Finally! The moment you have been waiting for! The Terra/Raven/Beast Boy dynamic!

Enjoy!

Chapter 8
"Come Play With Me"

Raven:

The shadow-esque figure in front of me seemed to smile. It was hard to tell whether it was a boy or a girl, because the only definite mass it had was thin, and could have been either.

"Close, Raven," The thing said. "But no. I am simply a helper to your Daddy." One of the yellow, glowing eyes winked. "We're going to become very acquainted with one another Raven."

"He may be my father, but that doesn't mean I have an affection for him at all," I hissed, glaring at it and taking a few steps away. "Now you'll do well to stay the hell away from me!"

"Not my game, Raven, not my game." It said, crouching to the ground.

We both turned when the door to my room burst open. I knew Beast Boy had heard the porcelain break, and between the two of us, even if this thing was working for my father, it would not win.

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, staring at me. His eyes immediately after darted to the thing. "What-?"

It's hands shot out, pulling in immediately afterwords. Beast Boy was flung across the room, next to me and slammed hard against the cupboard. I was so stunned that only his groan snapped me out of it.

"Beast Boy!" I shouted, kneeling next to him and wiping the hair out of his face. Miraculously, nothing seemed even mildly damaged, just a little trauma.

"It's just you and me now, Raven," The thing sneered. From its mannerisms I was deducing this thing was somewhat female. Whether or not this applied to demons, as I figured this 'apprentice' was, I couldn't be sure.

My eyes flashed angrily up at her and I enveloped Beast Boy and myself in my powers, hearing her mutter, "So that's how its going to to be," before we disappeared completely.

Beast Boy:

It was one thing to teleport with Raven, and another entirely to be flying in her powers with her. It was like sitting on top of an airplane, except, not quite as windy. Things just rushed past you, with a dim quality to them, like we were shielded. I wasn't really injured, just caught off guard by the thing in our home.

She landed in the streets, on the roof of one of those factories. A piece of the roof had caved in, and it was obviously out of business, yet, for some reason, the cogs and things still moved with a great effort.

"Rae . . . what was that?" I asked, already standing and turning to her.

She placed her hand on my chest, worried. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, "Yeah, but Rae-."

"Didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?"

We turned to see that . . . girl thing that had attacked me, appearing to have placed its hands on its hips, watching us impatiently.

"You," I growled.

She ignored me, smiling at Raven. "Hello, birthday girl. Ready to receive your present?"

Raven's hand suddenly curled into a fist and she brought it forward, pounding her black energy into the thing. It shouted before it was slammed into a part of the factory, creating smoke where it had impacted. Raven darted after it.

"Raven, stop!"

The thing lunged from the smoke, grabbing Raven's wrists in hers. Electricity shocked all around her and I lunged at it. The girl noticed and released Raven, who fell to the floor. It whirled around and kicked me, sending me across the factory, on a lower level then Raven.

"It has begun," she announced, giggling, and her hands lifted. The electricity began breaking everything around them, and a cog broke loose. I rolled away, but the platform bent under my weight. I stared up in shock, about to be crushed to death. That was hardly important, but that meant Raven would be unprotected.

This was not happening!

Raven:

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be. I didn't want it to be today anymore. I just wanted things to-.

"STOP!" I screamed, my hands in fists and my eyes shutting tightly.

I opened my eyes and was shocked to see I'd gotten my wish. The whole place had gotten a blue tint, no longer the orange, rusted color it had formerly been. The cog about to crush Beast Boy was stilled, as was his terrified expression.

Everything was frozen.

"How did I . . .?" It was also abnormally cold, and so I clutched my arms fearfully.

Then, she started speaking again.

"You may be able to stop time, birthday girl, but you can't stop me," She seemed to have an orange glow around her, a thin line. I stared in shock, unable to move. "You can't stop any of it, really."

I took steps back.

"I have to say Raven, when I found out the truth, I was very impressed," she seemed to admit this, begrudgingly. "All this time I had no idea the power lurking inside you. The glorious destiny that awaits."

I clutched my head, trying to block out what she was saying. It wasn't real. This couldn't be real.

"But honestly."

I started to run.

