Okay... here's the second chapter! Oooh... what's going to happen?! Come and listen... for this storyteller has another chapter of the story she has to tell... so come... closer to the dancing flames...

The Dark Apprentice

Chapter Two

"The Darkness Is Spun"

"WHAT?! What do you mean she's gone?" Robin yelled. His voice was hollow as he shouted, and he woke up the rest of the Titans.

Starfire stumbled into the room, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She yawned widely, and looked at Robin, her eyes half-closed. Her usual uniform was slightly messed, and her hair was uncombed. "Robin? Why do you wish to wake us at this hour in the e-e-e-early morning?" Starfire tried stifling a loud yawn. Robin ignored her as his face turned white. "Robin?"

The door hissed open again and Cyborg and Beast Boy walked out. Cyborg was yawning, and Beast Boy seemed to be sleepwalking. He mumbled slightly. Cyborg slumped into a chair and clunked his head on the table. "Wassa matter?" He mumbled quietly. Beast Boy walked over to the large sofa and fell into it. His loud snores filled the air.

"When do you think she left?" Robin asked. There was a pause. "Unsure? You're unsure? Didn't anybody see her? Anyone?!" Robin's voice rose again, but he stopped as Starfire placed her hand on his arm. Her green eyes sparkled with concern.

"Robin... what is it? What news have you acquired?" She yawned once and floated to the table. She sat down on one of the chairs, near Cyborg. Her eyes looked up at Robin.

Robin sighed and placed the phone down after a quick 'goodbye' and 'thank you'. He sat on the chair across from Cyborg. Robin bit his lip and started. "Well... the ward we visited... Raven's missing." Cyborg's jaw dropped while Starfire woke up fully. She rose from her chair and looked at Robin.

"B-but we saw Raven yesterday! And surely she is safe in thebuilding of healingwhere she is kept! Would they leave her alone?" Starfire's lip quivered. "I-I-I don't understand..."

"Star, well... ya know, the staff have to move frequently... to check on other people. Raven must've been left alone for a while... and... ya know... been abducted." Cyborg looked at Beast Boy snoring in the sofa. He stood up and walked to Beast Boy. Cyborg shook him awake.

"W-w-wha? Whadid I miss?" Beast Boy looked around. His eyes were sleepy, and his hair was messed up.

"Yes you have missed something Beast Boy! Raven has been abducted in the hospital she was in! We do not know where she is located now..." Starfire sniffled once. Beast Boy woke up fully and bolted onto his feet.

"Mwa-what? Raven's gone?!?!" He shook his head. "How? Did they find any traces...?" He turned to Robin for information. Robin shook his head.

"No. They didn't. The hospital staff checked later in the morning, around five or so, and they found she was gone. All they found was that her extra clothes were missing, and that her bed sheets were crumpled, but it looked as though someone had just got out of it." He sighed. "That's it. That's all they know." Silence rang through the Titans Tower for the second time in two days.

"Dude... we have to find her. We would only be four if we lost her..." Beast Boy could not say anymore as an alarm went out in the tower. Robin stood up and ran to the large TV screen. He switched it on, and a report came.

A male voice echoed in the conference room. "There have been reports of a savage earthquake attacking Gotham City, just around the city square. No one has been hurt yet, but among the confusion there have been robberies. Wallets, jewelry, gold, and other expensive valuables have been looted in less than a day so far."

Robin turned to the rest of his teammates. "Well, we have to leave Raven's search for now. Titans, move!"

With that, the Titans leaped into action, leaving any thoughts about Raven's disappearance behind.

Darkness surrounded her... darkness, everywhere! Raven felt herself floating in the pulsing shadows. A voice called her softly... but it sounded so far away. The voice kept repeating itself until Raven could hear the words, ringing clearly like a bell.

"Come Raven... come to me."

As Raven heard these words, she felt as if she was jerked forward. Her body ripped through a portal somewhere in her mind... and she was hurled onto a cold marble floor. Raven hit the cold floor hard as her cape fluttered behind her. She coughed and gasped for air as her body caught up with her. She coughed and gagged for several minutes before she looked up. A gasp escaped her lips.

In front of her, there was a large door. Cold marble figures stood beside the oak doors, each formed into the figure of a robed woman holding a figure to her lips. The large door seemed to be coated red, but with what Raven was unsure. Raven struggled onto her feet, shaking slightly. Before she could run away or even act, a voice called out from behind the door.

"Come to me Raven, come."

With that, the door flew open. Raven felt herself being pulled into the darkness that greeted her. It beckoned her inside, while the statues on the left and right became silent witnesses.

The force on her body halted, and she was thrown again to her knees. Lights began lighting around her, and when she looked around in the dimness, she saw the small flickering sparks that were candelabras. Harsh laughter echoed throughout the room. Raven shuddered as the laugh echoed in the room.

"What do you want...?" She hissed angrily.

More of the candelabras flickered on magically, and the ones at the farther edge of the room illuminated the face of a woman smirking evilly. Her hair fell down long and thick to her waist, and the gown she was wearing blended in with the dimness – it was the color of midnight. The woman's dark eyes glinted maliciously as she settled in a black marble throne. "What I want? Dear Raven, you can't possibly know what I want. You won't understand the satisfaction it brings me to hear the horrified screams of people seeing their nightmares in the flesh, to hear the crackling of fire burning away at people's hopes?"

She laughed again. Raven winced. "Oh Raven, you won't possibly understand. But what you would understand... is what I need you for."

Raven stood up as she spoke, but she stiffened as the woman mentioned her. "Leave me out of this!" She snarled. "I won't do anything for you – I'll do absolutely nothing!"

Several candelabras began to fade out, but they leaped up, brighter than ever, as the woman laughed coolly at Raven's statement. "Raven, you can't make a choice. Your mother determined your fate for you. You can't stand up against it." The woman rose from her throne and walked several steps forward. Her dark, velvety gown trailed behind her like a shadow. Raven shrank away from the woman, but she found out that something held her fast.

The woman stopped approaching when she was at least a foot away from her throne. Her smirk was more evil than ever; her eyes glinted even more malicious than ever. She waved a hand lazily in the air around her. Dark, hazy smoke curled from her hand and formed into a simple 2D screen beside her. Raven watched it in horror.

"You see Raven," She drawled. "There is no possible way for you to say no. You see your friends?" She motioned to the screen. Five pictures appeared, one of a redhead, a teenager with spiky black hair, a cyborg, a green-skinned person, and a blond. "I could crush them instantly. I could leave them dead on the street with all the clues pointing to you.

"And what else? Oh yes. Raven... There is absolutely no way you will escape... You see... you've already offered your soul to me when you exploded in front of that monster... and... you're in my territory of your mind." Black energy ripped through the air, aiming for Raven. Horrible laughter ripped through the air, horrifying Raven.

There was screaming. So much screaming... who was screaming...? Screams, bouncing off of the walls, echoing the same way the laughter did. Screaming... who was screaming?! Raven listened to the screams...

And realized they were her own.

Okay... do you like it? More dialogue, or no? If you're confused right now, please continue reading and reviewing please. I'll explain it all later, all right? Thank you for the reviews, I will post up answers next chapter!!!

Thank you so much, I've already written the third chapter, expect it up soon!