A Tameranean's Raven

Welcome Home (Part 3: Finale)

Jump City was alive with chaos. Fires burned on numerous street corners, ravenous pets filled the streets seemingly infected with bloodlust and anger, and car alarms blared in warning. The news was alight with frantic reporters documenting the events at hand.
Beast Boy sat on the couch, fork half dangling out of his mouth, eyes wide, and hands setting down his salad. "ROOOOOBIIIIIIN!"
Leaping from the sofa, Beast Boy sprinted down the halls banging loudly upon Robin's door. The metal frame slid back revealing the young adult dressed and ready for a fight.
"I know. We're going to need backup. Get the East team online," Robin ordered, moving to call up the rest of his team. "Cy?"
"I wondered when you'd call. The chucklenuts are back. Star and I are on our way. Lunch is gonna have to wait." Cyborg's line deadened as Robin ventured to the armory. He packed as much as he could into his belt and hoped it would be enough to do some decent damage.
"Titans East is on their way," Beast Boy called, desperately trying to tug on his suit. With a curse, he stumbled into the hallway using the wall for support as he finally shimmied his way in. "They know what we're dealing with."
"Good," Robin nodded, giving his staff a twirl as Cyborg raced into the building with Starfire close behind. "Let's hope things go easier than last time."
"They're demons Robin, nothing about this will be easy," Beast Boy snorted, adjusting his gloves. Running a hand through his hair, he made his way to the elevator just as Cyborg and Starfire came racing back. Once everyone was crammed inside, they took the long ride down.
— — —
"Hey fish boy!" Wrath laughed, clumsily clapping his hands as Aqualad skid to a stop ducking arching rays of blue magic.
"You really are big and ugly," Aqualad winced, drawing two water based blades from sheaths on his back. "I can make that worse."
"Rude!" Wrath bellowed, pounding angrily on the ground. His large hands dug into the asphalt pulling free large chunks of concrete. One by one he launched them into the air flattening anything in sight.
Across the way, Mas y Menós zipped about keeping Sloth and Gluttony distracted for the moment. Sloth was too slow to hit them properly and Gluttony was too big to be of much athletic use. Greed on the other hand was a large problem. Bumblee was doing her best to stay out of striking distance but the demon was far more perceptive than any of them had given him credit for. She was caught by the foot as gold magic began to creep up her form as if she were being soaked in honey.
Just before she was completely consumed, a bright blue blast of energy slammed into Greed setting him off balance as his clothes smoldered. Wings buzzing yet again, Bumblebee took off eager to get some distance between herself and the enemy.
"Hey Bee!" Cyborg called, flashing her a grin and a wave.
"No sight of your friend yet Cy," Bumblebee informed.
"That's alright. For now, we get these bozos out of here and back to hell." Cyborg frowned in determination and surveyed the scene. Already, Beast Boy was in a viscous spat with Wrath as Robin kept Envy on his toes. Starfire was doing her best to contain Lust but the man was tricky. Every couple of seconds he was shifting into a new form. Tall then short then thin then wide. Stepping up to the challenge, Cyborg set his sights on Greed. He was the ring leader.
With a yell, Cyborg charged into battle, his arm canon transitioning into a blade. With each slash, Greed managed to side step or duck away, but Cyborg was fast. With the help of his upgrades he could determine Greed's patterns. At last, he got a clear shot. Arching his blade down, Cyborg nearly severed Greed's arm when he was thrown backwards.
Rolling, Cyborg scrambled back to his feet only to freeze. The person in front of him was familiar and yet foreign.
"Raven?" Cyborg panted, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Who?" Came the amused reply. With a smirk of his own, Greed stepped forward placing a hand on the red demon's shoulder.
"You wanted to play with them. Go on. Have some fun." With a deep chuckle, Greed dissipated into the shadows to join the fight elsewhere.
Swallowing tightly, Cyborg took a step back. The person before him was Raven, it looked like her, acted like her, and sounded like her. But there was a distortion to her voice, her eyes were red and glowing, and her teeth were razor sharp. Her pale skin was now rough and red as if portions of it had toughened up to act as armor.
