This Year's Love
Chapter 10: Recovery of the CoR
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Special thanks to…..
the Desert Fox- I will try to keep it up. Hopefully this chapter is just as good as the last
dragoon-bane- I'm sorry you're confused. Read the little paragraph before the actual story, it's supposed to clear some things up.
BlackBloodyTears- haha I am glad you like it so much
Bogbrush- Well you know I never finished the lord of the Rings trilogy, in fact I never got past the hobbit and the first one. So if it seems like I "ripped off" the idea from LOTR then I'm sorry, but it wasn't intentional.
Lady Jessica Silverflame- Thank you! Well I am glad you like it!
CalliopeMused- Yea… I seem to be confusing everyone laughs but, hey, hopefully the next chapters clear things up. Yea, I know it would have been too evil for me to leave chapter 8 like that, I was tempted, but thought better of it. Thanks for the review!
vinnie the geek- Haha yea, it just makes me strive for more Booyahs, lol. Thanks for the review, glad u enjoy the story.
Swizz- well I am glad that you like the story so much! No worries about thee review time lol, I'm just happy to have reviewers at all. Haha I know exactly what you mean about the school part, it has seriously cutting in to everything lately for me, I barely could squeeze this chapter out. Its good to hear how much my story affects you, at least it is getting the desired effect. Thanks a bunch for the loads of compliments and I'm pleased to know that it helps out on your "shizful school days"
TDG3RD- I wont say anything to the mysterious woman until later for fear in spoiling the surprise but…. Yea that's it for now, lol. Thanks for the review!
Twilightdemon-I am so glad that you like my lil fic so much lol. Well the idea kind of came to me when I was watching spell bound and saw Malchior fighting the dragon. The whole magic aspect of the fic was sparked right there. Then I just was really bored over the summer laughs and well it kinda snowballed into this. If you like it now, just wait. After this chapter things get a whole lot more interesting!
Fat Kat-sorry for the wait, here you go!
story teller6518- thanks for the review! Here you go!
MagzDD- lol no problem, here you go!
Raven2. I am glad u liked it. Here you go! Enjoy!
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Disclaimer: Never will I own TT or DC characters…this would be funnier if I wasn't trying so hard to not make this chapter sux. Oh and by the way, I also didn't mean to "rip off" anything from LOTR. I never finished reading all the books tho I saw all the movies so if there are any similarities early on, they are purely coincidental.
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¿Bewildered?
Confused? Ok so yea…about every reviewer is confused. I am sorry. I apologize. Although I thought I had explained it well enough, while not giving away the final scene that has been playing in my head, I guess I should clear some things up. Everything is leading, as you can tell to a pinnacle in the story. Trigon and the last battle. Along the way, Bb needs to understand what COR is, what the heck is with all the different color glowing stuff going on, and how to save the emotions of Raven. Easy enough? Now here's where it gets tricky. The mysterious woman….well I can't tell you that just yet, but what she said is all true. Only BB has the hope to help Raven stop her father. Also, what you must understand is the "time spell" was one very, very, very similar to that one of Raven in Birthmark. She stopped time, as he died, and preformed some major magic to stop Beastboy from going to heaven/hell/wherever the afterlife really is. The spell, as is with most things, came with a cost. Stopping and rewinding time is a power-draining event and the cost of such actions is simple. She didn't really save BB, per se, instead she just….the best way I can describe it is like turning a clock back. Although there is suddenly more time, eventually, the clock will strike. Eventually. Gar Logan will die. I'm not spoiling it; the truth is in chapter 9. So now, as you see that, his death, resurrection, reality check and whole time limit/borrowed time is explained. Hopefully it helps. With reading this and the chapter below, you guys should be little less confuzzled.
…or at least as much as you should be to enjoy the cliffies and jaw dropping action that has yet to take place…
Fernnu
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Recovery of the CoR
Inhale.
