Part 74: Reunions and Welcomes
Several hours before reaching Zandia…Aboard the ChronoLiner…
Draco was in his room, sitting at the edge of his bed, contemplating in silence. Brimstone was lying at his feet and would occasionally raise up his head to look at his master.
Draco remembered feeling like this. During the battle against Trigon, he never expected to survive either. He had just been fighting to save his friends and what was left of the Earth from the demon. He hadn't cared for his own life until Trigon was defeated. No doubt Jinx had been worried.
Draco felt a stinging pain in his hand and looked to see that his hands had turn an ashen grey. Reaching quickly with his telekinesis, he pulled the injector gun into his hand before loading it up with a tube of the DNA stabilizer serum. He jabbed the needle into his neck and squeezed the trigger, emptying the contents of the tube into his bloodstream. The pain subsided and his hand had changed back to its normal color.
"Looks like I'm really running out of time," Draco said to Brimstone, though not expecting an answer from his pet demon dog. "Even with this serum, how long do I really have? A year? A month? Maybe if I'm lucky."
"Hey, why so negative all of a sudden?" spoke Yaminekoryu as he appeared next to his host.
Draco glanced at his demonic tenant and spoke, "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Yaminekoryu shrugged, "No, not really. Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt." He conjured up a T-shirt that read "I died and all I got was this cruddy T-shirt".
Draco sighed. "I am." He remembered his first deaths. In an instant he'd lost feeling in his body and saw only darkness. It wasn't a feeling he wanted to experience ever again. Not ever.
There was a knock at the door and Yaminekoryu took this as his cue to reenter his host. Draco always felt a strange tingling sensation when Yaminekoryu's youki (demon energy) mixed with his own. He shivered slightly before recovering shortly after. He answered, "Come in. The door's not locked." The door slid open revealing Jinx. "Ah, Jinxy-chan," he greeted, standing up.
Jinx looked at Draco and frowned. She approached him and grabbed him by the shoulders before pulling him down and planting a deep and passionate kiss to his lips. He was startled for a second but then relaxed, kissing her back. Brimstone watched for a few seconds before lying his head back down out of boredom. It wasn't interested in watching his master and his master's mate pressing their lips against each other.
Jinx pulled away and Draco blinked, a little confused. "Alright…that was pleasant. However, I want to know what brought that along."
Jinx spoke, "Can we sit down?" He blinked again and nodded.
"Hai."
She sat down on the bed first before pulling him down by the sleeve. There was something wrong with her. The usual impulsiveness was there when she'd kissed him, but her behavior right now reminded him of when she'd nearly…
…When she'd nearly killed herself.
Best to keep memories like that in the back of the mind and allow them to sink into the depth of the mind, never letting them arise again.
"This is it, isn't it?" Jinx asked. She was being cryptic.
"Jinxy-chan?" he questioned.
"Remember when you told me about your alternate future self and how he became the Orphenoch King?" she reminded. Draco flinched. It wasn't one of his favorite memories. He still remembered dying that time, his second time to be exact. "This is almost like that, isn't it? We're heading into Occultus' base where you…"
Draco gentle took hold of her chin so she could focus her pink eyes on him. "That was not the same me, Jinxy-chan. He was heartbroken when you died. He did anything he could to make the pain go away. He willingly became the Orphenoch King."
"But what happens if…"
"Then you know what you have to do."
"No!" she objected, burying her face into his chest. "I won't do it!" She began to cry into his chest.
'Great…I just made her cry,' Draco groaned in his mind. "Jinxy-chan, gomen," he apologized. She still continued to cry so he did what he had to do to comfort her and wrapped his arms around her.
He remembered asking two people to promise to destroy him if he ever turned evil. Mortuary and Jinx weren't willing to go that far but they were the only ones he could trust to do the right thing. Maybe asking them that wasn't such a hot idea after all. He had asked Warren too, but he knew Warren would do what was necessary, and Warren expected Draco to do the same.
He continued to comfort the girl he loved. In front of the others, she was always so energetic, even a little mean by insulting Beast Boy and Pluto or when she was having fun gossiping with the other girls. She never let anyone else but him see her vulnerable side. She never cried in the HIVE or in front of her old teammates. She wasn't going to ruin her reputation by breaking down and crying.
