Author's Note: God, I'm so evil! I'm terribly sorry for what I've done in this chapter and the last one! Wait… thinks No, not really. Oh well. :-D
To anonymous reviewers "leahgrave" and "Unknown", because their reviews had valid points: No, an abortion would not solve the problem, because, if you've read past chapters, you know about the prophecy foretold by Raven's aunt. This is the kid who can eventually kill Trigon, thus ridding the world of its resident devil and lots of evils. This little unborn girl is basically the hope for Earth. Killing her would be a bad thing. About Robin… just read. The maternal instinct is a very valid point as well, and don't worry, it comes into play in this chapter….
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Chapter 15: Defeat
The only hope must live to slay
The demon deep in Hell's decay
Once thought truly hopeless,
The impossible was done.
A team of mere teenagers
Beat the fury of Trigon.
"Defeating" Raven Roth
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"Please. Please."
Raven had resorted to begging, now. She was a tiny being, a wisp of her former self, trapped in her own mind.
She hated how pitiful she sounded, how helpless. The weakness and pain in her voice irritated her, hurt her pride, but all other attempts had been unsuccessful. She obviously couldn't force him out with her powers, and his control over her mind had become so incredibly strong that she felt she could never force him out. And to make it worse, it was against her very nature to beg. She was too proud for it. She had taught to respect herself and her values when she was in training with Azar's granddaughter. She always had, always was independent, sure, serene, and suave. So, naturally, she hated what she was doing. But she was desperate. Very, very desperate. Fighting hadn't worked. She couldn't fight her father with what little powers she still possessed, and her mind was still too weak from months of illness.
"Please. Please just… you can take me instead…" Her voice was pleading, beseeching even as she spoke into the quiet of her mind. She knew Trigon could hear her.
"Pitiful! Why would I give up now when I'm so close to destroying this stupid offspring once it's born?" Trigon answered mercilessly. The horrible voice echoed into Raven's skull, sinking into the crevices and wriggling into the crannies of her thoughts. It pulsed and hummed, a voice so deep it seemed to burst your insides open with a single word, a single syllable. "Of course, before then, I'll kill the Teen Titans off."
"You couldn't even capture one of my friends, let alone kill my daughter!" Raven fumed, her fury growing so much that her voice was almost as powerful as Trigon's as she taunted. Beast Boy's escape just moments earlier had given her piles of material to ridicule and batter her father with, to distract him from his vows to kill her friends. Her father's howl made her flinch.
"Insubordination!" He snarled. The salt water around them churned and boiled, cooking fish and scorching sea creatures. "Never question what Trigon can and cannot accomplish!"
And with that, the tyrant spun, taking the water around them with him as he moved Raven's body like a cyclone, drawing in water and creating a whole new current in the powerful pull of the storm. The water raised upwards, a towering funnel of massive proportions. Beasts of the sea dotted the churning walls of the creation, dragged in when they weren't strong enough to refuse the call of the conduit.
The unnatural water abomination drew to an enormous height, wide and horrific. It made its way toward the shore.
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TT TT TT
Starfire flew away from Cyborg to start her own search on the opposite side of Titan Island. The mass of land was muddy, the green grass limp and soggy from the torrential downpour. The obstacle course field was waterlogged, and the mechanical outpost where Robin always controlled the program hadn't been covered before the storm, and the vulnerable panels and buttons were sparking, little flickering tongues of white that licked at the air hungrily.
The wind becoming too abrasive for flight, the young Tameranian landed on the ground, standing on a slab of stone. She slipped, yelped, and hovered to avoid falling over. Trekking across the small island, she felt as if she'd landed on a particularly inhospitable planet. The landscape was like a nightmare version of her familiar home. The heavens hadn't closed up in hours, and the water was gnawing at the sides of the landmass. What few trees there had been were felled by the outrageous wrath of the hurricane; majestic and tall, nature's skyscrapers were destroyed. Starfire sighed and raised her hand, watching as it illuminated with a Star Bolt.
