The Stone Chest

Chapter Six

"A Mage's Bad Day"

Terra was looking at the floor below her feet, the young girl didn't dare to raise her head and she was rubbing her hands looking very nervous. Beside her was the man who didn't hesitate to go against his partners for believing in Terra's goodness knowing that the blond girl hardly showed it even in the most favourable cases. The man who despite of seeing her betraying everybody, always thought that she was being manipulated instead of believing that she was evil; the man who loved her with all his heart despite getting strongly hurt when she sold herself to Slade. It was he who should have suffered a lot when she decided to sacrifice her life in order to try to fix the mess she had just caused. What could she tell him? How could she speak to him? Those were some of the questions that the fair-haired girl was conjuring up in her head while letting herself fall into her darkest fears. Fortunately, it was Beast Boy who actually dared to break the uncomfortable silence after seeing she wouldn't do it.

"Why?"

It was a really simple question, in grammatical terms of course; it was a "one syllable word", but that question hit Terra badly, her heart and soul were beaten by that word in the same way the guillotine cut people's heads in the French revolution and that left her strongly hurt. How could she explain to him what she had done? How could she find a reasonable story to justify all that? She was received by the Titans with open arms, they gave her the home she never had; they trusted her, treated her like an equal even though she couldn't control her powers… she was one more titan and how did she repay that? Double-crossing them like Judas, and worse still it was with the Titans' worst enemy, Slade; informing the weakness of her friends to the bloodiest predator. Destroying Beast Boy's heart who loved her above all with a real and strong feeling that was so pure that it was almost innocent. No, there wasn't any explanation for that atrocity and because of that the question asked by him was so painful for her.

"Nothing justifies neither what I did nor the pain I caused" – replied Terra, tears dropped from her eyes which were still focused on the floor.

"I didn't ask you for an explanation, Terra. I just want to know what happened for you to change so much. I need to know what made you hurt us so badly. Besides, I want to know what is my degree of fault in all this" – argued Beast Boy while looking at his former partner.

"Fault you said?" – Asked Terra almost in a whisper – "You're guilty of nothing".

"Maybe not directly, but in one way or another I was the one who made you leave us in the very first place and that caused your first meeting with Slade" – said Beast Boy.

"One way or another you said!" – Yelled Terra while standing up and glancing at him with anger – "You betrayed me when you told Robin that I couldn't control my powers… I don't define that as 'in one way or another'"

"I didn't betray you" – replied Beast Boy without turning a hair – "Robin discovered that by himself; your weakness was evident and he is so clever. Besides, you didn't even give me the opportunity to explain myself. You were the judge, jury and executioner against me, and it wasn't a fair trial. Nevertheless, I could have gone after you but I didn't; I guess that is my responsibility for what happened" – argued Beast Boy in a complaining manner.

"Is that true? Didn't you tell him anything?" – asked Terra surprised.

"I never broke the promise I made to you" – answered the Titan calmly.

After hearing those words Terra couldn't help but cry. If everything that happened before wasn't enough, now she realized that the main motivation for doing what she did was fake, or even worse, she just misunderstood everything. How could she run away from the man who always trusted her? She was so angry with herself, now she knew that everything was the result of her being so impulsive. She could have taken a few minutes to ask the right questions before making a decision; however, instead of doing so she decided to sell herself to Slade. Terra wanted to die; she didn't understand why she still lived. She supposed that if she threw herself into the lava everything would end and she could finally rest. But, far from that, she was being interrogated by Beast Boy who wasn't exactly happy with her presence, or so she thought. Suddenly, the girl with blond hair felt her partner's hand on her shoulder and that gesture surprised her a lot; in fact, her reaction was to step aside and after that, the titan took the word.

"You're not the only one who is suffering here; for me, a year has passed since… well, since you became that damn statue and it hasn't been easy" – Beast Boy could barely end the phrase because of the pain he was feeling while reliving what happened in the cave; however he found the necessary strength to continue talking – "I thought you and me had something, you know. Didn't the times we spent together mean anything to you?"

"Of course they meant a lot to me!"

"So why didn't you include me in your decisions? When you left me that day you didn't even ask what happened; and, when you decided to sacrifice your life to save us you barely let me talk."

