SORRY I'M LATE WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN YEAH RIGHT OKAY THEN. At any rate, bad news: this chapter is going to be about 8 pages shorter than usual. (Aww...) But it deals with some relationship issues and shows a bit how the world was affected by BB and Rae's marriage! (YAY!) Well, kind of, anyway. At any rate, thanks go to acosta perez jose ramiro for giving me the idea that Beast Boy might use amnesia as an excuse for his memory loss...thanks, dude! Let the chapter begin!
"And so then," said Starfire once the Titans had gotten back to the tower and several hours before the end of last chapter, "I heard a large, girly scream emanating from Killer Moth's house." Cyborg suddenly looked scared. "According to Cyborg, the TV had switched on and off by itself...but for this I am thankful, for that was what allowed me to locate Cyborg, who was hanging down into a pit of lasers which he could not get out of."
The Titans were silent. "The TV?" Raven finally asked.
"Yes," said Starfire, "Though I must confess, I did not observe a television upon my entering of the house..." All the other Titans (except Cyborg) looked at each other, then burst out laughing. Raven even chuckled a bit. Cyborg just hung his head, shaking it. "Please, friends...what is so funny?" Starfire asked naively.
Beast Boy let off a few last chuckles, then started looking somewhat forlorn. Nightwing noticed. "Hey, Beast Boy...are you feeling alright?"
Beast Boy looked up to Nightwing. "Um, actually...uh, how do I say this? I...I think I might have lost a bit of my memory..."
"What?" said Nightwing, as he and the other Titans started.
"I-I didn't forget anything important!" Beast Boy was quick to affirm. "Just stuff like...like dates. I can't remember what day Raven and I got married..."
"That can't be good..." mumbled Cyborg. "You sure you haven't forgotten anything important, dawg? Well...more important, I mean..."
"Heh...if I have, I can't remember..." joked Beast Boy before chuckling.
No one laughed.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Nightwing.
"I wish I could say for sure..." said Beast Boy. "At any rate, I'm just wondering if I can have a peek at the Titans' mainframe...just to get some things straight in my head..."
"Of course," said Nightwing. "We'll leave you alone, just in case you need to look up anything a bit more personal...but if you feel lonely, I think Raven would be willing to keep you company..." And he looked at her as if to say "That would be an order." Not that he actually said this out loud, of course, but you get what I mean.
"Sure," said Raven. "Alright with you, Beast Boy?"
"Of course," said Beast Boy. And with that, the other Titans exited the sick bay, leaving Beast Boy and Raven alone.
"See you later," said Nightwing.
"I hope your recovery goes well and safely!" said Starfire.
"Like she said, get well soon, BB," said Cyborg.
After the door closed, Beast Boy let off a sigh of relief. "Phew...I can't believe it worked!"
"That was a pretty good idea," said Raven. "Although, if you'd tried hard enough, you may have been able to remember a thing or two..."
"What? Did you remember something about our...uh, ahem, marriage?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yes," said Raven. "Although it was easier for me, because Rude happened to 'pop' one of my residual memories up to the surface somehow...I have no idea how she did it, and none of the other emotions do either...I don't think she knows how, herself..."
"Huh...cool," said Beast Boy. "But, then again, we all know I don't have a mind like yours, so...time to take a look at the Titans' Timeline!"
"That can't seriously be what it's called..." mumbled Raven as Beast Boy pulled out a laptop and logged in. There was a couple minutes of silence while the machine confirmed Beast Boy's authorization, as it had only been granted, temporarily, a couple minutes ago. Raven took advantage of these couple minutes. "Um, Beast Boy...about what happened..." she said, not looking him in the eye...or face..or body. She was turned away from him, leaning slightly against the bed.
Beast Boy snapped out of his finger-tapping session and looked up to Raven, now completely focused on her. No, not like that. "Y-yeah?" he said, a little caught off-guard.
"I..." and she looked at Beast Boy for a few seconds. "I...I don't think I'm ready to talk about it...I-I'm still learning how to do this kind of stuff...I'm really sorry, but it could be a while before we talk about that argument..."
"Oh, that's cool. I totally understand," said Beast Boy, grinning and giving a thumbs up. Still, Raven could feel the small amount of disappointment under his smile, and that, like all things in life, is what she chose to focus on.
"Coward..."said Brave, in one of the few instances where an emotion's voice came through loud and clear. "At least say something about the note!"
"A..and about the note...I'm sorry for...what I wrote..." Raven said, a little reluctantly.
Beast Boy looked up again, now confused. "Huh? What'd you write?"
Raven became slightly irritated. -Of course he wouldn't spot it,- she thought, -He's Beast Boy! Now you have to explain things to him...that's gonna make things a hundred times worse!-
"Rae? You there?" Beast Boy asked, still confused.
"Don't call me Rae!" she snapped, turning towards Beast Boy. Beast Boy reared back. Raven sighed. "Sorry...what I said in the note...'go play video games', you remember?"
