Hi! This is the next chapter of Soulless. I'll make this author's note
short and get down to business.
Thank you time!
randomfan, MistressDarkness, and Mily: Thank you for the reviews! Glad you like the fic!
. . .: Well, Robin can take all the bad guys down most of the time, but there are probably some cases where he simply can't. It's been proven that he's powerful, but if he didn't need help there wouldn't be the Teen Titans. Just the Teen Titan. And as to why Raven can't learn to fight without her powers: I suppose she could, but to learn to fight well enough to make up for her missing super-powers would take years and years. And if there are bad guys running around all the time, she doesn't have time to learn. She'd be dead before she's half as powerful as she used to be. Does that answer your questions?
As a final note, I forgot the name of that time travel guy in How Long Is Forever, but I'm 50% sure his name's Warp. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.
Disclaimer: *sigh* Do we really have to go over this again? Okay, fine. I don't own Teen Titans, and I don't own Japanese. Teen Titans is property of whatever, and Japanese belongs to the Japanese. In Japan.
No offense to people who speak Japanese. Later on I have some things written in Japanese. I used an Internet English-to-Japanese translator for these things. I was going to use Latin, so that I wouldn't offend any people of Latin origins (because there aren't any people of Latin origins anymore), but they didn't have the word "mirror" which I need, and I'm a dedicated manga/anime fan, so I used Japanese. Sorry if you're annoyed at that.
||( * )||
Beast Boy woke and jumped up. He had an idea! He knew how to help Raven!
'It's so obvious!' he thought, pulling on his clothes. 'Why didn't I do this six hours ago?!'
He ran to Raven's room and knocked on the door. "Hey Rave, can I come in? I need to look at some of your books."
There was a grunt from inside the room, some shuffles, and Raven opened the door, her lids half-closed. "Why right now?" she asked. "It's two in the morning. We should be asleep right now."
Beast Boy looked at his feet. "Um, I guess I got kind of excited..."
"Go ahead," Raven said, opening the door wider. "I'm awake now. But why do you need my books?"
"I think there might be something in one of them to help you!" Beast Boy said. "All your hocus-pocus stuff might have something about your mirror."
"I told you, I don't need help," Raven said as Beast Boy eagerly ran to one of her bookshelves. "I'm perfectly fine the way I am. I'm happy."
Beast Boy dropped the book he'd been holding on his foot. "Ow! Uh, what did you say Raven?"
"I'm happy."
Beast Boy stared at Raven. She didn't... look happy. She looked the same way she had the day before. "You still don't know what that means, do you?"
"I do," Raven said. "It means I'm in no mental pain. And since the loss of my powers isn't really a pain, but more like a disability, and I have no other signs I'm in mental pain, I must be happy. Am I right?"
Beast Boy sighed. "No. You're not. Trust my, Rave, you're not happy. I know more about this stuff than you do."
"Okay. So, am I sad?"
Beast Boy glanced at Raven. "Okay, let's call it that. You're sad."
"Fine." Raven walked up to stand behind Beast Boy. "But I think I'm okay without my emotions. In fact, I think I'm better this way."
Beast Boy dropped another book. "WHAT?! How can you SAY that, Raven?!"
Raven winced. "Don't speak so loud. It hurts people's ears."
"Sorry."
"I think I'm better off this way because I don't think emotions are necessary. Mental pain is pain all the same, and if you can get mental pain from emotions, then I don't want them."
"But what about the good parts of emotions?" Beast Boy asked. "Being happy, and stuff?"
"I can't see what's so special about being happy."
"Well... it makes you feel good."
"Good? You cannot 'feel' good. You are either in pain or not." Raven gestured to Beast Boy's foot. "And emotions caused you to drop that book, did they not? Which emotion made you do that, anyway?"
"Shock."
"Like being electrified?"
"Yes, but being shocked is kind of like a... mental pain."
"An electric-feeling mental pain..."
"Right."
