Chapter Sixteen: Raven

I tossed in turned in my sleep, haunted by the images of Terra in Slade's suit; Terra hugging Beast Boy and crying; Terra fighting Slade. I remembered that night less than a year ago when we lost the only Titan we had ever lost, the only Titan who was allowed to stay in the Tower, the only Titan to betray us to Slade.

What had I said? "It'll be the last thing you ever do!"

She didn't kill Beast Boy with that rock, but her not doing it was the last thing she ever really did.

Maybe besides making Beast Boy sad enough to stay in his room for a week, but that didn't really count, since she wasn't alive then.

"Raven?"

I heard a voice and began to wake up. Was it Terra?

"Is there a generator in your room? I mean, your closet?"

No… it was Robin. I heard my door slide open, then three different sounds of footsteps (a steady clank, a tap-tap, and a schoo) and a whooshing sound.

I groaned as their muffled voices echoed into my head, forcing me to wake up.

"Where is it again?"

"Her closet. To the right."

A crashing sound drew me away from any ounce of sleep that remained. I turned away from the light that had etched itself into my closed eyes.

"Is she awake?"

"Better hope not, man. She'll probably beat you if she sees you in here again."

"That would be terrible!"

"Not really, Star. I wouldn't mind if BB here got a-"

"Cy! Dude! I would care! I-"

"Shh! Titans, quiet! We need to get that generator!"

"What is this, a rescue mission?"

"Shh! C'mon!"

Ugh… would they just shut up already? What generator were they talking about, anyway? The thing in the unopened box?

"Whoa, cool! Look, Cy, it's those bird things that were in her mind!"

"What? Oh! Where?"

"The statues! There!"

"Oh, cool!"

"You two…"

"Robin? Is this it?"

"Yeah, Starfire. Can you get it yourself or do you want some help?"

There was a crash of glass, and then an intense pain shot through my head. I yelped and sat up, massaging the area. It came again and again, the repetitive pain making white flashed spark in front of my eyes.

"Great, BB. Just great. What did you break?"

"I didn't do it! It fell off the shelf because you bumped it!"

"It did not!"

"Hey," I mumbled. The light of a flashlight was suddenly in my eyes.

"Raven?" Starfire asked stupidly. The throbbing pain in my head got worse.

"Yeah?" I muttered, sitting cross-legged on my bed and rubbing my forehead.

"We are simply getting the generator so that we can get the energy back."

"I know, Star."

"Would you like to help?" she asked hesitantly. She floated toward me slowly, a worried expression on her tan-orange face. "Are you the okay, Raven?"

"Yeah," I said, shaking my head to clear it. "Yeah, I'm fine."

There was a crack of lightning from behind me and the light flashed into the open door of my closet. What had broken?

And then I froze when I saw the Orb of Ahzed, laying in pieces, on the floor. I leaped up, despite the irritating sting of emotions in my mind, and rushed over. I shoved Star and Beast Boy out of the way and crouched beside the glass. I must've looked absolutely horrified because Starfire grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet.

"Raven," she said breathily.

But she didn't know the importance of the Orb of Ahzed, did she? None of them did, did they?

I pulled away from her and took a few steps away from the four of them. "J-j-just get the generator and go. N-now."

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Chapter Seventeen: Cyborg

When Raven starts stuttering, something is wrong. Very wrong.

"Okay, Raven," I said with a fake smile. I reached down and picked up the generator box effortlessly. "Let's go, team."

She didn't move until we had passed her and had almost reached the door.

"Sorry for disrupting your sleeping!" Starfire said cheerily, and I wondered if she even noticed that Raven was acting funny. I mean, funnier than usual.

Raven made a sort of grunting noise in response and busied herself picking up the pieces of glass. As the door slid shut, I heard an "Ow… stupid glass…" and was about to turn around and help her when I remembered that I had a generator in my hands.

"To the basement, then?" Robin asked. I nodded and followed the three of them there.

The darkest pit in the world was no comparison to the darkness of the basement right after lightning faded out of view and thunder shook the walls.

"A little creepy, don't you think?" BB said softly.

"Deal with it," Robin snapped. "Unless you want to deal with it for longer?"

BB was silent. I walked over to the far wall and asked, "Is this where it goes?"

Robin nodded. "Put it over there and set it up so it runs. I think I'll go upstairs so that I can check the non-electric locks."

"Alright," I said and busied myself with the generator.

"May I be of assistance?" Starfire asked. I nodded and pointed to the generator box. "Can you get me things when I need them?"

She smiled eagerly and flicked on her flashlight, then ran over to the box and happily said, "Simply tell me what to retrieve!"

"Can I help?" BB asked, looking over my shoulder at the manual.