"Yeah..." Beast Boy said, still confused.
"And that satellite, it caused you to be hurt...it was a lot like a video game!" Raven said, now slightly panicked over her conflicting emotions. "That's what everyone compared it to...and that's how you got hurt! Well, got hurt worse, I mean...I..."
"Raven! It's okay!" said Beast Boy, lifting his arms slightly, palms raised. "I didn't even realize, and it's not that big a deal...even if I had realized that, it probably would have occurred to me you didn't mean it like that. So...apology accepted, alright?"
Raven let off a sigh of relief. "Okay..." she said.
"There, now!" said Beast Boy. "Talking to me isn't so bad..."
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one apologizing..." Raven mumbled.
Beast Boy thought for a couple seconds, eyeballs toward the ceiling and chin being rubbed by hand. "You have a point," Beast Boy murmured. "Still, you make it sound like all video games are button-mashing melees that don't require any thought at all."
"Which they are," Raven said, emotionlessly...okay, maybe she was a little irritated.
"Says you," said Beast Boy. "In fact, one of my favorite games is the exact opposite...a game that needs very little button hitting and a LOT of thought process!" He suddenly frowned, snapping his fingers repeatedly. "What was that game's name...maybe I did lose some memory after all...well, at any rate, you play as a defense attorney."
"A...defense attorney?" Raven asked.
"Yeah! All your clients have been framed for murder, and you go around investigating crime scenes to get them declared not guilty!" Beast Boy said, face brightening. "You'd probably love it!...then again, the game does have an insane sense of humor, and you have no sense of humor at all, so..."
"I have a sense of humor," said Raven. "You just have a lousy one."
Beast Boy looked like he was going to retort, then decided to continue talking about the game. "Yeah, well...at any rate, the game rocks...but it took me like, forever to beat the whole thing without using a guide...forever and about nineteen save points and a hundred extra lives..."
"Still can't be that complex of a game if you could figure it out," mumbled Raven, leaning on the bedrail again.
Beast Boy raised his eyebrow at her, though she couldn't see. "Why do you hate video games, anyway? Are video games, like, against your religion or something?"
"Beast Boy, I'm the daughter of a demon," Raven reminded him.
"So...does that make you a Diabolist?" Beast Boy asked, only half-serious.
"No it doesn't," said Raven. Then, suddenly, she turned, eyes slightly wider than normal. "Where did you learn that word, anyway?"
"From a book," Beast Boy said, smirking and with eyebrow raised. He turned to the computer, which still hadn't quite gotten authorization. Stupid week-old technology...
"Oh, so you can read," said Raven. "Who would've thought?"
"Oh, I read," said Beast Boy, "I just read stuff that interests me. I don't really bother too much with the other stuff."
"So...what kind of books interest you, then?" Raven asked, curious in spite of herself.
"Comic books, fantasy novels, and oddities," said Beast Boy.
"Yeah, that'll get you far in life..." Raven mumbled.
"Abraham Lincoln moved his lips when he read," said Beast Boy. "That is a historical fact."
Raven blinked. "While that is, admittedly, interesting, what possible use could you get out of that?"
"Probably none," admitted Beast Boy. The computer suddenly dinged. "Alright! I'm in!"
0 0 0
Cyborg had gone back to sleep, in his room, leaving Nightwing and Starfire alone. That gave Nightwing the perfect opportunity to do what every boy dreams of...
"Oh, Nightwing, you should not have done this!" Starfire squealed, ecstatic at the prospect of talking to Nightwing over a romantic, home-cooked meal.
Okay, maybe this isn't what all guys dream about. Sue me.
"Only the best for my girl," said Nightwing, before giving her a quick peck on the cheek. She giggled. "Now then," he said, walking over to the stove, "Time to get cooking!" And he cracked his knuckles, pulling out the cookbook afterwards.
"Mmm...all this is quite romantic..." Starfire said, sitting down on one of the two chairs by the wooden table. It's fancy tablecloth and two candles completed the picture of the stereotypical romantic meal.
"Well, I figured since I never took you out to lunch like Beast Boy does Raven, maybe we should have a home-cooked meal, instead," Nightwing said, reminding Starfire of the words she had spoken yesterday. She giggled, and Nightwing pulled out a pot. He held it up, motioning to it. "Spaghetti sound alright to you?"
"That sounds most delightful," said Starfire.
Nightwing smiled, and then put the pot on the burner, reaching to turn it on. "Well, then let's get this party star-"
BOOM!
Nightwing stood there, upper body singed and small hole in stove, as Starfire gasped and Cyborg, who apparently had not been asleep after all, fell to the ground out from his hiding place and started laughing uproariously. The pot came back down from the air, landing with a heavy clunk.
"You had this all planned out from the moment I asked you what I should do about mine and Starfire's mini-fight, didn't you?" Nightwing asked Cyborg, who stood up, wiping a tear from his eye.