"What would I have won for doing it? You didn't want me doing it and I'm sure you would have stopped me if you had the chance and I couldn't let that happen" – said Terra cutting Beast Boy's words.

"Why?"

"We would have died and you know it"

"Could you swear that on your life? You didn't even give us time to think of another solution; you just took the easy way…"

"What the hell did you just say! The easy way! I really don't know how or why I'm here, but I suppose something very strange happened, otherwise I would be DEAD right now, you know. Do you find it easy to throw yourself into a lava river knowing that you will be dying bit by bit in the most painful way! Do you find it funny being consumed by the flames step by step 'til nothing is left of you? Do you think it is easy to realize that you have to die in order to save everybody?" – yelled Terra angrily after hearing Beast Boy's words.

"And do you think it's easy to spend every day of your life cursing your fate while seeing a stone statue? If we are alive we always can find another way to do things, even in the most desperate situations, but when you're dead nothing matters anymore Terra. Did you really sacrifice your life to save us? Or you just did it to redeem yourself? It was me who looked for a way to bring you back day after day since then. It was me who saw your face being motionless while crying because I didn't have you with me; it was me who talked to you day after day dreaming you'd listen to me and hoping to hear an answer from you. No Terra, I really don't know how hard it is to face death, but I do know what it is being the living dead" – said Beast Boy letting go all his anger while standing up and walking towards one of the room's walls.

"I… I'm sorry Garfield… I didn't think my sacrifice would hurt you so badly… I thought with time you'd forget me and that I'd only be a bad memory in your life… I never imagined that, well that you…"

"Loved you? Well once again you're wrong… I have not only loved you since I met you, but I've loved you day after day while sleeping beside you, knowing that you'd never hug me or awake me with a kiss; and, yet now I'm still loving you with the same feelings as before" – said Beast Boy cutting Terra's words.

"What can I do? Nothing will repair the things I've done to you, if I could turn back time I would, but unfortunately that's not possible now. You have no idea of how much I regret what happened or how regretful I am for betraying you or how angry I am with myself for making you suffer in the way you just told me… and how painful is to know that I destroyed what could have been a beautiful story between us" – said Terra hoping so badly for Beast Boy to give her another chance of starting over again.

"You still haven't told me why you betrayed us" – said the young titan changing the subject.

"Why do you still torture me? I don't get what you will gain by attacking me in this way" – said Terra understanding that she had no chance with him – "I left the Tower feeling both desperate and betrayed by the man I appreciated and wanted the most… you. Without knowing at all I opened my heart to revenge and that was used by Slade in order to manipulate me as he wished, the rest you already know…" – said Terra.

"You're wrong, you haven't told me yet why after coming back with us and after all the things we went through you continue with your betrayal" – clarified Garfield.

"Frankly I don't know. Perhaps vengeance and Slade's words blinded me… I was afraid of you betraying me again and that time I wanted to have the first word… there were so many things, I'm still confused" – said Terra.

"But you could choose; you had the opportunity Robin never had. It was you who decided attacking and betraying us; only after you started to refuse Slade's control he used that neural suit to force you to obey him, not before" – condemned Beast Boy.

"Where the hell do you want to go with all of this? What do you want me to say? I was an idiot for not trusting you and for letting myself fall into hatred and vengeance; I decided to betray you because of my anger and all of my actions were motivated by wrath. I know nobody was controlling me neither physically nor any other way when I did what I did; everything that happened was my fault alone" – replied Terra feeling how the anger and pain burned her from the inside – "If you feel so happy by pushing me into the mud that I myself created, I think it's kind of hypocritical of you to tell me that you still love me. I know I'm the worst person on earth and I'm neither trying to deny it nor justify it; but I won't stay here for you to use me as a dartboard" – ended Terra while heading towards the exit.

"Do you still love me?" – asked Beast Boy while grabbing her right arm to stop her.

"Is that important?"

"More than you know"

"Well, yes, I still love you, my feelings have been the same since that very day" – answered Terra after a deep breath and avoiding Beast Boy's glance.

