1A/N: Another chapter up. This was has Raven in it which the last one didn't but as usual, nothing good for her. Story draws toward a conclusion. What that conclusion is, I don't know, how the story will get there, well I don't know that either. What I do know is that my job really sucks and that I am very thankful to all my reviewers. So time to get to that before my mind starts wandering again. And like I said in the last chapter, I'm putting a lot of information in my profile about my writing and intended writing and when Ill probably update. That be it.
DeathsLastBreath: Yeah Slade is pissing everyone off. Lets just see if I can make him worse. Yeah the story is dark but most my writing has a dark tone at some point though I usually try to balance it out with something good. However, I don't think I can possibly balance out all the darkness in this story. Flattered you put me in your C2, very cool. Peace.
zadeon: Yeah you are usually pretty good about picking things up in my writing but maybe I'll surprise you, but I doubt it. You've read all my work so you know my style for the most part. Hope to finish this story soon so I can devote more time to my other project...you know the one.
evilsangle: Hehehe. Just have to wait and see. Just have to wait and see.
Tecna: speechless but still can type. Isn't the internet great. Hope the update was fast enough for you, less than 24 hours. Almost reminds me when I used to update sometimes three times a day. It was a lot easier when I was jobless.
PhoenixClaw: Thanks for the review. It was one of the more eloquently written reviews I've received. Glad you're enjoying the story. Must really like it if you read the entire thing in one sitting but that fact makes a writer feel good. Means I'm doing something right. Glad you think everything I did works and fits the tone of the story because that was what I was going for, what any writer goes for. Hope this update is enjoyed. Oh and you're not the first person to ask the Beast Boy question. Short answer: No. Long Answer: nearly a 100 No. I just don't see him fitting in anywhere.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so lets not try and sue me since I don't have anything to sue for.
Finding Hope Again
Chapter 10
By: Finalitylife
Raven continued to hang limply in the complete and total darkness that was her prison. The shackles continued to dig deeply into her wrists but she no longer felt it. She was tired, so very tired and the effects of the drug Slade had given her lingered, making it impossible for her legs to support her own petite weight. There was no light in the room, no sound other than her slow, shallow breathing and the occasional rattle from the chains binding her as she slightly shifted.. She was completely alone with her mind. She did her best to try and stay calm, tried to maintain the rationality that up until Nightwing's appearance had been her anchor however it was a completely futile attempt. She was so very scared at the moment, so very frightened of what was to come. Even after what had happened, she still had this terrible feeling that it would only get worse, that Slade had not been lying when he said she would suffer. She was terrified that Nightwing would simply abandon her to her dark fate at the hands of Slade, that he had fallen so far away that he would leave her to die. She was afraid that she hadn't been able to get through to him, had failed to save him as he had saved her after Starfire's death. She so badly had wanted to help him, help bring back Richard or Robin or whoever it was that made her feel safe. She wanted to be in those arms again, no longer alone, no longer standing in the cold winter without warmth and peace. Barely, just barely, Raven had convinced herself that he would not leave her, that he would come busting through that door like one of those brave knights in all those romance novels Starfire used to read and save her.
Thinking about Starfire only brought back the same question that Raven had asked herself almost everyday for the past 5 years. What would have happened had Starfire not died, what would have happened had the Titans never been broken. Raven knew there was no way to know but she was completely sure that things wouldn't have turned out like this. She was sure that Beast Boy would have not wandered off by himself to try and cure Terra. She was sure that Cyborg wouldn't have become a colder shell of the boisterous, kind man he once had been and she was sure that Robin wouldn't have faded away to leave only a dark, menacing sociopath driven only by the darkest of pain and emotions. Raven wished so much that Starfire hadn't fallen in the final battle against her father, wished that the friendly, loving alien princess was still there to make everyone smile but she knew it was a pointless dream, a dead fantasy somehow continuing to exist in a hopeless mind.
The door to Raven's prison suddenly moved and though a quiet sound, the sound echoed around the room causing Raven to wince. The door slowly opened up and a dark figure could barely be seen with only a small bit of light emitting from behind him. Raven wanted to call out to Richard but knew she wouldn't be saying anything ever again. As if knowing her thoughts, the dark figure laughed.
