Hi. Ummm well this is my first attempt at a fic, so I am open to all constructive criticism and helpful writing tips. I'm sure that I am bound to make mistakes and I am also very prone to not ever updating. I really just hope that you may find some sort of enjoyment out of my writing.

I have no ownership of the Teen Titans.

Raven

The torment always followed a battle. Especially when I was the one to end it. The people were always sure to thank the others for their bravery and selflessness. But for me, it was always aversion. The were always more frightened of me afterward. Sure they would thank me, but it was always out of fear. They couldn't fake gratitude, especially with my abilities. Many of the people were afraid, but the ones who really bothered me were the hateful ones. Those are the people who truly frightened me. They were the constant reminder of the true, terrible reason that I was here. Even if that threat has passed, I always feel as if there is always a possibility that I would somehow fulfill my true purpose.

Tonight was no exception. In fact, it was altogether worse. One of my absolute least favorite villains, Doctor Light, decided to show up and terrorize the city. I was already in a bad mood that day. First Beast Boy interrupted my meditation time with a face full of stank-ball, then Starfire with her endless jabber and insistence at going to the "mall of shopping" and then Robin with his constant fretting. I love my team mates and all, but they can just be downright aggravating at times. And then Doctor Light comes along and just made my day turn altogether sour. We fought for a while, but with Light's fear of the dark and my powers, the fight was ended swiftly and Light was successfully out for the time being. We never really harmed Light, but rather frightened him. It was simpler and much less time consuming. Once again I enveloped him in the darkness and quieted him.

All that was told to me was "did you really have to do that"s and a few "damn creepy witch"s. I fully understood their dislike for me, but I didn't need a constant reminder of everything I hated about myself. I had realized that my actions seemed a bit rash to all of the others, but among all of the the commotion, they didn't really see what was really happening. They didn't notice how Light had become desperate and how he had started carelessly firing. How he had nearly hit a tiny, scared little girl who couldn't have been any older than five. I noticed the beam shooting towards her only a few moments before it would've hit her. They did not. Nor did they notice me teleport to the exact spot in front of her just in time to take the hit myself. The beam hurt like all hell, and I knew just how badly injured I was, but all I could think of was how the girl could've been killed. I was capable of taking such a hit. She was not. That is when I exploded.

After Light was dragged away, I went to look for the girl. I wanted to be sure that she was okay. Thankfully, I didn't have to go very far. She was still in the same place that she was standing earlier. I walked up to her, not entirely sure on what I was planning on doing. She noticed me right before I got there. Then she did the very last thing that I would have ever expected, she ran up to me and hugged me. I was speechless. Thankfully, she spoke for me. "I'm Melody. My brother, Jonas told me not to talk to you, but I don't care. Thank you." After telling me all this, I was surprised when she still had more to say. "Jonas does't really like you, but I do. You're my hero, Raven" Her last phrase took me back. I was her hero? Sure I saved her, but I didn't consider myself any type of hero.

"Am I?'' I tried for a smile, but I couldn't quite seem to be able to.

"Yup!" She, unlike myself, broke into an even bigger grin. "Even if Jonas says you're creepy, I know you're not." Suddenly, she stopped, her grin faded. She looked at me, her hazel eyes completely serious. " You have a boo-boo," she pointed at my stomach, I had not realized it before, but I was bleeding. I now understood why I had felt so drained. The injury was nothing that I couldn't recover from, but I was only making things worse by not attending to it.

I was about to tell Melody that I was fine, and that the beam had not injured me that bad; not a complete lie, but not the truth either. I was interrupted by Beast Boy, who I had not realized had walked up behind me. "Hey, Rae, are you feeling all right? 'Cause you usually don't blow up like that for no good reason." I was about to reply with my usual 'I'm fine' and continue talking to Melody, but she beat me to it.

"Raven saved me and now she has a boo-boo." She looked at Beast Boy with a concerned expression. "The light thingy almost hit me, but Raven got in the way. Raven is not bad, and Jonas is a liar." With that, she smirked and looked at Beast Boy again. "But not all the way, he says you're cool."

Beast Boy just looked at me, and than back to Melody. "You're right uhh..." he looked toward me, silently asking me for help on what to call her.

"Melody." I answered.

