Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans! And I do not own the song from Love Hina, Sakura Saku
-B L A C K – M A G I C-
Chapter 1- Rushing Air, Always Brushing Past
Jewelry Store
'Main Department'
"Titans GO!"
Robin shouted out his customary battle cry.
The five superheroes charged towards the robotic henchman, ideas and fighting tactics quickly formulating in their minds. The henchmen were Slade's, Robin's worst enemy, and they were off stealing once again, though peculiarly, in a jewelry store. The robots got ready for their attack as the Titans darted forward. Nonetheless, either way you looked at it, it was really: Robin vs. Slade.
Robin's face was contorted in an ugly grimace, filled with tenacity and rage. His Bo staff was ready in hand, his utility belt geared up and readily equipped. The Boy Wonder charged in ahead of his team and leaped into the air, bringing down his volatile weapon and crushing at least one of his enemy's toys. He then spun around, twirling his staff like a baton spinning a mile a minute.
The rest of the team caught up with him. Starbolts and righteous green power blasted out of Starfire's eyes and from the palms of her hands. A blue, super canon blast shot out from Cyborg's right arm, as he brought the boom...! Beast Boy changed into various, ferocious animals, knocking down and tackling the mob of androids. And Raven threw black telekinetic energy at the robots coming towards her, and in the process, causing their heads to explode. Each was trying to get in the game. However, their leader was becoming scarier and more serious, taking out their share of the fight.
Robin was a blur of green, red, and yellow, flurries of punches and kicks being exchanged between him and the mechanical men. But, the difference between them was that Robin wasn't the one to fall in the end of the scuffle. The others had the chance of staring in fright as the Titan leader that they thought they knew so well began transforming into the uncontrolled beast that only came out when Slade was involved.
Suddenly, one particular henchman managed to escape the fight. He sneakily darted towards a hidden corridor and tried leaving the pointless brawl, the jewel in his hands, prepared to hand it to Slade, his Master.
His masked eyes saw the man taking off. Robin ran towards him without a warning. The other Titans woke up from their frightened stupor and began to pick up where Robin left off, as he chased the captor of the precious stone.
"Leaving so soon?" Robin spoke mockingly as he followed Slade's minion, his Bo staff waiting patiently to make contact with his metal skull.
The man kept running for dear life, trying to create obstacles in the path of the Boy Wonder. To no avail, Robin didn't give up and he didn't slow down. In any case, the android was only slowing himself down. Thus, he kept racing down the hall and up a staircase.
The henchman led him to the rooftop.
A blast of cold air blasted against Robin's skin as he kicked the door open to the peak of the building.
Unfortunately, that wasn't the only thing that gave him the chills.
"Hello, Robin." An icy, familiar voice reached his ears.
"Slade." He gritted his teeth heatedly. The Boy Wonder turned towards his voice, his eyebrows knit together in malicious hatred. The henchman had given Slade the unusual jewel.
"Nice to see you again, my boy."
"What do you want with that crystal?" Robin demanded an answer. He clenched and unclenched his fists. It was the only thing that he could do from losing all control.
"Oh, this?" The crazed villain spoke nonchalantly. "You don't need to know, just yet. Unless... you're ready to surrender and become my apprentice."
"Never!" He barked out, beginning to charge towards his blatant form.
"Fine, have it your way." Anger and annoyance shot from his voice, as a puff of smoke burst out of nowhere, sending powdery particles in front of Robin's eyes.
"NO!" Robin jumped directly into the smoke, searching futilely for his enemy. He madly swung his staff around to help clear the dust, but when it had finally been cleared, he was nowhere to be seen. "Arrggh!" He growled.
No.
He got away.
Again.
The masked boy punched the air angrily to help get rid of his resentment and irritation, but it didn't work. Why? Why did he let him get away? He was right there in front of him. He closed his eyes and tried to calm down, breathing in and out, to get at least get a bit of control over his being. His shoulders slumped down in defeat as he walked back down the stairs to his comrades, his head held down.
