INNER DEMONS

by The Mighty One

Chapter 44 has been completed! Blackfire struggles to claim her prize outside The Jump City Observatory. The elemental wielders of ice and earth, are evenly matched at Titans Tower; Raven formulates a strategy with Avatar and The Squadron heroes, as the contest for Cyborg, reaches an unpleasant dilemma of its own. Meanwhile, Falcon and Elizabeth make their move.

6. Celebration Afoul

Disclaimer: By this means, I rightfully claim ownership to this fanfiction story and my original character within it, by my trademark signature T.M.O at the conclusion of every update. Any other characters that may appear in this work and are new, these are the rightful properties by their creators as well and cannot be reproduced or duplicated without their individual consent. I do not own anything within the DC Universe, from Warner Brothers, or on Cartoon Network. The only original character and the name that I created for him; that I accept half ownership on is Falcon from this telling. Scififanfreak222 owns the second half of him as well, for drawing him upon a collaboration of various new designs and sketches within the year of 2010; and cannot be knowingly placed into another literary document, writing community, comic book series, and or televised broadcast without either of our written or verbal consent in front of legal consultants. TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne, Scififanfreak222, xSaffire55x, Novus Ordo Seclorum, and RavenxIsxAxBlackxRose; each of these fellow writers have helped me to press onwards with this story, every-time I have come across writers block. Without their outstanding guidance, the updates would have taken me even longer to complete.

Chapter 6 is out! The Teen Titans contemplate many issues, yet the big one is about Falcon. Meanwhile, Raven journeys into Beast Boy's mind again, yet the things she uncovers will drastically alter her view, on a certain green prankster forever. "Deal with the faults of others, as gently as your own." -Chinese Proverb-

---

Chapter 6 - Celebration Afoul

The group within Cyborg's white speed car drove away, following the conflict inside the Junkyard, where the hours had passed by quickly. Before heading home, the brave heroes stopped for some much needed reprieve, at a local deli shop. Although Beast Boy complained most of the time there, and then in the ride back because the only food in his belly that he had preferred to eat, was a take-home salad.

Robin had not been able to join them as he said that he would, instead, he was determined to solve a troubling issue that had refused to evade his conscience. He rode his R-Cycle back to Titan's Tower, where he stubbornly pressed on with his new mission, not ceasing for anything, or anyone.

The Boy Wonder remained firmly locked inside of his quarters, for the duration of the day. The sun had set, and the night had been surprisingly uneventful, where the proud gang of superheroes was rather busy with their normal Sunday routines. It had been a time of growing closer, but the Necromancer still kept certain issues to himself. Unlike the day before, this time he was one of the last to leave his room; as for Robin, he did not even make an appearance for breakfast.

It was now the third day, the Titans along with the quiet drifter from Gotham, they all ate and enjoyed their downtime together, and for Falcon, for the first time after so long of being on his own, he sort of had a place to call his own. Nothing had changed within the room he stayed, and he even managed to grab his beat up, green army duffle-bag from the train station, before heading back to Titans Tower.

He also had a change of clothing that he wanted, his razor to shave, along with some entries and sketches to make in his journal. Another side that nobody truly knew about Falcon, was that he enjoyed drawing things, images of the places he'd been to, and the people he'd met. It was a hobby of his, yet it also helped to keep his mind away from the depressing things from his life.

He could spend many nights at a hotel, but having a free room was an extra bonus. Besides, the goal that drew him to Jump City could wait, it almost felt like a nice break from his tiresome pursuit, one that brought him to the far end of the country. This feeling however, was a fleeting thing, and he was beginning to understand that he was neglecting what he came here to do.

The latest companion Sibs, the fully grown German Shepherd also remained overnight, following yesterday's rare meeting. Much to Robin's displeasure, the sharp canine had made its mark upon the others, and there had been no claims on who the fierce dog belonged too.

While Cyborg and Beast Boy played on their game station, bashing their colorful ships into one another for dominance in the lead spot, on the large flat screen in the Common Room, Robin was content on being alone; going over the data file on the Hex Girl. He had been up all night, and still he was back at square one, he was going in circles.

It was a vicious cycle, he needed to sleep but the fixation with solving things was a drive that he could not simply put aside, for just any other day. He needed to resolve the matter, once and for all. His mentor would do this, and despite them having splintered away in their partnership, regardless of the hundreds of miles between Gotham and Jump City, and while Robin did not like to dwell on his old teacher, many of the Dark Knight's traits became imprinted with the fearless captain. Some of which Robin, wished that he would never find himself doing, and yet there was no other choice but this.

The Boy Wonder needed to uncover what had happened, and he contacted the Titans East to see what they knew. Jinx had joined the forces of good, during the epic collapse of the Brotherhood of Evil, she had assisted the heroes in defeating the Brain; yet now she was working with her old crew.
Something just did not sit right, and the Titans East were the last group, that she had fallen in with. On-top of all these many issues, why would she rejoin members of her old team, people that she had so strongly disliked?

With the team mechanic and the green shapeshifter relaxing on the couch, and as Robin remained even more secluded, trying to find answers to the various leads going nowhere, Starfire kept to her bedchambers, as she spent some of her spare time with Silkie. When she was not at the mall, or running other mundane errands to pick up the groceries, she typically would take pictures with a very expensive camera, one that Beast Boy had given to her as a Christmas present.
Most of the photos that she took, were of random things but occasionally, she would put some of her best work in a scrapbook. With two years on the team under her belt, she had a rather large binder full of pictures, of the various events that she and her teammates had been through. Starfire had a very keen eye to detail, and she was quiet the skilled shot, when it came to taking someone's picture.

With these four preoccupied, Raven had just finished reading another book. It was a massive novel of unequivocal size, to any other which she was accustomed to merely flipping through. Many of the words were both extensive and labor-some, as a few of the passages were even written in Latin, and some of the pages near the end of a few chapters, they possessed drawings and maps; but that did not stop her, yet some of the words took her a moment to recall the definition.

Unlike her normal speed, of reading at the pace of a cheetah catching its prey, this time however, she felt like a slow turtle on a desolate beach, crawling to the edge of the surf when it came to finishing this intense story.

Needless to state, it took her just under five long months to complete, due to the constant crime fighting and other dilemmas of being a super heroine. She did not plan to mingle with anybody, but the way Falcon had become more open with his life, it sparked an inkling to deduce further truth from him.

So, having finished the novel that would impress even the most seasoned of authors to even write, one that took Raven months to complete, where the great blue covers filled with over eight thousand crisp and eccentric pages was now done and over with. Having placed it upon a shelf of other books that she had completed, she released a depressing sigh of melancholy, for having ended a journey, that took her so long to finish.

Raven then left her gloomy quarters, and walked to the one place that she had the most unexpected urge to go now. While she stood in the hall, outside of his door listening to her own light breathing, the same feelings of doubt began to work on her.

Never again, would I allow someone to pull a trick on me. A deceptive move that only she, had done.

While the earth mover was a displeasing topic, as the Dark Knight was for Robin, for some odd reason it came back to the Empath, as she kept silent just outside of his abode. While she clenched her fists, the door parted and Sibs raced out, bumping into her!

"Uh, back off. Go away you ragged mutt! Um, don't you understand anything that I'm saying?" Raven grumbled as the beast lay on top of her.

"Sibs!" Came the rasping voice of Falcon, causing the hound to move a little, while looking back in. "I'm so sorry about that Raven; he may not be my dog, but I am trying to train him. Um ... are you alright?"

How does he always know, when I am near?

The sorceress brushed herself off, while standing back up on her own two legs.

"Yes." She deadpanned, and her focus zoomed onto the German Shepherd. "There has yet to be a single claim on him, despite it being only one day. Still, he could learn some manners on how to welcome guests."

"Right." Falcon sighed, where he turned to look at Raven. "I'm guessing that you didn't come down here, to talk with me about foul manners."

Raven rubbed her left elbow, while the fire wielder stroked his chin.

"Mind if I come in?" She jumped right to the point.

He replied softly; "When someone comes a knocking on my door, it's never usually a good thing." After a short moment of hesitation, he moved aside and allowed her to enter.

The door made its uncanny noise, telling the pair that they were alone and could speak openly. Falcon simply waited by the doorway, with his cold and emotionless stare that was unbroken and glued to the floor; as Raven walked over to the window, and she stopped. While keeping her back to him, she still felt an ice cold presence that resonated

about him, it was gripping her shoulders, like a sudden autumn chill.

"Things are moving by fast, too fast for me to wrap my head around. It's been only three days, just three days and the others, well ... they must see something that I do not." She held onto her breath for some time, before exhaling. "They've been looking to the future, without dwelling on the past. Most of them anyway."

Falcon linked his arms, while his thick shadow seemed to darken. "I thought that it was done with. That you out of the others, would be the first to cross that bridge, not the last?"

Raven quickly turned; "Don't you see Falcon, you said so yourself that you have been stuck living in the past, long before we even met. Now, can you believe that I seem to be looking too far into it, and it may seem pointless, but I can't just let it go. I cannot give in as I did before. There is too much at risk!"

The Necromancer exhaled a heavy moment of grief, out of his lungs, before speaking further.

"That is true, but there is more to it than you think."

She kept her attractive eyes fixated upon him, without speaking another word. As she gazed towards him, he patted Sibs on the head, and then he moved closer to her. While he leaned in, their bodies were just inches from touching, and another wave of adrenaline forced everything to become mute, except for his rasping voice to her ears. She was both terrified, and strangely attracted by his sudden breach of space between them.

"Look at my eyes Raven, look long and hard into them." He did not blink, where she studied the chocolate brown, normal left one, and the deep scar across the white and colorless other. "I lost this eye long ago, in an accident that I will always blame myself for. Since then, I've been seeing the past in this eye, and the present in the other. So I thought I could see patches of reality, never the whole picture."

"Why are you telling me this?" Raven tilted her head away. "You've never been this open before."

"It felt like I was watching a dream, one that I would never wake up from." He struck up a grin and pulled his body away. "Before I knew it the dream was all over, and I was left to pick up the pieces."

This time, she leaned forwards as he stepped in the opposite direction.

"Are you telling me that you, the one person who is driven by his vengeance is trying to keep me, from making those same mistakes?"

He began to walk out the door, but he paused and turned his head, to lock his eyes with her own.

"I've made my choices in this world, as difficult as they are for me to stomach, yet they are my own." He placed his hands into his pant pockets, before continuing. "I will not be the one to tell you, what you should or shouldn't do. All I'll say is ... there is no real way to escape the past, eventually, it always catches right back up with you."

The Empath quietly gasped.

"That's the feeling." He continued speaking, for he understood that she was hanging upon his every word. "You can fight the urge to not turn back, but only you can decide, if the past is really over. Or, if you can let go at all."

"But it is over!"

"Hmmm. Says the person, who isn't kicking about it any-longer."

Then he went on his way upon finishing his piece, leaving her in his bedchambers with the large dog on the floor. Raven looked to Sibs, as the protective canine tilted his head right back at her, and he yawned. The gray enchantress stood where she was, watching him as he left, with both of his hands burred deep in their pockets.

"What am I going to do about him?" Raven questioned aloud. "He's like a wall, and every time I get a different side to peal away his defenses, another one just springs right up in its place."

---

Falcon continued walking down the hall, when he got back the other day from the train station, Cyborg gave him a much better tour around Titans Tower. The team mechanic showed him the huge garage, for their many vehicles and maintenance bays, including the T-Ship and the Boy Wonder's famed deep red painted street bike. Falcon also noticed a white colored moped, nestled in the corner. There was even a "mystery car" draped beneath a dark covering, it was a work-in-progress.

