Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Well! Hasn't it been a while? Anyway, this is Chapter Two. Thanks to all who review the first!
Scene at the end donated by animeobsessed3191! Thank you!
In The End: Chapter Two
Terra opened her eyes, looking out into the pitch blackness of the cavern. Her mind stalled, letting her drop to her knees on the rock littered ground. Taking a breath, she looked at her hands and rose.
She was free.
The ground rumbled and she lifted her head, looking towards the tunnel. The fading sounds of her running footsteps echoed in the hollow cave.
Sliding to a stop just outside the tunnel, Terra stared at the boiling landscape as the Earth moaned in agony from the torment inflicted on it. Lava flowed around her feet as the once-frozen Titan tried to grasp what had happened to her world. Blue eyes scanned the clouded horizon and found nothing- not even the smoking remnants of Jump City- flat, tortured horizons covered the world around her. Desperation lent strength to her eyes, and in the distance something became visible. It was the only thing her dazed mind could focus on, and her feet took her there without a second thought.
Statues. There were four statues, Terra realized as she slowed to a walk, looking at the first with wide eyed horror.
Someone had carved a statue of Starfire, one of her hands raised not for a starbolt, but outwards, extended as if to reach out and help someone hold onto life with that immeasurable strength. It was so realistic…
Shaking her head slightly, the sapphire eyes found the other one beside her: this one of Robin, an understanding look on his face, as though he had seen the darkest truth in someone else and chosen to acknowledge it, rather than turn away. One of his hands was lifted slightly too.
Next, unbidden, she shivered as she saw Cyborg. There was a matter of fact look on his face; one that said, 'Hey, you've fallen down, now get back up. C'mon.' His hand too was stretching out…
A cold feeling trickling down her back as Terra wrenched her gaze away from the robot and turned towards the fourth. She had been frozen in stone loving him, but somehow, in that time between then and now, the telekinetic girl had realized they both had to move on. Without looking, she somehow knew it would be Beast Boy- and it was.
He had a feral look on his face; had she not known the gentle side of him, Terra might have been scared. Like he was scoffing at someone else's weakness and was about to tell them, with a sneer, that they knew nothing of true pain. But… somehow… one of his hands was offered too…
That left… Raven. Still reeling from the strangeness of it all, she looked at the stone altar the four statues surrounded.
If it had been a sunny day and the gothic teenager had had makeup on, Terra would have said Raven didn't look any different. But here, in this Hellish place, the dark marks under her eyes were clearly defined, the lines on her brow from worry seemed etched in, and Terra could only stand there for a moment and watch the Titan stir, shake her head and toss, then subside back into whatever kind of sleep she was in.
Then it broke through. That the statues weren't just statues- they were her friends. And somehow, Raven alone had survived. A gut feeling told her it was Raven's fault- and she was 100 correct.
The stone altar cracked as a gloved fist slammed it, inches from Raven's head. There was a second in which Terra's heavy breathing filled the night-day before violet eyes snapped open and the half demoness tumbled over the edge, a flurry of black, blue and purple.
"Wha- what happened?" Raven whispered, but something in her tortured eyes told the other girl that Raven already knew. "Terra?" And then her eyes caught the statues. Then there was real, unfeigned concern. "Oh God… Oh no…"
"How could you do this, Raven? How could you?" Terra's voice broke, rage vanishing as she surveyed the destroyed landscape.
"It wasn't my fault! This wasn't supposed to happen. This was never supposed to come about. Terra, you've got to believe me!" Raven pleaded, as Terra's hands glowed a familiar yellow and the anger returned.
"You're as much of a traitor as me!"
The words slapped Raven, and she stared disbelievingly at Terra. Rocks were raised above her head, though it looked like Terra was holding back. Raven took that opportunity.
"What if I told you about my past? Would you believe me then?" The blonde hesitated and Raven pushed herself up off the jagged stone floor, ignoring the blood running down her slender legs to lean on the broken altar as her ragged voice told Terra of a nightmare; of a fate worse than even she had guessed at…