Raven was staring at a rock. It was familiar. Of course, the rocks of the terrain here all looked similar, but this rock was very familiar.
"We've been here," she mumbled.
"What?" Wren asked, popping up beside her sister.
"We've been here," Raven repeated, groaning. "We're going in circles!"
The little girl began to pout. "Why are we going in circles? Oh! We'll never get to the castle!" She threw herself dramatically on the ground. Raven looked down at her, perplexed. Could this little emotional bag really be related to her? Of course, Arella always had been emotional. But still…
"Come on, Wren," she said, helping her up. "We'll stay here for tonight, and I'll figure out something for tomorrow."
They reached the little burrow created by the large rock and nestled into place. Wren automatically laid her head in Raven's lap.
"Tell me a story about the Teen Titans again."
Raven smiled. For the past two weeks she had been entertaining her little sister with tales of her adventures with her friends. She had even begun to describe them in a lot of detail. She had started with Robin, since he was the easiest. He knew her better than anyone, and likewise, she could read him as easily as a book. Then she talked about Starfire, and then Cyborg. The only friend she had not gone into detail about yet had been Beast Boy.
She was actually avoiding that subject. Ever since her dream, about three weeks ago, that she and Beast Boy were together, she had shunned him from her thoughts. In the dream, she had been happy. Extremely happy. And when she looked at him, she felt this overwhelming sensation. It was more emotion than her powers could bear. It was silly, she thought, but she wanted to keep it under control, just in case it could get out of hand.
Unfortunately, Wren had noticed the absence of the character.
"Tell me about Beast Boy," she said, as if reading her sister's thoughts.
Raven grimaced and looked away.
"You haven't talked about him yet," Wren continued, "but when you mention him in your stories, your eyes light up!"
The older girl turned her gaze back down at her little sister and she sighed.
"Beast Boy is a changeling, as I've told you before. He can shift into any animal he wants. He is green all over. His eyes are green, too. He is…funny…sometimes. He is very brave, and very loyal." She smiled. "He's always trying to make me laugh, especially when he knows I don't even want to talk to him. It's his way of showing he cares, I guess."
Wren was wide-eyed staring up at her. "He cares about you?"
Raven could feel the heat rising in her cheeks and on the bridge of her nose. "Well, uhrr, yes, we're friends. Friends care for each other."
"So, you care for him?"
She looked down at Wren, trying to manage her thoughts. Wren did not know, after all, what she was asking. But still, did she have to ask the one question that would break down all the walls she had worked so hard to build up? It was shocking that such a small girl could have such a talent.
It was even more shocking when Raven realized the full extent of her answer. "Yes. Yes, I guess I do."
"A lot?" Wren continued.
"That's enough," she said, tapping the girl lightly on the forehead.
The little girl burst into a wide grin. "You do! You care about him a lot!"
"Of course," Raven answered quickly. "He is my friend."
"You love him!" Wren threw her arms up in the air, and then studied them in serious thought. "I don't think I could ever love someone who was green all over. That would be weird…"
"I said enough," Raven said, her voice cutting through the girl's daydream. "Rest now. I need to think of something we can do to get to the castle."
The younger girl rolled her eyes as she closed them and snuggled into her sister, who shook her head and turned her thoughts to a plan. She could use her soul-self to fly them there, but as soon as she came within a couple hundred miles of the castle, Trigon would know. They would be closer, but still far enough away that they could get back into traveling in circles. It would be easier to just teleport there. But, using that much energy, would Trigon, or any of his minions, be there waiting for them? Could they make a hasty escape?
It just didn't make sense. How could they be traveling in circles? Raven could feel the dark presence of her father, and they always traveled towards it. He would be in the castle. Was this some kind of dark magic?
Raven sighed, holding her head in her hands. 'Ok,' she finally thought, taking a cleansing breath. 'Tomorrow, we'll try a new tactic. We'll leave some kind of mark at each shelter we stay at and see if we really are going in circles.'
She fell asleep for a couple hours and then was awoken by a sound. Wren was scuttling out of the shelter.
"Wren?" she whispered, sleep still fogging her thoughts. The little girl managed to make it out and ran out into the open. "Wren!" Raven sat up, and crept to the edge of the shelter. "What are you doing? Get back here."
