Chapter 1 - Derpness

"Ne, Raven?" Raven blinked, coming back to reality, as Fade shook her shoulder lightly. She turned her head slightly to look at Fade's concerned face, her brown eyes boring into hers.

"Raven, you've been spacey all morning… are you okay?" Fade asked, her eyebrows furrowing in concern and her gaze serious. "Beastboy told me about your nightmare; he's worried too."

Raven's face paled as images from her dream came flooding back to her.

"The dead will live; the living will die!"

She shook her head, trying to clear her head of the dark image. Fade knew something was wrong.

"Was it… a premonition?" She whispered and Raven's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. Composing herself, Raven stood up quietly and muttered a "Don't know." Before leaving the worrisome girl behind.

Narrowing her eyes slightly, she pulled out her yellow communicator and held it near her face.

"Hey, Robin? We've got a problem."

"Why the hell are you telling me?"

"Aren't you our leader?"

"…Since when did you care?"

"…"

"…"

"Just get your spandex wearing gay-@$$ down here."

With that, she flipped the communicator closed and sighed.

Something's definitely wrong.

xXxXxXx

Ciel was sitting at the kitchen table, skimming headlines in the newspaper. Next to him, Crystal was quietly eating a bowl of Ramen. Flame entered the room and sat next to Ciel silently.

"Good morning, Ayumi." Ciel greeted, without looking away from the paper, and sipped his cup of tea.

"Morning. What kind of tea did Sebastian make today?" She asked with a blank expression, spiking Crystal's curiosity on why Flame was acting so calm.

"Earl Grey."

"Ah."

"…"

Flame looked over at Ciel's newspaper and there was a glint in her eye.

"Hey, Ciel, can I see your newspaper?"

"Sure."

Ciel hands her the paper and takes another sip of tea. Flame skims the paper and her eyes widen a bit.

"Huh… I'm surprised it's not in here."

"Surprised what's not in there?"

"Oh, nothing much… it's just missing a certain message about a certain avian variety. Have you not heard, Ciel?"

"Heard what?"

"I was under the impression that everyone had heard."

Ciel blinks in annoyance and Crystal furrows her eyebrows together, trying to figure this out. Her eyes widened as her mind clicked.

"Heard what?"

"CIEL, NO!" Crystal screamed just as Flame jumped onto the table and began to dance.

"That the bird bird bird is the word. Ba ba ba bird bird bird is the word. Ba ba ba ba bird ba ba ba bird is the word! Oh, Ciel don't you know about the bird?" Flame begins shaking her @$$ and pointing around. "Everybody knows that the bird is the word!" She dances her way out the door, passing a confused Sebastian who had just entered the room.

"…Do I even want to know?"

Crystal sighs and glances over at the wide-eyed Ciel, who's mouth was agape.

"No… but your master is probably scarred for life."