Standard disclaimer of ownership and properties apply readily.
--TT
Chapter 9
--
The dark corridor seemed to stretch endlessly, like the hallways of a detested asylum. The shadows appeared to be alive, trailing along the three speeding figures insistently, never parting, never swaying.
Beast Boy was in the lead, harpooning himself as fast as he could, though there seemed to be short halts of reluctance.
Raven followed suit, her dark aura flaring. Her hood covered her head once more. Violet eyes speared throughout the corridor.
Cyborg trailed last, sparks of electricity sizzling erratically. His mechanical eyes blinked once, then twice.
He mis-stepped.
He craned to the side, but caught his balance.
The android snarled, and punched his abdomen.
"Keep working, you piece of titanium junk…k-keep working…!"
He willed himself to run faster.
Soon enough, the three Titans found themselves running excessively and unnecessarily, for no end seem to exist.
Beast Boy skidded to a halt. "Okay, this is just like that one stupid level in Dunes. And the same with that: I'm giving up!!!" He turned hotly to his two companions, eyes imploring. "C'mon! Let's go back, and for the love of all that is sacred and holy, help Starfire!"
Raven stopped as well. Before addressing Beast Boy's concern, she gave short but solid glances to Cyborg's frame.
"…I'm sorry, Beast Boy, but this time, there's nothing we can do but pray."
The changeling snarled. "For what, and for who!?"
Raven touched the red orb that was the Titans' communicator signal. "For us, for Robin, and for a world that is not yet crimson with blood."
"That's a load of-"
Crack-ck-kle!!!
"Heh……damn shoulder just won't stop hassling……dammit, heh." Cyborg pressed his fingers into shards of metal. The damaged part of his shoulder was still sparkling with electricity, and now seeped with what looked like the cooling waters of his internal system.
"Cyborg, you're not beeping in the right way," Raven questioned, eyes wary. "We'll hurry and-"
"Get this thing over with so I can go repair myself while sipping on some high-caffeine latte, right? Good to know. We have a task to accomplish here, so please, let's save the day……of course, preferably before I become battery-less."
Pause.
Raven nodded.
Beast Boy sauntered to the side of the corridor, tracing his fingers over the dark tiles of unidentified materials.
"……question of the day: just where the hell are we, New Jersey?"
Cyborg held one finger to his temple. "I'll give this overly haunted hallway of doom a little scan, maybe there's traces of energy lying around I can utilize."
Beep.
The android's red orb began to sweep through the darkness, revealing nothing but the shadows.
The dark girl closed her eyes. She focused. That focus was shattered.
……beware the eye……beware the eye……beware the heart……beware the bond…the sun shall freeze……freeze……and the moon shall burn……and-
"……now is not the time……now is definitely not the time…….!"
She refocused, and clasped her hands tightly.
Beside her, the red dot dimmed.
"Well, not like I expected to see anything relevant. We've gotta end this thing, quick! I don't know long Star can hold against Robin without needing to kill him!"
Raven reopened her eyes and glared at him. "You should be more concerned about when you're going to shut down, permanently."
Cyborg turned to her. "Naturally, but don't think for a second I'm gonna sit this one out, yo."
Raven shook her head. "Stubborn moron."
Beast Boy groaned. "Save the loving name callings for later! We gotta find a way out of this maze, one-way street, or whatever this is!"
"Look, elf, I'm all ears for ideas, so stop complaining and think with your protein deficient brain for once, and stop BITCHING!!"
"What!? I wanted to go help Starfire! You people were the ones all over your high-rockety crap for brains to even consider helping her, and Robin!! Now we're stuck, and-"
"Shut up."
Beast Boy turned to glare at the goth but stopped short.
Strands of dark aura flickered around the girl. Silence ensued.
"……must concentrate……I must concentrate………"
"……………"
Seconds, minutes of anticipation passed.
Raven reopened her eyes. She glanced at the dark corridor. "……it's no use. The level of the magical barrier used here is at a much higher level than the pervious obstacles. I……I can't see through them."
Cyborg snarled, and glared at the walls.
He raised a fist.
Electricity sizzled. He observed the tenacity of the bolts, sprinkling like nectar of life, which is true for him.
"D-dammit!!!" He placed his fist down. "We're not going to just stand here helplessly! Lord knows how many times we've had to go through that!! There has to be something we can do, I can do!!"
The gothic girl shivered. Shadows danced. She closed her eyes, and fingered her forehead; her chakra.
Beast Boy suddenly pinched his nose. "Aw, no, man! The smell's even here! It's like a freaking-never-ending fart in an elevator!!!"
Raven's eyes widened. "Beast Boy, you can still smell the blood?"
The changeling grasped his nose and grunted his affirmative.
Raven allowed her violet eyes to travel around the entire region of imperceptible blackness once more.
"I guess I was wrong again. We're not entirely in an alternate dimension."
Cyborg frowned, yet again. "Great, let's add more of that confusion to my migraines. So where the hell are we?"
"No, it's a good thing, now. Beast Boy, it's time to put that good nose of yours to practical use. Can you follow the trail of the blood scent?"
He nodded his affirmative.
"Are you kidding? I've got the nose of a bloodhound, literally! Th-this trail of blood will get us out of here, right?"
Raven returned her affirmative.
Beast Boy morphed into a green bloodhound and started dashing in a certain direction. Raven and Cyborg followed.
While Raven levitated and swirled in the air, Cyborg continued to run.
Small jolts of blue bolts sprinkled from his abdomen.
The wires were beginning to malfunction.
He just kept quiet.
---------T-T
Gilmour huffed as he rounded the corner, his coat flapping behind him as he ran as fast as he could.
Tattla! Tattla! Tattla! Gunfire infiltrated his ears.
Debris of the city scattered across the streets as his steps stomped and kicked them away. Several hasty steps steeped into small puddles, soaking the edges of his pants.
Finally entering an area where the view of the black domes was apparent, the inspector found dozens upon dozens of the shadow fiends slowly, but numerously, emerging from the corner of every building. The police and militant forces are currently in the heat of firing all the artillery weaponry at their disposal.
"Hey! Jackass! Get your stupefied trench coat clad bum over here!!!"
Gilmour merely turned his head to find the chief, as grouchy as ever, taking cover behind a destroyed armed vehicle with only a pistol as defense. He quickly dashed over.
"Gilmour! Just what the hell are these things!? They're coming out of nowhere! We can't keep on killing them forever, no matter how appealing that sounds!"
