After the Battle…
Raven was laying facedown in a place different from the destroyed cathedral. This place had a strangely familiar atmosphere, as if she’d been there before. Even stranger was the fact that Raven no longer felt any of her wounds from that last battle. There were no bloody marks or bruises on her face or body, and her clothes were clean and intact. An outsider would guess she’d never got involved in a fight at all.
The Teen Titan looked around and took in her new surroundings.
She was standing atop a floating rock platform, surrounded by an endless midnight black sky dotted by billions of small shining stars. The platform was hovering independently above what seemed to be another section of the sky below it. Other than that, there was nothing else in sight. The platform was a lonely island amidst an empty sea, with Raven as its sole occupant. Raven knew exactly where she was…
“This–I know this place. This is my mind. This is where I go to meditate every day to keep all my emotions in balance. But…something’s wrong. It’s never felt this empty before. There used to be so much more here than this one platform. What happened?”
After a few minutes, Raven remembered everything that led up to this point.
“Yeah. That’s right. I was sent to 1842. I had that whole battle with Shanoa. My father’s rage took control of me. I brought down that whole church. And then Shanoa defeated me. I guess…I must be dying.”
That last thought pierced Raven’s mind like an arrow.
“Oh God, no! I can’t be dying! It wasn’t supposed to end like this! I–I didn’t even get to go back home! Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, Cyborg–do they even know I’m gone!? Do they know what’s happened to me? Can they even know?”
The despair that Raven felt at that point was worse than anything she suffered in the real world. She would die all alone in a godforsaken place two hundred years in the past. Her friends–her fellow Titans–would never know where Raven had gone, or what happened to her. They would spend months–even years–looking for her, until they ultimately decide to go on without her.
That is how Raven would die: alone, friendless, and forgotten.
Raven sat with wrapped her arms around her legs. She knelt her head against her knees and before she knew it, she started crying. Crying was so rare for Raven that even she never thought she would do it. Normally, she was far too quiet to even show emotion even to her friends (except mild annoyance towards Beast Boy). But her sorrow and hopelessness were just too great to contain. For several minutes, Raven wept like a child would after witnessing her parents die. Her one hope was for someone–anyone–walk up to her and tell her that everything would be okay.
Suddenly, a sinister broke out of the darkness. “Foolish girl. Is this what my child is reduced to? A sniveling, miserable brat?”
Raven halted her crying and looked for the source of the voice. Even through her tear-stained eyes, Raven could see another figure standing in front of her. It was a monstrous creature that stood over five times Raven’s height. The demonic entity had skin as red as Raven’s red cloak, and silvery white hair that draped down its shoulders. It also had a set of six glowing eyes, three on each side. The most striking features on the monster were the sharp devil-like horns that protruded from its head. The creature exuded an aura of pure cruelty and malice. It was the very thing that Shanoa gave her life to prevent from returning to Earth.
“Did you truly believe you could resist my hold on your mind?”
The Titan knew immediately who was speaking to her. “Trigon.” She said, her voice dripping with loathing and fury.
“I made you, Raven. You are my my pawn. There is nothing you can do that can possibly sever my control over you.”
“Shut up!” Raven shouted, “I want nothing to do with you! You have no power over me!”
“Every day you keep deluding yourself with that thought. You spend hours of meditation to keep me locked inside your mind. But your efforts are pointless. No matter how you repress it, you can never be rid of the rage I implanted in you.”
“I said ‘shut up’!” The enraged Raven blasted her father into oblivion with her soul-self. But just seconds later, the red phantom appeared again right behind her.
“You cannot run from who you are, Raven! Look what you’ve done just moments ago: you destroyed a cathedral! You drove a woman into killing herself to stop you!”
“Because of you, asshole! You got into my head and turned me into a monster! Shanoa killed me to prevent you from coming back to the living world!”
The Titan fired again at the phantom, and it disappeared just like before. But now, two more appeared on her left.
“Even if I did possess you, can you truly say that you did not enjoy it?” Trigon taunted. “Did you truly not relish the power–the freedom your rage gave you? All of that blazing fury and hatred driving your powers to their fullest potential! How could you, my own daughter, not enjoy such freedom?” Without another word, Raven again blasted away both taunting phantoms, but only for three more to appear right behind her.