When he got there, he wasn't surprised to see that every robot had perished upon the ground.
"Robin!" They all called out to him. They rushed over to him.
"So, dude, what happened?" questioned Beast Boy.
"Yeah, tell us how you kicked that guy's butt." urged Cyborg.
A momentary silence passed, as the others realized their mistake.
"I didn't." He spoke bitterly. "Slade was there, but I couldn't."
"It is okay, Robin." Starfire tried to encourage him.
"No, it's not. It's not going to be okay until Slade's gone."
Robin left the others speechless, as he walked away, alone, back to Titans Tower, the others following closely behind.
Titans Tower
Robin walked back to his room, without joining the others for dinner.
Starfire tried to see him, but the others only shook their head.
They had dinner in silence.
Then they went to bed.
Except for one.
'Kitchen'
Raven stood tiredly in front of the sink and piles and piles of dishes. A bored expression was engraved on her face as she began dish duty for the night. She turned one of the knobs of the faucet, so that cold water rushed out. Then she turned the other knob, hot water mixing with the cold, producing a lukewarm blend.
Lazily, she sponged the dishes, creating numerous, tiny bubbly soapsuds on their white, porcelain surfaces. She saw her reflection in its shiny surface then ran the plate under the water, drying afterwards. She felt so stressed from the previous events. It would be one of those times again when there would be a hiatus of awkward silences and nervous conversations. They would have to avoid certain subjects and their leader would be more withdrawn and detached from reality. Oh, how this whole routinely ordeal was stupid and so absolutely meaningless.
It was sad, really.
Raven picked up a glass, holding it into the light, watching semi-interested at how it shone lustrously. Then putting it down, she cleansed the glass carefully, freeing it from any germy specks. It would be so much easier if she could clean up disturbing muddles like this, so maybe she could just relax. An uneasy atmosphere sent bad vibes, and bad vibes interfered with her concentration.
The dark girl absentmindedly hummed to herself in a drone as she began finishing off the next pile of dishes, scrubbing them into a spotlessly immaculate state. It was incredibly boring, such tedious work. They really should have bought a dish washer. Using much-honed telekinesis, she placed the eating utensils and the dishware back in the cupboards. Then she went back to work.
Distractedly, her mouth began to move, her voice crooning softly, into a foreign song she hadn't remembered in a long, long time. She washed the plates drearily.
It was getting late.
"Yane no ue de sora o aogu, hizashi wa uraraka...
Miageru sora, karadajuu genki ga minagitteku..."
She sang it slowly, opposed to its usually fast, lively beat.
"That's so wonderful... ikiterunda...
Yamerarenai, akirameru da nante..."
The song was supposed to be actually quite happy, though her voice spoke otherwise. It was sad and lifeless, full of loneliness and fatigue. And in its own way, it was beautiful.
"Tohou ni kureta kinou ni sayonara...
Futsufutsu to wakiagaru kono kimochi...
Nando demo yomigaeru, hana o sakaseyou..."
She put the last dish down, beginning to dry all of the soapy, dripping plates.
"Omoide wa itsu mo amai nige basho...
Dakedo tachi kire, asu o ikiru tame...
Shukufuku no toki wa kuru, te o nobashite-"
"Raven?"
A familiar voice broke her out of her beguiling chant.
The dark girl froze, realizing what she had been doing.
What the hell, she thought to herself, was I... singing?
Raven turned around slowly, embarrassment creeping up her neck.
Robin stood at the entrance that adjoined the kitchen to the dark hallways, a look of surprise and wonder embracing his handsome features. His morbid feelings had numbed a bit before and were now completely erased with astonishment, and his newfound discovery.
He had been hungry and had thought that all the Titans had finally gone to sleep. However, he was wrong. And for once, he was actually quite grateful about that. He had heard something very faint and lovely, echoing down the halls as he walked towards his destination. Curiosity had gotten the better of him, and he ended up forgetting his appetite.
