Disclaimer: Still don't own the Teen Titans

I've finally finished this chapter! Which happened to be my longest one ever, of all my fics. And also, this chapter contains a fair load of action and it reveals a chunk of Gale's past. Enjoy!


From Darkness Comes Light

By: Patattack

An Old Nightmare Returns

Gale twisted and turned on his bed, his sleep perturbed by an all too familiar nightmare. In his dream, he was younger, about eight years old. Destruction was sown around them, and other places in Jump City. Cars hurled away, buildings in ruins, the street layered with cracks and fissures, but none of that mattered to him. He ignored all of it as he was kneeling down next to his mother, gently holding her head in his arms as she barely managed to raise her hand and speak her final words. "Be brave Amicus. I love you." Her hand then fell down and her body slumped as died.

"No," Gale muttered to himself. "Mommy… Please… No…"

The evil giant figure yawned as he watched this unfold with a bored look. "Ok kid, you've had long enough already. She's said her last words, and now you've said yours." He raised his right hand and aimed it towards the kneeling boy. A mass of dark crackling energy started to gather in the palm of his hand, pitch black like night itself. "Buh bye." He then released the energy and shot out a large wave directly at his intended victim. It exploded in a spectacular way, kicking up a cloud of dust which totally obscured anyone from seeing the results.

A second passed in silence, then two, and three. The wicked being simply stood there for the brief moment that it took for the scene to clear up. But when it did, his face became a portrait of shock at the sight before him. Instead of vaporizing his prey, mortally wounding him, or finishing him off in whatever manner he had intended to, the bolt had had no effect whatsoever. The little boy was still kneeling beside his mother's body, but was surrounded by an unbending dome of air. "NO! IMPOSSIBLE!" the giant cried out in surprise.

The young metahuman set down his mother's head and dispersed the barrier as he stood straight. He looked directly at his enemy's face, his golden eyes glowing fiercely. The giant could not help but take a step back in fear, as he sensed the overwhelming power and rage emanating from the boy.


Gale woke up with a start, sitting up straight in his bed. Sweat dribbled profusely down his face as he breathed deeply, clutching his chest while recovering from the nightmare he'd just relived. He looked at the clock resting on the nightstand next to his bed. It showed 12:00 AM on bold red lights. Incorporated into the electronic screen, was a part that indicated the date had just become May 26. "It's that day again," Gale muttered to himself.

He pulled the covers aside, got up and walked out of his room. Rubbing his eyes as he walked about the hallway almost aimlessly, Gale's dulled senses did not alert him to Robin's presence, causing them to bump into each other. "Hey Gale. What're you doing at this time of night?"

"Woke up, can't sleep," was the answer. "Where're you off to?"

"Downstairs. The basement."

"Mind if I come with?"

Robin shrugged his shoulders at this. "Sure, if you want."


After walking through hallway and down the staircase all the way, they found themselves in their home's wide open basement. Robin flicked a switch, which turned on a dim light over their heads. They walked to a large stack of cardboard shoeboxes. Gale went over the tags labeling their contents, until one on the top caught his attention and he chose to pull it out. He set it on the floor and took off the lid, revealing a handheld laser weapon, a communication device with an 'S' on it and a mask just like the one Slade himself use to wear. Intrigued by this, Gale picked up the mask, coughing a little when a bit of dust reached him. "Slade," Robin muttered when he noticed what his teammate was holding.

"What happened to him anyway?"

"Terra broke free from his control and triggered volcano in the process. Supposedly he fell into a pit of lava, but he was never captured or found."

"You're thinking he survived somehow?"

"He's proven time and again that he's capable of incredible levels of deception."

"Uh huh," Gale nodded absentmindedly. 'What if that one was still around? No, he couldn't be.'

The tell tale sound of the alarm grabbed their attention away from their rummaging. "Trouble," Robin noted. Gale dropped the mask back into its box and ran off with his fellow Titan.


A crescent moon hung in the midnight sky, though it was much obscured by the dull gray cloud passing by. The scenery was on a rural road, abundant trees on one end, and a railing perched between the other side and a hilly descent. Two police cars had been smashed against a clump of trees, while a few other vehicles lay abandoned on the road. The monstrous Cinderblock stood facing a squadron of Jump City's policemen, who were huddled together with their riot shields and weapons. Cinderblock raised his arms and struck the ground with a double handed blow which tore through the pavement and sent the policemen flying back. Growling, he picked up a nearby truck and held it over his head, but was then forced back by a barrage of Starbolts. It looked up and saw the Teen Titans arrayed against him. "Drop it, Cinderblock," Robin said. "Before we drop you."

In response, the monster hurled the truck at them as if it was a mere toy, but Raven caught it with her powers and broke it apart. That done, the Titans charged at their enemy. Cinderblock put his hands in front of his face as Starfire peppered him with starbolts, then let up when Robin jumped up and slammed his staff in the behemoth's face. He was then struck by a blade of air, followed by Beast Boy ramming him as a stegosaurus. The stone monster was taken back to the edge of the road, just past the railing, when he managed to stop the green dinosaur, pick him up and throw him back towards his friends.

The changeling became himself again, sailing over Cyborg's head as the robotic teenager ran towards Cinderblock with his sonic cannon primed. He jumped in the air and threw a punch with his cannon arm, which was stopped by a large stone fist. Cinderblock then swatted him to the ground with his other hand and stepped on him hard. He raised an arm to strike a downward blow, but was stopped when the truck's claw piece trapped his arm against his waist.

The giant stepped back as Raven held the claw clasped around him with her powers, while Starfire bombarded him with Starbolts, Cyborg got up and fired a beam of sonic energy and Gale a beam of wind. Faced with that, Cinderblock grabbed the claw's cable with his free hand and swung it around, causing Raven to slam into her alien friend and knock both of them to the ground.

Robin ran at their enemy, jumped up and started repeatedly pounding on his head with his staff. He then kicked off the stone monster's face, moving out of the way for Cyborg to come in with a punch from his armed sonic cannon. Cinderblock slammed the palm of his hand into the robotic teen, throwing him a good distance away. Gale materialized his transparent sword as he flew towards the Titans' opponent. He held the blade in both hands and swung it hard in passing, creating a noticeable gash on Cinderblock's right shoulder.

The giant roared at this and broke through the metal claw, sending out its pieces which Gale dropped down to avoid. He jumped in the air and slammed both feet on the ground, causing the pavement around him to break apart. Gale barely had the time to surround himself with a buffer of air as a large chunk of the road came crashing into him. Even so, it still sent him tumbling down the hillside and into the forest below. Cinderblock roared and rushed towards the other Titans as they came to met him.


