Let Me Die

by worthlessdeath

Anielle, a depressed orphan, is in a city where the Teen Titans live. When something strange happens, she must join up with the Titans to stop this mad man. But what will happen when the villian is more than what he seems?

9. Hadan

This chapter really introduces our mad man and his personality, Ramka. Yayness.

I've been really trying to make things clearer in this chapter, hope it helps

. A warning…some swearing here and there. My apologies…

I know I know last chapter was confusing. I'm really really really sorry…plz except my apologies…I think I over explain things, and just add too much…I tried really hard this chapter not to do this.. how bout this. I'll give you a summary overall the last eight chapters, just to freshen up everybody. Read it if you want, if you don't want to, skip to reading the chapter.

The Full and Complete Summary So Far In One Chunky Paragraph: When time stops, Anielle, a sad 16-year-old orphan, finds that she can still move. She catches the attention of two of the Praised Ones, Robin and Cyborg, who appeared to be looking for someone. Regretting that she caught their attention, Anielle runs up stairs, loses consciousness in a fury of pain, causing Robin to pity her and bring her back to the tower, and keeping in mind that he wanted answers. Strange feelings cross them when they walk back to Titan's Tower, and the others seem affected as well. Raven goes into the girl's mind, but is drawn to a vision of a demon and a burning room, and is once again thrown back into reality. When time suddenly starts running again, a warning is sent, The Time of Warning. Anielle awakens and gives the Titans very limited information due to her brother's control over her. A poem starts them on their way on the journey, what road to take, The Trap, led by a note appearing out of thin air, giving them details they wanted yet, didn't. Their journey begins, along with unusual events, the voices that sung, the sighting of a Lump, a deserted rest stop, followed by a rest stop where they meet Andrew, and beyond disgusting food. The lump, followed by a dozen more that looked like him (hobos), appear to be a threat, causing the Titans to focus on the wrong enemy. Andrew, using the little trust he gained from them and the distraction, takes Starfire, and disappears, along with the distraction, leaving the Titans to ask the question:Why and How? So many questions unanswered, a supposedly long journey ahead of them, their friend taken by the hands of the enemy, and the unknown. That's all they have. Except each other, and trust they can never give again.

Hope that helps…( comments at the end!)

Fonts:

Bold: Basically with Ramka.

Italics: Thoughts, speech in the mind, what happened in the past. If it is regular, its abbreviated or if its Italics and its regular it's the thoughts of someone

Sorry for keeping you away from the chapter….

Disclaimer: And all that jazz…

Chapter 9

"Ah, you," Andrew said to the lump. The lump nodded to him. "You know the boss is not going to be too happy about this." He revealed the cut that still was bleeding on Starfire's stomach, and quickly hid her shoulder with his free hand. He would not have the lump know.

"Sorry," the lump said. "She got in the way."

"Try telling that to Ramka," Andrew said fiercely, getting a better grip around Starfire's waist. "You're not aloud to hurt the target. Unless you have to kill them, that is. He won't be too happy about this."

"Why should you care?" The lump said, a pleading look in his eyes. "It's my head, not yours."

"It was nice being your co-worker," Andrew replied, grinning. "I hope I'm the one to cut off your precious head. That's the only reason I care, dear Riley."

The lump's frown deepened as Andrew spoke his name. How he hated his name, but how he hated Andrew for even dare speaking it. How dare he.

Lifting Starfire's body into both of his arms, and still making sure the nail markings were not to be seen, he said a few words under his breath, and in a flash, he disappeared. It was time to deliver the target.

To his wonderful boss.

Ramka.

--

--

Andrew re-appeared in front of a cave opening, or in other words in front of a hole that was dug into a mountain that surrounded a vast forest. What he stood on was a ledge that stuck out as if it were a nose of the mountain, and behind him . The opening didn't seem to be a cave, but it was what Andrew referred it to. The reason why Ramka chose this certain place as his hideout was because it didn't consist any humans (that are alive) and so non humans can go about doing whatever the hell they wanted in the trees below without being distracted by humans, and doing his boss's dirty work in the process.

"Anybody home?" Andrew took a couple of steps closer to the mouth of the cave. It wasn't smart to barge in while somebody was in there, and when they were busy doing something, if anything. That person would most likely be Ramka. The consequences would not be pretty. Seeing Ramka both annoyed and mad at the same time was not what you wanted. It would be worse if you harmed a target without being told to.

"Hello?" he called out once again, a little annoyed.

He waited a few seconds, and then when no answer came he delivered the news. "I got your Tamaranian girl here waiting in my arms in the cold, dear ole' Ramka. I'm sure you don't want her to freeze since it is mighty cold out here…my ass is about to frost over, if you really wanted to know."

A loud dissatisfied grunt came from the darkness inside the cave. Andrew shrugged, and walked right in, taking the grunt as Ramka's own and personal welcoming 'hello'.

As soon as he stepped in the tunnel like cave, he was wrapped in darkness. As much as pain, this was his second favorite thing in the whole world, next to blood, that is.

The feeling of the cave was a bit chilly, but warmer than it was outside. The walls were made out of some kind of rock, rock that kept in the dampness, and also the growing smell of decay. If there were to possibly be a flood (if water could even reach where the cave was; the cave was located 100 feet above the ground, and was covered by the tops of the trees) the temperature would go way down, freezing every living soul in seconds, but it still would never wash out the smell that has been there for ages. Andrew knew this from others who lived to tell about Ramka's hiding place.

A few minutes after walking forward blindly in the darkness, turning left, and then right, and almost bumping into the wall as a few more curves formed, he came upon a lit torch, which revealed 5 feet of the surrounding area. It was enough to see chains hanging from the walls, knotted tightly around rotting wrists of skeletons with decaying flesh hanging from their yellow bones. He could see about six skeletons hanging with the bottom jaws missing, and two bodies that had most of the flesh still attached to the bones. Andrew was sure there were more that hung in the darkness, hidden by the light. He shivered at the thought of how they became that way. Andrew knew they only hung there for about a week before their flesh began to rot off.