"Yes, I did..." murmured Cyborg. "I can't believe you fell for that, man!" And he started laughing again. This was the only sound heard for several seconds.
Nightwing finally spoke up once Cyborg's laughter had died down. "Cyborg...you have five seconds to start running before I give the okay for Starfire to give chase and dismantle you." Cyborg screeched and started running. Starfire stood up, angry look on her face and starbolts in her hands. "One...tw-FIVE!" And he turned and pointed
With a mighty shout and a large shockwave, Starfire took off after Cyborg. Exactly 1.3 seconds later, a large explosion and a rather girly scream were heard.
"You have ruined me and my boyfriend's giligrom!" Starfire shouted as another explosion was heard. Burning shrapnel flew a couple feet into the room. One bit looked vaguely like one of Cyborg's fingers. Nightwing, meanwhile, ignored all this, whistling contentedly as he picked up the pan, put it on another burner, and turned on the stove.
0 0 0
"Huh...it really is named Titans' Timeline..." Raven mumbled.
"Well, duh. I came up with the name...Robin just happened to like it!" Beast Boy said. Before Raven could respond along the lines of 'That explains the name quite nicely.', Beast Boy had already entered the search function. "Beast Boy, Raven, Marriage..." he murmured as he typed in the keywords. He pressed enter. A couple seconds later, two entries popped up. In order of relevancy, the first was 'Beast Boy and Raven's Wedding Day'. "Looks like we got married on Christmas Eve..." said Beast Boy. "That's kind of romantic..."
"Just click on the link..." Raven murmured, rolling her eyes.
Beast Boy sweatdropped, then clicked on the link. He cleared his throat and began to read. "After several months' delay due to villainous attacks on the city, Beast Boy and Raven were wed on December 24th, Christmas Eve. Christmas Day, the two newlyweds put off their honeymoon in order to spend the holiday with their friends. They wasted no time after that, however, and left for Italy on the 26th." Beast Boy looked up. "Italy, huh? Not sure that's where I would have chosen for my honeymoon...I always wanted to go to Hawaii...I wonder what changed?"
"Keep reading," said Raven, a monotoned anger in her voice.
Beast Boy coughed nervously, then turned back towards the computer screen. "Replacing them temporarily for the week Beast Boy and Raven were gone were the two honorary Titans Argent and Kilowatt. Due to their exemplary performance in the area of protecting the city, they are being considered for membership in the newly-formed Titans Europe, headed by Slag." Beast Boy looked up again. "Titans Europe, that's cool...although I don't think I've ever heard of Slag..."
"Quit with the comments and keep reading," Raven said, anger now a bit more evident in her voice.
Beast Boy chuckled nervously, then kept reading. "There were several other Honorary Titans considered to replace Beast Boy and Raven while they were gone, however...among those considered were Kid Flash and Jinx, but these two were quickly erased as options after..." Beast Boy suddenly stopped reading, and paled.
"What is it?" Raven asked, sensing something was wrong.
Beast Boy gulped, then read quietly, "After Jinx was killed in a fight with Brother Blood..."
"Jinx is dead?" Raven asked, very surprised as she whipped to the computer screen, hoping this was some kind of sick prank.
Beast Boy kept reading in that remorseful, quiet voice he has when he wants to. "Jinx's funeral was held on October 28th. After that day, Kid Flash seemed distant and cold, and his crime-fighting suffered. Finally, one day, a group of thugs he met in an alley beat him up, ridiculed him, took some of his personal belongings, and left him there for dead. Kid Flash managed to survive, however, when a passing policeman notified a nearby hospital. The next day, November 12th, Kid Flash woke up only to see his super heroic identity and his real identity side by side on the television screen...his wallet, which had been stolen, carried his driver's license, which contained several aspects of his personal life, including his true identity as Wally West, which his muggers had sold to a major news studio. The fact that he was carrying his license around with him even as Kid Flash only proves that his mind was not completely functioning in the time after Jinx's death."
"Woah..." said Raven, wide-eyed.
"There's more," said Beast Boy grimly. "After three days of hospital care and media onslaught, Kid Flash was desperate. During the night, in a break between forced interviews and flashing bulbs, Wally West committed suicide. He was found, battered and broken, among the rocks below his third story-window. A quickly-written suicide note explained that the revelation of his identity was something he felt he could normally take, but that without Jinx, with whom a relationship had just started blossoming, he felt he had nothing to live for, and that this situation had simply been 'the straw that broke Kid Flash's back'. His funeral was held on November 22nd.
"I don't believe it..." Raven whispered.
"Wait...there still more..." Beast Boy said, now angry at life for doing this to him. "Among the first considered for the job was the Honorary Titan The Herald, but he too was quickly dismissed as an option after he was reported missing by his girlfriend Bumblebee the day after Beast Boy's proposal to Raven. To this day, he has not been found, and is presumed to be dead."
"This is ridiculous..." said Raven. "W...why is this even on here? It barely has anything to do with our marriage!"
