I had some mention about the apple that Raven ate last time for breakfast? Yes, I did take that from the Malchior episode. But, Raven having anything for breakfast other than tae is unusual… so fruit seemed to fit the best anyway. I just can't picture Raven having some of Beast Boy's Captain Alphabets in the morning. Anyway…I would like to thank my girlfriend (not gonna say her name, this is the internet, after all) for providing me with the riddle for this part. This is part five of eleven, so we're halfway done! I hope everyone is enjoying my story, and leaving reviews so I know what you think. Thank you for your time and usage of your eyes to read… The story goes onward! I don't own Teen Titans!

Part 5: The Person Who Made It Didn't Want It?

Later that night…

All the Titans aside from Raven sat at the dinner table, Robin at the head. The small light above the table left them mostly in shadow, but everyone leaned on at least one elbow. "So her outfit just went back to normal?" Robin asked, interlocking his fingers and setting his chin on them. Starfire had just finished giving her report on Raven's activities, and they were discussing all they knew about the situation so far.

Starfire nodded. "I do not know what caused Raven's sudden lapse in the 'gothness', I am afraid." She said. The three boys slumped, still puzzled. Raven and Starfire had returned from the mall, a few odds and ends from the shops in their bags. Nothing that any of them considered out of the ordinary, even by Starfire's standards. "Perhaps she was telling the truth, and merely slept better than she usually does? She may have been overdue to do the 'sleeping in.'" The boys agreed with the notion, but Robin still wasn't sure.

"Raven's acting weird, and going out late…" Beast Boy said. "Dude, do you think one of us should follow her and see what's up?"

"We'd need a volunteer…" Robin's head turned towards Beast Boy. They all turned and looked at the green teen. There was a long silence, and he sweat-dropped. "It was your idea…" Robin said.

"What?" he said, looking at them in return. "You want me to tail her all night!" They nodded, and he sighed. "Well, I better go small then, so she won't see me…" he thought for a moment, then became a hummingbird. After a few moments, he turned back into a humanoid. "I'm on the job!" He saluted rather comically, and Robin pointed at him seriously.

"The next time Raven goes out, stay on her. Watch, but don't interfere, okay?" Robin said. "If we find out what's going on, maybe we can figure this out." Everyone nodded, and the meeting was disbanded.

Raven was in her room, lying on her bed. She'd opened the riddle, and found it a puzzling one as well. She looked at the flower, which she'd discovered was a Nile Blue from one of her books. It was a true rose, not just a white one that had been given colored water. She was wondering just where this was going… and where the riddle would lead her next. She wanted to know who Shade was… and the other Titans were becoming suspicious of something. The white outfit for a day was a dead giveaway. She mentally kicked herself for allowing such a thing to happen, but… she had enjoyed it while it was there. The riddle was a little longer than the others, but just as puzzling.

The person who made it didn't need it. The person who bought it didn't want it. The person who ended up with it didn't even know it. Midnight, one week.

The week was already down to three days, and she didn't even know where to begin with this one. It had no oddly spelled or capitalized words. She knew it pointed to an object of some kind… but what? It had a maker, a buyer, and a recipient of some kind.

A virus, maybe? Bio-engineered viruses were made, and they people that made them didn't need them. The bad people that bought them didn't want them for themselves… and the people that ended up with them in their bodies didn't… wait… that part didn't fit. They would know because they'd be sick. Raven sighed, frustrated and running out of time.

The maker didn't need it, she thought. What sort of product or object could you make that you wouldn't need? A bald man wouldn't need styling shampoo, but that didn't make any sense. She doubted Shade was bald anyway. He wouldn't make a riddle that was outside of his style. There wasn't a shampoo factory or anything like that in Jump City. This was pointing to something dark and morbid, she knew it. The first riddle was a creepy statue of a mythical woman. The second was the scary old church, lit by candles in the dark of night. And, the last was the thousand-year old Greek column arrangement illusion. All three of them were things that were, in one way or another, interesting to her. That narrowed a few things out, but it didn't help with the riddle itself.

The person who bought it didn't want it… why would you buy something you didn't want? Maybe if you bought it specifically for someone else? Raven puzzled over that for a long time, but could come up with nothing.

The person who ended up with it didn't know it, Raven was puzzled by that the most. She had thought the riddles from Shade might be a little easier after the last one, making it easier for them to meet. She blushed, forcing down the thought and concentrating on the problem. She shut her eyes for a moment, thinking as hard as she could.

Nevermore was in complete confusion, and even the emotion called 'wisdom' was shocked not to know the answer. The emotions clustered in small groups, trying to figure out Shade's riddle. But, each answer was more impossible than the last.

"Need help?" Raven sat bolt up on her bed. Someone was in her room. It was too dark to see anything but shapes. She stood, and saw a familiar shape in the darkness.

