Sorry this took so long to update. Real life tends to intrude at the most inopportune moments.
Chapter Ten: Reflections
It was late in the morning of a beautiful day. The sun was high- and so was a certain bio-mechanical Titan.
"Don't worry, Cyborg, everybody's here," Robin said, (surprisingly good) mustard cookie in one hand.
"You sure? You sure? You sure?" Cyborg asked, zipping back and forth, a huge grin on his face. "Howzabout one more headcount, just to be sure? I mean, I'm sure I forgot something."
"Cyborg…"
"Robin, check."
"Cyborg…"
"Starfire, check."
"Cyborg…"
"Raven, check."
"Cyborg…"
"Beast Boy, check."
"Cyborg…"
"Blackfire, check."
"CYBORG!" everybody shouted in unison.
That, at last, seemed to get his attention. "Yeah, Robin?" he said.
"We're all here, Cyborg, don't worry," Robin said, bemused. "What's this all about?"
"Ah, ah, ah," Cyborg said, wagging a finger. "Not so fast, Robin- first, I think I'll need a lovely assistant."
"Are you going to perform magic, Cyborg?" Starfire asked excitedly.
"Not exactly, Starfire," Cyborg said slyly. "But close."
"Oooh, then may I assist you in this endeavor? Please Cyborg, may I?"
"No problem, Starfire," Cyborg replied. "First, I'll need you to pick up that rock."
"Which rock? Would you like this shiny one? This big, heavy one? Oooh, how about this one? It is the shape and size of an egg!"
"Any one will do, Starfire."
"Then I shall give you this one," Starfire said, handing her friend the egg-shaped stone. "What are you going to do with it, Cyborg? Are you going to put in a hat, pull it out, and it will have changed into a real egg? Will it hatch? Will we have a pet chicken? May I name it Cluckie?"
"Uh, no, Starfire," Cyborg replied, his own enthusiasm dampened a bit by the unbridled eagerness Starfire exhibited.
Just a bit though. "Anyway, lovely assistant, are you ready to assist me with my first trick?" Cyborg asked, to which Starfire nodded excitedly. "Then, Starfire," he continued grandly, "will you please throw the stone as far up into the air as you can!"
"…That is it? You are not going to pull a chicken out of your hat?"
"Starfire…"
"Oh, very well," Starfire said disappointedly, adding almost sotto voce, "I would have much preferred a chicken," before throwing the stone straight upwards with all her might.
"Now watch," Cyborg said.
There was a loud, though not deafening roar, and to almost all the Titans' amazement, Cyborg sped straight upwards, the blue glow from his heels the only seeming explanation for the cloud of dust resulting from his abrupt flight.
"BOOOOOYAAAAAH!" Cyborg shouted triumphantly, saturated with the thrill of takeoff. His targeting sensors activated, he looked for the stone Starfire threw. Catching it in his sights, he extended an arm, and quickly grabbed it- however, Starfire did not throw the stone straight up, and when Cyborg bent to take the stone, he found himself dangerously off-balance.
A situation made even more perilous when his jets abruptly cut off in mid air. "Dude, we gotta help him!" Beast Boy cried out.
"Relax, Beast Boy, he'll be all right," Blackfire said, as she squinted up at the falling Cyborg.
"Blackfire, what are you saying?" Starfire asked hoarsely as Robin fumbled in his utility belt for something- anything to stop his friend's fall.
"Starfire, I said he'll be all right."
"Azerath Metrion Xinmmpf!" Raven said as Blackfire's hand clamped over her mouth. "Blackfire, what are you-"
Then came the sound that they had been dreading; it was muffled, but it was there- a sickening splat, as Cyborg crashed in the wet mud.
For a moment, there was a shocked silence.
And then, miraculously, a hand coming out of the impact site. "Hey guys, what's up?" Cyborg said nonchalantly, which was surprising considering not only the near-fatal fall he had just gone through, but blue glow around him dripping mud also gave the other Titans pause.
"Dude!" Beast Boy gasped out. "How did- I mean-" he tried to say, before settling on a "What the heck just happened?"
Cyborg straightened himself up and gave the other Titans a wide grin before saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, the new and improved Cyborg 2.0, fully equipped with all new features like repulsor jump jets, a personal forcefield, and of course, a bigger ion cannon!" he finished, his arm folding back to reveal a far more dangerous looking blaster.
Having made this announcement, he shook off the mud, turned off the forcefield and awaited his applause. It took some time in coming because all the other Titans were standing there, mouths agape- except for Blackfire, who was merrily clapping away.
But when it did, the acclaim came loud and fast, and soon Cyborg found himself the focus of well-deserved attention, as he did whenever he unveiled his new inventions.
