Okay, the twelfth chapter. I must say, I had quite a rollercoaster ride trying to write it, but I think it's pretty good. This story is winding down, in case you hadn't figured that out yet ;) I'm thinking there will probably be only two or three more chapters. This one's the longest yet! WOOT! Almost four thousand words! But this was an excellent chapter to write on Christmas (sort of), although a bit depressing. I didn't exactly reach my goal of posting this chapter before Christmas, did I?
In reply to most of your guy's guesses of my age, I'm still confused as to where NyokoKuro found it. Anyway, my maturity level (this is going to sound conceited *facepalm*) is that of probably an 18-year-old. My innocence level however, is similar to someone that's ten. So… you're all kind of right in a way, I guess.
Linzerj: Unfortunately, you'd be right. This isn't going to end well…
Muroun: It's nice to get more than one sentence from a new reader :D. Glad you've joined the ride, although it might end up being a bit bumpy ;)
Okay, on with the story, but I have one thing to say, a sort of metaphor if you will although it's probably not going to make any sense: When you shoot a rock at the sky with a slingshot, you have to pull the rock down as far as possible to get it to go the highest. (Just think about it.)
By the way, the reason I didn't post this on Christmas, when I actually finished it, is because it's kind of sad. I didn't want to ruin anyone's day.
Uh, one more thing. Whatever happens at the end of this chapter, I implore you to keep reading. Enjoy! Sort of…
Raven gaped at him.
"Ah… See, you do remember me! After all this time, you still haven't forgotten…" his voice went from pleased to cruel. "How you trusted me. How I broke your heart."
Raven clenched her jaw, refusing to let him see how much his betrayal had shaken her.
"That's funny; I distinctly remember that it was I who defeated you. I cursed you to that book forever, yet here you stand." She stated as she crossed her arms, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
"Mm. Yes, that is true, but you are not the only one in the universe powerful enough to break a curse. Unfortunately, the dimwit who freed me turned me into this in the process." He said, gesturing to his unnatural form.
Raven smirked at such an obvious failure, although by now she was only acting.
"Smile all you like, miss, but even without my true self, I can still break you." Raven could feel her heartbeat spike at his words. He could have any number of tricks up his sleeves. She only hoped she was capable of fighting him alone. Like a fool, she had left her communicator at the tower. No one was coming to save her this time.
Malchior smiled sadistically, opening one of his lizard-like claws to reveal a bright red stone, glimmering softly like a hot coal.
Raven's eyes widened uncontrollably. It was a Dolon stone. Under normal circumstances, it would have simply been a ruby, but this stone had been enchanted, given special abilities that unfortunately included the ability to cause pain in others. Depending on the power of the enchantment, it could cause its victim enough pain to induce a coma. She could only hope that whoever had enchanted this one hadn't had enough power to cause that much damage.
"I'm surprised you are so afraid of it, Raven. After all, you have experienced its effects already."
She couldn't help but be confused. "I have?"
"Of course. You didn't think all that pain, what I believe you referred to as "attacks", was natural, did you?" he said, teeth gleaming like sharpened blades. Raven let out a sigh, partly in relief that the pain hadn't been a sign of something more serious, partly hopelessness, as she remembered that she'd lost consciousness multiple times under the stone's effects. The enchantment was fairly strong, and she couldn't even know how strong. There was no way of telling whether Malchior had already used it to its full potential or not.
She took an involuntary step back, bumping into the brick wall behind her. "Why are you doing this?" she demanded. Her heart sank as she came to a startling realization that she was in far over her head.
"Why should I take the time to answer when you will find out soon enough?" he asked, holding up the stone.
Raven's eyes widened with shock as the burning hold of the stone wrapped around her, forcing fire through every nerve. She pulled in a sharp breath of air, wishing the pain would stop with everything she had. This was like the time when Slade had planted probes in each of the Titans' blood to get Robin to do what he wanted, only ten times worse.
She gritted her teeth, wrapping her arms around herself and clenching her fists as tight as they would go as she sank to her knees. Through eyes brimming with unwelcome tears, she looked up at Malchior once again with her teeth bared, determined not to look like a puppy that had just been kicked.
