Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Stone Hearted 8

Beast Boy's Heartache

Through Robin's research of Black Rose, he discovered a few similarities between her and Slade. Could she have been a former apprentice? If she had indeed worked to Slade, then why? She was a strong fighter and the way she fought against Terra, made him think that she was a perfect apprentice for Slade. She hadn't been blackmailed, she was already as twisted as Slade. So, if she had been an apprentice shy did she leave? Or perhaps Slade was searching for a new apprentice after he regained his body and he found one worthy in Black Rose?

If that was true, then her outfit would have changed. She was still dressed in the way the girls remembered. When Robin was Slade's apprentice, he wore the matching copper attire and Slade gave armor to Terra. Black Rose would look like Slade's apprentice if it were true. Robin set up sensors in Slade's old bases of operation. If Black Rose was working for Slade, it was likely Slade would send her to his old base to collect something he had left behind. He could set a trap for Black Rose and when she walked into it, he would get the alert at the Tower. His theory was right. When he went to the place where Slade had met his downfall, Black Rose was already there. She was standing at a crevice, staring down at the abyss.

"Black Rose…I thought I might find you here," Robin said, taking out his staff.

Black Rose turned. "Robin…I know of you. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you of course," Robin said. "I have some questions for you."

"I have nothing to discuss with the likes of you," Black Rose said, walking away.

"I think we do," said Robin. "Now we can do this the hard way, or the easy way."

Black Rose turned to run and Robin ran after her.

"Looks like we're doing this the hard way," said Robin. He caught up with her at the exit, throwing a birdarang at her.

"Why are you after Terra?" Robin asked.

"Because she ruined my life," muttered Black Rose.

"How?"

"She thought she was better than me," Black Rose said.

"So you're trying to kill her?" Robin demanded. "Just because she beat you in the Tournament of Heroines? You really are a sore loser."

Black Rose laughed, twirling her spiky staff. "She took away more than my victory! She took away my destiny!"

Black Rose and Robin engaged in combat. Within seconds, Robin realized that Terra was right about Black Rose's skill with the bo staff. Her skill nearly exceeded his own and the way she fought reminded him of Slade. Slade was also skilled with a Bo staff. Had he trained her?

"You're Slade's apprentice, aren't you?" he asked, once he was able to trip her off her balance.

"Slade's dead," Black Rose muttered. "Terra killed him."

"She did," said Robin. "But he came back to life."

"You liar," said Black Rose. "I would've found him. He would've come after me."

"Who are you to Slade anyway?" Robin said. "If you're not his apprentice? Do you hope to work for him?"

"That's really none of your business, is it Robin?" said Black Rose. "Your look-alike friend in Steel City told me Terra ran off. Has she returned to Jump City? Where is she?"

"She's safe," said Robin, "and I'm not about to give you her location."

"Why protect someone who betrayed you?" Black Rose demanded. "She worked for Slade and she brought this city to its knees. You should be after her too."

"Terra turned back in the end," said Robin. "She brought Slade down and she saved the city. In the process she became a statue but she's alive now."

The way Black Rose stood defiant with her bo staff, Robin couldn't help thinking about how much she resembled Slade. She seemed touchy on the subject of Slade and she didn't believe him when he told her he was still alive…wait…could it be?

Robin knocked her Bo staff out of her hands and pinned her against the wall. "All this time, I thought you were Slade's apprentice," he muttered, "but you're more than that, aren't you? You're his child."

Black Rose remained still. She started laughing. "You really are quite the detective, Robin. Yes, Slade was my father and I planned to become his apprentice…but I was too late. He had already given the job to Terra and instead of doing what he wanted her to, she killed him!"

Black Rose pushed him away. "Tell me where she is so I can avenge my father!"

"There's no point," said Robin. "I told you already, Slade's still alive. He made a pact with Trigun. If he worked or him, then Trigun would bring him back to life."

"Trigun…?" said Black Rose. "Isn't he a demon from mythology or something?'

"Yeah," said Robin. "So you don't have to go after Terra anymore. You can go looking for your father. I bet he's in need of an apprentice now."

"Where is he?" Black Rose questioned.

"No idea," said Robin, "but there's something you should know about him. Slade may have been the worst enemy we ever had. He tried to destroy the city many times and he used people. But when Trigun threatened the world, I worked together with Slade and he helped us stop Trigun. I wouldn't' say we settled our differences or anything like that, but Slade's always been trying to destroy us. He had that chance to kill us but he didn't. Are you going to pick up where he left off?"

"I have no quarrel with the titans," said Black Rose. "Just Terra. My father chose her over me…I will not take that lying down. I knew he couldn't trust her. I told him she'd betray him but I'd stay loyal. She is going to get what's coming to her."

She pushed him away from her and left. Now knowing that Black Rose was Slade's daughter, robin knew she was more dangerous than he realized. He had to warn the others. He had to warn Terra.

--

"Robin!" said Starfire merrily when he entered the tower. "Did you succeed in planting of the traps for Black Rose?"

"Not exactly," replied the exhausted Robin. "But I found her."

"Where?" Starfire asked.

"At the cave where Slade was killed," Robin answered. "I had a feeling she'd go there. I have something important to tell the team."

As he approached the controls, starfire noticed him limping. "Robn, you're hurt!"

"It's nothing," he grunted. He grabbed the microphone. "Titans, to the control room immediately!"

Cyrborg, Raven and Beast Boy intered the room in moments.

