Disclaimed: Geez, I get it. I don't own it.

A/N: Almost there, the ficcie is almost done and I'm trying my hardest to make it as satisfactory an ending as possible.

Sorry for the long wait, BTW, been enjoying my holiday here in Aussieland. And sorry for it being so short, I thought it would be more impacting this way than a long-drawn one.

Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review!

Chapter 22

She felt no peace at all despite the quiet of her room. The candles were lit in their proper positions and incense filled the thin air, causing it to turn heady and heavy; she could hardly breathe. There was no real time to think of such things though, her lungs just had to adapt to the sudden, almost solid, air and both her body and her mind just had to…to wait.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Today was the day and she had to loosen the knot that she had tied up in the back of her mind. As that knot loosened, she became more and more aware of his presence and she knew that it was the same with him too; there was no turning back now, not after what they had been through and it had to be done before the inevitable. Her fingers tinkered with the gold plate of the candle holders and she wondered, once again, whether she was strong enough—strong willed enough—to go through such a procedure. Instantly, she crossed that though—that insecurity—out of her mind and concentrated on herself and herself only; if the deed was done for the sake of another, it would fail. Being purely, purely selfish was not as easy as some had thought it to be and Raven—having had a great education, probably better than anyone she knew personally—had done the mistake of thinking it so…thinking that it was easy and that if others could do it, then so could she.

Raven pursed her lips and thought about the day that she had had that particular conversation with Garfield; it was also, she realized, most probably the last day that she would see her friends—family—ever again. The worst part of it was that she couldn't even look any of them in the eye and say her farewells…she lied and that was the end of it; Kori had wished her a good luck in dealing with her business in Azarath, the other two girls had fussed over her, Vic had frowned but told her that she had to get her ass back ASAP and Garfield…

She smoothed her hand over the air in order to make one of the incense's smoke twirl in a particular pattern. A small detail, but important.

…well…he had smiled at her wryly, shook her hand and then told her to remember what he had said previously. Raven hadn't really known what to make of it, she just…she just stood there in front of him, nodding her head off. It was probably not the best reaction.

She sighed.

Darkness continued to envelope the room in a somber manner and the dim glow emanating from the candles tried to soothe her mind as she took one final look at the crumbling book she was basing this whole spell on. It was ancient and smelled distinctively of the old—not that she had anything against the old—and the age of it forced her to handle it with a feather light touch, despite wanting to severely damage it; kick it around a few times, light it on fire, and then scatter the ashes in a place none of the dead could rest. She hated it.

OK, so the book really wasn't the issue but it was adding coal to the already burning fire of frustration that was steadily growing larger and far more menacing than before. She didn't know why neither hers nor Dick's head had exploded by now.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Concentrate now Raven, she told herself, no need to ramble on nonsensically like someone in need of some psychiatric help. Her mind buzzed helplessly as she watched the shapes of incense-smoke fill the air and her lungs protested at the amount of it.

She closed her eyes.

Her legs were perfectly crossed and her lips uttered wordless mantras; wordless because sound would destroy the process but still…the silent words were fully formed on her lips because they were vital. It didn't matter that there was no sound anyway; as complicated as this Azarathian spell was—damn her ancestry!—she could feel the power at every delicate movement and the taste of it—no matter how dark the combination of demon powers and ancient Azarathian magic turned out to be—was sublime. It was subtle and light and yet…yet it felt like she could bite into her words and it would break into juicy pieces to quench her thirst. The fact that she remembered how cutting a mantra like this improperly—even this particular one which was only supposed to fill the air with…something. She wasn't really sure what it was…the details were pretty sketchy— was pretty dangerous was the only thing stopping her from stopping short with her words; sometimes her powers scared her and…especially when her powers felt so good to use.

