Chapter 38. Exorcism 101. Part two.

It was as bright as dawn over the isolated terrain and everywhere Raven looked, there was fog in an eerie crawl of patches of dead grass. It wasn't cold or humid to explain the condensation and there were silhouettes of trees as far as she could see, then suddenly, she noticed a dead silence. The lack of noise she had not been aware of before was unsettling and more so was the fact that every one of her moves was a blur. Either too fast or too slow, hard to tell. After all, it was the first time she was in someone else's mind landscape that resembled her own

Hood over her head, she kept on walking until up ahead, amidst the fog, a figure moved. She stopped her tracks and tried to use her powers to sense her surroundings, not wanting to fall into a trap, but her powers found a dead end, so she figured, the mental barriers must be up ahead, but again, every step she gave, a blur in space seemed to encase her and found herself a mere short feet away from her target in the blink of an eye.

In front of her was a crystal wall of broken glass, very much resembling Meliah's eyes, but as Raven looked left, right and up, she got to the conclusion that it was hard to tell how tall or wide it was due to the fog, but on closer inspection, she could tell it was thick, of no particular color, but as she tried to discern what was on the other side, the silhouette suddenly appeared in front of her, banging with muffled sounds at the barrier making Raven jumped in surprise. But the moment she backed up, the figure on the other side shifted into what could only be a T-Rex. Swinging its tale at something behind it then with a louder muffled sound, slammed its tale at the barrier that didn't even shake at the aggression.

Wide eyed, Raven let a small gasp escape her lips at what she saw and whispered to herself "Meliah!" and just as quickly, placed her hands on the glass while chanting her mantra, her hands started to glow in her dark energy and after a few moments, she heard the crystal rumble and the distinctive noise of glass cracking open was heard. Soon, a great portion of the wall was encased and with a grunt of effort, it broke, and as the pieces fell, Raven caught a glimpse of whatever it was attacking Meliah before it dissipated in dark smoke along with the remaining of the broken wall.

Meliah, at seeing her attacker disappear, returned to her human form and noticed Raven approaching slowly and without restrain, run to her and hugged her.

"Raven! You're here… I'm so glad you're ok… I'm sorry, I really am, I could see what we were doing but couldn't stopped her… I'm sorry…"

Raven patted her awkwardly on the back while saying " It's ok". Slowly, she pushed her back to get a better look at Meliah. The scars on her face were a bit more prominent, and other scratches on her arms and legs were of disturbing nature.

"Gar has very sharp teeth" Meliah said after noticing Raven's scrutiny.

"Any idea where did it go?" asked Raven, looking at their surroundings. The fog was still as thick as before.

"I don't know. I haven't been able to see much since I woke up. How are we going to get out of here?"

"First we need to find it and contain it. We don't want it go jump to another mind and hide until is too late" said Raven in her monotone while lifting her hands encased in her dark energy, trying to find another barrier of some kind.

"Another mind? You mean, like yours?"

"…yes" said Raven quietly and stopped in front of Meliah. "There is no telling what it would be able to do if it gets inside my head. My powers are… much too dangerous"

Meliah thought for a minute while Raven resumed her walking, this time Meliah followed. "But Raven, I thought that was not possible, you're a demon already."

"Just half… the other half is still human. I'm just as vulnerable as you are" said Raven before stopping. She had noticed Meliah hide a smile but said nothing. Then, a few feet in front of them, a swirl of dark smoke started to appear. Raven stopped on her tracks and motioned Meliah to come closer while the figure regained solidity. A dark silhouette tried to make its way towards them as if in slow motion. The blurred movements prevented the empath to focus on one point.

"Raven!" said the figure in a muffled voice. Suddenly, Raven's eyes stared to glow white and while a barrier of dark energy formed around her and Meliah, she called on Mento, who's presence was immediately known.

Mento's mental barriers started to build from the fog as if crystallizing into solid ice. Inside, the silhouette fell, and thru the thick ice, Meliah's figure was propping herself up on her elbows while Raven's arm extended, hands outstretched she turned and as she did, commanded the dark barrier to shrink around the Meliah next to her.

