Dudes....Where are we? (Teen Titan rp)

[Nuri Henderson]

(Here is the IC board. I'll put Terra's intro thingy up in a second.)

[Nuri Henderson]

It couldn't be true... It couldn't be. “Beast Boy!” She didn't understand why she screamed his name. It was just a natural reflex, a longing for the one place she had felt safe. She didn't understand what had happened, nor did she understand the pain that was now shooting through her body. Time had no meaning here. She could have been running, crying for him, for days or seconds. She honestly did not know. Eventually her energy ran out, and she collapsed, her hands fisted, her head bowed as tears fell but left no mark upon the earth.

“It's gone... It's all gone..” She whimpered softly. She threaded her hands deep into her hair, shaking. Everything was gone. Jump City, her life, her love. Time did the weird lurching thing again, and slowly she rose to her feet. She looked over what was now her home, her eyes blank. “It's gone. It's gone and will not come back.” She bowed her head for a moment and whispered Beast boy's name before she looked up and walked back to the forest. “I want to die.” Her voice traveled on the still air as she accepted what she was and what she had lost. As she entered the forest, she left all of her past behind her. It was no longer a part of her. It couldn't be. Terra was gone, the lifeless shell of her broken soul the only thing showing she had existed.

~x~

She had learned much of this world and how it worked. She had become stronger, sentencing three more beings to the same life she now lived. She felt no remorse. She had become partially solid, able to move things like tree limbs if she focused and pushed against them. Still....she felt like part of herself. No, that wasn't right. Parts. Many pieces were missing, and they only added to the pain that constantly made her form flicker. The connection with the strong, sweet earth below her, the little green teen she had fallen in love with.... and admittedly everyone else in the team. Her mind constantly wandered through her past as she walked through the endless forest, her eyes blank of any emotion. She even missed Raven.

Terra paused, tilting her head when she felt the faint life of something brushing against her body. It was not the life she could drain...the life of this place was now pounding aginst her. This place was alive in a way Terra did could not explain, and she was connected to it somehow. She felt it's tremors, and knew more victims had entered the world. A small, cold smile played on her features. “Yes.” She growled, her eyes darkening. Suddenly, she was running to find the new lives, knowing those like her were doing the same thing.

[thesouleater]

Darren was merely walking through Jump City when it felt like he was suddenly knocked out. When he woke up, he found himself in a completely different place that was nothing like Jump City. He slowly stood, a migrane pounding through his head.

When he finally got to migrane to go to a simple headache, he stood in silence, listening for a sound of life. His eyes were closed, so he never noticed the Shadow people surround him. When he opened his eyes, he saw them in a large circle around him. Darren's first reaction was surprise. He didn't hear them walk up. Then he went to defence mode and rested his hands on the hilt of one of his katana.

Darren's eyes flickered white and he used his abilities to push through the circle, running away from the Shadows. He stopped when he felt he was far enough away that he wouldn't be attacked by them. He ducked behind a tree so that he could catch his breath and check that he wasn't injured.

((Sorry if it seems kind of rushed.))

[Lady Celeste]

For the first few seconds nothing felt real: just a black, swirling emptiness that seemed to turn her toward where her bed should have been underneath. It may have been more than a little unsettling in that respect, but Raven somehow preferred that small bliss to the gritty feel of dirt under her hands and legs. And when was the air in her room ever this stale? Traces of ancient decay hung in the atmosphere, and the end result smelled even worse than last week's "Stankball Super Bowl" fiasco. Raven clutched against the cold ground and forced her groggy eyes open, half-expecting to see Beast Boy already standing over her, holding a giant mass of his month-old laundry.

Instead, she got trees. Long-dead trees at that. Hundreds of them spanned this place as far as she could see. But then again, what with the dry, pallid remnants of what was probably soil spread across the ground, it was a surprise that these trees ever lived to begin with. Past the thin array of branches she saw the sky above, and... hold it. Now Raven knew for certain that this wasn't just another of Beast Boy's stupid pranks. To this day she had never once seen any planet or dimension or what-have-you with purple clouds. Until now.

