Chapter 36 Needing Rest

Man. Walking wasn't anywhere close to getting easier for Raven. Her feet stung, literally stung. Although she couldn't see them with her shoes on, she felt really really really scared over what her feet might look like. Were they bright red? Were they covered in sores? Probably, because right now, Raven was just two steps away from throwing up her hands, procuring a rusty saw out of thin air, and sawing her feet off. She never wanted to walk again. She didn't even want to hear the word "walking," as right now, all her rage and discomfort were targeted toward her feet and the damage they were causing her.

She stopped, more so to protect her own well being and sanity than to actually catch her breath. Raven looked over at her, and for a second, Raven debated whether this was a good choice. They were still on the run, still making their way through a city so foreign to her, all while a ferocious, deadly demon was hot on their trail. She knew that her pathetic baby feet feeling slightly sore was a much better experience than being captured and detained by her and her double's Dads. So, she should suck it up and get over it. Right?

With this thought in mind, she moved her right foot forward. When it made contact with the sidewalk, tears actually formed in Raven's eyes. She bit her lip, trying her best to not scream at the top of her lungs. Before she even realized it, she collapsed to the ground. She considered taking off her shoes, seeing just how bad the damage was. It was only her desire to resist throwing up that made her keep the shoes on.

"Hey," Raven said as she came over. "You okay?" Her brow actually furrowed. "Do you need to rest?"

Raven battled the tears accumulating in her eyes. What she wanted to say was no. She could keep going, she could pick herself up and continue on her journey through this big, scary version of Jump City. She needed to be strong, as the whole multiverse was depending on her keeping her inner demon out of her father's wicked, greedy clutches.

But… she wasn't strong. Her feet hurt so much that it felt as if the pain was creeping its way up her legs. She couldn't even believe this; she had been Lady Legasus? Why was it so difficult for her to use her legs now? Now, of all times? She should be able to keep going! She shouldn't be so… pathetic.

"I…" she tried to lift herself up. She really, truly tried. Unfortunately, she couldn't. She wasn't strong enough. Not as strong as the multiverse and especially her fellow Teen Titans needed her to be…

Raven looked even more concerned as she got down on her knees. "You're hurting." She stared her double right in the face, the level of seriousness unmatchable. "I can feel all these frustrations swirling around inside you. You need to take a break."

Raven grit her teeth. "No, I don't!" She put her hands down on the sidewalk and tried to push herself up. "I need to keep going! I need to…"

Right at that moment, Raven's eyes grew wide. She stared down the street, looking as though she had been frozen in place. Curious, Raven looked where she was looking. Her heart practically stopped in its tracks when she saw that it was Trigon, floating down the sidewalk parallel to theirs.

"Ho hum, ho vens! I am looking for the Ravens!" He sung, which created quite the contrast to his foul, angry mood from earlier in the search. Raven braced herself, preparing for the extreme fear and terror that would pop into her mind upon being discovered and then captured by this foul creature. She almost passed out as Trigon stopped, looking straight at them with a look of wonder on his four eyed face. He smiled when he saw them. Raven expected to hear him exclaim that he found them at the top of his voice, expected him to teleport them all back to that wretched, horribly hot cavern.

What she didn't expect was what her dad ultimately said to them. "Angela! Rachel!" He waved at them. "It's a small world, isn't it?"

Raven blinked before she remembered that she and her double were currently donning the disguises they wore in the clothing store. She let out a breath of relief, as did Raven.

"Yeah, it certainly nice to see you again!" Raven called out with her overly high pitched voice from before. "Just makes my birthday better and better!"

Trigon giggled. "Yep! It certainly does!" He started flying away. "Well, have a Happy Birthday! I'm going to resume my search for my daughter… daughters…" He stopped before shaking his horned head. "Well, I need to find two girls so I can conquer the multiverse. So look forward to that!"

"Okay!" Both Ravens exclaimed as they both gave Trigon a thumbs up. Once he had rounded the corner, both girls let out long, drawn out sighs of relief. "That… was WAY too close!" Raven exclaimed.

"Indeed." Raven looked back down at her. "Look, we can't keep wandering these streets. If we do, then eventually your dad will get smart and come after us. Besides…" she looked down at Raven's ever aching feet. "You are in no condition to keep going."

Raven opened her mouth, prepared to object to her double's claim. But after feeling another surge of pain travel through her feet as she tried to stand up, she realized she couldn't. Doing so would just be foolish on her part.

"You're right." She looked up at her double, feeling more in need of guidance than she ever had before. "So, what do you suggest?"

Raven stood up. "Well, there's a hotel just a few blocks away. We can stop there, possibly get some sleep."

