To forgive all sins.
By Guardian of Azarath and MysticGoth.
Summery: Teen Titans/Trinity Blood Crossover. Post-Tokyo. Seventeen years after the TB series, Abel, Ion, and Asta continue their search for Cain, but Cain has other plans for them. Plans involving the relationship between Abel and Esther and their children. But how does the Titans fit in this puzzle? Avert Not Thine Eyes as we take you into a story that will amaze and stupefy you into the world of chaos. Pairings: Rob/Star, eventually Rae/Rob, Abel/Esther, Star/Ion, and Cyborg/OC.
Disclaimer: I own nothing, Teen Titans © DC Comics and Cartoon Network. Trinity Blood, and it's characters © Sunao Yoshida. (1970-2004) Gonzo Studios and Funmations Studios.
AUTHOR'S WARNINGS: Trinity Blood is set in a post-apocalyptic world where the Roman Catholic Church/the Vatican is portrayed as a military power as well as a spiritual one. The series also strongly implies major and controversial changes in the Church, such as women being bishops and cardinals as well as romantic relationships and quite possibly marriage between members of the clergy.
AN: Sorry for the long update, too me a while to get round to proofing this thing.
AN2: A slight warning! Several characters die in this installment! All in mostly gruesome ways.
AN3: A big Thank you to both Burning Truth, for reviewing the last chapter, and my angel, MysticGoth whom without, this story (and others I have going) probably never would have made it off the ground.
Chapter 10: Aftermath
oOoOoOoOoOoOo
Still in the corner of her room, Raven wrapped her arms around her knees. Tears fell down her face as she still felt the pain of the rape coursing through her. She just wanted to die right there and then; she didn't want to live with the pain of this anymore. She knew she couldn't, she stood up shakily and went toward her door. But before she opened it, she heard Robin's voice coming from outside. Raven felt sadness and pain running through her once more at the thought of Robin. He didn't save her. He didn't.
He had been too late.
~*~*~*~*~
Beast Boy nodded at what Robin said. "She hasn't come out of her room since…it happened. I'm worried about her." Placing a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, Robin said, "She'll be okay. At least I hope so." Seeing the expression on Robin's face, Beast Boy knew that Robin did in fact have feelings for Raven.
But he knew not to be that stupid and mention it. He didn't want to be Demon and Crusnik meat. Especially seeing what Robin was capable of. Instead he cleared his throat and said. "But we still need to check on her." Taking his hand off Beast Boy's shoulder, he went over to the door. He then knocked on the door, speaking gently to her through the door.
"Raven? Can I talk to you?"
But what he got in response was silence. He sighed as he then heard the annoying voice in the back of his head again.
"What did you expect? You let her get raped by our hated enemy! Jeez and I thought you were smart."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Cyborg had Starfire and Rachel, who were still unconscious, on two separate beds and was setting up a third one for Raven.
He then said to Ion. "Stay here. I'm going to find Raven, she needs treatment." Ion nodded as he sat next to Starfire's bed, holding her hand. Cyborg watched this with curious intent, but he knew not to pry. So, he walked out of the room, leaving Ion and Starfire alone.
After Cyborg left, Ion turned back toward Starfire.
He asked her. "How are you feeling?" Starfire shrugged as she looked down at their conjoined hands. "I do not know. How should I be feeling? My best friend was violated, Ion." Ion nodded. "I know. I'd never wish that on anybody, especially Raven. She's been nothing but kind to me, Abel, and Asta. She didn't deserve that." Starfire sighed as she squeezed Ion's hand.
"Raven and I are best friends. We have been ever since we switched bodies…" she noticed Ion's confusion look, "do not ask. In that time, we learned more about each other and I learned more about Raven. What she does, her sarcasm and her wit, it's all a façade. Raven does feel like everyone else and she is a very kind person."
Ion nodded again before he stood up and hugged Starfire close to him. He knew that she needed his comfort.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
When Cyborg arrived at Raven's room, he said to his leader, "Yo man, we need to get Raven out of the room so we can heal her.
Beast Boy shook his head at what Cyborg said. "Do you really think that's a good idea dude? I mean, she's just been well...hurt...by a man...what should we do Robin?" He wanted to help Raven, but he was clueless on how they could help her.
Robin sighed as he looked at the silent door.
"I don't know, but for right now, I don't think it would be a good idea for any man, friend or not, to go near her. I think our best bet would be Star when she's up to it, or we call in Bumblebee...or we could let Asta take a look."
Cyborg then added. "Rachel could check her out; she told me a while back she was studying to be a nurse at college. She may be not be qualified yet, but she knows what to do." Robin thought for a moment, still looking at the door.
"Yeah, maybe, but in the end, it's Raven's choice."
Beast Boy followed Robin's gaze and said exasperatingly. "Yeah, but did you forget? Raven's locked herself in her room, we can't get her out. And she's changed the override codes."
Robin was about to answer when he heard another voice behind them. "Maybe I can help her." Turning around, Robin narrowed his eyes on Abel. "We don't need your help." Abel raised an eyebrow before saying. "Watch it, Robin. Anyway, I could try and get her out." Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at each other and shrugged. Cyborg told Abel, nodding in encouragement.
"Go right ahead."
Robin looked like he was about to protest, but Cyborg said to him. "Let Abel try. He's more reliable than you at the moment."
Robin narrowed his eyes at Cyborg. "What's that supposed to mean?" Cyborg crossed his arms as he glared at Robin. "I mean if you didn't waste your time, we might have saved her."
That made Robin's anger boil over the edge as he shouted at his friend.
"Don't you think I wanted to prevent that?! Don't you think for one second that I didn't want to save her! Because I did and that should be good enough for you!"
And with that, Robin walked away. He needed to be alone. He felt his Crusnik side going through a whole lot of different emotions at that moment. He felt sadness, guilt, betrayal, and anger all rolled into one. He needed to get some fresh air, maybe then he'll be calm enough to talk to Raven.
-~-~-~-
Abel knew that Robin didn't know he saw, but he could tell he saw tears behind that mask. He really did blame himself for this. He then looked at Cyborg. "That was really uncalled for." Cyborg nodded glumly. "I know, but he needed to hear it." Getting back to the task at hand, Abel went to Raven's door.
"Raven? It's Abel. Can I come in?"
He then heard a muffled response, but with his hearing, he heard the words clear as a bell.
"You can, but the others can't."
Hearing that, Abel turned to Cyborg and Beast Boy. "You two need to leave. She only wants to see me."
Beast Boy's jaw went slack as he stared at the door to the priest.
"Why?"
"Because I'm the only one she trusts right now."
Cyborg sighed as he said to Beast Boy. "Let's leave him. Abel can take care of this."
Abel turned back to the door, placing his hand on it.
"Go check on the others."
Cyborg smiled and nodded before he dragged Beast Boy down the hall.
Looking back at the door, Abel heard Raven open it from the inside. He felt her emotions flood at him. He smelled tears, blood, and sex all coming from her. He felt his heart constrict at that. She really didn't deserve what happened to her.
Raven looked at Abel and said. "Thank you. I don't want to face them right now." Abel nodded. "I understand. You've been through a terrible ordeal."
Blinking back her tears, Raven walked back into her room. Abel, seeing it as a sign to follow her, went inside as the door closed behind him. He saw Raven sitting on her bed, with only but her cloak to cover herself with.
Abel stood back from her, knowing that getting too close would be the worse thing to do at this moment. Instead, he saw a black robe by her bathroom door. He picked it up and handed it to her.
"Here, I think this is a whole lot better than your cloak." Raven smiled slightly. "Not much better." Abel turned around to let Raven have her privacy as she put the robe on. She felt her heart hammering nervously as she noticed Abel turning away.
She put her robe on quickly before sitting back down on her bed. "You can look now." Abel turned back around and smiled at her. "Do you want to talk about it?" Raven shook her head. "It's too horrible to even talk about it." Abel sighed. "You know we need to make sure you're okay, Raven."
"I know, but I don't want any man touching me."
Abel nodded. "I know that's why I think Rachel would be the best choice to check on you. Cyborg did say that she's studying to be a nurse."
"Yeah, but I wonder if she ever had to deal with a woman who was raped?"
She looked up at Abel then with pleading in her eyes.
"Why didn't he save me, Father? Why?" Abel kneeled down in front of her. "Raven, he tried. He really did. He…" Sighing, Abel shook his head, "I don't know what he wants at this moment." Raven stood up, leaving Abel where he was to go over to her window. "I can feel him right now. He feels guilty," she reached her hand up and touched the glass, "and he's in pain. He's in pain because of me. He didn't want me hurt. But I still feel like I can't forgive him. Slade may have raped me, but Robin should've saved me."
Abel stood up. "Raven…" Turning back around with a glare in her eyes, she said. "You know he should've. He said he'd always be there for me, but now…he's not. He left me to bleed on that floor while he let his Crusnik side take over him. He's not the Robin I know anymore. He's a monster." She turned around before she muttered, clenching her fists. "Just like him." Abel looked confused. "Who?" Raven closed her eyes as she felt rage and sadness take over her.
"Slade. Robin is just like him."
Abel went and put his hand on her shoulder, but he then heard Raven growl out, "Don't touch me." Normally, Abel would be terrified, but now all he wanted to do was help Raven.
"Raven…"
He then heard her growl out looking at him over her shoulder with red eyes.
"Leave me be."
Nodding, Abel took his hand off her shoulder and walked out of her room.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Robin decided to take his bike and ride downtown to think. He needed to clear his mind, but all he could think about was Raven. He knew he did something horrible and he knew he had been too late to save her. Tears formed in his eyes at that thought. He never meant for her to get hurt. He closed his eyes as he braked in front of the bank. He hung his head low as one tear slowly came down his face.
But then heard an alarm, then the front of the bank blew out to reveal the Hive five, accompanied by Atlas.
A sudden pain in his mind caused him to stop, emotions started to pour over him, he dropped to his knees and groaned in pain, his Crusnik side began to force its way to the surface and took control, within a few seconds, it had forced its way out, to 75 percent.
-~-~-~-~-
"Move it you snot-mungers! We gotta hurry before those crud-sniffers show up!" Gizmo yelled as Billy Numerous and Mammoth hauled out the loot, Private Hive, See-more, Kid Wykkydd, and Atlas were standing guard.
"Yeah." Mammoth put in and then he paused. "Hey, you guys hear that?"
"What?" See-more asked. Then the others heard it, a low, guttural growling. There was a flash of lightning, and on the building across the street they saw...something, with wings and two glowing red eyes.
"What the hell is that...?" Private Hive asked. The creature seemed to smile, snarl, then dive into the air, heading straight for them. Private Hive wasn't sure what happened, one moment, the creature was jumping off the side of a building towards them, the next, there was a flash of lightning, and it was gone.
"Ok, where the hell did that thing-UUUAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!" His sentence was cut short as a ruby blade suddenly erupted from his chest, through his armor.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Gizmo screamed as the limp body of his comrade fell to the floor with a wet 'thud'.
It took a few seconds for the rest of them to realize exactly what just happened.
It was then that they saw it. A figure, dressed in black, with what looked like wings, and glowing red eyes that fixed on each of them. A long ruby sword clutched in its right hand, a light blue-white bolt of lightning seemed to run down the length of the blade's center, like it had been frozen there when the crystal blade was forged.
As the group watched, arcs of electricity started to shoot from its wings in random directions.
"MAMMOTH! ATLAS! TAKE IT DOWN!" Gizmo yelled.
Mammoth was the first to charge, he drew back his fist then lunged it forwards. The creature easily grabbed the incoming fist, and started to crush it in its hand.
"HEY! GET THIS FREAK OFFA ME!" Mammoth yelled. Atlas chose that moment to charge, but the creature swung Mammoth into the air by his fist, and threw him at the charging robot.
Mammoth's impact merely slowed the robot's progress as he then pushed Mammoth aside, who was cradling his broken hand, and continued to charge.
"NO ONE DEFEATS ATLAS! ESPECIALLY NOT SOME INFERIOR HALF-BREED!" He swung his fists and managed to land a right hook on the creature's face, knocking it back into a building, the sword clattering to the floor.
"Atlas stands victorious!"
He then struck a victory pose to prove his point and was suddenly struck full in the chest by several bolts of lightning that shot straight from the hole in the wall. Atlas didn't have time to scream as the creature, seemingly skewing lightning, dived out the hole and impaled Atlas with a glowing, electrified fist. Atlas stood paralyzed for a few seconds; electricity causing through him and then with a massive burst of energy, his body was ripped apart in an explosion of flame and energy.
"You sure about that? I'd like to get a second opinion." The creature asked rhetorically.
"Crud..." Gizmo muttered as Atlas was turned to scrap metal. Mammoth stumbled over, still cradling his hand.
"Gizmo, we're getting creamed, we gotta bail."
"Yeah, I know. Hey Kid Wykkydd! Get us outta here!"
Kid Wykkydd nodded and dived next to Gizmo and Mammoth, enshrouded them in his cloak, and they vanished.
"Hey! What about us?!" Numerous yelled, as he spilt into several copies of himself.
"And us!" the five clones chimed in.
"You die." said a low, menacing voice, as a clawed hand came out of nowhere, and wrapped around the face of one of the Billy's, and pulled. There was a wet ripping sound as his face was ripped off. He screamed and staggered back, covering his face or what was left of it. Another clawed hand then wrapped round his skull, and squeezed.
With another sickening crunch, the scream stopped and that clone dropped to the floor.
"Uh oh..." The other Billies chirped.
The creature then picked up its sword, and proceeded to throw it like a boomerang.
The four Billy clones were all cut down quickly, leaving only the original cowering as the creature stood over him.
"P-p-p-please...!" Billy begged.
"Okay since you asked so nicely." The creature replied, bringing the sword down on Billy's back, sticking him to the floor.
See-more watched all of this, terrified. What the hell was this thing? After it had killed Numerous, it turned to him, his one big eye fixed on the two glowing red ones.
"You're a demon! Stay back!" He yelled, backing away. He cursed Wykkydd, Gizmo and Mammoth for abandoning them to this thing.
"I am Crusnik, a Vampire that feeds on the blood of other Vampires." That voice, even though it was low and gravelly, it sounded familiar. See-more looked again at the creature and its suit. He recognized it now, it was all black, but it was easy to identify now; the blood red R symbol was hard to miss.
"Robin...?!" He squeaked.
"Now you see me…" He growled.
The creature smiled as it then reached out and grabbed See-more's head by his eye and pulled.
"Now you don't." Robin said, chuckling, reveling in his new-found power, his Crusnik side loving the chaos he was causing.
For anyone standing down the street, all they would have heard next would have been a high-pitched scream, followed by a sudden burst of lightning as the creature that had just killed half the members of the Hive Five, plus one ally, took off into the night sky, the lightning bolts it generated mixing with those of the storm.
-~-~-~-
Feeling something stir inside her body, Raven felt rage coursing through her veins that wasn't her own. She clutched at her chest as she felt Robin coursing through her. Her closed eyes opened and widened big as she felt the rage build up further inside Robin's demonic form. No... this couldn't be happening. So much pain... so much death. Didn't he realize that he was killing her from the inside out? Raven felt the deaths come one by one and it only tore at her heart. Robin was killing her. The pain seemed worse than ever and she was choking on her own tears. She cried and cried and couldn't stop herself. He had lost it. He had lost the ability to see that she needed him to be here for her. Not kill villains who hadn't hurt her.
It was all right to arrest... not kill. Robin's thirst for blood blinded him and now she had lost everything. Not only her virginity and purity but now also the one she loved. He didn't know what true love could be anymore because his eyes were blinded by hatred toward those who did wrong. She had once destroyed the earth. Would he kill her just because she had done that? Would his blood thirst only stop when the one he loved deep inside was dead? She wasn't sure, but she hoped he'd stop sooner than that.
She fell to her knees as the pain and sorrow hit her hard, she choked on her tears every time she had to breathe in air. She had lost everything...
-~-~-~-
Abel, who had decided to give talking to Raven a second chance, paused outside her door, contemplating his next move. But as he knocked on her door, he felt something and heard something.
"Raven?" He called out.
Abel waited, but got no response, fearing something was wrong, he managed to pry his fingers into the door jam and work the door open a little. As he forced the door open and looked in. Seeing Raven lying on the floor, he forced his way in and rushed to her side. Kneeling down, he gathered her up in his arms and held her to him.
"Raven! Raven! Speak to me!"
oOoOoOoOoOo
At the Brotherhood's base in Paris, where the Brotherhood had been defeated once, they now stood assembled again.
With them stood Cain, overseeing the final stages of construction of the Time Machine he'd used in his own time, using the same designs. He had something special in mind once it was operational.
The previous machine he'd built hadn't been as stable, and had apparently shorted out after he last used it. A fact he'd discovered when he'd arrived back in this time about a week ago. Now he ordered the Brain to build him a more stable version.
"The device will be ready soon." Brain commented. Cain nodded.
"What about the operatives you left in Jump City? The Hive Five?"
"Their orders were to lay low and avoid attracting the attention of the Titans."
At that moment, Kid Wykkydd, and a traumatized Gizmo and Mammoth materialized in the middle of the complex.
"THAT'S IT! WE QUIT! IT DOESN'T PAY TO WORK WITH YOU SNOT-FACED CRUD BALLS!" Gizmo screamed.
Madame Rouge raised an eyebrow when she saw the three, all three of them looked like they'd been in a rather nasty scrape.
She marched up to them. "Vhat happened? Your orders vere to lay low."
"WE WERE ATTACKED!" Gizmo screamed. "SOME FREAKIN' BIRD-MONSTER THING! It killed Billy, Private Hive and Atlas, probably See-more too!"
"And you did not stay, to fight?" Brain asked. "Pity. I expected better from my operatives."
