I do not own anything relating to the Teen Titans.

Opening the Closet Door a Crack – Chapter 21

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The knowledge that they were cut off from the outside world dampened the titan's spirits considerably. While they were used to handling all manner of problems and crises on their own, without help, there's something chilling about being out of contact with the rest of the world. The unconscious knowledge that at the last extremity, you can call for help gives a certain level of comfort.

That comfort was gone now.

"Titans," Robin's voice interrupted their thoughts, "we'd better get some rest. We'll resume our exploration in about six hours. That will give each of us a chance to get some sleep, eat and warm up. NOT A WORD OUT OF YOU BEAST BOY!" The shapeshifter closed his mouth before even uttering a sound.

"Man, I could use a snooze. You don't realize how much work that is trudging through the wind and snow. Naptime for me."

"What are you talking about rustbucket, it's way too early for bed."

"Beast Boy, can't you see it's nighttime?" interrupted Raven, with just a hint of a smirk.

"Very funny. Do you how hard it is for me to stay awake right now? Every instinct I have is telling me to hibernate. If I sleep now, I might not wake up until spring."

Raven and Robin looked at each other, then turned to Beast Boy. "GO TO SLEEP!"

The changeling turned and stormed off back to his compartment, muttering the entire time.

The other four remained in the larger compartment. Without the hyperactive shapeshifter, it was quiet. You would think that with the discovery of the city, the four would be talking excitedly about their find. In this case, you would be wrong. Too much had happened in a short time, the destruction of the antenna, the looming presence of an unknown city, and the ever present night, all of it overlaid with the blowing wind and the bitter, frigid, numbing cold. Even though they had only been outside for little more than an hour, it had seeped into their bones and sapped their energy. All they could bring themselves to do was to sit quietly, eat and try to warm up.

Cyborg particularly looked exhausted. Far more massive than the others, fighting the elements was not what his cybernetic components were designed for. Electronics did not necessarily work well in this bitter cold, and metal tended to freeze, even with oil. At 75 below, oil tended to freeze as well. Furthermore, his human eye looked haunted, as if he were hearing something on the wind. Something that boded no good.

Robin and Cyborg both decided to catch some sleep, leaving the two girls alone. After a few moments of silence, Starfire spoke. "Does it not seem to you that tensions are rising again between Robin and Beast Boy? Friend Robin seems very short tempered regarding Beast Boy."

Raven was silent a moment, after considering, she answered, "Yeees, but I can understand why. Beast Boy tries my, umm, his patience in the best of times. With his constant harping on the cold and his constant activity, it's bound to get Robin upset."

"But," Starfire looked puzzled, "do you not understand Beast Boy's situation?"

"What do you mean?"

Starfire paused, trying to find the correct words in English that would convey what she wanted to say. "Beast Boy is active, is he not?"

"Over active if you ask me."

"And, he feels most strongly the urges of your earth creatures?"

Raven looked at Starfire, a curious expression was on her face. "Starfire, what are you trying to say?"

"Please forgive me if I do not say this properly, but, to be trapped in this ship, sealed away from the outside and from his friends, would that not be a torture for Beast Boy? Both you and he have said he strongly resembles a…uhhh…pack animal that needs to be around others with the freedom to come and go at his own desire."

Raven looked stunned.

"And, he knew this was coming. That is why he complained so much on our voyage down here. He knew he could not leave the ship. He knew there was nothing he could do. He did not bring up his difficulties, other than generally complaining about the cold. If you remember, he did not mention anything about his problems until he was asked to leave the ship."

Raven considered this. After a moment, she replied, "That's consistent with his entire history. He never actually SAYS anything about what's bothering him, he deflects it. Only when forced to the surface does he actually reveal anything about himself."

"In that respect, my friend, he is rather like Robin, is he not?"

Again, Raven was stunned. The realization that, once again, there were depths to Beast Boy that had yet to be fathomed was revelatory. While she accepted, along with the others, that Robin was secretive and hid much of his motivations, that Beast Boy was similarly driven was… disturbing.

The purple-haired maiden responded, "And what about Robin? What sense do you get out of him?" She was coming to realize more and more that although Starfire was naïve regarding earth and its ways, the princess was remarkably perceptive where her friends were concerned, possibly because she saw things as an outsider that 'regular' human beings would not consider.

Starfire considered, "I do not know. He seems, disturbed, easily upset. Normally, Beast Boy's behavior might irritate him, but it would not cause him to lose his composure. For him to be continually yelling at Beast Boy suggests something, but I am not sure what."

"Starfire, I think it is becoming critical that we watch the boys even more closely than before. All three of them are behaving oddly. This mission is affecting them in ways no one could have predicted. We need to be on guard."

The warrior from Tamaran looked pensive, and upset. "Raven, you are my only girl friend and you are my teammate and fellow warrior. But, I MUST ask you this. All of the boys are being affected by the influences of this mission. Are you feeling them as well?"