Holding it out in front of her, she hovered inches from the unstable ground, searching with hope and dread for the body of her best friend. The rain was coming down with even more vengeance, if that was even possible, and her Star Bolt sizzled and died after a moment's valiant effort. Starfire sighed, running her nimble fingers through her untidy, dirty, muddy hair. Stopping, she crouched and rocked on the balls of her feet, looking into a puddle and through the ripples caused by the hurtling droplets. A vague orange and red shape, she couldn't make out any details of her face except for incredibly brilliant jade almonds. But behind her was a blurry figure clad in most of the primary and secondary colors.
Starfire spun, looking apprehensively behind her.
"Robin?" She called softly.
There was no answer.
Cautiously, she peered into the pool again. The blob of the color wheel was gone…
"I am going as crazy as a blimpath after Relmerka…" She muttered.
She stood, scanning the area with a hand shielding her eyes. She had thought spotting Robin's familiar attire would be relatively easy, considering that it consisted mostly of bright reds, yellows, and greens. But she couldn't see him anywhere. Desperately, the alien hoped that he hadn't fallen into the sea. Unconscious, he could drown and drift away to be eaten by…
Starfire shook her head violently, making herself dizzy in the process. Stumbling backwards, she tripped over a protruding rock and thrust her hands out behind her to brake her fall. Jagged pieces spiked into her hands, and her bottom hit a very sharp and painful piece, leaving her with sore appendages all around. Not bothering to get up, she buried her face in her bleeding hands, sobbing tears that might as well have been blood. They were lost in the gale, invisible lines that blended with the other trickles streaming down her face.
A roar that was different from the ever-present water's brought her to her senses, and she looked toward the ocean for the source of the noise. She gasped.
Moving toward her with incredible speed was a cyclone to end all cyclones. Brutes as large as adult sharks were caught in it's cylindrical tide. From the sea it lifted up, with a narrow base and a head so wide in circumference that Starfire was sure it was even larger than Titans Tower. Eyes wide, she backed away, scrambling over rocks and mud and keeping her eyes trained on the giant twister. Mesmerized, she gaped, mouth open, stealing frantic glances behind her every now and then to make sure she didn't fall over any particularly mean surfaces of stone.
In the heart of the storm, Trigon/Raven ceased spinning, and the water fell away around them in waterfalls, still spinning rapidly as it descended back into its mother. Raven's body was tall and dark, blue cloak like a billowing storm cloud. The giant mist of cardinal color hung heavily around her, becoming clearer. The four eyes of Trigon were already visible, and more of him was becoming solid. Raven gave a cry of lament when she saw who it was that her father was after.
A crackling black tentacle of power snapped out and at Starfire, who yelped, barely rolling out of its path in time to avoid being burnt to death. Shivering, she stood up and planted her feet firmly. Her eyes, full of sedition and resolve, burned into Trigon's red ones.
"Unhand my friend, you evil tormenter!" She yelled over the turbulence around them.
The message reached Trigon's ears and he laughed. The echoes of Hell overpowered the frosty rain. Starfire froze, temporarily paralyzed by fear.
"Tameranian." Trigon bellowed. "You think you can take on the son of the devil, the ruler of the underworld, the most powerful of all demons and evils?" He laughed again, cold and humorless. It shocked more than the hypothermic temperatures that seemed to grow colder in Trigon's presence.
"No." Starfire answered truthfully, hoping her voice didn't betray how utterly terrified she was. "I do not plan on defeating you by myself. I have help."
"Help? The metal man and the shape-shifter pose no threat to me." Trigon said. The evils again. The deadness again. The horribles again. Starfire suppressed a shudder at the tribulations that came with his words and lifted her chin.
"I do not mean my other Teen Titans. I mean the best female friend I have ever had in my life."
Raven looked through her possessed eyes in disbelief. She was the best friend Starfire ever had? Well, best female friend, which meant she was second to Robin, but that didn't matter to her. It was something about the words… They warmed her, gave her hope. Another reason to fight. She had never felt more grateful for her Starfire's voice.
