A/N This is the second part of "A Twist of Fate." I decided to post this as a separate story because the feel of it is much different than the first act. Be warned that the crossover is quite a bit more pronounced.
I've decided to give this act an "R" rating so that I don't have to self-censor :)
I haven't fixed Act 1 yet, but I decided that the prank that Starfire and Raven did consisted of throwing Beastboy in the bathtub and taking pictures of him as a poodle with ribbons. That replaces the scene with them cross-dressing him. Other than that, the original plot stands.
Also, I'm sorry that I haven't been working on this lately, but I couldn't work out what was going on. Now that I have the required information, things are making sense again :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Yu-Yu Hakusho.
A Twist of Fate, Act 2: The Power of a Choice
By Supreme Mystic Dragon
Prologue: Plots Unfolding
In a place deep within the earth, a plot put in motion years before was coming to fruition.
Slade sat on his throne, staring at the viewscreens around him. The dark room seemed to swallow Slade's form, showing only the orange half of his mask and his single eye. He watched the many screens intently, seemingly calm and relaxed. In reality, he was far from it.
Patience, He reminded himself. He stared at the video feeds of Terra. She had been running for almost a week. It was almost time.
His hand involuntarily curled into a fist, but he forced himself to relax as he stroked the implants he had developed to meld with Terra's central nervous system. His impatience and frustration was caused by the part of his plan that hadn't worked out. Robin...
Robin and Terra were supposed to be his. No matter. He stroked the cold metal implants that would allow him to augment Terra's powers. With this, the Titans will face both of us in the same body.
"Come to me, Terra. You belong at my side..."
In a much different place, someone else was also sitting on a throne.
The throne room was unassuming. Arched windows looked out upon a huge open plain. The walls were a bland, tan colored sandstone. Delicate chimes sounded to indicate noontime. The person on the throne lazily gazed toward one of the arched balconies.
A stunning blue-haired girl flew in from outside. She was dressed in a ceremonial kimono, and was flying on an oar. Boton was a frequent visitor to Hiei's fortress, now that she was Yusuke's Sensechal. She landed gracefully, and bowed slightly.
"I have the news you requested." Boton said respectfully.
"Good. What did the agents of Fate say?"
"About what you'd expect. 'Your master is tampering in matters he should not...' the usual warnings. Nothing specific, though. The high priestess wasn't happy about your request, but no direct orders not to get involved."
"That's what I wanted to hear. Any news about Hiei?"
Boton frowned. "I saw him a few days ago. He's tearing the Makai apart looking for the demon that he found sneaking around here."
Yusuke frowned thoughtfully. Hiei asked him to oversee his domain almost two weeks ago, saying that a sneaky demon had infiltrated his fortress and escaped. Hiei had been certain that something had been stolen, and left in an uncharacteristic rage. Yusuke was impersonating the vile-tempered fire apparition, but his affairs required tending as well. At least he was able to set up this favor for Hiei to do for him.
"Hiei isn't going to like this." Boton said suddenly, as if reading Yusuke's thoughts.
"Hiei doesn't like anything." Yusuke said with a smile. "You might be surprised about this one, though. She's sorta like Yukina...with an attitude."
Boton grinned at him. "Yukina with an attitude is Hiei."
Yusuke smirked. "Go find Genkai for me. I shouldn't be wandering around this place more than I have to."
Hiei was sitting on a spire of rock, idly searching for the intruder he'd followed here. His Jagan eye should have made it easy to follow the creature, but it slipped through his fingers in the first few days of the chase.
How could it be hiding from me...
He was upset that he'd spentso much time chasing the intruder. He absently curled his right hand into a fist. It must not be in the Makai anymore.
Returning to the Makai had been like coming home. His kingdom resided in a different dimension now, but the untamed nature of the Makai still moved him a way that few other things could. Visiting his mother's and Yukina's grave in the island of the ice apparitions had been a been a necessary rekindling of the memories he'd once had.
Ever since he'd been re-incarnated into a human body, he'd felt incomplete. When he'd found a way to become a full demon, much the way Kurama had, he'd felt closer to what he really was. Standing before the pillars of ice that marked the graves in the ice world, he'd felt a rush of memories. Some were bitter, some were sweet. He'd left his sister's teargem on the marker, but kept his own.
Yusuke's hand on the Makai was everywhere. Almost a thousand years had passed since King Raizen died, and Yusuke and Yomi's heir were the two sovereigns now. Mokuro and Kurama died during the proceeding centuries. Hiei had been dead for more than eight hundred years before a twist of fate brought about his rebirth less than two decades before. I've never felt such peace...before or since.
He idly scanned the horizon. The Makai was no challenge to him now. His power was low when he'd been reborn, but that never stopped him before. He was now an S-class demon, easily in league with Yusuke and Shura, and his mastery of the black flame made him one of most feared demons anywhere.
