Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans, unfortunately. Any views or opinions expressed in this fan-fiction are strictly those of the author, me. The latter statement is probably just a formality, unless I somehow work my love of all things Canadian (GO CANADA) into this fan-fiction.

Please Read and review. Constructive criticism wanted.

Chapter 1: Threat or Promise.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos," Raven chanted her mantra as she floated above the couch in the Titan's Tower's common room, ignoring out almost everything around her. Over the years and through intense training, Raven obtained the ability to almost block out everything around her during her meditation. Thus, allowing her to endure Cyborg's and Beast Boy's antics while meditation. However, she soon realized she could not block everything out.

"Give it up, BB," Cyborg yelled even though Beast Boy was less than three feet from him. He was too engrossed in their game to notice or care about his voice. "You can't win. There is no way that I'm going to let you pull away with a victory over me. No way!"

"Whatever, Cyborg," Beast Boy yelled back, which for some reason caused Raven to chant Metrion twice. "Have you seen the score. Your car is so freaking slow that I've lapped you twice and have over a million more points than you. What could you possibly do to win now?"

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos," Raven continued chanting her mantra in spite of the disruptiveness of the two game obsessed Titans. Her inadvertent mistake now just another memory as her mind cleared itself entirely.

Cyborg smirked mischievously at Beast Boy's smug statement. 'Nothing, eh? Oh, I've been saving something special for you, you cocky little non meat loving… er… person.' Cyborg began furiously tapping buttons on his gamestation controller for ten seconds straight before his goal was accomplished.

Beast Boy never knew what hit him. Without warning, the young shape shifter's green car suddenly burst into vibrant flames as if he had collided with the wall, but he had not. His car was safe in the center of the track. Yet, the fact remained that his car was in shambles, and Cyborg mysteriously had three billion more points than he had had just mere seconds ago.

"What!" Beast Boy yelled in outrage at the top of his lungs, and he glued his face flat against the television to see if what had happened actually had happened. "Why did my car just explode! I was so close to the finish! How could this have happened!"

"Move it, BB," Cyborg said trying to hold in his laughter. "Some of us are trying to at least finish the race. Seriously, Beast Boy, how could you screw up so close to winning? It must really suck to be you."

Beast Boy slowly turned his head all the way around to face Cyborg, and several loud cracks could be heard coming from Beast Boy's green neck. Ignoring the pain, Beast Boy let go of the television and turned his body around to match the direction his head was facing, and several more cracking sounds could be heard. "You cheated," the emerald changeling said almost in a whisper.

"What?" Cyborg asked in mock outrage. "Me… cheat? Never! I would never need any unfair advantage, like oh say a one hundred button cheat code that I've been saving just to put you in your place, to whip your sorry green but. I personally believe that I am above such tactics. Perhaps you are just overlooking the obvious. Maybe you just lost to the better man."

"The better cheater, you mean," Beast Boy scoffed.

"What kind of attitude is that?" Cyborg asked smugly. "Now, I'd be happy to allow you to challenge me, the master of all games and you know it, to a rematch, but the result would only be the same. I'd kick your butt. I might even beat you worse than this time."

"Forget it," Beast Boy said as he flopped back onto the couch. "The game is not worth playing if all you're going to do is cheat. I will challenge you again, though. But, it will be in a different game and in a different time. And I'm going to beat you so bad that you'll run to your room screaming, move to Antarctica, live in an igloo, and eat nothing but ice just to hide your shame."

Cyborg gave Beast Boy a blank stare and even Raven had stopped her meditation to glance at the green teen from beneath her hood. "That made absolutely no sense, man," Cyborg stated through his confusion.

Beast Boy yelled in frustration. "It did in my head, and that's all that matters!"

"Whatever, BB." Cyborg said as he tossed his gamestation controller on the floor next to their gamestation. Creped out by Beast Boy, he began to slowly back away from his fuming best friend. "I'm just… uh… going to go work on my car for a while, so… bye." With that, the metallic Titan rushed as fast as his cybernetic legs could take him.

Beast Boy sat on the couch alone with his arms crossed in anger. Several minutes passed before his aggravation subsided, and the unwanted feeling of boredom crept though his mind. In desperation, Beast Boy began to search the room for anything that would keep him occupied and to stop himself from letting his mind think. Bad things tended to happen whenever he started to think. Mostly, it was only a stupid idea that emerges in his mind, but having a stupid idea usually leads to him doing something stupid. Doing something stupid usually gets him yelled at, and he did not want to endure a lecture from Robin. He needed something to occupy his brain and fast. Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, his eyes fell on Raven who was meditating above the opposite end of the couch.

'God, Raven is so beautiful,' Beast Boy thought while admiring the perfect figure of Raven floating merely less than ten feet from him. Why does she hide herself beneath that cloak all of the time? I wish that she'd open p to the rest of us more. I wish that she'd open up to me. She's too pretty to be kept hidden away in that dark room all the time. That's it! This may get me killed, but I am taking matters into my own hands.'

