Preparation Chapter 21: The World as we Know it, Part IV, a teen titans fanfic

XXI

The World as we Know it, Part IV

Robin groaned as Cyborg picked him up to his feet. His head was aching pretty badly, but he was otherwise relatively unscathed. He looked up in time to see a green form carrying something underneath it. Before he could identify Beast Boy and Speedy for sure, a streak of white and red came to a halt in front of the Boy Wonder. Mas and Menos saluted the Titan as Starfire hovered herself out of a crater higher up. The team assembled there at the sidewalk, most of them with questions about what had occured.

Robin was among them. "Cyborg, what happened?"

"Raven's gone. She took Zerrich with her. I think…I think she's got control again."

"Where did she go?" Robin asked.

"Didn't say. She just told me to slow Trigon down. That…he'd chase her eventually."

"You mean…she's trying to get away?" Speedy queried.

"No," Cyborg shook his head. "I think she wants us to stall him. She said to slow him down as long as we could."

"Then, Raven has a plan," Starfire added. "She needs time. We must give it to her."

"Then it's back to business as usual," Beast Boy stated.

"Do we even know what Raven is planning to do?" Speedy asked.

"Didn't say that either," Cyborg answered. "But it's her father. She's got to know something that can stop him."

"Um…'kay, and she didn't want to tell us until now?" Beast Boy added.

"What if she's figured something out?" Robin added. "Maybe she got in her father's head—saw something there that can help." Hell, she's been inside mine…

"Hey," Cyborg said, "It's Raven. If there's anything that can stop her father, she'll know what to do."

Raven did not know what to do.

The young Titan girl sat on the ground, her right leg tucked under her. She held Zerrich's head in her lap as she conducted a healing spell as best she could. Her strength was quite normal, but Zerrich simply refused to respond to the treatment. He was still unconscious on the ground, and it had been at least ten minutes.

She half-worried that he had automatically gone into his own healing trance. That meant she wouldn't know exactly when he'd wake up. The thought occurred to her to stop with her attempts, figuring them redundant if he was healing himself. She would need to save her energy. But, what if he wasn't in a trance?

Raven decided to concentrate on Zerrich. She did not dare look up at her surroundings. The destruction had long settled; their fires burned out. The yellow-orange sky was filled with more than just a light haze from it. What was left looked dreadful. Even the dirt under her felt ruined, destroyed. Farther away was the giant land mass dug half into the ground. She used to call it home. It used to be the great City of Azarath.

Now, it was gone. Everything she remembered, grew up with, was destroyed. All she had to do was look upon it once. She did not look up at any of it again. She couldn't trust her emotions. Raven concentrated more on Zerrich.

"Hnnf," came an odd noise from the man below her. His hand rose to his chest, and he groaned again.

"Zerrich?" she whispered.

His eyes opened slowly, looking up at Raven. They locked onto hers for a moment, and she could tell he was gauging her.

"I'm better now," Raven assured him.

"I…just want to be sure."

"How do you feel?"

"I'm okay. I was hearing…voices."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Voices?"

"I've been hearing them all day, since Trigon's arrival. They were much clearer just now, but…"

Zerrich grunted again as he peeled himself out of Raven's lap. His hand went straight to his head, rubbing his temples. It was another few moments before he finally looked at his surroundings.

"It was the only place I could think of," Raven answered before he could say anything. She watched as he took another moment or so, absorbing the sight. For him it was the second time, but that still did little to help prepare him.

"Why…why did we leave?"

Raven sighed. "Even after what you did, my father would have taken control of me again. It wouldn't have been through my mind, but I still wouldn't have been ab—"

"Wait," Zerrich interrupted. "Hold on…exactly how did we leave?"

Raven paused a moment. "When my father had control of me, I could see into his mind. I realized something through his thoughts. He used me to create the barrier. He was able to because I'm his daughter. And because he is my father—because I share his blood—I realized I could pass through the barrier just as he could."

Zerrich looked over at Raven. "And you hadn't figured this out before?"

"I thought that I couldn't. When I transport myself through my dimensional portals, I have to sense where I want to end up…to a degree. I tried sensing past the barrier and couldn't. But, that was because it required a greater magic—something much deeper within me."

Zerrich nodded slowly, digesting Raven's words. "How did you lose control? What happened?"

Raven turned her head away, looking to the ground. "It was a trap. All those spells he taught me. He wanted me to use them. He couldn't beat me in the real world, so he set me up to lose in my own mind. He knew I'd be tempted to use those spells again."

