Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.

Chapter 31 - The Bargain

"What are you talking about?" Terra screeched at her younger replica. "You can't be me!"

The younger Terra sat down on a nearby bench, patting its surface as she invited Terra to join her.

"Have a seat, I'll explain everything."

Terra rolled her eyes.

"Don't tell me that you're my 'Wild Woman'!"

The teen laughed.

"Of course not Terra. But I am your inner self, whom you have repressed for years."

Terra's expression was indignant.

"You expect me to buy that load of …"

"Have you ever wondered why everything turns out wrong for you Terra?" The teen interrupted her. "Ever ponder why you lost Beast Boy to the witch, why you betrayed your friends? Did you think about why you bounce around from loser to loser like a cheap slut? Ever wonder why Slade was able to recruit you and was even able to convince you to kill the only boy you ever loved?"

Terra was biting her lip. Everything her younger twin was saying was true.

"Do you want to know why Terra, do you?"

Terra turned away, as she didn't want to have the teen see her cry.

"You're insecure Terra. And it makes you weak. Remember when Slade was pulling the strings and you felt confident? You were able to defeat all 5 of the Titans. Especially Raven, oh you got her good. The look on her face when you tried to drown her was priceless. It's too bad you let her get away."

Without turning around Terra replied.

"Why are you telling me this?"

Teen Terra walked around her and they were now face to face.

"Because you shouldn't have to settle for second best, that's why. WE shouldn't have to settle. You're about to make a big mistake Terra. Whatever you do, do not marry the Atlantean."

"What!?" Terra growled at the teen. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't marry him! Garth is a wonderful man."

Young Terra calmly walked back to the bench and sat down.

"Do you know why you are so insecure?"

"What are you? My shrink?"

Young Terra ignored the insult and continued.

"You're insecure because you've repressed me all your life Terra. And the longer you've repressed me the more insecure you became."

"You're so full of it!"

"Am I? Why did you let Aqualad impregnate you? You told him you were on the pill when you knew that wasn't true."

Terra looked aghast.

"How did you know that?"

"Duh! Earth to Terra! I'm you! I know everything about you. And I know you don't really love Garth! You're just bagging him because you're afraid of being left alone."

Terra stared blankly at the teen.

"OK, just for argument's sake, let's assume that you really are who you say you are. How come you're showing up now?"

"Because I found her and set her free Terra." A masculine voice replied.

Terra turned to him and snarled.

"I don't know who you are but you're not BB!" She told the Wild Man. "Why are you still here? I told you to get lost a long time ago!"

"Terra, I am Garfield Terra and you know it. I'm his true inner self and he only rejected me because of the grip the witch had on him. This is why I've been in exile deep in your mind all this time. Fortunately after searching I found your inner self after you buried her deep in your psyche. She does get out once in a while, like when you stood up to Slade, but you always send her back to your mental dustbin afterwards."

Terra clutched her head in her hands.

"What do you want from me?"

Young Terra stepped in.

"We don't want anything from you Terra." She replied.

"We want to help set you free, just like Beast Boy was once free, and can be free once again."

Terra stepped back from the pair.

"Raven said that there is an evil spirit on the loose."

The pair laughed.

"Yeah, she would say that. Did it ever occur to you that she knows we are a threat to her?"

"So you are evil."

"No Terra." The Wild Man replied. "We are not evil. Do not let Raven's new nature mislead you. She might not be a witch anymore, but she is still half human and she will do whatever it takes to keep Beast Boy away from you, for she knows he belongs with you. So you see, in her eyes we are evil because we do not represent her interests. We represent your interests Terra. Beast Boy belongs to you and not to Raven!"

Terra let out an exasperated sigh.

"They're married, and in case you've forgotten BB doesn't believe in divorce."

Young Terra got up from the bench and began to pace around Terra.

"Who exactly did BB marry?" She asked slyly.

Terra grimaced.

"What kind of stupid question is that? He married Raven a year ago!"

The Wild Man rebuked her. "No Terra, you are mistaken. Beast Boy isn't married; in fact he's been fair game for nearly a whole year."

"What are you talking about?"

Young Terra continued.

"Think about it Terra. Beast Boy married Raven, daughter of Trigon."

