I'm too tired to say anything other than I don't own TT.

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Chapter 10: Dare to Be…(AKA the Cliché Chapter)

The swirling red vortex of doom sent Beast Boy spinning round and round for what seemed like forever. He landed dizzy and nauseous with a dull THUD on the hard dirt floor below as the portal closed behind him.

"Oh, man, I do not want another ride on that train, ever again."

Still clutching both sides of his spinning head, Beast Boy slowly got to his feet and surveyed the scene. Aside from being completely disoriented, the landscape looked more or less identical to how it was during his last visit to Raven's mind. There were several large floating platforms made of levitating earth, and the sky was nothing more than a bleak mix of red and black. There were some dead, fetid trees lining the road every hundred meters or so but that was about it. Luckily, there were no evil four eyed crows in sight and Beast Boy sighed in relief. That was when he noticed his body.

"Look at me!" he exclaimed as he jumped in the air, "I'm me again! Ooh yeah! Go Beast Boy! Look who's human! Ooh, ah! Lookin good, man!" His wiry body made pose after pose as he admired his much missed human form. He even had on his old doom patrol costume, much to Beast Boy's delight. As he danced, he couldn't help but laugh a little at how well his black and purple colors matched with the dreary palette of the world around him and how ridiculous doing cartwheels in Raven's mind would look had anyone been watching. Finishing his strut, Beast Boy finally calmed down to face the dilemma before him.

"Enough of that. Now…where to…?" There were several paths he could take but, unsurprisingly, none of them looked at all familiar. To his left there was a straight, long road that vanished behind a thick fog while to his right was a rocky decline obstructed with boulders and stones of varying sizes. An eerie red light seemed to glow ominously in the distance as the path fell further and further. Behind him were steps that seemed to go straight into the air and in front of him lay a path of floating rocks, each a jump's length apart, stretching on far into the distance. Thinking quietly to himself, Beast Boy contemplated his options.

Well…I don't really feel like jumping or climbing stairs…and I'd bet my Punisher War Journal #1 that going down into the fiery depths of Raven's mind is a bad idea. I really don't like the look of that red light. I guess that only leaves me…the easy route! Score one for Beast Boy!

Hopping lightly, he turned sharply to his right and began walking confidently down the lifeless dirt lane as kept his head up and alert, maintaining a constant vigil in case any of those pesky birds showed up. The road was a dark one, with a musky fog that seemed to penetrate everything around him. It wasn't long until he was groping around with arms outstretched and barely any visibility all.

"Gah…stupid fog," he said to no one in particular. Man…how am I going to get out of here? Last time, Cyborg and I needed Raven to get out…but there doesn't seem to be any bits of her anywhere! Hmm…maybe if I can somehow get her attention…"

By now the fog had gotten so thick it was hard for Beast Boy to even make out his own hands. Figuring it was now or never, he paused, cupped his hands to his face, and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"RAVEEEEEEEEEEEEN!!"

His voice echoed far off into the distance as Beast Boy stood waiting for a reply. After a minute or two, nothing but silence remained and the changeling dropped his arms in defeat.

Nuts…now what? Maybe that red light wasn't such a bad idea after all…guess there's nowhere else to go but forward. But is it possible that this fog is getting thicker? Just my luck…I can't believe-whoa. Whoa!"

Just then, the ground shook violently beneath him and suddenly the solid earth didn't feel so solid anymore. Beast Boy tried to desperately keep his balance but in vain. He dropped to his knees to keep from falling over and rolling off the path but to his horror found that the floor was slowly breaking up underneath him. He screamed loudly and before he knew what was happening, Beast Boy was plummeting straight into the dark and eerie abyss below. His arms flailed wildly and he was sure that this would be his untimely end when, miraculously, a hand reached out from nowhere and grabbed Beast Boy by the elbow. Looking up in surprise, he saw a calm and cheery face dressed in a light baby blue.

"Raven!!"

"Hey…uh…Beast Boy? Right, right…what's up?"

"Uh…not me. Could you let me down, please?"

"Sure thing!" Suddenly, her fingers let go of his arm and Beast Boy found himself once again falling to his doom.

"AAAAAAAAH!!!"

