A/N: Whew! This chapter took a lot longer than I expected. It's a bit tricky to try to write Trigon in action-from different POV's. I hope the action spots came out alright. Cyborg gets a bit of 'screen time' in this one. I hope y'all enjoy it. Also, a shameless plug for my newest RaeRob fic, "The Robin and The Raven" is a set of oneshot/drabble/flash fiction bits from one-word prompts. Stop by and check it out if you need some RxR to tide you over until the next you all for the wonderful reviews and favs, it totally made my week!

Disclaimer: The upload function is working again!

Robin: ... That's a disclaimer?

Me: Yup-yup.

Robin: ...

Me: Aw, c'mon, stop it. I know you're happy. You couldn't wait for this chapter to be uploaded.

Robin: SHUT UP!

Me: Are you blushing?

Robin: *birdarang*

Me: Seriously? Wow...

Robin: *throws*

Me: OW! I don't own any Teen Titans anything.


"Are we done yet, Robin?" Starfire floated beside the kitchen counter, her gaze wandering idly to Raven's beloved coffeepot, her usual hot water supply. She was seeing a replay of the scene earlier in the morning and her forehead scrunched into a pucker as she tucked her legs up under her in mid-hover, twisting to see the boy wonder slowly stocking groceries in their pantry.

"Almost." Robin said, moving with all deliberate slowness.

"Why are you not commencing in the hurrying of the grocery stocking?" The redhead twisted her hands into a knot. "Perhaps I should be checking on Raven and you can-"

"This would go a lot faster if you helped." Robin hinted, making no effort to hurry at all. "I'll be done just now. We'll both go. I'm sure Raven is fine."

Starfire opened her mouth to protest again, only to catch the faintest twitch at the corner of Robin's masked eyes. He was trying to be patient with her. She pouted. She knew that kind of feeling when it was right in front of her. Sighing, she floated over to hold open the plastic grocery sack so he could continue stocking miniature baggies of junk food.


"Beast Boy?" Cyborg growled. It was more of a statement to be acknowledged than a question to be answered. He wanted to be sure they were all on the same page. He was rewarded with a look from the younger boy—one filled with determination and focus. That was good. They were in agreement then.

"Ready." The green boy hunched his shoulders forward, settling his weight in his feet to sprint quickly, if necessary.

"What are you doing?" Raven snuck a glance at them, keeping a wary eye on her father. She didn't really care at that moment. She wanted them out. She wanted to be out. She didn't want anyone here. She didn't want to be there. She didn't want to deal with—not now.

Trigon.

There was a dull ache in the pit of her stomach as his name echoed in her head. Idiot demon father. Her hands clenched tight at her sides as she mentally pushed away the reality of Beast Boy and Cyborg standing beside her. She could not get them involved in this. It was her mess, her problem, her demon to deal with—in more ways than one.

Trigon threw his head back, roaring loudly. A loud, rumbling, sound that made the mindscape shudder, collectively. Cyborg and Beast Boy stumbled back a few steps, already about to run, until they realized that Raven hadn't even blinked.

She stood tall, fearless—it seemed, unfazed by the animalistic growl that followed.

The four eyes in the red creature's head narrowed to points and blast of yellow-gold energy shot towards the purple-cloaked empath. Raven grimaced, flexing her legs and jumping clear of the beam. With another roar, Trigon turned towards Cyborg and Beast Boy stomping down the path towards them.


The duo broke into a run as they caught sight of a flicker of light flared up at the end of the pathway. The forbidden portal. Set in the base of a jagged, brown rock formation, swirls of red and white energy spiraled in the center, denoting the portal's significance. Raven's powers were always black and white or white on black, the red and white energy shimmers held a different meaning now.

Cyborg skidded to a stop, the adrenaline catching up to his automatic response. Running wasn't going to solve anything and he did not want to leave Raven on her own—not with that crazy creature running rampant in her mind. If it was her father, that spoke volumes for the darkened girl. Another mystery to be puzzled later. Cyborg reached out, catching Beast Boy by the scruff of his neck as the green boy streaked past.

His timing was excellent, because a yellow-golden energy blast pounded into the ground just before the portal—exactly where they'd have been moments ago, if Cyborg hadn't stopped. Beast Boy gulped, a prickling shudder racing through his body. He made no move to get free from Cyborg's iron grip.

Raven's cool, clear voice sliced through the fading dust. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A giant black tinged-dome of energy sprang to life around her and her fellow teammates, shielding them all and the forbidden portal.

Trigon heaved another blast of energy towards the trio, tearing up brown rock and dust, littering the mindscape as the beam rushed towards Raven's black energy dome. The sound of impact was muffled and then explosion was ground-breaking.

"Raven!" Cyborg lurched forward, dropping Beast Boy.

The green boy landed with a half-plop on the ground, rubbing his throat where the fabric had cut into his neck. He scowled, briefly, turning to watch. Cyborg approached the hyper-focused Raven, careful not to touch her as the black energy poured richly from her hands.

They could all feel the tremendous power literally spilling out of the empath as she narrowed her focus to maintain the shield that protected them all. Her hair swirled up behind her, the dark cloak flaring out in the faint rush of wind. It was taking a significant portion of her mental concentration to keep the shield up—and her mind empty enough to process the fact that she needed to get the two boys behind her—out of her head.

"Raven?"

"Go." Her voice was cold as ice and every bit as frozen. "Get out!"

"And leave you with this?" Cyborg frowned. "I don't think so, Rae." He folded his arms across his chest. This was not the time nor the place to be having this kind of a conversation, but he wasn't about to leave either. If Raven wanted to dance around the topic, fine, he'd let her, but he would not abandon her.

Not in the middle of something like this.

Another primal roar ripped through the mindscape and Cyborg's arms dropped back to his side as he half-crouched, maintaining his balance. He cast a glance at Beast Boy who had fallen back to the ground with a huff, his mouth twisted into a pout.

"Beast Boy?"

"I'm fine." There was a touch of whine in his voice.

"Good." Cyborg readied his cannon. "Ready?"


Robin shut the cupboard doors and took the empty plastic baggies from Starfire's outstretched hands. He carried them to the fabric grocery bag holder, stuffing them inside to be recycled later. He took his time, stuffing each individual bag into the narrow opening.

Starfire twirled a few impatient circles behind him.

"Done." He mumbled, turning, careful to keep his arms set at his sides. He was not going to give the alien princess another chance to grab him and zip through the titan tower. He'd already had enough rides like that for the day.

"Wonderful!" Starfire cheered, but her voice was flat. She'd begun to pick up on something and she didn't like that something at all. "Let us go on now, yes?"

"S-ure." Robin turned with a steady smile, he trotted out of the kitchen and immediately detoured towards the left, heading for the control center.

"Robin?" Starfire said, uncertainly. She hovered in the hallway, casting a glance to her right—the shortest way to reach the titan floors with their individual bedrooms. Biting her lip, she zipped after him. Maybe she'd been mistaking a few things and something was wrong.

Something she hadn't thought to think about.


In the command center, Robin fiddled with the camera controls and checked all the radio frequencies for distress calls. He was partially relived and disappointed to discover that everything was fine. It was good to know that he wouldn't have to disturb Raven for the sake of a mission call and disappointing that there wasn't much else he could do to stall—without being obvious.

"Robin." Starfire was frowning at him, her skinny arms crossed over her slender chest. There was a flicker of green fire in her bright jewel-green eyes. "Is something the matter?"

"Thankfully, no." He managed, one hand lingering on the camera controls.

"May we now go see if Raven is better?"

"She wants to be alone."

"But-"

"I know." Robin sighed, the hand now moving to his forehead. "I know, Starfire." He turned towards the door.

"Robin?" Her voice softened. "Are you okay?"

He made himself smile, faintly. "Sure."

Starfire ignored his little lie. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing. All coasts are clear." He kept the smile up for a half-second longer. "Say, I haven't seen Cyborg or Beast Boy…"

Starfire wrinkled her nose. "Beast Boy most definitely needs to apologize to Raven." Her brow furrowed in thought as she quickly reasoned through the possible scenarios. "Perhaps we should—no." She shook her head, quickly. "We must check on Raven first." There was a decisive nod of her head. "May we go now, Robin…please?"

But Robin was already out the door and shuffling down the hallway at a leisurely pace. He hid a smile as Starfire zipped over to hover by his side. She was practically quivering in her impatience to hurry him along, but her nervous hands were twisting and fisting beneath her chin, so she made no move to grab him and drag him onward.

Inwardly, he was glad, it would give him some time to think of another distraction. Raven deserved some silence just like when he wanted to work out alone-with no interference. They kind of owed it to her. Sorry, Raven. I hope the extra minutes of silence were helpful...


"Get out of my mind, now!" Raven hissed. She'd caught sight of Cyborg's stance before the last mini-quake. There was no way they were going to have any kind of coherent conversation at a time like this. Definitely not at a time like this.

She struggled to hold the barrier up as her concentration wavered. "You don't have much time. You need to go now. Both of you!" She bit her lip, drawing blood and using the metallic, tangy taste to force herself to focus.

"No way." Beast Boy took up a flanking position to her left as Cyborg settled in at her right. "Leave you alone with that?" He repeated Cyborg's earlier exclamation. "I don't think so."

"He's right. I agree." Cyborg smirked. "Not gonna happen."

A flicker of annoyance filtered through her pale face, but Raven couldn't scowl at both of them in their respective positions at the same time. "It's my problem. I'll deal with it." A tremor rippled through the black energy dome. The new emotions sprouting from this recent development were too raw to be processed. Raven desperately wished she were alone. This was not right and it was not fair. They may have been trying to be nice or polite or just plain friendly, but they had no idea what they were saying.

No idea what they were getting into.

No time to properly explain it either.

She gritted her teeth against the impact of another energy blast. The faint quiver than ran through her hid the initial shudder that passed through at the thought of having two teammates locked in her head—even after death. She didn't want to think about that at all. She had make them leave. Had to convince them. This was her battle—not theirs.

"If I lose, you'll be stuck in here forever." There was a deadly calm laced through her voice, the ice remaining. "This is not a game. This is serious. I don't want you involved."

"Ouch." Beast Boy snorted. "Think that's gonna scar." He ducked his head at a timely glare from Cyborg.

"You made us involved the moment you did this." Cyborg gestured towards the dome. He'd once thought that self-sacrificing nature was some sort of fluke he'd witnessed before, but now he was seeing it in full force before him. She was willing to suffer—alone and silently—not only for herself, but for their sakes'.

As if he'd let her shoulder that kind of burden.

"We're here to-"

An anguished moan left her lips as Raven's dome shook and streaked apart at the impact from one giant bolt of energy. The dome melted away completely, sweeping up a tremendous swirl of dust to hide the damage. Raven stood, braced, her arms crossed to protect her head. She coughed into her shoulder, throwing one hand behind her with a whiplash of black-white energy.

"Go!" She couldn't take this anymore. She needed them out and away from here—even if only so that she could focus. The wide sweep of energy caught them both full in the stomachs, flinching as they were flung the short distance to the mouth of the forbidden portal.


Cyborg landed awkwardly, bracing himself out of habit as Beast Boy slammed into him, skinny arms and legs in a tangled heap. The look on his face was equal to the faint puffs of steam seeming to shoot from his ears as the animal morpher leapt to his feet.

"Cyborg…"

"Chill, BB." Cyborg cast a glance at the swirling portal. Then he turned away.

Raven had shot into the air, hovering at face-level as she dodged and fired bolts of energy at the rampaging creature. It tried to swat her, bulky muscled arms swinging awkwardly in some attempt to stop her. It was more difficult than it looked because Raven's face screamed of the concentration it took to focus and fight.

Cyborg and Beast Boy stood up and exchanged a glance. Beast Boy grinned and Cyborg smirked. They both dashed forward.


Raven dodged several attempts to crush her between the clumsy red hands, managing to fire a bolt of black energy at his chest. She streaked behind his head, her mind whirling to keep up with the necessary calculations to keep the upper hand. If nothing else, she needed to distract him long enough for Cyborg and Beast Boy to get out—then, whatever happened afterward—could happen. It would be two less regrets to take with her.

Her split-second decision registered a half-second too late. She'd cut too closely behind him and while he might've been unable to track her movements before, the change in the wind's direction was a dead giveaway. Pure fear registered as he turned.

She saw his movements in slow-motion as he powered up and shot a crushing beam at point-blank range. There was no time to react. There was no way to react. Her practiced calm and concentration was effectively shattered as instinct took over and she shrank back, arms crossing to shield her face and head.

Blackness came for her in a vicious way as her consciousness burned into nothing.


Cyborg watched, helplessly as the golden bolt sheared through the air and consumed the empath. It left a coiling, twisting feeling of sickness in his gut. He found his legs moving, running forward as fast as he could. He sensed Beast boy behind him, falling into stride.

The red creature bellowed and roared, forming actual words in its raspy, tortured voice. "Rage shall consume you! Hatred shall rule. Darkness shall descend in-"

That was the last straw.

Cyborg vaulted to the highest rock formation on a nearby mountain of brown rock. He was glad to note that it was close to shoulder level with the creature. That was good. His cannon hummed to life as he braced, aiming with knowledge of the practice behind him. "Yo! Monster-face." The creature blinked in confusion. "Sounds like somebody needs a time-out."

He fired.

The blast was blocked when the creature raised a forearm for shield, leaving his chest wide open.

Cyborg's smirk darkened by several degrees as he fired a second sonic blast to the newly revealed opening. Boo-yah He mentally resisted the urge to pump his fist in the air.

The creature stumbled backwards, clumsy in all its movements before the hand clutching Raven slackened. It tumbled off the edge of the brown stone pathway formation and into the empty, dark mindspace below.

Raven plummeted to the ground, her hair streaming out and cloak fluttering madly.

A green hawk swooped downwards, diving with equal speed, powerful talons closing on one blue-purple cloaked shoulder, attempting to slow her descent. There was the faintest, quietest moan that came from pale-almost lavender lips as Hawk-Beast Boy set her down gently, resuming his human form as Raven crumpled to her knees.

Her eyelids fluttered open and there was a strained expression on her face, one that could not quite be read. Her mouth moved and a surprising sentence came out. "Beast Boy? Cyborg? You stayed. I thought you didn't like me." She coughed.

Beast Boy grinned impishly. "Thought you didn't like me." He countered.

She smiled, faintly.

"Yo, I like both of you." Cyborg cut into the moment. "Now get your butts over here!" He turned back to the matter at hand. The red thing was already rising over the ridge behind him. He glowered at it.

"Feel my fury!" It roared.

Cyborg merely braced himself. Feel mine.


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