So finals have been stressful to say the least, but they are finally done! And in all the craziness of finals, I completely forgot about uploading and I apologize. So, here is Chapter 18! :)

RPGPersona: Yeah, one of his biggest fears about this situation is how they will react. And especially since he doesn't know about the Garfield incident, he believes that this will be completely new to them. With the team now knowing what is going on with him, actions can begin to take place. It will definitely be a challenge for the team to tell him, and what it could bring is difficult to say. :)

Bbrae-4ever fanfics: I feel sort of the same way. At first, when I was writing it, I almost didn't include that because I felt like she was betraying his trust as well. But, then again, she clearly told him that she'd tell if he did it again, and he did it again regardless with that in mind, so he did have a clear warning of what was to come. And, in the end, I felt it was necessary in order to push the plot forward. To have the team accidently discover it like as Raven did felt unnatural and it would, potentially, alter the plot significantly. I thought it was a fun dialogue to write though, especially with Raven's awkwardness around the matter. I hope you enjoyed it regardless! :)

Please read and review! :)

Hours passed and Beast Boy had still not left his bedroom to come down to Main Ops. The teens were waiting patiently and anxiously, knowing that the conversation that they needed to have with the changeling was going to be an emotionally difficult one. Soon, it was mid-afternoon and they couldn't wait any longer.

"I'm going to go up and get Beast Boy," Raven said as she set her book down on the table and stood up.

"Do you wish for assistance?" Starfire said as she stood up as well.

"No, I think it's better if I do it alone. I don't want to make him anxious or suspicious," Raven said as she headed towards the doors. As soon as the doors shut behind her, she stood there and breathed deeply. She chanted her mantra to herself silently to calm her down and prepare herself for what was about to happen. She needed to keep her emotions intact in order for the conversation to go smoothly, or at least as smoothly as it could.

She continued down the winding hallways, still silently reciting her mantra. She soon arrived at Beast Boy's bedroom door. She knocked.

"Beast Boy?" she said, but heard no response. She tried again. "Beast Boy? It's me, Raven. Can I come in?" There was still no response, so she phased through the door. Beast Boy was on the top bunk of his bed, sound asleep.

Raven flew up to where he was and sat next to him. He seemed to be resting more peacefully than he had when she last saw him asleep. No twitching, no screaming. Just quiet snores. She wanted to let him sleep, knowing that he deserved a restful sleep after all the Hell he's been through as of late, but knew that this couldn't wait. She gently shook his shoulder.

"Beast Boy," she said quietly. She didn't want him to startle awake like last time. Both of them had formed nice bruises on their foreheads from where they had made impact. She continued to lightly shake him. "Beast Boy."

Slowly, the green teen opened up his eyes, taking in the view before him.

"Hey, Rae," he said groggily, "Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Just needed to wake you. You've been in your room all day. I need you to come down to the kitchen and eat something," she said, half lying.

Beast Boy let out a yawn.

"I'm tired, Rae. I'm not that hungry. I'll get food later, but I just want to sleep now," he replied, his eyes beginning to close again.

"Beast Boy, you need to eat whether you're hungry or not. Please, come down. For me?" Raven pleaded. She stared into his eyes, trying her best to not seem too tense.

He looked into her eyes before letting out a defeated breath.

"Fine, but I'm coming back up to sleep as soon as I get something," he said as he sat up, rubbing his tired eyes. Despite sleeping for most of the day every day, he looked absolutely exhausted with deep bags under his eyes.

The two of them got off of his top bunk and made their way to the door. They walked down the hallway towards the Main Ops room, Beast Boy stifling yawns the whole way. As soon as they reached the doors, they opened, revealing the three other teens on the couch.

Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin stared at the couple as they walked in. Beast Boy, not noticing the teens' stares, made his way over to the kitchen. Raven gave the teens a knowing look. They would be over shortly to join them on the couch.

Raven walked with Beast Boy over to the fridge. He studied the insides, finding little motivation or appeal towards any food item in the fridge. Raven, noticing this behavior, pulled out a slice of leftover tofu pizza and set it on a plate to be heated up. Raven and Beast Boy waited at a kitchen bar stool while the pizza heated up. When it dinged ready, Raven used her powers to retrieve the warmed pizza and set it in front of Beast Boy.

