BLUE

A fanfiction by Random-Crazyness

Chapter 9Battleground Heart

The atlanteans' steps were heavy as he trod down thw cold, grey hallway. He could see the mechanical door to Ravens' room edging closer with every step. His heart was heavy with despair. He knew it was common for people to expect the worst, since it made the end result that much sweeter, but this was extensive despair. Advanced darkness. Aqualad stood stagnant in front of Ravens' door, hoping she wasn't awake, just to make the scene more romantic and make refusal impossible. His presence opened the room, its black gaze tearing through him. He stepped in, wary of his surroundings. He had been in her room before. It matched the painful beauty of her, the bitterness, and the brilliance. Aqualad turned over to the bed, planning to close in for a kiss, but to no avail. She wasn't there. a pile of wadded up sheets was in her place. It was pointless to stay now. The atlantean turned towards the door, in defeat, until...

"Oh, he's a cutie!"

Aqualads' reflexes kicked in, and he turned around rapidly. No one was there. The voice had been distinctly Ravens' but at the same time, it wasn't. It was too...happy. He scanned the room, looking for anyone who could have been there. No one. all he saw, was a faint glint, coming from the dresser. Curiousity overcame him, and he went to inspect. It was a handmirror, wonderfully ornate, with white birds, fluttering around the glass. It was beautiful. And the mirror seemed to know it was beautiful, as it started to giggle.
Aqualad jumped back, dropping the mirror back onto the dresser. A pair of hands reached out from the glass, grabbing the front of his costume, and pulling him in.

"You didn't strike me as the dancing type."

"Things change."

The strobe lights were near blinding as Raven looked over at Gage. He was different from before. It had seemed that he had gained a little life. He was energetic, engaging, TALKING. It was as if he was a whole new person. She was compelled to ask.

"Gage..." Raven looked over at him.

"Yeah? What is it?" Both of his eyes were visible now. Both a black void, dark, and hypnotic.

"What happened to you? You're so...different now."

"How so?"

"I remember, when we first started going out, you were so distant, so... out of it. Now, you're alive, dancing, talking...What happened?"

"I guess I'm just happy." A faint smile graced his features.

Happy? Happy? That word never existed in Gages' vocabulary. Gloom did, pain did, sorrow did, but happy? This was not Gage. Something was different about him.

" Gage, I don't believe it." Raven concentrated on his face. " You...happy? That is an impossibility."

" It WAS an impossibility." He smiled again. "It WAS."

The landscape seemed to be glowing independently as Aqualad awoke. What a kooky dream, he thought as he rubbed his head, searching for cuts or bruises. Being pulled into Ravens' hand mirror...What a trip. The atlantean stood up slowly, inspecting his surroundings. It was ethereal. White birds were fluttering overhead, and the sound of a flowing stream from behind him painted a picture that could only come from some cliche fairy tale, or some little girls' fantasy land. Where the hell was he?

"You know it was foolish of you to bring an outsider in here." said a voice, coming from a stone pavillion in the distance.

"I couldn't help it! He was looking in the mirror, so he was obviously curious..." replied a second voice, somewhat higher, and more cutesy.

"You're an idiot, you know that?" called a third voice, this one more gruff and boisterous than the first two.

It was strange. Aqualad couldn't help but notice that all 3 voices were distinctly Ravens' , but at the same time they weren't. They all had that hypnotizing drone, but were unique in delivery.

"You'd think curiousity would have killed me by now." Aqualad said to himself, as he began to stroll over to the stone pavillion in the distance.

"We must send him back, right away!"

"But we can't! Remember the rules? Anyone who enters this realm but the Mistress, must leave with some sort of revelation or achievement!"

"Damn rules..."

Intelligence and Happiness were once again, in a heated argument. Bravery was punching the air, attempting to relieve some pent up energy, and Timidity was sitting in a corner, covering her ears, trying to drown out the sounds of the confrontation.

