CHAPTER 4: DAY 2 OF LIFE IN A CAVE

Who to target? Raven looked at Mallah, who was fighting, and winning, and the Brain who was standing aside. Making up her mind, she stood back and summoned all her energy.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cried and released her power in a dark, swirling ball of concentrated energy to The Brain. It very effectively left The Brain fly back into the trees.

"No!" Mallah immediately stopped attacking and shot off to chase after his master, but not before taking a huge bulging sack of crystals with him!

Raven now needed to decide to treat the injured Troodon which was bleeding heavily in the rain, or go after her enemies. Choices! Why must they be so hard? She wanted to take back the crystals and yet, not leave the dinosaur which fought so bravely for it, injured and bleeding in the rain! Who knows what other bigger predator may come back and eat it?

She needed help. Raven took out her communicator and tried to reach Robin but apparently, it just doesn't work in the past since there was no signal. She threw the communicator down in frustration and flew up in the air, high above the tree-tops and scanned the ground for Mallah or The Brain.

She gauged the direction the two would go and looked towards that way. Sure enough, there were some trees shaking, some leaves flying, a flash of The Brain's silver body followed by some huge and black. They stopped moving at a certain point and Raven could see nothing else. The foliage has stopped moving and now that it was still, and it proved too dense to see anything else.

Raven hoped that after healing the Troodon, there would be some tracks to follow. But she knew her chances were slim, the rain was still pouring and any tracks made would have been washed away. She descended down again and walked slowly to the Troodon.

The Troodon saw her advancing towards her and squawked and made loud grunting noises. It was afraid and trying to inch away. Oh! If only he could run! But on of his legs were broken and hopping about on the other would not do any good. He hoped that she would stop getting closer and closer. Finally, when he could not take the closeness anymore, it started to desperately thump itself up and down in an attempt to get up on its feet.

"Easy now …" Raven spoke in a calm soothing voice, slowing her steps more. She very slowly, held her hands out and on both palms, were bright, pinkish berries. Raven had regconised the berries under the list of: Not Poisonous Plants in her book. She was sure the dinosaur could digest it nicely.

"I don't want to hurt you." She sad in a soft, yet clear voice. Raven had to earn its trust.

The Troodon was still trying to wriggle itself to a standing position but when his eyes caught on the berries, at least it stopped inching away. When Raven was close enough, she bent down and placed the berries just in front of the dinosaur. Then, she took three steps back and waited.

The Troodon finally managed to get back up its feet and looked at Raven warily. Its eyes flickered back and forth, from Raven to the berries. Finally, it decided that the very still Raven wasn't a threat and started taking two steps forward to eat the berries.

Raven slowly inched herself forward, her hands prepared to heal the Troodon's broken leg. When she got closer and closer, the Troodon straightened up and gave an alarmed roar.

"Shhhh … ! Don't be afraid, I will not hurt you." Raven said calmly and quickly rested her hands on the Troodon's injured leg.

It became very still, enjoying the sensation of pain being taken away from the leg. It could feel it getting stronger again too. And eventually, when its legs were healed, Raven left it to eat its berries. She was about to go away when she decided on giving the Troodon a little something for helping to protect the crystals …

She threw the sparkling stone she was holding on a moment ago to the Troodon's feet. It roared in surprise but then instantly picked it up between its teeth and ran away into the thick jungle. Oh well, it couldn't hurt to give just a small piece of crystal as a souvenir …

When the dinosaur left, Raven started to go herself when heard rustling from behind her. Certain that it was The Brain, Mallah, or some other dinosaur, she spun around quickly and hurled an energy ball at the rustling bush behind her.

"Oww!" came a human sound, and one that was quite familiar too.

"Raven!" jumped out Robin, slightly singed from her attack. Starfire descended from the sky to join him.

"Robin? Starfire?" Raven instantly felt sheepish for attacking her friends.

"And me too." emerged, no, stumbled out Beast boy. He was the one who got most of her attack, this can be seen from his slightly charred clothes and smoke from his skin. He was too, obviously the one who gave out a yelp of pain earlier.

"How did you find me here?" Raven asked.

"We were worried when you didn't come back and so we went to search for you. Luckily, Starfire could see from the skies and Beast boy could sniff out your scent." Robin explained while Beast boy morphed into a dog and tried to lick Raven.

