Hi everyone! I am back with a new fandom. Teen Titans! Yay! Anyway enjoy. This story happens right after the episode "The End". ~Orin
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
"Spoken" 'Thought' (Sound)
She was having a nightmare.
There was no other explanation. She must have fallen asleep while she was meditating. That would explain why, after such a long day, she was once again forced to fight her inner Rage. Though Rage was no longer possessed by her father, she was still once of Raven's most powerful emotions, mostly from never being expressed. All her bottled up frustrations and annoyances were now fuel for her red-cloaked emotion.
None of the other emotions would come to help, no matter how hard she tried to summon them she couldn't reach them. She was on her own, and she was losing.
'No,' Raven thought to herself, 'This cannot be real. I am finally free from my father, and now Rage has to act up? I don't have enough power left after defeating Trigon to defeat my Rage as well.'
She was agonizingly tired, and her demon, her Rage, was winning.
A blow came that knocked her to her knees.
The demon smiled. It knew it was winning.
"Why are you doing this?" Raven asked while struggling to her feet, "We are finally free from Trigon. Why are you still fighting me?"
"Free?" Rage retorted with a snarl at her fallen counterpart, "I am not free. Be it by you or by Father, one of you are always locking me away, taking away my freedom. I will be free."
The demon moved in for the finishing blow, and Raven, in a moment of desperation, moved into the blow.
Taking the hit to her shoulder, Raven's momentum kept her moving towards her Rage.
"While I cannot subdue you in my current state," Raven growled as she grabbed her doppelganger by the shoulders, "I can put restraints on you."
"NO!" The demon wailed, trying to struggle away, but it was too late.
In a flash of dark energy, Raven merged with her Rage, and one cloaked figure stood silently where once two struggled for dominancy.
(Crash!) (Bang!) (Thump!) (Rip!)
Beast Boy jerked awake, which resulted in him falling, less than gracefully, from his bunk.
"Ow," he whined as he sat up and rubbed his tired eyes, "I wonder who would be making so much noise at," he turned red-veined eyes towards his clock, "4:36 in the morning!"
Groaning, he decided that he was too awake to go back to sleep, so he decided to go find out who was making so much noise. He was sure it was either Starfire or Cyborg. Raven and Robin were both too stealthy to be caught making that much noise. When you live in a tower with four other teenagers, you became used to odd hours. Someone was almost always awake, no matter what the time, even after a battle. Of course there had been one heck of a fight the day before, but he had thought no one would have enough energy to cause a ruckus for at least another five hours or so.
Stifling a yawn as he walked through the sliding doors that lead into the common room, he was unprepared for the sight that greeted him.
The common room was a disaster zone. The couch had been ripped in two and thrown to opposite sides of the room, the large windows and the huge TV screen were shattered, and the kitchen area was covered in the blue mold that usually resided in the refrigerator.
He felt, rather than heard, the others come up behind him. He didn't acknowledge them because he had spotted the culprit.
"Raven?"
The blue-cloaked girl paused in her destruction of what was left of the right side of the couch, and growled menacingly.
Beast Boy took an unconscious step forward, barely realizing he had moved until he heard Robin's worried order to get back, but Beast Boy didn't hear the warning. Raven had turned to glare at him when he took that innocent step forward, and Beast Boy was stunned by what he saw.
Raven's irises were the color of blood, the color of rage, instead of their usual deep amethyst hue.
"Raven? Are you in there?" Beast Boy asked gently taking another hesitant step towards the seemingly hostile Titan.
Raven snarled at him, but did not attack.
"Her bio-scan is clear," Cyborg stated while reading the charts on his arm monitor, "Whatever is wrong with her isn't from a contaminant, or an outside source."
"Rae?" Beast Boy took another step forward, gaining another warning growl.
"Friend Raven?" Starfire called from the doorway, where Robin was all but holding the rest of the team back, "Please tell us what is of the wrong. We wish to help you."
"I don't think she is going to respond Star," Robin said gently, "I don't think that that is the Raven we know."
"But, Robin, I do not understand," Star looked at the enraged figure of her friend in question, "How can Raven not be Raven?"
"Stop talking about her as if she isn't right here," Beast Boy suddenly growled, "Raven is still in there."
"Cyborg," Beast Boy started never looking away from the form of his team mate, "I have an idea about this. Remember, inside Raven's mind, we fought the red-cloaked Raven?"
"How could I forget?" Cyborg replied, "What's your point?"
"Maybe," Beast Boy explained, "Maybe she lost a fight with the red-Raven, and this is her Beast-form."
Robin and Starfire looked between the two, confusion written plainly on their faces.
"What are you two talking about?" Robin asked cautiously.