With a shriek, the girl fell with a thud then tried to free herself. Her eyes crystallized blue and tried to transform, but Raven's tendrils of magic bore into her skin tighter.

"Did you really think I was going to fall for that?" asked Raven, looking down at the now disfigured girl, struggling to get free, growling at the same time. Then Raven turned towards the real Meliah inside the ice barrier when a shrill, evil laugh resonated behind her.

"So the daughter of Trigon the Terrible has a soft spot for these weak humans. Hello Raven" said the entity. Who now was free of Raven's magic tendril. It still looked like Meliah except her eyes were pitch black. "You know Raven. It is such a shame you're wasting your time with that green idiot when Meliah and I have made him ours way before…" the entity said, walking sensuously in front of Raven who's eyes were wide in surprise.

"You're lying!"

"Am I now…you don't believe me? Ask Meliah over there" she taunted.

" Is not what you think Raven. Don't listen to her…" said Meliah, finally able to get up from the ground and pressing her hands against the glass barrier.

"Well, let's Raven be the judge of that… shall we?" said the entity and with a wave of her hand, a blurred image appeared from the fog. Meliah fell on her knees as she grabbed her head and grunted in discomfort while the entity extracted the memories from her subconscious.

An image from an stand up point of view, lowered herself to a sleeping Garfield, then positioned herself over his lower midsection and the unmistakable bounce commenced. Garfield was moaning and breathing fast and hard as well as a worked up Meliah who's voice was heard softly along their ragged breathing.

"…that's it Gar… a little more… you can do it…" Meliah moaned in the background while hitting Garfield's chest. His head thrown back as the moans and grunt noises he made kept getting louder until at last, the sound of release achieved, panting and Meliah's words "I knew…you were not… going to disappoint…me…" she said in between ragged breaths. Then the image dissipated in the fog.

Raven was horrified. She knew about Meliah's crush on Garfield. She could sense it every time the three were in close proximity, but for Meliah to have gone this far, was more painful that what she ever cared to admit. She turned to the real Meliah inside the crystal barrier, searching for a sign that what she had just seen was a made up memory of the demon's twisted mind, but all she found was the girl's sad, guilty expression. Looking down to the ground with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Is not what you think…" Meliah repeated softly.

"Oh but it was satisfying, trust me Raven, I was there as well" taunted the demon with a smirk on her face.

Raven narrowed her eyes and her eyes started to glow red. The demon started to laugh once more "Yes! That rage is so satisfying… I cant wait to taste it myself…"

"As you wish …" said Raven in a gutural voice, with a smile that sent shivers thru Mento's mental connection with Meliah, who was also surprise at the change of atmosphere around Raven.

Raven's hands were encase in bubbles of dark energy bigger than her head and started to throw beams of dark magic that were pulverizing whatever they touched as the demon avoided each blow. Finally one caught up with the entity, throwing it across the field, making marks on the ground with the force inflicted.

Then, Raven turned around, an extra set of glowing red eyes had made its presence and Meliah gasped and backed up away from the enraged demoness, but the glass barrier was too narrow for her to go too far and was stopped by the cold surface on her back. The Raven in front of her stopped mere inches away from the barrier while smiling evilly at her.

"You and I have much to discuss… Meliah" said Raven thru gritted teeth with an even more cynical smile. Deep inside, Meliah was glad for the barrier that soon was encased in a dark aura and the girl felt the chaffing cold of revenge directed at her.

But, out of the corner of her eye, far behind the enraged demoness, the other demon approached fast. Tentacles spiraling around and daggers made out of ice flew ahead straight for the empath while the demon headed straight for Mento's open mental link.

Raven evaded evaded a large amount of the daggers but many found their way to the crystal barrier, almost breaking it on impact. Raven turned hastily and yelled "Mento, GET OUT!" but there was immediate response, and on seeing his hesitance, she severed the link, breaking Meliah free. "MENTO…MY MIRROR!"

"RAVEN, LOOK OUT!" Mento yelled as Raven turned and with a blast of her dark energy, encased Meliah and herself, along with the demon that was about to reach out for Mento and then disappeared into a dark hole.

