Chapter 4:
Beast Boy sat in his room in silence. What was he supposed to do now? His friends thought him crazy so they weren't going to help him, and he had no way of figuring it out on his own. He needed more proof that he was right. But were would he get it? He needed a plan. He needed to go back. But he knew that his so- called friends would try and stop him from going. So, he sneaked out as soon as he got a chance, and was off to find a way to help Terra by himself. He just hoped that he wasn't as crazy as his friends thought he was.
At the cave again. He didn't know what he was going to do, or how he was going to do it. He would just have to try to figure it out as he went. He started by tapping on the statue in several places, trying to find a place that wasn't solid, but hollow. It didn't work. So he went and tried to hear breathing or a heart beating through the rock. That didn't work either. He was running out of ideas.
He was just about to give up, when he felt something. What was it? The ground was shaking! He ran for the entrance to the cave, but didn't make it. Something hit him in the head and knocked him out. While he was unconscious, he could feel shaking and rocks falling. He could hear crashing and the cave collapsing. And through all of this noise and chaos he didn't wake up. He didn't even get hit with any of the falling rocks or the collapsing cave. All the while, he was out cold. The weirdness had only begun.
When Beast Boy finally came to, he had a slight headache.
"What happened?" He thought out loud. He looked around the cave. It seemed like nothing had changed. The walls were solid, the roof was in tact, even the entrance was perfect. The only thing wrong was Terra. "Were is Terra?" Beast Boy looked over to where Terra's statue used to be. It was gone! He was still lying on the ground when he heard something from behind.
"Beast Boy? Beast Boy are you ok?" it said. The voice was familiar. He turned around, and saw something he wished he could have seen a long time ago.
"Terra? Terra!" Beast Boy jumped up and embraced Terra in a long waited hug. He was so glad she was alive. He felt one of her tears dropped onto his shoulder. He pulled back to look at her. Terra looked beautiful. Her hair hung gracefully over her shoulders. She was smiling a smile that could kill it was so kind. Her eyes sparkled like stars. She was crying a little. The two stood in silence for a minute or two, then Beast Boy noticed something. Terra was glowing. Not glow as in a metaphor or something, but she was literally glowing. She was outlined in a radiant yellow glow.
"Terra, your glowing." He said.
"I know." she replied.
"Terra. I missed you. What happened? What's going on?"
"I'll tell you." Terra and Beast Boy sat down on the floor, and Terra began to tell her story. "Well, as you know, that day when we defeated Slade, my body was turned to stone. But my soul and heart was still alive. It was only a few days ago when I was able to contact you."
"But why didn't you breath or have your heart beat when the others were here?"
"Because, since it was only my soul and heart that were alive, my systems would only work in the presence of the one that my heart called to. The one that it trusted the most. That's you Beast Boy. When the others showed up, I wasn't able to contact them or you because they weren't 'the one' and you weren't along. Do you understand?"
"I think so. But, how are you here now? And how did the cave get back in one piece? How long was I out?"
"Actually, you were only out a few minutes. I'm allowed to come back once a year. The day that has been chosen for me is February 13th, today. But only if I'm with you and only you. And don't ask me how I know all this. I just do. And the cave wasn't really collapsing. It was just an affect to scare off anyone who might have been coming towards the cave. The rocks never fell. Except the one that hit you. So, since it's my day, and you're here, I can be alive again, more or less. I'm so happy to see you again."
"So am I. Just wait till I show you to the others. Man do they owe me an apology. Come on."
"No! I can't."
"Why not?"
"Weren't you listening? The magic only works when I'm along with you. If the others show up, or I go to them the magic ends and I return to stone. They can never see me alive again."
"That stinks."
"I wouldn't have enough time to meet them even if I could. The magic runs out in a few minutes."
"What!?" Beast Boy flabbergasted. He thought (and hoped) he was hearing things again. "What do you mean the magic runs out in a few minutes? I thought you were alive for a whole day?"
"Well, not a whole day, but most of it. Look. The sun is almost about to set. When the sunset begins, I turn back into a statue. But I'll be back next year, and we can spend even more time together, now that you know to get here earlier." Terra and Beast Boy had one last hug, then Beast Boy stood back and watched Terra step back onto her platform for her transformation. When Terra stepped onto the platform, the yellow glow that had encircled her grew and filled the entire cave. When the glow disappeared, Terra was just a statue. Beast Boy could feel a lump form in his throat.
"Beast Boy!" Beast Boy turned around to see the titans entering the cave.
"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.
"Well," Robin started, "we were thinking about what you said and, you were right. Terra was our friend and our teammate. We should have tried harder to help her."
"I said we would reverse this affect, and we will. So, how about getting started?" Raven offered.
"Nah." Beast Boy answered. "I did some thinking too. And I think that things are fine the way they are." The titans looked at Beast Boy, looked at each other, then back at Beast Boy and smiled. "Besides, you need something to make V-day interesting." With that, the titans turned to leave. But Beast Boy hesitated. He turned and took one last long look at Terra, then flew away with his friend. He'd be seeing her next year.
The End……