Wow, I haven't updated in a long time. Please, forgive me. It's been a...shall I say…weird period in my life. I'm just now getting out of Phantom rehab, and that's been a painful revelation. Kidding, of course. Or am I? Lol.

Okay, now I know some of you phans are going to want to shoot me in the head, but please hang in there with me! This chapter was difficult to write, but hey, I am the authoress, am I not?

BTW- I'm not going to add 'this chapter will include' to any more of my chapters simply because it's not necessary.

Disclaimer—I don't own any of the characters, lyrics or ideas in this story. Only the plotline and…well, basically just that. It's enough, I suppose.


A strange calamity overtook the atmosphere. A sense that a surging, unstoppable storm had passed and now all that was left to do was to clean up the mess left behind. And what a mess it was.

A merging of worlds took place inside Raven's head. On some subconscious level, there was understanding and dread, a quiet, languidly spreading fear that frightened her, unknowingly. On the more conscious level, she was filled with an essence of foreboding, that a greater evil was to descend upon them and only a matter of time would tell when it would unlock hell itself.

She glanced emotionlessly around room, a few candles lit to mark the tragedy of her loss of her emotions. She felt hollow and cold, a deadened fruit of a flower once promised immortal life. No magic flowed past her fingers now. No warmth teased her lips as she chanted. There was no piece of sanity left to drive her to good-doing and salvation. All that was left was pain.

How she hated him, now! After all those years of friendship and confidence, of adventures and conversations…all wasted on the sake of a jealousy! How could he ever be so cruel?

It's different now. He doesn't just want your friendship. He wants so much more.

It was more than she could give. She couldn't give away something that she wasn't even sure still existed. In all the time she had known him as a child, had she ever loved him as more than a companion? True, he had been the one person to confide her deepest desires, her most frightening admittances and secrets, but did she ever look upon him in love?

No, she admitted without hesitation. Never love. Pity. Devotion. Trust. Never love.

From this conclusion she felt relief, sweeping into her blood and warm her at that notion. She never loved Figaro as a man, not for who he was, and certainly not for who he was now. He had destroyed her trust with the swirl of his Red Cloak.


"Is she in her room?" Robin asked without looking up.

"Yes," Starfire answered solemnly, taking her place next to him on the coach. "I did not hear any noise, however. And all the lights were out."

Beast Boy looked like he was about to break down. His eyelids were drooping from inexhaustible resistance to the temptation to shut. Days without sleep did not compliment his boyish face. It had been futile to try to reconcile Raven, but he had spent most of the time in his own room, contemplating the best way to go about healing the girl's anguish. He started to leave, but a gloved hand took his wrist.

"Stay here, Beast Boy. You've been almost as invalid as Raven." Robin looked on with concern. "How are you doing?"

A contorted rage formed in his chest, but Beast Boy did his best to restrain any outburst. Through clenched teeth, he answered coldly, "Raven is sick at heart and there's nothing I can do to help her. I can't even save her from grief." He looked sadly into the masked face of his friend. "I'm a failure."

Starfire gasped inaudibly and took Beast Boy's hand in her own. "Do not say such mean things about yourself, Beast Boy! None of us are perfect, and now is as good a time as ever not to give up on Beast Boy! Think of Raven!"

He shook his head dejectedly, letting bitter tears course down his cheeks.

A figure appeared at the door. "Well, if you want an opportunity to meet her halfway, I suggest going to the graveyard."

"Why?" Beast Boy opened his watering eyes, rubbing his reddened cheeks with a vigorous curiosity.

"Because she's going there right now."


Her navy blue cloak was a dark contrast to the ghostly mist the night beckoned on. In her unhappy solitude, Raven walked through the abandoned streets in the midnight hour, carrying only a single, blue scarf in her leaden arms. Shivering from the cold mist, Raven wrapped her cloak around her shoulders tightly as she walked on, her path straight into the grounds of the deceased.

Vague and indistinguishable shades crossed her path, yet she did not waver in her steps. She marched on, toward a certain destination that she could not hope to see again. Yet she continued on, her heart as heavy as stone and beating faintly to the rhythm of a deadened drum.

Behind her, a figure followed stealthily, watching the girl with sensitivity and from a safe distance. The cold night chilled the balm that Raven had felt once, and now only left her with the wish to see the grave of her mother.

Of course, her mother had not died in this dimension, and Raven wasn't even sure her mother was dead. Yet, after a few months with the Titans, Raven had decided to place an empty tomb in the city, somewhere for her memory to rest, and all her memories of Azarath to rest, as well. She thought that by burying her metaphorical mother in the ground, all pain would vanish as well.

She approached a small, unornamented tombstone marked with only a few words.

Her greatest fear was that she should be left alone in the world. But her fear was empty, for she has found acceptance. Rest now, in peace, forever.

