Quality Time

by BlueTitan

Attempting to make the best of bad weather, the Titans engage in a little game of Truth or Dare. But when the game turns into a bet involving BeastBoy, Raven, and a month of each other's company without killing one another, will a wedge be driven between

14. Mixed Feelings

Quality Time

Quality Time

Chapter 14: Mixed Feelings

BeastBoy stood frozen to the spot as Raven's shadow grew, almost swallowing him in the silhouette of the fuming mystic before him. He didn't know whether it was the shadow that was getting bigger, or Raven herself. He never could be sure. He always felt small when Raven got like this anyway.

Raven began the slow steady march towards him, his highly tuned elfin like ears interpreting her footsteps as boulders dropping from off a cliff. It was almost like he could hear her fury between each menacing stomp.

Anger was clearly present in her eyes, the very same that looked so peaceful moments ago. Amazing what waking up in another dimension can do to your outward expression.

BeastBoy swallowed hard. "Dude," he thought to himself, "What'd I do to deserve this?" He thought for a moment. He didn't have that much time to accurately list every infraction with Raven.

"U-U-Uh… ah…. ee…," BeastBoy tried in vein to explain himself, but he was too overcome, almost choking off the residual anger that seemed to be pouring out of Raven like a smokestack, he couldn't even form a syllable.

Raven came to a stop a foot away. Not a word, not even a sound, barring the mildly heavy breathing, which chugged from beneath her nostrils like a locomotive. She stared daggers at the green boy before her, hands at her sides, palms flat, fingers curled upward as if ready to claw and rip into him at will.

BeastBoy remained motionless as if clinging to the wishful belief that somehow she'd lose sight of him if he didn't move.

Raven's emotional counterparts stood on all sides; almost equally wary as to what was about transpire. Cautiously looking from Raven to BeastBoy and back.

"S-Sh…Shouldn't we say something?" Timid squeaked almost as alarmed as BeastBoy.

"Usually words are spoken after the funeral," Rude yawned back, lazily scratching her back, looking on with a daze.

Raven took a step forward, eyes narrowed, unable to hear her doppelgangers, so focused on BeastBoy she'd nearly blotted out all sound.

A bead of sweat dripped down the side of BeastBoy's face. He knew Raven was angry. He knew she was angry with him. For once, he plainly knew 'why' she was angry with him. But that was about as far as his brain was able to function. It was sending so many signals to the rest of his body he couldn't keep up. It was telling his legs to run, but they wouldn't move. It was telling his mouth to open, but no words came out. Which was all the more frustrating.

He knew Raven's mirror was off limits but he had a legitimate reason. At least, a legitimate reason that didn't involve ninja vampires or any other crudely constructed tale of fantasy, as was the common practice of saving his skin. So how come the one time he could use reason and logic it was just out of reach?

"This… is a bad thing, right?" Happy asked barely with a smile, even her cheerful optimism beginning to run dry.

Brave sighed. "Yes, I think it would be safe to say, BeastBoy getting blown to bits inside of Raven's head would fit nicely into the BAD THINGS CATEGORY."

Raven took another step. "Beast…" she raised her arms above her chest, beginning to reach out in a grabbing motion, "…BOY!"

"Eep," was all BeastBoy could get out as Raven's feet sprang from the ground.

Brave and Knowledge exchanged brief glances. "Intervention!" they shouted in unison, thinking on the same channel.

In an instant they darted forward, catching Raven in mid lunge, her arm outstretched, only inches away from making contact with the petrified statue that was BeastBoy. They clutched her tightly, frantically restraining her, doing their best to keep Raven's shoulders locked under their arms, nearly dragging her.

"LET ME GO!" Raven bellowed, not taking her eyes off BeastBoy, her head twisting and thrashing, pushing and straining to reach for him.

More suited for matters of the mind, Knowledge was less equipped for physical incarceration. She was struggling to keep her hold. "Calm down," she shouted, dodging Raven's elbow flying back and forth, trying to break free, "A little restraint, if you please."

"Restraints would help right about now," Brave said, putting her back into keeping Raven from swinging forward.

Happy and Timid stepped out in front of BeastBoy, blocking Raven's line of sight. Maybe she'd calm down if she weren't able to look directly at him. Happy gave a renewed smile, spreading her arms out, flailing them wildly as if hoping to distract her. Timid was far less optimistic, almost quivering, holding her hands.

Their attempt was in vein, as it only served to infuriate her more. She struggled even harder.

Rude looked on, fairly concerned, but one certainly couldn't tell from her lazy, carefree facade. Anger on the other hand watched with an exceptional amount of mean spirited glee. She looked as if she were enjoying it. Not surprising, considering she was practically feeding on Raven's irritation, drinking it in through the air, almost like sunlight nurturing a flower. It was such healthy doses of her respective emotion that sustained her.

Rude looked over her shoulder at the content, red clad emotion. "I suppose you're happy," she muttered. "Raven's blown her top, everybody else is tryin' to keep green jeans from being battered and bruised, and this whole thing is majorly cuttin' into my beauty sleep," she yawned. "What more could ya want?"

Anger grinned, hovering in the air with her chin resting on her fist, watching the whole spectacle. "Popcorn?"

Meanwhile, Knowledge and Brave continued to struggle. Raven still fought, pushing to shake her counterparts with nothing more than raw aggression, still focused on her target at hand.

"Doesn't this chick ever get tired?" Brave shouted, starting to feel the strain and aggravation of trying to keep Raven steady when she hadn't let up after four whole minutes of nothing but blowing off steam.

Knowledge dug her heels into the ground, attempting to anchor Raven with dead weight. "Statistically speaking, she's accumulated more slumber and unconscious ailment related down time throughout the course of almost three quarters of the day. It's only natural that her potential energy reserve's at maximum capacity."

"Pretend I understood that," Brave grunted, following Knowledge's example, rooting her feet firmly into the ground.

"She's expended less energy, and whatever was depleted was replenished, so she's got a lot more to burn." Knowledge responded.

"If the science lesson if over," Brave said, aggravated while having to fight and think at the same time, "How much longer can she keep this up?!"

"According to my calculations…" Knowledge crunched numbers in her head, "Approximately twenty-two point six minutes."

"Aw, crud!" Brave said, sorry she asked. "Well, you're the smart one. Can't ya calm her down?"

"What do you want me to do, tell her to stop it?" Knowledge grunted in between tugs. "It's not like she's receptive to rational thought at the moment."

Raven was starting to loosen their grip around her. She could feel their fingers slowly start to slip.

Anger snickered. "Oh, yes," she said wickedly, anticipating the best was yet to come. This was better than pay-per-view. It was no secret BeastBoy could get on Raven's nerves, but had she known he could yield such negative energy out of Raven, she'd have lured him into her mirror long ago.

Raven gave another forceful push, all the more determined to teach BeastBoy a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. It was bad enough the first time he'd gone into her mirror, but to do it again, right under nose, and under the pretense of being sick? That was the final straw.

"Sh-She's looking even scarier," Timid choked out, hiding behind Happy's shoulder.

"Nah!" Happy shook her head. "She's just…"

The two looked at Raven's enraged expression. Happy didn't say it out loud, but Raven was starting to look a bit more intimidating than usual. Even the time BeastBoy stuffed her hood with chocolate pudding never made her this mad.

"…Then again," Happy giggled.

Knowledge too was beginning to suspect something was awry. She closely examined her facial expression, which was still set squarely on BeastBoy. Her eyes were almost burning and the corner of her mouth curled to bare her teeth. It was no mystery when she woke up, finding herself in her mirror along with BeastBoy, some misunderstandings were bound to occur. She'd no doubt smack him upside his head and demand an explanation at most. But now?

She'd never seen Raven this angry. Even the circumstances and her lack of understanding as to why BeastBoy had gone into her mirror wouldn't set Raven off to this degree. No matter how mad she'd gotten, she'd always managed to exercise some degree of restraint. But now, to see her so furious, so hell bent, it was baffling.

Something wasn't right. But what could be…

Knowledge looked off to the side at Anger, levitating in comfort at a premium vantage point. An evil pompous grin across her face, no doubt at their expense, finding delight in this debacle.

"Urgh!" Brave grunted, straining more and more. "Just like her to sit on the sidelines when she could actually be doing something to help. She gets snippy when things get dull, but Raven goes nuts, and she doesn't even lift a finger. You'd think she was operating her by remote control."

The gears in Knowledge's mind clicked.

"Oh no," Knowledge whispered, eyes wide as the last piece of information became clear in her mind. Knowledge began with a new sense of urgency, more determined to stop Raven than before. She hoisted on her arm, frantically backpedaling, trying put the brakes on.

"Hey, brainy! What gives?" Brave asked with a proud tone, "You get your second wind?"

"We've got to stop her, NOW!" Knowledge exclaimed.

"Really? As opposed to what we been tryin' to do?" Brave responded with aggravated sarcasm.

Knowledge strained even harder. "You don't understand. She's…"

At that instant Raven broke free, scattering the two emotions to the ground. Taking only a second to draw breath, she lunged for BeastBoy once more, closing the minor distance she'd been dragged from.

Timid yelped, pulling her hood over her eyes and crossing her arms over her head, trembling. Happy cheerfully took a step beside her, arms wide open, as if being a smiling barrier. As hesitant as the both of them were, they were all that was standing between BeastBoy and what looked like certain annihilation.

"Y-You do know s-s-she's gonna' trample us," Timid squeaked.

"Probably," Happy waved her arms like a matador shaking a red cape at a charging bull. "But we gotta' be the two bravest speed bumps ever."

Knowledge and Brave sat up, shaking off their spill to the ground. They looked to find Raven quickly closing the distance between her and BeastBoy, and two of their sister emotions attempting to bar the way.

"Move!" Knowledge shouted. "Get out of the way!"

Brave was already up and running, hoping to stop Raven before it was too late. She could only guess what she was going to do by the way she'd cast off her and Knowledge.

Brave pumped her legs hard against the ground, bolting towards her. But she knew she was only fooling herself. Raven had too much of a lead. She'd never get to her in time.

Raven took to the air a second time, fists clenched, this time determined to find her mark.

"Wha-Oh!" Happy said in peppy tone, "Here we go again."

Timid shrieked, arms up in front of her, shaking in fear, eyes shut tight. She could tell just by looking Raven wasn't just going to knock them aside. She was going to plow right through them.

BeastBoy snapped out of his daze, looking from Raven to the two of her counterparts standing in front of him. He could plainly guess what was about to happen. "Raven!" he shouted. BeastBoy pushed his way through the two of them, standing right out in front, arms outstretched. "C'mon, Raven! Cut it out!" he tried in a last ditch effort to reason with her. "Stop! I'm sorry!"

Raven merely sneered wider, closing in, her target now right out in the open.

BeastBoy might have been worried, frightened even, at the sight of a charging Raven with no sign of restraint, about to knock him clear out of the dimension. But one thing he wasn't was willing to settle for was someone else to take a thrashing meant for him.

"Aww, how sweet," Anger mused to herself. "Chivalry isn't dead. …Yet."

Raven was coming in towards BeastBoy at high speed, dive-bombing right for him.

Anger's eyes lit up with anticipation, a wicked smile on her face. This was going to be good.

Raven reeled back her arm, an aura of black energy encircling her fist, preparing to deliver an epic blow.

BeastBoy turned his head to the side, eyes shut, gritting his teeth, bracing for impact.

Raven dropped right in front of him, finally in range. She swung.

Anger's eyes snapped wide open.

…

BLAM!

A powerful wind kicked up, almost like a scattered maelstrom, the backlash of Raven's power released from such a concentrated strike. Raven's emotions shielded their eyes, even Rude expending the energy to duck and cover. Knowledge strained her eyes to see what was happening, but the wind was far too intense to see clearly. Everything was a blur.

A mere moment later, the wind began to die down, parting as quickly as it had begun.

Brave sat up, having been on the move as the shockwave kicked in. She had been sent tumbling a few yards back. Aside from being turned into a human tumbleweed, she was for the better part unharmed, and was quick to shake it off and resume her advance to the center of the disturbance.

A faint breeze marked the last of the aftershock as Happy peeked one eye open.

"Are… Are we dead?" Timid squeaked, still too frightened to even dare to look.

Happy slowly surveyed her surroundings, verifying everything around them to still be in tact. She held up her hand, looking at it from both front and back, certain she couldn't see through it, confirming they indeed were not ghosts. "Nope," she smirked, "The meters' still runnin'."

"A-Are you sure?" Timid asked, worry still strong in her voice. She paused a moment, but still covering her eyes. "What about BeastBoy?"

Happy's restored cheerfulness took a brief lapse, turning back to look, hoping they weren't the only survivors.

A moment passed.

"W…Well?" Timid asked, fairly alarmed at no immediate response.

…

"Whoa…" Happy said in a euphoric state of awe.

Brave and Knowledge finally caught up stopping short a few feet away. Even Rude was sluggishly making her way over. But no one made a sound. The silence was beginning to startle Timid more and more. Not so much as a gasp.

