Disclaimer: Teen Titans is not mine
Some of the battle scenes will be omitted because they get rather tedious, so try to imagine them the best you can.
"Speech"
Thoughts
A siren...
Nightwing woke to the sound of the Tower's alarm going off. He quickly jumped out of bed, put on his mask, and began running down the hall, nearly crashing into Cyborg on his way into the common room. They made brief eye contact before going in, finding that Jinx, Starfire, and Beast Boy were already there. And Raven..? He wasn't entirely sure he could expect her to come, but it wasn't like her presence would make a difference. They already knew what was going on. As long as she fought with them, whether or not she was there at the meeting was irrelevant.
He moved over to the computer quickly. "City's already been evacuated?"
"No. People are still getting out. It takes a while to evacuate millions of people, and we only had a day to do so."
"Well, they better hurry up. Looks like we've already got some friends on the outskirts of the city."
"How many?"
"No more than a few dozen... for now - wait. Scanners show that their numbers are lessening. How can that be - Raven."
"She did express intense dislike for them," Nightwing folded his arms over his chest. "Although I'm not entirely sure her anger was solely directed at them."
"Yeah, man. She didn't even say hi to any of us. How come Nightwing's the one who gets all the attention?"
"Friends, should we not go help her? I do not think that all of this talking is going to get anything done."
"Seems like Jinx already had that idea..."
They got up and looked out the window, watching as a small, pink haired figure leapt from rooftop to roof top in the direction of where Raven was supposed to be. In the distance, there were occasional blasts of immense darkness, punctuated by flashes of pure light, and although the buildings around the area seemed to be unharmed, if there were people anywhere near there...
"Our first priority is to get everyone out of the city. Fighting the demons can wait until we do that."
"Besides, I think the two lovebirds wouldn't mind some alone time-"
"Beast Boy..."
"Sorry."
"Mommy!"
Jinx jumped slightly as she heard the voice from below her and looked down. A woman was standing on the street holding her arms out, and evidently there was a little girl trapped on one of the upper floors, her path blocked by whatever it happened to be -
Some sort of unearthly sound filled her ears and she winced. Demon psychic manipulation. They're going for her!
Jinx looked back toward the horizon, where there were still flashes of energy lighting up the sky, then tore her eyes away and blasted a hole in the roof. She jumped in and landed behind the little girl, right in front of three demons.
Just in time.
Without a moment's hesitation, the demons attacked, claws flashing forward, and Jinx barely dodged aside.
"Jump!" She yelled to the girl. "It'll be okay!"
The girl turned, and looked at her mournfully, some sort of strange gleam in her eyes. And then began morphing, growing in size, dark shadows swirling about her, eyes still glowing strangely, but not so much mournfully as dangerously, a bloodthirsty glare meeting Jinx's own gaze.
Shit. Should've known. I wonder if that woman-
"Sorry, but your 'little girl' was already beyond saving when you came. Her mother will be very disappointed, hero."
The demons circled her, eyeing her carefully. Jinx bit her lip and readied herself, knowing that she would be able to handle just four of them fairly easily. But then they slunk away into the shadows, bodies merging with the dusk's fading light, becoming no more than eyes in the darkness.
"Not fighting?" She wondered aloud.
"We know of you, Jinx, friend of the Inferno Queen. It is not our place to fight you." And they disappeared.
The pink haired girl blinked a few times as the demons disappeared walking over to the window and looking out. The woman had apparently fainted, seeing her daughter turn into a demon. Jinx sighed.
"Sorry, lady." Couldn't save your daughter in time. If only I was a bit faster...
She sighed and looked out the window, back to where Raven was. But I'm so selfish. Raven wouldn't have hesitated. She never does, even if she has doubts. It's so weird. She hesitates in her mind but she does things plenty fast. And me? I'm just an idiot who obsesses over her and lets it control me. That's why... she took a deep breath. That's why I'm always too late. But not anymore.
She jumped out the window and, struggling for a moment, lifted the woman over her shoulder, looking about for a safe place to put her - is anywhere even safe? At any moment these demons could pop out...
"Need a hand?"
Cyborg lowered the window of the T-Car; inside, there were already a couple people sitting in the back seats, though the front seat was still empty.
"There's room for another one."
"Um, Cy, I don't think the T-Car will be enough to evacuate all of the rest of the people in the city..."
"BB, Star, and Nightwing are helping. For the most part, we're just getting people out who have no other way. It's the best we can do for now."
"Well I have to help too, don't I?"
"Jinx, no offense, but you're not that useful for this. Nightwing at least has his motorcycle, and BB and Star can both carry a bunch of people. Besides, I think you're a bit more worried about someone else..."
Jinx blushed. "Is it really okay? I mean, it's my job to save people-"
"Raven's a person too."
Jinx smiled slightly and moved closer to the car, opening the door and setting the woman down inside. "Thanks, Cy."
"Don't thank me," he smiled back. "You both deserve better than what you've got. Now go. Every moment counts."
Jinx nodded and rushed off.
Raven frowned down at the demon at her feet, who was still barely alive, but would not live long, not with the gaping wound in his neck that was slowly leaking black blood all over the floor. She resisted the urge to spit at him and instead turned her attention toward the floor above, where there were still several people trapped by walls of fire in the doorway. Moving up, she phased through the ceiling and ducked instantly as another assailant attacked her, then drove a spike of dark energy through his chest. Another two attacked, but she swiftly dispatched them with waves of energy and turned toward the people, who seemed to be just as terrified of her as they were of the demons, at least from what she could sense.
"Come near me. Do not be afraid. It will be dark for just a moment," she said softly.
She spread her cloak wide open and darkness emanated forth, covering everything. Then it receded and they were far away from the city, in one of the shelters in the nearby mountains that the Titans had designated as a spot the demons would not find so easily. Raven frowned as she sensed one of the children shaking in terror and the hard glare of his mother, which apparently was directed at her - she sighed.
"She saved us, Laura. Shouldn't we at least thank her?"
"Didn't you see? She's just like those things that tried to kill us. How do we know she's not any different than them? What if she's trying to lead them here?"
"Raven wouldn't do that-"
"I heard the rumors about her-"
Raven shifted away into the darkness of her soulself and arrived back in Jump City, extending her senses to find whether there were still more people that needed saving. Left, right, up... down? People are trying to get away in the sewers?
She phased through the ground into the giant sewer pipes, closing in on whatever the thing was she sensed. And then backed away as it suddenly slashed at her, turning malevolent. Raven raised an eyebrow.
"I'm here to help. I'm not one of them-" She broke off as she heard the voice snicker at her.
"Looks like Lady Sonya was right. You really are blind now."
A trap! Raven spun around as several demons jumped out from the shadows at her, barely dodging their attacks as she phased into her soulself form. She tried moving through the pipe but found that it was blocked by her opponents' soulselves. Slowly, the entire area was encased with dense shadows and she knew that there would be no escaping this without a fight. Raven frowned.
She sent some pretty powerful ones after me. Ones that can instantaneously travel within an area of continuous darkness. That's why I couldn't sense them. Because they weren't there before. But because they've trapped me in here, that means they can't escape either...
