1A/N: Here is one really long chapter. Almost 5000 words. Maybe should have cut it in half but who knows. Lots happening here as it is the second to last chapter. Next one will be the last. Hope this chapter works out for everyone who reads and reviews this story because it was tough to write. And here we go.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so lets not try and sue me since I don't have anything to sue for.

Finding Hope Again

Chapter 14

By: Finalitylife

To Richard, it was started out as a dark fog, everything covered in haze, working to cloud all of his senses all at once. He really couldn't feel a ground beneath his feet nor did he even get the feeling that something actually laid beyond the wall of fog that shrouded him though he felt his body even if it felt a little weird. As he stood there, collecting his thoughts for a few moments, it all finally clicked in his confused mind...Slade! Slade had managed to do something to him, had managed to get those damn nanobots into his system and if they had truly worked, then that could mean only one thing...he had lost control again. This horrifying thought was only confirmed by a dark chuckle echoing around him, a laugh that reminded him far too much of Slade, a laugh that he knew without a doubt came from his own body. The sound of his own voice, though consumed by far more madness than even Nightwing had represented in his darkest days. This was something to fear, this was something that should have never existed, this was the apprentice that Slade had worked so hard to obtain over the years, and Richard sadly knew that it was him.

Richard could understand the words being spoken, though they seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. His twisted doppleganger's malevolent words only confirmed that it was Slade who was now in complete control of the situation and that the apprentice's entire focus was on the battered young woman he had saved from Slade only to bring into a far worse situation at his own hands. Richard wanted to deny this being that he had become but he knew that it did represent a piece of his own self, a part he had denied even as Nightwing. Slade found a way to bring it to the surface and amplify everything it represented, creating someone who was a mirror image to the master. Richard knew that Raven was in terrible danger and it was all his fault, always his fault.

As if knowing the guilt that was flowing through this part of his mind, the fog seemed to dissipate in front of Richard, revealing what he truly didn't want to see, revealing the reality of what was going on in the room he had left Raven in. He could feel all the twisted thoughts going through the apprentice's head, violent, sick, and with a twisted lust directed upon Raven's innocent body. Richard understood that he was simply trapped in his mind, a mental manifestation of himself, yet the thoughts still made him want to vomit. He felt a stab of pain through out his entire being as this thing continued to mock Raven, attacking her mentally when she was most vulnerable, and was deeply saddened when he saw the look of shame cross Raven's face as it spoke. He wanted to call out to her, tell her to be strong and not to listen to these words, yet he knew he could not. This was his hell returning, forced to watch another person he cared for suffer because of himself in the truest way.

The vision in front of him was like watching himself from a distance yet he still felt everything that was going on through him. He felt a spike of hatred and instinctively called out to Raven as he watched the apprentice toss his spiked bo staff at her head. Richard felt a second of relief that it missed which quickly ended as he watched Raven being tossed across the room then viciously kicked in the side. He spoke her name again, though this time more quietly as he watched it pick up his sweet Raven by the hair and felt like something was stabbing into his very soul as he watched her struggling to regain her breathe as she dangled there. He watched Raven futilely try to scream only to be viciously slammed into the wall again, the impact even making him cringe. Richard felt a burning anger welling up inside him, a righteous anger that he knew had once fueled Starfire's powers. It was the first time in so long that the anger he felt was not driven by twisted, distorted emotions or selfish desired revenge. His anger was driven simply by the desire to right the atrocity that was going on. His anger increased one hundred fold as he watched it caress Raven's body.

"Don't touch her you bastard!" echoed throughout the mindscape and Richard was surprised when the surroundings seemed to brighten for a second. Richard felt a small flow of strength into this part of him as the scene in front of him continued to play out.

"You have no idea what my proper place is you twisted monster nor does Slade and for a long time neither did it. However, now I know. My place is my families side, my place is by her side, and you will not take her life!" Richard screamed as he watched the apprentice pushing down on Raven's neck, his surroundings flaring up with distorted light and felt a small bit of triumph when the boot was removed from Raven's neck. However, it was made abundantly clear that Richard was not truly winning this fight as Raven was kicked again in the side. Watching her curl up into a tiny ball, Richard couldn't help but realize how tiny she was, how precious. The voice spoken was solemn and gentle.

