Disclaimer – You sicken me. I also forgot to mention the borrowing of the idea of trapping death to Neil Gaiman's the Sandman illustrated novels. Read them. They rock. Find them at your public library.

Warning – Hmm. If you're this deep in my twisted web, why should I warn you of anything?

Other – I'm running out of stupid ways to ask for reviews. You know you really want to hit the little button. Give in to your urges! Oh, and I take criticism too. How shall I get better if nobody smacks me with a newspaper? Housetrain me today!

Sorry about the lack of update. I got stuck on this chapter. One more chapter to do.

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Raven was carefully knocked out and returned home. The circle was set up in the common room so that she could be surrounded by her friends and familiar things constantly.

A week passed, and she started getting better. Maybe it was all in her head.

The window was what really drew her attention and she spent hours gazing out it, silent. It was the constant in her peculiar new life. The sun rose and set on schedule. She used it to help keep a grasp on her self.

No matter what they told her, she just had to remind herself that it couldn't be just in her head, could it?

Star came into the room and approached the circle cautiously. Raven was not welcome to anybody talking to her since the cave incident and Star was hurt. She and Raven had become so close before it happened and now a gaping rift had broken their friendship.

She wished dearly to repair it in any way possible.

"Friend Raven? I hope to talk to you."

The silence that followed was expected. Star never wanted an answer.

"I am sorry if I have hurt you. Please believe that I am eternally grateful to you for saving my life in the woods. I… I truly believe you are a Reaper."

Raven covered her ears childishly, "I don't want to hear this."

"Please listen. I do not believe you have lost your mind! It is very much still in your head."

"It's a nice gesture, Star, but don't try. I can't forgive you."

Star was satisfied, though. Raven was sounding more like Raven each time they spoke. Starfire made sure to try and talk to Raven twice a day, sometimes more. She knew that Beastboy tried once every few days, but only with Cyborg with him. Beastboy was a little afraid of Raven these days.

The thing that surprised Star the most was that Robin made sure to come and visit Raven as much as she did. He would sit there in silence, just watching her. Sometimes his mouth would flap open for a moment, as if he was going to say something, but then he'd close it and remain silent.

A storm was gathering overhead, as if mimicking Raven's state of being. The grey clouds crowded together, rumbling in displeasure. A beam of lightning struck down right outside the window where Raven was currently situated. She didn't even flinch.

The flash of light illuminated her features, ever the same as they always were. If Raven was closed off to the world before, she was bolted shut now. It made Star's heart hurt to see her friend in such a position, but Raven had stopped responding to her at all.

Robin entered the room, shoulders bunched together. Barely noticing Star, he dragged a chair over to the edge of the magic circle, leaning back in it. Once again, his mouth dropped open.

But this time, something came out.

"Raven… I know you don't want to listen to this, or me for that matter, but we need to talk."

She didn't respond, but kept gazing out the window.

"I need to know how you killed Mumbo."

"Didn't…"

"I saw the video feed, Raven. It's ok. I won't turn you in."

"I…" She squinted her eyes, "It didn't happen. None of this is real."

"Yes, Raven, it did." Robin slammed a fist down on his leg.

"I'm not a Reaper."

"No, you're not."

Starfire floated up behind the Boy Wonder, "Friend Robin, I believe she is."

Robin glared at her, "You're encouraging her insanity."

"She is not insane! I have seen her as a Reaper. She told me when I knew she was very much in her right mind!" Star knew she seemed desperate and slightly crazy, but Raven needed someone to believe in her.

"Starfire, please." Raven fixed on of her eyes on Star. Her eyes used to be filled with life, but now they were dead, like doll's eyes, "I'm going to agree with Robin on this… I get it now, I'm not a Reaper."

Robin cut in again, this time with a better idea, "Raven, can you tell me what you imagined happened with Mumbo?"

She turned her head back to the window, "No."

"Rave, it'll help you heal."

The hesitation before the next answer made Robin doubt that there would be one.

"We were fighting him. You threw your metal box and I got this funny feeling from my midriff, a tugging sensation. I normally feel it when someone's about to die. So I ducked behind a statue and began to meditate, like always. I slipped out of my body and went to where Mumbo was collapsed on the floor, reached into his chest, and took his soul. I put the soul in a bottle. The bottle was later placed in my closet. I keep souls there until pick up day."

"Pick up day?" Robin's natural curiosity had been piqued.

"Once a month something takes them away. I don't know what happens; I've never seen it happen." She paused, thinking, "This month's pick up would be tomorrow."

Robin leapt out of his chair and dashed away. Raven's room was unlocked, as it usually was, ever since she had taken to living in the circle. Her closet door was slightly ajar, and he ripped it open all the way.

A pile of bottles lay on the ground.

He snatched one up and glanced inside; a filmy blue substance swirled around. This was… unbelievable. Raven was telling the truth. Taking the bottle with him, he hurried back to the main room.

Star hadn't moved from her spot, still staring forlornly at Raven's lackluster form. Robin clasped the bottle tightly before taking his seat.

"Raven… you really are a Reaper!"

That caught her attention.

"You've just spent the last… I don't know how long… trying to convince it was all in my head. Is this some sort of new way to mess with my mind?"

"No! I found one of the bottles!" It dawned on Robin, then, what he had did, "Oh crap… I… I can't believe myself… I let an innocent person take the punishment for my own actions… Raven, I'm very sorry."

