We wish to show him something other than nothingness, but there is a force at work, consuming him slowly. Why is he like this? Who or what is he really? These are two questions that he doesn't truly know and it was us that awoke these doubts and it was us that have the ability to save him...if he allows us.

Chapter Three: Memories

" Is that really you, Raven?" asked Dawn as she stopped a couple feet away, " where are we?"

Suddenly, Raven jumped out the window, shocking Dawn, who quickly ran to where he once was. As she looked out, she found herself now in a windy field as it started to sprinkle. She looks up into the sky as raindrops hit her on her forehead. Soon, it starts pouring, yet she is unaffected by except for her dripping wet clothes.
" Who am I?

" Huh, what did you say?"

" Why do I exist?"

Dawn turns around to see a small child wearing nothing but torn shorts. His silver-like hair dripping due to being out in the rain for so long. His yellowish eyes show sign of crying and his blistered lips being signs of lack of food and water made Dawn quickly kneel before the child and look for some sign of shelter for them.

" Where are your parents?" asked Dawn to the child as she took his hand and started walking, " do you live around here?"

" I am alone...always alone..."

Dawn looks at the freezing boy and for a moment thinks of Raven, when the boy points to a small outhouse that gives Dawn a sickening feeling in her stomach. She stops to pick up the boy and quickly runs towards the outhouse and closes it, setting the boy on the edge of the toilet.

" Are you alone, too?" asked the freezing child sadly, " like me?"

" I...well...it's hard to explain."

" You have pretty eyes."

Dawn becomes startle and even begins to blush, but comes to her senses when she realizes a little boy just complimented her.

" So do you?" responded Dawn as she smile at him.

" They tell me that too," answered the child, who begun staring at the door.

" Who?"

The child gets off the toilet and walks to the door. He slowly opens it and leaves, while Dawn closely followed. As Dawn opened the door, the small child was gone, but now, another child laid at her feet, a small girl.

' A girl?' thought the puzzled Dawn, ' but where is that boy I was with.'

As she picks up the girl, she notices that she resembles her in a lot of ways. She was very pale like her, but it could also be due to the rain. She had long grayish hair like her and even the same yellow eyes, but she thought she maybe over analyzing and brought her inside. She started rubbing her hands up and down the young girl's body to keep her warm, but unknown to her was that the girl was looking at her with a confused look on her face.

" Hello, are we playing a game?" asked the girl politely.

Dawn stopped what she was doing and looked at the girl and shook her head. The girl soon became sad while Dawn tried to cheer her up.

" Have you seen a little boy?" asked Dawn calmly, " he went outside just a minute ago."

" Yep"

" Where is he now?"

" With the bad people, they took him away and we can't play with each other anymore."

Dawn thinks to herself and about Raven as the little girl begins to smile.

" Can you tell him something for me?" asked the girl happily.

" Sure, what?" answered Dawn, who smiled.

" Not to be so gullible."

Dawn started laughing as the little girl, the outhouse, even the gloomy field vanish and she was now in front of a orphanage. The sky was no longer filled with smoke, but white clouds.

" Come on, this way."

Tears fell from her eyes at the sight of her, Amy, and Ami running from the side of the orphanage and towards the slide. As each one of them went the slide, she slowly approach them with her right hand reaching out for them. Ami turns and notices her and tells the other two, who stare at her.

" Will you be our new mommy?" asked Amy happily.

Dawn became speechless by what she just said and sadly shook her head, which made Ami run inside and Amy quickly went after her. Leaving the two Dawns to stare at one another.

" I knew you weren't here for us,"

Dawn stopped in front of her younger self and tried to touch her face, only for to slap her hand away.

" I HATE YOU!" exclaimed the younger Dawn angrily, " I HATE ALL OF YOU!"

Dawn starts to cry and tries to hug her younger self, but she spits in her face.

" LEAVE US ALONE!"

Suddenly, a powerful wind starts to push her away from her angered self and from the orphanage. She cries out to herself one final time, but her younger half just runs inside and for a brief second, resembles Dawn as she is now.

" You're a hypocrite, you know,"

" RAVEN?"

Standing in front of the opened window of their class was Raven with Dawn sitting at her desk.

" You're doing this," asked Dawn, " aren't you?"

Raven looks at his left hand as it begins to fade away. His eyes water at the sight of it and turns his head towards Dawn.

" You hated them," said Raven as tears ran down his face, " as I hated them."

Suddenly, Dawn sees Mina sitting in front with herself walking into class. Mina greets her, but Dawn is rude back to her.

" What are you?" asked Raven, " so I may exist,"

Dawn notices his entire left arm has vanish as he looks up to the roof and sadly smiles.

" I...I don't know," answered Dawn as she got out her seat.

Both of Raven's legs vanish and he quickly falls to the ground, but Dawn dives for him and catches him, while sliding into a desk.

" Do they know?"

" Who?"

" Your friends..."

Suddenly, Dawn feels a hand on each of her shoulders. She turns to her right and sees Ami and to her left and sees Amy. Raven's right arm vanishes as Ami and Amy show a sadden look on their faces.

" Why are you disappearing?" asked Ami softly.

" I was told to..."

" By who?" responded Amy

" By the ones who love me..."

Raven's entire upper body vanishes with only his head left. Dawn begins panicking and looks for Amy and Ami for guidance, but they are gone.

" What are you, Raven?" cried Dawn frantically, " ANSWER DAMNIT!"

Raven disappears, leaving Dawn crying and calling out to him.

" A shadow..."

Dawn looks around after hearing his voice, yet sees nothing.

" Don't Go!" screams Dawn sadly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

" RAVEN!"

Dawn finds herself sitting up on a bed in a sweat. She looks around and realizes she is in the Nurse's office and notices both Amy and Ami asleep, leaning on the bed. She looks at the clock and realizes that almost 3 hours have passed, since she passed out.

" They've never been this long," said Dawn lightly so the others wouldn't hear her.

Suddenly, she saw movement coming from the other bed and turn towards it, where she saw Raven sleeping.

' These feelings,' thought Dawn as her eyes watered, ' because of him.'

Ami begun to wake up and saw Dawn sitting up and quickly hugged her, waking her sister up as well.

" W-we were so scared," cried Ami sadly.

Amy was about to hug her too, but quickly notices Raven staring at them and excitingly goes to tell her sister and Dawn. Both turn towards him and sees him with a puzzled expression like before.

" Why are you crying?" asked Raven, " is this another form of...BLUSHING?"

Dawn smiles at him and shakes her.

" This is what people do when they're scared or worried about someone," answered Dawn as she slowly got off the bed.

" Has no one ever cry for you?" asked Amy.

Raven lowers his head as Dawn sat on the bed he was on.

" No, but..."

" We don't really know you," responded Dawn as Raven turn to her, " but we want to."

Raven's eyes widen by her words as he looks at Amy and Ami, who nod in agreement.

" Let us be your light," said Dawn happily as she placed her hand on his, " Mr. Shadow."

He looked at her hand and then Ami put her hand over hers and Amy did so as well. He couldn't believe what was happening and yet, he felt a strange bond to them.

" Let us strengthen YOU!" shouted Dawn happily as she hugged him.

" YEAH!" responded the two sisters as they did so as well.

Raven was reluctant to hug them back, but when he heard their voices combine into one, saying, " for we were shadows too", he returned their hug as tears ran down his face in happiness.

' Thank you...my dear..."