NOTE: Thanks so far for all the kind reviews! Hopefully I can give you more of what you like.

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Shadows

by: IHOP

Chapter 3 - Alone Together (Part Two)

Raven looked through her room and found a large, faded-gray book and began to skim through it. She finally came to a page that interested her. It was titled, Curses of the Heart. Beneath the title was a free-verse poem, which she read:

Darkness infects everything

But the heart is most susceptible

The heart is the very source of emotion

From there spiritual actions emerge.

The heart: a tool of love and charity

Yet these good intentions are easily corrupted

When one loves, but is not loved in return

Love turns to envy.

It is jealousy, the green beast

The most powerful curse

Plaguing mankind for millennia

The most destructive emotion.

The poem continued, but Raven shut the book. She suddenly appeared nervous. However, she was soon forced to turn her attention to a fly that had been circling her for some time. She swatted it away, and it fell to the ground and morphed; it was Beast Boy.

Raven suddenly became defensive. "What are you doing in my room?"

Beast Boy stood up and brushed himself off.

"I just wanted to help, too. Why do you always have to shut me out!"

Raven pulled up her hood to hide her embarrassment.

"And what exactly did that poem mean, anyway?" He was trying to probe into Raven's thoughts, as he always did, much to her dismay.

"I-it's nothing," Raven scoffed to cover her uneasiness. "It... there was nothing useful in it."

Beast Boy wasn't convinced. He cocked his head and raised one eyebrow. "Raven, come on. What did it mean?"

Raven hesitated, then sighed. "You just wouldn't understand."

This statement hit a nerve with Beast Boy, as it had become clear that this conversation was no longer only about saving the others.

"Are you kidding me! We've known each other for a long time. We're friends. Don't you think I would understand anything you had to say?"

He pulled down her hood to make sure she could see that he was serious.

There was a long silence. Raven looked at Beast Boy, considering what he had said.

This is pointless, she thought, I don't even know for sure if what I read even applies here. I mean, that would mean that-- no, it can't be true. I refuse to believe it. But if there's even a chance it can help rescue the others, then maybe I should say something.

Just as she seemed finally ready to explain what she read, she stopped.

"No. No, I just can't." She pulled her hood back up and turned her back.

Just then, a dark aura formed on the floor and engulfed Raven. It began to pull her through the floor.

"Aaahhhh!" Raven shouted as she disappeared.

"Raven!" Beast Boy cried. He reached for her, but it was too late; she was gone.

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Okay, how was that? Is it even relatively enjoyable? Are my cliffhangers at all enticing?

Review, please.