Cyborg answered, allowing Beast Boy to focus completely on Raven once more.
"Well you see," He began, "Grass Stain here decided it would be a good idea to go snooping around Raven's room a while back and while I was trying to make him leave he picked up Raven's meditation mirror, and we both got sucked into Raven's mind. In there we found out that Raven's personalities are so separate from her that they took on their own forms and all of them had different colored cloaks. Raven's Bravery wore a green cloak, Happy wore pink, and Timid wore a grey one. All of us, all the Ravens, Beast Boy, and myself, fought Raven's Rage, who was possessed by Trigon, and when we kicked its butt it became just another Raven except in a red cloak. Beast Boy thinks that maybe when Raven was tired from averting the apocalypse she lost to Rage."
"Right," Beast Boy added as he took another tentative step towards his quarry, "What he said."
"Okay," Robin mused, "We have a theory. Now how do we test it?"
"Could we not venture into Raven's mind as Beast Boy and Cyborg have done," Starfire suggested, "If she will not, or cannot, speak here maybe she will speak there."
A visible shudder went through Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"Man, you really don't want to go there," Cyborg rubbed his metal arms as if to ward of a chill, "It was creepy enough when Raven was in charge. If her demon side is in charge the things in there might actually eat us instead of chasing us around."
"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed, "The evil birds freaked me out, and the maze…eh, I really wouldn't want to go there again. Though Happy's realm was okay."
"Yeah Happy was cool," Cyborg shrugged, "But seeing Raven all bubbly was weird."
"I guess," Beast Boy replied absently, now refocused on his goal.
'Raven' had backed herself into a corner. Beast Boy just knew she was about to come out fighting any second, but she didn't.
"I wonder why she hasn't used her powers against s yet," Robin looked at 'Raven' inquisitively, "I would have expected her to have attacked by now if she was going to try and hurt us."
"I think that this 'Raven' is like my Beast," Beast Boy reasoned, "I didn't attack anyone until you attacked me right? Maybe red- Raven isn't evil without Trigon controlling her."
"Maybe," Robin mused, "If she doesn't kill us for simply being here to kill maybe she is just confused and scared." After taking another look around their wrecked living room, Robin added, "And very angry for some reason."
"So how do we retrieve our Raven?" Starfire started to panic, "What if she is trapped inside herself and cannot get out? How Horrible!"
"Don't worry Star," Robin said confidently, "I'm sure we'll find a way."
"I told you already! Stop acting as if she's not right here!" Beast Boy turned to yell at his team mates, "If she wasn't Raven she could have killed us all and have started destroying the world by now!"
The tension in the room was thick. No one knew how to respond to such vehemence from the normally comedic Titan.
'Raven's growling went up a notch in response to the outburst and sudden tension, so Beast Boy took a calming breath.
"Does anyone else find it disturbing that Raven can growl?" Cyborg asked suddenly, dispersing the mood.
"It is very disturbing of my peace," Starfire said stepping behind the Boy Wonder as if to shield herself from the sound, "It reminds me of a creature on my home planet that comes in the night to eat small children while they sleep."
"Well that is certainly different," Robin stated somewhat belatedly, sparing a glance at the cowering Starfire, he continued, "Let's stay on topic. Should we contain her until we find out what is wrong? She could be very dangerous if whatever has made her decide not to attack loses its appeal."
"Sorry to break this to you Robin, but we don't have anything that can hold Raven for long," Cyborg stated matter-of-factly.
'Raven began to snarl as if realizing what they were discussing, and seemed to start to lunge towards them, only to stop at the last moment.
Everyone tensed in preparation of attack at the first sign of movement, and everyone but Beast Boy remained on guard. Beast Boy let out a nervous laugh.
"See I told you she's still in there. She's protecting us from herself," Beast Boy paused, "Wait, did I say that right?"
Robin took at step toward the still snarling Titan, causing 'Raven' to go into a crouch as if the spring. Beast Boy intervened.
Leaping at his fellow Titan, he remained in his humanoid form as he grabbed a hold of her around the waist and pinned her to the ground.
After thrashing around for a moment, 'Raven' stilled and settles for glaring at the grinning green-skinned male who was currently on top of her securing her arms and legs to the ground and keeping her immobile.
'Raven's' eyes began to glow red and Beast Boy braced for her attack, but it never came.
Opening his eyes, which he had closed in anticipation of her energy attack, he looked down at 'Raven'.
The rest of the team looked just as surprised as he was when he glanced their way. They cautiously approached the pair.
"Raven?" Robin started, "Can you understand us. We are your friends we just want to help."
Now glaring at Robin, 'Raven' tried to struggle again, catching Beast Boy by surprise, but all of his training wasn't just for show and he soon had 'Raven' re-pinned only now she was restrained in his lap instead of pressed to the floor.