Raven could feel Zerrich looking at her. She wanted to look back, but she couldn't.

"I saw him there," Zerrich said. "I mean, I don't think it was Malchior, exactly. It was some representation of the spell that had you under control. I watched it disintegrate before I was cast out of your head."

Raven did look up at Zerrich now. "Thank you. Thank you for saving me."

They both said nothing further for a few moments. Zerrich was the first to stand up. Raven looked up at him as he offered his hands. She took them, letting him lift her to her feet.

"Do we have a plan?"

Raven shook her head. "I do know that the barrier will collapse on its own."

"How?"

"The barrier spell is cast around the individual that invokes it. Like most spells, it requires the person's presence to maintain itself. Without me, it will fall apart."

"How long will it take?"

"A few hours. But Trigon won't wait for it. He'll be coming here to bring me back."

"He needs the barrier that bad?"

"He's still weak. The chance of Earth's combined strength stopping him is very slim, but my father is not stupid. He won't risk it."

"And when he gets here…"

"He'll take control of me, only this time on his own."

"Come on," Zerrich practically yanked her by the arm as he began running. Raven quickly saw the ruined City of Azarath directly in their path, and her instincts nearly dug her heals into the ground.

"What are we doing? We're going…going to…"

"There must be remnants left somewhere," Zerrich said. "We need to get enough supplies to rebuild that ward."

"Zerrich, what good will that do? We don't even have a plan."

"We'll worry about that later. Let's take the steps we can for now."

With little effort, both of them lifted into the air and flew to the city ruins.

Flying at night over the building tops was usually a joy for Beast Boy, but it was anything but joyous at the moment. The further along they flew, the more beat up the buildings were becoming. It was the first sign of their approach on Trigon. Beast Boy's pterodactyl form kept up with Cyborg as the hybrid Titan flew along on his jetpack. The buildings began to shrink in general size as they neared the docks, Trigon's lumbering form visible further off. He was just standing there in the ocean, his back to the city.

"He's gaining strength," Cyborg said, though it wasn't necessary. "I say we should be a little bit more exact in our approach."

Beast Boy turned his head towards Cyborg, giving him the most puzzled look he could in his current form.

"Just mean that when we say we're gonna kick Trigon's butt, we really kick Trigon's butt!"

If Beast Boy could have smiled, he would. Instead, the two Titans increased speed and began descending towards Trigon's midsection. Just as the Titans reached their target, Cyborg pulled away. Beast Boy, however, used his speed to hurtle towards Trigon. Suddenly, he kicked his talons forward and began morphing. His entire body increased dramatically in size as he took on his T-Rex form.

The beast's large legs kicked out in front as he landed against Trigon's backside. His claws sank into the armor as deep as they could, forcing the material to indent where Beast Boy had landed. There was a massive rumble just from the impact, but nothing more. Beast Boy considered sinking his giant teeth into his target, but it took a tenth of a second to decide it was far too disgusting to bother.

The changling instead morphed into an Apatosaurus, sliding down Trigon's backside as he slammed his massive tail against the enemy surface. Having no foothold meant Beast Boy continued to slide down the armor, and he quickly morphed into a Triceratops. His head pulled under for a moment before he lashed out with his horns. The armor gave just enough for Beast Boy to stop his slide, but he was doing very little damage to his target.

Cyborg was further up the way, and Beast Boy could see out of the corner of his eye as the android launched two rockets from what appeared to be his boots. They slammed into Trigon's armor with tremendous force, the shockwave hitting even Beast Boy further down. He roared as he kicked and thrashed about, pulling his horns loose and nearly starting to freefall.

Instead, Beast Boy concentrated on one final form—something he had been practicing with some success. This time his practice had paid off, and Beast Boy grew to a size larger than even his T-Rex form. Giant horned wings spread outward as a scaly tail snaked around under him. His neck stretched outward as his serpentine head took on its shape. He was proud of his green dragon form, one that he would like to have tried against Malchior given the chance.

His neck coiled back as he took a deep breath. He felt the chemical sacks in his mouth release, and he gave a tremendous exhale. A giant stream of fire blasted outward, striking Trigon point blank. The armor flared up, flames staying where they were as Beast Boy strafed across the armored surface. That plus Cyborg's rockets had caught his attention, and the entire surface rotated away. Beast Boy looked up to see a giant hand making to swat them both out of the sky.

