Chains of the Eclipse

by Amenson

First installment in the Trilogy of Chains: A passing meteor threatens the return of Trigon and a new era of darkness, but the price to prevent this from happening may be too costly. Rated M for descriptive torture, demonic possession, bouts of insanity, sexual situations, and death. Complete.

2. Chapter 2

Chapter II: The Old Switcheroo

Previously: "The next day, the sun rose over the glimmering ocean next to Jump City and its citizens went about their business completely unaware of the hell that was about to be unleashed upon them. The trees in the park were completely devoid of birds and dog-owners discovered that their dogs were being particularly uncooperative. Beastboy woke up that day feeling extremely anxious, though he didn't know exactly why. The dream had returned and this time, a sense of helplessness was instilled in him. Beastboy had never been comfortable with being prey to others. Trigon, it seemed, wanted to hunt him down personally for his involvement in the demon's banishment. He also felt a morsel of regret for walking out when Raven wanted to talk to him, but a small voice told him it was what she deserved."

Just a warning, the italic section below contains descriptive torture, so those who don't sit well through it please skip it. There won't be much that you're missing story-wise. There is also a choice that you can help influence in the notes below. Enjoy.

The meteor hurtled through space on the final leg of its journey and every plane of existence shook in fear and anticipation of what that day could bring. The dead quivered in their graves for even death could not save them from Trigon's wrath. The souls residing in Purgatory and Heaven felt restless as the balance of the universe began to tilt ever so slightly towards darkness. Even the minions of Hell were terrified of what would happen if one of the ruling forces of the Nine Circles were to depart and how the resulting order would descend into chaos.

On Earth, it had taken many days of work to create the chamber before him, as the measurements had to be precise. The circumference was a perfect circle and the foot-thick titanium walls lining it arched up, making the inside a half-sphere. Trigon had also instructed that there were to be storage devices on all of the sides; to be used to store the souls of 5 magically-oriented sacrifices. These souls would be the catalyst to punch through the veil and allow the inside a direct passage to Hell.

The chamber itself was designed to be totally removed from all outside interference; the walls were lined with lead that stopped all emissions from entering the chamber and there was a 3-inch air-tight gap surrounding it, effectively removing the transfer of heat and sound through it. A nuclear bomb could have been detonated right in front of it and the occupant wouldn't have felt a tremor. The only connection to the outside world was through a small glass window mounted on the door in and out of the chamber, but the door was equally thick, if not stronger than the walls surrounding it. The door was also magnetically sealed shut- controlled by a 14 digit combination on the console beside it. The design however, wasn't to prevent the world getting in; it was to stop Hell from coming out.

Trigon had learned from his last encounter with humanity, and his plan was to ensure that nothing would stop him from conquering the universe again. The idea had been ingenious in itself; never before had a demon been able to pull himself from banishment. To overcome the power that restrained him in the Ninth Circle of Hell, Trigon had to use every ounce of his cunning and pull every thread that he could. He used a combination of ancient magicks as well as a meteor which he had the foresight to send so far away that it would be unaffected if his rule were to be interrupted.

The meteor was designed to return to Earth, and Trigon would use that would allow him a momentary window into Earth where he would plant the seed of corruption into the 16-year-old trapped within the chamber. The connection would then break, and his new portal would be able to mature in the unaffected world, and after a month of 'ripening', the portal would be able to allow Trigon to enter this world once more and bring about a new era of darkness. This particular back-up plan was clearly worth it and he was going to make sure that this time, it would work. This attempt would be the last that he could make and he would fight tooth and nail to keep his power strong.

When the red numbers on the clock reached '15:00', Brother Blood smiled. "Bumblebee! Open the roof! Students, get into position!" He commanded. Bumblebee immediately complied with her master's wishes and pulled a lever that caused the shutters on the sun roof to retract. Reaper, Lazarus, Jinx, and Kyd Wykkyd quickly walked to the metal plates that were located at the points of the large pentagram lining the floor. When Bumblebee completed her task, she walked to the last unoccupied space and they all turned to face the chamber located in the center. Seeing that his pawns were in place, be pushed a button on the console before him that activated an electrical beam that lunged out from the chamber and enveloped the five waiting students. He then flipped a lever that visibly changed the direction of the energy flow towards the chamber.