While his friends fought against the stone giant, Gale was only just getting to his feet, after having fallen down to the forested ground below. He shook his head a little, but as he got to his knees, he caught a glimpse of a shadowy figure ahead. He quickly stood up and held his transparent sword in one hand. Scanning the terrain around, his eyes spotted the character in question, leaning his back against a tree. "You!" Gale cried out, cold rage flooding into his voice.

'You', turned out to be a man about six feet tall, with short bleached white hair and eyes that were entirely black. He wore a dark gray suit, matching boots, his entire body was surrounded by an aura of dark energy and he looked at Gale with a sneer on his face. "Hello, there," he spoke deeply, with a mocking tone. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"I thought you were dead," Gale spat out as raised his sword threateningly.

The man chuckled at this. "As you can see, I'm quite alive, unlike your precious mother." The winged metahuman's face lit up in anger at these words and he flung his weapon towards his sworn enemy. But he merely disappeared, causing it to impale the tree behind him. Rain started to fall as Gale willed his sword to disappear. "Oh, did I hit a nerve?" the man's voice spoke from higher up. "Pity you're just too slow."

"I don't know how you came back, but I'll make sure it never happens again!" Gale leapt into the air and flew towards the shrunken giant. Smirking at his attempt, he jumped up to higher branches with ease. Gale remained in pursuit, lashing out with razor blades of air which sliced apart foliage, branches and trees. However, none of them hit their intended target, as it simply kept moving through the tree tops while avoiding the offenses.

Enraged further, Gale spun on himself and sent out a whirlwind which tore apart a tree the villain had jumped to. When he stopped, only a part of it remained, but his nemesis was standing on the top of the trunk, arms crossed and grinning wickedly. "You've gotten soft since last we met. As a mere child you were much better than this." Gale landed on a thick branch not too far from him and stared fiercely, dripping wet from the rain. "You should save your energy, boy. You'll need it. I only freed Cinderblock to get your attention. And now that I have it…"

"What're you planning to do?" he demanded as he materialized a pair of gauntlets over his hands and stood in a fighting stance.

"Since I'm feeling generous, I'll tell you. I've stolen three seismic generators and placed them on fault lines all over the city. And in only three hours, they'll trigger an earthquake that will break your city apart."

"Not if I break you first!" Gale launched himself at the villain, swinging his fists at him. But the evil maniac simply leapt over him, causing him to punch the tree trunk instead. He turned around and came back at his enemy who was casually standing on the branch Gale had previously been. Sneering at the winged boy, he jumped off his perch and dropped to the ground without a bruise.

As he dove down after him, Gale changed his gauntlets into twin spikes of air and sent them ahead. However, just before they struck him, there was a flash of lightning and then he was nowhere to be seen. Gale opened his wings wide and to slow down and landed gently on the ground. Being unable to see his enemy, he waved his hand and the spikes faded away.

"Uhh, sorry to interrupt your little nature hike," Beast Boy spoke up. He and the other Titans were standing nearby, Raven floating with an umbrella of telekinetic energy to shield herself from the rain. "But, WHERE WERE YOU! We had to finish off Cinderblock by ourselves, in the rain and… achoo!" The changeling sneezed loudly and changed into a small elephant. "Great," he said as he returned to normal. "Now I've got a cold."

"I met one of my past enemies," Gale answered, a dead serious expression on her face. "I thought he was done for, but apparently not."

"Okay then," Cyborg spoke up. "So who is it?"

"Doesn't have a name as far as I know. But he's got short hair that's bleached, his eyes are nothing but black and his whole body's surrounded by a aura of dark energy. Last time I saw him he was at least ten feet tall, but now he's only six."

Robin had frowned upon hearing this. His mind went back to the day Gale had been taken to Titan's Tower, more specifically, to the image he'd seen in the Herald's archives. The description Gale had just given them fit exactly with the one of the experiment that'd broken out from Wayne Enterprises. Raven also had a thoughtful expression on her face, going back to the same image she'd seen and the conversation she'd had with Gale before he'd agreed to join their team. "What happened then?" the team leader asked.

"He's planning to use three stolen seismic generators to create an earthquake big enough to rip the city to pieces. We've only got three hours to stop it."

"Cyborg, check out the bridge," Robin said. "Raven, Gale, take the park. Beast Boy, the pier. Starfire, we'll go after-"

"No," Gale interrupted. "He's my responsibility."

"Gale," Raven spoke up. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I have to see to it he's taken down for good this time." He stared at the Boy Wonder who hesitated for a moment before answering.

"Okay. I'll be with Raven to look around the park. Starfire, you go with Gale after this bad guy."


A while after splitting up, and Starfire and Gale were still walking in the woods by themselves. "Fear not, Gale," the alien girl spoke up. "We will stop him."

"We don't have any other choice," he responded in a deadpan tone. Their communicators beeped and they picked them up.

"Hey guys," Cyborg spoke up. "I'm at the bridge."

"Did you find the seismic generator?" Gale asked.

"Man, I can't find diddly. No signs of anything unusual."

"Nothing here either," Raven added from her end.

"I found squat," Beast Boy said, then fell into a fit of sneezing.

"Gale," Robin's voice came through. "Are you really sure about all this?"

"Yes. They're there. Just keep searching." Gale shut off his communicator and threw it to the ground in anger. "They know where to look for the generators but they can't even find them."

Starfire bent down to pick up the discarded communicator. "They will be found, Gale," she reassured him. "Please, you must have faith in your friends." She looked in confusion as he suddenly began to run ahead. "Gale?"

A brief sprint later, and he stood on in a clearing, the giant of his nightmare standing before him. "Tick tock," he taunted. "Your time's running out. This is going to be easier than I'd imagined."

Gale conjured a large wave of air to crush the villain, but he simply stood still as it came down upon him, and was unharmed when the dust cleared away. Regardless of such, the enraged Titan flew straight for him, his right hand covered in a spiked gauntlet. But when he got close enough, the man side stepped and grabbed his arm, slamming him hard into the ground. Gale flipped himself up and lashed out with his foot, air molded around it to make it look like a bird's talon. The evil one caught this with one hand, and sent him flying back with a fist covered in crackling energy.

Gritting his teeth, Gale summoned a tornado that tore across the ground on its path towards its target. It suddenly stopped when he was struck in the side by a dark colored bolt. "Gale!" Starfire called out to him. The former giant turned around and ran away from his adversary.

"Starfire, stop him!" Gale shouted.