But, he was overwhelmed with shock when he found the source.
"Raven, were you just... singing?" He asked hesitantly.
"No." She said in denial. "I wasn't." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And if you tell anyone that I was, I swear you'll never see the light of day again... ever." She growled in her defense. A glass exploded.
Robin couldn't help but grin, ignoring her words. She had been singing.
"Fine." He sat down calmly by the table, a smile still tugging at the corners of his mouth. "But, you have such a pretty voice. I don't know why you kept it a secret."
Raven blushed uncomfortably, not used to compliments. Stupid Boy. She turned back to drying the rest of the ceramic. The Boy Wonder watched her carefully.
The dark girl noticed Robin was deathly silent, so she looked back at him. His elbow was propped up on the table, his head resting in the palm of his hand. He stared at her in a dreamy abstraction, smirking smugly.
"Stop staring," She bit out, irritated. She threw a rag at him. He stirred out of his trance. "Make yourself useful."
Robin smiled, almost gratefully, as he got up. Boy, she really wanted to wipe that damn smirk off his face.
"So," he began once again. "What you were singing, what does it mean?" He raised an eye in curiosity, elucidating his desire for an answer. He began to help her dry the wet plates.
"Can you just drop the subject?"
He continued, more determined. "When you sang it, it sounded sad, but it seemed like it was meant to be happy."
Great, Raven thought dryly, since he can't get Slade, he's going to take it out on me.
"You're not going to stop bothering me about it, until I answer, are you?" She stated more than asked.
He only shook his head, the grin irking her even more.
She sighed heavily. "The words are in Japanese. They are relevant to that of my home planet. The song is a reasonably happy one. However, the way I sang it only led you to believe that it was sad."
"So, you learned it in your world?"
"Yes," she answered gloomily. "...as a child." Raven disposed of the dish rag and used her energy once again to put the rest of the objects away.
"Then, why'd you sing it so sadly?"
Raven glared at him. Then she turned off the lights in the kitchen, leaving him in the dark, the dim light in the hallway left as the only luminosity. Her slender form was outlined in the shadows as she stood in the frame of the door, crossing in-between the light and darkness.
"Now, that's... a different story."
The inexplicable titan exited.
'Hallways'
Robin sauntered down the empty halls, his hands in his pockets, whistling a tune.
His confrontation with Raven had left him in a better mood than before.
And now he was able to think with a clear head.
Slade, his mind reeled in, why did you want that jewel? What's so special about it?
The Boy Wonder recalled its details, relaying the information from his memory. The jewel was a dark, sinister color, a deep shade of bloodlike crimson. It had been particularly diamond shaped, but it had been cut unevenly into several different angles. Nonetheless, the jewel was stunning, but... it didn't appear to be any different from the average gem.
A light went off in Robin's head.
He got an idea!
The Titan leader ran off to the control room, where he would be doing some late-night researching.
Mysterious Unknown
'Slade's Headquarters'
Like any of Slade's hideouts, an orange glow filtered through the thick black lined windows, covering the inner confines in an unsettling gingery hue. Unusual objects were enveloped in the ominous light, but enclosed within its more personal regions, it was only shadows draped in black.
Though no matter where you were in the Halloween-like box, you would hear 'him'.
His calm, silently arrogant voice echoed hollowly throughout his menacing lair.
"Finally," Slade analyzed, "the plan is coming together, perfectly."
He held the dark crystal in his hand. All he needed was the second and third part of the three stones, and the operation would be complete. Of course, before conclusion, he would have to take care of the dark one.
"Do Not Forget Her." A voice came out of nowhere. It was deep, sounding primitive and dangerous.
"Of course not... I wouldn't let anyone ruin our plans, dear Trigon."
Next Morning...
Titans Tower
Each Titan rubbed their eyes tiredly as they woke up to face the new day.
What they woke up to, to say the least, was not to be expected.
