A/N: Alright, so welcome to the Prologue of Gilded Cage. This is a fic I'm writing based off of a prompt by ROLF-Wolf-Of-Thunder, titled 'What Happened?', which you can look at here: '/s/10533913/2/Propmts-Plots-Challenges', though it may contain some spoilers, though nothing too huge. So yes, I'll be using some artistic license at times, but all credit for the idea goes to ROLF and I hope he enjoys it.(apparently it doesn't like web addresses)

I wasn't 100% happy with this when I first wrote it, but going through and editing it I decided it wasn't too bad, though I might still come back and edit it again later. But I shall make it known if I do so. If your confused by the chapter, wait until you give Chapter 1 a read before you ask questions. If it won't ruin anything i'll try and answer, and of course feedback/suggestions are welcome, critical or otherwise. Enjoy!

(I don't own Teen Titans or the original idea for this story)

Prologue - Haze

Rachel had never been happier in her life, and considering her life so far, that was saying something. She had a perfect family, a mother and father who loved each other from the depths of their hearts and never lacked in their affections for her. A great group of friends, who acted like the siblings she didn't have - redheaded Kori, the sometimes annoying, but sweet and innocent younger sister; Garfield, the mostly annoying youngest brother, with his horrible jokes and pranks, but with a big heart for creatures big and small, but especially his friends; Victor, the older brother with a protective streak as wide as the world and a love of all things meat, games, sports or cars; and finally Richard, the oldest brother who constantly worried about all of them and tried to keep them out of trouble. She had more friends outside of this of course, but this was her core group and she couldn't imagine ever being parted from them.

But what made Rachel especially happy today was that High School graduation was fast closing in, and with it the start of a new and exciting chapter in her life, University. She'd heard back today from JCU about her application for the 'Ancient History and Cultures' scholarship, a subject she'd always been fascinated with, and they told her she was one of their best applicants, which had made her cry out in joy. When her parents had come running she'd shown them the acceptance letter and they'd cried and hugged, telling her how proud they were of their 'little girl', which needless to say had made her blush and protest that she "wasn't little anymore!".

Smiling as she walked the few blocks to her school for the last week of 'classes' - not that any real teaching would get done - Rachel closed her eyes and reminisced about some of the amazing memories she'd made with all of her friends and family over the years, the pranks she'd been part of or witness to - usually courtesy of Garfield and Victor - the romances and break-ups. She'd miss it all, but she'd keep the memories and Rachel knew her friends would accompany her to University, where they'd forge even more.

Suddenly, in the middle of her happy remembrances, Rachel lost her balance and staggered to lean against the side of the building next to her, a large brick structure, maybe seven stories high, probably an office building of some sort, but suddenly Rachel couldn't remember a single thing about it. Surely she'd walked past this building thousands of times over the years, why was it suddenly unfamiliar? Rachel broke out into a cold sweat as she stared vacantly ahead, everything in her view turning misty and opaque without any warning, losing all but a hint of colour.

Ah, Raven thought, an odd calm in her mind contradicting the emotions she was feeling, it's one of my episodes.

She'd been having them ever since she could remember, the only problem marring her perfect life, although recently they had grown more frequent and hit her harder than they used to. Rachel turned her eyes to the building she was using for support, brushing one hand over the brick surface. She could feel the texture of it, each bump and edge, and yet her eyes seemed to be able to look right through to the other side, vague shadowy shapes moving about their business, oblivious to anything strange going on around them. It was all in her head, Raven knew, and yet whenever an episode came upon her, she couldn't help but feel an undefined panic deep down, trying to claw it's way out of her very soul. She couldn't help but wonder, Is this real?

Rachel raised a hand to her forehead and took a deep breath, trying to dispel her distorted vision by force of will. These episodes never lasted too long, but they still left her with feelings of unknown dread and she wanted this one over quickly. Black shadows started to rush past her in a stream as a look of solidity seemed to return to her surroundings, and just before everything returned to normal she saw a dual pair of glowing red eyes, one spaced directly above the other, rush straight for her face.

She screamed and staggered back, raising her arms in a futile attempt to shield herself from whatever it was and squeezing her eyes shut, waiting for the pain. She stood like that for a minute, but when nothing happened, Rachel opened her eyes and looked around. No shadows, no glowing eyes, everything perfectly normal like it was not five minutes before. Well, except for all the passersby giving her looks, a mixture of curiosity or worry on their faces.

They must think I'm crazy or something, Rachel thought to herself, lowering her arms and quickly continuing on the way to school. Maybe they're right...Should I talk to someone about this?

