Hey guys! I'm back! Whoo thank GOD for winter break, otherwise I wouldn't be updating right now! YAY! I hope you guys all had great holidays:)
Well, you've probably noticed by now, but I'm not doing the 'Responses to New Reviews' thing anymore. To make a long story short, one of my other friends on this site got in trouble for responding to her reviewers, so to stay on the good side of fanfiction, I figured that I had better limit my communication with you guys or whatever. But I really enjoy talking with you all! So if you want to contact me or anything, please use email instead! My address is on my author profile. :)
Well, here's the next chapter!
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The Suburbs of Jump City, 12:47 a.m.
Woof! Woof woof!
Carl Smith inched open an eyelid at the unpleasant sound of his border collie, Belle, barking in the middle of the night. He rolled over in bed and groaned, trying to savor a measly few more minutes of sleep. The dog's complaints began to grow louder. Woof! WOOF WOOF!
The man's eyes flew open in irritation and he forced himself to sit up. Grumbling, he hung his feet over the edge of the bed and shoved on some slippers. "Grr… damn dog… always has to go out in the middle of the night…" Carl muttered as he trudged over to the back door, where Belle was dancing and yapping her head off.
Half asleep, he followed his dog out onto the deck and hooked her up to her leash. But the barking wouldn't stop. Carl whirled around to yell at the collie when he looked up at the sky in horror. "Wh- Wha-… What the HELL?"
The normally peaceful night sky above Jump City shone a deep shade of blood red. As Carl squinted upwards, he could see thousands upon thousands of villains and demons all flying towards the sleeping city. He screamed and dashed back into the shelter of his home.
Carl wasn't seeing things. Xathaiel had summoned hundreds of minions from the depths of Hell, and tonight, they were to begin the take-over. Upon entering the city, the demon-boy began to shout out orders to his followers.
"Terra! Destroy the water and sewage mains underground. Cyborg! Interrupt all electronic communications coming into and leaving the city. Starfire! Begin to destroy the government buildings. And the rest of you!" Xathaiel paused for a moment, then grinned. "Turn this place into Hell."
Floating safely above the ensuing chaos, Caela, Robin, and Raven stared down in horror at their beloved city. From this height, Jump City looked like it was being overrun by millions of tiny black soldier ants- as if it were a mere Sunday picnic in the park. Thunder rolled dramatically around the three teens, and bright lightning illuminated the demon-ravaged city.
"And so it begins." Caela extended her hand up towards the now blood red heavens, and shouted, "SANCTUS CAERULEUS GLADIUS!" (English: holy blue sword) From her fingertips flashed her trademark electric blue light, and in her hands, it stretched to form a glowing longsword. Caela tucked her white wings back and plummeted towards Jump City in a graceful and majestic swoop, followed by Robin and Raven.
Upon entering the city, the three swerved off in different directions- as the Titans were to try to hold off the multitude of demons, and Caela was to find some way to get Xathaiel to release their friends.
Caela held her wings open as she glided on wind currents through the city's streets, searching for Satan's son. Demons were everywhere, and when they saw her, they immediately swarmed and attacked, hoping to sink their teeth into soft, white feathers. Therefore, the angel was forced to hold her crystal sword at the ready, and its blade met with demon flesh more than a few times.
After a while, the angel flared her wings and went into an upwards swoop. As she felt herself rising, she closed her eyes and extended her mind out over the city. Hopefully, Xathaiel's telepathic signature wouldn't be hard to find- his thoughts reeked of demon. When she was high enough, Caela stopped, and – there!- pinpointed the devil. She opened her eyes and peered out in his general direction. "Bene vide," (English: See well) she muttered. Caela's ice blue eyes began to glow, and they zoomed in on the demon's location like a telescope. He was hovering just above the city, surveying the destruction with a smirk on his face. That's just like him, the angel thought. Haughty little child. With a strong flap of her wings, she rocketed towards him.
Xathaiel observed his minions at work with a bit of disappointment. He had longed to demolish a few buildings himself during the take-over, but right now he wasn't able to do much. Almost all of his concentration was taken up by controlling the beasts, and he needed to reserve his strength.
"Release them, demon," said a voice behind suddenly him. Xathaiel began to whirl around in surprise, but stopped short when he felt the cold blade of a sword against his neck. A small droplet of his demon blood trickled down the blue weapon. He sensed someone behind him- it was the angel. She had him pinned in a headlock with her sword, her body uncomfortably squishing his wings against him. Heh, the demon thought. Apparently she thinks that she can hold onto me.
He smiled, revealing gleaming white fangs. "So. Come to watch the show?"
Caela pressed the glowing sword harder against his skin, and Xathaiel winced at the deeper cut. "I said release the Titans from your mind control. And banish your demons. Otherwise you and your head are about to become quite estranged."
"Heh. You honestly think that I'd give up that easily? After how hard I've worked? Try me." With that, Xathaiel summoned up his strength, and his huge bat-like wings shot open, shoving Caela off of him. It took Caela a few seconds to catch herself and open her own wings to stay airborne. As a counterattack, she rushed forward with her sword. Xathaiel swerved to the right of the lunge, and grabbed the tip of the sword between his claws. The demon muttered a spell in black magic, and banished the sword. Caela was weaponless. Xathaiel took a swing at her with his claws, but she just barely was able to shoot backwards and evade it.
Caela's eyes and hands began to glow blue, and she shook with anger and frustration. "I said, release them!" She extended her hands forward, and, "LIBERA EOS!" (English: Release them) a beam of light shot out to Xathaiel and engulfed him.
The air around the two began to take on a bluish hue as Caela entered the mind of Xathaiel- just long enough to disable his mind control. As she did, he lost all concentration, and the demons in Jump City seemed to melt into the ground as they went back to Hell. Slowly, the red color in the sky faded, and the stars shone brightly again.
Xathaiel looked around in horror. "Damn you, angel!" he yelled. "You shall pay for that!" And, in a puff of red smoke, he vanished.
Down on the ground, Robin and Raven were tending to the other Titans, who had passed out after Xathaiel's influence had left their minds. Slowly, they were beginning to stir.
Caela floated down to the Titans. "Well, the battle is over." She smiled. "We have won, for now."
Robin looked up at her. "Yeah, I guess. But… so easily, Xathaiel was able to break us all up. He was able to make the Titans turn to evil, with a snap of his finger." He sighed. "What's stopping him from doing that again? How can we prevent him from turning us away from you?"
Caela gave a grim smile. "Well… I suppose… we'll just have to spend time with each other. If we can form a bond of friendship, maybe we can stop Xathaiel."
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Oh GOD, that was a sucky chapter. And really short, too. Why did I go on this plot twist again? …Oh, yeah. To take up chapter space.
Well, I'm done stalling! Next chapter, the story will pick up and become what it was meant to be! Just… bear with me, okay? Hopefully the next chapter will make up for the poor quality of this one… ugh I'm so sorry, guys. O.o
(Sigh) Review, please! Though I'm not expecting too many compliments on this chapter…
(7/21/05): SEE MY PROFILE FOR AN IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!