Long Road to Ruin

My Girl

Red X couldn't be defined as cut and dry, I couldn't just give him a yes or no answer; he always wants to know why … the kind of guy that won't let the subject go until his demands are met and then it becomes nothing more than a conversation to pass the time. The moment he hears the answer to the why factor, he doesn't care anymore, he dismisses it and substitutes my line of reasoning for his own line of logic. He will stop at nothing to break me down, analyze the pieces, then all but spit in my face by telling me the way I react and think is all in my head and I should get out more often (he's already done so anyway).

He, back then when we were still just talking to one another like complete strangers, he would start debates just to see what I would say then he would suddenly end the discussion to ask how whatever we were talking about made me feel. At first, it was a game to him, and I played along just to humor him. I'd tell him how I felt and then he'd berate me, probably empathize with me, and if I was lucky he'd agree with me. However, as the nights and days dragged on for hours at a time the game lost its humor when his jibs and cutting remarks began to get a little too personal.

I shut down, and as if he sensed it himself we revert back to the beginning when we'd talk about nothing in general and just sit around to enjoy each other's company. Actually … that's the way it's always been with us … once we grew a little too personal with one another we'd shrink away and start from scratch. It's worked for us … until now … now … it was different, we were getting very personal and he wasn't going to just let this go … what changed? For him, what changed? What had I done to ensnare him so, and how can I undo the spell?

I didn't sleep.

I couldn't … I had to know the answer to that question, how do I break whatever spell I had over X so he and I can move on with our lives without hurting one another. How do I let him go in order to protect him? I needed to know, by the Gods I needed to know this answer. I hovered over my bed meditating, trying to fine the answer to this question, submerging myself in darkness so I can search for a way out. Breathing evenly, the world around me fell away to numbness, peaceful nothingness, and ear shattering quietness, all I was aware of was my breathing … easy in … easy out … and repeat.

I delved deeper to become one with the world, to be aware of everything with-out rather than with-in, I was just in the process of transitioning when I felt a sharp burst of energy, but it was so faint one had to be in deep concentration as I was to feel it. However, it was unmistakable, I opened my eyes and glared at my door, someone had ripped open a portal into this dimension, and the portal was very close to this church. The energy spike didn't so much as disturb me as it did unnerve me, something about this rip felt urgent. Whoever was coming through was not here for a long stay and that bothered me.

It was because of these sudden rips the Temple Guards were established to begin with, there had been a sudden spike in dimensional travel since the popularity of the superhero business had gone up. It had only been fairly recent for the Temple Guards and only the guards to be allowed to carry weapons for the protection of the citizens of Azarath. Only a few people were carefully selected to become a guard, mental stability, undying loyalty, and the mastery in the magic arts were requirements of the job. There are also a rare few who've been in the program since childhood, bred from early age to become a masterful Guard, they were given life lessons and sometimes received tutorage from the monks themselves to better understand the world around them.

I remember, when I was a child, on several occasions when I felt like walking the courtyards with my mother by my side I'd catch glimpses of these classes, but the Temple Guard who'd watch over us would direct us away from the other kids. At one point in my life I had looked on with envy at how they were allowed to learn together as one single class. I wanted to be apart of that class instead of being sealed away in a room with my studies all by myself, with no one but my mother sitting in the corner watching me. Yet, as the years progressed, I outgrew that envy and instead looked on at the classes with little less than interest and more or less as a glance of acknowledgement.

I was different, they were different, but I didn't hate or envy them anymore.

I just didn't care, they had there duties to attend to, and I had mine.

So long as they grew up to be as respectable and even-tempered as the Guards assigned to escort me around the courtyard I was fine with them. However, if I had known they'd grow up to be so good at their jobs as I hoped they'd be I would have tried to at least cause a little bit of trouble in their studies, because the five guards X, Speedy, and I went up against were way better than good, they were deadly.

Needless to say, if I was able to senses this temporal rip, who's the say a nearby Guard didn't feel it for themselves? If any trouble came this way this church was done for. I had to make sure whatever came through the portal wasn't going to spell disaster for the rest of us. So I floated off my bed and gently touched my feet to the ground. I straightened out the dress I was still wearing; I didn't see the need to change into the robe since I knew I wasn't going to be sleeping any time soon. Halfheartedly I combed my fingers through my hair and exited my room, silently so as not to disturb anyone who might have already fallen asleep.