Asurge of power caught his attention, and hefocused on the disturbance. He felt a wave of disappointment as he looked across the wasted desert that Raizen had once called home. It wasn't the demon he was searching for...it was Shura's minions.
"Our master does not approve of your presence within the borders of his land,"a blue-skinned humanoid said with thinly veiled menace.
Hiei turned a bored eye to Shura's soldiers. He only sensed A-class power coming from each of the five. Respectable for a patrol...I wonder if one of them isn't an S-class. Shura wouldn't insult me with less.
"I don't appreciate Shura harboring spying little nuisances," Hiei replied with cool disdain, not bothering to mention that he was on the border and hadn't entered yet.
The blue skinned one blinked. "An unknown demon passed here four days ago."
Hiei gifted him with a glance that Kuwabara had known well. "I'm aware of that, idiot."
The other demon flushed red in embarrassment and anger. "Then what are you doing here?"
He isn't the strong one, Hiei thought to himself. Not enough control. He glanced briefly at the other four. One seemed more sure of himself then the others, but that was misleading. Still, if any of them are S-class, then it's that one.
He ignored the blue-skinned one's comment as he sized up the confident demon standing to the right of him. It was vaguely lizardlike, but sinuous...like a snake. The impression was reinforced by the dark eyes that stared back at him. His ruby-colored eyes usually unnerved people. This one was unmoved.
Hiei got up from his sitting position with a casual grace. He balanced on the spire effortlessly as he stared across the gap between him and the other demons. They were standing on a ledge nearby.
"Are you Shura's lieutenant?" Hiei asked the scaled one.
The scaled one smiled. It wasn't pleasant, but Hiei wasn't intimidated. "I am not, though I speak with Shura's voice in this matter. I did not expect to find a legend here today." His voice was a sibilant hiss, and fangs showed as he spoke.
"What happened?" Hiei asked in seeming indifference.
The lizardman made an odd sound of displeasure, much like scales rubbing together. "The creature is gone. We watched its progress as it came through here, and sought to capture it as it came close to one of our cities. It opened a gate to another plane as we were closing in."
Hiei sighed in disappointment. "Give my regards to Shura." He glanced toward the other spires, preparing to leap.
"Dark One!" The lizardman said sharply.
Hiei glanced back. "What?"
"I am called Sazuken, and Shura has ordered me to escort you to the place where the creature gated himself away from us." He hesitated for a moment. "It was a great embarrassment to us that it escaped, and Shura was enraged that a Planeswalker dared to enter his domain. He said that you have such ability, and that you have shown the honor that he remembers by refusing to enter his domain without permission."
Hiei tilted his head slightly, flexing his right arm as he did so. "So, I'm free to enter his realm with you as my chaperone?"
"That is correct."
Hiei removed his headband, and his Jagan eye opened. "Then let's get this over with." He was idly cracking his knuckles.
The lizardman hesitated slightly. "I do not understand your request."
Hiei sighed. Why must I be surrounded by such morons! "Shura told you to test me, didn't he? Let's go."
Sazuken looked at him with new respect. "I had heard that you are human now. You are brave, Dark One." He, too, was stretching and flexing his claws.
"And you were a fool to volunteer for this job." Hiei relaxed the restraints on his demon energy.
Sazuken paled slightly as Hiei started to glow with a hellish radiance. Red energy outlined The dark-haired Imiko, looking like shifting magma. Sazuken responded in kind, and started to glow with an emerald aura. The other demons withdrew to allow the combatants space to fight.
Hiei was worried about the political implications of this. Shura's testing me on more than one level. He has to know that I prefer to kill my opponents, but I may lose my chance to follow the intruder if I kill this fool.
In his mind, the battle was already over and Sazuken was defeated. The question now was how. His dragon usually didn't work against S-class demons, and would have been inappropriate anyway if he wanted to keep Sazuken in one piece.
"Are you ready?" Hiei asked with a faint note of insolence.
Sazuken smiled his horrible fanged smile. "It is an honor to fight you, Hiei of the Black Flame. Legends state that you could have been one of the Kings of the Makai. Of course, you could be an imposter, in which case I will gladly feast upon your flesh."
Hiei smirked back. "I think you'll find that I'm not on the menu."
Hiei waited for Sazuken to make the first move, absently testing his balance. Let's see what he's capable of.
Sazuken tensed and spat a blob of poison from his mouth. Hiei leaned to his right and with a quiet whisper of sound jumped to an adjacent pillar, carefully watching for a second attack. The lizardman smoothly jumped toward Hiei with his talons extended.
Hiei used his incredible speed to move to another pillar, but he also drew his sword and slashed the one he was previously standing on. Sazuken watched the Imiko in disbelief, but couldn't stop his jump. As his scaled foot touched the pillar, the entire mass began sliding backward. Sazuken jumped back to his original perch.
"I didn't expect you to be this good, Dark One."
