Alice: I am so excited!

Emily: This is it! I've been waiting to write Haunted since I started this entire series, so I am pretty pumped.

Alice: I hope you like the chapter! This is where all of the RobRae begins.

Emily: Enjoy!

Haunted

Part 1

Cyborg was worried about him. That much he admitted to when he was affected by the virus and blurted out how he noticed Robin was pulling all-nighters. But that was the only time it was brought up, and Robin quickly ensured it was never a subject of conversation afterwards. Then again, Cyborg wasn't exactly trying that hard to talk about it. Whenever Cyborg tried to push Robin into telling him information in the past, it never worked out well. Still, this was just getting ridiculous.

Robin was sitting by the main computer, which was flashing images of the city. His eyes were glued to the screen as though to ensure nothing was wrong. It gave Cyborg a very "Big Brother" feel.

"You still up?" He finally asked after a few minutes of standing behind him.

Robin didn't react. "I've got work to do."

Cyborg frowned and turned his eyes to the screen. "Well whatever you're looking for is probably asleep. Like you should be."

Robin didn't bother responding, and Cyborg sighed.

"Alright then." He shrugged, about to exit the room. He paused for a moment, "Robin, try to get some sleep."

He received no response, which he expected at this point. He sighed and walked out of the room without a second thought. As he made his way to his own room, he pondered whether or not leaving Robin alone was a good idea. While it appeared he had his breakdowns under control, it could very well be the opposite. After all, when Cyborg first met Robin, he didn't think he would have any breakdowns at all! Robin was very good at hiding when he felt his "episodes" coming on, and he never talked to the team about them. Maybe if Cyborg tried a little harder and Robin talked about it, they would stop occurring…

No, he shook his head. Every time the team has tried to press Robin into talking about it, he always ended up freaking out in one way or the other. It was best to just leave it alone…

Yeah right.

Cyborg sighed and immediately turned around, determined to at least get an "I'm okay" from Robin. That would settle his nerves just a bit even if he knew Robin was most likely lying. By the time he made it back to the main lounge of the tower, Robin was no longer in his seat.

For a moment, Cyborg was relieved. Obviously Robin had gone back to bed…

No, that didn't sound right. Robin? Sleeping? Taking care of his body and making actively healthy decisions based on his mentality?

That was definitely not at all like Robin.

He sighed and started making his way down the halls. He knew where Robin would be.

As he made his way down the steps of the basement, he saw Robin crouched over on the floor coughing. Clearly he was looking at Slade's mask. Cyborg sighed and walked over to the lights, turning them on and briefly startling Robin, who jumped up. Cyborg stared at him pitifully, "He's gone, you know." He stated.

Robin frowned and looked at the mask in his hands. "We can't know that for sure," Robin stiffly replied, coughing from the dust. "We saw him melt away in that pit, so how can his uniform still be sent to us?"

Cyborg sighed, "Exactly. Robin, he melted in a pit of lava! Not even Slade can survive that. He probably just had a bunch of other uniforms, and someone he used to work with sent them to us to scare us. Clearly it's working."

Robin scowled. "He might—"

"It's over Robin." Cyborg stated. Ironically, just as he said that, the alarm went off causing Robin to quickly put the mask back in its box.

"Let's go," he said before quickly running off. Cyborg sighed before following him.

Cinderblock. Again. Robin nearly rolled his eyes when he saw the criminal destroying parts of the street. They caught him so many times. How did the jailing facilities keep allowing him to break out? It was getting kind of ridiculous. "Titans," he shouted, "finish this quickly."

They all nodded, and together they rushed after Cinderblock with full force. It was easy enough to gain his attention when they all started firing at once. Robin was careful to dodge the majority of Cinderblock's attacks while also not slipping. It was pouring rain, which caused the roads to be especially muddy.

At one point, Cinderblock managed to grab Starfire's foot and hurl her at Raven. The two girls collided with a pained gasp, and Robin narrowed his eyes. As Cinderblock was distracted, Robin hurriedly rushed towards the monster and began landing blows on him. Cinderblock howled with rage and attempted to hit Robin, but he quickly backed away. Unfortunately, Cinderblock thought of something new to do. He raised his fists and pounded them on the street, causing ground beneath Robin to hurl him up.

