Acquainted with the Night 4

*~`4~*

Raven awakens later in her room at the tower. She finds the cell phone in one hand and her titan communicator in the other. She quickly shoves the phone under the pillow to hide it. She manages to get up and staggers into the bathroom. As she washes her face there is a soft knock at the door. She realizes then that she is still naked except for the chastity belt. Her new clothes lay on the floor by the bed. She finds the nightshirt from the night before and slips it on followed by her bathrobe. Raven manages to stagger toward the door but she falls as she bumps into the pedestal that holds the theatrical faces statue. The whole thing tumbles down on her before she can move causing her to cry out in pain.

Robin who was just starting to walk away stops upon hearing the commotion inside the room. "Raven? Are you okay?"

Raven remains silent she has no idea how to explain her current state and her mind isn't clear enough to come up with anything right now.

Robin finds the door unlocked so he enters the room to check on Raven when she doesn't answer. He rushes over to her when he spots her in the darkened room trying to push toppled statue off her. He wrestles the heavy statue and pedestal off of her and lifts her up so she is resting in his arms. "What happened?"

Raven faints as she looks up at him for lack of explanation from her clouded mind.

Robin feels her forehead. She is clammy and cold. He can't understand why she didn't contact them. He he known she was this bad off he never would have left her. He picks her up and carries her down to the infirmary. Robin lays her down on the bed and gets a blanket. Once he covers her up Robin turns on the medical equipment to assess her condition as Cyborg enters the infirmary.

"Robin...I've been all over for-" Cyborg inspects the bruises on Raven's face. "-What happened to her?"

"I heard something fall as I was about to leave when I went to check on her. That statue she has in her room was laying on her when I found her inside. I guess she must have bumped into into it when she tried to get up and it fell on her."

"I guess bruising must be showing up so quickly because she is so pale. Why didn't she tell you she was sick earlier?"

"She said she didn't feel well earlier but I don't think she was this sick at the time."

As Raven starts to come too she tugs gently at the unfamiliar feeling of the ribbon around her neck.

Cyborg whistles when he catches sight of the heart choker. "Is that what I think it is?"

Robin looks over as Cyborg scans the necklace. "What?"

"Red diamond. Look at the color and clarity not to mention size. That must have cost a small fortune."

Raven opens her eyes to find Robin and Cyborg standing over her.

Robin brushes some stray hair back out of Raven's face. "Why didn't you contact us when you felt worse, Raven?"

Raven, tries to sit up, but she is too weak. "I didn't feel so bad until I woke up...when I heard you knock."

"I'm going to have to check for other injuries from that statue falling on you. Because you're sick, I don't think you should try to use your powers if you're hurt right now."

Raven merely nods her head in understanding as Robin begins checking her for more injuries.

Was falling into the statue really an accident she wonders...or was that the actions of whatever spell Toma put on her? Raven just lays still while her friends fuss over her. She whimpers a bit as Robin touches a sore area above her navel.

Robin stops not because of that, but because he has found something else as well. "Raven...what the?..." Robin is at a loss for words to explain his discovery. He realizes what it is even though he has not seen it.

They've both seen her with her leotard on. They won't see anything they haven't seen before so she pulls up the nightshirt just enough to reveal the chastity belt. An explanation for it easily comes to her after the recent events she now realizes are what lead to Robin's cause for concern. "Didn't you realize the daughter of Trigon is not allowed to reproduce?"

Robin and Cyborg stand in shock over what she just said.

Cyborg is the first to recover his voice. "You beat him...it's over-"

"-but as long as I exist so does his evil seed."

He is sure this has something to do with what has been bothering her. "You're not evil, Raven. And just because Trigon is your father that doesn't mean any kids you have will be like him. You aren't-"

"-Not everyone feels that way Robin."

Robin wants to say something more, but Cyborg cuts him off.

"Lets just make sure she's okay right now. We need to run some tests to find out what is making her sick."

