(AN, You people are amazing. Have I said that already? Tehe. There are some things that I think should be cleared up. 1. The water spouts from the previous chapter were just Raven's powers reacting to Robin's…closeness. 2. There will not be a lot, if any, romance in the next few chapters (I think), because there was a LOT in the last chapter, and events are about to take place, pushing romance from any of the titan's minds. 3. Even though the water spouts were not part of the plot, other very minor things were, and I think you may have missed them. But I will not tell you what they are for I am evil XD Mwahahaha! Lol, jk, Angels can't have evil Messengers, that's just silly. Again, special thanks to fireflight33, for making me feel waaaay better about the last chapter, and Moving Mountains for the great constructive criticism. And everyone else! But this is getting way too long, so…)
Third person; Continued
"I do not wish to interrupt, but there is a…situation," Starfire said from the doorway to the roof. Raven and Robin broke apart immediately, blushing deeply.
"A…uh, situation?" Robin asked.
"Yes, your assistance is needed greatly," Starfire said. She led them to the main entrance of the tower. Beast Boy and Cyborg were standing in front of five hooded figures. Raven stopped in her tracks. Their hoods were white except for the man in the middle, who wore one of deep crimson. Their heads were bent to where you couldn't see their faces, their hands hidden in the sleeves of their robes. Raven recognized them as the Magistrates of Azarath. They were also the men who had conceived the prophecy of her birth. Upon her arriving they looked up.
"Ah, Raven…" the man in the front said.
"High Magistrate Coman, Tynan, Juris, Theron, Galya, " Raven nodded. "What has happened?" She looked among them closer. "Where is my mother?" they all looked at the ground again.
"Young Raven…Arella and Azarath…have fallen," the man who was Coman said in a broken tone.
"No, NO!" Raven yelled falling to her knees. Robin knelt down beside her, and hugged her, whispering to her softly. The foundation began to shake, and Raven threw Robin's arms from her, and shot up straight through the ceiling, into her bedroom. Two flasks of sand poured out a circle on her floor, and already lit candles arranged themselves around the circle. She sat cross legged in the in the middle of it.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Carazon Rakashas Endere...Vaserix Endrien Azarath...Azarath, Azarath!"she chanted with building intensity. During the second part of the incantation, flecks of bluish light began to pop from the ring of sand and form into a cylindrical barrier that reached all the way to the ceiling. On the third part, she floated clear of the floor and opened her eyes, which now were glowing brilliant white, and looked up to see a newly opened, swirling vortex in the tiles overhead. A few loose scraps of paper were flying past as Raven was pulled up into the portal, and with a blinding flash the sheet of light disintegrated into flickering shreds at floor and ceiling before the portal sealed itself. The Titan's rushed into the room a moment too late.
"She has returned to What Was Once Azarath," Coman said.
Third person; Raven's Journey
Raven was flying through the cylindrical portal, towards a large circular pattern traced in pink light-arcs and triangles at the center, with runes inscribed around the perimeter. The inner and outer portions rotated slowly in opposite directions. Raven backed up a bit , then charged headlong towards the display. When she was nearly close enough to touch it, a flare of light brought her up short and she strained as if trying to push through a barrier. The gem on her fore head was glowing bright red. She let out a yell of frustration at not being able to enter, and pushed that much hard. In a bright flash of white light she broke the seal, and found her self standing before a startlingly familiar. A bird circled high above the ruins of the abandoned city, the sun had just set, and the sky was blood red. She fell down onto one knee at the overpowering memory of her vision.
She stood up and began to make her way towards the ruins of her birthplace.
Third person; Back at the Tower
"Please, join us in our living room while we await Raven's return," Starfire said warmly to the magistrates. They went back down stairs, but once they were in the living room they stood there awkwardly.
"When Raven greeted you," Robin began. "She seemed to regard you…coldly. Why is that? I'm sorry if I'm prying."
"No, not at all young man. Raven, it seems, reserves a certain dislike for our presence. We feel that she resents us for her…up bringing," he said with a slight grimace. "Understand that we treated Raven, kindly, even though we knew what she was destined to do. Azar, the beloved leader of Azarath, took it upon herself to personally raise Raven. We were Azar's advisers, and council. We soon became aware that Raven could sense and manipulate the emotions of people around her, and realized that the only way to safeguard the child was to deny her the ability to feel any emotion.
