When Mumbo attacks Raven and Speedy (again) they find themselves in the middle of the most ridiculous fairytale ever. With companions like a redheaded Rapunzle, the super-fast gingerbread man, and the little merman, how could this adventure get any weirder? Oh yeah, arrow-toting "Robin Hood" has the hots for Little Blue.

Little Blue Riding Hood

Chapter One: In Which Robin Hood and Little Blue Discover a New Land and Meet a Cat

Raven threw open the door with a bang and tumbled into the dark alley behind the club. The noise and stench of liquor, cheap perfume, and cigarettes followed her into the darkness outside, but at least the emotions didn't swarm her anymore. She could finally grasp onto a few snippets common sense and her own thoughts. Raven ran a shaky hand through her hair and tried to calm her furiously beating heart. Whose idea was it to go out to a club? And why, in all of the nine hells, did she agree?

And why, oh WHY, did the Titans East have to be here? Raven thought she was done with him. That whatever had happened between them three months ago had been a fluke. A bubble of strange emotions that had been popped, never to resurface again. But he stood there, in the corner of the club, eyes boring into her until she felt hot. Like her skin was on fire and she was naked to only him. Why had she let him kiss her those three months ago?

Raven pressed her forehead against the cool, brick wall, grateful for the distraction. The emotions were running rampant in that stupid club, and the feel of it all running down her spine made her want to throw up. Roy being here didn't help, either. She looked deeper into the alley and saw two figures doing something in the shadows against the wall. Great. Because, that helped too.

She took a few, deep lung-fuls of air and tried to ignore the way her body trembled under all the feelings. The stupid couple in the alley, the dregs of the drunken passion from inside the club, and the fact the every time she closed her eyes all she saw was Roy's honey-colored gaze staring back at her, engulfing her in heat. Damnit. She was so stupid.

"You okay?"

Raven's heart fell into her stomach and she turned around to face the bane of her existence. The one who had haunted her thoughts nearly every night. She swallowed some air and took a step away from him, but ended up pinned against the wall. Just like last time. She forced a frown and tried to grab onto the last few shreds of sanity that were left in her. "Fine. Just needed some fresh air… Are you… enjoying the party?" Damnit. Why did she say that? Now, she was going to have to carry on a conversation with him. In the tower it had been easy to avoid him, pretending that there were other things going on that needed her attention. But here in this alley… she had no defenses against him.

Roy shrugged. "It's alright. I think everyone and their mother is drunk off their high horse in there, and if I smell any more cheap perfume and sweat, I swear I'm gonna hurl." He gave her a curious look, when she kept unusually silent. "Are you sure you're okay, Raven? I saw you get out of there real quick. I wanted to make sure everything was okay." He paused and tried to look into her eyes, but Raven managed to keep hidden underneath her hood.

"Fine." Raven repeated.

"Mm." Roy leaned against the wall next to her, blocking the opening into the street. "You know what they say about being fine?" Raven shook her head, hoping this would be the end of their conversation. She could at least hope. "Fucked-up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional. F.I.N.E."

Raven rolled her eyes and gave him her best death-stare. "How very mature, Roy."

"You looked like you were ten seconds from killing someone." Roy pushed himself to his feet and watched her, trying to decide if she was really okay. Raven swallowed hard and tried to burry herself deeper into her cloak. He needed to stop looking at her, especially with when his eyes reminded her of warm honey. "Well, at least I thought I was being nice by trying to save someone's life."

"No, now you're just being an ass." Roy frowned in response to her words, and Raven almost swore she saw a glimmer of hurt in his eyes before being covered up by his fake smile, the one she saw him use around Robin. She cringed and looked away, more upset with herself than with him. She didn't need to be rude to him, she just needed to avoid him. At all possible costs.

"So…" He looked her up and down, and Raven felt her heart skip a beat at the appreciative look he was giving her. She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. She might not need to be rude, but he didn't need to leer either. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Raven, a member of the Titans." She rolled her eyes. "I haven't ever dressed up for Halloween, and I never will. I like being me, thank you very much, Robin Hood."

"Jeez." Roy rolled his eyes and took a step back, putting well-needed space between them. Raven managed to steal a few fresh breaths before he continued. "You're touchy this evening, Raven. I haven't seen you in months and you bite my head off at every little comment. What's wrong?"

"I just… I just don't do well around a lot of people, and there's a lot going on here, and everyone is drunk and feeling up on each other, and…" She took a long deep breath, watching the concerned expression pass over Roy's face. Great, now she made him concerned. "I'm sorry to just vent, it's just this is driving me close to insane." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked away, hoping he didn't see the lie in her eyes. "And I'm getting a headache from all of this emotion."

