's a fresh chapter for you all. Enjoy!
Okay, now this is off-topic, but I've been watching a couple movies in the past few days, and I guess I'm gonna leave some of my thoughts here.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - Yes! So amazing. Like oh my God so many great themes and meaningful lessons. And that ending! (even though I saw that ending coming) Surprised at how much I really enjoyed it. A must-watch.
X-Men: Days of Future Past - Also very, very good. Jennifer Lawrence's Vietnamese made me gag. (And honestly, I was thinking, "Jennifer Lawrence, you are literally everywhere. Can't I see a movie that you're NOT in for once? You're a great actress, yes, but come on, give yourself a break!). But yeah, really good movie.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Yes, I know it's an old movie by now. Yes I know EVERYONE but me has seen it. My reaction? Goddamn it was so long... Honestly I was expecting something epic and instead I was losing interest halfway through. Someone tell me the other two (or other four if you include The Hobbit) are better?
Forrest Gump - Yes, even older than LotR, but good news! I Love It! Such a beautiful movie in so many ways. Definitely goes on my top ten list.
The Fault in Our Stars - Honestly? Meh. It was really, really hyped like Frozen. And I don't even think it was even as good as Frozen. (No I'm not one of those people who overly love Frozen to sing it everywhere I go. But I will admit its songs are pretty good.) I mean really. Cancer love stories? I've seen better. Teenage romance movies? Not really my thing. There's a reason why the majority of this story takes place with Raven and Beast Boy as adults. I'd rather write (and read/watch) a love story between adults than between teenagers. But hey, that's just me.
Maleficent - Now I haven't watched this yet, but if anyone has, PLEASE tell me it was good? I'm going to see it soon.
Chapter XXI - The Second War
As Garfield cast open the door to Titans Tower, I felt a slight gust of air escape the building and brush against my face. He glanced back at me and gave a small playful wink before leading me into the darkness of the room within. He led me through a dimly-lit and long corridor that contained couches and chairs on either side. It wasn't long until we came to a stop and—as I saw Garfield begin to press a button on the wall—I realized we had reached an elevator. Within seconds, I heard the recognizable echo of an elevator approaching us, and a "ding" soon filled the air as the doors on the wall slid. I followed the green man inside. The walls closed behind us.
I felt a low rumbling as the elevator slowly began its ascent up the tower. It was now that I felt it appropriate to speak. "So what does this all mean?" I asked reluctantly. "If Garfield switched bodies with Raven… and Raven's body is gone now, then that means—" I looked up at him in horror. "Are you—?"
He chuckled. "No, I am not Raven, if that was what you were thinking."
"Oh." I gave a sigh of relief. My eyes perked up in curiosity once again as even more questions were raised. "Then… what did happen? What happened after you drank the potion?"
The man gave me a sly glance, then answered in a matter-of-fact manner, "I woke up."
"What?"
"I woke up in Andern Falls, eighteen years old once more. Turns out it was all a dream all along. The wine had nothing magical to it, but it did gave me a huge stomach ache and that caused me to have weird and vivid dreams. None of this was real. No body-switching, no deaths, no Malcolm Crowe-was-actually-Rift, no Trigon, no nothing. It was all a dream."
I was in a daze, struck in disbelief. I struggled to comprehend all this, but found that I could not. "You—you," I tried to speak. "You're joking… right?"
The man looked at me very seriously. Then burst out in laughter. "Haha yes, I'm joking. It wasn't 'all a dream'."
I scoffed at him and couldn't help but smile. "Idiot," I said. "Why would you joke about such a thing? You made me all tense."
"Sorry," he chuckled. "I just wanted to see you smile a bit. Felt like breaking the dark and somber mood we've been in the past few hours."
"So what did happen?" I asked once more.
He gave me his same old smile and looked out the window of the elevator. He pointed outside. "The room we were just at was the entryway lobby. This here is the infirmary, you see?" I followed his gaze and saw a small room fashioned similarly to a hospital, albeit with more advanced technology. As we passed the infirmary, we came to two rooms—the first was dark and had walls covered with notes, the second was also dark and contained several weapons, items, and gears displayed on podiums. "That right there is the crime lab, where Dick used to stay up all night. And this is the evidence room. That's where we keep some of the bad guys' stuff—Slade's mask, the Puppet King, Control Freak's remote, you name it. Dick's old Red X suit used to be there, too, until someone took it." We then came to a gym, which Garfield explained was where Victor used to stay up all night. Just past the gym, we came to a room whose window was walled up. "This here," he described, "was the safe room. It's the quarantine room we had built for Raven a long time ago when she first released Trigon. Remember that safe room I said was constructed underneath Virgil Medical Hospital? We based that off of this one. Of course, it's walled up as a layer of protection. Now that I think about it, we never really thought of doing anything with it after Raven defeated Trigon." The elevator continued to rise and we passed a dark room lit with dozens of lights and screens. "Here's the monitor room," he said. "It's also where our systems are located."
The elevator ascended until finally it came to a halt. "We're here," Garfield declared.
"Where are we?" I asked him.
As the doors slid open, I saw with my own eyes a large room with white walls and floors, yellow tables, and a long, black sofa in the center. To the side was a kitchen and dining table. On the other side of the room was a considerably sizeable television adorned on a massive wall completely made of glass that overlooked the city. "The main operations room," he answered me. "Also known as our living room."
