Disclaimer: I don't own teen titans or the words to 'Smoke' by Natalie Imbruglia.
Hand in Hand
Chapter Thirty-Four: Smoke
The main door to Titan's Tower opened to reveal a tall girl who looked as if she had something important to say. Her hair at first glance was bone white, but if the light caught it you could see that the strands glittered like expensive silver. It fell down her back pin straight down to the middle of her calves. Her eyes were extremely pale blue, verging on clear, they looked as if they would be perfect for glaring harshly at someone but now they just look pained and tired.
Raven stopped and stared at the girl, "Alexial?" she asked in disbelief unable to comprehend what was happening. So many things were changing lately; there were so many new faces and old friends…and now this. Raven didn't know whether to be relieved at seeing someone she had known since her childhood on Azarath, or wary because it could just be a figment of the raging maelstrom in Nevermore.
"Raven, thanks the Gods!" breathed the girl stepping into the tower, "I have news of Azarath." Her words were low and spoken with care.
Raven's mind was deliberately being slow, "But, you haven't been on Azarath in years. You've been commuting in Gotham City and Jump City."
Alexial stared at her friend and then shook her head, "You Knew I was on earth all along?" she closed the door behind her, "I know I haven't been to Azarath, I received a message from my commuter. He was heading there on a trade mission for Wayne E. It's urgent that I speak with you in private."
The tone of her voice made Raven's blood go cold in her veins, "It's not good is it?" she asked carefully pointing towards the kitchen where they could talk quietly.
Alexial shook her head sadly, "No I'm afraid its not."
##My Lullaby,
Hung out to dry,
What's up with that?
It's over##
Raven dropped into one of the chairs by the kitchen table and watched her long time friend do the same. Raven severalty hoped that no one noticed she was gone, but she knew that at least one person should have noticed.
She levelled her gaze and caught Alexial's. The two of them had been childhood best friends; they had shared the same bad upbringing and had been outcasts because of their heritage. Although, Raven reflected she didn't know which was worse, she was half demon and half human which meant she was constantly told that she was weak for sharing blood with vermin, with something that would normally be considered as a slave or as food, but Alexial was half demon and half angel, which meant the two sides of her friend's psyche were often conflicting and she was under intense scrutiny by both the demon council and the angelic council. "Tell me what happened on Azarath." Raven demanded in a tone harder than she had meant to use.
Alexial looked startled at the tone of voice but nodded, "As you obviously know I've been on earth for a few years now working for Wayne E. commuting between Gotham and Jump City. I've had minimal contact with Azarath and The Makai since I left because the councillors there were still bickering over who would rule which quadrant and such, I couldn't deal with that, not after only just recently escaping from my father's tyranny. I cut off all communication to my birth planet, knowing that one day they would want their 'Queen' back." She made a disgusted face, "But we have regular trade fairs at Azarath. Mr. Wayne thinks it's important to keep the bond between all the intergalactic planets safe and solid to avoid disasters."
"I see." Muttered Raven laying her hands flat on the table, "What happened?"
Alexial took a deep breath, "Last week was the last trade mission of the year, and the regular trade welfare officer came down with some kind of flu so he couldn't go. We hadn't heard from Azarath for a while and thought it would be for the best if we overviewed how life was going there. Mr. Wayne wanted me to go on the mission being a security commuter but I couldn't because the jewels from San Fran were due to arrive any day so I asked one of the subordinate commuters to go in my place. He accepted happily."
Raven leaned forward, "Yes?" she asked in a whisper.
The silver haired girl closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them again, her gaze once again locking onto Raven, "When he got there he found Azarath in great disarray. Everything was in chaos, and what wasn't was deserted. He was only a junior commuter, I should have gone, it was my job!"
Raven was alarmed at the amount of emotions showing on her friend's face. She seemed generally angry at herself, "What happened?"
Alexial muttered something under her breath, "The third moon had been decreasing in altitude for the past month but nobody realised, it caused change in the tidal energy. Lands were flooded; rivers and lakes burst their banks."
Raven's hands flew to her mouth, "But the water on Azarath is corrosive!"
Alexial nodded grimly. "I know. The water killed some of the people living at the waters edge. But the chemicals in it mixed with the acids in the soils, the crops and plants began to die, the rocks crumbled, cliffs gave way. Telecommunications were down, that's why we didn't know about it. The people couldn't get off the planet in time, the geothermic upsets spread like wildfire."
Raven's eyes were wide, "W…what?"
Alexial's eyes closed again, "The planet was dying. My commuter recorded what was happening on the camcorder…but…transmission was cut off." She drew in a shaky breath, "Mr. Wayne sent out some probes to find out what was going on. But it was too late. Azarath had imploded. Raven…you're planet is dead. No one got out alive."
##Where are you dad?
Mum's looking sad,
What's up with that?
Its dark in here##
Raven shook her head, "No, no you must be mistaken." She was horrified to hear that her voice was shaking.