"Oh, that's an easy fix. Come here." Roy, without being asked or invited, stepped right into her personal space, pushing her against the wall. Oh no. Raven's breath hitched and her heart sped up as flashbacks of their last encounter started to resurface. She remembered the taste of toasted marshmallows, and he pushed down her hood, and slipped his fingers behind her neck, burying in her hair. His fingertips ran slow, deep circles into her neck, easing the tense muscles. Raven closed her eyes, tried to pretend this wasn't happening.

But it was.

And it was heaven.

"I was actually hoping to get you away from everyone for a while…" His voice was pitched low and Raven thought the sound was going to turn her into a puddle. Her eyes swept up to meet his and she felt color rise to her face as he leaned closer to her. The scent of clean air and pine and filled her senses and Raven wondered if her legs had given out yet. Roy's fingers started to press deeper and he moved closer. "I… I haven't seen or heard from you in three months. I thought maybe we could…" Roy's sentence dropped off and he looked sheepish. He cleared his throat and started again. "Even when I visited the tower you avoided me, and don't try and say you didn't."

"I won't deny that I've been avoiding you. I've… had other things to think about." Raven somehow managed to wiggle out of his embrace. Roy sighed and stared at her, his arms falling limply to his sides. Raven stood straight and tried to pretend that she didn't care, that this wasn't hurting her, and that she hadn't dreamt about his kiss. She really hoped she looked a lot stronger than she felt.

"So, what?" Roy knitted his eyebrows together and stared. "We're going to pretend that it-"

"I'm not talking about it." Raven frowned and turned away from him, pulling her hood up to hide in the folds of her cloak again. But she could still feel his gaze burning into her, and it didn't help soothe the guilt that laced her heart. "It was just a kiss. It was an accident from both of us and I won't let it get between our duties to the cities we protect."

Roy frowned and a hiss escaped his lips. "So, that's all it was to you? An accident?" He punched the wall and Raven flinched at his forcefulness. "Just a mistake that shouldn't have happened?"

Raven cringed at the tone, but she forced herself to look at him. He was angry, but Raven couldn't find it in her to be upset with him. He had every right to be furious. "Yes. An accident. We got on the wrong subject and we let our emotions get the better of us. We should have been smarter and realized it was nothing more than just emotions playing tricks on us." She could feel the anger rolling off him in waves, and it made her sick to her stomach.

"I… you… forget it. Whatever." Roy turned away from her and threw open the door to head back inside Raven watched with remorse as he hesitated. He glanced inside and paused before his foot crossed the threshold, then turned back to Raven. He let the door close and he stormed over to her. "You know what?" He pressed his face close to hers, and snarled. Raven glared back at him. "No. It wasn't an accident. You let me kiss you."

"I what?" Red crossed her vision, and Raven pointed a finger at him. She was pretty sure she heard a trash can explode in the distance. "I did no such thing! You pinned be against the wall and kissed me. I didn't even ask for it!"

"You could have put up a fight."

"And risk killing you? Bee would have had my head!"

"This isn't about Bee. It's just you and me, don't try and bring someone else into this!"

"I wasn't!" Raven, frustrated and angry, shoved at his shoulders. He took a step back, but continued to glare at her. Raven tried to calm down, but his sour words had already taken root. She took a step back, putting more space between them. That was exactly what she needed, more space. "You're just trying to piss me off, aren't you?"

"Ugh!" Roy threw his hands in the air and glared at her. Raven saw the hurt under his anger and she felt her heart drop into her stomach. She didn't want to keep hurting him, but this had to stop. This couldn't happen between them. He was her friend, she had her duties to think about, she just… couldn't. "I swear, Raven. You have no idea what I've been thinking about these past few months and now you want to say it was just a stupid accident?"

"Yes." Raven tried to look strong, but Roy kept glaring at her and she was starting to whither. "We have jobs to worry about, cities to protect, people to save. I… we…" She motioned to the space between them, feeling like she was locking her heart away forever. "This can't happen."

The fire in his eyes faded and he shook his head. "You just don't want it to happen."

Raven tried to say something, but she kept silent.

"Whatever." Roy started back to the ally door, and Raven tried to watch him go, but her heart started to shatter. She looked away, knowing that her decision was the best one. Roy would forget about her and move on, and Raven would devote herself to the city she promised to save. But still… did it have to hurt this bad? Raven stole a glance at the drunken couple hiding in the shadows at the end of the alley, sighing.

Wait. That wasn't a couple. She caught an unusual flash of blue and white in the darkness and Raven's stomach sank to the floor. That was much more than a lusty couple. Oh no. Since when did he escape? She glanced at the club, and noticed a few of the bricks were turning a pale shade of blue. Something clicked into place.