"Ugh!" Raven pushed him away, she was cold and drenched from head to toe. The last thing she needed was slimy dog drool all over her.

"So was there anything amiss? You were gone for a very long time, friend Raven." said Starfire, looking around for any signs of danger.

Raven quickly explained what she's seen heard and done when she left to find wood. She then also told them the last direction The Brain and Mallah went off too.

"So we head North from here. Good work, Raven. We need to track down The Brain and Mallah." Robin said, determined.

"And then what?" Beast boy asked.

"We kick their butts and get home." Answered Raven with just a ghost of a smile.

~Meanwhile~

The Brain and Mallah were sitting quite happily under a tree, munching on some berries and nuts. They had gotten back their crystals and everything they ever needed to build the Time-machine was right at their feet, literally. Feeling like they needed a break before they built the machine, the two of them decided to have a very late dinner.

And they've gone quite a long way since they've wrestled with the Troodon. The sky was too, turning darker and The Brain and Mallah were quite sure, they were safe where they are. The best news was that the heavy rain was now a heavy drizzle. It wasn't much but to them, it made a difference as they've been wet and cold for a whole day now.

And so the least thing they expected is the Teen Titans to barge through the jungle foliage and attack them.

The Titans charged with all that's worth. All were desperate to get home, all were pretty angry with the mess The Brain and Mallah and put them into and all wanted to "kick their butts" as said by Raven, for a very long time.

As The Brain and Mallah were caught unaware, they were quite easy targets to take down. As Starfire and Beast Boy handled The Brain and Mallah, Raven and Robin started packing all the crystals and spare parts into a large back they found also by Mallah's feet. Luckily it fit, though it was heavy to carry about so Raven volunteered to transport it back to the cave. Robin signaled for the rest that it was time to go.

"Cya in the future, losers!" Beast boy said as he gave the weakened Mallah a good punch and flew off as a peregrine falcon with Starfire flying by his side.

Finally, after a few breathless minutes, the four made it back to their cave. Everyone was cheering loudly in there.

"Good work, team!" Robin patted Beast boy's back half-heartedly.

"Does this mean we shall be going back home soon?" Starfire asked, her eyes wide open and full of hope.

"You all are lucky I'm here, because I know how to build a Time-machine!" Robin said smugly.

"No way!" Beast boy cried, "Cyborg's the only one who -"

"Cyborg taught me." cut in Robin.

"It is true! It was the machine that Robin had built that helped us to get here!" jumped in Starfire.

"OK, Wait, wait." Raven raised her voice a little to be heard over the din, "So Robin knows how to build a Time-machine, good. But how are we going to get the electricity?"

Everyone hushed up at once. No one had ever thought of that. And now that they did, the idea of building a Time-machine to get home wasn't so bright and happy anymore as the whole plan seemed impossible!

"But it's alright, right? I mean, Cyborg will get us home …" Beast boy said.

Everyone murmured that it was true. It was just that everyone's been looking forward to go home for so long. Well alright, so it was only a day but everyone still had problems adjusting to this new place and no one wants to be in a place where there is every risk of getting eaten up by a dinosaur each day.

So all they could do now, was wait.

"There they are." whispered The Brain to Mallah softly.

Mallah nodded, his eyes fixated on Robin, then on Starfire, Raven, and finally, Beast boy. His eyes practically sparkled with hatred for the green changeling. He remembered the punch Beast boy had delivered the last time they "met". And he wasn't in any animal form either! How could he let a mere human knock him, a gorilla thrice his size and perhaps, ten times his weight, off his feet?

But, he admitted grudgingly, Beast boy was growing stronger every time they fought. And, he might be a bit taller too. Mallah shook his head, children grow so fast. In fact, the only thing Beast boy hasn't grown, or hasn't shown signs of is maturity. Time and time again, he was always the one who cracks up bad jokes, the one who makes lame puns. Mallah cringed at his last line, "Cya in the future!"

He shook his head to shake those thoughts away. He was here on a mission, and they had one goal. They had to take back the Time-machine. But how? All the pieces were placed very carefully beside Robin. And Mallah doubted that Robin was a very heavy sleeper. They had to have a plan.

"Master, what do we do now?"

"We wait. We wait until the right time comes and then we strike." says the Brain.

"When is the right time?"

