Hey yo, author here! This was a goliath of a chapter originally so decided to split it in two parts. Been a bit busier but love getting my pockets of time to write for this. Thanks to anyone who favorited or followed, means a lot! Also, if you're enjoying the story and not followed, go on and be a legend! It's the easiest way to know how many people are vibin' with it. Anyway, plenty more to come. Hope ya'll enjoy!

I don't own Teen Titans or any DC properties mentioned. Otherwise, a certain villain from this chapter would have made an appearance in the show properly.

Ch. 12 Monsters

"I still can't believe you didn't tell me."

"C'mon Cyborg, it was new for both of us, and neither of us were sure we wanted it to be out in public yet!"

"Raven knew!"

"She walked in on us! That wasn't part of the plan, and you know it!"

"Hmph!"

Cyborg wasn't really mad at Robin, but there was no way he was going to miss the chance to make him squirm about his new relationship with a certain Tamaranean. In all honesty, he completely understood why Robin didn't tell him or Bee straight away. The Boy Wonder was already way overdue in asking Starfire out and was probably incredibly awkward about the whole thing with her, let alone with other people.

However, he had only just found out about the new Tower romance after walking in on the couple in the laundry room. He could understand why they thought he wouldn't venture there, but he had rags from the T-Car to clean. Then, to top it all off, Starfire let it slip that they had been together for seven weeks. This was a well-deserved roasting in Cyborg's eyes, and a welcome distraction from the normal day-to-day that he was unfortunately getting used to as part of his routine.

It had now officially been two months since the Titans had last seen Deathstroke or Beast Boy on that fateful night and virtually no headway had been made in finding either individual. The information obtained from Deathstroke's base had been useful in working out potential places he could be operating out of, but there was a reluctance amongst all of the Titans to split up like they had for the Brotherhood. The last couple of months had been tough for everyone, and the teenagers had inadvertently found themselves growing that little bit closer together. Besides from when sleeping, it was very rare for any of them to be found alone, except for Raven, who would still retreat to the sanctuary of her room to meditate or search for Beast Boy.

While they wouldn't have any issue travelling as a group, unfortunately, villains in Jump City weren't taking a break just because the Titans had other problems. Robin had always expected it to happen at some point, but the first major escape effort had been pulled off by some of the villains caught up in the Brotherhood's schemes. Thankfully, heavy-hitters like Madam Rouge, Mallah and the Brain had been brought to far more secure facilities long before this, but that didn't change the fact that there were far more challenging criminals than the standard thieves back on the streets of Jump. The Titans had discussed whether Deathstroke could have played a role in the escape plan, but hadn't found any evidence to link him to it…yet.

Robin had been in touch with honorary titans all over the world, asking them to check in on some of the locations found in files that they had obtained. While a few had managed to uncover secret meeting places for followers of Trigon, there was no sign of the masked villain pulling the strings. There were interesting reports coming in though, almost like the Titans were slowly being given individual pieces to a puzzle.

Red Star had visited one of the sites that hadn't been stamped with the Mark of Skath, and found followers of Trigon. While he had turned them into local authorities, he reported back that they never even put up a fight. In the face of a Titan, they had essentially surrendered without a struggle. Meanwhile, Speedy had gone to investigate a site just outside of Steel City that had been stamped, and the followers there had been savage. They were energized, focused…like they had been given a new purpose. For a group who's motto involved making the world hell for all…seeing that some members appeared to have been given something to fight for was a fact that had everyone on edge.

Whatever little progress had been made in finding Deathstroke and uncovering his plan, it was still something in comparison to what they had found out about Beast Boy. Raven had been quick to point out that if he was pursuing Deathstroke or trying to master the Beast, he would require wilderness, like the Herald had said, but there were dozens of locations in Deathstroke's files. Even if the Titans eliminated half of them based on whether they were urban or rural sites, it still left multiple different countries all over the planet, and that was making the assumption that he hadn't moved on from wherever he chose to start.

Once again, the Titans had sent honorary titans to scout out several sites, but they were trying to find someone who could shift into any animal…in the wild. Needle in a haystack couldn't even begin to describe the impossible task they were faced with. Of course, the Titans had kept up their own efforts. In nearly every spare moment he got, Robin would scour news reports from all over the globe. It didn't matter how unreliable the news source was, or how outlandish the claim was. If reports were still coming in about the Loch Ness monster or the yeti, the sighting of a green animal would make it online somewhere.

