*Sighs* Man, it's good to have this one finished. About three quarters of this chapter had been written and ready since October, but it was the various sections that made up the last fourth that ended up getting rewritten and revised over and over again. Oh well, hope that this chapter was worth the wait for anyone who's following this. Enjoy!

Chapter 9- The Chosen One

Him there they found squat like a Toad, close at the eare of Eve;

Assaying by his devilish art to... forge illusions as he list, Phantasms and Dreams,

Or if, inspiring venom, he might taint

John Milton- Paradise Lost Chapter IV


Beast Boy remained hidden long after Rage vanished. It took several minutes to come up with a plan of action, several more to build up his courage. Scurrying from behind Knowledge's statue, he returned to his normal self, and seemingly in defiance of all logic, walked through the gate.

It was a common misconception that Beast Boy acted without thinking. How could his friends think otherwise, when they had spent years of witnessing and dealing with the consequences of his apparent carelessness? They simply saw it as another facet of his personality.

In truth, Beast Boy was anything but short-sighted. If he chose to bring up the past, he could have explained that being impulsive was never an option for a member of the Doom Patrol.

Mento had drilled the concept of foresight into his head from his first days on the team. The myriad consequences that could arise from a single action, and the different ways a scenario could play out based on the smallest change of events. It was difficult for a child to grasp, but as the gravity of their missions began weighing down upon him, he came to understand. By the time he joined the Titans, Garfield Logan was a boy who never leaped without looking.

If that was so, then why in the world had he stepped into the Forbidden Gate? The one which an extremely powerful, angry and violent aspect of Raven had entered just moments ago?

The answer was that despite Mento's training, despite all of their life or death missions, and despite a lifetime of dealing with the results, he still acted with his heart instead of his head.

And so he realized that it was an unforgivably stupid mistake to follow Rage through the gate, rather than trying to backtrack to Timid's realm. He understood that it was idiotic to pass through in his human form, rather than as a smaller, stealthier creature. He knew that it was foolish not to try and escape as soon as his presence was discovered.

But hindsight and retrospection could never change the present, and so he stood, held firmly in place by her magic, as Rage rushed towards him. Her arms were opened wide, and her smile was the hungry grin of a shark.


Robin paused in mid-step as a soft beeping came from his wrist. He examined it briefly before straightening up and clearing his throat.

"THREEEEEEE O'CLOCK, AND ALLLLLLL-"

"Robin, if I have to hear you saying that "all's well" one more time, I'm going to drop you down one!"

The masked boy let out a very uncharacteristic shriek as he spun around to see Raven's half-asleep face poking out of her doorway.

"Oh, sorry about that Raven. Just trying not to get bored on watch duty, you know?"

Raven scowled. "Well, I'd appreciate it if you didn't yell right outside my door. If you have to listen to yourself shout, do it outside Cyborg's room. HE can turn off his hearing."

Robin grumbled as the door slid shut. Who did she think she was? Didn't she know that it's not allowed to question your leader's eccentricities? Shaking his head, he continued down the corridor, his eyes sweeping back and forth with the beam of his Bird-light.

'Note to self: You're not his sidekick anymore, so you don't have to have 'bird' in the name of every damn thing you own.' Hoping to get his mind off the tediousness of watch duty, Robin turned his thoughts to his longtime name and a potential replacement.

'Not that there's anything wrong with Robin. It just doesn't have the right amount of intrigue or gravity to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. Hmm, Starfire did mention something about a 'Nightwing' in the future. That's definitely a good name. It's mysterious, it's ominous, it sounds cool... yeah, that might be the way to go.

"In that case, I wouldn't have to have Birdarangs or Bird-hooks or Bird-bombs," he muttered, his frustration building as he listed off each of the progressively stupid names for his equipment. His eyes drifted down to the light in his hand.

"Of course, if I became Nightwing, then that would make this…" his teeth clenched together in annoyance. "A Night-light. Ah, screw it!"

Shoving the offending object back into his utility belt, he stomped down the hall, trying to forget his previous ruminations. Luckily, the distraction he was hoping for was literally right around the corner.

