Back to Reality, or something like it

Garlo stood just outside the city, which buzzed with life. A confused look crossed his features. Hundreds of people crossed his vision, but when he came close they scurried away as if afraid. There was no sign of the destruction that had once been so abundant.

A familiar voice calling his name made him twist around, only to come face to face with Terra. His eyes narrowed as he glared at the blond bitch. "What do you want?"

"I am here to run you out of town Garlo." Her voice seemed different, almost amused in a dark way.

A sneer came over his green lips as he raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Run me out of town? What are you talking about you bimbo?" He took a menacing step forward, and sank into the quicksand that hadn't been there a moment before. Only his head stuck out from the ground.

The blue eyed girl leaned down over him, smiling sadistically. "The war is over green boy, and you no longer have a place here, with normal people. But since you obviously won't go willingly, you will go by force."

How could it happen? He had done everything, given everything to finish this war, and now that it was over he was being cast aside? Before he could protest, Garlo sank into the nothingness. His screams strangled by the earth. All he could hear was laughter from Terra.

**********************************************

Raven ran deeper into the shadows, searching for Beast Boy. She had seen him only a moment ago, but every time she came close, he dissappeared.

"Darling." It was a voice, his voice coming from just beyond her sight. Running faster, she tripped and slammed face first into the ground. The gothic girl felt blood running from her nose as she turned to see what she had tripped over and saw the green Titan laying dead behind her.

As she crawled over, his features came into view. It wasn't BB, not the one she had thought it was anyway. It was Garlo, bleeding and not breathing. His flesh evaporated to dust as her fingers touched it. leaving her alone in the darkness, the smothering darkness. A silent scream escaped her lips as her heart told her mind that she had lost him once more.

******************************************

The lovers awoke at the same moment, cold sweat covereing both thier bodeies as they stared at one another. Suddenly Raven screamed and threw him off of her. Suddenly she had climbed on him and was hitting his chest over and over again, though there was no real anger in the assault, there was alot of emotion.

"How dare you? Come back to me like this, you bastard. You had no right to leave me, to die and leave me. Don't I matter? What was I supposed to do with you gone? I was just starting to really care about you, I was just starting to understand you, and you died. I hate you...I hate you..." Now she was sobbing into Garlo's chest. Her voice was barely a whisper. "I love you...and you left me....I hate you."

The taller figure pulled her away to look into her eyes. "Raleen, what are you talking about?"

A sharp slap accross the face brought red to his eyes. Anger swelling quickly. "My name isn't Raleen you fucking idiot. Don't you recognize me? I'm Raven."

Suddenly her body was slammed against the wall, her hands held over her head. Thier faces were inches apart. "Don't talk nonsense. Queen Raven is a malicious bitch who kills for pleasure. You....your not." At that second he saw it, those eyes, those lips, the face. It had been so long since he had seen her in this form that he hadn't figured it out until it was presented to him. Leaning closer, he took a long whiff of her hair, even the scent was like it used to be. How could he have really missed it. Had he changed so much, even in his memories it all seemed obvious.

"Who are you, you can't be her, she's...she's.....Damn it who are you?" No answer came, still, he knew it now. "How can you be her?"

Raven shook her head, "I don't know....I....I'm not from here ok? I come from a place where none of this happened. You....Beast Boy died in a fight and I don't know. I guess my powers brought me here. It's the only explaination that I can find."

She dropped to the floor, her arms let go. Garlo jerked his shirt and cloak back on, grabbing his mask from the floor and moving toward the door. He only stopped when he heard her voice whisper. "I still love you Bea......Garlo."

How could she love him? He didn't understand that. He knew how he felt though, "I love you too Raven." He stepped through the door and froze. His eyes were wide as he stared at the red stained hallways and the piles of corpses that filled the hallway.

A growl escaped his lips as he stormed through the corridors, looking for survivers. When he found none, he made his way back to the training room. He found Raven still there. Somewhere she had found a pair of leggings to replace her old ones and had tied her ripped shirt in the front, stretching the brid outline tighter across her chest.

He moved until she was between the wall and him. "You, you had something to do with this didn't you? All this was just a ploy to destract me. Damn you to hell."

"Not quite Garlo." They turned to see Red X standing near the door staring at them. "You were betrayed by a bitch, but not that one." The masked head hook as a dark laugh escaped unseen lips. "So pathetic. Three years of trying so hard to protect these foolish humans and now there are only a handful left alive. You two, me, and your traitor. How sad."

Garlo smiled, moving acros the room toward the other man. "Don't be a fool, you really think that this was the onl,y sanctuary for our kind?" He dove and was barely dodged. The two began circling one another slowly. "You are the only traitor our kind knows."

"Wrong on both counts." The leaner man flipped backward to avoid what would have been a devistating kick. "The other two bases were taken out while you were partying last night." He suddenly produced a small smoke bomb from seemingly nowhere. "Secondly, I was never like your disgusting humanity. Banding together when they would have been so much better off giving in. I will have power long after you and the four eyed bitch have moved on. It's that simple. I am in this all for me and me alone." A flash of smoke exploded when the small device was tossed to the ground. His voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere. "Almost forgot. A message from her Majesty. Come and get me lover." Laughter faded into nothingness quickly.

Garlo howled in rage, a pain in his side telling him that his inner beast was yearning for release. He had checked, his pills had been destroyed with everything else. Only quick thinking by Vic had saved the computerized personality, a swift download onto a blank disk. Still, the disk, unlike the pills, wouldn't help Garlo supress his personal demon.

He glared at Raven, breathing in and out slowly, trying to decided weither or not to attack. His mind screamed that she was the cuase, that this was her fault. But something else, something deeper chose for him. The mear sight of her suddenly calmed the creature inside him.

Placing his mask back on, he turned to the door and stalked toward it. Just before leaving he paused. "Are you coming?"

Raven was dumbfounded, jogging to catch up as he made his way through the hallways. "Where are we going?"

Garlo's voice was dry, almost deathly serious. "We are going to kill Queen Raven Then.......I will have to deal with fact that I failed."

The gothic girl only nodded, that arguement would have to wait until later. "Where will we find her?"

"In a place called Hell's Thrown. Once known as Titan Tower."

Occasionally, as they walked through the city, she would catch him staring at her. It happened more frequinetly as time went on. She made no comment though, not like she wanted to complain, she just wished she knew what he was thinking.

Why had he said it? He couldn't make sense of it, why had he used that word. He couldn't really, he couldn't actually be....in love with her. It was so confusing, and no time to sort out these feelings. It was his fault that all those people had died, while he rested from sex of all things.

No time, revenge was his only objective now. Not for him, for all the pain that had been caused over the years, but for those who had never done anything to her.

The gray sky turned darker as an invisible sun set beyond the clouds, and in the distance a twisted building that once resembled a T stood. No one challenged them, it was as if even the demons had deserted the city this time.

No, Raven knew better. It was something different, she could sense it in the air. All of them had fled, had turned tail and run. They were afraid, she turned to look at the masked man beside her, of him.