"Sorry to interrupt Raven but I have to go collect my apprentice...thanks to you. It may be awhile before I see you again, well maybe never again but that will be up to Robin." Raven did not even bother to look up at Slade, rather simply stared off into nothingness as her head hung down. Slade approached the prone girl slowly with a smirk of triumph though it could not be seen under his cold, steel mask. He knew he had already beaten this weakling and this was only the beginning if things went as he planned, well even if things didn't go as planned, it would be only the beginning for her. He eyed her body carefully, leering slightly. It had been a very long time since he had been with a woman, years even and she was quite the exotic beauty. Even he sometimes succumbed to the nature of a man though he had spent his entire life working to move beyond all limitations that came with being simply human. However, he knew it was more about the control that he had over this young woman right now. It had always been about control, even with Robin. He walked until he was right in front of the young woman and gently lifted her face up so that he could see her eyes. He noticed that her eyes still did not look focus on him but continued to stare off at nothing. He smiled even wider.
"You may be wishing in that small mind of your to be somewhere else but I promise you that you will be my guest for quite awhile. You may survive all of this but I highly doubt it. Whether it is by my hands or Robin's, you will most likely die." Her face showed the faintest of emotions at his words and Slade smiled.
"Yes Raven. Once Robin is my apprentice, once I have completed my experiment, he will not think twice about ending your pathetic existence. How does that make you feel?" Raven did her best to not show anything but she could feel a dull ache in her eyes. Her whole body tensed up when she felt Slade's strong hand gently caress her side and him whispering in her ear.
"He will join me to save you Raven, he will become what he has always hated to save you but in the end, he will be the one that kills you, I will make sure of it." Fear gripped Raven as Slade did not pull away but she continued to feel his warm breathe on the side of her face. Slade suddenly grabbed the front of Raven's uniform and with barely any effort, ripped open the front revealing Raven's bare chest. She felt the dull ache in her eyes increase as her mind screamed for this to stop, for someone to save her. Slade's steady breathing persisted by her ear and Raven could feel vomit creeping up in her throat and just like that it all stopped. Slade pulled away he stared down from his full height at the exposed young woman.
"Do not worry Raven. I think I will allow my apprentice to have the first pleasure with you before you die at his hands." Slade turned around and left the room, laughing quietly to himself, still thinking of the look in Raven's eyes, that look of helplessness and fear, and how happy that had made him. As soon as the door closed and the lock was heard clicking into place, Raven allowed a few small tears to fall down her cheek as the dank, cold air nipped at her further exposed flesh.
Richard P.O.V:
I found himself walking around the tower for a few hours, deliberately slow, taking in the place that was once my home, one of the few places in my entire life that I had truly felt like I belonged. I knew Slade had given me 8 hours but I didn't need that much. I would show up where I was asked very soon and would go with Slade if it meant that maybe Raven would have a chance. Slade had been right, I had no other option. At least if I was there, Slade would become preoccupied with me rather than my Raven. Nightwing had thankfully quieted down, giving me a few moments of peace. I suspected he was gathering up his strength for one last push against me to stop me from going to Slade. I knew he was not gone, he would never be gone. I walked toward a door I hadn't entered in years, Robin's old room. I stared at the cold metal door for a second before opening it. The room was more or less empty though the furniture was still there. I had taken with me everything important when I left, and had destroyed everything I considered irrelevant to my future.
I breathed in the surroundings before I noticed something on my bed that I knew had not been there when I left. I picked up the object and realized it was an old picture of the Titans. In it there were the original five members and from the looks of it the picture had been taken a few months before...before that dream ended. Starfire stood in the middle with the brightest smile anyone could ever have. On the left of her was Cyborg and Beast Boy and Cyborg had his arms around both Beast Boy and Starfire. Beast Boy was making a strange face as was usual for all the pictures he was in. On the right was me and Raven. I had a small smirk on my face, one of those arrogant smiles I always used to wear. What surprised me the most was that my arm was around Raven's waste pulling her closer to me and she had the tiniest of smiles on her normally impassive face. I could tell that her eyes were looking at me as the picture was taken and it almost looked like she was reaching for my hand with one of her tiny hands. I couldn't help but smile just a little bit. I turned the picture over and found a small bit of writing on the back. I barely recognized it as Raven's neat, fluid handwriting.
