Hellfire rained over the desolate ashen planet. Each corner of the earth filled with brimstone and fiery molten rock. The air was thick with sulfur and the sky's were stained in a dark orange. Hell had come. The laughter of demons without end echoed across the dead atmosphere as the lone warrior walked along the cracked stone path. He'd found her before, he'd find her again. Each step took him deeper into the fires of the netherworld but with each footfall has pace grew quicker as too did his resolve was strengthened.

"She'll be there, she'll help fight. She has to be there."

The words replayed in his mind much like the mantra of the girl he sought. He'd witnessed unspeakable atrocities and she was the final hope. His friends had fallen, their stone skin frozen in terror as he passed them by. He could not mourn their loss, only hope that the bringer of this new world could return it.

The journey was long but quieter than before. Perhaps the lack of banter between himself and his oldest enemy had helped in that but still he pressed on. Before too long the masked man stood before the old cathedral carved into the rock. Stepping through its old arches he searched for her. The girl he sought would be young, or so he expected. No older than 8. She would don a white cloak and would easily stand out amongst the dark surroundings.

As he continued to walk forward passed the old wooden pews he found that he could barely see. He concentrated hard to ensure he did not trip or fall. He neared what would be the pulpit in the front of the room, a single step up to a raised platform, when the ground began to shake. The pews beside him began to sink into the earth before lava poured in in their place. It filled the gap but did not flow over. The fire gave light to the room and the man himself turned to stone at what he saw.

In front of him, the girl he sought was not of a child's age but held the same years on her face as he did. The more terrifying display was her position. Her body lay limp against a large wooden cross. Her wrists and hands were bound to the old wood by large nails staked through her flesh. Her feet were firmly tied to the base. Her body was cut and scarred and the markings of her heritage were burned into her skin. Blood visibly stained both the wood and the ground beneath her. She sat lifelessly with her head hung before her and her skin a deathly pale white.

"Raven!"

He shouted. He felt 6 pairs of eyes on him but before he could look everything turned black and the image slipped away.

—

Pain was something of a forte for her. Not always in causing it, though a certain green changling would certainly attest to the contrary. Indeed there was a great deal of power hidden within her that was capable of destroying the world times innumerable, but the power she often used was not completely of her demon heritage. The black magic she most often used was much more ethereal in origin. The pacifist monks of her birthplace had taught her its form.

The power she used often aided in the protection of the people she held dearest as well as the citizens of her new home. Alongside her companions she'd helped fight crime and evil for the past 3 years. On this night in particular, however, her powers served a more mundane task as part of her desire to remain in her spot on the couch.

It was some time after 2:00 am and she'd escaped her room for a cup of herbal tea in the wake of her insomnia. Ever since she'd seen the hellfire her father had reigned down on her home she had recurring nightmares of his coming. On such nights she would generally meditate for a short while before exerting her remaining physical energy in the gym where eventually exhaustion would overtake her. Tonight she decided to distract herself in a different way, instead moving to the common room and delving into a new book.

Thus, she sat on the large c-shaped couch in nothing save her normal leotard and a knit blanket over her legs. She sat, or laid really, with her head propped up by the armrest of the couch. An old book sat in her left hand as another cup of tea levitated to her right. She was enthralled in another story based in the renaissance era. She so loved the ideal of knights, wizards, and royalty. It was all so fanciful to her and the truth of its reality only served to fuel that interest.

This book in particular was not so serious, which was quite the change from her usual pick of books. It's story laid out an epic adventure filled with fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, and true love. The dark girl nearly scoffed at the last two words. She was far from naive and knew the difficulty of such an emotion, though she'd never really experienced it fully for herself. Still the idea held some intrigue and the S Morgenstern novel kept her attention as she sipped her tea.

This late at night the tower would sleep and she would be left to her own musings. While she admittedly cared for her friends, she too loved her solitude. It was part of the reason she was reading in the main room at this early hour. Her surroundings gave her the sense of comfort she enjoyed from being around her friends but her knowledge of the hour allowed her peace to continue reading unbothered. It was rare but some nights she would escape the refuge of her room for this type of distraction. One night in particular she'd actually fallen asleep on the couch out of exhaustion and awoke to find herself back in her room, tucked into her velvet sheets. She never did find out who moved her but she had her suspicions.

The sound of metal doors whizzing open pierced the veil of silence that laid heavy in the room as heavy footsteps tread the stairs then continued on to the kitchen. Raven quietly shrunk down on the couch, trying to hide herself from the eyes of whomever had entered. She was not fearful of the individual but she was unsure if she wanted to have a conversation this late at night.

She felt emotions tug at her empathy as she realized annoyance plagued this victim in throes of sleeplessness, much like her own. The strength by which she could feel these emotions all too easily gave away who was standing in the kitchen, now audibly making a cup of coffee.

"A little late for caffeine isn't it?"

Her voice chimed in its usual monotone. She nearly cursed out loud as she realized her own mouth had spoken before she'd agreed to the idea. Her caring nature was difficult to suppress, especially when such negative feelings emanated off of someone she cared for.

Raven felt as confusion and concentration began to mask the other emotions and she could feel the icy blue of his eyes, still concealed, searching the room. She propped herself up on her elbows just tall enough for the young man to see her violet hair and chakra. The emotions of confusion fell away at the sight of her and a slight feeling of comfort made its way into the picture.