As he fell, the temperature seemed to drop lower and lower and he had barely enough time to change into screeching falcon before being enveloped by the pitch black below. Quickly flying up as fast as possible, he reentered the fog and looked around. After circling for a bit, he finally found what he was searching for: a light blue blotch barely visible in the distance. Landing gracefully, he changed back into a human next to Raven who seemed utterly confused.

"Hey! What's the big idea??"

"Huh?" she said, looking at him quizzically, "You said let me down. What'd you think I'd do?"

"Hmm, oh, I don't know, maybe NOT drop me into the bottomless pit?"

Raven put her hands on her hips and pouted. "Well maybe you should be clearer next time…uh…umm…gah, I know it starts with a B…"

"Beast Boy…?" he said, looking at her with wide eyes.

"Yeah! That's right. I remembered it then, I don't know why I forgot it now."

"Is that who you are? Forgetful?"

"No…no, I don't think so," Raven said as she scratched her chin contemplatively, "I think I'm a bit…uh…oh yeah, I'm just Stupid!"

"Stupid? You're Stupid?" said Beast Boy with a dumbfounded look. "Great…just great," he mumbled, "the one part of Raven that I come across…and I didn't even know Raven HAD a stupid side…"

"Oh," she laughed in reply, "I'm not sure if she does either. She forgets about me a lot it seems, though I'm sure it's just an honest mistake. I haven't been out in YEARS so I'm probably due for a surfacing sometime soon."

"Wow." Beast Boy couldn't help but crack his mouth open in a wide smile. "You really are stupid."

"Thank you! Ha-ha, I think I like you, BB!"

"Great," he said with a chuckle, "Raven's stupid side likes me. Figures." She just beamed back at him with a sheepish grin. "So…where are we?"

"My domain! At least…I think it's my domain," muttered Raven apprehensively.

"Well, do you know the way to any of the other Ravens? I'm, uh, kind of trying to find my way out of here."

"Other Ravens?" she replied perplexed.

"Oh…right," he sighed, "never mind."

"Oh! Other Ravens!" she said, jumping in the air, "Yeah yeah, I know who you're talking about. Brave and Timid flew by like, forever ago. Said there was some kind of meeting. I guess it was a private meeting cuz I never got an invite."

"Yeah, I wonder why," said Beast Boy sardonically.

"Mmm…I dunno." Raven replied as she took him quite literally, "Your guess is as good as mine. So…you know a way out of here?"

"No clue," he said as waved his arms around in the fog, trying to clear some space in front of him, "I was hoping you could tell me."

"Oh, who knows. I didn't even know you could get out Nevermore. It's all news to me."

Beast Boy let out a large, boisterous groan. Somehow he knew it wouldn't be the last one of the night.

"Ok…ok let's take this one step at a time."

Raven nodded eagerly with a big smile.

"Do you know where the other Ravens are?"

She shook her head.

"Do you know why the rest of Raven's emotions are gathering?"

"Nope!"

"Do you know how to get to another area besides…" he waved his arms around and gestured to the encompassing fog around them, "…this?"

"Uh…" she said, thinking for a second, "I think so. Follow me!"

But before she could take two steps in, Beast Boy lunged out and grabbed her arm. "Wait! Are you sure? I mean, I don't want to go down the wrong lane and end up seeing Raven's inner version of her dad again or anything."

"Oh, Trigon? Puh-lease, I'm not scared of him."

Beast Boy rolled his eyes, not that Raven noticed.

"Besides, I TOLD you, I'm not Forgetful, she lives all the way past Slovenly on the other side of the realm. Though we are pretty good friends. In fact, I think she was supposed to come and visit awhile ago…I wonder what could have happened…"

"Ahem!"

"Oh yeah! Onward!"

Without another sentence, the two began marching deeper and deeper into the fog. Despite the confidence she seemed to radiate, Beast Boy was still a bit uneasy with the idea of following the stupid side of Raven in hopes of finding an exit. But, unfortunately for him, there seemed to be little choice in the matter. In fact, he thought, if what Raven was saying was true, then he was lucky to have come this way. All the other emotion domains would probably be empty right now. Why were they having a meeting? Was the whole-Raven around here somewhere? He had seen the mirror thrown vicariously on the floor. These thoughts seemed to swim around in his head as he kept close to baby-blue Raven's back. Minutes passed…then more…and then even more, until finally Beast Boy was sure they had been wandering for at least an hour. Unable to take it any longer, his hand shot out and tapped the shoulder in front of him.