*~`'~*

By the time Robin and Cyborg get the test results Raven has fallen asleep so they let her rest. They don't have an answer to give her. All they know for sure is that she is anemic. The sensitive area above her navel that Robin found before turns out to be an a very bad deep tissue bruise.

Robin looks over the results. "Nothing...I don't get it. Something has to be making her sick. This isn't just mental like she hinted at this morning."

"Maybe she didn't want to say what it is. She never told us about that chastity belt until you happened to find it was there."

"All these years together with her wearing a leotard and we just now notice it?"

"Maybe its recent. Maybe it was done to her by wherever she's from to keep from producing offspring that Trigon might be able to use like he did with her. Maybe that's what's been bothering her. She is a teenager after all and I think we can both agree that is when certain desires start to kick in. This could be her demon half equivalent of PMS or something." Cyborg does start an IV drip on Raven to keep her from becoming dehydrated.

"I wish it were that simple Cyborg. I just have a bad feeling."

"Why don't you get some rest? I'll get my portable charger and watch over her tonight."

No you go on and get some sleep. When she wakes up maybe I can get her to talk to me.

*~`'~*

The next morning Cyborg comes back early so Robin can get some sleep.

Raven awakens not long after Robin leaves to find that Cyborg has tea waiting for her.

"Do you want something to eat?"

"No I don't feel like eating right now."

"We ran some tests last night trying figure out why you're sick. You are anemic, but we didn't find any reason for you to be ill. I do think you know what is wrong though. And its only going to get worse for you as Robin starts pushing for you to tell us what it is. We both know he will sooner or later."

Raven wants to tell Cyborg what is happening but she can't. She runs her finger over the IV needle after she sets down the tea. She doesn't want to lie to him.

"You're like a sister to me, Rae. You can talk to me about anything."

She takes a deep breath deciding to admit to at least what got her into her current mess. "My powers make me ill if I do not keep them in check with mediation." It is at least part of the truth and something she knows Beast Boy can confirm after the Titans last encounter with Kataro. "I have had to do it all my life. I never had a normal childhood because of it. I thought it would be over, that I could be normal when my father was defeated but its not. I am tired of meditating. I don't want to do it anymore. I just want to be normal, to feel, to have fun, but I can't. I never will."

Cyborg pulls Raven into a comforting hug. "Is there any other way for you to control your powers?"

Raven thinks of what Malchior taught her but she can't go back to black magic. Its too dangerous. Raven starts to cry. "No."

"I wish there was something I could do to help." He carefully lifts her up and holds Raven while tears slip from her eyes.

When she forces herself to calm down Raven looks up at Cyborg . "I have been so upset lately that its impossible for me to meditate. I try but I just can't because I'm so upset. And I get ill when I can't meditate."

"That is why you have been avoiding everyone so much lately."

Raven just nods her head. It is as much of the truth as she can give him.

"To watch the rest of us do what you can't must make it so much harder for you."

"Don't please...I couldn't take if you or the others-"

"-Okay I won't go there. But if there is a way that you can control your powers without meditating or having to sacrifice everything we will help you find it. Do you need some time alone to try?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you aren't hungry?"

"Not now. Maybe I will try to eat something later."

"Okay then. I'll go talk to Robin." Cyborg leaves Raven alone to try to concentrate on her mediation.

*~`'~*

There is trouble that evening but Raven can't go with her teammates to stop it after last night. Convincing them to let her return to her room was almost more than she could handle. They finally relented and took her back to her room where she could rest more comfortably. Raven wouldn't have made such a fuss about it if it wasn't for the cell phone that guy gave her last night. Soon after her friends leave the cell phone rings. She lets it ring several times before retrieving it from under her pillow and answering it. "H-hello."

"The latest attack is all over the news. I noticed you weren't with, the rest of your team."

"They think I'm ill. How did I get back to my room last night?"

"I took you home. You were quite out of it."

"How did you get into the tower undetected?"

"All you need to worry about is getting well, quickly" Toma hangs up.

Raven begins to cry again as she places the cell phone back in its hiding place. She doesn't know how much more she can take of what he is doing to her.

