A/N: Sorry for the wait on this part. I definitely intended to put it up earlier, but being sick made me pretty loopy.

Anyway, as always I do not own the Teen Titans, etc.


Beast Boy could still hear a soft current of air pushing past them in between each click of Raven's heels against the hard stone floor. They'd been walking for far longer than he'd expected. The door had only led them down another dark hallway, which had twisted and turned so many times he'd lost count. Luckily, the heavy wind that had first assaulted them hadn't come back yet.

"D'you sense anything now?" Beast Boy asked. He had honestly expected to find something at this point.

"Same as before," Raven answered.

He groaned.

"I already told you earlier that you could scout ahead."

"But you might get lost."

"Down a hallway?"

"Well, you'd get scared."

She was silent for a moment before replying, "Are you scared, Beast Boy?"

"No," he lied. He could hear her smirk. "I'm not," he insisted.

"You remember I'm an empath, right?"

"Duh. I just think this hallway is creepy."

"Well, nothing is creepier than me. So, stop worrying."

He almost stopped walking. She still remembered that? "That's not true. Lots of things are creepier than you."

"Thanks."

"No, I mean…" He paused. He didn't really know how to explain himself out of this one. "You're not dark underground hallway creepy," he tried to clarify.

"Which means...?"

"I mean…C'mon, Rae! There's a big difference between spooky hallways and evil plots creepy and you. You're not scary," he paused, "well, when you're not mad at me anyway."

She didn't respond. Hurriedly, he tried again.

"You don't..." he exhaled. "Sometimes, I think maybe you just lock yourself up in your dark room 'cause you think being creepy will make people leave you alone, but," he paused, "it doesn't really and I think you know I'm never gonna leave you alone. You're one of my best friends, Rae, and I care about you. I—"

He stopped his tongue just in time and tried again.

"I trust you, Rae," he said, softening the confession.

Her heels stopped clicking and he turned to look back at her, almost fearing that she'd disappeared. "Rae?"

"I…" she began. He could just make out her face in the darkness, screwed up as if confused by something. "I think we're close," she finally whispered. She began walking again and brushed past him. Her arm was warm against his.

He followed her lead until she stopped a few feet away. She turned to face the wall and he waited.

"There's something through here. On your right."

He leaned over and pressed his ear up against the wall, almost jumping back when he heard voices on the other side. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but they didn't sound like anyone he knew.

"How do we get in?" he asked.

She grabbed his arm and phased them through.

Once the cool sensation of her powers left him, Beast Boy looked around and was at least relieved that he could see this time. The room they'd entered was fairly large and in the center was a spiraling circle of silvery blue light that rose up almost to the ceiling. He was mesmerized by it. A few times, he could almost make out faces staring back at him, but they were gone before he could point them out.

Raven made a small noise of surprise beside him and he turned to see her running towards the far side of the room, stopping only to kneel down in front of a hunched over figure in a pastel purple gown and a man in a fancy looking tux.

"Star? Rob?" Beast Boy stepped forward as the realization hit, but heard the rush of air once more and felt a sense of dread creep down his spine. The hair on the back of his neck rose. He turned to face the center of the room again, standing between his friends and the column of light.

He almost screamed at the sight before him. They were definitely staring at him now. Every single face had kept its shape and watched him with a sickening grin. Some of them had smiles screwed up beyond what should be possible while others showed nothing but teeth. He could hear the voices distinctly now, but their expressions never changed.

"Please."

"Come closer."

"Help us!"

"Gaaarfiield."

"Raven!" he shouted, but he didn't dare look away. They knew his name.

"Ignore them. They can't touch you," she assured him. Her voice was shaky. Raven's voice should not be shaky.

"You sure about that?"

"We need to wake everyone and get out of here."

"What if they come after us?"

"Now!"

He turned then, desperate to see anything but those terrible faces. Raven was shaking Starfire, but the alien didn't stir. Beast Boy moved over to grasp Robin's shoulder, relieved to find it warm. Ignoring the pleas of the things behind him, he shook Robin rather vigorously. When that failed, he stepped back and morphed into a lion and proceeded to let out the greatest roar he could muster.

The Boy Wonder woke with a start and Beast Boy changed back. Starfire remained unmoving.

"What-?" Robin began.

"No time," Beast Boy interrupted. "Let's go."

"Starfire?" Robin asked, his memory seeming to come back to him.

"She won't wake," Raven confessed.

Robin moved to stand, leaning up against the wall for support before stepping towards the center of the room. "What did you do to her?" he shouted, pouring every ounce of rage into the words.

Beast Boy turned to look at the faces once more. They were no longer smiling.

"Please," one said.

"The girl sustains us."

"But we need more."

"If you want her back, you will have to join her."

"Beast Boy," Raven called. "Go wake the others."

Beast Boy glanced at Raven before looking around the room. The other abducted party guests were slumped up against the walls. They all looked to be asleep, just as Robin and Starfire had been. He only hoped they would wake. He transformed into a spider and moved across to the other side of the room, terrified of attracting the attention of those faces.

"I won't ask again," Robin threatened. His hand gripped something in his pocket.

"Stop!" a high-pitched voice called from above them. Light poured in from a doorway at the top of a set of stairs to the left and a woman in a ball gown climbed down.

"Madame Parise?" Robin asked incredulously.

She didn't address him, instead focusing on the faces at the center of the room. "You said you'd bring her back. Isn't this enough?"

"We are many. Bring us more," they answered.

"You said you would take what you needed," she whispered.

"And so we have."

"How many more?"

"What's going on here?" Robin interrupted.

Madame Parise looked at him then. She spoke softly, almost as if in apology, "They promised to bring her back."

"Who?" Robin asked.

"My sister."

"And you trusted them?"

She didn't reply. Her eyes didn't leave Robin's, but she spoke to the faces once more. "Please, show them. They'll understand."

The center of the room seemed to explode with a bright white light and the Titans turned to watch as the faces cleared and a single form came into view. A young girl, probably no more than 12 years old, stood alone, still surrounded by swirls of blue light. She didn't speak, but she looked around the room for a moment, as if lost, before holding up a hand towards Madame Parise in an attempt to reach out.

"Anne," Madame Parise gasped, her voice breaking.

Beast Boy stood frozen on the other side of the room, watching with fascination. The girl looked so young while Madame Parise looked as if she might faint. He recognized the strained expression on her face immediately as one he'd seen in his own mirror whenever he thought about his parents.

The room was still as everyone waited. No one dared to move or speak. Beast Boy could almost understand, except somehow he knew a piece of the puzzle was missing.