{Short Author's Dedication: I am dedicating the rest of this story to the memory of Dragonriders of Pern author Anne McCaffrey. Sadly, she passed away on 11/21/2011 from a major stroke. Several of Edward's abilities, I lifted from her Dragonriders series, namely his teleportation skills/Time teleport and the telepathic link established between Edward and Raven. I had the honor when I was trying to develop Edward in the late 90s (I was working on an original manuscript before converting Edward to the web) to engage in a short series of emails as I respected her work enough I asked her blessing to use a couple of terms. If memory serves, I asked her about the usage of "Dragonet" – Edward's shoulder-sized version, she didn't mind that as she borrowed that from another writer, but, asked me very nicely to use a different term than "between" – teleporting, that request is honored to this day. May she Rest in Peace.}


Chapter 3
[A day later]

Edward was doing some digging in the Titans mainframe as well as other sources for more details on Slade. Luckily, Robin released the lockouts for the purpose of letting Edward study their enemy.

Edward was getting an education on Slade very quickly as Robin had compiled, in his obsession, a lot of information. How the man acted, his fighting style, pretty much everything Robin learned was there.

Edward was also making notes, something he rarely needed to do, but, there was so much information that he needs to write things down. Edward had newspaper articles on one computer screen, videos from YouTube on the middle screen and database files on the third screen.

He was standing up and allowing himself a break when there was a knock on the door.

"Come on in, it's open!" he called.

The door opened to reveal Terra there. She went in and said, "Got some time?"

"For family, I'll make the time," he said, "Please, pull up a chair. Would you like anything?"

"Got some Coke?" she asked.

"Of course," he said, going to the fridge and pulling out a couple of bottles. He loosened the tops and returned to where Terra was sitting.

He handed her a bottle and sat down across from her. Both took a drink of the cold liquid.

Edward was studying Terra's body language and it was telling him a few things. That she had spent a rough night was obvious. Her face was swollen, nose red from being blown a lot. She looked resigned to what she learned. Edward also detected some guilt there.

"Thanks for the drink," she said. Edward smiled, "You're welcome, Terra."

"Can we talk without the others knowing, especially Beast Boy?" she asked.

"Sure thing," Edward said, "What is said here, stays here unless you say otherwise."

"You swear?" she asked.

"Got a Bible?" Edward said, "You got my word, little lady. That's something I don't take lightly."

Terra smiled softly, "That'll do."

"First," Edward said, "How are you doing? Looks like you had a rough night."

"I didn't sleep at all," she said with a sigh, "Every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was Slade's mask or sign.

"I can't believe he's alive, though. That's the scary part."

"Well," Edward said, "From what I've been reading the last few hours, that's certainly true. But, you worked for Slade for a while as his apprentice. That's common knowledge. You know more about him than anyone on the team, save for Robin."

"Yeah," she said, "I did. He offered me a way to control my powers, but, in exchange, I had to promise to serve him, follow every order he gave me and destroy the Titans."

"And you did that willingly, correct?" Edward asked.

"I did," she replied, "He planted doubt in my mind about Beast Boy and the rest of the team when I was first here. I didn't stop to let Robin explain that he'd figured out my powers were uncontrollable."

"Slade's not the most trustworthy person," Edward noted, "But, that's pretty obvious.

"Tell me what you can, Terra. I won't judge you on what you did, no matter what you feel comfortable telling me."

She sipped her drink and said, "You sure you want to hear this?"

"I'm sure," Edward said, "I need to know."

Terra was reassured by what Edward said. He had not been known to lie and from what the geomancer could tell about her draconic friend, he took giving his word seriously.

She spent the next couple of hours relating what had happened when she wasn't with the team and had fallen into Slade's camp. She admitted that she did so of her free will as well.

A couple of times Edward stopped her narrative to ask for some clarifications on what she was saying, and also got her some additional Coke.

When she got to when she betrayed the team to Slade, she stopped. Edward didn't need any special abilities to see that she was having a hard time with this part of her story.

"Take some time, Terra," he said gently, "Do you want to take a break?"

"No," she said, "I'm coming to the part where I did something that I can never take back or regain. This is the part that you can't tell anyone, especially Beast…Garfield."

He gently took her hands, "Terra, whatever this is, you already have my word that it doesn't leave this room."

"What about Raven?" she asked.

"Raven respects that there are some things that I have 'locked away' in more private areas of my mind. We agreed when we discovered the link that, you were instrumental in forming, we could keep some things secret. I won't enter her Nevermore without her consent unless it's an emergency. She won't enter my mind either unless there's a problem. She's not even eavesdropping right now. I can't feel her in the back of my mind except for the very faint presence we typically have," Edward explained.