He paused outside of Beast Boy's room, taking note of the light shining through the crack beneath the door.

'Probably up playing videogames, and on the night of a training day too. I think it's time to dispense some indiscriminate justice!' Robin put on his sternest expression and keyed open the door.

He stepped inside just in time to see Beast Boy fall heavily to the ground. Robin reacted immediately, rushing up to his friend and hurriedly checking him for injuries. He was so focused on determining Beast Boy's safety that he had failed to notice the fading streams of energy over his head, or that the spot from where he'd fallen was almost six feet away from the bed.

Robin sighed in relief as he realized Beast Boy was unharmed, although he was surprised that someone could still be asleep after just falling out of bed.

"Guess he really was exhausted," Robin murmured. "That'd explain why he fell asleep with all the lights on as well."

Dropping to a knee, he pulled the smaller boy into his arms and gently carried him to the bed. At his touch, Beast Boy began to flinch and shudder, his body tensing up as though in pain.

Robin frowned as he laid the other boy down on the mattress. Beast Boy's struggles were becoming more intense, the pain on his face more pronounced.

Taking hold of his shoulders, Robin tried to shake him awake. "Beast Boy, can you hear me? Snap out of it, you're having a bad dream." Beast Boy's only response was a stifled moan, his head whipping to the side as if he'd been struck. Robin pulled his hands away. What if it wasn't a dream? What if Beast Boy was having some kind of seizure?

Robin stumbled back from the bed, his mind racing. Cyborg. Cyborg would be able to help. He was about to gather Beast Boy up and make a dash for the med-lab when he paused. Moving Beast Boy at this point might be dangerous to his health. He'd be better off getting Cyborg to examine him first.

"Must be a hell of a nightmare," he muttered as he raced into the hallway.

The door slid closed and red sparks again crackled into form above Beast Boy's head.

"The nightmare has not even begun, mortal," Trigon hissed as he returned to his work.


Beast Boy screamed as he was slammed into the rocks, the black aura crushing him further against the canyon wall. The pressure lessened, and then he was being yanked backwards at subsonic speed. He caught a momentary look at Rage as he sped past her, but even if he missed the lowering of her outstretched hand, it was impossible to ignore his sudden contact with the ground.

He wasn't sure how long he laid there, his entire body flooded with pain. He didn't even know how long she had been torturing him. With all she'd done, he should have been killed several times over, but he had a feeling that since this was her mind, she could keep him alive and conscious as long as she desired.

The field around him pulsed, and he was again lifted bodily into the air. He kept his eyes squeezed shut, bracing himself for the assault that he knew was coming.

Minutes ticked by, and as he slowly relaxed, he became aware of a warm breath tickling his cheek.

His eyes snapped open to reveal Rage's face only inches away. Her two violet eyes were sympathetic, and a weary smile crossed her face as she brought a hand to his chin.

"I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be. You," she gestured to the broken landscape, "are responsible for this."

She turned back to face him, and her voice became cold. "It's all your fault."

She leaned closer, and her eyes split into four. "And you deserve this."

She drew back her hand, and a crackling ball of energy appeared. Lunging forwards, she shoved the orb directly into Beast Boy's stomach. He didn't even have a chance to scream as the orb plunged into him and exploded, blowing him into the air.

He came down hard, his body glancing off at the initial impact. As he rolled and skidded across the dusty earth, he caught fleeting glimpses of Rage stalking towards him, energy sparking at her fingertips and her eyes filled with hate. He watched his tormentor move closer, pain and fear warring for dominance of his thoughts. She was almost upon him when she vanished.

Beast Boy looked around wildly, not believing what he had just witnessed. Rage hadn't teleported; there'd been no sign of her magic at work. She had simply ceased to be there.

"Be calm, child. You are safe."

He flipped himself onto his back, coming face to face with the speaker. His brow furrowed in confusion.

"Who are you," he whispered.


It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining brightly in a cloudless sky. The landscape through which he traveled was verdant and full of life, but Sir Cyborg had no time for such trivialities. He was on a quest of the greatest importance, and he would not be distracted.

