Thanks to all the kind feedback! For your amusement…I snuck a little Wizard of Oz reference in this one, since this story in some ways reminds me of it. But just to clear that out - no, this story wasn't inspired by it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 19: Feral

Back in the castle, the three prison guards were busy talking and arguing with each other, as usual. They continued their normal, boring routine until one of the finally piped in:

"Hey, it's been a while since we've checked on that prisoner," it said. He turned to the one sitting on his left. "Go and check it out."

"But I checked them last time! You go over there for once!" it whined. After yet another argument, the monster reluctantly trudged off toward the section of cells. The gnoll lazily opened the door and walked down the corridor to find the changeling's cell. When he came to his cell, he expected to find the Beast Boy there, but saw nobody. His eyes widened, and he rubbed them before looking again. Still nobody there. He thought he may have had the wrong cell, so he checked the other one. Then the other one. Then the next one, and then the next one. A moment later, the other two gnolls heard him shout from down the hall in a crazed voice -

"Hey! He's gone! The green elf is gone!!!"

Calabos drifted (literally) down the dark hall toward Raven's door, and passed (again, literally) through it to enter the room. He glanced around to find her sitting on her bed, staring passively at the floor. At seeing him enter the room, she barely gave him an acknowledging glance.

"Shouldn't you be playing with your pet monsters?" she asked in her trademark deadpan voice. The male half-demon merely chuckled.

"Now Raven, you know that sarcasm hurts my feelings."

"You have feelings? Could've fooled me," she replied, deadpan as ever.

"Why…you're right! I guess I don't, do I? Of course many have said the same thing about you, I'm sure." Raven said nothing. "What is the matter, Raven? Are you not happy to see me?"

"No. And I shudder to think why you're so cheerful this morning."

Calabos did a little spin in mid-air and landed next to her. "Why should I not be? I'm closer than I've ever been to regaining my flesh and blood, and my full powers. Does that not make you happy as well?"

"Call me Little Miss Rain-cloud…but no." Raven turned her head away from him, hoping he'd stop talking, and not wanting to give him any clues that Beast Boy may have escaped. She prayed to God he was alright.

"Oh, that is right! I forgot - you have to relinquish your powers to me forever, all while dealing with the guilt of having your lover be my slave for the rest of his life. Well, we can't always get what we want, can we?" Calabos asked cheerfully.

Oh, how Raven hated his guts. Even still, she didn't ask him to leave. If it meant he was distracted just a little longer to allow Beast Boy to escape, she'd gladly put up with him for a little longer.

"It's a shame, really. I'd hate to have to steal the powers of such a powerful being as yourself." He reached toward her with his hand as if to stroke her cheek. "And such a pretty one at that…"

Raven gave him an icy glare. "Don't touch me!" she snapped. She batted at his hand to swat it away, but him having no flesh, her hand merely passed right through it.

"Hmm…still feisty, I see. You will learn to appreciate your situation soon, Raven. Mark my words."

A loud knock on the door caused both of their heads to turn. Calabos, as if sensing something urgent, turned quickly and passed through the door and out the room.

"What? What is it?" the daemon demanded angrily. In front of him stood two heavily-armed soldiers.

"Master, we've received word from the prison guards about the boy – he's gone!"

"Gone? What do you mean he's gone?" he asked, his voicing quickly rising.

"He's escaped! The guards searched the entire section, but couldn't find him! He just vanished!"

Calabos closed his eyes and clenched his fists, not saying a word.

"Um…master?"

When the sorcerer opened his eyes again, they were pitch black, and he let loose a furious roar – and at the same time launched the two gnolls against the wall with a blast of his powers. The two of them crashed against the wall like rag dolls and fell to the floor. When his eyes returned to normal, Calabos pointed a menacing finger at the two shaken soldiers.

"Summon Scar Wing and the three templar to my chamber at once! And when you're done with that, search the entire castle and the surrounding area up and down for him! NOW!"

He didn't need to tell them twice. The two were off like lightning. Without wasting a minute, the demon floated up in the air, through the ceiling, and toward his chamber.