Cyborg had continued trying to develop a sort of tracker based on Beast Boy's genetic signature. While quite grim in nature, a blood sample Cyborg had been able to obtain from the cage in Deathstroke's base had been seen as a possible major break by the metal Titan. However, he was yet to have any luck. Cyborg had even linked in with his father at Star Labs to see if he had any equipment that could aid in the search, a reunion that seemed to put the biggest Titan under a large amount of stress.

Unfortunately though, Raven's continued efforts to find the changeling were the most emotionally taxing. Raven would still try and reach out to Beast Boy through a mental connection, and each time, she was turned away. It wasn't like her first attempt, where she desperately tried to get him to come home, but all her other attempts to find a way to track him down had proven fruitless. So, nearly every other day, she'd disappear into her room, and see if that day was the day Beast Boy would cave and tell them where he was…but that day hadn't come yet. Every Titan could see the emotional toll it was taking on the empath. While still resolute in the belief that she could bring him home, seeing Raven reappear after disappearing for a few hours in Main Ops with bags under her eyes, or with eyes that were even slightly red had become a slightly common occurrence.

All in all, it had been a long two months for the residents of Titans Tower. Bumblebee's decision to stay until Beast Boy was found was at least a welcome presence. As she wasn't as emotionally attached to the entire situation, she often acted as a source of comfort when any titan was feeling particularly down. Robin and Starfire had just begun exploring their new relationship, but the pair were aware that not only were they both new to this, but that other Titans who were struggling may not be exactly appreciative of flagrant displays of affection. So they decided to keep it quiet. Thankfully, Raven was the only one who'd found out, and her discretion was almost assumed…that is until Cyborg had just found the pair.

"Seven weeks man…I could have been making the most of this for seven weeks."

"Cyborg, please…let's be mature about this. There's no need too-"

"BEE! Did you know about Robin and Starfi..!?"

Cyborg had left main ops, shouting for Bumblebee and Robin could only sigh as the his voice got fainter and fainter.

"They were going to find out eventually."

Robin jumped, having not realized that Raven was in the room until she'd spoken. Far from her usual spot on the couch, where she would often elect to be if she was settled down with a book or a cup of tea, the empath had settled on meditation in front of the main window overlooking the Bay. Robin watched her slowly let her legs fall to the floor from the lotus position.

"Yea, I know…and I probably deserve whatever he dishes out."

"Don't let whatever he says get to you…you know he's happy for you, right?"

Robin shot Raven a weak smile. "I know, I know…but that doesn't mean I'm looking forward to whatever he cooks up. I wonder if I had done it earlier, would it have gone like this?"

Raven titled her head, her eyes scrunching up in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Robin walked up to the bay window to stand beside Raven. "I mean…I knew what I wanted for years…and I never acted on it. What if I had asked Star sooner? What if I hadn't let my nerves get the best of me?...All that time we could have had extra…wasted, you know?"

Raven did know, and in all honesty, Robin's line of thinking had her own mind going at a thousand miles an hour, although her face never broke.

"Hey, you're here now? Enjoy it…that's all there is too it."

Robin looked over at Raven with a smile, before looking back out the window. The sunrise had been a little while ago, but that didn't change the fact it was a beautiful day in Jump City. While it was guaranteed to be cold outside, the two Titans could appreciate the blistering sunshine from the comfort of their living room.

"A new day…anything is possible…right Raven?"

"Yea…who knows…maybe today's the day things cha-"

Raven's thoughts were cut off by the blaring of the Titans alarm. Robin rushed over to the nearest screen, closely followed by Raven. When he got there, his eyebrows furrowed. "Reports of people fleeing the upper city in a panic…but no obvious cause has been reported?"

"Well that's not a lot to go off."

"Suppose we'll need to investigate the cause more than anything so, can't come up with a plan of attack if we don't know what we're up against."

At this point, the Main Ops door slid open and Cyborg, Bee and Starfire all entered.

Starfire flew up to Robin and peered over his shoulder at the screen. "So what are we dealing with Boyfriend Robin?"

Robin whipped around to look at Starfire, who looked back him sheepishly. "Well everyone in the tower now knows that we are doing the dating…"

Robin opened his mouth to argue, but thought better of it, and shot her a warm smile. "That's nice to hear out loud."

