Here is book number two for me. I've spent a lot of time building up a great story and making sure I'm proud of every single word, so I know everyone will love it. Now, this is a sequel to Phobia, but it can easily be read and enjoyed without having read the first book. Basically, here are the three most important points to know:
Raven and Beast Boy are on very bad terms
The villain was a woman named Phobia who had the ability to force people to live our their fears (she was defeated by Raven in the end)
Raven and Robin got all passionate, but the other Titans do not know
Oh, and despite what the first bit might suggest, it is not a direct continuation from my last story, so no one should feel like they're missing something. And that's it. Now everyone can fall in love with The Last of Azarath. It begins one week after the end of Phobia.
"Please Raven, we don't have to do this."
"Friend, is there not some part of you still left?"
Crackles of dark energy flowed over her tightly closed fists. Raven stood motionless, brilliant white emanating forth from her eyes, illuminating her pale skin. The expression on her face remained passive, unmoved by the pleas of her friends. Snapping her hand upward, Raven released an arch shaped blast that slammed against Starfire, impelling her backward fiercely.
Dropping to the ground, thick green hair burst out of Beast Boy's skin and smooth fangs protruded from his mouth as he assumed the form of a leopard. He lowered his body closer to the ground, tensing the muscles in his hind legs, and leapt at Raven with his front paws extended outward. She slid forward low on the soles of her boots and pushed her palms straight up, directly onto the underbelly of an airborne Beast Boy. A flash of black erupted beneath him, thrusting Beast Boy upward in an awkward spin.
Disrupting the tumultuous rotations by morphing into a hummingbird, Beast Boy dived toward the ground and shifted back to a human, landing softly on his feet. He whirled around to face Raven, taking a harsh blast to his shin from her that sent a ripple of pain through his leg and buckled his knee. Raven directed her pointer and middle fingers at Beast Boy, unleashing a slender streak of dark energy from the tips that cleanly sliced through the outer part of his right bicep. Beast Boy let out a howl and clutched at the wound with his left hand. The grey glove rapidly grew crimson and warm blood percolated from the gaps between his digits.
Raven ran her lithe fingers around her leotard, retrieving two undulating daggers from the loosely hanging belt encircling her waist. She took one step in Beast Boy's direction, but was pulled backward and gasped as Starfire tightly wrapped her arms around Raven from behind, forcing her limbs down stiffly at her side and restricting her movement.
"I do not wish to hurt you, Raven," Starfire said softly into her ear. "You must fight it!"
With her feet dangling slightly above the ground, Raven remained still for a moment. Then she smashed the back of her skull into Starfire's face with a savage degree of strength. A pained groan rushed out from Starfire's mouth and her head sunk backward. Spinning the daggers upward, Raven flicked her wrists, slitting the skin just belong Starfire's elbows and breaking her solid hold.
Raven rotated her body and lunged at an awkwardly balanced Starfire, driving her foot into the Tamaranean's uncovered gut and knocking her back a step. Twisting her upper body, Raven loosed a charge at Beast Boy's chest, aggressively propelling him onto his back, and then pivoted to face Starfire again, narrowly missing with a vicious swipe of one dagger but connecting with a potent strike of dark energy from her other hand.
A drop of blood trickled from the lengthy slice on Starfire's right arm, splashing onto her knee as she clumsily climbed to her feet, delicately holding her arms close to her. Raven slipped the daggers back onto her belt and boldly strode forward, her face devoid of emotion. Starfire gingerly raised one hand and launched a small starbolt, which Raven effortlessly deflected with a wave of her hand. Timidity exhibited on Starfire's face; she was undeniably uneasy about attacking one of her best friends. Unfortunately, Raven had no such compunctions.
Starfire stared at her approaching friend, a quiver of fear in her emerald eyes. She lifted her other hand and closed it into a loose fist, creating a pulsating green orb around it, but hesitated a fraction of a second too long. Raven swung her right arm upward in a wide circle, emitting a ball that surged toward Starfire. Too close for avoidance, Starfire instinctively shielded herself with her arms, shrieking as the shot burned against her torn skin, painfully cauterizing the wounds.