I glanced up and down the hall to be sure no one else was around then slipped out of my room and closed the door behind me. Speedy's door was closed and his light was out, the oil lanterns were still on in the halls and helped to guide me towards the stairs back into the church. I was just about passed X's room when I noticed his door was cracked open and his candle was out. I frowned in concern and approached the door, this was probably not a very good idea, but out of worry I had to know if he was in his room. I placed my hands on his door and as I gently pushed it open I knocked on it softly as I called out to him, "X … are you asleep …?"

Do you EVER sleep …? I pondered to myself since I couldn't help to realize that I had never once caught X asleep (maybe passed out, but that can't be called actual sleep) it was like he was some kind of metahuman who lacks the ability to sleep. Now, I don't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing, but the wider I opened the door, the more light shone through until I caught a glimpse of an empty cot and an altogether empty room. He wasn't in here?

Well … where the hell could he have gone off to?

And for that matter why would he risk the trouble?!

I gritted my teeth; I don't care how awkward facing him would be after what he had seen between Speedy and myself. If he's wondering the streets the middle of the night when I specifically told him not to I will kill him myself! I huffed and spun around to hurriedly rush up the spiral stone steps, my foot steps as light as air and just as quiet. Once I reached the door at the top I remembered that this had been Father Zarni's room and decided to cheat. I didn't want to accidently wake him so I phased through the door and appeared in the empty church just in time to hear a loud CLANG of metal crashing against metal and my heart sank.

A sword fight, what had X gotten himself into?!

I ran around the alter prepared for combat, but what I heard was a different matter, X had hushed someone, "Shh! Easy kid, or you'll wake up the preacher."

Marcus's voice came next in the moonlit darkness that shrouded the church, "Sorry, I seemed to have gotten a little too excited …" slowly, cautiously I crept around a marble pillar, my hand racking across the cool stone as I took in the sight before me.

There, in the middle of the pews, at the center of the church with his cutlass in hand, X smirked cockily at the half-demon boy Marcus who wielded a short-sword perfect for his height. However, I could have easily mistaken him (if it weren't for his eerie voice) to be someone else since he traded in his alter-boy uniform for (if the darkness wasn't playing tricks on me) a brown vest laced over a white poofy-long-sleeved shirt. It went with either a black or brown pants that were tucked into what were unmistakable black leather boots. All in all, he looked like he was from a different world, and a different time (and he was) he just looked far more refined than X that was for sure.

X chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair, "It's alright kid, you wanna have another go?"

Marcus bowed his head and I glanced in my direction, I immediately pressed myself against the pillar so he couldn't see me. Why I was hiding, I hardly know, I guess I just didn't want to ruin their moment. Marcus, he seemed like a good boy and I figured any kind of affection X was giving him might be good for him. Maybe he won't be as cold hearted towards the world as I was and still am. I waited like that for a few seconds before I heard Marcus sigh, "I think we might have tempted fate for longer than her patience can stand, perhaps it is time for us to retire."

X scoffed as I heard him slide his cutlass back into his belt, "Whatever you say kid, up to you."

I took the risk of peeking around the pillar to watch as Marcus also slid his sword back into his scabbard, "If you don't mind my asking sir –"

"Marc, you call me sir one more time and I'll have to throttle you." He sounded serious, but I could see it in his golden hues that he was just playing around. Marcus, however, didn't get the joke.

He bowed, "My apologies … Drake, I did not mean to offend –"

X huffed, "Listen, Marc, no one else is here, and I'm not an actual Temple Guard alright, so could you just drop all the formalities. It's unnecessary, not to mention annoying. For creep's sake you're a kid! Chilax!"

Marcus looked up at X and I had to cover my mouth when a small giggle started to bubble up from my chest when the child blinked and dryly said, "I do not understand your meaning … what exactly does … chill-axe mean?"

"You serious?"

"I believe so, yes."

"…" X rolled his eyes and leaned on the back of one of the pews as he stared the kid down with a long hard look, "You know … I might just have to take you to Earth and corrupt you a little bit before I give you away to these monk-guys, all this yes-sir-no-sir has got to be damaging something up in there." He brought a finger to the side of Marcus's temple and poked him a few times before the boy grew irritated and swatted his hand away. X just swiped his hand over child's head, again messing up his hair as he sighed, "But, anyway, what were you going to ask me?"

Marcus, after straightening his hair, stared up at X and finally asked, "Where have you learned the ways of the sword? You seem very skilled and your maneuvering is all very different to me … no style I have been schooled in possess the moves you've shown me. Please, if it's not too much to ask, enlighten me."

