Chapter 34 – Sand
'Slade was right. You don't have any friends.'
'You belong to me now, don't you?'
'I do.'
'I trusted you; we trusted you! We gave you everything and you treated us like dirt!'
'Terra, you can't…'
"My name is Terra. I have done horrible things. And I have absolutely no regrets.'
'I'll never forget you, Terra.'
Terra woke up with a scream stuck in her throat, her sheets and pillows on the ground, cold sweat running through her forehead.
'What a horrible nightmare…' she thought, holding her arms to keep warm. Outside, the sun was setting, and the sky was dark blue with hints of orange.
Looking to the side, she noticed the clock showed that it was 6:24 pm. She had slept for almost two hours. Putting her hand on her forehead, she remembered the day's events. Panic starte to grow inside her chest. By now, they probably already knew. She had an impulse of running away.
"That's not fair…" she muttered, and the panic was replaced by rage "This is all Raven's fault! If only she… Or if Beast Boy didn't… Urgh!"
She fell on her knees next to the bed, punching the soft mattress. That was when she noticed a yellow light underneath it. Leaning her right hand on the floor, she looked under the bed, where she had hidden the hourglass. The sand inside it sparkled and the glass reflected the glow everywhere. Besides, the grains were moving really fast inside the bubbles, like two little swirls…
Terra stretched her hand to fetch it, but the hourglass got away from her, sliding to the other side and raising itself on the air. The blonde got to her feet and watched hypnotized the hourglass spin faster and faster towards the open window. Outside, it stopped, floating in the air some distance from the Tower. Sand and earth started to approach the hourglass, involving it. Each second more material joined the aggregate, which grew in an alarming speed.
In front of Terra's shocked eyes, a monster made of sand and rocks were made. He had the Tower's height, thick arms and legs and the hourglass insert in its chest. Two cracks in its rocky face glowed with a yellow light like two terrible eyes.
A gigantic hole opened revealing its mouth, but instead of a sound, what happened was an earthquake.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
"What the hell was that?" yelled Cyborg after some minutes, when the trembling was over.
"An earthquake" answered Robin, getting up and helping Starfire, who he had held in his arms to protect "Something tells me it wasn't exactly natural"
"Do you think it affected the whole city?" asked Raven, getting out from under the bed, where she and Beast Boy had hid. She was of course, thinking about Caleb at the daycare.
"I believe so" said Starfire in a concerned voice.
"I need to see Caleb. Right now" declared the empath.
"Let me come with you!" asked Beast Boy. Raven nodded and held his hand. So she lifted her cape with the other hand and spin, involving them both.
Nothing happened.
"What the…?" she mumbled, trying it again. She was still in the same place. "I… I can't teleport. I can't open a portal"
"That's weird" said Beast Boy.
"Guys…" called Cyborg, and they all turned to the serious tone of his voice. He was staring at the screen in his cybernetic arm. "I'm detecting something outside of the Tower. Something big."
Robin ran to the door and the other followed. The five Titans stopped in disbelief. All they could see through the wide window was a bunch of sand, earth and rocks. And it only seemed part of something. Getting closer, they saw it came from the little island and it went until they eyes could see.
"Did a mountain fall in our island?" questioned Beast Boy. In that moment, the huge shadow turned, causing another earthquake, but not as intense as the first one.
"Mountains don't move" said Robin gravely.
"It's going to the city!" yelled Starfire. In a few minutes, the thing got some distance, and they could see it had a humanly format and it was walking toward the continent.
"It is… Huge" mumbled Cyborg "It's like five Cinderblocks…"
"We still need to stop it" said Robin "Titans, go!"
"I need to go get Caleb" informed Raven, looking at Beast Boy, He agreed with a nod. "The daycare is across city…"
"You go first" he determined, as their friends ran through the halls "We'll get it down"
"Okay… Be careful"
"You too. Oh, Raven?"
The empath turned, impatient.
"I loved the name Caleb" he said, and they smiled before they parted again.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Terra was vaguely aware of the fact that her communicator was ringing. But she couldn't take it to respond. She couldn't even get up. Her head was hurting so bad she was sure it was about to explode. And she longed for that moment, because at least the pain would stop.
It started right after the sand monster's appearance. Before she could do, even think of anything, she felt a pain in her head that only grew worst. The earthquake had knocked her down on the ground, and there she remained, holding her head with both hands, eyes shut, teeth creaking not to scream, although a strangled moan went through them. She sweat cold and kicked the air, rolling with the pain.
'You don't have any friends'
A room filled with mirrors…
'Beast Boy… It's the truth'
An empty street, all five Titans stared at her, in fighting positions.
'I don't have any friends, remember?'
A metallic room, Raven on the ground, covered in mud.
'Traitor!'
'Or is it because, deep down inside, you really believed I was your friend?'
Jump City destroyed, lines of sladbots marching. Nothing but terror and despair.
