Here I am, horror fans! The last couple of parts have been kinda slow on the scariness, so its time to crank up the juice again! Rawr! I hereby dedicate this chapter to… non-Christian! Eh... What sort of name is that? Points for the cool rhyme you sent me, I'll use it, but you could've been a little more creative with your FF name, eh? Oh well! Congratulations, and I hope you all enjoy the fruits of my labor.

Oh! I would like to mention that I'm going to put a few flashbacks in the next few chapters. I want to show my readers different aspects of the relationship between beast Boy and Raven. Remember, if you count back from the first story in this series, they've been boyfriend and girlfriend for about a year and eight months now! That's a long time, but I'm sure it wasn't without obstacles. Remember, no relationship is without its kinks and rocks now and then… It's time for part ten! I don't own Teen Titans!

Raven's Game 3: Final Shadow

Part 10 – Feather and Flames

Cyborg's memory was scrambling. Images were whizzing by at a hundred miles an hour, static accompanying it. Memories of battles, missions, friends… it was all mingling together. Then, one specific memory was called up for some reason…

-----------Flashback------------------

Cyborg was walking down the hall towards the common room when he heard shouting. He could tell from the voices that it was Raven and Beast Boy arguing again. God, they fought like they were married or something. He rolled his eyes but came in anyway. The metal man didn't pay attention to the argument in the slightest, though their violent gestures were enough. Raven wasn't shouting, but her tones pierced like icy daggers. Beast Boy was yelling, throwing his arms around and making violent gestures this way and that. It was the last sentence they spoke that caught his attention as he sat on the couch to watch TV. "Sometimes I think you'd be better off in the game! Maybe Dark Fall was more your type!" it was Beast Boy would said it. Instant, icy silence covered the common room. Cyborg's eyebrows shot up, and he slowly turned his head to look.

Raven's tea mug that she'd been holding cracked and broke apart, spilling the bitter liquid onto the floor. She looked at Beast Boy with a face of absolute shock. Instantly he regretted what he'd said, hanging his head. There was a long, terrible silence. "Raven, I–"

"Shut up." Her voice cracked and she ran from the room. Dishes tumped out of the cupboards and the fridge sprang open. The stove came on and the TV displayed static for a few moments.

Ohhh, he'd sure done it this time… Beast Boy sank to the floor, his skinny legs flayed out for display. He couldn't even feel the tea soaking into his pants. "Oh No…" he whispered, holding his face in his hand. "Why'd I say that…?" he moaned. Cyborg frowned silently from the couch. Beast Boy would have to figure out how to fix this on his own. No relationship was without its rocks, but that had been pretty bad…

------------------End of Flashback--------------

Bzzzt! Bzzzzzt! Tuh-t-t-t-t-t-tzzzzzt! "I think he's coming to." It was Raven's voice that Cyborg heard. His vision was coming back, and he let out a soft moan.

"Cyborg?" he felt someone rapping on the metal half of his head, and found it to be Beast Boy.

"Stop that." Raven snapped. The green teen retreated quickly, but Starfire leaned into Cyborg's vision to see.

"His red eye is active." She reported, pointing.

"Don't poke me in the eye, man…" Cyborg mumbled, his organic eye coming open at last. They brightened when he regained consciousness. "I can't feel my arm." He mumbled.

"That is because it has been detached by force." Starfire said, holding the severed limb up for him to see.

"Aaaah!" Cyborg looked over at the stump on his right side. "My arm!" He made a grab for it and Starfire let him have it. He compared the stump and severed limb, trying to see how bad the damage was.

"I cut it as clean as I could." Raven said somewhat meekly.

"Uhm… thanks." He said. He was happy they'd stopped him, but not happy he'd officially become left-handed. "I can't use this one. The wires are melted together." He mumbled, studying the damage with a mechanic's eyes. "We'll have to go to my room and–"

"The power doesn't work." Raven reminded him. "That little welder you have in your finger can't work with things that big, can it?"

"Aw man…" Cyborg sank down, his shoulders sagging. He looked at the stub of a right arm he now had, futile in his attempted to simply force it back on. His torso gave a few blue sparks, and he winced in pain. Popping the left side of his chest plate open, he started fiddling with his circuitry. "I'll have to cut off the power to that arm…" he mumbled. "It's got its own battery, but I can't get a radio signal to it to tell it what to do while its detached…" he frowned, shutting his chest plate again. His expression hardening, he threw it distastefully across the room. It landed with a metallic clang, and moved no more.

