Ahem, sorry I've taken so long, but Spring Break was so much fuuuunnn...
Discalimer: Same as always.
Chapter 1
A dark figure entered the tower. He sighed heavily. Even in the darkness, the wet spots on his uniform and the tears in the material were evident, and each step the figure took seemed to be labored. But he had made it, and that's what mattered. As he collapsed onto the couch, he faintly wondered why all the lights were off at this time of night, but he didn't pay it much thought as he bound his wounds. Maybe everybody else was in the hospital room. It actually wouldn't surprise him.
He flipped through channels, trying to clear his mind of the day's work. His arms were killing him from the grueling climb. He had amazed himself climbing out of that cavern without leaving a trace of his escape. At least if the villains returned for him, they would think him incinerated. But the effort had taken much out of him, not to mention the fact that his belt was left behind in the process. He felt bad for whoever stumbled upon it, since it was covered in xinothium.
His eyes widened suddenly as he flipped past the news. He thought he had seen...no, but it couldn't be...that righteous kid? No, it must have been someone else... But, no, there it was when he turned back to that channel. It was Robin, completely dressed in a Slade uniform and everything!
He nearly lept from his seat, but he was too weak to do so. "No. Way," was all he could manage as he watched the news report. The kid had gone off the deep end. He and those emotions...well, he had warned the kid, hadn't he? He shook his head. What could have possibly possessed the kid to do such a thing?
He forced himself up onto his feet. It was time for an investigation of the Tower, he decided. First stop, the kitchen. He was starved. Little did he suspect that the kitchen would in fact be filled with evidence.
The first thing he noticed was that there was a cake. Then he noticed that the cake was missing its top half. Curious, he looked around, and saw that the top half was glued to the wall, and a backwards, smeared "S and R" was painted on the wall from its icing. Someone had definitely been mad at the cake for some reason, maybe because of what it insinuated?
As he continued through the kitchen, he noticed that there were several dirty dishes and candy wrappers. Definite clues of depression, he thought in disgust. Whatever had happened here was going to be more complicated then he felt like getting into right now.
So this is what happens when you leave the kids alone for a few weeks, he thought to himself sadly as he tried in vain to find real food. Shrugging, he continued down the halls, resolving to go out for pizza after he had figured out what had pushed the Boy Wonder over the edge.
Next stop: he would go to the Boy Wonder's room. Surely there was something there that would help him...oh boy. He stared in amazement at this mess. Uniforms were strewn everywhere, pictures were broken, and the bed was crusted with dried blood. He noticed that beside the bed, there was an untouched picture. He reached out to grab it. It was a picture of Robin and Starfire, smiling at the camera. He noted with concern that the handprints on the frame were red, and the picture itself was tear-stained.
He was starting to fear the worst as he continued to Cyborg's room. There was no one there, as he expected, but he also noticed that many of the machines were starting to get dusty. Cyborg hadn't been in his room for weeks.
Beast Boy's room was a mess, and dust, mold, and spiders clung in every corner. No one had been here for a long time either, and he was starting to worry about what had happened to everybody.
Starfire's room was next. This room disturbed him the most. Absolutely nothing was touched, but there was no dust or anything that had collected in the corners. Somebody had cleaned this room, as if to honor her or to impress her... He was starting to get confused.
One last room left, and then he would move on to the hospital, where he hoped he wouldn't have to find what he thought he would. He nervously knocked on the door, hoping that the occupant wasn't home and that she wouldn't pummel him for coming within a two foot radius. Thankfully, there was no answer, and he slowly opened the door...and gasped.
The room was a mess. Books and bookcases were everywhere, and random objects littered the floor. A broken mirror lay in the center of the floor, its cracks the exact pattern of a footprint he knew pretty well. The mirror seemed to have an impact on him, for some reason, and he wondered what had happened. His eyes followed the trail of objects, finally resting on...Raven?
He gasped once more, his eyes going right to the instruments. A flat line. No, that wasn't possible! What had happened? He rushed over to the girl's figure and listened for a heartbeat, but heard none. Not good.
He rushed to the hospital wing, hoping that he would find somebody there to help him. Little did he suspect exactly what he would be walking into. His eyes opened at the sight: Starfire lay peacefully on the bed, unmoving. A familiar mask was in her hands, and a red imprint was on her lips.
He couldn't believe what was happening; his head was spinning. But he couldn't deny what was in front of him. As he stepped backwards a bit in surprise, he heard the crunch of paper beneath his boot and bent down to pick up the note.