"Well, Cyborg, looks like you really outdid yourself this time," Robin said.
"How wonderful! You are even more of a technological marvel than you were previously!" Starfire said.
"Er… thanks?" Cyborg replied.
"Dude," Beast Boy said, his own troubles temporarily overtaken by his wonderment, "this is even cooler than the T-Car!"
"So this is what you two were working on," Raven said softly to Blackfire, as they stood behind her cheering friends, who were now at the 'ooh, what does this button do?' (and in Robin's case, 'how does it do that?') phase of their curiosity.
"Oh come on, Raven," Blackfire said grandly, "surely you don't think Cyborg could have did all that by himself, right?"
"Actually, yes."
"…Oh all right," Blackfire sighed, "you don't have to look at me like that. All I did last night was get Cyborg his orange juice and donuts." She folded her arms and scowled. "You never let me have any fun."
"You're forgetting our date."
"Well, there is that," Blackfire conceded. "So where's it gonna be?"
Raven looked at Blackfire, almost expressionless, save for a slight hint of an enigmatic smile. "You have your surprises," she said, "and I have mine."
"…You know, Raven, sometimes you can be a real-"
"Yeee-ow!" Beast Boy yelled, sucking on a finger. "Dude, that thing burns!"
"Whoops, sorry, Beast Boy," Cyborg said, fiddling around with his armpad. "That's one of the problems with this thing; sometimes a strong impact causes the energy capacitors to create an overcompensation loop-"
"Er, Cyborg," Beast Boy said, his eyes nearly glazed over, "speak English?"
"Means that it tends to go hyper if you hit it too hard."
"Oh."
"I wanted to fix it last night, but I burned up most of the materials just trying to get it to work. That reminds me: Robin, you know a lot about all this high-tech stuff, right? See, I'm going downtown to look for some stuff I'll need."
Robin nodded, cautiously adding, "I must warn you though, I'm no Batman."
"No problem; I'm not looking for Bat-gadgets, just some tech support."
"All right then, sure."
"Robin?" Starfire asked, concern in her eyes. "I may not know much about the technology which powers Cyborg, but may I also come with you?"
"Sure, Starfire, why not?" Robin said, fully resigned to his (hopefully temporary) new position.
"Thank you, Robin," Starfire asked, relived. "And our friends can also come along and help us protect- I mean, search for Cyborg's new components," she added sheepishly.
"Sounds good to me," Cyborg agreed. "Raven, Blackfire, you two coming along?"
"I'm afraid not, Cyborg," Raven said. "I already have plans with Blackfire." She gave Blackfire a sideways look. "That is, if she's interested."
"Oh, I'm interested," Blackfire replied, irritated that she had lost control of the conversation.
Yeah, I'll bet, Beast Boy thought to himself.
(scene change)
"The Tower?" We're going to have our date in the Tower?" Blackfire asked, as she followed Raven back up.
"Not… exactly," Raven answered.
"Not exactly? What do you mean?" Blackfire asked, as they entered Raven's room.
"Blackfire," Raven said quietly, taking something from a drawer, "I want to show you something."
Blackfire raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so that's why you brought me here. Just joking," she said, seeing the look Raven gave her.
Raven held the gaze a moment longer, and then sighed. "I know," she said, briefly glancing at a bewildered Blackfire, before turning her attention back to the object in her hands. It had all seemed so clear, so easy, when she had thought of it that morning- but now, she was having second thoughts.
"Nice mirror," Blackfire said, startling Raven out of her reverie. "Is his what you wanted to show me?"
"Something like that," Raven said. "Blackfire?" she asked uncertainly. "You trust me, right?"
"Of course I trust you, Raven," Blackfire said, plainly uneasy as she wondered what the freezing hells she had gotten herself into. "Why do you ask?"
Raven did not answer. Instead, she held up her mirror.
The last thing Blackfire remembered before everything went black was a brief glimpse of a pair of clawed arms reaching for her.
And then, Blackfire began to dream.
At least, that's what she thought of at first, as she gazed upon what was before her. A small, rocky path branched off in the distance, the path itself floating in a dark, interstellar void, stars twinkling in the distance, their light occasionally blocked by floating rocky platforms, moving in the ether.
It was strange though; this place, whatever it was felt too real to be a dream-
"Blackfire?"
Blackfire yelped at the sound of her name, and turned around to see Raven, a small, bemused smile playing upon her lips. "Sorry about that, but I wanted to surprise you."
"You did that, all right," Blackfire confirmed. "What, or where, is this place, Raven?"
"You get three guesses, and two of 'em don't count," someone said, before Raven could reply.
Okay, Blackfire thought as she turned to face the speaker, now I know I'm dreaming.
