A/N:... Ohmygod. I can't believe I forgot to update! *apologizes profusely* Ugh, too much going ooonnnn...

But I digress. This is more of a filler chapter really, the big stuff is for the next update. 20 internets and an imaginary cookie to whoever can guess what's going to happen. It's kind of flippin' obvious. *facepalms herself*

Reviews make my day, seriously. Constructive criticism is good, people!

Scarlet Shayde


Starfire took to the sky the moment the last traces of Raven's dark powers faded. She was so sad, so upset, and so angry at Beast Boy she couldn't sit still. Starfire flew as fast as she could, pushing her powers to the limits, relishing the wind whipping her hair around her face.

When she got to the island, she landed noiselessly and stood for a second, staring at the door. Everything would be different once she crossed the threshold. She felt like as long as she stayed there, she could pretend that things were the same. That Raven's room was not be empty, that the ever-present herbal tea in the cupboards was still there, that Starfire's makeshift family was still whole.

But that was lying to herself.

She walked forward slowly, opening the door, taking slow steps down the hall. Halfway to the common room, she stopped. Falling to her knees, she buried her face in her hands and burst into tears.

She was crying so hard she didn't even notice Beast Boy strolling by, pausing, asking her if she was alright. When she didn't respond, he pulled out his communicator and called the others. He never even realized that Raven didn't answer.

"Guys, get down here! Something's wrong with Star," he said frantically, eyes still on the sobbing girl on the floor.

Robin was there so quickly Beast Boy thought he could've set a new record. He knelt next to his girlfriend and put his hands on her shaking shoulders.

Cyborg appeared next to Beast Boy. "Man, what happened?"

The green boy shook his head. "I don't know, dude. I was just walking by and here she was crying. She didn't say anything when I asked."

Starfire's sobs started to subside and she wiped the back of her hand across her face as she stood. "I... have news," she said hoarsely.

The boys crowded around her. "Starfire, what's wrong?" Robin asked, a worry-line appearing on his forehead.

"It is Raven. She has– She has–"

"What, Star? What happened to Raven?" Beast Boy demanded.

Starfire looked up with angry eyes and the boys all took an involuntary step back. "She has quit."

For a moment, there was nothing but stunned silence. Then Cyborg broke out shouting.

"Whaddaya mean she quit?!"

"I mean," Starfire answered with a hard voice, "That she has moved all her belongings and shall no longer be part of our team. She has left," she said, her voice breaking on the last word.

"But... She can't quit," Beast Boy said in a disbelieving voice. Starfire felt righteous fury well within her and had to restrain herself from hitting the shapeshifter with her most powerful starbolts.

"She has."

"Why?" Cyborg asked. His baby sister wouldn't have just left...

"She does not wish to tell you."

"Star..." Robin began, reaching out to lay a hand on her shoulder. Starfire tossed it off and stalked away, another tear tracking its way down her cheek. The boys stared in shock as they heard a crash from the direction she'd left.

"What are we going to do?" Beast Boy asked. He had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly why Raven had refused to even see them before taking off.

Robin got a determined look on his face. "Well, we can't just let her walk away without even knowing if she's alright. Cyborg," he said, turning to the tall teen, "Can you track her communicator?"

"Yeah, if she has it with her," Cy answered with a nod.

"Let's go then."

Beast Boy stood for a moment before following the other two to the control room. If this was his fault... he'd never forgive himself.

Raven landed in her new living room and fell back to sit on the couch, head in her hands. That had been so hard, much harder than she thought it would be. At least she wouldn't have to cut Starfire completely out of her life. Hearing Starfire ask if they could still see each other had made Raven grateful to have her as a friend.

Still, she was sad she wouldn't be able to see Star every day anymore. Raven had never realized how much she'd miss her best friend (it was still a foreign concept to her) until faced with not being able to see her. However, it was better this way. Maybe the broken pieces of her heart would begin to heal now. Or maybe not. One way or another, at least she wouldn't destroy the entire Tower.

Just as she thought that, her communicator began to beep.

Raven sat up and stared at it. She wanted to answer it–no, she couldn't. Seeing any of them, especially him, wouldn't help anyone right now.

Getting up, she wandered out of her living room and into her kitchen. Through the window, she could see the cold moon rising, just barely gracing the top of a skyscraper. She had been talking with Starfire longer than she'd thought. Opening a cupboard, she took down her favorite mug, the dark blue one with a black raven edged in silver on it Cyborg had given her. For a moment, she just stared at it. Then she mentally shook herself out of it and placed it on the counter before filling a kettle with water and setting it on the stove. Turning the burner on, she leaned back against the counter and became lost in thought as she waited for the water to boil.

Raven was startled out of her reverie by the shrill whistling of the kettle. Taking it off the burner and turning off the stove, she filled her mug and added herbal tea, letting it steep before tentatively sipping. It wasn't too strong; just the way she liked it. Meandering out of the kitchen, she headed straight for her bedroom. Setting the now empty mug on her nightstand, Raven let herself fall back onto her bed. Not even bothering to take off her cloak, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to a long night. Despite exhaustion seeping into her very bones, she knew it would be a long time before she got any sleep.

At Titans Tower, Robin and Beast Boy crowded around Cyborg. He got their impatience, but still. A man needs his space.

"Back up, y'all. You're not helping." The two obligingly took a few tiny steps back. Well, it was better than nothing. "Just give me a sec to access my database." Cyborg's metal fingers flew across the keys. "Okay," he said after a moment, "I'm in the system. Now I just need to activate the locator on Raven's communicator..." As he trailed off, the other two looked at each other, then back at him.

"What is it, Cyborg?" Robin asked finally.

"I can't find it."

"You mean it's been deleted from the system, or wrecked, or turned off?"

"No. My system shows that Raven's communicator is working just fine. She can get calls and everything but somehow... She managed to turn off the locating capabilities."

"Can you turn them back on?" Beast Boy asked.

"I can try." A minute of frenzied typing later, Cy's hands stilled and he sighed. "No, I can't. Somebody knew what they were doing."

"You said we could still call her?" Robin questioned, pulling his communicator from his belt.

"Yeah," Cyborg answered, turning to face the others. "But you know as well as I do that if she doesn't want to answer she won't."

"We have to try," the Boy Wonder replied, hitting the button to call Raven. The three boys sat in silence as it rang, each hoping their missing teammate would pick up... each knowing she probably wouldn't.

She didn't.

Cyborg shoved himself out of his chair and stormed towards the door. Before he left, his fist connected solidly with the wall, sending up a cloud of plaster dust.

Beast Boy abruptly turned to follow. He wanted to cry, but he refused to. He didn't deserve any measure of comfort. This is all your fault...

Alone in the control room, Robin slumped into a chair. A member of his team was missing, and he didn't have a damn clue how to find her.

Raven was gone.


A/N: Yeah, so I think I'm going to try updating every other week instead... I gotta lot of crap going on right now and for some reason I seem to be more focused on my SE/Inu fix anyway. Sorry...

Scar