"We told Azar this, and she objected at first, but soon witnessed first hand the effect the child's emotions had, and she did as we advised. We also advised that the child not have a familial connection with her mother. Though, after witnessing her behavior and impulsive actions today, we see that our efforts were wasted," he said in an irritated after thought. Several of the titans had half the mind to say something about the comment, but thought better of it. "Raven found out shortly before the death of Azar that we were the reason she had no connection with her mother, or feelings whatsoever really. That's when she became cold to our presence. That's also when, we believe, her father's presence started to manifest within her.
"One day, shortly after Azar died, Raven opened the Great Door, and encountered her father for the first time. This meeting prompted Raven to manifest her soul self for the very first time - that part of herself that was of her father. Realizing the danger that Trigon truly represented, Raven left Azarath and fled to Earth, and we believed that the prophecy would soon begin. It was several years before she returned to Azarath and we were stunned to see her again. She begged her mother and the other priests for help, claiming she did not wish to assist her father. No help could be given and she returned here," Coman finished.
"You denied a child the God given right of emotions?" Cyborg asked, outraged. A protective, older brother feeling coursed through his blood. Coman looked at him, his expression practically bored.
"As I said, we did what was best for the child, though she does not seem to realize that now," he said in a very familiar monotone. "From the very moment that Raven was born, the entire reality of Azarath changed forever. It's emerald skies turned black as death itself. The sweet smell of Gossamer became the pungent odor of Brimstone. Our world shook and rumbled with protest. And peace turned to fear. Life became death. We knew we had to be careful with how she was raised, eliminating emotion was crucial," Coman said. Cyborg fumed, but refrained from saying anything else. Starfire was also distinctly infuriated, but knew to keep her mouth shut, not wanting to offend their 'guests'.
Third person; Raven's Journey
Raven walked through the ruins, looking for any sign of life. 'What caused this?' she asked herself. The marble streets were scorched, cracked and covered in ash. The golden columns that accented the building were collapsed and tarnished. Smoke was still rising here and there, though she saw no bodies. She suddenly saw a shadow flash by the end of the alley she was walking down.
"Wait!" she called out, her voice echoing eerily in the empty city. She saw the shadow again, down another alley way to her left, and she followed it. She ultimately ended up standing in front of the Great Door, which was totally untouched by the destruction.
"You will always have my love," a voice whispered. Raven fell backwards, and started to scoot back from the door, looking around for the voices origin. She saw no one, but as she looked up to see a pure white dove fly from one of the temple rafters.
"Mother…"Raven whispered, letting out a solitary sob. She stood up then, and wiped the dust and ash off of her. "Who did this?" she asked aloud. She left the temple and went to explore the rest of the city. 'There's no one here,' she thought. 'No civilians, no monks or priests, no-' and then it hit her.
Third person; Back the tower
"Where exactly is Azarath anyway?" Beast Boy asked, trying to ease the tension in the room.
"Azarath was an inter-dimensional realm that existed between the planes of known reality. It was once a veritable paradise with blue-green skies and crimson clouds. The streets were paved in solid marble and the buildings were accented with columns of pure gold," Coman said.
"Oh…" Beast Boy trailed off at the overload of information.
"And, pray tell, Coman. Where were you and the other magistrates when Azarath fell?" Raven's voice came from the doorway, and everyone looked around to see her standing there, floating inches above the ground, she held her hands slightly away from her sides, and they were engulfed in the black flame of her powers. Her cloak billowed out behind her, and her eyes were glowing brilliantly. Coman opened his mouth, but came up short. "That's what I thought," she said, her voice full of rage. She opened her mouth and let out a horrible screech, her arms flew up and faced the five old men. Her black aura shot from her hands, eyes, and mouth. The man called Tynan stood, and extended one hand, and a red shield erupted from his palm, protecting him and the other priests. Raven stopped her attack.
"Did Trigon give you those powers, Tynan?" she asked, momentarily distracted. "What did he promise you, huh? Power, immortality? What? What could he give you that was so great that you broke Azarath's most sacred law? Because what ever it was, he will not give it to you, he lied."
"He promised us nothing," Coman answered.
"Then why? Why are you doing this? Why did you destroy the city?"
"Why did you betray your father? It is him you get your powers from, not your worthless human mother. You-" Raven attacked again, but they merely stood there, a red shield protecting them all again. "That part of you, that you use to battle petty thieves, is of your father. You should be thanking your father, helping him in his quest to conquer all. The Prophecy was not fulfilled and there will be consequences," Coman continued. Suddenly a part of the shield branched out and took hold of Robin. Raven stopped attacking immediately.
"Let him go," she said, her tone deadly.