"Robin!" He heard someone shout as he was flung out of the battlefield and into the woods behind them. Grunting in pain, he tried to focus on catching himself as he tumbled down. He grabbed one of the branches and used his momentum to spin around it before landing. He stood up and rubbed his gloved hands together sighing. Great, how was he going to get back to the battle—

Something caught the corner of his eye, and he whirled around. All he could see was a flash of a dark suit and a mask that was half orange. His whole body froze and his mind quickly started rapidly replaying the day Slade fell into a pit of lava. There was no way. It was impossible. Sure, Robin had his doubts, but he still didn't actually think that he would return. He couldn't be, right?

"Hello Robin."

That was his voice.

"Slade," he growled out and immediately rushed to where he heard the voice. The "dead" criminal mastermind was standing there with his arms tucked behind his back. He was looking far too pleased with himself, and Robin could feel his fists clenching at the sight. He broke out into a ran towards Slade, who turned and ran from the boy. Good.

As Robin was chasing him, Slade jumped up and grabbed a sturdy tree branch, hoisting himself up so he could hop on the branches. Robin clenched his teeth and followed the man. Soon the two were leaping from branch to branch, and Robin was getting no closer to him. Once they reached a particularly thick branch, Slade stopped, waiting for Robin to land on the same place. "Already out of breath?" he sounded amused. "You're out of practice."

"You—" Robin wasn't entirely sure what he was going to say, but Slade interrupted him before he could compose something.

"I didn't come here to talk. I came here to warn you. I figured I could test you like I did in the past," Slade stated.

"So I could become your apprentice," he spat.

"I've placed seismic generators on key fault lines in the city," Slade ignored his comment. "In three hours, they will activate and cause an earthquake so magnificent it will break your city in two."

"An earthquake?" Robin narrowed his eyes, a blonde haired girl coming to his mind. Was Slade purposefully trying to recreate Terra's powers to hurt them? Probably knowing Slade. All at once, the three main key fault lines in the city rushed in his head, and his fists clenched. He dashed towards Slade, letting out a scream, but Slade quickly evaded his attacks and jumped off the branch to the ground.

Robin followed and hurled his staff at Slade, but in a flash of light, he was gone.

Once he landed, Robin grabbed his staff, which was sticking out of the muddy ground. He frowned as he recalled the battle. Usually when he fought Slade, he could land a few punches or kicks. This time, however, he couldn't hit Slade once. Had he really become that slow?

"Um… hate to interrupt your little nature hike," a voice interrupted, and Robin felt his grip on the staff tighten at Beast boy's voice. "BUT WHERE WERE YOU? We had to finish off Cinderblock in the cold!"

"Slade," he spat out, turning to the Titans.

All of their eyes widened. "What?" Cyborg blinked.

"He's back."

"How?" Cyborg gaped. "Are you sure you weren't seeing things? I know you've had Slade on your mind lately, but…"

"It was him." Robin firmly stated.

"The dude fell in a pit of lava!" Cyborg continued to argue. "How can someone survive that?"

"Apparently Slade can," Raven answered, staring worriedly at Robin, who wouldn't even look at her.

"Let's take him down."

The Titans all turned to the one who spoke. Surprisingly, it wasn't Robin who spoke with the conviction and hate but Beast boy, whose eyes were hard and fists were clenched. Robin nodded, understanding exactly why Beast boy would harbor such resentment. He wasn't going to be happy learning the next bit of information.

"He has seismic generators on the key fault lines of the city," Robin informed them. "We have to stop them before it causes a massive earthquake."

At the word "earthquake," Beast boy narrowed his eyes. He clearly had the same thoughts on the methods of the city's destruction that Robin did. He was trying to impersonate Terra, who died to stop him. It was degrading to her image, and he understood why Beast boy especially would be furious at that. "Cyborg, check out the bridge. Raven, go to the park. Beast boy, the pier."

"No!" Beast boy angrily exclaimed. "I'm going with you to hunt Slade."

