Author's note: This chapter has been incredibly difficult to write. The last chapter was so full of action, and left so many story lines hanging that it was hard to pull all the different lines back together and push them all on their way. Don't worry now, the parts that aren't covered here haven't been forgotten. Anyways, I know nobody reads these things, and even though I'm not complaining…ok, I'm complaining, and I'm a whore, tell your friends to check this thing out if you think they'd be interested.
Reviews make me smile .
Enjoy!
Nightmare seethed as she stared at her opponent. A pair of long daggers spun gracefully in his hands, and a pair of silver eyes, with a glare as cold as ice peered back at her. A shiver ran down her spine, but she bravely spun her own pair of axes in response.
I carefully watched my opponent, both physically and mentally. Her posture shifted slightly, and I changed the balance on my own feet to compensate. Everything in this dance of life and death had to be noticed, and immediately compensated. I watched as Nightmare noticed the shift in my positioning, and compensated herself. My mind spun, not knowing her total strategy put me at a disadvantage to my usual fighting style, and I had to think of how to be a step ahead of her. My posture shifted again, but this time, I stood straight up, my arms falling down to my sides. My knees bent ever so slightly, my shoulders held just slightly at an angle away from my body, and my elbows bent at the slightest angle. All in all, I looked pretty relaxed, almost like someone standing in line at a grocery store.
"Don't take me lightly." Nightmare growled.
I didn't respond, but instead, returned my blades to their sheaths on the underside of my forearms.
Nightmare was enraged. This…this egotistical, self centered…goody two shoes had just put his weapons away. He wasn't taking her seriously at all!
A noise rose from the newest HIVE student that almost resembled a lion's roar, and she shot forward towards the impudent telepath.
I stood unmoving till the last moment. Both blades appeared in an instant, and I spun with an ungodly amount of speed, a single blade of mine blocked both of her axes, and the second one drug along one of her large red wings, leaving a thin red line all the way down the length of the leathery skin. Her body rag dolled through the air behind me, and landed roughly on the rooftop
The girl cried out in surprise more than pain. She had received no warning, and the pain came as a complete shock. I stood, my back still towards her. With a deliberate slowness, I sheathed my blades again, and turned to face her, my posture returning to the same relaxed pose it had been just a moment ago.
"Th-that's impossible." Nightmare stuttered. "you weren't even prepared!"
I smirked, keeping my secret to myself. In truth, I could never have been more prepared. The way I stood, my body was perfectly balanced, giving me access to every direction there was. I could react to every attack and every movement with the exact same ease, no matter where it came from, or what form it came in.
Nightmare walked slowly, cautiously towards where I stood, until we were face to face.
Even still, I stood stock still.
In silence, the winged girl spun back, and flashed forward once again, her axes singing through the air.
-CLANG-
My blade was there to block both axes again, and my body had changed positions, blocking in the most effective position to return the attack.
"Sloppy." I snapped, and spun in a blinding motion, my foot connecting solidly with her midsection, launching her across the rooftop.
-CR-CR-CRASH-
Nightmare bounced off of two separate air conditioning units before slamming into the ground from my powerful kick. She snarled, and pulled herself back to her feet.
On the other side of the boxy object, I stood staring 'through' the steel, watching her every move with my mind. She moved silently, still my gaze followed her. "We don't have to do this, Nightmare. I'm sorry about your sister, and I offer whatever condolences a killer can, but we have killed too many in this endless rampage of ours."
Her voice slipped through the air, full of poison. "You KILLED my sister. You think just because you say you're sorry that it will make everything better? Will it bring my sister back? WILL IT?"
My head hung, and Nightmare felt it immediately. She came over top of her hiding place in a blur. I barely had notice of the attack, and swung my blades up to block hers.
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Cyborg dangled from Raven's grip as she flew the both of them to the top of the building.
A loud crash came from the top of the building.
"We're not going to make it." Raven mumbled.
"We'll make it!" Cyborg shouted, encouraging the girl along.
And they sped along, following the sounds of the battle.
-CR-CR-CRASH-
Then silence.
"Rae! What happened up there!" Cyborg yelled anxiously.
"I…I don't know, there's as much of a mental battle going up there as there is a physical one. I can't sense anything."
The duo cleared the rooftop, to see my form standing in the center area, my head hung. A blur of red cleared the top of an air conditioning unit, it's winged figure screaming down at the immobile Titan. Silver flashed, and a pair of blades were brought up to block the oncoming attack…
…….but……
-SH-SHAATTTERRRRRRR-
Both of my blades were cleaved cleanly apart by her powerful swing. I managed to dodge the first axe.
-SLIIIIIIIIIIIIINK-
But the second one found its mark on my back, biting just below my shoulder blade and raking down towards my leg.
I stood staring, and dropped my worthless daggers. The blade had been cleanly removed from both of them. "What's it going to take, Nightmare?" I said quietly. "What's it going to take to end this."
Raven and Cyborg stopped cold in their rush to intervene.
"You know what I want," Nightmare growled. "Your life is the only thing that drives me."
"And what if you win, Nightmare. Will it end it? What will happen?"
"Haven't thought about it. I'll probably just disappear."
"You would…stop killing."
Nightmare shrugged. "Probably."
My shoulders shuddered, and I fell to my knees in front of her. My head tilted forward, the base of my neck exposed in an executioners style pose. "Then…"
Raven's eyes went wide in horror. "No…" she whispered.
"…..take it."
What was left of Cyborg's human blood ran cold. "NO!" he shouted.
Nightmare's eyes shone wickedly. She sheathed one of her axes, and brought the other up, holding it with both hands. "You have no idea," she gloated, "how long I have been waiting for this day." She regripped her axe, bringing it back behind her head.
-CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK-
Black lightning flew across the building top, striking Nightmare square in the chest.
-FL-FL-FLAAASH-
The black power raged towards Nightmare again in the form of dark blades. Nightmare dodged the first two, and raised her axe to block the last one. Her eyes grew wide as the black energy soared straight through it, cutting the blade of the axe in half.
For Nightmare, that was enough. She turned, and spread her wings. With a powerful flap, she launched her body skywards, and out of our reach.
I knelt where I had fallen, my shoulders shaking. "Why……why did you do that? With my sacrifice, she would have been done. She would have quit. She…she…she would have stopped killing."
"Ryk, dude, snap out of…"
Raven's glare could have boiled the glaciers clear off of Antarctica, had it been pointed that direction, and Cyborg immediately snapped his mouth shut. The dark sorceress walked forward slowly, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Ryk, call us selfish, but as much as you might have been prepared to sacrifice yourself, we weren't." her voice dropped to a whisper. "I wasn't."
I looked up at the girl, my eyes giving away a lot more than I would have liked.
"You've saved us so many times," Raven continued, "Isn't it time someone saved you?"
I rose slowly, my silver eyes never leaving Raven's own blues. I said nothing, but wrapped my arms around shoulders, holding her in a hug for a long minute. She didn't return the embrace, but she didn't fight it either, and that was good enough for me.
------------------------
Robin stood in the Titans garage, grumbling and complaining. Beast Boy had taken off out the window the moment they had received news, but he had been left behind. The loss of his R-Cycle hadn't really hit him till it was time to go. He had, out of habit, run down to the garage, only to remember that his vehicle had been hijacked by one of his fellow titans.
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I stood between Robin's beloved motorcycle and the T-car along with Raven and Cyborg. A scream fell upon our ears, and a green falcon dropped out of the sky towards where we stood. The falcon transformed into a panting Beast Boy, and ran the last few steps to us.
"I got here as fast as I could, where's the trouble?"
"It's over, BB." Cyborg remarked. "It's already over."
