Acceptance

Chapter Twenty-Six: Stand Tall

She could hear the sounds of a gruesome fight just before her. She could hear Richard screaming profanities and Slade's cold voice barking out something that sounded oddly like orders. She felt fear grip her heart. Was Jason attacking Richard under Slade's control? She urged her body to fly faster but she barely had enough control to avoid the trees now as it was. She swayed dangerously trying to keep her emotions in check as she flew forward in the crowded forest.

After what seemed like hours she landed just outside the clearing as the grunts, growls, and angry roars could be heard just as close.

She was tempted to go running straight into the battle, straight into Slade and kill him for all of his wrongs, but she remained collected. She didn't have time to waste on such a pitiful wish. She didn't even know what was going on in the clearing. She shot up the tallest tree as silently as she could and peered down.

Beast was back. He was roaring flinging his arms about in such a way that made him seem insane. She couldn't see his eyes from here but the way he let out a loud roar occasionally was enough to tell her he wasn't in full control. Only he wasn't just attacking Richard, he flung a dead log at Slade and was attacking both men vigorously as possible. Richard, for his part, was doing his best to dodge the Beast and still attack Slade. Slade seemed inhuman as he danced out of both creature and man's reach with ease and returned several kicks and punches.

She felt a sigh of relief wash through her. At least they hadn't drawn any weapons.

"Why do I remember you?" Richard yelled drawing her attention back to him. He was panting hard, and sweat rolled down his forehead and into his eyes but he refused to wipe it away. She wondered how it wasn't blinding him.

"You honestly don't remember?" Slade jeered. She wanted to yell out to him not to listen to the madman but she didn't want to blow her cover just yet. None of them had seen her and she was waiting for just the right moment to make her move. Richard's silence was more than enough answer as he dodged the Beast as it lunged for him.

Slade cackled gleefully and leaned back against a tree. Only he had to move immediately as Beast and Richard attacked him in unison.

"I killed your mother," he said quietly but loud enough for his voice to carry to her in her hiding spot in the trees. Beast roared so loudly and for so long that both men had to cover their ears. Raven felt herself sway in her spot but remained seated. "I killed her because I could. It was easy," he continued. Even with his face hidden it was easy to imagine the sick twisted smile in place.

"My mother and family died a long time ago…" Richard trailed off as if he was struggling with a few memories. "My brother, father, they all died in a freak accident. Ser Wayne took me in."

He was giving out useless information by speaking it out loud but she knew that was the best way for him to reaffirm his memory.

Slade cackled even more as he flung the Beast into a tree. The tree cracked loudly but it didn't faze Beast as he got up and shook his body as if it was a fly buzzing in his ear.

"You were a failure as a scapegoat," he told the Beast. But Beast didn't really seem to comprehend what he was saying, he was just growling anyways. Slade didn't relent on his verbal assault though. "You were so wrapped up in that other spell that you couldn't even capture Blackfire*," he scoffed. "Look at you now. Reduced to a growling incoherent Beast… what a waste… can't exactly portray you as this all powerful spell caster now can we?" he mused. Beast lunged again for him and Slade kicked him away easily. He tisked as if disappointed before turning his assault back on Richard.

Raven felt a pit of cold dread well up inside her. Silently she made her way down from the tree, making sure not to move too suddenly to draw any attention. Jason had been the scapegoat, they had tried to pin it all on him. All those years ago when Blackfire had been in danger… Only it had failed, they couldn't control him with his curse. She supposed it was a good thing, but the way he was rabidly running about now didn't give her much hope.

"Only your brother lives. He abandoned you. He left you so he could track me down and get revenge…" Slade was purring. Raven was just a few feet from the ground by now. Slade had effectively worked Richard up to the point where her friend was attacking him with everything he had.

"You're lying!" Richard shouted. "Jason would never…" he stopped and stood there dumbly as the connection was made. She opened her mouth in time to scream.

"RICHARD!"

It was too late. Beast had slammed into him at full force and knocked him into a nearby tree.

()()()()()()()()()

She's here.

That was his one human thought that gave him a sense of new purpose. She was bent over the man he had just struck, a look of worry plastered on her face and black magic whipping about her dangerously. She took several deep breaths and her hands started to glow blue. He didn't have time to study her though. He had to take care of the other thing that was endangering her.

This madman that stood before him laughing madly.

"You just killed your kid brother," he said.

The words sounded like a jumble in his head. He could care less about what he said anyways. It didn't matter; all he knew was that he was out to get her. And he wouldn't let anyone hurt her.

In a speed that was hard to follow he lunged for the man. It was over surprisingly quick. His teeth sank in with a satisfactory crunch around his jugular and he shook the body violently for reassurance. He flung the corpse to the ground and started to head back to Raven. Only the man he had taken out earlier was up, and his arms were wrapped around Raven in an embrace.