"What did they do to you?" Cyborg frowned, taking another step back as his friend approached.
"They made me better." With a roll of the shoulders, Raven's hands ignited with her usual black magic but swirls of red now flashed through it. "And it's not Raven anymore, it's Pride."
Raising his arms in defense, Cyborg tried to block the attack but he was launched into the air in a mattered of seconds. Clattering to the ground he tried to move when dark hands encased him constructing like anacondas. His body groaned and creaked in warning as the pressure worsened. Grunting, he did his best to struggle against the force but all he could see was the look of pleasure and concentration on his now ex-friend's face.
Beast Boy shrunk into human size, scampering about over rubble. With a yelp, he dove behind Starfire for protection as a massive chunk of asphalt hurtled his way. Eyes igniting with energy, Starfire managed to laser the projectile in half. Beast Boy would have celebrated if he hadn't caught sight of Cyborg fighting for his life against a familiar cloaked figure.
"Throw me!" Beast Boy demanded, panic setting in.
"What?" Starfire frowned, following his gaze.
"I said throw me!" Without much of a warning, Starfire grasped Beast Boy by the front of his suit and launched him towards the battle. Halfway through his trajectory he shifted into a massive gorilla. Slamming into the red demon, he let his fists fly one after the other. Beneath him, the girl squirmed, trying to dodge the hits, but each one connected.
Blood pooled at the corners of her mouth and nose. For a moment, Beast Boy actually had the upper hand. Then, all at once, he was blasted backwards by a burst of raw energy. Black tendrils licked at his heels threatening to snatch him up. Cursing, he slithered away as a snake.
"Is that Raven?" Beast Boy demanded, standing back to back with his long time best friend.
"Yes and no," Cyborg explained, still catching his breathe.
"She knows it's us right?" Beast Boy worried, ducking another blast of magic.
"I don't think so," Cyborg muttered, taking a few shots at Envy who ran past in a blur with Mas y Menos on his heels.
"Great." Sighing, Beast Boy charged the Not-Raven, lowering his head as he morphed into a bull mid stride. He didn't get a chance to connect. The moment he was within striking distance he was grabbed by the horns, twisted onto his back and thrown aside like a sack of potatoes. Cyborg followed the attack with a flurry of his own but each hit seemed to bounce off of Pride as if she had a force field around her.
Catching Cyborg's arm, Pride's grip tightened. She twisted with a flourish. Metal squeaked and squelched as Cyborg's arm snapped clean off exposing wires and circuits. A fist connected with his jaw sending him back to the ground. Before he could recover, the screws and bolts in his body began to shift. Encased in darkness, Cyborg watched helplessly as he was threatened with being dismantled from the inside out.
A whoosh alerted Pride. Momentarily forgetting Cyborg, she ducked avoiding Robin's attack from behind. His metal staff spun about in a flurry of movement. Ducking and weaving, Pride raised her arms blocking the hits that landed. With a set jaw, Robin refused to let up. His team was in danger.
With his staff arching in the air, Robin expected to connect the hit at last when a red colored hand grasped the staff. Tearing it from his grip, Pride slammed it down over her thigh cracking it in half. Tossing is aside, she offered the wonder boy a twisted smile. Paling slightly, Robin resorted to his fists. The punches came in familiar combos and much to his dismay, it looked like Pride was just having fun with him.
Ducking behind Batman's trusted apprentice, Pride moved to choke him from behind when something hit her like a freight train. Skidding across the asphalt, stones and bits of Cyborg's metal body tore into her skin drawing out a strange purple colored blood. With a grunt, Pride used her momentum to roll back onto her feet.
Blowing a strand of hair from her face, she regarded the person responsible for the hit.
Eyes practically on fire, Starfire stood protectively in front of Robin with her hands ignited. Slowly, the glow subsided.
"I don't want to hurt you," the Tameranean warned.
"You think that hurt me?" Pride scoffed. "Please, it barely tickled."
"I'm not talking about you," Starfire frowned.
"Right, you mean your dumb little girlfriend. Unfortunately, she can't come to the phone right now but I'll take a message after I destroy you."
