To those who are curious about this story...and first of all this is my first story, so try not to critize to much...but I will accept helpful critisim. This story mostly focus's on Raven's past and the events to come, while I am fan of the Raven and the Titans, I tend to us much of my ideas in it as possible...and to the point I don't own the Teen Titans or any of the elements that are based on it, except for the stranger, the villians are mine...PS since my first chapter usually don't make sence at first and at best might suck...but enjoy!
CH1
In the last hours of the dying sun, the sun seemed to be sinking in the vast ocean. Slowly it deepened while the world seemed to be engulfed by the upcoming darkness. The rays reflecting of orange and red showed from the ocean gave the eerie feeling of the sun bleeding…
Or at least that Rachel Roth, Raven as she was called now, felt as the place in her heart. Feeling both the emptiness and the loneliness in her soul, as she stood at the top of the tower overlooking both a vast, and trouble city and the calmness of an ocean. It had been almost two years since receiving the new of… "Why can't you just let it go?" She thought. "Maybe I should. He is dead and there isn't anything you could've done. He was there and you are here…but still…I wish…"
She felt tears run down her face, quickly wiping them from her face. The thought of the only person in her life, the only one that cared for her, ever since the…incident…as she called it now in days, the taken her mother…her adopted father and…again the pain… Raven wiped away another tear.
"What would he think if he saw me now? Probably say I am weak and pathetic." Raven disagreed with herself. He loved her the way she was and she loved him the same way…alive. Yet she can't escape the feeling that ever since they last saw each other over 5 years ago in Azarath, she had the feeling the remorse of saying goodbye…then just 4 years later…she clinched of the thought of him lying there broken, bleeding and dead.
"Death is inevitable…only the fools seek to cheat it." He once said to her when Raven heard of the current war in Azarath. "Funny, he didn't seek to cheat death but to find it And look where it got him!"Raven thought. Again she knew it was foolish to think about the past…but right now she really seeks his advice about...
"Yo, Rea!" Cyborg's voice broke her immediate thought and snapped her back to the real world. "Robin is calling us to a meeting!" Sighing with grief, she turned to the door leading back to the tower, before glancing once more to the sun as it disappeared in the horizon.
Taking a deep breath, as Raven put her hood on, she whispered. "Another day ends, Edgar." Then she opened the door to venture inside, leaving those words to be carried by the wind.
Once entering the huge the living room, also serving as a hang out, kitchen others…but ot the point, once Raven entered, every Titan glancing at her. She eyed them back and took her place by sitting next to Beast Boy. He smiled at her but Raven ignored it.
Robin, stood at the center of the room, where the giant TV/supercomputer was behind him. When he noticed that everyone was here, he took the time to clear his throat, then eyed the Titans again. Seeing Cyborg standing to the counter on the far side of the room where Starfire sat, then to Beastboy next to Raven, where Terra and three new titans, Argent Jericho and Hot Spot stood behind the couch.
"Alright guys," Robin began. "It has been less than a year since the demise if the Brother Hood of Evil. Since then villainy hasn't been much of a concern, petty theft, one or two armed robberies, and rare hostage situations. We are pretty much slacking in training and over all laziness." He happened to glance at Raven and Beast Boy, the only ones who pretty much use the abilities everyday where as Star has started to rely on non-Tamaranian ways, meaning acting normal, even Cyborg has started to "be" normal. Even the new members are showing less interested in exercising their powers.
"So?" Hot Spot said, "Maybe we tired of are abilities sometimes."
"Right!" the newer titans chorused.
"Well, I have some thing to tell you guys about recent events, but I guess it doesn't matter." Robin said, obviously using this as leverage to get to Titans interested.
"Just tell us Robin, you are going to tells us sooner or later anyway." Raven said in that cold voice of hers, apparently she thought this is a waste of time, when she had more important things to do, like being lazy.
"Fare enough. Recent days there have been recent break-ins at important buildings such as the mayor's office and the museums, but nothing was taken. And at each crime scene I had been to lately have shown that these vandals are a gang by which they leave us this…" Robin then held out what other thought to be one of Robin's fancy boomerangs, but closer look sowed a "V" shaped with curves at the tip of the v looking like a ram's horn and down the middle appeared to be a sword. "Carved into the swords are some words which that appear to be in Latin…" He then turned to Raven, "Since I heard you read Latin, will you please translate Raven."
