Part 84: Freedom and Separation

Evolution is an imperfect and often violent process. A battle between what exists, and what is yet to be born. In the midst of these birth pains, morality loses its meaning. The question of good and evil reduced to one simple choice: survive, or perish.

Libra was in his home in the Celestial Realm. Once again he'd been reprimanded for interfering with the lives of the mortals, especially the ones called Zodiac Knight. Speaking of which, the time for the final tournament was nearing. Everything that had happened would lead up to that point.

His mind wandered to his friend, Ryo, who was suffering in Hell in order to revive his wife. Such a sacrifice was selfless and noble, just like Ryo. It pained Libra to do so but even the affairs of the Celestials and Infernals needed to be fair. They were after all the ones whom created the Laws of Equivalent Exchange.

Libra was saddened by his son's situation. After being forced to kill his friend to save the world, he'd fallen into a deep pit of depression. It was even more severe than when Tazuka had died. His heart was fragile now. Luckily, he had the support of his friends. If only he didn't push them away.

He looked into the viewing mirror again. This time it showed him the face of Tara Markov. He'd watched her past, present as well as her eventual future. She had no idea of the role she would play in the future of the current era's Zodiac Knights. She had no idea of the true power she held within her.

Though it was forbidden, with the dark future he'd seen, he knew that Terra must know of the truth. She must know why she'd been freed.

Now, before it was too late.

Later that night, Ryuki groaned as he opened his eyes again to see familiar faces hovering over him. He could see Cyborg and Jinx. A weight landed on top of him and now Brimstone was licking his face.

"That tickles," Ryuki chuckled before sitting up as Brimstone leapt off the bed. He was in the infirmary. "What happened?"

"You went into the Mirror World, remember?" Jinx reminded, "When you got out you were all cut up. What happened?"

Ryuki remembered Alternative-01. He'd been sent by Vincent Harker to kill him. Ryuki knew revenge wasn't the answer but then Mr. Harker blamed him for his son's death. He was right, but still…

"Just had a run in with someone," he spoke.

"Was it Copycat?" Jinx asked. He did not answer and got off the bed. "Ryuki! You should be resting."

"I'm fine," he told her. "Stop worrying." She grabbed his arm. "Jinx, please…"

"You're not leaving, mister!" she hissed forcefully, her eyes shining frighteningly. "Now go back to bed."

Ryuki gulped and nodded, "Hai," before he got back on the bed and lay back down. He was afraid of what Jinx might do if he were to decline her gracious request.

Cyborg went over the tests. "So, what did you find?" Jinx asked.

"Well," Cyborg said as he went over the data. "A few months ago, after you turned Orphenoch, your cells were falling apart."

"I know," Ryuki nodded. All Orphenoch would breakdown and disintegrate as soon as their time came. "What else?"

"Well, it appears that your DNA and cells have all stabilized," Cyborg finished reading.

Ryuki blinked, "Huh?"

"Really?" Jinx asked.

"Yep," Cyborg nodded. "I don't know how or why, but it says here his DNA and cells have been stable for the last two months."

Jinx was ecstatic, "That's great!" She hugged Draco. "You're not going to die!"

Ryuki felt some strange feeling of relief. He looked at his hands. He was saved. "But…how is that possible? I killed C-the Orphenoch King." He had almost said Craig's name.

"Well, remember when you, Warren and Faiz defeated the King?" Cyborg questioned. Ryuki nodded. How could he forget?

Wraith and Draco looked at each other, knowing what needed to be done. Wraith focused his shadow energy into his hand, which then took the form of a medieval blade. He flew at his former ally. "Blade of Heaven! Holy Shadow Slash!" Wraith appeared behind the Orphenoch King, as several gashes appeared on the Orphenoch King. The Orphenoch King roared out in pain.

The Keyblade's turntable hilt spun several revolutions before the blue Rod Drive Form's mask lined up with the blade. It glowed blue along with the clock emblem in the centre of the turntable hilt. The golden energy tracks appeared under his feet and he rushed straight at the Orphenoch King at full speed like a bullet train. He gripped his energized blade and rushed straight towards the Orphenoch King.

