Authors Notes: Yes, this is a bit late, but I didn't want to wait until next year. This is my first Teen Titans fic, but I'm rather proud of it. I will now give warnings:
Warning(s): Medium level violence! Very OOC (Sorry, I tried to avoid it, but no one's perfect!)! Some Romance! Some Swearing!
Pairings: BBRae (all the way!), RS
Enjoy!
It had all started quite innocently.
It was a Friday morning, just like any other in the Tower. Cyborg and Beastboy were once again locked in mortal combat over...well, Mortal Kombat. Starfire was sitting nearby glancing up to watch every now and then. The rest of the time she was trying a wonderful new pastime Robin had suggested called knitting. Robin himself was working out in the training room, and Raven was locked within her room, most likely meditating.
All in all, pretty normal. Except for one little detail. It was Halloween.
Now normally the Teen Titans would have been decorating and celebrating by now, but this year they hadn't. Beastboy was usually the one who planned out the day and got everyone, including Raven to participate. But since the death of Terra, he just didn't have the motivation. So nothing was planned. Or, at least that's what everyone thought.
The day went by with nothing really happening. No alarms, no attacks, nothing. No one really even bothered to make lunch. They just ate when they felt the need. By the end of the afternoon, everyone was pretty bored, but no one really wanted to do anything. At one point Starfire looked up from her scarf, which was now sprawled across the room, and saw that the boys weren't even really trying anymore. No biting comments were made, no insults thrown. They were just playing for something to do. She sighed, and turned back to her scarf.Suddenly Raven walked into the room and headed to the kitchen, presumably for some tea. Starfire smiled, dropped her scarf and floated over.
"Hello Friend Raven. It is so good to see you out of your living space. Would you like to partake in some form of entertainment?" She asked the quiet girl. Raven just glared at her from under her hood. Starfire drooped a bit, "Perhaps not, then."
"Come on, Starfire," Cyborg called from the couch, "It's Raven you're talking about. She never does anything entertaining."
"What?" Raven asked quietly, but the malice within her words was easily heard. Cyborg shrank back a bit at the force of her glare, but Beastboy didn't take the hint.
"Yeah, it's true. You never do anything fun," He said, turning around on the couch to face the girls. His controller lay forgotten on the floor, and his car soon crashed into a wall and exploded. Beastboy didn't seem to notice, "Dude, you really need to chill out every now and then. Do something fun, or exciting or something." Raven's glare intensified. Even Beastboy had to give up under that look. However, he had a parting jab, "Nevermind, I guess you're just too boring," And then he picked up his controller, and he and Cyborg started up another race.
Raven glared a bit longer, then grabbed her tea. Without so much as a goodbye, she stormed off to her room.
"Boring, am I?" She whispered to herself. She looked at the non-magical mirror on her dresser. She glared at the image before her. She never really liked her looks too much. She wasn't tall, like Starfire, and her hair wasn't shiny or silky like Robin's or Blackfire's. Her skin was a pasty grey, and she hated her eyes. They were so unnatural, constantly reminding her of who her father was. She growled, then turned from her reflection and grabbed a book off of the bookshelf.
Five minutes later, she gave up on trying to read. She still didn't even know what book she had picked up. She sighed once more. She needed to meditate. She was getting too frustrated.
It took an hour, but she finally calmed down. She looked outside her window, and could see that it was already dark. She had probably missed dinner, then. No matter, she wasn't very hungry anyway. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass of her window, staring out into the darkness and out at the clouds that had covered the tower all day. It was going to rain, and soon.
Suddenly she straightened. A brilliant idea had just hit her. Boring, am I? An evil smile spread on her face. I'll show you who's boring. This will be fun. She stood and quietly left the room. She needed to prepare.
It was getting late. Once again, Starfire was working on her scarf. Cyborg was now challenging Robin to a race on the gamestation, and Beastboy was watching. Suddenly the power went out.
"What the heck?" Cyborg asked. He stood up, completely confused.
"Hey, this is so uncool," Beastboy frowned, "I was gonna take on the winner. Now what are we supposed to do?" Cyborg shrugged.
