1A/N: First chapter of the sequel to If Only For a Moment in the Light. I needed to write this to give myself a quick breather from my other two stories, help me clear my head, and I most likely won't write the next chapter to this until I finish Finding Hope Again. This story will be rated M for now but it could lower. I'm still thinking about exactly how I want to do this story though I have crafted a general path of it. I am curious to see if this story is received at all well. Oh well, guess its time to find out.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans but hey, I think we all already knew that.
The Truth Lies in Shades of Gray
Chapter 1: Only a Beginning
By: Finalitylife
Robin P.O.V:
I have seen more things in my short life than most people could even imagine. I've lived the life of a high flying circus performer who watched my parents die. I've lived the life as the sidekick to perhaps one of the greatest heroes to walk this planet, facing some of the most psychotic villains of all time, and finally I've lived the life of an unpowered leader of a group of super heroes.
I've fought on two separate occasions for the fate of the entire universe against the ultimate form of darkness and his minions. I've died once, I've seen the other side, I've seen the white light that everyone says you should walk toward. I've encountered benevolent beings born of Heaven and the Devil himself fell to my noble actions. Yet after everything I've seen, after everything I've experienced, nothing has managed to make my heart jump like what was standing in front of me when I walked into my room, nothing is able to leave me breathless like the vision of perfection that stands naked in front of me.
Raven...my Raven...my perfect dark angel that everyday somehow finds a way to make me fall in love with her more and more. A small bit of moonlight finds its way into my room through the window bathing her in the pale light, making her skin seem to glow. She is an alluring vision of beauty and sensuality and sometimes I wonder if perfection even adequately describes what I see her as.
I can't help but half think about how I've come to this point in my life, can't help but think how difficult the journey that finally brought me to her was. It took averting the apocalypse, finally defeating Slade and stopping Raven's predestined fate to be the gateway for Lucifer's return to this realm of existence for us to finally kiss for the first time. It took an intervention by her dead mother in heaven with the help from an Arch-Angel for her to finally find peace within herself, for her to finally give herself completely to me. It took the sacrifice of our lost friend 5 years ago for me to be resurrected and for us to finally escape from under the shadow of Raven's father and his malevolent intentions.
My thoughts are pulled back to the stunning woman in front of me as she shifts slightly in front of me. I get the impression that she is a little bit self conscious of herself as she stands in front of me completely nude yet I know there is no reason for her to feel that way. She has become only more beautiful over the years. She once was a lovely young girl but now is a gorgeous, fully developed young woman with stunning curves. She has only grown a little taller over the years, topping out at about five feet four inches, rising only to my chest and her hair now hangs just past her shoulders. I give her a reassuring smile as I stepped toward her placing my hands on her hips. She looks up at me with a sultry look in her eyes as she reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck.
"Happy Birthday Richard." I smile again at her as I remove one of my hands off her hips and reach up to gently caress her face.
"I think this might be the greatest gift anyone has ever given me even though there is nothing to unwrap." She gives me a sexy smile.
"That would just take too much time." She pulls my head down into a passionate kiss as I pull her body tightly to mine. The amount of heat we both are producing is incredible and whatever clothes I was wearing are removed quickly. I can feel her start nibbling on the side of my neck, one of my more sensitive spots and I let out a small groan.
"I love you so much Raven." This only prompts her to pull me into another deep kiss as we fall onto my bed. The experience is nothing short of another fantasy fulfilled.
A few hours later I find myself lying in bed with Raven wrapped in my arms feeling nothing short of perfect contentment. Its only been my birthday for a few hours and its already off to an unbelievable start. I can't help but wonder what the rest of the day would be like. Twenty-two years old. It was hard to believe I was that old. It felt like yesterday that a young 15 year old punk kid named Robin was confronted by a dark, cloaked woman with purple hair with the idea of forming a crime fighting team. It was hard to believe that I was now a full adult, hard to believe that I now went by the name Nightwing, striking fear into the hearts of criminals in a way Robin never could.
