Fallen Darkly

K.Blacre

Falling

"Who are you?" Raven asked. "What do you want?"

"The demon princess." She said in a fused voice. Raven's brows drew together.

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice growing steadily angrier.

"The demon princess." The girl repeated.

"That doesn't make any sense. Tell me what you want."

"The de..."

"I know, the demon princess." She sighed and rubbed her temples, something she didn't do very often. "So is that the only thing you can say?" When no response came, she continued. "Who is this demon princess? Where is she?"

"Standing in your shadow, waiting to be released." Raven's eyes shot down to her shadow and then looked back up.

"That wasn't meant literally, was it?" The girl smiled.

"No."

"Who are you?"

"I told you, the..."

"Let me take a wild guess and say...the demon princess. What the hell do you want?"

"It is not me who is looking. You have called me and so here I am."

"I nev..."

"You did not, but the being within did. You wish to know who and what you are. I can tell you."

Robin and Starfire sat on the couch in the living room while Beast Boy and Cyborg quietly talked in the training room.

"So, do you know what's going on, Star because I'm lost."

"I am--lost myself, Robin. Why are our friends acting so strangely?"

"I don't know. I wish I knew."

Over the next few days, the five slowly began drifting. Starfire desperately tried to keep her friends together but to no avail. Raven seemed more confusing than she had before. The number of her meditations began to wane and she locked herself in her room even more than usual. Cyborg and Beast Boy were always watching everything like they were paranoid but refused to tell why. Robin seemed more confused over the appearance of the girl who had caused his collar bone to break. He even seemed more suspicious of Raven. Things seemed more tense between the five than usual. The only one who actually noticed and tried to help was Starfire, but she was beginning to feel helpless and alone and she disliked the feeling of lonliness just as much as worry.

The t.v. was off, had been all week. Raven sat in her spot, hovered above the floor. Cyborg was at the bar in the kitchen, eyeing Raven every once in a while. Robin was in the training room, working on is arm. Beast Boy sat on the couch watching the falling rain through the window. Starfire was the only one not present. Raven opened an eye a slit.

"I like the silence but this is just creepy." She said.

"Did you ever find your mirror?" Beast Boy asked.

"No."

"Rae, we looked everywhere but..."

"Don't. Just leave it. I'll find it. I really don't think anyone would be stupid enough to go inside." Cyborg and Beast Boy laughed nervously. "Aside from you two, anyway." Robin walked into the room, putting his cast back on as he walked. He didn't stop to talk to anyone but went directly to the fridge and pulled out a soda. He then stood up straight and looked around.

"Where's Starfire?" He asked to no one in perticular.

"She never came out of her room this morning." Beast Boy said, looking back at Robin.

"That's strange." Robin slid a glance to Raven. She seemed not to notice but Cyborg did.

"Robin, can I talk to you, please?"

"Sure."

"Alone."

"Okay." They walked back to the training room and Cyborg closed the door. "What's up, Cy?"

"Alright, what's up with lookin' at Rae like she's a criminal?"

"I di..."

"You did, just now. Maybe there is somethin' goin' on with her, but she wouldn't hurt her teammates, Rob. Member when Star went through that transformation? Something happens to all of us at some point. Maybe this is Rae's thing. Just because Star's acting weird and Rae's powers are outa wack doesn't mean it's her fault."

"Yeah, but you admitted that the girl in the city looked a lot like Raven. So did BB and Star."

"Man, I love you like a brother, but if we're gonna be a team, we need to trust each other, through thick and thin. Screwed up powers or not. You're supposed to be our leader. So act like one and stop accusing, okay?"

"Alright, Cy." Cyborg turned around and left the room, leaving Robin staring down at the floor as if he'd been hit between the eyes. Cy turned and saw Starfire walking from down the hall. She smiled at him innocently and went to the fridge.

"Do you wish to share some of our fuzzy food, Friends?" She asked.

"Na, I'm not hungry. Thanks, Star." Cyborg said. Beast Boy didn't seem to hear and Raven shook her head. Beast Boy suddenly jumped up and ran toward the door.

"What is wrong, Beast Boy?" Star asked.

