And here we are again. Sorry it took a few days to update, horror fans. I was finishing out a particularly famous story of mine (BARCODE), for it had received almost two hundred reviews! Now that I have no other major distractions, here's the next part of the legendary horror series, Raven's Game! Today, for a change of pace, will be mostly romance. BB and Raven, of course. A flashback, to be more specific! Here we go!

Raven's Game 3: Final Shadow

Part 4 – Flashback

Raven awoke quite suddenly at Cyborg's gentle shaking. "What happened? Where are we?" She asked, looking frantically around.

"Nowhere pleasant, man." Cyborg mumbled as a large glob of slime dripped from the ceiling.

"I can't believe he did that. Again!" Robin held his forehead with his hand. "But, he saved our butts."

"I believe I am… grossed out?" Starfire asked, looking disturbed at her surroundings.

"Where's G… Beast Boy?" she mentally kicked herself, having almost blabbed her intimate name for him. There was a mighty rumbling and Raven's eyebrows shot up. At first she'd thought they were in a cave, but…

"BLEARGH!" Beast Boy spat them all out, becoming human again. They all lay in a mess of arms and legs, trying to untangle one another. "That was close!"

"What happened?" Raven wanted to know, disturbed that she was covered in… spit.

"Beast Boy became the whale, and sheltered us in his mouth!" Starfire said, trying to get some whale slobber off of her skirt. "It was very nice of him, though disturbing…" she trailed away, still trying to look thankful.

"How did you know that would help us at all?" Robin asked, looking over at the green teen.

"Well, whales can swim real deep in the ocean right? With all that pressure down there, they've got strong bones and bodies to stay alive!" Beast Boy announced, looking proud of himself. "Rocks are no different… uhm… you just can't swim through them." Everyone marveled not for the first time at Beast Boy's knowledge of animals.

"…Okay." Raven said, looking around. The room was just as they had left it. No rubble, no beams down… not even a crack in the ceiling. "That's part of the game too." Raven pointed at the instantly repaired room. "When we or something in the game damages the tower, it repairs itself when we're not looking."

"Whoa…" Cyborg said softly. "Well…" he looked as though he were about to apologize for what his roll had brought upon them. Raven held up a hand to stop him, though. He looked at her, and she gestured to the game board. It lay innocently where they'd left it. Cyborg sighed, and finally spoke again, "Who's turn is it?"

"Mine." Raven said, walking over to the board. She knelt down and picked it up. "The common room should be normal again by now. We're going back there." They filed in behind her, and it was so.

They emerged into the common room. Much to Robin, Cyborg and Starfire's amazement, it was completely back to normal. All the water was gone. The furtiniture was back in place. The windows were fine… it was as though the flood and the bugs and everything else had never happened. Deciding on the dinner table, they sat around it. Five chairs, five titans. How many of them would survive this deadly game? Raven quickly squashed that line of thinking, not wanting to go down that lane. Of course they would all make it. They were a team. The Teen Ti – "Raven?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah…" she mumbled, opening the games 'doors' again. The dice sat on the board, and everyone's game piece was right where it had been. Raven eyed the white piece, knowing that it wasn't just pure chance she'd gotten stuck with it. But… the last time her clothing had turned white and she'd noticed… when had that been? Well, she'd been with Beast Boy at the time and… oh. A blush crossed Raven's cheeks. It had been… that night.

FLASHBACK

Beast Boy and Raven lay in bed late one night. It had been a hard day of fighting evil, since crime was on a particularly annoying rise lately. Weather had been good, and the cover of night had been thick. They'd gotten back at around eleven at night, dead tired.

Raven heaved a sigh, lying there staring at the ceiling. Beast Boy turned over and saw her. "What's wrong, Rae?" he whispered. He reached and cupped her cheek so she would look at him. Raven's royal purple eyes set his heart aflame, and she offered a small smile.

"Nothing." She said.

"C'mon." he said, looking at her sideways. "You only stare at the ceiling when there's something on your mind."

Raven flushed at how accurately he'd read her actions. "It was…" she paused for a long time. She turned on her side to face him. "It was four months ago today." She whispered in a very soft tone. She looked to his eyes for any sudden signs of jokes or prods. But, there were none there. He knew exactly what she was talking about.

"I didn't say anything… I thought you wouldn't think about it if I didn't mention it." Beast Boy mumbled, looking at her with softened eyes.

