A brilliant sun began casting its brilliant, radiant glow upon the Earth, just starting to burst over the horizon. It revealed many things, amongst them included thick, evergreen forest that seemed to stretch on for miles, farther than the eye could see. Small streams with smooth beds, worn over time, were the only irregularities amongst this sea of dark green. The trees themselves cast dark shadows over the ground, not allowing the sun's warmth reach it, leaving it cold. Yet, there was a small clearing, a hole in the treetops just large enough for light to push through, dancing across the grassy forest floor below. Upon this floor though was a figure, that belonging to a female. Her violet hair was caked with mud and matted. The pale grey skin upon her flesh was covered in earth as well, her black clothing long since worn away and destroyed, only tattered pieces remained. Armor upon her neck, shoulders, arms, and legs was dented and destroyed beyond practicality. Upon her body lay many grievous wounds, ranging from mere lacerations and abrasions to severe injuries so deep; they continued to seep blood. The figure felt to warmth of the sun beginning to bask upon her battered body and begun to stir, slowly moving her head, opening her eye, revealing its amethyst color, the other wounded beyond healing, blood still fresh upon it, a deep gash still visible down the right side of her face, crimson caked upon it with mud as well, making a very grizzly sight to anyone of sound mind. She turned to her side, letting out a pained groan as she did so, holding the right side of her ribcage. She looked around, trying to find out exactly where she was.

"W-W-Where am I?" She quietly questioned herself, attempting to sit up, only to fail from the severe pain, falling down once more, heaving for breath.

The young female noticed a tree not out of her reach, and began crawling to it, paining her with every inch she took forward, cringing, gritting her teeth. She managed to lean up against it, her back resting upon it as she sat on the ground, watching the world around her slowly come to life.

"Well, Raven," she finally said to herself in a forced, exasperated voice, "I really hope all of this was worth it, I'm in the middle of nowhere, I'm nearly dead, and I don't see anyone else, so what am I to do? I can't turn back now, I mean, Mother sacrificed her own well being so I may live again, and I am not about to compromise that and make her effort in vain, yet I have no clue as to what I am to do from here."

She thought about it for a moment, studying her wounds. Raven noticed that most of her minor injuries had healed thanks to her powers, but her more serious ones continued to slow her. The deep gashes from the blade still remained fresh, as well as her broken ribs. She picked caked dirt off of the wound in her shoulder, the one that caused her downfall in the end. Raven knew she was in serious condition and need help, knowing her healing powers would only go so far, especially after losing almost all of her abilities and unable to control what she had managed to retain. She ran her hand across her ribs, flinching at their tenderness as she did so, the coming up to the armor that lay on her shoulders and around her neck.

"I can start by getting rid of this useless crap," she managed, beginning to undo all the binds on her various pieces of metallic armor plating.

One by one, the armor fell off her person, finally lifting the loosened shoulder piece off, tossing it to the side atop the pile of battered, bloodied metal.

"Already feeling better," she managed, letting out a faint laugh, only to have it quelled by a surge of pain.

She used the tree as a crutch, crawling up it, crawling to her feet, weakly standing on them while leaning on the tree.

"Some destiny," she thought, looking around again, now able to see where she was. All she saw was forest, all around her. She knew it was nowhere near where she was last located at, the trees themselves were so different in appearance from what she remembered. "The only thing to do I guess is to start walking, I'm sure something will eventually come up, if not, well, can't say I didn't try."

Raven prepared herself, gently pushing off of the tree with her arms, standing upright; pain coursing through her body as weight was applied to her feet. She gritted her teeth and labored her breathing as she took a step forward, almost in a limp, and nearly falling over from the immense intensity of the suffering she bore down on her body. She managed through it, surprised she was even able to walk, especially after her foot was crushed by debris in the cave in, only to take yet another step that was just as painful as the first. Raven felt it as a personal victory, even though many more similar steps lay ahead of her if she ever hoped to continue upon her destiny, and truly find out why she was to continue living instead of meeting her fate as she should have.

"This is so difficult, both physically and mentally," Raven told herself, managing to leave the clearing and push through the evergreen forest, the sun beginning to be shrouded by the treetops, making it appear as if the darkness of night was upon her. "I'm hurt, I have no powers, I'm far from home, or from what I was told anyways, I'll find out soon enough. That isn't all though, I may never see my friends again, I don't see why I couldn't, I feel fine, but Mother warned me that I can easily lose control of what power I retain, and I don't want to hurt the ones I love and care for. Yet, I can't go through life knowing I'm going to be alone for the remainder of it."

She continued for a short while, still thinking about what was at hand, still wanting to know the much-needed answers to her many questions, but all they did was elude her, even as if they were mocking her at times. She stopped to rest, falling to her knees beside a slow-flowing stream of shallow water, crystal clear with the melted snow from the nearby mountains. Raven took a drink, cupping her hands to sip from them as she lifted them to her dry mouth. Nearly exhausted, she took another cupped portion of water and liberally splashed her face with it, taking dirt and hardened blood with it, yet much of it remained. Raven stopped dead in her tracks, staring at the reflection that shimmered in the placid stream, her reflection. Shocked and horrified, she brought her hands up to her face, pushing hair out of it, truly noticing the damage Slade wrought upon her. Her nimble fingers caressed her face, feeling the track of the gash that ran down her face, pain surging at just the mere touch.

"Is this what has truly happened to me?" Raven questioned in disbelief at what she saw staring back at her in the water. Raven continued to stare into the calm waters.

"As I said, child," a sinister voice resonated in her head, echoing, "you and I are so much alike, well, it's disturbing." Slade's masked face appeared in the pool in place of her's, her pupil shrinking with fright.

"No!" Raven exclaimed, slapping the water, disrupting his image, yet his cold laugh continued to sound inside her head, sickening her. "You're dead, I watched you die! I killed you with my own hands!"

"That may be, Raven," the errie voice continued within her mind, "but as long as you are living, part of me will continue to live on as well, and that, Raven, is the reasoning behind what I have said this entire time. You cannot kill what is already dead."

"I'm in control! Not you!" She continued to deny, holding her head, pain surging through it, growing more intense with each passing moment.

"Are you?" Slade's voice haunted her, "or are you merely lying to convince yourself otherwise? Face it, Raven, you are nothing now. I made you what you were, and I destroyed what you were, even taking away what you had before I entrusted my teachings on you."

"Get out!" She ordered, distraught with his haunting, even after he had expired, he continued to pain her greatly.

"That's it, Raven, let Rage consume you, it's bound to happen," Slade sneered, almost as if he were in front of her, "the sooner, the better. It's only a matter of time before you lose control and, well, let's just hope that no one you care for is around, things could get, well...messy."

Raven continued to thrash about, holding her head in despair, gritting her teeth, attempting to shake the evil manifestation within her mind. She opened her eye once more, only to find Rage staring back at her this time, 4 red eyes glowing intently, a sharpened-tooth smile of a demon bearing.

"You really should listen to your Master, Raven," the demonic version of her stated, her voice deep and dark, "it's for the best of things. Besides, he doesn't seem to be that bad of a guy, and you denounced him, for shame, Raven."

Raven felt her energy building, but at the same time, felt her control starting to slip away, knowing her powers were becoming unruly, their sheer magnitude unable to be contained much longer.

"That's it, Raven," they announced in unison, sounding more sinister than before, "let it out, let your true self show, it's what is meant to be."

She threw her head back, her arms outstretched, A black surge of energy forming around her.

"No," Raven thought, struggling to hold it in, but the power was becoming too great.

She was blinded by intense light, her energy releasing, sending out a black shockwave in all directions. Fissures erupted from the ground, dancing across the earth beneath her, splitting it wide open in deep crevices. The ground trembled and shook violently as the energy passed over it, the devastation following it, but absolutely destroying everything that stood in its path. Raven gasped for breath, still blinded by the intensity, her vision slowly coming back into focus. She looked on wide-eyed, taking in all around her, seeing the damage she had unwillingly wrought upon the landscape. For at least a 500 ft. radius around her kneeled body, there was nothing but scorched, broken earth, trees completely leveled within that perimeter, all that managed to survive was the stream, being in its own bed and banks, untouched by Raven's deadly expelling of energy.

"No," she told herself, not wanting to believe what her mother had told her, "no, I can control my powers, I know I can, this, this…isn't real."

"Don't lie to yourself, Raven," Rage retorted, Raven darting back to the shimmering water to see her demonic form staring back at her. "You and I both know you have completely lost it, all of it. Your friends, your powers, your home, well…your life."

"It's a lie!" Raven screamed at her reflection, tears forming in her only functioning eye, "I will return to my friends, I will regain my powers and control, I will return home. I will gain back the life I once had, and not you, Slade, or anyone else is going to stand in my way!"

"All in due time, all in due time, Raven," taunted Rage, letting out a deep, throaty laugh as her image dissipated from the water, tears falling from Raven's cheek.

"I can't believe this is happening," Raven thought, watching her tears fall upon the dirt, "I can't listen to her or Slade. I have no idea as to how or why he's in my mind and thoughts, but he isn't going to sway me, nor Rage, I will not bend and break to their will, this is my body, my life, and I am in control, not them."

Raven took another cupped portion of water and drank vigorously, preparing herself to continue upon her quest and journey, having no idea as to where to go and what she was to do.

"I refuse to give up," she told herself, wiping her chin with forearm, taking dirt and blood with it. She slowly rose to her feet, stepping through the stream, easily traversing its shallow bed of smooth stones. Travel afterwards was just as easy after she had leveled the forest surrounding her, but it soon became difficult to continue once more as she entered the woods once more.

"Note to self," Raven commented, trying to find anything that would take her mind off of what was at hand and could possibly be what she it to expect for the rest of her life, "never go on a nature hike voluntarily ever again, I can't stand this."

Raven crawled and pushed her way through the thick undergrowth, slowing what progress she attempted to make. She continued to think, seeing that was all that she was able to do at the moment.

"I really do hope I can return," she quietly said to herself, noticing the sun was high in the sky by now, signaling that several hours had easily passed, yet it seemed as if she hadn't gone anywhere, all the forest around her looked the same from the last. "I wish to see my friends, all of them, again. Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and even Beast Boy, especially Beast Boy, er, I mean Garfield. He is the one that truly stopped me from making a fatal mistake that would have cost both them and I greatly, more than I could possible comprehend. Garfield truly is my savior, I will admit that, and as well as someone I have deep feelings for. Cyborg knew about "us", knowing that we both liked each other, but would never reveal our true feelings to the other. He always acting childish, while I shut him out because of those said antics, while in truth, he did it to hide those feelings, as the same reason I did to mine. We waited and waited, a long time, too long. Before either of us could tell the other those three simple words that were true to their nature, I left, I left and didn't expect what happened to me to do just that. Slade warped my mind greatly, but Garfield returned it to its logical state, and that is the one I wish it to remain in, now and forever."

She stopped thinking for a moment, recalling the next events, a smile gracing her lips.

"I do admit though, it was very…exhilarating when he and I were in mock battle," she managed with a slight twinge of humor, holding her side as she continued to limp forward. "His body against mine, I felt, well, secure, he protected me, I did the same for him, I knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Slade, especially after what he did to Robin, the nerve of that psychopath. I knew Slade was capable of many things, but that was something I wasn't about to allow him to do. Garfield had me there, but when Slade began pulling the trigger that would end Robin's life, I had the most severe of reality checks, telling me that these people where my friends, basically family, and nothing was going to ever change that, and I wasn't about to allow Slade to. I knew it was going to be difficult and I was to go through Hell, but in the end, it was all worth it. I saved my friends, quelled his plans, and finished him off once and for all. He truly isn't human if he manages to come back from that. I say this too, he knew I had him defeated, yet I was over-confident and he was desperate, spelling disaster for me."

Raven finished with that comment, holding her shoulder, the very same pierced by Slade's shattered blade, the remaining part that ran her through, stopping her from ending his life and escaping intact.

"Their rescue mission may have seemed in vain to them," she thought, pushing through more brush and undergrowth, "but to me, to me it was what began the chain of events that led to my freedom, my release from the chains that bound me to that monster. If I know how they are, they probably erected some kind of memorial in my honor or had some kind of service for me, which is completely understandable, it just seems so…weird that they have, yet I am alive, but they don't know."

She stopped, an idea popping into her head, a smile beginning to come across her face once more.

