I'll save all of my ANness for the end, you're probably anxious to read.
FYI Once I mention that characters have switched languages everyone will be speaking it unless I say otherwise (minus Raven, of course). In very emotional points the Logan's will be speaking English unless addressing an African.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I could go on about what I would have done different with the show, or what I do own, or even talk with the characters about it; But that gets kind of repetitive and I do believe that everyone knows that almost all Fan Fiction writers don't own anything.
/bbxrae\\\: time lapses within the dreams
*******BBxRae*******: transition between dreams/real world
"Talking"- in and out of dreams.
Thoughts- In the dreams 'catchers' communicate via thoughts.
"The 'catcher's' thoughts"- Beast Boy or Raven's private thoughts when in the memories/dreams.
'Other guests'-Raven's Emotions and the Beast
Raven woke up with her face in the dirt. She sat up and wiped the dirt off of her face. She looked around and found herself in a forest. Where- oh no! Garfield! She cried out as she remembered what had transpired. To sum it all up, the team had gone on a mission, in which Beast Boy had been shot. Immediately following that event, she herself collapsed. Now, she found herself in an entirely different place compared to the first. Before she was in a jungle, now she was in what appeared to be a redwood forest.
Just then, a green bird flew past her.
Garfield, is that you?
'In a manner of speaking, yes,' a gruff voice replied from behind, yet it was still in her head. Startled, she turned around to find the Beast lying on the ground licking his front paws (If you could call it that. It was more like a massive clawed hand than anything).
What's that suppose to mean? She questioned. Now that Raven had had a good look at the creature before her, she was almost amazed that she had ever been afraid of him. When he wasn't snarling and growling he seemed, to put it plainly, cute. His ears twitched on occasion, much like Garfield's did. His fur looked so soft, and she fought back the urge to go over and pet him. He looked like a curled up kitten. Well, one with large fangs, huge curved claws, and more than twice the size than any lion or tiger she had ever seen.
'The Master's mind is a very complex place, and any creature that he can turn into has a mental copy here. Habitats are created for each biome, giving them all a place to roam free.'
Can they all talk like you can?
'No, have you ever heard of 'The Red'?'
No, she replied, not knowing how this was relevant to what they were talking about.
'The Red is a force that connects all animal life. The Master's powers come from The Red, and his connection is so strong that he is able to transform himself into anything he knows that is connected to it. That information is stored here, in the form of its mental copy. Each is exactly as they would be in the wild, with the same primitive minds. When the Master transforms, his body is sent here to his mindscape.'
So because they have the same primitive minds they are unable to communicate with Garfield?
'Not quite, they can communicate, but not the same way humans do. These creatures have very simple needs, and he receives their needs in the form of instincts. Food, water, sleep, mate, pee on a fire hydrant.' Raven heard a series of huffs and growls emanate from the large creature before her. She gave him a weird look. 'What? Was that not humorous?' Raven raised an eyebrow, which was soon followed by the other accompanied with laughter.
You really are a part of Garfield, aren't you?
'Of… course.' She snickered at the Beast's confusion.
Wait, does that mean he's always getting those instincts, like I'm always feeling others emotions?
'Well, I wouldn't know about your emotions, but yes. He gets those instincts all the time.'
So, what does that make you? You can talk, well, sort of. She wondered to herself why exactly she was asking so many questions, but chalked it off to curiosity. "Garfield always did keep things pretty close to the chest and I guess I am suppose to be learning about him."
'I am not merely another transformation; I'm The Master's connection to The Red. When he gained his powers I was born. I was unable to reveal myself before the battle with the False Beast, the one you call Adonis. But now that I am awake: I can communicate with him more frequently, I can make his transformations stronger, and even alter their physical form.'
How? I've never seen him do it before.
'It is one of the many things he hides from the team; though I do not fully understand why he does it, I am glad he is at least sharing this with you.' The Beast looked around as if to signify that he was referring to the fact that she was currently in his mind.