"Then I think it's about time to finish what we started a long time ago"

Beast Boy pulled her towards him and embraced her in such a way that their eyes welled up with tears; she tried to focus on the idea of being loved and he was overwhelmed to have her in flesh and blood. After that, he took her chin with his right hand in order to kiss her on the lips while both closed their eyes. It was a kiss that transported them almost a year back to when they were interrupted before feeling that warm sensation fill them… definitely, that moment was the beginning of a new period in their lives and neither him nor her wanted that tornado of emotions and sensations to stop…

PPPPPPPPPPPP

Jessy walked quickly through the streets although she barely had walked a few ones when she realized that she was being followed, but the scariest part was that she wasn't sure who was doing it. The woman entered to several shops and a couple of malls trying in vain to lose her stalker and soon it became obvious for her that whoever it was, he or she was an expert and running away from that situation wouldn't be so easy. Quickly, the girl decided to contact Connor so she pulled out her cell phone from her bag, but in that very moment her hand was grabbed by a man Jessy knew very well.

"No, no, no my dear friend, you don't need to call a friend to answer this question" – said a man a little taller than Jessy, his blond hair and blue eyes hardly forgettable.

"Let me go! What do you want from me? Jack will know this and I can assure you you'll be in trouble" – yelled Jessy while trying in vain to get free.

"Don't worry, soon you'll be in front of him and you'll be able to tell him whatever you want; Although, I really doubt you can say something that really makes me lose his will taking into account that it was he who sent me after you in the first place" – replied the man.

"If he wants to talk with me I don't understand why he sent you to capture me like I was a criminal, he could call me himself" – said Jessy trying to hide her fear after what she just heard.

"But you indeed are a criminal my dear Jessy; and one of the worst kind if you allow me to say it. Stealing documents from the Order is a crime and if those documents are restricted the crime is even worse" – answered the main smiling happily.

Jessy stopped fighting almost immediately after hearing those words it was obvious that Jack knew what she had done. At that time she was in great trouble and she was sure her life was in danger. The man realized her resignation and he politely asked her to walk ahead towards the headquarters where they both started the chasing act a few hours ago; Jessy began to walk being very nervous trying to imagine what was waiting for her in there, obviously fearing the worst. Definitely, since Connor didn't know what was happening, there was no hope of somebody stopping those guys doing whatever they want with her… and that thought scared her badly…

PPPPPPPPPPPP

Connor was in the Tower's kitchen, all the things that happened before made him feel hungry so nothing better than to cook a good meal to spend the time. A short while had happened since his last encounter with Raven and he hadn't seen her again after that. Blackwood was still smiling remembering the face of the titan when he discovered her trying to read his mind and the quick move that she made afterwards to get out of sight. The man was standing in front of the opened refrigerator trying to find something decent to eat and fortunately he found very quickly a good frozen beef. He immediately took it out of the freezer to the microwave to start defrosting it. After that, he took some garlic pieces and some parsley branches, he peeled the first ones and cut the others in small pieces then he took a frying pan and started melting some butter and afterwards he started frying the garlic and the parsley. It didn't take so long before the tempting aroma started filling the entire floor.

"Well, I think I haven't lost my touch despite the fact that I've not been cooking so much these days" – said Connor to himself while enjoying the aroma of the food.

Cyborg arrived to the kitchen a few minutes later, the titan was attracted by the delicious smell of the food and then he got surprised after seeing the newcomer taking over the place.

"Well buddy, if that tastes as it smells I'll hire you as our official chef" – said Cyborg jokingly.

"Thanks for the compliment, I really enjoy eating and this 'hobby' of mine made me learn the art of cooking a long time ago" – replied Connor proudly.

"I think in English that means that you can't stop eating, am I wrong?" – asked Cyborg.

"Well, if put in that way it doesn't sound that good you know? I can stop eating, but… I just don't like it he, he, he... but for the record I don't like candy" – answered the mage with some drops in his head.

"At least what you're cooking seems more delicious than Beast Boy's tofu… well thinking that again, any meal is better that Beast Boy's tofu" – said Cyborg.

"Well if you eat a lot you need to cook good stuff you know" – said Connor laughing.

"So what are you cooking by the way?" – asked the titan.

"Rice and a Beef fried with garlic" – replied Blackwood.