They were silent for awhile, as Beast Boy either added books to a stack by his feet or chucked them over his shoulder, depending on how useful they looked. "Being happy is more than not being in pain. It's like..." Beast Boy mulled over the thought. How do you explain something like happiness to someone who has no sense of pleasure? Only pain and neutrality? "Happiness is when you are in no pain at all. Not hunger or injury or itching or illness or anything like that."
"But, that's what I'm like right now," Raven said.
"Yeah but... you're tired, right?"
"Right."
"So, you can't be happy because you're tired. And your eyes probably itch a little, and your feet feel a little pressure on them from standing that might be a little uncomfortable, it's a little bit warm in here..."
Raven nodded. "I think I understand. But, all those things can be fixed. I could turn the thermostat back to its original temperature, and get some sleep. Then I'd be happy?"
"Well, no." Beast Boy chucked an Edgar Allen Poe book over his shoulder, and placed '18th Century Enchantments' by his feet. "The thing is, those pains are still there, you just don't feel them, and you can't feel them until you're not happy anymore."
Raven nodded. "Now that I understand, I think happiness is... good." Beast Boy smiled. "Why do you do that thing with your mouth? Where it stretches and turns upward?"
"It means I'm happy."
"Oh."
Beast Boy picked up a book titled 'Burakkumajikku Tekagami Shoji Zenrei'
"Hey Rave," Beast Boy said. "What's this mean?"
Raven glanced at the cover "'Black-Magic Hand-Mirror Owning One's Whole Soul'." Raven translated. "It's in Japanese."
Beast Boy gaped at Raven. "You know Japanese?"
"Yes."
Beast Boy stared at Raven blankly a few seconds, then shrugged it off. "Well, I have a funny feeling that this is just the book we're looking for."
"What's a 'funny' feeling?"
"Um... It's a version of intuition." Beast Boy thunked the book down on a small table. "Now, let's read this!"
***
"Sakasama noroi buro-kun, sakugen habamu, jisan bachiatari tekagami tashou," Raven chanted. It was nearly four in the morning. Beast Boy was just barely awake. He looked at Raven, waiting for her to translate this line. "I should've stayed in bed," he muttered. Raven ignored him. He'd told her to ignore him when he muttered like that.
Raven cleared her throat. "Reverse a curse broken, go back to the beginning to prevent, by bringing the accursed mirror into future existence."
Beast Boy let that thought roll around his head, until something connected. He sat up. "A broken curse? Like, the broken mirror?"
Raven looked at Beast Boy. "Yes. This book calls the mirror a curse in some places."
"So," Beast Boy stood up, "so, we have to bring the mirror back from the past, 'into future existence'! Then it'll never have been broken and you'll be okay! I get it. It's so SIMPLE!" Beast Boy started pacing. "So, how do we get into the past? I guess we'll have to time-travel. How do we do that?" Beast Boy looked at Raven, who didn't answer but was watching him with her soulless eyes. Surprisingly, Beast Boy didn't mind anymore. Maybe because he knew they wouldn't look like that much longer. He turned back to the task at hand. "Now, how are we supposed to be able to time travel? Would Cy know anything about that? No, he's to busy with his car... wait, what about that time travel dude? What was his name? Warp or something. If we can find him, we can get your mirror! YES! Okay, so, how do we find him? Starfire came back from the future by herself. But maybe she knows where he is. Or maybe he's trapped in the future? So, we'd have to wait twenty years to catch him. Dang! But, if Star changed the future so that he didn't steal that thingie, he wouldn't have read about his theft in history books and come back to steal it. Which would mean Star wouldn't get a chance to stop him so he'd come back here anyway! So he IS here! Or. is he?" Beast Boy stopped to look at Raven. "Am I making any sense?"
"Yes," Raven said. "But you're talking to fast." She paused, then asked, "Are you happy right now?"
"Huh?" Beast Boy was caught off guard. "Well, yeah. I guess I am. How could you tell?"
"You're not tired anymore."
||(-*-)||
Well, that was fun. And I did it on the day I promised, too! Boo-ya!
I personally think this is the best chapter so far. But, it gets good next chapter, too. The hund for Warp is on!