Terra's eyes opened wide as she understood the revelation.

"Who doesn't exist anymore." She said breathlessly.

Young Raven nodded with a grin.

"I've been trying to get out in order to tell you this for almost a year. Fortunately BB found me."

Terra sat down on the bench, still stunned by the revelation.

"But he still loves her and he thinks she's his wife. How could I ever win him back?"

Young Terra rolled her eyes. "There's the insecurity talking again."

"So what am I supposed to do?" She snapped.

Young Terra remained calm and composed.

"Stop suppressing me. Let me have some control. Just a little. Give me a week and you'll see the difference."

Terra eyed her skeptically.

"How do I know you won't do anything stupid?"

"Terra, you'll still be in control. Just relax."

Terra considered the offer carefully.

"Let's say I agree. What's the first thing we're gonna do?"

"Duh! We're gonna call off the wedding."

"And how do I do that?"

"Terra." The teen grinned. "I'll take care of it."

Terra still looked doubtful.

"But what about the baby?"

"What about it?" the teen replied. "It's your baby; you can do what you want with it. You could keep it or let the fish stick take it back to Atlantis."

"What if I neither of us wants the baby?"

Young Terra shrugged her shoulders.

"You could destroy it."

Terra gasped at the suggestion.

"Oh grow up Terra. You have to make tough choices to get what you want. But you won't be able to make those choices if you're insecure."

Terra's expression became grave.

"I don't know. This is so sudden."

"Time isn't on your side Terra." The Wild Man interrupted. "Once you marry Aqualad you can forget about Beast Boy forever."

Tears began to well up in the geomancer's eyes.

"This will probably be your last chance ever to get him Terra." Her doppelganger reminded her.

Terra swallowed hard.

"OK, I'll do it. I'll let you have some control. But at the first sign of trouble I'm pulling the plug!"

The teen smiled. "You won't regret it Terra."

Beast Boy grunted as he lifted the heavy trunk. He then smiled and morphed into a gorilla, tucking the trunk under his arm, only to be stopped by the next obstacle: the stairs out of the cellar were too narrow for his now oversized frame. He turned towards Raven and shrugged his simian shoulders.

"It's OK Gar; I already told you that I can handle it." She said as her white energy enveloped the trunk which now floated effortlessly up the stairs. Beast Boy morphed back into his human form and the couple followed it up the stairs and into the large living room where the rest of the Titans, minus Terra and Garth, were still seated. The trunk landed next to an empty loveseat where Raven and Beast Boy sat down. Raven waved her hand and dozens of books flew out of the truck, landing on the floor in neat stacks. Several remained airborne as they floated around Raven as she perused through them.

"So why do you keep these books here?" Speedy asked. "Didn't you keep them in your room before?"

"They're dark magic books." Beast Boy replied. "Even when she was half demon Rae wasn't exactly crazy about them."

"Gar's right." Raven remarked without looking up from the books, which continued to rotate around her. "I actually wanted to destroy them after my transformation, but Gar talked me out of it, and I'm glad he did."

"Really?" Nightwing replied.

Raven looked up as the floating books stacked themselves and were replaced by a new set of books.

"Yes, they might help me learn more about the presences that I have been feeling."

"What do you know of these spirits Raven?" Starfire asked.

"Not much, yet. I do know that there are two of them, and that one is dominant over the other. I also know that one is male and the other female. So I'm researching male/female demon pairs. It turns out there are more of them than I thought. This could take a while." She said as the next set of ancient books began to rotate around her.

Raven suddenly looked like she was about to get sick.

"Rae, what's the matter?" Beast Boy asked.

She shook her head. "It's nothing, just an article about Scath. I never knew this, but he actually had a consort."

"You mean the Trigon had a mate?" Starfire asked, her voice trembling.

Raven nodded. "Her name is Lilith."

"You're kidding!" Bumblebee coughed. "The 'Lilith' is Trigon's mate?"

"Yes." Raven replied. "Truly a disturbing thought if there ever was one. I should count myself lucky that I wasn't born of both of them."

"So whatever happened to her Rae? I mean we never had to fight her."

"And be glad for that Gar, as she is a storm demon and brings disease and pestilence. She was subdued and cast into hell by Michael about 3000 years ago."