Robin watched with wide eyes as the two strongest heroes of his team engaged in combat.
It almost reminded him of two feral alley cats fighting it out by a garbage can. The battle raged in the sky and on the ground, but he couldn't continue to stare dumbfounded in the street. People needed him.
Collecting his broken staff, Robin used the two severed ends as batons ready to crack down on some demon skulls.
— — —
A large portion of the city was in ruins now. Other heroes had joined the fray doing their best to wrangle the seven deadly sins. Gluttony was the size of a small skyscraper now, flattening cars with each step. Envy zipped about hacking and slashing at anything in sight while Wrath lobbed street lights into the air.
At some point, Robin lost track of where he was in the fight. It wasn't until black lasers launched into the air that he realized they most definitely destroyed a prison. A familiar alien landed in front of the boy wonder. For a moment he feared she'd laser him in half, but instead her eyes turned to the sky.
"Where's my sister?"
"Somewhere up there," Robin explained. Blackfire paused for a moment seeming to contemplate her choices.
"I'm not helping you because I like any of you." With that, the Tameranean launched into the sky. For a moment, Blackfire felt tinges of worry seep into her heart. Had something happened to her sister? Surely Starfire could handle herself.
Moments later, a series of green flashes caught her attention. Half of a super market now existed in a crater that some red demon was emerging from. Starfire stood waiting on the roof.
To say it was a surprise to Starfire that her sister was suddenly beside her was an understatement. Pride barely clambered out of the rubble when an infuriated Blackfire launched an attack of her own.
"No one bullies my sister except for me!"
"You again?" Pride glowered, raising a shield to protect herself.
"Blackfire wait-" Starfire started. She didn't get a chance to finish as age old enemies resorted to cursing each other out with heated insults thrown in alongside their attacks. Truthfully, Starfire was scared. Her sister's fury was unmatched in most cases. There was a good chance she'd try to kill Pride, and Starfire couldn't have that. Not when she was certain Raven still existed somewhere in the demon's mind.
An unrelenting blast of black heat swallowed the demon whole. Phasing through the ground, Pride grasped Blackfire by the neck and threw her through the frozen foods section of the destroyed super market. Rising up from bags of mutilated chicken tenders, Blackfire's eyes traced a line through the floor searing off half of Pride's cape as the demon dodged the attack.
Eyes glowing an angry shade of red, Pride raised her hands bringing the shell of the supermarket to life. Metal rebar twisted and pulled slowly wrapping about the alien's legs and glueing her in place. Blackfire did her best to try and destroy the metal but as quickly as she cut it, more replaced it. Soon, she would look like a sculpture frozen in time.
Effectively baiting Starfire into an attack, Pride caught the Tameranean mid air by the neck slamming her into the ground. Starfire's eyes widened in surprise as the grip tightened cutting off her airway. Hands grasping the demon's forearm, she tried to pry Pride's hand away but it was no use. Of all the ways to go out, Starfire never assumed it would be like this.
Picking the struggling Tameranean up by the neck, Pride drug her through the air to the nearest rooftop where she forced the poor girl onto her knees. "Look at your friends."
Down below, supers of all kinds were trying and failing to defeat the seven deadly sins. Despite being outnumbered, the demons had a special kind of power that fed off of other peoples' emotions. Like Raven, they were empaths capable of indescribable things. Unlike Raven they didn't hold back.
By now, Starfire's throat burned and her eyes watered. Every part of her was screaming to breath but she couldn't. Her body was weakening, failing her slowly but surely.
With a content sigh, Pride forced the Tameranean to look at her. A flash of disgust contorted the demon's features. "You really are pretty. It's absolutely disgusting."
Under normal circumstances, Starfire might have laughed at such a remark. Instead, she did the only thing she could. She risked the last bit of oxygen she had left in hopes of breaking Pride's facade. She needed to reach Raven or everything would be hopeless.
"Rachel, please." Her voice was raspy and choked. Hardly above a whisper. Red eyes flickered closed for a moment only to reveal a familiar and deep purple. It was brief, but it was all Starfire needed.
