DISCLAIMER: (Sing to 'Roses are red, violets are blue)

"Beastboy loves Terra,

He loves Raven too.

But I don't own Teen Titans,

So what can I do?"

AUTHOR NOTE:

Well, here is the Epilogue for 'Spirit Projection.' The Battle is over, and the lost have returned. There is victory, joy, celebration. But there is also pain, loss, and an eternal longing between two who are destined to love the other forever, but whom Fate and Love must keep divided.

Well, here it goes. I want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed and enjoyed this story. If you want your voices to be heard, then speak! Because I am always open to suggestions and opinions. READ AND REVIEW!

Cheers!

EPILOGUE: SIXTH TITAN.

The sun was just dropping below the surface of the ocean, turning the placid sea into a vast pool of fire. Hued orange and gold in the evening light Titans Tower stared firmly out to sea and maintained a silent vigil over Jump City as well, a permanent guardian angel and a source of both physical and emotional support to the people of the city, and its residents.

The top of the tower at sunlight was an almost magical place to be, as the warm sun bathed the concrete in golden light and cast huge shadows behind the many ventilators and service hatches on the skyscraper's broad back. One place however was an open and flat plateau.

Not many people knew about this extremely secret feature of the Tower, not mentioned on any of the web-accessible material, and alluded to only on the classified blueprints for the structure. In fact it was not even visible on most days, hidden beneath the helipad.

Terra slipped out of her bathrobe and dipped a cautious foot into the heated, slightly steaming water of the swimming pool. Just like the sea, the setting sun gave the water a fiery, vivid look. As she slipped in with a barely audible sigh, ripples spread across the surface. Slowly stroking her way across the pool, she sat/lay on an underwater bench around the rim and slowly settled onto it, until only her head and shoulders were visible on the surface.

She rounded off each day if possible with a period in the pool, a welcome break from her otherwise hectic schedule. During the first week since her return, she had felt again like an outsider, with only Raven and Starfire acknowledging her existence as her body gradually recovered.

Not that it ever fully would. Most of her upper chest and back were heavily scarred from both her last battle with Slade and the surgery that had removed his bionic armour, adding to a faded criss-cross pattern that had built up on her body during the long years on the road. As soon as she had regained enough strength to walk on her own however, the male Titans had begun to take a far more proactive role in her life.

Robin in particular. Blaming his own lack of tact for the reason Terra had ever gone to Slade in the first place, Robin had started a comprehensive, occasionally vicious training programme which took up at least five hours a day, six if situations permitted. This was necessary for Terra in many ways, since her recovery had pushed her back to square one as far as control over her geokinesis was concerned. With each day though, she gained experience and control over herself and her powers, and was almost back to the peak she had reached under Slade's tutelage.

Robin was also helping her build on the martial arts Slade had taught her, giving her an added tactical edge in a fight should there not be any rock for her to control. These lessons had ranged from enhanced bo-staff combat to judo, kri-magna and tae-kwon-do, as well as several disciplines Terra had never heard of. She was quick to admit however that the self-control that was gained with such strict martial arts was also an added boost to her. So determined was Terra to learn as much as she could she had quickly gained enough skill to beat Robin in a sparring contest for the first time today.

Raven as well was doing her best to help Terra by teaching her the basics of meditation as a technique to focus the body and mind. They had also gone back to first base on bringing out Terra's telepathic abilities. Unlike the telekinesis, which had vanished with her return to physical form, this had remained, and Terra had displayed sufficient potential to warrant Raven's coaching. Though she made no promises, Raven had hazarded she might easily become her equal with enough effort and dedication, and Terra had been committed to giving 110.

Then there were her responsibilities to Greg. Terra had not gone out on a mission yet by her own violation, preferring to hone her abilities until she thought she was ready. The upside was that this allowed Raven to fight alongside the others at all of their battles.

All of these activities left her days pretty crowded, but she still managed to find the time to cook with Starfire, or watch a movie with the group, or just help Cyborg tune the T-Car. And, as she had fully come into her own over the past few months, the training sessions had become less and less. Now she was fully capable of bench-pressing (physically), twice her own weight and (with her abilities) a mass of rock equivalent in size and weight to a jumbo-jet. She could mentally spar with Raven and had even succeeded in projecting her soul outside of her body again. Added to this her first defeat of Robin today and the plain fact of the matter was that everyone agreed she was ready to go out and do her part for the team.