The inspector ran next to the man, eyes wary of the massive amount of creatures bearing their teeth and red eyes. And amongst them, he saw some of the soldiers that came with the battalions.
"Hmmm, and I thought they were on our side."
The chief sneered. "I would assume that 'inspector' title was worth something! I told you!!! There's something seriously freaking screwed up here! Those monsters are doing more than just eating my men! They're freaking taking over their freaking bodies, damn it!"
BAM!! BAM!! BOOM!!
A few gunshots were fired and the bullets ricocheted off the vehicles the two men hid behind.
"Look, Gilmour, don't you know anything about this!? Where are those damn Titans!?"
Gilmour glared at the black domes and took out his revolver.
"…………….."
"Gilmour! Didn't you hear me!?"
"…………the first step to heaven, I suppose…." The inspector muttered.
The chief seemed very upset to be ignored. "…Dammit! Answer me, you piece of rotten shit!!"
"…….manners, sir, manners. It's not becoming of a man in his fifties wearing two belt buckles. And to answer your question, I think the Titans are taking care of the bastard behind all of this."
Gilmour cocked the safety off.
A pause.
"That's it!? You think!!?? Those stupid teenagers are nothing but trouble, and when they're needed, they're freaking off having a dance party!"
Sounds of soldiers shouting echoed from entirely the other side of the battlefield.
Gilmour and the chief peeked around the armored vehicle they hid behind, and saw a group of the men finally exhausted of ammunition and were being pushed into a corner by a massive group of the monsters.
"Dammit!!! Die, you pieces of black crap!!!" One of the soldiers shouted as he shot his firearm into the massive shadows.
"Shrrriiiiiiiii!!!!!"
A fiend pounced on him and seeped its teeth into his flesh. Blood gushed out like a small, crimson geyser.
"AAaaaaaaahhhh!!! God!!! T-the p-pain……no! No! NOOOO!!"
The chief shut his eyes and bit his lips.
Gilmour felt a certain heat in his palm.
Soon enough, the man just limped as his consciousness was lost. But the fiend wasn't finished. Gilmour's eyes widened as the shadow creature began to fizzle into particles and assimilated with the body of the fallen soldier, like an odious smoke breathed into the lungs of its victims.
Soon enough, the man stood up again, but this time, his eyes were the same as those creatures.
"………..well, I'll be damned."
The chief gripped his wireless communicator. "Arthur, are you there!? Do you copy!?"
"Chief! Damn good to hear from you, alive too! We're getting some really freaky feedback from the other divisions, sir, but we're not having many contacts here."
"Listen, Arthur. I want you to get everyone out of this hellhole! We've got nothing to fight all these blasted monsters at once, we need-hey! Gilmour, where the hell do you think you're going?!"
The inspector charged to the other side of the battlegrounds, sparing the chief one last glance. "Heroic antics, of course! Don't wait up for me!"
"Gilmour! I'm not going to pick up your corpse if you get chewed into tiny, tiny bits!!!" He growled as the man was already out of earshot.
"Sir!" Two officers rushed to the chief's side. Apparently they just arrived. "Great to see you alive! Please, oh please, tell me we're getting out of here!!!"
The stern man took out his magnum, loading it with another clip.
"S-sir!?"
"Oooooohhhh, man."
"Run if you want, but I'm not letting this city be blown to bits without a fight. Especially by things that came out of a corny X-file show."
The two officers rubbed their face in agitation, rustling the rocks around them.
They looked to each other, and nodded.
They took out their laser pistols.
Click. "All ready to die, sir."
"Hmph. We'll see about that. All right, let's show these assholes what we can do with reckless driving." He got into the armored vehicle, and took out his communicator.
"Arthur! Change in plans. Get your men ready to make a full frontal assault without getting too close to those monsters. Take them out at long range, battle rifles and explosives come to mind."
"Aye, aye, captain! What're you planning to do then!?"
He turned on the ignition. "I'm going to make some road kill."
---------T-T
CLUNK!!!!
KLANK!!!
Staff met against hard cave rocks.
SLAM! SPL-IIIII-EEN!!
Sparks flew.
A fist and a heel come down, together.
"Huaaagh!!" The figure pivoted itself away with a staff and dived through the openings between the attacks.
A reverse kick followed.
The figure raised its shoulder and avoided impact. With his elbow in position, he brought it down.
The leg shifted and bent inwards, and the flat of the foot met the elbow.
Grunting, the other figure gripped the rocky wall and sent the weight and gravity upwards, pushing the figure above away with his leg.
"Huh!!!" Shr-ii-ckk-ll-icckkk!!! The staff carved into the stone grounds, friction creating sparks and deceleration.
Albert Dunstan twirled his staff. He blanched as he lost sight of his opponent.
He growled slightly, and began darting his field of vision sideways, coveting the veil of blackness and the simmer glow of blue.
Tat!
He swirled to the right, catching the remnants of the fading shadows of a small pebble.
"Curs-"
SLAM!!! Kahn planted his fist firmly against his cheek, the force sending the murderous butler rattling backwards.
Sh-tt-t-tt-tt-ckkk!!! Albert once again dug his staff into the ground. He rotated around the weapon and reeled his feet to Kahn's side.
Kahn swept his arm upwards. He grinned, and clamped his arm around the two legs tightly.
"Fa!!" He swung him like a bat into a wall of rock balls.
THUMP!!
The butler impacted the ground unceremoniously, and remained on all fours indefinitely, before he bared his white, floral teeth.
A dim red glow swirled in the darkness.
It was dancing.
It was laughing.
"Tis the day to be jolly…"
SWOOSH!! SPAAA!!!
Both men leapt into the topmost pier of the pillar of darkness, fighting in a dark consumed world, hoping to emerge from it without being consumed.
-
-
-
-
-
-
A fist came down.
Twisting his staff upwards to counterbalance the impact of the fist, the butler was able to lift his opponent straight back into the unruly darkness.
He stabbed.
Kahn grunted as the staff imbedded slightly into his stomach.
"Break!!!" BAM!!!
The fighter zoomed downwards and made a vertical hand slice aimed at the old man's head.
Albert grinned before he vanished in the darkness, letting Kahn's attack miss, and to only create a large crack in the cavern grounds.
Grunting again, Kahn made a quick whirl after his attack missed, to prevent any sudden rear attacks from his opponent, then got into a defensive stance.
"For all of your boisterous boasts, you are still merely an ignorant human. There is no way you can ever hope to defeat me…"
The voice boomed and echoed throughout the dark and murky underground cave, vibrating like the old ruins of lore.