Raven lowered her head and considered before answering. It was several moments before she had the confidence to respond. "I don't think so. The Necronomicon tempted me sorely. Since then, I've felt no temptations, no influences. I suspect that it is because of my demonic heritage."

"What do you mean?"

How to put this in understandable language? "Temptation is something I have to live with daily. The dark part of my soul, my father's influence, is a constant source of temptation. That's one of the reasons why I meditate, to keep it under control. When I extended my senses and the horrid book was included, it overwhelmed my normal controls. So far, I've felt nothing comparable that could not be resisted. That's why whatever these voices that Cyborg is hearing and Beast Boy used to hear have had no impact on me." She paused for a moment, "Has Robin mentioned them to you?"

Starfire looked crestfallen, "Robin has almost completely shut me out of his life. It has now reached a point similar to his obsession with Slade. I do not know what to do any more. How can I help him if he will not make himself open to help?"

An unusual emotion came to Raven, pity. "I wish I had an answer. All I can suggest is that you keep watching him, be available to him and help him." The sorceress fell into a deep gloom. "I'm not sure we can help any of them."

"AND WHY NOT? Are we not warriors? Are we not their friends? Are we not MORE than friends? Whether you accept it or not, Beast Boy, Robin and Cyborg are our family. It is our DUTY to assist them, to help them. Nay, it is not our duty, it is the greatest part of us to help them. Would you not give everything to them, would you not give your life to them?" Throughout this speech, Starfire's emotions had been kindled, and the passion that drove her grew higher and fiercer with every word. By the end, she was standing up, arms raised, head up high, proud, tall, the epitome of the consummate warrior, all doubts erased, all of her being focused on the trials ahead.

Raven stared at wonderment at her friend. It was rare that Starfire let the warrior part of her being out. When it was exposed to the world, it was a marvel to behold. She felt ashamed of herself for her momentary doubt and weakness.

"Starfire," she replied, "I will deny ever saying this. And if you even HINT that I said this, I will send you to the darkest dimension I can find." The princess looked confused at this. "I love you. You really are one of a kind, the best kind." With that, Raven got up and hugged her friend. After a moment, she let go of the Tamaranean. "All right, enough sentimental claptrap. It's time to go to sleep. I'm tired."

Starfire laughed. It was wearied, but a laugh nonetheless. "Yes, I believe it is. Good night my friend."

"Good night Starfire."

And the two parted ways and went to bed.

Xxxxxx

Although there was no morning in September in Antarctica, for convenience sake, let us say that the next morning the titans awoke. The silence that had infused the team continued throughout the 'morning' meal. Even the normal argument between Beast Boy and Cyborg regarding real eggs versus tofu eggs did not occur. If anything, Beast Boy was more sullen than they had ever seen before.

"Look, Beast Boy," said Raven, for once breaking the silence. "Is there any way you could come with us? Don't think this is because I particularly WANT you around, but I'm sure you get bored in here. You once morphed into a single celled animal, couldn't you do that again? That way you could accompany us outside, protected by our body heat."

Beast Boy looked at his teammate, a wistful smile on his face. He appreciated the effort she had made to include him. To him, the fact that SHE had tried to include him made all the difference. "Wish I could, but a one-celled animal might be the most dangerous change of all."

At that statement, all of the Titans turned to the green teen. "What do you mean, green bean?" asked Cyborg.

"Look, there are a few single celled creatures that could live down here. OK, let's say I change to one. When I did it before and went inside you, I was with Gizmo and could communicate with him and him with you guys. I KNEW when I could change back. If I change to a one-celled animal, I have NO idea when it's safe and no way to communicate with you WHEN to know. I couldn't tell by body heat, unless you actually were freezing to death, then it would be too late. I couldn't even tell by time. What if you were delayed and not back within an hour? I could change back at the wrong time and freeze to death. I'm stuck here until we leave or until you find somewhere else for me to go." The depression that settled over his face was deeply upsetting to the others.

Furthermore, the revelation that their, supposedly, less intelligent teammate had considered all of these possibilities was startling to the other titans. Once again, Beast Boy had surprised them with his forethought and his awareness of alternatives and options. Or maybe, the surprise was lessened. It was almost becoming routine that Beast Boy would reveal a hidden depth that had previously been unknown.

"OK Titans," Robin broke the silence. "Beast Boy, you man the T-Jet." The changeling let out a grumble at that. "Everyone else, suit up. We'll head back to the point we left off yesterday."

"A few hours ago dude."

Robin held in his irritation. "Where… we…left…off…yesterday." He paused for a moment and gathered his thoughts, and his composure. "We'll make directly for that doorway and see what lies within."

At that point, Beast Boy left the group and went back up to his compartment. It was difficult to be around the others when he was the one always left behind. While Robin let out a sigh of relief, the others looked forlornly at the departing teen, wishing that he could be included in their camaraderie.

Bundling up once again, the three titans (and Starfire, who did not need to bundle up), left the T-Jet through the lower hatch. With Robin in the lead, they picked up the cord that had been left tied to their ship and began to make their long, laborious way back to the other end of the cord, through the cold, dark night.