Beast Boy transformed his body into the shape of a little, green kitten and silently jumped onto the top of the couch. As stealthily as possible, the green kitten crept over the couch towards the floating half demon. Beast Boy knew that if he stayed silent for too log that Raven would get suspicious and his plans would be ruined, so he had to act fast. As soon as he was behind the dark teen, the green kitten crouched down and eyed his target. Confident that his kitten form could cover the distance, he put all of his kitteny might into his hind legs and leapt high into the air landing of Raven's right shoulder.

"Azerath Metrion Zinth-" Raven stopped chanting her mantra when she felt a light object land on her shoulder. Although she could not see it through the side of her hood, she soon figured out by the loud purring noise that it was Beast Boy. Her first instinct was to use her powers to fling the green kitten off of her shoulder, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not will herself to take any action against Beast Boy.

Surprised that his actions had not resulted in him getting flung into the wall, Beast Boy decided to move on to phase two of his plan. The little, green kitten lifted its left paw and batted at the hood of Raven's cloak. It took a lot more struggle than he originally intended, but Beast Boy eventually managed to push the hood off of Raven's head to her shoulders. The sight that he was met frightened him, and gave new meaning to the phrase scaredy cat. Raven was looking at him with one of her patented death glares, which caused Beast Boy to freeze out of shock and fear.

It was not an actual death glare, though. Raven intended it to be, but even she could tell that she was faking it. She felt no anger towards Beast Boy even though he had interrupted her meditation and messed with her cloak without her permission. In the place where her anger should have been rising, there was a new emotion that took its place. However, Raven refused to acknowledge that emotion's existence at all. She ignored it completely.

"What?" Raven asked as monotonously as possible, trying her best to cover up any trace of an unwelcome emotion in her voice.

Overcoming all of his fear of the dark goddess before him, Beast Boy spoke up. Actually, Beast Boy just meowed and purred louder into Raven's ear, but that was the cat's equivalent to speaking.

Raven sighed. "Get off!" She commanded bitterly, which made the kitten lower its head in despair.

Beast Boy jumped off of Raven's shoulder and onto the floor below. Transforming back into his human form, Beast Boy stood up and gave Raven a toothy grin.

Raven rolled her eyes and floated down in front of Beast Boy. "Why did you do that?" She asked curiously.

Beast Boy was completely taken aback by Raven's question. He had not thought of the possibility of questions after his quest was completed. Perhaps he should have. 'Oh crap!' Beast Boy panicked. 'What do I say? I can't tell her that I… I just can't tell her that! I could say that it was a joke… but where was the humor in that? No, that wouldn't work. Just say something nice.' "Um… I wanted to see your face."

Raven looked at the young shape shifter stunned. "Y-You wanted to see my –"

Raven's sentence was cut off by a loud scream, but to Beast Boy's horror, that scream was coming from Raven.The emerald changeling saw Raven clutching her head before she collapsed forward. The green teen rushed towards the goth Titan and caught the falling teen just before she hit the ground. "Raven." Beast Boy said holding the empath close. "Raven! Wake up, Raven!" His pleads were useless, though. His words could not reach Raven. She was out cold.

llllllllllllllllllll

Darkness. Pure Darkness. Raven stood alone in a never ending vast nothingness. Raven had spent so much time trying to get others to leave her alone, but even she had to admit that this was ridiculous. Raven tried to see through the darkness, but could see nothing within the emptiness. The young empath called out into the darkness, but there was no answer, not one that she wanted to hear anyway.

"You are never alone, child," a voice boomed from within the nothingness. "Does that sound familiar, my child. He was right, daughter. You are never alone. I am always with you."

Raven growled in anger. "Leave me alone you twisted basta-"

"Silence!" The voice bellowed with such force that Raven was flung backwards further into the darkness. "That is no way to speak to your father. You should be grateful of the life that I have given you, and of the destiny that awaits you."

"I don't believe in destiny," Raven retorted while turning away from the direction of the voice. "Just crawl back to the hell you came from and leave me alone."

Two pairs of glowing red eyes appeared in front Raven, absent of any form of a body. "Oh how right you are, daughter, but I do not plan to stay there much longer. You will help me escape the hell that I am bound to. I am tired of ruling this meaningless dimension. I want yours, and I want you to help me."

"Screw you," Raven yelled at the eyes of her father. "There is no way that I will ever help you. You are where you belong, in hell. I suggest that you return to it."

The glowing red eyes narrowed angrily. "What a pitiful excuse for a daughter you are. The pitiful soul that you inherited from your mother's human blood has corrupted your mind. The wretched life of the galaxy is meaningless. You will never belong with them. Your blood is that of a demon. Your place is at my side. Realize this now, and it will spare you torment later."

"Go to hell."

