Chapter 8

"Slade! How did you get in the tower?" Robin ran up to him and kicked out his foot but Slade blocked it.

"I have my ways." He picked Robin up by the leg and threw him against the wall. "I've come for my apprentice."

"Apprentice? You mean Terra?" Robin stood back up and put up a fighting stance. "Well you're not getting her."

"You have little choice in the matter, my dear Robin." Slade ran towards Robin and hit him with a flying kick, knocking him down again. "I suppose I'll find her on my own."

"Not gonna happen Slade." Cyborg pointed his arm cannon right at him.

"I tire of this."

"Me too." Cyborg shot his cannon but Slade sidestepped it and quickly ran up to him. With one punch, Slade knocked Cyborg over.

"Now, tell me where...OOF!" Green bolts of energy hit Slade's back. Starfire hovered nearby.

"Leave us alone." She shot out more energy bolts but Slade backflipped out of their way.

"I'm wasting my time. Bye now!" Slade dropped a smoke bomb and disappeared.

"Robin? Starfire? Cyborg? Anyone there?" Beast Boy shouted into his communicator. "This isn't good."

Suddenly, Beast Boy heard coughing noises. "It is I, Starfire. Slade is in the tower. He is looking for Terra."

"And what about Robin and Cyborg?"

"They are unconscious but fine. Just find Slade."

Raven and Beast Boy nodded at each other. Beast Boy transformed into a bat and Raven levitated up close by as they hurried to find Slade.

"Let me out! Let me out!" Terra struggled at the metal bars, trying to free herself, but it was no use. She sat down on the ground and pounded at the bars when a chill ran through her body. "Oh no. He's here."

Slade knocked the door in and it slammed against the cell, scaring the life out of Terra. "Well, well, well. If it isn't my little amnesiac apprentice. You're coming with me."

"No."

"What do you mean 'no'? I control you, Terra."

"No, Slade. You can't control me anymore."

"Is that so?" Slade lifted up a remote control and pressed a button on it. Instantly, Terra felt a surge of energy coursing through her body.

"No! Stop it!" Terra collapsed to the ground in a heap.

"I've had enough of your resistance, slave. Now come with me." Slade pushed another button on his remote. Terra's eyes opened with a jolt and she stood up, looking drained of life. "That's more like it. Now let me help you out of there." Slade said, as he grabbed the bars and bent them with his bare hands. "Now, let's do what you came here to do."

"Where is he?" Beast Boy gasped. He had searched almost everywhere in the tower and he was out of breath. "Damn that Slade! He better not hurt Terra."

Raven's voice crackled over the communicator. "Any luck?"

"No. And I'm..." Suddenly, the floor began to rumble under his feet. "What was that? An earthquake?"

"No, it has to be Terra. She's under Slade's control again. He's trying to destroy the tower again."

Beast Boy dropped his communicator. "The basement!" He transformed into an eagle and flew as fast as he could.

"Beast Boy? Beast Boy!"

Slade and Terra stood in the depths of the basement while Terra proceeded to cause the rock to tumble free from the walls. "Excellent, Terra. Now let's make our exit before we're buried in here." Slade walked up the stairs of the basement and opened the door only to find a dinosaur roaring in his face. This surprised Slade so much that he fell down the stairs, bringing Terra tumbling down with him.

Beast Boy resumed to his normal form and cracked his knuckles. "Slade, I'm going to kill you."

Slade stood up and dusted himself off. "Let's see you try it."

Beast Boy turned into a lion and jumped on top of Slade, but Slade bucked him over his head. When he stood upright, he noticed Terra lying silently next to him, so he returned to his normal form. "Terra, come on. Get up!"

With Beast Boy's guard down, Slade grabbed him from behind and threw him against the side of the stairwell. He instantly lost consciousness.

Slade looked up at the walls coming loose. "Well, slave. It appears you've done your job. You've grown past your usefulness. Rest in peace with your boyfriend." He shot up the stairs and out of sight.

"Starfire, are Robin and Cyborg alright?"

"Yes, Raven. They are safely away from the tower like you asked."

"Good. I'm going to try and find Beast Boy and Terra before the whole place comes down."