" Where the hell are the other facets?" Bravery said, in between punches."They'd probably know what to do."

" No!" Intelligence yelled. "We do not need the othe facets to be in on this. We can handle him."

"Do we have to send him back so soon? Maybe he wants to play dolls!" Happiness jumped up, in a Starfire-esque manner.

"Yes." Intelligence said firmly. "We ought not to be fooling around with more outsiders. They pose a threat to the mistress' psyche and..."

"And?"

Intelligence jumped. Aqualad was standing behind her, his arms crossed, looking serious. The four facets of Ravens' personality stood awkwardly for about 5 minutes. Happiness was first to break the silence.

"OHMIGAWD!" The pink clad facet leapt forward to sieze Aqualad in a bear hug. "It is SO nice to meet you, hot stranger!"

Aqualad struggled to breathe. They all looked like Raven. They all had her eyes, albeit in different colors. They all had her trademark cloak, and hood, and hair, and everything. But, he could tell, none of them were Raven. He managed to wrestle out of Happiness' grasp, just to fall into Braverys' clutches.

"You are hot." Bravery said, as her hands groped the helpless atlantean. "So, tell me sweetheart, why are you here?"

"Bravery!" Intelligence raised her voice. "It would be wise of you to release our guest." The green facet let go reluctantly.

"Now, I'll be expecting that you wish to learn of where you are, who we are, and how you should go about leaving..."

"Where's Raven?" Aqualad asked sternly.

"Excuse me?" Intelligence asked, taken aback.

"Where is Raven?" He repeated, annoyance growing in his voice.

"Our mistress is not here." This time, it was Timidity who spoke. "She only visits when she needs to get her mind in order..."

"So," Aqualads' voice became sullen. "I came for nothing..."

"Nothing?" Asked Happiness, who stopped jumping long enough to ask. "What were you planning to do?"

"Listen, Did Raven ever mention someone she ...loved?" The word came out broken, like it had lost all meaning.

The facets looked to Intelligence, wondering if it was right for them to tell him.

"The mistress did mention love...yes..." Intelligence stammered.

"Did she mention 'who' she loved?" Aqualad leaned in closer.

"Not...really..." Timidity spoke up.

"Oh." Aqualad became sullen all of a sudden. " I guess..."

A voice echoed throughout the area. It was deep, and familiar. Raven. She was back. Frantic, Aqualad siezed happiness.

"How do I get out of here?"

"The forbidden door, silly!" Happiness pointed over to an ivory gateway, not a 10 minute walk away. Aqualad proceeded to sprint madly, hoping to catch Raven before she slept. He was about to push through the gate when he heard anothe voice. Deeper, a males' voice. It wasn't Beast Boys' ,or Robins' or Cyborgs'. It was different. The tone was kind of sullen, but not without some joy.

"Thanks for tonight." Said the male voice. "I have to say, I have been missing you alot."

"Umm...thanks..." Raven stuttered. There was a pause after that. Aqualad knew that a kiss was happening. He could feel the shards of his heart piercing his soul. She had moved on. He trudged slowly through the gate, preparing for the last time they would ever meet.

"Gage...You should go."

"As you wish." He bowed sarcastically. "I'll see you tomorrow." And with that, Gage waltzed down the hallway, and out of sight.

Raven let her senses return as Gage left. All she felt was a tingling numbness when he was around, a good numbness, but a numbness nonetheless. He vision became clearer, her smell sharper. And she turned. Salt air was present, and that only meant one thing.

"Aqualad."

"Hello, Raven."

"What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd come to explain. Explain why I dressed the way I did, explain why I came. Tell you how much I really loved you, and how much you mean to me." He started to tear up. "I just thought that it was important enough for you to hear, but I guess not." He stepped closer to the window, and opened it.

"Aqualad..." Raven clutched her chest.

"You know..." Aqualad started, without turning. "I really wanted you to be happy. I guess you are." And with that, he dived out of sight, out of love, out of life.