The Unknowing

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or anything dealing with DCU

Chapter Four: It's Getting Hot In Here

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Third Point of View

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Jason was sleeping soundlessly through the night, which was quite unusual for him. More nights than not, he would wake up in full sweat and a blade in his hand that he kept stashed under his pillow. It had been a normal occurrence once he was brought back to life. A part of him knew he shouldn't be alive today and it never wanted to let him forget. No matter how hard he tried to.

But tonight was different. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and was snoring like a baby until he heard a muffled noise wake him up. The tired man in him wanted to forget he heard anything, stay in the warm bed and drift back into his dreamless sleep. He wanted to pretend he never heard any rustling and take his chances but the years of training in him prevented that from happening.

Stealthily making his way out of bed and down the hall, he followed the noise. He moved in the shadows, not a sound leaving him. The noise was now becoming less muffled and he could clearly hear yelling coming from Dick's room. Without so much as a second thought, he opened the door to see Dick thrashing in bed. He was asleep and having a nightmare.

The only light was from the moon as it hung high in the sky. A small streak made its way along his bed and traveled up until it was illuminating his face enough to see he was clearly in distress. He noticed beads of sweat dripping down his face as he made his way to the side of the bed.

"Dick, wake up." He reached for him, shaking his arm to try to stir him awake but it hardly had an effect. "Come on, wake up."

This time he was louder and rougher which seemed to do the trick because Dick's eyes bursted open. Breathing heavily, he sat up in bed while rubbing the back of his neck. He looked up to meet Jason's concerned stare before looking down towards his lap. "Jason?"

"Yeah, you good man? You were yelling in your sleep," he asked as he took a step back.

"Yeah, I'm fine but…" He drifted off as he thought about the simple question. Yes, he was fine physically but mentally? Not so much.

"It's happening again, isn't it?"

Dick nodded in response. "This time it felt like I was burning alive."

"Well fuck. That explains why you're drenched in sweat then." Jason folded his arms over his chest. He really wasn't kidding about his dreams.

Running a hand through his dark locks, he instantly felt a piercing pain coming from his head. It felt like someone took it upon themselves to stab his forehead. Naturally, his hands found their way to clench his head as the pain now cursed throughout his body. It was almost as if a hundred little needles were pressing against his forehead, slowly making their way through and out the other end.

"Dude, you were screaming in your sleep. Reminded me of myself honestly." Jason paused when a peculiar thought came to mind. "Isn't Raven's room closer to yours than mine?"

"Yeah?" What did that matter?

"Then how come she didn't hear you screaming? I heard you from the other wing. And trust me, you weren't quiet."

"Oh shit." Why hadn't he noticed it earlier? Raven was an empath and a strong one at that. He had no doubt in his mind that Raven would have woken up hearing his distress call. It was hard to ignore when you're bonded. Dick wasted no time in throwing his blankets to the side and hastily making his way to her door.

Jason stayed, looking around the room. "Should I come too, or?" He was answered with silence as he looked at the doorway. "Yeah, okay." With that, he wasted no time trailing behind his brother.

Once Dick was a few feet from Raven's room, he started to hear an eerie groan coming from inside. That was alarming in itself but what unnerved him was the sudden chill that ran down his spine. He had come to a stop in front of her door, when the temperature started to dip. His body shuddered in response. Everything in his essence screamed at him to run. To get away from here as fast and as far as he possibly could. But that would never happen, Raven is his friend and she needs his help. Without hesitation, he opened the door and stared on in shock. Raven lay asleep on her bed, shaking as her dark purple, almost black in the dark, powers hovered above her small form.

"Damn, she looks even worse than you did." Dick looked over his shoulder at his brother before looking back at his distraught teammate and carefully walking closer to her bedside. The moonlight shined down on her, highlighting her ivory skin and showing off the sweat running down the sides of her face. Her breathing was irregular and she was so lost in her head, that she didn't sense their presences.

Suddenly a loud scream came from her lips.

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Raven's POV

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A blaze of red surrounded my small, naked frame. I couldn't see it but I could feel it on every inch of my body. When I woke up, the first thing I tried to do was open my eyes but for whatever reason, they would simply not listen to my command. Something was covering my eyes, preventing me from seeing my fate. I try not to panic, I was trained my whole life to keep my emotions in check and this time was no different. If I freak out then I could hurt innocent people.