She ducked aside as they jumped forward. Blindness has its virtues. Relying on eyesight won't you anywhere in this darkness. But I don't have sight anymore anyway. Raven felt the energy seep out of her body as she called her power forth, and then a moment later, everything burst in a huge explosion of light. She emerged, slightly singed, but otherwise unharmed.
Couldn't direct the explosion away from me since it was an enclosed area. But looks like they didn't handle it nearly as well as I did.
She turned her attention upward and tried phasing up again, but darkness blocked her once more.
"Tch. More of you guys."
"You did not think we would send so few to fight you, did you? We were told not to underestimate the new Queen of Inferno."
Raven smirked very slightly. "Well you're doing just that right now. Small fry like you won't be able to do anything to me."
"Oh?"
Raven spun around again, teeth gritted, as she noticed another presence emerge from the shadows, shifting into her soulself form as a blade extended out. But then returned to human form a moment later, clutching her side, where there was now a deep cut, blood seeping between her fingers.
"You were right, Lady Pride. We wouldn't have been enough. However, we were given certain weapons from the Queen of Darkness to deal with you. Consider this a coronation gift."
"She can have those gifts back," Raven spat at them, and everything exploded in light again.
"Raven!"
Jinx rushed over to the demoness, who had just emerged from the ground in a wave of dark energy. Raven grimaced, sent another wave of energy into the ground for good measure, then stood, surveying the area around her. Looks like they got everyone out safely. Good. Now I don't have to hold back when the main army arrives. She turned.
"Jinx," she greeted the girl coldly.
Jinx bit her lip, and looked down. She moved forward. "You're hurt!"
"Not really. Just a scratch. Tell the Titans to stay out of the sewers, though. Found some annoying rats hiding down there. We'll need to exterminate them later. But for now, we can leave them be."
"But... but you're bleeding!"
"Yes, that kind of happens when I get cut. You did not expect that I had air running through my veins, did you?"
"But..."
"Jinx," Raven's voice was suddenly a hushed whisper. "There is nothing left in me for you. Nothing. I am merely a shell, a soulless body, an empty fragment of my former, shattered self. Just... just get over me. Move on."
"Why do you say things like that? You know that I still care about you-"
Because... because... Raven's brow furrowed. Is it because I know that I cannot fit in anymore? Even if she does love me, even if she does care, there is nothing left for me in this world of humans. I have no place here. I have a new home that I can return to when this is all over. Two new homes, actually. One is death. The other is Hell's Inferno. And she would never fit in or survive there. No, inevitably I, as a demon, cannot reside in this world peacefully, and likewise she cannot reside in mine. Even if she does care, it would not work.
...And you betrayed my trust, Jinx. Why? Why would you betray me like that? Sell me out to the League, whom you knew would jump on the first opportunity to imprison me? I still have to wonder. Do you really care? Or are you just going to end up betraying me again. Not that I'll let it happen. Like I said. There is nothing left for me in this world.
"We don't have time to talk like this," Raven muttered. "How many people are left in the city?"
"Raven-"
"Jinx. We have a job to do."
The pink haired girl looked down, struggling with herself for a moment. "Fine," she whispered. "Not many. This area's clear. Nightwing's report says that there are only a few buildings unchecked in the northern area of the city. He's going to them right now."
Raven nodded. "In that case, pass this message to them. I've located the largest disturbances in the dimension fabric near Jump. That'll be where most of the demons come out. One is deep underground, where Slade's hideout used to be, so we should probably not try to fight there. Two others, one in the docks near pier 53 and the other is right where we're standing."
"You heard that?" Jinx looked at her communicator's screen.
"Loud and clear," Nightwing replied. "Will you two be able to handle that area alone?"
"I'll be fine by myself. Jinx can join you guys-"
"Raven."
Raven frowned. "I said I'll be fine. You guys aren't nearly as strong as I am now. The power distribution will be better if I guard this place alone."
"You don't have your vision and from what I could tell, even if you can sense physical things, it's nowhere near as good as real eyesight. You'll need someone to guard your back, and Jinx is already there."
"Richard," she hissed.
"I'll leave it up to Jinx. Nightwing out."
His face faded from the screen and Jinx looked up uncertainly at the hooded girl.
"Raven?"
"Do whatever you like," she replied curtly.
"Why are you mad at me? I just want you to be safe-"
The violet haired girl turned and looked at her seriously. "They're coming soon. We don't have time to worry about trivial things."
"How soon is soon?"
Raven steeled herself. "Like... right now."
As the sun dipped below the horizon, the air above them began swirling and reality itself seemed to warp, bending around some sort of center point, where it had stretched to the point of breaking. And then it did rip, revealing some sort of dusky, lightless world in the dimensional rift.
"What is..?"
"Circle of Darkness. Sonya's realm," Raven whispered. "So that's why they waited for night. Here they come."
Suddenly, thousands, maybe tens of thousands of unearthly shrieks filled the air, shattering the glass windows of the buildings around them, tearing at their foundations, cracking the rock and ground, burning their ears, their bodies, their minds with sheer sound. And then, as quickly as the sound started, it stopped, and all was silent. A pair of dark, faintly glowing eyes appeared in the rift. Then two. Then a thousand, then more, many more, and a horde of black arms stretched out into the burning air of the world of mortals.
"Star, behind you!" Nightwing jumped forward and kicked the demon back, driving his staff into its chest.
It fell back for a moment, slightly bruised, but then rose again, attacking him viciously. He parried its sharp claws and hit it back once more, driving it back into the ground. Then, grimacing, he stood over it and drove the point home. He rose up, looking about.
A maelstrom of bodies surrounded them, hordes of demons storming about, destroying everything in their paths, dark bodies as far as the eye could see, and only just the four of them to fight them. He brought his staff up again as a demon approached, and the creature, unable to stop its rush in time, impaled itself upon his weapon.
Raven was right. In some cases, you can't show mercy. Especially not to these things, who will keep attacking you until they lie dead or are otherwise incapacitated. But Raven told me that most demons weren't so mindless... you'd think that things with high sentience wouldn't throw their lives away so readily. So that means something has to be driving them to do this, either through fear or mind manipulation. I wonder what that could be.
Nightwing dodged aside as two more demons came from behind him, and smashed his staff into their skulls. His eyes narrowed. These demons had rather odd bodies, bodies that were seemingly incorporeal, part of the shadows around them, featureless save for stark, white eyes and fanged mouths, but when they were struck, they proved to be perfectly solid and easily destroyed. It seemed that no matter what their appearance, they were still made of flesh and blood.
Judging by the bloodlust in their eyes, I'm guessing that they're somehow being manipulated. That would explain why their attacks are so straightforward and easy to read. If they were fighting normally, this wouldn't be so easy. Though it's pretty tough as it is. These guys are pretty fast. And strong.
Nightwing spun around as he sensed a demon approach behind him, but not a moment later, it was blasted away by a green bolt of energy, left smoking in ruins on the ground.
"Returning the favor," Starfire smiled at him.