"Tomorrow morning. One of them needs to collect wood some time or other and another will surely accompany him or her just for safety." says the Brain, "The other two left, I'm sure we can take. And this time, we are the ones who have the element of surprise on our side, not them."

That was true. The Brain and Mallah had been following the Titans back to their cave after their last attack. Pity for them as they didn't stick around to finish them off. Serves them right though, this will teach them to be more careful.

Speaking of following them to their cave, Mallah felt more envious and angry with each passing minute. They had a cave all to themselves! What excellent shelter it must be! And the huge bulging backpacks on the ground must be their supplies! Yes, he would steal those too. Also, how did Robin and Starfire travel back here anyway? And where's the other one? The robotic man with the blaster?

Well, none of it matters anyway. As long as it goes accordingly to plan, Mallah's happy, and finally, they can travel back to the correct time and … well, destroy the world.

Robin woke up at the crack of dawn. He was pleased to see that the rain was now just a light drizzle, though, he was still shivering with cold. It was a miracle that they had survived the night without a fire. But now, he could tell from his blocked nose that he was going to come down with a cold.

As he sat up, he noticed that he had stirred Starfire a little. She was again, snuggling up to him while she slept. He actually found that quite sweet and surprisingly didn't mind that Raven and Beast boy could have noticed that they were cuddling up to each other at night while they slept.

Robin tried to stand up with as little noise as possible. He needed to go find wood. The embers from yesterday was now just a pile of black ash on the ground. Yet, he didn't quite know where to start his search, the trees must be damp throughout now. It had been raining for two days non-stop.

But perhaps someone could dry the wet wood with heat. Would it work? Could Raven's or Starfire's powers be able to dry wet wood. He glanced back and forth at them. He did so unwilling want to wake either of them up. The two, especially Raven looked really deprived of sleep and in need of some rest.

Robin sighed, the best thing he could do now was to find wood on his own and hope that when he returns, Starfire or Raven would be awake. But as he was about to walk out of the cave, a small voice stopped him.

"Robin? Where are you wishing to go?"

He sighed, "I'm going to collect some wood. Go back to sleep, Star." he had forgotten to be more quiet. She was a very light sleeper.

"But you might need my assistance." protested his friend.

Robin thought about it. On one hand, they could watch each other's backs when they're out and Star might also be able to dry wood, but on the other, Starfire needed sleep.

She seemed to notice his hesitation and read his mind as she quickly said, "Do not worry about me. I can assure you that I am well-rested."

Then, she walked forward and smiled kindly at Robin. The smile that would always make his knees go weak but he still fought to keep himself standing.

"Let us go now. I can rest when we are back from the collecting of the wood." Starfire then slipped her hands in Robin's and the two walked out.

~Meanwhile~

"Ah - CHOO!"

Beast boy sat up straight and cursed under his breath. How could he sneeze when he was having his wonderful dream of his new Moped with girls riding on it behind him? Now he was wide awake he doubted that he could continue that same dream if he tried to sleep again.

Then on top of it all, he had a cold.

And knowing Beast boy's luck, he could tell it, himself that it was going to be a nasty one. The kind that just gets worse and worse throughout the day no matter how much medication you take.

"Ah - CHOO!" he sneezed again and stood up, then shivered. He had slept in his wet clothes last night and that certainly didn't help to ease the cold. Then again, due to exhaustion, everyone slept in their wet clothes last night.

Speaking of everyone …

Where were Robin and Starfire anyway? Then, Beast boy guessed they must have gone for a morning stroll or something. Well, they are a couple now. Everyone saw the kiss they shared in Tokyo. And since them, they've been much more comfortable with doing couple - ey things with each other in the public. Like sleeping together for example.

Not that anyone minded, everyone found it quite sweet.

Except for Beast boy who felt a just a bit bitter about it. Love comes to easily to some people. As much as he tries to hide it under all his pretence of acting like girls all want him, he knows that he was … different. Nobody would want some green, small creature with pointy ears for a boyfriend.

Beast boy gave an involuntary sigh. He would have to face it sooner or later anyway : He's going to be single for life.

Feeling even more bitter than before, he hoped that Robin and Starfire were sensible to bring back some wood for a fire. Because if they didn't, he felt like it wouldn't be able to control himself, shouting at them.

"Ah - CHOO!"

Beast boy sniffed. He could even feel his cold worsening now. He decided to take of his damp shirt and shorts and tossed it into the blanket he guessed that Raven had laid him on on their very first night. Raven! He just remembered that she was sleeping just a few feet across from him! What if she awoke suddenly? What if Starfire comes back now? Hastily, he put back his pants again, trying to ignore the wetness of the cold fabric.

"AH -CHOO!" This sneeze almost threw him off his feet and he stumbled backwards a bit before finally managing to hold himself steady.

From beside him, he noticed Raven was turning and tossing on her blanket. Then, her eyes blinked and shot wide open.

Beast boy's own eyes widened, but in terror. He had just managed to wake Raven up from her sleep. He prayed hard that she would not kill him. He bit his lip as Raven sat up and groaned. Her head then turned and she stared right at him.

"Please don't kill me!" Beast boy begged, his voice coming out higher than usual.

Raven rolled her eyes but didn't say a word. She got up slowly and Beast boy could see her groaning softly and trying to conceal it. It was as if every movement of her's caused her pain.

"Are you … alright?" Beast boy asked, unsure.

"Just, fine." Raven croaked and Beast boy was horrified to hear her voice change so much.

She was standing now, but seemed to be quite pale. Well, she already was but now her skin actually looked white. Her lips had no colour and her eyes looked dull and unfocused.

Beast boy found himself moving towards her, "Raven … you don't sound fine."

"I am." she managed to croak out weakly.

Suddenly, she began to sway. Beast boy instinctively reached out and caught her in time as she fell. The moment he touched her skin, it felt burning hot. There was no doubt about it, Raven had a fever, and it was raging fiercely inside of her.

It must be all the rain. He realised that out of them, Raven was the one who stayed in the rain the longest. She was the one who did almost everything, from fighting the Spinosaurus, to finding wood, to tracking down The Brain and Mallah and healing the Troodon. And the fact that she slept without a fire, or blanket in a cold night in her damp clothes, quite literally pushed her body to the limit.

It really shouldn't be a surprise that she would have a raging fever the next day.

Beast boy adjusted his hold on her. He slipped one hand under her thighs and the other, he kept at her head for support. He then carried her away from the mouth of the cave to a corner while using his feet to knock out the contents out of a back pack. There, he found a spare blanket and he kicked that to the corner and laid a shivering Raven out on it.

It was scary to see her looking like that really. She looked like a corpse and Beast boy felt guilty for … well, he didn't know exactly. But it hurt him to see her in this state, and he couldn't tell why.

Maybe it's because she had taken care of him so much when he was unconscious, even giving him her blanket and cloak.

Beast boy looked around frantically for some cloth. He found a handkerchief on the ground at the spilled contents of the bag and picked that up and wetted it in the rain. Then, he wrung it in the cave and folded it into a neat rectangular. Thereafter, he carried it to Raven and put it on her warm forehead.

Alright, so step one to treating someone with a fever was done.

"Thank you." croaked Raven weakly as she relaxed under the cool cloth, but only momentarily.

Beast boy took the cloth from the forehead and was worried feel that it was already completely warm. He went out to the rain again and wetted it. This time, when he brought it back, he wiped the sweat away from her face gently. Then, he rolled back her sleeves and wiped the cloth on her arms. He hoped that will lower the temperature.

Should he do it on her legs? He removed her boots and then glanced at her warily. She might have allowed him to wipe her arms over but perhaps not her legs. And he felt a bit uncomfortable at the thought of going over so much skin. He reminded himself to tell Raven, when she was better, to wear clothes that do not reveal so much of her legs.

But just for today, he will take the risk, he highly doubted that Raven could attack him with at this state anyway.

As he walked to and fro from the mouth of the cave to her, wiping her legs, arms, and head, he tried not to sneeze on her too. She really didn't need to catch a cold on top of all the fever.

Her clothes are now drenched, not because of the rain, but from her perspiration. He quickly turned himself into a crane and flapped his wings vigorously over her head. Beast boy hoped that his small efforts at least made her feel just a bit more comfortable.

But he still wished that he could do more.

A/N: This was a long chapter. Don't worry, though, there will even more BB/Rae moments yet to come. Keep reading! Oh an I'm sorry, but I think I can only manage to update after maybe three to four days? I'm very literally buried in piles of homework! Thanks for understanding! :)