"Eat," Raven simply instructed as she stood up to go brew herself another herbal tea. Once the tea was ready, she rejoined him at the table. The slice was only half eaten considering how slowly he was consuming it.

Raven peeked over at the three teens on the couch. They were still watching, but were now being more subtle than their earlier blatant staring. All three of them had a worried look on their face, and Raven knew she had the same expression on her face, even if it was less obvious. After a few more nearly silent minutes, Beast Boy had finished eating. He got up and put his plate away in the sink and started heading towards the doors to leave.

"Beast Boy, wait!" Raven said, a little louder than intended. She was letting her nerves get to her. Beast Boy must've noticed this out of character reaction because he had a quizzical look on his face.

"What?" he asked, his voice impassive.

"I….uh….," Raven started, but soon found she was at a loss of words. There was a reason why she never led meetings or discussions. Cyborg, noticing her loss for words, spoke up.

"Why don't you come sit on the couch with us? We haven't gotten to see you much lately," Cyborg said, adding a smile at the end to ease his friend's worries.

"Maybe later, Cy. I'm pretty tired and kinda just want to go back up to my ro –," Beast Boy started. Before he was able to finish, though, Starfire flew up to him and started pushing him towards the couch.

"Come, friend Beast Boy! Let us do the hanging out!" she said, inching him closer and closer to the couch.

"Star, I'd really rather not," Beast Boy stated, trying and failing to get out of the alien's super strength push. Before he knew it, he was plopped down on the couch with all four teens silently surrounding him on either side. He gulped, feeling tense and uneasy about the situation at hand.

"It's been awhile since we've hung out," Cyborg said, breaking the silence that had ensued.

"I was out here yesterday morning during breakfast," Beast Boy responded quietly.

"Yeah, but we weren't hanging out. We haven't really seen you much since we got back. How have you been?" Cyborg asked.

"Uh, fine, I guess," Beast Boy muttered back.

"Really?" Robin jumped in, "You've been acting really unusual lately. Sure everything's alright?"

Beast Boy stared silently at his leader before responding. He was starting to feel really uncomfortable.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I think I'm going to go back now," Beast Boy said as he started to stand up. Before he could fully straighten, Raven rose from the ground in front of him, blocking him from standing up further.

"Sit," she ordered, and the changeling sat back down. "We need to discuss what happened during the mission. It's obvious that it's bothering you a lot and you need to open up."

"Rae, you know I don't want to talk about it," Beast Boy argued.

"I know you don't, but we do, so we're going to," she countered.

"We know that trip was hard on you, man, but you can't keep it all in. It's not healthy," Cyborg said.

"I'm fine, though. It's not a big deal, really," Beast Boy claimed stubbornly.

"You're fine? What I've seen on you from the last few days begs to differ," Raven spoke up. There was a palpable silence in the room as her words sunk in with the changeling. "I told everyone about what I found on your wrists and thigh. They needed to know."

Beast Boy visually paled as an embarrassed blush crept up over his cheeks. If the situation felt uncomfortable before, it was now completely unbearable. He felt panic rush through him. The team, noticing his panic, tried to calm him.

"It's alright, B. We're not mad. We're just concerned," Cyborg spoke up, giving his best friend a friendly look.

"Yes, friend Beast Boy, we do not want to see you in pain," Starfire added.

"So, on that note," Robin spoke up, "we need to talk about what happened on the mission. What were the villagers saying to you? Don't think we didn't notice that their words were upsetting."

Beast Boy just stared at Robin and gulped. He was still in shock about what had just happened that it took him a few moments to realize what had been asked.

"Doesn't matter what they said to me. It's not important," Beast Boy argued. He was being incredibly stubborn.

"It does matter! They were unkind to you!" Starfire stated, "What sort of unkind words did they share with you?"

"I'd rather not repeat what they said. They were just slurs. Things meant to get under my skin. Like I said, not a big deal," Beast Boy responded.

Knowing that they weren't going to get him to say what was said to him, they changed topics.

"B, I know you really don't want to talk about this, but it's important. We need to talk about what happened with Register," Cyborg spoke up.

Beast Boy started to shake his head.

"No, no, we don't need to talk about that," he said, and started to get up again.