He smiled back and turned back to the battle. The other three, unlike Nightwing, had a slightly easier time fighting off the demons, due to their naturally high resistance to most forms of damage. Their endurance, however, was limited. For an average person, fighting for one's life for even just 5 minutes straight might be a taxing ordeal. For more physically adept people like wrestlers or sportspeople, that duration might be extended to 15 or even 30 minutes, and for superheroes, that would be extended even further, to hours or days, in the case of people like Superman. But this fight was going to last much longer than that if they didn't do something about it.
Ten million... assuming it's that few, there are still probably only a 100 major strikes at most that the demons will pull simultaneously on Earth. That leaves us with a minimum of a hundred thousand to deal with here. And judging by our progress... We've killed maybe a couple hundred. And it's already been a couple hours. I'm not too tired, but...
Nightwing knew that he shouldn't get distracted during the middle of a fight, but he was a realist as well. Fighting the way they were, even assuming the barest minimum of enemy forces, they weren't going to survive. Time to try something else. Looking around, he quickly found a hiding spot behind a building and ran for it, flipping open his communicator.
"Jinx! Get me Raven."
What?
"Never mind. Looks like she found me." He cut off the connection.
Raven. We're not going to last forever and the way these demons are pouring out, we can't possibly fight them all.
I realize that. Any suggestions?
Close those portals.
It was silent for a moment. That would only be a temporary reprieve. More will open, and eventually too many to be closed. They will come, one way or another. Judging by their numbers, ten million was a gross underestimate. I was off by at least a factor of ten.
So you're saying we're doomed.
I'm saying closing those portals is only delaying the inevitable.
Well, it'll at least buy us time to think. If it's not too tiring on your part.
I can try. I'll head over to your side if it works on our end.
Alright.
Nightwing sensed Raven's presence leave his mind and knew it was time to fight again. Steeling himself, he jumped out and carved a path through the demons back to where his team was fighting.
"So what do we do?"
"Keep fighting."
"Sounds simple enough."
Raven raised an enormous bubble of darkness around them, repelling the thousands of demons that swarmed about, and turned her attention into the sky at the portal into Hell. She sensed something keeping it open, sort of like a pillar of dark energy, probably Sonya's doing. Nothing I can't break. Maybe if I can sustain this shield and...
She shifted the hemisphere into more of a cylinder, extending up higher into the sky and then began flying up.
"Jinx! I'm going to lock myself in with the portal and try to seal it off. You can handle yourself, right?"
"Yea. Do what you gotta do."
Raven nodded and pulled her hood over her head, sealing herself in in a dark sphere with the portal right in front of her. She grimaced more black hands stretched out and blasted them with intense beams of pure white light, then as more hands stretched out, drew back slightly. Burn, you fiends! She cloaked herself in bright, radiant fire, leaving a slight gap between her and the fire, then shielding herself with dark energy to prevent the sheer heat of it from burning her as well. Then, focusing her attention on the portal, she studied the pillars holding it up. She sent out a thing stream of light at one of the energy structures keeping the portal open, trying to pierce through it. It would not budge. Raven frowned and increased the intensity of her powers, piercing into it slightly. And then she sensed something stir behind the portal.
Figures she would guard her own creation. I need to put out more power... The beam of light brightened yet further and pierced straight through one part of the construction holding the portal up. Part of it collapsed and the shrieks of the demons crushed by it reached her ears. And then Raven felt her powers repelled altogether and she was thrown back to crash against the sphere of dark energy that she had created. Raven frowned.
It's a battle of wills then. Bright light fired forward, meeting what seemed to be a solid wall of darkness. The two forces pushed back at each other, growing in intensity gradually, trying desperately to overcome each other, but it seemed that they were evenly matched.
Fight fire with fire. Darkness permeated her attack and suddenly, Raven began pushing back harder, forcing the raw blackness back. Further and further back into the portal, until she reached the constructs holding the portal open again, then, straining her body, fired out several more beams of pure light. They began piercing into the portal's pillars, and slowly, began to make their way through them. Raven gritted her teeth as she sensed several daemons pound on the dark sphere sealing her in, struggling to keep up her assault while fending all the demons off. Some of the pillars collapsed and the portal closed halfway... no, more... maybe three quarters of it was gone, but then the demons broke through and Raven reeled as her energies rebounded.
Her inner energy flow disturbed, Raven began falling out of the sky, rapidly approaching the ground, unable to regain her balance.
"Raven!" Jinx began rushing over to the falling demoness.
Raven ground her teeth together. Get a hold of yourself! Suddenly she began floating again, and without a moment's hesitation, rocketed up toward the portal again. She stopped right in front of it and observed it carefully once again, sensing the daemons closing in around her to stop her. Seemingly without effort, she blasted them all away and focused in on the tiny portal that still remained, firing her powers at it until the little portion of magic supporting it that still remained was gone as well. And then the portal collapsed altogether, leaving behind nothing but a faint line in the sky, before vanishing into nothingness.
Below her, the demons suddenly seemed to go berserk and began hitting everything nearby, buildings, the ground, even each other, the bloodlust in their minds growing, unchecked, to monstrous proportions.
"Grab on," Raven dropped beside the ground and held a hand out to Jinx.
They clasped fingers and both of them flew up, high above the battle below.
"Think we can let them take care of themselves?"
Raven shrugged. "If not, we can destroy them later. I have to close the other portal. Let's go."
Darkness enveloped them and they were gone.
A wave of pure darkness, an empty void. Enemies? No. These demons don't have this kind of power. In that case.
"That was fast."
Raven and Jinx emerged from the black and it dissipated. "This one won't be so easy. She'll be ready for me."
"Who?"
"I'm pretty sure you don't know her. And I doubt you want to find out who she is."
"Will you be able to close it?"
Raven turned her face up, sensing the portal above them surge with power in anticipation.
"We'll see. I'll need some cover so I don't get stabbed by the demons or something."
Nightwing nodded.
"Star, Beast Boy, protect Raven while she closes that portal."
Two nods in response.
"Hopefully you can hold out here. This might take a while."
"We'll do the best we can."
"Good luck then." Raven flew up, leaving Jinx and Nightwing behind as the demons closed in about them. Starfire and Beast Boy wordlessly approached her and she acknowledged their presence briefly before turning to the portal. Here we go again.
Without warning, she summoned all of her power up at once and blasted the pillars holding the portal open, hoping to catch Sonya off guard. Instantly, half of the thing collapsed before there was even any response from the other side. After a few moments, Raven began to feel some resistance, but worked through it steadily, cutting through the demon magic like butter. And then a blade of darkness extended out, sweeping downward, nearly slicing her in two but luckily she moved aside in time and it only grazed her arm.
"Watch out!" She yelled downward, and the three heroes on the ground jumped aside as the shadow blade flew past, cutting deep into the ground.
As the blade faded, a bolt of energy flew out, aimed straight for Raven's body. The demoness moved to dodge, but then thought better of it and shifted slightly, letting it pierce through her abdomen, narrowly missing her organs.
"Raven!"
She heard Starfire shout from behind her, but paid no attention to it, gripping the demon magic as if it were an ordinary spear. "Come, you fiend, show me what you got," she whispered, her face lit with excitement and fury. "Is this the best you can do?"
