Chapter 33 Time for a Change

Raven kept on running, all while Raven stayed securely held in her arms. Even though she logically recognized that they were getting farther away from Trigon, it still felt as though they weren't getting any farther away from him. It was like chasing a rainbow in reverse. Raven almost wanted to give her double a big, frightened hug, for the thought of her father finding her in this trying and difficult time made her wish to seek comfort, any sort of comfort in any sort of form.

After a little bit, Raven came to a stop right in front of a clothing store. She caught her breath as she set Raven down on the ground. Even though she hadn't been running, Raven also decided to try and catch her breath. She had, after all, been practically hyperventilating as they ran through the town away from Trigon. She put her hand to her chest, taking deep breaths. Just for the heck of it, she took the time to say and focus on her trademark mantra.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she said, her voice so low that not even a bacterium could hear it. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" she let out her breath, just now realizing that she was breathing at a much easier and more consistent rate. She smiled, feeling like everything was finally starting to go well. She looked up at her double, refusing to let the smile vanish. "Well. I think it's safe to say we're in the…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a big, booming sound occurred just a few buildings away. Both Ravens shrieked and looked over, terrified by the thunder-like sound. To Raven's terror, she spotted a smoky cloud forming just around the corner. Fire rained down, and she smelled the unmistakable stench of smoke. She gulped, all at once starting to shake.

"Where are they?" Trigon's voice boomed. "Surely, finding them shouldn't be this hard!"

The Ravens exchanged a look. Without any need for words or conversation, they both realized that they needed to find a place to hide. Raven looked at the store that they stood in front of, shining its light down on the street via its very big and very see-through display windows.

"In here!" She whispered. She bolted inside, and Raven followed after her without a moment's hesitation. The girls looked around the store, getting strange looks of confusion and curiosity from the many people shopping there. The didn't care though; the only thoughts filling their heads were ones concerning getting away from the demon that was on the hunt for them. At least, that was what Raven thought of; she couldn't exactly speak for her double.

The two half-demon superheroes bolted toward the back of the store. Before long, they found some mannequins and hid behind them. All the while, they tried to get their breathing back under control. Raven peeked out from the display stand that the mannequins stood on. She saw her father, floating just outside the store. He looked confused despite the fiery power surging through all four of his wicked eyes. Clearly, he didn' see them bolting into the store, a fact that brought Raven such a strong sense of relief that she honestly didn't even know what to do with half of it.

She smiled and turned toward her double. "I think we're safe, finally!"

Raven didn't seem to share in her excitement, not even a little bit. So, she sniffed and looked back at Trigon with a raised eyebrow. "I wouldn't be so sure."

Raven blinked. "Why not? We've chosen the best possible hiding place! There's no way he would think to look here."

Raven shook her head. "You're underestimating him. I wouldn't do that; it's a dangerous game to play." Her face looked grim. "Nothing is stopping him from coming in and looking…"

Before she had even a chance to finish her sentence, the sound of a bell ringing rung throughout the store. Raven's heart stopped and jumped into her throat at the exact same time. She stared, in terror, as her father floated in the doorway. All the other customers looked at him, some even going so far as to drop the clothes they had been considering purchasing to the floor in terror.

Trigon didn't seem to pay heed to the fright of the customers. "Hello, citizens of the Serious Universe!" He reached into his pocket, pulling out a wallet. "You wouldn't happen to have seen my daughter, would you?" He opened the wallet, causing a row of pictures to fall out of it. Even though she was far away, Raven knew for a fact that those pictures were of her. This caused an unbearable bout of nausea to form, first in her stomach and then in her throat. "It's very important that I find her; I do have a multiverse to destroy after all."

As if that was the cue that alerted the customers to how scared they actually were, almost everybody in the store screamed. The customers screamed, the clerks screamed; everybody. In a rush, they bolted toward the emergency exit in the back of the store, clearly recognizing that trying to make their way past Trigon would be suicide.

Once all the people disappeared, meaning Trigon and the Ravens were the only ones left inside, Trigon pinched his brow. "Oh, this is not going to be easy for me, is it?" He looked back at the door, igniting a hope in Raven that he would decide to leave the store. She almost smiled, her heartbeat slowing down. Oh please let him go out! She thought. Please let him go out and give up searching here!

Unfortunately, after a little bit, Trigon shrugged and turned back around. "Oh well." He floated forward. "No harm in searching here."

DANG IT! Raven pulled away, feeling like she was just a push away from backing up into the wall. Man, she really needed to learn that misplacing hope was a dangerous game.

"What are we going to do?" Raven whispered as she went back over to her double. Her face conveyed terror, a type of terror that would make even the most stoic of masks crumbled into pieces. "We're doomed!"

Maybe it was just Raven's inner contrarian, but she decided to shake her head. "No," she whispered back. "We're not doomed."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "He's a demon, Raven. In terms of a combat oriented superpowers, there's no way that my magic would be able to overpower him!" She looked back out at Trigon, still floating forward. "Sure, I have my white Raven superpower, but that requires a lot of mental energy to summon! There's no way we'll be able to beat him!"