Pushing herself to her feet, Raven stopped to observe her surroundings more closely. The other Titans were nowhere in sight and, as far as she could tell, she was the only one still alive in this entire... whatever this place was. But that would also mean that whatever was still alive here, chances are they weren't friendly. One of the pale trees turned black as it pulled itself from the ground, breaking off at its roots, and Raven held it steady in front of her as she moved forward. Whether this was a spell gone wrong, an elaborate kidnapping, or just a bad dream, Raven's first priority would have to be to defend herself, and quite possibly to find the others if they were even here at all.

[Nuri Henderson]

Terra followed the life she felt pulsing against her, making no sound as she stepped over the twigs. She had been following a being that was close to her, but it moved quickly away. Terra growled softly, then paused. A stronger life pounded against her, rolling over her in a mix of sweet longing and painful need. She stood still for a moment, her eyes closed, before quickly running off towards the new prey, her eyes holding a darkness that not even Slade could put there.

Her hunt was drawn up short however, when she got her first look at her prey. At first, she saw just a tree surrounded by black rolling energy. That enough should have tipped her off, but it didn't click until she saw her rival and friend. Her breath caught in her throat, making a sound though she did not realize it. Raven. Raven was here. She shouldn't be here...Terra didn't want her friends to suffer the same fate she had. She remembered clearly the things they had said when she had been trapped in the earth, how even Raven had said something nice. She remembered how she pretended not to know Beast Boy, protecting them from the trouble she brought... Her old emotions rose up inside of her, combating the need to kill. Stuck in this war, Terra could not move. She was frozen, unable to bring herself to hide, hopelessness and pain showing in her eyes and features. Her form flickered with her emotions, blurring her a little. What...what if the rest were here too? Robin...Cyborg....Starfire..........beast boy...

[Lady Celeste]

(Sorry about the pitiful response. I got class coming up in a few minutes.)

The sudden noise was faint, too soft to be clearly heard unless one actually listened for it. But Raven knew better than to not listen for weird sounds at a time like this, and she wasn't about to let it slip now. She turned around to face the source of the noise, the tree turning defensively onto its side in front of her.

"Terra?"

The black energy around the tree faltered, sending it crashing onto the ground, as Raven edged away slightly from the new figure. It looked like Terra, there was no doubt about that, but something about her felt different... darker... Then the girl's form began to blur, obscuring her once-familiar features, and making her inhumanity all the more obvious. Raven stood her ground, her expression void of hostility, though in her mind she prepared herself to fight back if this person decided to attack.

[Nuri Henderson]

Being noticed gave her the ability to move, but Terra did nothing. Slowly, her mind quieted down and her form stopped flickering. She held her hands out, to show she wasn't going to harm her. Though she had control at the moment, she didn't think she would be able to keep it for long. “You need to get out of here Raven. Quickly. The other Titans need you. You can't be stuck here like me.” She said softly, both pain coming from what she had lost and the pain urging her to attack showed in her voice. The Titans would be fine without her, but without Raven...they would be weakened. She couldn't let Raven share her fate...no matter what she thought of her. Both friend and fierce rival... She cut the thoughts off. “I don't know how you can get back, but I know you need to leave quickly. The others like me, they won't hold back on harming you. She thought of the other Titans, how they had promised to help her escape the prison her earth had become and how they never did, of how she found a way out herself, of how Beast Boy believed so easily that she didn't remember... Her eyes grew darker, her form flickering a little again. The two sides of her began to fight again, and she didn't move. She couldn't. Raven would need some kind of help...but Terra wasn't sure if she could control herself.. The pain was horrible, like something was squeezing her tight, not letting go until she did what it wanted. It was so hard to breath...

