This is why I wanted to be finished with this story before school started up again.

I'm sorry it's taken so long for this chapter to be posted, this past week was my first week back at school and I'm taking more courses than last year, so I really had no time to write. Luckily, I had written about half of this chapter the week before, and I was struck with a rush inspiration on this past Friday, so I was able to polish it pretty quickly.

This is by far the longest chapter I've written. Enjoy!

LilBlackBird: Hahaha, aww thank you! And no, I wouldn't mind, as long as I'm invited to the ceremony!

dawnlight55: Oh my gosh, your review killed me. Seriously, like, what you wrote is such a massive compliment and you have no idea how much I appreciate it. You made my life. I have not read the comics, though I desperately want to because I keep seeing snippets of BBxRae comic moments on my Tumblr dashboard and I love the whole DC/Marvel/Superhero comics fandom. But reading your review has definitely increased my motivation to get my hands on a stack of comic books! And thank you for the tip, I will definitely keep an eye out for the issues you mentioned.

Xaphrin: Wahhhhh thank you! That really means a lot!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or anything even remotely related to the Teen Titans.

XXXXX

It was eerily quiet in the wharf, especially now that Cyborg's guffawing had faded out behind them. Beast Boy and Raven were quite alone now, wandering almost aimlessly through the labyrinth of warehouses in search of Slade.

Deep down, they both knew it was a waste of time to actually try to find him. You didn't find Slade, Slade found you. And if by some miracle you did find him, it's because he wanted you too, because it was all according to his master plan.

Raven peered down at the strange image before her. The sight of Beast Boy's hand comfortably clasped around her own was truly marveling, even to her. When had he started holding her hand instead of her wrist? And why the hell hadn't she noticed?

She halted abruptly in her step, confusing Beast Boy until she pulled her hand away from his awkwardly.

"Oh...sorry," he amended anxiously. He probably thought she was going to fry him or send him to another dimension as punishment for the unexpected and intimate contact, but she was far too exhausted for such things right now. All she wanted to do was end this deranged mess Slade had shamelessly concocted, and go to bed. More than anything, she just wanted this whole ordeal to be over.

"Don't worry about it," she said, resting to check on her knee.

Beast Boy stared at her swollen appendage with skepticism. "Are you sure you're okay to walk on that?"

"I'm fi-"

"Fine. Yeah, I know, you keep saying that," he sighed, a tinge of irritation in his voice.

Raven ignored the jibe, and instead decided to focus on the stars above her. The fog had lifted considerably in the last hour or so, revealing an elegantly decorated night sky.

"We're never going to find him," she muttered despondently. "He's probably watching us, right now, but we'll never find him. He doesn't want us to, so we won't."

Beast Boy studied her carefully. "Raven, I know you're tired, but you can't give up."

It wasn't much of a pep talk, but she understood that in his drained state of mind, this was the best he could do. They were all tired, fatigued, weary...whatever. They were over Slade and all his bullshit.

"I know," she agreed with him, raking a hand through her tangled mess of hair in frustration. "I just want this to be over."

"Me too."

She turned and looked at him, finding a weak smile planted on his face. The waves were crashing lightly against the docks behind them, reminding them that there was a world beyond tonight, a world outside of Slade's diabolical schemes that was worth fighting for.

"So, what should we do now?" she asked softly, the peacefulness around them appealing to her weary mind. As the night wore on, her body was beginning to take stock of her growing wounds, and as a result, an agonizing soreness had started to set in.

Her muscles were stiff and tender from all the physical exertion and her skin stung from her brief exposure to the detonator's blast. Not to mention her head and throat were still reeling from the aftermath of Slade's brutal temper.

Beast Boy looked down at his hands, the gentle moonlight reflecting affectionately upon his face. "It's hard to say. Slade's obviously playing games with us. He could be long gone by now, for all we know."

Unconsciously, Raven licked her lips. "Yeah, you're probably right. Maybe we should head back to the rest of your team."

Beast Boy's eyebrows knitted together like he was about to contradict her, but Raven cut him off. Her senses were perking at something not too far from their location.

