Here I am again, horror fans! When last we left our heroes, the battle was well under way. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy are in the thick of battle right now. And Raven… has run into a group of white ghosts. They seem to want to help, but who are they? Where do they come from? Let the story continue! I don't own Teen Titans…

Raven's Game 3: Final Shadow

Part 15 – Love Beyond Death

"Who are you?" Raven hovered amongst the ghosts, shrouded in a white mist high above the bay of Jump City.

"We were once great warriors, like yourself and your friends." A slender woman in a cape said. Her fiery eyes and curly hair bounced as she gestured with her head.

"And throughout history, we all went up against the creature, Dark Fall." The knight of the Templar put in. "And one by one, we fell."

"You lost the games?" Raven said, feeling a small wave of pity wash over her.

"Yes." They nodded, and several more ghosts simply appeared from nowhere. Raven stared as their numbers steadily grew. "Each of us, over the mellinia… lost. And, when we did, we became a part of Dark Fall's army." A tall, blonde woodsman still held his bow in his hands. His hawk eyes had not lost their sharpness over the centuries.

"Everyone who dies becomes… a part of it?" Raven whispered, a cold chill going down her spine. "That… that could've been me. Or… Gar…" she mumbled. She suddenly gave a start. "Robin's out there somewhere, isn't he?"

"Yes." A samurai warrior confirmed. "The black-haired acrobat was a powerful addition." He gripped the handle of his sword.

"But, once we were defeated as a part of its army, we became what you see now." A maiden in a flowing nightgown said. She smiled sadly as she gave them all a title. "Wandering spirits, I suppose one would call us.

"What can I do to beat it?" Raven wanted to know. "You were all a part of it, right? It must have a weakness!"

"Dark Fall is powerful, but no unstoppable." The knight of the Templar spoke up again. "Surely you remember the whispers that follow it around?"

"Yeah…" Raven winced, remembering the first time she'd heard them. Like a thousand voices saying millions of different things… She suddenly stopped and looked up in shock. "The whispers! They were… you all." The still growing group of ghosts nodded in unison, looking proud of her deduction. Very suddenly, a psychological ton of bricks hit Raven. "Why am I floating here talking to ghosts! I have to go fight!" She took off towards the city, through the mist.

"Dark Fall is not immortal, woe-laden child!" The knight cried after her. "The dark core is the only way to destroy it!" Raven came to a halt, looking back at them. "It's… its near the center of its darkness…" he said.

"Well… are you coming or not?" Raven said. The group of ghosts looked shocked. "You died, joined Dark Fall, and were set free again. Don't you want to finish what you started centuries ago?" she looked at all of them in a sweeping glare from under her eyebrows. There was a long silence, and all the ghosts began converging towards Raven. She squeezed her eyes shut as they all came forward, knowing what was to happen.

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A man wearing sharp metal claws on his hands slashed at Beast Boy, his glowing red body dancing about to avoid the Titan's claws. Like the raptor, this ninja man relied on speed. He was a little better than all the others he'd faced so far.

Rolling forward and between his legs as a hedgehog, Beast Boy quickly turned into an ape and made a grab for his life-thread. He leapt high and out of the way. Raining as hard as it was, the green teen couldn't follow with his eyes without getting water in them. Turning human again, he – suddenly he cried out in pain as the ninja man's claws sliced from one shoulder to his lower back. Blood flowed quickly as he turned, rather comically grabbed the man's wrists, turned into a gorilla, and snapped them! Lumbering forward and bear-hugging him, he ripped the chord that attached it to its dark master. Staggering out of the crowd and into an alleyway, he found Starfire still fighting fiercely. He leaned against the cold brick of the building for a few moments, trying to get his balance back.

