Beast Boy's heavy footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as he thudded through the darkness. The Tower was as still as stone; the silence settled on every nook and cranny like moldy cobwebs.

Beast Boy moved so slowly, it looked as though his feet were dragging through a quagmire. He didn't seem to notice, however. His eyes were unfocused, and he reached out slightly with his hands, as though groping for something that was no longer there.

The obscure shadows seemed to stretch over, threatening to overtake him, but never quite making it. In an abstract thought, Beast Boy finally understood why Raven found consolation in the gloom. The darkness offered a chance to slip away, to veil all his vulnerabilities and sufferings. Shadows didn't conceal half as many dangers as the illuminated world did.

Beast Boy never knew how he made it through that hallway, how he pushed the elevator button, how his legs seemed to have a mind of their own. A quiet humming reverberated in his ears. The numbness was a welcome comfort, a wall separating the changeling from the outside world. A cold whoosh of air blew against his face, bringing him to the surface again. It took him a while to register that he was back in the main room.

The first image that greeted his eyes was of Cyborg and Starfire talking in the middle if the room. Starfire looked distraught. The Tamaranian bit her nails while Cyborg rubbed his forehead tiredly. B.B. walked over to them wordlessly.

Cyborg looked at B.B. inquiringly.

"What happened with Terra?" he asked uneasily, scrutinizing the changeling's face.

Beast Boy said nothing.

Starfire hesitantly laid a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "Friend, is everything all right?" she asked softly.

B.B. looked at Starfire's hand stoically, than looked up at her face. Starfire unconsciously drew away. There was something foreign in her teammate's face; something that made her nervous.

Cyborg frowned deeply, putting his hands on his hips. "Beast Boy…," he said.

"She's gone."

Both of them started, then exchanged glances. Beast Boy's voice was barely above a whisper. His vacant green eyes slowly began to gleam. He turned away from them.

"Oh, say it is not so!" said Starfire desperately, clasping her hands together.

"No way…," murmured an astonished Cyborg. "I mean, I know what she did just now was bad," he stated, gesturing with his hands, "but, well, I thought we could…"

"Well, you thought wrong, didn't you?" uttered Beast Boy viciously.

Cyborg's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again.

"But, has Terra already exited the tower?" asked Starfire hopefully. She looked at Cyborg optimistically. "Perhaps it is not too late to try and convince her other…"

"Don't you get it, Star? She's leaving, and there's nothing we can do about it!" snapped Beast Boy.

Starfire fell silent, looking crestfallen.

Cyborg scowled at B.B.'s back. "Hey, look man, it's not our fault this is happening. What's gotten into you?"

Beast Boy bowed his head and said nothing. Cyborg was just about to reach out to him, when out of nowhere, Beast Boy grabbed a chair near the sofa with a violent cry, and hurled it with all his strength against the wall. The chair smashed to bits, leaving a crumbly hole in the plaster.

I couldn't help her…

"Whoa, what is the matter with you?" asked a flabbergasted Cyborg.

Beast Boy wasn't through yet. He grabbed the Game Station in front of the couch and hurled it at the TV screen. It shattered upon impact, and broken pieces of glass rained down on them.

I couldn't stop it…

"Beast Boy! Please, desist!" cried a horrified Starfire.

But Beast Boy couldn't stop. The changeling turned into a large gorilla, and grabbed the sofa. "Graaargh!" he roared ferociously, pulling with all his might, shredding the couch into pieces.

She's gone…she's gone again. I can't handle it…not again. Not three times.

A whining sound and a hum of energy reached his ears. The mammoth green gorilla turned to find a sonic cannon trained on him. He growled menacingly, baring his teeth.

Cyborg's cold gray eye didn't waver or blink.

"Beast Boy," he said deliberately, keeping is free hand on the cannon. "Get a grip."

The giant gorilla growled again, grabbing one of the larger remnants of the couch, ready to hurl it at the cybernetic teen. Starfire's eyes glowed, as did her hands, but a swift and significant glance from Cyborg kept her from attacking. He turned back to the changeling.

"You're just making things worse. This isn't helping you…or Terra."

That seemed to do the trick. The gorilla's scowl vanished, and after a moment of thought, it soon shrank down back into the teenage superhero.

Beast Boy stared at his two teammates, breathing heavily. He was a bit hunched over, every muscle in his body tense. Cyborg kept his sonic cannon on, and the Tamaranian's eyes still glowed. A very tense moment passed.

Suddenly, Beast Boy dropped to his knees. Starfire's eyes stopped glowing and she immediately flew over to him.

"Beast Boy! Are you undamaged?" she asked, kneeling in front of him.

Beast Boy stared at the floor. After a few seconds, his shoulders started shaking with suppressed sobs. He could feel a lump the size of a golf ball lodged in his throat. He screwed up his eyes, unwilling to let any salty bullets hit the floor.

Beast Boy could feel the walls that had been so hard to build up tumbling back down again.

No, he thought angrily, I'm not doing this again. It gets harder every time…I won't feel it, I won't!

Beast Boy bit the inside of his cheek so hard, he tasted copper in his mouth. Pain grew in his head as he fought to keep those old ghosts at bay, refusing point-blank to picture those beautiful cobalt eyes, those eyes he tried so hard to fill with joy, but were always filled with pain, always filled with loneliness…

Suddenly he felt two arms wrap around him, not in the usual bone crushing fashion, but in a gentle way. His emerald eyes widened in surprise. Starfire embraced him softly. Slowly, the tension in his head started to ebb away. A couple of feet away, the hum of sonic energy disappeared.

"It is okay, Beast Boy," Starfire murmured. "You do not need to continue holding it back. We are here for you."

As she spoke, Starfire felt something cold and wet drip though her hair. She felt Beast Boy's arms clinging to her, and she didn't need Raven's empathy to feel the despair that emanated from him in waves. Beast Boy was whispering something inaudible, as he hugged her back, trembling miserably, his tears trickling down her shoulder. She rubbed the changeling's back soothingly.

"I-I can't do it again, Star…I can't," he sobbed in a broken voice, barely perceptible, as the Tamaranian held him. "I c-can't l-lose her again. It just hurts t-too much."

Starfire felt her own eyes brimming with tears, seeing her usually cheerful teammate break down like this. She kept stroking his back, as Beast Boy continued to cry. Cyborg stared at the pair of them, feeling horribly helpless. He felt as though his heart would break, unable to help his best friend, who seemed so out of reach.

Every second that dragged by seemed like an hour. Finally, after an eternity, Beast Boy's sobs began to cease. Starfire heard him let out a defeated sigh. He pulled away, rubbing his face, refusing to meet her gaze.

Starfire stared at him carefully. "Beast Boy," she began, "will…"

Whatever Starfire was going to ask him, Beast Boy never knew. For at that moment, the main room door opened, and the Boy Wonder came racing out.

"Titans! Move! We have an emergency!" he yelled, barely stopping to catch his breath. In his hurry, he didn't register the scene before him; Cyborg standing next to Starfire, who was kneeling before a tear-stained Beast Boy, a shredded couch and shattered TV screen looming in the background.

Cyborg turned to the leader, surprised. "What is it? Is Raven okay?"

"She's in trouble! And it's worse than you think!" Robin uttered, his mask wide with shock and horror. But before he could say anything else, a fearsome roar and a thundering crash behind him cut him off, and a dreadful sight met the rest of the team's eyes.