[Wow... I never thought id get so many reviews! Thank you ^^ Also, due to
popular (1) demand, Rook now comes with added chapter length...]
Rook advanced on the Titans, once again cold and uncompromising. He raised his right hand, which started to glow.
"I may have run out of power before" he said coolly, "but that will not happen again. This time, you will be mine Raven."
Rook suddenly gripped his head in pain again.
"Stop struggling!" he bellowed to himself. "There is no use in resisting!"
Raven heard Rook's real voice inside her head.
'Run away from here', it said, 'Go into my mind through yours. I will wait for you there. I desperately need your help.... I can by you time before then...'
Raven turned quickly to the others.
"We have to go back to the tower, now." She said. "No arguing" she interrupted as Robin started to speak. "I'll explain everything on the way." She half-pulled, half led the Titans back to the T-Car, where they got in and started driving full speed back to the tower. After a few moments silence, she began. She spoke quickly, in case she didn't have time to say it all.
"His name is Rook, and he is my brother." She began, hurriedly. "I have six siblings in total, making seven of us – that's Griffon, Jay, Owl, Falcon, Dove and Rook." She blushed. "My mother never did have any flair for names..."
"Go on", said Beastboy.
"Anyway, we each represent a different chakra, an energy vortex in the body. I have the powers of the Ajana, or Third Eye chakra. Rook is the representation of the crown chakra. He is the oldest by about 30 seconds..." she looked down.
"We all have conflicting emotions inside of us, and it is that which our father Trigon manipulates to corrupt us and make us serve his causes. From what I have heard, all of my brothers and sisters have been corrupted, and I am the only one who remains free."
"Let me guess," said Robin, "Rook is here to corrupt you?"
"Yes." Sighed Raven, "But he's fighting Trigon's control, you saw it. He said that if I can get into his mind, there is a chance I can help him to fight Trigon out of it. So that is where we are going – I need my mirror..."
It was a few minutes later (it may have been a tense situation, but Cyborg always loved any reason to put his foot down on the accelerator). The Titans were stood outside Raven's room. They waited for a few minutes, then Beastboy knocked on the door.
"Raven?" he called, "You ok in there?"
There was no answer. The door creaked open slightly, revealing what Raven was up to. She was sat cross-legged on her bed, with her eyes closed. The mirror was in her hands. Beastboy stamped on the floor.
"She went in without us!" he fumed. "Doesn't she trust us?"
"Evidently not," said a bewildered Starfire. Even after they had switched bodies for a short time, she still didn't completely understand Raven. "Maybe she wants to be alone."
Robin intervened. "Well, I think Rook's too dangerous for her to handle alone. We need to find a way into her mind somehow..."
Beast boy grinned. "Oh, that's easy." He said. "Just look into her magic mirror..."
There was a moment of silence.
"How did you know that?" asked Robin.
"Um... me and Cyborg were in there before. Remember that time with Dr Light? Well, it was then."
"Oh." Was the best reply Robin could give. As one hero, the Titans walked over to the prone form of Raven, and looked at the mirror.
They saw 4 red eyes staring back, and felt a sensation of travelling very far, very fast.
The dark world of Raven's mind unfolded before the Titans. Small chunks of rock floated through the upper atmosphere of the place, and an eerie silence descended on the group as they took in the scene. A hoard of dark ravens clustered around, each craning to see the newcomers.
'Turn back...' came the cold whisper on the wind. Starfire shivered.
"I do not like this place" she wailed. "It is scary and dark and mean!"
"So this is what goes on in Raven's mind..." thought Robin aloud. He snapped back to reality, if that is what this place could be called. "Ok Titans, let's find Raven!"
After what seemed countless hours of searching the barren ground for clues as to where their friend could have gone, the Titans finally found something that could provide an answer. A dense cloud of what seemed to be fog was enveloping the side of one of the dark mountains to the East. All getting the same idea at the same time, the Titans ran towards it. The ravens fluttered around them angrily, all shouting "Turn Back" in their raspy voices. Even though this perturbed and shocked the titans (especially Starfire), they kept going. The cloud of fog was getting really close now.
As they rounded the crest of the hill, they saw Raven stood with her emotions. They were all chanting at an area of the hill, which seemed to be no different from any other part, except that fog was billowing from it. As the titans drew closer, one of the Ravens turned and saw them. She laughed happily and ran up the hill to meet them, her arms wide.