Though time had its way with them, they all died the same death. Time made the skin slip off. Time made the bones turn something other than white, and soon enough, time would turn the bones to dust.

"All of your prisoners never leave this cave, now do they?" Andrew said, bemused, as he looked around with interest. He hadn't actually been in the place before, but he was beginning to like it. The smell of it made him love it even more. "They make great decorations. I should bring you over to my apartment sometime, for decoration purposes."

"They never leave," came a deep voice from a dark corner. His voice practically said it all, saying that he was the one who killed these people, and he had the urge to kill you. The light did not reveal where he was located, but he obviously was in the shadows that was the end of the cave. "You're right on time. As expected."

"Of course, dear ole' Ramka," Andrew said cheerfully. "What do you expect from the best?"

"Shut your mouth," Ramka said roughly. "There are many who are better than you. Ones smarter, ones who wouldn't even give a damn about the weather."

"Should I be hurt?"

"You will be hurting if you make one wrong move, boy."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

"Shut up and listen."

"I'm listening," Andrew said, looking around once more. "Can I borrow one of these skeletons? Really, they would match my cracked mirror…"

A louder grunt came from the shadows.

There was a pause. Andrew felt the eyes of the aging man pass over the target, which of course was now his prisoner, one that would never leave this cave, like all the others. Just like all the others…

He heard another grunt, one dissatisfied from the shadows, signaling that he was not happy. Andrew noticed that his hand didn't cover his nail markings on the Tamaranian's shoulder anymore. His hand was on the small part of the girl's back, helping to keep the girl's weight steady. It had betrayed him, that hand. He swore, since he knew it was too late to cover up his mistake. Andrew thought of cutting off his hand later on, if he remembered.

"Explain," Ramka said angrily.

"Weren't you watching?" Andrew said, confused.

"What do you think?"

"Yeah?"

"Yes, I was. Explain."

"If you were watching, then why-''

"I want to hear what you have to say about it. Don't play dumb with me!"

"Oh!" Andrew said, acting surprised, which he wasn't. "I should have known. But first, can I-''

"Explain." His voice, as unpleasant as it already was to listen to, said the words with such anger that it made Andrew wince.

"That idiot, Riley. He did it."

"And?"

"That's it."

"And?" Ramka said again, growing even more impatient by the second.

"And what?" Andrew spat. He was now a bit on edge, and dropped the unconscious girl onto the hard ground with a loud thump. He hadn't realized the girl had left consciousness, but he didn't really care. "Can I have my next assignment?"

"What the hell was that for?" Ramka yelled, forcing Andrew to step back.

"She's going to die anyways."

"Shut up, boy. Don't be a fool. One more mistake, and you're dead. One more mistake, and your deader than dead."

"That reminds me…"Andrew scanned the ceiling thoughtfully, but there was no ceiling to be seen. Darkness hid what was way up there, if anything.

Sighing, Ramka said," What? What do you want now?"

Andre smiled. "I want Riley's head."

"You will do as I say. No question about it."

"And you say…?"

"You're next assignment, is this." From the shadows, Ramka silently slid an envelope across the dusty floor over to Andrew.

He picked it up, ripped it open, and took out a picture of a brunette woman with bright blue eyes. On the back the name "Lauren Oldsburg" was written in messy handwriting. (The same handwriting on the note the Titans received the day before). Age: 30. "Well?"

"Find her. Kill her."

"That's too damn easy. I'll be done by tomorrow."

"Good. Glad you think your work is easy." Ramka's voice returned to its regular unpleasantness. "Try getting it done by tonight. I have a few more assignments for you… one I'm sure you'll enjoy."

"What about Riley?"

"What about him?"

"I get to kill him. If you don't allow me to, I will hunt down the one who did. Mark my word for it." Andrew frowned, and added quietly, "God damn if it isn't me."

Ramka laughed at this. "Well, well. How about this. You do your job, and we'll go on from there, understand?"

"Yeah," Andrew said slowly. "I understand, sir."

"You still got some manners, I see. You're lucky that won't kill you."

Andrew smirked. A minute slid by, and he still stood there with his smirk on his face, brooding over what he would do to the woman, the woman in the picture he held in his hand. He was in the deep and dreadful mood of killing something, and here was his chance.

"What the hell are doing standing around, boy? Get out of here!" Ramka sounded mad, which made Andrew nod in acknowledgement. He gave one last glance at the girl who lay on the ground, thought about spitting on her, and then again thought against it. Ramka was listening to everything he thought, which made things tricky.

He could hide nothing, but he did not mind that much. Others couldn't hide things from him either, so he got his share of the fun. He couldn't have everything he wanted.

Andrew walked off, his footsteps echoing against the walls as he was swallowed into the darkness beyond.

--

--

Silence fell heavily inside the T-car. Not a sound escaped their lips, except for the soft breathing that kept them living. The car drove past lush green hills that, if they cared to notice, became less and less green by the mile.All there thoughts wondered off about Starfire, and nothing more.

"Uhh…guys? What just happened?" Beast boy asked, utterly confused. No one thought this surprising that he was the one who broke the silence. Beast boy wanted someone to explain the events to him; it just befuddled him even more while he played them out in his mind. He needed to understand what was causing this sadness other than something bad. He needed someone to tell him then and there.

"Something horrible happened," Robin said finally when no one else chose to answer, pain streaking his words. "Something we will never forget. Something that could have been prevented if I could of just opened…just open my eyes…and…and just-"

"Robin, it wasn't you're fault," Cyborg said, before Robin could go ranting off about how guilty he felt. "It wasn't just you. You can't continue to put yourself down like that. You aren't the only one in this."

