Chapter 3 - Real?

Chapter 3: Real?

The girl had expressed a lot of shock before she had passed out and crumpled to the floor. Kane was surprised by her expressed shock, an expression that seemed to say she had recognized him somehow and it had led to her collapse.

The green boy that had shown him in had rushed to the fallen girl’s side. He just stood there, staring down at her.

The girl who’d collapsed was indeed the one from his visions. It took him a moment to grasp the reality of it.

“Is she okay?” Kane asked the green one now kneeling beside the unconscious girl.

“I think she’ll be fine,” the green one replied. “Even though why she’s out cold in the first place is beyond me.”

The girl groaned lightly, moving slightly. She shifted her head a bit, blinking her eyes rapidly as she came to. When fully open, shimmering amethyst eyes emerged, staring for a short moment upward.

“What happened?” she coughed lightly, after which she made an effort to get up.

“You collapsed,” the green one told her. “I came into the room, and you just—passed out.”

“I could’ve sworn, when I saw you enter—“ she stopped, staring at Kane with disbelief. “How...who—why??”

“Huh?” the green one was obviously confused.

“The guy you brought in—“

“Yeah, what about him?” the green one said.

She looked at the newcomer, obviously bewildered just looking at him.

“How is it possible?” she exclaimed, wide-eyed. “How can he be here—even be real??”

“You know this guy?” the green one asked her. “You’re acting like you know him, and are shocked to see him.”

“I’ve never met him,” she admitted, her gaze aimed downward.

“Then why—“

“I keep dreaming about him, dreams that almost are like a premonition. I just thought that the stress those nightmares I was having created them,” she said, interrupting the green one. “I never thought he could be actually real…” She paused, looking at Kane. “Who are you?”

“Wait,” the green one said. “You’ve dreamt about this guy? That’s really something new for you Rae.”

“Yeah.” She put her hand to the side of her head. “In every dream, he’s there, with a blue-white aura surrounding him.” She took a deep breath and released it. “That’s why it—you,” she pointed to Kane. “Didn’t seem like it was possible for you to be real.”

Blue-white aura, Kane thought to himself. Orbing, how could she know—

“I’m real,” he said aloud. “Very real.”

“Who are you then?” she asked him. What have you come for—and why?”

“I am known as Kane, “ he told her. “And I came to see you.”

“Why though?” she asked.

What can I tell her? Kane thought to himself. With how she reacted to my entrance, would she be able to handle—

“I came partially because of those dreams,” Kane told her aloud.

“How would you—?“

“Because I’ve been having similar dreams myself,” Kane replied, cutting her short. “About you. I was told by a—um…mentor that you really do exist, and where I’d be able to find you.”

“You—“ she stammered. “But—why?”

“That’s why I came,” Kane replied. “To seek out the answer to that myself.”

“I feel kind of silly,” she said. “I don’t tend to faint for just anything, much less strangers.“ She looked up at them a bit sheepishly.

“Do you need a hand getting up?” Kane offered his hand. She just looked at him for a moment, and then decided to take his hand that had been offered without a word. Slowly he helped her to her feet.

When she fully stood he finally got a good look at the girl. It was like the dream had become a reality, and she was living proof to that.

She’s just like I envisioned—

“You’ve—dreamt of me?” she looked confused, it was very apparent in her eyes. The green one stood on the sidelines, apparently just as—if not more—confused as the girl herself.

He looked at her.

How can I tell her about this? He thought to himself. Would she even understand what that blue-white aura means?

“Um—can I ask you a question?” Kane asked her.

“I guess,” she replied. “What question?”

“What do you know about magic?” he asked. “The extent of what you know about its existence on this planet—and in general?”

She looked at him peculiarly for a moment.

“I practically live—and breathe—magic,” she replied. “My whole being—is magic, the good, and—“ she hesitated before finishing. “—The bad.”

“What do you mean by bad?” he asked her.

“Did you come here just to have a full blown discussion on magic?” she asked. “Because if that’s what—“

“You mentioned something about strange nightmares,” Kane cut her off. “What kind of nightmares exactly?”

“Fire and brimstone,” she replied softly. “Recollections of what I fear most.”