A lot had changed over the last five years with Titan's East no longer existing but rather now lived with us under one roof. There was not enough crime in Steel City to warrant their presence there, especially since Brother Blood had seemed to vanish from the face of the Earth following the end of the prophyecy. Also with Speedy and Starfire's relationship along with Cyborg and Bumble Bee's, it was inevitable that they would move in as most of them were at the tower daily anyways. The tower was full of life and it was a comforting thing, well as comforting as things got for me.
Everyone was still together, one happy family. Beast Boy, now known as Changling or Garfield as he was now called had grown nearly as big as me, topping out just below 6 feet and with a strong build. Terra and him were still madly in love and still acted like children with their antics. They loved the fact that there were more people in the tower because it meant more people to pull pranks on though Cyborg was still their favorite target.
Cyborg or Victor, his real name, was still the same being in most of his appearance yet his face now carried with it wisdom and maturity well beyond even his 24 years of age. Him and Bumble Bee still fought almost everyday though to them it was just a natural part of their relationship, having married two years ago.
Mas and Menos were the youngest of everyone and were only 18. The two had grown into two hyperactive young men who had become fan favorites of the teenage girls of Jump City. The number of women in their lives was too many to count yet Cyborg and Bumble Bee, who over the years had become surrogate parents to the two youngest Titans, helped keep them in line.
Roy and Starfire had quite possibly the most adorable relationship I had ever seen. Well Starfire was possibly the most adorable thing I had ever seen while Speedy was still his usual, loud, brash self. I was nearly positive that it was only a matter of time before Speedy proposed to Starfire, an inevitability I think we were all waiting for.. I could only imagine what Starfire's reaction would be but I was sure that I would need Raven's healing power after one of her bone crushing hugs of joy.
Aquaman or Garth as he went by in his self proclaimed civilian mode lived exactly as Mas and Menos did, going out nearly every night, bringing home random women. His black book needed small descriptions of the women next to their numbers because there were so many with the same names. I didn't agree completely with his lifestyle but I guess not everyone was as lucky as me to find a woman to spend eternity with so quickly in life.
This of course left only one other resident of the tower, Blackfire. Ironically, my thoughts of her was interrupted by her loud yelling voice not that far down the hall. A nearby clock told me it was 4 in the morning. What the hell was she doing up yelling at this time?
"Go ahead! Leave! See if I care." A man's voice was heard that I knew to be her boyfriend John, a normal human who was a chef at one of our favorite restaurants. He was just another guy in the long line of the many she had been with since...well since he had disappeared.
"That's exactly the point. You don't care. I can see it in your eyes. No matter what I say or do, I'll never be good enough for you. I'll never be him Blackfire. I know you still obsess over that guy, I can hear you mutter his name when you think I'm not listening or looking and you know what, I've had enough. I'm not going to sit in the shadow of some guy who you've barely even spoken about and abandoned you 5 years ago."
The sound of something impacting against solid steel was heard. Raven shifted against me, a sign she had woken up. Blackfire's next words made it clear that she probably had punched a hole again in the wall.
"Never say anything like that again. He did not abandon me, he would never have abandoned me." I could hear the sadness and hurt in her voice. Blackfire had been fine in the immediate weeks following SoulBurn's sacrifice, still clinging to the hope that he would return. Honestly, I think we all were waiting for him to just one day reappear as he had done once before, only this time, we were met with disappointment day after day, until we simply stopped diluting ourselves into believing he could ever come back.
For Blackfire, as time continued to pass by, her hope that he would come back dimmed to almost nothing though her love for him did not.. She spiraled in and out of depression, latched on to guys looking for something in them that she had seen in her first love yet none had ever lasted more than a few months. It was hard for all of us to watch sometimes, as we knew she cried in her room alone cursing existence for forcing him to do what he had done to save everyone.