"Did you think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away? Today is the day it begins."

I'd backed myself into a corner. This was beyond terrorizing.

"You've known this all your life. It is going to happen. And no matter what you wish-."

I flinched, pressing my hand against the wall and squeezing my eyes shut.

"No matter where you go, no matter how you squirm, there is nothing you can do to stop it."

That did it. I glared defiantly, my eyes white, at the girl whose face was leaning so close and antagonistically towards me. I turned into my power-bird, darting towards Beast Boy. I placed my hand no his chest, healing him, begging it to work.

He gasped, choking out, "Raven?"

We looked up to see the girl looking down at us casually. I enveloped us in my cape, surrounding us in my powers and disappearing through the city at a faster speed then I would have liked.

Beast Boy:

She stopped after a while, and I fell to the floor on my knees. Raven knelt in concern and I looked up at her.

"What is going on?" I demanded, standing and rubbing my head. "Who is that girl? Why is she after you?" I looked around then, realizing a question far more important. "How did you stop time?"

Birds remained frozen, mid-flight, next to us. A homeless man slept soundlessly, his eyes shut and his mouth in mid-snore. Other then that, it was mostly deserted.

"I . . . I don't know," She replied, frightened.

I saw that, and grabbed her, holding her at arms length, "Rae, are you alright?"

She was shaking. "I didn't want this to happen. You almost died . . .! I just wanted it to stop." She squeezed her eyes shut, reopening them to look at me with a new sense of calm. Raven looked back at the frozen scene around us, "I guess I got my wish."

Suddenly, that damned shadow girl dropped in front of us, "That's the only wish you're getting, Raven. And what a waste it turned out to be."

"Raven, run!" I ordered, standing protectively in front of her.

She ran, terrified, and the girl watched her leave, heading towards where she went. I skidded in its path, growling. She snorted and I lunged, turning into a tiger and beating her severely. She skidded back, after I got a blow to her neck, which bent back unnaturally. I crouched into a ready position, completely focused, but feeling she could not recover from that.

To my horror, she did.

Her neck cracked back into place, easily, like it hadn't even hurt. I couldn't help but stare in disgust and shock. A fire erupted from beneath her feet and she smirked. The two whips cracked right at me.

Raven:

Beast Boy would out-maneuver her, I assured myself. I was slow, waiting for him to follow and constantly looking over my shoulder for any sign of him as I went. I'd barely turned the corner when an explosion erupted and I flew back, immediately.

A wall of fire stood before me, blocking the way we had come. From the fire came her, once again. This was getting beyond terrifying.

"I have a message for you," she said, sounding pissed off now. "And I will deliver it, whether you like it or not."

I continued to throw things at her, with my powers. Yet she kept talking, continuing to match my steps backwards as if the objects did nothing to her whatsoever.

"The skies will burn. Flesh will become stone! The sun will set on your world."

I mashed my hands together, as a last futile attempt.

"Never to rise again."

Then she disappeared, in a red light. This alarmed me more then when I had seen her. I looked around wildly. When I finally did a 180, she appeared. I gasped. She grabbed my arms once again, except longer this time. I gritted my teeth in pain until she finally let go and I hit the ground hard, with a grunt.

"Time will not wait forever. You can't run away from who you are," She scolded, reaching towards me as I got to me knees, watching her from the corner of my eye.

I turned to look at her fully, "I can try."

Rock slabs lifted from the ground, sandwiching her in between. I got up and ran through the wreckage, shouting Beast Boy's names and tossing large rocks aside in my desperate hope to find him.

A rock slab fell away, pushed by Beast Boy, to reveal him crouched there, weakly. I wrapped his arm around my shoulder, my other hand on my chest, lifting him as we ran towards a church. At this time of day, no one would be there anyways. I shoved the door aside with my powers, taking him down the aisle and locking it with my powers behind me. It seemed he couldn't last very long, for he fell halfway towards the front.

"I shouldn't have dragged you into this," I scolded myself, shamefully. "Any of you," I referred to my friends, the image of them smiling at me from my party flashing in my head. I shook it away. "But you're in now, right?"

Beast Boy sat up, groaning. "Raven . . . I don't regret-."