X grinned, "Well, I taught myself everything I know … I, uh, kinda grew up addicted to watching these horrible kung-fu movies with my brothers and we'd play-fight for hours … but … they grew out of it, I didn't."

Marcus's eyes, though I didn't have to see them, I knew they sparkled in curiosity, "What are these kung-fu movies you speak of? They sound like a formidable organization."

X snickered getting a kick out of the fact Marcus came from a world unfamiliar with Earth's fantasies, "They're moving pictures with actors and bad dialogue kid, not an organization."

The boy tilted his head, "Like a theater?"

"Eh … sort of … except they're all projected in a small box that you can turn on and off at will so long as you have a special kind of magic wand that gives you the power of control … sometimes you'll need more than one, but cool huh?"

"Moving …. pictures … cool …" He tasted the words, and for a girl who wasn't into fuzzy kittens, and big-eyed puppy-dogs, Marcus just seemed so cute just then.

"Yep, now you gotta go through the preacher's room. I'll follow right after you."

"Yes si – I mean … Drake …"

"Scat."

As instructed, Marcus dismissed himself and I leaned against the pillar to remain hidden as I watched the boy shuffle quietly around the alter and even more carefully through Father Zarni's door. It took him a whole of three minutes just to slip in and close the door behind him without making a sound. Yet, once he was gone he left me alone with X who I thought was still unaware of my presences. However, I should have known to never underestimate him, that story about how he taught himself everything he knew, it must have been true to some extent, but I get the feeling he left some other very important detail out. There was no way all of his moves were self-taught, he had to have received some kind of training from somewhere else.

I felt his aura grow closer and closer to me, but his footsteps were nonexistent despite the fact I knew the boots my mother had given him had a hollow heel. Not even his clothing ruffled or shifted with his every move, impressive. Robin had always said stealth was an art form that required not only constant training, hard-work, and practice, but natural born talent. X had this talent and he perfected it. He was silent all the way up till he purposefully made a bunch of unnecessary noise that someone of his caliber would easily (like second nature) have avoided when he leaned against the opposite side of my pillar and huffed, "He's a good kid, a little uptight, but solid nonetheless. You really think sending him to these monk people you were talking about will be good for him? Sunshine?"

Yeah, he knew I was here the whole time. No surprise there really; I bowed my head and wrapped my arms around my person when the chill of the marble stone against my shoulder-blades crept down my spine. Softly, never bothering to look around the pillar I responded barely loud enough for the church's cold emptiness to carry my voice to him, "I honestly don't know … but if he has any hope of really staying out of his father's grasp it'll be with them …"

"Mm-hmm …" he didn't agree with me, I don't think he did anyway, he just made a noise to acknowledge me. A pregnant pause, a still silence, a churning darkness fell over us when the moonlight that shone through the stain-glass windows were suddenly covered over by gentle clouds. The pillar then felt like a giant personified metaphor for this impenetrable wall that we just could never climb over. The closest we could get to one another was to lean against the opposite sides of the wall and talk. Like now, I hated it, I didn't want us to be this way anymore, but what would happen if I tried to peer over it?

What would await me on the other side if I found out that the X I knew and couldn't be without was long gone?

I couldn't stand this pillar, this wall, I had to see him, I had to know if he hated me for what I've done. I had to know if he finally understood that we couldn't be together. I had to know a lot of things, and the only way I would get my answers is if I confronted him face to face, so I rolled on my right shoulder and swung around the pillar, "X –"

He pressed a hand on my mouth to keep me silent and pushed me up against the pillar, his amber eyes sparked to life under the dim gray-blue moonlight when the angle hit it just right. He was glaring at something, something only his keen instincts could detect and when I tired to follow his sights he whispered, "We're not alone …"

The courtyard, that's what he was glaring at through the reflective glass windows that made it hard for those within the church to peer outside when the lights were on. Why anyone would blind-sight themselves on purpose went beyond me, but I wasn't about to complain. I reached up a hand to X's wrist and pried his hand from my mouth. He looked down at me and for a split second lost focus of whatever he thought he saw to stare deeply into my dark violet eyes. I could feel him searching for something, but as if he realized that something was just out of reach he snapped back at attention and with a jerk of his head took the lead and with me close behind him we both went through the side door exit and into the quaint little courtyard.