Calabos stood in what looked like a large bedroom. Actually, more of a cross between a bedroom and a study. There was an ornate table with large chairs as well as several book cases full of old tomes along the walls. A fire burned brightly in the fireplace, casting an eerie light over the room. The far wall of the room led to an outside balcony, and perched on it was a large necrowing with a long scar running down the inside of its left wing. On the inside stood Calabos and the three now-evil templar. Eutonos, Lekim, and Evad stood there in black and red cloaks, with their inhuman eyes glowing in the dim light.

"I want him found, now," Calabos said as he addressed them. "I want this place locked up and searched. Nobody goes in or out. If he escapes, he will surely try to lead the others here. I do not want that to happen…yet. Find him and bring him to me."

He walked up to the corrupted earth mover. "I trust your judgment, otherwise I would not have put you in your position. Do not fail me."

Eutonos bowed his head. "Of course."

Calabos walked up to the bat-monster perched outside. "And that is where you come in, Scar Wing. Take your flyers and scour the land. I do not want him to reach the others and jeopardize our mission. I'd prefer him alive, but kill him if you have to - I just want him found. If he's with any others, kill them too. If he's with too many for you to handle…then follow them."

Scar wing closed his large red eyes and bowed. "It shall be done."

"Good. Now go quickly, as fast as lightning! Go!"

Scar Wing flapped his wings and flew high into the air. He circled the air briefly, then swooped down and gave an ear-piercing shriek. From little cave openings in the mountain emerged more flying monsters, then more, then more. Scar Wing circled again and gave another loud screech, causing even more necrowings to fly from the dark caverns. Calabos gave a joyful laugh as the air became filled with the sight of their flying bodies and the sound of their screeches.

"Ha ha ha! That's it! Fly! Fly!" he shouted at the flying nightmares. He stepped further out onto the balcony and threw up his arms. "FLY! FLY!" Once they were gone, he reentered the room and saw that the three templar were still there.

"Shouldn't we be doing something?!" he asked angrily. The three Templar gave a surprised look, then bowed their heads and left the room. Before they reached the door, Calabos gave one more order.

"Oh, and Eutonos…bring those three guards to me, please."

The more he flew, the more Beast Boy was convinced he was flying blind. He'd been following the river practically all day and still had no luck. He had no idea where he was going, and he still hadn't spotted any sign of his friends. He could fly reasonably fast, but not as fast as Starfire or Raven, so that didn't help much. On top of that, he was dirty, hungry, thirsty, and just plain tired, and that only added to his frustration. Perhaps the place he had arrived in was farther away than he'd thought. Just then, something caught his eye, and he swooped down to see it. After landing and changing into human form, he knelt down and picked up a long slender object – an arrow. Upon seeing it, Beast Boy's hope grew. If there were people around, they could help him – provided they were friendly, that is. There was no harm in trying, though.

Right then he heard a sound – like someone ruffling foliage – and his ears twitched. He paused and looked around to see where it had come from. Nobody was there. Beast Boy shrugged, thinking it was probably just an animal, and went on searching for more signs of life. A few seconds later, he heard the sound again, and this time he heard what sounded like breathing…human breathing. This time Beast Boy didn't shrug it off. His animal instincts told him he was being watched, and crouched down.

"Who's there?" he called out. No answer. "Who's there? Come on out!" Still no answer. He then heard the ruffling again, and saw that it was coming from a patch of bushes next to him. Beast Boy went into combat stance and readied himself for a fight.

"I'm warning you…come out right now, or I'll, or I'll…I'll make you!" he shouted. 'Man Beast Boy, you gotta work on your threats,' he told himself. He carefully approached the bushes, reached out with his hand, and moved some of the branches out of the way. Almost soon as he touched it, something furry practically jumped in his face. Beast Boy all but jumped back and gave a girlish cry of surprise as he stumbled and fell on his rear – hard. He looked to his right in time to see a squirrel running away.

The changeling sighed and slapped himself in the forehead. "BB dude, you really need to work on your gracefulness," he said as he stood up and massaged his bruised rear. Not seeing anything else to do here, he turned around to walk away. However, his foot caught on a stone jutting out from the ground, and he fell down again, this time on his face. His frustration reached a breaking point, and after getting back to his feet, he kicked a nearby rock away and cried out in frustration. Little did he realize what a terrible mistake he had just made.