"I wonder what happened," Robin mused. Starfire had jumped up and ran to him the moment the power went out, so he wasn't complaining.
"Do you think it was Raven again?" Cyborg asked. His robotic eye was currently the only source of light in the room. The others quickly moved closer to him.
"I don't think so," Robin replied, "What would scare her like that? Besides, she would know better. But where is she?"
Suddenly, a scream shot through the Tower. The Titans froze.
"That sounded like Raven," Beastboy whispered. He could feel Starfire shaking next to him in Robin's arms. Cyborg's shoulder light suddenly flipped up.
"C'mon!" he shouted, running towards Raven's room, "She sounded like she was in trouble!" Immediately the others followed, Robin still holding onto Starfire tightly, who was shaking like mad.
Just as Beastboy was leaving the room, he thought he noticed a shadow moving out of the corner of his eye. But he dismissed it in favour of running to see if Raven was all right. After all, Raven was more important than anything to him. She had better be okay.
They arrived within moments. Cautiously, Cyborg knocked on the door, "Raven?" He called. None of then wanted to disturb her if it turned out to be a false alarm. However, there was no answer.
"Okay, that's it," Beastboy said, determination colouring his voice, "If she gets mad, it'll be my fault, but it'll be worth it to see that she's okay," He grimaced. The others stood back. He decided to try just opening the door first, just in case. He was expecting it to be locked.
It wasn't. The door opened and his heart stopped.
Raven was hanging from the ceiling by her own cloak. She slowly turned, clockwise, then ever so slowly turned counter-clockwise. Her face was hidden in shadow, but her body was easily seen. It was covered in cuts and scratches, and an entire chunk of her side was a gaping hole. Blood coated the room, and everything smelled of it. Beastboy felt like he was going to be sick.
Starfire took one look at the room and screamed. She fell to the ground, crouched with her hands over her ears and her eyes tightly shut, as if not being able to see would make everything go away. Robin quickly crouched down with her, trying to calm her down, but she would not be calmed.
"No more of this!" She shouted, "No more of these scary things! I have had enough! What is happening?" She looked up at Robin with teary eyes, expecting him to answer her every question like always, "Who has done such a terrible thing to Friend Raven? Why would anyone hurt her in such a way? Why?" Her body began shaking with heavy sobs. Robin just held her closer, unable to respond.
Beastboy was shaking. No, he thought, Not Raven. Anybody but Raven! I never got to tell her! I never got to make her laugh! This isn't fair! God, let this be a bad dream, let it all be a dream! Not Raven! Not Raven! His mind soon deteriorated into an endless loop of denial. It was too much for him.
"Robin," Cyborg called, stepping out of the room. His face was much paler than usual, but aside from that, he seemed unaffected. But Robin knew better. Cyborg rested a hand on Beastboy's head, who had sunk to his knees. The green boy didn't seem to notice. He continued to stare at the body turning every so slowly in the room beyond.
"Robin," He repeated, "We've got to get out of here. I'm not going to lie, I'm scared. Something's in the Tower right now that took out Raven without her even struggling. I checked. There's nothing broken in there. It looks like something killed her and then tore her apart. No signs of a struggle. And this is Raven. All in all, we've got to get out of here. This thing, whatever it is has the advantage right now. We need to get out, and then recover. Okay?"
Robin merely nodded, a bit overcome himself. Suddenly Starfire shrieked and buried her face deeper into Robin's chest. "What? What?" He grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to make her look at him.
"I saw...I saw something moving up ahead. I do not want to see it. I do not wish to die!" She sobbed and clutched Robin tighter. Robin grimaced, then turned to Cyborg.
"Neither Starfire or Beastboy is capable of walking on their own right now. I'll carry Starfire, can you carry Beastboy and Raven?" He asked, grabbing Starfire up in his arms and lifting her bride-style. Cyborg raised his eyebrow.
"Raven too?" He asked, already reaching for Beastboy. Beastboy was still frozen, and didn't react in the slightest when Cyborg threw him over his shoulder.
