READ THIS BEFORE YOU START: I have to tell you this now, reader. This is a sequel. There is a story I've written that comes before this one. Its called "Raven's Game." If you click on my name up there in one of the corners, it should pull up my profile… along with all the stories I've written. You need to read Raven's Game before you read this story! Otherwise, it won't make much sense to you… I don't want confused readers sending me question-filled reviews. Go read the first story first! This is a sequel, and it's starting now!
Disclaimer: This story is based off of a PC game, Dark Fall II: Lights Out. It's predecessor, Dark Fall: The Journal, inspired me to write a Teen Titans fan fiction. I dubbed it Raven's Game. This story goes with the sequel game, to keep things in order. I don't own Teen Titans, Dark Fall: The Journal, or Dark Fall II: Lights Out! ((P.S. The games are in no way connected to each other. You could play the second one and enjoy it just as much without playing the first one. It's just the same shadow… thing, that we're talking about here. The 'Dark Fall' games are made by The Adventure Company, in case anyone wants to buy find it. I inspired like a dozen people to go buy the first Dark Fall Game. XD)) Now, on with the show!
P.S. Instead of this taking place in the ninety year-old lighthouse, its gonna be Titan's Tower, n'kay? I just want it all to make sense to my readers.
P.P.S. I dedicate this to "Tattooed Goddess," "Gladcease," "Nevermore the Raven," and "Raven with Emotion." They've been my loyal fans from the start. This one is for you, guys! Even if I spelled your names wrong! My bad! LOL!
Beast Boy's Game
Part 1: Game Start!
Beast boy mumbled incoherently, sitting up in bed. It was seven in the morning, his digital clock said. He usually didn't get up until nine, unless there was combat practice. But today was special to him, not a combat practice day. Sighing and standing, he rotated his torso until he heard the regular number of popping bones go off. Looking at himself in the mirror, he posed a few times to make himself feel manly. Dressing and fighting a particularly stubborn cowlick with a comb… he was ready to start the day. Smiling at his reflection, he exited his room.
He was off to see her. She would be the only one awake at this hour, anyway. She'd be by the window in the common room, hovering serenely in the air… meditating. He stepped into the elevator, taking a trip down memory lane as he did so. He pushed the button that would take him to the common room, then folded his arms and leaned against the wall.
A whole year, it had been. A whole year as of today. The others had marked it off as another of their adventures, and had mostly forgotten about it. But not him. Him, or her. They'd stared into the very face of darkness, together. The nameless shadow of evil, the ageless consumer of souls. Thousands of whispers that followed it around, warning others of its presence… But, they'd won. Together, as a team. They'd built another seal and locked it away with the twelve ancient symbols and the lyrics that matched them.
Beast Boy heaved a sigh, feeling what he had hidden in his pocket. The object… it was very special to him, and soon for her as well. He'd gotten it about a month ago, but he was ready to show it to her now. It was perfect. None of the others were awake yet. It would just be the two of them for an hour or so. Robin usually didn't appear until about eight, and he was only beaten by Raven on 'getting up times.'
The elevator doors opened quietly, and he stepped out. Sure enough, there she was. Hovering in the lotus position, softly chanting. Raven. A soft smile and a light blush on his cheeks, Beast Boy approached her. "Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…" she mumbled softly. Her hood was back, which was a rarity to him. She usually had it up unless she was on the roof meditation. That was one of the little details he'd come to notice about her. But today, her hood was down. He could look at her hair… her closed eyes… her peaceful face. Cautiously approaching Raven, Beast Boy reached for her. A year or so ago, he would've simply shouted her name to wake her from meditation. But, things were different now.
His hand gently rested on her shoulder as he stood before her. Her chanting slowed and then stopped. Her astral body was returning from the upper plane, he could see. Her chakra glittered slightly, and her eyes slowly opened. The pools of royal purple looked at him with dashing intelligence, a sort of look he could never get tired of. "Good morning." He whispered as though they were in a library. A tiny smile found her face, and his heart swelled.
"Morning." She said, her eyes narrowing in amusement. "What's the occasion, being up so early?" He let go of her as her legs unfolded to support her weight on the ground.