"Actually, she's all the help I need. Sorry, BB, but you could go help Robin."

"Naw. He's in one of his nasty moods for some reason. I'll go check on Raven."

I gave him a suspicious look. "Oh, really? You're going to check on her?"

He glared at me, and I'd have to say that he had a valid reason. "Kidding, kidding!" I smiled. "Go ahead!"

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Chapter Eighteen: Beast Boy

I stumbled up the basement stairs and up to Raven's room. My flashlight flickered as I neared the door and then turned off. I dropped it in surprise, the darkness overwhelming.

My head bumped into something hard, knocking me backwards onto the floor with a screech.

The door in front of me slid open. A glaring light shined right into my eyes, making me feel like a deer caught in the headlights of a car.

"I… see the light!" I muttered, trying to make out where it came from.

"What're you doing in the dark?"

"Raven? Is that you? What're you doing in there?"

"Well, it is my room, you know."

I scratched my head where I had hit it, wondering why she was suddenly… not so gloomy. "Oh. What was the orb-y thing that fell on the floor earlier?"

"It was a meditation device, used for visions and such. It's for storing memories and emotions, if they're too distracting for meditating or if I just don't want them anymore."

I blinked. "What?"

"Nevermind. But do you need another flashlight?"

"Oh, yeah, I do. Mine kinda, uh, broke."

"Have this one," she said, handing me the bright light. I took it and my vision cleared, the hallway lighting up with an obnoxiously intense glow. "I don't need it."

"Really?" I looked over her shoulder and into her room. Little lights sprinkled behind her, dancing and sputtering. "You have more candles?"

She nodded and raised an eyebrow. "Are you seriously asking?"

I shook my head and scratched the back of my neck. "Well, no, but you seem to have, like, five hundred of them."

"Try eight."

I rolled my eyes. My gaze landed on the hand on her hip, wrapped in bandages and stained in something black in the dim light of her room. I pointed my flashlight at it and realized that the stain was crimson, wet blood. I grabbed her hand and looked at it closely, then up at her. "What happened?"

"I cut myself while picking up the glass. It's nothing, really."

"It's bleeding!" I exclaimed, dragging her into the hallway to get a better look at the bandage. "And this is not the best way to wrap it!"

She sighed and leaned against the wall. "Well, I only had one good hand to wrap it with, and that one has a cut on it, too."

I looked at her other one and saw a smaller bandage wrapped around it. "C'mon, then!"

I began to walk down the hallway when she stopped me. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to the Infirmary. I think we have stuff for your cut in there, and I can wrap it better."

Raven shook her head. "No, really, it's fine! I'm not going to-"

I stepped toward her and held her wrist, then continued walking down the hallway, pulling her as I went.

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Chapter Nineteen: Robin

I lay on my back on the roof, watching the lightning, feeling the heavy rain pour down onto me like a waterfall. Thunder boomed from the clouds as I remembered my parent's excuse for how loud and bright thunderstorms were.

'The people in heaven are having a party,' they said.

I sighed and put a hand between my head and the concrete rooftop. The other rested loosely on my stomach.

"Robin?"

I propped myself up on my elbows and looked over my shoulder. "Starfire?"

The light of a flashlight came from the stairwell and she stepped out toward me. "Please, Robin, what are you doing in this unpleasant weather?"

Lightning cracked across the sky and thunder rolled above us.

Starfire jumped closer with a yelp. Her hair was dripping wet and she was shivering.

"I'm just sitting out here… you know, just, uh, lounging."

She sat next to me stiffly. "But they are such dismal circumstances!"

"You can go back inside, Starfire. I just wanted to cool off for a while instead of worrying about anything or anyone."

"You were worried about me? Have I worried you?"

My head jerked up to look at her. "No, Starfire, I-"

"Perhaps," she said, standing, "If I worry you, perhaps you should not associate with me."

"No, Starfire, I-"

"Good night, Robin."

I watched her walk back down the stairs into the Tower. A sigh escaped my lips and I collapsed on my back again, eyes closed, wishing that I could just disappear.

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Chapter Twenty: Starfire

I stormed down the hallway, dripping wet, my hair streaming behind me, spraying water everywhere. I could not fly, I was so angry with Robin.

Perhaps he should not see me anymore, if I only caused him worry and grief! And if he had no other use for me, I could leave, correct?

I slowed as soon as I realized that I had no idea where I was going. There was blackness all around me. I concentrated on anger and my hand lit up, glaring green. I gritted my teeth and looked around the room I was standing in; the main room. The couch was less than a foot away, so I sat down and laid flat on my back with a groan.

But why was I angry with Robin? I should be angry with myself for forcing him to worry about me instead of villains and missions. And what if he did not want to worry about me all of the time?

What if he did not care… about me?