"Roy!" Raven chased after him as he threw open the heavy steel door. This was going to end badly. "Don't go in there, it's-" She didn't have the chance to tell him what it was. She tripped, bumped into his back, and the two of them when careening over the threshold. There was a flash of blue magic and the noises and scents of the city disintegrated into the soft sounds of an ancient forest. The loud techno was replaced by the music of a gentle breeze through the trees, the laser lights gave way to early-morning sunlight filtering through green leaves.

The pair went tumbling head-over-heels down a dirt path, before stopping at the roots of a very old tree. Raven kept her eyes closed and managed a whisper. "A trap." She popped one eye open and looked into the masked face of Roy, who had managed to land on top of her. He groaned and rolled off her, clenching his eyes shut.

"Please… please don't tell me that this is what I think it is." He pinched the bridge of his nose and rose to his feet.

"I… I think it is." Raven sat up and groaned. She rubbed her lower back where a root had jammed into her spine. "I'm sorry, Roy… I should have noticed it was him before. I shouldn't have been so distracted."

"How could you have…" Roy popped one eye open, then another, and then his mouth fell to the floor. Raven blinked and stood up, frowning. Why was he looking at her like that? Oh no, did Mumbo turn her into a rabbit again? That was just what she needed, to be powerless and a rabbit, again. Roy managed to find his voice. "What in the world are you wearing?"

"What?" Raven looked down at herself and felt cold shock enter her bones. If possible, this was worse than being a rabbit. She was dressed in a white, off-shoulder blouse under a black mini-dress with a fluffy blue petticoat peeking out. Raven stared down at her legs, which were covered with white knee-high stockings and black patent leather platform heels. Her hands went to the edge of her cape, which had been shortened to her waist and edged with black lace. "Am I… in a dress? With lace?"

Roy could only nod.

"Stop staring!" She stomped one foot, but teetered on her heels and had to hold onto the tree for balance. Her hood fell off and Raven could have sworn she felt tight ringlets of her hair tumble down to her shoulders, but she was too surprised to check. Righting herself, she glared at her companion, who was still staring at her in shock. "This isn't funny, Roy."

"I wasn't laughing."

"I… er…" Raven stomped her other foot, and managed to keep herself upright this time. She tried to pull the skirt down closer to her knees, but it kept bouncing back to mid-thigh height. Growling, Raven turned to glare at Roy, and frowned as he kept watching her. "Stop looking at me like I'm some kind of freak."

"That wasn't the exact word that was running though my mind." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back on his heels, and Raven could feel the familiar heat from his appreciative stare. She flushed bright pink and looked away. "Although… the look suits you. Like a little gothic Blue Riding Hood."

"Ha-ha." Raven rolled her eyes and walked into the middle of the path and started looking around for any kind of clue as to where they were and why she was dressed like this. Also, she was hoping she could find Mumbo and throttle him for this pathetic "joke". She walked a little ways down the path, listening to the crunch of gravel as Roy followed close behind. "So, why didn't you get a costume change?"

"Don't know."

"Ssssayyy… haven't seeeeen yoooouuuu arouuuuund heeeree beeeeeforrrre."

Raven and Roy stopped walked and turned to face each other. Roy shook his head and shrugged before drawing his bow and cocking an arrow into place. Raven blinked a few times and pointed to his arrow. She could see the same shock cross his own features. "Your tips are… that's a real arrow, Speedy."

"What in the…"

"Morning. Or afternoon. I always get the two confused."

Raven jumped back as a pair of blue eyes appeared in front of her, followed by the distorted body of a pudgy blue cat. It was hovering in the air as it grinned and rolled over onto its back. Raven could have sworn it had the same obnoxious hooked nose as Mumbo. "Are you here to slay the dragon? Or save the princess? Or are you here to find the golden goose?"

"None of those options. We just need to get home." Roy kept the arrow pointed at the cat, but it didn't seem fazed by the threat. He glanced at his nails, then back at the mismatched pair in front of him.

"Oh… well, I'm sad to say that you can't get home until you complete at least one task." He grinned again and Raven got the distinct feeling she was going to commit murder sometime today. She always wanted a blue, fur stole. "But I'm not sure what task that is. Maybe you're supposed to rescue the princess… maybe not. It's always hard to say."

"Who are you?" Raven asked carefully, worried of the response she would receive.

"Just… someone. No one in particular." He blinked at her, his smile turning from amused to sly. Raven felt her stomach drop and she watched the cat roll around again. "Do you know who you are?"

"Raven and that's Speedy."

"BZZ BZZ. Wrong!" He paused and looked over at Roy, who still hadn't moved his bow yet, before looking back at Raven. "I'll give you a hint, grandma's girl. You make a tasty lunch and have to rely on the help of a woodsman to free you. And you." The cat motioned to Speedy. "You steal from the rich and give to the poor, and your aim is the best in the land."