"I thought you were dead…" she whispered. Several books jumped off of her bookcase, hitting the floor with a loud bump. She hung her head in shame, "I was sure that… it had…" she was referring to when Dark Fall had eaten, for lack of a better word, Beast Boy. It had consumed him… but in the end he had been regurgitated. It hadn't had time to digest him… or something… "I thought after all this time I'd… I'd…" Tears stung her eyes and she fell silent before her voice cracked.

His arms were quick, gathering her into them. One went around her waist, pulling her body close to his. The other went around her upper back, cradling her weight so she could lean into him. She sighed softly, curling instinctively into the warmth of his body. He pulled the covers up, tucking her under his chin. "I'm here, Rae…" he whispered, stroking her back as a single whimper escaped her. "Shhh…."

She could feel the masculine muscles in his chest working themselves as he did so. They weren't huge, but they were still there. The scent of spice and earth was on him… one that she found rather fascinating. "Gar…" she whispered, looking up at him. The shadows of night cast a romantic glaze into his eyes, one that you could see the moon in. What little light there was gathered in the green teens eyes for her to see. God… he was so… so… she didn't even have a word for it.

The distance between their faces was closing. Her eyes lazily fell shut as her head tilted to meet his. Her arms went around him, up around his neck. "Raven…" he whispered her name at the last moment before their lips connected. A soft, feminine sigh escaped Raven. It was the sort of sigh that told she was thankful for her mate. One she could trust, share with, and even…… another soft moan escaped her as she felt herself being guided onto her back. He was straddled over her, his hands wandering her back as he did so. Their lips never broke except to breathe, and the soft sound of a zipper was the only disturbance. Gently pulling away her unitard, he dropped it off the edge of the bed. She looked at him with eye indescribable. Fearing for her virginity, she crossed her legs. Was she ready for that…? Black bra and panties her only defense, she looked at him again. "Raven…?" he asked. Oh God. If he asked, could she say no? Could she deny him at such a tender moment? Hormones raged in Raven's body, making her heart and mind pound with anxiety, fighting for supremacy. "Can I just… hold you?" He'd read her expression accurately that she hadn't wanted to… y'know…

There was a long silence of them staring at each other. Raven's face suddenly flushed and a helpless smile found her face. "Sure…" she mumbled, leaning into him. She lay her head on his chest, hearing the pounding of his heart against his ribcage. The shock of skin against skin was nice. The warmth of having almost nothing between them was… different, but nice.

"Raven!" he whispered.

"What? What is it?" she picked herself up, wondering if she'd touched something she shouldn't have.

"Your… your… uhm…!" he looked flabbergasted. He pointed to her breasts, of all things. Cocking an eyebrow and looking down, she let out a gasp. Her bra and panties had turned white! But, they'd been black only moments ago… she was sure of it!

"Uh…" she watched, blushing and shocked, as they turned black again.

"Did you see that too?" Beast Boy whispered intensely. "Tell me you saw that!"

"Yeah…" she mumbled, laying against him again. "That doesn't happen everyday, huh?" she joked softly.

Knowing it to be over for the moment, Beast Boy let out a single laugh through his nose. He had the perfect joke to lighten the situation. "I wonder if you would stay white if we had sex." Raven flinched hard. "Just kidding! Just kidding!" There was a long silence and she felt him laughing silently. "If… ehehe… if you ever wanted to test the theory…"

"Oh shut up, you horny little string bean…" She playfully hit him with a pillow, turning over to sleep. He spooned behind her, putting an arm around her middle She allowed it, finally getting some peace… She couldn't help but blush, though. Feeling the warmth of his chest against her practically bare back… feeling every breath he took like a romantic wave of feeling… ohhh…

END OF FLASHBACK

"Earth to Raven!" Beast Boy shouted.

Raven was torn from her thoughts. "Huh…?" She found everyone staring at her, and her blush deepened. "Uh… sorry…" she turned serious as quickly as she could, and picked up the dice. The intensity of the room went up like ten notches as she rattled them once. She dropped them on the board. Clatter. A seven. A 1 and a 6. Her piece was now just as par along as Robin's was. Eleven spaces total. "What now…?" Raven whispered, leaning forward to see. In the center of the game's board, letters where swimming into view. Smokey and a little hard to read, they became perfectly clear when they were all accounted for.

