Alice: New chapter!

Emily: I hope you all like it (especially the last scene).

Alice: Hopefully I made it worth the wait! Finals can be difficult, but now I'm out of school for a bit!

Emily: Which means I'll have more time to update!

Alice: My goal is to update at least twice a week, but sometimes it will be just once.

Emily: Anyways, here you go! New chapter! The one that changes everything!

Alice: Enjoy!

Haunted

Part 2

Calm down, she thought to herself, calm down. You can't talk to him while you're in a panic. Calm down.

She took in three deep breaths, attempting to slow her beating heart. He was in love with her, and he was going crazy, and she had to calm him down. "Robin," she whispered, hoping to get through to him. "Robin, you need to clam down."

You have to get out of here! Robin replied, his voice screeching in her mind. He was terrified. Slade, he'll hurt you! He's—

He's not real, Robin. Raven stated in a calm voice.

He is real! I've seen him!

Then let me see him. Through your eyes.

She pushed even further into his mind, and he allowed her to do so. Slowly she opened her eyes and immediately grimaced at the pain. That's when she realized it was not her eyes but Robin's that she was looking through. It worked! Normally seeing through another person's eyes would take much training and building of trust to accomplish, but it worked immediately. Perhaps it was due to the immediate connection…

She couldn't think about that right now. Shaking her head, she looked around the room. Her (his?) ribs ached like they had been broken, and her (his?) entire body screamed to sit down. She couldn't though. She had to prove to Robin that Slade was gone.

See? She questioned. No one is—

Slade appeared all at once and suddenly she was literally pushed out of his mind. She gasped, her entire body hurling back against the wall as she screamed, "Slade!"

Her body hit the floor making her groan, and the titans were instantly surrounding her. "What happened?" Beast boy demanded.

"He was there!" Raven gasped in surprise.

"What?" Cyborg gasped. "He's alive?"

Raven shook her head, "I'm not sure. Whether or not he is, he's alive to Robin, and he truly believes he's fighting Slade… and he's losing."

It didn't make any sense though… Raven squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to recall the exact details of what she saw. A normal human should not be able to push her out of a mind like that. Something was wrong here. She tried to reconnect to Robin, but he was shutting her out. Or maybe it was Slade blocking her... but that was not possible.

What was going on?

Robin could barely think. All he could feel was the pain spreading through his body as Slade hurled him down the steps. He hit the floor of the basement with a loud groan and shut his eyes, hoping it would be over.

Raven? He tried calling out with his mind, but it was futile. Was it just a fluke? Raven somehow managed to contact him but only for a certain amount of time? Or was he just going crazy and imagined Raven comforting him? He shook his head, tears coming to his eyes. Was he going to die?

"ROBIN!" Raven suddenly screamed. The titans turned to her as she whimpered, clutching her stomach as though it were in pain. "I can feel him," she gasped out.

"Raven?" Starfire whispered in confusion. The girl was shaking and sweating, and her eyes were unfocused as though she couldn't see what was right in front of her.

"He's not going to make it," she shook her head. "He's… he's not—"

Starfire clenched her fists. "No," she growled out. Spinning around, she grabbed the floor. Adrenaline ran through her body like never before, and the floor felt like nothing in seconds. Robin needed her help. Robin needed to survive.

With a battle cry, she ripped open the floor.

All of the titans stared at her in awe for a fraction of a second. The moment was ruined when Raven screamed and dashed towards the opening, clumsily flying below the ground as though every fiber in her body was ordering her to get to Robin now.

The rest of the titans followed instantly.

No. No, he couldn't die. Dammit, he survived this much, didn't he? He finally made up with Bruce, reestablished a friendship with Barbara and the rest of the former sidekicks, made a damn team, fell in love! He was finally on the right track in his life! He couldn't die now!

Shakily he stood up and went into a fighting position. Slade was slowly coming down the steps, laughing as he did so. When he finally reached the boy, he didn't hesitate in kicking him in his already bruised ribs. Robin cried out in pain, as he was sent backwards. When he landed on the ground, he curled into a fetal position. "Slade," he whimpered, "stop."

"No Robin," Slade whispered, grabbing him by the front of his torn shirt and lifting him up. "I won't stop. Not now, not ever. I am the thing that keeps you up at night. The evil that haunts ever dark corner of your mind. I will never rest and neither will you."

"Raven said you weren't real," Robin gasped out.