— — —
Raven passed Starfire the paper cup with the cardboard sleeve, watching green eyes light up excitedly as the smell of hot chocolate filled the air.
"Let it cool for a bit. Don't burn your mouth like last time," Raven warned, causing Starfire to pause as she went for a sip. At first, Raven thought it had to do with her warning, but then she noticed the way Starfire's thumb traced lightly over a black inked name.
"Who is Rachel?" Asked the Tameranean.
"Oh." Pursing her lips, Raven debated on how to properly explain the situation. "That would be my name."
"Your name?" Starfire frowned.
"My birth name. It's the one my mother gave me," Raven explained, tapping her fingers nervously on her own cup. She wasn't used to people knowing her real name. Most people who did didn't use it. "I figured it's probably best not to use Raven at the café. People ask too many questions when I do. I don't want them figuring out what my job actually is."
"Rachel," Starfire repeated, a slow smile stretching across her face. "I like it. It is a beautiful name. Is your last name, perhaps, Raven?"
"Oh, no," Raven laughed, shaking her head as they approached a streetlight. "My last name is Roth. Like broth without the b."
"Oh that is splendid!" Starfire beamed, seeming quite pleased by this discovery. "Would you like to know my native name?"
"Only if you want to share. You don't have to," Raven shrugged, crossing the street with Starfire close behind.
"I would love to!" Starfire insisted, taking Raven's hand in her own.
"Alright, what is your native name?" Raven asked, hesitantly sipping at her tea in case it was still too hot.
"Koriand'r. It is spelled like this." Starfire carefully explained the spelling of her name even going so far as to draw it in the air.
"That's quite a mouthful," Raven teased.
"It is possible to shorten it to Kori if you would like," Starfire offered, "although I am so used to the name Starfire it is weird to hear my native name aloud."
"Yeah, well, no one back at the tower calls me Rachel. I established that rule day one," Raven sighed, remembering the time Beast Boy attempted to use her full name. She'd nipped that in the bud real quick. "I guess it's just sort of a thing we all do. Who we are now is very different from what our parents named us. It's almost easier not to think about it."
"I understand," Starfire nodded, "but I do quite enjoy your name."
"You can use it if you want. So long as it's just the two of us," Raven offered. As soon as the words left her mouth, Starfire jumped excitedly into the air. She would have flown about if it weren't for Raven keeping her tethered to the ground.
"Oh this is wonderful. Thank you!" Starfire smiled happily, pressing a kiss to Raven's cheek. "You can call me anything you would like. I do not mind."
"I'll remember that," Raven promised, spotting the boys up ahead at the pizza place. They waved excitedly at the girls. Beast Boy held up his plate to show them the massive slice of pizza awaiting them when he angled it too far and the cheese slid off the top.
Blinking quickly, Pride flashed back to the mortal world before her. That stupid name had triggered something. Something she didn't want to deal with right now, but she could feel a war forming in her mind. Someone was threatening to dislodge her. Someone she'd thought she got rid of.
— — —
Twisting out of the hold, Starfire regarded the demon before her with renewed hope. They had faltered and for a moment Raven had returned. Doing her best not to hyperventilate as she sucked in lungfuls of air, the Tameranean remained just out of reach of the demon.
"You can do it Raven. Fight back. You are strong!" Starfire encouraged. "Remember who you are."
"This is who I am!" Pride sneered, but their voice hitched in the middle, threatening to fade away and be replaced. Panic danced across the demon's face as their eyes flickered yet again.
With an angry growl, Pride lunged, catching the Tameranean about the waist sending her flat onto the rooftop. Fist raised, Pride lashed out in a series of punches, each connecting with the Tameranean's face. Raising her arms, Starfire did her best to block the hits. Part of her wanted to fight back but she couldn't risk hurting Raven.
"You are Rachel Roth. You are kind and caring!" Starfire's voice was loud but the commotion down below threatened to drown her out. "You hate Beast Boy's tofu and you hate when Cyborg gets grease everywhere."