I could faintly hear low murmurs but they were mostly drowned out from the sizzling of the roaring fire.

The fire moved closer to me until I was fully engulfed in its burning heat. I'm helpless, unable to move an inch but coherent enough to feel myself burning alive. Just as quickly as it came, the fire left in a flash, leaving me crumbling to the cold, smooth slab of rock under my bare feet. The fabric covering my eyes is also gone, probably burned. Before I can look around, my vision starts to blur and my head starts to feel foggy. I am both mentally and physically exhausted, enduring more than humanly possible. It's no wonder I succumb back into darkness.

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Third Point of View

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"Raven, wake up."

Instantly Raven's eyes snapped open, heart pounding a hundred miles a minute as she hastily sat up to take in her surroundings. She barely registered Dick sitting on her bed. She rubbed the back of her neck only to feel sweat coating her hand. Ignoring that, she focused on evening her breathing and finding her center before she destroyed anything with her powers.

"You good, Sunshine?" Lost in her own head, Raven had yet to notice Jason was standing at her door with arms crossed against his chest. He had remained quiet up until this point.

"I'm fine." She then glanced at Dick who had a reassuring hand rubbing circles on her back. His brows were creased in worry as he sat next to her.

"What are you guys doing in my room?" She was feeling restless and didn't want them to see her at such a weak moment. Even talking seemed difficult as her throat burned.

"You were screaming in your sleep, Rae." Dick's tone was gentle and patient as he allowed her to make sense of the situation.

"You both were," Jason added.

Dick sighed. "Raven, what were you dreaming about?"

Raven let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding in before she spoke. "I-I don't know exactly, all I remember is being really hot. Like I was-"

"Burning alive," Dick finished for her.

"Yes. How do you…" Raven trailed off as her mind wondered.

"Because I think I had the same dream. It must be our bond. I don't know how it's still active." He paused before asking a question that was plaguing him. "They're visions, aren't they?"

Nodding was all the demoness could do to respond to her friend. Having visions is not a day to day power she possesses, they only come when something seriously bad is about to happen to her. Like dying. And that's not something she had time to do. They are always random and never at her disposal so when they come it tends to be a very bad omen. But at the same time, the future is constantly changing so most of the visions she has, don't have the opportunity to even happen. They're completely unpredictable. Needless to say, Raven isn't a big fan of visions.

"We'll always have the bond unless I break it but doing so will be very painful for you. It was merely inactive because we were far apart from one another. You probably only started experiencing side affects because it's getting worse." Raven paused before asking Dick what was on her mind. "Do you remember anything useful?"

"No, all I felt was the burning sensation," he shuddered as he thought more about it. Out of all the ways he could go out in this world, burning alive better not be the one that finally gets him.

"I'm sorry you're dealing with this because of me, Richard. I never meant for any of this." Shaking her head, she willed herself to forget the flames burning her skin. The way it smelled of burning hair and skin. "This is all my fault."

"Well that's not true," Jason piped in, catching both birds off guard. "What? Joker is no one's fault, neither is Deathstroke or Blood for that matter. They make their own choices just like we do. And they choose to be low lives that need to be taken out. We're just the lucky ones to do it and rightfully so."

Raven thought over his words, slightly taken aback. He was right, of course. Whatever they're cooking up, they're choosing to do it all on their own. She shouldn't place blame on herself when she is the victim here. All her life she ran from her demon heritage but no matter how far she got, she always seemed to get pulled back in.

"Jason's right. Whatever they are planning is on them, not on you or any of us. They choose to break the law just like we swear to protect the innocent. We'll put a stop to them but first we need our sleep, or whatever we can get." Dick turned to Raven. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

She nodded and he stood to leave. Jason saluted her and shut the door behind them. She let out a big breath as soon as she was alone. She tried not to show it but it was hard to keep her emotions together. They were all over the place. This calls for a trip to Nevermore very soon.

Her eyes suddenly grew heavy from the overwhelming effects of excessive agitation. Her body called for her to lay back down and allow herself to relax, both physically and mentally. She'd be stupid to ignore that. Surprisingly, she drifted off without any trouble and slept peacefully until morning without the slightest idea of what was soon in store for her.