The vicious cycle went on, with Trigon’s phantoms appearing and Raven blasting them down, only for them to reappear right after. Normally, the Teen Titan would’ve made some snarky comment on what a waste of her magic this was. But this time, she was too consumed by her hatred towards her father to even care.
In the end Raven was totally surrounded by at least twenty apparitions of Trigon. The Titan fell to her knees, hopeless to fight off the demons in her mind. The demon king felt that he made his point clear enough and made his clones vanish at once.
“Do you see now, Raven? No matter how hard you resist, you will never be rid of me. I am your creator. Your father. You will always be under my control, and no power in the Universe will change that.”
Raven gazed at her father with an expression of anger and despair. All her life, Raven kept the horrid truth of her origins secret from even her closest friends. She devoted herself to intense studies and meditations to keep the rage of her father locked away in her mind. She’d spent years protecting her city and well as her friends from villains and monsters in an effort to cancel out her prophecy.
But for the first time, Raven realized how pointless it all was. She knew deep down the one cruel truth: Trigon was right. He was her father. He was her master. He was her creator. And nothing she could do would ever change that.
“No!…..No! I WILL NEVER ACCEPT THAT!!!” Raven rose to her feet and fired her magic, blasting Trigon several feet away.
The demon king was at first stunned by the sudden attack, but then became infuriated.
“INSOLENT LITTLE BITCH! YOU DARE DEFY–“ Raven shut him up with another blast to the face.
“Shut the fuck up and listen!” She roared at Trigon. “So what if you’re my father!? So what if you created me!? I know who I am!” She fired another, larger beam at Trigon, pushing him almost at the edge of the platform.
“I am Raven of Azarath! Daughter of Arella! Member of the Teen Titans! Protector of humanity and Earth! I am not your goddamn pet!”
Again, she blasted her father a few more inches away. His heels were teetering on the very edge of the platform. One more hit and he would either be destroyed or fall off.
The demon king charged his right hand for a counterattack. “Damned child! I will make you regret–”
Suddenly, his hand was stung by yet another soul-self blast–but this one wasn’t from her daughter.
“You’re not the only one who can call in friends, ‘father’.” Raven said.
To the left side of Raven stood a pink-cloaked figure with the same face, physique, and hair as her own. The figure in question was Raven’s happy side. More of Raven’s emotions appeared, each wearing a different color representing a different emotion: Green for courage; Gray for fear; Yellow for intelligence; Orange for rudeness; Brown for sloth; and Violet for love.
Seven in total, the ‘Emoticlones’ all stood in a semicircle surrounding Trigon, with the original Raven at the center. Together, they charged their collective energy and prepared to shoot one final massive blast at the demon king.
“If I’m going to die here.” Raven yelled at her weakened father, “I’m not gonna waste my last few minutes cowering before some fucking bastard like you!!”
Raven and her clones pooled their magic, which combined into a white sphere that shone brilliantly like a miniature sun. To say that Trigon was worried would be a laughable understatement. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to counter something this massive, in his current form.
With her final attack ready, Raven roared one last time to Trigon: “You may have created me, but you don’t own me, and you never will! NOW GET OUT OF MY HEAD AND STAY OUT!!!” The team of eight Ravens fired their attack!
The bright ball of light zoomed towards the Trigon, who was quickly engulfed by it. The demon king let out a loud, excruciating scream as the white orb incinerated his body. His body disappeared and the ball of light vanished with him.
Everything went silent.
(Stop music)
The Raven clones panted heavily, having spent a great deal of magic on that last attack. They paused for a few seconds in case Trigon would appear again. He never did. Their master was nothing more than a miserable pile of ashes on the ground before them.
The real Raven let out a huge sigh of relief. “It’s over. He’s gone. That bastard’s finally gone.”
She turned to her seven ‘sisters’ surrounding her, each giving her a warm, rewarding smile.
“Thanks. Really, thank you. All of you.” Was all the Teen Titan could think to say at this point. The embodied emotions didn’t speak, but they each nodded their heads in appreciation.
The lead Raven looked at her hands and again at her clones, and started to form an idea.
“You know. Maybe there’s something we can do to fix all this.” The Titan said as she outstretched her arm before them.