Finally giving into curiosity, she slowly pried her eyes open, peeking through her fingers.

BeastBoy stood just as he was before. Arms still out, eyes shut, looking off to the side, still frozen into position, petrified to the spot. The subtle motions of his shoulders slowly rising and falling indicated breathing, so she became fairly confident he was indeed alive. And from the side of his face that was visible, there didn't appear to be any bruising or a trace of blood, nor any kind of expression that might suggest pain.

Just above BeastBoy, Timid could make out Raven, still hanging in the air, also seemingly frozen in position, but unable to see her entirely due to BeastBoy obstructing her view.

Had Raven come to her senses at the last second? Or had her powers kicked in as some kind of defense mechanism and stopped her by halting the passage of time like before? But that didn't make any sense. If that were the case, her powers would've stopped the flow of time to everything but her.

Timid shyly and warily took a step to the side, leaning over to try to get a better glimpse at determining what had happened. Happy was already a few steps ahead of her, still looking on with an impressed and almost surprised look to her. The same could be said for all the emotions, as Brave, Knowledge and Rude alike shared similar expressions of astonishment as they inched closer, prompting her to take another few steps.

Timid side stepped next to Happy, not so much afraid anymore as she was puzzled. It was then that she got a full view at what everyone had been gaping at. And she began to share that very same look.

"…whoa," Timid shyly borrowed Happy's words, unable to think of what else to say.

Raven was suspended a few feet off the ground. She hadn't reconsidered her objective, which was proven with great clarity, as her arm was outstretched, still in full on striking fashion. Her face was still burning with frustration and a renewed sense of anger; disdain clear on her face as her eyes narrowed. It wasn't that she had missed so much as something else had gotten between her and BeastBoy.

At that moment BeastBoy finally cracked an eye himself, curious as to why his body was vacant of the intense pain he was certain had made reservations. Both eyes opened.

Her fist still crackling with telekinetic energy, Raven's arm quivered, as if still trying to bore through the red-cloaked obstacle before her. Anger's face was angled off to the side; parallel to the direction she'd been struck, but her eyes remained trained on Raven, a bitter scowl matching the intensity of Raven's face.

Surprised was the common understatement, but none more so than for Anger herself, though she certainly didn't show it. She was still trying to explain it herself. She was all set to enjoy the moment, with no intention of interfering. She would've been fine with BeastBoy becoming a green stain on the ground, at least she thought. It was like the instant she saw what was actually going to happen her body just took over of its own will. She didn't think. She just reacted.

"She took it," Timid and Happy said in unison just above a whisper.

"Yeah, I can take it," she said coldly, shifting her eyes from the two emotions back to Raven, "Can you?"

Anger cocked back her arm, letting it fly right into Raven's face, knocking her back, tumbling her to the ground. Just because she didn't fully get what was going on was no reason to forget she'd been slugged in the face.

Anger returned her arm to her hip, casually tilting her head to the side with a low crack, then spitting on the ground. Brave dropped into fighting stance, ready for whatever would come next. Timid and Happy took a step back.

Raven quickly sat up, hand over her face. "Agh!" she groaned, one eye shut, "What the heck was th…" She blinked a few times, eyes moving from left to right, as if trying to make sense of things, looking as if she'd just woken up from a bad dream.

Raven's face, previously devoid of understanding and rationality, seemed to be just now starting to comprehend what was going on around her, as if the part of her too blotted out by rage and anger had secluded itself from the rest of her. Confusion was quick to sink in.

"What's… going on here?" Raven asked.

Timid and Happy just stared, holding their breath, considering it to be a ploy to catch them off guard. Brave on the other hand, far better at reading facial reactions could tell her confusion was genuine, and dropped her shoulders, letting her arms fall to her sides, almost disappointed. She was now just as baffled.

"That's what I wanna' know," Brave said with a huff, scratching her head, having been geared up for a fight for nothing.

Raven shook her head, grunting the soreness in her face. "The last thing I recall was falling asleep in my room," she recalled, closing her eyes, as if playing it out in her mind. "It started to get chilly. The next thing I know, I came too here, saw BeastBoy, and then…"

Raven's eyes shot back open.

"BeastBoy!" she exclaimed in a particularly irked manner.

All eyes turned to the green boy of mention, who had yet to budge an inch. BeastBoy merely gave a nervous grin in response. He had a sixth sense when it came to knowing when he was in danger, and when Raven totally wanted to break him in half.

Raven stood, marching over to him. "I don't know what is going on here," she drew her accusing finger under his chin, causing him to flinch, "But I just know you're at the center of it."

BeastBoy was quick to get the impression she was upset with him. He could at least take solace in the fact she wasn't trying to kill him, but that didn't help to alleviate the feeling like he was a disobedient dog being smacked on the nose with a newspaper.

"What happened? Being sick in one dimension isn't good enough, so you had to come here?" she went on. "If killing you weren't such an easy way out of it, I'd…"

Knowledge was quick to get between the two. "Alright, that's enough of that," calmly cutting off Raven before she could get worked up. "Let's not start that all over again."

"Start what?" Raven asked, not taking too kindly to being interrupted. She knew it only gave BeastBoy more time to think of some lame defense that would seemingly justify his actions. "And what exactly is going on here?"

"Well, see…" BeastBoy started.

"Please," Knowledge courteously stopped him. "Let me. You've done so much already," she gave an appreciative smile, straightening her glasses.

"Yeah, I'll bet," Raven said in a snide tone, exchanging one last look.

Knowledge walked past Raven, stopping beside Anger, giving a look of contentment.

"Ugh!" Anger gagged, "You're not gonna' start in on one of those, 'Ya did good' speeches, are you?" Anger crossed her arms, able to predict some long-winded moral dialogue coming on.

"No," Knowledge said.

"Good,' Anger sighed, "Don't thank me either."

"I wasn't going to," Knowledge countered. "You also 'caused' a great deal of this trouble."

"Say what?" Happy giggled.

"I knew it all along," Brave gave Anger the eye.

"Wait! Caused what? What trouble?" Raven asked, not aware what they were talking about. Everything after she woke up was pretty much a blur to her at this point.

"It's alright. I wouldn't expect you to remember," Knowledge turned to Raven, "It wasn't as though you were in a clear state of mind when you were overcome by negative duress, emotional coercion, and then driven into a state where you wanted nothing more than total obliteration of BeastBoy's person."

Raven stared.

BeastBoy stared as well, having been through the whole thing but without a clue what she was talking about. "Huh?"

"Uh, smaller words, four eyes," Brave said casually, "You're losing BeastBoy."

"Hmm?" Knowledge turned back, finding Beastboy indeed lost, trying to understand anything after the words, 'It's alright'. "Oh, my apologies. Let me explain."

"Oh goodie!" Happy bounded onto the ground; sitting with her legs crossed, "Story time!"

"You see, BeastBoy, it's no secret that Raven's powers are driven by her emotions. And whatever she experiences emotionally on the outside, has a direct result on what happens here," Knowledge spread her hand, showcasing the realm of Raven's mind. "However, while inside this realm, her emotions have a much more correlated relationship. In other words, the emotional link Raven shares with each of her respective counterparts swings both ways."

"Cool, huh?" Happy said merrily. "She's like a two-way radio between us."

"Wonder what end ya talk into," Rude folded her arms.

BeastBoy tilted his head, as if trying to flow more blood to the logical part of his brain. "Um… ya mean… whatever Raven feels, they feel? And the other way around?" BeastBoy squeezed his brain cells together, hoping to form an adequate translation.

"To the extent of each emotional boundary, yes. Except that it's to a slightly more extensive scale," Knowledge nodded. "You see, when Raven first woke up, not knowing how she'd gotten from her room to her mind, she was no doubt confused. Confusion often leads to anger, and anger…"

"Leads to her," Brave stuck out her thumb, gesturing towards Anger who merely snarled in response.

"Indeed," Knowledge pushed up her glasses. "While the embodiment of Raven's anger does draw from Raven's outward irritation, while within this domain, it served a joint effect. While Raven's anger mounted, it served to fuel Anger herself. Which in turn, synced back to Raven, causing her to become …hmm… how should I put this?"

"Deranged?" Rude blurted out.

"Scary?" Timid offered.

"Psycho?" Brave added.

"Coo coo bananas?" Happy chimed in.

"Sheesh," Anger fumed, "You say it like it's a bad thing." Which was met by a nudge in the side from Brave's elbow, as if hinting she was in no position to be offered a say in the matter.

"So… Raven didn't even know she was doing it?" BeastBoy asked.

"Quite so," Knowledge nodded again. "Didn't it strike you as odd that she tried to kill you with hardly a word of explanation?"

Everyone, including Raven gave Knowledge a look that seemed to suggest she was overlooking BeastBoy's skill set.

"Uh-huh," she rolled her eyes, clearing her throat, blushing lightly from having missed such a vital piece of data. "I see your point. Still…"

"Yeah, yeah. We get it. BeastBoy's a handful, Raven's harsh," Rude said, starting to get bored. "So how come she just snapped out of it after big red nailed her?"

"Principals of magnetism, I would wager," Knowledge removed her glasses, cleaning the lenses. "Opposites attract. Like repels. Anger cancels out anger."

Raven just shook her head, still having little idea as to what was happening. "So… to sum it all up, you're saying I wound up here, having been taken from my room, while sleeping," Raven counted angrily, moving towards BeastBoy, "Emotionally charged, nearly decapitated BeastBoy, and… 'SOMEHOW'… I should be okay with that?"

Raven glared at BeastBoy, who was seriously starting to think that he just couldn't win, no matter what.

"Oh, no. No one ever said you had to be okay with it," Knowledge shrugged. "I'd be mad too."

Raven grabbed BeastBoy by the collar as if being given the all clear. Only to be grabbed by the hood of her cloak, pulled away, breaking her grip on BeastBoy. Raven looked over her shoulder, finding Knowledge with a handful of her hood in hand.

"Just not with him," she said.

BeastBoy reeled backwards at Raven's release of his collar, stopped by the open arms of Happy, propping him upright.

"Are you trying to confuse me more than I already am?" Raven asked, hanging onto her calm demeanor by a thread.

"No. We're tryin' to keep you from grinding BeastBoy into mulch," Brave responded.

"True. However, we're also trying to explain the situation in a calm manner so as to avoid any 'instances' like earlier," Knowledge added.

"Lotta good that's doin'," Rude observed.

Raven took a deep breath. "Let me ask a few simple questions," she sighed, her patience running thin. "Who brought me here, from my room to my mind?"

"BeastBoy," Knowledge answered.

Raven nodded. "Who ignored my personal space and disregarded any and all warnings from previous use of my meditation mirror?" Raven went on.

"BeastBoy," Happy replied with a smile.

"Who set off the chain events of emotional turmoil that nearly brought about his own destruction and unforeseeable damage to everything around him?" Raven's voice grew more irritable.

"B-B-BeastBoy," Timid chattered.

"And therefore," Raven asked with a final look of calmness and stability before she turned on her heel with a disgruntled look, making a b line for the green boy, "Isn't it only logical that I hold BeastBoy accountab-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW-OW!"

Knowledge had cut Raven off at the pass, snatching her firmly by the ear before she could do something rash. Raven's offense was stopped cold as her yellow emotion had a vice like grip on the soft spot of her ear lobe.

Knowledge sighed. "Once again, diplomacy has failed us."

Knowledge dragged Raven away, still keeping a tight grip. Raven could do little to resist as the pain was starting to form tears to well up in her eyes.

"Let go!" Raven ordered. "Let go. Le… OW! Please? AAAH! Please let go!" Raven's firm commands were quickly becoming more similar to pleas of mercy as the pain in her ear grew more intense.

"Come along, muscles," Knowledge beckoned to Brave, who followed close behind. It was clear Knowledge was anticipating the need of a strong arm in case a cool head couldn't prevail.

BeastBoy and the others merely watched as the three exited.

"Um," BeastBoy finally made an attempt to speak, "Shouldn't we go after them?"

"Nah," Rude laid down, splaying out on the ground to nap. "If I know her, she's probably gonna' talk her head off."

"It's ok, BB," Happy reassured him with a grin, " Brainy just needs to explain stuff to her. Ya know, Girl talk."

"Either that or discuss where his burial plot is gonna' be," Rude picked her ear.

Happy kicked a clump of grass and dirt in her face.

BeastBoy took a step back, turning to find Anger with a neutral stare trained on him, startling him. She gave no word in response.

"Uh… sorry," he smiled nervously. "Um… I… didn't get a chance to… thank you. Ya know, for not letting Raven turn me into guacamole." BeastBoy extended his hand in a show of gratitude.

Anger merely looked at his hand then back at his face. She made no movement whatsoever, nor did she say a word. She just continued to stare, causing BeastBoy to force an awkward laugh as he pulled away his hand after a moment of no reaction on her part.

