DISCLAIMER: I don't own the titans, nor do I own anything affiliated with them. I do, however, retain the right to call any unique characters I create my intellectual property. That about sums up the disclaimer. Have fun reading the story!
Hello again! As I said, it would take a bit of time to pull together another chapter, and I apologize for just how long it took. Anyway, I'm sure you all are aware of the new regulations against replying to reviews within a story, so I will simply offer my thanks to the two reviewers who graced me with their very kind words for Chapter 6.
Speaking of Chapter 6, I recommend you give it a quick once over before continuing on. I only say this because if you totally forgot what happened last time, you might want to refresh your memory. Overall, I really hope you think this was worth the wait. If you haven't realized it yet, I'm EXTREMELY long winded when it comes to writing, so let me reassure you that the plot will thicken the further into the story we go.
With that said, I wish you happy reading. Enjoy!
"You actually live here? This is incredible!" A full circuit around the crosspiece section of the tower had led both Rune and Raven on a makeshift tour, providing an excellent opportunity for the young man to stretch his legs while at the same time acquainting himself with his new surroundings. The empath turned slightly at his comment and regarded the boy next to her with a gentle smile.
"You'll get used to it soon enough." For some reason, his expression drooped a bit at her words, though she took no notice of it. Before long, both had arrived at the spot Raven had wanted to get to anyway, so any further bits of discussion were cut off as she turned around and spoke.
"Before we head downstairs, you should go in here first." Intrigued by her words, a quick glance over at the door revealed only a flat, gray, unadorned panel recessed into the wall. Looking over to the girl next to him, Rune cast her an inquisitive expression. Two violet eyes peered out from beneath her hood, setting a bland stare upon the young man in question.
"It's the bathroom. You need a shower." Not quite catching on, he began to open his mouth to protest, but she beat him to the point.
"You've been in bed for two days, and half that time was spent in a cold sweat. You stink." An incredulous stare enveloped the boy's face, only to be met with an indifferent shrug, tempered by a good-natured yet subdued grin set across Raven's features.
"Subtlety was never one of my strong points." A sour look passed across Rune's expression as he addressed the young woman with a crooked smile.
"No kidding."
Despite his earlier complaint, it hadn't taken much persuasion to convince him that a quick shower would indeed make him feel better. Twenty minutes passed in relative calmness; the young man enjoying a refreshing spray of hot water while Raven went on a quest to find him some appropriate clothing. Both seemed to be in sync with one another, for no sooner had Rune taken his first step out of the steamed-up stall than he heard a quick rapping at the door, accompanied by a somewhat muffled voice.
"Are you decent?" A grin passed over the youth's face as he wrapped a towel around himself.
"Well, I am a pretty nice guy." Her groan was audible, much to his delight, and he could have sworn she muttered something about "another Beast Boy" before the door slid open a crack, admitting a lump of clothing held gently in a small hand.
"It's alright, I'm wearing a towel." At his words, the door opened up a bit more, and Raven handed him the bundle of clothes directly. The sight of him soaking wet brought an involuntary smile to her lips, though she did well to suppress it. Without anything to tie his ponytail back, the long strands of sandy blonde hair were haphazardly strewed across his face and neck, granting him a certain primal aspect that the young woman couldn't help but find immensely appealing.
With a curt shake of her head, Raven excused herself, allowing Rune the opportunity to change into his new clothing. As the door closed once again, a small sigh escaped her lips, filling the empty hallway with an unmistakable air of contentment.
Soon enough, she heard a murmured call, and went back inside feeling slightly more secure with the thought of alleviating some of her barriers in favor of actually having a good time with the boy before her.
In order to coalesce the tentative idea, a condescending look overtook her features, granting a means of temporary escape from her inhibiting emotional blockade.
"Don't you feel better now?" The telltale signs of a scowl began to pull at the corners of Rune's lips, but he stubbornly beat them back with a half-hearted grin and nod.
His expression turned a bit more serious a few moments later, and he cast a questioning look at the full body unitard that now covered his frame.
"What is this, anyway? It feels almost like…rubber." Raven gave him the once-over, and cringed a bit when she realized the form-fitting suit was still a bit too small, despite the elastic-like material. Regardless, it was the only thing in the tower that was likely to fit him, and she simply shrugged at the repercussions her choice was sure to have with her masked leader when he eventually found out.
