Clash of the Titans by CidGregor
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
ACT THREE
Chapter 17
"DO YOU KNOW, RAVEN, WHY I HAVE SUCH A LOATHING FOR YOU AND YOUR MORTAL KIN?"
No response.
"IN THOSE ANCIENT TIMES, A THOUSAND YEARS AGO, I WAS PROPERLY REVERED. THE PEOPLE FEARED ME, AS WELL THEY SHOULD HAVE. THE MERE MENTION OF MY NAME INSTILLED TERROR IN THE HEARTS OF EVEN THE BRAVEST OF MEN. THEY MADE SACRIFICES TO APPEASE ME…THEY BROUGHT TO ME OFFERINGS OF PRICELESS TREASURES…I WAS WORSHIPPED, RAVEN."
Again, Malchior was met with stony silence.
"AND THEN…ALL THAT CHANGED WITH THE COMING OF ROREK THE MAGE…"
The dragon twisted around and looked at the cluster of multi-colored Ravens sitting still in their cage. The red and black mindscape loomed in every conceivable direction, outlining Malchior's own new red hue. Inside Raven's mindscape, the injuries he'd suffered in the battle with the Teen Titans were non-existent. His back was unburned, his wings her free of every single hole that the teens had made in them. The demon-dragon sneered at the Ravens.
"ROREK WAS NOT LIKE THE MORTALS THAT I HAD KNOWN. HE WAS AS MIGHTY AS I, AND UNAFRAID OF ME. HE WAS THE FIRST MORTAL TO EVER STAND AGAINST ME…AND RATHER THAN DYING AS HE SHOULD HAVE, HE SEALED ME AWAY IN THAT WRETCHED BOOK FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. AND SUDDENLY I WAS NO LONGER FEARED, RAVEN. SUDDENLY I WAS A LAUGHINGSTOCK. THE VERY MORTALS WHO HAD ONCE LIVED IN FEAR OF MY POWER NOW SPAT UPON THE PAGES IN WHICH I WAS TRAPPED. THE TITANS FACED A SIMILAR FATE. AND AS THE CENTURIES PASSED, YOUR KIND LOST ALL RESPECT FOR THOSE POWERS GREATER THAN YOU…THEY BECAME ALL BUT MYTHOLOGY."
Malchior leaned down to gaze more intently at the cluster of Ravens. "NOW YOU BARELY EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE OUR EXISTENCE. MANY OF YOU CONVINCED YOURSELVES WE NEVER EXISTED TO BEGIN WITH. YOU BEGAN TO THINK OF YOURSELVES AS THE MASTERS OF THIS WORLD. BUT THAT TITLE DOES NOT RIGHTFULLY BELONG TO YOU. THAT TITLE IS MINE TO BEAR, RAVEN…MINE, AND THE TITANS. AND YOU SHALL ALL FEEL OUR COMBINED WRATH…VERY, VERY SOON…"
The dragon turned away from the cage, stepped a few paces away, and flared his wings. A circle of Runes flashed into existence around him as he prepared his own strength and the stolen powers of Starfire and Raven. Unseen to the Ravens, the dragon's physical body did the same out in the real world…as was their own physical body, now bowing to Malchior's every bidding.
"NOW…THE SUMMONING SHALL BEGIN."
The Ravens were still regarding Malchior with only stony silence.
"NO MORE WITTY REMARKS, RAVEN? NO MORE RESISTING MY SUPERIORITY?" the sorcerer commented. "HA-HA-HA…I THOUGHT NOT…YES, THERE WILL BE NO MORE RESISTANCE FROM YOU, RAVEN…YOU BELONG TO ME NOW…HA-HA-HA-HA-HA…"
And Malchior returned to his task of summoning the remaining four Titans of myth…but the dragon had made an unfortunate mistake…he had misjudged the cause of Raven's silence…and had equally failed to notice that the Red Raven was not the only color missing from the rainbow…
Meanwhile, in a very different subconscious…
(Where…where am I…?)