"Yeah… well…" BeastBoy scratched his head, "Thanks. Really. For… not lettin' me die."

Anger narrowed her eyes.

Anger was still trying to figure out why she had reacted the way she did. It wasn't her fault she'd jumped in at the last possible second. Or rather, it wasn't as though she intentionally intervened of her own volition. What'd she care if Raven killed him? It was probably a fluke. Of course. That had to be it. Yeah, it was some deep seeded self-conscious goody-goody impulse that overpowered her. Just like her anger overpowered Raven, so had a piece of Raven overpowered her, which in this case was the urgency of a 'don't make BeastBoy dead' thought.

It would've sounded more believable if it were Knowledge though. Anger wasn't a thinker. A plotter, maybe. But for the most part, she was a raw nerve. A strong impulse. Just say the first thing that popped into her head.

Anger leaned forward, staring coldly into BeastBoy's eyes. "When the time comes," she said softly, "You and I will die together."

Happy, Rude, and Timid just blinked, wide-eyed in disbelief.

It happened again. Anger quickly snapped out of her trance like state, shaking her head. That didn't come out right.

"Wow," Rude said, standing with a smirk. "That's either the most romantic death threat, or the creepiest pick-up line I've ever heard."

"Ergh!" Anger growled. "Shut up!" She barked turning towards the bad-mannered Raven. It appeared as though she wasn't the only one saying whatever came to mind.

"Oh, what? Ya gonna' sweep me off my feet too?" Rude said mockingly.

"Now there's an idea," Anger narrowed her eyes.

Anger sweep kicked Rude's feet out from under her, letting the orange emotion fall over on her back in a heap. She grinned in satisfaction.

Rude blew a stray strand of hair out of her face, rolling over onto her stomach, giving Anger an uncaring look. "If you're waitin' for someone to tell you you're beautiful when you're angry, don't hold your breath."

The most unnerving thing about fighting someone who doesn't really care? They just shrug whatever you do off like it was nothing. Anger lowered her head between her shoulders, death glare at maximum. "THAT'S IT!"

Anger lunged for Rude, who quickly dove out of the way. For someone who never took much seriously, she was starting to show signs contrary to her nature. But then again, just about anyone would've if it were to stay out of Anger's kill zone.

BeastBoy leaned over. "Shouldn't we do something?" he whispered to Happy.

"Don't sweat it," the perky pink emotion whispered back. "She gets into trouble like this all the time. She's got it down to an art."

Anger slowly got to her feet, beginning to pace around Rude, taking her time, stalking her prey. Rude just stood there, following her every move, still a half lazy look in her eyes. This too continued to irritate Anger at the lack of fear that she was accustomed to, but it made no difference at this point to her.

"So what now, slovenly one?" Anger snarled with an evil leer, "You're not smart enough to talk your way out of this, and you don't have the muscle to keep me at bay."

Anger was right on the money. Rude didn't have the brainpower to manipulate or second-guess her as Knowledge did. Nor was gifted with Brave's uncanny strength and will power to fight her off.

"What can you possibly do against the likes of me?" Anger began to close in.

Rude matched her step for step, moving in the opposite direction. "When you're right, you're right," Rude shrugged with a laid back half smile. "But there is one upside to being a lazy, sloppy, uncaring, bad mannered emotion."

Anger grinned. "And what's that?"

In an instant, Rude sprinted behind BeastBoy, peeking over his shoulder. Anger stood at the ready, prepared to give chase no matter where she ran. Suddenly BeastBoy felt a pair of hands pressing against his back, promptly shoving him forward.

"WAAAAAAAAHHHAAAHHH!" BeastBoy flailed his arms, taken by surprise, falling right towards Anger.

Caught off guard, BeastBoy tumbled right through Anger, sending them both to the ground.

WHOMP!

Anger shook her head, opening her eyes to find BeastBoy lying on top of her, eyes closed, holding his head with one hand, clearly dazed from the fall. Her face went blank as before. There was that feeling again. A momentary loss of focus, almost like her pilot light had gone out. The feeling didn't last long as she quickly regained Rude in her sights.

"I play dirty," Rude proclaimed, just before razzing Anger and taking off.

Teeth bared, eyes burning, Anger shoved, or rather threw BeastBoy off of her, springing to her feet, giving chase. "GET BACK HERE YOU!"

BeastBoy rubbed his head, watching as the two emotions disappeared into the distance.

Timid stood over him, looking on with concern. "A…Are you okay?" she asked sheepishly.

BeastBoy ignored the minor aches, forcing a smile to reassure her. "Uh, Yeah. Fine."

Happy came up from behind, helping him up. "You sure?" she giggled, steadying him to his feet. "Ya look like you're about one more fall away from voiding your warranty."

BeastBoy was silent, giving no snappy reply as he tried to process the current events in his mind. On the one hand, two of Raven's emotions were now running amuck somewhere, and he just knew that somehow he was going to get blamed for it. On the other, Raven herself was probably being brought up to speed on a list of charges he'd committed just by being here. Was there anything he wasn't going to get in trouble for today?

BeastBoy sighed, worry evident in his face.

Timid and Happy exchanged looks.

"C'mon!" Happy slapped him on the back, snapping him upright. "Whatcha getting' all serious for?"

BeastBoy forced a faint smile, but still, no verbal reply.

"So…" Timid shyly began, turning to Happy "What do we do now?"

"Well…" Happy grinned. "There's still this one little matter. Remember when Raven went all scary mad when she woke up?"

Timid shuddered, tightening up. "Mm hmm," she said almost in a whimper.

"And how BeastBoy ran right out in front of us, actin' all cool in the face of getting' splatted like a bug on a windshield?" she slapped her hands together, grinding her palms against one another.

Timid nodded. "Y-Yeah," she recalled with a fright.

"Well, I don't know about you, but…" Happy turned to BeastBoy with a warm smile, leaping into the air and kicking up her heels, scarcely giving him enough time to react, catching her across his arms, bridal style. Still not fully recovered from the first fall, his knees wobbled before giving out, falling over with Happy still in his arm, taking the additional weight of the fall square on his chest. "My Hero!" Happy laughed affectionately, wrapping her arms around his neck, snuggling him tightly.

"Ah! Wha! Hey!" BeastBoy struggled, more so to keep from blushing like crazy, than having sufficient room to breath. Who knew when Raven would be back, and if she were to return at this moment, it probably wouldn't go over so well. "C'mon! Cut it out!"

BeastBoy couldn't help but let an occasional laugh escape, as Timid merely turned away, pulling her hood tightly over her head to hide the color of her face.

Meanwhile, Knowledge continued to drag Raven along, who continued to struggle but with minimal effort, trying to keep pace so as to alleviate as much pressure on the painful grip she still maintained on her ear as possible. Knowledge had made few attempts to try to explain the situation along the way, but was far from making clarity with Raven hobbling along behind her. Brave followed close behind, not as if Raven was in any position to make a break for it, but casually strolling along all the same. Finally deciding they were a significant distance where they could speak freely, without worry of BeastBoy being in the line of fire (so to speak) Knowledge released her fingers, allowing Raven to pull a step or two away, much to her relief.

She held her ear, which was throbbing and bright red from prolonged squeezing of her lobe. A cross expression of pain and annoyance was clear.

"Perhaps now we can talk," Knowledge said.

"You'll pardon me if I'm not in the mood for conversation," Raven said in a disgruntled manner.

The two locked eyes, Knowledge the first to blink. "Perhaps that was a bit… excessive," Knowledge tilted her glasses.

Raven merely gave an angry stare, feeling her statement was somehow lacking in sincerity.

"However it was necessary," she confirmed.

"Necessary?" Raven repeated, "Dragging me away like a misbehaved child, was necessary?"

"Perhaps you would've preferred something more along the lines of a cattle prod," Knowledge answered.

Brave couldn't help but snicker. This psychological demeanor of Knowledge was a refreshing change of pace from her typically quiet, bookworm like appearance.

Raven cast a hard look on Brave before turning back to Knowledge. "I would've 'preferred' being treated like a normal, rational person in my own mind." Raven snapped.

"Normal, 'rational' people don't lunge into homicidal frenzies," Knowledge responded, crossing her arms.

Raven stared for a moment before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "That wasn't my fault," she looked away.

"We know," Knowledge reassured her, realizing that while truthful it was a painful reminder that control was not always of her own will. "And no one blames you for that. This was merely a precaution." Knowledge placed a hand on her shoulder.

Raven walked a few steps away, letting her hand fall off her shoulder.

"Now…" Knowledge began, "As it pertains the overall situation…"

"Save your breath," Raven disrupted, bitterness quickly sinking back. She still hadn't forgotten who was most likely to blame for all this. At least, from her limited understanding.

"Didn't you hear anything we said?" Brave cut into the conversation.

"It's hard to hear anything when your ear feels like it's about to pried off," Raven remarked.

"There is a difference between not being able to hear and refusing to listen," Knowledge theorized. It was plain to see Raven had reached her own conclusion. And once Raven had her mind set on something, she refused to let go.

"Listen to what?" Raven asked firmly, "That this is all one big misunderstanding? That BeastBoy didn't force his way inside my mind? That this isn't just one big roués to keep me from playing kickball with his hollow head? This entire incident has 'BeastBoy' written all over it."

"Oh really?" Knowledge asked.

"Really," Raven clarified.

"Really?" Knowledge repeated.

"Really."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Don't ya just love it when two great minds have a philosophical debate?" Brave rolled her eyes.

The two glared at Brave, who merely shrugged it off.

"As logical, and thoroughly sound as that theory is," Knowledge sarcastically worked back into conversation, "BeastBoy is no more the cause of this debacle than you or I."

"I'll bet," Raven answered with sarcasm of her own. Raven was sticking to her still plausible theory that this all came about by means of BeastBoy's limited ability to sit still and his low boredom threshold. "He jumps into my mind, drags me along for the ride, then gets you to cover for him."

"She's right," Brave said in a sort of awe. "Holy cow, she's right. BeastBoy planned this whole thing to a T. The guy orchestrates a joy ride into another dimension, manipulates Raven into tryin' to kill'em, and then uses it as a sympathy defense so we get'em off the hook. Ya gotta hand it to him, for a guy with the IQ of a brick, it's downright genius."

Raven just stared. The statement, though in the lowest form of seriousness and reeking of sarcasm, could be taken either way. On the one hand, it summarized her entire theory. On the other, it also highlighted BeastBoy's intellectual inadequacies.

"I never said it was a smart plan. BeastBoy doesn't think, he just acts," Raven retorted. "I cannot believe you would even condone something like this. It's beyond brainless. And considering its BeastBoy, it's a sad comparison to think that you have fewer brain cells than he does. Do you know how many brain cells he even has left in that green skull of his?"

Brave looked at Knowledge as if taking the question to heart. "Do you know how many brain cells BB has in his head?"

Knowledge's brow raised, eyes looked skyward as if giving it serious thought. "Living or dead?"

Raven let out an aggravated sigh. "If you're trying to convince me that BeastBoy isn't to blame, you're doing a poor job," Raven said.

Knowledge looked back at Raven. "You still don't have reasonable doubt to think otherwise?" Knowledge asked almost mildly surprised. She knew Raven was going to be stubborn about this, but not this stubborn. Still…

"No," she said simply.

"There isn't the slightest notion that BeastBoy may have had motive behind his actions that didn't involve his own amusement?" Knowledge tilted her head.

"None."

"Isn't BeastBoy entitled to some sort of benefit of the doubt? Especially given your background and line of work?" Raven and BeastBoy were in the hero business after all.

"That remains to be seen," Raven said dryly. "Especially when you take into account that all the worst things seem to happen when he's around."

"Most likely to balance out all the 'best' things that happen when he's around," Knowledge replied.

"You must be joking," Raven raised an eyebrow.

"I'm an intellectual," she crossed her arms. "I don't have a sense of humor that I'm aware of," she said with a faint sarcastic smile.

"And you expect me to take you seriously?" Raven rolled her eyes. "As much as I'd like to believe that this whole 'BeastBoy snatching me from the freezing jaws of death' isn't a complete crock, all you've done is makes jokes, draw attention to his low train of thought, and remind me that he is prone to cause more than his fair share of mischief and general misbehavior. How am I supposed to believe that he ISN'T totally and completely at fault?"

Knowledge just shook her head. Raven wasn't going to believe her, at least not without solid proof. And who could blame her? First and foremost, this was BeastBoy. And while not the most inspiring in terms of maturity and academic comprehension, he was a decent person with a good heart. But at this rate, she was starting to think there was nothing more to say in his defense.

"Ya know what? I really don't expect you to believe anything any more!" Brave said, breaking the silence.

Both Raven and Knowledge were taken aback. Brave marched right up to Raven looking her square in the eye. "Okay, we don't want ya to cream him, but don't ya think if he had done this, ANY of this on purpose, I'd have throttled him myself? I mean even BeastBoy can only get away with so much."

"So you admit you'd cut him some slack," Raven said, still doubt in her voice, but persistent as ever. "All the more reason to think you're covering for him."