Cyborg glanced at the pots used by Connor to cook very analytically like a judge in a cooking contest; the titan was inspecting every detail and he even leaned in to see everything closely; the half robot half human put his hand on his chin giving the impression that he indeed was making a tough evaluation of the food. Obviously, that caused the apparition of several drops in Connor's head and the mage got more and more nervous while the inspection got more and more detailed; but, suddenly Cyborg straightened up showing a big smile.

"You're cooking meat! Boo-yaa!" – yelled the titan very excited causing the other to fall on the floor.

"I think I said I'm cooking a Beef" – said Connor while touching his head and standing up.

"Hey! I'm seeing only one fillet… I'm sorry buddy but you can't come to the Tower and use our cooking utensils to prepare a meal only for you, you have to pay the fee" – said Cyborg while denying with his finger.

"Are you kidding me? What for?" – asked Connor doubtful.

"Hiring Superhero stuff"

"I won't even bother myself asking for the details of that" – said Connor frustrated – "Alright, bring me one more fillet from the freezer so I can pay your 'fee'"

Less than 5 seconds later, the titan gave Blackwood the beef and then the half human half robot started to leave the kitchen.

"I'll wait at the dinning room"

Connor sighed relieved with the titan's departure and then he continued his job; a few minutes later the garlic and parsley sauce was cooked and he took it away of the stove to start preparing the beef; however, in that moment Robin and Starfire arrived.

"Wow, that smells good" – said the boy wonder while smiling.

"The smell is similar to the Crandia'rs from my planet" – said Starfire while multiplying herself to analyze every detail of the meal cooked by the mage.

"Thanks" – said the mage trying to be polite despite of the interruptions and detailed inspections he was suffering in his most sacred moment of the day.

"Hey, but you're only cooking two fillets. Did you plan to invite us?" – Asked Robin maliciously – "After all, this is OUR kitchen you're using and these are OUR cooking stuff, not to mention that those fillets and the rice are OURS too"

"That would be too selfish of you friend Connor" – supported Starfire joyfully.

"Alright, alright. Bring me here two more fillets to start preparing them at once" – said Connor wanting to cry.

"Thanks friend Connor" – replied the red-haired girl while Robin went towards the freezer.

"We'll be waiting at the dinning room" – added the boy wonder while leaving the kitchen.

Connor put his right hand over his face trying to calm down, the worst part had just passed and with luck he wouldn't be interrupted again; a few minutes later his meal would be cooked and all the sacrifice will end being worthy. The mage started tenderizing the fillets with a cooking hammer and after that he started looking for salt and some other ingredients. Just in that moment, another titan arrived.

"What are you doing here now?" – said Raven trying to apparent being annoyed and hiding that the good aroma took her to there.

"Trying to build a space shuttle with cooking stuff" – said Connor resigned to never ending cooking.

"You are so funny" – said Raven with sarcasm and using her monotone voice – "At least you're preparing a meal for all of us according to what I'm seeing" – she continued while glancing at him – "If that tastes different to Beast Boy's tofu I think I'll give it a try" – ended the girl while leaving the kitchen.

"At least she could ask if I could prepare a meal for her or threaten me like the others, couldn't her?" – said Connor frustrated while going to the freezer for another fillet.

The mage finished preparing the fillets and when he was about to start preparing the rice, another interruption happened, this time Beast Boy and Terra appeared.

"Hey! That smells real good" – said the blond girl honestly.

"Thank you very much" – said Connor starting to get really upset – "I guess you also want a fillet each so let's skip the chatting part and let me bring two more pieces from the freezer and maybe I'll be able to finish this before the end of this century" – added the mage while going towards the freezer for the other fillets; now he was speaking in a hungry way… and that meant in a very non-polite one.

"Thanks but we are going to eat downtown" – said Terra after seeing Connor putting the two pieces beside the others.

"You didn't have to do it my friend, I'm vegetarian you know" – added Beast Boy smiling.

Seconds later the two love birds left the kitchen at maximum speed after seeing Connor screaming and beating his head against the wall.

"I think that guy is dangerous" – said Terra.

"He's insane" – added Beast Boy.

Connor had all his veins inflamed, his face was red like a tomato and with his bare hands he was squeezing the fillets he just brought.

