Chapter Seven:
Realization.

All she could do was watch as innocent blood was spilled over her hands, all she could do was listen as screams rang in the air during the attack. The energy that was coming from her body was intense and powerful. She could feel the earth move as if she was one with it. She felt every shudder and shake, and felt every blow it gave off. But she could not control it, it was as if it was no longer her power to command, she was just going along for the ride. Every hammering attack the Titan's had enforced was felt, every scrape and gash into her skin left a slicing pain.

Even though Terra wasn't in control, she felt the pain and power, but most of all she felt a sharp heart pain. Feeling helpless as her friends where thrown down by slaved earth. She tried to scream out, but nothing ever came, every attempt to show she was still here was drowned out by Tara's own power. Gripping sensations kept her from breaking free, but as Tara was slowly weakened Terra felt the grip loosen. Even if Tara didn't show it, Terra felt her weak state grow steadily, allowing her to breath and gain a little more control each time Tara was bashed. She reached further and further, trying to find that mental control to take over. But Tara was still strong enough to hold her back.

It was when Terra came to realize what was about to happen, sharp panic hit her with a slapping feel. She couldn't let this happen, she had to do something! But as Terra was pushed aside once more, she doubted she would be able to stop the boulder in time. With a final push of her energy, Terra twisted and pulled at her mind. Her head seemed to spin and ache as she pulled herself tighter and into her consciousness.

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Raven felt to weak to fight it back anymore. She couldn't even bring herself to look up before the sure-to-come earth smashed into her head. The empathy trembled for a quick second, waiting for that bone smashing moment before returning to a forever darkness. Fear twanged at the back of her mind, and soon grew into her heart and planted itself there. But her emotions failed to save her and no shield formed a safe haven around her small body.

"NO!!" A voice screamed, breaking the deathly quiet.

Raven slowly opened her eyes, and then tilted her head up. What she saw confused her, and soon her fear started to drain and make place for the new confusion. Tara was holding her head, her blonde hair spreading out from in-between her fingers as she stumbled in circles. The earth trembled with overwhelming power and confusion, trying to obey its master but not knowing how to do so.

"STOP IT!" She screamed, but somehow the voice seemed different, and more familiar then the hissing voice Tara had used. "JUST STOP IT!"

"NO! They had this coming! This is what has to be done! What don't you understand?!" Her voice hissed once more.

"Their my friends!! You can't do this to them!! Just go away!!" Her voice screamed again.

"Their lying traitors!"

"No their not!" Tara fell to her knee's, still gripping her head. Yellow power swelled around the small geomancer as the ground roared with confused warning. The earth shook violently that sent car alarms blaring once more and buildings lean back and forth on unsteady foundation. Then Raven passed out.

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The noise and confusion brought Beast Boy to sitting up slowly. Everything was hazy and swirled around him, making his stomach churn and grumble with its upset state. His head was throbbing from where he had been hit, but the shape-shifter slowly shook his head then waited for things to stop spinning, but what he saw almost made his head spin again. Filled with new found energy Beast Boy leapt to his feat and stumbled towards the blonde geomancer in the middle of the road. Her face was ducked low, hiding her face with waves of blonde hair, some of it floating around her head.

"Terra!" He half yelped as he skidded next to her. But his animal instincts started to heat up warnings, everything about her seemed unsteady and tense. He sensed a growling power trying to bubble up and resume control, but his heart was soften when she looked up. Her eyes glowed so brightly that they shown a blinding white as tears flowed down her face.

"Beast Boy," Her voice seemed like a far away scream, it stayed so low yet yelled to him. "You have to stop her. I can't- I can't do it- please-." She pleaded up at him as the earth continued to snarl and rumble.

Beast Boy stared at her with a confused and startled look, what was she asking of him? Who was he supposed to stop? Nothing seemed to make sense, it was all too twisted and turned to. "Terra, I don't understand." He muttered as his eyes quickly took in her whole face.

Terra looked at him with a look he knew he would never forget. It seemed mixed with fear and need, pain and want as she answered. "Kill me, now, please. Before she breaks back, just do it." Her words slapped him hard with stinging aftershock. "You didn't do it a year ago in that cave- but I'm begging you, please! Do it now. I need you." Terra's words shook along with her whole body at the thought of what she was telling him to do, but she seemed so sure on it.