It's not like we really had a choice. Bird Boy demanded that we prove to him we can get along, and then a small smile captured her face. Though now that we both know that our feelings are mutual, I guess that won't be a problem. There was a small pause in the conversation.
'The Master is right; your smile is to die for.' Raven blushed. Even though it was the Beast telling her, the fact that Garfield said that brought chills to her skin and a warm feeling in her chest.
"Even his Beast inside likes me." Then she realized that the Beast was speaking very intellectually in comparison to how Garfield talks.
How come you-
'Hush! Hush! The memory is beginning.' Raven looked around and saw that she was in a laboratory. There was state of the art equipment, and the room was a pristine white. A man and a woman, who she immediately identified as Garfield's parents, were working with the equipment and writing notes. "Mark and Marie I think their names were."
Just then a pre-green, five year old Garfield burst into the room through the door.
"Mommy! Daddy! Look what I found!" The boy was holding a stick. "Doesn't the top look like a snake's head?"
"Not now, Gar. We're busy. Just wait a moment," he droned without looking up. Marie was busy writing something down that she had observed in her previous experiment, mouthing the words as she wrote them. So Garfield waited… and waited… and waited. The problem with little boys like Garfield is that they could not stand still for long. He was a restless child, and soon began shifting around where he stood. That is, until he saw an interestingly shaped empty beaker. He knew that he shouldn't pick it up, he had been told many times not to, but things always seemed to be begging him to touch them.
"Hey, Daddy. What's this beaker for?" He asked, picking it up.
"That's for-" His tone changed quickly to that authoritative tone parents always give you when you're in trouble. "Put that down, Gar!" This startled Garfield, causing him to drop the beaker.
"Oh no!" The boy cried out as it fell to the floor, shattering. "I'm so sorry, Daddy! I didn't mean to."
"It's ok, Gar. We've got plenty more," Marie interjected, giving Mark time to cool down a little. She walked over and kneeled down in front of the boy to pick up the broken glass. "Your Daddy and I are very busy right now and we have a lot of work to do. Why don't you go and see if King Tawaba has anything for you to do." Garfield's face brightened up when she said this. King Tawaba always rewarded him for anything he did to help around the village, plus it made him feel like a man when he did it right.
"Alright, you can count on me! I'll take care of... whatever it is," he laughed. And with that he bounced out of the room.
"You think one of us should have gone with him?" Marie asked, her motherly instincts kicking in.
"Nah, Gar knows the way. It's only a two minute walk and you can see the clearing from the road. He'll be fine." Marie took one last look through the doorway before resuming her work.
Outside Garfield was skipping happily, playing some unknown game with his feet as he went down the beaten path. Raven saw that the building they had just left was a large, American styled house, which seemed out of place in the middle of the jungle. She hears a yelp from Garfield and turns to see him on the ground with a large toad sitting next to him.
"Sorry I almost stepped on you, Mr. Toadie. I just didn't see you at first." The amphibian croaked. "Hey, what do ya say we be friends, I'll save you from any leopards that would want to eat you if you'll eat all the mosquitoes flying around me. Deal?" He stuck out his hand like he expected the animal to shake it, but instead it just hopped away.
"Hey, come back! We were just becoming friends," he joked. Giggling, he began to chase the poor creature into the jungle.
Don't be stupid, Garfield, Raven whispered. He did not hear her because this was just a memory, but Raven still felt like she needed to say it. Eventually Garfield lost the toad behind a tree.
"Mr. Toadie, where'd you go?" He sing-songed. Looking around, Garfield realized that he had no idea where he was. There was a rustling sound up in the trees.
"Hello, anyone there?" The poor child looked terrified. Before long a green monkey swung into view with its teeth barred. "Oh, hello there, Green Monkey. I'm Garfield," the boy stated, seemingly oblivious to the danger. The monkey stopped at the sound and turned towards its unsuspecting victim.