"That's a relief." Cyborg replied. "She sounds like bad news."

"Tell me Raven, did the Lilith and the Trigon ever have offspring?" Starfire asked.

Raven frowned as she continued to read the ancient Sumerian text.

"It says here that it's believed they did, three in fact. They were triplets, two male and one female. She destroyed the males, earning Trigon's wrath. He expelled her from his realm but he kept the daughter. She was then captured by Michael the Arcangel."

"So you have a half sister somewhere?" Cyborg asked in disbelief.

"Had a half sister." Beast Boy corrected the tin man. "She isn't Trigon's daughter anymore!"

"Of course." Cyborg replied. "Sorry. Did you ever meet her Raven?"

"No, thank heaven!" She replied. "It says here that her name is … Lamia."

"Can we help you with your research Raven?" Starfire asked.

Raven sighed. "Thanks Starfire, but no. For one thing the texts are in ancient languages none of you know. I suppose you could learn them by kissing me, but you still wouldn't know what I'm looking for."

"Could you not tell me friend?"

"Not really, because I'm not sure what I'm looking for. But thanks Starfire. But if all of you really want to help, keep an eye on Terra. I have a hunch that her nightmares are somehow related to this."

The others nodded as Raven resumed her research.

Aqualad had finished reading the manga comics he borrowed from Beast Boy just as Terra slowly stirred awake. He leaned over her to kiss her but just as their lips were about to make contact she turned away. Garth pulled back, surprised by her gesture.

"Terra, what's the matter. Are you feeling OK?" He asked in a worried tone.

The blond Titan quickly sat up and hopped off the bed.

"I'm fine." She said before turning to her fiancé. "Garth, we need to talk."

Aqualad sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Look." She addressed him. "I've been doing some thinking and I believe that maybe we're rushing into this whole marriage thing."

"Huh? Terra, I don't understand. What are you saying? Do you want to postpone the wedding?"

Terra shook her head.

"No Garth, that's not what I mean."

"You mean you're backing out? Why Terra?"

Terra looked contrite as she responded.

"I'm sorry Garth, but we shouldn't get married. It's not that I don't love you, but it would be a mistake."

"A mistake! What are you talking about? We're in love and we're having a child. How is that a mistake?"

"No Garth, we're not in love. We like each other and enjoy physical intimacy with each other, but we're not in love. We never were."

Aqualad looked devastated. "How can you say that Terra? You mean you went along with this and told me you loved me when you didn't? Why did you accept my marriage proposal?"

"I was scared Garth. I found out I was pregnant and didn't know what to do. I should have said no, I'm sorry."

Aqualad wiped away a tear from his face. "So what's going to happen to our baby?"

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"I was thinking of terminating my pregnancy."

Aqualad went bug eyed.

"Terra, please, I beg you, don't do that."

"I said I was thinking of it."

Aqualad dropped to his knees.

"Please Terra, don't do it. If you don't want the child I will take it back to Atlantis to be raised."

"I'll think about it Garth. But I have some more news. I'm going to ask for a transfer back to Jump City. I don't think we should be together anymore."

"Why Jump City?"

"I have my reasons."

Aqualad frowned.

"It's him, isn't it? You just want to be with Beast Boy."

Terra shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't play coy with me Terra. This is what it's really all about, isn't it? He's stealing you from me."

"Calm down Garth." She said in a soothing voice.

"Calm down? CALM DOWN!? He already has a frakking wife! Why can't he leave you alone?"

"Garth, it's not what you think."

"Like hell it isn't! I've heard you call his name when you sleep. Admit it Terra, you've been cheating on me with him, haven't you? I shouldn't be surprised. You love him, don't you?"

Terra gave him an indignant look.

"Well of course I do. He's my best friend, my first love. I'll always love him."

Aqualad's eyes were red with fury.

"The baby is his, isn't it?"

"I don't know Garth."

Aqualad slammed his fist down on a nearby solid oak chest of drawers, smashing it to smithereens.

"Fine Terra, have it your way. We're through." He said as he stormed out the door. He turned back to look at her.

"I wish I had never met you!"

Talk about getting dumped!

And sorry about the short chapter. I hope this isn't getting too weird!

I'll post again this weekend.