Disclaimer: Sorry! I forgot to put it in the first 2 chapters. I do not ownThe Crow, or any of it's characters. Ido, however,own Raven Derrick.


Raven entered her apartment and tore through it, running into her bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her. She flung herself down on her bed, and let a few tears fall as a rush of memories came to her. She remembered the times before Shelly, when Eric would come over just to hang out and talk about any random thoughts that came to mind. She remembered the nights that Eric would stay with her. Raven would snuggle up against his chest, never feeling more content, and Eric would have his arms wrapped around her. Then she remembered the times after Shelly entered the picture. The only times Eric ever came around was when something had happened between him and Shelly that he felt bad about, and then he'd leave as soon as he was done talking to Raven. That was when Raven slowly became more and more depressed. Then the suicidal bit came in. It all seemed to get worse the longer the relationship went on. The night the engagement had been announced, Eric and Shelly had come to Raven's apartment, and Shelly took Raven aside and asked her, flat out, if she had any feelings for Eric. Raven answered Shelly honestly, and promised that she'd keep her distance. Raven then gave them both some congratulations, and asked politely if they'd mind leaving. After they left, she tried to kill herself, but couldn't do it. The string of memories went on for a few minutes, then ended as abruptly as it started. She wiped away her tears and rummaged through her closet again. She pulled out her black tube top; tight, black, leather pants; black, knee-length, leather boots; and a black, floor-length, hooded velvet cloak. She threw them all on, then ran back into the bathroom. She pulled out the canister of white face powder she used when she was a member of Eric's band, The Hangman's Joke. She was a guitar player and back-up singer, but quit because the time she spent alone with Eric was driving her insane. Of course, she didn't share that with Eric. She said she got really homesick on tours and couldn't stay with the band anymore. She rubbed the make up on, then whipped out her trusty stick of black eyeliner. She coated the lash lines of her eyes, then drew lines coming down from the corners of her eyes, only on the outside, as if a stream of tears was falling from them. Then she coated and lined her lips with it, taking it out across her face at the corners there as well. To finish it off, Raven tied her hair back and threw up her hood. Giving herself a once-over in the mirror, she deemed herself ready to face the world and left the apartment, heading toward Eric's loft, planning on following behind him wherever he went.

Raven ran from rooftop to rooftop, hood drawn, cloak flowing behind her. When she saw Eric stop a few feet in front of her, she stopped as well and quietly moved behind the smokestack of the building to avoid being seen. She saw through the raven's eyes for a mere second and glimpsed Tin Tin, initial killer of both Eric and Shelly, stalking up the alley below. She smirked when the haunting sound of Eric's laughter filled her ears. Raven knew that laugh all too well. It meant Eric was up to something. She came out from behind the smokestack and perched herself on the ledge of the building, watching as Eric threw Tin Tin from one side of the alley to the other. She smiled knowingly and made her way to the edge of the building to her right and jumped off, landing easily on her feet in the shadows. She watched the conversation that ensued. "Murderer!" Eric roared, pinning Tin Tin to the wall in front of him.

"What you talkin' bout man? I didn't murder anybody. I don't even know you! What the hell you want?"

"I want you to tell me a story. A man and a woman in a loft."

"You're out of your mind man."

"Listen! I'm sure you'll remember. You killed them a year ago. On Halloween."

"Halloween. Yeah, yeah I remember. Some dude, some bh whatever man."

Eric cut him off by slapping him across the face. Raven silently cheered him on. She was growing pissed with Tin Tin and soon would have intervened.

"Her name was Shelly," Eric growled. " You cut her. You raped her."

"Shelly. Yeah, I shanked her pink ass and she loved it!" Tin Tin responded, throwing Eric to the ground and kicking him around a bit. "Murder, Murder!" he yelled. "Let me tell you a little something about murder. It's fun, and it's easy. And you gon learn all about it." He shook his coat off and pulled two knives from his belt, twirling them around a bit. "Like you to meet two buddies of mine. We never miss." He then turned to face Eric and hurled a knife at him, Eric easily knocking it aside. It landed at Raven's feet. She picked it up and fiddled with it as Tin Tin hurled yet another knife at Eric. "Try harder," Eric said. "Try again." Raven, having waited long enough, threw the knife at Tin Tin. It landed directly in his heart. She stepped out of the shadows as Tin Tin slumped to the ground, dead. She nodded at Eric, then ran off into the shadows, her raven following close behind.