But to his surprise, he went straight by without her seeming to notice. When Gale got next to his Tamaranian teammate, the villain was gone. Anger was obviously present, merely by the way he was breathing. "What happened!" he shouted at Starfire. "He ran right by you! How could you let him get away!"

"But… there was no one there."


Back in the city, Cyborg, Robin and Raven were waiting on the sidewalk. They were soon joined by Beast Boy, who came in as a bird, but sneezed when he got there and flopped down as a pig, before changing into his usual self. "I've looked everywhere. I think this guy sent us on a…" The shape shifter sneezed again, becoming a goose.

"Wild goose chase," Raven finished.

"I've run a complete sweep of the city's seismic faults," Cyborg announced. "They're all clean. I'm thinking all this seismic generator stuff is just one of this new bad guy's tricks."

Starfire then landed amidst her friends. "I am not so certain he is behind this."

"What happened?" Robin asked. "And where's Gale?"

"Gale has chosen to search on his own."

"Why?" Beast Boy inquired, obviously confused by this.

"He said he saw the evil man which he had described and that he had run by me. I tried to see him, I truly did, but… I could not. Then, he became very angry at me because of this. Even against the Johnny Rancid he was not as angry."

"This is getting too serious," Robin said. "We need to find Gale and confront him."


After having searched by himself for a while, Gale happened to come across an old, abandoned underground complex. He walked through an empty corridor and blew open a pair of rusty doors at the end. He came into a massively wide open room, inhabited only by piles of junk metal and an incomplete walkway going across the middle. His eyes and ears remained alert to their sharpest extent, but even so, he only just caught a glance of a shadowy figure zooming by. Gale followed until loosing track of it. "So, now it's just you and me," the voice he'd been listening for spoke up.

"Show yourself!" Gale demanded. "Come out and fight!"

"Relax, little boy." The Titan turned around and saw his nemesis standing atop a pile of junk. "I'm not going anywhere."

Gale materialized a platform in mid air, jumped on it, flipped off and zoomed towards his enemy. But when he got to where he'd been seen, there was nothing. Hovering with his wings stretched out, he spotted him further down and commanded a gust of wind to rise and topple the mound of metal below him. The whole thing came crashing down upon the villain, but when it was finished, he was simply standing a few feet from the debris. Still filled with anger, he recklessly dove down at him, but at a few feet away, a dark bolt came from above the charging metahuman and dropped him to the floor.

"Pity your friends aren't able to help you."

"Why wasn't Starfire able to see you?" Gale asked as he got to his feet.

"It's hardly a challenge for someone like me to get my hands on technology these days. When you know where to look for what you want, seizing it barely takes any time."

"So, your powers weren't destructive enough. You have to go around stealing to destroy or hide whatever you want."

"That may be. But for you, I don't need any of it." Gale then sent out a large blade of air, yet his enemy blasted the ground at his feet, propelling himself up and out of the way. The young teen then spotted him looking down from the walkway's edge.

He took to the air and darted towards him again. As he flew, he materialized a flurry of spikes, all of which he hurled at the villain. And though they obliterated part of the walkway, their target simply stood further back from the destruction. The villain clapped his hands together and spread them outwards, sending a net of dark purple energy towards Gale. He rolled sideways to avoid the incoming snare, but wasn't quite fast enough, as the tip of his wing was nicked. The dark energy coursed through his body like it was electric, causing him to plummet onto the walkway and land in front of his enemy.

"Your friends won't find the generators. And they can't see me." He knelt down to look him directly in the face. "They can't see the truth, even when it's right in front of their eyes." Gale created a pulse of air which he used to flip himself up and back away from the taunting figure. He solidified the air behind him into a wall which he held onto.

"Then I'll just have to take care of you myself. I've stopped you before and I'll do it again."

"Come now. If you really stopped me, then why am I here?" Gale gave no reply other than letting go of the wall with his hand and kicking off to give himself momentum. The villain simply stepped aside, but Gale twisted his body and flipped so that he was facing the opposite direction. Another wall appeared, which he kicked off towards his enemy, who grabbed his shirt and swung him off the walkway and down to the ground. He thickened the air below, allowing for him to land on his feet. "How pathetic." Gale turned around to see the villain behind him. "You can't save your city, or even yourself."

This was followed up by an energy covered fist slugging him in the gut. Gale rose to his hands and knees as he saw the former giant coming down at him. He flew back to avoid the falling kick, but was promptly hit in the chest by an energy bolt which slammed him into a large metal gear. His enemy walked over, picked him up by the shirt and turned around. His free hand crackled with dark energy, then punched him hard. Gale managed to fall on his feet and prepared himself to whip up a massive tornado, but before he could do so, a dark cloud appeared overhead, from which a pitch black lightning bolt of energy came and struck dead center.


While Gale was getting beaten up, his fellow Titans were coming down the hallway of the same building he'd come in already. "Gale's locator signal," Cyborg said when his arm started to beep. "He's nearby."

A crash, followed by the sound of Gale crying out in pain reached their ears. "Very nearby," Raven noted.

They ran the rest of the way and came to the entrance of the room a few seconds later. A light popped up from Cyborg's shoulder allowing them to clearly see their teammate. His uniform was ripped open in numerous places, he was bleeding in a few places, but instead of the usual red color, his was white. Though this surprised his friends, even worse was that it seemed as if he was getting pummeled by someone, except that there was no one else. "Umm, since when is Gale into mime?" Beast Boy questioned.

"NO!" Gale turned in his friends' direction, looking for something which he appeared not to see. "What're you doing here!"

"I don't think there are any generators, man" Cyborg explained. "We looked everywhere."

"He must be cloaking them, just like he's cloaking himself. That's why you couldn't see him."

"But if I could not see him," Starfire began. "Why could you?"

"…What're you trying to say?"

"Gale, are you absolutely sure you saw this guy you told us about?" Raven asked.

"Saw him? I fought him! You think I did this to myself!" he indicated his torn uniform.

"This is the only way out," Robin spoke up. "We've been standing here the whole time. No one got past us."

"No one's been in here but us," Cyborg pointed out.

"I don't have time to talk. I'll have to find the generators myself." Gale started to walk towards the exit, but Robin stood in front of him with a hand raised to stop him.

"There are no generators! Your bad guy isn't real!"

"I know what I saw!" Gale shouted. "You don't have any idea what he's done! I have to stop him, I'm the only one who can." He took a few steps back and materialized his transparent sword. "And I'll take down anyone who get's in my way." Starfire, Beast Boy, Robin and Cyborg looked at him in surprise. Raven's absence was explained when her black telekinetic energy hit him from behind, knocking him out.