"Whatever." She said, getting to grab the object, staring at the letters until she managed to say the words out loud. "Totus hail ut victoria, vel cado ut mucro of cruor quod ferrum …"
"What does it mean?" Robin asked, everyone leaned over to in eagerness.
"'All hail to victory, or fall to the sword of blood and iron'." Raven said. The words seemed to be sending a shivers down her spine, which she had to force not to show. Handing it back to her leader, Raven retreated back to her seat.
"I think a new threat has arisen. Something totally new, as of now till' the threat surfaces I think we should prepare for it. This means more training and less slacking." Robin said, seeing everyone agreeing he eventually dismissed the meeting, in which the Titans seemed have the feeling all in well as they departed.
Raven slowly walked to room, thinking of the sign and the words it contained, "All hail to victory, or fall to the sword of blood and iron!" again she felt the shiver of her spine tingle at the words. Eventually pushing out of her mind, she obviously didn't see Terra as they turned the same quarter at the same time only on opposing directions led to knocking head against each other.
"Watch where you going Raven!" Terra snapped as she rubbed her throbbing head. "What you trying to do? Knock me out?"
"Right, if that was my attention I would've left you in that stone for eternity to remember your sins." Raven remarked sarcastically. Slowly getting to her feet, Raven stood up only then when Terra was slammed her against the wall.
"Listen, I repented of my failings! It seems you don't know when to drop it!" Terra said seeing the anger in her blue but deadly eyes.
"You betrayed us then nearly killed us. Not only that but you broke Beast Boy's heart and used him in your plot with Slade. I will never drop it, even if you martyred your life once to rid us of Slade and your 'death' seemed to be forgiven, but not by me." Raven said, trying her hardest not to release her anger. "Not when you played us, especially BB."
"If you recalled, you nearly destroyed humanity! I hurt few but you hurt everything you touched. No wonder no one cares for you, maybe when your dead then they'll care, but no one ever loved a demon." Terra said, and then out of the corner of her eye she saw Beast Boy standing there. His eyes glaring at hers with the most soulless, animal like stare, Terra slowly backed away from Raven and retreated down the opposite direction.
Raven slowed slugged to the floor in pure, raw pain in her soul. Not like this day has gone any better. She felt the warm tears seeping down her cheeks, remembering Terra's last words, "…no one ever loved a demon." She was right. Never has, no one ever well…except…
"Raven? You okay?" Beast Boy's soft words came from what seemed the darkness. She glanced up to see he was kneeling at her side. His eyes, those piercing green eyes, and soft elf liked face that seemed more adult like than the recent boyish, careless face.
"No," She answered, fighting back all the pain in her heart from reaching her voice and making the situation bigger than it actually was. "Ever since you guys convinced me to resurrecting her, it seems my life has been a living hell with all of bickering and snapping's we do and especially the cheap blows don't make it easier."
"What she said was truly low. She's wrong any." Beast Boy said, slowly placing his hand on hers. "There are those who do care for you even love you…" Raven immediately pulled her hand away from his and stood quicker than she ever did in her life. Her eyes showed the unexpected surprise at his word. She always felt when she was with Beast Boy her world seem at peace, until Malchior's used her and Terra's betrayal then Trigon…then the news of…again that sinking feeling of hers…she never felt more alone.
"I am sorry Beast Boy but…" Raven couldn't continue, rather than face him and those attractiveness of his facial features she slowly used her power to melt into the wall and disappeared living Beast Boy both shocked and crushed, that he helped and she again retreated.
"Idiot! Why can't you just say it?" Beast Boy said to himself, walking back to his room. "Ever since Trigon, she's been lonelier! Why can't she just let her feelings go and tell us…for a while she seemed…normal... Why can't you just forget her? Why not? You love her that's why."
Was it fear? Or anger...maybe both. Raven sat on her bed as books zoomed past her head, ornaments and relics crashed into each other her room slowly fell to pieces. Usually she would care to control her emotions but now she didn't. She sat there holding two object in each of her hands. One was the old penny Beast Boy gave before Trigon came, which gave her the hope that anything is possible…except her developing love for the changeling. And the other was an old photograph, a bit torn and crumbled, held an old black and white picture of her long dead past.
