Beast Boy clawed at the ground, trying to get himself back upright. His legs were being pulled, his body dragged unceremoniously backward on his stomach. The dust he was kicking up left a dirty taste in his mouth, and all the while he had to keep his eyes closed.

"Why-" spit. "Did it have to-" spit. "Be a snake lady?" He spit more dirt out of his mouth and felt a rock hit his adam's apple. He hissed in pain, trying not to swallow.

When Robin's gate was still closed, he'd fallen asleep for what felt like only ten minutes against that old oak tree. His stamina had raised exponentially and when he awoke to the sound of the gate opening, he was pumped and ready to go. He wasn't expecting the thing he was fighting to be a thirty foot long centipede demon, witch-looking gorgon! As soon as he'd saw her, he felt his left elbow become stone. He immediately closed his eyes and they'd been closed ever since.

Forget about searching for a good spell card or trap card. He was all alone with his animal hearing on this one. Now he was belly down on the battlefield, being dragged backward into what he could only assume were her waiting jaws.

The thought of being eaten by that ugly thing alone was enough to make his stomach turn.

So turn he did, onto his back. The flip and shift in weight made the monster lose her grip and he scurried backward as a scarab beetle, scurrying as far away as possible from the witch-ipede. He scarab-laughed at his own label for her, which really just sounded like soft clicking. He finally made it to some tall grass and became even smaller, a fly buzzing its way through dandelions. He was able to see at least, and hopefully she wouldn't be able to find his eyes when they were this small.

It was as a fly that he planned his attack.

A quick skip beside her and he was at her back. The buzzing he gave off distracted her, but he stayed out of sight. He dared not look at her face, but the rattling tail was what he was after. All at once he became a star-nosed mole and dug beneath the hissing snake woman. She slithered above him, and as a blind animal, his hearing was able to pick up where she was. When the opportunity arose, he morphed into a mongoose, and bit off the end of her tail.

The snake woman screamed, sounding like a pipe that was spitting steam and hot water. Beast Boy spit out the end of her tail and grabbed on again, staying attached. While her powers may allow her to blind him, she didn't have much in the way of attack. Knowing the statistical edge he had on her, he used his assassin ability and critical strike to weaken her. Finally, when he thought it was safe, Beast Boy returned to his human form and played the card: Backstab. He pulled his assassin's hood over his head and heard the monster screech. Then there was only silence.

He lowered his hood as slowly as possible, carefully examining the fallen monster. She was nothing but stone and ash, crackling on the ground. Beast Boy breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew. That was nasty." He smiled a fang-y grin and pulled the hood off of his head. "Wish I didn't have to keep walking, though." He sighed and started going. He would get to the final boss battle, and Cyborg's gate would be waiting for him. He wondered what Cyborg was up against.

...

"Oh, no no no…" Cyborg took in the sight around him. The kitchen was littered with his friends. They were all slumped on the floor and over their forgotten game pieces. A dark dragon piece sat obnoxiously in the middle of the table, mocking him. He couldn't believe how much he had to use the bathroom, so he ran there first. After he returned to the kitchen he rushed to Starfire whose arm was twisted behind her as she slept. It was definitely going to be sore the next day. Once he laid her out on the couch he went to Raven next. She was burning up, shivering, her skin paler than ever. He could smell the sweat on her, and her eyes were tearing up from the sickness; crusty and swollen.

And it was all his fault.

He'd died in the game, it was all over! Beast Boy Couldn't win now! How were they going to get Raven home?

Cyborg rushed Raven off to the sick bay first, laying her down gently in one of the hospital beds there. He hooked her up to some IV's and ran a metal hand over her sweaty hair. Cyborg's heart beat quickly, worried that if they didn't get her out soon, she wouldn't recover well. She might have permanent damage in her head from the fever, an ear infection from swelling, maybe hearing damage. Untreated colds and flus were more dangerous than people thought, but Cyborg wasn't sure he or his equipment could help her any more than she could.

Usually she'd heal herself, but since her mind was trapped somewhere else, her powers were probably dormant. Malchior might even have turned them off or stopped them somehow. She was affected just like any other human would be. Cold, shivering, sweating and burning all at the same time. Cyborg's heart wasn't always worried, but sad for her. He bent down and touched her forehead with his.

"No worries, girl. We got this." He whispered. One of his two little sisters, always in trouble. "After this is over, I promise I'll always wake up when you need me. Yeah?" He sniffed a bit and covered her with a blanket, checked her stats and then gently shut the door.

Cyborg didn't wonder why he was alive instead of dead. He'd been lied to enough times by villains to stop being surprised by these things. It was all just a trick to keep them motivated. Instead, he picked up Robin and Beast Boy, laying them down with Starfire more comfortably than when they were slumped on the chairs and the floor. Now all three were comatose on the couch, and Cyborg just… didn't know where to go from there.

"I can't believe I lost to a big cat." He sighed, leaning against the kitchen counter. There had to be something he could do. Since he lost, his gate would never open for Beast Boy. What would they do then? He picked up an apple from the counter, chewing it worriedly. He thought about Raven, shivering and alone in her hospital bed. Why did it always seem like she ended up in a hospital bed? He tapped the counter beneath him, the sound echoing in the quiet room.

What am I going to do...

...

Robin was surprised that he was still in the game. He wasn't sure what would have happened when he defeated the dragon (the old man had been pretty vague on that part), but he was determined to see where this path took him. A faster path down the mountain returned him to the forest and now he was running through a hidden deer trail through the trees. Suddenly, in the sky he saw something shoot past.

