Chapter 8: Good Intentions

Arella and the Titans finally made it to the doorway that led to Trigon's world. They were right outside the city wall. When they looked through the main gate, they could see that workers were everywhere. If any of them stumbled or dropped their supplies, they would feel the crack of the whip on their back. All of the children who were too young to work remained inside.

"Why would anyone want to create such a horrible place to live in?" asked Starfire.

"Trigon just wants to rule," answered Arella. "He doesn't care how bad the living conditions are, just as long as he gets what he wants." She began thinking about something. She walked alongside the wall to a place where she couldn't be seen by anyone in the city and motioned for the Titans to come closer. "We'll have to wait until nightfall before going inside," she whispered. "We won't have to wait long. The sky is already deep red. Soon, it'll become black. Then, we have to sneak to Trigon's castle and somehow get Raven out of there."

"Uh, dude? There are no guards by the gate and the gate's wide open," commented Beast Boy.

"Why aren't there any guards watching the main gate?" asked Robin thoughtfully.

"The guards are on the other side," she told them. "Trigon didn't build this wall to protect his city. He doesn't fear anything. He only had the wall built because he didn't want anyone escaping. He keeps the gate open to dare his people to attempt running away."

"Now hold up!" said Cyborg. "How do you know all this? Have you been here before?"

"No, I haven't been here before," she admitted. "In one of my magic books, it told me how to conjure up a window that would let me see anything I wanted. After I discovered who Trigon was, I would occasionally take a look at his planet."

"Good. Your knowledge of the planet will be useful," said Robin. "I'm going to find out exactly where Raven is." He flipped open his communicator. 'Now that we're in the same dimension, it should work.' The screen was blank. He tried pressing buttons, but nothing worked. "Titans, check your communicators." Everyone flipped their communicators open. Theirs wouldn't work either. "Something on the planet must be messing them up."

"Don't worry. I know where Raven is," Arella told him. "Trigon will keep her in the far side of the castle."


When nightfall came, it was completely dark in the sky. The planet had two moons, but they wouldn't be seen until later. All of the workers and their families were inside of their houses. Guards were going around locking every door, so that no one could attempt to escape in the night. When that was done, Starfire flew to the top of the wall, near the gate to see if she could spot the guards who were suppose to be watching it. It looked as if they had left their post. She looked around, but couldn't see anyone.

"The guards are not by the gate," she told them as she landed. "And I did not see anyone else."

"That may not be a good thing," commented Robin. "We should still look out for anyone who could be hiding." They all walked through the open gate. Starfire provided a very dim light with her starbolts. They tried to stay away from the houses as they crept towards the castle. At least they could see it. Lights were still on from inside. Everyone kept looking about checking for anyone lurking in the shadows. Amazingly enough, no one attacked them on their way. The hardest part was not bumping into anything. But just because Arella and the Titans didn't have an encounter with any of Trigon's soldiers, didn't mean they weren't being watched. Trigon knew that they had arrived on his planet. That's why he had ordered all of his men to leave them alone. He wanted them to make it to the castle. 'Something is wrong,' thought Arella. She didn't want to express her concerns to the Titans and worry them too. 'We should've met up with somebody. Trigon may not fear anything, but he does have men watching the city.' Starfire didn't need her bolts anymore. One of the moons was up in the sky and it shone enough light for everyone to see well.


Trigon went to Raven's room. She was dressed in all red now. "Daughter, your friends have entered the city and are headed for the castle," he informed her. "Would you like to greet them?"

"They're here? Why would they be here?" she asked. "Sure. I'll take care of them." Raven headed down the stairs.

"Do not kill them," Trigon called after her. "I will want to experiment on them later." Raven acknowledged him. She walked out of the castle and waited by its gate. She put her hood up and closed her eyes, so that no one could see what they looked like. Arella and the Titans were getting very close to their destination. When they neared the castle, Cyborg saw Raven first.

"Yo! There she is!" he said in an excited whisper and pointed in her direction. "I think. That red thing looks like her cloak. I mean, the shape is right" They walked as quickly as they could without bumping anything and making any noise. Cyborg was right. As they kept getting closer, they could make out her usual ashen face. It was all they could do not to run right up to her. Finally, they all made it to the castle gate. Arella tried to hug her daughter, but Raven pushed her away.

"Raven, are you alright?" asked Arella. She was both concerned and confused.

"You're supposed to be dead," she answered as she opened her eyes. Everyone gasped.

"Raven, what has happened?" inquired Starfire.

"Nothing that wasn't going to happen anyway," Raven answered. She flew up into the air. "You're here to try and kill me. Trigon said you would."

"Raven, we're your friends!" Robin told her. "We'd never hurt you!"

"Too late." With her powers Raven picked up some boulders and hurled them at the Titans. Starfire and Beast Boy flew out of the way while everyone else had to jump.

"Dude! What's wrong with her?" asked Beast Boy.

"Trigon must have gotten to her," explained Arella.

"Man! This is totally de ja vu!" exclaimed Cyborg. His arm shifted into his sonic cannon and he reluctantly shot at Raven. She quickly brought up a shield to block it. "We sorta went through the same thing with Terra!"

"We can't make the same mistakes we made last time," stated Robin.

"Keep in mind that the only way to help Raven is to beat her," Arella told them. Robin threw some disks at her, which she stopped with her powers and threw them back at him. Starfire shot laser beams from her eyes while Cyborg pressed a button on his left arm. His hand moved inside his arm and he shot out a net at Raven. Arella was hesitant to fight, but only for a second. She had believed in peacefulness for so long, but now was the time to put all of those teachings aside. She began to mutter something under her breath. A bright ball of energy formed in her hand. The more she said her spell, the more powerful the energy got. Finally, she threw it in Raven's direction. Raven flew out of the way and threw more boulders. Beast Boy decided to take a more sneaky approach. He turned into an owl and flew a few yards behind her. Then, he began to fly towards her and turned into a gorilla, grabbing her out of the air.

"C'mon, Raven! Don't do this!" said Beast Boy after they hit the ground. Black energy engulfed her whole body and she disappeared into the ground. When she came back up, she was standing behind Arella. Raven threw her cloak around her mother and they both teleported to another part of the city. The Titans didn't know what to do. Where had Raven taken Arella? How would they find either of them? All they could do was start searching.

"Raven probably took Arella inside the caste, or to another area in the city," Robin thought out loud. To the Titans, he said, "Titans, start searching the city. We'll split up. Starfire, Beast Boy, stay together and search that part of the city." He pointed to the left. "Cyborg, you're with me. We'll search over this way." He pointed to the right. "Let's go!"


Author's Note: Yeah, I know. Robin would pair himself with Starfire. And Cyborg would go with Beast Boy, but just bear with me. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing.