Deep in a cave beneath Jump City a notorious villain wearing a black and orange mask knelt down in the middle of a ring of fire that magically sprouted out of the ground.
"The first task is complete master. The inscriptions are in place, she knows what she must do and I have locked her conscious mind away from her demonic side just as you instructed." Slade said and 4 slitted eyes appeared on the cave wall.
"Good. It is unfortunate that Azar had split her mind as she had, a whole mind is easier to gain control over. And there is a chance that I won't be successful depending on the strength of her unconscious mind which is already fighting me. If that happens you will need to force the Gem to accept her fate." A deep demonic voice echoed around the cave.
"Of course master, I am at your command. If you don't mind me asking, how do you not know the strength of her unconscious mind?" Slade asked.
"Azar had managed to shield her from me by placing a ignorance protection spell on her mind. What Raven is ignorant to is out of my reach, that includes facets of her mind that she is not fully aware of. But my foresight sees two paths, one with Raven causing chaos and destruction till she fulfills her destiny; the other she fights me till the last hour." The demonic voice explained.
"But either way the prophesy will be fulfilled." Slade concluded.
"And the time for mortals well come to an end!" The demonic voice declared.
Raven took some heavy breaths, yet seemed to struggle to get enough air in her lungs. After her and Love collapsed in pain several injuries appeared on Raven.
The other emotion clones surrounding them, but before anyone could do a thing a blue light enveloped Love for a moment. Once the light faded Love got up and began healing Raven.
"What just 'gasp' happened?" Raven asked out of breath as Love placed her hands on Raven's chest incased is the same light blue aura that had enveloped her earlier.
"I'm not 100% sure. We knew we were injured, but it seems the injuries that Love had already healed suddenly came back." Knowledge said running a hand incased in a black aura over Raven.
The aura disappeared from Love's hands and Raven began to breath easier again even though her chest still hurt. However Love coughed up some blood before the blue aura completely enveloped her again and repeated the process from earlier.
Again once the aura disappeared and Love went back to healing Raven, this time touching her back while Wisdom helped to hold Raven up.
"I know what is happening, but it would be best for you not to know yet." Love said as she healed the 2 fractures in Raven back. Brave caught Love before she collapsed when the aura from her hands disappeared again, and held her until the aura enveloped her again.
"What are you talking about? If anyone here understood what is happening it should be me or Raven. How could you know whats going on but not us? And why would you say its better we don't know yet?" Knowledge demanded a little offended.
Love nodded placing her hands on Raven's arm. "I understand your confusion and frustration. The heart knows things the mind is not ready for, all I can tell you right now is to have hope and faith that we will make it through this. I suspected this will happen a few more times before everything will resolve itself." Love said.
Raven shook her head. " What do you mean this will happen a few more times?" Raven demanded in a strained voice.
Before Love could respond fire suddenly sprouted out of the ground and formed a circle around Raven.
Raven let out a scream of pain as the remaining breaks and dislocations all. suddenly snapped back together and mended with a harsh pop.
The ring of fire disappeared as a deep evil chuckle sounded around them. Love instantly knelt back down next to Raven as she panted in pain, and began to work on her again.
Robin was pacing back and forth waiting for Cyborg to return with this mirror they mentioned earlier. Titans East had just arrived about 15 minutes ago and Robin wished it was an hour ago when a bunch of red symbols burnt into Raven's skin suddenly appeared.
They glowed brightly for a moment, then Raven let out a pain filled scream as the remaining breaks suddenly mended harshly together. The sound it made is one Robin hopes he never hears again, hearing things break is somehow less disturbing then hearing them forcefully mended together.
Cyborg gave her some pain medication after the branded symbols magically disappeared. Robin wanted to enter Raven's mind that moment and get to the bottom of what Slade had done, but Cyborg , Beastboy and Starfire all managed to convince him to wait till Titans East arrived.
Once they did Cyborg filled Bumblebee in on what was going on and what was needed of them. Starfire placed a hand Robin's shoulder breaking him out of his thoughts.
"Friend Robin are you sure this is the right course of action? I am most worried for her as well but you know Raven is a very private individual and may not like us entering her mind in such a manner." Starfire asked her red hair flowing loosley behind her.
"I know that Star and am worried about crossing that line as well, but I dont know what else we can do. Raven had once entered my mind to save my life, I feel I owe her the same." Robin said and Starfire nodded in understanding.
"Well I wish you all the best, I'm not sure I could ever have the courage to do what you all are about to do." Bumblebee said walking up to them.
