Poor Twisted Me Chapter 20

Hi again! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but my computer got a nasty virus and had to be sent away to be fixed. Nine days later, when it's fixed, I find that all of my documents, including the progress for this chapter, were completely gone. And updates from now on will probably take a lot longer, seeing as how high school just started for me, and I have cross-country practice every day except Sunday. Just a heads-up.

I think I'll stop answering reviews from now on, because its been getting really distracting the last few chapters. All right, and on with the story!


Izevm turned around and began walking for the door calmly, pulling his hood up as he went. Silently, he prayed to his Lord of Darkness for strength, something he customarily did before he fought.

His concentration was abruptly and violently interrupted when the towering, black obsidian doors in front of him swung open with incredible force, inches away from striking him in the face. The doors bounced off the walls, revealing Raven, livid and shaking from anger. Raven began walking forward, the doors shutting as she walked forward. Izevm calmly grinned from underneath his hood and said, "Raven, my Raven, how are you?"

Raven sneered and heatedly retorted, "Don't give me this bull crap!"

Izevm smirked tranquilly and replied, "My, aren't we testy, my sweet demoness? Well, I can imagine why. After all, I would be testy too, if I killed the person closest to me because my powers were becoming out of control."

Raven clasped her hands against her ears and screamed, "Stop it! Shut up!"

Izevm snorted and began pacing back and forth, continuing, "I mean, I perfectly sympathize with you. It is, in any case, simple to hear the term 'a broken heart'. But it's a whole different matter when your dearest friend is brutally slaughtered at your own hands. Where your heart is, it must almost feel like...there's something missing. It's broken, isn't it?"

Raven fell to her knees and clamped her hands harder against her head, yelling, "Stop it! You don't know what you're talking about!"

The evil Azareth merely grinned wider. "Yes, wouldn't it be great to just...end the pain? End it all? What a coincidence! I can have that arranged right now..." he trailed his last sentence for dramatic effect, and began approaching Raven. He started to stretch out his right hand, but before he could do anything else, a powerful, vicious burst of black energy exploded from where Raven was, expanding to magnanimous proportions as it licked menacingly at the astonished Izevm. Izevm reflexively jumped back as the inferno of energy amplified in size, until Raven rose, her eyes red and face distorted with anger. As Raven began walking towards him, Izevm slowly backed away, until his back bumped against the wall. With a raspy and chilling roar, she threw a punch as hard as she could at Izevm. He dodged nimbly to the side, causing Raven's attack to sail past him and connect with the wall, creating a massive hole. Izevm raised his leg to kick Raven, but before he knew had happened, a huge burst of black energy had hit him clear in the stomach. The blast of energy exploded on contact, releasing a giant cloud of smoke and debris. Raven unexpectedly snapped out of her heated trance, leaving her concerned about her control.

'Why is this happening? I got rid of Rage years ago...I should have my emotions under control...' Raven ruminated to herself. She looked at her hands tentatively.

'Why was I never able to fight like that before?'

When the smoke cleared, Izevm was clutching a large gash in his side. His clothes were torn and tattered from the blast, but he seemed otherwise unharmed. With a growl and a wave of his hand, the wound shrank and disappeared. He eyes narrowed and he leered hatefully at Raven.

Izevm abruptly flew up, becoming airborne, and held his hands out in front of him. A large bubble of black energy materialized, swelling with each passing second. Raven crossed her arms in front of her head, bracing for the attack. Izevm drew his arm back, about to attack, when an emerald blast knocked him from the sky. Raven turned around and saw Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg standing in the doorway. She tried to smile, but for some reason her lips stayed at a standstill.

Izevm roared with frustration, then hesitated for a moment. Grinning wickedly, he pointed his palms towards a section of the floor in front of him. A dull gray cloud of smoke appeared from his palms and began floating indolently towards a part of the floor. Upon making contact with the stone floor, it formed a perfect circle about ten feet across. The circle of gas settled into the floor, and altered into a blazing red portal with green flames that licked at the Titans' feet. A huge, skeletal hand shot out from the gateway, grabbing onto the floor with its extensive claws and pulling itself out. A familiar looking head popped out, revealing the grotesque body of none other than Black Muse.

The evil creature grinned maliciously and pulled the rest of itself out, crouching slightly so it wouldn't break through the roof with its head. It lowered its head to the Titans level and roared in its usual raspy and demonic voice.

