I don't know how, but I somehow got this one done in a week even though I was very busy. Be sure to check out my new fic, which will be posted a little later today! I'm eager for comments on that one.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 23: The Healer

Beast Boy's first thought upon waking was that he had died and gone to heaven. The pain had gone, he felt rested, the sky was sunny and blue, and he was surrounded by beautiful women. Wait, women?

He sat up. As he did so, he felt a pain in his side shoot up.

"Easy, do not make any sudden movements. You've been out for hours," said a feminine voice. A blue-haired girl knelt down and gently laid him back. Luckily the mat he was on was rather soft, so he didn't object. Once he was down, questions started pouring out of Beast Boy like a flood.

"Wha…? What's going on? Where am I? How did I get here? Who are you?"

"Shh. You have to rest. You're still wounded pretty badly. You need time to heal," she cautioned. She then laid a damp cloth on his forehead and began applying some kind of ointment to his wounds.

"Mmm, that feels good. But…where am I?" he repeated.

"Just stay still," she urged. "As for your questions…you're in our camp, we brought you here after we found you, and my name is Kaily. I'm a healer. Can you tell me your name?"

"G…Beast Boy," he answered.

"Beast Boy? Interesting. Very fitting. I like it. A pleasure to meet you, Beast Boy."

"Thanks, same to you. Wow, you're so beautiful," Beast Boy said, barely even aware the words had slipped out of his mouth. "Why do I feel so weird?"

The girl blushed intensely, but continued applying as if he hadn't said anything. "Those are the herbs we gave you. They fight infection and lessen the pain, but they can make you a little…lightheaded."

"Oh," Beast Boy answered. So in other words, he was in some kind of drug-induced stupor. If not, it was probably pretty darn close.

"Raven. I need to get to Raven," he croaked.

"Who's Raven?" Kaily asked.

"I have to rescue her." He tried to sit up again, but the girl held him down. "He's got her…have to stop him…Have to find the others…" Beast Boy moaned. Too weak to fight her or do pretty much anything else, Beast Boy laid back and stared at the sky.

Kaily sighed. "There, there. You'll find them, but first you must heal. You were wounded pretty badly. I must say I'm impressed, though. I don't think I've ever seen someone so young take on so many of those beasts by himself."

"He's going to use her. I have to stop him," the changeling continued.

"Who's going to use who?" Kaily asked again. "Do you think you can tell me?"

"How can I trust you?" Beast Boy asked suspiciously.

"I don't see why you should. You're obviously a stranger in a foreign land, unarmed, and in the captivity of people you've never even seen before. But then again, I am helping you, right? We could have easily let you die out there, but we didn't. Right?"

Beast Boy managed a faint smile. "Works for me."

"But we'd better wait until you're out of your daze," she advised him. "You can tell me all about it once you've recovered, okay? Just get some rest for now."

"Alright." The green boy was still dazed, but knew she was right anyway. It didn't take long for him to drift back to sleep. Once he was out, a green-haired girl approached and sat down near him.

"Hello, Talia," Kaily said. "Did our captain send you?"

"Yes, Genia wanted me to check on you two. How is he?" the green-haired girl asked.

"Seems to be fine, but is a little out of it."

"I see. Did he say anything while he was awake?" Talia queried.

"He kept mentioning that he had to find someone. He brought a girl named 'Raven'." Just then, her eyes widened. "Talia, those strange people you told us about…weren't they talking about missing companions, too?"

Talia nodded; her expression grave. "I was thinking the same thing. I'm almost certain he's one of the people these 'Teen Titans' were looking for."

"This could be more serious than we thought," Kaily remarked.

"I think you're right. I'll go speak to Genia at once. If this is as serious as we think, then I'm going to have to find Aalya at once."

Kaily nodded as Talia left. With her gone, she turned her attention to Beast Boy again, and finished applying the medicine to his wounds. After admiring her handiwork, she settled down nearby and waited for him to wake up. This was going to be a very strange day, indeed.

Beast Boy was running through a dark forest. He had to find her, but she was nowhere.

"Beast Boy!" a familiar voice called.

"Raven? I'm coming!" He ran in the direction of the voice.

"Beast Boy!" she called again. Only this time, it was behind him. Beast Boy promptly turned around and ran toward it. The voice called again, this time to his left. He tried to find her, but she was always out of reach…

Then the forest disappeared, and Beast Boy found himself in a dark, stone hallway. Something was coming for him. He couldn't see it, but he knew it was after him. So he ran.

"You cannot hide," a familiar, dark voice said. Beast Boy ignored it, and sprinted faster.

"You cannot hide," Calabos repeated.

Beast Boy was growing desperate. He tried to keep going, but he was so tired! Suddenly, the hallway ended, and he was staring at a dead end.