"Don't look at me, ask the Boy Wonder," said Beast Boy. "He types all this out."
Raven gave an exasperated sigh. "Just great," said Raven. "Not only are we forced to wed and be wed, but three Titans have been eliminated in this sick, twisted, demented...despicable reality! GAH!"
Beast Boy gave a low whistle. "This is pretty bad," he said, understating the obvious. He thought for a second, then clicked on the link under 'related stories' titled 'missing Titans'. He read through the short list quickly, then looked up, sighing again. "Apparently, besides The Herald, Hotspot is missing as well..." He suddenly realized something. "But Terra isn't..." He quickly typed in her name, then pressed the Enter button.
"Still interested in her?" Raven asked, a bit of a bitter tone in her voice.
"Are you jealous?" Beast Boy responded with a false smile and and a fake-cheerful tone of voice, before frowning and looking at the computer screen. Raven grunted as Beast Boy started. "There's...there's no entry on Terra...anywhere..." Beast Boy said. "It's like...she never existed..." He pulled down the calender, then selected the day the Titans had met Terra.
Nothing.
"Apparently, she doesn't exist..." said Raven, leaning forward to the computer as Beast Boy sat back, stunned. Raven frowned, but it wasn't an unhappy frown. "Good."
Beast Boy gritted his teeth, sitting up and looking exceedingly angry. "You still hate her? Well, I guess that's to be expected from the DAUGHTER of a DEMON!" As soon as he said this, he suddenly looked surprised and sad, slapping his hand over his mouth.
Raven slowly, agonizingly slowly, turned and looked at Beast Boy. Tears were flowing down her cheeks. "Is that...all that you think of me?" Raven asked, pain evident in her voice. Beast Boy opened his mouth, but no words came out. Raven sobbed, covered her eyes with her hands, and gritted her teeth. After a couple seconds, she looked up, putting her hood back over her face. All traces of sadness were gone from her manner and her voice, and yet somehow this only served to magnify Beast Boy's guilt and her visible pain. "I suspected as much," she said. "I'm going to my room."
And so she turned and walked out, and it was only after she closed the door that Beast Boy could choke out a soft "Wait!" There were a few moments of silence after this. Beast Boy slowly sank in the bed, frowning deeply. "You...moron!" he said to himself, closing his eyes tightly. He opened them suddenly, ferocity on his face. "GAAAH!" he shouted, picking up his laptop and throwing it against the wall, hard.
As Beast Boy picked it up, he hit the button on the keyboard equivalent to a mouse, pressing the back button on the screen. As the laptop hit the wall, breaking into two pieces, the article pertaining to his and Raven's union was clearly shown, and Beast Boy saw it. Having emulated Raven on the night of the carnival perfectly up to that point, he continued to feel in that same context, his former anger at himself replaced by a dull sadness. He leaned back on his bed...and that was where all similarity suddenly ended.
"I have to do something to fix this," Beast Boy said, utter and complete determination in his voice.
0 0 0
"Okay!" said Nightwing. "The spaghetti is ready and so am I! Let's get this date started!"
Starfire giggled as Nightwing laid a generous helping of spaghetti on the plate sitting between them. "I am ready as well," said Starfire, smirking, "But do not expect me to share a spaghetti string with you."
"Aww..." said Nightwing in mock-disappointment, "But that's why I made spaghetti in the first place..." Starfire giggled again, and Nightwing smiled and chuckled. She picked up her fork, twirled it in the spaghetti, and took a bite, chewing slowly and daintily.
"Mmm..." said Starfire before swallowing. "Though I miss many things about Tameran, fighting over our dishes is not one of those things."
"Yeah," said Nightwing, having poured himself a glass of water and now picking up his fork. "It's nice to relax every now and then, isn't it?"
"Indeed," said Starfire. "Though, to be truthful, I cannot unwrap my mind from around the matter of the satellite earlier today..."
Nightwing swallowed his spaghetti and his meatball. "I know what you mean," he said, frowning. "I can't make heads or tails of what went wrong up there...or who could've done it..."
"Well, then we should talk about other things, yes?" asked Starfire.
"Probably for the best," agreed Nightwing. "So, um..." -Come on, think of something to say...- "How have you been doing lately, Starfire?"
"I am unable to complain," Starfire said. "I have wondrous friends, a wondrous boyfriend...life is quite enjoyable."
"Glad to hear it," said Nightwing. Inside, he thought, -Is THAT the best you can come up with?- He coughed, then took a sip of water.
"Is something wrong, my boyfriend?" asked Starfire.
"Yeah, the spaghetti sauce," said Nightwing. "I put too much spice in it...it's really hot..."
"It seems the perfect temperature to me," said Starfire. "But, then Tameranean tastes are naturally inclined to spicier foods...it is why I love mustard as a beverage so much."
"That explains it," said Nightwing. "I'd always wondered."