The red-headed girl was fighting with all the fire she could muster. A group tried to surround her and she twirled with a dome explosion of green light! She stood there, gasping for air for a few moments. "Beast Boy!" she cried in horror. "You are injured!" she ran forward, lightly touching his wounds. As though he didn't know they were there, sheesh…

"Yeah well… its an army, Star." He said, straightening up as soon as he could muster the will to. All the tears in his shirts showed cuts and bruises here and there. The main one's were on his back. His suite was getting heavy since it was all wet now from the rain. "Oh… what the hell." Turning his hand into that of a tiger, he used a claw to cut his spandex around the waist. Taking a handful of the chest area of his shirt, he tore it away.

Starfire gasped in shock. "Friend Beast Boy…" she said softly, staring at him. She watched his 'shirt' flutter to the ground in the cold wind. He was muscular, but that's not what she was looking at.

Beast Boy's scars were in plain view. His secret was out.

Cyborg's heels were throwing sparks as he skidded on them. He was being pushed into the alley by a huge man of Chinese descent. A sumo wrestler, maybe? Who knew! Finally getting the upper hand, the metal man threw him on his face and snapped his red thread. The huge warrior vanished in a whisp of smoke. "Finally showin' those off?" He ran to stand with his friends, turning to face the crowd that had gathered to destroy them. Dark Fall's army was relentless. Cyborg had seen Beast Boy's scars during his yearly physical (which he personally gave all the male Titans). But, he hadn't seen them since. They were something to look at, all right.

Conjuring a smile, he knew the perfect thing to say. "I know you guys like my body, but I'm with Raven. Sorry." He joked, getting a wry grin out of both of his friends. Suddenly a pair of tiny bottles dropped in front of the crowd from the sky, between them and the Titans. Everyone, from both sides stared at them. A tiny bolt of black energy ignited both of them and they exploded into brilliant displays of light!

There were dozens of screams of death (or was it release, from Dark Fall's army?), and the crowd thinned considerably. Those that weren't destroyed were blinded, and Cyborg took the opportunity to blast them away. A cloaked figure flew above the crowd, dropping more tiny bottles here and there. Fantastic bursts of light and magic were going off up and down the street. It was Raven!

"C'mon! We gotta keep going!" Beast Boy rushed out into the street as a tiger, tackling a straddler and snapping his thread of magic. Cyborg and Starfire followed and they ran in a V-formation with Raven in the lead! Green starbolts flashed forward, clearing a path for the beams of blue and black energy. White light exploded here and there, and Raven disappeared around a corner. She left them behind, but knew they'd be okay.

When she was about three streets away from them, Raven touched down and threw a pair of tiny bottles with a flourish. Squinting her eyes she ignited them by magic. Magically solid light blasted outward in every direction, much like a grenade. More of Dark Fall's minions dissipated, their red threads cut cleanly. Suddenly a kunai-with-chain lanced around her waist and she cried out, yanked forward on her front. Grunting and wriggling, she saw them coming from all sides. She wasn't strong enough to break out of a freaking chain… rolling quickly as untangled herself and spread her cloak wide. Very Batman-ish, if she did say so herself. She almost felt like she was flashing them, but quickly squashed the though. Her motion revealed the dozens and dozens of bottles she still had left. "Like my arsenal?" Raven said. The straps crisscrossed across her chest, and a whole belt of them went around her waist. A few larger bottles with corks in them were worked into the stitching of her cloak. Rambo had nothin' on her. But, the mindless servants of the darkness kept coming. Raven let them gather into a group, walking slowly backward to gather… gather more… in a confined space. She led the zombie-like warriors halfway down a dead end alley, so they'd be standing close together. When she came to the wall of cold bricks, she threw her hood back so she could see better. The rain sure was getting bad. Taking one of the larger bottles from her cloak, Raven raised it above her head. "Come get some." She grinned wickedly from under her eyebrows, pitching it directly into the crowd.

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Starfire heard a massive explosion and saw the hug flash of light. This actually made her feel relieved. Raven was still out there, fighting. The fiery-haired girl saw more coming. She traced their threads with her eyes to the source of darkness in the middle of main street. By Tameran, was there no end to their enemy!