Later on, Gale lay strapped on one of the beds in the infirmary of Titans' Tower, electrodes attached to sides of his head. His state of unconsciousness had been prolonged due to the fact that he'd been injected with anesthetics. The other Titans were standing outside, looking at a screen displaying his condition.

"But must we keep him restrained?"

"He threatened us, Star," Robin said. "He's dangerous."

"Dangerous!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Try totally flipped out insane!"

"We still haven't figured out what caused him to go haywire," Cyborg pointed out.

"He's gone even crazier then you were when Slade was still around."

Robin held his chin in one hand as he had a thoughtful expression on his face. "Slade… that's it!"

"What's it?" Raven asked.

"Before Cinderblock attacked, Gale and I went down into the basement. He took down a box of Slade's stuff, but when he picked up his mask, a bit of dust came up and made him cough. But if it wasn't really dust…"

"Then it was probably something else entirely!" Cyborg realized. The screen in front of them suddenly began to flare dramatically. "His readings are going off the chart!" The Titans rushed into the infirmary. Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy and Robin held Gale pinned down while Cyborg took a needle and poked it into his arm. The anesthetic took its effect and his struggling eased down until he was immobile like before. "We need to run a CAT scan on him to get to the root of the problem." They rolled the machine in question next to Gale's bed, so that the main part rested over his head. Then remained silent throughout the process, until Cyborg pulled it away.

"Well… what is it?" Robin inquired.

"Slade's mask contained a chemical reagent that's infiltrated his central nervous system. That's what's wrong with him."

"Then how are we to make Gale normal again?" Starfire wondered.

Cyborg sighed in desperation. "I'm not sure."

"I think I know how," Raven spoke up. "The person the reagent is making Gale see is in his mind."

"Okay, and where are you getting with this?"

"I need to go into his mind, like you and Beast Boy did when you found my mirror."

Beast Boy stared at the young sorceress for a moment. "Are you crazy!"

"The stuff he inhaled is putting stress on his brain and endangering his body. If I dive into his mind and help set it right, he'll return to normal."

"Raven…"

"Robin I have to do this. Otherwise Gale might not make it."

"Robin, please," Starfire said softly. "If Raven can save him, then we should let her do so."

"Isn't there a better way?" Raven shook her head in response to Beast Boy's question. "Well, if there really isn't any other choice, then I vote for."

"Same here," Cyborg added.

"It's unanimous."

The Titan's caster nodded at this. "You guys should wait outside."

"Raven, just do your best."

"I will." Cyborg, Robin, Starfire and Beast Boy walked out of the infirmary, leaving the two others alone in there. Raven sat cross legged and hovered in mid air next to her friend. She breathed deeply and chanted her mantra slowly. "Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos." Her eyes glowed white, and then she felt her energy, her soul, flow into Gale.


When Raven landed on solid ground, she opened up her eyes, and blinked at what lay around her. She was in a wide clearing in a forest dotted with all manner of trees, from twenty feet tall to mere seedlings. Above was a clear blue sky, populated by a few drifting wisps of white and a noontime sun. In the middle of the clearing, was a playground, much like one would find in a schoolyard. As she walked over to it, he noticed two figures, a small boy wearing a light colored shirt and jeans, happily playing around, and a young man with darker clothes who was standing aside while watching him. Upon closer examination, she saw that both of them were Gale, a fact that was given away by the brown wings sticking out through their backs. "Yipeee, a visitor!" the little boy exclaimed gleefully as he saw Raven coming. He abandoned his sand castle and rushed to meet the Titan's sorceress. "Hi miss Raven! I'm Happy!"

"Yeah, I can see that."

"Look at this!" Happy then turned around and ran to a pile of leaves nearby, jumping in the midst of them. "Weeeee!"

"Excitable little guy," she commented.

"Indeed," the older one agreed, keeping an eye on his younger counterpart as he stood face to face with Raven. "He is all of Gale's happier memories put together and given form."

"And you are?"

"If you need a name to call to call me, Duty will be fine."

"Listen, I'm here to find out what's wrong with Gale and make him right again. Can you help me?"

"I am obliged to help as I can. But the path to saving your friend is one you must walk alone." Raven nodded in response. He gently placed a palm against her forehead, and then things changed.


Raven found herself in an alleyway like many of those in Jump City. She spotted Gale lying on a beaten up mattress on the ground, from when he still wore his black cloak around himself. He got to his feet, stretched his limbs and started to walk away. A plea for help suddenly arose, at which Gale quickly ran towards it, passing through Raven as if she were a ghost. She followed until he got to a young woman backed against a wall by an unsavory man, where he stepped between the two. Raven simply watched and listened, as the events unfolded, until Gale froze the man in place, warned him clearly to not repeat his actions, and let him go, at which he ran away.

The scenery changed to show Gale standing a distance from a roadside diner. He remained immobile, until Terra and Beast Boy came out in a hurry, and then flew away on a piece of earth which the blond girl pulled out of the ground, Beast Boy's communicator falling to the ground. Raven saw him make his way over to the discarded object and pick it up. He silently cursed to himself, but still answered Robin's call and promised to help.

Again the surroundings changed, this time so that they were on the sidewalk of an almost empty street in Gotham City. Gale was walking peacefully by himself, until a richly dressed couple passed by. The woman stuck up her nose and sneered, while the man scoffed and looked as if the cloaked boy was but a piece of trash. Gale kept walking despite their insults, but a short moment afterwards, he turned around and saw the same two people surrounded by a half dozen men, obviously with ill intentions. A dome of air suddenly appeared around the frightened couple, stopping the muggers in their tracks. They looked around in confusion, until noticing Gale steadily coming towards them. "I got im," the largest one said, then went to meet him.

They stopped at a short distance from each other. "Let them go," Gale ordered in a stern voice, pointing to the couple still quivering from within the dome.

"You're really gonna risk yourself for two pricks like them?" The only response he got was a pair of golden eyes staring at him from under the cloak's hood. "Pff, your funeral." The thug reached for a hunting knife at his belt, but Gale simply flicked his wrist, at which he was blown off his feet and crashed into the dome of air. The five others stood shocked at this, more so when they realized that they were frozen in place. A gust of wind herded them close together, after which transparent walls came into existence, trapping the muggers whose bonds were then released.

The couple's protection no longer necessary, Gale dispersed it. "Call the cops," he said, then turned his back on them and walked away.


Raven found herself standing in front of the young adult version of Gale. "Those were only some of his memories which revolve around duty."

