FarCry
Part Seven
"Don't touch me." Raven demanded.
And the bruised girl obeyed. Raven sat on her knees letting the tears rack her body. Her long hair fell over her shoulders in a frenzy that could have been beautiful if that moment wasn't so terrible. She was sure she could feel it, the hot burn in her stomach that was creating a life. Her whole body was on fire, but she knew it was all starting there. The last traces of Laseri were spilling into her, demanding that she provide it shelter, that she become a mother to it.
KnowledgE's hand was bruised and so was the rest of her character, but Raven couldn't see it. She couldn't see anything through the tears running down her face. How could I have done nothing? Nothing to stop this? What had the years of mediation and practice and conditioning meant if her body was just going to betray me when I needed to be strongest… why had no one told me the truth?
Her heartbeat echoed over the collapsed landscape of Nevermore. For four years Raven had been unable to manage the flux and flow of power in her mind.
I couldn't control anything…
The ground was grey, not from the lack of light or the natural disposition of her nature, but from lack of life. There had always been something growing in seeds across the landscape of her mind, but Raven hadn't been there to tend any of that growth and everything that tried to set seed died. The air, what could be called air; because Raven could hold her breath for a million years and not die of asphyxiation in Nevermore; that atmosphere was caught in a haze that matched the dismal future.
The shapes of her, the fragments of her existence were surrounding her, all but KnowledgE were too afraid to come close. TimiD was bleeding, JoY was collapsed on the floor, beyond the dulled yellow of KnowledgE's cloak was the apparition of SORroW who seemed strong enough to stand on her own, but didn't have the will to do so. Every weak part of her mind, the happiness, the fragility, was beaten and all the parts that made her strong, expect KnowledgE, were missing.
In Raven's circle of wounds and tears she hadn't seen BravE and she hadn't found HOPE. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders and across her cheeks, blocking out most of what there was to see. She didn't have to look down to see the pink life energy that was swimming around her body, trying to become a part of her. She could feel the heat of it as it flexed and rebounded against her natural energy. She could close her eyes as tightly as she pleased, but that glowing energy spiral ran across her eyes like a record.
Raven saw KnowledgE, saw that all of the features of her mind were crammed together; the meeting way of Nevermore had become a terribly crowded place.
The severity varied, but one thing was the same between KnowledgE, DespaiR, JoY and all the other sides of her, they were all suffering from something born within Raven's mind.
"Did you know? Did any of you know?" Raven's voice was dark, the fragile elements of her mind seemed to catch glimpses of four red eyes within her face. They were terrified with the display and only KnowledgE, that part highly trusted in their society, stepped forward to answer her.
"Gape Non Hy Yeh Wan." (We couldn't have known.)
"Someone had to! Someone had to know! If Washu could know---"
"Giu Lihen Watu Watun Asape Paora Pan." (The answers you seek are not here.)
Raven turned her head to the voice, the voice in her personality that she trusted more than anything. The tears didn't dry from Raven's eyes as she took in the sight of BravE. She was bruised, all of her identity was, but BravE was standing taller than any other part… despite the weight holding her down.
Raven didn't want to believe what she was seeing. Her huge eyes could only take in the bruised features of BravE before her gaze traveled down into the burden she carried within the protective cradle of her arms.
"HOPE?"
Raven walked forward, walked past JoY and KnowledgE to stand toe to toe with BravE and look down at the fragile little girl in her arms. Every piece of Raven was damaged, but HOPE looked broken. HOPE's long hair was matted; locks pulled free of her long braid and were held in her face with sweat. Her breathing was labored, but Raven knew that that small apparition didn't need air, so the dramatic rise and fall in her chest was a sign of much deeper injury.
The little girl hadn't grown, not a single inch, in the four years Raven had been locked away from her mind. Raven hadn't been conscious to feed her the energy the small fragile thing needed to become stronger, to become a part of her the way BravE and KnowledgE had.
But it was more than not getting what she needed to grow… it was something tearing away at what she had.
"In the four years that you've been held away from us… things were not static." KnowledgE admitted.
Raven's eyes were cloudy as her hand reached out to touch HOPE's face. The small girl's skin was burning with fever; her eyes weren't focused even though they were looking at Raven.
"We could only do so much without your aid… Washu freed RAGE when he split your psyche to put you to rest."
"Though in truth, RAGE was splintering away from you long before Washu made the attack on you…" BravE seemed to take on the character traits of TimiD, but she proceeded with the sentence that Raven already knew she would complete. "HOPE was wounded at the same moment Robin was."
Despite knowing what BravE would say, she knew it before BravE had thought to say it, the pain struck at Raven like a death nail. Robin had his life snatched away, just as she had seen it done to Laseri tu Tetris¹. In moments, even though a span of four years had passed in reality, Raven had lost everything she wanted: Robin, love, a happy future… and she had convinced herself it was possible. She had made herself believe that letting Robin hold her heart in his hands would remove all the traces of her demonic legacy; that somehow she wouldn't become what she was born to do…
The tragedy of birthing hope was to have it snatched away…
"It was a mistake for me to trap RAGE… if I had the power of destruction within me to use… this would have never happened." Raven whispered.
"That isn't true." KnowledgE replied.
"And what do you know? All the mistakes I made, all of them were because I listened to you!"
"I only know what you know, nothing more. It is no fault of your own that the truth was withheld from you… but the consequences will be your fault if you do not act." KnowledgE answered.
"Act? What is there for me to do?"
"Lethe Giyo Arix Moinmi Raha." (Do not be afraid.)
Raven's eyes widened, her gaze falling back to the weak little girl who spoke. Raven stepped closer and took HOPE from BravE's arms. She held the tiny character; her weight was nearly nothing to Raven's arms.
"HOPE, don't speak. Please save your strength."
"I am sorry… I could not escape her. I tried to be strong like BravE for you."
"Hush. Please don't say anything else." Raven gripped the small girl to her body. The cloak that once had shined with a blinding gold was dingy and dull.
Those characters that were strong enough to stand came to circle around her. BravE and KnowledgE stepped closer, but Raven could only feel them, she didn't dare to look away from HOPE.
Behind their heads they could hear the echo and clap of tremendous energy. It was a fury that Raven had never fully tapped into, had she, in many moments of the past, she might have been able to crush Washu, beat Slade and destroy Terra Nostra… but she had always been to afraid to use that power, for fear that it would take over her and eliminate all her chances for a wonderful future.
Raven touched her forehead to that of HOPE. She could tell the small entity was dying… What chances now do I have for a wonderful future? What is there left for me to lose?
"RAGE is lurking. She is feeding on your desperation and taking away all that makes you strong. She will take over all of it: myself, BravE, JoY… every memory, every trace of doubt, every potential future. If you do not fight her… she will take away everything… RAGE will consume you." KnowledgE declared firmly.
"Why shouldn't I let RAGE consume me?"