Robin paused, taking in the smaller boy and sighed. "Fine. Starfire, you take the pier. Beast boy and I will go after Slade."

Raven frowned. "Are you—"

"I gave you an order," Robin barked at her, causing her to frown. "Follow it."

Raven reluctantly nodded her head, knowing fighting back would only result in more anger. Beforehand, when they fought, he always argued back. The way he commanded her to follow his orders though… it was like he didn't even want her to speak. She could hardly blame him, and part of her was ashamed of the reasoning behind it. It was for the best, she told herself, even if it resulted in his anger. She just hoped he wouldn't let his anger get the best of him.

Again.

Beast boy watched as Robin stomped his way across the forest, his head whipping in any direction he heard movement. While he wanted to catch Slade as much as Robin, doubts still lingered in his head. After all, Slade fell into a pit of lava! How could he survive that? Plus, Cyborg revealed during the virus situation that Robin was pulling all-nighters to catch whoever sent Slade's mask, so he could be seeing things.

At the same time though, if Slade was alive…

Anger boiled in his chest at the thought of the man who manipulated and beat Terra for his own selfish gain. He clenched his fists, kept his doubts silent, and continued walking with Robin.

All of a sudden, Robin ceased all movement before dashing off in some random direction.

"What the hell?" Beast boy mumbled before chasing after him. It took a few minutes to catch up to Robin, but when he finally did, Beast boy was greeted with a strange sight.

Robin was on the ground, struggling to get up. Beast boy gaped. There was no way Slade beat Robin that quickly! It always took a lengthy fight before one of them was down. What happened? Before Beast boy could run to Robin to help, Robin lifted his head and screamed, "BEAST BOY! GET HIM!"

Beast boy blinked, taking in his surroundings. There was no one there…?

Sudden Robin was in front of him, harshly grabbing his arm and pulling him towards him. Beast boy gasped in pain as Robin screamed, "Slade was right in front of you! How could you let him get away?"

"What?" Beast boy exclaimed, trying to escape from Robin's painful grip. "Robin, there was no one there!"

Robin frowned, staring at Beast boy with what he suspected to be wide eyes.

Starfire sighed as she flew down to meet with Cyborg and Raven, who were patiently waiting in the rain. Once she landed at the arranged meeting spot, she took in the stern expressions of her teammates. "I found nothing," she confessed, bowing her head in disappointment.

Raven nodded, "I didn't either."

"I ran a whole sweep of the city's seismic faults," Cyborg stated. "It's all clean. I think this is one of Slade's tricks."

Starfire frowned, hugging her body. "The last time he sent us on a chase like this… Robin became his apprentice. You don't think…?"

"Maybe." Raven sighed. "We all know he was after Robin the entire time, and Terra was his backup plan. But I don't think Slade would try the same tricks twice. It doesn't seem like him."

Cyborg nodded in agreement before the corner of his eye caught something green. "Beast boy's back…"

The team turned to the direction Cyborg was looking. A green bird flew down and quickly morphed into a very worried Beast boy. The team all glanced at each other before directing their attention onto their youngest member. "Beast boy?" Cyborg approached him.

Beast boy flinched. "Robin's gone crazy…"

Cyborg frowned. "What?"

"He said he saw Slade, and he told me to catch him, but Slade wasn't there." Beast boy firmly stated. "It wasn't a trick of his eye either… Robin was lying on the ground because of whatever he was seeing. Guys… I think he's having another one of his freak-outs, and he's seeing things because of it."

Cyborg frowned, uncertainly saying, "Robin's never seen things because of his freak-out's before. He's had flashbacks and was stuck in those, but he's never—"

"I think this is a new form of freak-out," Beast boy interrupted, rubbing his arm. "He got really violent and—"

"Did he hurt you?" Cyborg asked sternly, images of the beaten Jericho and Terra in his mind.

Beast boy seemed to understand what he was thinking and shook his head, "No, he just grabbed me a little too roughly. Nothing like what happened with Jericho and Terra."

Cyborg nodded although he still appeared very upset by that information.

Raven sighed, "Where is he now?"

