AN: Hey everyone! I apologize for this chapter being a bit shorter than the first one, I am trying to make them as long as I can but it's been getting harder and harder. In this chapter I have added some symbols from Central Africa, specifically The Congo. In the Comics, Beast Boys parents work in Lamumba which in real life, is actually not a place but a person, who had some ties to The Congo. So I felt it was appropriate that the symbols I use be from there. It is imperative to the story, so I hope you do enjoy it. For a reference as to what the symbols look like outside of the description provided you can go to my Tumblr account, which is RansomChick . If you have any questions, suggestions, or criticism, please refer to me there and I will do my best to respond. Stay Awesome :)

Back in the present, Beast Boy peered at the clock, 12:43AM, Better now than never. He thought to himself. Settling into the lotus position with smooth fluidity he closed his eyes, and allowed the external world to fade, stepping into the serenity of his inner realm – a lush jungle teeming with life in all its untamed glory. Each creature that roamed the domain bore a fragment of his very essence, a mirror reflecting the vastness of the animal kingdom that was within him.

Rising from his seated pose, Beast Boy strode across the veldt that stretched before him, feeling the grass beneath his bare soles that beckoned him forward towards his undisclosed destination. With purpose, he navigated through the dense undergrowth, parting vines and foliage with ease as he pressed onwards, guided by an unspoken compulsion to confront the elusive source of his inner disquiet.

Time seemed to warp and flow as he traversed the rugged terrain, his journey punctuated by arduous climbs and relentless swims through the untamed wilderness that enveloped him. Eventually, his path led him to a cavernous chasm, its yawning maw framed by towering stalactites and stalagmites that rose like silent sentinels of an ancient realm. Beast boy squinted his eyes at the cave and could vaguely make out the face of his feral side.

The inside was dimly lit by small rays of light shining from cracks and holes in the wall, which appeared to slowly and faintly get bigger and bigger. The woody mineral smell of rocks and dirt filling his lungs. Continuing down the path, the ceiling narrowed, leaving a small hole in the ground. He moved to change into a snake, and was blocked from achieving his goal, trying instead to morph into a gopher, and then a dog. Right, I can't morph here… How am I supposed to get past this?

As he was coming up with ways to travel through the wall, his mind wandered. The last trial still had not been completed, two years and he couldn't find a use for the arrowhead, the final test. He had completed carving his totem and the rite of scarification on his back, which surprisingly had been easier than it sounded. The Beast had him pick a bristle from a Boxthorn plant, he felt lightheaded. Being scared of needles did not help his case. Before the moment came, he had talked to Raven about why he had to go through this.

"Well, it's believed to help the person with spiritual attunement, and to prepare the-"

"Victim?"

"I was going to say initiate… For adult realities and responsibilities as well as status. Which I guess would make sense since you could be considered as either higher or equal status to many of the creatures there."

"Hm, more specifically The Beast."

"The one and only."

"God this sucks."

"I don't think it would cause any actual scars to form on your body, so most of it would be mental pain. If you want, I know Nightwing has some experience in that area, he learned from the best."

"No thanks, I'll be fine, what's a little mental pain am I right?."

"Right… Well I should get back to my things, let me know how it goes tonight."

"Okay, thanks Raven."

"You're welcome."

That night, it took Beast boy a bit longer than usual to get in the right headspace for his meditation. His anxiety was on an all time high and it frustrated him. He shouldn't be feeling this nervous, he was a superhero, he fought fears on the daily, and only ever felt this fear if it was life threatening. This was annoying him to no end and he decided to take a quick walk around the tower to calm down before heading into his consciousness.

As he exited his room, he made sure not to make a noise when closing it, his teammates may not have had the same enhanced hearing abilities that he had, but it was better to be safe than sorry. While on his way to the roof, he couldn't stop thinking about what was going to happen. In his mind he knew how crucial this was for him to be able to tame The Beast, or at least to satiate him.

After a good hour, He went back downstairs to prepare for the rite of passage. Beast boy crossed his legs over each other and began to meditate. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Next thing he knew, he was back in the veldt before a wide jungle. The Beast standing across, his eyes piercing through Beast Boy's soul. Let's get this over with.

