I felt an angel's tepid tears, fall softly next to mine
And knew that as those tears did dry, a new day would be mine

*******

"To win, you must hunt five creatures," Raven said as she hung in the air in front of the competitors.

They had chosen her to be the judge for three reasons. First of all, she was impartial. While familiar with Diana before their summoning, the Cambion hadn't spent more time with the Amazon than anyone else. The second reason was that, with her magic, Raven could teleport wherever she needed to keep an eye on the competition.

The third reason was that they wanted to bring her out of her room and interact with the others. While she could feel and appreciate their intentions, it did not change that she still had a long way to go before making sense of all her new abilities.

"A tree lizard, a moonlight butterfly, a lightning drake, a crystal lizard, and one hydra head," Raven explained monotonously. All four competitors remained poised to launch. Yoruichi was on all fours, Diana and Scathach were ready to sprint, and Artoria had Dun Stallion poised to charge. "Arriving back first will give you two points, one less for every position after. Cutting more than one Hydra head will lose you three points per head. Flying is allowed. Fighting each other is not. Anyone caught doing so loses. If you want to fight, do it later. Keep all the bodies as intact as possible in the pouches Medea provided. No need to waste the materials."

Medea stopped disassembling the massive Hydra to watch the start of the race. If Raven was a bitter woman, she would be cursing Scathach and Mikael for starting this absurd competition. Some of the other women had been jealous of the Celt's trophy when she arrived after breakfast had finished, dragging the massive carcass behind her. When told there was another somewhere on the Island, there had almost been a fight over who would get the first crack at it.

Azarath save her from muscle heads.

It had been decided to settle it with a hunt for the hardest-to-find and challenging to hunt creatures on the Island. The winner got to fight the Hydra after it healed. Scathach was participating for the fun of it. She could feel the group's bloodlust, excitement, and enjoyment. She could also feel Medea's amusement at the entire situation.

"Ready to eat my dust, ladies?" Yoruichi taunted playfully.

"I have not lost a hunt since I was a child when Artemis blessed me," Diana replied good-naturedly. "I do not plan to start now." Scathach remained focused, not moving a muscle before the signal.

Artoria's response was to summon a lion. The creature, made from crackling yellow lightning, towered over the assembled women, almost ten feet tall. It released a roar that shook Raven's bones. Out of all the women there, the female version of King Arthur was the most competitive. The half-demon could feel her emotions, solid and implacable.

Raven hoped this didn't end badly.

"Go." She said, not counting down.

The competitors took off, Yoruichi and Diana flying towards the mountain range, home of the drakes and crystal lizards. Artoria rode Dun Stallion into the air, the lion following her as she headed towards the northeastern sector and the Hydra. Scathach disappeared into the jungle's foliage.

Raven floated down to the ground. She spread her senses wide, the mansion's shadows lengthening to wrap around her.

"Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." She chanted, four shadow ravens forming around her before disappearing into the aether. They attached themselves to the four competing women's shadows. Before appearing on the Island, one raven would have been her limit. Now she barely felt strained.

"Are you sure I cannot tempt you to spend an afternoon in my workshop?" Medea asked, even as she separated fangs from one of the Hydra's mouths. Scathach had brought the beast back four hours ago. The witch had been working non-stop to disassemble it. Even with her practiced hand, magic to aid her, and non-stop efforts, she still had three heads left. "I am sure we can learn a lot from each other."

"Thank you," Raven replied softly, most of her attention on the competitors. Diana had already slain a drake and searched for one of the elusive crystal lizards. Yoruichi had found one, pocketed it, and headed towards the peaks for a drake of her own. Scathach had discovered a nest of the tree lizards. Artoria hadn't yet reached the Hydra, it being the farthest creature. "I will decline for now."

"Are you sure?" The witch asked. "Our systems are different. We won't be able to replicate our same spells, but inspiration is more important than anything else when learning magic." Raven had learned to distrust other mages when they were too helpful. Her paranoia was offset by the emotions radiating from the older witch.