His extra-sensitive ears picked out a distant screech, then the flapping of wings. Lots of wings. Beast Boy looked to his left, and made out the shapes of flying creatures coming in his direction. His heart racing, Beast Boy sprinted in the opposite direction. He looked around for cover and spotted a long line of trees further down. As he headed for them he looked again, and saw they were even closer this time. Giving up on the running, he shifted to bee form and zipped toward the cover of trees. He landed on a branch under the thick foliage, and waited as they approached. The flying monstrosities flew around the area as they searched for him. Beast Boy tried to keep his frantic nerves under control, praying they wouldn't find him. He wasn't sure how many there were, but there had to have been around twenty to thirty of them – way too much for him to take on at once.

A short while later, the beasts flew off, and Beast Boy gave a huge sigh of relief. He waited around for a while longer, just to make sure they were gone. Once he was sure they had all left, he buzzed away from his branch, and after quickly surveying the area, transformed back into a human.

No sooner did he transform did he hear a flapping sound, and he turned to see a solitary necrowing swooping at him from above. Before he could react, the beast tackled him head first and drove him into the ground, then flew into the air again. With the wind knocked out of him, Beast Boy was barely able to get to his feet. It was then he saw the swarm of monsters coming at him again. They had set a trap for him. Damn.

Beast Boy heard the one coming from behind to hit him again, and ducked just in time for it to miss him. With a few precious seconds, his mind went into action. Hiding or fleeing was pretty much out of the question now. There was only one thing left to do.

Beast Boy focused on the largest, most menacing form he had, and in a flash, a giant green T-Rex appeared. The creatures hesitated, and Beast Boy took the moment to intimidate them with a savage roar. After hesitating again, the creatures swooped. Beast Boy met the first one with a swipe of his tail, then another. One of them dove for his face, but the changeling caught it in his jaws and threw it to the ground. In a flash he caught another in his jaws, and felt a sickening flavor in his mouth as he was sure he drew blood. He promptly threw it through the air, and hitting another one in the process. The beasts didn't let up, and repeatedly dove in and rake his sides or his head with their sharp claws. Three of them latched on to his side, and he roared in pain. Beast Boy charged forward and slammed his side into a large tree, scraping them off.

While he was big and strong in this form, Beast Boy quickly realized he was slow and vulnerable to so many. He knew he couldn't take them all at once, so his mind switched tactics. Ignoring the pain that was now all over his body, he shifted into cheetah form and sprinted back under the cover of the trees. With this, only a few were able to follow him in at once. The trunks and branches made it difficult for them to follow him, and one unfortunate creature crashed into an outstretched branch and fell to the ground. That left five on his tail. Beast Boy stopped running and shifted into his sasquatch form. With his immense strength, he picked a huge fallen branch off the ground and held it up like a baseball bat. As soon the monsters came close enough, he swung with all his might and took out the front two in one swipe. He quickly brought his branch back and brought it down hard on the next one. The remaining two attempted to circle around him from both sides, but Beast Boy grabbed one by the leg, swung it, and brought it crashing into the other. He finished off the one he held by throwing it hard onto a nearby tree trunk.

Sensing others were coming, Beast Boy brought his branch up and readied for another fight. It wasn't long before several more came descending through the canopy above, and dove straight for him. One led the pack and dove at top speed straight for him. Beast Boy hesitated, then leapt out of the way at the last second. The creature tried to veer up, but ended up crashing painfully into the ground. The sasquatch Beast Boy swung his branch around again, and brought it down onto the nearest one's head. Two more that tried to take him down met the same fate. By this time, Beast Boy felt himself going into some feral frenzy. The more he fought, the angrier he became, and the more he felt his primal side coming out.

Before he could turn around to face the other, he felt it swoop down and scrape his back. He roared in pain as the creature left a large gash right along his back. He already had several wounds on his sides from the previous assault, and this only added to his pain. Summoning up all his willpower and his most primitive instinct to survive, he fought through his hurt and continued fighting.