The door burst open, revealing that fucking girl once again. Before my fury could rise, her hands folded together, like a prayer. How ironic, since we were in a church and she was working for the Devil Equivalent. Fire erupted when she parted her hands, leaping in between the two of us. Beast Boy and I were tossed aside. I hit the ground with a grunt, shoving myself to my feet and looking to try and find him.

She sat crouched behind me, smirking, "Its just you and me now, kid."

I ran.

I shoved through the churches back door, into an all. A fire trail followed behind, where she relentlessly continued to attack me.

"You're making this much more difficult then it needs to be," she scolded.

Suddenly a ball of fire shot past me, creating a wall in front of me. I raised my arm, skidding before turning to look at her with evident fear in my eyes.

She approached with her hands on her hips. "The message must be delivered."

I morphed into a bird again, taking off through the flame. She hounded after me, like a dog. Convenient, as she was in fact being a major bitch at the moment. I subjected to once again tossing objects after him, cars, light posts, anything I could get a hold of. She sliced through them like butter, until I saw my next target.

I passed in between the buildings, closing them behind me, as there was no way she could make that. I stopped, turning myself to look at where the building now smashed together.

Well that was something people would find surprising when I managed to figure out how to unfreeze time. I sighed in relief, nonetheless, my objective of finding Beast Boy my top priority once again.

The buildings rumbled and exploded. I didn't have time to move as I had just barely looked up when this girl tackled me. She gripped my shoulders, forcing me to the ground. Or at least, the nearest tall building. She slammed me into it and released me. I took this as an opportunity to scramble to my feet.

She growled, "What you have concealed, you shall become!"

My cape was suddenly grabbed and I felt it torn off, along with some of the back of my leotard. I finally saw my hands, wrists, and forearms, the red marks dancing across my skin. I imagined they were on my back as well.

"You have no other choice," She said with finality, from behind me.

I turned, glaring up at her and using the rest of my energy to attack, "No!" I charged towards her, hands crackling with my fury for her attacking me and especially Beast Boy.

It was useless.

Shadow-Girl gripped my wrist, holding me with strength she didn't appear to have had.

"The message will be delivered," She admonished as I tried to pull away from her. Seeing that hadn't worked, I threw my other hand at her, in an attempt to hit her. She caught this one as well, easily. "You're destiny shall be fulfilled!"

The last word sent such a burning sensation through me I threw back my head and screamed, my eyes staring up. I could feel my leotard tearing, the arms disappearing as well as the middle and most of the collar. I felt my hair grow, tickling my neck as it went down my back.

To my relief, she let go, and I collapsed to my knees, grabbing my arms. I felt completely violated and opened my eyes to see I was in a rather revealing outfit now. I stared at my red slashed arms and hands in horror, wanting to cry or scream or make some sound. That was the least of my problems, it seemed, when I looked up.

The water around the edge of this town now ran red, with blood or lava, I did not know. It could have been both. All buildings had been crumbled, save the one we stood on. I then saw my friends, all turned to stone and grabbed by what seemed like zombies coming up from the Earth, who had also turned to stone. Farther out then I should have been able to see, our woods were in shambles. Dead. Black, four-red-eyed ravens or crows squawked, angry at something.

"No," I breathed, getting to my feet.

"Yes," the girl sneered from behind me, making me turn. She seemed older, taller, approaching me. "Look at it," she turned away, smug at the vision, "Drink it in. Behold the world you are destined to create."

I looked farther out, into the see, and something rocked the floor around us. Far past the buildings, where the lave was, a creature rose, horned and masculine, letting out a sound like a dinosaur. It turned four red eyes on me and I gaped.

"No, I won't do it!" I gripped my head, shaking furiously and trying to dispel this horrible sight before me. "This is just a vision, this can't be real!" I let my arms fall to my side, trying to reason with myself. Yet the imagery stayed.

She gripped my forearms, "This is the future," her face was next to mine, leaning in. "Your future. It began the day you were born, and nothing can stop it." She hissed, and I flinched. "This will come to pass. I will make sure of it." She leaned farther in, smug. Her voice was suddenly softer, as if she was relishing this moment. "You're going to destroy the world, Raven."