…

…

Back in the medical bay, Garfield had just caught Raven from hitting the floor. "MENTO, WHAT HAPPENED?" he asked with evident desperation. At the same time that the heart monitor was signaling a flat line on Meliah. Cyborg and Robin rushed to the girl and started to quickly resuscitate her. Heart slowly started to beat while they inserted a tube down her throat to help he breath.

All the while Mento was being assisted to his feet by Rita. Panting, with barely any pause for exhaling, Mento said "They vanished… all three of them are gone"

"What do you mean gone? What happened?" asked Garfield.

"They disappeared in a dark hole. Raven took Meliah and that demon with her. But there is something else. Raven was not herself, with two sets of red glowing eyes, she sent me away…"

"Did she say anything?" asked Red X, coming around and knelt on Raven's other side while Garfield held her.

"It didn't make sense, but all she mentioned was… her mirror?"

Garfield's head snapped up and gasped. "X, hold Raven for me…" he said and carefully placed the unconscious girl on the thief's arms while still on the floor and took off running.

"Garfield!, where are you going!?" asked Rita.

"I know where she took them… I'll be right back…" he said as he exited the room, leaving everyone with surprised and curious looks among them.

Garfield turned into a cheetah, avoiding the elevator and skidding across the hallways on each turn he took until he found his destination. Unable to stop his tracks on the slippery floor, he decided to use his momentum and turned into a rhino just before he slammed into the door, causing it to break off its track as pieces of debris fell around him. Once inside, he turned back human and went straight to the dresser where he knew the mirror could be.

He found it after he opened the first drawer with a triumphant "Yes!" and carefully grabbed it by the handle, making sure he turned it away from himself. With a strong grip he carried it back to the med bay, running as fast as he could, careful enough not to break it. When he stepped inside the room, Red x was placing Raven on the bed she had occupied only a few days ago with Starfire's assistance. Mento was shaking his head as if trying to come out of the daze with Rita next to him.

Cyborg and Robin had finished tending to Meliah and were calibrating the intake of meds on the girl's IV.

Garfield came to stand next to Red X and took Raven's hand in his and placed a soft kiss on it, then he bent to her ear and whispered "I'm coming babe" right before he placed a kiss on her cheek. Then straighten up and carefully placed the mirror facing up on the bed next to her which glinted on the surface lightly, regardless of the lack of moving lights around.

The thief immediately distrusted the artifact and took a couple of steps back. "Are you sure you know how to use that thing kid?" he said while looking at the mirror. Everyone else turned their way and see what was the changeling planning. Cyborg however was not too keen of the idea.

"B, this is not the moment to play "let's see what Raven is thinking". You and I know that thing is dangerous"

"I don't care tin man, she needs me and that's exactly how I plan to do it"

"How is the mirror going to help Raven kid?" asked the thief before Garfield approached the mirror on the bed.

"This is where Raven took Meliah and the demon… to her mind and right now they need me. So either you come and help or stay out of my way" without waiting for a response, Garfield approached the mirror and with a mysterious glint, a reddish shadow emerged from it and enveloped the changeling, pulling him into its depths.

Rita gasped loudly followed by Starfire who had never seen such oddity. Cyborg just shook his head softly and mumbled to himself "Oh man" while Robin looked silently astonished, then glanced at the thief who had not looked away from the mirror. Then he turned to look at Raven and softly run a finger on her jaw line and said to himself "Looks like fun" and walked towards the mirror.

"Michael wait!" said Starfire the moment the shadow took Red X. "See you later kids" he said before disappearing into the magical portal.

…

…

The ride had been familiar. Much like teleporting with Raven before, but this time without a safe way of landing. When he got up, sore from the fall, he looked around at his surroundings. Black, starless skies, with floating boulders around. Not an exact landscape but there were mountains of some kind at a distance.

He started to walk towards the edge, trying to find a way to the next boulder, but as soon as he took the first step, the smaller floating rocks began to come together to form a path in front of him. He looked with suspicion and slowly tried his way, testing each step to make sure the makeshift surface was steady enough. After a couple of steps, he saw at a distance what seemed to be an explosion, just beyond the mountains he had seen earlier. He started to run and once he reached the bottom, realized he was far away from action.

