"He tricked the Curatorians into taking him in?" Raven frowned as Defria briefed her about her competitor's every action in the past eleven hours.
"Your plan backfired Raven." Edwindan stated. "You wanted the Curatorians to destroy him but instead they've taken him in to protect him. Great work." He added sarcastically.
"Guess you didn't think this one through." Devia shook her head.
"I did think this through, that's why I don't care what the Curatorians do." Raven replied. She could sense the confidence that the demons had in her slipping and she knew she had to prove herself to be a leader with foresight in order to retain their loyalty. "If they saw him as a threat and killed him, that would've been good for me. All the spheres would automatically be mine. But even though they've taken him in to protect him, it's still good for me as well because once the Curatorians take in someone to protect, they are not allowed to leave. Seigon won't be able to leave that place which means he won't be able to contend with me for the rest of the spheres. Since Robin was able to leave for some reason, the Curatorians will watch over the remaining few even more closely. There's no way he's getting out of that place to blackmail me. He can do whatever he wants to the titans up there for all I care but he won't be able to leave. That means that I'm practically guaranteed the rest of the spheres. Now, who wants to keep questioning my judgement?" She snapped.
"Not me." Defria said quickly.
"Your judgement is sound." Devia said humbly.
"I'm going out to win the next sphere." Raven announced. "Watch over your brother Brutus for me! Make sure he doesn't cause any trouble." She warned before stalking out, leaving the demons staring at her in admiration.
"She has a devious mind." Edwindan commented.
"She's going to be our greatest ruler yet." Devia said quietly.
"She will eclipse her father." Echoed Defria.
"And all who fall in her path." Devia finished with a devilish smile.
Beast Boy stood unmoving, watching Slade out of the corner of his eye. Every fiber in his being was being compressed into a loaded spring that threatened to explode forth at any moment. The most innate emotions of his heart tore at his mind, but perhaps the most powerful one of was the feeling of betrayal. He had lived in Curatoria all this time thinking that this was a place of safety and sanctity only to find that even a fortress of goodness could be penetrated by the greatest villain he had ever known. He mentally kicked himself for trusting so much in the Curatorians that he failed to be vigilant. However, he was not a person of deep thought and intricate philosophy. That was Raven's forte. He was a man of action and he was determined to get out of the situation as quickly as he could. He did not want to start a fight and alienate the titans from the Curatorians. Twirling around, he walked past Slade and headed for the room where he knew the rest of the titans had gathered.
Suddenly, a heavy hand come down hard on his shoulder with a resounding smack. In panic, Beast Boy grabbed Slade's arm and flipped him over; a move he had learned from Robin. Slade landed on the ground with a thud but in his rapid descent, he pulled Beast Boy down with him. Beast Boy turned his head just in time to see Slade clench his fist and raise his arm. Expecting a blow, he elbowed Slade hard in his chest before morphing into a hagfish and wriggling out of Slade's grasp. Before he could try to flee in the form of a Cheetah, Slade sprang to his feet and twisted his body in manner that Beast Boy instantly recognized as the move that Robin always did before executing a flying back kick. Hastily, he morphed into a ram and charged at Slade, ramming him hard into the nearest wall. Suddenly, he found himself enclosed in a glowing whip and looked up to find himself face to face with a seething Aurora.
"I can explain!" He cried the moment he morphed back into his human form.
"No, you can't." Choked Slade as he pretended to cough and gag.
"You put your hand on my shoulder!" Cried Beast Boy as he shook in fury.
"I just wanted to talk to you but you walked away, so I did it to get your attention." Slade doubled over and clutched at his chest.
"Are you kidding me?" Beast Boy screeched.
"He attacked me." Slade groaned as a crowd of sympathetic onlookers gathered.
"Take Gordon to the scholars." Aurora ordered another Curatorian who had arrived on the scene. "I will take care of this criminal."
"Wait! Ya can't just take him away like that!" Cried Cyborg indignantly as he dashed forward from the crowd.
