Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Stone-Hearted 2
Raven's Visit to Azarath
After going through her books, Raven decided to take a tea break. Herbal tea helped her think. She didn't find anything in her spell books yet but she still had more books to look through. She poured the tea in her teacup, took a sip and began walking out of the living room. The elevator door opened to reveal Starfire hovering in the air with an out cold Beast Boy in her arms.
"Beast Boy!" Raven exclaimed, dropping her teacup. It smashed when it hit the floor and tea went everywhere.
"I found him by Terra's statue," Starfire explained to Raven and looked at their sick teammate. "I fear that Beast Boy has the monia of new!"
Starfire flew down the hall to the infirmary and Raven followed. Starfire placed Beast Boy on a bed once they got into the infirmary. Starfire stepped back sadly.
"Will he be all right, Raven," Starfire asked hopefully.
"I think so," said Raven, "was he in human form when you found him?"
"Yes," Starfire questioned, "I do not understand why Beast Boy didn't change into something that could withstand the cold."
"Me neither," Raven mumbled, "I'll see if I can heal him. Go alert Cyborg and Robin."
"Oh yes," Starfire said she flew outside the infirmary. Once Raven was alone with Beast Boy, she walked closer to his bed.
"Beast Boy, you idiot," she muttered, "didn't I tell you something like this would happen? Why didn't you transform into a dog or something? You're so stupid, Beast Boy!"
Raven felt for a moment like she was going to cry. Why didn't Beast Boy listen to her? What if the next time he went to Terra's statue he won't be so lucky? She wasn't sure whether to heal him or not. Perhaps it'd be better for him to remain sick so he could learn his lesson. She wouldn't' be able to heal Beast Boy unless she knew what he had anyway. Was it a cold? The flu? Pneumonia? Perhaps some weird animal disease? Well they didn't call him Beast Boy for nothing.
Raven put her hand on Beast Boy's chest. "Beast Boy…why?"
Her moment with him was interrupted when Starfire returned with the others. She quickly removed her hand from his chest. Starfire pointed to the prone Beast Boy lying on the bed.
"He is not well," she stated, "what must we do?"
Cyborg looked at his arm to bring up Beast Boy's vitals. "Let me scan BB and see what he's got. It's probably just a cold."
"Where was he?" Robin queried.
"By Terra's statue," Starfire replied.
Raven tightened her fist. "I'll give you some space."
The other titans looked at Raven questionably as Raven walked out of the room. She stayed next to the door for a moment then left the tower, flying straight to Terra's cave. She was so furious she had to take it out on something, someone. It was because of Terra that Beast Boy was suffering right now.
"I hope you're happy now, Terra!" Raven snarled as she slowed down and came to a stop on the ground. "Beast Boy stays out all night to keep you company and now he's sick."
Raven wanted to tear Terra apart piece be piece. She thought that all the trouble to bring her back would be a waste now. Raven didn't want to see her face again. Yet Raven didn't allow herself to destroy Terra's statue. This was another reason to bring Terra back. Raven could tell Terra all the suffering Beast Boy went, all the guilt, all the pain, all the sickness. She wanted to make Terra realize just what she had done to the Teen Titans. Raven lifted up her hand and swiped it. A black energy wave slit Terra's hair of stone, leaving it in an uneven, botchy cut. The chunk making up the statue's hair fell and broke when it hit the ground.
"Be grateful it wasn't your head," Raven muttered and she flew back to Titan's Tower.
While Beast Boy was recovering, Raven hardly left his side. She kept checking on him to see if he had awakened. She wanted to yell at him for being so stupid and at the same time she wanted to cry on his chest and thank the stars that he was going to be all right. Raven brought her spell books with her and glanced over the brim of her book and watch Beast Boy sleep.
He is cute when he's sleeping, Raven thought and immediately pushed the crazy thought out of her mind. Raven stared at the Azarathian writing of her book and tried to concentrate. She had to find a cure for Terra.
"More tofu…please."
"Hmm?" Raven closed the book and placed it down on her lap, her eyes migrating to Beast Boy. "Beast Boy?"
"Ugnnn…what?"
Beast Boy's head turned to Raven and he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times. "Oh…Raven…How's it going?"
