Teen Titans Fan Fiction ❯ Final Dance of the Fallen Dove ❯ Gravity of Love ( Chapter 2 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

"O Fortunavelut Luna""O Fortunavelut Luna" (O Fortunelike the Moon) Turn around and smell what you don't see Close your eyes ... it’s so clear Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen On both ways you can get in Don't think twice before you listen to your heart Follow the trace for a new start What you need and everything you'll feel Is just a question of the deal In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove The experience of survival is the key To the gravity of love "O Fortuna velut Luna" [Whispers][Woman :]The path of excess leads toThe tower of Wisdom [Man :]The path of excess leads toThe tower of Wisdom[Whispers]Try to think about it ... That's the chance to live your life and discover What it is, what's the gravity of love "O Fortuna velut Luna" Look around just people, can you hear their voice Find the one who'll guide you to the limits of your choice But if you're in the eye of storm Just think of the lonely dove The experience of survival is the key To the gravity of love. "O Fortuna velut Luna”"O Fortuna velut Luna"

“Gravity of Love” - Enigma

The guards scattered from Raven like the flimsy straw huts of tropical islands before the fury of a typhoon. None of them were seriously injured, a stroke of luck on their part, but Raven didn’t bother to verify that fact, instead advancing onward. The hall was empty and straight-forward, but unsurprisingly the end of it was not. In fact, the large, vaulted hall that it led into was virtually full to the brim with grim faced warriors, some wielding weapons, while other simply “held” balls of glowing green plasma. The dark magus nearly shied away from such impossible odds, but when her eyes caught an unmistakable, even among so much of the very “same,” shock of red hair flying on the far side of the hall, her resolve became unstoppable.

“Get out of my way.” She said simply, and when none of the Tamaranians arrayed before her budged beyond preparing to skewer, rend, or disintegrate her, respectively, she took that as their answer.

Her sword struck out first, cleaving a presented lance and halberd at their hafts, just before her free, black glowing hand came forward and knocked their wielders far, far away with a blast of force. That single aggressive action ignited the entire powder keg, and the battle was on, the whole of the Tamaranian force surging forward at Raven, like a tidal wave of alien might. And, as it crashed all around her, the dark magus showed her mettle, a sweeping slash of her blade taking a number of weapons mid-strike, while nimble slides of her hand left behind curving shields of energy in the air, blocking yet more attacks.

With a diving roll, she dodged an axe strike that split the floor where she had been standing a moment ago, and her sword scythed through the waves before her, clearing them as if they were stalks of grain. Instantly, a dome of night sprang up around her, just as explosive balls of super-heated plasma came raining from above, blanketing the area in blazing destructive force. The shield burst outward when the assault ceased, extinguishing the many fires about Raven’s position, and an easy gesture knocked the offending bomber from the air with what amounted to a telekinetic fly swatter.

Now wary of their foe’s immense power, the Tamaranian forces fell back just a few feet, collectively trying to determine a better strategy for further assault. Raven did not move, despite her heart’s urging for haste, instead simply watching her alien foes, waiting for them to renew their attack in whatever manner they deemed best. Quite suddenly, just one stepped forward, surprising not just Raven, but his fellows as well.

He was a tall, wiry male with a long head of that crimson hair, and rather piercing eyes, who held a long, thin-bladed sword in one hand at his side. He struck a stance, angling his body sideways while spreading his legs wide, sword arm raised but still bowed at the elbow, a fencing stance. Raven smirked slightly, and assumed a similar position, though her arm was instead fully extended. Tense air gathered around the two, as neither moved for several seconds, all eyes upon them. Then, like a cobra strike, the Tamaranian cross-stepped and lunged, Raven evading the strike by side-stepping and then swinging for his head, forcing him to retract and parry. Without even allowing him to regain his center, Raven struck again immediately, cutting for his mid-section , and even as he went to block, she disengaged the attack and made a whirlwind spin, bringing her sword back around for a deadly strike to his head. He just barely shifted his sword in time and parried the strike, only to feel it ghost right off of his blade as Raven swept her body back, and lunged. Surprisingly, she shifted the attack when she saw the acceptance of defeat in her opponent’s eyes, sliding her sword blade just to the side of his head, and instead simply braining him with the pommel of the weapon. The hit laid him out instantly, unconscious, and with a quick flick of her wrist, the dark magus’ sword came back into the ready position, prepared as its wielder scanned the army surrounding her for the next challenger.

From the ranks of their forces waded a huge woman, several heads taller than Raven, powerfully muscled, and dressed far more heavily than her fellows in what appeared to be actual armor. The ashen-skinned mage raised an eyebrow at her approach, but refused to retreat even an inch. She was willing to take her time and carefully work her way back to her goal, as she would do Starfire little good dead, but more than anything else, she was resolved to lose no ground at all. With a primal roar, the amazon charged the dark magus, mailed fists burning with green energy, and even as Raven went to counter strike, the huge woman did something completely unexpected. She snatched the blade of Raven’s sword up in her hand, knocking the cloaked heroine off guard just long enough for her other fist to be planted savagely in the girl’s stomach. The blow lifted the smaller girl bodily into the air, causing her to open her mouth to cry out in agony, but instead only be able to spit blood. Her total loss of concentration made the sword vanish, and with nothing left to anchor Raven to the armored woman, her body went tumbling away, landing in a heap at the outer-edge of the circle.