As she slowly mouthed her words to a stop, she wondered, not for the last time, whether it was the right time to pull Dick into her room and perform the divorce. And not for the last time, she decided to wait a bit more since her research had led her to believe that when the time was right, she would feel it. Normally, in any other given situation, she would huff in cynicism at such an instruction but right now? She didn't think that she could do anything but follow instructions word for word.

Her feelings were obviously mixed about the whole situation that she had put herself in. The bond, the upcoming absence of a bond, the team and…and Garfield, all those things—only those things—had been circulating her mind as of late; she had even forgotten about her college—part time, thank God, or she would never be able to get anything done, despite it being longer than the full time one—assignments and Raven had always, always made sure that school and education was her top priority. Somewhere along the line, Azar or fate or her own subconscious had decided that she had to shuffle around those priorities in order to solve some new ones; it really, really, really infuriated her.

Suddenly, she noticed that there really was no sound around her, a pin drop could be heard in her room and she wasn't sure whether it was really because it was just quiet or because she had finally, finally woven an intricate enough barrier that would set the atmosphere to perfection and would also disable any physical contact from the outside world. Her finger traced the air curiously; it was so strong that Raven was pretty sure that only an emergency would enable either her or Dick to make contact with the outside world before the procedure was done.

It was time, she soon realized, and with all her might, she pulled in Dick from his room, dragging him with her empathic ropes, and immersing with him for one last moment before they were to pull away. His form was heavy, and dragging others through solid walls was no easy feat, but she did it, and boy did it drain her.

Her eyes opened in a flash, knowing exactly where Dick was in accordance to where she was. He was about a breath away, facing her in the same crossed leg position, sitting calmly in the middle of the circle of candles. Not for one moment did his eyes open in panic or did his heart start to palpitate wildly; he was as calm and serene as the atmosphere, almost like he was one with it. His lips were curled in an awkward sort of smile and all marks…all wrinkles and worry lines had been erased in order to make way for a clean slate. Dick was as ready as he would ever be, and it took only one look at him to understand that she had to be ready for him too.

Dick opened his eyes.

She pursed her lips.

"So, is it time?" He asked, tranquility dripping from his every word.

Raven nodded and unlit the candles one by one.

---

"Anyone smell that?" Garfield asked, sniffing at the air.

Everyone else shook their heads, scrutinizing him and asking him whether or not he was feeling OK. They all knew about his decision and though they were obviously upset about it, the others had also known that it was the right thing for him to do. It was the right thing to do…it was.

He shook his head as the doubts started to creep into his brain once more. He was an impulsive creature by nature, but even his impulsion stepped back with decisions as large and significant as this.

Garfield wasn't so sure what to make of the scent that he could smell from outside his room but, man, it was pretty powerful. He wasn't so sure how to describe it but it was pungent and sticky and it made him shudder all over. To be quite honest, it scared him a little, despite the fact that he knew for a fact that the smell was neither ill nor good…it was just there.

He shook his head once more.

"Friend, are you OK? You do not look so well?" Kori asked sincerely, patting him on the shoulder.

He shrugged, "I'm OK I guess...just wish Raven and Dick could be here, y'know?" He shrugged again, "I mean, I probably won't be seein' those two in a while…"

Kori threw her arms around him, almost pushing him onto the bed he was sitting on, "Do not fret, Garfield, I believe that we all will see each other soon and as for Raven…" she shook her head, ringlets flailing around wildly, "I still do not know why you two have done the breaking up, but I respect your choices. I do, however, believe that it is best for you and her to be coming back together however…I guess that it would be all the more harder since you are really doing this."

Garfield let his gaze trace the room and found his hear sinking at the emptiness of it all. Posters had been torn off, shelves and cupboards had been emptied and stuffed into boxes and even his bed didn't have it's sheets anymore; it was just a mattress. His fingers pressed into the surface and found no comfort in the smell of his normal sheets, the smell of familiarity and routine.

He was done.