Shock wavered through his entire body, making Beast Boy feel weak in the stomach. His mind went completely blank for a split second as if he was about to pass out. He felt his hands shaking from the very thought of it as a shiver was sent down his spine. He opened his mouth to speak, but it just gaped open, not being able to utter a sound.

"Now! Beast Boy!" She sobbed, grabbing his hands in her own as she begged.

"I-I can't..." He trailed, his mouth still gapping open as he stared at her.

"You have to!" She screamed, making a fresh wave of tears streak down her face while leaving wet trails behind them. "Beast Boy, you have to, I need you." But he just stared at her, not being able to understand the task that she was putting on him. A stringing pain zipped through his body, and again he shivered from it. A hard pang of pain swelled from his chest, making speaking seem impossible. It didn't matter, for Beast Boy didn't have time before Terra screamed again and hung her head in her painful struggle of dominance. Her hands slowly recoiled away from his and wrapped themselves over her head as if trying to push that unwanted power back.

One more scream pierced into Beast Boy before the blonde in front of him stopped shaking and crying as the earth became quiet and still.

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Tara took in a deep breath, once more in power and control she slowly lifted her head up as her hair parted around her face. She looked to Beast Boy and slanted her eyebrows. She glared up at his confused and hurt face. She felt the sudden urge to just slam him into the nearest object. Here he was, sitting there like he actually cared about them! Terra might be easily fooled, but she wasn't. Tara would never forget how he had glared at her with that cold and heartless face a year ago, she would never forgive his betrayal, because she saw no reason why.

"Get away from us!" She hissed through her clenched teeth.

"Terr-"

"I SAID GET AWAY!" Tara screamed before the earth threw him aside. Tara half stood up, perching herself on her knee and whipped her head around to watch the green shape-shifter slam into a building. A cold gust of wind pushed her hair around her face, forming a frame around her snarling expression. She continued to glare at the still green body a few feet from her. Beast Boy didn't move after a few painful twitches, and the glare slowly became lost from her face as she slowly stood up. Tara looked around at the ghoulish scene she had created, filled with pain and heartbreak. But it was nothing new to her as she turned around and stumbled away. She could feel Terra fighting back for control, and didn't want to risk being caught weak out in the open.

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The tower was dark that following night. It seemed like forever ago when the Titans had woken up that very morning and ran to the trouble, but now the sun slowly became swallowed by the hungry lake waves. The one room that stayed lit the was infirmy, shinning with a dim light compared to the breath taking sunset. Five Titan's worked with cautious paces, trying not to re-break bones, or re-open scabbing slashes. A hushed silence had fallen over them, holding their throats as if it where forbidden' to say anything about the subject that everyone was musing over.

Raven sulked in the darkest corner, trying not to rub the back of her head, where her headache had formed. Her hood kept her pale face hidden in murky shadows as she watched her friends. It had taken her most of the afternoon to wake up after the battle, and searing pain still shot through her every now and then. But her magic was slowly working on healing her broken down body, already it had been worked on the other Titan's. But not all pain was physical, and a silent tension swept around them all, making each movement awkward and alien. Raven shifted her eyes towards the window, where Beast Boy had perched himself on the sill. One leg resting up at his chest with his arms crossed, he didn't even seem to notice the others in the room. A small stab of pity hit her, but she pushed it away, pity was something that wouldn't help him right now.

"We need a plan." Robin's voice broke through the quiet streak, and made everyone turn to look at him, well... almost everyone. Beast Boy kept on staring out the window in his dazed state.

"What are we supposed to do?" Cyborg muttered. Raven again turned her eyes to Robin, watching him take in a sigh and shake his head gently. His masked eyes stayed downcast, as if asking the floor for any suggestions.

"We can't just let her run free." The leader mumbled, as if afraid of the subject he was bringing up.

"But Terra is our friend." Starfire protested with a soft voice, keeping that once friendship fresh in their minds. Raven bit the inside of her cheek- keeping sarcastic remarks to herself, along with probably a thousand insults she could throw at the geomancer. She couldn't help that boiling anger that waged against Terra, after everything she had put her friends through, Raven felt it was only natural to er- dislike the blonde.