"I see," Raven muttered, her thoughts momentarily flashing back to the first time she'd met Gale up close.

"You should check out what Happy has for you."

The young sorceress nodded at this and walked over to the little boy who was dangling from a set of monkey bars. He let himself drop at halfway when he saw Raven walking towards him. "Hey Miss Raven!"

"Hey," she replied simply.

"Wanna play a game? I show you happy moments, and we both have fun!"

"Sure, go ahead." The young boy clapped his hands, then grabbed Raven's, at which she was taken elsewhere.


Raven stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking empty grassland, a version of Gale similar to Happy next to her. "Okay then, this is it." He sprinted the short distance to the very edge and leapt off. The young sorceress followed as his wings expanded and carried him through the sky. His feelings leaked into her, the thrill of flying for the first time, the adrenaline rush that came with it, the air blowing against his face and the sensation of floating so high.

The scene changed once again. This time to a typical looking kitchen in a well kept apartment building. A cake made like a bald eagle rested on a round wooden table, a candle shaped into a '9' lit up in the center. Alongside it was a box covered in red and yellow wrapping paper. A woman walked into the room, directing a blindfolded Gale who was nearly identical to the last towards the table. She was in her early thirties, wore dark blue jeans and a shirt with 'Adam's Bakery' written on the front. She had long sleek black hair, deep green eyes and a caring motherly appearance. "Can I look now?" he asked when they stopped.

"Just let me take the blindfold off." The woman untied the blindfold, opening up his eyes to the sight of cake and a present in front of him. "Happy birthday, Amicus." She pulled out a chair for him to sit on. "Come on now, blow the candle and make a wish." The little boy thought for a moment, then blew the candle out. "Here you go," she said as she pushed the present towards him.

He tore away the wrapping paper, opening a small box from which contained a piece of paper with handwriting. It read 'I.O.U an outing to wherever you like.' He hopped off his chair and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Thank you mommy, you're the greatest!"

From here the kitchen shifted into a simple bedroom, nighttime showing through the window. Gale wore a set of green Mickey Mouse pajamas, rubbing his eyes as he trudged along to the bed and climbed in. His mother came in soon after, gently grabbing the blankets and covering her son with them. "Love you, Amicus."

"Love you mommy."

"Good night and sleep well."

"Good… night," he said with a yawn, his mother giving him a loving look as she watched him fall asleep.

Raven was then taken to the rooftop of Titans' Tower, and was surprised to see herself standing behind Gale. Looking at the scene, she recognized it to be the moment leading up to Gale joining their team. She watched and listened as they spoke, until her other self said those words which took away his sadness and he thanked her for them.


Raven reappeared at the playground, Happy looking at her expectantly. "How was it?"

"It was… interesting, and helpful."

"Yayyyy! Glad to have helped!"

"Thanks, but I'm afraid I'll have to go."

"Okay then. Just follow the trail through the forest," Happy indicated a small dirt road leading through the woods. "Bye Miss Raven!"

"Goodbye and good luck," Duty said as she walked away.


The Titan's sorceress walked down the beaten path, pondering on what she'd seen so far. The memories Duty had shown unveiled more about his character, while those from Happy had revealed some of his past. While these thoughts passed through her head, a figure ran by in front of her. She looked in the direction it had gone, and saw that it resembled the other memory being she'd already met. Raven chased after it, running as fast as she could across the forest floor. She managed to keep her objective in sight, progressively gaining ground, until coming within shouting distance. "Wait!"

The figure stopped in its tracks and didn't move as Raven walked over. When she got close, he turned around to face her. This particular version of her friend looked just like the present Gale, although he wore no clothes from the waist up, thus exposing the symbol on his chest. "Greetings Raven," he spoke with a mystifying and ancient sounding voice. "I am Mystery."

"Is that why you had to run away from me?"

"I embody that which remains a secret even to your friend. I am the things he does not know or understand about himself."

"And that would be..."

"I merely represent such things. I do not possess the knowledge of what they mean. However, I can show you what you have come to see. Come closer." Raven took a step forward, at which the mark on his chest began to glow and the forest faded away.


A child version of Gale was sitting down at the kitchen table with his mother, munching halfheartedly on a chocolate chip cookie. "Is there something wrong?"

"Mommy, what was dad like?"

She thought about what to say for a moment before answering. "I first met him when I was on a hike in the woods with a group. I ended up getting separated from them and was lost, until he found me. Your father was… dazzling. He was very kind and considerate, took me into his arms and brought me back to the group. We saw each other many times afterward, fell in love and everything was just perfect."

"Why didn't he stay?"

"Because he was called away and had to leave. And even though he was gone just after you were born, he loved you very much."

The scenery changed to a rural road at early evening, with no vehicles coming from either direction. Gale, covered in his cloak, was walking on the side, chewing on an apple in his hand. He threw it away when there was nothing but the core left. That done, he tied his cloak into a bundle on his back, and making sure that no cars were coming, stretched out his wings and took to the air. Gale glided along at a moderate speed, eyes intermittently sweeping across the ground below. At one point, he spotted a sign which indicated that Jump City was fifty miles away. "Go forth, Amicus," a feminine voice spoke within his mind, unknown, yet somehow familiar. "Things will soon change for the better."

This time, the young caster was taken to the scene where she and her friends had fought against Terra for the first time. The blond girl in question was floating on a boulder, opposite Gale who was hovering with his wings stretched out. Raven heard him shout in Latin, feeling his confusion at just having done that. Then came the moment when Terra commanded the boulder she held aside to fly towards him and he cut it apart with a wave of air. But both that and a second rock broke apart before hitting their intended targets. Raven watched the rest unfold, until she saw the same image which flashed through Gale's mind, of a woman outlined in earthen brown who seemed similar to Terra.

Following that, Raven landed at the aftermath of a different fight in Jump City. Her winged friend stood alone, amidst the destruction caused by his powers and enemies. The giant made up of Cinderblock, Plasmus and Overload was immobile on the ground, as were many of Slade's ruined combat robots. He placed a hand to his chest when the ground began to shake. The sensation from the mark seeped into Raven, who felt it as Terra's powers were at work, and when they stopped and it went cold.


"Well?" Mystery asked when she stood before him again.

"It seems strange that there's this much he doesn't know about himself," Raven muttered.

The figure before her simply shrugged his shoulders. "That's just the way it is. Who knows? Maybe someday he'll find the answers, or maybe they'll just remain a mystery."