"Yes, I can." Growled the warrior before lifting Beast Boy up as though he were a feather and sprinting off with him.
"Where are you taking me?" Cried Beast Boy as Aurora hauled him down a dark flight of stairs that was illuminated by nothing but the glowing whip that bound him.
"To prison." Aurora brought him into a dark room with cold marble walls and tossed him into an equally cold stone chair.
"Prison?" Beast Boy screeched. "Are you serious? I was defending myself! Do you have any idea who he is?" He practically shouted.
"You will get a chance to defend yourself properly before the council. But for now, I am required by the laws of Curatoria to lock you in here." Aurora said in a gruff voice as another Curatorian came in and bound his wrists with glowing bands of light that strongly resembled Aurora's whip.
"Aurora, please hear me out." Begged Beast Boy as she led him down a long hallway of cells.
"There is nothing to hear." The Curatorian growled. "I saw what you did."
"Please Aurora!" Beast Boy begged in his special pleading voice that often grated Raven's nerves in the past. "You've known us titans all this while and we've never caused any trouble or anything! Now this guy just comes in here for a day and we all have problem with him! All the others recognized him the moment they saw him! Please Aurora! At least hear what I have to say?" He searched her face pleadingly but Aurora was looking at the ceiling.
"Speak." She said harshly after a few moments of thought. Beast Boy immediately pounced on the unexpected opportunity.
"That guy that I just fought with, his real name is Slade! He's been terrorizing us for years and it is because of him that we are here! He's the guy you've been trying to protect us from this whole time! Just ask the other titans and they will tell you the same thing!" Aurora remained silent for a moment as she thought through what Beast Boy had said. "He's caused us more suffering than all the other villains put together! He tried to kill us all! You have to trust me Aurora, this guy is the real villain!"
"I trust you." Aurora said finally as they stopped in front of a particular cell. As Aurora opened the door, the glowing bands fell off his wrists.
"You do? You do!" Beast Boy heaved a sigh of relief.
"And so do I." This time, he whirled around in panic to see another Curatorian standing in the hallway. She resembled Aurora in terms of attire but she looked far more innocent and delicate. She was dressed like a warrior but she did not have the same build and height like the rest of the warriors did.
"This is Ausatia." Aurora said softly. "She's the trainee warrior that I'm mentoring. We brought Gordon here together."
"Gorden? He-he introduced himself as Gordon?" Beast Boy sputtered in disbelief.
"Yes, he did." Aurora said grimly. "When we first found him being attacked by a demon, we sensed that something was not right. However, we are bound by law to help those who are abused by demons, so we did. The scholars evaluated him and determined that he was of no threat but somehow, we don't really agree with their assessment."
"I completely disagree with their assessment!" Yelled Beast Boy indignantly.
"Would you keep it down?" Aurora glared at him.
"Sorry." Beast Boy looked at the floor sheepishly. "So what's gonna happen to me?" He asked almost timidly. The cold, foreboding cells brought back unwanted memories of Slade's torture chambers.
"Like I said, you'll get a chance to tell the council everything that you told us." Aurora replied.
"But will they believe me?" Beast Boy asked.
"No, they won't." Aurora sighed.
"What?" Beast Boy screeched. "But I'm the one telling the truth here! I'm the good guy here! This isn't supposed to happen! I'm the good guy in the good people's land and I'm the one in prison while the bad guy walks free?"
"Shhhh! I told you to keep it down." Aurora hissed. "They'll never believe you because they can't!" A stunned silence was birthed in that instant as the air became instantaneously electrified.
"Why can't they believe me?" Beast Boy demanded tersely.