Fear? He thought to himself. Have I heard that one before? Where have I heard that before—“Is there a chance I could discuss a few things alone with you?”

“What are you?” she asked him.

“I kind of think of myself as a fallen angel,” he told her, smirking. “For you, maybe a guardian angel.”

“What—“

“Raven,” he said. She widened her eyes. It was just eerie to hear a stranger say her name—“I’m—your guardian angel.” Enough said.

What Kane had just said was overwhelming, making her feel a bit faint. For the second time in that short period since he had arrived, she fell into unconsciousness, falling to the floor and into the darkness once more.

RRRRRRRRRRR

“Rae? Rae?? Raven??”

Voices; she heard them call her name, even though everything remained in darkness. Eventually the darkness departed, and she took notice of two guys leaning over her. There was concern in their eyes as they called her name.

She blinked rapidly a few times, trying to adjust to the light once again.

“What—“ Raven groaned lightly. “Did I just black out again?”

“What happened?” Beast Boy asked her worriedly. “That’s the second you’ve done that this afternoon. Are you gonna be okay?”

“I’ll be fine,” Raven told him. “I just need to relax and take some time to compose myself.”

“Whatever you say,” the changeling replied. “Sit, relax, and talk—with him.”

He pointed out the newcomer, whom she had just realized was still there.

“Where are the others—Robin, Starfire, Cyborg?” Raven asked.

“Out,” Beast Boy said. “Tracking down anything they can on Slade. Something supernatural has been attached to him in one way or another, and they went to check it out.”

“Great,” Raven muttered. “Just—great.”

“Any clue on the kind of supernatural activity it is that your friends are checking out?” Kane spoke up.

“Something really creepy,” Beast Boy replied. He looked at Kane peculiarly. “ Would you know something about that kind of thing?”

“I’m researching a bit on that,” Kane replied. “I come from a certain society that tends to keep tabs on that sort of thing.”

“You said something about being an angel,” Raven said. “A fallen angel, or how you put it—guardian angel. What—does that mean?”

“I’ll get to that,” Kane replied. “”But I’d rather discuss it in private.”

“Why?”

“There are things I want to discuss that I don’t want heard by others at this time,” Kane replied.

“Why don’t you take Mr. Angel here to your room and discuss stuff there?” Beast Boy suggested to her.

“Why, are you trying to get rid of me?” Raven asked, glaring at him slightly.

“No,” Beast Boy replied grinning. “Rob told me to do some research, while he and the other two are out. Besides,” he grinned viciously. “You don’t want to keep him waiting, do you?”

“I guess not,” Raven mumbled.

“Maybe this guy will be the first to not be totally creeped out by your bedroom arrangement, “ the changeling added. “Maybe he can talk you into redecorating.” Raven glared at him, and there was a note of confusion from Kane in his expression from what the changeling had said.

“Nobody could make me do that,” Raven shot back.

“I’ve gotta get to work,” Beast Boy said. “You go entertain him, or something.”

“Whatever,” Raven said, then turning her attention to her guest, Kane. “Come, this way.”

She began to lead him away from the common room. Hesitantly he followed.

“I wonder what that guy meant by the guardian angel thing,” Beast Boy wondered aloud after the two had left. He shrugged. “Whatever he meant, I’ll have to ask about it later. Right now I’ve got my own stuff to do, and I don’t need Rob ragging on me for wasting my time when there’s something up.” He took a deep breath, let it out, and then got to work.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKK

“He said he’d be here when I got back—“

Artie looked around the premises of the place he resided in, only to find it dark, silent, and kind of empty.

He had spoken to his friend last just the night before. An emergency with one of his charges had kept him busy all night, so he was certain Kane would be back from his visit to the Elders when he finally returned.

But, when Artie did return, he returned to an empty house, one that apparently hadn’t been occupied for several hours at least.

“Where could he be?” he wondered to himself aloud.

“I wonder if one of them will know?” A thought occurred to him. “I bet Danielle will know where he is, since she’s the one he’d most likely confide in with his problems of all of the Elders there are. Might be good to check in with her about him, and get any scoop of recent news while I’m at it.”