"Because we happen to like BeastBoy," Brave said defiantly, hands on her hips. "He's the friend and pet we never had."

"I regard all the Titans as my friends," Raven rebutted.

"Let me rephrase that," Brave said concisely, "A friend with a cute butt."

"EXCUSE ME?" Raven said in shock, fighting the twinge of temperature rising in her face.

"All those opposed?" Brave called out.

"NAY!" Raven exclaimed.

"Those in favor?" Brave shouted, raising her hand to cast her vote.

"I," Knowledge said clearing her throat with a blush.

Raven stared coldly at Brave. At least as coldly as possible with such warm cheeks.

"Arguing with yourself, Raven," Brave practically taunted. "Not a good sign."

Raven just huffed in response.

Brave adjusted her expression to that of a more serious one. "You really don't get it, do you? You don't have the slightest idea the kinda'… the kinda'…" Brave was stalled for words.

"Hardship?" Knowledge offered, guessing where this conversation was leading.

"Actually, I was gonna' say crap, but that works too," Brave gestured thanks to Knowledge with a wave of the hand, not taking her eyes off Raven. "The kinda' cra… 'hardship' that guy goes through on a count of you. And for what? The smallest, bare minimum kinds of simple, honest to goodness… niceness." Clearly reaching in vocabulary, but getting the point across all the same. "Hardship? What am I sayin'? Try downright brutal."

Raven was starting to take a few steps backward, somewhat intimidated by Brave's heated words. But Brave persisted, staying right in front of her, nose to nose.

"Flat out mean," Brave went on. "Cruel. Um… Urgh… Four eyes, work with me here."

"Spiteful, Hurtful," Knowledge read out calmly, as if mentally glancing threw a thesaurus. "Also see Insensitive."

"Spiteful?" Raven took offense, coming to a stop. "I'd hardly call my behavior spiteful in any aspect."

"The time the Titans dragged ya with'em to the beach?" Brave recalled as reference, "And BeastBoy begged and pleaded with ya just to get ya to play one measly little game?"

"I respectfully declined," Raven replied firmly, able to recollect.

"By burying him in the sand?" Brave said with an aggravated tone.

"Lots of people bury each other in the sand at the…"

"Head first?" Brave raised an eyebrow.

A cringe of guilt struck Raven in the gut, the equivalent of a pickaxe. Okay, so there was some merit to her claim. So she had a tendency to go a little overboard when it came to BeastBoy. So maybe overreacting and jumping to conclusions wasn't totally out of the question.

"I… He wasn't hurt," she looked away, as if that was some kind of consolation.

"No," Brave agreed. "Just in the place it hurts the most."

At that moment, Raven's mind, previously a rip tide of accusation and blame settled. So caught up in her almost routine like behavior of placing blame on BeastBoy at the first sign of … well… anything BeastBoy-esque, she'd started to neglect the fact that BeastBoy was not completely devoid of common sense and rational thinking. And that he was generally a kind person willing to help in his own 'unique' way. He just had a way of going more on impulse than on logic. Especially if that impulse was to save his friends in times of danger.

Raven hung her head, almost in shame.

"Honestly," Brave continued, starting to walk past her, "I can't figure out for the life of me why he doesn't just distance himself from you altogether." And with that, Brave sauntered off. Not so much angry but more so annoyed that it took so much to get the message across. And here she thought she was thick headed.

Knowledge watched her leave, pleasantly surprised by her passionate words. It was perhaps the first true time she'd seen her emphasize words instead of a right hook. She'd said it before, but more now than ever, breaking emotional boundaries was hard enough, especially for Raven. But, for BeastBoy to bring about such a dramatic change in any emotion, if even if only for a short time, was quite a feat.

Knowledge looked back towards Raven, perfectly still, and without a sound. She took a few steps beside her.

"Well?" Raven asked in traditional monotone.

"Well, what?" Knowledge asked.

"Aren't you going to verbally lay into me too?" she asked, demoralized, almost like she knew it was coming.

Knowledge stared at her, looking back to Brave, almost out of sight. "I don't think I can top that," she lightly shook her head.

Raven was silent and unmoving.

Knowledge gave one last look before walking back towards where they'd left BeastBoy and the others. Suddenly an audible cough stopped her in her tracks, looking over her shoulder back to Raven, as if a desperate plea without words.

"Yes?" Knowledge calmly asked, as if answering a question that wasn't asked. "Is there something you need?"

Raven was reluctant, pausing briefly before slowly walking beside her yellow-cloaked counterpart. Her gaze remained trained on her feet, not looking up from the ground as if too embarrassed to account for her behavior. "Everything," she said solemnly, "Starting from the beginning."

Knowledge gave no immediate response, studying her face, which now appeared to be open to reason and slightly down regarding the whole unpleasantness that'd come before. Slowly, Knowledge's lip curled into a gentle smile, extending her hand, patting her lightly on the back. "To hear, one has only to listen."

And with that, the two walked side by side at a steady pace, taking a slight detour as Knowledge explained everything in greater detail.

…

"C'mon, boy!" Happy shouted with a laugh.

BeastBoy in the form of a small dog jumped at Happy, dangling a stick over him, signaling he was ready to play.

"Ok! Gooooooo!" Happy winded up, "Get it!"

The pink emotion let the stick fly high into the air, as BeastBoy was already off and running, barking all the way. With fair amount of speed, the green dog got out in front of the stick, now beginning to descend, arching downwards toward the ground. He pounced up, leaping into the air, catching the stick perfectly in his canine mouth, spinning all the way around before landing back on all fours. No matter what form, he never could resist the chance to show off.

Happy applauded with great enthusiasm. "Good boy!" she said, kneeling down as BeastBoy came running back to her.

She took the stick from his mouth, petting him on the head, gently scratching him behind the ears. The furry green dog panted, letting his tongue hang out.

A short distance away, rustling from a nearby thick patch of bushes went unnoticed, as Raven poked her head through the lower base of the shrubbery, just enough to see, but keeping out of sight.

Raven looked on with her usual vacant stare. "Figures," she sighed to herself.

Having been brought up to speed by Knowledge, Raven was now fully informed in terms of the circumstances regarding their situation. Still finding it rather hard to believe, and a compelling need of questioning the matter further aside, she was just a little uncertain as to what her next move was going to be. It wasn't as though she could just pick up where she left off. What was she supposed to say? 'Hey, BeastBoy. Sorry I tried to kill you, unjustifiably blamed and accused you, and thought less of you than usual?' Oh yeah, that's sympathy card material.

"Just like BeastBoy," she muttered, slightly annoyed that while just about every emotional being in her mind was asserting their will over her, he was being as childish as ever. "I'm playing twenty questions with my smart half, and how does he bide his time? He rents himself out as a flea circus to the one person peppier than he is."

Although deep down it was somewhat of a relief to find he hadn't spent the entire time obsessing over how Raven might've conceivably killed him, as he normally did when he messed up. Especially since he actually wasn't at fault this time. Putting him through an anxiety attack like that after the third degree she gave him would've made her feel even worse than she already did.

Raven watched as Happy continued to play with BeastBoy, as her meeker half stood off to the side only a few feet away from the two. Doing her best to keep a weak smile visible, Timid still hung back in as shy a manner as ever, choosing rather to watch than to participate than to no doubt be launched into a thorough apology session for just about anything, as she thought she was bound to do.

"Aww, come on," Happy pleaded with a grin, turning away from the green dog just for a moment to her gray suited sister, "Will you come on over already. He won't bite." Happy turned back, frivolously stroking BeastBoy's head, as if trying to coax Timid into joining them.

BeastBoy barked, as if agreeing with her.

Timid merely looked away, twiddling her fingers. "B-But… I…" she squeaked, taking a step back. "I… I don't think I'm… ya know…"

Happy was quick to see this was going nowhere fast. It wasn't as though she was devoid of enjoyment. She just needed more convincing and reinforcement than others. She then smirked, looking over to the green dog at her side. Leaning over, Happy whispered into BeastBoy's canine ear. He simply nodded, to which Happy nodded back.

Happy stood, calling once more over to Timid. "Come on," she giggled.

Timid still bashfully looked away, hanging her head between her shoulders.

ARFF!

Timid's head rose, looking back to Happy, about to deliver another of her humble apologies. She felt it'd be better if she were to abstain from their activities, unable to compete with her emotional compatriot when it came to fun and other things that didn't involve being a wet blanket in general. But as she opened her mouth to speak, she noticed BeastBoy was nowhere to be seen. Somewhat puzzled, she looked around, still without a clue as to where the green dog had gotten to.

ARFF! ARFF!

Somewhat startled by the proximity of the energetic barking, Timid jumped back a step as she looked down to find BeastBoy sitting up, looking up at her with big eyes and wagging his tail, having dropped the stick in front of her.

Timid made no movement whatsoever, as if trying to recover from the initial surprise.

BeastBoy made no sudden move either, knowing that she startled easily.

"I-I… I…" Timid huddled her hands together, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I'm just not very good… at…"

BeastBoy nudged the stick closer with his nose, looking back up at her.

Timid looked at the stick before looking back at him. Uncertainty was always a factor when Timid was involved. Slowly, Timid leaned down, delicately picking up the stick.

BARK!

BeastBoy seemed to approve.

Briefly examining the stick, she looked back over to Happy who gave a nod and a hearty smile. It was plain to see what the two of them wanted her to do. She looked back down at BeastBoy as if having second thoughts, wanting to debate the issue further. "Um… I-I'm not really much of…"

BeastBoy made a low whimpering, tilting his head slightly. The saddest expression he could muster in canine form, metaphorically cutting her to the bone. Timid had some knowledge of this from Raven's memory but she'd never thought she'd have to experience it up close and personal. Normally, 'the face' was a routine reserved for Starfire in feline form to cheer her up (or get BeastBoy out of trouble, whichever came first) by constructing the cutest type of heart melting appearance possible. This however was the canine equivalent, producing a much more sad, sympathetic, almost guilt ridden effect.

Timid's lower lip trembled a bit, shutting her eyes tight, quickly looking away. It was ironic that she'd succumb so quickly to the very effect her ceaseless apologies and otherwise delicate nature triggered. "STOP!" Timid pleaded, hands out in front of her, as if surrendering, "Please! I-I'll do it. I'll do it."

BeastBoy barked with instant vigor, almost going from pleading to spunky in 3 seconds flat.

Timid looked down at the little jade dog, her weak smile resurfacing. She then looked back to the stick in hand.

"Come on," Happy encouraged. "Let her rip!"

Timid looked back down at BeastBoy, anxiously running circles around her, rooting her on in his own way.

Still somewhat nervous and unsure of herself, she hesitantly reeled back her arm, her muscles trembling, as she closed her eyes and gave a mighty heave. "Eeeyah!" she grunted putting her shoulder into the throw, sending the stick hurdling through the air… a whole six inches away.

BeastBoy and Happy both looked down at the stick, which lay almost directly in front of Timid. Obviously throwing wasn't her strong suit. The only strength she had was in tears, which was fitting since she felt like crying upon just how feeble a throw she'd mustered.

Timid merely sighed, her shoulders drooping. It would've been worse though. It could've landed behind her.

"Uh…" Happy felt compelled to say something to keep the potential energy high, "The wind took it!" Happy put her finger in her mouth, quickly removing it to hold up in the air, as if to test the wind direction. "Yup! Definitely the wind," Happy assured with a grin. "Try it again."

Timid was far less confident, not detecting even the slightest draft at present. She cast her eyes down on the ground, about to turn away to hang her head in shame before she felt a gentle tug on her cloak. She glanced over her shoulder.

BeastBoy, firm grip of gray cloak in mouth, pulled and tugged, halting the downward spiral of Timid's already downtrodden spirit. Accompanied by muffled whimpering, he pleaded for her to remain.

"I think 'someone' wants ya to give it another go," Happy said with a lovey-dovey tone.

Looking deep into the green dog's eyes, internally debating heavily whether or not to endure the possible embarrassment she'd undoubtedly bring upon herself, Timid just couldn't bring herself to refuse. She submissively consented, giving a small nod, but still an intense look of hesitation on her face.

"Alright!" Happy cheered, the sight of hope not yet lost.

BeastBoy picked up the stick in his mouth, presenting it to Timid once more. As delicately as before, she gently plucked the stick from BeastBoy's mouth, looking at it as before. She took a deep breath, exhaling with a small sigh.

The green dog circled her once, stopping at her side, briefly nuzzling her ankle.

Timid looked down appreciatively, grateful for the vote of confidence, but still far from any kind of overwhelming self-assurance. She once more cast her view upward, towards the vast open space to which she was expected to throw.

She closed her eyes, reeling back in the same manner as before, her arm shaking even more.

"Come on! You can do it!" Happy hooted and hollered, "Bring the heat!"

Timid did her best to steel her nerves, but she was just too low of will.

