Not much to say other than enjoy.

Chapter 2

Standing just inside of his weapons room, Ochita contemplates how one can know something but not remember it. He knows that the scrolls, brushes, and ink are used to make seals; yet he can't remember learning about them. He knows the proper way to handle a shuriken and how to throw four in each hand with deadly accuracy; but he can't remember so much as ever holding one. Shaking the thoughts away he starts gathering supplies for his upcoming mission.

"Explosive tags will be the biggest part of the initial attack, I have two types; timed and triggered. The timed ones explode after three seconds, while the triggered ones are set off by surging my chakra. I'll need significantly more triggered than timed explosive seals, so I'll take 30 triggered and 10 timed. Additionally I'll bring my katana, several smoke bombs, and a fuma shuriken. As for my kunai and normal shuriken, those will be subject to an experiment. If what is in my head is accurate then I should be able to use charka to etch a seal into any surface at any time; so now to find out if knowing how is more important than remembering how."

Ochita begins by repeatedly drawing a storage seal, memorizing every detail and nuance. After nearly an hour of this he begins trying to place the seal on a sheet of paper using chakra. His first few attempts result in explosions of various sizes and intensities; even after the 13th explosion he refuses to give up on his endeavor. Half an hour of failure and swearing later he manages to place the seal on the paper. Ever the realist though, he tests the seal before celebrating. A good choice on his part as the seal fails to respond to his chakra, causing him to sigh in exasperation. Pouring more and more chakra into the seal eventually causes it to yet again explode. At this Ochita's ire finally gets the best of him as he flings the table into the ceiling of the weapons room; after which he silently thanks the gods that this room is reinforced and on the top floor of the building. Taking a deep breath he exits the room and heads to the training room to blow off some steam.

With Raven

Raven let's out a long sigh as she finally enters her room. She has spent the last 13 hours dealing with the fallout of CED's latest attack and has no time to meditate since last night's failed attempt. Walking towards her bed, she strips off her uniform and grabs an oversized long sleeve shirt. Pulling it over her head, she decides to read a book to calm her mind. Walking over to one of her many bookshelves she grabs a random book and sits on the bench built into the window. After reading the first few pages she stops and looks at the cover of the book. Alternate Nights: a guide to dream based visions.

"Really?" She thinks. "How appropriate, to randomly choose a book about dream based visions after that weird dream last night. It's almost like fate is trying to say something."

After reading the first six chapters she is convinced that she is right; her dream matched all the points of dream-visions the book laid out. She was confident in the authenticity of the words due to this particular book being older that the first pyramids and of non-human origin. According to the person she acquired the book for it is of Fae creation. With life spans that can't be measured and magic ability approaching the Divine, anything spoken by the highly reclusive Fae is to be viewed as fact. Raven counts her blessings that she managed to learn to read the Fae language while she was still in Azarath. The revelation that her dreams are actually visions comes as both a shock and an odd comfort; she feels some connection to the subject of the visions.

Reading further she learns the visions she had are not traditional visions of the future, which the Fae call Coming Pastures. Rather they are what the Fae refer to as Roots of Self; visions that show glimpses of an individual's past that help shaped the person they are today. Roots of Self allow one to view that most important pieces of a persons past, as to help understand how their current self can to be and how to save them if needed.

"Save them. That is a common theme in Fae culture; saving and purifying. The Fae are the race most connected to nature and natural order, so most of their beliefs and practices revolve around universal balance. So I wander who this person is, it sounds like they have a very firm stance on existence and what truth is. It also sounded like they have darkness in them, though that damn alarm woke me before I could hear anymore. Maybe I'll see more Roots of Self the next time I sleep." With that thought in mind, Raven looks at the clock and sees it's nearly noon. "Fuck it, I'll try to sleep for an hour or so, and then head to the bookshop."

Her dream is different this time, instead of eyes; she is staring at a large open field illuminated but the bright moon in a starless sky. A field littered with dead bodies and stained in so much blood there are literal streams of it flowing about. In the middle of this unspeakable carnage is a man, he is standing with his back to her. Much to her dismay the man is distorted like the voice from the last dream; while she can see a there is a person all of his details are obscured. Upon looking closer she sees the man is breathing hard and holding a katana in his right hand; with the tip of the blade facing the ground. She also sees the blood running along the weapon. Her attention is drawn away by the sound of another distorted man approaching from her left; said man looks around before speaking in a nearly identifiable voice.

"Is this what you call 'achieving peace'?" The other man turns around at the sound of the newcomer's voice. Raven is shocked to see the same red eyes from the last dream. When the red eyed man opened his mouth the sound that came forth was deep and guttural, like the crack and boom of thunder.

"I call it progress."

"Slaughtering all these people is progress? How is this progress?" The yell is full of despair and anger."

"The next ones won't be so quick to fight."

"Dear brother, have you lost sight of the truth so easily?"

"What truth have I lost sight of? The truth you preach is nothing more than pretty, hollow words. You speak of peace, yet do nothing to secure it. All of your talk and kindness will do nothing when someone refuses to accept your terms. I seek true peace and that is only obtainable with violence to back your words. If you continue to get in my way I will consider you a threat to the peace of our world."

"Would you really cast away your soul for this madness?"

"Would you really choose your soul over our world's peace?"

Raven's eyes snap open from the overwhelming amount of determination rolling off the red eyed man. In that moment she understood how for he would go to complete his goal, he was ready to cast off his soul to save his world. Whether or not his methods are right, she can't help but feel respect and admiration for someone willing to go to such lengths for what they believe in. Sliding off her bed, Raven heads to her bathroom to take a shower before heading out for the day.

