Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. I only own the plot and character developments.

(A/N is at the end of the chapter!)

This chapter has been looked over by the author.

Chapter 4

The Hunt Begins

Early morning light flooded in through darkened shades. The light awakened a beast and demon from their shared slumber. The demon shifted uncomfortably underneath her sheets as the beast rose from the bed. A low groan escaped the demon as she pulled the sheets over her head. The beast stared at the lump she became when she curled into a fetal position underneath the sheets. After a few minutes he silently slid out of the room and into his own dwellings.

Raven blinked her eyes wearily as she pulled the sheets down. The sun was rising, the birds were chirping, and the ocean was crashing against the island. All the pieces were set for a normal morning except her sheets were much more messed up than usual and her bed smelled odd. Raven clumsily pulled herself up so that she was sitting up on her bed. She stretched her stiff muscles up towards the ceiling like a cat would after a long cat nap. 'Did I toss and turn in my sleep?' she thought to herself as she wondered why her bed was messed up. Raven was usually a motionless sleeper.

She clumsily got up and went to the bathroom to get her morning shower. After undressing and combing her hair she slipped into the shower to allow herself to wake up completely. The drizzle of warm water on her head helped her remember what was escaping her hazy mind. 'Beast Boy slept with me last night,' she thought in bewilderment. Normally she wouldn't allow Beast Boy to even enter her room. It was with this thought that she wracked her brain to figure out what had happened for her to change her mind about allowing him in.

'The Beast,' she thought quietly as she thought of Beast Boy. Ever since she was attacked by Adonis inside the tower she had developed a fear of animals. She feared them because they were irrational. Demons like her father could be reasoned with most of the time, but animals ran off instinct which caused their decisions to be clouded and confusing all the time.

Raven also had a hard time distinguishing the Beast and Beast Boy. In her mind they were one of the same. 'The Beast' was just Beast Boy's primal instincts taking shape. 'The Beast' wouldn't be possible without the rage mutagen which was introduced into Beast Boy's system almost 2 years ago. After Cyborg introduced the anti-rage mutagen to Beast Boy's bloodstream 'The Beast' was no longer a problem, until now.

Raven slowly washed her hair and body as she continued to think about Beast Boy and the main reason she let him stay with her last night. 'I helped his…itch,' she thought while running her fingers through her hair and massaging her scalp. She was curious as to what this 'itch' was and why she helped ease it effortlessly. 'Is it hormones? Is he attracted to me?' she wondered while climbing out of the shower.

Once outside the shower she looked into her large antique mirror. The mirror reflected her body from her feet to her head. Raven's eyes travelled up and down her body for a full minute before she looked away frustratingly. She couldn't find any reason as to why anyone would be attracted to her body or her personality. She was anti-social. She was as skinny as a toothpick and had a small amount of muscle all over her body. Despite the small amount of muscle she could still lift far beyond what she should be able to. Her skin was pale and thus made it unattractive to anyone and everyone. Her appearance was always weird and awkward. Slight bags of natural darkness gathered underneath her eyes and her hair always cascaded down her shoulders in an unruly fashion.

'Even my legs are awkward,' she thought as she dried her body off. 'I doubt anyone will ever like me for who I am,' she thought to herself as she re-entered her room and began getting dressed. A door knock ringed out from her door as she finished putting on her last article of clothing, her cloak. "Yes?" she asked as she turned towards the door.

"Uh, Rae, it's time to go," Beast Boy called out on the other side. She could feel his fidgety emotions on the other side of the door.

"Okay. I will be out in a minute," she responded before making her bed and replacing any candles that had burned out during the night. When she was through she took a deep breath and opened the door to see Beast Boy standing a little ways away from the doorway. His appearance made her stare at his body. He was dressed in his uniform except he had no shoes on. His uniform hugged his form tightly and showed every muscle and curve of his body off effectively. She stared at him for a few seconds before her eyes rose to meet his. However, his eyes were staring at her body just as sternly as hers were a few seconds before. After a few more seconds his eyes rose up to meet hers.

