The hanger feels small with the amount of people in it. Aspects shove past each other to take up spaces around the wide circle of glyphs as instructed. The Titans stood carefully out of the way. Raven had made sure to explain to them, in exacting detail, just what might happen to them were they to interfere. The words 'inside out' and 'terminal velocity' had been thrown around. Cyborg had had to go and sit down for a little while afterwards.
Darting her eyes around the room Raven bit her lip under the shadow of her cloak. She couldn't help thinking she was missing something. In the centre of the runes sat Instinct, snuffling and snarling at the chaos. Serenity stood nearby, soothing him occasionally. Behind Serenity a smudge of black and acid green showed where Cruelty and his likeminded Aspects had congregated. Their shoulders drawn in and heads down as the more powerful Aspects took up places.
Anger and Hatred were still being carefully supervised and muscled into position. Modesty stood perched upon the box in which Lust was still contained, ready to release the latches at the last moment. A blush was already riding high on their cheeks.
Raven became suddenly aware of Love coming to stand not too far from her. She forced herself not to look at him.
"Are we all here?" asked Serenity, his voice carrying over the whispers and shuffling feet. There was a general mummer of ascent. "Good. Then it is time. Raven, whenever you are ready."
Raven released a loaded breath. She met Serenity's piercing gaze, Instinct rising like a mountain behind him. Another bubble of doubt rose within her. They were the two most powerful Aspect right? They had to be. Ravens entire plan for merging Beast Boys soul relied on the strength of the two drawing in the other Aspects. Re-building Beast Boys around the two great pillars one Aspect at a time.
Yet, she couldn't help feeling like she was missing something. Something obvious, something she should know. Another key Aspect of Bast Boys soul. But who?
She dropped her hood and raised her arms, reaching for her own powers and the powers Beyond. Unconsciously her eyes drifted, and Love smiled at her fondly. Raven trembled, heart skipping as she hesitated.
She shook herself, squishing down her feelings until they sat leaden at the bottom of her stomach. Now wasn't the time. She closed her eyes and began to chant. The glyphs moved as the power raced down her spine and tingled across her skin. She pulled at it with a thought, shaped it with a word and bent it to her will with a twitch of her fingers. The aspects began to glow. The ritual had begun.
Emotion flowed through her, and Raven let the tears build behind her eyelids. She was now connected to every part of Beast boys' soul. She could finally feel every note, pick out every melody, embrace every thrumming beat of emotion. Now all that was left was to weave the tune into a symphony. To make it whole.
Raven winced as a prickle scratched its way down her back. A throbbing began in her temple. The twinge turned into a sudden sharp pang of pain. She bit her lip as a note dropped out of place, taking a whole string of the melody with it. Then another fell out of place, and another. The tunes of emotions discordant, clamouring and clashing instead of harmonizing with the sudden shift.
Raven curled her fingers, trying to hold the power in place. Her chanting stuttered. Her libs and temple burned. Sweat broke out on her forehead. She opened her eyes.
Serenity was on the floor, having taken a blow from behind. It was his pain that was echoing through the bond. Red stained the white of his hair were the crown of his head bled.
Contempt and Envy scattered as everyone began to recover from the shock of losing Serenity. The Aspects shaken from the backlash. There was a hot flare as Courage and Mercy recovered and took to the fight. A zing of violent enjoyment as Hatred and Anger lashed out in the chaos. A skittering of glee as Greed scurried beneath them all.
All this was drowned out by the continental shift that was Instinct rising to the provocation. The beast swiped out, Greed's cries piercing as he went flying, hitting the edge of the ritual circle. A discordant flare of heat bursting across Ravens skin in turn as the magic wavered under the onslaught.
She grit her teeth. Sides aching and bones vibrating with the echo of the blow. She held the circle through the pain. The Aspects could not leave. Instinct roared.
"Stop him!" she cried, arms shaking and skin boiling as she held into the power. Desperately keeping every thread within reach. "Stop him now! He'll kill them!"
"Good" shouted the enraged Courage as they beat down Hatred.
"Fool! You need them alive. Beast Boy needs them alive!" She wasn't sure if her cries reached the other. Everything had become a mess. Aspects practically climbing over one another, some to join the fight and others to flee it. Instinct lashed out wildly, his heavy feet stomping over the dazed form of Serenity, a living shield. The Titans stood tense and wide eyed outside the circle, unable to interfere. Someone stared crying.
