Puffgirl1952 the 2nd: You're right. Tension is building now. They're close to the final fight. I estimate that there are roughly thirteen chapters to the story's end.
Wishfull-star: Here's the update. I hope you enjoy it.
Enjoy the story.
She felt like there was lead weighing her down.
Raven's brow furrowed together as the Titan grimaced. Slowly, the purple-haired sorceress' eyes opened, and the girl sat up. "Ugh..." the demon's spawn groaned softly. "What happened?"
"Raven!" Starfire's voice was heard, loud and clear as always. The alien shot over to her side and the red-head offered a bright, perky smile. "You are alright, yes?" Earnest neon green eyes stared into Raven's dark purple irises, and for a short while, the sorceress was startled before she recognized it as her friend.
"I'm fine, Starfire," she replied in her usual curt manner. The pale girl picked up footsteps from down the hall, hearing both Usagi and Robin's voices slowly grow louder as the footsteps echoed in the hallway. The girl winced and reached a hand up to massage her temples. "My head hurts," the sorceress stated plainly in her usual monotone voice.
"Raven!" Usagi's voice suddenly rose in volume and the blonde slip of a girl entered the room in a run. The princess skidded to a stop besides Raven's bedside and the blonde smiled, relief in her blue eyes. "You're okay."
Raven saw Robin enter the room and lean on the door frame. The black-haired young man wearing the domino mask caught her glance and gave her a small smile and a nod of the head, signifying that he was glad she was alright. He didn't have to say anything — that glance spoke volumes. As did the relief she could feel pouring over their bond.
I'm okay, Richard, she assured him over the link. Just a bit exhausted.
I'm just glad you're alright, she heard. You need to rest. Do you need us to head out?
I have to talk to Usagi privately, but... well, could you stay? My head doesn't hurt as much when you're around.
Sure, Rae.
Raven was a bit surprised — of the original Titans, only Cyborg had ever called her by that name up until now, excluding Beast Boy, granted. Nonetheless, she managed a small smile at Robin, and the purple-haired sorceress slowly made herself more comfortable on the sterile white bed. She gave each of the other Titans a small, reassuring look as they passed, nodding as Cyborg told her to take care of herself. "I will," she replied.
It wasn't long before only Usagi and Robin were in the room. Robin had leant himself on the wall opposite the bed, and the petite blonde had found a chair to sit on. The blonde was holding Raven's hand as she looked over her for any injuries. "You're just tired, right?" she asked again, wanting to affirm that she was okay.
"Yes," Raven affirmed patiently. "I'm fine. I just overexerted myself earlier. I'll be back to normal in a couple of hours." The pale girl pushed aside the covers, finding them obstructive, and settled into her usual meditative stance. It was much better — much more comfortable than having to lie straight. Her powers kicked in and she levitated a bit off the surface of the bed as she started murmuring her usual mantra in a calm, even tone.
Usagi nodded, the blonde absently playing with one of her long pigtails as she fell silent. It was a blissful couple of minutes of silence that passed, with only Raven's repetition of her mantra disrupting the blessed silence. Finally, the blonde Senshi of the Moon broke the silence. "Raven?" she asked slowly.
Raven stopped her meditation and cracked an amethyst eye open to look at her younger sister. "Yes, Usagi?" she asked patiently. "What is it?" Intently, the pale girl met the blonde's blue gaze, absently wondering what she wanted.
"What happened back there?" Usagi blurted out, staring back at the Titan. "Back in that room. You were acting so... unlike yourself."
The purple-haired sorceress winced, feeling like cursing. She had lost her temper pretty badly against the white-haired upstart that had the nerves to try to take advantage of her sister. Not even Doctor Light had been on the receiving end of that degree of anger, and she had only gotten angry with him twice. For that man to have upset her so badly by just what he did... Raven wondered if she was just being protective over Usagi or if Rage was on a rampage again.
It was something that she would have to check on when they returned home, the Titan decided. But not now. Now, she had to answer Usagi's question. She opened her mouth, about to answer, but her masked leader beat her to it, stepping forward.
"It's because of her father," the black-haired former sidekick to the infamous Batman replied smoothly.
"Her... father?"
Raven sighed. "Yes. My father, Trigon the Terrible. An inter-dimensional demon who conquered, vanquished, and enslaved multiple worlds." Her voice was flat when she spoke about her dreaded father. She very obviously had no love for the demon that had sired her, and it showed in her prominently disgusted tone.
"Demon?" Usagi sounded dumbfounded.
Raven didn't blame her. Not even in the Silver Millennium had people believed in actual demons. "Yes. A demon," the purple-haired girl replied. "So I am half-demon. My mother was human, but she was taken into another dimension. It's how my powers originated." She stopped levitating in the air and lowered herself onto the bed again. Both her eyes opened and the girl settled out of her meditative pose.
The pale sorceress adjusted her position on the bed, watching impassively as her sister took in the information. "I know, it's hard to digest," she said simply, used to the reaction.
Robin cleared his throat, breaking the tension. "Raven, can I talk to you?" Giving Usagi a side-glance, he added, "Alone?"