Beast boy sighed, "He decided to go search for Slade alone."

Cyborg nodded, "Let's go find Robin."

Robin carefully walked through Slade's destroyed base. So many memories here, and none of them were pleasant. His eyes took in every detail of the place, but it seemed almost unrecognizable. Everything was destroyed and piled up. Slade was organized, and he would have never allowed for such a mess. The room was dark but not so dark that Robin couldn't see.

As he explored, he started feeling more and more hopeless. Beast boy said that he couldn't see Slade, and none of the team members have contacted him about finding the seismic generators, which meant they haven't found them yet…

How could they not see what was going on? Why only him?

"Here we are again… the old haunt… just the two of us," Slade's voice rang out.

Robin turned to the source of the voice and saw Slade standing over him on a pile of the old machinery. Robin clenched his fists, "Why couldn't Beast boy see you?"

"I think you're familiar with cloaking techniques," Slade replied in amusement.

"I'm familiar with all your tricks," Robin spat back, not questioning the fact that Slade's never used such techniques before.

"Then stopping me should be easy for you."

Growling, Robin began climbing the rub until he reached the top only to frown. Slade wasn't there… how—

Suddenly the platform he was standing on leaned far too right and collapsed with Robin on it. He gasped and quickly jumped off, dashing down the large space as fast as he possibly could. Once he landed on the ground, the platform followed in suit, and he quickly rolled over to avoid being crushed. Shakily, he stood up panting, whipping around any time he heard sound.

"This does bring back so many memories…" Slade's voice rang out.

Robin growled, "All I can remember is how much I hated you."

"Really? All I can remember is how you couldn't defeat me."

Suddenly Slade was standing on another platform, staring down at him once again. Robin growled and quickly climbed up another platform, jumping from one to the other until he leaped towards the one Slade was standing on. He gasped when his jump was too short, and he quickly grabbed onto the edge of the platform, his body dangling off. Slade was standing before him. Robin could see the amusement in his eye.

"Your friends won't find the generators, and they can't see me," Slade sneered. "They can't see the truth even though it's right in front of them."

Robin let out a scream, throwing his body down and using his legs to kick the platform. Using that momentum, he managed to jump to the same level as Slade. He growled, "Then I'll just have to stop you myself. I've stopped you before!"

Slade tilted his head to the side, "Robin, if you've stopped me, then why am I still here?"

Letting out a howl of anger, Robin rushed towards the criminal.

Raven flew into the tunnel, feeling more on edge the further she went. Cyborg used Robin's locator signal and discovered he was in Slade's old hideout. The team had quickly rushed there in hopes of finding Robin before he did something stupid. After Beast boy had revealed Robin was just seeing things, worry ran through her body. Worry and self-blame.

If she hadn't ended their friendship, maybe it wouldn't have caused so much strain on Robin. Strain that, paired with being sent Slade's mask, caused Robin to have another episode. He had been doing so well after Terra's death that they thought perhaps it was over… they were wrong. This was probably one of the most intense freak-out's he's ever had, and it was because of a dumb mistake Raven made.

Well, she was going to make it right no matter what.

Pained grunts and battle cries were heard in the distance, and the team quickly rushed into the room. They weren't sure what they were expecting, but what they saw was not something they ever thought they would see.

Robin was on the ground, panting and coughing. Scars and bruises were scattered throughout his body, and his uniform was torn in multiple places. "Robin?" Cyborg exclaimed.

"SLADE!"

Starfire gasped and immediately held out her hand, allowing a starbolt to light the room. The team and Robin glanced around but there was no Slade in sight. Robin growled and turned to the team, "Why aren't you finding the generators?" Robin spat.

Cyborg frowned, trying to use a calm but stern voice, "Robin, I don't think there are any generators."

"Of course there are!" Robin shouted. "Slade must be cloaking them like he's cloaking himself. That's why you couldn't see him!"

Starfire frowned, "But if Beast boy could not see him… why could you?"

Robin paused, taking in the expressions of his teammates. "What are you trying to say?"

"Robin," Raven took a step towards him, "are you sure you saw Slade?"