As the giant Tamaranian slowly stomped to where Raven had fallen, the dark magus pushed herself up from the ground, shaking as she strained many recently injured muscles, and gritting her teeth against the immense pain she was experiencing then. She glared at the approaching warrior with undeniable malice, and as she did so, her eyes began to take on the same coloration as the wash of blood running from her mouth and down the side of her chin. And though it faded, she immediately gestured back at the soldiers behind her, engulfing their weapons in the telekinetic energies she wielded, and then ripping them from their grasps as all of them were flung at the amazon. The warrior woman blocked most of them, either swatting them from the air with her powerful arms or deflecting them off of strategically placed pieces of armor, but even as she knocked the last spear from the air, she realized the truth of Raven’s plan.

The dark magus had charged in right behind the weapons, using them as a blind, and thus shoulder rammed the huge Tamaranian as she stopped the last spear, a blast of force adding to the action and nearly toppling the warrior woman. And, before she could mount any kind of defense, Raven manifested her sword and trust it at a steep, upward angle in the woman’s stomach, causing it to slip under and inside her ribcage and score an instantly fatal blow. The amazon fell, and at the sight of their comrade’s assured death, the Tamaranian forces did not hesitate to renew their full-on assault against the dark magus.

Even as swords, spears, axes, and burning balls of energy crashed all around her, Raven knew how much time had elapsed.

“This is taking too long.” She growled as she fended off one warrior’s thrusting spear.

Abruptly, she caught her blade up in a double-handed grip and swung a full circuit around herself, sending out a shockwave of force that blew back her opposition and gave her some breathing room. And breathe she did, before bringing her fore and middle finger up before her eyes and intoned,

“Azarath, metrion, zinthos!” With but a single slicing motion of her hand, screaming blades of black energy launched forth, and split the floor from before her all the way to her desired doorway asunder, sending Tamaranians flying in every direction, several of whom were injured.

Without even a moment’s hesitation, Raven went flying over the scar she had created in the floor, fending off the attacks of the Tamaranians that managed to get air-borne before she passed them. A spin kick knocked the last of them from the air and she slipped through the doorway, hoping she wasn’t going to be too late.

“Azarath, metrion, zinthos!” With a tremendous effort, Raven managed to rip a large section right out of the wall, which was then almost immediately slammed over the doorway she had just come through, another moment’s concentration imbuing it with fortifying essence.

Not a moment too soon, as the sound of fists and metal pounding away at the barricade began to sound even before Raven could lower her arms. Shakily, the dark magus wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of one hand, realizing to the fullest extent possible how much of a foolish idea taking on an army of super-“humans” single-handedly was.

‘Well, duh.’ Another part of the girl’s mind returned wryly, thankfully one other than Anbu.

A quick pivot to the side just barely allowed a ball of burning green plasma to whiz by Raven without effect, and with a deep, tired to the very soul, sigh, Raven turned to face her assailants. Thankfully, it was only a small group, just thirty of them. They charged as soon as she laid eyes on them, and through she was worn out, her sword still came easily to her hand.

Raven swayed just around the first spear thrust, letting the haft slide against her mid-section as she lunged in to smash the wielder in the face with the pommel of her weapon. Taking the spear in hand even as it fell from the unconscious Tamaranian’s grasp, the dark magus gave it a quick twirl to make the charging forces rethink their attack, and then immediately tossed it into their midst, her power turning it into a spinning disk of destruction that threw their formation into chaos. And then she was right among them, replacing the whirling pike with her own slashing blade. The wounded fell and those struck with her kinetic blasts were forcefully ejected from the melee, until none remained standing, and Raven was left with only a pair of plasma burns and a shallow cut across her back to show for it.

She collapsed to her knees afterwards, though, as her exhaustion had mounted to an almost unbearable level, and her head ached from all the mental exertion she had been pushing herself through. So, when the barricade over the door Raven had originally entered the room through began to fail, she grew sick with worry. Unsteadily, the exhausted mage rose to her feet, doing her best to at least appear threatening, if nothing else. But when the wall finally broke, it was not a horde of battle-ready Tamaranians that came pouring through, but rather three curious figures.

“Man, how did you get this far by yourself Raven?” Beast Boy called to the dark magus, gesturing back to the mound of unconscious aliens he and the other male Titans had left in the other room. “I mean, these guys are brutal.” Too relieved by their appearance to actually berate Robin for going back on his word, Raven simply let her legs slip out from underneath her, and fell to the ground.

“Raven!” The cry came up simultaneously from all three boys, and they rushed to her side, at which point she shook her head weakly.

“I’m fine, just tired is all.” Gently, Robin slipped an arm under the ashen-skinned mage’s back and helped her to sit up.

“Alright then, you stay here with Beast Boy and Cyborg, and I . . .” Raven did not hesitate to cut Robin off right there, locking hardened, violet eyes with the orbs that she knew lay hidden beneath his concealing mask.

