Yes, it took me awhile. But you know what? After looking over everything, I've just realized that I only have a couple more chapters left to write for this story! It's weird, how fast it flies by, right? Man… I'd be disappointed, except for the fact that… (drumroll) this is a trilogy! So, I'll be getting to work on the next installment pronto! Again, I'm sorry about the delay. I've bee working my fingers to the bone—and I've already written the next two chapters in advance! That way, there shall be immediate updates, and there won't be any delay about the ending! I hope you guys are enjoying this fic…I feel bad, because I think, because it takes me so stinking long to upload new chapters, that I've lost a considerable amount of readers. So I guess I'm going to have to work on that… Aside from that, there's not much else to say!

Chapter Six: New Nightmares

"Do you think they're okay?"

"If you ask me that question again, I'm gonna blast your green butt," Cyborg muttered, rubbing sleep from his eyes and straightened in his chair.

"It's been, maybe, ten hours—"

"Three," Cyborg snapped underneath his breath.

"—could be dead, dude, or hurt, or, like, I don't know—"

"Who has died?" Starfire asked innocently, entering the room. Cyborg winced and, grabbing the nearest object, which happened to be a plate, chucked it at Beast Boy's head. Beast Boy narrowly avoided it by disappearing with a squeak behind the couch, and Cyborg turned his attentions to Starfire, who was now looking considerably alarmed.

"Nothing's wrong. Everybody's fine."

"Oh. All is well?"

"Yup. No problems here, so far."

Starfire nodded slowly, taking his words in, as she drifted over to where he sat beside the main monitor.

"What news of friends Robin and Raven?"

Beast Boy emerged from the couch's shelter to raise an eyebrow at Cyborg, who threw him a filthy look.

"Everything seems to be okay right now… Who checked on him last?"

Beast Boy shrugged.

"I did. 'Bout an hour ago, I think."

"May I go see him?" Starfire asked, looking anxiously back and forth between their faces. Cyborg gave her a warm smile, and got to his feet.

"Yeah, definitely. I'll come with you."

Starfire grinned nervously, looking almost apprehensive, and Cyborg placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"They're probably fine. Come on."

He took her gently by the arm and led her back into the hallway, pausing only to shoot a warning look in Beast Boy's direction just before the door closed.

The closer they got to the infirmary, the more Cyborg became steadily aware that Starfire seemed to grow more and more troubled, much to his immense confusion.

"It is nothing," she insisted earnestly when he called her on it, and gave him a wide, somewhat tremulous smile. She must have seen, based on his doubtful expression though, that her excuse didn't do anything in the way of convincing him, and she tried again.

"I am simply concerned for Robin."

"Aren't we all?" Cyborg replied calmly, offering a soothing grin as he unlocked the door to the infirmary. "Seriously, Star, if Raven's with him, he'll be just fine."

Starfire nodded brightly.

"Yes. You are right, of course. I did not mean to seem as if I were questioning her."

"I know," Cyborg said, leading her inside. "I know what it's like to feel that way. We all have, I'm pretty sure, at one point or another."

Despite Beast Boy expressing his concerns earlier, Robin seemed perfectly fine, still lying peacefully in the bed where they had put him. The monitor beeped occasionally, showing his heart rate, and mental state. All in all, Cyborg thought to himself with a note of relief that he was surprised at, everything seemed to be okay.

Starfire, during this time, had drifted over beside the bed to stare concernedly at him, one hand brushing away the hair that was sticking to his forehead.

"See? He's okay. Rae's going to be out in no time at all, and he'll be back before you know it."

Starfire laughed slightly.

"I suppose it was rather foolish of me to doubt."

"We all have our moments," Cyborg said casually, brushing it off. "C'mon; let's get back to see what Beast Boy's up to—"

And that was when one of the monitors began to beep urgently.

R-R-R

"Ugh…my head…"

"You're awake?"

Robin's vision trembled uncertainly in the darkness, before his eyes cleared, and he found himself gazing up at Raven.

"Yeah, I'm up," he told her, giving her a gentle smile, and was immediately surprised to see the furious blush creeping up on her cheeks, before she drew back.

Weird.

Slowly, Robin began to sit up, but was almost nearly bowled over again by the agony that pounded through his skull, and the slight pinched, burning sensation in his left arm. In spite of his best efforts, a groan of pain escaped, and he slipped, falling backwards; Raven caught him right before he slammed back into the ground, and, planting one hand firmly on his back, guided him into an upright position.

"You okay?" She asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah," he said cautiously, breathing and moving slowly in the hopes of alleviating some of the pain. It worked a little bit. "What happened?" He looked around, catching sight of their surroundings, and the door, which was a ways off.

