Hey people. I'm bloody tired of not being able to sleep. It's 4 AM over here and I haven't slept at all so far. I hate my cough. Just won't go away. Anyway, I'm feeling particularly bad about the lame explanation of Raven's reaction in the first two chapters. I'm sure I could have though up something better if I'd spent a little more time on it. On a different note, I'm spicing things up a bit in this chapter, and a couple of questions get answered as well as new questions being asked; although quite a few will already know or have guessed the answers. All I can say to those who have is PLEASE don't spoil it for others.

~Blodh Skolir

6:00 AM, Titans Tower, Raven's Room.

Raven was woken abruptly by the sensation of something hitting her face. Something damp. Recalling the events of the previous night, she had no doubts as to what it was. Touching her face, she was unsurprised when she saw her fingers stained crimson. The smell assailed her demonic sense of smell like the Japanese bombing Pearl Harbour. She pinched her nose shut before lighting the candles she kept by her bedside. Briefly dazzled by the light, she quickly adjusted and looked upwards, wondering what was written this time.

What she saw, confused her. Not her name. Not the name of one of the other Titans. No threats or demands. Just a single word. One word which completely vexed the knowledgeable empath.

WHY?

Why what? What had she ever done to whoever kept doing this? The questions flew around inside her head like Starfire on drugs. Dismissing them for a later time, she strode over to the alarm button on the wall, and calmly activated the yellow and black switch. She immediately heard the siren go off and saw the flashing red lights from under her door.

She used her communicator to debrief the other Titans before heading to the living room where they were to gather. Robin was already there, pacing as usual. Starfire was raiding the fridge for more mustard. Cyborg and Beast Boy were still absent. Raven noticed that no-one looked particularly surprised. Robin looked aggravated, whilst Starfire had a look of hope on her face. Whether it was from the hunt for mustard or the second chance at catching the villain, Raven wasn't too sure.

Using her senses, she located the missing Titans. Cyborg was running through all the security footage from the micro-cameras, whilst Beast Boy was taking a long shower, calm as always. His mind always was an enigma. Raven briefly wondered how someone so stupid could have such a complex mind. It was full of twists and turns and locked doors and -

Raven forced herself out of his head. She had sworn to herself not to invade someone's privacy like that unless absolutely necessary, and curiosity was no exception. She was jolted out of her reverie when someone said her name. "Friend Raven? What is that ugly red stain on your face?"

Sighing, Raven turned to face the Tameranian princess before replying. "Blood. The message was written on the ceiling, directly above my bed."

At this simple sentence Starfire gasped, while Robin just hissed angrily through his teeth. "How did they manage to get a message on the ceiling without waking you, Raven? I would've though you would be woken up by it," Robin seethed. Before Raven could reply, the doors slid open to reveal the cybernetic teen, Cyborg. By the look on his face, he was even more confused than they.

"Guys, ya better get a look at this. I'm not sure what the hell it is, but it's definitely somethin'." He crossed over to the large plasma screen TV at the far end of the room, opening a compartment in his arm before interfacing himself with it. "I was going over the film from last night. Not just the micro-cams either. I looked at the camera outside Raven's room, and despite going over the entire film, twice, I found nothin'."

"Confusing, I know. After that, I checked the micro-cam in her room. I'm not sure what to make of what it filmed." He tapped a few buttons in the compartment in his arm. Quickly, the TV turned on to reveal the inside of Raven's room. Raven could be seen sleeping peacefully in her bed, twitching every now and then for some unknown reason.

Before long, just caught in the corner of the screen, the cloaked figure was seen swinging agilely through the window to land on the floor, not making so much as a whisper of cloth on cloth. His hooded face swept the room, before his gaze came to rest on the camera. The figure paced towards the camera purposefully, still not making any noise. Once they reached the camera, the hooded face filled the screen.

Abruptly, their face split into a maniacal grin. What little light there was reflected off the figure's teeth, dazzling the camera. Raven, Robin and Starfire barely had time to realise the grin seemed very familiar, before the figure took the camera between finger and thumb before crushing the little piece of expensive technology.

After the feed died, Robin asked "Was it just me, or was that grin strangely familiar?" All three Titans nodded. Cyborg spoke up. "That's kinda why I showed you the tape. We obviously know the person behind this, but no-one can seem to remember who they are." At this point, the doors opened once more, admitting a cheerful-looking Beast Boy. "Hey guys, what'd I miss? Someone dead?" he joked, seeing the grim looks on their faces.

Immediately, their expressions changed to ones of anger. Raven, floating with her eyes now glowing, responded with a "You will be, if you don't shut the hell up." Robin and Cyborg just glared at the changeling angrily, while Starfire, with glowing green eyes, berated him in a voice that reverberated throughout the Tower. "How DARE you laugh at a time like this?! I fail to see anything that is remotely humorous!"

What happened next came as a surprise to everyone in the room. The thousand-watt grin immediately disappeared, and the light in Beast Boy's eyes dimmed visibly. In a cold, dead voice, he responded. "It's how I cope with my life. Sometimes, laughing is the only thing that keeps me motivated. Finding joy in the little things, since I have so little to be happy about. Ever since my parents died." With that he pivoted on his heels before marching from the room, completely ignoring the fact he had yet to make himself breakfast.

After that, the remaining four Titans stood in silence.

10:00 Am, Titans Tower, Living Room

Robin wanted to scream.

After over a day of searching, analysing, deducing, thinking, but most of all, failing, It was plain to everyone that the normally fearless leader of the Titans was quickly coming apart at the seams.

Cyborg, for a lack of something else to do, was going over the footage from the last two nights repeatedly. He was determined to find something, somewhere the intruder slipped up. Somewhere, where the intruder somehow revealed their identity.

