NS: All I have to say for an intro is "WOW". I had my story up for less than 10 hours and I am swamped with reviews! I love you all! Thank you for being so forgiving, because it really was just the messy, boring intro. I can't believe some of you actually like Nightmare! I purposely made her annoying as hell so she wouldn't become a "Mary Sue" character. She is mildly tollerated, making her not-so-loveable. Anyway, you aren't here to read my intros, so, on with the fic! Oh, but before I forget...I did as much research on Trigon as I could manage, and, naturally, I found little, so as for his powers...I'm being inventive. The comics didn't tell me much and neither did the series, so I'm working on a long-shot here. Please be forgiving! hardly convincing pouty face And, sorry for not updating for a LONG time: my pc was de-boed by my mom.

The TellTale Heart

Ch. 2

Red Death Awaits

Trigon roamed a deserted dimensional plain, his only company was his determination and his only guides were his demonic instincts. He could feel his power eminating from the object which he sought. Far, it was very far. Dimensions and eternities away. But he had to get it. What was a demon worth when stripped of his very soul? Nothing. His goddom and reign would be shattered, yet there was no kingdom to notice, no kingdom to care. The Earth was to be his kingdom. A plot that had long since simmered out and died, though the thought still remained. His daughter was the key...Raven was his only link to the mortal world...but not anymore. The Master of Games, fearful of the demon's power, had carelessly disreguarded him, leaving him free to roam the dimensions of space and time. Now the malice could be re-kindled and the plot executed. But first, his power must be found, and so, he pressed onward towards the faint pulse of his own essence traveling across the galaxy to reach out and summon him. His power acted as if it had a mind of it's own; it wanted to return. A soul is no use without a body, and the jewel was no consolation.

At long last, Trigon entered a swirling vortex that led strait to the Master of Game's own dimension. He stormed into the Hall, his massive feet forming craters in the tile floors. He followed the scent until he came across the jewel. Broken. It was broken. A mere fragment. Could this be all he needed? Trigon picked up the jewel between his large, crimson fingers and peered at it. He would feel insulted if all of his power could be housed in such a small object. Scoffing, he allowed the jewel to levitate in front of his eyes.

"Release the power you imprison, I command you." As if following orders, the jewel glowed brightly and burst into a spectrum of colors, some of which his Trigon in the chest like a laser. He barely flinched, allowing the warm, tingling sensation to take over his body. His power, the power he sought was not all there. A meager portion. The rest...where was the rest! He knew he had to keep searching, but before he could, the remainder of the light began to take shape in front of him. A human-like structure with...wings. The colors began to fade with the light, and all that remained were Trigon and Killer Moth. The now colorless jewel fell to the floor and turned to stone before become a pile of ash upon the tile.

"You have released me, great one." Killer Moth said uneasily, trying to find the perfect way to address the situation.

"You will take me to Earth. That is where I shall find what I seek." Trigon roared, startling the lesser villain.

"Well, the last time I travelled in outer space was never, so I don't exactly-"

"Silence, you grovelling insect!" The demon boomed, causing Moth to yelp a quiet, 'Yessir.' "Take me to Earth. I would just as quickly leave you here, but you may prove to be useful."

Nothing more was said as the two made their way through another vortex that led to a strangely windy dimension. The ground was only course sand, and Trigon sank ankle-deep with each step while Killer Moth struggled to fly against the gale-force winds. Both were silently pleased after finding the exit, which led to a less windy and rockier terrain. There were huge mountains in the distance, and craters littered the barren landscape.

"I never imagined inter-dimensional travel being so...exotic." Moth said against his better judgement, breaking the nearly hour-long silence.

"Some are more complex. We need not enter those to reach Earth." Trigon replied, eyeing a crater that, instead of a jagged pit, held a mirror-like inner surface. Through it could be seen a small red planet with two tinier entities circling it.

"That's Mars, Earth is next to it." Killer Moth pointed, then looked back and forth from the planet to Trigon. "Seems like your kind of planet." He muttered, noticing how well the landscape matched the demon's skin tone.

His demon ears not missing a word, Trigon shoved Moth into the crater and soon followed his screams through the glass, causing it to ripple in an other-worldly fashion. Once they passed, it stilled.

This doorway was different from the others. It seemed more like a portal than a vortex. The world around them was pure and pale blue, swirling with white stars. They floated down as if in suspended animation, a slight, eerie breeze blowing slowly around them. Strait ahead they could see the other side of the mirror that showed Mars, just as the one before it. Killer Moth hesitantly floated through, finding himself staring at the massive blood-red planet before him.

"Wait..." He stalled, whipping around and taking in every surrounding. "How are we breathing!"

