Author's Note: I think that when I finish this story, I'm going to go back and combine chapters... -frown- If this thing gets to more than thirty, I'll be very unhappy... Sorry, this is a useless note. Long chapter, though! Whoot! I've been planning this for just about ever. Also... we're nearing the end... Which means I should start working on AMoH -groan-
The timeline in the last chapter is kind of confusing. First it was day, and I talked about the three hours and the bracelets. Then it was the same day, and I talked about Beast Boy. Then it was night, with Terra, and the next day with Beast Boy. This is the second night. Sorry for confusion.
Credit for Sandra to "Old Harry's Game," where she is the Prime Minister of England.
A Matter of Pride: Chapter twenty-six; Dreams
Terra was dreaming. That in itself was not so strange. She dreamed often, most of it nonsensical garbage. This, however, was the farthest thing from it. This felt real. If it hadn't started off with a purple hippo called Sandra being elected president, she would have thought she was awake.
Dream Sequence: Terra stood in the crowd at Sandra's inauguration, cheering as the last words were spoken.
"This is exciting, isn't it?" a person next to her asked. Their face was blurry, at the moment. Terra nodded.
"Yeah, it is."
"Did you ever think you'd see the next president being sworn into office?"
"No. I never thought about it."
"... It is a little bit odd, though, isn't it Terra? The president is a talking purple hippo."
Terra turned to the stranger, only to find out that it wasn't a stranger at all. It was Keb. And he was smiling at her, the true and genuine smile that she missed so much. He hadn't aged at all. He was still twenty-five, the same age he was on the day he had died.
"You're alive, too?" she gasped. Keb's smile faded. He looked sad now. He shook his head.
"I'm dead, Terra. But I've been watching over you - sort of like a guardian angel. I saw everything."
Terra looked down, ashamed of herself.
"I can't say I was always proud of your choices," Keb continued, "but I am proud of you. Mother and Luke are, too."
Terra looked around quickly. "Mom and Dad are here?"
"No, they're gone. Don't worry, though. I'm not leaving. I'm here to help you get out of here - well, not here, but, uh..."
Keb frowned when Terra giggled. "Get away from Rhea and Slade?"
Keb's eyes were sad to hear Terra talking about Rhea as a villain, but she was now and there was nothing he could do about it.
"Yeah. That. Beast Boy is coming. He'll be here by tomorrow, but I've words for him as well. You two, and Repeto, can beat Rhea and Slade if you work together."
"So I can trust Repeto?"
Keb nodded. "I trust him. If I was... alive, I'd trust him with my life. As it is, I trust him with yours."
"How are they... alive? Rhea, and Slade, I mean?" Terra blurted suddenly.
"They aren't. Well, Slade's not. Not really. It's confusing." Keb shook his head and looked at her seriously. "Listen to me, Terra. This isn't going to be easy to hear. Mother and Luke and I... we don't blame you for, you know..."
"Killing you," Terra whispered, cringing.
"It wasn't your fault. You regretted that it ever happened. You couldn't have stopped it and you didn't try to start it. We forgive you." He hugged her. "I forgive you, Terra, alright? But Rhea couldn't. There was something in her - I'm not sure what it was - but she couldn't forgive you. It smoldered and burned inside her, and I tried to talk sense into her, but it was no use. So she's here, and she hates you, and she'll kill you if she got the chance."
"She's had all the chances in the world. We've been living in the same place."
"No she hasn't. Not while I'm protecting you - and the Titans, and Repeto. She can't get close to you. But, Terra, she'll kill you. And I don't want that. I want you to go back to Jump City, live with the Titans, find a guy you like, get married, all of that. I want you to have a life. I won't always be able to protect you. Beast Boy and Repeto can't always be watching you. So it's up to you to make sure Rhea never gets a chance."
"What are you saying?"
"You have to kill her."
Terra flinched. "I don't want to. She's my sister. I don't want to kill anyone anymore."
"I know, Terra. I know. But Rhea..." Keb struggled for the word. "I... I can't explain properly. Rhea isn't Rhea. She's not your sister anymore. She's just another villain. I can tell you how to kill her, but you have to listen. Are you listening?"
Terra nodded.
"Good. Have Repeto sabotage the equipment. He knows where it is. Just tell him to cut the second wire from the left under the keyboard, and everything goes bye-bye. They won't be able to use the bracelets anymore, the one you're wearing or the one Rhea's wearing. You'll be able to use your powers. Slade won't be a big deal if the you two work together, and with Beast Boy too."
Everything was becoming blurry, and there was an underlying image, barely visible, of the dark farmhouse room underneath the dream image.
"I can't tell you any more now, Terra," Keb said. "Just remember what I said. Now I'm going to talk to Beast Boy." He hugged her tightly. Terra hugged him back, hoping that the dream wouldn't end so that she could be with her brother some more. He kissed her forehead, looked at her, and smirked. "Oh, one more thing..."
"Yeah?"
"Ask Repeto what his real name is."
Everything dissolved into technicolor bubbles. One by one, they popped, leaving her in the waking world. End Dream Sequence.
