Hey all, I hope everyone's having a nice summer so far; it's going to go by very quick. . Anyway, here's the SECOND TO LAST chapter to Fate's Call, and I'm very glad all of you are enjoying reading it as much as I enjoying writing it. You've been waiting to see who to Messenger of Angels is, and I've enjoyed your guesses. Anyway, let's return back to Titans Tower. xD I want to thank all of you, especially my faithful reviewers for sticking by me with kind words and inspirational stories. Much love to you all from the bottom of my reconstructing heart. –Jason

This chapter's lyrics are from "The War" by Melee.

Fate's Call

Chapter 5: Ambition

Beast Boy: age 17

Raven: age 18

It's so soft to the see the glow from the city up ahead
Connect my heart to the rhythm it's lead
Straight forward and ready 'cause I'm on my way home…

Autumn came in swift, melting summer away like a discarded ice cream cone. Autumn lost its sheen as evitable winter reached the Tower. Spring rose from the ashes fighting the weak winter cold…

Raven sat on her bed, cross-legged. Her sharp mind was buried in a book; nothing has changed much in a year, at least for her. She couldn't say that for the rest of her team, especially Garfield Logan. The boy she had come to know since the night fate brought them together three years ago still was the center of her heart. She could never bring herself to tell him about the night she read about that frightening omen in her spell book.

"It would only crush him," she reminded herself, sighing. She could at least try and pretend everything was alright; maybe that omen was just a bunch of crap. Nothing had happened yet anyway; the future looked so bright…

It's so good to be alive in such a hazardous world
To be alive and see the victory unfurled
I'm anxious and waiting 'cause I'm on my way home…

Raven walked down the hall and was greeted by the sounds of Gar's acoustic guitar. She could sit for hours and listen to him play; his music was just beautiful. She saw his best friend, her teammate Cyborg try and get him to play a round on the GameStation, but surprisingly got no response from the changeling.

"He's really matured in just a year; he can actually put down a game controller," she thought, chuckling at her own joke. She was serious however; the boy she knew wasn't really a boy anymore.

The empath interrupted her own thoughts as she noticed Gar had stopped playing. The changeling had put down his guitar and was standing in front of her, grinning his trademark smile. Beast Boy was now almost as tall as Cyborg; no one would have predicted that. His build was a bit more muscular; he had starting training more heavily after Cy's crack about him being a "string bean".

"Hey Rae," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She had to smile. "Gar, it's hard to believe I'm looking up to you." He laughed, and Raven noticed for the first time that his voice had become deeper. "I'm still the same person, Rae."

Yeah, your war is won, oh my friend you're finally done
On that day you'll find ambitions don't lie here anymore
The one you love has gone and settled the score
What more could you ask for now…

The changeling wanted to take Raven in his arms and hold her, to feel the warmth of her body…and yet he was afraid. Afraid of the consequences that might follow; he didn't want to look back and regret anything. He looked away nervously then regained his composure. "So, what's up?"

She shrugged and looked into his emerald eyes. "I was thinking about our past… it seems like such a long time ago." Garfield nodded, remembering as well. "We've gotten so far in our lives from that point. Luck was definitely on our side."

Raven suddenly had a rush of emotion for Gar in a way she had never felt before; a connection that was a loss for words. Acting on impulse, she raised her head upward towards Gar's and parted her lips. The changeling saw the moment and couldn't believe this was happening, after years of waiting. He lowered his head and in one motion, their lips meet into a pure, sweet kiss.

After what seemed like an eternity, they broke the kiss and said nothing. Finally Gar spoke, almost whispering: "I've waited so long for that, Raven. I love you so much." The girl who believed she could never show emotion found tears rolling down her cheeks. "This is seems too perfect…" Gar smiled again. "This is-

Suddenly, the room began to grow darker; midnight blackness filling the hallway. In front of Raven stood a reddish figure; she could sense pure evil from this being. Then, it hit her harder than any physical blow ever could. "No! Get away!" she screamed at the auroa, backing away with fear in her eyes. Beast Boy turned toward the chaos enveloping in front of him and tried to turn into a falcon…only to find his powers were gone, just like that. He tried to run to Raven, to protect her, when he felt a force of invisible hands grab him, dragging him away…the last thing he saw before blacking out was Raven's shocked, frightened face…

Ahh, weirdness! What or who was that evil auroa? I plan on finishing this story with a bang, so please don't miss my next chapter. Thanks for reading and reviewing. -Jason