After Jinx managed to calm Raven down, the sorceress found the gazes of her fellow Titans burning holes into her from all around. There was no way they were going to let her go without explaining herself. The things I do for love and friendship, she thought sourly to herself.
"Alright," she finally caved, "I'll tell you all about my nightmare. I warn you, though, it's not going to make any of you feel better." They all were immediately sat at the kitchen table with her, gazing at her expectantly - Save for Jinx, who was flipping through the TV channels. "Yeah, thanks Jinx, you're a true friend through and through," Raven sniped her way. The pinkette just stopped on some anime channel and focused on the TV. With a sigh, Raven began explaining her nightmare.
It didn't take a long time to detail it, but by the time she was finished, all of the other girls looked incredibly saddened - Especially Starfire, which caused a twinge of regret in Raven's chest. "So...Yeah," she finished lamely. "That's the long and short of my nightmare. I don't know what it could mean, except that my powers of empathy could be reacting to something. I'd prefer not to talk about it anymore." At that moment, Jinx gave a whoop of approval from the hero of her current show punching the bad guy straight into the ground. "Jinx, seriously." Raven tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear and opened her book again.
Once Raven was done explaining, the other girls left her vicinity. Raven was quite glad for that. She appreciated them trying to help, but this was the kind of thing that the gloomy girl seriously doubted they could actually give her assistance with understanding. What was confusing her now was the location of this particular book, right in the kitchen. It was a book Raven had gotten from an alien spellcaster the Teen Titans had saved from a bounty hunter, and detailed the nature of dreams and nightmares. What perplexed her was that it had been sitting out on the kitchen counter, when Raven plainly remembered tucking it into her shelf for later reading.
No matter, she thought to herself, opening it back to her last page and removing the bookmark. At least it's here when I need it. She flipped through until she reached a portion of the second half - Devoted to nightmares, whereas the first half had been entirely focused on other dreams - And thumbed through until she found what she was looking for. "'Regarding the Recently Deceased in Nightmares'," Raven murmured to herself. Peeking around, she saw that no one had heard her. Nodding to herself, she continued reading.
It detailed a lot of things. A lot of complicated things, which even Raven had to go back over in her mind a couple of times to grasp, in a few instances. However, she was getting the gist of it. In the end, though, she found with significant annoyance that this book was intended for the mindset of an entirely different race. Raven was close enough to human that she couldn't make any use of it; none of the concepts in the book, whether she could understand them or not, were meant for someone outside of the author's own kind. When it mentioned six lobes in the brain, Raven closed the book quietly, set it down, and gave a facepalm.
By the time she'd lifted her face from her hand, she found that all of the others had left. On the back of the couch was a note, in curvy letters and magenta ink: Gone to play volleyball! Join us if you want Ray-Ray! Crumpling the note up, Raven tossed it into the trashcan. Going over to sit in front of the huge windows, Raven folded her legs, curled her fingers, and began to hover in place. Chanting under her breath, she did her best to ignore that foreboding feeling.
For a long time, she was successful. That feeling of dread was soon expelled from her, and Raven was able to meditate in peace. Her breathing calmed, her heartbeat slowed, and her mind was wiped of all concerns. She was tuned into everything and nothing at once. No single thoughts, no emotional dischord. She was truly calm, and devoid of worries. In time, Raven could feel her soul melding with the cosmic forces. As abstract as it sounded, it was simple - It was like the Universe itself had a soul, and Raven's soul was becoming intertwined with that great pulse of life and light. It was a truly, truly wonderful feeling, and one that Raven wouldn't surrender for anything in the world. At last, she felt like she was getting over the lingering disruption in her mental state.
Then, she heard a noise. A horrible, truly horrible noise. A noise like millions of tiny little teeth, gnawing on the Earth itself. Raven's eyes flew open, but there was nothing around her. Yet, it sounded like it was coming from outside...Way outside. Phasing through the window, Raven looked out at the horizon, just past the edges of Jump City's harbor. Unsure as to why she was so drawn, Raven exerted her soul self and traveled as fast as she could to the location she could hear the sound from.
She immediately wished she hadn't. All over the ground was a carpet of wriggling blackness, which, as Raven discovered through her magic, consisted of a legion of tiny creatures. Their sheer hunger shocked her. Their desire to obliderate and bring ruin was like few things she'd ever seen. As she looked up, by chance, Raven saw that the sky was turning pitch black. It started off as tiny, cold, black droplets, then a drizzle, before soon, down came a torrent of inky black goo, frigid cold. It robbed Raven of her breath, and left her with the most horrible feeling in the world - The feeling that she was witnessing something she had no control over, and could do nothing to abate.
At that moment, Raven's powers left her. With a scream, she fell down from the sky, landing in the midst of the squirming black creatures. Like little millipedes with razor-sharp legs, they crawled all over Raven, scratching at her and soon drawing blood. Her cape and leotard were no protection, and soon, they were drawing close to bone...
... ... ...
Raven's eyes flew open, and she gave a raspy wheeze. It was now late morning, and she was laying curled up on the floor. Looking around, she saw that none of the girls were back, still. She was beginning to feel sick from worry, when laughter broke out in the nearby hallway. The other four walked in, Cheshire silently tossing the volleyball up and down, Kole and Starfire giggling at something Jinx had apparently said.
For the time being, Raven decided that she wouldn't tell the others about this latest nightmare.
Jinx gave her a curious glance, but said nothing of the pale look on Raven's face.