A little more about this fic: I came up with this idea while I was listening to "The Wall" while writing a chapter to my fic "Far Away". I realized how much Raven and Pink were alike, that my mind instantly was inspired to write about the idea. People seem to like this so far, so that's encouraging! Thanks to all those who reviewed the first couple chapters! This chapter was a little hard to write though, mainly cause the lyrics in this instance didn't really fit Raven's storyline. But I think I pulled a nice heart-wrenching scene out of it. ;)

Warning: Sadness ahead! (much of this fic will be sad, unfortunately. It is angst, after all)

Disclaimer: I own nothing. I do not own Teen Titans or anything related to DC comics. All lyrics, songs, titles, and themes pertaining to "The Wall" are property of Roger Waters and Pink Floyd.

Chapter 3: Another Brick in the Wall

Little six-year-old Raven sat in her bedroom chamber, alone as usual. Nobody came to visit her, except her teachers and occasionally her mother. She had no friends. All the other children, and even most of the adults, were afraid of her. Whenever she walked by, everyone would go quiet. She would hear them whisper things like "evil" and "demon child" and pretend not to notice. She hated their scorn, but she hated their pity even more. And once she was done with her daily lessons, she would run back to her room, fast as she could, and pretend the cruel outside world didn't exist. Many times, she'd pass the time by getting lost in one of her books. They were one of her few solaces in this world. She had no real friends, so her books became her friends instead.

Was she evil? Maybe she was. Everyone said she was. She wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Every time she saw the normal children, her heart cringed. Every time she saw them laughing, shouting, playing, or doing pretty much anything that she was forbidden to do, envy and sadness would well up within her. And every time she saw a child being hugged, kissed, or loved by his or her parents, Raven would almost break down in tears. Raven's mother was forbidden to see her very often, and even those meetings with her mother weren't nearly as intimate. Intimacy was forbidden. In Raven's case, pretty much anything outside of studying, meditating, learning, or almost anything "normal" was forbidden, even her own feelings. She couldn't afford to feel emotions, so she spent her life feeling nothing, and sheltering herself from the world so she wouldn't have to feel anything. And it wasn't without a good reason. Her powers were dangerous, and even a slight amount of emotion on her part could hurt someone. Who would have thought that laughter could kill someone? Well, in her case it was true.

Oh God, if she could just one day be like them. If just for one day she could live like them; to talk, to laugh, to play, and to forget all about her tortured existence, she would be the happiest child on Azarath. Almost every night she would go to sleep, praying that her life would change, that some miracle would happen and that she would wake up a different person. But it was never to be. She wasn't normal. She wasn't even sure she was a child. Thanks to her nature, she had to grow up really fast. Childhood was pretty much a luxury she couldn't afford.

Daddy's flown across the ocean

Leaving just a memory

Snapshot in the family album

As if that wasn't enough, there was always the daunting presence of her father. After learning of her heritage, which was pretty much off the bat, she learned all about her father and the fact that he could use her powers for pretty much anything he wished, and that she was one day prophesied to destroy the world by helping him. If her powers ever got out of control, Trigon could use her to come through, and everything would be lost. He was always out there, waiting from across the universe. Watching, waiting, breathing down her neck. Sometimes he talked to her, whether during or mediation or in her sleep. He would constantly remind her of her evil nature, and how she would never be accepted. He enjoyed watching her anguish, that much she knew. And he sure did get a lot of it. To all this, she would merely say "I know, father," and just wait until he went away. However, she could never be sure if that really was her father talking, or just her own inner demons.

That's why she spent all of her free time either meditating or studying. Since she had no friends, and her mother only saw her sparingly, all her other time was spent reading. Her books became her friends, the only ones she had. It wasn't much, but it was the one nice thing she was allowed to have in this God-forsaken existence.

Closing the book she was reading, Raven got up and prepared to leave. She had to go and train under her current tutor: master Zaor. Oh, she despised him, and she was certain he hated her, too. But she wasn't allowed to hate, and she really had no choice in the matter who taught her. So for now, she had to just deal with it.