Starfire beamed at him, before letting him have the floor. Robin explained the situation and how they were wandering into an unknown threat. "Okay, the major thing here is though, if this does turn out to be a villain from the Brotherhood that escaped, we have to detain them for questioning. If we can find out if Deathstroke was involved in it, that may give us leads to either him or Beast Boy."

All the Titans nodded. Once there was a possibility of snippet of information about their missing friend, there was not a joke in sight. Robin didn't even have to say "Titans Go". The five titans hurried down to the T-Car, with expressions on their faces that would suggest to anyone watching from the outside that they were going to war.

Raven had been doing everything she could do stay in control, but she was getting tired. Over the past couple of months, whenever she wasn't eating or sleeping, she was either trying to link with Beast Boy or within her mirror. They had become such frequent occurrences for her that both Cyborg and Starfire had asked if she would leave some kind of sign on her door for when she was doing either, just so they knew. She couldn't help but wonder at times if this was how Beast Boy felt when she shut him out during their travels fighting the Brotherhood.

Her emotions were all over the place. She hadn't been able to rally the troops like she had the first time in recent weeks. Brave and Affection were still holding strong, but there was something starting to brew under the surface and Raven could feel Anger behind it. Who was Beast Boy to just up and leave just because times got tough? Who did he think he was? Raven knew that that line of thinking was not helpful, dangerous and unfair to the changeling…and yet they remained, festering in her mind. Anger was always on her best behavior when Raven ventured to see her. As such, it was a subtle animosity that was developing, growing in her mind like roots diving deep into the ground.

So the last thing she needed right now was for the people of Jump City to be screaming in terror for no reason. Yet, there she was, in the T-Car, being driven through Jump City towards hundreds of civilians in a panic. Although she'd always go along with the other Titans when the alarm went, that didn't mean she couldn't be annoyed at the situation. If there was a villain behind this…not even God would be able to save them from Raven's wrath right now.

Raven was broken from her inner thoughts by a cold feeling seeping into her mind and she let out an involuntary shiver. She looked around the car, but none of the other Titans seemed to have noticed anything. She couldn't disregard it either. This wasn't a fleeting feeling. It was now at the forefront of her mind and it was only getting worse. It felt like every worst experience someone could have, all rolled into one bone-chilling numbness that had Raven beginning to shake.

Starfire was the first to notice, as she was sat in the middle between Raven and Bumblebee. "Raven, are you okay? The car seems to be at a suitable temperature, but maybe you are cold?"

When Raven didn't answer straight away, she gained the attention of Robin and Bee, who looked at her with concerned eyes. Robin turned to Cyborg. "Stop the car here Cy, we can go on foot…Raven? Talk to me…what's going on?"

"Fear…so much…fear…"

"Raven. Look at me."

Raven looked up from Robin, staring at the mask that covered his eyes to the rest of the world. "Take a few deep breaths, give yourself a second."

Raven wasn't usually one to take such borderline patronizing instructions, but she was so shook that she complied without hesitation, and it did help her calm herself.

"I can feel everyone Robin. Whatever is causing people to flee…they are terrified...and it's not like a normal fear…it's deep-rooted…targeted…it's like everyone is living their worst nightmare…and I can feel it all."

There was silence for a few seconds as everyone took in what Raven said. Cyborg almost didn't want to speak, but he'd cracked the puzzle and it would be vital for the upcoming battle now, which was now guaranteed to be a trial of both body and mind.

"Phobia."

The name hung in the air like a discordant note, almost like the mere mention of the villain was enough to cause music to stop and animals to silence themselves. During the battle with the Brotherhood, many of the honorary Titans had come up against her and none had had any success. The only member of the original Titans who had ever come up against her one-on-one was Beast Boy, when he was tracking Mallah in Europe for a time. For all the talking Beast Boy had loved to do about his travels and experiences, that was one encounter no one would have known about if Robin hadn't seen his report in the mission logs. He'd brought it a few days after they were back in the tower, when they were all in the common room, and it hadn't gone well:

Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing Mega Monkeys X, a new release since the Titans had been away. Starfire was in the kitchen, making something questionable at best and Raven was silently reading her book, leaning against a corner of the couch when Robin walked in with a stack of papers, taking a seat at the kitchen table. No one had thought anything of it. Robin made himself a cup of coffee and had continued to peruse whatever files he was reading, when his eyes widened like dinner plates. He turned towards the pair playing videogames, more specifically the green changeling, who still wasn't acting entirely like his old-self.

"Beast Boy? I'm just going through the mission logs to make sure everyone's reports are up to scratch...you fought Phobia?"