"Yeah. I'm not going to leave her here to the tender mercies of whatever the hell did this, even if she is dead. Besides, she deserves a funeral, and I'm not sure if we'll have the chance to grab her again." He watched as Cyborg gently put Beastboy down to free up his hands, then walked into the bloodbath. He reached up and slowly began to untie Raven's cloak from the ceiling.
Just as he finished untying it, Raven's head shot up.
Shouting in surprise, Cyborg dropped the corpse and stumbled back. But the body landed on its feet and slowly stood. Cyborg was petrified as he looked into Raven's eyes. They were glowing a deep blue. Her face was scarred up horribly, and blood was everywhere, but he couldn't miss the evil grin sent his way. She took a step forward, and he bolted.
Robin, who had heard Cyborg's shout and had come to investigate was almost bowled over by his terrified friend. "RUN!" Cyborg shouted, and then he grabbed Beastboy and barrelled down the hallway. Robin paused for a moment, wondering what in the world had happened. But then he spotted the zombie in the room, shuffling closer, and with wide eyes he bolted, Starfire still safely in his arms.
The two Titans ran for what seemed like hours but was really only a few minutes. They stopped finally in the middle of a hallway that was wide enough to be considered a room. Here they rested, sinking to the ground.
"What...happened?" Robin panted, with Starfire still in his lap. She seemed to be doing much better, looking over at Cyborg with worry in her green eyes. Cyborg struggled for a minute to find his voice.
"I dunno...I was just untying her cloak...when she suddenly came to life...Her eyes were glowing and the look on her face...I never want to see that look on anyone's face ever again. That was pure evil," He poked Beastboy, who had been shaking since the run. Cyborg had no doubt in his mind that Beastboy must have seen Raven from over his shoulder. That had to be hard, seeing the one you loved turned into a zombie by someone who you didn't know.
"But what happened to her?" Beastboy finally whispered, "Who could turn Raven into a zombie?"
Cyborg gave him a pat on the back, "We don't know. But we've got to get out of here if we want to find out. We're not safe here. Now we've got both the thing AND zombie Raven to deal with." He stood up. Robin followed his lead for once, Starfire still in his arms. She blushed.
"Friend Robin, it is okay. I am able to walk now," she said. He smiled at her.
"Are you sure? Cause I don't mind carrying you," He was smirking as he said it, but she could still see the blush creeping up on his cheeks. She giggled a little, and blushed even harder.
"Alright, enough with the fluffy stuff," Beastboy growled. Robin coughed, embarrassed. That must have hurt Beastboy really badly, just watching them. He couldn't take it back now, though, so he simply moved away from Starfire. He hoped she understood.
As it was, she actually knew a better course of action. "Do not despair Friend Beastboy. All is not lost. Perhaps by defeating our adversary, Friend Raven will be cured. We must not give up hope. That is what I believe Raven would have wanted us to do."
Beastboy gaped at Starfire for a second. Then, he smiled sadly, rubbing his face a bit, "Thanks Starfire. That means a lot to me right now. I'm sorry. What I did was totally uncool. Can you forgive me?"
"Of course."
"Alright," Robin said. The others quickly turned to him, "we've wasted enough time. We've got to get out of here. Forget Raven. Let's just go. We'll take the stairs, that should be safer, if slower than the elevator." Everyone agreed, so they began their journey to the stairs at the end of the dark hallway. As they were leaving, Robin turned around sharply.
"What?" Cyborg asked, a slight bit of fear creeping into his normally confident voice.
"Nothing," Robin answered, turning back around and heading forwards once more, "Just thought I saw someone in the corner."
As they walked down the hallway they each got more and more nervous. They were all seeing things, there was something in the Tower that could possibly tear them to shreds, and to top it all off, Raven was a zombie most likely after them. So something should have happened by now.
And then it did.
They had almost reached the staircase when the floor started rumbling. The Titans froze, unsure of what new horror would now appear. But seconds passed, and the rumbling stopped, and didn't start again.
"Well," Cyborg muttered, "That was weir-AHH!"
