A/N: Hello...ehm...PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! I don't have a good enough excise as to why this is so late so, that's that. SORRY! And to those of you who are still willing to keep on reading this story, I hope you like this chapter. I struggled a lot with it, because it's a turning point in the story and from here on things start to pick up fast. Thisone is based off of one episode of each series and so therefore there might be many inconsistencies here. But as I mention in almost every Author's Note in every chapter, since this is a Fanfiction, and I'm the author of this particular story; I'm allowed to pull as many strings as I like...so yeah.
And now...not long ago I got reminded of a certain little person who wrote me a PM, and that brought back lots of memories and then I realized that certain someone was sister to another someone and I hadn't realized up until that point. And since those persons' PM's content really touched me and brightened my day when I was in low spirits AND also got my spirits up to get my butt working on it; I'd like to dedicate this chapter to them...So here it goes:
Dislcaimer: I do not own The Teen Titans or Danny Phantom.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
'Memories'
empahsis / dreaming / esperanto / writing
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To GhostWriter2468 and Vanessa1288
For having faith in me,
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Chapter eleven: "Scars"
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Chapter Eleven: Scars
"The time has come…"
"I know."
"Soon you will have what you desired."
"I know."
"Along with the gem"
"I know"
"They should be scared."
"They will be."
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Raven's POV
Flames where everywhere, there was no sun, no moon, no stars, just fire.
'I'm coming to get you',
She was screaming, she was crying, why was she crying? Oh…she was in pain.
'Yeah, I'm coming to get you,'
It happened, no…how did it happen? Where was everybody?
'I have a surprise for you,'
Blanch, please let her be safe, just when they have coming to an understating, why?
'Beware, beware,'
Why did she have to be born?
'Don't go to bed; don't close your eyes'
'The time has come!'
"NO!" she screamed her lungs out just to find out that she was in the bus.
Samantha was sitting right next to her and looking at her as if she was a circus freak…well not exactly but close to it. The rest of the passengers gave her the same look. She looked at Danny and he seemed concerned about her. Foley just looked unamused; it seemed that he got used to her outbursts better than anyone.
"Are you okay Rachel?" Samantha asked as she noticed that she still hear that screaming voice in her left ear…wait what? Oh she was an idiot!
"Fine, here you go." she said as she gave Samantha her other earplug back. How could she be so stupid, it was just a dream, well more of a nightmare but it was all the same to her.
"So I guess you are not a fan of Animal Alpha*" Samantha asked her now amused.
"Not bad, but not exactly my cup of tea" she shrugged; she looked outside the window and noticed the outdoors scenery "Are we there yet?"
"Oh no, not you too." groaned Danny. Huh? Samantha was holding back a laugh next to her "What?"
"Sorry, is just that Tuck has been asking the same for about an hour?" One hour?! How long had she been asleep for?
"Seriously though…" she asked again just to be ignored by a suddenly hipped Samantha.
"Camping!" she said baring her fists "We can go hiking, and canoeing, and exploring!" she looked around them and frowned "I can't believe you guys aren't excited."
"Oh I'm really excited, now instead of spending five days a week with these losers I get to spend two whole weeks!" Danny complained, she could relate. How was she going to meditate with all of these clowns around?
"I can't wait to show you all the wonders nature has to offer, Rachel!" Samantha had a crazed look about her, she spared a glance at Danny and he smirked. 'This is not good'
"Why me?" she asked not sure if she would like the answer.
"Because it's our time to bond in the wilderness like good sisters of the nature…" she looked doubtingly at Samantha "You know, in the spiritual sense, some peace and quiet"
'That wouldn't be too bad' she looked at the back of the bus "As long as you keep me away from them" she pointed at Dash and his crew.
"Not to worry, we'll be clear of them" she winked at her.
"Well, while you girls have your girl time, we'll be having all the nature we need" mocked Foley in front of them waving a videogame case in front of Danny.
"Rain Forest Demolition II! Tucker, you read my mind" He smirked while he read the summary in the back.
"Don't mind them Samantha" she noticed that she wasn't used to her calling her by her full name.
"Yeah well, we'll settle for the real thing"
"Yeah…sure"
They were nearing camp now; she could see a gate in the distance. She got startled as something buzzed in her pocket. She forgot about the little present that Blanch gave her before leaving this morning; she wanted to keep in touch as much as she could.
Have fun at camp! :D
B
Right, fun. She hadn't told anyone about the upcoming date, but she couldn't, no one could stop time even if they tried. She really wanted to take her mind off darker topics so she tried to focus as much as she could. She knew that she was putting everyone at risk here, even her friends. Innocent lives would be put at risk but she didn't want to give up the normalcy that her life had attained. It felt too good to let go. And because of that they were all doomed.
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Danny's POV
"Ah! There is a Ghost Monster in the woods...And it took Lester!".
"You've got to be kidding" he groaned…first he's stuck with this bunch of loser for two weeks! He also was stuck with the worst couple of teachers the history of Casper High has ever had the displeasure to have and now there was a ghost attack! "Can we never have a break?".
"Easy bro" said Tucker empathically.
"Yeah, yeah" he sighed "We should check out the woods" he said hesitantly.
"Negative!" ordered Miss Tetslaff "This camp is now under lock down, everyone report now to their cabins!" she yelled as she dragged Mr. Lancer behind her and also a traumatized four eyed kid.
"It's all right" said Sam trying to cheer us up "They can't ruin camp, we can still have fun".
"Well, tell that to miss doom over there" said Tucker pointing at Rae who was now sitting under a tree glaring at nothing.
"What's up with her?" asked Sam "She's had that sour face ever since she woke up in the bus".
"I don't know" said Danny "I thought that you knew what was up with her…you know since you bonded and all" Sam just shrugged.
"We are not exactly that close…yet" she said eyeing the spot where Rae was now glaring daggers at Paulina "We talk but she's not entirely an open book you know?".
"That I do know" he said dejectedly.
"Well, there is something I know as well, if we don't get captain jerk face off her case, there is going to be one more person who goes missing" said Tucker pointing back at Rae, where an oblivious Dash was trying to coax her into something.
"I think someone is way ahead of us" said Sam pointing at the scene that was taking place.
"I said no" Rae snapped at Dash.
"Come on! It'll be awesome; you need a distraction you know?" he said leaning closer to her "It'll take your mind off the accident at your place" he sat next to her and tried to put an arm around her.
"Touch me and you are dead" she said not even bothering to look at him.
"Come on doll face" he didn't see her twitch in disgust at the nickname "You can't go around with those losers", besides…if there's a monster out there" he tried again the move with his arm "who'll protect you?".
"Who says she needs protection?" Dash got distracted by the new voice and look up to see Valerie glaring at him…thanks to that he failed to see the arm that caught him in a wrist lock pushing his face to the side of the three "Told ya".
"Try that again" she said next to his ear "and I swear that you'll be happy it was the monster that caught you" she then proceeded to toss him to the ground face first.