One thing that still bothered her however was that Beastboy barely spoke to her on most days, and often that was limited to the odd joke. Terra by now was fully acceptant of the fact that they could never be a couple, but that didn't ease the niggling pain she felt inside whenever she saw them together or laid eyes on Greg and remembered the children she had borne for Beastboy in the fake world she had dreamt, particularly Ashley.

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Terra was just relaxing in the water, letting the warmth ease away the cramps, aches and stresses in her limbs, eyes closed as she reflected, when she heard a door close. Not needing to open her eyes she felt the approach of Beastboy with her mind.

'Speak of the Devil and he appears.'

Beastboy slipped into the pool in his Speedos and make several quick lengths in his usual, wiry human form, instead of cheating as a swordfish or a barracuda. Eyes now open, Terra watched quietly until he stopped and came to sit by her.

"Hi."

"Hi," he mumbled moodily, staring out to sea. Terra probed slightly and found his mind a mess of jumbled, conflicting feelings.

"Are you alright Beastboy?"

He shrugged and leaned back into the water and thought for a second before speaking.

"Terra, I wanted to ask you something."

"Sure."

"I was wondering if you could forgive me."

She double-taked in confusion.

"Forgive you, for what!"

"For betraying you. I've been feeling bad ever since we realised you were back, and the guilt's just eating away inside."

"Beastboy, there's nothing you have done that I need to forgive you for."

"YES THERE IS!" He suddenly exploded, "when you first ran away I did nothing to find you, and I hate myself for it. I should have combed the whole state to find you and bring you back to where you belonged, but did I? No!

Secondly, on that night at the carnival, I promised to be your friend forever, no matter what you did no matter how awful. You wanted to be honest with me, and I spat it back in your face, remember?"

"Slade was right, you have no friends!"

"You had good reason to be angry after what I'd done."

"But I still broke my promise, and in doing so I fed you right into the clutches of that monster Slade, just as he would have wanted."

He paused as he stared at his face's reflection in the water.

"And when you--when you, went away, I promised to bring you back, no matter what, but I failed in that duty. And I knew you were alive, I could feel it, but I got involved with Raven..."

"...which was perfectly understandable, natural, and right. You two deserve each other."

"BUT YOU DON'T DESERVE WHAT YOU GOT! All your life, you've tried to do the right thing, only to be slapped in the face by others. And I'm no better because I'm with Raven even when I still have feelings for you, and didn't even once consider how you'd react when you came back. I've created a love triangle that's going to leave at least one person and maybe more hurting for a long time, and that's not right.

Those are the ways in which I've betrayed you, and I'm sorry Terra. I'm truly sorry, and I just want your forgiveness so that I can forgive myself."

Her was a long silence before Terra began to reply hesitantly.

"Beastboy, all the time I've known you, you have never offered me anything but support, kindness and affection. It was those strong, positive memories of you that kept me alive in that prison I'd crafted for myself. That's why I don't need to forgive you because you lent me strength in times of need. And I see you around Raven, and I just know that you two love each other. And though it does hurt me at times, I also take joy from your love for each other. So I'm not going to do anything to stop it, and I just hope that we can be friends."

Part of her wanted to scream out 'No, love me! Forget Raven and make me complete!' but Terra squashed it down and put on a brave smile, which Beastboy wanly returned.

"Friends. Well fine, but two conditions."

"What?"

"One, best friends. We might not be partners, but there's no reason why that bond we still have should die."

"And the second?"

"That you don't object when I do this--"

Turning suddenly Beastboy linked his hands behind her head and drew their lips together, letting Terra experience the kiss they had never shared. She struggled briefly but quickly succumbed as they seemed to flow into each other, drawing closer in order to prolong the moment.

After what seemed like an eternity of bliss to Terra, they gradually, reluctantly drew apart, knowing full well that it would be an experience they would never again repeat, both tearful at what might have been, the lost chance. Pulling her in for a close embrace, Beastboy whispered in her ear.

"If ever you think that I don't love you, just remember that and take what strength you can from it -- I'm sorry Terra, I really am -- and I know that someday you'll find someone deserving of you, even though - for obvious reasons, it cannot be me."

