Chapter Four: Of That Lie Thy Soul Hath Spoken
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore,
Though thy crest be shorn and shaven, thou,' I said, art sure no craven.
Ghastly grim and ancient raven wandering from the nightly shore -
Tell me what thy lordly name is on the Night's Plutonian shore!'
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'
"I think she'll be okay. Bruised bones are the worst of it." Cyborg sighed, reassuring Beast Boy that Starfire would recover. The two watched over their unconscious friend and teammate with heavy hearts.
"Poor Star. Why did Raven do that?! I thought she was one of us! What is the deal with her?!" Beast Boy said, glaring at the tile floor.
"I thought so, too, BB. We trusted her." Cyborg replied. Raven had become like a sister to him, talking with him, helping him fix his car. She had always been so calm, so collected. As far as he knew. Maybe this was the way she had always been; brutal to friend and foe alike, cold and manipulative. Cyborg shuddered at the thought, and shook his head, trying to clear his mind. The Raven they all knew and loved wouldn't purposely hurt someone like that.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy was lost in his own thoughts. He had finally started to get along with Raven, started to really trust her. But now, with the current incidents, he wasn't so sure if his trust was well placed. He missed the way things were, Raven reading her book in the usual spot on the couch, Robin returning to being the fearless leader/ sore loser, Starfire being clueless, Cyborg constantly trying to beat his high scores. He even missed the occasional villain, trying to spoil their fun. Beast boy was given a rude awakening from his reveries when Robin kicked open the door, carrying a very lifeless-looking Raven.
Cyborg rushed to ready his equipment while Robin laid the demonic girl out on an empty examining table next to Starfire's. As Cyborg began hooking up various equipment to Raven, the multiple monitors attached to Starfire began to beep and wake up. Star opened her eyes, and said,"Where am I? What happened? Raven." she glared at the girl beside her, her eyes glowing green.
"No, Star. Stop. She didn't mean to hurt you. She's having problems controlling her energy. That's what that earthquake was this morning." Robin said, collapsing in a nearby chair. Star looked over at him, the angry expression leaving her face, her eyes returning to normal.
"I do not understand, Robin. All is not well with Friend Raven?"
"No, but everything should be soon."
Cyborg's red eye began to glow, scanning Raven's body for any immediate injuries. He picked up tiny shards of metal embedded in her skin from the splintered support beam. However, the wounds seemed to have closed entirely, not even leaving a scar. Other than this puzzling observation, he found nothing physically wrong with her other than her comatose state. "There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her, but I'm going to run a few more tests."
"Maybe it's not something wrong on the outside..." said Beast Boy, thinking aloud.
"What?" Robin said, overhearing the young Changeling's musings.
"Well, a while ago, when Cy and I were looking for Raven, we checked out her room, and found this really weird mirror thingy." The image of the forbidding-looking mirror flashed through Robin's mind. "We looked at it, and ended up falling through this portal, and suddenly we were in a place we thought Raven came from. Then, we met all these different Ravens with different personalities in a bunch of different colored cloaks. Then, they told us that we were in her mind, not her home."
"She said that the mirror was a portal into a physical representation of her mind. A few minutes later, we battled this huge guy named Trigon, her father. After we defeated him, with the help of Raven's other personalities, we found out that Trigon was actually a facet of herself, Hatred. This version was wearing a red cloak, and had four eyes. This might be the same thing, happening all over again." Cyborg explained, taking over from where Beast Boy left off. "BB, go get the mirror. You're going to have to go and see what's going on."
"Are you kidding?! No way am I going back there. Once was enough. Why don't you go?"
"You know just as well as I do that I have to stay here and operate the equipment. You're the only one who knows where to go and how to get back."
"I'll go." said Robin, startling both of the other two. "I'm the one that caused this, so I'll fix it."
"But Robin, surely you are joking. You might get hurt." Starfire said, a worried tone in her voice.
"I know, but you DID get hurt, and I won't risk that happening again. I have to put a stop to this, and this is the only way I know how. Trust me, Star, this is not the way I wanted to do this." he said, looking over at Raven's scarcely breathing form.
"Wait...how is all this your fault? Tell us what's going on." Beast Boy demanded, Cyborg nodding in agreement.
"I'll tell you when I get back. There isn't time now. Please, believe me."
"Okay, but give us your word that you'll explain." Cyborg said, speaking for everyone.
"You have my word. Now, what do I do when I get into Raven's mind?" Cyborg and Beast Boy explained the gates and the guides to Robin. They also warned him about Hatred, the red-cloaked Raven, and her immense strength.
Robin sighed, and picked up the mirror. He gave a last glance at Cyborg and Beast Boy, and a final eye message to Starfire. A worried expression crossed the delicate features of her face as she understood. He threw one more glance over at the table where Raven lay unconscious, and looked into the depths of the mirror. Nothing happened. Robin was about to wonder if something was wrong, but the train of thought was interrupted by the alien sensation of sudden lightheadedness. Robin felt himself spiraling in a black vortex. He blacked out.
Robin woke up in a strange land with a black sky lit by crimson stars. He was looking around when a Raven in a yellow cloak and glasses startled him by saying, "You shouldn't be in Nevermore. Go back."
"I need to see Raven. I insist."
"Are you sure? She's not feeling her best right now."
"I'm sure."
"Then go through that gate. Joy will tell you where to go from there." Intelligence said, turning the page of her book. Robin turned, and walked toward the stone archway. "I'd be careful, though. Tread lightly; we've all learned to hate you." she called after him. He turned around to ask what she meant, but she was gone.