'I'm not some sad little girl just waiting to be rescued'
With a last vision of her friends falling to her feet into the darkness, Terra passed out.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Chaos reign in the streets, as an earth giant walked through, covering a block each step it took, crashing anything underneath and spreading sand all over the place. People ran, desperate for a security area. A little boy cried looking for his mother, and in panic, tripped in his own feet and fell on the ground. A shadow covered the place where he laid, and a rock approached him faster and faster.
A red motorcycle passed by his side and a hand took him out of the way moments before the rock hit the ground, destroying it. The motorcycle turned and rolled away, stopping next to a crowd of people, and Robin gave the boy to his desperate mother.
"Run, take as much people as you can!" he ordered, stepping out of the motorcycle and taking off his helmet. The public didn't take long to obey. A white and blue car stopped next to him and Cyborg and Beast Boy came out of it.
"Beast Boy, help Star attacking his face through the air" he pointed to the monster "Cyborg and I will aim his legs"
Beast Boy nodded and soon a green eagle was flying high.
"Where's Terra?" asked Cyborg while they ran to accompany the giant.
"She's not answering" said Robin "But there's no time to wait or look for her"
"Do you think…? She could be behind this monster?"
"I don't know" he answered in a finishing tone. They were close to the legs of earth and rocks. He prepared some explosive discs in his right hand while Cyborg's right arm rearranged itself in his sonic cannon.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Raven flew in her highest speed, but she still wasn't able to surpass the earth golem. An annoying sand was spread through the air, making difficult for her to see while entered her mouth and nose, and she suspected it was this sand that was keeping her from opening a portal to teleport. The material that came out of the monster was glowing, leading Raven to believe it had some kind of magic.
Relieved, she heard a familiar explosion and the giant staggered. She took an impulse and managed to at least be ahead of it. She was extremely worried. Coincidence or not, the golem was walking towards the daycare where Caleb was. And the ground continued to tremble, she knew because she could see the buildings shaking. Her son could had fallen from the crib, or even worst, something might had fallen on top of him, burying him…
She shook her head, putting these thoughts away, and focused in her objective, in the moment, get to Caleb. She could feel energy being released, but didn't care a bit about it. Her powers, as terrible as they were, wouldn't make much difference in this chaos. So, whatever they could do to retard the monster was welcome.
Rage, Timidity and Braveness had free pass today.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Cyborg hit the target easily, causing the giant's leg to tear apart, earth being spread all over the ground and rocks falling out of the structure. Several feet in front of him, he saw that Robin's explosives caused the same effect in the other leg. The monster stopped. Cyborg had a Booyah ready to be yelled, but then the earth on the ground made the same way back, and the rocks returned to their places. Almost as if they had… turned back in time.
"What the…!" he yelled, frustrated.
Starfire and Beast Boy were also having trouble. The Tamaranean shoot her starbolts and caused the same effect as Cyborg's sonic blast and Robin's explosives: destructions followed by quick regeneration. Beast Boy turned into a pteranodon and attacked one of the giant's shoulders. The rocks got released, but when he turned, had already gotten back to their original place.
Robin threw some discs in the golem's left leg, which was frozen immediately, stopping him from keep walking. At the same time, Cyborg attacked its right leg with a punch, his arm going through the other side. The giant lost balance and, before he could regenerate, Starfire swung a green elephant in the air and threw it right on its chest.
For a few minutes, it rained earth, sand and rocks. It looked like a victory. However, a huge rock fell on the frozen left leg, and a swirl was made. When it was over, the sand monster was whole again, and walking.
Robin ran, brushing sand off his hair and threw a grapping cable at the golem's legs, which wrapped itself around them. Cyborg ran to help him pull, but the cable slid through the sand and got off the other side.
"What do we do?" yelled Beast Boy "This guy is unstoppable!"
"We can only keep trying" said Robin "Titans, go!"
Before they could reach the giant, several objects started to be thrown on it, covered in a familiar black aura. It didn't stop it, but at least delayed it. Cars, buses and small constructions destroyed the monster, but it only kept regenerating. Two buildings moved, joining and standing in its way. It stopped and lifted its hands. A strong earthquake happened, knocking the buildings on the ground and allowing it to step on them, destroying them to continue on its way.
Starfire flew to the monster's belly and stretched her arms, trying to push him back. Just like Robin's cable, however, she was absorbed by the sand and passed through it, coming out on the other side covered by the grains. Beast Boy flew to the golem's head as a little and fast hummingbird, and then changed into a bear, hugging its face to keep it from seeing. He bite and scratched it, trying to harm it in any way. But the giant kept walking, seeming not to need its vision to go its way.
Pipes loosen from the asphalt from the destruction were wrapped in black energy and directed to the giant, wetting the bottom of its body. He started to move slower because of the weight, but the structure remained whole. Robin threw his discs again, freezing both legs.
The top part of the monster's body was separated from the frozen legs and it went to the ground in a thump. Earth and sand got spread all over the area.
"Yes!" exclaimed Beast Boy with a smile, after landing safety.
"Glorious!" Starfire clapped her hands.
However, the ground started to tremble again, and when the four Titans got to their feet, the monster was back in one piece. It was a little smaller, but still huge and still moving.
"What's with this guy?" complained Cyborg annoyed, his three friends with discouraged faces.