I closed my eyes, trying to block this out.

Then, it became sidistically amused.

This wasn't happening. Beast Boy couldn't be dead!

"Its written all over your face."

That broke me and I opened my eyes, releasing all the remaining power inside of me. "NO!"

Beast Boy:

I'd woken up, flying around in my desperate search of Raven, on the second tallest building in the city and shouting after her. A black Raven suddenly errupted into the air, surrounded by smaller circles of power.

"Raven!" I shouted, staring as it evaporated. I looked around in disbelief as one wave fell to the city, time continuing it seemed. The birds soared past me, freed and as urgent for take off as before. I bounded towards the building, staring at what I saw with my eyes when I wasn't as far away as I'd been.

The girl, seeming to have aged, held Raven by her forearms. She was covered in red marks, revealed by the pieces of her leotard that must have been torn off. To my surprise, her hair had grown considerably, almost to her waist. Her belt remained, but her cloak was nowhere to be found. I could hear what she said, holding her unconscious form.

"We'll be in touch," she said, giggling and releasing Raven. Raven fell sideways, off the building, to my horror. I flew after her, catching the last bit of the shadow-girl's sentence, "Oh, and Happy Birthday."

I couldn't have felt more terrified as she fell, hurtling towards the empty streets below. She'd made it halfway there when I finally managed to grab her, as a hawk, in my talons, getting two feet above a building before turning back into a human and landing with her in my arms, falling to my knees with fatigue, but barely jostling Raven.

Her eyes flickered open as she blinked slowly, her head angling towards me. "Beast . . . Boy?"

I smiled down at her with relief, wiping away the oncoming tears with the back of my sleeve and nodding. "I'm right here, Raven."

Raven looked down at herself, as I held her. "I'm tired."

I laughed, my emotions in a turmoil. We were safe. I hadn't managed to keep that . . . thing away from her, to my complete shame, but I'd saved her from dying. It wasn't enough, but she was alive. I cradled her against me, my gloved hands on her bare back, crying onto her shoulder.

"I'll take you home, okay?" I assured her, standing. "Let me call the others, we'll get you safe and sound soon enough."

It was now 3:10am. The nightmarish transaction had taken an hour, at least, but thanks to Raven's time stop, the time this had taken was reduced to nothing.

I shakily pulled out my communicator as her head rested against my shoulder, comfortably. "Beast Boy calling anybody! Come in right now!"

Immediately, Robin was online, awake, but squinting the sleep out of his eyes. Of course his mask was on, "Beast Boy, what's wrong? Aren't you in your room?"

I glared at him, "No, Robin, I am not in my room. Didn't you guys-?" I stopped, realizing how thick the walls were. Just because I had heard with my super-sensitive ears didn't mean any of my heavily sleeping teammates had. "R-Raven was attacked by one of her father's creatures. I couldn't get her away from her, and she . . ." I trailed off, looking at Raven and closing my eyes before talking again. All the lines were listening now, all of our team of Cyborg's communicators were hearing what I was saying. "She did something, I don't know what. But we're in the city, and we need someone over here right now."

"We're on it," Cyborg said, dropping the line to prepare the helicopter he'd built in case of an emergency. At the time, I thought it strange, but was now thankful for it.

People said some words of comfort before logging off. Only Starfire, Robin, and Jinx remained online after a while.

"Starfire," I said, before she could leave.

She seemed sympathetic and worried, "Yes, friend Beast Boy?"

"I'm going to need you guys to bring Raven some blankets, alright? Something to cover her up."

Robin's brow rose, "What exactly happened, Beast Boy?"

"Her leotard got pretty beat up, let's just leave it at that," I replied, looking down at her, lowering my voice, as she seemed to be sleeping now. "I don't know what happened, Robin. She stopped time. She stopped freaking time! I didn't even know she could do that! And this shadow girl . . . it was terrifying, Robin. Raven was covered in these red marks." I stopped my babbling, looking down at her form again.

Robin's sympathy was heard through the phone, "We'll be there in ten minutes, tops. Its going to be okay, Beast Boy."

I nodded, "Okay."

