(New chapter. Read, review, and enjoy! Even pm me too, I'm usually nice :P ~RavensMind~)
Chapter 13: Whole
"Stand...It is over," Shadow said.
Struggling to get up off of the cold floor, Robin felt his joints flare with pain the moment he rose. Once fully standing, he looked over to Raven, who was struggling to get up without crying in pain. The markings on her body were fading, as were his own, and the flames were no longer raging around them. Robin held out his hand to Raven, offering to help her up. She reached up and took his hand, groaning as he pulled her up. As she gained her balance, Raven groaned once more, holding her head with one of her hands.
"How do you feel?" Shadow asked.
"Tired...hurt...my head is killing me," Raven said.
"That is expected. Does your mind feel healed?" Shadow asked.
"It does...It's hard to tell with this headache," Raven said.
"Once you return to your tower, you should rest; the pain will go away in a few hours. And you should explain to Robin what eternity means and what he will experience with a stronger link... Do not stray too far from one another at first, keep to the same structure at the very least…How are you feeling, Robin?" Shadow said.
"Hurt. It feels like my bones are on fire," Robin said.
"No headache or exhaustion?" Shadow asked.
"No," Robin said.
"Excellent. Only Raven should be feeling those effects, if everything was successful. Before you go, Raven, there is one more thing I can offer you," Shadow said, gliding off to her room and returning a few moments later with the chest of books Raven had brought Shadow, with an extra black book on top of it.
"What is that book?" Raven asked.
"It contains all that will allow you to learn the language that your mother's books are written in. Take the book, learn all you can, and keep it safe with you. Consider this as repayment for your mended mind..." Shadow said, giving the chest to Raven.
"Thank you, for everything," Raven said.
"Do not thank me. The last thing I deserve is gratitude...truly," Shadow said.
"What do you mean?" Raven asked.
"I was not there to assist your mother as I should have been... But that is a time long since passed, in an age I would like to see fade from time entirely. As I'm sure you would as well..." Shadow said.
"Yeah... I really would," Raven said.
"Shadow, I'm sorry I didn't trust you, and I really appreciate how you've helped Raven," Robin said.
"You're welcome...Now, return to your tower and rest. If you need anything else in the future, I will be here," Shadow said.
With that, she turned around and went into her darkened room, closing the door behind her. Robin helped Raven up the stairs and out of the tomb, they took a few steps outside and Raven created a black portal that they used to take them back to the tower. Appearing outside the tower, they started heading to the door, and Robin stopped Raven before she opened the door.
"What is it?" Raven asked, pulling her hood up to conceal her face, as the markings hadn't faded yet.
"Don't even think you're going to swim before resting for a few hours," Robin said.
"I won't...We can swim later at night, or something," Raven said.
"That could work. We'll talk about it after you wake up," he said.
"Aren't you going to join me?"
"In a while, but I need to check on the others before I rest."
"When are we leaving Titans Tower?"
"Soon, maybe tomorrow."
"Alright. Can we go inside now?"
"Sure, I'm going to go and um... talk to the others."
"I'll be in your room, mine is still a little destroyed..."
"That's perfect- or fine..."
"Is there something on your mind?"
"Yeah, but we'll talk later, I'm sure you want to lay down."
"I do...any chance you could carry me to your room?"
"Are you kidding? It feels like my bones will break just from opening the door."
"I could heal them afterwards...If I feel like it."
"Very funny. Go up and lay down, I'll let you rest and check on you in a few hours."
"What are you going to tell the others?"
"I'll figure it out, don't worry about that."
"Okay, then I'll see you later," Raven said.
"Get some rest, Raven," Robin said.
Opening the door, Robin almost jumped when he was greeted by Starfire.
"Robin, Raven, you have to come and see Beast Boy, he is speaking normally again!" Starfire said.
"Really? That's great news, but what made him insane in the first place?" Robin asked.
"We still do not know," Starfire replied.
"I'm going to go and rest, tell me what you find out, Robin," Raven said, creating another portal and walking through it with the chest of books, presumably heading to Robin's room.
"Lead the way, Star," Robin said.
Following Starfire, Robin was still feeling a great deal of pain, and he wondered when his would wear off. He wondered if he should start packing things up while Raven slept, and if he should pack her things without her. Probably not. Part of him wished Raven didn't go and rest yet, he wanted to talk. There was a lot about what happened with Shadow that he didn't understand and he wanted her to explain it. He also wanted to talk to her about what 'eternity' really meant. Along with all of that, he wanted to talk about their relationship at that point. Too much, too fast, really. But it was important. Starfire seemed quiet as Robin followed her up the stairs, which was rare. He didn't know whether to ask what was wrong or just be grateful that she wasn't bombarding him with questions. She didn't say one word until they reached the interrogation room.
"Beast Boy is talking to Terra, he appears to be normal. You can go in and see for yourself. Did you and Raven have a nice lunch?" Starfire asked.
"Yeah, we did. I'll talk with you and the others after I talk to Beast Boy, okay?" Robin asked.