“No, I’m going to go get Starfire.”

“Raven, this is no time to be stubborn and possessive, Starfire’s life is in danger, and you can barely even stand, just let me g- . . .” At that very moment, a chilling roar of a thousand throats being raised in ululation came echoing down the halls, causing Raven to smirk in a self-satisfied sort of way.

“Sounds like reinforcements are on the way, and since I’d be nothing more than a liability against an army . . .” The boy wonder’s jaw clenched as he was obviously weighing the facts of the matter in his mind, and greatly disliking the answers he was coming up with.

Raven held no real malice for him, she understood that he simply wanted to do what had the best chance of saving Starfire, and that was all she really wanted too, she just also had a promise to keep.

“It’s far more likely that I can take on Blackfire than another army, and the fact is that if they get through to her, we’ll never save her.” Growling, Robin forced Raven up onto her feet, and then immediately let her go.
When she managed to remain standing with a minimum of swaying, he turned his back on her and faced the doorway that the Tamaranians would soon be pouring through.

“You’d better give it your all and bring her back.” He said, just loud enough to be heard over the approaching roar.

“Count on it.” She returned, before breaking into a run through the doorway the previously defeated group had been guarding.

“You think she’ll be alright?” Cyborg asked quietly from beside Robin, and through the vague nature of his question might have slowed an answer normally, it didn’t then.

Because, regardless of whether he was referring to Starfire or Raven, the answer was the same.

“I hope so.”

Raven’s communicator indicated that Starfire had descended to a position over a thousand feet lower than her own. So, when she found a giant, open shaft that appeared to descend downward, and was guarded by several of the toughest-looking Tamaranians she’d seen yet, she was pretty sure she was on the right track. Naturally, as she stepped toward the shaft, they also stepped to bar her path, the largest among them leading. He stood before her like a great tower, shaggy mane of flaming red curls rolling down from the back of his head almost the whole length of his body, staring down at her as he readied the giant axe that he wielded. And as the dark magus sized him up, she found herself noting something odd in his bearing, reluctance and a note of regret. She looked to his eyes, even the filmed and obviously blinded one, and simply stared, hiding none of her feelings from his gaze, as it examined her in the same manner she had appraised him. In return, she saw what lay behind the stoic shroud over his eyes, she understood, far better than words or explanations could ever allow her, the feelings of the old warrior before her.

She took another step forward, and though the other aliens advanced to attack, they found his massive arms blocking their way. He stepped back, drawing the others back with him, and allowing Raven to pass. She did so, and without hesitation, leapt into the shaft. She planned to free fall most of the way down, as it would conserve her strength, which she knew she was going to need, having two promises to keep now. She’d sworn to Starfire that she would protect her, and now she had sword to her love’s nurse that she would save Starfire. Regardless of anything else, she intended to keep those promises.

Even with her cloak flying about her, Raven closed her eyes and sensed out the whole shaft easily, finding the bottom and her position relative to it in an instant. Immediately after doing so, she put on what amounted to the telekinetic brakes, firing a powerful burst of energy straight beneath her, allowing her to touch down physically unharmed, though landing squarely on her behind damaged her pride considerably. After dusting herself off and grumbling about the “stupid laws of physics,” she went through the open doorway presented before her, and found a disquieting sight before her.

Starfire was on her knees in the middle of the room, still chained heavily, and with Blackfire towering over her, a ball of purple energy burning in her raised hand.

“Isn’t it wonderful, Robin?” She called snidely to Raven, and for a moment the girl was taken aback, until she looked down at herself, and realized that she had instinctively cloaked herself in darkness before entering the room.

Thus, in the shadow of the entryway, she was little more than a silhouette, even with the light of Blackfire’s plasma bolt shining throughout the dank room.

“You’re here to save your little princess, but I already have the upper hand, because I know you’re not fast enough to keep me from taking her pretty little head off.” She smiled maniacally, almost insanely even, and moved her hand just a little closer to Star’s head, singeing several hairs off of her head.

Before she could bring it any closer, though, she found her arm entrapped by black energies and pulled away by an undeniable force.

“That would have been a good plan, if it had actually been Robin that came after her.” Raven called to Blackfire as she stepped into the light, letting her concealing spell melt away.

“Raven, you came for me!” Starfire cried, completely unable to pretend as though she was displeased with the dark magus for disregarding her wishes.

“Of course I did, did you think I was just going to let you go, even after everything we went through?”

“Certainly not, it is just that I told you not to come, that you would be killed if you came.”

“And you thought that would stop me?” Raven was smirking, but it was uneasy, as Blackfire had yet to act.

Ever since Raven had shown herself, Blackfire had simply stared in disbelief, not even attempting to fight the telekinetic shackling of her hand, and that worried the dark magus. Finally, though, she moved, looking first to Starfire, then to Raven, and then back again, an emotion in the depths of her almost human eyes that disturbed Raven even further.

“You . . . you love her?” She asked haltingly of Starfire, looking as though she might well fall to her knees before her sister and plead for the answer, if necessary.

Taken aback, Starfire did not answer at first, but did eventually acknowledge the truth with a wordless nod. Blackfire’s eyes almost seemed to light up at the answer, and she truly did drop to her knees then.