Out of the floor erupted a huge creature that no one had ever seen before. It was wormlike, with a circular mouth lined with rows and rows of sharp teeth, and was surrounded by tentacles for grabbing things. All along its sides grew strange hairs that cut up everything that touched them. One such hair caught Robin across the face and just missed his eye. The brown creature dived up out of the ground and came down once more, mouth open.
Right on top of Cyborg.
"NO!" Robin screamed, jumping towards the worm that was still falling through the hole in the floor it had created. Just before he too fell into the abyss, an orange-tinted arm wrapped around his chest and pulled him back.
"No Robin! Don't go! He is gone, we cannot help him!" Starfire cried, hugging the human boy close to herself. Robin slowly relaxed. Beastboy, however, was beside himself.
"I can't believe it! I can't believe this! Dude, this is so uncool! They're gonna pick us off one by one?! No way!" He was shaking, clutching his fists so tightly that the nails bit into his palms and he began to bleed. They had taken the girl he liked, they had taken his best friend, they were taking his whole family! He was filled with such rage that he knew that if he was Raven, the entire city would have exploded, "That does it! Screw getting out if here alive! Screw survival! Someone is screwing around with us, an I'm not going to take it! If you guys want to go, leave. I don't care anymore. But I'm not leaving until I get revenge!" And with that he about faced, and stomped back into the darkness.
Robin and Starfire stared at each other in silence for a moment, "I wish to follow my friend, even if it means I will become a zombie," Starfire finally whispered, "Beastboy is right. We will not survive. It is best we...how do you say it? Go down fighting?"
Robin let a sad smile cross his face, "Yeah, that's right," Starfire smiled, happy she had gotten even that small thing correct. Robin sighed, happy to see her happy, but terrified because he knew what was going to happen. They were right. This wasn't a matter of survival. This time, it wasn't a friend's mind playing tricks on her. This time it was an actual enemy. It wasn't Slade, Robin knew that. This wasn't his style. Whoever the attacker was, was much more violent and gruesome.
Robin stared at Starfire for a moment, taking in the beautiful girl before him. Ah, what have I got to lose? He shrugged to himself, then grabbed Starfire by the arms, and pulled her into a deep kiss.
Starfire's eyes widened, but then almost immediately slid shut. She had wanted this to happen ever since she had learned what kissing was. And it was just as wonderful as everyone had told her it would be. If it had been different circumstances, she would have been in heaven.
But as it was, there were monsters about, so Robin broke the kiss, drawing away slowly, "I've always wanted to do that," he whispered, pressing his forehead to hers. She simply nodded in agreement, "Come on. We'd better catch up to Beastboy before he gets hurt."
And with that, he grabbed her hand and began running in the direction Beastboy had left in.
For one beautiful moment, Starfire felt that she could take on any of these stupid monsters, if only for another kiss.
They found Beastboy up ahead, standing in front of the door to the living room on this floor. It wasn't one used very often, the Titans preferring the top floor, but it was here for the occasional guest. Beastboy turned to them, his eyes glowing slightly in the dark, "I thought you might come, so I waited." He said nothing more. Robin squeezed Starfire's hand slightly, and she squeezed back. "You ready?" Beastboy asked. The two others nodded. And with the push of a button, the door slid open.
Starfire gasped. The room beyond was filled with strange flying creatures. One flew closer, as if to inspect them. It looked a bit like a worm with wings. It had a single eye as a head, and then a long tail ending with an arrowhead shape acted as the body. A pair of large batwings spread from behind a pair of horns on the creature's head, fluttering slightly to keep it in the air. It seemed to complete its analysis of the teens, and so it fluttered off to join the cloud swarming in the air. The mass of creatures was just barely illuminated by the pale moonlight filtering through the clouds and windows.
"Well," Starfire began, sounding relieved, "These things are not so bad. They do not seem to wish us harm." She smiled at her friends. But Robin was frowning.
"But then what's their purpose? Something's wrong here. Beastboy?" The green Titan shrugged. He didn't get it either.
