Part 5: Duality
( Titans Tower)
"Tell me that didn't just happen," Beast Boy begged, limping while Terra supported him, "Tell me that didn't just happen." He was in denial.
"It did happen," Terra answered, "Ryuki…he's gone over to the other side."
"No, I mean one guy did not just beat all 10 of us," he clarified. "It was 10 to one! What happened?"
"What happened?" Cyborg repeated, "I'll tell you what happened!" he yelled, "Ryuki betrayed us and he beat us because he knew each of our weaknesses!"
"But, that cannot be!" Starfire exclaimed, still shivering after being melted out of the ice. Her hair and clothes were soaked.
"Oh, please Kori!" Blackfire snapped, "You and I both know that he's gone evil!" she added, "We all saw it!"
"That wasn't Ryuki," Shadow muttered. This got the other Titans attention.
"Excuse me?" Robin asked.
"That wasn't Ryuki," Raven repeated her boyfriend's answer, "Whoever we fought, wasn't him."
"It was," Jinx said sadly, "It was him, I know it."
"But why would he betray us? I mean, if it was him!" Pluto questioned.
"It was him…yet not him," Shadow said cryptically.
"Huh?" Beast Boy scratched his head.
"I scanned his mind while we fought and all I found was a feral beast trying to take control…the Ifrit Orphenoch."
"Wait," Beast Boy held up his hands, "I thought Ryuki IS the Ifrit Orphenoch!"
"He is…and his Orphenoch side is taking over his mind," Shadow clarified.
"Say what?" Beast Boy questioned. Shadow groaned.
"Beast Boy, let me explain so you, and everyone here, can understand. Ryuki right now has what psychologists call a 'split personality', with one personality being dominant while the other one being recessive." He got a blank look from Beast Boy. "He's gone schizo!"
"Oh!" Beast Boy finally understood.
"So, his Orphenoch side is taking over?' Robin asked.
Before Shadow could answer, all the glass windows shattered, sending glass flying everywhere. Shadow and Raven erected shields to protect everyone from the flying shards.
"Not is," said a voice, "Has!" stepping into the Tower was none other than Draco clad in his black dragon armor. "Oh, and for the record, my name is Ifrit now."
Shadow and Raven dropped their shields. Shadow looked his friend up and down, "Ryuki?…Your armor?…What happened?"
"I was thinking…makeover!" Ifrit said dramatically, "Oh and forget about your friend," Ifrit tapped his head with his index finger, "He's right in here and not coming out."
"Why you…" Pluto growled, "Let him out!"
"Sorry, no can do!" Ifrit laughed.
"Ryuki…" Jinx pleaded, stepping towards Ifrit, "I know you're in there…"
"J…Jinx…?" He then started screaming, clutching his head, "NO! STOP IT! GET OUT! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" his armor flickered back to its red and silver color, the eyepieces flashing between red and green. Draco was trying to fight Ifrit's control.
"YOU CAN'T STOP ME!" Ifrit roared as the armor changed back to black and blue.
"I WON'T FIGHT MY FRIENDS!" Draco screamed as the armor turned back to red and silver.
"YOU DON'T NEED FRIENDS! JUST TAKE THE GIRL AND DESTROY THEM!" Ifrit shouted.
"NO I WON'T!!!" Draco roared.
The Titans watched as Draco had a mental battle with himself…with Ifrit, trying to regain control over himself and his Orphenoch side. Jinx shouted, "Baby! Come on! You can fight him!" The Titans watched, cheering him on, as the Dragon Knight's armor flickered between black and blue to red and silver, his eyes flashing between red and green.
"I won't let you hurt them…" His red eyepieces faded to green and his armor became red and silver. He let go of his head. The Titans sighed in relief, thinking that Draco had won…
They were wrong.
The green eyepieces snapped back to red as his armor turned black and blue. "Sorry Titans, but Ifrit's in control now!" He laughed. Jinx backed away, "What? Something wrong?" Ifrit asked in mock innocence.
"You're not Ryuki…" Jinx said in a quivering voice.
"I know…I'm better!"
"Well, then we're the best!" Robin shouted, "TITANS! GO!" The Titans had no choice but to attack.
"ZODIAC FORCE OF THE DOG!"
"ZODIAC FORCE OF THE SNAKE!"
The Titans charged.
Ifrit sighed, exasperated, "And so it begins, huh?"
"Actually, it ends for you…" said a new voice. Ifrit's eyes widened and he turned around.
"YOU!"
