Authors notes: I edited the last chapter a few days after I first released it. So some might want to go back and read the final few paragraphs, because the ending is different and Raven is in a different place mentally.

Please try to keep in mind where Raven is coming form here. It is in essence when the hero starts to fall to the dark side.

Chapter 95

Hiding in plain sight.

Even all these years later and still Raven's stomach was trying to wrestle with her, like it could change what had happened.

The expressions on Beastboy and Starfires faces were hard for her to look at. They were both shocked at what Raven had done. She couldn't meet their eyes. She looked away. She looked down.

"I'm... I'm not proud of what I did."

"Dude..." Was all Beastboy said. No quip, no joke, nothing to try to make Raven feel better. She kind of appreciated that, she hated his gerbil faced optimism at the best of times. But right now Raven knew she didn't deserve it. Looking up at Beastboy again he actually looked more terrified of her than usual. She wished he wouldn't be. She'd never hurt him. Not too hard at least.

Starfire leaned away, but looked caring, yet still horrified.

"They didn't deserve to die. I was just..." Raven sighed, "No. I can't excuse it."

"Friend Raven, this is of your past, we judge you for the you, you are now. Not the you from days long since past."

"Yeah, umm... what Star said." Beastboy joked. Raven was both too saddened, and too prideful to give him a smile. Then his attention went back to Raven. "Yeah, Rae. Umm..." he searched for the right words. "You'd never do that now. Umm... right?"

"Depends, are you going to shame me into eating more tofu." Was something Raven wanted to say, but she wasn't in the mood for it. Mostly because she wasn't sure about it even today. It took a lot of effort to keep 'herself' under control. She wasn't sure if it all happened again today if she could contain herself, if she could prevent her own personal issues influencing her judgement. That is why she would never want to be someone's judge, jury, or executioner. She settled for just being the one to stop it. That is essentially what she was as a Teen Titan, just a glorified police woman.

"I don't want to do it again." Raven said. She looked up at them, expecting some kind of hate, revulsion, or even condemnation of her character. She'd known this part of the story was coming up and yet she hadn't given it much thought until she was almost at it. But rather than sugar coat it, or lie to protect herself, she decided to just lay her cards out bare.

They both leant in. "So what happened next?" Beastboy asked.

Raven's eyes grew subtly wider. They knew her enough to know what kind of person she was underneath. She could safely tell them tales from her past and they wouldn't judge her on what she was like before, as long as she had evolved, as long as she knew it was bad and moved on then she was deserving of redemption.

These people truly are my friends!

Don't start the water works!

She held herself back from even getting her eyes moist. It was easy. She just reminded herself that she'd robbed Hedgy and the rest of his group of any chance of redemption, no matter how slim it was.

"Honestly, this was only the start." Raven said solemnly, "Things only got worse from there."

"How worse?" Starfire asked.

"Much worse..." Raven said. Before she carried on she creepily sang.

"Oranges and Lemons,

say the bells of saint Clemons."

"I am your father. Obey me, obey me, obey me." Rang the growling voice in her head.

"Give in, you'll enjoy it." Said another, more feminine voice in a seductive tone.

NO! She thought back at it.

The death, the destruction.

Either be miserable forever, and everyone was safe, -that one was slim.- Or give in and become that creature, allow the demon Trigon to win. Be happy. She didn't care for either option.

Azar, she should go talk to Azar about it. He'd know what to do. She could trust him. She could tell him that... that she was destined to kill them all. He'd be disappointed that she looked into the future. But she could bare his scolding.

"Hello Raving." Oh for Christ sake, not her, not now!

Andra had appeared. Raven looked down at the ground to not make eye contact. She focused on putting one foot in front of the other, going forwards. Ignoring Andra as she floated there in her stupid, flowing cloak like she was a spectre haunting her. A glance up, she'd put some makeup on to make the lower part of her face paler.