"Here, lemme help…" Beast Boy held out his hand but Cyborg stood, somewhat rebelliously, on his own.

"What did my last roll do?" he asked.

"It seems that the second roll after a 'double' is a danger-free roll." Starfire reported. "Nothing has attacked us, but the message displayed has already vanished…" She told that they hadn't had a chance to read it before it had vanished. They'd been too worried about Cyborg to care. "You advanced six spaces more, friend Cyborg." She said to him. "You are in the lead with a total of nineteen spaces."

Cyborg nodded somewhat soberly, feeling the stump of open circuitry where his arm used to be. "It's Raven's turn," he said softly.

"We're moving to another room." Raven announced, closing the game board and trapping the dice inside. She was careful to make sure they were immobilized in the little compartment in one of the game's doors, so the game wouldn't think she'd rolled. "Come on." She filed them out through the door. "The training room should be okay." She led them along, down some stairs since they couldn't use the elevator.

While walking through the halls and stairwells, Beast Boy discreetly looked at the others. Their spirits were all especially low. Their long rest had done them good physically, but nothing for their spirits. There were no jokes that seemed to fit this situation, and he dared not to crack one. It seemed too… childish. Growing up just a little in that moment, Beast Boy fell in next to Raven while they walked. Her body was enclosed within her cloak like it usually was.

Having slept with… er… next to her so many times, he knew the shape of her body. He adored it just as much as he did her complicated mind and wit. How often did one find a beautiful mind attached to a beautiful body? Not often, in his opinion. He flushed lightly, trying not to think about it, given his situation. That was the last thing he should be thinking about. But, he was a teenager, and he couldn't really help it. God, one of his teammates had just died a few hours ago, and he was thinking heated thoughts of his girlfriend! Beast Boy's pointed ears wilted further, and Raven noticed. "I saw that. What is it?" Raven murmured to him. She had watched him out of the corners of her eyes.

"Nothing." He whispered back, trying to keep the situation under control.

"Don't make me read your mind, liar." She said.

"You wouldn't." Beast Boy stated, knowing it to be true. "A violation worse than rape," He kept the R-word down so Starfire wouldn't hear. "That's what you called it when you told me about it the first time."

Raven was slightly taken aback by the way he'd put it. But, he was right. Raven never read anyone's mind, unless it was a dire situation. If a criminal knew where some hostages were, then she never hesitated, but she'd never read his mind since… she'd promised herself she wouldn't… ever… especially after that day with Beast Boy… "I'm still here if you want to talk." She nudged him as they turned the corner and into the training room. It sounded odd coming from her of all people, but it was true.

Cyborg and Starfire hadn't heard a word, having been lost in their own little worlds. Starfire thinking of her deceased love. Cyborg silently mulling over his last turn. What would he do now with only one arm? Could he still help with one hand? He felt rather depressed, but said nothing. He couldn't add to the grief of his friends… sigh…

The four of them gathered in a circle near the middle of the rather large room. Whatever they faced, they would have plenty of room to fight. No matter what. Licking her dry lips and pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, Raven opened the game's 'doors.' Everyone, again, noticed that Robin's piece was no longer on its path, and the level of depression went just a bit lower. Starfire, as though it would help, took out the red game piece and placed it on the board. On the start space. Then, she tried to remove it. Would it stick to the board again? No. It came away just as easily. As Raven opened the little compartment to get the dice, Starfire placed the red game piece in there. It had been rubbing on her hip anyway…

Making sure everyone was ready with a quick sweep of her eyes, Raven rattled the dice. "Raven." Beast Boy whispered.

She stopped for a moment. "What?"

"If you roll a twelve you'll win." Beast Boy said quietly, having counted the spaces with his eyes.

Cyborg's computer mind did the math, given all of their turns that they'd take throughout the game. "That means that if I rolled a four or better on my next turn, I'd win! We've got two good chances!" He brightened considerably.

"No." Beast Boy said. "All the paths have a different number of squares." He pointed, counting aloud the different spaces between two random paths on the game board. The difference was considerable.

"That is not fair!" Starfire announced, looking shocked. "Even if this were a normal game, that would not be fair at all! One player having the advantage while the other must toil harder to win!"