"Well then, Melody, you're right, Raven is not bad at all, and I'm pretty sure that she is way cooler than me." With that, I blushed. I wasn't really good at taking complements. He then turned to me, "she said that you got hurt?". I didn't reply. "C'mon Rae-Rae, you can't hide it from me." He wrinkled his nose and grimaced. "I can smell it."

Melody then walked up to me and tugged on my cloak, she looked dissapointed. "I have to go now. Bye-bye Raven, bye-bye Beast Boy!" And with that, she ran off to who I could only guess was her mother.

Beast Boy then looked back at me. "She's a sweet kid," his faint smile faded, "and your'e hurt."

"I'm fine." I tried to get by with my half truth, but I could see he wasn't falling for it. "And even if I wasn't, it's worth it."

"Raven, for one, you are an awful liar, I can smell your blood. You need some sort of bandaging at the very least. Two, of course it was worth it, you saved that kid, but that does not mean that you don't need medical assistance." He looked at me, I could see one of the few traits we have in common creeping onto his face: stubbornness. He started walking us towards one of the paramedics. I knew that there was no winning this one, so I conceded.

"Fine, but not here though, okay?" He looked at me, confused, I knew what he was about to ask, so I answered for him, "There's no reason to cause a scene, and I'm sure that nobody would appreciate me taking up any of the medic's time helping me when there are others who need more help than I do."

His response startled me. "Why wouldn't they?" I could sense his annoyance and mild anger at my statement. "You're here saving them, what makes you think that they wouldn't let you get bandaged up?" I didn't answer, but I still held my ground. "Fine, lets get you back to the tower, but I'm not going to let you just drop it."

His reaction surprised me. I was about to ask why it mattered so much to him, but I thought better of it. Instead, I walked over to the nearest bench and sat down. The wound on my stomach and my efforts to act as if I was unharmed were really taking a toll on me. Usually I would've already started healing myself, but my outburst from earlier had sapped my energy. Beast Boy sat next to me, showing his concern. "Lets just get back to the tower." I said in efforts to get Beast Boy off my case. It didn't seem to have worked.

"Hey look! There's the witch!" I flinched at the man's loud, rude voice, and tried to block out his voice. "Whats the matter witch? You gonna throw another tantrum? Look at that witchy bitch, I bet she she would've turned against us ages ago if the Titans weren't keeping such a tight leash on her." His taunting was doing nothing but remind me of what had occurred only minutes ago, and how I was nothing but a demon controlled by my anger. I felt my eyes tearing up. He was right.

Beast Boy stiffened beside me. I could feel his anger growing. "Don't," I whispered to him, "it won't help anything." He let out a small growl. He only got more angry. "Lets just go home. I've heard worse, trust me, retaliating won't help anything."

He stood up and gently helped me stand. I still hadn't looked up yet, so I was unsure of where we were heading. "Cy," Beast Boy suddenly spoke up, "can you take Raven home? She's hurt, and the people here are only making things worse. Especially that asshole over there." He pointed over at the jeering man. Again, I was taken back by the mixture of concern and anger in his voice.

Cyborg seemed to catch on. "Of course. C'mon Rae, lets get you home. And B? You should probably come to. You need to cool off before you do anything you regret." No answer from Beast Boy. I decided it would be best if I spoke up.

"Beast Boy, its not worth it. I just want to go home... I'm not worth starting a fight over." At that, Cyborg stopped as well. Great, now he was mad as well.

"Raven, don't you dare say anything like that ever again, you hear me? You are completely worth fighting for." I was about to argue with him saying I was not, but he continued, "if there was any way that I knew that I wasn't going to go and blast that ass with my cannon, I would give him a piece of my mind, and B here is itching to go and smash him to little bits right here. Now," he paused, "lets get you back home and all fixed up, okay?" I could still feel his anger, but I was relieved it wasn't directed at me. I nodded and got in the car, entirely ready to let this day be over.

The ride home was fairly short, quiet, and uncomfortable. Both Cyborg and Beast Boy too busy seething in their anger to trust themselves to speak up. I didn't understand what they were so upset about. I knew they had been talking before while I was in the car, but I wasn't able to pick up on what they had been saying. I wanted to ask them why they were so upset over such a little thing as the guy openly expressing his rightful hatred for me. It upset me of course, but I had no idea as to why it was affecting them in such a way.