Breaking the hug, Beastboy slowly and sadly pushed himself away towards the steps out of the pool, turning and waving as he climbed out.

"See you around kid."

The door closed again, and Terra was left to linger on that one kiss, and the words that had been spoken.

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Back in her room Terra vigorously towelled herself off before slipping back into her white dressing-gown, wrapping the soft material around her as she flopped back into her bed, staring at nothing in particular

After a few seconds, she turned to the framed picture she kept beside her bed, staring avidly at it. It was a duplicate of the one Beastboy had hung on Greg's crib, and looking at it Terra realised how impossible it seemed for there to be any romantics between the figures in the photograph. Instead they looked like close and loving friends. Putting it down she looked at the plaque above her pillow.

A good friend. Yes, that's what she had to be.

Her musings were broken by Robin's voice suddenly bursting from the PA system.

"Terra, we've just had a distress call from Jinx's team, they're under attack from a group of their old classmates. You up for this?"

Terra didn't need even a second to make up her mind.

"More than ever."

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Throwing open her cupboard she drew out the costume she had not permitted herself to wear once during her stay here, even as a ghost. Feeling the pain inside over Beastboy slip away, she began to draw on the yellow short-shorts and black Capri top, remembering instead the thrill, joy and excitement of being on the team, all the while keeping her eyes fixed on the metal armour she had mounted on the wall opposite her bed as a constant reminder of her shame and her new-found commitment.

This was why she had come back.

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Robin, Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg were all prepped and ready for battle as they clustered together in the rec room, Raven observing as she bottle-fed Greg. They all turned as they heard the sound of footsteps and watched Terra come down the staircase, spick, span and ready for action in her old costume.

Proudly smiling Robin stepped up to her and held out a T-Com for her to take.

"Welcome back Terra."

This was it, she sighed and looked around the room. Fight or flight, make the decision. Robin saw her hesitancy, and responded;

"No matter what you've done, as far as we're concerned you're a Teen Titan. Always have been and always will-be."

A lone tear trickled down Terra's face as she reached out and received the yellow and black device. Their responses were varied, but respectful.

"Glorious," Starfire, forever cheerful, exuberant.

Cyborg, strong and protecting, grinned with a quiet "Bo-yah!"

A silent thumbs up and a wide grin from Beastboy.

Locking eyes with Raven, she 'heard' her mental reply, "well done, now go kick some bad guy butt!"

Terra smiled and wiped back her hair, brushed away the tears.

"Thanks guys."

----------------------

Night had fallen and Titan's tower rose bright and gleaming towards the dark clouds in the indigo sky, stalwart, eternal. Before it four figures stood in a line as Robin posed in front like a military commander.

"Titans - go!"

With a wordless nod they took off, Starfire lifting Cyborg beneath the arms and Beastboy soaring off as a green pterodactyl. Terra paused and looked back up the face of the tower, waving at a dark figure in one of the windows, a bundle in her arms.

With a grin as wide as her face Terra slung her arms skywards and a chunk of Earth tore itself free beneath her and catapulted her across the water.

Hanging behind and appraising the dwindling figures with an experienced eye, Robin grinned in turn at the strength and friendship of his team, before calmly aiming and firing off a piton from a cable-gun, which fixed itself into Terra's ride and yanked him off his feet and out across the bay towards the distant lights of Jump City.

Off to save the day.

TEEN TITANS - GO!

THE END.

This chapter was an emotional one to write. In fact so was the whole story. My brother and beta-reader, Rhodri, usually a hard-headed emotion-phobe, was moved by this and so it seems are many of you.

Terra has lost her love, but has also gained a family in which she is loved. Rest assured though T/BB fans, that another 'alternate take' on Terra's revival 'Terra et Foci,' is slowly germinating alongside some other projects. I don't know when I'll post it, but I can tell you it dives deeper into Terra's origins and the past which is hinted at in this story. Want to know who 'Uncle Scott' is? Why Terra's mother died in childbirth, how she and her father met in NYC, and what Terra did for two years? Then you'll know sooner or later.

Before that though, I think I'm going to write something either comedic or action-driven, as a change from epics, angst laden filmscripts and emotional heartbreaks.

Thanks for everything guys, and you'll be hearing from me soon. Cheers.

Rhys Davies.