Raven almost wanted to tell him exactly how it was "going" how she was mad at him for liking Terra more, always going Terra's statue and that he should've just listened to her when Raven said that Terra was "evil." Yet Raven kept this aside. As usual, she showed no emotion.
"Nevermind me, how are you?"
"Okay," he replied, "what am I doing in the infirmary?"
"Starfire found you at Terra's statue three days ago," Raven explained, "you were on the verge of pneumonia."
"Seriously?"
"That was Cyborg's analysis," Raven said, "you know, Beast Boy…"
"I know, I know," Beast Boy sighed, "you told me this would happen and I didn't listen to you. Sorry."
There was a moment of silence between them. Neither of them really knew what to say. Raven was staring Beast Boy down and Beast Boy was staring at the ceiling.
"Well," Raven said, "I'll go tell the others you're awake."
When Raven stood, her book fell off her lap. Beast Boy leaned down to pick it up for her.
"I'll get it. Hey…what's this," he asked, squinting at the cover.
"I was just reading while I was watching over you," Raven said, taking her book back.
"Oh, yeah, you're always doing that," Beast Boy said. He noticed the books on the nightstand next to her. "How long have you been sitting here, Raven?"
"I don't know," Raven said and taking the rest of the books with her, headed for the door.
"Wait, Raven," said Beast Boy.
"What?" Raven demanded.
"Thanks," said Beast Boy.
"You're welcome," Raven whispered and she left before another word was said. Beast Boy leaned back into the pillows. Just how long was Raven sitting by his side? Moments later, Starfire, Robin and Cyborg entered to check on him.
"Friend!" Starfire shouted. "The weather is no longer over you!"
The Tamaranean embraced the small green ship-shifter to the point all she nearly broke all the bones in his body.
"Yeah, I'm fine, Star," Beast Boy winced, gazing over Starfire's shoulder. "Where's Raven?"
"Oh, I think she went to her room," said Cyborg. "How ya feelin' BB?"
"Fine," Beast Boy said, "a little hungry. I'm going to make me some…"
"No! No!" Starfire cried. "You must stay here. I will bring you something from Tamarian. It always made me feel better when I was sick."
"You don't have to do that, really," Beast Boy mumbled but Starfire rushed out of the room. Beast Boy sighed.
"What do you think the chances are whatever she gives me will make me feel sicker than I already was?"
"Well if it's moving, don't eat it," Cyborg said, looking at Beast Boy's statistics. "Well looks like you're doing better, BB. Your white blood cell count is pretty low. You'll be better once you eat something."
Cyborg left the room so it was only Robin and Beast Boy. Robin hadn't said a word since he entered the room. Finally when he was alone he had something to say.
"Starfire said she found you at Terra's statue," Robin said. "How long where you there?"
"The whole night maybe," Beast Boy answered.
"Beast Boy, maybe you shouldn't go down there anymore," Robin told his teammate. "You go there all the time. We're doing all we can to bring Terra back…"
"I know!" Beast Boy yelled. "I know, Robin. You don't have to tell me, I get enough of it from Raven as it is. She keeps telling me I'm wasting my time going down there. You know how she and Terra were—they hated each other. Raven never understood Terra but I did."
"Listen, you really had us worried," Robin said calmly. "It's all right if you visit Terra's statue once in a while but you just can't camp out there all night every night."
Beast Boy opened his mouth to say, "why not?" and then he closed it. He was quiet for a while and thought about Raven and Robin said.
"Yeah, you're right, dude," Beast Boy said, "Terra's a statue now. It's not like she's going anywhere."
"Y—you don't have a problem with it?" said Robin, raising an eyebrow.
"No," Beast Boy answered. "I won't go down there anymore. At least not right away. I'll go on special occasions, like Christmas and her birthday—wait—I never knew her birthday." Beast Boy laughed to himself. "Can you believe it? I was the only person on this team who knew her better and I didn't even know her birthday."
"We'll bring her back," Robin said thoughtfully, "then we can have a party for her."
"Yeah, that would be pretty cool," Beast Boy mumbled, "but we've done all we can haven't we? Terra's just going to be stuck as a statue forever."
"Don't give up," Robin told him. "We'll keep trying. We'll bring her back."
"Sure dude," Beast Boy said in fake belief. "Could you leave me alone for a while?"