The energy beam connected to the students changed color to match their magical powers: Bumblebee had a yellow beam; Jinx had purple; Kyd Wykkyd had blue; Reaper had red; and Lazarus had green. When the colored energy beams merged at the middle, it created a dark energy vortex that merged with a lightning-rod type structure at the top of the chamber, causing the energy-storage containers surrounding the chamber to slowly charge up.

(Scene Break)

The Titans were dispatched separately to search the city for any sign of Brother Blood or anything that looked demonic. Starfire, Raven, and Beastboy took to the skies while Cyborg and Robin drove through the streets in the T-Car.

While pouring over the Jump City power-grid to find anomalies, Robin looked extremely anxious and had visible beads of sweat on his forehead. "The eclipse is in 15 minutes! Why do we still have nothing?"

"Chill out, man. It's gonna happen very soon!" Just as he said that, a blinking red light appeared on the map.

"We have it!" Robin shouted. He opened his communicator and opened a frequency that all the Titans could hear. "The signal is located on the corner of Ray Road and 15th Avenue. All Titans convene at that location. ETA 10 minutes!" He put his communicator down. "Hit it!" he shouted to Cyborg.

"Hold on!" He replied. He slammed on the breaks and turned the steering wheel enough to put the car into a drifting stop and as soon as the T-Car was 180 degrees in the other direction, he hit the turbo button, making both passengers glued to their seats at the sudden speed change.

The other Titans heard the message and changed directions mid-flight to head towards the ritual.

(Scene Break)

Brother Blood kept monitoring the energy flow completely oblivious to the bloodcurdling screams emitting from the people trapped by the energy beam. The technology he was using was adapted from the Puppet King's soul transference device, but it was altered to prevent the soul-energy from finding a different host. He then had Bumblebee use her natural resistance to electricity to convert it into a usable power source, which was then funneled into the storage tanks surrounding the chamber. This was Brother Blood's own idea and the combination of both ancient magic and modern science effectively doubled the potency of the ritual. The new process however, also doubled the mental and physical strain that was expected when one's soul is forcibly removed from one's body; the evidence of which was clearly proved itself from the mouths of the sacrifices.

Pain was one of the very few things that could snap one of his subjects out of hypnosis prematurely, but all five students were heavily conditioned to be perfect guinea pigs from the first moment they entered his service. His former subordinates had dispersed after the HIVE Academy was dismantled and it was a particular chore for Brother Blood to regather the ones with enough magical power to sustain a door into Hell for a time. The journey had not been without merit, though, as he was able to be re-acquainted with Bumblebee, who had infiltrated his Academy only to bring it down. He simply walked past the security of Titan East while they slept and looked into her eyes. That was all it took to turn her away from her attempts to be a hero and bring her back into the embrace of her true master.

Jinx had been somewhat harder to find as she was no longer a part of the HIVE 5, the name of one of the training teams at Hive Academy that became a fully-fledged criminal enterprise after the Academy's destruction. Brother Blood thought back to the first days of his Academy and the first team of mercenaries that 'graduated' from it. He had decided to form appropriate tag-teams from groups of three whose powers complimented each others. HIVE teams 1 through 9 were used quite frequently to split up his students into groups and setting themselves against each other for training. Jinx was always one of his top students from the first day of her enrollment and quickly moved her way up the ladder to become the leader of the first team to be eligible to work for the highest bidder. Her time at the Academy clearly left an impression on her because after it was disbanded, she used her position of power to recruit her former colleagues into a team with the Academy's namesake in mind.

He had heard from his sources that she had gone rogue and left her team in the dust, something that was nothing like her. When he asked what reason she had for deserting her team, he was told about her having feelings for a guy. Sebastian was shocked at the very thought of it. All of his life, love was regarded as a foreign concept. He was raised in a satanic cult where his mother was a worthless sacrifice that was kidnapped, raped, and used for her ability to reproduce. Every woman he met once he left his home stood by and let abusive boyfriends and husbands beat them senseless without saying anything against it. Even the prostitutes he saw while walking on the streets couldn't even stand up for themselves when it counted, so his opinion of humanity was bleak to say the least.

He was than distracted by a beep that indicated that there were 3 minutes remaining.