"A past that once was...a future that should have been." I read the words a few times, each time the words touched deeper into my soul. It should have never come to this, it should have never come to this. I placed the picture gently on the bed and quietly left the room. I walked toward another of my intended destinations, Cyborg's room. I used the code Cyborg had given me to open up his door which was covered by several feet of steel, leftovers from when the Tower was still trying to protect someone when Slade attacked. The door slowly opened and I walked into the cold, sterile room that was Cyborg's lab as well as his home. I watched as a timer slowly ticked away on his computer screen, still so much time to go. So much had happened since he was forced into this technological coma and I only wished that he knew all of it. By the time he finally woke up, Raven could be dead and I could be lost again to the darkness. It frightened me to think that Cyborg would wake up and never know the fate of Raven, the one Titan whom continued to stand with him even after all these years. He deserved to know so much. Cyborg and I had always had our problems because we both were equally stubborn but we were the best of friends. He was the older brother to everyone that we all needed time and time again and only now do I feel shame for the way I treated him when I came for my new hand. It was just as badly as I had treated Raven when she tried to help me. I let out a deep breath. So much to feel shame for.
"Hey Cy. I don't know if you can hear me or no but I'd like to introduce myself to you. You once knew me was Robin or as of late Nightwing but I was somebody before all of that, somebody who was only a man. My name is Richard Grayson and I've come to apologize...apologize for so many things. Raven's in trouble Cy. Slade has her. He took her to get to me, to get back his apprentice once and for all. He hurt her Cy, hurt her terribly already and I know he will do far worse things to her if I don't go to Slade's side. I don't know if that will save her Cy, but it's the only thing that might. I just want you to know Cy, that before I leave, I want to tell you how sorry I am for leaving you all back then. I want to say how sorry I am for treating you like garbage when you tried to help me. I want to say how sorry I am for bringing both of you back into this and...and I'm so sorry about Raven, I'm so damn sorry about Raven." I pulled my mask off as a few tears formed in my eyes though I pushed them back. I felt I needed to finish talking without that damned mask on.
"I'm sure you care about Raven beyond description Cy. She was your family when the rest of us left you by choice or by tragedy. I wish I had some plan, some idea that I knew could save her but I don't. Slade has me cornered, used my weakness to trap me in a place I can't get out but I will do my best to save her. If it comes down to it, I'll give everything to bring back your family Vic, I will die to make amends for everything I've done. Good Bye Victor. Maybe I'll see you again in another life." I turned around to leave when a beeping sound caught my attention. I turned back around and noticed that the countdown was no longer on the screen but groups of words were now there. I walked over to it and started reading:
Project Nevermore-Classified
Use of altered Slade nanoprobes to create microscopic tracking device that will hide in the DNA of a person, making it undetectable unless one knows its there. Will allow tracking accuracy to within inches anywhere on the planet. Tracking Locator located in right arm.
Comments: I can't believe I'm doing this but I can't help it. Maybe its selfish but I'm afraid, afraid that someone will take her and I'll truly be alone. I can't face that, I can't lose the last person that still cares about me. She will never know I've put this in her body and god willing, I'll never even have to use it. I have to do this. I can't lose Raven, not now, not ever. Please Forgive me little sis.
My eyes widened beyond description as I finished reading. I was fairly certain my brain and heart had all stopped completely as I felt lightheaded. This was it, this was the chance. Cyborg had heard me, somehow had listened to my words and gave me the answer to saving Raven. Nightwing took this moment to reemerge with a dark chuckle.
"Perfect. This will give me the opportunity to surprise Slade for once. He will never know that I know where Raven is and the second he goes to her, I will rip his black heart from his chest." Richard cringed as dark thoughts flooded his mind but managed to push them back.
"No. This gives us the opportunity to save Raven, to get her as far away from Slade as possible. We will deal with Slade after she is safe, completely safe."
"No! This is the first time we have ever had the drop on Slade. Do not waste it you worthless, weak piece of garbage. Do not deny us our revenge!" I half agreed with my darker side. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, a chance to walk Slade into a trap yet an image of Raven's bleeding face pulled me away from my madness.
"No Nightwing. This is about Raven, not us. She is the only priority right now." Nightwing growled again.
"So be it but the second I get back in control, I promise that I will find a way to banish you to oblivion." I felt a chill go through his entire body by the sheer intensity of Nightwing's thoughts. I'd worry about that battle another day, a day when Raven was out of harm's way. I walked over and detached the lower part of Cyborg's right arm. By the grace of whatever higher being, this part of him had already been repaired. A small screen clicked on and a map was revealed to me with a blinking light. It was time to go save my Raven, save her from the hell that I brought her in to.
