Discalimer: Who owns the Teen Titans? Not me!

Chapter 6: Pain, Proof, and Retribution

One thought ran through Raven's mind that night as she lied awake in her dark room: pain, pain, pain, pain, pain. That was all she could feel; a great, hollow pain that pushed her powers to their limits. Beast Boy hated her, the team didn't trust her, Beast Boy loved Terra, and the team trusted Terra. She was unwanted, and she didn't think she could hurt herself anymore by staying. She had to leave, she saw now; but where would she go? She would be killed if she went back to Azarath, she would be found if she stayed in Jump City, and she would be unsafe anywhere else on Earth. She was half-demon, after all. Who wants a demon around their children? It wasn't like she had anywhere to go. It seemed that, until she could think out a plan, she had to stay. But that didn't mean that she had to stay in reality, she realized: she could go in her mirror! But she didn't have time to test her theory before blackness clouded her mind as she crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

When Beast Boy had seen Terra, he thought he would die of happiness. His first love had returned to him at last. And now that she was with him, it was all he could do to let her leave his sight for a moment. He wanted to be with her every moment in case she left him again. He didn't think he could bear that kind of pain again; the one girl that had accepted him, torn from his arms and cast in stone. He thought he would die. That was when, for the first time, he wondered what Raven was feeling. He had never really thought that Raven had been responsible for Ice's death in any way, so he'd blamed her for Terra. But now Terra was back, so he had no reason to blame her; and yet he simply couldn't go and apologize to her for ruining her life and expect everything to be right again. In truth, he knew that, even if the rest of the team did apologize, Raven would never forgive them. How could they? When they'd accepted her as part of the team, they'd all decided to ask a promise from everyone. Robin asked if everyone would promise to care about even if he acted like he didn't care about them. Cyborg asked if everyone would promise to look beyond the metal and know him for who he truly was. Starfire asked if everyone would promise to love even if she was strange. Beast Boy had asked if everyone would promise to remember that even he could be sad. And Raven…Raven had asked if they would promise not to reject her with silence.

"I've been hated in silence by too many people," she'd said, staring at the ground. "I would rather you cause problems and shout at me than to be completely ignored." But, of all the ironies, that was exactly what they'd done: they'd betrayed her. All of the sudden, Beast Boy was bombarded with guilt. He, as well as the rest of them, had betrayed Raven's trust. She'd never asked for anything but that, and they'd denied her one deepest wish. Beast Boy felt more like a monster than he'd felt when he'd become The Beast. He felt, no: he knew that they'd ruined her life. Beast Boy didn't actually believe that it was her fault that Ice was dead. She didn't kill him, after all. And who can help it if they're attacked and overpowered? That wasn't her fault either. As far as B.B. was concerned, Robin was exaggerating the whole ordeal. But Beast Boy had been just as bad by blaming her for Terra's "death". She didn't make Terra go to Slade, she didn't make Terra try and kill him, and she didn't make Terra betray them. On the contrary; she had tried the hardest out of all of them to fight Terra in order to protect her friends. She'd only done what any decent friend would've done in that same situation, and he'd blamed her for it. Beast Boy didn't think he could ever forgive himself, and if he couldn't, then how could she? Beast Boy felt like a traitor. He made up his mind to swallow his pride and try to apologize, because even if she didn't forgive him, he could ease his conscience by having at least tried. He got up from the table, where he'd been sitting alone while pondering over his strange situation, and made his way to the elevator. Once he was on the correct floor, he got out, took a deep breath, & went to her door. If he'd have been thinking clearer or not concentrating so deeply on what he was going to say, he might've heard a muffled thud of something heavy hitting the floor, or the gentle rustle of something being hauled across a carpet, or the faint whimper of one in pain. No matter what the cause, all of these sounds went unnoticed…that is, until he opened the door…

Robin had been sitting in the Slade-room, pondering the Ice-case. He knew that something was wrong, but he simply couldn't figure out what it was. Something about this case had been giving him the feeling that he was missing something, and that feeling, no more than a tease in the back of his head, was what had made him keep Raven on the team. As long as that nagging feeling remained, he couldn't just throw her out for fear of possibly losing what it was that was missing. It was this point that he was reviewing when he heard Beast Boy's shout for help. Not even stopping to consider what it might be that he needed help with, he bolted downstairs, rushing beside Starfire and Cyborg, who had also taken off to help. The sound had come from Raven's room, so that's where they ran to. Once there, however, lied a scene that they were entirely unprepared for. Slade was standing over the crumpled form of Raven, while Beast Boy, in alligator form, was biting his left leg. Blood was seeping from the leg of the madman's suit, dripping down Beast Boy's jaws, leaving a puddle on the floor across from the one that was slowly spreading beneath Raven's head. Robin, who had completely lost control of himself, launched viciously at the pinned criminal. Wielding his bo-staff, Robin knocked an unsuspecting Slade unconscious with a single blow. Starfire & Cyborg had to restrain him from attacking Slade again. Beast Boy, however, was at Raven's side immediately, sobbing silently into her violet hair. If she died, he would never forgive himself. In his mind, the entire ordeal was his fault. But, as if one surprise wasn't enough, Terra walked in at that moment. She apparently hadn't her boyfriend's scream, and therefore didn't know about the Slade attack. All she saw was Raven's head in Beast Boy's lap while he loving stroked her hair. Rage boiled inside her.

