A/N: Hey everybody! I'm really sorry for the long update! Its been like a freakin month since I've updated! But I do hope you guys keep reading this fic even though Christmas has been over for like a couple of weeks and stuff! Only two more chapters or so to go until this fic is finished!

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"Victor? Victor? VICTOR!"

Richard dropped his cupped hands and sighed in defeat. Where the heck WAS he? He looked at his surroundings and everything was literally painted in black. It was almost like he was in his own living Hell. This was exactly as he had pictured it whenever he was in times of desperation- a dark and dismal world filled with nothing but sorrow and grief in the air that made you want to go down to your knees and beg for mercy to get out.

Trying to chase his fears away from the sudden chill that went down his spine, he stood in his leader posture, arching his back a little too much to look like he wasn't scared. Okay, maybe he a little scared. After all, it seemed like Hell was exactly as he imagined it.

Suddenly as slash of pain seared through his body and his mind. He doubled over in soreness, groaning as he clutched his stomach as tight he could. He stood upright once more, only to experience another quick prick of crucifying pain stabbing him, and this time, lowering him to his knees and crouched down. His head suddenly began to run in all directions imaginable, spinning around until it made an abrupt stop and he soon found himself in…the city?

As confused as he was, he stood up and walked around the curb as cars sped past him. A tall, familiar building entranced him through the corner of his eye, but as swerved around, he was startled by a chilling figure in a long drab cloak that went all the way down, but not touching the ground.

It hovered slightly above the paved cement and Richard could easily see the ghostly aura surrounding the…creature. Richard squinted his eyes in hopes of uncovering what looked like the grim reaper's identity. But all he saw was black, and nothing more than the dismal dreary darkness inside. Richard's fear was behind him now, but he couldn't help but get some sort of a bad vibe from this…thing. He felt like he somehow had a connection with the spirit, and the connection was not a good one.

"Um…ghost?" Richard began, uncertain of what to call the horrible creature before him. "Where am I?"

But the only response he received was a deep growl coming from inside of the hood. A skeletal finger was lifted out of the baggy sleeve, pointing to…Kori's apartment building…

Richard said without thinking, "Uh, I think you took me to the wrong place. Victor already took me to see Starfire, so-"

But he was cut off when he was struck by binding pain. The pain felt so different than the kind of pain he endured in his regular battles. It almost felt like the spirit was actually running through him.

Richard ran to the towering building. Why was he here? What did the spirit want him to see? He had already seen Kori, and he couldn't handle seeing her again- crying, weeping, feeling sorry for herself because her own boyfriend was barely there for her, emotionally and physically.

But when he reached Monticello Apartments, he only found himself trying to get a good look at what the bustling crowd was looking at. This was more people than the last time he had been here. A lot more people. Reporters and their cable cars crowded the sidewalk, holding out their microphones in hopes of catching the whole story.

The loud, blazing siren of an ambulance rang out through the walls of the city, echoing fiercely. Cars and trucks made room for the ambulance, with people scattering and trying not to get run over. Police cars were lined up alongside the curb instantly and armed forces slammed their doors shut as they walked out with their weapons armed.

A man was being hauled out of the hotel, his feet being dragged along the red carpet. He suddenly sprung up and Richard couldn't quite recognize him. His misty eyes were clouded with a drunken sense and he began to rant nonsense ramblings to the crowd. Red hair was mangled, and the police officers were having enough trouble holding him down as it was. They beckoned for more law enforcements for help.

Richard pondered. Who WAS he? Perplexed, he tried to find a reporter for more information and came across an African-American journalist talking dramatically in front of a cameraman.

"…Coming home drunken as always and on the usual, according to next door neighboring witnesses, shouts and rants were apparently heard coming from the room. Officers say that the criminal has confessed to wife beating and spousal abuse to the famous supermodel and journalist."

Wife beating? Who the hell would do that to someone they loved? Richard at that moment didn't care who the man was, but he made it a mental note to himself to beat that sucker up later once he got his name.

He looked at the reporter as he listened to her talk, and he caught a tear running down her cheek. The death must have been of somebody important for someone random to cry like that. He caught her name on the pieces of paper she was holding- Annette Johnson.

"Um," the reporter stammered, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. "We…we have close friends and family that came here as soon as they heard the news, and are now mourning at the announced death of their close friend."

Annette motioned for the cameraman to focus on a pale-skinned woman, about his age. Her face wore a lone expression, eyes teary and puffy from all the crying. She had on black clothing from top to bottom- she looked like she was already ready for the funeral. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"S-She was a c-close friend of mine. I loved her with all my heart…" she paused and lowered her eyes. "She was my best friend," she whimpered in a whisper that was barely audible as even more tears began to form in her eyes. A pair of strong arms were laid on her shoulders, revealing none other than a tall green man with matching eyes and hair to go with his unique appearance.

"It's okay, Rae. She'll be fine. She's in a better place now you know."

"But Gar…" she said as her voice trailed off. "I want her HERE with us."

She continued to weep on his shoulder as Gar rocked her slowly in a tender motion. Annette moved to a different weeping couple of African-Americans, the cameraman following her every direction.

"Hello there," Annette said in a broadcasting voice. But her eyes quickly turned cloudy with tears as soon she caught sight of the woman's tear streaked face. "I understand that you too are close friends of the beloved New Yorker."