When we finally got home, I was ready to be done with the day and go back to my room to meditate, but I was quickly reminded of my injury as soon as I tried to get out of the car. Somehow it was only getting worse. Right before I collapsed out of the car, I was helped out by both Cyborg and Beast Boy. Both had grim looks and neither would leave my side, but I was glad for their assistance for once, as I soon found myself unable to stay awake.

Boy Beast

I was mad, and I knew that Cy was in the same boat as I. I could tell now that Raven had been taking this kind of abuse for a long time, and this new realization only did more to make me more angry. I am glad for Cy making me come back with him and Raven for two reasons, and he probably knew them both, and he decided it would be best to not leave me behind. For one, I wanted to be sure that Raven was going to be okay, and the other was that he didn't was to see me arrested for harming a civilian. To say that I was worried about Raven would be a slight understatement. Worried sick sounded about right though. I've cared for her for a long time now, and I was absolutely disgusted that I hadn't noticed it sooner. How long has this been going on?

I needed answers. I needed to talk to Rae.

Raven

I woke up in a familiar, cold room. One that I have always hated being since I've joined the Titans. The infirmary. Being in this room could only mean one thing for me. Especially when I was the one lying on the hospital style bed. I slowly tried sitting up, but soon realized that to be a bad idea when I felt a shooting pain go through my abdomen. Now I was worried.

"Cyborg? Beast Boy? Hello?" I called out, not wanting this to be another of my nightmares. there was no answer. I felt my heart begin to race. What was going on? I felt a familiar dread settle in, my heart beat getting faster. All I could think was 'they finally gave up on me'. I couldn't blame them. I only ever caused trouble anyways... Suddenly there was a noise beside me. I had realized that in the dark I had not noticed there was somebody else in the room.

"Whoa Raven, you need to calm down." I recognized the voice of Cyborg, who had been sitting in the chair near my bed. He turned on the lights in the room. I then saw another person in the room as well, I was surprised to see Beast Boy sleeping in the extra chair. Cyborg saw where I was looking and gave off a small grin. "B hasn't left this room since we got in here, he's worried sick. You won't believe how many times hes asked me if you're okay." Cyborg just shook his head, the grin still there. I pondered this for a moment. He was worried about me? What had happened? Where were the others?

I felt my heartbeat pick up again. I realized what had gotten Cyborg's attention; the heart monitor and other various machines. The now familiar pain coming back. I felt a flurry of questions running through my mind, but only one came through. "What happened?"

Cyborg just looked at me. A new expression on his face, full of doubt and worry. "It's going to be okay Raven. You collapsed after trying to get out of the car. You aren't healing nearly as quickly as you should, but there is progress. Also, we need to talk." The way he said that last part worried me.

"What about?" I asked, just wanting to get whatever he was trying to, out.

"Right now, you just need to focus in getting better. Everyone else is gonna' want to be part of this conversation too." I huffed, what could be so important that he couldn't just say it now? "Now Raven, now isn't the time to get all grouchy. Just try to get some sleep. You need it."

I was about to protest, but I suddenly realized just how tired I was. What harm could some sleep do? Right as I started dozing off, I felt something gently touch my forehead. I wasn't sure what it was, but it was reassuring and calming to say the least.

Beast Boy

I woke up to the sound of soft voices, I recognized them, but nothing clicked for a few minutes. Then I remembered. Raven. I opened my eyes just to see Cy press a soft kiss to her forehead. I've always known how he saw her as a little sister, but it warmed my heart to see him express it towards her. "Hey Cy," I said, finally able to form proper words, "how's she doing?" I guess that he was getting tired of answering that question, because he didn't answer immediately. Instead, he kept checking the monitors, the slight, forced smile gone from his face, and the worried expression I had seen earlier was back. "Cy, whats going on." His lack of an answer was starting to scare me. "Is Raven going to be okay?"

Only then did he look at me. His human eye full of sorrow. "Physically, though it will take time, she will heal. But shes been havin' real bad nightmares, shes crying in her sleep and thrashin' around, and its only making her injury worse." I saw how much effort he was putting into staying calm. "Something has been goin' on that she hasn't been telling us, and by the looks of it, it ain't good." His expression had darkened as he continued on. "B, that ain't even the worse part, the wound wasn't caused by the ray, just reopened. She was already hurt before this battle, but it is more recent than the last. Somethin's happened that she hasn't told us about."