“Ever since you were born, mother and father liked you better, you know?” She asked sadly, her emotions shifting as the recalled memories evoked them with their powerful, personal significance. “After that, they never paid as much attention to me as they had before, it was always about you. They always gave you more, spent more time with you, let you do more, get away with more.” The dark-haired alien looked to be on the verge of tears as she spoke so softly that it was actually difficult to hear, a fact which shook both Raven and Starfire to the core. “They loved you more, plain and simple. And it didn’t even get any better after they died, because Galfore paid more attention to you, loved you more, just like they did!” Starfire winced then, hearing the frustration, anger, and loneliness in Blackfire’s voice, as it recalled so many things from her youth that tortured voice had been involved in.

But the raven-haired sister interrupted that reverie with a narration of her own.

“I hated you because of it, and I took every opportunity I could to beat up on you and make you feel bad, taking it all out on you. But . . .” She clenched her fists at her sides, looking down at the cold, stone floor. “Even after I did all of that, you never told mom and dad, or Galfore even, and you never stopped treating me kindly, never stopped loving me as your big sister.” As Raven watched, she felt a dread feeling rising up in the pit of her stomach, having a terrible knowledge of what would come next. “You loved me, and I love you.” Suddenly, Blackfire’s face was right before Star’s, a strange, disturbing look in the normally maniacal Tamaranian’s eyes, a frantic, desperate look.

And then, Blackfire chastely kissed Starfire, just the slightest press of lips upon lips for a moment, before she pulled away.

“I did it all for you, after you left I thought I’d never see you again, so I started stealing things, wreaking places, did everything I could do to get you to come home. The police from all those worlds couldn’t outfight me, couldn’t stop me, I knew they’d send for you eventually.” Staring up at the ceiling of the chamber, Blackfire smiled faintly and played with her own fingers, almost childishly, and then hugged Starfire. “And then you’d come back and save me, and love me.” As she felt her sisters’s arms around her still chained body, Starfire looked utterly dumbfounded, unable to believe that what was happening then really was, that it wasn’t some kind of florka weed induced delusion.

It was like some kind of sick joke, the kind that even Beast Boy knew to be in bad taste, like yelling “fire” in a crowded theater and then laughing when someone was trampled to death in the stampede to escape. But the worst part of it all was that both Starfire and Raven knew that it wasn’t a joke. It was all too real. And, looking a little frightened, Blackfire pulled away from Starfire, looking to her pleadingly.

“You do still love me, don’t you, Starfire?” The crimson-haired Tamaranian’s expression cracked, and she tried to look away from those wide, begging eyes with all her strength, torn between her; notably platonic; feeling for her sister, and the horror of what was transpiring.
Star’s conflict was alleviated, though, when Raven’s voice rang out from across the room.

“That’s really pathetic, you know that, right?” With a growl akin to that of an enraged lioness, Blackfire rounded on the dark magus, but Raven did not even let her begin to speak. “Did you really delude yourself that much, that you thought Starfire would love you for stealing things, for destroying people’s homes and cities, for hurting and killing people?” She advanced on the alien, anger and disgust flaring in her eyes, and Blackfire actually did retreat from her somewhat. “Are you that stupid, that you think you could trick her into coming here, degrade her by chaining her up like this, and then expect her to instantly fall in love with you?” Raven stopped and shook her head, smirking. “You really must be sick in the head, if you believe that.” A shriek of incomprehensible, almost insane rage tore itself from the Tamaranian Empress’ throat, and she lunged at Raven, fingers hooking into talons that fairly hungered to rip into Raven’s eyes.

The dark magus dodged to the side, striking at Blackfire’s back as she flew by and sending her sprawling with almost no effort at all. But she was back up instantly, on all fours like some kind of feral animal, and the snarl on her lips then did little to contradict that image.

“You don’t know anything, you don’t understand!” She yelled at Raven, fists charging with energy.

“I know enough to say that you desperately need professional help.” Raven retorted bitingly, and the shield of black force that sprang up before her easily blocked the double plasma burst assault from the incensed alien.

“You don’t know anything about what I’ve been through, I was alone all of my life, no one ever loved me except for her!” Raven shook her head disparagingly.

“Cry me a river, I have all of those problems, and I have an evil demon inside me that wants to take over my body.” She shifted, ghosting to the side as Blackfire struck at where she had been a moment ago. “And considering that I’m running circles around you even though I’m exhausted, I’d say you might want to just give up now.” A purple blazing fist flew just past Raven’s face as she dodged to the side, and a ragged scream followed it.

“You bitch, you don’t deserve her!” Raven’s violet eyes twinkled darkly at the accusation, and from her helpless position watching the fight, Starfire’s spirits fell further.

“You have no idea what I went through to have her love.” She growled quietly, ire quickly rising, and as the raven-haired alien noticed that, her face split in a vicious smile.

“Oh, I think I know just fine how you got her ‘love’ . . .” She said tauntingly, the two dark girls slowly circling one another. “I think you just led her into your bed with a trail of delicious little lies, and then you . . .” Her eyes rather suddenly hidden by the shadow of her cowl, Raven simply said,

“Shut up,” to cut Blackfire off, voice dangerously quiet.
Blackfire, though, had every intention of pressing her advantage.