"It's part of a spare outfit that's out of use. Just be thankful I didn't bother to grab the matching cape and mask. Besides, its better than that towel you were wearing a minute ago." The young man gave her a cocky smile, and let the matter drop.
"What's wrong with a towel? I think I'm doing pretty well overall for having just gotten out of bed after two days." Raven's deadpan response didn't miss a beat.
"That just goes to show how lazy you are. Anyone else would have been able to shrug off massive blood loss and internal hemorrhaging with a ten-minute power nap." A smug grunt escaped the lips of the young man, and he regarded the girl with an amused glint in his eye.
"I do believe I'm at a slight disadvantage here." Raven's look of shock couldn't have been more sarcastic.
"How so?" An exasperated sigh escaped Rune's lips as he realized she probably meant to banter back and forth just for the sake of seeing him squirm. Despite the somber tone and dark demeanor, he found her sense of humor, if one could call it that, quite charming, in an odd sort of way.
It also went without saying that he viewed her as quite attractive with those delicate smiles and elusive soft curves. Such thoughts never seemed to last very long in light of all the other events happening around him, though a certain image continuously popped up in his mind, begging for clarification. Only once had he witnessed the absence of that cloak engulfing the entirety of her lithe form, and each time the thought rang anew, Rune couldn't help but wonder how lovely she truly was beneath that vague illusion of a girl created by the tucks and folds of the blue cloth.
Regardless of his inner strife, he wasn't going to succumb to her teasing without at least trying to put up a good fight. He gave a small tug at the elastic material resting at the base of his neck, and cast a derisive eye on the girl before him.
"Well, for starters, I'm wearing what very well might be spandex."
"Uh huh."
"While talking to a girl I hardly even know."
"Mm hmm."
"In a place that I'm not at all familiar with."
"I see." Raven gave him a long, hard look before she placed a delicate finger to her lower lip, obviously giving some serious consideration to everything he had just said. After a few seconds, the young woman peered upward through her dark cowl and locked eyes with the boy before her, displaying what might very well have been a mischievous smirk.
"Sounds like you're completely at my mercy." The slight grin that had been set on Rune's face up to that point took a sharp decline at the way she had turned the situation around on him. He began to sputter out a response, but caught himself instead. A wry expression slowly edged its way across his features.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" She met his question with a bland look.
"What? The fact that I could do anything I wanted and no one would hear your screams? It is rather amusing to think about." His features momentarily shifted to apprehension, providing a strong indication that she might have taken their game a bit too far. Just to be on the safe side, she forged ahead before he had the chance to respond.
"Besides, I can still smell the antiseptic wash Cyborg used to clean your wounds. You might want to consider actually using soap with the water next time." Raven was sure her last little jab would draw out a rather amusing response from the young man, but the preemptive smile faded from her lips when she noted his confused expression. After a moment of consideration, a light seemed to go off in her head, though her resulting thoughts shed only darkness on the matter at hand.
"You…don't know who Cyborg is?" A simple shake of his head made one of her eyebrows arch, leading her mind down a path that didn't seem very welcoming. The minor surgery was excused, of course, as the boy was put under sedation. He had been unconscious from the time of his arrival at Titan's Tower up to the point of his awakening one and a half days later. Despite his short stay, that could not have possibly been the only time Rune had come in contact with the mechanical teenager.
The IV that had been in his arm had not been there upon her first visit; of that much she was certain. Thus, there was only a finite block of time in which it could have been inserted.
It was not the instrument itself that was the focal point of her concern, per se, but rather what the events leading up to its implementation were potentially hinting at. Unsettling thoughts began to compete for entry into her mainstream consciousness, and she tried to fend them off with a willpower forged of determination and sheer stubbornness. Foolish, yes, but comforting all the same.
As she gave the young man before her a thoughtful look, it wasn't very difficult to see his mind was as troubled as her own. Still, she found the need to speak first, if for no better reason than to place her thoughts out in the open before she convinced herself it was something else entirely. Her voice was strained, as if the words refused to come out of their own accord.
"You meant to do it, didn't you?" A surprised look encompassed the face of the boy before her, and he reflexively tensed up a bit, signifying the trepidation he so clearly felt at the moment.
"I meant to do what?"
Raven didn't even acknowledge his question, as her mind was currently elsewhere. With eyes downcast, the young empath began to sort through her thoughts, hoping that at some point it would all make sense and she was somehow wrong.