(Scene Break)

The same beep was heard by all of the Titans, who had just arrived on the sun roof. Raven had a quick look over the profane ritual below and gave a quick summary. "Brother Blood did his homework. Since there's no way to stop the eclipse, we need to take him down and get whoever's in the middle out of there."

Cyborg shifted uncomfortably when he recognized the people trapped in the electric cage. "What will we do about Bumblebee and the others?"

"There's nothing we can do. They're already dead."

Robin nodded. "You heard her! Titans, GO!"

They crashed through the sun roof and landed on the side opposite Blood adopting an aggressive battle stance. His eyes bulged with rage and he bristled with hate. "YOU WILL NOT STOP THIS!" He slammed his fist down on a button in front of him and the walls surrounding them dropped, revealing a long row of Cyclones. The cheap, fully-cybernetic imitations of Cyborg transformed their arms into sonic blasters and aimed them forwards. By the time they fired, the Titans had already dispersed.

Beastboy transformed into a massive bear and rushed towards Brother Blood but was stopped by a loud roar. "HE'S MINE!" Beastboy turned around and barely got a glimpse of a blue flash barreling past him. Satisfied that Blood would be dealt with, he turned on a group of Cyclones that started running towards him. The robots tried to overpower Beastboy, but his animal instincts prevented him from being caught and they were quickly sliced into shreds by the extended bear claws.

Starfire and Robin used their tag-team formations to blow the attackers apart. The sheer numbers had proved to be quite troublesome, and it seemed that whenever one was struck down, three more took its place. Robin was forced to take out his Bo staff to fend off a particularly talented robot and three others forced Starfire into a corner. Filled with a sense of righteous fury, she directed her internal energy to her eyes and blasted the Cyclone immediately in front of her into smithereens. The resulting explosion forced the two at its sides to stumble and Starfire used the pause to destroy them.

She looked up just in time to see the robot that was fighting Robin break through his extendable staff and give him a strong blow to the right side of his cheek. She bristled with so much fury that her long locks of crimson hair rose on its own and flew backwards as she grabbed the robot and threw it across the room with so much force that it took out eight of its counterparts before going clean through the opposite wall and falling down to the street below. Starfire rushed to his side in time to see a nasty welt form on the side of Robin's face. It was clear that his skull was fractured, but Robin put on a brave smile and rose up to face a new horde of Cyclones that were now targeting them. Starfire smiled with him and they both charged into the fray with a new sense of purpose.

Raven did her best to slip by every robot that came close to her and head to the main chamber where she had to rescue the person trapped inside. She repeatedly tried to use her powers to envelope the door and force it open, but the density of the material as well as the immense magical power now surrounding the chamber made it impossible to even touch it with darkness. Feeling the ebb of evil fast approaching, Raven shifted her sight to a control panel that was located immediately next to the door. The panel looked complicated in itself and Raven typed furiously on the controls to get the door to open. She heard a loud smack from behind her and she whirled around to see Beastboy's bear form reeling from a hard punch to the gut. He shifted back into human form and clutched his stomach in pain, but the Cyclone that hit him didn't stop while its enemy was down. Raven saw the approaching robot and cried out "Look out Beastboy!"

Beastboy looked weakly over and saw the robot swing its foot back in preparation for a drop-kick. Terrified by what he was looking at, his defensive reflexes hit and he immediately morphed into a turtle and quickly withdrew his limbs and head into his protective shell. The Cyclone carried through with his kick and the small green amphibian shot through the air and slammed just above the door panel beside Raven. As the shell hit the ground, the door hissed open and a raggedy-looking girl was seen curled up at the center of the room. Raven was shocked to see that a simple physical contact was able to accomplish what her demonic powers could not, but Beastboy changed back into a human and smiled at Raven. "You're welcome."

Raven started to speak. "I'm sorry about earlier, Beastboy. I …"

"We don't have time to talk Rae." An intimidating looking group of Cyclones began advancing on the both of them, so Beastboy said. "Save the girl, I'll fend them off." Raven nodded and rushed into the chamber to check the health of the kidnapped girl, leaving Beastboy to deal with the newly arriving robots. "Where were we?" He said with a grin. The robots raised their arms and activated their cannons, but large tentacles shot out at each of them and crushed the technology in their arms. The giant green squid that just appeared wasted no time in dismantling all of the robots that were surrounding it and threw sizable chunks of robot hardware towards other advancing models.