They were able to make their way a bit quicker this time, heading directly for the unexplored doorway. With the knowledge there were no chasms, boulders or walls between the T-Jet and the doorway. Unfortunately, it was still dark and still bitterly, frigidly cold, the steady wind blowing the snow and ice all around, cutting visibility to only a few feet, if that. After roughly fifteen minutes, the doorway appeared suddenly out of the darkness. Bidding them entry to deeper darkness.

"Titans, hold up a moment," the boy wonder announced. "I'm going to tie another cable onto the pinion, that way we'll be able to find our way out if there's more than one passage."

"I thought you never got lost?" asked Cyborg.

"I don't. But do you want to take the risk of being stranded out here if I'm wrong?" With that, Robin began to tie another cable onto the pinion. After a moment, he straightened up and the foursome took their first tentative steps into the interior of the city.

"Cyborg, holding onto the cable, feel over to your left. Can you touch a wall?"

"Yeah, I can."

"How far away is it?"

"Seems to be about three, four feet."

"OK, I'm about two feet away from the wall on my right. That makes this about six feet, like we thought. Starfire,"

"Yes, Robin," she answered.

"Starfire, I want you to rise slowly up, Raven, stay in physical contact with her so she doesn't drift off. See how high up the ceiling is. If you can't feel the ceiling and stay in contact with Raven, come back down."

Floating up, the princess held her arms out. Rather quickly, she touched stone. "I have reached the ceiling."

"Raven, can you give an estimate based on your height and Starfire's?"

Thinking, the grey girl replied, "I'd guess about ten feet."

"Robin, there is one more thing. This ceiling is arched, it is not flat."

"interesting, means this really may be a corridor and not a doorway. OK, come back down. Cy, keep your hand against that left wall, Starfire, would you keep your hand on the right wall? That way I can use the flashlight and see ahead of us. Well, try to see ahead of us. Let me know if you find any openings." With that, Robin began to walk forward, shining his flashlight into the swirling, snow filled gloom of the opening.

Within about ten steps, the wind had lessened considerably, Within another ten, there was little to no swirling snow and ice. The flashlight beam revealed a sleek, even corridor that led for a considerable distance.

"Cyborg, looks like we'll be able to see our surroundings. Don't think you'll need to hold onto the wall anymore. Everyone, flashlights out. As much light as we can make. Let's see what we've got here.

The resulting explosion of light revealed very little actually, the walls were smooth, unbroken for the foreseeable future. It was what it seemed to be, an arched passageway leading into the city. Even the floor appeared to be in pristine condition.

"Does this mean we can move a little faster?" Raven asked. "I'd like to actually accomplish something in the near future."

"Yes please, we must find the location of R'yleh. There is no time to waste."

"All right, we pick up the pace a bit. We've still got about ten more minutes before we need to turn back."

"Ten minutes? Why, we're out of the wind and snow. Surely we can take a bit longer."

"Raven, it's still frigid. I'm assuming we're not going to find a heat vent anywhere around here. At 75 below, it's still dangerous. Let's go." And the titans set out again.

Roughly five minutes later, Starfire exclaimed, "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS!" With that, she rose into the air, and shining her flashlight down the corridor, flew off.

"STARFIRE, WAIT!" shouted Robin.

Unfortunately, Starfire was not about to heed the titan leader. Within moments, the beam of light that had shown the others where the warrior princess was vanished in the distance, lost in the depths of the city.

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As always, my thanks to my readers, I'm now up to 2700 hits for the story since it began back in May (wow). Only two reviews this time, but then again, I was extra quick to update before the long weekend, so the regulars may not have had a chance to read the chapter.

Flood125 – Excellent question. I had considered it originally and discarded it for the reasons I gave above. But I thought it would be more entertaining to actually incorporate it into the story rather than simply explain here in the footnotes. This is why I like reviews (other than needing tremendous amounts of encouragement), it gives me ideas to incorporate into the story.

ForceIsStrongWithThisOne – Is there anything wrong with the T-Jet? Was the destruction of the antenna an accident? We've only just begun to explore this rather desolate, abandoned (?) city. Hope this installment lives up to your expectations.

Now then, I do have a note, and a request. If by some miracle, there is someone reading this who has not been reading any of Force's works (unbelievable as that may seem), let me make you aware of a joint venture between Force and myself, along with three other fantastic writers, Novus Ordo Seclorum (author of Collateral Damage), Sir Alwick (author of a number of excellent BB/Rae romances) and titanfan45 (author of One Hundred Words and other humor stories).

The story is Ganguro and the author is ZorkaberryPie (that's us). It took us a while, but the first chapter has been posted and the next should come out this weekend. A humor/mystery/romance starring our favorite shapeshifter (and, of course, the other titans). I hope you'll enjoy it. I'm certainly enjoying writing my small sections.

Until next time my friends, sleep well.