Robin and Starfire don't have the medical knowledge, and Cyborg wouldn't trust Beast Boy with a sharpened pencil, never mind a needle. He was the only one who could have done it.
The top of her cowl shifted a bit at the approach of her hands, then promptly fell down to her shoulders. She wanted to be face to face with him when the truth of the matter was revealed. As if to complement her mounting angst, burning embers began to simmer in her heart, instilling a sense of righteous anger that felt too good to ignore.
"I wasn't the first one to touch you." Rune gave the young woman a cautious look, not quite understanding where this was going. He was about to ask what touch had to do with anything, but she continued on.
"The IV was placed in your arm after I left, meaning someone came to see you before I did, but you don't remember, is that right?" The young man didn't even recall having an IV in his arm at all, but thought it better not to argue. Instead, he nodded dumbly in accordance with the second part of her question, his distraught feelings beginning to intensify under the small girl's potent glare.
Despite her years of training, Raven's emotional levels were beginning to rise quickly, but she didn't care to address them. Something in the back of her mind was assuring her it was alright, and that revenge was the only true solution to a problem. Regardless, a small voice invaded her thoughts momentarily, warning that she wasn't thinking clearly, and that something was very wrong.
She dismissed such nonsense immediately. Pain and suffering were far more satisfying then second thoughts. With an exaggerated motion, she tilted her head to the side and locked a piercing glare on the boy before her.
"He's not the most gentle person, you know. Cold steel doesn't make for a comforting bedside manner. And yet, you still don't recall?" Rune gave her a wary look; his mind currently preoccupied with the dark sense of foreboding that permeated the very air around them.
Her next words took on a life of their own, carried forth by a feral voice harboring all that was wrong with the world. A powerful shiver traveled down the young man's back, not unlike what a rabbit might experience when corned by a rabid fox.
"Tell me, then. Why didn't you react when Cyborg plunged a shaft of metal into your flesh? Why is it that you deliberately waited to attack me instead?"
The young man's eyes grew wide, though not exclusively in response to her biting words. A sudden blaze of darkness engulfed the young empath, lifting her into the air and setting the entire room in shadows.
To say the least, Rune was caught off guard when the mirror to his side warped and shattered, leaving residual flickers of black energy dancing wildly around the disjointed glass. Looking back to the girl hovering in front of him, he was horrified to see an evil crimson glow radiating from deep within her eyes.
All four of them.
A malevolent smile passed across Raven's lips, accentuating the twisted nature of her billowing cloak as it stretched and churned in its path toward the ground below. In a matter of seconds, Rune was staring at a seven-foot demonic caricature of the girl he had just been joking around with less than two minutes earlier.
All types of thoughts began to assail him at that moment, not the least among them a certain dread that he was about to die. Images of Wraith and Theresa began to swim through his head at a blinding pace, sending his mind in a downward spiral towards a most unforgiving darkness. Even as the demon girl began to slither towards him, sinister tentacles just beginning to peek out from beneath the bottom of her cowl, the young man could only think of getting away.
Paralyzing waves of fear seemed to emanate from the cloaked figure, sending his mind reeling backwards upon itself, seeking an escape in any form possible. Pure desperation sent his thoughts into the darker corners of his mind, scavenging for any type of protection whatsoever.
With a start, he ran straight into a psychic barricade.
-
Unlike the boy before her, Raven was searching within herself not for escape, but for release. Dark thoughts had overwhelmed her psyche far too fast for the young empath to resist, engulfing both mind and body in a suffocating evil that seemed to possess a life of its own. The source of her distress was not difficult to determine, as she could feel the swell of raw hatred and rage streaming forth from a familiar conduit deep within her mind.
Subtlety had never been a strong point where her father was concerned.
Still, Raven understood that she had brought this upon herself, to some degree. Anger was still swelling within her heart, as there was no point in denying the fact that she was hurt by Rune's actions toward her, both physically and emotionally. On some level she felt betrayed, and from that blemish on her soul, so grew Trigon's source of power.
Why would he do it? I don't understand…he was so gentle right after…
As if to mock her very being, a shadow of doubt suddenly eclipsed her thoughts, leading Raven into a whole new realm of misery and torment.
RAGE SHALL CONSUME ALL. THROUGH ANGER WE FIND OUR SALVATION. EMBRACE THE HATRED, MY DAUGHTER, AND REVEL IN ANOTHER'S SUFFERING.