Sensing that someone was looking at him intently, Garfield looked up and found Vic—standing—looking down at him while having an arm absentmindedly around Jinx's wispy waist. They were the only ones there; Kori, Jinx, Vic and himself…he didn't really feel comfortable with Kole and Gnarrk around in this intimate farewell; they were good friends and all but it felt awkward, even if they did know where and why he was going.

"Second thoughts?" Vic's voice broke his reverie.

He shook his head, "Nah." His decision had been made quite a while ago.

Vic 's brow thrust upwards.

"Will miss it though." He added, just in case Vic felt offended at his lack of hesitation.

His best friend threw him a wry grin and Garfield felt his heart cajole once more in his chest, his fingers automatically moving towards his chest as if to calm down the physical movement. It brought him back to the day where he had met Matt and Didi simultaneously, and how his decision had been automatically made that very same day. It hadn't actually been anything Matt said—though there were some elements that he begrudgingly had to admit was true—rather, it was more Didi's spirit and…well…his own selfishness; he wanted to get better…he wanted to be free.

It was lousy and clichéd but he had made his decision already; he was moving to L.A today.

Garfield bit his lower lip.

"Did I get all the papers done, Vic?"

Vic smiled and nodded vigorously, "Everythin' official is done and dusted. If there's anythin' you've missed, I'll just sort it out later. Don't worry bout any of that, OK? Just leave that shit up to me."

"Thanks, dude. 'Ppreciate it."

"You know…" Jinx's voice suddenly popped up, "I may be in the minority but, boy, I think you should wait."

Another brow was raised, this time it was Garfield's. He had known Jinx for quite a bit and though they weren't the best of friends, he had thought of Jinx as a pretty good friend, especially one that loved Vic as sincerely as she did. Good friends as they were, he had always figured that they had boundaries that neither of them had crossed—he shrugged—looks like they had crossed it a long time ago; he had once thought that hell would freeze over before he really, really listened to Jinx's advice or…Jinx in general, actually.

Hey! Don't look at him like that! She was a criminal before all this!

Jinx frowned, her lips pursing and releasing in a strange manner, her fingers tracing Vic's arm absentmindedly, "Of course, I have no idea what happened with you and Raven but knowing her…she still likes you and—"

"I know that, Jinx, I swear—"

"And," she frowned, signaling him to not interrupt, "I think she'd want you to wait. Sure she says that she's moving on and it's the best for both of you and that she supports you in every way despite your weird status quo…but…" her lips were pursed so thin that there was almost nothing left of her already thin lips, "I know that she'll want you to wait. So…just wait a little while…she'll be back from Azarath in a few days and so don't be in such a rush. She'll want to know, y'know."

Garfield felt all the words he was going to say before that last sentence get stuck in his throat and press back down into his stomach. He couldn't say the words that he was about to say…or at the very least, he had forgotten then. He wanted to follow Jinx's advice…really…but…

"I can't, Jinx. I just can't." His lips felt dry and though licking them wasn't the brightest of ideas, he did it anyway, "I've made a commitment and I'm sticking to it."

Jinx shrugged, her cat-like eyes squinting at her, "You made a commitment to Raven."

"And I'm sorry that I broke it but it wasn't all me, Jinx, you know that."

The air stank of nerves and impatience and every other emotion possible; he wanted to be rid of the smell but he couldn't really do anything about it since the air around was so still and so stagnant. Any movement would have been welcome in order to rid some emotions out of his nostrils, but no one moved, not even a twitch.

Everything was still.

Jinx didn't reply, though he saw scorn in her eyes. From the corner of his own, he saw Vic lean in to whisper into his girlfriend's ears and despite the fact that Garfield—with his pointy green ears…they had to be good for something, right?—knew every single word that was uttered by his best friend to the enchantress—something about calming down and not ruining the situation further?—he felt his cheeks get hot. It wasn't that he was embarrassed by his best friend's PDA—OK, he was…even though it technically wasn't PDA—it was just that he didn't have anyone to do that with; pretend to whisper important crap when actually trying to convince her to sneak out of a serious and or awkward situation to go fool around somewhere. Utterly unromantic and a past time filled with hormones—particularly his testosterone. Could he blame it on primal needs? There was such a thing as mating season, y'know—but he still missed it.