"Robin; I went into Raven's mind like you suggested. I wouldn't have if I could have, but I couldn't find any other way. I did find your antidote thingy that slows it down, so I should be safe long enough to find Raven. I hope you and Starfire made it. -Beast Boy," he read aloud.
He was amazed at how clearly the picture was painted in his mind. Beast Boy and Raven trapped in the girl's mind, Cyborg gone, Starfire destroyed, and Robin gone off the deep end. He shook his head in amazement. He had warned the kid, but it seems some things can't be helped once things go too far.
Sighing, he decided that the best thing for him to do would be to get some sleep and try to sort through things in the morning.
3 3 3 3
Flashback:
He wondered around this place. It was different than he remembered. The sky was bright red, as he remembered, but so was the ground, and it seemed as if he were standing in a dormant volcano, not the strange place he remembered from his previous visit. Calling out into the air, he hoped that someone could hear him, someone friendly. "Hello?"
There was no answer, but rather a dead silence. Not even those annoying black ravens that he remembered used to perch on the rotting trees could be heard shouting their warning calls, and he felt goosebumps run up his arms. It was too quiet. Surely Happiness was around here somewhere. At this point, he'd even settle for being attacked by that pink emotion.
But there was no one around, so he continued to walk in a straight line, figuring that he was bound to run into someone sooner or later. Everything seemed burnt to a crisp, and he was starting to really worry. But, just as he was about to turn back and wait for the others, he heard a voice call his name. "Beast Boy!"
He turned around quickly, wondering who this emotion was. He hoped fervently that it was someone nice, because he couldn't put up with Rude or someone like that right now. After all, this was an emergency. "Hello?"
Suddenly, a small, light-pink clad emotion attacked him, hugging him around the knees. "It is you! You're here and you're real and you're going to help us!"
He pulled away, surprised. This wasn't Happiness, but he couldn't think of another emotion that would be this elated. Well, there was one other, but she was so SMALL..."Um, who are you?" he asked.
She grinned up at him. "It's a long story," she said.
He grinned back. "I'm listening," he prodded.
She sighed, shaking her head in amusement. "Alright, try and keep up. I'm Little Love, and my sister, Love, is out there somewhere too."
"Huh?"
"I'm not done yet!" she laughed. "See, when Raven couldn't decide between you and Robin, the original Love was split, and, well, I'm the side that likes, um, you!" she finished, her face now a deeper shade of pink than her cloak.
He grinned broadly. "Really?" he asked.
She nodded shyly. "You're not half bad, really. You may be annoying sometimes with your attempts at making me laugh, but you're not half bad!"
He grinned. He would enjoy his time here. "Thanks!"
Little Love led him back to an area with several other Ravens, who all waved at him without much enthusiasm. "This is Rude, Confusion, Bravery-"
"Why is everybody either a giant or a midget?" Beast Boy broke in as a tiny Intelligence buzzed by his ear.
"We have been exposed to too much of the more dangerous chemical component of xinothium because of Raven's temporary lapse in judgement that led to the use of her powers, thus enabling the dangerous chemical to affect us without thought!" Intelligence said, landing on his shoulder and staring him in the eyes.
"Sorry?"
Intelligence sighed. "I mean the xinothium had a negative effect on us, and that's why our sizes vary so much," she said.
"Great, another Cyborg," he muttered.
A ground-shaking laugh echoed behind him, and he turned to see a huge Happiness. "Good one!" the emotion laughed energetically.
Almost grudgingly, he turned to face the pink emotion. "Hey there," he smiled as broadly as he could, though happiness could get on someone's nerves when their life is at stake.
"What are you doing here?" asked a familiar voice.
He broke down. He just couldn't take it anymore. "Raven, it's horrible! Cyborg's gone, Red X is gone, Star was captured, Robin went to go after her, and I need you to heal me before the antidote wears off!" he said all in one breath as fresh tears fell across his face.
Raven's eyebrows shot up. "They're all gone?" she asked, more slowly this time.
"Yes, and I don't know what to do! Can you heal me?"
Raven lifted her cloak so that he could see her body. A long gash ran across one of her legs, and he now noticed that she walked with a limp. "I'd love to, but.."
He nodded. "I understand. You can't. But can anyone else here help me? I got a dose of xinothium, and..."
Raven's eyes widened. "Xinothium?"