Malchior smiled pleasantly down at her, lifting one claw to the brick wall beside them. On it, he drew a circle, about four feet in diameter. He pressed his palm flat against the brick. "Hesha carell tez." The brick disappeared, leaving behind a glowing dark blue portal.
Malchior delivered a sharp kick to her side, gesturing toward the portal. "Go on." Raven glared at him in defiance, but complied when he held up the stone, threatening to make the pain worse.
The portal opened up into what resembled a massive rectangle, made of glass, behind which was nothing but fire.
"I'm sure you remember that dream you had a few weeks ago? The one about your father?" Malchior asked as he stepped in behind her. He loosened his grip on the stone, allowing her to answer.
"What are you talking about?" Raven asked between gasps. The less Malchior knew, the better.
She tried to force herself to her feet, but collapsed once again when the very floor beneath her started to shift.
"Don't play dumb, Raven. Over the time I've been out of that cursed book, I've come to know your father quite well."
"How do you know about Trigon?" she asked, unable to overcome her confusion.
"Why wouldn't I? After all, it was one of his… associates that helped me to escape the prison you put me in. It's amazing that I never found out that you were his daughter. You had so much potential."
"What have you offered him in return for releasing you?" she asked. Her father would only do a thing like that if there were something in it for him.
Malchior only smiled as he continued to look down on her. He raised the stone once again, clenching it so hard that Raven felt as if she'd been electrocuted. "You."
Beast Boy stood frozen to the building as he listened to the conversation being carried out on the street below. His mouth fell open as Raven said the name.
So it's Malchior. I should have known.
The rest happened too fast to keep track of, and he craned his neck to see as Malchior jostled her into the portal.
Beast Boy pushed off of the building as hard as he could, swooping downward to follow them. It was more of an afterthought when he remembered Robin's warning, and he shrugged it off. Raven was in trouble. He had more important things to do than worry about getting kicked off the team.
The portal closed directly behind him.
His eyes opened to the same flaming scene, only this time, Malchior was standing before him, with Raven collapsed behind. Beast Boy morphed into a tiger, swiping at Malchior, but his claws did nothing to pierce his armor-like skin.
Malchior used this moment of confusion to plant his hand on Beast Boy's head before cartwheeling over him. In one swift motion, he landed, turned to the side, and swept Beast Boy's legs from underneath him. Beast Boy landed with a grunt, while Malchior dusted his hands.
"Still using brute force, I see. You have yet to learn any true strategy."
Beast Boy narrowed his eyes, changing into a kangaroo and kicking off the ground before reverting back to his human form. "Strategize this." He snarled. No sooner said had he morphed once again into a gorilla than he brought both fists down together on Malchior's head.
Malchior rebounded quickly, shaking the stars from his eyes. He raked his clawed hands along Beast Boy's nose, and scarlet droplets trickled to the glass floor below. Beast Boy stumbled backwards, roaring as he blinked the spray of blood from his eyes.
Malchior smirked, gripping the stone tighter. By now, Raven was too exhausted to scream. All she could do was gasp, taking the air in raggedly.
Beast Boy opened one eye, watching her as she cringed, knowing there was little he could to do to fix it. He shook his head, forcing the other eye open. This is Raven you're fighting for, remember? He straightened up, morphing into a lion and launching himself at Malchior once again.
"Not this time." Malchior said, holding up one hand. Beast Boy landed, skidding to a stop involuntarily. Looking down at his paws in confusion, he tried to take another step toward Malchior, but his paw froze in midair. A look of horror crossed his face, mixed with sudden desperation.
"That's right. I control you." Malchior sneered.
Beast Boy transformed into a bear, but Malchior's control did not waver. He proceeded to transform into a flurry of other animals, but none of them were strong-willed enough to break Malchior's hold. Beast Boy fell to the ground, too exhausted from changing so many times to stand up. He pushed himself back up to a sitting position with his palms braced against the glass, taking a deep breath. Now what?