"If only I had seen that Starfire was the one who was in danger…all along…"

"We all were," Raven said calmly. "We all are, still. We are up against an unknown enemy. One we question but with no answers thrown back at us."

"Who is the enemy? How do we know Ramka is not working alone?" Robin said hastily, speaking too loudly for the small capacity of the T-car. He completely ignored what Raven had just said. "How do we know that we aren't walking straight into a trap? Huh? How do we know that Ramka could kill us right now, except now he's just playing around with us as if we were pieces of a game? How do we know that Star isn't suffering right now! Or dead! Or-''

"We don't, Robin," Anielle said quickly, before Robin went mad with questions. Except she was the one with all the answers; she was the one who was told in the beginning, but could not burst with the answers. She was the one who was suffering silently because of it. Her brother was using her innocent voice again. "There are more questions than answers. Stop asking them. Please, it will only make matters worse."

"Things are already pretty bad," Cyborg commented. "Trust. Damn, we can't trust anybody anymore!"

"Except each other," Robin said quietly, making Anielle wince. "We are the only ones we got. And if one more is taken…"

"We are already falling apart," Raven said sadly. "Robin, Cyborg, keep your minds focused. If we stray form the path, then there is no telling if we can get back on track. Focus."

"She's right," Cyborg said, looking at the night sky that lay far above. There still were no stars, just the darkness that surrounded the T-car and the fading green hills. A darkness that would always be there, till the end.

'So uhh…what just happened back there?" Beast boy asked once again.

"Star was taken by Andrew," Robin said weakly. "I…we… were distracted by the men in the grey cloaks, and Andrew used our trust…our trust…and the distraction to take her, somewhere. He used our trust…. why couldn't I see it? Why couldn't I see it!"

"I knew we couldn't trust the guy," Cybog said. "There was something about him I didn't like. I still don't."

"How could I be so blind!" Robin yelled out, blinded by guilt and frustration.

"Robin, stop blaming yourself," Raven said. "Calm down."

"How could I…I don't know, I just don't know," Robin said quietly, cooling down a little. He looked out his window into the darkness surrounding them. He wondered just then how it got so dark …darker than usual…what time is it? Robin checked the time on the digital clock the T-car provided. It read: 11:47.

"How could it be so dark?" Robin thought aloud, jumping at the sound of his own voice.

"It is…kind of creepy," Beast boy said, agreeing with him. "It's so dark…does it seem darker than usual?"

"Yeah," Cyborg said. "The headlights barely show a couple of feet ahead. Where the heck is the moon?"

"Gone," Anielle found herself saying. "It's gone. It's fled."

"Huh?" Cyborg said, astounded.

"How can the moon run?" Beast boy asked curiously.

"I don't know…" replied Anielle. Her brother was using her again. She didn't know when he would fully control her, but she knew if she slept, her mind would be too vulnerable then, and it probably was vulnerable right now. Soon, she presumed, she felt, her brother would have more control of her than just her arms, her arms that felt like they weren't even there.

"Why would the moon be gone?" Raven asked her.

"Ramka," Robin growled.

"Robin, we can't be sure," Raven said. "Maybe we are in a cloud somehow and we just don't know it."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be this dark," Cyborg said. "The surroundings would look greenish if we were in a cloud. It's just black. Plain blackness. We can't even see the hills."

"The moon can't just leave," Beast boy said. "Isn't the moon on this rotating thing?"

"Ramka," Robin said once again.

"How do we know its Ramka?" Raven said. "We can't keep blaming him because of every wrong thing that's going on."

"He can stop time," Cyborg said. "Who knows what else he can do."

"True," Raven said. "But we can't be certain. What if –''

"It's Ramka," Robin said. "It's Ramka. Ramka is behind everything. Ramka is the master mime in this. He is the one who is behind all the bad things. He is the one who stole Starfire. No one else could pull off a trick like disappearing into thin air. No one."

"Except someone who could stop time," Beast boy pointed out.

"It couldn't have been Ramka," Raven insisted. "It was Andrew. He was the one who took our friend. We don't know that it was Ramka he could have been working for."

"So you're saying Starfire won't be at the end of this? We will never find her?" Robin said angrily, turning towards Raven.

"I'm saying we don't have all the facts straight," Raven said, matching up to Robin's anger, still keeping control of her emotions.

"Facts! Now you want facts? What about the obvious? What about what lies right in front of our faces!"

"We will find Starfire. We will find her, no matter what it takes. We will. All I'm saying—''

"All your saying is that Starfire is gone for good? We will never find her, is that it?"

"No! It's not! If you would just listen to me then—''

"Then what? You can keep saying that Star's gone for good? Huh?"

"Robin! Do you want her in the hands of Ramka?"

""Its better than knowing we will never find her!"

"We don't even know who the hell this Ramka guy is!" Cyborg yelled, interfering. "How can you say it's better than not knowing where she is? We don't even know where she is to begin with!"

"With Ramka," Robin said. "He's at the end of this."

"We don't know for sure," Raven said. "All we have is that poem and that note telling us where to go. We don't even know where that is!"

"There is no other explanation," Robin said. "He's the only one who could possibly know us, and where we are headed."

"How do we know this?"

"We don't! There is nothing we know! We are left with nothing while our friend is out there! All because of trusting one guy!"

"Calm down!" yelled Cyborg.

"Dude," Beast boy said, looking at Raven and then Robin. "Forget it, alright? W e can't do anything right now, except continue this long journey. All we can do is hope that we will find Star."

"Hope," Robin said softly, facing the front once again. "Hope…yeah…that's all we have besides each other…"

"Robin," Raven said. "You aren't the only one who cares for Starfire. Beast boy's right. We just have to keep going, no looking back. All we can do is hope."

"Do you guys want to stop and get some air?" Cyborg suggested. "I think we need a rest."

"Great idea," Beast boy said.