"Don't cry, Jinxy-chan," he pled, whispering softly. He sniffed her hair for a second. She smelled like strawberries. "Please, don't cry. I hate seeing you cry." She looked up at him.
"And I hate seeing you when you look like you're just going to give up on life," she retorted. When she first met Draco, she saw a naïve guy who had little experience with women. She didn't know much about his past and always smiled. She had learnt that the smile was only a mask. He had still been grieving over Tazuka's death then.
"I'm no one important," he said to her and she frowned.
"Don't you ever say that," she spoke angrily, causing him to flinch. Her eyes always glowed pink like that whenever she was angered but she still kept her hold on him. "You're important to me and everyone here."
Jinx sure knew how to say the right things to him.
"Especially to me," she affirmed before she leaned in to kiss him again. This time he was ready and kissed her back.
Brimstone looked up and then got onto all his legs. He padded out of the room to leave the couple in peace. The door slid open and the demon dog walked out before the door slid close behind him.
Draco looked deeply into his beloved's eyes and said, "I like your hair down." He reached up with his hand and removed the scrunchies. Her hair fell down like a curtain. He brushed away some of the hair that got in her face and said, "Beautiful…"
Jinx blushed a bit at being called beautiful. Who would think someone like her as beautiful? Draco, apparently.
He slowly pushed her onto the bed and then the lights dimmed.
Warren stood in the training center, Teresa and Vash watching him. Warren took a deep breath. He then concentrated on one particular part of his aura, the demon side. "Start off at 50 percent," said Warren. His energy began to crackle around him. "Now, 60 percent," his veins became more prominent. "70 percent…" he said, gasping for air, as if under pressure. His mouth expanded and his teeth became fangs. "90 percent…" he wheezed. The back of his shirt blew off, revealing too pitch black demon wings. He fell to his knees. "Can't control…" Teresa drew her claymore and ran at Warren. Warren caught her claymore as she swung it at him. His head was down.
"Warren?" asked Teresa.
He looked up at Teresa and smiled "I can get it to 90 percent now," he said with a laugh as the wings retracted into his body.
"Don't scare me like that," said Teresa as she withdrew her sword. "If I was still alive you would've given me a heart attack."
"Sorry," Warren apologised as Vash helped him to his feet.
"You really shouldn't tire yourself out," advised Vash. "We're heading into enemy territory. You need to take care of yourself better."
Warren nodded at the advice. He then wrapped his arms around Teresa. "You know, we have a while before we reach Zandia. How about…"
Teresa placed a finger on his lips, silencing him. "I'll race you back to the room," she said playfully before running off, Warren quickly giving chase.
Present time…ZANDIA…
It was already dark in the small country of Zandia and on a mountain range which was dubbed "The Mountains of Madness" for the many dark rituals and evil summonings that have taken place there stood a massive temple. The temple was a gargantuan structure, which was placed on the highest point of the Mountains of Madness. The temple courtyard seemed to be guarded by the statue of a very grotesque creature, which was possibly one of the many dark gods of the earth. The creature had a human like body which was covered with scales, massive batwings, and a head which seemed to look like a very large octopus.
The ChronoLiner appeared silently out of a portal and the united team of teenage heroes exited out of the vehicle quickly and silently. The cloaking field around the train expanded around them. Stealth was a requirement for their mission. This was enemy's territory and they needed to be careful. Warren, because of the incident during training, was clad in a new outfit. He wore a black trench coat that reaches the ground. Under this he had on a black shirt that depicted a skull and black jeans. He also wore fingerless leather gloves with studs on the knuckles and black combat boots. Lastly he wore a black cowboy hat and black sunglasses that hid his eyes. He had a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Jeez, he smokes more than a chimney.
Beast Boy was looking through his binoculars and saw the large demonic statue which stood in front of the temple and grimaced, "That is one ugly statue. Looks kinda like Davy Jones from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies." Leave it to Beast Boy to make movie referances at a time like this. It was actually a statue of Cthulhu, one of the Great Old Ones.
"Or Epic Movie," Wyvern supplied into the conversation.
"Got that right," Terra agreed.
Mortuary agreed as he looked through his own pair of binoculars, "Occultus doesn't have much taste, I'm afraid."
"I guess he was thinking more about intimidation rather than homely," Snow Blood said.
"We should get inside, now," said Renia, eagerly.