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Gasping for breath, she shot up. Still sitting on the cold floor, the sudden jerked movements caught her breathing in an irregular form, and she started coughing. Clenching her eyes; fearing the pain from the convulses….
She stopped surprised. How in the world….?
She was healed.
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After checking her body quickly for the bruises and painful afflictions that had once plagued her pale, porcelain skin, she looked over and gasped again. Laying there beside her was Beastboy. At first glance she thought he wasn't breathing. Crawling over to him, sitting over and gazing down, she inched her face closer and closer to his own. Only an inch or so from his lips, her eyes grew wide, fearing the worst. A few seconds passing, she could just make out a shallow breath being drawn from his lips.
Relief flooded through her as she took a breath herself. She hadn't realized she had held it in anticipation. Looking him over, she flinched at the large gashes, cuts, bruises, marks, scratches, slashes and blood that covered him. He looked a mess and had more red and blood on him than green. He looked less and less well by the moment. Not knowing what to do, she carefully lifted him with her powers. Seeing her healed body and abilities were as good as new, the use of her powers was no problem.
Setting the bruised boy upon a large, comfortable seat in the lounge in the center of the Library, Timid quickly moved on to another side of the room. Walking over to a tall shelf, she floated herself up and started frantically browsing through tomes of knowledge stored books. Racking her brain, desperate to remember where she had seen the book that she and Knowledge had talked of, so often, her fingers trembled. Glancing back at Beastboy, his shallow breathing coming out raspy, she knew she had little time. And so did he. Turning back to her search, she finally found the familiar book spine after another few precious moments passed. Fingering it lovingly and pulling it out, she glided back to where the changeling lay. She stopped as her flipping fingers found the correct spell.
"Although few Azarathians have the true calling to become guided and gifted healers; those whose powers specialize in the relief of pain and ease of suffering, any mortal with a spark of potent gift may heal others. If the desire and intent be enough and pure of heart, gently lift your hands and glide them over the area of injury. Tapping into your life force and your meridians, locate the force within you. Staying close to touching the wounds or injuries, speak out the spells while focusing on taking pain away. Keep true to your heart or all else will be nothing more than a lost hope…"
Biting her lip, she knew that this would be her most important failure…should she make a mistake. Taking a breath, she kneeled down and brought her outstretched hands over him. Gliding over his entire being, she began in a trembling voice.
"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…Norecel…Begrion…Zethros…Azarath… Metrion…Zin—"
A bright cerulean blue light, different and more potent than Raven's own healing power surrounded her hands.
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Eyes fluttering open, the green figure slowly regained consciousness as the dim lights of the room bombarded his senses. Closing his eyes and rolling his head to the side, he rested against a warm entity. Snuggling closer, he lost himself in how good the warmth felt. Feeling his whole being ache, the warm comfort was a nice change. His eyes un-focusing as they opened slightly he could almost barely make out a color. White? No…Grey? Dimly aware of breathing, he could keep his mind awake for little more time.
He slipped.
Unconscious.
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Awaking the second time Beastboy's mind regained consciousness faster this time around. Noticing his slumped position, leaning to his left side, he moved himself straight up.
Big mistake.
Wincing and gasping in pain he hadn't expected, the excursion of force brought him out of breath. Wincing again as he stifled a cough, he gazed at his surroundings. Underneath him was a large reclining chair where he had obviously slept. Around him hundreds of candles burned warmly in the dim light. A soft yellow and brown color scheme surrounded him and the glow of the room made him feel suddenly very sleepy again. Shaking his head, he braced his arms to either side and with a sharp intake of breath, lifted himself off the soft cushion.
Locking his knees as he wobbled uncertain, Beastboy slowly stood completely straight and looked around again.
"Helllloooooo? TIMID WHERE ARE Y—?"
Instantly a loud yelp from another room interrupted his call as an obviously startled Timid cried out in fright. Running out of a hidden doorway he hadn't seen before, they stood face to face for an awkward moment.