He felt white hot rage grip him and he let out his fiercest roar possible. Raven was his. She was his! He started charging towards them only Raven jumped out in front. Her arms splayed out protectively.

"JASON!" she screamed. "NO!"

He halted. Jason. His name was Jason?

Memories starting coming back to him, slowly but surely.

"Rae… ven?" he coughed. Fur seemed to magically disappear off of him, and his claws retracted and his height shortened. He winced. He had barely noticed the pain as he transformed but this felt agonizingly slow. His last transformation back to human had been gradual and been much more bearable. He took a step towards her. His mind getting foggy as those violet eyes stared at him with pure worry. They were the last thing he saw as he faded into the black.

()()()()()()()()()()()

His head was pounding and it felt like he had drank a shit ton of alcohol excessively. He moaned and pushed the soft blanket off his body.

"Where am-"

"Prison," Karen's curt voice cut off his question before he could even ask it. He sat up and blinked trying to get used to the low light. His friends were all lined up next to his bed. Although for a prison his bed was rather comfortable, in fact the place hardly looked like a prison but more like a room. A few candles were lit on a desk which had several piles of books stacked on it. A few large overstuffed chairs were placed in several random intervals, there was a roaring fireplace with a cozy fire crackling away, and no chains. This defiantly didn't feel like prison.

"Where's-"

"She's in court right now, as we speak, getting her sentence," Roy said. He looked bored and in fact was lounging in an overstuffed chair with a plate of food neatly propped in his lap.

"Court?" he asked. His head throbbed again.

"She hid the fact that she was an Azarathean for all these years… they are pretty angry about it," Jinx said. She moved away from his bed side to lean again the wall next to the fireplace. Gizmo was playing Chess with Garth on the floor in front of it. Karen looked just as bored as Roy only she had a paper sprawled in her lap that she seemed to be studying vigorously.

"Alright can someone please just fill me in since I passed out," he hissed feeling angry at his friends but at the same time slightly amused. Leave it to them to leave him in the dark and then give him vague details out of what he was sure was a very complicated story.

"You and Richard are brothers," Jinx started.

"Brother Blood was defeated by Victor," Garth added.

"We were all immediately put into custody because Raven has some type of power that lashes out whenever she has too much emotion… she couldn't say anything in our behalf without something blowing up… which has gotten her in trouble because she refuses to let Kori reseal her and wants to return to her own country," Gizmo said with a lazily drawl in his voice. "Checkmate," he added and Garth cursed darkly under his breath.

"Your brother seemed pretty keen on making sure we were treated nicely though," Roy put in. He grinned up at Jason. "Nice perks on that one."

"I don't think my brother and I ever got along very well," he said slowly. His memories were still flooding back to him at an alarming rate but they confirmed that Richard was indeed his brother.

"He seems to think the same thing… but you are his only family left," Jinx said as if that explained everything.

"What will they do to Raven… if –"

"She's gonna bust us all out of here and we can live as refugees in her country. She seems pretty keen on going back there and rebuilding it," Roy interrupted him. "I wouldn't worry too much, on top of the amazing fighting skills she has, she has these new weird powers… she can handle a whole army with ease."

"Which is why they are so scared of her. Look what three Azaratheans did to an entire defenseless country," quipped Garth.

"She's the only one left…" he told them. His hand shot down to his belt as he thumbed the mirror the fairy had left him. A rare gift for the one he was sure to give his heart to, a gift to help her. Jinx's hair was pinned up in a new odd hair doo but the glint of metal reflecting off the fireplace caught his attention.

"Are the doors locked?" he asked as an idea sprung to him.

"Yes," everyone answered with an eye roll.

"Jinx, give me your bobby pin," he said kicking his legs out over the side of the bed.

()()()()()()()()

"We hereby ban you from Tamera."

The words seemed to echo in her head with finality. She couldn't escape the amount of emotions that were coursing through her. She had to get away, but she had nowhere to turn to. Azarath was in shambles and instead of being encouraged to heal her country she was forced back to it with no foreign country help. She had been hoping that her friendship with Kori would be enough to save her from this type of fate. Her newfound powers seemed to leak out of her and she quickly tried to think of something to stabilize her emotions. Nothing too happy, nothing too sad, she had to be blank.

