Author's notes: There is an M rated and a T rated version of this story. Most chapters between the two are the same, but the more explicit scenes will be included in the M version and not in the T.

This is the M version.

Chapter 1

The alley echoed with the sounds of fighting and the steady trickling of water falling from broken gutters. Rain pelted down mercilessly upon the combatants as they battled. Water dripped down both of their masks and into their eyes, making focus difficult. Unfortunately for Robin, his opponent was coping with it better than he was himself. Robin blinked rapidly in an attempt to see through the constant stream of water running into his eyes.

Robin landed on the cracked pavement with a grunt, sliding into a murky puddle. His back slammed against a dumpster, knocking the wind from him. He cursed himself as he rose, cradling his bruised ribs and desperately trying to bring any air at all into his lungs. He crouched into a defensive stance and met his opponent. The masked man's face twisted up into a vengeful smile as he noticed the obvious pain that Robin was in. Robin was furious. A fight with a no name, low life criminal should not have been this hard.

The masked assailant ran towards him, showering down blow after blow on Robin's already battered body. Robin panted with the effort of trying to block all of those fierce attacks, unable to find an opening to go on the offensive.

Robin found himself tossed to the end of the alley, crashing into the brick wall that made the alley a dead end, before he had even realized that he had failed to block a blow from the criminal. He pushed himself up, locking his elbows for stability and squinted through the rain to face his opponent as he slowly approached. Robin suddenly wished that he hadn't sent the other Titans out to locate the detonators the masked villain had claimed to have set up around the city. It was times like this that he wished Raven were here.

"What's the matter Boy Wonder?" the criminal taunted as he stood over him. "I had heard that the Titans weren't the same anymore, but I didn't think you would be quite this pathetic."

He crouched before Robin and sneered. "You lose one little blackbird and suddenly you're nothing."

Robin flinched at the words. It had been nearly a year since the Titans had lost Raven. A villain that the Teen Titans had never seen coming or heard of before had proven himself the most powerful they'd ever faced. And he stole her away from them.

"I've seen her statue," the man continued as he leaned over Robin, "the one they put up in the park. The dedication is a little wordy, though. All that flowery speech about how she sacrificed herself to save us all. How she took the only chance to save countless innocents from a gruesome death. How the "Noctis" would still be wreaking havoc and destruction without what she did. Seems a bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"You wouldn't be here to say that had she not done what she did!" Robin spat. "He could have destroyed us all."

"But he didn't did he? And all it took was one little blackbird. Too bad it wasn't you, though, eh? She was nicer to look at. Better than nice, yeah? Wish she'd been clever enough to find another way besides killing herself. I'm sure I'd far rather have her under me right now than you."

Robin grabbed a birdarang from his belt and threw it at the man with rage on his face. But the man was too fast and Robin too injured to throw it effectively. He dodged it just in time and struck Robin across the face for good measure.

The masked assailant scoffed and stood up, towering over Robin, sword in hand. For the first time in his life, Robin lacked the strength to defend himself. He reached for his belt in a desperate attempt to find another weapon that would buy him some time. His opponent was ready for that. With one smooth motion he sliced through Robin's belt and flung it to the side. Staring up at the masked face of the criminal Robin began to doubt whether he would be would make it through this battle. He began to wonder whether or not he cared.

Raising his blade, the criminal prepared to deliver his final, fatal blow when suddenly the weapon was wrenched from his hands. He turned to face who had disarmed him but found no one there, just whisps of shadow dispersing in the wind.

It can't be, Robin thought, leaning against the wall behind him for support and wiping water from his eyes. It's impossible.

The man's blade clattered on the pavement at the opposite end of the alley and the black aura that had surrounded it faded away.

Robin and his assailant looked all around and saw no one else in the alley with them. Hearing a noise above him he looked up and saw it; a figure standing on the roof of the building to his left.

The figure leaped down and landed crouched before him, facing down the masked man who was slowly backing up, quickly trying to buy time to assess the new situation. Robin's rescuer never gave him that luxury.

The combat that followed was dizzying to watch, the mysterious rescuer having the advantage of catching the villain by surprise. Robin's rescuer had far from flawless technique, but possessed a grace and reaction speed that impressed even Robin. Blows that should have landed left the villain stumbling as his target dodged them and well aimed shots that should have been crippling barely glanced off his opponent.

