Bet you thought I was never coming back, didn't you? Well, I have news for you. You can't get rid of me that easily! I will never cease to torture you with my insane mumblings! HAH!

Liljimmyurine: Um, she is an individual…a figment of my imagination. For more than that, you will have to wait. Thanks:)I wanted to be Insanity101, but they stole my numbers. Hmmm…sounds interesting.

Dark-Magic67: Yeah…sorry, should have realized it would be a bit confusing to have Raven go looking for him and then introduce a mystery girl directly afterwards. My apologies. Thanks! LOL rest assured, Robin loves Raven, and nothing could change that. However…Mina is getting her feelings all jumbled LOL! Hmmm…I can see it now…-Raven throws large chunk of cement at Mina's head, Mina runs screaming to safety- But seriously guys, Mina is a cool character. Don't feel threatened, this is a Rae/Rob story, forever and always! If I break that promise, you may string me up by my toenails!

Jambey: Yeah…probably should have had a bit more of a flashback there, sorry. Well, Mathews was working for Slade, but that doesn't exactly mean that his thugs were, and if they weren't they would still come after an insane patient who escaped from the High Security Ward…But then again, they could be working for Slade, in which case, Satan…er I mean, Slade could send them after Robin. But that of course is impossible, because we all know that Slade is dead. Lol so now that you're completely confused…Don't worry, this is a Rob/Rae fic, because I am also partial to that pairing. And Mina really is cool, just give her a bit of a chance, please? LOL! Sweet, a dart gun! Oh wait, you're planning on using it against me…Oh well, could be fun.

Shadow Creature: Thanks:)Finally, everyone else thinks she's a hag…she really is nice you know…Oh ok then…lol I was just teasing really, just being special.

RavenHairedInsanity: Ok, I am realizing too late that I wrote that last chap in a confusing way. My apologies, and allow me to explain. Inthe lastchapter, I introduced a new character, a girl called Mina. She has never met Robin or any of the other Titans before, and she has no superhuman powers. More of her history will be revealed later. She found Robin out of sheer luck, and decided to help him (for reasons, supposedly, unknown). I'm sorry if I confused you, and I chose the name Mina because…well really I don't have a reason…she kinda popped into my head with the name…odd huh?

Majestical: Thanks, and that's good that I didn't offend you, my lady. LOL, just teasing.

Spoony-bows- Thank you, thank you. LOL!

Tinkerbellx2: LOL all of those are acceptable, not to mention several others, like Bran…but for the record, I am Dusty. Yes, Yes, YES! LOL…sometimes I worry about the fact that I have a crush on a cartoon character…-sigh- but hey, this is Insanity for Dummies, right?

CloudsHalo: Yay! You found me! LOL I like long reviews :). Yeah…don't know why I changed it really…Oh well. Thanks, I'm really glad you like it, because you are one of the people I wrote a sequel for. YAY, I love to hear some real comments, not that one-liners aren't great, but it's good to know what people actually think about what you wrote. Thanks, I was trying to sort of set the mood for the story. Sorry, I know absolutely nothing about the Titans that doesn't pertain to the cartoon…I've never read a comic in my life, so I apologize for any errors of that sort, and they are not intentional. Yeah I understand that, I don't either, no matter how sad it is. Thanks, I love the song too, and I basically got the idea while listening to it, so I thought it might enhance what I was trying to say. Yeah…apparently I did a very bad job of keeping that fact clear…a lot of people were confused. Yeah Birthmark ROCKED! Can't wait to see the others!

Chica De Los Ojos Café: Aw, come on. She's not so bad…really! LOL, oh well, I should have known anyone who liked Robin in the slightest whose name was not Raven would get a barrage of insults…Thanks for reading!

Natahly: Yes, this is a ROB/RAE STORY! I just wanted to add a bit to the plot, not make it so cut and dried. If, I repeat, IF there is something between Mina and Robin, it will be COMPLETELY one-sided, and that side will be Mina's. So please, don't worry.