A muscle pulled in her chest as she fell to the cold trodden ground, her weak knees failing beneath her in pain. She remembered writing that grave marker, and how bittersweet her time had been when she first found friends. The wet mist enveloped her senses, making reality as hazy as imagination. Any feelings of belonging to this world were faint, if not entirely inaudible. She did not care if any phantom or ghoul would sneak up behind her and carry her off to hell. All she cared about was all she had lost, and how she could possibly move on.

Behind her, slipping in and out of the shadows, a sad, low voice seemed to call to her distantly. "Raven……"

Straightening up from her crumpled form and leaning against the grave with a dry cheek, Raven searched the mist for the source of the sound. "Who..?"

"Raven…" The strange voice continued, weaving its soft melody through the air mysteriously. "Raven…."

She did not care who called. In that voice was undistinguishable reassurance, quiet comforting. She called into the mist, uncertainly, "Who are you?"

She stood up silently, reaching out into the hazed fog for a form to appear. She squinted her eyes, her amethyst orbs searching dully. She could have sworn she saw a dark blur, but nothing passed. Yet, the blur seemed to be moving toward her, taking form…

At that moment, Beast Boy fell from the very air above her, transforming from a falcon to that of a human. "Raven, don't listen to the voice! It's Figaro, he's here!"

"Raven…." The gentle, sweet voice still beckoned, it's smoothness an intoxication to the senses.

"Don't listen!"

Turning to him slowly, her eyes turned from their glassy state and blinked with confusion. "…Beast Boy….you…?"

"That wasn't my voice. It was His. C'mon, let's get out of here."

Looking around tentatively, she caught sight of the stalker. Leaning against a statue of a Saint was Figaro, cloaked from dead to foot in the deepest of ebony. His eyes glinted malevolently, staring Beast Boy down with unpitying rancor. Yet, his voice still held a tenderness that was eerily seductive. "Raven…."

Beast Boy sprang into action, changing his form into that of a cheetah, leaping into the air and catching the material of Figaro's cloak. He turned angrily to the feline, forming a fireball in his hand. With fierce enthusiasm, he sent the glowing sphere at Beast Boy, who pounced upon a grave, just missing the blow. Jumping down from the monument, Figaro tried to approach Raven, whose feet failed to mobilize her. Catching his motion towards Raven, Beast Boy transformed into a kangaroo, kicking Figaro squarely into a gravestone. Aggravated, the teen held out his hand towards the ground. With a swift swirl, the very air around Beast Boy seemed to tighten, forming into liquid and forming a spherical constraint around his head. Unable to shake off the aqueous prison, Beast Boy struggled for breath as he returned to human form.

Raven caught her breath in her throat as she witnessed Beast Boy's vulnerability. Inhaling hastily, the girl spat out the words that no long comforted. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" A dark shadow crossed over Beast Boy's body, pulling him from the watery grave. Catching him as he fell from the magical embrace, she groaned as she felt her weariness.

Grunting impatiently, Figaro disappeared into the fog once more.

"Is he gone?" Beast Boy asked bravely, standing beside Raven in a fighting stance.

"No," she answered dangerously. "I'm afraid he's very much not."


Okay, so short chapter, but I'm giving you something, am I not:grins: Reviewer time!

Scathac's warrior: Out the window? Hmmm…I'll leave that up to you. :winks:
Kate: As always, you continue to spot everything. I thought Star singing it would add a cuteness too. :winks: And now I remember that part before PoNR! I sing it ALL the time, now! Thanks for reminding me. And yup, Figaro's da Phantom. Except, he's not. Lol. I love PoNR, it's my second fave song. First fave is MoTN. Can't beat that. Thanks for reviewing, as always!

Steve-Racer: Yeah, I do admit Figaro isn't as passionate or as loving towards the female figure as the Phantom was. I just love the Phantom, he's just a wonderful character and holds so many characteristics that render him a passionate, desperate man.

FantasyObsessed: Lol! I'm glad you like my writing! Yeah, I kind of get that effect from my parents too. And I agree, I like Emmy more than Sarah. Although I haven't heard much of Sarah, Emmy is just a wonderful singer. Michael Crawford is good, but I like Gerry a LOT more. Lol. Thanks!

Moo: Oh yeah, that was a big weird when it got messed up. Anywho, thanks for the review.

Soldier of Darkness: Yes! Another phan! Woot Woot! How many's that now, guys? Not counting. But I'm glad you found my fic. If you haven't noticed already, I'm obsessed, so yeah. Lol. I love Erik too, and I really don't like Raoul. But this is sort of a 'BB winning Raven' fic. I know, sad. But if I ever write a POTO fic, Raoul will suffer. Lol. JK to any Raoul-fans out there. :winks:

So sorry about the short chapter, I have mucho to do. Muah! Love you all! REVIEW!

I remain your loyal servant of tale-telling,

StakeMeSpike04