Chapter 7
Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were sitting in the common room, trying to think of what they could do for Raven. They had left her and Beast Boy alone, hoping that this would calm Raven down. She had been on edge for the past two days and they were worried about her mental being.
"There has to be something we're missing," said Robin. "A condition like this just doesn't appear for no reason."
"You've been saying that all day," said Cyborg.
"I know," said Robin with a sigh. "I'm hoping that if I saw it long enough I'll have an epiphany."
"There is still the theory of a Larry being in her head," said a hopeful Starfire.
"Starfire, if there was a "Larry" inside of Ravens head I would have seen it when I looked at her brain," said Cyborg. Starfire finally decided to give up on the idea. The three felt like they had reached a dead end. And they had.
The doors behind them swooshed open and Beast Boy entered. The three watched as he practically floated down the stairs into the room. He had a small smile on his face as he went to the kitchen to get something to eat.
"Uh, hey Beast Boy," said Robin.
"Is Raven okay with you leaving her alone?" asked Starfire.
"She's asleep," said Beast Boy, his voice a little higher than usual.
"How's she been?" asked Cyborg.
"Nice," said Beast Boy pausing for a moment and staring off into space. The three Titans looked at each other confused. Beast Boy finished fixing his snack and headed back to Ravens room.
"Well… that was… strange," said Cyborg scratching his robotic head.
"He seemed quite… pleasant," said Starfire. "Perhaps Raven is getting better."
"I don't think so," said Robin. "He would have told us. But you're right. There's something weird going on."
"He looked kinda… loopy to me," said Cyborg.
"Please, what is this 'loopy', Cyborg?" asked Starfire.
"It means he's light headed, or kinda not in reality," said Cyborg, hoping that she would understand.
"Perhaps he has is ill as well," said Starfire.
Beast Boy sat next to her bed eating his snack. After their kiss they had gone through a slight awkward moment. Raven decided that she was very tired and would try to sleep. Once she had finally slipped into dreams Beast Boy decided to answer the call of his starving belly. Now he sat there, satisfying his hunger and watching Raven sleep.
She looked so peaceful when she slept. Her face was relaxed, something it had not done for a while. As he ate, Beast Boys own mind began to race. His own voice inside of his head wouldn't rest.
'What did we do? Was it alright to do? It felt right. Oh God, did it feel right. But Raven's not herself. I have to remember that. But she was the one who asked me if I would kiss her. If she didn't want me to she would have said so. But her mind is fragile, who knows if she's thinking straight or not. Even if it was a mistake, why did it feel so… nice. I've never really noticed how beautiful she is. It's hard to notice anyone's beauty when they're constantly covered up. Not to mention that fact that she's always tried to ignore me. I guess I've never gotten a good look at her. I do have to admit, I love the feel of her. I love holding her in my arms. The feel of her flawless, soft pale skin. The look of her violet hair that have a touch of ocean blue. And those eyes. I could look into her eyes all day. They seem to level me. I hope we figure out where this voice is coming from soon. I can't stand to see her like this anymore.'
As soon as Raven had fallen asleep she had entered a dream. She had been looking at Beast Boy, a warm feeling had spread all over her, and closed her eyes to rest. When she opened them she saw that he was no longer there, sitting next to her bed. She quickly sat up, very confused and looked around.
"Beast Boy?" She slowly crawled out of the bed and called again. "Beast Boy?" Her room seemed a little darker than usual, so she went to turn her light on. She flicked the switch, but nothing happened. She went to push her door open, but it wouldn't budge. She frantically tried to slide it (AN- I'm pretty sure her door simply slides) but it seemed to be part of the wall.
From behind her she heard someone move. She quickly turned around and looked around her dark room. "Beast Boy?" The sound of someone laughing quietly to themselves echoed through the room. Raven turned back to the door, but found that the door was gone. It was just a wall. She placed her hands on it and searched for any trace that the door might still be there. Her heart was racing and terror was slowly creeping into her body. "Someone help me!" she screamed at the wall. "Beast Boy! Robin! Cyborg! Starfire! Someone please help!"