"Was." Robin's voice, though quiet, sent a sting into them, making everyone shift with discomfort. "You saw what she did to those people, we can't let that happen again."

"Not to be Johnny Rain Cloud, but she kicked our butts man." Cyborg grunted.

"We're Titans!" Robin half snapped. "One lost battle wont lose a war." He was trying to raise their sprits, Raven could tell, but she could also sense it wasn't working. Robin gave a half hearted sigh before leaning against the wall with crossed arms, letting that silence fall over them once more. Raven shifted her eyes downcast, staring at the floor while feeling the pained quiet that floated everywhere in the room.

"But when will the war end?" The dark empath spoke out suddenly, raising her eyes to see the others look at her. The question hung in the air, waiting for someone to answer it, but no one did- no one could. When would this war end? When would Terra be either friend or foe? When would they ever have peace of being sure who she was? Another week? A year? How much longer did they have to wonder and worry about her? While silence gripped her friends tightly, Raven started pondering on the questions she had brought up in her own mind. She retraced to the feelings she had sensed during the battle earlier.

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Beast Boy had been listening quietly, hardly giving any signs that he was even a living creature. His green eyes stayed locked outside, but his mind wouldn't stop wondering from place to place. The dessert mountains gave a yellow glint as the fading sun touched their peaks. The light reflected onto the sands and glinted red from time to time along with orange and gold. It wasn't everyday someone saw a sunset like that, but it didn't seem to make a difference. The golden sands only reminded him of the blonde geomancer, who was roaming somewhere as confused as he was. Beast Boy couldn't explain it, he wouldn't try either- it would sound too stupid to admit out loud. But he felt a connection with Terra, a bond somehow, and he could still feel her crying for help. He knew she was trapped inside herself, but that was about all. It wasn't like he could write it out for the others, or anything, he just knew, as dumb as it sounded.

At Robin's sudden snap, Beast Boy gave a slight jolt from being woken from his thoughts. His eyes shifted to give the other Titan's a side long glance, watching them from the corner of his eye and listening more intently. His lips stayed firm and pressed though, not willing to put in any comment on the tender subject.

"When I was fighting Terra..." Raven's voice almost whispered into the air, as if she was recalling the earlier events as she spoke. "I sensed something... someone. I don't know how to explain it." The others seemed to ponder on that for a moment, before someone spoke up first.

"Like, different brain waves? Any machines? If she was being controlled again- it couldn't be Slade, he was right there at the scene." Cyborg noted, biting his lip when Robin twitched at the fact of the villains escape.

"No." Raven shook her head gently, seeming to have a hard time wording it out for the others. "Like she was there, but she wasn't. " The Goth took in a deep breath and looked down, shading her face with a shadow. "I-... I think its a split personality." She lifted her face up, casting a glance at each Titan as if daring them to call her crazy.

Beast Boy saw Robin lift his hand to his face and slick his hair back and sigh. "I guess it isn't impossible..." the leader trailed.

"But there's help for that, right?" Beast Boy spoke out suddenly, he wondered if he had said anything out loud for a moment. It was hard to tell from his tripped out mind and silent Titan's until someone spoke up.

"There is-" Cyborg started but was cut off.

"But she would never be completely secure." Raven cautioned. "To Terra this is real, this isn't some disease, to her there are two people inside her. And she is powerful enough to keep it that way, she just doesn't know it."

"We can't underestimate her anymore..." Robin muttered. "We can't afford to."

Beast Boy felt his hopes fade into a dark feeling, leaving a opening hole in his heart. But at the same time, that same hope tried to battle forward, trying to find a way to become real. "We can't just give her up either!" He snapped sharply at them, leaving a slapping force in the room.

"Beast Boy." Robin's voice was quick and stern, but Beast Boy only looked away back outside, listening. "We don't have a whole lot of options."

"Its not safe to put her anywhere." Cyborg pointed out. "She'll just break out. Then someone else-"

"Will get killed." Raven finished off bitterly.