The blonde immediately got the gist of his statement and stood up. "I'll just leave you two to talk then," she said. Squeezing Raven's hand, the younger of the two said, "I'll be with Uranus and Neptune."
The purple-haired sorceress nodded, offering the blonde a small smile in hopes that it would cheer the girl up. It had the intended effect, and the blue-eyed blonde exited the room with a bounce in her step. "So what did you want to talk about, Richard?" Raven asked, discarding formalities. The demon's spawn uncrossed her legs from the meditative stance and laced her fingers together to look up at her black-haired leader.
The masked former disciple of the infamous Dark Knight took a seat on the chair that was formerly occupied by the Senshi of the Moon. "It's about the team," he said automatically, and after a beat, he added, "and us." The boy offered her a small smile.
Raven raised an arched purple brow. "Us, Robin?" she asked.
Robin nodded. "Yeah... but first, the team," he insisted. The teen leant back in his chair, looking awkwardly down at his steel-toed combat boots. Oh God, jeez, this is awkward, she heard him think.
Subconsciously, her lips twitched into a little smile. It appeared that the masked leader still hadn't figured out that his thoughts could spill over to her through their bond. Her amethyst eyes gleamed with mild amusement as the pale sorceress took it into consideration. You remember the old rule of no mentioning religion and deities in front of each other, right? she sent through their bond, chuckling a bit.
In an almost comical fashion, the boy wearing the domino mask seemed to stumble back on the chair, and the very edges of the black-and-white mask widened a bit in surprise that was practically pouring over his bond to her. You can hear me? I'm not even concentrating on the bond!
Trigon's defeat solidified my powers. Though he was correct in saying that my powers came from him, now that he is no longer in existence, his powers have channeled into the only remaining evidence that he was once real. The pale-skinned girl offered a soft smile at the black-haired boy. Haven't you noticed how my powers have drastically increased? With an aside glance, the entire bed she was sitting on suddenly levitated, as did Robin's chair, bringing them both into the air.
Whoa! Robin looked down at the furniture, noting that the black aura that was usually surrounding it was barely even visible. How are you doing that?
Raven smiled, letting them both down. "Hiding my magic is a much harder task than simple levitation," she said with a chuckle. "I've been practicing it for weeks now. What do you think?"
"It's amazing, Rae," Robin said with a smile back, getting comfortable on his chair again once it was firmly on the ground. "So... erm... the team."
"Yes, what about the team?" the purple-haired girl asked, tilting her head slightly to the side in curiosity.
"Well..." the masked boy started, scratching the back of his neck. "It's been how many years, four, five? Since we became friends and formed, that is," he added at the end. "We've all survived through a ton of things, from alien invasions to the end of the world as we know it. We've become pretty close-knit, huh?"
The half-demon girl merely nodded, not quite sure where her leader was taking this conversation. Quirking a brow, she said, "And your point... is?"
"We've grown close. We're a family, Rae," the Boy Wonder simply concluded. "We care about each other. We may be strange, bizarre, and sometimes even a little dysfunctional, but we're a family."
The sorceress nodded. "I understand what you mean. Cyborg is the older brother I never had. Beast Boy is the annoying younger brother that I wish I didn't have. Starfire... well, she's Starfire."
"And me?" Robin pressed, leaning forward and taking her hands in his. "What about me?"
Raven's brows rose to her hairline. "I don't... I don't know," she admitted. "You certainly don't act like a brother or father or anything."
The Boy Wonder gently squeezed her hands before he inhaled sharply, raising a hand up and peeling off his mask. Staring back at her with blue irises, he continued, "Rae, when I see you, I feel like smiling. When I'm next to you, I can feel my heart skipping a beat." Blue looked deeply into purple. "And that bond we have — I know what you're feeling, what you're thinking. I know you, inside out, and you do too."
"Richard..." Raven trailed off, looking at him in surprise. Her heartbeat was suddenly rising, and her emotions were talking rapidly in her mind. She reached out, firmly taking hold of her emotions and forcing them to calm down before she lost control of her powers. "We're close," she finished. "We've been through the most together. You were the one that came for me, when I was lost. The one that convinced me to believe again when I believed all hope was lost. You have a way of bringing hope to me, Robin."
"And you keep me, the team, everything, together. You bring order and serenity while we balance out with chaos and craziness." He smiled, laughing a bit at the joke. "You hold the team together. Starfire may be the heart of the team, but we can't lose even one part, especially not you."
When did our faces get so close? Raven absently wondered, taking care not to let it enter their bond and let Robin listen to her thought. "And we can't be without a leader," she replied.
"I guess what I'm saying, Rae, is that... you make me sane. You keep me grounded when I need to be. You're the one that makes me smile, the one that understands me. And I think... I may be infatuated with you."
Raven's amethyst eyes widened. "Richard, you...?"
"Raven, I—"
They quickly broke contact with each other when the door was slammed open by Cyborg. "Robin! Rae! You guys have to see this!" he yelled.
Robin looked over at Raven, who got to her feet and started heading towards Cyborg. Raven...
We'll finish this later, Richard, Raven finished. Let's see what's going on for now.
Okay.
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