"I don't know if you can hear me Raven but I hope you can. We once had a bond, a bond created when you saved me from myself and I just pray something is still there. When I came back, you had been there to help me, you again risked yourself to try and save me from myself and again you were successful, you helped to bring back my humanity. However, once again I've been consumed by the darkest of darkness and as always, it is you who is finding a way to help me. I'm fighting against this thing that I've become for you Raven, I'm fighting for you. I need you Raven, more than anything I've ever needed. I won't give up so please don't give up." The surroundings lit up more.

"I don't know when it happened Raven, but I finally realize something, something that may have been there a long time though I was too engulfed in the darkness of myself as well as the world to truly recognize what it was, to truly understand what I was feeling. I love you Raven. I love you." Richard suddenly felt something coming from Raven, something strong, and he somehow knew she had heard him. He could feel the power building inside of her and hoped that it was enough to stop the apprentice yet something finally dawned on him. If he could feel it, then the apprentice must also...the thought was cut off by the sickening crack of Raven's arm.

"Nooooooooo!" Richard screamed out into the dark landscape, slowly starting to realize that he wasn't strong enough to stop this thing, to take back control. He felt something forming at the corner of his eyes, something he had not even felt on the day his parents died, tears. As he stared down at the battered and broken form of his Raven, he couldn't help but starting to cry. It felt so strange for him to finally be doing this though it was only within his mind. He had never allowed himself tears as Robin, not even when Starfire had been cruelly taken away. Nightwing had never allowed such a weak, pathetic show of emotions. However, now, in one of the truly darkest moments of his existence, he cried. He cried for the first family he lost, he cried for a lost princess whose presence had helped light up a dark world. He cried for Cyborg, the best bigger brother anyone could hope for, whose little sister was being hurt so badly and wasn't able to help her, and he cried for the woman he loved who suffered the worst, suffered because she wouldn't give up on a broken man and was paying so horribly for it.

"I'm so sorry Raven. I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough. God, please, do something, please save my Raven. She doesn't deserve this." His plea was answered as he watched Raven phase through the wall, away from her captor, if only for a few seconds. She had not given up...Richard knew she never would. However, his plea was also answered by something darker, something within himself.

"You really are pathetic Richard. Sitting here all alone in the dark crying like a scared little boy. How the hell I ever ended up a part of you is beyond me. I really wish I could get rid of you." Richard looked through the dark fog of his own mind as a dark figure approached him, the mist seemingly moving out of the way for this new presence. It didn't take long for Richard to recognize the uniform as well as the mask pressed tightly over two blue eyes.

"Do you know how long it took me to find you in this chaotic mess? Damn you Slade. I swear to whatever God who will still listen to me that I will kill you." Nightwing had arrived.

"What are you doing here? I assumed you were a part of that thing that is controlling us." Nightwing's face twisted in rage.

"How dare you think I would ever serve Slade! How dare you think I would be weak enough to be controlled by him! This is all your fault!" Richard hung his head in shame but was shocked by the next words spoken more quietly than the rest. "...and my fault to." Richard looked up.

"It is your weakness that allows us to be controlled yet many of the things that drive the apprentice are fueled by what makes me. We are both at fault here and it is only both of us that can reassert control."

"Why are you doing this, why are you helping me. You hate me and I know you hate Raven as well. I figured you'd be enjoying all of this, my suffering, her suffering." Nightwing smiled.

"In a way I am..." His face darkened. "But I will not be a puppet to Slade now or ever and you, sadly are a little better at resisting." The words were spoken with finality. Richard only nodded.

"So you are willing to cooperate with me for the time being?" It was not so much of a question but rather a statement. Richard nodded again and spoke.

"I'll have you know I'm fighting for Raven, nothing else right now." Nightwing smiled.

"We'll just see how long that lasts." The two extended their arms and firmly shook hands in the fog of their shared mind.

Something had called out to Cyborg while he was repairing himself, something he knew to be Raven, somehow through her mental powers. She sounded like she was terrified, was in terrible danger, and Cyborg knew he had no choice. Before he was ready, he stopped his healing process and stood to his feet. He wasn't entirely sure what was going on but his human subconscious was telling him that his little sister was in trouble and that Slade and Nightwing were somehow involved. He looked down shakily at his power levels, quickly realizing he had barely any juice to work on. He also knew that certain systems were still not viable or working. His human side was fully functioning yet his robot side was still heavily flawed but it was his human side that was controlling him, driving him forward to help Raven. He looked down at the locator he had made specifically for Raven and found it gone. It hadn't been a dream, he did give it to Nightwing or whatever he was calling himself. Cyborg hit a few buttons on his other arm and another locator appeared. A locator locator if you will. Cyborg smiled slightly. Never hurts to be prepared and with that he was running as best he could toward the garage to the T-car.

