...

The person who stood in front of me... was not Raven. He looked like him physically, but his personality was completely different.

"How do you know my name?" I asked. "And who are you?"

"Heh. How mean of you, Rena. I'm Raven, so of course I'd know your name, silly." he replied.

"You? Raven? But, you don't seem like him at all..." I objected. "What happened to your hair? Clothes? Arm?"

"Well, looks like I have some explaining to do, huh? Okay, listen carefully, I'm only going to say this one damn time, got it? You should know by now, this is the Mirror World. Since you and the present-day Raven have entered this universe, I was 'born'. Basically, the current Raven could have turned out to be what he is now, or the one and only me. Y'know how people nickname him the 'Blade Master'? Well, from the beginning, he potentially could have became this version of himself, the 'Reckless Fist'. Got it? Instead of practicing all that fencing crap, I perfected my Nasod arm, enhancing and amplifying its power!" he laughed like a psychopath.

I tried to process all of this. The man who stood in front of me was what Raven could have become. He was so much more relaxed, talkative, and expressed his emotions more freely.

"Then, is there another version of myself out there?" I asked.

"Yeah, 'course there is. I must say, I prefer this form of you much better, though. The other one is way too soft, gentle, and kind. It's like she wouldn't even harm a fly! Although she is pretty freakin' powerful, too." he responded.

I tried to imagine what my 'other self' would be like. It'd be nice to meet her!

"Wait. Are you saying that I'm not soft, gentle, nor kind?!" I shouted at him.

"No, of course not!" he scratched the back of his head nervously.

I glared at him. "Uh-huh."

"You want to find my other self, right? I'll guide you through this world, then. You can trust me, don't worry. I'm Raven, after all." he chuckled.

"Okay! Thank you!" I smiled.

Raven started to walk, as I followed him.

...

"Tch...My arm...it's becoming unbearable!" he'd said after a while of strolling down the path.

"Huh? Is something wrong, Raven?" I asked.

"Glad you asked, Mi'lady. Yeah, it seems so. Sorry, our little 'date' is over; I'll be bringing you back to a special place, alive, of course." he smirked.

"Wait, what?!" my eyes widened. What were his true intentions?!

"Valkyrie's Javelin!" he shouted, as several small spears were summoned, descending from the sky and exploding upon contact with the ground.

I jumped out of the way, or at least tried to. I managed to dodge most of them, but one or two hit me. I back-flipped out of the way after the hit, no major injuries were formed.

"Oh, you're so nimble. Hmph...Don't waste my time, just fall unconscious already!" he yelled.

"Wh-Why are you doing this, Raven?!" I yelled back.

"Why, you ask? You could say they're orders from the 'higher-ups'. Heh." he lunged at me with his blade.

"Slide Double Kick!" I slid under, kicking him from behind with two backward kicks, the second sending him flying into the air. "Nature's Force!" my feet illuminated, glowing bright green, as I caught him from the air with my kicking combo, looping it repeatedly.

Raven was wincing in pain, I couldn't bear to see him like this, but I had to do it. Or else, our roles would've been reversed, and I would've been kidnapped or something of the sort.

"Dive Kick Bombing!" I shouted, kicking forward and quickly continuing with a series of kicks fused together with wind force, each kick created a small explosion. Afterwards, I rose with a spinning kick and crashed down, blowing Raven away into the thick tree trunk nearby.

"Heh, you really are good at this..." he smirked mischievously.

"Stay down, fool!"

"Yeah, complete opposite of the Rena I know, keke." he laughed.

"At least tell me what your true motives are." I demanded.

"No can do, Princess." he stood up.

Raven summoned a gigantic Nasod-like machine from the air, it was aimed right at me. It quickly descended, I screamed and tried to escape.

"Nuclear!" he yelled, his eyes became quite fiery.

The Nasod device caused a great explosion upon reaching the earth, this version of Raven was insane!

I couldn't dodge the attack, it was too much for me.

"Tch." Raven knelt down on one knee, most likely in pain from my previous attacks.

I weakly attempted to stand.

"Guess I have no choice but to use this." he grinned, pulling out a sphere-like object from his hand, throwing it towards me.

It was sleeping gas. I couldn't do anything, I simply passed out. Before my eyes were closed shut, I witnessed Raven wearing a mask to avoid consuming the vapor.

...

---[CHAPTER 10 - ILLUSIONS & HALLUCINATIONS PART I : END]---