CHAPTER SEVEN
Titans Tower would be perfect.
Rancor stalked the halls with a dark smirk. Behind him was the child, hands and ankles still bound, eyes lifeless as they had been since he had captured her. Deep within, he could still feel the fight in her, still sense her struggle to regain herself, but he was too powerful. No one had his strength. Still, he would have to be careful so not to allow her to slip from his fingers, because she belonged to him. When Rancor sunk his teeth into something he desired, he did not relinquish. He vowed silently that she would not evade him. No one evaded Rancor the Terrible.
Beast Boy's fall had proven, in itself, to be even easier than Starfire's. There was no fight in him now, but instead a steadfast zealousness to avenge his falsified ill fortune at the hands of Robin, Cyborg, and Raven. The other Titans would see things his way, or they would suffer the consequences. Rancor could not help but chuckle to himself at the intensity of the situation, fabricated from truth into fiction. Would the Titans be able to look past their friend to the bigger picture? Rancor knew for certain that Beast Boy would force them to make that decision. He would see to it himself.
The super-villain came to the computer room of Titans Tower and immediately held up both hands. Black eyes began to glow with the white power that flourished inside him. Within seconds, every monitor and console lit up. He stood there, smiling, and blinked his eyes. Instantly, images and statistics began to flash up on the screen, and Rancor allowed the information—the history of the Titans, including news coverage, individual biographies of the team, their friends, and their enemies, the Titans Tower blueprints, research of regarding the work of outside forces. It was all there and more.
Earth's history.
It was all there, everything he would need to seize power in this world.
That power would eventually lead him home.
* * *
Where were all the flowers?
All around her, there was darkness, save for the blood-red moon shining in the midnight sky. The once-blue sky had darkened to absolute blackness. The ground, cast in an eerie, red glow all around her, had been obliterated, scorched by the flames of an unknown power. Her wonderful garden, kept tidy within her personal realm of dreams, had been destroyed. The greenery was gone, and the joy had been swept away with it. The quiet of her solitude had suddenly become a nightmare.
It broke her heart.
The pure joy she typically felt when bound to her dreams was suddenly lost. Somber, the girl moved onward, gazing quietly to the world around her. Smoke rose from the charred ground, burning in her lungs and stinging her eyes. By all rights, she felt that she should be unable to move, for her hands and feet felt heavy. Her wrists and ankles burned as though they were tied together by rope. She glanced to her hands, trying to rub the pain from her wrists, and realized that her hands were indeed not bound. Of course they weren't; how else could she be walking freely?
Fear drove her onward, the fear and wonder of why she had been summoned to the dreamworld, and what could possibly have destroyed its once vibrant beauty. She didn't remember falling asleep, only that she had been angry. Why had she been angry? The thought of such a terrible emotion taking hold of her was worrisome. She couldn't remember the last time her anger had ensnared her. Whoever had brought it out must have done something pretty horrible to her.
As the girl continued toward the edge of the garden, she came across four standing stones, facing away from her. Tombstones. A tingle of panic worked it way cryptically up her spine. Stiff as a board, she moved to the other side of the graves.
The names were all familiar. She gasped, and recalled that these were the names of her friends. The other Teen Titans.
Cyborg.
Beast Boy.
Raven.
She knelt, defeated, upon the freshly ground soil of Robin's grave. Tears trickled down her cheeks, and she whimpered silently to herself. She could not find the energy to cry out loud. This was terrible. He had been so young, with so much promise. The world would be diminished in heart and soul by his parting. The same with all her friends. The Titans meant so much to her. They had taken her in, given her a much-needed home in her hour of despair. They had made her one of them, her only family in a world still strange to her.
And now gone.
"No," she whimpered, and buried her face into her hands. "I am sorry. I should have been there, I should not have left."
The absence of flowers bothered her.
No grave should be without a splash of color, a remembrance of life well lived. She looked about for something, anything, that could honor her friends.
And then she remembered her hair. Lush, long, beautiful hair. Robin had loved the color of her hair. He had insisted that she never cut it, save the occasional, necessary trim. No doubt, he had one day longed to touch it, to run his fingers through it. Caress it. He had held back because he had respected her too much. He would never have made the first move. She knew without a doubt that he really wanted to.
Now, she wished that he had.