"Guess who I am!" Andra flipped her hood up, and adopted a frown on her face, though her eyes weren't piercingly and silently angry, they looked dull, dopey and unintelligent. "I just want to be left alone." Andra mocked, putting a groan in her voice. "I just want to read my books. I want to marry my books."

"Go away!" Raven hissed. Wrong move. This was what she wanted.

"Go away." Andra mocked in that stupid tone. The other two of her little gang appeared followed by two more. Andra's little gang was growing. Five figures now floated around Raven as she walked, very quickly, trying to find somewhere to hide from them, somewhere to stop. "Oh, I hate everything. I am so dark and misunderstood." Raven ground her teeth. She growled a warning at them. "Oh, hear that. The dragon is angry."

They knew what Raven could do if she exploded, if she gave in. They were counting on it. They wanted it. Thing is, they were labouring under a misapprehension that Raven would snap out of it, that Raven would hold back, that she would stop. There was a voice in her head saying 'If you're going to get into trouble, might as well make it worth the punishment.'

No, it's bad. Dark fantasies appeared, ones of her causing them so much pain, and she could do it right now. Power was mounting with her anger, and anger was trying to jump into the driving seat and command her thinking and her reasoning. She would not let it win. She wouldn't, she wouldn't.

Just ignore them, they'll go away. Just ignore them, they'll go away. They'll get bored. Advice given to her by her mother.

"Raving Raven!" They sang, "Raving Raven." Raven shut her eyes and pretended not to see, nor hear them. Pretended not to see their stupid mocking, pale faces, or hear their stupid chant. She was at peace, she was centred. She was centred.

Centred.

They'll get bored, they'll get bored, they'll get bored. Keep cool, keep cool.

"You know who's worse than Raving? Her mother." Andra giggled.

...

No...

"Yeah, if she hadn't been seduced by Trigon, then you wouldn't exist."

Mother wasn't seduced, she didn't even consent to carry me.

"I..." Raven said still looking down, "I am not Trigons daughter!"

"I am not Trigons daughter!" Andra mocked, "That's what his daughter would say. Maybe we should be more focused on your mom, filling your nasty little head with more evil, unclean thoughts."

The demon stirred. Images of them chasing after her mom, harassing her, and no one caring to even help her, all because she'd given birth to Raven. The bad guy, the monster.

Raven opened her eyes just in time to see a foot sticking out, just before it left her field of vision under her nose, and her feet slammed into it. She stumbled and nearly tripped over her skirt.

They laughed, they laughed, and it hurt.

They'll get BOR... They'll go a after mom! KEEP COO... KEEP COOL. But my mommy... More thoughts of them going after her mother. KEEP COO... AH AGH!FUCK-IT!I'LL KILL THEM! I'LL KILL THEM! I'LL KILL THEM.

Raven rose up, with her anger came power, came focus. Taking the four boys around her Raven made their bodies lock up, every muscle tried to contract at once, causing them pain, and damage. Muscles weren't supposed to work against each other on the same hinge like this. Smiling with human teeth she raised her hands, out stretched and like a puppeteer with marionettes she lowered her hands down. The boys were forced onto their knees. It hurt them since they were being forced to fight their own constricting muscles just to fall to their knees. The knees made a satisfying crack as they sharply hit the solid floor. The boys wanted to scream in pain, but Raven numbed their tongues and their lungs. They had no breath to scream with.

Where they were, in this corridor no one would see them. No one would find them.

Raven then went to Andra before she could scream or retaliate. Around her neck came a collar of darkness, and up she went, up against the wall like a decoration. Andra was too taken by surprise to do anything with her own powers. They probably expected to just be pushed, or flung back. No, Raven had a much darker imagination and this wasn't even the tip of the iceberg of what she could do.

The collar of darkness constricted. Andra's eyes began to pop out. Raven was going to squeeze her head until it popped off like a dolls. It was no less than she deserved. Anyway, if there was an afterlife then God would sort them out in heaven, or whatever. If there was no afterlife, well then it sucked to be them right now.