For a moment the hits paused as sharp teeth retracted with the sound of bone grinding on bone. A whimper of pain escaped the demon before it turned into a growl as sharp teeth returned.
"Shut up!" Pride hissed, smashing Starfire's head back against the rooftop.
"You like to laugh at scary movies!" Starfire cried, feeling pain blossom in the base of her skull. "You keep your bookcase organized by the alphabet so it is easy to find things."
Once more, Pride's grip slipped only this time she moved away from the alien. Hands clawed at her face and head as her bones shifted. Pride was much taller than Raven, and rearranging one's anatomy didn't come without pain. Shivering, red skin paled into a light pink. It lingered in off colored shades before returning to its previous fiery hue.
"You love the team no matter how much they annoy you. They need you," Starfire pleaded, all too aware of the losing battle down below.
"They're going to die!" Pride hissed, but her words held little venom. Stumbling to the edge of the roof she studied the scene before her. The titans were losing ground, struggling to do much against her brothers. For a moment, all pain subsided and her strength was anew but the damned Tameranean wouldn't be quite.
"Don't fail them. Don't fail me." Starfire moved to hesitantly approach the demon, aware of the danger in her situation. At any moment, Pride could snap back into full strength. "Rachel, I need you too. We can go home together. You will be safe there. We can protect you."
A violent shiver wracked the demon's body. Falling to their knees, they grasped at the edge of the roof, body contorting as a voice filled the sky with cries of pain. All at once, the demon toppled forward, clearing the ledge of the roof and free falling towards the broken pavement below.
In a burst of speed, Starfire launched herself over the edge flying faster than she ever had before in such a short distance. The impact with Pride's body sent them both tumbling into a heap on the ground. Catching her breathe, Starfire dragged herself away from danger and to the cloak covered heap.
Small convulsions shook a thin and fragile body. Skin which had always been pale looked translucent now. Dark hair which used to have a purple like sheen to it was dull and frayed at the ends. What had been four red eyes were now two closed eyes.
Relief flooded the Tameranean but it was quickly dashed. Raven wasn't breathing, Moving to check for a pulse, Starfire was alarmed to discover how faint it was. Then, quite suddenly, it stopped.
"Are you alright?" Beast Boy asked, diving into the alley and avoiding a thrown car. "I saw you fall-."
"I did not fall. I need your help. She is not breathing and her pulse-I can not help. I am too strong. I will hurt her." Starfire gestured frantically to where Raven lay. Worry clouded Beast Boy's features and without another word he set to work.
If he was honest, he'd never expected to have to give the all powerful Raven CPR, but nothing really made sense anymore as far as he was concerned. Counting the rhythm of the chest compressions he stopped on occasion to dutifully force a breath or two through Raven's bloodied lips. Sweat began to form on his brow as worry seeped into his bones. He couldn't keep this up forever.
"Come on Rae, you don't get to tap out now," Beast Boy panted, throwing as much of his weight into each downward press as possible. His arms were growing tired. "We need you. I promise I won't make you eat my tofu and I'll keep my voice down when I play video games, but if you don't wake up I'm going to take your room and put all of my dirty laundry in it!"
For a moment nothing happened until a loud and sharp gasp startled the green boy. Falling back onto his butt, he watched as Raven took a few shaky breathes. Her eyes fluttered open, still retaining a glassy look to them. Then a frown settled across her face. "Don't even think about it."
"Ha!" Beast Boy grinned, leaping to his feet and dancing about excitedly. "I did it! I did it!"
"Thank you," Starfire caught hold of the jumping boy's hand and gave it a firm squeeze.
"Of course. Now, about your siblings, Rae..." Beast Boy took a moment to peer back out at the street. With a wince, he turned his attention back to the girls.
"Don't worry about it. I'll handle them," Raven insisted, struggling to her feet. She paled drastically for a moment and nearly fainted again, but Starfire was quick to steady her.
"I do not think that is the good idea," the Tameranean worried.
"No one else is going to be able to get rid of them. This is a family matter." With a set jaw, Raven shook off Starfire's hold and made her way back out to the street. What she saw made her skin crawl.