"Because HOPE will be destroyed." BravE replied. "And not just in you…"
Raven's body shook with tremors as BravE's words struck her heart. In her arms she could feel HOPE become nothing, becoming an intangible thing; some tiny figment of her imagination.
"I'm sorry… that we won't have more time to play." HOPE whispered as she, too, was resigning herself to her fate. She may have been only a small child, but she had all the elements of Raven: knowledge, bravery, joy, sadness, sorrow and at the moment bravery within HOPE was struggling against the endless pull of inevitability.
"Do not say such things… you are strong and I will need you to stay strong for me in the future."
"She's coming." TimiD whispered and ran with DespaiR and JoY to hide.
All the parts of her mind were scattering and Raven could feel the huge shadow of RAGE as she approached. Raven closed her eyes, breathing in deeply as the weight of HOPE was becoming unstable. When her eyes opened, she stood and turned back to BravE and KnowledgE. The yellow caped character stepped forward and gently took HOPE and with BravE they prepared to hide.
Raven didn't have time to pull up her hood or push back her hair when the first blow was struck.
…
When Jinx got up, she wasted no time telling the Titans what it was going to take to get them into the Syndicate's den and to get Raven out.
The pink haired demoness fanned out a collection of paper hexes. "These are my look-over-me hexes. It will allow us to sneak by any entity without superior mental capacities. It won't work on Washu, but it should keep us invisible to any lackies that are safeguarding the cave… I had to save my strength, so I couldn't make enough for everyone."
"That's alright Jinx." Robin said, putting a hand out to reject the hexes. "I think we all want to be seen."
Jinx frowned, tucking the guards back into her sleeve. "I don't know the route to the safe guard… and I don't know what we'll find when we get into the Wahan cave."
"We will find Raven." Starfire decided.
"And if we find Slade or Terra?" Cyborg asked.
"There's no if about it," Robin said. "We're going to find them and they are going to pay for everything they've done."
The team nodded and Jinx turned to lead the way. But something was missing. Celine frowned when she counted off the traveling members of the team.
"Robin, Star, Jinx, Cyborg, Aqualad er Tempest, Blackfire, D'ucel… Speedy and Bee are staying back with me… Where's Beast Boy?"
"Yeah… I haven't seen BB in three days." Cyborg added.
"And you'll never see him again."
The Titans turned to that familiar voice. They knew him, but at the same time, this face of him was different. His purple shirt was tucked into the waistband of his dark grey shorts. The fabric looked like leather, especially against the contrast of his dark grey gloves and the dark brown boots that were partially hidden by the legs of his shorts. The straps on his boots wound up to the cuff of his shorts, the dark brown of the straps played out the contrast. In the dead center of his purple shirt, over his chest was a lion's paw that looked menacing in its deep black etching.
His dark green hair against his green skin reflected the handsomeness in his face. The razor shaped spikes of hair seemed to defy gravity as they fanned out across his back. His smile was cool, his outfit was hot and more than one Titan raised an eye in intrigue.
"So I guess you've changed your name then?" Cyborg asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
His smile widened, exposing his teeth, as he tightened the glove on his right hand. He nodded.
"Well come on then! What are we supposed to call you?" Tempest asked.
"Beast King."²
"That's actually pretty cool." Robin admitted.
"I thought so too."
"Beast King huh? BK doesn't have the same ring as BB, but I'll get used to it." Cyborg replied.
"Good, because this is who I am now." Beast King replied.
"It's about time we showed the Syndicate who we all are." Celine added.
"A force to be reckoned with!" Blackfire stated.
"A friendship that cannot be broken!" Starfire added.
"Champions!"
"Heroes!"
"Family!"
"Titans! Go!"
…
Her dark energy spun out, lashing at the red clad character after her life. Raven purged her demonic heritage, flying around the endlessness of her mind. Their fists met. Raven's feet planted into RAGE's chest. RAGE scratched and clawed.
RAGE grabbed Raven's free long hair, pulling it into a painful grip. The hold swung the master mystic off-balance. The purple eyed girl was helpless as RAGE pulled her forward. Those purple eyes widened in surprise as RAGE unleashed an energy blast from the center of her charka. Raven grunted. RAGE didn't release her grip on Raven's hair. She used the long locks as a lever and spun her opponent in a half circle before letting her go. Raven's back crashed into one of the shambled pillars that had held RAGE before. The dusk kicked up around her feet.
Raven's breathing was hard and fast. The sound of her chest rising and falling was harsh and painful. Raven put a hand up to balance herself. RAGE watched her with cruel fascination. Around Raven the sire of Laseri's energy was still coiling, trying to make a connection with every part of Raven's being. The sight of that tight pink energy weaving around Raven made RAGE's face twist into a heinous smile.
Raven purged an energy blast, striking RAGE and hurling her off the ledge of the canyon. Her gift of flight let her keep level and the two stared at each other: hate a common theme in their eyes.
They dove in at each other. Raven's two eyes stared down into RAGE's four as their hands locked in a struggle. RAGE's teeth were bared. Raven grimaced. RAGE's nails pinched the skin between Raven's fingers. The fire in RAGE's eyes magnified the angry red way both their bodies had begun to glow. The marks of Scath were flaring against Raven's skin. From the leer on RAGE's face, she couldn't have been happier.
"Soon the world will feel the depth of our demon sire! The marks of Scath will scourge the land and all traces of hope will be erased from the universe!" RAGE gritted out.
"I won't let you take hope away from me!"
RAGE felt the shift far too late to do anything about it. Raven dropped her weight towards the ground, off-balancing the furious state of herself. It gave her just enough leverage to pull a single hand free from RAGE's grasp. Her fist balled, the terrible might of her energy pooled between her fingers, sliding over her wrist and knuckles. A short battle cry was all RAGE would have as a warning as Raven unleashed her power.
The blow knocked RAGE again over the chasm, but this time Raven didn't meet the stare of RAGE… she saw something infinitely more frightening…
In KnowledgE's arms, HOPE had died.
…
The wind was hushed. It was as if Robin had controlled it and made it move aside in such a way that the natural generation of sound was mixed and muted with the roaring engine of the R-Cycle. Robin didn't hear a thing. Even though his heartbeat drummed in him like a mad beast, the world around him was silent.
To his right a green cheetah dashed at its maximum speed against the sparkling haze of the desert. Each lash forward of each independent limb kicked dirt up and back, to be lost into the silent air. The T-car held Jinx in the passenger seat; Tempest, the Titan formally known as Aqualad, was in the back and Cyborg was behind the wheel. Stacks of hexes and cursed words were held steady in the sleeve of the pink haired sorcerer. The wheels of the vehicle jumped and crushed rocks beneath its weight, but there was no sound.
Even though her hair was pushed, Starfire wasn't sure that there was air around any of them. Her body, her sister's body, the body of Tameran's champion, cut through the twilight desert atmosphere. To their rights the sun was rising to mark the day.