He figured, Beast Boy had just turned into some kind of bird and flew over there, but in his case, he had to run. But a muffled gasp got his attention. He got one of his rubbery exes ready to attack whoever was stalking him and cautiously walked around the rock. And there, hiding in the crook of the boulder was Raven. Cowering under her cloak at the sight of him.

"Raven?" he said with plain surprise and immediately put away his weapons once he noticed her distress. But the Raven in front of him whimpered a little then run to him and wrapped her arms around his midsection. This took him by surprise. Never had he seen Raven so vulnerable. And as she buried her face on his chest she said "X! I'm so glad you came…" then she let go of the thief who was still too shocked to answer "quickly, come with me. Garfield and Raven need your help" she said while pulling him by his right arm.

"Whoa, whoa beautiful. I'll go wherever you want me to but…. Did you just say Garfield and Raven… need my help?" she let go of his arm and blushed at his remark. Then more quietly she said "Please X, just… follow me…"

He definitely had never seen this blushing side of the demoness and for some reason, he liked it. So, he came closer and took her hand "Take me wherever you want me to go beautiful… I'm all yours" Timid couldn't stop blushing but let him take her hand while he came closer and from beneath them, she created a dark disk that levitated them both and flew them at high speed.

The thief took the opportunity to pull her closer and noticed for the first time the color of her cloak. A light grey he had never seen on her. However, before he had the chance to questioned her about it, they had come over the mountain top and what he saw was both incredible and unbelievable.

A monster with no specific form but a kaleidoscope of several animals that continually changed position attacking mercilessly at the two changelings and Raven … no, two… three Ravens… all in different color cloaks. All with glowing white eyes, except for the one in red, her eyes were red as well.

All throwing tendrils of their dark energy at the monster who used tentacles to defend itself and fend off their attacks. At some point, one of the Ravens was thrown close by. She was dusting off her green cape and smiled when she looked up. "Hey X!, ready to join the fun?.. Hey Timid, lets go, Raven needs us!"

"I rather stay here with… " Timid started to say while backing away from the other emotion.

"Nonsense! Is fun. We're just playing a bit… Come X, we are in dire help of those sweet moves you got" and then she turned around and took off towards the monster again, black sword in hand.

For a moment, the thief couldn't take his eyes away from the other girl, then back at the one next to him. "We'll explain everything later…now go… please" Red X just nodded and started to run towards the confrontation, weapons ready.

Garfield had turned into a rhino and Meliah into a T-rex trying to distract the demon while Raven cast the spell when Red X appeared and threw a smoke grenade before he jumped thru it and with bo staff in hand attacked the monster directly on what could be the head but it switched positions again and this time he was headed directly to serrated teeth.

"Red X Look out!" yelled Meliah and transform into a pterodactyl and caught him mid air, but the thief was not a fool and had thrown a rubbery x to close the mandibles to avoid his impending doom.

"Good, you're here. Distract it as much as possible, I need to cast the spell before it tries to possess someone else's mind" said a familiar monotone behind him. The girl with the dark blue cloak was a more familiar face than the other ones he had encountered and he smiled behind his mask when he saw she was indeed ok.

Then the monster took a human form and started to chuckle at the sight. "hmmmm, so much to choose from. Another changeling, a half demon and a criminal mind… so tempting" she said while walking towards them, assessing her prey.

"Gar, X… let her get to me, I need her as close as possible for the spell to work"

"I'm not letting that thing close to you Rae"

"Gar, trust me ok? X, make sure to protect Meliah, she's still weak… I'll do the rest."

"I think I'll go for the demoness… ah, such a tease your powers have been. The thrill of your powers are just too irresistible… besides, I rather have my way with Garfield. I don't think it would be as much fun if I'm inside him when I can enjoy him better while he's inside me…" continued the demon. Looking from one to the other, ignoring completely Raven's emotions scattered around.

"That's it!" said Raven and stepped forward. "You want me? Take your best shot… just don't complain later" said Raven taunting the demon closer.

"Raven, why are you using yourself as bait?" whispered the thief angrily. But she cut him off "Take care of Meliah, X, I know what I'm doing"

The thief lingered for a few more seconds then moved towards the female changeling who was a few feet away from them in a fighting stance. Garfield was not too far, watching the demons every move.