"What's going on, Robin?" Cyborg questioned.

"I went to the place where Slade was killed," Robin told the team. "And I found Black Rose there."

"What made you decide to go there?" Beast Boy asked, raising an eyebrow.

"From what Terra and Bumblebee's told me," Robin answered. "Black Rose made me think of Slade. I thought that she may have been Slade's apprentice. Only she's not. She's his daughter."

"Say what?" Cyborg demanded.

"Slade…has a daughter?" Raven inquired.

"Yes, I'm still surprised too," Robin said. "I figured it out when I was fighting her. That is why she is so fixed on killing Terra. She's out for revenge."

"Did you tell her that Slade is still alive?" Starfire asked.

"I did," Robin sighed. "But Black Rose won't stop until she gets to Terra."

"Why didn't you take us with you?" Beast Boy demanded. "We could have helped you look for her, and we could've fought her too! We could've stopped her! What if she's figured out that Terra's still in Steel City?"

"Beast Boy," said Raven but Robin stopped her.

"No, he's right. I was lucky…but Black Rose wasn't interested in me," Robin said. "I could tell she was holding back."

"Where is Black Rose now?" Beast Boy asked.

"I don't know," said Robin. "I don't even think she's still in Jump City."

"We've got to go looking for her before she finds Terra!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"We will, Beast Boy," Robin insisted, "but first we should tell the Titans East this information. It's important that Terra knows why Black Rose is after her."

Beast Boy left the control room and went. He was still upset over the fact that Terra wouldn't return to Jump City with him. Now Slade's daughter was after her. He didn't want to be in the room when Terra learned who Black Rose was. All Beast Boy could think about was finding Black Rose and stopping her from finding Terra. He was going to find her and follow her everywhere she went. He would watch her like a hawk.

--

The Titans East were surprised to hear the news from Robin, but Terra wasn't. She knew from fighting with Black Rose that she had a connection with Slade. She wouldn't have imagined that the two were related, but now that she knew who Black Rose was, Terra knew she had to be careful. Black Rose had a vendetta against Terra that ran deep and Terra knew that Black Rose wasn't going to give up finding her. Terra decided use the information to fuel herself in training. It was only a matter of time until she crossed paths with Black Rose again. Terra had calmed down a little bit after she got angry at Aqualad after she saw the Teen Titans again. Aqualad had secretly forgiven here. A few days passed and there hadn't been any sign of Black Rose, but Terra knew she hadn't given up on looking for her. Sooner or later, Black Rose would return to Steel City. Terra's powers were improving, but Aqualad could sense her nervousness.

It was late at night and Terra was sitting on the coast, skipping rocks. Aqualad decided to pay her a visit. After Terra made a pebble skip twice over the water and was about to skip a third time, Aqualad made the water rise and pull the pebble down. Terra blinked in confusion and looked over her head.

"Hey, that wasn't very nice," she said with a playful pout.

"Sorry," said Aqualad, sitting down next to her. "But it's late you know. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Yeah, I know," Terra sighed, looking back to the ocean and hugging her knees. "I just can't sleep."

"You're worried about Black Rose?"

Terra shrugged. "I guess I can't blame her for coming after me. I did kill her father."

"Slade's still alive."

"I still killed him," Terra muttered. "If I had known he had a child out there somewhere, I wouldn't have killed him."

"But Slade--,"

"I know," Terra said with a small smile. "It's crazy…Slade made me do terrible things. I trusted him over the titans but…I killed him. I never killed anyone before."

"You were protecting yourself," said Aqualad. "And the titans, the city…you never meant to kill anyone. You were just trying to stop him."

"I never meant to hurt anyone," said Terra, "but it doesn't changed the fact that I did those things. I have to live with it every day. I try to help people. I try to do good things, but every time, I manage to mess up and I…I…I just can't do it anymore!"

Terra put her forehead onto her arms and cried in frustration. Aqualad sat in silence, watching her cry and then he started to pat her head. She lifted her tear-streaked face up at him and impulsively threw herself against his chest.

"Aqualad!"

Aqualad put his arms around her and let her cry. He felt like there was nothing else could do. She cried her frustrations out, shouting how the world was unfair to her while Aqualad listened to her woes and stroked her blond hair. He finally spoke after a few minutes.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," he said gently. "You made mistakes. We all do."

"But mine…mine cost people their lives," she mumbled. "I hurt so many people. How could you understand how I feel after what I've done? You should hate me."

"I don't know," said Aqualad. "Maybe it's because I didn't know you when you did those things. None of that matters to me right now."

"Don't lie to me," Terra muttered.

"I'm not lying, Terra," Aqualad insisted, looking into her bright blue eyes and cupping her eyes. "I really like you…just as you are. You don't have to be alone anymore. I'm here."

Terra gasped. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. What surprised her even more was what Aqualad did next. He brought her face closer, and pressed his lips against hers. After seventeen years, Terra finally got her first kiss. She pulled her arms up and put them around his neck and found herself participating in the kiss. Something landed on the ground loudly, distracting the kissing couple. Terra and Aqualad turned around. Terra gasped and Aqualad groaned.

Before them stood a heartbroken and angered Beast Boy.

TO BE CONCLUDED

(dodges tomatoes and other thrown objects) I am so sorry! It's short and it's a cliffie but this just seemed like a perfect place to end the chapter. The next chapter will be the end, but it will be long and it will end happy. I promise!