An Author's note: In this chapter there will be pieces of lyrics from songs by an artist called Meat Loaf and also some from Phantom of the Opera, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on a book by Gaston Leroux, a French guy. Anyone who does not know who these people are…just go on and type in the names and you can find out all about them. Yes I have bizarre taste in music (at least I am not making you suffer through the entire songs; you just have to suffer through bits of them). The Meat Loaf song is Bat out of Hell. I don't own Bat out of Hell, The Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Teen Titans or Meat Loaf (well, I do own C.D.s but I do not own the rights or any other legal stuffs from any of these people).

Vegeta247: Actually when I'm writing from a certain person's point of view, say Beast Boy, I try to write like I think they think. That's why I kept on giving his hormone weird titles every time I mentioned it, it seemed like something B.B. would say. So does hovery for that matter. I know it comes across as a bit odd, but that's how I like to do it. Oh, and reason I never respond to your letter before now is because I rarely check the e-mail. Don't have that many friends so there is always a blank when I check it oh, once a month. Just recently did I take a peek at the thing. Boy did I get a surprise when I saw fourteen new e-mails! I didn't realize the reviews showed up on an author's e-mail.

And I didn't know that my profile thingy was set up a certain way. I just discovered fan fiction in October (though I have not been able to stop ever since). I really did not use computers and the internet much because before now I did not have a computer in my room with internet capabilities. I always had to use my Dad's, and that was for research only. So…I really don't know how to work that profile thing. I basically just pushed buttons around and guessed. It's a minor miracle that I was able to figure out how to submit this in the first place. I'll fiddle with the profile for a while and see if I can get it to work. But it may take a while, because I really have no clue what I am doing…I guess if I just push the little button that says disable…hope it worked.

And as for Cy and Raven. I always thought that their relationship was strange. It's clear from the series that Cyborg sees Raven as a kind of sister, but she is coming from a magical fantasy type background while he is coming from a technological sci-fi type background. Most of the time these two things, tech and magic, are at odds. I think it would be natural for Cy to feel awkward about Raven's magic. Also since Cyborg is a pretty emotional guy he would naturally see having to suppress your emotions as a kind of trap.

Well, anyway, on with the show!

Chapter Eleven

To Azarath!

"Not this again!" Raven moaned. She was back at the dream-castle. Once again she saw that the green Time symbol was lit up. She could see more of the dragon as well. She was a green dragon with matching emerald eyes. They were a deeper green than Beast Boy's and Starfire's, but it was still green.

"Hey! You are back!" the green-eyed dragon exclaimed. "It's been weeks, I thought something happened to you."

Still stinging from the recent memories of a certain other dragon, Raven turned her back on the green dragon and said. "I'm not talking with you."

"What! What did I do?"

"The last time I got involved with a dragon it did not end well."

"But you are a dragon!" The green one growled, but Raven did not acknowledge her. "Oh for the love of God!" the green one muttered. "Fine, be that way!"

Several minutes passed. The green dragon must have grown bored, because she started singing country songs. She did it well, but it was very grating to the nerves. For a while Raven tried to ignore her, but she just could not. After a while Raven could not stand it anymore.

"Shut up, what is your problem?" Raven whirled around.

A silence, then "Knew I could get you to talk again if I annoyed you enough." The green dragon said with a chuckle.

"Don't you know any good music?" Raven asked. Usually when she shouted at someone they shrank back in fear of her powers. This dragon just looked amused. How annoying!

Another silence, then:

Like a bat out of hell
I'll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone gone gone
Like a bat out of hell I'll be gone when the morning comes
But when the day is done
And the sun goes down
And moonlight's shining through
Then like a sinner before the gates of heaven
I'll come crawling on back to you

(A/N: Lyrics owned by Meat Loaf…I think, either that or a record company.)

"What was THAT?" Raven asked.

"Meat Loaf." The dragon said matter-of-factly. "Honestly, don't you have ANY culture?"

"Culture? That wasn't culture."

