She thought her return would bring relief to her pain,

From the guilt, sorrow and longing in her brain,

But something wasn't right,

And not because of the constant fights,

The changeling seemed changed - like he was a different person now,

But no matter what she did, she couldn't find out how,

So she seeked help from the team,

And found her answer from Star who sat by a stream,

"He is not feeling well," she said in a sad tone,

And Terra's heart felt like stone,

"What is wrong with him?" she asked in concern,

And Starfire's face looked almost stern,

"He is becoming unstable," she replied,

And Terra's eyes opened wide,

"You mean...he is disabled?" she asked confused,

"It is not due to accident or abuse,

He is rather...living by the hour,

His DNA is unstable and he might not live long,

And his cheerfulness isn't as strong,

Even his morphing has once failed and even hurt",

At hearing this, Terra felt disturbed,

"Is...is he going to be ok?"

But Starfire had nothing to say,

Terra felt the worry bubbling inside her like boiling water,

"Where is he? Something has to make him feel better!"

"He refused to come out of his room the whole day,"

And so, Terra ran off to make sure he was ok,

Since when had he been feeling this way?

And why did he keep silent about it until this day?

She soon arrived in front of his door and called out to him slowly,

But silence replied only,

And her worry only grew,

Starfire's words must be true,

She stepped closer and entered the dimly lit room,

Hoping with all her might that it wasn't his impending doom,

She saw him lying on his bed and facing away from her,

"How are you...feeling?" she asked with care,

And it took a while before he rolled around in bed,

Physically, he looked rather fine but his expression was...dead,

"What's up, Terra?" he asked, the smile weak and lifeless,

With his pretending, she wasn't impressed,

"I'm...worried about you. Since when - why - are you not feeling well?"

His expression dimmed further and she knew, she made him remember hell,

She felt sick for asking but not knowing was making her feel worse than that,

He lifted himself and on the edge of his bed he sat,

"I'm infected with a virus. It didn't kill me but made me the green shape-shifter you see,

But it's been messing with my DNA and once some chemicals spilled on me,

It's...been making things worse - there's a thing in me,

And once...it came free,

And hurt my friends. But that's not all,

I...feel like I'm about to fall,

I don't know how long I'll live,

Even if it's all I give,

I can...feel that something's wrong,

And...I don't think I'm that strong",

"I know you're stronger than that! You're Titan!" she said with a smile,

He just looked at her and spoke only after a while,

"This is different, Terra," he said seriously,

"I don't believe you. What about all the things that made you happy?"

"They don't change me in the end. I'm not getting better anymore,"

"Do...you want to just sit in your room? What have you been fighting for?"

"For others. But I can't be fighting forever",

And Terra felt her heart being gripped in sadness. This wasn't supposed to happen - never!

"But you...you were always so full of smiles - this is not you,"

"I'm not always the same. Sometimes...I feel blue,"

"Is...there anything I can do for you? I...don't want to see you like this,"

But he shook his head. Ignorance really is bliss,

"I'm just bumming everyone out. Just leave and I'll...come later,"

But his words made her sadness only greater,

"I...can't just leave you with all this pain. You're my friend!"

"And I'm sorry I...didn't tell you. But...this is the end,"

Terra felt tears well in her eyes but shut them tight,

"Maybe...pretending to be someone else was right,

I...never did anything right. I...couldn't...even help you or be honest from the start,"

And Terra clenched her fists. "I...can't just dismiss you. It's too hard!"

"I'm...sorry for you to see me like this," he said and slowly got up,

But she was sorry for not being able to help...and there was nothing to make it stop,

She felt sick of herself - maybe she had been selfish until now,

But she wanted to let him know that she was there for him - somehow,

The tears spilled and her voice sounded not like her own when she called his name,

What could she do? All she felt was shame,

But he stopped walking and turned to face her,

Looking at him, she didn't dare,

So she wrapped her arms around him, crying into his shoulder,

And all she could do was pray that he would live on and get older.