Hello again, Sora here. With me is the second chapter of Returning. I am hoping this one is a little less muddy and more interesting to all of you reading right now. Actually, I have several chapters written up; I simply need to commit them to the computer.

Well, here's the quick run down, I'm sure many of you are familiar with it. This is a Robin/Raven pairing, it is my favorite and I am afraid to say that it will not be changing any time soon. I happily accept any and all criticisms, compliments and even flames, so long as they are not pairing flames. They are quite the pet peeve of mine, and many other authors I'm sure.

I do not own Teen Titans. Now, without further ado, here is chapter two.


"Terra?" Raven whispered in shock. She recoiled from the blonde's touch and stared. Terra tipped her head and looked back. They studied each other. Raven was surprised to see that not only was the earth mover alive, she had grown and matured as well. There was no evidence that she had spent 5 years in suspended animation. Terra was a little taller than Raven, but not quite as curvaceous and her hair hung just above her tailbone.

"You seem surprised to see me," Terra commented. Raven very nearly rolled her eyes. Shock was fast fading and curiosity was setting in.

"No shit," she replied. "Last time I saw you, you were little better than dead." Terra blinked.

"But you're the one who released me, aren't you?" It was Raven's turn to look puzzled.

"What are you talking about? I had been searching for years to find a way to revive you. I never had any success. Maybe someone else?" Terra shook her head firmly.

"It was you, I'm sure of it. I remember what happened that day. Everything points to you."

"Care to explain?" Raven asked. "Then I can make that judgment myself. I'm pretty sure I know about all of my escapades…" Terra sighed and sat down on the floor next to her.

"It must have been about three weeks ago now," she began. "I can't say I was ever really aware that I was "dead", so when I suddenly heard a voice calling for me, it was startling. It just kept telling me to wake up. Then I began to feel warm all over. My breathing started again which, I have to say, felt really good. When my vision finally returned, I saw you, or at least a Raven with your eyes, sitting not far from me. I reached out to touch it briefly and it flew away. So, it must have been you. It was too eerie to be a coincidence," Terra finished. She sounded very firm in her conviction. Raven looked thoughtful.

"Well, I did dream about it, once, several weeks ago. It was pretty vivid. I suppose, in theory, my soul self could have somehow freed you. The hows and whys escape me though." Raven nodded to herself. "That's the only explanation I can come up with."

"Thank you, Raven."

"Don't thank me, I didn't consciously do it." Terra flinched. She was silent for a moment before putting forth a very tentative question.

"Would you have released me, if you had consciously known how?" she asked. Raven let out a short hiss of air and fell into quiet contemplation. That was a loaded question.

To Terra, the moments of silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Finally, the dark woman sighed. "Yes," she breathed out softly, "yes, I would have released you."

For a moment, the room seemed to brighten and the sorrow that permeated the tower was briefly repelled. For that one glowing moment, there was forgiveness, relief and the fragile and tentative grounds for friendship and trust.

"Thanks." No more really needed to be said. Silence again resumed. Both women were lost in their thoughts. Hesitantly, Terra broke it.

"I came back for a reason, you know," she said softly. Raven looked toward her. "I wanted to see him one more time. But they were all gone. Even you were." Raven nodded and sighed. Though Terra had left the question unspoken, some form of an answer was expected.

"A lot of things happened," Raven began. Her voice was more dull than usual. "It wasn't a sudden change; it was slow and almost undetectable. No one was really at fault for our break up."

"Then what happened?" Terra asked.

"We were growing up," Raven answered. "Our wants and interests became more diversified. Robin became overtly obsessed with Slade and his budding desire to go solo. Without our leader, balances shifted and tensions formerly easy to neglect grew." Raven paused then, and read the small scowl on Terra's face. Hesitantly, she placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and shook her head.

"It wasn't his fault. I was serious when I said no one was really to blame. There is more to hear."

"Sorry, please keep going."

"Beastboy was developing his interests in the theater. He was…good at it," Raven grudgingly admitted. Terra smiled. "BB was cast in various plays. He developed another circle of friends. Slowly, he began to neglect his duties as a Titan. I can't wholly blame him, though, that was his big chance to just be normal for once." Terra sat quietly.

"I think I'm beginning to understand."

"I'll bet," was all Raven said.

"Is there anything more?"