"FULL THROTTLE BREAK-DENSHA SHISHOU (Train Stab)!!" Draco roared with tears streaming down his face, hidden under his helmet, as a blue aura in the shape of the ChronoLiner enveloped him.

At the same time, Faiz entered a code into his Blaster. Setting it down, he then leapt up with the aid of his jets. His extended right foot was enveloped in red photon energy as he dropped down towards the Orphenoch King. This attack, like the Crimson Smash, was a powerful kick called the Blaster Smash.

Both Riders unleashed their attacks, which slammed straight into the Orphenoch King. There was a bright flash of crimson and blue power from the impact that blinded all that were present.

Cyborg nodded and concluded, "I guess that flash of energy must've stabilized you."

Ryuki spoke in his mind, 'Craig, you saved me...even when I did not deserve it. Arigatou…' "Where's Warren-san?"

"He said he had to go back to his Earth to take care of a few things and would be back in a couple days," answered Cyborg.

The door to the infirmary opened and Shadowcobra walked inside. Ryuki's eyes widened when he saw his friend had returned. Ryuki spoke, "Ichijyo, you're back. When did you arrive?"

"Not too long ago," Shadow answered. "How have you been these past few months?"

"I'm…coping," Ryuki answered hesitantly. Shadow knew his friend was still hurting.

"I heard about what happened to Mortuary. I'm sorry," Shadow said sincerely.

"I know."

"Shadow here helped me take you back here to the Tower," Jinx explained.

"Arigatou," Ryuki thanked his friend.

"No problem," Shadow replied. "Well, you all must know about Raven and I now."

"Hai, congratulations," Ryuki smiled. He was glad that his friend had finally tied the knot with Raven.

"Well, it was bound to happen," Shadow sighed. Finding out your wife's mother was your own godmother had been shocking. Now, she was his mother-in-law. He remembered when Arella had discovered the tattoo on Raven's back. It had not been pretty.

"Is Raven with you?" Ryuki asked.

"Yes," Shadow nodded. "Now, get dressed in your uniform."

"Why?" Ryuki asked.

Shadow gave a cryptic answer, "We have a special guest."

"Huh?"

Standing in the living room was none other than Zodiac Knight Libra, the Guardian of the Zodiac Knights. Raven and Jinx had seen him before back in Tokyo, helping them fighting a vicious demon. Why was he here?

Draco, now dressed in uniform, arrived to see Libra and was shocked. He remembered of how the god had saved him from his future. However, it had only altered things for the worst. Mortuary was dead, unlike that other future when he'd been alive and became Anubis.

Libra scanned the Titans. Pluto and Blackfire weren't here. Renia was standing bored though her hands were twitching. When he'd arrived unannounced, she had immediately gone on the aggressive and tried to charge at him. Luckily, he was able to deflect her attack and calm her.

"So, you're Libra," Robin stated, skeptically.

"That's right," Libra nodded. "And I know who you all are but right now I have something important to tell you."

Shadow narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the god. "Why?" He had little trust for certain celestial beings. Yoshido was one of those he distrusted the most.

"Because it concerns Terra," Libra answered. All eyes were on the geomancer.

"Me?" Terra pointed to herself. "Why? I'm nothing special. I can move rocks but that's just it."

"But you are, child," Libra smiled. "If you weren't then I wouldn't have helped free you."

Terra's eyes widened, "What!?"

"Say what!?" Beast Boy shouted, shocked.

"I was the one who helped revive Terra," Libra stated. The Titans were shocked at this revelation. Terra blinked and then a look of realization and recognition dawned on her.

"Now I know why I remember you. I saw you with this other guy with white hair," Terra said.

"Yes, Fuji-sama, the other god overseeing this Zodiac War," Libra nodded.

"But why?" Shadow asked with suspicion. "Why revive her from her stony state at all?"

"It was for her protection," Libra answered. This confused the Titans. Protection from what?

"What do you mean 'protection'?" Beast Boy asked.

Libra frowned. He knew he wasn't supposed to tell this to anyone, not even the Knights, but from what Chromedragozoid had told him of what was written in the Book of Destiny, it had to be done. He explained, "Ever since the first Zodiac War, there has been a prize that all the Knights fought for; the great power that would go to the One, the wish that could change anything and everything, infinite power."

