A/N- Hi everybody! Time for the new installment! A general review thanks to Shizuke Tsukishima749, Taeniaea, and Tsuki-hime Neko.

Buddybuddy96- I'll explain them here, not to worry!

XDark-Titan- Yes it is! (Obviously, as this is being posted.) I switch off between my three active stories.

Without further ado…

Heart

Chapter 4: Encounter

Raven's eyes were set on the folded hands on her lap. She could not face her friends; she did not want to see their expressions of concern, hurt, worry. It pained her to see how they worried for her, as she felt that their attentions would be much better suited elsewhere. Raven could more than handle herself. Or at least she felt that she had to. Getting them involved again…was it really right? Was she selfish for letting them know and drawing their attentions to her?

"So, friend," Starfire prompted after a moment's silence, "You mean to say that you happen to be the target of these Heartless whom we have been searching for?"

Raven nodded mutely.

"Dude, why couldn't you have told us before we-," Beast Boy was interrupted by Cyborg's slap to his head. "Ow, what was that for?!"

Robin penetrated the silence with a harsh, meaningful look at the changeling. "Now that we know, we need to take action. Sora, if you don't mind, I would like you to brief the entire team on the Heartless. We still don't really grasp the concept."

"Um, sure," he replied. "The Heartless are led by- I guess villains is the right word. Villains like Maleficent (1), for example. The Heartless themselves are mindless shadows; the darker a living mortal's heart, the larger and more destructive of a Heartless that can be created if the Heartless capture them. A person is only made into a Heartless, however, if they're completely overcome by the Heartless and killed. The Heartless are attracted to two things; dark hearts, because they crave power, and my Keyblade, because after I defeat the main Heartless of a world- and you'd know one when you saw it- my Keyblade keeps the Heartless from ever entering that world again."

"So, when exactly would the main Heartless come?" Robin asked, eyebrow cocked in thought.

"Well, it would be drawn to my Keyblade, so as soon as a strong enough Heartless could be created. Any minute, to be truthful. But because the Heartless never have been on this planet, they may send out some scouts first. Little Heartless, ones that'll be really easy to beat. And then the big one will come."

"And we'll be ready," Robin nodded. And as soon as he had said those words, the room flashed black, and Sora reached for his Keyblade. "They're coming."

"Titans…GO!" The metahuman team sprang into action. Beast boy and Starfire had teamed up with Goofy and were wiping through the newly appearing creatures, whilst Sora and Robin teamed up and so did Cyborg and Raven. The creatures really did seem like shadows, although shorter and in appearance seemed more like ants on hind legs. One blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon cleared away all of the Heartless in Raven's path, but soon they had multiplied to such a degree that she and her teammate were separated. Raven wasn't concerned; these Heartless were indeed very weak, as Sora had said. She raised her hands into the air.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" From her hands came the black magic, raising all the surrounding Heartless into the air. She released them, expecting them to leave as the mist that occurred when they had been defeated, with the red crystal hearts swirling into the air and evaporating. But instead they all dropped to the ground, obviously unharmed, and Raven's eyes widened. She looked at her trembling hands. The Heartless were surging around her now, closer and closer-

The Keyblade swept through the air, and the creatures evaporated.

"You all right?" Sora breathed, obviously worn from the battle.

Raven looked around to see Robin take down the last few Heartless, and the darkness that had prevailed in the room lifted. In the next moment, the masked hero arrived at her side.

"Raven…I saw…what happened?"

She bit her lip and released it slowly with a shaky breath. "My…my powers. They had no affect on the Heartless in the least." She heard the other Titans approach. The air was thick with unspoken tension. As always, Beast Boy cracked at it.

"Wait…so Raven can't beat those shadowy things? Dude, why? I don't get it."

It was finally Raven's voice that answered him, and she sounded tight, and undeniably angry with herself. "Well, Beast Boy, I assume that the Heartless are composed of dark magic, and therefore by some sort of buffer, they themselves are impervious to my own magic." Her hands had clenched tight at her sides. It was obvious from the faces of her friends that they wished for nothing more than to step away from what was a suppressed explosion. Sensing an imminent danger, Robin took Raven's quaking hands in one of his own so she looked up into his eyes, seeming thoroughly disgruntled.

"Raven, relax." His tone was firm, and he felt her body loosen just the slightest bit. "Listen, none of that matters. All we have to do is work on your hand-to-hand combat, and you'll be fine. These things weren't hard to beat."

Sora cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Um, Robin? They get much, much worse."

Robin sighed. "Well, then I guess we'll just have to train harder than ever." Beast Boy groaned, and Robin continued. "I recommend you all go get some sleep. We need to wake up nice and early tomorrow morning. Night, guys. Cy, could you show Sora, Donald, and Goofy to the spare rooms?" The teen nodded, and everyone slowly filtered out of the room until only Raven and Robin were left. Robin turned to go, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to face Raven. Her face seemed drawn, and a bit worried.

"Robin…," she hesitated, "We don't have much time, and you know as well as I do that I can't master hand-to-hand combat in a few days. And you also know that hand-to-hand won't exactly help me if I get into serious trouble."

"You won't. We'll protect you. Everything will be fine."

"Robin, you can't possibly believe that. If I'm the target, everything will be sent my way. Without my powers, I won't last very long," Raven spat out the words, as if they tasted bitter in her mouth. Robin could see how being powerless pained her. He understood her fear, even felt some of it himself. But he knew that there was only one thing he could say.

"Then I guess we'll need to start practicing."

A/N- Argh, I can't really settle myself into this story. Maybe I just need to go a bit further. I'll keep trying, anyway.

Maleficent is the main antagonist of the game AND Snow White, if you recall.

Until next time,

Ignite the Airwaves