Now I understood why the worry and sadness was there. Raven had been hurt, and for some reason she had not told us. I understood how her silence on the subject was bothering Cy, and hell, it was only making matters worse for me. "Why wouldn't she tell us? Do you think that it could have anything to do with what happened earlier?" Just mentioning the earlier occurrence brought another wave of fury through me. How could anybody even think of saying that to Raven? Raven stirred in her sleep. I had to calm down. My emotions were starting to affect Raven now.

"I don't know, B, we'll just have to wait and see." Again, his voice sounded dejected and defeated, but he sounded more tired than anything else. He seemed to be just as worried about her as I did, but there was something else that was bothering him as well. I was about to ask him what else was bothering him, but he continued on. "Why didn't I notice it earlier?" So that was it. He was beating himself up over this whole ordeal now. "I'm supposed to be her older brother, we are practically family, an' I didn't even have any idea of what was goin' on. Not this, not the people, an' not-" He stopped. What ever sort of control he had earlier was gone. He sat in the chair closest to Raven, holding her frail hands in his own metallic ones, the tears flowing freely from his normal eye now, and the robotic one dimmed. "I have to tell Rob and Star how she is doing." As he said that, he stood up and turned to leave the room. Clearly he had more to say on the subject, but he wasn't ready to tell quite yet. I didn't force it. Part of me was relieved that he didn't finish his sentence, but the other wanted to know. Before he left, he turned to me, his face full of an unguarded protectiveness. "Watch her while I'm gone. If anything happens, let me know. You hear me?"

"I promise." My answer seemed to put him at ease for leaving her for now, and with another glance back at her, he left to room. As soon as the door shut, I let myself cry. Cy was already messed up about the whole situation, but me crying about it would only make it worse for him. I knew that Raven would be okay, but for whatever reason, I was unable to convince myself of that. I knew that something bad was going on for Raven, and for the time being, I was powerless to help her. That knowledge alone was crushing me. I knew that Raven is usually capable of taking care of herself, but when she can't, she always lets herself get hurt. I couldn't bear even the thought of her being hurt, but here she was, right in the most hated room in the entire tower, not recovering as she should. I blamed myself, Cy was beating himself up over it, Robin would question his abilities as a detective, and I could already hear Starfire bawling.

An unexpected cloud of drowsiness swept over me. I figured that going back to sleep wouldn't hurt anything. I moved my chair to be closer to Raven. I took her hand in my own and just rested my head on the side. I took a glance at Raven, her sleep filled with nightmares again. I wanted to know what bothered her, but she always kept her nightmares to herself. "Goodnight Rae."

I was once again woken up by the sound of voices but unlike the first time, it was only one voice in the room, not two. Raven had started talking in her sleep, mumbling incoherent words, tossing from one side to another. It seemed to me that she was having a nightmare again. It then occurred to me why she would often have dark bags beneath her eyes, and she would so often fall asleep on the living room couch. She was plagued by her nightmares. I called Cyborg on the communicator, unsure as to what I should do. "Hey, Cy? She's having nightmares again. What can I do?"

His reply was slow and sleepy, but riddled with concern. "Just try waking her up, and I'll be there in a minute." He hung up.

I put my communicator back, my focus completely shifted to Raven now. I gently shook her by her shoulders. ''Raven, its okay, its me, Garfield. Its time to wake up now." I saw tears slowly begin to gather on her eyes, whatever was bothering her, I had to stop it. "Come on, Raven. It's okay, you'll be okay." She suddenly jumped up and latched her arms around my neck, and continued to cry. I've only seen her cry few times, but never this badly. I just hugged her back, and did my best to comfort her. "Shh Raven, it's okay, I'm here, everything will be okay..." I didn't know how true my last statement was, but I wanted it to be so, so badly.

I heard Cyborg walk into the room. His pace seemed slow, cautious, not sure how to process what was going on. By this time, Raven's sobbing had quieted down. She unlatched herself from me, but stayed close.

Raven

Everything around me seemed to be spinning, only focusing on the sight before me: a man clad in black staring down at me, a sickening smile upon his face, a gleaming silver dagger in hand, I tried running, but I tripped over the uneven surface that the alleyway provided. His malicious smile only grew, he had won, I was going to die. But there was something that he didn't know, I wanted to die. I wanted to be able to leave this world quietly; no fuss, no tears. I wouldn't be missed, that much I knew. Sure, my team would grieve and yes, I would be leaving the one I loved most behind, but it was for the best. I wouldn't cause them anymore pain. I felt the dagger enter my abdomen. My entire body erupted in pain. I felt like I was being burnt from the inside. I heard a scream as I fell, possibly mine. All I could think before I blacked out was 'Don't let my team find me like this'.