From her belt, the redhead grabbed a knife. Taking a thick lock of hair, she twisted it in her fingers and sliced it off with the blade. She tied the lock together, kissed, it, and lay it on the freshly ground soil of Robin's grave. She did the same for each of her friends: first Raven, then Beast Boy, and finally Cyborg. The girl cried her heart out.
* * *
Deep in the night, three of the Teen Titans and their new ally stood silently outside Titans Tower. Numara felt relaxed here, listening to the soft gurgle where the gentle ripples of the ocean caressed the rocky shore below the great, T-shaped structure. Cyborg knelt over a copy of the tower blueprints, sharing the secrets of the Titans home base with the blue-skinned alien.
Raven and Robin stared quietly at Titans Tower, and realized that what Numara had said had been right. Somebody was in already there. No doubt, Rancor wanted to take them on their home turf. Numara had told them he would be ready, no matter where he was. He was always waiting, always ready. For a telepath, they knew it wasn't a really big stretch.
As Numara rose and joined them, having learned what he needed to know of the tower's interior, Raven addressed him. "What of our friends?"
"Expect them to get in the way," the Nasserian replied. "Rancor never sullies his own hand if he can avoid it."
"You're not going to hurt them, are you?" Robin asked.
"If I can help it, no. But you must realize, there may be no hope to retrieve your friends. Anyone taken by his power will be unable to resist."
Robin swallowed, and then nodded.
"I still say this is a bad idea," Cyborg announced.
"If you have a better one," Raven replied, "put words to it."
Numara crossed his slender, toned arms. "We are running short of time."
"We have to do this, Titans," the Boy Wonder whispered. "Let's go."
* * *
There were no signs of the powerful enemy that had swept through the realm of dreams, no indication that anyone had ever been here. There was only devastation, as if hell itself had rained down on the garden of joy and turned it into a pitiful wasteland. She realized her fears were growing again, deep inside.
"Oh, Robin, what am I to do?" she murmured, still kneeling at his grave.
For the first time, she felt the wind on her back. A hot gust, not a cool, relaxing breath of air. She rolled up into ball, her knees in her chest, and stared at the big, calligraphic letters that spelled out his name. Tears still clung to her lashes. She placed a hand over the pain in her chest. It was difficult to breathe.
What was it Raven had told her, during the gathering back at Titans Tower?
Sorry to say there is no dimensional portal on the other side.
The pain was immense, driving through her like a punch to the abdomen. She longed to flee, to fly away from the dangers swirling around her, but she could not move. She could not even turn and walk away. For once in her life, there was no will to go on, no pleasure to be had. Her friends were dead, and there was nothing to be done about it. There was no escape. The enemy had her, whoever that might be. She knew only that some terrible presence had come into her life and swept her into the darkness.
No way she would ever return home, not like this.
"Starfire?"
Starfire. That was her name, she realized.
"It's me, Star." The voice lingered in the air, familiar, yet distant. Raven. In the realization, she found herself frozen in fear. "I need you to come with me."
"But you are dead," Starfire murmured, having half a mind to tell the voice that the dead could not talk. She looked around and found the walking corpse standing nearby. "How can this be?"
"Yes, I am dead," Raven said. "Yet, I am still here, here to ask for your help."
The girl trembled. "What kind of help?"
"First, I want you to look at me. Do not fear me, Starfire."
"I do not fear my friends." The girl breathed in deeply, and finally found her footing. With the aid of a hand to her knee, the Tamaranian princess rose slowly, gingerly to her feet. She turned to see Raven behind her in the same movement. At first, she saw only the light, the blindingly bright, golden light, concentrated into a great, oval shape. Within the glow, she thought she could see the silhouette of her friend, waiting for her. "Raven? What is this?"
"This is the beginning of the next world."
"I do not understand. Why have you not moved on?"
"Because I can't."
"Can I help you, Raven? This purgatory is unacceptable. My friends do not deserve such a horrendous fate."
"I am glad you still call me that, after all we've been through together."
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because we are nothing alike. You and I, we're opposite extremes."
The Tamaranian shook her head. "I do not believe that. I believe we were put on this world together because we are exactly alike."
Raven stared back at her a moment, and arched a brow. "Didn't see that one coming."