The spear of energy thrust forward further, but Raven held her body firm and ignored the pain. Her hand clenched around it yet more tightly and her own power traveled down it, reaching within the portal and then further, somewhere else, striking at the wielder of the dark energies. She fancied that she heard a shriek from the other side, and the energy receded.
And stay in there. A flash of light, and the portal was gone. Raven breathed a sigh of relief and ran a hand over the wound in her abdomen. Not too bad. I can deal with it later. For now... Her attention shifted downward. Once again, the demons seemed to be going berserk; evidently, losing their connection with Hell somehow caused the sorcery inflicting bloodlust on their minds to grow out of control, to the point that they attacked anything and everything, including each other. Extending her range of senses, she felt everything blur, but still was able to pick out Nightwing, Jinx, and Cyborg, nearly overwhelmed by the mass of demons swarming over them. She moved quickly, a dark disc forming beneath her.
"Hop on!" She felt Jinx grab a hold of her hand and her brow furrowed very slightly, but a moment later, her face was smooth and she pulled the pinkette up.
Nightwing turned to her. "Can we just leave them like this?"
Raven shrugged. "City will be in ruins, but then again, it will be anyway after all this is done. I suppose we can just observe for now."
The masked hero glanced at her, watching as a hand came up to her eyelids, moved to her temples, getting rid of a headache, he supposed, then down to her abdomen... "You're bleeding."
Raven turned toward him slightly. And then shifted away from Jinx's grasp as the pink haired girl tried to get her to turn.
"Rae-"
"I'm fine."
"But-"
"Will you stop?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I told you, stop worrying about me. Let me go. I no longer belong here."
"Raven," tears filled Jinx's eyes, but Raven's stone face did not waver.
Nightwing looked away uncomfortably. Cyborg whistled lightly. They looked down. A throng of demons, cutting each other apart, spilling guts and gore everywhere, a river of blood running down the street. Fire burning down the buildings, some with massive chunks torn out of them, on the verge of collapsing. Swarms of demons running everywhere, destroying, annihilating...
"Nice view we've got here."
"Yeah, beautiful."
"If you want to go down there to stop them, be my guest," Raven murmured.
"Um, no thanks. But are you sure we can just let them be? What if some of them escape and they happen to find-"
Raven's brow furrowed for a moment and darkness enveloped them, growing outward rapidly. It spread to the city limits and slightly beyond before falling to touch the ground, sealing off the area in a large hemisphere.
"Satisfied?"
"Good enough. Now we wait."
It took the greater part of three hours, but eventually the demons were all eradicated and the Titans returned back to the tower, mostly unscathed. Cyborg suggested that Raven go to the infirmary so that he could take a look at her wound, but upon seeing the rather unfriendly expression on her face, he let her be. She stormed off to her room without a word to anyone, still clutching her side, very pale, but not from the pain of the hole in her side.
She felt the familiar darkness close in about her and walked over to her mirror, facing it. Not that she could see anything, but it still helped her visualize her own face. Muttering to herself, Raven took off her cloak and slipped out of her leotard, pressing a hand to the injury. Focusing her strength, she bit her lip and reconnected the tissues, feeling the pain jolt through her body as the nerve bundles came back together. A few minutes later, there was nothing left except the dried blood on her skin.
There was a knock on her door. Raven frowned, quickly threw on a dark robe, and extended her senses past the walls of her room. Nightwing? I thought that... never mind.
"If you're here to talk about-"
"It's not what you think," he replied shortly.
The door slid open slightly. Nightwing felt that her closed eyelids focusing on him as if she had eyes was slightly unnerving. It was as if she could actually see him, but more than just him, into his very essence from behind those flattened eyelids, and mess with his soul. Actually, she probably could, if she wanted to. From what he had seen, her powers had grown tremendously.
The door slid all the way open and she stood aside. He moved in and they faced each other, the door sliding closed behind Raven again. He noticed that she was wearing a bathrobe.
"I'm sorry, did I disturb you? I can come back later."
Raven shook her head and shifted the robe open very slightly. "Just cleaning up."
He nodded and waited as Raven entered her bathroom, washed the dried blood off of her and returned, smelling of fragrant soap. She sat on her bed close to one end, and he took it as an indication that he should sit next to her. She didn't protest. It was silent for a few moments. Raven twirled a lock of hair between her fingers.
"This is about my eyes, isn't it?"
Nightwing nodded. "I'm not going to ask you to talk about Jinx right now. But I'd at least like to know about that."
Raven sighed. "Trigon is dead." And then she was silent.
The masked hero frowned for a moment and then it clicked. "He caught you off guard."
"In the worst possible way."
Nightwing pressed his hand against hers. She drew back. "I'm sorry," he said.
"For what?"
"That nothing worked out the way you wanted it to."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Whatever you want it to mean."
Raven turned to face him, brows furrowing. She gestured to her eyes. "This is the price I paid for being a fool, Richard. For believing that there was still something left for me here. If you're trying to get me to reestablish the bonds that I severed-"
"I'm not trying to get you to do anything," he replied. "We all know that you're only here to try to prevent the demons from destroying everything, not to try to reestablish any connection with us. That's why none of the others tried to bother you."
Besides Jinx. He didn't say it, but they both knew that that statement was there. Raven was silent again. She opened her mouth, then bit her lip, and turned away.
"And what about you? Why are you here?"
"I thought you might like someone to talk to, or at least be near. And I supposed I would be the one you were most comfortable with since, well, you aren't talking to her."
"Tch."
"Hn." He replied, and then it was quiet once more.
They looked at each other. Rather, Raven sensed his face. He seemed impassive. So did she. There was a twitch at the corner of his mouth, but Raven remained stone faced, unmovable. Nightwing wrinkled his nose and then took off his mask, revealing his brilliant blue eyes beneath them, then stared into her face. She understood the gesture. She walked over to her drawers and unlocked the top one, taking out a small, hand held mirror. She placed it on her lap and they both stared into it.
"What do you see?" Her voice was very quiet, very sad.
He guessed at her feelings. "I think you see what you want to see, but not the whole truth."
"What do you see?" She repeated.
"Nothing," he replied. "On the surface, you are empty."
The implication of his statement was not missed. "And within?"
"That is for you to say. I doubt you wish to bare your mind to me."
Raven shook her head. "There is nothing," she whispered. "Nothing at all. I am but a shell..."
"I wouldn't be so sure-"
"Do you see this?" Raven said softly. "Within me, there is no longer even grief. I no longer even mourn anything, not the loss of my eyes, not the loss of my friends, not not fitting into this world, not losing Ji-" she hesitated slightly. "-nx," Raven finished even more quietly.
"Are you sure that you are not just denying your emotions? You have done it before-"
"I'm not. There are just none left."
"If you say so."
Raven frowned. "I know you think me a fool, but I am not-"
"I do not think you are a fool at all. I just think that you are unsure of yourself and unsure of the outcome that the future brings. So you dare not to hope or feel anything, and it gets buried inside you. But if you say that I am wrong, I will not force the issue."
The violet haired girl did not reply. She laid back, facing the ceiling, letting her senses fade, feeling nothing but the coolness of her blankets beneath her, the slight warmth from Nightwing's direction... smelling lavender soap... hearing her own, slightly agitated breathing and Nightwing's more even breaths... seeing nothing, letting the blackness surround her.
