WOOHOO! NO SCHOOL TOMORROW, NO HOMEWORK FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK! DANCE WITH ME!

Uh... -cough cough- sorry...but...I'm just so happy! Think of all the time I'll have to write... -gets stars in eyes-

Aeris-Raven: -cringes in fear- Yikes...I didn't know it was that bad... -tears of penance well up in eyes- LOL no, Raven ain't dying. Slade, or at least the part of Robin that is represented by Slade, is indeed defeated. Well...you'll see in about five seconds. Yes, I hate getting yelled at, but I get yelled at alot...makes my head start to pound...I don't get scared, I get mad. I am sooooo sorry for keeping you waiting this long...lets send research papers to Hell...and geez, the creepy stuff I've had to read about...my topic is Juvenile Delinquency...what in the world was I thinking?

hollywoodthestarsandeyes: LOL yeah...in a calm, slippery kinda way...that made no sense, did it? I suppose I could have drawn it out more, but really, the other fights weren't much longer. This chapter was a good page more than what I usually write for this story. The thing is, in his mind, the battle is not determined by strength. With Slade, there was a certain thing that Robin, or Nameless, had to admit, believe, as with all the other sides. Once he "learned the intended lesson", the side was defeated. Slade took less time because Raven was helping him, and, in the end, she helped him realize what needed to be learned. Had she not been there, the fight would have taken much more time...and I'm not sure of how it would have ended either. LOL yeah I sorta played off of how I would feel in the situation...freaked out. No matter how hot the guy is, it is always creepy to find out someone likes you...in an entirely different way than you thought. Well, his heart only stopped for about 5 seconds, and Raven acted quickly...she pretty much gave him a jump-start, a powerful burst of energy. Nothing all that important to the story; the main point of doing that was to show the dire affect that the events in his mind have on the events outside of it. LOL yeah...teachers are stupid, throw rocks at them. Aw...I want some cheesefries! Happy after-your-birth day!

Furubafun24: LOL yeah...I enjoyed having a version of Slade that could actually be defeated. Thanks, and I'm so sorry for keeping you waiting so long :(

raeandrob4eva: -hides under bed- I'm sorry! ...so are you in a straight jacket? You gotta learn to not let your sanity rest on my updates...it's just not safe. Glad you liked it :)

an Angel from Hell: LOL sorry for the long wait, I'm really glad you like it!

CelticHeiressFiona: LOL wouldn't you like to know...lol I'm just teasing. BB and Star? Hmm...

Strixvaria: Yay! I love when people understand me!...It doesn't happen all that often, to tell you the truth. LOL I try to be humorous, to make things a little lighter what with all the tension in the story.

NevermoretheRaven: Ch. 7: LOL I know what you mean there...that's why I write millions of one-shots. Sorry...I wanted it to be Insanity 101 originally, but they wouldn't let me have the numbers, so when they fixed it, I changed it to that. LOL yeah I had fun with it. Ch. 8: Yeah, I would have to agree with you there...I came to my senses in time though. Ch. 9: LOL um...most likely never. It's kinda engrained in me. LOL well I answered it anway. Nah, I haven't read it. Is it good?

Mystyre: LOL I am far from perfect...By the way, I took a look at your profile... :Hugs Mystyre: Thanks so much for mentioning me! You're awesome!

ljkjl: Your wish is my command.

raven fanatic: Thanks! And here's an update...long overdue.

Ok, if I haven't said it enough, I'm sorry for the long wait! Robin: Oh, no problem, you just left me HALF DEAD. But hey, you have a busy life. Dusty: Not getting upset, are you, Wonder Bread? Robin: Grr...if you weren't in control of my life, I swear I would...YI(#&#(#&#. Dusty: Riiiiight. Shut up and read.

"Raven?" No...no, he couldn't lose her again! Not again! "Raven..."

"Raven, Raven, Raven. You've got a one-track mind, my friend."

Nameless wasn't sure what it was, but something about that voice chilled him to the bone. He tried to move, but stopped as renewed pain burned through him, the veil over his eyes growing darker still.

A cold laugh sent a shiver up his spine. "Please, don't try to fight me. I really don't want to destroy you, but trust me, I will if you prove troublesome." He was vaguely aware of a tall figure standing beside him, and even though everything else was fuzzy and swirling, the man's eyes burned into him, as clear as day, but so very opposite from that peaceful, warming light. The eyes were black beyond any color his brain could comprehend; deep, dark wells that surely led straight down to the fiery pits of Hell. He could fall into those eyes, spiralling down, down, never to return. "Wh-what do you...want with me? Who are you?"

"If I had friends, they would call me Venton. What do I want with you?" Nameless could hear him smiling, but there was no joy in it. "Simple. I want you to lie down and surrender. I am already partly satisfied." The figure suddenly crouched beside him. "Now hold still." Nameless felt ice cold hands gripping the sides of his head...

A horrible sensation filled his weakened body, drowning out the pain with something far worse. There was a terrible pushing in his mind, insane pressure building and building until he could no longer see, no longer breath...

"Break, damn you!"

He was screaming and writhing in his mind, but on the outside, he remained stubbornly silent. This was just another endurance test, just another test, this was nothing! He could win, he could take it! Lots of things had hurt worse than this...if the blinding pain would die down for a minute, he could think of some.