"You know, my daddy says that most animals that are green are sick with Sukat- no that's not right. Skuti- no. Um, Suk- Sukita? No. Sakutia? Yeah, I think that's what it is. Are you sick Mr. Green Monkey Dude?" While the boy was babbling the animal had now snuck around him.
Let me guess. He gets bitten by a radioactive monkey and is now known as the Amazing Monkey Man, Raven joked. She had read her fair share of superhero novels (and comics if she was being honest with herself.) and this was a fairly common plot for the cheesier tales. Her excuse was that she wanted to 'expand her horizons' but really, she was curious; not that she would ever admit that to anyone.
"Not quite." The Beast growled.
The monkey pounced and latched its teeth into Garfield's shoulder. The boy screamed before reflexively grabbing a rock on the ground and slamming it into the rabid creature's face. The monkey howled in pain before hurrying off into the jungle, leaving Garfield alone once more.
As this realization kicked in, Garfield began to cry. He was all alone in the middle of the jungle and had been injured by a sick, green monkey. "I'm going to die out here, and the last thing I ever did was break Daddy's beaker!"
The injured boy only cried for a few minutes, but once he stopped he became determined to find his way out, so he began walking. Occasionally he would collapse on the ground in seizures, but would get back up again shortly afterwards. Even though she knew he would survive, it was horrible to watch him convulsing on the ground while she could do nothing to help him. A whimpering noise came from the Beast; apparently he didn't like watching this scene just as much as she did. She pulled his head close and began petting him, calming them both a little. The Beast purred, which surprised Raven. Such an innocent thing coming from such a creature was unexpected to say the least, but Raven didn't complain.
Garfield didn't know how long he had been lost, but Raven guessed it was about an hour. Suddenly there was a rustling noise, and it wasn't coming from Garfield. Everyone turned to the direction of the sound, and out of the shadows appeared an old African man adorned in tribal jewelry. Knuckle bones and canine teeth that formed necklaces and bracelets, with feathers and grass forming the cloth portion of his garb, along with some animal skins to cover up his nether regions. He had many tattoos and piercings and was rather hideous to Raven, with his grubby, grey hair sticking out in different directions through his headdress. He was holding a walking staff with similar tribal decor as his body. The man spoke in a language she did not recognize, but strangely she still understood it.
"Garfield, what are you doing out here? This is no place for little boys to play."
"Witch Doctor Mobu Sir, I, I um, I got lost." The boy hung his head in shame. Raven was surprised to hear Garfield speak the language in return.
"Are you hurt?" The man spoke kindly. Garfield nodded, and pointed to his shoulder. Mobu nodded and moved closer to get a better look at the wound. Out of the bite marks, streaks of green spread across his skin. The old man recoiled in fear as he recognized the disease, muttering what seemed like prayers.
"What attacked you, child?" He asked very seriously.
"A green monkey, Sir," Garfield whimpered.
"I knew it," The man exclaimed. "I should do it right now to prevent your suffering and save any you may infect, but such is not my authority. I shall take you to the King," the man said cryptically, and then he began to walk away. Garfield just stood there for a moment, pondering what Mobu had just said. He was going to die, even though he had already been found? How was that fair? Mobu was almost out of sight, so Garfield ran to catch up, accidentally startling the old man.
"Stay away from me, kufa mtu." (Meaning dead man in Swahili) "You are of sickness, of the Sakutia!" The man said with obvious fear. Garfield's head drooped and he trailed silently behind him, until suddenly he cried out as a seizure took control of his muscles. The witch doctor reacted swiftly, putting his staff in between himself and the boy until the seizure stopped.
"We must hurry if we are to get you to King Tawaba before nightfall."
When they reached the village, sunset was an hour or two away and all of the children were busy playing while the adults had either finished their work for the day, or were cooking supper. By now there was a large green spot on Garfield's arm, and the villagers began to whisper among themselves. One of the boys that were playing ran down the path in front of them shouting "Sakutia! Sakutia!"
