Oooh, I hope I scared you guys. Malchior and Terra… bad news for our new lovers, but wait, it gets better…

Chapter 7

Old Lovers Turned Loving Strangers

"Raven? Raven, please awaken! Beast Boy? It is I, Starfire! Awaken please! Beast Boy!"

Robin and Cyborg watched the read-head alien girl bending over her friends, futilely attempting to wake them. Neither responded.

"Starfire, I don't think that's going to work," Robin said quietly, glancing briefly at his metallic friend, who had begun a scan on Raven. "They're out cold."

Starfire flopped to the ground next to Beast Boy's chair, watching Cyborg scan Raven, then scan Beast Boy. "But what has happened?!" she cried despondently, her emerald eyes glistening with frustrated tears. "Why do they not respond to us?"

"I can't figure it out, either," Cyborg agreed a bit more calmly, staring at the view screen in his arm. "They're not injured, and they're awake – in one form or another. They just won't respond." Robin moved closer, scouring the readings on his friend's arm as Cyborg continued, "Heartbeat's normal, brain patterns normal… it's like they just zoned out."

"But they didn't," Robin added, his masked eyes narrowing. "Somehow, these chairs have something to do with this, I think." Immediately, Starfire scooted away from Beast Boy's chair and sidled up to Robin, also glancing over Cyborg's readings.

"But what could be preventing them from responding to us?" she asked.

"I don't know…" Robin answered, shaking his head. "I figured Mrs. Collins would have the sense to deactivate these chairs before calling us to look them over. If the game system is malfunctioning, it could mean bad luck for whoever gets trapped in one."

"There has to be an 'Off' switch somewhere," Cyborg thought out loud.

"I wouldn't fiddle too much with these things until after we learn more about them," Robin cautioned. "I don't want to risk hurting Beast Boy or Raven…"


Raven started when Malchior smiled at her. It wasn't the sort of smile she had expected. He looked at her with pure affection, a look she'd come to loath.

"Lady Runé! You're awake." Before Raven could dodge him, he took her up in his arms and kissed her softly on the lips. Raven jerked away, about to smack him, but she hesitated at the genuine surprise on Malchior's face. That didn't soften her verbal rebuke, though.

"How dare you!" she hissed furiously, her fists clenching tightly. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I- Lady Runé, are you alright?" Malchior started, pain clouding his crystalline eyes.

Raven paused. That, again, wasn't the response she had expected. Why did he look so genuinely hurt? After all he'd done to her, how could he expect to kiss her and get anything less than a thirty-story drop out of the Titan's Tower window? Then she realized she wasn't in Titan's Tower anymore, or even the warehouse. In this illusion, whatever it was, maybe Malchior was just an illusion too. But his touch, his kiss, had been real. Maybe a robot? No, his lips were soft, warm…

Raven shook her head, banishing those disgusting thoughts from her mind. Malchior was either playing dumb, or else his memory had been erased and replaced by some sick romance… Raven shuddered to think what she could have done to pull such affections from him. And why did he call her Runé? Time for some answers.

"My name isn't Runé. It's Raven. Don't you remember?!"

"Of course!" Malchior answered, shocked at her bitter tone. "Runé means Raven in the oldest languages. Don't you remember?" At Raven's pause, he repeated, "Lady Runé… are you alright?" He stepped forward and reached to her, laying the back of his hand gently against her forehead. Raven backed away from his touch.

"You were severely injured during the battle," Malchior said quietly. "The healers and I have been caring for you for several days, but you seem to be recovered now. You're not burning up anymore, and the wounds have closed nicely, but… you are acting very strangely, Runé. Can you remember the battle?"

Raven stared coldly at him, again shivering with the thought of this traitor touching her, healing her. It was too nice of him to be true. He had to be lying. And what battle could he possibly be talking about? Her fight with him had been months ago, so that couldn't be it. She decided to play along a bit, just so that she could figure out what their connection was.

"No, I don't remember it."

Malchior's eyes darkened, surprising her once again. "I feared as much. The blow to your head was very severe. I thought you were going to…" He didn't finish, but the pain in his eyes was evident – and real. "We rode to battle against the rebels a fortnight ago. It was a very fierce battle, and some of our best mages were slain, but the rebels suffered greater losses, though they did… Lady Runé…" Malchior paused and looked her in the eye, deep affection shining in his glassy blue eyes. "Runé, I did not wish to tell you now, but you have to know sooner or later, so… Your father, the king, died in the battle at the hands of the rebel leader, Brenin. I tried to help my lord, but it was too late. I arrived in time to kill Brenin, and soon after, his lady Satyrva, and I dearly wish that revenge will give you some comfort." He awaited her answer anxiously, worry making him move closer.