The demon took the challenge and charged towards Raven and right before the demon was being consumed by them, and just like ter her mistress and awaited eagerly for her own prey. This time Raven had four red glowing eyes and as the demon got closer, she could feel the rage the invaded the empath.

"Yes, yes. I can feel it. The power, the energy flowing thru me. I'll have the power to travel thru dimensions… I'll be invincible … I'll be…. What's… what's happening… what are you doing…." asked the demon in a panic voice. Because instead of feeling the thrill of the powers, the vacuum of the vortex that surrounded Raven was consuming her mercilessly.

Raven, now Rage, had a demonic smile that sent shivers to everyone around her. The demon now struggling to get free but couldn't escape. Raven started to laugh and said in an other worldly voice "Exorcism 101, lesson one… a spirit demon cannot possess another demon of higher status…"

"But you're half human, I should be able to possess you as well" said the creature in a shrill voice.

"Ah, which brings us to lesson number two. A half demon is only half by appearance but a demon never the less and lesson three, before you ask… A real demon's rage will consume you into oblivion, so now… you're mine!" Rave said the last with a lower, deeper voice while the lesser demon cried out until it disappeared and there was only silence.

…

…

Raven turned to Meliah who was tightly embraced by the thief as the vortex had unleashed a kind of tornado that threatened to suck everything in, just like the demon had been.

She approached the female changeling and grabbed her by the throat and lifted her in the air "Now, tell me… how dare you …"

"Raven, no.. what are you doing" said Garfield while running towards them. But Rage stopped him on his tracks and pinned him down on the ground and said "you and I will talk after I take care of this hussy" she said and tighten her grim on the other girl's throat tighter. Meliah tried to pry the fingers off her throat while Red X approached them carefully.

"h-he…doessssn…'t know" Meliah tried to say over and over until Raven heard her. The empath narrowed her four glowing eyes at the girl and said "That… is hard to believe bitch!. I heard him just as well as I heard you" but her grip was so tight that Meliah couldn't breath anymore and her eyes were rolling back.

…

…

In the med bay, the monitors started to flash warnings. Meliah was chocking, eyes rolling back, hands trembling.

…

…

"Raven STOP! PLEASE!" begged Garfield from his spot on the ground, unable to get up.

"Raven.. Look at me… you are not going to kill her…" said Red X, approaching cautiously.

"Watch me" said the voice again.

"RED STOP! LET HER EXPLAIN" yelled another Raven in yellow approaching fast followed closely by a pink, a purple and a grey cloaked girls. The one in green was already trying to get her away from Meliah.

"Fine!" seethed the one in red and dropped Meliah on the ground without remorse. Red X quickly grabbed her to make sure she was still alive and a sigh of relief escaped him when she started coughing. "Explain.. Now!" demanded Rage.

With a hoarse voice, Meliah answered. "He doesn't know. He was unconscious when it happened. I had to do something or he would have died" she said while shyly looking over at Garfield on the ground not too far fro her.

"M, what are you talking about. What does Rage want to know?"

Meliah took a shaky breath and answered him. Not able to meet his eyes.

"Gar, remember when we were trapped in that metal cage… when Alec shot the darts at us?… well, what you felt was the reaction to an overdose of adrenaline and Viagra. Your heart started to beat too fast and without release, it would have exploded… you would have died…"

"What was the antidote M?, he said you knew it. You made me promise not to ask when I woke up but I've always been curious"

"Well, since you could transform to burn the drug I had to… I had to…"

"Say it already!" demanded Rage with disgust.

After a few deep breaths, Meliah finally answered "I had to make you have an orgasm. That was the only way for you to release the extra energy and calmed your heart rate. That's why it hurt so much during and afterwards." she said quietly. Silence reigned while everyone understood the meaning.

Garfield was in shock. He remembered her pained and shameful expression the time he woke up. He barely remembered what had happened before but the pain in his lower midsection had been very much real, even hours after.

