A quick A/N: This fic is coming to a close, only expect another chapter after this. Maybe more. But this should be about it. I want to thank everyone for all your support all the way through.

Disclaimer: In all your fantasies, you always knew, that Phantom and the Titans, were never yours….(okay, so it doesn't rhyme..)


"I told you! I told you guys so many times, but did anyone listen to me? Nooooooo…"

The rest of the titans stared at Beast Boy wearily, his triumphant air casting a spell of annoyance over the atmosphere. Robin, taking an upper hand to the situation, shot him down with an icy look.

"Alright Beast Boy. You win. Is that what you wanted to hear? Now, we have to get down to business."

Raven looked into his face, confusion lining her brow. Her voice, however, remained even. "What's going on?"

"We're going to set up a trap to catch him. He always seems to get away somehow, and we can never plan his next move. It's like he's three steps ahead of us." Robin ran a hand through his mess of glossy black hair, turning to a map of the city on the screen behind him.

"But he can't have left the city. He's only been gone for a month, and Raven and Beast Boy only saw him just last night," Cyborg prompted.

"Exactly. I think he's hiding somewhere in the city, maybe underground."

"No."

Everyone looked over at the gothic teen, her eyes downcast, her elbows propped on her knees, looking hard at the ground. "Figaro…if that's even his name…he wouldn't have run far. I don't think he ever left the Tower."

They all exchanged glances. Silence pierced through the walls, creeping into their ears until Beast Boy was forced to break it. "So," he started meekly, placing a gentle hand on Raven's arm, "You think he's somewhere…here…in the tower?" His tone was incredulous, panic starting to ensue inside the young teen's mind.

She looked into his eyes, not answering his question.

Suddenly, Robin got up from where he was sitting at the screen and strode across the room, taking long strides. They all watched in amazement at his sudden outbreak of motion. Going over to the stairs that ascended to the door, Robin flew to the floor with a quickness like that of a cat. Studying the ground intently, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy huddled around him, watching him trace the floor with his gloved hands.

"What is it, Rob?" Cyborg questioned.

With a twist of his wrist, Robin pulled an invisible door from the very ground they were staring at, making it appear where moments before it would have seemed nothing. The door was about an arm's length wide, and the same long. It seemed to go straight into the vents above the next floor.

"So he's not a magician," Beast Boy said slowly, as if discovering a great secret.

"No," Raven said, her voice sounding eerily calm and filled with remorseful recollection. "He's a trap-door lover…"


It was extremely cold down there. He lit a fire to warm him, a strange contrast, he mused, with his normally icy interior and his power of the flame. To his will he could mold the fires and with a mere thought he could bring oceans dry. It was a powerful burden, one he did not wish to carry on alone.

Upon his small desk were scattered papers, city maps, Tower encryptions, codes. All a cover-up. I could move about without knowing all these plans. I could do everything I have done without this information in my grasp. Yet, I still do not…

He closed his eyes momentarily, savoring the sensation that was the warmth of his own power. He could feel the darkness inside his hand as his fingers tested the flame boldly, unscorched and unharmed. To share that power, to be able to pass on that feeling of boldness, was something he craved, something he lusted over. Oh, to make her understand…

There was no such thing as good and evil. Only power. He knew she refused to make that distinction, that she was stubborn in her naïve belief that there were only bad people and good people, no gray areas. In love, however, there was no right and wrong, only power…craving….desperation.

Desperate! How strange! He knew he had always been alone, always the shunned character in a fairy-tale that never won the fair-lady's heart and almost always was punished for his heinous crimes. He spent the rest of his time alive waiting for the end, the inevitable hand of death to cross over his eyes and steal the soul from his calloused lips. He refused to be that sorry man. He would take her if she died right there in his arms, even if he had to kill the little changling. And he would, too. Without a reflection, without a whim, he would kill each one of them to make her his.


"Are you sure this is going to work?" Starfire asked innocently, concern living in her sea-green eyes.

Robin smiled favorably at the girl, lessening his appearance of determination and concentration to assure her. "Yeah, Star, I'm pretty sure."