Cyborg also revealed to him the basement which was primarily used for storing old files, and for keeping the clutter out of the rest of the Tower. The indoor pool for laps and training was a floor up from this one, while the spacious backyard for practicing on robots and to hone ones powers was next on the tour, and he was shown a few other places to make him feel, even more welcomed.

While he went on his way, the lights in the corridor revealed his outline was always present, like his tragic and mysterious past that refused to depart from him.
You stubborn fool. He thought. I'm still stuck in it, but I could have offered her a better road to follow. He tilted his head to look at the ceiling; Why do I care though, for all they have done or can do, you are still going to leave them, you must.

He glanced behind the corner but nobody was there, and so he pressed on, to the workout area. Falcon needed to train on his endurance, he needed to focus his skills, but above all things; he required a moment to think by himself. A discussion with Raven was comforting, but the notion of friends was still an uneasy topic, and he had to rationalize why he came to this big city in the first place.

Revenge, guilt, deceit and betrayal, all of these traits made their un-erasable marks on him, where his right eye was a testament to that. Now there were feelings of hope, of trust and of something ... deeper.

The shadow manipulator never once thought that he could have a normal life, after the choices he had made, yet the Teen Titans were a beacon of light to the ever growing darkness.

As he walked into the Tower's Gym, the different stages for building muscles were easily visible. There were four long benches to do upper body exercises in their own row, a small beige punching bag was hanging near a wall, while a thick and much larger one for practicing on one the size of an average person, remained in its own section. The weights to add to the bar for bench presses were neatly stacked within another corner, as the numbers in white paint allowed the lifter to known, just how much weight they were.

There was a boxing ring in the middle of the room, with the thick red bands wrapped along the four sides, as the sparing gloves and headgear were in their own cubby. The container held a set, for each member of the team that also carried the initials for the members. In the middle of the floor, a great letter 'T' stood out, in a magnificent white color, surrounded by a black ring, encased by a gold circle.

There was also a solid gray bar, intended for pull-ups near the smaller weights for lifting with one hand.

Most of the ground itself was concrete, it was meant for dropping heavy objects without causing damage to the building's infrastructure, while other stations had a blue carpet intended for routines of a much different nature. As Falcon looked in from the entrance, he turned on the light-switch, and the bright fluorescent glow brought a more welcoming gesture to the newcomer.

"I guess I can start over there."

He then approached the large punching bag, he raised his fighting stance and began to punch the heavy obstacle. With each swing he took, uppercuts and lower jabs for kidney shots, he always exhaled rather quickly to time himself, in order to pace his every hit.

The bag continued to sway, where the metal chain that held it began to creak, and the more force that he placed behind each shot, the more the bag would turn, giving him a somewhat decent target. Falcon would follow, bouncing around the bag like a taunted fighter in a duel, with his hands held high and his guard always up.

It was not anything like a real person, the texture of the bag was rough to his knuckles, but it was indeed an important tool, to help make him stronger. He had not done this in a long time, but at least he could build up his stamina, and he cared not for how long since he started this workout in particular.

A salty sweat began to form across his brow, and his breathing only grew harder. The burning within his lungs began to slow down his movements, it was difficult to think and to breathe, but he stayed focused on each jab following the next.

The mysteries and allusiveness of his childhood, criss-crossed around his brain like a black and white movie. The bits and pieces were like broken fragments, each one was a sharp pain, and he only countered this uncomfortable feeling, with anger. His final resort was to hunt down anything that could bring closure, and if he were to die in the process, he was not afraid; or at least he did not show it.

The earthquakes and mud slides from El Paso Texas, the murders and near endless trail of bodies from Steel City that had left only more questions, on who the unknown criminal was. The path of total destruction that had the potential to become something far worse, only to be thwarted by heroes of various groups.

Things were heating up for many years, but all of of these issues were cold cases, and the only promise and leads that they had in common with each other, was the simple undeniable fact, that one person used them to their own advantage, and he always returned back to the shadows.

Ever since he had left Gotham, Falcon had been searching, trying to connect the battles and blood that had been spilt, and just when things started to become clear, the murkiness of another wasted dead-end, would block the whole picture. Every step forwards brought him two steps back, his efforts were not paying off.

He still had yet to uproot the villain responsible. He had to find more clues, and he was wasting his time by staying here.

By now his knuckles were torn, his throat was sore as his back was growing much too stiff; he had been beating up the obstacle for a good two and a half hours, where now, the canvas revealed a light smear of red against it.

"Falcon, is something the matter?"

The beautifully soft voice from the Tamaranean Princess, caused Falcon to turn and to look at the entrance; he was quiet surprised to find that he was no longer alone. He took a few seconds, to regain control of his gasping for air, and he smirked while turning away from her.

"No Starfire, I-I'm ... fine."

His hands were trembling by his sides, he should have used the gloves, or at least wrapped his hands before engaging in this particular exercise, but it was too late to go back now. Pain in a weird way to him, it made him feel more alive.

"I didn't hear you come in." Falcon rubbed each of his hands; "I just thought I should dust out the cob-webs a bit, I was feeling a little sluggish from the other day."

"Sluggish?" Came the voice from the team mechanic. "Just by yourself, you managed to take down Mammoth and Jinx, who are no small matter by themselves, while cornering Gizmo for me. Now that, is impressive."

Beast Boy was seen entering next, and he stood alongside the black technician.

"That was pretty cool." The changeling spoke up. "If anything, I'm the one who needs a good work-out."

The green shapeshifter punched the air, while Falcon shook his head with a sly grin. Some people were more determined than others to make a difference, yet Falcon was amazed at how driven, that these superhero teenagers could be.

"Hey, um Falcon." Beast Boy had somehow found the courage within himself at long last, while rubbing the backside of his neck. "I know you don't like being around people, but if you want ... well, would it be cool if we were to spar a little?"

The fire wielder glanced at the changeling, where his stare was devoid of anything but the plain notion, that he was not in the mood for talking. As Cyborg moved to one of the benches, he spent a very long time, just studying the reactions of everyone.

The fire wielder lifted his hood from behind, concealed his face and walked away. The door hissed closed, where Falcon's eerie shadow, it gradually followed him down the corridor.

"Huh, maybe some other time ... then." Beast Boy said, he was utterly dumbfounded.

"I don't think, that there is going to be another time." Cyborg replied as he bent his right arm up and down, lifting the weight.

"What ... you think that he's leaving?" Beast Boy cocked an eyebrow. "He's said that a few times already, what makes this any different?"

The Titan's technician put the weight down, and he expelled some of his breath, while he glanced at the door. His friends quickly did the same. "Listen to me, when a guy like Falcon needs to think, he'll push everyone else away. I think this time however, he is intent on going; and I don't think that anything we say or do, will change his mind otherwise."

Beast Boy interlocked his arms across his chest.

"Huh, just like someone else we know."

Starfire kept to the far side of the room, and she dwelled on what had just happened. It was not an argument, but there was still an ever widening barrier of tension between her friends and the new face, everybody was on their toes. While she touched the bag, the crimson smear along the surface made her fearful, that something else was off-putting.

"He is going through a time of great bereavement." The red head frowned.

"So, what if he is?" asked Beast Boy. "It's not like he wants to talk about it or anything. Maybe Cyborg has a point, and we should just let him go."

Cyborg looked at the shapeshifter, before speaking again.

"He is quiet the character. He seems consumed by his very pride, where all of that, raw temper, it has to stem from something."

"Something, or someone?" Robin interrupted.

The group saw their leader at last, and they were rather perplexed by his stealthy forthcoming. As the others remained by the back wall, they each watched as he drew nearer to the center of the spacious room.

"As I said, he's not Mr. chatterbox, is he now?" Beast Boy filled in another piece during the lingering silence. "Except when it comes to his powers."

"To an extent." said Cyborg. "I don't know what is more secretive about the guy, his powers, or his previous life?"

"It is like, we have been going around the circles with him." Starfire chimed in. "The same story, yet ... a different impasse."

"Ugh." Beast Boy groaned loudly; "This whole thing is getting old."

Robin peered towards the changeling, causing the others to cringe with discomfort. "Do you really want to give up on him, so easily?"

"Well, when you put it like that ..." Beast Boy answered. "I ... don't know."

Cyborg quickly sat upright from his exercise, and he stroked his chin.

"You're onto something, aren't you?" The mighty gear-head questioned. "Why else would you be down here talking with us, if you hadn't figured something out."

"I'll cut to the chase." Robin retorted while taking another step. "The other day when we were confronted with Jinx, it only made me curious as to why she would attack us."

"Yeah." said Beast Boy; "I was wondering that myself."

"Well, I did some investigating on the subject the remainder of yesterday, and into the afternoon of today."

"And." Beast Boy cut-in.

"We did not fully help her to leave that old life behind, and it cost us. Before I ignored her, where now I feel great pity about the whole darned thing. I should have done more, and because I did nothing, she is back to her old games."

"What are you getting at?" Cyborg jumped into the conversation again.

"All I'm saying, is that maybe we should have been more thorough with tying up lose ends." The Boy Wonder continued. "We as a team needn't look too far, when it comes to people who should be examined more closely, when we should be doing more than ignoring the problem, before it grows too large to contain."

"There is a problem alright." said the team mechanic.

The group paused to muse about their failed attempt, to bridge a gap of friendship with the blond haired earth mover. Then, each of their emotions began to drift towards the Necromancer, and what could potentially happen.

"So, what do you want to do about it, I mean ... I don't entirely trust him." Beast Boy observed their faces, to see how they felt on the subject. "No doubt, he has proven to be good in a fight time and time again, yet we cannot just go on that alone."

"There's always a catch." replied Cyborg. "The bigger the fish, the harder the pull."

"Robin, what have you learned?" Starfire finally spoke up, where everybody glanced from her, and back to their leader.

The spiked haired captain released his breath, prior to speaking.

"We need a new approach to this, and unlike with Terra where we simply opened our hearts to her, we are still resisting him; and for good measure."

The others nodded, without talking all at once.

"Beast Boy." Starfire turned and glanced towards the shapeshifter. "Maybe you should go, and talk with him?"

"What!? Why me?" he shrieked. "I thought this was more of Raven's thing?"

Robin placed his right hand onto Beast Boy's shoulder. "We tried that already, and I think Starfire has the right idea. It might be best, if you give it a go."

The team's prankster found himself in a rather difficult position, he did not plan on making a big deal out of things, yet there was no denying that he was still suspicious, against Falcon hanging around Titans Tower.

Beast Boy pulled his leader's hand away, and then he shrugged his arms.

"Well, if it'll help, I guess I could spend some more time with him." He gradually turned. "Even though I asked if he wanted to spar, he sure knows how to make a quick exit."

"Perhaps sparing against you, wasn't his idea of having a good time?" Cyborg implied.

"That could be the reason." said Beast Boy. "But there is only one way to find out."

The changeling then gave a quick two-finger salute, and he dashed out of the gymnasium, bound for the unknown but was full of energy. He had a few promising ideas, rolling around in his noggin, on how to make a complex situation become less stressful; and he did wish to become friends with Falcon. However, it did nothing to ease away his concerns one bit, that he was one member of the team to accomplish, the most bizarre of tasks.

Robin gently pushed the punching bag, and he took notice to the blood smeared upon its leathery surface. With his forehead bowed as if he were praying, he used this moment to formulate a strategy. The Titan's leader was always thinking like a well renowned chess player, plotting two moves ahead, and the mistakes that would cost him.

