Paths of Desire

Chapter 03: Awakening

A Raven/BB fanfiction by Sara "Secondary Gemini" Hambrook

Author's note: Um... I suck at battle scenes. No really, I do... so if anyone feels that this chapter could have had a better fight scene, PLEASE leave me a nice comment and I'll see what I can do about improving it ;; if your comment is not productive, I will ignore it.

Alright, explanation time here – for those who didn't read my original disclaimer, here's what's happening in this chapter – I mention Starfire's transformation, but if anyone remembers, Terra came in BEFORE that episode. I basically took out the episodes "Terra", "Titan Rising", "Betrayal", and "Aftershock; Parts 01 and 02". In this story, Terra just appeared right before the start of the story. Needless to say, because of that, she never existed in the second season. Hope that clears up some confusion ;;

Well, with that out of the way, on to chapter three!!

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Raven rushed down the stairs, cape flying behind her. Her mind was working overtime, trying to process all of the information that had just been shoved upon it. A chance... a real chance to be normal! ... Well, as normal as she ever could be, anyway... that feeling of excitement returned and she forced it down into the back of her mind. She couldn't afford to feel anything, and she had to remember that. Her hands reached up and flipped the hood over her head, covering her face. A moment later she appeared before the team, stepping up next to Beast Boy.

"What's the problem?" she asked, staring up at the screen as Robin ran through a few files on the computer.

"Not sure... it just appeared out of nowhere about twenty minutes ago, in the downtown area. It was first reported at City Hall, but now there's no telling where it is now. We can't even tell which way it went, but we do know this much; it's only purpose is to cause destruction... violent destruction." Raven nodded softly and glanced around the room at the others for a moment, her eyes lingering over Beast Boy's face before she returned to her gaze to the screen.

"Let's move! Raven and Cyborg, you take the T-car. Beast Boy, Starfire, you take to the sky. I'll take my R-cycle. Titans, GO!" At the commands everyone nodded and rushed off to their designated locations, leaving the usually occupied tower to sit and watch silently over the city.

Raven stared quietly out the window as Cyborg sped towards downtown. Above them Beast Boy soared in the form of an eagle, and ahead of them Robin rode his cycle with Starfire flying at his side. The two had finally admitted their feelings for each other shortly after Starfire went through her (rather traumatic, at least to her) transformation. Since then they were inseparable – everywhere one went, the other had to go, or they just simply couldn't function (let it be noted that at this point, Raven rolled her eyes). Star had moved into Robin's bedroom a few months after they got together, a change that had forced Raven to put a sound barrier up around her room. Two years later everyone was more that adjusted to the couple, and life flowed along smoothly.

Raven glanced out the window at Beast Boy, who had dropped down to soar next to the car. He spotted her staring at him and winked one eye, still managing to give her that goofy smile even in the form of a bird. Raven's cheeks became warm and she looked away quickly, forcing Love down into the deepest regions of her subconscious. After a moment she took a deep breath and opened the window, unbuckling her safety belt and levitating out the window to join Beast Boy. He looked surprised, to say the least, glancing over at her with wide eyes.

"Don't say anything; we don't have much time, and there's something you need to know..." she told him, motioning for them to fly higher. Beast Boy did as requested without any objection, and they increased their elevation by almost 20 feet before Raven was willing to speak.

"Listen to me and listen well, Garfield... because I only have the time and ability to say this once," she whispered, closing her eyes for just a moment and taking a deep breath, "I'm going to be forced into a battle soon... a battle against my father, only this time it will be much, much harder to defeat him. I'll have all my emotions to help, and I've become stronger both physically and mentally since the last time I fought him... but I have to remember that because he is technically a part of me, as I grew he did as well. I... I'm going to need your help, Garfield... I can't handle this fight alone, and out of the others, I trust you the most. Will you help me? Please?" When she finally finished she was staring straight ahead, almost afraid of looking at him. They arrived at City Hall and landed, and Beast Boy returned to his normal form.

"Do you even have to ask, Raven? Of course I'll help you..." he told her, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Raven nodded and spared him a soft smile.

"One more thing..." she whispered, "until the time comes when I have to fight, I can't afford to feel ANYTHING... so I need you to help me keep my emotions in check..." He nodded and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I'll help you any way that I can..." he replied, glancing over at the others as they arrived. He removed his hand from her shoulder and motioned for her to follow as ge joined them.