Her brothers had torn up most of the West side to Jump City. Nearly every building within sight was decimated. People were left to scramble to safety but no where was really safe. Sighing, the half demon did her best to refocus her energy.
Eyes narrowed, she approached the commotion. Planting her feet firmly on the ground she closed her eyes. Reaching into the darkest depths of her powers she pulled strength and power outward into her body.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
A blinding darkness erupted from her thin frame swallowing everything in sight. To most it was cool and refreshing but to others it was the fires of hell coming to claim them. Gluttony was forced back into his normal size, his skin steaming and hissing as dark power consumed him. Greed's suit burned off of his body and the gold in his pockets melted into his skin. Lust's figure was torn apart with gnarled gashes causing purple blood to ooze from the wounds. Envy's feet lit on fire effectively freezing him. Wrath was slammed with the weight of a million different gravities compressing him inwards. Sloth was bathed in a world without air forced to choke on his own breathe.
One by one the demons crumbled and succumbed to the unbridled power of their sister. With cries of pain they faded from mortal existence too wounded to remain. Even still, the darkness continued, threatening to reach beyond Jump City when Raven remembered herself and called it back
Reality snapped back into focus and the darkness she had expelled now consumed her. Her hands shook with pain as the same fires that threatened her brothers had partially consumed her. Burns radiated from her skin but she was alive and that's what mattered.
"Welcome back," Robin smiled, offering his friend a hand. Raven regarded it for a moment before turning aside.
"I'll see you back home," Raven whispered, vanishing from sight.
— — —
The half demon remained in her room the following few days. She did not emerge for any type of meal or activity. The others did their best to help clean up the city, but their main concern was with their friend.
Throughout the day, Robin left meals outside of Raven's room. He never saw when she took them but they inevitably disappears only to be replaced with empty dishes. As far as he was concerned that was enough. She was alive and on the mend.
Cyborg spent his time repairing himself with the help of Beast Boy. While Cyborg wanted to comfort Raven, he knew she'd beat herself up over what she'd done to him not matter what he said. Over all, the tower was quiet. Even Beast Boy seemed to understand that things had changed.
As for Starfire, she kept to herself as well. More than anything she wanted to make sure Raven was okay, or at the very least take care of her. But Raven didn't want to see anyone. Not even Starfire. Admittedly, it hurt the Tameranean, but she would respect Raven's wishes. She could only imagine what the half demon was going through.
Thankfully, the Tameranean had her sister. Yes, Blackfire was technically a fugitive now who needed to serve out the rest of her time but it wasn't like the prison was intact anymore. Instead, Starfire convinced the older girl to stay at the tower for the time being. What exactly had changed in her sister, Starfire didn't know, but she would enjoy Blackfire's company while it lasted.
"So you mean to tell me you and the demon lady are a couple?" Blackfire frowned, inspecting her nails as she sat on Starfire's impossibly crowded bed. Frankly, Blackfire didn't see the appeal of animal skins stuffed with cotton, but if it made Starfire happy she'd deal with it for now.
"She is my partner, yes," Starfire nodded, nibbling on a chocolate bar that she'd stolen from Cyborg's secret stash.
"I don't know what you see in her. She seems awfully cruel," Blackfire insisted, eyeing the door as if she wanted to laser straight through it and smite the half demon across the hall.
"She is not cruel. What happened was not her fault. You do not know her like I do," Starfire frowned. Her sister's opinion was important to her, but in this case Blackfire's opinion didn't matter. Starfire knew Raven better than anyone and certainly more than her sister.
"Whatever you say sis," Blackfire sighed. "I just think she ought to pay you more attention for saving her life."
Getting up from the bed, Blackfire left the room behind to explore the tower. She was determined to find all of its secrets before she was sent back to prison and honestly she was tired of this Raven girl. Then an idea came to her. Pausing halfway down the hall, she turned, faced the half demon's door and effectively pried it open.
The interior of the room was dark except for a few lit candles. The space appeared to be empty until she noticed a pale and gaunt looking figure tucked away in a corner with a book perched in their lap. Two dull eyes studied the Tameranean with a subtle glare.