That caught the attention of everybody in the room. Cyborg paused the game and looked at Robin, almost as if he hadn't heard him right and Starfire had flown over to Robin to read the report over his shoulder. Raven had lowered her book slightly, eyes peering over the top at the scene unfolding before her. Beast Boy himself, who had been gently smiling while playing with Cyborg was now doing his best impression of Raven, with an expression that gave absolutely nothing away to any onlookers.

"Yea…I was tracking Mallah and she ambushed me."

Cyborg looked at his best friend incredulously. "WHAT!? And your only telling us about that now?"

"I logged it."

"Yea, but no one reads the log's...sorry Robin. Every honorary Titan who came up against Phobia got their ass handed to them, damn, we had to send Hotspot to check in on Kole and Gnarrk after they fought her cause of possible lasting psychological damage. Robin, what does his log entry say?"

Robin, who was still getting over Cyborg's admission that he never reads the mission logs, cleared his throat. "Current location: Berlin. Objective: Investigate the reported presence of Mallah. Result: No sign of Brotherhood Leader. Additional Notes: Encountered Phobia, attack appeared pre-planned; engaged in combat; Phobia retreated; unable to track whereabouts; moved on with original objective."

Now Raven had put down her book and was staring at her green friend with concerned eyes. It didn't slip her mind, that based on his location, his encounter with Phobia would have been after the time she had asked him to stop calling her. Before she could say anything, Starfire broke the silence. "Friend Beast Boy…you were victorious?"

Beast Boy put down his controller and started to walk towards the kitchen sink, grabbing a glass off the counter on the way. "We fought and after a while, she made the decision to retreat. I couldn't bring her in, I don't count that as a victory."

Robin was looking at Beast Boy with something very close to awe. "Beast Boy…no other titan who met Phobia alone was even able to come close to landing a hit…and you were able to repel her? I'd take that as a win…how did you do it?"

Beast Boy looked at Robin, and once again, Raven couldn't help but notice that he looked…older. "I don't want to talk about it."

Raven coughed. "Talking about it might help…?"

Beast Boy's eyes flicked to Raven and she could feel the emotions rolling off him. He wasn't scared or nervous. It was almost like he depressed…like there mere thought of what happened was enough to make him think all hope was gone. He was emotionally numb and Raven absolutely hated it.

"Phobia shows you what your worst fears are…she makes you feel like your living through them. If your worst fears are something you've already been through…well, you can't beat the original, right?"

The other four Titans looked at their friend in shock, as none of them had missed out on the little piece of information he had just dropped. Beast Boy finished his glass of water, and placed the glass in the sink. "I think I'm gonna go for a fly and get some air."

None of the titans objected and Beast Boy made to make his exit. Just as he was at the sliding door, he turned back.

"Robin?"

Robin looked up again at his friend who had changed so much in such a short span of time. Even now, when he'd been happily playing videogames only five minutes ago, he looked so haggard…so tired.

"It doesn't matter if you fight Phobia and lose or fight her and drive her off…when you fight Phobia…no one wins."

The Titans walked through the streets of Jump City, the occasional civilian sprinting by them in a panic. Starfire had initially tried to calm some of them down, but there was simply no reasoning with them. Raven had had to take a few minutes in the car by herself before she left, just so she could find her centre and prepare for the onslaught of emotions rolling around her. Now, the group found themselves at a crossroads that for a place where people were screaming not minutes before, was now oddly quiet.

"Cyborg, detect anything?"

Cyborg ran his mechanical eye over the surrounding buildings. "There are people inside still, but I have no way of knowing if any of them are Phobia. If she doesn't choose to make herself known, this could be tricky."

"And why would I have any intention of doing such a thing. The unknown…the fear that keeps you on edge…that's where the fun is, isn't it?"

The voice didn't sound like it was real to Robin. It was like a whisper on the wind, worming its way into his mind, and seeping into his head like rainwater in the ground. The Titans heads whipped around, and they instinctively placed their backs to each other, staring outwards at the surrounding building and side streets. Raven tried to reach out to find the villain who was wielding such mental powers, but the overwhelming fear from civilians was still too much.

"You won't be able to find me Raven Roth…ah it's always nice when someone's greatest fear comes with backstory…it makes everything so much more…personal, don't you think?"