"My friends! How great it is to see you here again so soon!" cried Happiness, hugging all of them in turn. The other emotions turned to face them, and raven walked forward. The ravens circling the other Titans flew away from her as she approached.
"What do you think you're doing here?" she said, in a slightly annoyed tone. "This is none of your business any more; I need to save my brother alone."
"Oh no you don't" scolded Beastboy. "Remember what happened when you tried to defeat your anger when we were in here last time? You needed our help then. And no matter how strong you think you are, you're not too strong not to need friends!"
Raven looked down, ashamedly. "A-about what I said earlier..." she began.
"Don't worry about it." Said Robin. "You lost your temper, that's all. We know you didn't mean it." Beastboy looked down at the ground with an annoyed expression – Raven's earlier words had really gotten to him.
Only the distant fluttering of wings and the gentle sounds of rocks floating through the starry sky permeated the long silence that followed. Another Raven walked up the hill to stand next to Raven. She was cloaked in yellow, and wore thick glasses. Before speaking to Raven, she bowed slightly to the Titans.
"Reason." She said, helpfully. Then she turned to Raven.
"If we do not go through soon, I'm afraid we will not have enough time to stop Trigon." Said Reason. "Courage and Anger are getting impatient, and Timid is about to run away. We need to act soon, if not now."
Raven sighed. "Very well," she said. "You can come too if you wish, but I am warning you, Rook's mind will be a far more dangerous place than mine." She still felt bad about what she said about the others being weak, but she knew in her heart it was true. It was only a matter of time before they asked her about that again. Until then, she didn't want to think about it.
She turned and ran down the hill. Happy followed, pretending to be an aeroplane. Reason followed a lot more sensibly, floating quietly a couple of inches above the ground. The Titans considered the difference between the two emotions for a moment, before shrugging. They followed the Ravens, who now had all gone through the gate, with the exception of Raven herself and Anger, who stood in chains beside her. She growled at the Titans as they passed her, and went through the portal. Raven looked at her temper with scorn. "I don't trust you to be on your own in here and not do anything." She said. "So you're coming with me."
Anger just scowled, and snarled as she was dragged through the portal.
The mind of Rook was a very different place to that of Raven.
For one thing, it was very unstable. The ground shook violently occasionally, and there was an ever-present deep throbbing sensation coming from far away. The fog covered everything – it was impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. The Ravens pulled their hoods up around their heads.
"Be careful" she warned the titans. "I have only ever been inside Rook's mind once before, and it isn't a very friendly place even at the best of times...
She remembered it well. It had been just after they had been taught to meditate. They had all sat quietly in meditation, but something went wrong, and Rook's powers started raging wildly around him. It was then that her mother had taken them all into Rook's mind to show them what the problem was.
It had been their first meeting with their father. Raven had learnt enough from the experience to know that Rook's head was not a place she wanted to be in if she could help it. The ordeal had had a lasting effect on Rook too. He never showed any emotion after that... almost as if he was scared to invite Trigon back in...
"Raven?" inquired Starfire, snapping the psychic back to reality.
"Hmm?" she replied, distantly.
"Where is Rook? It is impossible to see anything through this mist. It is worse than the fog that surrounds the Swamp moons of Naktar 5!"
Raven gave a short laugh. "Rook never liked to give straight answers, so his mind has grown used to secrecy." She said. "You never find anything out here until it is too late."
"Well said... You may wish to turn around very slowly. I would not make any sudden moves if I were you."
The Titans and Emotions turned to see a figure drawing out of the mist. He wore a metallic grey cloak, and rather oddly he was also wearing a suit of what looked to be plate armour, minus the helmet. He surveyed the group with steel coloured eyes, before bowing grandly.
"Raven, you have come at last!" exclaimed the figure, his voice echoing in the mist. "Although you have brought outsiders unto our realm, I am very much relieved to see you here. I am Valour, and I was sent to look for you all. The battle with Trigon goes ill..."
"Is he for real?" grinned Beastboy. Raven nudged him stiffly in the chest, and stepped forward to address the emotion.
"We are glad to have found you," she said, "We couldn't find our way anywhere in this fog. Where is Rook?"
"He is close, quite close indeed. If you would all care to follow me, I shall take you to him directly." Valour bowed again, then turned stiffly, walking away into the mist. The Titans followed, mutely, not knowing where the strange emotion would take them...