The young woman shuddered at her father's words, distraught at the notion that she had allowed him to pierce her defenses so easily. His presence amongst her jumbled thoughts should have been no surprise considering the extent he had already managed to manipulate her, but she shuddered again all the same.
Get out. I don't want you here. You have no place in my mind, other than to be shackled away in darkness.
A deep rumbling sounded within her skull, heralding the onset of a headache that threatened to overwhelm her senses. After a few moments, Trigon's laughter faded away, only to be replaced with a sardonic reply.
DO YOU DENY YOUR OWN FATHER? YOU FORGET, CHILD, THAT WE ARE OF ONE FLESH. OUR EXISTENCE IS INTERTWINDED BY THE HANDS OF FATE, DESTINED TO BRING THE WORLD TO ITS KNEES. SO IT IS WRITTEN, SO IT SHALL BE.
Raven's ire began to rise, but she prudently focused on maintaining a calm state of mind from which she could begin to establish a resistance against her father's powerful influence.
-
Familiarity.
That was the only way to describe it, really.
Is this the reason for my amnesia?
A collection of jumbled thoughts began to course through Rune's mind, though each was inevitably cut short by the impending doom that awaited him mere steps away. One glance upward provided all the incentive necessary to relentlessly claw at the wall blocking his path to memories pushed aside.
The young man's thoughts were a complete blur in his haste to tear down the barrier, and soon enough, he began to realize the futility of his actions. A shift in the ambient light immediately brought his head up high, expecting the worst. Instead, he was met with a statuesque form less than four feet in front of him, her head bowed low and eyes closed, seemingly lost in a deep meditative state.
Whether that was good news or bad, Rune hardly took the time to consider whether the demoness meant to toy with him. Instead, he concentrated on breaking the bonds shackling part of his mind. Waves of despair once again enveloped his emotions at the lack of effect he was having, and his thoughts inexorably drifted off to consider the real source of this current misfortune.
Raven…I don't know what I did…I'm sorry…please, just go back to the way you were…I don't want to fight you…
Just at that moment, the young woman's eyes popped open and she snapped her head up, casting a red glare over the trembling figure. Rune hastily backed up a step and grimaced at the crunch of glass beneath his boot, creating a hundred new surfaces from which the fiery glow could bathe the entire room in a wicked ruby light.
On instinct, he looked down to see what precisely had fallen under his foot, and was abruptly met with a single streak of red, perfectly reflected so as to give the impression of a laser round heading straight for him. An intense bout of fear and anger dominated his thoughts momentarily, followed by the cloudy image of a black-clad man pointing a gun at someone he…loved?
Before he could even consider what had made him think that, a crippling pain shot through his head, coupled by a multitude of images and emotions as the self-induced mental blockade came crashing down all around his shattered sensibilities.
-
With Trigon so firmly entrenched within the confines of her mind, Raven knew the only thing to do now was try and build up enough power to dislodge his presence in one fell swoop. The task was much more difficult than the idea, however, as even the slightest suggestion that she was already planning her retaliation would send the demon fully on the offensive.
In order to mask her thoughts, the young empath decided her best bet was to redirect Trigon's awareness and keep his mind away from her preparations. Also, as long as her father's attention was directed inward, he wouldn't be able to influence the outside world. A sense of warmth passed through her awareness, and she would have smiled, had she been in full control of her body, at the thought that Rune was safe, at least for now.
You're wrong. My friends will never let that happen. When the time comes, they'll stop you, WE'LL stop you…somehow.
A dreadfully cold and calculating impression permeated her senses, almost bringing the hatred and loathing so abundant within her thoughts to a tangible level.
EMBRACE YOUR HERITAGE, DAUGHTER. BECOME WHAT YOU ARE MEANT TO BE. GIVE IN TO THE TEMPTATIONS OF YOUR BLOOD AND FOLLOW THE PATH OF NEVERENDING DESTRUCTION.
Before she could respond, a dark sense of intrusion invaded her psyche, probing viciously throughout her subconscious. The discipline needed to simply hold him at bay was more than the young girl could spare, and she lifted her defenses slightly so as to favor the energy she needed if she ever wanted him banished from her head. Besides, there was nothing within her buried thoughts that he could…
A cold flush of panic ripped through her heart just as Trigon loosed his hold on her mind. Raven could only interpret the diabolical feeling now radiating throughout her being as amusement on her father's part. A great roar of a laugh rebounded off her skull, making it very difficult to focus her energies.