Trigon sighed and shook his head. "We are in an inter-dimensional hallway of sorts. There is an invisible barrier around us that has oxygen enough to breathe. I am not so stupid as to enter a vaccuum where we couldn't breathe."

Killer Moth nodded half-way, not fully grasping what he'd said. Trigon seemed to notice this, and shook his head once again, muttering something along the lines of, "Inferior half-wit."

"So Raven's dad is coming here to get that?" Terra asked, pointing to the ruby shard on the table before her.

"Pretty much." Robin said lightly from his seat at the nearby table as he tapped his foot nervously. He gritted his teeth and let out a low growl of frustration. "Trigon could be on his way and we can't do anything but sit and wait!"

"Fear not, Robin, we shall attempt vanquish Trigon when he arrives." Starfire said reassuringly, floating over to his side.

Soon after, there was loud banging at the steel door of their tower. Cyborg ran over and opened the door, at which Nightmare burst into the room while her sister followed shyly and gracefully behind.

"I told you Rev, you have to help, we need your powers!" Nightmare argued roughly, brushing past Cyborg and continuing into the room. Once in the main living room, she stopped and turned to her sister. "Countless lives are at stake!"

"If I'm not careful I could end up being the cause of death, sis!" She shouted back, though she sounded more desperate than angry. "You know what happens if I go to far, I can't control the harder stuff!"

"Jesus, Reverie, it's not rocket science! Maybe if you practiced, we wouldn't be having this conversation!" Nightmare huffed, causing all the Titans to turn and watch. "You don't have to sell your soul for control, just take the time to nurture it."

"Nurture? Nurture! Why do yet get it easy? You have the evil powers! The 'easily corrupted' powers. You should be the one suffering from lack of control. You're tell me to nurture my powers? Why don't you nurture this!" In a fit of rage not expected from such a calm and composed girl, Reverie threw a palm-sized blue pearl at her sister and it burst open, creating a large white tiger out of the mist it exherted. The cat pounced at it's target, fangs bared.

"Reverie, no!" Nightmare called, throwing her arm up to shield herself from the attack. It was a near-feeble attempt, and she grimaced in pain as it's jaws locked around her arm, crunching through the flesh, muscle and bone. She retaliated by throwing her own black orb at the creature with her free hand, which then became wrapped in a snake-style dragon. She yelped when the cat bit down harder, but finally it could no longer breathe and evaporated into the mist that had created it along with her own creature.

Reverie stood, panting and staring with a look of sheer terror at what she'd just done.

Nightmare seethed and clutched her bleeding arm, which was still covered by the sleeve of her trademark trenchcoat. "The only...control you lack...is that of your...emotions, Reverie." She said, her voice shaking with pain and clearly restrained anger. She partially blamed herself for pushing her sister too hard on the subject, but still, her sister did have her temper tantrums which seldom ended without bloodshed.

"We need to get you to a hospital." Robin said slowly and carefully, getting up from his chair.

"Oh, come off it, I don't need a freaking doctor." Nightmare said dismissively, watching her blood drip onto the tile floor. Suddenly the blood began to drip backwards, returning to her arm as if the image were being rewound in a VCR. Once all traces were gone from the floor, she pulled back her sleeve and watched as the puncture wounds slowly filled and faded. "That's gonna leave a mark..."

"I-I'm sorry..." Reverie said quietly, shaking violently in fear of her own lack of control. She was just glad her sister hadn't sent a fire-breathing dragon or something else that had a tendency to be bloodthirtsy after her. Though her sister would surely lash out at anyone else, she was understanding and overly lenient with her own blood relatives, and even Reverie knew that was the only reason she was still standing with all of her limbs.

"Eh, I probably prodded the sleeping beast a bit too hard." Nightmare said with a wink. "So anyway, we did come here for a legitamite reason." She said, turning to the Titans. "We found out the location of another jewel shard."

"Home, sweet home." Killer Moth said with the slightest bit of sarcasm as they approached a large oval mirror which depicted Earth and the moon.

"Raven, do you know of her? Where is it that she resides?" Trigon demanded impatiently, gripping Moth's neck tightly and lifting up to his eye-level.

"Yes...J-Jump Ci-City. In a giant T-T...she's a Teen Titan..." He strained, wriggling in the demon's iron grasp. "I c-can't b-breathe!"

"Jump City then..." He said in a low growl, tossing Moth into the portal and completely ignoring his screams. "Soon, my daughter, I will regain my power...and claim yours..."

NS: Yep, that's all for now. New chappie will be up soon. I left ya with a bit of a cliff-hanger here, didn't I? dramatic announcer voice Where is the other jewel shard? Will Trigon gain his power back? Can the Teen Titans stop him? cough, cough Well, you'll have to wait and find out! But for now, Ciao!