Richard gaped as the huddled couple turned around, revealing their faces. Was that…Bumblebee and…Victor!

The woman sniffled a tear. "Yes, I'm…um…Bethany and this is my husband…Victor. We used to live with her for years until she moved here to New York with that-"

"-Wife beatin' son of a bitc-"

Bethany quickly clasped a hand down on her enraged husband's mouth before he said something on television he would later regret.

"Shh…" she whispered soothingly. "Kori wouldn't have wanted you to do that…"

Kori? What did Kori have to do with the murder? As a matter of fact, where WAS Kori? He looked around, making himself dizzy from turning his head frantically in desperate hopes of finding her familiar auburn-flowing hair. But he couldn't. He couldn't find her, and that was what scared him the most.

"Kori? Kori! Kori, please…come out…I want to find you…KORI!"

But his voice was drowned in the crying crowd's tears and grief, all oblivious to the worried man's anxious calls. Whispers of the name Kori were murmured in the bundles of crowds formed in front of the large apartment building.

Richard ran past the people, passing through their bodies like a ghost. It couldn't be, it just couldn't be. Kori…Kori couldn't be dead, she just couldn't…

But his fear of that understatement continued to grow. Everywhere he turned and looked her name was whispered and talked amongst by everyone. He ran back to Annette Johnson.

"…All because of a drunken Roy Harper. And so, New York is left mourning over one it's most beloved citizens…God bless you, Kori Anders. You're in heaven now…"

Richard screamed in agony, pulling his hair. He wouldn't believe some reporter who didn't know anything about Kori Anders. About Starfire. He wanted to see it for himself.

VERY WELL

He paused for a second. Who was that? He turned and looked for the spirit, and for a split second, saw a flash of black whiz past him. But the ghost was nowhere in sight, and Richard was frightened slightly for a moment. It wasn't because of that mysterious flash of color he just saw, but how whatever talked to him had communicated with him. It was almost like the voice wasn't even spoken, it felt like it was a mere thought, a part of him that spoke. A part of him he didn't know existed within his mind…

But before he could think of anything else, he felt his head swirl, just like when he had first arrived at the apartment. This time was different. It hurt more, he felt his vision get blurred, and his whole world spun around once more.

Richard found himself in the same place he was before. What the heck was going on? But sooner as the seconds ticked by, he what. He took back what he said; he didn't want to see Starfire, he didn't want to see her lying and drenched in her own blood, he didn't want to-

But it was too late. He had said he wanted to see her, and his wish was granted. And instantly too.

There she lay. No, she wasn't soaked in blood or bullets in her skin. She just looked so…peaceful, like the angel she was, the angel she was going to be. Her red hair was still as vibrant as ever, and her long eyelashes rested serenely, shining as the beam of lights struck her beautiful golden face. And still, there she lay; still as beautiful as he remembered her from the teenage years he spent with her. The teenage years wasted on silence and disappointment. Hurt and broken promises. Really, who was he to say that they were all going to be friends forever? At least they were, but not him. He had been shutting himself in every little office he worked in.

But as he watched the paramedics carry her stretcher back to the ambulance, anger began to boil inside him. Who would do this to her? And why! He clenched his fists so tight that you could hear them crack one at a time. Who the HELL would DO THIS TO HER? Kill the beautiful and innocent Starfire!

Roy Harper, that's who. His own best friend. He couldn't even believe he trusted her with him. That's why she was so lonely. That's why she never wanted him to come home. But why would he do this to her? Why would KORI let HIM do that to her! It wasn't like she was powerless; she was one of the most powerful out of all the Titans. WHO CAUSED THIS TO HAPPEN TO HER!

YOU DID.

"What-"

But when he turned around, the startling figure of the ghost appeared before him just like the last time.

"Who are you? Why did this have to happen to her? WHO DID THIS?" Richard roared.

But what was underneath the cloak scared him. Him, leader of the Teen Titans, Nightwing of Gotham City, HIM. He was never scared…until now. Because underneath that ghostly aura, underneath that cloak was…Richard.

No, it couldn't be, he couldn't have caused Kori's death.

But what he saw was the truth. It was Richard, alright. Except he looked different.

The uncloaked Richard took a step forward so that he could get a better view of the unmasked figure.

It had a slouched posture, one of a werewolf's. With its clothes torn and violently ripped, the ghost of the future seemed to tower over the real Richard. His eyes were blood-red orbs, with nothing seen but…ruby anger boiling and ready to burst out. A look of greediness and starvation was plastered across its face, looking as if it was about to feast on just about anything that caught its eye. A deep scar was marked across his right eyes, and a bottomless wound it was too.

YOU KILLED KORI ANDERS.

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oMg! Eeeek! Just writing this chapter was creeping the freakin crap out of me! Here's a quick summary:

That drunk man that was being arrested out of the hotel was Roy Harper, a.k.a. Speedy. HE was the one who killed Kori. But the reason the ghost said that it was Richard's fault was because Richard wasn't there to save Kori from Roy Harper. As a matter of fact, what the spirit is trying to say is that Richard was never there for her, and if he HAD been there with her instead of ditching the Titans, she would've never married a drunk named Roy Harper in the first place. So all in all, the whole problem sums up to Richard being the cause of the problem, even though he didn't physically kill Kori, he caused her to marry Roy and get Kori killed by his drunk numbness.

I hope everyone reviews, because I worked really hard on this chapter! REVIEW!

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