Sorry about the slight gap here. Kingdom Hearts II got in the way of my writing. But...here's Chapter Ten. For lack of a better title I give you Binding Contracts.
Forget everything about death being a painless experience. When Terra passed through that barrier, seemingly separating the death from the living, that warm tingle spread from her spine through her entire body like knives digging into her skin. Whatever pain she had felt when the beast had attacked her was only intensified sevenfold. The geomancer vaguely wondered if you were supposed to feel anything when you were dead but her thoughts drifted off as her strangled breathing, heavy and forced, met her ears. Slowly Terra's eyes darted open, merely narrow slits as she painfully gasped for breath, chest heaving and her left foot twitching slightly. Her heartbeat was still extremely slow, one arm wrapped around her ribcage. But her free arm, the one that had been trying to clot the blood now drying on her neck was resting on the cold floor, twitching slightly almost as if it had a mind of its own.
"What...?" Terra mumbled blankly, eyes now jammed shut as her arm began twitching violently, her body almost under convulsions as she hugged her arms around her battered and bruised body, now on her knees. Her head was spinning horribly, and as she opened her eyes to steady herself the blurry outlines of the Titans and the Slade-bots only made this worse. Still shivering Terra closed her eye again trying to steady the feeling of being on a merry-go-round.
Unfortunately, Terra's seizure didn't stop Slade from staring down at her from a pedestal, head tilted to one side. "Curious. I thought she'd be taken care of by now." The villain let out an irritated sort of sigh before a low whistle broke through the room over the sounds of fighting, the green beast appearing at its master's side. "Apprentice do take care of the pest problem right this time…" Beast Boy had already trotted to the edge of the pedestal and leaped to the ground, a dull thud echoing as his paws hit the floor each time. Terra, though she was trying to ignore the large green creature coming toward her, feeling daggers on every inch of her body now, white hot like the sun.
A growl of warning came from Beast Boy's mouth as he charged Terra, paws spread wide. When he landed on the cold floor the beast skidded a few feet catching Terra in his chest, paws on either side of her body. Her eyes snapped open as she felt the animal's hot breath on her face. Her body was still convulsing as she stared deep into the pupil-less eyes trying desperately to find a bit of Beast Boy left there. "Come on, Beast Boy…Remember…remember the pie?"
There was a long pause between the two the beast's head dipped low as if remembering something about great apple pie…but the moment of recognition passed almost as soon as it had come. Beast Boy threw his head back a howl piercing the air as his gaze fell back on Terra, who had stopped shaking but was still cornered against a wall by a green shape-shifter. He reared back on his hind legs, forepaw raised high above his head as he swung wildly for Terra's unguarded body…
…but Terra, too had raised her hand on the prospect of cushioning most of the powerful blow thinking it would be far better to break her arm then to die at the hands of the beast. The thing she hadn't counted on was her hand beginning to glow a familiar gold, eyes taking on the same hue, and a large crack forming on the ground below them. The earth was shattering between Beast Boy's back feet, making him fall back onto all fours and steady himself on one side of the large crevice, snarling at Terra, bits of drool and spit clinging to her bruised face.
The animal took another step forward, slowly taking the opportunity of Terra's stunned expression to attack. The beast opened its muzzle, canines looking like knives glittering in the light. Terra, hand raised to her eyes in question was completely oblivious to this action, crying out in pain as Beast Boy's teeth sank into her wrist. His jaws were locked around her wrist completely, and she slowly felt him rotate it in his mouth. The animal clamped his jaws down, a sickening crack signifying the breaking of Terra's wrist bone. She winced, yanking at her arm, other hand clasped around it as she pulled trying to force his teeth out of her skin to no effect.
Instead she called upon her newly returned powers the familiar golden glow lighting up inside Beast Boy's mouth, his eyes taking on a slightly glazed over yellow. Terra gave a dull sort of smirk before her other hand, now behind her back, balled into a fist and summoned a rock to clunk the beast in the head. He roared in surprise, releasing her wrist and stumbling blindly backward overturning a number of Slade-bots in the process. Terra taking advantage of Beast Boy's current distraction, lifted the slab of floor she was kneeling on upward, now cradling her throbbing wrist in her other arm. The slab of earth and tile rose upward, out of Beast Boy's reach, and the girl gave a heavy sigh of relief.
