TheUbu (I'd be Ubu but someone took it!)
I'm a crazy Canadian and some of my writing may reflect that. Don't be alarmed and run for the hills, I'm sure it won't hurt too badly.
I'm sorry that this chapter took a little longer than the others but I had to completely reformat my computer.It turns out that the little problem with Microsoft Word was a big problem with everything. I was fortunate enough to have time to make backup discs of everything important though. Oh well, sometimes that's the way it goes.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans; any characters contained within are not mine and belong to their respective owners with whom I have no affiliation.
Chapter Six
Beast Boy sat on the couch of the common room, totally unmoved since Raven ran out. His eyes were staring straight forward completely unfocused. What had transpired moments before had swept all thought from his mind. He had expected Raven to yell at him for allowing her to curl up on his lap and for scratching her behind the ears like she was nothing more than a normal kitten, but she didn't say a word to him. The way she looked at him, the way she looked into his eyes was something he'd always remember. Her two dark violet orbs seemed to pierce into his soul from where she sat and a moment after that, she kissed him.
Did she though? Beast Boy had no idea what was going on, for all he knew, he could have kissed her! She was just so close; the way her eyes seemed to see right into him drew him in like they had before. She put her arms around his neck though… Didn't that mean she wanted to kiss him? It was so shortly lived though, because the moment he had enough sense in him to try and pull her closer, she ran.
'She ran from me…' He finally thought.
'Yea but she was the one who kissed you!' Part of his mind exclaimed.
'I'm not really sure if she did though.' He replied as he brought a hand to his still tingling lips.
'Look, she kissed you first. She put her arms around your neck first.' Another part of his mind reasoned.
Beast Boy shook his head violently.
"This is not the best time for me to be going schizophrenic."
He stood and walked out of the common room with the intent of speaking to Raven. He had no plan whatsoever nor did he have any idea what he was going to say to her, but he knew they needed to talk. He'd kept his feeling for her to himself for far too long. This was as good a time as any to tell her how he felt. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?
As he neared her door, he saw that it was wide open. He looked inside but Raven was nowhere to be seen.
"Raven?"
His call received no reply and he took a cautious step into the room. He looked around the room to find it much as he did that morning. She had to be here though; she closed the door when she left her room that morning. A glint caught his eye as they passed by the floor near her vanity. There lay her antique mirror, the portal to her mind.
'Great.' Beast Boy sarcastically thought.
:-:-:-:-:
Raven stared wide-eyed at her friend's pale doppelganger. He was dressed in a jumpsuit very much like Beast Boy's, but was entirely pink as opposed to purple and black.
"So what's up Rae?" Happy asked, cocking his head to the side and looking at her inquisitively.
"I… I…" Raven mumbled.
She hadn't expected this. She was supposed to come into her mind through the mirror to straighten out her emotions, but now she was in Beast Boy's mind! The thought had never occurred to her that to mirror's portal would lead to his mind as well now. Why wouldn't it though? The gem that aided in the control of her powers was in his possession; the gem was what also connected her to her mirror.
"You look good in green." He stated after a moment of Raven's silence.
"When did this happen?"
"What do you mean?"
"This!" She said extending an arm to her surroundings.
"Oh, a couple of days ago I guess."
"Of course." She said more to herself than the emotion. "Whatever, call a meeting, I need to speak with all of Beast Boy's emotions."
Happy smiled and nodded. He placed a hand on Raven's shoulder and they both sank into the ground only to reemerge a moment later in a green field. A few white wisps of clouds lazily made their way across the bright blue sky. There was a huge oak tree in the middle of the field and beside it lay a large circle of boulders. There looked to be at least forty boulders all together but Raven didn't count them.
Raven made her way into the center of the rock circle and happy hopped up onto one of the rocks. He sat with his legs dangling and his heels kicking a tune on the gray stone. One by one, other emotions in differently colored jumpsuits phased into sitting positions on the boulders. There were so many different colors and shades that it seemed more like a color sample rack at a paint store than a meeting place. Each of the emotions greeted her as they arrived but she did little more than nod to acknowledge them.