After taking on big time enemies, such as The Joker, Zsasz, Mr. Freeze, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Two-Face, and Slade; he was required to be ready for a third back-up plan, to fill in where another previous move had failed.

"Guys, we need to know exactly who Falcon is after."

"Right." answered Cyborg; "Good luck with that."

Starfire remained silent, she did not feel like herself when talking about people that were not standing before her. It felt wrong, and it carried the same mentality of a far worse sin in the bible. As she and her two male teammates exchanged glances, the princess decided to speak her mind.

"Robin, I do not question your loyalty, nor do I doubt your strengths as our leader."

The Boy Wonder, then turned his head slightly away. "I know you want us all to like him, and to be cheerful when he's around, but there are certain steps to follow, in circumstances such as these."

"Look man." interrupted Cyborg; "Nobody wrote a manual on how to make friends. I for one am uneasy about him too. Besides, the point Raven made about Terra, well, she was right you know."

"There is something else though." Robin's powerful voice echoed. "There is a dark streak to everyone's past, where we all allowed Falcon to see our lowest, and most painful memories."

"I felt like I was attacked." the tin man jumped in. "That any trust was shaken from the very first day. So it only makes me cautious, especially since he's still sticking around."

Silence.

"But he is our friend." Starfire spoke with a vigorous passion. "He has already explained his reasoning for the outburst, what more do you require to hear?"

The cheeks upon Robin's face were glowing a vibrant color, and he was obviously becoming irritated about the same pointless argument from day one. His stomach made him feel nauseous, and his sleep deprivation, it had not helped to settle his raw temper either.

"I need to know, just who he is Starfire; where he came from." Robin answered. "We have kicked this can around long enough in waiting, now is the time to find the answers."

"But more importantly, who he has been chasing all of this time, to lead him to our city." said Cyborg.

Starfire collapsed into a nearby chair, and she put a hand to her face. It was like a theme park ride that she desperately wanted to get off, but was unable to. Her alien stomachs were twisting into many knots, and the unpleasant discomfort made her feel woozy.

"Maybe I, should be there for him now?" The Tamaranean Warrior spoke softly.

The Dark Knight's protégée, thought for but a brief moment, as the team's technician did the same. Following yet another painful hesitation in their confab together, Robin cleared his throat, and he prepared to state his beliefs.

"You have done enough Starfire. Besides, with Beast Boy spending time with Falcon, it can do us some good." Robin's cape fluttered behind him. "We should let this run its course."

Starfire became wide-eyed.

"Why, for what purpose should friend Beast Boy be alone in this?" she asked, but received no answer. "For what reason would this help us, Robin?"

A deep groan was heard from the tin man, where the third person in the room finally made his motion to speak in turn.

"Because Star." said Cyborg; "B might be able to get closer to him, than the rest of us ever could. As much as I don't like this idea, I'm not entirely against it either."

"Deception!" Starfire exclaimed. "Trickery, these are not admirable traits to be linked with a friend. You ask about loyalty, of trust and of honesty, yet you are not willing to trust him; while going behind another friend's back to learn of his previous life!"

"Starfire!" Robin belted out, where he lowered his voice back to its normal tone. "Please, try to understand that I don't like this anymore than you, but sitting on the sidelines just waiting for something, anything positive to happen, well it just won't solve it."

"Robin's right." said Cyborg. "This could be our only chance, on getting to know the real Falcon."

The leader placed his hand upon her left shoulder to comfort her, and he revealed a half grin to ease her troubled thoughts.

"It'll be alright." said Robin. "You two should look into the N.C.D.B; and see what you can dig up."

"The National Criminal Data Bank, what for?" asked Cyborg.

"Falcon came from the eastern seaboard, but things still aren't adding up." Robin removed his arm from her shoulder. "There are some things I need to be sure of, things I think that we all need to understand."

"What of Raven?" Starfire looked towards both of her comrades, with sad puppy dog eyes. "Perhaps she could be of the aid to us, and I do not like this idea, of leaving our friends, as you earthlings would say, out of the loop."

"Good point." replied the technician.

Robin folded his arms, before uttering any form, of a solid response.

"I'll handle it."

With that said, the group of three lingered in the workout area for some time. They knew what was happening, what they were about to do, and although it was for good reasoning, something felt ... wrong from the very moment the Boy Wonder mentioned it. They would be using one of their closest friends, against his knowledge on a mission, that even Robin was still trying to piece together.

What could go wrong?

---

Beast Boy continued his quiet journey up the wide steps, he was making his way, to the sleeping quarters of Titan's Tower. There was no denying his unsatisfied envy, with the shadow manipulator's uncanny ability, to make such a profound exit everywhere he went.

It was almost as though he had no burdens to break him, that he was not afraid of anything. There was something deeply admirable about it all, that it brought a strange sense of tranquility to the shapeshifter's restless mind.

The sunlight cut across the stairwell, giving the hero slight comfort. He had always greatly enjoyed making new friends, and of cheering people up when they were blue; yet Falcon was content on being a passer-buyer in their lives, or so it seemed. Beast Boy could relate with having been cast aside, of being thrown asunder from one broken family to the next.

The changeling somehow felt, that he was always in the center lane of traffic on the freeway, and always the oncoming danger grew closer, where he would be rescued in the nick of time, moments before something worse could occur. He had himself to rely on, where the Teen Titans were his latest commune that had taken him in.

That was a little over two years ago, and now, they had become such a big part of him that life without these teenage superheroes, he would find even lesser meaning in his young life. It was as if the boy inside of him was dissolving, slowly and bit by bit. He was becoming a hard shell of his former self, and with the struggles and battles fought with his current allies, to lose them would possibly force him to go insane.

Once he got to Falcon's quarters, nobody was there, and so Beast Boy went to the only logical place for meditation now, the roof. As he turned and went back to the stairs, the memory of the second day after Tokyo, it came swirling back to him.

He could see Dr. Light and Mad Mod evading their perusers, while The Amazing Mumbo made his way for the metal ladder. The robots on the street where closing in fast, and the heat of the struggle was already underway.

"Hang on Raven; I'm going to get you out. Just hang on!"

A quick shiver rolled up his spine, at the exact moment his own voice was recognized. It was like the sensation he had received, had been a cool autumn breeze, lightly flowing across his skin, and touching every nerve within his mind.

"Why can't I remember?" He spoke while keeping one hand firmly gripped onto the railing, and the other upon his forehead. "Why didn't she tell me that I had changed; she became afraid of something, what was it?"

As he thought about this, even older wounds resurfaced. He needed to get a grip on current issues, but he felt that he was loosing himself. Following the tragic deaths of both his parents in Africa, Beast Boy truly believed that life could not go on, and so he refused to do, even the basic things to keep alive.

He did not eat, he would not sleep, he just lay near the place that they had perished, in his time of great sorrow. Yet his life was not over, he felt the will to survive in him again, and he allowed a group of merciless thugs, to take him under their watch.

The mercenaries were harsh, bitter to the core and they had no emotion which is what drew the shapeshifter to them. Beast Boy wanted to forget, he needed to be stronger and they coaxed him into a life of crime.

This too however, would not be his destiny and all the time he felt it was wrong, and so he left them to pursue something with deeper meaning. His parents were renowned doctors, they had helped people, and their ambitions stirred a willingness to be all that he could, to use his new-found gifts, to assist those in need.

Despite Robin seeming like the changeling's previous leader, Mento from the Doom Patrol, there were enough differences established; to give the green hero a reason to admire the Boy Wonder. Enough to be proud to follow him, into any battle.

Firstly, because the Teen Titans were a gathering of teenagers close to his own age, and secondly, because they had always tried to make amends. With the Doom Patrol, guilt and anger would be directed at Beast Boy, and it only made him wish to leave.
There was also the fact, that Robin had left his partner in Gotham to prove that he was better in a certain sense, while Beast Boy wanted to show his own teacher, that he could make it like the Boy Wonder had. These two protégée's were driven by their pride, and their ego's but it should also be noted, that this pair of Teen Titans, felt pushed away by their foster parents and had to settle an old score. They were growing from young teenage boys, into men with their own ambition, and dreams.

During his moment of deep thinking, he did not entirely realize that he had finally reached the top level, of Titan's Tower. He pushed the door open and the warm summer sunlight, it blasted across his face. The group's comedian covered his eyes with one hand, and then he squinted to peer at the soothing outline of a person, floating in a lotus position.

It was Falcon, and Beast Boy released a deep exhale prior to moving one step more. Falcon's long red cloak, fluttered about his body from the wind, where the long ripples across the fabric appeared like the rolling waves upon the ocean. The skyscrapers from the rest of the complex metropolis, were also noticed across the bay, while the various noises of the bustling city reached his ears.

"Nice of you to drop by, Beast Boy." The rasping monotone from Falcon instantly caused the green shapeshifter, to halt in his tracks.

"Dude, you knew it was me ... but, how?" asked Beast Boy while looking from side to side.

"I had a hunch, that you wanted to spend some more time with me." Falcon glanced at him, with his left eye. "That is why you came here to see me, or am I wrong?"

Beast Boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, you're right about the first thing. Look, I know that when Raven meditates, she prefers not being disturbed; so I can come back at another time if you-"

"It's fine." Falcon lowered himself back to the ground, and he turned to look at the Teen Titan. "I do this typically, when I have an issue burning my mind."

The changeling chuckled. "Funny, you sound just like Raven."

The drifter raised an eyebrow, unclear of how to take the connection. "I suppose so."

Falcon put each of his hands over the center clasp of his belt, where the golden hue along the edges caught the rays from the sun, glistening down from the heavens. There were white bandages draped across his palms, and Beast Boy took notice to his recent wounds.

"It's nice up here." said Beast Boy. "The fresh air ... it feels rather good."

Falcon nodded as he slowly turned his body away, allowing the shapeshifter to stand beside him. The unlikely pair, simply looked out at mighty buildings off in the distance, with all of their windows reflecting a sharp crisp view, from their metal and concrete.

"Beast Boy." Falcon said, causing the hero to face him. "From the first day I came here, I was guided by guilt ... and anger."

"Yeah I know." The changeling replied; "You were looking for someone. You don't have to tell me the same story twice."

Upon shutting his eyelids, Falcon kept his left hand outstretched, and he moved it back and forth as if he was trying to catch the wind, across his fingers.

"But I am learning something else." Falcon deadpanned while pulling his hand back, and he studied his palm. "Before I couldn't trust anybody, I wouldn't allow myself to make new friends because it would only, throw me into a deeper hole."

Beast Boy titled his head. "Dude, I think you're putting way too much blame on yourself. None of us can be perfect. We all have mistakes, but those things make us who we are."

This time, Falcon felt a hand upon his shoulder, and he quietly sighed before talking. Beast Boy was still aware of the skin contact being an issue, so he made sure that his hand was not near his neck.

"Perhaps you're right." said the gray sorcerer. "But, if only you knew the true nature of people, if only you had seen what I had seen, had done what I had; then you might carry a different aspect on life."

"Falcon, I'm sure you have gone through some pretty rocky stuff. Heck, that eye of yours is a good mark to back it all up, but you don't know much about me, do you?"

The fire wielder glanced over his shoulder, as each of their shadows upon the roof made him realize, that there was more to this "comedic hero", than he had first conceived.

"No, I don't." Falcon answered him, and then he took a step forwards. "But we both know, that looks can be deceiving."

"I don't know what you mean."

"Don't play that card with me, I haven't been around here all that long, but I think I have a general idea on who you really are." Falcon pointed at his chest. "You're the funny one, the guy that always cracks the poor jokes onto the others. You always play the kid that just wants to be a team player. But you're more complex than that, aren't you?"