"You are not going to go after my mom!" Raven said, an unearthly tone to her voice. "Do you know how I know?" Raven's head tilted to one side, her eyes glowing red. "Because Twinkle, Twinkle little eye, here and now is where you die!" Slowly she squeezed Andra's neck.

I was right, this is fun, this does make me feel happy.

Andra looked at Raven, all four of them did. They were doing something she'd never seem them do before. They were crying, they could sense it, the end was near.

"Sor... sorry..." croaked one of the boys. One of the younger boys. One of the newer members of Andra's gang. Raven didn't know him, she'd never care to know him. She could just tell he regretted picking on her, and that he really didn't want to.

Kill them! Kill them! The voice commanded. If they escape they'll tell, they'll get you into trouble. If they're dead at least you could hide the bodies.

They cried, but the numbness of their tongues and lungs meant only a strange gagging would come out.

Cowards, the lot of them. They were brave when they thought Raven wouldn't fight back. When they thought there wouldn't be consequences to their actions. That the lion would never raise its head and bite theirs off.

"All I ever wanted..." Raven said to them as she took all their necks in her power and started to put pressure on their neck bones. "Was just to be left alone."

"Mummy" the other little boy cried, "I want my mummy!"

Raven swallowed. I... I want my mummy too... She thought.

She dropped her powers and the five people collapse to the floor. Raven didn't move. She just looked at them as they got up. They were humiliated, but Raven wasn't going to run. That would show weakness, and then they'd definitely know that they could do it again, because Raven would be too weak to follow through. She needed them to know how close to death they had came, and by standing still and watching them retreat she was showing them she had power, she had intent, and she had the restraint to hold it back, at least today. And that if she had ended them she wouldn't have regretted it at all.

But that's not how she felt on the inside. She glanced into the polished marble of the walls and saw the creature she'd become reflected back at her.

When they were gone Raven half walked half ran until she found the door she wanted. She hammered on it until someone opened the door. Mother stood beyond.

"Raven, what...?" She stopped when she saw the state of her daughter.

"Mom. I've seen my future." Raven said to her, water in her eyes, "I know... I know what I'm for." Mothers eyes became sad. This told Raven that Mother already knew what her daughter was for. But Raven didn't care to be accusing towards her. She wanted to be in someone's secure arms, and she couldn't think of anyone better than her own mother.

The crackling fires still burnt, and Ace looked at Raven in horror at what had just happened. On some level, Raven did feel bad for what she'd sat back and allowed to happen. But she called up her bullies from Azarath and it made that pain go away to be replaced with the sterilising fire of hate.

"Raven, the Doctor isn't going to like this." Ace said. Raven's head snapped to her.

"Are you threatening to tell on me?" Raven grinned like the idea was amusing. But the thought of the Doctor's face when he finds out was enough to make Raven pause. Just imagining his disappointment just broke her heart.

The look he'd give her as he closed the TARDIS door on her one final time, watching the machine fade out without her. Kicked out. Rejected. No more safe home, no more adventures, no more Doctor, no more... no more of her daddy.

"No..." Raven croaked, tears welled in her eyes. Not for what she had done, but for fear of the punishment yet to come. She'd messed up, big time. Oh Christ, she'd gone too far for him to ever forgive.

She was a monster. The Doctor would hate her.

But... but it would only be that way if the Doctor found out. So Raven would have to do something about that. Once they've dealt with the Daleks Raven would have to usher the Doctor into the TARDIS as soon as possible so Big Dog, or anyone could spill the beans. Anyone who did she'd have to deal with. But Ace, she was a problem who'd need to be dealt with now. No one was here, no one was watching them. Even Drayfus had slunk away somewhere.

She made sharp and piercing contact with Ace's eyes.

"Look into my eyes." Raven said to Ace in a hypnotic tone.

"What..." Ace resisted and tried to look away.