"Hahaha……human? You say such interesting things…" Kahn noted nonchalantly that the light from the hole was gone.
"I've been called a lot of things, but 'human' was never one of them." He cracked his knuckles.
Drip. Drip.
"Stop hiding like the silly cockroaches you insipid fiends are emulating. We're wasting precious time, and unless you have the guts to show your-freaking-self, none of this is going to end soon."
"Hahahaha……once a worm, always a worm. You humans are nothing compared to the greatest of the entities in this world, the knowledge and the existence of the truly greatest form of prowess. You shall die knowing you are nothing!"
FLASH!!! "Kah!"
From the side, Albert suddenly reappeared, staff held in a launch to perform an attack intending to break the neck.
"Auuugh!" The maniacal fighter jerked his head to the side, catching the staff between his shoulder and neck.
Crrriiiick!!!
Ignoring the pain, he tried to reach for the end of the weapon to gain leverage.
CLAM!! Only to have Albert's foot slam into his face.
He staggered backwards. WHAM!! A summersault kick followed.
SLAM!! A clean hit of the staff against the back.
Using pure instinct, Kahn was able to grasp onto the staff after the hit, and using that grasp, he brought himself to the man's front and delivered a swift punch.
"Rah!" Albert disappeared before the blow could land.
Kahn sneered as he landed. "Son of a bitch…if I wanted to see a magic show, I would be in Las Vegas."
CRACKLE!!! A sound alerted him and he flipped into the air, avoiding a ground sweep. He brought down his heel, intending to crush the man's skull, but hit naught but air.
"Che." He grunts as he knelt down quickly to avoid a head blow.
Flipping backwards and landing on his hands, he used both feet to kick, and finally made contact with the enemy's torso.
WHACK! The butler flew up into the air, trying to gain a balance-
"Hahaha!!!" Kahn was already above the airborne man, and slammed his heel into the face.
Blood spilled.
The two landed.
The grounds shook and the cave vibrated as Kahn sprinted with the red glow shining brilliantly.
Albert raised his staff horizontally, a measure of defense…..?
"Prepare your meager self!!" The fighter announced as he jabbed his fingers towards the man's throat.
Albert's image faded. "What the-" WHAM!!
He flew to the side, his head whipped towards his chest. He reverse flipped, and kicked at another fading image.
He quickly ran up the stony walls, propelled himself down, and acrobatically twirled his body vertically.
His foot made contact with frosty metal. He shifted his weight and-
SLAM!!!
Gravity and momentum took over. Kahn landed through a recovery flip.
He dashed to the left and swiped-
WOMP!
A foot connected at the back of his head. He slammed his elbow downwards and blocked the endpoint of the staff, but got hit in the back. He landed face first into the rocky grounds.
"Just like in a child's playground. Eat dirt." The butler spun in the air, and dropped down with the weapon acting as a spear.
Kahn's left eye flared as he grinned. "Jolly good times don't go away easily." He pushed himself up and leaped into the air.
Instead of charging straight into the end of the staff, he somehow maneuvered himself around the staff, and slammed his palm into the man's face.
"Gah!!" Albert cried, as he was suddenly kneed in the stomach.
Kahn pulled his head back…
WHAM!!!
Blood flew.
"Hahahahaha…"
--------
Red. Green. Purple.
Just what are those colors? Why does he feel improper to attack those colors?
SPAS-SS-SS-SS-SS!!!
He raised his hands. "…….p-power………so much power….."
"Robin, please listen to me! An evil force is manipulating your mind! You must seek strength within yourself to battle it! Do not desist in knowing your true self!! You-you are not evil!"
Robin shuddered, convulsing, and panted.
"Your courage and heroism have constantly amazed me and all of the inhabitants of this city!! And I believe you would make no exception in this endeavor! Please, listen to my voice, please……please…return to this world…! I-"
"Arrrggghhhh!!!!" Robin shouted as he made a mad dash for the swirl of colors. His bo-staff caressed with the black energy, he swiped to miss and hit the ground, causing the marble floor to be melted through.
A cesspool of blood and minerals remained.
"Robin! I do not wish to fight you! P-please! Desist…….stop!"
Stop!? He can't stop, not when everything is against him. Not when he can't go on knowing everything begins and ends in cycles, never ending……never ending torment. The torment will not stop until the world bleeds with the death of the espers and flowers.
"Rah!!!" He made a horizontal swipe, aiming to cleave the head off.
Starfire leaned backwards quickly to avoid being decapitated, then takes herself into higher elevation.
"You are still present, Robin! I will not believe otherwise! Resist this evil that wishes to overtake your mind, body, and soul!"
Evil…….? Just what is evil? What is he doing? What is he doing? What did everyone want? From the world; from him?
"Gah! Th-there's nothing worth screwing around for…!!!"
The Tamaranian girl allowed a quick smile, before her expression returned serious and grim, once more.
"There is still much to cherish, still! Please, reali-"
"Shut. Up."
Znnnnn!!!
Robin's shadow extended behind Starfire.
Destroy everything that makes you uncomfortable. It is the desire of all humans. Men desire to fulfill what is best for them. It is only natural…
WHAM!!! Starfire flew from the kick and crashed into the walls of marble.
She groaned a little before she cried a: "Eeek!!!" and dodged two metal-plated feet, which left indents of its shapes.
Using the advantage of the position, Robin pushed himself away from the wall and swung his bo-staff.
"Ah!" Starfire zoomed away from the strike and continued to manage herself at a distance.
She hovered mere feet away from the dark boy, and she had flew at too slow of a speed. A shadow loomed under her.
THWACK!! The bo-staff struck her from above. Before she could react, four consecutive blows followed.
WHAM! SLAM! POW! The final hit was an elbow in the back. CRACK!!
The Tamaranian rocketed to the ground, and before she could utter a groan or moan, the Boy Wonder was on top and squeezing his fingers together.
She choked.
"R-Robin..!"
Instinct and nature overtakes frailty in the time of need, of desperation. Gradual alliance with the dark is always inevitable, as is with death. Realize nothing is absolute, and when the world bleeds with crimson delight, let the arms of mortality shudder in the face of the immortal…
He breathed erratically. "Everything…is a waste!!! It's not worth it! I-" He stopped.
"No-, that's not true-" His voice trembled, he loosened his grip. "A lot of things are worth it. The smiles, the tears, the silence…"
Starfire breathed through her surprise, and squinted her eyes as the boy began losing mind, once more.