In the two months the group had been trapped, Medea had gone from the most distrustful of the group to the most content. Her physical changes were almost as drastic. She had worn a cloak like Raven when she had first arrived, her figure hunched and skulking about as she tried to remain unnoticed.

Raven hadn't seen that cloak in weeks.

Now the greek witch was always wearing pretty dresses, her hair free and flowing. When she wasn't in her workshop, she made dioramas and clothes in one of the unused rooms. She was always smiling, and (Raven would swear this was true) she had even seen the bluenette's pointed ears wiggle in joy at one point when she managed to get Artoria to wear a dress of her own.

"Why?" The question leaked out of her mouth without her intention.

"Hm?" Pausing in her actions, the older witch looked over at the goth. Even after hours of work, Medea remained as pristinely clean as this morning. She did not look like someone with her arms deep in a snake's brain. She looked like a housewife.

"Why are you so happy?" Raven decided to ask her question, ignoring her embarrassment with practiced ease. "We have been trapped for two months. Our only hope for escape is some guy we do not even know. I do not understand how you could be enjoying it so much."

"I suppose it is a bit odd from an outside perspective," She acknowledged.

"You hate Diana but like Artoria. You keep making things, even if they aren't useful. You even cook breakfast for everyone. Why?" Raven had spent the last few months trying to regain her equilibrium after expanding her abilities. Her emotions did not need to be as controlled as when she was younger, but if they grew too strong with her new powers, they could wreck cities. She had always been introverted, but it left her disconnected from her fellow women.

"I do not hate Diana. I hate the gods." At the mention of the deities, Raven felt Medea's emotions boil in rage. "Being near someone blessed by Aphrodite brings bad memories. At least she's not a blond-haired pretty boy." A wealth of dark emotions welled up. Genuine hate. Cruel malice. Blood-thirst. So strong that if Raven had been younger, they would have overwhelmed her. Now they barely made Pride twitch.

"You have not answered my question." Raven pointed out.

"I suppose I am happy because things are good." The witch looked thoughtful as if choosing her words carefully. "You remember my explanation of the Grail War? Had I won one, my wish would have been to live again without the gods able to manipulate my fate. To love who I wished, somebody who accepted me. Thanks to the defences the summoning provided, I am forever free of them. Being trapped here isn't bad either. I have enough material to work with, some I've never had the chance to use before. My craft is advancing well. I have time for my hobbies. It reminds me of my time with my aunt Circe on her Island."

The familiar name shot a feeling of fear into Raven with all its connotations. Medea must have caught something because she gave the younger woman a sympathetic look.

"Diana has explained about your world's version of my aunt. If you ever meet her, your stomach is in more danger than you are. Her kykeon is very good, but she is too fond of it. I will make some tomorrow." She looked wistful, nostalgia radiating from her. "She would hate it here. Being trapped on another island would drive her to moult."

"And Mikael?" Raven carefully took note of all the emotions Medea went through. There was joy, fondness, exasperation, interest, and most damning of all, hints of love.

That was bad.

"Our Master is a good one. I've been summoned by much worse before." Medea said diplomatically, her emotions not reflected on her smiling face.

"I know Yoruichi and Scathach are planning on sleeping with him at the first chance they get," Raven said bluntly, warning the older woman. Medea's emotions did not change.

"Is that so? Good for them." She said plainly. Raven's emotional manipulation did not work on any of the other women on the Island, so she continued the hard way. Based on Medea's legend, jealousy should be enough to keep her away from Mikael.

"Glynda is also developing a crush." Nothing. The greek kept up her work, though she nodded that she had heard. Damn, time to escalate. "Artoria is in love with him."

Medea froze, shock radiating from her.

Raven was exaggerating a bit. She had felt the beginning of love from the knight like the greek, but it wasn't to a significant extent yet. Artoria was a bit too naive to recognize that sort of emotion. Medea, though, had gone from shocked to radiating lust and hope?

"Tell me everything!" The older witch shook Raven by her cloak, almost teleporting to her side. Based on the broad smile on her face, Raven might have miscalculated. Was that drool?