"Nobody said this game would be fair." Raven snapped, silencing them all. They looked at her, but Raven pressed. "If you recall, it's been pretty unfair to all of us. Especially Robin!" she suddenly avoided their eyes, having spoken a little more harshly than necessary.

"Finish it off, Raven." Cyborg said quietly after a long silence. Beast Boy nodded in solemn agreement.

Raven rattled the dice. "Please…" she whispered mostly to herself. She dropped them. Clatter.

Starfire deflated, along with the rest of them. "Four." She said glumly. The white game piece moved along its little path, then slid to a stop. A 1 and a 3, the dice read. They all leaned forward, trying to be ready for whatever the game… Dark Fall… would throw at them. The smokey letters were taking shape, and the message was soon revealed for Raven to read.

FROM SERENITY, OUR DARKEST RAGE,

BEWARE THE TRAP OF SPELLBOOK'S PAGE

"What's that mean?" Beast Boy mumbled after reading it himself. All three Titans looked at Raven. Who appeared to be mulling it over in her head at the moment.

That could be any number of things! Was magic going to run amok, from her room? Was Dark Fall going to try and possess her? Her mind reeled at the possibilities, and she tensed. Looking carefully around, Raven stopped and listened. Nothing. What was this about? She hadn't rolled doubles or anything… Why was her path so much shorter than the others? Was she going to finish the game? Was she supposed to finish the game? She'd played the very first Dark Fall game, was she supposed to finish this one herself as well. She didn't know, and as long as they weren't being attacked, she didn't –!

The floor vibrated.

All four Titans froze, holding their breath. Beast Boy's eyes narrowed, sweeping back and forth. Becoming a wolf, he cocked both of his hypersensitive ears forward.

Rummmmble…

Silence.

Rummmmble…

Silence.

Rummmble……BOOM!

Cyborg was thrown back into his own weight set (meant for bench-pressing), effectively pinned. Starfire hit Raven's levitation columns, once again buried under some form of debris (as the game seemed to have a habit of doing to subdue her). Beast Boy the wolf slammed headlong into the wall next to Raven, stunned and returning to human form. There, in the smoke and dirt that hung in the air, was a figure. Slade? Terra?

Malchior. Escaped from his prison book.

"Hello, dearest Raven." He said nastily as his eyes flashed with evil intent. Raven gasped as an icy feeling struck her body. It was him. The very dragon, now in human form, who had tricked her into setting him free (A/N: See 'Spellbound' episode for reference). The same demon that had toyed with her heart. Raven felt a familiar ache in her chest, and she forced herself to her feet. The shock from the explosion made her teeter and lean against the wall forcefully.

Dressed in ancient armor and sporting flowing white hair, Malchior started forward. He came for her, his eyes burning. She knew her time had come. God, she would be destroyed by the very thing she'd first become infatuated with. Suddenly a blur of green raced between he and she. Beast Boy had completely forgotten that he could change shapes. He'd completely forgotten that Malchior was a powerful dragon slash sorcerer. All he saw was blind rage. This bastard had broken Raven's heart, and he was gonna pay for it! Crying out in effort he raised a fist for a valiant strike to the demon's face –!

Malchior caught his fist in his own. Beast Boy stood frozen, his other arm cocked uselessly back. His muscles rippled hard as he tried to overpower him with one hand. But, it was no use. Malchior held him firmly. "Insect." Malchior hissed. Flames in his eyes, he crushed Beast Boy's hand! A resounding set of crackling bones accompanied a cry of agony.

Beast Boy fell to his knees in pain, still in his grip. With the use of magic-induced, unnatural strength, Malchior heaved him into the wall. He hit with a silent gasp of pain, his head smashing hard against it. Cracks spread around him like a spider's web, an exact circle. He fell with a soft moan, crumpling into a heap on the ground.

"Beast Boy!" Raven ran and knelt at his side. "Don't worry, I'll fix you…" she raised her shaking hands, trying to heal him as quickly as she could. Head trauma, slight fracture of the third spinal disk, multiple breaks in the hand, bruising, blood –!

"Why do you care for this insect, dearest Raven?" Malchior hissed, his eyes flashing again.

