Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.

Author's Note: I apologize to those of you whom I told that I would update soon. Feel free to blame CalliopeMused for writing too well for me to realize the time. Dance of the Skeletons is so good, it's illegal in twenty-eight states, Guam, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.
-Frank Herbert

The Unkindest Cut of All

Raven was half out of her mind with frustration.

"If he left twenty seconds ago, WHY ARE WE STILL HERE?!"

Cyborg stood his ground and began counting off his reasons with his fingers.

"One, you were meditating, and we both know you're going to need all your powers at your disposal to catch the grass stain. Two, he can fly, and you can fly, but I can't fly. Three, the Tower's lockdown takes some time to deactivate and neither one of us can get out until that happens."

Raven stared coldly at Cyborg.

"One."

The steel plate covering the window exploded away from the tower. Cyborg gulped- that wasn't supposed to be possible, according to the design specs.

"Two."

A black aura wrapped itself around Cyborg's torso.

"Now Raven… let's think this through…"

"Three!"

"AAAAHHHH!"

Raven and Cyborg shot out of the Tower like cannonballs, coming to an abrupt halt above the Jump City Bay. Raven looked around frantically for a green bird, while Cyborg frantically tried to avoid short-circuiting.

"Where is he- I don't see him!" shouted Raven.

Cyborg calmed his nerves down enough to speak. "His communicator's in the Tower still, so we aren't going to find him that way. If we're lucky, he's flying. That means we at least have a chance of finding him. Worst case scenario- he's swimming, in which case we're in serious trouble."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Why is him swimming bad? Wouldn't that mean he's moving more slowly?"

Cyborg shook his head. "That has nothing to do with it. If he's flying, he has to go to the city before we'll have trouble finding him. If he's swimming, he can go deeper and farther than any of us can- even with the T-Sub."

Raven realized immediately what he meant. If Beast Boy turned into a giant squid or some other denizen of the deep, he might never come back up. She quickly made her move.

"Raven- WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Finding Beast Boy."

Cyborg's facial expression was one of shock. Before his very eyes, suspended in the air, was Jump City Bay. If it was within a thousand meters of Titans Tower, it was about three feet higher than it was a second ago. Quickly, Raven began sifting through the water, psychically scanning the raised portion of the bay for any signs of intense emotion…

"There!" Raven pointed directly East, towards the mainland. With a crash, a couple billion tons of water returned to its original position around the Tower. Raven dashed off through the air towards the swift moving emotion she had felt, with Cyborg trailing behind her.

The two touched down on the sandy shore, with Raven's mind going a mile a minute.

My God what have I done I've killed him I've killed him oh God oh God oh God please don't die please be alright!

Either Cyborg was psychic, or he was noticing the sand around them melting as a black aura covered it. Regardless, he knew precisely what Raven was thinking without her saying a word.

"Don't beat yourself up, Raven. You didn't know. Hell, I hardly know, and I'm his best friend!"

"This wasn't supposed to happen," she sobbed. "At the very worst, he should have felt like he was watching Wicked Scary again- not this!"

Suddenly a terrible thought struck Raven and she stiffened in horror. Without warning, her legs gave out and she fell down to her knees, sobbing.

"My God, he'll never forgive me for this… for doing this to him…"

Cyborg knelt down and comforted his friend, trying to get her on her feet as quickly as possible. The longer they hesitated, the harder it would be to catch Beast Boy.

"Raven, he'll never hate you- it's just the kind of guy he is. You'll fix this up, there'll be a tearful apology, a mailbox will explode-"

"Terra. He's going to relive Terra." She broke down sobbing again, aghast at what she had done to her friend. Cyborg swiftly grabbed her wrists and pulled her to her feet, looking her in the eye.

"You underestimated your strength, Raven, and you definitely underestimated Beast Boy's past. But believe me when I say that whatever you do, whatever happens, he'll forgive you. It might take some time and some good old fashioned begging, but he will forgive you for this. Trust me on this one, Raven. Beast Boy's probably one of the kindest, most forgiving people I know. The real problem is going to be forgiving yourself. Can you do it?"

Raven looked down at the sand and wiped the tears from her eyes. When she looked back up her face was dry, but her bloodshot eyes betrayed her guilt, and her grief.

"If anything happens to him… if he's hurt because of this, or damaged because I was stupid and cruel and thoughtless… I don't think I'll be able to."

Guilt. Pain. Hunger. Fear.

I don't want to steal for them. I hate it. I hate them.

But it's better than the beatings.

A green dog nervously stuck its head out of the aluminum trash can in the alley, whimpered, and sank back out of sight.

Cyborg and Raven combed the streets for Beast Boy as thoroughly and as quickly as possible. Neither one was having much in the way of luck- neither Cyborg's infrared sensors nor Raven's psychic sweep were bringing up anything of use. The closest they had come was when Raven sensed a cat being chased by a dog, but further investigation revealed that neither animal was green.