The enter ground was concrete with large circles cut into the ground in order to allow for three large fox-tail trees lining down the middle of the yard to grow within the rose bushes. Beautiful and peaceful, but the shadows they cast under the dark of night, and the minimal cover it provided for a couple of paranoid amateur spies (correction, one amateur spy being me) to scope out the open space was unsettling. X kept me close to him and constantly reached back to be sure I was still behind him as we slinked along the windowed-walls of the church.

Our eyes darted at everything that made a sudden move or created a certain sound that didn't go with the cool breeze that blew around the otherwise silent grounds. By the time we reached the front of the church X's back was pressed flat against the building and he had begun to move even slower, but his eyes were constantly scanning his surroundings. It was actually amazing to watch him so aware and in tune with his entire body that it made me feel guilty for blowing off Robin whenever he'd try to teach the team how to execute more stealthier tactics. It's actually no wonder now how X always seems to be five steps ahead of us.

He peered around the corner and then gestured for me to follow him as he relaxed his stance and casually walked out into the open close to the steps in order to get a better look at his entire environment. I propped one fist on my hip as he shrugged, "Whatever it was it's gone now … must have been a bird I saw …" he turned to me and grinned, "False alarm."

I sneered, "I thought your gut never fails you?"

He shrugged again as he ran his fingers through his unkempt hair, "It sometimes overreacts."

"Right …" a shadow moved to my right, I turned my head to look, but it only turned out to be one of the many bushy leaves of the fox-trees' shadow that caught my eye so I sighed and wrapped my arms around my person when the cool breeze kissed my bare shoulders. However, I refrained from expressing any discomfort to X, the arms length distance between us was good, I needed him away from me and as I ran my tongue over my teeth I gulped and sucked in a deep breath, Now or never … "X …"

He looked at me, although he had been staring stoically at me for a while, when I called his name – his alias – he reset his focus and acknowledged the seriousness in my tone. My eyes were still set on the shadow in the courtyard beside us as I gathered up the words in my throat to force them out of my mouth; I had to get this over with, "You saw us didn't you." I started with a statement that made him stiffen his lax posture, but his face betrayed no emotions; an interesting trait I found in him. His face can be as indifferent as a statue if he put his mind to it, but his body language – if he wasn't careful – gave his emotions and actions away. I pressed on, still glaring at the shadow as if it were the cause of all my problems, "Speedy and I … in the hall …"

I closed my eyes then and waited for his response, braced for anything, even silence, but what I got was not what I expected.

"Yeah … so?"

I blinked my eyes open and turned to stare at the aloof thief who turned his back on me and walked over to the stone rails which lined the sides of the wide flat Spanish steps of the church. He took one step down and with one hand on the stone-rail surface he leaned on it and crossed one leg over the other while his left hand went to rest on the handle of his cutlass. I frowned in confusion and silently, cautiously, approached him, "So?" I repeated and he spared me a quick fleeting glance over his shoulder when I stood above him and again propped a hand on my hip as I stared down at him incredulously, "Aren't you … bothered by it?"

"Fuck yeah I'm bothered by it!" He exclaimed suddenly with a scowl. I probably should have been a little more cautious, but the damage was done, and I finally got the response I expected – not that I wanted him to be angry with me, but it's what I expected. He spun on me and despite I being taller than him he still managed to look threatening. Maybe it was because his hand was now gripping the handle of his sword, but every word that came out of his mouth was laced with venom, "What? Did you think I'd enjoy watching someone else touch my – grr – touch, you."

'My girl' that's what he was going to say, why he bothered to correct himself I hardly know, but I can't believe he would do it to humor me. Why start now? He usually never cares about my standings. So needless to say, this rare occurrence of humility suddenly made me feel very guilty for letting Speedy kiss me. I probably should have been more sympathetic to X's feelings, he was still human, and unlike me his emotions can sometimes greatly influence his actions, only the Heavens know what was going through his mind as he watched us in the hall. Wow, I really felt horrible now, so much so that I couldn't find a better way to respond to him, other than to weakly say, "I'd never think that …"

"Of course you wouldn't, which is why you let it happen in the middle of the fuckin' hall." He scoffed coldly and with a roll of his eyes turned away from me to lean on the rail again and to glare at nothing but air. Or at least he tried; he couldn't stop himself from shooting me with a quick stabbing glare from the corner of his eye when he added coldly, "There are rooms for those kinds of things ya know."

Yeah, like you care about rooms yourself … I bit back my tongue to keep me from saying what I was thinking since I probably deserved what I was getting now, but I was a smartass. I can sometimes take sick pleasure in other people's miseries so long as it was caused by my sardonic sarcastic sadistic cutting remarks. However, try as I might to be a good girl I had to at least try to defend myself against X's cruelty, because knowing him, if I let it go on he'd take it to a very low level. I sighed heavily, "I didn't plan for him to suddenly spring that on me while you were playing peeping tom. It just happened; pretty much like you and me."