Terra gazed around in awe. As far as her eyes could see, there was only the untamed earth. There were rock archways, caves, bluffs, box canyons, a clear blue sky…she almost thought she'd ended up in a desert somehow…but the pleasantly cool air and utter lack of cacti and tumbleweeds told her this was not the case. There was something strange about the place…she'd never been there before, as far as she could remember…and yet, it felt…familiar…like she'd been there her whole life. The red and copper-tinted rock faces and cool, soft-floored caves felt almost like…home. It felt like a place where she could be one with the world…somewhere she felt comfortable and familiar and…peaceful.
"What is this place…?" she said aloud.
"The best word to describe it is 'mindscape,'" a familiar voice said.
Terra spun toward it, and almost fell over in shock; it was Raven once again. But for the second time, it seemed she'd experienced a costume change. Her leotard was black again…but her cloak was now a bright, canary yellow, and thick glasses adorned the dark girl's face.
"R…Raven…? What…what's going on?" Terra stuttered. "Where am I? Why are you…dressed like that?"
"Is there something wrong with yellow?" Terra heard her voice say…except she hadn't said anything.
Terra spun back around, and found herself staring at…herself.
"WAAH!" Terra wailed, falling backward on her butt. Sure enough, another Terra stood over her…except this one, like Raven currently, was dressed all in yellow and wore great big glasses. Her hair was also a different shade of blond…it was less of a golden tint, and more of a canary yellow, like her outfit.
"Relax, Terra," the yellow-clad body-double said.
"What…who…how…?" Terra muttered.
"Hehehehehe…" Terra heard her voice again, only much more giddy and high-pitched. "I had a bet with Red on how you'd react…looks like I won!"
Terra spun once more, and her eyes bulged so far out of their sockets they were in danger of falling out; a third Terra, this one dressed – and hair-dyed – in shockingly bright pink, was now standing beside the yellow-clad Raven.
"I don't remember anyone telling me I was a triplet…" Terra muttered.
"It's a little more than that, hon!" the Pink Terra cooed. She cupped her hands over her mouth. "HEY EVERYBODY! COME ON OUT!"
And to Terra's utter amazement, more copies of herself appeared from all around the earthen landscape, every one fully garbed and hair-styled with a different color. There must have been almost a dozen of them in total.
"This…is weird…" Terra said, half-confused, half in awe.
"Don't be afraid," the yellow Raven assured the earth maiden. "I know this is probably a bit of a strange experience…"
"Yeah, just a bit," Terra remarked, dripping sarcasm. She glanced around at the various copies of herself. "Will one of…me…explain what the heck is going on?"
"They're your emotions," Yellow Raven said.
"My emotions?" Terra echoed.
"Yes. In this place your emotions are given physical form. Each of these different 'copies' of you represents your various emotions. The Pink one is your joy and happiness. Green is your bravery and boldness…"
A green-clad Terra socked the earth maiden in the arm from behind. "Hey, good job kicking Slade's ass way back when!" she cheered. "I'd been waitin' for ya to do that ever since I first saw his ugly mug!"
"Uhh…thanks…?" Terra said uncertainly, rubbing the sore spot where she'd been punched.
"Grey represents most of your negative emotions…fear, guilt, regret, and the like," Yellow Raven continued, gesturing with a hand. Terra followed the wave to a copy of herself that looked like it had climbed out of a black-and-white photograph, and seemed to have a permanently sad face etched into her.
"The Red one is your anger and rage…you want to be really careful with that one…"
A low snarl caught Terra's ear. She followed the sound to a fiery-red-headed Terra, who glared at the original.
"Don't listen to that Green fool," the Red Terra hissed. "Slade had the right idea all along, I'd say."
"O-okay…not going to be talking to that one much…" Terra thought aloud.
"Funny…you used to listen to me all the time."
Grey Terra couldn't help but shiver at that remark…and the real Terra felt it as well.
"Ahem…" Raven interrupted. "Lastly is Yellow, which represents your intelligence and rational thought. I often find that seeing things from all my different perspectives often helps me to think; I'm sure you'll come to see this yourself, if this ever becomes a regular practice for you."