I stepped into the room and took a stroll around. The room had a very homely feel to it, I thought. It was very believable that five teenagers had lived here for a good ten years or so. "Over there," Garfield said, pointing to a door on the left side, "over there leads to Dick's, Starfire's, and Victor's rooms. And over there," he pointed towards another door on the opposite side of the room, "that leads to Raven's and my rooms." I walked over to the glass wall on the far side of the room and placed my hand on the cool, smooth surface. My eyes first directed towards the city, which was illuminated by the street lights. The sky above was still dark. My attention slowly shifted to the waters of the bay, which were still restless as if eager to begin the day. Then I saw, very faintly, a tiny glimmer of light shining in the distance. It was the sun. I heard the sound of Garfield's content laughter. "I thought you might like it here."
"It's almost dawn," I said back to him.
"Is it?" he replied. "Then we have to go. There's one last place I want to show you." I turned around and saw him beckoning me back into the elevator. Almost reluctant to leave the room, I followed him, stopping just before the elevator. "I'll tell you the rest of the story on the way up."
"Where are we going?" I asked him suspiciously.
He did nothing but point upwards towards the ceiling. Towards the rooftop of the tower.
"Garfield," I asked him suddenly. "Why are you doing this? Why are you telling me all of this? I've been hearing this story for so long. And I want to know why. Why are you telling this to—to me? What does all of this mean?"
He looked at me with warm eyes. "Do you remember what I asked you when we first met?"
I nodded. "You asked me if I believed in love."
"Yes, I told you I had a story that will make you believe in love. Do you believe in love now?"
I hesitated for a moment. I pondered everything I heard, every thought racing in my mind. "I—" I replied slowly. "I don't know."
He nodded slowly in acknowledgment. "The story is not over yet. I want to tell you how it ends." He extended his hand towards me, welcoming me to join him into the elevator. "Now I will ask you this: do you trust me?"
I felt my hand twitch slightly. I looked at him with shaking eyes.
He repeated, "Do you trust me?"
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I raised my hand and slowly, steadily placed it in his. As I opened my eyes, I gave him the most certain answer I had ever given: "I do."
…
Garfield felt his life flashing before his eyes. His time with Raven, his time alone, the deaths of his adoptive parents, his time with the Titans, his time before the Titans, the deaths of his birth parents. All his memories raced before him until he came to the point where there were no more memories left to visit. And then, he came to a memory he never lived, one he never remembered, one that was not his. He saw the vision in his mind like a dream, or a dream of a dream.
He saw in his vision a tiny gray chunk of earth like an island floating in empty space. Smoke riffled around the blackness encompassing several trees with animal carcasses hanging off them surrounding a small, rundown restaurant. Chickens and black cats roamed around the island. A small, old, and withering sign protruded from the earth—"WELC ME TO MYST RIOUS GARDEN"—with the 'O' and the 'E' faded and gone.
A woman in a white cloak, shoulder-length indigo hair, twin golden hoop earrings, and a red and black gemstone on her forehead stood before Garfield, her eyes betraying a look of sadness and sorrow as she stared directly at him.
"I'm sorry," her voice echoed.
"Who are you?" he said, but found that no words escaped from his lips.
"I'm sorry," the woman in white whispered again, much more painfully as a single tear emerged from her left eye. "But this was the only thing I could do to save my daughter."
Garfield's mind was shrouded in darkness and he saw, heard, and thought no more.
…
The sound of Victor Stone's bellows rang in Raphael's ears: "Move, move, move!" The cybernetic man roared at the doctors and nurses to move aside as he ran into the Virgil Medical Hospital, carrying a limp Garfield on his back. Trailing just behind him, Raphael was running just as quickly—albeit less loudly—while carrying Raven in his arms. Her skin was cold to the touch.
"Raphael!" the man called out to him. "Take Raven to the safe room, now!"
The Azarathean lieutenant nodded and ran towards the elevator. Upon entering, he scanned the buttons and pressed "3, 3, B1"—the secret code that lead to the safe room. He glanced out just as the doors shut, taking in the sight of Victor placing Garfield onto a hospital gurney. "Garfield," the man whispered to himself. "What have you done?"
The elevator descended far underground until it reached the safe room, at which the doors opened and Raphael immediately rushed out. There stood Dick Grayson and his wife, Starfire, who had been waiting for him. The three then swiftly walked together until they reached the chamber. Grayson quickly opened the multitude of doors for Raphael, who went inside and placed Raven down onto the bed, where several doctors and Azarathean mages immediately rushed to her to check her condition. The lieutenant backed out and went outside the chamber, where he found the two Graysons speaking with Dr. Veritas.
"We're all ready, everything's set," the doctor explained. "We're scheduled to begin the process in about half an hour. We'll start by having the Azaratheans place charms on Raven's body to keep her in a deep slumber and to paralyze her. Then they'll place several protective charms on the room, itself, to create many layers of impenetrable magical barriers. After they've left the chamber, we will completely seal the doors. There's absolutely no chance of escape at that point. Next, we'll work the machine to administer a highly lethal dose of barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution, followed by several high doses of Azarathean poisons. If even that is not sufficient to euthanize her, then we'll proceed to—"
"Whoa, whoa, hold on. Slow down there, Dr. Veritas," Nightwing said, raising his hands. "What are you talking about? Euthanizing Raven?"
"Why—yes. Isn't that what she's here for?"
"No!" Starfire exclaimed. "Raven is not here to be killed."
"What do you mean, doctor?" Raphael asked in an alarmed tone. "You were going to kill Raven?"