Standing there in her grey cloak, Beastboy was shocked. His mouth open and agape, the sight of her (seemingly) fully healed and obviously better clogged his thoughts and made his mind reel into overdrive.
As he wobbled in front of her, she just didn't know what to say. After a half hour of non-stop chanting and healing, she had left Beastboy to sleep and regain his strength. The sacred power she had gotten from the ancient text could only heal the wounds that were the most serious; he should still be in pain. Looking into his eyes as he stared at her own, she blushed and turned away. Breaking the moment shared, she hesitantly turned to glance back and ask timidly.
"Are you….are you alright?"
"Yea…just really sore. What happened?"
"You w-were hurt pretty bad. I h-healed you."
At this, the green titan smiled.
"Thanks Timid I—" stopping he glanced at her suspiciously
"Are you alright? You're trembling"
"I-I was j-just a-afraid f-for you."
With that, her trembling taking over her whole body, she leaped out and ran to him. Pummeling into him with a giant hug, they both fell back on the small couch. Although her squeezing hug brought pain to Beastboy, he made no attempt to push her off. Instead, he gently fixed himself on the chair and held her close; whispering encouraging words, wiping her tears and running a hand through her hair and rubbing her back.
Closing his eyes, he let her drain her worry for him, the warm feeling from having her in his arms outweighing the pain from his injuries.
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"….And that's all that I remember."
They both sat in a silence for a time. After getting Timid calm, about forty five minutes later, she had just finished telling him what had happened after she had awoken; and, through many stops, cries and saddened and confused looks, he had shared with her…..
Everything.
Well…almost everything. He felt it wise to leave out a few choice details, one being the very important matter of his death being assured even if they succeeded.
"So—yea. Apparently I am the—a…I don't know, COR or something…and that I'm supposed to search out HOPE and COR in the library," he spread his arms wide as he leaned back on a couch in the main room of the building. The circular room was enormous with every wall shelved with books and tomes. Only a small archway leading into the room where he had recovered stood without books covering it. Above the doorway was a large picture. It caught his eye for a moment but was lost as his gaze continued. His attention wavered.
"I mean…I don't even know what to search for, except for those two words. Who knows where they could be? Heck, maybe they stand for something. COR could mean Casualty of Raven's….Heck! I don't know what the heck a champion is or what we should do to sav—"
"What?" Timid interrupted.
"Huh? What did I say?" the green titan asked perplexed
"W—what did you say?"
"When?"
"Just now."
"Casualty of Rav—"
"No, no. After."
"…."
"…."
"…Champion?"
Giving the grey clad emotion a weird look of questioning, he wondered what was so important of the word.
"Is that what the woman in white called you?" The still mysterious emotion asked.
"…Um…Yea. And so did your dad, come to think of it… Why? Do you know what it means?" For a moment Beastboy's hopes lifted.
She sighed. "No, I don't." shaking her head, she continued. "BUT, that picture above the arch is the only thing I know that has any mention of 'champion' in it."
Pointing to the large picture high above that had caught his attention for a moment before, Gar stared at the masterpiece. With a black, three inch thick shiny, square frame and white, almost glowing border within, the picture seemed to catch his eye. Surrounded by the borders was a large painted sword. Silver with a long hilt and wide blade, the weapon was a true masterpiece. Beautiful. He wondered why he hadn't noticed the detail in it himself. Half of the handle was white, glowing; as the other seemed to suck the light out of the room: black. Rounded at the bottom, the pommel of the hilt had a small celestial blue stone imbedded within. The grip was of another shade of azure sapphire; twisting raised wire intertwining around the black and white portions. The cross guard was silver, seven or so inches long and two inches wide. Twining and looping in an elegant insignia: a pair of angelic wings, curving up slightly. But all of that was nothing compared to the blade.