"We all know that," Shadow said, arms crossed. "Get on with it!" he hissed. God or not, Libra was trying his patience.

"Well, the Power has always been in a certain form, hidden until the last Knight remained. It has always taken the form of a living being, the vessel of the Power, an avatar," Libra continued.

The Titans listened to the words and came to the conclusion. But then…that would mean…No way…

Libra took the look on their faces as a sign of realization, "Correct. Terra is the Avatar of the Power."

"But how?" Why?" Terra asked, demanding an answer.

"I guess it was fate that made you the Avatar, young Tara Markov. The previous Avatars of the Power have always been beings that have walked the path of light and darkness, good and evil, chaos and order. In a way, the Avatar represents the balance of things and used to contain the Power that all the Knights vied for. The identity of the Avatar was never to be revealed because the only other way to gain that Power aside from winning the Zodiac War…was to kill the vessel. Terra was vulnerable as a statue, so Fuji and I decided to revive her and put her under the care of the Titans who we knew could protect her."

"Then you foresaw us coming," Shadowcobra stated.

"Correct. Knowing you, once you joined the team, you would protect your friends from harm, helping them with their endeavors."

"You knew all this was going to happen, didn't you?" asked Robin.

"I have my sources, but yes, but even I am not all-seeing."

"So, why tell us all this?" Starfire inquired.

"I believe, a great darkness will soon appear and the Power would be needed to keep it at bay. The darkness will come near the end of the Zodiac War. But it will come in a familiar form. That is why Terra must be protected. If the Power within her was to be discovered, she will be hunted and killed and the one to kill her would receive that wish. You all must not let that happen. Do not allow Terra to fall into the wrong hands."

Copycat screamed as she went berserk on the Sladebots, ripping them apart with ease and savagery. Cathy and Rose were present to watch and were frightened by the display of violence.

Ever since Copycat had come back from her mission in Zandia, she started having violent mood swings. Grant had suffered when he'd made an improper comment and ended up in the infirmary. Since then, nobody so much as thought anything bad about Copycat. She would murder them on sight.

Madame Rouge smiled as she watched the performance Copycat was giving them. She seemed so evil and destructive. She was unlike anything she'd seen before. Slade too had to agree that his apprentice was advancing. If only she could defeat her brother.

Copycat roared as she unleashed a powerful wave of Psycho Power which she'd gained from Grave. The robots were all obliterated and the protective glass around the training area cracked. She heaved her shoulder, growling.

Something inside her had awoken. It was something bad. Something that shouldn't have existed.

The shadow beneath her feet gained evil red eyes and sharp fangs. They faded away after a second but it was clear what was happening inside Copycat.

Her true power had awakened. The Living Gate was back!

And her first target was the one who had sealed her away!

Libra had left after giving them the news, leaving them to ponder what they would do in the future. With Terra's destiny and role in the future now clear, they needed to keep her safe and protected. If anyone else were to know, then she was in danger.

Terra locked herself in her room after Libra had left, shocked to the core. She didn't know who she was anymore. She couldn't even look in the mirror to look at herself.

Was she just a tool all this time? Had Slade been right? Was she just a pawn?

She held her head and cried. What was she?

She heard a knock at the door. "Go away!" she shouted.

"Terra, it's me!" Beast Boy called. "Open up!"

Terra wiped the tears away and went to the door. She opened it and said, "Come in," inviting him inside.

"Hey, are you okay?" Beast Boy asked as the door closed behind him.

"Not really," Terra answered, holding herself. "I mean, Craig just died two months ago and now this?"

"Yeah." Beast tried to lighten the mood, "Well, life just throws you curveballs, y'know?"

"Tell me about it," Terra agreed as she went over and sat on her bed. Beast Boy sat next to her. "I mean, I knew I had a lot of power, some which I can't control, but this is HUGE!"

"Maybe he's wrong?" Beast Boy tried to speak positively, "I mean, it's possible."

"I don't think you can be a god by making mistakes, Gar," Terra said to him. "I believed him."

"But, Terra!"

"What am I, Gar?" Terra asked, "Am I a Teen Titan? Am I Slade's former apprentice? Or am I just this 'Avatar' thing?"

Beast Boy pulled her into a hug, stroking her back. Terra sniffed his odor. It was soothing. She had smelled many different types of odors but Beast Boy's was the most pleasant. Beast Boy loved to sniff her hair too.