As he crested the hill, the mechanical knight gazed down into the valley, his eyes riveted on the foreboding castle that stood in its center. White shapes milled about the ramparts, and he knew that his quarry was in reach. Spurring his mount, he galloped towards the fortress.

He could feel their eyes upon him as he halted at the moat. Lifting the visor of his helm, he called out a challenge to those within.

A guard appeared at the wall. "Foolish knight, what madness has taken you that you appear so brazenly at the gates of Sunny Side?"

Cyborg brandished his lance. "I have come for revenge against the kingdom of Egg People! Surrender your waffles, or I shall take them by force!"

The guard sneered, and soon more eggs appeared at the walls, laughing their yolks off at the lone enemy.

"You seek to attack us? I'll see you soft boiled before the day is done, knave!"

The drawbridge fell with a crash, and Cyborg's face broke into a smile. "I think not, prepare to be scrambled!"

He gave a snap of the reins, and his green stallion gave what sounded like a whinnying version of 'dude.' They galloped across the bridge, ready to-

"Cyborg!"

The metallic teen's eyes snapped open and he gazed around in bewilderment. As his eyes came to rest on Robin, he unhappily realized that he had been awakened from one of his strangest, yet most delicious dreams ever.

He sighed and put a hand to his forehead. "Man, why'd you have to do that Rob? I was almost there! Just think, all those waffles, mine to control!" His whining tapered off as his thoughts turned once again to batter and syrup.

Robin groaned. "Cyborg, this is no time for complaining! I think Beast Boy's in trouble."

Cyborg's attitude sobered in an instant. "What's going on? What's wrong with B?"

"I don't know. I found him in his room after he fell off the bed. I thought he was having a nightmare, but he was shaking and twitching, and I couldn't snap him out of it."

Cyborg was already typing away at his computer, bringing the med-lab's systems online and keying them to Beast Boy's persona. Hitting a final key, he turned back to Robin, his eyes set and determined.

"Let's go."


Beast Boy stared at the woman before him, trying to focus through the painful haze that still gripped his body. She was taller than him, and though her white cloak covered her from view, he had a clear look at her face. The purple hair and gemstone on her brow immediately turned his thoughts to Raven, but something was off. Her skin was different, and her face was lined and aged in a way that Raven's was not.

He tried to speak, but the pain from his battered jaw halted the question. Trying again, he voiced his concerns on a far more pressing issue.

"Rage… where did she-"

The woman smiled and sank down beside him, resting a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "Relax; she cannot hurt you any longer. I have dispelled her."

Beast Boy's mouth fell open in shock. "What do you mean dispelled?"

"You are not truly within her mind. This is but a vision of the future, an illusion forged to assail your will."

He struggled to think clearly, fighting through the exhaustion to comprehend what was being said.

"The future… does that mean you're Raven once she's grown up?"

She laughed; it was a warm and soothing sound, and he found his thoughts clouding further as he relaxed.

"No, I am not her. You might say, however, that she will look quite similar to me in time."

Beast Boy studied her curiously. "You're related?"

"Indeed so. I am her mother, Arella."

His eyes were as wide as saucers. "Y… you're… but… she…"

"Yes. Though you were not aware of my presence, I have watched over Raven and her small family for some time. Thus I became aware of your entrapment in this dream world, and came to offer my aid.

Beast Boy exhaled slowly. "I'm glad you did. Rage, I think she was going to kill me. She kept saying this was my fault, but I don't even know what happened."

Arella's face fell. "As I said, this vision is of the future, one in which Raven was lost to her father's influence. You have seen the statues, have you not? Raven has been stripped of her personality, placed into a state where she feels and knows only the one emotion that remains."

"You mean Rage."

"Correct. Her demonic nature controls her, making her a willing servant to Trigon."

Beast Boy started at the name, and the soothing warmth that was pressing down on him vanished. "Wait, he's the one who sent me here, isn't he? He's trying to get into my head, isn't he? That's why he's wearing me down!"