He nodded. "We had another run-in with Doctor Light, and it didn't turn out very well without you and Robin to help us out..."
Though she visibly flinched at the Boy Wonder's name, she nodded. "I get it."
"So can you help me?" he pressed.
She shook her head. "I can't but one of my emotions might be able to. That is, if someone wants to volunteer to shrink," she added, looking around at the other Ravens.
Happiness grinned as everyone looked up at her. "I guess I could stand to be a few feet shorter," she consented.
"Yeah, because a twelve-foot tall emotion isn't tall enough," Rude remarked sarcastically, earning a few annoyed looks.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," Happiness chanted energetically, and a big black hand pressed him to the ground. Akwardly stuck to the ground, he felt weird as all the emotions stared at him and black energy flowed through him.
"Finished!" Happiness shouted, pulling away.
He sat up, rubbing his sore chest. "Finally," he muttered darkly, glad to be able to breath freely again.
"Did it work?" Happiness asked. She was now normal height. In answer to his question gaze, she shrugged and said, "It took a lot of energy. There was a lot of xinothium in there."
He shrugged and said, "Let's see if it did." He morphed into a dog and panted. His lungs weren't on fire anymore, and he felt much better. Morphing back, he grinned.
"Great! Now you can stay here!" Little Love shouted, hugging him around the legs.
"Now, see, that's where we disagree," said a voice from the shadows. Love.
"Hi," he said akwardly, sticking his hand out for a handshake.
She fixed him with an icy stare. "You are the one thing my "sister" and I disagree on, and I think it best if you leave," she said cooly.
"I thought you were Love," he muttered.
She glared at him. "Love is one of the more complicated emotions," she replied cooly. "I can feel many things, and you are starting to try my patience. Send him back," she said, glaring at Little Love.
"Please let him stay!" Little Love pouted, still holding on to his leg.
Suddenly, the sky seemed to shatter momentarily, and red cracks formed in the sky, though they were mended within seconds. "What was that?" he shrieked.
Love's expression dropped even farther, though Little Love was now grinning from ear to ear. "Someone must have stepped on the mirror! You're staying here!"
Raven pulled Little Love off of his leg and fixed him with her own stare. "Which means that you can't leave here until I win this fight, which I probably won't. In a few minutes, Hatred will have enough energy to trap me in here as well, and then the instruments will flatline. I can't imagine how that will affect Ro..." she trailed off, as if she were listening to something.
"What is it?" he asked.
She shook her head, putting her finger to her lips. "Someone's talking to me in the real world," she replied.
"Who?" Love asked, suddenly interested.
Raven didn't answer, but Love knew anyway, and she slowly grinned. "Who?" Beast Boy asked, breaking the silence.
Love turned back to him with an evil smile. "Robin," she replied.
Beast Boy's heart dropped into his stomach. Raven was so intent on listening to what Robin had to say, he didn't have a chance. Even Little Love didn't have enough influence to keep him around long enough to help! He sighed. "I see," he said slowly.
Raven's eyes slowly widened, and she turned to her counterparts. "You're not going to believe this," she said slowly, her hand running through her hair.
"What happened?" Beast Boy asked urgently.
She looked right at him, and he knew what she was going to say before she said it. "Starfire...?" he ventured.
She nodded numbly. "She's gone. Robin's slipping over the edge with depression, and I was about to go out there and comfort him, but I was cut off..." she trailed off, pointing up at the sky, where four eyes now presided over them.
"No..." he said slowly. "Not them too!" He shrank down and cried, and several other emotions joined him, most especially Love and Little Love.
Present:
His entire body was numb with pain as Raven shook him. "Beast Boy! Beast Boy!"
He had taken a hard hit fighting Anger, and now he was on the ground. The emotions had called a retreat for the time being, and now they were hiding in what was left of the forest. "I'm okay, Rae!" he choked as his vision cleared.
All around him, he could hear a chorus of sighs of relief. Little Love ran up and hugged him. "We thought you were gone for good!" she sobbed happily.
He noticed that Raven also had tear marks on her cheeks. "You were that worried?" he asked quietly, and she nodded her head.
Love, meanwhile, sulked behind them. With obvious disdain for their "moment", she turned up her nose and "accidentally" stepped on his hand. "Ow!" he shouted, wincing.
She came down face-to-face with him. "You stay away from Raven, you hear! Her boy is Robin!" With that, she walked away, leaving him dumbfounded. This was a lot more complicated than he wanted to deal with right now.