Ugh, this chapter was the hardest out of all of them to write; I ended up rewriting it four times. I knew what I wanted to do, but the words didn't come out right. I hope it's not too disappointing an ending.
LadyHood brought up a good point in that the Candyman seemed to attack Raven quite a bit. Honestly, I think that's the author's own bias showing. She's actually my favorite character. I tried to give the characters equal screen time as it were, but I don't think I managed to. Cyborg, especially seemed to just be there. I'll make a note for revisions later.
Now, enjoy the thrilling conclusion to Candy Coated Nightmare! Enjoy!
Chapter 9: Nightmare's End
Beast Boy couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief as the monster stepped back. He trusted his friends and had no doubt Raven would have stopped the thing before it could do any damage, but it was still unnerving to have the hulking brute bearing down on him. He turned his eyes to look at Robin curiously. He must have a plan; Robin always had a plan. Right...?
"Then speak, vagabond," the Candyman ordered, "Tell me the secret of your origin."
Robin paused briefly before he began to speak. "Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was a young girl who was incredibly powerful. She had a kind heart and strove to help others. She had friends, also possessing abilities and skills beyond that of most people. Together, they all fought bad guys and made the world a better place.
"One day, the girl began to have horrible nightmares, but could not remember what they were about. Eventually she became more and more tired and her fatigue began to affect her ability to help others. Her friends desperately wished to help and so they entered her dreams to discover what was going on."
Robin looked towards the cage, where Queen Kory watched, her brow furrowed as she listened intently to the tale. "Her name is Starfire. And that's her."
The Candyman's black eyes looked between the caged queen and her knight and the restrained Robin for a moment before he snarled. "Do you take me for a fool, vagabond? You expect me to believe this... fairy tale of yours?!"
Robin narrowed his eyes at the Candyman. "I can prove it."
The golem stared back in mild surprise, "You can? Then, please, produce this 'proof'."
Robin looked over to where Raven was held, "Rae, open the portal back to the real world."
"I don't think that's a good idea," Raven replied flatly.
"Do it," Robin stated just as flatly.
Raven paused a moment before nodding, "All right, I need to be let go, though."
The Candyman frowned then stomped over to Raven, peering at her. "This is lunacy, but... I will indulge your mad fantasies. For now." His hand suddenly went to Beast Boy's throat, "But try anything stupid, girl, and he dies." With his free hand, the candy golem snapped Raven's restraints.
Raven rubbed her sore wrists for a moment before looking over her shoulder at Robin for confirmation. He nodded once and she turned towards a wall, making arcane hand motions. "Solmb ex vitae," she intoned, eyes glowing white.
A swirling black vortex appeared, growing larger and larger until it filled the wall. Through the wavy surface Starfire's room could be seen, as well as the slumbering form of the teen. The Candyman slowly released his grasp on Beast Boy and walked towards the portal in wonder.
"A trick...? No! I can sense the power. It's true!" the golem stated, staring in amazement, "It's true... a whole new world to conquer, just outside." The Candyman smiled evilly, whirling around on Robin. He gave an eloquent bow then sneered. "You have proven most helpful, dear vagabond. But now that I know your secret, I will kill you before I enter this new realm to make it my own. Soldiers!"
Raven raised her hands and prepared to fight when a swarm of the gingerbread men poured into the room. "Aza--"Her words were cut off when the gingerbread soldiers were upon her, knocking the wind out of her and stifling the rest of the powerwords. A gag of the strong taffy was quickly placed in her mouth as she was held down.
"Raven!" cried Beast Boy as he transformed into a worm to slip free of his bonds, then into a gorilla, launching himself with a primal roar at the gingerbread men. Several were reduced to crumbs before the weight of sheer numbers overcame his strength.
The Candyman laughed loud at the dazed Raven and the struggling Beast Boy before turning his attention to Robin. Grinning manically, the sugary villain raised his claws, about to swipe them down on the Boy Wonder.
"NO!" a voice called out, causing the Candyman to pause. In confusion, he looked towards the cage and found Sir Robin pushed aside by Queen Kory. "Stop, I will not allow you to hurt my friends!"
"You... speak?" the Candyman asked in confusion, looking towards the still glowing green ball, "But... I have your voice. You shouldn't speak..."
"Leave them alone!" the teen ordered, hands clenching at her sides, "I will not let you hurt anyone anymore. I won't let you!"
Again, the Candyman paused, black eyes staring in disbelief at the captured Queen. Then he laughed, the sound booming and loud. "While you may have found your voice, my Queen, you can't stop me." The golem turned back to Robin, intent on carrying through with his original attack.
"I. SAID. STOP!" Suddenly, the room filled with a bright green light that illuminated the entire room. The Candyman stagged back in surprise, staring in shock at the cage. "And my name... is Starfire."
Her eyes blazing, Starfire hovered in the cage, an aura of power surrounding her. The door of the cage began to splinter and crack before it exploded outward, shattering it. The Candyman roared and raked his claws against the glowing figure. But as soon as they struck her body, the candy canes shattered. The Candyman hissed in pain, staggering back again as Starfire advanced. The claws began to reform soon after, but the Candyman's features betrayed his fear.
