Chapter 4

Raven sat in the confines of her room, staring intently at the curtains currently thrown open. She was sure that if she closed them she would see Beast Boy. She would be ready this time. She wouldn't scream, and she wouldn't be scared.

She just wanted a chance to say goodbye to him properly. She wanted it more than anything, apart from wishing for Beast Boy to be alive, but she was painfully aware that that wasn't possible.

She stood up from her bed and walked slowly over to her curtains. Grasping the material with shaking hands, Raven pulled the curtains shut. Closing her eyes tightly, Raven turned around to face her darkened room. Taking a deep Raven opened her eyes and saw… nothing. Her room was empty.

Sighing, Raven slumped over to her bed and fell onto it with unexplainable exhaustion. Burying her face in her dark pillows, she fought back tears.

She realized now that she must have been imagining everything. Her mind was probably playing cruel jokes on her by making her see Beast Boy everywhere. The little girl was probably just a figment of her imagination; none of the other Titans remembered seeing her. Of course, they had been busy fighting Plasmus. Raven squeezed her eyes tighter, squashing the momentary flicker of hope she had felt. No, they hadn't seen the little girl, because there was none.

Suddenly, Raven felt her mattress move under weight. Raven jumped and looked at the end of her bed, only to have her heart drop. It was just a thick book.

Looking around her room, Raven noticed that several items had been rearranged, and several other items had exploded. She hadn't really noticed what had happened when she had cried after Beast Boy's funeral. Sighing, Raven scanned her room for damage.

There were books scattered across the floor, and there was a large crack running up the side of her book self. The doors of her closet had been blown off their hinges, and only a few of her spare uniforms had survived without any damage.

She had gotten good control over her powers over the years, she had even cried once or twice, but Beast Boy's death had affected her enough that she had completely let go of her control in favor of chest heaving sobs.

Wearily, Raven crawled across her bed to pick up the book and put it back on her cracked bookshelf. As she looked at the dark gray cover though, she stopped.

"Contacting the Spirit World," she read out loud. Gently picking up the book, she opened it to the first page and began to read.

-

Beast Boy looked around the silent, but not empty, living room. His friends all had grim expressions on their faces. He knew why of course. He had been in the T-car when Raven had mentioned seeing him.

"Friends," spoke Starfire, breaking the silence. "I believe we should discuss Raven's seeings."

"Yeah," agreed Robin. "For once, though, I'm just not sure what to say."

Starfire and Cyborg nodded their agreement.

"Do you think… do you think it's true? Is BB really here?" asked Cyborg, looking at his friends blankly.

"I believe," began Starfire hesitantly. "That Raven is sure of what she saw. I believe that Beast Boy is a wandering spirit."

"I don't know," admitted Robin. "I've never really thought about ghosts and stuff like that… but after joining the Titans, I've seen that anything is possible."

"The thing is, if it is true, what does it mean?" asked Cyborg. "Is Beast Boy's ghost here because of some unfinished business? Or is this something we've never even considered before?"

"I know how to find out," Raven spoke up. Everyone turned to see Raven standing in the doorway, a thick book tucked safely under her arm. "We're going to have a séance.

-

Beast Boy watched with interest as the Raven shooed her friends out of the room and began to prepare for a séance.

He wasn't quite sure what would happen. After all, he was already there.

Raven pulled a small foldout table. It was round and would only fit the four remaining Titans. Beast Boy guessed that it was so they could all reach each other's hands, which would be hard to do with their large kitchen table.

After setting four chairs around the table, Raven placed a white tablecloth over the tabletop. Beast Boy wasn't sure why it was plain white, instead of the red and black shades he had seen once or twice on TV, but he suddenly felt very peaceful.

He watched as Raven bent over the book, reading each page carefully. After a while of thorough reading, Raven used her powers to bring several candles and thin sticks into the room. She placed the candles strategically around the table but didn't light them. Next she took three of the thin sticks and lit them one at a time. As each stick began to burn, pleasant scents traveled around the room, telling Beast Boy that was incense. He sniffed the air, but found that his ghostly nose was incapable of smelling anything.

-

Raven looked out the main window at the dying sunlight. Soon it would be time to conduct the séance. She called her friends in and made them sit around the table.

"It is very important," she informed her friends. "That everyone truly believes that we can contact spirits. No spirit is about to visit a non-believer."

"On Tamaran, it is widely believed that there is indeed a world of the dead. It is not uncommon to hold spirit calling ceremonies, although they are slightly different than this," Starfire answered, looking at the incense and candles.

Raven nodded and looked across the table to Cyborg. He simply nodded, and Raven could see in his face that he was certain of his answer. Raven felt a pang of sympathy for Cyborg. He had lost his best friend. She wasn't the only one who had been affected by Beast Boy's death, judging by the dark circles under Cyborg's eye. Looking around the table she saw that all of her friends seemed worn out. Starfire's face was quite pale, and Robin had lost his air of authority and a lost, confused one had taken its place.

Next she turned to face their leader. He was deep in thought.

"Robin, do you believe?" she asked him seriously.

Robin looked at her and asked firmly, "There really is a spirit world?"

Raven nodded her head. Robin nodded his as well.

"Then, I believe. I trust you all, and if you say that it's possible… I know it is."

The conviction in Robin's voice convinced them all, and Raven spoke again.

"One final note, if we do make contact, there's a chance that it won't be Beast Boy. If it isn't him, and even if it is, I don't want anyone to get scared or excited, it's imperative that you remember this. You must remain calm. Do not let go of each other's hands unless I say to."

Everyone nodded and Raven continued.

"First, everyone pick up a candle," she instructed in a calm voice. Everyone did so. "Now, if you are holding a white candle, visualize its peaceful symbolic energy emanating from it like wisps of smoke. If you're holding a violet one, imagine their spiritual powers."

Everyone closed their eyes, concentrating hard in the candles in front of them. After a while, Raven told them to stop. She told them to pass it to the person next to them. They did this until each candle had been charged by all four of the Titans. They put them on the table and Raven lit them with a flick of her hand.

"Join hands," she ordered. As they held hands, Raven muttered an invocation under her breath. "Now, breathe slowly. In though the nose, out through the mouth. Let your minds go blank."

The fell silent, breathing like Raven had told them, until Raven spoke again. This time her voice was slightly deeper, and mystical.

"Our beloved Beast Boy, we ask you to commune with us and move among us," she chanted.

She repeated the chant for several minutes. A tingle of excitement, fear, and many other feelings was present in everyone as they waited for response. Suddenly the room temperature dropped severely.

Raven, and everyone else, opened their eyes, and were surprised that they were able to see their breath forming in clouds of vapor. The room had been warm only seconds ago.

A rattling sound alerted them that they had company.


Okay, this is the newest part. I hope it's all accurate... I've never been to a seance before,so I had tosearch the internet for details. Anyway, hope you enjoyed! Next chapter iscoming in... I dunnohow long;