It was within that moment that she remembered why she let him in last night. He baffled her. No matter what actions he took or where they went together he was still capable baffling and confusing her. There was no one else in the world that could confuse and annoy her as much as Beast Boy did and done so on daily basis. He was one of the very few people she worried about almost constantly. She thought back to the previous night where he shut off his emotions from her. He now had the ability to hide his emotions completely.

"We have a lot of ground to cover today. Let's get going," he told before slowly walking down the hall. Raven stood in place for a few more seconds before walking briskly to catch up to him and once done she fell in line beside him.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously. The sight of the elevator came into view after a few more seconds of walking.

"To the Jump City Police and then to the forests surrounding Jump City," he replied to her as he clicked the base floor button on the elevator's keypad. The door opened up almost instantly and they quietly filled into the spacy elevator.

"Why?" she asked curiously. "I thought we had no leads on Adonis' whereabouts," she added.

"Remember the beasts that were with Adonis? He had to of created them the same way he was created. We haven't gotten the lab tests back yet but I have a hunch. Him being at that lab two nights ago was no coincidence," he explained while fidgeting with the back of his hand. "I mean, the goo that created him also made me into a monster. When I am that…that monster…I have urges and desires that go way beyond normal!" he grumbled before pacing the elevator.

The elevator continued to beep as it dropped floors. Only thirty left to go. Raven mentally sighed as she felt her psyche getting assaulted by Beast Boy's emotions.

"The biggest urging I have is to protect my pack!" he vented to her before he stopped and leaned against the railing in the elevator. His emotions suddenly shut off from her radar as he sighed deeply.

"Pack?" she asked curiously as she looked up at his face. His facial expressions were always the safest bet to tell how he was feeling even when she could feel his emotions. She thought he looked stressed out and worried about nothing. His eyes met hers as the elevator continued to descend.

"Yes. You, Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire," he said without breaking eye contact. Raven could feel her heart do a barrel roll in her chest at the mention of her.

'I'm part of his 'pack?' she thought to her as she looked down at his feet. It felt too weird to her to not have any emotions being flung around the room. It allowed her to think in peace, not in pieces as usual. 'I guess pack is another word for team,' she pondered as the door opened to reveal the bay they entered through two nights ago.

"What's it mean to be in a pack?" she quietly whispered to herself while he exited the elevator. She followed after him as he moved towards his small portion of the garage. Beast Boy stopped after a minute and turned around to face her. If he didn't have his hyper sensitive hearing then he wouldn't of heard her whisper in the elevator a mere minute before.

"It means that I go where ever you go and you go where ever I go. That we are always there for each other and we protect each other from harm. Regardless if the enemy is mental, physical, or spiritual," he said before turning back around and jumping onto a green motorbike. He stretched upwards on the bike and yawned while Raven stared at him from the spot she was frozen to. "We take care of each other. You, me, Starfire, Robin and Starfire. We are a family, ya' know?" he asked towards her. Raven nodded towards him in acknowledgement.

'Do I uphold my spot in our 'pack'?' she thought to herself as she watched him crank up the motorbike and slide on his helmet. After a few moments of them not communicating at all he held up a second helmet, a pure black helmet with dark shading on the front glass. She quietly accepted it into her hands and stood beside the motorbike looking between it and the bike. 'Do you seriously expect me to ride on the back of this motorcycle?' she thought angrily. Machinery and her never got along.

'Yes,' she heard whisper in her head while Beast Boy looked directly at her.

Raven stared at him while she thought quietly, 'Is he reading my thoughts or my body language? He is talking to me in my head again!' Her form stiffened in anger at the thought.

'It is safe,' he added before looking forward to the shutoff tunnel that led to Jump City. A giant metal blast-proof gate stood in between them and the tunnel. She stood beside the motorcycle for a few minutes arguing with herself whether she should use most of her powers teleporting them around or to accept Beast Boy's driving as an acceptable and safe form of transportation.

A loud irritated growl came out of her throat as she slid the helmet on and clamped it into place. It fit her head snuggly which shocked her even more. After making sure the helmet wouldn't fly off she sat herself slowly onto the back of the motorcycle. Her body shivered delightfully as she felt herself slid against Beast Boy's back.

