To Claim and Possess
Chapter Five

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A small part of Raven was actually quite proud of herself. Three whole days had passed since the incident at the café and Raven hadn't once had to interact with Beast Boy on a vocal or physical level. She had somehow managed to magically avoid any contact that included him. Even on the two missions and three alerts they received in those three days, she had stayed back at the tower and worked as technical support. Robin let her stay because her shoulder hadn't quite healed yet, and Raven was more than happy to oblige that request. Anything she could do to avoid being anywhere nearBeast Boy.

However, if she sat down and really thought about it, there was a part of her that realized that avoiding her teammate and friend was incredibly childish and could result in destroyed relationships. But, what other options did she have? She was still angry at Beast Boy for his refusal to let her dreamwalk, and he was still mad at her for following Adonis and trusting him. Actually, most of her team was pretty mad about that. Starfire included. Not that she could blame them, it was a rash and stupid decision to follow Adonis anywhere. All in all, Raven had had a week of stupid decisions.

And so, here she sat in the living room, alone on a Saturday night, brooding.

"You're sure you don't want to come out with us?" Robin stood behind her, his strong emotions rattling her tranquility. "We don't have to go to the club. We can do something else, you know. Like a quiet dinner or maybe a poetry reading."

Raven made a face. Why did everyone assume she liked poetry? "I just want to stay home."

And, she was still kind of irritated with Robin too. True to his word, the moment Raven was well enough to stand on her own, he had lectured her for two hours strait. All the normal, expected bullshit about how she made a stupid decision (she knew that), she should have called backup sooner (she knew that too), what was she thinking (she didn't know that), why did she trust Adonis (no clue there either), etcetera. He talked so long that Raven actually got up and walked away mid-lecture, instead of feigning humility and listening to his words. She just couldn't find any more fucks to give. Things had been tense between them sense. At least Starfire had been somewhat successful in calming him down enough so that he didn't blow a blood vessel any time he talked to Raven.

"Beast Boy is even going out."

Something in her jaw ticked and she turned around to face Robin, barely giving his attire a second glance. Whatever they decided to do, he was dressed to the nines. "Good for him. Tell him he can stay out all night and never come home. See if I care."

Robin sighed and leaned back on his heels, crossing his arms over his chest. "What is going on between the two of you…" He let the question drift off and winced, knowing his mistake immediately. He knew exactly what was going on between the two of them. In fact, he knew all the facts even before Raven even did. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Sorry, I know what is happening between you two, and that was a stupid and insensitive comment."

"Yes." Her eyes darkened and she looked away. "It was."

"Look, Raven, I know that it's not easy having to deal with what you two deal with, and I can't say that I completely understand what is going on, hell I barely get the gist of it… but avoiding him isn't making things any better. You're both just going to avoid the subject until you get mad at each other and something explodes. Literally and figuratively."

"Avoiding him is keeping my sanity in check and things in their normal, molecular compound. So, I would say that avoidance is working pretty well right now." Raven turned on the television to drown out the possibility of Robin wanting to continue the conversation. "Anyway, tell Wally and Roy I say 'hi' and tell Jinx to call me next time she's in town. Sorry I missed them, but I'm too busy being attacked by teammates and beasts and whatnot."

"You don't have to be so damn sarcastic all the time." Robin sighed again and leaned over the back of the sofa, snatching the remote from her hands.

"Yes I do. It's in my contract." Raven stole the remote back from him. She looked up at him and sighed in annoyance. She might be half-demon, but that didn't keep her from the effects of pure, unadulterated "Robin Stare", and right now he was giving her that look. "I am not going, Robin. So, stop asking, and stop looking at me like that."

"They wanted to hang out with all of us."

"No, they want to hang out with the fun ones. Namely you and everyone besides me." Raven turned back to the television and watched Robin out of her peripheral vision. "I'm always the odd girl out. That's just something I've accepted. Besides, could you see me in a club? Half of the patrons would be dead before I even walked in the door. Just leave me alone to wallow in tattoo shows and ice cream."