Robin nodded, turned and left. Beast Boy pushed the covers off him and got out of bed. He hobbled to the window and sighed. Raven was right. Robin was right. Beast Boy couldn't go back to visit Terra anymore. It would only bring him more pain. It would only remind him how he messed up. He knew that Robin meant well when he said they would bring Terra back but there were things even the Boy Wonder couldn't do. There was no longer hope that Terra would return. All that was left to tide Beast Boy over were the memories he shared with her. That was how he wanted to remember her, not as a statue, but as a titan, as a friend, as the girl he loved. Beast Boy smiled as all the memories rushed back to him. The first time he met her and witnessed her powers. Their only date. Her smile, her hair. He would always cherish those memories. Not even Slade could take those away.
"I'm sorry, Terra," Beast Boy murmured, "I can't visit you anymore. It's just gotta be this way. I don't want it to be but…but I've just got to face the fact that…you're never coming back!"
Tears flooded his eyes and he began sobbing on the windowsill just as Starfire walked in with a tray of Tamarian food.
"Friend, this will make you as good as new," she said cheerily. Starfire paused when she saw him crying. "Beast Boy?"
Beast Boy gasped and rubbed his eyes. "Huh, oh, thanks, Starfire," Beast Boy turned around and forced a smile. "What'd you bring?"
"Plomop Soup," she replied.
"Sounds great," Beast Boy said, "uh, is
that the Tamarian version of chicken soup?"
"No, we do not
have any chickens on Tamaran," Starfire answered.
Beast Boy took a whiff of the greenish blobby soup. By the looks of it, Beast Boy thought the soup would make him worse. Still, Starfire ate plenty of Earth food and she hardly got sick. Beast Boy picked up his spoon stirred his soup and took a spoonful. It tasted nothing like he's ever had before but as foreign as it was, he didn't spit out. Being sick must've dulled his taste buds.
"It's good, thanks, Starfire," Beast Boy said.
"Beast Boy, your eyes are leaking," Starfire said with a frown. "Shall I give you the shoulder of crying?"
The Tamaranean stepped toward the changeling and Beast Boy chuckled.
"Thanks Star, but I'm fine," Beast Boy told her as he sat back on his bed. "I'll be back to my old self in no time."
Starfire set down the tray and sat next to her teammate. "I miss Terra," she said softly. "You miss her as well, don't you?"
With one look at Starfire's sympathetic face, Beast Boy broke down into tears once again. "I miss her so much!" he cried. "It's just so unfair. I want her back Starfire, more than anything but we've done all we can."
"Do not give up hope," Starfire insisted, "we'll bring her back someday."
"We've tried," Beast Boy said in frustration. "Raven's spells did nothing. Cyborg kept coming to dead ends. I just feel so helpless. I can turn into every animal on the planet but I can't bring Terra back!"
Starfire put her hand on Beast Boy's shoulder. "I wish there was something I could do, but I don't know enough about Earth or Terra's powers to do anything. I also feel the less of help."
"And out of all of us," Beast Boy said, "we're the only two people who really want her back."
"What?" Starfire questioned.
"You've seen the others," Beast Boy muttered, "Cyborg, Robin, Raven—they really don't want Terra back. Especially Raven."
"Please, do not say such things," Starfire said.
"It is true!" Beast Boy shouted, getting up to his feet awkwardly. He still felt woozy and the anger and the sorrow in his heart only made him feel worse. "Raven's always hated Terra! And Cyborg thought she was evil just because she wrecked the T-car! It wasn't until I reminded Robin that we didn't give up on him when he was working for Slade just so he would've give Terra another chance! He should understand what she was going through better than anybody! He was Slade's apprentice once—he should know—he should've done something!"
Beast Boy growled and banged against the wall. Starfire walked behind her teammate and put her hand on his shoulder
"Beast Boy...there is nothing we can do about that now," she said glumly.
"I know…and that's what bothers me," Beast Boy grumbled, "I just wish…none of this ever happened. Terra said I was her best friend and now I'll never see her again.
"Do not despair," Starfire said happily. "I very much hope that Terra will be unstoned one day. She will come back and if for some reason that she doesn't, it is as you say, for the best."
Beast Boy sighed. "I guess so."