Raven and Robin nodded in agreement.

Anielle nodded as well, still bewildered about what just happened. She silently recalled what Andrew had said about hope, feeling disgusted and uncomfortable as the words slid into her mind.

Don't we all wish for something like that? Like hope? There is no hope.

"There is no hope." Anielle mouthed the words over and over again, feeling as if she were possessed. Her brother laughed inside of her, acknowledging what she thought.

"I miss the moon," Beast boy said softly to no one in particular. "You never really seem to appreciate someone or something until its gone or taken away from you. I finally realize that now…"

--

--

Only seconds before Ramka had put out the light the torch gave off with his bare hands. The obscure light had only a mid second to reveal a man looking deathly old, though much older than he appeared to be. His white hair was down to his forearm, and his eyes were young and the color that did not seem possible. What it showed was what Beast boy had seen before, his human form.

Though, what the green Titan did not exactly see was that there were only clumps of hair on his head, leaving bald spots in the most random places. A thought dawned on him, what the green one had actually seen when Ramka had showed him in that millisecond when he was walking out of the odd shaped building. He had shown the Titan his true human form, of course, but why had he not told the others? It could have been just like Anielle, her knowing the answers but being forced not to have them be spoken, but it wasn't, Ramka was sure of that. He had given Beast boy the free will of actually telling his friends. What confused him was exactly why Beast boy hadn't spilled the beans yet. Unlike the poor and tortured Anielle, he had a choice, a choice Ramka wanted him to use so the Titans wouldn't be left to face such a vague unknown that's ahead of them.

He usually appeared to people as a man about the age of sixty, his hair to his shoulders, no balding spots, and his eyes were as they always had been. That wasn't the reason why Beast boy hadn't told his so called 'friends'. He probably just forgot or something. Stupid idiot, Ramka thought, than something else sparked an idea. Perhaps it's that TV that rots the human's brain…or he might just be plain stupid. Like the whole lot of the human beings.

The thought slipped away as soon as it came, and now Ramka stood in darkness with the growing smell of decay. The darkness didn't bother him much, for his eyes were just like an owl's; he could see everything in the dark as any human and most of the non-humans could see everything in the light.

Ramka peered at the Tamaranian girl on the ground. How peaceful she looked laying there, not knowing what was in store for her. Oh boy, she wouldn't even know what hit her! Plus, to add to the excitement, she wouldn't even remember anything; she only would remember what Ramka wanted her to.

As he picked her up gently, he silently noted the nail markings on her shoulder once again. Damn you, Andrew, he thought. Damn you, you never listen. Damn… Even though it was a minor incident, Andrew would still have to pay. He had to learn to listen. If he didn't, his mistakes would cost him his life.

By the end of the cave there hung an empty pair of chains, a spot that would do just fine. Ramka swiftly knotted the chain tightly around Starfire's delicate wrists, leaving her hanging like all the others. (He never really liked modern day handcuffs that were created 1862; he had one of his men kill the inventor intentionally) Her head rolled off to the side, her breath coming out in rasps, as if she was having a bad dream, which probably she was.

Ramka stood there a minute, staring at the alien girl. Studying her facial features and her hair, he went over the procedure of her soon to become fate. He loved his job, he really did. This was one of the best types of torture he had to offer to those who unwillingly went through it.

Ramka smiled a toothy smile, and closed his eyes. His mind opened up, and reached out to the girl's, snatched it, and collided along with it so that they joined together. Their minds now were hooked, their souls along with it, for it was a dream Ramka was planning to draw up. He quickly scanned what lay deep within the corners of the Tamaranian's mind, found what she most desired, used it, and deleted all that needed to be forgotten. Ramka forced her to forget the Teen Titans, where she was from, her name, her dreams, her hopes and wishes, and everything she dared to care for. She would be as dumb as a doornail. Her mind was pretty much blank, which was exactly what he wanted. A lot of questions would be asked, but that was fine with him. The more questions, the better. He left the simple things person would know in her mind.

In the dream he would create, he would poor all the information he wanted her mind to understand and believe. He would talk to her until her mind was destroyed, her soul he would poison and steal for his own use. Her brain would burst with knowledge she wouldn't understand, yet would know because Ramka would make it so. The girl would then cease to breathe, and die one of the most painful death there was: being destroyed from inside out. From mental to physical. From mind and soul to body. (There were many painful ways to die, but Ramka only used the ones he enjoyed most.)

Ramka called this torture 'Hadan' after the first victim he had used the torture on. Hadan was destroying one's mind slowly and painfully, forcing their minds to be forgotten and forced into oblivion. Ramka did this by colliding with one's mind, where they would be trapped in the distraction, a dream. There, Ramka would talk to them, and they would listen. The more questions, the better. The more information they took in, the faster Hadan would be completed.

As he continued to tamper with her mind, he quickly brought out the dream he would appear to her in, so they could talk and she would listen…

They were in a room. Fuzzy sunshine poured itself in through the open doors next to where they sat. Starfire sat at one side of the glass table with a nicely finished wooden outline, and Ramka at the other. The walls of the room were see-through glass windows attached by flexible metal, revealing a beautiful garden with all the flowers of Earth and Tameran mixed together. A brick path started from the open glass doors leading somewhere behind the green awe striking plants. The scent washed up upon both of the sitting figures, making it seem as if they were in a living heaven. Birds chirped happily in the distance, a harp echoed from a distance, the vast blue sky towered over them through the enchanted clear glass roof making the place seem like a dream come true…

Starfire shot open her eyes, exiting out of a nightmare she didn't remember. Squinting from the sudden brightness, she silently scanned everything around her, enchanted, but what really caught her eye was the man that sat before her. Confused, her mouth ajar in awe and befuddlement, she continued to take in her surroundings, wondering how she got there.