"Uh…Raven. Are you sure you know where you're going?"

She slowly came to a halt and turned her head inch by inch over her shoulder. Despite the fog, Beast Boy could clearly see the uneasy nervous look on her face.

"Uh…yeeeeah…? I mean, no, I mean…I think so? I'm sure it's this way." She pointed off weakly to her left. "Did I mention that Forgetful and I are good friends?"

"Alright, that's it." He reached forward, grabbed Raven's hand, and began marching in the opposite direction.

"Ow. Beast Boy, where are you going, I thought I told you-"

"I know," he said as he looked over his shoulder with a grin, "just trust me. This is classic cartoon logic we're using here. No way can we fail."

"Ok…," she said nervously. Beast Boy let go of her hand and they continued walking at a brisk pace. It wasn't long before they noticed the change.

"See? The fog's even starting to get thinner. What'd I tell you."

"Um, I guess you were right…or something. Though I'm not really sure what you-"

"Shhh!"

Beast Boy stopped in his tracks, causing Raven to clumsily walk into him.

"Oops," she said with a small laugh as he looked back at her.

"Quiet. Can you hear that?"

Raven looked around her, trying to pick up on whatever Beast Boy was hearing.

"I don't-"

"It's this way," he said as he pointed to the direction they had been heading. "These bad boy's aren't just for my ravishing good looks, ya know." Beast Boy winked as his ears gave a noticeable twitch. Without another word, he started to slowly creep forward and Raven followed quickly behind him. They had only gone a couple dozen yards when Raven picked up on it too. There were voices!

"…but she does have a good point, it's not like he asked for any of this. We must not forget that we are not the only once with…us."

"Oh please, can it, Wisdom. You're starting to sound like Compassion and we've heard quite a bit from her tonight already."

"Why don't we just tell him to NOT bother us, that it's not a good time."

"But you girls never think it's a good time…"

"That's not the point, Compassion. Besides, if we get that out of the way, maybe we'd have the nerve to go head to head with Starfire. I've been aching to get my claws on that Robin for a long time. Rawr."

"Brave, we just now got off the topic of Robin and I had hoped we could perhaps progress to other pressing matters. You and Love are a haughty, foolish mix. I suggest you dissuade her from whispering her hypnosis into your ears ever again."

"I thought I told you to shut-UP, Wisdom."

"And I thought I informed you that you are about as civilized as our father."

"Hey! Enough of that. I am in charge her, I control all of you and don't forget it. Rude, please keep it to yourself, at least for a little while, and Wisdom, you should know better than to bring up my father in a meeting of my emotions."

"I apologize."

"Ok then, now…"

By this time, Beast Boy and Stupid Raven had made their way out of the quickly thinning fog and had come upon the large, dense brush that surrounded the gathering of Raven's myriad of emotions. A large black bonfire blazed at the center of the processions and Ravens of every color sat around it. Floating above them with her back to Beast Boy and Stupid sat Raven, the whole Raven in her tradition dark blue garb. Stupid nearly ran called out at the sight of her and would have done so had not Beast Boy immediately covered up her mouth and pulled her behind a decrepit looking tree. There were several colors that Beast Boy recognized immediately. Brave was in her predictable green, Love was purple, Rude was orange, Wisdom, a banana yellow, Timid, tucked away in the back in her usual stone grey, Anger, a flaming red, Slovenly was a slightly rotten brown, and Happy was in a loud, hot pink. Still, that was barely half of the entire assembly. Beast Boy shook his head, unable to believe that Raven had so many emotions and sides to her.

"…lets continue in an orderly manner. Timid, you had something to say?"

"Oh…n-no…I changed my mind…"

"C'mon Timid. Out with it. We're all willing to listen."

Rude made a loud snort but the rest of the Ravens didn't seem to notice.

"W-well…I was just thinking…I like Brave's idea of talking to him…but not to say to leave us alone. Just…talk. A lot of us like it when he does that. B-but…he probably wouldn't want to anyways…"

"Beast Boy's not all that bad-"

The Titan in question wiggled his ears at the sound of his name

So they ARE talking about me…

"In fact, he's been more or less tolerable for some time now."

