Dun dun dunnnn. And now the plot begins! How. Much. Fun. I can hardly stand it. Thank you, people who bothered to read this, for sticking around. I'll be on a lot this weekend, so that means I'll be writing a lot! Buahahahahaha! Fun stuff, people. Fun stuff.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans in any shape, way, or form. This story, however, is totally pwned by me. Because I just rock like that.

It was silent. It was beautiful. It was peaceful.

Azarath, despite the amount of people, was always so tranquil and serene. Raven could hardly stand how much she adored the floating city. With it's ancient architecture, beautiful gardens, and doves dotting the sunny sky, the beauty was enough to bring a tear to your eye.

But not for long.

The sky darkened. Maniacal laughter rang out over the city as people stopped, staring up at the sky in confusion. Suddenly, four red, glowing eyes appeared in the sky, and everyone's confusion was laid to rest.

It was their time to go.

Red beams shot from the sky, smashing buildings and destroying lives in bursts of flames. The ancient temple slowly burned to the ground as people ran, screaming, trying to find some way to avoid the terror.

It was a hopeless cause.

Within minutes, the buildings were nothing but piles of ash. Bodies lay scattered everywhere, and the acrid smell of burnt hair and skin poisoned the air.

And all Raven could do was watch, and cry.

Her dark eyes flew open, and Raven found herself staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. With a groan, she sat up and looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost four in the morning. Sighing a bit, she reached up with both hands to massage her temple before she folded the blankets back and slipped out of her bed. Clipping on her cloak and shoes, the girl's eyes glowed brightly as she disappeared through her window in a swirl of darkness.

Those nightmares were going to drive her mad, one of these days.

She floated there, in the middle of the air, staring out at the water.

The nightmares had plagued her ever since the day that she had returned to Azarath, to find that it had been destroyed. Every night, her slumber was interrupted by terrified screams, flames licking at the Temple, the horrible laughter over the noises of destruction.

And it wouldn't stop.

Pulling her hood up over her violet hair, Raven continued to look out at the water, floating cross-legged as she tried to think.

A soft thump interrupted her train of thought.

"Beast Boy?"

He was the only person she had seen up at night lately, so she figured it was probably him.

She was wrong.

A tall, dark figure stood on the roof of the Tower, watching her. And suddenly, it jumped. Raven's eyes widened with surprise as the figure tackled her in the air.

For a moment, the two merely hung in the air as they fell.

And then they hit the icy water below, Raven's scream echoing through the night before she was enveloped in darkness.

"Erghf?"

Beast Boy groaned as he sat up in bed, looking around his room with one eyebrow raised in confusion. Was it his imagination, or had someone screamed?

Better safe than sorry.

Stumbling rather clumsily from his bed, Beast Boy let out a small yelp as he tumbled off the ladder of the bunk bed, landing on his floor with a thud. Urgh. It was way too early for him to be trying to climb up and down things. Yawning loudly, he made his way over to the door, pressing the button next to it to open it.

A thin figure stood in the hallway, and he let out another yelp.

"Beast Boy?"

"Starfire?"

The two stared at each other, both looking rather confused, before they pointed at each other.

"Was it you?"

"I am not understanding what you are asking. Did you hear a scream?"

"Yeah. You did, too?"

"So it was not my imagination... then who was it?"

Beast Boy blinked with confusion and ran one hand through his dark green hair. "Erm... oh, no." His eyes widened. That scream certainly had not been Cyborg or Robin.

Raven!

He frowned, trying to think, which was quite a difficult task that early in the morning. "Raven." Starfire's bright emerald eyes widened, and she clasped her hands together. "We must go see if friend Raven is hurt!" Beast Boy let out a surprised squeak as Starfire grabbed his arm and quickly zipped off in the direction of Raven's room.

"FRIEND RAVEN! ARE YOU WELL!"

You could almost see the sweatdrop near Beast Boy's head as Starfire yelled at the door of Raven's room. "Er... Star?" said he, lightly poking her shoulder. "That's probably not the best way to see if she's okay." He reached out to open the door, his eyes widening as he realized that the room was empty. Starfire gasped behind him as she flew inside Raven's room, looking around before she turned back to Beast Boy. "I do not believe she is here," she said quietly, her voice quavering worriedly. Beast Boy's eyes narrowed, and he motioned for Starfire to follow him as he transformed into a cheetah, racing towards the stairs that lead to the roof. He couldn't see if Starfire had followed him or not, but he was sure she had. Sure enough, once he reached the roof, he looked behind him to see Starfire floated behind him, looking around with a look of apparant worry on her pretty face.

"Beast Boy, Raven is not here."

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed as he shifted into a bloodhound, and immediately began to sniff the ground before he turned back into a human, a frown on his normally cheerful face. "She was here, though."

He looked back at Starfire, who's bright emerald eyes were wide.

"Then where is she now?"

Beast Boy gritted his teeth and shrugged. "No idea." Starfire let out a small, worried whimper as she floated back towards the stairs. "I shall go and inform Robin and Cyborg," she said quietly before she disappeared down the stairs. Beast Boy remained on the roof, glaring down at his shoes, his hands curled into fists.

She wouldn't just leave, would she? Not without saying goodbye. She would never do that.

Raven, where are you?

Raven groaned slightly as her eyes slowly fluttered open, then widened as she looked around her surroundings. She stood up quickly, looking around her, and attempted fly.

It didn't work too well.

She gritted her teeth together as she pulled against the iron chains that imprisoned her hands and feet. She looked wildly around, still unsure where she was.

"Hello? Is anyone here?"

When silence was her only reply, Raven's eyes narrowed, and she looked down at the chains, her eyes beginning to glow brightly.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

Instead of the intended reaction, the chains glowed bright red, and Raven cried out as a burst of pain ran through her. She fell to her hands and knees, her eyes wide, as she took in a few deep breaths.

... The hell? Where am I? What happened?

She stared at the ground, trying to collect her thoughts, when a shadow fell over her, and a familiar, deep voice came from above her.

"Hello, Raven."

The girl looked up, then squeezed her eyes shut and looked back down at the ground before they opened again.

No. Way. Anyone but him.

She winced as a strong hand grabbed her hair, jerking her head up and forcing her to stare at the masked face of the man crouching in front of her. "It hasn't been very long, has it?" Slade asked, his eye narrowing as he stood up, pulling Raven up by her violet hair. "Only a few weeks, I believe." Raven glared at him, her eyes narrowing into her trademark 'Let me go before I go four-eyed on your ass' glare. "What do you want?" her voice came out in a hiss, in a sort of warning.

A warning of what she would to do him if he didn't let her go.

Slade let go of her hair, folding his arms across his chest as he stared down at the dark girl.

"It's not what I want, Raven. It's what you want. And what I already have."