Raven, on the other hand, simply sat on the sofa in the middle of the room. She was staring out the window, and though others may assume she was lost in thought, she wasn't. She knew exactly where she was; the only thing is, she wasn't in her own thoughts. Since the incident earlier, she had decided to find out more about the changeling. She wasn't reading his mind, she was simply reading his surface thoughts, like she had so many times before.

What she found was both enlightening, and disturbing. He had reminisced on the demise of his parents. A boating accident. The most surprising thing was the self-loathing Raven felt emanating from the green teen at the memory. It was replayed again and again, Beast Boy thinking about all the different ways he could have saved them. He blamed himself for their death.

Unable to stand the negative thoughts any longer, Raven withdrew her mind from his. Despite the hatred she had felt from the memories, she was certain that this memory was not the source of his problems. She was also certain, however, that if she had dove any deeper she would have been overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of his self hate. If that happened, there would be no telling what her powers would do.

Shuddering at the thought, she glanced around the room. Robin was still pacing, while Cyborg was going over the CCTV on the TV screen. Raven vaguely recalled Starfire saying something about 'The Mall of Shopping', and from what she sensed earlier, Beast Boy was beating the shit out of a punching bag in the gym. Her mind once more on the changeling, she idly wondered why no-one had bothered learning about his past. Had they dismissed it as inconsequential? Or had they simply not cared?

Shaking her head, Raven got up and headed to the roof. She needed to meditate, and her room wasn't exactly the best place, what with the blood and all. When she reached the roof, she sighed with relief as the fresh air bathed her. It was at this point that she remembered she still had the blood spot on her face from earlier. She reached up and started to scratch the now dry bloodstain off. Pausing, she leant to sniff the blood under her nails.

There was something oddly familiar about the smell. Sighing, she contemplated this new revelation. It appears the culprit was not just familiar, but had also bled before in their company. This didn't exactly narrow down the list much, she had come across injured civilians countless times. But the familiarity of the blood hinted at someone closer. A sneaking suspicion crept into her mind.

She quickly floated to the base of the Tower. Flying quickly over the terrain, she finally arrived at Terra's resting place. Raven figured that she was Slade's apprentice, meaning he could have taught her how to be as stealthy as him, and she also had the right sort of build to be the villain. Entering, she sighed with relief to see that Terra was still rock-bound. That was another scratch off the list.

Raven transported herself back to the roof of Titans Tower, intending to inform Robin of the whole familiar-blood thing. Before she could descend, however, she heard a small scuffing noise behind her. Turning, she saw Beast Boy standing on the very edge of the rooftop, looking straight down.

"Beast Boy?" She queried warily. She did not want to push him, considering his earlier frame of mind and the close proximity of the edge of the multi-story tower. He did not even look up before responding. "Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be just...free? Free from all the stress and hate in the world, free from everything that ties you down?"

Raven did not like where this train of thoughts was heading. "You know as well as I do that no matter how hard you try, you will never be completely free of everything. Just as I cannot be free from my demonic heritage, you cannot be free from your past." She saw the look on Beast Boy's face. SHIT she cursed mentally, as she saw his expression tighten, his resolve firming.

He did the unthinkable.

He stepped off the side of the tower.

"BEAST BOY!" Raven screamed after him running to the edge, looking down helplessly. Even her soul form couldn't catch up to him now. Raven could only watch as he plummeted to the ground, laughing crazily as he fell. She had given up all hope when he suddenly changed into a falcon and pulled out of the dive, barely scraping the ground, before he shot back up to the roof of the tower.

Resuming his human form, the green teen burst out laughing at the look on Raven's face. He couldn't help it. That is, until a nimbus of black energy shut his mouth for him. Raven's eyes began glowing red, and she slowly grew in height, her cloak lengthening with her. Black tendrils of energy began to make themselves known as they lashed around the hem of the cloak.

"WHAT the HELL did you do that for?! Did you WANT to scare me shitless?! I though you were going to KILL yourself, and it was all some stupid PRANK!?!" Raven was screaming at him now, her dark tentacles threatening to drag him under her dark cloak. Raven had almost fully lost control now. The black energy holding his mouth shut dissipated, revealing an incredibly toothy grin.

"So you DO care, huh Raven?" Was all he said as he nimbly sidestepped a lash from a tentacle. Something about this startled Raven so much that her eyes immediately returned to their normal colour. She rapidly shrank, and her rampant energies were withdrawn back under the cloak. She stood still, her mouth open and her eyes wide, gaping like a fish, for about fifteen seconds before her eyes closed and promptly collapsed.

"I guess the whole demon thing really takes lot outta her." Beast Boy mused as he picked her up. As he carried her to the infirmary, he had to restrain himself from doing a little jig. I'm actually touching Raven, and I'm not dead! Sure she was unconscious, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. His jovial mood was quickly replaced by a growing fear. Shit, what'll I do when she wakes up? He shrugged, placing her on one of the metallic beds, before pulling up a chair and sat next to her. Ah well, he thought, I'll take it as it comes, like I always have.

That's it for now, I'm afraid. I was originally planning to reveal the one responsible for all the night scares this chapter, but I realised the chapter was getting a little long. Sorry, people! I can't help it if my genius has ran off with the plot, and I can't catch up to take it back. I guess I'll have to go hot-wire a car or something. Anyway, I PROMISE the bad guy will get revealed next chapter. Or possibly the next. I kinda had a little fun on this chapter, despite a momentary writers' block just past halfway through. Little hint, Raven didn't collapse from fatigue, but something else. Care to guess what?

~Blodh Skolir