Raven was too thoroughly confused to back away. "My father…"

"Lord Treoron fought like the great king he is," Malchior assured her, then corrected himself quietly, "was. And that makes you the queen of Panivel, as you have so long wished to be."

For a long time, Raven just stared at him, trying to piece everything together. Why would someone want to imprison her in this stupid role-playing game as the princess of a magical kingdom? And how did Malchior get mixed up in all this? Where was Beast Boy? She certainly couldn't ask Malchior. For some reason, he didn't seem like the best person to ask such information of. She would have to find Beast Boy on her own.


Beast Boy gaped at the blonde girl in front of him. She wore a soft blue tunic and a white robe trimmed with gray over that, and her long golden hair was pulled back in a half ponytail, leaving a little down for bangs and the rest to flow like liquid sunlight down her back, but Beast Boy knew who she was instantly. Her azure eyes stabbed into him, opening a fresh wound where an old pain had once sat. Terra. His friend.

"Terra, what are… how did you… why did…" Beast Boy tripped over his own tongue, trying to talk to a girl who had rejected him not long ago, then rushed into this strange room and kissed him. This room…

Beast Boy's head jerked around. "Where'd the warehouse go? Where's Raven?"

Terra stared at him, her blue eyes concerned. "Bestial, what are you talking about? Why are you calling me 'Terra'?" She smiled and laughed softly, nearly tearing Beast Boy's heart out from the melodic noise. "You seem to have hit your head harder than I thought."

"Hit my head… I didn't hit my– Hey, why are you calling me Bestial? It's me, Beast Boy."

Terra's smile dimmed, and she pressed her hand against his forehead, making his spine erupt in warm tingles and his stomach flip. "Are you all right? You must have hit your head harder than we thought. Wait here, I'll get Crenos." And before Beast Boy could stop her, she rushed out the door and shut it behind her.

"Crenos…?" The word had barely left his lips when Terra returned, followed by a mammoth man with dark skin and wooden arms and legs that somehow moved as he willed them. Beast Boy recognized him instantly.

"Cyborg!"

Cyborg was on him in an instant, holding him off the ground by his shirt collar. Terra very nearly hissed at Beast Boy from behind. Cyborg leaned in, his hot breath on Beast Boy's forehead.

"How dare you call me that?" he demanded quietly, his voice shaking with rage. A growl came from deep within his throat.

"I… uh, isn't that your name?" Beast Boy squeaked, unsure what the problem could be. And why in the world was Cyborg dressed like that? They wore the same style tunic, only Cyborg's was cream-colored, and he wore plate armor on his elbows, shoulders, and knees along with his thick chain mail shirt. His gargantuan boots were a bloated mirror of Beast Boy's own. But instead of a sword hanging from Cyborg's belt, an enormous hammer was strapped to his back. Beast Boy almost whimpered with surprise when Cyborg's hand wandered up to grab the hilt.

"Bestial?!" Terra demanded, shocked. "Why in the world would you say something so cruel? That's not like you?"

Beast Boy waved his arms frantically, stammering, "No, no, I didn't mean it, I, uh… Crenos, is it?" Sweat poured down his face at the stunned glare in Cy - oops, Crenos' - eyes.

Terra moved closer, setting a small hand on Crenos' bulging, muscular arm. "This is why I called you here, Crenos," she explained quietly, trying to calm the giant. "He's not acting like himself. It's like he can't remember who he is, or who any of us are."

Crenos' eyes softened immediately, and he set Beast boy back on his feet. "Well, if that's the case, sorry, Bestial." Without warning, he snatched Beast Boy back off his feet and sat him down on the bed, pulling out a strange, crooked, metal device that reminded Beast Boy just why he hated the doctor's office.


"Lady Runé, are you certain you do not wish me to call the healers? They should really have a look at you."