BeastBoy could tell by looking at her quivering arm as it pulled back, it wasn't looking good either. She couldn't bear another disappointment, and neither could he. That weepy expression on her face tore right through him. It was time for a little 'help'.

Just as Timid's arm went into the final wind up, BeastBoy ducked underneath Timid's cloak, standing up on his hind legs. Rearing back his head, he thrust forward and…

"WWWAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

In a sudden burst of uncanny reflex, Timid vaulted forward, sending the stick flying at remarkable velocity.

BeastBoy peeked out from behind Timid, watching as the stick took off like a shot. The dog's ace in the hole: the cold wet nose in the middle of the back. Ideal for wake up calls, general mischief, and snapping sensitive emotions out of depressing funk.

The two of them watched in amazement as the stick flew like a bullet, ripping through the air.

"Woo-Hoo!" Happy cheered, throwing her fist into the air, "Way to g-"

BAM!

The stick had accelerated past any foreseeable distance BeastBoy or Timid had perceived, traveling straight into the unsuspecting obstacle that was Happy's face. It struck her right between the eyes, not enough to do any real damage, but just enough to take her off her feet.

Timid gasped, covering her mouth in shock as BeastBoy took off running to make sure she was okay. He was quickly right beside the pink emotion, as her head raised slightly, eyes spinning in a daze, a pale red imprint of the stick embossed right across her face.

"H-Hey, batter," she said woozily with grin, "Hey, batter battah', swing." And with that, her head fell back against the ground with a thud.

BeastBoy sniffed the side of her face, whimpering in concern, lapping her cheek with his tongue.

"I… I wasn't… I didn't mean to…" Timid struggled to explain herself, "I'm… I'm sorry!" Timid ran off, unable to cope with her involuntary action of hurting her sister emotion.

At that moment, Happy sat up, shaking off the smack to her face with a renewed smile. "Whoo!" Happy exclaimed with a laugh, obviously having not been injured as seriously as assumed. "Wow, she really clobbered me."

Happy turned to reassure BeastBoy with a smile, who merely barked, turning his head to point out Timid's departure. Looking up to find Timid off and running, visibly upset, Happy merely scratched her head as if something had gone awry.

"Oops," she giggled, sounding embarrassed, "Think I mighta' over did it a little." She'd only wanted to raise Timid's self esteem. Instead, she'd given the impression she'd been hurt. Her assumption was that Timid would be quick to run to her side with an apology and insisting she didn't know her own strength. Apparently, it'd had quite the opposite effect.

BeastBoy barked once more, clearly emphasizing his concern.

"Don't worry," Happy said, getting to her feet, brushing off her knees, "I'll bring her back." Happy began to jog after her. Knowing of Timid's less than adequate physical ability, she knew it wouldn't take long for her to tire out. She'd catch up with her in no time. This wasn't the first time Timid had run off at the smallest of misunderstandings. "Wait here, BB," Happy turned, running backwards. "I'll be back before ya know it." Happy turned back around, picking up her pace substantially. "Hey, mopey!" Happy cheerfully shouted as she gave chase, "Wait up! I was just foolin'. It didn't even hurt that bad!"

Happy's voice grew more and more distant, as she faded from sight.

BeastBoy just stood there a few moments, before hesitantly turning around and walking over to a shady spot amidst a wide-open green patch of soft grass. He circled a particularly cozy looking patch before curling up and lying down to rest. All this excitement had taken it out of him, deciding he could fit in a small nap before the emotions returned.

Stretching out his furry green paws, letting out a yawn, BeastBoy folded his arms, nestling his head between them and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Raven watched, still remaining concealed amongst the bushes, having not budged the entire time. She too followed soon, crossing her arms, and laid her head on its side, merely staring at the green dog soundly sleeping a short distance away. She was still trying to think of what she was going to say, so BeastBoy sleeping bought her some more time at least. After all, she certainly wasn't going to disturb him now just so she could stammer out some kind of half-baked explanation.

"Hmm, Interesting," came a low voice beside her.

"Gah!" turned, startled to find her intellectual emotion lying beside her, looking on as well, nearly jumping out of her skin. "How long have you been there?" Raven angrily asked in a low voice so as not to wake BeastBoy.

"Depends," Knowledge quietly replied, not bothering to face her. "How long have you been spying on our green visitor?"

Raven grumbled under her breath. "I was not spying," she seethed.

"You were watchin'em. You were listenin' in without them knowing," came another familiar voice on her other side. "What would you call it?"

Raven turned to her other side, startled yet again, but not as much to find Brave with a smug look on her face. "I was monitoring him," she snapped.

"Them," Knowledge corrected calmly, "You were monitoring them."

Raven merely gave her an irritated look as a response. She'd always said BeastBoy needed a platoon of babysitters, but this was hardly what she had in mind.

"So, pray tell, just how long do you intend to lie here and watch BeastBoy sleep?" Knowledge asked.

"It'd be sweet if it weren't so creepy," Brave shuddered with a smirk.

"Not at all," Knowledge answered. "Truthfully, I find it rather soothing."

"Oh, in that case, I'll getcha' a flea collar and you can go lay down right beside him," Brave teased.

Raven grew more and more annoyed, her counterparts now talking as if she weren't even there. "Could you at least 'pretend' I'm not right between the two of you?" she said bitterly, struggling to keep her voice down.

The two of them went silent. At first Raven thought it was too sudden, shifting her eyes back and forth between the two of them. But after a few moments of continued peace, Raven's anxiety dissipated, gradually turning her attention back to BeastBoy and regaining her train of thought as to what she was going to say.

And that's when she heard it.

"Hmm hm hmhm, Hmm hm hmhm," Brave began to hum to herself.

Instantly Raven's eyes narrowed at the green emotion once again, clearly recognizing the tune as the synonymous wedding jingle of 'Here Comes the Bride'. She had hoped this tidbit of information would somehow be void from her emotion's knowledge, but clearly that was wishful thinking on her part. She could feel the urge to inflict bodily harm rising once more. She didn't know whom she wanted to throttle more: the emotion humming it, or Cyborg for first mockingly passing it on to her.

Raven stared coldly at her.

It took Brave a few seconds to pretend not to notice before actually facing her with a false confusion on her face, unable to keep a straight face. "What?" she asked innocently, "Am I outta' tune?"

Raven gritted her teeth.

"Calm yourself, Raven," Knowledge played chaperone. "She's merely trying to ease the tension," she referred to the quiet stress Raven was suffering internally.

"She's gonna' ease her way into a body cast if she keeps this up," she muttered, trying to restrain her tranquility in as quiet a tone as possible.

"Ya know you're ugly when you're angry?" Brave goaded her further.

Raven focused her fiercest glare at the bold emotion, which did little waver her attitude.

"Ooh," Brave mocked with a shiver, "No one wonder green jeans is so scared of ya. I think I need a teddy bear to hug." Brave slouched on one shoulder. "Hmm, wonder if BB takes requests," she mused.

Raven quickly turned to Knowledge, resisting the urge to rear up and bite her head off. It was clear she wasn't getting through to her. "Can't you at least get her to knock it off?"

Knowledge took her sights off BeastBoy for the first time to look at her, adjusting her glasses. "If you insist."

"I do," Raven said with a sigh, as if somewhat grateful one of the two was still rational to some degree.

Knowledge tilted an eyebrow. "Remember that phrase."

"Ugh!" Raven buried her head in her arms, unable to see the subtle high five the two emotions shared over her head. It was almost too much for one person to bear.

The two paused briefly watching Raven, still unmoving, her head sunk between her arms.

"Think she's had enough?" Brave asked.

"Quite," Knowledge nodded. "A bit cruel though, I admit."

"Yeah, but at last it got her mind off how she's gonna' apologize to BB for trying to grind him into compost…. Whoop," Brave slapped her hand over her mouth.

Knowledge shot a look of annoyance her way.

"I knew what you were doing," Raven muffled, not bothering to lift her head.

"Ya did?" Brave said, almost surprised.

"Of course she did," Knowledge turned her attention back to BeastBoy, " She isn't stupid."

"Then why'd she get so bent outta' shape?" Brave shrugged.

"Because it reminds me how relentless I can be," Raven said halfheartedly.

Knowledge looked off to the side, as did Brave. It was clear why Raven was so preoccupied with what she was going to say to BeastBoy.

Brave sighed, finally breaking the silence. "So… how much more of this ya think she can take?"

Knowledge raised her head upright, pushing up her glasses, steadying her vision. "I don't know. But I think we're about to find out," she said vaguely making out something approaching through the thick underbrush.

Brave's expression gave way to confusion, looking out to see what had gotten her academic counterpart's attention.

A short silence passed as Raven lifted her head just enough to lazily peek out into the open where BeastBoy still lay. Becoming more attentive at the first sight of something coming into view, Raven fully lifted her head up watching as a figure gently pushed its way past a few stray branches out into the open. She unfolded her arms, leaning upward onto her elbows as she steadied her vision on the individual now standing only a few feet away from BeastBoy.

Another of her emotional equivalents, dictated clearly by her uncanny likeness to Raven. She dawned a cloak, as all the others did, only hers more of a soft purple.

"Who's that?" Raven asked quietly, still not wanting to attract attention, studying the previously unknown emotion.

"That would be you," Brave replied in a slightly snobbish tone, as if it wasn't obvious.

She sighed. "I know myself when I see it," Raven responded, "What I mean is, 'WHO' as in which emotional identity am I looking at?"

"I actually can't say I'm surprised," Knowledge began, watching as the purple emotion walked softly towards where the slumbering green dog lay. "Your lack of understanding is expected, considering you've never truly encountered this one face to face, as it were."

"Why?" Raven asked, looking away only to face Knowledge for a split second before turning right back to the emotion in question.

"This one is the more fleeting of your emotional counterparts. While you have come a long way in terms allowing your emotions a lesser degree of restraint and allowing them contrast amongst each other, she is more of a… um… how can I put this?" Knowledge spoke.

"A loner?" Brave said, as if guessing.

"Hmm… somewhat," Knowledge thought it over. "But that sounds rather pessimistic. Let's think of her more as… easily exhaustible."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven asked, not quite following.

"It means that she's here one minute, and she's gone the next," Brave answered with a snap of her fingers.

"Quite. While she does get around in your emotional subconscious a fair bit, I'm afraid you still have yet to feel enough to allow her to indefinitely generate herself within this realm as an emotional embodiment like the rest of us," Knowledge said earnestly, almost feeling sorry for her.

Raven remained silent, wanting to push more, but not wanting to seem any more desperate than she already was.

At that moment, the green dog morphed back into human form, still asleep, somewhat taking Raven by surprise considering she'd just been focused squarely on a green canine. Obviously BeastBoy had sunken into a deeper sleep, which disrupted his concentration, forcing his body to revert back upon no longer being able to maintain a train of thought for precise animal form.

The purple emotion kneeled down softly on the grass, just in front of BeastBoy's head, which lay flat against the ground.

Raven felt a lump in her throat. Not out of fear necessarily, just as a sort of ominous knowing without knowing sort of instinct. She plainly knew that as a part of her, she would have no intention to harm BeastBoy, as none of her other parts did, but she couldn't help but get this sinking feeling.

The emotion then gently laid both hands on his face, one on each side. Her palms flat against his cheeks, her fingertips softly pressing under his chin, she gently lifted his head off of the ground and onto her lap. Certain that he was comfortable and with no risk of his head sliding off, she slowly removed one hand to prop against the ground as she reclined into a more comfortable sitting position, sitting on her ankles.

Raven watched as the unknown doppelganger became more at ease, unable to keep her face from contorting in annoyance.

"Jealous?" Knowledge conjectured.

"Jealous? Of her?" Raven said, caught off guard, annoyance still clear in her voice. "You've got to be joking. Look at her," she extended her hand in the emotion's direction, "She's… embarrassing. So… so… purple."

"And what, pray tell, is wrong with purple?" Knowledge asked.

"Yeah. Our hair is purple. Starfire's favorite ensemble is purple," Brave added.

"BeastBoy's underwear is purple," Knowledge continued.

"That's beside the poi…" Raven stopped. "How do you know that?"

Brave and Knowledge looked at one another. "You're the observant one," Brave smirked, "You tell us."

"Ugh!" Raven groaned, dragging her hand from her forehead down her face, resuming her dead stare on the BeastBoy and his new sleeping arrangement.

"Raven," Knowledge started in a more serious, caring tone, joining Raven's train of sight in the hopes of calming her down.

Raven shifted her pupils to the side, just barely looking at Knowledge out of the corner of her eye, hand still covering her face.

"That is another part of you. A part that has been buried deep down in the recesses of your mind for a very long time. And circumstances aside, you should only be grateful that it's a part of you not lost forever during the more difficult tribulations of your life experiences." Knowledge bowed her head, closing her eyes, her own profound words reaching a very integral part of her own emotional link to Raven. "I think it best if you could reflect on this moment as…" Knowledge opened her eyes, looking back to Raven, only to find she wasn't there. "Raven?" Knowledge called, finding her absent of her position beside her. "Raven?"

