Of Cabbages & Kings
"In times of crisis, it is of utmost importance not to lose one's head." –M. Antoinette
Part 4: Extra-Credit.
A few days earlier, if one was to tell Raven that she would be wandering through an endless desert with a strange man and his monkey, Raven would have laughed. Actually, she would have put the tidbit in the back of her mind for later use, if it were required. Nonetheless, that was her situation. Wandering through a seemingly endless amount of sun-baked sand. She glanced at her unintentional traveling companions, Bob, a Magician who dressed more like a 1940s detective, and Elmo, Bob's pet monkey, who sat on his master's shoulder, fanning himself. Raven couldn't help but notice that while Elmo was clearly suffering from the heat, Bob merely looked bored.
"Aren't you hot?" Raven asked. The Magician shrugged.
"Not really," Bob answered, "The trick is to wear loose clothing. Plus," He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "I ditched my pants and shirt about 6 dunes back." Bob suddenly flashed Raven a crazy grin. "Wanna see?"
Raven slapped her hands over her eyes. "No!"
"Why? Don't you like vegetables?"
Raven decided to take a chance and peeked between her fingers. Apparently, even though he was no longer wearing his pants and shirt, Bob had enough sense to keep his boxers(Dotted with little carrots, cabbages, and corn ears), shoes, and tie(checkered with little disco balls). It wasn't a pretty sight, truth be told, but it could've been worse.
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And so, as the pair(or trio, if you count the monkey) trudged onward across the desert, Raven couldn't help but notice that every now and then, Bob would look around, as if he were expecting something to appear…
"See anything, Raven?" The Magician asked her, for what may have been 9th time today. Raven was beginning to get annoyed.
"No," She growled, the combined forces of heat and Bob constant inquiries getting to her. "Just sand and sun. The same sand and sun we've been seeing for the last 4 hours!" This last outburst caused Raven to gain an extra pair of eyes(all four now red) and her teeth to become fangs. Bob didn't seem too perturbed by the effect, so Raven forced herself to calm down. After restoring her human appearance, Raven asked Bob, "What am I supposed to see, anyway?"
"Mirages."
Bob's simple, one word answer blew Raven's mind, which was truly something, as Raven's mind rarely got blown. Raven was about question Bob some more when she saw something she hoped to never see again.
Her father.
Trigon the Terrible.
Raven froze. Then she saw something else.
It was her. Or rather, it was what she looked like when her emotions united in her mind.
"Whaddya see, kid?" Bob asked her suddenly. Raven turned to look at the Magician, a look of puzzlement on her face.
"I see my father and I," She began quietly, "Fighting."
"Did this happen before?" Bob asked, sounding as if he knew the answer.
"Yes," Raven answered, bewildered. It was then a new voice entered the scene.
"Somebody needs a time out."
Raven would've watched as Cyborg -who was supposed to have been captured by Gorac!- appeared on the scene to blast Trigon with his Sonic Cannon, but Bob pulled her away.
"C'mon." Bob said as he dragged the mesmerized Raven away from the scene. Raven snapped herself out of her frozen state and wretched her wrist out of Bob's hand.
"Bob, where are we!" The half-demon demanded. She was sick of not having a clue. Bob sighed, turned around and looked at her kindly, an almost fatherly look in his eyes.
"Does the name, 'Sands of Time' mean anything to you?" He asked her, smiling(Raven was getting sick of that smile). Raven forced her disgust down and thought at what Bob meant. The Sands of Time did sound awfully familiar…
"Well?" Bob asked, apparently enjoying the look of puzzlement on Raven's face.
"It does, but I don't know what the meaning is, okay?" Raven answered. Bob nodded, and said, "No problem. This is a good time for me to explain to the reader-"(Somewhere in the distance a wall crumbled) "-where we are. The Sands of Time is a mystical desert, where the mirages are taken from ones memories. Long ago, it was used as a banishment ground for those who had committed the most heinous crimes, so the offender could reflect on his life, whether he or she wanted to or not." Bob paused, which gave Raven time to think and organize her thoughts. If what Bob said was true(And it probably was), then it explained her hallucination. What she saw was a memory of when Beast Boy and Cyborg stumbled upon her Mirror, and in doing so entered her mind, and complex and scary place. But why couldn't Bob see it?
