Chapter 17
They had made them all get up from their cell then shackled them together and forced them down the hall. Not one of the guards had said anything. They just led them down the quiet dungeons and up the stairs.
It felt beyond ominous. Something bad was upon them.
"Where are you taking us?" Dick demanded.
Still no answer, just harsher tugs on the chains connecting and leading them to what Jason felt was their doom. He could feel his heart beating through his chest. He was afraid it would burst out. He knew something awful was coming up. His anxiety levels were through the roof and he seriously wished he had a Xanax on hand.
He hasn't taken one in years because they made him feel like a zombie. He hadn't wanted one in years. Now he wished he could just swallow the whole bottle with a shot of whiskey.
"Red," Changeling whispered behind him. "You need to breathe and relax. You're gonna give yourself an aneurysm or tear a muscle if you don't. You being dead won't help Rae."
As much as he hated to admit it, the green bean was right. They needed to escape to help Raven.
Jason took a deep breath in and held it for a few moments.
Soon enough they were at a door. He knew which door too.
It was the beautiful ornate door that opened to the pits. Those nightmarish pits from hell. He could smell them from here. That familiar swampy, wet smell.
The door opened and they were all forced into the hot and muggy room. The chains holding them were locked down onto the floor and they were trapped unless one of them could break out. But that was more than unlikely. Platinum was too strong, even for all of them combined. And whatever they had stopping Gar from transforming was hindering them too. They were all in trouble.
The room looked different from before. It looked like it had been decorated for an event.
"I don't like the look of things" Tim said, his voice laced with worry. "This looks like a ceremony."
Jason had been looking at Tim when he heard Dick.
"No!" Dick yelled.
Jason's head snapped back to see that crazed woman behind all of this and..
"Raven," Gar choked out. "No."
Jasons fell to his knees as he watched the woman force Raven forward.
It was the beginning of the end.
...
Raven kneeled as the woman pushed her down.
She could see all her friends. It was the first time she had seen them in ages and the first thing she sees is their looks of terror.
Because of her.
They were terrified for her.
"I see everyone is here," the woman said. "We can begin."
"Why are my friends here?" She asked, anger laced in her voice.
The woman looked down to her with a glare.
"You are in position to ask questions," she replied. "We are going to begin now."
She said nothing as she locked Raven into the platform.
There were ancient runes and spells inscribed into the floor. This woman had done her research but still, Raven doubted this would work. In her gut, she knew this wasn't going to work.
"What you are doing is a good thing, demon," the woman said. "Once my son is healed, I will share this magic with the world. You will help many."
"Why do they have to be here?" She asked. "They don't need to see this."
The woman pulled her head back by her hair. Raven grimaced and she heard her friends yell something.
"They need the closure," she replied. "They need to see you die to get that closure."
Raven felt her eyes widen as something pricked her neck.
"Don't worry," she heard as her vision went fuzzy. "You won't feel it."
...
Jason was struggling so much that several of the guards had held him down.
"Get away from her!" He yelled.
They couldn't hear what was happening between Raven and the blonde woman but when Raven went limp, even Tim began to lose it.
"No!" He yelled. "Stop, this isn't going to work!"
The woman had blatantly ignored all their cries.
Then she pulled out a knife and it was as if time had stopped. All three of his comrades were screaming. Jason was the loudest, the man was hysterical. Tim could hear the anguish in his voice. In all their voices.
But for Tim, the world had stopped. As the blood cascaded out of her throat. Bright red against her pale felt as he had failed and now his best friend was being taken from him. The girl he had gone to hell and back for, the girl who helped him get through his traumas. The girl he had promised to always be there for.
He failed her.
His vision went black.
...
He hadn't cried in a long time. For a long time all he felt was anger or just general apathy towards everything.
He didn't care. He didn't care about anything except surviving.
And then she entered his life and everything had changed. He cared for more than just himself, he felt like he had found someone worth actually living for.
