A/N- It's been a while. I wrote this chapter once, but it got deleted, and now every time I want to finish this story, I reread Chapter 5 and hate it. I don't know what I was doing, but I want to scrap it and completely rewrite it. Anyways, I guess this is now time for me to finish, because I want to start an Oneshot Anthology, anyways I have to thank someone for my return. That is Beast Boy's Swivel Chair. He is a great author, and if you get the chance, check out his stories.

Chapter 6- The First Trial

Raven opened the door to the roof with Starfire in tow; the boys were already there, along with Lucifer. He smirked as she entered the fray. She loathed him.

"I'm glad to see the two beautiful young ladies have come to join us. It is time my friends, for to-" Lucifer began, but Raven cut him off.

"You're not our friend. Don't fool yourself into thinking we trust you, like you, or wouldn't hurt you the first time you make us question your motives." Her voice steel and icy, she cut through the tension with her rhetoric.

Lucifer paused, smiled coyly and continued, "Ah, very well spoken my dear. Nevertheless it is time for our young hero here to prove his merit. The entry point should appear any momen- Ah here it is!" Lucifer was cut off once again however, this time it was by a swirling blue vortex that had appeared beside him.

"You want us to go into there?" Cyborg asked cautiously, eyeing the spiraling mass with hesitation. Lucifer reached into his suit's breast pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, raising them to his face.

"Yes." He said simply, placed the sunglasses upon his nose, and walked casually into thin air, disappearing through the vortex. Raven looked at Beast Boy, who was looking directly at her. Their eyes locked and he followed Lucifer without saying a word.

Robin gave a tense look at the rest of the team before muttering a warning to stay vigilant. He followed, along with Starfire, Cyborg, and finally Raven stepped toward the portal. This couldn't end well.

- - - - - -

Beast Boy landed on the ground with a thud. Sand clouded over him as his hands and knee pulled him up to an all fours position. He shook his head in a canine like manner before muttering about license plates and trucks.

The Changeling took a deep breath, inhaling stale air and dust, and began to cough.

"What is this place?" He wondered aloud, climbing to his feet. He was in the middle of an arena, a giant arena. The walls were dark and seemed like rotten stone. The structure was reminiscent of the Roman Coliseum; it had an arena floor with several arches as entry points. The ground was dirt and sand with mixtures of who knows what included. Above Beast Boy was the seating. The first row of seats started about ten feet above his head, but it climbed upward further than he could have imagined. He glanced around quickly, but he could not see the other Titans.

"BB! Hey B!" Cyborg's voice echoed through the arena with a vibration that seemed as if it could take the ancient dwelling down. Beast Boy spun around toward the epicenter of the cry, but saw no one.

"Hey, look up man!" Cyborg's voice called again. Beast Boy craned his neck upward, and upward, and even further to spot four small individuals setting together at the top of the arena.

"What are you guys doing up there?!" He called out.

"Ahem." Lucifer's voice called out behind him. Beast Boy turned from his friends back to the arena floor, which now harbored a platform he could've sworn wasn't there a moment ago.

The platform was a thin octagon with a pedestal in the middle, and on top of the pedestal was an orb, the same orb he'd grabbed to start all of this. It sat in the farthest corner of the arena, underneath two crossed swords and some writing in a foreign language.

Lucifer stepped off the pedestal, and gestured his hand toward it, "This, young Beast Boy, is the pedestal of the Hero Trials. Upon it sits the orb that holds the life essence of all life on Frogstar B. Its importance is dire, and for the rest of the tournament, it will act as your starting gun. Once you place your right hand on this orb, a trial will begin, and once all five trials are completed you by, and you alone, Earth will be saved, and Beast Boy, you will be a hero.

"Now, there are a few ground rules I need to spell out for you my young Changeling, the first is that there are five trials-"

Beast Boy was getting agitated, he knew this already, he wanted to get this over with, he wanted his friends down here with him, he wanted Raven to stop playing mind games, he wanted ? . . . He didn't know what he wanted anymore."

"Those five will be tests of Intellect, Courage, Strength, Honor, and Love. You shall complete all five trials alone, without any outside help. The arena floor is yours and yours alone. If any of your friends decide to step foot on it, they will be killed. I'm sorry to sound harsh, but it's not really my decision."

"What do you mean it's not your decision?"

"The arena is four thousand centuries old, protected by the ancient gods of Frogstar. The protectors of the arena require blood at the expense of breaking a law of the trials. It's non-negotiable. I hope this doesn't upset you too much Beast Boy."

"It wouldn't matter if it did, now let's get on with the first challenge."

Lucifer smirked, "I like your attitude kid." Lucifer turned and walked smoothly to the podium. He stood upon it and waved his hand, disappearing along with it, into the ground.

Beast Boy looked around, nobody had said anything, and there was no announcement, no ready and no set. He wasn't sure what was about to happen.

Then the ground started to rumble.

The ominous and ubiquitous light that had shone through the arena had vanished, and in one, mystical flash all the torches lit themselves in a fiery blaze.

Beast Boy tensed; turning in circles to see everything. It was coming, and he didn't know where it was coming from.

The walls began to shake along with the rumbling, and slowly they became synchronized. Rumble, shake, rumble shake. Pressure was being exerted every second or so.

Then the wall began to open up.

"What the heck!" Beast Boy said. The wall opposite of him began to rise. It was a trapdoor obviously, a very large trapdoor. As the shadow of the door diminished, a foot came into view.