In a pack they traveled, their identities were hidden in the profile of the sunrise against the coral colored mountains. But it didn't matter. At that moment they weren't Robin, they weren't Starfire, they weren't Beast King, Tempest, Cyborg, D'ucel, Jinx or Blackfire: they were Titans, moving forward against the will of demon kings to get back what was theirs: their friend, their love, their hope.
…
She felt it, but she had no idea where it had come from. Her power had limits, but she hadn't realized them yet… somehow the shattering of something so beautiful and wanted had awakened something more terrible in Raven's soul than any other tragedy she had ever faced.
BravE's fingers flexed and shifted as HOPE's body failed to remain a solid energy. Both KnowledgE and BravE watched the tiny life force shift and scatter, generating a glorious gold energy, remnant of the girl's shining cloak when Raven first allowed her creation. In the corners of her eyes, Raven could see the spiraling energy gate that marked the loss of HOPE in her spirit.
And with that loss came the loss of control in Raven's anger.
RAGE should have been fed from the horrific power exploding from every inch of Raven's mind. The other apparitions of Raven's being cowered as the canyon floors began to rip and give away. But RAGE didn't move. The cliff that had served as a platform under Raven fell apart and fell down into a nothingness that could not be measured. Raven floated, locked in the hex of her father's symbols, her eyes glowing in a red that made the marks seem dull.
Raven seemed to walk on air. Her legs moved forward as if there was an invisible platform guiding her steps to RAGE. With every drop of her foot RAGE felt a punishing blow to her body: her chest, her head; she felt like she was kicked in the stomach, felt like a million of Raven's dark attacks were slamming into her from all sides…
And they were… Raven's power had become so dark, that even the menacingly sensitive RAGE couldn't see them.
BravE looked up from the spiraling energy that had become of HOPE as the woman to whom she was tied to exercised the greatest outreach of her power.
Raven's hand rose from her side. Laseri's energy was still twisting around her middle, but it seemed lost in the maelstrom of vicious black energy born from the hate, fear and sorrow in Raven's mind. Her long hair was thrown around her, her blue cloak fanned out behind her, her mouth was a straight line before she parted her lips and sealed RAGE's fate.
"AZARATH FAERIDOS REX!"³
It first seemed that all the energy was crashing brutally into Raven, as if the spell had been chanted incorrectly and the punishment was spell reversal. But past the few initial seconds of doubt, it became obvious that the spell was simply finding its epicenter at the pulse point of the most powerful magic in the realm. The black and gray and dark blue might spun like fans, rebounding and crashing against itself, pooling and becoming a spiraling ray of energy that spun up and out from Raven's arm. It took only one extended arm, with the fingertips pointed at her victim, for Raven to expel the most powerful arsenal of her magic; the uncontrollable force of desperation, anger and righteousness… to send it thoroughly and without mercy to the uncontrollable force before her.
BravE covered KnowledgE with the shield of her body as the energy spiraled dangerously against the atmosphere of Raven's mind. All of the matching purple eyes watched the massive energy charge with the intention of destruction. RAGE could not move, could not react, could not collapse in fear. The energy struck at her from all angles, at all energies and at all moments in time. The dark power was the essence of existing in Nevermore… that energy striking her madly took away every fraction of her being.
And for the moment it appeared that RAGE had disappeared.
Beat, Beat Heartbeat...
Beat, Beat Heartbeat…
Exhaustion won out over the terrible demonic fury that coursed through her veins. Raven's four eyes sunk away, revealing a sleepy set of two purple gems. BravE and KnowledgE retrieved her, pulling her back to the slim wasteland of ground that had been spared from the outpour of Raven's energy.
It was only a tiny platform of land beneath the energy of HOPE.
Consciousness returned to the purple haired mystic and right away she became aware of all that was happening around her. The energy of RAGE, the energy of HOPE and the energy of Laseri finally sinking into her body. Her hand dropped to that place, to the heat of her womb and felt the drumming energy there.
Beat, Beat Heartbeat…
Beat, Beat Heartbeat…
Two heartbeats… one is my own… she's here… my daughter…
Raven lifted her head, but to both BravE and KnowledgE it seemed that Raven was looking far past them, focusing on something they did not have access to. But she spoke to them, in a tone directed at both of them, but only one of them could answer.
"How much longer until I'm committed to this… To the birth of my daughter… to the will of my father?"
KnowledgE shook her head. The yellow fabric, where it wasn't torn, rustled against itself, bringing the first noise to the conversation that wasn't Raven's voice or Raven's breath. "It will not be complete… Not until you leave here…"
Raven looked up at the spiraling energy, gold and beautiful and tragically out of place. That was where her hope had gone, all of it. She couldn't face the tyranny of the outside world knowing that part of the guard that allowed her to face everyday was destroyed.
"If nothing will become of this… if I never leave my mind… then I can never leave here." Raven whispered.
KnowledgE placed a hand on her shoulder, if not for the wound in Raven's heart, she would have pushed the touch aside. "Lethe Waun Uwarahn." (You must go.)
Raven grazed her hand over the tightly clenched fingers on her shoulder. Her brow furrowed. "If I step outside here, I'll borne the destruction of the world."
But BravE agreed with KnowledgE. "The child grown from you will be your daughter. It is your parentage that will decide what becomes of her… Return to the real world… I will search for HOPE and a way to bring her back… you must maintain a vessel to capture her."
Raven's eyes dropped closed slowly and when they opened tears flowed like racing rivers. Her body felt like lead, even as KnowledgE took her hand gently and BravE placed a hand behind her back to ease her from the floor.
Get up… Get up. ⁴
Raven's eyes remained transfixed on the energy gate. Her steps took her to it, as if this moment was predestined without her consent: just like most moments in her life, and just like most moments of her life, this moment was born from a tragedy that would have crippled any other person.
Person… to keep from becoming a monster, I have to change Trigon's will… I have to find a way to erase the imprinting his pedigree has borne to me… and to my daughter… Somehow…
Raven closed her eyes and floated through the energy of HOPE… she didn't meet inspiration, instead she suppressed a shudder as her magic reflexively pulled her hood over her face. With one trembling breath, Raven escaped the tragedy of Nevermore to exist in the tragedy of the rest of her life…
…
Robin's heart jumped in his chest, pulling the delicate but determined muscle into a riot that caused him physical pain. His masked eyes didn't show it, but somehow he knew that some tragedy had befallen the girl he loved, but he didn't know what and he didn't know what he was going to do about it…
Except destroy those that had caused it.
The Titans stood outside the portal door, in two lines: the first only contained Jinx and Robin; all the others fell back in a nervous display. Beast King tightened his glove, Starfire pressed her worried fingertips to her lips and D'ucel struggled not to be overwhelmed with the surging emotions.