Raven's right arm remained outstretched, with swirls of black encircling her open hand. The swirls expanded and rapidly overtook her entire hand, until the dark energy erupted outward in the form of a fist, billowing through the air and truculently grasping Starfire's torso. The massive extremities mimicked Raven as she slowly closed her own fingers, suffocating the scarlet haired girl. With her one free arm, Starfire clutched at the black hand, desperately trying to loosen its grip, but found no success.
Finally the features on Raven's face changed, showing emotion for the first time. She smiled.
Raven woke up sharply, panting heavily for breath, her back rigid and stiff when she sat up straight in her bed. She was covered in a cold sweat, and her leotard was thoroughly wet, clinging uncomfortably to her body. Raven ran her hands over her face, brushing aside strands of wet hair sticking to her forehead. One sleeve of her leotard was rolled up past her elbow, and the sheets were messily scrunched up at the foot of her bed.
She leaned back against the headboard and pulled her legs up to her chest, tightly wrapping her arms around them. Raven let her head slide forward, resting her chin atop her knees. She stared down at her trembling fingers, terribly shaken by the disturbing dream.
Raven had not seen the dream through her eyes, but was separate from it all, like a removed observer. She could see herself. And it was just so real. She could actually feel the pain Starfire was subjected to and see the burning anguish on Beast Boy's face. But Raven was far more troubled by the emotions that she had displayed. It was unsettling to see herself striking her friends with a complete lack of regard and compassion. Toward the end her emotions underwent a shift and she seemed to be filled with exhilaration, even euphoria, and that turned Raven's stomach. Her friends were the only thing in her life with meaning—they were her life. To see them suffering at her hands was almost too much to bear. But having their pain induce joy in the Raven she watched, a vision of herself, was more than just sickening.
Tilting her head to the side, she stared out the large window beside her bed. The sun was fully over the horizon, sending out beams of light that danced over the clear, blue ocean and crept across the floor of her bedroom.
The other Titans dismissed dreams as having no relevance, merely a jumble of thoughts without meaning. Beast Boy had outright laughed at Raven one morning when she attempted to describe a dream to Robin, telling her that dreams had no point. Starfire was more sympathetic but lacked the requisite understanding, as Tamaraneans were incapable of dreaming. With his scientific driven mind, Cyborg was often skeptical of anything that could not be clearly scrutinized and unequivocally proven correct or false. Robin tended to give some weight to the meaning of dreams, though ultimately he displayed uneasiness about something his conscious mind was not in control of. Raven, however, was frightened. Her skin had broken out into goose bumps and a terrible shiver ran down her spine.
Azarathians were a very magical and superstitious people, and recognized dreams as being akin to visions, which could represent past regrets or inner most desires and wishes. Dreams for the most powerful individuals, those with mental abilities like Raven for example, meant so much more though. Their minds were capable of altering reality, creating a more desirable world, or in some cases of even prophesizing the future. In the past Raven had indeed demonstrated an inclination to clairvoyance, seeing what would become of the world after she became the portal for her father.
At the moment, Raven refused to believe she had witnessed a vision of the future. Nothing on Earth could drive her to attack her friends. The very idea of it was absurd, as was the possibility that the dream somehow represented the desires of her subconscious mind. There could easily be another explanation, though that thought made everything no less racking.
Determinedly she pushed what she had seen from her mind. Horrified at the painful possibilities of what might come, the images were capable of eating away at Raven and reducing her to a state of fear. If that were to occur there was no telling what destructive potential her powers might have. Being in control of those powers was foremost on Raven's mind at all times. Emotions like fear or anger could lead to confusion and a remarkable lack of control if not properly checked.
