Hey, again! I didn't forget this one either...
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans.
"Dude! This time zone is totally whacked! There's a witch and a flood and now there's a dungeon, too?" exclaimed Beast Boy.
"Shut up. I'm trying to take over an empire!" screeched Chang.
"How's that working out for you?" Cyborg shot at him.
Robin had been uncerimoniously thrown in a very primitive prison cell with Beast Boy, Cyborg, and the said villain. He was chained to the wall, as were the other three, and it hurt like--
"Raven!" he croaked. She had appeared out of the ground right in front of him. "Help. Please."
Without further ado, she healed his bruised ribs, and he relaxed a little.
"Yo, Rae, what's the scoop on Star?" Cyborg really could have broken out by now if he had wanted to, but it wouldn't have done any of them much good. The Egyptians would have had to find a bigger, better jail for him, and the Titans could possibly mess up the technological time stream if they invented something too strong. Besides, Robin hadn't been able to move for the better part of the time he'd been captured, and Cyborg wouldn't leave without his friend.
The empath could feel the royals' emotions a mile away, they were so strong. Two in particular: greed and worry. And the pharoah probably wasn't the one worrying. "There's a wedding underway. The pharoah's not wasting any time, and Starfire still thinks you guys are in mortal danger."
"We have to get out now. Knock the guards outside out quietly, make sure they don't alert anyone else. Then we pull a surprise attack on the palace, get Starfire out, and..." Robin was at a loss. Chang tutted at him.
"Until you find the machine you lost, we're all stuck."
Raven whirled on him, a vein twitching in her forehead. "You know, we were considering leaving you here as a gift to the Egyptians. Maybe, if you're lucky, they won't sacrifice you and just torture you instead. Or I could save them the trouble."
The old man backed away as far as the wall would allow him to.
A hissing and spitting alerted them. Through all the excitement, they'd barely acknowledged the two girls and their cat sitting in a corner of the cell. Beast Boy went feline and addressed it. "You wanted to say something?"
"It sounds as though you have a plan to escape."
"We do, sorta. But we kinda need this time machine. It's shiny and box-ish. You seen it?"
"Shiny...like gold?"
"Uh, sorta. I think it's buried in the sand somewhere."
"Like gold?"
"Um, no, it's kinda hard to get around here."
"Like gold?"
"NO! NOT like gold! It's metal, which you probably don't know anything about! It has little blinky thingies on it and it makes a whirring noise and it is NOT LIKE GOLD."
The cat thought for a moment. "My mistress might have picked it up. You know, the 'witch.' She enjoys destroying strange objects. Perhaps she hadn't gotten around to it yet. You should go check."
"Thanks." Beast Boy transformed back into a human, turning to his friends. "So, I was at this weird voodoo-girl's house, right? And she experiments and stuff and she's evil and she likes to destroy unknown things!"
Raven threw a side glance at Cyborg. "Translation?"
"The hot gi--I mean, that lady over there might have it. Mighta broken it, but it wouldn't hurt to check. BB might be able to lead us to her hut or whatever. We grab it and get Star and move out."
"Sounds good," Robin said, moving his limbs experimentally to find he was perfectly okay again. "Titans, GO!"
With one powerful punch, Cyborg broke them out of the crude prison. Guards on the other side were startled into silence for a minute, which was all the time the Titans needed. The three jailers were knocked out at once.
"Wait! What about me?" called Chang.
Raven looked back. The villain was still chained, as was the witch and her sister. The cat had long since scampered off with a grateful half-glance at Beast Boy. "Leave him," she muttered. In a louder voice she added, "We'll come back for him...if we feel like it."
"No! Wait--" She had already transported the Titans into the witch's hut.
"You look as though you are being punished," chuckled the pharoah. Starfire was never one to throw dirty looks at people, but at this point she wished she'd learned how from Raven. Instead, Starfire refused to answer. "Do not despair. We will have the greatest reign in history."
"Truly, I would much rather have my friends and a way home," sniffed Starfire, wincing at her attempt at sarcasm.
However, her wish was granted. At that moment, four Titans and a time machine popped up from the floor. The entire palace was stunned at their arrival, but the pharoah was the first one to react.
"Traitorous woman! I was expecting this! SEIZE THEM!"
What seemed like the entire Egyptian army poured out of every nook and cranny.
"Dudes, I don't know what he said, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the welcoming committee," Beast Boy stated.
"Really? How'd you figure that one out? Was it the spears pointed at us?" Raven deadpanned, firing up her dark energy.
Starfire's eyes glowed. "How DARE you attack my friends! You have crossed the line!" Her hands began to glow, ready to take out the pharoah. He only smirked, watching the rest of the Titans prepare to fight to the death. The entire marriage hall was silent, waiting for the pharoah to give the order to attack.
"Do not stress yourself. You and your friends have no chance against this many people. Even if you work up the courage to kill me, my army will stop at nothing to eliminate the criminals who dared harm the pharoah. You have no escape whatsoever."
Again, she was at a loss. All the corners were covered. "You are an evil man."
He shrugged. "The last person who told me that did not have a very happy life in prison."
Through the doorway, a single, half-bald cat slinked. It hissed at Hutmentep, what remained of its fur jutting out in all directions. The townspeople's attention shifted to it, wondering why it had taken such a strong dislike to the pharoah. Behind it, three more cats came, and then ten more. They crowded the hall, all of them spitting at the pharoah. Even the ruler was confused.
Beast Boy morphed cat. "What do you guys think you're doing?"
His old friend gave him a half-smile. "Have you learned nothing during your stay here?"
"I'm not really the guy for smart stuff."
"Then let us take care of it. We would do anything for--" He shot a reverant look at Starfire. "--the princess. Thank you for the escape...and journey safely. ATTACK!"
The town's population of feline residents jumped, claws ripping at the air, and eventually, the pharoah's flesh. Hutmentep screamed, falling backwards. No one made to help him; in fact, they backed away slowly, letting the cats do their work. When they finished, a cowering man with no crown, no beard, and no jewelry shivered on the floor before them. "Please...don't come near me...stupid animals!"
"That was unexpected," Beast Boy commented after achieving his human form. "Oh, and Star? You see those cats over there? They're kinda crushing on you. A lot. Especially that guy." He pointed to his newfound friend.
Robin turned a deep scarlet. "That's IT! I don't--grr!--this is--these--argh!--unbelieveable--not putting up with--LEAVING! We. Are. LEAVING!" He grabbed Starfire's arm and marched out the door, much to everyone's surprise. The Egyptians didn't even spare him a glance, though, they were too busy trying to figure out why the old man trying to hit the cats looked like their pharaoh. Evidently, it clicked to somebody, because they all started to chant.
"What are they saying?" Cyborg asked Raven.
"They're going on a riot to find a new pharoah. Nothing big. Apparently this guy didn't leave any heirs. We'd better get out of here before they choose any of us."
"But friends! How are we to journey back to our time period without the assitance of our...oh." Cyborg waggled the bulky time machine in front of Starfire's nose. "Glorious! I must say that this era is not one of my favorites."
Robin grumbled.
"Well, y'all, let's crank this baby up and get out of here!"
So, this is the penultimate chapter for this story, too. Review please!!