When all but a few of the rocks had occupants, an emotion garbed in yellow stepped forward.
"What is it that you wish to speak to us about?" Knowledge asked.
"Well, this is something I should probably be asking Beast Boy himself but I came into the mirror to deal with my own emotions. Since all of you make up Beast Boy, you should be able to answer as he would. Is everyone here?" She asked gesturing to the empty stones.
"All but some of the less social emotions. Fear, Denial, Sorrow, Laziness, Rage, and another." He withdrew his gaze from Raven before he said 'another'.
Raven lifted an eyebrow and studied Knowledge briefly. "Right, well what I wanted to ask was; what are Beast Boy's feelings towar-"
Raven was cut off by a terrifyingly loud and inhuman howl.
"What the hell was that?" She asked.
Bravery sighed. "Rage. We've been having problems keeping him under control for the past while."
"Is it safe if I see him?" Raven asked.
"Why would you want to see him? I'm all the Beast Boy you could ever want or need if you catch my drift." Said an emotion in a burgundy jumpsuit.
Bravery cuffed the emotion over the back of the head. "Cram it Cocky."
"I'm really sorry about that." Said an emotion that was clothed in sky blue. "He's always like that. I don't see why you couldn't go see him though."
"Kindness is correct, we could go there now if you like." Knowledge stated.
"Please." Replied Raven.
Knowledge gently placed his hand on her shoulder and they both sank into the dark green grass. Every emotion sank into the boulders they were sitting on in the same fashion.
:-:-:-:-:
Beast Boy sat on the foot of Raven's bed and glanced at the mirror that lay on the floor. He'd been sitting there for more than fifteen minutes, waiting. His hopes of having Raven return soon were diminishing with each passing minute and the thought of entering her mirror crossed his mind again.
'I could try going in after her.' Her thought. 'Then again maybe not, she wasn't too happy the first time I went in there.'
What else could he do though? He was already in her room, chances are she'd already be angry with him for that, how much more trouble would he get in for going into her mind to talk to her? Even he knew how stupid that logic was. It was thinking like that that often got him into dire straights with Raven. He looked to the mirror on the floor again and made up his mind. Consequences be damned, he needed to talk to Raven now.
:-:-:-:-:
Raven and Knowledge moved toward a cliff in a barren and desert like area that had a crimson sky. She was close enough to see something green but it was still too far to determine what it really was. Another loud and blood chilling howl told her that this was the emotion she'd come to see. Raven heard something behind them and glanced over her shoulder to see most of the emotions she saw at the meeting were trailing her and Knowledge.
As Raven and the entourage of emotions got closer still, she could see that the green emotion was the Beast that Beast Boy had turned into when he fought Adonis. He was chained to the rough stone of the cliff with thick chains and had shackles attached to two points on each of his limbs, one around his mid section, and one around his neck. He was savagely fighting against his restraints but it was plain to see that they would not give way.
"That's the Beast." Raven said, a little shocked. "Why is it still in Beast Boy? Shouldn't it have transferred to me with his powers?"
"The Beast has nothing to do with his powers. It is simply a part of Beast Boy; it always has been, the chemicals just brought it out." Knowledge stated.
"We've been fighting to keep him in control ever since the incident with Adonis. Well, not exactly in this sense." Said Bravery, gesturing to his fellow emotions.
They all stopped about fifteen feet away from the chained emotions and Raven could see blood dripping from under the shackles.
"He's hurting himself." She said moving closer.
"Wait a second!" Warned Bravery.
Raven paid him no mind and continued to move closer to the snarling emotion. The Beast looked on all of the emotions with hate and fought as hard as he could against the cold steel. It did not give way though and more blood trickled out from under all of the shackles. The emotion was growing more enraged at the futility of his struggling and howled again.
Raven stopped about five feet away from him and spoke softly.