"Yes..." said Starfire, a small amount of suggestiveness (GASP!) in her voice, "I am quite inclined towards the 'hot' flavors...you are one of them."
Nightwing spit out his water. Forcefully. Then, slightly choking: "S-st-Starfire! D-d you realize what that word m-means?"
Starfire smiled, eyes closed, the picture of innocence again. "It means, in reference to a person, that they are very much physically attractive in your eyes."
"Um...yeah...o-okay then..." Nightwing said, blushing.
There were a few moments in which the only sounds that could be heard were the clanking of silverware. Finally, Starfire spoke up. "Nightwing?" she asked.
"Yeah, Starfire?" he responded.
"Do you think that I am 'hot'?"
A bit of leftover explosives still in the stove went off, directly behind Nightwing.
Nightwing was VERY startled. Mentally, though, he was running through a list...
-Smokin' hot, hotter than a volcano, hotter than the sun, hotter than any girl I've ever met...NONE OF THESE SOUND APPROPRIATE! Wait, I've got it! You're so hot my temperature is rising! No, that's lame...what am I supposed to say?-
"Nightwing?"
"GAH!" he shouted. "Oh...Starfire. Um...what were we talking about?" he asked, hoping that somehow or other he had misheard her.
"I asked you if you think that I am physically attractive." Starfire reminded.
"That's what I thought you said..." mumbled Nightwing a little grouchily. He sighed. "Well...um...I don't...really know how to say this, but..."
"Yes, Nightwing?" Starfire asked, eyes wide...shining eyes...cute eyes...
Nightwing swallowed. "Well, I...y-yeah, I think you're very, um...very hot, Starfire..." -This is so awkward...- he thought. "You're definitely the best looking girl I've ever seen..." he finally said, falling back on a slightly altered item from the checklist.
"Truly?" said Starfire a little breathily.
"Yeah..." said Nightwing, breathing a sigh of relief. "Truly."
Starfire smiled hugely. "Oh, thank you, dearest boyfriend!" she said, hugging him tightly. "It is very nice to hear you say that!" And she gave him a peck on the cheek. He blushed madly. They both sat down and ate in silence...until Starfire suddenly looked worried
"Nightwing," she said, something having occurred to her. "You do not suppose that...Slade might have returned and caused that satellite to attack us, do you?"
"I hope not, Starfire..." said Nightwing. "I hope not..."
0 0 0
Meanwhile, in her room, Raven was meditating. She was neither talking nor listening to her emotions, but she heard a few snippets of their conversations nevertheless. The snippets were mainly Anger's, although Timid had a bit of say every now and then. Knowledge was trying to make herself heard, but wasn't having much luck.
"Azarath, Metrion...ugh!" she said, stopping her meditation session and pounding her hands on the bed. "Why is it so hard to meditate? Why can't I control my emotions?"
You see, ever since she'd woken up two days ago, Raven had felt a slight increase in her emotion's...awareness, shall we say. She put it off as a minor, unimportant thing, and it was...until now. Now, it was like her emotions were totally untethered and out of control...like she'd never had control over them. She was slowly starting to regain control, but was also worried something like this would happen again.
-I can't believe I actually cried in front of Beast Boy...- she thought. -How could I let that happen?...What's WRONG with me?- She put her face in her clenched fists, trying to shut out the light from the windows...she wanted nothing, not even her basic senses, to interfere with her thinking processes. Plus, she had a headache. -It's not like what he said wasn't right anyway...I am the daughter of a demon...- She stood and walked over to the window. She appeared to stare at the city outside, but in reality was staring at nothing. -Eye for an eye, I suppose...I said something truthfully mean about him, so he does the same...I don't blame him...but still...part of me thought for a second that he was more than that...- She sighed. -Where is this coming from? What could my emotions be doing?-
And what COULD her emotions be doing? Well, let's find out...
0 0 0
"Look," said Knowledge, "Raven's current line of thinking is irrational...we need to inject some reality into the situation-"
"HELLO!" shouted Anger. "This IS reality! Beast Boy hates us! I always KNEW he did! And I hate him..."
Affection sniffed, wiping her cheeks. "Well, I don't..." she said. "How could he be...how could he say such a horrible thing?" And she sobbed greatly.
"Beast Boy finally grew a spine, apparently," said Rude. "Whoop-de-freakin'-doo..."
"Believe it or not, Rude, some of us are more affected by his words than you are!" said Wisdom, raising her voice...Anger was rubbing off on everyone.
Timid wailed loudly, a break from her monotonous sobbing. "Why did...why did...guh..."
"Shut your trap!" said Anger.
"YOU shut it!" said Brave, moving closer to protect Timid if need be. "Your hatred for Terra is what drove us into this mess, and-"
"I had nothing to do with this!" shouted Anger. "BEAST BOY was the one who insulted US!" She looked around the circle of emotions. "This is exactly why we should never talk to Beast Boy about what happened! His mouth moves before his brain does! He's the king of morons!"
