Okay, this is where the story gets really exciting (or so I lead you to believe). First however we have to go through a little drama as to round out the story so have fun reading emotional output. Thank you.
As the cocky words of the mirror reached the Titans a bubbling of sorts took place in the pool around the enormous Insectoid that had yet to make a move. Clawing their way from the muck that was the dark pool, more Insectoids came to life, albeit far smaller in comparison to their larger counterpart, and far less threatening as well. The Titans stepped back, fists clenched in anticipation for the ensuing battle, but instead of immediately jumping at the Titans with claws at the ready, the Insectoids stood their ground, creating a semi-circle around both the mirror and large Insectoid after pulling themselves from the darkness. The hissing sounds of the dark creatures warned the Titans not to approach or they would face certain aggression, but the hissing proved only that much, a warning. They Insectoids made no progress toward the Titans and made no inclination that they would attack the group of superheroes.
"Why aren't they attackin'" BeastBoy asked, sparing a glance toward Robin
"They weren't ordered to; they're just buying time, aren't you?" Robin asked the mirror
"Ahahehehehehehehehe." The mirror chuckled, a dark smile visible within the darkness of the glass, "Very astute. I suppose not all humans are slow when it comes to analyzing a situation. I would assume you are the leader of this group?" it asked, though it seemed to already know the answer
Robin didn't answer, something the mirror expect, so in response the mirror proceeded to elaborate on Robin's accusation.
"Yes, I am trying to prolong this introduction; it is part of my plan." It said
"Which is?" Robin asked, hoping that like most villains, this Yauo would blatantly explain what he was planning on doing
"What fun then would it be if I told you that?" he mused, "I would rather see you figure it out for yourselves. It is not particularly difficult to comprehend."
Robin continued to stare at the mirror, his mind pumping as he tried to decipher what the strange demon had in mind. His earlier read on the giant Insectoid that towered above them gave him clues to what the demon might have had in mind. The look of life in the creature was absent, or more accurately, not complete. Robin could only surmise that this might have been the 'true' body of Yauo and his spirit was hidden way in the confines of the mirror. Whether this was because Yauo's spirit was trapped or simply hiding out was unknown to the masked vigilante as of yet, however Robin knew that eventually Yauo might make an attempt to fuse with the large creature, thus completing Yauo.
"Well, if completing himself was all he aimed to do then he would have done it already, so that must mean he's trapped in that mirror." Robin thought, coming to a better conclusion, "But he seems pretty confident that his plan will work out so he must have a way of freeing himself." He thought, "If that's it then what is it he's waiting for?" he wondered, "If he needed one of us as a sacrifice then he would have attacked already, so that can't be it, but we're not all here so maybe…"
"I wish to pose to you humans a question." Yauo announced, gaining the attention of the Titans, "What do you think of your world?" he asked
This odd question caught the Titans off guard, thus they couldn't come up with an immediate question to the answer, though it wasn't as if Yauo gave them much time to do so.
"You fight to protect your world from evil and corruption and yet no matter how hard you try you can never abolish it from your world. I see your fight as a never-ending fruitless labor."
"So you think it be better if we just roll over and died and let guys like you take over?" BeastBoy quipped, challenging Yauo's explanation
"True." Yauo said, smirking behind the mirror, "The same thing could be said for the darkness. Evil, caught within a never-ending struggle to dominate the light, a battle that I myself have been guilty of." He said
The Titans weren't quite expecting that kind of reply.
"I discovered very long ago that this battle would never end. For all the powers of evil there is good to counter it and for all promises of good there is evil to corrupt it. The very universe is guided by a counterbalancing of light and dark and because of this I would eventually fall due to some intervention on the side of the light." He said, "For instance, the all powerful demon known as Trigon, a being of unparalleled evil was eventually defeated by the likes of you." He said, chuckling once again
"How do you know…" Robin began, but Yauo interrupted
"I know plenty." He said, "Your trek into the forbidden realm to rescue the daughter of Trigon." He said, referring to Robin, "The fights you had with your 'darker' persona." He replied, referring to Cyborg and BeastBoy
Flashbacks of that fight played in the mind of the boys. The turmoil each was put through all for the sake of their violet haired compatriot. It was a time that pushed them to and beyond their very limits, both physically and mentally.