"You will never again hurt people," Starfire stated, raising her hands as glowing starbolts formed around them, "You will never again torment me. You will not hurt my friends." She released the glowing balls of energy at the beast, the Candyman howling in pain as they ripped through the chocolate coating. The fear on Candyman's features increased as the holes formed by the blast did not ooze over and heal.
"I don't understand. What is happening?!" Panic was rising in the malevolent voice, "Soldiers! Kill the Queen!" Instantly, the gingerbread automatons lunged at Starfire's floating form, but she quickly dispatched them with more blasts from her fists. The Candyman stared in abject horror, staggering backwards as his army was reduced to ash. Starfire floated over to where Robin and Cyborg were taffy tied and snapped the restraints without visible effort.
"This... is impossible! I had won! I HAD WON!" yelled the Candyman, backing away from Starfire as she advanced further on the golem. The Candyman looked quickly over at the still-open portal then back at Starfire as she ripped the gag from Raven's mouth, then made a sudden running jump for the portal, passing through it.
"Quick, we have to go after him!" Cyborg declared, already running towards the portal.
"No, wait," Robin stated calmly, a small smirk on his features, "Just watch."
"Dude, are you crazy?" Beast Boy asked, changing back into his normal humanoid form, "He'll kill Star in the real world!"
"No, he won't."
The Candyman landed in a heap in the bedroom, growling in hate. With effort he stood, but wasn't able to get to his full height in the room. Stooping over, the candy villain looked down at the wounds the dream Starfire had caused him which were now slowly healing. Grunting with a nod, the golem looked towards the still slumbering teen and hissed in revulsion. "It seems I will have my revenge after all, dear Queen." With a sneer, the Candyman raised his claws and sent them down at the sleeping form.
But his claws simply passed right through. "What...? What's this?!" exclaimed the Candyman in confusion, continuing to claw vainly against his target. Suddenly, he stopped and stared at his hand. It was visibly fading, becoming translucent as sparkling wisps of smoke winded off the surface. "No! NO! VAGABOND!" He cried out in rage, "You tricked me! You knew this would happen! Curse you! CURSE YOU!!"
His form becoming more and more immaterial, the candy golem looked around wildly. "Where is the portal? WHERE IS IT! I must get back! I cannot be defeated like this! I will not! DO YOU HEAR ME! I will not be defeated...!" As he cried out in impotent rage, the Candyman's voice faded from the room, as well as his physical presence.
Back in Starfire's dream, the Titans turned away from the view in the portal and looked at Robin expectantly.
He shrugged. "I suddenly remembered something Raven said when we first got here. Remember, when Beast Boy had all that stuff? It'd just disappear in the real world. So, I guessed the same thing would happen to the Candyman."
"You took an awful risk, Robin," Raven gently chastised, "What if it didn't work?"
"Well, I also figured it was also a good way to get a portal open so we could fight and run, if necessary," Robin replied before his face darkened, "But you're right. I thought that the Candyman would immediately jump at a chance to go into the real world. I didn't think he would want to kill us here before we went. If Star hadn't suddenly stepped in..." He let the rest of the sentence hang in the air.
"M'lady!" Sir Robin said, hurrying towards the crumpled figure on the ground and pulling her into his arms. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around in confusion, moving her mouth but producing no sound. Cyborg offered up the discarded glass ball to the fallen teen who took it with a smile. The ball's glow increased briefly before fading out again.
"W... what happened?" Queen Kory said, voice slightly scratchy, but her face brightening in a smile as she spoke.
"How much... do you remember?" Robin asked cautiously.
Queen Kory paused for a moment, brow furrowing as she considered, "I... remember the Candyman saying it was going to kill you. And then... then... I suppose I must have fainted."
Robin smiled slightly, "Well, not really. You managed to defeat the Candyman... Queen."
"Me?" she asked, looking confused again, "How?"
"You're more powerful than you think," Robin replied cryptically before standing and bowing graciously. "We have to leave now. And you have some work to do, destroying this factory and freeing the people. Good bye."
"Wait! I would have your name before you leave, stranger."
"Robin," the Boy Wonder stated with a smile, "Your friend." With that, he turned towards the other three titans, "Let's go home."
With that, they all walked through the portal.
Raven's eye's ceased their glow before she took the mirror from Star's forehead. "The portal is closed."
"Man, I'm hungry!" Cyborg declared, "I wonder if any pizza places are open?"
"Only if they have vegetarian pies. You ate more than an ox in there," Beast Boy noted with a grin as he opened the door and stepped out with the others following.
"Yeah, but all that disappeared once we stepped out," Cyborg reminded the green titan, his voice beginning to fade as they walked down the hallway.
Robin paused in the doorway, looking back at Starfire as she slept. A faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips before he whispered softly, "Sweet dreams, Star." And with that, he turned off the light and left the room.
The End