"Because," Bob explained, "It was a memory you alone, among the three of us can recall. If it was something we both experienced, we could all see it."
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Somewhere across the blazing hot Sands of Time, Gorac raised his staff into the air, the Blue Cone glowing. After waiting a few minutes, he slammed the blunt end of the staff downwards, causing an eerie ripple of power.
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Back with our unfortunate three, a massive, sandy-brown, wormlike creature rose up from the sands and loomed over Bob, Raven, and Elmo. "Skeeeeeeeeoooooorrrkk!" It roared.
To say Bob overreacted would be an unjustified falsehood. To say he screamed like a little girl, picked up Raven and ran would be much closer to the truth.
"What is that thing!" Raven asked, not so surprised at the monster worm(You deal with large monsters when you're a super hero) as she was at Bob's reaction to it.
"Somariean Sand Worm!" The Magician yelled, in a frightened frenzy, "But what are- Never mind!" Bob dumped Raven on the ground and took off toward the east. "Go that way!" The Magician screamed, pointing in the opposite direction. Raven did so, as did Elmo, who hopped off his master's shoulder. While running, Raven peered over her own shoulder to see what was happening.
Bob had apparently stopped running and was holding his left hand over his head. In a second a small fireball appeared in his palm, and it got bigger, and bigger, and the 'Somariean Sand Worm' suddenly began inching(or is that 'mile-ing' given the Worm's size?) toward the Magician. When the two came into close contact, there was a great flash…
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Somewhere across the desert, a large structure began to grow out of the sand around Gorac and his Blue Cone Staff…
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It was dark when Raven came to. Night had fallen, and the Sands of a Time had cooled down much. Bob, with Elmo once again on his shoulder, was busy cooking something over a blazing fire. He had produced a large fondue fork, and had skewered some meat with it, which he was roasting.
"Wha…what happened?" Raven asked groggily.
"You fainted." Explained Bob, checking to see if the meat was ready, "Heatstroke. Happens whenever you wind up in a burning desert." Bob moved whatever was cooking out of the fire, letting it cool, then offered it to Raven. "Want some?"
Seeing the freshly cooked meat reminded Raven that she hadn't eaten since the beginning of the story. In a rare fit of savagery, Raven ripped the intended meal out of Bob's hand and began attacking it manner used by ravenous beasts.
"Hungry, huh?' Bob asked, tending to the fire.
"Mmm," Was all Raven could say, her mouth at work devouring the meat. After swallowing her food(chewing thoroughly, first) Raven decided to ask Bob something that has been bothering her since the end of the last chapter.
"Bob," Raven started out carefully, "What's your connection to Gorac?"
Bob didn't answer her at first, chewing carefully. Then he said, "I was wondering when you'd ask that. My story with Gorac started when back when he did something totally unforgivable."
"What?"
"He squelched me on a bet."
Raven was getting used to these little surprises, but this one really threw her.
"What?"
"Yup. Cheapskate."
"That's all? A bet?"
Bob gave Raven a stern look. "Kid, gambling's a serious thing. You should never gamble unless you're ready and willing to pay." Up on Bob's shoulder, Elmo nodded sagely. "Anyway, I chased him through five dimensions, and when I caught him, I shook him down and left him lying in the gutter."
Raven couldn't believe it. "You mean Gorac dumped us in the middle of some desert over a bet he lost?"
"Well," Bob said, his eyes to the sky, "There was this time where he was conquering a dimension and trashed my favorite restaurant. I sicked a demon on him for revenge." Bob chuckled warmly, as if remembering good times.
Something in that sentence clicked in Raven's mind, and she remembered something Gorac said before he sent them to the Sands Of Time.
"But you, Bob, and she whose aura is similar to the last Demon what allied with you…"
"What was the name of that demon, Bob?" Raven asked, almost knowing the answer.
"Trigon." Bob said simply, "It was easy, all I did was say Gorac was talkin' smack about him. Most demons don't like it when you talk smack about them."
Raven didn't reply. She secretly wondered if this was all some fantastic dream, but decided that no dream could ever be this outrageous. Meanwhile, Elmo became bored with the conversation, hopped off Bob's shoulder and began making a sandcastle. Raven finally asked, "You can summon demons?"