"Okay. I will be in the other room with Cyborg," Starfire said, walking off.
Robin opened the door and glanced at Terra, who was sitting opposite Beast Boy at the table in the center of the room. Closing the door, he walked over to stand next to Terra, looking Beast Boy over carefully.
"Hey Robin. Where's Raven?" Terra asked.
"Resting… So, is he normal?" Robin asked.
"He sure is acting normal," Terra said.
"Yeah, dude, I'm me," Beast Boy said, speaking up.
"But how?" Robin asked.
"I don't know," Beast Boy replied.
"You don't know? You assaulted two members of this team, you didn't respond to calls for assistance, and you almost died from the wounds Raven gave you; you had better have something better than 'I don't know'!" Robin said, angrily. He was tired, sore, and frustrated; he wasn't in the mood for a long interrogation.
"Sorry, dude, but I don't know! I just woke up today and I was fine," Beast Boy said.
"What's going on?" Robin asked aloud.
"I don't know," Beast Boy said.
"Say something else!" Robin said.
"Calm down, Robin," Terra said.
"I can't calm down, because we still don't have a lead," Robin said.
"Nothing like this has happened before, maybe this is a new criminal," Terra suggested.
"Until we know something, he is not leaving this room," Robin said.
"That could be weeks, dude!" Beast Boy complained.
"Sorry, but we can't take any chances," Robin said.
"Does he really have to stay in this room that long?" Terra asked.
"Yes, he does," Robin said.
"I don't think so," Terra said, "I've been talking to him and I think his mind is balanced again."
"We can't chance it this early. If he is still normal a few days from now, maybe he can leave the room, until then, he is staying here," Robin said, making to leave.
"No. Beast Boy isn't staying in here," Terra said.
Stopping short of the door, Robin turned back to speak to Terra.
"Yes he is. Keep him in here. That's an order," Robin said.
"You're not in charge now, I am, you're still out of commission, and I say he doesn't need to be kept in here," Terra said.
"…Is that right? That is a stupid decision. You don't know what was wrong, who caused it, or if it will happen again. Since this has happened twice, we didn't notice him acting crazy until the second time it happened; you're still ready to say it's okay?" Robin said, his voice slowly rising.
"Yeah, I am, I know my friend," Terra said.
"No, you clearly don't," Robin said.
"It isn't your call, it's mine, and if you don't like it, you can leave," Terra said.
"You're putting all of us at risk and at least one of us can't afford that right now," Robin said angrily.
"Raven is tough, she'll be okay. It isn't like she almost died," Terra said, matching Robin's tone.
"Yes…it is," Robin said.
"What? I thought you said she was fine," Terra said.
"There was more going on with her, on top of what Beast Boy did. She has been resting a lot because of that, not because of her wounds," Robin said.
"What's wrong?" Terra asked.
"I'm too tired to explain it all to you right now…" Robin said.
"Wait, why are you tired?" Terra asked.
"She and I weren't out getting lunch; I was helping her get better… I'll talk to you about it later. Just don't let Beast Boy out of this room," Robin said.
"Fine…" Terra said.
"Thank you. I'm going to go and rest in my room for a while, I'll see you later," Robin said, leaving the interrogation room.
"So, you're going to make me stay in here for weeks, huh?" Beast Boy asked.
"…No," Terra said softly.
"I thought you told Robin-," Beast Boy started.
"I did….but he won't know if you spent some time with me late at night watching TV or something," Terra said.
"Thanks, Terra," Beast Boy said.
The door opened and Cyborg walked in with Beast Boy's handheld.
"Sweet!" Beast Boy said, practically drooling when he saw it. Scrambling over, he tried to grab it from Cyborg, who held up out of his reach.
"Uh-uh. What are the magic words?" Cyborg asked.
"Please!" Beast Boy said.
"Nope," Cyborg said.
"Um…thank you?" Beast Boy said.
"Nope," Cyborg said.
"Come on, dude!" Beast Boy pleaded.
"Nope, try again," Cyborg said, grinning.
"I give up…" Beast Boy said.
"They were: new high score! Beat that, soy-face," Cyborg said, tossing him the game. Beast Boy grabbed it and immediately started playing as Terra and Cyborg left the room, closing the door behind them.
Robin headed to his room to get some rest, playing out different things in his mind. After months of little excitement and problems, everything seemed to fly in at once, and they were all ill-prepared for it. What occurred to him was that he had been so occupied with Raven; he hadn't spent any real time trying to figure out what was wrong with Beast Boy. Maybe since Raven was now better, he could devote more time to helping the team, but he wouldn't know where to start. Robin would be leaving with Raven soon; he didn't think he could figure anything out by the time they left. He could ask his friend for some help when they got there, too. As Robin neared his room, his head started to hurt worse, and the closer he got, the more pain he felt. No doubt he was feeling what Raven was sleeping off.
