Chapter 12. Emotions.

Beast boy managed to slide away from Rage and almost lost his footing walking backwards. "Oh man, not her, not her" He thought to himself desperately and lifted his arms in defense when he saw her approach.

"Raven, I know you're in there.. Please come back!" He almost beg. She smiled even more. But with this emotion, the more she smiled the creepier she looked.

"mmm, C'mon Garfield don't tell me you're afraid of me now. As I recall you expressed quite the opposite" She said tentatively.

"You heard that?!" He asked in panicked surprise.

"We all heard what you said"

"And.. How did Raven take it?"

"Wasn't the annoying one obvious? Raven is happy." She said with some disgust and mocking expression.

"Then why are you here?" He regretted his words the moment they came out. An extra set of glowing red eyes appeared on top of the already existing ones.

"You called me out! Or what? Did you forget what you said about me? Or was it all a lie to make that creature feel better?" She said thru gritted teeth.

"Meliah is not a creature, she's my friend and I remember exactly what I said. And I was talking about Raven, not you" A hint of anger sipped thru his words. She snarl at him but he didn't back away.

"I want my Raven back" He demanded this time, not paying attention to his words. She smiled maliciously.

"I am Raven, or did you forget we are all one and the same?"

"No, you're not her, just her angry side. I know I said I still like her when she's mad, but I don't want her to be like that all the time so you need to back off and let her come back" He took a step towards her. Hands balled into fists.

"Such commanding words… I don't think she likes to be ordered around either… but I have a better idea"

With that, she took a quick step towards him and enveloped both in her dark magic only to reappeared in Raven's room. Once there, he took a few steps away from her trying to regain his balance.

"How come Raven is not here? How come Happy and you were able to come out?"

"Call it a glitch in her system" She smiled, but when he didn't, she continued "What you said took her by surprise and lost some of the control she has over us. When she went into meditation, her guard was down for a split second. That's all we needed."

With a flick of her hand, Beast Boy was trapped entirely in her black aura and deposited unceremoniously on the bed.

"What do you want with me Rage?" He said, wary of her actions.

"Nothing less than what you want with Raven" She said while climbing the bed after him.

"And what do you think I want with her?" He asked, nervous now.

"Oh Garfield, don't play coy with me. We've seen how you look at us and much to my regret I have to admit that your little friend is right, there is nothing boyish about you anymore"

He had scrambled against the headboard with no way out.

"You'll be ours before you're hers, one way or the other."

"What are you talking about? Who?"

"Who else, that creature you have taken in. We don't trust her Garfield. You shouldn't either".

"So wait, let me get this straight. You don't trust Meliah and that's why you're doing this? That's why you're so mad?" He asked in disbelief not sure he had the right questions.

She stopped halfway on his chest and tilted her head. "You can say that, among other things"

"So, if Raven is mad because of Meliah, does that mean she's… jealous?"

"Stop saying her name in my presence!" She commanded and ripped the top of his uniform with one move.

He could feel her hot breath on his chest. Her hands going down his stomach. He panicked when she got too low for his comfort and took her hands and sat down in front oh her.

"Ok, lets get something clear. You're not going to have your way with me"

"I know you don't mean that. I know you want Raven, ergo, you want the rest of us" She said with a glare, all four eyes still glowing red.

"I want Raven, its true. But not like this and if you are Raven as you say, then you would also know me as well as she does. You would know that I would never do anything to hurt her, anything without her consent and most of all, anything that she's not aware of"

One set of eyes disappeared. He still held her wrists and saw her anger falter a little. So he continued.

"I love Raven and all and everything about her, but I wont have her without her permission… and don't be angry. Meliah is just a friend. A dear friend that right now needs my help"

He felt her relax, she was no longer glaring at him but still glowing a soft red. He let go of her hands and slowly, she sat down next to him.

"Very well, but one last piece of advice. Beware of her inner self Garfield. Meliah may be your friend but her wild side is not".

Then she started to loose balance and looked paler for a moment. Instantly, he reach out for her and grabbed her shoulders to steady her.

"Rage, are you ok? Is Raven ok?"

"I'm loosing my grip. The annoying one is getting stronger" She said weakly before she leaned her head on his bare chest.

She went limp suddenly, but slowly started to move her head. Beast Boy went into full panic. All thoughts went thru his head. How was he going to explain, not only being in her room but on her bed with his clothes halfway ripped. His heart quickened as he felt her take a deep breath and slowly push herself away from him.

She straighten up, opened her eyes and looked at him. A gasp escaped his lips, not sure what to expect, closed his eyes tight and braced himself for impact. He jerked at the sudden touch on his arm.

"Forgive me Garfield, I didn't mean to startled you"

"Who are you?" he asked with obvious worry.

"Please, do not worry. I can assure you I am neither Rage not Raven, as I'm sure you were concerned to encounter either one of them" her voice was soft, calm… soothing.

"I'm only concerned that Raven will get mad at me for all this" he said looking at her bed "Or this?" pointing at his ripped clothes. "She'll think the worst and blame me for it. How am I going to explain that I'm in her room… Her room! Where is forbidden for me or anybody other than Starfire to be in… and how…"

He was in full panic mode now but the Raven in front of him silenced him with her fingers on his lips with a soft touch. It was an intimate gesture.

"It is very endearing how well you know us. But we're running out of time. I am here to prevent all that chaos you just described".

"How?" He asked, taking softly her hand away from his lips. She smiled. Not an evil smile like Rage's or goofy like Happy's. But soft. Effortless. There was a subtle seductiveness to it that he had seen on Raven on the rare times she had smiled at him. Her touch was gentle.

"We'll go to sleep…" She started to say but Beast Boy interrupted her.

"What!?" obvious panic and wide eyes. This made her giggle.

"Not you and me. I meant Raven and us, her emotions. You'll have exactly ten minutes to get out before she wakes up. When she does, she wont remember much other than traces of a dream, but that's it".

"Why wont she remember? Doesn't she know what her emotions do and vice versa?"

"Only from the ones she's fully familiar with. I am an emotion she's not very much aware of, let alone recognize, but I've been lingering around for some time now. And this memories will stay with me until she decides to find out who I am".

"Even the memories with Rage?" He asked with some embarrassment.

"Those are Rage's own. But as you know, Raven tries not to have much to do with her"

"Wait, so how does it work? How will you make Raven sleep? Some kind of spell or something?"

"Yes, a small one. Uncommon but not unheard of"

"Why are you doing this? Putting a spell on yourself" he asked with real curiosity.

She looked in his eyes and tilted her head with a small smile. "Because we want to protect you. Raven is sure to react the way you expect, but only out of embarrassment, she's closer to the timid one than you think and we'll always do everything and anything within our power to do just that. Now, will you lay down with me until I fall sleep?… five minutes then you may take your leave".

He couldn't say no. Even though he didn't know this side of Raven he felt compelled to trust her just as he would with the real one.

He laid down and she did the same laying her head on his chest. His arm going around her shoulders. Never she tried to kiss him or even hug him. She wasn't pushy or demanding.

"You have impressed me today, you know" She said softly.

"How?" He asked turning his attention to her.

"The red one is the cruel, sadistic side of Raven's demonic heritage and yet, you managed to subside her anger just with a few minutes with you. Something Raven has been trying to do her entire life"

"Is that good?"

"Good?, I think its great. Thanks to you, she no longer feels rejected… thank you Garfield" She said sleepy. Saying his name in a whisper. Then closed her eyes.

"You're welcome" He kissed her forehead and she sighed deeply into his bare chest before falling sleep.