"Look into my eyes." Raven said again, and she tried to force her way into Ace's mind. But she wasn't getting very far. "Obey me, obey me." Raven wanted access to her brain so she could force Ace to forget. But Ace mentally fought Raven at every turn.

"You'll have to do better than that, Sunshine." Ace said, a stern look on her face as she erected a mental brick wall and surrounded it with utter nonsense. Nursery rhymes, jargon and TV theme tunes. Whatever muddied the waters for Raven and made that defence stronger.

"There were seventeen bottles, hanging on the wall.

Seventeen bottles, hanging from the wall;

and if one of those bottles were to accidentally fall.

There would be sixteen bottles hanging on the wall."

Raven strained.

"A wizard is never early nor, late. He arrives precisely when he intends to."

"Let me in!" Raven snarled.

"Bill and Ben,

Bill and Ben.

Bill-and-Ben, Bill-and-Ben,

The Flower pot men."

"The Professor trained me proper to resist mental attacks like this." Raven bared her teeth. She was hoping this would be quick. The longer this goes on, the greater they chance of discovery by someone. But Ace absolutely refused to bend to her will

Alright, if Ace wanted to play games with fire.

"Okay Dorothy," Raven hissed, "if you won't let me take your mind, then I'll take you, mind, body and soul." Raven's cloak fell closed, masking her shape underneath. It parted again only there was just a black void where her body should be. From under the hem of her cloak several black tentacles snaked out. Three of them shot out and wrapped around Ace's legs. She fell to the ground and struggled as the black tentacles dragged her towards the billowing hem of Raven's cloak.

"Oi, get off me!" Ace shouted. "Help!" She tried to cry out, but one of the black tentacles wrapped itself around her face to shut her up. She continued to struggle like caught pray as the woman was dragged under the cloaks hem and into darkness.

The tentacles shrank away back under the cloak and Raven's cloak became still. When it parted to reveal the young, feminine figure there was no trace of Ace under the cloak. No evidence she even existed.

"Oi, where am I?" rang a voice in Raven's head. "Answer me, you little goth bitch!"

Somewhere the Doctor will never find you. She told the voice. Somewhere safe. Don't piss me off, and it'll remain that way.

"When I get out of here, I am going to..." Whatever threat was going to be uttered was silenced instantly as Raven mentally slammed the cage door in Ace's face.

Blissful silence.

Ace will never be found.

And the Doctor will be none the wiser.

The crowd was silent and sombre. Raven couldn't understand why. The biggest pain in their collective asses was finally gone. Raven was happy.

Are you?

Yeah.

...

Despite having Ace somewhere in her soul-self Raven could say she honestly felt no different. She did feel a little icky, but it had been a spur of the moment decision. Raven would have to think about what to do with Ace later. The woman couldn't stay inside Raven's soul-self. It wasn't dangerous in there. Most of the apparitions that would appear were harmless... well, mostly harmless. No, Ace wouldn't be able to survive in there because in essence there was no food or water to sustain her. She'll have to let her out sometime.

But when she does, and if Ace can contact the Doctor long range then the Doctor will still find out what Raven had done. Fear gripped her soul again. The only option was to just leave Ace in there. Raven could always drop some food and bottles of water into her soul-self to keep the older woman alive.

I've always wanted a pet. Said a dark thought. Though she'd prefer a cat, or a raven, or even a dragon.

Yes. Ace would stay where she was, lost in the endless maze of Raven's dark soul, forever. She didn't want to, and she got no pleasure from it. Its just what needed to be done to stop Ace talking, permanently.

It was a merciful solution. After all, Raven could've killed her. That would've shut her up, and the Doctor would never have known either.

She made a mental note to take some food and water from the TARDIS kitchens to feed her captive.

Raven clutched her chest for a brief second as a sharp pain stabbed at her near the heart. She beat her chest a little to numb the fading pain. What the heck was that?