"Yes Ma'am!" Danny heard Dash whimper as he got up and ran to the rest of his group that were staring at Rae like a deer caught in headlights. It was actually quite funny. They were nearing the two girls when Valerie faced Rae.
"You got spunk girl" she smirked "I like it" she nodded appreciatively.
"Didn't do it for your amusement" Rae dusted herself turning to their group.
"Chill girl, just trying to be nice here" said Valerie with a nervous smile.
"Don't need to" she snapped "So stop trying, it would save both of us the trouble" she walked towards Sam "Ready to find out where we are going to spend the next two weeks?"
"Uhm…sure, let's go" she said looking back a Danny and Tucker while she got dragged by an irritable Raven.
"What is her deal?" snapped Valerie who was still standing next to them.
"Dunno, did you spill her tea in a book or something?" suggested Tucker.
"Not that I know" said Valerie.
"That's it!" exclaimed Danny.
"What?" it seemed Valerie was a little bit lost.
"What is it?" Tucker was a bit lost as well.
"She's all snappy because she hasn't had any tea yet!" Danny told them as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Man, I honestly don't think that's it" Tucker groaned behind him.
"So? the girl likes tea" asked Valerie.
"Likes is an understatement, she'll get all vicious if you try to drink up her cup" said Danny somehow proud to know such a thing.
"So…if I get her some tea she will stop snapping at me?" suggested Valerie dubiously.
"Well, that's just, I-" Danny was pulled from his epiphany once Valerie turned around "wanted to give her some…"
"Man, what is it with this girl that all of a sudden everyone wants her attention?" Tucker looked at Danny as he was still recovering from Valerie stealing his idea "I understand you are whipped but-".
"Wait, what! I'm not whipped!".
"You are…" Tucker sighed "does this has anything to do with Rae's house being blown up?".
"I'm not! And yes, well by what I heard from Rae, they kind of got in a bit of a fight".
"From what I heard from her, it was a full blown fist fight".
"She told you?" Danny thought for a moment that only he had heard of the details of that incident.
"Course she did" Tucker gave him an incredulous look "She's also my friend, besides I think she enjoyed the one sided ass kicking, so I would watch my steps around her if I were you" he said as he gathered his stuff and started walking towards the cabin "You know in case you try to make a move, you've seen how it went for Dash" he winked back and kept walking.
"Wha-" he was all but stark red now "I'm not trying to make a move on her!"
"Keep telling that to yourself!"
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Raven's POV
After an interesting first night at camp Raven was making her way towards the Mess Hall; after the events of last night (nearly get eaten by an amphibian ghost, and annoyed the hell out by a couple of shallow teens). She could say that so far, it wasn't as bad as it could be…considering the date that was coming up. But there was nothing out of the ordinary in this place. Well except for the ghost and the lost camper but nothing too weird (ever since when did she consider ghost attacks normal?).
"Rachel!" Except for that; not long after the little mishap with the Red Huntress Valerie had been following her nearly everywhere and trying to befriend her. Why…? She couldn't care less "Wait up!" But for some reason she did.
"What do you want?" she turned around to find Valerie trying to catch her breath.
"You walk fast" she said looking up "someone looks downright jolly" she said once she saw the look on her face.
"I don't like to repeat myself".
"Chill…I'm just trying to start a conversation".
"Which you already have" she wasn't in the mood now.
"Okay calm down, I just wanted to know how you've been?" Raven kept on staring at her "You know since your house blew up and all" and kept on staring "Juts trying to be a good citizen".
"Well, now you have expressed your concern" she turned back on her way "Have a good day".
"Wait!" she said catching up to her "Come on girls, just wanna be friends".
'Yeah right, if I now something, that's guilt talking'.
"I'm not a friendly person".
"You've got quite a few last time I checked" she said smirking.
"And you are not one of them" she said as she picked up her pace.
"Could you at least let me try" she groaned after her.
"Okay then…"she stopped just to turn her head and look at Valerie "Try". She smirked at the shocked face that Valerie had and turned around, she heard Valerie throw something at her and thanks to her unique genetic makeup she had the reflex to catch whatever it was…a thermos?
"Heard you like tea" Valerie smiled and walked ahead of her entering the Mess Hall "Thought you might appreciate something like that" she winked at her and entered the building.
"We'll see about that" she eyed Valerie suspiciously and entered the Mess Hall herself, just to see a worn out Danny sat with their friends "Hey guys" she looked at Danny, tired indeed "Danny?".
"No sign of Lester, at least the monster is gone" he shrugged.
"You should've let me take patrol last night" she said annoyed at his weariness of letting her go alone ever again. It was getting annoying.
"You probably would've come back with one less limb" he groaned and she glared "Okay…next time you can do the patrolling".
"Good" she accepted. She sat herself ready to open the thermos with tea when Dash burst in the room shouting.
"The monster ate Kwan!" and it was quite a high pitched tone.
"At least the monster got to eat" muttered Foley.
"Dash, that's impossible. He probably just wandered off to use the bathroom" Danny said trying to keep to jock calmed. Sure thing Danny sent that ghost into the Thermos, then what happened now?
"Nuh-uh! You don't know Kwan's amazing bladder. He can hold it for-".
"Please don't finish that sentence until I'm safely out of the building" said Samantha as she got up. Suddenly the tea didn't look that appealing now.
"Please wait for me" she got up and followed Samantha outside.
"Please don't finish that sentence at all, dude" she could hear Foley complaining as well.
Once they were out she saw that Samantha was spying on someone. And then what looked to be someone using an old bear costume came waltzing out…she honestly didn't want to find out. Well at least she could arrange her thoughts for a minute…the day was coming… just one more day to go and then that's it. And apart from that this whole mess had to happen. Well as long as this was all over before the day came…everything would be all right, and she shouldn't worry more about it. At least she could try to pretend nothing was out of place. At least she could pretend. It was all she had left anyway.
"The monster took Star!" the universe just hated her, right?
"We'll divide into two groups" she heard the manly Teacher shout as she got closer to see what was going on "Mr. Lancer's team will stay in camp and do normal camp stuff like crafts and canoeing" she bent down and picked up a stick "My team is going to go on a nice normal hike!".
Miss Tetslaff then drew a line in the ground dividing the campers….great, now she was stuck with the hiking. She saw Danny motioning for her to jump towards his side of camp but as soon as Samantha tried to do so, Miss Tetslaff stopped her.
"Don't worry, we'll look for Lester, Star and Kwan" Samantha said over to the boys as she turned and left to follow our group.
"Be careful" Danny said to Raven before she left "Both of you".
"I think I can manage whatever we find out there" she said as she went after the group "See you at dinner" she waved back as she got closer to the group, she thought she heard Danny shout something but it couldn't be that important, could it?
"I guess we are on for a stroll then" oh no…it was her.
"Guess we are" Raven tried to catch up with Samantha as fast as she could but apparently Valerie planned on following her like…like Cujo did. As soon as she caught up with Samantha the former gave her a questioning look. She just shrugged and kept on walking.