"Oh I'm very real." Slade taunted before throwing forward, forcing him to hit the beam. His back howled in agony as Slade continued to walk forward slowly. "Could you have gotten all those bruises from someone who wasn't there? You can't even touch me."

Robin tried to back up as Slade started approaching him only to frown. With every step the man took, his form changed slightly. Almost like the Joker… yet when he took another step forward, he was Slade again. Both of them were there, the Joker and Slade. Each taking a single step towards him and changing forms constantly between the two.

Something clicked in his mind, and it was like a dark cloud dispersed in Robin's head. He could think clearly. Slade was right. Robin was covered in bruises and cuts from the fight. While he would normally be injured after a fight with Slade, it was never this severe… there was never such a difference in battle scars. He always managed to land a couple hits on Slade regardless of how much better a fighter the man was. Something wasn't right. "All of these bruises," he whispered to himself. "But you don't have a scratch!"

None of his friends could see Slade. None of them could find the generators. Slade only appeared in the dark… the dark corners of his mind…

"Only in the dark," he realized, shakily standing up. "You're only in the dark. Raven was right!"

Slade ceased all movement for a moment before growling out, "I'm real enough to kill you!"

As he broke out into a run, Robin immediately grabbed the light switch next to him. Light blared into the room, and Slade all but disappeared. Robin smirked, "Try again next time."

"ROBIN!"

Robin slumped his head on his shoulder as he stared at the blurry girl coming towards him. Raven… Raven was here. As he collapsed onto the ground, Raven grabbed him, holding him in her arms. "It's okay Raven," he mumbled, dazed. "It's okay."

That was the last thing he remembered before darkness swallowed him whole.

Raven refused to leave his side, her pale hand gripping his as Cyborg ran more diagnostics. As he scanned Robin's brain, he gasped and turned to the team, looking shocked. "It wasn't him," he stated. "This wasn't him!"

"What do you mean?" Beast boy frowned.

"He was drugged!"

That was all Cyborg could get out before he ran out of the room, leaving the titans alone with the unconscious Robin. Starfire had bandaged his bruised ribs, and Beast boy helped stop the bleeding on some of the cuts. Overall, Robin's body was a mess, and they would definitely have to force him to stay in bed for the next couple of days. That would be incredibly difficult.

Starfire stared sadly at the boy. "What kind of drug could have done this?"

"It must have been a chemical reagent that has the ability to invade a person's central nervous system, causing them to hallucinate to the point where they begin harming themselves," Beast boy answered.

Raven and Starfire stared at him in surprise.

He blushed. "My parents were scientists."

Starfire's eyes became sympathetic. "Were?"

He nodded, his eyes drifting to the floor as he clenched his fists.

"My parents died today," Beast boy confessed.

Robin's eyes widened although he wasn't completely shocked. Earlier that day, Beast boy had the same expression he had when his own parents died. Part of him hoped it wouldn't be as severe, but he highly doubted it. This was the proof. Robin could relate to him, tell him of his own tragic past, but he knew he couldn't. If he gave too much away, he gave away not only his secrets but Bruce's as well.

"I'm sorry," was the only thing he could say, but he hoped that Beast boy would understand through his tone and expression that he understood.

Raven shut her eyes tightly at the memory. All of Robin's memories were her own now, and it was an extreme invasion of privacy. She could only hope that Robin would wake up unaware of the situation, and she could pretend she never learned anything she wasn't supposed to.

Cyborg suddenly burst into the room and grabbed Robin's arm, pushing a needle into it. "This will help," was the only thing he said.

It took a while, but Robin eventually began to stir. All of the titans held in their breaths as Robin slowly sat up, rubbing his aching head.

"Robin," Raven whispered in relief. He slowly turned to her and offered her a small smile.

"Hey guys," he croaked out. "What did I miss?"

They ran a few more diagnostics on him: a concussion test (he had one), seeing if he had any broken bones (a bruised wrist), and if he had any sort of memory loss (he didn't). Once they finished, Cyborg explained how he had been drugged using almost identical words Beast boy used earlier.

"The dust," Robin whispered. "That's how."

"Whoever sent that mask knew one of us would closely look at it," Cyborg agreed. "It made you hear, see, and feel Slade."

"And the harder you fought, the more harm it did to you," Starfire said sympathetically.

"And anyone else who tried to intervene," Raven attempted to joke, rubbing her sore jaw from when she was literally punched out of her mind.