"Yes, of course," she answered in a confused voice.
"Why? Who told you to do that? Who authorized this?" Raphael demanded.
"Mr. Logan did just a few hours ago," Veritas replied. Examining the clipboard she was holding, she flipped through the pages, showing them all the places where Garfield had signed. "He signed all this granting Virgil Medical Hospital permission to destroy Raven's body immediately."
"Why would he do that?" Dick said.
"Richard, do you think he really switched bodies with Raven?" Starfire asked her husband.
"It seems like it." He turned towards Raphael. "Where is Garfield now?"
The Azarathean shook his head. "I do not know. Victor took him into one of the hospital rooms."
"We'll ask the receptionist where he is, then. Let's go."
…
The three burst into the hospital room, witnessing Victor sitting on a chair staring peculiarly at Garfield, who had just woken up. "Garfield!" the three shouted simultaneously, drawing the other two. Garfield, in particular, gazed at them strangely, as if in a daze.
Starfire was the first to approach him. "Garfield, friend. Are you alright?" He did not answer, but only proceeded to furrow his eyebrows in confusion.
"Gar," Richard said next. "What happened?" He, too, was met with no response from the green man.
Raphael walked towards the hospital bed. He looked intently at the changeling and asked simply, "Who are you?"
At this, the man shook his green head slowly. His lips gradually cracked open. The others leaned in closer to hear what he was going to say. He opened his mouth and asked them, "Is he alright?" And then they all understood what had happened. "Why did he switch us again?" the changeling sitting on the bed asked. "Where is he? Is he alright?"
"So Gar really did switch bodies with Raven…" Victor mumbled. The others held their heads low.
"Raven, are you okay?" Raphael asked her.
She shook her head. "I don't know."
Nightwing spoke next. "Raven, I know you're weak but you need to come with us. Before he switched bodies with you, he authorized that your body be destroyed today. If you don't come with us and convince Dr. Veritas to stop, then they'll be killing Garfield in less than half an hour."
"What?" Raven gasped in disbelief. "No. No, why did he do that? How could he have told them to kill my body, then switch bodies with me?"
"He did it to save you," Victor said. "The doctors and mages said there was nothing to be done. The only thing that they could do to stop your father was to destroy your body before he could take it over."
"He wanted you to live," Starfire continued. "So he switched your and his bodies so you could continue living in his body and he would take your place in death."
"No, I can't let this happen," Raven declared. She jumped off the hospital bed and immediately tripped on her ankles and fell. As the others helped her up, she said to them, "I'm still weak and adjusting to Gar's body. Help me get to the safe room right now. I have to talk to Dr. Veritas."
The four took no moment of hesitation in helping escort Raven in her newly exchanged body down the hall and into the elevator. It was not long until they were brought back to the safe room underground, at which Raven began shouting, "Stop! Stop! Stop everything, stop it all!"
Richard Grayson turned to a nearby assistant. "Get Dr. Veritas here, now," he ordered sternly. The young assistant did not dare to disobey the order of a superhero, and immediately went to fetch the woman in charge.
"What, what now?" Veritas asked crossly. She was truly not annoyed at having the Titans come to her once more, but several days without sleep often had the effect of bad temperament on people. She turned towards Raven and looked at her up and down. "What is it now, Mr. Logan? We are soon to begin the process of euthanasia that you have authorized. Now if you will excuse me—"
"Stop!" Raven interrupted. "Please, don't do it. Stop it all, now!"
The tired doctor took a frustrated breath and massaged her temples. "Why, why are you telling us to stop now? No more than six hours ago, you came to me with all the paperwork authorizing Raven's death. You even went as far as to tell me to continue the process even if you later told me not to. Now, you're suddenly telling me to stop the process just like you said you would. Now, I'm forced to ignore you just like you told me to do so." She began to step away from the Titans, at which point she was stopped by Victor.
"Veritas, you don't understand," he explained to her, grabbing her arm. "The woman lying inside that chamber isn't Raven. It's Garfield."
"What?"
"I'm Raven," the sorceress in the changeling's body insisted.
"They switched bodies," Dick continued. "Garfield told you to kill Raven, then he went and switched his soul into Raven's body and Raven's soul into his. That way, he would die in Raven's place and she would live on in his body."
"What are you talking about? That makes absolutely no sense," Veritas said exasperatingly.
"Doctor," Raphael replied to her. "Tell me, has anything in the past three months truly made any sense?"
At this, the woman sighed. "Even if I were to believe you," she said. "Even if all of that was true, there's still nothing I can do. He still signed everything already. Legally, Virgil Medical Hospital is required to begin the process of euthanasia today. And if you're right that Trigon will completely take over Raven's body on the seventy-second day after her birthday, then that means today is the last day before he is reborn again anyway."
"Then give us just a few more hours," Raven demanded. "Just a few more hours until I can maybe figure out some way to get Gar's mind out of my body."
Shay Veritas closed her eyes in frustration and ran her fingers through her long, red hair. "You have until sunset today," she relented. "We will begin the process by then. No exceptions. If we're late, we might not be able to finish it by midnight, and if we're not successful by then, all Hell will literally break loose."
The five gave a simultaneous sigh of relief. "Thank you," Starfire said to her.
"You want to thank me?" the doctor said. "Thank me by getting the government off my hands."
"The government?" Grayson said.