She'd never told anyone about these incidents, even when she was young and they'd first started happening. She didn't want to worry her parents or her friends and they seemed harmless enough. She'd never suffered any ill affects once they were over, none she could see anyway. But there was always something in the back of her mind, a voiceless whisper telling her to keep quiet about it. The episodes had been getting worse lately though, and those eyes from before...Rachel shuddered when she recalled them. They'd seemed so full of malice, a mindless rage fueled by a pain she couldn't comprehend. For some reason they reminded Rachel of the dreams she'd started having that month, though not the details. Those, she could never remember, for which she was grateful, if the flashes of images she saw right after she woke up were any indication...

Frowning and firmly shaking her head, Rachel banished all thought of the episodes, dreams and eyes from her head, brought a smile to her lips and firmly marched onto school grounds.

It was lunch time, and Rachel and her group sat around a table in one corner of the cafeteria, talking and laughing at what some might consider an ear splitting volume - though to be fair, they did have to compete with everyone around them. To be more accurate, Victor and Garfield were having their daily tussle about the varied benefits of meat VS tofu and vice versa, Kori was trying to bully Richard into eating her rather unusual home cooked meal, which was a shade of colour no one at the table had seen before (with Richard loudly protesting that he was too full to "appreciate her delicious culinary skills") and Rachel sat quietly in the corner reading a thick book, or "Tome" as Garfield had joked, before he was hit on the head by said object.

Unfortunately, Rachel was stuck on the same page she'd been reading since she finished her sparse lunch, unable to concentrate on the words, which flowed across the page like water. She'd tried to put the incident on the way to school out of her mind, but those eyes she had seen haunted her thoughts, called to her. Throughout the day Rachel kept thinking she saw them out of the corner of her vision, just when she started to relax, only to find nothing there when she turned her head.

"Hey Rachel, you alright? You're looking a little pale there, and I haven't seen you turn a page since you opened that book." Richards voice startled Rachel out of her thoughts and she jumped in her chair, banging her knees on the table, which certainly would have directed the tables attention to her if Richard hadn't already. She never startled.

Rachel put her book down and turned to Richard to reassure him. "Yeah, I'm fine Richard, I just didn't get much sleep last night, you know, graduation coming up and everything," she shrugged off his concern with the excuse and a smile. The lack of sleep was true, though the reason was different. He seemed to buy it though, since he smiled back and nodded with understanding. Garfield chimed in after she'd reassured Richard, the topic of graduation grabbing his attention.

"So what's everyone getting up to once we all leave high school anyway?" he asked with a giant question mark over his head. "I mean, besides Victor, who's probably going to fall in love with a giant steak and marry it!" he laughed while ducking Victor's playful punch.

"Hey, you little bean sprout!" Victor shouted, "I'll have you know, I'm gonna be studying mechanical engineering! I've got some big plans for the world of automobiles, baby!" he declared, pumping his fist in the air.

Up until this week everyone had been busy with studying for exams or otherwise busy, so this was really the first opportunity they'd had to talk about their final plans, though of course they'd discussed what they each wanted to do over the years. Victor's news was a bit of a surprise to Rachel though. Not so much his love of cars, as that was a well established fact, but Rachel and everyone else had thought he'd continue with a sports career after school. He had, after all, already been approached by several scouts.

"But friend Victor, were you not going to continue with the 'throwing of the pig skin'?" Kori asked the question for all of us, confusion in her eyes. Her turn of phrase, however, was strange as always.

"What, football? Damn right I'm gonna keep playing, you couldn't keep me away from it with the biggest barbeque in the world!" At everyone's skeptical looks, he lowered his head and muttered, "Ok, well maybe you could...BUT ANYWAY! I'll still play, but like I said, I got plans. I wanna build my own car, from scratch. Things gonna be the fastest beast on four wheels!" he laughed and shoveled some more meat into his mouth. Or perhaps 'guffawed' would be a better description. Swallowing, he pointed at Kori and asked, "What 'bout you, decided what you're gonna do with yer life?"

This, of course, made Kori practically glow with excitement as she furiously nodded her head and answered Victor. "Oh yes friend! It is very exciting, I am going to become one of the ones who style! And I would also love to do the designing of garments." Kori looked down slightly in embarrassment at that last part. Garfield just laughed it off and patted her on the shoulder.

"A stylist and a fashion designer huh? Definitely suits you Kori!" he said with a smile. Then, with a sly look in Rachel's direction, "Maybe you could practice on Rachel here," he finished that line with a diabolical laugh, until he noticed he was being threatened with the Book-of-Mass-Destruction again and quickly shut up. The damage, however, was already done.