The man before her appeared to be around the age of sixty, had his gray hair to his shoulders, and colored eyes that could never actually be possible. He deeply despised his surroundings, but his face took the position of a kind elderly person. He really hated this, but it was something the alien girl liked, or so he assumed, based on what her mind revealed. That was what it had to be, unless she would be uncomfortable or feel like a stranger, something he did not want.

"Where am I?" Starfire asked, her voice full of wonder and a pinch of fright.

"Where are you not?" Ramka said calmly. His voice was as deep and unpleasant as ever, but the Tamaranian girl didn't seem to take any notice.

"Where…where am I not? I…I do not know."

"What a pity. Tell me, what do you know?"

"I…I…do not remember anything. Who am I?" She began to panic. " Who are you? Where are we? Why do I not remember anything? How did I-''

"Let's start with the first question, who you are. How can I put this nicely? Oh yes, you are not a nice person. In fact, you are a horrible person, one who is hated by all. You killed your parents by cutting their throats in anger when you were ten, you burned down the local school along with neighboring houses, you black mailed your friends into giving them everything you desired and if they didn't listen you killed them and destroyed their homes along with their families. You are hated by all, except me. You trust me. I am your only friend. You believe in everything I tell you. You got rid of your name. You don't have a name, so you ended up calling yourself Nameless because of what an awful and idiotic person you are. You are feared and hated by all."

"That…that is horrible," Starfire said, horror stricken. "How could I be such a person? Why do I not remember this about me?"

"It is best forgotten," Ramka said simply, smiling. "You forgot because you couldn't stand it. It almost destroyed you along with you hating yourself. You want to rip your skin off your bones, but you won't. I won't let you." He said the last part with such sweetness, that it brought a smile to the Tamaranian's face, and her green eyes sparkled.

"Then I should be in debt to you, am I correct?"

"It's not my choice, it's yours."

"Then I shall. Who are you, though? Would I not remember you if I wished to be in debt to you? If you were…if you were my friend?"

"Well…let's just say you forgot everything. You let your mind forget me. It's normal, don't worry. Anyway, that's why I have brought you here, to this wonderful Paradise, to get away. A…a vacation, let's say."

"I am happy I am on this… vacation. Tell me, what is this vacation?"

"A place where you go to get away from everyday living. Or in your case, to get away from an angry mob. An angry mob is a group of angry humans trying to kill something. That something is you."

"I am…happy to be on this vacation?" Star sounded uncertain. "But since I am such a person who…kills…would I not want to kill them?"

Ramka laughed, his laugh even more unpleasant than his voice, but Starfire didn't take any notice."I guess you would, because that's the kind of person you are indeed. But before you could lead yourself to do so, you forgot everything."

"I am happy…relieved to be on this vacation."

"You should be…you should be…" Ramka chuckled. "I can't keep my name a secret for long, now can I? I'm sure you would love me to tell."

"Indeed I would. Please, tell me. I wish to know."

"Fence. Please, call me Fence." He sure as hell wouldn't give her his real name. His name brought up memories, which was bad at this point. If she remembered what he didn't want her to, all could go down hill, and she could possibly break through Hadan. But that was only if she had a strong mind, and he sensed she didn't. A week she would last through Hadan, and Ramka didn't want any mistakes.

"Fence…Fence. Fence." Starfire worked the name around her tongue, getting used to the single syllable. "Fence. I like your name. It is better one being called Nameless..."

"Even one with a better name does not make them a better person."

"Are you like me?" she asked innocently, hopefully.

"No, no one is as bad and distasteful as you. You would go straight down to hell when you die. But I am the one and only…person I guess you could call me… who cares about you, I am the one who cares for the one who has a ticket to the Underworld."

She nodded, taking it all in. She had a disgusted look on her face, but she seemed to enjoy it. Ramka loved doing this, and to the ones before her as well, just like all the others…he felt like the teacher, she the student. Smart. Dumb. He, the author, she the reader. He absolutely regretted not doing this sooner in his life.

"Where are we?"

"On Earth, the cursed planet." A lie. They were on the planet, but really in an alternate reality, the entrance placed in the desert the Titans were headed towards. They were in a cave that was carved into a mountain that surrounded a gigantic forest that stretched for miles and miles. This was his hideout, the whole place. It was an illusion, but an illusion only the strongest of minds can break, and the only strong minds that entered the place were the ones who did his bidding.

There was a pause. Starfire took her eyes off Ramka for the first time she began talking and said ,"What is this Earth? Why is it …the cursed?"

Ramka's voice sounded irritated. Surely anybody would know what Earth was. He finally decided that his guess was wrong. "It's a planet, which the human race dominates over. The human race is the curse to the damn world, despising each other, killing each other for land, all the works."

"Just like me," Star mumbled. " I guess I am one of those so called 'humans' who do this."

'Yes. Yes, you are." Ramka knew she wasn't human, she luckily wasn't one of them, but she meant something to the Titans, and that was the only reason why he took her. She was the one who kept the peace between them, the one who sprung up most of the happiness. Happiness. Pshaw. He hated that word, along with 'love', 'hope', and all shit like that.

She was the bait, pretty much. Without her, the Titans would soon tear them selves apart, from the inside out.

"I am. Why must we, humans, do this to each other? I do not get this…why we must be so…idiotic?" She looked up at him, a spring of excitement and understanding appeared in her eyes. " Is that the right word to use?" Ramka nodded, and Starfire continued. "Please explain to me why we are this way."

"Alright. I'll give you a history lesson, about why this damned human race deserves to die. I will end their race; I will make them become extinct. Oh, and by the way…I'm not human."

"What are you then?" Star looked puzzled.

"I am your friend. Is that not enough? I am a friend who you didn't blackmail, because I am the only one who understands you. That is all. Is that not enough?"

Starfire nodded obediently. "That is enough. But what about the Earth? Will it be left…without domination? Empty? Someone should…destroy it at least, am I correct?"

