Chapter 11
"We were successful." Mathias said, after he had come out of his trance, and stood up. "My wife, and Raven, should come out shortly." he added, going with the feeling he had that the three had things to discuss before the broke the link.
Sure enough, after a few moments, first Anella, then Raven opened their eyes, then stood. Robin noticed the cool look Raven gave Anella, but relaxed, as Raven walked over to him.
"She's alright." she told him, smiling down at Star as she continued to sleep, gathering her strength. "She's far stronger than we give her credit for."
Robin nodded, then knelt beside Star, as she moaned softly, as she woke. "Good to have you back." he said, "You up to traveling again?" he asked, as he helped her up.
"Yes, let us hurry to get out of this place." she said, and, again they moved on. As they continued on the path, Raven came up to Star, "I saw that you and Anella had a few words." she said, "Everything alright?"
Star looked over, at Anella, then back to her friend. "We have reached an. . .understanding." she replied, then switched subjects, "So, what did you think of my version of Nevermore?"
"Very nice, but I would have thought you would have used somewhere from Tamaran."
Sadness washed over Starfire's face as she lowered her gaze. "Thanks to the Gordanians, and my sister, I no longer have happy memories of my home world." she said softly, and they walked in silence for a moment.
Shaleefa?" Raven asked, changing the subject once again, and was happy to see Star smile softly.
"Sha. . .lay. . .fa." Star corrected. "Did Trust, Loyalty, and Friendship, explain it to you?"
Raven thought back to the conversation she had with the three avatars, by the woods in Star's mindscape, "They said it was a term, that meant a special bond of friendship, between two females." she replied.
Star nodded, happily, indicating that Raven had understood correctly, "It is the putting together of three words," she explained, "Shalama du penefa, or sister of my heart."
"Trust translated it as soul sister." Raven said, they were silent for a moment, and she glanced over at the flame haired Titan, and saw a slightly nervous look on her face. "I'm not sure what to say." she admitted, unsure of exactly what kind of relationship Star had in mind.
Star gave her a sly smile, "You could say yes."
Raven shook her head, chuckling softly, "I don't know about you Star."
"Truthfully, you know more about me than even Robin." Star said softly, her face, and voice serious.
It was then that Raven realized just how important this was to her, and how much trust and loyalty tied into her friendships. She also realized that a deeper form of friendship was what Star was implying.. "Okay then," she said, "Yes, I'll be your shalay'fa, as you are mine."
"Thank you." Starfire said, giving Raven a quick, light hug, "I knew my trust in you was well founded." she added, then took to the air again.
They soon came to a section of the path, that had no holes in the floor, which let them all relax a little, knowing that there was one less danger. Mathias, and Robin were still in the lead, followed by Anella, and Cyborg, then Raven and Beast Boy, as Starfire, kept her aerial surveillance.
If Raven and the others hadn't been so intent on watching for danger of attack, they would have noticed that Beast Boy seemed to now be walking in his sleep.
In Beast Boy's mind
Just then, Beast Boy noticed that he was no longer in the cavern anymore, but was in another underground tunnel, one he was far more familiar with, and he was surprised to see that Raven was alongside him.
"I've told you that this is pointless." Raven said, "Cyborg, and I have look over everything, and even though this spell is the closest that we've found to getting her back, if it fails, it might destroy her."
Beast Boy was stunned that a cure for Terra had been found, and his feelings for her overrode rational thought. "But you've got to try, right?"
Raven gave the changeling an annoyed glance, but nodded her head in agreement, "Especially if I want any peace from your asking." she said,
Beast Boy had this nagging feeling, that something was wrong, that he shouldn't be here, but he couldn't put his finger on a reason as to why. Once the reached where Terra was still frozen in stone, he started unpacking the pack he carried, with the things necessary for the spell Raven was to perform.
"Now Beast Boy, you must remain silent, or I won't be able to concentrate on the spell." Raven warned him, as she sat in the lotus position, in the center of a circle she had drawn on the ground, with some powder from the pack.
Beast boy nodded, and moved against the wall, well away from her, as he heard her chanting the words to the spell. Suddenly a golden glow surrounded the statue, and after a moment cracks started to appear, and spread over the surface.
Raven's voice raised a level, as she moved on to the next part of the spell, and the cracks started multiplying, and growing in size. Just then, Beast Boy caught sight of something, through one of the cracks, and he couldn't hold back his enthusiasm. "Raven! I can see her!" he blurted out, then clapped his hands over his mouth, as he saw Raven startled from her trance, breaking the spell.
