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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. 22: Nightmarse and Reflection

By: Finalitylife

Robin P.O.V:

One week had passed since the final battle against Slade. One week since Armageddon had been averted and the universe saved. One week since I finally told Raven I loved her. One week since I finally realized there were no such things as complete happy endings.

The final death toll from the devastation wrought by the geological disasters that had occurred following Terra's release had been terrible. Over one hundred million people were thought to have died though an exact number probably would never be known. Entire cities had been destroyed, completely wiped out from existence. It was the greatest tragedy the world would ever know and yet no one knew why it had happened. Well no one except for the 6 of us.

We had decided that it was best for the Earth to not know what had truly transpired. Knowledge that Heaven and Hell did truly exist was best kept secret. It was information that would only cause global hysteria and the world was already suffering enough. Fortunately the sky had miraculously cleared and the sun was once again shining bright on a battered world. It was the first sign of recovery for the world.

When the dust had finally settled on that final battlefield, it was the first time in so very long that the Titans were whole. Other than Cyborg badly needing a recharge and being upset that Brother Blood was nowhere to be fine, everyone came through the final battle okay, well physically anyways. Though the darkness had been stopped and the Gate closed, it seemed as if the evil of Trigon would always find away to get to us.

It was only two days after the final battle that the nightmares started happening. Terra was the first. She had told us that she had started having nightmares of her betrayal but now they had returned even stronger than before. It was not uncommon to walk past her door and hear her crying into Beast Boy's chest saying I'm sorry over and over again. Despite all she had done to try and redeem her actions, the haunting guilt seemed never to leave. I knew that all too well. Red X, my apprenticeship. It would always linger inside me just as the guilt would for Terra. Though she had been forgiven by the Titans, she had not forgiven herself.

Fortunately she had Beast Boy by her side. It seemed with Terra now back, he had matured rapidly into a man. He was still a jokester and happy-go-lucky but you could tell he was stronger and more grown up. He was always there to comfort Terra, reassure her, and to make sure she kept eating and sleeping regularly. You could see the love between them and it always made you smile. It warmly reminded me of Raven and myself. I knew Terra and Beast Boy would be okay.

Starfire was the next one to succumb to horrible nightmares though I now believe that the only reason she wasn't the first was because she didn't sleep for probably two days after the end. Starfire had been disturbed greatly by what she had seen. She had been the closest to SoulBurn than any of us and watching him be pulled into Hell but knowing he was resigned to such a horrible fate had hurt her. I remember the first time she screamed as I had been walking past her door at the time. I rushed in to find her laying in bed holding Silkie in her arms as tears flowed freely down her face. She looked at me with such sadness that it hurt.

FlashBack:

"Hey Star are you okay? Did you have a nightmare?"

"I should have been stronger. I should have tried harder to help him. I should have been able to save him. And now, he is gone." I could see the pain in her eyes and I knew who she was talking about. I pulled her into a gentle embrace as she cried into my chest.

"You did everything you could Starfire. I truly believe you are one of the sole reasons that he was able to do what he did. You were his hope."

"Hope…I hope he was dead Robin." The comment caught me completely off guard. Starfire would never say such a horrible. "I hope that he died before he was pulled into Hell. If he did then his soul would have been able to escape and find peace where it truly belonged. If he died then he wouldn't have to suffer the eternal damnation that my religion tells me he will suffer there." I finally understood what Starfire had meant. Death would have been a blessing for SoulBurn. He sacrificed himself to save us and she was afraid that he would suffer forever because of it.

"I'm sure everything worked out Starfire."

"No! What frightens me worse is I know he was alive. I could see him looking at me. I could hear him talking to me. I don't want to believe it but I have too. He was alive Robin and I know he is suffering." Again Starfire broke down in tears. I simply held her there letting her cry.

End Flashback

That was how it started for Starfire. She too carried guilt around within her. She blamed herself for not being able to save SoulBurn. It was truly depressing to watch such a hopeful and wonderful person succumb to such terrible feelings. Every time the nightmares would come it would be up to me or Cyborg to comfort her. We would simply hold her until she was all cried out and fell asleep. Cyborg as always was the rock the held everything together. He was the one to make sure Starfire was okay more so than me. He seemed to always know exactly what to say to her to calm her. He was the oldest Titan and sometimes it felt like he had grown up far before any of us. He held within him a quiet wisdom that was desperately needed right now. I knew I could count on him to take care of Starfire.

One other Titan suffered from nightmares though this was not new for her. However, it was her nightmares that scared all of us. Raven. My beautiful innocent Raven suffered the worst. Our first few days together following the battle were some of the most wonderful I had ever experienced in my life. We learned quickly that her emotions were no longer tied as strongly into her powers so she found she could freely express herself. We also learned that are link had lessened significantly. We both believed that it had happened because we were now freely expressing our emotions so there was no need for the strength of an unspoken connection.

We spent almost all our time simply holding each other and basking in the fact that we both had finally got what we both wanted and that Raven's father could bother her no more. The joy and happiness that we felt would leave far too quickly.

It was the day following Starfire's first nightmare that it first occurred. Raven had decided to sleep in my room with me.

I remember being curled up with her pulled tightly to my chest. I remember the smell of lavender and jasmine that always seemed to be on her. I remember sleeping so soundly that I thought I was in heaven. That was when it started. I awoke from my sleep by the sound of a whimper coming from Raven. I looked on her face and saw that she was starting to cry though she was still asleep. She started pleading with some unknown source as she cried harder and then suddenly let out a horrific scream of Mother. She then awoke.