"The CIA have found out about this whole thing just yesterday. They've been breathing down my neck about it." Sarcastically, she added, "Believe it or not, they don't take it lightly that we've been hiding a demoness that could potentially become a demon lord that will destroy all life as we know it. Anyway, they want to talk to you about it. They wouldn't dare arrest superheroes, of course, but they want to speak with you. And I heard the president has a few choice words as well."
"Star, Victor, and I will handle them," Nightwing nodded. He turned towards Raphael. "Stay here with Raven," he said. The Azarathean lieutenant nodded and bade them goodbye as Veritas led them out of the safe room.
"Raven," he said as he turned toward her.
"Take me to Gar," she requested immediately. The man studied her intense and determined eyes and then nodded, proceeding to take her to the doors that gated the chamber. With difficulty—as he had very little knowledge of any sort of Earthly technology—Raphael tried to unlock the doors as he had seen the Titans do, but soon gave up and had one of the doctors open it instead. As the doors opened, he watched as Raven limped her way towards the bed where her body laid.
"Gar…" she whispered as she clutched the gray hand that lay nearly lifelessly on the bed. "What have you done?" She placed the hand onto her forehead.
Raphael slowly crept up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "Raven," he said to her. "What are you gonna do?"
"I'm going in," she said without hesitation. "I'm going to go in and get him out of there."
"How? You don't have any of your powers in Garfield's body."
"Yes, but you still have yours."
"Raven, you know I'm bad at magic. I won't be able to perform such a powerful spell like that."
At this, she bit her lips in anxiety. "The mages," she then said. "Veritas said there'd be some mages from New Azarath coming here to add protective charms and barriers over my body, right? I'll have them do it."
"Okay, fine," Raphael replied. "Let's say you do go back into your body with their help. What are you going to do then? The moment your mind reenters your body, Trigon's spirit will consume you again and you're mind will practically be destroyed. You won't remember anything. Your mind will be a completely blank slate just like he wants it to be. How are you going to save Garfield when you can't even remember who you are? And even if you do somehow save him, what next? Return him to his own body? You'll die and all of this will be for nothing! Get both him and you out of your body? Then either you or he will be a spirit without a body—essentially dead either way."
"I'll figure out a way!" the man's childhood friend raised her voice. He noticed that her hand was gripped into a fist. "I'll find a way," she repeated in a slightly lower tone. "I'll find a way because I have to find a way."
"Raven," he rubbed his forehead, eyebrows furrowing. "I'm not saying I'm trying to convince you to let Garfield die. I'm not saying that. But… he did this for a reason." At this, he reached into his brown cloak—nearly identical to Raven's old violet one—and removed a small envelope, handing it to her. "We found this in your hands when he switched bodies with you." Raven cautiously took it from him and took out the letter, reading its contents carefully. She tried her best not to appear heartbroken as she read it, but Raphael—having known her for so long—could see the pain in her eyes. "Don't you see?" he said to her as she finished reading. "This is what he wants. He says it right there to respect his wishes."
Raven stood silently for a moment, clutching Garfield's letter in one hand and the cold hand of her limp body in the other. She closed her eyes in thought. Raphael almost believed he heard her whispering under her breath her mantra, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." In time, she opened her eyes once more and turned to face the body lying on the hospital bed—the body in which Garfield's mind was trapped in, the body in which Trigon was soon to be reborn in.
"Raphael," she answered him slowly. The letter, she gently folded back up and placed in Garfield's hand. "One of the side effects of body-switching… is memory confusion. You see, memories are formed inside the brain. At the same time, they're also imprinted on the mind. So when people switch bodies, they would have their own memories that transferred over along with their mind as well as the other person's memories that were retained in their physical body. I'm guessing that normally, a person's mind is able to distinguish these memories and keep the other person's memories apart. But with multiple switchings, the line between one person's memories and the other person's becomes blurry."
"What are you saying?" he asked her in a confused tone.
"What I'm saying is I'm starting to—to remember some of Garfield's memories, which I think is a side effect from switching with him so many times. If I concentrate hard enough, I can remember his memories. From our childhood, I can remember all the times I bullied him and made fun of him and pushed him away. All the times I hurt him. I can also remember the time we were dating and the happiness he felt from that time. I can remember the guilt he felt when he—when we broke up. I can almost feel the pain and loneliness he felt in the years after I left, the pain of losing someone he held so dear and knowing it was his own fault. And now I—I think I can feel the satisfaction he felt knowing that he could save me in this way."
"Yes, you see?"
"But Raphael," she continued. "Do you remember when I left Azarath twelve years ago? Do you remember when I told you I was running away to this strange and different world called Earth so I could protect everyone from Trigon? I ran away from you then because I was afraid. Five years ago when I broke up with Gar, I ran away from him and from my friends because I was afraid. And now, just two weeks ago, I knew I was dying and forgetting everything and so I ran away from Gar again because I was afraid. Well now, I'm done with all that. I'm through. I'm done with running away. I'm not going to run away this time. I've lost Garfield once already. I'm not losing him a second time."
At this, Raphael gave a hefty sigh and his gaze fell to the ground. "So your mind's made up?"
Raven nodded.
"You're going to die," he uttered, spitting out the words as if they were blood. "You're going to die, you know. There's no way you can get out of this alive. And if you don't get out in time, you know we can't stop the doctors from killing your body with you and Garfield in it."
"Raphael, this is what I'm willing to do to save the one I love," she said to him. "If I go in and I lose my mind, at least Garfield will be there, too. If I can't find a way, then he can. His mind isn't the one going blank. I have faith in him. Azar had faith, too—faith that the Prophecy will come true."