Silence.

"Oh yes." Falcon continued. "You want everybody to see this side of you, the one that you think is all that matters, but deep down, hidden inside we both know, that you have been running all your life. We both have, but you found a way to burry it all, to move on." His voice was becoming much quieter. "How much longer, can you keep it all bottled up?"

Beast Boy's jaw became slacked, while his eyes were burning with a tremendous hostility.

"Why are you doing this?" asked the changeling.

"I think you needed to hear this, but what you did not expect, was for it to come from some outsider. A lone wanderer who only caused bitterness and fighting with you and the others." Falcon inhaled a deep breath. "For any hurt that I have caused, again, I apologize."

"You thought you were doing me a service?" Beast Boy cupped his chin. "I guess, that you like to take complicated things apart. But I'm not anything special, I'm just plain and simple."

"The mind of a person, is a challenge all on its own." The Necromancer revealed a slight grin. "I have some rather personal things to settle; but for what its worth, from one drifter speaking to another, I think we have some common ground at last."

Beast Boy was utterly flabbergasted by this turn of events, he had discovered a more unusual side to the lone wolf, that was not observed on the first day. Beast Boy even made a connection to the aspect of wandering.

"So I take it, that you're leaving me and the others." implied Beast Boy.

Falcon would not answer him.

Beast Boy chewed his lower lip, as he mused over what else to say.

"Is it tonight?" the changeling barely managed to ask.

The fire wielder turned from the city, to the person he had come to respect. When they had first met, Beast Boy's clothing was in tatters, and the chances of dry humor did nothing to amuse the new face, yet the shadow manipulator had learned something else about the young man in front of him, and it was something he admired.

"Would it comfort you to know, that I was going to leave yesterday?"

"You were?"

Falcon shrugged his shoulders, with his back to the hero.

"But then something happened, you allowed me to join your cause." Falcon was mute for but a brief moment. "Going against everything I believed in, as did you, I could not explain nor comprehend what I was involving myself with, but I did not care. To be apart of something greater than oneself, to be doing good ... and helping a just and noble cause; I guess it made me realize, that I had to stay."

Beast Boy's ears perked up.

"So... I'm guessing that you DO want to stay after all this?" Beast Boy questioned, as he calmly stroked his right elbow.

Falcon's grin eroded into a frown. "I would like to, but I think we both understood from day one, that I did not come here to make friends."

"But you want to stay here, I mean you actually enjoy hanging out with me and the team, right?"

Falcon closed his eyes, upon turning his body.

"I do." answer Falcon; "Yet people, such as you and your teammates have concerns of your own, and it does not go without saying, that a drifter is best kept at an arms length of distance."

"Huh?"

The fire wielder shook his head.

"Trust Beast Boy, it all boils down to trust. That is still the issue, and I can see it in all of your faces."

"Hmmm, I think I get it."

"You do?" asked Falcon.

Beast Boy smirked before talking further.

"Well, in my book, its like people just don't understand you, while a dog is always there and has loyalty, yet people can come and go with no regards to any bonds of fellowship. Yet a dog, now THAT is a true bond of affection."

Falcon lightly chuckled. "So true. Since when did you follow that logic anyway?"

The shapeshifter pointed to his ears. "Um hello, does the name Beast Boy ring a bell? I mean, I can morph into any animal that I want, so I think I know more about them, than a plain veterinarian would."

"Good point."

"Thanks."

This time around, Falcon tapped his own chin, after taking a small step forwards. "But, I never really thought of you like that however."

"Like what?" The changeling grilled him, while raising his left eyebrow.

Falcon sighed. "Well, its just that I never thought of you as some wild or untamed beast, or just a kid even."

Beast Boy thought for but a quick moment. "Now what gave you that idea?"

Falcon nodded sternly. "While your heroic name is good, I always got the feeling, that you carried more burdens on your shoulders, than a simple boy ever would."

The changeling leaned in. "I don't know if I should take that as a snarky comment, or as a compliment?"

The shadow manipulator turned his back, to glance at the metropolis before them both.

"There is always more to a person, than a name alone." He moved his head to look at Beast Boy. "I do see something however, only its not what this city, or even your closest friends even notice."

The changeling stood totally silenced, he was both numb and fixated upon his every word. After a duration of lingering seconds came and went, did he manage to respond with a simple question.

"What do you see in me then?"

The fire wielder glanced at his black converse sneakers, before answering him.

"Its almost as though, you have seen so much in your life, that the name of boy just doesn't seem to work. While the title of beast is strong and bold, yet it also represents the untamed side to a primal creature. I don't see any of that when I look at you, instead, I see someone who can control what he wishes to become, and is not some child any-longer, but a young man.

"Whoa, that's some pretty deep stuff." Beast Boy replied, before he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yet it's something you feel too, right?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

Falcon interlocked his arms. "I mean, when I look at you, I see ... Animal Man. That's what I see."

"Animal Man … hmmm, it almost has a ring to it." said the changeling.

The Necromancer shook his head from side to side lightly. He sensed another problem was brewing during the lull.

"There is more happening up there, than just that alone." Falcon spoke as he mentioned towards the hero's noggin, with his eyes.

"Oh, well me and the others just wanted to make sure, that you were okay and all." The changeling scratched his right elbow. "But I think we both know, that you'll be fine."

Shortly after studying his hands, that were neatly bandaged and covered, the burning was still an irritation to Falcon, yet it did not phase him as it would for a normal person.

"Oh, this is nothing. A little workout now and again never hurts anybody."

"Sure." Beast Boy said cooly. "But a lot can kill ya."

The shapeshifter belted an uncontrollable laughter from within, causing Falcon to join him.

"Are you always looking for the punch-line?"

The grin upon his face was very difficult to erase now, and Beast Boy continued to chuckle prior to talking. "Well, when there is an opening, I feel that I have to make a jump for it. A bit of laughter can cure just about anything."

While the strange duo bask in the summer sunlight, a cloud passes overhead, obscuring the warmth and making things become a bit more dim.

"You know, I haven't had a good laugh, in quiet some time." Falcon's strong deadpan, brought the mood to a serious note once more.

Beast Boy felt concern swell up inside of his heart, and he decided to offer a rope to the outsider.

"You mean, that you haven't even laughed, after how many years on the road?"

Falcon sighed. "No, that's not what I meant. I have laughed, but for the most part, of moving from one place to the next, adrift and lost in this world, the time for humor, it'sa fragile thing at best."

"I can relate to that." Beast Boy replied as he leaned against a side wall. "It is hard to settle in when you need to just keep moving. But ... have you ever thought, of just putting a rest to the chase and, well, enjoy life for a change?"

The Necromancer kept his body turned away, where his shoulders appeared to raise a little, as the subject was pressuring a deeply sensitive matter, for them both.
Then, out of the terribly long silence, Falcon decided to answer in his normal monotone rasp. "The past has forged me into the broken young man, that you see before you today." He slowly peered at the Teen Titan. "There is no rest, no peace and quiet Beast Boy. Not for me. I cannot stop for too long, I have to keep moving."

Beast Boy glanced to the floor, and he remained puzzled over the debacle that was unraveling before him.

"So, you're from Gotham."

"I used to live there." Falcon shifted his fierce eyes away, as the conversation once again switched. "A long time ago."

"Before then, you had a home and a family in Massachusetts, didn't you?"

Falcon slowly turned, and he revealed a frustrated grimace, directed towards the green hero.

"Yes." Falcon inhaled through his nose gradually. "What are you getting at Beast Boy?"

The shapeshifter scratched his spiked hair. "See, you traveled quiet the ways, but what I still don't get, is you move from one place to the next searching for someone, you lived in Gotham for a number of years, and then out of the blue, for two more years, you just drop everything for some bad dude, who did something horrible to you. You wind up in El Paso Texas, where your search inevitably leads you to Jump City."

The fire wielder remained eerily silent, and he swallowed a bit of saliva.

"Go ahead Beast Boy;" He walked over. "Say it."

Falcon had played his cards carefully, where he was done bluffing and decided that now, was his moment to come clean. If he was going to be backed into a tricky situation, then he would create his own way out. This seemed like the best option he had left, and so he felt it was pointless to make the hero chase his own tail any longer.

"You were in Gotham for a long time." The changeling stroked his chin, as he finished pacing back and forth. "What I want to know, is what happened that made you want to just up and leave?"

Falcon's gaze was transfixed into the green eyes of Beast Boy, and he replied; "I can tell that there is no fooling you. I mean, looking from the outside you seem just like any other kid, but you once again have proven to be more than just ordinary."

"You still haven't answered my question." The shapeshifter moved a few inch closer. "What happened?"

"You can pick up a sent of a trail like a bloodhound, both relentless and strong and never letting it go." Falcon grabbed hold of his own belt. "For your debunking and undying willpower to get to the bottom of things, I'll give you a bone, but just this once."

The energetic hero tilted his forehead, while the shadow manipulator built up the moment before speaking a little more.

"I did not have a choice in going to Gotham, as you or the others may have been led to believe."

"What?" asked Beast Boy. "Why?"

"You know, Gotham is a rather dirty, gritty, and vile place. A safe-haven to some of the country's worst criminals, villains ... and psychopaths."

"But why did you move there, what happened to your family before then? What are you afraid to tell me?"

"Afraid? Beast Boy, I tell you this now, not out of anger or doubts, but because you deserve to know the truth. I was only afraid one time in my life, so terrified that there was nothing I could do, but watch in horror as my entire childhood was ripped away from me, crushed, to ashes and flame."

The changeling's eyes became wide, as his heart-rate increased. "Your family, something terrible happened to them, and you need closure, right?"

"Beast Boy, that is but a tip of the iceberg."

He then turned, as the sunlight burst through the clouds, and the soothing rays altered everything to a much more calm state.

"You have opened my eyes to other things though, of the good nature of decent people in this wretched, cold and malice filled world." Falcon continued speaking. "I suppose that I only saw so far, but it is because that, is all I have chosen to see."

Beast Boy gradually leaned away, he was grateful to be learning more, but he began to hate himself for digging into the past. The changeling went to see if he could offer some kindness, and by listening he seemed to be fulfilling a small part of his task.

"Well;" Beast Boy spoke up, "I don't know if I did much of anything, I'm just glad that we are talking. You know, I thought you hated me."

"No." Falcon smirked; "I just have a great deal on my mind. If I seemed arrogant or rude, its just a side to me that I am trying to fix, I just have to get accustomed to the idea, of being with friends."

Beast Boy sat down on the edge of the roof, where he began to kick his legs.

"Man, you don't have to make it so hard." The changeling looked up. "See, even in this world, there is always some good in it. Take the sun for example, we know it is going to set, but it will rise again tomorrow, there is always a brighter day."

Falcon sat down alongside him, and together they stared at the city skyline. A lasting quiet remained between the two, and Beast Boy used it to his advantage.

"I will say this, there is nothing better than being a hero!" The shapeshifter revealed a massive smirk, where Falcon's grin was a great deal smaller.

"A very dangerous job might I add." Falcon replied, and as he turned his head, half of his face was masked by a thick shadow of one of the walls. "How many lives have you saved Beast Boy? How many people have actually thanked you, for all of your tireless years, of sticking your neck out for the general public?"

The changeling glanced at him, before talking.

"I don't know, but the fans are pretty nice."

The fire wielder expelled some of the stagnant air within his lungs.

