Chapter 6 Tough

The next few days were difficult for all of the Titans. Beast Boy could barely eaten his food; he was too worried about Raven. He remembered the terror in her eyes as she watched the events fold out on the screen. Those events would undoubtedly scar her for a while. How could they not when it had been the one thing that she had wanted to prevent?

Beast Boy sighed and stirred his cereal. Not even the sweetness of Crunchy Munchies was appealing to him anymore. If anything, it made him even sicker. As if the sickness caused by all the worrying wasn't enough already.

Click!

Beast Boy lifted his head. There was Raven, making her way into the kitchen. She wasn't wearing her cloak; just her signature black leotard. As a consequence, Beast Boy could see what an absolute wreck she was. Her jet black hair looked like the hair of a Barbis doll after said doll had gone through a shredder. Bags rested underneath her eyes, bags so big they looked like they could contain thousands of groceries. Her skin in generally was a much paler color, and her leotard looked to be sticking to her skin. Beast Boy took note of the gem on her forehead. There was still a crack in it.

"You okay, Mama?"

Raven wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "Coffee," she murmured. She trudged over to the coffee maker, dragging her feet across the floor and causing deafening scrapes.

"Rae rae?"

Raven poured some coffee into her mug, the purple one with skull on the front. She sipped it one minute before tilting her head back and glugging down the bitter, roasted. She gripped the mug with both hands, as if she was desperate to get it into her system.

"Seriously, Rae, what's going on?"

Raven lowered the cup and let out a sigh of satisfaction, which looked odd when juxtaposed against her less than hygienic and more than frazzled appearance. She wiped the corners of her mouth with her sleeve, set the cup in the sink, and walked bac to her room.

Beast Boy blinked. She barely acknowledged me! He got up and ran after her. "Raven! Seriously, am I invisible right now?"

Raven didn't even bother turning back toward him. She continued walking, as if completely oblivious to him. He made his way over and set his hand on her shoulder.

"Raven, please…"

"Get. Your hand. OFF!"

Beast Boy shrieked. Upon shouting the word "off," the shadowy witch had turned around to face him. This allowed him to see that all four of her eyes were open, and glowed with a fierce red light. He cowered beneath her gaze, unwilling to imagine what could happen if he upset her more.

"Sorry! I'm sorry; so sorry Mama!"

Raven growled. "Just leave me alone." With that, she turned around. When she got to her room, she closed the door with a heavy slam.

…

Once the door was closed, Raven took a deep breath. Her second pair of eyes, her demonic eyes, closed, once again taking on the form of her regular human eyebrows. She leaned against the wall, trying to gather her bearings and failing miserably.

"I can't," she muttered. She shed a tear, much to her chagrin. "I can't let this happen."

Her eyes travelled down to her carpet, to the one spot that she had sat at time and time again. She sucked in some air and sat down again. Crossing her legs, closing her eyes, and adjusting her arms, she began to mediate.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath...Metrion...Zin…"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Raven's eyes jolted open. To her terror, she was not in her room. Instead, she was in a cavern. The walls were a reddish brown in color, liked baked mud. The air was as warm as an oven.

She stood up. "No!" She turned her head from side to side. "Beast Boy? Starfire? Cyborg?"

No one answered. The only thing that she heard was an eerie, ethereal whisper. She turned her head back around and gasped. Before her was her gem. Her chakra, actually. And out of the gem's crack, a sleek, slime black body slithered out. It rose right in front of Raven, snarling like a dog and hissing like a snake.

"Whhhyyyy diiiiddddd yooouuuuu imprison mee?"

Raven closed her eyes, just so she didn't have to feel the eyes boring into her, into her soul. "Get back inside."

"Whhhhyyyy? You neeedddd mee!"

"I DON'T!" Raven kicked the monster in the chest, causing it to reel back. It grit its hideous, razor sharp teeth.

"Yooouuu made a mistake. I will consume you."

With that, the monster rose to its full height, spreading its huge black wings. Raven balled her hands into fists, gripping them super tight. She would fight this beast. She would do anything and everything in her power to keep it out of her heart and away from her mind.

"ROAR!"

The monster descended down on the half demon. She struggled against it as it bit down on her skin, gnawing on her body like it was a delicious snack.

"Let me go!" she screamed.

The sound was barely audible, for it was muffled by the monster's own voice. "Everything you stood for. Everything you are. Soon, it will be mine."

"NOOOO!"

With that last scream, the scenery cleared away. Raven was back in her room, panting and in such a horrible cold sweat that it was like she had just bathed in ice water. She put her hand to her chest, which ached from experiencing such a rapid heartbeat.

"Sweet Azar." She got up, wiping the dust off of her front and doing her best to take care of the mess on her head. She went over to her mirror. She noticed the imperfections and cracks in her appearance, but they didn't draw her attention so much as the crack in her gem.

"How do I fix this?" she asked herself.

"You can't."

Raven reeled back. She knew that voice. That horrible voice, that evil tone. She knew it well. "Oh no." She started backing up. "Don't tell me."

Sure enough, when she backed up far enough, her reflection cleared away to reveal the reflection of someone else. Specifically, a big red demon with four eyes and snow white hair. Said demon grinned at her.

"Hello, Sweetiekins."

Raven sighed in defeat. "Hi, Dad."

Trigon giggled. "You have no idea how happy I am right now. I have been looking forward to this day for a long, long time."