Ramka smiled. "My, my, interested aren't we? You are correct. My lovely ally Trigon will do that. I deal with the humans, he deals with Earth and all that. Destroying it by using his own daughter as a portal. "

"How will you destroy the humans?" Starfire hit a realization that she did not like at all. "I guess I shall be destroyed as well…I am human…I am one of those who must be destroyed…"

"Oh, I wouldn't destroy you. We are friends, remember? Friends don't destroy each other… unless you were you of course." Star nodded in agreement. "But now, on with the history lesson. A lesson that is true, a lesson that will teach you the stupid ways of the human race. A lesson you will never forget…"

--

--

"What do you guys want to eat?" Cyborg asked sleepily. He hadn't slept much last night, not even during their short rest at the side of the main road where the rest slept (except Anielle) and Raven meditated. It was early in the morning, and they were parked in front of a supermarket at a rest stop.

"Anything that's eatable," Beast boy said from the back seat. "I'm starved."

"Yeah, Cy, get whatever you think will last us a day or two," Robin said.

"All right," Cyborg said. He would have made a joke about Beast boy eating all the food before the rest of them got to it, but thought against it. Each one of them still was mortified by Starfire's abduction, especially Robin, and they seemed to be too far from returning back to normal. They never would, because the one who kept them together was not with them anymore. Anielle figured that this was the reason why Ramka chose Starfire out of all the rest of them to steal.

Cyborg walked away slowly towards the entrance of the Supermarket, leaving the four Titans and a tired Anielle waiting in the T-car. They thought they were alone, but of course, they weren't. Someone was watching them. Someone they couldn't see but the one who was watching could see them. It was Andrew. He sat in the darkness of the restaurant that was across from the Supermarket, watching and sensing their pain with amusement.

He had been there the night before, doing his job, though this time there weren't as many instructions, except this: Find her. Kill her. All the same, it made him feel that he could do whatever he wanted to kill Lauren. Andrew remembered quite well of what happened last night in this restaurant, every stringy detail.

He had gone into the thirty year old's mind, reading every thought she had, and located her easily. Andrew found her at a restaurant, the one he sat in now, to be exact. The woman appeared to be lost and confused, but he knew she was there for a purpose. Lauren Oldsburg was there to warn the Titans, give them a message, though she doubted they would believe her. She wasn't even sure they would come to this restaurant until the next day. Andrew laughed at this. And here they were the next morning, buying food at the Supermarket. Andrew remembered every stringy detail about what happened the night before….

--

"You look…down," Andrew had said softly as he stood right by the table where the woman sat.

"I am," the woman said, sounding tired. "I'm sorry if I trouble you."

"No, of course not," Andrew said. "Shall I join you in drinking…water?" He had noticed the glass of water that sat before her.

"Sure, why not," the woman said, a little relieved as the red headed man pulled up a chair. "Who might you be, to care for the likes of me?"

"The likes of you?" Andrew said humorously. "That sounds a little harsh, I'm sure. I would like to cheer you up. It is…a bit crowded around here, you know, there barely being any seats that it's so full. It being loud and all. You being alone here sitting and drinking water…" It was a lie, he knew, an obvious one at that. It was just as deserted as the one he was at only an hour before.

"Yes, indeed it is," the woman said, her expression changing a bit because of the happy personality this man had. She didn't know that this man who appeared to be cheerful would end her life this night.

"What's your name?" Andrew asked curiously. He resisted the urge of laughing, because he sounded too sweet, being all but who he was. If he did, he would give away his position, and right now he had the woman right where he wanted, not suspecting anything, only talking to some young guy who had a charming personality.

"I…I'm…" The woman looked around nervously, as if someone was watching her. She sighed, saying, "Call me Mercy. Mercy Oldsburg."

So, she lied about her real name, Andrew thought. She's a horrible liar; anyways…I thought Messengers like her could lie better than this. Or even have better cover than just a woman who appeared to be lost and confused. They must be desperate…

Indeed this woman was a Messenger. Though Messengers were only Messengers, ones who gave messages to the ones who were against Ramka, they still had different fighting techniques. They were humans, humans who worked for a small force that tried to stop Ramka and his evil plans. The Messengers knew quite well that they couldn't face Ramka alone, so they helped others who were against him. Their weakness was that they were mere mortals, ones who died by just a simple knife to the heart. They appeared to be nothing compared to the non-humans. They had lost many Messengers lately to the hands of the Ramka's men.

Andrew had recently killed one of them; he would have captured one of the strongest and delivered him to Ramka so Ramka could use one of his torture methods on him (Hadan), and get all the information he contained in his well-protected mind. That was the one that got messy, causing Andrew to not to have a job for those lengthy 73 days. The assigned person, Andrew remembered very well, was Kurt Kildentail, age 19. He gladly killed him, since he did something Andrew never suspected a human to do. Kurt fiddled with his goddamn mind. He screwed up his mind, that little son of. Exactly what Kurt did to his mind was still a mystery to Andrew.

"Mercy," Andrew said, smiling. "Mercy. Mercy! Love the name." He hated it. "You seem familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"

"Huh?" Mercy said, perking up once he spoke the word 'familiar.' "I don't know. What's your name?"

Too damn easy, Andrew thought once again. Let's see how she reacts to me being one of the Messengers. Using a little trick of the Lying Game. "Cether," Andrew said playfully. "It's nice to meet you, Mercy."

The woman's eyes widened. "No…no…you can't be…"She looked around once again, her mouth opened, closed, opened, and closed once again, trying to figure out what to say.

"They sent me to check up on you," Andrew said seriously. "You really shouldn't lie to me, Lauren. Me of all people, my God." My God? He thought. My God…never would have said that….

"Why wasn't I able to sense you?" she asked, still surprised. 'You're…I…"She shook her head, and cleared her throat, trying to get back to business. "You know I can handle this on my own. I don't need help delivering this message to the Teen Titans."

