AKI- I am so sorry I have not updated for two weeks, but I have been so busy the last two weekends and I was away from home. Please forgive me. I would like to thank all my reviewers. I hope you like this chapter.


Chapter 9

Meanwhile, back at the Ranch...

(I just wanted to name this chapter that so bad. It is so cheesy it tastes good)

Beast Boy was curled up as a cat at Starfire's feet in an unintentional nap. His dreams were happy, fun…normal. He was at Titan Tower with all the Titans. Cyborg and him were arguing over a video game or food preferences or both at the same time. Raven was off to herself, yet still with the group, Starfire was joyously making something in the kitchen, and Robin was watching with dismay, trying to figure his way out of eating it. The best part is that they were all together and safe.

As moonlight leaked hazily threw the grubby window and landed on the Beast Boy's cat face awakening him. His cat form squinted his eyes it block out the light and go back to sleep, but it was too late. He was awake. His cat form curled into a more comfortable position with his head hidden for the moonlight with his paw.

He lay their curled up like a little furry green ball, yet Beast Boys futile attempts at sleep were useless, that is what you get for sleeping all day. He yawned and stretched out his body. He had done it so many times before, but it seemed like the only thing to do in this large, silent house.

'Mmmm,' this sound did not come from Beast Boy as he stretched. It was not a growl from his stomach, though that would have been appropriate because of his dire hunger. The 'Mmmm,' had come from someone else completely and that is why it is so important. I just find that it fair to warn you that this will be a turning point in the story, one of the few for good, for there are many sad and depressing events still to come. This is how an insignificant sound has such a significant role in this story.

Beast Boy transformed back into himself and stared at Starfire while in a crouched position. She groaned again as though wishing to fall back unconscious after a restless night. He head lolled from side to side as like to find a more comfortable position as a few short moans escaped her lips as well as an exhausted yawn.

"Starfire," the young, green changeling whispered as he moved closer to his Tameranian friend. "Star…" he took grip of her shoulders and gave her a little shake. Her head flopped back and forth on her shoulders.

"Come on Star…wakey wakey…"

"But Goglthof, I wish not to go to school today…"

BB sweat-dropped and began shaking a little faster and harder and spoke louder, "Come on Starfire…please, wake up…" He continued persistently and one must admire his effort and, frankly put, it worked.

Starfire sat up promptly and was frightened to see someone so closed to her she gave a small squeal and shot star bolts (AN: Is that one word or two?) from her eyes. Luckily Beast Boy noticed her eyes grow green and ducked out of the way just in time, for now their was a hole in the wall directly were the greenest member of the Teen Titan's head was only seconds before.

"Calm down Star. It's me, Beast Boy."

"I am so sorry friend Beast Boy," Starfire said before she stared nervously around the room trying to get her bearings.

"Um, friend," started Starfire nervously again, "Can you tell me the place of where we are?"

Beast Boy opened his mouth as to state a simple answer and it hung there for a few seconds, while Star waited with tense anticipation. For a moment he looked confused then finally sad, "Truthfully Star, I don't know where we are."

"If you do not know where we are, then how did we get here?"

Beast Boy let out an audible sigh and started to retell the events of the last few days. Starfire listened gap-mouthed and wide eyed as the changeling told the story, increasing his importance of course.

"I remember the attack," began Starfire sadly when Beast Boy finished his tale, "It was a surprise really. We were just doing the hanging out and all the sudden cloaked men showed up out of thin air. We tried to fight them, but they had sticks of light…" Star trailed off and looked past Beast Boy with glazed eyes as in thought.

"Sticks of light? Do you mean flashlights, Star?" asked Beast Boy innocently curious and intently intrigued.

"No, they were not the flashing light sticks." Beast Boy wondered to himself what the sticks of light were, but found it fit to move on.

"So what happened next?"

"I remember seeing Robin the first to be hit by one of the lights, it was red I believe. I was so upset that when I jumped up to fight the evildoers I knocked my glurslop on the floor. Friend Cyborg was the next down, he banged into the radio when he fell. I was so afraid when I alone, but I was also righteously angry," said Star with balled up fists, "I could block the men with the sticks of light attacks with my star bolts, but there were so many of them." Starfire shuddered at the thought. Beast Boy put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Go on," said the green elf in an uncharacteristic serious and mature way.