Beast Boy tightened his fists so that his claw-sharp nails almost bit through his gloves. His teeth clenched together tightly. So that was that- they where just going to give Terra up as a wack-job?! How could they do this to her?! How could they just leave her out there on her own? So what if she wasn't stable- she was Terra- she was their friend! He couldn't believe the next words that entered the room, he almost refused to.

"There's only one way to stop her." Raven's words floated to each Titan.

"We cannot-" Starfire started, but was cut off.

"What else is there? She can't control it, no one can control it for her. She's dangers to everyone. If we tried to help her, she could have another break out at any giving' moment and hurt or even kill someone else! You saw what she did to those people. We can't risk that happening again." Robin said with a voice that sounded like he was trying to convince himself he was right. But his voice stayed pained with regret.

That was all he wanted to hear. Beast Boy stood up and marched through the room, walking past each Titan who refused to look at him. He stopped at the door, gripping it tightly and looking over his shoulder. His hard gaze hit each Titan before he left the room with a slamming door.

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The sun seemed to streak red as it went further into the lake. Somehow he could still smell the musty stench of blood, and the haunting feeling of death. The air became cold quickly, making Beast Boy wrap his arms around himself. This had been 'their' spot, where he had talked to Terra. By the lake... on the rocks... it should have been beautiful, but instead it just stung with bittersweet memory. If what the Titan's had found out was true, then this would always be a lonely spot- haunted by memories of laughter, and filled with pain. Beast Boy slowly started to realize, no matter how much he longed for it, the past was just that, the past. Still, hope was buried inside of him, keeping him warm and letting him pray, that the plan everyone was talking about- could be avoided. No, there had to be another way, he knew it. He had always been the guy who looked on the sunny side of everything. But the sun seemed blotted out by dark doubts and storming truth.

Caught up in his own swirl or furious emotions, Beast Boy didn't know he wasn't alone until the small figure sat down beside him. His green eye side looked at the violet eyed Titan, sending a quiet warning that he wasn't in the mood to be pitied or truth-talked to. But when she didn't speak, his eyes returned to the waters, letting their gentle movements hypnotize him into his fantasy land. Where good always winned, where life was fair and the right thing was always so clear. He used to live in that fantasy land, but he had been thrown out of it with unfair brute. Life had slapped him across the face with a sharp wake-up call. Showing him what the real world contained. How had he stayed so innocent before? He wondered on it, wondering how he had blocked out what happened everyday. Death, pain, cold swirling confusion. Somehow he had kept himself away from that real world, locking himself in that perfect la-la land. But now that Terra was casted into that real world, now that it was their pain and confusion- he couldn't ignore that real world anymore.

"I'm sorry." Her words uttered in a whisper.

"For what?" Beast Boy muttered back, his look going unfazed as it stared into the unknown.

"For what's happening to you." The shape shifter blinked for a moment, then turned to face Raven with a sober look. Watching her pale face as it tilted down before turning his back ahead.

"Its not your fault."

Raven uttered a soft and quiet sigh before letting silence wrap over them for a moment. Letting the bright moon shine down over them with a silver shower while the stars tried without success to outshine it. The midnight blue waters reflected the glowing specks of light back up to the sky with watery movements. The night was calming, almost as if it where trying to comfort him while he struggled with life. But it didn't help. Beast Boy knew what he had to do. Terra needed him one last time, she needed him to do this for her. He had to do it, this was his task- his chore. The choice left a burning shot in his chest. It hurt so bad he almost clutched his chest from the pain, but clenched his fists together instead and gazed down at the water and stared at his stone reflection.

"I know what I have to do." His voice whispered while he continued to stair at his wavered reflection.

"But when the time comes- will you be able to?" With those words Raven quietly took her leave. Letting her words swim around Beast Boy like a stringing plague, drowning him in deep thoughts, asking himself that same question over and over again.
Would he be able to?


Sorry for the wait guys, life is getting on the fast track lately xD Its hard to keep up. I am not able to give any previews, becuase I am still thinking over just how I want to do the next chapters. (If all gose to plan, only two more chapters should be comming.) And I didn't have time to write up some of the next chapter- becuase I hated keeping you guys waiting for so long. You've all been so great on the reviews- Thanks again!! So even though I don't have any priviews at this time- I hope y'all are still looking forward to the next chapter.

Thanks again everyone!

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