"Wait a minute," she stated, taking her good hand and searching the belt upon her waist, looking through the many pouches, trying to find the one thing that may prove to be useful. She put her hand in one on her right side, feeling the object, grinning. Raven removed it, a circular yellow device of a compact design, a black circle with a white "T" in the center of it, the antenna still on it as well. She opened it, the screen activating, all of it remained intact.

"Thank you, Azar," she praised, extending the antenna, pushing a button to contact someone, that someone any of her friends that were available. Yet, no sooner than she did, the screen froze up, flashing not one, but two messages that made her sick to her stomach:

LOW BATTERY

NO SIGNAL

"Piece of.." she cursed, violently snapping it closed and stuffing it back in her pocket. "I left it on and my trip to and from that…place, or whatever it was, probably fried what part that did work on it."

Distraught, Raven continued to trudge forward, the daylight around her beginning to grow more and more dim, signaling the end of another day was coming, having managed to cross a great distance, yet no closer to anything recognizable, only forest, only tree after tree, so many, she had long since grown tired of seeing them. She stopped for a moment, resting against a tree, leaning on it, pain shooting up from her feet, telling her they could not take her where she needs to go much longer, it is time for much-needed rest.

"If this is some kind of joke," Raven said aloud, attempting to yet again, throw her mind off of what was at hand, "it has long since lost its funny."

Her voice echoed through the trees, resonating off of each one, coming back to her weaker and weaker, until it was no longer heard.

"Look at me," Raven told herself, "I'm losing it, if I don't find something useful or someone to provide me with assistance, then I will surely go crazy."

"You're never alone," Rage's demonic voice chimed in, "Raven, as long as you continue to breathe, I will always be here, watching your every move."

"You'll do just that, watch," Raven snapped back, becoming irritated with her evil side.

"I may take over when you need me to do so," the demon within her replied, not phased one bit.

"I know this, that's why you helped me kill Slade, and don't deny you didn't, I felt it," Raven boldly informed, trying to throw her off.

"This is true, I love the lust of battle, you and I both know that, I can't resist," Rage admitted, "but I made a powerful ally in the process. He represents everything you have grown to hate, despise, all that jazz. No matter how much you deny it, part of him lives on inside of you whether you wish it or not. And that part, dearest Raven, is what I need to gain complete control of you and your abilities when the time comes, let's just hope there isn't anyone around you care about, I may hurt them."

"Shut up!" Raven ordered, "you're just like him, nothing, and nothing is just that, nothing, you are will not gain control, not now, not ever."

"Still the same as ever," Rage commented in Raven's denial, "a scared, little girl. The Elders as well as your mother were correct, you are born of pure evil."

"Don't you dare speak of my mother," Raven warned, really wishing she had her mirror, the very same that was a portal to her mind. "You're lucky I don't have my mirror, otherwise I'd have to come in there and settle the score."

"Don't make me laugh," Rage managed, half-heartedly, "without your powers, you wouldn't stand a chance against me, so why don't you just be a good, little girl, and do as you are told."

Raven didn't say another word, knowing that it was useless to argue with her anger, as it would only aggravate it, and cause it to get what it wanted, control.

Time dragged on even further, passing well into the evening, visibility reduced to nearly nothing in the thick overgrowth that she continued to go through. Exhausted, tired, hungry, Raven continued, knowing the longer she took to find help, the less chance she had of surviving. Instead of merely walking, Raven had depreciated to stumbling from tree-to-tree, using them as points upon which she could rest for a moment, then push herself off once more to find the next. Her breathing was labored from pain, her wounds still fresh enough to cause much despair. She vaulted off of another tree, not realizing that she had in fact came into another clearing, stumbling over her own two feet, and landing face first into the mud, laying on her stomach. Raven quickly lifted her head from the muck, spitting out what managed to get in her mouth, wiping the remants from her face. Raven tried and tried with all her might, but she could not summon enough strength to rise again, only laying there breathing, her head turned to one side.

"This is it," Raven told herself, feeling her conciousness beginning to slip away, unable to remain awake, "this is how it ends, out here in the middle of nowhere, dead. And from what? A climatic battle? No, from freaking exhaustion. I may be level-headed and keep my cool most of the time, but this is just plain bullshit, I'm sorry, it is. I'm put here to live once more and I can't even do that, I'm pathetic."

Raven's vision blurred in and out of focus, finally fading to black, the dark forest and twilight sky the last things her sight retained.