The 31st Night
Tria A Nox Noctis
Chapter 5: Superbia
"What?" Robin stared at her.
"He's gone, I have a bad feeling-"
"You mean a premonition?" Robin gave her a dark look, casting glance to the book she was keeping tight in her arms.
"Now is not the time." She hissed, unwilling to bother with him in such a temper. "Can you track his signal?"
Robin shrugged and started out the door. "I'll find him."
"When you don't, call me." Raven shot at his back.
"Why don't you go awaken the other two, I'm sure they'd love to hear your excuse as well." Robin muttered and slammed the door shut behind him.
Raven was left glaring at the door out of spite. Some people had to be so headstrong. She waited until he would be long gone before leaving the room to go and get Starfire and Beast Boy up.
By the next morning, there was no news of Cyborg. His signal had either been disabled, or unreachable.
Raven and Robin were still not on speaking terms and the two left were not going to get into it.
"Maybe he is… visiting the Titans East?" Starfire offered as Robin paced in front of the large bay windows.
Robin shook his head without answering and continued thinking. How could Raven just stand around and not tell him what was going on? Surely she had to know!
It bothered him more than anything. If one of their own was in danger… his teeth grit together. Why did she have to be that way?
Raven was sitting at the kitchen table only to annoy the boy. She knew he was just dying for her to speak, tell him something, anything. But no. Her hands were laid crossed over the book. She just sat there.
Cyborg was still very much MIA.
She knew if she cracked the spine of the book open she would need to explain. There had to be a reason she was second guessing herself. Did she secretly think she was to blame? Had she truly repeated her mistake and doomed them all?
No. She pressed down on the book so it imprinted in her skin. It was not her fault.
What about that aura?
By evening that day the standoff was driving Beast Boy and Starfire mad. Their progress in finding Cyborg had not left the starting gate. There was tension in the room fine enough to slice up and serve.
"Please friends, we must bind together to locate Cyborg." Starfire pleaded again with Robin. He was now propped up in the computer chair, scanning the city for anything suspicious.
"Yeah, if only some would cooperate." Robin muttered, zooming in on the screen.
Across the room Raven tilted her gaze away, sliding the book into her lap.
Beast Boy had learned to work around the two, watching his television with subtitles. It took a little more effort to read what they were saying, but it was sure better than facing whatever wrath those two had accumulated.
"Raven." Starfire switched her tactics, going for the mystic now. Raven did not move as Starfire rounded the table to give her a beseeching look. "Please Raven?"
Raven's eyes flickered to the girl, taking in her pitiful expression. She really was trying. Raven felt her icy exterior begin to fall. Leave it to the radiance of the sun to melt it away.
Sighing, "Fine."
A smile broadened Starfire's face and she looked like she was going to hug Raven. She remembered at the last moment and dashed back across to tug Robin over.
Raven plopped the book back onto the table, fingers grazing the antique cover. Beast Boy was yanked from the front of the TV to listen as well.
"Night…" Raven had the page cracked to the spell she had conjured earlier that week. All she'd do was read the spell. Then Robin could stop badgering her about it being her fault.
"Come to me." Her finger slid further down the lines, skipping a few. What they don't know…
"Occur my spirit and consume this time." More sliding. "Come to me."
Raven didn't bother to read anymore. She glanced up at Robin. "Satisfied?"
"What was it for?" Robin's eyes were scanning the worn pages trying to figure out how to decipher the scripture.
Snapping the book shut, Raven coddled it tightly in her arms once more. "None of your business."
"I think we've had this conversation once before."
"I was conjuring something for me, why would anyone else be bothered?" Raven raised challenging eyes to his.
"Maybe you did it wrong."
Beast Boy and Starfire were watching the battle as someone would watch a tennis match. Back, forth, a quick save…
"I do not make mistakes in such matters." Raven rose from her chair. Without a further word she headed for the sliding doors and then vanished into the hallway.
And point.
Robin grumble and headed for the kitchen, not speaking.
Raven cast the book aside when she entered her room. It landed somewhere on the tile with a soft thud. Her mind felt at ease once more. It was not a problem too personal to her.
Sure, Cyborg missing was bad, but it could be fixed. They just needed to figure out where he went. There weren't too many places a tin man could hide out and not be noticed.
Raven laid down on her bed, feeling the soft fabric. She deserved a little rest.