Now she was laying on a cold slab of rock, her blood draining into the changing pit.
He couldn't save her in time.
"No," he choked. "No."
He watched as the nasty murky pit turned a mixture of blues and purples, like a beautiful galaxy.
That crazed womans plan had worked but at the cost of everything that mattered to him.
"Yes," the woman said, dropping to her knees. " YES! Bring me him..bring my son."
The guards nodded and brought the boy.
Jason didn't really care to watch. He was just watching her.
He could see how much paler she had become. How unmoving. Her beautiful eyes closed. No sign of them ever opening again.
The ground began to tremble beneath them.
"Somethings very wrong," Dick said,trying to break free from his chains.
Jason could feel the air change. Then the waters of the pit changed too.
No one had any time to react as the ground began to quake, spikes started to sprout from the ground and the waters go from a beautiful galaxy to deadly black sludge.
"No," he heard the woman cry. "NO!"
The baby had disappeared in the sludge, as had Ravens' lifeless body.
"We need to get out of here," Gar cried out.
Jason wanted to say he knew. He wanted to try to escape but..
Suddenly he saw the roof above them start collapse inward.
"Shit," he heard Dick mutter.
The wall to their left also exploded and Jason was sure they were done for but then four familiar figures appeared before them.
"Batman!" Dick called. "Over here."
It was the big bad bat, the annoying little Robin, Superman and a tiny Superman.
Jason wanted to breathe out a sigh of relief for they were saved but he couldn't stop staring at the spot where she was.
He could hear the struggle as Batman and the rest fought against the crumbling building to reach them.
He felt the binds on his hands fall off, he didn't know who removed them.
"Tim," one of the many voices yelled. "Tim, you have to wake up."
"Jason," a familiar voice tried calling out. "You need to snap out of it. We need to get out of here."
He felt himself being pulled away.
"Whats happening?" He heard Tim mumble.
He could make out some of the voices telling him to move. Bruce, Damian, Dick.
He heard Dick scream in agony but he was too focused on the direction she had disappeared in.
He took off running.
...
Tim struggled to gain full comprehension of the situation.
Raven was...gone. Dick was being lifted up by Superman, his leg was bleeding. Robin was pulling him to safety. Superboy and Changeling were clearing the path and Bruce was running after Jason.
Jason...who had run off to what could be his death.
"Goddamit Jason," he growled suddenly pushing Robin away and running after him.
"Tim!" Bruce and Dick called out. "Don't."
He didn't listen to whatever they were saying. Tim knew he was the fastest of them well besides The Supers but they were busy and they also wouldn't be able to get through to Jason. Tim already knew he would have a rough time but Raven wouldn't not have wanted this.
She loved him and Tim loved Raven. She was his sister and he guessed Jason was like his actual adopted brother.
He couldn't keep her safe but he could do this for her.
..
Jason jumped away from falling debris and had to dodge spikes but he did eventually made it to The pit.
It had somehow frozen over.
"No," he said with anguish.
He ran to the ice and fell, his knees and elbows painfully hitting the deathly cold ice but that didn't deter him from starting to bang on the ice. He still needed to find her.
"Come on," he yelled as he banged and banged on the ice. "Please."
"Todd!" He heard someone yell.
He felt some land next to him and grabbed his hands.
"Stop," it was Drake. "Stop, you're bleeding."
"Get out of here Drake," he growled. "It's not safe."
"No shit ,Todd," he hissed. "The whole place is coming down and we need to get out. Raven wouldn't want this!"
Jason growled and tried to free his hands.
"Stop!" Tim yelled. "She would want you safe and she would want you to live. I know it's hard Jason. I know that losing her...it's not fair but we have to go. We will come back for her. We just can't stay in here right now. Let's go."
Jason felt defeated. He had stopped struggling.
"She meant so much for me," he said.
"I know," Tim replied. "You meant a lot to her now let..."
Tims words were cut short by the roof collapsing down on them.
...
End Chapter
Only three more chapters to go!