He grabbed the thorn that he had picked out previously and held it out to The Beast, who in turn handed him a mirror.

"What am I supposed to do with this?"

"You will be doing the scarification on your own."

"Excuse me?"

Beast boy was both relieved and mortified at this news, on one hand it wouldn't seem as painful if it was self inflicted, The changeling had remembered when his parents were still alive, how he had gone to a wedding ceremony for his mothers coworker, the bride had been covered in scars, and was making more designs on her arm to signify her new role as a wife. This couldn't have been any different. On the other hand it made absolutely no sense for it to even have to be self-inflicted. He and Raven had researched this and it was supposed to be done to the initiates by a tribe elder.

Beast boy heaved a heavy sigh and grabbed the mirror. He wasn't sure where to start or what designs he was going to do, but he had a placement in mind. It took him a while to be able to figure out how to carve into the skin precisely without causing any jagged lines or making the pain worse.

It didn't take as long as he would have thought, instinct had taken over and pushed him to mark himself without thinking about what he was inscribing. Familiar designs and symbols came into his mind as soon as he pushed the thorn on his skin, many of them he was sure he hadn't seen for years and years. It took three separate meditation sessions and a lot of mental preparation went into the process. His arms were tired and his body aching and stinging, he was almost finished.

Almost an hour later he was done making the designs on his body, all he had to do was allow it time to heal. Which would take at least three weeks, even though it was all in his consciousness. Beast boy admired his work in the mirror, he had lines going down his back, starting at his wrists and going down to make a 'V' at his shoulders and ending on his lower back, inside the lines were a series of dots with a parallel line on each side, inside the lines were symbols he had seen growing up in The Congo.

Between his shoulder blades he had The symbol of Epa, two diamonds linked within each other facing vertically, a symbol of law and justice. Along his arms, he had small horizontal lines bending in the middle to make an arrow, from his wrists to the edge of his shoulders, and on his back side. Three diamonds underneath the bottom of the last two arrows on his shoulder, underneath was the symbol of Dwennimmen, four swirls pointing to a hole in the middle, A symbol of strength and humility. The sides of the symbol pointed up to the diamonds and down below to another set of arrows and diamonds mimicking the set atop. On the base of his back were three circles inside each other also known as the symbol of Adinkrahene, marking greatness, charisma, and leadership.

All of which had marked who he was as a person and what he had to grow into and learn. Beast boy had charisma, a good understanding of right and wrong, justice and the law. His charisma was unspoken, and one of his better qualities. His friends would describe him as a great person, he wasn't sure about Raven but a three out of four was still good. Regardless, greatness as a person wasn't what the mark was for, it was meant to showcase the quality of greatness. He wasn't a leader, and even though he was a superhero, his moral conduct wasn't as just as it should be, he hid inside of gray areas as a way to avoid conflict and left most of that to Nightwing when it came to it. As a Titan and as a person he needed to search for a way to exhibit these qualities in a way that would make him the man he knew he could be.

This experience was one of the most significant events in his life, the whole of who he was and his personhood displayed on himself as a way to allow. It would come to fruition, his destiny. Even though the pain of realization and physical act had been excruciating, it the only reason he could withstand the amount he was in now

Beast boy rammed his body into the wall for what seemed like the hundredth time, after four hours he was positive that there wasn't much he could do. Brute force resulted in a large bruise forming around his right arm and shoulder, digging only seemed to make the hole smaller somehow, and scratching at the cracks made his fingers bleed. The more he tried to do, the bigger the toll took on his body, leaving him discouraged and exhausted. Deep in thought, the young changeling began to pace, grabbing a large pointed rock off the ground and tightening it in his grip. He couldn't understand why The Beast would put up this wall to keep him out, he was the one that wanted Beast Boy to be there in the first place.

This is so STUPID! The only reason I'm here is to see what's going on so I can move on and get everything back to normal. I didn't even want to have to be here in the first place! UGHHHHHH.