"I see the damage... but which direction did the monster go?" Robin questioned, looking around in confusion. Cyborg shrugged and mimicked Robin's actions, glancing around.

"Perhaps we should investigate inside the building to see if it will provide any clues as to what has occurred here and where our foe has gone..." Starfire suggested, moving away from Robin's side to walk up to the door leading to City Hall. The others nodded and took up fighting stances as Starfire pushed the doors open.

Instead of being met with an attacker, the Titans were met with something far more horrific; the sight of mangled bodies and blood scattered across the room. Starfire started screaming and Robin grabbed her shoulders, pulling her away from the scene and back outside. The three others proceeded slowly into the room and looked around in shock. None of their enemies, in all the years they had been fighting, had ever been violent towards civilians – and even when they were violent against the Titans, it was only a means to escape and nothing more. Whoever this was seemed to have no goal in mind... no goal other than to murder... Raven looked around the room slowly, biting back on the disgust that wanted to rise as vomit in her throat. She needed a clue... and clue as to why someone would do this... everyone had some motive, after all. As she rose into the air and floated above the carnage, her eyes spotted something on the wall; words scrawled sloppily in blood.

Azerathian... that's Azerathian!her mind screamed as anger tried to well itself up in her chest. She read the words quickly, whispering them under her breath as she did so.

Upon this eve, the offspring of the demon Trigon and the earthling Arella will fall beneath my hand. By sunset's final rays the Halfling known as Raven will meet her fate and the demon Trigon will be reborn through her physical form. So is declared by Bajaras, faithful apprentice of Trigon the Terrible.

"... fuck..." she hissed under her breath, struggling to maintain her emotionless composure; so all of this... it was all her fault in the end. She turned away from the wall quickly and hurried over to the others. Through the open door she could hear Starfire's soft sobbing and Robin's voice, low and gentle, attempting to soothe her. She turned to her remaining two teammates, her eyes narrowing as she spoke.

"I know who did this... and I know WHY they did it... let's hurry up and find him, before he hurts someone else..." she whispered, turning to go.

"Hold up! How do you know all this?!" Cyborg asked, crossing his arms across his chest. Raven glanced back at him, and a flash of guilt ran through her eyes.

"The writing on the wall over there is Azerathian, my native language... it's a message meant for me. The thing that did this knew I would be here; all this carnage, indirectly, is my responsibility. I have to stop him before he takes more innocent lives," she replied, exiting before they could say more. She moved to Starfire and Robin, glad to see that finally the Tameranian girl was calming down.

"I know who did this; I'll have to explain why and how later, but right now we have to find him, and FAST..." Robin nodded without objection and helped Starfire to her feet, gently kissing her cheeks before turning to Raven.

"Where to?" he questioned as Beast Boy and Cyborg joined them a moment later.

"Not sure... I'll take a look from the air... the rest of you should follow me. I'll be able to sense his presence when I get close to him..." Four nods were her answer as the group turned and quickly dispersed to their modes of transportation. Raven watched them and then sighed, turning to levitate. As she started to lift off the ground she felt a hand on her shoulder, and turned to see Beast Boy at her side.

"Beast Boy... what..." she began, but he gently shushed her.

"I just wanted to let you know that it's not your fault, Raven... none of this is. That monster might be after you, but that doesn't make any of this death your responsibility." Raven blinked at his kind, sincere words and nodded softly, offering a smile.

"Thanks..." she whispered softly. Beast Boy nodded, then morphed into a bird and headed up into the sky. Raven watched him for a moment, then whispered her chant under her breath, and joined him.

For several minutes there was silence between the two as Raven scanned the area, looking for any sign of their adversary. While she looked Beast Boy found himself glancing over at her every few moments, trying to find a hint of emotion from what little of her face he could see. Her lips were set in a deep frown and her eyes were completely void of all feeling. She glanced over at him at some point and he adverted his eyes quickly, unable to look into her eyes when they held no emotion. When he chanced a look at her once again she had directed her attention back to the city, once again continuing her search. After a minute or two her eyes locked onto a certain building and she soared downward.

"There... he's in there..." she whispered, her hand reaching down to find her communicator. She found it and for a moment held it in her hands, as if debating something. Then she flipped it open, opened a line, and spoke into it.