"God." He rolled his eyes and stood up. "You sound like a pregnant woman."

"Ha. Ha. You're so funny." Raven rolled her eyes too and started channel surfing. "At least tell everyone I say 'hi', okay?"

"They're your friends too. Why don't you just come out and say 'hi' yourself?"

"We just had this conversation. Because Beast Boy is going, and I am not seeing him. At all." Raven turned and glared at Robin. "Besides, Roy's going to need a wingman and Cyborg comes off as a little too scary. Someone slightly less scary is going to have to jump into the mix and since you and Wally are taken, I guess it's going to have to be Beast Boy."

"That is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard from you, Raven."

"Well, I'm annoyed and fresh out of snappy comebacks." She heard the walls start to bow with the force of her emotions. Robin had to keep pushing her until she snapped. Why couldn't he just accept that she wasn't ever going to socialize with Beast Boy ever again? All she wanted was to be left alone. "Now, will you please just let me sit here with my ice cream and watch tattoo shows?"

"Just leave her alone."

Raven turned around and saw Beast Boy in the door way, watching her. He was dressed in a nice button-down shirt and a pair of jeans, looking like he stepped out of a cologne advertisement. Well, if that advertisement was geared toward superheroes. There wasn't a whole lot he could do about the shade of his skin. Still, that didn't detract from his good looks. Raven's lips pressed together, but she managed to keep her emotions in check. Now was not the time to start thinking Beast Boy looked attractive. She was still mad at him. "Well, it's nice to know you haven't died."

There was a long pause and he genuinely seemed shocked before he managed to respond to her. "Nice to know you haven't gone waltzing in my dreams without my permission." He sneered at her, showing his teeth in a display of dominance. Raven ignored him and stared straight ahead, keeping him out of her direct line of sight.

"C'mon, dude." He walked into the living room to grab Robin, not bothering to give her a second glance. "Everyone is ready to go and you're holding up the fun. Besides, she's never going to come out, and she'll bring down the whole mood anyway. Just leave her here so she can sulk alone."

Okay, that hurt. Raven turned and glared at him. "Thanks. Nice to know you still care about me."

"It's nice to know you still throw around random accusations." His insult hit a little too close to home and she looked away again, her face burning red. He was the one who told her about his stupid crush on Starfire. Beast Boy waved good-bye and started for the door. "See ya tomorrow, Rae."

"Tomorrow?" Her stomach dropped and she stared at him, her mood changing instantly. What in the world did that mean?

"Sure. I don't plan on coming home tonight." He shoved his hands in his pockets, still glaring at her. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Nope." Raven felt her eye twitch as she stared at the television screen, pretending to be interested in the sassy tattoo artist. In truth, she couldn't tell if his words had weight or not, and something about the mystery enraged her. She kept her face blank and stared forward, but behind her she could hear something electrical pop and sizzle with the force of her emotions "It's your life, do what you want with it. Just don't expect me to care."

"Fine. I wasn't asking for your approval anyway." He turned and left, leaving a confused and frustrated Robin staring at Raven.

"What was that?"

"That was Beast Boy basically telling me he was going to play Don Juan tonight." Raven reached for the pint of ice cream on the coffee table. "Why should I care?"

"Raven…" Robin's voice was laced with both shock and irritation. "Beast Boy chose you as his mate… and while I won't even pretend to understand everything that means, I'm going to insinuate that it means he shouldn't play Don Juan ever. And yet you're just letting him go."

"I was choice of convenience. I wasn't chosen as a mate because he loves me or anything. I was chosen simply because I was there." Raven shoved a spoon into the ice cream, feeling her throat tighten with the force of her emotions. What was wrong with her? This shouldn't have mattered. "So, he can do whatever he wants. Girls. Boys. Whatever. It's not like I care."

"I think you do."

Raven looked over her shoulder at him, frowning. Sometimes she really wished he would just keep his nose out of her business. It wasn't his concern if Beast Boy and her were fighting, all he had to do was run the team. Not get involved in their personal lives and try to play counselor. "Don't you have somewhere else to be? Like out with our friends?"