Raven turned violently around, eyes wild. Raven had never told anyone her last name and then this woman comes along and says it so casually. No one messed with her like that. Raven's eyes drifted to her teammates to see how they'd reacted and was momentarily surprised. No one was looking at her, more so they all looked deep in concentration, like they were desperately trying to think of something. That's when Raven realized. "Her messages are targeted."

"Too right Raven. Now, how about we go for a ride."

Raven didn't even have a chance to think of a response, as the world around her faded and she felt herself falling backwards. The last thing she remembered before everything went black was Cyborg calling her name.

Cyborg could only watch in horror as his friends around him seemed to fall into a trance, and collapse to the floor. He grabbed Raven by the shoulders and gave her a hard shake, but got no response. Her eyes had closed, and it seemed loike she had been put into a deep sleep.. He quickly realized that Bee, Robin and Starfire were all in the same situation.

"Well…what have we here…it's not often I find someone who doesn't succumb to my…ahem…gift."

Cyborg wheeled around towards the voice and came face to face with villain that had taken down many a Titan. For a criminal who gathered quite the reputation amongst the Teen Titans, Phobia was not an imposing figure. She couldn't have been more than six foot tall, but her ensemble of a sleek green body suit, with a matching cape and collar that extended above her head made her seem larger than she actually was. The body suit came over the top of her head, giving her a face a sort of frame.

But Cyborg was immediately drawn to her face. Rarely when fighting a villain was he concerned with what they looked like. But there was something in Phobia's expression. He didn't know whether it was her smile, like she knew what she was doing or taking pleasure in it, or her eyes which seemed to be almost pure black, but there was something distinctly unnerving about the villain before…that didn't mean he had to let her know she put him on edge.

"Your psychic powers may mess with people's mind…but you aren't fooling the machine." Cyborg raised his sonic cannon, aiming it at the woman before him.

Phobia smirked. "Oh, I may not be able to trap you in your worst fears, like I have with your little friends…but that doesn't mean I don't know them. I sensed them immediately, your sources of unease, what causes you to wake in the night screaming…the little nightmares that just won't go away."

Cyborg fired his cannon at Phobia, but she vanished before his shot could land. He looked around rapidly, trying to anticipate where she would appear next. Unfortunately he wasn't quick enough and a blow to his right hand side, cause him to double over. He heard her laughter from behind him.

"It's ironic isn't it. My powers don't work fully on you because of your robot half…but becoming the robot alone…now that sends shivers down your spine…and what else…being a robot that takes orders, is it? A tool to be used by the Titans, and then turned off when they were done with you, like any common kitchen appliance…"

Cyborg wheeled around, swinging his massive fist at the same time, but was once again met with empty space. This time the blow came from behind, and he was pushed forward onto his hands and knees. Her voice echoed out again, a very notable note of happiness in it, a joy derivbed from the distress she was causing.

"Oh but even worse…you could be used as a weapon…ahhh and should that little green freak ever come back and have another little temper tantrum, the Titans could simply send you to kill him…and you wouldn't feel a thing…would you? You could watch the light leave his eyes, hear him calling out your name, him just wanting to know why, but machines don't have to know why…they just take orders."

Cyborg rose to his feet, and turned around, knowing that Phobia would already be gone. She was messing with his head, letting his rage control his fighting. No…if he was going to beat Phobia and save the others, he would have to do it on two fronts. Cyborg looked around himself, allowing his cybernetic eye to scan the area, looking for any irregularities in the air. At the same time, he decided to banter back with Phobia a bit…after all, two could play at this game.

"You're right Phobia…and you know you are. I don't know about other people, but I don't think my fears are that hidden. I know what terrifies and I think about it almost every day…and yet here I am, still standing. You may have cracked almost every person you've encountered…but my will, just like my body, is as solid as steel…and speaking of fears…you developed quite the reputation amongst the Titans, enough so that we had to do some research, and boy were we disappointed. Daddy issues? Seems a bit cliché for a villain of your caliber."

Cyborg's cybernetic eye picked up a rippling in the air to his right, and even before Phobia appeared, he firedhis sonic cannon towards it, catching the woman as soon as she appeared, blasting her back a solid twenty feet. She got too her feet, a look of rage adorned on her face.

"Why are you even doing this? What's your motivation Phobia?"

Phobia got into a fighting stance, ignoring his question. "I'm done playing games with you. Once your disposed of, I can go back to the task of driving your pathetic friends insane."

Cyborg raised his sonic cannon. "Well I'm done with letting my friends down…so if you want some, come get some."