“Was my little sister a good fuck, Raven dear, did she taste good on your tongue when you stuck it in her cu- . . .”

“SHUT UP!” Raven’s sword came instantly to hand as she lunged for Blackfire, and though one would have expected the cruel alien to take up the position of taunting manipulator, she instead moved to intercept the dark magus, fists burning with plasma.

Though her anger may have cooled, Blackfire far preferred the idea of throttling Raven with her own two hands to playing with the foolish mage. Much like the amazon before her, the raven-haired alien grabbed the blade of the dark magus’ sword in her energy shielded hand, effectively removing its razor edge from the combat equation. But Raven was a fast learner, and even as Blackfire snatched up the sword, she landed a savage kick to the alien’s stomach, blowing her back. Blackfire fairly roared in outrage at the blow and her clenched fists glowed even more intensely with energy, before she sent a veritable firestorm of plasma bolts flying for Raven.

The violet-haired mage gasped, before throwing every last bit of breath she had into a focusing chant.

“Azarath, metrion, zinthos!” A powerful barrier of black energy sprang into existence before her just in time, and reverberated with the shocking force of the plasma bolts’ impact against it.

Within just two seconds, the air was hopelessly clouded with thick smoke, making it impossible for Raven to tell where Blackfire was, thus making it quite easy for the alien girl to sneak up on her. The first punch landed solidly against the side of Raven’s head, almost striking her temple, and the second crashed itself remorselessly into her side, a kidney punch. Despite the intense pain wracking her body after the assault, Raven refused to be taken down, because she knew that if she were, Starfire would be at the mercy of her seemingly psychopathic sister.

Surprising her alien attacker, she almost immediately responded, striking back with a suddenly far shorter sword, scoring a cut across Blackfire’s chest before a strong punch caught the Empress just under the chin and sent her reeling back. The Tamaranian terror, having a similar aversion to backing down from the conflict, came right back at Raven. The two fairly whirled around the room, around Starfire, while locked in their deadly dance, kicks, jabs, blades, and bolts of energy flying in every direction at any given moment.

“You know what I think I’ll do with her first?” Blackfire suddenly called out into the melee, catching Raven’s attention. “I think I’ll try out those Grok’dor fruits on her, I’ve heard talk from the courtesans that they make the perfect substitute for the anatomy that I lack.” The very thought of Blackfire violating her sister with some kind of insane fruit made the dark magus’ blood boil, and as her eyes flashed blood red for a moment, she raised her once again full-sized sword high over her head for a devastating strike.

“Raven!” Starfire cried out, just before Blackfire rammed her fist into the violet-eyed mage’s stomach, doubling the other girl over in agony.

The second blow, a double-handed hammer strike to the back of the head, slammed Raven’s body savagely to the hard, stone floor, and after initially falling against it, she lay very still.

“And all that’s left is finishing off this bitch, then you’re mine, sister dear.” Blackfire said, smiling at the younger Tamaranian as she lay on the verge of tears, before one of her clenched fists lit up with purple energy.

Even as she went to crush Raven’s skull with one energy-charged blow, huge wings of black light sprang forth from the girl’s back, deflecting the attack with ease, and even knocking Blackfire across the chamber with just a flap of their span.

“Raven?” Starfire asked tentatively as her love rose from the ground, wings and all.

She was shocked into silence, though, when she saw Raven’s eyes. Her four, blazing red eyes. The wings vanished then, returned from whence they came, but the eyes remained, and Raven smiled darkly as Blackfire climbed back to her feet across the chamber.

“What the hell was that?!” She yelled angrily, glaring death at the figure across from her, and as the blue of her cloak slowly shifted to the deepest, darkest of black, “Raven” laughed mockingly.

Growling, Blackfire launched a flurry of purple plasma bolts, which the black fury easily dodged, even catching one in a set of energy talons she had materialized around her free hand. She crushed the globe, sending out a spray of harmless, sparkling light particles, and without letting the vicious smirk slip from her lips, she advanced on Blackfire, slowly and menacingly. The alien Empress wasn’t content to wait, though, and charged her assailant, striking out with all her might at the dark demon. A loud clang rang out, as Blackfire’s fist met the flat of Anbu’s falchion, and then the raven-haired alien only just barely managed to avoid having her face ripped off by the demon magus’ taloned hand.

Still, she did not escape the telekinetic energies that surrounded her body a moment later, and as soon as she was clenched in their iron grip, she was violently smashed into the wall. After two crushing strikes, she was released, and fell to her knees clutching at her arm, which was now bent at an obviously abnormal angle. Anbu moved toward her at an easy, even leisurely, pace, letting her sword scrape across the stone of the floor with a screech akin to that of a tortured, dying animal.

“What the hell are you?!” Blackfire cried, fear dancing in her eyes, and an evil smile split Anbu’s features at the question.

“Your worst nightmare, and the last thing you’ll ever see!” The wickedly-edged sword came up high over her head in a double-handed grip, poised for the killing blow.