"Even if we can't bring Terra back," Starfire told him, "you will still have us."
"Yeah, I know," Beast Boy said, "thanks, Star."
He wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh. Starfire was always so optimistic. He wished he could be like that. She seemed to be the only one in the tower to understand what he was going through. It was nice to know that the Titans were still there for him. The Tamaranean hugged her teammate with more gentleness before leaving. Once Beast Boy was alone again, he cried a few more tears. It helped to know that the titans were there for him but it still hurt that Terra may never return to the Titans. He felt something with her that he didn't feel with the others. His feelings for Terra were so deep and special he doubted he'd ever feel that way about someone else.
When Beast Boy moved from the infirmary, he put a mask to cover all the pain and guilt inside of him. His sense of humor returned along with his appetite. True to his promise, he never went back to Terra's statue. Whenever he wanted to feel close to her, he would just walk to her old room. That was the place where her essence really was. He would lay on her bed and held the heart-shaped box on him. Flashbacks and memories came to him easily in her room than by her stony lifeless statue. He would look at the pictures they received when they went to the amusement park. The sweat beading over her brow, that grimace she gave when she was flexing her biceps. How cute her laugh was when Beast Boy was hanging upside down. Her blue eye next to the camera. The way she hugged Beast Boy when he was a puppy. The way she hit him and how she freaked out and punched him when he scared her. How concerned she looked when she saw the damage she done and when she put her arm around Beast Boy and gave the peace sign. Their funny monster faces…if only he could see that blond hair, those blue eyes and that smile again. Beast Boy would give anything, anything just to see Terra one more time.
Raven knew that Beast Boy was only pretending to put away the pain. She never mentioned it to him. She just went on with her research. She was glad that he didn't run back to Terra's statue. He would've lost his mind when he saw that her statue didn't look the same, now that Raven gave Terra a new haircut. However, one person from the tower did visit Terra's statue after Beast Boy's recovery.
"Sorry I'm just coming to see you now, Terra."
The caped, masked Boy Wonder himself came to see Terra. This was not how Robin wanted to have an "apprentice to apprentice" chat with Terra. As Robin came closer to Terra's statue, he saw that her hair was shorter.
"Wait a minute," Robin mumbled, "what happened?"
Robin examined Terra's head. How was her stony hair removed? Somebody did this. Was it Slade? If it was revenge he would do more than just cut her hair off. He would've smashed her statue so there were only pebbles of it left. He would've taken her statue from the spot and trick the Titans in coming after her. If possible, he would've found away to reverse the effect, removed her memory and had her live under a false name. Somebody else vandalized the former titan's statue. But who would do this? No one knew who Terra was. No one knew she was here except for the titans.
Robin bent down to pick up a stony piece that made up Terra's hair. He felt a strange sensation travel up his arm to his heart.
"No…"
He didn't want to believe it but it was the only logical explanation. Out of all the members at Titans Tower, Raven hated Terra the most. It really was no secret. After Robin and Raven had shared a mind, Robin was able to sense things in Raven.
"Raven, you wouldn't…"
Robin turned from Terra's statue and returned to the tower. He had to hear it from Raven. Did she attack Terra's statue and why did she do it? He went straight to Terra's room and knocked on the door.
"Raven, it's Robin," he said, "please open the door."
"I'm busy," came the response.
"This is important," Robin insisted, putting both his hands on the door. "You don't have to let me in. I just need to talk to you."
There was a pause and then Raven opened the door a crack. Only her pale face and violet eyes could be seen.
"What is it, Robin?"
"I need you to tell me about this," he said and he held out the stony chunk of Terra's hair. "I found this by Terra's statue. It's part of her hair. Raven…did you…?"
Raven looked down, sighed and then met Robin's eyes. "Yes, I gave Terra a new haircut."
"Why Raven?"
"You know why," Raven muttered, "I hate her for what she's done to us. Don't worry, I'm not going back to destroy the rest of her. I just got angry, that's all. You won't tell the others about this, will you?"
"No," Robin sighed, "but you know they'll worry when they see her statue, especially Beast Boy."
"Beast Boy hasn't been to Terra's statue since he got sick, you know that," Raven told him. "I've got something to do, Robin."