He turned to spitefully growl, "Is that a formal complaint I'm hearing from you?"

I took his face into my hands then and leaned closer to him, hoping that maybe I can quell his anger somehow with my 'charm' if it can be called such when I reminded him of the honest truth, "I'll never be sorry for what we did."

"…" something was at the tip of his tongue, I could feel him working his jaw while I could see the biting jib fighting for the surface, but as I slowly slid my hands from his face to his shoulders and then away from him to stand up straight he huffed in irritation. With a shake of his head he inwardly scolded himself for letting me win this round. Well, I didn't actually know he was scolding himself, but for a character like X who enjoyed winning as much as Robin does forcing himself to lose was probably no picnic. He turned away from me to continue glaring at space when I heard him gruffly say, "I still want his social security number."

I rolled my eyes, "Let it go X, I don't care how worried you are about all this I'm not going to let you kill him."

He sneered, "I'm bothered, not worried, there's nothing for me to be worried about when it comes to you and other guys."

Well now, that's intriguing, I tilted my head, "You sound very confident with where my loyalties lay."

"Oh yes I am actually." He turned to me with his amber eyes back to their cocky glint, and another thing I liked about him, he can bounce back from whatever crappy mood he was in like a rubber-ball. I never had to tip-toe cautiously around him waiting for when his mood would clear up. Resilient he can sometimes portray the image of whatever I see being whatever I was going to get, as a matter of fact I don't think he was the read-between-the-lines kind of guy.

He grinned deviously, while I tilted my head in curiosity, "Elaborate."

As if he was stating how blue the effing sky was he said casually with that insufferable grin of his, "They're not me."

I sneered, "Conceited much? What does being you have anything to do with this?"

"Everything." With narrowed eyes I flicked my wrist around as a gesture for him to go on and prove his point with some facts. He rolled his eyes before he turned his whole body to face me in order to say, "You keep coming back to me."

I didn't see the point, so I crossed my arms and shrugged drily, "I keep going back to Robin to, that doesn't mean I love him."

Suddenly, his eyes lit up with intrigue as he reached up and pried my arms from each other so he could weave his fingers with mine and pull me just a little closer to him when he asked sneakily, "So you do love me?"

Was this a trap? I grip his hands a little tighter as my face fell and I shook my head, "I never said that."

"But you implied it …" He suddenly pushed me back gently so he could step up and once again tower over me with his hands still weaved into mine.

I frowned, "You're reading too much into it."

"I'd like to think I read into it as it sounded to me."

"Then you'd be putting words in my mouth."

He smirked, "Actually, I'm trying to put something else into your mouth, but you just won't shut-up."

I sneered in disgust, "Nasty."

He leaned down closer so his bangs brushed against my forehead, the tip of his nose rubbed against mine, and his lips hovered so close to me that I could feel every breath that left him when he whispered, "You'd know wouldn't you."

His eyes, even now I could not believe how unbelievably amber they were and how much truth was packed into his beautiful irises. He really couldn't hide anything from me with how expressive his eyes were. So damn honest, and yet still so mischievous, I couldn't help to wonder how he could forgive me so easily with how deep his feels were for me. If it were me I'd have turned away and never, ever looked back. X had always struck me as the type to never forgive and never forget, his family seemed to live by that rule so why doesn't he? Why does he love me so much that he's willing to over look I let Speedy kiss me and worse yet that I kissed him back?

I closed my eyes, by Azar, the longer his golden hues stared at me, the more I felt like complete and utter shit. His hands slipped from my grasp and I let my arms drop to my sides in defeat when I felt his hands grasp the sides of my face to keep me close to him when he whispered, "Look at me."

It was a demand, not a request.

I opened my eyes and followed as instructed, but shrank away from his amber orbs when the intensity of which he stared at me increased. His lips parted, he said my name, "Raven …" but that's all I heard for a sharp prink in the back of my neck startled me. Rage … a powerful emotion that resonated throughout my entire body and the source of which was very nearby. I ripped myself from X's embrace when I sensed it headed our way, but whatever defense I could have come up with was pointless.