"I've quite enjoyed working with him…"

"Yes, Love, we know full well-"

Love? Raven uses Love when she's around me??

"-but I would rather that not cloud our judgment. I vote that we give him a chance to prove himself. He has not intruded on our privacy since our fight last Halloween-"

Uh oh…

"And I believe that he is mature enough to handle the situation. You can say what you want, but I do believe it to be sensible that we trust him. He has gone through enough trauma as it is. We've all seen it, his past that is, and I doubt this recent beating and inability to reassume his human state has helped at all. He also seems to care deeply for Raven. I highly doubt that he would intentionally do anything to upset us."

Uh-oh.

"So…what you're saying, Wisdom, is that the best thing we could do right now is be his friend."

"Yes, Compassion, that is exactly what I am saying."

"Well I aint. All Beast Boy has ever done is annoy me. He brings out Anger more than any of the other Titans. And you honestly believe that's not going to be the case here, especially if he can listen to our thoughts? Going into dreams with him was bad enough but I thought even YOU, Wisdom, would have the sense to know when to say enough is enough. Don't the rest of you agree?"

"Personally," said the only Raven dressed in a deep gold, "I don't think the majority of us really care what happens."

"Oh screw off, Apathy."

"Meh. Whatever…"

"Stop." Love stepped forward in an attempt to get a hold of the discussion. "Fear and I both agree that the prospect of having him constantly pester us would be far preferable to never speaking with him again." The black Raven in the far off corner gave the crowd a meek nod. "We don't want to risk pushing him any farther than we already have. We even made a resolution not to since the last time we met after the Halloween incident. I suggest we keep it. And no matter how much you and Anger feel like you can control the rest of us, I assure you that we are far past the days when we would bend to your petty intimidation. Wisdom, as always, has the most thought out, logical solution. We should vote."

"Ok then," said the whole Raven as she stood and levitated even higher above the black flames. Though she had been silent the whole discussion, it was plain to see that the meeting in its entirety was in her complete control. Every Raven eye rose to look up to her as she spoke. "Let's settle this with a vote. All opposed?"

The black bonfire seemed to explode and, were it not for the fact that he was biting his lip, Beast Boy would have yelled out in surprise. The flames shot straight up, licking the sky madly, until finally settling down to its former height.

"All in favor?"

Though he tried to prepare himself for what would be coming next, the magnitude of the eruption still caught Beast Boy plainly off guard. Black flames seemed to shoot out in every direction, covering everything with an ice cold blanket that sent shivers down Beast Boy's spine. The pillar of fire became a sky of black flame as each emotion cast their vote. Just when Beast Boy thought he would freeze to death, it was over just as suddenly as it had began.

'Then it is settled. We will give Beast Boy the benefit of the doubt. I sincerely hope I don't regret this."

The majority of the emotions below her clapped and cried out in excitement. It wasn't often that Raven allowed all her emotions make an important decision for her and with the advent of this recent verdict, most of them hoped Beast Boy would persuade her to do so more often.

"Well then. I guess that concludes-"

"WAH-HOO!! YIPEEE!"

Oh shit

In his attempt to protect himself from the outburst of flames, Beast Boy had let go of the light blue Raven and she had promptly ran forward towards the circle of emotions.

"Yay! I totally agree with talking more to Beast Boy. That guy rocks!"

Ugh, thought Beast Boy as he slapped himself in the face, goddamn Stupid…

Rude looked dumbstruck. "You? What the hell are YOU doing here? Who invited your dumb ass?"

"Oh, no one," she said with a grin, "I just came with Beast Boy. Beast Boy! Oh, now where did he go…?" The changeling in questions was presently hiding desperately under a couple of branches, hoping with all his might that the crowd of Ravens wouldn't notice the small green ant that was trying to bury itself

"Beast Boy?!" Raven quickly flew down from her position in the sky and deftly landed next to Stupid on the ground. "Beast Boy is here?"

"Yup!" she replied, "At least he was…somewhere over there."