The former titan was saved from having to answer by Diana's return. It had been only a few minutes since the start of the competition. The amazon skidded to a halt at the base of the hill, dirt trailing in her wake. Not even a second later, Yoruichi landed with a curse.

"So close!" The dark-skinned woman stomped her feet in frustration, though Raven could feel it was partly feined.

"Artemis' blessing is responsible for the victory," Diana tried to be humble, but her smile didn't diminish. Medea's irritation spiked at the name, but she ignored it to keep staring at Raven. She wasn't out of this yet.

"Excuse me," the Cambion said as she phased through the woman. "I have to judge the results."

"We'll talk later." The greek promised before returning to her disassembly.

Raven floated over to the arguing pair.

"Size is irrelevant," the Amazon argued. The pair had laid out their prey in the field. Diana's beasts bore apparent blade wounds. A smooth cut separated the base of the hydra neck. The shinigami's looked beaten. She had torn the Hydra's head off.

"Keep telling yourself that," Yoruichi said playfully. Her drake was a good foot longer. "I like them big myself." Diana rolled her eyes but smiled. Raven reviewed the report from her soul constructs. Neither of them had broken the rules.

"Diana wins." She reported dryly, ready to be done with this and get back to her meditation.

"Thank you, do you know where the others are?" Wonder Woman only felt slightly smug. She likely wanted to rub it into her friend's competitive face.

Raven reached out to her remaining soul constructs. Scathach had gotten sidetracked; she had found a horde of huge-eyed lizards. They spewed a black fog that turned the surrounding forest to stone. She was finishing up now and would be returning in a few minutes.

Artoria was in the air, seconds from arriving. She, too, had been delayed by a new arrival on the Island. Though she had lost the contest, Raven could feel her happiness. Her lion companion was dragging her trophy behind.

Oh. Oh, dear.

A shadow covered the assembled women, and they all moved out of the way as a carcass fell in front of them, kicking up dirt and shaking the ground.

"It attacked me as I flew over the mountains. Sir Yvain's lion acquitted itself most well and felled it with little difficulty. I imagine it is worth 'bonus points.'" Raven did not need to pay attention to Medea to know that she was the one squealing in delight. Whether for the enormous amount of new material or the sight of Artiora standing atop the great red body of the massive drake.

Somebody so deadly should not be able to look so adorably smug.

Really, what sort of enemies was Mikael facing.

*****

Raven handled the disorientating displacement from the summoning with practice ease. When she sensed it coming, she closed her eyes. It helped with vertigo.

When she opened them, the sight before her stole her breath.

The warm evening sun shone on the most majestic city she had ever seen. Great gothic spires and cathedrals spread out before her, built-in ways and sizes no mortals could ever create. Detailed reliefs splayed out on every single one of the massive glass windows. They depicted scenes of combat, beauty, and a host of other images. Too many to count.

Long walkways, stone bulwarks, intricate reliefs, twisting balustrades.

Raven had been lucky enough to visit Milan once and see the magnificent Il Duomo, renowned for its intricacy, detail, and beauty.

The least of the buildings surrounding her made it look like a shack.

It went on for miles, disappearing into the horizon. Clouds floated by, close enough to touch, giving the scene a heavenly air. The city below the cliff had been massive too, but it had been ramshackle. Sprung up organically over the process of the millennium. It had crowded the cliff base as if the buildings themselves were trying to climb it.

Raven could understand if this is what lay at the top.

This was an architect's dream city, made for giants and deities.

Mikael sat beside her, legs dangling from the edge of their balcony. He paid no attention to the kilometre-long drop below him, entranced by the sight. He was looking away from her, for which she was glad.

"Welcome to Anor Londo. City of Gods." He gestured grandly to the vision before him. "Most beautiful sight this world has to offer."

"It is an illusion," Raven replied in a monotone. Now that she had recovered from her shock, she could sense the magic in the air.