The Dragon quickly disappeared before the swipe could occur. Beast Boy's new humming bird form allowed him to easily pass between two of Trigon's giant fingers. He quickly peeled off from his attack, rejoining Cyborg during his own retreat.

"Um, okay," Beast Boy said after morphing to his human form and jumping onto Cyborg's back. "While that was definitely fun…what's our next strategy?"

"We got his attention now," Cyborg said matter-of-factly. "Let's keep 'im busy."

Starfire flew around the Tower to face Trigon directly. He had just turned to deal with the combatants behind him, and Starfire accelerated through the air. Her left arm stayed at her side as she powered up her right fist. She threw the green swirling energy at Trigon's eyes, following it up with a beam attack. The monster flinched from the attack, then turned to look at Starfire. She flew for the ocean below her, pulling up at the last second and flying between Trigon's legs. The monster raised one of its legs to stomp her out, but she was far too fast for him.

There was a blur that suddenly surrounded Trigon's ankles. The red and white streak ran circles around the beast, causing the waters to funnel. Trigon reached a hand down to cut the blur off, but instead it raced up his arm and to his face. The blur struck multiple times at his eyes and nose, and Trigon's face twitched and contorted. He raised his hand to grab at the attackers, but again they sped away unharmed. Starfire watched as Cyborg and Beast Boy in his new dragon form flew back in, striking at Trigon's face with sonic beams and fire.

Starfire took the time to fly up behind Trigon's head. Just as the other Titans were ready to fly by, a white light emanate from the front of Trigon's face. Suddenly, two sets of red beams shot forward without any warning. The thunderous sound even shook at Starfire, but luckily the two Titans had veered away before they could be struck down. The beams eventually died back out.

It was now Starfire's turn. She flew up and over Trigon's head, digging out the two freeze discs Robin had given her. As she flew back down, crossing directly in front of Trigon's glowing eyes, she threw both discs. The chemical reaction occurred as soon as the discs exploded, and large patches of ice plastered across Trigon's face. She flew away as he roared, nearly loosing control of her flight from the sudden outburst. She turned to see him clawing at his face, the ice still expanding to cover most of his nose and brow.

Then the white ice began glowing red, eventually shattering and vaporizing as the eye beams fired out again. At this point, the team could only try and get Trigon to exert as much of his power as possible. The more drained they kept him, the more time Raven would have. The increase in the monster's power would not be stopped, but every second they could slow him down counted for everything.

"There," Zerrich said as he put his hands down. "Your ward is back."

Raven nodded. "Now I have two."

"You can never have too many."

The man slowly stood up, taking a few steps out of the ruined room. He couldn't tell from its charred remains what it had originally been, but it wasn't any different from every other room within the ruins. It was miraculous that any supplies had survived, though it had taken some time to round them up.

"Zerrich?"

He turned around and looked back to Raven.

"Zerrich, if you know the answer…I need you to tell me. What exactly is the Book of the Elders?"

Zerrich looked to the opposing wall. "There was a myth. Something from a long time ago. I don't know how much is true."

"What does the myth say?"

"Something about a book. There were stories about something that Trigon created when he was being imprisoned, or after. I really don't know. It was some kind of tome. Originally, I think people were supposed to believe it was an ancient record of Trigon's history created by the Elders. The Elders denied ever writing such a thing. We came to believe that it was most likely Trigon's doing, meant as some kind of lure to possibly free him from his prison. No one was ever able to prove anything, so it all remained a myth."

Raven nodded. "He must have written the book. It must have been his key to the jail. He knew he could never cast any spells while imprisoned. But if he could entice someone from an outside realm into doing so…"

"Like adding a few scriptures about being controlled by the one responsible for freeing him. That's about what the myth says." Zerrich scratched his head. "But…how did the book end up on your planet?"

Zerrich watched Raven's head drop. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "My mother. She was tricked by a cult. They thought they were raising another Demon, one that is believed in on Earth. They brought Trigon out for a small period of time…as a human." She looked up at Zerrich again. "That was how I was conceived. I'm sure the tome was what they used. It must have been. I…I always thought it was some freak accident when they invoked my father."

She got to her feet as well, and he watched as Raven struggled with what exactly to say next.