"Titans…" before Robin could finish his sentence, the monster stopped.
It had reached its destination.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Raven saw the daycare, the golem still away. She sighed with relief to see it was still standing. A crowd was at the doors, helping evacuate the place. Coming closer to the ground, she saw the last people carrying children in their arms. She felt Caleb's presence before she could see him: he was in a baby seat carrier next to the exit.
She landed and ran toward him. But then there was another earthquake, knocking her to the ground before she could levitate. She fell, hitting her head on the sidewalk. It took her a lot of effort to stay conscious. After the earthquake stopped, she took some minutes to get to her feet. The minutes the monster needed to get to its destination.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
The hourglass followed its master's desires.
Even when she didn't say all the words. That was because it was connected to her heart.
When she cried over it, she told it all it needed to know.
Destruction.
She wanted the destruction of a relationship.
To grant this wish, it needed information. It collected all there was. In all times. It looked through its master's mind, even through what she didn't remembered, what never happen in this timeline.
It stumble in a very precious information.
The quickest way to that bond's destruction was to destroy the relationship's fruit.
And its grains told it he was near.
Really near.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Caleb cried. He was scared, and cry was the only way he knew to respond to that.
He felt his mother's light approaching him, but before she could reach him, the world started to shake again.
It was really scary. He went back and forth, things fell and there was a loud noise. The lights around him got too bright, hurting him.
So he cried and cried, hoping his mother would listen and come to him.
When the world stopped shaking, he hadn't strength in him to yell, and his cry was narrowed to a few sobs. The lights were out. He was all alone.
Little rough things fell on him and he looked up, seeing a hand. But this hand was so much bigger than his mother's. He got even more scared.
Suddenly, the world was black, and he only saw things in a white contour. The hand came closer, closer… and stopped.
He blinked, stopped crying and looked around, feeling safe again. It was just enough for him to catch his breath to start crying again when the hand lowered again, causing a loud noise and the ground to shake again.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
Terra woke up with her head touching the floor and cold saliva on her chin. She opened her eyes and saw a blur. Her body was completely sore.
She coughed, feeling something rough in her throat. Sand…? She sat, rubbing her eyes. To the distance, she saw a scenario of complete destruction.
She remembered everything now.
The betrayal. Slade. Her regrets. Her sacrifice.
Beast Boy and Raven. And her jealousy and where it took her.
She ran her hand through her face. She could see all so clearly now. Why did this only happen when it was too late?
She got to her feet and went to the window, jumping in a piece of earth, which floated in the city's direction.
It was time to do things right.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
"Raven!" yelled a voice, and she turned, still confused. Two strong hands held her shoulders "Are you okay?"
"I… I hit my head" she mumbled, finding Beast Boy's eyes "We have to… Save Caleb…"
"Where…?"
His question was interrupt by a quake. The monster, a few feet ahead of them, was punching something on the ground. Nonstop, one fist after the other. Between the sand curtains, he saw a little black dome protecting something… or someone.
"Oh, no!" he mumbled, and he and Raven ran to them, despair growing in their hearts.
Starfire attacked with starbolts by one side. Robin freeze the monster's legs again and tried to get to its arms. Cyborg shot his blue cannon blast on the other side.
Now Beast Boy and Raven joined them, the empath with four red eyes holding one of the giant's arms with a thick astral rope while the changeling held the other arm as Beast. Their baby's cries echoed in their ears, torturing them.
Raven tried to remove Caleb, but the baby was frightened and his powers didn't allow his mother's to interfere in the shield created by his energy. She was impressed with the strength his powers had.
The giant was almost overwhelming them when another earthquake started, this time causing its fall.
Raven ran to the ground and touched the little dome. It dissolved immediately, when Caleb felt his mother's presence, calming down. The empath leaned and took her son in her arms, holding him in a protective way.
The giant was starting to regenerate when several rocks hit it. The Titans were spread over the area, but Beast Boy managed to get to Raven, hugging them.
Terra knew the only way to stop the giant was to pick the hourglass. She jumped off the piece of earth that took her there and threw several pieces of rock and asphalt in the mass, stopping it from form the golem again. She ran among the wreckages and saw a glow. As she run to it she breathed heavily, since the sand was hovering in the air like a cloud. She kneeled next to it, little rocks entering her wounds. She took the clock in her hands and approached it to her hurt face.
Terra got up, and everything around her was sand.
Robin took an unconscious Starfire from a bunch of rocks. Cyborg coughed, covered in earth and sand. Beast Boy and Raven were several feet from her, his foreheads touching as they looked in deep affection to baby with green skin.
Seeing them like this, Terra finally understood what she couldn't in two different timelines.
They belong to each other.
Beast Boy could never be happy with her, because he was Raven's. Any time, any place.
She laughed without humor, turning her attention back to the hourglass in her hands. She faced it, its light contour, its moderate weight, its unstable color. The sand slid from the top half to the bottom, as it should.
She raised the hourglass over her head.
There are no second chances.
A single tear fell when she shattered the clock in a million pieces against the concrete.
Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0Oo0