Knowledge looked forward once more, finding Raven marching towards the purple emotion and the green boy perched on her lap. Knowledge gave a brief frown, before letting her head hang in a sigh. "Hmmph," Knowledge cracked a smile. "She never was fully equipped to take delicate matters well."

Brave watched Knowledge, who intently followed Raven's movements with a sort of calculated satisfaction. "You're enjoying this aren't you?" Brave asked, as if not already knowing the answer.

"Only slightly more than a lot," Knowledge adjusted her glasses rims with a small smile.

Raven was walking with a purpose, a determined look on her face. Sure if she'd hung back a while longer, she might've gotten more information in regards to this emotion's identity and have a better idea of what she was getting into, but she was in no mood to wait. What was next? Peeling grapes for him when he woke up?

The emotion turned to the side, clearly able to hear Raven's approach, now within a few feet.

Raven came to a stop right in front of her, looking down at her, staring right through her.

The emotion looked up at her, the first opportunity for Raven to truly get a good look at her face. Having seen her other emotions, who all resembled her facial features, Raven had thought it would be no different, and she was right.

…Sort of.

Her purple robed doppelganger merely looked at Raven innocently, leaving little suspicion to any kind of intent. Her eyes had a sort of luster to them, as if a kind of purity Raven had never seen before, at least not within herself. She gave a subtle smile, not like Knowledge or Brave had when she could see they were plainly thinking of some manipulative way to tease her. But rather a passive sort of smile that seemed to suggest everything was all right, this… look of contentment.

Momentarily caught off guard by the sheer serenity in her face, Raven admittedly flinched before hardening her resolve towards her. Raven had been expecting her to be defensive, or protective, or some kind of moody attitude she'd come to expect from her other emotional counterparts. But to her surprise, she found none. Nothing at all.

There was something calming about her face, which made it all the more difficult for her to retain any form of angry expression towards her. But still, Raven managed to at least form an un-amused look of aggravation with her.

"Alright," Raven huffed, doing her best to keep herself focused so as not to let her mindset be swayed by this disarming gaze, "Just WHAT do you think you're d…"

"Shhhhhh," the emotion peacefully hushed, a finger over her lips. She then pointed her finger downward, gesturing to BeastBoy asleep on her lap.

Raven gave a hard stare at her. She wanted to suspect that she was just hiding behind BeastBoy, that she was just using him as excuse. But somehow, that face, just the simple honest look on her face, without any kind of hidden agenda behind it just seemed to disable her resentment from growing. That, and there was still the issue that if BeastBoy was to wake up, and she was still without anything to say for herself, it could prove to be difficult.

She did her best to fight it, keeping her eyes locked on her. But the emotion in turn merely looked at her as passively as ever, letting her smile show just a bit more clearly as her way of thanks for quieting herself.

Raven just narrowed her eyes at her. She wouldn't be intimidated.

Except that her emotion wasn't trying to intimidate her. In fact, she wasn't trying anything at all, other than keeping BeastBoy comfortably asleep.

The purple emotion looked back down at BeastBoy once more, gently brushing away a stray strand of hair from his face, letting her fingers lightly sweep against his forehead along the way.

"COULD YOU…" Raven stopped herself on the verge of an outburst, brining her thoughts under control with a deep breath and stabilizing the volume of her voice. "Could you please not do…'that'" Raven whispered, getting somewhat highly strung over her just casually touching him and holding him like she was, even though she didn't seem to think anything of it.

The emotion removed her hand away from the green boy, returning it to her side, turning to Raven with her full attention, along with that same immobilizing gaze.

"…"

Raven let out a sigh. Her irritation finally gave way, disappearing from her face, replaced by her neutral yet serious expression. That look of hers finally got to her, cooling her mind like a hot plate in a snowstorm. Probably better that it had calmed her. This getting bent out of shape clearly wasn't helping her already delicate grasp of control at present.

Raven dropped to the ground in her traditional lotus position, letting out another deep breath. She just watched her emotion, only occasionally shifting a quick glance at BeastBoy, as if monitoring for any sign that he was stirring or about to wake.

The emotion in front of her merely tilted her head to the side, giving a relaxed and almost glad sort of smile that Raven appeared just a little more at ease. Which just goes to show looks can be deceiving. Raven was just on edge as before, she was just doing a better job of concealing it now that she was a little calmer.

"So…" Raven began, talking quietly, "Who a…"

The emotion held up her hand, as if signaling to stop with a tranquil glance. Even if BeastBoy was deeper in sleep, his ears weren't just for show. And with the two of them in close proximity, she didn't want to chance waking him. Raven wasn't the only one who'd had a trying day.

Her counterpart looked around, specifically studying the ground a moment, before ripping up a few clumps of grass, exposing the bare dirt and soil on a sizeable space in between them.

Raven exchanged a puzzled look between her and the newly tilled up space of earth.

Smoothing out the dirt with her hand, it became obvious she had given them the means of an alternate form of communication as she extended her finger, sticking it into the dirt, and began pushing her finger around, writing in the soil. It was a perfect way for the two of them to converse without any risk of awakening BeastBoy.

She removed her finger from the dirt, pulling her hand away, indicating that she was finished. Raven had to tilt her head to better read the message, being that she was sitting to the side of her, but it was fairly easy to make out:

'Feeling better?'

A simple enough question, short and straight to the point.

Raven looked back up at her, finding a genuine expression of care in her kind face. In truth, she hadn't really given her ailment much thought, but now that she stopped to think, she was actually feeling much better. Perhaps with her mind taken off of it, she'd just been able to ignore it long enough for it not to bother her, or maybe being in her mirror accelerated healing. Or maybe she burned it off in her mindless ensued rage towards Beas…

Bad train of thought.

Raven lightly shook her head, not wanting to dwell on that premise any more than she already had. She wiped her hand across the dirt like an eraser over a blackboard, smoothing the soil and replied via inscribing her answer as her emotion had.

'Slightly better'

Raven looked back up at her just as she finished reading, to which she responded with a nod and a faint smile.

Her emotion thought for minute, looking up, then casually wiping the dirt once more and writing another message.

'Trouble with others?'

Raven looked at her, a bit baffled by her question.

She smirked briefly; peering over her shoulder at the thick bushes in the distance behind them, then back at her.

Raven turned her head, but stopped just before she could look over her shoulder, realizing what she was getting at. She'd forgotten that Knowledge and Brave were still there. It appeared this emotion, innocent as she was, was certainly not clueless. She was much more perceptive than she looked.

Raven gave a dull look of amusement as she wiped away the message from the ground, replying once more.

'You have no idea'

The purple emotion lightly puffed her cheeks, as if holding in a silent giggle.

Raven returned the gesture with a roll of the eyes, accompanied by a weak smirk.

Her emotional twin cast her eyes downward again, pausing a moment before carefully wiping the dirt again, slowly writing out another inquiry.

Raven watched her as she wrote, a look of deep care on her face. The emotion pulled her hand away, slowly looking back up at Raven, who in turn looked down to see what she'd written.

'Like him?'

Raven looked up, tilting an eyebrow.

Her emotion merely pointed down at the only other person in the vicinity.

Raven was taken aback, mentally caught off guard, as if somehow unable to process the question, almost falling back onto her hands.

A look of shock on her face, she looked at the emotion with overwhelming distress, as if she was insinuating that she was misreading the circumstances. But all her emotion could counter with was silence, patiently waiting for an answer.

Raven's mouth stammered to form words, but she was still so thrown by the random nature of the question, none could be heard. She was mute.

Her emotion merely watched her, patient as ever.

Raven's face tightened up, visibly angry. She'd been willing to go along with this quiet conversation, but this crossed the line. No doubt, this was her intention all along. Or maybe she was put up to it by one of her other emotions just to coax another cheap laugh at her expense. That was the last straw. She wasn't about to be made for sport again in her own mind.

Raven opened her mouth to break the silence, that determination returning, ready give a piece of her mind, as she had been prepared to in the first place.

But something stopped her before she could utter a single word, as she more closely examined the emotion's face. It was that look again, just vaguely different than before. It was a sincere unbiased look in her eyes. In fact, it was almost reminiscent of the kind of innocence that could often be seen in Starfire's eyes. That look she had whenever she asked something so simple, so common knowledge, it always seemed to take you by surprise that she honestly didn't know the answer. Granted, in most cases it was in context to life among a planet other than her own, but the perception was essentially the same. She wasn't asking to tease her, nor was she asking out of sarcasm, or any other kind of influenced thought. It was just a simple question to her. And all she seemed to want was a simple answer. A simple, honest answer.

The emotion looked down at BeastBoy, who still lie asleep, hardly a sound out of him barring the soft breathing while he slept peacefully. She glanced back up at Raven, straight faced, without the smile Raven had come to associate with this new emotion. It appeared she was serious about an honest answer.

Mouth still ajar, Raven struggled to think of what to say, closing her eyes, giving serious thought and consideration, biting her lip. After a moment of intense deliberation, she slowly opened her eyes, hesitantly reaching out to the ground. She wiped the message away, and wrote very quickly and carefully:

'Thinking about it'

She didn't say a word. And neither did Raven. They merely stared at one another before the emotion returned a warm smile to her face, as if signifying that was good enough.

Raven exhaled, slowly finding herself returning the smile. Somehow, it seemed to relieve her, though she didn't really know why. But she decided not to press. Besides, it wasn't as though anyone, least of all Knowledge, would just give her a straight answer anyway.

Raven and her sister emotion just sat there quietly.

So peaceful… so calm…

"Hey, guys!"

The two looked over, startled, to find Happy bounding towards them. Following close behind was Timid, if you could call being towed by the arm following. Timid was trying to keep pace, tripping over her own feet as she was tugged along for the ride. It seemed Happy was true to her word, having brought her back.

'Well, that's fair enough', Raven thought to herself, 'BeastBoy retrieves a stick for her and she retrieves a person for him'.

Happy was chugging straight for them, waving and hollering all the way, with Timid still dragging behind, panting and yelling over her feet tripping over one another so much she was unable to make a cry for Happy to slow down.

The purple emotion grew concerned. Not that she minded her sister emotions, but Happy was making far too much noise and would surely wake BeastBoy within a few more feet.

She snapped her head to the side, turning shoulder to shoulder. As she did so, a wall of black energy spread out in front of the two approaching emotions, hopefully to keep them from advancing and quiet them down until they could be made to understand.

But from such a fair distance away, she was unable to gauge just how fast Happy was going and…

WHAM!

Happy slammed right into the energy barrier, taking Timid along for the ride. The both of them dropped to the ground in rigor mortis fashion.

The purple emotion gasped, obviously not her intention. She instantly dissipated the barrier, looking to Raven.

Raven could see worry clear on her face, no doubt an accident, but given previous teasing at her expense earlier, she really could've cared less. To that end, she merely shook her head with a smirk.

The emotion slowly looked down at BeastBoy and then to her two downed emotions. She then looked at Raven again, without a word.

She reached down, softly lifting up BeastBoy's head off her lap, guiding him over towards Raven.

She shook her head frantically. "WHAT ARE…" Raven didn't like what she was seeing, struggling to keep her voice down.

Before Raven could object, her counterpart had laid BeastBoy's head gently in her lap, still asleep.

The emotion steadily got to her feet, still taking the utmost care to keep from waking him. She lightly bowed her head, gesturing with her hands to stay put, before she softly sprinted over the grass to make sure the other two emotions were all right.

Raven opened her mouth, but that was about the only option open to her. She couldn't move, she couldn't even yell after her to make idle threats. As before, if BeastBoy happened to wake up in such a 'compromising situation', it was bound to create more complications. As if there weren't enough to go around already. That, and she was still minus an explanation/apology. As she watched her emotion lengthen the distance between her, she slowly looked down.

There lay BeastBoy, sleeping just as soundly as he had been on her emotion's knees. Completely innocent of everything. It just took her longer to realize that, much to her embarrassment.

He stirred slightly, causing Raven to freeze, holding her breath. But he merely rolled his head to the side, his ear flat against her thigh, still sound asleep.

Raven gradually exhaled, shutting her eyes in relief. She reopened them, quickly scanning where her purple emotion had run off to, hoping she'd return quickly to relieve this burden on her lap. But from what she could tell, she was still seeing to Happy and Timid, and it was anybody's guess how long that could be.

Raven began to weigh her options. She could try to lift his head back onto the ground and tip toe away. But as edgy as she was, she feared she'd wake him for certain if she tried to move him. She was on pins and needles just from him adjusting his head. Imagine what the result of actually moving him would yield. She could just make a break for it, but that was out of the question. The only means she could quietly slip away at this point would be via her powers, and in spite of the fact that she felt considerably better, that didn't necessarily mean her powers would be void of any backlash effects like before. And with BeastBoy at such close proximity, she wouldn't jeopardize his well being a second time just so she could escape another personal dilemma.

Raven sighed.

There was no way around it. She was stuck.