"Don't worry, Raven. We'll find him." The cybernetic hero addressed his teammate's unspoken thoughts.

And I'll never play another game of hide-and-seek as long as I live! he silently added.

The pair continued their sweep, leaving no stone unturned (literally) as they combed through the city. They were nearing the two-hour mark when it hit them.

BOOM!

Raven let loose a uncharacteristic cry of surprise as a bus flew through the air and collided with Cyborg, sending him flying a good two hundred yards down the street. The pair had been so intent on their search that they had failed to notice the heavy footsteps behind them, or the creaking of the empty bus as it was lifted and thrown.

Raven did, however, manage to turn around just in time to see the red steel fist collide with her head.

Pain. Anger. Danger! Her!

Claws. A scream. Nothing.

Rage.

The trembling green rat sat upon the rancid pile of garbage, eyes squeezed tightly shut. Soon, the vision passed, the emotions passed, and it returned once more to reality.

Then the rat opened its eyes, and saw before it the scene that had so recently haunted his nightmare.

To say Adonis was pleased would have been an understatement. Not only had he successfully snuck up on two of those loser Titans, but he'd managed to get the girl as well! He knew- with a knowledge born of knowing- that she'd be completely at the mercy of his manly charms and his ripped physique. The only thing that could make this even more perfect would be if that pathetic stringy loser Beast Butt was around to beat up!

Adonis slung the unconscious Raven over his shoulder and turned to leave- they'd be staying at his place for the night, of course. He'd taken two steps before his final wish was granted- the little green guy was there to beat up!

But he wasn't so little right now. And neither were those fangs…

Somewhere between Adonis' legs, his suit developed a short circuit due to excess moisture.

Cyborg shook the cobwebs loose from his head, slightly dazed from being hit with a flying eight ton bus.

"Who… what… how… huh?"

The robotic Titan shakily stood up, completely confused as to what exactly was happening.

Then he heard the roar.

Yeah. He definitely knew that roar.

"Raven!" he cried, before running towards the roar as quickly as his four hundred pounds could conceivably move.

He arrived on the scene just in time to see the Beast transform back into his friend, before collapsing next to a red pile of scrap metal… and an unconscious empath.

"Beast Boy! Raven!" Cyborg dashed to his two friends, intent on making certain that they were alright.

Beast Boy, however, had other plans.

Pie.

A Ferris Wheel.

"Slade…"

Cyborg froze, staring at Beast Boy, hoping that he wasn't thinking about what Cyborg thought he was thinking about.

Mirrors. Mirrors everywhere. Slade everywhere.

"Raven. Wake up Raven. Wake up Raven!"

Raven moaned and sat up, a nasty bruise discolored the side of her face.

"What… happened?" she asked.

"Not now, Raven. Beast Boy's going through Terra again!"

Raven's eyes snapped wide as she spun around to see the green changeling behind her. He was curled into a fetal position, whimpering.

"Perhaps she wanted to keep you… as a pet."

"Whatever you're going to do Raven, NOW would be an excellent time to do it!"

Raven crawled over to Beast Boy and placed a glowing hand on his head, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Please… I'm so sorry…"

"Slade was right. You don't have any frie-"

Raven's eyes glowed brightly, and the spell was broken.

Beast Boy's eyes snapped open, and the first thing he saw was Raven.

But he didn't see the little violet-eyed girl crying softly on her knees in front of him.

All he saw were four red eyes, a billowing cloak, and innumerable sinister tentacles reaching out to drag him into the darkness.

The spell was lifted, but the damage had already been done.

The pain she felt when he frantically scrabbled away from her was beyond description.

The misery that tore her into pieces as he hid from her behind Cyborg's bulky frame was even worse.

But the worst agony came as she looked into his eyes. Eyes that had once smiled at her now looked upon her in abject terror. Eyes that were once full of life were hollow, empty, and dead. She was General Sherman to his soul's Atlanta, and now there was nothing left behind but a burning pile of crumbling debris. He had trusted her, and she had repaid that trust with a dagger in his back.

It was the unkindest cut of all.

Raven sat in the street, completely oblivious to everything around her. She didn't say a word as Cyborg collected up his frightened friend and carted him back off to the Tower. She almost didn't respond to her communicator as the robotic hero paged her, but that action was an automatic reflex that had been firmly ingrained into her psyche over the years. And while she was still distraught after he hung up, his words managed to give her a sliver of hope.

"He'll be alright, Raven. He's going to forgive you- I promise. All I need from you is your solemn promise not to interfere until he's ready. Oh, and don't get angry at me for going into your room. There's something in there that he'll need."

She'd agreed without second thought. He could do anything he wanted to- she didn't care in the slightest, as long as he could help Beast Boy.

That was all that mattered anymore.