Robin scrambled across the alley and reached for his belt, anxious to help to defeat the villain, but it felt impossibly heavy. With his bruised ribs he was barely able to lift the belt, burdened with gadgets that tonight had proven of no use to him. Dropping it, he threw himself into the battle, picking up the discarded birdarang on the way. He couldn't just sit by while someone fought for him. He had to do something, even if it was bringing a knife to a sword fight.

It didn't take much longer for the villain to succumb to his weariness at trying to catch such an allusive adversary. The two of them subdued the masked man and left him bound on the wet pavement. Robin normally would have called the police to pick him up by now, but his full attention fell to the person standing before him.

His heart felt constricted and the difficulty in breathing no longer came from his injuries alone. All the pain of the recent past came flooding back in an icy wave.

"Raven?" he choked out, unwilling to believe it, but yet hoping with all of his heart that it was true. His mind became clouded with too many thoughts all at once. Almost a year . . . her sacrifice . . . it couldn't be her . . . but there she was.

The figure turned to face him, cloak billowing out from the movement shedding water droplets in a glittering arc in their wake, and Robin forgot how to breathe entirely.

He could only see a delicate chin and dark lips, the rest of the face shrouded in shadows, but the lights from the buildings around them glinted off of vibrant violet eyes peering out from the blackness within the black cloak's hood; eyes that appeared to be brimming with tears and wide with fear.

Without a word the Raven-figure leaped into to air and landed on the building that she had come from leaving Robin on the ground gaping and full of questions. He grabbed his grappling hook from his belt and swung onto the roof in pursuit, wincing at the sharp twinging in his side. He had to have answers. He stood with his cape whipping in the wind, trying to judge where she had gone to. He scanned the rooftops and saw no trace of her or where she could have gone. He ran along building edges, leaping from rooftop to rooftop but to no avail. Finally he leaned over, clutching his ribs and giving in to the screaming pain that demanded he stop running. Looking around he could find no sign of the Raven-figure.

She had vanished.

The hurt he carried that had finally subsided to a dull ache after a year suddenly became a sharp, stabbing pain once more. He thought for the briefest instant that he might have had Raven back . . . did he simply imagine her? Why wouldn't she have spoken if it truly had been her? He put a thumb and middle finger of one hand against his temples as if trying to physically grab hold of and organize his thoughts.

I'm no good to the team if I'm hallucinating, he thought, remembering the time that Slade had gotten into his head. I have to get some answers. I have to know.

Robin dropped back to the alley and stalked toward the bound criminal. He grabbed the masked man by his shirtfront and lifted him forcibly so they were face to face, gritting his teeth through the pain tearing through his side.

"Did you see her?" he demanded, intent on getting answers.

"Who?" the man spat, squirming against his bonds, "your precious savior? I would have killed you tonight, boy, had it not been for her."

Robin shook the man in frustration.

"What did she look like?!" He had to know that he wasn't crazy. He had to know that this man had seen what he thought he, himself, had seen.

"The hell, man? You fucking saw her. Crazy bitch dressed like your precious blackbird. Wonder if she looks as good under the cloak as the real thing did."

Robin pulled his fist back to punch the lewd smile off the man's face, but a hand upon his wrist stopped him. He turned to see who could have sneaked up on him from behind, since the alley wall was to his back, and he gasped when he saw who it was. He dropped the villain unceremoniously and turned to face the last person in the world that he expected to see.

O • O • O • O

"Step into the light," Robin demanded, not ready to believe what his eyes clearly saw before him.

There could be no doubt as to who this woman was, though, as the figure stepped out of the shadows, the dim light softly illuminating the blond hair that hid half of her face. He knew who she was, he was just trying to figure out just how it was possible. It seemed to be a reoccurring theme tonight.

"Hey, Robin. Surprised to see me?"

Robin could only stand, staring, as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and glanced up at him nervously through her lashes.

"How?" Robin began as he finally found his voice. "Is . . . How can this be? Terra?"

She nodded, nervously brushing her hair out of her face once more as it kept slipping from behind her ear. She bit her lip and shuffled her feet, looking like she wanted to say something but was, at the same time, afraid to do so. She looked helplessly at Robin as if needing him to start the dialog between them before she could speak.

"But . . . how?" Robin sputtered, trying to tie together the fragmented thoughts running through his head. "First I see Raven, and now you . . . what's going on here?" The initial shock wearing off, Robin was only interested in getting straight answers. If there was anything that he hated more than losing it was not knowing what he was getting into.

Terra looked at him with sorrow in her eyes. She opened her mouth as if to speak, but simply closed her eyes and drew a deep breath instead. Robin grabbed her by the shoulders when she didn't answer. He felt some comfort in feeling her solid and real beneath his hands, but then again he'd felt Slade when he had tormented his mind. He couldn't rule out going crazy yet.