If Garfield had his enhanced hearing at this time he could have heard what they were saying, though I doubt he would want to judging by the way Mobu reacted when he saw that Garfield was infected with Sakutia. I'm guessing that this is how he turns green.
They had reached the center of the village where a hut larger than the rest stood. A large man almost as big as Cyborg stepped out. He was adorned in similar dress to the rest of the villagers, which was almost nothing, as well as several necklaces and a large headdress.
"Mobu, what is the meaning of this?" The man spoke on a deep, booming voice that sounded almost like thunder.
"My King, I have discovered the Logan's child in the jungle and he has been infected with the Sakutia!" The King's stern face relaxed at the mention of the Logans but quickly shifted to worry at the word Sakutia. He gestured kindly to the boy.
"Come into my hut little one, for we have much to discuss." Garfield obediently went into the hut, face downcast. The King turned back to the witch doctor and scolded, "Mobu! Must you make a big show of this in front the entire tribe? The boy is scared out of his mind and you paraded him in front of everyone like an animal!"
"But my King-"
"Enough! Bring me the Logans, for I have much desire to speak with them." The old man huffed before leaving without another word. King Tawaba sighs and shakes his head before entering his home. Inside Garfield was slumped on the floor holding back tears.
"I didn't mean to get bitten, honest," he sniffed. The King smiled warmly before speaking.
"I know child, no one ever does." He kneeled down on one knee and his massive hand reached with unbecoming gentleness to lift the boy's chin. "Tell me what happened."
"Garfield! Garfield!" Raven heard his mother's voice call out. Raven didn't have to be an empath to know the poor woman was terrified. She strode into the room, followed swiftly by Mark. Garfield jumped up and into his parent's waiting arms.
"I was so scared Mommy! The monkey, it- he," Garfield reverted to English, his native language. The boy burst into tears along with his mother. Mark just stood there with his family in his arms trying to put on a brave face, though a few tears got past his eyelids and slid down his face.
"I'm so sorry, Gar. It's my fault this happened to you. I should have let your mother go with you."
"Mark, please," the grief stricken woman began. "If anything it was my fault. I let him go even though I thought one of us should go with him."
They're so much like Garfield, he's always taking the blame for things even when it isn't his fault.
"They are his parents," The Beast murmured, or at least that's what it sounded like. Raven realized that she was still petting the Beast and surprisingly, she didn't mind one bit.
"No it's not! I'm the one who ran off the trail to chase a toad! And I broke Daddy's beaker." Marie held him close and lovingly shushed him while stroking his hair.
"I do hate to interrupt, my friends, but it is no one's fault but the monkeys," the King spoke wisely (in Swahili).
"Oh, King Tawaba it is hardly fair for us to be here right now," Mark said when he realized that they were not alone. "I know the reason we came here is because we were trying to save your-"
"Say no more, my friend. You both did everything you could to save Abebe, and I am forever in your debt for trying to save my child." A tear rolled down the large man's cheek. "I will do whatever I can to help you in this time, for that is what friendship is for."
"Thank you so much, King Tawaba," Marie said between sobs. The two men embraced in a brotherly hug. It was strange to see, Mark's head was only up to the King's chest, and Mark was not exactly a short man.
"Marie, we must get to work if we are to save him. We only have a week before the disease-" He paused, choking back a sob. "Well, you know."
"You're right." The heartbroken mother wiped her eyes. "King Tawaba, if it isn't too much to ask, would you come with us back to our hut."
"Of course, I shall leave my oldest son in charge and prepare the tribe so that I can attend Garfield as best as I can. I will meet you there."
"Thank you so much," she said as she picked up her son so they could head out.
"Let's go." Mark had a look of determination and the tone of his voice matched it perfectly. And with that they left.
/bbxrae\\\
Garfield awoke to find himself back in the house he lived in with his parents in Africa. He looked around to see his parents working furiously in the other room.