"Muse, take care of them, will you?" Izevm said cockily. Smirking, he walked up another flight of stairs in the back of the room. Muse scoffed and said, "Bitch."

Raven had had enough. Growling in a voice unlike her own, she flew after Izevm with vehement speed.

"Hey!" Cyborg yelled, starting to run after her. Robin held up his arm and said, "No, let her take care of him."

Black Muse held out his right hand, in which an elongated scythe materialized. Grabbing it with both his hands, he threw it at Robin. The scythe swung in a sharp arc, almost like a boomerang. The masked leader ducked, which made the scythe sail past him and stick to the wall. Robin looked back and saw Black Muse running towards him, head lowered like a bull. Robin skillfully grabbed Black Muse by his tusks, impeding any attack. Black Muse growled and threw his head back, lifting Robin up off the ground and into the air. With one swift and almost fluid motion, Black Muse swatted Robin with the back of his hand. The masked leader plummeted to the floor, but his fall was stopped short as Starfire flew up and grabbed him mid-fall. The scythe stuck in the wall moved suddenly, and flew back to Black Muse's open palm, evidently summoned by the abomination.

Cyborg dove towards the indolent Muse and grabbed the heel of his foot, using his prodigious strength to pull the monster's leg upward and knock him off balance. Black Muse swung his arms wildly, trying to regain his balance, knocking chunks of concrete and marble off of the walls. Starfire let Robin down and fired a barrage of starbolts at Black Muse, one hitting him right in the chest, knocking him back into the wall. A cloud of debris scattered about the room, blinding the Titans. When the smoke cleared, Black Muse was back on his feet, holding his scythe. With a ferocious roar, Black Muse swung the scythe upward and sliced a diving line separating him and his adversaries in the ground, from which a giant inferno sprang. The blaze towered against the Titans, impeding any passage at all. Black Muse's eerie skull slowly moved through the fire, the flames lapping against his head but not damaging it. The monstrosity grinned evilly, and raised its scythe.


"Izevm!" Raven yelled as she flew after her enemy. The evil Azareth calmly looked back and took to the air, facing her as her glided above the stairs. Raven snarled and picked up more speed, but Izevm continued to taunt her. She was about ready to explode when the stairs abruptly led into a gargantuan room, easily five stories tall, decorated with various weapons. A large mirror leaned against the back wall of the room, lavishly adorned with designs and glistening metals.

Raven looked around the room for Izevm, but strangely, he wasn't there anymore. Instinctively she looked up, and saw Izevm hurtling towards her with a spear in his hand, outstretched. Raven adroitly grabbed the spear before it hit her and yanked it towards herself, causing Izevm to lose his balance and fall. Raven swung her foot upward, nailing him straight in the face and causing him to fly backwards and hit the wall. Before he could recover, Raven threw the spear at him with incredible force. The spear missed Izevm, however, and caught his cloak instead, pinning him to the wall. Swiftly, she grabbed a sword resting on a nearby rack and held it against Izevm's throat.

Izevm laughed. He spit out blood and said, "You know, Raven, it's funny. You always keep your rage and hatred in check, but when you finally release it, you find power that you never knew you had. Doubting yourself?"

Grimacing, she ignored him and quietly said, "Don't move."

Izevm snorted and said, "Or what? You'll kill me? Well, why don't we see what your father has to say about that."

Raven was perplexed. "My father? What does he mean, my father?'

Izevm grinned and held an open palm to the mirror opposite from him He took a deep breath and said, "Trigon, my lord and master, give me the strength I need to defeat her!"

A deep blue cloud of smoke appeared in the mirror, swirling around indolently. Raven watched, mystified. The cloud of smoke suddenly dissipated, revealing the head of none other than her father, Trigon.

Raven gasped in astonishment. Trigon looked down crossly at Izevm, and in a distorted and booming voice, said, "Izevm, you remember very well what I said would happen if you did not succeed. I will not tolerate failure anymore!"

A bolt of blue lightning shot out from the mirror, shooting impetuously towards Izevm. Raven yelped and jumped out of the way. The bolt hit Izevm directly in his chest, pumping him full of electricity. Izevm screamed in pain as his body began convulsing from the sheer force of the attack. His arm began twitching wildly, until his body stopped moving completely, drained of his life.