"PLEASE, LET ME EAT ONCE AND FOR ALL FOR GOD'S SAKE!"

PPPPPPPPPPPP

Jessy was tied to a chair within one of the rooms located underneath the headquarters of the Order. Her way to that building had been quiet since she stopped resisting once she was exposed which, by the way, was the clever thing to do given the nature of the situation she was in. Garlack always followed her closely and trying to escape would have been useless because in the subtle art of tracking and chasing Garlack was a top class mage. Once they arrived to the main building, the man took her to the underground rooms through a narrow corridor. Humidity could be smelled since there were too many filtrations in the water pipes and that, combined with the almost nonexistent light, gave the place a scary aspect. It was the first time the woman walked on that part of the building, only members who had broken the rules or captured spies were taken to that place and the irony was that she was acting as both in that moment. After walking down a very large, damp and slippery stairway Jessy was taken to a dark room and the woman's heart started beating faster. Garlack was very cruel with his victims and she knew he was one of the members in the order who felt a huge desire for her so she wasn't expecting anything good. Nevertheless, the man only made her sit into a chair to tie her afterwards and then he left the room without saying a word. That behaviour only increased her fear since the only reason for him to leave the room that way was that Jack was coming. In that moment she heard footsteps approaching and some seconds later Jack entered the room grabbing a lamp that illuminated the entire place. The room wasn't too big and it was pretty clean and well conserved like the other ones in the headquarters, the walls were painted in a light blue tone and the floor was polished. The chair where she was sat and a table nearby were the only furniture in it though; after seeing those details, or maybe before doing it, it was pretty obvious that the room was used as a prison cell and that made Jessy feels even worse. The girl's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden apparition of Garlack who entered just after the Master; that vision froze her since she was about to know her fate.

"Well, well, well, so our little bookworm decided to act behind our backs" – said the mage in a hypocrite way.

"What do you want from me?" – asked Jessy showing some courage.

"What a brave lady! Putting aside that I'm empathic and obviously I know you're terrified I'd buy your performance" – replied Jack – "What do I want from you? Answers, it's kind of unusual that someone dared to even think about putting his hands on the forbidden scrolls, much less trying to steal the original prophecies; and, being honest, you're the last person I'd consider as a suspect" – answered Jack while using his powers to take the copied scrolls from Jessy.

"I was so bored reading the same documents all the time so I decided to change the genre" – pointed Jessy trying to be calm and using a little bit of sarcasm.

"You're surprising me my dear Jessy, really you are; I didn't think of you as a strong person, I mean you have guts; normally women with such good looks like yours have a lack or even a gap in other areas" – said Jack while getting closer to her to grab her neck with his right hand – "I don't want to play silly games, I'm not a talkative person and I prefer quick results so you better start confessing" – he added while starting to asphyxiate her.

"I don't know what you mean, I already told you my reasons" – replied Jessy while coughing and breathing difficultly after Jack released her.

"Don't get stupid my dear librarian, you don't want to annoy me" – said Jack while aiming at Jessy with one of his arms in order to throw her a very powerful electrical discharge, she, at the beginning, tried to stand against it but then she couldn't help screaming in pain – "I can make you suffer in ways you can't imagine and I really enjoy doing it"

"I don't know anything more, please believe me" – managed to say Jessy in the middle of her moans.

"Wrong answer" – replied Jack while throwing her a stronger discharge which the woman couldn't take so she fell unconscious.

"She's strong my master, I think we underestimated her" – said Garlack while looking for some water to awake the prisoner.

"Yes, the girl has character indeed, but it's a matter of time before she tells us all she knows; after all, I'm an elder and she's the weaker member of the Order" – pointed Jack.

"And will you destroy her after that?" – asked Garlack with some expectations.

"I'll do something even better, I'll let you have her as a reward for your loyalty and you'll be able to do with her whatever you want" – replied Jack while taking the water and throwing it to Jessy in order to awake her – "This will be a long and pleasant night" – added the master while throwing another beam to the woman who regained consciousness like being awaked from a nightmare to something even worse.

