First, a note or two:
VERY short chapter. Sorry.
This is the second of my stories, and once again, I beg those of you who know everything about the included series not to complain. I am not trying to be as faithful to the comics or TV series as possible, so if you want accuracy, I suggest you look somewhere else.
KEY:
'Blah' thought
"Blah" speech
I don't own the Teen Titans or any of the undermentioned items. Teen Titans is a trademark of some large comic company and Cartoon Network. Do not inflate more than 60 psi. Warning: hot exhaust gasses – please stand clear.
Please review if you've read this story. I will not continue to update unless I get reviews.
One more time. (Ack! Bad 90s bar/bat mitzvah music! Nooo!)
And now, on with the show.
"Robin, I've broken the First Rule. Do you know – I mean really, know – what it's like to kill someone?" asked Beast Boy morosely. "To extinguish a life and mind with your own body? Maybe her son beat me up. Maybe she was attacking you guys. But he was a damn child, and she was a damn revengeful mother! I could have just knocked her out and left it at that. So easily. But I killed her. I fucking killed her. Just squished" – he moved his foot on the carpet to demonstrate – "and killed Reidou." Beast Boy, who had been on the verge of tears throughout his entire account of his experiences after he left, finally broke down. He sobbed silently into the couch.
The other Titans stared at him pityingly. They were shocked. It wasn't as if Beast Boy was particularly strong of character. It was just that he had never just broken down and cried about a simple victory. But then this wasn't just a simple victory; none of the other four Titans had ever broken the First Rule.
For a long time, nobody spoke. They just let Beast Boy cry. Then Starfire nodded meaningfully to Raven. Raven made a face as if to say "What, me?", but Starfire merely nodded again. There were a few more moments of silence. Raven waited until Beast Boy had stopped crying, and then spoke softly.
"You know, Beast Boy, I can't say I've ever done – uh – what you did. But I've done something pretty similar. I destroyed someone's soul once, because I felt I had to. Now that I look back on it, I didn't. I could have just imprisoned that person. Or killed him. Even death is better than losing your free will and desire to exist.
"But there is only so much time for regretting our past actions. You may need to mourn Reidou – maybe we all need to – but she is gone, through her fault or yours. You must learn to accept that death cannot be changed. There is no incantation, potion, or scientific gadget in this universe or any other that can be used to bring back Reidou. You must accept that she is gone, and that this universe was simply not a pace where both of you could exist. You must find whatever comfort you can in her passing."
Beast Boy suddenly launched himself at Raven and started crying once again. Raven somewhat to her horror, began to feel very happy and peaceful. For once, however, she ignored her better judgement, and allowed her feelings to roam free. To her surprise, nothing in the room exploded that evening.