Raven stared in disbelief at the mirror as it began glowing dark red and began to shake. A red hand the size of a Buick reached out from the portal, grabbing onto the walls to pull the rest of the body out. Trigon finally materialized fully and stood his full height. He was without doubt the size of an average house, covered with muscles and adorned with snow-white hair. He groaned, cracked his back, and said, "Finally, I am out of that cursed place."

Raven held a hand to her chest and gasped softly. Never did she expect that her father would be involved with this.

Trigon shifted his four eyes to Raven and chuckled softly. "Surprised? Understandably so, my daughter. It all started a few months ago after you and your accursed friends disposed of me. In my blind fury, I sought a way to get my revenge on you and your pitiful friends. I eventually stumbled upon a sorcerer by the name of Silenoz. I asked his help in getting vengeance, and he agreed, on the condition that I would return the favor someday. I agreed, not intending to actually keep my promise."

"Unfortunately, Silenoz was gifted with the power of mind-reading, and in his vehemence, he sealed me shut in an alternate dimension, with that mirror as my only means of communicating with any outside world. That place was what hell only wished it could be; black flames that would burn you alive but never kill you, beasts so vile and wretched that words cannot describe their depravity, and worst of all, the only sound you could hear of your own tortured cries was non-stop Barbara Streisand!"

"After about a month in there, my desire to escape had reached its threshold. Then, in my darkest hour, that fool Izevm had the lack of common sense to stumble upon my mirror. Thinking quickly, I convinced him to help me escape, intending to kill him once he had served his purpose. See, after that first month went by a managed to find a loophole that could get me out of there. If I did something despicable enough that I was too evil for this place, I would be rejected. What better way to do that than kill one of my own servants? In exchange for helping me, I promised him all the riches in the world, once again not intending to keep my word."

"Then it occurred to me that I could kill two birds with one stone. I could offer Izevm all of Earth, and in the process, he could dispose of you and your pesky team. To help him, I created a few servants to assist him, including Black Muse."

Trigon extended his arms out and cackled malevolently. "And now, with Izevm dead and your friends trembling at their knees, I can merge Azareth and Earth together, and rule both worlds!"

With that, he clapped his hands together with great force. A giant wave of white light erupted from his hands, enveloping everything in sight. Raven yelled and began running, but she had not even made it to the door before the white luminescence had engulfed her, tearing her consciousness away from her.


"Robin! I can't hold him off much longer!" Cyborg yelled, blindly firing off into the inferno in hopes of hitting Black Muse. Robin grabbed a handful of explosives, but before he could do anything, a violent shockwave shook the floor, quavering with extreme intensity.

The giant inferno disappeared, revealing Black Muse at a standstill. He looked up towards the ceiling and grinned.

"The hour draws near," he said portentously. Chuckling, he waved at the Titans and said, "Farewell, Titans. I will see you again soon."

Upon finishing, he took his scythe and made a tearing motion in the air. A giant portal appeared, much like the one he came out of. With a wave of his bony hand, he jumped into the gateway and disappeared.

Cyborg gave Robin a funny look. Robin shrugged and said, "Your guess is as good as mine."

Starfire opened her mouth to say something, but a scream escaped her lips instead. Robin looked at her, and saw a colossal wave of light swallowing the room up. He turned to run, but he found his legs vanishing as the wave of light slowly engulfed him entirely.


A gentle wind softly grazed Raven's ear, pulling her back into reality. As she slowly tried to get to her knees, a sharp pain coursed through her head.

"Ow!" she yelled reflexively. She looked up to see where she was, and was shocked by her surroundings.

It looked as if she was sitting in pure nothingness; all she could see was a simple white color embodying everything. There were no hills, grass, or any terrain at all. At first glance, it looked and felt like utter oblivion.

As she tried to comprehend what had happened or where she was, a soft voice echoed throughout the void, saying, "Long time no see, Raven."

The Azareth turned around, and to her complete surprise, she saw her mentor and guardian as a child, Azar.

(A/n: If anyone wants/needs to know who Azar is, just email me and I'll explain. It'll make a lot more sense that way)

Raven gasped as Azar walked over and gingerly stroked her hair. "My, how you've grown, Raven."

Raven softly said, "Azar, where are we?"

Raven's former mentor gestured around her. "In your head, dear. I just had to step in after what your father did."