"Starfire? Starfire!" He called. The 'something' in the sky turned and shot toward him. He was crushed in an adorable bear hug.

"Robin!" She gushed. "You are unharmed!"

He smiled and hugged her back the best he could. "Yeah, I'm fine, Star."

"As am I!" She beamed. "I have brought forth a large winged rat!"

Robin cringed. "Um, what?"

The large bat that she summoned in the cave hung happily from the nearest pine. It chirped a little and fluffed its wings. Robin half smiled. "Oh, cool."

"Where is Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy?" Starfire asked. Robin smiled at her gorgeous green eyes.

"I don't know, Star. We should probably keep going." He pointed down the path.

Starfire nodded. "We should fly." She grabbed his hand gently. "Come with me?"

He smiled. "Always."

They found Beast Boy quicker than they thought. They found him running in human form toward a large gate in the distance. It cast a shadow in the fading sun, the rising moon glimmering an ominous red in the distance. Beast Boy didn't see them coming, but when they touched down in front of him he was thrilled.

"Dudes! Hey!"

And a little confused.

"Uh, what are you doing here?" He scrunched his face up in a puzzled expression.

Robin wasn't sure himself. "I don't know, you were supposed to finish these trials alone."

"I can, I am…" Beast Boy bristled a little. He could do this himself, he didn't need any help. "I'm almost there, you guys don't have to be here."

Robin shook his head. "No, I mean you were supposed to finish alone, but we're here...why are we here?"

Beast Boy looked at them. "Why the heck do you think that I know?"

Starfire frowned. "Should we not continue to the next gate?"

The boys nodded and they all ran together. When they got to the gate they gazed up at the image of Cyborg wrestling with a great, midnight black lion with a white tuft of fur on its tail. They all gasped, Starfire covered her mouth in shock, when they all realized that the lion was biting Cyborg's throat.

"No…" Starfire whispered.

Beast Boy shook his head. "That doesn't mean anything, you know? It's just supposed to scare us…"

Robin ran a hand through his hair. "If it isn't, if it's real?"

Beast Boy shivered. "We lose…"

...

"Oh, dear." Malchior tapped his knight around a small chess board he was playing on the side of his armchair. Raven felt like knocking it over; he was acting like her friend's misery was boring him. "I didn't see that one coming."

Neither did she.

"He did his best." Raven whispered as Cyborg's piece faded from the game. His figure, the huge axe, glorious armor, all fading from their reality. She hoped, in her heart of hearts, that it wouldn't be the last she ever saw of him. "What happens now?"

"Now?" Malchior grinned at his chess game. "Now it's checkmate, my love. There's no way Beast Boy can win his battles if Cyborg lost his own. The gate won't open. The game is over." He tapped the pieces one last time and Raven could see from the couch that on his little board it really was checkmate. Her heart skipped a beat in fear.

He was before her as soon as she blinked, pulling the white grimoire blanket from her body, releasing her. She felt nothing. No resurgence of magic; nothing. She was still powerless.

"Why did you release me? What...what happened to my power?" She flexed her fingers and shakily rose to her feet. "It isn't over, the game is not over." She growled at him. It couldn't be.

Malchior shrugged. He gave her a pitying look and put his hands on her shoulders, steadying her. "I told you I'd be your shoulder to cry on when your little friends failed you. Here I am, love." He grinned, his face cracking, the horn in his head getting a matching partner with every passing minute. A little bit of purple was showing in his hair. The poor man's body he'd taken was being destroyed, along with her hopes.

"No, Beast Boy...h-he can still win." She felt herself starting to slur her words.

Malchior's fingers rubbed her shoulders gently, massaging the soreness of her skin. His green eyes were hypnotic. She didn't know if it was her sickness or his magic, but she was starting to get dizzy. Her newly stretched legs were getting woozy, her head making her sick to her stomach.

"Hold onto me, love. You're not well." Malchior pulled her into a cold embrace. On instinct or his magical manipulation over her, Raven felt herself pulling her arms around his waist and bringing him closer. He was strong, she hated to admit. His sheer power in the face of her own tapped reserves was daunting.

"M-my powers…" She whispered into his chest.

"Ah, about that," He began. "Unfortunately, per our deal and your friends' utter failures, I get to keep you. We'll go back to your world for your body, don't worry. For right now, though, your soul is mine. As is your power, your strength…" He tilted her chin up from his chest to meet his eyes. "And your mind." Slowly, but roughly, he kissed her.

Raven had once dreamed of kissing Malchior. Well, Rorek honestly. She'd seen his picture in the book, had dreamed of his lips, his hands on her. At one point in her younger years, it had been literally all she'd ever wanted. She'd imagined that he would whisk her away to a land of powerful spells, infinite wisdom and understanding. She'd imagined that when they finally kissed, she'd feel accepted. Home.

This was not that. Not at all.

Raven had a home now, one that she loved more than anything. He was taking it from her, and she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't blame her friends, only herself. She blamed herself for being too weak to trap him, to confine him to that ancient tome. She hated how weak she was in this moment. The worst part of all? She had to let him kiss her, because she didn't have any feeling left in her arms or her legs.

"Sleepy, darling?" He asked, his breath cold and sharp on her mouth. "Rest. I'll take care of you, forever. I promise."

Forever? Raven thought, her head dimming, the world around her spinning. Malchior's reality was crumbling, the facade of the game turning back into a blank dimension. Forever is a very long time.