Jinx raised a slender hand to the smooth stone portal gate. Her eyes took in their feral pink glow. "Obrium Bis Pendrule." (Bear me entrance)
The rest of the room began to shake, but in their eyes it looked as if the door was perfectly still. The Titans wobbled and struggled to maintain their footsteps. But Jinx remained perfectly still.
"Wakanta: Laseri. Lethe."
Jinx waved both her arms in a dance that Cyborg found beautiful. Jinx's wrists twisted as her delicate hands pushed and weaved through the air.
"Astarte tu Jinx."
It became apparent to the Titans then that Jinx was having a conversation with the gate and the mighty roar of the ground beneath them was its answer. As one by one they accepted the realization, they feared more and more, with the terrible roar; that the portal might not be in favor of their entrance.
Robin set his feet and stood as solidly as Jinx did. Jinx's eyes lost their feral glow as she turned in surprise. She could almost see Robin over coming the demonic barrier required to communicate with the gate. She could feel his will calling to the portal to let him in: to let him save her.
And the gate listened.
"How did you do that?" Jinx asked.
"It isn't just superpowers that get things done… willpower, love, hope… I've never faced anything I couldn't beat when I have all three of those… but most of all hope…" Robin replied.
…
Raven had a splitting headache and some how, on its own regard, her hand traveled from her side to lay over her stomach. She could feel it… already there was a gentle swell in her belly, there was life there… life she had to protect.
She became aware of the sensation slowly. The tug on her the base of her skull had been much too gentle for her to register as it was competing with the warm throb at the center of her belly. But once Raven was used to the small life clinging to her, she could feel the full spectrum of the universe around her… starting in her hair.
She didn't have to look down to know that it was Terra Nostra braiding her loose hair tightly. Terra noticed the shift in Raven's body immediately. She continued to busy her fingers in Raven's hair.
"Finally awake? You've been asleep for three days. I was beginning to think that being a mommy was going to be too much for you." Terra tapped something metallic on her wrist, flexing her fingers back and forth. Raven knew it was some sort of signal: she was letting someone know that it had happened. Raven's body had taken the Transient.
"I no longer have the capacity to desire to save your retched life." Raven said. She was able to ignore the twisting of Terra's fingers around her hair until the vicious blonde gave it a brutal tug that pulled Raven to the floor. Raven landed on her side, rolling over as soon as she hit the ground. Her eyes traveled up Terra's older form until she met her eyes. Those blue eyes were locked in disgust.
"Come off it Raven. It never occurred to you in that dark little mind of yours to forgive and forget. Just say it: you never liked me, you never wanted me back on your team."
"You're right, I didn't."
"Finally you're honest. From the moment those purple eyes of yours laid eyes on me…you wanted to crush me… but you didn't, you couldn't… Me on the other hand, when I wanted to crush---"
"What have you been doing all this time?" Raven cut her off swiftly. "You couldn't have been satisfied to watch me sleep for four years."
"Worried about your friends? Are you worried that I've been destroying lives one rock slide at a time? Is that what you want to hear? Actually, I've just been waiting… biding my time… I wouldn't do anything to risk my chance to be here…" Terra smiled cruelly, thinking of something that brought her amusement. "Do you find me sadistic? Are you thinking about me now the way you always had before? Come on and admit it Raven, you always thought I was a snake."
"No, snakes are beasts with no conscious of consequence. You had disregard. You think that having a few demons on your side will save you from the repercussions of your betrayal. But I promise you Terra, when I fall Trigon, when I crush Slade and Washu… you will not be spared… you will witness the full extent of my mercy." Raven sneered out.
There was enough give in the chain around her neck for Raven to sit up. Her hands fell across her stomach in a defensive shield, her body acting without her mind to protect the tiny thing inside her.
Raven's deep purple eyes bored into Terra's blue ones, but Terra didn't back away.
"Save me? You think I'm some good little girl, who wanted to be bad for kicks, don't you? Spare me the psychology Raven. You always thought you were so smart."
"I did. If I had listened to myself half the time I had misgivings about you, I could have crushed you, stopping you from betraying us again."
"Betrayer, betrayal, betrayed… betray" Terra cocked her head as if amused. "You have a lot of gall throwing that word around, you hypocrite. I may have tricked you, but I was never as bad as you. I pretended to want to be a part of your team and pretended to be your friend. But you, you made friends with Starfire, made her feel comfortable with you… gained her trust…and then took her boy."
Raven's face twisted in rage, forgetting everything about the rest of the world, as she launched forward to strike Terra down. Terra leaned back smoothly, just out of the reach of the enraged half-demon as the chain around her neck kept her from achieving her goal of strangling Terra.
Terra laughed. "Oh Rae! That face! It's priceless! The truth hurts doesn't it? I may have used you all to get what I want, but you made nice with Starfire and then snatched away her favorite play thing… so tell me Raven, between you and me, who's the betrayer?"
"You are." Raven gritted out.
"Thought you'd say that. See, that's the difference between you and me Raven. I know you. I know how you think, I know what you fear, I even know what you want. Past your desperate desire to be seen as strong and dark, you're the sad little girl, the one so twisted that she breaks the hearts and minds over everything around her."
"You don't know anything."⁵
The door to the room fell open. Terra turned her neck to look at the open way. She smiled, taking in the sight of Slade and Washu entering the cell. Unlike Terra, they didn't seem any older, but then again it was hard to tell the age of a masked man and with full-blooded demons with an age on the order of eons, a few years was equivalent to a heartbeat.
Raven watched Terra smile as Washu and Slade stepped within a few feet of them. Terra stood up, brushing her legs free of dust.
"I would love to sit here with you Rae, and pick you apart, detail by detail. But you've got another appointment."
…
ºLike Robin, Tetris hadn't died immediately from Washu's soul-shaving. But unlike Robin, his incapacitation had only lasted a few hours. The moment that thieving blow was struck, the crippling hold Washu had on the half-demon's soul was nearly broken. When his body tumbled to the ground, lacking most of its vital life energy, Washu's slave crown had fallen off and with it, the cage on Tetris' soul had fallen away.
Terra and Washu had both been in the room to see it, to see Tetris' regeneration of identity. Watching the pull and drive of the half-demon had inspired Terra, for a few seconds she was grossly fascinated with him.
They had left his collapsed body on the ground, exactly where he had fallen. Every eye in the room was infinitely more fascinated with the female half-demon who's life force was being influenced by their will. His breathing had been unnoticeable, they had assumed him dead. But Terra found, when they met his angry glare as he pulled himself off the floor, that she was happy that Washu wasn't as strong as he thought he was. She had a thing about putting demons in their place: though no part of that thing involved stopping their machinations, simply she liked the idea that their egos were crushable and she took satisfaction in that, even if she wasn't the one doing the crushing.