Raven cast around for an ally, feeling her grip on the power shake with the strain. Mental fingers slipping.
A twang. A stricken chord. It screeched across her.
She meets the eyes of Cruelty, the childish Aspect being ignored in the melee. He stands over the fish box, Modesty nowhere to be seen, and kicks it over, crouching by the lid. Meeting her eyes he smiled, all needle-sharp teeth flashing with delight, and opened the box.
Lust burst forth. Dusky pink form solidifying as he reshaped himself. Drooling, his newly formed eyes alight upon Raven. He pounces.
Raven stumbles back, magical grip faltering. The glyphs writhe without her control. Pain dance across her skin from the fighting Aspects. A cacophony of noise splits her head and blurs her vision with tears.
Lust tackles her to the ground, heavy body knocking the air from her chest. She tried to push him off, arms trembling and weak. The warm press of his flesh, the taste of the salt from his skin invades her senses. Calloused, claw tipped hands ran up and down her sides, groping at her body and threatening to rip her leotard in two. Strong hips press down to force her thighs apart. The Aspect eagerly grinding his excitement against her.
For a moment true fear overtakes Raven, and with it the power slips from her grasp. The glyphs cease to glow. The melodies fade.
Lusts body was heaved off her with a shout and a snarl. Raven rolled over onto her side, gasping down air. She scrabbled with her metaphorical fingers, snatching up the flailing threads of magic. The glyphs glowed once more as Love grappled with his counterpart. Pinks blending into each other as both Aspects sought to overwhelm the other.
Fine claws rake down her spine, splitting her leotard and bringing forth a sting of hot blood. Raven screams, magic slipping once more. Desperately she kicks back at her attacker, trying to get away. Another claw pins her cloak to the ground, and she fumbles with the clasp to release it. Rolling over to find Cruelty smiling down at her. The child sticks his fingers in his mouth, lapping up the fresh blood.
"Why?" her voice is horse and broken.
His small hand grips her by the hair, bringing their faces close. The noise of the fight falls away as his warm breaths waft over her. All she can see is the twinkle in the green eyes above her. The black familiar face flushed to oil slickness with pleasure. The whisper of his delight as he speaks.
"Because it hurts. Because it feels good. Because seeing you cry and watching you bleed makes my heart ache and my mind scream. Because why not? It's what I like. To cause pain. To watch people suffer under my hands. To see them squirm."
Raven blinks through the sting of her back and the weakness in her legs. Dread pools in her as the Aspect leans in further, lips trailing up her jaw and to her ear, faintly brushing over her skin. Delicate enough to be a kiss, deadly enough to be a threat.
"Because I won't be around for long. But loosing you, hurting you-" Cruelty pulls back, cupping her face. His short claws skirt under her eyes and Raven doesn't dare blink. "That's the best pain of all. It will destroy the Titans. It will ruin me. I'll never be able to live with myself. And the cruellest thing-" The claws press deeper, the maw gapes wider as a macabre grin took over the child like face. His frame shook with glee.
"The cruellest thing, is that I'm really, really going to enjoy it."
Raven couldn't close her eyes. Not even as the claws pricked into her skin, not even as a razor tipped hand curled around her throat, not even as those teeth draw nearer, slick with saliva.
Arms wrap around her middle and yank. Raven yelps as she is pulled backwards, thin claw marks raking across her cheek but drawing little blood. Love rolls over her, caging her in his own body as with a vicious snarl Cruelty lunged.
Needle sharp teeth sink deep into Loves neck. He gurgles through the pain.
"No!" screams Raven. Love reaches up and around, blunt human teeth gritted in determination, and rips the smaller Aspect from him. A wash of blood sprays forth from the served artery of his throat. Raven sputters and coughs as the hot salty iron liquid fills her mouth, dripping from her hair.
Now bleeding and dying Love used his grip on the wriggling and hissing Cruelty to slam his face into the ground. The smaller Aspect screams and jerks, digging in claws and spitting through his bloody mangled teeth. Love slams him into the ground again, strength rapidly failing. There is a crunch and a gurgle as Cruelty's nose is broken.