Quickly re-chanting the section of the spell she was doing from the beginning, Raven tried her best to salvage it, but it was to no avail, and Terra started vibrating harder, and harder. Seeing what was happening, and knowing it was hopeless, Raven quickly moved over to Beast Boy, and just as she threw a shield of her power over them, the statue shattered, throwing fragments everywhere.
Back in real world
Back in the real cavern, Raven could sense something, but couldn't pin down what it was. Suddenly she gasped, as she felt the waves of hatred, and hurt, coming from Beast Boy, and she turned to look at him, only to see him in mid-air, less than a foot from her. Having no time to react, she hit the ground hard, as Beast Boy landed on top of her. All she could do was bring her arms up, to block the punches he was throwing.
"You killed her, and I'll kill you!" Beast Boy shouted over, and over, as he rained blows down on the dark Titan.
"Don't hurt him, it's Memnoch again!" Raven managed to shout, as she caught some motion to her right, that she figured would be Cyborg, or Anella, "He thinks I've destroyed Terra!"
Raven finally managed to roll to one side, then flipped Beast Boy off her. She got to her feet, and turned to see him breathing heavily, glaring at her in pure, unadulterated fury. "You enjoyed that didn't you!" he bellowed, then morphed into his primal state, and charged her.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zynthos!" she chanted as quickly as she could, and enveloped him in an aura of her power, groaning with the effort she was putting forth to restrain him. "Beast Boy, think." she managed to grate out, "I may not have liked her, but I wouldn't want to see her destroyed." she reasoned, then cried out, as Beast Boy roared loudly, as he shattered her restraint, and charged.
Using several smaller shields, Raven managed to block the first few of that blows thrown at her, but one finally got through, and she was thrown several feet through the air, before she landed on her side, and slid into the wall. "No!" she shouted, holding out her hand, and throwing up a protective shield around Beast Boy, deflecting the three disks, Robin had thrown, and the blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon. "I said, don't hurt him!" she said, again, then quickly enveloped him again, and pinned him against the wall.
She held him there as she slowly approached him, her other hand up, reaching for the top of his head. She watched as he raged, and snarled at her, and she was almost overwhelmed by the emotions she was getting, as she lowered her mental shields, in an attempt to reach her friend. As she watched, and her hand finally drew near to his head, the expression on it's face went from snarling, and angry to astonished, and disbelieving.
'Beast Boy, it's me, Raven.' her mental voice said in his mind. 'Please hear me.' Beast Boy's struggles lessened, then stopped. He morphed back into human form, and she could see tears streaming down his face. 'Let me see what happened.' she thought to him, and the failed spell replayed itself in her mind. 'Beast Boy, it was a trick, by Memnoch.' she reasoned. 'I may not have liked Terra, but she didn't deserve to be imprisoned in stone like that, not one does, and I would have tried anything to free her if I thought it had a chance of succeeding.'
'But you laughed afterwards.' Beast Boy's thoughts sobbed back at her, 'and called me a fool for wanting her back.'
Raven took a deep breath, as she decided what she had to do, to prove to him it was a lie. 'Beast Boy, follow my mental voice.' she coaxed him, and felt him respond, following her into her own mind. 'In here, I cannot lie to you, as what you are getting are my thoughts.' she explained. 'I wouldn't do that to you, as I care to much for you, to do that, to hurt you that way.'
'Care for me, how, why?' he thought back, realizing what she told him was true, but not knowing why. Suddenly, the hug that he had gotten from her, after he told her she wasn't alone, after Malchior had betrayed her, and broke her heart, flashed through his mind, as did Raven's emotions behind that hug. Next was how he had protected her, as Adonis, had changed, into a primal animal, and attacked her. The final scene was his ecstatic antics, at her return after Trigon's defeat..
'For all I may not have liked Terra, she brought joy into your life, and because of that, and your friendship with me, I can not, would not, destroy her.' Raven's mental voice said, then he felt himself being removed from her mind.
"I'm sorry Beast Boy." Raven said, as she released him, then turned her back on him, pulling her hood, close around her face. She turned when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm sorry too Raven." Beast Boy said, "I only wish. . ." he began, but left the thought unfinished.
"I know, I know." Raven said.
"Can we go on now, and get this over with?" Cyborg asked, and they started on their way again, hoping they were near the end.