"Ah, Garfield. You are awake." Garfield turned to see King Tawaba sitting on the floor cross-legged next to his bed. The boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned.
"King Tawaba, what are you doing here?" The boy coughed.
"I am here to take care of you while your parents work."
"Whataretheydoing?AmIallbetternow?Canyoutellmeastory?Maybewecould-"
"Whoa whoa, one question at a time please!" The large man laughed, shaking the entire room. Garfield took a deep breath.
"What are they doing?"
"They are trying to save your life. That monkey that bit you was infected with Sakutia. Do you know what that is?" The King was looking very serious now.
"The Green Fever." He whispered in English. Switching back to Swahili, he asked "Am I going to be ok?"
"I do not know, child. I do not know." King Tawaba sighed, and then smiled at the boy. "You said something about wanting to hear a story, yes?" Garfield's face lit up and he nodded vigorously. The kind king's smile widened, and he began "Many moons ago, when the heavens were still young..."
/bbxrae\\\
"Garfield, Garfield. Wake up baby." Marie stroked his hair as he groggily awoke. He was starting to look sicker, and most of his arm was green by now.
"Mommy? Where am I?"
"You're in your bed, silly," She said with a sad smile. "Look, I know how much you hate needles, but I need to take some blood samples so that your father and I can help you get better." He nodded.
"Ok, Mommy." Marie took out a syringe.
"Now look away, it always helped me when I was little." The little boy's eyes widened.
"You mean you use to be afraid of needles, too?" He said with awe. "But you are so brave and fearless!"
"No, there are many things that I am afraid of. You however, are quite fearless," she said, holding up the syringe filled with blood.
"Whoa! Mom, you must be a magic woman!" He said with surprise looking down at the now bandaged arm.
"I wish I was, sweety," she said woefully.
It's not as great as you think it is, the empath remarked. Raven couldn't help but like Garfield's parents, they were just as kind as he is, and he was a lot like the both of them. Mark was very determined but seemed to try to make time for his family and enjoy himself. Marie seemed a little more laid back, but always seemed to put others before herself. "I see a lot of what I love about Garfield comes from the example his parents set. I wonder where they are now."
/bbxrae\\\
"Mark! We're running out of time! We only have three days and the serum is untested! Who knows what it will do to him!"
"You think I want to stick him with an untested serum? I'm just as weary about this as you are! But Garfield is sick, and this is our only chance to save him! Would you rather we sit by his bed and hold his hand until he dies while we could have saved him? That would destroy us. At least we'll know we did everything we could!"
"I know, it's just that… you're right, I know. I'm just so scared Mark. We had so much trouble trying to have him, and now he's dying. I just feel so powerless." He held his wife tightly, both with tears in their eyes.
"I know, baby. I know."
"Don't cry Mommy and Daddy. It's going to be ok, I promise!" Garfield said from his bed. Both his parents looked up to see an awake Garfield and rushed over to tend to him. King Tawaba was sleeping soundly in a chair the couple had set out for him.
"Garfield, I'm so sorry. Did we wake you?" Marie asked her only son, whose skin had changed colors and only patches of his once creamy skin remained.
"No, I had a bad dream, but it's ok now. I want to be fearless like you are." Both of his parents gave him a curious look. The child pointed to the serum in the other room on the table. "I'm not afraid; things can't get any worse than death, right Daddy?" His father let loose a smile that Raven recognized as a 'Beast Boy smile'.
"You're right Gar. You are being very brave, you know." He said before going to grab the serum. Marie woke up the King while Mark was gone.
"King Tawaba," she said as she shook him softly.
"Ah, I am awake. Just merely resting my eyes, friend. If you don't mind, I would like to stay and be with you in case he does not make it, just as you and your husband were in my time of need."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, friend." Just then Mark came back with the serum.
"Ok, we need to be one hundred percent sure we want to do this. Marie?"
"We should do it. Garfield, baby, do you want to do this?"
"Will it make me better?"
"Maybe, we don't know."