"'Prophecy'?" he laughed off coldly. "What 'prophecy'? That's a story to help little kids go to sleep and you know it."
"Azar believes it to be true."
"She believes what? That these Inheritors of the Three Magi will suddenly appear out of nowhere and save the day? You tell me, Raven. We are hours away from the Second Coming of Trigon and these 'Inheritors' are still nowhere to be found."
"I'm here," Raven declared. "I absorbed the second Azar's powers during Trigon's first attack ten years ago. I'm the Inheritor of Azar."
Raphael blew out a sigh of frustration. "Let's say you are then. There are still two more people who are completely missing. Where are they now, Raven? You tell me."
"I don't know! But Azar believes they will come. All we can do now is wait."
"Well, I'm done with that. I'm done with waiting. I've waited five years for any sign of you when you went missing. I've waited for the past few weeks while the doctors here tried to cure you. Now I'm through with waiting. I'm sick and tired of just standing around and waiting for things to happen. Azar believes that the Inheritors will come? Sure. You want to help save Garfield? Sure. But I'm too damn tired of being told to just stand around and wait to be saved."
Raven looked up at him, the man she had grown up with in her childhood. "What are you going to do?"
He answered with resolve, "I'm finding the Weapons. The Seven Weapons of Azarath are fragments of Sorcerer Leon's power. They defeated the demons thousands of years ago, they can defeat Trigon now."
"It'll be almost impossible for you to get them."
"Then I'll do the impossible," the lieutenant declared. "I don't care how hard it is. I don't care how difficult it is. Maybe my plan is impossible? I cannot know if it will actually work. But I do know that it is hell of a lot better than just standing here and doing nothing."
The man turned to leave with a determined face. As he reached the door, he heard the woman call from behind him, "You're really going to do that?"
"Yes," he answered. "Because this is what I'm willing to do to save the one that I love." He paused for a moment, and then added, "Even if I can't love you like he does, even if you don't love me anymore, I will always protect you, Raven." And with that, he left.
…
A portal closed in on itself just as Raphael stepped out from it and onto the Azarathean soil. From there he closed his eyes and took a deep breath of Azarathean air. Opening his eyes and gazing pleasantly at the grand walls that surrounded the world before him, he sensed something increasingly odd. The sounds from the city were much louder than the usual marketplace chatter that permeated the outer cities of New Azarath. Now they almost resembled… screams. Curious, he took a step forward and was immediately knocked to the ground by a sharp blow to the side.
Recuperating quickly, Raphael raised his head and locked eyes on his attacker—a humanoid monster covered in an aura of flames with twisted skulls as heads, long tentacles for arms and hands and phantom-like tails from the waist down.
"No, it can't be," he gasped as he reached into his belt and, from a large pocket, pulled out several kunai knives between his fingers. Flinging the knives at the monster, they landed squarely on its chest, causing it to fall to the ground long enough for Raphael to escape.
As he ran towards the entrance into New Azarath, he recalled those exact monsters from years before. Those fire demons—spawns of Trigon—had been commanded by Slade to attack the Teen Titans ten years ago. In addition, those very demons had swarmed into Azarath and assisted in its near-destruction. The mere mention of those creatures still struck fear into the hearts of Azaratheans. But why were they back now? Was it truly the beginning of a Second Sorcerer-Demon War?
His thoughts were interrupted as he was struck from the behind by a fireball, sending him flying and hitting the ground. His cloak had caught on fire and he spotted two fire demons approaching him. Grunting, he threw his knives at the beasts, though only two out of the five he threw managed to find their mark. The fire demons remained unscathed and crept towards him. Just as one of the demons raised its hand to form another fireball, it was struck by an arrow on the forehead. The demon growled in pain momentarily, staggered, and—as quickly as a blink—erupted in ice. The other demon, noticing its companion frozen solid, began frantically darting its head back and forth in a search for their attacker. It, too, was then met with an arrow on its head and was immediately frozen.
"Oy!" a voice called. Raphael looked up to witness his savior standing high atop the walls that surrounded New Azarath—High Captain Etzel Giles carrying a magical crossbow on his hand and a smile on his face. The sound of a horse approaching caused Raphael to look to his side to find his friend Horatio riding towards him on a black stallion. The man slowed down his horse and jumped off, reaching inside his black cloak and removing a silver wand, which he pointed towards Raphael's cloak. Muttering a short incantation, a burst of ice-cold air rushed onto his cloak, extinguishing the flames. Horatio then extended his hand, which Raphael took graciously.
"Raph, you sure picked the right time to arrive," he said.
"Thanks, Horatio. What's happening? Why are fire demons here?" the master lieutenant asked.
"I wished I could give you answers but the best I can give you is this." Horatio reached towards his belt and unbuckled a sword still inside its sheath and handed it to him.
"Horatio, how long has this attack been going? Why haven't I heard anything?"
"The demons must have used their dark magic to interfere with our communications. We've been trying to contact you and Raven for hours. Do you have any idea what's going on? How they're here again?"
Raphael nodded. "Unfortunately, I think I do." The two men looked up to see Etzel leap off the great wall, diving a height of several hundred meters. Horatio waved his wand and, just as the captain was about to hit the ground, slowed his descent until he reached the bottom unharmed. He walked towards them. "Thank you, Horatio. Raphael, do you know what is happening?"