"Being a hero is one of many things, but you know this better than the average person would." Falcon said. "Sure, you save lives, you protect this city, and you help to clean up the scum of the underworld. But, the moment the shit hits the fan, as soon as people have the slightest inclination that you and your friends will fail;" Falcon reopened his eyes, where he studied the clouds. "In your agonizing moments of utter hopelessness and despair, after protecting the world day after day, from the most unfathomable things, when things take a turn for the worst, then the public hates you."

Falcon peered at him; "Human beings are such foolish creatures, where we can be so cruel and senseless when it comes to the simple things; like saying thank you and please, but we don't hesitate or even flinch, to dishing out the pain onto anybody."

Beast Boy said nothing, as he bit his tongue, listening to the shadow manipulator's unfair words of truth.

"They're like a mob, sometimes they can be no better, than the very criminals you put behind bars. To protect them." Falcon lightly chuckled. "They love you, but that can all quickly change the instant they see you weak, or injured."

Beast Boy grunted. "For someone who hasn't been in the spotlight, you sure seem to know a whole heck of a lot, about the ups and downs of being a superhero."
The memory of a woman screaming echoed within Falcon's mind, as the burning home crumbled and toppled within itself; there is no off switch, no possible way to control the tragic flashes. The Necromancer stared at his hands, they were trembling, and the sharp sting from his workout had returned.

"Yes." Falcon said quietly, as he squeezed his fingers.

Beast Boy observed the ground, he looked to the trees swaying in the breeze, and the waves tumbling into the shoreline, all around the island of Titan's Tower before continuing.

"So." said Beast Boy.

Falcon stood up, keeping his focus on the view before them.

"I went looking for something, once. When I was really young, a mere child hoping to God to do the impossible." The fire wielder answered, causing a shiver to rise across Beast Boy's back. "But when I finally got what I had been after ... when I had it in my grasp, it was at that moment that ... nothing made sense anymore."

Beast Boy stood up. "What was it?"

Falcon turned away, while the cutting wind moved his red cloak.

"It doesn't matter. All that matters now, or even makes sense after these long years, is getting some balance back, that's it." Falcon blinked. "That's what brought me here in the first place, and that notion of balance, that is all that has kept me going."

Beast Boy squeezed his fists in anger, feeling as though he was still a failure with his old superhero squad.

"It's okay Beast Boy." He nodded his head, towards the soothing warmth from the sun. "The sun will rise again."

"Putting my own words to use against me, are we?" The changeling scratched his hair.

The stern sorcerer smirked.

"What gives dude, with this nice side to you Falcon?"

"Raven came to my room earlier." He linked his arms, and he concluded this sentence above a whisper. "You and your teammates ... you still want to help me?"

"Of course we do!" Beast Boy's voice was a little raspy. "Look, you spent a couple of nights here, you helped us fight some bad-guys, and you even got on Raven's nerves a bit, which all of us have. I have to give you some points, for at least trying to be a member of this team."

"Thanks. But I think that I've overstayed my welc-"

"No. You haven't." said Beast Boy, where he made his way to the door. "If you want to leave, none of us will stop you from going, but try to understand Falcon ... that there are good people here, friends who only want to help."

The youngest member of the team walked away, and with his head slightly turned, he finished his conversation.

"For kids like us who don't have anything, or anyone to return to, all we have to rely on ... is each other."

"Just, think about it." said Beast Boy; "You don't have to keep at this journey all by yourself, anymore."

The door slid closed, and Falcon resumed his attention to the magnificent metropolis he had come to. His path was again shifting, he had all but thrown out the concept of spending anymore time at Titan's Tower, but he had remained. Now, the team was willing to give him a chance, a fresh start.

A place to call home.

As he remained sitting, he smiled a genuine emotion that was now building from deep within him. At first he only wanted to get revenge, yet there was a possibility that he could gain something entirely unbeknownst from his tireless pursuit.

"Rose." Falcon spoke while looking at the clouds; "I know that this wasn't my idea at all ... but why ... for what purpose would this help me?"

A lingering silence remained, where a sudden gust of air whooshed across the rooftop of the building, and the light touch from the breeze, it grazed across the seventeen year old's pale skin.

"Right." the Necromancer continued his soliloquy. "This story isn't over. Not yet."

---

Beast Boy just stood outside of the door, wondering what it all meant, and how all the pieces fit. His own past was rather sad, and he never felt as though he could pick up the broken life he had left behind, and then after hearing Falcon tell him that the past is the past, it just gave him a little spunk in his step.

As he walked, he could not help but muse over, why Falcon had seemed so distant still. He showed yet another side to his bizarre character, and it threw him off the trail, like each and every time previous.

Falcon said that he was fine, yet Beast Boy's animal instincts were telling him, that was just using another front, another divider to keep him and his allies locked out. Three days time was barely a week, but still, how many more days were to pass until they could gain each-others trust?

As the lights from the hall were beamed off his head, he looked back up, only to notice the name above the door, of the bedchambers he was near, Terra. Feelings of her being gone brought his self esteem into a low mood once again; as he simply stood, hunched over against the wall.
He could taste the cotton candy on his tongue, and any time he thought of the girl he had loved and lost so many times over, it just brought the same feelings, the same touch long since past.

-Flashback-

Beast Boy found himself standing inside of the hall of mirrors, where each reflection showed himself, standing in the middle. It was cold still, the damp night had brought him much sadness, and even more was to come, because the girl he was growing closer to, she had fled with him inside of the spooky building. Only now, she had become lost, where the shapeshifter was standing entirely, alone.

"Terra!" Beast Boy cried out, looking around in circles, trying to locate her but seeing only himself.

There was nothing but the eerie silence, as a single beam of moonlight came through the roof, illuminating the spot that he was standing in. Then, a menacing figure walked forwards, as his image reflected off of every mirror in the room, totally obscuring the hero's. Beast Boy's eyes became wide, as a new and awful horror shook him to his core.
The glaring singular eye behind the orange and black mask, the fierce armor and the small vents for oxygen upon the helmet, this revealed that the Teen Titan's worst enemy was with the shapeshifter now.

"Terra ... TERRA!" Beast Boy pleaded once more, but he received no reply.

Slade leaned forwards a bit, where his image upon the glass almost made him appear like he was boasting. Beast Boy on the other hand, had altered his mood from one of pure shock and fear, to an infuriating ire, as the expression on his face curled into a frown.

"The girl you knew, was merely an illusion. A fantasy." Slade pestered the Titan, as his calculated words carried a slight, and unnerving deadpan. "In reality ... she's been working for me." He gently nodded his head after speaking this, to prove his point further.

"THAT'S A LIE!" Beast Boy bickered back, throwing his arms out in frustration, and clenching his hands into fists. He was still searching for the criminal mastermind, and for the geomancer, but he only saw the menacing image of the most hated enemy.

Without waiting for any more poisonous words, that would only fester in his proud spirit, Beast Boy raced forwards and unleashed his total fury against the mirror directly in front of him. It shattered, and formed a web-like pattern across it's surface.

"I found her." Slade continued, where Beast Boy elbowed another mirror.

"I trained her to control her impressive powers."

Beast Boy smashed another.

"And then I sent her destroy your little team." The villain continued, while the changeling broke one more with a forceful kick.

"From the inside ... out." His single eye narrowed, giving off bone chilling shiver to the hero.

Beast Boy kicked another, and the final mirror remained behind him, where he turned and glared at it, puffing for oxygen as the heated anger only boiled his thoughts, with a dangerous notion, of going over the line that he had vowed to uphold, and possibly kill the madman, to end the struggle, that both he and Robin had endured at long last.

"NO!" Beast Boy gradually backed away, his arms were up in defense to thwart any assault that may, or may not befall him. "Terra would never ..."

"Tonight, her orders were to strike."

Slade's impressive figure just stood there, still mocking, still toying with the very young teenage superhero. As he listened to the heavy breathing of his foe, Slade took this moment to press in a little deeper, to make the wound sting further. At some point, it was evident, that the criminal mastermind was enjoying this, like it was a game.

"But I guess she took pity on you. Perhaps she wanted to keep you ... as a pet." Slade's left eye again narrowed, and like his sharp wordplay, it had its own vibe of fear when looked at directly. "However, despite this minor error in judgment, she was kind enough to deactivate the security ... at Titan's Tower. You're friends are being annihilated ... as we speak."

Beast Boy switched his crestfallen frown, as he flashed his teeth at the monster.

"LIAR!" The green skinned Titan roared.

"Beast Boy ..." A much quieter, and feminine voice spoke up, forcing Beast Boy to turn and to look directly behind him once more. "It's the truth."

His anger faded rapidly, as the geomancer was in the room, standing in front of the evil criminal.

"Terra ... why?" Beast Boy rasped, he struggled against what he saw, he did not want to believe it, but the truth cut through him in waves.

"Because you could never give her, what she needs." Slade answered in her place, and she turned her head slowly away, in dishonor. Her long blond hair swayed by her shoulder, while the deadly villain crossed his arms, over his chest.

Just like he had done before, acting on impulse and raw emotions still running hot in his veins, Beast Boy charged while shouting at the mastermind, racing behind the girl he had fallen for, morphing into a siberian tiger, and he jumped high with his claws drawn out, but he missed the target, and Slade moved to the hero's left.

Growling, the fierce green colored cat arched it's back, he flipped his tail and snarled. Slade was not frightened in the least, he walked forwards, he brought forth a concealed blaster, and he shot the animal, causing the shapeshifter to turn back into his human self, as he collapsed to the floor.

Terra gasped from the corner, as she observed the fight unravel between her best friend, and her dark secret master pulling the strings. There he stood, aiming his home-made blaster at point blank range, mere inches from Beast Boy's head, and the changeling could only groan in defeat, as the shot was a direct hit to his chest. It stunned him, where the next would be a fatal blow if unleashed at this distance.

The earth mover had stayed quiet for long enough, clenching her fists, she glared at her master and shouted; "No! I won't let you hurt my friend."
Slade glanced over his shoulder, forgetting about his prize on the floor. He was not at all pleased with this outburst, he needed to scold her, to teach her a lesson, and by erasing this thorn, she would grow stronger because of it.

"Dear child, you don't have any friends."

It was during this pause, that Beast Boy regained his conscience and rose up from the ground. He shape-shifted into another form, this time as a North American Grizzly Bear, where the shadow of this wild and terrible beast covered Slade, where his eye turned to bewilderment. The blast set to stun was powerful, he understood then that it would buy him a few minutes, but he had regretfully miscalculated, the changeling's healing capabilities.

The great bear roared a powerful echo, and he slashed his right arm downwards, knocking the blaster out of his opponent's grasp, where the green furry goliath bent his entire weight against Slade.

Terra looked on, her heart was telling her to aid her best friend, but she feared what it could lead to, for reprisals from Slade were never a good thing. Alas, with no other alternatives seeming hopeful, she bolted for the exit, but she became turned around and went down another long corridor, ending up in yet another room filled with many more mirrors.

As the reflections from each one told the same exact story, that Terra was fearful beyond words, and the dread from her stomach clung to her facial expression, over the trickery she was but a pawn in. None of this eased her out of the understanding, that she had broken the trust of her closest friend, and her newfound family. There could be no going back. She could no longer recognize the girl in the mirrors, she looked and looked, but she had no answers.

She collapsed in the middle of the room, and she began to weep.

"Beast Boy ... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I never meant for any of this to happen."

The footsteps of another in the room caught her off-guard, and she slowly looked up to find the changeling, staring at her.

"Then why did you let it?" Beast Boy's voice bounced across the room, where she stood up to face him.