"... I'm sorry, but I'm going to fight this one alone..." she whispered into it, shutting it off and replacing it back on her belt before anyone had a chance to respond. She dropped altitude and increased her speed so quickly that Beast Boy had to shift into a small bug and increase his own speed just so he could keep up with her. Raven dipped down below the buildings and started to maneuver around them, obviously trying to lose her friends in the streets below. A glance over her shoulder led her to believe that she had already lost Beast Boy, who in actuality was perched on her shoulder in the form of a small spider and was simply going along for the ride. She flew in this same sporadic pattern for several minutes until she was sure she had lost her friend before she headed for her destination, setting down outside an abandoned warehouse at the docks. Beast Boy hopped off her shoulder as she rushed into the building, and he morphed back into his human form and stood eyeing the building in silence. It was obvious that she had not wanted them to follow, but why? Why would she want to fight alone? Her friends were the most important thing to her, and the only ones she trusted... why was she trying to make sure they had no part of this battle? He stepped forward to follow her and was interrupted by the sound of his communicator going off. Cursing softly he reached down to his belt, flipping it open and answering it.

"Beast Boy, what happened?! Where the Hell is Raven?! If she thinks we're going to let her fight this battle alone, she's got another thing coming! Do you know where she is?" Robin sounded less than amused, to say the least, and Beast Boy glanced up at the warehouse again for a moment. What did he do? Did he trust her judgment, or did he follow what his gut told him to do? After a moment he sighed, and glanced back down at the devise resting in his hand

"... I'm here with her... sending coordinates now..." he whispered, pressing a small button on the side of the communicator that sent his current location out to the others. He closed it and replaced it on his belt without saying anything more before rushing into the warehouse to assist his friend, praying he wasn't too late to help her... or save her.

The first sight that "greeted" his eyes was another display of mass murder. Though the body count was far less than it had been at City Hall, several corpses still littered the floor. Beast Boy looked up to see Raven standing before a large demon, her hood abandoned to reveal her face and her eyes glowing an eerie white. She was screaming something in Azerathian that Beast Boy didn't understand, and a moment later Bajaras let out a cold, cruel laugh and responded with a bellow of his own, also in Raven's native tongue. He was much larger than her, standing so tall that he almost touched the ceiling of the building. His skin was scaly and dark blue in color, large fangs protruding from both his upper and lower teeth. Hair that was shorter than Beast Boy's sat messily atop his head, and long claws protruded from his fingers where his fingernails should have been. Three eyes stared at Raven as he spoke to her, one situated in the dead center of his forehead and the other two below it, making an almost triangle shape. Neither of them seemed to have noticed that Beast Boy was there, which he was thankful for. Raven's hair started to lift from her face, blown around by an unseen wind as a nearby box was surrounded by a familiar white glow. A moment later it lifted from the floor and hurled itself towards Bajaras, who blocked it easily and retaliated with a blow of his own, shooting a mass of dark blue energy from his hands. It struck Raven squarely in the chest and she flew back into the wall, crying out sharply as she made contact and pain shot through her body. She recovered quickly and flew towards her adversary, two large cranes rising into the air behind her. She lifted her arms above her head in mid-flight and then flung them out and forward with a scream, sending her new weapons hurdling towards Bajaras. He managed to block one crane but was unable to stop the other, which thusly slammed directly into his head. He growled in fury, stumbling back in pain, and sent another blast towards her, which was met directly in mid-attack with one of her own. Each stood their ground and struggled to overcome the other's power, their heels digging into the ground to keep some form of balance while once again the verbal attacks in Azerathian started to fly. Beast Boy didn't have to understand what they were screaming at each other to know that Raven's control over her emotions was rapidly slipping and that Bajaras was the one nudging her closer and closer to the edge. As she continued to lose her composure bit by bit her footing gave way and she stumbled backwards, catching herself with a grunt. She had lost at least ten feet worth of distance and the break in her concentration had allowed his powers to almost completely overpower hers. She gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, then shut them all the way as she tried to force all her strength into the energy she was putting forth. For a moment her beam made ground and started to consume his, and then he screamed something at her and once again there was a slip. She attempted to maintain her beam, but it was obvious by the sweat pouring down her face in rivers and the trembling of her body that she was fighting to simply keep consciousness. In the blink of an eye his powers completely overcame hers and she was slammed roughly into the wall behind her and held there, her body twisting and writing in agony. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, gasping out harshly as every bone in her body screamed from the assault.

