It's Not Your Fault
Ronnoco
Chapter I
Where the City Sleeps
Rubbing her back, Raven stepped into the shower, hoping desperately that the hot water and steam would relax her after the day's rough battle. Usually she showered in the mornings, but Raven decided that she'd prefer to sleep in tomorrow, not to mention how badly she needed something to sooth her. She stared down at her feet, remembering that Starfire was due soon to show up wanting to do manicures. '...Should've never bought her that YM subscription for Christmas...' she thought vaguely, smiling weakly to herself.
Soon, Raven was out and refreshed, ready for a nice, long night of sleep. Pulling on her usual summer sleepwear(a tank and boxer-shorts), she settled into the down covers, feeling truly happy and comfortable after such an excruciating day...
Sitting in a corner in a dark, blood-red room, a distinct cackle rang out. It was of pure evil and satisfaction, it was of the demon, Trigon. "You do realize," the cold, deep voice questioned, from behind where the scared girl huddled, "that you are destined to go to hell? Why do this meaningless good, when it'll get you no where? You WILL destroy the world in my name; and you WILL kill your friends. It is wasted effort to try against me, for this future you hold WILL come to pass. Whether you like it or not..."
"NOOO! I won't do it! I can't..."
"Oh, But you will, my child, for you are a creature of hell. You are a demon, with no purpose to your pathetic life but to do my bidding..."
The girl wrapped in a cloak stood up, "I don't CARE! I don't care what I am; don't care what you are; don't care what I'll do!..." she sobbed, "Because I WON'T DO IT!"
"Oh, but child, you already have...!"
With that, the crimson demon appeared in all his power before the girl. He grinned, and with a wave of his hand, the room dissolved into a fiery world. The girl looked over the edge of the tower where she rested, to see the hellish earth below. She stared into the eyes of a dead statue, a figure of a boy being drawn into the earth by torturous demons..
"Robin..." she whispered, suddenly feeling her throat close and swell up, unable to clearly breath, slowly dying right there, coughing futilely...
With a gasp, Raven awoke, sweating cold beads and sobbing silently. "Robin..." She could hardly believe it, what was undeniably going to happen. She would kill them all, and did not know why. Except that, of course, Raven was a demon. A thing of pure hell, a thing unwanted. Unloved. Rubbing her temples, she thought of Robin. 'Should I tell him? Tell him what I was destined to do? Tell him what happened when Slade came?' He still thought the Slade incident was a thing of the past, not that he would return and of what Raven would one day do...
Raven dressed, then walked her way downstairs to the common area for breakfast. Standing in the doorway, she surveyed the room, taking in what today would bring. Star was hopelessly struggling to program the new VCR, since Beast Boy had mistaking it for the DVD player last week and blew it up. Raven couldn't help but chuckle to herself, noticing that Starfire was attempting the decipher the Spanish side of the manual. BB was making breakfast for himself (artificial eggs and a fruit-salad) while Cy made food for everyone else with the waffle maker, which he had made a metal plaque on it reading: "Evil Beware: We Have Waffles!". Robin was reading a book Raven had gotten for him on the latest Ju-Jitsu techniques for the advanced warrior. Only he seemed to notice Raven arrive, and when he looked up, Raven couldn't help but see how dramatically his expression changed; a cross of shock and fear. He immediately arose, and briskly ran to Raven, tugging her forcefully into the dark hall.
"Robin! WHAT on earth are you doing!"
"Shhh! In here," he said, ushering her into the nearby restroom. He shut the door, turned around to face Raven, and was about to speak...
"Robin! What's going on! What are you doing!"
"Rae, just look in the mirror," Robin commanded very seriously, "you'll thank me."
Cautiously, Raven turned to above the sink. "Super..." she moaned.
"So? What's the deal?" Robin asked impatiently. Carefully, he looked her over, examining the red marks on her legs, hands, and face. "Hey, that's the mark that was on Slade..." He added, pointing to her forehead. "What do they mean?"
Raven turned away, staring at her palms, biting at her lip. 'Why did they come back now? I've kept this hidden for weeks, but there's no way out of this one...' "Um..."
"Raven? Come on! You have to tell me. Listen, I won't let on to the others if you don't want me to, that's why I got you out of there before they noticed. But you have to tell me." he said in a very concerned tone.
Raven took a step away, "I'm sorry, but I can't.."
"Rae!" Robin grabbed her arm; he would not let go. "You have to tell me. Something is wrong here and I'm not just going to let it slide!"
"No! Not, not now at least. I'm, I'm sorry Robin..." Raven stared down at the floor. "I'm sorry." With a sharp intake of breath and a tear, Raven dissipated into the linoleum to reappear in her bedroom, crying into the pillows.