Terra sat up and looked around. It must have been about two in the morning. She knew that she had dreamed about Keb, but... what if it was only a dream? No. Dreams didn't leave her feeling warm and fuzzy and forgiven. Dreams didn't tell her to sabotage Slade and kill her sister.
Usually.
Repeto was dozing a foot away, his back resting against the wall, head lolling to one side. Terra put a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently. "Repeto!" she whispered.
"Five more minutes, Mommy," he muttered. Terra shook his shoulder harder, whispered his name a little louder. He woke with a start and sat bolt upright. "What - huh?"
"I need your help. You know the room with all sorts of equipment in it? The equipment that controls the bracelets?"
"Yeah," Repeto said. He clenched his jaw hard, warding off a yawn, and rubbed one eye with the back of his hand.
"You're supposed to cut the second wire from the left... under... the keyboard."
"Who says?" Repeto said, frowning.
"No time to explain. Think you can do it now?"
"No. It sounds like you've got a story, and I want to hear it."
For a moment, Terra didn't want to tell him. But Keb trusted him and, if Keb did, Terra certainly did. She told him about her dream. He sat quietly, clearly skeptical.
"I know it sounds like it's just a dream, but - "
"The president was a purple hippo called Sandra? And you believe that this dream wasn't a dream?"
"Well, obviously, Sandra was just part of my imagination..." Terra knew, somehow, that the dream was real. She didn't know why Repeto, who had always been so understanding, suddenly didn't believe a word she said.
---Beast Boy---
Beast Boy had found a place in Ashkum, Illinois, to spend the night. It had been four in the afternoon when he arrived and, though he had made some inquiries, no one in the little town had heard of Terra, Rhea, or Slade. Beast Boy had checked into a little hotel and was anxiously trying to sleep. He was worried about Terra; it had been more than a week since Rhea had kidnapped her. Who knew what could have happened?
Beast Boy sat up, restless, but the moment he did he felt extremely sleepy and dropped onto the bed, asleep before he even hit the mattress.
Dream Sequence. Beast Boy recognized where he was. Terra sat next to him. She begged him to be her friend, no matter what. He promised he would and leaned forward to kiss her.
"Please don't do that," said a partially scared, partially amused voice. Beast Boy opened his eyes and saw in front of him not Terra, but a man in his mid-twenties with dark blond hair and brown eyes. He looked somehow familiar. "If you would just lean back a bit? You're in my personal bubble."
"Sorry," Beast Boy said hurriedly, drawing back.
"Thanks. Hello, Beast Boy, it's nice to meet you at last. My name is Keb Miller. I'm Terra's half-brother."
Beast Boy's mouth dropped open. "But you're - you're - uh, ah, er..."
"Dead? Yeah, I know. Not all it's cracked up to be, let me tell you. Really weird when someone walks through me." Keb shuddered.
Beast Boy was busy taking mental stock of himself, making sure he wasn't insane.
"Don't worry," Keb assured him. "You're not crazy. This is real. I'm here to help you and, by extension, my sister."
"But she killed you," Beast Boy said, confused. If someone had killed him, he wouldn't be talking about them in such a loving voice.
"Yeah, well, no hard feelings," Keb said, grinning.
"Why are you so happy?"
"Well, mostly the expression on your face. But all I've ever wanted for either of my sisters is for them to have a long and happy life. I gave my life up to protect them and, even though Rhea died that day anyway, Terra survived and she'll be happy once you and Rep help break her out."
"Rep?"
"Repeto. He's Slade's apprentice, though unwilling, and Terra's friend. I've been talking about him a lot, and it's easier to say Rep than Repeto."
"Right."
"Anyway, listen up, okay Beast Boy? I've got a lot to tell you."
"How do you know my name?" Beast Boy asked quickly.
"I've been hanging around Terra for the last eight years. If I didn't know your name, I'd worry. Will you listen now?" A wide-eyed nod from Beast Boy. "Good. Thank you. Okay. From here, Terra is exactly half a mile due west, in an abandoned farm house. You should burst in heroically at about... nine o'clock. Yes, that should be good. Repeto should be towering over Terra, who should be on the floor sobbing. Don't mind them, it's an act, you go straight for Slade."
"Slade?!"
"Oh, yeah, did I forget that?" Keb asked innocently. "Yeah. You go for Slade. Terra will take on Rhea." Keb frowned suddenly and looked sadly at his lap. "In order to be happy, Terra has to kill Rhea. She'll need you and Rep to be there for her. The three of you working together will be able to take down Slade and get the heck out of there. Got all that?"
"I think so. I got half a mile west at nine and take on Slade."
"Good boy. I'll be watching to make sure that nothing goes wrong." The dream-world began to dissolve. Keb said, "That's all I can tell you. Except... Remember, Beast Boy, Terra needs your friendship more than anything else." The tone of voice he used implied 'anything else' as a romantic relationship. Beast Boy nodded. Keb grinned.
The world blurred and fragmented into the normal blackness. End Dream Sequence.
Beast Boy sat up and looked at the clock. Three in the morning. He set the alarm for eight, collapsed on the bed, and sank into a perfectly normal, dreamless sleep.