He sighed in defeat and started for the door. He knew better than to try and talk sense in Raven, especially when electronics and support beams were already seeing the brunt of her powers. "Well, if you change your mind, you know where we'll be. You're more than welcome to come out with us."

"Yeah, no." She turned the volume up on the tattoo show and glared at the screen, feeling him leave. That might not have been the most mature response, but Raven felt like everything around her was falling apart and changing. She felt like she was losing control of everything in her life, including herself, and the only way she felt some semblance of control was when she was fighting with someone. Raven sighed and leaned her head back against the sofa, staring at the ceiling.

How could Beast Boy act like that? He was being a total jerk, and for what?

Raven winced inwardly, knowing the answer to that question before it was even asked. She had pushed him too far. But, it wasn't entirely her fault. After all, he was the one refusing to let her into his mind and let her find the memory she was missing. He was the one leaving her with gaping holes in her memory and herself, which made her feel completely confused and distraught. All of that was because he wouldn't let her have the freedom she needed. If he had just given her access to his dreams, like she wanted, they wouldn't be in this mess.

But… if she was really honest with herself… maybe it was her fault. If she had stopped and thought about Beast Boy's feelings, maybe she wouldn't have reacted the way she did. She was so desperate to find answers, and so caught up in the fear that she might actually have lost a piece of herself, that she didn't even think about his feelings in the process. He had every right to fear her and her powers, and pushing at him just to achieve a goal was selfish and stupid. But Raven was only concerned with getting her memories back, not worrying about Beast Boy.

And he was the one that pointed out the possibility that Adonis might have been using her.
It really annoyed her when he might have been right.

"But that doesn't mean he has to go out and find some slut to sleep with…" Raven gritted her teeth and glared at the sassy tattoo artist on the television screen, yelling at one of her interns.

Why did she feel so sick to her stomach? Raven fell over on the sofa, her shoulder sinking into the cushions. It was his life, she shouldn't care what he did with it. If he wanted to go out and sleep with some girl with loose legs, then that was his prerogative. Raven wasn't his mother or his girlfriend, nor did she want to be. She was just his mate by happenstance, just because his beast chose her.

But, didn't that mean anything to him? Did it even mean anything to her?

"This is stupid." Raven turned off the television and glared at her distorted reflection in the smooth surface. "I shouldn't care what he does with his body or his free time."

Except that you do. Some part of her was hurt. He'd basically confessed that his beast had chosen her for his mate, and yet he was off chasing skirts. He should have been sitting next to her, eating ice cream and pointing out imperfections in someone's tattoos. Just like it was two weeks ago, before any of this had happened, but it wasn't. And it felt like the universe was just trying to play games with her head.

"I'm back."

Raven jerked awake at the sound of Beast Boy's voice, wiping at the pillow crease on her face. When had she fallen asleep? She looked at her melted pint of ice cream and turned off the television. Hadn't she already done that? She couldn't even remember closing her eyes. She hadn't been that tired, had she? "Forget something?"

"My wallet."

There was a long pause as he hunted through the living room for it. Raven watched him move, blatantly aware of the push and pull of emotions between them. He was still mad, but she couldn't blame him for that. After all, she had been the one to start fighting with him in the first place. She cleared her throat, but when he didn't turn to her, she called out to him. "Hey."

He stopped hunting and looked over at her, frowning. "What? Going to insult me some more?"

Raven bit back a scathing retort and glared. He didn't have to throw that into her face. "I was going to apologize. I didn't mean to…" She trailed off, taking a deep breath and trying to calm her nerves. He had her memory and she had to remember that, or she was going to find herself in even worse trouble, and no way to retrieve it. She watched as he moved closer to her, trying to examine the situation and approach it carefully. They were both volatile, ready to blow up at any second with the wrong choice of words.