"We were getting murdered!" Mammoth shot back. "Literally! Like the runt says, we quit! We might as well go join the Titans, it'll be safer."
Rouge glared at them, "Vhat you say 'is treason! Be careful vhat you say, children." She then looked at them curiously. "A bird-monster creature? Z'hat sounds like one of zhe Crusniks..."
"A what?!" Gizmo asked. "YOU MEAN YOU KNEW THAT THING WAS OUT THERE AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?! OH THAT DOES IT! WE'RE OUTTA HERE!" He yelled, before walking towards the exit. "Com'on you two, I'm sure the Titan's would love to know where these losers are."
"Halt. You may not leave." Brain commanded. Before he could issue another order to stop them, Wykkydd had already enveloped Gizmo and Mammoth, and the three were gone.
oOoOoOoOoOo
Raven heard a familiar voice and felt someone holding her; she barely registered Abel's worried voice as she spoke in a sad tone.
"Father…you've got to help me…help him. He's out of control. His emotions are killing me. The bond we have, it's letting me feel what he feels. But these emotions, these impulses, they're alien, not natural, not human."
Abel looked out toward the window, where he could see lightning in the distance. He asked her, seriously.
"Raven, where did Robin go? What's he doing?"
She heard his question and whispered, "He is lost in thirst for blood. He no longer loves anything... but blood." She lowered her head. "He failed to protect me from Slade; he wants to make the world pay."
Abel looked down at Raven. "What do you mean Raven?" He then stood and laid Raven down on her bed, then moved to the window and looked out. He could see even more that the lightning was covering Jump City; he knew that the city was in danger.
"Robin...oh no..."
-~-~-
Rachel, who had been awake for a while and was now sitting in the Titan's Main Room, laid her head back on the couch. But as she did, she felt hands on her shoulders. She looked up and saw Cyborg looking down at her. "You okay?"
Rachel nodded. "Yeah and there's something I wanted to ask you, why did you save me? I hurt your team; I was Slade's apprentice, a plot in his sick twisted game, why?"
Cyborg smiled. "Well, you tried to save Raven. That's a point in my book."
Rachel frowned. "That's just it, I tried to save her, but it wasn't enough." She then stood up, away from Cyborg, to look out of the window. She whispered to herself as she placed her hand on the cold glass. "I couldn't save her from Slade, just like I couldn't save Terra."
She then felt this cold feeling running down her spine. She saw in the distance that lightning and thunder was rolling in and the rain was falling heavily. Rachel gasped as she recognized the lightning.
"Robin." She then turned to run towards the doors, but Asta stopped her.
"Rachel, where are you going?" Rachel narrowed her eyes at Asta.
"That's my brother out there. I have to save him from himself and other innocent people!"
With that, she pushed Asta out of the way and ran towards the main entrance. Once outside, she whispered quietly.
"Nano-machine, Crusnik 06, Power Output 75 Percent. Activate." Then as her transformation took place, she said in her mind.
"I'm coming for you...brother."
She then spread out her black dragon wings and took to the air, once she'd gained enough height; she headed in the direction of the lightning storm. She had to stop her brother, stop him before he killed himself.
-~-~-~-
Abel turned from the window after shutting the curtain from the sight that tore through his very soul. As he walked past Raven's bed; he paused, and rested a hand on her forehead.
"Don't worry, I'll be back soon."
As he left her room and closed the door, he saw Beast Boy walking towards him, before the changeling said anything Abel spoke up.
"She needs to rest and be left alone for now. We need to get Robin back here."
Beast Boy looked confused yet again, but Abel turned and walked into the common room.
"I believe there is a situation developing somewhere in the city that needs our attention." His comment directed at everyone present, he noted Rachel wasn't present, and he figured he knew where she'd gone.
At the sight of Abel, Asta sighed with relief. "Abel, what should we do?" Abel fixed her with his gaze. "Well, first, we need to find out what he's doing in the city. But someone needs to stay here and watch Raven."
Cyborg pointed at Beast Boy. "Since he's kind of a watchdog, he'll stay and watch Raven."
Asta then said, "Okay, now we got that handled. Abel, isn't it obvious what he's doing? He's taking his revenge and rage against the city and its innocents. We have to stop him...I mean Rachel has already gone after him..."
Ion nodded. "We have to stop him anyway we can." He looked toward Abel. "I know he's your son, Abel, but he has to stop this nonsense before he really does damage or he'll end up killing himself and your daughter."
But before Abel could say anything, a portal appeared in the middle of the main room, and Gizmo and Mammoth fell out of it, followed by Kid Wykkydd.