"You should rest," Nightwing got up. "I will leave you in peace now."
Peace? You say all those things and you expect me to be at peace? You think I can sleep so easily when you come here intending to agitate me? You can't possibly be that thoughtless, can you, Nightwing?
"There is emotion left in you after all," he said, barely loud enough for her to hear.
Raven sat up. Sure enough, red swirled on the surface of her mirror. She smiled, an extremely resentful smile. "Yes. There is still anger. And bitterness."
Nightwing said nothing and left. She laid there for what seemed like the longest time, feeling the void close in about her.
It was dawn by the time most of them went to sleep. The battle had taken up most of the night, and the little time they had left to eat was mostly spent half asleep, exhaustion overtaking them from the long fight. They spent most of the day sleeping, a good ten or twelve hours, and by the time Jinx emerged from the room - since she was the one who tended to sleep the longest - it was already 6 PM and everyone else was gathered in the common room except for Raven and Nightwing, who tended to stay in their own rooms.
Cyborg held out a plate to her. "Pasta's in the pot, and there's bread fresh out of the oven on the counter."
Jinx smiled. "Thanks."
She returned to the table and sat beside Beast Boy, who began staring at her.
"What?"
He patted her on the back. Starfire looked at her rather solemnly as well. Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Why is everyone looking at me so funny?"
Cyborg put down his fork. "It's just that you've been waiting for Raven to come back for so long. And now she's..."
Jinx looked away. "I'm fine. We were just friends."
"More than can be said for the rest of us. She hated us for the longest time. I guess it was kind of deserved, on both ends though."
"Raven doesn't have the most forgiving personality."
"No," he chuckled. "She doesn't. She wasn't willing to open up to us, though I don't know if we could really get how she felt anyway. She thinks so differently."
Jinx shrugged. "Maybe. She doesn't see things in terms of good and bad like you guys do."
"Well anyway, you two were pretty close, weren't you."
A sigh. "Maybe."
"That's a yes."
"No, it's a maybe."
"Jinx, you are our friend. There is no need to keep secrets from us. You can tell us how you feel," Starfire patted her on the back.
"I... can't. And now isn't exactly the time for this. After this whole demon invasion thing is over, maybe you can bug me about it then."
"But-"
"Look, it's not going to distract me from anything, 'kay? A fight's a fight. It's got nothin' to do with anything else. And this is a really damn hard fight too."
"She's right about that," Beast Boy nodded vigorously. "Those things nearly bit my ass off!"
"BB..."
"Sorry. But dude," his voice dropped to a whisper and he leaned in close to Cyborg so Jinx couldn't hear. "It's obvious that she doesn't want to talk about it right now. Just give her some time. Besides, we have other things to worry about. I'm not even sure we'll make it through the night."
Cyborg closed his eyes. "Fine. And BB, of course we'll make it. We're going to kick those guys' asses and send 'em back to Hell. There's no way we'll lose."
Beast Boy shrugged. "And if we do?"
"No point in considering that possibility. Just do what you gotta do and don't think too much."
"I guess- oh hi, Jinx."
The pinkette stuck her face in between the two of them and put an arm around each of their shoulders, squeezing in.
"Jinx- it-" Beast Boy began choking.
She glared at him. "If you have something to say about Raven and me, say it to my face."
She let go and both of them gasped for breath. "Sorry," Beast Boy mumbled, and Jinx sighed, closing her eyes.
"I just wish she didn't hate me."
Cyborg rubbed his neck. "You have other friends too, you know. I think you should let her go-"
"We weren't just friends. We were damn good ones. And I don't want to see her get hurt-"
"Neither do we-"
"Not the way I do."
They looked at each other.
"See, you don't have anything to say to that, do you? You guys don't really care about her that much-"
"She was our friend too-"
"But you guys never bothered to get to know her."
"That's not true!"
"Guys, calm down-"
"Why don't you try to understand! You know how it feels to be alone too, like you don't fit in anywhere! Just because you found a place to fit in, and I found a place to fit in doesn't mean she has! Just because everyone likes you now since you're heroes doesn't mean it was always that way."
"Raven's a hero too. She just doesn't-"
"Seem like one?"
"Yeah. I guess it's just the way she acts. That's why-"
"Nobody tries to understand her. Because she seems unfriendly. But you guys should've known better than that..."
"I guess we didn't. But this isn't about us."
Jinx sighed. "No, it's not. Sorry. I'm just..."
"It's fine," Beast Boy patted her on the back. "Even if I don't get why you like Raven, I get how you feel."
"What's there not to like about her?" Jinx retorted sharply.
"Well... um, she's kind of a jerk."
The pink haired girl glared at him. "Maybe. But it's only because... oh whatever."
"I mean, look at how she treated you-"
"Drop it, green bean. I don't want to talk about it anymore."
"Green bean? Hey! I've put on some muscle okay? I'm not that skinny anymore-"
"Hey green bean!"
"I told you I'm not-"
"Yeah, whatever. We've got trouble again," Cyborg gestured out the window, where flashes of white and black were lighting up the sky.
"Wasn't me, I swear!" He held up his hands in defense and Cyborg sighed.
"You dumbass, that's Raven's powers. We've got another fight on our hands."
"Oh, right. Well, what are we waiting for. Let's go!"
"Someone has to let Nightwing know-"
"Titans!" As soon as he said that, the masked hero appeared in the doorway. "Trouble! And Jinx," he turned to her, "this time Raven insisted on being alone. I wouldn't go near her if I were you. She seemed like she was in a bad mood."
Jinx looked out the window at the intense bursts of energy. "Uh huh..."
"Jinx," he put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. The pink irises shimmered, but she held firm under his touch. "We can talk about this later. For now we have to fight to survive."
She shook her head, ridding her eyes of tears, and then followed him out the door.
It took even longer this time, for there were three portals and Raven had more trouble closing each one. Evidently Sonya was more willing to put up a fight. It was past dawn when they returned, but the thought ran through all of their minds... they had survived. But not completely unscathed.
Beast Boy's eyes opened as he felt a hand on his forehead. At first everything was a blur, but after a couple moments, the room came into focus. The infirmary. I remember getting knocked out by something. Someone must've saved me. Who-
"Raven?"
She moved her hand off of his forehead and he supposed that it was she who also raised a spoon of warm soup to his mouth.
"Eat," she said quietly. "You'll need your strength."
"Th-thanks."
She turned toward him with a look that meant "you're surprised that I'm taking care of you". He raised an eyebrow in response, but said nothing. And he was rather grateful when she said nothing either but just sat there, feeding him the best she could.
"Sleep," and suddenly everything blurred once more when she put her hand on his head. Darkness overtook him.
Raven stood and moved over to Nightwing, pressing a hand to his forehead as she did with Beast Boy. Still asleep huh... Don't blame him. He took a pretty heavy beating guarding Beast Boy's body.
Muttering a few words under her breath, a simple incantation to for healing, bright energy spread around him and continued repairing the damage done to him. One arm nearly severed, broken bones everywhere... She frowned. Another night, and if it gets any worse, there's no way we'll hold out. Well, I should be fine. But they won't hold out.