"How much do you remember?" Raven prompted. Robin thought hard—as hard as his headache would allow him, anyway.

"We were in a prison, I think?" He said, the words coming out more like a question, as he glanced at Raven for affirmation. She nodded; a sign to continue.

"And…X was there?"

"And Terra."

"We were fighting, right?"

"Right. Something happened with you and X. You fainted…and you gained another piece of armor."

Robin stared at his arm, noticing with a grimace that there was, indeed, metal as well as a black sleeve creeping up to his shoulder now. At the rate he was going, how long would it be until his entire body was covered with the old uniform, just like had Slade had warned? And what would happen then?

He almost didn't want to know the answer.

Raven was examining his body carefully, poking and prodding softly at his arms and legs. Robin blushed, glad that she was so occupied that she didn't see.

"What are you doing?"

"Checking you; where are you hurt?"

She looked up from where she'd been checking his wrist, her deep purple eyes catching and locking with his for the briefest of moments, and Robin mentally stumbled, as he struggled to remember how to speak.

"I'm…I'm okay," he lied. "It's just a small headache, that's all."

The eyes narrowed with doubt, but Raven withdrew, trusting him for the time being.

"All right."

"What do we do now?" Robin asked, staring forlornly at the black scenery again. Raven bit her lower lip, thinking.

"Can you walk?"

"Yes," Robin replied immediately, a little defensive.

"Let's keep going," she suggested, helping him to his feet anyway despite his protests.

"Any reason? Robin asked, gritting his teeth as he swayed a bit, before finding temporary balance.

"Before we leave, I want to find out more about Slade's presence. Just because I can probably get you out doesn't mean the same for him," Raven told him gravely. "Otherwise, you might just slip right back into the coma. So I want to see if we can find anything."

"Good idea," Robin said softly, as the idea dawned on him. Raven gave him a quick smile and, with a jerk of her head, motioned for Robin to follow her lead.

Their footsteps resounded in the dark, as they trailed along wearily, eyes struggling to pierce the shadows, in the hopes of finding some sort of escape or freedom from the gloom. Robin's headache, while still continuing to linger, began to ease up after a bit, and his mood improved somewhat.

"We're going to get out of here," Raven told him at one point, looking back over her shoulder and noticing the change that had come over him with a hint of relief.

"Of course," Robin replied, smiling back at her.

She paused, thinking, before saying in as best a joking voice as she could manage:

"Damn Slade, for sticking us in here, huh?"

Robin laughed a little, massaging the muscles in his trapped arm in an attempt to restore some feeling to the area.

"If I ever see that creep again, I'm going to banish him to another dimension, or…kill him, or something."

Robin grinned, but something odd and unfamiliar stirred in his heart, something mysterious and startlingly potent.

"You can have the first shot, if you want; I'll hold him and you p—"

Robin wasn't quite sure what he'd done at first, it had happened so fast. All knew was that as Raven was speaking, he'd felt a blinding hatred run through him, and had moved towards her, his armored hand raised high, and from there it was all a blur.

And then Raven was sprawled on the ground, holding her cheek with one hand, staring up at him in fear and pain.

"Oh God, Raven," he muttered, rushing to kneel at her side. "Are you okay? I—I don't—"

She flinched as he reached for her, and that single action froze him.

"I…Raven…Raven, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine," she murmured shakily, as he folded his arms around her and helped her to her feet. She hugged him briefly, and then backed away, eyes roving across his face.

"What is it?"

"You're back."

Robin blinked.

"'I'm back'? What do you mean?"

"You didn't hit me," she explained. Robin felt even more perplexed now.

"Of course I did, Raven. It was terrible, and I don't know why I did it, but—"

"It wasn't you," she repeated, louder this time. "I saw your face right when I turned towards you. It was changed. It wasn't you."

She took a breath, and went on.

"It reminded me of what Slade said, about how the wrist band was the beginning of your imprisonment… I can't quite figure out what he meant by that, but I think that the pieces appear when you do something that Slade would want, or act like him…and maybe…" She bit her lip, looking uncomfortable as she continued in a much softer voice, "he's controlling you at some points with the armor…"

Robin felt nauseated at the idea.

"You think he's making me do things?"

"Just this one time," Raven said quickly, reassuring him. "But…I don't know…I'm not sure what you might do next time."

Robin felt a surge of determination run through him, and he stepped forward, catching hold of Raven's hand.

"There won't be a next time," he stated solemnly. "I won't let him control me, and I won't let him hurt you through me. And I definitely won't let him win. We're going to get through this together, I know it!"