They were a good 30 minutes in their hike when Miss Tetslaff decided that now it was a good time as any other to show her campers how to wrestle with a…squirrel. She looked around and finally it looked like Valerie had stop following her around, but she knew that the Huntress kept an eye on her.
"Oh, brother…" Samantha groaned next to her.
"We still have to follow them you know?"
"Wish we didn't have to" just as they were going to join the rest of the group something behind a bush started trashing around, and apparently it was something big. Samantha was about to hit whatever it was with a stick she picked up a while ago.
"Wait…" Raven held a hand in front of her "I think that's-" she heard Samantha gasp behind her.
As she turned around to see what it was, she saw that Samantha was trying to hit a purple-ish ghost with horns with her stick, which was taken from her from said beast and broken in half. Raven grabbed Samantha by the hand and dragged her out of the way as the ghost started to shoot beams at them.
"Why don't you transform!" yelled Samantha as she was being dragged around. Just then they heard another scream, a battle cry form a female voice.
Out of the bushes they saw Valerie…or more accurately the Red Huntress come out of the bushes and start shooting the creature. It seemed she was enjoying the chase as the thing started to escape with a vicious Valerie hot in its trail.
"Because she has been following me around" Raven whispered to Samantha once Valerie was out of earshot.
"Wait, you knew she was following us?" asked a disbelieving Samantha.
"She has been doing it since we arrived at camp" she looked around… sensing something "And I believe she'll be back soon to check on us" she said a little more loudly.
"Why are you shout-" Samantha started but was cut by another voice
"Are you okay guys?" and there she was.
"Yeah, we are perfect" answered Raven "Why wouldn't we?" said Raven walking towards the other girl.
"Uh…no reason, just heard someone yell that's all".
"We are okay, it was just a raccoon that jumped out and sacred me" answered Raven, Samantha just looked at her as if no one would buy that excuse.
"You got scared…by a raccoon?" Valerie asked.
"Yeah, no monsters here at all, just us" Samantha was about to say something but Raven stopped her "Guess we should go and join the rest of the group, wouldn't want to worry Miss Tesla".
"Okay…right, see you in a bit then" said Valerie understanding the dismissal in Raven's tone.
"Why did you send her away after she saved us" asked Samantha.
"Because she doesn't trust her".
"Danny?" Danny came out of his hiding spot from some bushes in his Ghost Form "So that's why you shouted" she looked at Raven for confirmation and she nodded.
"She's up to something" she braced herself. She had a bad feeling about all of this.
"Well, she took care of the ghost" Danny said noticing the uneasiness in Raven "You okay?".
"I'm fine".
"Well, we better go ahead and find Miss Tetslaff; she should know that there are ghosts kidnapping the campers" said Samantha as she started going after the group.
"Yeah but…" Raven muttered.
"Something wrong?" asked Danny going back to normal ready to follow Samantha. He looked concerned.
"Nothing is just that…it's getting late" she said as she looked up at the sky.
"What, you are not telling me you are afraid of the dark now, are you?" he mocked her trying to lighten up the mood.
"Don't be silly" she huffed and went pass him 'I'm afraid of what will come tomorrow'.
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"Tucker is gone!" said Danny as he picked up Foley's videogame "And so is the Thermos".
"What?" Asked Samantha "You didn't have it with you?".
"Uh…nope" he smiled sheepishly.
"Great" groaned Samantha "Well, we caught the first monster; Valerie got the second one…"
"Where is she?" Raven said warily "Do you believe she got caught?".
"I don't know, maybe" said Samantha "Just how many more are there?"
Just as she finished her sentence, something started trashing behind, yet, another bush. Danny was getting ready for battle as something came out and stormed at them. She had her hands encased with energy ready to blast whatever it was that came out when suddenly Danny stopped in his tracks and fell to the ground.
"Wulf?" both Danny and Samantha exclaimed in surprise.
Once Raven got a look at the monster she understood the name. It was more like some kind of werewolf that stood in front of them. It looked like he had an inmate uniform. And from what she could see, his claws were quite damaged.
"We should take shelter somewhere else" suggested Danny as he inspected the wounds on Wulf's claws.
"Let's head back to the First Aid cabin" said Samantha as she took the lead.
Once they were settled in the cabin, Sam began making a mix of some berries that she picked up on the way.
"Um…what is that?" Danny asked her as she made the mix.
"A mixture of berries that are known to speed healing" she looked at them with a proud smile in her face "I told you nature was full of wonders"
"I might be able to speed that a bit more" Raven said as she approached Wulf with her palms open "If you allow me" she said looking into his eyes, asking for permission. He growled when she first tried to get closer to him. He sniffed her then for a moment and after a few seconds whimpered. "I know it hurts, but I think I can fix it"
"What is she doing?" asked Samantha as she finished her concoction.
"I forgot you haven't watched her in action just yet" Danny smirked Samantha's way knowingly.
"Huh?".
Just as she was wondering what Danny had meant Raven placed her hands over Wulf's claws and her hands started glowing white; while she worked the others started talking over her shoulder.
"Huh, who would've known that she could do that?" Samantha regarded her bowl of berries "Should've told me before I got all these" she glared at Danny.
"Sorry, she did that once when I…" he blushed.
"When you…" she groaned "Oh, bloody clueless" she frowned and stepped back a little to watch Raven work.
"Gxia bona al vidi vi denove mia amiko" Wulf told Danny.
"It's nice to see you again too" Danny smiled at his apparently old friend. Samantha gave him a look "What? I had Tucker teach me a little Esperanto, you know, just for moment like this". He gestured proud of himself.
"Uh-huh" said Samantha disbelievingly "I can't believe Wulf escaped Walker's Jail again" she gestured to his claws that now were looking much better "And this time he did some real damage".
"Tearing a whole between dimensions can take a lot out of ya" he said as he gazed at how his claws were back to normal.
"Done" said Raven as she stepped back and looked at her work. All healed and no broken claws "I suggest you not to mangle them so fast now" she said as she dusted herself "Now, is this Walker the rule freak you told me about?" she asked Danny.
"The one and only".
"Guys…the whole Wulf tore through to escape form walker" she took Raven by the shoulders "It must still be open! I thought all these monsters might be coming from the Ghost Zone".
"Of course! They are crawling out of its portal it just like cockroaches through a sewer drain".
"Nice analogy" muttered Raven at the side. Danny just gave her an annoyed look.
"Don't you see? Wulf can lead us to it and we'll close it up tonight". He looked so sure of his idea but the look soon fell from his face as Wulf jumped down the table he sat.
He crawled towards Raven and licked her face…come on, this could not be happening again! She was quick to complain though, because before she knew it Wulf had picked her up by the back of her shirt and now she was dangling from his snout. He walked in his four paws and then nestled on the floor with her in the middle of it. She looked up to see her friends and they were fighting really hard to hold their faces straight.