Apparently she'd sighed a little too soon. Terra's rocky platform was out of reach for the normal Beast Boy and maybe even an array of his normal animal forms, but the beast was different. It had sprung from the ground and landed with claws unsheathed digging into the surface of the platform. His forepaws were on the top, though the rest of his titanic body was dangling off. Terra wide-eyed backed to the far edge of the rock, nearly tripping off herself as she watched Beast Boy drag himself on the surface of the strip of earth. He paused, shaking his fur free of lose bits of dirt as he gazed about for his prey, eyes narrowed and now taking on a strangely red glow. The beast's teeth were bared, stained red from Terra's blood.
"Beast Boy," Terra said through clenched teeth, pain on every inch of her body as she watched him stalk forward, mere inches away from her again. She raised a glowing gold fist separating them, and the beast sat amazed at the sparkling color of the girl's hand. She let out a slight sigh keeping her fist raised as she spoke slowly and clearly, almost like speaking to a small child. "I know you don't remember anything, but I also know you're in there. Fight it, Beast Boy. That chip, Slade…you can beat it. I know you can."
Beast Boy, though, seemed to lose interest in Terra's hand and raised his own forepaw threateningly claws ready to strike. He slashed at her, batting her hand away. Terra lost her balance completely at the blow, one knee dropping completely off the ledge, leg dangling over the floating boulder. Her eyes widened slightly as Beast Boy lunged for her, knocking her completely off the rock. She gripped the edge of the platform tightly with her fingers, one slipping as she let out a slight gasp. The beast was on all fours above her, muzzle twisted into an animalistic smirk as he clamped his front paws over her wrist, claws digging into it and holding her in place, dangling over the floor.
Terra bit her lower lip painfully as he body twisted about, ramming into the rock she was hanging from. Her free hand, the one that was broken, was hanging at her side, encased in the familiar golden glow. A smaller boulder was floating under her now, waiting to catch her should she fall. But with Beast Boy clamping her wrist to the larger platform, there was no hope of that. Terra's hand shook under the beast's paws, causing him to lift one paw to stare blankly at it. The rock beneath his feet was cracking right down the middle. He would fall, possibly crash into the solid ground below.
He made a conscious decision to remove his other paw from Terra's wrist, letting her drop onto the smaller slab of rock, knees buckling as soon as she landed. Beast Boy seemed to have the same idea, though for he landed nearly on top of her moments later just as the large slab of rock above them burst into a million tiny pieces at Terra's command.
The beast gave a fierce snarl, using its massive head to push Terra toward the edge of the small rock. He placed a massive paw on her chest once he reached the edge, her head and shoulders already completely off the rock. Beast Boy pushed a bit more, holding her onto the rock by using his other forepaw as an anchor waiting for the perfect moment to drop her preferably in the large crater she had left in the ground. But Terra's focus was not on escaping her fate; she was staring into Beast Boy's blood red eyes with a sorrowful expression.
"Beast Boy," she inhaled sharply as his paw moved from her chest to her neck, her breathing becoming slowly more painful. "You were the best friend I ever had…" Her eyes were swimming with tears as she choked out the words, prepared for the deciding blow. But all Terra saw were Beast Boy's eyes fading from blood red to milky white and then miraculously to emerald green. It was him, it was Beast Boy.
His expression didn't change, though when he opened his mouth this time a small whimper came out. The beast's mouth opened wide as he swooped in, Terra jamming her eyes shut thinking the mind control had come back. But Beast Boy didn't bite her head off or even take a snap at her. All her did was gently pull her up by the collar of her shirt, dropping her as gently as he could next to him on the rock. Terra stared blankly at the green creature, arms wrapped around her body once more. Beast Boy, though, had his head bowed staring determinedly at the surface of the rock, tail tucked between his legs. He was still whimpering, but Terra outstretched her unbroken hand to stroke the fur atop his head, causing him to whip around, and eyes wide. "It's okay, BB. It's okay," she cooed, as the beast gave a slight wag of his tail, now nuzzling his massive head into her chest.
Terra winced slightly as he pushed on her, though she still gave a slight chuckle now scratching behind his ears. "I knew you were in there, Beast Boy. I knew you could overcome it." The beast gazed up at her, eyes sparkling slightly. Like a TV changing channels his irises faded, leaving milky white and then blood red. He was there and gone in a matter of minutes.