"I saw it all and I must say I am impressed that mere group of humans helped to deter the very personification of evil and yet I am not that much surprised at the outcome. For all his power he was destined to be defeated, whether at your hands or later, at the hands of others. No evil is forever as no goodness is. That is why I propose to destroy the binds that destiny has on the likes of us and create a world devoid of both. Instead of a world filled with darkness or a world filled with light I will create a world made of shadows!" he exclaimed, "Shadows cannot be made in the absence of light and yet they create a type of darkness!" he cackled, losing his smooth use of word play, "The perfect blend of chaos and order, of good and evil, a complete nothingness! Ahahehehehehehehehe!"
"If there was a world like that there'd be nothing to live for." Replied a much calmer voice, a familiar voice
"Raven!" BeastBoy cried out happily, "'Bout time you caught up!" he called up to her descending form, "What took ya?"
"Ifrit was tougher than I first thought." Was Raven's reply
"Ifrit?"
"Don't worry about it." She said, before returning her attention to Yauo
"Ahahehehehehe." Chuckled Yauo, "So, the daughter of the infamous Trigon has graced me with her presence, I am honored."
"My name is Raven." She replied stoically, though there was a hint of annoyance in her voice
"Heh, I see. Excuse me for my rudeness." He said, in a slightly condescending manner, "I see that after defeating the lord of evil you have broken all ties with him." Yauo said, "I suspected as much from a 'human'." He said
Raven caught that immediately.
"What is that suppose to mean?" she inquired, a dangerous tone lingering on her words
"My only comment is that any true demon offspring would attempt to express their powers fully, unleash their true demonic side. But I sense that you are keeping yours hidden away, most likely the human side of you nature desperately trying to suppress the demonic." He explained, "But it doesn't matter, your struggle will soon end."
"We'll see."
"Well I suppose it would only be proper to deal with the likes of you before going ahead with the new destiny of this planet. Let them experience first hand the future I have for this world."
With a resounding cry the Insectoid lunged toward the Titans, but the small band of fighters was ready from the intrusion of the shadow creatures.
"Titans, spread out!" ordered Robin
Robin had a feeling that Yauo needed one of the Titans in order to be free and he also had a feeling as to who it was. Said key figure hadn't moved much from her current position, only crouching slightly into a defensive stance as she glared at the mirror that housed the terrible demon Yauo.
"He didn't think to attack until Raven got here." He thought, coming up with more conclusions based on the facts he had at hand, "With Raven's abilities he could try to use her to escape, but he hasn't sent any of those things after her yet." Robin thought, looking about the area to confirm the fact that Raven was the only Titan who truly hadn't engaged in battle, "What is he waiting for?" Robin wondered
With his thoughts so focused on Yauo's intent he didn't notice the Insectoid sneaking up upon him. It wasn't until it lunged did he sense its presence. Caught completely off he guard he barely jumped away, but the Insectoid had him, charging forward as he back away. Pulling its razor sharp scythe arm to the side the Insectoid aimed to rend Robin in two and there was no way he would be able counter the attack. All Robin could do was put his arms up and hope to block a fatal blow. Luckily for the caped vigilante he had a bright star watching over him.
"Ha!"
A torrent of bright balls of green light rained down on the advancing Insectoid. Its cries of final life drowned out from the screams of energy that eradicated it with righteous fury. In a flash the Insectoid was reduced to a smoldering pile of dark remains. A shadow loomed over Robin as he pulled his arms away to see what heavenly call saved his life and he smiled when he saw a wave of scarlet hair wafting slightly in the breeze. With hands glowing bright green the amber-skinned extraterrestrial of the Titans greeted Robin with a mixed look of worry and relief.
"Are you okay?" she asked, her voice softly carried through the air
Robin replied with a smirk and the alien princess replied with a smile that could rival even BeastBoy's monstrous grin.