CCCCCCCCCCCCCC

“What do you mean there’s some strange magical disturbance just outside the city?”

As promised, Billie kept the sisters updated with whatever news she came upon dealing with magic itself. She had recently come upon some unusual information, and since Phoebe was occupied and Paige at an unknown location, she turned to Piper to deliver the news to.

“Something supernaturally related is going on just outside the city to the south,” Billie told her. “A few sources I’ve talked to say that some very dark forces are operating just south of us, so I went to check it out, and I came upon something I wasn’t suspecting.”

“Like what?” Piper asked. Please don’t say anything demonic—

“Well…” Billie trailed for a moment. “I’m not exactly sure, but I think it might be…demonic.”

She just had to say it? Piper thought to herself. “What exactly was going on?” she asked aloud.

“It appears demons are operating under a new leader,” Billie replied. “Something about it being under a new Source.”

“Source?” Piper exclaimed. “That’s not possible!! We vanquished him permanently. We personally made sure of that.”

“Maybe it wasn’t as permanent as you thought,” Billie said.

“Or maybe it’s someone just claiming to be him,” Piper said. “An imposter just trying to stir up trouble in the Underworld.”

“Either way, I’m keeping my eyes on this situation,” Billie told her.

“What exactly did this troublemaker look like?” Piper asked her.

“I didn’t get the best view of him,” Billie told her. “ All I managed to get was the fact that he was dressed up in some form of modern armor, with one eye being the only thing of him visible.”

Piper was caught up in thought for a moment.

“Doesn’t sound familiar to me,” Piper said when her train of thought was done. “I’ll ask Leo about it, and I want you to keep an eye out, just in case.”

“I’ll do that,” Billie replied. “I’m going to report this to the Elders as well.”

“You do that then,” Piper told her. “You’re a better candidate for that, since I still have issues with them.”

CCCCCCCCCCCCCC

“Hey, Danielle?”

Artie had spent quite some time searching for that particular Elder, finally finding her after an exhaustive search.

“Where’s Kane?” Artie asked once he’d gotten her attention. “He wasn’t there when I got back to the house—“

“He is on a quest,” Danielle informed him. “We have just been informed of some unusual supernatural activity in the area.”

“What kind of supernatural activities?” he asked her.

“What appears to be demonic activity,” she replied. “We were informed by the witch Billie of this news.”

“And Kane?” he asked.

“Tending to his new charge,” she replied. “Who is not far of a distance from the origins of the disturbances.”

“Tell me about these disturbance—and the location of Kane’s new charge,” Artie asked her.

“Yes, I will get to that,” Danielle told him. “First, his location.” She took a deep breath. “Kane and his new charge can be located in a tower by a bay, in a city known as Jump City.”

RRRRRRRRRRRR

“Can you tell me why you’re here—and who you are?”

The girl had led him through a labyrinth of hallways towards a drab non-descript door that was labeled with her name: Raven, engraved on it in bold plain letters.

He hesitated in answering her questions, not sure what to say due to the lack of knowledge on her background on the knowledge of the whole of the magical community. He didn’t want to scare her with the concepts of reality he had grown up living with if she didn’t know about them already.

“Do you believe in angels, a higher authority that represent those—and magic in general? Or maybe the possibility of dark forces like demons being real?” he asked her as they came to stand before her bedroom door.

“Magic—like, in terms, Hocus Pocus, Abracadabra, and carnival tricks, or the type associated with witchcraft—spells, potions, special abilities—powers?” she asked.

He looked at her, surprised that she had used such terminology to describe her second observation.

“The second,” he managed to reply.

“You mentioned demons—“ she trailed. “”Yes, I believe in them. I sort of have to.”

“Why would that be?”

“I wouldn’t exactly exist if I didn’t,” she murmured. She averted her eyes, as if she felt some shame with what she’d just said.

“You have demonic origins?” He asked, looking at her in a bit of shock.

“Yes,” she replied softly. She opened the door to her room. “”Come, this is it.”

He looked into the room—darkness. She entered the darkness, and he followed at a distance.

He stood in the darkness, the blackness filling his vision for a time. And then—there was illumination.