Wren was staring up at the sky where a wispy cloud was covering the moon. "Oh no! The moon is covered." She pouted, then smiled. "But, it will be out soon!"
"Wren, I said get back here. Now."
"Wait, here it comes!" The moon began to appear from behind the cloud.
"Wren, get back here!"
The moon came into full view and Wren's face lit up in excitement. Then, it started to change. At first, she looked scared, then, as if she were in pain. She cried out, hunching over and clutching her sides.
"Wren!" Raven cried, jumping out from under the rock and running toward her.
Wren screamed again, and then began to change form. The older girl came to a shaky halt, watching as Wren grew in size and shape. Her shoulders and forearms exploded into huge, monstrous things, hands became paws with long sharp claws. Her legs stretched into canine hind legs, and her clothes slowly turned to fur, spreading all over her body. Her head transformed into a cross between a bat and a dog face, with a short snout, fangs that hung out of her mouth, and long, drooping ears. The once pure, innocent aura that had surrounded little Wren was now an aura of pure evil. It was intense, smuggling everything else around them. She let out a new cry, a ferocious howl that ripped through the night sky. The enormous thing turned and cast her black, beady eyes on Raven.
She breathed in and out, shallowly. "…Wren?" she asked uneasily.
The thing growled deep, and began to charge.
Raven ran and dove back under the rock shelter. The monster form of Wren used her massive fists to smack the rock, trying to get at the girl hiding underneath. Her pitiful shelter was starting to crumble. Raven used her powers to shield it, but with each horrific strike, she weakened. And without Wren's pure presence, she could almost feel the evil inside her slowly spreading, wrapping around her entire body. She could not hold up much longer, she knew. She needed help! Another intense strike, harder than the rest, broke her shield and Raven fell to the ground. She felt consciousness slipping away. Her friend's faces slipped through her mind one by one. Beast Boy's was the last she saw, and stayed longer than the others.
"Help me," she whispered, before falling completely unconscious.
(At the T Tower)
Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Robin sat around their black couch, starring at the tv, though no one was really watching. It was the middle of the night, but Beast Boy was unable to sleep. Cyborg, not wanting to let him sit alone, joined him on the couch and flipped on some monster truck rally they were televising. Robin had walked in an hour later, unable to sleep as well. Starfire walked into the room with a pout on her face.
"Friends," she said hesitantly. "Please, it is night time. We should be in bed."
"In bed," Beast Boy mumbled. "In here. What does it matter where we are if we can't sleep?"
"We may need our strength for tomorrow," she continued. "Please, my friends."
Robin and Cyborg looked at Beast Boy, wondering if he would cave or fight. He had been acting very unpredictable since Raven had disappeared. But, the young changeling did not say anything. He just stared off into nothing.
Tears were filling Starfire's eyes, tears she had kept to herself for too long, trying to keep her friends together. She slowly approached the couch and sat beside Beast Boy. "I miss her very much," she choked. "She is my best friend. But, she would not want us to sit by like this while our city is being destroyed by villains. It has been hard to defeat them without Raven, and they have been banding together, knowing we are weakened without her. But this I know for certain of our friend: she would want us to continue to protect our city, even…without…" She was unable to finish, breaking down into sobs.
Robin wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Come on, Star," he said, guiding her toward the door.
"Star's right, you know," Cyborg suggested gently.
"Dude, I know, but…" Beast Boy trailed off, huffed, and stood to follow Robin and Starfire out of the room.
Suddenly, a large black form, shaped like a bird, swept into the room. All four titans recognized it instantly as Raven's soul-self. At first, they felt hope. But, the form swooped in, wrapping around Beast Boy's ankle, and pulling him back toward the wall.
Beast Boy cried out, flailing his arms in alarm.
"Beast Boy!" Robin shouted as he and Cyborg made a dash for him.
But, he vanished inside of Raven's soul-self, and the form disappeared into the wall. Robin reached the wall just as the tip of it evaporated away. His fist met the wall, and he let out a frustrated grunt.
They stood for a few moments in shocked silence, unable to grasp what had just happened.
A report flashed on the tv of a robbery. A joint effort of Mumbo Jumbo and Mad Mod. They had a big problem.
And two missing Titans.