Cyborg made it to the signal as fast as he could and was horrifed by what he saw. There was Raven, body exposed, crawling across the cold street, one arm twisted at a sickening angle, clearly of absolutely no use. He got out of the T-car and rushed noisily over to her. She fell over in clear pain and exhaustion as he got close just as a explosion rocked the night from the building it seemed she had just left. Cyborg instinctively covered Raven's small body with his own as debris hurled itself toward them from the explosion and a few chunks of building bounced harmlessly off of his metallic skin. Cyborg looked up to survey what had happened positioning himself protectively in front of Raven and saw a dark figure coming fast through the smoke of the explosion. Cyborg managed one word...Nightwing, before a vicious right hand met squarely with his face. Cyborg instantly felt the world go black for a few seconds as he flew back from the incredible impact. He found himself lying on his back on the street trying to clear his head and slowly rose to his feet, still a bit shaky, a few of his metal joints not fully functioning, resisting the sudden movements. When he stood up, he saw Nightwing hovering above Raven's prone form, spear-tipped bo staff in hand, aimed directly at her heart. Cyborg felt himself growl as he transformed his arm into his sonic cannon. He knew it wasn't working yet, he just prayed that the bluff would work to get Nightwing away from Raven so he could get her to safety.

"I don't know what the hell is going on here man but get the hell away from her now before a blast you into oblivion." The dark figure looked up with a twisted grin on his face and laughed, never once moving the hovering spike.

"Welcome to the party Cyborg but I don't believe you are on the guest list. However, I do think of myself as a good host so just give me a few seconds to finish up here and I'll be able to get to you then." Cyborg shivered slightly at the voice. It sounded so casual but was filled with so much malice and darkness...just like Slade.

"I don't think so man. This is your last warning. Get away from her now!" The dark figure seemed to stop for a second as silence filled the air before slowly pulling away.

"Alright then, have it your way. I doubt she'll be moving any time soon so I think I can spare you a few minutes." He got into a fighting stance.

"Time to see you well you work, from the inside out." A birdarang was suddenly flying at Cyborg hitting his sonic cannon dead on, yet it did not explode as it really wasn't functioning.

"So you were bluffing. Foolish, foolish machine. Not very logical are you." Cyborg growled.

"Logic is irrelevant when your trying to save your family." The dark figure chuckled.

"And just who have you saved Victor. You couldn't save Terra. You couldn't save Starfire. You couldn't save Robin either and Beast Boy left. The only one left to save is lying in a broken heap over there and I promise you, you will not save her." Cyborg readied himself knowing he only had enough power for a short fight. He would have to win quickly.

"We shall see asshole. No one hurts my little sis without getting my metal foot in his ass ya here me." The apprentice smiled slyly.

"Ah the protective older brother. Then I feel obligated to inform you that yes, her body does feel as good as it looks." Cyborg charged forward with a scream, left fist already pulled back to deliver a devastating punch. The figure only smiled, ready to avoid the move easily yet he found his body unwilling to instantly cooperate, seemingly resisting him, and barely avoided it. Cyborg furiously attacked and the apprentice continued to struggle to dodge, a few blows making glancing contact, with considering the strength and force of the hits, were causing pain. He pulled out an explosive disk and hurled it at the ground, back flipping away as quickly as possible from the explosion, trying to get some room between him and his opponent. However, the explosion did not even faze Cyborg who charged forward and slammed his body full force into him. Cyborg stumbled soundly after the impact, crashing down to the street with what he believed to be Nightwing, landing slightly on top of him. The air instantly left the lungs of his opponent from the impact and Cyborg knew he only had few seconds to put him down. He reached back to deliver a punch to his grounded opponent. However, an electrical disk was placed in desperation on Cyborg's body, sending electricity coursing through his body. The attack did not hurt but rather served to disrupt his already battered systems. Cyborg fell back as his attacker scrambled to his feet grabbing his bo staff which had fallen from his hands. Cyborg sat on one knee, his power lowering with each passing breath, vulnerable to an attack yet it did not come instantly. He looked up with one human and one robotic eye at his attacker, who was clutching his head with one of his hands talking to himself.