Silver could not begin to describe it. The edge of the sword was sharp on both sides, smooth, sleek, deadly but at the same time beautiful. Like liquid quicksilver hardened, small raised and interlocking veins of the same sapphire blue traveled along the body. Equal and parallel they met at a single spot: right above the point. Before the tip, a small, perhaps only an inch long and wide, skewed diamond shaped stone rested. Reflecting no color at all it gleamed in the absence of any direct light. The picture of the sword seemed to call to him, he couldn't look away. Nor did he have any desire at all to do so. The frames and borders brightened, the hilt glowed in opposite colors. The celestial and sapphire weavings seemed to pulse throughout the magnificent weapon. The clear gem just before the tip continued to invite his gaze longer. Where once there was only a hazy grey background, now….now he could almost see…almost….a….pair of…..wings? No….Fire…..? No….the colors they kept changing on the background from white to black to silver to grey and back to black, they white then silver……..the veins that ran all over the sword continued to pulse and brighten, then fade. It almost seemed like blue blood was pumping through the sword. The background seemed to flash faster and faster as the blue winding insignias pulsed rapidly. The colors flashed and dazzled him. It was rapture.
It couldn't be….was it….was he….?
Alive….?
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"B—Beastboy?"
Turning around suddenly, he hadn't realized that Timid had been talking.
"Wh—What? What's wrong?"
"N-nothing, you just have been staring at the picture for the last f-fifteen minutes…."
Thoroughly confused, he shook his head, "Sorry, I got lost thinking…..what did you say?" his thoughts still on what he had seen; forcing himself to not glance back at the painting
Taking on a look of perplexed musings, herself, she shrugged.
"Nothing really….except….the picture you've been staring at for all this time is the only thing Raven has ever come into contact with…." She paused.
"With the word champion in it."
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"So what exactly is this?" Beastboy asked as Timid levitated them both up above the archway.
Staring at the entrancing painting, both teens were transfixed with the sword in front of them.
"I-I don't really know. All I know is that when I u-used to s-spend time with knowledge when I was scared, I asked her what it was and she told me t-that it was the Champion's S-Sword. When I asked her w-what it meant, she got all quiet and s-said that it was ancient Azarathian and that no one but Raven could k-know."
Deep in thought as the news flitted through his mind, a sudden pulse of movement on the picture caught his eye. From the ground the picture had seemed large, now so close to it, they had realized just how massive it really was. It must have been twelve feet tall and about half as wide. Urging Timid to levitate him face to face, he slowly reached out to touch the handle. As his fingers stretched and he slowly made his way to touch the flat portrait, the sword seemed to become more and more real looking as he approached. Just inches from touching the hilt of the blade, Gar felt a strange sensation. A dire urge to move his hand and touch the ruby at the pommel took over him. Without thinking, he did so. With his thumb and two first fingers, he gently traced the face of the blue stone. Feeling the smooth surface, he was surprised that it seemed to pop out of the painting. Pressing his palm against it, guided by an unseen and unknown force, he felt the cool stone press against his green flesh. Without warning he felt the muscles in his hand tighten as the hand resting on the stone rose up, meeting his other oncoming hand that had slowly reached for the handle without his realizing. Meeting his hands together on the split, black and white handle, the fact that the sword was more and more real; becoming a true sword instead a painted masterpiece eluded him. He seemed to be entranced, focused, and controlled by an unseen force. Similarly, Timid's eyes glowed white from using the levitation powers. Still, she too was entranced by the sight before her.
Feeling the raised sapphire blue wiring press into his hands, pulsing and throbbing throughout the blade like veins pumping blood from a heart, Gar Logan tightened his muscles as his mind suddenly went blank. At the same moment he lost all thought, his eyes flickered closed and he inhaled deeply. Feeling his eyes press against his eyelids and without conscious effort at all: he called forth the power he had felt so many times before.
As the white loving and warm power flowed over him, cleansing his core; the white half of the hilt shined brightly.