Trigon howled in pain, bringing Raven's hands up to his head as if a migraine was attacking him. Starfire shot up into the sky, emerald spheres forming in her hands.
"HYAH! HYAHHYAHHYAH!" Starfire rapidly let loose her arsenal of Star Bolts, glowing lights that smacked at Trigon, burning his half-formed flesh. Starfire tried to avoid damaging the haunted body of her friend, but she singed her on occasion. Before Trigon could react to the rapid-fire assault, Starfire backed up in the air, bringing her hands high above her head as if she was pitching a baseball.
"HAAAAAAH!" She forced out all of her power into her attack. Emerald light burst from her eyes and palms, knocking Trigon over, where he tumbled roughly across the rocks, like a pebble skipped across the surface of a lake.
Starfire moved in for a second attack, but stopped when she saw the thick blue laser beam of Cyborg's arm cannon had shoot into the air. She stared at the beacon, all air knocked out of her in disbelief.
'No…'
A whip of white-lined ebony launched out, snagging Starfire's foot and dragging her along.
"AH!" She cried, rocketing into the water-laden atmosphere and unwittingly pulling Trigon up with her as he kept his grasp on her ankle tightly. A second whip spun around her, wrapping her arms to her sides and making her look like a mummy. He was going in for the third and final blow to finish the alien off when Raven cried out.
"NO! I won't let you. I've taken this too long and I can beat you!" Raven screamed. Her voice didn't leave her mouth, but it burst into Trigon's ears. She'd figured it out. It had been obvious, and she cursed herself for not realizing it sooner. There had been so many signs…
Focusing her mind, she called forth the emotions she needed, the emotions she could draw off to defeat her father. Love was the first at her side, followed by Joy, Courage, and then Intelligence, and then Rudeness.
'Rudeness?' The blue-clad Raven said incredulously. 'What are you doing here?'
Rudeness's orange cloak was messy and wrinkled. She burped.
'Ehh.' She said, scratching her butt and pulling out a wedgie. 'Things were boring. Thought I'd join the party.'
'Like, of course you're welcome, girlfriend!' Joy giggled. 'This is going to be, like, so incredibly fuuunl!' Then she turned to the original Raven. 'But I mean, (gag me with a spoon!), did you see your dad's outfit? Fashion no, girl. Only go out in public with lingerie if you have the body for it.' She twirled around, her pink cloak whirling, and stuck her hip out in a playfully seductive pose. She winked. 'Like me, baby.'
The original Raven rolled her eyes.
'Be quiet, I need to concentrate.'
She and the select emotions hovered, legs crossed Indian style. She directed all of her feelings toward the center of their circle, each feeling's emotion strengthened by the presence of the metaphorical illusions she'd called forth. It was her caring and love for Cyborg, her extreme worry and maternal love for her unborn child, her affection and gratitude to Starfire, Robin, and Beast Boy, and many, many more. A ball of pearly radiance was forming, hovering and glowing, fed by six separate lifelines of power and emotion.
Starfire squirmed in the black hold on her, slamming powerful Star Bolts down onto it, and burning holes into the strange energy, only to gasp with surprise as the surrounding darkness filled in the smoking hole with a suction sound. She didn't know why Trigon hesitated, but he hadn't made a move to kill her yet. She trembled.
Trigon was surprised when his daughter defied him. He'd thought he'd broken her spirit. Ignoring her, he'd gone to kill the Tameranian, only seeing her congregated emotions until it was too late.
The original Raven stood, grasping the lustrous ball of white energy and holding it high above her head. Joy, Love, Courage, Intelligence, and Rudeness blurred, swirling into colored mists and molding into her body. The bulb above her doubled in size, making Trigon howl in pain, letting his hold on Starfire go.
"HAAAHA!" Raven roared, scratching her throat with the volume of the yell as she used it to add one last bout to the ball. She released it. It shot upwards, filling everything with a blinding white light. The last thing Raven heard was Trigon's vengeful scream of rage and pain, and then she lost consciousness.
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Author's Note: One last chapter, an epilogue, and then it's all over….