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Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so lets not try and sue me since I don't have anything to sue for.
Ch. 19: Reaching Out
Robin P.O.V:
All of my senses felt dull. I couldn't see anything, hear anything, or touch anything. I was surrounded by blinding white light everywhere. I would have panicked but I couldn't move. I was unable to focus my mind as it felt like there were hundreds of emotions running through it at once. Some were mine, some were Raven's. Suddenly a quiet voice was heard that seemed to help relax me. I could tell it was a female by the sound of it.
"Hello young warrior. I am glad to have the chance to meet you." I tried to respond but found his voice didn't work. However, I was surprised when I received an answer to the question I was about to ask.
"Who I am is not important right now. We do not have much time to speak so please listen carefully. You must find Raven and confront Slade. If the Gate is opened there is still one hope. . A part of Trigon's body and essence lie within the daughter. His power lies within the emissary. Each of these three parts is needed to allow his entry. Salvation lies within these words. Use your link to Raven to find her. The Key can help you with this. Trust in him for he is not only the Key to Trigon's freedom but also his failure." I could hear the words growing fainter as I could suddenly hear the voice of SoulBurn trying to wake me up. I barely heard the last words spoken as I found myself awake.
"Please save Raven and give her the love that I never showed her."
I found myself lying on the ground of the hallway looking up at a concerned look on SoulBurn's face. My head was pounding causing me to clutch my head.
"What just happened Robin?" I did not respond immediately but rather waited for the pain to subside a little.
"I don't know. We were talking when I suddenly felt this terrible emotional pain. It was coming from Raven. I could feel it. She was suffering so badly. Worse than anything I have ever felt before. I hurt me so badly. I must have felt it through our mental link." SoulBurn eyed me with a questioning look on his face.
"Mental link?" He seemed to be studying me carefully as his eyes flashed blue for a second. He let out a small chuckle. "I'm amazed I never saw it before though I guess I never looked for it. You do not have a mental link with Raven. You have a deeper connection than that. Your essences are connected somehow. A part of you is with her and a part of her is with you. It is small but it would explain why you are able to feel her emotions when they are strong. How did this happen?" Robin grimaced slightly at the memory.
"Long story. Lets just say Raven had to form a connection to me to try and save me from myself. Ever since then she and I have had this connection between each other. I've felt her feelings and glimpses of her dreams. When she is near I've been able to feel where she was. It was the same for her. I guess I never told anybody because it felt like I was invading Raven's privacy and felt by keeping it a secret, I was protecting her secrets." SoulBurn listened quietly to the explanation nodding every so often.
"Something strange also happened. I guess after I passed out I found myself surrounded in white. There was this strange voice too." SoulBurn's eyes widened in shock and cut me off.
"Soon the Gate will allow Lucifer to enter into the realm of mortals permanently. A part of his body and essence lie within the daughter. His power lies within the emissary. Each of these three parts is needed to allow his entry. Salvation lies within these words. Was that what you heard?" My eyes too widened his eyes I shock.
"That's almost exactly what I heard. Did you hear the woman's voice too?"
"When I heard it, it was a man's voice but yes I did hear it when I was unconscious after suffering my injury upon releasing Terra. Did you hear anything else?"
"The voice told me that you could help me find Raven through our link. Is that really a possibility?" I looked up with hopeful eyes. I could tell SoulBurn seemed to be thinking carefully.
"Yes I do believe it is. I should be able to follow the link between the two of you to Raven and Starfire's location." I shot up from the ground with renewed energy.
"Then what are we waiting for. Lets go save them." SoulBurn slowly shook is head.
"I will need to rest before I try it Robin. My body and mind are still tired from the battle. If I am going to be able to do this, I need to be completely ready for it."
"How much time are you going to need." I asked with no emotion in my voice.
"A day maybe but I can't say for sure. I am still not a hundred percent sure I can even do it though." I growled slightly. This would take us right up to the every end. It would be cutting it way to close but I couldn't think of any other options. I didn't like the fact that Raven and Starfire would be in the enemies hands that long and we would have such a short time to rescue them. Raven was already in so much pain. I again found myself punching the cold metal of the wall. It felt like I had been doing that a lot lately. I thought back to what the voice had told me. It told me to trust him.
"You have your time SoulBurn but you will go rest right now. That is an order."
"You are aware I am not a Titan Robin. You can't exactly give me orders." I smiled ever so slightly.
"Well while you are living under my roof you will follow my rules." I couldn't believe I had just said that. Wasn't Beast Boy supposed to be the one that made stupid jokes at serious moments.
"They do say the burden of leadership makes you age faster but that was just uncalled for." A laugh was shared between the two of us. "I will go to my room and rest Robin. Do not worry about that."
I watched SoulBurn walk away. I never before noticed, but he moved unnaturally quiet down the hall. I knew I could do the same thing because of my stealth training but it seemed like he did it without any effort. It was like he wasn't even really there.
I found myself alone in the hallway. I realized that after all that had just happened between me and SoulBurn, I still had not received any definite answers from him. Everything I knew was either cryptic or just didn't seem to be right. The voice told me to trust him. I was not one normally to go on blind faith but if it meant saving Raven, I would allow myself to trust him. Also, there was something in his eyes that told me that I could trust him. It was the same thing I saw in the other Titans…in Raven. Raven. I let out a deep sigh as I leaned against the wall.
What the hell happened to her to cause such pain? I could still sense the lingering emotions though they were faint. They really were frightening. If they had managed to overwhelm me I couldn't even imagine what they did to the normally repressed Raven. I managed to block out the worst-case scenarios that would have only served to disrupt any chance at rational thought. Still I knew sleep would not come to me until I knew what happened to her and had her back safely by my side. I thought back to what I had told the Titans, about this possibly being our last moments and that we should enjoy them to their fullest. The only things I could think of wanting to do all involved Raven.
Rather than think of the depressing things I could have thought of, I rather thought of all the good moments I had shared with Raven in the past. No matter how minute, I allowed the warmth feelings that she made me feel to flood my mind. I also thought about what I would do for her if I ever got her to go on a date with me. The thoughts made me smile thinking of how nervous both me and Raven would be if I ever took her out to dinner. As I did this, a small part of me prayed that these emotions were somehow reaching Raven wherever she was. If her bad ones could get to me, I hoped my good ones could get to her. I guess right now, hope was the only think worth feeling other than Raven's gentle touch.
Starfire watched Raven's unmoving form as she sat in their cell. It scared her how much Raven looked like a corpse at that moment. Her skin was not the glowing pale it usually was but a dull ashen gray. Dried blood covered her legs and had now turned black. Her face showed no expression as she lay unconscious. It was not the emotionless expression that Starfire had become used to but rather one of utter lifelessness. Starfire knew that in a way, Raven was dying, giving up the will to live but Starfire knew that she would not let Raven give up. She would not let Raven leave them all like this.
Starfire was suddenly startled by a sudden reaction by Raven. She had not moved nor did she speak. Instead she did the last thing Starfire expected her to do. She smiled. It was not a half smile or the sarcastic smile that Raven loved to wear. It was a smile of perfect happiness that Starfire knew graced her face constantly. The smile faded quickly as it had arrived and the lifeless face returned to Raven's face. I
t would be much longer before Raven would finally awake and give Starfire an answer as to what made her smile. They would end up discussing a lot before the end came. However, Starfire already knew what made the dark girl smile. She sat quietly in her chains with a smile that managed to push back the darkness surrounding her. She knew Robin had heard her prayers. She knew Robin had found a way to reach Raven in her misery. She said a quiet thank you and resumed her watch over her dear friend.