As the black all consuming raging power flooded through him, washing away his inhibitions, the black twin half of the hilt deepened and burned pitch black.
Garfield Logan, through trance and unaware of what he was doing consciously, was confused. Deep inside his mind, the part that was still awake, that was still thinking but could do nothing—wondered. What was it that was going on? Everything seemed hazy and in a fog. He could vaguely see within his mind a tumult of two very powerful forces.
A white cyclonic horizontal rush of power flooding over itself combined and intertwined with a jagged beam of black power. As they melded, a new color radiated outward and blinded his inner eye.
Silver.
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Exhale
Letting out his held breath and opening his closed eyes, it took a moment for Garfield Logan's eyes to focus. When they did, what met his vision confused him to say the least.
Hadn't it been just a moment ago that he and Timid had been floating above, inspecting the intriguing painting of the sword? The last thing he remembered was closing his eyes and feeling….a rush…of…something.
And now….now he was lying on the couch, Timid hugging him tightly as dim candles burned. The frightened emotion lying atop him, snuggling closer; her head imbedded between his neck and shoulder. He hated to do this, wake her up, but his mind just couldn't take the questions that kept coming. Sitting up gently, he shook the grey clad emotion.
"Timid…wake up."
Bolting up off of Beastboy, she glared, mortified at their position. Embarrassment and a wild blush seeping over her features, he just smiled goofily, despite the confusion present.
"Listen to me Timid. It's ok that you slept with me….like that. It was very comfortable and I don't mind, don't worry. Now listen," his playful demeanor evaporated, "I am really, really, really confused right now, and I need to know what just happened. Last thing I remember was staring at the picture of that sword thingie, and then I just wake up on the couch. What happened?"
As she nodded slightly and her blush becoming more under control, she, trembling, took a seat on the maroon couch and hugged a crimson cushion Gar had used as a pillow.
"Well…I was lifting you up so you could g-get a b-b-better look at the picture. Well, you, k-kind of went h-hypnotized and were j-just s-staring at it. I was too a-afraid to interrupt you, so I-I didn't do anything. Then you—s-somehow—grabbed the sword right out of the picture and held it up. Then you sh-shouted out and….blacked out."
Staring up at her as she told him the missing blanks of his memory, he slowly began to remember himself. He remembered grabbing the hilt of the sword, as impossible as it seemed and the power flowing through him. He remembered the flow of force that had been too much for him and the burst of color that flooded his mind before he had lost it all. It had been….
"…Silver."
He whispered under his breath as the fog in his mind began to clear. Taking his gaze from the trembling emotion in front of him, he turned his neck to see the picture that was still above the archway to his left.
"Silver…." He said louder this time, earning a perplexed glance from Timid as she watched the green teen slowly walk over to the archway. Standing up and silently following him, in case something should happen; her own mind wondered what to make of all of this. She just didn't understand what was going on…and she hated it. Catching up with Beastboy, she stopped suddenly, almost running into the suddenly still form of the teen in front of her. Back straight, head and chin pointed upward, he seemed deep in thought as he glared up towards the picture. They were standing just a foot or so from being underneath the archway that led out of the book-filled room. Looking up as well, she saw a silver rectangle catch her eye. Staring up at the black frame of the picture of the Champion Sword, a silver….something had been hidden within the frame. She wondered why she had never seen or noticed it before….
"Timid." Gar's soft voice startled her from her silent musings as he tore his eyes from the peculiar spot and redirected his gaze to her own violet orbs.
"I need you to raise me up…I don't know why or how, but something, like that power that rushes through me, remember I told you of? Something is pushing me to get what ever that," he pointed to the silver rectangular object imbedded in the frame, "out."