Draco eyes narrowed as he focused his eyes on the temple. One of his Orphenoch given abilities was enhanced telescopic vision. There were a couple of guards posted the entrance of the temple, which was strange. Either Occultus was very confident that no one would be stupid enough to storm in to allow his security to lax. It just didn't seem right. His short time with Slade had taught him that when security was lax, the item/person was not really important, they couldn't afford it…or it was a set up for a trap.
He wagered with Yaminekoryu and Ifrit that it was the latter.
Warren could see the guards using his enhanced senses. Something wasn't right. He could feel way too much dark energy; it was messing with his senses. "I don't like it," said Warren.
"What do you mean?" asked Renia.
"Something isn't right here. The last time I felt this much dark energy was when I threw down with D'Spayre back home," answered Warren. "This is gonna be bigger than we thought."
"We have to find a way in, though," Cyborg said, "And I don't think those guards are just going to let us waltz in their pad."
Mortuary cocked his gun earning looks. There was a gleam in his eyes that scared Renia. It scared Terra too. "We can take them."
Warren smiled and cocked his own gun. "I like the way you think."
Draco frowned. He didn't want to kill the guards, even if they were Orphenochs which was a high possibility since Occultus had sent an army of Orphenochs to Jump City. Also, what if he had another one of those behemoths ready for them?
"No," Draco objected. "We need to sneak inside and not draw attention to ourselves. That way we can take down Occultus. As Shadow always said, take care of the head and the body follows."
"Then we need something to distract the head," said Warren as he stood up.
"What are you talking about?" asked Jinx.
"I'm talking about distracting the guards. I'll go in, distract them, and you guys will just waltz right in," said Warren as he prepared his gun. "VASH! SPIRIT BALL FORM!!" called Warren. Vash appeared in Warren's left hand as a ball of spirit energy. "Vash! Into the Dark Angel! OVER SOUL!!" He then slammed the spirit into the gun, causing light to engulf Warren. When the light subsided, Warren's left hand, and arm, was now different. It was now a large five-barreled gun. Pitch-black angel wings unfurled on Warren's back. "When you hear their screams of pain, that's your cue to bust in." He then flapped his wings and flew off.
"OK, that was totally awesome," Beast Boy spoke up.
"If that doesn't distract the guards then I don't know what will," added Renia in agreement.
"I just hope he doesn't get us killed," spoke Bruiser. "I've been itching for a fight since we got here."
"You itch for a fight all the time, Billy," Falconer spoke.
TAMARAN…
The T-Ship entered Tamaran's atmosphere safely, despite a little turbulence upon reentry. The sky was a dark purplish color. As Starfire gushed over the appearance of Tamaran, saying how beautiful it was, Pluto was looking on sadly. It was like a barren desert. There were some stone structures jutting out from the ground and a few mountains. Sure, there were a few plants but nothing to get excited about. "It must've been beautiful way back when," he muttered.
"Did you say something, puppy?" asked Blackfire from the com-link.
"Nothing, Komi," he lied. "Nothing at all…"
"We are nearing the palace. I have already contacted Galfore. I cannot wait to see him again!" Starfire yelled out happily.
"Joy…" Blackfire said cynically. She didn't sound too happy.
Pluto could see the palace and saw it at the top of a rather large structure of rock with similar structures built into the contorted rock faces. As dumpy as the planet appeared, he had to admit that the architecture wasn't half bad.
The T-Ship landed on a parapet. The cockpits opened and the two Tamaranean princesses floated out. Pluto leapt out of the vehicle and landed softly on the ground. He felt a little stiff from being cooped up in that small cockpit. Robin was frowning. Some unpleasant memories were associated with his place. He'd almost witnessed Starfire getting married here. He glanced at his alien girlfriend who smiled back at him in return.
Blackfire was feeling nervous. This was it. She felt a little ill. She, the bravest of the brave, was feeling fear. It was a fear she didn't want to accept but she had to face this. For all her wrongdoings in the past, she was going to own up to this. This was her home. She didn't want to be banished any longer. She grew up here.
The gates opened and Galfore walked out. Pluto hadn't expected him to be so…BIG! Flanking him were four guards, wearing robes and helmets and sporting long and scary glaives. Galfore strode forward, tall and proud, with a cape hanging from his back and wearing the royal crown, marking him as the grand ruler of Tamaran. Of course, this was an elected position. Starfire had chosen him for it because he was the most responsible.
