Here we are again, horror fans! It's time for another part of the story to swing away. Last time, Robin was… well… blown up. I sure shocked a lot of my readers, I'm sure. I've never, in any of my fan fictions, killed any of the Titansoff before… oh well! Its horror! I'm allowed! I don't own Teen Titans!

Raven's Game 3: Final Shadow

Part 8 – Recoil

"In... huh...here!" Beast Boy gasped, tired of running. He threw open the door to his and Raven's room, and they all piled inside. He slammed it shut again, leaning against it. He slowly slid down to a sitting position, his skinny legs flayed out for display. His head sagged down while his hands covering his face.

Cyborg gently put Starfire on Beast Boy's bed, clunking down to seat himself on the carpet. Raven sat in Beast Boy's swivel chair, tossing the game's wooden box distastefully aside. "I… I can't believe it..." Cyborg whispered after a long silence. His eyes were downcast in a silence so heavy it threatened to crush them all. Raven drew her legs up to her chest with her arms, placing her face between her knees. Beast Boy still hadn't moved, and Starfire was still unconscious. "He's… he's…" the metal man's voice cracked, and he couldn't speak anymore. His eyes were soft with raw emotion too powerful to express without bursting out crying.

Beast Boy sniffed loudly, crying as quietly as he could. Not even Raven could cheer him up at this point. Their leader, Robin the boy wonder, was dead. Sacrificing himself to beat Slade… once and for all. "Raven?" Beast Boy sounded stuffed up when he spoke at last, but they knew his voice had broken with sadness. He looked up at her, his eyes red and bloodshot with tears. "How's Starfire?"

"I… I think I can heal her." Raven whispered, not daring to speak any louder. Her powers were on edge, so close to the edge… how easy would it be to let go? Just let it all blow out of her like a massive hurricane? So easy… She steeled herself as best she could. Releasing all of her powers at this point could kill her friends. Her remaining friends. Raven winced, a tear finally forcing its way out and down her cheek. "G… give me a minute." She said helplessly. She unfolded herself, trying to realign her powers. Her charrigan gem flashed weakly, warning of all the mental abuse she'd taken. She took several deep breaths, wiping her eyes repeatedly. "Okay." She finally whispered, making her way over to Starfire. Cyborg shifted out of her way, and Beast Boy merely watched. Raven surveyed her patient. Bruises, welts, cuts and other signs of physical abuse. God, they'd only been apart for maybe five minutes…

"Did Slade…?" Beast Boy let his sentence hang. He didn't dare say it allowed. Everyone now knew Robin's worst nightmare had been Slade torturing and eventually raping Starfire. But, he couldn't put words to it. "He didn't… did he?"

"Look away. Both of you." Ravensaid asgently as she could. Cyborg and Beast Boy obliged, and she bit her lip. Praying silently, the gothic girl reached and carefully pulled up Starfire's skirt. Gently tugging at the under-fabric, she looked at the girl's panties. "No, he didn't." she said, replacing her outfit the way it was meant to be. Raven and both boys let out a soft sigh of relief, and she let them open their eyes. "There's no blood between her legs." She reported softly, if somewhat soberly. "Robin saved her." She tried to smile, but her gritted teeth made it look painful.

"At least there's that, then…" Cyborg murmured, speaking as loudly as he dared in his distress.

Raven took a deep breath, eyeing Starfire's wounds. "Why don't you two sit with your backs to us for awhile?" She said. "I don't know how extensive her wounds are. Her outfit changed because of the nightmare. Her clothes could be covering cracked bones or open wounds." She didn't have to say much more than that. Both boys sat next to each other on Raven's bed, facing the wall. "Okay…" Raven murmured mostly to herself. "Star, if you wake up right in the middle of this…" she trailed away. "Just please don't." she amended. Raven unclasped her cloak, walking and dropping it in Beast Boy's lap. "Hang on to this for me. I don't want any more blood on it."

"Sure." Beast Boy went rather pale, but agreed in the notion. The green teen already had blood on him from the fake Terra, but it was mostly dried and crusty by then. He clutched her cloak like a security blanket. His acute nose caught Raven's scent. The smell teased, trying to arouse him sexually. But he was in no mood to give in to that sort of temptation. The smell of his girlfriend calmed Beast Boy's nerves a bit, and he felt just a little better. His finger silently played with the brooch, tapping it with his finger.

Raven was working Starfire's shirt off at the moment, trying to be as gentle as possible. Working with a healer's touch, she set the article aside to get a better look at her patient's wounds.

Cyborg watched Beast Boy fiddle with Raven's brooch, but his eyes were distant. He was seeing the past. Robin's face, right before the bomb had gone off… what was that look? And, he'd mouthed a word. Right before he'd died. The metal man literally called the memory up like a computer file. He slowed it down, watching the lip motion Robin had made over and over again. Oh. Of course… 'Star.' He'd fought for her many times in the past. But this time, he'd died for her. A new wave of tears punished Cyborg while he banished the memory back into his computer-side memory bank. "How's it going over there, Raven?" Cyborg said after maybe three minutes. The two of them had heard Starfire's whimpering, and Raven's three-word spell several times.