Faintly, I could hear a voice, slowly dragging me from my nightmare, At first I didn't recognize whose voice it was, but it was soothing, and it helped me focus on reality. I was in the infirmary, hands were on my shoulders, gently shaking me. I could feel their worry, their struggle to keep composed, but there was something else there, an emotion that has been buried deep and well hidden, one that I surely wold have noticed before, but it had been cleverly disguised underneath all other emotions. Love. I held onto it, willing it not to leave me. I realized who the emotion belonged to, I felt myself hurl toward him, my tears were flowing freely now, I clung to him as I sobbed, and I finally let my emotions run wild.

I could hear the faint popping as things around me shook, but I paid no mind to it. My outburst of emotions wasn't going to do any real damage anyways. I was drained. My energy was all focused on one point of my body, and for once, I was glad for it. Without energy, my powers weren't strong enough to even open a jar of peanut butter. So I cried, I sobbed, and I finally was able to release all of my pent up emotion and finally have someone there with me to be my anchor.

Beast Boy

When my shock finally wore off, I was able to assess the situation. Raven was crying, something that she rarely ever does, and she was holding onto me as if her life depended on it. I also knew that she was in pain. Her emotions had skyrocketed, and nothing was blowing itself up. I didn't know what to do, and that scared me.

I could feel her sobbing slowly die down, but her heart was still racing. She was still scared by her nightmare, but she was running out of energy.

I then remembered that Cyborg was in the room with us. "Raven, hey, Cy is here and he needs to check your injuries. Is that alright?" She nodded against my shoulder and slowly detached herself from me, but she kept near me, and had clasped her hand in my own. Her behavior seemed so unlike herself, and that had me worried even more so. Since when did she even like having me in the same room as her?

"Okay Rae, you'll just have to be still for a moment. I'll be done before you know it." He checked her pulse, her eyes, her temperature, and then he spoke again, "B, would you mind getting some water for Rae?" I caught on, he didn't want me to see the actual damage, and I agreed with him on this one. I didn't go though, I needed to see it. I needed the conformation that she would really be alright.

Surprisingly, it was Raven who spoke up next. "Just go, Beast Boy, I can't let you see me like this, not now. Please go." She sounded so broken, so frail, I couldn't leave her. Not like this.

"No, Raven, I won't... I can't... No, just no." I stayed there, still seated next to Raven. She was still holding my hand. "Please, don't make me go. I can't leave her now. I need to be sure that she's all right." I felt the panic rise within me. I knew that it wasn't rational. That she would most definitely be fine, but I couldn't tell my animal instincts that. Animals are loyal creatures. Some mate for life, some stay with their dying young, and some will stay by their dying beloved's side until the very end. I picked up on many of those traits, everything within me completely rebelled even the thought of leaving her side. "Cyborg, I can't leave her."

It seemed to me that he finally understood. "Raven, he can't leave. His animal side won't let him go. Is it okay if he stays?"

She sighed and nodded. I kept all of my focus on her. Cyborg was carefully lifting her shirt to unwrap her and reveal the injury. I don't know what I had expected, but this was so much worse. It ran down from the bottom of her rib-cage all the way to her navel. The gash was jagged, but clean, as if whoever did this to her was hasty, but determined and well practiced. It was deep, but slowly healing, I could see Cyborg's handiwork in the way he had stitched it. surrounding the cut was a sort of pathway with angry black tendrils going around it. It was by far the worst thing that I have ever seen in my entire life, and it was on the person that I cared for the most.

I could tell that by this time, Cyborg had become well acquainted to the sight of this. He quickly and deftly set to work. In her panicked state, she had torn a few stitches, so he sprayed the area down with some disinfectant, and set to work fixing them. Every so often I could see her wince and sometimes hear a small little gasp. I turned myself so I could see her face, and to my surprise, she seemed to be studying me, watching me, trying to see my reaction. Her gaze held fear. What did she have to be afraid of?

