Devil in My Mind

Mystic Medicine

As a german shepherd, Beast Boy sits in front of Raven's bedroom door and stares.

"It's past midnight, but I can't sleep. I'm too worried about Raven. She must be exhausted. Using all of her magic to keep someone else alive, it's gotta be hard on her. I don't wanna bother her but she needs me by her side, I can feel it."

The door slides open.

"You can come in, Beast Boy."

He immediately transforms into his human self and enters, finding her cross-legged on the floor, vials of colorful, textured ingredients all around her, a mortar and pestle in her hand.

"Hey, thanks, Raven. Are you, how are you doing? Er, what are you making? Can I help?"

"I'm making something I can give to Dante, medicine."

He sits across from her

"So that's what all this stuff is, huh. How you gonna give him medicine if he's not here?"

She pours the crushed mixture into a clay bowl that's already been filled with various, magical liquids. Carefully, she then places it on top of her magic mirror.

"This is everything I had to work with in my room. The rest of the ingredients are in the safe haven. When I meditate, I can send this to the part of me that's with him, and then I'll be able to finish the potion and offer it to him. I'm glad you're here, Beast Boy."

"Me too. I had a feeling you needed someone by your side."

"I'm glad that someone is you. Here, sit like me."

"Okay." He mimics her meditative pose, scooting closer to her. "How's this?"

"Yes, sit just like that. If you can hold onto my hands, I think it will make the visitation last longer. I can use your energy to enhance my powers. Is that okay?"

He lovingly holds her hands.

"More than okay!"

"Thank you, Beast Boy. Ready?"

"Ready!"

Meanwhile, in the sanctuary...

Dante awakes, still in the grass, but not feeling so hot. Sitting up is a struggle. It hurts his chest. He unzips his coat and presses his hand against his shirt, finding a lot of moisture. This time, he's ready to examine what's going on.

"Fuck, that's fresh blood."

Upset, he looks forward, straight ahead. Just a few feet away, a beautiful jaguar is watching him. This creature is demonically familiar, but the fact that it's green, gives it away that it's Beast Boy.

"I better not be dead."

Moaning, he slowly tries to get to his feet, in more pain than he had wanted to accept. Feeling quite sorry for him, Beast Boy comes closer and offers himself as a form of leverage. Thinking some water might help, he then chuffs to alert Dante to the sight of a flowing brook.

Limping and holding himself, Dante slowly uses BB's strong, feline body to stand, then stumbles to the stream, where he finds his aquatic reflection.

"Damn, Beast Boy, I look like shit." He's real messed up, like a soldier who most certainly perished, then decided to get up out of spite for reality. It's foreign to him. Scary even. "And what really sucks is how much I can feel it."

He splashes his face. The water is cool and calming and makes him consider, "When Little Raven was in my lap, I felt fine. Where did she go? Raven?"

Struggling, he searches for her. Spotting her first, Beast Boy nods at him with another chuff, then heads in her direction. She's not far. They can hear her humming in the grass nearby. As he staggers closer, he has to end the walk and take a seat several feet from her. She is her child self once more, only this time, she is also White Raven, with glowing white hair, similar to his when he was a boy. She acknowledges him with a sweet glance, while Beast Boy makes himself comfortable beside her.

"There you are, sweet girl. Ugh, whatchu doing?"

"Making you something."

"Whatchu making me?"

"Medicine."

"Great," he pants, then lies on his back, trying to catch his breath. He rests his forearm over his eyes and wheezes, until he feels her little hand delicately touch his elbow.

"It's a potion. It'll make you feel better."

"Oh good."

Sitting up with a groan, he gladly takes from her, a bowl filled with herbs and ultramarine water. Without thinking twice, he downs it, frustrated that his airflow is about as sufficient as that of an asthmatic geriatric.

"It's all catching up to me. Should have listened to Robin."

She strokes his hair out of his face so she can give him a caring peck on the forehead.

"You did listen to Robin. Dante, I wanna help you. I cried when Slade hurt you. May I please place my hands over your heart? With that medicine and my powers combined, I really think I can help you heal."

He nods. But as she begins, he flinches, blocks her, nearly pulling a Royal Guard on her, and not the Mad Mod kind. Though the full force of this hazardous, defensive move requires more energy than he has to give, it still knocks her onto her bottom in the grass.

Gasp! "No," he regrets, feeling awful. "Ah no, no!"

He starts to try and get up and move away from her, hating himself for pushing her away. But Beast Boy blocks his path.

"Beast Boy, you know I can't fight right now. Go ahead then. Attack me. Don't let me flinch. I can't be allowed to strike her."

"I'm okay!" she insists, hurrying to her feet and hugging his arm, halting his failed attempt to stand on his own. "You didn't hurt me, I swear. Can we try again?"

"Honey, why do you wanna heal me when I can heal myself, huh?"

"Because I cherish you," she says, tugging way too hard at his heartstrings. Her glistening irises, filled with such innocence and sincerity.

"Oh Raven, that's... even after that? What I just did was not okay."

"That was a reflex. You're right, Beast Boy would have attacked you if it wasn't. The last time another person came close enough to touch your chest, you got impaled in the heart. I saw the blood. I have to fix it. You can lie in the grass, with the flowers. I made them for you. Please let me do this."

Beast Boy sets an example by rolling over like a goober, his big cat belly exposed shamelessly.

"Messaged received, Beast Boy. You gotta touch my heart to know it's still beating, huh? Go ahead, Little Raven."

He tries lying on his back this time, resting his forearm over his eyes again. She thoughtfully places her hands on his injury.  

The memory of Slade stabbing him in the gut cascades before her eyes. The sword slashing through his torso, she can feel it, as though it's happening to her!

Gasp! She comes out of the trance, returns to her body in the tower, holding her stomach and nearly choking.

"Raven!" Beast Boy cries. She can't respond, the pain is too severe. Thankfully, Beast Boy's not the only one who couldn't sleep. Cyborg hurries into her room, by her side. She quickly gets to her feet, not realizing he's there, and rams right into him.

"Ugh!" she yelps, falling backwards. Beast Boy swiftly catches her in his arms. Cyborg kneels.

"Whoa whoa, Rae Rae, it's alright, it's alright. What's going on in here, what happened, Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy holds Raven closely as she grips onto him, coughing.

"She needed help delivering a potion to the sanctuary that Robin told us about. She used her magic to take me with her."

Back in the spheroid, Dante's removed his jacket and now lies sprawled on his back, among tiny black and white wildflowers, staring at the dull portal-sun.

"Still here. Not dead."

Squawk! One of the ravens affirms him.

"Yup."