"Hey! We made it!" Gizmo cheered.
Cyborg saw the three villains come out of the portal. "What the hell are you guys doing here?!"
"Hey, take it easy rust brain! We're not here to fight, we're here to help!" Gizmo shot back.
"Help? How?" Abel asked.
"We know where the Brotherhood of Clutch-heads is holding up." Gizmo replied.
"Wait...wait a minute! You know where the Brotherhood of Evil is hiding!? Where?!" Cyborg demanded.
"Yeah, they're in Paris, no-good jerk wads! When they made the sales pitch, they said nothing about getting massacred by some freaky bird-monster thing...." Gizmo grunted.
Abel looked shocked as he heard that, but it didn't surprise him in the least. Without looking at the now apparently ex-villains, he turned to everyone else. "We need to find him, now."
Just then, they heard the door open and Raven stepped through. Back in her original attire, she had her hood up and showed no sign of emotions whatsoever.
Abel turned as he noticed Raven enter the room. He noted that she was dressed back in her original attire. But that wasn't what caught his attention, it was the complete lack of feeling he was sensing, like she was a blank slate. When he saw her eyes, he saw how empty they were.
"This isn't good..." He muttered, before moving over to her.
"Raven?"
Raven just stood there staring blankly straight in front of her. Hearing Abel's voice, she let her eyes fall upon him and just said in an emotionless tone.
"No need to worry Father. We have work to do."
She turned her blank stare toward the city where she saw lightning rise into the air and walked toward the great windows which overlooked the city. She would use her powers to conceal Robin and bring him back to his normal self.
She turned toward the others and said in her monotone voice,
"Do we just stand here or do we actually do something to stop our leader?"
Starfire and Ion looked at each other, and then back at Raven. Starfire felt a cold chill run down her spine as she heard Raven's cold monotone voice. What had Robin done?
"Raven... you should..."
She stopped talking instantly when Raven gave her a cold stare and decided to keep her mouth shut. Abel decided that he'd have to do something about this, soon. He then looked at Gizmo, Mammoth and Kid Wykkydd.
"What about them?"
"Hey! We're standing right here you know!" Gizmo shot, but everyone ignored him.
Raven looked toward those who had once been her enemy and searched out through their feelings and emotions but found no malice or desire to betray.
"They may be of assistance."
With this, she engulfed everyone in her powers and left the tower, releasing them at the centre of the city where Robin was. She left the others and walked right into Robin's 'warpath'.
oOoOoOoOo
Robin was just cruising at an altitude of several hundred feet; he was flying slowly, looking for any villains that needed 'setting straight'. He wasn't going to bother with petty pick-pockets, no; he was looking for criminals on the scale of the Brotherhood of Evil. He didn't know where Gizmo, Kid Wykkydd and Mammoth had gotten to, he didn't really care now. A villain had hurt Raven in the worst possible way, and the part of him that was Crusnik, wasn't going to stand for it. He was going to protect her no matter what. Even if it meant destroying most of Jump's criminal population.
"But..." His human rationale side reasoned, "Maybe you're going about this the wrong way. Instead of killing criminals left, right and center, you should be helping Raven...."
"I am." He growled to himself. Then his Crusnik side to him spoke, and it sounded worried. "How? In case you haven't noticed, our link with her is being blocked; from her end."
"Huh?"
As Robin paused on the tip of a spire, he noticed something, a change in the wind; something was coming towards him, fast. He turned, and in the post-sunset haze, made out the silhouette of a figure with wings flying towards him.
"Dragon?" He mused.
Rachel flew down into the city. As she flew, she noticed something up ahead.
"Robin."
She flew faster until she got close and started to circle him. When she did, she shouted at him, trying to be reasonable. "Robin! You've got to come back! Raven needs you and..." She then noticed the blood on his clothes and body. "What did you do?!"
Robin tilted his head at her, and then looked down, then back up at her. "Dealt with some troublesome former Hive students, and Atlas. Why? What's wrong with Raven?"
"DUH! You really are a moron, aren't you?" His Crusnik side snapped inside his mind.
Rachel sighed as she said. "Raven's acting weird, not that I blame her..." She then flew in front of him, blocking his way, "She needs you, Robin. And don't think I don't know that you're my family Robin. You're my brother and I need you. We all need you to come back to the tower..." She flew closer, so she was right in his face. "AND HELP RAVEN!" She screamed so loud, that a hundred birds took flight in alarm from a nearby park.
Robin looked down at the city with a sort of bored look on his face, but in reality, he was thinking things through. On the one-side, he wanted to help Raven, but on the other, he was still pissed off.