"ME!" It was Zodiac Knight Tiger and he had his axe raised up high! "SPLITTING YIN YANG SLASH!" he swiped the weapon down and the axe sliced Ifrit right in half. Ifrit screamed in pain as if his soul was being split in half, which was not farther than the truth. There was a bright flash of red and black, forcing the Titans to shield their eyes. Then, one scream turned into two.
When the light faded, Ifrit got back up, feeling groggy. He looked at his hands and grinned, laughing, "Is that all you got?"
"No…but I think he has something to say," said Tiger, pointing to another end of the room.
"Ugh…" groaned a figure in red and silver armor, "What happened…?" he looked at the stunned Titans, "Guys? What? What are you staring at?" he noticed the black armored Ifrit, "And who's he and why is he dressed like me?"
"Ryuki, meet your dark side," Tiger explained.
"Wait…It's all coming back to me." Draco groaned. "Great, another evil twin…" Draco stood up, "You and I have some business to take care of, buddy!"
"Bring it on bitch!" Ifrit challenged.
"Considered it brought!"
The Titans, except Pluto and Shadow were confused.
"Um…I'm either crazy or I'm seeing double," Beast Boy looked back and forth between Draco and Ifrit.
"If you're crazy, then it's contagious," Cyborg checked his visual scanners to see if he was seeing right.
"What's going on?" Robin asked Shadow.
"Tiger's special ability, his Zodiac Power; he can split a person to their Yin and Yang halves," the Snake Knight answered.
Beast Boy quipped, "What kind of lame power is that?" In his opinion, being able to split a guy in half, spiritually and mentally and physically, was kinda lame.
"The kind of 'lame power' that keeps the Chinese Zodiac balanced, Beast Boy," Shadow hissed, glaring at the green teen. "Without the Tiger, the powers would be chaotic!"
"But, how did he know to come?" Pluto asked. Everyone shrugged.
"There's room for only ONE apprentice in this town," scowled Kat, sliding her cell phone close before walking away into the night.
Draco and Ifrit stared each other down. The other Titans watched as the Zodiac Knight of Combustion faced his dark doppelganger. This would be a deciding match; the winner would have full reign over Draco's body and the loser would cease to exist. In other words, if Ifrit won, the Draco they knew…would disappear…and become just a memory.
"I won't let you win," Draco gripped his hands into fists. For some reason, Ifrit reminded Draco a lot of Scorpios. Could this really be the evil that lurked inside him? His dark side?
"I don't think you'll have much of a choice, little one," Ifrit said, clad in his black and blue Dragon armor. "Once you're out of the picture, I'll take over the very life you love and your friends will be all mine."
"I won't let that happen!" Draco ran forward and Ifrit ran at his opponent as well. Both fists made contact, but Draco got thrown back by the force of Ifrit's punch and slammed into a wall before falling to the floor. He looked up and saw Ifrit. Ifrit's red eyepieces glowed red. Draco got back up and aimed a punch at the doppelganger's face, but the dark Dragon Knight grabbed the fist and then spun Draco around, pinning his arm to his back. He whispered into Draco's ear.
"You don't get it, do you?" Ifrit smirked, "I am you! Like it or not, what I say will happen. You try to hide it, but we both know you're evil…deep down, that's the truth."
"No…it…ISN'T!" Draco threw the evil Draco off himself with a blast of telekinesis and then shot out a fireball. The doppelganger crossed his arms in front of himself and blocked the blast.
"You call that a fireball?" Ifrit sneered, creating a blue fireball, "THIS is a fireball!" he threw the fireball at Draco and the Knight of Combustion leapt out of the way. The fireball exploded and shattered several of the glass windows.
"Nice aim," Draco said sarcastically.
"What do you think of this then?" Ifrit flung several more fireballs at his lighter half but Draco was able to dodge each and every one of them, "Stand still!" Ifrit was growing angry, perfect. Ifrit then changed tactics and fired an ice blast that froze Draco's feet in place. Draco melted the ice and drew a card before he slid it into his gauntlet.
"Sword Vent," the Dragon Flame Sabre materialized and Draco leapt up and slashed down on his evil twin. The doppelganger looked up and the sword made contact with his helmet. Sparks flew as the edge sliced down on his headpiece. Ifrit, humiliated and angry, sent Draco flying back with a blast of telekinesis.
"You'll pay for that!" Ifrit growled.