He tried to scramble to his feet, only to feel a renewed wave of pain and nausea roll over him. He fell to his knees, coughing and retching in the dust, when a light touch settled over his back. Relief washed over him as Arella rubbed his back soothingly. He relaxed into her touch, memories of his own mother's care beginning to bleed into his thoughts.

"Be still," she urged. "All will be well."

He felt his head beginning to droop as his mother embraced him. But no, this was Raven's mother, wasn't it? The warmth seemed to press harder, and he realized it didn't matter. A mother was a mother, after all. A frown crossed his face, and he shook his head once as if to clear his mind.

"I have to get out of here, I can't let Trigon get into me," he protested.

Her voice was soft and insistent. "There is nothing you can do, he cannot be resisted."

Fear took hold of his thoughts, and in a panic he leapt to his feet, the pain all but forgotten.

"No, no that can't be right. There must be something we can do. You said you were here to help me!"

"And so I am," her tone was apologetic. "Even now, Trigon seeks to establish a link between your minds, and my influence is all that shields you."

"But that's perfect," he insisted. "Trigon told me that he can't stay in this world for very long at a time. Can't you just keep him out long enough that he gets sucked back into that library?"

Arella shook her head. "My powers are as nothing to his. He is relentless, smashing against my defenses like waves upon the shore. I can only delay him, I cannot stop him."

It was all Beast Boy could do to keep his voice from trembling. "So I have to stand by and let him take me over?"

"I am sorry, but he is fixated upon you, and will stop at nothing to form this bond."

"But why," he demanded. "Why am I so damned important to him?"

"This is not Trigon's first attempt at entering this world, nor are you the first to be bonded to him in such a way. But where he and his servants failed in the past, this time he will succeed."

"It's because I'm Raven's friend," Beast Boy said softly. "Trigon told me that he'd previously created the means to release himself, and you mentioned that this illusion showed what would happen if Trigon ever took control of her. It's through me, right? That's what he wants to use me for."

"You are perceptive," Arella said as she stepped towards him. "Yes, it was prophesied that Trigon would be released by Raven's hand. He seeks to use you to observe her, to discern her weakness. An unknown individual would only cause suspicion, but not one of her closest friends."

"But what can I do to stop him? Should I stay away from Raven?"

Arella's expression became grave. "Certainly not. As I have said, Trigon commands many servants in this world. For you to leave her side would be to leave her to their mercy."

She knelt down before him, her eyes level with his own. "You must listen, and listen well, for what I tell you now is unknown even to Trigon. The prophecy states that Raven will become his portal, this is true. However, it was foretold that she would not be alone. It speaks of a companion, one whom the portal would trust above all others. It was this being's fate to assist her, to give her the conviction to act when all her strength and will had vanished. That person is you."

Beast Boy's eyes widened in realization. "Wait, wait! You mean I'm wrapped up in this thing too? But I don't even know about the prophecy, or Trigon, or anything? I don't know what I'm supposed to do!"

Arella pulled him into a gentle embrace, resting his head against her shoulder. "I know, and I am sorry. It is never easy to be a child of fate. In truth, even I know not what you must do. You can only be vigilant, watching for Raven and Trigon to act and trusting that you will know what to do when the time comes."

He wanted to ask her more questions, but the warmth was bearing down on him again, stronger and more enshrouding than before. He tried to pull back, but her arms locked around him, and he was starting to forget what he'd even wanted to say.

His eyelids were getting heavy, and as the world blurred and lost focus, he let himself drift away.


The bedroom door had barely enough time to open before Cyborg rushed inside. Dropping down beside Beast Boy, he quickly began assessing his condition.

"Alright, airway's unobstructed, breathing seems regular, circulation normal." Satisfied that his friend was stable, he made a quick scan for any injuries that would preclude him from moving the body. He paused in his work as Robin's voice rang out from his communicator.

"Cyborg, the med-lab's all ready to go. Do you know if we can move him?"

"Sure can Rob," Cyborg replied as he lifted Beast Boy off the bed. "I'm bringing him down now; I want you to call up BB's medical file and prepare for an EEG scan as soon as we're there."