Robin stood in front of them, still awake and still a mess from yesterday's fight. He had dark, heavy bags lying beneath his masked eyes and his arms and face were drained of color, looking pale. However, the look of triumph and achievement washed over his exhausted face. He grinned at all of them.
"Robin, dude," started Beast Boy gently. "DID YOU NOT GET ANY SLEEP!?" He flailed his arms in the air frantically, for emphasis at how crazy he thought his friend was.
Cyborg pushed his green comrade aside and asked in a more understandable way. "What he means is... Rob, umm... are you okay?"
The Titan leader glared at his friends.
"I'm fine." He spoke in vexation. "I just thought that you guys wanted to help-" He turned towards the large screen and was about to turn it off, a magnified image set on it.
Starfire interrupted. "Dear Robin, it is not that we do not want to help. We were merely worried. So, please," She requested, "continue."
Robin smiled slightly at her kind amendment. "Well," he turned back towards them, "this is the jewel that Slade stole. I did some researching on it last night. It's called-"
Suddenly, they heard a gasp.
Raven, late as usual, stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes widened in shock.
The scarlet jewel, enlarged on display, glinted evilly at her.
"Kahretsin." She whispered in disbelief.
Robin looked at her oddly. "No, actually, it's called Rubia. A greedy archaeologist named Curt McCall found it while digging around in the pyramids of Egypt, and instead of properly sending it to a museum, he wanted to sell it for big bucks."
"But why would Slade want it?" asked Cyborg in suspicion.
"That's what I don't get." He contemplated in puzzlement. "The only thing that I can think of is money. And this rock is worth a large ton of it." The masked titan still held an uneasy expression. "But what would Slade need money for, and wouldn't he just rob a bank if he did? Why all the trouble?"
"It's because it's not for money." Raven broke in, regaining her composure. "Rubia... on my planet, is genuinely called Kahretsin, the Stone of Hell."
"The Stone of Hell?" chorused the group.
"Yes." She spoke with seriousness. "Kahretsin is part of the Trias."
Beast Boy was confused. "What is the Tri-"
"Let me finish." She snapped at him in exasperation. "The Trias are three mystical objects, spoken of immense honor in the books of Azarath, representing Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. From what I remember, they were of jewel-like structures, and supposedly, possessed great powers... if combined." The dark girl explained.
"What kind of powers are we talking about?" Robin questioned her curiously.
"No one knows exactly. Some say that they are only coalesced to cause utter chaos and destruction. And others speak of their ability to tear the sheer dimensions of reality and unleash all demons from the Underworld."
Raven had read about the Trias and their black magic. Their existence had been taught to her in the utmost care in the temples of her planet. At first, she hadn't known why it was such a serious matter and why the mere mention of it gave the civilians shivers up their spines. It seemed very, very unlikely that she'd ever encounter the strange gems... But here she was, a picture of one of the much-feared entities, flashing off and on, in front of her.
"Where are these 'Tri-as' kept?" asked Starfire.
"Their whereabouts are unknown. However, theoretically, they were banished to the outskirts of the universe, parted from each other to the largest possible extent." She responded carefully, thinking of what was written in the elderly scriptures.
"But what about Slade," Robin brought up the subject once more. "Why would he want them?"
"Maybe because... the theories are wrong." inquired Cyborg.
Starfire added. "Maybe they are here... on Earth."
Robin, nonetheless, still doubted. "But that still wouldn't explain Slade's reason."
"Yeah," agreed Beast Boy. "Why would hewant to destroy Earth?"
"Maybe because, that's not the reason." Raven's eyes turned dark. "He has a partner."
Abruptly, the alarms sounded off crazily, flashing red with warning.
City Center
'Stage 1- Ballet Recital'
Little girls in frilly pink, tutus ran away from the classical music and the lavishly decorated stage. The fearful parents ran after their badly dressed children and out the door, swarming quickly out, away from the danger.
The faint sound of 'Titans Go!' wasn't left unheard outside the arena.
