Author's Note: Yes, I re-wrote this chapter, so there. Why? One comment can change everything. Hope this one's better and doesn't KILL the story!
Disclaimer: I mentioned it in the first chapter. I'm not going to mention it anymore. You got a problem with that, tough!
Jewel of Africa
Chapter Two: "Sleepless Dreams"
7-years later
Jump City, California
Green eyes peered into the darkness as the silent footsteps walked down the hallways. It was a simple mission that required absolute silence. So far everything was successful… until HIS door was in sight. Now things were getting difficult. When it came to passing by the others' doors, it wasn't too bad. This time though, beads of sweat had already started to form. Quietly, the footsteps continued to slide across the floor. Unfortunately, they stopped in front of the door. Mentally begging them to move forward and away from resident's room, that's when it started. The strange tingle in the nose. Capable for morphing even the most beautiful of faces into a grotesque and hideous one by curling the face into a tight ball. The only salvation was to release the great power in a messy explosion. There was no choice. It had to be done.
"ACHOO!"
Silence. Sweet, pleasurable silence. Sure, it may have been a tiny sneeze, but still. Being so close to the room, its resident was bound to have heard it. Once again begging the feet to move, the journey continued. It was short lived, however, when the sound of the door opening broke the silence. The resident of the room stood at the door, a smile on his face.
"Bless you." Robin said; his eyes focused on the frozen figure. "Another sleepless night, Beast Boy?"
"Sorry." The tower's changeling turned around to face his leader. He was caught. "Didn't mean to wake you."
"It's okay. I was already awake." Beast Boy knew Robin was always the first one up, but it was 1:24 in the morning. No one would willingly be awake at this time. "So how many times have you gone without sleep now?"
"Honestly, I stopped counting after four." Beast Boy shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I haven't been able to fall asleep. I just, haven't gotten the required amount."
"Beast Boy-"
"I was gonna get a glass of water anyway. I was hoping that might help me get to sleep." The youngest titan said. Robin walked up to him.
"Come on." He put an arm around the green boy's neck and walked with him. Needless to say, Beast Boy was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with this sudden touch. Especially since it came from Robin.
VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV
"Beast Boy, what's keeping you up?" Robin asked handing the green boy a glass filled about half way of cool water. He sat on the couch next to the young changeling and watched his friend slowly sip the liquid.
"It's nothing to be concerned about."
"Yes it is. Beast Boy, whatever's keeping you up at nights is not only affecting your sleep, but also your transformations. It seems like you can't hold a morph for more than half an minute."
"Well that's not true. Remember when I morphed yesterday into a panda? That lasted for a minute."
"That was only 53 seconds."
"I'm rounding up."
"Beast Boy-"
"What? I could just be sick."
"Beast Boy, this is serious. We're all worried about you. Please. Tell me what's going on." It was evident to the young changeling that his leader was concerned. He sighed in defeat.
"Every time I go to sleep, I have this dream."
"That's it?"
"That's it." Beast Boy, after taking another sip of water, turned his attention to the floor.
"What was the dream about?" Robin asked, wanting more information. He was determined to help his young friend.
"I was running towards this weird light in front of me, and I kept hearing voices. Then, it's like I couldn't move my body, and I just felt stiff. That's it."
"What about your powers?"
"I don't know. Maybe I'm just tired." Beast Boy watched as the water contained in the glass reflected the overhead lights. In a way, it was almost hypnotic. Next to him, Robin's mind was busy taking everything in. The young boy's dream woke him up and left him unable to get back to sleep, which made him tired and unable to maintain in his animal forms. It made perfect sense. So, why did he feel that something seemed to be missing?
"Beast Boy," he started, getting the green boy's attention. "Have you been experiencing anything different? Feelings, cravings, anything?"
"Kind of."
"Kind of?"
"I kind of feeling like going on another vacation. That was awesome when we went to Tokyo." He smiled.
"Other than a vacation." Robin replied, a little annoyed.
"Well, you asked. I feel like I want to go somewhere, do something fun. Like going to England, or Hawaii, or Mexico… or Canada. Someplace!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"I don't know."
"Ooh! You know where I'd really like to go? Africa! It'd be so awesome to go back!"
"Beast Boy, I'd like to be able to go on vacation whenever we pleased, but we can't just get up and leave without having someone watch over the city for us. Plus, what about the mayor, the governor, the authorities? They need to know that we'll be gone. Maybe, in a couple weeks we can go. But it's not like we can go tomorrow or anything. There's just too much stuff that needs to be done."