Rage and Raven separated, leaving an exhausted Raven panting as well as Rage from the exertion but mostly for what they had just learned. The tendrils holding Garfield down to the ground disappeared and slowly he got up and carefully approached them. Raven's eyes had tears of anger that she tried to hide an quickly moved towards Meliah and placed her right hand over the girl's head, chanted her mantra with her eyes closed and after a few seconds of concentration, found the memory. And saw it all, from the moment they had been thrown into the cage until the moment he fell back, barely breathing due to the effects of the darts. Pale and sweating she was as afraid as Meliah had been at that moment and realized how close of dying Garfield had been. She let go of her, not been able to watch what happened next a second time and then turned to him and hugged him fiercely. All of Raven's emotions followed suit as they had seen the images as well.

Red X had picked up Meliah and carried her to a nearby rock and waited until she settled down. He also watched in amusement how the other Ravens smothered the green changeling. Except for the one in yellow and another one in dark blue who just watched emotionless. Meliah just watched, letting the strange air around her dry her tears.

While Red X watched, Timid came behind him and softly tugged on his cape. When he turned, saw the shy girl and smiled to himself. "What is it beautiful… cant get enough of me?" Timid blushed and slightly smiled before saying "I -I just wanted to say thank you for coming and help"

"Any time beautiful. Just call me and I'm here"

"Thanks…I -I let Raven know"

"We also love your fighting techniques" said the one in green. "Much like Robin's but you have sweeter moves that he does" she said with a smile.

"We also think there is a certain romance to the mystery that mask gives you…so… what would you call it Red?" said the one in pink.

"Intriguing" she said simply. Red X was overwhelmed. Because next thing he knew, he was surrounded by most of the Ravens he had seen in action. That was until the real one cleared her throat from behind them to get their attention.

"All of you, don't you have something better to do like… smothering Garfield or something?" after all the emotions started to clear the way, she approached the thief who had his arms crossed over his chest.

"So.. Raven…you think I'm intriguing?" he taunted, a playful voice full of amusement.

"No. I think you're annoying… besides, I already know what you look like, there is no intrigue involved. Just follow them to the forbidden door. It will take you back to the tower"

"ouch! Yeap, you're the real one alright" he said with a chuckle and turned to follow the rest.

She watched him go then approached Meliah who had been lost in thought all the while. "I'm sorry about earlier" Raven said quietly. Meliah looked up for a moment then back to the ground. "its understandable" she said, just as quiet. "What will happen to me now?" she asked without looking up.

"I'll help restore your mind. Make the memories less painful."

"Can you make me forget?"

"No. but I can bury your memories deep within so you wont have to remember what you don't want to."

"I'd like that"

"E-everything ok girls?" asked Garfield.

"We're fine Gar" Meliah said with a smile when she noticed his messed up hair.

"I'm taking Meliah back to her own mind and help her restore some of the damage. We'll be back soon" said Raven and starteed to walk away. Garfield glanced at Meliah who had a guilty expression and refused to look him in the eye.

"M, don't. you saved my life… that's all that matters" he said while softly lifting her chin with his index finger. She nodded halfheartedly and walked behind Raven who was now floating mid air with her eyes closed, hands resting on her knees.

"Hey Rae.. "

"Yes?" she asked without opening her eyes.

"Should I be worried?" he asked and when she opened her eyes, he motioned for her to look over at the forbidden door where Red X was once again, surrounded by her emotions.

"No. They're just.. Amused at the new visitor… go quickly thru the portal and we'll see you soon" she said while closing her eyes again. But something deep within sank and for a moment, he felt empty. Lonely. But decided not to press the issue at the moment. Instead, he walked a few steps away and turned before the two girls were enveloped in a dark bubble and disappeared from their spot.

As he approached the forbidden door, each emotion turned to him and sadly said their goodbyes. The thief only watched as the green changeling walked thru the portal without a second glance. When he started to walk behind him, Timid stopped him by grabbing his arm and shyly pulled him a little lower just to place a light kiss on his masked cheek.

"We like you, we're just… not in love with you"

"Too bad you're not green" said Brave as she walked by and disappeared as well as the rest of them. The thief said nothing but arched an eyebrow under his mask and walked thru the swirling portal that would take him back home.