"Zerrich, I'm sorry. I'm not strong enough. I tried everything I was taught against him, and it wasn't enough. Every part of me that I ever buried was right on the surface, and it couldn't stop him." She looked away a moment. "I was all wrong. I was trying to best him with his own power, the darkness I inherited. But, I was never going to win that way. My father must be countered. It needs to be a power that opposes him."

Zerrich digested Raven's words. She was right. The thing that could stop Trigon was more than just power. Raven's power did derive from Trigon…from evil. And in that realm, Trigon would have no equal. Zerrich had not fully understood that until this moment.

"There was a spell," Raven volunteered.

Zerrich waited for Raven to finish. "What kind?" he asked when she didn't.

"An entrapment spell. I think. Or a banishment spell. The Malchior incantation goaded me about it, because I'd thought of it but never tried to use it."

"Why not?"

She looked Zerrich in the eye. "Zerrich, it takes an entire population to make it work. It's not a spell that any one person can cast."

Zerrich thought a moment before speaking again. "But…you know how it works?"

Raven shook her head from side to side. "I mean, I think I do. I know the chant. It doesn't matter; we're talking thousands of people. Maybe more. And they all have to be attuned to magic."

Zerrich looked to the ground. "So we can't just go back to Jump City and round up the citi…the…" Zerrich paused a moment. His thoughts coming to what he could only call an epiphany. "Citizens," he finished, if only for the need to complete his previous thought.

"What?"

Zerrich thought it over again. Is that what it had been about? "That makes sense. It makes perfect sense."

"What does?"

"I didn't understand at first. I wasn't getting it at all. But, that was because I kept thinking…"

Zerrich turned to Raven. "We need more supplies."

"For what?"

"That spell. The one that allows us to hone our abilities together."

Raven shook her head. "No. Wait, you know what happened the last time…"

"It's okay," Zerrich soothed as he turned back for the doorway. "I have it figured out. But we don't have a lot of time. We need to get everything together and set it up as soon as possible."

"Zerrich," Raven chased after him, "my spell won't work with the two of us either. What could you hope to accomplish?"

Zerrich placed both his hands on Raven's shoulders. "I think the pieces are fitting together. I mean, everything. There are just too many coincidences, and too much to explain right now. Let's get that spell ready, and then I need you to prepare that incantation you're talking about."

Zerrich walked out of the ruined room, climbing over charred and destroyed slabs of what used to be part of much larger buildings. He climbed to the next destroyed room, peeking in for what contents it may have stored within.

"I don't understand you," Raven shouted from within the room he'd just left.

"It took me this long to understand myself," he returned. He continued his trek across the ruins to the next room. "And, to tell the truth, I'm not even sure I have it all figured out," he muttered after. "Hope I have it figured out…"

"Something's not right," Speedy finally said. They watched as green bolts and streaks of fire lit up the reddened nighttime surrounding Trigon.

Robin had already been dealing with that feeling for the last hour. "I know. He stopped fighting back. We aren't even making him flinch…"

Robin's attention was suddenly drawn to the lightshow appearing from the top of Titan's Tower. The light blue glow began to increase, and flashes of energy erupted all over the roof. There was a dull thrum in the air that slowly increased in pitch. Then, a giant beam of blue energy surrounded by a coil of blue electricity flared from the roof and struck Trigon. The light from the beam was intense, almost too blinding to look at even in the night.

Trigon reacted. The demon finally moved, rotating at the waist. His palm came up, catching the attack in the center of his hand. The light source striking his palm was far brighter than the rest of the attack. Giant orbs of energy flew in all directions, looking like leftover sparks in the distance. To Trigon, they probably looked the same way.

"What is that?" Speedy asked.

"One of Cyborg's weapons." Robin grimaced. It probably drained one of his batteries just to fire it once.

The beam of light dissolved, and Trigon put his hand back to his side. Again, he looked forward, his back still to the city.

"We aren't doing anything," Speedy growled. "We aren't even drawing the tiniest bit of his strength anymore. He's not letting us."

"Every second we can slow him down will count right now," Robin said. "If only we could draw him inland, we could add to the fray…"

Trigon moved again. It cut Robin short of his sentence, and both Titans watched intently. The monster began to turn around. The ocean water swirled around his hooves as Trigon took his steps beneath the bay. He took a single moment to stop once his turn was complete.

Then, he took a step towards the city.