"You know what day it is." Beast Boy said quietly. She nodded, knowing what he meant. A year ago today… they'd beaten that thing. There was a long silence as the two of them sat on the couch together. He knew Raven was only comfortable with intimacy when no one else was around. He'd learned that over their months of being an 'item.' The others knew without a doubt they were a couple, but they were nowhere near as obvious as Robin and Starfire. Beast could count the number of times he'd kissed Raven on his hands, but he remembered each time vividly. And, much to his happiness, their very first kiss had been on her bed.
Raven leaned on him and he put an arm around her. They sat in silence, watching the sun come up. She let her head fall on his shoulder, holding her hand in his. They'd shared a quiet, intimate relationship over the past year. Not even the newspapers knew about it, though they had no problem gossiping over Robin and Starfire. (Cyborg, although he tried to hide it, seemed to have a thing for Jinx lately… there was no telling where that would go, her being a mercenary and all…) Raven was happy with her catch, though. She didn't have to tell the world… it was her business.
They drowsed over the new day in the warmth of the sun streaming in the window. Listening to each other breathe, looking at each other out of the corner of their eyes. "Penny for your thoughts?" Beast Boy asked softly, looking over at her.
"Never thought it would be you I'd end up with." Raven said bluntly. "If someone told me about this a year ago, I wouldn't have believed them." She looked over at him. He looked rather hurt at her words, but she quickly made up for it. "But, here we are today." She leaned over and pecked him on the cheek. He flushed happily, butterflies in his stomach. The dark girl smiled mysteriously, the way that always made him smile back. He swore that her cloak had been a lighter shade of blue lately… but he hadn't said anything. He had theorized that she was close… so very close… to finally being able to wear white again. Raven wearing white would've been the greatest joy in her life and his.
"I got you something." He said, reaching into his pocket. Raven watched him struggle for a moment. It was hard to get anything out of his pocket when he was sitting down. She observed with some amusement, shaking her head. He stood and pulled it out, and there was a flash of gold in the morning sun.
"Ohh…" Raven whispered, awed by what she saw. It was beautiful. A golden pocket watch dangled from a chain in front of her. A black piece of metal in the shape of a raven was embedded on the front, and the initials R and BB were on the back. A twinge of red touched her cheeks, and she leaned forward. It spun lazily in front of her, and she cupped her hands as he lowered it into them. "Beautiful…" she breathed, opening it.
Inside, opposite to the clock itself, was a picture of the two of them. Beast Boy had insisted they take one together a few months ago. So, they'd met at a secluded spot and done so with a digital camera. They hadn't dared to go to a professional photographer, or it might've leaked to the newspaper. He'd brought her copies of it later on, but this… in the photo, they were sitting on a rock in a forest. His arm was around her, and her hood was down. A small smile was on her face, and a big grin plastered on his. A memorable day, it was…
"Happy Anniversary." He whispered in her ear, sitting next to her. He kissed her cheek and she flushed, holding her present to her breast. He smiled at her, drawing romantically close to claim her lips…
"Beast Boy…" Raven flushed deeply, letting him pull her almost into his lap. Their hearts revved up… "Ah…" she felt his arm hook around her waist, and she placed both hands on his masculine chest… They were millimeters apart, eyes falling closed…
"Morning." It was Robin! The two of them practically jumped apart, turning and looking at him. "Did I interrupt something?" he asked, looking amused and sleepy at the same time.
"No." Raven said quickly, maybe a little too quickly. Beast Boy's ears wilted as she put her hood up, standing as she did so. "I'm going to the roof." She said. "See you boys later." She swept from the room.
Beast Boy threw Robin a death glare. The boy wonder didn't seem to register it, and turned to make his breakfast. Rolling his eyes and muttering to himself, Beast Boy went to get the mail. "Stupid Robin and his stupid interruptions and his stupid… stupidity…" he muttered, squatting at the door. Their actual mailbox was way across the bay, at the post office. Each Titan had a mailbox for fan mail, and then there was a main one for the five of them together. That was for magazines, packages and so on. But then, all that mail was sent through a vacuum tube, under the whole Jump City bay, and dropped at their front door. It was a lot for just mail but hey, they were super heroes. They were allowed to have cool stuff like that. Beast Boy gathered up the pile of mail as best he could, flipping through it to see if there was anything for him.
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It writhed in its prison, shrieking and twisting and clawing at nothing. Its prison was absolute. The twelve magical symbols flew around it in unison, hanging in the air like a projection from which there was no origon. A whole year it had been sealed away.