Beast Boy stood watching in shock, locked in an internal battle with himself. This was RAVEN'S fight, and he knew that she would NOT be too happy if he broke into it. However... it looked to him like she was royally getting her ass handed to her, and he would much have her alive to yell at him later than let her die under this... this thing's hand. He could hear the bones in her body starting to shift, being pushed to their limits... if he didn't move soon, her body – HER WHOLE BODY – was going to break. Maybe if he just waited for a few moments... maybe she'd pull herself out of it... and then the first female scream ripped through the air, and Beast Boy's mind made its own decision. As another scream, bordering on a sob, filled the room he rushed at Bajaras with everything he had, letting out a loud scream of fury as he morphed into a bull and rammed full-on into the monster. Though Bajaras was obviously much stronger than Beast Boy was, the blow caught him off-guard and he was thrown across the room, releasing Raven in the process. She slumped to the floor and groaned weakly, struggling to get to her feet despite the pain in her body.

"Ga... Garfield, no, he's... too dangerous..." she croaked, whimpered.

"I don't care! I'm not going to let him hurt you!" Beast Boy replied without looking at her, morphing into a bird and circling around his foe's head. If he could just keep Bajaras busy until the others arrived, Raven would be alright...

"Garfield! Get out of here, NOW! Before he hurts you! Garfield, PLEASE!" Raven's voice was laced with fear as she finally made her way to her feet, bracing herself on the wall. Beast Boy made a move to look at her in mid-flight; and that was when Bajaras struck. The beam hit Beast Boy square in the back and sent him crashing to the floor with a sharp cry of pain. Raven's eyes widened and her hair immediately lifted from her face, her two eyes closing and reopening a moment later as four red eyes, glowing a deep blood-red. Bajaras, who was moments away from crushing an unconscious Beast Boy under his foot, gasped and looked up as Raven as she started to build power.

"YES! Come forth Trigon! Come forth and reclaim your rightful spot through this child's body!" He cried, abandoning Beast Boy's limp body in favor of watching the Halfling. His gleeful look changed to one of shock and horror, however, when instead of changing into Trigon she moved forward, her cloak coming unclasped and falling away from her shoulders.

"Get... away... from him!" she whispered vehemently, her voice a mix of her father's and her own, her own half a smooth blend of emotion. She lifted her hands and released a scream of pure, raw fury as the energy released itself from her hands and shot out towards Bajaras. He never had a chance – the moment the beam hit him he flew back, a harsh cry escaping him as he found himself pinned against the same wall he had held Raven against only minutes ago. His screams increased in volume and agony as she moved closer and the beam started to dig into the flesh of his chest, spraying blood and gore everywhere.

"It's okay if you want to hurt me..." she hissed, her voice deadly calm, "but don't you DARE touch my friends; especially HIM!" The dark energy moved further into his body and he screamed obscenities at her, struggling to move away from her attack. She grinned demonically and increased the pressure, watching with an almost child-like joy as he gave up struggling and writhed in pain beneath her. Robin, Starfire and Cyborg rushed in and were greeted with this scene just as the beam made its way through Bajaras' ribcage and sprayed blood all over the place, including all over Raven. Her grin only grew and a soft, demonic laugh built in her chest and slowly became louder, shaking her shoulders with the force and causing a cold chill to run through her friend's bodies. Robin rushed over to Beast Boy as he finally regained consciousness and helped him to his feet, never taking his eyes off Raven. Finally her attack hit its mark and with a finally scream Bajaras collapsed, the beam having shot right through his back, taking his heart out with it. Another spray of blood covered the goth girl responsible for the assault and she lowered her arms, staring straight forward for a moment before she glanced over her shoulder at her teammates. Although her look was not threatening, the demon part of her gaze rocked them to the core. Her four eyes shut and her hair settled back down around her face, and as the demon side of her receded, for the moment at least, her brow furrowed and her knees buckled out from under her. She collapsed heavily to the ground with a soft moan, her limbs curling under her. Beast Boy wasted no time in rushing to her side, rolling her over to cradle her in his arms.

"...Raven?" he whispered, his voice choked up in horror. Her brushed a strand of hair from her dirty, battered face, and tried again, "Raven... please wake up... talk to me Raven, PLEASE..." For a long moment, almost too long for Beast Boy's sanity, there was no response; and then suddenly her body went rigid in his arms, all her muscles locking at once. A moment later the seizure started.