"R-Robin…?"
"You failed!!! You couldn't save him!! You couldn't save them!! You couldn't save her!!! I…I couldn't save them!!! I c-couldn't save him!!! I couldn't save ….save her!!! GAH!!!!"
He raised a fist.
"!!!!!" Starfire's eyes flared and she sent a powerful sphere of her energy around herself.
ZOOOON!!
"Arrgh!" The dark clad boy flew and rummaged into the marble floor. He laid there.
Hovering slightly above the ground, Starfire approached the immobile form of the Boy Wonder.
"Robin……" Her words were interrupted and silenced as the boy sat on his knees.
He spread his arms to the sky. And he howled.
The scream was piercing. The marbles of broken walls and ground shook. The shadows danced and the darkness farced.
And when the final stages of mankind become intact, the world shall bleed, and bleed, and bleed, and bleed, and bleed…until the crimson delight of life is void and the devils of kosher mock the singing birds…
The boy continued to scream, like a banshee that found its death near. He gripped his head.
"Shut the hell up!!! Shut the hell up!! What-what-ack!!! Raaaaahhh!!!"
He screamed as his body was pinned to the ground by offensive and yet friendly colors.
"Robin! Calm your soul! I beg of you, I-I…"
The boy continued to scream, his eye mask fizzled and his shadows continued to convulse.
"I…! I not in a million eons of Tamaran or Earth do I ever wish to see you in such pain! Pain…that you have never deserved or sought! Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven……they have gone to combat the evil that has polluted your precious mind, please, bear the good and resist the evil before their victory is claimed!"
She shuddered as he glared straight into her green eyes.
"……d-death……death………it's the same…the sun…! The Wraith……!"
The shadows converged under Robin, and they merged with his dark clad flesh.
FIIIIII!!!
Clunks of shadows erupted and Starfire was propelled away. She landed on her back as shards of marbles showered her.
"Owie…" She gasped as the boy's eyes now shined in a daunting red, like two bloody roses amongst tombstones of lore…
He exhaled.
He inhaled.
He exhaled.
All the shadows disappeared, leaving only the light, reflecting throughout the room in an iridescent chorus of crystals and marbles.
The room grew brighter.
And brighter.
Brighter.
Sing…birds……sing! The Crimson Delight awaits nothing……it merely bleeds…
"Raaaahhhh!!"
The sun shall freeze and the moon shall burn. That, is when the world is upside down…
Robin's hands pulsed, and dark bolts of electricity sizzled and sizzled. They began manifesting throughout his arm. They invaded his veins.
His eyes glowed crimson.
Brighter still……
Starfire shielded her green eyes.
She blinked.
Black bolts sauntered across the floor. The scream of the banshee ran its marathon.
Robin only exhaled. "The sun shall freeze……it shall freeze…"
His legs convulsed.
She whimpered.
SPAS-SS-SS-SS!!!
-
-
-
-
-
-
A piece of blue flew to her, and landed on her breast.
"!!!!"
Starfire touched it and brought it to her scrutiny under her arm, away from the developing light of lore…
Her green eyes went wide as saucers.
She sucked in a breath, and tucked the piece of blue in her skirt.
Brighter and brighter…
Green eyes became determined and compassionate with an emerald glow that threatened to rival that of the light.
The Tamaranian flew straight into the wail of the banshee.
---------
"……it's like a freaking graveyard, ain't it, Sally?" He cocked the shotgun, releasing a shell.
"Sure, if by a graveyard you mean hell." She turned around. "Hey, Basque, John, you guys finding yourselves alive back there?"
A man with short blonde hair and a lazy grin massaged his shoulder. "As much as I can be alive, I suppose. But, man! This shoulder is sure killing me. Can you give me a loving massage, Sally?"
"Sure, Basque, I don't mind tenderizing your flesh to feed gruesome monsters."
The man trailing behind the four gave a gruff groan. "You kids fight like two peas in a pod…wait, I don't think I used that terminology right."
"John, shut the hell up, and watch our backs." Sally demanded, and turned to the man with the shotgun. "Lieutenant Lester, what should be our primary objective?"
Lester cocked the shotgun, again.
He aimed it at Basque.
Basque grinned, nodded, and treaded off towards the side of the city.
Click.
"We'll finish a batch off, right here, and hope that we live through this to get drunk at a bar before Labor Day. And if we're lucky, I'll get lucky." He took out a cigarette, and placed it between his lips.
John moaned. "Oh please, Lord, let Basque get a better aim this time."
The female officer pulled a strand of her amber hair behind her ears.
She closed her eyes, and held her a necklace to her heart. She kissed it. "……may the earth stop bleeding."
Lester nodded. "May we all never bleed." He aimed the shotgun upwards.
BANG!!!!
He brought the firearm down, and lit the cigarette at the edge of the barrel.
He inhaled the tobacco and puffed smoke through his nostrils. "Nothing like a good dose of chemicals that ultimately kills you…"
A rumble shook through the ground. Horrendous shrieks echoed through the city after the gunshot.
Through the corner of a building on the far side, pairs of crimson eyes emerged. Rustles of the earth began to shift.
Lester grinned, his grey eyes glee with equinox. "Hey, if they're really shadow creatures, why is it that they make a stampede? Shouldn't they be weightless, like real shadows are?"
"I'll answer your question in post-death or post-survival."
"No, you wouldn't."
"Which path do you wanna try?"
John looked to the top of a hill.
"The path where I'm alive so I can get laid."
The herd of shadow fiends rumbled closer, and closer.
Lester's hand darted into his suit, and he withdrew four grenades. "Duck."
Sally and John ran to the side, taking aim and shooting into the stream of creatures. Lester grinned and tossed the grenades one by one.
All the fiends reacted immediately, and were about to part ways-
BANG!! BANG! BANG!! BANG!!
Four shots ran through the air and city. Four bullets struck the four grenades in midair.
BOOOOOOMMMM!!!
Chunks of concrete and shadows dispersed. A rock & roll rhythm played in the air, and it was very, very upbeat.
"Shake it like you mean it." Basque smirked, and took aim at the scattered grounds and monsters.
"Bang."
BANG!!!
Lester tossed his shotgun to the side, and instead withdrew two magnums.
Click. Click.
-----------
WHAM! Kahn's fist sent the butler flying.
Albert wiped the now bloody part below his nose, where blood was beginning to seep. "Augh!!! Curses! You-"
A red glow shined inches above him. "Shut the glittering-jitter hell up, grandpa. Dead people don't talk."