"Let us do the kicking of butt, yes?" she asked
"Yeah, let's." replied Robin, whipping out a pair of Birdarangs to use in battle
"Raaaaaawwwwrrrrr!" growled a green leapord, pouncing upon a wayward Insectoid
Just as the fowl creature fell another came from behind, ready to cleave the olive color feline in two, but the big cat morphed into a small bird and took flight as the scythe appendage came hurtling down. A claw pierced the hide of the downed Insectoid and the attacked Insectoid flailed wildly in pain before finally going still. The small green bird took to the safety of a tree branch and surveyed its surroundings. Though the Titans were obviously outnumbered they were holding their own against the Insectoids so there was no immediate worry, but there was a cause for concern when the bird's eyes landed on Raven who, as of yet, hadn't done anything besides glare angrily at Yauo within his mirror.
"Raven?"
Confused by her sudden lack of initiative the shape-shifter aimed to go over to her and see if she was okay. Though those plans were derailed when an Insectoid leaped up at him, scythe at the ready. BeastBoy skirted away, just as the Insectoid sliced clean through the branch. Having jump so haphazardly to avoid the blow BeastBoy couldn't flap his wings fast enough to get a good lift and ended up crash landing, bouncing along the ground a few feet before coming to a halt, a painful halt.
"Ouch..."
As he struggled to get to his feet, his previous attacker jumped from the tree, claw brandished. BeastBoy sensed it and rolled away, avoiding the following attack, morphing into an anaconda mid-roll and slithering around the attacking Insectoid. Before it even had a chance to react to the scaled menace, the changeling wrapped around the Insectoid and proceeded to crush the life out of it. A sharp cry was all that came from its throat before going limp under the muscles of BeastBoy's anaconda form. With that enemy defeated the shape-shifter continued, unhindered, on his venture toward Raven. As he morphed back to his human form he nearly tripped over himself in his hurry to get over to Raven, but managed to keep his footing, albeit clumsily.
"Hey Raven, Raven!" he called, trying to gain the girl's attention
Raven turned to him slightly, giving him a somewhat irritated look, suddenly turning to shock. Before BeastBoy could decipher such a sudden turn of mood he was caught off guard by a powerful punch from below. Literally ripping out of the ground a previously thought defeated enemy reemerged to make her presence known.
"Wah!" he cried, but that was quickly put to rest when a dark fist collided with his jaw
"Fahahahahahah." cackled a familiar enemy
"You!" growled Raven, dark power already accumalating around her palms, "I destroyed you, I saw it!"
"Yes, but I was revived." she said, cracking her knuckles, "Every time I am killed I shall revive." she said, her grin vicious
BeastBoy groaned as he rubbed his jaw, trying to come to grips with what just happened to him.
"I must apologize, BeastBoy, but I could not let you come any closer." she told him, "It was for your own good."
"Thanks, I really appreciate it." he muttered
"She's right, though I hate to admit it." Raven said, her glare never straying from Ifrit
The look on BeastBoy's face showed Raven he didn't know what she meant.
"Look up." she said, pointing straight up
BeastBoy looked in the direction, confused at first, but then quickly coming to understanding as he saw the reason behind Ifrit's attack. The towering beast before him was glaring down at BeastBoy with determination. BeastBoy couldn't tell if this was from anger or not, but he was sure it was looking dead at him, it's enormous claw raised in an attack position.
"I didn't even notice it move." BeastBoy thought, shocked by the speed possessed by such a large creature
"It may not have a soul, but its still aware enough to react to threats to its master." Ifrit explained to BeastBoy
"Wha...? Wait, wait, wait!?" exclaimed BeastBoy, "If that's the case then how come your so close?" he asked accusingly, pointing to Raven
"Simple..." replied Ifrit
"Easy..." replied Raven
"It wants me..." "Master wants her..." they said as one
When they realized that they spoke earily similar thoughts the two dark females glared at one another with a look that made BeastBoy's blood run cold.
The sheer level of hate that the two had for one another was daunting, almost palpable to the changeling. He endeavored to calm the two females, if only to assure that he wouldn't become the outlet for their rage, being that he was right in reaching distance of the two.