It didn’t take long for the emoticlones to figure out just what she was planning. They gathered around in a circle and stretched their arms towards each other.
“I don’t know if this’ll work. But if it doesn’t, I got nothing left to lose.”
Back in the real world…
Ecclesia Cathedral ruins, Wallachia, Eastern Europe
November 1, 1842
12:03 AM
It was about seven minutes since their battle ended.
Raven and Shanoa’s bodies still covered what used to be the Order of Ecclesia’s cathedral. The bricks, planks, and glass of the fallen building littered the floor around them. The full moon hung high above, shining a mournful light down on them. The two heroines were dead–casualties of a vicious duel that cost both their lives.
However, something miraculous happened. Raven’s body emitted a white glow. All of her wounds were healing rapidly. Raven could feel air return to her lungs, and her heartbeats restarting. Her eyelids slowly reopened. Her vision was fuzzy at first, but sharpened in a few seconds. Raven’s strength was restored in her arms and legs, and she stood up.
Raven looked down and examined herself. Instead of the blue, battle-damaged clothes she previously wore, she was now wearing a pure white cloak that seemed almost angelic. The newly-emerged White Raven smiled and laughed with relief.
“It worked! It actually worked! I’m alive again!”
Raven took in the crumbled ruins of the fallen cathedral. She then looked down towards her deceased foe, Shanoa. The woman in question had long black hair that was a tangled mess, and her elegant blue dress was tattered with scrapes, burns, and bloodstains all around. The red tattoos on her arms and back were still visible, but somewhat faded.
For the last two hours, the Titan and the vampire huntress had fought bitterly, with the latter giving up her own life in a last-ditch attempt to kill Raven.
For the first time, Raven didn’t look at the Shanoa with hate, but sorrow and regret. She knew that at her heart, Shanoa was a good person who only wanted to protect the world. Maybe that last magic attack that killed Raven was too powerful for Shanoa to handle.
White Raven knelt down and cradled Shanoa’s body in her arms.
“Shanoa. I’m so sorry.” She told her. “This is all my fault. You only did this to yourself because I pushed you. I made you go this far to kill me. I really, really wish it didn’t have to end this way.”
The Titan took a look at her hands and thought, “If I can bring myself back to life, can I bring back others too? Maybe it’s not too late to make all this right.”
Raven laid Shanoa face-up and placed her hands on the latter’s chest. She’d never tried this before, and there was no guarantee that this would work. But she still had to try. Raven took a deep breath and focused her magic into Shanoa’s body.
“Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Azarath Metrion Zinthos.”
No response.
“Come on, come on! Just wake up, dammit! Please come back, Shanoa! Please!” White Raven chanted harder and focused even more of her magic to revive Shanoa.
Eventually, Raven sensed Shanoa’s quiet heartbeats as well as her chest moving up and down from breathing.
“Yes! It’s working! She’s coming back!”
Shanoa groaned quietly, as if she were waking up from bed.
Her first thoughts at this point were confused: “What–what is happening? Why am I breathing? I thought I was………Yes, I was. Those Dominus Glyphs had taken away whatever life I had left. How am I alive?”
The Wallachian’s opened her eyes and took in the ruins of her beloved cathedral caused by her earlier battle. Her next sight was that of the woman she thought she’d killed.
“What!? You!?” Shanoa blurted at the Raven, alive and kneeling right beside her! Raven only responded with a relieved smile at her former enemy.
“This is impossible!” Shouted the vampire huntress. “I defeated you! You should be–“
“Dead? Been there, done that..” Raven stood up and offered to help Shanoa to her feet. The Wallachian hesitated nervously decided to take the Titan’s hand.
“I don’t understand.” Said Shanoa. “Those Dominus Glyphs would have surely taken your life. How did you come back? And were you the one who revived me?”
“It’s a long story, but…” Raven replied. “Let’s just say I had a very serious talk with my father. And yes, I did bring you back.”
“But why?” The latter returned. Her tone was more bewildered than demanding.
“Because I’m not the monster you think I am.” Raven walked towards the center of the ruins.
“What are you doing?” Asked Shanoa.
“Making everything right.”
Standing still, The white-clad Raven focused her magic and stretched her arms at the sides.
“AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!!!”