"You're Terra," Beast Boy affirmed, "My Terra and nothing more."

Terra pulled away, smiling, "Thanks, Gar." She then kissed him deeply.

Suddenly, the alarms blared.

Beast Boy groaned, "Aw...MAN!" Just when it was starting to get good.

Copycat was going berserk in the city. The first thing she did was to blow up the bank, and then she blew up the jewelry store. She hadn't intended to take anything. She just wanted to commit random acts of destruction. She was sending people in a panic. To her they were prey. Those she managed to grab were thrown aside like garbage for her amusement.

Even the police couldn't do anything. "Freeze!" one armored police officer shouted. "Hands in the air, now!" They had their guns aimed at her. She stalked towards them. "I said freeze!" She didn't stop. "Shoot her down!" They began shooting but their shots bounced off an invisible shield.

Copycat looked to them hatefully, eyes filled with anger and rage. She raised up her hands and released a chilling blizzard, freezing the police officers and vehicles on the spot and covering most of the area in ice. She smiled in satisfaction. Maybe she could carve an ice sculpture out of them with her claws.

Suddenly, she was struck by a disc which exploded harmlessly against her armored torso. Looking up, she saw the Titans standing in their upgraded forms.

Robin was in his Titan System armor, Terra was in her Cutter Inzecter armor, Renia was in her Locust Inzecter armor, Starfire was clad in her Warrior Queen outfit, Raven was clad in her White Priestess outfit, Jinx was in her Scarab Inzecter armor, and both Draco and Shadowcobra were in their Zodiac Armor. Beast Boy only had his suit that could turn into armor for his animals. Cyborg's upgrade allowed him to bond to the T-Car, turning it into super hi-tech battle armor. It also added a couple of feet to his stature and gave him broader frame.

Copycat was unimpressed. Of course, she didn't say a word as she roared and charged straight at them. They were her prey and she was thirsty for some blood.

"Titans, Go!" Robin commanded before they all rushed at the evil Zodiac Knight, all except for one. Draco was the only one who couldn't make a move. Despite Copycat being their enemy and a villain, she was still his sister. He couldn't raise a blade against her! He couldn't!

The Titans attacked full force. Starfire swung her blade at the evil Zodiac Knight who dodged and slashed at Starfire. She then stole Starfire's Starblade and used it against the Tamaranean, hitting her with the flat side of the blade and sending her flying.

Shadowcobra leapt up and swung his staff at her. She blocked with the blade before she swung it at his neck. He ducked down and smashed the head of his staff into her stomach. She didn't double over. Eyes glowing, she sent him flying backwards with crimson eyebeams. She then dropped the Starblade as if it was unnecessary garbage.

Hands made of rock grabbed her before Cyborg and Beast Boy (as a buffalo) tackled her, sending her flying into the frozen police cars and shattering them. She snarled and got to her feet. Her eyes glowed before she unleashed a powerful blast of Psycho Power at them all. They got sent flying, along with rubble, debris and anything else that got caught in the blast.

Renia snuck up behind her and began to pummel Copycat with punches. This only agitated the Cat Knight who spun around and used a single strike to send the armor clad female Homunculus flying. Luckily, Renia recovered quickly and slammed her palms on the ground. The energy traveled along the ground and covered Copycat upon reaching her, encasing her in a crystal prison. However, she shattered the crystal with a roar.

Cyborg aimed and launched several homing missiles at her. She dodged each one swiftly before charging at Cyborg. He fired his sonic cannons at her but she managed to evade the beams as she approached him. Using her claws, she severed his arms and then used a roundhouse kick to knock him over. Starfire, from above, began firing starbolts at Copycat. The evil female Zodiac Knight countered by firing eyebeams at the airborne Tamaranean.

"Excel Charge!"

Copycat barely dodged a charged up punch to her head. She and Robin began to use their martial arts skills to battle one another. She threw a punch at the same time he did. Their fists collided with explosive force, sending Robin skidding backwards.

Terra threw Copycat into the air by creating a pillar of stone that struck her in the chin. She then began firing her shoulder guns at her while hurling rocks at her. Jinx also started to fire her hexes at Copycat. Copycat miraculously avoided the attacks and as soon as she touched down she rushed at them with her claws out. She slashed at them, causing sparks to fly off their armor and making the girls scream.