"My people!" Big Dog called out, gathering his people around. Raven turned to pay attention to the large man, the sudden twinge all but forgotten. "Safe Harbour is dead." The old warrior said.

"But we can rebuild!" Called someone.

"We cannot rebuild from this." Big Dog said soberly. "Earth Alliance will be back soon with their war ships to mop the rest of us up. We have nowhere to run to, at least together. We must run, in different directions. We must hide and remake our lives elsewhere in the galaxy."

Calls of protest came. Big Dog hushed them.

"Safe Harbour is the only place we could be free!" One of the aliens called.

"Yeah, it was the only place where people weren't telling us what to do, where to go, what to think." Said another alien.

"I know. But we cannot fight Earth Alliance now. All you can do now is run, get off the planet." Big Dog said.

"Us? What about you?" Asked another voice.

"I cannot." He said, the first hint of defeat in his confident tone. "I am a target for Earth Alliance. They will follow me, they will come for me, they won't rest until they have me. Their bad guy, their fabled human-supremacist boogie-man."

"All bullshit!" A yellow alien cried.

"I know, I know." Big Dog waved for them to calm down. "But while they're looking for me, they won't be gunning for you all. In any event..." Big Dog hefted a big gun in his hand, longer than his whole arm. "We need to deal with the threat beneath our feet. The Daleks are still a threat, not just to our existence, but to the existence of everything, of everyone. So long as one Dalek exists, we are all in danger."

"I say we leave and let Earth Alliance deal with the Daleks!" Shouted another.

"When Earth Alliance show up, the Daleks will have activated their factories. They will be reproducing like rabbits, and Earth won't be able to stop them." Big Dog said. "They will escape this planet, and they will eventually come for us, or our children, or our children's children. It is not for Earth Alliance at risk. But the universe. Remember, it is not the people we despise and rebel against, it is the system that governs them, that wants to govern us too. I stay behind to fight for the people. Those who wish to back out and run are free to do so. I release you from your oath. The rest who are willing, I will not lie, know that you are likely following me into certain death."

Big Dog let that sink in before speaking further. "But all is not lost. There is a man. A Time Lord who still resides in the belly of the Daleks lair. He has defeated the Daleks countless times and with our help he shall do so again." The soldiers among the survivors looked to be regaining their confidence. "There will be no glory. No reward. The Universe will probably never know of the deeds we accomplish today. We will likely be vilified like we always were, but we've lived in those shadows for so long we happily march through them." The soldiers cheered. "I do not do this for glory, nor reward, nor the spot light. No, do you know why I do it?"

The scarred Dog heaved his weight towards the bunker, and their previous battlefield. "Listen, hear that?" he said, there was just the noise of crackling fires. "They're laughing at us. Laughing at the 'stupid humans', at the 'dumb other-beings.' They're celebrating that they got our own kin to do their dirty work, playing on each others need to be a 'good person.' Playing on the desire to fight evil people. And they played us like a damn fiddle." Big Dog said all this with emotional intensity, like he was an elastic band about too snap. "They've made bloody fools out of the lot of us. They're no better than the Governments we ran away from. Divide and conquer, that is the tactic of true Daleks. Are we going to stand for that?" He asked the air. "Are we?!"

"HELL NO!" Someone shouted.

"DEATH TO THE DALEKS!" Big Dog proclaimed.

"DEATH TO THE DALEKS!" Came the roar from Big Dogs forces.

"Onward!" Big Dog heaved his weapon onto his shoulders and marched, his now bare mechanical leg, missing its padding made a sharp 'clacking' as it impacted the floor. A clacking his forces matched with their marching.

"DEATH TO THE DALEKS, DEATH TO THE DALEKS, DEATH TO THE DALEKS!" Was their battle cry.

Raven found the speech moving, but ultimately she didn't understand why they'd bother. The Universe wouldn't thank them for it. Earth Alliance will probably take the credit for killing the Daleks anyway. Ensuring their image of protectors remain intact. If it was Raven she wouldn't put her neck out for people who'd later deny her deeds, take credit from her, and continue to vilify her.