Yawning into the blankets, she fell asleep.
There were screams, a man's and maybe her own? There was no way of telling.
And eyes. Sudden and all at once. Driving at her, pushing her away. Hands were at her throat. Were they hands? When she felt it, nothing was there. But she couldn't breathe.
Wrenching, the woman tried to push away. All of a sudden it had begun to bring her in. Sucking her through the darkness and crushing her life.
The eyes mocked her. A man was still yelling. Help me! Where?
She closed her mouth when she recognized the sound of her own screaming in the chorus.
"Superbia!" A howling echoed in the empty space. Where was it?
Where was she?
"Adfero te malum, abnocto…" They were familiar words. She twisted about to try and find them. Her life was dwindling. The man was pleading for her assistance. She could not even help herself, let alone the caller.
Against her will Raven was consumed.
Raven shot up in her bed, a scream falling half-way off her lips. The eyes of her nightmare floated in front of her vision before fading away in the dark to creep back upon her subconscious.
Her chest heaved with breath and she could feel her hands trembling. This was… not right. Raven was constantly collected, mere nightmares never got to her this bad.
Clutching the blankets tighter to stop the fragmented nerves she closed her eyes. Some timed breathing would do her good.
She was a liar. Robin had concluded it.
He was currently turning on all the alert systems for the tower. Usually it was Cyborg's job to set it all up before retiring… but he was still missing.
Raven hadn't read that entire spell. After watching what words she related with each symbol… well the incantation had to be longer than what she was saying.
She was just doing it to get rid of him. Clearly she didn't feel the things happening were connected. Robin had a strong premonition they were, that was all he had to go on. If her spell wasn't to blame… then he had to explanation.
No other criminals had escaped, no violence in the city, nothing strange happening anywhere other than the tower.
Robin activated the feed for the last camera, watching the recording start. How much more had to happen before Raven would start talking? Was she really so headstrong- so confident in her own abilities?
He hit the button to turn off the monitor. The living room was suddenly thrown into darkness. If he looked at it the other way she almost made sense.
He never could admit his own mistakes. Well, not at first.
Still, he knew when to give it up. He wasn't putting anyone in danger with his need for secrecy.
When his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he started up for his room. Maybe he could try and do some research on those symbols before bed.
His footsteps padded up the stairs.
"Superbia." Someone spoke from behind him.
Robin stopped on the stairs, straining his instincts. Did he have time to turn around? Should he run? He slid a hand to the utility belt at his waist. "S'cuse me?"
He whipped out a metal bird, twisting quickly and throwing it behind him. It whipped through the air cleanly. Robin could have sworn the voice had come from right there. The wall came up to his back as his eyes slid across the area. At least if he had his backside protected he only had to worry about a frontal assault.
In the dark, he waited.
"Devenio a mei…"
Robin's eyes widened at it breathed the words down his neck.
He hadn't the time to grab another weapon. The force pulled him back through the wall, smuggling away the yell that had formed in his lungs.
Cyborg awoke to a beeping. He moaned, sitting up on his metal bed. His arm was emitting the noise. What happened?
Cyborg checked the stats on his arm. It was October 27th, 9:23 a.m.
He squinted his eye at the date. That could not be right. Where had October 26th gone? And then it dawned on him. Sliding off the table he rushed to his computer. Carefully extracting his plug in, he snapped it into the hard drive.
Ten minutes later the boy plopped down into his computer chair. No memory existed for the 26th. His head smacked down on the keyboard in front of him. It beeped angrily at the violence.
What was going on?
Raven was the first one downstairs. She stared empty-eyed across the room, a warm mug stuck between her hands. After such an experience, sleep would not come again to her. How aggravating.
She had attempted to do a little panic control in Nevermore, but it was useless. Intelligence was scolding her for not telling Robin everything. Timid was said to have disappeared in a crying fit, Pride was being stubborn…
Anger lurked just out of the light trying to convince her it was all the Titan's fault for her nightmares.
Raven wished to listen to none of them. It was all nonsense. Instead she had tried to trap them back into the further regions of Nevermore. The barrier was only temporary, but it gave her a little break of peace.
And who should come to shatter what she had built up around herself? None other than Robin.
"Raven." He greeted. She cast him a glance, he didn't look all that put together himself.