"Yes, Raven, let the rage consume you. Become your father's daughter."
"NO!" she yelled furiously, attacking the shield again. It began to crack at the ferocity of her powers.
"We'll see you soon, Young Raven," Coman said, and in a whirl of red, they vanished.
"Robin!" She and the other titans yelled. "No, no!" Raven yelled. She dropped to the ground, her thoughts racing.
"You three stay here. Search for him, but don't leave the tower. We are all in grave danger, and I cannot take you with me," she said to them.
"Where are you going?" Cyborg asked.
"To find Robin."
"We will come with you then," Starfire said firmly.
"No. Star, you can't. I don't know where I'm going and I don't want to lose you. As second in command, I'm ordering you to stay here," Raven said with a note of finality.
"How will we reach you?" Starfire asked, worried.
"I don't know if my communicator will work wherever they are, and I don't know when I'll be back. Your just going to have to keep hope," and with that she disappeared in her own swirl of black energy.
* * *
"J'onn, where is Dr. Fate?" the Martian Man Hunter whirled around in his chair at the voice.
"Ah, Raven. It is good to see you again. What is wrong?"
"I need to see Dr. Fate, now," said the panicking telepath.
"Dr. Fate is not a member of the League, I can't summon him here if he does not wish to come," J'onn said.
"Say please," she said, becoming impatient. J'onn nodded and hit a button on the control panel in front of him.
"Dr. Fate? Dr. Fate are you there?"
"I am here J'onn. What is the problem?" Dr. Fate asked, his face appearing on the large screen that acted as a window to the teleporter dock.
"There is an emergency involving the Titans, one of them wishes to speak with you. Are you able meet with her?" J'onn asked.
"Which Titan?" Fate asked.
"The young telekinetic. Raven."
"I'm on my way," he said, and his face disappeared from the screen, and the man himself appeared in the room. "What has happened, young hero?" he asked Raven upon seeing her.
"Are you aware that Azarath has fallen?" she asked. There was an audible intake of breath from both the Martian and Dr. Fate.
"Has Trigon returned?" Fate asked.
"No, not yet. The Magistrates have gone off the deep end and are scheming to bring him back to this dimension…they took Robin," she finished, looking at the ground.
"They have Robin?" a new voice issued from the door. Raven turned around to see the Dark Knight standing there.
"Yes…I'm sorry," she said. He nodded and she turned back to Dr. Fate. "I need you to trace his psyche, so I can save him, and bring down the Magistrates before they find a way to bring back Trigon…if you can," she said to Fate.
"Of course," he said. He began to glow with an odd gold light. He stood there for a moment until looking back at Raven. "Robin is in the nether-realms," he said in a hushed voice. Raven hung her head, for a moment then looked back up, her eyes fierce.
"Thank you Dr. Fate. I will go," she said. "I have told the other three Titan's to remain at the tower, but I do not know if they will listen to me," she said, looking at J'onn.
"We will keep an eye on them," J'onn promised.
"And I will monitor your journey. I believe that I may be able to help you somewhat, but do not rely on my assistance, because I am not entirely sure," Fate said. Raven nodded, and he returned to his home.
"Good luck, kid," Batman said from the door.
"Thank you," she said to him. He nodded, and she raised her arms in the air, pure white energy engulfing her.
She opened her eyes and found her self standing in front of the Great Door. She took a deep breath and opened it. She was sucked into the swirling mass of dark energy, and the door slammed shut behind her.
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AN, Okay, before you flame me for my inaccuracies and being a noob, I KNOW that this is not how Azarath fell. I know that the High Magistrate Coman was not and evil man, nor did he advise Azar. I know that Juris was the High Magistrate of Food Production and he is dead, and I know that he died by trying to throw infant Raven into the nether-realm and Trigon killed him and left Raven totally unharmed. I know that Galya was Raven's woman nursemaid. I know that Theron was just a civilian of Azarath who had given Raven an injured dove when she was ten and watched as the young empath used her powers to absorb the bird's injuries, granting it renewed life. I know that Tynan was and Azrathian man who had alerted High Magistrate Coman that Azar was dying. And I know that my depiction of the nether-real is going to be completely inaccurate compared to the comics. I apologize for all of this, but in order for my story to work I had to change a few things. On a happier note, Arella (this is her Azrathian name, originally she was a depressed woman from Gotham named Angela Roth) means Messenger Angel! =D which makes me happy, and now I feel some weird connection to the woman for some strange reason. Lol. I'm not going to bother asking for reviews…though I kind of just did. XD