*~`'~*

Raven is asleep when the others return Robin comes back to check on her again. She seems to be sleeping peacefully as he stands there watching her. Cyborg had said the choker she has on is a diamond and an very expensive one at that. He can't help but wonder where she got something like that. He looks down at the clothes by the bed. As he picks them up he realizes they are nothing like anyone would expect to see Raven in.

Raven dreams that she is back at Toma's-in his bed. She is very weak but she tries to get away from him She cries out from the pain of her injury as she tries to move.

Robin is about to leave when he hears Raven whimper. He turns back to her watching as she seems to be struggling to move.

Toma settles over Raven, but instead of raping her he lightly runs his fingers over her wound. She cries out from the pain as he quickly leans down and bites into the wound.

Robin goes back to Raven as she begins to cry out in her sleep. "Raven wake up, you're okay. Its just a bad dream." He manages to get Raven, awake after several moments.

Raven awakens gasping for breath in Robin's arms.

Robin notices Raven isn't just upset from the nightmare. She really seems to be in pain. "What's wrong?"

Raven doesn't answer. She pulls frantically at the sheets and her clothes so she can get to the bruise before Robin can stop her. To her shock its healing. She can't understand what happened. "I didn't...I couldn't...I'm too weak to use my powers.

Robin can see that the wound is now almost healed. Painfully from her reaction. Robin picks her up and carries her back to the infirmary. He checks her out with the monitoring equipment. He stands there silently staring at the results for sometime. "The wound is fully healed, Raven."

"But how? I didn't...unless..." Raven thinks back to the dream that seemed so real.

"Unless what?"

Raven can't tell him about the dream but her answer is equally as chilling. "I'm beginning to lose control of my powers. I need to be alone so I can try to meditate."

Robin wants to talk more about what she said but he leaves her so she can meditate.

Raven doesn't know what to make of the dream let alone how to explain it to someone else without revealing what has been going on not that she could do so if she tried.

*~`'~*

Early the next morning after spending the night meditating or as much as she could manage. Raven returns to her room for some much needed rest. Before she can lay down on her bed she is grabbed from behind. She barely manages to stifle a scream as soft kisses ore trailed down her neck. "You were in my dream."

"I came to you in your sleep."

"What did you do? My powers didn't heal me. They couldn't...I was too weak. How did you get in here without setting off the tower's security system?"

The only response Raven receives is Toma's mocking laughter.

"You did it on purpose so they will think I am losing control of my powers."

"I want you tomorrow night. Use whatever excuse you have to get away from your friends. Do it even if they don't think you are well enough yet."

"What if there is trouble while I am with you?"

"I doubt they will think your well enough for that yet. We will deal with that when the time comes, but bring a uniform with you just in case." Toma guides Raven to her bed turns her to face him undresses her and eases her down on the bed. He climbs on top of her straddling her nearly naked form. He gently places kisses down her body lingering at the spot where her injury was. He runs his tongue over her nipples gently sucking on them eliciting a moan of pleasure from Raven.

Raven can't stop herself from reacting to his touch even though she doesn't want to.

He removes the chastity belt from Raven and continues to pleasure her. He snakes his fingers inside her pushing in gently and pulling almost all the way out before pushing back, in. She continues to moan as he works her to the brink of orgasm but he stops. He won't grant her the release she desires. Instead he places the chastity belt back on her.

"Please...d-don't stop."

"I will pick up where I left off tomorrow night. If you're a good girl." He leaves her then just as suddenly as he appeared.

Raven sits up and frantically looks around the room for any trace of him. If she weren't lying there naked on her bed in an aroused state she would wonder if he had even been there at all. She gets up only to retrieve a nightgown then turns down the covers and climbs into bed but sleep is a long time coming.

*~`'~*

Robin drops by to check on Raven around sunrise. He assumed she returned to her room when he didn't find her in the infirmary where he left her. He isn't sure when she came to bed so he doesn't want to wake her. He simply crosses the room and closes her curtains to block out the light so she won't be disturbed by the rising sun.