The Corpse Bridesmaid

Summary: Just in time for Halloween. Nothing to do with the movie. Robin is being haunted. He doesn't know what's going on, only that he seems to be caught between a world of color and a world of black and red. Robin's in a limbo between a dream and a nightmare, but more strangely, he doesn't know which is worse.

Setting: Works just about anywhere in the series, really, but it's pretty much after "Trouble in Tokyo." No spoilers. It may seem AU at first, but don't be fooled—this will be in the Titanverse we all know and love.

Pairing: All sorts! Go crazy!

Author's Note: Now this won't make sense at first. Stick with it and I promise it will.

The day was gray. Robin looked up at the sky. Then down at the earth. Gray. Brown. Gray. Brown. He looked to his left. Black. His right. Black. He looked at the forest about thirty feet in front of him. More black.

The trees were bare and foreboding. The leaves were brown and dead and littered the ground.

All the pretty colors of fall had fled this place. The place where death walked.

Or more appropriately, the places were death slept.

To his left, Starfire was sobbing through her veil, a black handkerchief dabbing at her eyes. Her vibrant hair was hidden beneath her hat. Her skin was gray. Even Starfire's color had fled.

To his right, Beast Boy held his hat respectfully next to his heart as he gazed on. He did not cry, but he would not smile either. His green fur was dulled in the dim light, and his eyes were too.

Robin felt a large metal hand on his shoulder, the mechanic fingers clenching just enough to make him feel a little pain. Robin winced and Cyborg seemed to remember his own strength. He withdrew his hand. Robin turned to look at him over his shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

His eyes. Veins of red over blurred white. So. He had been crying too.

Robin looked ahead again, but past the image that was directly in front of him and into the forest again. Perched on the branch of one of the empty trees was a particularly large raven. It's head was darting around, left, right, up, down. Wherever Robin turned his head, it seemed the raven mimicked him. Or perhaps he mimicked the raven.

Just now, the raven turned its head and looked at Robin. Robin was disappointed. He was half-expecting the raven to have glowing red eyes, three of them if possible.

But the two bird's eyes were dark and dead.

Only one thing was red in this barren place.

It was the color of her dress.

He did not know why she was wearing a red dress. She just was. He didn't remember whose decision it was to dress her like that.

Indeed, Raven was the most colorful person at the funeral. Her skin seemed tanner in death some how, her lips painted as red as her dress, her long hair neatly brushed and washed.

There were two words that entered Robin's mind at that moment. Pulmonary Embolism.

Who knew? Who could have known? The great and powerful daughter of Trigon struck down by a blood clot.

Robin shifted uncomfortably and looked at the ground again. His black shoes in the brown mud.

The droning sound suddenly stopped and Robin realized the woman had stopped talking. There was a mechanical clicking sound and Robin felt the earthquake as Raven's body was committed to the ground.

Starfire let out an extra big sob. It made Robin angry, but he said nothing.

Stupid.

Next week they would be married. He felt trapped.

Next week they would be married. He felt liberated. He held her in his arms, breathed in the scent of her shampoo. Mangos and apricot.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," he whispered to her.

She looked nervous. "You do not think it is too soon?"

"Too soon? Damn, Starfire, it took us years to finally admit our feelings for each other, I don't think it's too soon at all."

Starfire laughed and blushed, bashfully. "We are just children, Robin. We have not even reached the age of twenty."

"No," Robin admitted. "But it feels so right."

"She's right you know," came a monotonous voice. "You two are barely legal."

Robin turned and threw Raven a wry look. "You're just jealous."

"Snowball's chance in Hell," Raven responded, a twisted grin on her face as she wrinkled her nose. "Thanks."

"If you ask me, you could use with a trip to Hell," Robin said. "You're as cold as outer space. When are you gonna get that icicle out of your ass?"

"Witty," Raven said, sarcastically.

Beast Boy burst into the room holding two different catalogues in his hand. "OK, so Modern Bride says that if you want to add a little flare to your wedding, you need more color. But Old Fashioned Wedding says that white is always in. As for dresses, well, I personally recommend the one with the embroidery on the hemline with the plunging neckline—" Beast Boy stopped talking a moment and paused, then looked up and shook his head, fervently. "Not that I'd be looking or anything, it's just that it's so Angelina Jolie, and I thought—"

Beast Boy found himself with a magazine stuffed in his mouth as Raven walked past him out the door. Spitting it out, he continued.