There was quite an interesting sight to go along with it.

Books lined one wall from floor to ceiling walls a deep hue, an arrangement of candles here and there, what possibly could identified as items of Wicca origin, and some gothic pieces of decor were displayed in different locations around the room. It was obvious the girl took an interest in literature and the practice of witchcraft to some form.

“I see you like books and Wicca sort of magic,” he observed aloud to her. “”You aren’t, by chance—a witch—are you?”

She looked at him, a little confused by what he’d just said.

”Witch?” confusion was evident in her voice. “I don’t think of myself in that particular manner, but—“

“I didn’t mean it in an offensive form or sense,” he said. “It’s just, with the decor—the candles, books, etc.—it reminded me of people I’ve associated with that practice the craft and refer to themselves as witches. I just assumed that…well—maybe you are one because of that.”

“Maybe I am,” she said. “Tell me—what exactly do you mean by angels and a higher authority?”

“When I—“ he began, but never got to finish. Even with the candlelight, the room still seemed fairly dark.

For an instant, however, the darkness was lightened with an eerie blue-white incandescence, a figure becoming substantial in the middle of the orbs of light formation.

As the figure became fully substantial, he took notice of it being his good friend Artie.

For the third time since his arrival, the girl from his dreams collapsed to the floor, consciousness fading yet again.

KKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

“Does this girl tend to do this a lot?”

Voices. Raven distinctly heard two voices; one familiar, one not. Although she was coming to, the darkness still remained.

“Well, she’s done this twice already since I arrived.”

“Third time’s the charm, as they tend to say.” Laughter followed for a moment or two. “No pun intended of course.”

“I’m not quite sure what she knows about our kind and all, as I was just getting to that when you showed up.”

“So, this is your dream girl? You’re right about her being kind of different. Not what I was thinking though. Exotic, but not in the way I’d have envisioned anyways.”

“Yes, this is the one, the dream girl, as you put it. I was actually surprised that she even exists, and that she’s been appointed as my new charge. Not as surprised as she was with how she reacted to my presence earlier. She blacked out at the sight of me.”

“Why’d she do that, Kane? You’re not all that scary, in this form anyways.”

“It turns out—this girl has been having dreams about me as well, and I guess she thought they were just a product of her imagination or something. She sure did express a lot of shock and horror before she passed out.”

“So…what exactly is she? I see candles, some very ancient texts, and some rather freaky decor—“

“She didn’t exactly attach the term witch to herself when I asked her about it. Oh, and get this—she did mention something rather fascinating.”

“Oh—like what?”

“She mentioned she has demonic origins. She doesn’t seem all that demonic though. Different, yes; gothic, possibly; someone who probably practices Wicca forms of magic—she admitted to that, and it’s obvious just by looking around, but demonic—“

“What exactly do you plan to tell her when she comes to? ‘You’ve been dreaming about me, I’ve been dreaming about you, so you must know of some of the workings of this world outside the norm’, or possibly ‘Guess what, I’m a guardian angel sent to protect and guide you by some folks known as Elders! You’re my charge, and I’m your whitelighter!’ If she had issues with my orbing in, who’s to say she could handle the knowledge of the great magical community?”

“Well, if her origins are what she said they are, she’s got to know something.”

Finally, the darkness lifted, and she was able to use her sense of sight instead of just her hearing.

She groaned lightly, taking the chance to look around as she fully came to. Two forms loomed in the darkness, not far from where she lay. She could hardly make them out clearly.

“What’s going on?” Raven demanded in a soft tone. “What happened—who—what…are you??”

“Well…as I said before, guardian angel,” Kane replied. “You fainted when my friend Artie here orbed in.”

“Orb?” Raven exclaimed in confusion.

“It’s a way used to get from one place to another without the hassle of physically traveling there,” Kane told her. “It’s the method guardian angels—also referred to as whitelighters—use to get to places in cases of emergency. In a way it’s kind of like teleportation. It’s called orbing because of the blue-white orbs of light that announce the arrival of a whitelighter or Elder.”