"Jinx!" Draco shouted and he charged ahead. Copycat saw him coming and leapt over him before bounding off his back and into the air. Robin used a flying kick and smashed her in the side. They both tumbled along the ground before they began trading blows.

Raven sensed Draco's distress and shouted, "Draco, snap out of it!" She chanted, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" and sent an energy blast in the form of a white bird at Copycat, which sent her skidding across the ground. The evil Cat Knight looked up and then sent her own bird of energy at Raven.

Luckily, Draco was able to react and jumped in front of Raven. He used the Keyblade to quickly disperse the energy bird, protecting Raven.

"Good to have you back," Raven said, like seeing an old friend again.

"Good to be back," Draco nodded. As much as he cared for his sister, he cared for his teammates just as much. He wasn't going to let them get hurt.

Copycat stood up shakily as the Titans surrounded her in a circle. She looked at them all hatefully as they aimed their weapons or powers at her.

"Give up, Copycat!" Robin shouted, "You're surrounded and outnumbered!"

"It's for your own good!" Draco insisted. "Please!"

The voice that came out was not Copycat's however. It was a dual voice that sounded…demonic, "Never!" she snarled.

Draco's eyes narrowed. He remembered that voice. His eyes widened at the realization, "No!"

"Time to turn the tables!!" Copycat roared as her shadow expanded. Slowly, dark demonic figures started to rise up, their bodies twitching. "Now who's outnumbered? WHO!?"

Beast Boy shrieked like a girl. The creatures that showed up resembled inky black skeletons with empty sockets for eyes, curved horns, wings, and tails. They all shrieked out loud as they were summoned. They were also hungry. Also, from Cyborg's count, there were about 40 of them if not more.

"Horrors!" Shadowcobra identified.

"But how? I sealed those powers off!" Draco shouted, his grip on the Keyblade tightening. He was referring to the Living Gate's power to summon Horrors into this realm or any other realm they she was in.

"You foiled my plans before, but I'm back and I'm going to pick up where I left off!" Copycat swore. A pair of demonic wings spread out of her back as the cat ears of her helmet morphed into a pair of demonic horns. She then took off into the air. "This universe's time is over!"

"Onee-chan! Matte!" Draco shouted as he ran after her. He used the Keyblade to slash at Horrors, destroying them with a single blow. Starfire's Starblade as well as Shadowcobra and Raven's magical powers were useful for this. Even Renia had prior magical training to deal with demons. Unfortunately, Jinx had never learnt to fight these sorts of demons. The same could be said for Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy.

Draco warned, "Don't get their blood on you!"

"Why?" Renia questioned as she ducked under a claw swipe.

"My cousin Saeji once told me that if you do you'll die a horrible death after 100 days and your soul will turn into a Horror!"

Renia was stunned by the blunt answer, "OK, that's a good enough reason."

"We have to stop Copycat!" Robin shouted as he used his Birdarang Sword, Excel Charged of course, to slash at a few Horrors. "Draco!"

"But, I can't leave you!" Draco protested.

"We'll be fine!" Jinx assured. "Just, go and take down that psycho before she does anymore damage!"

"But-"

"JUST GO!" they all shouted.

Draco was hesitant but nodded nonetheless. "Hai!" He took off into the air, his feet shooting flames like twin rockets and leaving a trail behind him. A pair of Horrors made the mistake of trying to get in his way but they were easily taken care of by his Keyblade.

'Onee-chan, here I come.'

Draco landed in the slums. It was the ruined part of town where the homeless took refuge. So far, he hadn't seen any sign of his evil sister. The homeless scrambled to hide as soon as they saw him. Good. They didn't need to get involved.

He heard a loud roar and followed. He wasn't sure if it was his sister but he had to go check it out. These homeless here were innocent.

The side of a building exploded and Horror-Copycat came flying out. She tackled into Draco and they crashed into another building where a few homeless were sleeping. As soon as they saw the two armored teens fighting, they ran out of there quick so that they wouldn't be caught up in this.

