Disclaimer: I only own the plot.

Sequel to "Troubled Mind".

"Troubled Hearts"
—The Reality—
ONE

Raven was sitting by his cot again in thought. It had been two days since she had woken up to reality. Little by little, she was coming to acceptance with what had happened. However, she was still anxious. Will he be the same when he wakes up? Will he even wake up? She was doubting that day would ever come. Still, she found herself wishing for it with all her heart. Please just wake up. . . I want to see your blue eyes again.

She knew Cyborg was working nonstop to flush out the nanobots in their three teammates like he had with her. However, it would take time. Meanwhile, Slade, that maniacal monster, was still out there. What was his purpose? Why did he inject them with his dream serum? Did he try to make them have a joint dream or was that an unwanted side effect?

She had met her whole team in that joint dream. All the people she loved so dearly. Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg. . .

Then, it hit her. And Terra. She had met Terra. As Raven thought more about it, she began to panic. Why was Terra in the joint dream? She remembered everything. She had known everything about the Titans. She said she had been there for almost a year. Her statue had disappeared from the cave. And then Beast Boy had claimed to have seen her at that high school. That Terra appeared to not remember anything from her Titan days. Just high school. . .

What did that mean? Were they truly one and the same?

It was so mind-blowing. Raven couldn't make any sense of it. She had never admitted it, but she could never understand the workings behind Slade's logic. What was his real objective? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't figure out one single theory. She needed Robin, the real Robin, now more than ever. He was the one who could discern motives and strategies of most villains. He could get into the mind of that person.

She could only take his place for now. Until he woke up, she would have to solve this case and protect him no matter what came her way. They had never truly defeated Slade. They had only delayed his plans until further notice. What could she do by herself? Cyborg would have to keep working on their teammates. He couldn't help her if it came to a one-on-one with Slade. She didn't doubt she could wrap up any other minor villain that came her way. But then again, she was still recovering. Her strength had returned, but she wasn't used to using her powers and became so weak if she did use them for a certain period of time.

It seemed a hopeless case. She sighed.

"Robin. What would you do if you were me?" She asked his sleeping form. She knew he could not and would not answer her, but she felt so helpless. If only he'd talk to her now. It would make her feel so more secure. However, she also couldn't help but wonder if he would feel the same way about her as she did him. Was what Cyborg said right?

"To tell the truth, Rae," Cyborg told her as he patted her shoulder, "I'm not so sure he loves Starfire. Sure she's pretty and sweet. But she's not the kind of person he would want to spend a lifetime with. He's not all happy and innocent like she is." He gave that a moment to sink in. "However, he's a lot like you."

That whole conversation was imprinted in her mind like a tattoo. It gave her hope and that hope was very precious to her. It kept her going. Maybe one day after he wakes up we can be together. But would it be the same?

Before she could think of an answer to her thoughts, a red light went off in the infirmary. The red glow illuminated her surroundings. "Trouble." She merely said and flew towards the briefing room.

When she got there, she saw Cyborg looking through the files on screen. "Who is it?" She asked although she was more than a little scared of the answer she might receive.

"Slade." Cyborg said with hard eyes in a steely tone. "He's at the old clock tower. Can you handle him by yourself?" He asked as he made eye contact with Raven. She was the closest thing he had to a little sister. As much as he wanted to help her and make sure she was okay, he knew he was needed elsewhere. However, if she requested it, he knew he would not let her down.

"I can try." She replied and looked down at the floor with a sigh.

Cyborg walked over to Raven and tilted her chin up so she would look him in the eye. "Just come back, okay?" She nodded. It was time to stop asking questions and find out the truth. She just hoped she could bear anything she was told and stay alive to retell it.

—

She flew as fast as she could to the old clock tower downtown. When she arrived, she could almost feel a chill in the air although she was inside of the tower. Was it a premonition of what was to come? As one of magic, Raven never took for granted little signs such as that. However, there was nothing she could do about it. She had to be here for her teammates' sake and for herself as well.

She landed and looked around for the madman. She found she did not have to wait long.

"Hello, Raven." He said with a pleasant yet mischievous tone. "Did you have sweet dreams?" He took a step forward toward her with no weapon, but she felt intimidated all the same.

She took one step backward, but then caught herself before she went any farther. She knew he fed off fear like a wild animal does its prey. "What did you do to me?" She asked in the most level voice she could muster.

"My dear girl," he replied, "I only showed you what you wanted to see." Raven's eyes widened. He knew. It was no coincidence. "While you were off in your own dream," he continued, "I was living mine."

Raven swallowed and knew she was in way over her head. Something was up. "What do you mean?" She tried to stand her ground but found it more and more hard not to back up; not to run away. She had never been so intimidated before. It was like he was slowly creeping his demonic hands into her soul.

"So many questions." He chuckled in his own amused diabolical way. He knew perfectly well what he was doing to Raven and loved every moment of it. However, the fun was only beginning. He spoke once more. "Why, I finally get to choose my perfect apprentice."

Raven's eyes widened as she understood what he was after. Although, she wasn't sure how much of what she thought was right. "You don't mean. . .?" Raven could almost swear she could see his sickening smirk behind that hideous mask. She clenched her hands into fists and stood her ground. "Where is Terra?" She asked firmly. Was Terra the key to everything?

"She's right here."

—Fin—

A/N: Oh, goodness. I thought I had left "Troubled Mind" behind me. There were so many discrepancies in that story. Especially the whole Terra thing. But I got some urging replies to continue, so I came up with this plot last minute and hopefully it will do the prequel justice and straighten out the wrinkles. Well, let's see how this unfolds. What do you think is going to happen? Review!

Signed,

Her Sappiness