The variant pink color of his eyes demonstrated the capacity of consciousness, something that had been lacking in the years he was totally under Washu's control. The pink color was still unnatural, like Raven's purples, Washu's grays or the flaming reds that Terra had seen lurking in Washu's soul room: though when she had stumbled upon those unnatural colors, Washu's efflux of power had kept her from seeing them again. The geomorph hadn't realized at the time that a galaxy collapsed behind him through an exercise of his will. Slade had warned her about Washu's terrible power and terrible temper, but like her mentor, she never truly appreciated that power enough to fear it.
Without the direct connection, Washu didn't have the power to warp Tetris' mind. The slave crown was bent on the floor, unattached and thus useless to bend Tetris' will. It seemed that the half-demon was aware of himself, to refuse the discard of his life: though his whole life he had been a puppet, he had the inborn reflection of being more than just a one use entity.
His breathing was crippled as strands of his bangs shook loose of the others and fell into his eyes with each rise and collapse in his chest. His hand leaned out, his palm pressed down on the raised bed that held the suspended Raven, the pink haze of his eyes matched the pink energy swimming around her body. Though all acts of consciousness had been stolen from him for years, the years in which Washu built and executed his plans, Laseri tu Tetris knew what exactly had been done to him and done to her: the sire of Trigon, the mother of their demon seed.
"Another woman Washu? My mother, my sister and now the whelp of Trigon? Will you crush every woman you come across to reach the goal of my father?" Terra found that his voice was captivating, almost beautiful like the rest of him. When his eyes were normal, as normal as pink-demon eyes could be, the rest of his features demonstrated handsomeness, probably some of it born from a natural goodwill, one that had masked by the evil will of another.
Washu narrowed his eyes at the expended vessel for his goal. Doomgaze didn't care about the progeny he had already sired, that was why Washu had so easily discarded Astarte and why sealing Laseri's doom would bring no hesitance.
"I will destroy you… I will stop what you have done." Laseri said, his eyes taking on their feral pink glow.
"You do not possess the future to stop me."
Terra watched, Tetris, weak on his feet waved his hand in a complicated dance that seemed to freeze time all around them, or at least slow it down. Terra's blue eyes blinked and in amazement she could see the pulse of energy move in front of her face, single strands of sunkissed hair swept and waved in her vision, unable to block out the radiance from Tetris' body. The room stopped, echo reflections of Tetris' body split the air. Terra could barely move her pupils fast enough to catch Washu respond to the charging energy.
It seemed as if the expunging of his retaliation was a second thought. He didn't move his body, he didn't shift his gaze, he didn't even allow himself a satisfied smirk when the charging energy in Tetris became trapped and frozen within his young body, only to be ripped apart in a flex of Washu's superior might.
Terra frowned when the life that was Tetris simply ceased to be. There had once been life, if only truly for a few seconds, but Washu had destroyed all evidence of it right before her eyes. "What happens if something goes wrong and you need another baby?" Terra asked.
"The sire will be perfect, nothing short of completing her goal will destroy the whelp."
"Will you destroy Raven when you're done with her?"
"If I must."
"No you won't." Terra said, turning her eyes from the last traces of Tetris to the living full demon in front of her. "I haven't gotten my part of the bargain from this yet and I want her… ashes to ashes, bones to bones."
"Can you calm your hatred for another year? Or must you be put back to sleep to make sure you don't cause harm to her before her use has been exhausted?"
"You can relax for now. I can see you're not against destroying things that get in your way… I won't do anything to risk my chance for vengeance. I want her alive too… so she can have a front row seat when I destroy everything important to her."
Washu didn't seem either amused or displeased with Terra's declaration. In truth, he didn't think of her at all. The geomorph had served a valuable role in getting what was needed to ensure the capture of Trigon's heir. However, the second she was no longer useful she would know it, because that would be the moment when Washu no longer suffered her to live.
"When she awakes, she will have committed to the Transient."
"Right. I'll be waiting here when she does." Terra replied, looking down at the half-demon that embodied all the things she wanted to rid from her life: ego, manipulation, and control.º
…
Raven could hear Slade talk at her as she struggled against the pull of the collar around her neck, forcing her to stand and forcing her to follow.
"In three months you'll have your baby… one year after that… she is going to live out the end of the world."
Raven found that grabbing the collar and pulling only induced pain on her part. She could feel the pulse of Washu's power running through her, she could feel it bitterly in her womb. She ceased struggling, to calm the panic in her maternal instinct to protect the life inside her. Her breath shuddered as she moved forward, exposed on the right side as Washu pulled her forward at her left and Slade, Terra and Red X followed behind Washu like ducks.
She didn't think to notice that while her blue cloak was wrapped around her shoulders, her leotard had been exchanged for a dark red dress. It hid the shape of her changed body: those both from the result of time and from the prophecy enacted. Her legs were bare, she could feel cold, she could feel tiny stones splintering and exploding as she stepped forward.
She would feel the whorl wind of a battle cry when three exploding disks slammed into the ground around her and threw dirt into her vision.
By natural reaction, they all raised their hands to protect their eyes. Before Slade could command Terra to clear the air of the earth, a solid dropkick connected with his chest and hurled him from the dust cloud. The body moving into the circle and Slade's body exiting pulled most of the haze from Raven's vision and she could see: and at the same time, when Slade's body slammed into a wall and when Terra and Washu realized their danger, they saw as well.
"Robin?"
Their eyes were a light: in shock, in horror, in relief. Raven's heart jumped as she watched him pull himself up from his crouch to stand before her in profile. A single tear slipped her eye when she saw him. His face turned towards hers for the briefest second, but she saw all of him: his bright uniform, his midnight hair, his handsome face. Her heart skipped beats, the tragedy in her soul seemed to flux and a surge of something she couldn't control took over her body.
"Robin…" Raven fainted to the floor and around her, the cave of Wahan exploded in battle frenzy.
Washu was the first to recover from his shock, hurling an energy wave to take down the Titans' leader. Robin tumbled backwards, clearing the area for Star, D'ucel and Blackfire to unleash eye beams: crashing into Red X, Washu and Terra. The blonde geomorph slammed into the cave wall, inches away from Slade. Her huge blue eyes were wide with shock.
Jinx and Robin stood before them all, Robin pulled free his bo-staff and Jinx fanned out hexes. Washu turned his furious eye between Jinx and Robin, both of whom should be dead. He knew why they had come and he knew what he was going to do about it.
A dark grey barrier encased around Washu and Raven. Jinx narrowed her eyes before throwing four of her paper hexes at the enemies before her. Slade, Terra and Red X each smoothly rolled away from the wall as the razor sharp runes cut into the earth behind their shadows. Washu incinerated the attack made on him. Red X, Slade and Terra got to their feet. Robin stared down Slade, Terra was starred down by the rest of the Titans and a face she didn't know.
When Robin leapt forward to challenge Slade, the rest of the Titans took to the fight as well. Blackbolts chased Red X. The doppelganger flipped and evaded until a tackle from Tempest took away his footing.