She was frantic as she looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings that were my room. She fell off the bed to the ground and huddled herself in the nearest corner shaking. I tried to reach out to her but it only caused her to scream more and try to curl up tighter. I eventually managed to get a hold of her with a small bit of struggle. I forced her too look into my eyes. Our link still had strength if we made eye contact. I immediately found myself feeling very familiar emotions. It was those emotions that caused me to black out. The memories of when she had destroyed Azarath and killed her mother had now returned. She remembered every detail of what she had done. Her nightmare had been a replay of what she had done. She said it felt like she was an outside observer as she watched herself bring death and destruction.

I remember on that first night that it almost destroyed her. I truly believe had it not been for my presence, she would have taken her own life that night. For she had learned one other thing that night. She discovered that her Father was still there. His darkness was still within her. Raven always believed that if she stopped the prophecy from occurring she would be free of his evil within her. She was wrong. We may have stopped the prophecy but as long as Trigon existed, he would be a part of her.

It was a horrifying thought to Raven. All she wanted was to have peace. All she wanted to was be free of him and not have to worry about losing control. All she wanted to do was love me and her friends. Thankfully she later realized that his presence was nowhere near as strong as it had been. It was still there but could not hold sway over her mind and body as it once had been capable of. She did not have to fear losing control ever again.

However, this did not stop the nightmares from coming about her mother. Another Titan consumed by guilt about what she had done but what made it the worse was I didn't know how to make her leave that guilt behind. I couldn't leave my guilt behind so how could I convince her to do the same. All I could do was do my best and make sure she knew I loved her completely and forever.

I turned around and looked at the tiny sleeping form of Raven. She was covered up in my bed with the sheets pulled up high. The only parts of her visible were her head and one small, delicate hand. Her face was emotionless as she slept. She had come to my door crying not that long ago after having another nightmare. I held her as she cried and cried. Eventually she grew exhausted and I tucked her into bed. I kissed her gently on the forehead as she drifted off to sleep. The only words she said to me before falling asleep were I love you. It was all I ever needed to hear from her.

I let out a deep sigh as my thoughts drifted to the person who did not come back from the final battle. SoulBurn or as Trigon had called him as he took him to Hell, Azrael. In the end, he had left more questions than answers about what had truly happened to him and who he truly was. I had asked Raven one time what she thought had truly happened to him. She could not give a definite answer. As far as she knew, no living mortal had ever passed into Hell, but of course we weren't even sure if he really was mortal. Raven believed that most likely he had died soon after being pulled into Hell and that his soul would be trapped there for all eternity just like those of people who lived lives of the darkest evil.

It confirmed my fears that Starfire was correct though I would never tell her that. It was better she didn't know of his undeserving fate. It would at least give her the chance to eventually have hope for the final outcome for SoulBurn.

Who SoulBurn truly was, was a bigger mystery. Was he truly a Fallen Angel that had sided with the forces of light to stop Lucifer? Why did Lucifer seem so hell bent on exacting revenge on him? I constantly wondered what SoulBurn had done to not only be cast out of heaven but also to incite the malevolent wrath of Hell's ruler.

It was truly difficult to not think about our lost acquaintance because everywhere I looked I found myself being reminded of his actions. Every time I watched a report on the worldwide death toll I was reminded of his him. Every time I looked at Terra's bright blue eyes, I was reminded of how he made the Titans whole again. Every time I looked at my love safely by my side, I was reminded of him. It had been his energy that healed her on the altar when she would have most assuredly died. Every time I watched the sun rise again, I was reminded of his sacrifice.

I guess in the end it really never truly mattered who he was because in the end he was a hero. In the end, he proved who he truly was and it was not the monster Slade had accused him of being. I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of Raven gently stirring in bed. I turned to her and my maskless eyes met with the two most beautiful eyes a man could ever look into.

"Hey there beautiful." I watched a gentle smile graced her face as well as a small blush.

"Is it necessary for you to compliment me every time you speak?"

"Of course it is Rae. I'd be a fool to not take ever opportunity to remind myself just how lucky I really am to have." Again she blushed.

"Dick, didn't I tell you not to call me Rae." I smiled mischievously at her as I approached her.

"And I believe I told you to not call me Dick now didn't I."

"I believe I have the right to call you whatever I want Dick."

"Well in that case I think I need to teach you a lessen." Her eyes widened as I grinned down at her and I shot forward and pulled the sheets off her. I started relentlessly tickling her in all the spots that I had learned she was susceptible to. The thin material of her leotard made it rather easily to accomplish as her sides were her most vulnerable spot. She started giggling madly begging me to stop.

"You know what you have to do Raven. Only then will I stop." She managed to speak in between laughs.

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry for calling you Dick. I'm sorry. Please stop Richard." I immediately stopped at the sound of my preferred name. It was that moment that I realized I was on top of her pressed against the full length of her body. I looked down at her face. Her eyes were filled with love and passion. I gave her one more cocky smile and lowered my head to kiss her. It was moments like these that gave me hope for the future. It was moments like these that made me realize that everyone would eventually heal. The world would eventually heal. It was moments like these that almost made me believe there could be a complete happy ending.