Starfire shrugged, "Perhaps they are for the purpose of stressing us over?" She reached out to stroke the wing of the closest creature.
"That's 'stressing us out' and I don't think that's it either," Robin corrected, looking nervously at the cloud of wings, eyes, and tails. But Starfire didn't hear him. The moment she had touched the creature's wing, its eye snapped around to her. The pupil narrowed to a slit, not unlike a cat, and then it attacked.
Now on its own, one of these things could do little actual harm. But it wasn't just the one. The second the first had attacked, they swarmed her. Starfire screamed and fell back, trying to escape the large attack. Both Robin and Beastboy ran forward, trying to help, Robin with his staff, and Beastboy as a bear. But no matter how hard they tried, There was always a huge layer of monsters to bat aside before they could even see her. Gradually even her screams could no longer be heard.
Then, as if called by an imaginary voice, the cloud flew forward down another hallway. They left nothing but a stray bit of purple cloth behind. Robin clutched it tightly in his hand, "Whoever is behind this," He growled, "will pay dearly. Let's go." Beastboy only narrowed his eyes and nodded, changing back into his human form. Then they began to follow the sounds of wing beats up ahead.
It was about half an hour later, and they had finally lost the sound of the wings. Both boys felt despair crawling into their minds, but each time the felt they would be overwhelmed, they merely had to picture the face of one of the other Titans as they suffered, and their will was resolved. Onward they walked. No matter what would happen, they would get revenge.
They had just reached the training room when they heard it. A strange scratching noise like steel on steel. Both boys glared into the darkness. A single flashlight Robin had found in one of the rooms was currently their only source of light. He shone it into the corners, and all around the room, but nothing appeared. So they started walking again. They had barely taken three steps when the scratching came again. But this time, the monster making the noise revealed itself.
It was gruesome as it was tall. A single huge glowing eyeball stared out at them from above a gaping maw filled with razor sharp teeth the length of a child's arm. A long lizard-like tongue slopped out from the corner of its mouth that was shaped in a permanent grin. Upon its head and all down its back ran a fin like mane that wriggled slightly. Its upper torso was vaguely human, with two arms that ended in mantis-like claws. But the rest of its body was a long twisting thing with thousands of needle-sharp legs. It grinned its eternal grin of the insane at its prey, then struck.
Beastboy turned into the first thing that came to his mind. So the monster's claw missed his feathers by an inch. With a shriek of anger, the raven shot into the air, morphing into an eagle. He dived at the monster's eye, talons extended, but was forced to swerve out of the way as the monster made a swipe with the other claw.
Robin was busy on the ground with the monster's many needle-like legs. The monster was swerving all over the place, and was coming perilously close to trampling the boy wonder. His staff struck out again and again, trying to find a weakness in the armour, but nothing got through its tough hide.
And then Beastboy was caught. Without warning, the monster shot its tongue out like a chameleon, and snatched Beastboy right out of the air. He tried shifting to several different creatures to see if its tongue would hold, but each time it did. Grinning still, the monster turned and began to leave.
"No!" Robin shouted, jumping upon its back. Quickly, before he lost his balance, he raced up the spine of the monster, and with as much strength as he could muster, he slammed his staff into the monster's skull. With a shriek of pain, the monster dropped Beastboy from its tongue and began writhing on the ground, thrashing in pain. And then it lay still.
"Whoa, dude, remind me to never do that again," Beastboy commented, back in his true shape. Robin nodded, still glaring at the still corpse before him. Or was it?
Abruptly the monster shot up and wrapped its long body around Robin much like a boa constrictor. Robin tried to shout out his pain, but he couldn't seem to get any air into his lungs. Beastboy charged the monster as a rhino, but its natural armour protected it. Roaring in a mix of pain and fury, Beastboy shifted into a Tyrannosaurus Rex and leapt at the monster mouth open wide. The monster just slammed its claw into the side of Beastboy's head, and then scampered off into the darkness, the hopefully only unconscious Robin in its claws. And Beastboy was left alone once more.