Raven stopped right there, and glared venom at him. "Don't ever call me that. Ever!" She cast a bolt of magic at him. He smacked it away and it struck the wall, taking chunks out of the structure. Beast Boy in relatively better shape now. Raven could stand and fight. The others were pinned, but they could wait. This was her fight. Like Robin and Slade. No, scratch that… Like Beast Boy and Terra. She gothically withdrew into her cloak, a pair of eyes cast in darkness and nothing more. "I'm stronger than last time." She said. She stood stock still, glaring at her opponent with all her might. Magic was gathering, she felt it in the air.

"As though it would make a difference." He said lightly, holding out a hand. It was laced in neon green, and a blast of magic lanced through the air. Raven tilted her head to one side and it blasted past her, into the wall near where Beast Boy lay. Debris blasted away like someone had set off a grenade in the wall, but no one was harmed. Raven straightened her neck again, the look on her face intact. "Ohh, tough girl." Malchior sneered, his eyes narrowing. "Perhaps a physical attack, then?" he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Raven felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. He wasn't…!

He was.

Malchior became a dragon, and roared mightily! Spreading his claws he mercilessly lunged forward. Raven had to dodge that time, and she heard the floor break under the stress of the attack. Throwing herself to one side, Raven flew upward to draw his attention away from Beast Boy. The dragon turned and its tail whipped into the air. She grunted in pain as she struck the ground face first and literally bounced away. She'd hit the ground so hard her body had had elasticity! (A/N: The theory of elasticity states that if something strikes a surface hard enough and doesn't break it, it will bounce at least a little.) Groaning and clutching at her side she rose and threw a pair of dark bolts in his direction. Malchior extended a wing, deflecting them with little difficulty. Raven pressed her attack and flew at top speed, blasting over and over. Spectral claws tore at his flesh, and he flared both wings hard to get rid of them. Raven was thrown in the wind it created.

Beast Boy's eyes opened. He blearily saw the battle going on between the teenage sorceress and dragon. God, she was fighting all alone. The others were down… and he was useless. He'd been so stupid, charging head-on… how stupid did he have to be to do something that idiotic? Clutching painfully at his hand, he tried to force himself to his feet.

"Enough." Malchior's internal kiln flared with heat, and a light grew in his mouth. Raven was on the ground, and ran briefly to get a better angle –!

Flames the size of tsunamis blasted forth!

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven threw up her arms in a mighty black shield. The heat was unbearable, licking at her from beyond the shield. She began to sweat immiediatly, trembling under the terrible power of her adversary. "Huuhnnnn!" She straightened herself in a brief burst of strength, but the horrible flames never let up. Malchior's blast of dragon-fire seemed to have no end! Raven's entire body trembled as the time reached twenty seconds. God, she couldn't hold out much longer. The flames were too powerful to hold back. They would consume her… her white game piece would be added to the 'dead pile' with Robin's. Her body trembled as her spell started to loosen. Oh God… the fire… to be burned alive…

Beast Boy appeared at her side, clutching his hand and side. "Don't give up!" he cried over the scream of the flames. Beads of sweat worked their way down his forehead. "Don't give in!"

"I…. can't…!" Raven groaned aloud. Her shield was starting to bend. Malchior was almost through her defenses. He would kill them both now that Beast Boy was present!

"Yes you can!" Beast Boy stood behind her and put his arms over her outstretched arms. His slightly disfigured had was throbbing with pain, but he ignored it as best he could. "You beat him once! You can do it again!" He pressed his body against hers. She felt the masculine muscles working themselves in his chest. Pressed to her like a support, he was in a sort of backward embrace. Spooning while standing, almost.

"He's… too strong!" Raven's eyes were squinting and sprouting tears from the heat. Or was it the sorrow? The sorrow of losing to the demon who'd stolen her heart and given her back pieces? "Beast Boy… run!" Sparks and crackles were running across her shield, about to give out completely. The hellish heat was pressing in on them!

"No!" He shouted back defiantly. He pressed himself harshly against her, enough to where she could feel his entire body supporting her own. The muscle, the smell of salt and sweat… Beast Boy whispered in her ear, "Let go, Raven." He whispered. "Use all your powers. Just this once! Even if it's your anger, you can get control of it again later!" His arms wrapped around her middle, and he tore her hood back quickly so he could see her face and hair. Her buried his face in the crook of her neck, coaching her with one last cry. "Show him! Show us all! I LOVE YOU!"