She ground her teeth. She didn't want to follow them down there, but if the Doctor was still alive, -and of that she was certain,- then he'd need her, his partner in crime. She was going to go in there and get him out of whatever hole he'd dug himself into yet again. She would help him defeat the Daleks, not because she hated the Daleks, not because of the people, not because she cared, or because it was 'decent' or 'moral or whatever shit you labelled it as. She did it because of the Doctor. Because, rather embarrassingly she admitted, but the Doctor was her life.

Raven rolled her eyes. She got the feeling her and the Doctor would be doing this dance for a long, long time.

"What is a TARDIS?" Said a voice that brought Ravens chattering mind to a stop. "Right... uhuh." It was Drayfus, standing next to her speaking into some kind of device in his ear. "Gravitiy Anomiliser, dimensional stabiliser. Are you sure about this?" He was jotting down something onto a note pad as he spoke to the person on the other side of that comms device. "What does any of this have to do with anything, sir?" He paused. "Oh, okay, Doctor."

He's talking to the Doctor?

"No, she's here." Drayfus said and spotted her looking at him, "She should be able to find it? I don't think it'll have survived out here... well if you're sure."

"Let me talk to him." Raven said reaching for the device.

"Sorry, he's gone." Drayfus said. "He said something about getting to a 'TARDIS', and do this nonsense." The lizard man handed the pad to Raven, she scanned it. It was a list of instructions for the TARDIS. What it'd do she didn't know, but only the Doctor knew how to fly the TARDIS. To the untrained eye it looked like jargon. But Raven, she knew at least some of these controls.

"I can do this." Raven said with confidence.

"You can?" Drayfus asked, surprised. "I'll escort you."

"That won't be necessary." Raven said in a dismissive tone.

"He said it'd require two to do this... thing." Drayfus hissed. Indeed, on the instructions were notes that this would require two people to pull off as some controls needed to be operated at the same time, but were on opposite ends of the console.

"I can still operate them with my powers." Raven shrugged and turned towards the wreckage in the direction she could feel the TARDIS void signature in.

"I'm still coming with you." Drayfus said, "The Doctor said you are the best bet to ending the evil Daleks here today, and you could use my protection."

"Fine." Raven sighed.

Raven was quiet on the walk over to the TARDIS. Drayfus just hissed. He was difficult to read still.

"You believe what you did was wrong?" Drayfus asked.

"I did nothing." Raven said dismissing it. "I just agreed with the Survivors. That gang chose their image over the truth. They got what they deserved." Her insides squirmed again in defiance.

"I believe you were right." Drayfus said, "They were too dangerous to be left alive. They would only have stood in Safe Harbours way." Her organs felt twisted again.

"I don't want to talk about it." Raven said quickly.

The ruins of the space port came into view. A lot of the fire had died away, leaving just a black husk. But amazingly the TARDIS still stood in its corner where it had been left, like stone it was solid, unbreakable and still in that shade of blue Raven loved. Some wreckage was wrapped around the Police Box. But with a flick of Raven's wrist it was pulled away like brushing at a cobweb.

Raven approached the TARDIS and she took out her key.

"Wait," Drayfus hissed, approaching her.

"You are not coming inside." Raven said. She still didn't want intruders in her home. She could operate the TARDIS without him. "You can wait out here."

"Oh, but I don't think so. You will let me into this capsule." There was something different in the way Drayfus was moving.

"You won't know how to fly the TARDIS," Raven said. He stood close and his face went blank, like he forgot how to emote through his face.

"I beg to differ." He said, "Access to my own capsule is out of order, you see. So you will let me in, and you will do so willingly."

Raven pulled the key away from the lock and tilted her head to one side. Was this lizard thing threatening her?

"The TARDIS can't leave this planet anyway, it's being held here." Raven explained.