Love raises the boys head for the final blow, but his arms give way and he sinks him to the floor. Blood stains his skin to a rusted brown. It pools and spurts from his throat in a rapidly expanding puddle. The Aspect falls, faint gargling breaths the only hint he still lives.
Cruelty wrestles himself free from the slackened grip. Spitting and hissing in triumph he stands over the scene. Deranged he begins to laugh. Hands spread in bloody rapture and teeth slick.
Faith falls upon him like an avenging angel. Taking the boy out with one impressive spine shattering blow. The golden Aspect is ruffled and skewed, cloths in disarray and hair tangled. His intense eyes fall on Raven.
"We need the ritual!" he shouts, catching Lust by the ankle and throwing him across the circle.
Raven doesn't hear him. All sound has faded from her mind. The world muffled and muted as she watches the blood pool. Heart heavy and pounding she scrambles forward, knees slipping in the slick spill.
"Nonononono" she breathes, pulling Love into her arms. She presses her hands to his neck, trying desperately to stem the flow. Within moments her clothes are slick with the hot liquid. She gasps through the tears, trying to keep up the pressure. "Don't die, don't die. Please don't die!"
Love tried to gasp something, a bubble of spit and blood popping in his mouth. His eyelids fluttered, milky green orbs rapidly fading.
"No, don't try to talk. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay!" she wailed.
"Raven!" snapped Faith over the fight. She ignored him again. Changing the feel of her magic she tried to calm herself enough to start healing the wound, hands lighting up with a sparkling black glow.
"N-Nuh" gurgled Love, lifting a trembling hand to curl around her. "Duh-Du'n"
"Stay still. I can heal you."
'Nuh. Nuh he-l. Ri-uall" Love slurred, eyes dropping and then snapping open again. His breaths were shallow and sharp. The blood bubbled thicker. "Nuh ti-m."
Raven sobbed, curling over his dying form. Her soul shook. Grief, a feeling unfamiliar to herself, rose like a tide. Her powers slowed to molasses in her veins, weighed down with the feeling of regret.
She hadn't even given him an answer! Hadn't worked up the courage. She had been getting there. Slowly. The belief she had built in herself, the faith her friends had given her, the foundation of a home to rely on, letting the unfamiliar selfishness of wanting blossom within her.
She had wanted to try. To try and welcome the feeling building in her chest, instead of pressing it down and repressing it through fear. Beast Boy had made her want to be brave, through his faith, through his love, through his steady unwavering will. He had made her feel…strong. Strong enough to face herself. Strong enough to be herself.
And now…
Love gasped, eye dropping again. His hands trembled around her own as he clung to what life he had left. She opened her mind, reaching for him. Hearing the trilling cord of his feeling. The fading harmonies, the dwindling warmth.
Now everything she had feared, everything that had held her back, was coming true. Love was dying. Beast Boy would forget her. She would no longer be allowed the indulgence of basking in that steady glow of emotion. No longer allowed to think about what might be should she take that final step forward.
She hadn't even given him an answer.
Now, she never would.
A scream cut the air. Raven gasped, curling around Love on instinct to protect him. Pain wailed, their deformed form bulging with the cry. Boils grew on their back only to pop with a sob and spray of ichor. The Aspect was shaking, hands clawing at their face and digging into their eyes. They were much larger than Raven remembered them being, growing with every breath.
A warbling cry started upon their twisted throat. The scream crawling through the chords until it split the air. With the sound came the feeling, seeping over them all like an all consuming tide.
The fight stopped, Aspects dropping to their knees. Screaming and crying as they twitched on the floor. Writhing from the agony. Cornflower blue feathers spread wide to shield Raven. With every breath they trembled, dropping in increments with every pulse of emotion. Compassion grit their teeth, trying to suppress their urge to scream and stand tall against the assault but it was no use. They fell, and the feeling fell upon her.
Raven felt pain, her flesh burned, her bones chilled to ice, her organs melted. She couldn't even scream, muscles spasming, eyes rolling, vision spotty. Her hands fell weak, blood oozing from Loves savaged neck.
A golden palm griped her shoulder, propping up her wilting form. The pain faded, the echo shaking her breath and melting through her nerves. She scrambled to press down against the wound. Love didn't react, his form had stopped shaking, his body lax.