SLAM!!! A kick straight up from under the chin.
Albert's form flailed airborne. He gritted his teeth, opened his eyes, ready to-
"Down." Kahn heeled him on the cranium. THOMP!!!
The butler lost concentration and flapped in the air, but before he could land, Kahn's steel grip held him by the collar of his vest.
The Eye of Ozymandius cackled as Kahn brought his fist into view.
"My serving of the land of pain."
POW! SLAM! WHAM! CRACK! RAM! SLAM! WHACK!!!
-
CRACK!! SLAM!! CRACK!!
-
-
The darkness blurred with red.
-
-
SWOOSH!!!
Albert finally fell to the ground, his staff now broken in half.
Kahn walked over to the man's fallen form, his crimson eye flaring powerfully. "Not even enough to survive to halftime." His teeth bore. "Heh, you're not much of a player."
Albert's fingers twitched. Kahn raised an eyebrow.
From the finger tips, a murky and dark fog begins to perspire, though it was hardly visible in the dark blue tints.
Kahn watched with amusement as the butler slowly got back up, though this time his entire aura and person seems to have changed, to have become……darker.
"Raaaaaaaahhh……"
White, grey hair diminished and strands of them that remained became pickling needles. The skin became immaculately pale and dead, seemingly the very epidermal of a corpse.
"Shrrriiiiiiii!"
Grinning, Kahn dug his pinky into his ear. "Sheesh. You're nosier than pigs being slaughtered."
"Despair," His voice now sounded very different, almost like a high pitched siren, "mortal, for you will now see first hand the true form of the wraiths! An undying being that has dwelled throughout the ages of man and monsters!! The very essence of thus being is beyond the simple minded humans, merely a small spark of the candle flames…"
The Eye of Ozymandius pulsated. "Don't speak to me about time, you bastard." He took a step. "If there's anything that can be spoken of the powers of time, it's my handy baby right here." He pointed to his left eye, and pure mischief showed.
Albert ceased in his actions, and gazed into the flaring light of the man's left eye. He seemed……enchanted, in sorts.
"Such peculiar powers, the likes I have yet seen……you, you are no ordinary worm, are you?"
Kahn smirked. "Well, it seems I've been promoted in your demeaning choice of words."
"But it shall remain the same! You and the rest of this world shall feel the most immaculate prime of the powers unknown of this world!!! And after I end your life, I shall extract that relic from your cold, rigid corpse!"
The humanoid monster dashed straight at the fighter, faster than ever before.
Unable to move out of the way, the broken staff pummeled into Kahn's guts. "Oof!!"
WHASP!!! A hand grazed against his chin.
Blood spilled from Kahn's cheeks.
POW!! A fist rammed under his shoulder.
"Shrrriiii!!!"
Slash. Blood spilled.
Punch. POW!!!
Kick. SLAM!!!
Kahn recovered from the flip and-
Albert's ghastly hand grasped the bandaged leg of Kahn and dragged it upwards. Kahn's face made contact with the rocky walls along the way, creating red marks and blood gashes.
Albert released his hold, and Kahn descent to the ground like a rag doll.
The fighter's long, grey bangs flailed behind him during the descent. His hairline shown if the darkness wasn't around, especially since the red glow of the eye had vanished.
Seconds before the impact, a tug strained on the fighter's leg. The muscles twisted.
"And I did not even use a hook."
Pivot, then holster. WHAM!! Kahn caved and laid still on the floor.
Albert stood above the man, glaring with monstrous black eyes of victory. "It seems you have physically felt the difference between gods and mortals. Nothing in this unpurified world can ever hope to bear through their sins. Hope for the weak and the sorrow of an undying ancient text of freaks and underlings. The only way to transcend beyond that mortality, is to reach deep into the core of the asphalt of the gods, namely, the gods of the Wraith."
A pause.
Kahn began trembling on the ground. "Hehehehahahhahahahaha!!! Gods!? Is that what you call freaks nowadays?! You're not even worthy to be called a monster! Just a coward!"
WHOMP!!!
Albert clamped his hand around the man's neck, and slowly squeezed.
"Shhhrriiiiiii!!! Still, you do not understand! This world, this plane, this existence! Tell me, what is the purpose of your wretched presence here!?"
The eye beamed.
Teeth like fangs.
"Hehehehe……just a coward, who was just afraid to die."
"Silence! This nonsense you spew, what are you insinuating!? You're nothing but a sub-terran, who knows nothing of the powers of the darkness, and yet you constantly mimic-"
"Everyone is a coward……from time to time……it is now, when the sun freezes, when the courage of a person will be shown…"
Albert's hand desist its compression. The elderly monster tilted his head as he gazed at the bandages and eyes covered by hazel.
"Hehehehe…..tell me, Albert Dunstan…what do you see in this left eye of mine?"
"………………"
"You see nothing. There is nothing for you to see anymore. Because this eye is meant only for the living, like the sun, the moon, and the Crimson Delight……"
"…..nnnnnghh….rrr…"
"Once a rancid corpse, one should remain a rancid corpse……Do not bother the living, you underling of a pawn, because only the living should bother the living."
His left eye pulsated, flashes of red waned the butler back into the illuminated rocky cavern.
Kahn released breaths of vapor.
Cold, dense vapor.
"…….perhaps the sun will freeze."
Kahn bowed his head.
Albert snarled, eyes burning with absolute strife.
Silence.
The humanoid monster glared at the man before him, skin raking and flaking with different forms.
"You speak of powers and time a lot…….were you that afraid to die?" Kahn asked, with a placid face. The red flare was gone, leaving a black void to replace the eye.
"What are you spewing-"
"Did you feel betrayed? Lonely? Unworthy? Destroyed? Mutilated?"
"!!!???"
"…..dead?" He took a step forward.
Albert took a step back. His eyes showed a fear and realization that seemed to have……haunted him.
Kahn, red eye gone, looked up. His expression was……sad?
"Wh-what are you plotting?! This tricke-"
"Have you ever heard an angel sing, Dunstan?
Albert flexed his wrist. He gauged his eyes and the man's now crimson-less face.
"……the most glorious of all voices. A lyrical melody not even the abhorred sirens can fathom, and a voice that only yourself can hear, can appreciate, can cherish…….have you ever heard an angel sing, Dunstan? When the life of another fills yours, and all you can think about is to protect that voice, but something blocks your path, that Crimson Delight."
The monster-man's eyes flashed slightly, and black irises were partially replaced with forest green orbs.