"Leave now John. I can't promise that this argument will end well for you if you don't leave now."
I could hear the hurried footsteps of John leaving and could almost feel the emotions radiating off of Blackfire. It was moments like this that the only one who could truly calm her down was Starfire and thankfully, the sound of Starfire's sweet voice was heard, asking Blackfire to come to her room to talk. Eventually, everything was silent again except for mine and Raven's steady breathing. Raven eventually broke the silence.
"Every relationship she's had has ended the same way. All the guys figure out that they never can truly have her because her heart only desires one person and they can never be that man, that they can never compete with her memories of him and the impact she left on him." She turns to me with a sad smile on her face.
"Life can be so cruel sometimes. I knew for a little while what it felt like to lose the man I love when you died. It killed my heart and soul instantly." I see her eyes become slightly glossed over and her body shakes slightly in my arms.
"I still can't help it Richard. I still feel so guilty. You're only here because SoulBurn gave up
himself to bring you back. My love is only here and the expense of another's love. What did I do to deserve this life more than her? Its not fair that she has to suffer while I get to sit happily in my lover's arms. I feel all of her misery and pain through my empathy. Its horrible, so very cold. Its not fair Richard, its not fair."
She buries her face into my chest as her tears start falling. I hold her tightly letting her cry. This is not the first time this has happened. Raven's empathy had always caused certain problems for her, especially when the emotions were of enormous magnitude. On these occasions, she unintentionally had a direct look into a person's feelings and Blackfire was no exception. Raven could feel everything Blackfire felt and it hurt her deeply. She did truly feel guilty that she could kiss me goodnight every night while Blackfire drifted alone through life, looking for something that was gone never to return. I simply held her in my arms until she finally cried herself to sleep.
Here I was thinking that this birthday was going to be nothing but good times. I let out a deep breath as I snuggled closer to Raven. At least I was alive to enjoy these moments, at least I was alive to be with my Raven. I said a silent prayer of thanks, one I said every day for the last five years to a fallen angel, to a fallen hero who gave to all of us the greatest gift anyone could ever give. He gave us a second chance to have our family together, he gave us a chance to live outside of the whims of demons and devils, he gave us life. I finished my prayer and drifted off for a few more hours of sleep. It was still my birthday and I deserved to get the chance to sleep in for once.
Far off in an isolated monastery in the Far East, high in the mountains where few travelers ever ventured, a man slept in an old bed. He had slept for more than five years in a coma under the watchful eyes of the holy men who dwelled within. He had appeared one day mysteriously nearby the monastery, found when one of the monks went out to fetch water. His condition had never once changed in all the time he was there and the monks simply believed that his body was without its essence, and that one day it would return once more to its living shell.
The young man appeared now to be in his early twenties. He was tall and somehow remained strong despite being in his prone condition for so long. His hair was completely black, in contrast to his paler skin having not been out in the sun in so long. His most distinguishing features were the hideous sets of scars that littered his entire body from head to toe. Scars that looked like they had been caused by blades and fire, and even claw and teeth marks covered so much of his body. His face had a scar across his eye from his forehead down to his cheek. The monks had found him in such a condition and had no idea what this man had experienced to leave him in such a condition though they believed it was a miracle that the body was still even live. The monks continued to pray that this being would one day become whole again, returning to living consciousness.
There was nothing exceptional about the day in the monastery when their prayers were finally answered...when prayers would not save them One of the monks was bringing some water to the young man when he noticed the young man suddenly shift violently, his whole body jerking out of its motionless state. The monk's eyes grew in total shock as the young man's body thrashed again.
The monk began muttering a quiet, nervous prayer to himself as the young man suddenly shot up into a sitting position, his face contorted in a look of shock and pain, his eyes flashing open with urgencey. The monk stared intently at the man's eyes, the first time anyone had seen them since the young man first. The monk let out a gasp as he stared into the man's eyes.
