((Yeah, I know, I took forever with the update and then I made it really short and...stuff x.X In all honesty I was not pleased with how this fic started off and...yeah, I'd been battling with myself about giving it up. The only thing stopping me, however, was the wrath of my friend and, of course,all of teh wonderful reviewers. :3 -clings to reviewers and never lets go- Yes, so lesson learned today? Reviewers are thelife of my stories. Lemmie know if I should continue! Let me know what you think! Don't remind me that I killed the characters! Compliment! Read, review, and enjoy :3 -prances off-

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of it's characters, ideas, etc. -lower lips trembles in a pout-))

Abandonment
Chapter 3

"I'm so stupid…" He cried helplessly, covering his face with his gloved hands, fatigue disallowing him the ability to stand. How long had it been now? Hours? Days? Months? Years even since he left home? He shuddered back his feeling of guilt. Guilt for what? "I gave it all away…" He whispered, letting himself fall over, his head leaning against the stony figure of his former teammate that he'd dragged along all this way. "No, I ran away from it all…I abandoned them…" Realization at what he'd done swept over him like artic water. "What have I done?"

"It's too late to fret over your decision now. You know that." A cool female voice whispered. Had it intended to be a soothing response it may have sounded attractive, but this voice was like icy daggers, only putting more weight on Beast Boy's sagging shoulders.

"I know that." He croaked out with another shudder, curling up slightly as if hoping he could disappear if he continued doing so.

"Then why do you waste time regretting? Don't fret, my love. It will all be worth it in the end." The voice hissed in a seductive tone, though the cruelty behind those words unconsciously continued to kill the gentleness.

"Don't you call me that, witch." Beast Boy growled back with restrained ferocity, his blood-shot emerald eyes glaring at a small form in the shadows of the closest tree to him and Terra's statue.

The figure seemed to stiffen at his words. "What do you mean by that?" she whispered back, her voice dripping with venom, a clear warning sign she was ready to strike if necessary.

"I don't love you; don't call me 'love'." He replied in a rambling sort of way.

"Suit yourself." The figure replied with a shrug, a shadow of long hair flowing over her shoulders in the process. "But remember to watch your tongue, little boy. I hold the power…and though I thank you for the 'compliment' of being called a witch, I'd be much more pleased if you didn't repeat that again."

Beast Boy merely looked away, frowning at the ground as if it had just been the one that reprimanded him. "What do I do now?" He demanded after a long stretch of silence, eyes still locked on the earth below him.

"Now we go back to Jump City." The figure replied with a sigh, as if he should already have known this. "Make yourself noticed..." She paused before adding. "They aren't your friends anymore."

He flinched as the words reached his consciousness and the figure seemed to melt away into the shadows, leaving the broken Titan curled up with nothing but a cold replica of his former love and the guilty realization of what he must do crushing his very soul.

"Raven?" Starfire asked tentatively, placing a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "What do you mean…'leaving'?" The alien's big green eyes looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Yeah Raven. You can't leave. We need you." Robin put in almost desperately.

"No you don't." Raven replied firmly, refusing to look in their eyes again.

"Is this because of BB? You know we're going to keep searching. We'll find him, okay? The team's not splitting up." Cyborg reminded her decisively.

"I know that." Raven replied sharply, her dull violet eyes glancing up at those around her then back to the ground, her brows furrowing into a determined expression. "But Beast Boy's out there alone. We have to find him but we can't keep neglecting our duties as the Teen Titans." Finally she looked up and kept her gaze. "I won't be long. I'll find him and bring him back."

"But Raven…what if-"

"'What if' what, Robin?" Raven snapped, not liking the hesitant tone of voice her friend was using, almost as though he were about to suggest something he knew she'd find utterly stupid.

Robin sighed raggedly before continuing. "What if Beast Boy doesn't /want/ to come back? He didn't take his communicator…he left without telling anyone where he was going. I think he might have-"

"Robin! That is a horrible thing to say!" Starfire suddenly chimed in with a small gasp. "Friend Beast Boy would not abandon us! We must keep searching!" She demanded, grabbing onto Robin's arm and staring into his eyes with a plea for him to understand.

The Boy Wonder seemed to cave under Star's tear-filled gaze. "Okay, suppose he didn't walk out-" Raven gave a small annoyed snort at the reluctance in Robin's voice. "-then why would he leave his communicator and not tell any of us where he was going?" He demanded, avoiding Star's eyes.

"That's just like asking why he was so messed up the day before he left." Cyborg said, shaking his head. "We don't know why. Raven said he'd mentioned Terra, but that's our only lead and her memorial is missing. I don't know about you guys but something about this just doesn't seem right…"

Robin opened his mouth to protest, still determinedly avoiding Star's eyes but was cut off by the buzzing and flashing of the alarm. His opened mouth quickly found a new purpose. "Titan's go!"

Raven had half a mind to stay behind and take this chance to run off and find Beast Boy, but something drove her to go with the others. She'd figured it was her determination to convince Robin that BB wouldn't abandon them, that there had to have been a reason for his disappearance, but it wasn't until they reached the crime scene that she discovered the source of the vibe that had caused her to follow along.

"There's no one here. We must have missed 'em." Cyborg reported irritably after checking his scanners. He looked up and down the streets, puzzled at what could have caused so much damage. Quite a few blocks were vandalized and others were completely wiped out, leaving only large mounds of rubble and tiny debris.

"No. They went this way." Raven said blandly, pointing down the road that was most intact.

"What makes you say that?" Robin asked slowly, apparently still aggravated with Raven's reluctance to believe BB was gone.

"Because they're standing at the end." Raven replied between gritted teeth, jabbing her pointer finger down the road again. When Robin finally looked his hand immediately fell to his waist where his bo staff waited to be used. There, just a few blocks away, stood a medium-sized figure, shrouded in the dust from the wreckage. However, as soon as all eyes were on it, it took off to the right down another street with surprising speed.

"After him!" Robin shouted, pulling out his bo staff as he ran off behind the figure, quickly followed by Cyborg and Starfire.

Raven lagged behind, something about this just didn't seem right. Not right at all…Her voice was caught in her throat, her legs wouldn't move, her mind wouldn't comprehend…but in the distant fog she could have sworn she saw the criminal take the form of a cheetah before running off into the steadily darkening surroundings giving birth to nightfall.