Hope you like the quicker update. And just in case you were wondering, my new TT story will be posted in a couple days.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chaper 21: Bane Leaf

Stepping into the dark forest was almost like entering a horror movie. Even though it was still daylight, the thick canopy overhead practically blocked the sunlight out entirely. The only animals they came across were either some kind of large bug or a furry rodent they didn't recognize. They figured most of the animals were nocturnal, which was very fitting. As much as they tried, the Titans also couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. Even more, the whole place seemed to send everyone into a nervous, depressed mood. Throughout the trip, nobody said a word, until Robin decided to speak up.

"Aalya, you said this place was cursed. What exactly happened to make it this way?" he queried.

"It's complicated," she answered. "But in the beginning, before either the Templar or the Zamoans existed, there was a great struggle between good and evil, with mortals caught in between. In that time, monsters and demons were free to roam Pantara whenever they pleased. They slew and enslaved many, and their presence threatened to eradicate humanity forever. Finally, the heavens decided to intervene, and they battled the forces of hell. Good eventually triumphed, and the demons were banished from this realm. Of course, you still have monsters here, but they are no longer free to come and go as they please, and they are no longer a threat to our civilization. This forest you see around you was the site of their last portal into this world until it was closed up after that battle."

"As the years passed, a lush forest eventually grew around it, and it even served as a trade route for caravans. The portal was forgotten. However, many years later, Calabos reopened the portal during his rise to power. In doing so, he unleashed its corruption, and the forest became an evil place again. After Arturus defeated Calabos, he closed and destroyed the portal once and for all. However, the corruption lingered, and not even Arturus could purge it all, except for the few paths that ran through it. It has been this way ever since. It even served as a home for Calabos's spirit after Arturus cursed him. This place has many names, Dark Wood, Black Root, Bane Leaf…but everyone knows of its existence. The paths that were once used for trade deteriorated and are overgrown, but are still here (luckily for us) and are barely useable. So there you have it. That is how this lovely forest came to be."

"Wow…" was all Robin could say after that story.

"Creepy," Cyborg added. "Man, this place is just so Dungeon's and Dragons."

"Dragons?" she said. "There hasn't been a dragon around here for hundreds of years, and you'd better hope we don't run into one now."

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Of course. Silly me."

"By the way, I noticed you guys can change into animals," Robin continued.

"Well, just one animal," Aalya answered. "I can only change into the form you saw earlier. Some can change into two or three, but that takes years of practice."

"Wow. How come you never told us about them, Worek?" Robin asked. The blue templar's eyes widened.

"I just…it never occurred to me," he answered.

"We know someone who can change into any animal he wants to," Cyborg said. "He's one of the two people we're looking for."

"Well, that's unusual. I'll have to ask him how he does it," the Zamoan replied.

Nightfall eventually came, and theTitans were forced to stop and set up camp on the spot. They had managed to set up a fire, albeit a small one so as to not attract too much attention. Aayla had warned them earlier about eyes, and she wasn't kidding. As soon as the sun set and they lit the fire, they were popping up all over the place, watching the Titans' every move. They were all different shapes, sizes, and colors, but all of them creepy. They'd always be just out of range of the firelight, so the Titans couldn't make out whatever animal they belonged to. Some appeared for only a split second while others hovered around for a few. Still others watched them for minutes on end before finally disappearing. Starfire didn't like them one bit, and she sat very close to Robin the entire time.

They drew straws to see who would keep watch, and Jinx had (ironically) the misfortune of being assigned second shift. So there she sat, watching the fire while the others slept soundly. Even though she was surrounded by the others, she couldn't shake her nervousness. Eyes would occasionally appear in the darkness and then disappear, or some small creature would come scuttling across the path and disappear back into the darkness. On top of that, she'd sometimes hear strange noises emanating from the forest, from small footsteps to strange animal calls. She'd get the feeling that she was being watched, and was constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure nothing was there.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, Jinx spotted something bright, like someone had turned on a flashlight. She quickly turned to see what it was, but it was gone. She was about to call out to see if anybody was there, but right then something placed a hand on her shoulder. Jinxed yelped in surprised, turned around, and instinctively hit whatever had touched her.

"Ow!"

"Cyborg?" Jinx asked in shock.

"What the heck was that for?" he asked angrily, but in a low voice to avoid waking the others.

"I'm sorry. You…surprised me," she answered bashfully.

"Surprised you?! How couldn't you hear me coming?"

"I, I was paying attention to something else. Anyway, what are you doing up?" she asked, quickly changing the subject.

"Couldn't sleep. This place gives me the creeps. I'm surprised anyone could sleep in this place. Hey, are you okay?" he asked, noticing that she looked slightly paler than usual.

"I'm fine," she replied quickly. "This place just, I mean…" She stuttered, trying to come up with something to say. Meanwhile, Cyborg looked at her with an expression of what looked like triumph.

"I see. Place makes you nervous?" he asked.

"Yes. I mean, no, I…"

"HA! I knew it!" he said triumphantly. "You were scared, weren't you? I knew it!"

Jinx gave him the dirtiest look she could muster. "Alright, fine! I'm scared! Are you happy? I'm scared of this place. I'm scared of those creepy eyes and the trees that look like they're reaching out to grab you. I'm scared of the constant darkness and all those weird noises that sound like something straight out of the Blair Witch Project…"

"Woah, woah! Calm down!" Cyborg whispered, not wanting her to wake the others. "Hey, I was just messing with you."

"Messing with me?" she asked angrily. "You sure picked a hell of a time to do it!"

"No, you're right, I'm sorry," Cyborg quickly apologized. Jinx didn't reply, instead she folded her arms and stared straight into the fire.

Taking a risk, Cyborg scooted closer to her. "Look Jinx, I'm sorry," he said again. "But you know, you don't have to be ashamed of your fear. Sometimes it's alright to be scared. I know I am a lot."

Jinx looked at him, causing him some relief. A little encouraged, he continued on.

"Being afraid doesn't make you a coward, Jinx. We all get scared sometimes. It's how you handle your fear that really matters."

"I know, Cy," Jinx said tiredly. "It's not that I'm afraid to be afraid…well, I guess I kind of am, but…" she sighed, "you were right about me earlier. I suppose I am a proud person. Plus I guess being with the Hive so long made me think of fear as a weakness."

"Fear's not a weakness. That's what Raven thought one time," he told her. Cyborg recalled the time where Raven's denial of her own fear caused chaos around the Tower until she had finally accepted it. "But she's one of the proudest and strongest people I know, and even she accepted it."

Jinx almost smiled, but decided she'd torture him a bit more first.

"So what, are you saying Raven's stronger than I am?" Jinx asked.

Cyborg's human eye widened. "No, of course not! I'm just saying…"

"I see. So next thing you'll tell me is it's okay to be weak, right?"

Cyborg started panicking. "No! That's not what I meant! I was only saying that…"

"Thanks a lot, patronizing buffoon." She turned away and crossed her arms again, while Cyborg started begging.

"Come on, Jinx! Don't take it like that! Look, I'm sorry, okay?" she didn't answer, and he sighed. "You know what? Fine. Be that way."

Jinx finally turned to face him, and was smiling. "Hey, relax, Cyborg. I'm just messing with you."

Cyborg paused for a moment, as if he didn't understand what she had just said. Finally, he slumped and frowned at her.

"You sure picked a hell of a time to do it," he grumbled.

"Touché," she chuckled. "Look, I see what you mean, Cy. I'm just not one to be soft in front of others. I think you of all people should know that."

"No kidding," he replied. "But you don't have to worry about it. Nobody will make fun of you for it."

"Yeah, but I have the whole tough goth image to keep up. How will others take me seriously if I don't?" she asked with a smirk.

"Maybe you could be like Starfire, you know? Be cute and cuddly but get furious at the drop of a hat," Cyborg joked.

"I'd sooner floss my teeth with one of Beast Boy's old socks. And if you tell anyone I have a soft side, I'll deny it up and down."

"Then tell you what, we'll keep this our little secret, how about that?"

"Sure. Sounds fine by me," she whispered with her trademark grin. "Oh, and Cy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"No problem," he said cheerfully. "By the way, if it makes you feel any better, being strong is one of the things I like best about you."

Jinx briefly looked surprised, but then eyed him seductively. "So, are you saying strong women turn you on?"

Cyborg grinned back, but could feel his cheeks warming up. "Are you kidding? More than anything."

An awkward pause followed between the two. As he sat, Cyborg's head filled with memories of their time together at the Hive academy.

"What was that?" Jinx's sudden question snapped Cyborg out of his daydream.

"What?"

"That light! Did you see it?" she asked. She was looking into the distance, but through the darkness, it was impossible to see anything. Before Cyborg could switch to his night vision, he saw a ball of light appear and hover in the darkness.

"There!" Jinx pointed. "Am I seeing things?"

"No, I see it too!" he said as moved beside her so as to get a better look. As he did, another one appeared, then another, making three. He zoomed in with his electronic eye, but could still make out nothing except floating spheres of light, with wispy tentacle-like strands extending from them.

"What are those?" he asked.

"Geez, you think I know?"

Cyborg briefly thought about getting closer to them, but then remembered Aayla's warning about leaving things alone. After briefly thinking it over, he went over to the sleeping girl, and lightly nudged her on the shoulder to wake her. Aalya shot up like a recoiled spring and brought one of her daggers to his chest.

"Hey! Woah!" he cried, backing away. The girl stared at him blankly for a moment, but then shook the sleep out of her eyes.

"Sorry, Cyborg. Instincts, you know?" she apologized.

"Yeah, sure," he replied uneasily. "Look, what are those things?" He pointed toward the floating balls of light in the distance. By now, one had disappeared, leaving two.

She looked at them for a moment, then turned away. "Oh. Those are just wisps."

"Wisps?!" Jinx asked.

"Sure. Nobody is sure what they are, but they're usually harmless if you leave them alone. They're not the friendliest of creatures, so stay away from them. That's actually good for us, though. If they're here, this must mean we're close to the lake."

"The lake?" Jinx asked again.

"Yes. They're normally found close to water for some reason. Sometimes they've been known to lure innocents to their death by leading them to water to drown. We're making good time if we've run into them already. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to sleep." She lay down and nodded off without bothering to ask for their approval. Not that they minded. They really had no desire to know more.

"Yeah, Jinx. Come on. Everyone knows that," Cyborg joked once they had sat back down.

"Shut up, Cyborg," she shot back playfully. She looked again at the wisps in the distance. "Actually, they are kind of pretty."

"Yeah," Cyborg agreed. 'But they're not the only pretty thing around here,' his mind finished.

Beside him, Jinx yawned. She was obviously tired, having slept only a few hours before having to keep guard.

"Hey Jinx? Why don't you let me keep watch? You can get some sleep."

"Thanks, Cyborg, but I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I work partly on batteries, I don't need as much sleep," he offered.

"I said I'm fine, Cyborg, really. But thanks anyway. Now get some sleep. You won't hear th end of it if Robin finds you tired tomorrow."

The metal man smirked. "Yes ma'am." He got up, went back to his spot, and settled down. For reasons he wasn't sure of, he found it much easier to sleep now.

When morning finally came, everyone promptly packed up and continued on. Food and water had become somewhat of a concern. The templar had only a limited amount in their packs, and according to their Zamoan guide, there weren't many healthy things to eat in the forest. It became quickly clear that they'd have to make it out as soon as possible. They spent almost the entire time walking in the dark forest, while only taking a few short breaks to rest. The path they followed was often worn and overgrown, and there were times when large chunks of it completely disappeared. Even more, there was still that creepy feeling everywhere they went, like something was watching them. It was the same feeling a child would get, lying in bed a lone in the dark, afraid that a scary monster would leap out of the darkness and 'get them'. Nevertheless, they pressed on.

"Robin, I do not like this place," Starfire whispered as she walked behind him. "It is frightening."

"Don't worry, Star. I'm here. I'll protect you," he assured her. The princess smiled gratefully. She would often walk close to Robin along the way, sometimes grabbing his arm for protection whenever they heard a noise. Even though Robin would always look concerned when she did, the other Titans could tell he was enjoying all the attention and closeness he was getting from her.

"Well, we're here!" Aalya said as they stepped into an opening. Everyone behind her stared at a rather large lake in front of them. The water was very dark, almost black in the low light. On top of it, there seemed to hang a sort of greenish mist. Even though there were no trees in this spot, it still wasn't all that bright out. The dark cloudy sky above them blocked out the sun completely. It was too wide for a bridge, in fact the only sign of human hands was a small wooden dock that had long since been abandoned, and had mostly rotted. There was no doubt about it; this was the lake Aalya had mentioned to them last night.

"Well, I guess we go around then," Robin stated. Everyone silently agreed, and walked around the grassy part between the lake and the trees. As they passed, they noticed some more things about the lake: some patches of it would occasionally vibrate or bubble, and sometimes they'd hear a low noise coming from below. About halfway through, Cyborg and Robin glanced at the water and noticed something. Below the surface, they could just make out what looked like a big, dark mass moving around.

"Cy, do you see that? It looks like…"

"Something moving underwater," Cyborg finished.

The two of them continued to stare at it as they walked. Before anyone realized what was going on, an appendage shot up from the water, accompanied by a roar, and hit Robin square in the chest. The sheer force sent him hurtling through the air, and back behind the line of trees. Everyone else watched as a large creature emerged from the water. It wasn't huge, but it was easily the size off a shark. It looked almost like a mutated chambered nautilus, except its shell was flat. The tentacle that had knocked Robin back went ahead and grabbed the nearest thing, which happened to be Jinx, and started dragging her toward itself by her feet.

"Jinx!" Cyborg called. He readied his shock cannon, but large blast of green hit the thing square in the face. The tentacle that had Jinx quickly let go, and the beast retreated underwater while screeching in pain. Everyone turned to see Starfire, her hand still outstretched, facing the spot where it had just been.

"It shall not harm us anymore!" she stated triumphantly.

"What? What?! What will not harm us anymore?!" Robin shouted frantically as he emerged from the bushes, staff in hand and ready for battle.

"Um, a little too late there, Robby-poo," Jinx said sarcastically as Cyborg helped her up.

"That was a cephalax. I should've warned you…they find red threatening," Aalya stated matter-of-factly.

"Gee, thanks for the heads up," Robin muttered as he briefly looked down at his red spandex shirt. Phanos had luckily been standing too far away from shore for it to notice his red cloak.

Just then, Cyborg came to a realization. "Hey Star, your powers are back!"

"Yes, you are right!" she exclaimed "Perhaps the effects of this forest no longer prevent my ability to defend myself."

"Can you fly?" Robin asked her.

"I am afraid not. This place makes me too depressed for them to work."

"Well, Aalya did say it'd be easier as time passed. Now let's get going before something else comes," Jinx urged them. "And Starfire, be sure to keep close to Robin in case he needs your protection again."

It took almost all their willpower for Cyborg to start laughing hysterically. Robin could see this, and was not amused one bit.

"Very funny, Jinx," he said in an icy tone.

Starfire however, smiled innocently and took Robin's hand, leading him away. "Come, Robin."

Cyborg and Jinx followed behind, but not before exchanging knowing glances.

The rest of the morning passed rather uneventfully, and noon came and went. Still they walked, without any sign of the forest ending anytime soon.

Their path then brought them to a rather hilly part of the trail. The path crossed through the only flat part, but it was very windy. Despite that, it probably was faster than trying to climb the hills. As they proceeded though, they became aware of a fog that was gradually becoming thicker as they went along.

"Hey, what's that?" Cyborg asked. He pointed ahead to a rock formation jutting out one of the hills. A large hole adorned the front, like a gaping mouth.

Robin shrugged. "Just a cave."

As they passed, all of them distinctly heard what sounded like low breathing. They picked up their pace a little, not wanting to find out what was making the noise. Cyborg hadn't been watching where he was going, and stumbled on a large, hard stick. Only it wasn't a stick. When Cyborg looked down, he saw that it was undoubtedly a large bone. The ground in front of the cave was strewn with them, including the skull of an animal that he didn't recognize.

"Come on, Cy. Keep up," Robin called.

"Man, I hate this place," the metal man grumbled as he caught up. To their left, the ground dropped sharply, making a large crevice. At the very bottom was a small creek, though none of them could see much below due to the thick mist. A layer of leaves littered the ground, and they almost completely covered the dirt path.

"I think something just slithered past my foot," Jinx said aloud.

"Mine too," Starfire replied. "There it is again! I think it is a snake!" She jumped back to get out of the way, but in doing so bumped into Robin, who was pushed into a thick patch of bushes.

"Robin, you okay?" Cyborg said as he rushed to his side.

"Oh Robin! I am so sorry! Are you alright?" Starfire asked with concern as she ran over as well.

"I'm fine," Robin said as he got up. "Do I have anything on my back?" he asked, turning around

"I – oh…" Cyborg stuttered. At least ten rather large bugs were clinging to his cape.

"Well? I feel something. Are they briars?" Robin asked, sounding a little worried.

"Robin! You have the most horrible little monsters residing on your cape!" Starfire exclaimed. "Hang on, I shall get them for you!" Starfire's fist glowed green…

"Wait, Star! Let me!" Cyborg quickly interrupted before she could strike. The alien looked like she objected, but let him go ahead. Cyborg raised his metal hand and roughly brushed all the bugs off. When Robin saw what they were, he practically leaped back. One of them onto Jinx's foot, and she immediately kicked it off.

"GAAH! I hate this place!" the mage shouted.

"Come on, let's just get going before we…" Robin looked around to find the others. "Hello?" He scanned the dark forest for the Templar and Aalya, but they were gone. The fog had obstructed all vision beyond thirty or so feet.

Starfire looked around. "Where did they all go?"

"Oh don't tell me," Jinx said sourly.

Cyborg sighed. "Crap. We lost them."

Uh oh! What will be in store for our heroes next? Find out in the next exciting installment of Teen Titans! But only after you review!

How about that? Some CyxJinx for you guys. I thought we'd seen plenty of BBxRae so far. Hope you liked it!