Raven

From the moment that he refused to leave, I've been watching him. I couldn't help it, the fact that he was panicking over being told to leave, his instinctual need to be near me, his general emotional state didn't ma- oh... yes it did. I understood now. All of his actions were starting to make sense. Every time he was trying to make me laugh, every time that I had been injured, even the time when those odd chemicals had awoken "the Beast" within him, everything was clear to me only then. I had already come to terms about how I felt, but to ever even have the notion that he felt the same had always been an impossibility to me.

But now, here he was, openly expressing exactly how he felt about me, not with words. I didn't need them. Waves of raw, unguarded emotion rolled off him, and it terrified me. How could I react to something like this? Before, I was able to simply ignore my emotions, but now that I knew the truth, it would tear me up inside... I needed to tell him, but after keeping my emotions cooped up for so long, I didn't know how to do it. Now I owed two explanations; one to my team, and one to Beast Boy.

I felt a familiar sluggish tiredness flush through my system. Cyborg must've put some painkillers into my IV. I wasn't about to complain though. After dealing with the pain for so long, it felt nice to be without it. I managed a quick complaint to Cyborg about it though. "Why couldn't you have given me that earlier." I felt a loopy grin hit my face, and I felt a warm pressure on one of hands. I looked for the source, and found that it was none other than Beast Boy. I felt the words begin slipping out before I could stop my self, but for once, I didn't want to hold back. "Don't worry," I felt the heavy walls of unconsciousness begin to cave in, but my grin still stuck, "I feel the same way." That sounded stupid to even my own ears, but I couldn't find any better words to say. I brought his hand closer to my face, and rested my head on it right as I fell asleep.

Beast Boy

"Wow, Cy, what is in those drugs? I'v never heard Raven mess up her words that bad before." At that moment, I felt as if a weight had been taken from my heart. Even though it looked bad I knew that she would recover. She was sleeping peacefully now, the side of her face resting on my hand. I still had no idea what she was talking about before, but she said it with a grin. All I ever wanted to do was to bring out another smile from her. It had become an addiction. Every hidden smile or concealed low chuckle was a personal victory for me and as time went on, I became more attuned to her laugh. It was a battle cry and a ray of sunshine on my days that were filled with defeat and darkness.

Cyborg replied with a laugh. "Just the usual, B. You're even worse, if you haven't noticed." His joking could only mask so much though, his worry and fear had faded, all replaced by something that was all together more dangerous: anger.

"Cy, what's wrong?"

"Somebody did this to her... they tried to kill her."

With those words, I stopped dead in my tracks. Its strange how much power that words can have over people. I finally came to the sudden relization of exactly what was going on with Raven. Of how terrible this situation was. I understood his anger now, because I felt it with every fiber in my being. I knew I had to reel it in, save it for when I could put it to real use. I started to use the method Raven had taught me to calm myself down. Deep breath in, slow exhale, count to four over and over while doing this. After a while of doing this, I finally trusted myself enough to speak. "Does Robin know?"

"No, not yet. I haven't told him. I can't find a way to do it yet." Cyborg and Robin have always had a rocky relationship, but there was one thing they had always agreed on- Raven. She was their close friend and little sister. I figured that Cy had a pretty decent reason for not telling him yet. Robin's obsessive personality would show very quickly. "How am I supposed to tell him that our little sister was nearly killed and none of us even noticed it until now? Why would she hide it for so long?"

Another awful thought occurred to me, one that I hoped wouldn't be true, but I knew was correct. "Cy, the person who did this to her tried to kill her... they'll want to finish the job once they realize she's not dead." I felt the fierce instinctual need to protect Raven rise once again. At this point there was no way in hell that I was going to leave her side now.

Cyborg looked like his systems were about to crash. He stood there, frozen in place. He hadn't come to the conclusion yet, but now that he has he was taking a while to process the situation.

The door opened and Robin walked in. Cyborg came out of his state and stared at him. The blank, controlled expression still there. "Robin, we need to tell you something."

Raven

I woke with the feeling of and intense, poorly controlled anger. It wasn't mine, and I was almost certain that I knew who's it was, but that did nothing to quell the inescapable fear that was threatening to boil over.

"What?" His voice shattered my growing fear. It was just Robin. Just Robin. Now he knew. I could feel his anger growing, but there was another flurry of emotions going into the mix, some that I still couldn't identify. Beast Boy knew.

"Cyborg," my voice came out as a weak croak, "I need to talk to you. Alone, please."