"But, I thought you were dead!"

The pacifist nodded her head softly. "Yes, I am. But when I died, I entered another plane of existence, from which I watched you. Up until now, I had never interfered with your life at all. But now, this is so much deeper. Your father is messing with forces he doesn't fully comprehend, and if he isn't stopped, there's no telling how much death he could cause."

Raven lowered her head dejectedly and pulled her knees towards her "Yeah, but what can I do about it? He's stronger and more powerful than me," she stated sadly.

Azar shook her head. "Raven, fighting him is not the answer here. I thought you learned that."

Raven began to get frustrated. She turned away and sarcastically said, "Oh yeah, maybe I can talk him out of destroying everything I know and love. That always worked."

"Raven, you have always had your emotions in check. Don't let them take over your actions."

Raven's eyes began to well with tears. "Azar, he caused an entire city to be destroyed! He caused the person closest to me die, while I stood by and watched. For all I know, he's killed my other friends as well. Why can't I become emotional!?"

Azar sighed. "Be that way if you wish, Raven. You'll understand my advice when the time comes."

Raven sniffled and wiped tears from her eyes. "Just wake me back up."

The pacifist looked at Raven sympathetically. "Of course. You won't like what you'll see, however."

With a wave of Azar's hand, the colorless oblivion that surrounded her began to distort and twist, until all Raven could see was black.


"Raven! Raven, wake up!" Robin's voice pierced through her head like an arrow. Raven's eyes shot open, snapping her back to reality. Standing around her were Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg.

She bolted upright and jumped to her feet. "Where's Trigon?!" she yelled with a slight tone of anger.

Raven's eyes darted back and forth until her surroundings began to seep in. She gasped softly.

The city was even more grotesquely distorted than when Izevm had transformed it. The buildings, if you could call them that, seemed to waver back and forth, as if they were alive. Blotchy red and black spots covered them and they stood at uneven angles. The roads lurched up and down softly, almost like there was a constant earthquake. Raven looked up and saw a burning red sky, dotted with stars and two moons. Monsters scattered the horizon and roamed the streets around them.

Starfire waked over to Raven quietly, her eyes brimming with tears. "Raven, what has become of our home? Who has done this?"

Raven lowered her head solemnly and said, "My father. He is to blame for all of this."

Robin's head snapped up. "Your father?"

Raven nodded. "My father, Trigon, was a demon, who was sadistic and power-hungry. Well, he got his wish."

Raven was about to continue, when a sudden jolt went through her head. She yelled, "Guys! Get down!"

The three reflexively dove into a corner of a building, while Raven quietly whispered, "Azareth Metrion Zinthos." A flat white blanket of light covered her and her friends, blending in with their surroundings, making them invisible.

A creature slowly walked by, scouting the area for anything out of the ordinary. It must have been a minion of Trigon, for it bore the same symbol the Titans had seen around the cathedral. It was strangely humanoid, save its pig-like face and snout. It was strangely reminiscent of a KISS concert's reject, clad in leather armor with spikes jutting out from the shoulder and knee pieces. Its face, the only part not covered in armor, was painted white with tribal tattoos embossed in black. In its right hand it clasped an elongated mace, with jagged and uneven spikes protruding from the spherical top. It stopped for a moment, and sniffed the air, searching for intruders.

Raven held her breath. Robin clamped his fist over Starfire's mouth to keep her from screaming. The creature looked around for a moment, then tentatively walked over to the spot where the Titans hid. It drew closer and closer, until its snout was only inches away from Raven's face. Raven was about to explode from lack of oxygen.

The creature abruptly turned and began walking away. Raven breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Big mistake.

The creature snapped around and roared. With a wave of its hand, Raven's barrier was disintegrated, revealing the Titans. The creature snorted and charged, lowering its head. Raven reflexively screamed and threw out her hand. A torrent of black needles erupted from her hand, impaling the creature.

The pig-like being squealed from pain, and slumped to the ground, in shock from the pain. Raven sighed and pulled her hood up. Robin looked at her and said, "Raven, where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Raven lowered her head and said, "I...I don't know. I was never able to fight like this before. I'm beginning to doubt myself."

Starfire interrupted and said, "Um, this is all fine, but how do we restore our home?"

Raven ignored her and walked on.

"Raven?"

"I don't know, Starfire. I don't know."