"The sun is," he corrected. "The city itself is real. But the sun, the symbol of the power of the chief deity, has been gone for a long time. A facade created by the last god. It is a desperate attempt to keep the masses unaware and uncaring that the world is ending and the gods have abandoned them. Makes you wonder what it would look like at its peak?"

For a moment, nostalgia and wistfulness were his most prominent emotions. Then the surging torrents returned. Raven focused, trying to maintain control. To not be drowned. Sometimes the quality of the feeling was more dangerous than the number of people feeling it.

And Mikael was Dangerous.

"We found the red drake." She said in place of anything better. She felt pride well up within him before it too was swallowed by the swells.

"The Hellkite Drake? Who killed it?" He asked, still not looking at her. He knew about her empathy, and Raven appreciated his steps to make things easier. He was still dangerous, even if he wasn't malevolent.

"Artoria." He barked out a laugh, bemusement radiating from him.

"The red dragon wouldn't stand for competitors, I see." The least damning of his two emotions grew, and Raven felt it swelling within her own breasts. She took a deep breath to stifle the smile threatening to grow on her face.

If he only felt overwhelming love for them, he wouldn't be so Dangerous. It would have been sweet, in an ironic sort of way.

As Mikael recognized the love he was feeling, it was stifled.

Then the rage came.

At once calm and cold as it was burning hot on Raven's senses. It was all she could do to stop herself from teleporting away. She still flinched, instincts warning her to flee. The Cambion did her best to ignore them.

She knew he would never hurt her, with the same certainty she knew her name. It did not matter to her senses. All she could feel was the rage, the all-consuming hatred.

She had only felt something comparable from her father.

"Sorry," Mikael said. Both the love and the rage were once more contained. Ever present, always at the edge of her senses, but distant and controlled. More than anything else, it was that control that Raven admired. She had fought for something like that for her entire life.

"It is alright." She sat beside him, deciding to enjoy the sight for its worth. "Emotions are what they are. It is what we do with them that matters."

"Still, it's not your fault. I shouldn't take it out on any of you."

"It is not yours either. None of us chose this. We are all trying to make the most of it." Her voice was monotone, but she tried to convey sympathy to him. He must have felt something as the tension eased from his body. Only slightly, though. He was never truly relaxed.

"I'm planning on showing the rest of them this sight, so I would appreciate it if you could keep it a secret."

"Sure," Raven agreed readily before pausing in indecision. Finally, she decided that he deserved to know. "They are starting to love you, you know."

"It's the lures," she could feel his grimace without seeing it. "Glynda and Scathach have taught me a lot one-on-one. Yoruichi and Artoria are more susceptible to Dragon Aura, though I do not know why it affects them. You all should be immune. Since I noticed, I've tried to tone it down, but it might be too late."

"Medea?"

"Medea is," he paused as if searching for the best words. "Complicated. I can't tell you everything; they are her secrets. I just happened to fit her 'type.' More than any of the others, she would be the one to empathize with my situation if she knew. It is one of the reasons I've kept it secret. I do not wish to encourage her."

"Flirting with others did not help," Raven couldn't help but point out.

"That was before I had any idea about what was going on. I still half thought that you all were delusions. You might be, but I must act as if you are not. Anyway, anything you could do to slow down the effects would be appreciated."

"I have tried to tell them of each other to warn them off."

"I doubt that would work," Mikael snorted. "Many come from cultures where polygamy or a form of it is normal. Some didn't even have the concept of 'cheating' so long as no children were the result. Medea, Diana, Scathach, maybe Tsunade and Yoruichi. I couldn't say for sure about Robin or Glynda. Either way, none would back down if they considered it a challenge. Their pride wouldn't let them."

"That has been my experience, yes." Raven decided to not tell him how excited Medea had become at the idea of Artoria liking him. She had immediately sealed herself in her hobby room, giggling perversely and muttering about 'costumes.' "What about Emma?"

"Emma is an exception to a lot of things."

"Is that why you used a command seal on her?" She had never gotten a proper response to that question.