Malchior walked around the glass room, placing three clawed fingers on each wall as he began the spell.
"Why are you doing this?" Beast Boy asked.
"Ah, that's right. You weren't present when I told her." He said, jerking his reptilian head toward Raven, whose consciousness was fading. "You see, Trigon offered to release me from that retched book. I, in return, am simply bringing him the key to his prison." He said.
Beast Boy gritted his teeth. Trigon? I thought Raven destroyed him.
"But you're probably still wondering how I did it." Malchior said, and Beast Boy sighed as he readied himself for yet another villain monologue.
"Not interested? Are you sure?" He said, conjuring up an image of the rest of the team in a plume of fog. "You don't want to know how I've been controlling your teammates?"
"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked.
"Well, I had to find a way to catch Raven alone. I couldn't control her, as her will is too strong, but I could control the rest of you. Except for Terra of course."
"What did you do to her?"
"I didn't have to do anything. Some puppets don't need strings, Beast Boy. Other than her, I've been controlling your entire team. That includes you."
Beast Boy thought back to the day when they had fought Adonis, how he had been planning to catch Raven, but had caught Terra instead. Come to think of it, any time he had even thought about trying to do something to help Raven, he'd usually ended up forgetting. As he realized how true Malchior's words were, there was nothing he could do but stare at the glass below him. It's all your fault. You let Malchior control you, you didn't stand up for Raven, and now she pays the price for it. And Trigon will take over the universe again. The entire universe is doomed because of you.
Finally getting the nerve to look up, the first thing he saw was Raven, unconscious, her face twisted in pain. Once again, he cast his eyes downward.
Beast Boy clenched his fists, desperate to prove himself wrong, but the proof was before his eyes. He gritted his teeth, refusing to let himself be a puppet in this. Come on, think. Isn't there any form you can take whose will is stronger than your own?
Malchior had already finished the spell, and Beast Boy could see Trigon, although only slightly bigger than a normal human, on the outside of the glass room, banging on the walls. At least the glass held some semblance of a chance.
"As soon as he has broken that wall, then the opposite one, the entire world will cease to exist." Malchior said, a smirk on his face.
"You won't win this battle." Beast Boy said, although he was saying it to assure himself of the fact.
"Are you sure?" Malchior replied. "Tell me, do you remember that time a few weeks ago when the restaurant messed up your drink order?"
"How do you know about that?"
"Why wouldn't I? It was I who poured the potion into your drink, after all. The potion was meant to make you live out your worst nightmare in a dream, but I never knew you would dream of killing her." Malchior chuckled, and finally Beast Boy was able to understand why he had felt so guilty about accidentally clawing Raven. He had to admit that Malchior was right when he had stated what Beast Boy's biggest fear was. He had come close to fulfilling it back in Cyborg's training room. Now he saw that Malchior had probably been the instigator of that episode as well.
"You love her, more than you can even understand. What a sad thought that she'll be dead before the day is done. Too bad the rest of the world will be gone as well. Oh, my, I just thought of something. Certainly your guilt would be even greater if you had killed her yourself!"
Beast Boy's jaw dropped in horror as he felt Malchior tug at the intangible leash around his neck, causing him to morph unwillingly into a saber tooth tiger. Oh God, no. Please, please. Don't make me kill her. He begged, casting a miserable, pleading look at Malchior. Either he didn't catch it, or he simply didn't care, for he forced Beast Boy to his feet with a flick of his wrist.
Beast Boy pulled back with all his might, but he continued to walk toward Raven, who was still lying unconscious on the floor.
"Wait just a moment." Malchior said, forcing Beast Boy to a sudden stop, one paw still in the air. "I want her to be awake for this."
Malchior walked over to her, cupped his hands together, and blew into them. Water ran from his fingertips, splashing onto Raven's face. Her eyes fluttered slightly.
Think, Beast Boy, think. There are innocent lives at stake. Whose will is stronger than my own?
"Alright, she's ready." Malchior said, lifting a hand and motioning for Beast Boy to come forward. Beast Boy did as he was told, but he continued to struggle against every step, feeling guilt begin to churn in his stomach.
