Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy ran up the path to Titan's Tower. Massive shards of metal and ice littered the ground and water surrounding the strange tower. Dawn had broken over the horizon, and black smoke wafted up from the top of the tower. The boys hurried to the roof, wondering what had happened in their brief absence from their base of operations. A smoldering figure lay amidst chunks of ashen pieces of metal. Robin sprinted to the figure and rolled it over, revealing an unconscious Raven. "What happened here?" Cyborg questioned softly, assessing the damage quickly. "Slade must have hired Chaos," Robin snarled, carefully lifting Raven from the ground. "No one else could have done so much damage in such a short time." "Dude, I don't think so," Beast Boy murmured, pointing at the ground. The trademark disc Slade's employees carried had been slashed in twain, and a warning was gouged out into the ground. "It says, 'I hope your little blackbird can do more than lose her teammates one by one. Tell her to find me if she ever learns how to use her powers.' Harsh," Cyborg read the words aloud. "Wait, 'lose her teammates'? What does that mean?" "Where's Star?" Beast Boy whispered. The boys fell silent as realization struck. Ironically, the sun was rising on a beautiful day. ---------- "A greeting to thee, king father. I bring word of the damned angel's prodigy." Oh? And what news do you have? Chaos grinned her wicked grin, head bowed to the image of six bloody red eyes. A massive black inferno crackled in front of her as she remaining kneeling on one knee. "This peculiar creature seems to be the center point of Raven's heart," the demon chuckled, casting her hand towards a figure lying on the floor. "She and her pathetic comrades are under the impression that this girl is dead. Raven is broken." What are your plans? Why have you kept this girl alive? "Torment, king father, torment," Chaos explained. "I want to see Raven squirm. I know that I cannot kill her-the damned angels would inevitably hunt me down and thou wouldst be without an heir, king father." And you realize the reason for all of this? You remember the prophecy, don't you? Chaos frowned, her back turned to the wicked black flames. She glared at the girl lying on the floor, but soon heaved a sigh. Chaos turned back to face the fire and the six red eyes. "Yes, king father," she answered. "I remember the prophecy in its entirety now. I understand. But Heaven's word is infallible. This is my fate, and I will fulfill it. Even though I despise everything about it." Excellent. You have reached your point in your growth. You will be a fine ruler for Hell, my daughter. The fire briefly reached out in the shape of a hand and caressed Chaos' cheek. Chaos sighed but smiled when the fire returned to the massive pillar. She knelt on one knee and bowed her head. "I thank thee, king father," she murmured. "I will continue to do what I must." The fire faded, leaving the demon in the darkness. ---------- Raven jolted into the waking world. She stared up at the ceiling of her room, sunlight streaming in through her window. During her unconsciousness, her body had been running on automatic. Her angelic blood had healed what wounds she had, and she was feeling as well as any time before. She stood from her bed and pulled on her cloak, walking swiftly to the main space of the tower. The boys were sitting on the couch; utterly silent for the first time Raven could remember. Beast Boy was the first to notice her presence and leapt up to his feet. Cyborg and Robin followed suit and hurried over to Raven. "What happened?" Robin demanded to know. Raven met his eyes with a glare, her eyes filled with obvious pain and torment. "Chaos attacked," she snarled. "What do you think happened?" "Where's Starfire?" Robin snapped in return. "Chaos is your enemy, not hers!" "Starfire is dead," Raven whispered. The room fell silent again at the simple statement. Robin's hands clenched into fists, his teeth grit against each other, and he seemed ready to strike Raven. "How could you let that happen?" he hissed. "You let her kill Starfire! How could you let Starfire die? We've lost her because of you! I've lost her! I cared about her and you let her die!" Raven's eyes suddenly gleamed the purest white and Robin found himself captured in shadows. "Don't you ever think that you were the only one Starfire was important to!" the sorceress snarled. "I cared for her! I loved her! Chaos knew that! She killed Starfire because she knew I could never admit it to save her! It's my fault!" Raven fell to her knees, tears welling in her eyes. She let her magic fade, Robin falling to the ground. "I know it's my fault," Raven said through her tears. "I know Starfire's dead because of me. It's all my fault." Robin pushed away his anger to reach out to his friend and teammate. He, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were amazed when Raven did nothing to deflect his moves or shy away. Though her emotions were surging in anger, despair, and grief, her magic was perfectly calm. "Whoa," Beast Boy muttered. "Raven...you aren't zapping us. Wow." Raven looked up at her teammates and then at her hands. Even she was amazed at the fact that her magic was absolutely quiet. "What's happened to me?" she whispered. ---------- "When are you going to stop trying to break through the metal?" Starfire frowned at her captor and continued to fire star bolts at the metal sphere the two were inside. "You can't break through," Chaos murmured. "As long as I want you in here, you'll stay in here." "Why do you keep me here?" Starfire demanded. "I am not your enemy, and Raven should not be your enemy! You used to be her teacher! She admired you! Why do you attack her?" Chaos, for once, did not grin or smirk at the young woman. "Heaven's demands," Chaos said softly. "This is not my will. If my will be done, everyone in this city would be dead, as would be you and your dear Raven." Starfire dropped to her knees in misery, tear-filled eyes unable to look at the demon. "Please," Starfire whispered as her tears splashed onto the metal ground. "Please, spare my friend. Spare her. If you must destroy someone...take me in her place." Chaos stared across the sphere at the defeated