Hurling the rock in his hand at the obstacle in front of him, Beast boy almost didn't notice the crack that accrued from impact. Immediately stepping away from his rant, he shakily dragged his worn out body towards the wall once again and put his hand on the crack that had formed. Picking up the rock, he decided to try one last time and started causing more and more cracks, chipping at them with the pointed end. After three hours the hole was big enough for him to squeeze through, agitating his scrapes and bruises, he flinched and hit his nose on a sharp rock, cutting the surface and cracking a bit of the bone. He cried out in pain, whimpering as the rest of his body got through to the other side. He lay there for 30 minutes, battling with himself to get up and finish his journey, eventually bringing himself to walk. The room he had entered was filled with massive quartz rocks protruding from the ground and lining the walls, miniature ponds of blue water scattered across the floor. Every bone in his body ached and he could feel himself stagger, but Beast boy carried on to reach his goal and get to the center of the problem.

After about 15 minutes he reached another room filled with crudely erected statues of forms that looked familiar, one, a Tom-boyish figure with straight hair, small nose and big eyes. Another was curvy with long fluffy hair and intricate designs on the face indicative of makeup. A smaller third he could barely make out, a long dress covering her body and what looked like wavy hair shielding her face from the world. He recognized the first two as Terra and Jemma, a vague idea of who the third figure was. To see them both in the same rock casing Terra had been in years before caused a sharp pang to run in his chest, closing his throat.

Ignoring the pain in his chest he decided to move on, he didn't have time to decipher in his mind what it meant for them to be here. As soon as he moved past them, Beast boy could feel a very strong low frequency pounding and purring within his bones, followed by what could only be described as a guttural below. He knew it well.

Entering the next room, Beast boy could see a giant creature curled up within itself, breathing heavily. A long breath was taken in before the colossal animal, unfurled. Stretching out with its claws extended. The Beast had cultivated over the years, eerie and gut wrenching was his growl, his violence equally as righteous, if not more savage in its intensity, and self control for the both of them had grown immensely, rarely coming out unless the situation became dire. The large figure sat upright, staring at his human counterpart, waiting for the other to speak.

"Why am I here?"

"You tell me"

"You know why. And why in the hell is it so difficult to get here? If you wanted to see me so badly there's absolutely no reason for you to put that wall there. I almost broke every bone in my body!"

"I didn't put anything anywhere. You did."

"..."

Beast boy was stunned, how would he have put time to put up an imaginary wall that would exhaust his soul self? He was rarely ever here in the first place. Wait a minute… Suddenly it clicked, the wall, the statues… This was his inner sanctum, Terra and Gemma had become pieces of his heart, and he had put up the wall as a way to avoid his problems and stop the caged animal from coming out and doing more damage than it already had been in the physical world.

"I had to! Everything's been weird lately, the only thing that makes sense is that you called me here for something. That's why I'm here! So tell me what you want."

"You have yet to complete your last trial and time is running out. It is imperative that you finish the rite of passage for things to move forward."

Beast boy had been avoiding this for two years. The most confusing trial he had yet to complete. He was sure that he had completely accepted those parts of him, he already had their powers and couldn't think of any way he would need to 'hunt' them. But if The Beast had been using his old ways of trying to get his attention, it must have been more important than he initially thought. What would happen if he didnt go through with it?

He woke up from his meditation, 1:30AM He'd only been gone for forty-five minutes. Which was normal as time worked differently in the mindscape, but that didn't stop him from being completely exhausted. It took a lot of energy to meditate on something so heavy. He looked up at the ceiling, empty of all emotion. He knew what he had to do, but couldn't muster up the courage. It was too soon, wasn't it?

The ground cracked loudly and violently under the immense weight Cinderblock, stomping menacingly, his sole intent to crush the elusive green cheetah lurking below. Seizing another opportunity to strike, he lifted his foot once more but was abruptly interrupted by a sudden flurry of green energy blasts directed towards him, diverting his attention from the robotic man who strategically extended an elongated electric cable across his path, causing him to stumble and fall. A mysterious purple figure swiftly commandeered a nearby streetlight, crumpling it expertly over Cinderblock in an attempt to immobilize him. Undeterred, the formidable foe managed to break free from his constraints, and went to grab her, only for the figure to deftly evaded his grasp and, with swift precision, she hurled a sizable car in his direction. The green cheetah, with unmatched agility, seamlessly transformed into a towering elephant, forcefully guiding the large cement monster into a building. Amidst the chaos, a masked man clad in striking blue attire emerged, deftly tossing three miniature bombs onto the large creatures shoulders, causing a deafening explosion to resonate with a resounding thud as the colossal villain was left sprawled immobile in the middle of the street.