"Garfield."

"What? What's wrong?"

She started to walk in the direction of the energy signal, her instincts telling her it was Slade. "My senses are picking up on something in this direction. We need to move, fast."

"Wait, what?" he stepped in front of her, attempting to reclaim her attention. "Raven, hold up, what are you talking about?"

She glared up at him as she tried to side-step around his blocking form. "I'll explain on the way, but we need to get moving."

His hands flew to her shoulders, preventing her from leaving her spot in front of him. "No. Tell me now. Is it Slade?" he asked with unflinching seriousness, though taking extra care not to irritate or re-injure her tender shoulder.

Truthfully, she wasn't sure. But they didn't have much to go on right now and she wanted to finish this nightmare once and for all. Her fingers grasped at his hands, trying to yank them off, but his grip was stronger than she had expected. "I'm not entirely sure," she muttered through gritted teeth.

Beast Boy's grip relaxed, but she remained grounded there by his next question. "Were you actually there when the detonator went off, or was that just my imagination?" he wondered dryly.

"What are you talking about?"

He released his grip completely, backing away as he shook his head in disbelief. At first she couldn't tell if he was just teasing her, but when she heard the concern in his voice, she knew she'd said something wrong.

"Raven, how do we know this isn't just another one of Slade's traps? We can't just go running after every little thing he leaves for us to find!"

She recoiled at his sudden outpouring of emotions, though she did feel like an idiot for not wondering the same thing. It was the fatigue making her more reckless, she knew, but it was still no excuse. She pulled her hood up, feeling very much like a small, weary child being scolded.

"You're right, I wasn't thinking...I'm sorry," she said in a small voice.

Then, out of nowhere, Beast Boy grinned at her.

"What?" she inquired defensively, not understanding his sudden change in attitude.

He chuckled a little bit as his eyes searched hers. "Nothing, nothing. It's just that..." he faded out, shrugging at her goofily.

"It's just that what?" she huffed.

"...You apologized to me."

Raven felt her face flush, and she was grateful for the security of her hood. "People apologize to people all the time. It's not a big deal," she replied stoically.

As if it were even possible, his grin somehow got bigger. "It is when it's you and me."

Oh boy. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it," she retorted, seeking to change the subject immediately. "Slade's brutality probably gave me brain damage, anyway."

"Yeah, it must have, considering you actually apologized to me!" he laughed.

Raven rolled her eyes. "Not to defer from this totally fascinating conversation we're having right now, but I really think we should check out that source I picked up on."

Beast Boy stopped laughing. "Raven, are you sure about this?"

"No. But it's all we've got right now."

His lips drew out into a thin line, his flecked green eyes murky and troubled. "Alright," he exhaled, pulling out his yellow Teen Titans communicator. "But if we're going to do this, we'll need the others."

When she covered his communicator with her hand, he looked up at her questioningly.

"Maybe we should give them a little more time to rest," she suggested gently, knowing how anxious the other three must be feeling right now, especially Robin. And besides, if Slade was truly gone, there was no point in riling up the Boy Wonder. "That way if we need them, they'll be at their most revitalized," she added.

Beast Boy hesitated at first, but then nodded. "Alright, but I'm sending out a distress signal when we get there. I don't wanna take any more chances."

They took off toward the source's direction, the cold air nipping at their faces as they ran. Raven's injuries were temporarily put on the back-burner as her body coursed with newfound adrenaline.

A while later, she found herself stopping at another warehouse, though unlike the first one, this one looked like it was used on a more regular basis.

Raven looked over at Beast Boy, who was putting his communicator away. "Signal's sent," he murmered. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

He smiled a little. "Stay close to me," he instructed.

They entered through a small and out-of-the-way side entrance, creeping into the building as quietly as cat burglars. As they eased into the darkness of the facility, Raven's senses became more alive, confirming their proximity to the source. "This way," she directed softly, shivering under the flow of the intense air conditioning system above them.

They soon found themselves heading to a back storage room. Beast Boy halted in his tracks, sniffing the air vehemently.

"What is it?" she asked, keeping their surroundings in mind.

He stopped sniffing, his facial expression horrified and bewildered at the same time. "You don't smell that?" he whispered.

She shook her head. "Smell what?"

Beast Boy's eyes wandered frantically until they spotted the suspicious hooks hanging cryptically from the ceiling. "What did you say they stored in this warehouse?"

"...I didn't."

"Right," he swallowed, his breathing a tad shaky.

She decided to take the lead, sensing that the source in question was very close to them now. The source certainly didn't feel like Slade, but for all she knew he could just as easily be disguising his presence to throw her off. There was only one way to find out.

She nudged him toward a larger room up ahead. "That might be it."

He nodded, moving closer to her as they readied themselves for another confrontation with Slade.

They pressed themselves up against an adjacent wall. Beast Boy fixed his gaze on Raven, throwing a hand up and silently counting backwards from five with his fingers. She could feel his warm, pleasant breath on her neck as they hunched together, her heart speeding up just ever so slightly.

As soon as his last finger curled into his palm, they both jumped out in front of the doorway, their movements so swift and calculated even Slade himself might have been impressed. Raven's hands were up and fizzling with dark energy, while Beast Boy had transformed into a ready-to-pounce lion.

As they took in the sight before them, Beast Boy reverted back into a human, his face a little paler than usual. "Damn."

Raven lowered her hands as well, a little surprised at the sort of warehouse they had stumbled into. The raw odor was rather overpowering at this point and she wondered how she hadn't smelled it sooner. But thinking back on the hooks and the particular coldness of the warehouse, it all made sense.

They had wandered into a facility that stored meat; in simplest terms, a meat locker.

Her eyes fell on Beast Boy, who looked like he'd been slapped hard across the face. Leave it to Slade to lead them to a place like this. The view they had was enough to tempt her into veganism. Dozens of varying slabs of meat hung from the rust-colored hooks in the locker, the pale reds and pinks and yellows sending a wave of nausea through her lurching stomach.

It was a large meat locker to say the least, with rows and rows of raw animal reaching as far back into the darkness as her eyes could make out. The lights were off, as they were within the rest of the building, but the fervent buzz of the refrigeration system remained constant in order to keep the meat fresh.

She couldn't even imagine what was going through Beast Boy's head.

Tentatively, she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay?"

He looked at her dazedly, as if she had just woken him from sleep, or maybe even a nightmare. It took a while for the words to reach his mouth. "Yeah. It's just a lot to take in, especially since I've been most of these animals before." he said quietly.

She waited a few moments for him to gather himself before bringing up their next move. "I think we might have to go in there," she told him a little uneasily.

Beast Boy nodded, his face still looking numb. "I had a feeling you'd say that," he was trying to keep his tone light, but she knew this must have been the last thing he wanted to hear.

"You can wait out here if you want," she offered, even though they both knew he'd never take her up on that.

"I think we both know that's out of the question," he smiled grimly. Raven suspected that Slade had designed this test with Beast Boy in mind, to torture him on yet another level before the night was through.

It was quiet between them after that, with nothing but the sound of the ventilation system keeping them sober. Finally, Beast Boy stepped forward, his posture determined.

"I'll go in first," he decided, though there was a small amount of horror in his eyes at what he was about to do.

Raven watched him as he cautiously crept inside the freezing meat locker. When he was more than a few feet inside, he turned to look at her, his brow furrowed. "I don't think there's anyone in-"

He was cut off when the door to the freezer suddenly slammed shut and locked, conveniently separating the two heroes from each other.

"Raven, open the door!" he called out, panicked. She could hear him pounding on the heavy door with his fists.

Raven tried her best to remain calm as she scanned the door frantically, searching for the locking mechanism.

There.

She tugged at the lock with all of her strength, but the damned thing wouldn't budge for anything.

"Raven, what's going on out there?"

Giving up physical force with a frustrated grunt, she stepped back, preparing to release her soul-self onto the door. "The lock's stuck. Hold on, I'm going to try something else."

"Okay, well, I don't wanna rush you or anything, but it's really cold in here. Not to mention there's at least twenty different cuts of meat staring at me!" he informed her none too calmly.

"Just hold on a second," she said irritably. Sometimes Beast Boy could be so impatient and it drove her nuts. She was about to unleash her dark energy upon the door, when she felt the air suddenly changed around her.

"The animal is trapped in a meat locker. How fitting."

Raven turned around slowly, though a sinking feeling in her gut told her there was no visual confirmation needed. Deep down, she already knew exactly who was standing there.

"Slade," she breathed.

There he was, in all his nauseating glory, gazing at her amusedly as if his previous observation was the most clever thing anyone had ever said. "Oh come now, Raven. Don't look so happy to see me," he remarked indifferently.

"After everything that's happened, after everything you've done, you honestly thought I'd have a smile plastered on my face when I saw you?" she bit back a snarl.

"Raven?" Beast Boy shouted in a confused tone. "Who's out there? What's going on?"

Slade's one eye twitched, as if he was holding back a chuckle, like this was all so amusing to him. The bastard.

"Let him out," she demanded to Slade abruptly, forgetting her injuries or exhaustion.

Slade cocked an eyebrow and began to circle around her like a hungry vulture. "Lucky for you, Raven, I'm feeling rather generous today. I've decided I'm going to give you one last chance to make the right decision."

Raven felt her chest puff with raw fury. "And what did I do to deserve such an honor?" she asked flatly.

"I see a lot of potential in you, Raven. And I've always considered myself the type of man who hates to lose out on an excellent investment opportunity."

Raven stared at him, a baffled expression finding its way to her face. Did he really think that after everything that had gone down, she was just going to bow down to him and pledge her loyalty?

"This cannot be happening," she muttered to herself, panic rising in her stomach.

Slade ceased his circling, and Raven shivered when she suddenly felt his hot breath in her ear. "I'd advise you not to make the same mistakes as before, dear child," he regarded the thick freezer door behind her, sinisterly. "Especially if you want your so-called 'friends' to survive this..."

Her breath caught as she remembered Beast Boy trapped in the frigid meat locker. Slade wouldn't really let Beast Boy freeze to death would he? Then again, the more she thought of it, the more she realized that the list of things Slade would not do was probably very, very small, practically non-existent, most likely.

"You wouldn't," she whispered, having a hard time making her voice go any louder. "And even if you would, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll succeed."

Beast Boy was, well, Beast Boy. With all the animals he was able to morph into, trying to freeze him to death would be very tricky, even for Slade.

The psycho was lying, as usual, but this time she'd called his bluff.

Now Slade chuckled, and it was one of the worst sounds she'd ever heard in her whole life. Her short burst of victory was seemingly over before it had even found its stride. "Did you really think I would lock that creature up in a freezer without taking the proper precautions?"

Despite the sharp, acrid ache running through her body, she somehow found herself growling back at him, the words spilling uncontrollably before she could stop them. "He has a name! His name is Be-"

"His identity makes no difference to me," Slade interrupted. "He will not be alive much longer, anyway...Though the amount of affection you've developed for him in such a short amount of time is quite fascinating, Raven," he appraised her curiously.

"What did you do!" she gnashed her teeth. She imagined tiny sparks bursting from her mouth as she did.

Slade had stepped away and was inspecting the armor around his wrists, as if she had just asked him about the weather. "It's simple really. Genius in all its simplicity, but really, very simple. I had a device made and implanted into the insulation of the meat locker, preventing him from transforming into any kind of animal while he's in there. I'd explain the mechanics of the device to you, but somehow I think you might find that rather dull."

There was a lump forming in Raven's throat and she wished more than anything that Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire were there to help her right then. So, this was how Slade really planned on garnering Raven's loyalty. This time she really was backed into a corner. "You're lying," she accused weakly.

"Now, even if I was, Raven, would you really like to test that theory?" he asked wickedly.

Raven's eyes fixated on the cold concrete below them, feeling utterly cornered and helpless.

But it wasn't long before Slade's breath was in her ear again, this time his teeth practically nipping at her lobe. Her body cringed in disgust as his hands found their way to her shoulders, in a disturbingly intimate sort of way that made her want to release bile from her pores. She felt her burning hatred for him magnify infinitely in that moment.

"All you have to do is say 'Yes', Raven, and this will all be over," his words slithered into her and all around her like a venomous snake.

She whirled around to strike him across the face, but his reflexes were faster, like he was always one step ahead of her.

Indifferently, he clutched at her wrist and bent and twisted it backwards, until she was certain it would snap. She grit her teeth and waited for yet another one of her bones to splinter, courtesy of Slade and his never ending "generosity".

But instead of finishing the action, he held her wrist there, painfully on the precipice of breaking, and clucked his tongue at her in mock disappointment. "Pity. Such a waste of potential. You could've had everything you've ever wanted, Raven."

"You mean everything you've ever wanted. And besides, what makes you think I don't have that already?" she spoke with an eery calmness, and even she could see that in that moment, in that small millisecond, Slade's confidence faltered as he pondered the sincerity of her question.

Raven broke out of Slade's grip and spun to face the meat locker, not caring if Slade broke her spine or snapped her neck in the next few seconds.

"Beast Boy! Get away from the door!" she called to him. She called forth all of her remaining strength, praying desperately to Azar that he was alright and she wasn't too late.

A ray of dark luminescence shot from her hand and collided with the massive freezer door, knocking it completely off its hinges as it sailed to the back of the dim meat locker like a piece of crumbled tin foil.

She didn't even have time to see if Beast Boy was okay, though, because it was right then that she felt Slade's meaty hand rip down into her hair. She cried out as she felt her body being yanked into an almost back-bend position by his barbaric grip, the root's of the hair on her scalp bleeding as he thoughtlessly handled her like a rag doll.

She grunted as she heard her spinal vertebra pop and creak from the insane pressure, her back muscles and tendons twisting with singeing agony because they were unaccustomed to this level of flexibility. Her legs trembled with exertion as they threatened to give out beneath her, yet somehow, she remained frozen in her awkward position, as if Slade's precarious grip held her there.

"Looks like you've made your choice," Slade glowered down at her. Raven closed her eyes and waited, simply too tired and wounded to do anything more. At least it wouldn't be in vain. At least Beast Boy would live.

That was all she needed to know.

As she waited for him to make his final move, she thought of everything that had happened these past few days, and vaguely wondered if any of this could have been prevented, or if it had simply been meant to be. Had all of her previous thoughts and actions led her to this moment? Was there nothing she could have done to change it?

These were not thoughts of last-minute regret and desperation, merely thoughts of pure wonder. Though Raven was very much in pain, and both physically and mentally exhausted, she was much more conscious than the last time she faced Slade, when he had tried to choke life out of her. The reality of the situation was hitting her harder this time, like a brutal slap upside her head with a cinderblock.

Her eyes found themselves blinking open though, when she heard a small, sharp object whistle past her and slice through the hair Slade grasped, releasing her from his hold in one smooth motion. She crumpled clumsily to the floor and looked around bemusedly, her eyes eventually pouncing on the Birdarang that had carved itself into the gritty concrete, wisps of violet locks strewn about it, carelessly.

Slade, now left holding a modest handful of Raven's hair, seemed to recognize the object around the same time she did, and with wide eyes dove for her. He didn't get very far though before a green rhino charged into him from the side, his body tumbling and skidding across the floor with a grimace-inducing crack.

"TITANS, GO!" Robin shouted furiously. Raven looked up at the door she and Beast Boy had originally entered from, to find the other three Titans fiercely rushing to join the scene. They looked like they'd had a year to rest, their movements fresh and fearless as they each took turns in pummeling a shocked and defenseless Slade, as if he was a piñata created purely for their enjoyment.

That's not to say that they were outwardly enjoying beating Slade to a pulp. Maybe mentally, on some deep, unconscious level they were enjoying this physical form of payback. But nobody was smiling as they clobbered the psychotic villain, no one was laughing or throwing high fives. There were no "Boo-yah!"s or offers of congratulation.

No, this was different. This was grimly serious.

This was Slade.

And Slade had managed to take it a level farther this time, crossed even more lines than usual.

And, needless to say, the Titans were pissed.

Of course, it's not like they were trying to kill Slade. They were nowhere near that level of rage. Maybe sometimes (okay, maybe most of the time), they wanted Slade dead, but they would never go as far as to actually kill him.

Because they were better than that. They were heroes. They were the Teen Titans.

Having gathered some of his bearings, Slade was attempting to fight back now, but the Titans' determination was unfathomable. With a mighty battle cry, Starfire released a barrage of beautiful green starbolts upon Slade, the rapidly falling green energy almost resembling an acidic downpour.

As Slade futilely tried to avoid her attack, Cyborg utilized the opportunity to blast him with his gleaming sonic canon. The power from the canon sent Slade crashing into a wall, the sociopathic man collapsing to his knees with a weary groan.

It was then that a green lion pounced on Slade, and it took a while for Raven to realize that it was Beast Boy again.

Only this time, Beast Boy was not holding back so much. The green lion swiped at Slade viciously, a smattering of blood and claw marks beginning to take form all across his arms and chest.

"Beast Boy! Stop!" Robin called out to him.

Beast Boy seemed to pause for a moment, and shuddered, as if being harshly shaken from a dream. Raven felt tears burn at the back of her eye sockets as she watched Beast Boy, still in lion form, quietly stalk away from Slade and over to her protectively, a mixture of relief and pride shining in his eyes.

Robin watched his teammate carefully before soberly turning to Slade's mangled, yet somehow still smug, form. The Boy Wonder began to walk toward him, his metal staff expanding in his hand as if he had commanded it to do so mentally.

Slade eased himself up into a sitting position, leaning on the wall for support. Robin stopped walking and eyed him cautiously, setting himself in a defensive stance. Slade's eye swept across the room, noting each of them individually, before finally resting on Raven.

Everyone noticed this. "It's over, Slade," Robin spat at him, not bothering to contain his revulsion toward the man.

The villain's eyebrow quirked at that, and faintly Raven wondered if he was going to chuckle again. His gaze stayed on her as he spoke, blatantly ignoring Robin's statement.

"It's a pity my proposal did not take, Raven," he announced nonchalantly, before observing each of the Titans again. It was like he wasn't even wounded, wasn't even in the slightest bit in pain. "However, rest assured, we will cross paths again."

Robin clutched Slade by the collar now, practically spitting in his face. "Didn't you hear me? I said this was over," he snarled.

Slade's attention focused on Robin, his one eye narrowing cruelly. "On the contrary, Robin, this is only the beginning."

Something glinted in his right hand, and when Raven recognized the object, she wished she had spotted it sooner. As Slade's thumb pressed down upon the trigger, amidst all the running and shouting, Raven couldn't help but think that the man certainly held a particular fetish for destruction.

Despite her intense state of fatigue, Raven was still able to react faster than the last time. Throwing every other thought out the window, Raven centered her remaining stores of power and willed for it to expand all the way to Robin, who was still the farthest away, despite his sprinting.

She felt her vocal chords strain as she screamed out her mantra for the last time that night. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"

If someone happened to be watching the warehouse from a distance, they probably would've been awed by the strange, yet stunning sight before them; the breathtaking collision between the scarlet flames of the fiery explosion, and the inky glow of the steady, protective power that safeguarded against it.

XXXXX

Alright, so, the next chapter is the last chapter. It's definitely a weird feeling to be telling you guys that, especially when I think back on how this all started. But I have to warn all of you, now that I'm back at school, the last chapter may not be posted this next week. It may take longer, depending on my schedule. But it will definitely be up by the end of September, don't worry.

Thanks for reading! I love you guys.