"It was if you lived in the seventies." The dragon retorted.

"I didn't ask I you knew seventies grunge rock! I asked if you knew anything good! A musical or something."

A third pause, then:

In sleep he sang to me
In dreams he came
That voice which calls to me
And speaks my name

And do I dream again?
For now I find
The Phantom of the Opera is there
Inside my mind

(Phantom of the Opera, owned by Andrew Lloyd Webber…I think. God I hope no one sues me! I don't own it!)

Raven snorted. "Okay, so you know what a musical is. At least you have some taste."

"Hmmp," the green snorted "Just don't expect me to hit the high C or anything like that. I just imitate better people! And Meat Loaf is not bad music. I'll admit the lyrics can be…questionable, but the man can sing!"

"Yeah right." Raven said doubtfully.

"Have you ever heard Meat Loaf before?" asked the dragon.

"No."

"Then don't talk. Unless you have experienced something you have no right to diss it Miss Priss."

"Stop calling me that! I have a name!" Raven was losing her temper.

"Well, I don't know it, now do I? The dragon pointed out.

"Well…that's true."

"Well if you don't tell me your name I'll be forced to call you something I make up." The dragon reasoned.

"My name's Raven." Raven said, finally going off the defensive.

"Really? My name is Malachi." The green dragon said.

"Huh? But-"

"I know, I know! Male biblical name for a girl is weird. But I have a good explanation! Ever heard of the Beastlords?"

"Yes."

"My father was a Beastlord, and my mother was a normal human. He gave me the weird name. You know they do that to distinguish themselves from humans, right?" Malachi said.

"You're half-Beastlord?" Raven asked. She had basically figured out that this must be one of the Dragonborn, a human with the powers of a dragon, but a half-Beastlord as well? She remembered that she was also a Halfblood. Was this a bizarre coincidence? Was it possible that SHE, Raven, could be Dragonborn? No! Not her! There had to be a different explanation!

All of a sudden she heard a familiar voice calling her, Robin.

"Raven, come one get up!"

"Wait! Hold on! I-"Malachi's voice echoed through Raven's mind, but she was already waking up.

Raven opened her eyes. Someone, a certain Boy Wonder, was pounding on her door. Irritated at not being able to continue her discussion with the green dragon, Malachi, Raven threw her cloak over her shoulders and opened her door.

"What?" she snarled at Robin, not even bothering to hid her irritation.

"You wanted to train, didn't you? I thought we should get an early start." Robin replied. He was far to chipper about this.

"What time is it?" Raven asked.

"Five in the morning." Robin replied.

Raven stared at him for a long moment. "As soon as I get my powers back I'm going to send you to another dimension. A very, very nasty one."

Robin just grinned at her, the jerk.

As she followed her clearly insane leader, sword in hand, she pondered the dream. Something was strange about that conversation…wait! Didn't Malachi say she had not seen Raven in weeks? But the dreams had started the night after her birthday, which had been days ago, not weeks.

She frowned. What was going on?

Finally they had arrived at the Titan's indoor gym (you know, the one that Beast Boy trashed in the Beast Within.). This place had all the equipment need to train each Titan's individual powers, unlike the obstacle course outside, which was more like general training instead of specialized. She followed Robin to a set of gym mats, a sense of nostalgia coming over her. She had never trained in a gym, the General had always preferred to train outside, but she still felt a slightly familiar feeling.

"Ummm, okay, I guess we should start with the basics and go from there. We'll start with basic attack and defense. Which do you want to do first?" Robin said, looking distinctly nervous. Why he would be nervous was beyond Raven.

"Defense." She said.

"Okay."

It went something like this. Raven would bring her sword to the ready position and Robin would slowly attack her with his bo staff. She would deflect the blows with the sword as best she could. Robin noticed that she never actually tried to met him head on, she would always angle the blade so that the staff would slide off, deflecting instead of actual blocking. Robin had seen this kind of thing before, and it was perfect for someone like Raven who really didn't have that much arm power. If she tried to use pure strength she would be bound to lose, she just was too small to be powerful enough to completely stop a direct blow. But by letting the strikes slide off her blade she was effectively defending herself. (A/N: I've taken a few martial arts classes before, so I do sort of know what I'm talking about!).