"Captain Etzel," he answered. "This might sound difficult to believe, but I think that this is the start of the Second Sorcerer-Demon War."
"What?" both men simultaneously cried.
Raphael continued. "It's a long story, but Trigon has been planning this for years. Right this very moment, he is trying to transform Raven into an incarnation of him. He's being reborn as we speak and plans to begin his realm by starting a second war between mortals and demons."
"I can't believe this," Etzel gasped. "Ten years ago the prophecy of Trigon's release came true… Now this is happening?"
"This is several times worse than the last, captain. Ten years ago was just an attack. Now, he's starting a full-out war with all worlds. The very war that nearly destroyed all existence thousands of years ago is repeating itself right now."
"We must inform Her Holiness right now," Horatio said.
"I think she already knows," Raphael continued. "I'm here to unlock the Seven Weapons of Azarath. I think those might be our only hope of fighting back these demons."
"The Weapons?" Etzel cried. "But—but, those haven't been used since the first Sorcerer-Demon War. How will we get them now? Years ago, Raven helped place a magical seal on the chamber where the Weapons are kept. Only either she, Azar, or the Weapon's guardian—Seraph Yordan—can open the chamber."
"Azar cannot be disturbed. She's using all of her strength to protect New Azarath right now," Horatio said.
"Exactly," Raphael agreed. "Raven is stuck on Earth fighting back Trigon. Which means our only hope is to get Seraph Yordan to open it for us."
"Will she let you?"
"She'll have to. Horatio, you go and find Commander Azula. Tell him what I have told you and to gather at the fastest rate possible a full army of Azarathean warriors. Our soldiers are all scattered now trying to blindly defend themselves. We'll have to form a proper army to get any leverage from these demons. Instruct him to recruit any warriors we have—soldiers, mages, archers, combat healers, all of them. We'll need all the help we can get."
Horatio nodded and mounted his stallion. With a wave of his wand, he and his mount disappeared in a flash of light.
"Instant teleportation…" Raphael mumbled to himself with a smirk. "He always told me I should've studied wand magic."
Captain Etzel then turned to him. "Raph, can we do this? We have been a pacifist society for many millennia. Our soldiers are accustomed to hunting vicious beasts, not fighting a war!"
"We can, Etzel," Raphael returned. "We can because we have to. I'm not allowing our beautiful world to fall like it did ten years ago. If this is the Second Sorcerer-Demon War, then we must fight like our ancestors thousands of years ago. Come, captain. We have to get the Weapons as soon as possible. I was planning on returning to Earth with them to help Raven, but I see that our world is in much greater danger at the moment."
High Captain Etzel nodded. "Alright. We'll have to hurry. The fire demons have been going on a rampage, destroying transport spheres to keep civilians from escaping. There is one nearby that local soldiers have been protecting earnestly so that people can escape into the inner cities that have not yet been attacked. We can use that transport sphere to teleport to the Azarathean Palace in the capital."
The men ran swiftly into the entrance and through the streets. Spotting a few fire demons wreaking havoc, the high captain fired his magical crossbow at them while the master lieutenant slashed his sword. Soon, they came to the transport sphere, which they quickly reconfigured to teleport to the Azarathean Palace. The men placed their hands on the large sphere, and felt the familiar sensation of their bodies disappearing, distorting, and teleporting.
They were brought into the entrance of the palace, and began the trek down the nearest stairway and into the basement levels. "The fire demons have only attacked the outer cities," Etzel said as he ran down the stairs. "We shouldn't have to worry about any of them around here." Within due time, the two men breathlessly reached the floor where Seraph Yordan's chamber laid. As the stopped in front of the door to her room, they rested for a few brief moments to catch their breath.
"Ready? Let's go," Etzel said to his student as he reached out and touched the door handle, then immediately jerked it back with a yelp. "It's hot!" he cried aloud.
Raphael's eyes widened in horror as he raised his sword and struck at the door. To his surprise, it gave in quite easily and, with a few blows from the sword, completely collapsed. It was when the two men entered that they saw why the door had become so hot and weak—the entire room was in flames and two fire demons were attacking an old woman wearing a white cloak. "They've managed to sneak in!" Etzel grunted as he took out his crossbow and shot a few arrows at one of the demons.
Raphael's focus went to the other fire demon, which was firing a stream of flames at Seraph Yordan, who was shielding herself with a magical barrier. "Seraph Yordan!" he cried out to her. Screaming, the old woman's magical barrier shattered and she was struck by the flames. "No!" he cried as he ran towards the demon and viciously attacked it with a series of hacks and slashes from his sword. The beast resisted his attacked and raised its fist in fury, but was felled when his blade impaled its chest. It let out a defeated roar and fell to the ground, its aura of flames lifelessly extinguishing.
As Raphael finished off the last demon, Etzel closed his eyes and began mumbling some incantations. He placed his hands close to each other, palms inward, until an orb of light blue and white energy materialized, which grew and grew until Etzel cast it into the air. The magical orb then burst, extinguishing the entire room. He then fell to the ground in exhaustion. Raphael faithfully ran towards his captain, who then waved him off. "I'm not old yet, boy," he panted. "Just a little rusty, that's all. Come."
He picked himself up and walked towards Seraph Yordan. The two men examined her cautiously. Her eyes were beady, cloudy like glass, and were unmoving. "We're too late," the captain realized in a grim voice.
"No…" Raphael's fists clenched and he gritted his teeth in anger. He fell to his knees and beat the ground, smashing his hands against the ashes. "No!"