"Anyways, as far as wedding cakes go, I think you can never go wrong with a marble layer cake, I mean—"

"Oh no," said Cyborg suddenly, "You stay away from the food, you hear me Beast Boy? Last thing I need is a soy milk cake and tofu crackers for appetizers."

"But it's something everyone can enjoy!" Beast Boy whined.

"Why does 'everyone' always just mean you?"

"Everyone that matters," Beast Boy said, folding his arms.

"Food is my territory. Besides, I already put in an order for pickles dipped in mustard."

"Mr. Chef made this choice?" Beast Boy said, eyebrow cocked.

"No," said Cyborg sharply, "But the future Mrs. Grayson did."

Beast Boy went as red as his green fur would allow. "Well fine." Beast Boy turned to Starfire and Robin again. "My best to both of you, I can see I'm no longer needed as a consultant."

Robin and Starfire laughed as he stormed out. Cyborg looked at the two of them, in each other's arms, and shook his head.

"Oh you two…"

"You two…"

He pulled away. Why was she here?

She looked down. She was not happy.

"You two were always close…"

"How would you know," said Robin. "You have no memory of her."

"I do so," she said, sounding offended. "I loved you all."

"You died for us," Robin said, sounding more sarcastic than he'd meant to.

"Went to hell and back for you," she replied.

He finally looked at her, her dull blonde hair laying limply on her shoulders. She didn't wear a hat like Starfire's. Her dress was simple. Her blue eyes were now gray. Death had changed her.

"You're a liar."

"And Raven makes three," she replied.

"You're not making any sense."

"I never do."

They stood in silence a moment. Why was she talking to him? Why had she come here?

"What are you doing here, Terra?"

She looked lost a moment, then she sighed. "I suppose it's because I have no where else to go."

"So it's not because your friend just died."

"It's like you said," she said, with a shrug. "I have no memory of her."

"You are a liar."

"I'm just confused."

"So am I." Robin looked wistfully out at the window at the forest, then at the buffet table. "It's funny how we always have to eat. Even when someone dies, there's always a catering opportunity."

"Who's doing your wedding?"

"Beast Boy. I think he did it all wrong though. It's all Starfire, none of me. You might think that they're the ones getting married."

"Beast Boy and Starfire, that's absurd."

"So's your presence here," Robin returned. "Listen, Terra. You're either dead, or you don't remember who we are. You can't have both."

"Can't I?"

"No," said Robin.

"I was under the impression I could have anything I wanted. Even if it was… pickles and mustard on my wedding day."

That comment sent a chill down Robin's spine. "What did you say?"

She chewed on a carrot. "Pickles. And mustard. Just something I threw out there, you know, random things. What are you guys having?"

"Tofu crackers," said Robin, sounding disgusted. "And fruit punch."

"No champagne?"

"Too young."

"Have it in Europe. You're sixteen, aren't you?"

Robin walked away from her without saying goodbye. She didn't follow. Cyborg was telling a joke.

"Two men walk into a bar and they both order a scotch on the rocks. One drinks it fast, the other slow. The latter man dies. Why?"

They all had great fun with guessing. Terribly gruesome things that disgusted Robin. Cyborg looked like he was about to burst at the seams, keeping such a hilarious secret to himself.

"Well, come on then, what is it? Tell us!"

Cyborg couldn't help it. He laughed as he told them the punchline. "The guy… poison… in the ice. It melted. Get it?"

"Cyborg, that's hilarious!"

"You have an eye for humor."

"Wonderful, old boy, wonderful."

All of a sudden, everything stopped. Robin turned and looked around. No one was moving. He searched out Starfire and found her by the window. She was in her wedding dress, and she was laughing.

There was a shadow right next to her. It looked like black snow from a television set that had lost its signal. It kept flickering. It was the only thing that moved.

There was something sharp. Terra was whispering in his ear. How had she moved to his shoulder?

"Imagine they switched. Would you be satisfied then?"

The shadow was gone. In its place stood Raven in the red dress, holding a knife. She grabbed Starfire by the hair and slit her throat. Starfire fell soundlessly to the ground with just a little gasp to alert anyone of her death.

Raven slid her finger along the blade until it bled with Starfire's blood, then painted her dull lips with it. She walked over to a stunned Robin. She smiled at him sinisterly as she pressed her body against him. He was terrified.

"Kiss me, and I promise you I'll taste like her."