After 4,500 years of imprisonment it had been set free by a pair of mortals. But, those very same mortals had sealed it up again in a matter of days. It was infuriated, and fought its bonds constantly. Trapped in the well, down the hall, beyond the seal, under the building called 'Titans Tower.' Working its shadowy tendrils in what little space it had to call home, it seethed silently. Its red eyes flashed in easy patterns, thousands of whispers around it. All the souls it had taken. All the people it had devoured. How was it to be free again…? How long would it have to wait before another fool mortal set it free?
The new seal was strong, unbreakable from its own side. The twelve symbols along with some fresh Azar magic, coursed through it. How in all of eternity would it get free…? That thought sparked an idea in its head. Yes…. Yes. That would work. It would be free… in no time at all. Yes… it had all the time in the world.
BUT, RIGHT NOW IT WAS TIME TO PLAY A GAME.
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"Hmm?" Beast Boy found a manila envelope addressed to no one. It was one of those fancy ones that had bubble-wrap built into it to keep the contents safe. His brow furrowing, he pulled it out of the stack and flipped through the rest. "Oh hey… one for Raven." He picked that one out of the stack too. He could use that as an excuse to go see her on the roof. Going to the common room only briefly to put the rest of the mail on the counter, he went to the top floor. He emerged onto the roof finding her not meditating, but looking out over the city. "Raven, mail for you." he called. She turned in surprise as he came closer. She hadn't heard him coming. "Here you go." He gave her the envelope with a smile. Sitting down on the edge of the roof with her, he fiddled with his own while she opened hers.
"It's from those kids at the orphanage we saved last week." Raven mumbled. The Titans had saved a bunch of kids about a week ago from the villain Cardiac. The letter was written in red crayon, with mis-spellings all over the place. "Another thank you letter, it looks like." She unfolded a big drawing of all five Titans. It was pretty well done for an five year-old, who had signed her name at the bottom. The whole thing in was done in sloppy crayon, but you could tell who everyone was. Robin was way too tall, and one of Starfire's hands had only four fingers. Beast Boy's hair was straight up like a flat top, and Cyborg was drawn in blocks. Raven was also there, drawn only with a black crayon. Her chakra gem was as big as a baseball, and that got a chuckle out of her. Little kids were funny, now and then.
Beast Boy was opening his own mail while she was reading hers. There was no return address, and all it really said was To: Titan's Tower. It was strange, spidery writing, but whatever. Anything that wasn't addressed to a specific Titan was free game for all five of them. He pulled it open and tipped it upside down. A CD fell out, glittering in the sunlight. Raven, who was right next to him, hadn't noticed a thing. She was too busy looking at the funny drawing of the team she'd been sent. "Mmm…" Beast Boy mumbled, turning it over. The whole thing was black, and there were no markings on it anywhere. He saw his own reflection on the bottom, then turned it back over. Silver letters spelled LIGHTS OUT for him. Were they there before? He hadn't seen them… He tilted his head in confusion, his pointed ears perking for answers. The same odd handwriting, too. The title made him shiver. What was it?
Raven felt him shudder and looked over. Her pupils shrank in horror and her powers raged! "NO!" she cried, trying to get it away from him.
Too late.
The disk started spinning due to the presence of Raven's powers, and hovered out of his grasp. Beast Boy threw himself backward in shock as it hovered all by itself. "What's going on?"
"Beast Boy it's the same –!" A black vortex was opening beneath her and she froze like a deer on a highway. The green teen lunged at her and knocked her away… just in time to fall in himself. "No! BEAST BOY!" she threw herself forward to follow, but the portal closed just as quickly as it had come. She landed on her shoulder with a grunt of pain. "No…NOOOO!" she pounded the cement painfully, lying there. Windows all over Titan's Tower exploded, waking anyone who already wasn't. Furniture tumped over, books jumped off of shelves, lightbulbs shorted out, dishes shattered, appliances went crazy, and the T-car's rear-view mirror cracked. He was gone! "Not again……" Tears started in her eyes. She could hear the others coming to her way. God, it was starting again. But this time…
…it was Beast Boy's game.
Dum… dum… DUUUUUM! I hope you enjoyed the first part of the story, ya'll! So, Beast Boy has fallen into the game. What will happen to him? What horrors will he face? What will Raven and the others do to get him back…? It continues next time on Beast Boy's Game! See you in part two, "Check the Seal!" I've already put it up, so go see it!