"Alright, but then we find Gizmo, Kid Wykkydd and Mammoth, they got away, oh, and See-more will need taking care of, he's alive, but not in a good way."
-~-~-~-
Raven looked up with her cold violet eyes as she saw Rachel fly up to Robin and heard her scream at Robin. It was too late for him now. Too late to save her. Too late to say I'm sorry.
She raised her arms out and floated upwards toward both Robin and Rachel. She would stop them before they got into a fight. She ignored Rachel as she said to Robin with her ice cold voice while calling upon her powers and used them to restrain him.
"You've killed... killed innocents. You have gone from your purpose of saving the innocents and imprison those who haunt upon the innocents. I must do what is now necessary." She closed her eyes and when she opened them again they were blazing black and she raised her hands and engulfed Robin in her powers.
"I must take you down."
"Raven...wait!" Robin said in his gravely voice. He started to struggle against her energy. "Killed...innocents...The Hive Five are hardly innocents....Raven....I know, I overreacted..."
"You think?" That same voice replied in his head. Robin continued on as if he didn't hear the voice inside his head."I failed to protect you from Slade, I can never take that back, but I can protect you from everything else, that's what I was doing!"
"Actually, no, you weren't, if you wanted to protect her, you should have gone straight to her, instead, you went out on the town. What do think Father will say?"
Rachel saw what Raven was doing so she grabbed Raven by the arms, causing the black energy to release Robin. Rachel said. "Raven, stop! He didn't know what he was doing, well, he knew what he was doing, but he did it for you. He wanted to protect you!"
Raven only brought her cold eyes upon Rachel and said. "Look around Rachel. Look upon the innocents who have lost their lives."
Beneath them lay corpses of the innocent. She got herself free from Rachel and said. "If this was for me... then I will take the blame on my shoulders for the deaths of the innocent." Looking at Robin she just said coldly. "You did nothing for me Robin. You ripped out my heart... and stepped on it. You played with my emotions... and killed them." She wasn't afraid to speak out her mind. She was cold and hollow. She wouldn't show her emotions... ever.
Robin looked confused at Raven. "What? What do you mean I killed innocents?" Then he looked down. "How the hell did that happen?" He muttered.
"You're asking me? Geez, you ARE losing it, aren't you?"
Raven looked at Robin with her violet cold eyes and answered. "You killed them Robin. You let your rage take over you and you killed without thinking... and so... you killed my soul. You must be put to justice."
Robin narrowed his red eyes, but they seemed to dim as they focused on Raven's empty ones. In fact, they seemed to dim so much that, for a few seconds, they reverted back to their human state. Raven engulfed Robin in her powers then and lowered toward the ground again with him. Releasing Robin in front of the team, she only stepped back and said.
"Hero or not... he must be brought to justice for the innocent lives he has taken."
As he saw Robin set down on the ground, Abel glared at him. He really was his father's son; a sinner through and through. And he'd committed the exact same sins as his father; he'd killed humans.
Gizmo, the instant he saw Robin the way he was, it brought his fear up to a total high. He squeaked out. "K-k-keep that f-f-f-freak away from me!"
Rachel flew down to the ground as Raven took Robin down. She landed next to Abel, who she noticed was glaring at Robin. She put a hand on her father's right shoulder, "It'll be okay...f-f-f-d-dad."
Cyborg looked at Robin and Raven and said. "Well, we need to get you back to the tower and we're not taking him to jail, Raven. He's our friend."
"So, what are we going to do with him?" Rachel asked. Cyborg shrugged. "No idea for the long term plan, but for now, we can put him in what we like to call the 'Safety Room', we used it to protect Raven last year, it's just about hard to get into as the Bat Cave."
-~-~-~-
Robin, meanwhile, reverted back to his normal form, keeping a close watched his sister, then turned his gaze to Abel, then to Raven, then back to Abel, before finally bringing it to rest on the cowering Gizmo, Mammoth and Kid Wykkydd. His deep blue eyes narrowed a little.
"What are THEY doing here?!"
"HEY! I didn't wanna come!"
Mammoth said from behind Gizmo, "Yes, we didn't want to come in case you killed us too!"
Rachel turned and regarded the others, mulling over what they had said about Raven.
"How long are we going to keep him there?"
Cy shrugged. "As long as we feel he needs to stay there."
Rachel nodded before looked back at the three ex-villains. "You better be careful." Mammoth nodded at her, before cowering. "Just don't hurt us alright?"
Asta sighed as she looked at the three of them.