Rook advanced on the Titans, once again cold and uncompromising. He raised his right hand, which started to glow.
"I may have run out of power before" he said coolly, "but that will not happen again. This time, you will be mine Raven."
Rook suddenly gripped his head in pain again.
"Stop struggling!" he bellowed to himself. "There is no use in resisting!"
Raven heard Rook's real voice inside her head.
'Run away from here', it said, 'Go into my mind through yours. I will wait for you there. I desperately need your help.... I can by you time before then...'
Raven turned quickly to the others.
"We have to go back to the tower, now." She said. "No arguing" she interrupted as Robin started to speak. "I'll explain everything on the way." She half-pulled, half led the Titans back to the T-Car, where they got in and started driving full speed back to the tower. After a few moments silence, she began. She spoke quickly, in case she didn't have time to say it all.
"His name is Rook, and he is my brother." She began, hurriedly. "I have six siblings in total, making seven of us – that's Griffon, Jay, Owl, Falcon, Dove and Rook." She blushed. "My mother never did have any flair for names..."
"Go on", said Beastboy.
"Anyway, we each represent a different chakra, an energy vortex in the body. I have the powers of the Ajana, or Third Eye chakra. Rook is the representation of the crown chakra. He is the oldest by about 30 seconds..." she looked down.
"We all have conflicting emotions inside of us, and it is that which our father Trigon manipulates to corrupt us and make us serve his causes. From what I have heard, all of my brothers and sisters have been corrupted, and I am the only one who remains free."
"Let me guess," said Robin, "Rook is here to corrupt you?"
"Yes." Sighed Raven, "But he's fighting Trigon's control, you saw it. He said that if I can get into his mind, there is a chance I can help him to fight Trigon out of it. So that is where we are going – I need my mirror..."
It was a few minutes later (it may have been a tense situation, but Cyborg always loved any reason to put his foot down on the accelerator). The Titans were stood outside Raven's room. They waited for a few minutes, then Beastboy knocked on the door.
"Raven?" he called, "You ok in there?"
There was no answer. The door creaked open slightly, revealing what Raven was up to. She was sat cross-legged on her bed, with her eyes closed. The mirror was in her hands. Beastboy stamped on the floor.
"She went in without us!" he fumed. "Doesn't she trust us?"
"Evidently not," said a bewildered Starfire. Even after they had switched bodies for a short time, she still didn't completely understand Raven. "Maybe she wants to be alone."
Robin intervened. "Well, I think Rook's too dangerous for her to handle alone. We need to find a way into her mind somehow..."
Beast boy grinned. "Oh, that's easy." He said. "Just look into her magic mirror..."
There was a moment of silence.
"How did you know that?" asked Robin.
"Um... me and Cyborg were in there before. Remember that time with Dr Light? Well, it was then."
"Oh." Was the best reply Robin could give. As one hero, the Titans walked over to the prone form of Raven, and looked at the mirror.
They saw 4 red eyes staring back, and felt a sensation of travelling very far, very fast.
The dark world of Raven's mind unfolded before the Titans. Small chunks of rock floated through the upper atmosphere of the place, and an eerie silence descended on the group as they took in the scene. A hoard of dark ravens clustered around, each craning to see the newcomers.
'Turn back...' came the cold whisper on the wind. Starfire shivered.
"I do not like this place" she wailed. "It is scary and dark and mean!"
"So this is what goes on in Raven's mind..." thought Robin aloud. He snapped back to reality, if that is what this place could be called. "Ok Titans, let's find Raven!"
After what seemed countless hours of searching the barren ground for clues as to where their friend could have gone, the Titans finally found something that could provide an answer. A dense cloud of what seemed to be fog was enveloping the side of one of the dark mountains to the East. All getting the same idea at the same time, the Titans ran towards it. The ravens fluttered around them angrily, all shouting "Turn Back" in their raspy voices. Even though this perturbed and shocked the titans (especially Starfire), they kept going. The cloud of fog was getting really close now.
As they rounded the crest of the hill, they saw Raven stood with her emotions. They were all chanting at an area of the hill, which seemed to be no different from any other part, except that fog was billowing from it. As the titans drew closer, one of the Ravens turned and saw them. She laughed happily and ran up the hill to meet them, her arms wide.