“No, do not kill her, Raven!” Starfire screamed, voice wracked with agony as she tried to struggle free from her bonds. “She is my sister, I do not want her to die, regardless of what she has done!” The cry shook both Blackfire and Raven, for that was indeed who she had become, as was apparent from the transformation of her sword, and the way in which her arms were slowly sagging from their high attack position.

Realizing that she was no longer facing the frightening monster she had been, Blackfire decided to try for one more attempt to succeed, suddenly lurching up from her crouched position.

“Raven!” Starfire yelled in warning, catching Blackfire’s movement, and with sublime grace, Raven slid to the side of the attack.

Then, with the force of a desperate wish for the whole thing to be done with, the dark magus struck Blackfire with the pommel of her weapon, right at the juncture where her neck met her shoulders. The disturbed alien fell, and it was finally over.

It was over. Blackfire was in custody, being held in a cell deep in the citadel, and she had been deposed as the Grand Ruler of Tamaran, so there was nothing left for them there. Besides the issues that still persisted, that is. They sat in silence in the throne room, alone and brooding, as Raven had frightened all the other Tamaranians from the room. Starfire was curled up on the throne, legs pulled up against her chest as her eyes stared off into the distance, deeply disturbed. Raven could imagine that Starfire, with her eyes so wide and blank as they gazed off to the side, at least thought that she could see right through the walls of the castle, probably to some calming, serene place from her childhood.

That was where she wanted to be then, not there in the castle, not in a place where her too loving sister lay in a cage some several hundred feet below her, and certainly not in the same room as her demon-possessed girlfriend.

“Why does it have to be like this?” Raven whispered to herself, lamenting the insane complications that seemed to appear half out of nowhere and make a damn good attempt at ruining her life.

And as the sound reached her, Starfire looked up to Raven, her eyes losing their glassy sheen they’d developed as they had been gazing into the void.

“What, Raven?” Starfire asked, her voice a soft whisper.

“Nothing, Star, I’m just muttering to myself.” The dark magus returned, knowing that Starfire had more than enough things on her mind and shoulders as it was, their relationship was the least of her worries then.
“Oh . . .” Star murmured, before sinking back into herself.

She returned fairly quickly, though, making Raven jump slightly as her thin voice slipped through the air.

“What are we going to do?” Raven hesitated for just a moment, unsure of what her Tamaranian lover was talking about exactly.

Still, she took a wild shot in the dark.

“I’m not sure, if we just send Blackfire back to prison, she’ll probably just come right back again after she breaks out.” Starfire nodded, and Raven knew that she had guessed correctly.

“And there are . . . the other issues . . .” Starfire added, her voice darkened slightly as she seemed to sink even further into herself, both figuratively and literally.

It was difficult, because there was no easy answer. No prison could hold her forever, and no therapist could help her with her problems unless she wanted to be helped. Sadly, the therapy wasn’t just a knee-jerk reaction either, Blackfire’s behavior during, and especially before, the fight hinted at deeply ingrained psychological issues, emotional disturbance most prominent among them. It made Raven shudder to think of what might have happened to Starfire if she and the others hadn’t come to rescue her. It was impossible to predict Blackfire’s behavior, but with the way she had acted, it was likely that a rejection by Starfire would have triggered a psychotic episode in the raven-haired Tamaranian, with frightening consequences.

Silence reigned, as neither could come up with any kind of answer, until finally, Raven had a thought.

“Star, I’m going to go talk to her.” That proclamation brought Starfire right out of her proverbial shell, eyes wide with surprise.

“You are what?!”

“I’m going to have a heart to heart with your sister, and I’m going to see what I can do about all of this.” Raven turned to go at that very moment, wanting to get the whole thing over with as soon as possible, heading for the double doors out of the spacious room.

“Ra- . . .”

“I know you, Starfire, I know what hurts you.” Raven said strongly before Star could even say her whole name, and then looked back at the Tamaranian pointedly. “And you know that I would never do anything to hurt you, so don’t worry.” That said, she turned back, and continued on to the doors.

One more time, though, Starfire called her name.
“Raven.”

“Yes, Star?”

“I am sorry . . .”

“For what?”

“If it had not been Blackfire, if it had not all been a ruse to lure me here . . .” Starfire’s voice fell to nothing more than a whisper, but Raven still heard her. “If it had been real . . . I do not know what I would have done.” The dark magus knew Starfire was on the verge of tears, feeling as though she had betrayed her love.

She simply shook her head, without looking back.

“It’s alright, I understand.” She couldn’t help a little bit of hurt tainting the candor of her voice, but that was only half from Starfire’s “betrayal.” “It’s easy for me to say that you’re the thing I care about most in the world, more than my own life, because I’ve never had anything but you.” She didn’t hesitate any more after that, leaving the room as quickly as possible.

But even as the doors closed behind her, one last thing reached the alien princess.

“Please, don’t blame yourself or feel guilty.” And then Starfire truly did cry.

It was quite a cell, one that looked like it could hold Blackfire for quite some time. Very large and very heavy bars, what she knew to be plates of Kerinthian Steel both above and below the rock facade of the ceiling and floor, respectively. It also helped that the insane ex-ruler was wrapped from head to toe in chains, just as she had Starfire before. Blackfire had looked up when Raven had been allowed in, obviously hoping that Starfire had come to see her, but when she realized that her guest was the dark magus, she became far less enthused.