"You have to calm down. You'll hurt yourself if you don't."
The chained animal looked at her for a moment and stopped struggling, almost as though it were regarding her. The hulking muscle of the creature began to shrink and its restraints shrank along with it. In its place stood a Beast Boy clothed in red; Rage. As soon as the transformation was complete, he dropped to his knees and lowered his head. The chains held him from falling to the ground completely but it looked like he was holding himself up.
"Are you ok? It looks like those chains are hurting you." She said.
He didn't reply but he looked at her with tears streaming down his face. After a about a minute of his staring, Raven turned her head.
"You ran." Rage finally said.
:-:-:-:-:
Beast Boy hit the dusty ground hard and rubbed his backside.
"Dude, I do not want to be here right now…" He said as he glanced at his surroundings.
"And why would that be?" Came a voice from behind.
Beast Boy quickly stood and turned to face the owner of the voice. He was face to face with him, or someone who looked exactly like him save for his jumpsuit that was a deep shade of purple.
"What the hell is going on here? Isn't this supposed to be Raven's mind?"
"It's supposed to be. But aren't you supposed to change into animals?" The purple emotions replied.
"So you're saying that this is my mind because me and Raven switched powers?"
"Yes." Was all the emotions said in reply.
"That must be why parts of my mind seem to have personalities of their own. I'm not going crazy!" He thought aloud. "So who or what are you then?"
"Love." He replied.
The pale Titan just stared dumbfounded at him.
"Don't look so surprised. You know you love Raven, why wouldn't you have an emotion in your mind the represented that?"
'I guess that makes sense. I do love Raven… Wait, that's why I came in here!' He thought.
"I'll take you to Raven and the others." Love said.
"How'd you-"
"I'm one of your emotions, I reside in you're mind. We all know what you're thinking."
Beast Boy sighed. "Fine."
:-:-:-:-:
'Get free of these bindings. You must kill them for what they have done.' Stated a deep and demonic voice.
The Beast struggled against the shackles even harder and blood began to flow from the wounds the shackles created. They were all there, all of those weak emotions. It took all of them to subdue him and imprison him in this desolate place.
'These weaklings should not be in control here, you are the strong one, you should be the rightful ruler of this mind.'
"You have to calm down. You'll hurt yourself if you don't." Raven stated.
The Beast hadn't seen her. He was too busy concentrating on the emotions that he despised so bitterly. He was Rage, and true to his name he hated most everything. Raven was someone he couldn't hate though. Despite everything he knew he wanted to kill and destroy, she held a special place in his heart. He wanted to be with her, to hold her, to protect her from everything.
'She is weak! You must kill her, tear her apart. She's so close, you could grab her if you tried.' The voice screamed.
'No! I don't want to hurt her!'
'Is that because you think you love her? Love is weakness! She despises you and you must kill her for it!'
'I will not harm her! Nothing you say or do will change that!' Rage fought against the voice.
The seven foot tall animal shrank before the green Titan. He fell to his knees and his head bobbed forward but was brought roughly to a stop as the shackle around his neck reached the end of it's slack. The slow flow of blood still seeped out from under the shackles but was hidden by the dark red of his clothing.
"Are you ok? It looks like those chains are hurting you." She said as she took another step toward him.
'She is trying to trick you. She wants to hurt you just like the others. Do not fall for her trickery!' The accursed voice bellowed.
'She's Raven, she wouldn't hurt me.'
'Is that what you believe? Look at her! She doesn't care for you!'
'Get out of my head! I don't want to listen to you anymore!' Rage internally screamed.
'You don't want to listen to me anymore? That's just too bad now isn't it? I am going to be with you forever, and when you take over this pathetic mind, I will be in control.'
'I'm not going to let that happen.'
'I told you to look at her! Do it!'
Rage lifted his gaze to meet Raven. It wasn't the Raven he'd always known but it was still her. She had a look of concern and sadness on her face. Why was she sad?