Draco kicked Copycat off him and she swiped at him. He parried with his Keyblade and sent her flying back with a telekinetic blast. "Onee-chan, stop this right now!"

"No!" she denied. "No more! I am free! Soon, all my Horrors will be free and take this world and all the other worlds as their own!" She laughed insanely.

The Living Gate inside her…the power…was driving her insane.

Draco had to do seal the power, this time for good. His Keyblade morphed from its default form to its final form, the Masked Rider Sword. Swiftly, he removed the deck from his belt and called out, "Liner Drive Form!" before sliding it into the slot in the back of the blade. His armor changed into the Liner Drive Form configuration as his visor flashed.

"You're going back to sleep!" Draco shouted as he charged straight at Horror-Copycat. He slashed at her with the Keyblade, ripping off sparks in the process. Though it pained him, he had to do what he had to do…

Just like with Craig.

He grabbed her by the shoulder and then flew themselves out of the building and away from the homeless. Horror-Copycat struggled in his grasp but he was holding onto her tightly. Draco continued to fly as he endured his Horror-fied sister's strikes. Finally, she sent a blast of Psycho Power to force him to let her go. He fell down towards an abandoned factory and crashed through the roof, ending up inside. Horror-Copycat followed after him.

Draco struggled back to his feet and looked ahead to see Horror-Copycat stalking towards him. The darkness collected onto her arms before morphing into a large pair of scythe blades. With a roar, she swung them at him. He ducked and countered with a horizontal slash across her stomach, causing her to screech in pain.

"Onee-chan, stop this!" Draco begged.

"Never!" Horror-Copycat snarled. "You're going to pay for what you did to me! You're going to pay for sealing me away!" She struck at him and he yelled out as sparks flew off his chestplate. Another violent slash forced him to drop the Keyblade. "Now…time to finish this."

Draco stabbed his finger into the ground, "BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" The ground exploded in front of him, forcing Copycat backwards. A thick cloud of dust formed from the explosion.

"WHAT!?"

Draco then flew out of the dust cloud, his hands covered in stone, before he yelled, "KACHU TENSHIN AMAGURIKEN!" He started to smash his fists into her rapidly, punching her hundreds of times in under a minute. One last hit sent her flying into the wall, making a crater on impact. He then used a move Katara had taught him and froze her to the wall with ice. She struggled against the ice but it was too thick and strong for her to break.

Draco picked up his Keyblade and approached her. "Again, I'm going to seal your power. This time, it's going to be permanent." He aimed the tip of her blade to her heart.

Of course, something strange started to happen. She was twitching and convulsing. Horror-Copycat screamed when all of a sudden a white pillar of light shot out of her. The pillar of light shattered the ice and then sent a humanoid figure flying out of her. It fell and Draco was quick to catch whatever it was that fell…and was surprised.

It was his sister, in human form, and outside of her armor. Confused, his eyes went over towards Copycat when the light diminished. He then figured it out. Copycat had absorbed the Power of the Tiger. The Power of the Tiger must've sensed an imbalance and automatically decided to rectify it by separating Kat from her dark side. Unfortunately, her dark side had her armor and without the 'good' Kat within her, this perfectly evil Copycat would not hesitate to kill him.

Horror-Copycat removed the remaining ice off from her body. She stood steadily up after the convulsions and snarled before grinning under her helmet. Her red eyepieces gleamed with malice as her eyes focused on Draco. She was the embodiment of all the evil in Copycat, unrestrained, and with her Horror Powers at her command…was unstoppable.

Draco had to get rid of her, right now.

Draco put his sister down and gave the hilt of his Keyblade a good spin. Horror-Copycat snarled and charged towards him while the hilt rotated and stopped at the golden mask before locking in place. The blade siphoned the energy from the mask as the golden energy tracks appeared behind him. He ran and then jumped aboard before racing towards Horror-Copycat, this time with a golden silhouette of the Time Liner surrounding him. Horror-Copycat then lunged straight at him, claws out to eviscerate him.

"FULL THROTTLE BREAK-DENSHA SUMASSHU (Train Smash)!!" Draco called out as he bashed the turntable hilt of his Keyblade straight into Horror-Copycat, sending her flying. She then appeared to have turned into darkness which then evaporated. His feet touched the ground as he rested the blunt side of his Keyblade on his shoulder.