The picture contained an younger Raven (think little older than the little Raven in "The End" episodes) dressed in a white robe and cloak, smiling as leaned against another person left to her, behind her was her adopted father, Azar, tall lean, quite handsome for a man ageing into his forties. Next to him was Arella, Raven's mother. She much looked like Raven, but older with longer hair, dressed in similar fashion to her daughter. But next to Raven was boy, same height as her, they much looked alike…similar light grey skin, violet eyes (if you could tell in a black and white photo?) shoulder length hair, but instead of the darkness of Raven's hair, it was beautifully white like newly fallen powdered snow. His smile was both kind and gentle, that made Raven heart ache as she pressed the photo next to her chest, sobbing quietly as everything in her room became a disaster.
"No understands…no one cares…no matter how hard it is…I wish you were alive." She said as her bookshelf quickly tumbled to the floor, crashing into the floor as books and decorations exploded as if her whole world seemed to end around her…
Then came that cursed knock, or more likely pounding, Raven levitated to her drawer that was left in tact while she place the photo and the penny back into the top drawer and went to the door. The door cracked open and there stood the entire Titan team…some seemed to be exhausted probably from running.
"What's the occasion?" Raven asked.
"We heard something crash and we felt the worse." Starfire said.
"If you must know, my bookshelf fell to the floor." Raven replied.
"Fell? What were you doing?" Cyborg asked.
"Recalling my past miseries." Raven replied and closed the door. After a moment, every Titan was obviously surpirised by the reply and the utter confusion it gave in the eerie minutes to come.
"Well that was a waste!" Argent said turning and leaving the area.
"What a miserable girl." Hot spot said, following a similar action.
Jericho didn't reply, he just turned to leave. Leaving the original founding Titans including Terra standing there at Raven's door, wondering what there friend was truly doing.
"Does anyone have any idea what is with Raven?" Robin asked the remainder Titans.
Cyborg shrugged while Starfire nodded her head in confusion. Terra looked just put her hands in the air like an innocent child caught right after breaking a lamp while trying to use her looks to get away with punishment.
Beast Boy glared at Terra, knowing he was there when she latterly hurt Raven then surely insulted in such away it broke his heart knowing the one girl he had a crush on would do to the only person who had given her the chance to live…and look how she repaid her. But it didn't help when he to probably hurt by comforting her. With urgent regret he didn't tell the titans what transpired in the hall way a few hours ago.
Sadly Beast Boy regretted a lot of things, especially for his crush on the one girl who hated him, hurt him, but cared…slowly he regretted that he ever regretted about anything.
When night finally came to the tower, while everyone slept, Beast Boy, in mouse form scurried down the darkness, turning left and right until he finally reach Raven's room. Morphing once more, this time to a spider and crawling under the door way, entering no man's land.
Even as a spider, Beast Boy was shock at the disaster laid before him. Ripped books, shattered glass, broken chairs, crushed ornaments littered the room that he even for a spider had to move cautiously to Raven's bed which seemed to be intact. By the time he made to Raven's bed crawling up the sheet and unto another mess, but this time of old photos relics not destroyed earlier littered the bed. At the of the bed, Raven sat with photos covering her lap, but her hands seemed to grip something Beast Boy couldn't tell by being a spider.
"What's the point?" Raven said to herself. "Everyone you seemed to care about dies." While Beast Boy was hiding underneath an arch photo he listened to Raven. "My parents died, my friend's gone, and everything is gone. I have nothing left but these snaps shot of my life, relics and this…" She dropped the penny she was gripping and let fall unto the bed. Beast Boy recognized it as the penny he gave her two years back.
"She kept it?!?" Beast Boy thought cheerfully but then felt grief knowing he was prying on her in her most deep thoughts. Knowing he was in trouble if she found him here. Slowly he crawled away from Raven, making sure he was quick and silent. Even spiders make noise.
When Beast Boy got back to her door he took a few seconds to remember what he crawled upon. Just as he was about to crawl underneath the door, he heard Raven speak. "Another day ends, another begins…a chance to tell him I love him, to make him worth my life, if to be meaningful…if not to make him laugh and cry…knowing I am to die." If spiders could cry I guess Beast Boy would right now as he listened. "Life is precious, life is short…Death is eternal, death is all …death is inevitable…only fools seek to cheat it…to others it is mercy…and beautiful it will be."
Beast Boy escaped the room before he did something wrong, like turn to normal to love her. When he finally returned to his room those words kept playing in his head and then he wondered about there meaning only then he realized something is wrong, and he had to tell someone.