She eyed him, "You should be. But it doesn't change the fact that I'm not a Reaper. Whatever you're trying to do, it won't work."

Starfire sighed, "Friend Robin, it is useless. Let Friend Raven think what she wishes."

Robin wanted to hurt himself. All this time he had blamed Raven…

"Raven, did I kill Mumbo?"

"No… he was already hurt… Not that it actually happened."

"Raven, it did." But it was too late. She had returned to her window, cutting her two friends out of conversation.

Star eyed the bottle, "I do wonder what would happen if one of the bottles was opened? Could Raven bring someone back to life?"

Robin rested his head in his hands, "I'm a jerk. I'm an idiot. Why didn't you stop me?"

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "I am sure Friend Raven will forgive you. You were… not thinking straight."

He covered her hand with his and gazed up at her, "Thanks Star. You don't blame me, do you?"

"Friend Robin, if Raven should recover, there is no blame to be given." She smiled at him and went to the kitchen to prepare Raven some dinner.

Robin cast a final gaze at Raven, eyes full of regret, before he turned to go track down the good Dr. Turner, righteous fury burning in his chest.

He hadn't felt like a real super hero since Mumbo's death, but it sure felt good to be back in the saddle.

Dr. Turner was resting up in the small room that Robin had provided for him. Turner was very happy with how things were going. At the rate that Raven was fading, she'd be ready to give up her powers any day now.

He fluffed his pillow with one hand, idly wondering what Robin was up to. The little hero was quite a basket case himself. It was pure luck that Robin had gone a bit stir-crazy over the Mumbo incident, and Turner was not above resorting to luck.

Robin knocked on Turner's door, before popping his head in.

"Dr. Turner? I need some answers, and I need them now."

"Ah, yes, young Robin. I was just thinking about you."

"About how you screwed with my mind?"

Turner's face didn't betray the shock he was really feeling.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You knew she was a Reaper, yet you tried to convince her she wasn't. You tricked me."

"Robin, she's not a Reaper. I don't know what she said to change your mind…" He raised his eyebrows, "but it is definitely not true."

Back in the kitchen, Star finished up her meal of toast, placing the decorated bread on a simple plate. She approached the circle and was struck with an idea. If she just erased part of the line, Raven would be free.

She set the plate on Robin's abandoned chair, and smudged the circle with her toe. The resounding explosion blew her across the room and into a wall. She coughed once, blood flying from her mouth, and slid to the ground unconscious.

The circle flared; it could only be released by the original maker.

Raven watched her friend fly across the room and felt the ever too familiar tug. That didn't exist. She turned to watch the storm.

Beastboy raced into the room, saw Star crashed on the floor and Raven in her place and assumed the worst. Raven had obviously attacked Starfire.

He ran to Star's side, picking her up. Cyborg crashed into the room, summoned by the noise.

"Cy! Raven attacked her! She's bleeding from the mouth."

"Raven did this? I thought her powers couldn't extend past the circle?"

Turner appeared behind them, "They can't. She tried to set Raven free; the circle can't be tampered with by outside sources. Only I can set her free. You might want to get poor Starfire to the infirmary before the internal bleeding gets too bad."

Robin pushed past Turner and ran to the circle, "Let her go! You know she's not insane."

"Robin, Robin, Robin… Get a hold of yourself, boy."

Cyborg glanced between the two of them for a moment, before pulling Beastboy to the infirmary to treat Star.

As soon as they left, Robin lunged at Turner, who ducked back, expecting that response. Turner hid behind the couch for a moment, turning himself into Mumbo.

"Robin… I thought that we were just havin' fun! It was just a joke, never meant any harm by it. Why'd you kill me?"

Robin snarled and pulled out his bo staff, swinging it with deadly strokes to punctuate his words, "I.Did.Not.Kill.Mumbo."

The Chameleon pulled out his next disguise; Raven. Robin glanced uneasily back at the real Raven. Chameleon frowned expressively.

"Robin… I didn't mean to hurt you. Why did you turn on me?"

"You aren't the real thing!" And then it hit him; Raven didn't know that Dr. Turner could change shapes. She had seen Turner appear as each of the other Titans, driving her over the edge, "And you hurt Raven!"

Turner smirked, chuckling as he ducked into shadows, coming back out as Dr. Turner, "I see that you can't be fooled by my childish disguises."

Robin attacked him and they locked hands, struggling for dominance. Pushing as hard as he could, Robin forced Turner to slide across the floor towards the window. Now it was Robin's turn to smirk.

"Nice move, Doctor."

Turner glanced down to his shoes, once pure white, now smudged with red. His mouth slipped open and he glanced at Raven, then at Robin. Clearing his throat, he ran and broke through the window, raining glass down upon the rocky shores.

"You haven't seen the last of meeeee!"

He seemed to plummet, but Robin knew that anyone with a pledge like that also had an escape route; he was right. A speed boat raced away from the Tower at a high speed. Instead of chasing Turner, though, Robin put his attention on his broken friend.

"Raven, you're free."

She stared at him blankly before whispering, "He didn't break the circle."

"He did! I pushed him through it, and he ruined it."

Raven got to her feet, unsteady. She tottered to the edge, closed her eyes, and tried to put her foot out.