"No," Robin shook his head, "This isn't good. This is not good."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Speedy said as he rushed out to the edge of the building rooftop they were both on. Robin watched as Trigon came closer to the city, but it would be a minute before he would get near enough to their position. Starfire and Beast Boy's attacks continued, though Trigon continued in his movements as if they were not even there. A bright plume streaked across the sky from Titans Tower as Cyborg joined back into the fight—his battery apparently replaced.

"Time to go long-range," Speedy said, pulling out a small cylindrical piece. It had the appearance of a small firecracker, and Robin watched Speedy attach it to one of his arrows.

"How much increase in distance does it give?" Robin queried.

"Should be enough," Speedy answered, stringing his bow and firing. The device sparked immediately after release, and the arrow flew through the night like a rocket. The small plume cut out faster than Robin had figured, and suddenly the arrow disappeared into the night. Trigon's steps took him past the beach and onto the still-flooded main roads of the city. Before he could begin walking between the larger buildings, a brilliant flash exploded in front of Trigon's face. The light itself was shockingly bright having come out of the darkness without warning, and for what seemed like the millionth time Robin had to shield his eyes.

When Robin looked back to Trigon, he found the walking giant at precisely the same pace. His eyes were glowing in the night, and the demon showed no signs of having even flinched at the flash arrow.

"Uh-oh," Speedy remarked. "That's the first time I've seen him do that since we started."

"He didn't even react!" Robin said, incredulously. Things were worse than they had seemed. These were the few successful attacks they had left, albeit simple. And Trigon was no longer even acknowledging their occurrence.

THIS PLACE HAS SUITED MY REQUIREMENTS WELL. SADLY, I AM FORCED NOW TO ABANDON IT FOR THE MOMENT. I MUST TAKE MY LEAVE, BUT DO NOT FRET LITTLE ONES. I SHALL RETURN ONCE THE MATTERS AT HAND ARE ATTENDED TO.

"No…" Robin barely whispered. He's going after Raven!

"No!" he shouted the second time. His communicator was in his hand in an instant. "Stop him! Stop Trigon! He's going after Raven! We need to stop him, now! Do everything you can—USE everything you have!"

Robin was frantic. Without even thinking, he grabbed his grappling hook and aimed for a taller building nearby. He swung down to another rooftop, getting closer to Trigon. He was no longer thinking rationally. Perhaps that was the last course of action to take—the irrational. Robin was determined to make it to Trigon. He was determined to slow him down, even if it was for just one second more. He had to. They all had to.

She could feel it—the energy traveling from the pit of her stomach, through her arms and away from her. This time, she felt a kind of counter energy coming back up her limbs and into her body. It became a part of her, and she suddenly felt very extended. She could almost sense Zerrichs' physical presence like she could her own limbs.

The two of them were performing the exact same ritual they had that one particular day. Now, it seemed to be working the way it was intended. They sat farther away from the fallen City of Azarath than when they arrived. All the materials needed were strewn about; the two candles at her side as well as Zerrich's, the fiery rune traced into the sands and powders between the two of them, everything was there as before.

"Can you sense it?" Zerrich interrupted his chanting. Raven was immediately worried that it would ruin the spell, but the effects remained the same.

"Yes," she answered, stopping her chant as Zerrich continued again. "I can feel you…almost as if you were another part of me. It's…strange."

Zerrich seemed to wait until Raven started chanting again with him. "That's not what I mean," he finally said when she continued. "I mean…there's that. But there's more. You can't sense it? Not at all?"

"I don't understand," Raven answered as Zerrich took up chanting again. "What am I supposed to be sensing?"

There was a long pause as the chant went on between them. "There's probably only one way to help you see it. Finish the spell, first. Then I'll explain."

Raven kept the spell going. They were almost done, and then Zerrich could tell her just what in hell he was going on about.

Starfire watched Cyborg fire a sonic blast for Trigon's ear, but the demon did nothing to combat the attack. In fact, he didn't even react to the assault in any way. Things were worsening. They were doing everything they could to slow Trigon down, but his stride made no change. Nothing worked. Nothing was stopping him.

A line of some kind attached itself to Trigon's skin, a line almost too dark for Starfire to see. Immediately, though, she knew whom it belonged to. Robin reeled in his grappling line, pulling the Boy Wonder into the air and onto Trigon's body. Starfire blasted Trigon in the face again with her eyebeams and starbolts. The beast simply closed his eyes and let the attacks fade away.