Kahn smirked. "Tell me, Albert Dunstan……when was the last time you saw the sun freeze and the moon burn? The last time the angels of heaven sang for your life and sanity?"
With eyes void of crimson and life, he looked to the ghastly ghoul of a man.
"……………hehehehe, can you bear to see the light again, Dunstan? The light of your life, once again…"
Albert Dunstan grasped his face. His body twitched and convulsed, sweat began to form over his pale epidermis and a form of life took over his eyes.
He shuddered.
Forest eyes darkened to spirits of the wraith once more.
He screamed in fury and in fear, and charged to the avatar of the Eye.
Kahn bowed his head.
The cave echoed the scream of another banshee.
He smirked.
-
-
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-
-
"………sing for me, Aurora."
----------
The fiends of shadow leapt and dispersed consecutively and sequentially. The bullets of the technology of man flew and coursed through the air.
Basque reloaded another clip, and cursed as he took aim.
"Damn shadowy vermin, I don't have any mouse trap, so…hold still!"
BANG!!
"Ha! Chalk that up to my brilliant sniping skills!!" He pulled the MS-15 back and smirked as he loaded another clip. On the grounds, he suddenly saw Sally aim her automatic pistol at him.
"What the-"
BANG!!!
A fiend beside him dispersed.
The blonde woman frowned at him. Basque grinned lazily and blew her a kiss.
Lester dodged to the side and fired five shots, destroying all the creatures in an alley.
He paused. No movement. He reloaded his magnums and turned to check on Sally and Basque.
They gave him salutes.
John followed him, eyes wary and exploring.
"These things aren't technically alive, are they?" John inquired, as he covered the lieutenant's rear. "The bullets…they go straight through, seemingly unhindered by friction and the likes."
"And yet they have some sort of weight, meaning they're affected by gravity. It's very arbitrary and all of this is of speculation only, but chief major might know something about all this."
"Yeah, if he only had a heart of gold and a conscience made out of ……well, if only he had one."
"How bold of you, John. As I remember, saying something like that can get transferred to the forensics department."
Sally folded her arms and pulled the trigger, shooting one more rogue fiend. "The chief is an ass, lieutenant, there's no way around that-"
The earth rumbled and the buildings trembled.
"!!!!????"
The magenta sky split into red and gold as thunder struck the black domes, seemingly providing them with power of the heavens.
A loud wail broke out, and from the ground, craters formed from the emergence of a gigantic creature.
Sally, John, and Lester tossed themselves to the pavement, and Basque's eyes widened as he gazed at the asphalt, where the most gigantic shadow worm shrieked and jerked from the city ground like a geyser.
He lifted his sniper. "Damn it!" Took aim, and-
The behemoth shot forward and crushed into the hill where the blonde militant balanced upon.
WOOOM!!!
Sally gasped. "BASQUE!!!" She cried, and upon grasping her weapon, made a mad dash toward the crash site, ignoring the pieces of the city that flew around.
Lester grunted, and pulled himself up just to witness the frantic girl's mad movements. "Dammit, Sally, heads up!"
The woman glared at the worm's sniveling form as she ran. The creature turned its attention on her, and shot forward towards the ground.
SWOOOSHH---WHOMP!!!
The grounds broke amongst the many craters of the defiled city, leaving the markings of the worm.
Lester withdrew a bag from his backpack, and tossed it to the awaiting John, who dove to catch the bag, and immediately flung it into the massive hole.
The two rolled away.
-
-
-
-
-
BOOOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!
Light erupted from the abyss, and a conflagration of flames and destruction sprouted from the ground through the explosion. Pieces of the fiend, and most of the surrounding area, dropped from the sky like comets. The portions of the worm's parts vanished into the magenta sky.
John uncovered his head. "……………Lieutenant, what the hell was that?"
"What? You threw it without knowing it was a pound of C4?"
"……………sir, you brought it, knowing it was a pound of C4?"
Sally landed on the other side abyss, and made her way towards the top of the hill.
"Basque! Do you hear me!? Answer me, you piece of shit!! Please answer me!! God dammit! Answer me!!" She shuffled through the debris and fallen rocks.
Blood seeped from a certain pile.
Her breath caught in her throat.
With trembling hands, she moved the rocks. Basque laid under them, as expected. The man's tattered form immobile and dusty. The blood was flowing from his arm.
She stared, her breath entirely gone.
-
-
-
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-
She reached a hand toward the fallen soldier, trembling and shuddering.
-
-
-
-
The man breathed, and slowly, a twitching eye opened.
Air became an active supplement once more.
"Gah………aw, dammit, Sally." He smirked. "S-screwing up on the, gah, first mission in m-months, what a f-freaking nice-nice day. What's the ch-chief gonna s-say…?"
Eyes slightly moist, the woman grit her teeth. "Sh-shut up, Basque! You're gonna be okay, j-just shut up before I shoot you."
She began shredding a piece of cloth from her uniform, eyes still moist as she never wiped the tears away.
Basque was about to grin when another tremor shook through the ground. His eyes widened. "S-sally!! Get the-oh god-get the hell out of here!!!"
The woman turned around, and saw the stinger of a black, gigantic scorpion, posed.
"Sally!! Get away!!"
She bit her lip, and moved to shield the man's injured form.
"S-sally!! God dammit, please, just m-move away!!!"
Tatt-tla-tla-tla-tla-tla!!!
Lester and John shot the creature from the hill below, but the gunfire only zoomed through the creature, unfazed and still posed ready to destroy.
Sally herself aimed and shot the ammunition in her pistol.
"Shrrriiiiiii!!!!" The creature flailed around slightly, but its stinger remained.
The female officer crouched defiantly before her fallen companion. Chimes of death filled her ears.
Lester continued to shoot shot after shot. Tat-tat-tla-tla-tla-tla"Aaaahhh!!! Sally, Basque, get out of there!!!"
The woman's eyes drooped, her hand dropped to her side, and she gazed at the man behind her. Basque's eye frowned, but his lips smiled.
Seconds of eternal eons seemed to have passed, as the shadow scorpion began its descent of eternal sleep for those to be pierced-
FLASH!! DOOOON!!!
"!!!!!!"
Sally gazed at the wide hole ridden into the creature as it disappeared into the magenta darkness, burning with the flames of hell into nothingness.
Her head jerked to the asphalt below them, catching the last glimpse of a crimson glow before it faded.
Gilmour dropped his arm, the sleeve of his trench coat cindered entirely, and sizzled with smoke and the remnants of flames. He twisted his hand around, and saw the gun.
