Chapter Eight: This Ebony Bird Beguiling...

Prophet!' said I, thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil! -
Whether tempter sent, or whether tempest tossed thee here ashore,
Desolate yet all undaunted, on this desert land enchanted -
On this home by horror haunted - tell me truly, I implore -
Is there - is there balm in Gilead? - tell me - tell me, I implore!'
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'

Prophet!' said I, thing of evil! - prophet still, if bird or devil!
By that Heaven that bends above us - by that God we both adore -
Tell this soul with sorrow laden if, within the distant Aidenn,
It shall clasp a sainted maiden whom the angels named Lenore -
Clasp a rare and radiant maiden, whom the angels named Lenore?'
Quoth the raven, Nevermore.'

Robin opened his eyes. Everything was out of focus. He found himself unable to look away from the sight before him. Raven was huddled on her bed, shivering. Her cloak lay discarded on the floor, ragged and torn. "This was after you brought her back. Here, why don't you take a closer look, Robin dear? You'll love what she's doing to herself." Hatred's voice echoed from everywhere at once. His view changed to one facing her. Raven's eyes were closed, and she was dragging a six-inch knife through her flesh on her wrist, each time spilling a single drop of blood before the cut disappeared.

"Robin...Why...? Why do you do these things to me? Why do you make me hate you?" He tried to touch her shoulder, but his hand passed through her.

"You can't touch her or talk to her. This is but a recording of a memory. Too bad. Maybe you could've stopped her." Hatred's voice laughed. Raven continued to hurt herself, cutting deeper each time. She sighed, and stopped momentarily. She dropped the knife, and walked to her closet. There, she pulled out a sizeable length of rope, stepped on top of a small step stool and threw one end over a rail in the top of her closet, and tied it there. Then, she tied the other end into a noose, thirteen knots adorning it. She slipped the thing over her head, and tightened it. She took a breath, closed her eyes, and kicked the stool out from underneath her.

"RAVEN, NO!" Robin cried out as she began to hang limply, her head lolling to one side, then another. He ran forward, and tried to cut her down. Before he could get to her, the mirror in the memory began to glow, and a translucent image of Raven floated out of it, picked up the knife, and cut her down. Then, the specter disappeared back into the depths of the mirror, and Raven lay unconscious in her closet. He ran to her side, and tried to brush a violet lock of hair out of her face. Bruises became visible around her neck momentarily, but disappeared. Raven's eyes opened, and she looked up at Robin, glared, and lashed out at him. Her hand went through him. Everything started to blur, and Robin found himself in another memory.

He found himself in Raven's room once more, though the interior looked as though a bomb had gone off. Raven sat on her ruined bed, her knife floating before her. Her eyes were closed. "Robin... Why do you keep leading me on? Why?" Suddenly, her eyes flew open, and the knife flew forward into her chest. Robin felt his heart stop. It was submerged two of its six inches into her chest. A small tear fell from her eye, but there was no other outward sign of emotion. She raised a trembling hand to push the knife farther into her. Another inch. She pulled out the blade, blood running down the handle. The blood threatened to fall on her bed. Suddenly, it glowed black, and the droplets expanded and flattened into a black-rimmed crimson mirror. There, Raven saw another tear fall down her own face. The mirror warped into a picture of Robin as he slept. "Why do you have to be so perfect? Why can't I be like you? Do you know why I love you? Because you're everything I'm not." she murmured quietly to no one in particular. "You're everything I want to be. That's why I love you, Robin. I can't live without you. That's also why I hate you, and can't bear to look at you anymore." She rose from her bed, and floated to her window, leaving a trail of bloody memory and regret as she moved. She turned to her window, and pulled aside a black curtain, revealing a beautiful sunrise. Everything began to blur again.

Robin found himself in the rocky chasm once more as Hatred released him from her terrifying embrace. "Have you had enough, Boy Wonder? Do you see what you've put me through?" she said in a threatening tone. She slapped him, the sound reverberating off the stone. "Oh, wait. I forgot to mention we have a guest. Perhaps you know her?" she laughed a hollow laugh as, with a wave of her hand, a mangled body floated out of the gloom. The figure's long red hair billowed softly as her head lolled lazily on her broken shoulders. The violet of her outfit was stained dark red by the blood flowing freely from numerous gashes in her nearly lifeless body.

"STARFIRE!! Raven, what have you done to her?!"

"Something I've always wanted to do. What, is something wrong? Do you hate me for what I've done? Go on, say it. I want you to tell me just how much you hate me. Do you want her back? Keep her; I'm done with that wench!" Hatred flung Starfire's body at Robin, who was powerless to catch her; he was still bound to the sheer obsidian wall. Her body slammed against the wall, and there was the sickening crunch of bones breaking as her back and ribs collided with the stone. She fell to the ground on her side, blood trickling from her mouth.

"Robin..." she murmured, her red hair spilling over her scarcely breathing form, mingling with the pool of blood forming around her. Her green eyes, barely open, showed love beyond anything he'd seen before as her pupils contracted as she neared death.

"Starfire... Raven, let me go! She's dying!"

"I know. Isn't it lovely how her eyes look as they glaze over? How her face relaxes as she feels death's icy breath against her cheek?"

"I hate you Raven!!! Do you hear me?! I FUCKING HATE YOU, YOU BITCH! I hate you with all of my heart and soul!!" Robin cried with a sob. Somewhere in Nevermore, a lock engraved with 'Doubt' clicked open, and twin dragon like birds of black energy burst out of their bondage, and soared toward the gate. They slammed through the entrance, and plummeted into the fissure, spilling tears as they fell. They were followed by many other identical ravens, all of their red eyes blazing with fury. All of them splashed into the bottom of the chasm, and rose into a Raven cloaked in pure sunbeams, her cloak scattering bright beams in every direction. The light enveloped Hatred, Robin, and Starfire in dazzling glory as Raven's heart was set free, and all of her emotions united into a single purpose. Blinded by light a thousand times brighter than the sun, all that Robin could hear was a tortured, strangled scream as Hatred was dragged into the golden incarnation of Raven. Robin felt himself fall into vertigo. Suddenly, everything went black. When he woke, he saw Raven, cloaked in gold-rimmed azure, watching over him, the tears in her eyes contradicting and complimenting her expression at the same time. "Raven..."

A.N. Whoa.......dramatic action!! MWAHAH! Oh, joy, only one more chapter left to write with this one. Then, I will begin work on a sequel, if enough people want me to write one. Tell me if you want one ASAP, so I can find time to begin. Feel free to submit ideas-if I use them, I will give credit where credit is due. I think I may have a story, but, I don't know, its still up in the air. Tell me what you think about the climax chappie, and take care!! My heart goes out to all of you who review!

Julia-Nevermore