She extended her sense outside. The sun was already high in the sky - she supposed it was 10 or 11, and she still hadn't slept, but there was no time to sleep. Nightwing still needed healing and Beast Boy had yet to recover. She could afford to forego a bit of sleep and she knew that she, at least, would be okay. As long as the others survived...
She pinched the bridge of her nose. There has to be a better way. A good fighter always knows when to retreat. Trying to win an impossible battle... it's not going to work. And the rest of the League doesn't even have a good way of closing those portals. I bet J'onn and Zatanna can, but it would take them a lot of effort, even more effort than it takes me. I don't know about the rest of the world, but the way it stands, we really are just delaying the inevitable. I would tell them to back off and rest a day or two, regroup, and make a plan with everyone else, but they would never accept such a thing. It would put everyone in danger. Lilith told me that this demon king, Shahaar, would be unlikely to kill everyone... maybe she knows better than I do. But the way these demons have been fighting... Ugh. And even if they don't kill everyone, he would be sure to 'sacrifice' a few as 'examples'. They always do that. But it's true, even when my father conquered some worlds, he did not kill the majority of the inhabitants and kept them as slaves instead. Hopefully they do the same here. There's no way we can hold out. We would need some sort of miracle...
"Raven."
She recognized the voice. And failed to respond.
"Raven, you need to sleep," the concern in Jinx's voice was unsettling, but still, it only irritated her for some strange reason. After all, why should she care about me? None of the others do. Except maybe Nightwing, but with him you can't tell unless you go inside his mind. And I'm not about to do that.
"Rae-"
"No. You need to sleep."
"But-"
"I'm fine. Go to sleep."
Jinx closed her eyes and left the room, feeling her heart sink in her chest.
Raven woke with a gasp, sitting up instantly, feeling pain shoot through her. She let her soulself extend out and the physical world around her flooded into the black void of her vision. Out of habit, her hand came up and she pressed two fingers to her eyelids, as if to check if her eyes had regrown. A hand pressed her back.
"Rest."
She recognized the voice, but didn't protest. Her body ached too much.
"Want something to eat?"
She shook her head.
"Tea?"
Raven tried to speak but her throat swelled up and she couldn't. She sensed Jinx leave, then return a couple minutes later with a cup in hand. She sat up a little, propping her body up against the wall of the infirmary. The familiar taste filled her mouth and she sipped at it thirstily, making sure not to burn her throat with the hot liquid.
"You had me worried."
Of course I did. She held a hand to her head, memories flooding back into her mind. Five portals - she saw Jinx go down under a flood of demons. The realization that... that they really might lose, that everyone really might die. That she might fail, and then all would be lost. The mere thought... it had been overwhelming.
More memories. She remembered being scared as she saw Jinx go down, not knowing why, but terrified, more terrified than she had ever been, even when Nightwing had nearly killed her, even more than when Lilith had first come in contact with her, even more than before her fight with Trigon. Because everything felt so... it's like something you know you should be in control of but you aren't.
Somehow, she had managed to close all five portals within the span of an hour, but it had strained her and then when the demons went berserk... she must've gotten hurt somehow, because her memory was blank after that.
Her head turned as the door opened. Nightwing walked in, looking down at her rather... he looked scared too?
"Raven."
She looked at him darkly. Can't speak. Something bad happened, I can tell.
He nodded. Very bad. League just got in contact with us. Central City and Gotham are both overrun. No word from Flash, but they think he got away. Batman's fine for sure, he retreated before they came.
Raven's face was expressionless. Flash was pretty stubborn. Not sure if he left.
Green Lantern scoured the city while cleaning up some of the demons. No sign of a body. We'll know sooner or later, if he doesn't get in contact with anyone. He's the Flash after all.
And what about the refugees. The demons will find them.
GL's guarding that area while they're being moved. But the way things look...
Nobody is going to last for much longer.
Nightwing's mouth was a thin line - evidently, the idea of failure did not entreat itself to him very well either. Well?
Would you be open to retreating?
What would happen to the people? Can you say for sure that the demons will allow them to live?
I don't know for sure. My guess is that possibly they will allow the majority of them to live with some ... um... sacrifices.
We have to try, at least, don't we? I mean, it's mainly up to you, since you're the one closing the portals -
If you will fight, I will fight. My life is in less danger than any of yours-
Not from what we saw last night.
How did I go down anyway?
Seemed like you couldn't fly. You closed the portal, but you dropped like an anchor into all of those demons. Lucky Jinx got there quickly to defend you. And lucky you're part demon, so you didn't get hurt too badly. How's your mind holding up?
Just fine. I'm healing myself as we speak. But you know, I think I overdid it on the effort last night. It's still barely dawn outside and I've probably been out for what, a couple hours? That fight was probably only a third the length of the previous one.
You seemed upset. Or scared, or something.
Did I? She sighed. It is scary though, isn't it? Nobody can hold them back. Maybe for a little while, but eventually...
We need to find a different way to repel them. Brute force obviously isn't going to work. And you said that this was only part of the demon army, right?
A small part. The demon king is invading the whole dimension of mortals and even those of demigods at the same time. Eventually when everyone else falls, the entire army will be here, if we even last that long. Which we won't.
And why is he doing this?
Raven shrugged. He's a demon king.
"Um seems like you guys are having a nice conversation." Jinx shifted around awkwardly behind Nightwing. "Mind telling me what's going on?"
"We're just talking about how to deal with this situation. Right now, the way we are doing this, we won't last very long."
"Well, it's kind of obvious, isn't it? If you can't make a deal with 'em or fight the bad guy's army, then you have to take out the big bad guy and his little minions will all run away." She counted on her fingers. "Yep. Three ways to deal with it, and those are all three."
Raven frowned. Unfortunately, that's impossible. Even the other demon lords couldn't hope to defeat that guy in one on one combat. And all their armies combined probably wouldn't be able to either, especially since he could just control their minds.
Is he the one controlling these demons?
No. That's probably the Queen of Darkness as they call her, demon lady of the seventh circle. She's the one who likely has direct control over them right now.
Can you..?
It would be a stretch. I barely beat Trigon and she's much, much stronger.
We can't risk that then. Rather, you can't. Well, I'm not going to tell you what to do.
Raven sighed. As it is, there's no other option.
I don't think that's a good idea.
Have any others?
Give it one more day. We can probably hold them off one more night. Maybe we'll think of something.
I think you hope for too much. But fine, it's your call.
Nightwing turned and left, brows furrowing. Jinx stared at him for a couple moments before turning back to Raven.
"So... everything's hopeless?"
Raven shrugged, then pulled the blankets over her head and went back to sleep. Jinx stared at her. Why am I so obsessed with you anyway? Is it because you're so alone? Is it because you obviously need someone to talk to, to comfort you... to be your friend? Is it because I'm apparently the only one you're willing to open up to? Well... were...
She sat there, just looking, chin in hand.
Night
"Why are you here?"
Jinx responded with a stubborn look. Raven frowned, then looked at her seriously. "This isn't the time for games. I've detected six portals, Jinx, and even containing the entire city with my powers, we still need to be near the entrances to hold the demons back, or we'll get overrun."