[thesouleater]

Darren froze when he heard voices. They weren't far away, maybe a few feet. He told himself not to move and to breathe quietly. Hopefully they wouldn't notice him. He listened to the girls speak and guessed that they knew each other, but were in a situation where they were on opposite sides, though they used to be on the same. After a while of listening, he decided that they weren't very focused on their surroundings, so he took the chance to look around the tree he was leaning against.

Darren wasn't surprised to see that one of the girls was a Shadow and the other wasn't. He was surprised to see that the Shadow hadn't attacked the other girl. The Shadow was facing away from him, so she couldn't have noticed. Though, the other girl was facing him and she could have easily noticed. He tried to get her attention, trying to see if she wanted help.

[Nuri Henderson]

((We can't continue without your response Lady Celeste))

[Lady Celeste]

"Here being where, exactly? Terra, what's going on?" Raven asked, warily eyeing the downed tree in front of her. At least now she knew it wasn't just them in this place, although Terra certainly didn't go out of her way to make these 'others' sound very pleasant. And if the abrupt darkening in Terra's eyes was any indication, neither was her current condition. The girl's form began to flicker again, becoming more distorted...

"Terra?" Raven slowly took a couple of steps toward Terra, but stopped short as a third presence arrived just behind Terra. Was he one of the 'others' Terra was referring to? Did he have anything to do with the pain she was now feeling? Raven's eyes narrowed slightly as she instinctively moved between Terra and Darren, slight wisps of her power transferring to the downed tree behind her. "Who are you?" She demanded, her main focus now on Darren.

(Sorry, here in particular I had a bit of writer's block. Hopefully this should at least be enough to keep things moving.)

[thesouleater]

Darren flinched at the tone of the girl's voice, then frowned as he got up from his sitting position. As soon as he brushed himself off, he stepped around the tree. His hand rested lightly on his katana, the other by his side. "I'm no enemy, well, to you atleast." He gestured towards Raven. "I am, however, enemies with her." He jabbed a thumb at Terra. "You do know she is bad? Not good for us? Evil?" He lowered his hand. "I'm Darren, by the way." His fingers twisted around the soft string that was at the end of his katana, a decoration really, but it was better than a sword with an overly fancy hilt that was hard to grip.

[Nuri Henderson]

Terra instantly stumbled back. Two lives were too much. Her eyes darkened almost to the point where her eye color could not be seen. She felt their lives pulsing aginst her, begging her to take them... “I...I can't...” she whispered. The war inside of her was actually hurting her now, and she had never liked pain, not since Slade's control had... She shook her heada dn stumbled back a few steps. There was only one thing she could do, one thing her war allowed. She ran. She turned and ran the opposite direction of Raven and the other life, her form seemingly breaking into pieces as she passed through the tree, only to reform on the other side. She had to get away from them, to protect them, to protect Raven.

[Dual]

"Owww." Beast Boy rubbed his aching head while he leaned up from the ground, opening his eyes to see what had happened. He remembered chasing after some new villain when he felt his powers go wonky and force him to turn back to a human. He'd fallen from the sky, having been a raven to chase down the guy from the air, and while he was falling, he had blacked out. Taking in his surroundings, Beast Boy's mouth opened in awe, his lower left fang showing just a bit as he did so. The purple clouds, dying-earth and dead or sickly trees, and the heebie-jeebies he got from just being there made him wince.

"Dudes.... Where are we?" He turned back to see his teammates, wondering if maybe Raven knew where they were. Instead of finding anyone, though, as he expected, he quickly realized that he was alone here.
"Uh.... Dudes? Rae? Cy? Rob? Star? Guys?!" He took out the little yellow communicator and flipped it open, pressing the call button to see if someone picked up. When a burst of violent static from the screen sounded, he quickly shut the device.

"Awww, man! Stuck in Nightmare Land, and I don't even know where to find the stupid rabbit hole." He sighed and turned, shaking his head. However, when he turned, his eyes fell upon Terra, running quickly towards his direction. His eyes widened, wondering if this was all just a dream. He pinched himself hard, yelped when it hurt, and then knew that it was really Terra that he was seeing.

"Terra!" He shouted to her. "Terra!"