Beastboy was tired of this game of cat and mouse. He was tired of being toyed with, and he was tired of being hurt. It was time to finish it. He knew who would win this game, but hell if he was going to just roll over and make it easy. No, the bastard behind everything would have to earn his victory, and Beastboy was going to make sure to make that as hard as possible. He was so tired of everything.
He didn't bother trying to follow the monster that had taken Robin. It would be gone almost as soon as he gave chase, he knew that. Besides, there would be nothing accomplished by rescuing Robin. He was either dead, or close to it, and if he was rescued his death was only going to be delayed for a little longer. It was all going to end soon.
Beastboy finally arrived at his destination. The room where this had all started: Raven's room.
The zombie was there, now seated on the bed, just rotting away quietly while she waited. But the moment he stepped into the room, she looked up. Her face was twisted into a grin so full of malevolence that he almost backed out of the room. But he only had to look into her glowing blue eyes to remember the deep violet he had loved so much. And his rage grew.
The zombie stood slowly, her head rolling around. She grinned wider and began walking towards him, ever so slowly. He paled, but wouldn't move.
"Who did this to you?" He asked, his voice hard with anger. Raven just came closer. "Who did this?" He asked again, "Tell me!" But she simply continued her walk, her eyes locked with his. Finally, she reached him. She very slowly reached up and gripped his face in her hands. He felt the blood smearing onto him, but at that point he didn't care. She held his face close to hers, staring into his eyes evermore. And then with a viscous motion, she pulled his head back, and then smashed it into her own.
When Beastboy awoke, he felt sick. The vision of Raven with her terrible smile seemed permanently burned into the backs of his eyelids. He really didn't want to look around himself, he really didn't want to know where he was. But he knew he would have to eventually. So, groaning, he slowly sat up.
His groan was echoed around the room. His eyes snapped open and to his shock, all of the other Titans were there! They were sitting in their living room, completely fine aside from the headaches everyone seemed to have. He grinned. Even though he had no idea what had just happened, everyone was okay. They might just be able to survive the night after all!
"So you're all awake. Good."
The Teen Titans whirled around. Standing in front of the window was a very tall man in a black robe. His robe's hood was pulled up and the only feature that could be seen in its darkness was a single glowing blue dot right in the middle of where the head would be. And kneeling at his feet was the zombie Raven. He gently stroked her hair between his fingers, which Beastboy couldn't help but notice was nothing but bones covered with a few bits of flesh.
"Who are you?" Robin demanded from Beastboy's left. He was holding Starfire in his arms again as she began charging up her starbolts. Cyborg on Beastboy's right was charging his own cannon with a scowl. The man seemed to look at them all, and then laughed.
"Come, my pets," He crooned softly. Abruptly the monsters appeared behind him, circling and protecting their apparent master. Raven growled at them, but did not move. All was silent but for the sound of the rain outside and the fluttering of the hundreds of pairs of wings of the flying worms.
"I am Darkness," The man began, spreading the arm that was not occupied with Raven's hair out as if to display his creatures, "And these are my pets. I'm sure you remember them."
"What did you do to Raven?" Beastboy shouted, just barely restraining himself from turning into a lion and charging. Darkness chuckled.
"I have done nothing wrong. I merely welcomed her into my family. Isn't that right my pets?" A chorus of shrieks and roars were his response. The zombie smirked.
"Done nothing wrong my ass!" Beastboy exploded. He began leaping forward when Cyborg grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. At the same time Raven stood and growled even louder. As Cyborg pulled Beastboy back, she hissed at them.
"So why Raven?" Robin asked, trying to draw the attention of the creatures away from his friends. Raven sullenly kneeled once more, and Darkness continued his ministrations.
Get your ugly, dirty hands out of her hair! Beastboy hissed in his head, glaring at the hand that continually traced Raven's hair. He had longed to do that same thing himself, and he'd be damned before he let anyone else do it. But he couldn't attack or they'd all die. It was so frustrating!
"I wanted her for this." Darkness answered, again gesturing to his monsters, "I have the power to control them, but only she," he now patted Raven's head, "could summon them. Of course she had to borrow quite a bit of my magic. She could never do this on her own, but I cannot summon them myself either, so I suppose it does not matter."