Etzel silently walked past the corpse of the dead woman and towards a great circular door carved in stone. Written in ancient Azarathean text on the door was the engraving, "Chamber of Leon". He placed his hand onto the door handle and recited, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," and turned the handle. The door then slid open to reveal a small circular room, pitch black save for a slight glimmer of light that shone gently on the very center. "Raphael," the man called. His student rose and followed him into the room.
"Is this it?" Raphael said curiously as he looked around him at the tiny room, whose walls were so high up that he couldn't see the ceiling. "This is the chamber where the Weapons are kept?" Captain Etzel merely silenced him by placing his index finger on his own lips, then proceeded to raise it up, pointing towards the source of the light above. Etzel then used his power to raise him and Raphael upwards, levitating towards the top. In seconds, the two men flew out of the hole and onto a higher level where the true chamber lay.
As their feet touched the ground of the hidden room, both men gasped in awe, for before them was a massive circular door made of dark gold stone that was engraved with a statue of Sorcerer Leon surrounded by his Seven Weapons—the Ring of Azar, the Crystal Sword, the Solar Wand, the Lunar Pandora, the Stellar Crown, the Master Cloak, and the Book of Peace. At both sides of the door were two statues of griffins, so realistic and detailed that Raphael at first thought they were real.
"Well, here we are," Etzel said, his voice echoing throughout the room. "We made it."
"Those fire demons, they must have been trying to unlock the chamber and steal the Weapons," Raphael said. "But now that Seraph Yordan's dead, how can we get it?"
"I'm afraid we cannot. If we disturb Her Highness Azar now, she'll lose her focus and won't be able to keep the fire demons at bay."
"We can't go to Earth and get Raven because Garfield's in her body."
Raphael walked towards the door and placed his hands on the stone. He began pushing in a vain effort to force the door open. "Come on!" he cried. "You are our last hope! The Weapons… we need them! Why won't this door… open?"
"We're doomed, Raphael," Etzel cried out in despair. "Unless we get Sorcerer Leon to come here, there is no way for us to open this door."
Raphael banged on the door, on the verge of giving up hope. He lifted his eyes and looked at the figure of Leon staring blankly at him. "Please," he said to the door as if it were a sentient being that could hear and understand him. "Listen to me. Please." His voice lowered to a whisper, one last echo of hope: "Open."
A low roaring sound reverberated throughout the room. The two men looked around in surprise before realizing that the roaring was coming not from a fire demon or a beast but from the griffin statues. The room shook as if by an earthquake and for a moment, the statue of Leon's eyes glowed golden. The door boomed and split cleanly down the middle, slowly creeping apart with streams of golden light escape from the parting crack between the door. The two men nearly jumped back as the grand doors opened themselves for the first time in thousands of years, for the first time since the first creation of Azarath. The room was bathed in a wave of light, with Raphael and Etzel being swept up in its currents. Finally, the doors fully opened, releasing the glowing radiance within.
"The—the chamber," Etzel gasped. "It's open! But—but how?"
Raphael gulped, "Maybe Seraph Yordan knew that we'd need the Weapons. Maybe she knew we would come so she had already unlocked it for us before she died."
"I can't believe it… This is actually happening! Leon's Weapons are right there waiting for us."
"We haven't a moment to lose," Raphael nodded, unable to contain his smile. Perhaps they had hope after all.
"No one's ever set foot in that chamber since the first Azar placed those Weapons there," the captain said proudly. "You, boy, you always failed your history classes. And now you're about to make history. Jackass," he chuckled.
The young lieutenant smiled. "Sometimes only a jackass can change the world."
"Indeed." Etzel then stopped and touched his forehead as he heard a voice echo within his mind.
"High Captain Etzel. High Captain Etzel, can you hear me?" the voice called.
"Lancelang?" the captain said. Raphael looked over in curiosity. Lancelang was one of his close friends who was also on his Magic Duel team under Etzel Giles along with Raven, Horatio, and others. "Yes, I hear you. Your telepathic communication has improved. What is it?"
"Horatio and Commander Azula have called me to inform you that they have finished forming the army. At this moment, they have gathering some high officers together to discuss military tactics while all the silversmiths and mages have been gathered to forge magical weapons and armor as quickly as possible. They estimate that within an hour or two they will be ready for battle. Where are you?"
"Raphael and I are just about to get the Seven Weapons right now. We'll be back as soon as we can."
"You have?" Lancelang exclaimed incredulously. "That's amazing! Oh—and one other thing: it has been suggested that Raphael be the one to lead the army."
"What?" Etzel said. "Raphael? Who suggested him?"
"…Azar."
"Oh—oh," he realized. "Well… she must have her reasons. We cannot go against her wishes. We will be there as soon as we can." As their telepathic conversation ended, Etzel turned towards Raphael. "Ol' boy," he said. "You're going down in history."
And with this, the two men walked into the light towards the Weapons of Azarath.
…
Raven paced in the safe room of Virgil Medical Hospital, walking back and forth. Her mind was solely occupied by Garfield. She had spent most of the day meditating, praying, and reliving some of his memories. Finally, her friends arrived—Dick, Starfire, and Victor after several hours of CIA interrogation.
"Well?" she asked them.
"They're demanding that we get rid of the threat as soon as we can," Grayson said. "Things aren't looking good, but we bought some time."
"Some time isn't enough," Raven said. "It's sundown in a few hours."
"Do you have a plan, Rae?" Victor asked her.