He growled.

"We're right behind you, OK, kid? J, here, was just looking out for you." Vic smiled, worry burnishing his scent as he glanced at Jinx for half a second, "You're gonna get better. L.A is good for you. All that sun and shit."

"Right, sun is gonna cure me. I should just go to a tanning salon, Vic, if that was all I needed." He snorted in disgust, fingering the handle for the suitcase that held all of his clothes and most of his small possessions, "I don't know if I'll be back, OK? It'll probably be better if we never saw each other again. Logically."

Kori squealed in distress, "What are you saying, friend Garfield? You are never for logical propositions!" She huffed, her arms locking into a cross, "And I for one will not allow it." Pursing her lips, she hugged him once more and for a second there, he thought that she was crying, "We will be visiting you if you do not visit us. I do not care if you are too busy being cured of this Sakutia," she started sternly, "if we do not meet, I will hunt you down and make you the—how do you say it?—kersplat!" She shrugged, her lips pursing in a half smile, "Do you comprehend this, friend?"

Garfield had to grin; Kori was nothing if not protective and possessive of her friends. He liked that, it made him feel like he was worth something other than being a Titan; he was worth keeping as a friend. He had to keep that in mind when he was back in S.T.A.R Labs; Doctor Conrad told him that positive thoughts would help him get better; it was a sort of body and mind thing, some sort of psychobabble that he wanted to believe in. It was worth a try, after all.

As much as he loved his friends, though, he found what Jinx had told him a couple of moments before niggling away at him. He was doing all this—moving away, officially signing off his post early from the team, going through painful experiments—in order to fulfill his selfish need to get cured and it was selfish and that had always been his goal ever since he had spoken to Didi but…

The four friends continued to talk for a while and it flowed between light and heavy conversations in a volatile manner, though no one commented on that little fact. Hugs were exchanged and compassionate looks were shared but no one mentioned how big the room seemed now that it was all cleaned out; he thought that it looked as if it was twice the size of his room in S.T.A.R Labs now.

…but Jinx was right in that it was kind of unfair on Raven. Sure they were on a break and sure they hadn't really talked to each other—except for that one time when he had just come back—but they still had this thing that had lasted for almost two years. Jesus, two years was a pretty long time for someone who was green and short and could turn into animals. They had even loved each other, still did—at least he did on his side—and she had the right to know—did she? He wasn't so good with these post-relationship relationships seeing as one of those girls was dead and the other one studying economics in France—where and why he was going, just as Jinx had said. Maybe he should wait?

He sighed.

Stretching his arms upwards awkwardly, he threw them a smile, "Guys, can I have a moment please? I mean my ride doesn't come for another hour or so and I wanna just sit here, like, alone." He paused, "Is that OK?"

"Yea, sure man. Take your time." Vic said, throwing him a smile back.

They left, almost too quickly, but he threw that thought out of his mind. Scrambling through his luggage, he tried to find the items that he needed.

Garfield Logan had work to do.

---

It was all dark and it was all space.

Her fingers tried to find some sort of solid object to relieve her of the anxiety she was currently feeling, but no such thing happened. All she could be sure of was this chanting, so familiar that it irked her.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Was that her voice?

She didn't remember speaking, she didn't remember what she had been doing before…by Azar…she didn't really remember much.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Was that her voice again? Did she sound like that? Why was she chanting, if that really was her voice?

She touched her lips to see if they were moving and found that they were…but no sound was emanating form them. The chanting…the voice…was coming from an entirely different place.

It was her voice though, right? She had to recognize her own voice…

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

…right?