"She's not going to hurt you. Nobody is..." She then glared at Robin as she said that.
"Got that, Robin? No more killing for you tonight."
Dragon changed back into Rachel as Asta was chewing out Robin. She looked toward her dad. "Dad, when we get back to the Tower, I want to talk to you about you and...mom. If you know who my mother was. I really want to know what our family was like."
Robin looked down over himself, noticing the blood; he tapped into a little of his telekinetic powers and drew the blood out of his uniform, formed it into a small sphere, then dropped it into a road-side drain. He then turned and walked to Raven. "Um, Raven, I'm sorry. I guess I just lost control of my anger." He gently reached up and lowered her hood, looking into her eyes for any sign of the Raven he knew.
"I'm sorry I wasn't fast enough to stop Slade, I promise I won't let anyone else hurt you."
He leaned forwards and planted a gentle kiss on her right cheek. "Ever again." He whispered against her cool skin.
Raven was surprised when Robin came to her and lowered her hood. She froze when he kissed her cheek, hearing his whisper. No... He was lying. Everyone was lying. There wasn't such a thing as love for her. Pulling back, she quickly raised her hood up and turned away from Robin.
Raven closed her eyes and began to silently chant her mantra over and over again to push back her sadness so she wouldn't take control. When she felt it all ease, she opened her eyes and looked down and said in her monotone voice. "It's too late."
Robin decided to be his typical stubborn self, and replied. "Raven, you know that it's never too late to try again. I told you once that you can live out your own destiny and I mean it, but not like this. I want you to live your life to the fullest, even if it's without...me."
That was enough for Raven; she forced him away from her, her emotions coming back full force. Her eyes turned red before saying. "Don't you ever touch me again, Richard Nightroad. I'm through with you." She turned away and cast the spell to take them all back to the Tower, except for Mammoth, Gizmo, and Kid Wykkydd.
"Hey! You snot-munchers! Forget about us!?"
Knowing nobody could hear him now, Gizmo said to the other two, "Let's go, it seems that we're on our own now."
oOoOoOo
As soon as Raven and the others arrived back at the Tower, they decided it was the time to get some rest, or more to the point, it was Abel's idea. Raven couldn't agree more with the priest. But one person wouldn't relent.
"Raven, please wait! I want to talk to you!" Robin said as Cyborg and Starfire dragged him in the direction of the Safety Room.
Ignoring Robin's voice behind her, Raven kept on walking. One part of her wanted to keep ignoring him, but the other…The other part of her wanted to find comfort in his arms. To hold him close until everything that happened today went away. But she knew it will never go away, not as long as Robin still killed without remorse.
When she arrived at her door, she felt a hand on her wrist. Raven turned around and saw Abel looking at her. She felt the worry and sorrow rushing out of him at that moment. She didn't have time for him now, or any of the others, she just wanted to rest.
"Please, Father, I just want to rest."
Abel nodded. "I understand, Rachel's agreed to give you an examination tomorrow, if you feel you're up to it."
Raven sighed then nodded, "Alright. First thing tomorrow morning after breakfast. Good night Father Abel."
"Good night Raven." Abel replied, bowing slightly as he stepped back, and let Raven close her door, sighing himself, the then turned and walked off, headed in the direction of the Safety Room.
oOoOoOo
In said room, Robin was sat on the floor, knowing the others could see him. Closing his eyes, he reached out to Raven through their bond, finding to his surprise, he was no longer being blocked, but, he then realized that was due to her fatigue. Deciding that he couldn't stop now, he tried to make contact.
"Raven, I know the pain you must be feeling at this moment. But know this…I am truly sorry for what I did to you. I just wanted to know that."
Raven felt her emotions came back full force as she said to him in mental fury. "Sorry?! Sorry is not going to make me forgive what happened to me! You let Slade rape me! You didn't get there in time! So, what now am I supposed to say? 'Oh, I forgive you Robin, hold me'? No! I will never forgive you, Richard John Grayson or Nightroad or whatever you call yourself now!"
She then turned toward her bed, re-establishing her mental shield, blocking him once more.
-~-~-~-
Robin sighed as he blinked back the tears that started to form and he didn't even know why. Why was he crying over her? She just told him to basically get lost and all Robin wanted to do was get out of this 'cell' and go to her and hold her to him. He wanted to tell her what he was feeling…
But what did he feel for her now? Or was it just his Crusnik side that felt this way about Raven?
He knew that he would know when the time was right.
oOoOoOoOoOo
And that's the end of chapter 10, sorry it took so long. Please don't forget to review, and let me know what you think.