Inside Raven's mind, all the emotions were in a scrambled state, rushing around frantically and trying to keep things in some form of order until Raven herself could awaken and get to her mirror. Timid stood in the middle of it all, having given in fully to the despair that she represented. She was weeping hysterically and trembling violently, screaming out at the top of her lungs that it was all over; Raven would not be returning in time, Father was going to take over, and they were all going to be destroyed. Brave rushed over and grabbed her tiny counterpart by the shoulders, shaking her roughly and causing her to cry harder.

"SHUT UP! Stop crying, Timid! You're NOT helping the situation! You need to STOP CRYING and HELP US!" she shrieked. When still Timid's sobs continued Brave drew her hands back, intending to bring it full-force across the emotion's face. As her hand came down and around, however, Timid suddenly faded out, leaving Brave to strike at dead air. She gasped and looked around frantically, suddenly frightened as well. The simple fact that she was feeling something other than her designated emotion meant that things were starting to break apart, and break apart FAST.

"...Timid?" she whispered, gulping softly. She turned to look at the other emotions. "Where did she go?!" Curiosity stepped up calmly, giving Brave a gentle smile.

"Timid is still here... but she is part of Raven now. They have become one. It is starting... soon, we will all start combining... when Raven arrives, we will become a part of her once more... we will become completely whole. Now we wait, and pray that Timid can hold Raven's cry for emotional balance over until she gets here... if we all leak into her body before she can return to us, Father will awaken... it's up to Timid now..."

When Raven's convulsions finally halted, Beast Boy once again returned to her. Upon Robin's orders he had set her down, rolled her onto her side, and moved away as the seizures wracked her frail, damaged body. He hadn't wanted to leave her side; only Robin's informing him that holding on to her during a seizure could break her already-weakened bones finally convinced him to let the violent jolts play themselves through. Now he pulled her gently into his lap, careful of her bruises, and cradled her head against his shoulder. He checked to make sure her tongue hadn't rolled back into her mouth and that she hadn't swallowed any vomit before trying to revive her again.

"Raven... come on, you have to be okay..." he whispered, his voice choking up. A cry of relief escaped him as her eyes fluttered open and stared up at him. Her face seemed frozen for several seconds, as if she was unsure as to who she was or where she was. And then, suddenly, tears overflowed her eyes and poured unhindered down her cheeks. She shot up suddenly and flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck as sobs started to wrack her frame. His immediate response was to grip her to him tightly and smooth her hair down, rubbing her back with wide, arching circles.

"Raven, it's okay... it's okay, we're here now, it's over... what's wrong?"

"Ma... Mirror... My mirror... I need... my mirror..." she choked, unable to get anything else out. He nodded and immediately stood, making his way to his friends.

"We need to get her home, NOW," he told them, making it clear that there would be no objections. They all nodded wordlessly and rushed to the T-car. While Starfire and Robin moved over to the R-cycle and started to put on their helmets, Beast Boy tried to ease Raven down into the back seat. She screamed and clung to him in reply, digging her nails into his back. She seemed terrified at the very thought of being let go, as if she would fade away into nothingness if Beast Boy released her. In the end he was forced to crawl into the back seat with her still clinging to him, cradling her in his lap as they headed for home. During the entire ride her body was seized with constant, uncontrollable sobs. It was as if every last bit of sorrow and pain that she had ever experienced was suddenly coming up to the surface and forcing its way out of her body. All Beast Boy could do was hold her and tell her it would be alright, urging Cyborg to drive faster. Behind them Robin and Starfire followed, both looking extremely worried. The drive seemed to take forever, but finally they pulled into the garage under the tower and Beast Boy jumped out, carrying Raven with him. He completely over passed the elevator and ran up the stairs, coming out at the living room. Across the living room, up the stairs, and into her bedroom took him less than ten seconds. Once there, however, he was faced with a problem – he had no clue where her mirror was. He couldn't put her down because she wouldn't release him, but with his hands full looking for her mirror was going to be next to impossible.

"Hey! I could use a little help in here!" he called over his shoulder, looking around again to make sure it wasn't sitting out somewhere in her room. Robin rushed in a moment later and started to go through her dresser drawers, throwing clothing and other possessions all over the floor. After a few minutes of searching he found it, buried in her bottom drawer under a bunch of cloaks. He handed it to Beast Boy, who sat down on the bed and looked up at him.

"Well... see you when we see you, I guess..." he whispered, giving a soft smile. He glanced into the mirror, seeing the four eyes stare back at him for a moment, and then the hand reached out and sucked them both in. By the time Cyborg and Starfire joined Robin in Raven's room, the mirror had fallen uselessly to the floor.

TBC