An intense whirlwind of magic lifted the broken pieces of the cathedral from the ground. The fallen debris was used to rebuild the places from which they fell. Every last piece of fallen brick, splintered wood, shattered glass, and broken metal was repaired and placed back where it belonged.
The cathedral was rapidly rebuilt from the four surrounding walls all the way to the ceiling. The benches, candles, doors, and stained windows were all restored and placed in their original positions. Even the tapestry of Mary and Jesus at the end had been completely repaired! The last thing that was brought back was the golden crucifix that Shanoa had dropped on Raven earlier.
Shanoa was astonished! Her cathedral was just rebuilt by the same person who destroyed it! At this point, Shanoa didn’t even know what to think anymore. Had she been wrong about Raven all along?
The Teen Titan sighed deeply and looked around. The place looked exactly as it did before her fight with Shanoa began. Satisfied, she turned around and walked towards the Wallachian
“Shanoa…” Raven spoke. “I know it wasn’t your idea to do all this. And I understand why you’d want me dead. That stupid prophecy with Trigon–you’re right about all of it! I don’t blame you for any of this!” She paused briefly. “But, there’s some things about me your master didn’t tell you.”
She pressed two fingers against Shanoa’s forehead. “I need you to close your eyes.”
“What are you doing?” Cried the Wallachian.
“Just trust me.” Raven said in a stern, yet pleading tone.
Shanoa sighed and closed her eyes. “Very well. I trust you.”
Raven used only a bit of her magic to psychically connect their minds. All at once, Raven flooded Shanoa’s mind with flashing images of her life, including her mother Arella; her happy childhood in Azarath; her being forced to run away to Earth; her new life with the Teen Titans; the countless monsters and villains she’d brought down, and the thousands of people she’d saved time and time again.
Shanoa was overwhelmed. “What–what did you just show me?” She demanded.
In a calming tone, Raven answered, “Memories of my life. My mother. My childhood. My friends. Don’t you see? I’m just as human as you!”
The Titan grabbed Shanoa’s hand and pleaded.
“Please, just listen! I know why Trigon created me. But believe me, I want nothing to do with that bastard! Before I was born, Trigon forcefully made my mom pregnant so she could have me. My mom ran away to Azarath so she can raise me among good people, away from him.”
Raven turned her eyes downward.
“By the time I turned eighteen, I started having nightmares–visions of Trigon’s return. I couldn’t live with the thought of burdening my mom with that. That’s why I ran away and started a new life on Earth! That’s why I live with four amazing people who became like family to me! And that’s why I spent so many years fighting evil people like my father! I’m begging you! You have to believe me!”
Shanoa looked deeply at Raven’s face. Tears were pooling in her eyes, and her hands were trembling. Deep down, Shanoa realized that Raven wasn’t lying. All this time, the she had been trying to murder a sweet girl who was merely the victim of a cruel fate.
Shanoa sighed remorsefully. “Alright. I believe you.”
Raven smiled and she cried with relief. “Thank you, Shanoa. I’m very sorry for everything that’s happe–“
“You have done nothing to feel ashamed of, Raven. I am the one who must apologize. My arrogance is what set all this in motion. I blindly followed my master’s orders and failed to see you for the wonderful person you truly are. If you still hate me for what I’ve done, then I deserve it.”
Raven was stunned. “Shanoa…” She spoke softly. “For a long time, I’ve fought some truly despicable people, but you’re nothing like any of them. You had no idea who I was, and you only wanted to prevent Trigon from returning! You were doing what you thought was right! You’re a good person, and I can tell that clear as day!”
The Wallachian smiled gratefully. “So then, you forgive me? Even after I killed you?”
Raven nodded. “I forgive you, Shanoa. And to be fair, I was also trying to kill you.”
The two women shared a friendly laugh.
“Thank you.” Shanoa said, “But I must still make amends for my mistake.”
She turned to the set of benches on her right and stretched her arms. “Imperium Tempore!” She chanted, and a glowing white portal like the one that sent Raven back in time appeared in front of her.
“I’m sending you back to moment when I took you! For you, it will be as if these events never happened! However, I cannot undo the memories of these events.”
“Thank you so much, Shanoa!” Said Raven, as she walked towards the portal. She stopped suddenly as she had another thought.