Slade's evades were even slower as his single eye was still held wide in absolute shock at seeing Robin alive after four years believing him dead. Robin's attacks were deadly, any other man but the undead Slade would have been crushed under them. The rage of four years lost fueled Robin to jab, to kick, to expend the full extent of his martial artistry on the villain that represented everything he hated in the world.
A green eyebeam made Terra leap back, leaving her open when a rushing green ram slammed into her from the side. Her body rolled, before she put down a hand to stop her momentum. She pulled herself up to see the green ram morph into a bear. Her blue eye widened as that bear came forward again.
"Beast Boy? Aren't you going to talk to me? Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"
"There's nothing to say." He replied, pulling himself from his animal form. Terra stared out at the handsome Titan; he glared down at her from his imposing height. His thin lips were straight in a frown. "And my name is Beast King." He morphed smoothly, exposing his Beast Within.
Star grabbed Robin's hand and launched him into a counter attack that knocked Red X into a wall. The flailing body of the doppelganger flew past the barrier that Cyborg's beams and Foxfire's punches couldn't take down. Behind the barrier Washu's eyes were locked on Jinx and Jinx stood perfectly still holding his gaze. From where the others stood, they couldn't tell that both their mouths were moving in a frenzied pace to counterbalance the other's energy.
Terra shrieked as Beast King's most impressive form bear-hugged her. Her feet kicked out, her chest was barely able to bring in a breath. Beast King wasn't relenting, no matter how much it hurt his heart to hurt Terra. The blonde geomorph shook her head before her eyes became alight with her anger of the land. Beneath Beast King's feet the ground trembled and he hadn't enough time to react before he was catapulted into the air, releasing his grip on the geomancer. She collapsed to her knees; the fall of her blond hair didn't blind her to the battle scene around her. Starbolts crashed across the cave floor, trained on Terra and getting closer. In midair Tempest's foot was extended to deliver a drop kick. Robin and Slade were locked in a struggle as the pink haired demon girl was throwing forward slices of paper to take down Washu's barrier. Terra could see, even as those Starbolts came closer that Blackfire had forced herself close, her fingers gripping the physical barrier on either side of a paper hex and was trying to rip open the force field. Just inches beyond the black haired Tameranian's reach laid Raven, unconscious to everything going around her.
Terra would not let the Titans go unpunished.
"Laa!" The cave floor jumped, taking away Blackfire and Cyborg's footing. Before Star and Tempest could react, mud shot free from the ground and encased them, hardening in a stone shell.⁶ Robin's concern turned his head, allowing a hooking punch to knock him off his feet. Shards of the earth slammed into D'ucel and Jinx, pushing away the punishment on Washu and letting him unleash a fierce energy blow.
Terra pulled herself to her feet, her hands a light with her natural talents. The Titans were getting up. She had never seen them so strong, each of them were getting up, except Aqualad and Starfire who remained in their trap… until Starfire's eye beams shot forth and erupted the mud casing around her head.
Washu watched furiously as Jinx and Robin pulled themselves up, both their eyes fixed on him. Behind him Blackfire flew, reaching Tempest, her arms encircling his mud prison and squeezing, just hard enough to crumble the mold without hurting him. He was unconscious from the lack of air and as she laid him down gently, her eyes took on their purple glow.
Over Tempest's body, Terra and Blackfire met eye to eye, both their energies escaping, covering naturally blue pupils. At the same moment they pulled their hands back. But before Terra could strike a blow, a green eye beam crashed into her side. Blackfire smiled, looking up to her little sister, who too had her eyes masked in a furious glow. Behind them Jinx and Robin moved together. Jinx grabbed his gloved wrist and slid them through Washu's barrier.
The full demon's grey eyes were a wreck with rage as Jinx stared him in the eye. She held his absolute attention as Robin kneeled down and cradled Raven gently in his arms. He had wishes for revenge, wishes to destroy the Syndicate, wishes to end everything that had kept him away from Raven for four years… but none of them were stronger than the relief he felt when he touched her, when he held her close to him: not as a dream, but a living breathing entity…
He had her back… and for the moment that satisfied all his wishes.
The plan was a simple one, one that only had two possible outcomes as far as Robin was concerned: get Raven out or get Raven and Tetris out. From the furious glare behind Jinx's pink eyes, it seemed that whatever she had feared to happen had happened and there was no Tetris to be saved.
He couldn't say he felt bad, all he could feel was Raven close to him, Raven in his arms where she belonged. The rest of the world might have collapsed at that moment, but he had her.
Jinx smoothly pulled a hex from her sleeve. This one seemed different, the color wasn't the same as any of her others, this color was golden, the writing on it in a pure white. Washu watched his charge pull the slip over her eye and in the moment her unveiled eye locked on his, the hex began to work. Flowing from that single slip of paper, a pink energy spiral formed and expanding, pushing away at the barrier. Washu sneered down, but everything was happening too quickly. That pink coil of energy broke apart his barrier and shattered along the cave walls. It struck Slade and Red X and made sure that Terra stayed down.
Somehow the other's knew it was their cue. Starfire swooped down and captured Beast King as her sister retrieved Tempest. D'ucel grabbed Cyborg, though the mechanical fighter protested, not wanting to leave Jinx behind.
"Endari Ende Mortix!"
Jinx waved the outwashing hex before letting it go. The stiff paper floated perfectly still in the middle of the room. At best it would hold for a few more minutes, but if they could get deep enough into the access of the cave, those few moments would be good enough.
She turned her head and saw them flee: Robin carried Raven, holding her gently but firmly as he too made his escape. Jinx turned back to Washu, watching him sneer down at her.
"You have stopped nothing." He muttered. She could see him imposing his dark power into the atmosphere. It was a slow spill; the dark grey could only cover her power a millimeter at a time.
"I have done enough… for what you did to me... I promise you all my power will undo you." Jinx replied.
"Astarte Boraun Huy Taun Lowi Wa." (I will destroy you for your worthlessness.)
"You never had that power. You can't destroy anything."
"Expect your mother… expect your brother… except you."
Jinx's face held a tight sneer, but she didn't act on the rage building within her. She had known the moment she had seen Raven that what she had feared to come true had happened. Her brother was destroyed, his life energy becoming the imperfect seed in Raven's womb. The portal had been created.
It would take the rest of Jinx's life to protect the lingering essence of her brother; it would take the rest of her life to get strong enough to finally defeat Washu.
She watched for only a few seconds, as more of Washu's energy spilled past her spell. She turned her back on all that was behind her and ran to catch up with the Titans.
It would be a few precious seconds before Washu broke free of Jinx's hex. The furious demon flooded the cave in his rage. The ground split, the cave ceiling crumbled. Slade barely avoided being crush by a falling boulder. He was still fazed by what he had seen. Robin was alive: he had hit him, had been struck by him, heard his furious roar. In four years Robin had recovered, just like Tetris had done within a few hours, but unlike Tetris, Robin could not be destroyed. Over four years the Titans' leader had grown and prepared for a fight that Slade hadn't dared to believe was coming. Though he had undeniably lost that fight, Slade couldn't feel anything less than satisfaction.