It was incredibly hard, after all of these years being able to freely express her emotions to suddenly have to revert back to being in control all of the time. It wasn't enough for her to give up her powers though. They were her birthright. Tamera had no right to try and suppress her…

"Please friend Raven. It will be best if –"

She had cut Kori off with the ugliest glare she could manage. She would not be told what to do any longer. Obeying orders and sticking her neck out only went for her friends. She would not give up her powers. They had helped her save them. But getting kicked out? She would never get to watch over Kori again and exchange small girl talk, or hug Victor after they completed a project, or ruffle Garfield's hair and annoy him for being so young. It was surprising to see how much she loved them all so dearly. She would even miss Richard, he was the one thing that she hadn't had but he was the closest thing to love as she would ever get.

Well that was a lie… there was still Jason.

Her powers immediately lashed out at the mere thought of his name and she winced hurriedly turning her thoughts back to other things. She couldn't let herself dwell in the sadness that was slowly starting to consume her. She probably wouldn't even get to say goodbye to him at this rate.

Her thoughts had run away from her control as she rounded the corner back to her room. She had until sunset to gather all of her things and leave the castle. She was thankful that it was so soon. She didn't think she could handle any long goodbyes.

"Opf-" she slammed into someone just as she rounded the corner.

"Ah just the girl I was looking for," came the teasing voice as hands quickly caught her and righted her from falling.

She would have blushed, she would have yelled at him, she would have done a lot of things, but she had to remain in control. Her eyes shot nervously to the wall behind him and she nodded her thanks to him. She hurriedly tried to push past him but his hand shot out and stopped her.

"Don't think I don't know about your weird voodoo powers now," he grumbled.

"It is not-" she started to protest but a window cracked loudly. Her mouth clamped shut with and audible snap. This was a lot harder than she ever imagined. She started thinking about waterfalls, and meditating to calm herself down.

His hand was still wrapped around hers. His other hand traveled up and caught her chin.

"I have something that might help," he said quietly. She didn't say anything. She just kept thinking over and over again that his eyes reminded her of ice and winter, and how much she loved-

The mirror shattered completely and she winced and lowered her gaze.

"I doubt you have anything to help," she replied monotone. "If you would excuse me?" she said managing to get her hand out of his. The sense of loss was overwhelming and she was surprised at the burning sensation just behind her eyes.

His arm shot up and blocked her way.

"Now now, Rae," he said teasingly. "You haven't seen what I have to offer yet."

"I don't need to see. I have to leave now. It was nice knowing you… Beast," she added the last part spitting it out bitterly. The one hope she had, the one wild card. It could never be hers not really. He was laughing and she tried to focus on the birds flying outside. She really liked how carefree he sounded. It wasn't a sound she had heard enough in her life but she couldn't indulge. For his safety she had to make sure she didn't feel anything. With him around she felt too much.

He leaned forward before she could push him away. His lips sliding against her ear as he purred, "I have the Mirror of Souls," and something cold was placed in her hands. She looked down dumbly at the old beat up mirror. Hope surging through her. She could lock away her emotions with this. She could learn to control. It was by far not going to be an easy process but it was something that would make loving Jason so much easier.

She grinned widely, the first time in days, as nothing exploded at her thoughts.

"A smile fits you better than you acting like everything is doomed," he said his hand slipped behind her head as he pulled her closer. She couldn't manage any words she could just grin at him stupidly.

His lips caught hers for half a heartbeat before he pulled away giving her his heartbreaking smile.

"I heard you want to sneak out of the country," he said.

"More or less I was kicked out," she said darkly. He laughed.

"So you won't mind if I rob the treasure vault blind would you?"

Her mouth hung open in protest but he was already backing away from her. He winked at her.

"I'll see you in Azarath," he told her and he disappeared around the corner waving to her lazily.

"You'll be banned from there too!" she seethed chasing after him but he laughed and dodged her easily. On the inside she was soaring. She knew in the end it would all work out. Because she could stand tall now, with her friends, old and new, supporting her. She could do anything, and as cliché as it sounded it wasn't the end. It was just getting to start over somewhere else and she could do that. She knew she was accepted how she was and that was she needed. She would have to sneak in a goodbye to Victor and Garfield she thought as she charged into her room still chasing Jason.

His grin was enough to undo her. She stood at her door stupidly.

"Where's all my stuff?" she asked feeling annoyed. She had several things she wanted to pack up and she wasn't in the mood to play his little game.

"It's already on its way home," he told her with a shrug. "I hope you don't mind but I packed it with my things and sent the gang on their way there," he told her.

She shook her head trying to hold back her laughter. She couldn't explain the joy she felt. It was like the weight that had been threating to crush her all week had finally been lifted. Even with the Mirror of Souls she was scared to admit why. But she knew, deep within herself, she knew that the reason was because he was alive. He was standing here alive and he was helping her move on. He wasn't telling her everything would be okay, but the glint in his eye told her he didn't care if everything was in shambles. He was accepting her just the way she was, and really that was all she needed.