'She's sad for me. She does care for me.'
'If she cares so much for you, why did she run away?' The voice asked with a malicious tone.
Rage had not removed his eyes from Raven since he raised his head and she finally turned away.
"You ran." He sadly stated.
At this, every emotions attention was fully gained. They listened intently for Raven's reply, for they were all interested to hear her answer. Raven was taken aback for a moment at his statement.
"Yes." She replied only looking at the ground in front of her feet. "I did run and I'm sorry."
"Why?" The emotion asked.
"I was afraid. I'm experiencing all these knew emotions and I'm not sure how to deal with them. I'm beginning to develop emotions for Beast Boy but I don't know how or if I should deal with them."
Beast Boy. He was a despicable and loathsome creature. He was weak. Only the strong survived in the world and Beast Boy wasn't strong. The Beast hated him so much because he was bound this frail individual and Rage felt his hate for him was justified. Whatever fate this weakling suffered, so did the Beast. It was ironic that the strong should have to depend on the weak and it was even more ironic that Raven, the one he loved, only felt for this weaker creature.
"What kind of emotions are you developing for Beast Boy?" Rage spat 'Beast Boy' out as though the words were poison.
"I don't know." She admitted. "It may be love but I really don't know. I've never really been in love before; I thought I was with Malchior but…"
Every emotion stiffened at the mention of the dragon that had betrayed her. Rage looked at her for a moment then began to struggle against his chains again.
'That bastard! I'll kill him for what he did to her!'
The chains still held fast and Rage let out an angered yell. Raven took a step closer and placed her hand on the struggling emotions shoulder. He stopped moving immediately and looked into her eyes.
"Please stop fighting. You're only hurting yourself." She said. "I don't know what I feel for Beast Boy but I don't want any part of him in pain. That includes you."
'Lies! She doesn't love you! She loves him.'
He continued to look into her eyes and for a brief second, there was a kind of understanding that passed between them. She to a final step forward and hugged him. He returned her hug with his chained arms.
All the other emotions stood in total shock as they saw what was happening front of them. Bravery's teeth were clenched and he was about to take a step forward when a yellow arm shot out to bar his path.
"Let it be Bravery." Knowledge said.
"But what if he hurts her?"
"They are fine for the moment. Your attempt to take her away would only endanger her."
Bravery mumbled something under his breath but stayed where he was.
'You see? She does care for me.' Rage thought as he continued to hold Raven.
'And you believe her? She does not care for you. She is only doing this because she does not want you to gain control of Beast Boy's mind. He is the one she cares for.'
"Raven?"
Rage looked in the direction of the voice and his arms dropped to his sides. It was him, the pathetic creature that held the heart of the one that should be his! Rage let out a cry of anguish and began to pull against his chains with an intensity he had yet shown. In his anger, he began to transform into the Beast. Muscles rippled under the dark red suit and talons sprang from where his fingernails once were.
"Get away from him Rae!" Beast Boy called out.
'You must kill them all. I am your master now and you must do what I bid you to do.'
The now fully transformed Beast tugged hard on his arm restraints and rent the chains of his right arm from the stone of the cliff. The chains lashed toward Raven with such speed and force that they made a whistling sound as they flew through the air.
Raven screamed.
:-:-:-:-:
"Get away from him Rae!"
Beast Boy heard the chains tear away from the wall and saw them move along their path to Raven. It seemed like everything was moving in slow motion; many of his emotions had begun to move forward but their steps seemed impossibly slow. Not even the lead emotion in dark green would be able to get to her in time.
He closed his eyes and saw the chains stopping dead in the air and cried out with all the force in his lungs.
"AZERATH METRION ZINTHOS!"
The twin chains stopped mere inches away from Raven's face, glowing with black energy.
Raven stared at the chains but was quickly pulled away by no less than three emotions. Beast Boy looked about him again and time seemed to resume normality. As if all on cue, the rest of the emotions moved forward to hold the Beast in place. His massive arm swung out and knocked five of the differently colored Beast Boys down.