Hiei favored him with an annoyed look. "You're beginning to bore me. Quit holding back because of my assumed weakness."
"As you say, Dark One. Lord Shura asked me to go easy on you, but If you wish it otherwise I will be happy to show you my full strength."
Hiei cleared his mind, and allowed his demon instincts to come forward. Time to stop holding back.
Sazuken flew at him with lightning speed, easily three times faster than before. Hiei met the attack, and the two exchanged a series of punches, neither getting though the other's guard. Sazuken's talons glowed with a noxious green energy, and when they broke away from each other, Hiei felt several stinging cuts along his arms. They both landed on a flat plateau far above the ground.
Sazuken seemed to have taken some damage during the rapid exchange, but he had an eerie smile on his face. As he was trying to read the creepy snake-like demon, the cuts on his arms started to burn with stabbing pain. Hiei shut it out. His special attacks are probably all venom related. I'll have to be careful if he can make poisonous clouds.
"Clever. Even minor hits are dangerous when you deal them" Hiei said flatly.
"One of my favorite techniques" Sazuken said as he shook his arms out, wincing as he did so. "I'm surprised that someone as small as you can hit so hard, though."
Hiei focused his mind though the pain and launched himself toward Sazuken, channeling fire into his fists.
"Fist of the Mortal Flame!" Hiei shouted as the flames formed an aura around his hands.
Surprisingly, the reptilian demon side-slipped the attack and countered with a knee to Hiei's stomach. Hiei recovered and jumped away, but was feeling a bit fuzzy when he landed. He looked up just in time to see a spray of poison coming toward him.
Hiei struck the ground with a fiery fist. "Wall ofthe Mortal Flame!"
Flames rose from the ground in front of Hiei, and the poison blast vaporized in the intense heat. Hiei panted in exhaustion. How could I be so weak after two attacks!
Sazuken smirked at him through the flames. "I see that you aren't immune to my slowing poison. Not only does it make you weaker, it also destroys your demon energy. I am Lord Shura's master assassin. A shame...you seemed like such a promising opponent."
Hiei coughed, spitting up some blood. "I doubt you work for Shura. At least, exclusively."
Sazuken smiled wider, showing off his horrid fangs. "Very good for a has-been. I work for Shura, but my true master is not of the corrupt weaklings that now inhabit the Makai." He paused, savoring Hiei's agony. "You may wonder how I know of you. I know the legends of the Makai, and long ago such weaklings as Urameshi and Shura would never be the Kings here. Only the strong deserve to live. My master's time is coming, and when it does, the Makai will be reborn again!"
Sazuken flexed his clawed hands. "I will tell Shura that you were an imposter after I kill you. You were a fool to track Kageri outside your own realm, but my master said that you would. He always knows."
Hiei chuckled weakly, his mocking laughter echoed eerily throughout the canyon. "You are a fool, Sazuken. I knew it from the first moment I saw you." Hiei shook his head to clear it, and unwrapped the bandage on his right arm. A black dragon tattoo was underneath.
Sazuken laughed harshly. "You don't have the energy, fool. Besides, if it didn't work on that bitch, Mokuro, then it won't work on me."
Hiei froze in anger at Sazuken's insult. "That will be the last time you speak her name," He said as he pulled himself to his feet. He focused on giving his remaining power to the dragon on his arm, and its form began to ripple, gaining size as it traveled toward Sazuken.
"Dragon…of…the darkness…FLAME!"
The dragon left his arm, growing to impossible size, looking like death's shadow brought to life. Sazuken confidently put an arm out to stop it.
The impact shattered the spires around them, and Hiei was on his knees, wracked with pain from the poison. He couldn't see what was happening to the traitorous lizard, but the dragon was still moving forward…
The other four demons wailed as the dragon's aura incinerated them, even though they were quite a distance from the fight. As the dragon swung around in its attempt to consume Sazuken, Hiei could see glowing red runes on Sazuken's body. Great. I don't recognize those. Must be some strange form of magic.
Sazuken seemed to be gaining strength from the runes, and was getting the upper hand on the dragon. With a contemptuous smirk, he threw the dragon back at Hiei.
Hiei was swallowed into the dragon, but the black flame was absorbed by his body. The poison within him burned away, and Hiei's head cleared.
Sazuken frowned at him. "I'm tired of this you little fool. This time, stay dead!"
Hiei smiled a demonic smile. "You actually thought you had a chance, didn't you?" He moved faster than Sazuken could track, and hit him in the face. Those runes weren't on him before. He's possessed by something. I can't let it see any more of my power.
Even as Sazuken was reeling from the blow, Hiei formed a sword of black flame. Four hits, and less then a tenth of a second later, Hiei touched the ground. Sazuken's lifeless eyes stared back at him.
Hiei felt the dragon return to his arm. He slumped against one of the cliff walls. I hate having to use that... He thought to himself as he waited for his wounds to heal and his demon energy to regenerate.