"Why are all the hot ones scary?" BeastBoy thought
"You will feed Master's power to allow his vision for this world to come to fruition." Ifrit snarled
"I don't care how many times you come back, I'll kill you again and again." Raven shot back, matching Ifrit's ferocity
"Uh...girls?" BeastBoy mumbled, trying to gain their attention
"WHAT!?" they barked
"Don't kill me!" he squealed, putting his hands up as if defending from a blow
"Ahehehehehe." chuckled Yauo, bemused by the antics in front of him
However, no matter how much fun he was having watching such trivial things, the time had come and he still needed on last thing before he could be free.
"Ifrit, it is time." he said, gaining Ifrit's immediate attention, "Do whatever you must, but I must have that half-demon's power."
"Yes my Master."
"If anyone should interfere, annihilate them without mercy." he said
"Master? But..."
"Anyone!" he roared, puttin an end to any questioning of his orders
"Yes my Master." she replied, though less attentive than before, "You, it is time for you to meet the Master." she said, her glare on Raven
"Try it."
In moments a wicked transformation took place, one that Raven was quite familiar with. With deadly elongated claws and a mouth that could chew through stone, Ifrit took on her more monstrous visage.
"Freaky..." BeastBoy thought, "But still sorta hot, but in a freaky way."
"Do not think you will deceive me like before, I am more wary of you this time." she said, her long tongue moving across her face as if it had a mind of its own
Raven merely furrowed her brow and gathered her power. BeastBoy meanwhile bent down and then quickly morphed into a jaguar.
"Do not make me kill you." Ifrit said, talking to the growling feline, "You know you cannot defeat me."
BeastBoy only growled louder and Ifrit knew there was no way to sway him.
"Very well, it is a shame though. Such a waste." she said, "You want to battle me, even though you do not have the power to do so, just so that you may protect your ally." she said, "It is foolish...idiotic, in my eyes."
The growl that radiated from BeastBoy's throat only intensified in ferocity, the anger evident in BeastBoy's eyes.
"Fahahaha." she chuckled, "But I suppose that is your nature. Full of high goals, yet needing the power of others to help you obtain them. Alone, you haven't the power to fight me or protect those you cherish."
"BeastBoy...don't let her goad you." Raven warned, but BeastBoy wasn't listening
"Unless...you have a power you have yet to show me? A power, that is worthy of my strength?"
Ifrit seemed to be hinting at something, almost as if she was trying to get a certain rise out of BeastBoy, and Raven could sense her intent.
"She wants power, eh? I'll show her power!" BeastBoy roared in his head
BeastBoy rushed forward before Raven could stop him and in moments of reaching the Witch his body underwent another transformation. Ifrit was soon overshadowed by a colossal form, its wings spreading wide above her as a new creature towered above her. Four large paws dug into the earth as the new creature took its stance. A long, serpentine tail whipped about excitedly, almost as if it had a mind of its own. Sharp eyes narrowed onto the foe before it and a low grow could heard before the reptilian creature whipped its head around toward Ifrit and let loose a deep-throated roar.
RRRRAAAAWWWWRRRR!!!!
But even in the shadow of BeastBoy's dragon form, all Ifrit could do was smile, almost expectent, though she was still rather surprised at the impressive sight before her.
"Very well." she cackled, "Take this!" she yelled, throwing an intense blast of psychic energy at BeastBoy
In a flash, BeastBoy's wing darted in front of him and blocked the blow, hardly budging as he took the attack. Meanwhile, the Insectoids doing battle with the other Titans turned their attention to the much larger threat that had appeared, literally turning around mid-attack to go after BeastBoy. The Witch backed away as her minions swarmed BeastBoy, slashing away at the much large creature. There attacks proved ineffective against BeastBoy's hide and he knocked them away with vicious swipes from his paws as they came at him.
"There goes BB." Cyborg commented, looking as BeastBoy and the Insectoids had at one another, "Think we should get into that?" he asked
"There is no question." Starfire replied, Starbolts increasing in intensity, "Let us help out friend." she said, she and many of the other Titans rushing to BeastBoy's aid
Robin however didn't immediately rush over to BeastBoy, a bad feeling creeping up his back.