"Robin." She returned the salutation and took a sit of her tea.
"I," He sat down looking as though he were trying to compose his thoughts. Raven waited not having much other choice. "I can't remember going to my bed last night."
"You know, there's been a lot of that going around." The mystic turned the cup around between her hands.
"What was the spell used for, precisely?" Robin had looked up and caught her eyes.
Raven narrowed her own. She should have known better. He would never give up. "I read you the incantation, I told you it was for my benefit."
"You didn't read it all." Robin snipped, eyes on the table.
"It was just the same things repeated." Pushing her mug away she contemplated getting up. She didn't need this after last night.
"Has the spell worked for you yet?"
Raven opened her mouth before finding she was missing her snaky remark. "It works within ten days of it's casting."
Taking count, a frigid look took place on Robin's features. "By Halloween."
"Yes." She got up from her seat intending to go back to her room. A figure rushed into the kitchen doorway. Raven turned her attention to it, feeling a jump in her circulation.
"Guys?" Cyborg greeted. He had a bewildered expression, did he even know why he was there?
Robin jumped up at the voice. "Cyborg!"
"Where have you been?" Raven asked, moving toward the metal man.
"I don't know. I… I have no memory of the 26th." His mouth was pulled into a tight line. Raven could relate. It was horrid to be unconscious where one could not remember what went on.
But to miss a day of your life?
"What happened?" Cyborg moved over to the table to take a seat, he was feeling too nervous to continue standing. Robin swallowed the lump in his throat.
"You were gone.."
By afternoon Raven and Robin were back at each other's throats. It was enough for half the day to be consumed with Cyborg's arrival, but after that…
"Robin stop it." Her voice was flat. She stalked up the stairs away from him, Robin was giving chase.
"This is important!" He yelled after her.
Starfire was curled up on the couch beside Cyborg, continuing to tell him how nice it was to have him back. Beast Boy was showing his appreciation by losing countless RoboWarz videogames.
"Importance is a matter of opinion." They could hear the girl's voice resounding through the tower walls.
"Raven!" There was a door slam and the sounds of someone pounding on it.
Cyborg chuckled, tossing the controller away after another victory. "I really don't know who'll give in first."
"Why must they continue in their fighting?" Starfire was scowling at the noise being raised upstairs. It was unlike those two to clash to fiercely.
"Raven might know something about what's going on." Cyborg leaned back on the couch, curling his hands behind his head.
"Why will she not just tell us?" Starfire reached over for the vacant controller to challenge Beast Boy.
Cyborg shrugged, "I suppose she doesn't think it's anything to be concerned about."
"Girls." Beast Boy scoffed, seated on the floor.
Starfire threw the controller, hitting him in the back of the head. Cyborg laughed and clapped Starfire on the shoulder.
Raven stared at the book. It was still laying on her floor where she had cast it yesterday. Robin had stopped beating upon her door, but she assumed he was still in the vicinity. He didn't dare use the password to come into her room after her, but if she stepped out…
All because of her stupid incantation. It had seemed like a brilliant idea in the beginning but…
She sighed and rolled over on her bed so she wouldn't have to look at it. Why did something that was supposed to be so good have to cause such trouble?
There was a tap at her door. "C'mon Raven." His voice was strained, "Please?"
Raven sat up on the bed. She stared at the door, tempted. He never used manners.
"Just go over everything and then neither of us will be bothered with this any further."
"You do not trust my judgment." Raven got up from the bed. The boy had cooled his temper considerably.
"I want to Raven, but this…" His voice faded away, muffled behind the metal.
The door whooshed open. Raven didn't know why she bothered with him any longer. How many times did she have to convince him? "If I tell you…"
"Not a word of it gets out." Robin vowed.
Raven looked over the situation before saying any more. "Come tomorrow morning."
The two looked at each other a moment later, gauging if they were at an agreement. Finally Robin nodded and turned away.
"Thanks Raven." Walking away he called to her. He seemed almost pleasant now.
The mystic frowned and shut her door. Darkness followed and her book mocked her from the corner. What was she doing?
Superbia: Also known as Pride or vanity. Raven is guilty of being prideful, Robin is both prideful and vain at times.
Next chapter: Luxuria.
Happy Halloween everyone! No translation for the spell in this chapter, because it's an important part to come later.
:Bloody Fae: