Another chapter up and the plot continues to thicken! I hope you all have a nice day and as always, thanks again for any reviews/favorites/follows and/or just simply clicking the button to check my story out. It means a lot.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Chapter 5

Something was wrong.

What had once been the basement of the old house, had now become a dark dungeon. It was like a cave, small and enclosed, smelling entirely of blood. She could feel the sticky liquid between her fingers, feel it wet on her clothes. It was everywhere. She could not escape it. Raven started running, but the faster she went the more hopeless it felt. A man's laughter echoed on the walls.

Then a scream rang out. Beast Boy's voice was hoarse; she could hear him pleading to the insane, laughing man. Then with a heavy thud, Beast Boy fell to the ground unconscious. His head was bruised, his eyes were blackened and his face was deformed from his many beatings.

Raven wanted to go to him. She pulled against the chains that held her. Her lunges to escape made a thudding noise against her prison. Feeling her eyes turning demonic from anger, Raven yelled into the darkness. "Beast Boy! Beast Boy, I'm coming! Hang in there, please don't die!"

Pulling and tugging to get free of her constraints, Raven was barely aware of a man watching her with lust filled eyes. He was grinning maniacally. "Yes, keep fighting! I like them feisty!"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Beast Boy…I'm coming…" Raven murmured sleepily. Her head lolled on her pillow, her eyes blinking as she slowly awakened. It was morning. The sun was streaming through her tiny window and the fear that had escaped her while she was unconscious had left its mark all over her room. Her statues, books and artifacts were all over the place. Her thick black curtains were now in shreds. It looked as if a tornado had blown through her room, Raven just stared solemnly.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

"Raven?" Starfire's voice was muffled through the closed door. "Are you okay in there? I heard you scream. You are not hurt are you? Please, may I come in? I really wish to talk with you."

Knowing full well that Starfire would patiently wait outside her room all day, Raven gave a long tired sigh. She dragged her body from her bed, the dream still weighing in the back of her mind. She could still see him. She could still see Beast Boy beaten to death, as he was in her dream. Never before had she felt colder. It seemed so real. She could still smell his blood on the walls.

"Raven?"

"I'm coming Starfire!" Raven replied hoarsely. "Just give me a minute, okay? I just woke up."

Stepping over the mess all over her room, she found the door and opened it. Sure enough, a perky looking Starfire stood waiting in the hallway, her hands balancing a plate of lumpy brown muffins. The rest of the Tower was quiet. Being that it was still 8 am, it was not very surprising.

"I brought you some breakfast." Starfire said nervously. "I figured we could talk and eat. Think of it as a peace offering. I just…I wish to apologize. I never realized Robin was not telling the truth, about us being on a date that is. If I had known you were going into such danger, I…"

Raven put up a hand to silence her. "It's not your fault."

Starfire started pacing up and down the hallway. "But I should have known he would do something like this again!" She fretted. "It's just…he was so sweet and I assumed that Robin would at the very least, explain the situation and not send you three off to investigate a murder!"

Sighing heavily, Raven already knew it would be a long day. She grabbed the muffins and ushered Starfire towards the kitchen. Fixing herself a pot of chamomile tea, Raven watched as Starfire went on ranting. Obviously this had been on her mind all night. Finally the redhead stopped and sat down at the table, looking sadly at her friend. "Are you sure that you're alright?"

Raven gave Starfire a gentle smile. "Yes, of course I'm okay. I was just a bit shaken up this morning. It was a bad dream, not some big crisis. I mean I appreciate the concern…and the muffins but I have no reason to blame you for some bad luck. It was nothing I couldn't handle."

Raven hesitatingly bit into one of Starfire's muffins and looked at her friend in surprise. "These are…hmm…actually a lot better than your usual batches of baked goods. You really improved."

Starfire beamed proudly. "Thank you! I've been practicing!"

Nodding her head, Raven wiped the crumbs from her mouth. She looked thoughtfully out the window, towards the bay and the buildings that made up Jump City. The sun was barely up in the sky but there was the tint of the morning's sunrise, the pinks and yellows still painted on the sky.

"You know, I've been thinking a lot about what Cyborg said." Raven began. "He mentioned that Old Man Thompson had been trying to sell that old house on Sparrow Lane for years. That people had been disappearing and that a woman died there. I think I want to meet this man."

"Do you think he will know the truth?" Starfire asked.

"I don't know but it's worth a shot. I just have a feeling there is a connection to this murder and that infamous ghost story of Beast Boy and Cyborg's." Raven explained. "Maybe Old Man Thompson knew something that the locals didn't. Ghosts don't always have to be dead people."

Starfire furrowed her brows, confused. When Raven didn't elaborate, Starfire sighed and grabbed a muffin to eat too. Raven was sipping her tea and the two sat there in silence. The kitchen was warm from the oven and the sound of a nearby clock ticking, made it seem calmer somehow. She glanced at her friend before finally, Raven said quietly. "In my dream, I saw Beast Boy dead. He was bleeding and beaten up, just like that girl. There was horrible laughter."

She could barely form the words, but saying them out loud made Raven feel a little bit better.

"That's horrible!" Starfire said, her eyes widening. "Do you know who was laughing? Or why?"

Raven shook her head, her eyes looking tired still. "I don't know who it was but I have my suspicions. It was evil laughter Starfire, pure evil. I can't get over the feeling of losing him like that. Every time we go in to investigate cases like that, part of me wonders if one of us will wind up being a casualty. Superheroes don't exactly have a long life span. What if he gets hurt and I can't heal him? What if I come too late and he's already…dead. I think that would destroy me."

Starfire nodded sympathetically. "But he's alright. You mentioned that he only fainted briefly but it was nothing more than a bit of a scare. I guess he was more stressed out then he let on. I wouldn't be surprised if he fainted because he was afraid you were hurt. He cares a lot for you."

Giving her a doubtful expression, Raven got up and cleaned up her place at the table. She put her teacup and plate in the sink and rinsed them off. "He was probably just being a coward." Raven muttered bitterly. "He's more afraid of ghosts then worried about me. I am just his scary friend."

Her friend was about to protest but Raven interrupted her. "He said so himself, dressing himself in my robes and mentioning how creepy I am. Even if he apologized, I haven't forgotten that."

With a scowl, Raven put the last of her plates away and stormed back to her room. Starfire watched her go and shook her head sadly. Raven really didn't get it. Even after all these years, she still didn't realize that there was always something below the surface but no amount of convincing could change her mind. She truly believed that Beast Boy could never feel the same.

"Star? What are you doing up so early?"

Starfire turned her head and glanced at Robin. The boy wonder had already changed into his uniform and was looking as if he were about to start his morning training. He cocked his head in curiosity, noting the unusually sad expression on her face. "Are you alright? You look upset."

Smiling reassuringly, Starfire glanced shyly at her boyfriend. "I'm alright Robin. I was just thinking about the conversation I had with Raven. She went to meditate and I suppose I have a lot to think about too. It's been a very busy day."

Robin nodded. "I guess…but you do realize it's only 9 am, right? What was so busy about it?"

Smiling, Starfire started walking back towards her room. "Oh, you know…girl stuff. I'm sure you wouldn't be interested in what the females of this team have to say. You never have before."

Sauntering off, Robin watched her go with a stunned expression on his face. "Why do I have this strong, depressing feeling that she's angry at me?" He muttered to himself. "It's kind of weird."