Pluto gulped a bit as the large alien man. He stood double Pluto's own height his muscles were huge. The beard somehow added to the intimidation factor the man already possessed. His eyes were locked upon Starfire before locking coldly onto Blackfire who seemed to shrink. Pluto took hold of his girlfriend's hand and gave a comforting squeeze.
Galfore's face then broke into a large smile before pulling Starfire into a hug. The girl hugged back. The two exchanged words in their native language. Robin did not understand a word but Blackfire and Pluto did, the latter due to his special headset which translated every word.
Galfore put down Starfire and then looked at Blackfire, stating, "So, you've returned. You were banished if I remember correctly."
Blackfire blanched. She hated being reminded of that. She bowed her head, though. This was her chance to be welcomed back home so she was going to swallow her pride. "Yes, Emperor Galfore."
"Tell me, why do you think you deserve to return home here, to the home you nearly betrayed?" Galfore asked.
Blackfire fell silent. Pluto decided to take the initiative and strode forward.
"Um…with all due respect, Your Highness," Pluto began, feeling brave, "May I say something in her defense?"
"And who are you who dares to speak?" Galfore demanded. Pluto glanced at both guards.
"I'm just a stranger here, a visitor," admitted Pluto, "But what I do know is this." He glanced at Blackfire. "Blackfire…Komand'r…she's changed. Who she was isn't who she is anymore. I've seen her do incredible things. She's saved lives and protected the city we live in. She's repentant of her former actions. She has done so many things to make up for all the wrongs she has done. So…I ask you." He knelt down. "Please…give her this chance." He bowed his head and placed his fists down on the ground in front of Galfore. Galfore's shadow covered him. Blackfire watched, amazed, as Pluto pleaded on her case. Were his words enough to touch Galfore.
Galfore crossed his arms and looked down at this human who'd spoken words in Blackfire's defense. Pluto wasn't the most articulate person but he could tell the truth when needed. He just spoke of what he saw in Blackfire. He didn't see her at her worst so he couldn't really comment on that. All he could do was speak of all the good she did.
"Very well," Galfore spoke. "You may rise." Pluto stood up and looked up at the large ruler. "I shall see to it that Blackfire's banishment is dissolved. There will still be a ceremony, though."
Pluto's face broke out into a grin as she shouted out, "Oh, thank you! Thank you!" He turned around to see Blackfire who was smiling at him. She then flew forwards and hugged him. He fell on his back upon being tackled by her. She laughed out merrily, forgetting that they had an audience.
Galfore couldn't believe that Blackfire had found a man to speak in her defense. Neither had he seen her laugh with such mirth in such a long time. He could vaguely see her as the child she once was before the war with the Gordanians took away that innocence. The death of the princesses' parents, the previous king and queen, had affected the girls differently. Blackfire had been filled with much hate and Starfire…well…Starfire was close to turning into a creature filled with as much anger.
"Please, come inside," invited Galfore. "You both must be exhausted from your trip here. We shall prepare a feast." He then walked towards the gate, followed by the palace guards.
Robin looked towards Starfire and both exchanged smiles. "So far so good," said Robin.
"Oh, this is glorious!" Starfire floated happily. "Sister!" She cheered but then she could see that Blackfire and Pluto were making out. "Sister!" she yelled out.
Blackfire looked up, grinning, "Sorry, sis. Just very happy right now." And she was, as evident by how both her and Pluto were currently floating a foot from the ground.
"Hey, I'm not complaining," added Pluto.
Robin laughed, "Let's just go inside, OK?"
NEO AZARATH…
Shadow remembered seeing Arella before, or at least a mental representation of her within Raven's mindscape. She had fair skin, purple hair, and violet eyes. The chakra stone was set in her forehead. She looked like an older version of Raven and dressed in a white robe with the hood up.
Arella's gaze was a little cold as she eyes Shadow with a little suspicion. She then looked towards her daughter. "Hello, Raven." There wasn't a much emotion in Arella's voice for some reason. Shadow looked around. He didn't see any children playing in the streets just people in robes going about their business. It felt far too peaceful for him. "I'm glad you've come."
"I'm glad too," Raven said, smiling a little. Arella looked surprised at seeing the smile, as if seeing Raven in white wasn't a surprise.