It wasn't a normal foot; as a matter of fact this foot was anything but normal. Aside from each toe being about Beast Boy's size, it was made entirely of stone. The worn, stonewashed leg emerged from shadow and the entire figure fell into Beast Boy's view.

It had four paws, large and fierce, and sat on all fours. Its body was portrayed to be fur, though it was made of stone. It had a long flowing tail with a clump of fur on the back, but its head was the most bizarre. Its head was that of a beautiful woman.

It was a Sphinx.

Beast Boy stood frozen. He had seen almost every animal on Earth, whether in real life, or in his encyclopedias he'd studied with the Doom Patrol. He'd been most of the animals he'd seen, and he'd even been animals from other solar systems, but this was all new. This was not any animal. This was a creature that couldn't be summed up in one word.

"O-kay." He tried anyway.

The Sphinx stepped out from its stone doorway, her eyes on Beast Boy. Each step of her enormous stone feet shook the ground, and her slow calm demeanor was unnerving the changeling.

Beast Boy decided that he didn't have time to waste on defeating her. He transformed quickly into a tiger, leaping forward and dashing toward the Sphinx.

She stopped and watched as the green cat deftly shortened the distance between the two with haste. He darted back and forth, eating up the dirt as he progressed. With quickness he closed the gap, launching himself off the ground and diving at her head; claws outstretched.

She raised her paw and swatted him away with ease. Beast Boy flew into the arena wall, causing a rise of dust to spray over the area. Through the dust he darted once again, this time as a Pterodactyl. He soared at the Sphinx, his claws outstretched; his mind focused.

Beast Boy aimed for her eyes, swooped lower to gain speed and rising up again even faster. He was closing in when- SMACK.

She swatted him with the other paw. The Pterodactyl hit the wall and more dust littered the air. Beast Boy slid down the wall in human form, hitting the ground stiffly. He couldn't allow himself to be defeated to quickly and easily though! He stood up against, transforming himself into a bear and charging toward the Sphinx.

He got close to the Sphinx, his eyes narrowed and his mind focused. She took a deep breath, the stone of her chest expanding; good! She was nervous; he was going to take her down!

- - - - - -

Raven watched the green bear charge at the Sphinx; Beast Boy was trying hard. She couldn't help but think that maybe it was in vain however. She, and the others had projectiles, Beast Boy had himself. No matter how hard he rammed, he'd still be throwing himself against stone.

"I would not worry friend Raven," Starfire's hand landed upon her shoulder. "Beast Boy has shown true strength in previous battles, there is no reason that his attempts shall not prevail this occasion as well!"

Raven didn't answer; she just stayed focused on the battle below. Beast Boy was thrown by the Sphinx into a wall once again. The Sphinx hadn't moved the entire fight; she had just pummeled Beast Boy. It was as if she was toying with him for amusement.

"Man he's getting' his butt kicked!" Cyborg said to himself, loudly enough for all to hear. Raven turned and glared at her teammate, he immediately chuckled and scooted away in fear.

"What's he doing now?" Robin asked. Raven turned her attention back to the arena where a small green human was running toward the Sphinx! He didn't think he could fight her in his human form did he? What was he doing?

Suddenly Beast Boy stopped in front of the Sphinx; his body moved down . . . like he was bowing? Then he didn't move at all. Was he talking to it?

- - - - - -

"Umm . . . hey. What's up?" Beast Boy said to the Sphinx. He stood nervously in front of the gargantuan creature, addressing it as if it were Cyborg.

"Hmm, little green one," The Sphinx's voice reverberated through the arena, shaking everything around. Beast Boy steadied his legs to stay upright. "Speak to me you have decided to."

The Sphinx spoke in a twisted, backwards kind of way; it reminded Beast Boy of his favorite clash of the Planets character, Pado, the little green wise warrior.

"Yes, I speak to you." Beast Boy declared forcefully, his voice projecting more certainty than he truly felt. "You haven't attacked me, as a matter of fact you haven't even moved. Why?" He asked.

"My duty, is not your demise." The Sphinx answered cryptically. Beast Boy was confused.

"What is your duty?"

"I hold the question in which you must answer." The Sphinx replied.

Beast Boy was starting to understand. The Sphinx was not an enemy, but an obstacle!

"May I ask, what is the question?"

"Yes little green one, you may. The question is as such. What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two legs during the day, and three legs at night?"

"Huh?" Beast Boy muttered, scratching the back of his head again. That was confusing! He couldn't think of any animal that could do that, and he could turn into them all!

An animal that walked on different amounts of legs at different times, and even only three legs at some point in time. He could only think of two three legged animals to begin with, and one of those was after the car got through with it.

"Green one, patience I have not, answer!" The sphinx bellowed its command. Beast Boy jumped nervously,

"Umm . . . ", what could do all that, damnit! He was the only animal he knew that could do all that, this was impossible. "Umm, oh, I got it. It's me isn't it, I'm the answer right?"

Suddenly the Sphinx moved.

It leaned down quickly, its enormous eye a foot away from Beast Boy and scrutinizing his entirety.

"Green one", its voice shook Beast Boy where he stood, "tell me, what species are you? Are you human?"

"Uh . . . duh! I'm on Earth aren't I?" Beast Boy answered.

"Very well. You are correct human. You have passed." The Sphinx said.

Beast Boy looked around, his vision was blurring, and suddenly everything began to spin. It spun and spun and spun . . .

Then he landed on the floor of Titan's tower.