She had learned how to channel many passionate feelings—joy, excitement, love—without losing control, which allowed her to feel more than she ever thought possible upon first meeting the Titans. Perhaps it was a wonderful side effect of growing so close to her friends, who themselves displayed such a range of emotions. These sentiments were in stark contrast to the stoic upbringing of an Azarathian, and naturally produced a change in Raven. Despite this, darker sensations still remained closed to her. There were times when Raven wished she could vent her frustration or scream out in anger just like any of the other Titans did. She was in greater control of her emotions now than ever before, and at times could allow a small rush of anger to escape her, but the need for her to be ever vigilant in suppressing those most intense feelings remained.
Her soft breathing and the repetitive ticks of the clock beside her bed were the only sounds in the room for a long time. When an adequate calm had settled over her, Raven swung her legs out over the bed, putting her bare feet down on the floor. Rubbing her forehead, she stood up somewhat awkwardly and slowly ambled across the room. She quietly slipped out of her damp leotard, replacing it with one of the dry ones hanging in her closet, and slid her feet into the boots beside her dresser.
She glanced over at her small clock, which showed it was just coming up for eight o'clock. Though she was never the biggest morning person, Raven had no intention of trying to fall back asleep. Deciding she was better off staying awake rather than risking the chance of having another dream, Raven threw on her deep blue cloak and headed toward her door.
As she approached, a tiny tapping came from the other side, barely audible over her own soft footsteps. When the metal door whooshed open, Beast Boy was standing there with one of his small hands raised in a fist, ready to quietly knock again. His pointed ears were drooping slightly, indicating to Raven that he was anxious and uneasy about something. In many ways his ears were like a dog's tail, betraying whatever emotion he was currently feeling.
"Uh, hi Raven," he said with a slightly apprehensive voice.
Raven stared at him for a moment without speaking. While Robin had recently lifted Raven out of a forlorn state and filled her with happiness, she was still upset with the changeling. It had been a week since Raven had last spoken with Beast Boy, and conversing with him now was certainly a rather unappealing prospect.
Finally she said, "You're up early."
"I'm having trouble sleeping. I've been wanting to talk to you."
Raven's features did not change. "Have you?" she replied dryly.
Beast Boy nodded. "I'm sorry for the way I acted last week. I was so sad about Terra that I ignored you when all you wanted to do was help me. I was a total jerk."
"I know."
Beast Boy furrowed his eyebrows in surprise. "Uh, isn't this where you're supposed to forgive me?"
Raven stared back at him coldly. "No."
"Jeez Raven, I'm just trying to apologize," Beast Boy said, slightly irritated. "I feel bad for the way I treated you and I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Raven asked. "You don't know what you should be sorry for."
"Huh?"
"Cyborg told you everything about Phobia, right?"
"Yeah."
"Do you have any idea why she was able to get inside my mind?"
Beast Boy did not say a word.
"I wasn't in control of my emotions. And it was because of you."
"Because of me?"
"I was thinking about how much of an asshole you were and I couldn't concentrate on anything else. I was too busy being pissed at you to properly focus."
"I…I'm sorry…"
"My frustration and anger got the better of me, and everyone's life was put in jeopardy because of it. I could've stopped Phobia right away if I had been able to focus."
"I didn't know," he replied, stuttering. A tiny droplet of moisture appeared in the corner of his eye. "Really Raven, I'm so sorry."
"Save it. You're so selfish, Beast Boy. Do you know that? If you had been thinking about anything other than yourself no one's life would have been at risk. But no, you couldn't do that. Terra's nothing but a little witch, but you keep clinging to her like something could actually develop between the two of you."
Beast Boy's lower lip quivered and the tear in his eye grew larger. The hairs on his body stood on end and his chest tightened. He was uncomfortably hot.
Raven stepped past him into the hallway, turning her head to look at him one last time. "I'm not ready to forgive you."
Her violet hair whipped around as Raven swiftly walked away, leaving Beast Boy standing still outside her room. She did not look back.
