Here's the next chapter and I hope you like it. Sorry for the wait between chapters. Now that the end of the year is here, my finals are approaching and I'm swamped with work. :P However, I'll try to get the next one out sooner. Lots of exciting things ahead, you know....or at least you'll find out soon enough. Till then, please read and review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Chapter 11

As the sun rose higher in the sky, the African heat was already reaching its peak. With a sigh of sleepy contentment, Raven began to open her eyes and stretch her stiff limbs. Two hours of meditation had already cleared most of the turmoil in her mind and for the first time in awhile, she could think straight. Her emotions were silent but the more she thought about it, her mind was not the only quiet place. The hut she shared with Beast Boy, was unusually empty. Beast Boy must have wandered off while she was meditating.

Slightly irked, Raven scowled as she peered out the window. He could have at least told me where he was going! Raven thought.

Closing the door behind her, Raven began to wander around the village in search of her companion. In the last few hours, the village of Upper Lamumba had been a busy place, but just like her empty hut, it was quiet and deserted. Usually people were going about their chores or laughing and joking. Now only a somber silence remained. Little Gar must be still sick if he had not made an appearance since yesterday. What if at that very moment he was dying from that disease Beast Boy mentioned?!

Relax Raven, Beast Boy is probably okay. Raven told herself angrily. He's probably spending time helping his parents or something.

Even with this logical conclusion, she still clenched her teeth in frustration. She should not worry about that now; she had given Beast Boy her word that she would not do anything. Still the thought of losing Beast Boy to something she could probably cure, hurt her heart. It was all she could do to just trust him and trust his parents.

Still, she could not help but scowl a little as she began walking around the village grounds. It was particularly hot out today and the bugs were annoying the more she got closer to the edge of the jungle. Raven stared suspiciously at the foliage, swatting any flies that got in her face. She was not going to make the same mistake twice but she still wondered if Beast Boy was in the jungle somewhere. The African jungles were huge, but he couldn't have gone too far...could he?

Biting her lip with worry, the goth girl decided to see if he was somewhere in the village first before she would jump to conclusions. It was too early to panic now, so she had to think logically. If he was not in the hut or wandering around in the village, perhaps he was talking with the chief. The two seemed to know each other strangely enough and if Beast Boy did went to talk with him, then it would have been a wiser move.

Raven was about to turn around and retrace her steps, when suddenly she could sense that someone or something was watching her. Glancing around nervously, she backed a little away from the edge of the forest, hearing the screeches of terrified jungle animals. A flock of macaws flew into the canopy, scattering leaves upon the ground. This sudden movement startled her into action and she called forth her magic as she braced herself for the approaching creature. Whatever it was, it sure was coming fast.

Before she could react any farther, a large but familiar shape collided into her chest. Stumbling a bit with the extra weight, Raven ungracefully collapsed on the ground. She stared in surprise to see a large green cheetah with a book in his mouth. He wagged his tail as he let her up, panting a little from his run. As he morphed back, Beast Boy grinned triumphantly as he held the book in the air.

"Oh Raven, guess what I found?" He waved the book in front of her and smiled proudly.

Slowly getting over her shock, Raven got to her feet and stared incredulously at him. "So that's what you've been doing? Here I was worried sick that you were hurt and all you do is push me to the ground waving a book in my face?!" Raven yelled angrily.

Beast Boy gave a small chuckle. "Sorry, I couldn't resist! You look so cute when you're all scared like that! Now come and take a look what I found. If I remember right, this is the book you were reading. It has that same squiggly shape on the cover and everything!"

Feeling unusually flustered by the sudden contact, Raven could feel a small blush warming on her cheeks again. "I was not scared...you just startled me, that's all!"

Beast Boy shrugged but a mischievous gleam was in his eye. "Sure, whatever you say Raven."

Scowling a little at his teasing, Raven took the book in her hands, ignoring the cheetah slobber on some of the pages and inspected the content inside. The words, native to Azarath, were as familiar as the symbol on the cover. This was the book which had been missing back at the tower!

"How did you find this tome? I was certain it was gone after I used it to practice Monk Phoenix's spell." She whispered.

Beast Boy shrugged. "I noticed you were reading it before all this...well you know, the whole time traveling thing happened. I thought maybe you could try the spell again but this time take us four years past this date. I have to save my parents Raven. If we could go back this far, who knows what could happen if we stopped that river expedition?"

Raven looked up from the book, and gazed at Beast Boy's excited expression. She had not seen him smile this much in a long time. Did he really believe going forward through time was that easy? Did he forget that going forward and backward could be a onetime deal, especially with what happened to Cyborg last year?

Her brow furrowed with thought as she pondered the options. It would not hurt to try but still...was it worth disappointing him with false hope?

Even without asking, Raven knew the answer. She would help him, not just because she had feelings for him, but because Beast Boy had been through enough pain...and she knew deep down his happiness was more important than her new found affection for him.

So with a sigh, she turned to the familiar page. The words were slightly faded with age but soon she began chanting the spell "Azarath, Metrione, Zinthos...Mi Jaceno yorla zygone, Raven Beast Boy!" As soon as the words were said, the familiar dark purple barrier started to surround them. The world spun around them and as suddenly as it came, the only thing that remained were themselves and the tower they lived in. Everything else was gone.