"Because you extinguished the light." Aurora said brokenly. Seeing Beast Boy's confused expression, she sought to provide an explanation that he could comprehend. "We Curatorians are rather similar to the people of Azarath, only they were very peace loving while we Curatorians actively pursued and eradicated evil." Having led Beast Boy to his cell, she motioned for him to take a seat. "All powers require a source, just like Raven's powers come from Trigon, our powers come from the light. It's a source of pure energy that is an exact opposite of Raven's dark energy. Our leader Grandis and his family chanced upon this light while on their travels and having purified and concentrated it, he turned it into a glowing orb that now rests high above Curatoria. It provides us with physical light and rejuvenates our powers. Because it is so pure, any crimes committed within this place corrupts the light and causes it to wane. This waning is gradual but we're already in trouble because the light acts as a protection from demons. The moment they see that Curatoria is shrouded in darkness, they will attack as retribution for all we have done to fight them." Aurora stopped speaking and stared at the floor.
Beast Boy stared at the two in horror as the true magnitude of his actions sank in. He had been in trouble many times before but they all seemed like little things compared to this. The shaken titan took several deep breaths as he cradled his head in his hands. Suddenly, he leapt to his feet and landed a solid punch on the wall.
"How could I have been so stupid? How could I have let Slade get to me again?" He yelled as he brutally abused the wall with a torrent of punches.
"Beast Boy! Stop it!" Aurora grabbed his wrists from behind and effortlessly restrained him. "If you want us to help you, you have to keep it together and zip it!"
"At least tell me what's going to happen to me!" He protested. "If the council can't believe me how are they going to punish me?"
"They'll make you pay for it with your life." Ausatia's voice chilled him to the core.
"With my life?" Beast Boy gasped as he broke out into a cold sweat. Throughout his life, he had experienced many types of fear at many different levels. There was the type of fear induced by the horror movies that Raven loved so much, the fear of retribution when he had just played a prank on Raven, the nagging fear of injury while battling villains and of course the acute fear of death. However, the new fear that he now experienced was different from all the others. He feared for his life now; he feared the forces of justice.
"But they probably don't want your life." Ausatia continued thoughtfully. "You're too insignificant. Even if you paid for what you did with your life, it may not be enough to purify the light. You almost killed Gordon. No, your life will probably not be enough."
"Then whose life will be enough?" Beast Boy demanded in a rather sarcastic tone. In his heart, he never expected a response from them, nor did he expect them to have one.
"Raven's life." Aurora and Ausatia spoke in unison.
"No!" Beast Boy's reaction was so sudden that the two Curatorians were taken aback. "Never! There's no way I'm ever going to let her pay for what I've done! I'd rather suffer for the rest of eternity than to let the council kill her! I'd rather swim in lava, or starve to death next to a table of food or -"
"- Beast Boy! No one can ever kill Raven!" Aurora protested as the raving titan stormed around the cell.
"I'm not going to even let them try!" He hollered, punching the wall once more for emphasis.
"Listen to me!" Aurora said sternly. "Nobody can hurt Raven! Trigon has given her so much power and so many abilities that killing her is essentially impossible! On top of that, she's made herself even more powerful by acquiring more abilities through her own cunning and merit. The only one who can defeat Raven is Raven. Only if she lays down her life willingly will she ever lose it. The council will probably give you a guilty verdict and send a messenger to tell her what happened. She'll then be given a choice as to whether she's willing to lay down her life for you. If she isn't, then we'll just have to force you to spend the rest of your life paying penitence to keep the light shining."
"Skip to the second one! Skip Raven! Don't even let her know about this! I'll pay the price for my own actions!" Beast Boy's voice rang with conviction.
"Beast Boy!" Aurora hissed. "Don't be stupid!"
"Wha-?" Beast Boy had never expected such a word to be in Aurora's vocabulary.
"You've been penned up in Curatoria for a pretty long time so you don't know what's happening on the outside. But I do." Aurora crossed her arms. "Raven has been battling her so called brother for control over the demonic world and from what I've seen, her cunning is unparalleled. She is not someone who will willingly lay down her life, but she is someone who knows how to act as though she is doing it. Beast Boy, I know you love her. We all do. You've made it pretty obvious. When you love somebody, you need to trust that person to come through for you when you need it. Raven has demonstrated that she is capable of doing that, you just need to trust her and let nature take its course. You keep trying to protect her and you defend her every chance you get. Now is the time to let her step up to defend you because relationships involve both giving and taking."