Terra took a deep breath and said, "After I left the team to become Slade's apprentice…I lost my virginity to Slade. We slept together several times."

A tear fell then. Edward knew what that little sentence cost Terra. He pulled Terra into his arms once more.

"I can see why you don't want to tell him," Edward said, "He'd be hurt again. But, if your relationship with him continues, he's going to find out the first time you and he have sex. It's not hard for a man to determine if his girl's on her first rodeo or if she's been around the block a few times. You'll have to tell him someday and, Terra, I know throughout history that it's usually better to let the other partner know this."

"I can't tell him," she said softly, "I've already hurt him so much and he's already taken me back twice. The look in his eyes when I had to send him away will haunt me for a long time. He knew what I had to do.

"Edward, I knew I would most likely be turned to stone or covered in lava. Either way, I was not supposed to live. I still don't know how you even detected any life signs or why you brought me back."

Edward said, "I saw your plaque for one, and I sensed the grief that still lingered with the entire team. Raven had told me that she tried everything possible and even her spells were useless.

"It took an act of extreme love and forgiveness to turn stone to flesh."

Terra pulled away and smiled despite her inner pain. She said, "I'll tell him after this is done."

Edward said, "Time for a break. The guys will be wanting dinner. I know you have to be hungry as well. I know you haven't been eating much lately."

She sighed, "I'll try to eat something."

"Terra," Edward said, "You're a very bright young woman. You know that even if you're not that hungry, your powers have given you an above average metabolism. If you can stomach glorg and other dishes Starfire tries to make for the team, well, that impresses even me."

Terra laughed, "No kidding! You're the only other one that likes her dishes."

Edward smiled, "You laughing is a good sign, kid. Let's go before the others get too worried."

[90 minutes later]

Edward had finished preparing lunch for the team and as it was Robin's turn at the dishes, he headed back to his room for a while. Terra was waiting for him.

"You want to continue?" he asked her.

"I have to or I might lose the courage to continue," she said.

"Well, come on in, then," he said kindly.

They went in and sat down.

"There's more to this," she said sadly, "After I defeated the team and taking over the city, they returned in force. This time, they weren't hampered by any thoughts of mercy.

"They kicked my rear, Edward. But, Slade ordered me to continue to try to fight. By then, though, I was wearing a suit that attached to my nervous system. That was the suit that stayed stone, by the way.

"What I didn't know, though, was that Slade had rigged it to completely control me.

"That's not all, though. The Titans forced me to retreat to what I thought was the safety of Slade's lair. It was a mistake."

Edward asked, "Why was that?"

She choked on the memory, "He beat me worse than the Titans did! When he was done, I could barely stand and when I told him I was leaving, I discovered that the damn armor couldn't be removed.

"He activated a switch on his wrist, then, all I felt was blazing pain because he had decided that since I was going to leave, he would control my every move…and my powers.

"Beast Boy showed up, looking for a fight. I tried to resist, but, Slade merely continued his control of me. He used my powers to form a slab of stone into a sharp spear, I guess you'd call it. Beast Boy was trapped by then.

"The others showed up and Raven made it clear…If I tried to continue, she'd have no qualms about killing me. Everyone else was pleading with me as well.

"I fought as hard as I could and was able to turn the tables on Slade. I don't know how, but, I was able to regain control over my body. He thought he was going to kill me, but…"

"That's when you struck back and your powers triggered the volcano," Edward finished as he heard Terra's voice cracking again.

"Yeah," she said, "the team was beating a hasty retreat. I stayed behind. That was the last thing I remember until you came along."

Edward handed her a box of Kleenex.

"I hate being weak like this," she said bitterly.

Edward gently raised Terra's head up and said, "Listen to me, Terra. You're not weak, not anymore. You're one of the strongest people I know right now."

"Don't patronize me!" she said.

"I'm not. I'll tell you why," he said, then, starting ticking off the reasons on his fingers.

"One, you stood up to Slade.

"Two, you realized what you were doing was wrong and worked to free yourself from the problem.

"Three, you were able to fight off that device's control and fought through the pain.

"Four, you realized that Slade was using you for his own gains and when you realized that, you opted to leave him at great risk to yourself.

"Five, the only way you could have defeated that device was your love for the Titans, especially Beast Boy. You admitted that he was the best friend you ever had.

"Six, you showed your love for the team because you were willing to lay down your life for them and you technically did just that. I might be 3,000 or so years old, but, not even I have the answers here. Someone upstairs loves you enough to have allowed you to live to today. You're the first person I know that's come back from being turned to stone."

Terra thought about that for several long moments before saying, "I need time to think about my next move. I know that if Slade was watching that newscast, he knows that I'm here.

