Unpetrify

Disclamer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I only torture the characters

"Are you certain that this will work?" Starfire asked as she helped Cyborg assemble the machine. She ducked when a part came flying over her head as Raven brought them into the cave. Robin immediately took the parts and sorted them into piles.

"Trust me. It'll work," was all Cyborg would say.

I was there the first time we went back to save you. Cy and I had worked for weeks on some device to, ah, "unpetrify" you. Well, Cy worked on it. I just handed him the tools. Everyone else helped some, but mostly it was just the two of us, Cy because it was another riddle to solve with his expertise; and me, well, I guess my reasons are pretty obvious.

The machine was finally assembled. It was a jumble of coils, buttons, and metal held together with nuts, bolts, glue, and Raven's powers. It wasn't nearly as pretty as any of Cyborg's other creations, but the point was that it would work this time.

"Turn it on," Robin ordered.

Like I said, we worked on it for weeks. I was so excited when we finally finished it. It was only as big as my hand, but Cy seemed pretty sure it would work. We all rushed to the cave, and there you were, standing above our sign. You managed to look proud, angry, and sad all at the same time in the moment that you turned everything to stone. How did that happen, anyway? Was it an accident? Did you just lose control again that last time?

And as for the device... Cy said it didn't have the right frequency or protons or something. All I cared about was that it wasn't working.

The machine was spitting electricity everywhere. They couldn't seem to get enough power to the places that needed it.

"Raven, tighten that power coil," Cyborg barked as he dodged a bolt of electricity. "Star, we need more power! I don't care how you get it, just make it happen. And Robin, I thought I told you to stay back!" The smaller boy guiltily jumped back from the device. Being purely human, he was the least likely of any of them to survive one of those surges.

I was so sad that day. No, I think the right word is probably "devastated." I thought for sure that I'd be walking out of that cave with you, but we failed. I don't want you to think I gave up, though. Cy went back to the drawing board, and came up with some new ideas. This time, the others tried to help out more, too. It was the new team project; to bring you back to the family. The old project was floating in your stone somewhere anyway. Not that we mind.

"It's working! Keep it up, Star! Raven, try to keep all of the energy focused on her!" Cyborg shouted over the loud humming. Raven threw him a glare over her shoulder.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" she snapped. Her control was slipping.

"All you have to do is guide it, Ray," Robin yelled form the side. "Just make sure it doesn't go anywhere we don't want it to go!"

She sighed. "I'll try."

The second one failed, too. We tried lots of things. More devices, medicines and potions, and even magic once, but all that did was backfire and turn Raven into a bunny. I would have laughed if I hadn't been crying at the time.

I gotta tell you, at that point, I finally gave up. I mean, what was the use in trying anymore? We'd already proved it was impossible six tries ago. I stopped going to the planning sessions, and stopped talking about you. I refused to go with them to the cave anymore, although sometimes I went by myself to watch over you for a while. I mean, just because I saw it was hopeless to try anything else doesn't mean I stopped caring.

"Look at that!" Robin's joyous shout echoed over even the giant hunk of metal's noise. At first the former Titan's body had looked like it was catching fire, but the "flames" were actually streaks of color. She was coming back.

"Wondrous," Starfire breathed too softly to be heard over the din.

"It's about time," Raven said with a small smile.

"All right, gang, cut the power," Cyborg shouted with a broad grin.

But, God, do you have any idea how much I've missed you? Not just because of those mushy feelings I have for you, either. You were my best friend. You left so quickly the first time, I didn't get to tell you. And then you only came back for a few days before you were gone again. The only difference this time was that we knew exactly where you were; with Slade. And then...Petrifaction.

Starfire flew forward to catch the blonde girl as her knees buckled. She was conscious, but seemed confused. She raised a hand to her head.

"Why does it feel like there's an earthquake going off in my head?" she asked plaintively. Starfire hugged, gently after she remembered her extra strength, and blinked back tears.

"It will pass, my friend. Soon, all will be well again." Robin offered up his cloak as a sling, and although any of them could have carried her weight effortlessly, each of them grabbed a corner and carried her back to their current vehicle of choice, the hover car.

I'm ashamed to say this, but sometimes I didn't just go to that cave to sit by you watch. Sometimes, I screamed at you, or cried, or just begged for you to some back. I kept hoping that some part that was still you would hear me and get mad enough to come out and yell at me. At least then you'd be there. But you just kept ignoring me. Finally, one night I just decided that you weren't really in there anymore--that maybe the part that makes up you found somewhere else to be.

"There, that should start working fairly soon. It's extra strength." Comforting wasn't Robin's strong suit, but he was trying. It was a little crammed in the car, so the little blonde was laying across the backseat, her legs stretched over Robin's lap and her head in Starfire's. All that time spent in stasis had understandably limited her body's ability to circulate, and she was just beginning to get feeling back through her body. Strangely enough, there didn't seem to be any other side effects.

"You gave us quite a scare, girl. We were starting to think you weren't ever coming back," Cyborg said from the driver's seat. Raven had turned around in the passenger's side to regard her with dark, unblinking eyes.

"What is it?" she asked a little nervously. Her voice croaked a little from disuse.

"It's just good to see you."

She smiled, and then addressed the issue that no one had a good answer to yet. "Um, guys, where's beast Boy?"

Then I figured, if anyone deserves heaven, it's you. I guess that's why I'm praying; if you're anywhere, it's there. I hope you like it there. You probably finally fit in, just like you'd always wanted.

The other Titans are out there right now, you know. Trying to save you again. In the end they'll just have to except it, just like I had to. But I'll keep talking to you like this no matter what, Terra, because, well, I lo--

"Beast Boy."

He spun around in shock from his kneeling position on the floor. His eyes widened and his face whitened. It couldn't be. There was no way that she could possibly be standing there. She was in the doorway to his room, framed by the light in the hallway. It appropriately cast a halo of light around her head, although her shifting movements and the way she nervously clutched one arm marred the picture somewhat. He stood up, nearly knocking a lamp over on the nearby desk. For a long time they just stared at each other as a clock ticked somewhere in the background. Finally, Beast Boy couldn't take it any more.

"Is it really--what I mean is, are you really--ah, how come you're not--" She walked toward him, half a smile on her face. She stopped when he backed away, and the smile was gone.

"You're not afraid of me, are you? I don't think I could handle that. I know what I did was wrong, but I though I made up for it when I sealed Slade up!" Beast Boy blinked at the quick outburst even as he felt his chest tighten with emotions he struggled to rebury. "I'm not afraid of you. I just don't want you to touch me."

Terra felt the tears sting her eyes. She was afraid she had lost her best friend forever. "But why?" It came out in a whisper.

"Because if you do, I'm afraid I'll find out you aren't really there. I can handle the possibility of being crazy, but I don't think I could take it not really being you." His voice cracked on the last word, and his gaze had shifted away from her. Terra suddenly felt elated despite the stiffness and what was left of the headache that still clung to her. She just wanted to hug him.

"C'mere, you silly boy," was all the warning he got before he was enveloped in her arms. She was real. The knowledge struck him dumb, and at first he could only numbly pat her back. Then he heard a small sob, and was surprised to discover that he wasn't really sure whose it was. The noise jolted him back, and he hugged her tightly to him.

"Terra, you're back!"

End

And that, folks, is my first crack at fan fiction. I hope you enjoyed it. Sorry if the layout was confusing. The editor just didn't want to cooperate.

Please critique me! But don't bother with flames; if it's not constructive, it'll be laughed at, printed out and torn up, burned, and then deleted from the computer forever. Mwa ha ha.

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