Raven followed Stupid's outstretched finger to the bits of shrubbery on the ground. Focusing her mind, Raven closed her eyes to try to find him, which took barely a second. The next thing Beast Boy knew, he was being pulled from his hiding spot and towards a furious Raven. Had anyone cared to notice, Anger was standing in the back behind the crowd, eagerly licking her lips while her four red eyes burned crimson in the dark.

"You should know better than to try to hide in my own mind," said Raven as she forced Beast Boy back into human form with a quick wave of her hand. "Just like you should know very well to STAY OUT OF IT." Beast Boy cowered as she towered over him. "Exactly WHAT were you doing in my room, my private room, that led you to this unfortunate predicament? Beast Boy?"

He slowly got up from the fetal position he had been sporting on the ground and, after brushing off his pants, shakily replied. "I…uh…look, first off, this was an accident. You should know that. I would never…"

Raven's glare merely intensified.

"Ok. Uh…just…I came to talk to you. I swear. All I wanted to do was talk…and the mirror, it was on the floor by the door and just…I…I'm sorry…?"

Much to Beast Boy's surprise and relief, Raven's eyes stopped glowing their ominous electric black and with a deep breath, she seemed to calm down. Far off in the back, Anger silently kicked the air as if she had been unfairly cheated.

"…"

"I swear! The mirror was just on the ground. I tried to move it so no one would accidentally look into it but I somehow became its unlucky victim."

"How much of my conversation did you hear?"

"N-not much. We just got here, honest!"

"That's not true!" proclaimed Stupid eagerly from behind Raven, "We've been hiding back there for awhile. We heard the whoooooooooole thing."

"Beast Boy…" Raven dangerously raised her voice.

"No! Look! Um…Raven, seriously, I'm sorry! Sorry! I would have said something but I was just…I was so scared you'd get angry and blow me up and stuff. It was all just an accident, I promise! I didn't want to interrupt and I didn't know where to go! I was with her after all." Beast Boy pointed an accusing finger at Stupid who was currently giggling like a little school girl.

"Well…," she said after a moment's pause, "I do remember leaving the mirror there. Perhaps I won't kill you…yet."

Was that a joke? Oh man, Raven NEVER jokes. She's totally going to kill me. She's going to kill me and it's going to hurt and I'm not going to like it AAAAAH!

Raven sighed as she saw Beast Boy was still utterly terrified. As he should be, she silently told herself. With another deep breath, she cleared her mind and spoke once more. "Ok then. We got to get you out of here. Now. Everyone else, you're dismissed back to your domains. Wisdom, can you take care of Stupid?"

"I will try."

"Are we going for a ride?"

"Come along dear…"

With that, the rest of the multicolored Ravens departed, flying away in all directions. Soon, they had all disappeared over the horizon and out of sight, leaving a very scared Beast Boy alone with the true Raven.

Oh my god…she sent them away so they wouldn't be able to stop her…I am so dead.

Raven's eyes were closed. It took her a good few minutes but the urge to yell and scream and shout slowly passed as she found her center and let go of her anger. Love had been right. Though Anger and Rude seemed to be the loudest of her emotions, they weren't the strongest. Beast Boy had just been at the wrong place at the wrong time and lucky for him, Raven had just gotten done dealing with her plethora of feelings. In some strange way, she was proud of the fact that she had controlled her temper and would have revealed a small smile were it not buried under her stone grey mask.

"…ready to go?" Raven extended a hand to Beast Boy who eyed it wearily.

"So…you're not going to kill me?"

"Like I said, not today."

"Really?"

"Just take the hand already."

Beast Boy cautiously raised his hand and put in hers. With a familiar whoosh, the two Titans were teleported far to the other side of the realm. The black shadow that covered him split in two and Beast Boy found himself before the much welcomed exit he had been searching for most of the night.

"Oh dude, FINALLY."

"I concur. Come on, let's get out of here."

With the wave of her hand, the doors opened and the fiery red portal lay before them. Walking side by side, the two Titans exited.

At that moment, the mirror in Raven's room began to shake as a large vortex erupted out of it. What normally would have been a graceful exit turned into muffled yelps and screams. Though he had left her mind as a human, Beast Boy came out of the mirror just as he had entered: a giant octopus. There was a squeal and an awkward squishing sound as the two landed on the bedroom floor.