It melted, and solidified irregularly, a mold of metal clay.
"Heh……I really can be a good black smith."
Lester, cautiously, walked over with his magnums, safety still off. "I-inspector Gil-gilmour? That is you, right?"
The inspector chuckled, then sighed. "Hello, witnesses and fellow law enforcers. Aren't we in a fine day of hell today!? And since we have a dire situation on our hands, I will just quickly beg you four to not mention what you have witnessed here, today, since if word gets out I'll be decapitated with a guillotine by a red assed waitress that graduated from Harlot 101."
He dropped the deformed firearm to the ground and motioned to the lieutenant. "Aside from that, can I please have another pistol or something that shoots lead? Mine melted."
Shaken out of his reverie, John searched his armor to find a .45 military handgun, and was about to toss it to the inspector when Lester raised the back of his hand.
"Not yet, John. Inspector Gilmour, your previous display of talents, although very noted in gratitude, is very unexplained and unknown. As such, suspicious cannot be helped but-"
"Oh for Christ's freaking sake! We're in the middle of the city, which is by now the biggest battlefield since Waterloo, and you want to give me a load of police shit!?"
Lester narrowed his eyes. "Well, sorry, but no one ever mentioned anything about the inspector that transferred from Bludhaven to have extraterrestrial abilities like shooting laser beams!!!"
"What's so ET about that? Where I came from, everyone can do that, naw, just pulling your leg. But seriously, this is not the time." He held one sleeved arm and one un-sleeved arm up. "Overall, though, I'm on the same side as you overly paranoid jock strapped dingos. I can swear on my wife's SUV."
"……….John, give him something."
The officer obeyed and threw the inspector the .45.
Gilmour grinned as he tipped the safety off. "Well, that's more-" He shuddered, and spun to the north, mouth agape and eyes brimming.
"Nnnnn?" Lester watched as the trench coat clad man shuddered to the direction of the magenta sky. "John, go check up on Sally and Basque, they need some help."
"Right away, sir." He jogged up to the two survivors, leaving Lester and Gilmour.
The inspector grimaced. His facial features shuddering with gasps of surprise, and his eyes were laced with nostalgia. His bare arm began glowing red.
Lester came to his side, halted at the sight of the glowing arm, and frowned. "…….something wrong?"
"…………." He shuddered again. "……I…..I-I think I heard singing……"
The lieutenant looked to the same direction. "……singing?"
Gilmour gasped and chocked on nothing. "Y-yeah, s-singing…"
-----------
A green gorilla roared and tore the door of darkness apart with its meaty arms, revealing light and, at the same time, another realm of darkness. It was yet another hallway, decorated with paintings of skeletons of classical eras.
An elfin Beast Boy shuddered. "Creeeeeeepy. It's like looking at Raven's family tree in an uncensored film of creeeeepiness." THWACK!!! "Ow! Dammit, Raven!"
The girl turned around to inquire upon the android, who swore lightly as he crossed through the gap in dimensions.
"Heh…you know," Cyborg spoke, "you're showing much more concern than you claim you're ready to display. You must really love-" THWACK!!! "Ow!! Hey, I'm injured."
"You seem fine enough to be corny and courageous." She deadpanned.
"Well, circumstances aren't at the top of my 'booya' list, but we've finally gotten out of that hellhole. Speaking of which…" He quickly dialed into his arm.
Pssss-ssss!!!
"Thought so. C'mon let's hurry, this energy disturbance won't allow our communicators to work unless we have either a counterbalance, or we just kick some ass."
Raven nodded, and was about to say something else when Beast Boy yelled to them.
"Hey, guys! Discuss your wedding plans later! I've found the mahogany mother of all doors!!"
Cyborg frowned. "What!? BB, we were, and I emphasize on the exclamation point, not fraternizing!!!"
"Huh? I didn't say you guys were fertilizing."
"………you are stupid."
"Whadda I say?"
"Nothing that makes your intelligence stands out."
Raven walked up to the door of dragons, gargoyles, and demons. She pressed her hand to it, and created a dark portal.
It whirled open, pulsated, then simmered to nothing.
Cyborg frowned. "Or…….we can just open it like every other door in this dimension."
Raven shook her head. "I was just testing something…about this dimension theory. We were always in the same dimension, including that dark corridor we ran through. It had always been the same…" Beast Boy raised a finger and- "I really don't feel energized for a long monologue of explanations."
She directed both palms to the door. Her eyes and hands glowed black and the gigantic door trembled, but did not succumb.
"Nnnnnnggghh!!!" Her powers dimmed, and her strain became sweat.
Cyborg frowned. "Raven, don't push yourself, you'll only-"
"D-don't even start…….you've sacrificed more than anyone on this heaven forsaken earth already. Don't……don't you dare voice any hypocrisy……!"
"…………………go Rae."
"NnnnnnnnnnNNNNNGGHHH!!" The gate shook fiercely before it broke apart and crumbled towards the insides of the room.
It was pitch black.
Raven ceased her powers, sighed, and went in.
Cyborg followed close.
Beast Boy whimpered. "Typical. All dark." He sauntered in.
FLASH!!!
Bolts of black.
The entrance disappeared.
-----------
He blinked.
Silence. Darkness. But…….
-
-
-
-
-
"Warmth……"
He hugged the warmth to him.
-
-
-
It was moist. It was warm. It was……unfamiliar.
-
-
-
"………it's…….getting colder."
-
-
-
-
Robin's eyes fluttered open entirely. He hugged something tighter for a split second before pulling away.
""
Starfire smiled. "Glor'r noonki'lil jae de X'HalRobin."
"St-Starfire!! Oh, heavens!! Oh…oh…god Wha-what…wh-what!?"
He simmered as she raised a bloody hand to his face.
"You……you have returned to this world and mind…Robin………..I am so glad……"
"No……what happened, Starfire? H-how? No, not this way, please, oh god, not this way…!!! Don't-"
Her blood and tears silenced him.
"Ye'gurl ef hisa ef co'mr yun postr'url glealanja pyo funra, Robin. Ye'gurl ef hisa ef co'mr yun postr'url glealanja pyo funra……"
The frantic teen nodded. "Ye'gurl ef hisa ef co'mr yun postr'url glealanja pyo funra……" He repeated, and gently, placed the Tamaranian on the ground, pillowing her head with his arms.
He looked around him. The arena was broken and damaged through the bolts of black and bolts of green. He looked around and his frown increased.