Robin could be seen placing multiple charges across Trigon's body. Again, the monster did nothing to stop him. Robin released his grappling hook from Trigon, freefalling until he could get it fired off again and onto the next building. Everything Robin left behind exploded, and the effects were disastrous. A combination of explosions and sudden surface freezes erupted across Trigon's skin.

Again, it did nothing to slow Trigon down. The monster finally stopped his walk, reaching out with his hand. A small point of light formed where Trigon was pointing.

"He's opening a portal!" Robin said through his communicator. Starfire instinctively listened for what orders Robin would give, but she knew better. There was nothing left to do. Anything that could have distracted Trigon had been done. The demon was going to do as it pleased, and the Teen Titans as they were could do nothing to prevent it.

"It is all up to Raven and Zerrich, now," Starfire said into her communicator. "We can do nothing more here."

No one responded as Starfre put the communicator away. No one had need of it.

Everything stopped.

The air was so still it felt as though Raven and Zerrich were inside a sealed room. They hovered now over the dead ground they had been sitting when the ritual had started, though the chanting had stopped long ago. This time, they would feel no sudden fatigue. Their energy was properly balanced. Their hands were clasped together, and they hovered with closed eyes—in waiting.

That was when everything had stopped. It truly felt as though the universe had taken pause. Even Zerrich's breathing lingered in his lungs. His subconscious counted as seconds went by. With Raven so close by, he could tell her breath had been caught the same as his.

Suddenly, through his eyelids, Zerrich could see a bright flash. There was a second's pause before the crackling sound of a giant dimensional portal flowed through the dead plain. It echoed just slightly from the direction of the fallen city. Zerrich kept his eyes closed, unfolding his legs and touching his feet to the ground. He suspected Raven was doing the same. Zerrich let go with his right hand, holding onto her other hand with his left. They could sense the presence of Trigon in front of them, and a thunderous boom shook the ground under them as the demon placed a large hoof against the plains.

Yet, their eyes remained closed. They did not look to their new guest. Zerrich could picture their energy flowing between them. He concentrated on that flow, concentrated on the balance.

I HAVE NO USE FOR YOU.

Zerrich knew Trigon was addressing him. He remained in place, his eyes still closed in concentration.

AS FOR YOU, MY DAUGHTER…I SENSE A NEW PROTECTION AROUND YOU. I TIRE OF PERSUADING YOU TO MY CAUSE. I AM ONLY IN NEED OF YOUR PRESENCE. ALIVE OR DEAD, IT MATTERS NOT.

Another tremble in the ground indicated a footstep in their direction. Zerrich could feel the energy gathering in the air. He could feel the charge of power as Trigon prepared to attack them. He knew that detection ability came from Raven, and both mages stood their ground as the high-pitched sound of Trigon's attack took over their senses.

Just as the dull thoom sounded, Zerrich opened his eyes. He held his empty hand out in front of him as the bright white and red energy threatened to incinerate them. With very little effort, Zerrich and Raven created a barrier around them. It's colors swirled with blue and black as the mages' defenses combined. A fraction of a second after the barrier went up, Trigon's eyebeams smashed against it.

Zerrich grunted as he held his part of the barrier up. He still held Raven's other hand as she struggled with her part of the defenses. It was working. Their combined magic was more than just twice as strong. It allowed for them both to tap into their abilities far more efficiently than they could have on their own. The barrier was not just a wall of magic; it countered the assault on the other side. Raven and Zerrich were using the barrier to disperse Trigon's energy, reducing the offensive power. What power could not be dissolved pummeled at their defenses, but they maintained their position.

Trigon, however, was not pleased. Even with the vibrations from the attack on the other side of their shield, both Raven and Zerrich could hear as Trigon's breath rumbled. Zerrich could sense another build-up of energy. Through Raven, he could picture Trigon's hands extending towards them. There was a flash in his mind, and suddenly the barrier was assaulted anew. The quad beams from Trigon's eyes continued to attack the shield around them, but a series of energy beams from Trigon's fingers joined in.

Zerrich winced as he felt the pressure against the shield. Raven did so as well, and Zerrich looked over to her. The defenses weren't going to hold up for long. When she finally looked back, he simply nodded once. It was time to set Trigon up. Would she trust him? She knew what to do, but there hadn't been time enough to fully explain Zerrich's plan. She was following his lead completely on blind faith.