"Wait, Raven! It is too dangerous to...Raven?" She didn't answer back.

Beast Boy woke up to find the tower collapsing around him. "Terra? Terra!" He couldn't stand up and looked around furiously, but didn't see her anywhere. "TERRA!!!" A giant piece of rock slammed down in front of him, shocking him into finding a tiny bit of shelter. "I can't move. I can't escape. I'm going to die." Looking up, he saw the ceiling finally give, sending rock crashing down all around. He crouched down, rolled into a ball and clenched his eyes shut, fearing the inevitable.

But a few seconds passed and he was OK. Peeking out from under his hands, he saw a black forcefield surrounding him. He sat up and saw Raven struggling to maintain her black energy shield. "Raven!"

"Don't thank me yet. I don't know if I can hold this for long."

Beast Boy couldn't keep the tears from flowing. Too much had happened too fast.

"Hey, keep it together, Beast Boy. We're not done for yet."

"We are. Terra's gone. Slade succeeded in destroying the tower and it's only a matter of time before we're crushed underneath the rubble."

"Well..." Raven couldn't think of anything to ease Beast Boy's suffering.

They both fell silent until a familiar voice blared from Raven's communicator.

"Raven? Raven! Are you there? Oh, I fear the worst."

Beast Boy shot up and snatched the communicator from Raven's side. "Starfire! It's me Beast Boy! Raven and I are trapped in the rubble and we're not going to last very long."

"The communicator is showing your position. I will try to clear away the remains."

Raven smiled down at Beast Boy who burst into tears of joy. "We're going to make it."

Several hours later into the night, the five remaining titans regrouped on the roof of their favorite pizza joint.

"Our home. It is gone. What are we to do now?" Starfire could barely compose herself in asking the question.

"There's not much we can do. We can only rebuild it." Robin shook his fists madly. "Slade will pay dearly for this."

"And what of Terra?" Raven interjected.

"I could not find her anywhere among the rubble. Perhaps she escaped?" Starfire said.

"Maybe. But how did she escape? And why didn't she help Beast Boy?"

Everyone looked at Beast Boy who was cowering in the corner.

"We may never know." Raven retuned to talking to the other three. "But what I do know is that Slade was controlling Terra against her will."

"But how?" Cyborg said.

"My guess is a form of modified nano-technology."

"And your dreams?"

"A side effect of my powers. Whenever I was in a dream state, I was sensing some of what Slade was doing to Terra."

Robin spoke up again. "Well, whatever the case, Slade succeeded in his objective."

Cyborg swung his fist at a nearby air duct. "Fuck! This isn't supposed to happen to the good guys." He calmed down a bit before he resumed talking. "So where do we go tonight?"

Robin flipped out his communicator. "I know someone who'll be willing to take us in tonight."

While Robin was busy talking, Raven crept away and crouched next to Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy? Do you want to talk?"

"About what? That I lost my girlfriend and my home all in one night?"

"You don't know that she's dead. And we can always build a new home."

"Since when did you become so optimistic?"

Raven kneeled down and hugged Beast Boy from behind. "Just be glad you're alive. I am."

"Raven, please. Now is not the time." But Beast Boy didn't push her away.

"I don't care." She hugged him tighter. "We'll get through this. We all will."

"Raven..."

"I'm so sorry about always fighting with Terra. She wasn't a traitor. You were right all along."

"But you couldn't have known..."

They both stayed in that position for a few minutes, too exhausted and emotional to do anything else. Suddenly, Cyborg tapped them on the shoulders.

"Hey, guys. Our ride's here." He pointed upwards to a bat-shaped vehicle hovering in the sky.

Beast Boy watched Raven fly up to meet the others boarding, but couldn't bring himself to move. When Raven noticed, she flew back and held out her hand.

"Let's not keep the others waiting."

Beast Boy eventually grabbed Raven's hand and they both finally boarded, unsure of what tomorrow would bring, but just thankful there was a tomorrow.

THE END

Finally finished! This undertaking was far more taxing than I could have imagined and I'm glad I had the will to finish The Triangle part 2. In a few days I will post the obligatory author's notes.

-KTF