"It's odd." Robin said outloud
"What is?" asked BumbleBee, one of the other Titans to not immediately attack
"Why would all of them go after BeastBoy?" he asked, "I mean, sure, he is a big threat in that form, it was almost as if they were waiting for him to transform into that."
"No way, why would they want to get owned?" BumbleBee asked, "Besides, I thought it was Raven they wanted? With her freaky powers she'd be an obvious choice to them."
"I know, but something doesn't add up. Those things didn't even bother to go after Raven. Not even in an attempt to restrain her, so they could use her powers." he thought, until something hit him, "You're right." he told BumbleBee
"About what?" she asked, slightly confused
"Raven would be the obvious choice if Yauo needed one of us to break free. But what if that was what Yauo wanted us to think. What if it isn't Raven that he wants, but BeastBoy?" he pondered
"What could B possibly do to break that guy out?" she asked
"I'm don't know, but I'm not waiting to find out." he told her, "Something is fishy here and I think I know how we can find out what." he said, "We're going after that Witch." he said
Ifrit slowly backed away from the chaos that had been created when the Insectoids attacked BeastBoy and the subsequent assistance of the other Titans. However she was not sneaky enough to avoid being spotted by Raven, who too thought something was odd about the hurried attack on the shapeshifter. She flew toward Ifrit, ignoring the Insectoids that either flew from BeastBoy or joined in battle, making her way toward Ifrit. The three thousand old Djinn saw her however and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Robin and BumbleBee coming over toward her.
"I suppose it was only wishful thinking to think they would all go to help BeastBoy." she thought, "They may interfere if they aren't stopped."
Yauo however, was one step ahead of the Titans and with a single command made plans to impede the Titans.
"Stop them." he ordered, and upon his command the towering beast that blocked out the sun raised a paw to the two Titans
Robin and BumbleBee saw the claw coming a mile away, but it was still coming fast so they had no time to dawdle and immediately got of the the way before they could be crushed. BumbleBee pointed her stingers toward the claw as it made another pass at them. She knew she couldn't stop something so massive, but if she could deter it long enough, maybe they'd have a chance. But before she had a chance to fire upon the claw, Robin stopped her.
"Don't worry about that thing, its not the real problem." he told her, "She is." pointing to Ifrit, "Follow my lead."
Robin made a mad dash toward Ifrit, just sliding under the claw swipe from the enormous creature. A look of worry appeared on Ifrit's face as Robin got in close and with a hand movement she fired a blast of psychic energy that crashed full force into Robin. As he flew away however he let loose a birdarang that screamed through the air toward Ifrit. The dark djinn just managed to put her hand up and catch the flying object, just before it could take her head off.
"Nice try human, but it seems fate was not on your side." she cackled
"Oh really?" someone said above her
Ifrit looked up only to see a fist smash into her, dropping her in one blow. Her attacker then stood above her, fists clenched and ready for more combat.
"Yo Robin, you okay?" asked the winged female
"Yeah BumbleBee." he replied, rising to his feet
"As for you, if you want more of the same, just get up, and I'll be more than happy to oblige." BumbleBee goaded
"I do not have time to deal with you nuisances." Ifrit muttered, standing and brandishing her claws
But just before she and BumbleBee could come to blows, a loud roar from BeastBoy turned her attention toward him. BeastBoy had broken free from the mob of Insectoids that had attacked him and was coming her way, snarling viciously as he stretched out his long legs in a run.
"Not now." she growled, turning back to BumbleBee, "Have to dispose of her somehow." she thought, trying to rack her brain for an idea
BeastBoy was on top of her now, with BumbleBee backing away with her stingers pointed at her. She was trapped, unless...