Zerrich let go of Raven's hand, and the barrier began to dissolve in front of them. Before it got finish dissipating, Trigon's attack forced it to disintegrate. Four eye beams and multitudes of energy blasts from Trigon's fingers pummeled the ground behind the broken shield, destroying everything. Ground flew into the air in a magnificent explosion, casting a dirt screen over the area. The dust took forever to settle, as there had been no wind for some time. When it cleared enough to see through, all Trigon could find was a massive crater.

He couldn't see Zerrich where he stood. The Man from Azarath was now a good distance away, standing on Trigon's left. Slowly, the beast turned its head in his direction. Instead of attacking again, he turned to look to his right. Raven had used a similar trick, slipping through her own portal and appearing on Trigon's other side. From far away, Zerrich could see as Raven lifted herself into the air.

Trigon turned his body to face her, ignoring Zerrich. She wasn't ready yet. Zerrich gathered his energy, letting it increase within his hands. Almost the same as the last time, his energy was stable. His attacks always came in pulses because he had never learned to focus his energy enough to create the devastating beams as Raven could. He could always project solid barriers, but they didn't require any destructive power.

Now, that power flowed from him effortlessly. As he was building his attack, the voices returned to his mind. The words were much clearer now, their source unmistakable. It strengthened his resolve. He understood what he needed to do, but timing would be everything. He needed to buy Raven more of that time.

When his power was enough, he aimed his hands at Trigon and let the energy fly. Without the creature even turning around, Trigon's left hand faced Zerrich's direction, palm-up. The beam caught against his hand, and the two stayed as they were for a long moment. The attack did nothing to phase Trigon, and the demon's head finally looked to Zerrich.

With the slightest of smirks, Trigon pushed at the beam with his hand. The forced back-energy traveled quickly down the beam, striking Zerrich before he could discontinue the attack. The blast disoriented him, taking away his sight and hearing for all of a moment. He flew backwards for the longest time, finally hitting and tumbling across the ground.

He would need a moment to gather himself up again. He couldn't take too long; Raven would need him. But, had he bought her enough time?

Raven lifted into the air. Her eyes were already glowing as she placed her arms out to her sides. Her legs were straight as she ascended to a height equal to Trigon's chest. Her fingers stretched outward as she prepared the chant. She concentrated on the pronunciation as Zerrich's attack distracted Trigon for a few moments longer. As she finished the spell, a white glow began emanating from her body. Trigon looked back in her direction after casting Zerrich away, and she grew concerned that whatever Zerrich had been planning would be cut short.

She chose to continue with her part. She stayed in place for a moment, the growing energy around her making her presence seem much greater. As Trigon's entire form turned towards her, Raven clenched her fists. She put all her soul into the spell, unconsciously clenching her teeth. The white energy around them turned black, the effect sliding across the rest of her body. The bright glow was replaced by a brilliant darkness edged in white. Nearly invisible particles began streaming towards her fists like stray dust attracted to a vacuum. The black energy also began to shrink from her body and form around her hands.

With a deep breath, Raven decided it was now or never. She finished inhaling; clenching every muscle in her body tight as she practically threw her fists forward with a scream. The black energy flew from her now-open hands, specks of bright energy flickering all around the black stream. Even the sound of it all streaking across the sky was different. The sheer power of the blast blew the hood from Raven's head and onto her back. Her cloak billowed and snapped behind her, and Raven had to fight just slightly to keep from being pushed back by her own spell.

Trigon brought up his arm the same as he had with Zerrich, catching the blast neatly in his palm. The energy pooled against the surface, quickly growing past the size of the hand. The speckled black energy threatened to curl around Trigon's fingertips, but just as quickly as it had been growing it stopped. Trigon held the attack in place, and Raven could do nothing more to strengthen it.

Through the haze of the spell, Raven noticed Trigon's head turning to look behind him. His body rotated partially away, revealing Zerrich standing once again on the Demon's far side. The man's fists were encased in blue, energy spikes arching sporadically. Even with Trigon's head turned, Raven could sense her father's smirk.

Zerrich gestured both fists to the air, and Trigon prepared to catch the new attack with his other hand. At the same time, a glow could be seen coming from the sides of Trigon's face near his eyes—a counterattack in preparation. The fingers on Trigon's far hand spread wide as Zerrich released his energy.

A blue storm of energy exploded around Zerrich as the giant beam soared through the air towards its target. The blast, however, missed Trigon's hand entirely. Raven suddenly understood where the beam was headed just before it hit, and she realized she couldn't get out of its way in time.

The blast was aimed directly for Raven, and it struck with a tremendous force.