'They've left you.'
"Leave me alone!" she screamed at the top of her lungs. She pressed her back up against the wall and looked around her room that seemed to be getting darker.
'I told you they would leave you once they were through with you.'
"Shut up!"
From the opposite side of her room she could see a blackness creeping in. Not a darkness, a blackness. As if midnight was seeping into her room. It covered her bed and her ceiling and made its way towards her.
'They've abandoned you. They know they can not help you. You are mine now.'
Raven slid down the wall and curled up. She placed her hands over her ears as tightly as she could. "Don't listen to it. It's just lying. This isn't real. It doesn't exist."
'If I'm not real than why can I touch you?'
The voice was as clear as ever, even though Raven was protecting her ears. She looked up and saw the blackness reach out to her and touch her. The touch of it made her skin shiver and turn cold, yet at the same time burn. She was crying out of terror now and scrunched herself up as tightly as she could. "This… isn't… real… this… isn't… real…" she repeated to herself over and over.
'Oh, I am very real my dear. Why do you doubt that? Can you not hear me? Can you not feel me? Do you not see the truth in the words I speak.'
"You are a liar and I won't listen to you."
'He said that he wouldn't leave you, but where is he now? He's just using you. He wants the use of your body, nothing more. Why do you think he was so quickly to answer you when you asked if he would kiss you? He will betray you, hurt you. They all will. They all will Raven!'
Raven watched in horror as the blackness closed all around her and seeped into her. She had never felt so cold, so alone. She felt as if, at the same time, she was in the middle of a fire. She could see all of her fears in front of her, taunting her. She felt paralyzed and she welcomed death.
Beast Boy was leaning back in his chair, whistling quietly to himself. Raven had been asleep for about two hours. He had quickly run out and grabbed a few comics to read, but he had long since finished them. He hummed and rocked back and forth in the chair.
"Ahhh!" Raven screamed and sat up. Beast Boy was so startled that he fell backwards in the chair. He quickly got to his feet.
"What? What is it?" he almost screamed, as she had.
Raven looked at him and started to back away. "You! You left me!"
"What? No I didn't," said Beast Boy moving towards her.
"Yes you did!" she said, stumbling out of the bed. She quickly got to her feet. "You left me all alone and let the voice get me. You said you wouldn't leave me. You said you wouldn't let it get me."
"Raven I've been here the whole time," he said slowly and moved towards her still. But that wasn't true. He had to tell her the truth. "Okay, I did leave but just for like two minutes. I got myself something to eat and read. But that's it! You've been asleep the whole time."
Raven could feel her knees go weak. 'You see! I told you he would leave you, and he did!'
"He did," said Raven softly to the voice.
"What?" asked Beast Boy.
"You did!" she screamed at him. "You left me! You broke your promise. Everything it's been saying is true. It's all true!"
"Raven…" started Beast Boy, but it was too late. A dark raven formed around her and she was gone. She had disappeared. "Oh no," said Beast Boy and he ran out of her room to tell the others.
"What do you mean she's gone?" asked Robin furiously.
"She's gone!" Beast Boy yelled. "She woke up, freaked out, and disappeared. I think it's finally gotten to her. We have to find her before she does something to herself."
"Why would Raven do something to herself?" asked Starfire.
"She's been saying that the voice is trying to get her to kill herself," said Beast Boy. "And now that she's starting to believe it she might do something to hurt herself."
"What!" screamed Cyborg grabbing Beast Boy. "Why didn't you tell us this before?"
"Because I haven't gotten a chance," said Beast Boy pulling away from him. "How am I supposed to give you an update when I can't leave her side at all?"
"Alright everyone calm down!" ordered Robin. "We have to find Raven first, we'll argue later. Now let's go." The other three Titans quickly agreed and they went off in search for Raven.