"I…"

Beast Boy heard the voice coming from right behind him. Slowly, he turned around, ignoring his body's protests. When he finally looked, there stood the demon, his eyes black and his mouth revealing rows of sharp teeth.

"…SEE YOU!"

Beast Boy's eyes snapped open and he shot up.

"Woah! Are you okay?"

To his surprise, Kaily was still by his side. He remembered her and their conversation earlier, but it seemed like it had happened in another dimension. He no longer had that light, carefree feeling, either. He must have been out of his high.

"I'm fine. Where am I? Oh, never mind." He paused briefly to take a look at his surroundings. To his surprise, it was dark. How long had he slept? He was in some kind of camp, and was surrounded by women dressed like Kaily was, only most of them were asleep. His gaze drifted upward, and saw that this world had two moons, one high in the sky and one low. The landscape was quite beautiful, with its rich greenness untouched by any human hand.

"How long did I sleep?"

"You slept the afternoon and most of the night," she answered. "How are you feeling?"

"Better." The pain had mostly subsided, and it was easier to move around now.

"Glad to hear. You were beat up pretty badly. You're lucky we found you when we did. If the wounds didn't kill you, the poison would have," she said to Beast Boy as she shoved something in a pack.

"Wait, poison?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yes, poison. Necrowing bites and scratches carry a toxin. Normally it isn't lethal, but in large amounts it can end you."

"Um, thanks. So, were you the ones who rescued me earlier?" he asked.

"Yes. I ran into you while you were wondering around."

Beast Boy looked both surprised and suspicious. "Wait, how did you find me? Were you spying on me?"

Just then, she disappeared and in her place stood a little squirrel – the same one he had seen earlier.

"Dude! What the heck??" he exclaimed. A moment later, the squirrel transformed back into Kaily. "It was you! Wait, you can shape-shift?"

Kaily nodded. "Yes, but not as well as you can. I can only do that form. It's very useful for spying. When I saw you, I ran off to get the others. Sorry about jumping in your face, by the way."

"No problem," he replied awkwardly, recalling when that squirrel had leapt at him from the bushes.

"So are you alright to talk?" Kaily asked.

"Sure, but how come nobody else is talking to me?"

"Our leader forbade them to speak to you. She figured having so many people prodding you wouldn't have helped your stress, but she wanted me to talk to you and see if you would open up," she explained.

"Oh, I see." Then again, being surrounded by attractive women seeking his attention was something Beast Boy usually didn't mind. He was rather amazed that none of them seemed to think much of his green appearance. Maybe beings as strange as him were a common occurrence. Judging by what he had seen so far, Beast Boy didn't doubt it. Then again, the term 'strange' was subjective, and what was strange to him was probably normal for them.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened, or what?" Kaily asked, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Can I trust you?" Beast Boy asked. He really wanted to trust her, but given the circumstances, he didn't want to take chances. To his surprise, she didn't argue or become impatient. She instead smiled warmly.

"I'll tell you what. I will tell you all about myself and my people. Then when I'm done, you can tell me about yourself. Sound fair?"

Beast Boy smiled back. "Sure. That sounds fair."

So Kaily started out, first by telling him about herself, then described her people and her homeland, finally ending with the events leading up to them finding Beast Boy.

"Wow," Beast Boy said once she was done. "So you guys are like some kind of Amazons, aren't you?"

"We're not these 'Amazons' you speak of. We're-"

"I know, I was just saying," Beast Boy said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, are you going to tell me now?" she asked.

"Oh, right."

Beast Boy began his part of the story. Starting from the beginning, he told her about himself, his friends, and his home. He then related to her his arrival here, his kidnapping, and eventual escape from Calabos's lair. He also explained about Raven and how Calabos was going to use her to bring himself back to life. By the time he had finished talking, the sun had risen, and the people around him had gotten up.

"Wow, I see," Kaily said after listening to his story. "This is very bad. If the son of Caldeon wants to resurrect himself, we're all in for some dark times."

"Yes, we have to stop him before it's too late. I've tried to find my friends, but I have no clue where they are."

"Well, I don't think you'll have to worry about your friends. I think you'll be happy to know that one of us ran into them."

Considering his reaction, it was as if she had just hit him with a sledgehammer. For the first time in a long time, Beast Boy felt a sense of excitement and hope surge inside of him.

"You saw my friends?! Where were they? Are they here? Are they looking for me?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes, they're looking for you. One of our own spotted them in the wilderness and came back here to tell us. She told me that they were looking for their teammates. I guess you were one of them," Kaily replied. "But they're not here yet."

"Oh. So where are they?" Beast Boy asked.