"I don't want her to get hurt." Beast Boy glared defiantly at the wall. "I don't want her to suffer for me."
"Let me ask you a question Beast Boy. Are you willing to suffer for Raven? Would you want to suffer if you knew that your suffering would bring better things for her?" Ausatia's soft voice wafted through the air.
"Yes." Beast Boy replied with a calm certainty.
"Then what makes you think that she doesn't want to do the same?" Ausatia tilted her head to one side and eyed the confused titan. Having planted this thought in his head, she quietly took her leave with Aurora. As the heavy prison gate slammed shut, Beast Boy slumped to the floor, lost in his own thoughts.
"Are you sure that assuring Beast Boy that Raven will take the fall for him is a good idea?" Ausatia asked Aurora nervously. "What if she really does pull something off to avoid giving her life fairly? We may never restore the light to its original purity."
"I did that to prevent him from saying anything dumb to the council. Didn't you see that he was dead set on making sure nothing happened to Raven? The council will target Raven. They always have and they always will. In order to protect her, Beast Boy is going to shift the blame to himself and make his crime sound worse than it actually is. He could end up implicating all the other titans as well."
"Why would you want to protect them? These are our own people here. If the light isn't restored to it's original glory, you will be affected too!" Ausatia exclaimed.
"Because its my duty." Aurora replied quietly. "I was tasked to protect these titans and I swore to give everything - even my life - for them. You've not been to any trials Ausatia, you don't know how they are conducted. When Beast Boy testifies that Gordon is actually someone called 'Slade', the other titans will be questioned and made to clarify if what he said is true. Since they probably will, the council will believe that they all conspired to hurt Gordon. All four of them could end up paying for it with their lives and you know as well as I do that the other three are innocent. If Raven doesn't step in to do something, their fates are all but sealed."
"But if Raven does something underhanded our fates are sealed too." Ausatia reminded her.
"She can't. The Stone of Azarath will stop glowing when Raven gives up her life. If she doesn't play fair, we'll know it." Aurora said confidently. "Come on. We're almost late for the assembly of the warriors. Grandis wants to address us."
The moonlight gently caressed the face of the Earth as a certain demon queen fixated her eyes on the bookshelf before her. Her head throbbed and her heart ached for Beast Boy. She had always endeavoured to protect him but despite her efforts, he was now in danger in the midst of a safe haven. Grandis had made it very clear to Azar that unless Raven gave up her life, Beast Boy would be doomed to lose his. There was no evading it; the case was so clear cut that he was convicted of attempted murder even without a trial. Grandis had even brought up the Stone of Azarath to warn her that there was no way to cheat death. It was either her life, or his.
"This is so unfair!" Raven fumed. "They didn't even give him a chance to defend himself! I expected Slade to try something but I didn't expect this would happen! What happened to justice? Or fairness? I shouldn't have trusted the Curatorians so much!" Mentally kicking herself for her lack of foresight, Raven stormed to her meditation room to clear her thoughts. "If I go to Curatoria now to give my life for Beast Boy, I'll have to act like I'm an angel or else they won't believe that I'm sincere and they won't release him. But if I do that, the demons will know that I am actually good and they will follow Slade! And that's exactly what he wants - control over the Improbus Daemonium. Slade is going to wreck havoc with the demons under his control!" Raven clenched her fists as she paced around the dark, silent room. "Okay Raven, focus. All you need to do is to make the Curatorians think you are pure and good while making the demons think you are the most evil being in the universe. You have to make the Curatorians think you're dead by cheating the Stone of Azarath while making the demons think that you're alive and fighting for the rest of the spheres. It's okay Raven, that's all you need to do. You just have to be completely good and completely evil and totally alive and so very dead all at the same time." At the end of her own pep talk, the mistress of trickery sank to her knees, her heart shedding tears for her eyes that were forced to remain dry.