"Cash or credit?" Draco joked. Ifrit roared and charged at Draco, creating a pair of ice blades within his hands. Their weapons clashed and sent sparks flying. They leapt away from each other and Ifrit fired an ice ray, freezing Draco in a block of ice. Draco shattered the ice off himself as a fiery aura surrounded him. Draco dropped his sword.
"I'm ready to put you on ice!" Ifrit grinned
"Bring it!" Draco pressed a button on his SB-Watch. "Axel Start Up!" he had just activated the Axel System and was increasing his speed. The red lines on his Excel Suit began to glow and turned to silver. His eyepieces then changed to red. Ifrit saw this and activated the Axel System too.
"Axel Start Up!"
The two Knights ran at each other at an accelerated and blinding speed. They began to exchange blows. They were so fast that their movements were like blurs. The Titans failed to keep track on the two combatants as they ran and fought all over the place. They fought on the ceiling, the walls and the hallways, moving at blinding speed. The Titans decided to follow them towards the roof.
Draco moved behind Ifrit and grabbed onto the Black Dragon Knight in a full nelson. Draco then flared up his feet, flying high into the air. He then did a spin in the air and flew back down towards the Tower, taking Ifrit down with him. The Titans arrived just in time to see the two Dragon Knights crash through the roof, creating a large hole. Draco and Ifrit kept going and going, crashing down, right through the Tower, creating hole after hole that led straight into the lower levels. The Tower shook as if an earthquake hit. The Titans looked into the hole and Cyborg groaned, "Aw man…it'll take forever to fix all those holes." Then a red and black blur flew back up and knocked Cyborg back. Draco and Ifrit smashed each other off one another and landed back on opposite ends of the roof.
The two Knights faced each other. There were numerous dents and scratches on each others' armors, but they still stood firm. The watches began counting down.
"3…2…1…Time Over…"
The glow of the Excel Suits died down and their suits turned back to normal.
The two then drew out their Final Vent cards. This was the deciding factor.
"FINAL VENT!"
Both Dragblacker and Dragonzer were summoned and swirled around their respective Knights. Draco and Ifrit both ran at each other, followed by their dragons, before jumping into the air. Dragblacker propelled its Knight via deep blue frost while Dragonzer propelled its Knight through red hot flames. Red fire energy surrounded Draco while blue frost energy surrounded Ifrit. They then executed their attacks.
"DRAGON COMBUSTION KICK!"
"DRAGON FREEZING KICK!"
The flaming and freezing flying kicks rammed into one another. There was a explosion of red and blue energy as ice and fire spewed in every general direction. The Titans had to shield their eyes from the explosion.
The explosion subsided and both Draco and Ifrit stood with their armors slightly smoking and with ice forming on them, surrounded by a circle of ice and fire.
Ifrit roared and ran at Draco with an ice blade.
Jinx shouted out, "Baby! Use this!" she threw the DRA-Blaster to Draco. Draco caught the weapon and looked up at the charging Ifrit. He drew out the DRA-Key from his belt and attached it to his Blaster. The barrels extended.
"DIE!" Ifrit shouted as he slashed out with his sword.
Draco quickly whispered, "Kick" into his weapon. The DRA-Blaster activated (Excel Charge) and he fired a red energy drill that pinned and immobilized Ifrit. Draco then leapt up to deliver a flying kick, shouting, "CRIMSON CRASH!" as he flew into the drill, kicking his leg out and going THROUGH Ifrit, plowing into the Black Dragon Knight via the crimson energy drill and landing just behind him.
The Orphenoch felt the sudden surge of heat going through his body, bluish flames appearing all over himself, as he knew what was coming…he had been defeated.
Ifrit fell on his back, his armor shattered away to reveal his Orphenoch form. The Ifrit Orphenoch began to disintegrate, but he wore a smile on his face.
"You are the better one," the Ifrit Orphenoch admitted as the blue flames intensified on his body.
"The original often is," Draco deactivated his armor. He turned to Tiger, "Do you mind putting him and me back together?" the Titans gasped.
"You can't be serious!" Robin shouted out, "He's evil and you want him back inside you?"
"He's a part of me, I can't change that Robin," Draco smiled as he stood over the Ifrit Orphenoch. He sighed, "I'm ready."
"This might sting a bit," Tiger produced his axe. "UNITING YIN YANG SLASH!" he slashed down and the energy from his axe swept over both Draco and the Ifrit Orphenoch. Both of them joined together and became one again. Draco looked at his hands.
"I'm whole again…"
"Good to have you back, Draco," Takada smiled.