As she said that, Robin whirled around to look at her, and there was something in his expression that startled Raven. Okay, he definitely remembered how she invaded his mind. He probably just didn't know the side effects that came with it.

"Scan says you're all clear now though," Cyborg stated, clueless as to the moment that just passed between his two teammates.

"Yeah?" Robin stated. "There's only one way to find out though."

"Robin," Raven instantly protested, but Robin already stood up. He limped toward the wall, and none of the titans attempted to stop him. He turned around to face the team. Hesitating for just a moment, he sighed as he turned off the light and glanced around. He could only see the outlines of his teams' bodies. Slade was nowhere to be seen or heard.

He sighed, turning back on the lights. "I've been fighting Slade for so long that it's hard to believe he's gone. Sometimes I feel like he's still there… that I'm the only one looking for him. That I'm the only one who can stop him."

"Robin, you are never alone." Starfire stated.

"And if Slade does ever return, we'll be ready for him," Cyborg stepped forward, offering him a comforting smile.

Robin nodded, "Thank you."

"You should probably get some rest," Cyborg changed the subject, critically eyeing the injured boy who shouldn't even be standing. "I think you should also stay in the medical ward for tonight just in case."

"Yeah," Robin sighed, making his way toward the bed and sitting on it.

"Will you be alright?" Beast boy asked.

"I'll be fine."

"We shall let you rest then," Starfire smiled. Robin nodded, and slowly the rest of the titans made their way towards the door when suddenly…

"Raven? Can you stay for a minute?"

Everyone's eyes were on Raven, who locked eyes with Robin. Judging by his expression, that was not a request. Raven gulped and nodded, turning to her teammates in attempts to offer a reassuring smile.

They nodded and slowly filed out of the room, with Starfire being the only one to look back before shutting the door.

Raven didn't bother taking a step towards Robin, and it was silent for a few moments. She felt she was almost being suffocated by how tense it was when a movement caught her eyes. She immediately looked at Robin and her eyes widened as he lifted his hand toward the edge of his mask and started to slowly pull it off.

"Robin don't—" she began.

"It doesn't matter, does it?" He said and his mask was off. Bright blue eyes were staring at her, and she was frozen with shock. "You know, don't you? Everything."

"I—" She couldn't even form words. Yes, she had seen his eyes in his memories, but she had never… this was a different experience. This was in person. This was her memories, not his!

"I wasn't sure what happened when I was fighting Slade," he continued. "I thought I might have imagined it, but when I woke up, I remembered. I saw my life flash before my eyes, but it wasn't just me who saw it. I passed it all to you, and you passed some to me."

What? Raven backed up slowly. She let her guard down, yes, but she didn't remember giving him memories. How much did he know?

Robin smiled softly. "I can feel your anxiety. Don't worry you didn't pass me much. I remember some things like the monks, but not much. It's more of the recent things with the team."

"Robin," she tried to say.

"Don't call me that." He stated. "My mask isn't on."

She shut her eyes tightly. "Dick," she whispered. "It's not—"

"I know you now. I thought I knew you before, but I know you a lot more now." He whispered. "I know that you immediately regretted ending our friendship. I know you're scared of something, I can feel it, but I can't tell what it is. Something is scaring you to death, and you're trying to distance yourself from me because you want to protect me."

"Stop," she clenched her fists.

He looked at her, his blue eyes to her purple, and stated with full confidence. "I love you."

She shut her eyes tightly, shaking her head. "I don't love you back. I'm sorry."

"You're lying." He immediately replied, looking like he expected the rejection. "I felt it. I know you love me too, but you're terrified. I don't know what's scaring you, but if you tell me, I can help."

"You can't." Raven crossed her arms, looking as though she were hugging herself. "No one can."

"I can try." Robin started to stand up, and Raven flinched at the pain that went through their legs. When he noticed her flinch, he immediately sat down. "I know you love me. You can't hide from that, Raven."

She looked at him, newfound determination in her eyes.

"I can try."

With that, she ran out of the room, leaving the injured Robin to sit there and stare after her. Like Raven, there was a new determination within him, and he knew now that he could definitely not give up on her.

Whatever it was that she was afraid of, he would find out, and together they would beat it.

He knew they would.

Alice: Thanks for reading!

Emily: Next chapter will feature a very jealous Robin.

Alice: And I'm pretty sure you guys can all guess why!

Emily: Let me know what you guys thought!

Alice: The next update will be on or before the 28th!