With Ochita

Nine hours, it took him nine hours but he finally perfected placing seals with chakra. After his fifth successful try he etched three seals onto each of his palms; they are placed in an inverted triangle pattern. One is for kunai, one for shuriken, and the third is for general use. The first two seals hold 50 kunai and shuriken apiece and he currently has his fuma shuriken in the extra left seal.

With his experiment successfully completed, Ochita decides to head for the marina that the so called Water Dragons have been using for a base. It only takes him fifteen minutes to reach it and he can tell they are on alert; the entire place is lit up. Looking at it from the front he starts to piece together his plan of attack. After circling the marina a few times he finalizes his plan.

"True to David's word there are 12 people, ten are outside and two are in the old shop in the back. There are two people guarding the gate and one on each mounted gun, all six of the dogs and five of the thugs are guarding the shop. The other three are standing near the old fueling station. I'll put money on there being fuel left, so that would make a rather nice target for an explosion. I'll plant ten triggered tags there, two on each mounted gun, and three on each of the two escape boats. After I detonate the tags the surviving thugs should all converge on a central location, so I'll put the last ten around that area. This part is too easy."

With Raven

As Raven makes her way to her favorite bookshop her mind drifts to earlier when she told the team she was heading out. Robin told her to be careful as usual, Starfire wished her 'much of the good times', Cyborg made a joke about her sneaking out to see her secret boyfriend, and Beast Boy laughed at Cyborg in an arrogant way saying that no one would ever date her. She can't say it didn't hurt, but also couldn't say it was untrue. Other than Beast Boy, nobody has ever been interested in dating her. Hell, she is mostly ignored by the fans, press, and other heroes on a daily basis. Ever since the events of her sixteenth birthday and her heritage got out, she was treated differently; with fear and loathing at the worst and indifference at best. Her mind then wandered to thoughts of the red eyes man. He intrigued her; violent and seemingly unhinged, yet calm and sure of himself.

As the bookshop comes into view, Raven's world is rocked by a massive explosion. Looking towards it, she realizes it came from the direction of the old marina; the base of operations for a new gang calling themselves 'The Water Dragons'. The name supposedly stems from the leader's 'name'; which is Satis, the Goddess of the Niles floods. While her instincts screamed for her to act, her training rooted her into place to wait for Robin to contact her. Rushing blindly into danger alone is foolish and risky. Not even a minute passes and she sees a massive wave at least a hundred feet high surge into the air. As it begins to crash down a powerful torrent of wind collides with it, stalling its movement long enough for it to die out. The moment she sees a tornado form, Raven abandons her training and takes to the sky. It takes her about three minutes to reach the scene of the elemental warzone and in that time the wind and water have completely died down.

Upon arriving at the focal point of the confrontation, Raven sees a tall man with long black hair holding an unconscious girl with short blonde hair by the collar of her hoodie. The mask on his face confirms his identity as CED. Her eyes fall on the katana in his free hand, which is being raised level with the girl's heart.

"NO!" Raven yells before the CED can finish off his opponent. While this girl is clearly the head of the Water Dragons, as indicated by the wet clothes of the CED and her dryness, she still doesn't want to watch someone die right in front of her. She begins to second guess her choice when the CED turns his gaze to her. As he tilts his head to the side, she sees his red eyes and her heart skips a beat. Only after a full five seconds did she realize these eyes lack the eight point stars around the pupil, they instead have three tomoe; although the katana is identical to the one the man in the second dream had.

"You look familiar." The words are smooth and rich like warm honey; the sound sends a shiver down Raven's spine. "Ah that's it; you're Raven of the Titans. You know, you're far too beautiful to keep your face hidden under that hood. Not to say your uniform doesn't look good on you, you just look more natural in those skinny jeans and odd stomach-less shirt."

His words cause Raven to suddenly remember she is in civilian clothes and not her hero uniform; never before has she felt so… naked. Even though CED's eyes are scanning every inch of her, she doesn't feel unnerved by his gaze; if anything she feels an electric tingle throughout her body. As an empath she has direct knowledge of what people are feeling and what she feels from him is approval and excitement. There isn't a hint of lust or ill-will, something she is unaccustomed to. As while nobody has ever shown interest in a relationship with her, she has a desirable figure and men are typically guided my hormones and instinct more so than logic.

"If you know who I am then you know I can't let you kill that girl, regardless of her criminal status." She replies in what she hopes is an authoritative voice. The chuckle she garners in response destroys those hopes.

"Come now Karasu-Hime, why would I dance with this when I have you here?" He asks while releasing his captive. Before Raven can speak or react CED in standing in front of her; he is leaning forward so his mask is mere inches from her face. "Those are some captivating eyes you have Karasu-Hime."

Raven's ashen skin lights up with blush, and an unfamiliar heat spreads through her body. Staring into CED's eyes seems to cause the world to cease in its existence and much to her dismay his eyes snap to the entrance of the marina.

"It appears your friends are here." She has to turn around to see the entrance and sure enough she can make out the rest of the Titans approaching. When she turns back, CED is no where to be seen.

The team's arrival and Robin's subsequent questioning all passes in a blur of color and sound, as Raven is still transfixed on the eyes that looked at her like she was normal; no not normal, they looked at her like she was exquisite. Soon enough she found herself back in her room getting ready to sleep again. As she goes to pull her communicator out of her pocket, her hand touches something metal; pulling it out reveals a kunai. CED must have slipped it in her pocket when she looked away. Forgetting to disrobe, she lies on her bed and drifts off while staring at the weapon. That night there were no visions but she didn't mind, the dreams of an impossible future were more than enough.

Thanks for reading and please leave a review.

With laughs,

SonoftheJester