"I'm sorry." Raven cleared her throat and started again, looking away from him to calm herself down. "Look, you have every right to be angry with me for suggesting what I did. Really, you do. I understand that this is Adonis we're talking about, and I understand the implications of what could happen if something went wrong. But, can you at least try to understand where I am coming from?" She rubbed her forehead, trying to ward off an oncoming headache. "I lost a memory, not to a hit on my head or some psycho villain, I lost a memory to my friend, and all I want is to have it back."

"I understand." He let the words hang between them for a long moment before he responded. "But, you have to understand me. You're asking me to trust what Adonis told you, Raven. Adonis. Who has tried to kidnap and… have his way with you on several separate occasions. You can see why I'm not exactly jumping up to trust him."

He sighed and sat next to her on the sofa, clearly no longer interested in searching for his wallet. There was a long pause as he wrung his hands together. "I want to help you, I really do. I can't imagine what it's like being without a memory that might have been important to you, and knowing that your memory is now property of someone else… but I just can't trust what Adonis told you. That's like asking you to trust something Dr. Light told you about me. You're not going to do it, and I won't either… so please, can we find another way?"

Raven rubbed her temples and sighed. "I don't know of another way."

"You haven't even looked." Beast Boy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back into the sofa. He watched her for a moment. "You've been too busy trying to avoid me than to actually look through all that dusty crap in your bedroom for something. I'm not an idiot, Rae. I know that what's happened between us is straining."

"I have looked." That was a lie. Beast Boy was actually right for once. She was too busy sulking to look for another way to retrieve her memory, and now she was trying to salvage what she could of their friendship because of it. "I just haven't found anything that's promising."

Beast Boy sighed and shook his head, as if he wasn't going to accept that answer. "Raven, come on. There has to be something, anything. Some piece of something you read a long time ago. I mean what about all that crap you learned from Malchior? He taught you a lot of things."

She snorted, fighting back memories of demons that were better left in the dark. "Yeah, and we can see how well trusting him turned out for us. I nearly destroyed the tower and killed my friends in the process."

"Good point." His head fell back against the edge of the sofa and he stared at the ceiling, letting the silence weave between them for a few moments. "So, what else is there? I mean… you can't tell me that having sex is the only way to fix this. It can't be."

"I don't know." She leaned back into the sofa and stared at the TV. "You can't tell me that having sex with me is going to be the worse possible outcome out of all of this." She glanced over at him before looking back at the TV, realizing how incredibly awkward this conversation was becoming. "Is it really that scary of an idea?"

"Rae…" He sighed and sat upright again, looking into her eyes. There were shadows swimming in their green depths, and Raven suddenly began to wonder when he had become so serious. "You don't want to have sex with me and I don't want to have sex with you. Mostly because we're friends and this whole copulating thing will break us apart."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Did you just use the word 'copulating' correctly? I'm impressed."

"Yes, but that's not the point." He rolled his eyes. "The point is you and I are both concerned with the stress this will put on the team and on our friendship." He paused and looked away, as if he were trying to gather his thoughts. "What we have is special to me. I've never felt much like I had a home, except when I am here with you and the rest of the team. Even the Doom Patrol made me feel like I was an oddity of a soldier… but you… you make me feel like I belong. And, I don't want to mess that up because we thought sex was the answer to fixing a problem."

Raven felt color flood her face and she looked away, suddenly feeling very guilty. Through out all of this, she hadn't once really sat down and thought about Beast Boy's feelings or what he had to lose. She was so wrapped up in herself, in getting her memory back, in fighting Adonis, that she had forgotten about him. She had forgotten the stake that he had in this, and if they just jumped at every possible solution in fixing this, then he could really lose everything he had. Her eyes closed shut and she frowned, more at herself than anything else. "I'm sorry… I didn't think…"

"It's okay, Raven." His hand reached out and touched hers, spreading warmth through her fingers and deep into her body. "We'll figure this out. We just have to find another way."

She bit back a groan. "But, I don't know another way."

"You do. You know. You're not trying hard enough."