Rachel turned to Kori's 1000-watt smile and could practically see the hope flowing from her eyes - hope which would turn to turns if she refused her. She also noticed Richards sympathetic expression in her periphery. Focusing on Kori, Rachel gave an inaudible sigh of resignation and nodded her head, committing herself to who knew what. "Sure, Kori, why not."

It wasn't the most enthusiastic acceptance, but that flew right over Kori's head and she grabbed onto Rachel's hand, practically crushing it in her excitement. Luckily the table's in the way, or it probably would have been my ribs, Rachel thought to herself ruefully. Richard decided to intervene before any more damage was done to her.

"So Rachel, I heard you got accepted into a scholarship. Congratulations, I know you worked hard for it," he said with a grin, which generated a few round eyes and claps from her friends, causing Rachel to blush and duck her head. "Thank you, everyone. Yes, I got accepted into the Ancient History and Cultures scholarship," Rachel explained to them.

"Ooooh," Garfield said, "I bet that's what your reading then, something ancient-y about kings and dragons and magic swords, just like out of 'Dark Sorcery IX'!" he exclaimed loudly. "Tell me it is!" he would have been grabbing her shoulders and shaking her back and forth if it hadn't been a death sentence.

Rachel sighed and turned the book so they could see the cover and addressed Garfield, "Actually, magic swords and dragons aren't ancient history, but rather fantasy. However, you were partially correct," she told him with a smile, tapping the cover.

He squinted at it, sounding out each word like a five year old, "Compendium...of...Daemons ...and...Aetheric...Beings?" You could almost see the birds flying in circles around his head by the time he finished. Rachel decided to take pity on him and give them the simple version, "Basically, a book about demons and otherworldly creatures. Not so much history and more mythology. It's an interesting read, even if none of it's real," Rachel finished with a shrug.

"Hmm...Still, that's a bit of an unusual book for you Rachel," Richard said, with Victor adding in a, "Yeah, I thought you didn't go down for that supernatural, religious junk?".

"Is it really such a big deal? The guy at the second-hand bookstore I go to was just going to throw it out anyway, so I thought I'd give it a go...there's no need to read too deeply into it?" Rachel looked at them askance, not understanding why it surprised them so much, but giving them an answer anyway.

Garfield suddenly burst out laughing, slapping the table with one hand and holding his stomach with the other, "Haha, good one Rachel! Haha, 'read into it', because it's a book, get it?!" Sighs resounded around the table, with the exception of Kori who just wore a confused look on her face.

Rachel opened her mouth to snap at him that she hadn't meant it as a joke, and it wasn't that funny anyway, but suddenly froze, the blood draining from face and leaving her pale. In the opposite corner of the building, directly across from her, stood a shadow that defied the afternoon sunlight, an unnatural blackness that no one else seemed to notice- and those same red eyes from that morning, boring their way into her mind. Trembling, pushing her chair back, Rachel grabbed her book and all but ran out of the cafeteria, to the astonishment of her friends still at the table.

She vaguely heard Garfield ask, "What did I say?", in a hurt voice, but she was too focused on escaping the feeling those eyes provoked to reassure her friends. Like knives piercing her back, they followed her as she made her way out of the building and just as quickly disappeared.

Maybe the book is getting to me and I'm imagining things...Rachel told herself as she made her way to where her next class would be, still unable to stop her trembling. She didn't believe it though. Something inside her told her that shadow represented something frighteningly real, something she didn't want to know...

That night Rachel had trouble sleeping, more so than she had recently. As soon as she'd gotten home, she had just about collapsed onto her bed without even changing, completely wrung out from her day, although it wasn't physically stressful. No, it was more mental and emotional stress and she was afraid to talk to anyone about it. It was irrational, but Rachel was afraid of what would happen if she told people that all day, she was being stalked by a shadow with four brightly glowing red eyes. She could never catch sight of it full on after the cafeteria, only out of the corner of her eyes, but Raven was sure it was there, sure it was real...even if logic told her it must be otherwise. Was this madness? Surely it couldn't come upon someone so quickly, like flipping a switch? She closed her eyes and tried to block out her thoughts, desperate for the oblivion of sleep.

Rrrraaaaavveeeeennnnnn... ...

She was jerked awake by screams at the edge of her hearing, screams full of anguish or hate or pain. She jerked upright, covered in a cold sweat, and looked wildly around the room. Nothing out of place, everything was just as she remembered. Rachel looked at her alarm and saw it was nearly midnight. She ran a hand over her face and let out a sigh, when she heard it again.

