Wow, the story is moving so fast! I'm afraid it shall be done soon, my friends! I'm starting the next chapter right now!
I hope you like this chapter. I'm not so hot about it. But hey, it had to be written. I'm actaully looking forward to the chapter 'Alone' even if it is sad and...well, just really sad.
Enjoy the story!
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Raven stared out from the dark shadows of the brambles. She glared, the fire in her eyes burning strong, at the people before her. It was a park. She remembered, once, he had brought her here. It was a far way from where they lived (she couldn't remember where they had lived, just knew it was awhile from here. And maybe there had been other people there…) but he insisted they came.
She had been patient with him and followed. When she got here, she was glad she had. It was such a beautiful park. Much better than the one back home. They stayed until night. The small pond looked so pretty with moonlight glittering on it's surface. When she had said so, he only said she was more beautiful, making her blush.
Raven growled under her breath. These people shouldn't be here. What if he wanted to meet her here, since they had loved this place so much? Were they keeping him away?
They fire inside her had flared up again. It scorched her throat and clouded her mind. The voice was loud in her ears, begging for more blood to hold back the flames. Raven was more than happy to listen, considering she was obliged to the voice for be ridding her numbness, letting her be alive, see a small light of hope to find him once more.
She slowly brushed out of her hiding place, ignoring the thorns that tugged at her. Her vision was darkened. She felt so out-of-body.
But still she walked ahead. And no one noticed her until it was to late.
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With each step they took, each town they checked, each person the asked, Robin felt the forbidding rise in him. No one had seen Raven. They had no leads. How were they supposed to find her?
But he refused to give up. He would find her if it was the last thing he ever did.
And then what? he couldn't fight back the small voice that whispered that. It was true he was unsure of what would happen when they found Raven. From what he had gathered from the last time they saw her, she was pretty far gone. To far gone to be saved? No. He couldn't think like that. If he did, the temptation to just give up and wallow in grief for his lost friends would overwhelm him.
Starfire and Cyborg had turned in for the night. They had checked towns outside of Jump City, but close enough so they could still get home to sleep when the sun set.
Robin could not sleep. He didn't know how the others did, knowing that Raven was still out there.
So he walked the streets of Jump City alone. Meaningfully avoid a certain block where he was sure he could still smell the thick walls of smoke, feel the blaring heat of flames, and see red stain the ground.
No, right now, he just walked. As though there was any hope of finding her still in Jump City. He knew she wasn't. They had turned the town upside-down looking for her before anything else. He had no hope of finding her here. But tomorrow he swore he would look everywhere. He had to find her.
He had to.
Robin settled himself down on a small ridge out looking the city after awhile. Just watching it. The city where he and his friends had once lived. The city they all had once protected. There was the old pizza place they would eat at, joking around and arguing over toppings. There was the video store Beast Boy always insisted they stop at to see if the new 'Wicked Scary' had come out.
They city hadn't changed, but everything else had.
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Robin did eventually go home and rest. But he was up early, as were the others. The searched farther off, Cyborg in the T-Car, Robin on the R-Cycle, and Starfire flying through the air, keeping pace with them. They asked everyone they saw if they had seen Raven. Always the same answer.
No.
They were about two hours from Jump City now. Robin had warned them that they most likely weren't going back to the tower tonight. They said it was fine. They were just as desperate to find Raven as he was.
There was a small, peaceful town. A very nostalgic feeling washed over Robin when he remembered Beast Boy once excitedly telling him about a date he had with Raven here. They had gone to the park and stayed there all day. He said it was one of the best days of his life.
When they got farther in, the first thing Robin noticed was a few police cars parked outside a park, yellow DO NOT CROSS tape covering the gates.
"No," Robin breathed, getting off his bike and running forward, asking the first officer he found what was happening.
He heard the story as though from a long tunnel, his body going colder and colder.
"Murder," the cop said gruffly. "At least 20 people. Dead. Few witnesses say the saw some girl in a black cloak leaving here with a knife and dripping in blood and such. Said she was laughing real loud too." The cop shuddered. "Man, wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley."
Robin slowly turned and walked to where Cyborg and Starfire waited for an explanation. His words came out half strangled.
"It's her. It was Raven. She…" Robin couldn't say anymore, but after a moment something in his head clicked. "This just happened yesterday! We have to keep moving! She couldn't have gotten that far after just a day on foot, right? Let's go!"
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That day, 22 people met their end. Raven, having found that he was not going to come to the park, continued searching, determined to find her lost love. And Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg went on with their mission: to find their lost friend and bring her home, not matter if she was broken or not.
To each his own.
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Hope you enjoyed!
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