"One of them. I had hoped her powers wouldn't work on any of us. Some of the defences were exactly made against people like her. I found out I was wrong. None of the defences are working. It had been too late to mitigate by that point without resorting to drastic measures. It pissed her off, but information can be more dangerous than power." He paused, thinking over his words. "This whole situation is messed up. I initially thought I got none of the benefits of the catalogue, but I was wrong about that too. None of the defences, some of the talents, and every lure are active. I've gotten a few of the dragon' 'gifts,' but not all. I hope things will be more apparent once I'm done with this world." Raven noticed he still did not tell her what he had Commanded. He also changed the topic rather quickly.

"If we're lucky, it should only be another month at most. I should be getting an item soon that will speed up my travel. I should have been almost done by now, but Manus was a dick." He grumbled something about time kidnapping under his breath that she did not catch. "Hopefully, I can get that dragon body and drop you all off as quickly as possible."

"You think they will go for that?" He couldn't see it, but her eyebrows were raised in disbelief. None of the women on the Island had struck her as the type to let their decisions be made for them.

"They will not have a choice." He said with finality. "Besides, with only a few months of meeting for a few hours every other day? They will get over it. We barely know each other." He stood, ready to set off once again. Raven tried to ignore the great sadness those last few sentences had caused them. "Can you do a few things for me, though?"

"Sure," she agreed quickly. Sitting around, waiting to be rescued, had never been her favourite pass time. Anything she could do to help would be nice.

"Can you let Medea know to have a new library prepared? I'm going to get my hands on a massive amount of books soon, and I would appreciate it if you could help her sort them. Most of them should be magical, so I think you would enjoy them." Raven grew excited at the thought, though it did not show on her face. The Island's library was massive, but it was also completely normal, not a grimoire to be found. Magical tomes would help while away the remaining time they spend trapped.

"You found a way to move items to the Island?"

"A while ago," he nodded. "You guys still can't touch anything, but I can throw things through the portal so long as they are non-living matter. Once on the other side, you can interact like usual. Anything left on this side disappears when you do, so you still can't help me. It lets me collect things for later, once I'm free."

"We still have rooms left over in the cliff. One of them should do for a magical library. It will be well defended."

"Thanks," he waved at her as he walked away, heading through an absolutely massive doorway. He knew the moment she called the portal to return to the Island despite never looking at her once since she had been summoned. That was her only explanation for why he called out right before she disappeared. "If someone new shows up on the Island, treat her well, yeah?"

Raven knew she wasn't the only one who hated when Mikael left her hanging like that.

********

I just want to remind everyone that all these characters are unreliable narrators. They are puzzling things out as they go along. Blindly groping for the truth. They will make mistakes, come to the wrong conclusions and learn the wrong lessons sometimes. Everyone has reasons for the things they do, even if those reasons are wrong.

On the discussion of mind control. As Mikael mentioned the lures, though touching on the basis of mind control, will not change the person themselves. Whereas bindings are literally fiat-based 'You love me now!' the lures are extra temptations that, with enough willpower, can be resisted. It is unlikely but possible. They are a whisper from the devil but not the devil's contract. The end might look the same but the process is what matters.

I am only half happy with this chapter. It is shorter than I wanted it to be but I felt I had to show that Mikael is trying to keep interactions to a minimum. I'll have to make it up to Raven later. Her empathic abilities, I feel, are a core to who she is as a character and how she forms her judgment on people. I try and convey how that can be both a good thing and a bad one.

As I mentioned, the characters are still learning about each other and the circumstances that surround them. I try and keep melodrama and EDGE to a minimum but it is hard to keep a happy tone while trapped in a death world.

Fun fact: I named the story Rapturous Rhapsody because a: I like alliteration and b: 'A rhapsody in music is a one-movement work that is episodic yet integrated, free-flowing in structure, featuring a range of highly contrasted moods, colour, and tonality.' That is the description in Wikipedia and it is what I am going for storytelling-wise. It also has connotations with epic poetry that will be made clear later.