"But, Edward, I want payback for everything he did to me. I know I initially was willing to work for the man, but, he hurt me in ways that I can't just forgive."

"Terra, can I ask you a highly personal question?" Edward asked.

"I guess so," she replied.

"When you slept with him, was that also done willingly?" he asked, "Apologies for being this blunt, and, if you don't want to answer, I'll respect that."

Terra considered her reply, "At first, I thought it was willingly. I wanted to feel loved and accepted. He had taught me how to control my powers and felt he earned what I gave him.

"Now, I feel dirty. He used me, Edward! I can't forgive that, either. How can I? I let him turn me against my friends here. They gave me a home, accepted me immediately and even offered to help me. But, I'm so stupid sometimes…I didn't let them help me.

"I feel that I'm the one they have to rescue time and time again. Either from Slade or from myself…or even from the fate I earned. Why?"

Edward sighed, "Why do we keep doing that?"

"Why did you guys rescue me from stone?" she asked quietly.

"Because you deserved it, Terra," Edward said, "The team had already forgiven you. I didn't have any prejudices against you. I never will. Robin once told Raven that people deserve another chance. He wanted to help you, despite your crimes against the city and the citizens. It was a sense of loyalty and friendship. Your plaque calls you a Teen Titan and a true friend. Nothing said about you betraying the team. It was a simple statement that said they still considered you a member of the team and a friend. You earned it.

"Trust me. We have your back, now more than ever. You have six friends…no, let me rephrase that: You have 2 sisters and 4 brothers. I don't want to be considered a father figure unless everyone agrees to that one. We're the family you need. We love you for who you are, insecurities and all. Forgive me, but, even I have an unconditional love for you. Yes, Raven's my girlfriend, as you are Garfield's. Raven understands that I do harbor unconditional love for the entire team…"

He didn't finish his thought as he was seized in a monster hug from Terra. He chuckled to himself as he returned it. Terra needed to hear that badly.

"Thank you so much!" she said, "I love you guys as well. I wish I could go back and fix the wrongs, but, I know I can't."

"Come on, Terra," Edward chided gently, "You already have. Get that through that pretty blonde head of yours, all right? Focus on what the future holds. We're going to kick Slade's ass into the next century because of his treatment of you. This nightmare will end for you, I give you my word on that. The entire team is backing you up, no matter what."

Terra smiled and gave Edward a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't let Raven see you doing that…She's liable to get jealous," Edward said with a chuckle.

"She was jealous of me for a long time," Terra said, "I do wonder what changed."

"She realized that she couldn't compete with you over Beast Boy's heart. Rae and I talked about it the day we rescued you. Actually, Beast Boy talked to me before Raven did. He had to make a choice between the two of you. One would get the 'sister' role, one got his heart. We know what happened there," Edward replied.

"Playing a matchmaker, huh?" Terra jibed.

Edward blushed, "Not intentionally. I had no idea at the time Rae and I would be a couple, nor even be telepathically linked. That was a side effect of rescuing you. But, we adapted quickly to the situation and realized that we fit each other's needs. I'm more outgoing, she's still somewhat introverted, for example."

Deep down, Edward felt that Terra had turned the corner. They had spent the better part of 4 hours (not including lunch) talking.

"What do you want to do next?" he asked her.

"Take a nap, for one," she replied, "Then, I want to talk to the team about options. I know I shouldn't take Slade on solo. He still has a considerable amount of Slade-bots to protect him."

Edward nodded, "Smart move. We're a team and, thank you for remembering that."

"You're welcome," she said, standing up. They walked to the door and Terra headed off to her room.

Edward sat down and started mentally processing everything Terra told him. It bothered him to no end that Terra was treated so badly.

[Hi, Edward,] Raven said through the link, [Been busy, I see.]

[Yeah, Terra needed to talk. She swore me to secrecy though, Rae,] he replied.

[Not a problem,] the empath said, [I figured she'd want to talk to you. You're the most neutral person on the team right now for her.]

[Thanks for not eavesdropping,] he said, sending a wave of gratitude as well.

[You're welcome,] she said.

Edward smiled as he closed his eyes for a moment. He was content for the time being, but, he knew that in the next few days, something major was going to happen.


Sorry if these "conversation" chapters are not the action folks are waiting for. These are needed to allow Edward to know the backstory. Originally, this was going to be a recap of the Terra based episodes from the series, but, on reconsideration, I felt the way this chapter went was a bit better. Most TT cartoon fans are already aware of Terra's history - sans Terra "doing it" with Slade. Personally, I don't like the thought that she'd give it up to him...but, I ran with it a little bit anyway.

Reviews welcome, of course ;)