The person standing in front of her was- well, Raven, except as far as Blackfire knew, Raven didn't wear a green cloak, nor did Blackfire ever recall Raven ever smirking mischievously, arms folded.
"Yeah, I kinda thought this would happen," the newcomer said, before turning her attention to Raven. "And you! What took you so long? I was thisclose to giving you a mental kick in the butt!"
"Aw, come on Bravery, be nice, I know you can!" another 'Raven' (this one in a pink cloak) said as she materialized out of the darkness.
"Shaddup, Joy," the one known as Bravery said, but without any trace of rancor in her-
Wait a minute- Joy, Bravery…
"Raven," Blackfire asked, hardly believing what she was about to say herself, "this is your mind, isn't it? We're in your mind?"
"Excellent deduction!" a yellow cloaked Raven said as she too stepped out of the void. "And on the basis of insufficient evidence, as well! You are certainly faring much better than Beast Boy and Cyborg did when they were here- oops."
"Wait- Beast Boy and Cyborg?" Blackfire asked, turning to Raven.
"Y'know Wisdom," Bravery said exasperatedly, "for a genius, you can be pretty dumb sometimes."
"You brought Beast Boy and Cyborg here?" Blackfire asked Raven.
"I didn't," Raven replied calmly. "They were messing around in my room when I wasn't there, and they found my mirror. That's all."
"Whatever, Raven," Blackfire replied easily. "It's your mind, who you bring here is none of my business."
"Thanks, Blackfire," Raven replied, relieved. "If you want, I'll tell you everything later."
"Later?"
Raven nodded. "There's something else I want to show you." She looked at the Aspects. "Alone, please."
Bravery smirked as she leaned on Blackfire. "Better watch out, kid, there's no telling what she might be up to. I could, but I don't wanna ruin the surprise. See ya!" she said, disappearing
"Wait, what did Raven mean by 'alone'?" Joy asked. Unlike Bravery, she seemed to be fading away slowly, like Wisdom beside her. "We are a part of her, aren't we?"
"Well," Wisdom said as they dematerialized "I believe she meant…"
And their voices dissolved into the night, as did they.
"Interesting people," Blackfire said. "Your mind always like this?"
"I try to keep it inside," Raven replied.
"I can see why," Blackfire said, before letting her gaze sweep over the vast expanse. "You know, Raven, I have seen some pretty interesting places, but this… I wonder if my mind's like this. Wait, on second thought, I don't want to know."
"Come on, Blackfire," Raven said, taking Blackfire's hand. "There's something else I want to show you."
"You mean it gets better?" Blackfire asked, as Raven led her down the path and through a seemingly empty archway, into-
"Wow."
Where once stretched rocky paths floating in a starry void, there was now a seemingly endless golden meadow, with pink leaved trees dotting the landscape, gentle hills in the background. There was even a perfume in the air; strong, but not overpowering, it seemed to perfectly complement the scenery before her.
In short, Blackfire was floored with amazement.
Not that she was going to show it, of course.
"Nice place," she said nonchalantly.
"You're not fooling anybody," Raven said, kissing Blackfire on the cheek.
"It was worth a try," Blackfire replied, slightly miffed that Raven seemed to be able to see through her so easily. "You know, Raven" she added, trying to change the subject, "to tell the truth, I would have never guessed that-"
"I'd be able to do happy?" Raven interrupted wryly.
"Oh, I know you can do happy," Blackfire retorted. "It's just that I would've never expected you to be, well, this happy," she added, indicating the 'countryside' around her.
"I thought you'd like it," Raven said, smiling despite herself.
"Makes me wonder why you don't come here more often," Blackfire said, taking in the scent of a flower. She knew it didn't really exist in the way she was used to, but who cared. It just smelled good.
"I used to," Raven replied. "Whenever I needed to meditate, or just get some peace and quiet, I'd come here."
"So what happened?"
Raven stood in silence for a moment, and the air seemed to grow colder. "I started getting more powerful, Blackfire. I… I became afraid of coming back here. The last thing I wanted to see was what was really happening to me."
"So… you brought me along for protection?" Blackfire asked uncertainly.
Raven shook her head gently. "No, Blackfire. I'd never bring you here if I thought it wasn't safe."
"So what changed your mind?" Blackfire said, grinning.
Returning the smile, Raven replied, "You in the mood for a long explanation?"
"What other kind is there?"
Taking a deep breath, Raven began to speak. "You know I've always had problems controlling my emotions, Blackfire, and it's got a lot more difficult since I met you. No offence."
"None taken."
Nodding, Raven continued, "And then Dawn, and Beast Boy, not to mention almost losing my friends…" Raven trailed off.