It was all over.

He turned around to see that his sister had regained consciousness and had seen the entire thing. He then began walking towards her, allowing the armor to vanish with each step. When he reached her, he kneeled down. They both gazed deeply into each other's eyes and then she just swung her arms around him, crying, asking for his forgiveness for all her terrible deeds. He slowly began to wrap his arms around his sister, telling her softly that he had forgiven her a long time ago.

The darkness reformed itself into Copycat, without the Horror accessories, before her armor shattered. She looked just like Kat in human form with an exception of her eyes, which were blood red and radiated with pure evil. She gritted her teeth, revealing fangs, as she clenched her fists.

Evil Kat/Katherine was now rid of her good side but was only at half her true strength. She would try to regain her better half and regain her full power before she went after her brother and his friends. No one would stop her…no one.

She then let out a loud roar as Horrors burst out of her shadow. They then floated down and bowed before her, pledging their loyalty to her, the Living Horror Gate; their Lord and Mistress.

"Are you sure about this?" Good Kat/Neko said, feeling a little nervous. Both were standing in front of the Tower.

"Trust me," Draco said to her. "Everything will be just fine."

"O-okay…" Neko said uncertainly.

The brother and sister pair entered the Tower and went up to the living room. He knew the others would be there. He had asked them to be there so he could talk to them. They arrived at the top floor and Draco stood in front of the living room door. He said to Neko, "Wait here. I'll try to smooth things over with them first, alright?"

"Arigatou, Ryu-chan," Neko said, smiling sincerely.

"You're my onee-chan," he said to her. "It's the least I could do." Neko stepped back, staying out of sight as Draco entered the living room.

They were currently discussing the last battle. Lucky for them, Saeji and Tazuka had shown up just as Draco left. With their help, the Horrors had been slayed.

Draco cleared his throat and began, "Guys, I-" but then he saw his friends stand up and looking angry. He turned around to see Neko standing right behind him. She had come in anyway.

"What the hell is she doing here!?" Terra demanded, pointing angrily at Neko.

"Minna-san, chotto matte!" Draco shouted. He then explained everything that happened. Raven's eyes narrowed in slight disbelief. She scanned Neko's mind.

"Well?" Robin asked.

"He's telling the truth about her," Shadow said. "But, I think she should say something."

Neko sighed and stepped forward to plead her case, "Look, I know I've done some horrible things, but I'm not the same Kat you know. What I am right now is the physical manifestation of my goodness. I'm only half of what I am and the good half. I…I've done some terrible things and I do regret all my actions towards you." She paused.

"Like when you tried to kill me!?" Terra accused. Neko flinched.

"Or tried to blow us up?" Raven added.

OK, not good. Neko continued, "I know I can't just be forgiven like that. But, you all must remember that everyone has darkness inside of them. You all have it, don't you? Haven't any of you done something that you totally regret." Everyone fell silent, thinking of her words. "Look, I don't expect to be forgiven anytime soon or to be trusted. I've given you little reason due to my past actions. But, if you can't trust me, then trust my brother." She got down on her hands and knees and bowed.

The other Titans decided they needed to discuss about this. "Draco, can we talk about this?" Robin said. "Alone?"

Draco knew what he meant, "Onee-chan, can you wait in my room for a moment?"

"Hai," Neko nodded and then turned to walk out of the living room. Jinx's eyes narrowed at her. She had a few things to say to the girl.

"Are you absolutely sure?" asked Robin in all seriousness. "This could be another trick."

"Hai," Draco nodded. "But, onee-chan had the Zodiac Power of the Tiger. It is made to both bring balance and even completely separate the Yin from Yang. All of onee-chan's negative aspects are in that…thing I left behind while all the other positive ones are with the version I brought here."

"Dude, shouldn't she be shorter then?" asked Beast Boy.

"Ha! Good one!" Cyborg laughed. It was a good mood breaker. A few of the other Titans were stifling a laugh or two.

They all stopped laughing when they saw that Draco was frowning. He did not find anything funny about that little joke Beast Boy had just made.

"This is her good half. When her evil half caused the balance to shift, the Tiger Zodiac Power had to maintain the balance and thus ejected her out of the body. Right now, we have a pure evil and unrestrained version of my sister running loose. The only chance we have is that my onee-chan's good half becomes strong enough so when she is able to face her dark side, she can overpower it and win."