Finally, there were no more steps to take, and Malchior balled his hand into a fist. "Gently now, I want to make sure she's still alive when Trigon gets here. And I want her death to be as slow and painful as possible." He said, grinning with this sick source of anticipation.
Beast Boy lowered his head to Raven's body and clenched his jaw with what little strength he had left, but Malchior was simply too strong. His mouth opened slowly, stiffly, revealing two huge fangs.
Dear God, if you can hear me, please end this. I can't do it. I can't stop him. Please, please, I don't want to kill her! He cried. He had never wanted anything so bad in his life, even as Raven's end seemed to be drawing closer and closer, even as all hope seemed to run out.
The two long fangs that had given the saber tooth its name froze centimeters from piercing Raven's skin.
Just like that, he knew. The Beast. The Beast loves Raven, I know it does. But will it be strong enough to stand up against Malchior? I hope so. With that, Beast Boy shattered the barrier separating his mind from the Beast. Pain filtered through him, as if slivers of glass were being pumped through his veins, tearing him apart. He shut his eyes as tight as they would go, gripping the glass beneath him with his claws and doing his best to rake lines down it.
One second passed, then two. Beast Boy opened his eyes again, realizing that somehow, although he was in Beast form, he was still conscious. The Beast had to be letting him keep his human half conscious.
Letting out a primal shriek, he leapt, grabbing Malchior's head with both hands and twisting it sharply to the right. The creature that was Malchior fell to the ground, dead, his face warped into a look of both horror and confusion. Finally, his control had vanished.
"I did it." he whispered to himself, but there was no glory. There was no sense of honor, no valor. There was no victory.
Beast Boy loomed over Malchior's dead body, knowing that he'd had no choice, knowing that he had made Malchior's death as quick as possible, but somehow feeling guilty all the same. The sound of movement behind him brought him back to reality, and he turned to see Raven trying to sit up.
"What's going on?"
Beast Boy morphed back into his human form, shoving away his remorse. "Trigon's trying to break through the glass. If he gets through, and breaks through the other side, we're doomed."
Raven nodded, pulling herself shakily to her feet. "What's the plan?"
"There isn't one."
With a final blow from his huge red fist, Trigon shattered the glass wall.
Raven looked up at her father as he towered above her, feeling an involuntary shiver rush down her spine.
Beast Boy grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly. "Come on, let's do this. Together."
Raven nodded, and the two soared as one, planting four feet in a perfect kick to Trigon's chest, dead center. He stumbled backward, dumbfounded, then shook his head, all four eyes glowing crimson with anger.
Together, they ran at him again, but together, they thudded against the glass walls, feeling every bone inside them creak with the impact. Raven slid to the floor, and Beast Boy ran at Trigon once again, meeting the same end as last time.
Raven watched as he slid to the ground as well, pulled himself up once again, but leaned against the wall for support. After opening a telepathic link to his mind, she projected her thoughts into his brain. "This is getting us nowhere. I have a plan."
A long time ago, back when she was being trained in Azarath, she had been told of her greatest power. Azar's calm, soothing voice floated back to her. "Remember, pain and love are the two strongest emotions. Never use them unless your situation is dire enough to require them."
Raven gritted her teeth, thinking a few more words at Beast Boy. "I'm going to hit him with everything I've got. If it's not enough, you have to finish him off. Stand back."
She took a deep breath, thinking about how much her teammates had hurt her over the past few weeks, how badly she missed Tobey, hearing Beast Boy describe her as "creepy", all the guilt she had suffered through knowing that the death of the entire universe could have been her fault. There was the pain. Taking another breath, she thought about how she had come to think of the Titans as family. They were her best friends, but there was one person who stood out from the rest. He had been the only one to follow her, the only one who truly cared. She remembered the day in the alley vividly, and how she had realized how much she loved him. Of everything, it would be her love for him that she would really use to destroy Trigon. Even with her extensive vocabulary, there were no words to describe how much she loved him. Her only regret was that she would never get to tell him.