The elf relaxed a little bit, but noticed that I was standing off to the side, leaning against the R-cycle, Raven standing next to me.
"Umm, dude?" he asked, his face turning back towards where Cyborg stood. "Cy…what's goin' on?"
Cyborg's titanium fist closed over the changelings shoulder, and tossed him into the passenger's seat of the T-car. Cyborg climbed in himself, and left Raven and myself standing there staring down the narrow street and out over the water, watching the sunset.
My gaze fell away from the sinking sun, and over towards where the my dark friend stood next to me. She stood stone still, her gaze admiring nature's beauty as I was reminded of that same beauty I had seen while sitting in that hotel room.
"C'mon Rae," I whispered, "Let's get back to the Tower."
She nodded, and began to float upwards. I had already straddled the bike, and turned towards her, my hand outstretched. Raven stopped in her ascent, and looked carefully at my hand for a moment, before accepting it and straddling the bike behind me. I smiled, and gently eased the bike back out onto the road. Neither one of us bothered with helmets this trip, and I could feel Raven's breath on the back of my neck along with her arms wrapped around my stomach. She leaned in, closer than what was required, and let her head rest against my back. I drove back towards the Tower, carefully observing speed limits, and purposefully taking the long way.
--------------------
Night had long since fallen by the time that Raven and I returned to the Tower, and even though it wasn't late enough for the team to be asleep at that time, both Raven and myself were quiet as we reentered the main room. On the screen, a fierce tournament of the Soul Caliber III was dominating the other four of the Titans attention, that is until the elevator door hissed closed behind us. Robin was immediately facing my way, forcing himself to stay seated.
"Where's…my…bike," he stated icily.
I smiled, and tossed the keys at him. "It's down in the garage, no worse for the wear, I even stopped and filled up the tank for you."
The boy wonder's eyemask narrowed.
"Oh don't give me that look, I stopped by the airport. Don't worry, you're still burning JP-5 in that thing."
A sigh of relief escaped his lips, and he turned his attention back towards the game, just in time to watch his character die.
"Boo-yah!" Cyborg, the apparent victor, shouted excitedly. "Who's next to face the awesome thumb wrath of the titanium console king?"
"Just because you downloaded the move lists off the internet doesn't mean you're all that, metal butt." Beast Boy snorted, snagging the controller from Robin.
"Oh yeeaaahh! You're goin' dooown little man!"
And so another struggle for the superiority of the thumb began. In the kitchen area, I was in the process of brewing myself one last pot of coffee for the evening while Raven stood waiting for a pot of water. I nonchalantly reached out my hand towards a cupboard, and pulled her box of tea across the room to us.
"Here you go, princess."
She stared at me. "That's the second time you've called me that."
"Every girl needs to be pampered from time to time." I said, shrugging.
"Whatever."
I smiled, and turned back to my pot of coffee, that was finally finishing up.
Starfire walked across the kitchen and straight towards the refrigerator.
"You might not want to do that, Star," I called out as she reached for the handle.
She ignored me, and opened the fridge. The food inside was covered with a blue fuzz from having sit for such a long time, and in one dark corner, something startled the Tamaranian.
"EEEEeeeep!"
-FLAAASH-
Blue fuzz and food bits flew across the room, landing on everything possible.
"Aww maaaaaan!" Robin exclaimed, scraping the stuff off of his shoulder.
I smirked and dropped my telepathic shield as Raven appeared back out of the black dome she had created around herself.
I turned calmly, poured myself my last cup of coffee, and went on my way to my room.
All the time, Cyborg and Beast Boy, now covered with smoldering food bits and blue 'fridge fuzz, never broke their concentration on the game at hand, pummeling each other in the virtual realm.
----------------------
Images flashed in front of my face, a pain in my arm, blood leaking from my mouth.
-FLASH-
I sat straight upright in bed, gasping for air.
"A dream," I muttered to myself, "it was only a dream."