"This is so weird…I've never seen anything like this before…"
"You wouldn't have. You never did meditate with me during your time with the titans. I suppose you could say my influence draws them out of you…out of anyone, really…you should've been there when Starfire meditated with me…if you think she's happy now, you should meet HER Pink side…"
Terra didn't feel much like laughing. She looked past the assorted copies of herself and stared at the earthen terrain that stretched off into the distance around her. "You said…this place…it's called a 'mindscape?'"
"Your mindscape," Raven corrected. "A place within your subconscious mind that reflects the deepest part of your soul. A place in which you can feel…comfortable…at peace."
"My mindscape? You mean everyone has one of these?"
"Yes, buried deep in their subconscious. Starfire's, as you can imagine, had a rather wide array of bright colors. Mine is more of a place of quiet and solitude. And this…this is yours. A place where you are one with the earth, with the power that runs through your body."
"Okay…that explains where we are…but how did you get here, Raven?"
"The truth is, Terra, I'm not Raven. Not exactly."
"Then…who are you?"
"You remember when Raven told you that 'a part of her will be a lot closer than you think?' That, Terra, is what I am."
"You mean you aren't actually Raven?"
"Not entirely, no. I'm her yellow side…the core of her intelligence, logic, and rationale. When she fired on you at Malchior's command, you remember she made that mental link with you?"
"Yeah…" Terra said slowly.
"When that happened, she transferred me into you."
"Transferred you…what?"
"She mentally projected her intelligence – me – into your mind."
"You can do that?"
"It would appear so."
"…Wow…that's…amazing…" Terra marveled. "But…how? Why?"
"Raven has known for some time now of a way to project her 'soul self.' What she has done here is just an adaptation of that power, a skill she learned from Malchior. But 'how' is not important. 'Why,' is what you should be concerned with."
"Okay…why did Raven send you to me?"
"Because she needs our help," Yellow Terra said.
"Exactly," Yellow Raven agreed. "When Malchior convinced Raven's Red side - her demonic essence - to join him, there wasn't anything left to stop him from summoning the rest of the Titans. Even as we speak he is preparing to do so. But I had one last, desperate idea left…and…well, here I am."
"By sending all her knowledge into us," Yellow Terra continued, "she sent her plans to stop Malchior as well, so that he can't dig through her mind and discover it…but…"
"It's left my body little more than a living puppet," Yellow Raven finished. "With me gone, Raven is now effectively mindless, with no will of her own. She will follow Malchior's every order without hesitation."
"That can't be good…" Terra said. "But…I still don't get why she sent you to me. What can I do?"
"Remember what we told you, Terra. You need to get our magic mirror."
Terra remembered the request well. "Where is it? What does it do?"
"It's in our room," Yellow Raven said. "And it's essentially a portal into our mindscape."
"You want me to go into your mind?" Terra guessed.
"No…I want all of us to go there. You, me, Malchior, and all the rest of the Titans…both oursand his."
Terra raised an eyebrow. "That's…a lot of people to have in your head at once."
"If we can get everybody into my mindscape, we can defeat Malchior and his Titans without shredding the city apart and threatening more innocent lives. Raven already felt guilty enough for the people who died when the Earth Titan was summoned. We don't want to see any more death."
"Can we really beat those things, though?" Terra asked. "I mean…they're so powerful…The Earth Titan alone beat the rest of our friends…"
"I admit, it's a serious long-shot, but right now it's all we've got, and we have to take this chance before we lose it. We'll worry about how to fight Malchior's Titans later…for now, that mirror is our only hope. You have to go and get it, Terra. And once you have it, DON'T look directly into it, or you'll get sucked in prematurely. I'll instruct you further once you have it."
"O…okay…" Terra agreed. "One step at a time…I can do this…"
"All right, that's the spirit!" Pink Terra cheered.
"Yes! Action time!" Green Terra added.
"Time for us to wake up, then…" Yellow Terra said.
And suddenly Terra felt her consciousness rising…leaving the mindscape and climbing back up to the real world…
She closed her eyes, and felt herself expanding…returning to her body…
She opened her spiritual eyes…
And then…she woke up.
Author's Note: apologies for lateness...went on a vacation to San Fransisco for Independence Day. Quicker update next time, I promise.