"I don't know okay ... I don't know." She clenched her forehead with her right arm, and then she held it out, to try and bring reasoning to him. "Slade ... he helped me save me from myself. He said I owed him, but ..."

"So, it was all a game?" Beast Boy spoke up, where his expression of compassion and sorrow, it suddenly switched back into a glaring look of disapproval. "You were just pretending?"

"No." She stepped forwards. "You said you'd be my friend, no matter what. Remember?"

"Slade was right." Beast Boy turned to give her the cold shoulder. "You don't have any friends."

"Apprentice." Slade's deadpan reeled her backwards, she still could not believe her ears. "Come, we've had a change of plans."

While the pair vanished into the darkness, Beast Boy remained in the center of the room. His heart had been broken that night, he had lost a friend, but it was in such a disloyal and crushing way, that only the silence about the hall of mirrors, seemed to adequately articulate his grief.

-End Of Flashback-

---

Beast Boy places his hand against his forehead, trying to get the overly painful memory out of his system, but the harder he fought to forget, the more it grew on him. He clutched his left fist in anger, and then he bangs it violently against the wall which gives out a loud; "THUD!"

"Why did I say that? Why did I let myself believe, that she wasn't my friend? It's my entire fault … it's all my fault for her leaving us. It's all my fault for her turning to Slade ... it's all on me."

Tears begin to form under his eyes, this memory compared to others with Terra, of fighting against Slade hit him the deepest; where his own words echoed over and over, like a choir of never ending sorrow.

"No… Slade's right, you don't have any friends."

A tear drops from his right eye, as these words echo in his mind. He hated himself deeply for saying this, and worse yet, there was no way of going back to change anything. How could he move on? How was he supposed to keep such an upbeat outlook on life, if he just kept on failing?

He felt as though, he had failed to save his parents from their grim fate. He felt that he had failed the Doom Patrol, and he had failed to rescue the girl he had loved.

"Beast Boy?"

The changeling looked up, to see a familiar shadow arching over his body, it was Raven and she spoke in such a sweet and soft monotone, that he forced himself to grin.

"Yeah. I … I'm fine." He sniffles for a moment, and whisked away the tear quickly, while the Empath stood in front of him, concerned for her teammate.

"Beast Boy ... I've been thinking over what we spoke of last night, and I think I have some answers. But I'm not too sure, if they will make sense to you."

"Oh." He replied after standing back up. "Then why even tell me, at least until you can put some of the pieces together."

Raven placed a hand onto his shoulder. "I just feel, that you should know."

Beast Boy looked up to see her face, not covered by the long dark blue hood, as her luscious violet hair, hung halfway down to her shoulders. He could see her eyes, those deep and dreamy violet eyes of never ending beauty, where he could get lost in a state of bliss.

"Yeah … okay." He said cooly, pulling away from the wall.

The two walked down the hall side by side, both of their shadows mirroring off from each-other from the light, and as Raven looked to Beast Boy, she could tell that he was still hurt over Terra, but she was unsure, if there was something more that upset him.

"I know it's been a while since we last spoke of Terra, but … I feel we should try to clear the air on the subject."

Beast Boy stopped in his tracks, she was digging deeply into his heart, where he was afraid of what she would uncover.

"I don't know Raven."

"It's alright to feel uneasy. But we have to talk about this. She's still on your mind, and the only way to get over her, is if we talk about her."

The changeling looked back up, and he quickly becomes mesmerized by her pale beauty. At first he never really looked at Raven in such a way, but as he panned her from the legs up, he felt a sudden feeling of awkwardness, and at the same time, an emotion he had only felt when he was this close to the geomancer.

After nodding his head, as a simple sign of understanding; the two continue down the hall, towards Beast Boy's room where just on the outside of the door, they stop.

Once the door slides open, Raven pans her eyes across the wide room, and she sees the usual pigsty mess that her teammate normally lives under.

His closet was not closed and on the floor, a mess of his dirty clothing was thrashed about. There were boxers on top of misplaced socks, colorful shirts mixed in with clean dress pants. There was no organization to it, while the wall did contain a few decent and "cleaner" looking uniforms, hung on coat-hangers.

By his wooden desk, rested a small lamp that he quickly turned on, while walking by his lower bunk-bed to sit down. To the far side of his closet, a long mirror in front of a wall, with bulletins of fancy racing cars and gamer clippings hangs up behind it. The papers were wrinkled and creased unevenly, and to the far corner of his bed, the wide window contained no drapes, to allow the sunlight to enter freely.

Raven sat next to him, after noticing the time was 3:21 pm, from the alarm clock to a nightstand closest to the dresser. A calming lull beguiles the pair, as they sit on his bed.

"Beast Boy." Raven starts the conversation. "How long has it been?"

The fifteen-year-old prankster shot back a puzzled look. "Since what?"

Raven did not face him yet, she stared away looking at anything but her teammate.

"How long has it been, since you last remember seeing Terra?"

Beast Boy shrugged his shoulders, his fingers gripped the edges of the mattress. He had to constantly remind himself that this is something he wanted, that this was a good thing.

"Well, after we left for Tokyo ... I want to say close to a week or so before we left." The green shapeshifter lightly sighed. "When you and the others were chasing after that ... thing, that kept on bonding with whatever it touched."

"Go on."

"Well, I met her at her school that day."

"And you still feel confused?" Raven asked.

"I guess. I mean, she told me that things change Raven … that she just wanted to forget about her past and move on in life." He takes another short breath, and he speaks a little softer, as his eyes were revealing much tiredness. "Like we as a couple, never happened."

"I think she felt guilty about the whole incident, of her betrayal. Somebody with so much anguish can only look to the future, dwelling on past events only allows the pain to linger."

The changeling kept his focus onto the carpet, and Raven moved her attention to him now.

"But I failed her Raven. I ... I wasn't strong enough to save her, I failed to realize how much of a friend she truly was. Instead, I told her that she didn't have any friends, and it has been haunting me ever since."

Beast Boy stood up, and he walked to the window to study the mighty city view from his bedroom. Raven had never before found him so shaken up, not since Terra was encased from her very powers during the heated battle against Slade.

"Beast Boy. You did not fail." Raven stood up. "Terra left you, she left the team on her own accord, she betrayed us all and joined Slade. You had nothing to do with any of it.

"BUT I DO!" Beast Boy shouted back, where he felt her gentle presence very close to him now, and he blinked. "It hurts Rae ... It was me who pushed her away when we first met. She blamed me, and then my own stupidness, my own blindness of not seeing past Slade's words finally did it."

"You think that you played into Slade's game, and there was no way out." Raven put the pieces together.

He turned around finally, as a single tear traveled down his cheek. As she embraced him in a hug, it caught him by astonishment, that the dark bird would even consider giving out a hug. As he stood there, he raised his hands and did the same, where she leaned in and whispered in his ear; "Don't ever think like that. You did nothing wrong, it was entirely Slade's doing."

Once the two parted from their tender hug, Beast Boy nods in compliance, and he clears away the tear marks.

"Uh Raven." Beast Boy asked, with the sunlight across his backside.

"Yes?"

"What exactly happened ... in here." He pointed to his noggin, and she revealed a smirk.

"Do you wish for me to continue, like we did last time?"

The pointy eared shapeshifter pondered over this for a while. After tapping his chin, he finally made up his mind.

"I guess ... I-I mean, only if you want to really."

"I do." answered the Empath.

Beast Boy becomes very relaxed in his slumped figure by the edge of the bed, where he slowly feels himself gently falling backwards as the world grows darker. Raven's powers are gently placing him down across the covers, and for someone who considers herself part evil, she did not at all seem that way to him.

"Now just try and relax again … clear your mind, and allow me to focus on what's going on." Raven says as she crosses her legs in her lotus position.

As she starts to recite her mantra, Beast Boy opens his eyes and speaks, trying to clear his thoughts. It was almost as though he was afraid, like he felt himself as a patient on the operating table in a hospital, before the patent is given anesthesia and sleeping gas.

"Hey Raven?"

Raven looks down at him and gives another smile to calm him, but he is not at all moved by this, where he simply shows a frown; causing her to slightly grow uncomfortable as well.

"What's the issue now?"

"Just ... whatever you find again; that-that test thingy you were talking about before ... what does it all mean?"

"That's what we're going to find out." The enchantress stroked his hair. "Now, relax and feel like you did the other night. Remember what you thought on, be at peace."

Squeezing the blankets, Beast Boy tried to recollect the very state he was in. His heart-rate began to beat faster, he could hear the thumping within his eardrums, as he rested his skull against the pillows.

While grabbing his arm, the tensing of his muscles loosened due to her touch. Raven takes a deep and soothing breath, as he appears to be sleeping.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos ... Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos ..."

---

Raven gradually opened her eyes, as the changeling's privet quarters whisked away from her. The smell of wet grass, and the sound of a growing storm roared overhead, it gave the impression that she was no longer in Titan's Tower, but someplace far different and unknown.

She looked around, and the very surroundings from the last time Beast Boy and her shared a mind-link, was before her. The verdant knoll and grassy hillside was some-what obscured by a thick mist, while the moon and starlight that was so visible from her first trip, it was now concealed by rain clouds.

The sorceress waited near a single oak tree, as the cool breeze toyed with her cloak. Even the blades of grass have tiny droplets of water, clinging on.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Raven asked herself. "You must be around here, you have to be."

There was no answer, nothing but a soft whisper of the hillside.

"I know you are here ... don't waste my time and just show yourself!" Raven looked in every possible direction, but still there was no answer. "Please, I gave him my word, that I would help him with this."

"And would you?" Asked a strange and raspy tone.

"Would I what?"

The strange voice grew closer, as the thick fog rose about her feet.

"You are a stubborn girl, but he is just as stubborn. There may be hope for him yet."

Raven twirled around, where he appeared like he had revealed himself from before. The green cloaked wanderer, the guid within the changeling's restless mind came forwards at last.

"Hope?" Raven asked, as she tried to locate a face but could not. His sharp hood was still blocking the view, there was only blackness beneath the opening.

"It would seem, that he has lost the way ... but you must show it to him. It is his salvation, his only chance to regain something ... deep within that he has lost."
The Empath kept her questions short, she remembered how little time she had when they first crossed paths, and things might be cut just as brief. These mind-melding exercises were always sporadic, and very unpredictable.

"Beast Boy is still bitter about Terra. I ... I need to know why?"

The mysterious chaperone to the shapeshifter's mind, walked away from her. With his back facing the seventeen-year-old heroine, he clasped his hands beneath his robes.

"There is more to it than that. For you see, Terra was not the only wound that has cut so deep, but it has compounded into a terrible, uncontrollable issue that remains." He knelt down, and by the pond the guide placed a finger through the water, causing ripples to spread. "He chooses not to break free from this torment, because ... he does not wish to."

Raven walked near. "Why?"

"Do you not hear yourself?" Asked the chaperone. "It is so simple, for similar to what has become of him inside here, he is in just as much agony on the outside. He blames himself, but that is not why you have come, is it?"

A colliding crash of booming thunder, shattered about the heavens above these two. A few droplets of rain water began to fall, and splatter across their clothing.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Raven fired back. "I told him that it wasn't his fault, that Terra left on her own terms!"

The cloaked emotion simply shakes his head from side to side; the hood swayed for a moment as the breeze picked up again.

"Do you not see his mind? How sad he is still ... he cannot overcome her, it is a pit that has only grown so deep, a hole for which he cannot fill with joy any longer."

Raven's eyes widened after hearing this. She just wanted to help, to heal him and to bring him closer to her, yet there seemed to be even more pain within his memories, things he had not told her, or anyone else for that matter. She thought of what it could all mean.