young woman. She heaved a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to destroy either of you," Chaos sighed. "My actions are guided by that damned prophecy." "Raven told me of a prophecy," Starfire said, daring to look up. "But she said you do not remember it." "I didn't," Chaos replied. "Not until four years ago. My father explained that the prophecy was from Heaven and could not be avoided. The full prophecy spoke of a girl with the blood of humans, demons, and angels. Her power would rival both the heir to Heaven and the heir to Hell. From what glimpses I've seen and felt, it does indeed. "Raven is that girl, of course. The prophecy said that the heir to Hell would teach her and unlock the true depths of her powers. I couldn't remember the prophecy until four years ago, and it took me four years to realize I can't fight Heaven's will. Hell and its ruler will always be subservient to Heaven and its ruler." "Then why do you keep me here?" Starfire asked. Chaos looked at the girl and then up to the closed silver sky she had created. "For my own sanity," Chaos answered. "To know that my life has been nothing but the will of an ancient angelic fate is more than sad and painful. It is maddening. I'm almost positive I've gone mad more than once trying to fathom why I cannot alter my fate." "And I am part of this foretelling?" Starfire questioned hopelessly. "I am destined to die?" "No," Chaos responded. "You will live. I am the one most likely to die. Raven's power lies in her emotions, as you have no doubt discovered. When she sees me, her anger will rise up and fuel her strength. Her caring for you and her angelic blood will buffer the anger and give her control over her power. Though she will not admit it, she cares for you so very much." The two were quiet for a long time. Starfire took in the words and tried to piece them together in her mind. Prophecies, angels, demons, Heaven, Hell, and everything between were not her forte. However, Chaos' nearly casual uttering of Raven's caring struck a chord. "You say that Raven cares for me," Starfire muttered. "What do you mean? How do you know this?" "I stole her first kiss, remember?" Chaos chuckled slightly. "Her emotions were utterly baffled and I was able to read her mind in those brief moments. She seemed saddened by the fact that she could not steal a kiss from you, even if it meant your confusion and the boy Robin's anger. Raven is in love with you, even if she's too afraid to admit it." Starfire blushed at the statement. "But why can she not tell me?" she asked. "Surely she does not think that we would shun her because of it. We are her friends and we care for her." "Friends can be torn apart because of love," Chaos answered rather sagely. "She worries that you would reject her and be disgusted with her, and she worries that everything would change drastically if she told you. Raven likes how she lives. She doesn't have to worry about so many things because she has friends. You and your comrades help her more than you realize." "But she could tell me," Starfire murmured, shaking her head as she tried to understand. "I would not be disgusted. I wish to know why she tortures herself." "Do you love her?" Chaos asked suddenly. "Raven tortures herself because she fears you cannot love her the way she loves you." The demon stood up and turned about, heading straight for the metal. Starfire leapt to her feet and into the air, as if seeing that a chance to escape had come. Chaos phased through the cold silver metal and Starfire hit the wall shoulder first. Starfire fell to the ground, sprawled and unwilling to move. Tears fell from her bright, innocent green eyes as she began to comprehend the gravity of what was happening. Everything seemed absolutely hopeless. ---------- Raven stared down at the bay, blinking every so often as sunlight glinted off small waves. The roof of Titan's Tower was still heavily damaged, but it was the only place Raven wished to be. Her mind didn't want to work at the moment, and watching the waves was calming for her overbearing troubled thoughts. Soft footsteps suddenly reached her ears and the sorceress looked up. Robin sat down next to his estranged teammate. The two felt the tension and tried to ignore it. Raven continued to stare down at the water, while Robin tried to watch the clouds. "I'm sorry for what I said," he murmured. "I know you wouldn't have let Starfire get killed." "I understand," Raven said, her voice soft. The two were quiet again. "I think we all thought Chaos was talking about Beast Boy," Robin suddenly spoke aloud. "He's got green eyes too, and he's kind of an innocent guy. None of us even thought that she might have meant Starfire." "I know," Raven replied to his words. "Everyone expected that Chaos meant Beast Boy. It would have been the normal thing to guess, right? If I cared about him, it would at least be slightly normal. But I love Starfire." "When did you realize it?" he questioned. "A little while after the team was made," she explained. "Just a year ago, I think. I saw her training one day and suddenly realized that I was in love. Everything about her just seemed so right. Her kindness, her strength, her sense of justice and friendship-everything that was Starfire was what made me fall in love with her. I didn't really care that she was a girl. I just saw the person I loved." "I know what you mean," he sighed. "Star was such a great person. She always wanted to help and make everyone happy. I wish I could have told her that I cared." "I would have given her up," Raven suddenly whispered. Robin looked to his teammate in confusion. "If she loved you, then I would never try to take her from you. If you were the one that made her happiest of all, then I would give her up." "You cared about her that much?" Robin inquired in surprise. Raven nodded with a small smile. "I think love is about being able to let go," she said. Robin contemplated her words for a while, suddenly smiling a bit as well. "I guess I could give her up too," he murmured. "I probably wouldn't like it, but if you made her really happy, then I suppose I'd have to back off and let you two be happy." Raven smiled at him. "Thanks," she said." -to be continued-
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