Well...there seemed to be enough confusion to make it worth explaining, so here goes. Yup, I'm well aware this theme may have been told before, but never with a Dusty twist. No story can be exactly the same as a Dusty-twisted story, you will find.


"Robin!"

He jumped a foot in the air, heart thumping madly as he turned to face a panicked Beast Boy. "What? What is it?"

"Raven, she--" The changeling paled until only the barest hint of green could be seen on his face as his eyes widened, acting as mirrors and reflecting Robin's horror back at him.

They were grouped around her, all staring in disbelief.

"No...no...friend Raven..."

"I just don't understand. Why would she do it?"

"Robin...? Whoa, Robin, are you...?"

He shook his head slowly, first this way, then that, repeating the motion faster and faster as his entire body began to shake.

"Robin!" Beast Boy crouched down beside him, fear in his green eyes.

At first, it was too quiet to be heard, but slowly, his voice grew in volume until the word was plain. "Raven."

Cyborg took his shoulders firmly, attempting to sooth him and stop the shaking. "Robin, it's ok. Just calm down...breathe." He had to raise his voice to make himself heard.

"Raven. Raven. Raven. Raven." His voice was hoarse as he continued to shake his head, like a child denying something that just couldn't be true.

Tears flowed freely down Starfire's cheeks. "Robin, please...we cannot...do not leave us as well..."

"Raven! Raven! Raven! Raven!" His voice cracked, the blank mask fixed on the broken maiden lying against the couch cushion as helpless tears rolled one by one down his ghost-white cheeks. His legs gave out, and he crawled unsteadily toward her, a violently shaking hand reaching out to wipe a small streak of blood from her chin. All the while, he never ceased the chant for the barest second, every repetition of the girl's name louder than the last...though they had taken on a desperate note that easily broke the hearts of his friends. "Raven! Raven! Raven!"

"Robin, stop! STOP IT!" Beast Boy's face contorted with pain as he clamped his hands firmly over his ears, eyes screwed up, a single tear quivering on the tip of his nose. Starfire's tears had quickly turned to sobs as she hid her face from the sight of her best friend, cold and lifeless against the dark fabric.

"Robin...let her go. Let go now..." Cyborg took Robin's hand, gently pulling him away...

"RAVEN! RAVEN! RAVEN!" He seemed completely oblivious to Cyborg, merely clung to her as though his very life depended on it, painful bursts of sobbing punctuating the chant. Robin's gaze never once left her face; silent and cold as it was, it was still beautiful.

"There's nothing you can do. Let go..." The gray of his eye deepened with sympathy as he pried Robin away from her, pinning his arms to his sides and slowly walking away from the source of the boy wonder's misery.

Robin struggled with all his might, his voice breaking over and over again as he fought with inhuman strength. "RAVEN!" Ever so slowly, he weakened, the movements half-hearted and empty, making way for the numbing stillness that would follow. "Raven."

Cyborg struggled against his own tears as Robin at last ceased to move at all, submitting to whatever should come next. Yet still, though it had dwindled to a whisper, Robin said her name, as though somehow hoping she would hear him."She's not..." he cleared his throat, blinking rapidly. "She's not coming back, Rob."

"Raven..."


Cyborg knocked quietly on the door, the look of someone that has suffered an eternity of horror in one day lingering about his gray eye. There was no response...but he hadn't expected one.

The room was pitch-black, not even the light of the moon breaking through the curtain to guide him. He didn't need light.

"Robin..."

The Boy Wonder was silent, sitting in the far corner of the room with his knees drawn up to his chest, fists tightly clasped around his ankles. He rocked gently back and forth, his breathing short and sporadic, his unmasked eyes gazing emptily ahead of him. He no longer shouted her name. He no longer spoke at all.

"Rob...buddy..." His voice broke, a tear forcing itself out of his eye though he jerked it away quickly. He had lost Raven, he couldn't bear to lose him, too. "You...you can't...don't leave, Robin. Please don't--"

He choked, desperation driving him into the room and down on his knees beside Robin. "Please..." He lifted the boy's head, staring straight into his dark eyes, begging for some sign of life in them...

There was nothing. The eyes were empty.