Raven smiled when that was suggested. Yes! Sleep! Oh, she wanted to sleep so badly! Doing that would be the perfect way for her to recuperate, as well as help the useless pain-causers attached to the ends of her legs to heal.

"That sounds good." She winced. "But… but I don't think I'm in any position to…"

"Already way ahead of you." Raven hoisted her double into her arms before letting out a breath and rising into the air. As they were in the air, Raven had to admit that she was feeling really safe. Sure, she was in danger of being dropped (possibly; Raven did have a pretty tight hold on her), but she didn't know. She felt like she trusted her double. She just felt comfortable in her arms, which was a much needed contrast to the discomfort she felt while walking down the streets.

Eventually, both Ravens arrived at the hotel. Once they checked in and got into the room, Raven set Raven down on the bed. Raven let out a breath of relief as the light was turned on; the bed felt so good!

"Okay," Raven said as she walked over to her double. "Take your shoes off."

Raven blinked, feeling ready to object, but the look on her double's face told her that wouldn't be wise. She did what she was told, and almost passed out when she saw her feet. Sure enough, the bottoms were bright red and covered in sores. Raven even noticed a gash on her left foot, oozing crimson. She cringed just looking at them, feeling grateful that Raven had decided to stop her walking for the night.

"Okay," Raven said. She knelt down in front of Raven's feet, putting on a stoic mask to possibly hide her own form of discomfort. "I'm going to heal these up."

"Heal?" Raven asked. "You can do that?"

"Yeah." Raven sent her a confused look. "You can't?" When Raven shook her head, she blinked and did a double take. "Okay then…"

With that, she held her hand over Raven's left foot. Her hand glowed with a soft blue light, and as it hovered over Raven's aching feet, the dark sorceress from the goofy dimension was very pleased to report that her pain was receding. It was like Raven's hands were some sort of magical vacuum, sucking up all the pain and storing it in an invisible bag that would never need to be opened. Raven even smiled when she felt this. Not only was it relieving, but it was also somewhat satisfying.

"There we go," Raven uttered when she finished with the left foot. She moved onto the right. "Man. And here I thought you'd make a good track runner in the future."

Raven blinked before she realized that her double just told a joke. "Oh. Yeah." She chuckled. "That… uh… that might not come to pass."

Raven nodded and continued on with her healing process. As she did, a silence befell the room. It was somewhat uncomfortable, as this meant that the only things accompanying Raven were her fear and worry. She realized that she wanted to start a conversation, if for no other reason than to distract herself.

"Raven?"

"Yeah?"

Raven pressed her lips together. She intended for this conversation to be totally inconsequential, made up of fluff instead of heavy hitting, deep emotions. However… well, her tongue evidently had other plans.

"Do you ever… well, do you ever wish you didn't have your powers?"

Raven blinked. She stayed silent for a minute, and for a second, Raven feared that she might have hit a nerve.

"Sometimes." Raven's hand stopped glowing as she stood up. "They have proven to be quite the hassle. And… and I would admit it would be nice to have the ability to express my emotions freely. But… but I can do good with them. I have done good with them, despite all of the troubles that they caused me." She looked away. "I can't really say this, as sometimes it doesn't feel like an honest statement. But… I would never trade my powers away for anything."

Raven's heart sank. "I… I see…"

Raven nodded. "Yeah." She looked back at her double. "What about you?"

Raven's stomach squirmed. Oh, how could she answer this? How would her double feel if she actually told the truth? Not good, she imagined.

So, she opted to lie. "Me neither."

"I see." Raven stood still for a minute before walking over to the bed. "Well… let's try to get back to sleep. We can worry about the Trigons in the morning."

"Yep." Raven pulled the covers up around her body as Raven turned on the light. Unfortunately, she didn't know if she would be able to sleep. Maybe this was because of the stress of being the Trigons' target, maybe it was because of the need to keep her powers under control, maybe it was because of the weight of the lie she just told. Either way, she knew it would be a long night…

…

Trigon kept humming to himself as he continued down the streets. He looked left and right, up and down. He knew he would find the Ravens. He just knew it.

Unfortunately… well, his confidence in that fact grew more and more slim the longer he searched. No matter which way he turned, he failed to see the two gray skinned girls in dark blue cloaks. By the time midnight rolled around, he was so frustrated that he actually growled and sunk to the floor.

"Man," he said. "Why does this have to be so hard?" Seriously, Raven was his daughter? Shouldn't it be easy to locate your daughter in a crowd?

"TRIGON!"

Trigon bolted upright when he heard that voice. "Oh!" He turned, seeing a portal with Trigon's four red eyes showing through behind him. "Big Triggy? What's going on?"

A low growl came through the portal. "Get back to the lair. We need to talk…"