He said this with such fervent passion that he didn't even notice another flush of color suffusing her cheeks. Of course, as soon as he was finished, he noticed with a jolt that he was actually holding Raven's hand, and felt a thrill race through him…and then, immediately embarrassed at the fact that he was still holding it, dropped it.

But even as they began moving forward again, his hand still tingled. Whether Raven believed it or not, he had meant every word. She might never know, but as far as he was concerned, he would never let Slade hurt her; he loved her too much to ever let Slade get the chance to attack her, and it killed him that he'd hit her, and that she'd flinched when he'd drawn closer to her.

R-R-R

It took about ten minutes of walking before Robin noticed that they had stumbled into a new area. It had grown darker, if that was even possible, and Raven had resorted to using her powers to trap whatever remaining light was nearby into a small sphere to guide them. The air had grown mustier, and as they traveled farther and farther, dust and cobwebs began to block their path.

"Where are all these cobwebs coming from?" Raven asked, curious, and Robin shrugged, pulling his bo-staff from his belt to hack a curtain of filth out of their path.

"Not sure."

Raven sneezed once, twice, and Robin laughed a little, even though it caused him to suck in a lungful of grime.

"Bless you."

There was no reply. Robin paused, in the middle of hacking another ten or so cobwebs away, and looked over his shoulder to where Raven stood, concentrating.

"Raven? What's—?"
"Do you hear music?" She cut in, puzzled. Robin, surprised into silence, listened. It was distant, almost inaudible, but Robin could definitely hear something, a pleasant, tinkling melody.

"That's really weird," He admitted after a minute, brow scrunching. Where do you think it's coming from?"

They exchanged looks.

"Come on," Raven said, striding forward with Robin on her heels, struggling through the drapes of webs.

The inviting music faded and grew louder at different intervals as they drew closer; at some points, Robin thought he could hear a voice bellowing, but he blamed it on his imagination. It had to be. There was no one else here but the two of them.

Well, Slade too, but he preferred not to think about that too much.

Eventually, the music swelled with such volume, that Robin was sure they were almost there. And yet, as they did so, there was something about it that seemed so hauntingly familiar, it was disturbing. His steps slowed, even as Raven hurried forth, and for the briefest of moments, he wasn't sure he wanted to go any farther.

But then, a light appeared up ahead; it was so welcoming after the hours of nothing but darkness that Robin momentarily forgot his uneasiness and raced towards it alongside Raven, passing through, and appearing in the most unlikely of places.

They were standing in the inside of a circus tent.

R-R-R

Raven blinked, her pupils contracting as she struggled to take in the vibrant surroundings. Slowly, her eyesight adjusted: Bright multi-colored stripes made up the walls of the tent, and there were benches upon benches filled with excited audience members cheering and laughing the antics of different performers, while gasping at the more daring attractions. In the center of the ring, the ringleader looked on, applauding wildly as if to prompt the audience, while a girl who had been swallowing knives and fire exited with a dramatic bow. She skipped right by them on her way out, her eyes sliding over and past them without a hint of emotion. She wasn't the only one; out of the hundreds of people packed in the tent, performers and audience alike, not a single one had turned to stare at them since they entered.

Like they weren't even there.

"What is this?" She muttered, looking over at Robin to see what his reaction was to all of this. He wasn't even looking at her though, just staring around at the scene with a blank, frightened expression, as if he had just drifted into a nightmare.

If he was worried, it had to mean that they still weren't safe.

The ringleader had returned to the center of the ring, now shouting something about the bold act that they were all about to witness; a trapeze escapade without a net, by none other than the daring, the talented, the incredible Flying Graysons!

The crowd went wild as a man and woman appeared at the foot of two ladders opposite of one another, and climbed up to where the trapeze was waiting. They seemed nice enough, waving and grinning at the audience and at one another. As both of them reached the top, the woman suddenly leapt forward and flew through the air to snatch hold of the trapeze's handle. The man joined not long after, the two of them swinging gracefully and twisting through the air with natural ease. Raven even found herself getting lost once or twice in the magic of the performance. While it was amazing, she still saw no reason why this was here in Robin's mind, why they had been led here in the first place, or why, for that matter, was Robin so—?

Gunshots erupted, and Raven started.

SNAP! The wires holding the trapeze up began to split and separated, and Raven gasped, horrified.

"It's Tony Zucco!" Someone screamed for all to hear, and the ringleader, staring up at the man and woman, looked as though he were about to be sick.