Angel Vanilla: I will, unless of course I die in some freak accident, in which case you will never know where Dusty disappeared to…in fact, you probably wouldn't care. If I sound rude, I'm not…it's just an illusion…

Mystyre: Cool, I'm glad you liked Aftereffects. It doesn't matter if you reviewed it when I was writing it; the fact that you readandreviewed it is awesome. I'm sorry if the updates are slow, but there are a lot of things going on in school these days, including research papers, poem interpretations, and a significant increase in Geometry homework. I can just about promise that I will update both of my stories every week, most likely on the weekend. Thanks, it means a lot that you liked it, even though I have no idea who you are either lol. Wonder if we've ever seen each other…-blushes-thanks! I would have to agree with you there, BB and Rae is stupid, except in very special cases. I'm going to try to go easy on him…but going easy is not in Slade's nature…er I mean…um of course Slade is dead, what was I thinking?

The Wings of a Raven: OOOOOH! LOL, it's all falling into place now. I had know idea it was you, or rather, you were it…lol now I'm confusing myself again. All signs, and there are many, point to "yes".

Rinagurl13: Phew…Yay I have atoned for my wrong-doings! –beams at Rinagurl13-…He will be reunited with her very soon, but under what circumstances, I cannot say.

Furubafun24: Thanks! LOL if you are a loser, I won't even contemplate what I am…cause I liked that combination too. Thanks so much, you ROCK! Gotta update Never Alone, that story is AWESOME!

Strixvaria: Glad it was good, sorry it was confusing.

Hmmm…so now I suppose…it's the part where I say…ON WITH THE STORY!

-

Robin stared uncertainly at the hand. He was seeing it as though through a haze, blurred and as the heat consumed him. He was struggling to understand, to force himself to remember, but his head was throbbing too much for thought. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear the fuzziness from his vision. "Th-Thanks for the concern, but…I'm sure I can…take care of myself…from here." He once again tried to stand, and once again fell forward, his head colliding with the rotted, wooden floorboards.

"Will you just hold still? You need to give yourself a rest, or that fever will get the best of you. What's wrong with your leg?"

Robin groaned, screwing up his eyes. Her questions echoed strangely in his ears, and it took him a few minutes to register what she had said. "Nothing…I'm fine…just a little dizzy…I'm leaving now…"

"Oh, of course. Just so you know, it's snowing like crazy out there, and the temperature's below thirty. Since you're already wet and don't have a coat, you'll get pretty cold pretty fast. But hey, that's one way to bring down your fever."

Robin tried to regulate his breathing, slow his heart rate, and remain conscious. He struggled to a sitting position, taking a closer look at the strange girl. He couldn't be sure, but she seemed to have dark blonde hair, green eyes, and a small, pixie-ish body. How had she managed to drag him in here? She was probably a good foot shorter than him and at least fifty pounds lighter. "What's your name again?"

"Mina. And you are?"

He opened his mouth to tell her, and then shut it again. The reason for not wearing his costume was to keep a low profile. "Nobody you want to know."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Ok, mystery man. Whatever floats your boat, but we're not getting out of here any time soon. We might as well get to know each other. Who's this Slade guy?"

Robin tensed, glaring as the name brought back a flood of painful memories. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Fair enough", she said, looking closely as his face darkened. "You want to explain why you were passed out in front of Andy's Thrift Store?"

Robin flushed, but he was already so red it didn't make much of a difference. "Because that's where I was when I lost consciousness. Any more brilliant questions?", he growled, already sick of this individual.

"Just one." Mina smiled, as though pleased with herself. "Are you always this grumpy, or is it just the fever?"

Robin just sighed, letting his head fall back against the wall. He wasn't in the best condition to withstand an interrogation, and that annoyed him.

"So where are you going?", she questioned.

"I thought you were done." Robin sighed, willing his brain to speed up and his head to cool down. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Then what are you running from?" He hated the knowing look in her eyes.

"I'm not running!", Robin yelled, causing pain to pulse through his head. "I didn't…I left to save them…I left to get away from him…from me…" He swallowed, trying to quench his thirst, and drew a shaking hand across his forehead. "I have to get away…I have to…I can't let him win."

Mina watched him with wide eyes, utterly confused. He was spewing a series of fragments that might or might not be related. None of it made any sense. "Him?"

"He may have won before, but I killed him! He's dead! In the end, I won!" Robin was breathing heavily, body shaking and shivering, his hands running themselves through his tangled hair. "I am NOT weak!"

His voice reverberated through the empty building, the sheer force of those words tearing his throat. His skin was on fire, his body was aching, his head was pounding along with his racing heart.

Mina suddenly reached out and touched his forehead. It was burning hot under her cool fingertips. This was bad, this was very bad…he was much too hot…the fever was taking over his body and sending his brain into shock. If something wasn't done, and soon, he could…

She gently pushed him onto his back, surprised at the lack of resistance. Then she turned to the door, which was shaking with the violent wind trying to break through. "Snow…", she murmured, reaching for the old, rusted handle and tugging it open.

Mina gasped as the wind hit her in the face, instantly freezing her. Night had fallen, and a blinding blizzard whirled around her, almost driving her back into the warmth of the warehouse. But no. She wouldn't give up on him. She achieved a handful of snow, then hurried back through the door. She found the boy nearly unconscious on the ground, though he continued to twitch and shift restlessly. She scooped upsome of the snow and applied it to his forehead.

Robin gasped as the snow touched his skin. He didn't know where he was or what had happened, but he did know that he wanted to go home…home…. "Raven..."

-

Raven usually loved dreary weather. It gave an excuse to retreat to her room, curl up on her bed, and read the day away. There was something about watching the raindrops race each other down the windowpane, or gazing at the snowflakes as they danced on the wind. It gave her a feeling of peace, purity, a sign of improvement.

Today, she hated it. The icy wind slowed her search, the snow and hail stung her face and blinded her. The eerie fog hanging over the city made it impossible to see anyone, even if they were out in this weather. The farther she flew, the smaller her hope and the greater her anxiety. She had to warn him, had to find him, had to bring him home. He was still healing from the incident of a few weeks ago, plus he had already been putting far too much stress on himself lately. Add four nights on the streets in mid-winter and a gang of thugs tailing him and the situation was far from hopeful. Every second that ticked by was critical. Her entire body ached as she contemplated everything that could happen to him with every second she wasted. She cursed the snow, cursed the wind, cursed the heavens, cursed that rain-washed night that stole him from her, and cursed herself for not being good enough to keep him.

Bolts of black energy crackled from her, striking random objects and instantly destroying them. If she could only find something, anything, just a sign that he was near, that he was alive.

The howling of the wind took on a strange note, no longer shrill and whistling, but deep and growly, like the chuckle of Satan. A familiar chill, entirely separate from the cold all around her, crept up her spine. She froze, not daring to breathe, praying with all her might that she was wrong. "Just…just the wind", she whispered, her voice awkward and high-pitched. But that hope was extinguished mere seconds later.

"Keep telling yourself that, Raven."

-

"Star! Why? I needed you! Why did you do this to me?"

Tears welled up in her eyes as they fell upon Robin's angry masked ones. "Robin…I…Cyborg said-"

"You said I was your best friend! You said you cared about me! You lied, Starfire. You lied to me."

"No!" She reached out to touch his shoulder, praying that she could make things better. "No, Robin! You are my best friend! I love you!"

He shrunk away from her touch, slipping farther and farther into shadow. "No, Starfire. It's too late. There's nothing you can do now."

"Robin, please!", she screamed, running after him only to find that the shadows would not let her pass. "No! Do not leave! I'm sorry, Robin! I'm sorry!" She sobbed openly, beating against the darkness curling around the boy she had once loved.

"Liar."

The word was a dagger in her heart. The cold indifference echoing in his voice hurt more than all the torture this Earthly planet could invent. Before her horrified eyes, he was changing. His body slumped as though far too weary to fight anymore, his colorful uniform slowly morphed into something she had hoped she would never see again. In seconds, Slade's apprentice stood before her, hunched, unseeing, broken. "This is what you did, Starfire. You made me this. You caused this pain. You could have saved me, Starfire. I was right there, reaching out for you, but you let me fall. Robin is dead, because of you."

A blood-curdling shriek echoed through the tower, waking its inhabitants as effectively as ice water and sending a chill of fear through them.

Beast Boy and Cyborg ran for Starfire's room, fearing the worst. Her room was in shadow, maroon curtains blocking out the light of the moon. The sound of her hysteric sobs and moans drifted to their ears, chilling the blood and paralyzing the limbs.

"Star?", whispered Beast Boy, hesitating at her door, unwilling to enter without permission. The sobs grew louder, and the pain within them welled up and spilled over, just as the tears were falling from her emerald eyes. Suddenly she spoke.

"We have driven him to Slade!"

There was a stunned silence, Starfire's audience struggling to understand. "Star, Slade is dead."

Her voice issued again from the dark room. "No, Cyborg! Slade is alive, and he has Robin! When we drove Robin away, we were unwittingly assisting in Slade's plan. Robin needs our help!"

Cyborg and Beast Boy stared into the shadows, brains racing to find some way that she could be right, and hoping she wasn't. They noticed, even in their confusion, how strangely calm Starfire was, and how certain she seemed.

"The bomb…he couldn't have survived…what about the mask? We found his mask!", Beast Boy stuttered, desperate to prove Starfire wrong.

"A mask may be removed. If Robin was capable of escaping the explosive device, it holds true that Slade could also preserve himself."

"No!"

Starfire finally emerged from her room, and she and Beast Boy stared at Cyborg questioningly.

"I mean…you had a bad dream, Starfire. That's all. Slade is dead, and Robin is fine on his own. He's probably having a midnight snack with Batman right now." Cyborg smiled nervously and patted Star on the shoulder. Then he forced a yawn, said goodnight to his fellow Titans, and walked a little too quickly down the hall, leaving a tearful Starfire and a torn Beast Boy in his wake.

-

Flashes of color. A blurred face, half-seen, half-recognized. Air clawing its way in and out of his throat, harsh and uneven, an hour between every breath. Voices, so many voices; screaming, yelling, whispering, pleading, commanding. Hate and love, fear and respect, happiness and shame; all of it at once. Nothing solid, nothing real, no one to turn to. It was the horrible feeling of falling deeper and deeper into your worst nightmare, with no hope of the savior sunbeams coming to chase away the monsters of the night. Denying any fear of any kind tends to make it grow in power, feeding off your doubts and denial until it is strong enough to overpower you and force you to see what you so vainly tried to wish away. Robin was no exception.

His fears were pummeling him, hitting him with the force of a freight train, offering no opportunity for rest or recovery. In his delirious state, Robin's nightmares became all too real.

Blood, shrieks, faces frozen in horror, disbelief. A silent question burned on every face: Why? Why, Robin? Why?

He screamed, shut his eyes, covered his ears, but the images burned behind his eyelids, the sound of his own terror ringing in his ears. Murderer.

Him. Cold, heartless, his icy gray eye glaring down on him, mocking him, smirking at him. "Well done, Robin. You have made me very proud, son."

"No! NO! Please, not again!" He couldn't hear his own screams, even though he could feel them burning in his lungs. "This isn't real! Wake up! Please let me wake up!"

"Our dreams are spawned from our thoughts. Our thoughts become our actions. Our actions become who we are. You might as well stop running, Robin. You will destroy yourself. Your mind is already slipping, my dear boy. Come to me, and end your torment."

"RAVEN!" Hot tears burned in his eyes, streaming down his flushed cheeks ashe called upon the only person who could ever save him, praying for her, aching for her. "RAVEN!"

"She can't save you, Dick. No one can save you now. I am your only hope."

His eyes widened in horror, falling on her lifeless body; broken and bleeding, amethyst eyes empty and hollow. He knew that he did it. "NO! NEVER! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Slade stood calmly before him, composure still intact. "You can't escape yourself, Robin."

-

Ok, I realize this chapter was pretty confusing, so ask your questions and I will do my best to answer them in the update. Hope you liked it anyway…bit of a peek into Robin's mind…hope it didn't creep you out too terribly. Review please, or suffer the consequences! LOL, j/k. -Dusty