"Not a word" she glared as hard as she could and they both suddenly didn't have to fight off the chuckles that were escaping them. Looking nervous Samantha cleared her throat.
"Ehm…want a hand?" Samantha offered her.
"You need to ask?" she gave her a glower but still took the offering hand "Now what?" Raven said as she escaped her furry prison.
"I guess we wait" said Danny "He seems pretty exhausted and unless your powers can boost his energy I think we are stuck for now"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I need to wash myself" said Raven gesturing to her still dripping hair.
"I don't know what is it about you, but canines seem to like you" Danny sniggered beside her as they made their way out of the cabin to give Wulf some peace.
"Well, it was because of a dog that you found out about me" she said as she headed towards their cabin, not without looking up at the sky first. She sighed. The day had nearly arrived.
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"Wulf, you need to remember where that portal is right now!" she saw Danny flying down. When had he left?
"What happened?" she asked as she came running.
"It's Walker, he has all the campers held hostage unless we give him Wulf back" he said as he landed.
"That's not going to happen" retorted Samantha.
"Of course not, but we need to save them, come on let's go!" he said urging Wulf to start searching.
Raven just sighed and looked at the wrist watch that she picked up when she was cleaning herself. Midnight, this was just getting started, and she feared it wouldn't end well. They went looking for a good part of the night and once they neared a waterfall it was already dawn. They didn't have many encounters throughout the night, except for a ghost tiger that got in the way and that Wulf took care of it quite fast, and quite viciously as well.
Raven walked behind them as Danny and Samantha filled some canteens with water from the stream that stretched in front of them. She gazed at her watch: 7:00a.m. Justseventeen more hours to go. Danny looked around and found her sighing again. He was about to go closer to her when Wulf sniffed something.
"Veni delanto**" he jumped from rock to rock until he went right through the waterfall. They all followed and got soaked to the bone as they came to a cave that was hidden here, but at last found what they were looking for.
"Another amazing wonder of nature" said Danny gazing the strange beauty of the portal. She found it quite eerie, in fact; considering her situation "Okay, are we ready to break into prison?" he asked as Wulf sharpened his claws against the wall.
"I'd say that's a yes" Samantha said as she saw Wulf growl menacingly.
"So what's the idea?" Raven asked and Danny just lifted up a bag with…was that? "No way".
"Sorry Rae, but, yes way" he smirked knowing that she caught the drift of his plan.
"You know that sometimes I just…ugh, never mind, let's get on with this" she glowered while Samantha muttered something that she didn't quite catch. She looked her way and then towards Danny who was red on the face. She just hoped that the Ghost Zone would pummel her entirely while she was inside…her last time there was not very endearing.
Sixteen hours and its' over.
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Danny's POV
"Whoa…" Danny looked at the huge container that held the rest of the campers "Suspended animation, it's kind of like a camp oat meal" he reached to touched the glass where he could see Tucker floating around, he could see everyone, even Valerie was in there. How was it that they managed to catch her? "Ah!" just to get zapped by a force field "Okay, not that way, at least I know everyone is safe"
"More than we can say for you" a voice said behind him. When he turned around he could see all of Walker's cops around him.
"Hello guys, where is the man of the hour?".
"He has been busy for a while now" said the one who was in charge at the moment.
"Very well, I'm a little hurt he didn't come to welcome me in person" he mocked a hurt voice "Now release my friends!".
"Give the prisoner to us!" he might as well just call him the captain of the squad, he looked authoritative enough.
"You know, you didn't need to kidnap all of the campers just to get me to bring you Wulf" he said as he picked up 'Wulf'.
"Perhaps, but we needed to keep their mouths shut" the Captain made a move to pick up the bag that Danny tossed to him "But we are glad that this game of cat and mouse is over" he said as he retrieved something form his back.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you" that was his queue. He made a mad dash back as a black bird formed in front of him along with a shield that blocked the guards from them. The bird started losing its shape to reveal a pissed off Raven that was glaring at him.
"What?" he asked innocently.
"You know that stinks, right?" she said gesturing the bag were Sam was coming out of too.
"I have to agree with Raven here" Sam said as she ditched the bottom part of the bear costume
"That stuff reeks".
Just then, as the guards were busy enough trying to take Rae's barrier down, Wulf came from behind them unnoticed, busy as they were; and pounced on them with vengeance. He noticed Rae looked around and then she stopped floating and fell to the ground…could it be?
"Rae, what's the matter?" he kneeled next to her while Sam kept an eye around them.
"I'm not as bad off as I was last time, but there is something wrong with this place" she gasped as she held her arms around herself "It's full of rage and…regret?"
"Are you sure that's it?" he asked again, trying to look her in the eye "You know, you've been kind of…off these past days".
"It's nothing, not really, I-".
"Oh, I'm afraid it's much more than nothing, my dear" a voice from a hall behind them called.
"Danny!" Sam shouted in warning but he was soon hit in the side and thrown away from Raven "Ah!".
"Samantha!" he heard Raven yell but he was too disoriented to look clearly what was going on.
He heard some shuffling and Wulf howling, then another crash. He felt himself being held of off the ground and lifted way away from the floor. Once he regained his bearings he could see he whole scene that took place in front of him. All of the guards were unconscious on the floor, as well as Sam who was lying on the ground flat on her stomach. He heard some growling and as he turned to look at what it was making that noise he saw him…or more like multiple version of him.
"Plasmius!" now that he noticed he was being held by some other clones as well. But where was Raven? He could see that Wulf was being held down by the clones but he didn't see the one who usually would be smirking and bragging about some new evil plan.
"Hello, Daniel" he stepped out of the shadows in his human form, standing tall as if nothing could really put him down.
"What are you doing here" he said looking around trying to get a glimpse of her cloak "Where is Raven?" he demanded.
"Ha, you haven't changed a thing" he said as he walked calmly towards him. His clones had put him down but didn't release him; he was now kneeling in front of Vlad.
"Answer me" the clones zapped him then to shut him up "ugh…where is she?".
"She's in the same place where she was" he answered him his face too close to his own for his liking "Just look". He pointed behind him, and there she was, immobile on the floor, gasping, struggling against something.
"What did you do to her?" he shouted trying to reach her but the clones had a firm grip on him.
"Nothing really" he said as he walked towards her "But I'm about to" Vlad smirked at him.
"Don't you dare touch her!" he shouted trying really hard to break free from his captors but he just couldn't.
"Hm…still so emotional" Vlad turned around and placed himself behind Raven. She tried to get away from him but he held her by the shoulders before she could move away "and you seem to care about this one a lot".
"What are you talking about?" he said still struggling "Let her go!".
"What are you up to?" Raven muttered defiantly, shaking him off.
"Me? Nothing really" he said taking her gently by the shoulders "This time, I'm working for someone else" he whispered something to her ear that he couldn't quite catch.
"What?" Raven looked uneasy, Danny took a glance at Vlad and his eyes were red even though he hadn't transformed yet.