“Teleportation, blue-white light….” Raven became thoughtful for a moment. “I’m gifted with the ability of teleporting, and in my dream you were surrounded in an aura of blue-white light, like you just mentioned. Before I didn’t quite exactly know what that meant. But then, I didn’t even think you were real, and to have you actually show up, claiming to be a guardian angel—or whitelighter as you also put it—when I least expected…that’s a lot for me to take in.”

“What kind of past do you have?” the one calling himself Artie asked her. “What are you capable of—or, just in general—who are you?”

“My name, for starters, is Raven,” Raven told him. “I have special abilities—powers—which I won’t get into at this moment, and I am part of a team made up of teens known as the Teen Titans.”

“Uh...like—gods?” Artie asked. “Teen demigods? That’s a fascinating concept, but the thought of gods that could easily be converted to the dark side after what happened with the Titans—“

“Gods?” Raven looked at him peculiarly. “We have special powers, and are different from other people because of them, but we’re nowhere near being gods. We’re just teens using our special gifts to try to save the world and protect innocent people from evildoers.”

“Sounds kind of like the Charmed Ones, in a way,” Artie said.

“Charmed who—Charmed Ones?” Raven asked.

“A triad of sister witches that was destined as being the most powerful force of good to take on all forms of evil,” Artie explained. “They were our saviors when it came to vanquishing the greatest threats like the Source, the Triad, or any other that came along.”

“Witch, eh?” Raven looked at Kane. “You asked if I associated with them or the craft, and then the whole questioning and talk on guardian angels—you being my guardian angel—are whitelighters supposed to be mentors or something for witches in general? Is that why you’re here?”

“First off—yeah, whitelighters serve as mentors and guardians for their witch charges,” Kane told her. “But charges aren’t always witches. Sometimes whitelighters to-be get misguided and need help to get back on the right path. In general though, whitelighters play an important role in guiding and protecting magic for the greater good. Elders make up the hierarchy of it all, acting as the big bosses.”

“Yes, and the sisters make up that triad for good,” Artie added helpfully.

Triad for good? Kane thought to himself. “Artie,” he said aloud to his friend. “Remember those scrolls I found and was researching?”

“Kind of, why do you ask?”

“Something you just said sounded just like one of the entries in that set of texts. Those prophecies,” Kane told him.

“Do you think you could recite them for me?” Artie grinned goofily. “I don’t remember what was in that thing, or what it was that I just recited.”

“Let me see if I can recite it word for word,” Kane thought for a moment. “I think it goes something like this: ‘A world of darkness will come to pass. Only a triad of three representing all that is good working with the power of one other of another realm who acted as a gem for evil shall be of a strong enough force for stopping the arrival of eternal darkness.’“

“What part of that did I recite again?” Artie asked his friend.

“The part about the triad that represents all that’s good,” Kane told him. “I think that part of the passage is describing the Charmed Ones.”

“And—“

“And—I think it’s saying their destiny hasn’t been fulfilled after all,” Kane told him. “There’s still one battle left for them.”

“What then does the gem for evil mean?” Artie asked his friend.

“I think I might know.”

It took the two whitelighters a moment to realize just who’d spoken.

It was the girl—Raven.

“What makes you think you know the answer?” Artie asked her.

“I know, because I know who the gem was.”

“Who might that be?” both whitelighters asked in unison.

“Unfortunately—me.” Raven replied simply.

BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB

“Hey, BB.”

The screen of the computer console came alive with the image of the half robot displayed on it. The web browser the changeling had been viewing to that point was blocked by it. The interruption took him by surprise, almost startling him enough to jump.

“Did I scare ya?” Cyborg asked, grinning broadly on the large display.

“No,” Beast Boy replied a bit defensively. “I was just absorbed in some research and you took me by surprise. That’s all.”

“Ah. What’re you checking out?”

“Just some website,” Beast Boy replied blandly. “Any particular reason why you contacted me?”

“We came upon some info, and we thought it’d be nice to report it back to ya,” Cyborg replied.

“What’d the three of you find?” Beast Boy asked.

“There’s some disturbances outside the city we’ve uncovered,” Cyborg replied. “Actually—Star made the big discovery.”

“What’d she find?”