"Why was she the only one who could summon them?" Robin once more asked, trying now to buy them time. Starfire gulped, her hands still glowing. This wasn't turning out well at all.
"Because these creatures were from Azerath. And as I have never been there, I needed her memories of them to help me create them."
"But I thought you said she summoned them!"
"Yes she did. Into existence."
Beastboy was getting impatient. Finally he decided to put in his own opinion, "Fine, so you have monsters. Why did you want them?" He was watching Raven as he said this. She was sitting peacefully, but as he asked this, she looked into his eyes and her mouth twisted into the grin he so much despised.
"Why, to kill all of you, of course," Darkness replied, and then Raven moved. She stood and without even saying a word dark power wrapped around them all and trapped them. She began to laugh.
"Now, which of you goes first?" Darkness asked himself, stepping forward, "No matter. I'll let my newest pet decide." He turned to Raven. She, in turn, looked to Beastboy. His heart stopped.
"Don't I get a last request?" he squeaked. Darkness chuckled. He nodded to Raven, who scowled and let her magic around Beastboy disappear. He fell to his knees, and the shakily stood. He hadn't actually expected them to allow him this. But now that he had his request, there was only one thing he wanted to do before he died. He felt a bit sick, but he had wanted it for so long that it was worth it.
He stared right into Raven's eyes. They glowed blue back at him. "Stay still," Beastboy commanded. A little surprised, she obeyed. Darkness and the monsters were silent. Beastboy looked to his friends, and then back at Raven. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
And then he kissed her.
Raven was shocked, that much was clear. Her eyes snapped back to their normal colour almost instantly, and Darkness and the monsters began to waiver. H my God, she thought, He's kissing me! He's actually kissing me! Emotions started shooting through her, happiness, fear, surprise, guilt, shame, love. She felt like she was going to explode the whole Tower! No! I won't lose control! I won't! She reached out with her mind and grabbed onto the power coursing through her, her eyes squeezed shut, her heart beating faster, she reached out, emotions swirling, energy about to explode, and twisted.
Beastboy pulled back when her heard a strange pop! He looked around in confusion, his eyes widening. Everything in the room was green. The doors were green, the walls were green, the T.V. was green, the floor was green, the ceiling was green, the furniture was green, and Darkness and his monsters were gone.
"Um, Raven?" Robin called from his location on the floor. He, Starfire and Cyborg were all free and sitting on the ground, looking very confused. They seemed to be the only things in the room not green. Beastboy, who was already naturally green, turned back to stare at Raven. She was blushing darkly, looking down at her feet and pulling her now green cloak closer around herself. "What the hell is going on?"
"I...I'm sorry," Raven whispered, and then she bolted towards her room. Robin started after her, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
"Let her go. She looks pretty flustered," Cyborg advised, as he glanced over at Beastboy. The changeling was still unmoving where Raven had left him, too shocked to believe that he had actually done what he had always wanted. Cyborg shook his head. "C'mon, let's try to get this green stuff all cleaned up. If we can," He muttered. Robin nodded and with Starfire still gripping his arm, they headed into the kitchen to get some cleaning supplies. Cyborg patted Beastboy on the back as they headed into the other room. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs, then followed.
Starfire gasped as she stepped through the doorway. The room looked wonderful, with a Jack-O-Lantern on the counter carved to look like one of the monsters she had created, and orange and black streamers criss-crossing the ceiling. Above the doorway was a Happy Halloween banner, and four huge bowls sat on the counter, each full to the brim with candies. It looked like the perfect set up for a Halloween party.
"Raven did all this?" Robin asked in disbelief. The others were too shocked to say anything. He shook his head slowly, "She planned a whole Halloween party for us, and even scared us like Beastboy asked her to. And I just yelled at her. Man, do I feel like a jerk."
Starfire hugged him around the shoulders, "You did not know. We can apologize, yes? I am sure Raven will understand. I do not think that is what she ran off for," Starfire's piercing gaze turned to Beastboy. He blushed, and looked down.