The three men were startled by me suddenly speaking up. I felt pressure on one of my hands, it was a foreign feeling, but reassuring. I looked up and saw Beast Boy matching my stare, his face so full of emotion. I didn't know what he was feeling though. Anger? Sadness? Fear? Love? It was disconcerting not knowing what he was feeling.

The surprise wore off. "Sure Rae, what's up?" Beast Boy and Robin hadn't made any move to leave.

"Alone. Without them."

The hand around my own tightened its grip. I knew they all disagreed, I knew how Beast Boy wouldn't want to leave and not be able to see or hear me. It broke my heart to know that I was hurting his. But the painful truth had to come out, and he couldn't know yet; not with the state he was in.

Despite their displeasure of the thought of leaving me, they and quietly left without any more fuss. I was relieved, but anxious, not eager to let the dreaded words leave my mouth, but knowing that if not said, they would cause an even greater mess. I waited for him to sit, and tried to build up enough nerve to talk.

Fortunately for me, Cyborg started talking.

"What's so important that Rob and Beasty can't know?" He asked with what would've sounded reprimanding, but I knew the inner confusion and concern. At least he wasn't angry... yet.

"Robin would start obsessing again, and I just can't tell Beast Boy yet. They wouldn't take it well." He looked ready to protest, but I continued on. "I know that you guys have already figured that he'll come to try again. Right now, I am sure that I will not be able to take another hit. Even now, my body is struggling to survive. I know you probably already figured that as well, but when I die-"

"HOLD UP! Raven, since when has this been a 'When I Die' situation? There is absolutely no way in hell that any one of us is ever even think to consider that a possibility." I could hear the devastation behind his words. Before I could get another word out, he continued on, but more calmly. "You are our family and will never give up... even if you do."

I took his silence as my cue, and carried on carefully; trying not to upset him once again. "Okay then, if I die, don't waste your tears on me, and can you please try to get the others to do the same? I can't bear to think that I will cause something bad to happen when I'm not around any longer.'

He answered me at first with a unbelieving scoff, and I took it as a good sign. "Raven, don't waste our tears? What are we supposed to do? Throw a party? Eat some cake and act as if our best friend hasn't just died? Of course we would cry. But you are not dying, nor will we ever let you give up." His energy seemed to be draining away, because he had said all of that, he pulled me into a big, brotherly hug gave a small peck to my forehead, and quietly and calmly walked out of the room.

Beast Boy

As much as I was longing to return to Raven, I knew I had to go speak with Cy. Something that had been said in there was really bothering him, and now our training equipment was taking the worst of it. As I approached him, a nearly overwhelming sense of anxiety had washed over me, threatening to drown the words that i was trying to say. Something's wrong with Raven.

"What's the matter?" He didn't answer, so I tried again. "Cyborg, what is the matter?" Again, he didn't reply. He just kept punching away, as if he didn't hear me."Cy, is Raven okay, or not."

That finally got a hold of his attention.

"She is giving up..." Came his dejected reply

"What do you mean she's giving up?"

"I mean she's giving up. As in, she isn't expecting herself to survive, and won't do anything about it."

I would've rather him had thrown me in front of a raging semi-truck. It would've hurt less than the thought of Raven dying. She wasn't even trying anymore. I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. The need to be near her was back, stronger than ever, but I stood frozen; unable to function. I stood that way until the alarms began blaring.

"No..." In an instant, I was off, racing back to Raven as if my life depended on it. In a way, it was. As I ran I could hear Cyborg trailing me. The feeling of dread grew stronger. The hallway seemed to go on for an eternity. I wasn't going to make it!

When I finally got into the room, what I saw would forever haunt me. Lying on the ground, blood pooling around her, a silver dagger impaled into her chest. The man, glaring down at her.

'ATTACK! KILL HIM! PROTECT MY RAVEN!' The Beast was screaming within me, begging to be let free. And for once, I didn't fight it, didn't restrain it. I let him consume me, fuel my rage, and destroy the one thing threatening to take the person I most cared about away from me.

The man's perspective

The man had not anticipated that result. He knew that he would have to fight off the green beast, but his most effective weapon was still stuck in the demon.
Instead, he pulled out his second best- a gun. Hoping that sticking a bullet in the creature would do the trick, he fired.

The monster make a loud human sounding scream, but kept trying for the kill. He got in one good swipe, knocking the man unconscious.