"So, it's true then," Arella said, referring to Trigon's defeat. "He's gone."
"He is," Raven nodded, confirming the face, "I'm free. We're free."
Arella then walked forwards and then hugged her child. "That is good news." Raven hugged Arella back. The older woman stood back and then her eyes fell upon Shadow. "And who is this young man right here?"
Raven was about to speak but Arella raised up her hand to silence her. "I'd like to hear him introduce himself, Raven." She then said, "Well, speak up, young man."
Shadow strode forward. He then bowed respectfully in front of Arella before standing up straight, hands behind his back. "My name is Ichijyo Desmond Amakusa." He'd left his clan's name out for a reason. "I am a fellow member of the Teen Titans alongside Raven and I am also her…" He took a deep breath, "Her fiancé."
Arella now reacted. She looked surprised at hearing this. "Her…fiancé?"
Shadow looked nervous but gathered his courage. "That is correct. I proposed to her on her 19th birthday."
"And you said yes?" Arella asked her daughter. Raven showed her the ring.
"I did," Raven admitted, proud and unafraid of the fact.
Arella fell silent before turning away, "I see. Please, follow me." She then walked ahead of the two teens.
"She's…pleasant," Shadow said to Raven.
"Just give her a chance," Raven said and defended, "She's really a kind woman once you get to know her."
"I just hope she gives me a chance," Shadow said, "I know I'm not looking forward to the grilling she's going to give me."
Raven took hold of his hand. "You'll do fine. Let's go."
ZANDIA…
Warren landed a good distance away from the guards. "OK, this should be a good enough distance," said Warren. He placed his hand on the ground. "Shadows, awaken and bend to my will. Take the form that your master's commands." 11 shadows arose around Warren and took the form of his current teammates. Warren smirked and lit up a new cigarette. "Let the fun begin…" Him and the shadow duplicates started walking towards the entrance. "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition."
NEO AZARATH…
Arella walked along the streets with her daughter and her…fiancé behind her. Just thinking the word almost made her want to cry.
Had she been so out of touch with her daughter that this could happen and she wouldn't know about it? Apparently so. She didn't think this Ichijyo boy was bad, but nor did she think he was good either. They had only met a minute ago.
Arella had to keep her distance from Raven almost all her life. The first reason was because she was the daughter of Trigon and it was frowned on by a lot of people to even speak of her until they finally could see her as something more than just Trigon's portal. The second reason was because of Raven's training. The young girl had to keep a tight rein on her emotions and having her mother witness her training would impede on that.
While it served Raven well in regards to her powers, it formed a deep gorge between the two. Arella only really heard whispers of what her daughter was doing in the mortal realm. She had heard the rumors that Trigon had been vanquished, but her concern about Raven's powers kept her from checking. Apparently her motherly concerns had been crushed by the cool logic Azarath had gifted her with.
Still, Arella was a mother and while she failed in that particular test of motherhood, she was determined not to fail this one. She was going to find out everything about this boy her daughter was intent on marrying, and she wouldn't leave one stone unturned.
Shadow could feel the suspicion coming from Arella in waves. He knew that they were well intentioned, but it still unnerved him. His mother and father had accepted Raven and gave them their blessing. Even Trigon saw him as a suitable lover for Raven, which was not the kind of blessing he would want. Trigon was unimportant to him. He wanted to impress Arella and just hoped he didn't mess up. Luckily, Raven had given him some lessons on proper Azarathean etiquette, manners, and history of the culture. Shadow didn't exactly need it, since he had his father's memories, but still he couldn't decline her offer. She too wanted this to work
Shadow remembered his centuries ago the Deathtrons attempted to take over the original Azarath. They'd wanted to harvest the magical energies and turn the peaceful Azaratheans into slaves. However, despite being pacifists, the Azarathean's fought back with their magic. Both sides suffered heavy losses and eventually the Deathtrons fled seeing that it was not worth it.
It worried Shadow. What if Arella recognized his face? Civilizations often recorded things like alien invasions in their history archives. He did have his father's looks and his father was somewhat involved in that invasion. He just hoped nothing tipped her off. He wore a skin patch to hide the Deathtron tattoo on his shoulder but has removed it since he was able to tell Raven the truth about his life. Of course, he'd put the patch on again, hiding the emblem. He didn't want to give Arella any reason to dislike/distrust him.