She nodded and explained to them her plan of going into her body once again and trying to escape along with Garfield in time before her body is destroyed.
"Raven," Starfire said to her. "Are you sure this will work? If it does not, we will lose both you and Gar."
"And what will we do with two souls and only one living body?" Victor inquired.
At this, Raven shook her head. "I don't know. I really don't. But this is the only thing left to do." At this, she was approached by four Azarathean mages, who asked her, "Lady Raven, are you ready?"
"Yes, just one moment," she said to them, turning back to her friends. "If I don't make out of this alive, please know that…" She stopped, unable to bring herself to say the words.
"We know, Rae," Dick nodded. The other two did the same. Raven gave them a small smile and warmly hugged each of them.
"I love you all," she said sadly. "You better hope one of you was recording that because I'm never saying that ever again."
They laughed silently and bade her good luck. One of the doctors came with another hospital bed and Raven proceeded to lie on it. The bed was pushed adjacent to the one Garfield was sleeping on, and she reached over and held his hand. "I'm coming, Gar," she whispered as the Azarathean monks began their incantations. Dick Grayson, Starfire Grayson, and Victor Stone looked on as the monks magically transferred Raven's mind into her original body. The green body grew still and unmoving.
"It is complete," one of the monks declared. "From here, it is up to Lady Raven now." The monks turned to the Titans, bowed, and took their leave.
The three Titans looked at each other and nodded. "Alright, gang," Nightwing said. "We know what to do. If something happens and Raven wakes up as Trigon, we have to keep her at bay."
"We've done this ten years ago, we can do it now," Cyborg declared, his right arm forming a sonic cannon.
Starfire's eyes glowed green. "When there's trouble, you know who to call," she said. "We are still heroes, we are still a team, we are still friends. Even if Trigon is rising up once more, we will always stand and fight!"
…
As the sun began to set, Raven's gray hand twitched ever so slightly, and for a split second—so quickly that no one had noticed—her eyes glowed red. A shadow of a raven with four scarlet eyes flew from her body, past the unsuspecting Titans and disappeared.
The shadow—Raven's soul-self—materialized on the outskirts of New Azarath. The shadow warped around itself, distorted, and shifted until formed the figure of a woman with blood-red skin, long black hair, and crimson red eyes wearing a blue leotard and cloak.
"Ahh," the Dark Raven—a manifestation of Raven's powers possessed by Trigon—breathed in joy. "It begins. Soon the transformation will be complete, and I will be reborn in Raven's body. But first, I must find the Weapons and begin the age-old War." She raised her fist and materialized in front of her thousands of fire demons. "Death begins!" she cried to them. "The Second Sorcerer-Demon War is now! Finally we shall take back the power that is rightfully ours. Finally we shall rewrite all of existence according to our rules!"
As the fire demons roared and hissed, as the sun of New Azarath blackened in an eclipse, as New Azarath's new army prepared itself for battle, as Azar nearly fainted as she sensed Trigon's presence, as Raphael went into the chamber to retrieve the Weapons of Azarath, as Raven's body on Earth slowly began to succumb to Trigon's power, as Raven's mind entered her body to find Garfield, as the Second Sorcerer-Demon War began, all new that everything was erupting into chaos.
All hell was breaking loose.
~Difficult Words to Say~
CleoArrow - Don't worry, Raven will come save Garfield! (We hope) Let's hope she (or Gar) know's what (s)he's doing if they're gonna be saved.
JasonVUK - No, haha. I was not lying. The Garfield that the narrator is speaking to is definitely GARFIELD. Question is how did things get there? Keep reading to find out!
Wolvmbm - Don't worry, it's not ending like this just yet. I doubt that Trigon had actually anticipated this, but I don't think he would mind. It is Raven's body and powers that he wants. Her mind without her body/powers is worthless to him, so if he had taken over Raven's body was Garfield was in it, his purpose would have been served just the same.
Lilypad009 - Next chapter out! Hope you enjoyed it.
Fangnatic14 - Thank you! I'm honored. I hope you really do enjoy the story and its (soon) ending.
lunae57 - We do know that Garfield comes out alive in the end (because he's telling the story), but does Raven? Or does she sacrifice herself to allow Garfield's mind to escape? Stay tuned to find out! :)
Bluedog197 - Theories all around! Haha, as per usual, thanks for your words. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too. The big battle against Trigon is about to begin! Anticipate!
Thebookthief18 - No, don't worry. Raven's not dumb enough to commit suicide. She's the kind who would jump right into the depths of Hell to save him (literally actually. Like right in the next chapter. Spoiler!) Keep on reading to find out! I hope you enjoyed this chapter too!
BartWLewis - I intend on making this ending legen-wait for it-DARY. Ah, if only How I Met Your Mother had a good ending... too soon... :'(
Sara lovelymusic - Will they make out of this alive? Keep reading to find out! :) Thanks for your review!
Guest - Thank you for your kind words! I hope you really have liked my story. It's my pleasure :)
Pris - What a coincidence! I've been mentally writing this story in my class! Haha, don't get caught!
Whoelsebutme11 - Thank you very much. I certainly hope that people who read this like you really do enjoy and appreciate my story. It gives me great joy to know that my work gives people joy! :)
Kaarlinaa - Pain demands to be felt! -The Fault in Our Stars :)
Guest - Thanks!
gabylokita41 - Gar's not dying! He's the one telling the story remember? Oh, but Raven... hmm I'm not making any promises about her. ;)