Bob grinned, "Sure! It gets easy after a few hundred tries."
Raven couldn't believe it. Summoning, one of the more difficult types of magic, was but a trifle for this smiling weirdo.
"Hey, since we're stuck in some magic desert," Bob said, taking advantage of Raven's silence, "How about I make you my apprentice?"
"What?" Asked Raven, too wrapped up in her own thoughts to hear him.
"Apprenticeship," Explained Bob, "I figure it'll keep us busy and the Sands of Time won't drive us stir-crazy."
Raven thought about it. An apprenticeship wasn't a one-time thing. It lasts until the teacher says so. Or the apprentice runs away. Raven wasn't sure studying under this madman would be all too pleasant, but something inside of her kept her from saying 'No' outright. And she knew what that something was. When she studied under the imprisoned dragon Malchior, it was one of the happiest few days of her last. It made her joyful knowing that someone truly understood her. Someone who could explain things to her. A mentor.
Robin had Batman.
Luke Skywalker had Obi-Wan Kenobi.
Who did she have? Nobody.
But no more.
"You have yourself an Apprentice." Raven held out her hand, but Bob didn't take it.
"What? You don't trust my word?" Bob regarded her palm with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.
Raven stared. "But, you said…"
Bob nodded. "That's right. You're my apprentice, and I don't shake hands with apprentices." Raven inwardly groaned. She knew this wouldn't be all honey and roses.
"Let's get some sleep," Bob said. He pulled out an alarm clock and began winding it. "Teaching begins after a power nap." By now Elmo had constricted a Leaning Tower of sand.
"Crack of dawn?" Raven asked, settling down.
"Before dawn. We won't make much progress with that blazing sun overhead."
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Somewhere across the desert, a large palace formed out the sands Gorac summoned. The masked Warlock smiled evily. Soon, very soon…
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And so an hour before the sun rose, Raven's apprenticeship began. Despite her reservations, it wasn't as difficult as she thought. Her first lesson was something Bob called 'Magical Review'. Basically, the two(Or three, if you count Elmo) talked about things Raven already understood, such as her powers came from being of demonic heritage, and that they were linked to her emotions and feelings. Then Bob told her something interesting about demons in general.
"The thing is," Bob said, "Most demons aren't entirely evil, just uncaring. And the few demons that are evil get their powers from the thoughts and feelings from mortals. Negative thoughts and feelings."
That explained why Raven was an empath, a being who could sense emotions. Bob mentioned when emotions are involved, things usually got sticky.
"A wise man said love was the most powerful force in the universe," Bob explained, "But that's only part of it. In my experience, all emotions all equally strong, but it depends on who's feeling what. Not to mention the side-effects."
Bob explained that a positive emotion, like happiness, was more often then not the catalyst for healing or purifying magic. Negative emotions, like anger, seemed to power dark and destructive energies.
"Ever notice in an anime, when character X gives a glimpse of some 'hidden power'?" Bob asked, "It's usually when X is undergoing some sort of deep-seated emotional duress. That's true in real life, as you've noticed, I'm sure."
Boy, was that true. Raven remembered(if but barely) when her anger got out of control in her early Titan days, traumatizing poor Dr. Light. It was then when Raven saw something in the distance.
It was Bob.
But wasn't Bob walking beside her? Plus, this Bob seemed to be talking to a woman. Raven's eyes widened when she saw who that woman was.
It was her mother.
Arella.
The Bob next to her whistled. "That's afamiliar scene…"
"Hiya." The other Bob said to Arella.
"Hello." Arella replied distractedly. She seemed more concerned with the bundle in her arms. The other-Bob noticed said bundle, and reacted accordingly.
"Ahh, a newborn!" Other-Bob declared grandly, "How old?"
Arella gave Other-Bob a sad look. "Only 5 months." She answered.
"Hmm, that's less than half-a year…" Murmured Other-Bob. He reached and began tickling baby Raven's chin. The newborn giggled. "Coochie coochie coo- EYOW!" Other-Bob wretched his finger away from baby Raven and started shouting…well, let's just say you won't hear some of these words on a cartoon show. "The little #$!& bit me!"
"I am sorry," Arella said.
