It's Dark Inside (BbRae)

17

The Titans were gathered in their tv room. Robin stood at the front of the room, while Beast Boy and Cyborg occupied the couch.

Raven was at the kitchen isle stirring a mug as steam arose, tuning out Robin's team lecture.

With a hand on his hip, Robin continued, frustrated. "Why haven't we found her yet?"

"We're trying our best dude, we've looked everywhere." Beast Boy replies.

"Look, man we're all really tired, it's been a long day, we'll search again tomorrow." Cyborg replies, looking at his broken scanner. he was frustrated he hadn't had time to fix it, and here Robin was pestering the team.

If anyone was upset over the loss of Starfire, it was Cyborg. He was the last one to see her, and he felt guilty for losing her so easily to Slade.

Sure he learned a thing or two when he fought Atlas about how far he could push himself, but it still bothered him he couldn't do more in the heat of the moment against Slade.

Robin glared Cyborg down. "Well clearly you all haven't been looking hard enough!"

Cyborg tunes Robin out, he didn't want to hear it, he looks to Beast Boy who is looking down at his lap, clearly somewhere else.

Raven turned to face the Titans, they looked miserable. She floats over into the room, staring at Robin. "Robin, I think we get it. Starfire is missing, and sitting around won't find her."

Beast Boy instantly glances up, shocked by Raven's sudden interference. Cyborg's expression hardens.

"But," Raven continues, "Searching without the energy and means won't find her either. Look at your team, we're exhausted."

Silence fills the air.

Robin raises an eyebrow at Raven's words. He left out a huge sigh, realizing his drastic measures he had been taking. He just wanted to find Star with every ounce of his being. He missed her.

Robin missed her smile, he missed her laughter, the way she floated and the glimmer in her eyes when she got excited. She was so kind and thoughtful.

Robin tilts his gaze to the floor beneath his feet, he places a hand to his face, closing his eyes. "I'm sorry Titans,"
Cyborg and Beast Boy look at each other, then back at Robin. "But everyday that goes by Slade gets another chance to hurt Star. You all know I've been imprisoned by him before, I can't stand the thought of the same thing happening to Star."

"I wonder how Star must be feeling right now.." Beast Boy blurts after Robin finishes. Everyone in the room could tell Beast Boy's words truly affected Robin. It was obvious Robin cared for Starfire.

Raven pulls her cloak down and Cyborg stands, not looking directly at anyone "I'll set up the system for tonight. See you all in the morning."

The next to leave is Beast Boy. He had a lot on his mind and he was extremely tired. "Night." Beast Boy stretches.

Robin turns to face the window as Raven begins to leave, Starfire occupying his every thought.

"Robin?" Raven says, turning back to face him. Robin doesn't move. Raven floats over to his side with a worried expression. "What is it?" She asks, looking at him, Robin doesn't look at her.

"I messed up." Robin says in a neutral tone. He pauses, "I-- I said some awful things to Star."

"Robin, we all make mistakes." Raven croaks, quietly.

"I hope Star's alright..." Robin trails off, putting a fist to the glass of the window and his forehead. Raven places a hand on his shoulder and he turns to look at her.

"Interesting," Raven replies.

"What?" Robin asks, confused.

"You're more worried about Starfire than you are Slade."

***

Bright and early in the morning, Cyborg was up working on the T car. He hoped if he could fix his baby up, the team could travel the city faster to find their beloved alien friend.

With the news of Terra returning to the tower in a few short days, Cyborg wondered how Beast Boy was feeling. He missed their game nights and food competitions. Ever since Terra, Beast Boy wasn't the same.

As Cyborg worked, he wondered if Beast Boy was the reason Terra was coming back. Had Beast Boy missed Terra? Maybe he would ask Beast Boy about all this later, right now, Cyborg had a lot of fixing to do.

When Raven woke up, she gasped in terror. Sweat framed her face, and tears had dried to her cheeks. "No no no.." Raven whimpered, hiding her face in her hands as a tornado of books torpedoed across the room.

The nightmare she had experienced had felt so real. Raven's father was here on planet Earth and Beast Boy had rejected her, angry that she hadn't told him about the prophecy.

Raven felt ashamed for not telling her friends, but she wasn't sure how. She had been playing a good guy for so long, she didn't want to imagine the planet falling apart because of her. There had to be away to stop it.

"What day is it?!" Raven whispers, alarmed. How many days had it been? She hadn't been keeping track lately, she was too caught up in meditating and spending time with Beast Boy, how could she be so foolish? Especially with the news of Terra's arrival!

Beast Boy was definitely the reason she was returning, surely he still loved her. So why did Raven think she had a chance? Raven slumped back into her bed, not wanting to get up. She couldn't bear seeing Beast Boy with Terra, her heart throbbed just at the idea.

Something tumbled in her room, but Raven didn't want to look to see what it was, it was clear to her that her emotions were getting harder to manage.

Everything seemed to be affected by her lately and the manual effort to control it, made Raven incredibly exhausted.

The sound of a knock at Raven's door, blew all of Raven's thoughts away. "Raven?" A voice called.

Raven did not reply, she didn't want to. She didn't have the energy to deal with today.

"Raven, it's me Robin. We're eating breakfast, will you come join us?"

The only thing that sounded good to Raven was the dark abyss her bed created and the shield her blankets had become to block today's worries.

Raven uses her powers to open the door. "No." Raven says and Robin can barely hear her. Robin looks around Raven's room with concern, unsure of where Raven is.

As quick as the door was opened, the door is closed in Robin's face.

Beast Boy and Cyborg sit at the island in the kitchen as Robin enters the room. "I've repaired the T car, I'll be able to search the city a lot faster." Cyborg then looks down at his wrist, he had fixed his scanner too. "Oh, and I've got a lock on Slade." Cyborg says, grinning at Robin.

"Great," Robin replies mimicking Cyborg's grin, "I'll get my Redbird."

Cyborg and Robin begin to leave as Beast Boy stands, confused. "Where's Raven?"

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Next Chapter: September 27th.
As always, thanks for reading! What would you like to see next? Let me know in the comments ;) Until next time!

-PopHi25