Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.

Hey there! I'm updating sooner then I thought I would. Well, here's the next part to the story, enjoy!

Chapter 15: The Monster's Mind

"Raven!" Beast Boy called out, reaching his arms into the surrounding darkness.

"I'm right here Beast Boy," She replied calmly from behind him.

Beast Boy turned around and was surprised to see that he could see Raven perfectly, despite the darkness. He looked at his hands and could see them perfectly as well. It was almost like they were glowing.

"So, where are we?" he asked, looking around.

"We're in the mind of the monster," Raven replied.

"But I've been in your mind before, and it looked different. There was actually… stuff. This place is just pitch black," said Beast Boy, looking down and wondering if he was actually standing on anything.

"Every mind has some sort of setting, this is just one part of the monster's mind. We just have to find a doorway to another part of the mind," replied Raven, looking around for said doorway.

"Well, that's great, but there are no freaking doors here!" yelled Beast Boy, getting slightly frustrated.

"Technically this is our mind. If we just concentrate hard enough, a door should appear," said Raven, ignoring Beast Boy's outburst.

Calming down a bit, Beast Boy tried to picture a door in his mind's eye. It was strangely difficult. After a while, he was ab;e to see a door clearly in his mind.

"Now what?" asked Beast Boy, eyes still closed in concentration.

"Now, we walk through the door and see what we find," replied Raven, slightly amused.

Beast Boy opened his eyes and gaped at the site of a door standing in front of him.

"How did that happen? It took me so long to see it in my mind, it can't have appeared already," Beast Boy asked Raven.

"You're forgetting, this is your mind… and mine. As soon as you see something in your mind's eye, you'll be seeing it our here," explained Raven. "Do you understand?"

"Do I have to?" asked Beast Boy jokingly.

"No," Raven smirked. "Let's just go."

Raven opened the door and they both stepped through and found themselves in a dimly lit closet.

"Is this your way of saying you need to come out of the closet?" asked Raven sarcastically.

Beast Boy blushed and glared at her.

"Of course not! I'm into chicks!"

Raven chuckled.

"I'm joking," she told him.

"Well, it's not very funny…" he grumbled.

"You're right, it's not," Raven admitted, looking more closely around the closet. It was quite plain. Just four walls, a floor and ceiling and a now locked door.

"So, what is this about?" asked Beast Boy, looking around the room nervously.

"I think it represents a fear. Are you claustrophobic?" asked Raven, facing Beast Boy. Beast Boy looked at her blankly. "Afraid of enclosed spaces?" she clarified.

"Oh, not really," replied Beast Boy, blushing a bit. Raven watched him carefully. "OK, so maybe a bit… but only if I know I can't get out. Like if it's locked."

Raven nodded, "Understandable."

Beast Boy smiled a bit, his embarrassment easing. Unfortunately for him, now that he had nothing else to thing about except how small and inescapable this room was. It was like the walls were closing in on him. He was starting to get a bit nervous when Raven, who had suddenly shifted so that she was now standing behind Beast Boy, interrupted his thoughts. He was now standing in between Raven and the door.

"What's the matter?" he asked, looking at her over his shoulder.

Raven just pointed towards the door. Snakes, lizards and other reptiles were crawling into the room from underneath the door crack.

"Herpetophobia, fear of reptiles," she whispered, grabbing Beast Boy's arm in a death grip.

Beast Boy nodded in understanding and held her hand comfortingly.

"It's OK, Rae, I'll get rid of them." He told her consolingly.

Gently pushing her further away from the reptiles, he automatically thought of a mongoose. Feeling himself shift forms, he swiped at the snakes and lizards. After a while they all ran back under the door.

Raven sighed in relief, falling to the ground as her knees gave way.

"Are you OK now?" Beast Boy asked, kneeling in front of her. He placed his hands in her shoulders, and waited as she caught her breath.

"Thank-you," Raven replied once she had regained her composure.

"No problem," he replied easily. "I never knew you were afraid of reptiles, I wouldn't turn into any if I had known before."

Raven shook her head. "No, if anything, you turning into reptiles helps my fear."

Beast Boy looked at her questioningly.

"It helps me face my fears. Many therapists agree that you need at least one hundred positive affirmations before you can completely loose a phobia," she explained. Seeing that Beast Boy still didn't completely understand, she continued.

"Every time you turn into a reptile, I'm not afraid because I know you would never hurt me. That's a positive affirmation with reptiles. I need at least one hundred positive affirmations before my subconscious will accept that reptiles aren't going to hurt me. Do you understand?" Raven asked.

Beast Boy nodded thoughtfully.

"So, if I got locked in a closet one hundred times, I wouldn't be closet phobic anymore?"

"Claustrophobic," Raven corrected. "Theoretically, yes."

"So what if I still haven't gotten over my fear, but I find myself locked in an enclosed space?" asked Beast Boy, suddenly remembering the tiny room they were trapped in. "How am I supposed to deal?"

"Well, you could always divert your attention, think about something positive, on object, memory, person…" replied Raven.

Beast Boy smiled.

"You sure know a lot about this," he told her.

"I suppose so," she shrugged. "When you have powers like mine, it helps to know a bit about how the mind works."

"That makes sense," nodded Beast Boy.

Suddenly he thought of something.

"How was I able to turn into a mongoose?" he asked her. "Before, I couldn't turn into anything."

"We're back in our body. You have your powers back," Raven explained.

"Oh, so did the monster turn into an animal too?"

"No," answered Raven. "We still don't have enough control."

Beast Boy nodded, "That makes sense too."

"It does," agreed Raven. "And it also helped me calm you down."

Her comment reminded Beast Boy exactly where they were. He automatically looked up so he could watch the walls close in on themselves, but found that he wasn't looking at any walls. He and Raven were sitting in the middle of a barren field.

"What happened?" asked Beast Boy, looking around.

"We both confronted our fears. We've taken control of one part of our mind," Raven replied.

"So, we're in control? We can stop the monster now?" Beast Boy asked hopefully.

"No," she replied regretfully. "We only have control over a small part. We still have to deal with our real inner demons."

"What are they going to be like?" asked Beast Boy hesitantly.

"I don't know," replied Raven shaking her head. "They could be our greatest fears, something we have to admit to ourselves, a bad memory… anything really."

Raven looked down at the ground, morosely pulling at dead grass. Beast Boy put a hand over hers. She looked up at him and found herself getting lost in his green eyes again.

"It's OK," he told her consolingly "We'll do it… together."

Raven nodded and pulled Beast Boy into a tight hug. He was shocked at first, but quickly returned the hug.

They sat there, hugging, for a while. Eventually, Raven reluctantly let go and stood up. She held a hand out for Beast Boy and said,

"We should get going. We need to stop the monster."

Beast Boy took her hand and stood up next to her.

"Let's go," he added.

They turned and walked through the field, not knowing what to expect.

So now you've read it... review it! Please? Whatever.