Rraaveeennn... ...

No screams this time, just a name. Was it saying her name? Where was it coming from? Could anyone else hear it? Unable to resist, Rachel got up and followed the sirens call, crossing her room in a daze and opening her door, stepping out into the hallway on stockinged feet.

As soon as she left her room Rachel gasped and doubled over in pain, clutching her head and letting out a low keening noise. It felt like someone was shoving an icicle into her brain, was the only way she could describe it - a sharp, cold pain spearing straight to her core. Just as quickly as it started, it stopped, though for Rachel it had seemed to last hours. When she opened her eyes again, it was as if she'd stepped into another world. One of her episodes again, but so much stronger than she'd ever experienced until now, and she'd never had more than one in any single day.

She looked around and everything was painted in white or black, any hint of colour completely obliterated. No, that wasn't right, there seemed to be...a twist of colour in the air? She looked around and saw more, making a trail further down the hallway. A trail of colour hanging in midair, what is this? Rachel thought. She heard that voice again, calling her, but weaker now, below the level of hearing, if it had been a normal voice. It tugged at something inside of her, urged her to follow that strange path in the air. She stumbled down the hallway, absently noting that no matter what she did, she didn't seem to make any noise at all.

It's like I'm in a dream world or something, Rachel thought, following the colours down the stairs and to the front door. She noticed that the further she got, the less distinct objects around her grew, some turning wispy and dispersing in an invisible wind, others fading in and out between black and white. Rachel thought she should probably be more alarmed at what was happening to her, but her head felt like it was full of fog, she couldn't think clearly. All she could do was follow the path laid out in front of her. She opened her front door and stepped out into a world in negative.

When Rachel finally came back to herself, she didn't know where she was, or how far she'd come and how long she'd walked. She didn't feel tired, but on a night like this, nothing could be taken at face value. She felt like reality was collapsing around her. She looked around, trying to find something familiar, a landmark or something, but everywhere Rachel looked all she saw were the twisted outlines of buildings, glowing white and giving off streams of black as they swayed back and forth. All except for one building, in the direction she'd been walking.

Instead of the brick or cement buildings she was used to, this one seemed to be constructed from stone, large blocks of it fitted together tightly so that mortar was unnecessary, giving it a heavy, imposing air. The windows were pointed arches and filled with coloured glass, shining from a light source she couldn't perceive, the scenes seeming to shift and change in her vision, almost hypnotizing. Tearing her gaze away, her eyes were drawn to the roof, to the tall spires, the ornate eaves - and the detailed gargoyles on the corners, staring at her. It was a building from a different era, and just above the main entrance's huge double doors was carved a symbol that glowed in the cold night air and sent shivers down her spine; a stylized 'S'.

"You shouldn't be here, Raven."

The sudden intrusion of a voice, when it seemed like she was the only person left in the world, startled Rachel and she jumped, turning around to see who'd spoken - though his voice had sounded familiar. Standing off to one side behind her - maybe coming from an alley between two building? - was a figure in...tights? Green tights. With black ankle-high boots, green elbow length gloves, a green shirt underneath a red vest sporting a yellow 'R' inside a black circle, wearing a yellow belt of some kind and a black cape with yellow on the inside. He also had on a black and white domino mask.

"W-Who are you?" Rachel asked, backing away slowly from the strangely dressed figure before her. If he saw the world as she did right now, he showed no sign of it, stepping further into the center of the path she was on.

He tapped the 'R' on his uniform and said, "You know me as Robin." The name did seem familiar, but it was his voice that caught Rachel's attention. Something about it...She frowned and asked, "Is that...Richard!?"

"I thought you'd remembered everything, but apparently not..." Richard frowned and muttered to himself. "How did you get here Raven? You need to leave," he sternly demanded.

Rachel was starting to get angry. Everything had been perfectly normal when she woke up that morning, but now it felt like she didn't know anything. "Why are you calling me that, 'Raven'?! My name is Rachel!" she shouted at him, blowing off some steam. "And why are you dressed like that!? What is this place?! I've never seen it before, but I know it somehow...What's happening to me..." she finished in a whisper, closing her eyes.

There was a sharp 'snick' noise and she snapped her eyes open, to see Richard holding a long pole and falling into a martial arts pose. "I can't answer any of those, 'Rachel'," Richard said, slowly moving the staff in intricate patterns, "and I don't want to hurt you. It's best if you just forget about all of this and go back home quietly, like nothing ever happened."