Reaching his door, he quietly entered his room and turned on a small lamp on his desk. He glanced over to his bed, where Raven was laying on top of the covers on her side facing him. Raven had left her cloak sprawled out near the edge of the bed. Her eyes were closed and she was smiling faintly, sleeping soundly. Robin could still make out the fading markings along her body…it still didn't sit well with him that they re-appeared. He would ask her about what exactly happened when she woke up.
Taking off his cape and hanging it up on the door of his closet, he then joined Raven on his bed, carefully lying down next to her. Robin hoped when he awoke, the pain would be gone, but wasn't sure what to expect. So far, Shadow had been right about everything, and had done nothing but help them, without asking for anything real; only for Raven to study some books. Somehow, Raven was alright and he was supposedly immortal now. There had to be some hidden price they had to have paid, right? Something would come up, he just knew it…it was too clean. There had to be more…
"How are you feeling?" Robin asked.
Raven had just opened her eyes, finding Robin lying beside her; practically staring at her. Immediately, she noticed the absence of pain, and a clarity she hadn't had in months. Everything seemed sharper, her reactions more controlled, and her thoughts screamed across her mind quicker than she imagined they could.
"Much better. And you?" Raven asked, sitting up.
"I feel fine…confused, too," Robin said, rising with her.
"You want to know what exactly happened and what will happen, right?" Raven asked.
"Yeah. Can you tell me what Shadow meant by 'eternity'?" Robin asked.
"Well…as long as time exists, so will we. This power is demonic…you were made half-demon by that spell. Actually, you were molded into half of my half… That was the part that was missing. Our souls are immortal, but our bodies and minds are not. When these die, we will have to essentially…copy ourselves and start over. You remember how you found me when my father returned after I opened the portal? We will not have our memories and we will be children, again," Raven explained.
"So, I won't remember you or how I lived with you?" Robin asked.
"No. We have to prepare for that before our bodies die. There are ways to choose where we return and things we have left behind don't leave with us. So, we will teach ourselves what we knew. It's important, otherwise we have no way of knowing that we would need to stay near each other," Raven said.
"But there has to be some sort of price we have to pay, though, isn't there?"
"There is…every time it happens, it will take longer to 'copy' ourselves. And we will have to stay together. You might like the 'me' you know now, but the new Raven could learn to act in a different way than I do, and the same could be said for you."
"What if, when we've died so many times, that it takes us too long to come back before what we've left to teach ourselves is gone?"
"That is a risk we'll have to take, but I know ways we could preserve those things to last forever. There might even be more information in my mother's old books."
"Okay…uh," Robin said, nervously searching for the right way to ask his next question.
"Ask whatever you want to, no matter what it is, I want to make sure you understand this…" Raven said, re-assuring him.
"Right. I'm not saying I want to now, but if we think we might want kids…how does this affect them?" Robin asked.
"Oh…They will have the same blood, so they will have this ability, but…I don't think we should have any… It's hard enough for me to control my own emotions, I have no idea how I could manage someone else's as well as I manage mine. Also, it's possible that they could cause a great deal of damage to others if they wanted to…"
"Umm…I guess that makes sense, but you don't want to be more intimate in the future?"
"No, I probably will, that doesn't mean it would have to result in kids."
"Okay…"
"You're not disappointed, are you?"
"Maybe a little... I'll get past it, though."
"I'd love to be able to choose for them not to have my powers, but it just isn't possible."
"No, I understand."
"Good. Is there anything else you want to know?"
"About this link…how far away can I physically be from you before it starts to affect us?"
"I'm not completely sure...maybe a city or two away at best."
"Can you find out for sure?"
"I can. I know Shadow said we should stay as close as being in the same building at least, for a while."
"Alright."
"Is that all you want to know?"
"For now, I guess."
"Good… So how long did I sleep for?"
"Four hours or so, it is night-time now. I slept for about three."
"And how is Beast Boy?"
"He's back to normal… I can't figure out why, and if it's for good or not."
"You'll figure it out, you always do."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome…So…can I go and swim now?"
"In a minute, I want to tell you something, first," he said.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I don't want you to feel like you need to push yourself to do something you're not ready to just because of what happened today."
"I wouldn't feel that way because of that, I would feel that way because you helped me by doing what you did. I would feel that way because you risked something for me. I'm trying to pace this as much as you are, but when we feel like we have paced ourselves enough, we need to talk about it."
"Right. I just wanted to make sure you knew how I felt," he said, smiling.
"You already have," she said, giving him a small smile, "you have made my mind…and my life whole again."
Raven put her arms around Robin, embracing him. "Thank you," she said, holding him tight.
"I would do anything for you," Robin said, smiling, returning her hug, and kissing her neck.
(I am behind on my writing schedule due to some real-life events, so chapter 14 will be up two weeks from now instead of one. Editing takes time, as does drafting new chapter events and the connections between them. I am also dreaming up another story to write after this one is finished, still fishing for ideas there. But don't worry, two weeks will go by quickly. As kind of a hint, Chapter 14 will be titled 'Red Water,' simple, fitting, and not entirely what it seems...I hope you are looking forward to it! Until then. ~RavensMind~)