Raven stomped down the dark hall, Malchior on her heels. Nothing seemed even remotely familiar, though Raven grudgingly admitted to herself that the darkness, split only occasionally by a solitary, mysterious green light set in the wall, was very much to her liking. In fact, the entire palace she had awakened in, or at least what she'd seen of it, was the sort of place she could actually enjoy living in.

Though she had no plans to do so.

Nor did she feel like being examined by strange magicians.

"No," she answered Malchior flatly as he tried to catch up to her brisk step.

"Then at least have me examine you. You could be seriously-"

"No!" Raven interrupted him suddenly, the thought of this man touching her shocking the word from her lips. Ever since they'd left the chamber she'd woken up in, Malchior had been worrying over her as she tried to explore the palace in peace. Why did he care so much? It was annoying, though also strangely…

Raven shook her head, silencing that train of thought. The person standing before her was probably just an illusion, and if not, she still didn't want to even think about being remotely kind to this person. He was evil, in every sense of the word, and she did not trust him for a second. Her pain from his betrayal had been buried long ago, leaving nothing but a hole in which she would never let any emotions settle again.

But Raven found that she was already losing control of her emotions. She no longer had to contain them to protect herself, or the people around her, and already the relief she felt at that freedom was beginning to show itself. Her emotions were more pronounced than ever, especially around the man she had once loved.


Robin ducked just as a bullet of wild magic shot from Raven's forehead as she lay still in the game chair. It ricocheted through the room, sending the other two Titans to their stomachs before finally dying away. A few more black sparks emanated from Raven's form, then nothing. Robin raised his head, staring in shock at the pale Titan girl.

"What was that, Robin?" Cyborg demanded, sitting up.

"I have no idea. But I think Raven's in trouble. Or she thinks she is…"


Beast Boy breathed a loud sigh of relief as Crenos put the last odd tool away into his tunic. An hour of careful examination with outlandish devices had left him swearing he would never visit a doctor's office again unless he was dying.

"I can't find anything wrong with, him Telara," Crenos admitted in defeat, looking at Terr- sorry, Telara.

Telara looked frantically from Beast Boy to Crenos, then back. "But there has to be something wrong with him! He's obviously not thinking clearly!"

"Telara?" Beast Boy wondered. "So that's your name here?" As the examination had progressed, his tiny brain had finally settled on the fact that this entire thing was an illusion. Maybe Mumbo Jumbo, Control Freak, or some other nefarious villain had trapped him in here, or maybe…

"Hey, I'm in a video game!!" Beast Boy exclaimed suddenly.

Telara threw a helpless look to Crenos, who just shrugged it off, confused.

"Don't you get it?!" Beast Boy continued, jumping off the bed with a huge smile on his face at his discovery. "I sat down in that game chair, and the game must have activated! I'm in a video game! I'm the first person to play in the W.O.R.L.D.!!"

"Well, he's got one thing right," Crenos sighed. He remembers the W.O.R.L.D."

"Wonderland of Organic Realities, Lands and Dimensions!" Beast Boy chirped, quoting the magazine article he'd drooled over for months now.

Crenos and Telara stared at him, drawing him back to reality.

"What are you talking about?" Telara demanded. "That's not what it mea-"

Crenos laid an enormous hand over her mouth, silencing her. "If the kid's forgotten it, then it's better not to remind him," he said grimly, which naturally only made Beast Boy curious to know what W.O.R.L.D. meant in this game.

"What?" he demanded innocently, "What did I forget?"

Neither answered. Crenos looked away uncomfortably, and Telara stared at her shoes.

"Um… Crenos, could you give us a moment alone?" Telara finally asked, her voice barely over a whisper.

Crenos eyed her, but said nothing, and left. Beast Boy fidgeted under Telara's penetrating stare. Her blue eyes were too sorrowful to stare into for long.

"You…" Telara began, hesitant at first. She took a deep breath and tried again. "You don't remember me… do you?"

Beast Boy stared at her, unsure of what to say. He couldn't tell her no- he did know her in one way or another. But he couldn't say yes either. The way she'd kissed him told even Beast Boy that their history together in this game was far different from the real world. How much he had once loved her he had no idea, nor did he know how deep their relationship could be.

"I… uh, I know who you are," Beast Boy manage, searching for the right words to keep him from lying. "But I don't remember exactly what you are- to me, I mean."

Telara sucked in a sharp breath, and her eyes filled with tears. Before Beast Boy could try to explain, she lunged in for a fierce hug, then turned and fled.