The green cloaked emotion gives a short laugh during the lingering pause, and it startles Raven. "How can you still not see?"

"Excuse me?" Raven was quick to respond, becoming angry at the emotion where she feels he stepped out of place.

"Do not ponder the feeling I have cast over you as a bad thing. I just want to help him, as you yourself do, but to heal the changeling's broken heart, is to try and heal a wound long overdue. I fear that it may be beyond repair, for even your talents and prowess, dark sorceress."

"Nothing is beyond repair! If he wishes to be healed, then I will heal him!"

The two stand apart from each other, as though they have grown to dislike the other half as a small amount of rain descends from the clouds.

"Can you not feel his anguish? This rain inside of his mind, this rain is a thousand tears he has wished to shed ... but never has."

"What is he still hiding deep within himself, that he is so hurt to tell me?"

The strange man walked back in front of her, while placing his hand upon her shoulder, to comfort the heroine.

"I can see you are taking the test seriously. Now you wish to grow closer to him, closer than before, yes?" His voice sounded like the actual Beast Boy's, it has the same pitch and Raven thinks that it was in fact him, standing before her, but she cannot be sure.

"Of course, but he still hasn't told me what else has been bothering him."

The rain begins to grow a little harder in Beast Boys mind, and everything around them begins getting drenched in water, but the pair remain just beneath the tree, protecting them.

"There is too much for any one person to bear alone, yet he has done this for years."

"Please." Raven begged him. "If there is something I can do, anything ..."

The guide's head moved in the opposite direction, he was looking to the sky, and this caused Raven to do the same.

"You do care for him, don't you?" He asked.

"Yes."

"You wish to understand more about this test, that you have agreed to take; to reciprocate the same things with him."

The Empath stepped rearwards. "I remember you telling me before, that I must decide my own path on this, and so must Beast Boy."

"While your intentions to him on the outside are known, I am afraid sorceress, that I think differently on the subject." He moved his hooded guise to look at her. "I am more than just a shepherd, more than just a chaperone to his own thoughts, I am him, and he is me."

Her eyes trembled slightly.

"Enough with these cryptic words!" Raven shouted. "I just want to help him, that's all."

The cloaked figure chuckled, it was a very similar giggle that the actual changeling would give, and it rattled her spirit. While these two talked, the rain continued to fall heavily downwards, and the thunder only boomed a great deal more violently, in the background.

"Are you sure that you want this?" the emotion asked coldly.

Raven tilted her head. "I've not come this far, only to turn back."

"Your spirit is truly incorrigible, very well. In order to do this, you must see what I do."

She walked closer.

"See what?" Raven asked; her questions were so directive and cunning, but every answer she received only brought twice the mystery, and one less solution to the previous question.

The emotion within his mind, grabs her shoulder gently. His long sleeve draped over her wrist, and he looks into her eyes from behind the hood. In a matter of seconds, the hillside they were standing becomes black, and she gasps as everything disappeared before her.

---

Was it all a trick? Had she been kicked out of the shapeshifter's mind? As these burning questions rolled over her, she suddenly deduced the answer, as the light about her became brighter, and she noticed that she was now standing upon a cliff, overlooking a river.

The chaperone pulls his hand back, and she stares at him for a long while. She found it rather difficult to understand his words, but he appeared to be a simple ferryman to their host's deeper conscience. He points down the river, and Raven follows his lead.

"You want me to see something ... but, what?"

He says nothing, and she walks closer to the edge of the cliff, and after turning to face him, she moves her complete attention to the river.

The mighty stream has a truly fast and wicked current, ripples and little eddies are seen, as a powerful mist rises just in the distance. It is the precipice of a huge waterfall, and the rush of the water beckons a simple understanding, that to fall over this, would mean certain doom.

Raven's hair was swishing heavily from the updraft of the foaming waterfall, where the water crashed into a pile of jagged rocks, and a wide pool at the very bottom.

"MOM!" A green skinny boy with pointy ears, wearing black shorts and standing up in the boat cries out, as he points in the direction that he and his companions, were quickly approaching.

Raven notices the boy and mother hug; the raft has the changeling inside with two other passengers, as they brace the water's rough rapids, and sharp rocks that protrude near the edges of shoreline.

"Garfield … get to the shore! There is too much weight and you have a chance to make it!"

Raven can hear the commotion in the small craft, and she simply watches and listens from the distance; as they shout over the loud force of Mother Nature.

"I won't leave you!" the child cried back, and the boat rattles into a big rock, where inside the trio go flying backwards.

"Do this Garfield ... for me." The kind woman says as she strokes his face with her palm.

"I ... I don't want to leave you guys. Please, there has to be another way." Garfield answered back, and the boat is dislodged from a big rock. It continues down the nasty path, getting ever closer to the ledge.

"There is no time! You have to get across Garfield! GO!" The older man shouted back, and Raven can feel new tears welling up in her eyes.

The eleven-year-old embraces both of his parents in another tight hug, then, he morphs into a hawk and fly's to the very bluff that Raven was standing on. This was only a memory, as Raven closed her eyes for a moment, to comprehend that there was nothing that could be done, and this story, was one that she needed to understand.

No matter how gut-wrenching it may be to witness, she told herself over and over; I need to see this. I have to ... in order to help Beast Boy.

Upon opening her captivating eyes, she looks from the very young team comedian at the time, back to the married couple in the boat.

While Beast Boy's parents in the small wooden raft battle the fierce current, they then turn to one another, and while in their arms, they brace themselves for their dire fate. The battered ship reaches the end of its journey, where soon the craft and it's two remaining passengers screaming are all but cancelled out, by the immense potency, of the waterfall.

"M-m-mom. D-Dad!" The young boy stutters. "NOOOOOOOO!"

He then shape shift's into a Peregrin Falcon and swoops down, to the pool at the very bottom, Raven cannot help but fly down after him, where she finally catches up and sees that he is back in his human form. His legs slightly buckle from the horror of what he has witnessed, there were no bodies to be found, as the only thing to resurface were the bits of wood and metal, to the hull of the boat, and nothing more.

Raven opens her lips, she was prepared to say something then, but no words can make it out. She shuddered as the boy in front of her begins to weep; he had broken down and lost everything.

"Come now." The eerie voice from the guide, forces the Empath back to her senses. "There is more that must be shown."

"More?" Raven questioned, and she took a moment to regain her thoughts. "Beast Boy never told me ... or anyone of this."

The chaperone turned, and waited.

"You have seen the memory. If it had been you in his place, would you be so open and willing to reveal so much heartache?"

Raven bit her lip, as she turned her focus from the top of the waterfall, and back to the bottom, she exhaled a small amount of air within her lungs.

"No. I don't think I could."

He placed his hand out, awaiting her to grab his robe again. As she studied the environment around her, carefully taking in as much that she could, she held onto the guide's arm and the memory she was in, it quickly dissipated into nothingness. It was as though someone had switched off the remaining light source in a dark room, causing a total blackness to consume all of your senses.

In a few seconds, a new light glows and expands below her feet. Raven felt like she was falling, through the clouds and the heavens, as the new memory sprung up all around her. She only clutched onto the silent chaperone's wrist even tighter, for fear that she would drop into a void, and never find her way back.

---

"Where ... where are we now?" The gray Empath inquired.

The manifestation of Beast Boy's conscience, remains vigilant and quiet. He was so stern and revealed no emotion, but a simple and plain tone. As he walked forwards, Raven decided to tag along, and both of them study their new surroundings.

Deep within a dimly lit cavern, the walls reveal to have been carved by drilling machines. A moist texture clings to the air, as the temperature drops the deeper they go. As they near a strange opening at the base of the tunnel, voices can be heard, slowly echoing back to the entrance.

It is in this new room, that a group of heroes are found standing together, as broken robots and their electrical components are scattered about, the dusty floor. Computer screens are crushed inwards, as wooden crates are cracked open, the pieces of smoldering rubble, glass, and other various debris are all around them, while the smell of a recent battle, clings to her nose.

Raven looks back to the group and counts five people; there was Mento, Elasti-Girl, Negative Man, and Robotman. There, in the center of the heroes, a boy is found. He is wearing a mask to hide his identity, and he was wearing the purple and black uniform. It was Beast Boy, only here he was a little taller, and he was also older by a few years since the incident at the waterfall.

It was apparent, that training and honing into his animal morphing abilities, it had only made him stronger. His physique was a little more well toned, and his muscles were also bigger.

"I'm sorry Beast Boy. You have no place on the Doom Patrol any longer." Mento spoke up. "You fail to comprehend the dangers of the world, and instead ... you risk everything for your family and not the mission!"

"But ... but I saved you guys!" The changeling responded, there was a hint of desperation clinging to his raspy voice. "I couldn't see myself in a world without you."

"The Brain has escaped once again, and you refuse to make sacrifices for the greater good!" Mento said back harshly, and these words cause the teenage boy, to nearly cry.

"I made my choice." said Beast Boy. "It was the right one!"

"You allowed us, to fail the mission!" Mento shouted back. "You should have gone for the obvious target, there was no need to waste your time on us."

"I ... I'm sorry, alright." Beast Boy said above a whisper.

The leader of the Doom Patrol shakes his head in disapproval, and Raven finds it difficult to watch this memory play before her, but she was determined. She had to understand parts of his past, things that he never told her about, in order to help him.

Mento walks around the room for a short while, and then, with his back turned, he continues; "I wish it could be that simple. I really do, but you see why this is not working. The only choice left, I think, would be for you to go."

The remaining heroes stand in disbelief, while Beast Boy's jaw became slacked.

"What!" The shapeshifter belts out. "You ... you want me to leave?"

Raven, still in the corner alongside the chaperone to the changeling's mind, she revealed a deadpan expression. How could they do this to him? This was a harsh and uncompromising solution to the problem, and while the Empath had only walked in, on a part of this sad memory, she could see a bigger picture.

Mento looked down again, and as he gave a short sigh, Beast Boy turns his attention towards the rest of his companions. They all remain silent, and a wave of sorrow befalls onto Raven's heart.

"You can't be serious!" shouted Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy." Mento's stern voice forced the changeling, to look at the very man who adopted him. "There is no other solution to this. Look, take a few years to try and think about this, you can learn a thing or two, of what it means to be a team player."

"But, I am one!" Beast Boy turned to the slender woman of the group. "Rita, please ... don't do this."

"I'm sorry Gar." She replied, her tone was a deplorable one.

"Rita ... " the changeling rasped.

"You know that I only want the best for you." She knelt down and placed a hand onto his shoulder. "You must understand, this gives you a fresh start."

After she hugged him, he looked to the floor, while Robotman and Negative Man remained silent.

Beast Boy blinked; "I already had a fresh start ... with you guys."

Mento walked back into the conversation.

"We have waited around long enough. First, we're going home, then we'll discuss this matter."

The team began to part from the trashed hidden base, and as the four adults walked down another corridor that led to a side exit, Beast Boy remained standing with his shadow as his only companion.

"What home?" Beast Boy whispered to himself, and then he hurries out of the room, to catch up with the others.

The light grows dark, and Raven feels the hand of her guide upon her left shoulder. This memory was fading away, and she closed her eyes as she prepared herself for whatever was to come next.

---

With her eyes shut, she can feel the warmth of the bright sun against her face, from the gloomy and dark cavern that she had just come from. A clock upon the wall can be heard ticking away, and the distant voices of lectures, from classrooms reaches her ears.