I turned my head to see my alarm clock.
4:27am
Typical.
I rolled out of bed, and stumbled my way to my bathroom. Clicking on the lights, I went about the task of gathering my normal morning items from the medicine cabinet. I dropped my toothbrush, a razor, toothpaste, and a comb on the counter, and pushed the mirrored front back closed.
I froze.
There, in my reflection, was myself…but my true self. My hair had somehow turned completely silver overnight, the exact same shade as my eyes. It was my true hair color, but up until now, I had kept it dyed to keep questions to a minimal. Now…though…I had a problem. I had just dyed it a few days ago, and was yet to pick up another package of the brown dye.
But what had caused it to turn back to it's silver color?
And WHY was it all of a sudden shoulder length?
The nightmare! In the dream, my hair had changed color. Now if only I could remember more about it. I thought and thought, and finally started putting pieces of it back together. My dream had been one of those out of body dreams, where you look down and watch yourself do things. I had been fighting someone, or something. My eyes had turned solid silver, like when Nightmare had first touched my mind, but this time so had my hair. My figure had been standing atop a building, the city burning in the background, but it wasn't myself who was the culprit, I knew that. But who was it?
I shook it off, and made my way upstairs, hoping not to run into any of the other Titans on my trip out to exercise for the morning. I chose the roof this morning, because Raven had been favoring the beach as of late for her morning meditation. I opened the door slightly to loud, and noticed a moment to late that Raven had experienced a change of heart in her meditation places this morning. She was just walking out to the edge of the tower when I stepped out, closing the door loudly behind myself.
She spoke in her usual monotone, turning to face me. "Good morning Ryyyyy……."
I managed a weak smile and tried to talk like nothing had changed. "G'mornin' sunshine."
I knew I should have been hit with something for that comment, but all Raven did was stare.
"Umm…Rae? Ya ok?"
She snapped out of her trance, and turned, pulling her cloak over her head, trying desperately to hide the red tint to her face.
"You're hair…"
"Yeah, I noticed that this morning too. This is my normal hair color, but the brown just kept questions from the public down."
"..Yeah.."
And that was the end of it. Raven went to her meditation, and after a long sigh of relief, I began my morning workout. It was strange, though. I had become so accustomed to working with my daggers, that the lack of having them was seriously throwing my concentration off this morning. After an hour, I finally gave up, and resorted to sitting on the side of the tower next to Raven, letting my feet dangle off the edge. It was from there that I watched the sunrise, awaiting either the dark girl next to me to wake from her trance, or the inevitable call to breakfast.
Breakfast came first. Beast Boy's voice rang out from the doorway.
"Waaaaafffleeeeeeessssss! Get your waaaaafflleeeeeeeesss here!"
I smirked, Raven glared, but we both made our way down to the main room. We reached the door, and I paused out of sight. I wondered if walking in to breakfast looking like I did would bring to much confusion.
Raven stopped a few steps out, and looked back at me. "You coming or what?"
I sighed, and stepped out into the light.
The world came to a screeching halt…except for Raven that is. She walked calmly across the room, and took her chair at the table as if nothing out of the norm was going on.
Robin's voice…made some kind of noise. "Uhhhhhhh…."
Beast Boy's was soon to follow. "Duuuuuude?"
Cyborg was absolutely silent.
And then it hit me, like a freight train…or should I say she hit me like a freight train.
Starfire had me instantly pinned against the wall, her eyes glowing a hot green.
"Who are you, and what have you done with friend Ryk?"
I stuttered, looking for my voice.
"ANSWER ME! What have you done with Ryk!"
Star…I am…" I managed, finally finding my voice.
"You LIE! Ryk does not have follicles of the silver complexion! And he keeps his hair cut as short as a Gnarfblarrgor in the Snavanda season!"
I blinked, my silver eyes staring at her. "And how many other people do you know with these eyes?"