~ckret2
Thank you time!
randomfan, MistressDarkness, and Mily: Thank you for the reviews! Glad you like the fic!
. . .: Well, Robin can take all the bad guys down most of the time, but there are probably some cases where he simply can't. It's been proven that he's powerful, but if he didn't need help there wouldn't be the Teen Titans. Just the Teen Titan. And as to why Raven can't learn to fight without her powers: I suppose she could, but to learn to fight well enough to make up for her missing super-powers would take years and years. And if there are bad guys running around all the time, she doesn't have time to learn. She'd be dead before she's half as powerful as she used to be. Does that answer your questions?
As a final note, I forgot the name of that time travel guy in How Long Is Forever, but I'm 50% sure his name's Warp. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.
Disclaimer: *sigh* Do we really have to go over this again? Okay, fine. I don't own Teen Titans, and I don't own Japanese. Teen Titans is property of whatever, and Japanese belongs to the Japanese. In Japan.
No offense to people who speak Japanese. Later on I have some things written in Japanese. I used an Internet English-to-Japanese translator for these things. I was going to use Latin, so that I wouldn't offend any people of Latin origins (because there aren't any people of Latin origins anymore), but they didn't have the word "mirror" which I need, and I'm a dedicated manga/anime fan, so I used Japanese. Sorry if you're annoyed at that.
||( * )||
Beast Boy woke and jumped up. He had an idea! He knew how to help Raven!
'It's so obvious!' he thought, pulling on his clothes. 'Why didn't I do this six hours ago?!'
He ran to Raven's room and knocked on the door. "Hey Rave, can I come in? I need to look at some of your books."
There was a grunt from inside the room, some shuffles, and Raven opened the door, her lids half-closed. "Why right now?" she asked. "It's two in the morning. We should be asleep right now."
Beast Boy looked at his feet. "Um, I guess I got kind of excited..."
"Go ahead," Raven said, opening the door wider. "I'm awake now. But why do you need my books?"
"I think there might be something in one of them to help you!" Beast Boy said. "All your hocus-pocus stuff might have something about your mirror."
"I told you, I don't need help," Raven said as Beast Boy eagerly ran to one of her bookshelves. "I'm perfectly fine the way I am. I'm happy."
Beast Boy dropped the book he'd been holding on his foot. "Ow! Uh, what did you say Raven?"
"I'm happy."
Beast Boy stared at Raven. She didn't... look happy. She looked the same way she had the day before. "You still don't know what that means, do you?"
"I do," Raven said. "It means I'm in no mental pain. And since the loss of my powers isn't really a pain, but more like a disability, and I have no other signs I'm in mental pain, I must be happy. Am I right?"
Beast Boy sighed. "No. You're not. Trust my, Rave, you're not happy. I know more about this stuff than you do."
"Okay. So, am I sad?"
Beast Boy glanced at Raven. "Okay, let's call it that. You're sad."
"Fine." Raven walked up to stand behind Beast Boy. "But I think I'm okay without my emotions. In fact, I think I'm better this way."
Beast Boy dropped another book. "WHAT?! How can you SAY that, Raven?!"
Raven winced. "Don't speak so loud. It hurts people's ears."
"Sorry."
"I think I'm better off this way because I don't think emotions are necessary. Mental pain is pain all the same, and if you can get mental pain from emotions, then I don't want them."
"But what about the good parts of emotions?" Beast Boy asked. "Being happy, and stuff?"
"I can't see what's so special about being happy."
"Well... it makes you feel good."
"Good? You cannot 'feel' good. You are either in pain or not." Raven gestured to Beast Boy's foot. "And emotions caused you to drop that book, did they not? Which emotion made you do that, anyway?"
"Shock."
"Like being electrified?"
"Yes, but being shocked is kind of like a... mental pain."
"An electric-feeling mental pain..."
"Right."