Raven noticed that the path she'd run off from was out of sight. "Speaking of which, where am I supposed to go now?" He pointed his thumb to a trail of footprints which began a few feet off to the side and kept going in a mostly straight line. She wordless left Mystery behind and followed the tracks.


"How's it coming along?" Robin asked.

"Gale looks like he's doing a little better," Cyborg responded while looking at the screen in front of them. "But he's still got a long way to go."

"I hope that friend Raven is successful in making him better," Starfire said.

"We'll just have to wait and see," Beast Boy added.


Raven continued walking alongside the footsteps, until they stopped in front of a massive oak tree. She went up to its base, looking for something to help her out, when the ground suddenly gave out and she slid a short distance down a hole. Dusting herself off as she got to her feet, Raven realized that she was in an underground tunnel, with the occasional shaft of light casting a dim glow through the ceiling. "Forward it is." She started down the earthen tunnel at the same pace she'd previously been going. The young teenager noticed how the walls were pointedly blank, as if someone had purposefully swept everything aside and left nothing but seemingly lifeless dirt. After going on like this for a short while, she happened to see an alcove in one of the walls up ahead, and the outline of a person crouched within. "Umm, hello."

The figure sighed and raised its head, showing a pair of golden eyes. He slowly dragged himself out and stood up in front of Raven. This one was Gale as she remembered, except that he had dull gray clothing all over, unkempt hair and a disheartened expression on his face. "What is it?" he asked, his tone of voice as glum as his appearance.

"I'm here to help."

"So you say. I'm Depression, not that anyone cares."

"You have memories within you, right?" He nodded slowly. "Then I need to see them."

Depression sighed and let his shoulders slump. "If you want to see happy times, you're in the wrong place." Regardless of its gloomy disposition, Gale's mental projection still reached out and placed his index finger against her forehead.

A collection of memories appeared to Raven, flashing from one to the other. Gale sitting on a platform of air over a skyscraper while looking out at Titans' Tower, longing in his voice as he muttered to himself. Sitting alone against a school's wall, while the other children were staying away from him. Walking into the lunchroom of an orphanage, and running back out as the woman in charge freaked out at his appearance and children his age threw food, utensils and all manner of things at him. Clutching his coat around him as he walked through a hallway filled with students, many of whom jeered and mocked him. Molding a small statue of air and showing it to a familiar man sitting on a couch in front of a television, then turning around disappointedly as the man ignored his existence and the little girl next to him stuck out her tongue rudely.

Raven saw a few more memories of the same kind, before returning to the underground tunnel with Depression standing in front of her. "There you go," he said, letting his arm fall back. "Like I said, happy times aren't here." He started to crawl back into the alcove.

"Wait, please," Raven said.

He turned his head to look at her. "I suppose you want to know where to go next." Depression lazily waved its hand, and one of the shafts of light in the ceiling opened widely enough for her to go through. She then floated upward and out of the tunnel.


The Titan's sorceress found herself standing at the foot of a mountain. It was of great height, the peak touching dark angry clouds. Elsewhere the sky seemed as clear as she'd seen in the beginning, but it was as if a storm was purposefully gathered around the mountain and nowhere else. Its slope climbed at a steep angle, albeit still manageable, and was seeded with rocks of all sorts, many of them wicked, sharp and jagged. However, this was hardly an obstacle for Raven, who simply levitated over the surface.

She went forward and up in a steady manner, intent on reaching the mountaintop where she hoped to find the critical memory behind her friend's condition. The only sound was the seemingly distant rumbling that originated from the clouds. Just before reaching halfway, Raven came to a platform in front of a wall six feet tall and three wide. Sitting against the stone wall with his knees held against his chest, was a mirror image of Gale as she'd seen in Happy's second memory. He looked up just enough to see Raven, and began to quiver, apparently frightened.

"W-what d-do you want with m-me?" the little boy stuttered.

She knelt down to be at his level and tried to sound reassuring. "You're one of Gale's mental projections, aren't you?"

"Y-yes. I'm F-F-Fearful. P-please, d-don't hurt me."

"I'm not going to do anything bad. I just want to see whatever memory you have. Okay?" He gave a barely perceptible nod, at which Raven gently placed a hand on his shoulder and was taken into another of Gale's moments.


Gale was sitting at a desk in a classroom, alone except for an elderly woman with spectacles at the bridge of her nose who was reading a magazine. A sheet of paper was stretched out before him, and a small tray of different colored paints lay at hand. He was doing the final touches on a painting which showed a blue sky with some clouds and the sun shining down on a grassy field. Another patch of fluffy white, and it was deemed to be finished. "Miss Meyer?" he called to the teacher.

She looked up at him from her reading. "Hmm?"

"I'm done."

"Leave everything there, I'll take care of it."

Gale set down the materials and picked up a simple knapsack from the floor. He slung it over his back, buttoned up his blue coat the rest of the way and walked out of the classroom. He went down the corridor by himself, until being accosted by four kids, years older, one of whom Raven noticed was none other than Johnny Rancid at a young age. "Hey, check it out, it's the pointy ear dweeb!" one of his followers pointed out.

"You mean the pointy ear, yellow eye and green skin dweeb," Rancid corrected.

"What do you want?" Gale asked hesitantly, backing away from them.

"Ha! The little twerp talks!" another mocked.

"He must be some sort of reject science project."

"Or a freak of nature."

"Hey, freako! You hiding anything else?" Johnny asked.

"No," Gale lied, fear beginning to creep into him.

"Yeah right, like we're gonna believe you. Let's get im!" At that, the little boy bolted away from them, heading for the nearest exit as fast as he could. As he ran, he pulled off his backpack's straps and dropped it to the floor. The four older kids kept up the pursuit, chasing after him as he dashed out the door. For a brief moment it looked as though Gale might succeed in getting away, but he had the misfortune of tripping because of an uneven clump of grass, at which they pounced on him like predators after prey.

One of them picked him up by the collar and ripped open his coat, revealing a dark blue t-shirt. Johnny punched Gale in the stomach, while the first jerked off his coat and smacked him in the head with it. They kicked his sides a few times, before Rancid grabbed the front of his shirt. "Please, don't," Gale pleaded, fear plastered over his face.

The older boy simply ignored his request and pulled it over his head. While the four of them were surprised by the mark on his chest, they were taken aback more by his brown feathered wings. "Look at that, the freak's got wings!" They went to lash out at him again, but suddenly stopped and fell to the ground, clutching their throats. Gale shakily got up, and looked down at his aggressors, who were breathing again, if still unconscious. He then hurriedly put his coat back on and ran away, shaken by what they'd done to him and him to them.


Raven leaned back from Fearful as she returned to the platform. "You did that?"