Phobia disappeared from her spot, but Cyborg's eye had memorized the change in the air that signaled when she was about to reappear. Phobia reappeared directly before him, and he raised his arm to block the strike, and the sound of flesh meeting metal echoed out across the silent streets.

Raven woke up with a start, shooting into an upright position and felt her heart plummet from her chest to the floor. In front of her were the ruins of Titans Tower. The building had been decimated and left a shell of it's former self. The entire building was cast in an ominous glow due to the backdrop provided by the blood red sky. Raven got to her feet and cast her eyes to Jump City, which now lay in ruin.

"No, no, no…this isn't real…this is vision…Trigon is gone, he can't-"

"Ra…Raven?"

Raven froze at the voice, a voice she hadn't heard in over two months. Whether it was vision or not, hearing it caused her entire mind to jolt. Raven turned around slowly, only slightly aware that she didn't feel like she was fully in control of her own body. Beast Boy looked like he'd been through hell. His clothes were shredded to pieces, he was covered in deep gashes, with one particularly nasty one running from his right temple all the way down to his chin. His shoulder was at a weird angle and he looked absolutely horrified.

Beast Boy lifted his good arm and waved it the landscape around him. "Why Raven? Why did you do this?"

"What? No…I would never…I…this is what it looked like when Trigon invaded, and I am not my-"

Raven was silenced of her thoughts when her mouth opened, seemingly of it's own accord. "I am the daughter of Trigon the Terrible. It is my born right to claim this world as my own. You and the other miserable excuses of people you know as the Titans were merely pawns to protect me, and snure that I came of age, so that I could impose my will when the time came."

"No…this isn't real…it can't be real…I know it's not-"

"No Raven…please, this isn't you…it can't be…you were my friend…you still are my friend."

Raven felt like she was about to be sick. She was a passenger in her own mind. Yes, she was here to watch the spectacle, but there was no way she could interfere. Her hand reached out, grabbing Beast Boy by the throat, and lifting him off the ground with a strength that only her demonic side could have mustered.

"You are a fool. I've already disposed of the other Titans…after living with them for so long, and having to deal with their inherent stupidity, their screams were a pleasure to listen to."

Beast Boy coughed as he struggled to breathe through the grip Raven had on his throat. "Then…w-why am I…st-still here?"

Raven could feel herself smirk maliciously at the green boy in her grip. "Ah, finally a good question. Consider yourself a memento of my time before ascension. However, I don't like this form…it's too talkative…I think you'd be better served as something else."

Raven tossed Beast Boy to the floor before waving her hands, encasing the changeling in her dark energy. Beast Boy realized what was going on immediately.

"NO RAVEN, PLEA-"

But it was far too late for that. Raven's magic had had it's intended effect and the changeling started to shift and change under her influence, until the form of the beast stood before her.

"No…I wouldn't…I couldn't…"

"Ahhh much better…far less chatty…you'll make an excellent source of entertainment in the future."

Raven waved her hands and two fire demons appeared out of the ground. "Take this…thing and chain him in the city…we will collect him once his will is broken."

The Beast was dragged away by the two demons, one of which had already manufactured a collar of fire around the creature's neck, eliciting howls of agony from the creature. Raven turned back to the Tower, not looking back once to look at the creature that she was once on a team with…a creature that she had just sentenced to a lifetime of punishment. She looked at the tower and with one downward swipe of her fist, what was left of the structure came crashing down.

As the debris settled, Raven caught her reflection in some broken glass, and caught four red eyes staring back at her. The site caused her to exhibit a sickening smile, and she opened her mouth, emitting an ethereal cry… a cry that signaled a demon had claimed its territory…

Raven woke up screaming, her eyes wild, as she desperately tried to work out where she was and what was going on. The tower was gone, the sky was blue again, and the buildings around didn't seem to be in decay. A scream caught her attention and her eyes rapidly shifted to Starfire, who was still alive, although her legs had been pulled up to her chest and she was visibly crying. To the left of her, Robin was on his knees, staring straight at the floor, as still as a statue, while Bee was just behind him, her head in her hands, her whole body trembling.

"…Guys?"

Raven looked up and Cyborg was taken aback by the borderline feral look on her face. None of the others had even reacted to his voice. Cyborg had been able to take Phobia down with relative ease once he figured out all her little tricks. Without her being able to trick his mind, he was able to overpower her with brute strength once he finally got her in his grasp. Without knowing anyway of stopping her magic, Cyborg had had no choice but put her under using a knockout agent he carried for disposing of groups of guards if the Titans were investigating a base. Phobia lay on her side, unconscious and handcuffed about thirty feet away, with some members of the Jump City Police Force flitting around her prone body.