"Saw him?" Robin sounded almost offended. "I fought him! You think I did this to myself?!"

As he said that, he gestured to one of the larger bruises on his upper arm. Above that, the team could see his sleeve was missing. Almost like someone tore it off…

"Dude, this is the only way in or out, and we were standing here the whole time," Beast boy tiredly tried to explain. "No one got in or out."

Robin's lips parted in surprise. Clenching his fists, he shook his head, "I don't have time for this… I have to find the generators!"

Cyborg stepped in front of him, "There are no generators, and there is no Slade!"

"I know what I saw!" Robin screamed, backing away from his teammate like a caged animal. "I have to find them… I'm the only one who can!" Suddenly he pulled out one of the sharper gadgets from his belt. The same one he used to stab Terra's leg. "And I'll stop anyone who gets in my way!"

The team stared at him in shock. They were so surprised by his words that they did not notice Starfire creep up behind Robin until she blasted him with a starbolt. They all jumped when Robin suddenly fell to the floor.

Starfire flinched when they stared at her in horror. "He threatened to harm us," she whispered. "I did what I had to."

Raven's eyes softened, and she approached Starfire, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Let's take him home."

Robin groaned as he woke up. His entire body hurt, and his head was pounding. He tried to sit up, but something was preventing him from moving. Frowning, he attempted to move any part of his body but found he couldn't. When his eyes finally opened up, he gasped at the restraints on his body. "No…" he whispered. "No no no no no!"

The team was standing before him, staring at him in concern. "Robin?" Starfire asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

"NO!" Robin shouted, his body practically flailing. If it weren't for the restraints, his movements would be out of control. "Don't tie me up! Not again! Not again! Please, oh God don't!"

The begging continued, and Starfire appeared more broken hearted with every word coming out of his mouth. She turned to Cyborg, who couldn't even look at the boy. "We can't let him go," he whispered. "He tried to hurt us, and he hurt himself. He's dangerous."

"I can't listen to this," Starfire whimpered, and Raven slowly wrapped her arms around the girl. Normally Raven wasn't big on physical contact, but they both needed the comfort. After all, Raven could barely stand to look at Robin when he was like this either. Slowly the titans filed into the other room, ignoring Robin's pleas to let him go.

Robin squeezed his eyes shut, trying to control his breathes as the team left the room. Left him alone in the dark tied up just like he did…

"He's dead," he whispered to himself. "He's not here… he's dead."

"Are you sure about that?"

Robin gasped as Slade moved back the curtain. "No," he gasped out.

"You thought I was dead, and here I am. How can you be so sure about him?"

"Don't…" he whispered.

Slade walked towards him, "I was so surprised when I found out. All of those ideas, all of the things he did to you… he's a very creative man. I suppose that is why he had more success turning you against your loved ones than I did. Perhaps I should try some of his tricks."

As he said that, he held up a taser, making Robin whimper and struggle more.

He needed to get out… now!

"I don't get it," Cyborg slumped down on the chair, glancing at the screen with Robin's vitals. "He's never had a freak-out like this before. He's never started hallucinating things that weren't there."

"I told you—" Beast boy began.

"I know," Cyborg sighed. "But why now? Why not right after Terra died? Or right after he was sent the mask? What happened that made him lose his cool like this?"

Suddenly all of the eyes in the room drifted to Raven, who was hugging herself and leaning against the wall. "Rae?" Beast boy reluctantly asked. "You okay?"

Raven shut her eyes tightly. "It's my fault."

"It's not your fault," Starfire soothed.

"I fought with him a lot," she whispered, "and I—"

"It's not your fault," Beast boy reaffirmed Starfire's point. "I'm pretty sure we've all suspected that his past isn't the prettiest. It's just a combination of Terra's death, Slade's mask, lack of sleep, and his PTSD from whatever happened to him. He's just been pushing it all down, and it was finally let out."

"Me fighting with him didn't exactly help," Raven pointed out.

"It didn't," Cyborg agreed, "but I doubt it caused this much of a change in him."

"I agree," Starfire stated.

Raven sighed and nodded her head although she didn't agree with them. Suddenly she frowned and looked at the team, "He hasn't pulled this 'I'm going to work alone' stunt in a long time… he's learned to trust us more since then."