"No...no...can't lose control...must not...master...Slade...Raven...will not fail him...her" To Cyborg, the words were nonsensical and knew something was seriously mentally wrong with his opponent. Cyborg's confusion was cut short as the opponent screams.

"Die!" and stabbed his bo staff forward straight into Cyborg's chest. Cyborg couldn't help but smile as he looked at the twisted, sweating face of his opponent, struggling with some internal fight, desperation radiating off of him.

"I don't know exactly who you are right now or what the hell is going on but I do know one thing...Robin and Nightwing would have know better than to stab a metal object directly into my power core." Cyborg could tell the eyes behind the mask widened right before Cyborg unleashed what was left in his power core directly through the metal staff into the opponent. Though there wasn't much energy left in Cyborg, he hoped it would be enough to stop this guy. It was his last chance to give Raven a chance of survival. A convulsing scream echoed through the night as energy courses through the apprentices body. Eventually, the energy ran out and Cyborg collapsed, once again powerless, to the ground. The twitching body of the apprentice fell to the ground, a small bit of smoke rising from his body, the bo staff melting to his metal hand. Everything had gone according to plan. The nanobots control and been disrupted by the strong electric discharge, Cyborg would be okay eventually, and the apprentice was no more.

The cold night became silent as three bodies of Titans littered the street. A few minutes past before one rose to his feet, using his staff for support. He was not Robin, he was not Richard, Nightwing, nor the apprentice. At the moment he was content to simply be. He stared over to the still limp form of Raven and slowly hobbled over toward her, the sound of his metal staff hitting the ground with each step echoing through the night. As he neared her, he suddenly drawn to the sound of someone clapping. He looked toward the applause and saw his worst enemy step from the shadows.

"Every time you find some way to impress me further Robin. You managed to fight off my nanobots though it did apparently take you some time to do so. I hope you enjoyed your time with the little bird while you had the chance." Slade slowly approached, positioning himself so that Raven was directly in between him and his wayward apprentice. There was no response to his taunting.

"Don't worry now Robin. I have plenty of more nanobots and from the data I've obtained from the first batch, I should be able to make some that will be more permanent." Again nothing was said.

"What Robin. No angry words. No promises of my pain and death. No telling me that I will pay for everything I've done to you. I'm sure you have something to say to me." Slowly, the man formerly controlled by Slade got into a fighting stance.

"I won't let you hurt her anymore Slade. I won't let you hurt my family anymore. It is time you paid for hurting them, not me."

"All this far that broken little half-demon over there, all this for that useless hunk of scrap metal, all this for an alien bitch whose been dead for 5 years!" Slade's voice was filled with outrage and anger, an unusual outburst from the normally composed man.

"Yes Slade...for them." Slade chuckled.

"You never could defeat me Robin, so what makes you think you can beat me now."

"Robin couldn't defeat you. Nor could my first self or Nightwing. However, I am not any of those Slade because what I am will defeat you today." Slade extended his bo staff.

"Let us find out."

Raven found herself pulled from unconsciousness by the cold air as well as the sound of metal impacting metal. Her whole body hurt still, her arm had gone numb probably from some type of shock and nerve damage, and her breathing was still ragged and painful. The sound of battle was loud, the sound of the two combatants the only real sound in the seemingly dead city. Raven managed to pull herself to her knees as she saw Slade fighting with her former tormentor. Raven carefully pushed out her empathic abilities toward him and felt a surge of happiness. The twisted monster that had tortured her was gone and something new was there. She wasn't sure what is was but she knew he was fighting for her sake, knew this man had managed to overcome what had taken control of him and was defending her. Raven glanced over and saw Cyborg's body on the ground. She felt a few small tears form at her eyes as she feared that he was gone, that either Slade or her tormentor had killed him, but her instincts told her he would be fine. The sound of someone grunting in pain pulled her back to the battle.

Slade was getting frustrated quickly. He knew that his opponent had been injured by Cyborg's attack. He knew that he was not as capable of fighting with the bo staff melted to his hand yet he found himself always on the defensive. He tried to taunt his opponent, tried to get him frustrated so that his emotions would cloud his judgement, yet nothing worked. The man he fought now was far more focused than any other time Slade had encountered the person he wanted as his apprentice. An attack got through and Slade felt his left arm go numb for a second as the staff hit between his armor plates. A kick quickly followed into the stomach knocking him back. There was no hesitation from his attacker as he quickly had to block a downward strike. Slade knew his only hope was to be patient and hopefully all that had occurred to his opponent would take its toll, which was slowly occuring.