'Strange'

She thought, her eyebrow unknowingly popping up. She pushed the thought away as she allowed herself to fall back on the couch to her previous position.

"Yeah, you're one to talk."

He muttered half amused and half frustrated by her comment. He knew how much she detested coffee, trying on multiple occasions to get him to try her tea. He'd never taken her up on the offer claiming that he 'wasn't a tea person'.

After setting his coffee to brew the masked man made his way around the couch to sit near the middle as he waited.

"So what are you doing up at. . ."

He turned to look over his left shoulder at the the clock that sat above the entryway.

". . . 2:34 in the morning?"

He turned back to the dark girl who'd gone back to reading her book by this point. As his gaze fell upon her she lifted the book up a little higher signifying her answer.

"What about you, boy blunder."

She said through her emotionless tone. He turned away staring off into the dark bay beyond the wall of windows.

"Just couldn't sleep."

He said, a little more quietly. His mind drifted off and Raven could feel the emotions course through him. Concern, worry, fear. . . Regret. It wasn't much like the fearless leader to harbor such feelings let alone let them fester to the surface. Something was off. She sat back up on her elbows to look at him as she articulated her next statement.

"It's more than that, isn't it?"

The words came off in a low tone, brimming with her special brand of concern. Based on the look her words had warranted, he wasn't going to crack so easily. She could feel the hesitation steaming off of him like boiling water.

"It was just a nightmare, that's all."

He so often kept to himself that he would let simple things destroy him from the inside out. The few things he did allow to be shared were divided amongst them as if each had a special talent. His moral compass was always left to be corrected by Cyborg while his over seriousness was kept in check by Beastboy. Starfire helped to remind him of his humanity but Raven. . . . She offered a different type of comfort. The other titans generally served as corrective influences while she stood as the most likeminded person on the team. She was the one he could tell anything to and she would never judge. There was a bond of trust between the two and their knowledge of each other was proof of that.

Much of Raven's life was unveiled unwillingly by her father but she allowed her walls to fall when the two were alone. Like her, he could keep a secret and she felt the same safety and comfort he felt when speaking with her. Beyond this she was allowed permission to enter Robin's mind. The sanctity of his psychological fortress filled with secrets of identity and past worries were open to her.

"A 'nightmare' wouldn't leave you shedding emotions like a stray dog shedding fur."

Her words were all knowing. It was difficult to escape her knowledge and perception.

'She'd make a fine detective'

He thought. Raven could still feel the hesitation overcoming him and the look of him showed he was nearly paralyzed on the couch. Putting down her book on the arm rest and towing her mauve knit blanket along with her she gently sat next to her leader. Looking at him she could see the fear written into his face. Beyond his mask his eyes were wide open as if to stay the terrors that plagued the dark. Awkwardly she lifted a hand and placed it on his shoulder in comfort.

The motion pulled Robin from his stupor and he looked into her worrying azure eyes.

"Robin, you can always talk to me."

His head fell in defeat. He hated to share his fears as they made him seem weak. He was their leader he was supposed to be strong but sometimes the world proved too much for his human body to handle. He nodded to her as a final way of agreeing to tell her. Robin turned his body towards her as she brought her legs up to her chest, draping her blanket around her.

"I've been having the same dream over and over again for about a month now."

He began scratching his neck as he tried to think of how to explain his dream. Raven, wishing to settle his nerves levitated his now finished coffee to her own hands before offering it to him. A small smirk played on his features as he took it and consumed a large gulp before continuing.

"It's always about the day that you. . . Well that we. . ."

He struggled to find words to describe the day.

"The end. . ."

His eyes were downcast for fear of reminding his friend of the worst day of her life. She nodded in acknowledgment of what he spoke of before prompting him to continue.

"That was a whole year ago. . . We won. Is anything different in the dream?"

Robin internally sighed. Raven was far better at compartmentalizing than he gave her credit for. The mention of the day didn't shut her down, she was on a mission to help. That same dedication was something he always respected about her.

"Sort of. . . The other titans were turned to stone and I was the only one who made it to your father's ascent. After that I went to find you like I did before."

The emotions of pain poured off his troubled mind as Raven fought to keep her own thoughts positive.

"Did you find me?"

She asked softly.

"Yeah. . . But you were. . . ."

His ungloved hand reached up to cover his face as he struggled to withstand the thought of his deceased friends. He couldn't bare to think that they could die and there would be nothing he could do. Raven reached her hand out again to touch his shoulder, as she did she began to steal his harbored feelings, easing his mind. He didn't even realize what it was she was doing until it was too late. The dream was little more than a passed thought and his fears were replaced by a calm mind. When she'd finished she brought her hand back and placed it beneath the blanket, shaking heavily. Robin now free of his pain looked over at the trembling girl as she tried to process both everything he'd told her, and now everything he'd seen. Reaching forward to the coffee table he grabbed her tea and offered it to her. She produced the same shaky hand from her blanket and took a long sip, soothing her nerves.

"Why do you do this to yourself?"

He asked. Raven thought for a moment before responding.

"I hate seeing pain in the ones I care for."

Robin looked at her with a knowing gaze. That was not the full truth and they both knew it. Raven stood and began to make her way from the room, Robin's eyes glued to her. She stopped just before leaving the room and turned back to him.

"It's also my way of atoning, for the evil inside of me."

With that she turned and left her leader to his own thoughts. He stayed in the room and finished his coffee before he left to begin his morning ritual.