“Wait, what about your master? I mean, technically you are disobeying him. Won’t he get upset that you’re letting me go?”
“It was Barlowe who manipulated us against each other. He shares the most guilt of anyone for this. Trust me, he will answer for his crimes.” The Wallachian said the last sentence in a quiet, but menacing tone.
“I understand.” Raven replied. “Well, I guess this is goodbye. Maybe someday we’ll meet again, and hopefully as friends, not enemies.”
“I look forward to it.”
Raven turned around one last time.
“Happy Halloween, Shanoa.”
“Eva bun Toate Hallow la tine, Raven. Farewell, and may God watch over you.”
And with that, the Teen Titan walked into the portal and disappeared from the cathedral, and from Shanoa’s time period completely. The older woman closed the white hole until it too vanished into thin air. However, this night wasn’t over just yet.
“Now my ‘master’…” Shanoa thought with anger and determination. “I believe it’s time you and I had a ‘talk’.”
The white portal opened in the middle of Raven’s room. It ejected her as harshly as it did as when it sucked her in. Raven hit the ground with mild discomfort.
“Fucking hell, couldn’t you at least let me walk out normally?”
Raven felt the carpeting of the floor beneath her. She looked around and saw the familiar sights of her room. Her bed with the gray covers. Her window with the blinds always closed. The various artifacts and knicknacks arrayed on her dresser. The huge pile of books that lay on the floor next to her. Including the Castlevania novel she’d almost finished reading.
“Is it over? Am I really–” Raven took a quick look at her T-Comm before she got her hopes too high. On the face of the device it read,
10:30PM
October 31, 2021
Jump City, California, USA
Raven’s heart pounded. She chuckled with joy and relief.
“I’m home! I can’t believe it! I’m really home!”
The Titan lazily collapsed into bed. She was tired. So tired. All the craziness that happened tonight totally wiped her out. She felt like she could stay in bed until next Halloween. Part of her was paranoid that another portal would open up and send her back to Shanoa’s time and start the whole fiasco all over again.
“Oh, my God. If that happens, I’ll just kill myself and save her the trouble.” Raven thought jokingly.
But for now, she desperately needed to rest. Raven closed her eyes and breathed slowly. With each second, she slowly gave into the urge to sleep. Before long, Raven was asleep in the comforting darkness of her room.
“Knocking? For fuck’s sake, can’t I get one break?” Raven mumbled.
“Hello? Raven?”
“Oh, shit! Starfire! I totally forgot!” Raven dashed out of bed and met her friend on the other side. Starfire was dressed in her Rey costume, just as she was the last time they met. Silky was still in her arms, just as before
“Everyone is celebrating Halloween in the living room, and we would love for you to join!” Starfire said with the same joyful smile. Soon her smile became a concerned stare.
As she was now, Raven was a mess. Her blue hair was a tangled mess, and her eyes were barely fighting to stay open. Most confusing of all was that Raven was…smiling. Like she hadn’t seen her for years.
“Raven?” Starfire asked with concern. “Did something happen? Are you unwell?”
To her surprise, Raven hugged Starfire tightly, crying happily as she did. Starfire eagerly returned the hug. Silky was wriggling to break free from the two bodies sandwiching him. They released each other after a few seconds. Starfire was happy, but still concerned.
“That was very sweet, Raven. But why? Is something wrong?”
“Oh, nothing–it’s…” Raven wiped away the tears that were in her eyes. “It’s just great to see you again, Star. Really, I couldn’t be happier.”
That was enough to satisfy Starfire. “And it’s very nice to see you too, Raven!” She looked down and gasped. “Oh! You even picked out a costume for the party!”
Raven looked at herself. She’d totally forgotten she was still in her white cloak. “Um….yeah, I’m going as….” She paused to come up with an answer “Emma Frost! Y’know, from X-Men?”
“Oh, splendid! The others will be excited! Come on, we’re going to watch The Conjuring in the den!”
She grabbed Raven by the hand and pulled her down the hall. The two Titans floated towards the den, with Silkie crawling behind them.
“We’re watching a movie, huh?” Raven thought. “Well, I deserve something after all the craziness tonight. Maybe I can fall asleep on the couch.”
ADA WONG!!!