"Good job team, I'll meet you back at the tower."

"Alright! Y'all want to get some sushi? I am starvin'." Cyborg declared in response to Nightwing.

After stopping to get some authentic sushi from 'Sushi Nakawaza' the team headed back to their home and awaited the return of their leader. Cyborg and Beast boy playing a newly released game.

"What is it called again?" Raven questioned.

"Assasins Creed! It came out last year but because of how busy everythings been lately, we haven't really had the chance to play. It's really good! I think you'd like it." Beast boy answered her while watching his friend stab an NPC in the game world.

"No thanks."

"Aw c'mon Rae….ven! It's totally up your alley. A hooded figure fighting to preserve peace and free will between the factions of good and evil."

"I think not."

"Your loss."

"Friends, boyfriend Nightwing has arrived, we may now do the digging in of the food!"

"Oh Thank GOD!" Cyborg exclaimed

The masked leader came in and was unsurprised to see that an eating competition had already taken place. They were adults, but that didn't stop them from behaving like children from time to time. Even he could be a bit of a toddler without his morning cup of coffee. He hoped there was still enough food for him and saw his girlfriend had fixed him a plate of his favorites, thankful that she had also saved him a chair next to her.

After they all had their fill of sushi, Beast boy and Cyborg went to take turns playing their new game but Raven made them clean up their mess in the kitchen. Starfire and Nightwing cuddled on the couch, and decided to put on a movie.

"Hey wait a minute, we were playing that" Cyborg exclaimed

"Too bad," Nightwing replied. "Now would you guys like to watch a movie or not"

"Yeah, hold on! Raven isn't letting us leave until we're done cleaning" Beast boy replied.

"And for good reason. It's filthy in here and I'm not cleaning this up."

"Okay, we have… Punisher, Get Smart, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Saw V."

"I don't know, it's so hard to choose, I know we usually do a vote but last time we watched a movie Starfire was on Tameran and we promised her that next time we do movie night she could choose." Cyborg replied.

"Star, what do you think?"

"I wish to see the Twilight Movie"

A collective groan emanated from the other members of the team while Nightwing just grimaced.

"Are you sure? I know you were looking forward to watching that on your next girl night…" Nightwing offered, trying to save his teammates from a night they would obviously wish to forget.

"I am sure, we are not watching a movie next time we do the girls night, and I can not wait to see it."

"Okay Star, it's your choice."

Cyborg and Raven had started to silently make fun of it, which ended promptly after the resident Tameranean glared at the two with glowing eyes. She really wanted to see the movie. After what felt like an eternity, it was finally over. Starfire and Beast boy, who had gotten very invested, were both upset that the movie ended on a cliffhanger. Raven and Cyborg were counting their tally for a cringe count they made after their insults on the movie had been so promptly shut down. Nightwing had fallen asleep not even halfway through the movie, the slow pace wasn't something that made the movie any more interesting to him than watching paint dry. But he woke up after the credits rolled when his girlfriend asked him how he liked it.

"It was definitely a movie. Though it's definitely not as bad as Wally's taste in music."

Beast boy snickered. A while back, during one of Starfire's girl nights, the group that consisted of Starfire, Jinx, Raven, Bumblebee, and Wondergirl, had exchanged their playlists. A prompt from yet another one of her magazines, but the girls ended up enjoying each others music tastes more than expected. Starfire listened mainly to Katy Perry, Rhianna, and Miley Cyrus. Raven, to Bon Iver, Flyleaf, Paramore and Coldplay. Bumblebee was obsessed with Pink, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Usher. Wondergirl liked The White Stripes, System of a Down, and Cage The Elephant. Jinx admitted that she didn't listen to as much music as her boyfriend but had been trying to branch out more since she didn't like his taste in music.