After reopening her eyes, she finds herself in a school building, and she locates Beast Boy just down the hallway. He now appeared like his normal self, there was no mask, and his age was back to its present fifteen-years. This was a recent moment of time, and Raven tried to put this puzzle together, as she located Beast Boy jumping up following his communicator going off.

He was sitting in a library room, with a blond haired girl, with blue eyes and she along with the rest of the student body, were donning their school uniforms.

"Terra?" Raven spoke up, as she gasped from near disbelief at the girl she noticed.

"Go outside!" Terra deadpanned, where the changeling glared back with a burning anger in his normally charming eyes.

"So you're talking to me now?"

A very loud "SHhhhhh!" Carried over from the other students, as these two bickered at the table, in the middle of the library.

"You're going to get me into trouble. Go outside!" Terra rasped.

"Not unless you come with me." Beast Boy said back while standing up.

His annoyance had finally gotten the better of her, where she followed him out the door, and into the spacious hall, of the Murikami High School. The pair remained standing, and Raven walked over herself, to hear more of there discussion.

"Okay, you've got two minuets." Terra started up, as her blond hair was brushed away.

"Maybe you don't remember ... but I do." Beast Boy reaches out to grab her arm, while Raven feels a tight knot in her stomach. "You're my friend ... a Teen Titan!"

Terra pulls away, and she looks up from the tiled floor to his eyes, while hers tremble.

"You're wrong!"

"You don't belong here Terra."

She brushes her hair out of her face again; "STOP calling me THAT!"

"It's who you are."

"What do you want from me?" She asked, where their shadows almost molded into one.

"Why can't things just go back to the way they were." Beast Boy's voice cracked a little. "You were so happy then."

The geomancer turns away, as a sudden lull befalls them.

"Things were never the way you remember. Not just leave me alone." The previous sixth Titan replied.

Beast Boy reached for his belt, and he pulled out his personal com-link to the others. As he handed the device forwards, she remained where she was, with her arms interlocked and holding onto her books.

"Here ... take this. In case you're in trouble. In case you need me. You can call me anytime."

"I don't need it." was her answer, where she looks back into his eyes and begins to back away from him, gradually. "Time's up." She then turns completely and shows her backside to him.

"Terra?"

After hearing her name, she stopped one final time.

"Things change Beast Boy." She then looked at him; "The girl you want me to be is just a memory."

The circular device gives out loud static, as the image of Robin is on the screen, while in the background his comrades are battling a fierce monster.
*Come in Beast Boy ... we need your help!*

The changeling turns his attention from the open flap, back to the girl he cared so deeply for. He was willing to try, one final time to have her join him.

"Come with me." The shapeshifter said.

Terra nodded her head in disapproval of the idea.

"You go." The geomancer replied. "You're the Teen Titan, it's who you are. That's not me ... I'm not a hero, I'm not out to save the world. I'm just a girl with a geometry test next period, and I haven't studied."

She began to walk backwards, as the shadows away from the corners, slowly became stronger over her figure. Then, the bell rings, and the loud voices coming from other students and a few teachers leaving for their next classes, quickly filled the halls. While she fades into the crowd, Beast Boy remains standing in place, dumbstruck by her final answer. In a sad voice, he reopens the communicator and sends a message to his comrades.

"Beast Boy to Robin ... I'm on my way. Over." He then closes the device and bolts for the exit, while the light from the outside enshrouds him.

Raven was enraged by what Terra had done, he had been so nice and comforting to the geomancer, and he opened his heart to her where again, she crushed it.

"Oh Beast Boy ... I ... I never knew." Raven deadpanned. "For everything that I have done to hurt him ..." She squeezed her fists. "I am sorry."
The same as before, the green cloaked figure walks up from behind her, she takes hold of his robe and watches in bewilderment, as the light that Beast Boy ran into, slowly seeps over everything.

---

"Do not pity him because of these moments of time." The guide spoke.

"Look, I don't know what more I can do here. What am I supposed to tell him?" Raven then crossed her arms, as they remained in the solid white void. "That you, a piece of his conscience self, showed me things that molded him, that changed him?"

"You want to confront the Beast."

"Now we come to it." Raven expressed a disgruntled frown.

"Remember dark sorceress ... these were but glimpses, while they also happen to give the creature its potency, it's strength."

"So, what your saying is, that if I can help him through these terrible events that have happened ... if I can help him become stronger, then he won't have to rely on the Beast?"

The chaperone nodded; "Should you fail however, then there is no telling what will become of Garfield."

The Empath raised an eyebrow. "Wait ... what are you saying?"

"There is much that he holds onto, and in order for him to be lifted from this torment, you must journey onwards."

"Alone, you mean?"

Once again, the mysterious guide nodded.

"Great. I can also assume that after whatever this thing I see for myself is ... that I will be brought back to the real world."

"Yes."

Raven stepped closer; "You know something, I think I've come to enjoy your company."

As she smiled, the chaperone waved his arm, and the empty white void was gone.

Opening her eyes again, she watched as images zoomed by, all around the white void, like long screens with other memories; only there were many good and happy ones as well. The more she scanned across the openness, she began to see a startling pattern.
She saw herself, in many of them, of her and Beast Boy walking together, of her reading a book and being heavily irritated, from all of the ruckus that Cyborg and the changeling were making on the sofa, as they played their video games. There were moments of the team eating pizza together, at their favorite hangout area, and of the group laughing wile training in the obstacle course.

In almost every moment, she took notice that Beast Boy would grin, whenever Raven was near him. It did not matter what was going on, even if she saw herself scolding him, he would still smile.

Quicker and quicker the images rolled on, moving upwards from the floor and dissipating into the endless heavens above her head, and seconds before Raven could feel that her journey was about to come to an end, one memory caught her attention.

"You may think that you're alone Raven ... but you're not."

As she watches her bedroom door open, she sees herself stepping out, and hugging the changeling.

---

Raven is jolted up, as the trance is cut out like the electricity to a home turning off, due to a power outage from a thunder storm. The blue cloaked enchantress looks about her surroundings, to get a better hold on the situation.

She was back, sitting on Beast Boy's bed in his room.

"Raven ..." The changeling utters in a groggy tone.

She grins at him; "It's alright, you can open your eyes now."

Upon blinking his eyes, he stretches his arms and yawns. The odd pair sit upright, and as Raven looks to the clock, where she realizes that time had slowed down as she proceeded with her mantra.

"Ugh ... how long was I out for?" Beast Boy rubbed his spiked hair.

"It would seem, that only five minuets have passed."

"WHAT!"

Raven stood up, and stretched her back.

"Well, it felt a lot longer when I was in there." She pointed to his noggin. "But, like most dreams even, when we sleep, our minds carry over and we lose track of time in the real world."

"I guess that makes sense." He blinked; "So, were you able to find anything helpful?"

Raven paused to resonate a sound answer, so much had happened so quickly, that trying to piece things together after the second trip was a bit hard. Still, she found some reasoning and decided to offer him hope.

"Beast Boy ... I know that you want answers right away, and I promised that I would get them for you."

"So?"

"There are things I figured out. One of the reasons that causes the werewolf Beast inside of you, to grow so strong and capable, is primarily because of all of the lingering pain you hold onto."

The changeling stood up; "I guess that makes sense too. So, you must have learned more of what the test was all about, right?"

The sorceress placed her left hand over her chin, before speaking.

"I saw that guide again, and I guess that issue, the test he told me about, well, it's still being tossed around. I really don't know what to make of it, but, I think I can come up with a sound answer. But I need to meditate on it."

Beast Boy leaned back a little, he was pleased that Raven was trying to ease his troubled thoughts.

While Raven walked to the exit, she had a gnawing feeling, that she should spill the beans about knowing of his past. However, bringing up those wounds could only hurt him. At least she knew what was causing his agony, she just had to figure out a good way, to help move him forwards.

"You worry too much on this stuff." She spoke, with her head partially turned over her shoulder. "That's my job, okay?"
He grinned a warm smile towards her, where she then turned and walked out the door.

"Just hang on Beast Boy." Raven said as she waited by his door. "The answers are coming, I think I know what that test, truly is about now. I just have to find the right way to ... I just ... I need some time."

{{End Of Scene}}

---

Reviews from the previous update:

Wolvmbm: "Great update to the story as it shows the conflicted feelings between Raven, Falcon and Beast boy as Raven struggles to gain a footing on her feelings between the two men, and Beast boy feeling Jealous and scared over losing Raven to Falcon. :( I must say the conflict between the three of them just mirrors a similar incident with Terra and Beast boy and Malchior and Raven. :( Also the original Hive Five returns, a bit of a surprise given the fact that I felt that Jinx would have worked as a anti-heroine, than a villain. :(Still it was a great update and I do wish of you to keep up the good work upon such a great story like this one. ;)"

~~ I am almost at a loss for words right now. I never really thought that my story would do very well, but I guess I fooled myself? I cannot give away too much, but you did nail out a triangle/pull towards those three, and in the last chapter might I add, good detective work! As I said before, Jinx had a scheme of her own. It will come to light down the road, don't you worry. ~~

Saffire55: "For your first story ever, this is outstanding! I can't describe it, it's exciting, sitting on the edge of your seats, mysteries...ugh I don't know how to describe it, it's just so awesome! You are a genius! Hurry up with the next chapter please!"

~~ My first story that I ever wrote, I think that I was in kindergarden and it was about a boy and his dad, on a long overdue fishing-trip if I can recall? INNER DEMONS is my first telling on FanFiction however. As much as I wish that I could post faster, I'm sure that you can see, at how long the basic chapters are, that they do take me countless hours, even a month at a time to complete. I am glad that you find my telling, a pleasant enough story to read. ~~

Linzerj: "Aw, doggy! Me lovey doggies! BB: You're weird. Me: Tell me something I don't know. Selena Gomez: *singing* Tell me tell me tell me somethin' I don't know, somethin' I don't know, somethin' I don't know!Me: Okay, BB being here was weird enough, but Selena, why are YOU here? Selena: I dunno. I'm gonna go now, though. BB: Me too. Laters! Me: ...I am SO weird..."

~~ Interesting. Very interesting. ~~

scififanfreak222: "Yay! Falcon is a member of the Titans, and there was a little RaeFal and BBRae in this chap! The fight with the H.I.V.E Five was epic, really good descriptive work there I love the Titans' dog! Anyways, great work, I really enjoyed this chapter! Keep it up! xscifi :)"

~~ He wasn't an official member last chapter, but he did prove his worth; and he was willing to be more open with them. That alone lay the groundwork for a building trust, this chapter was to make it a little more concrete, that he could in fact become a potential member. The idea for the dog was rolling around in my head, for quiet some time. I'm pleased that the H.I.V.E Five brawl was to your liking. ;-) ~~

Pesky Pixiee: "okay, i said i wasn't going to review til i caught up to the end, but i would just like to say this right quick. when it comes to this story i am soooooooo paranoid :D i swear i thought the dog was going to be some weird spy dog or something, but then i read the end and i was like... phew, okay :D"

~~ That's alright, I am trying to bring in the much stronger cliff hangers. Don't worry, they are coming! *Evil chuckle* I have a plan, and the only way to describe it without going into too much detail, is to simply say this; that the Teen Titans and you the fans, are going to be in for quiet the ride! So buckle up, and stay tuned. ~~

A/N Thus concludes another massive update, and I must say, things are only getting more complex, for all of our favorite characters. Oh, and one last thing, let me say that the more you guys review, the better the chances that I shall post faster. This is not begging, but in truth it is the only real way, that I know if you dudes and dudet's like what I put out. Laters!

~~ T.M.O ~~