'Wrap your arms around me,' he instructed her telepathically. She could feel her emotions swirling violently inside her rather than his. It felt awkward. She hesitatingly wrapped her arms around his stomach which pulled them even closer together. A shiver of relief broke through her body as she fought down a blush that she was positive no one could see underneath the darkly tinted helmet. 'Good Raven,' he told her as he clicked a button on the motorcycle. Raven's momentarily forgotten rage boiled in her stomach as she squeezed him even harder. She hoped her grip was somewhat painful.

The gate to the tunnel opened up wide and with a roar of the engine they were travelling down the underwater tunnel that led to an undisclosed exit in Jump City. Raven's cloak flew against the air they disturbed as her arms tightened even further on Beast Boy's body. Her eyes shut as she laid her helmed head against Beast Boy's shoulder to fight down a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. The air passing them actually felt nice against her body and hair. It was the first time she ever allowed anyone but Cyborg to transport her anywhere on a motored vehicle. Even then it was always in a vehicle with a roof.

Raven opened her eyes when they entered the street life of Jump City. It was 6AM in the morning but people were already jamming their selves into the overused lanes to get to work. Jump City was almost never 'dead' per say. It was always bubbling with activity. Even at 3AM in the morning. Raven knew the city worked in shifts just as a retail store would. It was fortunate for them that the morning shift of the city usually held happier and upbeat people than the evening shift.

The giant T on the side and front of the motorcycle allowed Beast Boy and Raven easy access to quicker lanes of travel. The city respected the Titans due to the countless battles they waged against super villains and criminals to protect the city. The Titans also helped the police department in seamlessly hopeless situations. Raven watched every vehicle around them cautiously in case they got too close to their smaller vehicle.

'I despise vehicles,' she thought loudly as she watched another car get a bit too close to them. Beast Boy moved further away from the vehicle to accommodate.

'I despise other drivers,' she heard Beast Boy reply telepathically to her statement. She shivered from his words. It was like sliding into luke warm water every time. His voice almost always felt pleasurable in her mind and it scared and excited her at the same time.

'Why? I thought it was the vehicles that caused accidents most of the time,' she asked as she tightened her hold on him even more. No matter what her situation was in life Raven knew she would never drive. It scared her too much. She sighed in relief as she noticed that they were almost to the police department.

'Most of the people on the road have no good decision making skills,' he told her as he pulled into the underground parking station of the police department. It was the area the police kept their police vehicles.

'Like you?' she quipped back while loosening her hold on his stomach. She felt less likely to crash when they were in an enclosed building and she wondered if he would have bruises on his stomach later. They came up to a barred gate with a booth to the side. The guard that was stationed in the booth seemed more bored than a chicken egg sitting.

"Hey, I drive just fine!" he said aloud as he waved at the police who was on gate duty. He let them in without a second glance.

'Yeah, after crashing the T-car over three hundred times,' she replied to him mentally. She gave up years ago in contesting to engines in volume. She only thought of him as silly to even attempt to speak louder than the engine underneath them. This also meant she usually never spoke when anything loud was happening around her.

"I had to learn somehow," he yelled at her as he parked his motorcycle and turned it off. He kicked the stand down to hold the motorcycle up and they both climbed off the popping machinery.

"Yeah, you learned how to wreck it even more!" she mumbled before a small smirk fell on her face. She still had her helmet on, she knew he couldn't see her. It was a minor victory for her, or not.

"Oh, wipe that smirk off your face!" he replied back. "You know Cyborg enjoyed fixing it to be even better than the time before!" he quipped before a smirk bigger than hers appeared on his face. Her mouth dropped as he set his helmet on the bike and began walking to the building. He stopped when he noticed she wasn't following. "You coming Rae?" he asked innocently. She mimicked his actions with the helmet and followed after him with a stoic but fuming expression. He caught her red handed in her moment of gloating glory.

Soon they were standing in front of a room Beast Boy would always call "The Cage." The room had a counter that held bullet proof glass and a sliding slot. The other 3 walls of the room were filled to the brim with filing cabinets and freezers. The room got its name from the steel like bars that barred every surface. A perky old lady was sitting behind the counter. She was responsible for filling evidence and cases as they came in to the ownership of the department. It was also her responsibility to keep track of who was working on what case and if the case was closed or ongoing.