"Do you want me to stay on the line with you?"

I shook my head.

"Alright, we'll see you in a little bit, Beast Boy."

I nodded.

"Bye."

I just nodded again, shutting the phone shut and stroking Raven's face. At the touch she woke up again, a little more aware this time. She looked around and smiled at me.

"I'm fine," she croaked out.

I scowled down at her, "No, you're not. You could've been killed."

"He won't kill me," she assured me, though obviously disgusted with herself. "I'm the portal. He needs me."

I pressed her against me again, whispering, "I love you, Raven. You scared me."

She moved enough to press her lips against my cheek, still rather limp, but the message got across. "I was worried you'd gotten hurt."

I laughed, "I did."

Raven scowled, "Where?"

I pointed to my chest, on the left, "Here. I thought you were dead when she threw you off that damned building."

Her eyes widened, "What?"

Obviously, she had been unaware. I just shook my head, "It doesn't matter. We're going to be alright, the others are coming to pick us up."

She looked down at herself. "I don't want them to see me like this."

"I told Robin about your, eh, situation. Starfire's bringing you blankets, so I'm guessing he'll only bring a few people to make sure that your privacy is respected." I kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, I'm taking care of you right now. You're safe."

"Safe," she repeated, leaning against my chest with a small smile. "Thank you, Beast Boy."

"For what?"

"For saving me," she replied.

The helicopter sounded nearby and we looked into the distance to see a small but rapidly growing black spot. If there was a helicopter speed limit, which I guessed there probably was, our friends were surely exceeding it.

Raven let out a laugh, which turned into a cough. "What was that, five minutes?"

I shrugged, "Maybe six."

Her head rolled back, as she became limp once again. This alarmed me.

"Raven!" I shouted, just as the helicopter got above our heads.

It landed next to us, but Starfire had already flown out, blankets in hand. I took them from her, covering her in them and she woke up to Starfire shouting at her, not something I imagined she enjoyed. I thanked Starfire when she woke up, picking Raven up. Starfire offered to take the weight, which I declined, however tired I was.

Her eyes widened when I stumbled, but Cyborg was there to steady me. Robin waited by the door, staring in shock at both of us. I figured I looked a tad battered myself.

"Whoa there, green bean," Cyborg said, steadying me. I felt Starfire take Raven from me gently, and I made no move to object, falling to my knees as my eyes drooped. "Hey, man, look at me. Beast Boy!"

I managed to look up at him, smiling weakly. "That was six minutes. That's definitely not making any records, Cy."

He helped me walk, laughing with relief, "Shut your mouth and keep it moving."

I obliged, watching Starfire board the helicopter easily. It seemed only the three of them had come and Raven was sitting up now, drinking water from a cup, with trembling hands. Starfire placed her hands over them, steadying and helping her along.

"Come, friend, please drink the water," Starfire murmured, and Raven drank obediently.

I watched her, dazed, sitting in a chair facing across from her. The helicopter shut, thanks to Robin, and Cyborg got into the pilot seat, starting the machine up to take us home.

"What happened?" Robin asked me, sitting down and watching the two girls. "Why is her hair so long?"

I shrugged, shaking my head. "I was out during that. When I woke up, Raven and the girl hounding us were gone. I found her just before the girl threw her off the roof and caught her. Then I called you guys. You'll have to ask her about the other part." I looked up at him, pleading. "But not now, Robin. Just . . . not now, okay?"

Robin watched me for a long moment before nodding, seeming to understand. He placed a hand on my shoulder and I looked down, tears starting to form in my eyes. "Beast Boy, you did good. You saved her, okay? Raven is going to be fine, she just looks tired. Everything is good now, Beast Boy."

I nodded, wiping the tears away once again, "Thanks, Robin."

He gave me an affectionate pat on the back, "Anytime."

Aw, fucking Terra! Why'd she have to go and mess up Raven like that?

Oh right, cause I said so. XD

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Poor BB, all guilty because of him not keeping Terra or 'the shadow girl' from Raven. What's gonna happen in the next chapter? How is everyone going to react to Raven's appearance?

This chapter also took a lot more effort than usual, so I hope you liked it!