"You will destroy yourself! Give up, or die!"

Give up? What did that mean? He bit his lip until it bled, clenched his fists till he could no longer feel his fingers, forcing himself to remain silent at all costs...you never let the enemy hear you scream. The thing pushed and pushed until he was certain that his head would explode, but he kept fighting, kept resisting, kept on doing what he had done all his life. Maybe he would die here, but he would not allow himself to live knowing that he had given up. Just when he thought he was surely dying, just when it all became too much, the pain released, the pressure dispersed, though his body still ached in remembrance of the agony.

"Fine. There's more than one way to snap a Robin's wings."

The cold hands were back again, and he braced himself for the pain...but it didn't come. His eyes widened as images...memories...flashed before his eyes...only these...these were different...

He felt his finger tighten around the trigger, gun hand steady and leveled at Raven's chest. An earsplitting crack shattered the silence, ringing in his ears...all too real. Her body jerked slightly with the impact of the speeding bullet, then she fell, the ability to fly leaving her...

"NOOO!" The images flickered for a moment, pain surging through him every time they faded. Then they were back again, or rather, he was sucked into them, a world of nightmares playing all around him...only this time, he was the nightmare.

She trembled, blood pouring from her chest as she stared up at him, eyes glazed with pain. "Why?", she croaked.

He found the words oozing from his lips, though he had no recollection of putting them there. "Why? Because it was fun." His leg shot out, kicking her in the side and watching as she screamed in pain. Inside, he was screaming just as loud, yelling in protest, shrieking at his body to stop, but to no avail. He had absolutely no control.

"R-Robin...stop..."

A laugh that made his entire body sick surged up from some unknown well of evil, hidden deep inside the darkest corner. "No, Raven. I won't stop. Not now, not ever." He jerked her to her feet, the precious blood staining his hands as it poured from the wound he had inflicted. She stared at him with eyes filled with pain and a fear beyond any she had ever felt...and still he laughed.

"PLEASE! STOP! PLEASE JUST STOP!" He screamed and sobbed in his mind, but he could still feel her blood on his hands, still see her eyes burning holes in his soul.

"As much as I've enjoyed this, Raven, I think it's time to finish the job." He watched in paralyzing horror as his own hand pressed the gun to her temple, his own finger tightening on the trigger...

"This isn't real...this isn't happening..."

A sneer curled around his lips. "Goodbye, Raven." He pulled the trigger.

An inhuman shriek burst from him, burning in his lungs, tearing his throat, ringing in his ears as every particle of his being writhed in agony, the images burning and beating him, stabbing and shaking, pushing him farther than he had ever gone before. In that moment, some part of his brain realized that he was fading, realized that the barriers were crumbling...the world was going black...all faded to nothing.

Venton was breathing hard, his mind thoroughly worn out. That was much harder than he had anticipated...how could he do it? How could a mere mortal defy him so thoroughly? He was all-but killing him, and still he was a closed book, a locked door, impenetrable. How was it possible?

Or, better yet, why hadn't he just finished the stubborn welp? It could be done...he could still possess a body whose soul had died; in fact, it was a much easier method. So why not just dispose of him?

"He's strong, determined, even vicious, if it suits his purpose. With a little encouragement, he might even be worth something."

Shrugging it off, he ran a pale, long-fingered hand through his black hair, which hung in chunks of varying lengths, as though someone had attacked it randomly with a pair of garden shears. He stared at the limp form of... Venton laughed quietly. The kid had so many personalities, it was hard to say which was the real him. He was most likely a mix of all of them, blended into a bubbling sludge of love and hate, confidence and insecurity, defiance and submission, black and white. "You are one screwed up kid." He laughed coldly. "I think that's what I like about you."

Venton shook his head, surprised that he had become this distracted. He was just inches away from getting what he wanted, and here he was contemplating the woes of his victim? How out of character.

He closed his eyes, mumbling a strange series of syllables in one long, drawn out word, growing in volume, making the air around him shift and stir, as though listening. His voice grew louder and louder, echoing out through empty space, ringing in the air which now seemed alive, reaching a booming crescendo...Venton's fathomless black eyes snapped open, his arm jerked forward, making several slashing motions in the air with his ghostly white finger...Space and time seemed to part in the wake of that finger, leaving a burning red symbol hanging motionless before his eyes. He blew gently on it, then watched as it drifted towards the soul, slowly but deliberately, until it came to rest on the figure's forehead, burning brightly against pale skin. For a moment, the figure pulsed with a flaming light, terrible to behold, like staring into a pit lava, burning into Venton's black eyes and setting them alight for just one moment...then the light departed, leaving a blackened form of the symbol etched onto the soul's forehead.

A slightly weakened laugh issued from Venton as he gazed at the dark mark. "And about time, too."

Gah, there it is! I finally updated! Please be gentle...I've had a very nasty day, full of cleaning out cupboards full of mouse droppings and scrubbing nasty bathroom floors. Hopefully you liked this...I know it is, yet another, mean cliffhanger, but, with counseling, I'm sure you'll come to forgive me. LOL...sorry 'bout that...The Incredibles rocks, go watch it! -Dusty