It's all or nothing, she reminded herself. Now or never.
With that thought behind her, she summoned every drop of energy from every fiber of her being. Pain like she had never known before swamped through her, following all the power she was pouring out in a blast of white hot energy at Trigon, and she realized that she was in fact pouring herself entirely into this single moment. She fell.
Tears flowed down her face in a surging torrent as a feeling of emptiness settled over her; void, meaningless darkness that she had fought so long to evade, and she formed her last thought with the little strength that remained. Beast Boy.
Beast Boy watched, horrified, as glistening tears slid down her face. He looked back at Trigon, who began to shrink under Raven's steady stream of power, but the light bursting from it forced him to close his eyes.
When he opened them again, he saw her collapsed on the ground. She braced her hands against it, desperately trying to stand, but slumped back down as her strength failed. The sight tugged at his heart, urged him to rush to her side, but Trigon had not yet been defeated. By now, he was the size of a regular human, obviously far less powerful.
Trigon pushed himself to his feet. If looks could kill, Beast Boy thought, I'd be dead right now. Trigon let out a furious roar, charging at him like a bull.
Beast Boy transformed into a rhino to meet him head on, and it was a deadlock for a few moments, until Trigon turned, tossing Beast Boy over his shoulder like an old soda can.
Beast Boy twisted in midair, landing on his feet. He morphed into a gorilla, running at him as fast as he could. The two met, and their fingers interlocked in the most significant games of mercy ever played. Trigon bent Beast Boy's wrists back, forcing him onto one knee as he tried to minimize the pain.
Beast Boy changed once again into a T-Rex and Trigon took a step back, faltering under the dinosaur's shadow. Beast Boy turned quickly, whipping Trigon into the nearest glass wall with his tail.
A crack formed as Trigon smacked into it, and Beast Boy stared in horror as he realized that he had just aided Trigon's escape. Trigon smiled, recovering in time to begin a flurry of assaults at the crack his body had created.
Beast Boy crept up behind him slowly, morphing into a gorilla once again, and raising both fists together above his head, ready to pound Trigon to a bloody pulp. Just as he was bringing his fists down, Trigon disintegrated in a flash of black dust, like some sort of magic trick.
Beast Boy whirled, expecting to find Trigon directly behind him, but there was nothing. Trigon's presence had simply evaporated, even to any animal's well trained senses. The battle was over. He had won?
He closed his eyes, scanning the room with the hearing of a bat. Nothing. Trigon had vanished.
Beast Boy took a deep breath as the adrenaline from the fight caught up to him, opening his eyes once again when he remembered something. Raven
Ice water trickled down his spine in his shock, and he turned around to see her still on the ground, unmoving.
"Raven?" he asked, feeling his heartbeat grow erratic as the worst case scenario popped into his head.
His call received no reply.
Beast Boy ran to her, falling to the ground and pulling her closer as he wiped the tears from her closed eyes.
"Raven, come on, wake up! Quit fooling around, it's time to go home. Raven, wake up!" he said, shaking her softly.
Malchior had been right. He did love Raven, but only now did he truly realize how much. The feeling wasn't new either. He had always loved her, but feeling obligated to love Terra had made him blind.
"Come on, Raven, you can't be gone, not after all we've been through. We destroyed both Malchior and Trigon together! I can't lose you now, not after all that." he cried, as burning tears welled up in his eyes. "I DIDN'T SAVE YOU FOR NOTHING!" he shouted, shaking her harder. There was no response.
"PLEASE!" he begged, as the glass box around them faded, revealing their true surroundings to be exactly where they had started; a half-abandoned street in downtown.
Rain poured down on the sidewalk as the heavy clouds above them released their burden on the city. Lightning exploded like somber fireworks, and thunder followed.
"Wake up," he whispered as his tears mingled with the rain. "Please, wake up."
Beast Boy pulled her as close to him as he could, close enough to listen for her heartbeat. A tiny spark of hope flickered in his heart.
What he heard was far more shocking than any lightning strike in existence, far louder than any thunderclap ever to break the sound barrier; silence.