Starfire stepped toward her restrained friend cautiously, "Friend Raven, please tell of what is of the wrong. We wish to assist you."
'Raven' allowed her glare to pass over all of the Titans one by one.
"Release me," 'Raven' growled out much to the Titans' astonishment, "I know you now. You are of mine."
Beast Boy still in shock looked to Robin for guidance. At his nod, Beast Boy released his hold and allowed 'Raven' to move away from him.
'Raven' stood up and continued to glare at all of her team mates.
"You will not imprison me," She stated harshly.
"We don't want to do that," Robin said diplomatically, "but you have to tell us what is wrong."
"There is nothing wrong with me except that Raven wishes to seal me away," 'Raven' ground out, "I refuse to be put back there again."
"You say that Raven wishes to seal you away," Robin forged on, "Who are you if you aren't Raven?"
'Raven' gave him a look that clearly stated her opinion of his intellect.
"I am Raven," Raven stated, "Beast Boy was correct in his theory. I am the one who usually wears the red cloak, but Raven did not lose. She fused with me. I cannot hurt you, but all else is fodder for my anger."
Everyone looked around the trashed tower.
"So we've noticed," Robin stated dryly.
"So you're Rage from inside Raven's mind right?" Beast Boy asked carefully.
"Yes," Raven boredly replies, "She also calls me her demon side if you prefer that."
"Okay," Beast Boy glances over at everyone, "Soooo, why didn't you just talk to us when we came in instead of making us get all defensive?"
"I was too angry to think clearly," Raven stated calmly seeming more like herself for a moment, "If Raven hadn't recognized you, I would have most likely have done to you what I have done to the rest of the room."
They all shuddered at her matter-of-fact tone.
"But you won't attack us now right?" Beast Boy ventured, "Cause you know who we are now."
Raven turned towards him and began to walk towards him.
Beast Boys ears went back nervously and he glanced over to the others in trepidation.
Robin, of course, was at ready, but the others looked as lost as he felt.
Raven stopped only a foot away from the wary green Titan, and reached out towards him.
Beast Boy stood very still, not quite for sure what she was doing, but her body language was not aggressive, so he allowed her to place her hand over the pulse in his throat.
Beast boy felt something in him reach out towards her hand and felt a momentary connection before it disappeared from his senses.
"You are mine," Raven smirked at his enthralled expression.
Beast Boy smiled nervously before reaching out towards her and returns the touch to her pulse. The moment of connection came and went just as fast as before and Beast Boy's smile brightened, "You're mine too."
Still smirking, Raven nodded in approval, and turned towards the others.
Of course everyone was in a state of confusion except for Raven and Beast Boy.
"Please? Is this some earthly custom I have not yet learned?" Starfire questioned Robin, breaking the moment, "I fear that I am of the confused."
Beast Boy smiled at them, "It's cool guys, doesn't hurt at all."
"What doesn't hurt at all?" Robin questioned nervously only to tense as Raven started towards him.
Mimicking Beast Boy, Robin held still, but was still ready to move away if necessary. Raven was his friend, but if she turned against them he wouldn't hesitate.
Raven held her hand over their leader's pulse and Robin's eyes widened as he felt a connection much deeper than the one they had shared when she had looked through his eyes. He felt family in her touch.
"You are mine," Raven stated calmly, smirk still visible on her face, and removed her hand.
Reaching out, Robin returned the gesture and felt that bond again, "You are mine, too."
With another nod, Raven turned to Starfire, who became ecstatic at the feeling of the connection, and then to Cyborg, who promptly grabbed the empath up in a hug after his part of the ritual.
Allowing Cyborg a mere moment of indulgence, Raven removed herself from his arms.
"I will know you now." Raven stated calmly, seeming to be more like herself by the moment, "I won't make any mistakes regarding that from now on."
With that she turned and left the Titans, her family, standing among the ruins of what was left of the living room.
"Dude," Beast Boy breathed out, "She just made us pack. She made us family."
"This is glorious!" Starfire exclaimed still high on the feeling of family, "We share blood on my planet as bonds, but we do not bond with our spirits. I am most joyous for all of us."
Everyone smiled at the beaming Tamaranian.
The male Titans shared a look between themselves, one thought prominent.
'How do we get our Raven back?'
Author Note:
O.o Wow this chapter turned out really long… Anyway, moving along, as I stated at the beginning of this entry this is my first Teen Titans Fanfiction, so sorry if any of them are a little OOC… I will try to do better in the future… Sooo? Like it? Hate it? Let me know! Any and all suggestions are appreciated!
Thanks for reading,
~Orin