His grip tightened on her shoulders as dark and conflicting thoughts crowded his head. Terra hadn't moved a muscle. The Terra that he remembered would have been angry; would have fought back or demanded that he release her. The Terra that he had in his grip only grew sad as she opened her eyes once more and looked into his masked ones, her posture non-threatening and her muscles relaxed. She placed a hand upon his elbow, her eyes reflecting a wisdom beyond her years. Robin released her in surprise and took a step back, nearly tripping over the bound villain that he had ungraciously dropped earlier. His curses and shouts of protest went unnoticed as Robin received a call on the Titans' communicator.

"Yo, Robin," came Cyborg's voice over the communicator. "The detonators were real, man. We retrieved and destroyed them all, though, so you were right to take the threat seriously. You find our guy?"

"Yeah, I got him," Robin replied, his eyes not leaving Terra's.

"Have them come and get him, Robin," Terra said, gently but with authority. "You must come with me. We have much to discuss. Alone."

"They're my team, Terra. They were almost yours. Why can't they know about you?"

"For the same reason they can't know about Raven yet."

"Then it was her?!" he exclaimed, raising to his full height in excitement and wincing when his injured ribs protested. "It was Raven that came to help me."

"Come with me Robin. Tell the others to pick up this guy and I will explain all to you."

"What's this all about? How is it that you two are here all of a sudden? Why-"

Terra held up a hand to silence him, but seemed more than a little surprised when he actually silenced. "I'll explain everything to you, but the others can't know yet. This has to do with you directly. What I have to tell you is not something that you should have to face in front of others. Let them take care of the criminal. He's bound. He's not going anywhere. Leave your communicator and come with me."

Robin stared hard at her for awhile before making a move.

"Robin? Hey Robin?! You there, man?"

Cyborg's voice sounded anxious over the communicator as he tried to get a response. Robin continued to keep his eyes locked on Terra as he lifted the communicator to his lips and replied.

"I'm going to need you to come and retrieve this guy," he replied, making a reckless decision in his desperation for more information.

"Sure man," Cyborg replied, hearing the severity of Robin's voice. "What's going on? You need any backup?"

"No. Something's come up. Don't try to follow. Robin out."

With that he sent coordinates and left his communicator, ignoring his friend's questions over the static. He wasn't entirely sure that he trusted Terra yet, but he had to know what was going on. He had to know why Terra wasn't frozen in stone any longer and why Raven had returned after her death almost a year ago. In his experience resurrection was usually not a blessing and more often than not the cause of something nefarious.

His mind was reeling with questions that he forced himself to hold back. He knew that he wouldn't get any answers out of her until her conditions were met. Robin turned to face Terra.

"I'm ready."

O • O • O • O

It had been almost a year since he had even been able to come anywhere near this place, and now here he was, standing in the very spot where his team was broken; The place where the lives of the Titans were changed forever . . . the place where his own world had shattered.

Raven's blood still stained the ground beneath his feet. The silver light from the tiny crescent of the moon in the sky glinted off the coppery red upon the cement that had refused the strength of any scrubbing done to remove it. He had tried. He closed his eyes and turned his head away from what he had begun to think of as the haunted remnant of Raven.

He remembered this building well. Upon Slade's return to give the prophecy of Raven's future on her birthday, he had taken Raven to this building. Slade had hurled her from it. Robin had managed to save her that time . . . the next time he wasn't so fortunate. That night still haunted him in both his waking hours and in his nightmares.

"Why did you bring me here?" he whispered as Terra paced behind him, trying to figure out where to start her tale. He didn't look at her, she was too close to the bloodstains. He looked over the cityscape instead.

"We needed to be where no one could interrupt us," she said absentmindedly, still nervously chewing on her lip.

"But why did you bring me here?" Robin choked on his words as he fought back tears and anger.

Terra finally stopped pacing as she realized what he meant, looking down at the copper ghost beneath her. She walked to his side and stood looking over the sleepy city with him.

"Because you would never have come here on your own . . . so he won't either."

"Who?" Robin asked, turning to face her.

She took him by the hand and led him down the sloping roof until they reached the edge.

"Sit down, Robin. The story I have to tell is not one that you should hear standing up."

Robin sat on the edge with his elbows resting on his knees while Terra crouched down beside him. She sighed heavily and continued to avoid his gaze as she took a few deep breaths before diving into a story that she hoped she had the strength to tell.