Alexial leaned over the table and covered Raven's hand with her own, "I'm sorry."
"No. No. It's not true. No." Raven stood up quickly and stared down at Alexial, "Why did you tell me that? It's not true!"
"Yes it is Raven. Don't you think I wanted it to be a mistake? Don't you think I wanted it to all be a misunderstanding or a joke by the commuter I sent? But it wasn't then and it isn't now, I've shed my tears for the place I called home, my pain can't even begin to compare to yours!"
Raven shook her head and the amethyst strands of her hair flew in front of her eyes, "Azarath can't be dead! It can't be!"
Alexial looked down at her hands and clenched her fists. "That's not all."
Raven froze all thoughts of how her friend could just tell her those hateful things fled from her mind as she turned around, "What else is there?"
Alexial bit her lip, "After it happened I tried tracking down all the people from Azarath who had left years ago. Some had come here; other had fled to The Makai or other planets. And I found something out while I was searching."
Raven couldn't say anything, her throat was tight, she couldn't squeeze the words out. Her eyes were desperate pleading with someone to tell her that it wasn't true. That it was all a bad dream and any minute now she was gonna wake up in her room.
"What did you find?" asked another voice from the doorway.
##Why?
Bleeding is breathing,
You're hiding,
Underneath the smoke in the room,
Try,
Bleeding is believing,
I used to##
Both Raven and Alexial spun around to face Robin. He half shrugged, "I noticed you leave Raven. So did Rukia and Hiei but I convinced them to stay at the party. I don't doubt that they'll use any means necessary to try and make sure you're okay. I heard everything."
Raven nodded jerkily and turned back to Alexial who seemed to have tears in her eyes, "It's alright. What did you find?"
Alexial nodded back, "The other Azarathians were acting strangely, they have been for month now, or so sources say, they don't know what's wrong but the full demons have been having the overwhelming urge to kill themselves and we can't stop them."
"What?!" cried Robin in alarm looking at Raven.
Alexial continued, "The human part of the Azarathian community have gone insane, we've had to lock them up to stop them hurting or killing themselves, all the produce imported has turned to dust, the animals have starved to death because they've refused to eat."
Raven blinked, the emptiness inside her making itself known once again, was that what was wrong with her? Was that the actual source of her depression? Her planet? Did she have no free will of her own? Now that was depressing. "So, I'm going to die?" she asked, surprisingly there was no fear in her voice.
Robin and Alexial looked at each other, she could see them thinking that she was being awfully brave about it all.
If only they knew the truth.
##My mouth is dry,
Forgot how to cry,
What's up with that?
You're hurting me##
Alexial managed a small smile, "No. That's the thing. You might actually survive!"
In the background Robin breathed a sigh of relief.
Raven stared at Alexial and waited for her to continue.
"You're half and half Raven. Half demon, half human." Raven heard Robin gasp at that, it was only Beast Boy and Cyborg who knew the truth, and now Robin had found out at the most inconvenient of times. Ever. "So the forces acting on the full demons are going to be diluted, you are not going to want to needless kill yourself without knowing why like they have, and the forces acting on the humans are going to be even weaker on you, so it's very unlikely that dementia will set in. And because you're powers are focused on your emotions you have absolute control over your mind, therefore are likely to be in control of your thoughts more. You could survive Raven."
Raven didn't know what to say, did she tell her leader and all time best friend about her inner turmoil? No. that would only worry them, she could handle it. She'd survived worse, although she couldn't bring any incidents to mind, she was sure there were some though. There had to be.
"That's good." She heard herself saying.
"I'm sorry for crashing the party." Alexial added as an after thought.
Robin ran a hand through his hair and nodded, "Its fine. Don't worry about it. Listen, do you want to crash here for the night? We have plenty of spare rooms."
##I'm running fast,
Can't hide the past,
What's up with that?
You're pushing me##
Alexial looked torn, "I'd love to, but I don't think I can, there are still other Azarathians that are out there, they need to be found, and apparently I'm the only one willing to do it." She looked really indecisive, "I want to stay here of course, but…I can't. I'm not due for time off until the twenty third. I'll be off in a whole other part of the galaxy until then. I can't neglect my duties. Dammit. It was so much simpler when we were kids Rae."
Raven nodded numbly, "Yeah, when we were kids. On Azarath."
Alexial opened her mouth to say something, but the kitchen was suddenly filled with the sound of static. She scowled and whipped out a walkie-talkie from god knows where.
"Alex are you finished there yet?" asked a gravely voice, "We've located another one just south of Jump City."
Alexial sighed and held the black radio up to her mouth, "I'm just coming now. Start the engine." She looked up at Raven, "I'm sorry. I have to go. I have to save as many as I can."
Raven sat back down and stared at the table without saying a word. It was as if she had gone into shock.
Robin answered for her, "It's alright. Go and save them. If you ever want to come back. You know where we are."
Alexial smiled thankfully, "Thanks." And then she was gone.
## Why?
Bleeding is breathing,
You're hiding,
Underneath the smoke in the room,
Try,
Bleeding is believing,
I used to,
I used to##
"What have you done to her?" exclaimed Aqualad as he burst into the kitchen moments later and witnessed Robin shaking Raven gently to try and lift her from her stupor.
"I haven't done anything!" protested Robin holding up his hands and glaring.
"Like I believe that!" hissed Aqualad as Rei, Kai and an assortment of others from the party piled in through the door, ironically late for most of important stuff, but just in time to see everyone fly off the handle for the wrong reasons. "You better not have tried anything funny!"
"Like I said I haven't done anything! If you were here…!"
"Oh that's right blame me! It's never your fault is it Robin?" snarled Aqualad moving forwards as Kai tried to hold him back. He lashed out at his friends, "Why weren't you two watching her?"
"What?!" demanded Robin, but he was ignored.
"We're not your employees." Growled Kai. "Do your own dirty work."
Rei sighed and tried to drag a now angry Kai away, "We had other things to do than watch your girlfriend." He said trying to placate his friend and his lover at the same time.
"I asked you to keep them apart! Is that so damn hard?!" he snapped back now free from Kai's grip, he tried to lunge at Robin only to have himself pulled up short Donna aka Wonder Girl and Kara aka Power Girl.
"Calm down cowboy." Said Donna slowly, "Let's settle this like adults!"
"Don't patronise me!" retorted Aqualad as he went to push past them.
That was the moment all hell broke loose.
##Why?
Bleeding is breathing,
You're hiding underneath the smoke in the room,
Try, bleeding is believing,
I saw you crawling on the floor##
Aqualad accidentally knocked Kara as he pushed past her, she cried out and lost her footing. She hit the kitchen floor hard. That brought Beast Boy running who tried to step in front of his friend.
"BB, don't make me hurt you." He snapped, but the green elf didn't move.
"Don't threaten him." Said Duo carefully placing himself next to his friend, "It may be dangerous for your health."
"Raven are you okay?" asked Robin as he noticed that her hands were clenched tight enough so that then knuckled were white.
Aqualad, quite literally saw red. "Leave her alone!" he shouted and lunged past Beast Boy, Duo grabbed him as he went past and he swung his fist around on impulse and as the braided fool ducked he caught Genjo in the jaw just as he was coming through the door.
The blond staggered back into Franchesca who pulled herself free and immediately took in what was happening and joined in, she started arguing with Donna and Kara who were trying to get back at Aqualad.
Robin moved out of the way as Aqualad's fist came through the air in the spot he had been a few moments ago.
Everybody started arguing with everybody else, no one knew what was happening but one of the largest fights ever broke out in the hall and kitchen of titan's tower.
"Robin!" shrieked Starfire as she hovered over them all, she saw that Aqualad was attacking Robin and conjured up a starbolt as righteous anger filled her. She didn't even have time to aim before a hand clamped down on her ankle and dragged her down.
Her starbolt spiralled out of control towards the mass of people. Incidentally it managed to find its way directly between Blaze and Rukia. The younger of the two threw her hands up to protect her face and the gothic girl managed to duck out of the way as Blaze's namesake came into play. Golden red flames leapt from her fingertips and swallowed the green light.
"Fire!" yelled someone to the left; no one was really paying attention to what was happening. The sprinkler systems activated themselves for the second time in the past two months and everyone got soaked.
"My clothes!" shrieked someone, Robin had an inkling it was Bluefire. But he was too busy trying to dodge the deranged atlantian that was now on his tail, he really didn't want to fight back, it might upset Raven.
Raven however was beginning to tremble where she sat at the table.
##Why, bleeding is breathing,
You're hiding underneath the smoke in the room,
Try, bleeding is believing,
I saw you crawling on the floor##
The kitchen was a mess, people were shouting, kicking and screaming, the floor was soaking, the fire alarm was shrieking in the background and somewhere a green wolf was running around biting at everyone he could get at.
But then suddenly the floor began to shake, nobody noticed.
Plates began to rattle in their places on the draining board.
No one noticed.
"QUIET!" screamed Raven, and as she did everyone was blown backwards towards the walls on a wave of dense black magical energy. They hit the walls, the side cupboards hard and many winced, people were crushed together because there was no space, they were held there by Raven's magic. It was only Robin who noticed she didn't even use her magic words. Raven slammed her fist down on the table top, "STOP IT! I've just been told that my planet is DEAD! Yes, DEAD!" everyone immediately quietened and the alarm faded to silence and the sprinklers spluttered and then shut off, "So if you don't mind I would like some peace and quiet!" her magic gave way and everyone fell to the floor in an awkward mesh of limbs and soggy clothes, "I'm going to bed." She said in a quieter tone, "This party is over."
## Why, bleeding is breathing,
You're hiding underneath the smoke in the room,
Try, bleeding is believing,
I saw you crawling on the floor##