Terra pulled herself into a sitting position; a terrible burn was running through her gut. Those alien dogs! It was bad enough that Beast Boy tried to snap me in half, but those double teaming Troq princesses! Terra had considered sparing Starfire a particular painful demise, but all chances of that were now nonexistent.
Terra's rage overlapped Washu's, nothing in the cave was spared. The ground shook, the air became like poison before Terra nearly suffocated herself in her rage. Her feral eyes became calm, her breathing steadied.
"It would probably good if he calmed down too." Red X muttered as he pulled himself up as well.
Washu seemed to hear Red X's comment: that rage seemed to subside; at least the expelling of power had stopped for the most part. Slade rubbed his jaw, thinking constantly, in the way that he always did.
"They will head back to the tower. Sending a short army would be more than enough to get her back. No matter how good they fight when desperate, they're still desperate and they make mistakes." Slade posited.
"You are too stupid to understand how complex the plan is! The whelp of Trigon's demoncy has to be prepared to be of value to me. With Astarte assisting them, she will make sure that the preparations are impossible."
"Do you mean Jinx? Her abilities are impressive, but not unsurpassable. They can only use the element of surprise once." Slade replied.
"I'm not sure you even have to worry about Raven doing her part." Terra said, brushing off her arms and legs as if she hadn't a care in the world. "You said so yourself, the girl is programmed to make the portal and she's way too proud to do anything but become the portal bearer. So I say we sit back and wait for her to give birth to her precious little girl… and when the time comes, we take her away."
"There are preparations the portal must undergo."
"Raven will probably do it unintentionally, thinking she can make the child strong enough to stop her destiny… Raven's going to produce destruction and we're going to ensure it." A lock of blonde hair fell over her face. She pushed it behind her ear, Slade and Red X could see the malicious intent there. "I think we have everything we need to make a grand guard for Raven's baby."
…
He would have collapsed from joy if he hadn't been carrying something so precious to him in his arms. Jinx had sealed the cave behind them, what that meant in terms of their ability to escape had yet to be seen. Jinx stepped back from the gate that both she and Robin had communicated with and hoped that her plea and the pathetic vision that Raven made would inspire it to hold closed. Whether or not that inspiration kept Washu at a distance was something Jinx did not know.
Starfire was crying, D'ucel touched her shoulder and she immediately latched on to him. Her tears were from happiness, all of them were feeling overwhelming joy at having Raven back. Except Jinx. Her eyes too were trained on the fainted Raven, but while their eyes were locked on her face, Jinx's gaze shifted between her neck and her stomach.
"We need to go." Jinx said firmly.
"Do you think you can cover our tracks with some of your hexes?"
Jinx shook her head in the negative. "If I use any more powers… Washu will be able to get to us. We'll have to get back the same way we came and hope for the best." It was a lie, but the Titans would know the truth soon enough.
"Then let's get back to the tower." Cyborg tapped his communicator, bringing Celine's image on the screen.
"Omicron here." Celine voice carried over the transmission device.
"Prepare a couple medical beds…We're on our way back… all of us."
Celine touched her heart. "That is wonderful news. I'll have everything ready."
"Right. Cyborg out."
Robin cradled Raven's form as close as he could without crushing her. He turned to his team, able to see all of them in one sweep. "Let's go home."
Beast King took the R-cycle, it was obvious to all of them that he wanted to be alone for the ride: he needed to work out his emotions. He was happy they saved Raven; he was disappointed that he didn't even try to save Terra. Celine had told him to trust that beautiful thing in his heart that told him to try again: but when he had Terra in his arms, when she wanted him to talk to her… he didn't want to help her. He hadn't wanted to hurt her either, he wasn't exactly what had inspired him to become his most powerful self, he didn't know what he was trying to prove to himself. He revved the engine of the R-Cycle and sped ahead of them all: he was absolutely certain that the ride back to Jump City wouldn't be long enough to clear his head.
Blackfire climbed into the front seat, positioning Tempest on her lap. He had come to a little, but despite his tolerance for asphyxiation, he had been trapped into the mud for just a bit too long. Her fingers sweeping over his brow smeared more mud than cleared it. She didn't fret. When she got him to the medic room she'd clear it all off. Her blue eyes closed and opened slowly as Robin gently laid Raven flat along the back seat, he knelt in the space on the floor beside her head and Jinx did the same behind Cyborg's seat: both of their gazes were locked on Raven. She saw the way Robin's gloved fingers laced in Raven's slack ones, drawing her fingertips to his lips.
Blackfire's thoughts brought a thankful sigh to her lips. We've done the first step… after four years… in clearing it all away…
…
The beds were ready as Celine had promised. Aqualad was laid down and, ever so gently, so was Raven. Speedy had stood up when Robin came in, carrying Raven. He had heard from Celine that they had gotten her, but seeing her, actually laying his eyes on her, it surged a hope in him that he hadn't felt in a long time. His eyes moved from the precious sight of his masked counterpart to the precious sight of his own gaze. Sakura hadn't so much twitched a nerve in four years… but maybe, just maybe they were on a roll for recovery.
Robin looked down at his beautiful Raven. She was real: he touched her body, she was warm the way he remembered her. The Titans' leader nearly fainted with joy to feel her skin again, to touch her cheeks, her lips, her hair. Her body wasn't damaged, there didn't appear to be any bruises and expect for the strange dress she was wearing and the collar around her throat, she looked exactly as he imaged she would over the four year difference.
"Raven. Raven." He whispered, taking her fingers in his again.
Celine had to fight back the tears as she saw the worry and pain Robin had been carrying for years slip away. Her eyes followed Jinx's hands as they reached out and gently removed the collar from Raven's neck. Celine didn't know Jinx was so powerful, but she realized that she didn't know much about Jinx.
When Jinx's fingers, gripping the broken collar, moved from Raven's neck to the guard rail by Raven's lower half, Celine pulled her gaze up to Jinx's face and Jinx noticed that Celine had noticed. A tear slipped down Jinx's face, Celine frowned and turned her gaze to Robin. The loving gaze told them that there was nothing in the world, over the course of infinite years that would remove him from that spot before Raven woke up.
Celine quietly asked Speedy to leave and both she and Jinx followed behind him as he left the room to leave them be. The door slid shut behind them and Celine pressed her back against the wall.
"Did I see what I think I saw?" Celine asked, watching Speedy walk away.
Jinx rolled the collar in her fingers for a few seconds before a surge of energy destroyed the device. "It's not my place to say." Jinx replied.
"You didn't find your brother… that tells me that what you feared for Raven has come true. You're going to say Jinx; you're going to tell us all the truth."
"That's Raven's decision… all I can do is make sure she understands anything she doesn't already."