The one that had just wounded him came in again. Beast Boy tried to bash it with his club, but the other one grabbed it and tore it out of his hands. Now weaponless, Beast Boy went for the only one he had left – himself. The sasquatch became a tiger, and leapt full-force at the nearest one. He tackled it hard and mauled it with his claws. Not forgetting about the other one, he turned around to see it coming at full speed. In a flash he became a gorilla, then grabbed it and used its momentum to smash it against a boulder.

By now, Beast Boy had worked himself into a terrible frenzy. Even with trying to keep himself under control, his primitive side had almost taken over completely. He now found himself yelling, screaming, cursing, and even taunting his foes as he took them down. Any more, the Beast would certainly come out full force.

"That's it! Come on, who wants more???" he screamed out loud. His question was answered when he saw the remaining once flying toward him from the other side. "Come and get me!" he taunted. He became a cheetah again, and ran in the opposite direction. While they could fly just as fast as him, the trees made it difficult for them to maneuver and keep up. Even still, they didn't let up, and Beast Boy found himself running back out into the open field. One of them caught up and dug its talons into his sides. Beast Boy cried out in pain and inadvertently morphed back into a human.

The claws dug painfully into his shoulders, and he thrashed frantically to escape its grasp. It worked, and he managed to slip from its grasp. However, his uniform snagged on one of its talons, and he was held on to for a little more before it finally tore and allowed him to fall to the ground. He landed hard, but by now, he had lost control completely. Beast Boy felt himself getting bigger and fangs growing as the Beast took over his body.

The next few moments were a blur. Beast Boy's world became a flurry of claws, shrieks, roars, and teeth as he fought off his attacks. One by one, they fell, and when all was done, Beast Boy stood one-on-one with the last one. Managing to regain control of his sanity, Beast Boy changed back into a human and stared down his opponent. It was the same one that had caught him earlier, and it still held a piece of his bloody uniform in its talons. It also seemed a bit larger than the others, and had a long scar running along its left wing.

The changeling really was an intimidating sight to behold. He was beaten, bruised, dirty, and bloody. Wounds ran all over his body, his uniform was torn in several places, and his entire body was botched with mud and grass stains. On top of it all, his eyes burned with a feral fury that would intimidate anyone looking at them.

"Come on! Come on!" Beast Boy taunted. He was thoroughly exhausted and in an immense amount of pain, but he knew his last opponent was thinking twice about taking him on.

However, the necrowing stared at him calmly with its large red eyes. It gave out another screech, and then Beast Boy heard the sound of more wings coming. He stared out in disbelief as he saw the forms of even more flying beasts appear in the distance and head for him. This time there were even more, and all were closing in on him fast. His last attacker stared at him almost mockingly above. Beast Boy tried to stand, but all strength had left him, and he collapsed on his knees. He could do little but watch helplessly as his doom descended on him from above.

"I'm sorry, Raven. I tried…" whispered. His vision started growing cloudy…

The creatures closed in full speed, but just before they reached him, the mass of monsters stopped dead in midair. They turned to back away, as if they had just seen something frightening. Beast Boy was very needless to say, very confused at their sudden behavior. Surely they all couldn't have been afraid of him, could they? His question was answered when he heard a cry, then a huge whooshing sound. A flurry of arrows and javelins zipped through the air over his head, catching him by surprise, and flew right into the crowd of monsters. They screeched loudly as a bunch of them were brought down by the sudden onslaught. The ones that survived the first wave promptly turned tail and flew away as fast as they could.

The changeling tried to turn around to see who had just saved his life, but he was too weak. The affects of his wounds, hunger, and sheer exhaustion were now catching up to him, and before he knew it, he collapsed onto the ground. His world started to spin, and his consciousness slowly started fading. He heard the sound of many footsteps approaching him, and of all things, the voices of women.

"Please be friendly," was Beast Boy's last thought as his world faded to black.

And so, thus ends the BBxRae focused part of the story. The next few chapters will focus on what went on with the others up to this point. Don't worry though, it won't take long, probably only two or three chapters, then I can finally start wrapping this story up. Hope you've all liked it, and don't forget to review!