"Or we can stick together and watch each others' backs. I did save you last night."
"You also nearly went down to those demons-"
"And you got me out. Remember?"
"I honestly don't remember much. But this isn't the time to argue with me-"
"Why do you want to get rid of me so badly? Do you really think I'm gonna like what, stab you in the back while you're not looking? I just want to help you."
"You already stabbed me in back when I wasn't looking," Raven whispered.
"I only wanted to help you. I only care about your safety, Rae-"
"Save it for later. They're coming."
Jinx bit her lip, struggling to contain herself, but as it turned out, neither of them had any time to argue. They came quickly, storming out of the portal as soon as it opened, flying forward. Raven stepped in front of Jinx and molded her soulself into a number of long spears. The demons, unprepared, impaled themselves and were consumed into the darkness. Slowly, Raven advanced upward closer to the portal, making sure not to get caught by any of the random attacks whirling around her.
The sun dipped below the horizon - suddenly, she was aware of something very, very bad around her.
"Jinx!" She moved down quickly and surrounded them both with her powers, right as a bunch of shadowy creatures appeared out of nowhere and struck at them.
Jinx's eyes widened. "What the- where did they come from?"
Nightwing.
Need something?
Get everyone together. Against these guys we can't fight separated.
Are you sure-
Trust me. It'll be bad if we try.
Alright. We can all head over to your location-
No. You stay put. I'll get everyone and we'll fight where you are.
Okay.
Raven turned. "We're leaving."
"Wait what? Rae-" Darkness enveloped them and they were gone.
A whirlwind of black, warping through void and space... and then around her was Beast Boy, then Cyborg, then Starfire, all within a matter of moments. And then another second later, they were all gathered around Nightwing, the darkness fading away. Raven emerged last, looking very worried.
"I encountered these guys in the sewers. I don't know everything that they can do, but for sure I know that wherever there are continuous shadows, they can move anywhere within that area. Aka..."
"Since it's night, they can move anywhere they want... instantaneously?"
"Yes. Well, I sealed off the city, so anywhere in the city. And they're a lot stronger than your average demon, so watch out."
The heroes turned to the portal behind them, which had also begun to spew out demons, their shadowy bodies melded into the darkness, camouflaged nearly perfectly. The others, the stronger ones, were nowhere to be seen, although it was also very difficult to differentiate between them and ordinary ones using pure eyesight - that made them all the more dangerous. Raven shifted uncomfortably. She turned back to them, wondering if they could fend for themselves, or if they would die before she could even close the portal. Was she scared that they would die?
She thought that she shouldn't care - she was supposed to have broken ties with them, she wasn't supposed to care... Her senses fell on Jinx and instantly away. Why was she averting her so much anyway? Was it because she was scared that maybe there was still some feeling left for her, some emotion that she wanted so desperately to deny because she didn't dare to hope?
Daring to hope...
I wonder if that's what I've been doing all my life. Daring to hope. But never really following through. I found some people I could call friends, but I never really opened up to them. I tried to fight my father by doing good things but I never really fought him, not until Nightwing had dragged me back to my senses. Not before it was almost too late. Forget a second chance, I never gave anyone, including myself, a first chance.
Dare I try? She steeled herself. I'm here fighting, aren't I? I dare to hope to stop these fiends. No. I will stop them. I have to, or else... her attention shifted down. Everyone will die. I don't think I can detach myself from this world enough to not care if they all die in front of my eyes. I don't think I'm that distant yet.
She rocketed up toward the portal, surrounding herself with fire. She drew back slightly as a black arm reached through the flames, going straight for her face, the sharp claws nearly tearing into her flesh, stopping right between her eyes, right before puncturing into her skin. And then burning into ashes, incinerated by the intense heat.
She drew a deep breath and gathered her mind together, quelling any uncertainty that still plagued her. She faced the portal and sent her soulself into it, lashing out. She tensed up as the retaliation came, pushing her back, but only a little.
Every time it's a struggle, but every time I win. If you'd just give up, life would be so much easier for the both of us.
She pushed back harder, piercing into the storm of darkness infiltrating her fire aura, and then suddenly the demons were there, clawing at her, tearing her cloak - Raven clenched up and burst out with pure light, all the while pushing back into the portal. A couple of the constructions holding it open were destroyed and part of collapsed.
And then she choked slightly as she felt her cloak getting dragged down by some immense force, to the point that not even her powers could keep her afloat anymore. She focused her senses down.
There were several of the stronger type of demon pulling her down and it seemed that they had tethered some sort of dark rope to her. Down on the ground, hundreds of demons began crawling up as her fire aura began to fade.
Tch. Raven shifted all her energy toward them, tore them apart, then focused back on the portal. Close, damn it! Half of it collapsed, and she pressed further. A demon jumped onto her back, claws tearing down. She encased her body with her soulself and pushed into the portal as hard as she could. And then it was gone. Blasting the demon away, she drifted back down to the ground and surrounded them all with a bubble of energy.
"You look terrible."
Raven spread her cloak about her - well, the tattered remains of it. She shrugged. "I'm not hurt, actually. What about you guys."
"Star took a hit, but she should be okay. Tameranians, you know."
Raven nodded. "Onto the next one, then."
Two... three.. her body ached, but she knew she couldn't give up here. Thanks to her efforts, the Titans only had to fight half an hour at a time as she closed each portal, and for the most part, were unscathed, but the extra effort she put forth in closing each portal was taking its toll on her body. Raven collapsed to her knees, panting, as the emerged in front of the fourth one, but rose as soon as the others turned to look at her.
She shook her head. "We have to keep going. The longer these things are open, the more demons will come. Leave them open for too long and we'll be overwhelmed as well."
"But maybe a short break-"
"No. I'm fine."
A few nods, and they met the demons head on, pushing them back. Raven rubbed her temples, then stood and scanned the sky. The area around her, then the ground. There they are. I guess it's sort of lucky that Sonya doesn't think the others are much of a threat, so she's saving the stronger demons to deal with me every time I close a portal. But it also makes my job a lot harder. And also the moment I go down, they're screwed. Her attention shifted back to Jinx. And away, again. Can't think about that right now.
Back up to the portal. Then down again. I wonder though... what would it be like to have people who actually care about you? What would it be like to have friends to fight for, and not just some nameless, faceless people... who don't even thank you when you save them... who only look at you like you're some monster.
What do you think about me? Am I just a monster? No different than all of these demons that you're fighting right now?
She covered her face with her hand, blood pooling at the corners of her eyes. And then was ashamed of herself. Enough is enough. Let's do this.
A bright light, streaking across the sky, she thundered toward the portal, slamming into it with tremendous force. The familiar battle returned and it was a matter of who could push harder. But this time, it seemed that her power was not enough, for the darkness did not budge one bit no matter what she threw at it. She pushed her body to its limit.
The black within the portal gave way slightly, but then began enveloping her even as she pushed it in, baring the constructs holding the portal open. Paying no attention to the magic working its powers on her body, she cut through them, watching as the portal began to collapse. But then her powers suddenly stopped working, the stream of energy through her disrupted by something. Agitated, she tried again. And once more, disrupted, a chill running down her spine. Something had worked its way into her.