Raven stepped out into the sunlight, something that she didn't see very often. She didn't really care for it anyway, it was bright and where there was sunlight there were people. Once again, she walked as fast as she could toward the building where Zaor's lessons were held. Luckily it wasn't too far, so it wouldn't take long. As she walked, she ignored all the stares and glances she received from everyone around her. She didn't care, she just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. As Raven walked around a corner on the street, she saw something that made her stop. She looked over and saw two people in a grassy field: a father and a little girl, obviously his daughter.

The man was knelt down on one knee, and she was running toward him with a gleeful expression on her face and a flower in one hand. When they met, the father scooped her up in his arms, and the child gave an excited laugh. She then looked at him with big blue eyes and held the flower up to his face.

"I picked a flower for you, daddy," she said in a sweet little voice.

The man beamed and gently took it out of her hand. "It's beautiful, darling."

"I love you, daddy!" she said happily.

"I love you too! Now you'd better go, you're going to be late for your lessons." The father gave his daughter a little kiss on the cheek, gently set her down, and sent her off.

As she skipped off, Raven felt emotions starting to boil again inside her. Another wave of intense envy ran over her, and her grip on her books tightened. No matter how she tried, she couldn't look away. Something shattered in the distance. Her powers were starting to lose control. Raven tried to get herself under control, but she couldn't fight the jealousy. Finally, Raven couldn't take it anymore. She didn't want to be abnormal. She didn't want to have a demon for a father. She didn't want any of this. She wanted a normal life! A normal father! Was she so cursed that her father left her nothing but a tortured existence??

Daddy what else did you leave for me?

Daddy, what'd'ja leave behind for me?!

Dropping her books, Raven sprinted over to the man and without warning, wrapped her arms around his waist. The man was taken completely off guard, and turned around quickly, almost throwing her off.

"What? Who are you?" he asked, managing to keep his surprise under control. When Raven looked up at him with teary eyes, his eyes widened in a mixture of fear and shock.

"It's you! What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here, they're going to-"

"Please!" Raven pleaded. "Please, I don't want to go. I can't stand it anymore. Please, tell me you're my father." She sniffled and buried her face in his robes, not caring about how pitiful she looked. Again, something shattered in the distance, followed by the sound of panicking voices.

The man now looked at her in sheer confusion. "What? I'm not your-"

"I don't care!" she practically shouted while sobbing into his robe. "Please, just say you're my father. Just say it."

The man's fearful expression softened, and finally changed to something that may have been pity. He hesitantly placed his hand on her hooded head. "I…"

"RAVEN!" a voice shouted. Both heads snapped to see an older man with a cloak and gray hair walking toward him. Raven quickly released her grip on him.

"Master Zaor!" she gasped. The cloaked man looked at her sternly.

"Just what in Azarath are you doing? Get away from him! You're already late for your lessons, and now you're causing a mess! What were you thinking??"

"I-I'm sorry, Master Zaor," Raven stuttered. "I was just, I was just-"

"I'm not interested in hearing your excuses!" he scolded. "You know your powers are dangerous, and we've risked far too much already for you to start ruining it with your reckless behavior. Now get your books and get ready for your lesson!" Zaor pointed toward the dropped pile of texts to emphasize his command.

All in all it was just a brick in the wall.

All in all it was all just bricks in the wall.

Raven nodded meekly, now both embarrassed and thoroughly ashamed of her actions. Gathering her books and her dignity, she continued on as Zaor followed close behind, while ignoring again the stares from others. She concentrated hard on blocking them out, shielding herself from the cruel world, hiding behind her slowly-growing wall.

Nope, being normal was not for her.


Aaw, poor Raven. More stuff ahead! And by the way, for those of you who were hoping for a new chapter of "Far Away", that will be out soon. Hopefully tomorrow, if I can help it!