He was impressed. For someone who claimed not to have used a sword in years she was actually very good. She was not one of those people that Bruce had called "naturals with a blade", but she was still very good. A bit rusty, maybe, but with a bit of practice she would get better. Whoever had originally trained her must have been a heck of a warrior. Robin could not help but wonder who it might have been.

After defense they switched to attack, in other words Raven would be the one attacking and Robin would defend. Then they spared a little bit, it was obvious from that that Robin was far superior to Raven, but that was to be expected. Robin had trained like this all his life, and Raven had obviously not trained with the sword for a while.

Finally they stopped, and Robin's curiosity got the better of him. "Who trained you?" He asked.

Raven shrugged uncomfortably and at first Robin thought she was going to tell him that it was none of her business, but then she looked at him with an odd expression. Some nostalgia with a bit of pride…and maybe some sadness.

"While the Temple priests are pacifists that does not mean that everyone who follows Azar is. The Warriors of Azar are a group dedicated to protecting the Temple priests. Unlike the Makhar they don't use magic, and there purpose is to protect the Temple, while the Makhar are supposed to wander around helping people. The leader of the Warriors is called the General, and the current one trained me." She shrugged again "In fact you could say that he raised me."

"Why?" Robin asked.

Another shrug "He knew Flario, heck he once trained Flario. And he's a friend of my mother's. She…was a bit ill after my birth, so the General kind of stepped up and helped her since my real father was a bit evil."

"So he trained you?"

"Yes."

"How come you never used that sword until you lost your power? Does it interfere with your magic?" Robin asked.

"No, Whistler is sentient, remember? Like I said before it can adjust its weight and sharpness at a command. It would not interfere with the magic of its wielder. The reason I never used it until now is because when I came to Earth my powers started steadily increasing as the time of Trigon's arrival came closer. I stopped using the sword because I was focusing on my magic entirely, to keep it under control. Actually I was trained to use both magic and the sword in tandem, but I felt that it was important to make sure I didn't randomly blow things up by accident." She gave the sword an almost affectionate look "When I get my powers back I just might have to go back to that fighting style. I kind of missed using Whistler." As if in agreement the sword let out a twang that made Robin jump.

For days Raven trained, but Robin was not the only one that lent a hand. Everyone pitched in to help her. Although Robin was the only martial artist, they all tried sparing with Raven at one point or another, if only to give her experience with different opponents. What thrilled Robin most about this was the fact that this training seemed to snap Raven out of her depression. While she still did not act as chipper as Star, she was still showing a lot more life than she had after her powers were lost.

Jinx decided that she would help by firing her hex bolts at Raven during practice, to see how well Raven's sword could dispel magic. As it turned out Whistler could block quite a few spells, but really powerful ones could break through its defenses.

"This is bad." Jinx growled when a particularly well placed bolt sent Raven into a wall. "A lot of Sumal's stolen spells are really heavy duty. We're going to have a problem if he breaks through Whistler's defenses."

"Is there a way to give that thing a boost?" Beast Boy asked, drawing from years of video game experience.

"If there is I don't know." Raven said, picking herself up with a groan.

Jinx's eyes light up "But I know who might know! Raven, think you could stand a trip to Earthtower?"

Raven grimaced "You know I hate that place, Jinx."

"Earthtower?" Cyborg asked.

"Kind of like a gathering place for cocky wizards." Raven said with some disgust.

Cyborg suddenly remembered the conversation he had with Bumblebee the day Raven had been abducted. "Wait a minute, is this the place that Bumblebee told me about? That magic club place?"

"How would Bumbl...Jinx! You told Bumblebee about Earthtower?" Raven looked at the other magic user.

"Well, yeah. I'm surprised you didn't tell them about it." Jinx said while jerking her thumb at the Titans.

"Jinx, for the last time. I. Hate. Earthtower. I hate it. How many times do I have to say it? Why would I tell my friends about a place I hate?"

"Raven, Jinx? No one knows what you are talking about again." Beast Boy piped up.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Earthtower is a kind of…magical neutral ground. Any wizard can go there unharmed, no matter if they are good or evil. It's hidden from normal people, and the place is filled with wizards of all types. I stayed there before I joined you guys, and it nearly drove me nuts."

"Why?" Starfire asked.

"Extreme inflated egos." Raven replied "You would not believe how narcissistic some wizard's can be. It's annoying, and I never liked it. You know how Mumbo Jumbo can get sometimes? Well, he is actually one of the better ones. He's an idiot, but at least he doesn't refer to people as "stupid mortals" all the time."

"Yeah, they can get annoying, but you know who lives at Earthtower, right? The one person who knows more about magical items than anyone else?" Jinx said.

"Mortical? The unicorn?" Raven asked.

"Right, and he's not one of the stuck up ones. He'll help. You know he's been wanting to get Sumal for a while." Jinx grinned her trademark insane grin, the one that made her look like a female version of the Mad Hatter.

"What is a unicorn?" Starfire asked.

"Think horse, then stick a horn on its forehead." Jinx said.

"That's a simplistic answer." Raven remarked. "She's right about their appearance, Star, but she is leaving out the fact that they are also some of the most powerful magical creatures of all time. They are also almost pure good and are experts at healing and other forms of white magic."

"So they're good guys?" Beast Boy asked.

"The best kind. They'll help just about any decent person they come across." Jinx said. "Raven I know you don't like Earthtower, but Mortical is too old to come here."

"You are right." Raven admitted. "Let's go then."

"Right now?" Beast Boy looked confused and startled.

"Might as well. The sooner we get to Earthtower the sooner we can leave." Raven said as she headed for the door.

"Um? Raven? Where are we going?" Cyborg asked with some fear. "Where is this place?"

"You'll see." Jinx said with an evil grin.

I never thought I'd be doing this. Robin thought here I am in the middle of the forest, watching two magic users crawling around in the underbrush looking for a magic…place. I feel like such an idiot!

 Robin thought

And that was exactly what Raven and Jinx were doing. They were crawling around in the underbrush with their ears pressed to the ground like a pair of badly stereotyped movie Indians looking for the deer.

"Why are you doing that?" Robin asked, trying not to sound like he thought they were nuts, even though he kind of did.

"Remember when I said that technology gives off a hum?" Raven said her head under a bush.

"Yes." Robin said.

"Well magic gives off a sound as well. It's kind of a bell like ring. That is what we are looking for." Came Raven's voice from the bush. She sat up to look at Robin "To get to Earthtower you have to find a magic tunnel that connects to it. They are a bit like magical subway systems. One of them is out in these woods. Unfortunately the thing moves around, which is why we are making fools of ourselves like this."

"Foooooooouuuuuuuuund it!" Jinx shouted gleefully.

"Oh, joy." Raven said with all the enthusiasm of one getting a root canal with no painkillers.

They all gathered around Jinx, who was sitting on a piece of ground that frankly did not look any different than the rest of the ground.

"Dude, this does not look very magical." Beast Boy said.

"It wouldn't be secret if you advertised it." Raven pointed out.

"Okay, gather round folks!" Jinx said gleefully. The Titans gathered around her as she placed her hands on the ground and said something that Robin assumed was magical. He was right, as the ground suddenly disappeared beneath his feet. At first he almost had a panic attack himself, but settled down when it was clear they were not falling, but floating. Looking around he saw that it did not look like they were going through the earth; it looked like they were sinking through a stream of bright purple light. He guessed it was some type of teleportation spell. Whatever it was it was beautiful. He felt someone gently take his hand, and looked over to the person. It was Starfire, her eyes alight with joy at the magnificent spectacle.

"Robin, is it not beautiful?" she said.

Robin did not realize that he now had a dopy lovesick grin on his face. "Yes, it is." He said, but he was not talking about the spell.

"Need a room?" Jinx said with a smirk. Robin choose not to respond to this, and he did not pull away from Starfire's hand.

Finally they…stopped? Landed? Whatever. At first all that Robin could see was that they were in a long stone tunnel. He followed Raven and Jinx, not at all minding that he was not in the lead. This was magic stuff, and he had no trouble letting the two magic users handle it. After a while he saw a golden light, and the Titan's emerged into a huge circular cavern. It looked like your normal average cave, except for the fact that it was obviously at least as big as Jump city. It was dominated by a huge tower that seemed to be carved from a connected stalactite and a stalagmite, a column. That must be were they got the name Earthtower. Entrances to different tunnels were everywhere around the walls of the cavern, and Robin noticed writing over each one. He guessed that must tell people were they would end up if they took that particular gate. So it was a bit like a subway system! It was impressive, but a look at Raven convinced Robin that they should not linger. She looked a bit tense.

"Aright, let's find that unicorn!" Robin said "Jinx?"

She nodded. And started leading them to the big structure. Robin was surprised not to find guards at the gates. But hey, no reason to complain! If they did not leave guards that was fine with him. He was not in charge of the place.

The interior was…strange. It looked like rock, but there was so much magic in the air that now Robin thought he could hear that bell ring that Raven had talked about. It was strange, but pretty. The place seemed deserted, which Robin found strange.

"Are we the only ones here?" he whispered.

"No, but wizards rarely get out to see the light of day. To busy reading things." Raven said.

"Just like you." Beast Boy said.

"Actually a lot more than me. I read often, but the people hibernating here can read a book for weeks at a time without food."

Beast Boy winced at the thought.

Finally, after a bunch of stone hallways that basically looked the same, Jinx stopped in front of a…it was not a door, it looked like a magical shimmering curtain.

"Hey Mortical! It's Jinx and I brought some friends." She said in front of the curtain, which fell away at her call.

"Come in!" said a strange sounding, but beautiful voice.

Robin entered to find a room in stark contrast to the rest of the place. It felt like he had stepped into another forest, but it was different. It had a feel to it that was simply wonderful. It was hard to describe, it was like he was looking at something unsoiled by human hands. But that was nothing to what he felt when he finally came face to face with the unicorn. He was just as Jinx had described him, a pure white horse with a single spiral shaped golden horn on his head. But this was not what was remarkably about the unicorn called Mortical.

Just as the child of Yog-Sothoth had an aura, so did the unicorn, but the unicorn's aura did not expel fear and bad feelings. The unicorn had an air of peace and tranquility and centuries old wisdom. In his presence Robin felt calmer than he had in a long while, and that was saying something as Robin was a naturally tense person. He could feel the others relaxing around him as well, even Raven.

"Welcome." The unicorn said "I've not seen you in a while, Jinx. And Raven as well! It has been so long since we last spoke."

"Sorry Mortical, but you know how much I hate Earthtower." Said Raven.

"I know. It is alright. It is too bad there are not many magic users like you and Jinx. Are these the Teen Titans? The ones you joined after you left this place?" Mortical stared at the others with calm gold eyes.

"Yes." Raven replied and introduced the others to the unicorn one by one. Once the introductions were done the unicorn spoke again.

"You did not come here for pleasure, I can tell. What troubles you Raven?"

Slowly, but with more openness than she usually would have, Raven told the unicorn the story from start to finish. Normally Robin would have been shocked to hear her, but the aura that radiated from the unicorn must have affected Raven. In fact, Robin himself felt like telling Mortical everything about himself. The magnificent creature just seemed so wise; Robin felt like he could be trusted completely. If anyone could have found the solution to this problem it would be this unicorn.

"So we thought that since you know so much about magic items that maybe you knew how to increase Whistler's power." Raven concluded.

The unicorn sighed, a sound that should have sounded like a horse, but somehow seemed very human. "Unfortunately that is nearly impossible. Whistler's power is that of dispel, any magical enhancements would not work."

"So, it's impossible?" Said a dejected looking Beast Boy.

"Listen more often, young one, I said nearly impossible, not totally. There is one thing that can help you. Raven, do you know of the legend of the Truehope blade?"

"Yes, it was a sword that existed a thousand years ago. Like Whistler here it was sentient, and could think for itself. It was destroyed in battle with an evil beast long ago. What does it have to do with this? I know it was supposed to be powerful, but it was destroyed." Raven said.

"The blade was destroyed, but the soul inside was not. Truehope was not just sentient, it possessed a soul all its own. If you were to find the soul of Truehope and if it found you a worthy bearer, it would pass its powers onto Whistler."

"What would that do?" asked Cyborg with a doubtful look.

"If Truehope were to merge with Whistler than it would greatly increase Whistler's own abilities as well as giving it Truehope's own magic." Mortical replied.

"Where is this…soul of a sword?" asked Starfire.

The unicorn seemed to smile "Azarath." He said. "Past the Great Desert in the Demonfang Mountains is a monument dedicated to Guardian Beasts. In this monument also lies Truehope's soul." He fixed Raven with a look. "I believe you can find your way?"

"Yeah, I've never been to the Demonfang mountains, but I know the way there." Raven said. She then seemed to think for a moment.

"Looks like I'm going home." She said, but no one, not even Mortical could tell whether she was happy about this, or sad.

They turned to leave, but Mortical spoke up again "Robin? Beast Boy? Can you two stay here for a second? I have something I need to say to you both."

The two of them looked at each other and shrugged. Neither saw anything wrong with it, so they stayed. Mortical approached Robin and touched him gently with his horn.

"Listen, I know you have been inquiring into Raven's past."

"Sir," Robin said, feeling like he was in front of the principle of the school for a moment "I just-"

"Do not worry; I am not saying you should stop. Quite the opposite. You must find out more about Raven's past, but not just hers. You must learn more about Flario as well. It is important."

"How and why are you asking me to do this?" Robin asked.

"You are a detective, so I know you can find out. I cannot tell you exactly why, but I can say this. She needs to realize that Trigon and her father are not the same person."

"I'm not sure I understand, but I'll try." Robin said.

"Thank you, now I must speak to Beast Boy alone." Mortical said.

Robin nodded and left, trusting the unicorn's words completely.

"Beast Boy." Mortical said when Robin was gone. "I know how you feel about her. I could see it in your soul."

Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably. But he listened to what Mortical said closely. Usually he would have interrupted, but something stopped him.

"No matter what happens between you two, remember this." the unicorn said gently "The demon inside of her will never truly die, but that does not mean you should be discouraged. Love can change the rage inherent in a demons mind and make it tame. Remember that, and also remember that her scars run deeper than you think."

"What scars?" he asked quietly.

Mortical lowered his horn and pointed it toward Beast Boy's heart. It looked like an aggressive stance, but Beast Boy knew that it was not. This was just a unicorn's way of pointing.

"The ones inside her soul." He said.

Beast Boy nodded, understanding. He knew how sensitive Raven could be, even though she tried to be strong. He knew that she could be easily hurt again. He did not want to do anything to hurt her again.

"Mortical" he asked "do I have a chance with her? I mean, does she feel the way I do?"

"Beast Boy, Raven is one of the few people I cannot read that well. I do not know if she sees you the same way. You will have to find the answer to that yourself."

Beast Boy nodded, and turned to leave. He was more determined than ever to win Raven now. The unicorn said that Love could tame the demon inside her! That meant she could feel love without fear of hurting someone! There was hope for them, even if she did not yet know how he felt for her.

I swear to you, Rae, I'll be the one to tame your demon, just like you tamed mine!

An Author's note: Now we get to the fantasy parts. Told you they would be there! Stay tuned!