The two trapeze artists hung in mid-air for a suspended moment, as the wires finally snapped, before they began to plummet towards the ground, while the audience screamed in terror. Raven watched, dismayed, and looked away at the last minute, unable to bear the sight of the man and woman hitting the ground…

Her eyes latched onto a small boy standing at the edge of the tent. He couldn't have been more than eight or nine, with dark hair ruffled untidily in every direction and would have been adorable, had not his blue eyes been wide with fear.

There was a loud, disgusting crack behind her, and the boy's mouth fell open in a scream.

"NOOOOO!"

In the style of a bad dream, the scene around her melted into darkness once more, the cries of the audience, the strange little boy, all of it fading; Raven, shaken, looked at Robin, and found him staring at the ground, his face stark white.

"Robin?" She asked uncertainly, taking a step closer to him, and his eyes darted up to her face. He was trembling.

"Robin, what was that?" Raven pressed, feeling her heart twist, when he didn't answer.

"Robin," she said again, "What was—?"

Click, click, click…

Both Titans glanced up towards the ceiling to see hundreds of different gears moving and meshing together. Raven temporarily forgot her question, and raised an eyebrow in bemusement.

"Let me guess," she said dryly. "The gears turning in your head?"

She looked over at Robin, to see if he was laughing or looked any better; if anything, he looked even more drained than before.

"I don't think so," he whispered. "I-I think…"

There was a loud crack behind them, followed by a cry of pain, and both Titans looked to see a darkened room, lit only by light from large plasma screens mounted on the wall that were currently monitoring four different people's blood streams. A teenager lay crumpled on the floor, panting.

It was Robin.

And Slade was kneeling over him, cruelty and frustration reflected in his exposed eye.

"I made you my apprentice," Slade was snarling, kneeling down to grabbing hold of the other Robin's head roughly. On the other side of the room, Raven felt Robin stiffen next to her, and she felt her eyes widening, her stomach lurching.

"All my knowledge, all my power, all for you! But the only thing you care about is your worthless little friends!"

He released Robin and turned his back on him, leaving him shaking and quietly groaning in pain on the floor.

"Stop."

Raven jumped, nearly forgetting where she was, and looked over at Robin, who was quaking uncontrollably now.

"Stop it," he was muttering. "I don't want to see anymore."

The scene ebbed and flowed as the previous one had, the darkness swallowing it whole, and leaving the two of them alone again. Robin shivered, wrapping his arms tightly around his body unconsciously, and sank to his knees.

"So now you know," he said coldly, addressing her. "Now you know what it was like, first-hand."

Raven was speechless.

"I don't want to keep seeing it again, not ever again," he said softly. "No more…"

R-R-R

He didn't care that he was trapped in his mind, or that Raven was standing right next to him; all Robin knew was that he wanted to be left alone, and that he didn't want to be forced to relive these miserable, these torturous moments over and over again for the single purpose of tormenting himself. All he wanted was to forget, as frail as a hope it was; he didn't want to remember.

Arms folded around his body unexpectedly, causing Robin to jerk violently in surprise as Raven sank down beside him, hugging him tightly. Then he relaxed, exhausted, afraid, but for the first time since the dust, felt calm and almost safe.

"It's okay," she whispered. "I know…"

"I'm so sorry, Raven," he muttered into her shoulder, holding onto her. "I didn't mean to get you involved…to let any of this…"

"Shh…it's gone," she murmured soothingly. "It's gone, and all of that's over. It happened a long time ago. Please, let it go."

Robin felt his eyes begin to water in spite of himself, and his shoulders and body began to shake, wracked with dry sobs.

"I'm…I'm so stupid. He's right…he's always right. I'm a bad—"

"No you're not," Raven told him, voice rising slightly. "Don't say that. He doesn't know anything about you, he doesn't care about you. You're better than him, so much better, and don't forget it."

"I'm sorry…I never wanted any of this…I'm sorry…" Robin whispered into her shoulder.

"It's all right, Robin," she told him tenderly, stroking his hair as he continued to cry quietly. "It's all right, I promise… I'm here…"

Robin continued to cling to her for a few minutes longer, before pulling back to look at her face. Raven smiled, silently regretting that he had moved away so quickly, but a second later, her eyes widened as he leaned forward again, hands curled gently around her shoulders…

And kissed her.

To be Continued…

Ha! How'd you like that ending? I was debating whether or not to end it at Raven's last line, but then I decided that this would transition better into the next chapter.

Coming up next: Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy discover a disturbing problem with the dust, Raven and Robin get closer, Slade plans more nastiness, and something awful begins happen.

So, new chapter will be coming very soon. Please review, and I'll see you guys around!

Later—

Rebel