[Nuri Henderson]

When she heard his voice, her eyes almost instantly opened, a mistake. She flinched when she almost hit a tree, her instinct taking over, causing her to turn and slide in the dirt. Landing on her side, for a moment Terra didn't move. It was only after she remembered that she had heard Beast Boy's voice did she sit up.

Her arm was covered in scrapes from her fall, but she didn't seem to notice it. Instead, her fearful eyes were on Beast Boy. Her heart picked up, thudding loud enough, at least to her, to give her a head ache. He couldn't be..... she wouldn't be able to exist if he was.... yet the truth was right in front of her. Beast Boy was here as well. The fear in her eyes were no longer because of what she was. The fear was for him. She was frightened that he would come close to her, that she would harm him... "Stay away. Stay away from me." she whispered, ignoreing the blood that dripped from her arm but made no mark in the dirt. Her voice wasn't the same harsh tone she had used to make him leave her school. It was....almost begging. "Please don't come near me..." She didn't want to be the cause of him becoming a Shadow like her. Her entire body was tense, her form flickering a little at the edges. Pain, fear, sorrow, all kinds of dark emotions warred for control in her eyes.

[Dual]

"Terra? It really... It really is you..." His voice was quiet, almost a whisper. Each syllable carried its own note of awe, as if he was looking upon something that simply defied the rules of reality, and yet... there she was. Right before him. Her shining, blue eyes were just as beautiful as they had ever been, and her honey-yellow hair drew his eye just as much. He took a single, absent-minded step forward, extending his hand out slowly to try and touch her.

Was she an apparition? A sheer, vivid dream he had invented? Was he still lying unconscious, or perhaps he was trapped inside his own mind again? He desperately hoped that this was all real, that she was real. Terra... His beautiful, heart-stopping Terra. His gloved hand drifted to her cheek, his feet still shuffling toward her, his mind focusing only on her face. He saw her flickering outline, knew that she was not all she seemed, but his shocked and confused mind recognized only one fact: Terra was here, she was real, and she knew who he was.

"...Terra..." He swallowed a lump in his throat, his mouth opening slightly again as he finally came within seven inches of her. "...I miss you so much." His expression became one of barely contained pain, as though his heart was literally being torn open inside his chest. His eyes watered and he lifted his hand to stroke at her cheek, if he could touch her at all.

[Nuri Henderson]

She had never been able to see him in pain. Her heart, her entire being would not stand it. It was like something was ripping at her. While with Slade, he had made her ignore it. It hadn't bothered her, until she managed to break his control. When she was trying to make BB go away, to make him leave her... it was easily the hardest thing she had ever done. The look on his face... she had been grateful for her 'friends', as she had been sure she would crack any moment. Now, there was nothing stopping her. For a moment, the true Terra had control.

Not once did she think about what might happen, not once did she feel the need to destroy him. All she wanted was to be safe, to feel warm and alive once more... Without thinking she stood up and crossed the last of the distance, wrapping her arms tightly around him with something like a whimper. She hid her face in his shoulder and neck, feeling like she was going to collapse. Unconsciously, she had missed him with every fiber of her being. So many times she had looked at the Tower with something like hope, quietly wishing she could see him. So many times she went through any paper she could get and cut out any mention of her green skinned savior. Every night, when she had roamed the streets upon having no where to go, she had chosen a place to sleep where she could see the Tower, her true home. She had longed to go back so many times, she knew everyone would welcome her. Yet the same thing had held her back, she could not bring her bad luck back to the team.

He felt so warm, he felt like home. She was shaking a little as she held onto him, wishing she could actually feel him, feel his warmth. Yet, she couldn't. At least, not directly. It was like she could feel him, but at the same time couldn't. The barrier between her world and his was still there. She was still a Shadow, even if for a moment she felt real. She figured he would probably feel the same, like she was there but wasn't. Her form slowly stopped flickering, and for a moment she could pretend she was real. She was safe, she was warm..... She was home for the first time in a long time.