"And what are we supposed to do?" Celine asked.
"You're all going to have to wait and see."
Jinx walked away.
…
Raven felt something touching her lips. It was soft and dry and so familiar that she had to open her eyes. And she did. She had felt something warm between her fingers, she had felt something steady and warm against her cheek and she knew from the lingering sensations in her heart that it was Robin's fingers locked through hers and Robin's breath on her cheek.
Those purple eyes opened and saw him. His face was beautiful. More beautiful than she had known a human being could be. His lips were on hers, the soft touch made her heart ache as she remembered that four years had passed since the last time this had happened: so much time had passed, so many things had changed, but this was still beautiful.
"Robin." Her lips moved against his slowly.
"Raven… you're… I've got you Raven…"
"You got me." Raven whispered, letting Robin pull her into a seated position. They hugged fiercely, their chins falling over each other's shoulders, their eyes closed, his chest was shuddering, her bottom lip was caught tightly between her teeth. She didn't know she could cry so much.
"I was so afraid."
Raven felt Robin's hands leave her shoulder to run down her back. Her body shook. In her stomach was a heat of consequence, it spun and blinded her and it made her more afraid then she had thought she was capable of.
"Robin," She whispered. "Let go of me." Her hands moved up his arms, squeezing the muscles that were tense there. Robin could feel her pushing his arms away, but he resisted.
"Never. Never again." Robin replied. His handsome face lined up perfectly with hers, his hands cupped her face, his thumbs were covered in her tears.
"Robin… I need to tell you something. Something awful, something I…"
Robin hushed her. "You can tell me anything you want forever, for as long as you want. But please, please let me have this moment… I've waited four years to have you in my arms again."
Raven pressed her forehead into his cheek and he whispered to her beautiful things that made her heart explode: he missed her, he was worried, he'd protect her always, he'd never let her down again.
Raven listened to his every word, careful in the way their bodies touched. He hadn't noticed; she wasn't prepared for him to notice. This wasn't the way she wanted her reunion with Robin, with her friends, to be. Slowly and delicately she put Robin to sleep: she worried for a moment that the lack of use of her powers would be risky, but the deep place in her heart that held all aspects of love protected him. She laid him back gently, his face relaxed and handsome: just a few feet away she could see Sakura laying still as Robin was, locked in a sleep brought on by magic.
Raven stood up, stood between the two beds and held her stomach sadly. It had only been three days and already her body was showing the consequence of her heritage. Slade said three months… and then one year from that on the anniversary of my birth… what will happen… I need to know… to protect everything that matters to me… Raven's eyes caught Robin's sleeping figure in her gaze. I need to understand the truth…
Her body shifted easily into the black energy of her soul self. She was disoriented, the tiny life inside her made everything different. Everything is different… what I want, what I love and what I'll get: what happens to me, to my friends, to the rest of the world… to Robin… it all depends on this little life inside me…
When her soul body reformed, she was standing in the center of her room. The dark colors were wrong, at least from what she remembered of them. Things were out of place or new or missing. Her books were disordered, some mangled, and some were missing. She found the one she was looking for, it was burned and many pages were missing, but she knew enough from memory. Her sands were missing, her black candles were gone and she realized she was going to faint if she didn't slow down. Her body slumped to the floor, all her weight resting on her left hand and knees as the right one cupped her mouth keeping her scream from being audible.
It hurt to breathe, her heartbeat was uncontrollable and her power was birthing fear in every inch of her. Somehow in her blind determination, she hadn't noticed Jinx was in her room.
She stepped forward, inches away from Raven's face and waited. Raven knew she was there but didn't look up.
"Teleporting won't work and it would be dangerous for you and the life inside you."
Raven's head raised swiftly, her eyes became unstable behind their twist of demonic franchise. A raven's claw extended from her hand, catching Jinx around her chest and slammed her into the wall. Jinx could have freed herself, but she didn't. She watched Raven approach her with all her demoncy in her eyes.
"Lethe Yu Wan Kaiyen Mortien Mor." (Stop and listen to me.)
"Why should I listen to you? To anything you have to say?"
"Astarte tu Jinx." Jinx replied.
Raven's eyes returned normal. Her energy dropped Jinx. The pink haired half-demoness landed on her feet. Her pink eyes studied Raven's face: she was older, they were both older and things were different, they were worse than Jinx ever wanted to believe was possible. She couldn't say that the reason she was standing in front of Raven was because of some friendship or even comradeship: the truth was she never liked Raven, but that didn't matter. When she knew all the truths she could find, it stopped being about what she liked and wanted: it became about what she could do. When she understood what there was to know, in Jinx's heart she knew she couldn't let Washu do that to Raven. But seeing Raven, she knew that it was too late to stop. So the only thing left for Jinx to do was to help her by sharing her truths with the bearer of her brother's labor.
"When I told you about Doomgaze at the tournament, I hoped you'd investigate and see the connection with Blood. I hoped you'd realize and use your power to help me… but you didn't figure it out so I fought Blood alone… and I lost… that's why I didn't get to you… in time."
"In time? What could you have done? Did you know everything then?"
"No… I only know slightly more than you. I knew who was going to do it… how it was going to be done… it was only those years ago that I knew who they were going to use."⁷
"Everyone knew but me." Raven whispered.
"Neither of us knows everything yet… but we both know what it will take to get enough information to stop what has begun… I can show you the way."
"The way?" Raven asked.
"To Azarath."
End of Chapter Twelve.
A/N
¹Tetris is from Azarath. So he has an Azarathian name, just like Jinx and Raven. Tetris' whole name is Laseri tu Tetris. Jinx's name is Astarte tu Jinx. Have you figured out what Raven's name is?
²Anyone remember that from Remembersees Part Three?
³New spell… but it's not Raven's.
⁴That's actually my favorite Starfire line: remember in the beginning of The End part three?
⁵I based the entire story around the original dialog I had made for this part. Unfortunately in my never failing short-sidedness, I didn't back up the original copy of this convo and when my computer decided to destroy itself, I lost the well planned out conversation between Raven and Terra for this moment. I can tell you with absolutely no ego, that the original version of this conversation would have been the best dialog between Terra and Raven in fanfiction history: it was in character, it flowed, it was perfect. But I can't remember it. The loss of that segment of the story made writing this part extremely difficult. Sigh
⁶ If you read The Judas Contract, this is something that Terra did to Beast Boy and Nightwing with Wonder Girl saving Nightwing. I was originally going to make Wonder Girl a part of the Teen Titans, but Blackfire fits the role perfectly.
⁷The last time the Titans had encountered the HIVE (during the Red Hawk saga in HIVE MIND), Jinx wasn't with them. This was why.
Incase you're wondering, the language Raven and Jinx speak is Azarathian, which is total nonsense. I make it up as I go along.
There were two character transformations in this chapter. Aqualad became Tempest. Beast Boy became Beast King.