"P-p-please! I d-didn't mean t-to!" the little boy answered, quivering in fright. "They were m-mean! I was sc-c-scared! It j-just happened!"

"I'm not going to hurt you," she reminded him. "But I still need to find exactly what's causing Gale's irregular behavior."

Fearful carefully got up and placed his hand against the wall behind him, at which a doorway appeared, big enough for Raven to pass through with ease. "The last one's in there," he mumbled. The young sorceress nodded to him and stepped through, the doorway sealing up behind her.


The interior was a wide corridor, with light coming from torches hanging on stone walls at intervals. Raven single-mindedly continued walking forward, concentrated on finding the memory behind the cause of their troubles. After going on in this manner for some time, she got to a point where the tunnel opened up into a sizeable space. In the very middle was a large stone column, with a staircase leading upward sculpted into it.

Seeing no other options presented before her, Raven went to the round staircase and headed upward. A set of handrails were carved into the column's inner walls, which were otherwise blank. She kept moving around and up, her boots against the stone steps making a light tapping sound, until the staircase ended in the middle of a room apparently close to the mountaintop. Thick glass windows gave an insight to the raging storm outside. Candlesticks and torches cast their dim light, making it seem like the shadows were dancing. Against the wall, directly opposite from where Raven had come from, was a throne made of dark clouds.

The figure seated upon it was an adult version of Gale, similar to Duty, except that it wore clothes with fiery colors. It held a wooden scepter in one hand, while the other lay on the armrest. Its eyes were golden, like all the others she'd seen, but his were radiating fury. "Hello, Raven," he spoke, a film of anger seeping into his voice.

"Fury? Or is it Rage?"

"Rage!" he spat out.

"You know why I'm here?"

"Of course I bloody well know! You stroll in here after looking through the others' memories, what else could you possibly want?"

"I've been searching for the answer as to why Gale went out of control. Since the path has led me right here, it must mean that the memory I'm looking for is here and that you have it."

"And what makes you think I'll show it to you? Why should I?"

"The reagent is causing him harm because of that specific memory. I need to see it."

"WHY SHOULD I CARE!" he shouted, his voice booming in every spare inch of the room.

"Because, if Gale doesn't survive, then neither will you."

Rage breathed deeply, still fuming with anger. "So be it!" he said in a moderately calmer tone. He, his throne and his scepter disappeared in a flash of light which washed over Raven.


The teenaged sorceress was now in the middle of one of the streets in Jump City. She could see destruction sown about, cars overturned, buildings wrecked, the street cracked, sidewalks torn apart and other such things. Gale's mother was running with her son, pursued by some demonic being. Raven turned around and saw the giant from the photo in the Herald's archives. A man ten feet tall, bleached white hair, a malefic expression on his face, purely black eyes, with an aura of dark energy, black around his head. The evil giant raised his hand and shot out a dark purple bolt of energy which struck the ground and tossed both back, causing them to land apart from each other.

The being laughed maliciously at them. "I must say, I do rather enjoy these powers. I had never realized how much fun this could be. But, as it would be safer to make sure no one interferes while I'm amusing myself…" He fixed his gaze on Gale directly. "I'm afraid I'll have to go through the process of removing any threat in the area." It raised its arm and gathered up another bolt in the palm of its hand, this one almost pitch black. "So long, little boy." And then he released the energy.

Gale's mother rose from where she lay and jumped at her son, pushing him out of the way, but causing the bolt to strike her dead center. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted when he saw his mother lying hurt. He scrambled next to her and held her head in his arms. "No, this can't be," he whimpered. "Please, don't leave. I need you mommy."

"How pathetic," the giant remarked, looking down at him as if he were of no threat.

Gale's mother weakly raised her hand and brought it to his cheek. "Be brave Amicus. I love you." And then her body slumped as she died.

"No," Gale said through tears. "Mommy… Please… No."

The evil being yawned in boredom. "Ok kid, you've had long enough already. She's said her last words, and now you've said yours." Crackling black energy started to gather in the palm of his hand again. "Buh bye." He released a large wave of energy directly towards Gale, and it exploded, kicking up a cloud of dust which prevented Raven from seeing anything. But when it cleared, the winged boy was still kneeling next to his mother, surrounded by a hardened dome of air. "NO! IMPOSSIBLE!"

Gale gently let go of his mother's head and dispersed the barrier so he could stand up. Sadness had been replaced by anger. Raven could sense cold rage emanating from him on an incredible scale as he stared directly at the giant, who stepped back with unease. "You will pay for this."

He then conjured a wave of air which caught the evil being full face and swept him off his feet like a rag doll. This was followed by a gust of wind from the opposite direction that sent him forward again, only to have the air underneath explode and hurl him upward. His flight was short lived, as another wave of air slammed him down hard into the pavement.

The giant managed to get up, and was swiftly struck by razor sharp gusts of wind which left a series of gashes all over his body. Twin blades of air then flew straight towards him and left a pair of deep cuts just below the ribs on either side. He attempted to retaliate with an energy covered fist, but Gale simply willed the air to converge around his arm, stopping him short. He ordered a lightning bolt of energy to strike down, but it hit a wall of air instead, which then split and became two spikes that impaled both his hands. His ankles were restrained as a beam of wind pounded him on the nose and caused him to fall back.

"Please, no more!" the giant begged. "Show some mercy!"

"Mercy, you want mercy?" Gale commanded air to slam into his adversary's stomach, like a strong punch to the gut. "YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT IT!" A tornado came into existence around the giant, picking him up off his feet and blowing hard, though Gale's voice could still be heard. "YOU SHOWED HER NO MERCY, AND I WILL RESPOND IN KIND! PEREO, CREATURA OF MALUM!" The tornado rose from the ground, lifting him higher and higher, until he seemed scarcely more than a speck in the distance. And then, it reversed its flow and carried him back down, slamming him in the ground with such ferocity that the impact resonated outward. Gale walked over to the spot the giant had crashed.

He looked down and saw his enemy lying at the bottom of a crater that had been formed by the landing. His usual dark aura was dimmed, which made it easier to see the cuts and bruises outlining his battered and broken body. Black energy flared around the giant, consuming him and leaving nothing behind. Raven looked at the little boy in surprise as the image before her faded away.


The female Titan found herself in the mountaintop cave like before, though it was now barren, apart from the windows, through which one could see a clear sky. But most noticeable, was Gale appearing before her in his uniform. They both stared at each other, neither saying a word. "Are you alright?"

Gale blinked, not having expected her question. "Umm, yeah, I'm fine."

