Here I am again! I like to do fast updates, because I really hate slow ones from other writers! I'm one of those people that like to update fast so he'll keep all of his readers coming back quickly. I hope its working, and everyone is liking this story! You may have noticed, but the rating on this story is now "M." The implied suicide of Starfire in the last chapter shook some of you up pretty badly… so I upped the rating of the story as a warning to others. I don't own Teen Titans, and on with the show! Yay!

Raven's Game

Part 5: Frenic

"Okay… not there…" Cyborg was in the common room, X-ing out one of the rooms he'd thoroughly searched. "Storage rooms A through F are all clean." He reported to Robin. Everyone had been searching for quite some time, and they'd stopped for a break. The metal man sat down in the recliner, falling silent as well.

"Mmm…" Robin said, holding his chin in one hand. No traces of Raven had been found yet.

"Our friend left no reports of leaving within her own dwelling." Starfire said, having arrived last. "Her books are accounted for as far as my knowledge lets me know… her bed is made, and almost all of her clothes are present. The rest are in the room of laundry." The red head sat down, looking sad.

"Well, she's not in the vents, that's for sure…" Beast Boy made a weak attempt at a joke. Robin looked up to glare at him for such a thing, but stopped. The green teen's eyes were shining with tears. "Where… where is she, dude?" he whispered for fear of his voice cracking.

"We'll find her." Robin promised gently, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're the Teen Titans, and we never give up." Beast Boy actually sniffed, as though he were about to start crying. "If she's here… we'll find her sooner or later." Robin stood and went to the posterboard Beast Boy had drawn. Next to it was a blown-up schematic of Titan's Tower, red X's all over it. "Beast Boy, your poster's helping a lot. Thank you." Robin tried to praise his team a little to lift their spirits. But, it was no good. Beast Boy's elvish ears stayed in their wilted positions, Starfire still looked upset… and Cyborg was merely quiet, leaning back with his arms folded.

Everyone's eyes strayed to the love seat, though. That's where Raven would sit everyday to read, sitting Indian-style and lost in her own little world. But, there wasn't even a book there right now. Where had their friend gone to? Robin knew his team was slowly falling into depression, and opened his mouth to assign the next round of searching.

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Raven emerged into the common room, finding sanctuary there. At least it was a little less dark. Her throat dry and parched, she found herself automatically going to the refrigerator. (A/N: To those who've never had a good cry… many people are thirsty after such a thing. With your throat so tight while weeping, the moisture gets squeezed out.) "Like there would be anything there…?" She'd peered into it earlier, but hadn't taken notice of what was there. She reached and opened it, but found nothing. She wanted water so badly, but could think of nothing. She flicked the faucet of the sink on, but received no water. Sighing in disappointment, she went and sat on the love seat. She briefly thought to go outside and drink from the bay, but that was salt water… she would be sick. "I doubt I can get out of the tower now anyway…" she said bitterly. "Well… what next?" She thought long and hard. "Beast Boy hid all the symbols… he gave one to Starfire and Cyborg… that makes three…" she ticked off her friend's names on her fingers. "Nine symbols left… where else would Beast Boy hide something… where's the perfect place to hide…?" Raven's eyes suddenly widened in realization. It was perfect. The perfect place to hide something because no one ever dared to go in there. "My room." Raven whispered, standing.

Raven traveled quickly in the stairwell, not bothering to listen for the whispers. Beast Boy would've braved her room only because she wasn't there, she knew. Raven wondered why she'd been gone, but didn't think it mattered and kept moving. Her cloak flared dramatically behind her and she emerged into the proper floor's hallway. Getting the flashlight out, she made her way down the hall. She stopped at the door marked with her name, taking a few deep breaths. Beast Boy and Cyborg's rooms had been a mess, and Starfire's had been a real nightmare… what would she find in a room that was supposed to be dark and scary? Having no other choice, Raven slid the door open.

Shining the flashlight into the darkness, she looked around. It looked as though someone had ransacked her bookshelf, but otherwise it was fine. Raven had seen her books in various rooms along her journey, so she wasn't too disturbed to find most of them gone. Her fiction books remained untouched, and she found them dusty. No one had touched them in ages. Just like everything else, she reminded herself. Even the T-car had been old-looking and dusty. She looked slowly around the room, searching the walls first. There were no binding symbols drawn anywhere… no slashes in the walls or holes in the floor… But her bed was unmade. Her brow furrowing, Raven went to it and felt the covers. They were old and ratty, but still there. "He didn't…" Raven suddenly thought of where a symbol might be hidden. She threw back the covers, tossing the two pillows and pulling the elastic sheet off of her bed. The mattress lay exposed, along with something more. A tiny little white book was there. "My diary…" Raven whispered.