"We couldn't wait a little while longer? Maybe let Rae get used to the idea that-."

"We can't," Robin interrupted Beast Boy mournfully. "It's now or never. We have to do this to save the city. To save her."

"But will we get the chance?" Cyborg asked suddenly.

They all stared at each in dismay. No, it couldn't be…


Earlier

Raven looked woefully into her mirror. That image…that horrifying scene that replayed instantaneously in her head every night from the moment she saw it. Their deaths…all slowly rewinding in a languid motion, laying out thickly like a blanket covering her eyes. Her eyes began to fill with angry tears, anger from Figaro's betrayal, her own lack of caution, and the general feeling that what she was about to do would put them all in danger.

She placed the hand-crafted mirror back onto her dresser, placing the mirror side down, shadowing. Next to the mirror was a note; a single, red-stamped piece of parchment laid on the wooden surface, folded thrice in even shapes. Guiltily, she grabbed the note and flung it to the floor where it landed partially beneath her bed. Taking the hem of her deep blue cloak, she covered her head and disappeared into the oblivion of air.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\

Later

They would have brought the door off its hinges it had, indeed, hinges, but the sliding of the door would keep them from banging it from its position. Tearing into the room, all four of them, they let their eyes burn into the lightless room.

Empty.

Beast Boy dropped to his knees, whimpering noiselessly. Starfire bit her lip until fresh blood sprang into her pale face. Cyborg shifted his weight uncomfortably onto the bookshelf, which might not have been the best of ideas at the moment. And Robin. He stood in the middle of the room, not looking around, but staring at the very ground beneath him.

"He could have taken her anywhere," he whispered quietly.

Beast Boy looked up at him, his eyes brimming with a hatred so deep that it could penetrate the very darkness which enveloped the cavern. "He hasn't taken her anywhere. Not yet." His teeth were set so fiercely, his eyes shining so bright, Starfire took an involuntary step back as his clenched fists brought him up to his full height. "We're going to find her. And when we do I'm going to kill him."


She stood beneath the tree, unmoving. Her shaded eyes of purple stone glanced at the darkened grass, moist beneath her leather-worn boots. A slight breeze wafted stray hairs past her lips, stringing themselves onto them like honey to the suckle. She let out a constricted sigh, holding her chest in fear of all her breath escaping too quickly. She looked up into the full moon's face, its milky surface illuming the starless night. Another sigh. It would be half past midnight, the very time he said he would come. She thought that of all occasions, she would be the second to come, and he the one to be waiting for her mysteriously. But he was not there. She had taken great care to sense his essence, but there was none around to sense. All she could make out was vexation. That, however, was her own.


"We're going now, and if you don't want to join me, then get out of my way!"

They tried to hold him back as best they could. Finally, Robin flipped in front of Beast Boy, held out his bo-staff, as if to shield him, and held Beast Boy's eyes in a menacing trance. "Beast Boy…think logically. We can't storm off. We need to figure out where she is."

"But she could be hurt right now!"

"I know. But-."

"Robin?" asked a voice timidly.

They all turned to look to the voice that had interrupted. Starfire stood by Ravens bed, holding up a ink-splattered note, written in red. They all stared at the piece of paper curiously, until Cyborg plucked it from Starfire's hands and read it aloud.

Dearest Raven, be not disturbed by my actions. Tonight, meet me under the tree where we first met, and I will explain everything to you. Did not tell the Titans of this interview, for if you do, a disaster beyond your wildest imagination will occur. I believe you know my intentions: do not leave a note. After we meet, I shall send them a note to tell them of your unintentional departure. If you do say a word, I shall know.

I'll be waiting.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was closer to daybreak than she had thought. Though it was for many hours still, Raven could still smell the coming of dew upon the city. Sitting in the dampness of the grass, leaning against the sycamore tree, her breathing was steady and consistent. She slept dreamlessly, until a sound broke her slumber.