"I mean it's not that awful but definitely not something I'd let other people listen to." She stated.

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad" Bumblebee responded.

It was that bad, he listened to a lot of bands the girls had never even heard of, Theory of a Dead Man, Papa Roach, Hinder, Godsmack and Nickleback. The group swore they could have seen crooked musical notes swarming in the air to mark how awful the bands were. It was at that time the boys had come upstairs from their hiding place in the training room to take showers, when they were stopped by harsh and squeaky notes being hit by the so-called 'musicians' that were playing in the common room.

"Oh God what the hell is that? My ears are too sensitive for this!"

"Sorry Beastie, Jinx was just showing us her boyfriend's playlist. Catchy isn't it?" Bumblebee responded.

"If by 'catchy' you mean hard to get rid of then yeah! This is going to be playing in the background of my nightmares. Euagh." He gagged.

"Jeez, if I had known his playlist was this bad I wouldn't have loaned him money to go and buy tickets for them." Cy stated.

"You did WHAT?" Jinx exclaimed.

"Loaned him money to buy tickets to this awful band? I know, I'm sorry."

"Raven please tell me you have some spell to block my ears for at least a couple of hours?"

"Nope, otherwise I would have used them to ignore Beast Boy a long time ago."

"Huh?" Beast boy interjected, unsure of why his name was mentioned as he had been preoccupied with grabbing a quick bite from the fridge.

Back in the present Starfire shook her head sadly at her boyfriend's comparison.

"Indeed, are you ready for bed boyfriend Nightwing?"

"Yeah just a sec."

After they finished their tally, Raven and Cyborg said their good nights and made their way to bed, Cyborg going to his room to recharge, and Raven going to the kitchen before retiring to her respective room as well. Starfire kissed the top of Nightwings head and floated to their bedroom. As Nightwing got up, Beast Boy stopped him,

"Oh, Nightwing wait…"

"What's up Beastboy?" The older boy asked, yawning

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Can it wait for tomorrow?"

"I guess but not really." The changeling knew that it was better to get it out now rather than later, it had been on his mind for well over two months after his last meeting in his mindscape. If he waited, he might not have the courage to bring it up again, which had already happened multiple times within the past two months.

"What is it?"

Beast boy looked at Raven in the kitchen, who was minding her business, casually waiting for the kettle to whistle so that she could pour herself some chamomile tea before bed.

"Can I talk to you about it alone?"

Nightwing was too tired to argue with him, and hoped that he didn't come off as insensitive to his friend. What the changeling had to say must have been important if he was making this big of a deal about it. Though looking at the past it could've been anything, Beast boy loved to play pranks and was known for executing them with the worst possible timing.

"Make it quick."

As they walked down to the floor beneath them, Beast boy's nerves started acting up again, and he could feel his throat closing up. He took a deep breath to calm them before the two reached their destination. They walked into a large room that had four tables with chairs on each side, nearer to the entrance. A small set of stairs leading down to two round couches horizontal from one another that surrounded small counters facing the large window overlooking the city. In front of which was a conference table placed in front of a large screen. It was a room they used for Titan gatherings or for conference calls that involved more than fifteen people.

The older boy looked at his friend with expectancy and could tell that he was more than a little nervous. He tried to do his part and seem less intimidating, uncrossing his arms and taking a deep breath to mentally prepare for whatever his friend had to say. He hoped it wasn't something stupid.

"I think I need to take some time off the team."

Feeling the weight of his words hanging in the air, Beast Boy braced himself for Nightwing's reaction. The room seemed to grow eerily silent, The gravity of his decision weighed heavily on his shoulders.

Finally, he spoke up, his voice tinged with a hint of uncertainty and determination. "I think I need to take some time off the team," he repeated, a statement that carried both a sense of relief and an underlying sense of apprehension.

Though taken aback by the younger boy's unexpected declaration, Nightwing maintained a calm exterior, and nodded slowly, understanding the need for space and introspection. The air in the room seemed to thicken, creating an atmosphere pregnant with anticipation. The decision to step away from the team was not one to be taken lightly.

"Okay."