It was a this point that Raven-the current, older Raven - felt a hand on her shoulder. She look up to see Bob- the current, but just as strange, if not stranger- Bob looking at her with forlorn expression, which was a very uncommon thing for someone like Bob to have. The Magician led the half-demoness away from the scene. Raven was silent for about five minutes until she decided to figuratively bite the bullet.
"Bob," she began slowly, "What was That?"
Bob didn't answer at first, and he had a far-away look that, in Raven's opinion, seemed very alien to the Magician. After a few minutes of far-away silence, Bob finally answered, "That…was a memory we both shared."
Raven wasn't exactly satisfied with that. "And?" She persisted, wanting a full explanation. No more of this dancing around.
"A shared memory is something we both experienced," Bob explained, "You were too young to remember it on your own, but this desert has a tendency to dredge up old memoriess, long buried deep." Bob looked up and his eyes focused on something in the distance. "We may hafta put our discussion on hold, though," he pointed, "Looky there!"
Raven looked to where Bob(and Elmo) were pointing.
It was a massive tower that looked like it had grown out of the Sands itself.
Raven, Bob, and Elmo exchanged confused looks.
"Is it real?" Supposed Raven, more to herself than to anyone.
"Well," Began Bob, casually shuffling towards the structure, "I've never seen it before. That's a good sign that it's real. C'mon."
Raven started off after Bob, but wondered why Bob wasn't in any rush. If it was real, wouldn't make a good shelter?
"Because," Bob explained, when Raven voiced her query, "We're still trapped under this blazing sun. I don't wanna exert myself and pass out. Plus, hold on," Bob paused and rubbed some sand out of his eye, "Plus, there's a good chance Gorac could be in there. We'll stand a better chance against whatever he'll have cooked up if we're not as tired as we could be."
Raven thought about what Bob said, then asked, "If Gorac is in there, why are we going?"
"Simple," Bob said, "by going to him, we'll be boxing the old miser into a corner. Otherwise, he'll be able to carefully plan how to do away with us from his safe hidey-hole." Bob jerked his thumb over his shoulder, "Y'know that sand-worm that jumped us while back? Gorac probably summoned and sent itat us."
Raven had to concede that Bob had a point, but something nagged at her. "What if we're headed into a trap?"
Bob had an answer for that, too. "If it is a trap, we'll just have to deal with it. I don't know about you, but I'm fed up with wandering around this desert. I want to finish this, one way or another, for better or for worse."
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It took a while for the three to walk the distance between them and what may have been Gorac's tower, but to 'pass the time', Bob decided to regale his past glories, falures, and other various adventures. In Raven's opinion, this did the opposite and slowed time down.
"-Now, the next day we visited this town, to find a doctor who could remove the little blighter from his stomach, but we were jumped by these bandits, spent the day tryin' to get our clothes back-"
Bob was in full swing, and Raven wondered how much of this story wasn't exaggerated.
"-It wasn't till nightfall when I realized that the leader was friends with the town mayor, and that was the reason we were in the hoosegow, so things didn't look so good, then Chuck had this great idea-"
"We're here," Raven said, ending the endless yarn.
It was true. In the time it took Bob to prattle on about his 'adventures', they had managed to make itto the large doors of Gorac's tower.
"Hmm!" Bob hemmed, taking in the massive entrance. "Shall I knock?"
"Won't that give us away?" Asked Raven, giving Bob a weird look. It was becoming a rather common expression for her.
"Gorac knows we're coming," Bob explained, pushing his hands against one door. "Won't make any difference, but I don't wanna forget my manners."
Grunting, Bob began to push. Slowly, but surely, that one door began to open. After about five minutes, the door was open wide enough to get through.
Leaning against the massive door, Bob gasped for air.
"Why didn't you use magic?" Raven asked, thinking of Bob's doors.
"Don't wanna waist my supply," Bob said, regaining his breathe. "You and I can only use a limited amount of mana(Magical energy, for you laymen), and we'll need every last bit- Get down!"
Bob grabbed Raven and pulled her to the ground, just as a ball of green light zipped past them. Raven looked up, and, in the turquoise glow of a starbolt, with their eyes glazed over and unfocused, her old friends.
The Titans Core.
"Aw, nerts." Bob said.
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Nest time, Raven and Bob have to fight off the enslaved Titans and Gorac! Don't worry, the final part of this arc is coming! and remember...REVIEW!