"What do you mean I'm not trying hard enough?" Raven's eyes finally opened, and she turned to look at him, only to find that the living room had melted away and she was sitting on a log in the middle of a forest. She cursed under her breath and rolled her eyes. Of course it was a dream, there were signs everywhere. Really, there was no way in hell Beast Boy could use the term 'copulating' properly.

"Damnit. Now, what the hell am I doing here?" Raven rolled her eyes and looked around the woods, examining the forest at night. Fog rolled in through the trees and the night was so black and so thick, she was lucky she could see her own hand in front of her face. Beyond the darkness she could hear the cries and howls of the forest's inhabitants, reminding her that she was not welcome here.

"You have again entered my territory without my consent."

The voice was gravely and deep, but she knew it all too well. It was the beast. Swallowing hard, she stood up and moved away from the beast as he approached her slowly. How had she ended up here again? "I didn't mean to come here, it was an accident."

He closed the space between them, and Raven could feel the heat and emotions radiating off of his body. He was the most territorial of all, and he did not want her here in his sacred space. The last time that happened she had been subject to his torture and lost a piece of herself in the process. "Accident or not, this is no place for you, demon. Not now. Not since…" The beast sniffed the air and turned to face her, eyes wild with primal emotions that she didn't have a name for. He pulled back his teeth and snarled at her.

Her heart dropped into her stomach and she took another step back, this time he did not close the space between them. He continued to stare at her, eyes glowing with a feral ferocity that she had never seen in them before.

"You have brought him with you."

Raven swallowed again, trying to keep her emotions in check. "I brought who with me?"

As if answering her question, Adonis's beast pushed through the underbrush leaping forward and attacking her. The beast caught him off guard and slammed him into a fallen tree with a sickening thud. Sculls cracked and claws became unsheathed as territory suddenly became a scarce resource, and Raven was the biggest prize of all. She reached out with her powers, forcing Adonis off of the beast's body, and hurling him into a tree. Splinters of wood rained down from the force but it didn't seem to bother Adonis in the least.

Raven stood her ground and stared at him. "I am not afraid of you!"

He picked up his head and turned to stare at her, blood seeping through the cracks in his teeth. "You should be, little demon. I am what haunts you now."

"Demon, you should not have come here!" The beast limped over to where she stood, and Raven saw that his left arm hung at an unnatural angle. "You should not have brought this abomination into this world!"

"I didn't!" Raven was pulled from her feet as Adonis pushed into her, throwing her to the ground. She screamed and spit and clawed at his face, but nothing seemed to deter him. He was going to conquer her, if it was the only thing he did. Blood and saliva mixed together and dripped from his fur to her face, coating her in his thick essence. She coughed and pushed all of her powers against him, throwing him into the forest floor.

"You must go!" The beast stepped in front of her, shielding her from the dazed Adonis. "Go!"

"And leave you here by yourself?" She stepped around him, readying herself for another attack. "Like hell. We're in this together!"

The beast looked down at her, his gaze filled with a mixture of something resembling fear and admiration. "You are no match for him here, demon. You may be strong out there, but in here you are nothing more than a shell of what you could be. He will consume you, and you must go."

"But…" She didn't have time to respond to that. Adonis pushed himself into a standing position and lunched for the beast, howling and snarling. They topped end-over-end through the underbrush, claws outstretched to attack any flesh that flashed into view. The beast pushed Adonis off of him, slamming him into another tree. Adonis howled, and for a moment he was still. But both the beast and Raven knew that it wasn't going to be for much longer.

"Run!" The beast stood and rushed over to her, pushing her back and forcing her deeper into the unknown forest he called home. Raven stumbled over her own feet, as if she was unsure how to use them, but the beast gave her another shove. "Run. I will hold him off as best as I can, but you need to run!"

"Where… how…" She stared at Adonis's beast, watching as his limbs started to move again. It was as if he wouldn't die. He was stronger here, smarter, better. He was completely capable of bringing both her and the beast down. She swallowed and took another step back. "How did he get here?"

The beast turned to her, his eyes dark. "You brought him."

The words struck her like a hot knife. The mark. Adonis had branded her.

Raven swallowed as she remembered the feeling of Adonis's claws sinking into her shoulder as he climbed on top of her body in the coffee shop. Whether the brand was intentional or not, the outcome was the same. She was marked by Adonis, which meant that he had a connection with her. Perhaps not as strong as the connection she had with Beast Boy, but no less dangerous. And he had followed that thin thread of a connection into the sanctuary of the beast. She had brought this disaster upon herself.

"There is no undoing what you have done now, demon." The beast backed up against her, shielding her body as Adonis stirred. "I only ask that you run and save yourself."

"But…" She was a demon, she should have been able to hold him off. This was not the first time she went to battle against Adonis, and it would not be the last. She refused to let two primeval furbags tell her that she was less powerful that she actually was. Raven sent out her powers to pick up the log next to her, readying it as a weapon, but the beast touched her forearm.

"Not here. Not in my territory. This space is mine and it is sacred, and I will not have you defile it." The beast glanced over his shoulder at her, lips pressed into a thin line. "Now, demon, run."

Against her better judgment, Raven did as she was told, and she ran deep into the unknown. Pain whipped at her as she pressed through the thick underbrush of the forest, dodging trees and bushes as she searched for something familiar she could cling to. Behind her, she could hear the howls and screams as the two beasts pushed at each other, raking claws against skin, and ripping teeth into flesh. She knew she should have stayed and helped the beast, but staying there would be doing nothing but putting herself in danger.

Tears stung her eyes and she forced herself farther and farther away. She was an idiot. A full-blown idiot. How did this happen? Furthermore, how did she let this happen?

And there it was, standing in front of her: a door.

Not just any door, the door to the roof.

The door into Beast Boy's memory.

"Fuck!" Raven skidded to a halt, just before barreling through the door. She knew what would happen if she opened it. It would lead right into Beast Boy's dreams. The ones she had promised him that she would stay out of. Ice-cold realization spread through her as she listened to the now-faint sounds of Adonis and the beast fighting going on behind her. She wasn't in Beast Boy's head, she was in her own, and Adonis was hunting her down by any means necessary.

"Not the goddamn door!" She slid around the frame and ran deeper into the forest. She refused to walk into Beast Boy's dreams. She promised him that she wouldn't peek, that she wouldn't spy, and she certainly didn't trust herself to not bring Adonis with her. She wasn't even exactly sure how he followed her into her own dreams. Taking a deep breath, she muttered her mantra, trying to keep her powers under control. "I just have to wake up. If I can continue to outrun him until I wake up, I'll be fine. I can do this."

A scream. A cry. A howl. A whine.

Snap.

Silence.

Raven's feet stumbled and she tripped over fallen trees in her path. She lay in the underbrush, listening to the sudden silence in the forest, as if all the life had disappeared into nothingness. The beast. He… Raven felt tears come to her eyes as panic stretched even deeper into her bones, chilling her to the core. What else could Adonis manipulate here if he could destroy the memory of the beast? Raven didn't want to think about that, not now anyway.

She stumbled to her feet limping slightly as she ran deeper into the forest and farther away from the silence that plagued her.

"Run all you want, Raven… I am in no hurry. I can follow your delicious scent all night and even until dawn. Until you wake up, you are mine to do what I please with." The words were soft and muffled, as if they were coming from somewhere deep in the forest. Around her, Raven felt the air change, and she knew he was slowly circling her, like lions did to prey. And in spite of her magical prowess, she knew that there was nothing she could do to stop him, except run deeper into his trap and pray she wasn't eaten alive.

"No," she whispered to herself, forcing her feet to move again. "I will not let you control me. This is my dream, my territory, my home. You will leave me alone!" With those words, the push of underbrush faded away, and she found herself running through the halls of Titan Tower. Behind the walls she could hear music and laughter, as if there was a party going on. It felt safe here, warm and welcoming as it always had. And for a moment, she slowed her pace and took a deep breath. She was safe for now.

"Do not think that just because you are in your own home that I will not find you, Raven."

She had the spectral feeling of his hot, sick dog breath sliding down her neck and she shivered, pushing her back against a wall and staring into nothingness. He was messing with her head. He wasn't there, but he making her believe that he was. Raven cringed as she felt his claws scrape down her arms in some mockery of a caress. Why was he doing this to her?

"You are mine, and I will do with you what I please."

"Like hell." Raven ran again, sliding into the shadows lining the hall. As she moved, she felt the walls slide away, morphing into something else and this time she found herself in the park on a warm, sunny day. Past the empty baseball fields, she could see her friends playing football and laughing. Her heart sputtered to a stop and she stumbled again, searching through the faces as emotions flooded her body. It was a memory of hers, a precious memory, one of the first times that she had remembered that she had a family.

Her pace slowed and she stopped to watch every one, entranced with the detail. And then Beast Boy turned to wave at her, but something wasn't right. She couldn't quite see his goofy, trademark smile… and then she realized why. His face was completely missing.

She screamed and stepped back, away from him. But the memory played on, uninterrupted by her response. Raven searched through the other people in the crowd, hunting for Adonis's familiar face. "What did you do? What did you do to him?"

"He is lesser than me, a disgusting distraction." The voice slid down her neck again, accompanied by his moist breath. "I merely altered your memories to remove the distraction. To make things better for you … don't you see? Your life will still be happy without him. It'll be complete."

She felt claws wrap around her wrists like shackles, but when she looked down, there was nothing there. She pulled at her arms and turned around, glaring at the empty space in front of her. He was hiding in her memories, searching for some way to control her from the background. She refused to let him win, this was her psyche, and she would not have it defiled by this abomination!

"I will not give into you, you monster."

He chuckled, the phantom claws moving up her arms. "I am a beast, Raven… not a monster." There was a long, slow pause, as if he was contemplating something. "But I can be a monster if you wish it of me. Or if you do not, it depends on your… behavior."

There was a sharp slice of pain across her arm, and Raven looked down to see three small marks against her skin. He was attacking her now. Damnit. She had to get out of here. Raven cursed and spun back around, this time running through the open field, ducking the memories and trying not to look too hard into Beast Boy's faceless body. She didn't want to be reminded of that horror again.

As she raced along the path, she saw it again. There, nested in the side of a tree was the door to the roof. Raven winced, wondering what the repercussions would be if she ran through it. What would she see? Would Adonis follow her? What would happen if she took that chance? Her eyes closed and she turned away, running as far as she could from the door. This was not the time to be thinking about the door. She just had to stay ahead of Adonis until she woke up.

The scenery melted again, and the warm sunshine of a summer day melted into the dank darkness of a warehouse. Boxes were stacked to the ceiling, and all around her was the thick, toxic green goo of Plasmus. Behind the maze of boxes she could hear arguing. It was her and Beast Boy, and they were fighting over something stupid she did.

Wait. She remembered this day too. She'd thrown herself in a terrible situation and almost killed her as she tried to stop Plasmus from making Beast Boy a target. They argued for hours after that battle, and Beast Boy made her promise that she wouldn't try to save him ever again. He was bound and determined to prove that he could save himself. Raven peeked around a few boxes, seeing Beast Boy and her doppelganger arguing.

"You could have gotten yourself killed, Raven!"

"It was an accident." She shrugged, as if his words didn't matter. Raven winced, she had been so stupid then. Beast Boy was trying to protect her and she just pushed him off as if his feelings and concerns didn't matter.

"It wasn't an accident!" He threw his hands in the air, and Raven could see the beast try to push through him as his emotions pushed against him. "You purposefully put yourself in danger to try and save us. To try and save me. That was a stupid move and you know it!"

"What was I supposed to do, Beast Boy?" She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "You would have been squashed if I didn't step in."

His ears fell and his lips pursed, a sure sign that he was beyond angry, he was furious. "Just… be careful, Raven. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

Doppelganger-Raven didn't even have a chance to respond, Beast Boy collapsed in front of her, blood spilling from several, large wounds on his chest. Nothing had attacked him, nothing appeared in front of him. He was simply oozing blood over the floor. He coughed and hacked, reaching out for doppelganger-Raven, but she just continued her side of the conversation, oblivious to his injuries.

"Beast Boy!" Raven screamed and ran towards him, her hand outstretched as she reached for his body. But, he never got closer, he never seemed to be within reach, and Raven was forced to watch him die. Watch as his skin paled and his eyes closed, her name the last thing on his lips.

She screamed again, turning around and looking for Adonis. She found nothing.

He chuckled against her ear. "See, Raven? You let me into your psyche, into your mind and memories… I can control what I want in here. If I wish to sully those beautiful memories you have of your lesser beast, I will. I will make you watch as I let him die an infinite amount of ways."

"No!" Raven cursed and started throwing whatever she could. Magic, boxes, anything that seemed to make sense. But nothing happened, and the image around her faded into the day after her birthday, when Beast Boy insisted that they celebrate the heinous day. He stood in front of her smiling and waving presents, and then he was thrown on the floor, invisible beasts attacking him, pulling at his limbs, drenching the room in blood. His chest was ripped open and his heart was pulled out, thrown to the floor at Raven's feet.

She fell to her knees, screaming as the scenes continued. Blood everywhere, and she was helpless to stop the scenes. Helpless to stop Beast Boy from being violently murdered in front of her. Every precious memory she had was sullied by the images of gore and death. "Stop! Stop!"

"Only you have the power to stop this, Raven." A warm, phantom tongue slid up her neck. "Only you. You know what you have to do to make this stop."

"No!" She looked behind her, searching for anyway to escape this nightmare, and there was the door to the roof. It didn't matter now. She would try anything. Anything she could do to escape him, to escape this hell he was creating for her. Raven ran to the door and pushed it open, running into the sanctuary of Beast Boy's dreams. Serenity washed over her and she took a deep breath, holding it and waiting for this world to be brought down by Adonis. But, nothing happened. She was alone. And she found herself standing on the roof, watching the waves push in and out of the tranquil of the bay.

There, at the edge of rooftop, she saw her memory. The one she missed so dearly. Beast Boy was holding her, whispering things that she couldn't hear as his arms wrapped tightly around her body. She mumbled something in response and buried her face into his shoulder, her body becoming limp and heavy as exhaustion finally took over.

Light seemed to flash within the recesses of her mind as she stared at the beautiful image in front of her. That was her memory. Her favorite one. She remembered now why it was so precious to her, and why she valued it above all other memories. It was the moment that she realized that Beast Boy was more than a friend. The moment that there was something more than teamwork and camaraderie between them, and it was the moment where she realized she wanted a part of that.

Her heart sputtered to a stop and she took a step back, shocked as her emotions and memories started to reweave themselves, like the threads in a loom. This memory was the keystone. The one thread that kept her memories of him together, and reminded her that he was more than just a friend and more than a teammate.

The scene changed. It was a flicker of wind and a soft flash of light.

Wait. This wasn't her memory anymore, it was morphing into something else entirely.

Beast Boy shifted his weight and rolled on top of her, smiling and flashing his fangs. Doppelganger-Raven looked up at him and smiled, reaching out for his body. Raven bit back several curses and stepped back as she realized what was happening. This wasn't her memory anymore, because this was his fantasy. Raven tried to turn away, but she couldn't. She could only stand there, glued to the spot as she watched the perverted scene in front of her.

Behind her she felt warm breath slide down her neck, alerting her to a new presence. "You have entered my territory without my consent, demon."

)O(

Well… it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry this is the fourth rewrite of this chapter, and it took me forever to get the feeling right. There was a lot of drama in the previous edits and I just didn't want to deal with that again. That's how I got into trouble with Primeval.

Anyway, let me know what you think. Thanks again for reading!