"And you are the queen of chaos, Anger!" said Wisdom. "We need to talk with Beast Boy now more than ever!"
"NO!" shouted Timid. "What if he says something else? W-we could stop being friends!"
"Big whoop," said Rude, opening a soda. She lifted it up to take a drink, before suddenly
SMACK!
Rude spit the soda out, as she had just been smacked in the head. "HEY!" she shouted, turning to Affection, the slapper. "What was that for, Stupid Cupid?"
"For saying that our relationship with Beast Boy is like nothing when it's really the most precious thing we have!"
"Yeah, Soda-brain," said Anger, utilizing a rude nickname of her own, "You of all people should realize that, considering that you are pretty much Beast Boy's perfect match and all!"
"WHAT?" said Rude, unable to take what she dished...at least, not without getting angry.
"Settle down, all of you!" said Wisdom. "We are getting nowhere fast like this!"
"We need to teach Beast Boy a lesson!" said Brave.
"No, don't!" squealed Timid. "Beast Boy...Beast Boy's our friend! He-"
"His behavior as of late hasn't been very friendly..." said Knowledge, sadness finally showing on her face as well. "His lack of tact in the matter of Ter...of that incident shows little regard for our feelings at all...what could he have been thinking?"
"I know what he was thinking..." Affection said, sobbing again. "He wants Terra and not us...he's going to leave us..."
Timid gasped. Rude then filled in the silence (well, almost silence) afterwards: "Good riddance to bad rubbish..." she mumbled, though you could tell by the look in her eyes that she didn't really mean it.
"What'll...what'll we do without him?" Timid asked in her usual fashion.
"He's not leaving us," said Knowledge. "That thought is very-"
"Illogical," interrupted Rude, "We get it, Bookworm..."
"But what if he does?" asked Timid. "What'll we do?"
"Let him leave already..." said Brave. "He's just a coward anyway...attacking where we're most vulnerable...and he hasn't even come to apologize!"
There was a short silence. "We have not exactly set a good example in that area," pointed out Wisdom.
"Ah, he's bounced back from worse than what we said," said Rude. "He's pretty tough, I'll give him that..."
"And Raven is very, very fragile..." murmured Anger. "HE of all people should know that!"
"Why would he know more than anyone else?" Knowledge asked, failing to see the logic of that argument.
"Blah blah blah blah BLECK!" said Rude, answering in place of Anger's usual angry retort.
"You know what?" said Brave. "I say we make sure he knows what he's gotten himself into by insulting us!"
"That sounds reasonable..." said Anger. "'An eye for an eye', right Knowledge?"
"W-what?" asked Knowledge, stunned her own logic had been used against her. "I...that doesn't apply to this situation at all!"
"Doesn't it?" asked Anger. "I can't believe you missed such an obvious fact, Knowledge! Where's your book-smarts gone to, hmm?" And on the inside, she thought:-Come on, take the bait...-
Knowledge fumed, then thought a second. "I suppose that our going to, erm, 'teach him a lesson' could be seen as payback for the insult...but then, that we mean he would also be entitled to teach US a lesson for our insult!"
"We all know Beast Boy's too soft-hearted for that," said Anger, glad Knowledge had been able to spot what Anger hadn't known for sure was there. "But just because he doesn't collect on the payment, doesn't mean that we shouldn't."
"Knowledge!" said Wisdom suddenly. "She is twisting your logic for her own gain!"
"Now how can I be twisting Knowledge's logic when SHE'S the one who said it, hm?" Anger asked. Several emotions murmured. Knowledge tried to reply, but the voice of reason was lost in the mob mentality of falsehood. "So, then..." Anger almost hissed, "How do we pay back Beast Boy?"
Knock knock knock.
0 0 0
A few minutes before this point, Beast Boy stumbled into the common room, where Nightwing and Starfire were just finishing their meal-
"YAAAH!" shouted Nightwing, slipping as he cleared the table. He landed face first in the remainder of the spaghetti on the plate. Starfire giggled and Nightwing looked up, embarrassed scowl on his face. Beast Boy would've laughed, but he was too serious at the moment.
Nightwing heard Beast Boy's steps and looked towards him. "Beast Boy? What are you doing up?"
"I said something stupid to Raven, and now I'm going to apologize," said Beast Boy, walking the whole time he said this and without looking back.
There was a couple moment's silence once he left the common room. "Nightwing?" Starfire finally asked.
"Yeah, Starfire?" he asked back.
"Should I evacuate the city?"
0 0 0
"Okay, Beast Boy..." said the green changeling, now in front of the door to his (and Raven's) room. "No reason to be afraid...Raven isn't going to kill you for apologizing!" He gulped. "She'll probably wait until afterwards..." He took a deep breath, slowly reached his fist up to the door, and...
Knock knock knock. That's where we left off.
"Who is it?" came a montoned voice from inside. Beast Boy gulped again.