"You forget, my dear. I am already there." The red eyes looked Raven up and down and seemingly laughed at her. "How pitiful you are holding in your emotions all the time. How could you ever think to gain his affection-"

"Shut up!" Raven screamed. "Just shut up and leave me alone. You aren't really here. You are where you belong, so just leave me alone!"

"I have never left you, daughter." The voice laughed. "I will always dwell within you. I am as much an extension of you as you are of me. Your hatred has fused me to you. You will never let go. I can feel your rage rising, and it pleases me, daughter. The more that you fight the inevitable, the more ground I gain within you. You will help me whether you realize it or not."

"Never," Raven whispered. "I'll never set you free."

"Daughter," the voice echoed around Raven, "the wheels are already in motion. There is nothing that you can do to stop it. It is inevitable that I shall once again torment the universe. It cannot be stopped. I shall warn you, dear child. If you or your pathetic… friends… try to fight the inevitable, I shall strike the one thing that will hurt you the most and leave you alive just long enough to watch him suffer and die."

"Leave him alone!" Raven screamed. "If you harm him in any way, I swear that I will not stop until you are dead… completely dead."

"Foolish daughter," the voice laughed. "I am the almighty Trigon. My name strikes fear into the hearts of even the most powerful of demons. My name alone can conquer the heavens. I cannot be killed by anyone, especially by the likes of you. Your idle threats mean nothing. I shall return, and all who oppose my reign will perish by my hand."

"I will make sure that your overconfidence leads to your destruction."

The glowing red eyes just stared at Raven in silence, but then narrowed in anger. "You leave me no choice but to punish you, daughter. I send my regards with you to my loyal servant in your universe. Unlike you, he understands the word inevitable."

Raven felt herself being dragged back to reality. A feeling of comfort rushed through her as she realized that she could soon put all of this behind her and return to her universe stop whatever her father was planning. Yet, Trigon's final words took all of the comfort away.

"He will never love you, daughter. I will make sure of that."

llllllllllllllllllll

Raven's eyes slowly opened, and her vision soon returned to her. However, what she saw was not a sight that she expected. Beast Boy was cradling her in his arms while staring deep into her eyes.

"Hey," Beast Boy whispered as he hugged Raven tightly. "You scared me, Raven. Do me a favor and don't ever do that again."

Raven used all of her willpower to force herself not to blush as the closeness of Beast Boy entered her mind. Yet, she could not help but feel secure in his arms, and that feeling made it impossible for her cheeks not to turn crimson. "I-I'm sorry that I scared you," Raven said as monotonously as possible. "I had a… vision I guess. It was not pleasant."

Beast Boy stopped hugging Raven, andthe dark teen instantly reestablished control over the color of her cheeks. "How so?" The young shape shifter asked genuinely concerned.

Beast Boy's comment confused Raven. She would have sworn that he was going to come back with something like 'when is anything pleasant for you,' or some other lame attempt at a joke. Yet, he did not. He was truly concerned. Raven unknowingly blushed again. "Something is about to happen, Beast Boy," Raven whispered. "Something bad. Yo-We might not survive."

Beast Boy looked confused. "Come on, Rae. It couldn't be that bad. We've been through a lot of tough things. We'll get through whatever it is that comes."

Just then, the Titans' alarm went off, and the room began to flash red. Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg rushed through the common room door, but all three of them froze when they saw Beast Boy cradling a grounded Raven in his arms.

"Did I miss something?" Cyborg stuttered confused.

Beast Boy looked at his friends, then at Raven, and blushed profusely. With one swift motion, he pulled Raven to her feet and took three steps away from the empath. "N-No. You didn't miss anything. I-I was just… uh… making sure that Rae… uh…"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I had an abrupt vision that caused me to collapse. Beast Boy kindly caught me."

"Right," Robin said skeptically. "I don't have time to point out the flaws in your cover story right now. We've got trouble. Someone is terrorizing downtown. We've got to stop him!"

"Dude," Beast Boy stated, "what else would we do?"

Robin ignored Beast Boy's comment and headed off to the garage to get his R-Cycle while Cyborg jumped in his T-Car. Starfire flew out an open window, and Beast Boy was about to transform into a bird to follow, but Raven stopped him.

"Rae?" Beast Boy asked quizzically. "What's wrong?"

Raven remained silent for a moment trying to find the right words. "I-I need you to sit this one out."

"Is this about your vision?" Beast Boy asked catching on a lot faster than Raven anticipated.

"Yes. Please, just stay here."

"Okay, Rae. Just be careful without me. I know I'm the glue that holds this team together, but you'll be okay without me." Beast Boy was grinning from ear to ear at raven hoping for at least a smile, but he got nothing.

Raven rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. "Just stay here." With that, she transformed into her dark raven form and phased through the wall. 'You don't know how true your statement was, Beast Boy.'

"I will," Beast Boy whispered after Raven had gone. "Just be careful out there."