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Stone Prison

By: Demonabyss

Chapter 23: Freedom

One month, it's been a month since Trigon's defeat. Strange, it seems like it only just happened yesterday. It's strange for me and for the rest of the team. When Terra landed the final blow, the entire Earth and its people were restored in a sudden wave of energy. Albeit there were a few side effects, such as slightly distorted memory of the events of the past few days and many people who had been at death's door being restored to full health when the release of energy happened. All and all, everything went back to what it was before Trigon came, in some cases even better then before. However, there was a price to this victory.

When the people of the Earth were returned to normal, all their spirits lost their connection to Terra and thus she could no longer draw on them for power. When they were all ripped out of Quarry so was I. I was sent back to may body and was restored to normal, though I was wearing white and had long hair, I still don't know how Starfire stands having that much hair. As I was saying, there was a price to this victory, and Terra was the one who paid up it seems. Without the spirits' power, she didn't have nearly enough energy to power her "titan" form. The sudden lack of energy, coupled with the fact that she'd been using her own as well, left her completely and totally drained dry, just like when she sealed the volcano after defeating Slade. As a result, her form is now the largest statue in existence and is standing in the bay in the exact same position as when she had been a statue in the cave under the city. It hasn't been moved due to its sheer size and weight and the fact that it seemingly can't be damaged though many have tried while trying to get a sample to study.

There have been many tests done both by the government and by the Justice League on Terra's colossus, as it is commonly called, to see what had happened and if there was a way to revive her. So far nothing has worked though I'm not surprised. We tried similar things on Terra's statue and nothing worked. We kept all of Terra's things, including her guns and the remains of her armor in her room. Surprisingly we found Hawkgirl's mace there as well. Apparently Terra was studying it in order to learn how to duplicate its properties or at least defend against them. That was one minor good thing out of this whole odd situation. Everyone is taking this turn of events differently.

The government was just relieved that she was gone or at least detained for a while. The people of Jump City were a mixed bag. Some considered her a hero, other an outlaw just saving her own neck, and some still considered her evil, though those were few and far between. The Justice League held her in respect and decided that she should at least be free to do as she pleased, hence why they were trying to revive her. Robin held this same opinion of her, considering her to be an honorable, if not crafty and unpredictable person and thus also tried to revive her. Cyborg now respected her much more and tried to keep things normal for the rest of us. He's trying to keep a sense of normality to help each of us cope with what's happened, though it's not easy when a twenty story tall reminder is standing in the bay looking out onto the coastline. Starfire has been quiet lately. When I ask her about it she says she is thinking about how long it will take Terra to "wake up" as she puts it and what will happen afterward. Will she go on the run again, become a Titan, become a villain, be their friend, or just fade away into the background? She just worried for what will happen to Terra and I can't blame her, no one can. Beast Boy is just moping around like he did after Terra's first petrifaction. He stares out at the bay at the colossus trying to figure out what he did wrong to turn her against him. After seeing Terra's memories, I could probably tell him, but it's not my place to out of respect for Terra's privacy, nor do I want to be the bearer of that kind of news. In any case, there was one thing constant through all these people. Everyone thought Terra was either trapped again in the colossus or that she was dead. I didn't.

If I had learned ANYTHING from this insane chase that Terra put everyone through over these last few months and from my time in her mind, I've learned that when dealing with her, what you see is usually never what you get. I personally think that that overgrown statue in the bay really is an overgrown statue. What better way to get everyone off your back then to fake your own death (or imprisonment in this case) while you run around free as a bird? There were also two things to support my theory though I didn't share them with anyone. The first was I felt it, after mixing our powers like that I got a temporary second sense of sorts regarding her and I could just feel that she's not in the colossus. I have no clue where she is, but I know she isn't here. The second reason was the mirror leading to Quarry that she used on me. I still have it and it is still active, but just barely. If I were to venture a guess, I would say that her mind is repairing itself and after an ordeal like that with the spirits and Trigon, I can understand why. For it to be active at all would mean that she was awake, at least somewhat, and not dormant in that statue. I placed the Quarry mirror itself in my own mind of Nevermore for security. The last thing Terra, or anyone else for that matter, needs is someone invading her mind while it's being rebuilt. I'll return it to Terra when she comes back, which I'm pretty sure she will since she hasn't collected on her side of the deal we made yet. I have yet to tell her everything I know about elementals. I wonder how she will take it? Oh well, only time will tell. Until then, I hope she stays safe.

(Normal POV)

On the shore facing the colossus of Jump City, or Terra's colossus as some called it, was a boy about seventeen years old or so. He had short brown hair, blue eyes, and was finely dressed in designer made clothes. He stared at the massive statue is awe and disbelief. The statue was so well formed, made of many different types of rock and crystal both inside and out, fused together on the molecular scale. As well as it should be considering it had been, or still was depending on whom you asked, alive. It was pristine and still looked as if it could come alive at any moment. Its hands were stretched out as it looked like a guardian deity, a benevolent goddess protecting the people of the city. The crystal dreadlocks and armor glinted beautifully in the full moon light. With the waves rolling silently and the city at night as a backdrop, it was quite a sight to behold. The young man stared at it, as if he was unable to comprehend its existence. He spoke one word while gazing at the statue and in a voice so quiet it was barely a whisper. "Sister?"

(Unknown POV)

Everything is … broken. Fix it, must fix it before going on. Too much strain, there was too much power. Have to repair everything, improve it as well; make it all stronger. Within shall be rebuilt, better and more complex. My … body will heal in time. Once healed, repaired, then what?

Roads, only thing constant anymore. I will … travel, walk those roads … just as before. Lots of roads to walk along. Walk where? Home? Where is home? Is the road my home? Friends perhaps? Do I have friends? Yes … the dark one and the … star-born one … my friends. I will find more … friends. Family? No, … no family. Family … hurt and … hated me. I'll … travel … find friends and … myself. So tired … rest, yes, must rest. The trees, the wind, they feel nice. The ground is soft and comfortable. Yes, rest is good. Will worry tomorrow. Good night.

"Good night daughter. Keep safe."

The End – OR – To be continued? …

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

AN: Well, that's it for Stone Prison. I'd like to thank all the reviewers who have read and reviewed. Again, if I get enough reviews I might make a sequel. I have an idea for it but I need to work out the details so it might be awhile. In any case, thank you all for your support and I hope you've enjoyed Stone Prison.