He was standing up and spreading his arms as if to show something, and then…fire spread out of his palms.
"What!" he couldn't believe it, he knew that he had ice powers because of his inner core, but Vlad having fire ones…how could that be?
"No…" Raven gasped as she kept on staring at the floor. He looked as well and he could see that the flames formed some sort of mark…but what was it? He looked back at her and saw something that he never though he would ever see on her face.
Fear.
Raven was afraid…of Vlad? Last time he checked it was the other way around.
"What's the matter?" Vlad said as he held Raven with more force than he did before "Cat got your tongue?" Vlad shot fire at Raven and she was so out of it that she barely had time to raise a shield to keep her safe; but that didn't stop Vlad from shooting at her.
"Get away from her!" he yelled and released some of his ice powers against the clones that were holding him down. Now he was free to go and aid Raven. Vlad had her cornered surrounded by flames, when the hell did that happen? He was about to jump in when suddenly Vlad turned around and smirked at him.
"You are such a child" he chided "so riled up by your emotions" and he shot him down.
"Argh!" he was in pain…luckily he held some of the blast off with some ice but…wait a second. Huh? Those words ringed a bell. But…no, it was not possible.
"I see, you are starting to remember, aren't you?" said Vlad as he towered over Danny.
"No, it can't be" Vlad's smile only widened.
And as Vlad remained standing there his eyes changed significantly…there was some resemblance, but it just couldn't be. He knew that it was impossible for him to reach this realm at all. He was meant to be locked away at Clockwork's Tower! Vlad took a step towards him and as simple as it was when he overshadowed his father…he came out, leaving Vlad unconscious on the floor.
Dan, it was Dan Phantom the one who stood in front of him.
"Not to worry Daniel, this time around, I'm not out to get you" he turned around leaving him shell shocked "It's your little bird who holds my attention".
How? How was this possible, he shouldn't be here, he shouldn't really exists at all. Because if he was still around that would only mean one thing… 'You don't get it do ya? I'm still here. I still exist. That means you still turn into me'.
'Youstill turn into me'.
'Youstill turn into me'.
"Argh!" that brought him back to the present events. He snapped out of it just to see him standing over Raven holding one of her wrist in his fist, and it was smoking.
"It. Has. Begun." He said as his whole appearance got encased in red light.
"Raven!" he threw himself at his nightmare and gave Raven enough momentum to free herself. He saw her fell to the ground and clasp her wrist against her chest. He didn't get to see anymore as he was tossed around as if he were a mere rag doll.
"You fool" he said as he stepped on his chest and glowered down at him "There is nothing you can do to stop this, and she knows that as well".
"What?" he managed to gasp out as the pressure on his chest increased.
"Why don't' you ask her what all of this is about?" he smirked down "Of course, that is if she trusts you enough to tell you".
"Let him go!" Raven was off the ground and flying towards them, it seemed she finally snapped out of it and was beginning to regain her true self. She shot her beams with enough strength to send him flying back.
"Danny, are you okay?" she said as she got closer to pick him but was held from it as Dan caught her by the cloak and threw her away.
"Raven!"
"Nu-uh…I'm not done playing with you just yet" he heard her land with a loud bang.
"Leave him alone!" she said as she sprang and kneed him in the face. He staggered back just some paces.
"Feisty, aren't we?" he licked his lips in a very unsettling way "I might have to give it to you, this time you chose an interesting partner, such a pity that you won't get to keep her for long".
"Enough of this!" Danny shot himself at Dan and put some good space in between them.
"Rae, what is going on?" he gasped as he held her close to him. She looked everywhere but at him "Raven, please…" she finally looked him in the eye…he had never seen her like this, so…small.
"It's my birthday".
"And I think it's about time I give you my present".
Danny didn't have much time to process what was going on as he got picked up again and as Dan had him dangling from his left arm "Although this time, I'm making sure you don't come back and ruin my fun" he saw his right fist glowing red and he thought he was not going to make it when he heard her.
"STOP!"
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Raven's POV
There were no sounds, no movement, no rising and falling of a breathing chest. She could feel nothing here, even the anger and regret that she felt as she came into the Ghost Zone had lessened some. She looked around and she noticed that the usual eerie green color that surrounded almost everything in here had disappeared. It was all so still. Even the flames looked…frozen.
"How-how did I-"she paced around looking at everything that seemed so still when she heard him.
"You might be able to stop time birthday girl" she turned around and even though everything else was frozen in time he was moving, if his flaming hair was any indication of it "But you can't stop me" he said as he neared her making her bump into a wall "you can't stop any of it really" his face was way too close to hers now as he trapped her between his arms and the wall.
"Who are you?" she said trying to get some time to look for an escape route.
"You can't be serious?" he laughed at her "I'm sure that you can notice the striking similarity here and there" he said as he looked back to where Danny was left floating as if he was being grabbed by something. That's when she noticed the logo on his chest.
"No…" she looked back from where Danny was to the man who now had her trapped "How can that-?"
"Shh" he silenced her putting a finger in her lips…okay now she was really scared. She needed to get out of here "Let's say that Daddy dearest had something to do with me being here" oh Azar.
"When I got the offer to get out of that stupid thermos that child locked me in, I just couldn't resist" he trailed his finger across her jaw looking at her as if she was lunch "So imagine my surprise when I get sent back in exchange of freedom and quite a few perks for one little job" he said as he finally put some space between them, which she didn't waste as she made a mad dash to get away from him.
She ran past the guards in the floor and then hesitated…she wanted out but, she looked back, what about Danny, and the others? She had to go back! She went back inside and found no signs of…him. She wasn't going to waste this chance so she quickly encased the huge container where everyone was being held as well as Samantha, Wulf and Danny and dragged them all outside of this place. She was struggling quite a bit considering her charge but she needed to get them out!
"All this time, and he kept company of someone with all that power lurking inside, the glorious destiny that awaited such a little girl" she could hear his voice but couldn't see him anywhere at all. She spotted the portal that Wulf had created and dashed however she could towards it. "Imagine how I felt when I discovered that such a person was so close to my past self" she heard the laugh again "It was as if destiny always wanted it to happen, always wanted me to happen".
As soon a she made it out of the portal she collapsed along with all of her charge around her. The cave was now full but, where was the one who kept on taunting her? She looked around searching for the source of the voice…she began to panic when she heard it once more and couldn't spot its owner.
"But honestly…did you think that you could blow out the candles and wish it all away" the voice echoed in the cave and she still couldn't see him "Today is the day it begins" she heard his voice closer now "You've known this all your life, it is going to happen" she began turning in circles to try and catch a glimpse of him but he was nowhere and everywhere "No matter what you wish, no matter where you go, no matter how you squirm" she heard the voice next to her ear now "there is nothing you can do to stop it" suddenly she felt his hand on her chin and when she looked up…he was there smirking at her "or me for that matter".