"Ha. Told you, Little Blue." Roy, in spite of the seriousness of the situation, grinned at his companion. Raven rolled her eyes, but Roy continued to ask questions. "What did you say about the dragon? Do we have to defeat the dragon?"

"I don't know… it's all very mysterious." The cat chuckled as if Roy told a funny joke. "Besides, do you think you're ready to fight a dragon in a world you are not from?" Raven and Roy looked at each other, and Raven shook her head. The cat chuckled again. "It's safer this way, don't you think?"

"So, if we don't know what we're supposed to do, where do we start?" Raven crossed her arms over her chest and glared, but the cat just grinned back at her.

"Why, from the beginning, of course. That's where starting usually starts. Left or right… it will be the beginning." The cat then just disappeared and Roy let his arrow fly into its fading form. It slid right through the blue shape and landed in the bark of a near-by tree. He cursed underneath his breath and pulled the shaft free. Raven watched as he glared at the sharp, metal tip.

"What in the hell was that about?" He placed the arrow back in his quiver and walked back to Raven.

"I don't know! Apparently we're supposed to complete some kind of task to get out of here." She pushed her hair out of her face, trying not to scream at the top of her lungs. What had just happened to them? Not ten minutes ago they were in Jump enjoying a nice, relatively normal, Halloween. And now they were in some freaky, distorted fairy land where she had to slay dragons and save princesses. And further more, what had happened to their friends? "Well, at least this is better than last time."

"Mm." Roy growled and started down the path. Raven sighed and chased after him.

"I… Roy, wait up!"

"What, Raven?" He whipped around and glared at her. Raven stopped running and took a step back. The angry fire from before had returned to his eyes, and Raven was pretty sure she had opened a can of worms with her thoughtless comment. Roy leaned back on his heels and regarded her carefully, as if she was going to say something mean. If he kept staring at her like that, she would. "I thought you didn't want to talk about what happened last time."

"Now? You're going to bring this up now?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Of course he would do this to her. When they were in the most bizarre situation, it was okay to bring up something that had nothing to do with anything. Well, it had a lot to do with something but it wasn't something Raven wanted to think about now, not when there was strange, unknown danger around them. "I can't believe you. We're stuck in this stupid world and our friends could be in danger, but you're throwing a temper tantrum over our… non-relationship." The words speared his heart, and Raven could see him wince as if he'd been hit. Okay, maybe that had been a little too mean.

"Fine." Roy stepped up and pressed his nose close to hers. She blinked up at him and managed a small step backward, trying to put more space between them. He just growled and closed the space again. "You want to be just teammates, I can be your teammate. If that's all you want, I can do that for you."

But, that wasn't what she wanted. She still wanted him as her friend, as a companion. Raven just wasn't sure if she could have a relationship with him when they had so many responsibilities elsewhere. When they had cities to save, or even more immediate, friends they couldn't find. She blinked up at him and frowned. "I… I want you to be my friend, Roy. I thought that's what we were."

"I don't want to be your friend." The words punctured Raven's heart, and she took a step back feeling a tear start to gather at the corner of her eye. If he didn't want to be her friend, why bother making such valiant speeches? Roy could see the hurt and he shook his head, sighing. "I want to be something more. You get that or nothing more than a fighting comrade."

"That's a terrible ultimatum. You can't force me to … feel for you." Too late. The boy had already won that battle.

Roy raised an eyebrow and shook his head. "But you can force me to not feel for you?"

Touché. "Look… we've got a lot to worry about right now. Maybe this isn't the best time to discuss this. But… Roy, I just…" She sighed and pulled her hood up over her head, glad to have something familiar to her in this strange world. Hiding in the folds of her cloak had always been like a security blanket, and right now she needed something secure. "What happened last time… I… it haunts me, and I don't want us to be hurt."

Roy opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out and he sighed again this time in defeat. "Later. We'll talk about this later. Until then, we've got to figure out what we're supposed to do here and where the others are."

"Okay." Raven looked up at him. "So… where do we start, right or left?"

"From the beginning."

)O(

So, here it is! My next project of ridiculous proportions! If you have any questions as to the "Last Time" Roy and Raven keep talking about, it's in refrence to my story Curiosity. This is kind of meant to follow that but I don't think it plays an imperative roll in understanding the story.

I have to give credit where credit is due. This story was heavily influenced by 999's "Li'l Red Riding Hood" (which is a kick-ass song) and titangirl797's Speedy/Raven story Robin Hood and was prompted (to write a chaptered Rae/Roy story) by TeenTitansGirl. But even if you are impartial to the pairing, I promise it will be amusing and filled with all kinds of… whatever it is that I write.

Oh, and "Rated T for Terrible" I swear if you keep haunting my stories with your obnoxiousness, I will hunt you down and beat you with a foam bat.

Thank you everyone for your intrest! I promise you won't be disappointed.