"Thanks, and please stay alert. I don't know if Slade will show his ugly face while we are gone but please be very careful if he does. Those new powers of his make him far more deadly then before, and he was already extremely deadly then." Robin said in concern though both girls could hear the hate in is voice as well.
"Will do." Bee said simply as Cyborg and Beastboy walked into the med bay. Cyborg was carrying the mirror wrapped up in a towel.
"And you are absolutely certain you want to do this Robin?" Cyborg asked admittedly a bit frightened by the idea.
"I'm certain, however if any of you want sit out I won't blame you." Robin responded, no one said anything so Robin nodded and reached for the mirror. "How does it work?" He asked.
"Not entirely sure, last time BB was popping zits in it and a big red hand reached out and grabbed him. I grabbed ahold of Beastboy and we both got pulled in." Cyborg explained.
Robin nodded. " Okay everyone grab hands." He commanded and everyone did while Bumblebee watched. Robin keeping ahold of Starfire's hand in his left hand set the mirror down on Raven's bed and unwrapped it. He then picked it up and looked into it.
After a few moments a pare of 4 glowing red slits appeared on the mirror startling Robin. He dropped the mirror on the bed and just as Cyborg described a big red hand reached out of the mirror and grabbed him.
The hand drug Robin into the mirror then Starfire who kept ahold of Robin, then Beastboy who kept ahold of Starfire, and lastly Cyborg who kept ahold of Beastboy.
"Here we go again!" Cyborg yelled right before being pulled in. Bumblebee promptly threw the towel back over the mirror and placed the whole thing on the night stand next to Raven.
"I sure hope your mind is not as deadly as you could be." Bee muttered to the unconscious empath.
Robin, Starfire, Beastboy, and Cyborg all dropped out of a red swirly vortex onto a floating rock.
Everyone groaned and got up dusting themselves off. "Welcome to Nevermore." Cyborg said as Robin and Starfire took in their surroundings.
"Um, okay so how do we...?" Robin started only to have his incomplete question answered as a rock path formed itself across the mindscape. "Huh." Was all the Boy Wonder could say as he took the lead walking down the path, the rest of the team trailing behind him.
"This place really is the most beautiful, I did not know Raven's mind was so much like the Carina Nebula." Starfire mused flying around with a large smile on her face.
Beastboy and Cyborg gave each other a perplexed look at the aliens choice of words but said nothing. They came under an stone arch only to freeze at the sight before them.
All around on the ground beneath the arch were the red eyed ravens Cyborg and Beastboy encountered last time except this time they were laying on the ground dead or dying.
"Dude! While I'm grateful we don't need to worry about them attacking us this time. What on Earth do you think happened to them?" Beastboy asked flinching back from a dead bird that flapped its wing in a final muscle spasm.
"These birds attacked you last time?" Robin asked looking back at the childish shape-shifter. Both Cyborg and Beastboy nodded and Robin looked back at the birds in thought.
"Friend Robin, what are you as they say doing the thinking?" Starfire asked looking uneasy at her leader.
"I'm thinking these birds are a representation of some of Raven's mental defenses. They look like they are ment to guard this arch way and likely attacked Cy and BB last time in an attempt to keep them out of the center of her mind." Robin explained.
"You know that actually makes sense. However if that is the case that also means her defenses are currently down." Cyborg mused looking at the birds.
"Raven never lets her defenses down Cyborg, someone has destroyed them." Robin said bluntly, the warning evident in his voice as he continued on the path.
After exchanginge a few uneasy glances the rest of the group followed their leader who seemed obsessively determined to keep going forward.
They entered into Happy's relm only to find the pink forest all burnt and destroyed. Before anyone could comment deep evil laugh sounded around them.
The Titans turned around only to see a giant ball of fire hurling straight towards them. They all flinch back and tried to shield themselves as they waited for the heat to consume them, only it never happened.
The Titans opened their eyes to see 3 different Raven's standing between them and the fire. One was in a periwinkle blue cloak, one was in cream almost sand like cloak, and the last one was in a black cloak.
The Blue and Cream one held up a shield while the Black Raven who stood right behind the other 2 held her arms straight out to her sides with her palms open flat side up. A dark black aura appeared in each palm of the black cloaked Raven before she swiftly slammed her palms into the ground in front of her with a passionate scream.
The black aura shot out along the ground in all directions and a pain filled scream echoed around them along with the same sounds they heard back in the infirmary right after they got back to the tower.
The fire disappeared and the Blue and Cream Ravens standing side by side wasted no time turning around and each throwing one side of their cloakes out which formed together a black dome over the whole group before disappearing into the ground.