"He's regressing," Cyborg agreed.

Beast boy fiddled with his fingers, "Guys, do you think we should call Batman?"

The team frowned and glanced around. Unlike before, Robin and Batman were on good terms now. There was a less likely chance of Robin hating them if they contacted him. At the same time, what would Batman do that would help? If it was all due to Robin's mental breakdown, they highly doubted bringing in Batman would heal him. Still, he might know what to do…

A beeping distracted them, and they looked at Robin's charts with alarm.

"His vitals," Raven gasped, her eyes going wide.

"They're off the charts! A human can't survive at this rate!" Starfire cried out. All at once, Robin's vitals dropped to basically nothing. The team all felt their hearts freeze, and they dashed into the medical room without a second thought.

Robin wasn't on the bed.

"Where is Robin?" Starfire whirled to the team. There was a moment of silence, and sight banging in the vents could be heard. The team looked up and saw one of the vents were opened. Beast boy quickly morphed into a small bird and flew towards the vent, but it suddenly closed on him, forcing him to slam onto the wall before falling to the floor.

All of the doors and windows had metal walls in front of it.

"He's activated the quarantine protocol," Cyborg whispered. "Nothing can get in or out."

"We shall see about that!" Starfire screamed and hurled a starbolt at the door. It only bounced off, nearly hitting the titans in the process. Letting out a pained scream, she began pounding on the door with her fists. Cyborg quickly dashed to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her away from the door. They shared a look before Cyborg let her go, and his hand was replaced with a saw. He knelt down and started trying to cut through the door.

Beast boy stared at them when he heard rustling behind him. He turned around and saw Raven going into her meditation pose. "What are you doing?" He questioned.

"Finding Robin," she said before closing her eyes.

She could feel her spirit move from her body and go through the vents as she tried to find Robin. Once she felt his presence, she instantly pushed into his mind. Normally there would be some resistance, and she would have to fight with the brain's defenses. Yet the moment he felt her, he gripped onto her tightly. It caused her to gasp. Never before had anyone had this reaction to her before, and it caught her off guard. So off guard that she accidentally lowered her defenses, and it caused an instant connection.

Memories flooded her head. Memories that were not her own.

A little circus boy with blue eyes smiling at his parents, laughing as his dad challenged him to another backflip contest.

An old man beaming at him in pride, praising him for being able to fly.

A man and woman falling, their eyes wide with fear as they stared at their little boy.

No room at the orphanage… the juvenile center… boys beating up the circus boy… the butler making him food.

The billionaire holding out his hand… comforting him… "I lost my parents too."

"Robin." He stated. "I want my name to be Robin."

"Why is it overwhelmed and underwhelmed? Why can't it just be whelmed?"

"Dude," the boy in yellow groaned, "stop messing around with the English language!"

"You're like a son to me, Dick."

A woman screaming and the boy running to save her only to find darkness…

Pain. So much pain. She wanted to scream but daddy would hear…

Daddy's dead. They killed him. They pulled the trigger.

Barbara… she loved Barbara. Her pretty smile, her sense of humor, but it wasn't meant to be.

Run. Have to run. Batman wants to take away Robin. Can't take away Robin. Robin was a part of them. Had to Run.

There were so many images, so many emotions… Raven thought her head was going to explode. Too much information… Suddenly she gasped and newer memories came. Memories of the team… they were smiling together, laughing together, crying together. Never before had they felt so in place, like they belonged. This was theirs, not Bruce's or Batman's. Not the league's. His. Theirs.

A woman was smiling at him. A beautiful woman with short dark hair and shining purple eyes. She was always hiding away in her room. Why? Why was she hiding? She acted like she understood the darkness… no, she did understand. She was comforting. She was powerful. She was funny. She was beautiful. She understood. She loved her. He loved her.

"Raven?" Robin's voice filled her head, and she gasped.

He was in love with her.

Alice: I hope you liked the chapter!

Emily: Everything after this is straight up RobRae bonding.

Alice: Finally, right?

Emily: Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought!