Happy Halloween, everyone! Hope everyone had a safe and fun holiday.

As always, I want to thank all the people who took time to write reviews. I'm always amazed by how well my writing is recieved. Thank you all!

To FieryTopaz: Glad to see you're liking the fic! Yeah, I dislike the
Terra cliche" myself. You're quite close to what's really going on with your prediction; I am most impressed! But of course, things are a tad more complex than that as you'll soon see.

I can't say I've read anything by those authors you mentioned; I'll make it a point to try and find some and read them. Thanks for the recommendation!

Thanks for the words of support, boogalaga! I always try to keep canon people in character. Glad you're liking Vivian; I'm quite proud of her as a character!

LadyHood: I'm happy you liked Candy Coated Nightmare! It was my first Teen Titans fic and I think it turned out better than I expected. Nice to see other Raven fans around! I hope I don't disappoint you in later chapters and ruin a chance at having a #1 fan!

So, without further ado, here's the new chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 6: Shadowing Darkness

"... And in other news tonight, a tragic accident at the corner of Cherry and Galena seriously hurt two high school students," the newswoman intoned on the television, "Ted Harding and Daphne Volk, two popular students at Francis Scott Key high were both hit by a car while on an outing. Both were seriously injured with Ted's spine being crushed and Daphne's face being mutilated. A promising football star, doctors have stated that the young man may never walk again. Daphne will require major reconstructive surgery and will still likely be scarred for life. Both are in serious but stable condition."

"Man, that's harsh," Cyborg stated as he watched the news, the other three titans lounging and waiting for Beast Boy to return.

Censored video of the accident showed up on the screen, the crowd in the background. Suddenly Starfire gasped and pointed at the television, "By the Great Moons of Centar, is that not Beast Boy?"

The screen was, indeed, showing the green titan shoving his way through the crowd, Vivian being dragged behind him.

"Yeah," Cyborg stated, leaning forward and peering at the screen, "And isn't that Vivian?"

"I'm back!" called Beast Boy's voice before anyone else could react to the images on the screen.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire exclaimed, concern in her voice, "The electronic box of ignorance showed you at an accident site! Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," the green titan stated with a nod, troubled frown on his features, "Some date. It was weird. Vivian and I saw those two just before the car crash and everything."

"You saw them before the accident?" Robin queried with an upraised eyebrow, looking up from the newspaper in his hands.

Beast Boy nodded, frowning slightly, "Yeah. They, uh... they stopped to insult Viv and I. She was pretty upset. And then we heard the crash..." His voice faded off at the blood soaked memory.

Robin's eyes narrowed, lips pulling into a tight line, "Interesting. What else did you find out?"

"Well, she went home after she left here," Beast Boy stated, walking over to the couch and collapsing into it, "Her parents are traveling somewhere, though, so she doesn't have anyone to substantiate her story. She didn't see anyone at the museum, either."

"She didn't call any friends or anything?" Robin pressed, "No one at all?"

"I don't think she has many friends," Beast Boy stated with a sigh.

"Gee, there's a shocker," Raven stated flatly causing the green titan to glare at her.

Robin was deep in thought, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Hmm. Well, I have to say things are a bit suspicious. I think the situation warrants more investigation."

"What?" Beast Boy asked, turning on Robin, "But... she doesn't know anything about that. She's just a shy girl!"

Robin shook his head, "I think there's too many coincidences. She was at the museum the day it was robbed. She said she had a talent with languages and what was stolen was an untranslated tablet. She can't substantiate her whereabouts for the burglary. She was right at the place where a terrible accident occurred and had an argument with the people involved. That all seems a little too convenient, doesn't it?"

"That's all just bad luck and coincidences!" Beast Boy exclaimed, waving his arms wildly.

"Beast Boy," Robin stated calmly, "We let you go and get information to try and see if she was worth investigating further. I think it is."

"C'mon, you can't possibly think all those coincidences is worth investigating poor Viv?"

"Not by themselves, no," Robin stated, with a shake of his head, "But all together? Yes, I think they do. Especially given Raven's feeling... and this." Robin tossed his paper at the green titan who caught it and peered at the page Robin was reading.

"'Ancient Scroll Stolen From Private Collection,'" Beast Boy read, "'An ancient scroll was stolen last night from the private collection of William Hardy. The collection was to be shown to the public for the first time tomorrow when the scroll was stolen. Mister Hardy has decided to go on with the showing and has offered a half-a-million dollar reward for information on this case...'" Beast Boy looked up, "What does this have to do with Vivian?"

"One of the places she wanted to go for your date was to this collection," Robin stated, "This scroll was stolen last night sometime after we were at the museum. Doesn't it seem kind of odd she would want to go there?"

"She's just interested in ancient stuff!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Maybe," Robin replied with a nod, "I admit the evidence we have so far is completely circumstantial. But I think it warrants further investigation. At the very least to clear her of any wrong doing." He smiled gently, "Don't worry I'll be discrete."

Beast Boy sighed in defeat and hunched over, "Fine. I guess you're right."

"Good," Robin stated with a nod, "Tomorrow I'll follow her and see what happens."

Bright and early the next day Robin headed out to follow his quarry. For the most part, the day was boring. Vivian awoke and bathed, getting dressed in her plain clothes then went to school. Robin made meticulous notes throughout the day; Vivian remained isolated and tormented by her fellow students, but she bore it all silently and without complaint. Quite a large portion of her school was covered in flowers and shows of support for the two hurt students. Robin watched as Vivian walked by a wall covered in get well cards and various notes of encouragement. She stopped suddenly, turning towards the wall and glaring at it with simmering rage. With visible effort, the brown haired girl turned away from the wall and headed off to class.

The rest of the day was uneventful and Robin began to think he was wasting his time. Maybe Raven's feeling was wrong. Maybe Beast Boy was right and Vivian was just a shy, nervous girl who was picked on a lot. But his gut told him differently; the nagging feeling that somehow Vivian was involved would not shake.

The Boy Wonder followed Vivian back home and watched through her window from a nearby tree as she silently completed her homework, his form hidden by the foliage. Her desk was a mess, filled with all kinds of papers and books. Briefly, Robin considered just giving up and going back to the tower when he noticed something through his binoculars. On the desk were two crumpled ticket stubs, one for Gotham, the other for Metropolis. Robin narrowed his eyes and increased the magnification, examining the dates on the tickets.

"Hmm," he murmured quietly, "Same weeks as the robberies." Robin swiveled his attention towards the rest of the papers on the desk, his eyes narrowing as he saw a set of clippings and pictures of various ancient artifacts.

They were all of the ones which were stolen.

Robin set his mouth into a thin line. He was positive now that the brown haired girl had some connection with the robberies, but what he really needed was a smoking gun. At that moment, Vivian yawned and stretched her arms over her head before standing from her desk and placing her glasses on a nightstand. She grabbed a bathrobe from a hook by the door and walked out of the room. As soon as she had left, Robin slipped into the room through the window. He walked silently through the room and examined the desk closer, gently rifling through the papers. One of them caught his eye and he picked it up, peering at it.

It was an announcement from Wayne Enterprizes saying they had made a most amazing find.

Just then, Robin heard the door begin to open. In an instant and with speed and agility born from intense training and determination, Robin bounded into the closet, hiding among the clothes there, the door open a crack so he could peer through and watch the room. In stepped Vivian with a towel around her head and clad in the bathrobe, silhouetted against the last rays of the fading sun. She sighed and headed directly for the bed, quickly crawling underneath the covers. Robin froze for a moment, watching the girl for any activity before gently placing his hand on the door and beginning to push. He stopped immediately.

Vivian gasped loudly and arched her back off the bed, hands clawing at the covers, eyes wide open with pain. "N... no..." she gasped out as she tumbled from the bed, falling with a thump on the floor on all fours. Robin again placed his hand on the door, about ready to burst in and help, but stayed his hand. He watched as Vivian panted, her eyes shutting tight, clearly in agony. An idle part of his mind wondered how easy doing this sort of thing was for his mentor; Robin himself wanted nothing more than to burst in and help and it took every ounce of his willpower to stop himself. He needed answers and he had the feeling that whatever was happening was going to provide them.

Vivian whimpered in agony, her hands gripping at the carpet. "No, please..." she whispered out, "N... not now... not t-tonight... please!"

Robin's eyes widened as he saw her skin begin to twist and tighten, turning from the rather pale complexion to a iridescent black. Her form grew taller and red claws sprouted from her fingers. She bowed her head, the towel falling and letting her brown hair fall over her face like a shroud. The hair began to lengthen and darken into a pitch black. Even her clothes began to change, the bathrobe morphing into a tight back leotard, hardly noticeable against the skin. Finally, two black leathery wings burst forth from her shoulder blades and flapped once.

Robin kept very still as he watched through the crack in the door, the now changed figure rising to her feet and stretching her arms over her head in a mockery of the action Vivian did not a few minutes before, though her back remained turned. Slowly, the figure turned, revealing fiery red eyes and wicked smile composed of sharp teeth. The figure paused and tilted her head as if listening for something, the red eyes gazing slowly around the room. A low growl erupted from her throat, the sound soft before she walked off, beyond the angle of Robin's view.

Everything was silent and still for several tense moments before suddenly a red eye appeared in front of Robin, peering back at him through the crack. The eye narrowed slightly before the door was opened fully.

Robin was face-to-face with the creature, one of her hands on the doorknob, the other on her hip. She looked at Robin as if sizing up a piece of meat, her lips curling into a long, vicious smile, fangs stark against the darkness of her face.

Robin didn't trust that smile. His muscles tightened as he readied for a fight.

"You came in my room," she purred softly, the voice melodious and teasing, but possessing a consuming menace, "No one should go in my room."