After the War. Updates on Characters. (A/N: This actually isn't part of the story. I just did this for fun. But it helped a little with the closure for me. I couldn't continue writing all of this but all of these guys have so much background… it doesn't do them justice but it helps for me. You don't' have to read if you feel like it will wreck it for you.)

Kori– After years of a failed romance with the captain of her guard Victor. Kori became betrothed to a man from Earth and lived out the rest of her days peacefully. She often travelled back and forth between the three countries and when she took over Tamera she lifted her best friend's ban. She helped Raven rebuild Azarath and would often go see her but in her later years the two girls didn't visit as often but still held a strong sisterly relationship.

Victor- Heartbroken over his failed romance with the princess Victor moved to Azarath where he served out the remainder of his days as a successful inventor. He helped Azarath grow a lot as a country as was Raven's closest advisor.

Garfield – Started a rescue center for animals and had several facilities throughout the three countries.

Jinx – Disappeared after the escape from the Tameran jail. She is often thought to behind big heists but no evidence can be found.

Gizmo- opened a rival shop to compete with Victor. His inventions weren't nearly as successful but he still made enough to get by. It is thought that he secretly helps Jinx escape authorities but again no evidence can be found.

Roy Harper – Known as the best archer he became the first to enlist in Raven's army and became her most trusted advisor. After a short period of time he was given full command of the armies but the country rarely saw any conflict under Raven's rule.

Karen "Bees knees or Bee" – After an ugly confrontation with Roy in the middle of a wedding feast she sets her sights on Victor Stone who remains oblivious to her. She is one of Raven's closest friends but starts to distance herself when both of her romances fail and both men are so active in her friend's life. After some time she simply disappears muttering something about 'men and not knowing fashion.'

Richard – Stays in Tamera to help the people regain trust for their neighboring country. He is at the front of every meeting for good relations and the common folk adore him. After some time he returns to Earth and marries a common girl and lives a quiet life in the country.

Trigon- Raven's father returned to Azarath in shame. He was largely ignored by his daughter because of his inability to throw a simple curse off a second rate wizard – as she liked to call Brother Blood. The man died an early death, the cause a heart attack.

Garth – Started a Sushi shop in Azarath. He often could be found showing children how to swim in the royal pool and was one of Raven's closest friends. He was rather quiet but he would always be her silent support and she went to him often just to rant knowing he would be there for her.

Brother Blood – Killed in action by Victor during the War of Confusion. After his death everyone's memories were returned and the sad man was forgotten by many. Raven made sure to take him out of all honorable records he might have had as an Azarathean. After his death too a lot of Azaratheans came forward suddenly remembering that they had a home, and blamed Brother Blood for taking their powers and their country. He is referred to as a curse word when mentioned in Azarath.

Jason/Beast – Word about the Beast got out and people took up their guns and pitch forks and violently hunted this creature. It was never found but it was said to be a horrific creature that would steal children from their homes and eat them if they misbehaved. Jason delighted by the story spread it as often as he could. He was never able to really give up his theifing ways and had to remain on the down low once he did steal all of the treasure within Tamera's vault. Wanted as a criminal again he resided close to the palace in Azarath. He never did marry. Tales say that he loved a Princess and she loved him back but to keep the country from having a thieving king they kept their romance within their hearts.

Raven – Years of struggling with her emotions even with the Mirror of Souls finally paid off. She was able to freely express her emotions and led the country to glory and back on top. With hard work and support from her friends she was always smiling and was always kind. She fought often and loudly in the garden with someone but no one was ever able to figure out who although there were rumors that the thief Jason had stolen her heart. She never married either but named her next heir. She lived a peaceful life and was always telling others of her fond memories of the War of Confusion, often saying "I was confused just like everyone else, yes. I had my memory blocked but there are some things that can't be withheld from a person and that is love. As long as I had love I was able to keep on going. Even if I didn't know it at the time, love helped me survive." She would always lecture children about the importance of love and the importance of Acceptance even if they didn't know someone. Acceptance is what saved their Queen after all.

A/N: Alright so NOT how I was planning on ending this story but it sort of wrote itself. This has truly been one of the most interesting pieces I have written and I am glad I planned it out so thoroughly. It was a good learning experience. I am so thankful for all the support for this story. All the reviews, reads, favorites, alerts, you name it, you guys and girls rock! I wouldn't have been able to get so far with this story. Seriously (as stupid as this sounds) your reviews really inspired me. I know it sounds lame that oh blah blah you're that type of author but I have tons of stories that don't' get nearly the same amount of attention as this one and I still do them. I think a lot of you guys just gave me ideas or helped with a character with something you said. I think I really grew with this story… alright I'll stop ranting. Much love.

Until next time,

~Oceanwind~