My cousin who is my editor and fixes all those little errors that neither I or the spelling checker doesn't get informed me as she was going through chapter 2 that she never got chapter 1 of this story. There were enough little errors she caught that we deemed a repost nesassary. She also thought the part with Beast Boy turning into a turtle needed to be changed (to make an unbelieveable situation more beileveable as she put it)-so we tried a little something new in that part. How it helps, I don't know, but this new edit was the only version that passed inspection.
When I first posted my very short story "Fall Again" a reviewer mentioned that is seemed to be a part of a longer story. That one I took a cue from the song Fall Again by my friend Zane Williams. You can google him and listen to it on his website if you want the whole story on where my story came from-if that makes sense. That did however get me to thinking about another story I posted at the same time, "In Death Do We Meet." At the time I wrote it the story was just meant to fill out the last few pages of the notebook I was writing in. It has been awhile since I posted the short story, but the review and that other story just kind of popped in my head today for no reason. And I started to think about it. Long before I ever saw "Mutant Chronicles" that type of war torn battlefield was on the order of what I was seeing in my head-just without the killer mutants. As I thought about that I realized there was an earlier story that I had written that "In Death Do We Meet" would have been the final ending to. So now here is the first part of that prequel. Written after season 4, but before season 5-which never came about-if you read the other one. If you haven't I would sugest waiting until you read the final chapter of this one-there should be about 5 in all.
Birds of a Feather
Robin stands outside of Raven's door listening as she is once again able to meditate. He has been very worried about her. Only he seemed to notice that she had slowly been falling apart ever since the prophecy of her birth was finally revealed. Now that the end has been averted he hopes she will be okay. When he hears her meditating cease he hesitates a few moments before knocking on the door.
Raven looks up at the knock on the door. She knows he has been there for sometime listening to her meditate. She smiles slightly-touched by his concern for her. Raven gets up and walks over to the door.
He looks up when the door finally opens. "Raven...I just wanted to let you know that the rest of us are going to visit Terra. We were wondering if you felt up to coming. If it's too soon...I mean--you did expend a lot of power stopping your father."
"I'll be fine." She turns off the light and lets the door close as she follows Robin
*****
Raven has a bad feeling when they enter Terra's cave, but Beast Boy goes rushing in, with Starfire close behind, before she can voice her concern. She looks all around as she follows Cyborg and Robin inside-looking for the source of her current state of unease. It's not until they reach the central cavern that used to be a secret lair of Slade's that she notices small twinkling lights that almost look like tiny stars embedded in the rocks. At first they look almost pretty. She gasps suddenly when she realizes what those lights are.
Robin turns to look at Raven. "What's wrong...?" He follows Raven's gaze up to the ceiling. "Explosives! Everyone out now!"
For a split second the others freeze as they look up and that is when the explosives start to go off in a chain reaction.
Raven reacts quickly unleashing a telekinetic shield that prevents the debris from crushing her friends. "Get out now! I don't know how much longer I can hold it!"
Cyborg turns around. "We're not leaving without you."
"Can't...move...have to...concentrate...or--"
Robin steps up beside Raven. "--You heard her! Everyone get out!"
Beast Boy morphs into a gorilla and grabs the statue that Terra has become and rushes out of the cavern. Starfire picks up Cyborg and catches Beast Boy on the way-rushing them all outside.
"Lets go Raven."
"I can't--go...I'm losing it." She collapses to her knees.
"Raven."
With the last of her strength she uses her powers to transport Robin out of the cave. Her powers fail her before she can save herself and all the rocks crash down on her.
-------
The others stare in horror as the entrance to the cave is blocked by falling rocks.
Starfire gasps. "Raven!"
Beast Boy just stands there in shock-not even having realized he is no longer in beast form. "She didn't have time to get out."
Robin gets up rushing back to the entrance. "Raven is still alive...I can feel it. We have to find a way to get her out."
Cyborg looks back at Terra's rock form. "We sure could use her powers right now."
"We will make due with what we have." Starfire steps up the cave entrance and draws back her fists delivering the rocks a mighty blow from one of her starbolts.
Cyborg pulls her back as the dust clears. "Easy there-we don't want it all to come crashing back down on us. My readings show that the ceiling is still very unstable.
Beast Boy rolls up his sleeves. "Then lets go under." Before anyone can stop him he morphs and quickly begins digging in the loose soil surrounding the cave.
Robin turns to Cyborg. "Is that going to work?"
"There is a lot of sandy soil under the cave--this area used to be underwater in prehistoric times. We can get close to her..." Cyborg pulls up a display on his arm. "..but a few meters from her location everything turns into volcanic rock."
Beast Boy pulls back already exhausted and he has barely made any headway. All the sudden an idea comes to his mind. The creature that he became when those chemicals spilled on him at the factory can move with lightening speed. He quickly shifts into it an begins digging again. He begins digging again with frantic speed.
Starfire finds a large rock that she punches creating a depression to make a crude shovel which she uses to pull dirt out of the tunnel that Beast Boy is creating.
Cyborg begins adjusting his sonic cannon. "Maybe I can dial this back and use it to cut through the rock."
"Better make it fast, I don't think it's going to take Beast Boy very long now."
-------
Raven lays there-barely conscious--just enough to register the tremendous pain. She is lucky if she looks at it that way that most of the rocks fell around her forming a sort of canopy around her protecting her-except for her right arm and leg which are pinned under a rock. Her friends are safe-that is what matters to her right now. She tries to stay awake, but wonders what the point of fighting is. Raven hears a roaring sound as a rock shifts slicing against the left side of her head. It takes her a moment to realize its her screaming. The new pain that causes is only an after thought as her scream finally dies. She lays there sobbing--finally giving into the dark void of blissful unconsciousness.
-------
Everyone freezes when they clearly hear Raven's scream.
Cyborg turns to Robin almost afraid to ask. "Is she...?"
Robin collapses to the ground unable to speak for a few moments. "Barely...we've got to hurry."
Cyborg starts inside the tunnel-but stops and turns back to Robin. "I don't what's going on between the two of you-but don't let her go."
After a few moments Robin gets up and staggers into the tunnel. Beast Boy is clawing frantically at the rock barrier now.
Starfire pulls him back as Cyborg chargers his sonic cannon. "Please let Cyborg try now."
Beast Boy steps back returning to normal only to collapse too exhausted to move now.
Robin kneels down beside him. "You did good."
"First Terra...now Raven is...we can't loose her too."
"She's an empath--just think positive thoughts right now."
"Think positive...yeah." Beast Boy looks up as Starfire adds her eye beams to Cyborg's altered sonic cannon. "We're coming Raven-just hang on..."
Robin stands up as Beast Boy slumps back unconscious. He focuses on the bond between he and Raven as Cyborg and Starfire slowly bore through the rock blocking their access to Raven.
-------
Outside the cavern a lone figure places more explosive charges all around and on the un-guarded statue of Terra this time. "One down, five to go." That person walks off leaving the charges to be triggered when the Titans exit the tunnel in the futile attempt to rescue their friend.
-------
"Stop-we're right under her!"
Robin rushes into the tunnel to help Cyborg and Starfire free Raven. He looks up as Starfire turns to Cyborg.
"How do we get her out?"
Cyborg looks up at the rock above them. "Everything is just going to come crashing down when we break through."
"Can you scan what's above her?" Robin glances back as Beast Boy staggers in. "The rocks aren't crushing her or--"
"--It will take a few minutes." Cyborg focus his sensors above him. He makes a detailed map of what is surrounding Raven. Once he is done he projects it for everyone to see. "The rocks appear to have domed above her."
Starfire looks up from the map. "Then we can cut around her yes?"
"It's not going to be that easy." Cyborg rotates the map so they can view the rock trapping her right arm and leg.
Robin looks up. "We have to hurry..." He pauses as their bond seems to manifest her current state physically in him as he struggles to breathe. "...she can't last much longer...running out of air."
Beast Boy speaks up as Starfire and Cyborg stare at Robin. "You heard him-lets get her out of there."
As the others go to work Robin kneels there still struggling to breathe. "Hang on Raven...don't you dare leave us." He focuses on the bond between them which he can feel beginning to slip now. He stubbornly holds onto that connection-refusing to let her go.
Cyborg steps back to let Beast Boy in as he morphs back into the Beast form and holds up the section they're cutting to keep it from breaking away and injuring Raven worse. "Careful now...almost there."
After a few more minutes the rock slab comes loose-but Beast Boy doesn't move it.
Starfire flies up to the slab. "Lower it just a little so I can see if--"
Robin gives them the answer they need as he collapses there crying out in pain that is not his own. "Her...leg..."
Cyborg looks down as a low battery indicator starts to flash. "We didn't go over far enough."
Beast Boy grumbles unable to speak in Beast form.
Starfire gets what he wants and takes the weight of the slab.
He collapses a few moments after shifting back to normal. Just give me a moment, I have an idea.
Cyborg looks down at Beast Boy. "What are you going to do?"
Before anyone can stop him Beast Boy morphs into a bug and flies up to the slab and disappearing through a crack. He shifts to a centipede and crawls over Raven until he finds her trapped knee. He positions himself there and stops to think. When he was learning to use his powers he was told to think bigger--bigger won't work here he needs smaller. Smaller but stronger. Stronger-dinosaurs-he needs a mini version of a strong dinosaur. He contentrates shifting into an armoured ankylosaur-dislodging the rock just enough. He vocalizes as loud as he can to get Star to move her now.
Cyborg looks up. "Beast Boy...you brave fool! Move her now Star."
Once Raven is free Beast Boy quickly shifts into a spider and just dangles from the hole in the roof as Star lowers Raven down.
Robin looks up when Raven is lowered beside him.
Beast Boy drops down-shifting back to normal form as a rumbling starts over head. "We gotta get out of here!"
Robin picks up Raven as Starfire helps out the weakened Beast Boy.
Cyborg turns to Robin. "Can you carry her?"
"I'm fine--go!"
Robin follows close behind Cyborg. They make their way out as the small cavern they created fills with rocks from above. They hear Starfire gasp as she gets Beast Boy out. Cyborg freezes and pushes Robin back down into the tunnel as another explosion rocks the ground. Robin collapses there with Raven in his arms as loose soil falls down on them.
Outside a lone figure smugly watches the carnage.