"Oh?" Andrew asked. "What is the message, exactly?"

"They didn't tell you?" she asked, surprised once again.

"I've been…patrolling lately. Haven't really stayed in touch." Andrews actually knew the message already, knowing everything in the woman's pitiful mind, but he was having fun asking questions.

"Oh. I guess it wouldn't hurt to inform you. I'm to tell them about their new companion, the one they picked up from the orphanage. She's…uhh…what's her name…" She banged her fist the table, almost spilling her glass of water, "Shit! Goddamn, why the hell can I not remember her name?"

Andrew raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry…I really am." The woman sighed. "I'm supposed to warn them that their new companion is the one Ramka is looking for. The one who will…who will…shit…I can't remember the rest of the damn message…"

"Lauren, how can you deliver the message without remembering?" Andrew asked sincerely. "They would expect more from you."

"No, don't report me," Lauren said hastily. "Please…I only forget these things when I am around one of Ramka's men. All Messengers do, I'm sure you know. Shit. Oh shit…"

"Hey hey! No need for swearing," Andrew said, holding up his hands. "I'm sure they wouldn't bother us, since there are two of us. We can take them."

"And your Cether. One of the strongest…just like…just…like…"

'Kurt? Oh, what a pity it was for him to end up like that," Andrew said this with a bit of bluntness in his words. "He was one of the strongest as well. And he was alone, am I correct?"

"Alone, patrolling around a gateway to a non-human land in the desert, one we lack information about. The Desert of Nalen, the one the Titans are headed toward. The one East. Don't you know this?"

"I've been patrolling as well, not much word has gotten out to me for quite some time."

"Something seems…different about you."

"Not a lot of people have stayed in contact with me lately, you see."

"I know. That's the strange thing. And your personality is…"Her blue eyes flickered around the restaurant once more.

"You're still worried about Ramka's men, aren't you?"

"It couldn't be the waiter, could it? No…he seems to calm, too preoccupied."

"You know, Kurt," Andrew said, yawning. "He was alone, right? Yeah, he was. Whatever. That means that you would have no chance against Ramka's men alone, right?"

"Yes," the woman said. "But I would now because you're here, thank God they sent you. Now I'm glad they sent you to check up on me. Glad someone cares for the safety of a lowly Messenger…"

"The message is important."

"Oh! So it's the message that they want to protect! I would not have suspected them trying to protect me any day." Lauren sighed heavily.

"What if…I told you I wasn't whom I really was," Andrew said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?"

"If I told you that Cether was already dead."

"Oh God, that's a horrible joke!" the woman exclaimed. "You're him. Why would you say something like that about yourself?"

"I'm not him."

"Your another Messenger," she said hopefully, " another one whom I will report to for jests such as one of the best dying!"

"I'm not a Messenger."

She looked at him, eyes wide with fear. "Who are you? Tell me right now who you are."

"Well, let's just say that all of the best Messengers are being hunted down right now. Just to make things easier for you. They have no chance. Neither do the rest of them." It was a bit of a lie, even though probably all the Messengers would be extinct in two days, he presumed. Ramka would make sure of that.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"If they have no chance, that makes it obvious that you don't either. We found where you are hiding. Actually, it was quite simple. All we had to do was follow one of your lowly Messengers, like you for example, to the hide out. You're hideout was…a Microsoft building. Never would have thought! A Microsoft Building !Dang… and now, I don't see why they would use one of the lowly to deliver a message to the Teen Titans! Guess they are desperate…doesn't matter anymore now that I think of it."

"Who are you? Who they hell are you?"

"Do you scream?" Andrew asked politely, standing up. "Do you?"

The waiter looked at them curiously, was about to say something, but thought against it. He wasn't about to get in a middle of fight.

"You're one of Ramka's men, aren't you?"

"What took you so long?" Andrew smiled evilly. "Now tell me, do you scream?"

The woman got up from her seat as well. "No, I don't scream." Calmness enwrapped her face. "But I'm sure you do." As Lauren spoke the words, she got into battle stance.

"So…you fight with fists," Andrew said coolly. An aching pain throbbed his chest, wanting him to rip out someone's throat.

"No weapons," Lauren said. "We fight with fists only. One of us dies tonight."

"No…actually two," Andrew said curtly, still smiling, even though his smile was not just a smile anymore. It was a sign that he was hungry for death. For pain. A knife appeared in his right hand out of thin air.

"No weapons I said!" the woman said, wild eyed, in distress as Andrew gripped the handle. "You –''Before she could finish what she was about to say, the knife already was in the throat of the waiter, blood spilling out and down his white shirt. His eyes opened so wide that the whiteness in them overtook the brown pupils as he slid down to the floor with a loud thump.

"Pity, he doesn't scream," Andrew said, his smile dropping. He stared deeply into the eyes of his opponent, sensing fear of his quickness. "But you will."

"No! I won't give you that satisfaction!" yelled Lauren lunging forward to attack.

Grinning, Andrew dodged her flurry of punches, forcing him to move from side to side. He was too fast for them. Lauren's fists went through the air, hitting everything but the her opponent. She knew that she didn't have a chance, but she still had to try.

After a minute, and right after Andrew moved stepped back away from a punch aiming for his chin, he said simply, "You're weak."

Anger flared in the woman's eyes. She wasn't fast enough, so she tried something he probably wouldn't expect from one who kept trying to punch him. She swung her foot into his side, expecting to hit flesh and bone, but instead hit hard substance. Before she could dwell upon the thought any longer or try to move again, Andrew had a deathly tight grip around her ankle, cutting off the circulation to her foot.

"Let…me…GO…"Lauren said through clenched teeth, trying to free her foot from Andrew's clutch.

