Chapter 10 – As My Hopes have Flown Before
Raven couldn't take this uncertainty. It was true that her mind seemed to be at some ease as of late, but this sudden change made no sense. Then again, she had never found out what the problem was in the first place. Regardless, she wanted more answers, even if it meant disrupting her seemingly calm mind.
She used teleportation to return to her room at Titans Tower. Her cape swayed as she walked across the dilapidated bedroom to the Mirror of Azar, which remained where she last placed it atop the desk.
Her eyes appeared tired and sorrowful in her reflection. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
She was returning to her mind. After her physical body was consumed by the magic mirror, it fell to the floor and a dark cloud filled the surrounding air. Upon landing, a small crack had appeared on it.
o-o-o
The red and black spiraled tunnel would seem wide at one point but soon contract to a width Raven could hardly fit through.
The black sky was full of scattered red stars. The red suns were nearly full but partially covered by their moons. The flat topped floating rock Raven found herself on had one bare tree.
Perched upon a branch was a small bodied, yet large headed, black bird with endearingly huge red eyes. The cute creature did not appear wicked, but its presence seemed both out of place and unarguably very much welcomed in such an environment. The contrast in reason seemed appropriate when compared to the rest of Raven's mind.
Questioning the bird's attendance, Raven asked, "What are you doing here?"
From close behind her, her own voiced repeated the question. "What are you doing here?" Turning around, Raven found her yellow clad self. The emotion continued, "With all that's been happening, you've been able to keep things under control."
"But—"
"—that's the problem," the two finished in unison.
This Raven in yellow had the same thought process as Raven in her entirety. Therefore, this Raven agreed, "The stillness makes me uneasy. It definitely feels as if something is terribly wrong."
"Have you noticed anything strange?" Raven asked, essentially, herself.
"No; nothing. That's what makes it feel as bad as it does. There's no proof that something's happened."
"But I know something has…"
"It really is quite eerie."
The charming bird had been listening to the conversation, shooting its head left and right to watch the speaker.
Although the bird was harmless, it seemed to bother the Raven wearing the yellow cape. By raising an arm a bridge of other floating rocks formed for Raven and her emotion to walk across to finish their conversation.
So Raven and a fraction of herself walked along, side by side.
The Raven noted, "But we have more than one mystery on our hands, don't we?"
"We do," Raven agreed, "What could Slade have done to Beast Boy to make him act like that?"
"He's never been strong-minded."
"But he'd never hurt his friends."
"And he hasn't; he ran from us."
"That's right…"
"You're thinking it was manipulation?" the emotion wondered, as they continued to walk down the bridge of rock.
"What else could it be?"
The girl in yellow let out a sigh, "I…I don't know…"
They walked along in silence as they came to an arch. They both couldn't help but notice the same bird was perched atop it, staring at them with its conspicuous big eyes. Its stalking quality took away from its cuteness.
The two quickened their step as they walked below the arch to escape from the bird's gaze.
They soon reached the point where the Forbidden Door was in sight, when all of the sudden a maze of walls shot out from the ground, surrounding them. But the Ravens were not the least surprised. They knew their way around the labyrinth quite well.
Right, left, left, right, right, first left, right, second left, first right, right, left, left, left, left, right, right, right, left, right, left. It was engraved in their minds. As they walked through, they easily continued their conversation; there was no need for concentration.
"What was it that you didn't want me to know?"
The Raven was silent.
"Well?" the teen emphasized.
"I don't want to tell you; I wish it was possible for this knowledge to be completely lost."
"How bad can it be?"
"I feel it would detriment our judgment."
"And it…has something to do with Beast Boy?"
When the yellow clad girl stopped walking, Raven did, too. The emotion lowered her head and took a deep breath. "This is as far as I should go. If I were to get any closer to the Forbidden Door I would invoke the wrath of the guardian statues. Go; complete the maze. I bid you farewell." Having said that, the Raven vanished.
Raven made the last few turns then raised an arm to open up the false dead end. Waiting outside the maze were two tall statues; both had four eyes, each. The difference between the two was that one was happy while the other was upset.
This visit to her mind had resulted with no answers, only elaborations on the questions. Though her last visit had seemed fruitless, it had somehow brought some ease. Now Raven only felt disturbed.
She was about to go through the exit when she noticed the same handsome, yet annoying, bird that had been stalking her. In a sour tone, Raven asked, "What?"
Then the bird said, "Nevermore…"