She dropped me, looking very confused now. "Then…you are Ryk?"
A smile. "In the flesh."
I was then assaulted with a variety of pokings, pullings, prodings, and questioning of the Tamaranian as she tried to figure out the sudden change of my hair.
Finally, after much of my own prying, I managed to pry off the curious girl, and hold her at bay. "Star, this is my real hair color. I've kept it dyed since I moved in here with you all. As for the length, I can't explain it, I even had it colored last night, but this morning I woke up, and it was silver, and it was long."
Starfire turned around towards where the rest of the Titans sat. "Is it not the most beautiful collection of metallic keratin follicles you have ever laid eyes on?"
I turned red.
Robin and Cyborg were suddenly picking their jaws up off the floor.
Raven……Raven turned an even deeper shade of red than I had, and quickly exited the room, her morning cup of tea in hand.
Beast Boy was so deep in tofu waffle that he didn't even notice Starfire's comment, but instead looked up, flashed a thumbs up, and returned to the devouring of his meal.
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Nightmare stood silently in front of the student body. Her arms were stretched out between two tall posts, her wings pulled upwards toward the ceiling, and her feet were bound by shackles to the floor. Behind her, Brother Blood growled out his verdict…and uncoiled a long bullwhip.
"You left the facility without permission."
-WHIPPOW-
The whip snapped across her back, tearing through the uniform shirt she now wore, and leaving a long red welt.
"You ignored my orders to return to the academy."
-WHIPPOW-
Another tear in the back of her shirt, another red stripe across her back. Her tail curled up around her leg in pain.
"You engaged the Titans without permission."
-WHIPPOW-
This one brought a tear from her eye, but still she refused to cry out.
"And more than anything else…"
-WHIPPOW-
"…you…"
-WHIPPOW-
"…LOST…"
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
-WHIPPOW-
Nightmare hung limply from the posts now, blood streaming down her back from the whip's harsh punishment. Tears ran freely down her face from the pain, but still she never uttered a sound.
Brother Blood walked slowly around in front of her. "Don't you have something to say?"
Nightmare glared back at him, biting the inside of her cheek to keep herself from crying out.
"I asked last time, this time I'm ordering you! What do you have to say for yourself!"
Still, silence was the only return the headmaster received.
"I put a roof over your head, food on the table for you, I teach you to fight, and I teach you my own knowledge, and this is the thanks I get?"
The headmaster turned on his heel, and began to walk away from the bleeding girl.
"At least I had the guts to do something."
The entire building fell silent as Brother Blood turned slowly, his eyes glowing red. This time it was he who was silent. In a single, fluent motion, he released the coiled whip, and brought it sharply across the sensitive base of her wing.
-WHIPPOW-
And then the other wing
-WHIPPOW-
Finally the last one struck her across her face, leaving a thin trail of blood across her cheek
-WHIPPOW-
Nightmare could no longer hold back, and cried out in pain, her tears flowing freely.
"Fit her with a collar." the headmaster growled to a pair of guards standing nearby. "A…special collar."
The guards laughed evilly, produced a length of linked, black metal, and formed it into a loop. "Better behave now honey, one press of a button, and…"
-SHIING-
Six long, pointed spikes extended in a heartbeat, connecting in the center of the collar.
"…you can kiss life itself goodbye."
Nightmare's eyes were wide in horror, and she struggled vainly against her bonds. The soldier kept laughing maniacally as he fastened the collar around her neck.
"Welcome to your own nightmare." one of the soldiers smirked, bringing a round of laughter from his fellows. It was then that they finally left her to hang alone…in front of the entire student body.
-----------------
I stood across from the table from Robin and Cyborg. They both stared at each other, then stared back at me, then to each other again. They had just heard my recount of the battle on the rooftop, and were trying to absorb it all.
"So, you think the nightmare's finally over?" Robin asked, staring into my eyes.
"No, it's not. In fact, I think it's only just begun."