Her fingers tapped at a computer avidly as her attention held strong while Beast Boy and Raven stood in front of the counter. Beast Boy watched her as she continued tapping away at her computer. She acted as if they weren't even there. Finally he knocked at the counter after waiting minutes and smiled sweetly. He was by no means a patient person when it came to people almost ignoring him.

"Hey, could you help us please?" he asked nicely. She took one look at him and her mouth dropped as she saw the green man in front of her counter.

"What are you?" she spit out loudly before she pushed herself away from the counter. Her cheeks flared up red as if she was trying to scare away an attacker. Beast Boy just sighed before running his hands through his hair. He always got this treatment from the public and civilians even if they were well known in Jump City.

"I'm Beast Boy from the Teen Titans and this is Raven from the Teen Titans. We're here to ask you for abduction sites of recent missing person cases," he told her as he took a step up and stood up more straightly. He wanted to make a good first impression on the lady even though he knew she might quit her job because of his appearance. The last two did so after he showed up to help find a missing police officer, both times the same officer.

"Oh," she breathed out through her nose before sitting back down and looking towards her computer. "Any specifics other than missing persons and within the last three months?" she asked as she tapped at her computer. Beast Boy thought before looking towards Raven.

'Was it just me or were all the beasts female except Adonis?' he asked her telepathically.

'I don't know. I couldn't tell. They all looked the same except color,' she told him back before stepping up to the counter. She took his thought at face value immediately. "Narrow it down to females and areas located around the forested areas," she told the elderly lady. The lady hummed in reply before tapping away more. After a few minutes the duo could hear a printer spitting out a few pages and a board with a pen being shoved onto the counter.

"Sign your names darlings. The chief will want to know about this," she told them as she shuffled the few papers she printed off in her hands. Once they finished signing she collected the board and handed them the papers. "Have a good day," she told them sternly before sitting back down and tapping at the computer once again. Beast Boy told her thank you before he and Raven back tracked to the motorcycle.

Once they arrived Raven quietly shifted through the papers for any similarities between the missing persons. There were only a half dozen suspected victims on the sheets and hardly any similarities between appearances. No trace of them was ever found except for parts of their clothing. Even then the clothing was found far deeper into the woods, away from their abduction site. The clothing found never made sense to the abduction sites. The rough terrain and distance between the abduction sites and the clothing markers made it impossible to determine if a struggle occurred. This was why most of them were marked as missing in action.

Raven felt a disgusted shiver role down her spine as she continued reading each report. The people were never found. The families mourned their loss. The community tried to help and all they found was shredded up clothing and hair. Unsolved mysteries disgusted Raven because negative emotions were left behind by the people involved. It was never resolved easily after that.

"Do you think Adonis is responsible for these missing people?" she asked as she handed the papers to Beast Boy. He leaned back against his bike and hummed in thought.

"I don't know. We should search the areas of their abduction first before jumping to conclusions," he told her as he folded up the papers and slid the papers into a compartment on the motorcycle. "Our first search is at the Jump City Park. Three of the victims were last seen there before they went M.I.A," he explained before sliding on his helmet and onto the bike.

Raven slid on her helmet and made herself comfortable against his back again. It always surprised her at how responsive and mature Beast Boy could when it was needed. When compared to the past she could almost not believe it was possible. He was insensitive, careless, brash, and clumsy but when his mind was set and focused he became a completely different person. He was insightful, quirky, careful and gentle when he cared. Raven deduced that this was another reason why he baffled and confused her all the time. He could change the way he goes about his day in a blink of an eye. He was too flexible for her to predict correctly.

Raven shut her eyes in attempt to quiet her rushing thoughts and emotions. Control was her center point and rushed thoughts and uncontrolled emotions made her lose control over her powers. She softly chanted her mantra in her head to calm herself. 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos,' she repeated more and more as she held onto Beast Boy's stomach even tighter. Raven felt herself slide into her meditation despite the loud city life.