Elsewhere, Cyborg was fighting Brother Blood who once again proved to be a very agile opponent, and the two were very quick to exchange blows, while staying close to the console that now showed ninety seconds until the eclipse. Blood had been using his sharp claws enhanced with his telekinetic powers to tear small chunks out of Cyborg, giving him a gradually increasing number of rips in his outer shell that sparked like no tomorrow. Enraged, Cyborg threw a right hook that was meant to shatter his enemy's cybernetic eye, but Blood easily crouched to avoid the blow and used his lower stature to grab Cyborg's metal kneecaps and rip them off. The hydraulic machinery supporting his legs failed and he fell to his knees.

Gloating, Brother Blood said "You have always interfered with my plans, but you are now kneeling before me. What else will it take for you to accept defeat at my hands?" He heard a hissing noise in the direction of the summoning chamber and he looked over to see Raven carrying the sacrifice bridal style away from the center. "NOOOOO!" Abandoning his prepared taunt, Blood summoned up every ounce of his telekinetic power and sent a large pulse towards Raven, intending to push the both of them back into the chamber.

Beastboy heard the loud declaration of denial and he looked to the source to see a large red wall of energy shooting towards Raven and the girl, who were both completely unaware of it. Without thinking, and in what seemed like slow motion, he jumped over and pushed Raven and the girl out of the way. With them out of the way, Beastboy took the entirety of the mental force and was catapulted inside of the open chamber. A residual force shattered the control panel next to the door and the door hissed shut. He slowly got up and walked to the small window connecting him to the outside and looked through it to see all of his friends staring at him with their jaws open and their skin tones quickly paling, which could have also be credited to the darkness that was slowly filling both the room and the chamber. The eclipse was almost full.

Raven placed the girl gently on the floor away from the chamber while Cyborg pulled himself up to the console next to him and typed furiously on the keyboard. A loud beep turned all of the Titan's attention towards the clock counting down to the eclipse

00:45

Robin ran over to Cyborg and grabbed his metal shoulder. "Can we get him out?"

"The system's locked. I can't open the doors!" Cyborg said. His eyes looked haunted and could do nothing but stare at his trapped friend.

Raven looked worried. "We need to get him out of there before Trigon can touch him!"

"Starfire, Raven. Tear that door down!" Robin commanded. The girls wasted no time and began to blast the door with all of their might. Starfire let out a flurry of star bolts at the chamber to absolutely no effect. The smoke cleared without so much as a scratch on it. Raven had to resort to throwing heavy objects at the chamber, as her magic had no bearing on it, but the effort was pointless. The chamber was too strong.

00:30

"Raven, Starfire, stop! You're making it worse. I have a back-up plan that might work. Last night I rigged up a small EMP generator that'll short-circuit everything within 50 yards, but we have to do it now before the eclipse hits!" Cyborg opened a slot on his damaged arm to reveal a sinister-looking device with a button on it.

00:10

"But friend Cyborg, will that not affect you too?" Starfire inquired.

"He'd do the same for me!"

Robin looked panicked. "Everyone brace yourselves! Cyborg, do it!"

00:05

Beastboy stood inside the chamber watching everything from afar, without hearing and sounds from outside, though he didn't need to hear to know what was happening.

00:04

Brother Blood's eyes opened with supernatural force and he jumped with impossible speed to stop Cyborg before he could ruin everything.

00:03

Robin saw the attack and ran between Cyborg and Blood to protect their final hope of saving the world. Cyborg raised his arm in anticipation of his final moment.

00:02

Starfire gasped as Brother Blood's extended claws rushed forwards to break anything in their path. Robin raised his bird-a-rang to block the incoming attack, but Brother Blood's claws ripped through it like butter and connected with the bruised side of Robin's face, breaking through his already-fractured skull and penetrating deep into his head.