Quickening his pace, he gave the boy in his arms a troubled look. According to Robin, Beast Boy had been thrashing around like crazy only minutes ago. Now, he seemed all but catatonic. This didn't look good.

Coming into the med-lab, he quickly laid Beast Boy down on the examination table before motioning Robin over.

"Alright, generally one of these EEG readings takes about half an hour, so in the meantime we're going to see what we can find out about those spasms you mentioned." He turned to the screens in front of them, cycling through data so quickly that Robin was finally forced to turn away or risk motion sickness.

Choosing instead to keep an eye on Beast Boy, he settled down on a nearby chair and waited for Cyborg to call on him. Minute by minute, his eyelids began to droop, and maybe it was just his imagination as he dozed off, but he could have sworn he saw red lights around Beast Boy's head.

"Rob, yo Rob! Wake up man!"

The Boy Wonder bolted upright at the noise, looking directly into Cyborg's amused face.

"Heh, overworked and under-rested, huh? You'd better watch out or it's gonna be you on that table next."

Robin was on his feet in an instant. "You figured it out then?"

"One step at a time, chief," Cyborg advised as he led Robin to the computer terminals. "Now, based on BB's medical history, the day's events and your account of his symptoms, I think we can rule out epileptic and most psychogenic seizures. Now it's just a guess, but from what you've mentioned it sounds like some form of parasomnia, most likely night terrors. It fits in with everything that's happened today, and would explain why you were unable to wake him up on your own."

"So if that's the problem, how do we fix it?"

Cyborg smiled. "Luckily, pavor nocturnus isn't extremely difficult to treat, since it's caused primarily by external factors. Assuming everything looks clear on the EEG, we'll go from there."

The smile faded. "Right now, BB's got a fairly normal sleep-wave cycle going on; it's deep, and I mean really deep. This fits in well with the parasomnia theory. If you look at the delta waves, you can see that the green bean's about as out of it as you can possibly get. Since most of those disorders occur in the deepest periods of sleep, it makes it almost certain that we're dealing with something of that nature."

Robin frowned and looked closer at the graph. "But it hardly took me any time at all to get from his room down to yours, and in that time he went from thrashing around like a madman to being completely at rest. Is that still normal in this case?"

Cyborg shrugged. "It fits with the theory. Generally it's caused by an abrupt awakening that eventually settles back into normal sleep. There's not usually an in-between period where they'd actually wake up. They go from one, straight to the other."

"So more than likely, he's going to be alright?"

"Completely fine," Cyborg said with a grin. "I'm glad you were there to notice and let me know, but it's probably not a cause for alarm. I'll check in on the little guy just to be safe, but with any luck we'll get this thing straightened out no problem."

Robin managed a weak smile as Cyborg led him from the room. "Thanks, doc."


Trigon scowled as the two finally departed. These constant interruptions were becoming problematic. Twice now he had been forced to abandon his manipulations, and the lost time was bringing him closer to being pulled back into his prison.

It seemed, however, that his efforts were successful. The boy's defenses had finally fallen, and his consciousness was all but nonexistent. There would be nothing to halt their joining this time.

Once again, Trigon pushed through the portal and into the mortal world. Though his body was beginning to dissipate, he needed only to make physical contact to begin the process. A tendril of smoke snaked across the boy's forehead, and this time there was no resistance. Trigon's essence flooded the boy's mind, and their auras began to merge.

"The first task is complete, master." a voice cut through his thoughts, forced obedience mixed with a thinly veiled scorn. Trigon laughed to himself as Slade continued to speak.

"The message has been sent; the inscriptions are in place. She knows what she must do."

"You have done well, my servant. But your tasks are not yet finished," Trigon chided as he continued linking their minds. "You know of your second task, do you not?"

Only silence greeted him, and anger filled him at the thought of dissent. "SLAVE! ANSWER ME!" There was no response, and Trigon furiously turned his gaze from the boy. What he felt shook him to his very core.