Raven scrambled around for some memories of what had happened, she had no recollection of anything significant happening prior to the dark and that scared her; nothingness was more of a trap than anything, and the lack of anything made her ever more cautious. She wanted to hide…but where? Where was she to hide if there was nothing and everything at the same time?

That thought alerted her for half a second.

Hide? Why was she supposed to hide? Was there something…?

What was she hiding from?

She floated—was that the right word? It didn't feel right but she couldn't find any other that fit—through the nothingness, trying to find solid land that could comfort her, but she found none. Her arms felt heavy, and she wanted to push away all the effort needed to keep herself up, but she was too scared of the consequences. What if she fell? It felt like there was nothing up nor down but maybe there was some sort of gravity here…she wasn't so sure…

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

What was she to do?

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Suddenly, she felt something tug her at the waist, dragging her towards a particular spot. Her heart thumped out of her ribcage, doing ridiculous flips and hurtles as she was continuously dragged. Her fingers tried to fumble at the invisible rope that held her but they failed and she was left flailing around limply, not capable of controlling her own limbs; she was tired all of a sudden, and unsurprisingly, she had no energy to fight the tiredness away.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Suddenly, there was a door—was it a door?—and light streamed through the cracks. The light wasn't clear though, not sharp like light usually is…but fuzzy and blended…almost hazy like smoke except…except she was so sure that it was light; there was almost no doubt about it. Raven reached out to open it, her hands almost reaching the rusty knob to turn it and revel in that hazy light…but the rope refused, and she was pulled back violently, hair flailing everywhere, limbs trailing behind her as the pull grew ever more violent and ever more aggressive. The grip on her dainty waist grew tighter, squeezing her insides and crushing her ribs, her chest moving all the more faster in order to get more air.

She had completely lost control.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Finally, she realized as her palms explored her surroundings, finally there was solid ground. The rope had released her and she felt her own breath wheeze in delight. She could go to the door now…she could! Her body felt weak and she knew that she had bruises all over and it would be quite impossible to lift herself up and walk but…but… she could crawl…and she had a feeling that if she wanted to get out of wherever she was now, she would have to go out of that door.

Raven had a sudden urge to bite her lips down but she couldn't as they continued to move and mouth their silent words. She couldn't stop them; it was like they had been embedded in her mind and that something bad would happen if she stopped uttering those words…those silent, silent words.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

A crunching sound was emitted from her chest and her hands frantically clutched at her breasts as if her ribs would fall apart to reveal the fragility of her heart. It was then that she realized that she was completely naked; bare of any clothing and cold…so cold. The hairs on her skin prickled with each movement she made towards the door and the ground welcomed the touch of her skin by grazing her knees until they were sore; skin peeling off delicately to reveal trickling ribbons of dark red blood. She groaned as her legs tried to keep up with her overreaching arms and she squinted her eyes, hoping it was just exhaustion making the door seem like it was going further and further away from her reach. Her breath felt heavy and her chest heaved slower and slower, as if it could no longer handle the alien air that was in this dark space.

She had to reach that door.

Raven licked her lips and found them to be cracked, and she hit the realization that she was dehydrating. It may have been minutes that she had spent here, but it felt like hours, and her body agreed. The moving door had now stopped but she had an inkling that it had done so because it had sensed that she was too tired to keep on moving but…

She inhaled.

Exhaled.

…she would show them…show it. She would get to that door, open it and jump through. She would. She could.

The door, Raven noticed, seemed to be getting a bit closer now, luring her in. This caused some confusion in her, but her body refused to listen, and she struggled towards it; nails and knees exuding beautiful red ribbons. The door kept coming closer now, slowly and surely, and she had to pause to admire it. There really was nothing so special about it, but something in her mind urged her to gaze at the smooth texture of the wood in awe and gasp in appreciation of that rusty, brass knob. Her hands shook as they reached out, and her knees sang in relief as she took those shaky steps to stand up. She licked her lips once more as she carefully turned the knob and breathed in once more before she pushed the door open.

