A/N: Standard Disclaimers Apply

Chapter Eight: Theme

Raven found herself in a field of lavender. The soothing perfume of the flowers filled her nostrils, and the clear blue sky seemed to go on forever. The young witch basked in the warmth of the summer's day. Her usually pale skin was like polished silver in the bright light, and she rarely felt so alive. Raven allowed herself a contented smile. Almost everything was perfect.

"Raven?" A young, masculine voice called.

Raven turned. There he was. A soft breeze played through his dark hair, and his brightly colored uniform shined regally. Raven smiled and threw her arms around him, nuzzling into his crimson tunic and listened to his powerful heart. He wrapped his arms around the pale girl. Raven, her large, violet eyes sparkling like amethysts, looked up hopefully, and he dipped his head slowly. Her soft lips breathlessly touched his, and Raven closed her eyes.

Everything was perfect.

The embrace tightened around the witch. And tightened. Suddenly, Raven felt cable like arms constricting her. Her eyes shot open, and she would have screamed if she found her breath. A sallow faced man, his face gnarled with anger and age, stared back at her. More hideous than his expression was his exposed brain, grown too large for his skull. The haven of the lavender fields now burned around her.

Raven managed to push away, narrowly avoiding his grasping hands. She ran, but skidded to a halt as a wall of fire flashed before her. She looked back as man walked slowly towards her. She heard the ground crack, and a chasm opened at her feet.

Helpless, she fell.

Nothing to grasp.

Nothing to hold.

Raven crashed through dimensions like panes of glass, each one cutting her, until she landed hard. The shards of worlds lay about her like a broken mirror. The ashen-skinned witch pushed herself up to her hands and knees and crawled painfully away, not looking back. The ground was razor sharp rock, and the sulfur in the air burned her lungs.

And there was laughter: Deep, booming, and terrifyingly familiar.

A giant, talon like hand suddenly scooped up Raven, rocky ground and all. Four glowing eyes looked down through the smoky sky like dim suns, and Raven heard the terrible words in her ears once more.

The Gem was borne of Evil's fire. The Gem shall be His portal…

Her joints stiffened. Her back fused. Raven tried desperately to scream, but no sound escaped from her hardened lungs. In a last act, she released her soul self. Raven's body had become gleaming moonstone.

"NOOOOO!"

……

Robin narrowed his eyes. He heard the scream in the back of his mind. He forced himself to his feet and threw his body at the door, but the heavy door refused to give.

"Raven!" he shouted. He looked around quickly and saw the only thing in the room that could be of any use: the single support post in the back corner of the locker. Robin took a deep centering breath as he walked towards it. He tried to shift the cuffs around, but they held fast.

Robin grimaced.

And slammed his shoulder into the post.

…..

Raven threw herself back and hit against smooth glass. Her body was covered in sweat, and she wrapped her grime-covered cloak around her. Her heart raced, and her breathing was ragged. The world around her slowly came into focus, and she looked slowly around. She found herself in some kind of cylindrical glass cage in the center of a small room. Circling the cage like a hungry shark was Psimon, a dangerous smirk creased his face.

"Good morning," he said coldly.

"You bastard, what were you doing in my mind? Where is…?"

"Robin?" he said with mock concern.

"And Starfire, and Beast Boy," Raven corrected.

Blackfire strolled into the room with Cheshire still shadowing her.

"Did you find out anything?" Blackfire asked.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Psimon said, his voice dripping with venom. "As it turns out, our young Raven is in love."

Cheshire covered the smile on her cat-like mask with her hand, as if trying to hide an escaping laugh.

……

Speedy took his position at the trellis overlooking the giant burned out courtyard. His keen eyes looked around for any tell tale signs, and they were there.

"Okay, Robin was up here," he called down.

Cyborg scanned the area with his technology, Jericho searched with his instincts, Argent flew overhead, and Kid Flash zoomed around handing Cyborg anything that could possible be a clue. Soon the pile was at the massive Titan's shins.

"What are we looking for?" Argent asked.

"Anything that could lead us to the other Titans, Toni," Cyborg commented, finishing the scan of a broken piece of metal.

The silver-skinned girl released a ball of energy, formed it into a hand, and pulled a bird shaped projectile from the rafters. "Something like this, you mean?"

"Yeah, something exactly like that."

Argent handed the birdarang off to Jericho who examined the end of the line closely. He mimicked a pair of scissors with his fingers as he handed it to Cyborg. By this time, Kid Flash found the matching launcher. He shrugged and then leaned against the wall. Jericho smiled good-naturedly and then jumped into the crater. He pulled out several long strands of cinnamon colored hair.

Argent lowered her eyes.

"Hey!" Speedy called.

"What'd you find?" Cyborg called back.

"The way I figure it, there were four people up here, and a quick fight, too." Speedy put a foot on the railing were Robin launched his birdarang. "Argent, could you come up here for a moment? Thanks, babe. Okay, shoot a line across the building from right here."

Argent shrugged and focused a beam of red energy, like a laser. The beam hit the girder where she found Robin's birdarang.

Speedy smirked, "Thought so. Okay, Robin was here. He fought someone, and escaped this way…" He looked down and saw the debris scatter along the floor, like someone had swept it forward. "And landed there." His eyes narrowed. "Robin could have been carrying something heavy when he landed."

Argent floated up the girder and looked around. "Oy!" she called. "There was someone here. They walked, I can see their footprints on the rust and stuff."

"Good work, A!" Cyborg complimented.

Jericho looked up and signed, But where are they?

"I wish I knew," Cyborg said glumly. "I wish I knew."