Richard/Nightwing fought hard, fought controlled, and found himself winning yet he knew he could not keep this up. Had he been fresh, he knew that he would have finally defeated Slade, finally put an end to his relentless evil and freed his family from his presence but he knew he was not fresh. His mind was still tired and his body was hurting and he was beginning to wonder if it was simply to late, that he had pulled it together just a little too late. Slade pushed him back and the two fighters circled each other, himself trying to think of a way to finish this now so that Raven would be safe. However, Slade did the unexpected. He ran. Slade too off in a dead sprint to his right confusing him until he saw what was there...Raven. She kneeled there, awake, watching the fight, her eyes instantly going wide in terror as she realized Slade was approaching her. This could not be allowed to happen.

Richard/Nightwing took off after Slade faster than a human should have been able to, pulling out a birdarang in his off hand to throw at this opponent who had a lead on him, getting dangerously close to his Raven. He reached back to throw it when Slade seemed to stop and turn around in an instance, catching him off guard as Slade's bo staff slammed into his side. Slade had used his desire to protect Raven against him again, used it to make him abandon his tactics and to leave himself open. Richard/Nightwing stumbled from the impact, dropping the birdarang and soon found Slade's arm cutting off his air as it pressed into his throat. Slade held tightly from behind him, a firm position as he brought him into unconsciousness. Raven's protector struggled to free himself but Slade had locked in. He tried to hit the man behind him but could not seem to land a hit. The fact that the bo staff was melted to his hand made it difficult to attack with that arm and left was successfully held by Slade.

"You see now that it doesn't matter who you are I will always be stronger. You will always have a weakness whenever you oppose me while I do not. However, the next time you wake up, you will be my perfect apprentice, and I will make sure nothing will ever make you weak again."

Both men glanced over at Raven who was silently crying as she watched the scene in front of her, powerless to do anything to help. Richard/Nightwing knew this needed to end soon, one way or another or she would suffer more. Whatever happened now he did for her, did to protect what he should have always protected, what was right about this world even when everything went to hell. His eyes locked on to Raven's as he felt unconsciousness approaching. He mouthed three words to her as he gave one last struggle to get into just the right position and managed to jam the spike-tipped bo staff that was attach to his hand at an upward angle straight through his upper abdomen. The spike easily pierced through his own flesh, the force of the motion more than enough to carry the weapon through his body, narrowly missing his spine straight into the black heart of Slade. Slade managed to mouth one word before falling into the abyss that had undoubtably spawned him.

"Impossible..." and collapsed dead onto Richard/Nightwing who held up the body for a few seconds.

"You have one weakness to Slade...you never understood just what I'm capable of." The two bodies collapsed on to the ground, blood dripping everywhere, as Raven could only look on in shock at the man who she felt so much love from a few seconds ago faded away.

Tecna: Sorry for taking so long to update. Please don't yell at me again. Everyone is always yelling it seems. I think you'll like this chapter. In my opinion it is spectacular but that is just one man's opinion. Yeah I'm just messing around. Enjoy the chapter and as always, let me know what you think

DeathsLastBreath: Thanks for the kind words. I always had Cy envisioned coming back for just a little bit and here it was in ths chapter. Who knows maybe he'll get some more time in the last one. Either way, enjoy.

First Commander Miari: True desperation is a powerful motivator and I think that is kind of one of the tones through out this entire story. I won't promise anything for what the ending will be but it will be up pretty soon hopefully so I ain't leaving anyone waiting too long. Peace out Miari.

xcloudx: I think this chapter answers everything you wondering about from the last one and I hope everything is acceptable. It should be I think.

Cherry Jade: The fight is never over for Richard, Nightwing, or whoever he is except maybe, finally now. Have to wait and see on that one. Glad you liked the last chapter and hope this one goes well for you too.

evilsangle: As you read, Cy does get a few moments of spotlight so hope you like what I did with him. I think you'll like this chapter as a whole.

zadeon: There won't be BB appearance in this story. He just doesn't fit in anywhere I think. Anyways, enjoy.