PPPPPPPPPPPP

It was late in the night and the titans were taking a very pleasant and deserved rest while watching TV, even Raven was with them. After Connor's pathetic performance back in the kitchen she didn't need meditating to feel great. The mage had changed his arrogant manners and he was in a corner trying to remain unnoticed, the good thing was the food, everybody liked it so at the end he could earn some points. A few minutes later, Beast Boy and Cyborg passed all the 150 cable channels five times in a row and since nothing good appeared they decided to plug the play station 2, maybe now they could make up the 10 hours lost in the last session due to the green boy's neglect, obviously Cyborg would be in charge of the saving part. Connor decided to watch the game, but the others didn't think the same and they were about to leave the room when the mage spoke.

"Do you want to see a real show?" – Asked Connor while the others got scared waiting for another scream – "I didn't mean that, please, I told you it was unintentional; in fact, I want to compensate you for my bad behaviour so let me entertain you for a while; I promise you won't regret this… and without more talking let me introduce you Connor's band!"

Immediately a set of drums, a keyboard, a microphone, a bass and a guitar appeared floating in the air.

"I hope you enjoy what you're about to hear" – said Connor while snapping his fingers making a guitar appears in his arms – "Oh, I almost forgot it" – added the mage and 2 sticks appeared floating over the drums – "Well, as you can see, I have a new concept for a one-man orchestra"

After that, a heavy metal ballad started sounding and the titans were surprised by seeing all the instruments play by themselves, the sticks were playing the drums and the bass, the guitar and the keyboard were also being played by some invisible force; nevertheless, when Connor started singing they realized that he was the lead guitarist and vocalist.

Siento el Calor de toda tu piel

en mi cuerpo otra vez.

(I feel again your warm skin over my body)

Estrella fugaz, enciende mi ser

misteriosa mujer.

(Like a shooting star, you turn me on mysterious woman)

Con tu amor sensual, cuánto me das.

(With your sensual love you give so much)

Has que mis sueños sean una verdad.

(Please make my dreams come true)

Dame tu alma hoy, has el ritual.

(Give me your soul now, perform the ritual)

Llévame al mundo donde pueda soñar.

(Take me to a World where I can dream)

Uhh! Debo saber si en verdad en algún lado estás.

(Uhh! I must know if you really are somewhere)

Voy a buscar una señal, una canción.

(I'm going to look for a signal, for a song)

Uhh! Debo saber si en verdad en algún lado estás.

(Uhh! I must know if you really are somewhere)

Sólo el amor que tú me das me ayudará.

(Only the love that you give me will help me out)

Al amanecer, tu imagen se va,

misteriosa mujer.

(With the sunrise your image gets blurred, mysterious woman)

Dejaste en mí lujuria total

hermosa y sensual.

(You left lust inside of me, pretty and sensual)

Corazón sin Dios, dame un lugar.

(A Heart with no God, please save me a place)

En ese mundo tibio, casi irreal.

(In this warm and almost surreal World)

Deberé buscar una señal.

(I'll have to look for a signal)

En aquel camino por el que vas.

(In that path you're walking)

Uhh! Debo saber si en verdad en algún lado estás.

(Uhh! I must know if you really are somewhere)

Voy a buscar una señal, una canción.

(I'm going to look for a signal, for a song)

Uhh! Debo saber si en verdad en algún lado estás.

(Uhh! I must know if you really are somewhere)

Sólo el amor que tú me das me ayudará.

(Only the love that you give me will help me out)

Despite the fact that the titans realized almost immediately that Connor was singing in Spanish, they were too charmed with the melody and the guitar solo that the mage was performing in that moment.

Tu presencia marcó en mi vida el amor, lo sé.

(Your presence left a love mark inside me, I know)

Es difícil pensar en vivir ya sin vos.

(It's hard thinking to live without you)

Corazón sin Dios, dame un lugar.

(A Heart with no God, please save me a place)

En ese mundo tibio, casi irreal.

(In this warm and almost surreal World)

Uhh! Debo saber si en verdad en algún lado estás.

(Uhh! I must know if you really are somewhere)

Voy a buscar una señal, una canción.

(I'm going to look for a signal, for a song)

Uhh! Debo saber si en verdad en algún lado estás.

(Uhh! I must know if you really are somewhere)

Sólo el amor que tú me das me ayudará.