Faith stood against the tide of pain. His fingers were white in their grip, his teeth grinding and eyes bloodshot with the effort.
"Raven. The ritual!" he snapped. Eyes intense and unwavering.
"What-but! I can't" she gasped.
"You can" he said without pause. Words weighted with meaning. He took her other shoulder, forcing her to meet his gaze. "You can Raven. You can save us. We believe in you."
Raven gulped, closing her eyes. Reaching out.
The agony zipped down her spine, turning her thoughts to liquid heat. She pulled back, leaning into Faiths punishing grip and curling around Love.
"I can't!" she cried, tears tracking down her cheeks. "The pain! I can't! It's too much!"
Unseen Serenity opened their eyes. He pushed aside the fallen Instinct, moving the behemoth with a single hand. Surrounded by Aspects, in a sea of pain and madness, he stood.
Unmoved. Unwavering. Unstoppable.
His eyes glowed white.
"Enough!"
The word rang in the following silence. The pain stopped. The Aspects remained prostrate to the ground. Conquered.
Ravens felt the stillness wash through her. Heart skipping a beat at the undaunted immeasurable press of power. The strength knocked the breath from her lungs, leaving her feeling small and fickle. Her own mind bowing under the strength of Beast Boys willpower.
For Serenity was Beast Boys Will. The discipline and resolve upon which he centred himself.
Tamer of the Beast. Dictator of Justice. Loyal Defender.
The First and Final say.
Instinct roared, shattering the silence and making the air tremble. Gold hands squeezed her shoulders. Raven looked up, blinking at Faith. Who stood unbowed and unconquered.
"You-you're also?' she stumbled, things clicking into place. A third key Aspect. The pillars upon which to rebuild a soul.
Will, Instinct, Faith.
Beast Boy.
She should have known.
"The ritual" Faith repeated, more gently this time. His smile was small but unwavering. His eyes clear and true. He was not blind as Love nor was he a fool. He saw her as she was, judged her as she was-scared, cowardly, ill tempered-and believed in her. Had faith.
"Yes" she whispered, and reached. It came easily this time. The Aspects cowed and obedient to her call. The glyphs glowed brighter, sparks dancing in the air as the Beast Boys began to glow.
The music started, the melodies interweaving, the chords harmonizing. The silence heart-breaking. A note lost.
Raven looked down. Milky green eyes stared up at her, the spark in them doused. The heart of them still. Love had passed.
She wanted to cry. She would have cried had Faith not tilted her head, cupped her face, urged her onwards.
"All is not lost if we are one. Complete the ritual Raven. Only you can save us." Their was no lie in his words.
Mind blank and heart broken, she proceeded. Drawing together the notes one at a time. Aspects fell to wisps of colour as she twined their threads, weaving them together. A tapestry of emotion, thought and memory.
A black thread, barbed and sticky. Cruelty had bile rising in her throat, and grief weighing down her chest. She hesitated.
"Him too. All of us," said Faith.
"But…why?" she rasped, broken.
Why include the thing that brought her this pain? That brought Beast Boy pain. That caused all this. Why not let him fade, cut him from Beast Boys soul entirely? Why not do the same with the others? With Grief and Greed. With Envy and Contempt. With Doubt and Pain. Why not cleanse them all?
"It is our burden to bare," said Will. Eyes brazing and voice resolute. "They are ours to carry. It may be ugly. It may be dark. Best forgotten and hidden from the light. But it is us. They have grown as I have grown. Felt as I have felt. Without them I will be nothing, but a shadow half formed. Without them I will not be Beast Boy. Fuse them Raven." She could do nothing but obey.
She took a wet, stuttered breath. Pushed her thoughts aside and picked up the threads. Worked as a mistro to an orchestra, a painter to a canvas. Pushing and pulling the Aspects into place. Till a clear perfectly imperfect picture emerged. Beast Boy brought whole once more.
Almost.
As Faith turned into a golden wisp, as Instinct swirled and Will suffused the born-again Titan, Love turned to dust in her lap. His skin cracking and flaking, becoming nothing more than a hollow husk that was soon blown away with her breath.
The glow faded, exhaustion took her. A green lanky teenager lay in the middle of the circle. Four limbs, two eyes, one nose, one mouth. All accounted for.
Nothing remained of the Aspects but the blood at her feet and the sorrow in her heart.