The air around Raven exploded like thunder in all directions. She screamed from the immense force of the blast. It took her a moment to realize it wasn't from pain. She screamed from the sheer overload of power. Energy filled her every being as the beam continued to flow into her, and it was almost overwhelming. She knew Zerrich was giving her his energy, just as he'd taken some of hers away accidentally before the Firnusium showed up. But, the overall power was too much to have come from two beings. In fact, what she was experiencing should have been impossible.

And then she heard the voices.

They were clear as day, speaking over and over. She realized they weren't simply speaking to her. It was a chant. Each voice gave her strength, reciting the incantation she had started. It was incredible; thousands and thousands of voices surrounded her. They were the people of Azarath. She felt them around her, within her, through her power.

The energy surrounding her grew one hundred fold. Black and blue energy swirled together in a tremendous storm forming into three specific tendrils. The ones to her left and right formed into giant wings, and the center tendril formed into the head of a giant raven. The Titan was at the center of the beast with a blue beam of energy flowing into her, and a fusion of power streaming out and striking Trigon.

The energy swimming in the creature's palm quickly surrounded the hand, working its way around his wrist and down his arm. Raven's avatar turned its head down at Trigon, its giant wings beginning to curl inward. Trigon fired his eye beams at the black raven attacking him, but the blast simply disappeared within the black and blue void.

The edges of the avatar crackled with energy as it began to surround Trigon, pulling itself towards him. The magic grip around Trigon's arm began to surround his upper body, traveling down his waist and around his legs as well. Trigon roared, a sound that nearly rivaled the effects of the combined efforts of Raven, Zerrich and all the spirits of Azarath.

He tried one last desperate attempt at destroying the giant thing that attacked him, his eyes firing directly for Raven. It once again did nothing, and the energy overtook him entirely. A white outlining of Trigon's form could be seen within the surrounding energy as Raven drew closer. She let herself be drawn closer; letting the spell do everything it needed to. The avator bent its head down over Trigon as the wings continued to fold around him. The form's body, including Raven herself, closed in on the demon until the avatar was no longer recognizable. A giant sphere of crackling power completely engulfed Trigon. It was immense, easily three times Trigon's size.

Then, the energy sphere—power spitting angrily at its edges—began to shrink. The low thrum and sizzling sounds began to increase in pitch as the sphere closed in on Trigon. There was no way out. What the spell was intended to do was past the point of no return. Now, it simply needed to finish its course.

Zerrich's energy continued to flow into the sphere of energy as it shrunk in front of the man's eyes. Trigon's form could no longer be seen, as the fringes of the sphere were now far too bright. Zerrich wasn't about to let up, his energy continuing to flow out of him. While growing weary, Zerrich was determined. The plan was working, and now they would finish this.

However, just as he could not see Trigon, Zerrich could no longer see Raven either. He didn't have time to worry about her. The sphere of energy continued to shrink until it was smaller than Trigon's height. The angry sounds grew louder and higher in pitch, and through it all Zerrich could hear Trigon roaring. The terrible scream added to the anger of the attack, both growing louder. Zerrich's power finally left him completely, leaving him to stand where he was in a haze and watch.

Then the sphere began shrinking at an even greater pace, growing even brighter as it did. As it imploded quickly in the middle of the sky, Zerrich could hear another scream. It was Raven's, and it began to crescendo beyond Trigon's roar as well as the roar of their combined energy. The energy sphere was glowing bright white, shrinking to the size of a blinding pinprick in the sky. Then, with an anticlimactic flash in the center, the energy sphere disappeared. The sounds echoed through the dead air, Raven's scream at the very end of it. It was very quiet for all of a second.

The very next moment, the center of the sky exploded in a blast of light. A gigantic boom followed a millisecond later, nearly deafening Zerrich where he stood. A moment after that, a blast-wave tore through the valley, knocking Zerrich off his feet. He tumbled harder than he had when Trigon had last attacked him, wind slamming into him and chunks of rock pelting his entire body. He smashed into the ground, rolling along for what seemed like forever before he finally skid to a stop face down. The winds rolled past him for a few moments more before finally dying away.

Zerrich had just enough strength in him to raise his head and look up. The landscape was completely barren. There was nothing there. There was no one left. Everything was eerily quiet. This time, however, the quiet stayed. Zerrich's head rested back against the ground, and with a relaxed exhale the Man from Azarath went unconscious.