The loud bustling city life soon died out to the peaceful creaking of the forest. Raven slowly opened her eyes to the sight of trees passing on both sides of them. The air was noticeably cleaner as civilization continued to fall away. Nature always had a calming effect to Raven. However, she also knew it had the opposite effect on Beast Boy.

The few times their chases took them outside of the city were the same times she saw a new side of Beast Boy that she couldn't understand. There was a primal side of him that he kept hidden deep down, so deep that he shared it with no one. It was difficult for any of the Titans to pinpoint his actions during his more primal side. Beast Boy didn't show it enough for anyone to grow close to it. Raven also thought of this side as his inner beast or primal urgings reaching the surface.

The motorcycle slowed down before turning off onto a beaten dirt road. After another twenty minutes and more twists in the road the duo came upon a cabin in the middle of the woods. The dirt roads lead into a gravel driveway that stopped in front of the cabin. A trail blazer was parked in front of the cabin. A layer of dirt and leaves lay on the trail blazer. The thickness of the leaves showed the extent of time that the vehicle went without being used.

Beast Boy cut the engine of the motorcycle off when they came to a rest beside the trail blazer. He slowly and silently took off his helmet and sniffed the air as if he was taking in the sweet smell of fresh banana nut bread. He was frozen in this position for a few seconds before he set his helmet on the motorcycle's handles and slid off the seat.

His eyes scanned the area around them as he waited for Raven to slide herself off the motorcycle. The cabin was located within a circle of trees. The only tree-less area was the dirt road they came from and the immediate area surrounding the cabin. They were about twenty miles out from the entrance of the large park grounds, approximately an hour away from civilization. Raven watched him as he began to walk about the grounds surrounding the cabin. He quietly walked around the cabin before coming back to Raven.

"Paranoid much?" she asked irritatingly as her eyes travelled from him to the front door to the cabin. They could investigate the cabin now that they were together. "This place looks as abandoned as your room," she teased out in monotone before walking forward to the stairs leading to the front patio. Beast Boy ignored her teasing without a commenting while following her closely. She could feel how tense he became as they neared the cabin's front door.

Raven was the first one up the stairs followed by Beast Boy. No time was wasted as she wrapped her hand around the door knob and gave it a twist. It turned easily.

"What?" she said aloud in confusion. Naturally all abandoned properties would be locked up to keep thieves and unwanted attention out. Raven pushed the door open to see if the inside locks was used instead of doorknob locks. The door swung wide open with no defiance. Raven looked back to Beast Boy in wariness and confusion when she heard a shuffle from the inside the cabin.

Before Raven could react a white beast pounced at her. Raven saw Beast Boy's ears twitch as he pulled her back in reaction and kicked the beast square in the chest. It screamed enraged as it tumbled backwards onto its side from his kick. Beast Boy quickly grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door as the white beast rose back to its feet and ran at the door. The beast slammed against the door with a loud thud before the duo could hear snarling and scratching coming from the other side of the door.

"Crap," Beast Boy cursed aloud as he pulled hard against the doorknob and shuffled his feet back. Claws shot out beneath the door not one second later in attempt to catch the visitor's toes. A deep growl erupted from Beast Boy's throat as he kicked against the door in anger while keeping his hold on the doorknob. "Watch behind us!" he yelled out as he was pulled forward a bit with the door. The beast was trying to open the door with all its strength.

Raven turned around just in time to see a deep purple beast climbing the stairs. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven called out within seconds as she shot a blast of dark energy at the beast. The purple beast flew back forcefully and became embedded into the trail blazer. "Ambush!" Raven called out as she saw two more Beasts running out from the tree line.

Raven suddenly saw images fly through her mind in the matter of a second. The images were of Beast Boy being careless and attacking the Beast head on inside the cabin. She turned around to scream her disagreement at Beast Boy but it was too late as he thrust the door to the cabin open and tackled the Beast within. Raven ran inside the cabin after the two brawling and tumbling figures. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted out as she shot the white beast against the wall.

Beast Boy grasped the humanoid wolf by the nape of its neck with his right hand before it could gather its wits. His grip tightened as the beast struggled desperately and screamed against Beast Boy's grasp. Beast Boy kept the Beast at arm's length and underneath him before kicking it out the front door. The beast went sprawling out onto the patio and before it could recover Raven slammed the door shut on its face. A dark energy force field wrapped itself around the door as Raven chanted her mantra again.