The hallway seemed oddly claustrophobic as Raven steadily moved down it. Her breathing was slightly constricted, forcing her to concentrate on calming herself. The last thing she needed after having such a tormenting dream was a confrontation with Beast Boy. Perhaps she had been overly harsh on him, but Raven had no intention of easily forgiving him and letting him off lightly. His own stubbornness had resulted in Raven having a clouded mind, which led directly to the entirely avoidable peril the others were placed in.
When she rounded the first corner and was out of sight, Raven stopped for a moment, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She had come close to letting out just a little too much anger. Stopping what she was doing and breathing deeply was often all Raven needed to regain composure.
Robin was usually fixing himself breakfast at this time, after having already finished his daily training, so Raven made her way toward the main room of the Tower. The boy wonder insisted it be called the "Operations Room" but that name had never caught on with the others. Robin had even labeled the door leading into the room with his preferred name. In a running gag, Cyborg and Beast Boy would tape a sheet of lined paper that had "Main Room" written in pencil on it over the door time and time again—an endless source of frustration for Robin and amusement for the two pranksters. There were always bits of tape still stuck to the door after Robin had ripped off the last piece of paper.
Her lips slowly formed into a smile thinking about Robin. Though she would never tell him, Raven thought Robin was so cute whenever he got upset about those signs. He would scrunch his face up like a little boy and ask, "Why do they keep doing this to me?"
The past week had been wonderful for Raven. She had opened up to Robin and found love for the first time in her life. A smile from Robin did wonders for her, melting away every emotion other than happiness. Around him, she needn't think about anything but the moment.
The steel double doors to the main room whisked apart at Raven's approach and she lightly descended the stairs in front of her, glancing around. Cyborg was hunched over the far counter in the kitchen off to her right, busily working on something. Raven walked over to him, eyeing the opened containers and condiments that were strewn about.
Cyborg cocked his head over his shoulder to look at her as she approached. "Morning Rae."
"Hey Cyborg," Raven said as she came up beside him.
The mechanical man was constructing a gargantuan sandwich, dripping with every sauce imaginable. At the moment, the top layer consisted of four different kinds of cheese, which sat on at least five sliced tomatoes and an entire head of lettuce. Below that so much was wedged and packed in that it was no more than an indistinguishable mess. Cyborg grabbed hold of his Chef "CyBQ" sauce and vigorously squirted it over the Havarti and Swiss cheese that decorated the very top.
A short, high-pitched beep filled the air and Cyborg happily rubbed his hands together at the sound. Bending down, he opened the stove and pulled out a mammoth pot roast that glistened with oils and grease. He placed it on the counter top and started cutting thin slices that he laid on the sandwich. There was a sparkle in his eye that Raven only saw when he was working with food or his beloved T-Car.
"You've had a productive morning so far I see. But how are you even going to get that in your mouth?"
"You just let me worry about that," Cyborg replied with a smile that spread across his entire face. "So what are you doing up this early?"
"I was just having a little trouble sleeping, that's all. Where's Robin?"
"He's over at the prison."
"I guess Phobia's finally awake then."
"You got it. My carefully designed Brain Band seems to be working just fine."
"So it's blocking her powers?"
"Far as I can tell." He paused to toss the pan from the pot roast into the sink and let out a very gleeful sound at the completion of his breakfast. "You going to eat something?"
Raven looked at the massive sandwich in front of her as Cyborg picked it up in his hands. "If there's any food left in the Tower, then maybe."
She stared at Cyborg with a mixture of disgust and admiration as he managed to wrap his lips around the edge of the sandwich, taking his first bite. "I don't know whether to be impressed or horrified that you just fit that into your mouth."
Cyborg's cheeks were puffed out in huge swells and he opened the very corner of his mouth in reply to her, but nothing quite comprehensible came out, other than a few bits of chewed food that splattered onto the floor. Though Raven thought she heard the word "impressed," she could not be sure.
"On second thought," she began, "I think I'll just stick to tea." Raven turned to fetch her kettle, letting her mind drift to thoughts of Robin.