"And there's no other way?"
"Not that we know of." There was a long pause as everyone awaited his answer.
"Let's do this." He tried to get out of bed but almost fell; his mother caught him before he hit the ground.
"Gar, are you ok?" His parents asked simultaneously.
"Yeah, I just don't think I can walk," he said, sounding ashamed. His father ruffled his hair and took him from his mother, carrying him over to a table in the other room. He undid the cap of the syringe.
"Chances are this will hurt a little."
"Don't worry; I'm not afraid of needles anymore. Right Mommy?" His mother gave a small laugh.
"Ready?" Mark asked his son.
"Set," his son replied, smirking.
"Go!" they said in unison, and Garfield closed his eyes. Mark plunged the needle into Garfield's arm and the boy inhaled sharply from the pain, then nothing.
"..." No one spoke a word, everyone waiting to see if he would be ok. Garfield opened his eyes.
"Well, that wasn't so ha-AH!" Suddenly Garfield began another seizure, though this one seemed different. Before, the seizures would strike and his green complexion would grow a little. He would tense up and occasionally shake, but that was it. This time the green spread rapidly, covering his remaining peachy white skin, and he was screaming out in pain the whole time, shaking violently and uncontrollably. His eyes turned green, followed by his hair.
"MARK! What's going on?" Marie shouted at him.
"I don't know!"
Then the horrified parents watched the boy's once round ears enlarge, painfully, and become pointed. Through his cries of pain they could see his canine teeth grow into sharp fangs, and his clenched fists started bleeding. They could see on his thumb that there, where there use to be a fingernail, is now a claw instead. The three adults were too stunned to move, until he curled up into the fetal position where the cries of pain seemed to increase.
"Mark, get a sedative! King Tawaba, help me hold him down before he hurts himself!" she said with authority, but her voice shook betraying her true feelings. King Tawaba did not know what she had said, since she had said it in English. Marie had begun to restrain her shaking son, and when she realized that the King had yet to move she repeated in Swahili.
Mark returned with a tranquilizer dart.
"You are not sticking that into my son," she spat.
"It's all we've got, Marie!" He shouted as he stuck it onto his son's green arm. The boy began to calm down. His eyelids were half closed and the last thing he heard was his mother.
"What have we done?"
*******BBxRae*******
ANness- So here it is! I'm so sorry for the wait, but if I could help it I would. And chances are the next chapter will take a while to complete too, but as I said in the AN once summer comes I'll be able to write lots and lots.
Sorry for the extreme length of this one, the ideas just wouldn't stop flowing. I hope it makes up for my tardiness.
A couple things I realized after rereading this chapter is that I accidentally made a coinkidink. I wrote about what BB's powers were and how he got them all in one chapter. Can we just pretend I did that on purpose?
I'm going to guess everyone is wondering what all I'm going to put in these two's past. I originally planned this to be a BB's past story, so I have a lot more ideas for him and he's pretty much covered. Raven however, I'm having a little trouble with ideas. I know the general direction I want to go, but a lot of the details I have no clue about. My Ideas for Raven pale in comparison to my ideas for Beast Boy. If you guys have any ideas I would love the help, I just don't want Raven's story to be overshadowed by Beast Boy's too much.
FYI In my mind's eye I'm imagining that King Tawaba is Michael Clarke Duncan, best known for his role in the Green Mile- which I do not own btw. If you don't know who he is look him up and you'll understand.
Last, but not least (unless you're one of those people that hate to review), I would like to say that I am a little saddened by the lack of reviews on the last few chapters. Granted the last one was technically an AN but still. I appreciate reviews a lot and do my best to reply to every one I get. Practically all of the reviews are positive (some are extremely positive and they leave me feeling very happy), so I must be doing something right. They really do help motivate me to keep writing, even though my primary goal is to empty my head of ideas regardless whether or not anyone reads them. I thank all of you who have reviewed and I hope I hear more from you! Thank you all for reading my humble little story, please review!