She glared…she glared as hard as she could, this was not going to happen, not this day, not ever. She was not going to let it, not while she could put up a fight. Her eyes glowed white and she took the form of her namesake. His hands grasped air as soon as she flew up and the dived down to pick up one passenger. Still in her astral form she picked up Danny with one claw and flew out of the cave. She flew to find a temporal shelter.
She spotted a clearing after a few minutes, or what felt a few minutes, she landed there and saw that Danny was still frozen in the same position he was in. She lowered him to the ground so as to lessen his impact as much as she could. She then placed her hand in his chest and focused on bringing him back. He started to glow and the still faded from him as she heard him gasp for air.
"What-where" he looked around complete panic in his eyes and then he crossed sight with hers "Raven!" he all but threw himself at her engulfing her in a crushing hug "Oh my God, you are fine" she hesitated for a moment and then hugged him back.
"I'm….fine" she said not really convinced of her words. He let her go but still held her by the shoulders.
"Raven…did he do anything to you?" he said looking at her wrist that now looked just fine; her sleeve was the only thing that looked damaged. She shook her head "What is going on?".
"I'm not sure" she said as she stood up and stepped away from him.
"Did you…stop time?" she heard him ask? She turned around and he was looking up, she did the same and saw a pair of birds in mid flight, static.
"I never wanted this day to come" she said as she looked around "And when it did I just wanted it to stop…I guess I got my wish" she said as she finally looked at him. He looked confused and concerned.
"What is happening?".
"It's my birthday" she said as if it was the worst thing that could ever happen to the world…which it was.
She didn't know if she felt it before or after she got thrown away, one way or the other she was caught unaware and all she could hear was his voice. She opened her eyes from where she lay on the ground and saw Danny struggling to keep the other man back. She met his eyes.
"Raven, Run!" Danny grumbled as he was trying to hold the other man from getting her.
"But-".
"Run!".
And she did, she heard them fighting behind her, but she just…what was wrong with her?! She was Danny's partner, she should be fighting alongside him, she should never have let any of these people get into this mess, but now it was a little bit too late to be regretting that. She got them into it; she should be perfectly able to get them out. She turned around ready to go back when there was an explosion and some trees were scattered around. She looked around trying to find Danny but she found something else.
"I have a message for you" what she thought was the older version of her best friend stalked towards her "And I will deliver it, whether you like it or not".
"No" she uprooted trees and got them to tie around him.
"Skies will burn" he turned them to ash "Flesh will become stone" she encased rocks, trees, anything that was around and threw it at him but nothing stopped him "the sun will set on your world never to rise again" he disappeared in a flash of light.
She first felt the pain rather than realized that he had a hold of her. It was as if hell itself coursed through his hand and into her flesh, it probably did. She got tossed to the ground and nursed her aching arms against herself.
"Time won't wait forever" she hear him coming closer "You can't run away from who you are". She had had enough.
"I can try!" she said as she turned to him just to watch him being engulfed by a boulder that she conjured form the ground. She needed to find Danny, she needed her friend "Danny!" where was he? She saw that the place was full of debris from the explosion, she then heard him. There underneath some rocks and a piece of a tree trunk. She ran as fast as she could to reach him to help him. She kneeled next to him and got all the debris off of him. He was in bad shape, and it was all her fault. She managed to get them back to camp with her powers and dragged him to the First Aid cabin. She settled him on the floor and held him in her arms.
"I shouldn't have dragged you into this" she said as he opened his eyes "any of you, but you are in, and you need to know".
"Raven?" he lifted his arm and caressed her face; she held his hand against her face.
"I'm sorry, but I need to tell you…" she bit her lip trying to find the courage to do it "When I was born, the monks of the temple I lived at looked into my future, on this day, the anniversary of my birth" she said as she noticed Danny had trouble breathing…perhaps a broken rib. She placed her hand on his chest and started to work "something is supposed to happen, something very bad".
"How come you didn't tell us it was your birthday?" Danny said hurt, both form the injury and from her not telling him any of it.
"I didn't want anyone to know, I didn't want to think about it" she said as she continued healing him "But just because you don't have a party, it doesn't mean it's not your birthday".
The door from the cabin got tore form its hinges as fire consumed it. He was there, standing as if nothing bothered him; he lifted his right arm and a column of fire sprang from the floor and separated Raven from Danny. She heard him land hard on the floor and winced. She was about to get up and help him when she heard someone behind her.
"It's just you and me now, kid". She turned and he was crouching ready to attack her if she tried anything. She glanced at the open space where there used to be a door and ran for it.
"You are making this much more difficult than it needs to be" she heard him say as a wall of fire cut her escape way "The message must be delivered".
She paid him no mind and took her astral form and went through the fire. She needed to put as much distance as she could from him and fast. She took a glance back and he was now flying after her as well. She panicked, she shot at him with her energy but it simply dissolved around him as flames protected him. She tried to lift boulders and trees from the ground and tossed them at him but nothing seemed to stop him. She gazed down and saw the cabins…Maybe? She stopped turned around and spotted him not far behind, she looked down and concentrated enough in one of the cabins, with all her might she managed to surround it with her energy and lifted it form the ground; once it was on the air she opened her eyes and didn't hesitated to throw it at her pursuer.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she yelled with all her heart in hope that it would stop him.
She looked around and didn't wait to see if he came after her or not. She flew as far as she could and she managed to see the waterfall that Wulf had led them to. And she heard him, she heard an explosion behind her and before she could even blink something collided with her. He grabbed her by the front of her cloak and threw her with all his might to the peak of the waterfall. She landed on the ground next to the water and tried to make a run for it, but once again he grabbed her from the back tearing her cloak and part of the upper back of her leotard off.
"What you have concealed you shall become" he said as she felt her back burning "you have no other choice!"
"No!" she attacked him, out of desperation, anger and sadness she threw herself at him in what she knew was a vain attempt, but she no longer cared if it was useless. She didn't want this, any of it. He grabbed her by her forearm and she felt the world burn.
"The message will be delivered; your destiny shall be fulfilled".
She could feel fire burning every bit of her skin; she could smell it as well, that awful smell of churned flesh. Was it her own flesh? She didn't know any more, all she knew right now was that if this was how it felt to be alive, if this was how it felt to be torn from the inside out when the time came…she didn't know if she wanted to be alive anymore. When it finally stopped, she looked up and her vision was obscured by her now long hair; she looked down at her body and it was all covered in red marks, the Marks of Scath.
She was on her knees still, it was only when she stood up and lifted her gaze that she saw it; and she didn't know if she preferred to go back to the pain, because what greeted her was the very image of Hell. Everything was covered in flames, there were no more trees, the water became magma, and…every person that she now held close to her heart were nothing but mere stones in front of her; all of them with a look of utter pan in their faces. The figure of Blanchard trying to reach her stroked her heart the most.