"It may just succeed yet." she thought, running full speed toward BumbleBee
BeastBoy crashed behind her, losing his footing as he just missed with a claw strike, but he quickly stumbled to his feet and followed after. Bolts of electricity shot from BumbleBee's stingers, but Ifrit dodged, using her flexibility to dodge the oncoming bolts. BeastBoy was once again over Ifrit, claw rising up to come down hard on her and at that moment Ifrit shot her tongue out at BumbleBee. The striped Titan tried to dodge out of the way, but Ifrit managed to snag her leg and with a might tug, pulled her in just as BeastBoy's paw came crashing down.
WHAM!
BeastBoy hadn't realized just what he hit until after his paw smashed into the dirt, but true horror was soon etched upon his face as he raised his paw to see that it was not Ifrit that had taken the brunt of the blow, but his very ally, BumbleBee.
"Fa...whaha...hahaha!" Ifrit cackled, though she didn't look too well off either, even though she had used BumbleBee as a human shield, "It...would...seem that you...are not...as protective...of your friends...as you think..." she managed to say, before taking off as quickly as she could
BeastBoy stared at his claw, not able to believe that it was his very claw that had struck down one of his friends. His gaze turned to BumbleBee, who seemed to be in a state of semi-conscious. For her it was as if she had been hit by a truck. BeastBoy felt pain in his heart for hurting his friend through is own negligence and an unknown anger rise in the pit of his gut. His eyes closed tight, as well as his jaw and he berated himself for not being more careful and for letting Ifrit put his friend in harms way. His anger burned, and that burning sensation rose from his gullet until he could feel it in the back of his throat. His head snapped toward Ifrit, eyes shooting open at the one who had caused this. Ifrit was backing away toward the giant Insectoid, hoping to use it for cover, but BeastBoy didn't care. All his focus was on the Ifrit and that look in her eyes, as if she was mocking him for something she caused. He gritted his teeth as that burning sensation reached his mouth, flailing about his mouth, wanting to escape its confines. Anger took over BeastBoy's actions as he opened his mouth and let loose an inferno of flames from deep within. And Ifrif, for all that was going to befall her, could only grinned as the intense heat barreled down on her, threatening to incinerate her in an instant.
"Perfect."
She could feel the heat of the flames before they even reached her, but she was unafraid of the advancing blaze. As it grew near she dug underground, letting the flames just pass over her, avoiding incineration. Thus, the wayward flames missed her, but not what she was standing in front of, which happened to be the demonic mirror. The flames collided with the mirror with impressive force, but even so the mirror seemed to absorb the power being thrown at it, growing hotter and hotter as more and more flames were fed into it. But even this demonic mirror had a limit and before long the mirror had reached that limit. With a resounding crack the mirror shattered, it pieces falling to the dark pool below, disappearing into the vastness of the shadows.
"Finally!" bellowed a voice from the pool of shadows, "After countless years, I am finally free. Oh how long I have waited to be free!"
The Titans stopped, the Insectoids stopped, everything seemed to stop as the voice rang out in joy for its apparent freedom.
"Fawhahaha!" cackled Ifrit, climbing free from the dirt, "I would like you to meet, my Master." she said, just as a large claw arose from the muck behind her
Mimicking the much larger Insectoid that towered above them, the true form of Yauo was rather serpentine; though the crown that adorened his head was much more elaborate than that of the larger. A long tongue slithered from his mouth, seeming just as happy to be free of his jaw as Yauo was to be free of his mirror. He looked toward the sky, the sun beaming down upon him, accentuating his outline.
"Such magnificence, it is almost a shame I must block this world from its view." he mused
Though only half the size of BeastBoy's current form, this new creature seemed to radiate a feeling of emptiness, leaving a feeling of despair in the hearts of the Titans. Especially BeastBoy, who in sheer shock involuntarily morphed back to his human form, his face devoid of expression. Yauo turned to the shapeshifter, a bemused look on his face as his tongue slithered back into his mouth.
"Ahehehehehe. I should thank you for freeing me green one. Through you actions I will bring this world to a new order."
BeastBoy gasped, as if he had been shot in the heart, taking a step back in disbelief, but soon coming to realization that what Yaou spoke was indeed true.
"W-W-What have I done?" he murmured, breaking down to his knees
There is no excuse for the wait. College is long and hard. Enjoy