"You could have broken up with me," Blackfire said quietly, unable (and surprisingly, unwilling) to stop herself.
Raven nodded. "I could," she said equally softly, "but I didn't. And this morning, I found out why."
"What do you mean?"
Raven didn't reply at first. Instead, she took Blackfire in her arms, and held her close. "When I woke up this morning, next to you, I felt something I never thought I would. I felt… at peace, even after all that happened last night," she whispered. "I've never felt like that before, Blackfire, and I have you to thank for it."
"You're welcome," Blackfire said, returning Raven's embrace.
They stood in each other's arms, their warmth melting into each other's bodies in a seemingly endless moment. "Now this is what I call a date," Blackfire whispered irreverently. "Don't you agree, Raven? Raven? What the-"
No single word in any language of any race could have described the sheer annoyance, exasperation, and plain old incredulousness that Blackfire felt when she saw what had happened.
Raven had, to all intents, purposes and appearances, fallen asleep.
"It's not her fault," someone said from behind Blackfire, who turned around to see another Raven, this time in white robes, gazing serenely at them. "I did that."
"And you are?"
"Well, I guess you could call me Truth, but it's not really what you'd expect."
"Oh really? Guess what- I'm in the mood for explanation," Blackfire said curtly.
Not that Truth seemed to be bothered by it. On the contrary, she seemed to be amused by Blackfire's unfriendliness. "Okay," she laughed, "I'll tell you what you want to know. Just put Raven down first, and we-"
"What, and leave her alone here?"
"Look," Truth said, her hands on her hips as she smiled enigmatically. "You could bring Raven along with us if you wanted to, but if you want a full explanation, it'll mean that we have to go on a little trip, and while I'm not saying Raven's fat, because she isn't," she added rather self-consciously, "she does weigh a bit more than she looks. Don't worry, Blackfire, she'll be safe."
Slowly, cautiously, Blackfire placed Raven gently upon the soft yellow grass, before fixing Truth with a burning stare. "If anything happens to her, I'll make sure you regret it."
"I have no doubt about that," Truth said. "In fact, that's why I want to talk to you. Follow me" she said, walking down a path. "Raven hasn't shown you much of her mind, has she?"
"No, and I don't blame her," Blackfire said, catching up. "Who are you, anyway?"
"I've just told you, I'm Truth."
"Really? Because last I heard, truth tends to send people to sleep only when it's educational."
"But all truth is educational," Truth replied.
"You know what I mean."
"My apologies, Blackfire," Truth nodded. "All right, Blackfire, you deserve some answers. I guess the best way I could explain myself is that I'm Raven's subconscious; the inner workings of her mind- in other words, the 'Truth' about who Raven is."
"Oh, I get it," Blackfire said sarcastically. "Ha, ha."
"You asked first," Truth chided gently.
"And what about the others? They're not the 'Truth' about who Raven is?"
"The other Aspects?" Truth said, even more amused. "Why don't you ask them?" Truth said, before her outline shimmered, then was replaced by a near-blinding light. When it faded, in Truth's place stood the other Aspects. Blackfire recognized Joy, Bravery and Wisdom, along with a few new faces.
"Heya, Blackfire!" Joy said, "Nice to see you again!"
"Same here, beautiful," Bravery said, living up to her name.
"So, let me guess- you're all Truth?"
"Different Aspects of a cohesive whole, yes," Wisdom said. "Each of us performing our duties well enough by ourselves, but in Truth, becoming greater than the sum of our parts."
"At least, the rest of them do," a small, grey cloaked Raven said sorrowfully. "I'm not too sure about what I bring."
"I'm not sure if I should bring anything," an orange cloaked Raven said, as she scratched her rear. "Can we get this over with and become Truth soon? All this thinking's making me tired."
"We get it Sloth, we geit it already! Sheesh!" Bravery said. "So, Blackfire, you seen enough?"
"I believe a more pertinent question would be 'Have you heard enough'?" Wisdom asked disdainfully, as Sloth let out a huge belch.
"Oh yes," Blackfire said with conviction.
"Yay! Truth time, guys!" Joy said. A moment after she said it, the Aspects seemed to dissipate, then swirl into each other. Another flash of white light, and Truth stood before Blackfire once again.
"Satisfied?" she asked.
"As I'll ever be."
"I understand your suspicions, Blackfire," Truth said, "but the fact is, I am Raven. Her happiness, her bravery, her intelligence, her modesty, even her laziness and…"
"Anger?" Blackfire asked, when Truth hesitated.
Truth did not reply. Instead she turned and kept on walking. "Follow me," she said, but this time there was a tinge of anxiety in her voice.
"You know," Blackfire said, "there's something else you have in common with Raven."