00:01

Cyborg threw his hand downwards to slam on the button. Beastboy saw all of this happen in horror and just as Cyborg was about to push the button to activate the EMP,

00:00

Beastboy looked at the scene before him in confusion. All of his friends' movements ceased and Cyborg's hand was poised motionless an inch away from the button on his arm. The blood that burst from Robin's head hung in mid-air and the look on Raven's face was a look of perpetual and unchanging terror. It appeared that time had stopped for everyone but him, but he was about to find out why.

The insides of the chamber had changed from cold steel to black lined with roiling flames. Every hair on Beastboy's body stood up with so much force that it was as if every follicle on his body wanted nothing more than to run away and hide. He then became aware of a presence behind him that was so malevolent that its aura sent out powerful pulses of power and might.

A deep rumbling laughter echoed through the chamber and Beastboy slowly turned around to see four blood-red eyes gazing down at him that seemed to mock his very appearance. A voice that can only be described as evil began to emit from the entity above him, causing his very soul to rumble.

"So I ask for a worthy sacrifice and all I get is my daughter's pet. Unfortunate. You have been delivered to me to be my new portal into your world, so you will have to do. I will, however, give you compensation for your actions during my last rule. I once said that fighting you was beneath me. I will not afford you the same privilege again."

The eyes glowed with an unnatural force and Beastboy was slowly raised into the air and brought closer to Trigon. Beastboy struggled with all of his might, but was unable to break free of the demonic vines now restraining him. The second that he tried to change his shape into that of a gorilla, the vines grew vicious thorns that cut through his skin and tore through his uniform, forcing him to change back into a human. Even though he had multiple lacerations across his limbs and body, Beastboy kept from screaming and used his pain and anger to glare back at Trigon in defiance.

"You think that you can withstand my power? I am the master of terror; I am the master of hate! Every emotion you harbor against me will only strengthen me more! I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT PAIN AND SUFFERING REALLY MEANS!"

The vines holding him withdrew with a menacing intelligence to grab Beastboy's hands and feet and pulled with such force that the sound of tendons tearing and bones creaking filled his ears, closely accompanied by a wave of agony that he had never experienced before. His body was stretched to its limit and he knew that any more would cleave his extremities away from him. The movement slowly ceased and the pain subsided, though he was still hanging in submission before the demon. Beastboy raised his head weakly to see what Trigon had planned for him next.

A demonic hand appeared before him and raised a pointed finger that was aimed towards the weak changeling before it. The finger moved forwards and pressed lightly on the center of his ribcage, just above his heart. A cold feeling instantly flowed through Beastboy that made every cell shiver in the presence of Trigon's power. The feeling slowly dulled and became a slight itch. The itch spread throughout his body that forced Beastboy's eyes shut in the sheer unpleasantness of it. The feeling of the itch that could never be scratched flowed from his toes to his fingertips, and it slowly became warmer.

It got warmer and warmer, turning into a steady fire encompassing his entire body. There was heat upon heat upon heat that grew into an inferno so powerful that Beastboy could feel his skin crisp and blacken. He could feel every scrap of skin curl up and fall off of his body, leaving no protection for the muscles and sinew below. The pain was so intense and merciless that his eyes rolled back into his skull and his lids were closed so tight that his tear glands were crushed, forcing salty tears to flow on his wounds. The wetness only served to amplify the scorching heat and the salt made the wounds sting with piercing might. The organs in Beastboy's body now took the full brunt of Trigon's wrath and the tightly wound fibers of his innards crystallized and shattered from the heat, leaving only charred bones behind. Beastboy could feel every atom in his body incinerate and he finally broke down and let out a shrieking wail that reverberated through his entire body.

The sound had jerked Beastboy to his senses as he realized that the sound had vibrated through regions that had only just burned off, so he gasped sharply, taking air into the lungs he vividly remembered experiencing incinerate. He threw his head forwards, forcing his chin to hit his ribcage only to hear a dull thud that indicated skin lessening the blow. He cracked his eyes open just a sliver to see the damage that was done to his body, only to glimpse an unscathed body below him. Beastboy opened his eyes fully and saw that he was still hanging by his limbs with all of his flesh and skin intact. He looked up in confusion and stared directly at the eyes still hovering above him.

"Confused, changeling? In here, I control all and you are my puppet, so I will do what I please. Making you suffer shall please me greatly!"