The beast opened its muzzle wide, letting out a fierce snarl before pouncing upon Terra again, though not calculating the proportions. His forepaws found their way to her shoulders and his back paws on her thighs as they rolled off the rock, now flipping over in midair. Terra's eyes were wide as they plummeted trying to summon a stone large enough to catch them, but her concentration was broken each time by the sharp pain running through her veins. They were falling, flipping, turning, and it was just a matter of who was going to end up on top when they hit the bottom.
The two struggled for what seemed like hours, though in the end Beast Boy's weight was against him. He ended up on the bottom, staring up at Terra with furious red eyes, though he let his paws fall off of her, allowing him to right himself in the air and land on his feet, leaving a small dip in the ground on his impact. Terra, though, was not so lucky. The beast had let go just with enough time for him to get on his feet. She on the other hand had prepared for Beast Boy cushioning the impact. When he landed in the crevice, so did she, a large amount of golden energy ricocheting off the walls as she crash landed.
The small blast of uncontrolled energy threw Beast Boy back a few yards, leaving Terra in the crater, completely immobile. The sounds pounded in her head, mostly hearing strangled cries from the Titans or maybe a comment from Slade. When she opened her eyes, Beast Boy was standing over her again, this time a manic sort of gleam in his blood hued eyes. "If you're in there BB…Now would be a pretty good time to come out." The beast snorted, jaws open wide as he bit down on Terra's now bloodstained shirt collar, dragging her along the tiled floor, scuffed by many small explosions that had occurred during the battle, which now seemed to be over. That was why Beast Boy was carrying her along, to meet her death with the Titans, who she supposed, had won the fight…But with Slade's bargaining chip they might just be doing some wagering.
Beast Boy came to a halt in front of a raised platform in the ground, Slade mounted atop it. Judging by his cocky tone, he had just been revealing to the Titans the truth about the chronoton detonator. "-Titans, there is no way to save the world without complying to my every word. So, are you ready to break the hero's oath for a chance at saving the world?" He broke off catching sight of his Apprentice with his catch. "Ah, Beast Boy brought me his capture. How sweet."
The four remaining Titans swerved around quickly to face Beast Boy and what was left of Terra. She had shrunk back and was practically cowering within the fur of the beast's chest, determinedly keeping her eyes closed. If she opened them to look at the Titans, she might let them see her pain. If she looked at Slade she might lose control and cause a cave-in, though she probably didn't have enough energy in her now to cause a small crack to form under her shoes. Her breathing was heavy, her heartbeat fast though as she leaned back against Beast Boy, she felt his heartbeat, too and for some reason that comforted her.
"The clock is ticking, Titans. Your decision better be made before my Apprentice gets up here with his prey or else I might just have to do something you'll regret." Slade's eye was flashing dangerously as he stared straight into Beast Boy's eyes and the beast crouched low before springing up onto the platform, dropping Terra at his master's heels. "My dear second Apprentice…what has become of you?"
"You- let him go," she muttered blankly, now kneeling before Slade like she had knelt before him before, like she had knelt before her father when he beat her. No way she was going down like this. If she was going to die, she would die with pride. Forcing herself to her feet Terra lifted her head to stare defiantly at Slade, eyes swimming with emotion, mainly hate. The tormented eyes of this teenage girl who had been through so much was somewhat startling, causing Slade to take a step back.
"Dear child, you didn't think I was going to keep him around after this did you?" Terra shot him a blank look, now shaking with anger. "No. You see I was never going to have him kill you, not physically anyway. What I was planning on doing, Terra, was pressing this little button." He held up a small remote, two buttons on it, thumb hovering just above the red button.
"What the hell is that?"
"The self-destruct mechanism on the microchip implanted in your boyfriend's skull." If you could see through Slade's mask you would see a smirk the size of Texas, satisfaction finally coming to him to see Terra's jaw drop, eyes wide with fury.
"You push that button you die," Terra's voice was quivering at the mere thought of losing Beast Boy after all this. This entire escapade had been her fault. If he died now there would be no reason for her to have lived. It would have all been for nothing.
"Oh, really? Care to prove that threat?" Slade's voice took on a disbelieving air as he let out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry, Terra, but as your father I don't approve of this green boyfriend of yours. I told you no dating until you're twenty-o-" His sentence faded off into nothingness as the beast, who until this point had been sitting at Slade's right hand side, rammed into the masked villain sending him off the platform and to the ground, falling right in the middle of the four remaining Titans.
Terra blinked staring from Beast Boy to the ground and back again, a slight smirk tugging at her lips. She felt the pain she had been resisting all this time flow back into her veins as her knees buckled sending her to the ground. The beast padded over, eyes now milk white, and claws unsheathed. A frown etched on her face, Terra backed up crawling towards the end of the platform without realizing it. Her left knee went first and then her right, but this time she didn't have the quickness to grab hold of the edge of the rocky slab.
A green paw latched onto her hand and then another, before pulling her up a bit and stopping, milky eyes narrowing. A silent pause overcame the two of them as Terra found her footing, still near falling off the edge of the rock in the signature 'Scar and Mufasa' Lion King pose. The paw let go and Terra's eyes widened, trying to prepare for the impact she was sure to have when reaching the ground, but a crash landing never came. Instead, a silver gloved latched onto her hand, then another before Beast Boy pulled her back onto steady ground. "Beast…Boy?"
"Who were you expecting? Prince Charming?" The shape-shifter wore a sort of cross between a frown and a grin, that unruly fang hanging over his bloody lip as he surveyed Terra's bruises, completely ignoring the fact that he too was covered in black and blue marks, and that there was still a microchip implanted in his head, the stitches already coming out and fresh blood on his forehead.
"Thanks…"
Beast Boy held up a hand as Terra fell limply against his chest, eyes closed. "Don't thank me. I was only making sure you didn't die after I hurt you. I hope you don't think love always has to hurt, Terra, 'cause it doesn't. I mean everyone you ever loved hurt you. Your dad, Brion, Slade, even me. But I won't let anything hurt you anymore. I promise."
"If this is the price of love then I don't care," Terra mumbled, face buried in Beast Boy's chest. "It's worth it to have someone hold you like this forever and ever."
Unfortunate, nothing not matter how good lasts forever. Slade might have taken the fall off the platform, but he still had the remote control. The villain was dangling it in front of the Titans' faces like a piece of raw meat, his eye glowing. Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Cyborg were encircling their foe, but of course the Boy Wonder was edged in a bit, bo-staff at the ready and pointed threateningly at Slade's chest. "Give it up, Slade. We've got you cornered."
"Oh do you?" The villain let out a slight sigh before hitting a button at his belt, disappearing an appearing behind the group of four. "It seems I have cornered you, Robin, between two enemies." Slade let his hand hover over the green button on his remote. "Time is a tricky thing. It flows like a river, not stopping or slowing down. No matter how much you fight the current, time always slips through your fingers. I guess the thing to do is 'go with the flow', right Titans? So, what will it be? Should I detonate it first or take care of our little green friend?"
"Titans," Robin called out from behind the other three, all of whom had recoiled slightly at the threat of one of there own. Cyborg slid over to the side to let his leader move forward to stare Slade right in the…eye. The Boy Wonder's jaw was set, eyes narrowed as he maneuvered the staff above his head, and then remarkably retracted it, stowing it away in his belt. Robin's posture changed from combat mode to standing straight up, shoulders back and arms crossed, eyes averted from Slade at all costs. His eyes were saddened behind his mask, and the long silence was getting to them all. "Stand down."
"I knew you'd see it my way, Robin. Now then if you'll just do me the pleasure of seeing the promise through, I'd like to give you a test." Robin's expression changed slightly, eyes narrowing as his gaze darted to Slade, though his determined look never wavered. Slade crept steadily forward, ignoring the murmurings from the other Titans to stand inches away from the Boy Wonder's face. The villain gave a harsh chuckle before bringing a gloved hand forward to run it through Robin's hair. He pulled the boy close, whispering in his ear for only Robin to hear. "Bow to me, Robin. Bow down like the inferior being you are."
The Titan leader's eyes widened, teeth clenched in anger before he cast a sideways glance over his shoulder to stare blankly at Beast Boy, who was still cradling Terra in his arms. Robin's gaze wandered to his fellow Titans, all three who looked so helpless and why not? Here he had come and made a rash decision without their consent. He was sure they wouldn't want Beast Boy killed…but going against the hero's oath wasn't exactly something the Boy Wonder lived by. Beast Boy had taken the oath, they all had. He knew the risks…but being part of a team meant that you were there for each other no matter what. So with that, Robin dropped to one knee, arm draped over his knee and his back foot curled in to hold him steady. His free hand was balancing him in front, and his head was bowed low, eyes staring determinedly at the floor. The leader of the Titans had fallen…
"Good, Robin. One more thing I've just been dying to know." Slade stood over the Boy Wonder, hands clasped behind his back. "That thing is who are you? The Dark Knight's trainee reformed? I thought Batman was a lone vigilante. I also recall him saying never to let personal conflicts get in the way of justice. But you are not like him are you, Robin, are you? No, of course not. No one, not even the might Boy Wonder can stand his friend's demise. I learned that long ago. That thing I've been wondering. What lies beyond that mask of yours?"
There was a gasp from Starfire who was outraged by the fact that Slade would know his true identity before she did. The one thing Robin protected from all of them was his identity. Surely he wouldn't abandon it now. Right? "You can take my pride, you can take my dignity, and you can take my willpower. But if there's one think you can't take from me it's my identity," Robin spat, bringing his arm around in a swift motion to emphasize his point.
Slade merely shook his head slowly, circling the still kneeling Robin, who looked almost like he was going to propose. "And you Titans are always going on about villains not going along with deals. Perhaps it's you heroes that forget the binding contracts." His eyes narrowed and suddenly there was an outcry of pain from the direction of the platform Terra and Beast Boy were on. Something had happened and they had both fallen, Beast Boy precariously close to the edge.
"Beast Boy? What's wrong?" The geomancer gasped slightly, seeing his pain. The shape-shifter was on his knees, hands clasped around his head and eyes jammed shut, though the tears were still streaming down his face. "No. No! Cyborg, do something!" Terra felt tears running down her own cheeks as she moved forward to Beast Boy, who was now letting out a cry of anguish that echoed around the lair ten times before fading away.
"C-can't…take it."
"Yes you can, Beast Boy! Look at me!" Terra was next to him now, a hand on his shoulder as he shook violently, the pain from being torn from the inside out taking a severe toll. She grasped his shoulder tightly as he twitched, trying to get him to recognize her presence. She was sure her nails were digging into his skin by the time he let out a soft hiccup, turning his head slightly to stare at Terra, eyes wide and holding the despair that only a near death experience can bring. The changeling's hair was sticking up oddly, as if static electricity had toyed with it, and the wound where his stitches once were was torn open, blood streaming down his face and mixing with the salty water of his tears. "Look into my eyes, alright? As long as you keep your focus on my eyes you're okay. As long as you can see me you're okay."
Beast Boy shivered again, now rocking back and forth. It seemed the chip wasn't imploding just yet, or it wasn't finished. Below there were vague sounds of a struggle, but all the shape-shifter heard were Terra's words and eventually the sound of metal footsteps. Cyborg stood over the pair of them head tilted slightly to one side as he watched Terra soothe a frightened Beast Boy. "Terra wha-"
As the robotic Titan's words faded off, blue electricity pulsed through Beast Boy's skull, visible through the break in his skin at his forehead. His eyes rolled back in his head and a slight groan was heard as he literally collapsed in Terra's arms. "Beast Boy?" She muttered, eyes wide and unbelieving of what she saw. "Beast Boy," she shrieked, now staring wide-eyed at Cyborg. "You've got to do something…He's…"
"The only way to break the self destruct mechanism is to remove the chip," his voice was slow and cautious as he rubbed the back of his head, now kneeling beside Terra and his fallen teammate.
"Do it then!" The geomancer was practically in hysterics. "I might not know much about cars and your tech, but I know if someone's eyes roll back it's not a good thing. Do it!"
"Terra- BB's not a car. It's not that easy."
"You said it's the only way. So do it!"
"I will. But I might be too late. Beast Boy's body can't take this voltage for very much longer." Cyborg took the shape-shifter's limp body in his metal arms before laying him down gently on the floor of the platform, doing a full body scan. His face was grim, though he need not report Beast Boy's status to Terra; she could tell by the look in Cyborg's human eye.
"You worry about getting that chip out. I'll…"
"What're you gonna do, Terra? The only other way to stop it would be…Oh man."
"I'll worry about the remote." Terra winced as she tried putting her weight on her legs but ended up back on her knees, though noticing Starfire and Raven nearby she gestured to them before getting Cyborg to hand over his T-Com. That look in Beast Boy's eyes, the look of pain, hopelessness, and confusion, matched the one Terra had worn in the better part of her life. The only time that looked had gone was when she was with the Titans, with Beast Boy. The only way she'd ever have a chance to forget that look forever was to save Beast Boy…or die trying.