"I really screwed up, didn't I?" He muttered, "I scared her off. I shoulda known better. Dude! I'm such a loser! I ruined everything!" he started shaking.
Starfire transferred her hug to the traumatized boy before her, "I do not believe Raven was very upset when she left. Perhaps she shares your feelings, but is too afraid to share them with us. Perhaps you should try to discus with her your feelings?" She made him look her in the eye.
He paused, considering, then nodded, "Okay, I'll try."
"And while we wait for you to finish your talk we can dig into this candy!" Cyborg rubbed his hands together with glee, then started for the blue bowl. Robin shrugged, then followed him to snatch up the red one. Starfire gave Beastboy's shoulder one last squeeze, then joined her friends.
Beastboy took a big breath, and then turned and left the room, heading for Raven's. Passing through the living room in the process, he brushed a finger over the walls. Just as he expected, nothing came off. They wouldn't be able to wash this stuff off. Raven would have to reverse her magic later.
Too many, and yet too few moments later, he stood outside the door that separated him from the one he cared for most. He gulped, and slowly raised his hand to knock.
Before he could even make contact with the door, it slid open, revealing Raven with her normal irritated expression. However the moment she caught sight of Beastboy, she began to blush.
"Um...hi." Beastboy started, but before he could say more the most unexpected thing happened. Raven grabbed him by the head, just as she had before, and pulled his skull forward. Beastboy winced, expecting her to knock him out, but was both pleased and stunned when instead she pulled him in for a kiss.
This one wasn't quite as long as their first, but it was no less amazing. A moment later Raven pulled back. Beastboy looked up, a dazed expression still covering his features. He blinked as he caught sight of Raven's room. It was now bright yellow. Raven noticed too. Sighing, she waved a hand.
"Azerath Metrion Zynthos," She muttered, and the room switched back to its normal dark shade. Beastboy couldn't help but grin.
"Remind me of that next time we have to paint anything," he joked. Raven turned back to him, and he wilted under her gaze. True, she had kissed him, but that didn't mean she wasn't angry.
"Do you love me?"
"What?" Beastboy's ears perked up. He must have heard wrong.
"Do you love me?" Raven repeated. Beastboy gulped.
"Very much, yes." He whispered.
Raven looked him over again. She seemed to be sizing him up, as if trying to decide whether or not to answer. Finally she smirked.
"Good. Then we finally agree on something." Beastboy stared at her, unable to speak for fear that any movement would reveal that it had all been a dream, albeit a very strange one. So as a result, it was her that made the next move. Once more their lips touched, and this time no colour changing rooms were going to interrupt them.
Later that night the Teen Titans were all sitting around the living room, now back to normal. They had decided to do just one more thing for Halloween; watch Wicked Scary 2. Raven promised she wouldn't let anymore horrors show up for the rest of the night, so they figured it was okay. Starfire was gripping Robin's arm tightly as he hugged her closer, occasionally placing a kiss on her head when she got really scared. Beastboy sat as a dog on the couch with his head in Raven's lap. She was petting him, but whenever she jumped, he shifted back and hugged her, just in case. As it turned out, Wicked Scary 2 was much better that the original. Who would have thought?
When the movie finally ended the teens all looked at each other. No one seemed really eager to head to bed...alone.
"Um, maybe we should have a slumber party in here tonight. You know – just for Halloween," Robin suggested. No one objected. Twenty minutes later they were all laying together in a large pile of pillows, blankets, and stuffed animals, courtesy of Starfire. Cyborg turned out the lights and they all snuggled into their man-made nest.
"Hey Raven?" Beastboy whispered. He could just see her turn to look at him in the dark. He slowly slipped his hand into hers, "That whole haunted house thing was really cool. You should do it every Halloween."
She gave him a small smile, "I'll think about it. Goodnight Beastboy. Happy Halloween."
"Right back at ya."
As the clouds slowly shifted and the rain stopped, the moon shone down onto the group of friends, and almost seemed to smile. But in truth it simply sailed on through the night sky, shedding its pale light on all who would receive it.
The End