I might as well have been moving at a snails pace, before I knew it a vise grip wrapped around my upper left arm and I was airborne. I was thrown at the heavy church doors made of steel, the wind was knocked out of me and the world blacked out for a split second as I fell to the ground on my hands and knees. Gasping, I wrapped an arm around my sides and coughed trying to catch my lost breath while the stars played merrily in my field of vision. X … what had happened to him? Serge of worry and fear went through me as I looked up and in place of where I had stood before him was another woman. I couldn't see her face, but I knew she must have been breathtakingly beautiful. Yet, despite her size (she must have been a few inches taller than me with a slender build) she held X at arm's length away with his shirt while her free talon-like hand curled, poised, and was ready for the strike.

I held my breath when X's eyes flickered at me as if to check if I was still okay, and then glared at the demon who I had no doubt in my mind must have been Marcus's mother. A hard wind swirled around us and kicked up her nearly floor-length pure snow-white hair that looked as smooth as the finest silk, but as cold as the overbearing snow. Her black talons tensed when I barely heard her speak from where I was, but in a low hiss she said, "My son … you have him."

X grunted and struggled under her vise grip, but she shook him violently to keep him still when she growled, "Give him to me."

He huffed and snickered darkly, "Yeah, and what do I get in return."

She snarled, "Your life."

"Sounds fair enough, but you sound desperate, what if I want a little something more?"

He's stalling … I should have figured it out sooner, but when it finally clicked I slowly collected myself and gathered up the power within me before I whispered, "Azarath … Metrion … Zinthous!"

My eyes sparked white when my hands touched the ground and with a burst of power the ground shook violently and crumbled under the demon's feet. She lost her balance, but kept a tight grip on X who contorted his body into such a way that his right leg kicked up and over her arm to hook around her head. He brought her down to the trembling ground and with her arm trapped between his legs he twisted it and through all the rumbling and shaking I heard a sickening snap! The demon cried out in pain while X kicked her away from him and got to his feet, I stopped the world from shaking then so he could run towards me while the demon withered in agony.

On my feet I grabbed X's arm and began to pull him around the side of the church, "That's not going to stop her; we have to get out of here, now!"

We burst through the side entrance and with a start ran into Clarence, Marcus and Speedy who had all apparently felt the vibrations of the Earth under my command. Clarence took notice of our rattled personas and reached out to me, "My dear, what happened?"

"Marcus was right," I glanced at the child when I saw him flinch and frown in despair, "his mother is here to get him, we have to leave now Father."

Too late, the doors to the church were blown open and as heavy as they were they sent a threatening vibration throughout the church when they slammed against the stone walls. Marcus's mother stood at the entrance, and what would have been a beautiful porcelain-doll face was contorted into a look of utter terror. Her lips curled and revealed her razor sharp rows of pearly white fangs while her black talons had grown longer, sharper, and no longer could be associated with human hands. Speedy notched an arrow and charged it, X had his sword drawn, and I let the energy build up within me in preparation for her attack.

She snarled and with a powerful roar that resonated from my gut and throughout my body she darted into the church with inhuman speed. Speedy let loose his first arrow that exploded at her feet, but was unsuccessful with derailing her. She emerged from the smoke with her claws dug into the beams high up on the church ceiling. She hissed at us and as Speedy and X disbursed to take her down I backed up with Father Zarni and Marcus and pushed them towards the side door of the church, "We'll try to hold her off for as long as we can, but you have to go, it's not safe here."

Father Zarni winced when another explosion tore the church apart, but still grabbed my forearm desperately and declared, "You cannot expect me to leave you all here in need!"

I jerked myself away from him and growled, now was not the time to be righteous! "I expect you to keep Marcus safe, now go!" With a burst of power I shoved them both to the door and turned my attention back to the fight just in time to catch the demon jump at X. X fell back and kicked her off of him, she flew to the alter, but somehow corrected her fall by digging her claws into the stone table. Though she dragged the cloth with her, she stayed crouched on the alter and snarled viciously at X. She leapt off the table to him, but was suddenly met with a single arrow Speedy let fly and exploded on her chest.

She flew into the stone wall beside the giant crucifix, the wind thoroughly knocked out of her, she dropped to the ground wheezing and gasping for air, but she was resilient. Despite the nasty burn marks and rips to her gown that threatened her modesty she pushed herself on her hands and knees. Through the curtain of her long snowy-white hair she looked up and locked her seething radiant pearl white eyes on me, but then shifted it to the windows of the church. I followed her gaze and much to my great despair and utter annoyance Marcus and Father Zarni stood out in the courtyard watching the mayhem.