The Titans considered his words.

"Plus, remember when I became an Orphenoch and joined Slade? She was the one who called Tiger so that I could face Ifrit and turn back to normal," Draco confessed. This shocked everyone.

"She must've done that so you wouldn't be Slade's favorite anymore," Terra said with disgust. "All she ever cared about was getting rid of you."

Shadow sighed. "She was sincere about her words the entire time," Shadow said. "She was never lying."

"Are you defending her?" Raven glared.

"Listen, considering how the Power of the Cat works and how it was messing with her mind, she could have turned out a whole lot worse. Yes, she has done some heinous things and yes she has helped us before betraying us. But, we've all done things we're not proud about, right?" He gave each and every Titan a look. "Well?"

"I agree," Terra said, reminding them, albeit reluctantly, "After you took me in I just betrayed you all. Even after all that, when I came back, you forgave me and took me back."

"And I've kept too many secrets and told lies," Shadow added, "Yet, here I am. We would be hypocrites if we didn't accept her now that she wants to help. Besides, I sense no malice from her whatsoever."

"Let's vote on it," Robin said. "If the majority says she can stay, she can stay."

"Are you sure?" Raven asked. "You know how I feel about second chances."

Draco just hoped they let her stay. He then looked around. "Where's Jinx?"

Later, in her brother's room where she would be staying, Neko was sitting on the bed when she heard a knock on the door and it slid open. Jinx was leaning against the doorframe with her arms crossed. Neko could see the look on Jinx's face and it was in a scowl.

"You may have bought over and fooled everyone, Kat, with your little speech but I know you too well," she walked over as Neko was stunned by her words. "You've done some good before but after that you just stab us in the back and I'm sick of it." She stepped up to glare at Neko angrily and then threatened her, "Let me tell you this only once. If this is another one of your tricks, you won't have to worry about him or the others, because if you do anything to hurt him, I will personally take care of you, permanently!" She then turned to leave Neko alone with her thoughts. Neko then broke down crying. She then stopped crying. Right now, she needed a plan to get Rose and Cathy away from her evil half.

On the outskirts of town, in the normally calm and silent desert, a strange tune began playing out of thin air. Several of the smaller creatures scurried away at the sound. Then, a multicolored portal began to form in the distance. Immediately afterwards, railway tracks began generating themselves out of the portal. The tracks stretched towards the town, stopping about a mile outside of the city.

The tune grew louder and then something came out of the portal. It was long and made of metal. It was a bullet train. The bullet train then sped towards the town before slowing down. The brakes activated and the mysterious train stopped. It was black in color and with red stripes at points. One of the car doors opened and out stepped an odd looking individual.

He had long silver hair that went down to the small of his back. His right eye was blue while the left eye was red. There was a scar going over his red eye. He stood about 6 feet tall. He had a normal skin tone, and appeared to be of Asian descent. He wore black jeans, dark blue tennis shoes, and a dark blue t-shirt. He also wore a metallic silver trench coat and gloves.

He reached into his trench coat and pulled out a sheet of paper. It was a wanted poster which read:

WANTED: Dead or Alive

Bounty of 5 Trillion Credits

On the poster was the picture of someone familiar to all of us…Copycat!

"Copycat…Biggest bounty in the Multiverse. Gotta make sure I bring enough of her back to claim the reward," said the man as he placed the poster back in his coat. Another door opened up and a motorcycle drove out on its own. It was black and red, like the train, with a metallic wolf's head on the front. He mounted the bike. He pulled out a communicator. "Shiori, head back to the Terminal. I'll contact you when I've finished the job."

"Hai!" beamed a happy voice on the other end of the communicator. More tracks and a new portal formed as the bullet train returned from whence it came. The man started his bike and sped into town.

"Time to pay for your crimes, Copycat!"

You do not choose your destiny, it chooses you. And those who knew you before fate took you by the hand, cannot understand the depth of the changes inside. They cannot fathom how much you stand to lose in failure. But you are the instrument of a flawless design... and all of life may hang in the balance. A hero learns quickly who can comprehend... and who merely stands in your way.

To Be Continued…