That was her first mistake.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

The air on the other side sucked her in, pulling her with the invisible tentacles and she instantly buckled to the floor, her hands clutching at her throat, urging for the air to not escape. She fell on her back as something pulled at her stomach and it grabbed onto something in her abdomen, pulling and pulling and pulling until it grabbed onto one finally thread and plucked it out. She choked, coughing and coughing and her hands flailed wildly, trying so hard to grab whatever it was that the hands had taken, her body urging for it back.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Her arms clutched at her stomach tightly and she looked down, as if expecting a hole right around where her belly button was. She couldn't find any and she couldn't think of a reason why; she felt so empty, so cold, so…alone. Something had been cut off from her and she wanted it back. She wanted it back…she needed it back.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Raven clawed at the air, screaming and fighting her conscience to wrestle her something out of those things and back into her. Her lungs felt like they were going to collapse if she didn't get it back. She needed it back. She needed it back.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

All of a sudden, something grabbed at her, and to her surprise and horror, it was a rope. Her ankles tried to wrestle their way out but it was to no avail as yet another thick rope twirled itself around her other ankle. Soon it began attacking her other joints; her elbows, her wrists, her knees, her ankles. Her torso was also vulnerable and they attached to her like old ivy vines; securing her body tightly and so she could not even move even if she wanted to, even her neck was secured; tightly, but not too tight that she couldn't breathe. Only here eyes were free to move, and even then, small pieces of rope found themselves on her face, twirling it around so that she couldn't see.

It was all dark.

She had lost that something.

She had lost any movement.

Azarath…Vasma Metrion… Insep… Phazmatis… Mens Cor… Vinces…

Something had gone wrong, she found herself thinking, half remembering the cause of all this, something had gone wrong and the door had not turned into a cure.

It had turned into a trap.

Raven Roth was trapped.

She was trapped in the dark.

---

Matt's place wasn't as bad as he had previously thought, and the guest room was to his liking. It wasn't perfect, it wasn't home—just yet—but it would do. He unpacked his belongings as he mused at what he could do with the room to make himself feel ore comfortable and found himself thinking about asking matt whether or not it would be appropriate for him to paint it green, and to get green sheets and…and…

Garfield shook his head; this was not Titans Tower.

Matt had welcomed him with open arms, and had not—surprisingly—mentioned anything about his illness, or about how things would change since he was staying here now. It made Garfield feel comforted, like he wasn't budging into Matt's life suddenly and that it had been part of some grand master plan that he had always been planning to move in with Matt.

This was, of course a lie, but still…it made Garfield Logan feel better.

He was tired, he realized, and he sat on the edge of the bed, pondering at the comforts of a single bed compared to his double bed back in Jump City, and found himself testing it out by laying down on it. It was new and hadn't been broken it, but he knew that he wouldn't really mind; the uncomfortable factor may even put his mind off several other things that he didn't really feel like pondering about. Sometimes, it was easier to forget and distract oneself on whether or not he should jump on the bed to make things more comfortable.

Sometimes.

It was then, of course, when it made him remember what he had done before his final walk out of the Tower. It may have been a silly thing to do because, she may never actually find it, but—like the comforts of distraction—it made him ever so slightly better just by doing it. He had read and reread it until his eyes bled and he was sure that one short note would ease his discomforts…and it did…momentarily. Of course, like he had previously mentioned, there was the factor of whether or not she would actually find it; he had placed it on top of his bed, plain for all eyes to see, and he had written clearly on top of the folded piece of paper Raven just in case there were any doubts on who it was for.

Of course, of course, it depended on whether or not she actually entered his room.

She probably wouldn't.

He sighed, and threw his stuff on the floor, kicking his clothes gently into separate categories.

He had to forget and concentrate on himself; that was his life now.

A/N: Don't forget to review! See you soon!