Love Hurts (first in Destiny series)

8) Beast Boy's Decision

Beast Boy could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He looked up at Slade. The super villain had his arms crossed over his chest, and was staring down at Beast Boy mockingly.

The Titan realized that it had probably been Slade that he had heard following them. He cursed himself for not investigating the situation. Because of his failure to act, he and Terra were at Slade's mercy, and Raven was lying on the ground in a heap.

Beast Boy shot a worried glance over at Raven. She wasn't moving. He couldn't even see if she was breathing. Another crack drew his attention to the plateau.

The rocks above her continued to crack, another major hit would send them tumbling down onto her. He realized with horror that if the rocks fell, they would crush her. He started to get up.

"Beast Boy don't leave me!" he had almost forgotten that Terra was there. Her voice was frightened. She obviously didn't want to have to deal with Slade on her own.

Beast Boy was a little surprised by the urgency in her voice. She had taken Slade down before, but he figured that it was the negative association that she held to the villain.

"What's it going to be dear boy?" Slade's single eye narrowed. "I won't wait forever."

Beast Boy helplessly looked over at Raven's motionless form. Silently, he screamed at her to get up. She didn't. She continued to lay there motionless. Beast Boy glanced up at Slade.

If a mask hadn't covered the villain's face, Beast Boy suspected that Slade would be smirking. He glanced over at Terra. The blonde was lying beside him on the ground. She looked absolutely terrified.

"Time's up," Slade hit the ground with all his might. To Beast Boy's horror, the ground cracked. The shock wave traveled to the plateau, and the rocks rumbled ominously.

Beast Boy was so horrified by this, that he again didn't notice Terra's eyes and hands glowing yellow. He jumped to his feet.

"Beast Boy don't leave me," Terra pleaded. Beast Boy didn't look at her, but he hesitated. If he went to Raven's aide, he would be leaving Terra to face Slade by herself. However, if he didn't help Raven she could be killed.

Slade hit the ground again, and the crack began to slowly advance towards the unconscious Titan. Beast Boy's eyes widened. He could see that at any moment the rocks above were going to fall down and crush her.

If that didn't kill her, then the approaching fault-line would. His thoughts were too preoccupied to consider that Slade was not strong enough to make an earthquake.

Beast Boy's heart was pounding in his head now, adrenaline pumping through his veins. The rocks were balanced precariously on the edge of the plateau.

They were within a hair width of falling down upon the unconscious form of Raven. Another ominous crack, and the rock began to fall foreword. Beast Boy leapt foreword, and ran towards Raven.

"Beast Boy, no!" Terra screamed, but he ignored her. He knew that he would barely have time to get to Raven before the torrent of rocks hit her, so he threw himself over her using his body as a shield. He didn't even have time to morph before boulders bombarded him.

He grimaced as they hit him, but he didn't move. Pain seared through his side as his belt was torn off, and he gritted his teeth. The sheer weight of the boulders was making it difficult to breath.

Beast Boy noticed that the ground beneath them beginning to open. The boulders made it impossible for him to move, so he did the only thing he could think of.

He wrapped his arms around Raven before they both plummeted into the chasm. He held her close to him, and tried to use his body as a shield.

They crashed into jutted out rocks, and Beast Boy winced as the sharp edges of the rock tore through his costume.

They crashed onto a ledge, and Raven's costume caught on a jagged piece of rock. Her leotard held for a moment, and then tore, sending them down again. Beast Boy desperately grabbed onto a piece of rock.

Raven fell out of his grasp, but he managed to grab the sleeve of her leotard. He pulled her towards him, but the fabric tore off at the shoulder, sending Raven down into the abyss.

Beast Boy propelled his body down towards her, and caught her. Their bodies stopped falling with a jerk as his sleeve was caught by a rock. The strain was too much, and the rock tore through his sleeve and glove.

He began to speculate how much of his costume would be left intact by the time they hit the ground. He began to worry that they wouldn't survive the impact, but he knew that there wasn't much that he could do about it.

Another ledge caused the two Titans to slow down, and then an impact that forced all of the air out of Beast Boy's lungs. He stared in horror up at the oncoming torrent of rocks.

He had to find Raven. He spotted her lying only a foot away from him, and only had time to throw his body on top of hers before the rocks came crashing down on them.

- Scene Break -

Terra stared down into the chasm. The dust from the impact was beginning to settle. Beast Boy was nowhere to be seen. She couldn't believe that he had chosen Raven over her.

She could have stopped everything, but then he would have known that it was her. Terra didn't really care what any of the other Titans thought of her, she only cared about Beast Boy.

"Well I did try to warn you dear child," Slade seemed to have read her mind. Terra blinked back angry tears.

"Well it seems sort of silly that the rest of the team remains intact," Terra heard herself say. She was surprised at how calm her voice was. "If Beast Boy is gone, then I have no use for the rest of the Teen Titans."

Slade chuckled, "Old habits die hard don't they my dear?"

Terra turned to him, "Yes Master, they do." Her blonde hair fell in front of her face. "Let's get rid of them once and for all."

"Very good my apprentice," Slade patted Terra on the shoulder. "Disable the security systems and my Slade-bots will help you destroy what's left of the Titans."

Terra smirked happily, "Yes Master." Then she turned and walked towards Titan Tower.

- Scene Break -

The chasm was pitch-black. There was absolutely no movement. Then the pile of rocks began to rumble. They were thrown aside as Beast Boy emerged from the pile in the form of a gorilla.

He was cradling Raven in one of his massive arms. Beast Boy accidentally stepped on her cloak, and it tore off. Gently he laid her down on the ground, and morphed back into himself.

He kneeled down beside her and placed one of his large green ears on her chest. To his relief, her heart was beating, and she was breathing.

It took a second for Beast Boy to realize that his ear was against bare skin. He pulled away quickly. Raven's leotard was torn exposing her arms, upper chest, and midriff. Beast Boy felt his cheeks grow hot.

He then noticed the state of his own clothing. He had managed to lose both his shoes, and his other glove. His sleeves, pants, and neck of his costume were also badly torn. He glanced over at Raven again.

She looked very pale. He knew that he had to get her back to Titan Tower as soon as possible. Beast Boy morphed back into a gorilla, gently scooped Raven into one of his massive arms, and began to make his way up the chasm walls.