“We’re sending you back to prison, where you belong.” She announced without any kind of preamble, and Blackfire, unsurprisingly, just laughed.

“Good, I’ll be out of there in no time, and then I can go down to your little dirt ball of a planet, wring the life out of you, and take Starfire for my own, all before dinner time.” Raven didn’t even bat an eyelash at Blackfire’s response, as it was not at all unexpected.

“If you’re so very willing to do things that would hurt Starfire so deeply, then I’m sorry, but I can’t believe that you really think, even in your deluded mind, that you love her.” No starbolt came hissing through the air to take her head off, because just as Raven had been assured by Galfore, the chains that bound Blackfire sapped her abilities, glowing a deep violet as the enrage alien tried to draw on the energies inside of herself.
The problem was that the metal would eventually break from absorbing too much of that power, and then Blackfire would be free. But, for the time being, those chains made having a civil conversation with the insane bitch possible, and that was enough.

“Go to hell.” The deposed empress growled at Raven, eyes filled with murderous rage.

“I hate to be cliche’, but I’ve been there and done that, and you know nothing about pain and suffering.” Raven fired back coldly, advancing closer to the cage. “And I will promise you right now that if you ever try something like this again, try to hurt Starfire or me, I will make sure you truly and deeply understand those concepts before we send you off again.” The harshness and sheer, icy resolve present in Raven’s voice caught Blackfire off guard, and she couldn’t help but try to scoot away from the violet-eyed mage in fear.

But, after a moment, she caught herself, and schooled her features into a dark glare.

“Did you come here for some purpose beyond playing peacock and posturing?”

“I came to talk to you, to make sure that you understood.”

“Understood what?”

“Understood what’s going on, what this situation is about.” Blackfire became utterly disinterested in just a moment, her face a mask of disdain.

“What’s there to know, I want her, and I’ll have her eventually.” With a shockingly loud “CRACK” in the near silent dungeon, Blackfire’s head was snapped to the side by a sharp, open-handed slap.

For an instant, her eyes were absolutely wide in total surprise, but then they narrowed to enraged, seething slits. Confident that she had the raven-haired alien’s full attention then, Raven slipped her arm back within the concealing darkness of her cloak, and spoke before the girl could vent her anger in curses and screams.

“You’re hurting her already, because of what you said to her she’s retreating into herself, trying to go back to the days before her sister loved her in a way that she shouldn’t.” Blackfire’s eyes flared with neon-purple light as her rage fairly peaked in that instant, and the venom in the words she spat then was almost enough to knock Raven from her feet.

“Who are you to talk?! You’re a fucking dirty dyke too, and whatever the hell you are certainly isn’t anywhere near human!” The raging alien bodily threw herself at the bars separating her from Raven, heedless of any pain she caused herself as she screamed out her razored words.

Raven, for her part, gave no indication that she was bothered by the verbal assault in the slightest, despite the shards of Blackfire’s words that lodged themselves in the dark corners of her heart.
“That may be, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s your sister, you shouldn’t be upsetting her like this, for nothing at all.” Blackfire took instant umbrage at Raven’s claim, but a telekinetic gag found its way over her mouth before she could even vocalize the first syllable of her outraged protest. “You should give this up, give her up, for both of your sakes.” She said, and when it became apparent that Blackfire wouldn’t stand to be silenced forever, Raven simply let the gag slip.

“You’re just saying that because you want her for yourself!” The dark magus sighed and shook her head, truly saddened as she spoke.

“No, I’m not, I really don’t believe that pursuing this obsession would be healthy for you, and worse . . . I don’t think Starfire could ever love you the way that you want her to, you’re too much of a sister to her, even despite all the things you’re done to her.” As Raven hit upon the dark truth that had been nagging at the back of Blackfire’s mind, that inescapable fact that the deposed empress had been trying so desperately to deny, the raven-haired alien physically wilted, her head sagging low under it’s own weight.

“Please, just go away . . .” She sounded broken, utterly demoralized, and Raven simply couldn’t leave her like that.

“When you get out, you’re free to come and visit us in good faith.” She offered, but her sharp, violet eyes caught the dangerous gleam that shined in Blackfire’s eye as she registered the promise. “But if you so much as touch one hair on her head in a hurtful manner, I won’t hesitate to cut you in half.” The frightening alien only smirked in response.

“We’ll see when it comes to that then, won’t we?”

Raven entered her room, Starfire in tow, and stood in awe of the tiny space. It looked more welcoming than it ever had before in her life after their ordeal, it truly felt like home then. She knew, they both knew, that it was a quiet place, a sanctuary removed from the complications of the real world. More than anything else, and even though there was still no physical integration between their spaces, it was their space, their home, it was the home of their love. They were relieved, immensely so, that they no longer had to fight, no longer had to struggle. They had each other, and that was what mattered. But even that thought was not a completely comforting one.

Starfire bit her lip, stopping just inside of the room even as Raven continued to slowly plod her way toward the bed.