Dispelling a group and wandering slowly forward, she was happy that Raven's recent 'missile drop' had thinned her area of vengeful spirits. The boy had wandered from her in the heat of battle, but there were only a few here and there in her view. Starfire took them out with very little effort, making sure to get as many as she could. Not all of them were super strong warriors, after all. Some were just innocent townspeople that had gotten caught up in the darkness.

A whistling sound of parted air made Starfire cry out as she was struck from behind!She landed with a cry, crumpling a streetlight, bouncing off and hitting the pavement. Who on earth could hit so hard–!

It was Robin.

Starfire went positively pale, on her hands and knees, staring at him. Her hair hung down and she quickly forced it out of her eyes. "No… No… friend Robin… oh no…" she whimpered. She tried to ignore the bruise that was forming on her right shoulder blade.

Robin stood there, his hair weighted with the rain, holding his bow staff. An eerie red aura surrounded him. He stared at her for a few moments, somewhat blankly. He didn't even look like he recognized her! And… oh God… a thread of red magic was sprouting from his back. It ran through the air and down the street, straight to Dark Fall. Robin had died in the game, and was now a part of the dark army. He dashed forward to attack without warning.

"Friend Robin!" Starfire cried out in shock, dodging to on side and taking to the air. "It is I, Starfire! Do you not recognize me!" she pleaded with him. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out his batarang with a rope. Throwing it and catching her around the middle, he jerked her to the ground. Starfire landed with a feminine cry of pain, scraping her cheek on the pavement. Blood seeped out and she writhed as he dashed forward again. Starfire grunted and snapped the rope with her super-strength, only to feel an explosion of pain on her other cheek. She flew through the air and cried out when she hit a public mailbox. It crumpled and she saw white circles for a few moments. Robin had struck her in the face! And… he was still coming. "Robin please – Aaaeeeeigh!" she tumbled away at his vicious attacks, slamming into a dumpster. "I cannot fight you!"

Bowstaff to the stomach.

"Friend Robin –!"

Hit across the jaw.

"I cannot fight you!"

Blood from her upper arm.

"I…"

Crashing through a local shop window.

"I… love you…" she whispered, lying where she had fallen. Tears poured from her eyes. "I cannot believe it has come to this." Starfire saw his shadow cast itself upon her as he entered the shop through the window she'd broken. She sat up, brushing the glass off and quickly rising. Twin streams of moisture were down her cheeks as he ran full speed to finish her off. "Oh, friend Robin…" she whispered sadly. Her tiny eyebrows tilted upward as she watched him come. All she did was stand there. Robin ran forward and placed his staff in the ramming position. He would spear her to finish her off!

Her move was too fast to follow.

His staff tumbled away. Starfire grabbed him in an odd sort of hug, letting his momentum carry her backwards and through the air. Her left hand palmed the center of his chest, and her right she placed on his back. Right on the red thread that connected him to dark fall. Her hair flared like a wet banner as they both sailed through the air. Robin's momentum kept them airborne, so she would only have a second to act. Starfire forced her lips on his, almost violently. "I love you, friend Robin." She thought sadly, time seeming to slow for her. Tameran, his lips were so cold… she'd always thought… his kiss would be… warmer than that… Starfire ignited a pair of starbolts, blasting Robin from both sides and severing the red thread. When she landed on the ground again, she was alone. He was gone, just like all the others she had defeated. She was all alone again…

Still on her knees, it was then that she began to weep into her hands.

Poor Starfire… sniff… well, I wanted to put something really dramatic in one of these battle chapters, and that was definitely fitting, I think! Well, Raven flying around dropping magic grenades and the boys were fighting, so she was all alone. And what is this 'dark core' that the ghosts spoke of? How are they helping Raven now? Stay tuned for the next chapter, horror fans! Rock on!