A/N: It's definitely the last chapter! It's about time, I know, but hopefully you'll like it. Don't forget to review!
A Thing of the Past, Chapter 11
"What took you so long?" Terra asked spitefully after I landed and morphed into my human form. She was leaning against the opening of the cave with her arms crossed over her chest. She was trying to look cool, but I could tell she was nervous from the way she kept crossing and re-crossing her arms.
I scowled at her. "Why do you bother asking when you already know the answer?" I retorted. "I stopped by the Tower to pick up a flashlight, okay? It's dark in there."
She put on a pouty face. "What's the matter? Is baby afwaid of the dawk?" she asked in a little voice.
I ignored her and began making my way inside. I turned the flashlight on and moved it around as I tried to get my bearings. It had been months since I came here last. I continued walking.
The first couple weeks after Terra's sacrifice, I would come here almost every day. Some days I would just sit in front of her and cry, others I would rant and rave about why she had done it, and others I would merely sit, as though I was expecting something to happen. Every time I left, though, I would feel worse, emotionally and physically, than when I had arrived.
The visits became fewer and fewer until finally they stopped altogether. It was time to get on with my life. I knew Terra would have wanted it that way.
When I thought she had returned about a month ago, I never came here to see if her story checked out. That was more like something Robin would do. If I had, I probably could have saved myself a lot of grief.
Standing before me atop her pedestal was the real Terra, in a petrified-like state, as she redeemed herself by making the ultimate sacrifice. I stared at her for a few moments. Finally, I set the flashlight down and turned it on bright, allowing it to flood the cavern with its light.
"It all comes down to this," Terra said as she emerged from behind the petrified-like Terra. "Can you really do it, Beast Boy? Can you kill the love of your life?"
"She's already dead," I mumbled, trying to convince myself that it was true.
"You don't know that for sure," she responded, tapping lightly on the head of the Terra-statue. "This could merely be a cocoon in which the real Terra is sleeping, awaiting the day when she can break free and be a beautiful butterfly. Break the cocoon too soon, and you kill the butterfly."
"No," I said after a brief hesitation. "This isn't like when Starfire had her transformation. This is something different. She was hit with magma and when it cooled, it left this copy of her."
"Is that what you really think?" Terra asked flatly. "It's an awfully good copy."
"Yes," I answered instantly, trying not to let her see that I was lying. It was a foolish attempt, since she already knew everything about me. She was me, after all.
She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly, as though she were very disappointed in me. "You think that by destroying this Terra, you'll be able to get rid of me," she said kindly as she pointed to the Terra-statue. "But I'll let you in on a little secret: you're only fooling yourself."
"Y-you're l-lying," I stuttered. "You wouldn't be trying so hard to stop me if it wasn't true."
"Perhaps," she said with a shrug. "Are you willing to take that risk? If you destroy the real Terra, there's no going back. She'll be gone. Now me—well, let's just say I don't plan on going anywhere for a long time."
"Plans change," I said, my voice becoming serious, almost sad. "The only reason you're here at all is because of the hope I have that the real Terra will return. By destroying that hope, I destroy you. It may not be the smartest thing I'll ever do, but I know that it's the right thing. Good-bye, Terra."
I crawled up on the pedestal and moved slowly toward the Terra-statue, stopping a few inches away from it. Tears were beginning to stream down my cheeks. I leaned in and kissed the Terra-statue lightly on the cheek. "Good-bye," I whispered. "I'll never forget you." I moved back and morphed into my gorilla form.
"No, wait," Terra said, a note of desperation entering her voice as I lifted my arms above my head. "I told you, this isn't going to work," Terra continued in a shaky voice that no longer sounded so convincing.
That was all I needed. I let out a roar like none other and swung down, closing my eyes at the last moment as Terra screamed in the background. My arms stopped when they made contact with the Terra-statue and I heard it break from the impact as some pieces flew out and hit me.
I stood there for a few moments, tears still escaping my tightly closed eyes, before allowing my arms to fall to my sides limply. I morphed back to my human form and fell to my knees lifelessly. The cavern was silent, save for my occasional sobs.
Finally, I opened my eyes. There was nothing but a pile of rubble in the place of the Terra-statue. I cried out and crawled over, thrusting my hands into the pile and letting the small pieces sift through my fingers as the pain racked my entire body.
I felt a light touch on my shoulder and turned around slowly, expecting Terra but finding it was Raven instead. She lowered her hood and came down to my level. She placed her hands on my shoulders and cautiously pulled me towards her, allowing me to rest my head on her shoulder. We sat like that for a while, me crying on Raven's shoulder while she caressed my hair and rocked slightly from side to side. Having calmed down, I pulled back, feeling slightly embarrassed. Out of seemingly nowhere, she produced a tissue and handed it to me.
"I think you need this," she said in her usual toneless voice.
"Thanks," I said and hiccupped.
"So, was it worth it?" she asked after giving me a few moments to clean up.
I looked at her confusedly. "What?"
"Was it worth it?" she repeated. "Giving up your happiness to save the rest of us? Giving up your hope for your sanity? Or do you wish you could go back and do everything differently?"
I sighed. "Part of me wishes I could go back," I answered truthfully. "But a larger part of me knows that it had to be done. I hope it was worth it."
She looked at me, as though she were trying to find something. With a slight nod, she began to rise to her feet. "I think it was," she said, holding out her hands and helping me up. "Let's go talk to Robin."
I cringed slightly. "Do you think he'll be angry with me?"
She gave a small smile. "Well, you only gave him a concussion. I'm sure if you had knocked him into a coma, he would be a lot angrier. Come on." She took my hand, lacing her fingers with mine and we left together.