(Only the love that you give me will help me out)

Another guitar solo was performed and this one was more complex than the previous, the titans realized it by seeing how fast Connor was moving his fingers around the guitar, the mage was so inside the song and it was obvious that he was having a lot of fun while playing it, he played it with a strong feeling and that made the melody sounds even better. After the song was performed the audience gave the mage a deserved applause; Connor was pleased with that and he even got surprised by seeing Raven applauding too.

"The music is gorgeous, it's a shame that my Spanish is quite poor so I couldn't appreciate the lyrics so well" – said Robin.

"I can say that the lyrics are ok" – pointed Raven.

Everybody, Connor included, glanced at the 'Crow Girl' not knowing what to think. 'Since when Raven speaks Spanish?' Was the question everybody had in mind, but only Cyborg managed to ask it.

"Since Más and Menos apparition I considered useful learning their language; besides, after meditating and saving the world I have some free time" – replied the titan.

The other guys were about to continue the hearing when Connor fell to the floor along with all the instruments. The titans got closer to help him looking very worried at seeing the mage feeling a terrible pain. It was only after several minutes they could see Blackwood getting better.

"What the hell was that?" – asked Cyborg.

"Someone very close to me is in great danger" – replied Connor while standing up to go towards the main door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" – inquired Robin.

"I think one of the Masters have captured my best friend and I have to help her; you have done too much for me by letting me stay with you and I appreciate that, but I won't pull you to participate in this crusade" – said the mage.

"So far I know we have been already pulled into this mess" – said Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy is right, if your best friend is in danger and that Order is behind it you can't go alone; maybe they are using her as a bait to capture you" – pointed Robin.

"I am aware of that, but I have no choice" – answered Connor.

"Then we're going with you" – decided the boy wonder.

The seven guys left the tower towards the Order of Darkness Headquarters with the only purpose of saving Connor's friend and avoid the mage being captured in the process; although in the mage's mind other things were being considered.

"I won't let this happen again, I won't lose another loved one… Madison's death was enough, this time I won't make the same mistake" – thought Connor while going to his destination.

What will happen to Jessy? Will Jack get the answers he wants? Will Terra and Beast Boy be able to start all over again? Who is or was Madison? Will the concert go on? Will Connor cook again? Stay tuned and don't miss the next chapter.

Author's Notes: Well, finally this chapter is finished; as you can see this one is way longer than the others and this is because I've decided to make longer chapters from now on; this way I'll be able to expand my horizons in each issue. By the way, time to thank some guys who have been very nice with me.

- iCy-dRaGoN-MiStReSs: thank you very much for your reviews and suggestions, you've helped me a lot, don't worry chapter 23 of The Chaos Era is already published and I'll start writing chapter 24 of The Chaos Era after finishing chapter 11 of the Spanish version of this story and as you could see I kept my word regarding Sanosuke.

- Sayo Amakusa (Larisa): My dear little sister, I will never forget you, I know you care a lot for me and I promise you I won't play that hard in the football (soccer) league here in Edinburgh.

- Blacklady: Thanks for supporting me and for everything, it's always good having a good friend in the bad times.

- Dande: Thanks for reading my stories and finding the time to help me out with them. Sometimes I need someone reminding me the basics when I'm writing in English.

Likewise I thank all the people who have red my fic so far, come on spread the rumor he, he. And so it's always a good thing having many reviews so please R&R ok? I'm always open to critics and suggestions so even If you don't like my story just let me know it, maybe I can improve it.

By the way, the song performed by Connor is from an Argentine band called "Rata Blanca" (White Rat in English) and the song is called "Mujer Amante" (A Man's Lover in English); if you want to listen it just play the second track of the Album "Magos, Espadas y Rosas" (Mages, Swords and Roses in English). I recommend this band, they're really good musicians and composers; in fact, I think they're the best Latin-American Heavy Metal Band.

Raven speaking Spanish? Well, let's be honest, considering Más and Menos hanging around combined with the free time she indeed has for being locked in her room the entire day and her hobby of reading, it's not wild to think that way, isn't it? At least it's my point of view.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I promise next one will be plenty of action, you're not thinking Connor is going to ring the bell to ask, in a polite way, having Jessy back, aren't you? So don't miss the action and see you in next issue.