The bridge to Slade's mind was unraveling, the strand of magic between them frayed and breaking. Trigon quickly turned his attention to the countless other links which he held with his allies throughout the universe. His shock increased as he saw that many of the bonds had already snapped, their strength rapidly waning. Only one strand was unaffected, and it seemed to grow while the others died: his link with this boy.

Trigon tore himself away from the boy's mind, his thoughts racing and disorganized at the impossibility that had just occurred. He had bridged his consciousness with hundreds, thousands of mortals in the course of his conquests. He had infused and severed them with ease. But this boy… was different. His other connections had simply dissolved, as though the link to the child's mind was sealing around them, becoming permanent and unbreakable. This had never before happened; this was not supposed to happen.

"Master," Slade's voice was dim and weak, but he had pulled away before it could be cut. He ignored his minion's calls, instead focusing on the dilemma that lay before him. Tentatively, he reached forwards, his focus intently on the other surviving threads. As before, they began to wither at the moment his aura made contact. Whatever this boy was, merging with him would be a difficult task, and not one easily reversed.

Trigon glared down at the boy as an unfamiliar feeling began to churn in his mind. Certainly not fright, for of course Trigon the Terrible had nothing in this universe to fear. It was uncertainty; the possibility that this boy was removed from his plans, somehow outside his control.

No. Even if this was the boy from the prophecy, it was not fate that brought him to this point. Trigon had set these events in motion. Trigon ordered Slade to send him crashing into the library. TRIGON followed him to this tower and manipulated his very thoughts. TRIGON WAS THE ONE IN CONTROL!

His eyes filled with anger as he looked over the sleeping child. This made no sense. He should not have been forced to expend such energy invading his mind. He should not be forced to establish this bond at the cost of the others. This boy represented the unknown, the idea that he was not the one controlling the events and fate of this world. This uncertainty was new and unfamiliar, and he hated it. He hated the idea of not knowing, of the idea that there were those outside his reach and his influence, the idea that he could be disobeyed, confronted, defeated.

His power flared as motes of energy surrounded the boy. He would kill him. Yes, he would show this boy and this world that there was nothing beyond his control. All things proceeded at his whim, and any who believed otherwise were sorely mistaken.

Yes.

It was a simple matter, to reassert his dominance. The motes flashed into glowing needles, each pointed straight at the heart. A mental twist would crush the boy into a mass of blood and pulp. The unknown would be gone, and so too would this terrible doubt and unease that could never be fear, for why should one such as Trigon be afraid of a mere mortal?

"Master?" Slade's voice broke through the wall of anger, and Trigon paused. He looked down, realized what he had been about to do, and he quickly dispelled his magic. What had he been thinking? He had almost killed the boy, almost destroyed his greatest chance for success!

His anger fading, he reconsidered the child, and found there was no cause for alarm. There was nothing outside his reach, least of all this newest puppet. There were unexpected factors, true, but they would simply fall into his plans in a way that he could not yet see.

He had procrastinated too long, and his time was growing short.

"Slave, hear me. You are to proceed as you have been ordered. You know your tasks, and you know where and when they are to be carried out. We will not speak for some time, but you will fulfill your purpose regardless."

He ignored Slade's questions and turned back to his link with Beast Boy, all his uncertainties gone. He dove fully into the child's mind, feeling the last lingering connections snap and break. Soon there was only the bridge between them.

Trigon smiled. "You are mine."

The thick, grey smoke that carried the essence of Trigon fell over Beast Boy like a shroud. The smog settled onto his skin before entering through his pores. As the last traces of the smoke vanished, his body gave one last shudder before falling still.

The darkness of the med-lab was momentarily lit as a red, bloody glow came from Beast Boy's forehead. As quickly as it appeared, the Mark of Scath vanished.


This chapter was pretty difficult for me. Unlike the previous ones, this is where the first major foreshadowing takes place, as well as setting the stage for the next main area of the story. As such, I wanted to add a few more light-hearted moments to what would otherwise be an overly somber chapter, hence the Robin and Cyborg sections. Hopefully nobody finds these too jarring or out of place.

Read, review, eat drink and be merry, have a happy holidays and I'll you all next year!

Cro