Breaking down into a sob, Cyborg reached out and gathered Robin into his arms, aching for his loss, begging him to come back. He held on, certain that each moment would bring a word from his best friend, that he would hug him back, tell him that he was fine and there was nothing to worry about, tell him what to do. Robin would know what to do... He couldn't be Robin. He couldn't...

Cyborg sat that way for hours on end, but Robin spoke not a word, moved not a muscle. He gave no response whatsoever. By practical means, his body was functioning...but Robin died with his Raven.


Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy were seated on the front pew, grim-faced and red-eyed with long weary days of tears. It broke their hearts to leave him, but...Robin was in no condition to attend. He had been asked to give a speech. Not one of them felt they could take his place for it.

"And so, we lay to rest Raven, a Teen Titan, a true friend, and a hero of the highest order. May she forever rest in peace." The casket was lowered below the earth, swallowed into the darkness before their eyes as what was nearly the entire population of Jump City threw flowers in after it, tears in many of their eyes. What was left of the team went last, a weary silence hanging over them as they let the purple roses drop softly on the silver casket. There were no words to give her...none that could possibly express the pain of her loss. They had failed her...all of them.

Their eyes widened as Robin appeared beside them, a single red rose clasped in his bare hand, his face tear-stained, his clothes and hair in dissaray. Cyborg stepped toward him, but froze as the indifferent mask flashed in his direction. Even in this state, Robin had that commanding force about him. The only sound was the whistling of the wind as Robin stepped up to the headstone, kneeling robotically beside it. He read the engravement in silence.

I'll miss the winter

A world of fragile things

Look for me in the white forest

Hiding in a hollow tree

Come find me...

Raven
1989-2005

Moving as though lost in a dream, Robin brought the rose to his lips and kissed it softly, a single tear falling on its crimson petal...it dropped from his hand, rustling as it fell before the headstone. Walking as though no one else was there, Robin crossed the graveyard, his team following him hesitantly. Cyborg was among the few that understood. A red rose...for love.


They waited three weeks in the desperate hope that Robin would come back, but with each passing day, his condition grew worse. He never slept, never moved from the corner of his room, refused to eat. They all tried countless times to speak with him, hoping that something would spark life back into him...but to no avail. Robin was an empty shell.

When all else had failed, they resorted to the one thing that none of them wanted to do.

Dr. Harris smiled gently, not the fake nor the overly joyful sort so typical of his kind, but the sympathetic, understanding kind. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I swear to you that I will do everything I can to help him. He'll be safe here."

"Thank you." The words were empty, hollow in his own ears as Cyborg turned to Starfire and Beast Boy, communicating silently with them. Nodding slightly, they turned and walked back down the hallway, the changeling's arm wrapping comfortingly around Star's shoulder.

"Could I...could I have a minute with him?"

Dr. Harris nodded. "Of course. You can stay as long as you want." With that, he left Cyborg alone in the room.

Robin was sitting in the same position he had back at the tower, knees against his chest, though the straight jacket prevented him from grasping his ankles. Just as well. There were scabs where his nails had dug into the flesh.

"She's not coming back, Robin." His voice trembled slightly, frustration leaking into his tone. "Raven's gone. She's not coming back."

No response.

They sat in silence for what seemed an eternity, the Boy Wonder showing no sign that he knew anyone was in the room with him. With a sigh, Cyborg reached out and ruffled Robin's hair, just like he used to do when he beat him at Game Station. Back when Robin could still laugh and joke with him.

"See ya tomorrow, buddy..." He managed a small, strangled smile, then turned and stepped out into the slightly less suffocating hallway. No, no matter how bad things looked, he wouldn't give up on Robin. Never.

Just as he shut the door, two words slipped from the room, monotone and automatic, but communication all the same. Whether the words were meant for him or not, it didn't seem to matter. Cyborg smiled a little easier this time, hoping that this was a sign of his friend's recovery. Maybe...maybe somehow, they'd be whole again.

"I'm sorry."

Stop... We lost him. He's gone.


There...hopefully that cleared up any questions. I'm hoping this wasn't a flop...Furubafun24 suggested that I write this, so this is for her and Rebel. If you are still confused...let me know. -Dusty