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-Flash Back-
They were in a graveyard. Why the hell would Blanch take her to a graveyard of all places, she didn't know, but the woman herself looked quite chirpy, which freaked her out even more. She just got up that morning expecting to go to the library and have some time alone. Danny had been acting excessively overprotective in the last patrols they had so she needed time for herself. She wasn't expecting Blanch to be already up and going and dressed up in an elegant Red dress.
"Morning Rae!"
Ever since somehow their apartment got fixed in less than two days with funds coming from a 'anonymous' source, Blanch had been extra clingy. It probably had to do with the fact that she came home that night with a nasty burn in her head just after an explosion occurred, but well, occupational hazards tend to happen, it was just that Blanchard didn't know why they did to start with.
"Good morning" she went ahead to prepare herself some tea "What's the occasion?"
"Oh…well actually I wanted you to join me today, if you don't have plans, of course" Raven could sense the nervousness in her voice as well as in her body language. Blanch really wanted her to go with her wherever it was.
"Sure, I don't mind" as soon as the words left her mouth Blanch brightened up and leaped from where she was standing.
"I love you Rae!" she engulfed her in a bear hug that caught her by surprise "Now go get changed young lady" she suddenly turned her around and shoved her inside her room again.
"What for?" she was wearing her usual outfit "And what's wrong with this?".
"Nothing but I want you to meet someone; and you must look dashing!" Blanch had a smile that occupied half her face "Now put this on!" she pushed her in as she shoved some cloth on her face as she closed her door.
"Hey!" she tried to open the door but heard a locking sound from outside.
"You are not coming out until you put that on!" she looked at the fabric that was tossed at her and her face blanched.
"No way!" she dead panned at her closed door, knowing full well that Blanch was on the other side expecting a reaction from her "You can't force me to-".
However she was interrupted by a single sentence.
"Photo Album" Ugh! That devious woman! Sometimes she wondered who was the one born of evil itself.
"Fine" she looked at the dress again and could not believe that she was about to do this, again. It was a navy blue pencil dress; it had a cut out neck and back, as well as some button accents. It was a little bit too much on the womanly side. Not really her thing. She sighed as she got the thing on. As she came outside Blanch was waving a pair of ballerina flats on her hands.
"No boots today Rae" she said in a sing song voice.
"Oh, come on!"
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And here they were, at the graveyard dressed too formally for her liking. And as they walked she gazed at the tomb stones. She really didn't like this. What was Blanch doing?
"Here we are" said Blanch as she stopped in front of a specific tombstone. Blanch was wriggling her hands and looked nervous as hell…oh no, was it? "I'd like you to meet someone Rae" then Blanch turned her eyes at her; she understood it all now.
"Who?".
"Rachel, this is David" she said signaling fondly at the plate "David, I'd like you to meet someone".
Raven turned to Blanch and she saw that a river of tears was flowing down her face, but her voice didn't quiver one bit.
"Rachel is a girl that I took in not long ago, I think you would've liked her a lot" she laughed a hollow laugh while the tears kept on streaming from her eyes "she's amazing, I think our children would've been very much like her" she finally sniffled "She has spunk, much like we used to".
Oh Azar…how was she meant to react at something like that? She suddenly felt that Blanchard took hold of her hand and she looked up to find a look of adoration coming from her.
"Rachel, this was my fiancé" she looked at the name plate.
In loving memory of David Nolan: In this life or the next, I will always find you.
MMB.
"You would've like him, he was reckless like you are" she laughed again "but we loved each other very much".
"What happened to him?" she dreaded asking this but it seemed that was the purpose of bringing her here.
"He was a Fireman. He loved his job, he really did…this day, three years ago we were supposed to be getting married, but as he used to put it, duty calls and…" there was a glazed look in her eyes. She didn't know what to do, Blanch just kept on going, she sighed "Well I guess you can figure out the rest".
"Why?" Raven didn't need to elaborate her question.
"Because even if it has been such a little time that we've know each other" she looked her straight in the eye now "and despite the look you give me each time I say this to you Rachel, I want you to believe me, I really do: I care about you Rachel; after the gas explosion in the building…I thought it was happening all over again and then you came back at ungodly hours of the night and I saw you…and-" her voiced cracked "I'm not strong enough to live through it again" she threw herself at Raven and embraced her tightly "I don't want to lose you too…I love you".
Raven knew right then that she could never deny anything to this woman anymore, because deep down she knew that she too felt the same way, that somehow their relationship went so much deeper, it felt the same way she felt towards Azar, maybe even deeper. And it was at that moment that's she realized that this might be the way that someone felt having a family. She loved this woman.
And it was with a deep sadness that she realized that because of her selfishness, her inability to let go of this feeling; she knew she was going to break this woman's fragile heart.
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-End Flash Back-
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And apparently she would do it, in so many terrible ways. She had been born to do it.
"No" she gasped as she tried to retreat form the images that greeted her.
"Yes" she heard him hiss "Look at it, drink it in" she could feel him behind him "behold the world we are destined to create"
'We?' no, not him…please, she couldn't, could she? Would she? Why him? Off all the people of this world why would he become something like this?
"No, I won't do it" she held her head in her hands shaking "this is just a vision, this can't be real!"
"This is the future" he held her from the back making her look at the scene in front of her. She heard a loud roar in the distance…she knew who that voice belonged to "Your future, it began the day you were born and nothing can stop it" she felt chills run down her spine even though the world was burning "this will come to pass, I will make sure of it" his mouth was now just millimeters away from her ear "You are going to destroy the world Raven, it's written all over your face".
"No!" she cried in desperation, this was not real. She felt a shift in the air…it was lighter, but her heart was heavy with sorrow.
"We'll be in touch" she felt herself fall. The world started fading black to her "Oh, and happy birthday".
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Danny's POV
The pain on his chest had lessened some but he struggled getting out of the debris that the Fight with Dan left behind. He flew outside of the campsite and looked frantically for any sign of Raven. He needed to find her, make sure she was all right. What would he do if Dan had…? No, now it was not the time to be mulling over such things, he needed to get to her ASAP. He heard her screaming. He was flying over the woods now, he didn't realize he had flown so far away in so little time but it didn't mattered to him anymore, all he could see now was Raven falling, his body moved out of its own accord.
Before he knew what was happening he had an unconscious Raven in his arms, scarcely dressed. All her clothes were tattered and ripped from many places and her hair had grown so long…what did he do to her? He landed by the feet of the waterfall not far away from the entrance of the cave, he settled her more comfortable in his arms and heard her gasp. He looked down and got overwhelmed by the sight. Raven looked tired and her eyes were so much older than the last time he saw them. He smiled down at her glad to have her safe and sound.
"I'm sorry" she whimpered. What happened to her bad ass and snarky friend? He wondered what had caused her to be left in such a state. She passed out
"Raven!" he called her name but she was out cold.
"Danny!" that was Sam…he forgot all about that other incident for a second "What happened? I woke up and we were already out of the cave and the portal-" she stopped in her track when she got a good look at them "Danny?".
