A Time of Healing

Chapter One: Painful Emergence

He had been floating in nothingness as far back as his fogbound mind could recall. All around him was silence, with the occasional echo of sound coming from somewhere far away. He didn't know how far the sounds truly were from him, since it hurt too much to move. Deep gashes adorned his chest and rent the armor that was supposed to have protected it, and burns graced his abdomen, arms and legs. In some places, his armor was seared into the flesh; and he knew only too well how painful the removal of it would be, when and if he got to a healer.

"It would take several men to hold me down, and at least two or more healers to heal the wounds and burns the dragon had inflicted..." the mage thought, not even deigning to call the dragon in question by name. Then, before either he or his mind had even a chance to cry out, he felt himself being wrenched from the nothingness and thrust back into something that felt like reality. For the first time in almost a thousand years, gravity took hold of his badly injured body and slammed it into something hard. He uttered a soft cry of pain, before almost choking on what felt like blood that had come up from his lungs from the impact. A few moments later, his body skidded to a halt, just in front of a door. Distantly, he could hear the sounds of an intense battle going on far above him, and smiled slightly when he heard an enraged roar.

"Getting sealed again, eh, Malchior? Well, it serves you right for getting loose in the first place." the mage thought, scornfully; grimacing when he forced himself onto his arms and dragged himself to the door. He knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he stopped moving now, shock would set in even quicker and this place, wherever it was, would become his tomb.

"C-can't...let that happen...I don't want to die...just yet...Got to get up...must see who set the dragon free...and then resealed him...I must find out..." the mage whispered, as he struggled valiantly to his feet; fighting back the urge to gasp in pain when he put his weight back onto his injured legs. Little did he realize that, as he left the darkened basement of the building behind him, he was heading towards a long and difficult recovery process; not only for him, but also for a young woman named Raven...

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A certain young sorceress chuckled and shook her head as Beast Boy and Cyborg played their newly invented (and equally ridiculous) game...Stinkball. Even though she still felt a little down because of Malchior's deception, she found that watching the two goofballs took her mind off of it...At least for a little while. Then, abruptly, Beast Boy stopped and turned a curious, if somewhat concerned, gaze down the hall.

"What's up, BB? Why'd ya stop?" Cyborg asked, when he'd noticed that the green changeling had paused.

"Thought I smelled something...dunno what, tho...Smells a little bit like blood and burned flesh...and melted metal." Beast Boy murmured, thoughtfully (much to the surprise of his two friends).

"But I thought all of the injuries that'd been caused by the dragon had been taken care of already. You sure you smelled that, BB?" Cyborg asked, sounding a little skeptical, but for the most part believing his friend and comrade. Beast Boy nodded.

"Yeah. It's faint, but I can definitely smell it. Somebody's been hurt...and hurt bad." Beast Boy murmured, more than a little concerned by what his sensitive nose now told him.

"Then let's waste no time. Whoever it is might need medical attention." Raven said, in her usual calm, gravelly tone. Both boys nodded.

"I'll lead the way. Cyborg, can you tell Robin and Starfire about this too?" Beast Boy asked, before shifting into canine form so he could better track the scent.

"Already on it, BB." Cyborg replied, as he turned on his comm-link and started talking to the leader of the Teen Titans. As they started moving lower through the Tower, Raven could feel something almost akin to foreboding settle in her gut. The closer she, Beast Boy, and Cyborg got to the scent Beast Boy had picked up, the stronger it became. And, since she was a telepath as well as an empath, it didn't help matters any. She was starting to pick up on the pain of the person in question, and also the conscious effort he was making to stop the bleeding in his own wounds. She almost withdrew when he noticed her, but a gentle and reassuring thought prevented her from doing so.

"He must be almost as powerful as me, but the blood loss is weakening him. His telepathic range isn't as extensive as it should be." Raven mused, looking up when Robin and Starfire joined them.

"How much further till we find the source, BB?" Cyborg questioned, when Robin had given both him and Beast Boy a speculative look.

"Not too far now. Another floor down." Beast Boy replied, momentarily reverting back to his humanoid form so he could speak. Robin nodded, silently.

"We should be ready for anything. With the damage to the Tower and its' security system, just about anybody could have gotten in from the ground level. Be on your guard." Robin ordered, as his friends nodded in agreement. They knew only too well whom Robin been referring to, just then.