"But Raven--," Robin began but Raven shut the door in his face. Robin looked at the piece of Terra's hair and sighed. Beast Boy may not be visiting Terra's statue anymore but he may do so eventually. Starfire used to go as often as Beast Boy. Cyborg went to do his analysis on Terra when he got the chance. What was he going to say to the team if they found out that Terra's statue had been vandalized?
Then he got an idea. He turned from Raven's bedroom and down to the lab, where Cyborg was working.
"Good, I thought you'd be here," Robin said.
"Man, when am I not here," Cyborg asked him with a grin.
Robin handed Cyborg the piece of Terra's statue. Cyborg looked at it. "Hey, what's this?"
"Part of Terra's statue," Robin explained, "it's her hair. I wanted to take a piece of it so you can analyze it here."
"Good idea," Cyborg agreed, "there are more tests I can run here."
"I thought so," Robin said with a smile, pleased that Cyborg bought his lie. It was the only way to keep Raven innocent. He didn't want the others know what she's done to Terra's statue.
"I'll get right on it," Cyborg walked over to a microscope. Robin watched Cyborg work for a while and then he left. Someone had to bring Terra back. He knows that Raven's spells were not able to do anything. It had to be up to Cyborg's technology. Robin helped Cyborg when he could but when you're part machine, you know more than the human mind. Robin decided to visit Terra's statue at a different time. He seemed to have forgotten all he wanted to say to her.
Raven searched and researched her books over and over and over again. Here many books were laid out on her bedroom floor with other relics. She had never read so much in her life and yet she didn't find anything.
"There's got to be something," she muttered to herself, "something I over looked. Come on, Raven, think…think!"
Raven bought her hands to her head. Her brain was too tired. She had meditated, researched and meditated again. Was there no spell that can turn a statue into a person? There were spells that turned people into stone but that wasn't going to help. In a wild idea, she even tried the stone spell on Terra's statue, hoping that it would do the opposite to Terra's statue and nothing happened. It didn't even make her stony body even stonier. It was really a stupid idea. She couldn't' believe she even tried that. She really was desperate. Usually it was easy for Raven to find answers in her spell books. She felt so lost, o inaccurate. How was she even able to stop the end of the world anyway? Raven crossed her legs and levitated in the air. She ahd to clear her mind. Being negative wasn't going to help her much. She couldn't give up.
While Raven meditated, she searched her soul for answers. There had to be something. She focused hard. If there was nothing in her books, then what was left for Raven? There had to be some other place she could go.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she chanted softly. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."
Raven stopped chanting immediately. That was it. Azarath. If she couldn't find an answer in her books, she would find it in Azarath. It was her last hope. She levitated her two flasks of sand over to her and made them pour a circle of sand around her.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…Carazon Rakashas Endere…Vaserix Endrien Azarath…Azarath, Azarath!"
The circle of sand emitted specks of blue light to form a portal over Raven's head. She traveled through the portray to her home on Azarath. She was amazed to what she found there. The last time she had visited Azarath it was empty. She only found doves and her mother. This time everyone was out of there homes. She had never seen Azarath so busy, so full of life. Then she thought of it. Of course no one was out when she visited last time. They feared the world was ending. They didn't expect Raven to come visit them again for help. Things were different now. Raven prevented the end of world from happening. The Earth was safe. As Raven flew through the streets, old friends waved at her. She waved back but did not stop to chat. She had a job to do.
She flew up to the tower with the emblazoned golden bird. Raven saw her mother standing on the balcony and called out to her. Arella was pleased to see Raven.
"Somehow, I knew you would come," Arella said.
"Mother, I need your help," Raven said immediately.
"What is it?"
Raven landed on the balcony. "I'm looking for a spell to change a statue into a human. I cannot find anything in my spellbooks."
"Why do you want to change a statue into a human," Arella inquired.
"It's complicated," Raven replied slowly. "The titans used to have a geomancer on the team. When she first came to us she had trouble controlling her powers. Now she has somehow turned herself into stone and I want to turn her back into the way she was. There has to be some way to bring her back."
"This girl's powers are not like yours," Arella told her daughter. "Unless you're a geomancer yourself, you can't turn her back."
Arella entered the tower to a large round room and Raven followed.
"I know our powers aren't the same," Raven insisted, "but there's got to be something I can do! I prevented the end of the world; I should be able to bring Terra back!"
"This Terra…she must've been close to you if you want her back so badly."
"We were never close," Raven admitted, "I…hated her."
"Then why do you want her back," Arella asked. "She was your teammate, wasn't she?"
"She wasn't really part of the team," Raven said, "she betrayed us and became Slade's apprentice. At the last minute, she turned on him and she created a volcano strong enough to destroy the city. We escaped but Terra remained to stop the volcano. In the process, she turned into stone. I don't know if it was the volcano's lava or Terra just used up her powers." Raven sighed. "She's been as stone ever since. I only want to bring Terra back so I can have answers. I want to know why she betrayed us."
"And then what will you do?"
"I don't know," Raven said softly, "but at least after I speak with her I'll feel better."
"Is there another reason why you want to bring this girl back, Raven?" Arella pressed.
"My friends want her back," Raven said, "I'm also doing this for them. There has to be some way for me to turn her back to flesh and blood."
"I do not know of any spells that can do that," Arella confessed, "but you are welcome to search our library for any leads. Perhaps if you cannot bring Terra back, you might be able to help her do it yourself."
"How?" Raven asked. "How do I do that?"
"Perhaps increasing her power over the earth," Arella suggested, "or decreasing it. Perhaps you can try entering her mind."
"I've tried sharing her mind," Raven said in frustration, "but it's full of rock right now!"
"Raven, this girl turned to stone on her own," Arella insisted, "she'll have to return on her own. You may look at the library and try whatever spells you may find but I doubt you can turn your friend back to the way she was."
"I'll do that," Raven said and she entered the vast Azarathian library. She flew up and down the bookcases, pulling out books and thumbing through them and putting them back on the shelves. In a library as large as the one in Azarath, there had to be some spell that could bring Terra back. Raven took the best spellbooks to a table and studied them over and over. Some looked like they might not help Terra, but they were great spells Raven wanted to try. Perhaps Raven had to make herself stronger if she was going to bring Terra back. Raven must've looked at twenty books twice that day. Her friends were probably wondering where she was. Raven couldn't go back until she found a clue. Raven's eyes grew heavy. Raven could not fall asleep. She had to keep going. She wasn't going to leave Azarath until she found an answer. After all the things she's done: pulling Cyborg from the land before time back to Jump City, taking Malchior out of the spell book and binding him back in when e betrayed her, fighting in all those battles, saving the world—turning a geomancer that became stone back to her original form should be a piece of cake!
Raven's eyes fell upon a spell that could increase the weakness in anything. Raven straightened up and read the spell carefully. It looked like a difficult spell. Raven's never tried anything like it before. Would increasing Terra's weakness—whatever it was—return her to normal? If it couldn't, then it would probably allow Terra to return by herself, or even buy Raven time so she could continue searching. If Raven had known about the weakness increasing spell when Terra had joined the team then Terra wouldn't have been so dangerous. Raven wondered what Terra's weakness was. No one really seemed to know. Beast Boy knew her better than the rest of the team. Would he know? If Raven asked Beast Boy about Terra, Beast Boy would wonder why Raven was asking him about her. They would probably get into it again. Raven didn't want to get into an argument about Terra with Beast Boy. It didn't matter what Terra's weakness was. Raven would just increase it anyway. Raven read about the spell. It said that the caster had to be at top strength or the spell would not work properly. There were number of requirements and preparation Raven had to do to cast the spell. Casting it may cause Raven to become tired. Raven felt that she had no other choice. It was her best option.
Raven closed the book and grabbed one of the others. She flew out of the library to find her mother.
"Any luck," Arella queried.
"I don't know if it's enough, but I found a spell I could try" Raven said, "I'm bringing these with me."
"Very well," Arella murmured, "good luck, my child."
"Thank you, Mother," Raven said and she flew away from the tower, to the portal and back to her bedroom.
Raven slid her spellbooks under her bed and crawled into bed to rest. She would rather go right to Terra's statue and try out the spell, but she had to be at top strength to cast it. Raven felt too tired to cast any spell at the moment. The moment she got her strength back, she was going to terra's statue to try out the spell. It had to work. It had to.
TO BE CONTINUED