"Don't you see Raven. We are one and the same. We may not look it, and we may not act it, but we are. We are because we care. We care what happens to our world. We are the identical even in our differences."
Raven eyed her for a long moment, and then stepped out of the light. She was there, standing before her, in a ghostly state, the world beyond clearly visible through flowing cloak. Her eyes were so deep and black that no light could penetrate. The young princess might have gasped in fright had she not cared so deeply for her fallen friend.
"One and the same," Raven finally agreed. She held out a hand; Starfire reached out to take it, but as she closed her fingers around her friends faded hands, they passed cleanly through. She looked up, eyes filled with tears yet again. This was evidence that Raven was truly dead. "I have something to show you, Starfire. Come with me."
She turned, and together the lone Titan and the mystic ghost of her female companion walked into the light.
As the golden glow faded away, it took with it the realm of dreams.
Behind him, the girl trembled, the first movement he had detected in her for some time. Rancor smiled at his progress and turned away from the array of monitors to investigate. She had begun twisting, seemingly in an attempt wrench herself away from the darkness. The Dreamwalker smirked at his undeniable success and came even closer.
"One and the same," his prisoner whimpered, twitching in her sleep. Tears rolled, one by one, down the tender flesh of her cheeks. "One and the same…"
Rancor smirked, and rested his hands against her temples. Slowly, he slipped into the girl's mind, a spectator of her impending demise.
Raven and Starfire emerged from the swirling ball of light, side by side.
Immediately, the Tamaranian's eyes lit up. The sky was a deep blue, and the air sweet. All around her was the beautiful mixture of colors that had been missing in the realm of dreams. Flowers covered the landscape for as far as the eye could see, with an occasional tree towering over the garden.
"The Dreamworld!" Starfire gasped with delight, hands clasped over her heart. She would have thrown her arms around her friend, but she already knew what would happen. She could never touch the girl, not now. "Raven, it is whole again!"
"Well, I suppose. But this is not as you knew it."
"What do you mean?"
"Your world is dead," Raven whispered, and gestured to the world around her. Starfire's joy faded as she realized that they stood in the same spot as before, where the four tombstones remained. Nothing had truly changed; her friends were all dead. "Everything in your world, everything you care for, is about to fail."
Starfire turned to her, eyes wide. "Is there anything I can do?"
"Hard to say."
"I must try, and you must help me, friend. We cannot…"
"There's nothing I can do." Raven was curt, her voice cutting and bitter. Starfire turned away, gazing to the ground with a somber sigh.
A hand rested on her shoulder. Starfire glanced back, and realized that her friend had taken solid form. Her eyes had regained their original, deep violet shade. Starfire took hold of the hand, tears flowing freely. For a moment, there was only silence.
"I believe in you, Star," she said. "You must avenge the Titans."
"But who has done this? Why are you…why are our friends dead?"
"Because we have been violated. The whole city has been violated."
"Who?"
"I do not know."
"Raven, I am worried. I do not–"
The whisper of metal racing through the air interrupted her. Raven's body shuddered slightly. Starfire felt the girl tremble against her.
"Raven!" Fear was evident in her friend's eyes. For what seemed like an eternity, neither moved. Then Starfire found her voice once more. "Raven, are you injured?"
Raven opened her mouth to speak, only to find herself spitting up blood, staining her chin red. She choked and sputtered, showering Starfire with a crimson spray. The Tamaranian gazed in shock, and met Raven's eyes. Her friend seemed to be gazing back to her through the pain, trying to tell her something. She thought maybe she saw intense love there, directed at her. In that moment, Starfire realized that she was about to loose her friend once more.
That's when Raven collapsed. Blood sprayed from her right shoulder as her body literally fell into two pieces, splitting at the right shoulder, clear through her torso to her left hip. The bloody corpse lay in a shivering mass of flesh and crimson at her feet. Starfire screamed.
In front of her, behind the spot where Raven had died for a second time, stood a blue-skinned man about her build, although slightly taller. Long, black hair, straight and shiny, fell down into his eyes and below his jaw-line. In his right hand, he held a sword, oozing with blood. He stood there, silent, as he returned his sword to its sheath.
Screaming with rage, Starfire went at him. Her eyes changed into twin pools of shimmering green light.
There was a blinding, white flash, as though fire had suddenly rained down upon them, and garden within the realm of dreams died once more.