"I thought you loved me!" she screamed, surprising all of the Titans (except for Raven, who was knocked out ). Beast Boy looked up at the infuriated blonde.

"Terra wait, I-," he began, but Terra cut him off with a slap across the face.

"I don't want to hear it!" she screamed. "The only reason I came back to this dump was for you! And what do you do? You go off the girl that hates me so bad that she'd probably kill me in my sleep! God knows that's what she did to Ice!"

"That's a lie," came the voice of a subdued Robin. The others gaped in shock as he shrugged off the restraining hands of his comrades. "I knew that there was something wrong with this whole ordeal since it began. That's why I didn't kick Raven off the team." The others looked at him in confusion. "One of the clues had me puzzled. It clearly pointed away from Raven, but we had no other suspect at the time, so I simply kept things simple by overlooking it. That was a mistake," he said in shame.

"What clue are you talkin' about?" Cyborg asked.

"Slade's bo-staff was found at the scene," Robin whispered. Starfire gasped.

"You mean…it was Slade?" the Tamerainian asked. Robin nodded.

"I just didn't want to believe that he was still alive after the time that I started hallucinating," he said forlornly. "I felt like you guys would think that I was just trying to hold on to whatever hope I had left that I could catch Slade…that you guys wouldn't think that I couldn't let it go," he said, sighing. "I could've had Raven wrongly convicted for a murder she didn't commit. I could've cost a life, just because I was worried about what other people would think of me."

"Well, I don't know 'bout y'all, but I for one don't think that Slade's gonna cuff himself when he comes to," Cyborg said, kneeling down beside the crumpled figure. The others nodded in agreement & helped him get Slade into restraints.

"Will she be all right?"

"I am most certain that she will recover safely, friend Beast Boy."

"You're sure, Star?"

"I am…what you call…positive."

"Okay then."

"Hey, man. You should seriously get some sleep an' somethin' to eat. You've been in here for like, three days."

"I don't wanna leave Raven here alone."

"She won't be alone, Beast Boy. Cyborg, Starfire, and I will be here."

"But…I wanna be there when she wakes up…so that I can…I can apologize."

"Man, if ya need ta apologize ta anybody right now, it's Terra. She thinks ya don't love her."

"I-I don't, Cyborg. I love Raven. And…I hafta tell her that."


Chapter 7: Forgiveness

"I-I don't, Cyborg. I love Raven. And…I hafta tell her that." The words penetrated Raven's fogged mind like a lighthouse. She could see Happy & Love dancing in the back of her mind, but she wanted to answer him. In order to do that, however, she had to break through the mist that had been the only thing around for three days. She was tired; oh so tired; but she pushed her mind out. Farther and farther it went, until she could almost see faint shadows that looked suspiciously like her friends' faces. With the last of her strength, she forced her mind into consciousness. All at once, her senses were assaulted by glaring lights, the smell of bleach & laundry soap, the feel of the smooth sheets, and the faint taste of blood. She thought she would pass out again…that is…until she saw the face she'd been looking for. Beast Boy's deep green eyes were staring into hers, and he realized that she was once again conscious. He smiled at her before alerting the others.

"Hey guys! Guys!" he shouted. "She's up! Raven's awake!" Immediately, her friends, who had been talking quietly amongst themselves, looked over at her.

"Oh joyous! Friend Raven! You are awake! Oh how we have missed you!" Starfire squealed.

"'Bout time ya woke up, Rae," Cyborg said, grinning. Robin smiled, but looked like he was feeling guilty. She didn't have the energy to wonder why, however. She was mortally tired.

"It's good to see too, guys," she said, her weak voice barely more than a whisper. "But I'm really, really tired." The others nodded and, slowly, left the room, demanding that she get enough sleep so as to return to health. All except for Beast Boy, that is. He sat down on a small chair next to her & took her hand gently in his.

"Raven, I…I wanted to tell you that-that I'm sorry. For everything. For not saving you when Slade attacked, and for not sticking up for you about Ice, and for ignoring you, and for being awful to you, and for being so annoying, and-" Raven lightly placed a finger against his lips, signaling him to be silent. He obliged.

"It wasn't your fault…any of it. And I'm sorry too, Beast Boy."

"Don't be, Rae. If you're sorry, then that means that you're regretting something, and that means that you're sad. I don't want you to be sad anymore Raven. I-I…I love you," he whispered, a single tear trailing down his cheek. She smiled.

"I love you, too," she whispered. Slowly, she sat up, looked into his emerald eyes, and kissed him. When they finally broke away (which took too long to have time for me to write out completely ), Raven slid down onto the mattress and went to sleep, still holding his hand.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered, kissing her lightly on the forehead, glad that they had both, finally, been forgiven.


Oaky...wel...that's a wrap, unless you want me to include a chappie where Robin explains everything to Rae. Tell me in your reviews!