Nodding, with inescapable timidity she rose her hands up and silently chanted her three well-known words. Incasing Beastboy in black energy, she raised him up. Rising up just beneath the massive picture and frame, she inched him closer to his goal. Stopping when he was close enough to it, she rotated him so that his torso and head was directly underneath the frame. Horizontally floating, Beastboy gripped both edges of the smooth silver rectangle and tried to find a grip. It seemed to be almost a part of the frame itself, except for the color and two small grooves that betrayed its nature. Flinging off his gloves and freeing his hands, he dug fingernails deep in the crevices and pulled. Slow at first, the silver object slowly edged out. With a final pull and grunt with effort, Gar was able to dislodge the silver object from its hidden place and clutch it protectively to his chest. Signaling Timid to let him down, he landed softly on his feet as the grey emotion walked hesitantly up to him.
"W-What is it?"
Turning over the silver object, now revealed to be a silver, rectangular box about a foot and a half long, a foot wide and three inches thick, he shrugged, uncertain at first.
"I don't know…all I know is that it's special…and—"
He paused as his hands ran over the smooth surface. On the side of the box, hidden at first were two hinges, both at each end of the side. Turning it and positioning it the right way, he walked over to the couch, Timid close behind. Sitting with her next to him; the box on his lap, he tried to find some sort of latch to open the hidden door. Showing the hinges to Timid, she too, had no idea how to open the box. Searching with his hands for any clues, he lightly pressed the cold silver over his flesh. Letting his fingers run over it he closed his eyes.
Sighing in frustration, he tried to clear his mind to find an answer. Desperate to think of nothing but the problem at hand, his blank mind suddenly flashed a detailed image of the sword in the painting. Before he could push it away, his hands that had halted on top of the box burned slightly.
Click
It opened! Opening his eyes and looking down, he now held upon his lap, the silver box with the side facing up slightly uneven; open. He had no idea how or why…or what was going on, but he had somehow unlocked this mysterious object. Glancing at Timid, her face betraying her surprise at the sudden opened box on his lap, they shared a moment looking into each others eye before turning back to the box. Gently placing his hands over the cover, Beastboy slowly opened the lid fully. Letting it rest gently against his leg, he hesitantly pulled out the large object hidden within. Gripping the old artifact gently, Gar firmly pulled out a large, old book.
Holding it with one hand, shakily, he gently replaced the book on his lap and put the silver covering box onto the floor. Letting out a breath he had held, he motioned for Timid to sit closer to him. Trembling, she nodded.
The silence of the room was deafening.
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Peering over Beastboy's shoulder after he told her to sit next to him, she finally got a better look of the book. The large tome took up the whole area of his lap and extended out over his legs. The cover was a bright and pure white with blue ruin symbols she had never seen, nor understood. On it, underneath the three symbols was a picture. Or rather, a silhouette; a lone figure in black standing, legs spread and arms held above his or her head. She couldn't tell whether or not it was a man or woman, but whoever it was, grasped a sword above their head, ready to attack. Leaning a hand on Gar's shoulder hesitatingly, she could feel his breathing quicken.
"B-beastboy?"
Snapping his head back a little, she seemed to have shaken him from a daze.
"Yea Timid?"
"I don't know w-what it says…" she winced slightly, afraid of him being disappointed in her.
"It's ok Timid," he said, surprising the grey emotion. "At first glance, I couldn't either."
"What?" She asked more and more confused.
"I couldn't read it before, but then, the symbols they just….I don't know. They clicked for me and now…."
Gar turned to look Timid squarely in the eyes, something powerful dancing in his eyes.
"I can."
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End Chapter 10
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A/N
Ok so chapter 10 booted out of the way. I hope my ramblings in the beginning of the chapter helped out a bit. Originally the chapter was supposed to include more actual information, but….I guess it had a mind of its own. Lol (sheepishly scratches back of head...) Sorry about that. Anyways, I know it's kind of boring and even more confusing, but as the chapters progress, more and more will be revealed. I just needed this chapter to set the stage………hope you guys enjoy! R&R!
As always
Fernnu