"It's good to be back, Takada…" Draco admitted. He paused, "Guys…I'm really sorry that all this happened. I should be locked up…I mean, I joined Slade and…" Robin raised his hand to halt Draco.
"It's okay…you were confused and that was all that happened," Robin assured the Dragon Knight.
"But I…I mean I turned on you guys, betrayed you, I wanted to kill you…" he pleaded his case, "I deserve nothing more than to leave and be locked up."
"I know the feeling," Terra nodded. "And we don't blame you."
"So I'm forgiven?" Draco asked. He didn't sound too thrilled.
"Yep!" Beast Boy grinned.
"You are our friend, Draco," Starfire smiled.
"What she said," Blackfire smirked.
"But…you still have to help fix the Tower," Cyborg said firmly.
Draco groaned. There was a lot to fix in the Tower…most of it his fault.
"And, I think it'll be idea good if you went for therapy," Shadow suggested.
Jinx was just happy to have him back to his old self, so she kissed him.
Robin then asked, "Why did you join Slade?"
Draco sighed, depressingly, "He offered to help me with my control…help me tame my Orphenoch side. I only followed him because I was afraid and he told me that you'd all turn your backs on me for what I did…and for what I've become." Draco gripped his fists and his head was low, "I mean, I killed 5 people already and I was just really confused and…"
Robin halted him. "It's okay…we understand."
And the first time in three weeks, Draco genuinely smiled.
(A week later…)
Draco was on the roof of the Tower. His red goggles were worn over his eyes and his hair flew, unbound, being blown by the evening wind. He wasn't wearing his usual SB uniform. Instead, he was clad in a red gi and black sandals. His arms and body swayed in a slow gentle motion. He breathed calmly as he swayed his body to the beat of his heart. It was peaceful silences like in the early morning; evening or late at nigh that he was able to do his own brand of meditation. Sitting in a lotus position, in one place, unmoving, easily bored him. He remembered once that he even fell asleep while meditating with Raven. Like Shadowcobra (Who enjoys gardening), Draco had his own brand of meditation. Draco was a free spirit and as such, needed to move freely. Hours of sitting tended to cause the body to go numb and Draco hated feeling numb. He needed to move. His body and mind needed stimulation, slow and gentle stimulation.
That was why he was dong Tai Chi. His arms swayed around him as his legs moved in slow gentle steps. No sounds, no obstructions. He followed only the beating of his heart.
There was in fact another reason why he needed to do Tai Chi.
His anger.
His temper.
His rage.
His inner beast. (The Orphenoch inside)
All needed to be kept at a manageable level, now more than ever. He could not afford to lose control of his anger. His powers were fueled by his emotions, and anger was the strongest emotion he had. However, anger was now secondary in his heart. It seemed that there was another emotion stronger than anger.
Love.
After all, there were many kinds of love. There was the love you held for family and there was the love you held for friends. Draco was thinking about a different kind of love. Love for your soul mate.
He had fought Yoshido's attempt to corrupt him as well as the beast within his soul. He had won and received a great gift in return. With the new power he had fully taken control of Dragblacker as well as his Orphenoch side.
Tiger had left the same night he came over, but not before Robin handed him a T-Com for his help. The Tiger Knight of Yin Yang explained that he had gotten a call from an anonymous informant about Draco's situation. Who it was, they'll never know, but were grateful nonetheless.
They had gone to the lair where Slade had trained Ryuki. When they got there, they found no trace of Slade ever being there. Draco did find a small note written by his sister that said, "You owe me." Draco smiled, apparently figuring out that his sister had helped him to end his apprenticeship with Slade. Obviously, his sister didn't want him to hog all the fun for himself. He chuckled to himself and burnt the note.
(Later that night…)
Jinx knocked on the door and Draco's voice answered, "Come in." It sounded almost like a feral purr. Shrugging, Jinx entered the room after the door slid open.
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind while a hand covered her mouth. She struggled as she was dragged to the bed and thrown onto it. She propped herself up only to see Draco staring down at her, smirking. He then crawled onto the bed and got on top of her. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, purring.
Jinx rolled her eyes, "Draco…" she moaned, feeling his tongue on her neck. Gone was the shy Draco but a more assertive and mature Draco.
"I'm more feral now, you know what that means?" he growled.
Jinx smirked. "I think I do." She moaned as he begun to kiss her bare shoulders. He wanted her in every sense of the word. He then kissed her lips. He was still as gentle as before. She remembered what Shadowcobra had told her.
"Being more feral means that he has become more feline-like. He will be dangerous when angered, but he still will be quite affectionate towards you. Possibly even more."