"Most of this is really harsh bruising." Raven said, telling what was happening so they wouldn't be left in the dark. "Internal bleeding. Nothing I haven't seen before." Beast Boy blushed, remembering how she'd healed his leg once before. He'd been limping, and she'd merely passed her hand over it to make it feel better with magic. But, what was taking so long this time? "There's a lot of cuts on her back… from the whip." Raven forced herself to finish her sentence. They heard the bedsprings shift as Starfire was turned over. "Mmm…" Raven winced as she looked at the injuries. "That's what all the screaming was. She fell unconscious from the pain." The murmured her three-word mantra a few times, passing her hands over the alien girl's exposed back. The soft, white light was on the underside of her hands. She never quite touched the skin, but watched the wounds slowly disappear. The orange color of Starfire's skin soon returned, and a great deal of her physical tension was relieved. Raven rolled Star onto her back again, working at the last wound. The large red mark on her face. Probably the first blow she'd received. It would've turned into a nasty bruise in a few hours, but it was Raven to the rescue on that front. The internal bleeding slowly stopped and rerouted itself. Tiny little pores and capillaries reacted to her gentle healing magic. The proper tone of orange was soon on Starfire's face again.

"Ooh…" Starfire moaned softly. Her hand traveled of its own accord to hold her forehead. No doubt she had a splitting headache from all of the abuse she'd received. Raven withdrew her hands and her magic just as he eyes started coming open. "Gansha ebos medagaia?" she whispered in her home language, not seeing where she was yet.

"Keep your backs turned." Raven warned the boys. They nodded, carefully listening to their friend's progress. "I'll say when."

"Where am I?" Starfire corrected her earlier statement with English. "What has happened?"

"You took a beating." Raven whispered, running rather motherly hand over Starfire's forehead. The redheaded girl squinted in confusion, not knowing what was going on around her. "A really bad beating."

"I see." She whispered, hissing in pain as she sat up slowly. Raven let her, palming her back in case she should fall. "I can feel it."

"Ihealed most of your wounds, but you'll be sore for awhile." Raven said apologetically.

"I thank you for your efforts, friend Raven." Starfire said softly. She looked down, finding herself to be mostly undressed. "May I have my clothes, if you are done nursing me back to health?" Raven nodded, a small blush finding her cheeks. Even in such troubled times, Raven saw the Starfire was much more well-endowed than she was in the ways of feminine looks. Robin would've been very happy if they'd ever–! Raven winced at the thought of his name. God, how would she tell Starfire what had happened?

Starfire rather sorely dressed, stretching muscles that shouldn't have been pressed for more work. "I am… quite sore." She whispered, trying not to tear up in the aches and pains. As she finally got her shirt and gauntlets on correctly, she looked around the room. She spotted Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. But where was…? "W… where is friend Robin?" she asked softly.

"You can look now." Raven whispered, unable to say anything else. The boys turned slowly, a similar expression of depression on both of their faces. There was a long silence.

"Please, where is friend Robin? He should not be wandering alone during this horrific game…" she clutched briefly at a pain in her abdomen.

"Star… he…" Beast Boy tried and failed.

"He is not here among us…" Starfire said carefully. Raven saw it dawn in her eyes, bracing for the ultimate crying fest. The wails and screaming were coming, she just knew it. Not that she could blame the poor girl, but it was all they needed to have another teammate break down under the pressure. Right after Robin. Raven recalled how badly she'd reacted while administering CPR to the boy wonder, but something tore her from her thoughts. A soft gasp escaped the Tameran girl, and her eyes came to tears. All three of the other titans braced, ready for the first wail. But, it never came. She cupped herheart with both hands, and they could almost pinpoint the moment herit broke. It was as though she were trying to keepher heartfrom spilling out of her chest.Then itdissolved into tears. But, no sound escaped her. She bit her lower lip hard, refusing with all her strength to cry aloud. Her entire body shuddered hard, and Beast Boy was sure she would explode on the spot. "Friend Robin died to save me from the Slade… didn't he?" She was barely audible, tears still streaming. Raven nodded once, giving a brief but gruesome description of what had happened. Hot, salty tears dripped from Starfire's chin. "He… died a hero's death, then." There was a long silence of her soft crying. The level of depression in the room sank to an all-time low. But, once again, it was Starfire who spoke next. "We must finish what we started. For… for Robin." She hadn't placed the prefix 'friend' before his name, a sign of deep intimacy on her part. "Who's turn is it?" she whispered, looking at her three friends.

From the corner where he'd scooted a few minutes ago, it was Cyborg who looked up. "Mine." He murmured. "Everyone's gone twice but me."

"Wait." Raven said, keeping him from getting up to fetch the game board. "I'm the leader now, remember?" it sounded harsh to say, especially after Robin's demise. But, if she had to take command, she had to force her own hand. For the group. "I say we rest for now." She carefully sat down next to Beast Boy. There was a silent agreement between them not to show any affection at the moment. That would make Starfire miss Robin all the more. Cyborg nodded mutely. The farther away his next turn was, the better. He glanced at the game board. One of the game's doors had nudged open when Raven had tossed it aside.

The red game-piece lay on the carpet, tumped over on its side. Robin's piece.

Well, I know there was no real horror in this chapter. But, I feel like if I kill someone off there should be a few moments to rest and remember, ya? I guess that's the way I am, readers… I try to feel the emotions I am portraying in my writing, and they appear on the screen as I feel them. (Which is where my exclamation point habit came from. I'm always shouting when I'm excited.) This chapter was slow and sad so everyone will remember the boy wonder properly. Starfire is being as strong as she can be, for her friends. What are your feelings on this, readers? Do you think she should've had a big freak-out, or does this hardened warrior princess outlook seem to fit better? Lemme know, if you feel like reviewing. Until next time…