“Well—she was flying cover over a wooded area just north of the city,” Cyborg told him. “She came upon the disturbances we’ve been hearing about while she was up there.”

“And—“

“What she reported back didn’t make sense to her in the least. One thing’s for certain though,” Cyborg said.

“What?”

“It’s confirmed Slade is back, and he’s got quite the abnormal following,” Cyborg replied.

“Abnormal—how?”

“Kind of freaky,” Cyborg told him. “Kind of hard to explain, I guess.” He paused momentarily. “Hey is Rae around? She might want to hear about this—if she is.”

“Yeah, she is, and she’s got a visitor,” Beast Boy replied.

“Visitor, eh?” Cyborg mused. “”Well, let her know the news when you can. She needs to know, especially since our favorite arch nemesis is involved.”

“Yeah, I’ll tell her in a few,” Beast Boy replied. “I just need to finish something up first.”

“Oh? Like what?”

“”Just some project I’m working on,” Beast Boy replied. “Nothing big.”

“Well, gotta go,” Cyborg said. “Gotta keep tabs on Slade’s movements.”

“Good luck,” Beast Boy replied. The connection was cut not long after. “ Now, I just have to upload these images to the server---“

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

“What do you mean you’re the gem?” Artie asked incredulously.

“My father was the evil,” Raven explained. “And I was the gem—the portal to loosing him from his imprisonment. My sole existence was just for that purpose, nothing more. I managed to conquer that fate to rewrite my own destiny.”

“I guess that goes with what the prophecy states,” Kane said. “The pieces don’t quite fit, like—what’s supposed to be the evil that could bring in eternal darkness? The Triad is now nonexistent, and so are every other potential threats that could cause chaos on that level.”

”There have been some strange reports of eerie activity just outside this city—“ a knock on the door cut Artie short.

“Hey Rae, is there a chance I could talk to you about something?”

“Who’s that?” Artie asked.

“Just Beast Boy,” Raven told him.

“The green one who showed me in?” Kane asked her.

“Yes.”

“Hey, can I come in?” the changeling asked again a bit impatiently.

“Come in,” Raven replied. The door opened not long after that.

“Hey, where’d he come from?” the changeling asked questioningly as he entered the room. He pointed to Artie to indicate whom he meant.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Raven told him. “First though—what did you come up here to tell me?”

“I’ve got some news I thought you’d want to know,” Beast Boy replied. “Rob and the other two have confirmed some of the rumors we’ve been getting bits and pieces of lately.” His expression became grim. ”Looks like Slade’s up to no good again, and he’s got new cronies in his company.”

”What kind of company?” Raven asked him.

“Freakish supernatural kind of company,” Beast Boy replied. “It appears he’s the leader of this strange and sordid bunch. Sightings were just north of the city.”

“”Who’s Slade?” Artie asked Beast Boy curiously. “What does he look like?”

“An old arch nemesis that just doesn’t know how to stay dead,” Raven told him. “Dies once, only to be resurrected in a vile way for a foul task.”

“”Kind of reminds me of Balthazar—AKA Cole,” Artie said. “It took them forever to rid of him permanently—“

“Who?” Beast Boy looked at him in confusion.

“Just someone who was a half breed—part demon, part human—that just didn’t want to stay dead,” Kane explained. “He was once Phoebe’s—a Charmed One’s—big love interest, but it turned out to be ill fated, and after many attempts—three, I believe—they finally finished the job permanently.”

“Half demon—Charmed One?? Who are you people??”” more confusion on the changeling’s face.

“I’ll get to that,” Artie told him. “First though—Slade?”

“He’s a madman dressed head to toe in armor with only his one eye visible,” Beast Boy told him. “Why the sudden interest in the guy??”

“Danielle mentioned a witch named Billie had reported seeing a man fitting that description leading a gathering—“ Artie pondered aloud. “The activity you’ve picked up in reports is just outside the city, to the north—right?”

“Yeah—why?” Beast Boy said.

“I think I know what this arch nemesis of yours has been up to,” Artie replied. “It appears he’s gathering the whole of the demonic community to work under him as he claims to be the next Source. The Source—of all Evil.”

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