"Ah, it's...uh...Beast Boy," he said. "I came to apologize...I said probably the worst possible thing I could've said back there...I'm sorry."
There was a short silence, although it seemed a lot longer to Beast Boy.
Raven finally opened the door a crack. "You're...apologizing?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Beast Boy, "I mean...why wouldn't I?"
Raven blinked once, then opened the door. "Come in," she said. "We need to talk."
Beast Boy was obedient, following his "wife" inside, and then following her lead and sitting on the bed for comfort. He wrung his hands for a couple seconds, then sighed. "I have to say in explanation that...I was sad and shocked and...that all made me angry. I wasn't really very angry at you, I know it seemed that way, but...I wasn't. I just..." and here he sighed.
"I understand..." murmured Raven. "And I probably didn't help...insulting the girl you love and all..."
"Yeah, I wasn't really serious about still being interested in her," admitted Beast Boy. "I was really...just trying to annoy you. It probably worked, too, huh?"
"Kind of," said Raven. "Though mainly it was your tone of voice."
"Yeah, I'm sorry for that too..." Beast Boy said. "And, you know, about the other thing I said...I still don't like the fact that you hate Terra, but I guess you're only human, after all..." He saw Raven's raised eyebrow. "No, seriously, just because your dad was a demon doesn't make you evil...we all know that...I can't believe I said that...I'm really sorry..."
Raven was silent for a bit before saying "Apology accepted..."
Beast Boy smiled, then giggled. "Sweet!" he said, shooting his arms into the air. "I'm forgiven!"
"You're welcome," said Raven. "And...sorry if this is personal or something, but...you're not into Terra anymore?"
"Well, I still love her, but I'm not in love with her," said Beast Boy. "I guess my relationship with her and my relationship with you are more similar than I thought in that area..."
"So you do love me then?" asked Raven, a bit of hope raising in her heart.
Beast Boy smiled. "Definitely. I mean, what's not to love?" He suddenly smirked. "Platonically, of course."
"Of course," Raven said. "I...love you too, Beast Boy...even though you annoy me more than any cricket I've ever met..."
"Hey!" said Beast Boy, but he was smiling as he said it. Raven suddenly bit her lip, and looked off to the side. Beast Boy understood immediately what was wrong. "Hey, it's cool," he said. "If you still don't think you're ready to talk about THAT, then that's okay."
Raven breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Beast Boy..."
"On one condition!"
-Uh oh, here it comes...- Raven thought. "What is it?"
Beast Boy smiled a genuine smile. "You have to play that video game I was telling you about."
Raven blinked. "Um...oh, alright...fine. I'll play."
"Awesome!" said Beast Boy. "It's a portable game, so...I'll go get it!" and he ran off.
Raven sighed. -What have I gotten myself into?- she thought.
0 0 0
"Um...wow," said Brave, a little confused at having her viewpoint changed so rapidly. "I...guess I was wrong about him..."
"HE SAID HE LOVES US!" shouted Affection, doing a cartwheel and then leaping repeatedly into the air. "WOO-HOO!"
"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Stupid Cupid, he didn't mean it like that..." Rude said.
"I'm glad he said he was sorry," said Timid. "Forgiving people feels nice."
"Indeed," said Knowledge. Then ,she murmured: "Perhaps we should try to forgive Terra as well..."
"Well, Anger," said Wisdom, feeling a little smug that she had won as she turned, eyes closed, to the red-cloaked emotion. "It looks like we were unable to 'teach Beast Boy a lesson' after all. I suppose that you are feeling angrier than usual, hmm?" And she opened her eyes.
Anger wasn't there.
Anger was actually several feet away, having moved once she saw that she wasn't going to rally her fellow emotions into further wrecking Raven's relationship with Beast Boy. She was staring down at Happy, who was just starting to wake from her second nap in recent times. As Anger stared, her head was full of thoughts...
Stab.
Strangle.
Hang.
Disembowel.
A grave marked 'Happy'.
The destruction of Raven's Happiness.
Destruction of the world.
The paving of the way for demonkind to rule the world.
Anger shook slightly, although no one noticed...she didn't like all the thoughts she were having...they stirred something within her...something she didn't like...
Happy yawned, sitting up and blinking. She smiled a big smile. "Hi, Anger! Feeling any less down in the dumps today?"
"What do you think?" Anger responded, glad there was a distraction from her thoughts of ruin.
Happy giggled, then stood up, pretending to be a choo-choo train all the way to the circle of emotions. Anger, in turn, walked in the opposite direction, into the woods that represented Raven's uppermost mind, though ironically this was the place emotions had the least contact with Raven.
This, of course, meant that Anger left the meeting of emotions without permission, and Knowledge noticed.
0 0 0
A few minutes into the woods, Anger was having a conversation with herself...they say that's the first sign a person is insane.
"Maybe this is going too far..." she said to herself.
"No, no, no...It hasn't gone far enough..." she responded. "I haven't made Raven suffer, truly suffer yet...I need my revenge..."