"He dribbles so much as an ounce of drool on me," she quietly muttered to herself, "And so help me, I'll…"

She looked back down at the sleeping boy's peaceful expression. One of her emotions did have somewhat of a point. It was mildly… soothing. Except for the stress of him waking up, which the thought alone tied her stomach in knots.

Raven had said it herself. We all have ours faults. Hers was not being able to stay mad at him.

Quietly clearing her throat, Raven made quick sweeps with her eyes, scanning the area around her as if to verify she was alone. Upon finding no one in plain view, she shut her eyes forcing her neutral expression on her face, staring straight ahead, as she slowly guided her hand towards BeastBoy's head, gently skimming the surface of his hair while he slept. Maybe she was pretending she was meditating, or pretending that her hand grew a will of its own, but whatever the case, she continued to tenderly stroke the jade hair atop BeastBoy's head.

Pride can be such a foolish thing at times.

Back in Titan's Tower, BeastBoy wasn't the only one sleeping soundly. Cyborg remained asleep at the console, at least his organic half anyway. His cybernetic components were still running, merely in hibernation mode from his systems being idle for so long.

His nose twitched, his eyelid stirring. His electronic eye began to blink briefly before returning to a steady red glow. His systems began to hum vigorously, a sign that he was starting to come back online. His human eye slowly opened, just as the remaining circuitry all over his metal frame illuminated to their standard operational blue radiance.

"Aaaayyeeeeee-Ahhhhhhh" Cyborg yawned, stretching his arms, flexing his servos. "Man, musta' dozed off for a second there."

He pressed a switch on his forearm, which illuminated the current time on a digital readout.

"Scratch that. A whole lotta' seconds," he rubbed his head, feeling slightly embarrassed he'd dozed off from long keeping watch over his friends almost in stakeout fashion. It did seem kind of pathetic just how far he could be willing to go just to have fun at the expense of his friends.

A he pushed a few more keys, routinely checking his systems, making certain everything was running normally.

"Hope I didn't miss anything frame worthy," he said slyly.

He turned his attention to the console, pressing the button for the audio transceiver. "Oh Raven," he called merrily, hoping that Raven wasn't still holding a grudge. "Raven, this is your mechanical medical advisor. How's my favorite patients doin'?"

Cyborg released his finger from the button, awaiting a reply.

None came.

After a few seconds and no answer, Cyborg tried again. "Ok, Rae. Seriously, how ya feelin'? Doin' alright? Get ya anything?" he asked in a less whimsical tone, "Ya didn't kill BB did ya?"

He paused to await an answer.

No response.

"Raven?" he spoke, leaning in closer to the microphone, somewhat alarmed by the lack of snappy comebacks or sarcastic off the cut remarks, "B? Hey guys, c'mon. Everything okay in there?"

Still nothing.

Cyborg pulled away from the console, tapping a few buttons on his wrist, trying his communicator. The system he was using to look in on Raven was previously un-serviced for a long time, only recently put into use. Probably just on the fritz.

"BeastBoy? Raven?" he asked, concern growing. "Guys? Do ya read me?"

Still no answer.

Even if Raven or BeastBoy had their communicators on them, it would've been doubtful that their service plan included other dimensions.

Cyborg pressed another sequence of keys, bringing up the monitor on the console. Maybe they were just ignoring him. Incarceration in a confined space was not the ideal way to get on someone's good side after all.

The screen flickered briefly before displaying a rather distorted view of Raven's room. The image was so badly blurred it was difficult to tell just what Cyborg was looking at.

"What the…"

The screen on the inside of Raven's room was coated with such a thick layer of frost; it was a wonder that any image was received at all. That was when he happened to glance down that the thermostat gauge on the panel. Eighteen degrees, the equivalent of a walk-in refrigerator.

"Guys!"

Cyborg leaped backwards, turning and bolting out of the room at high speed. It didn't take long for him to sum up the situation. Worry quickly rose as he barreled through the thick steel doors like they were cardboard; knocking them aside, clean out of the doorframe.

He frantically keyed in buttons on his forearm, doing everything he could as he dashed for Raven's room. Near freezing temperature coupled with flu like symptoms did not bode well. He berated himself under his breath, trying to adjust the climate control functions of the room. But it was no good. The system wasn't responding.

"Aw man! C'mon!" he shouted, angrily smacking the panel on his arm, "What a time for a system lockup!"

Cyborg rounded the corner, the metallic treads on his feet skidding across the floor like fingernails on a chalkboard as he horizontally grinded, making the corner, and running straight down the corridor.

"Hang on B, Rae!" he shouted, clinging to the hope that they would be ok until he got there, "I'm comin'!"

Raven remained as she was. Still unmoving, still with BeastBoy dozing on her lap, but slowly, very slowly, had relaxed to some extent. Her previously tense shoulders eased, arms becoming less stiff, as she now almost subconsciously had adjusted herself.

What began as a faint skimming of her hand just barely above firm contact with BeastBoy's hair, had become a gentle brushing along his scalp, her fingers softly parting through his hair.

Still, she looked straight ahead, as if pretending to be unaware as to what her hand was doing. But that didn't stop her eyes from darting downwards for a millisecond at a time, as if somehow curious why this seemed to bother her less and less.

This was proving to be a most bizarre day. She had been sick of BeastBoy, then sick WITH BeastBoy, woken up in a completely different place than where she'd slept, tried to kill BeastBoy in one instant, in accusation the next, and now trying to figure out how she was going to own up to it while caressing his head while he slept. And the day wasn't even over yet.

Raven's train of thought was interrupted as the sound of footsteps caught her ear. She turned her head swiftly, alert, looking over her shoulder.

Her emotional doppelgangers collectively stood before her. Knowledge stood alongside Brave, who casually dusted off dirt from prior concealment among the bushes. Happy merely grinned, in spite of the sizeable lump on her forehead from careening into the energy wall. Timid was more fortunate, having only a minor bruise in contrast to Happy's injury just below her cheek, but as inhibited as ever, shyly dodging direct eye contact as she hung back behind the others. Anger looked off to the side, only acknowledging Raven with a shifty glance before looking away, silent and with a standard annoyed look to her. Perhaps the most worse for wear of the group was Rude, who'd most likely had been on the other end of a sound thrashing, as was evident by the tattered and torn condition of her cloak, barely hanging off her shoulders, complimenting a black eye. Almost embossed with Anger's signature as a result of her snide remarks earlier.

There was one absentee however. The mystery emotion from before, who'd put her in the spot she was in now. Raven scanned the group once more, verifying she wasn't just hanging back. She was nowhere to be seen. Brave and Knowledge were right. It seemed she did come and go.

She thought to ask, to at least be certain everything was all right. But then she remembered what the others had said earlier, while she was ducked down out of sight, monitoring her from afar. She was a less exercised emotion, which probably limited her stay in this realm of her mind. Through her powers, she could feel somewhere, deep in her thoughts that she was okay. And she could still picture that smile of hers.

Raven briefly wondered if it was even possible for her to smile like that. But she'd have to ponder that notion later.

Raven returned her attention back to the emotions that were present, eyeing each of them carefully, unable to tell at first glance if this was going to be something serious, or just another in a series of teasing jokes. It certainly wouldn't be difficult, considering the position she was in.

But save for Happy, there wasn't a smile of the lot of them. No smirks, no muffled giggles, not even a suggestive twinkle in their eyes. And considering it was an optimal atmosphere and situation, it meant whatever was on their minds, was serious enough.

Knowledge gave a somber look. "It's time," she said quietly.

Raven looked at the others.

"Yeah. Not that you've worn out your welcome or anything," Happy beamed, "But…"

"But metal head's gonna' break up the party real soon," Rude finished.

As pieces of Raven's persona, they were all in touch with her mystic intuition. It was an integral part of her meditation, which allowed her to determine when it was time for her to return from her mirror.

They were hinting that it was time for them to be on their way. Private jokes were one thing, but if Cyborg happened to arrive in time to see the two of them exiting the mirror, just the two of them, circumstances aside, it would make for difficult explanation.

'Are you ok?' he'd say. 'You sure you're alright?' At first, it would start out as honest concern, as they would expect from a friend like Cyborg. If Cyborg was at fault, of course the anxiety would be genuine. And then he'd probably close with a, 'Ya really had me worried there for minute.' Then, no doubt after the worry and concern pleasantries were at an end, the true Cyborg charm would follow suit. 'So what were you two doin' in there?' And so on, and so on.

Raven had been through enough for one day, and such spectacles of ridicule were un-called for at this point. As much fun as her counterparts had poked at her, they were not devoid of a sympathetic side.

Besides, if they used up all teasing and joking now, what would there be to look forward to next time she dropped by?

The sound of voices began to stir BeastBoy, his eyes slowly opening, coming around. "Huh…" he hazily mumbled, still half asleep.

The instant BeastBoy's voice caught Raven's ear, her eyes shot wide open, almost jumping to her feet, dropping his head hard against the ground with a clunk.

"Aagh!" BeastBoy cried, rubbing his head.

Raven quickly brushed herself off, straightening her cloak, trying to act casual.

BeastBoy shook his head, still regaining his where with all. The last thing he remembered was napping shortly after Raven's happy self had run off after Timid. He'd slept soundly the whole time, so he had no idea what had gone on up until now. Only that it was one of the most deeply peaceful sleeps he could remember.

BeastBoy looked up, his eyes slowly coming into focus. "Dude", he began, "I had the weirdest dream. I…"

Before he could continue, he looked up to find Raven's emotions in front of him. And Raven herself right out in front, looking down at him with a blank uncaring stare.

"YAH!" BeastBoy scooted back a few inches, hands up as if ready to block whatever he thought Raven had coming to him. Lest he forget, the last time he saw Raven she was ready to tear him limb from limb.

Raven's expression didn't falter. She was still a clean slate as far as her face was concerned. But she still couldn't think of what to say.

"R-Raven," he shakily began, "Now before you totally poof up a black hole just to throw me down it…" he verified that he had her attention and that she wasn't making any sudden moves for him, "… or… or pull my brain outta' my nose and mount it in a snow globe, or rip my…"

"Whoa, Beastie boy," Brave cut in, pushing past Raven. "Let's not go givin' out ideas that might come back to haunt ya."

"Yeah," Rude agreed. "Besides, she can't write that fast," she gestured to Anger who quickly hid a previously scribbled in notepad, snarling under her breath in response.

Happy trotted over beside BeastBoy, cheerfully assisting Brave in helping the green boy to his feet. Standing upright and doing his best to force an appreciative smile, Brave dusted off his shoulder as Happy mussed his hair.

Raven reluctantly took a step towards him.

Immediately, BeastBoy turned his attention back to her, politely nudging the emotions away, as if anticipating the worst. BeastBoy wasn't as visibly afraid as he was seemingly prepared to get it over with. To just take his punishment and move on. He was sort of used to this by now.

Even with the noblest of intentions, he'd still done the most forbidden thing in Raven's eyes, and that was to go into the one place he was explicitly told/warned not to go. He plainly knew he couldn't talk his way out of it, because there was nothing to talk out of. Realizing that, and resembling the most mature mindset he could muster, he just took a deep breath and braced himself.

Knowledge cleared her throat, pushing up her glasses, taking a step beside Raven. "BeastBoy," she said kindly, "I believe Raven has something to say to you."

Raven shifted her eyes to the side, scowling a bit towards her smart half for putting her on the spot.

Knowledge merely folded her hands.

Raven turned back to BeastBoy, expression returning to normal, and traces of uncertainty in her eyes.

BeastBoy swallowed hard. Hopefully it'd be quick.

"BeastBoy?" Raven began in deadpan fashion.

"Y…Yeah?" He merely blinked in response, his head drawing back.

"…"

The emotions leaned forward in anticipation.

Raven focused her eyes on him, slowly taking in air. "We're leaving," she said simply, walking past him.

BeastBoy looked straight ahead as she passed, waiting a few seconds to reluctantly turn his head.

"UGH!" The emotions groaned in unison at varying levels, all but Knowledge and Timid smacking their foreheads, feeling let down.

Knowledge looked sorrowfully at BeastBoy as his ears drooped, his shoulders dropping. He didn't look sad exactly, just heavy with remorse and regret. She wanted to say something, like how Raven wasn't mad, or how he'd done nothing wrong. But it wasn't her place to say. She had an obligation as a part of Raven's being. And if Raven couldn't bring herself to say anything, then neither could she.

She moved towards him, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?" she asked kindheartedly.

BeastBoy turned to face Knowledge, smiling as big as he could, seeing his reflection in her glasses. "Yeah," he sighed. "Just seems stuff like this happens no matter what I do."

BeastBoy turned, trailing after Raven. Looking over his shoulder, he waved as he walked after her.

"So it would seem," Knowledge said to herself, waving back, Timid shyly steeping alongside her.

From behind, the other emotions waved in their own way as well. Happy flailing her arm wildly and Brave throwing a fist into the air. Rude gave a half wave, thumping her chest to compliment it with a belch. Anger too raised her hand, a quick flinch of the wrist as much as she was willing to give, before turning her back, arms folded, but watching out of the corner of her eye as he left.

"And for that, we're grateful," Knowledge concluded, lightly patting Timid on the back as she shyly waved her hand that just peeked through her cloak.

BANG! BANG! BA-BANG! BANG!

Cyborg pounded at the door to Raven's room, still hermetically sealed, still locked out of the system.

"Rae!" he shouted, "B! Can ya hear me? I'm comin'!"

Cyborg turned, pulling up a small metal bracket in the wall, revealing a keypad. An emergency override for the door. He punched a few keys, only to be met with a loud buzzing noise, signaling an error. He tried again, and again, each attempt more frantic than the last. He didn't know how long the climate control had been set to so low a temperature, but he plainly knew it wasn't good.

Still, the response was the same, a buzz following the last key stroke of each attempt.

"Ergh!" Cyborg gritted his teeth, pounding on the door once more. "Hang tight, y'all! I'm gettin' you outta' there!"

He balled up his metal fist. "Good thing I got a five knuckle lock pick," he said, determined to open the door, one way or another.

"Ee-yah!"

WHAM!

"Hoogh!"

BAM!

Cyborg took four steps back, digging his heel in, leaning forward, hand primed against the floor in football scrimmage fashion. He was prepared to plow right through, door, wall, supports and all.

"Haaaaaagh!" he yelled, beginning to charge, shoulder aimed squarely on the middle of the door like a battering ram, coming straight for it.

The door to Raven's room opened with a swish, BeastBoy and Raven standing side by side.

"Cy!" BeastBoy called, holding out his arms, signaling him to stop.

"Whoa!" Cyborg yelled, grinding his feet against the ground, screeching to a halt only millimeters from colliding with the two.

Raven and BeastBoy, previously braced for impact eased back to more relaxed standing positions.

"Guys!" Cyborg said, elated and relieved, "You're okay! Man, I was startin' to freak. I was checkin up on you two, and I dozed off. And just when I startin' cuttin' Zs, the thermostat went haywire. Yo, for a second I thought…"

"Checking up?" BeastBoy asked skeptically, something about that phrase not sitting well with him.

"Translation," Raven picked up, also keying to Cyborg's words, more aware of the situation than BeastBoy who had been asleep at the time when it all began, "He was screening our recovery for home movies."

The mystic and changeling's eyes focused intently on the mechanical man before them.

"Whoa now, hold on," Cyborg raised his hands up, "I think you're readin' too much into this. I was… uh… collecting data. Strictly medical purposes."

"Medical purposes don't dictate sealing patients in an enclosed space with faulty, outdated systems and equipment," Raven said calmly, yet menacingly.

Cyborg felt chills run down processor. "Ok, ok. I admit, I probably shoulda' checked the whole thing through more thoroughly before I sealed ya in. But you were sick, and I had to get ya quarantined right away," he explained, both admitting his faults and trying to save his cybernetic skin. "But the important thing is, you're okay. And… ya do look a lot better." He gave a nervous smile.

This much was true. Their skin pigmentation was back to normal and they both certainly looked a lot better than when they were first admitted.

BeastBoy felt his forehead. No headache, no fever, no nothing. He seemed back in the pink. Or rather, back in the green. "I guess so," he removed his hand. "Raven? Are you feeling okay?" he asked, unsure because he'd hadn't the chance to ask before.

Raven looked from BeastBoy to her hand, held up to eye level. She spread her fingers, making a quick swipe across the air.

BONG!

A telekinetic burst of black energy curved right into Cyborg, slamming him against the wall, a deep impression of his body imprinting the wall as he dropped with a loud clang of his metal components against the floor.

"It'll do," she said dryly, hiding a smirk, drawing a small measure of payback and verifying her powers were now functioning normally along with the rest of her.

BeastBoy smiled. "Great. Well…" he faked a yawn, starting to make quick pace for his room, "I guess I'll go turn in, been a long day, been real, been fun, gotta be goin'!" he said as fast as his feet were beginning to move, his words barely enough apart not to be jumbled together.

"NOT…" Raven called after him, a raven's talon composed of energy snaring him by the waist, stopping him dead, "…So fast."

BeastBoy's eyes were peeled wide, a sweat drop on his forehead amidst a petrified smile. He knew a clean get away would be too much to hope for.

Raven walked over, the energy talon dissipating, now standing right beside him. "I'll see you to your room," she said, eyes half open, looking straight ahead. "It's on my way to the kitchen. I'll have to kill some time until Cyborg makes repairs to my room, and raises it above arctic temperature." Raven glanced over her shoulder with a calm demeanor, intimidating without any effort whatsoever.

Cyborg, now rolled over onto his back gave an unsteady wave; gesturing to her it was taken care of with a tense grin.

Raven turned and began walking, BeastBoy pausing briefly before he followed timidly behind. He glanced back after a few steps at Cyborg, still in a heap on the ground. As bad as his friend looked, it was probably not nearly as worse as whatever Raven had in store for him as punishment for going inside her mirror. BeastBoy's head sank between his shoulders, still following only two steps behind Raven.

The walk to BeastBoy's room seemed like an eternity, at least from his perspective. Not a word was spoken. Raven never even so much as looked back at him as she walked casually down the corridor. The only consistent sound was that of their footsteps across the hard metal floor, which made BeastBoy even more tense, feeling as though he were walking towards his own freshly dug grave.

He tried his best to remain calm, but he'd known Raven long enough to anticipate what was still to come. When Raven was this quiet, it meant only one of two things. Either she was calm and in a serene state of mind, or she was just waiting for the opportunity to unleash a kind of displaced anger that would make a soccer riot seem like a tea party.

And he was fairly certain Raven was NOT in a serene state of mind.

BeastBoy seemed to shrink with every step, drawing ever closer to their destination.

He tried to think of something to say, but nothing eloquent came to mind. Just the standard 'Raven apology' he'd pretty much memorized to the letter. 'Really sorry, blah blah blah, I didn't mean – insert screw up here, blah blah blah, I'll never do it again.' Maybe it'd save time if he just had his own stationary.

Soon, he began to weigh other alternatives. Break away, run past her, bolt into his room, and barricade the door? No, no good. Raven'd snare like before the second he got into her field of vision. And even if he made it inside, Raven could teleport and phase through solid objects. Run the opposite direction and hope he could evade her, and make haste for Mexico? Nah. Raven could be pick up speed very quickly when she wanted to, and prior chases with her were less than convincing to make another attempt. Plus, BeastBoy couldn't speak Spanish.

Finally, to his dismay, they arrived at his room.

Raven stopped right in front of BeastBoy's door, BeastBoy himself freezing the instant she stopped, still just a few paces away.

BeastBoy stared at the back of Raven's head, expecting any minute for her to turn, eyes lit up, and to come straight for him. Final thoughts of making a last ditch effort to retreat were constant, but still BeastBoy held his ground, shakily but steadily.

Raven, turned. "BeastBoy…"

"DAH!" BeastBoy dropped to a knee, arms up in shielding fashion, slinking backward.

"…"

BeastBoy peeked back up at Raven, able to feel no immediate pain, nor hear any audible threats.

Raven merely stared down at the quivering green boy who was acting like a bomb was about to go off. "BeastBoy," she began with un-amused tone, "What are you doing?"

BeastBoy blinked, eyes darting from side to side. "Um…" he said, clearly at a loss. "Uh… OH! My knee!" he said franticly making use of his stance, holding his knee, feigning a pained expression, "M-My knee went out. Oh! Aaah!" BeastBoy plainly hobbled past her trying to sell it, "Oh, the pain!"

Raven rolled her eyes. Not BeastBoy's most convincing performance.

Never the less, he shuffled past her little by little, making his way for the door.

The door to his room opened with a swish.

BeastBoy's eyes lit up, hobbling slightly quicker. "No worries, Raven. I'll be okay. Just need to keep off it for a bit and I'm sure it'll be…"

Raven's hand shot out, palm against the frame of the door, barring BeastBoy's way.

"…Good as… new," he swallowed hard.

He looked over at Raven, retreat seemingly no longer an option.

Raven's head was down, eyes closed. "Just so you know," she began, "That was THE worst injury impression I have ever seen."

BeastBoy sighed.

Raven withdrew her hand, turning to face him, looking him square in the face.

"Well, guess ya can't win for losing, huh?" he tried to seem optimistic, standing up, slightly hunched over, still fearful. "Ok, then."

BeastBoy stood up straight, lifting his head to the side, looking up at the ceiling, and seemingly offering his face, his chin, his throat, and anything else she might want to take a swing at.

"Fire when ready," BeastBoy said calmly, nervously closing his eyes.

Raven raised her eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

"What's it look like?" he answered.

"Fighting a really bad crick in you neck or just letting what little blood that's actually circulating to your brain drain out," Raven wittily remarked.

BeastBoy rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Do I gotta spell it out for ya?"

"Hmmph," Raven gave a mock smirk, "You, spell. That'd be a first."

"Ugh!" BeastBoy slumped. "Come on. You're gonna' totally go postal on me and you know it. I'm just tryin' to get it over with," he straightened upright once more. "So, let'r rip."

Raven just looked at him trying to rule out if this was some new kind of joke or if he was actually serious. "BeastBoy," she grabbed his chin, hoisting his head to her direction.

"Whoop, here we go," BeastBoy shut his eyes, preparing for first strike.

"I'm not going to hit you," she said solemnly.

"Of course not," he replied, eyes still closed, "You're gonna' punish me. Or teach me a lesson. Or… or make me sorry. Or…" he listed off every aftermath remark from previous infractions with Raven.

"BeastBoy!" she shouted, tightening her grip around his chin, scrunching his cheeks.

BeastBoy went silent.

"Listen," she said calmly, "Don't speak. Listen."

BeastBoy nodded as best he could with Raven's fingers digging into the side of his face.

Raven exhaled slowly, releasing BeastBoy, returning her hand to her side. "While I appreciate you being forthcoming with me, and seemingly prepared to take what's coming to you…"

BeastBoy braced again, the mention of what he had coming to him sending him on high alert.

"…Now, is… not one of those times," she finished.

This time BeastBoy was the one raising an eyebrow confused.

"I'm not going to bore you with a complete list, nor am I fully aware of everything that went on in my mind today," she said firmly, crossing her arms, "But because you exercised… admittedly good judgment, and… protected and cared for me on more than one exchange today…"

BeastBoy tilted his head, more and more confused as it sounded like he was off the hot seat.

"… I'm about to do something I rarely ever do. Something of great personal sacrifice," she said nervously glancing up at the ceiling.

She turned towards BeastBoy, slowly meeting eyes with him. She took a deep breath.

BeastBoy looked as baffled as ever.

"…Thank you… BeastBoy," Raven said softly, eyes shifting off to the side.

It took a second for the concept of BeastBoy not being rendered unconscious to fully sink in, but relief steadily found its way to his nerves. "Oh… y-yeah. Sure," his signature goofy grin began to return. "I'm jus…"

Raven threw her arms around him, pulling him into brief hug.

Taken totally by surprise, BeastBoy froze.

It wasn't like Raven had never hugged him before. The last time she'd hugged him, it was following her heartbreak at the hands of that dragon in wizard's clothing, Malchior. But at the time, he'd mostly chalked it up to being in the moment. The 'right place at the right time' sort of scenario. After that kind of heartache, she most likely would've hugged the first person who came knocking. And who wouldn't?

It was just that this one seemed… different. This seemed more gratifying. More warmth. More… loving.

BeastBoy hesitantly began to lift his arms, seemingly to return the hug.

Just as his arms began to curl around her back, Raven released the hug, taking a step back, turning away. "Well then," she cleared her throat, "…Thank you."

Raven walked away towards the kitchen at a brisk pace, still leaving BeastBoy frozen in place.

He thought about calling after her, about asking what that was specifically for. But it seemed like every time BeastBoy questioned something he did right, he ended up getting treated like he did something wrong. So for once, he decided to leave it alone.

"So… does this mean no vicious beating?"

Sort of. But Raven was well out of earshot by then.

He just stood there, rubbing the back of his head, trying to put out the glow in his cheeks, still able to feel Raven's warm arms around him. "Dude," he said dreamily, "How do I know this isn't some wicked dream?"

ZAP!

He looked up, alerted by a noise above.

CRASH!

A delayed discharge of mystic energy fizzled overhead, cutting loose an overhead light panel, conking BeastBoy square on the noggin. After twirling in place dizzily from the blow to the head, he doubled over, flat on the ground.

"Oooh," he said hazily, hallucinating black birds flying around his head, "I woulda' settled for a pinch."

And with that, BeastBoy passed out on the floor.

Next Chapter: Raven's already been through a typical day with BeastBoy, and BeastBoy has survived a not so typical day inside Raven's mind. But how will those experiences compare to a night on the town? Spend some quality time, next time, as the both of them venture out of the tower.