His eyes...if they could even be called that, were like nothing he had ever seen before. They were black, completely and totally black. It wasn't just the irises, the entire eye was of the darkest night.. The monk got the feeling that he was staring into some type of endless void, total nothingness. The monk could only watch on in confusion as the newly awakened stranger held a shaking hand to his head, muttering in a language he did not recognize.
"Is it real...after so long...can it be...can it truly be?"
The monk approached cautiously forward, trying to calm the young man down, hoping the tone of his voice would be enough to make his intentions clear. At the sound of his voice, the mysterious young man's head snapped over so that his lightless gaze fell upon the monk. The monk found his whole body freeze up from the gaze, the eyes boring into him in an instant.
"Sound...voices...other life...I can feel it again...I can feel again...it is true..." The monk saw a strange smile cross the face of the muttering man, and he himself couldn't help but smile himself upon seeing the look of happiness.
The look faded quickly as the young man's face twisted into one of pain as he bent over, holding himself, groans of suffering emanating from his form. The monk, acting on instinct, rushed over with the water he was still holding in his slightly shaking hands, hoping he could do something to stop the immense pain.
"Pain...so weak...need...need..." The monk who was now beside the young man let out a startled yelp as the young man's hand shut up, latching tightly to the monk's forearm. The sudden motion caused the monk to drop what he was holding, it shattering on to the ground. Frightened eyes met pools of nothingness, and the monk found himself unable to look away.
"The time has finally come..."
The rest of the monks sat in quiet meditation when they suddenly felt a strange coldness come out of nowhere and everywhere all at once, sending shivers through each of their formally relaxed bodies. To many of them, it truly felt as if existence itself was trying to warn them that something terrible was coming and coming soon. None of the monks would exist long enough to ever understand what it truly was that brought upon such a sense of foreboding. Their time had come to an end.
Half a world away from the fate that was soon to be wrought on a group of innocent holy men, in a small, mountainous village in Chile, a young man slept in a coma for five long years. The villagers had found this man on the outskirts of their village five years ago, seemingly having appeared out of thin air. They had done the kind thing and took him to their village to take care of him until he woke up, though he had yet to even move since he was found.
The man was a complete mysterious to the simple villagers. He appeared to be in his early twenties and the young women of the village could only describe him as nothing less than completely handsome. His hair was of the purest white that it seemed to glow all by itself. His features were flawless, angelic even. He was tall and still had a strong build despite five years of inactivity. The most amazing thing about the young man was that anyone who was near him seemed to obtain feelings of peace for absolutely no reason. It was a remarkable thing and it fueled the stories and gossip about who the young man truly was.
It was a completely normal day when the unexpected happened. Some of the village girls were peaking in the window at the mysterious young man, laughing and giggling, talking about how cute he was, knowing that they weren't supposed to be anywhere near him. The girls instantly felt their hearts stop when the young man's entire body shook violently for a second. They could only stare as the same thing happened again. They wanted to go run and get someone but could not make themselves move. They were even more shocked when he shot up from where he had laid for 5 years with his eyes wildly opened.
He slowly sat up with a look of confusion etched on his face. He slowly turned his head, looking at the girls in the window though it seemed like he wasn't focusing on anything for the simple fact that his eyes were like nothing they had ever encountered. They were completely white, with absolutely no color anywhere. His breathing was labored and a sheen of sweat seemed to instantly form on his face. The girls started feeling slightly afraid as the young man continued to stare at them, unblinking. Eventually, one of the girls screamed running for the village elder with news of this incredible development.
Little did the villagers know that this man was nearly identical in appearance to another mysterious man in the far East. He looked exactly like this other man except for the eyes, hair, and the fact his body was not covered in scars. Of course there was no way that anyone in the entire world would know that fact as only a handful of people even knew these two men existed and those were the people of the isolated areas in which the two young men were. In reality, the villagers in Chile should have just found themselves fortunate that the man they were taking care of did not simply decide to end all of their existences after awaking for the first time in 5 years.