"There was a chemical reagent in Slade's mask. It went into your central nervous system and convinced you there was someone there who wasn't. The more you fought him, the more it caused you harm."

The winged teenager sighed. "I guess I should start explaining the memories you've seen."

"Wait until I'm out and you've woken up. Then come see me to talk."

"Okay." That said, Raven disappeared from his mind.


The other Titans were loafing around just outside the infirmary, still waiting for the end results. Beast Boy took a kleenex from a box and blew his nose. Their attention focused on Raven when she came out. "Did it work?" Cyborg asked.

"Please tell us, is friend Gale alright?" Starfire said in a hopeful tone.

"He's fine. You can go check on him."

They did just that and walked in to see their winged friend groggily sitting up in the hospital bed. "Hey Gale!" Beast Boy greeted him.

"You feeling okay?" Cyborg asked.

"Well enough. Sorry about how I was with you guys."

"We're glad to see you're back to normal," Robin said. "But could you just explain a little about this bad guy you were seeing?"

"Seven years ago, there was an experiment in Wayne Enterprise being made on some guy. Apparently, something went wrong with it. He gained the ability to use dark energy in different forms, kind of the same way Starfire does, and could also sense metahumans. So, upon breaking out, he rampaged through the city until reaching me. I was too slow and a civilian died." Gale managed to keep his voice controlled, even as he said the last part.

"What happened to the guy?" Robin inquired.

"We fought, but his powers ended up frying him."

"I am sorry," Starfire said with a sincere expression.

"You don't need to beat yourself up over this," Beast Boy added. "I mean, you've done a lot of stuff when you were with us and by yourself."

"Including when you took down that giant monster of Slade's and all those robots," Cyborg reminded him.

Gale gave them a shallow smile in return. "Thanks."


After running a scan to ensure that the reagent was out of Gale's system, he was declared clean. The Titans then walked out of the infirmary and headed towards their rooms. However, Gale walked up to Raven's door instead. He knocked and stood there by himself. A brief moment later, and she opened her door a crack. "Come in," she said, then let him enter.

The walls of Raven's room were dark and lined with bookshelves containing many, many books. Additional shelves had little statuettes, candles and other miscellaneous items. "You should sit," Gale suggested. "This might take a while." Raven walked over to her bed, which was backed against the far wall and sat down on the edge. She motioned for him to sit down next to her, which he did. "Well, to start, my name isn't really Gale."

"Your memories showed as much," she said dryly.

"Of course. My real name is Amicus Rhodes. My mother was Kelly Rhodes and my father… well, I never exactly knew who, or what he was. Whatever's the case with him, I was born in Jump City on the 24th of May, exactly 16 years ago. When I was two, my mother married a guy named Rick White and my half sister, Katherine, was born not too long afterwards. You know the scientist I saved at the Wayne Enterprise building?"

"That was him?"

"Yeah, he's my stepfather, not that he ever gave a dam about me, something which he passed on to Katherine. Anyway, like a lot of normal children, I started school when I was five years old. I kept my wings folded inside my shirt and almost always wore a coat over top of that. My powers hadn't manifested themselves much, so it was easy to keep them under control, plus my mother told the people there that I had some sort of disease to explain my skin, ears and eyes. And despite the fact that my name means friend, I didn't have any. I was often alone, didn't socialize much, was picked on by others… the usual kind of loner situation."

"I hear you," Raven said, knowing what he meant.

"Life went on without anything really major, until one day when I was eight." Gale frowned as the memory came to him. "I stayed a little later to finish a project for art class. And, well… Johnny Rancid and his stooges came after me in the hallway. Like you know, I tried to run, made it outside, tripped and they started to hit me. They ripped off my coat and t-shirt and saw these." He extended his wings to give point. "Then they went to beat me up even further and…"

"What happened then?" she asked in a gentle tone of voice.

"I panicked. I got so scared… my powers just went off by themselves. And without really understanding how, I… I pulled the air from their lungs until they passed out." Raven remained silent as her friend breathed in a few times before continuing. "After that, I ran back home to my mother and told her what had happened. She held me in her arms, listened as I talked, and told me everything was alright." Gale had a wistful tone as he spoke the last part. "I stayed at home the next day, which was actually the birthday when I turned nine. That's the one you saw."

"Uh huh," Raven nodded absentmindedly at this.

"We went out to the park two days later. At that time, my stepfather was working on an experiment, something to do with being able to detect metahumans. They were testing it out when it went wrong. The guy they were trying it on gained the ability to detect metahumans, yes, but he also became a giant capable of using dark energy in rather destructive ways. He broke out of whatever lab he was in and because of my powers, he came straight for me. My mother grabbed me and tried to run… but we didn't stand a chance."

A single teardrop fell onto his cheek, something which Raven noticed. "You don't need to continue."

"He wanted to eliminate me," Gale went on regardless. "but… she got in the way… she saved me… and was struck down in my place. He killed her, took away the only person who ever cared for me, and I couldn't do a thing."

"You were nine years old."

"I had the powers within me," he spoke in a depressed tone. "I could've stopped him if I'd just been able to manifest them sooner." Silence hung in between them for a moment longer. "When he tried to finish me off again… I snapped… got angry, and my powers came up. I wanted to make him pay so badly for what he'd done. After that, his own powers burned him. I ran away… and, well… you know the rest."

Now finished telling his story, Gale broke into a flow of silent tears. Raven did not remain impassive in front of such an emotional display. Instead, she reached out for her friend and wrapped her arms around him. "It's okay now," she muttered into his ear. "It's okay."

They remained like this, Raven comforting Gale until he was finished crying in her shoulder. "Thank you Raven. I've never really been able to open up to anyone after losing my mother. You've done a great deal for me, and I can't thank you enough."

"I'm just glad that you're alright again," she said with a warm smile on her face.

"I think I'll go get some rest now. Thanks again." With that, Gale stood up and walked back to his own room, feeling much better with the burden of his past now gone.


There it is! Liked I said, massive! Anyway, please review if you don't mind and tell me what you thought about it!

Me: Satisfied?

Gale: Yeah, good job. You kept your word for that part.

Raven: Question here.

Me: Yes?

Raven: Is there going to be any more 'moments' between me and Gale?

Me: Definitely! But I'm not telling you what's happening.

Gale: Why not?

Me: Because, I don't want to spill any juicy details until it actually happens.

Raven: Juicy?

Me: Ummmm...

(Raven and Gale stand still, expecting an answer)

Me: Bye now! (opens up a zipper in mid air, jumps through and then it disappears)