She didn't write in it very often, but found it to be a good stress reliever and silent listener. She sat on the bed, listening to the bedsprings whine. Picking up the familiar book she opened it and shined the flashlight in it. It was hers alright. The first five pages were full of death threats to whoever tried to read it… and then the actual diary part. But wait… there was something sticking out of the pages. Raven knew she didn't keep a bookmark in her own diary, and flipped to where she felt it. It was a faded, torn sticky note.

Forgive me, Raven. I love you.

It was Beast Boy's handwriting. Raven gasped at the 'I love you.' Even when she had been gone, he'd been a little frightened of her… he'd braved into her room and her diary to hide something important. There was something behind the sticky note. Raven peeled it away, revealing a date that had long passed months ago. It was the entry on the battle with Plasmus at the waste disposal plant. That was so long ago… But, there was something scribbled over it in big, bold crayon. Beast Boy's black crayons had made another symbol for her to find, right over her very own handwriting.

It was a perfect square, heavy with a waxy feeling that sort of made Raven queasy. Under the square was a perfectly made plus sign, attached at the precise halfway point of the bottom line of the square. She reached to touch it, and it glowed in a rainbow like the ones before it. She'd found the forth symbol. Looking for the lyric to join it, Raven turned a few pages. She reached the end of where her entries were, and spotted a poem.

For every time I've tried to make you gRin,

I've wishEd that you would smile and be happy agaiN.

For I've seen you dressed In sacred white,

Beating evil down for a Cause… and solving humanity's plight.

Had Beast Boy written that? Yes… it was his handwriting, but it was in black crayon. Why were some of those letters capitalized and bolder than most… Raven spoke the letters as she went, "F… R… E… N… I… C…? Frenic?" She sounded it out. She'd found the lyric in the poem! Suddenly, as though listening to her, the rest of the poem vanished, leave only the letters to the word she sought:

FRENIC (Free-nick)

How on earth…? Raven squinted when a glow made itself known in her shoe. Sighing and setting her diary to one side, she pulled her shoe off. The symbol of Frenic was blazed into her left foot. "Great… my hands and feet match now." She put her shoe back on, warily looking at her diary. Sighing, she placed it carefully back in its hiding place. Not bothering to neatly make the bed, she merely covered it with the blankets and threw the pillows back on the bed.

With the symbols for Lussa and Kars on her hands… and with Oliviak and Frenic on her feet… Raven went to the door again. She heaved a sigh, looking around the room. Her room had been left mostly untouched… odd. Trying not worry herself with why, Raven stepped out into the hallway again.

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It had been almost five hours since the search had started. Beast Boy was in the shower. He stood with his head bowed under the water. Where had Raven gone to…? It pounded in his mind over and over again. Starfire had searched her room, the vents were clean, Robin had been to the training room, Cyborg had checked all the main storage areas…

They were beginning to run out of rooms. Many red X's were on the blueprints of Titan's tower. They'd checked the basement earlier… just not as thoroughly. Oh well. That room was still on the list, so they were bound to get to it sooner or later. The green teen found himself sitting, looking down at himself. He… he liked Raven. He'd admitted this to himself openly today. He didn't tell any of the others, though. Sure, he was a teenager and he'd had his share of heated dreams… but he was starting to like Raven because she was… well, Raven. "Heh… forbidden fruit." He whispered. That's what she was, he knew. He liked her a lot, but she seemed to distance herself from everything… to keep herself from accidentally hurting others with her powers. Sitting down under the spray he let the hot water massage his back, but it brought no comfort. Beast Boy drew his legs up to his bare chest, burying his face in his arms. "Raven…" he whispered softly. A drop of salt water dripped onto the shower floor, flying down the drain with the rest of it. "Where are you…?" his voice had cracked with emotion.

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Raven heaved a sigh, puffing her cheeks and sitting on the love-seat in the common room. It was dank and dismal, but it was still where she sat everyday to read. Finding that to be a small comfort, she sat there to rest for a moment. She closed her eyes, leaning back for a moment. Just to sit there breathing felt like a blessing.

A large, gloved hand grabbed her shoulder.

Raven screamed, throwing herself to her feet and wrenching away. "Buh… Beast Boy?" She gasped. It was none other than the green changling to the rescue! He smiled at her.

"Hey Rae, how's it going?" He joked, looking around the deserted common room.

"Really crappy. How did you get here?" She asked.

"Not important." He snubbed her pretty quickly, but quickly kept speaking. "C'mon, we gotta get outta here." Raven nodded, and she turned to lead the way to the staircase. Beast Boy's eyes flared red, and he grabbed her from behind. She yelped as they struggled back and forth, crashing one on top of the other on the couch. "Love ya, Rae-rae." He gave a greasy smile, straddled over her. Raven squirmed furiously as he pulled one of his gloves off. Raven had never seen his hands, and she gasped when the glove came away. On the end of each of Beast Boy's fingers was a wickedly curved claw.