"Get out." Raven rasped.
"I think I'll stay, thank you," Blackfire smiled, forcing the door shut behind her. She heard Raven's book snap shut and the half demon stood, regarding Blackfire with a special kind of venom.
"What do you want?" Raven demanded. Blackfire noticed the dark circles which framed the half demon's face. She couldn't help but laugh at how shitty her sister's 'partner' looked.
"I just came to talk," Blackfire shrugged, making herself at home on Raven's bed. She collected a stuffed rabbit and examined it only for Raven to tear it from her grasp and set it aside. "Temper, temper."
"I don't feel like talking. Now leave before I make you," Raven warned.
"Oh please. You won't lay a finger on me. It'll upset my dear sister and you don't want that do you?" Blackfire asked, arching a brow. "Besides, you're weak now that your little demon form isn't out and about."
"You underestimate what I'm willing to do." Raven's glare settled on the Tameranean and her eyes lit up like two red headlights. Slowly, a tinge of red began to creep over pale skin, and Blackfire watched with contempt as the half demon's mouth twisted into a predator's smile.
"Just like I thought," Blackfire sighed. "You can't control yourself. You're a danger."
"You don't know a thing about me!" Raven hissed, the red only worsening.
"I know that as long as that demon of yours fights to be in control you're not stable enough to be around any of your friends and certainly not my sister. I might not like her all that much, but I'm the only one allowed to hurt her. If you so much as harm a hair on her precious little head, I will put yours on a spike," Blackfire threatened. "Do I make myself clear?"
"Very." Raven frowned, having regained some control of herself. "Now get out."
With a roll of the eyes, Blackfire stood and left the dumb little demon girl behind.
— — —
Eventually, the meals Robin started to leave behind remained untouched. For the most part, there was no indication that Raven was even alive. Sure, it'd just now been the fourth day since their big battle, but she ought to have been recovering quite well. It seemed strange that she'd suddenly break her routine. Then again, Raven was quite a strange person.
It wasn't until the second day that this happened that Starfire grew worried enough to force her way into Raven's room. Like expected, it was exceptionally dark, everything was in perfect order, but her candles were snuffed out and Raven was nowhere to be found.
Making her way over to the half demon's desk, Starfire noticed a carefully folded paper waiting for her. At first she left it alone before deciding that Raven wanted someone to read it or she wouldn't have left it out. Opening the crisp piece of parchment, Starfire smiled at the careful handwriting and dark purple ink. Her smile quickly faded as she read.
Starfire,
I figured if anyone would find this it would be you. As much as it pains me to do this, I'm leaving. I can't be in the tower anymore, not with the others and not with you. It's not safe for anyone. I can't keep myself under control. Whatever my brothers did to me has made it difficult to keep my emotions in check. I want to stay human and be like I was before but I don't know if that's possible anymore. Not after everything that's happened. What I did to all of you was wrong and unforgivable. I never should have hurt any of you.
I'm not sure when I'll be back, or if I'll ever be able to come back, but for now I need to find my center. I need to reconnect with who I really am and understand what all of this means again. I need time. I know that's a lot to ask. I don't expect you to stay the same from now until we meet again. I'm not going to ask that of you, but I want you to know that I'm okay if you move on. I want you to be happy whether I'm there or not.
If I can fix all of this, fix who I am, then maybe this will all be worth it. All of the anguish and pain will have paid off. At the very least I want you to know that I love you. Im doing this to protect you and the others. You're all my family, and I don't want to lose you because of something I've become. I want to protect my home. My real home.
Please, just trust that this is how it has to be for now. No matter how hard it is.
~Raven
Swallowing tightly, Starfire carefully folded up the piece of paper and placed it back on Raven's desk. She fought back her tears for now. The others needed to know that Raven was no longer with them. So Starfire put on her best face and did her best to remain calm, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't dying inside.
Maybe the tower was Raven's home, but Starfire's home was Raven. The Tameranean had spent so much of her life without constants that having Raven at her side all these years both as a friend and partner made her feel secure. Safe. That safety was gone now, and with it her home.