"I have dealt with that little snare." Drayfus waved a hand in dismissal, "trust the Daleks to set up a time trap to ensnare careless time travellers in the hopes they can steal vortex infused biomass to wake them up. Risky, but clever, and it clearly paid off. I just wasn't stupid enough to touch one of them."

So this guy was a time traveller too? "I'm still not letting you in." Raven said with a bored look. Her brow twitched a little, like someone was trying to place a hand around her head.

"You will, child." Drayfus' voice had stopped hissing and snarling, it sounded smooth, and muffled. "You will let me in." She got a sense that he was trying to somehow inject some sense of familiarity with him. "Know me..." His voice undulated, "know me..."

Raven shrugged.

"I have no idea who you are." Raven gently shook her head with a bored look. Drayfus reached up with his hand, took his snout and pulled. His entire head fell forwards. Scales detached and fell out of the collar of his tunic as the mask came away. Revealing a human looking person underneath.

"I still have no idea who you are." Raven said again. If this reveal was supposed to shock her then it didn't have the desired effect. The man stepped out of his scaly feet like stilts. He was short, a little taller than she was with receding, short, grey hair. His eyes were piercing blue and his face thin. Just an ordinary man.

"You will know me, child." The man's voice was smooth and velvety. Almost hypnotically so. "You will know me. Look into my eyes."

"Wha... wait... what?" Raven could feel a presence smashing at the doors of her conscious mind.

"Look... into... my eyes." He insisted. She had no choice, she gazed into those hypnotic orbs, she felt the will of another try to smash into her brain, a mind that was trying to do her thinking for her. The mask fell further from the man, a psychic mask that was hiding his mental signature. Raven felt it, and it was very familiar. She'd sensed this person before, not directly, but... A long time ago.

His signature became sharper, familiar. Both who he is, and what he was started to come into focus as whatever shielded him before fall away.

A pulsating noise rumbled in her head. A maddening noise. "You are my puppet, child." Said the velvety voice that now seemed to come from everywhere at once.

"I... I... I... I..." Raven fought it. She tried to fill her mind with nonsense like Ace had done, but the problem was that Raven didn't know enough nonsense to offer up. No nonsensical quotes, no ridiculous sayings, or songs. Not even a catchy TV theme tune.

"Submit to me, dear Raven." His voice was in her head.

"I... I... I... I..." She tried to fight it.

"The foretold Daughter of Trigon.". Raven tried to pull away. The figure melted away into another. Still short, with highly intelligent eyes, strong but receding black hair and a goatee beard. The image, his body language radiated a quiet power. Raven pulled again, but in the other direction and the figure reverted. Then the metaphorical pendulum swung the other way and the man melted away into... what the hell was she looking at? It wasn't even a man. It was like looking at a living corpse. Burnt, green flesh hanging from the bone in a tattered green hooded cloak. The eyes stared at her in a fixed, dead way because it didn't have eyelids.

"I... I... I... I..." He was so strong. She was pulled closer and the figure reverted back to the original velvety voiced man. She could hear it. Many chattering voices in the head of one, and that maddening pulsating thudding like someone constantly knocking on the door to her mind.

"Obey me. Lost Child of Azarath." His eyes focused harder. Then he sang in that hypnotic tone.

"Oranges and lemons, say the bells of saint Clemons" The hypnotic influence got worse as Raven's mind began to sway with the rhyme. Raven thought she recognised the tune, but her mind was becoming so numb.

"You ow me two farthings, say the bells of saint martins." Raven sang and she began to sway from side to side as her body relaxed. The man looked surprise at the apparent ease of this.

"Good." Said the velvety voice. "You will obey me. Obey me. Obey."

"I... obey... I... I... I... must obey. I... I... will obey you... Master"

"You learn quickly, my dear." He laughed quietly in triumph. "I am the Master, and you will obey me."

To Be Continued...

Authors notes: I am going somewhere with Ace being inside Raven's soul-self. So bare with me.