Raven gritted her teeth and summoned up her strength once more. Yet despite her determination, she slowly felt the life force being sapped out of her, as she pressed into the portal, she already sensed the darkness overwhelming her. A terrible chill invaded her body, the chill of death? No... I'm not that far gone yet... she bit her lip, even more warmth leaving her body. Her limbs felt stiff, her muscles would not respond properly. Gritting her teeth, hearing the chatter, she did not give in.
This isn't going to stop me. Not here.
The darkness turned to ice, void deprived of both light and heat, swirling around her. The demons backed away, evidently unwilling to get caught in the sorcery of their mistress. Gradually, the area around Raven turned into a dense ball of pure black, darker than even her powers were, completely opaque and seemingly impenetrable. The demons milled about it, eyes glowing, waiting in anticipation for Raven to emerge. As they gathered about, the wind began whirling and storm clouds formed above, flashing lightning down toward the ground, incinerating everything in their paths.
Rain fell, clouding all vision, but making the figures of the demons slightly more pronounced. Occasionally, the boom of thunder would shake the ground, throwing everyone off balance, but not those still floating in the air, swirling around the void surrounding the portal. As the lightning passed by, the air would heat up, producing fire even within the tempestuous rains, flaring up briefly until quenched by the cascading water. Lightning struck out everywhere, against the buildings, the ground, even the ball of black energy in mid air, lightning everything aflame save for that void area, which remained as ice cold as ever.
Raven's breath came out frozen as the cold began permeating further into her body. Already her skin might have been frozen solid - she couldn't be sure, her entire outer layer was completely numb. Her muscles began to malfunction, moving slowly or not moving at all, unable to withstand the glacial freeze. Is this to be my tomb?
A good soldier knows when to retreat...
A good fighter knows her limitations...
A well fought battle means protecting your friends, even at the cost of your own life...
A well fought battle also means winning.
If I go down, who will be left to stop them?
If I don't hurry, someone will get hurt too. They can't fight the demons for an extended period. Someone is bound to get tired or slip up. And then...
Can I keep pushing myself? Can I make myself give my own life for those people who don't even care about me? Or do I run and save my own skin...
The chill began to work inward even further. She felt it in her stomach, in her lungs, even working at her heart, slowing her down, freezing everywhere. Even her mind felt a bit sluggish, unwilling to work. Cold, freezing cold, numbness, everything fading away. Her senses failed, her soulself retreated back into her body and with it, her sensation of the physical world around her, leaving her with nothing but the black void of the absence of vision. Darkness overtook her...
And then one thought broke through, overtaking everything else. I have to get out of here.
Fire spread out, dispelling the magic and instantly, she felt her body pierced in several places. Blood spurted out, but there was no pain because her nerves were already numbed... she could feel nothing except for the sensation of falling... some of her senses returned and she realized that she was indeed falling, falling down from the sky, run through in several places by spears of black magic, but she didn't care because she couldn't anything at all...
"Raven!"
It must have been a shout in reality, but it was only a whisper in her mind, but it still reached through.
Raven, no! Her voice echoed throughout the demoness's mind, but it seemed that the violet haired girl was too far gone to hear it.
She merely fell, fell in blissful peace, feeling her body wither, die, fade into dust, her soul float away...
Someone caught her, well sort of, and both of them fell heavily to the ground. The other person got up quickly and put a hand on her face.
That touch... that's Jinx...
"Jinx..." she whispered.
She held her hand tightly. Raven's senses returned a little and focused in on the pinkette, and this time, she stayed within focus. Raven studied her quietly for a moment, the lithe figure, the gentle hands on her own body, the worried face... Do you actually care? Is this real, or is this some twisted illusion? No... the touches, their clasped fingers, everything was too real. It wasn't fake. Jinx mouthed some words, but they were lost in the noise of the storm behind her.
I wonder... was I mistaken? Did I overreact... was I blind to you all this time? Am I a bigger fool than I thought I was?
She felt Jinx hug her, some of the warmth returning to her body. But still, she could not move. She felt her senses recover a little more, her scope of the physical world widening. Why... why is it that when I lie here, broken, dying, that you are the only one who will even so much as look at me? Am I truly that alone in this wretched world?
No. I'm here. I'm here for you Rae. You're not alone. Jinx's voice sounded in her head.
"Why have I been abandoned?" She whispered.
"You haven't! Rae, I'd give my life for you! Please-"
Raven struggled and managed to sit, body aching. Around them, the battle still raged on, but within the little empty space that they had found, they were alone, but together, and everything seemed so peaceful to her, so tranquil, with the warm touch of another person healing her frozen skin, with her warm embrace bringing her body back to life. A friend... are you really?
Then suddenly, they were no longer alone as several demons just appeared around them. There was only a moment to think.
"Get down!"
Raven heard a shout but everything was a blur to her still recovering mind. She sensed the demons stab down with spears of dark energy, once, twice, then they were thrown back by blasts of pink. There was blood, the shrieks of dying demons, the terrible sound of raging thunder, pounding rain, blood, so much blood... and then it was still again.
Her senses returned.
"Jinx? Jinx!"
Raven's eyelids flew open.
"Ra-ven..." Tears brimmed in the pinkette's eyes, then she coughed out a mouthful of blood and collapsed in the demoness' arms, run through in several places by the demons' attacks. Raven rushed over, cradling her head in her arms.
"Why?" Raven whispered.
"I... told you... I'd give my... life... for you..." Her eyes closed and her grip on Raven's hand loosened slightly.
"Jinx-" Raven leaned in close, and detecting no breathing, slammed a fist on the ground.
Her eyes - those terrible, empty sockets - filled with some sort of ghastly power, her face contorted with rage. A storm, a maelstrom of white spread out, and then interlaced with black, it began spinning, tearing apart the demons, breaking the portals apart, closing them all simultaneously. Fire erupted from the ground scorching everything caught within, burning, razing, erasing any and all enemies, all of those wretched demons, all of those monsters-
She felt like screaming, but her throat would not speak, she felt like crying but tears would not flow. There was only a sense of guilt, wrongness, and of terrible, terrible rage. Around her, everything was obliterated save for the ground that the other Titans stood on, those ones that she was unwilling to destroy because already a life... a very important life... had been sacrificed to keep her, and thus them alive. And yet she wanted to do it so badly, she wanted to simply annihilate everything because she no longer cared, because she was an idiot, and she needed a way to take out her immeasurable anger.
The world exploded in a flash of light, blowing away bodies, buildings, storm clouds, and demon magic alike, consuming them all. Burning for a few minutes, no, more than that, maybe even half an hour, she expended all of her remaining strength, destroying everything she could find, and then even when it faded, she felt like it was not enough. Even after everything was gone, burnt to ashes, no, not even ashes, blasted to oblivion, with nothing left, it was not enough.
She slammed another fist on the ground, closing her eyelids. The other Titans gathered around her.
"Raven-"
She did not reply. Gathering Jinx's body in her arms, she disappeared into a portal of dark energy and was gone.