Author's Note: Hey anyone who's reading this. My name is Shadow Evenstar, and welcome to the first chapter of "The Road Goes Ever On". I really hope that you enjoy it. Please review, even if what you say is not so positive, because I want to hear your ideas on how I can improve. Just don't be too harsh. The pairings in this story will be Beastboy/Raven, Robin/Starfire and maybe Cyborg/Bumblebee if I'm feeling up to it. Now I'll shut up. Happy reading!
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans and never will. Also, just to be safe, the title of this chapter is the title of a Lewis Carrol book, which I don't own either. So I'd rather not be sued, thanks.
Chapter 1: Through the Looking Glass
Raven shivered as she opened her eyes. The room must have been fifty degrees below zero and she was freezing in her navy blue Teen Titans uniform. She rubbed her eyes gently and looked around, trying to discover what her surroundings were. She could see nothing but hazy fog around her. She sat up quickly, ignoring her aching head, and tried to find out where she was and what was going on. Where were the Titans? Where had her friends gone?
She pushed her way through the thick smog, meditating quietly to herself. Her thoughts flew back to the Titans. Perhaps if she thought of them, it would feel like they were here with her. She remembered a scene that had happened just a week ago, at the Jump City's Zoo.
Flashback"Robin, what is that lovely and terrifying creature that resembles a striped couch pillow?" Starfire had asked, curious as always.
Robin had chuckled. "It's a Siberian Tiger, Star. It sort of looks like a pillow because its curled up into a ball and sleeping."
Beastboy had suggested the trip to the zoo. Starfire had never been before, and he also wanted to check out some of the animals there. As they passed the animals, he transformed into each one. He was now an emu, and was scaring the life out of the people nearby.
"I'm going to go a little bit closer to check out the tiger." Beastboy said.
"Not such a good idea, man. You're an emu. You could be next on the menu for that tiger." Cyborg commented.
"Dude! I bet the tiger senses that I'm friendly, 'cause I can be a tiger too if I wanted to. We're tight, we're practically cousins!" Beastboy exclaimed, and squeezed himself into the cage. The tiger immediately woke up and began chasing the squawking, green emu all around the cage. Robin, Starfire and Cyborg had roared with laughter, and Raven had tried to hide a smile, but everyone had seen it.
End of Flashback
Raven, immediately feeling light-hearted because of the memory, continued to walk on. The fog showed no signs of clearing up and Raven was feeling just a little bit scared.
Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, preparing to attack, until she saw the person that had tapped her. Her violet eyes were wide with shock, then became full of rage. Her normally pale face had turned an amazing fuchsia. If there was anything at all nearby, she probably would have blown it up, since she had definitely lost control of her emotions.
"Cyan" she grumbled angrily. "What are you doing here? Better question is…what am I doing here? Don't answer that, because I'm not talking to you. Ignore those last few sentences. Now go away and leave me alone, person who I am not conversing with."
The person who she was not talking to flashed her a dazzling grin. He wore a cloak like Raven's, except his was a dark green colour. He had shiny blond hair, so shiny that Raven winced as she looked at him. His eyes were a charming green, and sparkled with amusement as he looked at the annoyed girl.
"C'mon Rae-Rae. I thought you'd be happy to see me, your old pal Cyan. I didn't think, after all those years you still were mad. So I made a little mistake or two, I didn't think my buddy Rae-Rae were going to hold it against me forever-"
Raven glared at the boy. "Don't call me that!" she hissed. "A little mistake or two? Your little mistake destroyed so many lives, you idiot. Now either get lost or tell me where I am."
"You're meditating. You know that lovely meditation mirror of yours? That's were you are. In your thoughts" Cyan explained.
"Then what are you doing here? I blocked you out of my thoughts. I tried to forget about you and now you're here. Get out of my thoughts!" Raven stated angrily. She was beginning to lose control of her emotions again.
Cyan grinned brilliantly at the telepathic girl. "Sorry, Rae-Rae. Can't do that. The only way for me to get out of here is the same way you do."
Raven's jaw dropped to the floor. "No way. There is absolutely no-"
Cyan's mega-watt grin never faltered. "That's right Rae-Rae. If you wanted me out, I'd have to come back to earth with you. I'd even have to stay at Titan's Tower with you and your other friends, so you could make sure I didn't destroy earth; something that I'm very capable of doing. Or you could leave me here, to rampage around your thoughts and destroy your meditation world. It's your choice."
Raven drew in her breath. There was nothing she could do. Her mind, painful as this decision was, had been made up.
Titan's TowerRobin paced around the common room. The other titans, worried expressions on their faces, sat on the couch, waiting for their leader to come to a conclusion. Raven had been gone for seven hours. It was common of her to disappear into her room for the majority of the day, but she always came back for dinner. The pizza that had been ordered for dinner sat forgotten in the kitchen. The titans had looked in Raven's room and all over the tower for her, with no luck.
"Maybe she's just out somewhere and lost track of time," suggested Beastboy. Both he and Cyborg knew it was very possible that Raven was in that mirror-world place that they accidentally had entered, but they had decided to keep that a secret.
Starfire was nearly in tears. She was worried about her friend's safety. Many what ifs sprang to her mind. "What if Raven was consumed by a giant marshmallow? What if she was 'ravennapped' by the suspicious looking, correspondence carrying individual?" she worried out loud.
Cyborg put a comforting arm around Star. "That's not very likely Starfire. She's probably just at that creepy café of hers. And the expression is kidnapped, even though Raven's name is not Kid."
"And the mailman wouldn't kidnap anyone. He's a nice guy. His name's Ted." Beastboy said, getting slightly off topic. "When I ordered the Deluxe Whoopie Cushion 5000, it came to me in perfect shape, without holes in the package or rips in the-"
He was silenced by the whoosh of the door of the common room opening. The Titans turned their heads, grins forming on their faces, as their cloaked comrade walked through the door. She looked weaker and wearier than usual, but had an angry glint in her eyes. Behind her, another cloaked figure walked in. There was no mistaking that sandy hair or that smile that was bright enough to lit up Jump City.
Cyan, the person who had single-handedly betrayed Azarath and Raven's former best friend, had returned. He grinned, if possible, even wider. He was back in the game.
There. Chapter 1 is finito. I'm sorry if it's a little confusing, but things will make sense in the next chappie, I promise. We'll learn exactly what Cyan did to make Raven so mad, and things will make more sense. But for now, please review! Bye for now, love Shadow Evenstar.