"Why?" Andrew said simply. He dug his nails into her ankle through her jeans, and at the same time he threw against the wall behind him, and the sound of a loud bang brought a smile to his face. "You're weak."

The woman struggled to get up, but was forced down by a kick to her head, causing black spots to dance around her sight. She just realized that he wasn't even trying to fight her, but was playing with her. There wasn't much energy behind his attacks, but they hurt like hell. She lay on the ground, breathing hard, trying to get enough energy to lift herself to her feet.

"Don't even try," Andrew said from above her, and kicked her in the side, causing her to roll into a tight little ball. He saw the sweat poor down from her forehead. "I thought you would give a better fight than this. Fighting with just fists? Is that all they teach you at your lovely Messenger Training?"

"Who…are…you?" Lauren spat out between labored breaths.

"My name wouldn't be very useful to you if you're just going to die," Andrew said happily, walking away from her towards the dead waiter. He pick pocketed him, finding his wallet, a pack of cigarettes, and something else he found mighty interesting. But of course, Andrew thought. Every smoker needs one of these…

He walked back towards Lauren slowly, cherishing every moment of the sight of pain. This time he wanted to make the pain last, since his other job hadn't given that much satisfaction. "You're weak," he repeated a third time, though as he spoke the words, a bit of excitement ran through them.

"Do…you think…I already… know…that?" came Lauren's husk reply.

"Well….I wanted to ask you if you knew why you were such a weakling."

"…Why?"The woman didn't know what he was up to; she guessed he was letting her live for a minute or too. She knew her end was near, and expected her whole life to flash before her eyes.

"Glad you asked!" Andrew said, laughing. He wanted his laugh to sound happy and giddy, but to the ears of his victim, it sounded pure evil. "Because your just a human. Humans are weak. And you know what the weakest humans are? The females. Woman! CHILDREN! Because of them consisting such things as that, that's why they're weak. Why you're weak. Why the human race is weak."

Lauren tried to say something, but she knew she was just wasting breath. She had to keep breathing a little longer…

"Tell me…do you scream?"Andrew asked once again. "I know I'm repeating myself, but I just want to know."

The woman didn't answer.

"Well, I guess that's a yes," he said. "No surprise there." Andrew began tossing up and down the lighter he had in his hand. "Do you know how it feels to burn?"

"…What?" the woman looked at him, her eyes full of dread. She knew what he had in store for her, but wished she didn't. She struggled to sit up, but another kick to her kidneys left her sprawled on her back on the hard ground.

"No, not just your flesh burning. I wouldn't do something that stupid. No, not from the outside in. From the inside out."

"I…said…"

"No weapons? Hell! This isn't a weapon, this is a resource." And with those words, he went looking to see if the store consisted of oil around. He found some in the kitchen.

He stood over her, looking at the face of a woman who would soon face death. He smiled down at her, saying into her mind, I killed Cether. I killed him, yes. I believe you two were lovers. I feel honored to kill two lovers…you don't know how much this completes me

"You…"Lauren looked up at the red headed man that would be her murderer. "You monster…"

--

Still the smell of burning flesh was all around Andrew, and still heard the growing scream of the woman Lauren Oldsburg, or Mercy Oldsburg, as she preferred. He didn't right away return to the Ramka's lovely hole in the mountain because he thought he deserved the morning off, and he wanted to see the faces of the Teen Titans once again. He eyed the T-car that was parked in front of the Supermarket, sensing all their pain. He smiled at this, and sipped the water out of the woman's glass. Andrew ignored the backwash that floated all around in the woman's water. He just enjoyed drinking a dead woman's drink.

Andrew quickly finished the woman's water, got up, and walked towards the dead waiter who still was on the floor bleeding. The blood gave out an eerie stench, but Andrew noted that it wasn't as great as Ramka's lovely company of decaying skeletons. Eyeing the dead guy, he pulled out the knife from his throat, and flicked off the blood that wasn't dry yet. The dagger was caked with dark red blood, but it didn't matter. It would serve its purpose soon enough. Licking off the blood from the blade, he peered down at the hand that defied him…

--

"Do you think they have a bathroom around here?" Beast boy asked from the back seat.

"They might have one in the Supermarket," Raven said.

Beast boy nodded quickly and practically ran out of the car and into the Supermarket.

"More than I needed to know," Raven commented softly.

"I'll go see if Cyborg's having any problems," Robin said as he opened the car door."Yell if you guys are in trouble." And with that, he left a heavy silence in the T-car.

Raven eyed Anielle, who was staring outside her window at nothing in particular. Anielle was glad that the pain had subsided, and she knew Raven still didn't trust her. It read all across her face. Raven was probably sick of being around this girl, a girl they didn't know if they could trust.

"What was that?" Anielle asked quietly, thinking she heard someone cry out in pain.

"What?" Raven asked, looking around.

"I thought I heard something…" Anielle shook her head, driving the thought out of her mind.

"There's no one around," Raven observed. "You're just hearing things."

Anielle nodded.

Once they returned, and once Beast boy was refreshed, they started another day of their journey east, to the desert, or to The Desert of Nalen, though they didn't know it was called that. All they heard was silence, and the wind whipping around at the T-car. The hills all around them began to fade into the distance as they disappeared all together and was replaced by vast fields of faint green grass. The blue sky towered overhead, and the temperature slowly increased.

Each of the Titans and Anielle were lost in their own minds, wondering what would become of them, and what was happening to their friend, Starfire.

--

--

Thanks a lot for Reviewing!

Comments:

Beautifully-evil: I am sorry…I have writing issues…I hope some questions are answered in this chapter, and I hope it makes a lot more sense. Been going over and over this chapter, trying to look at it in different views, from the authors view and the readers view, trying to have it make more sense. I hope this chapter was so 'peas and carrots' ish this time.

Mollykat: Yeah, all my chapters probably will be interesting. Hope this chapter didn't befuddle you as the last…