Raven and he'd ran over their story. Shadow was not going to mention any of his darker abilities. They would talk about his family, except for the demonic aspects. They would talk about some of his powers, like his ability to heal and create hard-light energy constructs. They would also talk about what he did for a living. That part was easily covered. He was a genius and ran his own company, albeit a branch of his family's company but that was still impressive.
He remembered when his father had told him to always start with a good impression. First impressions were a powerful thing.
'Way to lay down the pressure, father,' Shadow sighed inwardly.
As the trio passed by several buildings, something caught Shadow's eye. "Excuse me, madam?" he asked.
Arella stopped and turned to look at the boy and answer his query, "What is it?"
"What is that statue?" Ichijyo gestured. He knew what it was, though. The statue was that of a man dressed in armor. Of course, it was the design of the armor that made him ask. It was designed…after a snake.
"Oh, that statue is that of Azarath's founder and champion," Arella spoke.
"Founder and champion?" Shadow repeated.
Raven knew why Shadow was asking. It was because this statue resembled his Zodiac Knight form, to a certain extent. This statue had on a cloak and was made of gold.
"Nearly a millennia ago, he was the Azar that brought the first Azaratheans to a place he named Azarath," Arella spoke. "Thus, this statue was built in his honor. There are many statues like this, but the largest one is in the Temple of Azar."
Shadow thought back. He did briefly see something resembling this back in the ruins of old Azarath. Also, Raven had told him that Azar was a title passed down through the generations. Only the most worthy could become Azar, be they man or woman.
"Well, let us go now," Arella said. "You must be exhausted from your trip. I shall prepare food and beverage for you."
"Thank you, mother," Raven bowed her head. Shadow frowned. The daughter and mother seemed fairly distant from one another.
"Thank you, madam," Shadow bowed as well, but glanced at the statue for a second. 'So, the Zodiac Knights were on Azarath too. How intriguing…'
TAMARAN….
The only thought that crossed Pluto's mind as he walked down the hallway with Blackfire next to him and following Galfore who was flanked by the guards was, 'So much purple…' The landscape had been purple, even the sky, and the buildings. Plus, their clothing was all purple.
What was it with these people and purple anyway?
They arrived in the banquet hall of the palace and Galfore invited them to sit down. Pluto warily did so and saw all the food strewn all over the table…or could it be considered food. 'Looks like something from Star Wars and Star Trek.' He remembered Beast Boy's warning. 'Better learn what's a bathroom here, quick'
"Please, help yourselves," Galfore offered, "You are our guests. Plus, we have a surprise guest here with us as well."
"A surprise guest?" Starfire asked curiously.
"Greetings, sisters," spoke the 'surprise guest' as he came into the banquet hall. Blackfire and Starfire's jaws dropped.
"Ryand'r?"
ZANDIA…
Draco winces as he watched Warren's plan unfold. He'd used the decoys as a distraction to draw the guards away. The guards morphed into their Orphenoch form, a Hippo and Tapir, and started to attack the decoys. Warren then proceeded to take the guards out, fatally. Draco blanched at the sight of watching the Orphenochs crumbled to flaming ashes. He would talk with Warren later about using lethal force like that but not right now. They had a mission.
"Alright, let's move," ordered Draco. The Titans and Red Wolves all ran towards the entrance, meeting up with Warren. Warren was dusting his hands, smirking.
"That was too easy," Warren said but then got slapped in the arm by Jinx. "What was that for?" She jabbed her thumb at Draco. "Oh, sorry." He forgot that Draco had certain issues involving killing, namely not doing it without reason.
Draco's eyes narrowed at the entrance. Whether it was because of his psychic senses or youki, he could detect the malevolent energies coming from inside. He gritted his teeth. "Get ready, people," he advised. "We're on enemy territory now, so that means we're on their turf, their playing field. We need to tread carefully."
Bruiser snorted, "Why should we listen to you?" Mortuary smacked his face.
"Billy, just listen to him," Mortuary said, confident in Draco's abilities. "The kid's got good judgment."
Draco took offense at being called kid, but took more offense out of being distrusted.
"He's an Orphenoch, Mort. Like the rest of them," Bruiser reminded. He then got kicked in the shin. "Ow!"
"Just listen to Draco!" Renia snapped.
"Cyborg, run a scan," Draco said to his cybernetic friend. "Any sign of lifeforms?"