She noticed it then and started laughing, part hysterical and part despair, causing Richard to pause and look at her cautiously. But Rachel wasn't paying attention to him, instead staring at the top of a building behind him. Standing there, if you could use that term, was the shadowy being that had haunted her day, and for what felt like longer. It stood there like the building it was on wasn't twisting and contorting wildly, staring down at the two of them with four burning orbs of crimson. "Tell me Richard, how am I supposed to live a normal life with that thing driving me mad?" Rachel asked him between laughs, pointing it out to him, unable to tear her eyes away.

Richard spun around in the direction she was pointing with a curse, lifting his staff up into a guard position. When his eyes fell on the figure on top of the building he froze for a moment. With an uttered "Shit!" he reflexively reached for his belt and grabbed something, a disc like object, throwing it towards the shadows on the roof as he dived and rolled, trying to put some distance them. Whatever he'd thrown passed right through it however, not fazing it in the slightest. Richard knew he was done for, even though the figure hadn't moved or threatened him. Yet.

He knew what it was though, and a cold, clammy sweat appeared on his body. He hadn't been made to fight that, or rather, such a thing was impossible in this place. He didn't stand a chance. With a look of resolve, hidden by his mask, he reached to his belt again, only this time he depressed a button hidden amongst his other tools then turned to Rachel and said, "Just remember, Raven. Even if you escape...no matter what, you will be stopped!".

At the same time Richard was doing all this, the figure on the building finally moved, spreading it's arms wide, shadowy wings forming and blocking out the sky. Darkness rushed in and covered everything, except for four points of light which were the creatures eyes and a small circle around Richard and Rachel. The four points of light, their only point of reference for the creature, rose up and hovered over them, like a bird of prey, fixing their stare on the green, red and yellow form of Richard. Futilely, he raised his staff and prepared to fight as it swooped down on him, the darkness from before pulled in it's wake and crashing down on him like a tidal wave, blotting the area from view.

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and cowered down, trying to block out the horrible screams and the tearing sounds. The snapping bones. The sound of blood being spilled on the ground. And a sound that wasn't a sound, something that speared directly into her thoughts and resonated there - a distorted cry of victory. When the noises finally stopped, Rachel risked a look up, dreading what kind of scene would meet her eyes.

...Nothing? She thought incredulously.

The spot where Richard had been was empty, nothing there at all that shouldn't be, even the shadow being was gone. Had it somehow taken him with it? But surely there would have been a mess, from everything she heard... Maybe I imagined the whole thing, Rachel thought with relief, willing to believe it over any other possibility. Suddenly a shadow fell on her and she turned with a scream, and saw those awful eyes staring directly into her own, almost no space separating them.

Her scream choked off as the dark wings the figure still had slowly enfolded her, drawing her that tiny distance remaining with a feather light touch. She was drawn into the shadows under the eyes, and as she was, something in her mind seemed to fall away, chains she hadn't known were there. Images started to appear in her minds eye:

Her life on Azerath flashes through her mind, mental discipline and training, emotional control, her mother, Azar and her father, Trigon.

Her self-instilled exile to Earth, to prevent Trigon from destroying her home. Rejection by that worlds heroes to help her.

Appearing in Jump and seeing Robin uses his gadgets to distract Starfire from destroying the town.

Raven watching Beast Boy leap at a rampaging Starfire, sending her flying and a concealed Cyborg joining the battle.

Starfire freeing her hands from manacles and firing bolts of energy at the three heroes.

Raven finally stepping in, the 5 teens coming to an agreement and saving each other from an alien threat.

Happiness. Guilt. Adventures. Sadness. Acceptance and contentment. Love, friendship, family. A flash of pink hair.

BETRAYEL.

Slowly Raven came back to herself, her memories - My real memories! - settling into her mind just as a long cloak, the colour of freshly spilled blood, enveloped her physical body. The hood, still with the four demonic eyes, settled itself over her head and the eyes winked out as they overlapped her own.

Knowing what kind of place she was in now, Raven looked up at the symbol of Scath above the old library doors and smiled, then strode purposefully up to the doors, cloak sweeping out behind like the wings from not so long ago, leaving a crimson trail behind her. The Robin construct had said they'd stop her, but things wouldn't be so easy for them.

Just as she pulled open the double doors and was about to step inside, the world shattered around her, cracks forming over everything, in the very air itself. The pieces exploded outwards, shards of dream rushing past Raven, slicing into her mind as they went, faster and faster, too quick to defend herself. The last piece, the mark of Scath above the door, fell in slow motion into the void this world now was, taking Raven with it.