"I know." It didn't take a detective to pick up on the younger boy's unhappiness.
"How about this? I'll start making plans and we can probably, probably, leave for Africa in a month or two."
"Really?" Beast Boy asked with hope in his eyes. Robin nodded, a smile gracing his lips. He was almost knocked over by the changeling's sudden hug. To the leader, this seemed like an innocent gesture. But at the same time, he was happy to see the younger teen so excited.
"In the meantime, why don't you try to get some sleep? Don't forget, we have training in the morning, and I expect you to be able to morph at least once. Regardless of how long you can hold it." He smiled, standing up and heading toward his room. He turned to the boy, expecting to see his grinning face behind him, and found that he had not moved from his spot on the sofa. "Beast Boy?"
"I'll go to bed in a second. I just want to finish my drink." The boy smiled, earning a nod from the Boy Wonder. Soon, he was sitting all alone in front of the giant windows, overlooking the ocean and the city. He raised the glass to his lips and allowed the cool, refreshing water to slide down his throat. His fingers were starting to feel a little stiff and the sensation soon started to travel up his right arm. Giving his arm a little shake, he quickly felt better. He watched the view. The city lights seemed to brighten up the dark sky. It was nauseating to see the night sky turn dull orange, and yet it was beautiful in a strange way. The moon was full and gave the ocean water a dark, sinister look as the light reflected off the waves. A sensation started building up in Beast Boy's chest. He knew the feeling all too well. It was his animal instincts telling him to be a part of the scene. He hated having instincts. Granted, they did save his life from time to time, but still. It was difficult to do anything without having them interfere in some way, and besides, he always seemed to give into them.
VvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvVvV
"It's not like I have to morph or anything. My instinct is just telling me to get out and be part of the scene. Well, just sitting outside by the ocean is being part of the scene, isn't it?" Beast Boy asked himself. He sat on one of the larger rocks that overlooked the ocean. The city lay sleeping behind him. He wanted a view of natural beauty, not a view of light pollution. Lying back to look at the sky above him, he was sudden reminded of his time in Africa with his family. His parents had insisted on camping outside on several occasions, despite the boy's usual protest. They thought it would be beneficial to their son. Unfortunately, the small child wanted nothing to do with the wilderness. It made too much strange noise at night and it always seemed to scare him. Young Garfield would sit in the tent, shaking in fear until his little body was just too exhausted to continue and he fell asleep. When his parents realized this behavior, they held the small boy until he calmed down. His father had even taken him outside to lie on the ground and stare at the stars. Garfield liked that. He learned a lot about the universe and stars. Once he became infected with Sakutia, however, it seemed that the father-son moments stopped. His father had started spending more time on his research. Garfield never understood why. Even now as Beast Boy, he still didn't know why his father spent so much in the lab experimenting on whatever it was he was doing.
"Didn't you love me?" The green changeling asked the sky. He knew long ago that when you ask a question, you're meant to get an answer. This did not apply to everything though, especially the sky. Yet, for some reason he was expecting an answer.
"This is ridiculous!" He scolded himself after a few seconds.
"I know I won't get an answer from the sky, so why do I even bother asking? Why waste my time? It's not like anyone is really up there. Well, supposedly God. But like He's really going to listen to me. I'm not religious or anything. Why would He, or She, or whoever's up there, pay attention to someone who doesn't even believe in them, or it, or… WHATEVER!" Beast Boy took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. Having scientists for parents, he never actually learned about religion. Not until the Doom Patrol at least, and even then he couldn't get into it. It didn't matter to him though. He didn't need a religion. He was perfectly happy with the way his life was.
"Still though, it'd be nice to know if dad still loved me after I turned green." He sighed, feeling somewhat depressed about the whole thing. The stiff feeling in his arm he felt earlier came back, this time claiming both arms. It eventually became a sharp pain and ripped through his entire body, leaving him immobile. It seemed to cling onto his heart. Beast Boy started experiencing a strange phenomenon in his chest. It felt like everything had been sucked out, leaving him empty inside. He had this feeling one time before in Africa, but even then the pain wasn't as bad as it was now. His vision started to blur. He couldn't feel the breeze or water splash on his skin anymore. Just before his vision gave out, he heard a soft voice call out to him.