She stopped and leaned on a tree. "Yes...revenge is a part of me, but...do I really need this much? It's not like Raven locked me up for no reason..."
Her eyebrows creased. "But she DID lock me up...for so many years...refused to acknowledge that I even existed!" She walked forward with new determination. "But now she'll be locked up...and I'LL be in control! I will have absolute power!"
She faltered slightly in her step. "But would that be for the best?"
She smirked. "Of course it would be! The best for me, anyway! Everyone else can go wherever Trigon went for all I care!"
She arrived at the Reflecting Pool, a place where, instead of seeing the outside world filtered through Raven's many mental barriers, they could see it directly through Raven's eyes and hear directly through Raven's ears...but an emotion could only look in and see something if Raven wasn't feeling any of that emotion at the moment. Anger peered in deeply.
"Wait, wait, wait," said the Raven in the pool, "So the statue was really a clock?"
"Um, yeah!" said Beast Boy. "Did you miss that while everyone was talking about it or something? And you make fun of me for being 'unable to read'..."
"Shut up..." responded Raven, tapping the screen with the stylus.
"Fools..." mumbled Anger softly. "All of them...soon all will tremble before me..." And with that bit of melodrama, Anger turned and walked away.
Well, she would have, except Knowledge was standing right there.
"What are you doing here?" Knowledge asked, arms crossed.
"I could ask you the same thing," said Anger a little defensively.
"I was checking up on you...YOU left the meeting without permission."
"You going to tattle on me to mommy or something?" Anger asked, trying to walk past Knowledge...Anger's Dimension was that way, after all. Knowledge moved to block her.
"I ask again: what are you doing here?" she said, stern look on face and all.
"Just checking out how lame Beast Boy's stupid game is, alright?" Anger said.
"Somehow or other, I'm not inclined to believe you," Knowledge said.
"Well, no one said that you had to," said Anger.
Knowledge narrowed her eyes. "I'm keeping my eyes on you, Anger..."
Anger suddenly smiled creepily. "Maybe that's for the best..." And in the stunned silence that followed, Anger wordlessly moved past Knowledge and began walking. Knowledge watched her for a while, then turned to the left and began walking as well.
The seeds of suspicion had taken root.
Deep, dark seeds indeed. Well, at any rate, notes:
"Although it was easier for me, because Rude happened to 'pop' one of my residual memories up to the surface somehow..."
Originally, Raven's "speech you gave me and Beast Boy" was just an educated guess, but apparently that was just a bit too subtle for you guys...heh, just kidding. I like this way better anyway.
"A...defense attorney?"
The game I speak of in this chapter is Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney for the Nintendo DS, and it is stinking awesome. I must warn you, though: it's pretty much a visual novel, and it doesn't have much replay value...unless you like rereading good books, which I love. If you like using your brain to solve puzzles and mysteries, and you love to read, GET THIS GAME. And its sequels.
"That is a historical fact."
It seriously is. I have two whole books filled with facts like these and historically accurate, odd stories...and it's very funny, too. Go out and buy one of Uncle John's Bathroom Readers immediately.
"After Jinx was killed in a fight with Brother Blood..."
Suddenly a rather grim tone pervades the story. So, Kid Flash and Jinx are dead...why did I do this? Sometimes there is no reason for something to happen: it just does. Kid Flash's suicide, I'm willing to bet, seems a lot unlike him...well, that's only because it is. Or is it? It's been four years since the Kid Flash of the TV show, after all...people change. Tragedies happen to the people you least suspect. As the final episode makes clear...things change.
"But Terra isn't..."
I have nothing personal against Terra, so why did I choose to make her nonexistent? Everything will be revealed eventually...as for Raven's hatred of Terra...somehow or other, Raven always seemed like the type to hold a grudge, until an apology equivalent to the crime in some form or another appears...and apparently, being nearly beaten to death, killing your archnemesis so you don't have to, saving the remnants of a city and yourself from total destruction by a volcano just before being encased in rock wasn't redemption enough. What'cha gonna do, huh?
"Should I evacuate the city?"
In case this was a bit too subtle too, Starfire was referring to the fact that when Beast Boy and Raven have confrontations, things usually blow up.
"Um...oh, alright...fine. I'll play."
But you guys don't get to see! Too bad...in all seriousness, don't think this means Raven's going to start playing the 'button-mashing melee' kind of video games now...emphasis on the 'novel' in 'visual novel' when she plays, really. And now, and I'm not playing with you...
DISCLAIMER: Teen Titans does not belong to me. It belongs to DC Comics and Glen Murakami. The Ace Attorney series of video games also does not belong to me. It belongs to Capcom and Nintendo. The Uncle John's Bathroom Reader series does not belong to me either. It belongs to the BRI (Bathroom Readers' Institute). That all said, ahem...
God bless you all! And I'm promising, right here and right now, next week's update WILL be on time!