Heya!
Sorry for the lateness, again thanking anyone and everyone who reviewed: ravenkakashiluv26, sinomin, The Amethyst Eyes, Random hero77, Gingerstorm101 and KraZiiePyrozHavemoreFun.
Also, thanks to everyone who added to favourites and alerts. We love you all. Thanks a lot to all the readers too!
We own nothing.
Enjoy,
"It's time," Raven announced, almost reluctantly. Almost. It was time for them to travel to the portals.
They'd eaten a large meal at the crack of dawn, and packed up all the things they had. Cleaned water had been put into their bottles, and blankets also had been washed in the river. By the time all of that was done, the sun was almost completely over their heads. Midday.
At the sound of Raven's announcement, Slade picked up the sack and flung it over his shoulder. He mentally prepared himself for Raven's powers' grip on him.
He heard her mutter her mantra quietly, and both of their bodies were surrounded with her black magic. It felt so cold, and strange. It was a sensation Slade couldn't comprehend. He'd rarely travelled by magic.
On the other hand, Raven felt that lifting their two bodies was easy, with her powers basically treating them like objects. She controlled them like dolls, with a map held in front of her.
"How do you feel, Slade?" She smirked. Not a lot of people liked being inside of her magic. Beast Boy for instance, found it 'creepy'.
"Strange. It's not a pleasant, nor a bad experience. It doesn't matter, so long as we get there."
The next few hours were spent in silence, watching the sky darken, threatening to become night.
It felt like they were flying, as the wind blew on them. The quietness felt loose, relaxed. It was just a peaceful silence.
Time passed quickly though, and before they knew it, the Portals were in sight. The Portals was really only one big portal, that lead to different places. At the moment, it was shut down. No one was in sight.
They landed on the ledge, and Slade had to regain his balance, after not using his legs for such a long time.
Raven also lost her balance, and tried to fling her arms forward, but it didn't help. She fell over the edge, with a shriek. Her heart raced, as she gripped onto the edge of the place she had been stood moments before.
Just before she skidded over, Slade knelt down and firmly grasped her wrists. He slowly dragged her over it, and she sat up, eyes wide.
Raven's heart was beating like a humming bird's wings. That definitely came as a shock. He kept his hands on her shoulders, as if to keep her there. She struggled in his grip, too shocked to notice what she was doing.
"Relax, Raven. Wait til your heart slows down, then we'll check the portals. But shouldn't someone...like yourself, have natural balance?"
Raven lifted her eyebrows and made a slight guttural sound, "I don't really like heights, okay?" He scoffed, while she felt herself calm down, her heart returning to a normal pace.
"I figured. Anyways, don't you think you're forgetting something?"
Her head hung downwards, and she sighed. "No." It was his turn to sigh. "Thanks for saving me, Slade." The villain smirked.
Both stood up, and looked at the dial to activate the portal. It was off. All the buttons that were working flashed, with only one that was clearly not illuminated like the others. It had a sun engraved into it.
"Elements needed to open the portal. The Sun, a portal frame, a clear destination, and less than five people. All other elements should already be prepared," Raven stated, reciting what she'd once learnt.
"So we'll have to stay overnight?" A sharp nod was the response. Great, Raven thought. This wasn't what she'd planned. She wanted to get home! But strangely, she didn't mind staying another night.
Slade walked over to an empty cliff clearing, and up to the edge. Raven stood behind him, staying safely inside. She did NOT want a repeat of before.
He lifted two blankets from the sack, and laid them next to each other on the ground. She sat down, while he did too.
"Slade, what if... what if the Titans... if the Titans don't accept me once I'm back? I mean, you're the Titans' enemy. What if...what if I've changed?"
Raven felt relieved to have released those thoughts she'd been harbouring. She'd been friendly, and somewhat kind to the villain. She was worried about what they'd think of her.
"You really do worry too much, Raven. If they were real friends, they'd like you for you, and not for the things you do. If they don't, then they aren't your friends."
He was... right. She was being silly. How could they not accept her? They'd accepted her and her demonic heritage, and even helped her battle Trigon. They'd like her, they'd embrace her back into the 'family' flow...
"Yeah, Slade, you're right. Thanks. I think I'm... um... going to meditate."
She went into position, and he followed suit. "I think I'll join you, Raven. It'll be one of the last times..."
No mantra was chanted, but they had perfectly cleared heads. Only clouded distant memories and worries seemed to fog various nooks and crannies in their minds. By reciting the mantra in their heads, all that was pushed away.
"Raven," Slade called, talking through their bond.
"Yes?" Their voices sounded exactly the same, just clearer and louder in their own heads. No emotion was felt through it, as he shielded his, and Raven shielded hers.
"How do you feel about controlling your emotions?" The question shocked her, as it was unexpected. Slade didn't know why he'd asked it either. It was just a thought.
"It's hard. Very hard. I just wish I could show emotion freely, you know. I see everyone all happy and trying to get me to join in, but then I'm such an introvert, and have to control my emotions so I don't hurt them. I don't think they appreciate it, they think I'm weird. It's not fair."
She blushed at revealing such information, but he had asked her. The other Titans, if ever, rarely asked her about how she felt on controlling them.
"Life never is fair, Raven. Your friends make you show your emotions, happiness, anger, jealously, love, even? They make you have to keep control."
"Yes, Slade, but without them, then I wouldn't be able to be happy at all."
"Are you sure, Raven? I thought you'd have made quite the villainess?"
She jeered in the bond, with the urge to roll her eyes. She had an idea... Maybe Raven could try it, she thought.
"What are you thinking about, Raven?" She'd forgotten to close the bond, cursing herself silently for her stupidity.
"Well, I thought maybe through our bonds, we could appear as ourselves, in our minds? It's like we're meeting in real life, except it'd be in our heads so we don't have to show up. Just meditate Slade. I'll do the rest."
He cleared his mind, and so did Raven. She muttered her mantra, before teleporting them into a blank in their minds. It was basically a whole memory being made, or like daydreaming, except being in control.
Suddenly, they lost contact with their physical bodies, and were transported into a... bookstore?
"Sorry, Slade. When we go somewhere, it has to be a place we have in our memories. This was a store I was in at the time I was there last month. I just picked it because it seemed fitting."
They looked the same as they would in real life, but everything was going on in their minds. It was 'mind-boggling'.
"So, where are our real bodies? Also, why are we merely in a memory, and not seeing things in real life?"
She sighed, annoyed. "Our bodies are exactly where we left them. In case you're wondering, this is different to releasing our spirits out to see. Right now, we're releasing our spirits into our minds, not into the world. I'm a sorceress, I can do that. You can't."
She would smirk, but Slade would have seen Raven do it. It felt good for her to tell him something he couldn't do.
Raven walked over to a bookshelf, hand drifting over them in turn. She loved the musty smell, the intelligence from the books.
Slade, meanwhile, opened the door, to come into contact with whiteness. Shocked, he closed it. "I chose this place. You'll only see, this place. It's empty. No other people. Time is frozen."
"I've seen enough, Raven. Let's go." Sighing again, she snatched his hand and teleported them back into their bodies. Slade was a little disoriented, but none the worse for wear.
By the time he recovered, he saw Raven already asleep. Sighing, watching her for a few hopeless moments, and drifting off himself too. Their last night there...
Guys, sorry for the late update. I- QLF have been very busy.
The Chapters are all done, it's just a matter of finding time to polish them up and post them into the FanFiction world...grrrr! Pray that I may find the time to do such important things!
We both hope you enjoyed!
Happy Maslinitsa to any Russians out there!
The Pear