“Raven, I . . .” Before the alien girl could get any farther, the dark magus’ quiet, tired voice cut through the distance between them, ringing with perfect clarity in Starfire’s ear.

“Don’t apologize, you have no obligation to do so, you’re not at fault for anything that happened.” The Tamaranian stared at her lover’s back in surprise, but after a moment’s consideration she spoke again.

“I am still sorry. I must apologize even if I bear no guilt for what occurred on Tamaran, because I have wronged you, dove.” She let her eyes fall in shame. “I have spurned your deep heartfelt love through my inferior level of feeling, by not loving you as strongly as you love me.” In an instant Raven was before Starfire, her ashen lips curled upwards in the faintest of smiles, and she reached up to softly wrap her arms about the alien girl’s neck.

“You care, and that’s enough, that’s all I really want.” She hugged Starfire even tighter, almost desperately. “So please, stop cutting yourself with this, ‘I don’t care enough and I’m not worthy’ stuff, alright?” After taking a brief moment to consider the worried, even frightened tone in Raven’s voice, the Tamaranian Princess nodded, and nuzzled the top of the short girl’s head in an affectionate but wordless apology.

“I understand, dove.” The dark magus didn’t dare let go for a time after that, too fearful that if she did, Star would revert to her foolish belief that she was somehow unfit to be the violet-haired girl’s lover.

That would be the cruelest joke of them all, if Starfire were to leave Raven because she didn’t think she was good enough for her. Finally, though, they separated with just a little trepidation, knowing that they had to do so in order to get ready for bed, but dreading what might happen when they actually did. Of course, as both wandered over to their now shared closet, Raven happened to notice exactly how irresistible the cushioned expanse of her bed really did look. So entangled by its siren song, she couldn’t help but simply stumble from her feet to take a dive into its waves of soft, downy blankets.

Starfire, in the process of removing her form fitting top at the time, glanced back just in time to catch the dark magus’ final impact upon the yielding surface of the bed, and after a moment’s consideration, decided that she didn’t really have the energy to change into her night clothes. A brief struggle later, she finished removing the stretchy garment from its position high on her arms, and then collapsed in bed beside her love. She had assumed that both she and Raven would be asleep in moments, considering how drained both were from their ordeal. But as the seconds ticked by, Starfire found that her body refused to actually rest, held back from doing so by a nagging feeling of unease within herself.

Finally, her frustrations mounting, Starfire gave up the pretense of trying to sleep and opened her eyes, only to find Raven’s own eyes staring into hers.

“Is something wrong, dove?” Starfire asked, surprised by Raven’s severe look.

“I thought that we agreed we wouldn’t use pet names for each other, Starfire?” the alien girl almost smirked, reaching out to tenderly run her fingers over Raven’s cheek.

“You agreed that we would not use pet names, Raven, I had nothing to say on the subject. Besides,” she noted with a devilish smile, “I have seen the way that you blush when I address you as my dove.” Raven’s steely composure broke as she was blind-sided by Star’s almost sultry behavior, and couldn’t help but look away as she gave a weak retort, cheeks already colored.

“That’s because its embarrassing to get called something like that!” The mysterious heroine was trying to be serious, trying to remain dignified and above the petty nuances that sometimes came with love, and she was failing miserably.

“Of course, and I would have it no other way, my sweet, black dove.” Starfire commented with a satisfied smile of triumph, before softly nuzzling Raven’s nose with her own. “Now that our disagreement is settled, perhaps we can go to sleep?” The alien girl asked, her eyes suddenly hooded heavily with the overwhelming fatigue that she was no longer holding back.

Raven nodded silently, still too mortified by her loves total victory over her to even look the Tamaranian in the eye. But, when the dark magus was absolutely certain her crimson-haired love was sound asleep, she shifted slightly, sitting up in bed.

“Sweet dreams, Starfire.” A gentle kiss fell upon the other girl’s forehead. “You deserve them for granting my wish, my shooting star.” And, with a smile on her lips, the violet-eyed mage fell into her own comfortable, deep slumber.

And, high on the rooftop of the Titan’s Tower, a great, menacing figure perched. It was a creature of darkness so absolute that it stood out starkly from the night-time blackness around it. Truthfully, it was not even perceived through the reflection of light from its surface, because it did not reflect light from its surface. Human eyes could not fully perceive it, simply because their gaze would slide off of it like water from fine glass. The only part of it that could truly be see, could be focused upon, were its eyes, four slits in its avian head that glowed with a dark, blood-red light. In an instant, the great beast unfurled its wings from about itself, spreading them to their full span before giving a single, mighty flap and taking off from the roof.

Its flight took it virtually straight up into the moonlit sky, mighty wings beating with a rhythmic menace that matched the tempo of a dying heart. As it reached the zenith of its rise, having given the final flap of its wings, it let loose a terrible, ear-splitting shriek, and fell into a death spiral dive. Instead of striking the Titan’s Tower when its fall reached the building, though, it simply subsumed into it.

And, from that moment on, the lights shining from within its confines seemed just a little dimmer, while the shadows of its dark places loomed all the larger, like a deadly predator moments from striking . . .