"That was all. I awoke here."

Linelinelineline

Beast Boy sat crossed legged on the floor, chin leaning on one fist, mildly amused, yet obviously bored watching Starfire's futile attempts to wake up Robin. Beast Boy did not wear a watch and was not very good with estimating time, but he guessed this had been going on for about…a hundred billion years. That is translatable to a little over a half of an hour.

Starfire was standing up and held Robin by his shoulders. Due to Star's alien strength, she held Robin effortlessly inches off the floor and shook him back and forth with ease. She did not relies how had hard and viciously she was shaking poor Robin. Beast Boy observed as their leader's head bobbled brutally about his shoulders and concluded it was probably not good for his health or for his spine, but the mildly amused, yet obviously bored Beast Boy could not find the courage to get in-between Starfire and, lets just call Robin her prey, because had any stranger walled in on this event, that is what it would have appeared to be.

"Friend Robin," began Starfire quietly, "please awake now. Robin …friend … friend Robin … Robin friend … awake now please." The Tameranian's voice steadily got louder as her attempts seemed to become more useless. Suddenly Starfire stopped shaking Robin and her eyes light up as if she had a brilliant idea, which was true…except for the brilliant part.

Starfire sucked in a large breath of air and yelled in a tremendously thunderous voice, "ROBI-," she was cut off by Beast Boy who, at her scream, leapt from the floor behind Starfire and slapped his hand over her mouth disabling her speaking, or in this case yelling, abilities.

"Dude, Star, you can't scream, if anyone heard you hey will find out you are awake and put you out again. You don't want that, do you?" Starfire shook her head slightly. "Okay," continued Beast Boy, "I'm going to take my hand of your mouth, but you have to promise not to yell anymore, right? Nod if you're with me," the red-headed alien nodded and the green titan slowly removed his hand from her face. The two waited, unmoving and silent for a few moments listening for ant footsteps of anyone who night of discovered that one of their captives was awake. The heard no sound of the sorts, for whether it was fate, destiny, luck, or just a coincidence, all the house was vacant, for anyone that might have been their were in the middle of a secret mission, including Raven.

"You can put Robin down now." Starfire released Robin from her gentle hold and he dropped gently to the gentle floor with a gentle thump. Beast Boy winced as Robin's head mercilessly hit the hard wood floor. The changeling was thankful that he was not the unconscious Robin, who would have his fare share of aches and pains, as well as bruises and bumps, when he wakes. He was also slightly irritated at Star, because had made a lot of noise again, even if it had not been with her voice. He did not feel like explaining to Starfire that not yelling and not dropping people on the floor were pretty much the same thing.

"I am sorry my friend," spoke Starfire in a barely audile whisper before she collapse into a sitting position on the bed. Beast Boy went and sat next to her. "I am just confused by this strange human sleeping disease."

"It is not a disease, Star. It happened to you too, remember?"

"Then what is it?" asked Starfire confused, frustrated, and understandability upset.

"I really don't know. I wish I did Star, I really wish I did know what was happening. Their has not been a lot of times that I have felt that my friends or me did not have control of what was happening...Remember the time that I transformed into that monster and everyone thought I attacked Raven?" the teenage girl nodded sadly, "I felt horrible when that happened. I could not believe I had hurt Rae, but I did not know if I did. Parts of memory were blank, I could not control my actions, and my friends could not even trust me and had to fight me. Sometime during that was the first time I truly felt helpless, like things had been taken out of my hands and out of my control like there was someone controlling all the pieces. But this time it is not like that, you wanna know why?"

"Yes, friend, please tell me."

"You just said it. The main difference between then and now is that I have my friends with me, that I can rely on and I can trust that they will do the right thing and I will never doubt them."

Beast Boy looked up at Starfire. The first thing he noticed is that she was smiling; the second was the wet tear trails down her cheeks. Those two titans really connected at that moment. Their bond had been tightened and their friendship had been raised to a new and higher level.

Starfire threw her arms around Beast Boy and gave him a literally back breaking hug, "That was beautiful friend," exclaimed the Tameranian as Beast Boy struggled for breath.

"Yeah, Yeah, beautiful," said an irritated voice, "Can't a guy get some sleep around here."

Star gasped as she let go of Beast Boy, "Friend Cyborg, you have awoken!"