Dante's Ride
Chapter 1: The Void
Alright, it's been a long long while since I've worked on anything with fanfics. I decided to try to revamp this story a bit. I started it about a year and a half ago, and never really finished it. Rather than the previous half-page section each chapter I'm drawing relevant sections together to help keep the continuity together…hopefully.
It had been only several hours since the fight ended. It seemed more like an eternity. Each waking moment ticked as they sat in the silent room, the only sound audible was the incessant drone of the current in the lights above. A buzz, that seemed to pierce through the mind amplifying the pain of emptiness they each felt.
Even the cheerful and optimistic copper-skinned alien was buried in a wave of grief and uncertainty as she sat unusually silent. A wide eyed and terrified expression seemed carved into the face of a young green skinned boy, as he sat near his robotic friend occasionally fidgeting with his hand on the arms of his chair. The large cyborg rested with his arms pressing against his legs, staring into the gray marble-toned, plastic tile floor.
Boy wonder, the leader of the team wiped a thin line of sweat from his forehead as he stood glaring at a large screen. His thin black mask squinting every few moments as he shifted his head to stare at the table next to him, where Raven lay, motionless, unconscious, oblivious to her surrounding world, against the white sheets of her hospital like bed.
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Raven stirred slightly, her eyes pinched as light began to flood her face. She brought her arm to her face instinctively to lessen the light as she slowly squinted peering through the light.
She saw nothing.
She opened her eyes further removing her arm as she replaced it with the hood of her dark cloak. She began to look about her surroundings, again seeing nothing. She stumbled slightly though as a strange sensation overcame her body.
She was floating.
An endless world of light seemed to make her surroundings as she stared silently into the contrasting world. "Where am I?" Her dull monotonous voice croaked out finally as it echoed into the deep.
"You are here."
A strange voice, perfectly mimicking her own responded to her, in a rather mocking manner. Raven stared for a moment, only half startled at the voice before she again spoke, "Where is here?"
"Where you are."
Again mocking her. Raven frowned slightly in disgust of the answer. After a long moment of silence she took a deep breath making a long sigh before speaking again, "How do I get out of here?"
There was a long silence. The voice did not respond immediately.
"…You don't…"
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"What are you doing here this late?" Cyborg's voice rang through the silence of the night as his barbaric silhouette stood in the path of the doorway. The dim light from the hall streaked into the room gently giving form and shape to the smaller masked child, Robin.
"I should be asking you the same question." Came his typical reply as he turned to face towards the body lying on the bed. He paused before glancing back over his cape at his approaching friend, "Couldn't sleep."
Cyborg's large metallic hand rose gently clasping Robin's shoulder, "I know you're worried, we all are, but that won't bring her back." His voice whispered in a reassuring manner. He lifted his hand off of Robin's shoulder as Robin turned to face Raven once again, his voice also lifting, "Besides, Raven's a tough girl, she'll be fine." As he finished he lifted his hand out giving a thumbs up, Robin turned to Cyborg smirking slightly, returning the thumb.
Before anything else could be said a set of foot steps were hear at the doorway, Robin and Cyborg turned to the door, seeing a very baggy eyed Beastboy, wearing what appeared to be green monkey pajama's. In his hands were a glass of milk, (soy of course,) and a scruffy looking teddy bear. A moment of silence as the half conscious changeling stared back, his flushing face concealed by the lack of light as his eyes darted from his bear to his friends.
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"Why are you here?"
"Funny," began Raven's sarcastic reply as she continued to float in the seemingly infinite universe of light.
"What do you mean, 'Funny'?"
"I have no idea where I am, let alone why I am here."
"And this is 'funny'?"
Raven was reminded in a sense of Starfire at the voices lack of understanding, but proceeded to explain. She had nothing better to do, "I was being sarcastic." Explaining with a few words as possible.
"Sarcasm?"
Raven sighed loudly, muttering to herself, "Great, here I thought only Starfire and Beastboy could give me this much of a headache."
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The sweltering sun purged through the tower, gleaming light into each room, burning into the eyes of the titans. Even Starfire in her usually cheerful demeanor seemed to radiate a tone of distressed behavior as she stumbled to find her mustard, spilling Beastboy's leftover tofu tacos on herself. Beastboy was trying his best to bring the teams hopes up, but even his efforts failed all too quickly as Robin and Cyborg continued to shoot down his requests to play any games.
"Aw come on guys! Not even super monkey balls 4?" Beastboy whined as Cyborg pushed him away mumbling a, "No."
"Beastboy, can't you take the time to stop, Raven's still..." Robin's voice cut off, leaving the sentence unfinished as Beastboy's ears drooped. Although it was never admitted Beastboy's gamming and joking attitude was just escapism from reality. Robin realized this as he cut off, standing up to leave the room. Starfire close behind as the last echoing word radiated through the room in her voice, "Robin?"
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"Why are you here?"
"Look I already told you, I don't know." Raven responded in a slightly agitated tone deviating from her normal monotonous rhythm.
"You do not know why you are here?"
"Yes!" Raven kept her self controlled, but her temper was slowly whittling away.
"You do not know why you exist?"
There was a long pause. Raven did not respond immediately, taken by surprise by the question.