Each Titan jumped in sight at the same moment, simultaneously. The theater was almost completely empty. But that was only, almost.
On the elaborate stage... was Terra, dancing to the composition 'Swan Lake'. She daintily pranced around the wooden floors, pretending to be her own little prima-ballerina. She twirled and jumped in her own imaginary world, as rocks protruded up from the ground and spun in their own destruction, flying precariously around the room in midair.
"Terra," breathed Beast Boy. He didn't understand, but the sight of her made him feel weak. Even if she wasn't that much of a great dancer, he loved the way her golden blonde hair spun around as she turned freely, pirouette after pirouette. She was his greatest weakness.
"Terra!" shouted the Titan leader.
"Why are you doing this?" asked Starfire confusedly.
"Don't you know, Titans?" She spoke, mocking them. "I love," she stopped dancing, watching attentively at them all, "to DANCE!!!" She pulled down both her hands in front of her, controlling all of the flying rocks to dart straight towards the team of Titans.
Each of the helpless teenagers tried to evade the endless assault of plummeting stones and rubble.
Terra only watched with a vicious grin upon her face.
Out of the blue, from the mob of flying rocks, Robin appeared out of nowhere and sent her a flying kick in the face.
Ccrruunnnchhh...
She felt the bones by her jaw break.
The traitorous blonde looked up at her assailant and glared daggers at the Boy Wonder. He was eyeing her dangerously.
"It's over, Terra," He sneered angrily at her.
But it couldn't be over so soon.
She feigned a look of hurt.
Then... she smiled.
"ROBIN!" He heard Starfire scream his name.
The blue-eyed girl growled at him derisively. "Sorry Robin..."
Behind his back, a large boulder began rising higher and higher above his head.
Raven saw this and began her chant, eyes burning white. "Azarath, Metrion, Zynth-"
A large, cold hand clamped then fastened tightly over her mouth and nose, her eyes widening. She tilted her head slightly to see her offender. It was him. It was- Her eyes finally flickered then closed restlessly, a sleep-inducing scent taking over her senses. Her body fell slack.
Robin suddenly sensed something was wrong. He altered his gaze from the smirking Terra to the corner of his eye. Something was amiss. His eyes switched edgily from Titan-to-Titan. Cyborg was blasting rocks while running. Beast Boy was doing his best to avoid the razor-sharp pebbles by turning into different animals, though barely failing to do so. He appeared to be a little distracted. Starfire was green, bursting with bright lime energy. Rocks pummeled her, but she broke out of their grip with pure ferocity...
But where was-
"RAVEN!" He screamed out desperately, searching the place for her in a panic. He walked away from the spot Terra had designated his doom, just in the nick of time. The boulder hit the ground with a rumble, creating a large, gaping hole in the stage. He didn't care to pay attention.
Robin kept calling her name repeatedly, not noticing Terra getting up and bringing forth a large, jagged rock from the earth. She ripped it off carelessly, her dark mind trained only on the end of the masked titan.
Now, Terra thought eagerly, only I will be the apprentice of Slade.
Finally, the Titan leader saw the form of the unconscious Raven, in the arms of...
Slade, Robin snarled mentally.
Slade took her into his powerful, steely arms and noticed Robin glaring at him. For a brief moment, he grinned insultingly at the Boy Wonder. Then, he walked into the darkness lying beside him.
"RAAVVVENNNN!!!!!!!!" Robin jumped off the stage and darted towards the black hole, in an attempt to save the one he-
THWACK!
Everything went black.
Well, that's the story! Liked it?
You don't know how much 'imagination' I have left.
Oh yeah, Terra is alive in this story. Though I have some respect for her character, she's still a bit twisted here. It all depends on what you want.
Kahretsin: It means Hell in Turkish. lolz. I just had to make the name up from something!
To Be Continued?: Yehp. Of Course. And Updating Soon
I would really very much appreciate, Constructive-Criticism... Advice-for-the-Story... And Reviews!