"……..ah……."
His eyes shifted immediately back to the girl. "Starfire!!! You're going to be all right, let me swear this, please! J-just who did-"
FLASH!!!
The Boy Wonder gripped his head. "Aaaahhhh……!!!!" He shook once. Twice. His eyes went wide and he gazed at the unoccupied hand.
"…….I……I-I…….d-d-did th-this…..?"
The sun shall freeze…… The sun shall freeze……… The sun shall freeze……
Starfire coughed once, and smiled. "…d-do not worry, dear Robin……I-I…Tamaranians are-are m-most known for th-their versatile p-perseverance of-of the gastric area a-and f-fighting spirits…."
"Y-yeah….you're r-right. You Tamaranians are so strong and powerful…nothing like us humans, something like this wouldn't matter, right? I-I mean, we'll just get you some medical attention-where, where's Raven? Dammit, Raven where are you!? My communicator! I'll find it, Star, I'll get help for you!! I promise you'll be alright! I promise I'll find help!"
Starfire smiled, like a rose amongst a field of tombstones.
She exhaled breaths of cold vapor. She whispered something. Robin quickly darted his ear to her mouth.
"……………….I wish to observe the exciting fireworks, once more………"
The rose began to wilt……
The sun shall freeze and the moon shall burn. That, is when the world is upside down…
-----------
Nothing but the sounds of shuffling footsteps and the dim light of what is the diminishing light of Cyborg.
The three Titans walked in the dark, like they did so many times before, but this time, there were two members absent.
Beast Boy, now a Cheshire, gazed into the dark with his feline optics. He suddenly jumped back, and hissed.
"………BB?"
The changeling morphed back. "Dudes, I think we've hit the tornado dimension, undead jackpot…!"
Raven frowned. "Beast-"
Light erupted, and all three Titans squinted.
A beat.
They opened their eyes.
Whirls of grey and hazel dominated the room, and no solid ground existed.
"W-well, whadda ya know?" Cyborg groaned.
Beast Boy whimpered for the others to hear. "G-guys, that's not why I hissed." He pointed upwards.
They guided their eyes with the finger.
A big shadow bat hung from nothing.
A beat.
Cyborg slowly brought his cannon up-
"Heeheeheeheeheehee….!"
The android paused, and gazed curiously.
A blonde woman glided down from the bat's wings. She giggled as she twirled once in the air.
"Heeheehee, it seems the sun has almost frozen over……what a day, what a day, what a day…!"
She clasped her hands together. "This is turning out to be quite the show, oh, how exciting this all is! Daddy will be so pleased!" She gazed down.
"Oh! And who might you wonderful children be?"
Beast Boy cowered slightly. "Umm, hey there, I think we came into the wrong horror house, so if you can put that blood sucking monster on its leash while I run, that'd be-"
Raven's eyes shined with black and she levitated into the air. "Azarath! Metrion! Zinthos!!!"
Blades of dark energy slashed towards the woman and the bat.
Hel grinned. The gigantic shadow bat shrieked, spread its wings, and took off with its mistress away from the attack.
"My, aren't you a violent little scoundrel!! No candy for you!"
Raven glowered. "Cyborg, Beast Boy. She's the source of all this sorcery and contingence of these shadows, which would mean she's the mistress that butler spoke of."
"Never thought of that." Cyborg muttered, and a blue glow pulsated in his cannon.
Beast Boy shrieked as a pterodactyl.
"All right then, we take that bizarre lady out in record time, break her hold on the city and Robin, and then we can finally call it a day!! Titans, the end is finally near, let's go!!!"
ZOOOOONN!!!
Hel smiled as the bat dodged the sonic blast. "Yes……the end is indeed near…heehee."
--------
The cavern was silent.
Darkness remained unwavering.
Blood painted the floor.
The form of Albert's body laid on the ground, still and dying. The man's previous demonic features were entirely gone, what remained were only a wrinkly old man of British descent.
He panted through clogs of blood in his throat.
Kahn stood aside, silently. His eyes were closed shut. He swiped his hand of blood, though it only sprayed unto his clothes.
"…ha..ha! W-well done!" Albert went into fits of coughs. "Th-that was a magnificent display of combat! I-I have officially lost, to-to a better fighter. You a-are indeed powerf-ful."
Kahn turned around. "…………………………."
The butler smiled. "………..haha, strange. I……I feel at ease……an ease I have never felt in ages. I-I thank you, gruesome fighter." He brought his hand to his face.
"……I too, have once heard an a-angel sing, just as you have asked……but war and malignance of humans took that away…I became the soulless slave you before……with no fits of passion and no goal of the living………I was tr-truly a living corpse……but does not mean I was alive. My life had ended the moment I accepted that offer of eternal life………I was just so afraid, so afraid to live knowing all I cared for was destroyed, and yet, and yet, I was too scared to go beyond the abyss to confirm my own life…"
He strained to look at the man before him. "Y-you too, have had the same fate, have you not? If not, you w-would not have asked me such a question as you d-did."
Kahn knelt beside the man and frowned. "Moria Harbinger………where is she?"
Albert chuckled. "Huhuhuhu……you w-would not even grant the dying sentiments of a-an old man? S-so be it……" His ghastly white and wrinkled fingers pointed into the darkness.
"W-walk, and you shall a-arrive…" His hand dropped to the ground, and he coughed some more blood. He smiled as he saw the blood. "H-haha. It seems a-at least I-I have a f-form of life within me…I-I should be grateful……that I am not completely void of the l-living…"
Kahn knelt beside the dying man, and the Eye of Ozymandius flared once more.
Albert shuddered slightly from the pain, then he gazed into the red orb. He stared dumbly for moments and moments.
-
-
-
-
-
He smiled.
"S-such lovely m-memories……"
Kahn stood. "Tell me, what is your last wish?"
Albert Dunstan wheezed slightly as he pondered.
"………………..I-I w-wish to hear th-that s-song: Jesu, Joy of man's desiring…..as I lay here……."
FLASH!!!
------------
Robin held the limp form of Starfire to him as he shuddered.
Moments passed.
The sun was becoming colder…….
He trembled.
The rose was beginning to wilt…….
He ached.
Her breath was slowing…….
He clenched his teeth.
The Crimson Delight smiled from the heavens above.
Starfire's skin paled……as did her lips…….
Robin shook his head, and glanced at his hands.
He saw black bolts……he saw shadows and light……
The Boy Wonder gazed back at the wilting rose and freezing sun……
"…………no, not yet."