"What the…AUGH! Beast Boy…let go of me."

I'm trying! I didn't expect to come out with so many arms!

"No, really. You have to get off of me. Now."

I told you, I'm trying. Why are you being so…oh…oh crap! AAAH!

Beast Boy just then noticed what his tentacles had been wrapped around. Quickly letting go of her upper torso, he tossed Raven onto her bed with a tiny "OOF!" before morphing back into a small cat.

"Thanks…"

Uh…don't mention it.

"Are you still stuck in…who cleaned my room?" Raven sat up and slid off of her bed as she surveyed the scene. Everything save for the fallen door, which she did not remember breaking, seemed to have been picked up and swept.

Oh, heh, yeah, that was me. The cat slowly walked up to Raven and jumped lightly on her bed. Sorry about that…

"No, it's ok. But I thought you told me you never came into my room…?"

Ah-ah, I never said any such thing. But I was being honest when I said it was all an accident. I did come to talk to you, but what I saw what a mess the room was…I dunno, I just felt like I should clean it. I thought you were mad at me…

"I was. Well…not really. It was more a matter of me being mad at myself."

I put everything in those bags over there, he thought to her as he gestured to the corner, in case there was anything in the wreckage you wanted to save.

"Um…yeah. I guess so." Raven was still at a loss for words. She wasn't entirely sure whether she should be angry or grateful. "In any case, it's pretty late," the clock read 3:35 AM, "we should both probably get to bed."

Heh. Yeah, I guess so. Um…good night Raven. The kitten quickly jumped down from the bed and started walking towards the door. But halfway there, Beast Boy suddenly stopped, paused, and turned around.

"What."

I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I've been a burden lately. I had no idea I had been causing you so much trouble. And sorry for intruding on your space again. I…really should have known better.

Raven though for a long moment. So long in fact that Beast Boy had just begun to turn around to leave when she spoke. "No, it's not your fault. You were in a coma…it's not like you had any control. And I know using the mirror was an accident. You're not that dumb."

The cat mewed in reply and with a happy kitty smile, the green kitten turned to leave.

"Oh, and Beast Boy?" He stopped and looked over his shoulder. "Thank you for cleaning my room. It was very sweet of you."

No problem, Raven.

With a hop, Beast Boy quickly left the room. He was down the hall, bouncing all over the place, while thinking in glee, She thinks I'm sweet! Awesome! WHOO!! Raven, having easily picked it up his thoughts from her room, suppressed a small giggle before catching herself smiling. With a groan, she started to get ready for bed.

-

-

-

The sea breeze was nice and sweet as Raven found herself sitting on the edge of a wooden fence, the ocean before here and her beautiful summer cottage behind her as she watched the stars die and the sun inch up. She swung her legs back and forth in the air, so happy, so jubilant just to be alive. The only thing that could make it better…

…were the arms she felt slowly encircling her waste, as if on cue. Goose bumps rose on her arms and legs as the man behind her kissed lightly around her neck and whispered softly into her ear.

"God, I love you."

She reached out behind her head to stroke his head which now sat comfortably on the crook of her neck.

"Did Dick and Kori finally decide to join us for dinner tonight?"

"Yup. Victor too, though he said he might be late. I got Melvin to watch the kids."

"Hah. Kind of ironic, don't you think?"

"I suppose," but his sentence was cut off as he snuggled in closer. Raven held his arms tight as the sun burst over the horizon and birthed another new, eventful day. Turning around, she slowly embraced her husband and, after a slow, lingering kiss, fell lightly into his arms.

"Oh…and I love you too, Gar."

-

-

-

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Raven shot up immediately in bed, breathing loudly. Her eyes were wide open and she looked frantically about the room for a clock.

5:55 AM

"What the HELL was that??"

Several doors down the hallways, Beast Boy shot up immediately at that exact same moment. He too was wide eyed, only as a mongoose. He looked around in shock for a second, drinking in the silence of the still-quiet morning. After another moment or two he finally collapsed on the bed. Had he still been a human, he would have been laughing hysterically.

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There we go. More hijinks to ensue. Keep a look out, though an update probably wont happen for another few days. Until then, REVIEW. REVIEW LIKE YOU'VE NEVER-ah, you get the message.