Every restraint on Raven's powers fell away, and she quite literally let go of herself. There was no holding back if she was to survive. Piss off, Slade. Fuck Trigon. Screw Malchior. She belonged with Beast Boy, and now was the time… to MAKE IT SO!

A massive, white light exploded from Raven's body. Beast Boy was blinded and was blown back with a cry. A perfectly spherical explosion took place, made of white light. There was no sound to go with it. Raven was lifted into the air as her shield shattered. The flames leapt forth to claim her, but dissipated when they touched the light. Raven's hair exploded with length and her back arched all by itself. White light exploded from her eyes and mouth as a carnal cry of power escaped her. The light consumed the room, leaving no dragon in its wake. It had simply dissolved in the wake of her power. There was no place for shadow there.

-------Flashback, the same as the one mentioned earlier in the chapter-------

"I'm so sorry Raven…" Beast Boy whispered, trying desperately not to cry. "I'm such a jerk and my mouth's as big as a train tunnel!" He was on the roof with her, a few hours after their argument. She was in the lotus position trying to meditate. But, he'd come with a long apology. Without telling him, she gently delved into his mind to see if he was being honest. Sure enough, massive wells of sorrow and distress could be sensed, as well as a good deal of self-loathing. So, he really did realize he'd gone too far.

But, it wasn't all his fault. They'd both been arguing… Raven took a deep breath. He was on his knees before her, pleading for forgiveness. Finally, she spoke and cast her gaze unto him. "Make me some tea, and we'll call it even. I spilled mine, and it's on your pants." She reached to pat his head reassuringly, but he was already gone to do her bidding. Raven let a small smile cross her face. She could never tell him she'd read his mind, but just once wasn't so bad was it? Nah… Raven lowered to the ground and turned to follow him. She didn't want Beast Boy to kill himself with the stove, like he'd almost done that one time with the soy-milk smoothie and the blender…

-------End of Flashback------

Starfire finally wriggled out of the debris, and pushed some of the heavy weights off of Cyborg. He'd watched the whole battle in horror and titillation, having been unable to get unpinned with just one arm. He'd had been temporarily blinded by the light as well. It had faded, and smoke from debris had taken over the room. Slowly, though, it all began to settle. This revealed Beast Boy with his back against the wall, gazing at a figure wreathed in shadow. He looked shocked beyond belief. Starfire and Cyborg looked to the figure, and finally the smoke was gone –!

Raven emerged wearing white, her hair down to her shoulder blades.

HOLY F - - - ING PLOT-TWIST, BATMAN! (winces at the pun since Robin is dead) Raven has assumed the ultimate incarnation of her powers. I told you the heat would be on in this chapter, and I hope I delivered it well. Thanks again for the rhyme, non-Christian. Hate your name for its mis-creativity (no, I'm not religious and am not offended by the name itself), but love your rhyming skills! LOL!

On a more personal note… From the very beginning, I knew Raven would start wearing white at some point during 'Raven's Game.' I just couldn't seem to fit it anywhere. I take the notion of Raven wearing white very seriously. Its not something I as a writer could just throw in for no reason at all. To me it would be an insult to everything Raven stood for. The first story (Raven's Game) it just didn't seem to flow well. The second story (Raven's Game 2: Beast Boy's Game) we caught brief flashes of white garments (and bras with panties, LOL!). But, nothing there seemed to fit either. Now, boys and girls, it's a litle more permenant. Ravenmay wear white from now on in this fan fiction. So now I must ask my readers. Do you approve? Was this event of Raven wearing white well-timed? Or even believable? Should I have just left it out altogether, or was this what you were waiting for all along? Please, let me know in a review. I cherish the opinions of my readers, and look forward to hearing from you all. Until next time, horror fans. Keep sending me those rhymes if you can!

P.S. Those of you that want to scold me for spelling Malchior wrong can piss off. I honestly don't care, as long as everyone knows who I'm talking about. (innocent smile, flips the birdie to all the flaming reviewers) I'm not even sure if it IS spelled wrong, though… ehehehe… (sweat-drops)

P.P.S. Any thoughts on the flashbacks you would like to share with me? I'd apprieciate any input on those…

P.P.P.S. Tyr'll is a guy, to all who wondered in the last chapter! Ehehe... (sweat-drops)