The emotions deposited Raven next to Beast Boy and left to assist their counterparts.
"Are you ok Raven?" He asked, concern audible in his voice.
Raven shook her shock off. "Uh, yea. I think so."
"It's not safe here, we have to go." As soon as Beast Boy finished his sentence, the Titan's alarm on his belt went off.
The emotion in purple created a door to another area of Beast Boy's mind out of thin air. "The portal is through this door. We can handle Rage ourselves but you're needed."
"Thanks." Beast Boy said to the emotion before turning to Raven. "Lets go."
Thank you all for waiting patiently (or impatiently) for this chapter. While I was reformatting and waiting for things to install, I actually picked up a pen and a pad of paper to get this chapter out. Meh, I should be sticking to my two or three day update schedule now.
So who was the evil voice talking to Rage? Ok ok! So you all know who it is… I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist.
As for the amount of Coca Cola consumed to bring this chapter, I'm going to include the amount that was required to do the formatting as well. There were six cans one 2-Litre bottle sacrificed to my gut to get it all done and this is the result. And for the record, I HATE REFORMATTING!
And here are the replies!
craZy18gurl: Thank you very much. I'm glad other people like the little fluffy cute stuff I do. I read the two chapters of your story so far and I like it. Thanks for reviewing.
dancingirl3: Thanks. I'm happy you enjoyed it.
Snea: Well thank you. I know that I love leaving people at cliffhangers like that far too much. I'm sorry that you're chair is broken and I hope the story induced jumping didn't do it but if it did, I hope the chair wasn't too expensive. Thanks for reviewing.
oranfly: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it.
akiismarina: Thanks.
lol61188: Thank you very much. I'm glad people like the twist.
BrianDarksoul: Thank you. I'm sorry this update took so long but I'll be back on my normal schedule from now on. Thanks for reviewing.
Phantom Moon: Thank you muchly.
pureangel86: There wasn't a great deal of meaningful interaction between Raven and the emotions, but I thought there was enough for what was needed. Sorry she didn't get to have a one on one with love but that may come in the future. Thanks for reviewing.
Drow Judicator: That would have been pretty funny but I was going for a more "moment" sorta deal. I wasn't really thinking about color coordination but the emotions are pale like Beast Boy now.
darkdemon3592: Thank you. I tried to explain how Beast Boy was able to use the powers so readily by saying his powers required a great deal of visualization like Raven's. Sorry of that was unclear. Thanks for reviewing.
OveractiveMind: Thank you very much. I'm glad you liked it. I also remember Animorphs, it does seem very similar to Beast Boy's powers. Thanks for reviewing.
Glean-Glean: You are not alone! Coca Cola is my writing fuel! Thanks for reviewing.
SxStrngSamurai13: Thanks. I do my best to keep everyone in character and Robin just seems like a good guy. It is unfortunate that I lack a scanner but I'd be overjoyed if anyone else would like to take a crack at some fan art. Thanks for reviewing.
Weirdo: Thank you. I hope this chapter answered your question. Thanks for reviewing.
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DragonGirl: I hope you like how this chapter turned out.
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N.C. PsyChick: Thanks. Yea, poor Beast Boy, at least he got to be a hero in the end of this chapter. Thanks for reviewing.
Satu Simpson: I did it all for the love of the shippers! Thank you.
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Tammy Tamborine: Thank you.
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acosta pérez josé ramiro: Thank you very much. I agree with what you say about all the Titans and their situations. Thanks for reviewing.
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AnimationWickedRaven: I'm glad that you liked the twist.
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iforgetmyname: Thank you. I'm not sure what Raven's going to change into next but it should be worth a laugh.
the Desert Fox: Thank you very much.
Necro: Thanks. I try not to just ditch the other characters but sometimes it feels like I'm doing that. Thank you for reviewing.
wolf of raven: Thanks.
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Thanks for taking the time to read my story.