"I..." He turned to look at the others. "I just saw something fall to the ground in front of the tower." The others rushed to the door. Raven followed behind more slowly. The door opened letting in the rain from outside. Beast Boy led the others to where he saw it fall. Raven followed them, pulling her hood up. They all stopped short and Raven accidentally bumped into Cyborg. He didn't turn to look at her. She walked to the other side and stared down at what had the rest of them entrapped. A boy, looking not much older than Cyborg, lie on the rocky ground, his body covered by a mere cloak. His long, mid-night blue hair whipped around his dark-skinned face. His ears were pointed like Beast Boy's but a little more curved. From what they could see, he was around Cyborg's height but had Robin's basic build. A troubled expression was painted on his handsome face. Raven dropped to his side and felt for a pulse on his neck, then wrist. Getting apositive from both, she nodded.

"He's alive."

"Not that that's saying much." Beast Boy said. Cyborg lifted him into his arms, shifting the boy so that his head was up against Cy's shoulder.

"This feels akward." He said before going back to the tower's door.

Robin walked into the infirmary to see Cyborg scanning the boy for injuries. He looked up at Robin and sighed deeply.

"He seems a'right, but something doesn't feel a'right."

"I know. This whole thing, since we saw that girl in the city."

"Robin..."

"I'm not accusing anyone of anything. Just stating that things have been...off since then."

"Or maybe from when Star told us of when Raven was thrown from her meditation. That's never happened as long as I've known her. I saw it with my own eyes in the car and she wasn't in a meditation. Somethin' was wrong." Robin sighed and rubbed a gloved hand over his chin.

"Is the strange boy okay? Is he hurt?" Star asked from the doorway.

"He's alright."

"You know, I almost forgot somthin'." Cyborg turned around, grabbed something off the table behind him, and turned back around. "I found this earlier, printed it out so you guys could have a look without disturbing him." Robin walked up to him, looked at his face, then took the paper. A tattoo rest in the middle of the sheet. Starfire came up behind Robin and looked at it from over his shoulder. They could make out that it was the boy's back from the shadows cast over the indented spine and the slight muscles and shoulder-blades. It went from between his shoulder-blades to his waist. It was a sword with a vine wrapped around it from hilt to blade-tip. "Weird or what?"

"So, other than this," he gestured to the paper. "he's fine, okay?"

"Yep. Nothing more out of the ordinary, aside from the fact that the only thing he wore was that cloak. There was no other marks or signs telling where he came from." The door swished open and Raven and Beast Boy walked in.

"Well, how's mister cloaked?" BB asked.

"I wish I could tell. From the outside, he looks normal. It's just something doesn't feel right about this." Raven looked at each of them in turn and suddenly caught sight of the paper.

"What's that?" Robin turned to show her.

"A tattoo Cy found on his back." Raven looked over the tattoo and suddenly seemed to lose herself in it. She looked up, covering the excitement and fear with a blanket of emotionlessness. She handed the paper back to Robin and looked over the boy. She placed a hand over his head and a black cloud formed around it. She looked her eyes and drew her hand over his body. She drew it back up to his head and held it there for a moment. The blackness was replaced by red and the eyes flashed in her mind again. This time, she held them. She fought against the power surge that fought against her. The tattoo flashed in her mind's eye and she was pushed from her trance. Her hand ceased to glow and she opened her eyes. Realizing she'd been holding her breath, she released it and quickly left the room, leaving the others looking after her in wonder.

She went quickly to her room and closed the door. Raven closed her eyes, then opened them again. It was him. Somehow, what was happening to her was connected to him. She'd never seen him before in her life or in her thoughts, but she knew it was him, somehow.

"What's happening to me?" She called out. The girl appeared before her, and emotionless expression on her face. "What's happening to me? Who's that boy?"

"I do not know. I suppose you must find this out for yourself."

"How!?" The lightbulb in her room shattered, raining down over her.

"I cannot tell you but this, look into yourself, into your shadow. There the answers lie within."

"Stop talking in riddles!" The small mirror above her dresser suddenly shattered. The girl smiled and disappeared. Then, the alarm sounded.

Author's Note: So, who's this girl that speaks with Raven? And who's the boy? Why does he seem so familiar, yet unfamiliar to Raven? Answers are to come. Until then, bye. Thanks for reading and tell me what you think. The rating will have its purposes soon. Just be patient.