YOU EXPERIENCE LOVE FOR A HUMAN BOY? HOW…ENTERTAINING.
Raven almost lost her concentration then and there, so shocked was she to hear the very thoughts that had been swimming through her head laid open so casually. The fact that it was her own father speaking of such a thing brought along a sense of revulsion unlike anything she had ever known. To have her mind violated in such a callous fashion left her feeling naked under Trigon's cold stare, as if she had committed some unspeakable crime too horrible to put into words.
Still, how had he known? The young girl had kept her emotions under lock and key for days now, afraid that she couldn't contain her powers at all if such a concept found its way into her normal train of thought. She had buried her feelings so deeply that it would take hours of meditation to bring them fully back to light. Controlling her abilities was all that mattered right now, and everything else would simply have to…
No…was that the reason?
That one loose strand dangling on the far outreaches of her sub consciousness; could that have been the portal her father had used to enter her mind? Raven's fear of love had drawn Trigon's love of fear right into the heart of her defenses. Without a firm hold on all of her emotions, she had been unable to effectively guard against his titanic willpower.
This was all her fault.
She had been too scared to confront her new feelings, and now everyone would pay the price. What hurt her most was that the person she cared about would be the first one to suffer. A swell of anger momentarily rose unbidden within her thoughts, and she quickly turned it into a source of strength.
Leave him out of this! My friends don't have anything to do with you! Now get out of my head, and go back to where you belong!
A sudden torrent of power erupted from Raven's mind, directed solely at the dark presence inhabiting her thoughts. Caught off guard, the demon lord reacted immediately, blocking the wave of mental energy as best he could. The immediate cry of pain that met the young girl's ears quickly turned into a vicious snarl as her father easily managed to hold off the unexpected yet meager assault.
AGAIN YOU DEFY ME? THE FUTURE HAS ALREADY BEEN WRITTEN, MY DAUGHTER. IT IS ONLY OUR PURPOSE TO FOLLOW.
Surprise and outrage dominated her thoughts, providing yet another source of energy which Trigon could draw upon.
YOU MISTAKE LOVE FOR CONTROL, RAVEN. IT IS IN YOUR BLOOD TO CONSUME THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND YOU. SATE YOUR APPETITE ON THE WEAKNESS OF THIS BOY; USE HIS LOYALTY TO FURTHER YOUR OWN GOALS. PERMIT THIS EMOTIONAL FLAW TO GUIDE YOU ON THE PATH TO THE PUREST MEANS OF UTTERLY DESTROYING ANOTHER'S LIFE. LET HIM BRING UPON HIS OWN ANNIHILATION.
Raven's mental restraints began to falter under the scathing words cast forth by her father. The sheer volume of his speech struck a cord deep within her heart, and she was sorely unprepared to handle the next words echoed forth from within her skull.
GO FORTH AND CAST YOUR MAGIC OVER HIS HEART, MY CHILD. LOVE HIM AS I HAVE SO TRIUPHANTLY LOVED YOUR MOTHER.
With a great tremble of willpower, the young woman's barrier crumbled to nothing under the onslaught of such scorn and hatred. At once, the demon struck hard, casting Raven aside with a single blow, accompanied by a grating laugh that struck her to the core. For all of her discipline, the empath could not contain the sobs regarding the last words her father had spoken as she lay in a crumpled heap beneath Trigon's heel.
Arella…mother… I'm sorry…
With head held low, Raven simply began to cry, trapped within the confines of her own mind.
Hey! An actual cliffhanger! To be honest, I was going to continue on, but I figured this was a pretty good place to break up the storyline. That, and the fact that it would have sat on my desktop for another week…
So, you guys and gals like the chapter? Don't forget to let me know what you thought of it! If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask. With that convenient little reply button on the reviews, I'll be sure to get back to you pretty quickly. Otherwise, thank you very much for your time!
Oh yes, one more thing: Is the storyline keeping your interest so far? I realize its been rather drawn out, but I just can't stand the thought of forcing things along too quickly. At the rate I'm going, this is going to end a few days before the end of forever. The best I can say is that I have a pretty firm grasp on the core aspects of what I want to have happen, its just the act of getting there that is the delicate issue.
Well, I would appreciate any input you decide to give me. Like always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. (And leave a review! I live for reviews…)