They were silent for awhile, as Beast Boy either added books to a stack by his feet or chucked them over his shoulder, depending on how useful they looked. "Being happy is more than not being in pain. It's like..." Beast Boy mulled over the thought. How do you explain something like happiness to someone who has no sense of pleasure? Only pain and neutrality? "Happiness is when you are in no pain at all. Not hunger or injury or itching or illness or anything like that."
"But, that's what I'm like right now," Raven said.
"Yeah but... you're tired, right?"
"Right."
"So, you can't be happy because you're tired. And your eyes probably itch a little, and your feet feel a little pressure on them from standing that might be a little uncomfortable, it's a little bit warm in here..."
Raven nodded. "I think I understand. But, all those things can be fixed. I could turn the thermostat back to its original temperature, and get some sleep. Then I'd be happy?"
"Well, no." Beast Boy chucked an Edgar Allen Poe book over his shoulder, and placed '18th Century Enchantments' by his feet. "The thing is, those pains are still there, you just don't feel them, and you can't feel them until you're not happy anymore."
Raven nodded. "Now that I understand, I think happiness is... good." Beast Boy smiled. "Why do you do that thing with your mouth? Where it stretches and turns upward?"
"It means I'm happy."
"Oh."
Beast Boy picked up a book titled 'Burakkumajikku Tekagami Shoji Zenrei'
"Hey Rave," Beast Boy said. "What's this mean?"
Raven glanced at the cover "'Black-Magic Hand-Mirror Owning One's Whole Soul'." Raven translated. "It's in Japanese."
Beast Boy gaped at Raven. "You know Japanese?"
"Yes."
Beast Boy stared at Raven blankly a few seconds, then shrugged it off. "Well, I have a funny feeling that this is just the book we're looking for."
"What's a 'funny' feeling?"
"Um... It's a version of intuition." Beast Boy thunked the book down on a small table. "Now, let's read this!"
***
"Sakasama noroi buro-kun, sakugen habamu, jisan bachiatari tekagami tashou," Raven chanted. It was nearly four in the morning. Beast Boy was just barely awake. He looked at Raven, waiting for her to translate this line. "I should've stayed in bed," he muttered. Raven ignored him. He'd told her to ignore him when he muttered like that.
Raven cleared her throat. "Reverse a curse broken, go back to the beginning to prevent, by bringing the accursed mirror into future existence."
Beast Boy let that thought roll around his head, until something connected. He sat up. "A broken curse? Like, the broken mirror?"
Raven looked at Beast Boy. "Yes. This book calls the mirror a curse in some places."
"So," Beast Boy stood up, "so, we have to bring the mirror back from the past, 'into future existence'! Then it'll never have been broken and you'll be okay! I get it. It's so SIMPLE!" Beast Boy started pacing. "So, how do we get into the past? I guess we'll have to time-travel. How do we do that?" Beast Boy looked at Raven, who didn't answer but was watching him with her soulless eyes. Surprisingly, Beast Boy didn't mind anymore. Maybe because he knew they wouldn't look like that much longer. He turned back to the task at hand. "Now, how are we supposed to be able to time travel? Would Cy know anything about that? No, he's to busy with his car... wait, what about that time travel dude? What was his name? Warp or something. If we can find him, we can get your mirror! YES! Okay, so, how do we find him? Starfire came back from the future by herself. But maybe she knows where he is. Or maybe he's trapped in the future? So, we'd have to wait twenty years to catch him. Dang! But, if Star changed the future so that he didn't steal that thingie, he wouldn't have read about his theft in history books and come back to steal it. Which would mean Star wouldn't get a chance to stop him so he'd come back here anyway! So he IS here! Or. is he?" Beast Boy stopped to look at Raven. "Am I making any sense?"
"Yes," Raven said. "But you're talking to fast." She paused, then asked, "Are you happy right now?"
"Huh?" Beast Boy was caught off guard. "Well, yeah. I guess I am. How could you tell?"
"You're not tired anymore."
||(-*-)||
Well, that was fun. And I did it on the day I promised, too! Boo-ya!
I personally think this is the best chapter so far. But, it gets good next chapter, too. The hund for Warp is on!
~ckret2