Beast Boy ran around the cabin in search for alternative entrances while Raven held the front door. On the other side of the front door there were two beasts angrily clawing and ramming at it. The cabin had two entrances overall and any windows in the cabin were positioned at the top of the walls in rectangle formations. The windows were only half a foot in height. The windows were meant to accept light into cabin but it was obvious what the purpose of this cabin held. It was a private hunting lodge meant to be primarily used during the winter.

There were barracks located in the basement along with the secondary fireplace. The hunters slept there. The main room was the trophy room and entertainment room where the main fireplace was located. The kitchen was basic but in Beast Boy's opinion it looked more like a butcher's shop than a kitchen because giant clever knives lay everywhere. Despite this the cabin's layout was simple. The main hallway connected every room in the cabin.

If one were to come through the front door then they would enter into the main hallway. The hallway held both entrances along with 3 doors. The left door was the entertainment room and it took up the left half the cabin. The right door was the kitchen, storage area, and skinning area. The skinning area held the most windows to air out the hunters' kills. At the end of the hallway was the backdoor to the cabin and beside the backdoor were stairs leading down to the barracks.

Beast Boy returned to Raven after shoving a refrigerator against the backdoor. One beast was still beating and clawing against the other side of the front door in attempt to tire Raven out. Raven silently held the dark energy barrier around the door. "So?" she asked out loud as Beast Boy's darted from room to room.

"The backdoor is blocked now. There are no windows large enough for them to go through," he told her as he looked up into her eyes. Raven could tell the cabin was having more of an effect on him than the forest and it was peeving her.

"What is wrong with you?" she asked as her eyes darted from the door to him several times.

"Nothing," he replied in irritation before turning around and peeking back into the living room. He didn't trust the cabin one bit.

"There is something wrong!" she demanded as her powers surged for a short emotional moment. She heard the beast get blasted off the door and down the stairs from her temporary surge. Beast Boy returned with a wooden block that was wider than the door. It was right then that Raven noticed two hinges on either side of the door large enough to hold the block. After a second Beast Boy dropped the block onto the door which locked it up tighter than fort knox. Raven dropped her shied once she trusted the block could hold the door well enough. It seemed that the hunters were preparing for bears.

Beast Boy turned on her a few moments later. His eyes bore straight into hers as she saw both his fangs protruding his lips and biting into his lower lips. The tips of his fangs drew his own blood as he shook slightly. "Not now!" he growled out at her as he stared into her eyes. It was this moment that Raven noticed the height difference between them and how he edged towards her threateningly.

Raven took a step back hesitatingly and cautiously. Beast Boy didn't look himself right at this moment. His hair was standing up all over his body while his elf like ears drooped down threateningly. His fists curled into fists as he edged closer to her. Her retreat ended as her back touched a wall behind her. However, Beast Boy's progress didn't. He continued to move closer to her. His eyes danced wildly across her body while taking in every squirm and twitch she gave off.

A/N:

Once again! Thank you Katwizzle, The Cretin, jazzybizzle and onominous for your reviews! Extra shoutouts to onominous and The Cretin for reviewing a third time! Jazzybizzle and Katwizzle for reviewing a second time!

The Cretin – I still despise the 'Behind the Scenes' stories. I enjoy it when things are explained out in the open or made obvious by another's actions. I am glad the story has become enjoyable! Hopefully it stays that way! Hilarious enough, I also have no intention of the main titan team calling reinforcements. Haha. Also, it is okay if you reviewed late. We all have lives as well! I hope that whenever you read this you are doing well.

Onominous – Is your fic about the Sakutia virus? I've read a few fics where the virus mutates new powers. I haven't quiet integrated the technical bits about it in this fic yet. Haha. Keep writing! Good luck and thank you for reviewing!

Jazzybizzle – I hope this chapter surprises you as well! Don't expect much fluff, fluff needs purpose to! Haha. Thank you for reviewing!

Katwizzle – I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying. READ SLOWLY! =)

Until next chapter!

Promises of Freedom