"Slade has a way of doing that to people...Especially people like Robin." Raven thought, knowing that Slade would use an opportunity like this to throw them even further into confusion. She jumped when a questioning thought came to her, and was somewhat spooked when she recognized the voice.

"Who is Slade?" a male, British-accented voice asked, weakly.

"Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, be extremely careful. We might soon have another fight on our hands." Raven warned, as they arrived on the level in question.

"What makes you think so?" Robin asked, as he stood alongside the oddly silent Starfire and gave her a questioning look.

"I think Rorek is here." Raven muttered, her eyes narrowing as the pain from the recent betrayal returned with a vengeance.

"Waitaminute...didn't BB tell us that 'Rorek' was the dragon from your book?" Cyborg questioned, dubious now as to whether or not they should continue the search. Raven nodded.

"Yes. But Malchior had switched the names in order to fool me." Raven said, grimly.

"Then this would make the 'Rorek' here the true one, would it not?" Starfire asked, breaking her long, uncharacteristic silence.

"That could well be the case, but we don't know what kind of person the real Rorek is. He could be just as deceptive as the dragon. It would be wise to be cautious." Raven murmured. Robin quietly agreed.

"Good point. Now, let's see if we can find him." Robin said, giving Beast Boy the go-ahead to continue tracking.

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Rorek's breathing was harsh as he leaned against a wall for support. His body screamed in agony with every move he made, and every step was becoming more and more of a challenge. He was losing the battle against shock, and soon he would stop moving altogether. The only thing that gave him hope was the fact that help was on the way.

"Though the woman felt a bit wary of me, for some reason..." Rorek mused, sensing somehow that she'd had more to do with Malchior's near-release than he thought.

"Well, it will do me no good to worry about it now...I have to keep moving, before I succumb to my wounds." Rorek thought, as he steeled himself as best as he could from the pain, then took another step. He almost instantly regretted it. No sooner did he move away from the wall when numbing pain flashed through his chest, forcing him to his knees. Hacking coughs brought up blood from damaged lungs; yet another parting gift from the vengeful dragon.

"Burning...my lungs are burning! I can't breathe!" Rorek's mind cried, desperately; unaware that the girl from before had heard him.

"Hang on! Help is coming!" the girl's voice shouted, all wariness gone in the face of the urgent need he had for medical aid.

"Please...hurry..." Rorek mentally whispered, before consciousness left him completely.

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Robin and the rest looked up in surprise when Raven abruptly took off down the hall.

"Raven! Wait! Don't go it alone!" Robin shouted, as he and the three remaining Titans ran after their resident magic-user.

"Friend Raven! Wait, it could be dangerous!" Starfire added, watching when Raven rounded a corner and then skidded to a stop.

"Raven, what...?.!" Cyborg yelped, trailing off when he saw what Raven had seen and had stopped her in her tracks. There lay the mage in question on the cold white linoleum. He was lying somewhat on his side, with one arm wrapped tightly around his chest. His other arm was outstretched, the hand gripping part of his torn black scarf; revealing the lower half of his face. It was his face that Raven took particular interest in, since the book had only shown pictures of him masked (and, even then, the details were vague). He was handsome, but even his own youthful features weren't enough to hide the hint of grief and worry she found there.

"Oh man...he's torn up! Lookit him!" Cyborg muttered, breaking the unexpected trance Raven had gone into, and she watched as the three boys carefully rolled Rorek onto his back so they could get a better look at his injuries. Now, even Raven, Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg could smell what Beast Boy had gotten a whiff of several floors up.

"Yeah...those wounds in his chest look deep, and the burns look infected. He fought that dragon and fought hard, by the looks of things." Robin murmured, as Beast Boy and Cyborg pressed an emergency oxygen mask onto Rorek's face; looking a little relieved when the mage breathed in as large a gasp of air as his injured lungs could allow.

"But how did he end up here? Did he come out of the book when the dragon came out?" Starfire asked, worriedly.

"I don't know...And we're not likely to find out until he regains consciousness." Raven stated, then added, "If he regains consciousness, that is."

"We'll just have to make sure he does. Right, Titans?" Robin asked, knowing that Raven really wanted to hear someone say that.

"Right. Now, let's get this poor guy to sickbay and get a doctor called. We can't handle these burns and slashes on our own." Cyborg muttered, as he carefully picked up the senseless mage and started carrying him in that direction. As they made their way back up into the living area of the Tower, Raven couldn't help but wonder; where was this twist of fate taking her? And would she and the rest of the Teen Titans come through it safely?