Cyborg got down on one knee and extended a hand to Raven, who scrambled away from him like he was going to burn her. Cyborg pulled back and raised both hands in the air.

"Raven…Raven…it wasn't real. I promise you, whatever you saw, it was all a dream…an illusion. Look, we're all still here, still in Jump City and it's really me."

Raven stared at him for a few seconds, eyes still darting left and right occasionally like something was going to jump out at her at any moment. Cyborg extended his hand again and Raven tentatively reached for it, allowing her small fingers to graze Cyborg's massive metallic ones.

"See…it's just me…no monsters here."

Raven launched herself at the bigger Titan, slamming into him with enough force that he had to brace himself with his other hand. She wrapped her arms around his massive frame, just to convince herself that he was real and not dead.

"Hey, hey, it's okay…just breathe."

Raven didn't know how long they had stayed like that when Cyborg gently pushed her forwards. "Let's get back to the tower…let's go home."

Raven nodded numbly before glancing around at the others. Cyborg had maneuvered himself away and had gone to check on Bumblebee, who was still shaking. Meanwhile, Starfire was still sniffling, but for some reason, Robin wasn't trying to comfort her. In fact, it seemed like he wasn't even able to look at her at the moment. Raven and Robin briefly made eye contact with each other, before they both turned away quickly.

Raven's gaze then ventured towards Phobia, who was still being surrounded by the police. Maybe it was the experience beforehand, maybe it was because of her continued lack of success in finding Beast Boy or maybe it was a combination of the two, but Raven saw red. Raven felt her anger unleash itself as her demon eyes made an appearance, and black tentacles of energy emerged from under cloak. She advanced towards Phobia's unconscious body, the officers who were standing around her wisely backing up.

"She's coming with us and I dare one of you to tell me otherwise…please I'm begging you…give me a reason to make you fear the dark."

The officers looked up at Raven petrified, and she took that as their submission. A black tentacle reached out ensnaring Phobia, pulling her into the darkness beneath Raven's cloak.

"Let's see how you deal with your fears…I'll even give you new ones."

Raven felt a tap on her shoulder and wheeled around to confront whoever the fool was who would dare to interrupt her right now. Cyborg stood there, a sad look on his face. She could sense his apprehension…his fear…it was delicious…but yet…here he stood.

"Raven…don't let her do this to you…this is how she wins…don't let her make you the monster."

Raven felt her energy flow out of her, like she'd just been unplugged from a power socket. The tentacles vanished and Phobia reappeared from under her cloak, still unconscious. She had never experienced the horrors that had awaited her. Raven's eyes returned to their usual violet and she would have fallen forwards if not for Cyborg's firm hand on her shoulder.

"There's the Raven we all know and love."

Raven shot him an almost unnoticeable smile, before moving past him, intent on checking in with the others. Meanwhile, Cyborg looked down at the still unconscious Phobia and then back at the police officers.

Cyborg reached down and picked up the villain, slinging her over her shoulder. "Yea…we're still gonna need to take this…I'll give her back when we're done with her, Titan's honour!"

The police, who were clearly still terrified by the half-demon who had just threatened to instill them with new fears, surprisingly did not put up a fight.

The walk back to the T-Car was silent, as was the ride home. Cyborg was silently mulling over the fcat that Beast Boy had been right. He had just defeated Phobia single-handedly...but it certainly didn't feel like a victory. When the Titans got back, Robin placed Phobia in a holding cell on the ground floor before disappearing immediately into his study, locking the door behind him. Starfire had tried to follow him, but Robin still wasn't able to look at the Tamaranean. Starfire knew it was probably due to what he saw in his visions, but when she had also been shown her greatest fears, she desperately needed him right now…and he wasn't there. Starfire had trudged to her room, tears threatening to break out again as she slid her door closed. Raven watched as Cyborg and Bee went to Main Ops, thinking it was probably best to let them have some privacy.

As for Raven, she had a very clear plan. If there was one thing her visions from Phobia had told her, it was that she needed to find Garfield Logan. Before, she had tried to convince him to come home or open her mind to her with gentleness. But now, she was pissed. She was done playing games, she was going to find out where Beast Boy was, whether he wanted her to know or not.