Raven, who was now sitting next to him, grabbed onto his arm to hold him down. She grabbed a bit too low though, grabbing his wrist instead, and a soft whimper left his lips. She instantly released her grip, realizing that she had hurt him. He sat back down and held his wrist in his lap. The team stared, understanding what had just taken place and why that had hurt him. Their expressions were sad.

"Beast Boy," Raven started, "Please, talk to us."

Beast Boy gazed at Raven, a sadness filling his eyes. He let out a deep breath.

"What do you want to know?" he asked, his voice quiet.

The four teens exchanged glances, trying to figure out the best way to go about this.

"How are you feeling about his death?" Robin asked the changeling.

Beast Boy stared at the Boy Wonder for a few seconds while he thought about the question.

"I don't know. I know it wasn't my fault, but it feels like it is," he started. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, and it felt suffocating. "I don't think I feel guilty, but in a way, I kinda do. I know he deserved it. That man…that man was horrible."

"You grew up with him around you as a child. Were you close to him at all?" Cyborg asked.

Beast Boy's eyes shot up at the metal man, his eyes filled with resentment.

"I was never closed to him. He was horrible. Every life he encounters, he turns into a living Hell. He means nothing to me," Beast Boy spat out, shocking the team. He had never spoken so poorly of him before.

"Did he do something to you?" Raven asked.

Beast Boy was silent as he thought about his response for a moment.

"Let's just say that some stuff happened between me and him. It's in the past. It's done. It's over," he continued.

"B, it's obvious that something really bad went down between the two of you. What was it?" Cyborg asked. He could feel the tension rising in his green friend, and he instantly regretting pushing the subject forward.

"You want to know what it is?!" Beast Boy yelled, standing up again. This time, no one tried to sit him back down. "Register likes to run experiments on mutants. He likes to find people and things he deems as freakish and try to figure them out. Try to figure out what's in their DNA. For years, I lived with that asshole. I lived in what basically amounted to a cage because that's where the mutants were kept. The entire time was spent with nothing but medical experiments and tests. Countless inhumane tests and harsh punishments. So many needles and injections and experimental surgeries. And for what? He wanted to figure out how to take my DNA and alter it. It took me years to escape him. I thought it was all done, over with. But I wrong. Because of course he just had to figure out something about my DNA and alter it. Because of me, he was able to hurt and kill all of those children! He's horrible. He's the scum of the Earth. He didn't deserve what he got. He deserved worse."

The teens stared up wide eyed at Beast Boy, stunned by his outburst. They had had no idea that he had been through that, and it was mortifying. Beast Boy was always so secretive about his past, and whenever they learned something new about him, it was always shocking. He hid so much pain.

Beast Boy collapsed back on the couch, crossing his arms to his chest and staring down at the ground. It was silent for a few moments, as if no one dared to speak.

"Beast Boy," Raven spoke up, "I'm so sorry."

"We had no idea, B," Cyborg said, his voice soft.

"Are we done here?" Beast Boy asked, still not looking up from the ground. The teens exchanged glances before Robin spoke up.

"Actually, we have one more thing we need to talk about," he said. Beast Boy looked up at him expectantly, waiting for the next question. "We need to talk about what happened with Slade a few months ago."

"Why? I don't see how that relates," Beast Boy responded. Although he wasn't yelling anymore, his voice was still filled with hate.

"It doesn't really relate to the mission, but it does relate to our original point," Robin continued, "We weren't entirely truthful with you about what happened."

Beast Boy stared wide eyed at Robin, intrigued by what he had to say. He felt nervous, knowing in his heart that this wasn't going to be good.

"After you were captured by Slade and knocked unconscious, you didn't remain unconscious the entire time until we found you," Robin resumed, "Slade….Slade drugged you with some sort of chemical gas that somehow managed to reverse your age. We found you a few days after you were captured, and you were a child. You were you as a six year old, both mentally and physically. You didn't know who we were or what had happened. During your time here as Garfield, some stuff happened." Robin looked up at Cyborg, hoping that he would continue for him. The information to come may be received better if it came from the boy's best friend.

"You were acting really strange when you were here. We assumed it was just because of what happened with Slade, but you just kept getting worse. You were withdrawn and quiet, and overall just really depressed. One morning, we couldn't find you. We searched the whole tower and eventually found you in the basement," Cyborg took a breath before continuing, "You had…you had slit both of your wrists. You tried to kill yourself. You eventually lost too much blood and passed out. We were able to stitch you up and save your life. We found self-inflicted cuts all up your arms. A few days later, once you were medically stable enough, we eventually found Slade. We took him down and reversed your age back. But there was one thing we've noticed, and it's one of the many reasons why we're especially concerned now. All these years, whenever I've treated you for battle injuries, I've found scars all over your arms. I assumed they were from battles, but now I know they're not. You have two thick vertical scars, one on each wrist. We know that your suicide attempt wasn't isolated with just us; we know you tried it when you were younger too."

All the teens were watching Beast Boy. He was very pale, and his mouth was hanging slightly open. Beast Boy was staring at Cyborg, taking in what he had just told him.

"We're sorry that we didn't tell you earlier. We didn't want to risk embarrassing you or bringing back those memories," Robin said quietly.

Beast Boy remained silent. He removed his gaze from Cyborg and stared blankly at the floor. After a few moments, he spoke up.

"I keep having these dreams, or at least I thought they were dreams, of what you were just saying. I have these blurry scenes in my mind of hanging out with you guys as a kid. I thought they were dreams, but I guess they're memories," he said, barely audible. Beast Boy let out a deep breath. "Are we done now?"

Robin nodded.

"Yeah. That's all we needed to talk about. For now, at least," he said.

Beast Boy nodded and stood up. He slowly left the Main Ops room, not saying a word the entire way. Soon, he was gone and on his way back up to his room.

The teens who remained in the Main Ops room all let out a collective deep breath, sinking deeper into the furniture that they were sitting in.

"Well, that went well," Raven said sarcastically as she massaged her temples where a headache was starting to form.

"Should we check on friend Beast Boy?" Starfire asked. "He seemed most upset by what just happened."

"No, he needs alone time. We can't suffocate him. Hopefully now that he's aware that we know, maybe he'll be less secretive. More open with us," Cyborg said, his voice seeming strained and tired.

"Hopefully," Raven agreed. She, like all of them, hated to see Beast Boy in so much pain and agony.

Beast Boy made it back to his room as fast as possible. At first, he was in a daze about what had just happened and what he had just learned. Soon, though, his daze faded as it turned into panic about what had just happened. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Just a half hour ago, he was minding his own business, eating a piece of tofu pizza, and now, he felt like his world was crumbling apart. So many of his secrets that he had tried to keep hidden for so long were finally out and in the open, and it was excruciating, to say the least.

He practically broke into a sprint and reached his room quickly. As soon as the door closed behind him, he slipped to the ground shaking violently.

They knew about his history with Register.

They knew about his self-harm.

They knew about his suicide attempt.

They…they knew too much. He didn't want them to know. That's why he had kept it secret all these years! No one needed to know.

He shakily stood up and made his way over to his desk and ripped open the drawer. He opened it so aggressively that the drawer became completely removed from the desk and spilled onto the ground. He didn't care. He could deal with that later.

He got down on his hands and knees and started shuffling through the messy spilled contents. Soon, he found what he was so desperately looking for. He took the small piece of metal and ripped it through his wrist. Over and over again he ran it through. It didn't matter where he did it anymore. They knew. There was no keeping it hidden anymore. But, just because they knew, didn't mean that he would stop. He couldn't stop. It wasn't that simple.

Before he knew it, his green skin was no longer visible underneath the warm red that was spilling out. It was dripping onto his uniform and onto the floor, staining everything. He was sobbing profusely, tears spilling out of his eyes like there was no tomorrow.

He fell over on his side, dropping the blade on the carpet below him. He hugged his knees to his chest and continued to cry. He didn't care if his wails could be heard outside or not. He didn't care that his blood was getting everywhere to a point where he couldn't clean up. None of that mattered to him at the moment. The only thing that mattered was getting the necessary relief, which he obtained through the blade.

After what felt like an eternity, his sobs quieted and slowed, and he was left shaking on the ground. The bleeding had stopped, leaving a sticky, coagulated mess everywhere. His head was pounding and he felt exhausted. He slipped into a restless sleep, right there on the floor.