Well, despite the fact that I got a grand total of 1 review on the last two chapters, here's Chapter Three. Thanks to EA for actually reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, or any of the Titans Night except Sarato (Saro) and Ella.
Lunacy
Lunacy. Descended from the Latin word for moon, it means craziness or insanity. Many people are known to suffer from it, and are known as lunatics. But when a person takes the word as a name…
Cherry blossoms floated on the wind as two men crept towards a house set high on the side of a mountain. The leader had a look of determination on his face, while the other looked worried and nervous. The nervous follower spoke up. "Stefan, are you sure this is right?"
The leader looked back. "Not chickening out, are we, Elias? Trust me. Father told us that this is where we're supposed to go."
In the house, a beautiful woman was tending to a baby girl in her crib. She sang softly to the child, smiling slightly. Her husband sat in a chair nearby, reading a newspaper. A servant rushed into the nursery, panting. "Strangers! They come with weapons!" The servant's expression changed to one of pained confusion as he looked down at a blade that had sprouted from his chest.
The husband stood up, grabbing a sword from a mount on the wall, yelling at his wife. "Take our child and GO!" The woman grabbed up the baby and fled down an adjoining hallway.
"Stefan, wait!" The metallic man turned to his brother. "Oh, what now, Eli?"
"He's human!"
"So?" With that, Stefan beheaded the man, then turned to chase the woman. "Make yourself useful!" The woman glanced over her shoulder, screamed, and began running faster. "Brother, wait!"
"NO!" The younger Parkreiner brother soon caught the young mother, tackling her to the ground. "And now, demon, you will die."
The woman panicked. "My baby!" He grinned. "She'll soon join you." He stabbed the woman through the heart, then picked up the strangely silent child. "No, Stefan! Let the child be!"
Stefan considered this proposal, then grinned. "Sure. She'll starve anyway." Tossing the child aside, he didn't notice that she landed apparently painlessly, or that her eyes glowed slightly as she took in the image in front of her. She grabbed a stuffed rabbit from the ground and crawled deeper into the house.
Two years passed. The nameless little demon girl, as she was known in the village, was now walking and talking. She ventured into the village for food and supplies, bought with well-rationed portions of her late father's fortune. But all of that was about to change. For as long as she could remember, the girl had wanted to find the man that had saved her life. She would soon get her chance.
The bare crescent of a moon shined down on the mountain. A small party of men advanced their way towards the inviting glow of the house. They were slave traders, specializing in the capture and trade of younger girls into the 'love slave' business. They had heard the rumors of the nameless demon girl, but did not believe them.
The group of men broke the locks on the doors, slipping in almost silently. This was still loud enough to alert the girl, who found the men quickly. The leader of the group gave a feral grin at the sight of the child. "C'mere, little girl. We won't hurt you. Much."
The girl, scared beyond all belief, focused on the only comforting thought she could find: her mother. Subconscious powers were triggered, synapses began to fire, and the girl began to change, taking on the form of her deceased mother, the form of a succubus. All faded to red as she seduced the men, then killed them. As she came about, she heard the last survivor murmur the word, "Lunacy…" before he died.
The girl considered this word. "Lunacy…kyoki… lunacy… kyoki…" Returning to her normal form, the girl made her decision. Kyoki set off to find the man who saved her, the man she owed a life debt to.
Kyoki traveled far and wide across the eastern and southern hemispheres, but only found mere traces of her master. As the year anniversary loomed close, she decided that if she found no signs of him in three months' time, she would head to America. Little did she know that at the same time, her master, a vampire, a flame elemental, a hammer wielding invulnerable, an Indian dancer, and a national secret weapon were banding together to form the Titans Night.
The three months passed quickly for the young girl, and she soon found herself in America. A fresh trail was soon discovered, and she followed it to Jump City, California, home of the Teen Titans.
Unsure of where to find her master among all of his intersecting trails, Kyoki began extending astral projections of herself to hunt him down. These spectres managed to catch glimpses of her master, but nothing concrete. They also managed to scare the man out of his wits.
Anguish feared that he was losing his mind. He and most of the other Titans Night had been on the job for three months now, forging relationships and rivalries. He was madly in love with the newer Night member, Rochelle, and he had made a strong bond with Saro. He was suspicious that the vampire had his eye on a dark young empath… But none of those things mattered to him now. The heartless teen was haunted by visions of a small, dark haired girl, which filled him with feelings of dread…
Kyoki was sure that she had found her master this time. Homing in on a source of demonic power, she was soon disappointed. She was unsure of who was fighting whom, but she did know that her master was not among them… Kyoki perked up as she sensed her master once more.
Anguish sighed as he headed for the bathroom. Letius had been defeated, but at the cost of a Titan's life. Sure, Ella was still around, but as a floating firefly? Definitely not the way to live one's life… As he lifted his head from the sink, the teen thought back on the last few days. Saro had asked Raven out, Christmas had gone off without a hitch, including his revival of Terra and Raven's emotion control bracelet, the Titans Night now had their own headquarters, Letius had taken over Saro, and the Titans had killed Letius.
Glancing up into the mirror, Anguish froze. The creepy little girl was behind him again. He began to concentrate, telling himself that the girl wasn't real, only a figment of his imagination, a hallucination. He turned around…
In the common room of the Titans Night Headquarters, several strange things were taking place at once. First, there was a coffin lying in the floor. Next, a blue glowing ball was floating about, making jokes. Third, a silver-haired youth had just brought a body into the room. Finally, Anguish was running down the hallway, screaming his head off about a demon following him.
Every head in the room turned to Anguish, save two. One was attached to a dead body, and the other had just kicked the door of his coffin open and was drawing a pistol from its holster. Saro bared his teeth. "Where, Ang?" He pointed a trembling finger at the offending hallway, and the vampire leveled his weapon.
Kyoki entered the room to find herself looking at a maroon-garbed man who was pointing a gun above her head. He lowered the gun to point at her, then let it drop to his side. "Ang, it's a little girl. Doesn't look like a threat to me." The vampire returned to his coffin, allowing Kyoki to get a good look at the man she had followed for so long. "Master?"
Anguish and Kyoki held a quick conversation in her native Japanese. She explained to him that she was the child that he had spared some three years earlier. He agreed to let her stay, but asked her to swear off the 'master' deal. The young man left her to meet the rest of the team as he talked with his girlfriend.
Raven knelt down to get on the young girl's level. "Hey, there, little one. I'm Raven."
Kyoki drew back in fear. "…I'm scared."
Raven blushed. "Must be the hood…" Reaching up, she pulled back her shroud, revealing her face. The young girl looked up. "… You're very pretty…" Raven blushed again, and almost pulled her hood back up. "Would you like to be friends?"
Kyoki was amazed at this girl's kindness. No one had ever shown such love towards her. She rushed to the older girl, hugging her tightly. "Yes… I'd like to be… friends…"
I guess that's that… Review please!