"Shade…" she whispered. He wasted no time in removing his mask and going to her. It was too dark to see his face. He eased her back down onto the bed. Raven moaned when his lips found hers, and she curled against him when he joined her on the bed. His hands wandered heatedly and Raven's leotard was being unzipped… "Shade… ahn…" she couldn't find words as her cloak was tossed away… the carnal heat was upon them, and she groaned as his kisses began to wander…… "Oh… Shade…"

Raven sat up in bed, flushed and sweating. No one was really in her room. "A dream…?" she murmured. Raven held her cheeks with her hands, feeling them burn. She couldn't believe the dream she'd just had, and she watched half of her books fall off the shelves because of her powers. Red guiltily stained her cheeks and nose as she began taking deep breaths, trying to calm down. She very suddenly noticed that she was moist in a particularly private part of her body, and the rest of her books jumped right off the shelves. Wincing with embarrassment at her overly active hormones, she cleaned up and changed clothes quickly. She looked at the clock when she was done… It was late evening, and almost time for supper. It was Cyborg's turn to provide dinner, and that meant Chinese take out in most cases. She'd been asleep for almost three hours, nothing more. "I kissed the guy once and now this…?" She murmured, looking at herself in a normal mirror. (She didn't even want to know what her emotions would say if she paid them a visit right then…) She looked embarrassed, and still a little sweaty.

A fly on the wall watched her silently, not moving as to keep her eyes away. If Raven saw a green fly on the wall, who knew what she would do… it was interesting though, to watch her change. The perverted changeling would never breathe a word to anyone about it, not even to brag, but… it was a little odd how she was tossing and turning so much in bed… Must've been a bad dream…

Raven went and freshened up in the bathroom, then headed to the common room. Sure enough, everyone was having take-out Chinese. Cyborg was arguing with the lady on the phone about what he wanted while everyone else was looking at the menu over Beast Boy's shoulder… as though he'd been there the whole time. Raven told Cyborg what she wanted, then sat down. "I can't even read this thing, man…" Beast Boy muttered He turned the menu this way and that, trying to pronounce the name of something in the vegetarian section.

"Hey, Raven." Robin greeted her, sitting down when he'd ordered what he wanted. "You feeling okay?"

"Super." Raven said, eyeing him sideways. Had he listened at her door while she was dreaming about…! A blush was welling up inside her, but she quickly forced it down. "Why?"

"Cyborg said that there's a 'Tales from the Crypt' marathon coming on tonight. You wanna stay up and watch with us?" The Boy Wonder asked her.

Beast Boy sat down next to Robin. "Isn't that the one with the creepy zombie-thing that hosts the show! Gross!" He shuddered visibly. "People wouldn't watch a gameshow if the host popped out of a coffin at the beginning every time to tell you what was gonna happen!"

"I think I'll pass. I have to meditate tonight." Raven said, which was true. After dinner, she went to do just that. Her room was dark and quiet. Once she was finished putting her spellbooks back on the shelves she lit a few candles, letting the light massage her eyes. Lighting a stick of incense, she smiled when she saw it was Lavender scented. Her Happy/Sad statue hopped, teetering dangerously on its pedestal. She thrust out a hand and righted it. Calming herself and sitting among the candles, she closed her eyes. Folding her legs into the lotus position, she wondered how on earth the boys could watch that dumb thirty year-old show. Sure, it was scary thirty years ago, but nowadays… she grumbled to herself about boys, massaging her temples slowly. Boys and their stupid, faking-looking horror shows… ghoulies popping out of –! Raven stood sharply, her eyes bulging. THAT WAS IT!

She swept her hand across the air and all the candles went out. She clicked her lamp on once, twice, three times and picked up the latest riddle. The person who made it didn't need it. The person who bought it didn't want it. The person who ended up with it didn't even know it. It all made sense now! "A coffin…" she murmured the answer to the riddle. The person who made a coffin didn't need it, he was alive. The person who bought a coffin didn't want it, because he'd be burying a loved one. And, the person who got it didn't know it because he'd be dead. It all added up! Raven's heart was pounding, and she allowed herself a small smile. "Gotcha." She whispered, clutching the little note. "The best place to find a coffin is a Cemetery… three days from now… hmm…"

A little green spider was crawling on Raven's ceiling, looking at her quizzingly. So, she was going to the cemetery… There was only one close to Jump City. It was right on the outskirts… He'd have to follow her. Beast Boy crawled into the vent and out of her room. He didn't hear what she said next.

"I think it's time I started finding more out about Shade…" she murmured, sitting down to think. She pulled paper and pen out of her desk, and began writing. "This time… its my turn to quiz you." she pulled back her hood so she could see better. "I won't be leaving roses, though." Raven looked down at her brooch, the thing that held her cloak together. The little glass thing that doubled as a message-relay port. Yeah… she could use that. The idea formed in her head. If she disappeared before he did, leaving a message and her brooch…

Shade sat down, thinking about Raven. Papers scattered all over his desk and floor were only part of the clutter in his room. The darkness kept him alert, giving little sounds now and then. He'd risked it all, taking off his mask like that. What if she'd opened her eyes? What would've happened? If she'd recognized him… he tried not to think about it. Looking at the newspaper clipping on the wall, he murmured to himself. Looking at the clock, he knew it would only be a matter of time before they were together again. He smiled behind his mask, taking off his skintight suite. Folding it carefully and putting it away, hidden in a drawer, he took the mask off. Rubbing his forehead and eyes, he sat again. "Raven…" he whispered. He was running out of rose colors. Red, pink, yellow, and blue had been used so far. That left white and purple. White would have to be last. Soon the end would be near, and the ultimate choice would be laid at Raven's feet.

What choice is Shade thinking about? Will Raven have another dream like that anytime soon? And most of all, what will Beast Boy find out about Raven and Shade? If he's following them around… will Raven's secret love be revealed to the others! Please stay tuned, and join me again in part six!