*Ah, this chapter was slightly difficult for me to write. In all honesty, this is only a filler chapter. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy reading it. As I was writing, I had 'Take it out on me' by Thousand Foot Krutch playing in the background. It inspired me at the end As always, please R&R.*

*For Joel*

A matter of Time

A light breeze swept across her face. She hummed contently to herself, for the breeze felt pleasant. She didn't have the desire to open her eyes.

It was cool, not cold. She opened her mouth and sighed, completely relaxed. The moment she let out her sigh, the breeze became colder.

She shook her head, suddenly panicking at the idea of losing her state of relaxation.

"No," she thought to herself. "I don't want this moment to end…"

Unfortunately, her blissful state came to an end, as the breeze turned from cool to icy cold. As much as she didn't want to, she opened her eyes slightly.

She was greeted by the sight of a black void. She was on the ground, peering up at the never ending darkness. Disdainfully, she sat up. She rubbed her temples and wanted to cry out in frustration. This was a reoccurring nightmare for her. By now, she should have been used to seeing the same empty world. But for some reason, it never ceased to chill her to the bone.

She hugged her knees to her chest and let out a shaky sigh. "I just wish this would end," she whispered to herself.

As if on cue, a misty fog started making its way in around her. She looked around. It was a familiar sight, one of which she saw many nights before. "Someone…"

Who could she ask for? She had no friends, and the only people she ever talked to were the doctors and nurses in the hospital. She was alone, and she always would be.

Her mind wandered back to the voice she had heard. It wasn't real, she told herself. It was just her mind playing tricks on her. It was just another side effect of the medication. It was just her overactive imagination. No matter what the cause, it wasn't real, and she knew it couldn't be.

She could feel the loneliness eating away at her. It was like a parasite leeching off of her existence. Her life was its life ring. She held her hand against her chest. Once she felt the soft beating of her heart, she nodded. Sometimes she did that just to make sure she was really alive. Most days, she felt like a soulless being.

The fog grew thicker. She waved in front of it and the action moved very little from her field of vision. Her ears perked at the sound of rustling far away.

"Hello…?" she called out.

She couldn't hear a response. Taking in a deep breath, she stood up, peering into the white veil. After a moment's hesitation, she decided to take a step inside. It was an unusual sensation. It was cold, yet she didn't shiver.

Far away, she heard someone yell, "Raven!?"

Her eyes widened. "W-what…?" It was the same voice again. She trembled slightly, afraid to find out who it was calling for her.

Although she was afraid, she was also curious. Raven suppressed her fear and continued walking through the fog, listening for the voice, anything that would shed some light on her irrational thoughts.

She was about to call out again, until she heard something slapping across the ground. She turned her head slowly, suddenly fearful. Her eyes were wide, scanning through the fog.

That was when she saw him. It was man with blonde hair. He had his back to her and he was breathing heavily. She narrowed her eyes.

He was unknown to her, yet something seemed familiar.

"Raven…?"

She covered her mouth. It was him. He was the one calling out to her; making her rethink everything she thought she knew about. She didn't dare utter a sound. Who was he?

Her fear spiked and suddenly, he was pushed to the ground. Her eyes landed on the horrid creature standing above him. Instinctually, she held her hands up, as if preparing to fight it, but before she even realized what she was doing, the blonde man started moving.

To her surprise, he was already standing up, ready to fight. She crouched into the fog, not wanting to be seen by him. To make her look more blended in, she covered herself with her cloak. She kept her eyes on him, and hoped to Azar that the creature wouldn't notice her as well.

She heard him exchange a few words with the creature before a blinding light hit her eyes. She dragged her hood over her face, and winced at the sudden amount of light.

She opened them slightly and was bewildered to see the blonde man, now a bright blue, facing the monster. The light emanating from his body reflected off the fog, making it much harder to see. Raven rubbed her eyes, as they grew irritated.

The moment she took her hands off her eyes, the blue man was gone, for he had taken to the sky. Her head tilted slightly as she wondered how he was able to do that. She watched in awe as he shot the monster with blue bolts of electricity.

However, the monster had different ideas. To her surprise, it grew wings and took to sky as well.

Although she expected it to be a challenge, the battle didn't last long. The man had an advantage over the creature. He was fast; lightning fast.

She was suddenly fearful. He was attacking this creature mercilessly and he seemed to be enjoying it.

Her eyes widened as she started putting the pieces together. He was looking for her, perhaps wanting to hurt her. She started backing away, intending on running away. But the creature suddenly landed on the ground in front of her, obviously injured and unable to fight anymore.

That was when the man landed in front of the creature, and in front of her as well. His back was turned to her, so he couldn't see her.

She thought it was all over, but to her horror, he started electrocuting the monster.

Her eyes were wide as she watched the creature cry out in pain, until it could no longer make a sound.

He stopped electrocuting it, watching as it took its last breath and died. She heard him say, "Not a scratch on me."

Involuntarily, her teeth started chattering out of fear. Her instincts were telling her to run far away. This didn't feel right to her.

She saw him stiffen quickly and turn around.

Her heart stopped the moment he faced her. He had a ball of electricity in his hand, ready to strike her where she sat. His eyes were pure white, making him appear even deadlier than she imagined. She was at his mercy, and she was afraid he didn't have any left in his system. Tears started forming in her eyes.

The moment he made eye contact with her, the ball of electricity disappeared. He appeared to be thinking of something to say.

Run, she thought.

Before she could execute her thoughts, he put his hands up. "Raven…?"

She felt herself trembling even more. A tear trailed down her face. "Who…who are you…?"

His reaction looked slightly pained as he answered back, "It's me, your friend, Kilowatt."

She denied it. It wasn't possible. She didn't have any friends. And if she did, she simply imagined them.

Nevertheless, the figment continued talking to her, trying to explain himself, but she wouldn't have any of it. She covered her ears and shook her head. "No…just go away…please…"

She heard this so-called Kilowatt continue to try and talk to her, but while he had been explaining, she had found the will to run, and felt the strength return to her legs.

Although she stumbled, she managed to stand up and start running away. She didn't bother looking back, but she could feel him by her side again, flying next to her.

Raven grunted in frustration, wishing he would just leave her alone. "Get away!" she yelled, "Leave me alone!"

She had heard him yell at her to open her eyes, but she refused to listen. As she ran, she felt herself trip over her cloak. Her eyes snapped open as she felt her balance disappear right from under her. Out of instinct, she threw her arms over her face to protect her from the fall.

But she never made it to the ground. She felt his hands grasp her just before impact. There were a million thoughts running to her mind, but the ones that stood out the most concerned his existence.

She uncovered her face to meet his eyes. "Y-you're not…you can't be," she breathed

She watched as he smiled. It was a warm smile; a smile that seemed to draw her in. "I'm here for you…you said you needed help, remember?" He spoke softly.

Her eyes went wide for a second, before she closed them slightly as the tears welled over. She covered her face in her hands, and felt him hold her tighter to him. He had heard her…and he had claimed to be here for her.

She felt him lean in closer to her. "Let me help you," he whispered.

Raven voiced her tears, unable to believe what was happening. Although he was here and telling her he wanted to help her, she still shook her head. "No one can help me…"

She felt his fingers flex against her. "That's not true. You helped me, the least I can do is return the favor."

She hiccupped. "H-how…? I-I don't even remember you…" Her tears continued to spill out.

"Well…you can start off by trusting me…" he suggested. He moved her to face him.

Raven closed her eyes. "I…I can't…I can't fall apart…" she whispered through her choked sobs.

He held her against his chest. "You can fall apart…I'll support you," he stated.

That was it. She couldn't hold it in any longer. She gripped him tightly and started sobbing uncontrollably. She yelled in anguish, angry at herself for imagining people who made her so happy in the past.

Every tear, every tremble, every cry, and every sob made her think of everything she had made up in her life. "W-what was I thinking…" she managed to choke out.

Kilowatt started to sit on the ground, taking her with him. "Just let it all out…scream…shout…anything to make you feel better," he whispered.

Raven laid her head against him, suddenly feeling exhausted. She said nothing as she continued to cry, no longer questioning why Kilowatt was here.

His words repeated themselves over and over in her mind. Let me help you.

Although she believed with all of her heart that no one could ever help her, she decided she would let him try.