Without having a second thought I raced the demon towards the window and intercepted her by sliding across the polished marble holding out my hands and erecting a quick barrier just in time for Marcus's mother to slam into the black wall. The impact shattered the shield and she stumbled back a few steps, shook her head, and snarled, "Impudent cur! Out of my way!"

She took a swipe at me; I leaned against the window to dodge the lethal claws that managed to cut into the thin skintight fabric of my gown, Too close! I gasped and ducked when she took another swipe at my face, but only managed to slice off a few inches of my hair. I wasted no time taking advantage of my position and swept the floor from under her to give me time to run for some distance.

It didn't take her long to recover and when I spun around to face her again she was already on her feet looking for her son and when she could no longer find him in the courtyard she turned her rage on me. I summoned forth my powers and as she ran towards me I began to grab the pews as fast as I could to throw them at her, but she was fast. She out ran or jumped over each and every bench I flung at her while all I managed to do was shatter the windows of the church. She closed the gap between us with a roared, "To Hell with you!!"

I braced for whatever she had in store for me, but blinked in confusion when she suddenly cried out and fell to the ground at my feet with a very familiar dagger embedded in her back. I looked up and saw X running down the glass littered aisle to grab me and drag me away from the demon who was scrapping at the stone ground in rage. We regrouped with Speedy while Marcus's mother roared in outrage and screamed her son's name in both agony and terror.

X scowled as he watched – we all watched – the demon reach for the handle of X's dagger to yank it out from her back, X growled, "What's it gonna take to put this bitch down."

"A miracle," Speedy gruffly replied as he notched another arrow and pulled his string taunt; he raised his bow up and took aimed when she turned to face us with the dagger in her hands. Her pearl-white eyes, now that I had the time to actually observe it without fending for my life were glazed over. Her face still had a nasty sneer on her lips, but was otherwise lacking in any real emotion, as a matter of fact, besides the residual rage that emanated from her aura, she didn't seem real.

She felt like a hollow puppet and I gasped when realization finally hit me, "She's under a spell, someone enchanted her to ignore pain and focus on whatever mission that was given to her, she can't process common rationality."

X scoffed, "Good to know, but that still doesn't answer my question."

Speedy suddenly tensed, "Here she comes!"

He let his arrow fly, but she jumped over it and with extended talons of hardened black-flesh turned into layered armor she came at us, X and I scattered, but Speedy like a world-class baseball player sliding for home ducked under her and rolled. With noting to kill, she landed on one hand on the stone ground and with a twist agilely pushed herself back into the air, simultaneously Speedy had already let loose three strings of arrows. Yet, once Marcus's mother landed perfectly balanced on the back of one of the many untouched pews she sliced one of the arrows aimed for her face in three pieces and dodged the other two.

She engaged Speedy once more and I watched carefully trying to find my opening to assist him, but she kept moving and forcing him to find a more suitable firing ground. X stood beside me pretty much bouncing on the tips of his toes as he gripped the handle of his sword tightly, I was sure his knuckles were turning white. He glanced at me, "Okay Rae, you seem to know what the deal is here, so you better think of a counter-spell or however the hell it works cuz' if she keeps this up imma start cutting body-parts."

I believed he would to; "Just give me a minute to think!" I growled in frustration when Speedy cried out after the demon had got too close and managed to hit him with enough force to throw him into a pillar not too far from us. He hit the ground with a grunt, but was back on his feet firing away, he crossed in front of us and ducked as soon as Marcus's mother lifted up one of the heavy statues in the church and chucked it at him.

X and I separated so the statue hit the floor and shattered into dust, but we ended up having to run for cover when Speedy's barrage of arrows suddenly rained down in our general location. We pressed our backs against the same pillar Speedy was thrown against and X huffed, "Think faster! Think faster!"

Marcus's mother snarled when another explosive arrow Speedy let rip nailed her in the back and threw her out of the church and into the courtyard, Speedy shouted, "Hey! A little help here if you don't mind! I'm running out of ideas!"

He may have been running out, but I just got one.

I grabbed X and shoved him towards Speedy, "Keep her busy!"

X looked back at me, "Wait, wait you got a plan?"

"Just help Speedy!"

He grumbled some, but otherwise did as was told while I ran around the pillar to keep myself hidden, or at least tried to stay out of firing range. I levitated and folded my legs under myself in classic meditative pose, sucked in three deep breaths to calm my racing heart and pumping adrenaline, I then closed my eyes and called forth the power of my soul-self. The power came fairly easy due to my natural sensitivity to the supernatural. Slowly I opened my glowing dim blue eyes to see through the eyes of my soul as I rose out of my body in the form of my black-raven and shot into the air.