"That's the strange part," said Cyborg. He'd recovered after watching Warren kill those Orphenochs ruthlessly. "I got nothing."
"But that can't be right," said Snow Blood. "Andrew?"
"Me too," Falconer said as he looked at his PDA. "I am not detecting any life forms in there."
"So, we can go home now?" Beast Boy asked, "Coz, this place gives me the creeps."
"No, we move forward," said Mortuary, eyes narrowed. "Occultus wouldn't plant guards here without any reason. Maybe something in there is masking any life signatures."
"He's right," Draco agreed. "Cloaking technology could be in use here. We can never know."
"Then, let's find out," said Warren. "Let's go."
NEO AZARATH…
Like the rest of the city, Arella's home was immaculate. There was some furniture but very little in terms of decoration. Then again, this was a pacifistic society that lived on cold logic, so maybe they didn't see a need for decorations. Shadow's mother did at least put some effort to spruce up their home.
"Ichijyo, may I have a word with you in private?" requested Arella.
'And so it begins,' Shadow groaned inwardly. 'Some things are just universal.'
TAMARAN…
Starfire was ecstatic and immediately flew towards the surprise guest, who was surprised by her reaction in a plesant way, and engulfed him in a hug. It was a Tamaranean boy, close to her age, with short and curly red hair, and the usual green eyes and orange skin of the Tamaraneans. He had on a sleeveless purple bodysuit, with matching boots, the metal neckguard, belt and armguards. He also wore a wide smile that mirrored Starfire's.
"Oh, Ryand'r! I've missed you!"
Robin blinked and then turned to ask Blackfire, pointing, "Um…who's that?"
Blackfire still wore a shocked expression on her face, "My…our brother."
"Oh, your brother," Pluto nodded, accepting the answer. "OK."
10 seconds later he exploded…
"YOUR BROTHER!? YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU HAD A BROTHER!!"
"Long story," Blackfire replied, recovering from her own shock.
"I believe we can speak of this after our feast," said Galfore. "Come, let us enjoy our food."
Then all the Tamaraneans present roared in delight before diving into the food, grabbing whatever they could and shoving it into their mouths. Blackfire, Starfire and Ryand'r quickly joined in the feast/carnage.
Pluto could only gawk along with Robin as they watched the Tamaraneans' feast. It was not a pretty sight. It was more like watching a gang of wolves maul a helpless moose and ripping it to shreds.
"Someone can lose an arm in there," Pluto spoke up as he watched the savagery of this feast. He then shrugged and tied a napkin he'd brought around his neck, "Well, that means I'm safe." He then dove in as Robin gaped at him.
"I think I've lost my appetite," Robin muttered as he watched, eyes wide. After what he'd been through his whole life, he doubt he could ever get used to watching his girlfriend eating so…violently.
ZANDIA…
The team entered the temple. The hallway was dark but Draco lit up the path with his powers. Cyborg provided some light too, as did Renia and Wyvern with their magic. Beast Boy clung to Terra's arm out of fear. After the whole Wicked Scary Incident, the dark just creeped him out.
They entered a large hall, which was empty.
"OK, I am seriously freaked out right now," Beast Boy spoke. Suddenly, all the lights turned on. "YIKES!"
Mortuary could hear footsteps and his eyes immediately went over to the balcony. Occultus, dressed in his robes, walked up to the balcony and smiled down at them. It wasn't a pleasant smile, though. It was one filled with utter malice. Wyvern cringed and went to hide behind Terra.
"I have been expecting you," Occultus spoke. "It's been so long since I've seen old friends." Mortuary glared. "And I see new ones as well. Welcome to my home."
"Just shove the pleasantries down your throat, Occultus! We're here to take you down once and for all!" Mortuary shouted.
Occultus shook his head, "Same as ever, Mortuary. Always so rude. Didn't the beating I gave you teach you anything?"
"It taught me to get stronger, which I have."
"Well, let's see if you can back that up," said Occultus as he snapped his fingers. "I do hope you can stay for dinner."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Draco's ears picked up something and so did Beast Boy and Warren's. Something was coming.
"WOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"
They all were shocked by the loud bellow.
And it was something BIG.
To Be Continued…
If you watched Kamen Rider 555 movie, you'd remember that giant Orphenoch, right? That's the thing making that noise, btw.