"My friends! How great it is to see you here again so soon!" cried Happiness, hugging all of them in turn. The other emotions turned to face them, and raven walked forward. The ravens circling the other Titans flew away from her as she approached.
"What do you think you're doing here?" she said, in a slightly annoyed tone. "This is none of your business any more; I need to save my brother alone."
"Oh no you don't" scolded Beastboy. "Remember what happened when you tried to defeat your anger when we were in here last time? You needed our help then. And no matter how strong you think you are, you're not too strong not to need friends!"
Raven looked down, ashamedly. "A-about what I said earlier..." she began.
"Don't worry about it." Said Robin. "You lost your temper, that's all. We know you didn't mean it." Beastboy looked down at the ground with an annoyed expression – Raven's earlier words had really gotten to him.
Only the distant fluttering of wings and the gentle sounds of rocks floating through the starry sky permeated the long silence that followed. Another Raven walked up the hill to stand next to Raven. She was cloaked in yellow, and wore thick glasses. Before speaking to Raven, she bowed slightly to the Titans.
"Reason." She said, helpfully. Then she turned to Raven.
"If we do not go through soon, I'm afraid we will not have enough time to stop Trigon." Said Reason. "Courage and Anger are getting impatient, and Timid is about to run away. We need to act soon, if not now."
Raven sighed. "Very well," she said. "You can come too if you wish, but I am warning you, Rook's mind will be a far more dangerous place than mine." She still felt bad about what she said about the others being weak, but she knew in her heart it was true. It was only a matter of time before they asked her about that again. Until then, she didn't want to think about it.
She turned and ran down the hill. Happy followed, pretending to be an aeroplane. Reason followed a lot more sensibly, floating quietly a couple of inches above the ground. The Titans considered the difference between the two emotions for a moment, before shrugging. They followed the Ravens, who now had all gone through the gate, with the exception of Raven herself and Anger, who stood in chains beside her. She growled at the Titans as they passed her, and went through the portal. Raven looked at her temper with scorn. "I don't trust you to be on your own in here and not do anything." She said. "So you're coming with me."
Anger just scowled, and snarled as she was dragged through the portal.
The mind of Rook was a very different place to that of Raven.
For one thing, it was very unstable. The ground shook violently occasionally, and there was an ever-present deep throbbing sensation coming from far away. The fog covered everything – it was impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction. The Ravens pulled their hoods up around their heads.
"Be careful" she warned the titans. "I have only ever been inside Rook's mind once before, and it isn't a very friendly place even at the best of times...
She remembered it well. It had been just after they had been taught to meditate. They had all sat quietly in meditation, but something went wrong, and Rook's powers started raging wildly around him. It was then that her mother had taken them all into Rook's mind to show them what the problem was.
It had been their first meeting with their father. Raven had learnt enough from the experience to know that Rook's head was not a place she wanted to be in if she could help it. The ordeal had had a lasting effect on Rook too. He never showed any emotion after that... almost as if he was scared to invite Trigon back in...
"Raven?" inquired Starfire, snapping the psychic back to reality.
"Hmm?" she replied, distantly.
"Where is Rook? It is impossible to see anything through this mist. It is worse than the fog that surrounds the Swamp moons of Naktar 5!"
Raven gave a short laugh. "Rook never liked to give straight answers, so his mind has grown used to secrecy." She said. "You never find anything out here until it is too late."
"Well said... You may wish to turn around very slowly. I would not make any sudden moves if I were you."
The Titans and Emotions turned to see a figure drawing out of the mist. He wore a metallic grey cloak, and rather oddly he was also wearing a suit of what looked to be plate armour, minus the helmet. He surveyed the group with steel coloured eyes, before bowing grandly.
"Raven, you have come at last!" exclaimed the figure, his voice echoing in the mist. "Although you have brought outsiders unto our realm, I am very much relieved to see you here. I am Valour, and I was sent to look for you all. The battle with Trigon goes ill..."
"Is he for real?" grinned Beastboy. Raven nudged him stiffly in the chest, and stepped forward to address the emotion.
"We are glad to have found you," she said, "We couldn't find our way anywhere in this fog. Where is Rook?"
"He is close, quite close indeed. If you would all care to follow me, I shall take you to him directly." Valour bowed again, then turned stiffly, walking away into the mist. The Titans followed, mutely, not knowing where the strange emotion would take them...