Hovering close to the ceiling of the church I watched as Speedy and X successfully managed to wrangle Marcus's mother back into the church and with a sort of unplanned tag-team effort they began to frustrate the demon to a boiling-point. I waited in the shadows, until finally my chance came when Marcus's mother made the mistake of getting too close to Speedy with her back turned to him. With his bow he smashed it across her shoulder blades and knocked her forward into X and with a round house nailed the side of her head and sent her crashing onto one of the church doors.

She grew wary, her body shuddered, I sensed her exhaustion and without remorse I darted out of the shadows to consume her consciousness and protect her mind from whatever malignant being was pulling her strings. Just as she managed to pull herself away from the church door the impact of which I tried to possess her caught her off guard and she pressed herself against the door again while a spark of dark magic nipped and challenged me. I clawed at it, peaked at the shield protecting her from my possession, but with a burst of power she threw me off and I soared off and away to regroup. Apparently, whoever put the spell on her was also smart enough to place wards of protection against anyone who'd want to tamper with their masterpiece.

No matter, the shield wasn't very strong; with another go I can shatter it.

However, as I was coming back around to watch out for another chance to save her, the back of my consciousness was tickled and before I knew what was happening I lost all concentration. I couldn't see through my soul, but I was flashing back to my body, at least I think I was. I don't know what happened, but I suddenly felt very vulnerable, I had to get back to my body! I was being threatened, but as I flew down to my calm, relaxed, and unprotected body I screeched in pain when the demon broke through X and Speedy's blockade, grabbed my body's throat and slammed my head against the pillar.

Pain exploded throughout my entire being, the world was spinning while the blood that leaked from the back of my head stained the marble-stone pillar. My mind closed itself off from my soul and in an effort to preserve myself I was drawn to my last resort, something was pulling me to him, I don't know what I was, but X never saw a thing coming. As soon as he was thrown off of the demon after a vicious attack I wasn't aware of, I threw myself into his chest and curled up in the safety of what was apparently my mirror fragment and lost all conscious thought.

All I was aware of was darkness … somehow … I could hear my heartbeat slowing down till I couldn't hear it anymore.

While in the safety of this shard I watched with passive indifference as the world blurred in a flurry of rapid movements that I wasn't conscious enough to digest. I couldn't feel anything, didn't try to, all I could focus on was my heartbeat, my body, and my fate. My temple was violated and I could not return to it even if I tried, was I … dead? More movement, I could barely see through the tight fabric of this shirt, but I was aware the demon, Marcus's mother, had been pinned to the ground by X, she was unconscious. One of his hands was on her throat to keep her still while the other I was quite sure was cocked back with his sword ready to run her through and I knew he would have done it.

He really would have if someone hadn't jerked him off her.

The world blurred when X spun around and shoved whoever pulled him away off his person. I saw Speedy glaring at X, his mouth moved while his hand made some sort of wild gesture that was lost to me. He took a step closer to X, but the body I was attached to turned away and reached down to grab the demon and finish what he started, but again, with a jerk I was sure Speedy in all his righteousness had pulled X off again. However, this time X wasn't so nice, he had spun around and landed a punch square on Speedy's jaw that knocked him over. His glare turned a darker shade of anger, but it was soon quelled when I saw the tip of X's sword pointing at his neck.

A few words I could not hear were exchanged, a tense silence, before X dropped his sword and grudgingly trudged over to my limp body laying on the stone ground beside the pillar with my bloodstains. X reached out a steady hand to me and with two fingers he pressed it to my neck and felt for my pulse … was I dead? I wish I could tell … I wish he could tell me … but in the end all that answered me was silence.

If I could sigh in despair I would … but instead I watched … I watched and wondered what was happening when I managed to catch a glimpse of two pairs of feet standing on either side of X. They wore the same boots as both Speedy and X, but when the thief finally looked up my despair grew to hopelessness when I saw the faces of two genuine Temple Guards. All the noise we made must have attracted attention, but damn it all, why does the help always come when the damage is already done?

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Disclaimer: Don't own the Teen Titans, or Azarath, I do own everything else though, so =p

A/N: Yay, moving on, wow, a lot of mixed emotions running around with you guys, some of you like Speedy/Rae, some of you hate it, lol, it's actually kind of funny to me, I love reading what you guys have to say. It makes my day all the more sweeter =)

L8er daez