"Get off me!" Raven cried, fighting and throwing her weight around. He grabbed her wrists and held them above her head. His face was inches from hers, and he grinned again. The friction between them was absolutely sinful, causing Raven to moan pitifully. Tears of distress poured from her eyes as she realized what his intentions were.His teeth were suddenly a horrible yellow, thousands of tiny onesin his mouth. His voice changed when he spoke.

"Love you, Rae-rae." He laughed darkly, his claw scratching her under the chin. Raven whimpered aloud, fighting as hard as she could. It was no use. Her hands were caught in just one of his, and he was on top of her. She was going nowhere. Her breathing was in quick, fretful gasps as his claw pulled at her collar.

"Beast Boy… no…" Raven moaned. Her outfit began to tear, right down the middle. His pointer-finger's claw was slicing the fabric like a knife, exposing her pale skin. "Don't… please…" tears were in Raven's eyes as Beast Boy's flashed red again. The soft ripping sound continued until the claw was suddenly halted.

"Eh?" Beast Boy's claw had been caught on something metallic between Raven's breasts.

Raven seized the opportunity and shouted right in his face. "Oliviak!" Beast Boy vanished in a flash of light and smoke, leaving Raven on the couch alone. She lay there, breathing… feeling violated in a way that only females can understand. Sitting up and holding her head in her hands, she tried to calm her breathing. She'd almost been… she couldn't even think the word. "Beast Boy would never do that…" Raven whispered, assuring herself. "And Starfire wouldn't do what she did in this world either…" she remembered what she'd seen in the mirror, shuddering. Raven looked down between her breasts and pulled out Starfire's locket. That's what had stopped the demon's claws from ripping her outfit completely off. "Thanks, Starfire…" she whispered, opening the locket. Starfire smiled happily up at her from the picture, but… the word Oliviak was gone, replaced with Robin's picture. "Mmm…" Raven said warily. She'd used another symbol. Well, she still had Frenic left. The others she'd already used would have to be one more time during the final recitation… however that was supposed to be done. Raven tried not to think of the end, and focused on the present.

She approached the large window of the common room, looking at her torn outfit. The golden chain of Starfire's locket was in view, along with her modestly small cleavage. Raven blushed at her reflection. She wasn't used to having so much skin showing, especially there. "Well… I guess no one's around to see me…" she mumbled, tearing the flaps that the fake Beast Boy had created off. This left Raven with a leotard that looked like a very revealing V-neck. She blushed more deeply, rubbing her upper arm and trying to get the feel of the fake Titan off of her skin. "No one's coming to help me." Raven said firmly. "I've gotta do this on my own." Trying not to think of how exposed she felt right then, Raven sat to think again. "This thing is getting more desperate…" she murmured. "I don't know how long I'll be able to –!"

The phone rang.

Raven jumped, whirling around. The cord-phone on the wall in the kitchen was ringing. But… the power was out… wait, weren't phone lines separate from electrical lines? Or were they? She didn't know, but rose to answer it. It could be another trick… it could be a trap… but, the phone was ringing, and all phones had be answered eventually. Licking her dry lips, Raven picked it up off the receiver, placing it near her ear. "H… Hello?" she whispered.

"It knows what you're doing. You should leave." It was Robin. Raven made to say his name, but she heard whispers in the background. Raven turned paler than usual. It wasn't Robin, but his voice was being used. "Your lover-boy is here with us, y'know. You might join him soon." The line very suddenly went dead. Raven stared at the phone itself.

"Not like I could leave anytime I want to… It's just trying to scare me…" Raven whispered, knowing he was talking about Beast Boy. "That wasn't Robin." She suddenly looked defiantly around the room, as though it were a hidden-camera show. "That wasn't Robin!" Raven shouted into the darkness. She wrapped the cord around her arm in a sudden fit of anger, and tore the phone out of the wall! Pieces of drywall came away and the receiver broke into pieces along the tile of the kitchen floor. Raven stood over it, gasping for air. Kicking it for good measure, she turned back to the common room. "Looks like its boy blunder's room next." She whispered. "Come get me, whatever the hell you are." She squared her shoulders, making her way to the staircase. She felt like a lone gunman, with only one bullet left. The bullet's name was Frenic… and the gunfight wasn't over yet. After a long silence she turned to look at the phone…

…it was back on the wall, as though nothing had happened.

That's part five! Cool huh? I thought the phone was a nice touch, personally… But, let me know what you think. Raven heads to Robin's room next, although we haven't seen much of it in the series… We caught a glimpse of it in "The Quest," but I don't remember seeing it in any other episodes… Oh well. I'll make something up, ya? Please follow along, and review me if you have time! Thankies!