Raven frowned, seeing her double's points crystal clearly. It was true that they couldn't beat Trigon in terms of sheer power. But… but what about in terms of intellect?

"We still have a way to escape." She pointed at the mannequins. "We're in a clothing store. Why don't we pick up one or two disguises?"

Raven gaped at her, her eyes wider than the sun. "Are you insane? How is a simple change in clothes going to fool him? He's not dumb enough to fall for that!"

Raven shook her head. "That may be true of your Trigon. But mine? Oh, he is far away from being the brightest bulb." Huh. Kind of fitting given that Trigon was a being composed of pure darkness. "I know for a fact that this'll work."

Even with that reassurance, Raven didn't appear convinced at all. If anything, she appeared to be even more skeptical. "But… but…!"

"Rae raes?" Trigon called out. He looked through a rack of pants just mere feet from the girls. "Are you in there?"

Raven winced. She looked back at her double, who tried to tell her with her eyes that this would work. Even if she wasn't one hundred percent certain, Raven would still suggest this plan because… well, what choice did they have? They were just minutes away from bein discovered! It was really their only available option.

Eventually, Raven sighed and nodded. Smiling, they grabbed some of the clothes off the mannequins and made a beeline for the changing rooms. Despite the clothes she picked up being noticeably too big for her, Raven still put them on happily. As she did, she put her trademark dark cloak to the side. Right as she finished getting dressed, she studied herself in the mirror. Hmm. The hoodie, purple and with a front that spelled out the name for a show she had never seen, looked so big that she practically floated in it. Regardless, she still was fairly confident about this. This only proved to be more true as she pulled her hood up. To her delight, she saw that her face wasn't cast in shadow, meaning her dad was even less likely to pick up on the fact that it was her.

So, with a grin on her face, she exited the changing room. Raven came out of the one parallel to hers, sporting a tee shirt and a pair of short blue jeans. She wore a baseball cap, hiding her striking violet hair as well as the gem on her forehead.

"You look great," Raven whispered.

"Thanks." Despite sounding stoic, Raven was able to pick up on the fact that her double was shaking. "I only hope it's enough."

"It will be. I promise." Right as she said that was when Trigon came from just around the corner. He blinked at the two girls, possibly questioning why two people had failed to run out of the store screaming like every one else who had been present. He floated over to them, squinting all the while.

This caused Raven to smile. "Woah!" She said, trying her best to put on a high pitched voice. "It's a demon!" She turned toward her double. "Isn't that cool, sis? An actual, genuine demon is in this store! At the exact same time as us!" She turned back toward her dad. "Talk about a great birthday!"

Trigon blinked before chuckling. "Well well well. A girl who's happy to see me. Don't see enough of those." He smiled at her. "My name is Trigon, little one. Trigon the Terrible."

Raven giggled. "That's so cool! My name's just Rachel. Rachel the… the…" she laughed. "Well, I don't exactly have a title; I'm just an ordinary little girl." She gestured toward her double. "And this is my big sister Angela! She's in high school, which I think is super neat!"

Trigon beamed at looked up at "Angela." "It's very nice to meet you."

Beads of sweat rolled down Raven's face. "Uh… um…" she clearly struggled, both with what to say as well as with how to keep this act convincing. She looked over at her double, who gave her a reassuring smile. Raven knew she could do it. She just needed to stay strong; strong and confident.

"It's nice to meet you too… er, Trigon." She sounded like she was going to pass out, and she even cringed at the extra deep voice she had forced herself to speak with. She looked like she was just inches from running away, or from abandoning this charade entirely and begrudgingly accepting her fate.

Thankfully, Trigon was still none the wiser. "No no, the pleasure is me." He did a bow before looking at the two girls. "Say, you two didn't happen to see two half demon sorceresses in dark shadowy cloaks come into the store, did you?"

Raven laughed. "Oh no!"

"I… I think I would remember if I saw something like that," Raven added, all while she still sweat.

"Oh." Trigon's shoulders slumped. "That's a shame." He shook his head and looked back at the girls. "Well, if you two ever do see that, feel free to give me a call." He grinned again. "It was a pleasure meeting you both, you impish little fangirls."

Raven laughed, trying her best to sound as happy as possible about her dad's compliment. She waved goodbye as Trigon floated out of the store. Once he was no longer visible standing on the curb outside, both Ravens let out the breaths they had been holding.

"Well." Raven smiled at her double. "I think now we're officially safe."

Raven shook her head. "I cannot believe that actually worked."

"Well, believe it baby!" Raven turned back to the changing room. "I don't know about you, but I think we should keep these clothes on. Will help us be more safe and less recognizable on the streets."

"Uh… um… yeah, you're right." Raven shook her head as they both went back into retrieve their old clothes. "Man, who knew that such a goofy plan would be the most foolproof."

Raven laughed. As she picked up her shoes, leotard, and cloak, she smiled a little bit to herself. She was glad that the plan worked… but still scared out of her mind. The fear refused to leave her even as she and her double walked out of the store without paying (hey, the cashier was gone, so why not?). She knew, deep down, that all she did was just buy the two of them some time.

Hopefully, it was enough time…