Beastboy experienced the agonizing pain over and over again, only to find his body unscathed at the end of it yet again. Even though the emotional strain of the torture was breaking Beastboy down, every time he looked out of the window, he saw Cyborg's hand inch closer and closer to the button. The nightmare would be over soon, and all Beastboy had to do was endure. His only other consolation was that Trigon appeared unaware of the impending salvation.

Trigon had changed his tactics and now summoned a constant stream of demonic ravens with razor-sharp wings that flew into Beastboy, causing deep scars and vicious gashes that healed the instant that they were inflicted. What felt like hours passed and Cyborg's hand finally made contact with the button it was hovering over. The effect was apparent inside the chamber, as the dark and fiery tomb slowly turned back into the cold metal chamber it was before. Even Trigon's presence began to dwindle and fade.

"No! You will not escape me so easily! You will be my vessel into this world!"

Trigon's eyes glowed once again and began the same ritual he used when he summoned up the doppelgangers from within the Titans. The fading Trigon obviously lacked the power to complete the spell, because before it was performed, the vines restraining Beastboy vanished and he fell to the ground with a soft thump.

Cyborg finally hit the button and triggered a blue shockwave that enveloped everything inside of the room. The first person to be affected was Cyborg, who selflessly and knowingly sacrificed himself to stop Trigon from being successfully summoned. Every visible blue circuit on his body sparked violently and his cybernetic eye exploded, leaving the hard-drive behind it exposed. Brother Blood's mechanical components had much the same reaction, but the sleeker design of his body caused it to have a melt-down, visibly fusing together and leaving his body powerless. The effect on Robin was restricted to his utility belt exploding and leaving his torso with nasty burns, but the open crevice in his head made it abundantly clear that would never feel it.

The shockwave reached the chamber and everything was destroyed in a fanciful show of pyrotechnics. The pulsing pentagram on the floor seemed to have a mind of its own because it burst into flames and the tongues of fire danced together with flying sparks in a symphony of crackles. The storage devices were drained of their power, causing the energy beam connecting and trapping the five spellcasters disrupted and they lifelessly fell to the floor. Amidst the flames and the darkness, the magnetic seals on the door released and the pneumatic hiss signaled its opening, revealing a collapsed Beastboy within. Though the chamber was online for the duration of 0.061 seconds, Trigon tortured Beastboy for over 7 hours.

Reacting to the situation, Starfire dashed over to the collapsed Robin and grabbed him in the hope that he still lived. The realization that he would never breathe again sank in and she was forced to cradle him in her arms while sobbing. Sebastian Blood laid twitching on the ground beside her and gurgling to get the blood out of his throat. Cyborg had his cybernetic half keeping him alive, but Blood's was only to increase his telekinetic powers. Though his mechanical armaments no longer worked, Brother Blood was still very much alive. Starfire felt the motion and opened her eyes to see the deranged old man looking at her and trying to gurgle out a laugh. Her eyes slowly lit up and became more luminescent with the fury of a woman scorned. She let them continue to brighten until they burned with the force of the sun. Starfire could contain the energy no longer and directed every ounce of her rage and regret at the one who took her beloved away from her, leaving behind nothing but ash.

Raven rose from her position and briskly walked into the open chamber and to the green boy on the ground. He was leaning on his shoulder and facing away from her, and when she grasped his head and turned it upwards, she saw his eyes wide open from sheer horror and his mouth open in a soundless scream. Raven quickly put her palm over his face and uttered a spell to place Beastboy into a restful state. She then put her arms under his, joined her fingers across his chest, and slowly moved him far away from the chamber. When he was safely away from the chamber and any harm, she gently propped him up against a slanted piece of fallen ceiling and started to pour healing energy into him.

By the time the emergency crews arrived on the scene, it was too late. Brother Blood had been stopped, but the Teen Titans had been ripped in half. The floor was littered with disassembled robotic parts and dead bodies that slowly drained the room of all feeling. Tears were mixed with the blood and oil on the ground and created a bitter smell that permeated everything. The actions of that day brought down the mood of the entire city and it was clear that Trigon had succeeded at one thing; everyone in Jump City now had to bear the chains of the eclipse.

To Be Continued.

Disclaimer: I do not own any character or location in the DC Universe. This is and always shall be a work of fiction that I am not profiting from in the slightest.

Amenson out