Shadowcobra was right, Draco was more affectionate now. He wasn't nervous or shy anymore. Draco then kissed Jinx with more fervor as he rolled them over. Now she was on top of him. His hand trailed down her waist and then he smacked her lightly on her bottom
"HEY!" Jinx jumped slightly. Of course, Draco was now more daring than ever.
Draco chuckled and then narrowed his eyes with his lips curled into a smirk. "Sorry." Of course, he didn't really mean it as his smirk turned into a toothy grin.
"Not yet, you're not!" she then began kissing him more and more. She slowly pulled off his goggles and looked into his emerald colored eyes. Draco didn't seem to be complaining. His hands traveled all over her body. The material of her nightgown was quite thin and see through, allowing him to see her bra and panties. He smirked. They would be gone very, very soon. "Wanna play…?" he purred.
The view shifts to the front of Draco's room. No one dares to enter but only listen to the sound of contented moaning as the Feral Dragon made love to his Beautiful Hex Mistress. The girl let out a contented gasp and screamed out his name before passing out from the euphoria.
Jinx murmured contently as she rested her head on her lover's chest. Draco looked down at her and smiled, stroking her hair. Both their clothes were now in a pile at the foot of the bed where they would remain until morning came.
Usually, Yaminekoryu would have something to say…but this time someone else did the talking.
((Draco)) said the Orphenoch in his mind. ((You can have any woman you want now. Your animal magnetism has increased after your transformation. Why do you continue to be with this girl?)) Ifrit asked.
Draco answered back ((She…completes me. I love her and I will continue to love her.))
((Peh!)) the Orphenoch scoffed. ((You humans and your ideas of love. I do not see what is so special about her, except that she is a wild one in the bedroom!)) he snickered.
Draco's narrowed his eyes. ((Don't talk about her like that!))
The Orphenoch became silent and Draco sighed. He pulled the pink haired girl's nude body closer to his and nuzzled her hair. She smelled…like catnip. Okasan gave it to her he remembered. She would always know what could always make him go in heat and he loved her for it. Mother knows best. He mused. He couldn't wait for her to wake up, to take her again. He would hunger for her in the morning and he knew she wouldn't disappoint him. Do not think of her as a bed warmer, he chided himself, And do not think like a chauvinistic male bastard.
He stroked Jinx's back gently. He lightly kissed and nuzzled her neck. She was small and soft. Jinx often asked why he never looked at another girl like he looked at her and why none of the other "attractive" or "popular" girls sparked his interest. He chuckled at the memory and explained that all Hasuma males will be devoted fully to their mates, the ones they have chosen. Jinx blushed when he mentioned the word 'mate' but smiled, knowing that he would always be faithful. Draco was monogamous, all Hasuma men were. There was no room for promiscuity. Well, there was an odd ancestor here and there, but he didn't want to think about it. A harem, peh!
Jinx had been Draco's confidant. Every time the Knight of Dragons hated himself for being what he was, an Orphenoch, she'd be there to console him. Human or not, Draco needed her love now more than ever. It was painful for the witch to see the one she loved in so much pain. She stroked the back of his hand and her fingers rested on the back palm.
Draco didn't have much time to live. It was unknown if he had years or mere months of his life left. All the other Titans knew that just one more transformation might just kill him. Beast Boy had jokingly said they'd save money on cremation costs, but the others didn't find it humorous at all.
Draco still hated the fact that he was no longer human. However, neither were Raven and Shadow. Starfire and Blackfire weren't human either. Possibly the only one who knew how Draco felt was Cyborg; they would talk about their experiences about waking up a 'freak'.
At least he could gloat about ONE thing. He beat the Titans all on his own. It may have been the Ifrit Orphenoch in control at the time, but it was still the same. He still apologized, but the truth was he wasn't going to let the Titans forget about how he kicked their asses.
To Be Continued…
ZK Chromedragozoid: It would seem that Draco finally learnt that his friends would never judge him for being an Orphenoch. I doubt Slade is happy about all this and if he finds out that Kat had a hand in it…Oh, and this isn't the end of the whole Orphenoch thing…not by a long shot! There's much more…much, much more coming your way. A new OC is about to make his debut in the next chap and he's gonna have some issues with our young Knight of Combustion. Just stay tune for more as ZKD VOL 3: Lost Paradise continues…
Well, if you haven't noticed, this fic is focused on Draco, as it was meant to be.
Credits to Masked Rider 555 for the Orphenoch idea…