"They're on their way right now," she answered as she tossed a stick onto the fire. "One of our warriors is leading them, and Talia was sent to bring them here."

All at once, Beast Boy felt a tremendous wait being lifted off his shoulders. It was almost too good to be true.

"I need to see them," he told Kaily.

"Just be patient. You will see your friends again," Kaily said warmly. "But you have to stay here. It's very dangerous out there right now. You can be sure Calabos is still looking for you, so it won't be wise to head out by yourself."

Beast Boy didn't want to wait. Part of him wanted to get up and leave to find his teammates. But then again, she was right. He had almost gotten killed earlier, and was only saved by what was almost a miracle.

"Okay," he finally conceded.

"So this 'Raven' you were talking about. Can you tell me about her?" Kaily asked. The changeling's ears drooped a little. Talking about her was very hard at this point.

"She's one of my best friends and probably the bravest woman I've ever met," he answered. "Not exactly the most cheerful person, but when she does smile…it's amazing."

"Wow." Kaily nodded understandably, her sky blue bangs hanging slightly over her eyes and around her face. He guessed she had to have been pretty young. Probably around his age, give or take a year…

Beast Boy shook his head immediately, forcing these thoughts out of his head. He was thoroughly ashamed of himself. Raven was still out there, in danger, and already his hormones were starting to act up.

"What does she look like?" Kaily asked innocently, before he could beat himself up more. Raven's image flashed clearly in his head.

"About an inch shorter than me. Wears a blue cloak. Dusty gray skin, silky purple hair, gorgeous face, and probably the most beautiful violet eyes I've ever seen," he answered.

"Sounds like an amazing woman," Kaily said. "You like her, don't you?"

Beast Boy's cheeks turned red and turned to her instantly. "How, how did you…?"

The Zamoan pointed to herself. "No offense, but it was fairly obvious. I could even see it in your eyes and the way you talked about her. You sounded like someone describing a lost love."

"Oh. Um, why did you ask me to describe her?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes it doesn't hurt to remind a person what he or she is fighting for."

Beast Boy slumped his shoulders. "I feel so guilty for leaving her. I'm so worried about her."

"Understandably so, but you did the right thing."

"But what if I'm too late? What if she gets hurt? What if I," Beast Boy paused, "Can't do it?"

Kaily scooted closer to him. "If you're anything like the warrior I saw fighting off those necrowings, you don't have to worry about being strong enough."

"But my teammates are going to blame me, especially Robin. I know they will. They're going to think I just abandoned her to save myself."

"Then that will be their own fault for not understanding. Sacrifices are a part of life, especially one like ours. But you're not alone in this. We'll help you get her back, Beast Boy. I promise."

Beast Boy's mouth hung open, and he stared at her in amazement. He barely even knew this girl, yet he felt like he trusted her with his life. Maybe wasn't completely off his high after all…

"You promise?" he asked. She nodded.

"We have discussed it while you were asleep. I don't think it will take much to convince our leader to help you. Calabos is an enemy to us as well."

"Wow, I don't know what to say. Thank you," Beast Boy said.

"That will suffice," she said kindly.

Beast Boy looked around again. They had talked so long the sun had moved up noticeably. They had probably spent hours just talking. Taking time to enjoy the peace, he laid back with his hands under his head, and stared up at the sky.

"Thanks for saving me, by the way," Beast Boy said.

"No problem. I'm sure you would do the same for one of us," Kaily replied.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Beast Boy asked.

"Are you saying you want me to be mean?" she asked curiously.

"Well, no, I…I guess I'm just not used to it. Some people don't like the green skin," he said casually, pointing to himself.

She smiled. "I've seen weirder. Besides, it doesn't help to make an enemy before you even know him, does it?"

"Look!" someone shouted. The two turned to see what the commotion was about.

"Talia's back!" Kaily said excitedly.

"What? Who's Talia?" Beast Boy asked. All the other women gathered around in front of the fire to see, effectively blocking Beast Boy's view. He tried to move, but Kaily held out her arm.

"Stay," she silently ordered. Beast Boy obeyed, despite his excitement. He heard several sets of footsteps, and saw a blonde-haired girl approach a woman in black hair, obviously their leader.

"I see you've brought your new friends with you," he heard their leader Genia say. "You certainly were not joking. They are perhaps the strangest group of individuals I've ever seen."

He then heard a voice he could recognize a mile off. There was no mistaking who it was.

"Ah, yes. I see. Well, you won't be disappointed," Genia said to the voice. The Zamoans in front of him moved to the side to make a hole. Time seemed to freeze. Beast Boy could have sworn his heart stopped. He was so shocked he barely heard Starfire shout.

"Beast Boy!"

Yay! So finally, the heroes are reunited. But what about Raven? Stay tuned!