She could hear the rustling of leaves, the gentle sway of branches, the thud of flesh against earth. Slowly, her eyelids fluttered open like that of a butterfly's wings, and she found herself staring numbly at the cloaked figure of Figaro.

He stood above her, threatening, leeringly. It took her a minute to puzzle together her situation, and slowly, she assembled herself on her feet. With a wave of his hand, Figaro brought the hood of her cloak down, revealing sleep-trodden eyes and a mystified expression. He smirked, his features luring and sensual. She was hypnotized by that face, once so friendly and innocent in its simplicity, now, despite her fear and anger, full of mystery that filled her with unknown wonderment.

She glanced around her surroundings, noticing for the first time that moonlight shined on everything besides Figaro. He stood there, in the cover of his ebony cape, fluttering gently in the breeze like a black swan's feathers.

He spoke, at last. His voice was deep and unused, as if preparing for this moment. "You have come here, for one purpose and one alone..."

He took a step towards her and she flinched inwardly. She could almost feel his breath upon her skin, the smell of danger…

"…Raven…we will go away this night."

She wouldn't let him overpower her so easily. She wouldn't give in so easily.

"Figaro, I'm not going anywhere with you. I'm with the Titans. I'm with-."

"Beast Boy, perhaps?" He shot angrily. She didn't remove her eyes from his. They were cold, pits filled with death and the color of stone.

"This is where I live. This is where I belong. I'm not going back to Azarath with you."

"Ah, my dear…" His voice wove the air icily, carving into the night like a razor-sharp blade. She shivered. Her touched her arm smoothly, caressing her pale skin with no resistance to hold him back. She could know feel his warm breath upon her cheek. It smelled sweet, not at all like she would have imagined it to. That night, the night when they were about to kiss, she treasured the scent. Now, she dreaded it…

She tried to pull away from the stroke, but he only grasped her forearm, gently. She gazed into his eyes. "We're not going to Azarath. And where ever we may go, the Titans will never find us. You will never see them again."

She felt stone-cold. "They'll come looking for me. They won't stop searching." He chuckled at her expense.

She pushed his hand away and stepped closer to the shadows of the trees. "You betrayed me, you monster…I can never trust you again! You stole my trust, my freedom, my life! I had all to give and now there is nothing left to take! Figaro, I will not beg…I will escape you, even if I can't overpower you. By betraying my trust and taking away my freedom, you've committed yourself to my hate!"

He looked at her incredulously, his jaw slack and eyes glazed. Abruptly, he closed his mouth and set his lips into a sneer. Stepping closer to the shadows, he laced his long, pale fingers around her wrist tightly and drew it towards the tree above. Kicking him hard in the shin, Raven momentarily escaped his grasp. She raced towards the opposite direction, but not before he caught hold of her cloak and embedded his fingers into her hair. Turning her towards him, their faces merely inched away, she moaned as he clenched her arm fiercely.

"Say goodbye, darling."


I know, I know..I'm a terrible updater. Can't help it. Well, with finals coming up, don't expect another update until after June 3. I'm really sorry! I'll try and fit one in if I can, but that's a big maybe. Anyways, I love you all! Thanks for reviewing!

Steve-racer: Thanks for your encouragement. I know, I'm terribly sorry for the long wait! I'm trying really hard, but I suppose I'm lazy. Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Scathac's warrior: Yes…he is a meanie. And you got your wish! She momentarily fell under his spell…and she's kinda under it the whole time, that's why she doesn't kick his butt right there and then...:le sigh:

FantasyObsessed: OMG ME TOO! I didn't get it til the Friday after it came out, though! I was sooo bummed. We had to drive twenty-five minutes to get it..so yeah. And I got two copies of the Leroux novel. Yay! And then my mommy bought me a charm bracelet, which you can find on Ebay. I feel soo lucky.

Kate: I'm glad you liked my edition of WYWSHA. I can play it on the piano :glows: Thanks for reviewing…hope to see you update soon, too!

Me: Don't know who ya are, but that's still cool. Thanks for reviewing!

Until next update,

I am your obedient servant,

StakeMeSpike04