THEY GROW MUCH FASTER THAN BAMBOO,

TAKE CARE OR THEY'LL COME AFTER YOU.

Tiny pieces of ceiling plaster began landing on the gameboard. Everyone looked up slowly.

There was a vine growing through the ceiling.

Everyone stood in a flash, chairs toppling over. Plants were growing through the electrical sockets, the drains in the kitchen sink, and any other holes they could find.Cyborg shoved the enire table aside and they all stood back to back. "This is not happening…" Starfire squeaked, her eyebrows tilting upward.

"It is. Stay calm." Raven commanded. A large plant suddenly exploded into bloom. A deep purple flower almost seemed to be looking at them.

"I've seen those before..." Beast Boy whispered as more and more began blooming. "Stay away from the walls and don't touch anything." He sounded scared. "No quick movements."

"But... they are beautiful… how can this be a threat?" Starfire whispered, trying to do as she was told. More and more vines and thorns were growing in the common room, turning it into a jungle!

"Oh yeah, they're beautiful…" Beast Boy stationed himself between Raven and the nearest purple flower. "Don't touch the purple ones, they shoot poisonous barbs."

"How do you know?" Cyborg asked. "I've never seen anything like that."

"What do you think a green freak like me grew up after my parents died? Before the Doom Squad found me?" Beast Boy whispered. Everyone's eyebrows tilted upward with concern. "This jungle is African." He said. "I even know this area's plants." He mumbled, pointing to a few and naming them off. "Wait… where're the pods?"

"What's a pod?" Raven wanted to know.

There was a vine silently working its way up her leg, covered with thorns.

"Definitely stay away from the pods." Beast Boy shuddered, looking a little pale. "The big, yellow ones…"

"What big yellow ones…?" Robin mumbled. "What's so bad about the –!"

Rave let out a scream as she was yanked off of her feet! The vine's grip had tightened and was dragging her quickly across the floor. The team let out a group-sized cry for their friend and Beast Boy dived for her hands. "I gotcha!" He screamed, though he was being dragged too. Gripping both of her wrists as hard as he could, he skidded on his heels. Cyborg's arms locked around Beast Boy's torso and they began to slow. Starfire grabbed Cyborg around the middle, and they were almost to a halt –!

A monstrous yellow flower burst from the wall, teeth on all of its petals! It let out a resounding roar, and they all realized the vine that had Raven was its tongue, pulling her in. She screamed outright when she saw it. Closing its petals, it began pulling Raven towards itself.

Cyborg's heels were spraying sparks as Starfire's eyes flared green. Beast Boy and Raven locked eyes, and he saw hers were full of fear. "Please Beast Boy don't let go…" she whimpered, tears running down her face. With two forces tugging at her she felt as though her body were about to tear in two. She groaned in pain, her outfit starting to rip right along her abdomen. The flower roared again, flaring its teethed petals wide. It was nibbling on her boots. "Get the fuck off me!" She screamed desperately, kicking at it with the foot that wasn't tied up. "Get off!" she kicked and kicked but it did no good. The wall where it made its domain was so close. God, it was going to pull her in and rip her to shreds!

A poisonous barb pierced the yellow demon's side.

Robin leapt down, a dead purple flower in his hand. The yellow pod shuddered hard, but still had their friend. Beast Boy had sweat running down his face. Their hands were getting sweaty. He couldn't hold on much longer. "Oh God… Raven…" he moaned, tugging still as hard as he could.

"Gar…!" Raven looked at him desperately through tear-streaked eyes.

Their hands slipped.

Holy freaking cliffie Batman! Yup. Another cliffhanger. I wanted to go ahead and use the jungle thing, as a set up for something else later. A figured Beast Boy would have the knowledge of that sort of thing to help them all out. But, let's seeif they can get out of this one, yah? Robin tried to attack it since he's the only one without the super strength to help. Will he find a way to beat the evil plant monster within the next… oh… two seconds or so? Let's hope so, or Raven is plant food! Keep those reviews and rhymes coming, and I'll keep the updates coming. N'kay? N'kay!

Oh! I almost forgot! What did you think of the romantic flashback? Should there be hot and heavy romance near the end? You naughty readers, you! Be sure to put you opinion on this in your review, for I shall listen to my readers! A lemon, perhaps? Naughty naughty… well, maybe. Hmm… Until next time, horror fans!