"Kio okazi, mia amiko***?" Wulf asked from behind him, he turned around to face his friend and gave him a bitter smile.
"I don't really know" he turned to Sam "what happened with the portal?".
"I…I didn't see you around but I found the Thermos and used it to reverse the polarity of the portal. It's closed now" she said unsure "Danny, what happened? How did we get out of there, and what's wrong with her?".
"I can't explain now" he said. He didn't really know but he needed to ask Raven what happened to her "Wulf, poto vi aspekti post sxia?****"
The ghost just nodded his head affirmative and took Raven from Danny's arms and scattered off to the Camp. Danny was staring to have a terrible headache now but he knew there were things that needed to get done now, so Raven would have to wait.
Once Danny and Sam sorted the mess they left behind in the cave and picked up everyone else, they took the container and brought it back to camp. Danny was exhausted, but now that they had sorted out that, they needed to get Tucker outside of that box and see how Raven was holding up. Sam kept giving furtive glances and he sighed, he knew she had questions of her own, but he rather had them answered once they were all together.
They took Tucker out of the oatmeal like substance and took him back to the girl's cabin, where they saw Wulf resting at the feet of Raven's bed; she was just starting to come to. She groaned and without realizing it, Danny was already by her side. She blinked a couple times then her eyes focused in on him.
"Danny?"
"Morning Rae" he smiled as she sat up holding a hand to her head.
"How long?" She asked looking around.
"About an hour".
"Guys…" it was Tucker "what happened…and why are you wearing a bikini?" he said to Rae as he looked her up, to which she glared.
"Maybe we should get her dressed and then you can tell us what happened okay?" said Sam as she all but pushed them all out of the Cabin.
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"Libera" Wulf said.
"Yeah, libera, mio amiko!*****" smiled Danny as Wulf slobbered all over him "Down boy!" he laughed as he saw Wulf run to freedom.
"So…We'll tell everyone it was all a dream" said Tucker "What happened to the monsters? You sure they won't be coming back?
"Yup, I closed the portal while Danny…" Sam looked troubled "could you tell us what happened?"
"It was Vlad" he said.
"What?" Both Sam and Tuck looked bewildered but when he looked at Rae she looked confused.
"Yeah, somehow he was the one pulling the strings back there, but what I don't understand is, why was he after you Raven?" he paused and looked her way.
They were all settled around a bonfire and it was nighttime, the rest of the campers were still in the container and Tucker was fiddling with something in his bag. Rae was now fully clothed but her hair was still long, he didn't know how it had gotten that long.
"I guess I can't keep it from you any longer" she sighed, and looked around to see if they were ready to listen to her story "When I was born, well I'm not exactly from around here, my mother was being looked after an order of monks, and on the day of my birth they were able to see the future" she looked to the fire "On the day of my fifteenth birthday, something bad was meant to happen" she looked down at her hands as she clenched them "And it did".
"And was Vlad that something bad?" asked Sam, and Raven looked his way lifting an eyebrow.
"Yes, Vlad was that something bad" she looked down again, she was lying for his sake. And he would explain that to her later but for now.
"Wait a second" tucker interrupted her "Today is your birthday!" he yelled.
"Yes" she answered as if it was a sentence.
"Why didn't you say anything?" asked Sam "We could've prepared something for you".
"We were a bit busy, don't you think?" she said tiredly.
"Well yeah, but you are still our friend" said Danny feeling sad for her.
"My whole life I knew this was going to happen" she sighed again "I never felt happy about this day" she said avoiding eye contact with all of them "Never had a reason to".
"So what you told me about your destiny, what he did to you, was it always meant to happen?" he felt so guilty, he could've done something, he should've protected her "I'm sorry I couldn't stop it".
"No one could" Raven stared at the bonfire. He knew there was more behind this incident than what she let show.
"We will find out how Vlad did what he did" he said making a fist and hitting his leg "and why he was after you, but right now you are safe" he smiled and got up to sit next to her putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She smiled weakly.
"Hey!" shouted Tucker "she smiles!" he laughed and pointed at her "anyhow, now that all of that it's over and we know that is your birthday, we might as well celebrate" he said smugly as he opened his lap top screen and the previews of a movie started showing.
"Might as well" Danny smiled as he looked at her and she looked amused at Tucker, then back at him and shrugged.
"It's show time!" he said as out of nowhere he got out sodas and popcorn.
"No, no, no" Sam said as she got off the log and leaned on it to gaze up "that's not what we are watching" she said smugly.
They looked at her and settled next to her on the ground. Raven sat herself next to Danny and tucker next to Sam.
"Now it's show time" she said all of them looked up to the sky to watch several shooting stars "Seems like nature wants to give something back to you, Happy Birthday Raven" said Sam looking at her over Danny.
"Thanks" she said as she looked up in wonder.
"Wow" said Danny as he gazed at the stars; he stretched his arms out on the log.
"I know" Sam smiled at him, and then they heard the snoring.
Tucker was already drooling and snoring, he and Sam laughed at his antics. In reality it had been a long day for all of them. He was still sniggering when he felt pressure on the right side of his chest. He stopped suddenly and looked down to find Rae out cold laying against him, she obviously didn't intend to fall asleep on top of him, and considering the day's events it was the worst moment for this, but he felt himself flush bright red as he stared at Raven's sleeping face; her long lashes and her lips parted as she snoozed lightly, even the long hair suited her nicely. He couldn't resist the opportunity and he embraced her with his arm…it felt nice.
"You are in really deep, huh?" he was so absorbed with the image of Raven that he forgot that he wasn't the only one awake.
"I-uhm…I was just-" he looked and Sam had a forlorn look about her, he knew what she meant, he pretended he didn't, but he wasn't that clueless "I'm sorry" he managed to say.
"What for?" Sam snapped at him. This was never going to be easy, right?
"You know what" he said as he glanced down at Raven.
"I figured as much" Sam muttered "I guess it was never meant to be" she said in a lower voice as she folded her knees under her chin but he still heard her.
"You know that I still care about you" he said as he tried to look at her, he heard her sigh.
"Yeah, I know" she said as she looked at them "but not the way you care about her".
"Sam…I just-" he groaned and then Raven stirred "I just don't know…there is something about her"
"Please don't" Sam stopped him. Yeah, he was so tactful when it came to this kind of stuff.
"Sorry".
"So…what really happened to her?" said Sam looking at the battered girl.
"I happened" he said bitterly, remembering what happened today.
"What do you mean?".
"Dan, he's back".
.
.
.
To be Continued...
A/N: Cliffie! Now, I tookplenty of liberties here and I know I raised more quiestions that answers, but I just couldn't resist. Why do you guys think that Danny avoided talking about Dan in front of Raven? Was it worth the wait? What happened to Vlad? Why is Dan so...forward with Raven?
Keep on waiting to Fin out! LOL
R&R
*Animal Alpha - Bundy (look up that song ;)).
**Come ahead.
*** What happened, my friend?
**** Could you look after her?
*****You are free, my friend.