"Some. Cyborg, for one. He tried so hard to keep us together, keep us from fighting and falling apart. But he also wanted his relationship with Karen, Bumblebee of the Titans East. Cyborg just wanted a quiet relationship. It was impossible to balance to two in our former line of work. His nerves began to fray." It was getting hard for Raven to recount everything. The hurt was still close to her. She drew a shaky breath.

"Starfire suffered too," she said, continuing her tale. "She hated all the anger and tension in the tower. It was thick and suffocating to her. Then, to make matters worse, she found out about my…affections for Robin. Though he did not reciprocate them, Starfire felt jealousy, a foreign and miserable feeling for her. Our friendship was badly damaged. I just don't think she could cope. Star is a person of light, purity and trust. This onslaught of darkness took its toll on her." Raven stopped speaking, and she gave no indication that she was going to continue. Terra wasn't going to let her off though.

"What about you? I can see it in your face. You didn't get through that unscathed." Raven cracked a ghost of a smile and laughed weakly.

"Being dead has done wonders for your observational skills."

"Um, thanks. But I'm serious. About you…" Terra pressed.

"To put it simply, being an empath during that time was something beyond hellish. Everyone was broadcasting so strongly and my bond with Robin was incredibly painful. It became hard for me to separate my emotions from those of the others. I wasn't able to keep up. I became more introverted and almost never left my room. Because everyone's emotions were so tightly bound with mine, control became difficult and my powers began to falter. I guess you could say I was just spiraling."

"The rocks were in place," Terra mused softly, using an earth analogy, "but what caused the final slide?"

"A blow out fight that ended in flight, or more specifically, my flight from the tower." Raven answered simply. Terra tilted her head, a silent urge for her to continue. She took a deep breath. "It was after a fight with HIVE. My powers had faltered, I had been injured and they got away. Robin was livid. Beastboy made some comment, something snapped and all hell broke loose. It was a nasty fight and we all dealt some pretty low blows."

"Such as…?" Terra prompted.

"Things like intelligence, leadership, obsessions and…our humanity," Raven all but whispered the last word. Terra winced. Humanity would have been a very touchy subject among the former Titans. Cyborg was half machine, Beastboy struggled with his inner beast, Starfire simply was not human, Raven was a half demon, and Robin hated being human.

"What finished it, what caused you to run?" Terra asked. She was surprised and stabbed with guilt when tears sprang into Raven's eyes. That had been a bad question to ask. She began to apologize. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, I…" Raven shook her head and cut her off.

"Don't be. I shouldn't be this sensitive. After all, it's been four years now," Raven said in a wavering voice.

"You don't have to answer," Terra said softly, "it was insensitive of me to ask."

"Don't be sorry, please. I can tell you." Raven closed her eyes. Her voice was thick when she began again. "Somewhere during the fight, I had hit a nerve when I brought up Robin's apprenticeship with Slade. He got so angry at me, and rightfully so I guess. He told me-he told me that he regretted bringing me back, the he should have just left me with Trigon." Terra looked ill and outraged.

"I…loved him," Raven continued softly, "and he regretted the fact that I was alive. I felt angry and betrayed. After that, I just ran." Terra looked ready to kill.

"How dare he," she whispered in a deadly tone. He knew you had issues with your father and your destiny. What he did was just plain low. I could just…rrrrgghhhhh…"she growled. A small tremor rattled the tower. Through her tears, Raven looked surprised.

"You were dead," she commented, "How did you know that? I never told you."

"I told you, I touched the raven I saw, your soul self. When I did, it was like a movie on fast forward. I saw a bunch of memories, your memories I guess." Terra shrugged. "Your father was in them, it was the end of the world. The memories ended after that because you flew away." Raven looked mildly violated. "After you left, where did you go?" Terra asked, but it was punctuated by a yawn. Raven shook her head and glanced at her watch.

"It's late. We should be getting to bed. I'll explain that tomorrow. Do you have somewhere to sleep?"

"Yeah, I've been here since I woke up. I've been fixing up my old room." She looked sad for a moment. "I haven't decided what to do yet, beyond this place." This time Raven yawned.

"And now isn't a good time. Tomorrow. We'll figure it out tomorrow." Terra nodded in agreement. Slowly, the two left Robin's room and headed for their own.


Well, that is chapter two completed. There is more on the way; school has simply slowed it down a little bit. Thank you to all who reviewed the first chapter and also to those of you who have stuck with me. I hope this chapter was up to your standards. Until next time! Sora out.